Tom Butler Works — Your Immortal Self and There is No Death

Date: Various Type: Book

ITC EVP Consciousness Afterlife Spirit Communication Research Mediumship Parapsychology ATransC Tom Butler

stylized rendion of part of the Mandelbrot set. The imaginary space of the Mandelbrot Set is used in Discourse 13: Cosmology of Imaginary Space to provide an idea of how it might be to navigate etheric space. The Set is an excellent analog to represent reality because it is created with a very simple mathemacal process based on just a few assumpons. Yet, the resulng imaginary space is inﬁnitely small and contains an inﬁnite number of fractals. This rendion tled Fractal Spheres was produced by Piotr Siedlecki and kindly posted at publicdomainpictures.net. Siedlecki also has an Internet presence at whoami911.deviantart.com. Acknowledgments My name is under the tle because, admiedly, this book is the world according to me. Should you think I am crazy, it is just me. I might not have become involved in transcommunicaon had it not been for Lisa, so if you like the book, thank her. Sarah Estep shined a light on the path which led to this book. Lisa took the ﬁrst step for me, but the path has been paved by hundreds of past AA- EVP and then ATransC members, other ITC organizaons and the pioneers who have been so brave in the light of certain ridicule. Many people provided important contribuons to our understanding of these phenomena. I would especially like to thank Margaret Downey and Cindy Heinen for their experimental support. Of course, members of the Big Circle gave important meaning to communicaon across the veil with loved ones. Some of the more

instrumental parcipants in the Big Circle include Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey, Vicki Talbo, Teri Daner, Chrisne Jenkins, Rashelle Eastman Morrison, Erland Babcock and Debbie Caruso for their help in exploring the possibility of EVP. The paranormalist community provided the background inﬂuence which gave me reason to compose this work in the ﬁrst place. But every me someone made a faith-based comment as if it were fact, I hurried back to my computer and worked on this book. My prayer is that, aer a while, there will be no need for a second edion. Consider these situaons: A Personal Note • A person cuts another oﬀ in traﬃc or cuts in line at an event. • A person sits in stopped traﬃc with music blaring so loud it rales the lungs of nearby drivers. • A neighbor takes oﬀ from his home on a motorcycle with very loud engine noise or lets a dog bark day and night. • Target pracce near homes or the incessant noise of oﬀ-road vehicles near campsites. • A snide remark on a discussion board or cricism one would not dare make in person. • Publicly carrying a gun which is only intended to kill. None of these behaviors are illegal. In some communies, they are not even discouraged, yet individually, people react to being on the receiving end of these behaviors with primal insncts. It is human nature. Loud noise provokes a ﬂight or ﬁght response which is quickly replaced with an aggressive urge to

respond in kind. Cung someone oﬀ in traﬃc is actually stealing me and space in an already crowded and hurried world. The vicm must decide his or her place in the pecking order; a primal reacon follows, based on whether the person submits or responds in kind. It is only human. Just because we can do something does not mean we should. Mindful living is based on the idea of sharing the world. A good cizen is one who considers the implicaons of each act before proceeding. How do your acons aﬀect others? When Lisa and I assumed leadership of the ATransC in 2000, I was very careful to keep my personal assumpons to myself and to remain pragmacally analycal. But as I learned about the implicaons of survival, I came to realize how important it is for people to understand that everything they do maers. We cannot legislate morality or force people into good cizenship. It must come from a desire to cooperate as part of the collecve. How to Use This Book What is wrien here is one thought. In my mind, it is indivisible. If it were otherwise, this would be three books. I talk a lot in this book about the three aspects of a teacher which are acquired understanding, expression of that understanding as a way of living and the results of that way of living as a role model for others. All are aspect of the one thought, which is teacher. This book is

wrien as the three aspects of a teacher. The concepts explained in Secon I represents the ﬁrst aspect as acquired understanding or theory. The community in which those concepts must be developed (the way of living) is discussed in Secon II. Learning to work with the phenomena thought to be the result of the concepts (the role model) are discussed in Secon III. While it is possible to read just the theory of Secon I, I have taken every opportunity to relate how the theory might apply to the complexies of daily living and the many forms of phenomena. It is my hope that you will treat the book as one thought and do the work to integrate it into your daily living. Layout Think of this book as a tool for learning about a relavely complex subject. It is designed to make it as easy as possible for you. Even so, the complexity of some concepts and the way they are interrelated makes it necessary to frequently interrupt discussions to explain related concepts. While confusing at ﬁrst, I think the confusion will be less as you gain a sense of how the book is designed. So take your me, be paent and keep in mind the potenal beneﬁts of understanding your etheric nature. Internal Links All hyperlinks except those provided in References will take you to a locaon within the book. If a word or term has speciﬁc but probably not evident meaning, its ﬁrst use should have a

hyperlink to the Glossary entry or to its best use in the body of the book. My intenon is that you will follow the link if you think you may not understand my meaning, but otherwise ignore it. Always look to the Glossary to clarify confusing usage. If that does not help, use the contact tool at the boom of each ethericstudies.org or ATransC.org web page to ask for further explanaon. Many of the discourses include foundaon concepts that are common to other discourses. The discourse in which the foundaon concept is best explained is usually the target link for reference. I tried to balance ease of reading with avoidance of redundancy, which means a short explanaon will be included for most concepts as they are discussed, but a more complete explanaon may be elsewhere in the book. Diagrams Some of the diagrams are used in just about every discourse related to the Implicit Cosmology. To save space, in the digital edion, they are included only once with the text related to their primary use. Internal links will take you to the appropriate diagram as they are referenced elsewhere. Your book reader should have a Go Back tool. In some readers, Alt-Le Arrow is Go Back. In the hardcopy version, the diagrams are all located at the front of the book, just aer the Contents pages. I recommend that you place a bookmark there for easy access. Comments Indented paragraphs are used to interject comments. In the eBook, these also

have blue text. Please note that, while I aempt to be objecve and source-based, these pseudo-sidebars are usually used to set aside my opinion or personal observaons. Glossary of Terms As an experienced technical writer, I know to be speciﬁc about words I use and consistent in how I use them. Terms are usually used in their common or at least second or third meaning. But the context is novel and you will likely take a while to orient yourself within the context of the Implicit Cosmology. One good way to adjust to this novel context is to take a lile me in the beginning to normalize the terms. For example, you might have a phrase in your mind that means spiritual healing. In this book, that concept is explained as healing intenon. Both terms have essenally the same intent, but the way it is worded here aligns with the cosmology. Always look to the Glossary of Terms to clarify confusing usage. If that does not help, use the contact tool at the boom of each ethericstudies.org or ATransC.org web page to ask for further explanaon. Also check the dedicated pages at ethericstudies.org/immortal_self.htm for updates, correcons and veriﬁcaons. The Implicit Cosmology is connuing to evolve. It is my intenon to maintain notes about its evoluon, and other updates, at ethericstudies.org/immortal_self.htm; however, the website is based on old design technology. Soon aer this book is published, I will begin updang all of the websites I am responsible for to comply with

mobile reader technology. That may mean the dedicated update page for this book will have a new address. Always look to the front page for guidance. References There is not a lot in this book that is my invenon. My only claim is that I have compiled the cosmology, but it is based on evolving thought of the paranormalist community. Most of the references are accessible on the Internet. They may not say exactly what I say, but you will be able to see why I designed the cosmology as it is. As you seek supporng references, keep in mind that serious consideraon of the Survival Hypothesis and transcommunicaon is relegated to the farthest froner of popular thought. To be of use, most of the references must be taken with a great deal of reservaon. It is the larger picture they suggest that I ask you to consider. You are directed to the reference list with the appropriate number in parenthesis such as Rupert Sheldrake (9). Website Ethericstudies.org/immortal_self.htm will include access to informaon about this book. This will include correcons, clariﬁcaons and updates. The ATransC Idea Exchange discussion board is available if you wish to ask quesons, make comments about this book, or discuss concepts. Your Immortal Self Exploring the Mindful Way Content Use License About the Cover Acknowledgments A Personal Note How to Use This Book Layout Website Diagrams List of Diagrams and Examples Introducon to this Book In the Beginning A Word About Arcle Names Secon I: Implicit

Cosmology (Theory) Secon II: Community (Commentaries) Secon III: Transcommunicaon (Studies) Secon I: Implicit Cosmology Introducon to the Implicit Cosmology Introducon Organizaon of this Book My Qualiﬁcaons Brief Introducon to Important Terms Developing this Cosmology Six Pillars Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Introducon About Hypotheses Perspecve Dominant Views of Reality Scope of the Three Hypotheses Characteriscs That Must Be Addressed The Trans-Survival Hypothesis Statement of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Supporng Material in the Form of Direct Evidence Indirect Evidence Discussion Discourse 2: Introducon to the Implicit Cosmology Objecve The Cosmology Basic Assumpons Read On Discourse 3: Organizing Principles Orientaon Principles by Category Source Category 1: Organizing Principles of Reality Category 2: Organizing Principles of Formaon Category 3: Organizing Principles of Personality Discourse 4: Source Introducon Not Proof but Reason to Consider Modeling Source Populang Reality Self-Organizing Reality Discourse 5: The Nature of Reality Introducon The Name of Reality Diﬀerenal in Reality Entanglement Discourse 6: Etheric Fields Introducon Characteriscs Origin of an Etheric Field Persistence of an Etheric Field Mechanics of an Etheric Field Nonlocal and Nontemporal Energy Verses Field Hierarchy of Nested Fields Fields in the Form of ... Terms for Morphic Fields Ideoplasc Structures Liming Associaon via Perceptual Agreement Discourse 7: Life Fields Introducon Funconal Areas of a Life Field Discourse 8: Personality-Centric Perspecve Introducon Perspecve Our Body is a Complete Organism Our body as Avatar Personal Style and Astrology Balance Human Animal Irraonal Behavior Degrading Avatar Relaonship May I Introduce Myself? Discourse 9: Percepon and Expression Introducon The Mind is Etheric

Understand the Unconscious Processes First Sight Theory The Perceptual Process Implicaons of First Sight Theory Percepon Becomes Expression Intenon Field Informed Visualizaon On Being Informed Changing Worldview Worldview and Expression Summary Interesng Speculaon Discourse 10: Perceptual Agreement Introducon Evolving Organizing Principles Discourse 11: Mindfulness Purpose Mindfulness Teachers What We Do Now Maers Worldview Personal Reality, Local Reality and the Greater Reality Suspended Judgment Self-determinaon A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness Lucidity Good and Evil and Other Cultural Arfacts Mindful Living Discourse 12: Progression, Teaching and Community Spirituality Cooperaon Friends as Teachers Selﬂess People A Vision About Collecves First a Student Then a Teacher The Nature of Understanding The Process of Gaining Understanding Collecve The Prime Imperave as a Spiritual Obligaon The Transion Experience Self-Realizaon Discourse 13: The Cosmology of Imaginary Space Introducon Imaginary Model of Reality Fractals as Aractors Comparing the Mandelbrot Set to Reality Navigang Imaginary Space A Useful Model Secon II Community Introducon to Community As it Began Everyone is an Expert Wikipedia Parapsychology Lack of a Workable Theory The Implicit Cosmology PS: Commentary 1: Community A Community Divided Historical Perspecve Paranormalist Community Peripheral Inﬂuences A More Pragmac View of the Community Blind Men and an Elephant Natural Cycles Commentary 2: Point of View Introducon Models for Reality What We Are Born With Worldview Temperament Point of View as Inﬂuenced by Temperament Villager-Explorer Eﬀect Engineering Imperave Point of View of Organizaons Litmus Test Commentary 3: Etheric Studies Introducon Who Studies the Etheric? Commentary 4: Science Introducon

Cultural Landscape Names that Separate Science from Belief Theory of Everything A Close Look at the Science-Layperson Relaonship The Study of Paranormal Concepts Research Grants Verses Contracts Trojan Horse Organizaons Research Ethics Omniscient Science Syndrome Perspecve Commentary 5: Psi Research Keep in Mind the Good First Sight Theory Formave Causaon Global Consciousness Quantum Entanglement Cizen Scienst Research Commentary 6: Skepcs Introducon Skepcs Impact on Research Tells of a Skepc Comparing the View of Science with the View of Skepcs Skepcism is Relave Paranormalist’s Diminishing Inﬂuence A case study: Government Acng on Skepcal Views A Case Study: Skepcal Control of the Media Healthy Skepcism Commentary 7: Wikipedia Introducon Anyone Can Edit Arcles Wikipedia Rules of Behavior Subject Maer Specialists Wikipedia Eding Rules Circular Referencing Foundaon Rules Value of Wikipedia Using Wikipedia Personal Aacks EVP Arcle Passive Paranormalist Alternave to Wikipedia Wiki Aggregator On Being an Editor Conclusion Commentary 8: Perspecve My Reader Realiscally Speaking The Village Model Legacy Secon III Transcommunicaon Introducon The Trans- Preﬁx Study 1: Foundaon Principles Introducon Organizing Principles Important Concepts Stochasc Ampliﬁcaon One Thought Study 2: The Nature of Transcommunicaon Introducon Mechanics of Transcommunicaon Avatar as Trans-channel What We Sense What We Express Expectaon Colors Percepon Accounng for Human Nature Evidence of Transcommunicaon Informaon from the Environment Sensed Informaon as Evidence of Survival Nonlocal Nontemporal Apports Precipitaon Intended Order EVP as a Lab Rat for Psi Research Implicaons of the Implicit Cosmology Study 3: Audio ITC a.k.a. EVP Introducon History Types of EVP Characteriscs of EVP Theories

Proposed to Explain Observed ITC Phenomena Normal Explanaons Psi Explanaons Recording Techniques Recording Equipment Ideal Background Noise Background Sound Preparaon Scheduling Recording Playback Classifying EVP Keeping a Log Digital Voice Recorders Analyzing the Recording for EVP Storage and sharing What You Need to Know Study 4: Techniques: Visual ITC Introducon Apparion Photography Instrumental TransCommunicaon About the Technology Perhaps Not ITC Witness Panels What are the Paranormal Features? What Have We Learned? Light Reﬂected from Moving Water Technique Theory I See It, Why Don’t You? The Future Study 5: Arfacts and Perceptual Error Introducon Photographic Arfacts Audio Arfacts Errors in Percepon Faux Transcommunicaon Unexpected Technique Induced Arfact Retro Familiar Storytelling Educaon Study 6: Mediumship a.k.a. Psi Sensing Mediumship Psi Sensing or Being Psychic Verses Mediumship Lucidity The Collecve Sensing Reality Sensing Potenal Fields Sensing the Physical Mind-to-Mind Sensing Channel Physical Mediumship Why the Old Beliefs Are Suspect A Meditaon to Train Psi Sensing Discussion Study 7: Healing Intenon Introducon My Qualiﬁcaons to Speak About Healing Foundaon Concepts Mapping a Person The Aging Paradox The Expression of Healing Intent Expressing Healing Intenon Who is Doing What? Modes of Healing Prayer Body Image The Way Back from Aging A Well-Documented Example Proxy Siers Mindfulness Tool for Healing Intenon Distant Healing as a Tool for Psi Research Study 8: Introducon to Best Pracces Foundaon of Civilizaon The Collecve A Pragmac View of Best Pracces Standard Pracces Already in Use Scope Examples Study 9: Best Pracce: Classifying Phenomena Abstract Jusﬁcaon/Introducon Pracce Audio ITC Visual ITC

Example Applicaon Further Reading Study 10: Best Pracce: Witness Panel Abstract Jusﬁcaon/Introducon Witness Panel Best Pracce Sound File Consideraons Study 11: Transcommunicaon Research Introducon Parapsychological Research Observaons Closing Comments Catch Phrases Help Describe Reality Ask Quesons! Thank you for reading this book! Glossary of Terms References Index Diagrams Some of the diagrams in this book are referred to many mes. For simplicity, just one instance of those is located aer this list of diagrams. Internal links are provided where the diagrams are referenced in the eBook version. It may be useful if you note their locaons, so that you can easily go to them for addional reference. That locaon will be diﬀerent, depending on your reader conﬁguraon. Pictures, examples and diagrams which are referred to just once are placed with the associated text. The list of diagrams below may be useful for future reference. List of Diagrams and Examples Apparion: Shell1 - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Apparion: Shell2 - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Arfact: Moving Camera - Study 5: Arfacts and Perceptual Error Classiﬁcaon: Distribuon - Study 9: Best Pracces: Classifying Phenomena Classiﬁcaon: Examples - Study 9: Best Pracces: Classifying Phenomena Classiﬁcaon: Perceived Objecvity - Study 9: Best Pracces: Classifying Phenomena Complex Number Space - Discourse 13: Cosmology of Imaginary Space Compare Physical and Etheric Inﬂuences - Discourse 6 Etheric Fields Concerns with Wikipedia - Commentary 7: Wikipedia Cosmology: Physical Only - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Cosmology: Super-Psi Only - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Cosmology: Trans-Survival

Hypothesis - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Ectoplasm Face of Conan Doyle - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Ectoplasm with Hand - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Ethics - Discourse 11: Mindfulness EVP: Waveform - Study 3: Audio ITC a.k.a. EVP Fractals - Discourse 4: Source Funconal Areas of a Life Field – Diagrams Funconal Areas of a Life Field Complex - Diagrams Funconal Areas for Percepon and Expression - Diagrams Hyperlucidity - Discourse 11: Mindfulness Limits of Understanding - Discourse 12: Progression, Teaching, Community Lucidity - Discourse 11: Mindfulness Mandelbrot Set with Coordinates - Discourse 13: Cosmology of Imaginary Space Mandelbrot Set with Navigaon - Discourse 13: Cosmology of Imaginary Space Mediumship-aka Psi Sensing – Study 6: Mediumship Mind-to-Mind – Study 6: Mediumship Mind-to-Mind Remote Viewing - Study 6: Mediumship Moving Water ITC: Grandfather - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Moving Water ITC: Setup - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Orb Over Gene - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Orb, Black, Universal - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Orb, White with Tail - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Organizaon of Cosmology Series - Discourse 2: Introducon to the Implicit Cosmology Organizing Morphic Field - Discourse 6: Etheric Fields Personality Models Immortal Personality – Commentary 2: Point of View Personality Models Mind is Body - Commentary 2: Point of View Personality Models Mind-Body Duality and Psi – Commentary 2: Point of View Personality Styles with Astrological Signs - Discourse 8: Personality-Centric Perspecve Potenal Future - Discourse 6: Etheric

Fields Precipitated Art by Robinee - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Precipitated Art: Madam Blavatsky - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Progression - Discourse 2: Introducon to the Implicit Cosmology Principle of Aspectaon - Discourse 3: Organizing Principles Range of Interest Relang to Acceptance of Survival Concepts – Commentary 1: Community Research: Visual Percepon Study - Study 11: Research Scope of Etheric Studies - Commentary 3: Etheric Studies Terms: Apports - Glossary Terms: Ectoplasm - Glossary Terms: Hermec Qabalah - Glossary Terms: Sierpinski Triangle - Glossary Terms: SORRAT - Glossary The Hermit – Discourse 11: Mindfulness The Hermit - Commentary 8: Perspecve Trojan Horse - Commentary 4: Science Water Technique: Elves - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Water Technique: Grandfather - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Water Technique: Jug - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Water Technique: King - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Water Technique: King2 - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Water Technique: Soesman Technique - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Video Loop: Alien - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Video Loop: Clayton - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Video Loop: Clown - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Video Loop: Cow - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Video Loop: Dog - Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Video Loop Technique - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Chaoc Visual Noise in Video Frame - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Face on Turned Oﬀ TV1 - Study 4: Techniques -

Visual ITC Visual ITC: Face on Turned Oﬀ TV2 - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Man with Dog - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Mirrored Image - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Troll - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Visual ITC: Two Lovers - Study 4: Techniques - Visual ITC Frequently Referenced Diagrams Your Immortal Self Exploring the Mindful Way Introduction to this Book In the Beginning The Associaon TransCommunicaon (ATransC) was founded by Sarah Estep in 1982 as the American Associaon of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) to: “Provide objecve evidence that we survive death in an Individual Conscious state.” By convenon, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is wrien as a plural. Sarah began with the term as plural and we have connued using it in that way. In fact, there are a number of diﬀerent forms of EVP and diﬀerent ways in which they are encountered, and as such, it is a plural expression when considered as a class of phenomena. Lisa and I assumed leadership of the AA-EVP in 2000 and connued to publish the quarterly newsleer unl its last issue, Spring 2014, Number 33-1. That made a total of 129 issues, 57 of which we published. By 2010, we had come to recognize that transcommunicaon phenomena are related by a common set of inﬂuences. To study one, it is necessary to study all of them. We were also becoming aware of how people inﬂuence the message and how

understanding the dynamics of transcommunicaon can facilitate mindful living. To beer support the study of these phenomena, and to make the organizaon more open to people outside of the USA, we changed the name to Associaon TransCommunicaon in 2010. In 2014, we changed the ATransC from a publicly supported membership organizaon to just publicly supported, meaning that we now depend enrely on donaons, income from aﬃliate programs when website visitors use the aﬃliate links to make their purchases, and from the book we wrote, No Death and There Are No Dead. (1) As of 2014, the book has earned $37,000 for the Associaon. Many of the Associaon members were acve EVP experimenters and parcipated in a number of important studies sponsored by the ATransC. Thanks to those members, during that me we had access to a very large amount of informaon about how ITC phenomena were collected, what worked, what did not and the problems associated with working with the phenomena of transcommunicaon. Prior to becoming involved with the Associaon, we had been deeply immersed in many forms of human potenal and the study of phenomena which included training in several healing modalies and various forms of mediumship. This also included emersion into the Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (2) system of thought leading to ordinaon and cerﬁcaon as healer, medium and teacher. Lisa writes a Media Watch column for the Naonal Spiritualist Summit magazine and as of the end of 2015, she has produced 125 issues. She also prepares

a Media Watch column for the ASPSI Searchlight. (3) I help as I am able, and together we have examined thousands of news arcles about things paranormal. This has given me a sense of the various points of view in our paranormalist community and an idea of how the understanding of paranormal phenomena is developing in mainstream society. The ATransC Collecve (4) is a wiki intended to support collaborave development of Best Pracces. Related reference material is gradually being added to the Collecve, and between the Media Watch archive on ATransC.org and the Collecve, we seek to provide easy access to references which may be of value in literature surveys necessary for research. Since 2006, I have been a Wikipedia editor and have been present for some of the more contenous edit wars between moderate editors and the radical skepc editors who now control the paranormal-oriented arcles in that online encyclopedia. This has given me a sense of how the skepcal community thinks, their talking points and the dynamics of the mainstream-paranormalist interface. (5) In 1994, I wrote the Handbook of Metaphysics (6) in an eﬀort to give suﬃcient background informaon about metaphysical concepts to provide a context in which people could understand new concepts. The book was published, but poorly produced, and of course it is now outdated. A Word About Article Names It is important to me that you maintain a sense of where you are in this book. It is also important that you have a sense

of how to compartmentalize the diﬀerent parts of this book. The arcles in the Implicit Cosmology Secon are called Discourses because they are reasonably formal expository essays about the various aspect of the cosmology. By comparison, the arcles in the Community Secon are called Commentaries because they are clearly my opinion. I want you to at least condionally accept what is said in the discourses, while I would rather you take the commentaries with reservaon. Arcles in the Transcommunicaon Secon are called Studies because they are based on a lot of formal and informal studies of the subjects. I expect you to accept them at face value just as you would any authoritave report. You may disagree with them, but they should be used as references in your study. They are included in an eﬀort to help you avoid starng from scratch in your study. Section I: Implicit Cosmology (Theory) The Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse is a rewrite of the Survival Hypothesis with new emphasis on transcommunicaon. If you accept my contenon that Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) provides important insight into the nature of reality, then you can understand that the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is very diﬀerent from anything you have previously learned. It became evident during the process of developing the hypothesis that many of the concepts needed to be addressed individually. For instance, concepts concerning the relaonship between a person in a lifeme, the aspect of a person that is an immortal personality and the nature of the greater reality are

described in more objecve terms than the usual myscal perspecve found in most paranormalist literature. The Implicit Cosmology Discourse was wrien to explain how all of the concepts ﬁt together. A proper model of reality should hypothesize how reality is arranged, how it works, its purpose for exisng, our nature and how we relate to reality. Our purpose, how we can achieve our purpose and why all of this maers should be the boom line, the so what? of the model. It is important to note that the Implicit Cosmology could not exist in its present form without the understanding that has come from the paranormalist community and especially from ATransC members. It has been through the process of ordering my thoughts to write arcles for the ATransC NewsJournal, and studying to answer quesons from members and the public, that I have evolved my present point of view. Section II: Community (Commentaries) The paranormalist community consists of people who, in one way or another, accept the reality of paranormal phenomena. To understand what is known, believed and theorized about these phenomena, it is necessary to understand the environment in which they are experienced. The Community Commentaries are intended to describe the paranormalist culture. Of course, they are wrien from my perspecve which has evolved from my study of transcommunicaon. The commentaries may seem strident in parts. In actuality, the larger community is fragmented into many subcommunies of interest with lile cross-community collaboraon. The result is that our community is retreang

while our detractors are becoming beer organized. Paranormalists are mild-mannered folk who shy away from contenous discussions. A good example is how hard some of us have tried to get people to help edit paranormal arcles in Wikipedia. I was told once that, “Aer seeing the abuse you have been subjected to, I would never consider becoming an editor.” This reluctance to become involved in debate is understandable. Paranormal subjects are not about religion, but they are about abstract concepts such as human potenal and connectedness. Most of us seek to understand the actual nature of our world and trying to impose our will on some skepc is not consistent with that goal. The Community Commentaries are wrien as a collaborate with you. Part of that eﬀort is to idenfy the problem areas so that we can work together to improve. This is not going to happen unless we look behind the curtain and see how messed up the social dynamics really are. I recently felt compelled to aggressively, publically denounce the treatment one of our physical mediums received from supposed sciensts for whom he agreed to demonstrate for research. As of this wring, I seem to be prey much alone in this. Is your silence implicit approval of the treatment? Our ability to openly study and pracce these phenomena is not guaranteed. If we as a community do not police ourselves, that freedom could go away. It has happened before! (7) Section III: Transcommunication (Studies) Those of you who

know me know that I am always looking for the so what meaning of theory and experiences. The transcommunicaon studies provide the applied theory or so what of the Implicit Cosmology. The secon is based on a physical world, hands-on point of view that is informed by the perspecve of etheric personality. If you ﬁnd the theory too abstract, you may more easily relate to the transcommunicaon studies. I invite you try some of the techniques and go to the ATransC Idea Exchange at ATransC.org/forum/ to ask quesons and share results. Section I: Implicit Cosmology Introduction to the Implicit Cosmology Editor’s note: As you read this cosmology, please keep in mind that it is a theorecal model designed to provide a context for my understanding of observed phenomena and the results of considerable study by many researchers. Metaphysics has been studied for centuries; however, modern views, which consider current psi research and instrumental forms of transcommunicaon, require that contemporary metaphysics be seen in a new light. Cosmologies are designed to be tested and reﬁned, so what you read here should not in any way be considered ﬁnal truth. The Implicit Cosmology is only a model with which to study reality. It is the possible understanding to come from that study that one must consider. Introduction A common complaint from observers of the paranormalist community is that there is no widely accepted unifying theory to explain these phenomena, especially for the presumed survival phenomena. I have to agree, but I am

on the wrong side of the academic-layperson paron to decide if that is true. I try to be well-informed about the phenomena of interest to our paranormalist community. As discussed in the Community Commentary, the major categories of phenomena include psi funconing, physical and mental mediumship, healing intenon, reincarnaon, near-death experiences and out-of-body experiences. My observaon is that these tend to be studied separately in isolated communies of interest within the paranormalist community. Studying these phenomena in such isolaon seems to culvate a false sense of authority which has eﬀecvely sﬂed collaboraon with other communies of interest. As I discuss in the Science Commentary, the ITC community is mostly ignored by parapsychologists. That neglect is unfortunate, because from my perspecve, ITC phenomena provide convincing, replicable examples that decidedly indicate survival. When I aempt to explain those examples to people, I necessarily include informaon about psi phenomena and then explain how it might be possible for a person to psychically funcon in a manner that produces the observed ITC. You see, that is one of my points. I must include psi inﬂuences in order to explain ITC because the most viable explanaon for ITC begins with the most viable explanaon for psi funconing. I look to the work of parapsychologists so that I can beer understand ITC. First Sight Theory is a good example. (8) As I connue to explain ITC, it is necessary to at least aempt an explanaon of why a loved one’s voice or likeness appears in some

ITC examples. The best explanaon I can ﬁnd is the Survival Hypothesis, so I have added it to the explanaon. Somewhere around the twelh year of my explaining these phenomena, I gave up on science and developed the Trans-Survival Hypothesis. Few people concerned with transcommunicaon have the necessary understanding of these complementary subject areas to develop a unifying model. As a director of an internaonal organizaon concerned with these phenomena, it seems a form of derelicon of duty not to at least propose a model. In my experience, having something for others to change is a lot easier than beginning with a blank page. As such, the Implicit Cosmology is my oﬀering for something to change. I invite you to help evolve it into a form more people in our community can accept as a working hypothesis. Be mindful of the cosmology’s narrow scope. While it probably can be applied to all forms of trans-etheric phenomena, including reincarnaon and near-death experiences, it is speciﬁcally designed to address survival from the perspecve of transcommunicaon. Organization of this Book This is the introducon to a set of discourses wrien to explain the major concepts which constute the Implicit Cosmology. The project began as an eﬀort to update the parapsychological version of the Survival Hypothesis while including informaon related to transcommunicaon. While the result of that inial eﬀort is the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse, that hypothesis is really just an argument to support the Implicit Cosmology. Aer the inial dra of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis,

I realized that too many of the foundaon concepts were unlikely to be understood without further explanaon. Thus, I wrote a series of discourses to explain those foundaon concepts. Together the discourses in this secon constute the hypothesis, supporng explanaons and a cosmology describing reality based on the hypothesis. When construcng a cosmology, one must take sides. The point of view in this book is that the evidence suﬃciently supports Survival over Super- Psi. Wring from the point of view of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis has resulted in a rather speciﬁc vocabulary, or more correctly, a unique choice of word meanings. I aempt to explain key terms as I ﬁrst use them in each discourse, but remember that the Glossary of Terms is always available. The cosmology should be considered a closed system. By that I mean the point of view represented by the terminology, internal references and way of describing these concepts are all interdependent. This circular reference has made wring a clear and concise explanaon especially challenging. The way I have met the challenge is to repeat porons of explanaons several mes. So if you think I am repeang myself, just remember that pracce is supposed to make perfect. My Qualiications I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in electronics engineering. Also, this book is based on over ﬁy years of study, personal experience and substanal invesgaon of the many aspects of trans-etheric phenomena. While this background is substanal, you have every reason to queson this work and seek

alternave explanaons. This is especially true of subjects concerning human nature. Should you have comments, quesons or simply decide I do not know what I am talking about, you are invited to contact me via the ethericstudies.org or ATransC.org contact tool and let me know what you are thinking. Alternavely, I am keeping the ATransC Idea Exchange discussion board open at ATransC.org/forum/. I enjoy informed discussion and the Idea Exchange is an ideal forum for collaboraon. Brief Introduction to Important Terms Each discourse is intended to explain a set of related concepts. The concepts are oen explained by referring to other concepts, some of which are not explained unl a later discourse. So for context, here are brief explanaons of the major concepts. Energy and Potential You will probably be familiar with cosmologies that describe reality as planes of existence and that use terms such as higher, lower, ﬁner and vibraon. You will also be accustomed to thinking in terms of energy. None of these concepts are useful in this cosmology. Concepts oen spoken of in terms of energy are modeled here in terms of potenal which is characterized as the inﬂuence of intenon. There is no electromagnec equivalent in the model, although to be technical, electromagnec energy would be modeled as an expression of intenon. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. Potenal has special meaning in that it is used in the sense of emergent form, rather than in the physical sense of a diﬀerence of potenal between two electrical

terminals. In it quiescent state, the etheric can be modeled as a nascent form of potenal. More correctly, a nascent process. The idea is that etheric, as the fundamental element of reality, is an undiﬀerenated process which is deﬁned by intenon to produce intended order. This is an etheric or conceptual equivalent of a random physical process such as white noise or the output of a random event generator. This concept may be easier to understand if you think in terms of how much a process is constrained by design. A very constrained process is not easily changed—say trying to roll a marble out of a deep well. An unconstrained process is relavely easy to change— say trying to roll a marble out of a slight depression. For instance, a radio is designed to lock onto a radio staon and eliminate noise while favoring the broadcasted message. Radio recepon is a very constrained process. By comparison, a random event generator is designed to be as free-ranging in frequency as possible. That is a very unconstrained process. In this model, the inial or quiescent state of the etheric is a nascent process which means it is dynamic but undeﬁned. It is in its most responsive state to intenon. One praccal result of this is that random noise is a ferle environment for the formaon of transform EVP or precipitated form. The concepts of higher or lower, as they are used in New Age conversaons to compare an ethereal being with an

average physical person, are modeled as having more or less perceptual agreement and understanding. One is not at the same vibraon as another. Instead, two people’s worldviews are more or less in agreement (perceptual agreement). Reading the Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse will give you a sense of the diﬀerence. The mathemacal imaginary space is used as an analog for reality in that movement from point to point is accomplished by changing original assumpons. Those assumpons are an analog for understanding. In more tradional cosmologies, reality is modeled as a layer cake, so you can see that understanding conceptual (imaginary) space requires an enrely diﬀerent perspecve and terminology. Conceptual Versus Objective We are taught to think of the mental processes of our mind as intangible and the physical world we sense with the ﬁve senses of our body as objecve. The point of view taken in this cosmology is that all of reality is intangible, or more correctly, conceptual. We assign the characterisc of objecvity to parts of our personal reality as we have been taught from birth. For that to work, all of our physical senses must deliver informaon about what we call the physical world to our mind in a conceptual form. (Careful here: mind is conceptual, brain is objecve.) In this cosmology, the physical world is seen as an expression of life. To use a technical term, these things we call physical are ideoplasc structures, meaning they are formed as a product of thought. The perspecve I

want you to have while reading this book is that we sense the world in a conceptual way but unconsciously translate percepon of that mental informaon into objecve form. This may be easier to understand aer you read the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse. Read that in order of discourses, though. Otherwise it will make lile sense without the foundaon material. Life ield In this cosmology, Source represents the ﬁrst cause for reality and god for the purpose of this cosmology. It is modeled as a life ﬁeld. Because it is seen as a singularity from which everything has originated, it is also the reality ﬁeld. The Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram shown below illustrates the major funcons associated with a life ﬁeld. All are unconscious processes. The personality funconal area represents our immortal presence. When we have aligned our worldview with the actual nature of reality, our conscious self as our I think I am this and our personality as our I am this come to be in perceptual agreement and are eﬀecvely one (lucidity). The intelligent core represents informaon required to maintain the life ﬁeld. It is like a database that contains what Rupert Sheldrake refers to as Nature’s habit. (9) It is informed by inherited purpose which serves to bias the inﬂuence of Worldview in the Perceptual Loop. See Morphic Fields in the Etheric Fields Discourse. The aenon complex supports percepon and expression. You will encounter the funconal areas of the Aenon Complex many mes in the

book. An especially important funconal area is Worldview which represents our memory, understanding, insncts and beliefs. (Insncts are from Source and from our human avatar.) An important process is the Perceptual Loop which includes the decision to accept or reject informaon. A third state for that is the maybe result which potenally integrates visualized percepon with worldview to form new understanding. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The external inﬂuences include inﬂuences from other life ﬁelds and the psi signals expressed by ideoplasc structures. When entangled with a human in a lifeme (a person), the human’s ﬁve senses are transformed into etheric signals in the brain and experienced by our perceptual processes in the Aenon Complex. This is an unconscious process, and it is the results of that process we become aware of with our conscious self. An important input to the Aenon Complex is the Intenon Channel. That is the only conscious input to the otherwise unconscious part of our mind. Everything begins with intenon. It is up to us to intend to pay aenon, focus, noce—all of those things that we decide and then expect result from our mind. Avatar Point of View The Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse explains the avatar concept. The Life Field Complex Diagram shows the relaonship between our life ﬁeld and the life ﬁeld that is our human body which is our host in this lifeme. This is referred to as a personality-entangled avatar relaonship. It is important to note that the human life ﬁeld

is beer described as a morphic ﬁeld with a body image represenng Nature’s habit as described in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) These terms are explained in the Etheric Fields Discourse. The diagram will make more sense if you see that our human body shares perceptual processes with us. The relaonship is modeled in this way because, while the body maintains a self-image, it also inﬂuences our percepon with its earth-evolved insncts. Organizing Principles You may be familiar with the concept of Natural Law in which reality is thought to be governed by never-changing (immutable) laws. Also in that model, natural laws are part of the expression of Inﬁnite Intelligence (God, Source). As such, learning to understand Natural Law and living in accordance with it is expressed as spiritual maturity. (2) (10) In the Implicit Cosmology, Source, as the reality ﬁeld, is modeled as experiencing itself through aspects of itself. All life ﬁelds are direct or indirect aspects of Source. As aspects of Source, we gain understanding so that Source may gain understanding. We have a Prime Imperave to do so. Based on these assumpons, Source is sll learning to know itself and is therefore evolving. As Source evolves, so does its expression. In this cosmology, natural laws are referred to as Organizing Principles. The Organizing Principles Discourse provides what I believe is a comprehensive list of these principles. It is important to understand that the Organizing Principles are diﬀerent from what you may be familiar with as natural

laws. Again, consider them within the context of this cosmology. As a praccal maer, for our moment in me, they are immutable, but the model requires that they are able to evolve as Source evolves. Mindfulness The implicaons of this cosmology are addressed in the Mindfulness Discourse. The idea of mindfulness is not unique to me, but as I have studied these phenomena and spent so much of my life contemplang their implicaons, the idea of mindfulness has become my most important understanding. Our percepon is ﬁltered by our unconscious in the Aenon Complex. As I understand current trends in psychology, the fact that our decision making is based on processes thought to be beyond our conscious control has led to the idea that we cannot have free will. (11) However, mindfulness includes a technique by which it is possible to moderate worldview. So in any moment, we may not have free will (self- determinaon), but if a person has pracced mindful living for some me, then self-determinaon can come from how that way of living has produced a more correct worldview. Let me make that point another way. Think of it: our conscious self, that which we consciously assume is who we really are, is the source of intenon for all of our unconscious processes. As we intend, so will we live. The problem is that there is considerable lag between the me we intend and the me our worldview allows us to change. Worldview, represenng how we have

learned to think, is very slow to change. Mindful living is a way to consciously begin the process of aligning worldview with the true nature of reality. In a nutshell, that is the so what of this book. Developing this Cosmology Before I present this hypothesis, it is important for you to understand how it was developed. As an engineer, I am trained to look for how things work. For instance, it is not enough to say that a sound was made and we heard it. The queson that tells us about who we are, the metaphysical view, is how we heard the sound. The physiological explanaon is that bone and ﬂesh structures in our head converted the mechanical sound into a small bioelectric stream of informaon to be presented to the brain. Of course, the mainstream view for how a bioelectric signal is translated into awareness is that nerve cells and such work together to compare it with another bioelectric signal called memory. The result of that comparison is presented to the conscious mind. All of this is supposed to be biological body funcon. That is, the mainstream view is that mind is a product of brain. In my ﬁy-plus years of seeking understanding about my spiritual nature and the world we live in, I have come to see that mind precedes brain and connues to funcon as a living enty aer brain is dust. I understand current research to also say this, and so, a base assumpon in

this study is that brain is just a transmier/receiver for mind. Any model that results from this study must address the reasons that have led me to that acceptance. Mind is modeled here as a conceptual thing, meaning that it is a ﬁeld of inﬂuence I refer to as personality. Personality is the person’s intelligent core as it acts as the organizing inﬂuence for its life ﬁeld. A person’s conscious self as the I think I am this is the physical expression of personality while personality is the true I am this. In this view, the bioelectric sound signal represenng objecve sound must have an etheric component which can be sensed by the etheric personality. This component must be included in the model. Black Box Analysis Development of the hypothesis was a gradual process as I aempted to integrate each new concept into a uniﬁed model. The technique I used is somemes referred to as black box analysis. The idea is that any process can be reduced to funcons that respond to certain inputs to produce speciﬁc outputs. It is possible to design funconal areas operang in the box that will respond to known inputs to produce known outputs. When this process is used to reverse engineer products, it is important that the resulng funcons produce the desired output, but it is helpful if the new design does not replicate the example design, else there may be patent infringement problems. This is usually not a problem because, unl hardware design

begins, black box analysis is enrely a thought exercise. It must be understood then that black box analysis can produce meaningful models that are only representave of reality but not necessarily the same as reality. I am sasﬁed that this modeling technique is useful to explain the cosmology, but I make no claim to say that it is exactly the same as reality. A person with a diﬀerent background might imagine very diﬀerent soluons to the same problem. The ﬁrst step in the analysis was to locate the physical-etheric interface. (From the metaphysical view, it is the same to say objecve-conceptual interface.) Mainstream sciensts (11) (12) are beginning to agree with parapsychologists such as James Carpenter, author of First Sight Theory (13), in saying that we ﬁrst unconsciously process environmental informaon and that we only become aware of what we unconsciously think of that informaon. Paradoxically, we experience only a version of reality based on our cultural training. The interface, then, is where the conscious self generally stops and the unconscious mind begins. As it turns out, this is at the objecve boundary of the physical body. That is, the biological brain is objecve, mind is conceptual. Signals from the body’s ﬁve senses must pass through the objecve- conceptual interface, but otherwise, all of the inputs to the black box are conceptual and originate in etheric space. Outputs are expressions resulng from the percepon and expression process in the Aenon Complex and Understanding, which is shared with personality. A second

factor in black box analysis is a set of rules and implicit processes which moderate the funcons in the box. This is important when there are condional outputs such as expression. It may help for you to understand that expression means everything that comes from the perceptual process. This is based on the understanding that percepon is an unconscious mental process, while conscious awareness of the results of that process is in the form of an expression. This includes such signals as understanding, decision to speak, and selecon of speciﬁc words, emoons, vision, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasng and inﬂuence which produce an ideoplasc structure. In eﬀect, the physical body is just an input device for the percepon into the Aenon Complex and an output device for expression into physical space. The self only becomes aware of what is to be output from the unconscious as expression and what emerges from the unconscious percepon process about the physical. Consider mental mediumship as an example. Informaon previously consciously unknown to the medium is the input. A second input is intenon to access informaon. The output is also that informaon, but it is colored by the medium’s worldview. The implicit process is that there is a database funcon in the box that contains informaon which is used to color the medium’s expression. This process is described as the Perceptual Loop and Worldview funconal area in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. In pracce, for the complex system represented by reported paranormal phenomena and human

nature, many single-threaded design soluons such as that for mediumship could be proposed for the black box funcons. Fortunately, there are similaries amongst paranormal phenomena, and shared funcons emerge when they are considered together. The emergent characteriscs are idenﬁed in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, and their interacon is illustrated in the Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram. Unconscious informaon processing is accomplished in the Aenon Complex, and the output of that is referred to as expression. The world around us which we think of as real is modeled as an expression of intended order. It is important to note that, when black box modeling is used in a metaphysical cosmology, a plausible explanaon may be developed that does not correctly describe reality. While these explanaons are useful to develop the context of this cosmology, it is for you to decide to what degree the model makes sense. Six Pillars It might be helpful as a memory aid to summarize the Implicit Cosmology in terms of foundaon concepts. Because it is about reality, there are many, but these six sum up the cosmology rather well. Pillar 1, Reality: Reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds (Reality Discourse). Pillar 2, Person: A person is an immortal etheric personality entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship (Life Fields Discourse). Pillar 3, Purpose: We inherited the urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality from our source personality (Prime Imperave Organizing Principle). Pillar 4, Mind: Unconscious psi

sensing precedes conscious percepon with unconscious worldview as the arbiter and conscious intenon as the movator (Percepon and Expression Discourse). Pillar 5, Creaon: The creave process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order (Percepon and Expression Discourse). Pillar 6, Progression: Integrang acquired understanding of the nature of reality into worldview constutes progression and expands opportunies for greater understanding (Perceptual Agreement Discourse). Implicit Cosmology Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis Introduction The Survival Hypothesis you may be accustomed to is lile more than a proposal that some of the phenomena people experience can be beer explained if mind is separate from body. In that view, the brain is only a transducer between the physical and some other aspect of reality in which mind exists before and aer a lifeme. Of the contending hypotheses, the Super-Psi Hypothesis and the Physical Hypothesis are the most important. None of the versions of the Survival Hypotheses I have seen explicitly consider the phenomena of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC). Being familiar with ITC, and being both unable to account for examples of ITC with known physical principles as well as by applying Super-psi, I have compiled the Trans-Survival Hypothesis as an exercise to model reality as if Survival is literally true. In the Trans-Survival Hypothesis, a person is modeled as a physical body and an etheric personality entangled in a symbioc relaonship, with the physical body funconing as an avatar for personality’s presence in the physical. The core personality is modeled from an etheric or

nonphysical personality-centric perspecve, while the conscious self is modeled from a human avatar-centric perspecve. From the perspecve of the conscious self, personality is modeled as a normally unconscious aspect represenng a person’s mental musing and dream world. The model includes speculaon that the purpose of the avatar- personality relaonship is to permit personality to gain understanding about the operaon of reality given the constraints of physical principles. Speculaon about a purpose is not necessary for the hypothesis but does provide useful context in which mindful living makes more sense. It also oﬀers a possible mechanism by which a person might experience a more self-directed lifeme. The etheric personality is seen as having evolved separately from the physical body, while the human avatar is modeled as an organism that has evolved in the physical. In this view, the conscious self is seen as an aspect of personality which is entangled with the avatar during a lifeme. About Hypotheses The objecve of this hypothesis is to provide a context in which relevant phenomena, both mundane and anomalous, can be considered as a system for crical evaluaon. If properly developed, this should include itemizaon of what is considered to be given as inial consideraons. As a unifying model of reality, inial consideraons would include observed phenomena, the circumstances under which they are experienced, and the scope or limits to which the hypothesis applies. Next, this hypothesis should propose a way in which the givens combine to interact as a system. This includes physical

properes such as technology and human interacon. Known or proposed properes should be substanated with some measure of raonal, and if available, empirical or objecve research. It is important that this hypothesis provides predicve implicaons of the proposed theory. Ideally, these should be testable. Any hypotheses should be able to be proven wrong; however, in a praccal sense, veriﬁcaon might be paral or delayed, awaing new technology or funding for research. Considering that reality, this hypothesis might remain open for discussion for many years. Perspective Most hypotheses are designed from the perspecve of a physical person surrounded by the universe. In the ﬁrst two hypotheses discussed below, the physical perspecve constutes all of reality. Be mindful that the Trans- Survival Hypothesis is designed from the perspecve of a person standing at the hypothesized physical-etheric interface so that both etheric and physical characteriscs are considered as a system. You should also note that perspecve in terms of a physical person and an etheric person might be discussed in the same paragraph. Dominant Views of Reality The Physical and Super-Psi Hypotheses are brieﬂy addressed here to provide perspecve. There is lile sense in spending a lot of me with the Physical Hypothesis but Super-psi will be addressed from me to me throughout the book. Three dominant views of reality considered in this book are described along with their primary features. The Physical Universe Hypothesis • All that exists is the physical universe. • The universe has evolved from a singularity into what

it is today. • Life has evolved on earth into what it is today. • Mind has evolved as a product of brain which is a product of evoluon. • Memory is an arfact of mind. • When the brain dies, mind and memory cease to exist. • People have ﬁve senses: smell, sight, hearing, touch and taste. The Super-Psi Hypothesis • All that exists is the physical universe. • The universe may have evolved from a singularity into what it is today. • An as yet unidenﬁed form of space called psi (psi ﬁeld) permeates all of physical reality. • Life has evolved on earth into what it is today. • Mind exists in the psi ﬁeld and connues beyond death of the brain as diﬀerenated, residual energy. • Brain is a transmier/receiver for mind. • Thought, memory and emoons are retained in the psi ﬁeld. • People experience reality via ﬁve bodily senses that are informed by impressions from the psi ﬁeld. The Survival Hypothesis • There is a greater reality of which the physical universe is an aspect. • An as yet unidenﬁed form of space called psi permeates all of reality. • The psi ﬁeld is an aspect of the greater reality. • Mind, with its thoughts, memories and emoons, has evolved in the greater reality and connues to exist beyond death of the brain. • For a lifeme, mind and brain are entangled to produce a physical- etheric link: a person. • During a lifeme,

mind is expressed as consciousness (I think I am this) and a mostly unconscious etheric personality (I am this). • Unconscious mind is informed by the person’s ﬁve physical senses and psi signatures from the environment. • Unconscious mind expresses to conscious self an understanding of the environment as it is informed by worldview (memory, experience, human and personality insncts). Scope of the Three Hypotheses Of course, the Physical Universe Hypothesis represents the mainstream view. It does not address any of the observed anomalous phenomena and is only listed here for comparison. The Super-Psi Hypothesis is largely supported by the parapsychological community and the Survival Hypothesis is primarily championed by the community studying transcommunicaon. The Super-Psi and Survival Hypotheses will be considered here. The Super-Psi and Survival Hypotheses are described here as sharing the characterisc of psi funconing, but they are shown to diﬀer in how this is accomplished. The contenon of the Survival Hypothesis that anomalously accessed informaon may be from a sll living personality is a contradicon of the Super-Psi Hypothesis which holds that such informaon must be from a subtle energy ﬁeld containing memories of the past. The Survival Hypothesis will be described using many of the Super-Psi assumpons and proofs since the validity of Trans-Survival depends to a large extent on the validity of many aspects of Super-Psi. Note that the above descripon of the Survival Hypothesis is fairly common usage in the paranormalist community. The last item describing how conscious self becomes aware of its

environment is a relavely new concept just now becoming part of parapsychology thanks to First Sight Theory. (13) Characteristics That Must Be Addressed Any theory intended to explain reality should address characteriscs of experienced phenomena. The major categories of these experiences and the communies of interest studying them are listed here. Physical World This is the enre suite of physical-world experiences, including such mundane characteriscs as gravity, heat, light, sound, space and evoluon. Known physical principles should be accounted for so that magic is not required. Physical process might be modeled as characteriscs of ideoplasc structures, but then they need to be related to how a nonphysical intelligence might interact with them. How gravity is related to levitaon is an example. This category is addressed by mainstream science, at least within bounds of the Physical World Hypothesis. Psi Phenomena Informaon accessed by means other than with the ﬁve senses or noncontact inﬂuence is referred to as anomalous informaon access in parapsychology. This includes human abilies referred to as psychic, psi sensing or psi funconing. Examples include remote viewing, healing intenon, psychometry, environmental sensing and psychokinesis. Most theories explaining these experiences are based on the Super-Psi Hypothesis and seldom consider survived personality as a source of informaon. Transcommunication The term Transcommunicaon applies to any form of informaon passing across the physical-etheric interface. Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) is the name we use for the primary forms of inﬂuence in this category. ITC phenomena include the audible subset known as Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)

and visual forms such as images found in visual noise. ITC may be spontaneous but is usually studied as an induced form of trans- inﬂuence. Aer-Death Communicaon (ADC) is well known as a spontaneous form of transcommunicaon. A good study of this has been conducted by Bill and Judy Guggenheim who reported their work in Hello from Heaven. (14) Other forms of transcommunicaon include apports, precipitaon, materializaon, transﬁguraon and mediumship. I oen repeat in this book that parapsychologists have lile interest in transcommunicaon if it is not seen as psi funconing. Mediumship is an important excepon. A few researchers are working very hard to establish that informaon acquired via mental mediumship is at least somemes from discarnate personalies. As I will explain in this book, the model I use in the Implicit Cosmology for the funconal areas of a person suggests that all anomalous informaon access is the same and the only disncon is whether it is from a discarnate personality or from one sll entangled with a human avatar. Reincarnation, OBE and NDE Reincarnaon, Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE) and Near-Death Experiences (NDE) provide important insight into the relaonship between mind and body. While they appear to show that mind is separate from body, there remains considerable discussion as to whether or not this separaon means survival of mind. These three experiences, along with mediumship, are oen referred to as the best evidence for Survival. (15) From the perspecve of transcommunicaon and survival, the phenomena of reincarnaon, OBE and NDE are

seen as providing very important evidence (16), but there has been lile support from the parapsychological community to relate that evidence to transcommunicaon. For this hypothesis, these experiences are considered natural consequences of etheric personality-physical body entanglement. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis You might consider reading these cosmology discourses and then refer back to them while examining the references. This hypothesis is oﬀered here with the understanding that it will have lile impact on the community if it is not understood and recommended by community opinion seers. Statement of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis It is useful to remember that this hypothesis is developed and explained from an etheric personality-centric perspecve, rather than a physical body-centric perspecve. Top View As a general statement, reality exists as life and expressions of life. Characteriscs necessary for the operaon of reality are detailed in the Organizing Principles Discourse. Initial Conditions For completeness, the singularity called Source is used as the inial condion for this hypothesis. Since this hypothesis is concerned with the progression of personality, if just personality is considered, the cause and nature of reality may be ignored. Inial Condion include: 1 There is a Source as the top life ﬁeld and the top organizing ﬁeld. As a singularity, Source is the reality ﬁeld. See the Etheric Fields and Life Fields Discourses. 2 For simplicity, Source is assumed to be (at least) self-aware and curious about its nature. This curiosity is expressed as a creave process to explore its nature. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse.

The Ancipaon Corollary of First Sight Theory, which essenally states that mind seeks to ancipate events, provides reasonably good support for this idea of a personality having a natural tendency to understand its environment in order to ancipate changes. If this is a valid argument, then all else follows. 3 Seeking to understand itself, Source has imagined aspects of its personal reality and aspects of itself to experience those sub- realies. 4 The process of imagining with the intenon of understanding has produced a hierarchy of personalies (aspects of Source) as a Hierarchy of nested sub-subﬁelds. 5 In response to a prime imperave, aspects of Source express aspects of themselves with the intenon to understand the nature of reality (which is the nature of Source). This translates in an individual as an inherited urge to gain understanding through experience (progression). A Person Personalies, in this hypothesis, are the experienal aspect of reality. One of the reasons for proposing Source as part of the inial condion is to establish a purpose which might explain the nature of the conscious self. According to the model, personalies are directly or indirectly aspects of, and inherit purpose from, Source. As such, inherited purpose is characterized as a prime imperave to gain understanding about the nature of reality (the source ﬁeld or reality ﬁeld). This is comparable to the Spiritualist’s eﬀort to understand and live in accordance with the principles of Natural Law. To facilitate that search for understanding, personality acts as a creator to

express an aspect of itself into an imagined venue for learning. In this model, 1 A person is an etheric personality entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. 2 From a person-centric perspecve, etheric personality is a mostly unconscious inﬂuence on the person’s conscious self. The relaonship is explained in the Life Fields Discourse. 3 When the human’s lifeme ends, personality’s perspecve returns to some other aspect of reality in a process referred to as transion. 4 Trans-etheric inﬂuences, which are the expression of personality’s intenon, are facilitated by the avatar relaonship. 5 Lucidity between conscious self and mostly unconscious personality is regulated by a percepon and expression process represenng worldview. Purpose of a Lifetime As it was shown in the inial condions, individual personalies (aspects of Source) respond to the Prime Imperave by seeking to understand the nature of reality. As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology (which is based on this hypothesis), many rounds of aspectaon, resulng from individual eﬀorts to understand the nature of reality, will produce a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds. In the same way, it is argued that a local source funcons as an aractor for a collecve of entangled aspect personalies (aspects of that local source personality). In this model, personalies in the same collecve will share the same inherited expression of the Prime Imperave. They will express that urge to learn diﬀerently, depending on such factors as circumstance and ability of the avatar. The phrase in John 14:2, In my Father’s

house are many mansions, can be construed as a reference to the idea that there are many diﬀerent venues for learning. These venues would be the local aspects of reality I am speaking of here. Scope of Survival The queson of survival necessarily addresses that which survives. In this model, a person is a personality entangled with an avatar. Both the etheric personality and the human organism are modeled as ﬁelds. The Life Fields Discourse explains the characteriscs of life ﬁelds and the Life Field Complex Diagram illustrates a person’s funconal relaonship between personality and avatar. With this perspecve, it is clear that survival is really a misnomer. The evidence seems to suggest that personality exists prior to its entanglement with a human for the purpose of a lifeme. As such, the more correct term might be something like cycle of experience. During a lifeme, the aspect of personality, which is actually entangled with the human, is modeled as conscious self. In this view, the self shares the percepon and expression process with the human’s body consciousness. When the human’s lifeme is ﬁnished, the conscious self is free to return its focus of aenon to nonphysical aspects of realty. A process of transion from one venue for experience to another is expected. In this view, it is probably more descripve to refer to the Survival Hypothesis as the Transion Hypothesis. Of course, people are more familiar with the survival issue, and I expect the term will remain for now. This

is a brief descripon of how I see reality and our relaonship with it and our body. Standing back for a while and looking at the above explanaon with fresh eyes, I see that it is complex and very condensed. I have been working with these concepts for years and have learned to compress a lot of informaon into a few concepts. As I suggested earlier, perhaps it would be best if you did not worry about whether or not you understand my point. Read on instead! There are twelve more discourses designed to explain the details. By the me you have read this secon and Secon III on transcommunicaon, you will be an expert on Trans-Survival and the Implicit Cosmology. Supporting Material in the Form of Direct Evidence Transcommunicaon is an umbrella term used for many types of trans- etheric inﬂuences. Visual and audible forms of ITC produce important forms of objecve evidence. The examples shown here are considered anomalous in that they represent areas of apparent intended order that have emerged out of noise. Relected Light Phenomena Moving Water ITC Example: Features formed in chaoc light are considered an induced form of ITC. In this example, you may see a man facing toward your le. The image was found in light reﬂected from moving water. Anomalous features somemes found in neutral-density opcal noise are known as reﬂected light phenomena. An example of this is provided in the arcles “Faces in Reﬂected Light” (17) and “Faces in Light Reﬂected

from Crystals.” (18) Moving water is a useful medium for generang medium-density opcal noise for feature formaon. A good example is in the arcle “ITC Experiments Using Light Reﬂected from Water.” (19) See the Techniques – Visual ITC Study. An important form of induced ITC is the video loop method for generang opcal energy suitable for feature formaon. A study was conducted to determine how well website visitors are able to see features in video loop examples. The study, Percepon of Visual ITC Images (20), indicated an average of 61% of respondents correctly idenﬁed the paranormal feature. A comprehensive discussion of visual ITC is in the Techniques-Visual ITC Study. Video-Loop ITC Feature: Video loop ITC Example 1 of the “Percepon of Visual ITC Images” study. Website visitors correctly described the feature 81% of the me. See Video Loop ITC Example 2 in the Techniques-Visual ITC Study Audible ITC Phenomena Transform EVP are formed out of available audio-frequency noise. A series of studies was conducted to determine how well website visitors were able to correctly understand EVP examples. On average, visitors correctly understood 25% of the examples. Similar studies by other researchers have indicated an average of 20% to 25% correct understanding. (21) A comprehensive discussion of audio ITC is in the Audio ITC a.k.a. EVP Study. Opportunisc EVP (random selecon) are thought to be formed by psi inﬂuence on a random process to select preexisng voice fragments (somemes from a library of words). The computer soware known as EVPmaker (22)

is an example. Another example is randomly processed speech synthesis EVP. (23) As directors of the ATransC, our policy is to discourage use of this form of EVP except for research. A number of studies based on this technique failed to reproduce the expected quality of EVP. (24) Also see the Psi Research Study in the Transcommunicaon secon. Implications of ITC The fact of anomalous voices and images is well established, and mundane explanaons have not accounted for many of their characteriscs. In some instances, ITC images and voices have been idenﬁed as clearly indicang a known discarnate person. (19) Examples of ITC are relavely easy to produce by an experienced praconer, making the phenomena one of the most replicated form of induced transcommunicaon. Because of the objecve nature of the examples, we have recommended that EVP should be used as a kind of lab rat for the study of other forms of psi funconing. The nature of EVP is beer understood than visual forms of ITC, and it provides most of the supporng evidence for Survival. Common characteriscs of EVP that indicate intelligent interacon with an aware personality include direct responses to quesons, comments about local acvity and reference to prior acvity. See Unique Informaon in this discourse. Also see the Audio ITC a.k.a. EVP Study. The implicaon of ITC is that the communicang personality is the same as that of the person while sll in a lifeme, but who is now operang under diﬀerent circumstances. While praconers have

learned a lile about the nature of those diﬀerent circumstances, more has been learned from EVP about the nature of the Aenon Complex. One of the reasons I designed the mostly unconscious percepon and expression funconal areas of the Aenon Complex as I did is to accommodate the apparent inﬂuence of the praconer on the message. We see the same sort of coloring in mental mediumship. (10) See the Percepon and Expression and Life Fields Discourses. The Super-psi perspecve of ITC is that the informaon is accessed from a person sll in the physical or from residual energy in the form of memory. I agree that some examples are clearly from current memory (from a sll physical person). It is common for me to access current memory, which is a point of confusion when I am giving spirit greengs in Spiritualism. Tesng for this possibility is one of the challenges for tesng the Tran-Survival Hypothesis. See the “DoJa, no!” example for a discussion comparing survived memory and living personality as the source of informaon in ITC. Mediumship In mental Mediumship, a person who is sensive to the inﬂuence of discarnate personalies is able to convey informaon from them to people sll in the physical. The study of mental mediumship began in the late 1800s with convincing evidence of anomalous access to informaon. However, whether or not that access has been via psi sensing of residual informaon and telepathy between living agents (Super-Psi), or from discarnate people (Survival), remains an open

queson. (25) A comprehensive discussion of mediumship is in the Mediumship Study. Since there is no known way to shield from psi, the Survival verses Super-Psi queson is not easily answered via mediumship alone. However, taken in the larger context of transcommunicaon, mental mediumship can be seen as one of many forms of transcommunicaon that can be used to study the queson. While there are examples of mental mediumship that arguably support Super-Psi, it is usually the indirect evidence in this discourse that supports survived personality as the source of informaon. On the veracity of Revealed Informaon via trance-channel: Amongst the indirect evidence for survival is the formulaon of informaon received via transcommunicaon. Anyone who has witnessed someone learning how to trance-channel will have noted the diﬀerence between what is said when a person is probably trying but not actually channeling and when a person is possibly channeling a diﬀerent personality. As a general observaon, a person who is behaving as if in contact with another personality typically speaks obvious phrases intended to seem profound, oen hesitates while searching for words and frequently contradicts prior comments. When this as if performance turns into interesngly profound, smoothly delivered and consistent material, it becomes clear that a more lucid person is speaking. An important instance of mental mediumship is the contact between Jane Roberts and an enty known as Seth. Analysis of the Seth Material to determine the likelihood that Roberts was capable of producing the over 21 years of consistent, sophiscated

and metaphysically profound material is discussed in The Content-Source Problem in Modern Mediumship Research. (26) Because of clear diﬀerences in style between the abundant work of Jane Roberts, her husband and the presumed Seth, the conclusion of the study was that there is a high probability that a diﬀerent personality iniated the Seth Material. The Seth Material study cannot be applied to all ostensibly channeled material, and in fact should not be; however, it does establish that at least one instance of channeled informaon appears to originate via psi sensing from an agency outside of Roberts’ physical environment. Physical Mediumship Physical mediumship is represented by a suite of phenomena which includes materializaon of sound (knocks, direct voice) and light (spirit lights), reunions between discarnate and physical people, precipitaon (apports) and ectoplasmic structures which are somemes in the form of a discarnate person. Informaon delivered from discarnate personalies via the physical medium is considered a form of channeled or deep trance mental mediumship. Ectoplasmic Hand: An hand can be seen rising from a pile of ectoplasm at the feet of the Felix Experimental Group’s medium. (184) © Arcles providing ﬁrst-hand accounts of physical mediumship are under the Mediumship tab of ATransC.org. The mediumship of Stewart Alexander (27), Kai Mügge of the Felix Experimental Group (FEG) (28), David Thompson (29), Fay Wright (30) and Hoyt Robinee (31) have been carefully examined by skilled witnesses. Most séance room phenomena provide evidence for the existence of the psi ﬁeld, the inﬂuence of intenonality on

the psi ﬁeld (psychokinesis) and the contact ﬁeld concept. This primarily supports Super-Psi. However, reunions between discarnate and sll physical people provide a most profound form of evidence for survival. Photograph tled Conan Doyle’s Return. An enlargement from the Dr. Thomas Glendenning Hamilton collecon of physical medium, Mary Marshall. (196) © The FEG medium has produced similar cameo-like faces and some have been recognized by siers as the likeness a loved one. (184) In a Class A example, a loved one (discarnate communicator) might materialize as an ethereal form cloaked in ectoplasm to resemble the person’s body in physical life. The materialized form might walk about and feel warm to the touch just as in physical life. The materialized person might speak with an appropriate voice and say things unique to that person, somemes conveying informaon unknown to anyone in the room. This form of demonstraon is typically carried out in total darkness; however, there have been instances of the phenomena in reasonably good light. Class A reunions are not common, but they are documented experiences. During a David Thompson séance (29), which I aended, siers were treated to the physical touch of Timothy, David Thompson’s playful, discarnate child who is said to be responsible for physical phenomena during séances. It was totally dark in the room, but he came to each sier without hesitaon or fumbling and held a ﬁnger with his ny hands. While the appearance of Timothy would be considered a Class B example in terms of

ITC because the child could not be seen, the contact was very evidenal in that all siers were holding hands to account for their whereabouts and Timothy’s hands were warm, so and way too small to have been faked by an adult. It is interesng to note that the ny hands came to us from a posion some few feet oﬀ of the ﬂoor, just as one would expect when being touched by a child. Every sier in the room had this experience. (32) Such phenomena are relavely common amongst the small community of people privileged to sit with a publicly demonstrang, evidenal physical medium. As of this wring, Kai Mügge is probably the most studied contemporary medium. (28) The phenomena produced by him are well documented, oen in good red light. There is lile doubt as to the paranormality of the eﬀects he produces. While it is conceivable that an elaborate explanaon for the phenomena depending solely on psi and residual energy might be concocted, at some level of complexity, such explanaons are no longer tenable. See the Mediumship Study and the Science Commentary. Precipitation Mediumship Precipitaon mediumship is a form of physical mediumship in which a substance is psychokinecally deposited into the physical as intended form. Precipitaon art is thought to be facilitated by the medium but under the direcon of a communicang personality. Precipitated Image 1: Image on cloth thought to be Madam Blavatsky. Hoyt Robinee was the medium. (31) Precipitated Image 2: Image precipitated onto a

three-by- ﬁve-inch paper card by Hoyt Robinee. (31) It is not known who the man is, but he bears a strong resemblance to the Butler family. Hoyt Robinee is oen described as a precipitaon medium because of the precipitated images he produces during some of his public demonstraons. In pracce, pictures of people and/or animals appear on blank paper cards or pieces of cloth. (31) The pictures oen appear to be cut out of a magazine, and oen, are idenﬁed as loved ones or people important to the sier. Two important concepts associated with Robinee's phenomena are intended order and apports. In transcommunicaon, the common factor for both visual and audio ITC is a source of physical energy which is modulated with a chaoc process that can be inﬂuenced by the etheric communicator to produce an intended form. More or less random regions of order naturally emerge in chaoc processes. In ITC, that emergent order is transformed into the voice of EVP or the image of visual ITC, apparently under the inﬂuence of the communicang enty. A common characterisc of visual ITC intended order is the presence of both primary and secondary features (usually faces). Images precipitated onto paper by Hoyt Robinee typically have just one feature; however, at least in the example shown here which was received by me, a secondary feature was visible but faded within a day or so aer formaon. This secondary feature was much as is seen in video loop ITC. The images produced by

Robinee oen appear to have been taken out of exisng media. Of course, this draws accusaons of fraud, which might be diﬃcult to counter were it not for the lack of means for execung the fraud, as witnesses will aest. Also, there are other forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence that appear to be taken out of the media. The most common example of this is the apport, in which physical objects are taken from one part of the world and deposited in another in an apparent process of dematerializaon, movement in the etheric, and materializaon in the new locaon. Some examples of EVP and visual ITC also seem to have been taken from exisng media, seemingly supporng the apport theory. See Apports in the Nature of Transcommunicaon Study. Precipitaon phenomena represent a possible energy-saving approach to transcommunicaon because they typically produce objects (images, thoughts, words, things) that have been previously embodied in the physical. In the Implicit Cosmology, I argue that the physical expression of intended informaon requires the avatar relaonship. This objecve expression of trans-etheric inﬂuence is also apparently constrained by physical principles and appears to have physical energy limitaons. In the transform form of objecve inﬂuence, the physical principle of stochasc ampliﬁcaon is an example. Apports may represent an alternave energy saving technique, but expression of the apported object would appear to depend on the inﬂuence of intended order. Healing Intention Healing Intenon provides an important tool for the study of intenonality. In the context of this discourse, the

queson of whether or not healing occurs is not as important as are the distant, objecve changes thought to be caused by the inﬂuence of intenon on the psi ﬁeld. The veriﬁable existence of noncontact inﬂuence related to intenon is necessary for both the Super-Psi and Survival Hypotheses to be true. In the Trans-Survival Hypothesis, it is proposed that noncontact healing intenon involves a person’s expression of the intenon to beneﬁt the wellbeing of a sier, which is sensed by the sier’s perceptual process. See the Healing Intenon Study. Indirect Evidence The raonale for even considering the possibility of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is not based on the primary phenomena so much as it is on the implicaons of the oen startling ways and circumstances under which individual instances occur. An excellent example is how a response to the praconer’s queson in EVP will somemes be found in the sound ﬁle before the queson is spoken. Yes, one can resort to quantum theory showing that informaon may exist independent of me and space, but if that were true, then it should be common for all sorts of events to occur out of sequence. In fact, the vast majority of experiences are appropriately sequenal. Trans-Channel Communication The characterisc of some EVP containing answers before quesons are asked supports the model described in the Life Fields Discourse and illustrated in the Percepon and Expression Diagram. The characterisc is predicted by the contenon in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis that transcommunicaon occurs via a mind-to-mind exchange

of informaon between etheric personalies. The hypothesized communicator is an etheric personality with no physical body entanglement. The praconer is an etheric personality entangled with a human body. The communicaon channel between the praconer’s conscious self and its mostly unconscious personality is ﬁltered by the perceptual and expression funcon in the Aenon Complex. It is in the Aenon Complex that the praconer’s queson is formulated. As it is modeled in this cosmology, that funconal area is also monitored by the praconer’s etheric personality. Thus, communicaon between the communicang personality and the praconer is seen as an exchange via the praconer’s unconscious perceptual process. It is known about normal human behavior that a person ﬁrst imagines what will be asked before actually expressing the queson. (13) Based on the Trans-Channel Communicaon circuit described here, our mental processes rounely provide informaon to the etheric community of personalies as a purely mental signal prior to our vocal expression. A second point of support for this hypothesis is that the me interval between answer and queson in EVP is consistent with the me usually required to mentally formulate a queson. Of course, the rest of the story is the intelligent response which indicates a senent enty and not residual energy. Unique Information To establish whether informaon a person senses is from the physical environment or from the psi ﬁeld, it is necessary to somehow blind a person from access to physical informaon. This can be accomplished via various sensory deprivaon techniques such as blindfolds,

ﬂotaon chambers and acouscal suppression. It is also necessary to design a target for psi sensing that is not known to the research subject who is supposed to be funconing as a psychic. Since witnesses are always alert for lucky guesses, cheang and unexpected prior knowledge, computers have been very successfully used by researchers for picking targets. In that pracce, targets are selected by the computer out of a database of possible targets. The researchers only know the target aer the experiment is ﬁnished. Tesng for mediumship poses an even greater challenge. It must be possible to show that the target informaon could not have previously existed in the physical. Since there is no known way to shield from psi inﬂuence or hypothesized residual psi ﬁelds, it is necessary to design an event which can be iniated by the researcher without knowing the exact nature of the event. Finally, me and distance are thought not to exist in psi space (nonlocal and nontemporal). The everywhere is here characterisc of psi space (the etheric) has been demonstrated in EVP, but from my study, the all me is now characterisc is quesonable. I expect presenment is explainable as the trans-channel communicaon. Longer-term futures are probably explainable with the concept of potenal thoughorms. In that, the expression of intenon produces the potenal for many possible futures. These are represented by potenal thoughorms which may be psychically sensed. This might also help explain why some predicons fail to occur. Nonlocality means that having a

person in another room or another country makes no diﬀerence when it comes to psi sensing. The nontemporal characterisc would mean that, if anyone ever becomes aware of the target for psi sensing, that informaon would become available to the psychic during the experiment. This means that, given a nonlocal and nontemporal nature of psi space, it is probably impossible to design a laboratory test that would assure the informaon came from a discarnate personality. A Possible White Crow EVP can be induced in that oen quesons can be asked by the praconer or an interested observer and answered by the possibly discarnate personality. Somemes EVP are clearly a spontaneous response to an unexpected situaon in the physical. An example of intelligent interacon involving previously unknown informaon is the “Doja, no!” EVP recorded by Martha Copeland. (33) Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, transioned as a young woman and Martha assumed care for her dog, Doja. Martha had accidentally le Doja in the house when she le to go shopping. It was her habit at the me to always leave her voice-acvated digital recorder turned on, and so it was le on in the house with the dog. No one was in the house except for the animals. Doja tore up a poed plant and made a great mess. You can hear an EVP from Cathy as she scolds the dog saying, “Doja, no!” Discarnate Cathy scolding her sll physical dog is an example of an EVP in which no physical person

was aware of the dog’s behavior. Even if Martha had been aware of the dog’s acons, she would not have had the technological wherewithal to manufacture Cathy’s voice saying the dog’s name in a scolding tone. It is possible to conceive of other alternave explanaons such as psychic access to informaon. For instance, a person might have snuck into Martha’s home and seen the dog tearing up the plant. Martha could then have psychically sensed what the person witnessed, and thinking how Cathy would have scolded her dog, unconsciously created the EVP. All of this is possible within the Super-Psi Hypothesis. A single instance of the “Doja, no!” type of EVP could be set aside as an anomaly amongst anomalies—an outlier to be discarded. However, it is a good example of a not so uncommon form of EVP. So, while it is tempng to contrive exoc alternave explanaons, at some level of complexity, it becomes simpler to include this example amongst the collecon of experiences indicang survival. The example can be heard in the ATransC.org under the Examples tab. (34) As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, the etheric communicator is able to witness physical events via the senses of a physical person or animal. In the Doja example, Cathy would have witnessed the acvity via her dog. In a similar way, we have had a number of reported EVP that included a request for the praconer to have a mirror in the room. Thinking the communicators were seeing

them from behind the mirror, praconers have even tried wring a queson and holding the wring against a mirror. It is more likely that the communicators are able to see what we look like when we see ourselves in a mirror. Intended Order A common factor in ITC is the transformaon of broad-spectrum, chaoc energy into apparently intelligently intended features, such as the voice in EVP (21) and faces in visual ITC. (20) Current research is showing that output of random event generators increase in order when in the presence of strongly expressed intenon. (35) (36) There is evidence in precipitaon phenomena, such as spirit art, that the precipitaon material undergoes a transformaon from chaoc noise to intended order as raw material is apparently apported to the scene and organized as the intended image. (31) These examples suggest that the basic element of the expression is the emergence of intended order. If there is a physical mechanism responsive to intenon, and if that interacon can be seen to operate across many forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence, then it can be said that psi funconing is a common experience operang in more than just parapsychological phenomena (psychokinesis, distant healing intenon, anomalous informaon access). If this inﬂuence can be demonstrated to aﬀect formave ﬁelds, then the scope of psi funconing might be extended to include trans-etheric inﬂuences, collecve consciousness and evoluonary inﬂuences. Lucidity In the context of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis, lucidity is used to describe how consciously aware a person is of unconscious

personality. This is further discussed in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse. A form of false lucidity is frequently encountered amongst new ITC praconers. This is referred to here as hyperlucidity. In this, a person claims the ability to produce astounding communicaon as if completely lucid. While there are praconers who do produce impressive examples of transcommunicaon, these exaggerated claims are characterized by a suite of behaviors which indicates a person who is sincere, but generally mistaken about this ability. Hyperlucidity is assumed to resolve itself as the praconer becomes beer informed. The demonstrable diﬀerence between imagined (hyperlucidity) and real ability (lucidity) makes it clear that transcommunicaon is an ability that can be disnguished and developed. As such, it can be quanﬁed. Animal Contact via EVP EVP have been reported containing animal sounds, mostly dog barks or cat meows. A few EVP have been reported containing English-language phrases that appear to be iniated by dogs. Etheric communicators somemes refer to family pets being with them on the other side. A relavely common form of apparion is a small animal, oen thought to be a pet that has transioned. The implicaon is that animals, certainly pets, experience transion in some form and interact with the physical much as discarnate people are thought to interact. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis supports the idea that a discarnate animal’s interacon with the physical would necessarily be via the praconer’s or interested observer’s etheric-to-physical entanglement with an avatar. However, the Super-Psi Hypothesis might explain the impression of animal communicaon

as either illusion or psi access to residual energy—a sort of energec essence of animal. There is also the possibility that a person might remember how the animal sounded and inadvertently inject those expected sounds into the media. In fact, the Implicit Cosmology uses the same life ﬁeld model for all physical life forms. The diﬀerence between a tree and a human, or even a cell of a human and the enre body, is the extent to which funconal areas are implemented, content of worldview and threads of entanglement. There is nothing in the cosmology that prevents animals from being avatars. In this view, the etheric aspect of a pet is virtually the same as that for a person and only percepon of reality disnguished the two. Also in this model, all informaon accessed by a person is sensed via the mostly unconscious perceptual process. In that, the informaon may be sensed as a gestalt thoughorm which must be translated via the perceptual Loop which is informed by worldview. Finally, the cosmology holds that EVP are formed as intended order expressed via the praconer’s or interested observer’s percepon and expression processes. As such, a message from a dog could very easily produce a human-sounding uerance in the recording. As with all of these comparisons, the queson that must be asked is how complex theorecians are willing to make the Super-Psi Hypothesis to avoid considering survival. If the animal contact is unexpected, persistent and complex while retaining the animal’s personality, then

it is unreasonable to say that its presence is illusion created by the witness? Cultural Inluence An important aspect of ITC is the extent to which a person’s upbringing inﬂuences how trans-etheric inﬂuences are experienced. This is evident in mental mediumship in which the medium must always be mindful not to allow personal impressions to color the sensed message. In EVP, there is a clear relaonship between religious upbringing and the nature of EVP recorded. For instance, a very religious person might record demon-like uerances, while under the same circumstance, a more agnosc person might record neutral to friendly messages. Trans-etheric inﬂuences are thought to begin as conceptual informaon. They must be embodied in some way via etheric-physical entanglement. It is the person’s worldview (or that of an interested observer) which is thought to color the message during translaon from conceptual to objecve form. This eﬀect is applicable to both hypotheses, but it especially makes sense if the avatar model is applied. It is also a factor moderang how literally trans-etheric informaon is understood. See Normalize In the Glossary. Personality Type It is proposed in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis that a person’s life ﬁeld is formed by a (creator) personality from which the person inherits an urge to gain speciﬁc understanding, and that a physical lifeme is an opportunity to sasfy that urge. As such, the physical aspect of reality is seen as a venue for learning. In this model, at least for the physical, a person begins at birth with

a worldview that is blank except for the inherited urge to gain speciﬁc understanding and a baseline of comprehension based on the progression of the person’s entangled etheric personality. Possibly by design, this inherited understanding is experienced by a person as a nonspeciﬁc knowing to assure unhindered parcipaon in this lifeme (thus the term comprehension rather than knowledge). A common term for this comprehension is spiritual maturity. People think and behave in diﬀerent ways that seem to be established at birth. People also experience fundamental changes in point of view as they gain understanding about the world they live in. Understanding gained through experience is a funcon of the person’s innate ability to comprehend the nature of experiences. Thus, a person who was born with greater prior comprehension (understanding) may tend to gain more understanding from experience than a person with relavely less comprehension. For instance, in the ancient wisdoms, the Major Arcana of the Tarot are designed to guide the student’s progression. The Hermec relaonship of comprehension with progression in the Tarot is closely related to the personality types described in astrology. In more modern mes, it has been noted that people tend to ﬁt into personal styles. (37) This knowledge has been an important tool for training salespeople. On close examinaon, the Tarot, astrology and modern personal styles, like the concept of intelligence quoent, are generally in agreement, suggesng the concept of increasing comprehension is a real experience for which the hypothesis should account. The comprehension a person

is born with and subsequent ability to learn and understand is not well explained today; however, it can be explained as comprehension gained by a survived personality prior to embodiment in the current lifeme. Intelligence Quoent (IQ) and personal style are two diﬀerent concepts. The commonality I am addressing here is the inherent diﬀerence people exhibit that is not necessarily related to physical ability, body type, educaon or culture. Language and Cultural Conditioning In this cosmology, the natural form of informaon is the conceptual thoughorm, but to be compable with the physical world, it is expressed in objecve terms. Also in this cosmology, the translaon of nonphysical informaon into objecve expression is modeled as occurring in the Aenon Complex, which is an unconscious part of mind dominated by worldview. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. A person is a personality entangled with a human avatar. That entanglement produces a channel, via the shared Aenon Complex, through which conceptual informaon is translated into objecve expression. See the Life Field Complex Diagram. Worldview can be thought of as a database populated with a person’s beliefs, understanding and inclinaons. Because Worldview is the moderator of the percepon and expression process, informaon that emerges into consciousness is colored by the person’s cultural training. One of the more important indicaons that this is true is the way in which informaon is consistently colored by the person. For instance, EVP are virtually always recorded in a language the praconer (or an interested observer) understands. As an

example, with the praconer speaking and understanding only English, and while recording for a Korean television crew, a Korean-language EVP was recorded. Otherwise, the praconer only records English-language EVP. The only apparent constraints on who acts as the channel for the transformaon of informaon from etheric to physical are that the person is in the physical and is aware of the communicaon. For instance, knowing that a praconer in New York is conducng an EVP experiment to contact a loved one on his or her behalf, a person in Sacramento could provide the channel by which the response occurs in the praconer’s recorder in New York. The Implicit Cosmology, which is based on the Trans-Survival Hypothesis, provides a mechanism that predicts the coloring of messages one sees in mental mediumship and the obvious cultural bias of EVP. It also provides a mechanism by which a person may modify worldview and improve lucidity with mindfulness. This mechanism can be applied to Super-Psi as well, but existence of an Aenon Complex which is shared by the human body consciousness makes considerably more sense if the source of informaon is a living intelligence, whether or not it is embodied in a lifeme. Implications of Direct Evidence for Survival The existence of anomalous voices, images and inﬂuences is well established. To be clear, I refer to these phenomena as anomalous because mainstream science does not explain their existence. In fact, these phenomena can be replicated by qualiﬁed praconers on request. The requirement of science

that experiments must be replicable is sasﬁed. A second complaint about hypotheses concerned with survival is that they cannot be proven false (falsiﬁability). I think this complaint is primarily directed toward the god concept. That is, how do we prove God does not exist? Well, in fact, the existence of a Source (god) can be considered a logical inial condion, but it is not crical to the main point that people have a nonphysical aspect which is independent of a lifeme. The idea of an intelligent inﬂuence from outside of the physical is the essence of the god concept. We rounely see such intelligent inﬂuence in ITC and other forms of transcommunicaon, and that is falsiﬁable if ITC can be accounted for by mundane means. People skepcal of paranormal phenomena are mostly arguing from a very out-of-date point of view. The mainstream seems to be sll clinging to the idea that mind is a product of brain, but as emergent understanding becomes widely accepted, mind will be seen as a psi ﬁeld characterisc of consciousness. (11) (38) (39) This is not survival. The mind visualized by this emergent understanding might cease to exist as the body dies. The point is that the falsiﬁability of survival is in the same boat as current understanding about the nature of mind. The anatomy of an entangled personality-avatar relaonship is largely accepted in parapsychology. First Sight Theory (40) is an example of growing understanding that people have an unconscious nature which moderates conscious percepon.

Discussion The Super-Psi Hypothesis depends on the retenon of informaon in the psi ﬁeld and some means to access it with the mind. The following items address anomalous access to informaon. Retention of Information in Psi Space The retenon of informaon in psi space is supported with a number of concepts in quantum theory, but the applicability of those concepts is not clearly established. Psi phenomena seem like some quantum phenomena, but alternave theories may be more appropriate. For instance, research concerning the inﬂuence of intenonality on quantum-level phenomena in split-beam studies (41) clearly shows the inﬂuence of intenonality on photon entanglement, but our understanding of the inﬂuence of intenonality on chaoc systems might also explain the observed eﬀects. The expression of intenon can produce physical eﬀects, but that does not imply that those physical eﬀects explain the inﬂuence of intenon. Retention of Information in Psi Space Conservaon of energy has been proposed as a mechanism for retenon of informaon in the psi ﬁeld. However, it has not been shown that physical principles apply to the psi ﬁeld (etheric). In fact, there has been selecve applicaon of physical principles as needed to explain observed eﬀects in an “It seems like” kind of logic. Based on observed phenomena involving a conceptual-to-physical producon of objecve material, physical principles are arguably derivaves of the expression of intenon as an ideoplasc structure. Just as the inﬂuence of intenon is an etheric equivalent to physical energy, so is aenon an etheric equivalent to conservaon of

energy. In this hypothecal view, without personality’s aenon on informaon, it will undergo what appears to be a form of aenuaon in which it eventually dissipates. Apports are an excellent test for the queson of if and how physical principles apply to psi space. As the concept is understood, an apport such as a stone is a physical object that has been removed from one place in physical space and returned to physical space at a diﬀerent locaon. In eﬀect, the object is dissolved into purely nonphysical informaon, translated from its original perceptual orientaon to a new and intended orientaon, and then precipitated into the intended locaon as its original physical form. Here, perceptual orientaon is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as that of the personality expressing the intenon necessary to cause the apportaon. This is an aspect of perceptual agreement as discussed in the Organizing Principles Discourse. For apportaon to occur, it is necessary that physical principles governing the object’s behavior are suspended and then reinstuted in the new locaon. If the evidence of apports is substanated, the process appears to represent an instance in which physical principles do not apply to psi space. Access of Residual Information There is a need for Super-Psi theorists to beer explain organizaon of informaon in psi space. As I understand First Sight Theory (13), as informaon is composed in a person’s mind, it is even then a thoughorm that is made speciﬁc by a person’ unconscious perceptual process. In my experience, First

Sight Theory is an excellent model for how informaon in psi space is translated into objecve form. I am deﬁning informaon as a gestalt-like thoughorm with speciﬁc characteriscs of subject, relaonship and quality. As a mental process conceptual element of thought, informaon is conceptual in its etheric form, but its expression is objecve. The conceptual-to-objecve translaon is under the inﬂuence of a person’s intenon. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse for further explanaon of this concept. Assuming the informaon does remain in the psi ﬁeld via some as yet unidenﬁed mechanism, the best speculaon I have seen is that the informaon would be a gestalt-like thoughorm of conceptual informaon that requires the source personality’s worldview to correctly translate it into objecve form. To understand this point, go back to First Sight Theory. You may also want to look ahead to the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The informaon only exists as a concept unl it has been processed in a person’s mostly unconscious perceptual mechanism. That mechanism is informed (actually ﬁltered and translated) by the person’s worldview. No two people have the same worldview, and so, any two people will express the same source informaon in slightly diﬀerent ways. The objecve component of informaon retained in psi space as a memory will look diﬀerent to diﬀerent people. The point is that in Super-Psi the informaon is in the form of memory with no intelligent component to help someone accessing it understand the original meaning. In transcommunicaon between a discarnate person and

a physical medium, the informaon is also presumed to come to the medium as a gestalt-like thoughorm. But in a real-me interacve exchange, the source personality is able to modify the message to account for how the medium’s perceptual process might color it. This unconscious reﬁnement of informaon exchange is indirectly supported by First Sight Theory. The conceptual nature of informaon exchange in the psi ﬁeld is generally beer addressed by the Trans-Survival Hypothesis in which a sll living personality is proposed as the source of anomalous informaon accessed by the mental medium. Of course, this perspecve also needs to be tested, but at least the hypothesis provides a context for some of the more astoundingly accurate mediumisc messages. Comment It should be obvious by now that I have decided we survive physical death and then gathered informaon that seems to support that belief. It has been a life-long process involving many conceptual dead-ends and many more aha moments in which concepts complemented other concepts, eventually forming my understanding that we are at least condionally immortal. There is the likelihood that some of my conclusions just sound reasonable but are otherwise poorly conceived. Be mindful of this. The remaining discourses in this secon are designed to explain a model of reality based on survival. It is for you to decide if the cosmology makes sense. I will say that the model has worked very well for me to explain many paranormal experiences. So in keeping with the idea of a

black-box analysis, the cosmology is a prey good simulaon of reality. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 2: Introduction to the Implicit Cosmology Objective The Implicit Cosmology describes the relaonship amongst the various aspects of reality with a focus on our nature, our survival and the reality in which we survive. It is based on the Trans-Survival Hypothesis described in the preceding discourse. This book is designed to help you understand the concept of survival and Organizing Principles described in the Implicit Cosmology. As you can see in the Organizaon of the Cosmology Series Diagram, this discourse introduces the other discourses. It also includes a three-point outline intended to give you an easy guide for talking about the cosmology with others. A note about religion: This is not about religion; however, the subject maer involves concepts and terms that are also involved in religious thought. When I occasionally refer to Spiritualism, I am referring to the science and philosophy aspects of the Spiritualist system of thought and not the religious aspect. Yes, there are a few concepts that must be taken on faith as inial assumpons, but all else is derived from modeling and speculaon based on objecve evidence, sound research and well-considered logic. The Cosmology Our work is to follow a path toward progression, and that progression depends on understanding our nature. It is my intenon that this understanding will come from comprehension of this cosmology. But it will take work, and I cannot do the work for you. It is something

you must decide for yourself. According to an old Zen Buddhist saying, “Before enlightenment chop wood–carry water, aer enlightenment chop wood–carry water.” One must do the work to learn. One must do the work to test. One must do the work to understand. Study the material and do not expect to understand all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Basic Assumptions This book constutes the full deﬁnion of the Implicit Cosmology; however, with the Trans-Survival Hypothesis as the given, it can be stated in three parts. Part 1 – Source: There is a top life ﬁeld described here as Source. It is a singularity funconing as the reality ﬁeld. Source is intelligent, self-aware and curious about itself. To sasfy that curiosity, Source has expressed aspects of itself to explore the reality ﬁeld, gain understanding about it and return that understanding. Important Elements are: 1 Reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds (aspects and ideoplasc structures). As such, ﬁelds are the building blocks of reality. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. 2 Source can be considered the top life ﬁeld, and as a singularity, the reality ﬁeld. See the Source and Life Fields Discourses. 3 The range of inﬂuence of life ﬁelds is a funcon of aenon on an imagined result with the intenon that it be so (Percepon and Expression Discourse). 4 Source expresses aspects of itself to gain understanding of its nature. See the Perceptual Agreement Discourse, especially the Ancipaon Corollary. 5 Reality is ordered

by way of Organizing Principles emanang from Source and which are based on Source’s worldview. See the Reality and Organizing Principles Discourses. Part 2 – Venues for Learning: At least one way in which understanding about the nature of Source is gained is by experiencing various local realies (venues for learning) as they are maintained in the imaginaon of personalies (local sources). These personalies are, themselves, aspects of Source probably many mes removed. They act as organizing personalies for collecves of personalies they express into the venue they imagine. Important Elements are: 1 Venues for learning such as the physical are imagined with speciﬁc traits intended to enable experiences which will lead to desired understanding. 2 Expression of these venues may be a cooperave eﬀort by many local creator enes. 3 A collecve may be thought of as all of the children aspects of a local source personality. 4 The creave expression produces a thread of entanglement between the source and its expression represenng intenon and inherited purpose. Thus: a As children aspects gain in intended understanding, they are aracted toward their source. See the Perceptual Agreement Discourse. b Children aspects beneﬁt by cooperang with other members of the collecve. Part 3 – Person: An aspect of a local source is expressed into this physical venue for learning to be entangled with a human avatar at the moment of the human’s birth. The resulng person has self-determinaon bounded (informed) by an inherited urge to gain the understanding intended by its

source. When the human is no longer able to sustain the personality’s conscious self in the physical, depending on its percepon as moderated by worldview, personality either returns its understanding to its source personality or enters into a new lifeme in the physical or an alternave venue via a process described as transion. Important Elements are: 1 In the avatar relaonship, human insncts are part of the person’s worldview. 2 The person’s maturity is a funcon of how well the human insncts are managed. 3 Perceptual agreement is the measure of personality’s progression back to Source. The best measure of perceptual agreement is the extent to which worldview is in agreement with the actual nature of reality. 4 The anatomy of a person can be described as three major funconal areas, all of which are nonphysical except for the human body: a The core intelligence organizing the life ﬁeld of the person is the mostly unconscious personality. It is the immortal aspect and monitor of inherited purpose. This is the I am this of the person. b The conscious self of the person is the I think I am this aspect. We are taught from birth that we are our body, and have learned to think of what we sense with the body’s senses as the enre reality. Conscious self is the source of intenon which is the primary modiﬁer of the percepon and expression process. c The mostly unconscious percepon and expression funconal areas are informed by worldview to

express the person’s learned sense of reality to the conscious self. Intenon is capable of modifying worldview. Lucidity is a measure of how aware conscious self is of the percepon and expression process. See the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse. Read On The Implicit Cosmology applies to every aspect of who we are, the relaonship of our mind with the body we inhabit during a lifeme, the relaonship of conscious self as I think I am this with unconscious mind as I am this and the nature of the reality our immortal aspect inhabits. That is a lot to condense into three parts, but they do outline the essence of what you will learn in the rest of this book. An intellectually lazy person will tell you that “We can never know.” As you read on, you will see that believing in this self-defeang phrase simply gives away your personal power and defeats any hope of fulﬁlling your purpose. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 3: Organizing Principles Orientation Before I focus on the mechanics of reality, it is a good idea to describe how reality is modeled in general terms. Source is seen as a singularity in the form of a life ﬁeld. That life ﬁeld is our reality ﬁeld. What that means is that everything is in Source, and the operaon of Source is the operaon of reality. You and I are products of that operaon as is our physical universe. Every instance of life is modeled as a life ﬁeld. As such,

life ﬁelds are fractals based on the Source life ﬁeld. Life ﬁelds have funconal areas which are more or less acve in each instance of life. The Life Fields Discourse explains these funconal areas. The Percepon and Expression Discourse explains the interacons of life ﬁeld funconal areas. As building blocks of the physical, atoms have component parts that are more or less used, depending on the atom’s funcon (oxygen, iron, uranium). In the same way, life ﬁelds are building blocks of the greater reality and their component parts are more or less used depending on the life ﬁeld’s funcon. As with the principles governing the behavior of atoms, an assumpon that follows from the Implicit Cosmology is that the operaon of reality is governed by principles which are the same throughout reality. In a maer of speaking, this is the god assumpon shared by most if not all religions. The diﬀerence is that Source is not modeled as a divine being. It is seen as being impersonal, except that life inherits purpose and funconal characteriscs form Source. The funconal characteriscs are inherited from Source by way of the process of aspectaon. Via that process, there are child versions of Source which are in every way the same as Source. (Life is a fractal and Source is the top fractal.) The only diﬀerence appears to be that Source iniated purpose and its children inherited that purpose with the added urge to return understanding about the nature of reality to Source. The

fundamental form in reality is the ﬁeld. Source is a life ﬁeld which contains funconal areas which are also expressed as ﬁelds. You will see this if you review the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. Given the assumpon that Source seeks to understand its nature, as Source gains understanding of itself, it is reasonable to expect these Organizing Principles to evolve. However, for our purpose, they may as well be immutable. Considered in a diﬀerent way, if reality is ordered, then there must be inﬂuences that accomplish and maintain that order. This discourse describes the principles that appear to control the organizaon of reality. I have made no aempt to incorporate the usual principles of Natural Law. One reason for this is that this cosmology is designed from a personality-centric perspecve, and the principles of Natural Law are designed more from a person or body-centric perspecve. The systems should be complementary. Principles by Category From Source all else follows. Given that there is a Source, then the following principles logically follow as organizing inﬂuences: Reality Collecve Entanglem ent Field Evolving Inﬂuence Hierarchy Organizing Principles Prime Imperave Time Formaon Personality Aspectaon Aracon Cooperave Communies Connuity Emergent Order Evoluon Life Field Perceptual Agreement Process Rapport Reciprocity Aenon Balance Curiosity Discernment Experience Expression Focus Intenon Local Reality Percepon Personal Reality Point of View Progression Self- Determina on Suspended Judgment Transion Understandi ng Visualizaon Worldview Source As ﬁrst cause, Source is a singularity modeled as a life ﬁeld, the personality of which

is both the experiencer and formave agent of the reality ﬁeld. The expressions of that inial personality are aspect life ﬁelds which inherit purpose and understanding concerning the nature of reality. To provide a boundary for the model, the Implicit Cosmology begins with this source as an agent of creaon that is considered the inial cause from which all else has evolved. Source is not a father god. Alternave names for Source include Inﬁnite Intelligence, God (not an anthropomorphic god) and First Cause. Source is assumed to be the top life ﬁeld, and as such to have at least the fundamental characteriscs shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. How Source came to be is beyond the scope of this cosmology; however, one might speculate that Source is itself part of a collecve or that it began as an undiﬀerenated etheric ﬁeld. In eﬀect, Source is reality, and therefore, the principles governing the operaon of reality are assumed to also govern the behavior of Source. For this reason, it is believed that Source is connuing to evolve by way of its evolving aspects. The basic properes and principles characterizing reality are assumed to be the result of Source’s expression. That is, the rules governing the nature and behavior of the primal etheric ﬁeld (reality ﬁeld or Source’s life ﬁeld) are embedded in the ﬁeld itself. Some principles can be seen as being directly aributable to the properes or other principles; however, the origin of others is less

obvious. The model for Source is the relaonship between personality and its avatar. From this, Source is assumed to have the characteriscs of curiosity and intenon. In the same way that a person creates personal reality, Source is hypothesized to have created aspects of itself to explore its space; its local reality. The new space resulng from this inial aspectaon would be a subset of what Source believes reality to be. This would be based on Source’s worldview. See the Principle of Curiosity. As shown in the Progression Diagram, the inial expression is thought to have been a relavely naive and uncomplicated expression represenng Source’s nature at that me. Personalies resulng from the aspectaon would be relavely immature in their understanding of reality; however, subsequent aspectaons would be based on an increasingly correct understanding of the nature of reality (the actual nature of Source). Category 1: Organizing Principles of Reality Reality is the life ﬁeld of Source. In the Implicit Cosmology, the hierarchy of nested ﬁelds and their expressions compose all of reality. The Implicit Cosmology represents an important departure from the physical references to which you may be accustomed for metaphysical cosmologies. Because it is based on a personality-centric perspecve rather than a body-centric one, terms such as energy and objecve are beer understood as inﬂuence and expression. With that perspecve, at the most fundamental level, reality consists of life and the expressions of life. The perspecve sets the foundaon on which the dynamics of the interacon of life

with the environment can be beer understood. Early eﬀorts to model reality included parallel hierarchies, one as the experienal aspect of Source and the other as the formave aspect. People were in the experienal aspect and it was their imagining that became the matrix around which the formave aspect (nature spirit or Diva) formed components of reality. This approach was parally an eﬀort to explain reports of nature spirits and guardian angels. However, more recent understanding points to the idea that the Life Field Complex adequately explains both the experiencer (people) and subsequent expressions coming from current understanding (worldview). As for the nature spirits, this cosmology does not address the nature of the collecve intelligent core represented by morphic ﬁelds. For instance, do we sense the individual or the species collecve when we turn our aenon to plants and animals? There is much research needed to address that queson. A third characterisc of reality is the set of Organizing Principles that govern the behavior of life ﬁelds and their expression. From a body-centric point of view, the trilogy of body, mind and spirit might be translated from the Implicit Cosmology perspecve as avatar, personality and organizing principles. See The Name of Reality in the Reality Discourse. Collective Personalies related by a shared source tend to cooperate to favor the progression of mutually entangled individuals. As noted in the discussion above about reality, life ﬁelds are aspects of Source, and in turn, are source for other life ﬁelds in a hierarchy

of nested ﬁelds. The assumpon of this model is that Source is curious about itself, and so each aspect (lile me) inherits an urge to gain understanding. Many aspects are thought to be expressed by Source but not via the same instance of expression. Each of the aspect’s inherited urges is expected to be slightly diﬀerent from the others. This is shown in The Principles of Aspectaon Diagram above as the Inial Aspectaon. Fractal theory is used here, so as fractals based on Source, every life ﬁeld has the same qualies (funconal areas as shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram). However, they express those qualies diﬀerently, depending on their worldview and inherited urges. Each daughter aspect of Source is expected to explore reality via experience, and that experience is via the expression (imagining) of a venue for experience and a lile me aspect of itself to explore that venue. This is shown in The Principles of Aspectaon drawing above as Subsequent Aspectaon. Because of entanglement, daughter aspects are thought to have a common objecve which they cooperate amongst themselves to achieve. Considering how a person momentarily considers an imagined situaon in an eﬀort to understand the consequences, there is reason to argue that aspectaon occurs, but there is lile to indicate how many rounds there might be between this physical aspect of reality and Source. The important point is that daughter aspects represent a collecve integrated by the local source personality. Each collecve would be related

by the common Source (ﬁrst cause), but would otherwise be held separate depending on perceptual agreement. Also, inially sharp disncons between collecves associated with the same venue would likely be moderated as shared understanding evolves. Foundaon: This is speculaon based on the frequent asseron via transcommunicaon that the communicator is part of a group. In some instances, such as the Imperator Group (42) which has apparently made contact with many diﬀerent mediums, the group presents itself as individual personalies, some of which claim to have had a physical lifeme. In others, such as Jane Roberts’ Seth (26), the communicator discourages use of a name and idenﬁes itself as a collecve. An important, praccal result of this property is that the etheric personality of the avatar relaonship is primarily associated with and concerned with an experience of the person’s lifeme. It is part of a collecve and is able to access experiences and understanding of other personalies in the collecve, depending on perceptual agreement. Such access to potenally wide-ranging experiences could be a potent tool for personal progression. Venues for learning are probably used by more than one aspect/personality to gain understanding, and each aspect/personality is probably simultaneously using many venues to learn. As such, it is likely that other people in the world might be in other collecves. If so, it would be reasonable to think a person might have more rapport with people who are in their collecve. This is very speculave but does help explain why some people

are like our soul brothers and sisters. Also see the Principle of Cooperave Communies. A common message via mediumship is that a discarnate loved one will oen claim to be “always with you.” Hans Bender, speaking through the FELIX Experiment Group’s medium, explained that loved ones are closer to us aer they make their transion. (43) He also said that we project our presence into the physical from our natural place in the etheric. The important message in Han’s words is that, as is described in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis, our personality exists in the etheric. When our loved ones transion out of this lifeme, their aenon is freed from their avatar and they are beer able to focus on their etheric personality. So in that way, their percepon is closer to us as a personality-to-personality relaonship, if only we have taken the me to make our conscious connecon with our personality more lucid. Entanglement Personality remains associated with its expressions via aenon. In generic terms, entanglement is seen as a property inherent in the process of expression. It is hypothesized that the resulng aspect life ﬁeld or ideoplasc structure remain associated with the source personality to the extent the personality intends the expression’s connued existence. This is seen as an ordering property which relates subﬁelds with an organizing ﬁeld. The thread of aenon represented by the property of entanglement is seen to enable a top ﬁeld to organize other ﬁelds to form and remain as intended. For instance, it is

hypothesized that a human body has an organizing ﬁeld which maintains the human body image and the necessary informaon to gather subﬁelds represenng the component parts of a body such as skin, bone, cells and enzymes. (9) It is the property of entanglement that assures the necessary associaon of ﬁelds. In principle, there would be a network of links of entanglement associang Source with all of its sub-aspects, and which carries its intenon. In the same way, entanglement also funcons as the link of inﬂuence between the etheric personality and its physical body, the avatar. Also see the Principle of Evolving Inﬂuence. Fields Fields are the building block of reality. As explained in the Etheric Fields Discourse, reality is modeled as a ﬁeld which is Source’s life ﬁeld. It is in eﬀect, the top ﬁeld in a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds. Fields are the expression of personality and occur in such forms as reality ﬁeld (Source), venue ﬁelds (such as the physical), life ﬁelds, thoughorms, intenon ﬁelds, organizing ﬁelds, morphic ﬁelds (physical organism) and ideoplasc structures. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. In parapsychology, etheric ﬁelds are known as psi ﬁelds. The psi ﬁeld is usually modeled in parapsychology as a physical ﬁeld of as yet undeﬁned properes that is part of but overlays physical reality. In that deﬁnion, there is seldom reference to a greater reality. The name is used here for connuity. Technically, all ﬁelds are ideoplasc structures but the term is usually only applied to expressions of a

life ﬁeld. As such, reality consists of life ﬁelds and their expressions as ideoplasc structures. Conceptually, a ﬁeld represents a set of elements with common characteriscs bound together by a common inﬂuence. Etheric ﬁelds are regions of reality that can be modeled as a node or nexus (aractor) entangled with a set of related elements. It is useful to model reality as a single etheric ﬁeld expressed by a ﬁrst cause or Source. In this view, the reality ﬁeld is the top etheric ﬁeld, from which all other ﬁelds have been derived via aspectaon. In this way, the reality ﬁeld has been diﬀerenated as a hierarchy of nested etheric ﬁelds. Evolving Inluence Span of entanglement increases as aspects gain in understanding. Considering the property of evoluon, below, it should be noted that the human body was probably incapable of being an avatar of any consequence unl recent mes. As a speculaon, Homo sapiens were probably the ﬁrst organism in human evoluon able to funcon as an avatar for an etheric personality. The ﬁrst entanglement was probably rudimentary as compared with today. It is reasonable to expect that future generaons of humans will be able to support even more lucid associaon between conscious self and etheric personality. Clarity of the thread of entanglement is described aslucidity. Based on the comments below about evoluon, it can be seen that people who work to develop awareness of their unconscious mind are increasing lucidity, and it is hypothesized that this will tend to evolve

the human’s morphic ﬁeld so that future generaons will more easily be aware of their etheric nature by way of greater psi funconing. Animals as Avatars: It is not reasonable to assume humans are the only avatar species on earth. An interesng example of an apparent self-aware, raonal animal is the language-using parrot N’kisi. (44) The bird also exhibits apparent psychic ability which suggests greater lucidity than found in the average human avatar relaonship. Just because we do not understand how to communicate with them, and thereby learn about their capabilies, does not give us grounds to assume our superiority. At most, we can only accept that there are diﬀerent degrees of expression of the capabilies inherent in every life form. Hierarchy A hierarchical relaonship exists between Source, aspects of source and subsequent expressions of those aspects. Please refer to the comments associated with the Collecve principle, above. A physical example of a hierarchy is the world, naon, state, city, suburb, home, family, individual. In the Implicit Cosmology, the hierarchy of interest is the relaonship amongst Source, its aspects, its aspect’s aspects, ... and so on for potenally many rounds of aspectaon. There is a many-to-one relaonship in the etheric hierarchy associated with Source and its associated aspects. Some characteriscs of Source are inherited by its aspects, just as some of the characteriscs of those aspects are inherited by their aspects, ... and so on. In the concept of morphic ﬁelds, ﬁelds are also thought to combine as hierarchical collecves,

in that an organizing ﬁeld becomes entangled with sub-ﬁelds to produce organisms such as the human body. Organizing Principles Reality operates according to a body of Organizing Principles which are inherent from Source’s creave expression. As previously stated, Organizing Principles can be compared to Natural Law; however, the perspecve from which Organizing Principles are deﬁned is more etheric personality-centric while Natural Law is clearly physical body-centric. Source is modeled here in the sense of from whence it came rather than as a father god. Since reality is Source’s life ﬁeld, everything in reality is governed by the same rules of behavior governing Source and its expressions. In the same sense, it is accepted in mainstream science that the physical universe is governed by knowable principles without the need to queson why or from whence the principles came. Given the existence of Source and Organizing Principles, a logical argument could be composed to describe how the whole of reality might self-organize. How a very complex local reality can be developed based on a simple equaon and a few simple rules is illustrated in the Mandelbrot Set. See the Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse. Prime Imperative Aspect personalies inherit purpose from their source. A foundaon assumpon for the Implicit Cosmology is that Source is curious about its nature. As described in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, it is also assumed that Source responded to its curiosity by imagining itself in various situaons so as to explore their implicaons. This assumpon is based

on the mental process involved in the Aenon Complex which enables a person to consider and respond to environmental signals. See the Principles of Aspectaon and Curiosity. A personality entangled with a human for a lifeme is said to have inherited Source’s urge to understand itself, but with a focus on uniquely diﬀerent aspect of the Prime Imperave. The Prime Imperave is related to the Principle of Perceptual Agreement, in that an aspect of a personality is created with an inherited urge to gain speciﬁc understanding. The inherited urge is expected to be based on an unanswered queson. An unanswered queson is modeled here as a diﬀerence in percepon between the personality with the queson and the aspect of the personality expected to ﬁnd an answer. As the aspect gains in understanding related to the queson, it becomes more in agreement with its source. The aspect is not expected to be able to return unl expected understanding has been acquired. In pracce, an aspect might experience many lifemes in one or more venues as it gains in understanding. As a praccal maer for Mindfulness, the Prime Imperave of a person is to align personal reality with the actual nature of local reality. Time Processes are me dependent while me is relave to perceptual relaonship with Source. Time is addressed here in terms of percepon. The perceived rate of me appears to be relave so that a personality experiences sequenal me in its venue, but otherwise senses its inﬂuence as all

me is now. In the physical region, for instance, me exists for persons perceptually within the physical, but physical me is thought to be irrelevant for personality outside of the physical. Popular wisdom holds that all me is now (nontemporal); however, as I discuss in the Etheric Fields Discourse, there is no apparent way to get around the need for intervals separang concatenated events (streaming). It is enrely possible that I am unable to visualize alternave soluons for sequenal processes. I will maintain the assumpon that me exists as a relave phenomenon in this book, and encourage you to ﬁnd an alternave explanaon that works in the context of the Implicit Cosmology. Category 2: Organizing Principles of Formation Formaon is concerned with the creaon process. The following group of Organizing Principles addresses the nature of that process. Aspectation The inﬂuence of intenon on an imagined result expresses aspects of reality which are a subset of personality’s personal reality. Source’s intenon to understand itself is the queson referred to here as the Prime Imperave Principle. It is both the source of reality and the purpose for everything in reality. In this view, all expression from personality, including the personality entangled with our conscious self, exists to answer the queson. When a person imagines driving a new car, the car, its environment and the lile personality in the car are all aspects of the person’s personal reality (worldview). In praccal terms, the imagined venue is funconally a subset of the person’s understanding

of the nature of its environment. The lile me personality in the car is an aspect of the person as the person imagines him or herself to be. Here, the process of creang an aspect of something is referred to as diﬀerenaon. At one me, diﬀerenaon was treated as a principle, but the concept is beer treated under the concept of aspectaon. The diﬀerence is that an aspect of something is a subset of that something. Diﬀerenaon is a process that produces aspects. As modeled here, the expression of an aspect that inherits a degree of self-determinaon inherits the potenal to express aspects to further explore the queson. The source personality and its child aspects constute a round of aspectaon. The child aspect and its children represent an addional or n+1 round of aspectaon. See the Principle of Aspectaon Diagram. Repeated rounds of aspectaon necessarily result in a hierarchy of aspects with an increasingly smaller subset of inherited characteriscs relave to the source. Because of this, children aspects may not be the same as their parent. A source personality must have a reason or purpose (a queson) for extending an aspect of itself while the resulng aspect must have the purpose of sasfying that reason. Aspects are thought to exist so long as the source personality holds them in its aenon, and unl they have sasﬁed their purpose. A common problem in metaphysics is the tendency to expect the rest of reality to be like the physical. For instance, aempts

to apply quantum theory to etheric concepts may only make sense if reality was like the physical. While such concepts as nonlocality, entanglement and collapsing waveforms do sound a lot like experiences associated with the etheric, the posion argued in Trans-Survival is that the physical is derived from the etheric via intended order. The quantum aspect of the physical may represent the etheric- physical interface, but much more must be learned before it is safe to say that quantum principles eﬀecvely describe the etheric. Instead, it is best to say that they represent a model which illustrates how the etheric might behave. In other words, use the comparisons as learning tools, but do not expect them to accurately represent reality. Attraction The degree of perceptual agreement determines the extent of mutual aracon associang aspects of reality. Personality inherits a subset of its source’s characteriscs. Personality’s percepon evolves with increased understanding. A personality and its aspects is a collecve, the individuals of which are bound, depending on the degree of perceptual agreement. Within the hierarchy of personalies, aspects of diﬀerent collecves are bound, depending on the degree of agreement. The term, like aracts like has been used to describe this principle. It is correct in the sense that the degree of aracon is determined by each person’s worldview, which determines the person’s percepon. Aracon is not the same as entanglement. Aracon represents a mutually aracve inﬂuence based on shared understanding. Entanglement is the inﬂuence associang personality with its expressions. Cooperative Communities

An eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. Collecves are inherently cooperave communies. A person is aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate progression. Note the disncon between collecves and communies. There is evidence that groups of personalies sharing the same source cooperate as a collecve to fulﬁll the intenon of their source. This cooperaon is part of the response to the Prime Imperave. In the physical, we are aracted to communies of like-minded people for mutual cooperaon toward gaining understanding. Cooperave communies likely support people from diﬀerent collecves with rather diﬀerent inherited objecves. The intenon to gain understanding is a common factor. Cooperaon is facilitated by rapport which is established between personalies as they interact in the community. The insnctual urge to cooperate is expected to be very strong in a collecve; however, aracon to and cooperaon in a community is secondary to normal challenges of living. As an old adage goes, “Our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach.” Each member of a cooperave community ﬁlls both the role of seeker and that of teacher, simply by interacng with other members of the community. The Golden Rule states that we should “Do unto others as we would have them do unto us.” Virtually every religious organizaon has the Golden Rule somewhere in its literature. Considered from the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, the meaning is that people should cooperate with one another to achieve their true purpose. Teachers come from

those who have been taught. Perhaps a beer way of stang the Golden Rule is: Teach me as I teach you. Also see the Collecve Principle. Continuity There is one reality and it exists everywhere. There is a connuum of existence from here to Source. There are no gaps in this connuum; however, there is change from point to point along the connuum and this change tends to be stepwise. With Source as the origin, every point along the connuum is relave to the preceding point (inheritance, Nature’s habits) and informs the following point (Expression based on worldview). See Hierarchy of Nested Fields in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Emergent Order Elements of a ﬁeld tend to self-organize. Borrowing from the study of chaoc systems, elements tend to be aracted to less uniform regions of a system. (45) The result is regions of order which potenally exhibit characteriscs not found in the individual elements. One result of this principle is the idea that reality is bunchy. That is, elements of reality tend to congregate. This is a lile beyond my training, but I believe the stepwise behavior so oen found in nature is a direct result of this principle. Another important result of this concept is the idea of cycles. We experience stepwise behavior in living systems as birth or regeneraon, living or acvity, maturity, rest and transion to begin a new cycle. Of course, a lifeme is an expression of this. Evolution Everything is subject to change based on history

and current challenges. Nothing remains at rest indeﬁnitely. Everything in reality changes through processes which may be orderly, but evoluon is more likely to be punctuated throughout the process with catastrophic change in response to environmental irregularies. The Implicit Cosmology incorporates the concept of morphic ﬁelds proposed by Rupert Sheldrake in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) These ﬁelds are also more generically referred to as etheric ﬁelds in the Implicit Cosmology. The formave informaon or blueprint contained in morphic ﬁelds is described by Sheldrake as Nature’s habit. The ﬁelds cause formaon of their associated organisms based on how the organism has always been formed. Without extenuang inﬂuences, a human morphic ﬁeld should always produce idencal bodies. The addional inﬂuences of parental genes and environmental forces results in the variety we see today. Formaon is considered a two-way process in that Nature’s habit are able to record how the organism adapts so that learned behavior modiﬁes habitual behavior. The mechanism enabling new behavior to modify Nature’s habit is not clear, but there is likely a diﬀerence in the lasng inﬂuence of accidental changes such as the loss of a limb and intended changes such as learning to avoid an unpleasant experience. The process of increasing understanding of the nature of reality depends on the Principle of Evoluon. Expression also depends on it as worldview represents the organism’s habit in that lifeme. Parts of the worldview clearly follow conscious self into transion as it recovers from a lifeme. This residual avatar

perspecve aﬀects how well conscious self adapts to the etheric. As is noted above in the Principle of Evolving Inﬂuence, the link between personality and body in the avatar relaonship has probably become possible via evoluon of the human. A primive link was probably established and then evolved as humankind became beer able to comprehend abstract concepts. Punctuated Evolution Evoluon is generally considered in terms of change by way of small increments; however, there is reason to speculate that trans-etheric inﬂuences might produce larger increments of change than expected. Instrumental TransCommunicaon is a well-documented from of trans- etheric inﬂuence in which an intelligent inﬂuence (expression) causes a change in the physical. Morphic ﬁelds are etheric ﬁelds which are entangled with the physical organisms they govern. It is reasonable to argue that the inﬂuence wielded by personalies and morphic ﬁelds on physical processes is able to produce changes that would be seen as being beyond what can be reasonably expected from chance evoluon dependent on mutaon or survival of the ﬁest. The central concept of Darwinian Evoluon is that changes in nature are random and the beneﬁcial changes perpetuate the specie. As has been stated a number of mes in this book, random processes are conducive to trans-etheric inﬂuence (intended order). This is not an issue of belief. The inﬂuence of intenonality on random processes is well-documented. Also, there is nothing in the Implicit Cosmology that makes a disncon between a naturally random process of nature and a random process produced

by a random event generator. Life Field Life consists of Personality, Aenon Complex and Conscious Self organized as an etheric ﬁeld by Core Intelligence associated with Personality. Reality is modeled as a hierarchy of nested life ﬁelds with Source as the top ﬁeld. In reality there are life ﬁelds and expressions of life. Source is the top life ﬁeld. As a general statement, the Prime Imperave of a life ﬁeld is to align personal reality with the percepon of local reality. The funconal areas of a life ﬁeld as modeled in this cosmology are shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. A detailed explanaon is provided in the Life Fields Discourse. Also see the Personality-Centric Perspecve and Percepon and Expression Discourses. Perceptual Agreement Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. This principle provides a mechanism by which order can be imposed on a system without many complex rules liming behavior. Rather than some ethereal being telling us what we can and cannot do, or where we can go in heaven, this principle assures that we will gravitate toward aspects of reality which we are best able to understand. The praccal consequence is that freedom of access to the greater reality is increased by gaining understanding which is in accordance with the operaon of reality. Comprehending the intenon of the principles listed here is a good beginning. The self-liming behavior based on understanding appears to be made praccal by

the maybe state of the Perceptual Loop shown in the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram. New understanding occurs when new input is reasonably close to prior understanding. When it is, the new input may be allowed into worldview, albeit aer it is visualized in the Aenon Complex based on prior understanding. In this model, in response to the inherited urge to gain understanding, personality gravitates toward that which is familiar but with a preference for new experiences. This principle results in the existence of the Veil of Forgeulness which is the praccal consequence of the etheric-physical interface. When a personality creates an aspect of itself to gain experience, the new aspect inherits a subset of its source’s understanding. It is created with the imperave to return to its source and does so by gaining understanding. There is a requirement in Rupert Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9) for Nature’s habit to be evolved by creave soluons to environmental problems. The maybe soluon in the Perceptual Loop provides this mechanism. See the Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse for discussion of how this might look as an alternave to usual cosmologies. Process Reality is modiﬁed by way of ordered sequences of events. As a fundamental aspect of reality, process has a beginning, which may be the spark of inspiraon to do something and one or more intermediate steps such as comparing an imagined outcome with worldview. The process ends with the expression of intended order. See the Percepon and

Expression Discourse. Rapport Personalies are interconnected by links of cooperaon (inﬂuence) forming a matrix of relaonships (cooperave community). One personality’s awareness of another personality manifests as a link of inﬂuence between the two life ﬁelds that is related to visualizaon, aenon and intenon. The nature of this link of rapport depends on the clarity (intensity) of awareness and the reason for the awareness. These links are dynamic and are thought to facilitate cooperaon. Perceptual agreement is a moderang factor for rapport. Presumably, the more two people agree on the nature of reality, the stronger the link of rapport. This is something that can wax and wane from moment to moment, as one or the other party is more or less at ease with the moment. This idea is well-characterized by the book, I'm OK–You're OK. (46) See the Principles of Entanglement, Cooperave Communies and Reciprocity. Reciprocity As personality inﬂuences reality, reality reﬂects that inﬂuence back to personality. This reciprocal inﬂuence is similar but not necessarily equal to the inial inﬂuence. Personality develops a personal reality (worldview) based on percepon. When personality expresses a change of some form into the environment, the Aenon Complex introduces the expectaon to experience that change. A praccal example of this may be seen in healing intenon, in which the praconer may sense, even beneﬁt from the inﬂuence of expressed intenon. Another important example of this may be found in the negave inﬂuence that is experienced by a person who expresses negave thoughts toward another. In

this case, negave means disagreement between a worldview which enables a person to imagine the negave inﬂuence in the ﬁrst place and the actual nature of reality. See the Principle of Balance. Category 3: Organizing Principles of Personality Personality is the immortal aspect and the true I am this of the life ﬁeld. It expresses dual characteriscs of experiencer and formave agent. As experiencer, personality expresses inherited purpose to and incorporates acquired understanding from the Aenon Complex. It is oen referred to as a person’s higher self. The formave agent is personality’s intelligent core which represents the organizaon of the life ﬁeld. This is comparable with the autonomic system for a biological organism. From the perspecve of conscious self, Personality and Intelligent Core are typically indisnguishable and are mostly unconscious regions of mind. These are the principles thought to moderate the behavior of personality. Attention Aenon is a fundamental aspect of life necessary for percepon and expression. As is illustrated in the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram, the Aenon Complex enables a number of important funcons of life, of course including percepon and expression, but also the mechanism necessary to evolve worldview. See the Principle of Curiosity below. In First Sight Theory (13), aenon is an unconscious state. As shown in the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram, the Aenon Limiter acts as a ﬁlter which can block environmental informaon if it is tested as having no interest to the organism. Balance The natural order

is the middle way in which acons are in agreement with Organizing Principles. Balance is a way of looking at living in accordance with nature. Personality must expend eﬀort to maintain an extreme state. It is hypothesized to be as diﬃcult to sustain extreme posive as it is to sustain extreme negave. It is likely that true evil in the religious sense is not really possible. In theory, the state would too quickly dissipate as the system is aracted to a balanced or more neutral state. See the Mindfulness Discourse. Curiosity Curiosity is the source of aenon. An important assumpon of the Implicit Cosmology is that a fundamental characterisc or property of the life ﬁeld is curiosity. The movaon for aenon is seen as curiosity about the nature of the environment. It is proposed that speciﬁc curiosity is inherited from Source. See the Principle of Aenon above. The Ancipaon Corollary of First Sight Theory (13), reasonably translates as curiosity. I am modeling curiosity as a basic characterisc of life so that curiosity leads to aenon and purpose. Discernment Believe what you wish but understand the implicaons of what you believe. While worldview informs percepon and expression, the conscious intenon to align percepon and expression with the actual nature of reality is discernment. Suspended judgment allows personality to consider experiences without incorporang them into worldview. Discernment is possibly the most important quality one can intenonally culvate. Those who have consciously stepped on a path toward understanding make lile progress unl they

have learned to experience life without the need to explain or raonalize experience. Understanding is not a list of this is true and that is not. It is the comprehension that this is related to that in some way. Experience Personality inherits the urge to seek experiences which might lead to understanding the nature of reality. It is likely that a person’s enre reason for existence is to gain understanding of a certain aspects of nature which might only be accomplished by direct experience. In a very real sense, experience is the purpose of life, but acquision of experience should be unconsciously or consciously informed by the Prime Imperave. Expression Reality is expressed via personality’s aenon on an imagined outcome with the intenon to make it so. Intended order is the inﬂuence expression has on the environment. It may be in the form of conscious awareness of an output of the perceptual process, speech, order impressed on a chaoc process or an ideoplasc form. Expression is iniated by conscious intenon but the formaon of expression is a mostly unconscious process of the Aenon Complex. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Focus The ability to manage expression is, in part, a funcon of how well conscious self is able to focus the expression of intenon. Intenon is an inﬂuence which has the quality of focus and purpose. If the person is uncertain, distracted by environmental intrusions or harbors an unconscious fear or doubt, intenon may be condional, resulng in a poorly

focused inﬂuence on the Aenon Complex. Intention Intenon is the move inﬂuence of expression. Expression is usually described as aenon on an imagined outcome with the intenon to make it so. The coherence of the expression, and therefore its eﬀecveness, depends on clarity of visualizaon, but also on clearly expressed intenon. A useful way to consider intenon is to think of expression as intended order. In trans-etheric inﬂuences, intended order is a way of describing the inﬂuence of expression on chaoc systems as a transformaon according to intended order. The Visualizaon Funcon in the Aenon Complex is informed by the nature of intenon signaled by conscious self, but the actual form of the expression from the Aenon Complex is moderated by Worldview. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse and the Percepon and Expression Diagram. Local Reality Reality is bound for a person by the limits of experience. Following the idea that we can only comprehend what we are aware of, local reality is that part of the reality ﬁeld of which a person is aware. For a person as an entangled avatar, local reality is always a subset of the physical universe so that home, community, town and maybe country region are relavely clearly visualized by a person while a diﬀerent city and the surface of Mars might be just concepts. Local reality is seen as a true region of the greater reality, so that understanding local reality is the same as understanding a part of the greater reality. It

is important to disnguish between local reality and personal reality. Local reality is a subset of reality, but personal reality is colored by worldview in the perceptual process so that it only represents what the person thinks of local reality. See the Principle of Personal Reality. Perception Experience is a funcon of intent, aenon, external inﬂuence and worldview. Personality is shown in diagrams such as the one for the Percepon and Expression Diagram, as the Intelligent Core which manifests as Aenon. Aenon is a required state for percepon, but the Perceptual Loop process determines what is allowed into worldview, what is consciously experienced and what can be expressed. In this model, personality can only become aware of what is expressed from the perceptual process. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Personal Reality Percepon of reality deﬁnes personal reality. Currently held beliefs inﬂuence percepon of the nature of reality. A place is neutral, but two people might experience the same place in very diﬀerent ways. That diﬀerence in percepon is the diﬀerence in the two people’s worldview. The Prime Imperave of the life ﬁeld is for conscious self to align personal reality with the actual nature of local reality. Point of View Point of View is the underlying assumpons held by personality when determining how to relate to its environment. Conscious self’s point of view is based on its worldview and understanding. While every experience goes to modify worldview, worldview colors percepon of all subsequent experiences. See the Point of View

Commentary. Progression Progression is a measure of personality’s understanding. A fundamental assumpon of the Implicit Cosmology is that personalies produce aspects of themselves to gain understanding about their environment. A measure of understanding is progression from Source’s inial expression of curiosity to realizaon of understanding. From the perspecve of Source, creaon is expression with the intenon to understand personal reality. Understanding is hierarchical; the nested ﬁelds are collapsed toward Source with each advance in understanding. Based on the Prime Imperave, Source is sll learning and doing so through its aspects. Given that understanding is an acquired characterisc of personality, the worldview of an aspect must include a subset of its source’s understanding and the results of an urge to gain further understanding (targeted by its source). The theory holds that, as the aspect personality gains understanding, it becomes more perceptually in agreement with its source. Self-Determination Personality’s behavior is limited only by the Organizing Principles. Self- determinaon can be understood as personal responsibly. Suspended Judgment Increased understanding may come from unexpected or unwanted outcomes. As we mature into adults, worldview—what we unconsciously think is true about the world—is mostly populated with cultural beliefs. These beliefs are too oen local prejudices and baseless lore that, if acted on, may lead us into a less than beneﬁcial way of living. From this perspecve, the purpose of life can be described as a quest to align worldview with the true nature of reality; that is, to replace beliefs with correct understanding. Consciously not

making a decision about what we think of something is a good way to take control of our unconscious mental processes. This is a major part of mindfulness. Suspended judgement involves avoiding good-bad, agree-disagree, believe-disbelieve decisions about experiences so as to allow me— somemes months—for more informaon to develop. It is important to be responsible for our acons, including seeking to accomplish speciﬁc tasks. The idea is that realizing something other than an intended result does not mean failure. Instead, the unexpected result oﬀers an opportunity to reevaluate the assumpons on which the acons were based. Suspended judgment can be considered a more contemporary expression of the Law of Detachment. The idea of the Law of Detachment is that being set on a parcular result of an acon might blind us from seeing the potenal beneﬁts of alternave results. But there is a problem of literal interpretaon, as people insncvely reject the noon that they should be detached when virtually everything in society tells them to become engaged. The principle of suspended judgment supports a more general perspecve. Our unconscious mental processes are hardwired to make decisions. That means there is an accept, reject or narrowly deﬁned condional accept decision for everything we do, sense or visualize. Consciously deciding to replace a reject outcome with a wait and see response teaches the unconscious mind to be more lenient in the condional accept decision. This has the potenal to make the content of worldview more accessible to evoluon toward greater understanding.

Transition Experience is gained in cycles which are delineated by periods of transion. For a personality entangled with an avatar in the physical, when the human is no longer able to sustain the conscious self, there is a process of release and movement out of that relaonship. During this process personality’s perspecve changes from the physical venue for learning to some other venue. From the body-centric perspecve, this is described as dying; however, it is believed to be more correct to think of this as the movement of the conscious self’s focus of aenon to a more natural environment. Transion is a more accurate term for what is currently called death. Also see The Transion Experience in the Progression, Teaching and the Community Discourse. Understanding Understanding is percepon of reality as it is and not as it is believed to be, with emphasis on underlying principles. Experience becomes understanding as personality aligns personal reality with local reality. A fundamental concept in the Implicit Cosmology is that personality exists to experience, gain understanding from that experience and return that understanding to the Collecve. Understanding is seen as being a quality of personality, and is therefore the quality determining perceptual agreement. Understanding is a measure of progression. Also see The Nature of Understanding in the Progression, Teaching and the Community Discourse. Visualization Expression is based on the intenon to express an aspect of reality based on informed visualizaon. The outcome of expression is dependent on a visualized objecve based on current understanding

which is held in worldview. It is necessary to have a clear idea of the desired outcome. More clarity in the visualizaon means a more speciﬁc outcome. The emphasis here is on informed. The more this understanding agrees with reality, the more realisc can be the imagined outcome. Worldview Worldview is a learned response moderated by understanding. As one of the funconal areas of a life ﬁeld, worldview appears as a thoughorm containing the memory, knowledge and point of view of the personality. It is much like a database. When a person is born the worldview database is essenally empty but it has a front-end algorithm which represents personality’s maturity based on prior progression and an inclinaon toward experiences that oﬀer the opportunity for speciﬁc areas of understanding. The worldview database is populated by culture, family, media, religion and schools as these inﬂuences are biased by the front-end algorithm. It is the worldview that acts as a ﬁlter to determine how the person reacts to situaons, prejudices, beliefs, acceptance or rejecon of informaon. Worldview follows a person through transion and inﬂuences postmortem experiences. Worldview resists change, but evoluon of worldview occurs in small increments with ambiguous outcomes of the Perceptual Loop. Creave soluons to environmental challenges, if they do not represent radical changes, are expected to evolve worldview. A person shares the Aenon Complex with its avatar, which means the human’s insncts are an important part of worldview. Human insncts are especially inﬂuenal in the early part of the person’s

lifeme, but are expected to be less inﬂuenal as the person gains in maturity. More about worldview in the Point of View Commentary. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 4: Source Introduction Source is the term used in the Implicit Cosmology as ﬁrst cause for the creaon of reality. Source is not considered a God in the biblical sense. A foundaon assumpon of the cosmology is that reality is knowable. As such, the cosmology is used as a predicve model to propose characteriscs of Source that are consistent with an evolved reality. Source is deﬁned in the Organizing Principles Discourse as: As ﬁrst cause, Source is a singularity modeled as a life ﬁeld, the personality of which is both the experiencer and formave agent of the reality ﬁeld. The expressions of that inial personality are aspect life ﬁelds which inherit purpose and understanding concerning the nature of reality. The important concepts in this deﬁnion that must be developed in the cosmology are: Source is the Reality Field Reality is modeled as a conceptual domain, and a ﬁeld is characterized as a concept’s zone of inﬂuence. Fields are modeled as the building blocks of reality beginning with Source as the top ﬁeld. As such, Source’s life ﬁeld and the reality ﬁeld are the same. The ﬁeld concept is addressed in many parts of this book, but you might begin with the Etheric Fields Discourse. Personality and Intelligent Core Concepts The personality is the experienal part of who we are, while the Intelligent Core is

the formave part of who we are. In our human body ﬁeld (morphic ﬁeld), the body image is the intelligent core while the personality is the expression of purpose. These concepts are explained in the Life Fields Discourse. Expression and Perception A life ﬁeld interacts with its environment by sensing its inﬂuences as percepon and responding to those inﬂuences as expression. The two modes are governed by a funconal area described as the Aenon Complex. The funconing of that complex is informed by personality’s intenon, but it is moderated by worldview. These funconal areas are explained in the Life Fields Discourse. They are applied in this discourse to explain the acons of Source. Aspect, Aspectation and Understanding In a praccal sense, reality is a thought exercise. We sense the world around us as a mental translaon of various psi and physical signals that is expressed to our conscious self via our Aenon Complex. In a sense we create our world. This is explained in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The mechanism with which personality explores reality is referred to in this cosmology as aspectaon. Aspectaon is the diﬀerenaon of something to produce an aspect of that something. Probably many mes removed, we are an aspect of Source. This is explained in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Also in this cosmology, the purpose of aspectaon is to gain understanding. In that view, we are the imagining of a personality. We have inherited purpose from that personality, and we will sasfy that

purpose by gaining understanding about that purpose which will become part of the personality that imagined us. This is discussed in the Perceptual Agreement Discourse. All of these concepts help to deﬁne Source. I have integrated them into a single view for this discourse, but as I have explained before, understanding these concepts depends on understanding concepts that will be explained in other discourses. For me, it has been a grand learning experience. Almost every day has produced an aha moment as I realized that a concept really means more than I had thought. Please do not be frustrated if you must experience the same sort of discovery. It is worth the journey! Not Proof but Reason to Consider My moo for EthericStudies.org is Believe what you wish but understand the implicaons of what you believe. When I considered the concept of Source with this point of view, it became clear that an objecve explanaon requires that Source be bounded by some outer limit. The inﬁnity concept does not really ﬁt into this cosmology, so it is necessary to simply say that Source is a singularity that may or may not be amongst other singularies. For our purpose, reality begins with Source. While no single concept explains Source, the ones oﬀered here are complementary so that together they provide a reasonably clear model describing the nature of Source, which is, in turn, the nature of reality. As Above, So Below This cosmology includes the assumpon that reality is homogenous, in

that knowing the nature of one part indicates the nature of the rest. Hermes is said to have taught this fundamental concept around 5,000 years ago via the Emerald Tablet. (47) Here are the ﬁrst two lines of the Emerald Tablet: 1 It is true and no lie, certain and to be depended upon, that which is above is as that which is below; and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the one truly great work. 2 And as all things are from only one thing, by will of the one God, so all things have their origin in this one power, by adaptaon to their individual purposes. The Great Work is the process of transmung a faith-based worldview into one that is in accordance with the actual nature of reality. Of course, the one thing is God, but important to note is that, while Hermes has told us that all things are of God, he also said that each individual has been diﬀerenated as a unique aspect of God. This echoes the concept of life as a fractal in which God is the top fractal. As far as I can tell, Hermes relied on a cosmology that is very similar to the Implicit Cosmology. Of course, this is not proof in any way, but it is important in that modern Ancient Wisdom Schools are typically at least parally based on what is considered the Hermec wisdom. There is some indicaon that

such revealed informaon can be reliable: for instance, the evidence of ITC and analysis of some of the more proliﬁc trance channels such as Jane Roberts’ Seth. (26) Fractals Fractals are a useful way to visualize reality as it is modeled in this cosmology. A fractal is a paern that is repeated at every scale. The Sierpinski Triangle plot illustrates how an equilateral triangle is a fractal of an equilateral triangle array. (Draw an equilateral triangle, put a point at the halfway point on each line and connect those; repeat indeﬁnitely.) In the Fractals Diagram below, I refer to the largest triangle in the Sierpinski Triangle as the top fractal. The same can be said of what is somemes referred to as the Apple Man of the Mandelbrot Set. The third frame shows one of the Apple Man fractals which becomes visible as the scale is changed to magnify the set. The black area in the upper-right corner of the last frame is part of the top fractal. Also see the navigaon example In the Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse. Relang the Sierpinski Triangle to the hierarchy of nested ﬁelds concept, the top fractal can be compared to Source and the reality ﬁeld for that set. The ﬁrst round of aspectaon produced three triangles comparable to aspects of Source expressed to explore the reality ﬁeld. The next round produced three triangles inside each of the ﬁrst round triangles, and so on. Each set of three can be said to be

nested within the previous triangle. In this way, there is a many-to-one relaonship for each round. Each of the three triangles that result from the next round of aspectaon will be within a source triangle. Compare that to yourself as part of a collecve produced by a personality from a prior round of aspectaon. It is probable that there are many diﬀerent collecves sharing the same aspect of reality—in our case, for the purpose of gaining understanding through experience. Life Fields The model for a life ﬁeld is based on current understanding about the way we think and on observed paranormal phenomena. The foundaon assumpon is that characteriscs of the greater reality can be modeled based on what is known about the local aspect of reality (as above, so below). Informaon about local reality comes from mainstream science, parapsychology and transcommunicaon. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis is used as the beginning point for black box analysis (Secon I Intro.). As explained in the Etheric Fields Discourse, a ﬁeld is a set of elements with related characteriscs which are bound into a system by a common inﬂuence (the aractor). In metaphysics, a ﬁeld is bound by the extent of inﬂuence the aractor is able to exert. The aractor for a ﬁeld is probably best described as a concept. The inﬂuence a concept is able to express on the elements of its ﬁeld can be described as purpose. In a life ﬁeld, personality is the aractor. In the reality ﬁeld, Source is the aractor.

In a collecve ﬁeld, the local source for personalies in that collecve is the aractor. Morphic Fields Rupert Sheldrake (9) deserves much of the credit for how the life ﬁeld is modeled in this cosmology. As is discussed in the Etheric Fields Discourse, he has proposed the idea that living organisms are organized under the inﬂuence of morphic ﬁelds. Paraphrasing with Implicit Cosmology terminology, for an organism, morphic ﬁelds are associated as a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds in which each aspect of the organism is managed by a ﬁeld. For instance, muscle cell morphogenesis is managed by morphic ﬁelds based on how they have always been formed; skin cells are managed by skin cell morphic ﬁelds; and bone cells are managed by bone cell ﬁelds, to name a few. All of these are managed by a human being morphic ﬁeld. In that hypothesis, morphic ﬁelds have a sort of intelligence, memory which Sheldrake calls Nature’s habit, a mechanism to express that informaon on the living process, and a means to modify Nature’s habit as creave soluons for environmental challenges found by the organism. If you review the Life Fields Discourse, you will see equivalents for those characteriscs in the funconal areas of a life ﬁeld. An organism is physical while the organism’s organizing inﬂuence is etheric. This is just like the relaonship between our human brain which is part of a physical organism and our mind which is etheric. To manage the development of an organism, Sheldrake’s model requires morphic

ﬁelds to have the ability to express trans-etheric inﬂuences. My model for expression is largely based on that assumpon. Sheldrake’s model also requires a trans-etheric means of sensing changes in the organism. That is part of the inspiraon for the perceptual process described in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. An important process in both expression and percepon is the means to compare proposed expression or percepon with worldview. I have described that as the Perceptual Loop. First Sight Theory, proposed by James Carpenter (13), provided the inspiraon for the ruleset needed to make the Perceptual Loop work. First Sight Theory is based on meta- analysis of the very large number of psi funconing studies, and the non- psi parts of First Sight Theory are beginning to be recognized by mainstream researchers. (38) (11) (12) (48) Unconscious Perception Who we are is not who we think we are. (49) As the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram shows, the Aenon Complex is an unconscious part of our mind. We only become consciously aware of the results of the processes represented by the Perceptual Loop. What we become consciously aware of is based on our worldview. (11), (39) The importance of unconscious percepon is that we use the same mechanisms that organize cell formaon to develop an objecve image of our physical world. This is an emerging realizaon of mainstream science; about which you can expect to hear a lot more in the future. As I will explain later, our unconscious

percepon is complemented by our unconscious expression. This is expressed in the second assumpon of Carpenter’s First Sight Theory. Source as a Life Field Source is the top life ﬁeld, and as such, it is also the reality ﬁeld. In eﬀect, everything in reality is in Source’s life ﬁeld by way of the link of entanglement between ﬁrst cause and subsequent aspects. This inﬂuence of entanglement is a funcon of intenon, aenon and imagined outcome. A morphic ﬁeld is also modeled to place the organism it inﬂuences in the ﬁeld. This is because a morphic ﬁeld imposes an inﬂuence on the biological process. In the ﬁeld means within the ﬁeld of inﬂuence expressed by the morphic ﬁeld or life ﬁeld. A Contemplation A mental exercise explains the next step in the model. Read this paragraph and then close your eyes and relax for a few minutes. Imagine that you have just purchased a new car. Think of how it might look. See yourself driving the car. Perhaps you are driving it through your neighborhood so that your friends can see you. What does that feel like? Spend a lile me driving your imaginary car and then return to this text. This contemplaon illustrates the process of expression. The car, lile you and where you imagined driving the car are all expressions of the Aenon Complex. All that you visualized was based on your worldview. That is, you are limited in what you can visualize by what you believe is true.

The imagined scene was an ideoplasc construct, meaning that you were forming objects of reality with your mind. The scene will exist as long as you keep aenon on it. It will connue to exist in your memory indeﬁnitely. An important point is that you consciously intended to have the car- driving experience. That intenon iniated a creave process in your unconscious mind which developed the desired experience and expressed it to your conscious self as an imagined experience. Again, the imagined experience was limited by your worldview (personal reality). Except for minor modiﬁcaons logically based on prior experience, everything in the fantasy agreed with your prior experience. Emerging understanding in psychology about how people experience reality indicates that, when you experience something you think of as objecve reality—say actually driving a physical car—that awareness comes to your conscious mind via the same unconscious-to-conscious process as I described here for your car-driving fantasy. If you had not been prepared by prior experience, you would likely not have been able to tell the diﬀerence. An important rule of such imagining is to allow your imagined lile me self-determinaon so that you can gain from it as if it was real experience. It is diﬃcult to sense what an imagined being is feeling, but with pracce, this can be a powerful tool for gaining understanding. Just behave as if you sense what it is thinking and feeling. The only real hindrance is the autonomous percepon/expression process you allow for your imagined self.

You know you are doing it right when your lile me surprises you in some way. Note that the imagined person is an aspect of you. In terms of this cosmology, you are the source personality for lile me. It is likely you have conducted many such exercises, spontaneously imagining what something might be like. You can probably recall such imagining, even from many years ago. All of those lile me aspects connue to exist in your life ﬁeld. You are the top life ﬁeld for a collecve of your lile me Aspects. They exist within the inﬂuence of your life ﬁeld as part of your personal reality. Another characterisc to note is that your imagined experience occurred in your mind. It did not produce an objecve experience as we think of an experience in the physical world. I imagine my life ﬁeld as a kind of etheric balloon in which the product of all of my imagining produces a kind of contemplave reality complete with a venue for learning and aspects of me to explore the venue. Some important realizaons from these imagined aspects have emerged into my awareness. Personal Reality Just as we can develop a mental image of lile me’s world, so do we create our personal reality based on what we believe to be true (worldview). Since we only become consciously aware of what our unconscious perceptual processes present to our conscious self, we literally experience objecve reality as it is expressed by our beliefs. This

is becoming established science. (11), (39) We manage our sense of what is real by learning to change worldview. One way to accomplish this is via mindful living. In eﬀect, that is what we do while learning to understand our world. If life ﬁelds are fractals in Source’s reality, it is arguable that Source also has a personal reality and is seeking to align it with reality’s actual nature. As such, Source and all the rest of us are sll learning. That is what we do. Modeling Source As menoned above, an important assumpon in this cosmology is that life is a universal characterisc of reality. Also, life is modeled as a ﬁeld which has an I am this sense of identy I refer to as Personality. A life ﬁeld also has an Aenon Complex in which percepon and expression are managed. It is in that funconal area that the life ﬁeld’s memory is stored as worldview. This is the equivalent of Sheldrake’s Nature’s habit; however, it also contains understanding and acts as a moderator for percepon and expression. Populating Reality To establish a beginning point in this cosmology, Source is modeled as having somehow begun as a singularity with the characteriscs of a life ﬁeld. This may have evolved from some pre-reality potenal or it may be an aspect of yet a more conceptually remote intelligence. Without more input, it must only be assumed that Source exits. A second assumpon is that Source is curious about itself in much

the same way we might be curious about how it would be to drive a fancy car. The act of learning about itself is modeled as the act of creang reality. In eﬀect, Source is contemplang itself. In doing so, it has imagined itself in what it believes is its world. Such contemplaon would be mul- threaded as Source considers various aspects of what it thinks is real. In the terms of this cosmology, to facilitate its self-contemplaon, Source has created a venue for learning and created aspects of itself to have experiences in the venue and return understanding. Those aspects are life ﬁelds that have inherited from their source a degree of understanding and the urge to gain speciﬁc addional understanding. The aspect’s personal reality would be a subset of Source’s personal reality; however, because of the aspect’s experiences and eventual understanding, its personal reality would become diﬀerent from Source’s. In principle, its understanding about at least its small part of Source’s reality would be more true to its actual nature. The process of imagining venues based on worldview and exploring those venues with an aspect of self is a basic funcon of a life ﬁeld. As was illustrated in the above contemplaon, in pracce, the queson automacally created the venue; the intenon to understand automacally produced the aspect personality. Self-Organizing Reality An interesng aspect of the Implicit Cosmology is the idea that reality is self-organizing. Source discovers itself. It does not create itself. The Intelligent Core of each

life ﬁeld establishes and maintains the structural form and funcon of the ﬁeld. The rules for these are a natural result of purpose. By this I mean that requiring understanding means there must be a mechanism by which understanding may be gained. Understanding needs to be tested so there must also be a mechanism to express that understanding. And for that, there must be a process to visualize that understanding and compare it with prior understanding. These mechanisms would naturally evolve to become Nature’s (current) habit. The Organizing Principles are arguably the direct result of Source’s curiosity. The Formaon Principles naturally evolve from the Reality Principles and the Personality Rules automacally evolve from the Formaon and Reality Principles. In a cooperave community, the exchange of ideas amongst its members requires them to organize their thoughts before speaking or acng. The organizaon is based on worldview; however, expression produces feedback, in eﬀect tesng worldview. It is in this way that worldview can be beer aligned with reality. Based on this worldview tesng mechanism, the rules governing percepon and expression translate into a cooperave community rule of “Teach me as I teach you.” A self-organizing reality does not mean that there are no intelligent, purposeful inﬂuences in that organizaon. It just means that the purposeful inﬂuences are directed toward opmizing understanding through experience. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 5: The Nature of Reality Introduction Popular wisdom has it that there is one reality. By deﬁnion, it is absolute; however, a second view is that

reality is relave. The reality concept is a good example of the diﬀerence between body-centric (absolute reality) thinking and personality-centric (relave reality) thinking. The Implicit Cosmology is designed with the assumpon that percepon of reality must be relave. That is because expression is always informed by percepon. In every way that maers, reality is a funcon of our percepon of the nature of the world in which we live. Psychologists will tell you that our percepon of me, distance, even meaning is a funcon of many factors such as personal stress and enthusiasm. All of these factors go to modify the content of worldview and the Accept, Reject, Maybe decision of the Perceptual Loop. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The Name of Reality It may be helpful to list the various types of reality discussed in this discourse. As you read this, the key point to consider is that reality is relave to worldview and worldview is relave to experience. The fruit of this dependency is understanding. Baseline Reality Source’s percepon of reality (the Reality Field) converges on a potenal reality represented by organizing Principles. Perceived aspects of reality will converge on the baseline, but are not expected to coincide. Source’s life ﬁeld is the Reality Field and is Source’s personal reality. Since the cosmology describes the educaon of Source about itself, the reality ﬁled is expected to evolve as understanding increases. This should include an evoluon of Organizing Principles. As is illustrated in the Limits of Understanding Diagram,

understanding is an evolving inﬂuence in the Reality Field. Presumably, there is a naturally occurring baseline or end stage in which Source’s increasing understanding of itself converges in an asymptoc manner toward a form of stability in which the inﬂuence of all of the Organizing Principles achieve a stable state of equilibrium. Percepon of the Reality Field, how close it is to baseline reality, will not be uniform. Source will have a less informed percepon of itself, while some aspects, probably many rounds removed, can be expected to have acquired a more sophiscated understanding of reality. There does not seem to be suﬃcient informaon to speculate about what might happen when baseline stability is achieved. My sense is that the lifecycle of a person is something of a standard model for the life ﬁeld fractal. If that is true, the stability means old age. At some point in Source’s evoluon, I would expect to see something that generates a next generaon Source. For those of you who are interested in Zero-Point Energy, the diﬀerence between local and baseline reality would represent potenal future as it is being shaped by increasing understanding of the collecve. It might be interesng to speculate about the nature of that potenal. Local Reality Reality is bounded for a person by the limits of experience. We can only comprehend that which we are aware of. As such, local reality is that part of the reality ﬁeld of which a person is aware. For person as an

entangled avatar, local reality is always a subset of the physical universe. Home, community, town and maybe country and region are relavely clearly visualized while a diﬀerent city and the surface of Mars might be just concepts. Local reality is seen as a true region of the greater reality, so that understanding local reality is the same as understanding a part of the greater reality. Personal Reality Worldview deﬁnes personal reality. Currently held beliefs inﬂuence percepon of the nature of reality. For instance, a place is neutral, but two people might experience the same place in very diﬀerent ways. That diﬀerence in percepon is the diﬀerence in the two people’s worldview. The Prime Imperave of the life ﬁeld is for conscious self to align personal reality with the actual nature of local reality. I am saying that conceptual reality is real and the physical universe is an ideoplasc expression. If that is true, the degree to which a person is aware of the greater, conceptual reality represents a meaningful segment of personal reality. Considering the deﬁnion of local reality, this becomes a fuzzy area of this cosmology since the person experiences, and is therefore, aware of some aspects of conceptual space. Differential in Reality An interesng speculaon concerns Zero Point Energy (50) which is what remains aer all other energy has been removed from a system. A possibly related term is the cosmological constant which is the value of the energy density of the vacuum of space. Both of these

concepts suggest that the physical universe has a baseline of energy which ﬂoats above an absolute zero energy potenal. Is it possible that the diﬀerence between Source’s personal reality and the physical universe is seen in this diﬀerence in potenal? Perhaps each round of aspectaon, with its resulng diﬀerenal from the baseline aspect, added a lile to this diﬀerence. If one were to go to some round of aspectaon between here and Source, would the cosmological constant be less? Entanglement A characterisc of associaon amongst a hierarchy of personalies is entanglement, which is a bond established between personality and its expression. Entanglement is an especially important inﬂuence between personality and its aspect (aspectaon). Conscious self is seen as entangled with its source personality, which in turn is entangled with its source and so on. Parallel to the hierarchy of personalies are nested aspects of reality in which the reality ﬁeld, local reality and personal reality of this scenario can be considered nested sub-realies or venues for learning. Some aspects of sub-realies would be shared venues for learning, providing shared experiences for some personalies or collecves. As such, the physical universe is seen as the physical aspect of reality in which entangled conscious selves (persons) share the general nature of the physical via their avatar but have personal points of view (personal reality) codiﬁed in their worldview. If you think of the concept of entanglement inherent in expression as threads of inﬂuence, it is reasonable to imagine reality as a matrix

of purposeful inﬂuences integrang all of the relave aspects of reality into a single ﬁled of mutual intenon. As a person, we would be a source of inﬂuence as our thoughts are expressed into the etheric, and in turn, we would be subtly inﬂuenced by that expression, perhaps as a reassuring background impression that we are part of a much greater whole. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 6: Etheric Fields Introduction A ﬁeld can be described as a set of elements with related characteriscs which are bound into a system by a common inﬂuence. Reality is modeled as conceptual, and the zone of inﬂuence of a concept is characterized as a ﬁeld. Fields can be within ﬁelds and an element can be in more than one ﬁeld. Etheric is a generic term for the conceptual space of reality, as compared to physical space, which is an aspect of etheric space. It is useful to model reality as a single etheric ﬁeld, which is referred to here as the reality ﬁeld. The reality ﬁeld is the top etheric ﬁeld, from which all other ﬁelds have been derived via aspectaon. In this way, the reality ﬁeld has been diﬀerenated as a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds. The fundamental characterisc of the etheric was once referred to in this cosmology as etheric energy; however, aer further consideraon, etheric ﬁeld is a more appropriate term. As will be shown here, an etheric ﬁeld is very diﬀerent from physical energy and has very diﬀerent characteriscs. See Energy Verses

Field in this discourse. Characteristics Etheric ﬁelds can be characterized as: Nonlocal From the perspecve of a physical observer, etheric ﬁelds are ubiquitous or everywhere at once. It may be correct to say that everywhere is here. See Nonlocal and Nontemporal in this discourse. The concept of nonlocality will make more sense as you read the rest of the discourses in this secon. Etheric Since the etheric is conceptual, terms like wave and frequency have no meaning when discussing etheric ﬁelds. Also, there is no apparent direcon or intensity of propagaon. There are conceptual equivalents to physical terms. For instance, the physical concept of direcon might be thought of in etheric terms as the inﬂuence of aenon on visualized outcome. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Association is Limited by Perceptual Agreement Since etheric space is nonlocal, all concepts coexist with personality, and movement from one to another is accomplished by changing focus of aenon. This, in turn, is limited by the person’s percepon which is moderated by the person’s worldview. Therefore, the ability to associate with any aspect of reality is seen to be limited by a person’s sense of what is real and true. Etheric ﬁelds are always an expression of personality, and are therefore limited by that which limits personality. Inluenced by Intentionality Etheric ﬁelds are responsive to personality’s intenon to express intended order. A Precursor to Objective Reality Physical energy and maer is seen as a result of the inﬂuence of intenon on an etheric ﬁeld.

That is, physical energy and maer are expressions of personalies. As modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, Source, as the top life ﬁeld, has expressed the rest of reality in the form of aspect life ﬁelds and ideoplasc structures. Origin of an Etheric Field Expression is basically the producon of an eﬀect via the intenon to make an imagined outcome real. Here, real is as it is experienced by the creang personality. In eﬀect, it is an intended change in the personality’s personal reality. The concept of etheric ﬁelds is closely associated with the idea of intended order which is a characterisc of expression. That is, when we say something, we have ﬁrst ordered our thoughts, selected the appropriate words, and spoken with a tone and loudness that ﬁt the situaon. Doing so, we impressed order on the circumstance based on what we imagined and intended. Etheric ﬁelds are also closely associated with the concept of aspectaon. In that, a personality creates an aspect of itself to experience a speciﬁc venue for learning. Reality is modeled as being a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds, in that there are many rounds of aspectaon as mostly autonomous aspects seek to further reﬁne the venue for learning. Aspects remain associated with their source by way of a thread of inﬂuence described as entanglement. Persistence of an Etheric Field Expression may be as complex as creaon of our physical universe or a life ﬁeld. Behavior of an expression depends on the source’s intenon. Expression is fundamentally

a thoughorm. That is, it has a subject and one or more related references as purpose. It is a ﬁeld in that the related references are dependent on the subject to have meaning. A thoughorm exists as long as the source has aenon on it. The lifecycle of a life ﬁeld is limited by the achievement of understanding. When the reason for aspectaon has been sasﬁed by the aspect’s acquision of appropriate understanding, the aspect’s worldview and personality is merged with its source. Here, the understanding is that our sense of self does not cease but connues as part of our collecve. Mechanics of an Etheric Field The way concepts associate as a ﬁeld is rather diﬀerent than what you may be familiar with in the more objecve terms of physical space. To understand this diﬀerence, begin by considering how we store memories. Remember a place you recently visited for vacaon. The memory of that place exists in your mind as part of your worldview. Think of it as a set of elements such as name, locaon and quality of experience. All of the elements of your memory are colored with feelings, impressions and associaons that are unique to you. The memory of the locaon exists as a sort of gestalt thought bundle which you can explore by accessing your memory of the vacaon. The thought bundles remain as latent recollecons, potenally forever. As with everything in your worldview, in some small way, they inﬂuence everything you do. The elements

of your vacaon thought bundle are entangled with one another and with you. While all of the elements in the memory exist as you remember them, they could exist in another person’s memory as a diﬀerent set because that person would remember them diﬀerently. The mental representaon of the place in this thought exercise is the top memory and the aractor for the rest of the elements in the memory. This way of thinking is not important to the memory, but it is helpful in modeling the experience. In eﬀect, all of the elements are aracted to the top; let us call it the name memory. Entanglement is an interesng concept because it represents a link of inﬂuence that aﬀects you and the element. The elements of your memory are entangled with you as the creator of their unique character. Another person remembering them diﬀerently will also be entangled with them, but the elements will represent a diﬀerence in character. Here is a characterisc of our connectedness. Many people will have the same elements in their memory of a shared experience called vacaon, but they will color them diﬀerently. In eﬀect, each creates an aspect of that place as a diﬀerent thoughorm. We all share the world, but each of us has a diﬀerent sense of the world. The links of inﬂuence represented by the entanglement are not just one way. They are inﬂuenced by the way we think of the elements of the ﬁeld. A contact ﬁeld represents just

such an accumulaon of inﬂuences which colors the actual nature of the elements. That is, if enough people consider a place holy, then it begins to take on the characterisc psi signal of what people think is holy. Someone who is not aware of the holy nature of the place can be expected to at least unconsciously sense that signal. Nonlocal and Nontemporal Two characteriscs of the etheric that need to be clariﬁed are me and distance. Nonlocal Research into the psi ﬁeld and psi funconing is showing that there appears to be no perceptual separaon or distance between a healer- praconer and sier or remote viewer and target locaon. This everywhere is here characterisc of the psi ﬁeld is referred to as nonlocality. (Actually, nonlocality is usually used in the context of here is everywhere.) A similar eﬀect is reported in quantum mechanics. And so the current model for psi is that it is nonlocal, meaning that one can think of someone in another city, and in principle that someone should be aware of this aenon as it occurs. Characteriscs of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) also support this nonlocal characterisc, making it reasonable to include the concept in the Implicit Cosmology. And, even though physical sensing is local as our mind perceives it, the actual processing of physical informaon is also in the etheric, and therefore is nonlocal. Nontemporal A concept oen included in the Super-Psi Hypothesis is the nontemporal problem. Like nonlocality, quantum principles seem to indicate that me

is not relevant. This nontemporal characterisc is also seen in the many reported instances of precognion. Researchers have shown that a person will unconsciously respond to a smulus before it is delivered. The terms they use for sensing near-term events is presenment. Also, the Global Consciousness Project (51), which is an array of Random Event Generators (REG), has detected changes in randomness moments before major events such as the 911 aack. These seem to indicate a global sense of dread before disasters occur. This is an indicaon of nonlocality and short-interval nontemporal characteriscs of reality. There are reports of astoundingly accurate precognion about events that came to pass far in the future. Let us call those reports extraordinarily precognive and ignore them for the moment. Research is showing that events produce psi signals and that people normally unconsciously senses psi signals. Current research also seems to indicate that events are accompanied by a probability signature; let us call those potenal ﬁelds. The speculaon is that any single event is likely preceded by many potenal futures, one of which eventually becomes the event, and that these many potenal futures are unconsciously sensed by people as psi signals. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse and Mediumship Study. Potenal ﬁelds would be sensed as more or less probable, depending on how imminent the related event is and the character of the inﬂuences shaping the event. An event may not occur, even though there were many potenal ﬁelds. A person would sense a potenal

ﬁeld just as any other ﬁeld, even if the event itself is aborted. Sensing and reporng the potenal for an event to occur would be seen as precognion. Also, a person would be drawn to the potenal that most agreed with his or her worldview. To emphasize this point, emerging understanding in consciousness research indicates that people normally, unconsciously sense psi signals from the environment. In the Implicit Cosmology, events are modeled as being sensed in the form of growing probabilies. A very substanal event is probably preceded much earlier in me with the emergence of related potenal ﬁelds. Many of the extraordinarily precognive reports did concern momentous moments in our history, such as the 911 aack and commercial airline crashes. It is worth speculang that these extraordinary demonstraons of precognion are actually normal sensing of potenal ﬁelds. If so, then the concept of a nontemporal nature of reality would not be supported. All me is not now; process requires me. Futurists, Long Rang Planners A good, everyday life example of how emergent possibilies can be used to produce predicons of future events is the way long range planners produce strategic plans for business. You may have encountered people who claim psychic ability and market themselves to businesses as futurists. It is arguable that a futurist is just a long range planner who consciously emphasizes intuive ability over corporate knowledge. Part of my career in the communicaons industry was in network planning. I was indirectly part of a team assigned

to produce long range forecasts involving consideraon of currently known inﬂuences such as exisng equipment, environmental hazards and capacity requirements. Those inﬂuences were modeled with a host of inﬂuences thought to be coming such as new right-of-ways, changes in technology and new government regulaons. The output of the planning process was a forecast based on the knowns and possibilies. Rather than a predicon from a psychic based on intuive ability, the forecast was ostensibly based on cooperate and industry knowledge. The results were the same. Even though forecasts were objecvely supported by objecve facts, it would be easy to characterize such a plan as a precognive predicon. It all depends on your perspecve. A good planner is able to synthesize a lot of informaon into a mental image and clearly express that to others as a general picture. From the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, the diﬀerence between a good planner and a mediocre one is lucidity. Just like a psychic predicng the future, a planner’s ability to sense the psi ﬁelds associated with a target forecast is likely a deciding factor in its usefulness. From experience, the common factor for psychic predicon and planner forecast is the ability to sort through all of the environmental signals to focus on those which are most likely meaningful for the predicon of forecast. Neither involves seeing the future as an isolated event. Future events are the product of processes shaped by environmental inﬂuences which can be sensed during the process. Energy Verses

Field The concept of energy as it is applied in the physical does not appear to apply to nonphysical aspects of reality. Instead, what stands for diﬀerences in potenal is the inﬂuence of intenonality on potenal characteriscs of ideoplasc structures. That is, form evolves out of the expression of a visualized order. It is the inﬂuence of intenon to experience a visualized order that provides the template for formaon. This is essenally the same concept as used in quantum theory in which the “quantum wave funcon is collapsed by observaon,” as it was described by Radin, et al. (41) Commonly used terms, such as spirit and spiritual energy, can be considered synonyms of psi as they are intended. Terms such as psi energy (somemes referred to as psychic energy), auric energy, ectoplasm, orgone energy and od refer to forms which are also seen as synonyms for psi. Psi or psi ﬁeld is used here as it is used in parapsychology; however, when the term psi energy is encountered, it should be read as psi inﬂuence. Hierarchy of Nested Fields As stated for the Principle of Aspectaon concerning the expression of an aspect of itself by a personality, the aspect inherits a degree of self- determinaon and is able to express aspects of itself to further explore the queson. The source personality and its child aspects constute a round of aspectaon. The child aspect and its children represents a subsequent or n+1 round of aspectaon. Repeated rounds of aspectaon necessarily result

in a hierarchy of aspects with an increasingly smaller subset of inherited characteriscs relave to the inial source. Using the fractal as a model, ﬁelds are aracted to primary ﬁelds in a hierarchical arrangement of nested ﬁelds. As an example, and using the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon as a model (9), a human body is composed of a top ﬁeld which has the memory of how humans are formed. That ﬁeld acts as an aractor to organize a hierarchy of ﬁelds represenng the formaon of major parts of the body (bones, heart, skin). Those sub-ﬁelds act as aractors and organizers for supporng formaon of cells, enzymes and DNA. Fields in the Form of ... The ﬁeld concept is applied throughout the Implicit Cosmology discourses, but usually as a reference to speciﬁc subcategory of the ﬁelds concept. Here then, is a brief list of subcategories: Etheric Field An etheric ﬁeld is a region of reality that can be modeled as a node or nexus (aractor) associated with a set of related elements, a shared inﬂuence. Reality Field As stated above, reality is the body of Source. As such, Source as the top ﬁeld is considered the reality ﬁeld in this cosmology. While there may be something outside of the reality ﬁeld, the scope of this cosmology is limited to within the ﬁeld. Venue Field In this model, any ﬁeld that becomes a container for experience is considered a venue ﬁeld. It inherits characteriscs of its creator’s life ﬁeld based on habit

and diﬀerenated by intended outcome. A venue ﬁeld may be as simple as that created by a person imaginavely exploring how it might be to drive a new car. See Venue for Learning in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. A venue may also be developed by a collecve. The physical universe is an aspect of the reality ﬁeld. It has been diﬀerenated as a subset of a personal reality held by one personality or a collecve of personalies (life ﬁelds). While we have been taught to think of these things in the physical as objecve, from the etheric perspecve they are ideoplasc structures. See the Percepon Diagram and the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Life Field Life ﬁelds are expressions of Source and inherit their formave image (Nature’s habits) and insncts (urge to gain understanding) from Source. Life ﬁelds are entangled with Source. They are etheric ﬁelds which have a personality as the experiencer, an intelligent core as a formave agent, and a worldview represenng their personal reality. In the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9), Nature’s habit which guides a morphic ﬁeld would be the worldview. The core intelligence of the morphic ﬁeld would be that which manages percepon and expression. The ﬁelds are nested in that a human organism is formed as a hierarchy of life ﬁelds. See the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. Thoughtform As a rudimentary etheric ﬁeld, thoughorms contain informaon about a speciﬁc subject. They may be nested so that a transportaon thoughorm, for instance,

may contain informaon about all forms of transportaon, while a red wagon thoughorm would contain informaon speciﬁc to red wagons and would be a subset of the transportaon thoughorm. For perspecve, elements of a thoughorm are not piled into a bundle as we have been taught to visualize physical ﬁelds. As sets of related concepts, they are entangled with a core concept (wagon, red wagon), but might originate from any source in reality. The only rule for associaon appears to be perceptual agreement: although all related concepts would be aracted to the core concept, personality would only be able to access those it is able to perceive (comprehend). The elements of a thoughorm are nonlocal. In a strict sense, all etheric ﬁelds are thoughorms, but in a praccal sense, there appears to be a diﬀerence in coherence between a thoughorm as a life ﬁeld and one that is an ideoplasc expression of a life ﬁeld. As an aspect of Source, a life ﬁeld has a personality as experiencer and an intelligent core as a formave agent. Thoughorms are modeled as an expression of a life ﬁeld but not an aspect. As such, they depend on the connuing intenon of at least one personality to exist. An important disncon between life ﬁelds and thoughorms is how the elements of the ﬁeld are entangled. Elements of a thought form may have many threads of entanglement such as the originang life ﬁeld and many category relaonship associaons. The elements of a life ﬁeld

are directly associated with the Intelligent Core while the life ﬁeld itself will have more deﬁned associaon with parent and child ﬁelds. Contact Field The Principle of Rapport is deﬁned as Personalies are interconnected by links of cooperaon (inﬂuence) forming a matrix of relaonships (cooperang community). Rapport can be considered a special case of entanglement which produces a form of inﬂuence that facilitates trans- etheric inﬂuences. A contact ﬁeld can also be thought of as a type of thoughorm which becomes entangled with a group of people. Such a thoughorm may support similar trans-etheric inﬂuences which otherwise require the entanglement of a personality-avatar relaonship. In one form, this is seen in reportedly haunted places, but more generally, it is seen in churches and places oen considered with reverence. As we learned in the ATransC, a distributed community is capable of building a contact ﬁeld. Transcommunicaon development circles can develop substanal contact ﬁelds by way of rapport amongst member siers, focused intenon and long-me associaon. It is thought that this accumulated ﬁeld facilitates trans-etheric inﬂuences. Intention Field Expression of intenon (intended outcome) is generally thought of as a thoughorm which acts as a formave inﬂuence for physical acon (moon, voice), conscious thought or an ideoplasc structure. Intenon ﬁelds persist as long as the personality maintains aenon on the intended outcome. See Intenon Field in the Percepon and Expression Discourse for more on this. Potential Field Events are accompanied by a probability signature referred to here as a potenal ﬁeld. In this

concept, an event might exist in the etheric as a potenal to occur. Each potenal ﬁeld represents the possible characteriscs of an event, so that an event that has occurred may have been preceded by many potenal ﬁelds represenng diﬀerent outcomes. Events are a product of expression and the potenal ﬁeld is characterized according to quality of aenon, clarity of visualized outcome, and extent of intenon to make it so. The lifecycle model for an event begins with the inclinaon to do something. The actual decision to act may never come and the possible way to act may take many forms. Each possible way to act that emerges into the creave process is thought to produce a potenal ﬁeld. How far into the process the event progresses determines the inﬂuence of the potenal ﬁeld. Psi Field Psi is a placeholder term used in parapsychology for an as yet undeﬁned characterisc of reality which is experienced as a medium for propagaon of intenonality. It is idenﬁed with such extraordinary human abilies as remote viewing and distant inﬂuence of intenonality. While physical energy is local and me dependent, as deﬁned in parapsychology, the psi ﬁeld is experienced as being everywhere at the same me (nonlocal) and also as being independent of me (nontemporal). The term psi is oen used in the Implicit Cosmology as it is intended in parapsychology to facilitate communicaon. It is modeled as interconnected etheric ﬁelds, each instance being associated with a life ﬁeld’s percepon. Organizing Field An organizing

ﬁeld is seen as the top formave ﬁeld of an object of reality. If the object is a physical organism, then the morphic ﬁeld model is used. If it is an ideoplasc structure, then it is seen as the ﬁeld which maintains that structure as it is sustained by intenon from a personality. The morphic ﬁeld concept depends on an interesng characterisc shown in the Organizing Morphic Field Diagram. A morphic ﬁeld for hair, for instance, may produce many diﬀerent versions of hair. In this example, the ﬁve smaller clouds in the diagram represent morphic ﬁelds for single instances of hair. The various shapes represent the types of hair the ﬁelds have the potenal to produce. The larger, overlapping cloud represents an organizing ﬁeld for, let us say, an arm. In the hierarchy of ﬁelds for an organism, the arm-organizing ﬁeld aracts the kind of hair intended for the arm based on the sub-ﬁeld’s potenal and Nature’s habit for that organism. The selecon of form based on higher ﬁelds oﬀers a way of linking of the concept of thoughorms with organizing and morphic ﬁelds. They are conceptually the same because both are etheric in nature and both contain informaon associated with a speciﬁc aspect of reality. It is the hierarchical nature of ﬁelds and eﬀect of intended order that determines which potenal in a ﬁeld is to be realized. Morphic Fields As deﬁned in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9), and in terms of transcommunicaon, morphic ﬁelds are etheric ﬁelds

that directly inﬂuence physical processes to produce and maintain physical organisms such as plants, insects and people. In more generic terms, morphic ﬁelds are organizing ﬁelds. Terms for Morphic Fields The etheric ﬁeld concept is inﬂuenced by the work of Dr. Rupert Sheldrake who has proposed the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) Since this is likely a new concept for many readers, it is important that the new terms are understood as Sheldrake intends. The following deﬁnions are from Sheldrake’s Glossary. (52) Field A region of physical inﬂuence. Fields interrelate and interconnect maer and energy within their realm of inﬂuence. Fields are not a form of maer; rather, maer is energy bound within ﬁelds. In current physics, several kinds of fundamental ﬁelds are recognized: the gravitaonal and electro-magnec ﬁelds and the maer ﬁelds of quantum physics. The hypothesis of formave causaon broadens the concept of physical ﬁelds to include morphic ﬁelds as well as the known ﬁelds of physics. Holon A whole that can also be part of a larger whole. Holons are organized in mul-leveled, nested hierarchies or holarchies. This term, due to Arthur Koestler, is equivalent in meaning to morphic unit. Hypothesis of Formative Causation The Hypothesis of Formave Causaon argues that organisms or morphic units at all levels of complexity are organized by morphic ﬁelds, which are themselves inﬂuenced and stabilized by morphic resonance from all previous similar morphic units. Morphic Field A ﬁeld within and around a morphic unit which organizes the unit’s characterisc structure and

paern of acvity. Morphic ﬁelds underlie the form and behavior of holons or morphic units at all levels of complexity. The term morphic ﬁeld includes morphogenec, behavioral, social, cultural and mental ﬁelds. Morphic ﬁelds are shaped and stabilized by morphic resonance from previous similar morphic units, which were under the inﬂuence of ﬁelds of the same kind. They consequently contain a kind of cumulave memory and tend to become increasingly habitual. Morphic Resonance The inﬂuence of previous structures of acvity on subsequent similar structures of acvity organized by morphic ﬁelds. Through morphic resonance, formave causal inﬂuences pass through or across both space and me, and these inﬂuences are assumed not to fall oﬀ with distance in space or me, but they come only from the past. The greater the degree of similarity, the greater the inﬂuence of morphic resonance. In general, morphic units closely resemble themselves in the past and are subject to self-resonance from their own past states. Morphic Unit A unit of form or organizaon, such as an atom, molecule, crystal, cell, plant, animal, paern of insncve behavior, social group, element of culture, ecosystem, planet, planetary system, or galaxy. Morphic units are organized in nested hierarchies of units within units: a crystal, for example, contains molecules, which contain atoms, which contain electrons and nuclei, which contain nuclear parcles, which contain quarks. Ideoplastic Structures The term ideoplasc structure was intended to be used for objects formed during a physical séance. For instance, a séance might begin with spirit lights

and raps and then things might move. In some rare demonstraons, ectoplasm might be seen. These objecve darkroom séance phenomena are thought to be caused by ideoplasc structures produced by the circle’s etheric control personality in cooperaon with the medium and siers. These structures cease to exist when the control removes aenon. In concept, the ideoplasc structures of the séance room and physical objects of our everyday physical universe are the same, the diﬀerence being the degree of intenon applied to their formaon and persistence of aenon on them by their source personality. As the term is used in this cosmology, ideoplasc structures are normally thought structures, but they can become physical via the applicaon of physical eﬀort. For instance, an imagined birdhouse can be made very real in the mind of the person as a thoughorm. If the person expresses the intenon for the birdhouse to be real to the point that it is real in his or her mind, then it would be thought of as part of the person’s worldview or personal reality. It would be an imagined birdhouse that would be called a delusion if the person physically acted as if it were real. If the person applied physical eﬀort to make the imagined birdhouse physically real, that is, if the person built it, then the ideoplasc structure would be thought of as a physical thing. The need for physical eﬀort to embody an ideoplasc structure is a tradional body-centric view. It is praccal to accept

this as fact, but there are forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence that appear to be excepons to this rule. Precipitaon mediums appear to be capable of producing physical objects based on the inﬂuence of intended order on chaoc forms of material. Precipitated art is a physical-to-physical process that appears to involve the same mechanism as apports. One diﬀerence is that, in precipitaon, there appears to be a chaoc phase of the apport in which physical material is disintegrated into a chaoc state and then reintroduced into the physical in a new, intended form. The work of precipitaon medium Hoyt Robinee (31) is a good example of this. Limiting Association via Perceptual Agreement The Perceptual Agreement Discourse describes self-organizing inﬂuences that moderate how life ﬁelds are able to associate. In this concept, there is a natural process that organizes reality based on the degree of understanding represented by the worldview of a life ﬁeld’s personality. That is, life ﬁelds are discrete units deﬁned by their percepon of reality (worldview) and are able to gravitate toward a common nexus with other life ﬁelds represenng a similar percepon of reality. This relates to the Like Aracts Like concept posed in the Hermec Wisdoms. The Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse includes a discussion of how the simple equaon used to plot the Mandelbrot Set can produce a very complex object in imaginary space. It also explains how the equaon can be compared to perceptual agreement. Movement within that space is based on how quickly the

result of a simple calculaon approaches inﬁnity, which is a reasonable analog for progression. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 7: Life Fields Introduction The idea of life as the building block of reality is not new. What is new, I think, is that the nature of life is modeled here from a survival of consciousness point of view. Here, I am saying that life is reality, either as life itself or as expressions of life. That is one of the fundamental concepts of this cosmology. Understanding the funconal areas of a life ﬁeld and how they interact will aid every aspect of your pursuit of self-improvement (progression). Current understanding of human nature tells us that we are only condionally conscious; understanding is relave; percepon is based more on habit than on sensed informaon; and much of what is sensed by our unconscious mind never reaches our conscious self. The reasons for these characteriscs are evident in the funconal areas described in this discourse. A good subtle for this Discourse would be The Anatomy of a Life Field. It is necessary to understand the component parts of the life ﬁeld as it is modeled here to understand your nature. The Life ﬁeld and Life Field Complex Diagrams will make lile sense if you do not. At the same me, understanding the Life Field Complex Diagram will give you important tools for managing your progression. Again, I should say that the two funconal diagrams are probably not something a person with an advanced psychology

degree would show you. They are as if diagrams that sasfy Black Box Analysis. Any proper funconal diagram of your etheric nature should at least account for the funcons I discuss here. Take your me in this secon, contemplate the diagrams, and think of ways they integrate into your way of thinking. I just had a conversaon with another person who made it clear to me that he knew all about metaphysics. Don’t be that person! It is a reasonable wager that your understanding is out of date. Self-organizing Fields Life ﬁelds are modeled as regions of inﬂuence originang with the Intelligent Core aspect of personality. Life ﬁelds are composed of a set of funconal areas which adhere to a set of Organizing Principles. Life ﬁelds occur as elements in a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds emanang from Source. All life ﬁelds have the same funconal areas but might express the characteriscs of those funconal areas more or less than life ﬁeld in other parts of the hierarchy. As the beginning point for reality and top life ﬁeld, Source has all of the characteriscs of a life ﬁeld. The hierarchy of life ﬁelds is modeled as aspects of Source, and therefore, inherit those funconal areas and an urge to understand based on Source’s supposed curiosity about itself. In this way, progression of a life ﬁeld is described as increasing understanding about the nature of reality (nature of Source), resulng in increasing perceptual agreement with Source and the eventual merger of that

understanding with Source. As a general statement, the Prime Imperave of a life ﬁeld is to align personal reality with local reality. Functional Areas of a Life Field The funconal areas of a life ﬁeld are shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram, below, and are explained as follows. Personality Personality is modeled as the intelligent core and source of purpose for a life ﬁeld. It is who a person really is as the I am this and what survives aer transion. You may be more familiar with the idea of mind as conscious and unconscious states. The idea of mind is a body-centric construct. The Implicit Cosmology addresses the mind concept as personality represenng the immortal aspect of its life ﬁeld and the conscious self or the I think I am this of you peering out at the world from the perspecve of your human’s eyes. You will noce in the life ﬁeld diagrams that a funconal region tled Aenon Complex is situated between personality and conscious self. That is a normally unconscious part of a life ﬁeld that supports percepon and expression. I say normally unconscious because during increased lucidity, conscious self is able to sense more of the Aenon Complex funcons. Since the Aenon Complex is the funconal area of a life ﬁeld that supports sensing environmental signals, it is also the link with the collecve represenng all of the personalies associated with a common (local) source. While personality is modeled as being entangled

with its source and related collecve, it also interfaces with unrelated personalies. Entanglement may be involved with these unrelated personalies, but a more useful model is rapport. Note that the percepon of environmental signals, including etheric personality-to-personality exchanges, are ﬁltered by the Aenon Limiter in the Aenon Complex. This limiter is informed by worldview, and it is this ﬁlter funcon that determines the life ﬁeld’s relaonship with the Principle of Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. As understanding increases for the personality-life ﬁeld complex, lucidity increases for the conscious self-personality channel. The three states we should track are: Lile or no understanding Personality entangled in an avatar relaonship: the personality- conscious self relaonship is dominated by the Aenon Complex which includes lile or no lucidity. Some understanding Personality in transion out of an avatar relaonship: the personality-conscious self relaonship connues to be dominated by worldview in the Aenon Complex. Presumably some understanding has been achieved in the last lifeme and there is some increase in lucidity. (Worldview follows the conscious self into the etheric.) Understanding converging on intended purpose Lucidity verges on a clear and open channel between personality and conscious self. Presumably, the purpose for which personality was expressed as an aspect of its source personality is to gain understanding about speciﬁc aspects of the source’s personal reality. The expectaon is that increasing understanding tends to merge reality ﬁelds as understanding approaches ﬁrst cause Source’s expectaon of

understanding about its nature. As this collapsing of personal reality ﬁelds connues, the child personalies are expected to maintain an I am this sense, but to be otherwise immersed in the accumulang collecve. Intelligent Core The intelligent core of a life ﬁeld is the formave aspect of personality while personality is the experienal aspect. The intelligent core for personality is comparable to the avatar’s Body Image funconal area of the Life Field Complex Diagram. Most, if not all, cosmologies I have studied describe formave and experienal aspects of Source. Each are usually described in terms similar to parallel hierarchies of nested ﬁelds. For instance, one hierarchy is of nature spirits or devas with responsibility for care of the various kingdoms of life (mineral, plant, animal). The other hierarchy is usually of people experiencing lifemes to gain understanding. I repeated that cosmology in the Handbook of Metaphysics (6) , but now I see that both aspects of life are part of the same funconal area with one part emphasizing the mechanics of existence and the other focusing on the purpose of existence. This coexistence of the two inﬂuences is comparable to a corporaon’s Chief Financial Oﬃcer and Chief Operang Oﬃcer. Both share the same goal of a successful business but focus on diﬀerent aspects of that eﬀort. Attention Complex Personality holds the inial imperave to gain experience, and this informs the rest of the life ﬁeld in the form of aenon. As such, aenon is based on the decision to understand

or take acon. The Aenon Complex includes Worldview, Perceptual Loop, Aenon Limiter, and the Intenon Field, which includes Visualizaon and Percepon. The complex of funconal areas is modeled as the focus tool for sensing the environment and personality’s expression into the environment. This is a potenally confusing part of this cosmology. The personality funconal area is senent and presumably capable of expression independent of conscious self, but all of its percepon and expression is by way of the Aenon Complex. This interface with the environment would normally be unconscious. Conscious self uses the same Aenon Complex. For a person, the human avatar also used the complex. To be clear, both the personality and conscious self are isolated from the environment and other personalies by the Aenon Complex. Since worldview is the dominant inﬂuence in percepon and expression, it is this isolang ﬁlter that assures compliance with the Principle of Perceptual Agreement. Attention Limiter Personality’s awareness of the environment is limited to what is of interest to it. If an external input has no interest to personality or the avatar, it will probably be ignored. As such, an external threat perceived by the human would be of interest, as would something pernent to personality’s objecves. All else is likely to be ignored. See First Sight Theory in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Because there is no apparent aenuaon of a psi signal between life ﬁelds, at least in principle, all informaon exchange is detected by each life ﬁeld, but only that

which is pernent to a life ﬁeld is actually processed as an environmental signal. The Aenon Limiter is comparable to the network address funcon in data communicaons. Even though the Aenon Limiter is an unconscious funcon, it is informed by intenon expressed by the conscious self. See the Mindfulness Discourse. Worldview Think of Worldview as the life ﬁeld’s database which contains personality’s percepon of reality. When in an avatar relaonship, it is shared with the human avatar and also contains the avatar’s percepon of reality. As this cosmology is wrien, personality is an aspect of Source, possibly many generaons removed. When personality was diﬀerenated from its local source personality, it inherited a subset of understanding and the urge to gain speciﬁc understanding. When personality is entangled with an avatar, conscious self is associated with its host and its worldview is modeled as being shared with the avatar. This relaonship is shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram. As shown in the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram, informaon that passes the Aenon Limiter is subjected to the Perceptual Loop. If the informaon agrees with Worldview, it will become part of Worldview and be presented to the Percepon Funcon to be expressed as a thought, acon or ideoplasc structure. The visualizaon process may produce a suﬃciently familiar characterizaon of the informaon for it to produce a Maybe result in the Perceptual Loop. Such informaon, as it is characterized in the Visualizaon funcon, can be incorporated into Worldview. It is

important to note that it is by way of the Maybe results from the Perceptual Loop that the Worldview Funcon can evolve. There is more about worldview in the Point of View Commentary. The avatar is an organism that has evolved in the physical, and following the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9), has a morphic memory database that is not shared by the entangled personality. However, the avatar’s morphic memory does inﬂuence the life ﬁeld worldview, speciﬁcally with the avatar’s insncts. This is shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram. Perceptual Loop An important product of the Aenon Complex is conscious percepon that is developed by the Perceptual Loop. Noce in the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram that visualizaon informed by worldview is part of this process. It is here that the way we experience the world is shaped. Our personal reality is formed as environmental informaon is translated based on worldview and presented to us as conscious percepon. The perceptual loop is probably a connuous cycle. It is likely that it produces a stream of consciousness form of perceptual noise when the Intenon Channel is not impressed with intent. Such perceptual noise sounds a lot like dreaming. The mind aempts to idenfy otherwise indisnguishable smuli by suggesng percepon of something familiar. This is why, for instance, people hear voices or music when there is only noise. As discussed in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, First Sight Theory (13), can be applied here as a rule set

for the operaon of the Perceptual Loop. Intention Channel Intenon is the move force for expression, and based on a clear understanding of true desire (objecve), it can be a very powerful tool for living. As a comparison, an imagined outcome without the intenon to make it so is just a fantasy. Think of this as the inﬂuence which will drive the accumulated potenal toward the desired result. It is also the mechanism by which the Aenon Limiter can be modiﬁed. Intenon is also the inﬂuence that begins the process of expression. Visualization The Visualizaon Funcon is used to help idenfy informaon that is submied to the Aenon Limiter. It also helps to formulate the life ﬁeld’s expression back into the environment or percepon to the conscious self. Here, visualize is used as a conceptual term that, if physically sensed, would be more a gestalt understanding rather than a mental picture or sound. Render might be a beer term. As a frequent out-of-body experiencer, Robert Monroe described this form of informaon exchange as a Rote (53), which is a thought ball or packet of understanding. This includes the thought, associated memory, understanding, experience and history as a complete concept. The Perceptual Loop is seen as an iterave process. As is shown in the Percepon and Expression Diagram, when there is an intenon to express something, it must ﬁrst pass through the Perceptual Loop. This process is imagined as a rapid cycle of repeatedly comparing and modifying a rendering in the

Visualizaon Funcon unl it agrees with worldview. Ideally, the output is a clearly imagined rendering of what is intended. This then becomes perceived by conscious self and is potenally expressed into the environment. If the visualizaon is not accompanied by intenon, then no expression will occur. The visualizaon will be lile more than fantasy. Visualizaon can only be as clear or correct as worldview allows. If the personal reality contained in worldview is very diﬀerent from local reality, the rendering will be equally incorrect and if expressed, may not be possible or will be distorted. Perception Percepon informs the conscious part of an otherwise unconscious process represented by the Aenon Complex. As such, the output of the Percepon Funcon is conscious awareness of the environmental informaon that came through the Aenon Limiter and that agrees with worldview. Expression Expression is a creave process that manifests concept into form. What is typically thought of as energy in the physical is beer modeled as potenal expression in the etheric, which is managed with aenon, visualizaon and intenon. A life ﬁeld’s expression is seen as the precursor to all physical energy, meaning that the imagined future exists as an etheric or conceptual thing that must be transformed into physical, objecve form. During the physical expression of the intended result, physical acon must be involved. The objecve energy may be money, fuel or even labor. See Contact Field for a discussion about an alternave to the avatar relaonship requirement for physical expression. Relevance of

Life Field Model Keep in mind this is a model based on an engineer’s reckoning using black box analysis. The funconal areas are useful for such purposes as mindfulness and the study of transcommunicaon but may not resemble what your neighborhood psychologist might think is right. If you spend a lile me contemplang the funconal areas discussed here and in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, you should begin to see how they might have profound implicaons for the way you study things paranormal. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 8: Personality-Centric Perspective Introduction This discourse is about our nonphysical nature: our conscious mind, memories, and that unconscious part of our mind we somemes meet in our dreams. It is for you to decide, but it has been my experience that our happiness and progression depend on our informed life choices. If the Implicit Cosmology is reasonably correct, it must be understood that what we do in this lifeme will aﬀect the rest of our eternity. This subject is important because understanding the more universal nature of who we are will have an important inﬂuence on how we understand the implicaons of our life experiences. Put a diﬀerent way, we have been taught from birth that the limits of our word are what we can see, smell, taste, feel and hear. In fact, our physical senses only mark the limits of our body’s physical world. Researchers are now telling us that we psychically sense the world before our body’s ﬁve senses check in. Those

sciensts who are willing to at least consider the nonphysical nature of mind tell us that even informaon from our ﬁve senses must be translated into the same psi form before their informaon can be considered. This means that our real sensory funcons are beer related to our core personality than to our physical body. If this is true, then we have spent a good part of our lifeme totally misunderstanding what real actually means. That is a prey shaky foundaon on which to make life-changing decisions. The soluon, of course, is to change our perspecve through educaon. Perspective The perspecve from which a queson is considered has a lot to do with how it is answered. Our normal perspecve is that of being our body. We look at the world through our body’s eyes from the perspecve of within our body’s head. This is natural. We have had that perspecve since birth. However, if we are immortal personalies temporarily hosted by our physical body, the more correct perspecve is to say “This is my body but my true self is not physical. I am not my body.” So we might say that the usual perspecve is body-centric but that the more correct perspecve is personality-centric. Our Body is a Complete Organism As an organism that has evolved on this planet, our physical body is probably fully funconal without our entanglement. It is proposed in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9) that the morphogenec development of physical organisms, such as

our body, is organized by a morphic ﬁeld which supports the body image and the necessary rules for its development. As described for physical organisms, morphic ﬁelds are life ﬁelds that are explained under a diﬀerent naming system. They include funconal areas for worldview (memory, Nature’s habit), percepon, levels of consciousness and a means of expression. As such, the human body life ﬁeld is essenally the same as our personality life ﬁeld. By that, I mean that our worldview is directly comparable with Nature’s habit. The one major diﬀerence appears to be that our insnct is to gain understanding through experience and our body’s insnct appears primarily to survive in the physical world. The message is that, during our physical lifeme, we share worldview and many of our perceptual and expressive abilies with our physical body. However, as shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram, the morphic ﬁeld for our avatar also has a funconal area represenng Nature’s habit. The Body Image funconal area is comparable to our personality’s intelligent core. Our body as Avatar Based on current understanding, our body has a consciousness which is not completely suppressed during a lifeme. In fact, the relaonship, is at least to some extent, a symbioc one in which our daily choices are oen greatly inﬂuenced by our body. A person gains in maturity by learning to cooperate with the body consciousness while remaining true to the ideals of balance and progression toward greater understanding. It helps to understand how to disnguish

between our body’s insncts and our understanding. To do this, it is necessary for a person to recognize the diﬀerence between the inherited urge to understand and the body’s insnctual urge to survive and perpetuate its kind. It is also a challenge to disnguish between the beliefs that are taught by our local culture and the actual nature of reality as it is understood when those beliefs are superseded by understanding. This can best be accomplished when we are aware that we are not our body. Avatar In Hinduism, an avatar (from Sanskrit for descent) is characterized as a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth. The term can be translated into English as incarnaon. A person is an etheric personality entangled with a human body in an avatar relaonship. In the avatar relaonship the personality remains associated with the etheric aspect of reality but its perspecve is the personality’s conscious self as it thinks it is the physical body. In trying to understand this relaonship, the most important thing to remember is that we do not know much about how humans might behave if they did not have an entangled personality. While it is necessary to make a few assumpons for informed speculaon, the underlying rule should be that humans are life forms which deserve respect and good care as hosts that enable our existence in the physical. The relaonship between etheric personality and the human avatar is shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram. Noce in the diagram

that the Aenon Complex (middle) is shared by the etheric personality (upper-le) and the complex represenng the human body consciousness (upper- right). The actual human body is in the box marked Avatar (lower-right). This relaonship is discussed below. Cooperation Between Personality and Avatar At the me of personality’s entanglement with its human avatar, its worldview is populated with a subset of understanding and the urge to gain further understanding; all inherited from a source personality. As is shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram, the conscious self and its human avatar share worldview. This shared memory is the main point of this discussion, because beginning at birth, the dominant conscious self must learn to manage the human inﬂuence, even as it learns to adapt to its local reality. An example of the human inﬂuence’s persistence is demonstrated by the way we frequently hear in transcommunicaon that newly transioned communicators sll idenfy with their physical bodies. Some communicators even report something like a geng well period as they become accustomed to healthy mind and body. This suggests that people remain under the inﬂuence of the human body image well into transion. Understanding the avatar relaonship can help us live a producve life from the perspecve of following inherited urges from personality while managing our body’s insncts. The challenge is in learning how to disnguish which are our body’s issues and which are real to our personality. The Mindfulness Discourse addresses this. Each avatar relaonship begins with a blend of personality and

human body traits. One way to make an informed guess as to what those traits are is to look for those that we were born with that inﬂuence our behavior today. If the avatar hypothesis is correct, then the human part of our worldview should be memory, beliefs and insncts related to survival. Understanding and inclinaons inherited from our etheric personality should be related to increasing understanding or progression of personality. For instance, responding to peer pressure would support herd or tribal safety but it would also tend to restrict learning. In a similar way, compulsive behavior would seem to suggest insncts while obsessive curiosity would seem to support learning. Survival of Body Mind It is diﬃcult to say that the human exists just as an avatar for etheric personalies, and then to say that all life forms have a personality. The collecve model probably applies for all life forms, but is there a diﬀerence in the character of consciousness? We know that animals exhibit self- conscious behavior, clearly indicang that they are more than simply a collecve mind, but there seems to be a diﬀerence in purpose. The physical organism body consciousness is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as being part of a collecve, as well. The diﬀerence is that it is more of a collecve as described in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) In that model, a morphic ﬁeld has access to a worldview-like database that is a collecon of Nature’s habits for that family of closely

related organisms. For the human, it represents how the human body has been made since its origin. This is an area that needs much more consideraon. It is important to know that there is nothing in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis that argues it only applies to people. How it might apply to a loving pet is beyond my speculaon at this me; however, there is nothing in the cosmology that says other animals cannot be avatars for personalies. Personal Style and Astrology Just as people are born le or right-handed, people are born with basic personality traits that tend to inﬂuence their behavior. Personality styles are cataloged and studied in psychology as a means of understanding human behavior. They have also been adapted to teach sales people how to relate to customers. In 1981, David Merrill and Roger Reid published a book reporng their study of corporate personnel interacons which became something of an industry standard. (54) They noted four main personality styles: Analycal: thinking, thorough, disciplined. Amiable: supporve, paent, diplomac. Driver: independent, decisive, determined. Expressive: good communicator, enthusiasc, imaginave. Each basic style is typically further divided so that a person might be seen as a Driver-Analycal or a Driver-Expressive. The point of these styles is that people likely begin dealing with a situaon from the perspecve of one of these styles. The queson is whether or not this inclinaon is inherited from personality or from avatar. The idea of astrology is that people’s behavior is inﬂuenced by the astrological condions

at the me of their birth. A year is divided into twelve signs based on the ancient zodiac and each indicates a diﬀerent set of personality traits. The Personality Styles Diagram, below, shows a suggested relaonship between astrological signs and the four personality styles. It is important to note that personality styles and astrology are not being recommended here. They are used to demonstrate that we tend to display personality characteriscs that are evident at a very young age and which tend to shape our lives. There appears to be general agreement between the systems; however, the personality styles are more oen described in terms of informaon acquision or community, while the astrological signs tend to emphasize the same sort of characteriscs usually associated with insncts. For instance, an Aries, who is a person born between March 21 and April 20, is described as (amongst other qualies) impulsive, physical and driven. Aries is related to a Driver in the Personality Styles Diagram, and a Driver is described in terms like independent, decisive and determined. A Capricorn (December 23 to January 20) is described as (amongst other qualies) insncve, over-reacng and moody. A Capricorn compares to an Analycal who is described in terms of thinking, thorough and disciplined. Since there is so lile known about this from the personality-centric view, it must be le for us to take the iniave to study and self-analyze. The interpretaon of astrological signs and personality styles oﬀered here is just an opinion, and your experience

may be diﬀerent. Again, these are examples indicang the kind of cues you would look for if you conduct a self-appraisal. There is more about this in the Temperament poron of the Point of View Commentary.) Balance Noce the center circle in the Personality Styles Diagram labeled Balance. As you come to beer understand yourself and your avatar, and therefore gain in maturity, you will ﬁnd yourself converging on the middle way. One of the most important secret lessons taught by ancient wisdom schools is oen that balance is the middle way toward maturity. This does not mean a balanced person would never express extreme behavior, only that such a person would consciously do so, taccally for a purpose and then return to the center without aachment for the outcome of his or her acons See the Mindfulness Discourse. Human Animal The human brain can be considered in two parts: forebrain and brain stem. According to Brain Structures and Their Funcons, the brain stem: “is responsible for basic vital life funcons such as breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure. Sciensts say that this is the ‘simplest’ part of human brains because animals’ enre brains, such as reples (who appear early on the evoluonary scale) resemble our brain stem.” (55) The forebrain supports raonal thought, so an assumpon in the Implicit Cosmology is that the brain stem has evolved to support survival of the human body and the forebrain has evolved to support the entangled personality. In this view, it is reasonable

to expect that, like other animals, humans would get along prey well without an entangled personality. Irrational Behavior Do you have a pet, perhaps a dog or cat? If so, you may have noced a lot of behavior that seems to be irraonal. For instance, your pet might be fearful of an unexpected object in the backyard, or it might be unreasonably afraid of men, especially strangers. Sure, you would think it is just behaving like an animal. Animals oen seem irraonal. That is one of the disnguishing characteriscs between humans and animals. But what if you have irraonal behaviors? Are you afraid of the dark? Do you go out of your way to avoid strangers? Is it diﬃcult to communicate with people of the opposite sex? Are these behaviors raonal? Do you have reasons for them which are more than just an excuse? Everyone has fears that might be more exaggerated than circumstances would seem to require. The usual way of dealing with them is to talk the person out of the fear, either by appealing to logic or by showing that there is no need for fear, in eﬀect, to wear out the fear response. In the body-centric view, we naturally appeal to the raonal mind: that part of us that is supposed to be logical, thinking and learning. However, in the personality-centric view, it can be seen that the human animal is the source of irraonal fear. Because of the entangled avatar relaonship, the human insncts are

part of the shared worldview, which is in turn, the governing factor of the Perceptual Loop of a life ﬁeld’s Aenon Complex. As such, too oen, the strongest and ﬁrst response to an external inﬂuence is the human animal’s ﬁght or ﬂight reacon. It is natural that a young person will more oen respond to circumstance from the animal’s insncts, but over me, it is expected that the person will more oen have a raonal response. That is the idea of maturity. Even so, people are plagued all of their lives with an unrecognized human inﬂuence. So long as they think with a body-centric point of view, it will be natural for them to seek to suppress the animal response, rather than understand the necessity to more directly manage the Perceptual Loop through mindfulness. A beer model for therapy might be to learn how to appeal to the animal in us, rather than the raonal personality. We need a human whisperer more than we need a psychologist. Degrading Avatar Relationship There would be circumstances in which personality is forced to withdraw from the human avatar. Of course, physical death of the human is the usual reason, but personality might also withdraw if the body is physically healthy but is otherwise no longer able to support the expression of conscious self. The inability of the brain to connue funconing as a physical-to-etheric transducer in cases of senility would be such a situaon. This would not necessarily be a forced withdrawal but

there may be lile reason for conscious self to connue the avatar relaonship if personality’s intenon to gain understanding through experience in the physical can no longer be supported. Personality’s withdrawal from the human may be temporary, as is seen in the case of physical injury to the brain or coma. The reports of a persona with advanced senility who becomes temporarily lucid is another example that might be explained by voluntary but impermanent withdrawal. Keep in mind that this model recognizes that the human is a complete life form. As is illustrated in the Life Field Complex Diagram, the Body Mind funconal area includes human insncts which are ﬁltered in the Aenon Complex before presentaon to conscious percepon. This is the same set of funconal processes experienced by organism when the human is entangled with an etheric personality as a person. Since conscious self is an aspect of etheric personality, the missing inﬂuence for the now independent human is the expression of intenon informed by personality. A human that has experienced a lifeme entangled with an etheric personality would not be well equipped to connue funconing as a person without the raonal inﬂuence of conscious self. At the same me, the worldview funcon shared during entanglement would connue to be part of the human’s percepon and expression processes. The missing inﬂuence would be intenon expressed by conscious self. Extrapolang what I know about human behavior, and relang that to the Implicit Cosmology, I would expect to see the human-minus

conscious self to physically appear the same, but to exhibit changes in behavior which should be predictable from the model. Worldview is memory, and the Perceptual Loop in the Aenon Complex is moderated by intenon. Without raonal intenon informed by personality, the percepon-expression process would tend to present stream-of-consciousness thoughts to the human’s conscious state. This would look like waking expression of the kind of mostly random dream imagery we experience in light sleep. The human’s insncts would no longer have the raonal inﬂuence of conscious self, and would therefore, have greater inﬂuence on the percepon-expression process. This would manifest as more animal-like responses and a tendency to ﬁxate on or obsess about otherwise trivial things in the environment. This would likely include rapid, swings of emoon from passive happiness to aggressive behavior. May I Introduce Myself? With these consideraons, then, how should we think of ourselves? How do we think with a personality-centric perspecve? Each of us will have diﬀerent takes on this but there are general points that should be considered. To begin, try thinking of yourself as two people. For instance, I am Tom Butler. Butler is the family name of my body, and it serves to give you a sense of its lineage. Perhaps we can call my body Mr. Butler. Tom is a good name for my personality in this lifeme, so a proper introducon might be “Hi, I am Tom and this is Mr. Butler.” Mr. Butler was born in May, and according to

astrology, should be stubborn, think habitat is very important, and have a strong dependence on tacle sense. When compared to characteriscs of other signs, this is prey accurate. According to the avatar model, these characteriscs should provide hints about the nature of Mr. Butler. My astrological chart always seemed to indicate more what I need to overcome than what I should be driven by, but I also fall into the Driver- Analycal side of the personality styles chart, which is where I feel comfortable. Again, according to the avatar model, these characteriscs should provide hints about Tom’s nature. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 9: Perception and Expression Introducon to As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, 1902 (56) The objecve of “This lile volume” is “to smulate men and women to the discovery and percepon of the truth that they themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.” Introduction Our relaonship with the environment is the product of the two characteriscs of the life ﬁeld described here as percepon and expression. Both involve the same funconal areas of the Aenon Complex. It is only intended purpose that determines the output, be it percepon to conscious self or expression to the environment. Development of content for both

percepon and expression is normally an unconscious process, but it can be inﬂuenced by conscious intenon. As with Mr. Allen’s introducon to As a Man Thinketh, how we think is at the very foundaon of who we are. This discourse addresses ways we might aempt to take control of the way our normally unconscious mind decides our conscious experiences. The Mind is Etheric Everything in the Funconal Areas of Percepon and Expression Diagram is nonphysical. That is, it is not in the physical space occupied by your physical body. Instead, it is in the greater reality of etheric space, of which the physical universe is just an aspect. The physical brain is best viewed as a transmier/receiver for thought and the interface between your etheric personality (I am this) and your conscious self as you experience the physical (I think I am this). How aware your conscious self is of your etheric personality is referred to as lucidity and the objecve of personal development is to become as lucid as possible. That, in turn, is accomplished by aligning worldview with the actual nature of reality. Psi sensing is the normal way in which we sense the world. Being psychic is learning to understand how that unconscious psi sensing is translated by the mind into physical awareness. Suspended judgment is one technique, really a point of view, that will help you do this. Another is mindful living: make a habit of thinking of the consequences of your acons. Understand the Unconscious

Processes It is essenal to understand the thought process if we hope to control it. Parapsychologist James Carpenter has developed a theory based on current understanding about psi phenomena that models how we mentally process informaon. His hypothesis is detailed in the book, First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life. (13) (49) (40) Review the Percepon and Expression Diagram, and as I explain my understanding of First Sight Theory, keep in mind that I am talking about how informaon you sense from the world around you is unconsciously compared to all of your exisng beliefs, emoons and experiences before you even become aware that you have sensed something. First Sight Theory Use discernment here. I am explaining this theory as I understand Carpenter’s rather complex wring. The theory is presented here as a useful rule set for both the perceptual process and expression. For clarity, I have parally paraphrased the assumpons and corollaries from the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology. Be mindful that Carpenter did not necessarily expect this theory to be adopted for support of the Survival Hypothesis. In his book, Carpenter explains that people ﬁrst sense the world psychically. As he puts it, “What if ESP is like subliminal percepon? What if psychokinesis is like unconsciously but psychologically meaningful expressive behaviors?” He answers these quesons by proposing two proposions based on the following assumpon. Assumption Everything and everyone, every acon in the past, now or in the future, perturbs the reality ﬁeld that connects all of us.

Carpenter argues that research indicates people psychically sense these changes in psi space just as they physically sense changes in physical space. “Research indicates” is based on meta-analysis and personal research concerning hundreds of research reports, both mainstream and parapsychological. If that is true, then First, people sense their environment psychically as well as with their physical senses. Second, people process this informaon unconsciously, and it is the conclusion of this processing that they are aware of and react to, not what has been psychically or physically sensed or unconsciously considered. A person might psychically sense someone near or far, a person’s acons, and apparently their thoughts when they are expressed as intenon. Note 1: The Intenon Channel shown in the Percepon and Expression Diagram represents the mechanism by which the conscious self is able to inﬂuence the perceptual process. Note 2: In this theory, the expression of intenon is what produces a change in psi space which can be sensed by others. Simply thinking of something does not appear to produce informaon which is detecble by others. Note 3: The result of the unconscious perceptual process is described by Carpenter as formang of “experience and acon.” This is the Percepon Funconal area in the Percepon and Expression Diagram. In this context, the person does not directly experience informaon from the environment. Instead, the person becomes aware of the informaon aer it is formaed in a way that agrees with worldview. Therefore The following 12 corollaries address the perceptual process.

1. Personalness Corollary The unconscious processes that constute consciousness are personal and deliberate. (The more important it is to us, the more we unconsciously pay aenon.) 2a. Ubiquity Corollary Part 1 Psi sensing is not limited by me or distance. 2b. Ubiquity Corollary Part 2 Psychokinesis contributes to the formaon of experience by bringing intenon to bear upon the physical processes of the nervous system. (The ﬁrst response to a meaningful smulus is transmission of a telekinec alert signal to the body, and if useful, to the environment.) 3. Integraon Corollary Other preconscious processes are processed together with psi in a rapid, holisc, eﬃcient, unconscious manner to format experience and acon. 4. Ancipaon Corollary The mind seeks to ancipate events. In the Implicit Cosmology, this corollary is used as the basis of the curiosity concept. Source is curious about itself and that curiosity translates as the Ancipaon Corollary in First Sight Theory (this is not necessarily what Carpenter intended). The Ancipaon Corollary provides reasonably good support for this idea of a personality having a natural tendency to want to understand its environment in order to ancipate changes. If this is a valid argument, then all else follows. 5. Weighng and Signing Corollary The importance of sensory and extrasensory informaon is weighted as being more or less important before it is acted upon. (The yardsck for importance is based on the body’s survival insncts and cultural condioning stored in worldview.) 6. Summaon Corollary The content of conscious experience, emoonal states, and

behavioral choices are constuted in a summave way by unconscious thought. 7. Bidireconality Corollary In this summave process, the person may turn toward informaon (signed posively) to include it in the construcon of experience, aﬀect or acon, or turn away from informaon (signed negavely) and exclude it. In the Percepon and Expression Diagram, the Aenon Limiter and the Agree or Disagree decision of the Perceptual Loop funcons would facilitate this Corollary. 8. Intenonality Corollary Including or excluding informaon is a funcon of unconscious intenon in regard to an element of potenal meaning. (While aenon is the result of an “Is this important to me?” decision, informaon that results in acon by the person is given force if there is an intenon to act.) This is the basis for the Aenon Limiter funconal area. 9. Switching Corollary A person will be fairly consistent in how informaon is processed, (but) may switch in how informaon is weighted, the sign aributed to it, and therefore, whether or not it is included in behavior. This switching will occur rapidly or slowly depending on the consistency and purity (focus) of unconscious intenon. This in turn is determined by the relave weight of the informaon over me, situaonal factors that promote or diminish crical analysis, changes of approach in a task, and mood. Switching, which is inﬂuenced by personality style, is not necessarily a good thing. Persons who are disposed to rapid switching include those who tend to approach situaons cognively and analycally; lack consistent purpose

and movaon; take a detached-observer posture toward most situaons; are chronically ambivalent; are cognively disorganized are highly distracble. Persons who tend to switch slowly, conversely, tend to be those who approach situaons globally and holiscally; are strongly and consistently purposive; engage themselves wholeheartedly in situaons; are not overly self-doubng or uncertain; are well-integrated cognively; are prone to hold focus purposively and not become distracted; are dissociave (when in certain states). Note 4: Highly dissociave people oen experience altered ways of being that are more complex and enduring than simple moods. 10. Extremity Corollary The frequency of switching aﬀects the relave density of accumulated addive or subtracve references to the meaning in queson. Rapid switching renders potenal meaning irrelevant to ongoing experience. 11. Inadvertency and Frustraon Corollary Informaon gathered via psi is not available to conscious experience but does contribute to the formaon of conscious experience by the arousal of ancipatory networks of ideas and feelings (assuming that they are heavily weighted, aﬀorded slow switching, and approached with the intenon of assimilaon). Because of this arousal, their acon can be glimpsed consciously only by observing thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are inadvertent, that is, not intenonal and not obviously caused by any current experiences. Someone who has become skillful in interpreng them is thought of as relavely psychic. 12. Liminality Corollary The arousal of ancipatory networks of ideas and feelings resulng from unconscious psi informaon may be considered liminal ones, in terms of the boundary between conscious and unconscious thought. Habitual

interest in liminal experiences facilitates expression of psi processes (openness), leading to unconscious reference to psi material (and other streams of unconscious material). A more posive, open, secure state of mind will tend to facilitate reference to a broader spectrum of contextual, potenally liminal experience. (In other words, habitually paying aenon to subtle informaon emerging from your unconscious can lead to more direct awareness of what has been psychically sensed from psi space.) This Corollary speaks to the idea that conscious intenon can inﬂuence the perceptual process and evolve worldview. Mindful living is, in eﬀect, a way of making the conscious expression of intenon a lifestyle. The Perceptual Process The Percepon and Expression Diagram shows the Aenon Complex which translates external inputs into conscious percepon, potenally resulng in an external expression. The external input is assumed to be either a psi source or a physical source which is preceded by a psi precursor. The funconal areas for development of percepon and expression are discussed in detail in the Life Fields Discourse. Note that in the Implicit Cosmology, informaon from our ﬁve physical senses must be translated into some form of psi signal useful to the nonphysical, unconscious process of the Aenon Complex. Thus, in a praccal sense, all informaon is received as a psi signal. The Worldview Funcon is like a database represenng memory, understanding, and beliefs which deﬁne personal reality. That is, worldview represents the standard a person unconsciously uses to decide what is true and what is real.

The perceptual process constutes an aempt to visualize the meaning of an external input based on a best match of content already present in the worldview database. It is an iterave process conducted in the Perceptual Loop with the following possible results: • Inial No: If the Agree? decision produces a negave result on the ﬁrst cycle, the process may be repeated many mes in quick succession, depending on the percepon of urgency and clarity of informaon being considered. If no soluon is found, the informaon will likely be discarded. In this way, inaenonal and incredulity blindness may cause a person not to see a novel object in an otherwise familiar scene. • Creave Soluon May Modify Worldview: Rupert Sheldrake (9) argues that organisms faced with environmental challenges somemes arrive at a creave soluon for survival which is integrated into Nature’s memory and propagated throughout the species (probably by way of the species collecve). As the perceptual model is deﬁned here, the environmental informaon is responded to in the Visualizaon Funcon where it is integrated with the best ﬁt from worldview. Here, a sort of fuzzy logic is called for. If the visualizaon is able to tell a likely story about the informaon, based on exisng informaon in worldview, the story may pass the Perceptual Loop as a Maybe result and be used to modify worldview. If no acceptable match is found, the iterave cycle will eventually produce a No result causing the process to reject the informaon. • A

Yes Soluon: Of the presumably huge amount of environmental informaon reaching the Aenon Limiter, only a relavely small amount will enter the perceptual process. Much of that will be idenﬁed in the Perceptual Loop and eventually oﬀered up to conscious percepon. But here is a very important point for your consideraon. The storytelling capability of the Visualizaon Funcon can morph informaon into the familiar, even if it is not actually what was inially received or intended. This is probably the source of pareidolia, which is characterized as seeing paerns where there are none. Implications of First Sight Theory External smuli are always psi related. If the input is physical, then it is assumed to be accompanied, or even preceded, by some kind of psi signature perturbing psi space (etheric space). This perturbaon is psychically sensed by the organism as an unconscious smulus which may or may not be consciously sensed, depending on the result of the perceptual process. To illustrate, a person might psychically sense a developing threat before it becomes physically obvious. The perceptual process would give meaning to that threat based on past condioning and the person would react, at ﬁrst unconsciously with a slight tension of muscles and possibly increased adrenaline; however, if the threat manifests to the person’s physical sensing, this unconscious preparaon for the ﬁght or ﬂight response would be followed by conscious acon. However, the selected acon is normally determined unconsciously. The idea of turning toward or turning away from informaon during the perceptual

process evokes a good sense of what happens in our mind. (Refer to the First Sight Bidireconality Corollary) For instance, if you insncvely dislike a person or situaon, it may be that you have unconsciously psychically sensed something and your Perceptual Loop has sent a this is not for you response to your conscious awareness. In that way, we are naturally psychic because we are able to consciously sense the result of the perceptual process—not as a direct sensing of the psi inﬂuence, but as the conclusion the perceptual process has sent to our conscious mind. However, according to First Sight theory, you can train yourself to be more directly aware of that inial psi sensing by learning to encourage your conscious mind to pay aenon to those subtle messages that emerge from your unconscious mind. (Liminality Corollary) Perception Becomes Expression The output of the Aenon Complex is an expression. It may be directed toward another personality as a psychic link of rapport, it may be an ideoplasc structure, or it may be percepon expressed to conscious self. So you can see that expression ulizes the same funconal areas as percepon. The main diﬀerence is purpose. Percepon involves sensing and translang environmental informaon into something useful to the conscious self. Expression involves the translaon of intenon expressed by the conscious self. Intention Field Expression is in the form of an intenon ﬁeld. A way to visualize this is to think of the ﬁeld as a thought ball that is sent

out by your mind to an intended desnaon. It contains the intended concept as a matrix for formaon or inﬂuence, the organizing rules, informaon about the target life ﬁeld or ideoplasc structure and the expected outcome. Consider informaon about the target life ﬁeld as a unique psi ﬁeld address. The factors that determine the eﬀect of an intenon ﬁeld are clarity of the visualized outcome, focus and strength of intenon, and what is intended. For instance, a casual glance toward a person will likely not amount to a very inﬂuenal intenon ﬁeld, but an admiring stare will likely be of suﬃcient inﬂuence that the object of the stare might at least unconsciously noce. This concept is directly related to intended order, in that the product of the intenon ﬁeld is formaon of a part of reality as intended by the personality/conscious self. The intenon ﬁeld can be very inﬂuenal as expressed by an experienced healer-praconer. Informed Visualization Expression begins with the inﬂuence of conscious self’s intenon on the Aenon Complex, but it is informed by the person’s worldview. That means expression is limited by the person’s sense of personal reality. As an example, if the person has learned to fear the dark, then outward acons and expressions would reﬂect that fear, probably without the person’s awareness. The clarity of expression is a funcon of how well the person understands what is to be expressed. In this context, informed means how well the person has come to understand the subject. People

create their own reality but not in isolaon. Society, the environment and even the physical body have an inﬂuence on what is created. Percepon and expression are always based on current understanding (worldview as personal reality). In the concept of morphic ﬁelds, this is Nature’s habit. Our life lessons and future experiences are not so much in what we create as they are in how we react to what is created. On Being Informed Probably the most important thing we can do to further our spiritual progression is to be as informed as possible about our world and especially about what we intend to create. It is important to be aware that being informed about the world can actually retard spiritual progression if it is based on erroneous assumpons. For that reason, informed should be in the context of the enre creave process. Informed is used here to mean based on or inﬂuenced by. For instance, Objecve in the creave process is informed by worldview and by the environment. In fact, the enre creave process is based on the usually subtle inﬂuence of worldview and external forces. By recognizing this inﬂuence, it is possible for a person to learn to manage how inﬂuenal these forces are in the creave process. The more the inﬂuences are in agreement with the nature of reality, the more eﬀecve will be the creave process. Changing Worldview There is much research indicang that people who are open to more directly sensing psi smuli have more

psi-related experiences, while people who are not can be literally blind to the phenomena. In both cases, the people psychically sense the same informaon, but that sensing is not as easily translated into conscious awareness for nonbelievers. See the Point of View Commentary. As such, James Carpenter suggests that a person wishing to be more psychic should maintain an open, non-analycal frame of mind while also maintaining a commitment to the goal of psi expression. Analysis of informaon, self-cricism, and doubt tend to cloud psi awareness. Translate open mind as suspended judgment. Make a habit of not deciding whether or not you believe something. Instead, maintain a wait and see atude. Consciously suspending judgment has at least an indirect eﬀect on the perceptual process, which should in turn, exaggerate the ambiguity of the comparison between what is being visualized based on worldview to produce a beneﬁcial change in worldview. More about worldview in the Point of View Discourse. Suspended judgment is discussed in the Mindfulness Discourse. Worldview and Expression We are born with a degree of inherited understanding about the nature of reality which inially informs worldview. However, culture, parents, teachers, the media, and religion quickly ﬁll our worldview with popular wisdom based on local beliefs, prejudices, and religious/academic dogma. It is for us to come to see reality as it is, rather than how it is taught. We must do this by learning to align our worldview with the nature of reality based on gaining understanding through experiences. In

doing so, we progress by way of increasing understanding and it is understanding which determines our experience in the etheric. In eﬀect, aer transion, we will gravitate toward the heaven with which we are most inperceptual agreement. As such, what we do in this lifeme has a profound and lasng eﬀect on the rest of our existence. Worldview has substanal inﬂuence on percepon; in eﬀect, it causes us to understand experiences as taught by the culture and perhaps not as they actually are. As we align our worldview with the nature of reality, our visualizaon becomes more in agreement with reality, making the resulng expression more consistent with what is supported by Organizing Principles. Natural Law and Organizing Principles The funconal areas of Life Fields naturally occur in response to the inﬂuence of curiosity (intenon and percepon) and the state of understanding (worldview). This assumpon is based on the expectaon that such funconal areas are necessary to produce known response paerns. An Organizing Principle that naturally results from our perceptual processes is Perceptual agreement, which can be stated as Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. The implicaon is that we are not able to experience parts of reality which do not agree with our expectaons (personal reality). There is no need for an ethereal being to say we cannot go to heaven if our worldview will not allow our sensing of heaven to emerge to conscious self via the Aenon

Complex. A second organizing principle is Cooperave Communies, which may be stated as an eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. This is the conscious expression of intenon to compose a statement to be spoken to the listener. If this inial eﬀort to explain a concept is followed by quesons and new aempts to explain the concept, it can aﬀect worldview in the same way as a Maybe outcome of the Perceptual Loop. The Golden Rule likely has at its foundaon a more pragmac Teach me as I teach you. The objecve of a lifeme is to gain understanding. As it is modeled, the collecve may not fulﬁll its purpose unl expected understanding has been gained by every member life ﬁeld. Cooperave communies are a natural response to that imperave. Intended Order Percepon and expression are the outputs of the Aenon Complex. Intended order is the eﬀect expression has on the environment. It is seen in acon in many forms of transcommunicaon. In that, order in the form of recognizable images, objects, or sounds emerge out of chaoc signals. In Instrumental TransCommunicaon, the physical process that enables this emergence of intended order appears to be stochasc ampliﬁcaon acng on chaoc, broad-spectrum energy. A hint for how to idenfy the nature of psi phenomena is to look for the presence of a chaoc inﬂuence somewhere in the process. For instance, even though a magnec ﬁeld detector might indicate the presence of a psi inﬂuence as a change in magnec ﬁeld,

it may not have anything to do with magnesm at all (probably not). The electronic circuit in detectors of about any physical inﬂuence has many components which provide the necessary chaoc resource to respond to the inﬂuence of psi as intended order. In pracce, the psi detecon model used in the design of the Random Event Generator developed by Psyleron for consciousness research is applicable to virtually all forms of electronics that include acve regions such as vacuum tubes and transistors. (57) Credibility and Incredulity The Percepon and Expression Diagram shows the decision-making process that helps determine percepon. It can be seen at work whenever a person is asked to believe something. In this model, the person experiences something such as a paranormal event and aempts to visualize what has been experienced in terms of worldview. If the experience is not supported by existent worldview, and the person has not learned to think beyond that cultural condioning, then it is likely the experience would be rejected as impossible. In that case, the person would not perceive the experience, a response somemes referred to as incredulity blindness. Alternavely, the person might perceive the experience, but as parally modiﬁed by incredulity blindness or as morphed into something that does agree with worldview. For instance, an alien enty might register in the person’s mind as a rabbit because it has big eyes. It is common for a person to witness very convincing evidence but insist that it must be fraudulent. In this case,

discounng the experience would be a way of morphing it into an acceptable form to agree with worldview. An inverse eﬀect of incredulity blindness can be seen when a person tends to ﬁnd paranormal phenomena where (probably) none exists. This might be described as hyperlucidity, as people with this tendency insist they are experiencing phenomena, oen against considerable tesmony to the contrary by peers. See also, the Villager-Explorer Eﬀect in the Point of View Commentary. Venues for Learning The creave process expresses a venue for learning when a person thinks of a possible new experience, for instance, to buy a new car. Typically, the person imagines being in the new car and what it would be like to own one. Perhaps friends would be imagined in the situaon so that the person can have a sense of how having the car would aﬀect self-esteem. An important process is begun when a person imagines a, let us call it, lile me. Lile me is given a degree of self-determinaon. It is also given a direcve to have a speciﬁc experience and an urge to understand certain aspects of the experience. Finally, it is given the direcve to return a degree of understanding about the experience to the person, its local source personality. The created venue for learning will remain a viable space as long as the person holds it in the imaginaon; however, the memory of lile me’s experience will remain part of the person’s worldview. In eﬀect, lile me and

the person become a group enty, and the accumulaon of lile mes produced in the person’s imagining will accumulate to shape the person’s etheric personality. (It is possible the same lile me is resurrected for each experience.) The inﬂuence of each lile me will be a funcon of the importance the person placed on the venue (intenon) and the meaningfulness of what lile me returns. Note also that the accumulated lile mes represent a collecve. The creaon of a venue for learning is exactly what appears to happen for individual lifemes in this venue of learning we call Earth. The queson is whether or not there is a big me holding this venue for learning in its mind with the intenon of learning speciﬁc lessons. Since this venue appears to be a consensus or collecve space, it is possible that the organizing ﬁeld for physical reality is the product of many such individual eﬀorts to learn funconing as a cooperave community. Summary The Great Work of Hermic Wisdom is the transmung of personality as immature lead into the gold of spiritual maturity. This is seen in the opening line of the Emerald Tablet, one of the few documents thought to actually come from Hermes: “It is true and no lie, certain and to be depended upon, that which is above is as that which is below; and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the one truly great work.” (58) The metaphysical Cabala

is all about the path toward spiritual maturity and the Tarot. (59) An example is Key 9 of the Major Arcana from the Rider- Waite deck: His beacon inmates that “Where I am, you also may be.” In John 14 of the Chrisan Bible, Jesus is shown to say to his disciples: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14-6). Here, Jesus is showing himself to his followers not as a deity but as an example of the three aspects of the teacher: follow me that I am the path; follow me as the Spirit of Truth; and follow me as I have lived. (60) Humankind has been told me and again that the path to wisdom, happiness and spiritual maturity is readily available to anyone who is willing to do the work. The creave process for percepon and expression described in this discourse represents a knowable, doable path to agreement with nature. All one need do is realize the need to be informed, understand what informed means, learn to examine what is in worldview and accept responsibility for that which is created. Happiness lies in how the person responds to the world much more than how well the person learns to manage the process. From this can be understood that there is no good or bad, only the degree to which a person is able to align percepon with the true nature of reality. All is potenal

progression no maer the momentary pain or pleasure. Interesting Speculation In the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon, Rupert Sheldrake proposes that the formaon of an organism is organized by nested etheric ﬁelds. The simplest organic chemical process is managed by a ﬁeld, which is in turn organized into more complex organisms by greater ﬁelds, and so on to the top ﬁeld of, say, a human or a tree. There is good reason to believe that an etheric personality is the organizing ﬁeld for the avatar’s physical body, and is in turn part of a collecve of other personalies which eventually brings us, in the hierarchy of life, to a source. In this view, one might think that there is life and there is the product of life. That is, the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram needs only a slight modiﬁcaon to be a depicon of the process of expression, and as such, might be used as a model for life. Each organism, be it a single-cell amoeba or a human, involves this process of expression to one degree or another. Like life fractals, they are qualitavely the same but quantavely diﬀerent. Objects of reality, such as a rock or a cup of water, are expressions of life. We see a primive demonstraon of this during some séances in which the etheric controls work through a physical medium to produce increasingly solid ideoplasc structures such as the ectoplasmic rods employed to suspend a trumpet or point of luminosity. Implicit Cosmology

Discourse 10: Perceptual Agreement Introduction Cosmologies typically describe the greater reality in terms of physical energy. My ﬁrst eﬀort to describe a cosmology, The Handbook of Metaphysics (6), even has a chapter dedicated to energy, and includes an illustraon of an etheric energy spectrum showing possible relaonships of increasingly subtle expression of the psi ﬁeld. New Age and religious literature is full of references to energy as spirit energy, spirit, electromagnesm, and various predecessor names for psi such as od, chi, or orgone energy. Strong points of view are expressed about the nature of this energy with some arguing it is electromagnec and others arguing it is not propagated at all. Parapsychologists have dealt with this naming problem by using psi as a placeholder term unl a more useful term is found. They also solved the propagaon problem by referring to psi as a ﬁeld that is nonlocal and nontemporal. In the study of Instrumental TransCommunicaon, a lot of me has been spent looking for the etheric-physical interface. As the argument goes, if the physical is an aspect of the greater reality, then the physical must be a product of the greater reality. This would logically make physical energy in some way a product of the etheric. In accord with that view, the ATransC website includes arcles that explore the idea that etheric ﬁelds are precursors to electricity. As I developed the Implicit Cosmology, it gradually dawned on me that the problem with the way I have been deﬁning the

greater reality is that I was using an earth-centric model. In fact, the more useful model is personality-centric in which the formaon of reality is in response to intenon acng on percepon. That would be a Source toward the physical evoluon of energy. To say that in another way, the Implicit Cosmology is a foundaon model. Speciﬁcs, such as how thought produces formave ﬁelds which order reality into ideoplasc structures, are le to further research. The cosmology is intended to provide a context from which to design further research. Given that there is some form of source from which reality has evolved, then there is a substance of that source from which reality is formed. This substance is addressed here as a conceptual material which is compliant to the expression of intenon to form an imagined aspect of reality. Just as parapsychologists use psi as a placeholder, this substance from source is referred to here as etheric. Early eﬀorts to discuss this substance usually involved use of the term etheric energy; however, while energy is conceptually the right term, it is more consistent with what is known about the greater reality to think of it as the etheric, etheric space, or etheric ﬁeld. With that said, the etheric is the matrix of reality. It is proposed in the Implicit Cosmology that it is diﬀerenated according to intenon to form various aspects of reality. It is also proposed that the greater reality can be thought of as the top organizing ﬁeld.

Further, within reality are nested ﬁelds produced as various parts of the collecve of life which has sought to experience and understand the nature of reality. The physical universe is modeled as an aspect of reality and one of those nested ﬁelds. While that is a lot to comprehend, the one point that is needed for this discussion is that between the source of reality and a personality which seeks to understand reality, there is a connuum of characteriscs deﬁning etheric space. This connuum ranges from its original state, which is the inial expression of Source, to whatever personality has expressed as personal reality. This change in character adheres to the rule of associaon described in this cosmology as the Principle of Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. Remember that this is a conceptual model in which the deﬁning characterisc indicang the connuum of etheric from Source to aspect personality is understanding. This Principle holds that a personality is able to experience anything it wishes, so long as it is able to conceive of the experience. As a physical world example, a New Yorker has a very diﬀerent perspecve of the world than a ranch hand in the West. In a conceptual sense, a New Yorker cannot be the ranch hand without changing perspecve. Here, perspecve is synonymous with percepon, and it is correct to say that a New Yorker and a western ranch hand are probably not

in perceptual agreement. This is an important part of the cosmology because percepon acts as a determining factor for how reality is organized. To experience an aspect of reality, it is necessary to be able to visualize that aspect. At the same me, to express an inﬂuence on an aspect of reality, it is ﬁrst necessary to perceive that aspect. Evolving Organizing Principles The existence of Organizing Principles (some call them Natural Law) is a fundamental tenet of many systems of belief. The assumpon is that there are rules which govern the behavior of everything in reality. Further, it is assumed these rules are everywhere the same (universal) and cannot be violated (immutable). An equally long-held assumpon of many belief systems is that personality (usually soul or spirit) experiences a progression in maturity from the relavely naive to the very mature personality. It is also thought that the purpose of progression is a response to an inherited imperave to experience, understand, and return this understanding to Source. The two beliefs are contradictory, in that Natural Law requires that it never changes, and returned understanding requires that the source is sll learning. If it is learning, then the nature of its emanaons will change accordingly. Current research suggests that personalies do experience a progression and that this progression results in a change in personality’s percepon. This concept is supported by the emerging understanding of etheric ﬁelds and the concept of informed visualizaon. In this cosmology, Organizing Principles are thought to evolve

with Source’s increased understanding of itself brought by the progression of its aspects. As such, there should be a gradual change in character of the etheric as personality progresses from local aspects of reality to Source. With these basic Organizing Principles in mind, all else should be considered local organizing rules. For instance, the Natural Law referred to as balance is probably constant and immutable for the physical aspect of reality, but it may have no relevance in the greater reality. In fact, its validity beyond the physical should be considered indeterminate at this me. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 11: Mindfulness The Hermit from the Waite deck of the Tarot: The Hermit symbolizes the seeker who has achieved great understanding and has turned aenon to the world to show the way for other seekers. The Hermit is both the seeker and the teacher. Purpose The phenomena of transcommunicaon appear to have a purpose beyond the reassurance it oﬀers to loved ones. Aer examining mediumisc messages from the other side and revelaons brought by past teachers, it is easy to imagine that our etheric communicators are trying to teach us about the reality of our immortality by showing us they exist. This discourse is wrien as an exploraon of the idea that the EVP messages in our recorders, or the paranormal images we ﬁnd in our photographs, are a new way of telling us that we are part of a larger community. Perhaps it is up to us to understand what that

means. Mindfulness The terms mindfulness and mindful living have become catchphrases for right living, but not in a pretenous way or in an aempt to tell us what to do. People speak of mindfulness almost in a reverent tone, as if the concept relates more to God than to daily living. Always it is used to oﬀer guidance in how to improve our life, how to be all that we can be. Discussions about the phenomena of transcommunicaon are usually about technique and quality of examples. Who is talking may be discussed, especially if the informaon seems to come from a loved one, but the queson of connuous life seldom comes up. But in fact, considered from the perspecve of our immortality, transcommunicaon may actually be all about our immortality. If this is true, then learning to live mindfully may be the most important ability we can learn. Teachers With proper controls, Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) can be a rich source of informaon about the other side. For instance, we have seen that we should expect a life review during our transion. We know they can see us, and we know our communicators somemes get together with friends on the other side. We also know that there are changes in their ability or need to communicate so that some do not report in for years and some make contact right away, but seem to move on aer a while. Channeled material must be considered with reservaon because we know cultural inﬂuences

can color messages. Even so, consistency amongst communicators seems to add credibility to some messages. (26) Perhaps two of the most important teachers of mindfulness have been the fabled Hermes Trismegistus and the biblical Jesus. The only document credited to Hermes that seems reliable is The Emerald Tablet. (47) In it, he speaks of The One Thing, which is the same as The Great Work of the Hermec tradion. (61) The Great Work is all about the path followed by seekers to gain understanding. The lessons involved in this are virtually the same as those brought by many more contemporary teachers. The message is that a person beneﬁts by learning to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. A review of teachings aributed to Jesus, as found in Aramaic-to-English translaons, shows that he taught that our I Am presence exists in the greater reality and that our transion out of this lifeme is toward our I Am presence: “Where that I Am really is, there you already are, and you can be, consciously” (from Luke 24:38-49). He also taught the unity of humankind, that one person’s acons reﬂect on all people. (62) A transcript of Hans Bender’s words as conveyed by Kai Mügge during a séance can be read on the ATransC website. (43) To paraphrase, Bender explained that we are not alone and that how we view the other side has a lot to do with how we experienced it during our transion. He said that what

we are doing here aﬀects the other side and that we can project negavity into the greater reality which can cause problems for others. Jane Roberts’ Seth (63) material appears to be a reliable source of informaon about the other side. (26) Three important instrucons from Seth are people create their own reality; people exist in more than one aspect of reality at once; and the only wrong act is to violate oneself or other life. The common message from all of these sources is that who we really are, our I am this personality, always exists in the greater reality, that we are able to connect with our etheric aspect through right thinking, that how we think now aﬀects us and others now and beyond this lifeme, and that it is for us to learn to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. This understanding is not based on one person or one organizaon teaching religious doctrine. Think of it as the handbook for right living given to us by our friends on the other side. What We Do Now Matters With close examinaon of ITC messages, a paern begins to emerge that tells us much about the person. While the messages appear to be paranormal, it has been noted by many researchers that diﬀerent praconers are apt to record rather diﬀerent kinds of messages from the same situaon. To illustrate, Lisa and another person went into a dark room of a reportedly haunted building and recorded

for EVP. Lisa is a pragmac, levelheaded witness and recorded EVP containing useful informaon. The other person delighted in being scared and expected scary EVP, and in fact, she recorded scary EVP. In both cases, the messages were clearly paranormal, but their character tended to agree with the praconer’s temperament and worldview. As it turns out, it appears the person’s expectaons are projected onto experiences. This has been noted in what has become known as the sheep- goat eﬀect. In that, people who are more psi sensive (psychic) tend to have more paranormal experiences. In his book First Sight (13), Dr. James Carpenter developed a hypothesis for the evidence currently being presented in parapsychology which holds that people are always informed about the world via their natural psychic sensing. Further, he argues that people are constantly psychokinecally inﬂuencing their world. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. What all of this means is that we also see with our inner senses (ﬁrst sight) and always have some inﬂuence on our world with our intenon, which is based on what we think is true. Worldview As was discussed in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, people imagine what they are experiencing, and the informaon for that imagining comes from our worldview database. If the incoming informaon agrees with the database, then it will actually be experienced by the person. If it does not match the database, then it will either be changed to agree with the database and experienced in that changed form

or outright rejected. The way we express ourselves involves the same processes. Something causes us to react and that inial smulus is translated in our mostly unconscious Aenon Complex based on worldview into an imagined reacon. It is that response based on worldview of which we become consciously aware. Using this model, it becomes evident that worldview plays an important part in our lives. By all indicaons, we are born with a more-or-less empty worldview database. It appears reasonable to argue that we do begin with a degree of understanding so that one might say that a child is an old soul if born with more than average understanding about the world. It seems reasonable to say that the average person’s worldview is full of what has been taught by teachers, parents, clergy and the media. Much of that is simply local custom or popular wisdom. Personal Reality, Local Reality and the Greater Reality As was discussed in the Nature of Reality Discourse, each of us experiences reality as our personal reality. Right or wrong, as far as we are concerned, our personal reality is the real reality, and again, that is determined by your worldview. In eﬀect, our worldview deﬁnes our reality ﬁeld. In mindful living, we are taught to examine our worldview to see if what we believe is true makes sense. The idea is to align personal reality with local reality; the true nature of reality and not what we have been taught to think is true.

Suspended Judgment Rethinking what you believe to be true may seem paradoxical. If you believe something to be true, how can you tell if you should change your mind or even examine the belief? In praccal applicaon, mindful living is a life-long process, a path to be followed one-step at a me, so how does one begin in the middle of a lifeme? An eﬀecve way to begin mindful living is to make a conscious decision to have an open mind. Take conscious control of the process your mind uses to consider new informaon. As I have described before, we visualize what we are experiencing in a very fast, mostly unconscious reacon to informaon from our environment. This visualizaon is based on what we have been taught, which is in our worldview. Environmental informaon that does not match what is in our worldview may be outright ignored; however, if it produces a maybe result in the Perceptual Loop, it may be integrated into worldview as it is allowed to emerge into our conscious percepon. While large diﬀerences between environmental informaon and worldview are rejected, ambiguous informaon may evolve worldview in relavely small increments. Conscious intenon provides the move inﬂuence for the unconscious processes controlling percepon. Therefore, an unfamiliar experience that the conscious self ﬁnds interesng (turns toward in First Sight Theory) will produce feedback that modiﬁes worldview. The next me a same or similar environmental informaon is received, it will more easily pass the Perceptual Loop as an Agree decision.

People have a tendency to automacally reject things they do not understand. The idea of suspended judgment is that we seek to just experience and not automacally decide if we accept what is experienced as true. Instead, me is allowed for future experiences to beer inform the perceptual process. This is a conscious decision that can eventually aﬀect the unconscious Perceptual Loop to provide a way of consciously modifying our mostly unconscious memory. Also see the Principle of Suspended Judgment. Self-determination We have to decide … everything. If not what we experience, then we must at least decide how to react. Self-determinaon also means that we create our world. Again, not necessarily the brick and mortar places and things we live in, but for sure how we react to these things. Two people might have essenally the same experience, but each will remember it in a diﬀerent way. A person who is in the habit of thinking things always go wrong will likely remember it as a bad experience; however, a person who is generally opmisc about life is likely to remember it as a good experience or at least as a learning experience. It is all about atude and that is a learned thing. Here too, suspended judgment can help. Whatever we think the world is like, we can learn to consciously intercept that “oh, it’s awful” response with either a “wait and see” or a “it has a good side” response. This may seem idealisc but it works.

Once it becomes a habit to intercept those internal decisions, there is more room for alternave explanaons for what we experience. An awful reacon tends to stop further consideraon of alternave explanaons. We are always psychically interacng with your environment. How we think of incoming informaon also has a lot to do with how that informaon connues to develop. It is likely that a posive or at least neutral response will encourage a more beneﬁcial eﬀect in our environment. A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness A recent talk to our local Spiritualist Society concerned ethics and personal responsibility. It was based on Principle 7 of the NSAC Declaraon of Principles which states that “We aﬃrm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature's physical and spiritual laws.” (2) Three important concepts concerned with mindfulness are expressed in Principle 7. First, there is such a thing as ordering principles in nature. In many systems of thought, these are referred to as Natural Laws. In the Implicit Cosmology, I refer to the concept as Organizing Principles. The second concept is that understanding and living in agreement with such ordering principles can be beneﬁcial. This is the foundaon concept for Mindfulness. The third concept is that we have a personal responsibility to do so. It is in this concept that we see a blending of religion and pragmasm. In fact, understanding and living in agreement with the organizing principles

of reality is the purpose proposed in this book as our reason for exisng. As I developed my talk (64), I came to realize that personal responsibility, morality (more correctly, ethics) and Organizing Principles are all part of living mindfully. From that came a possible technique that you might ﬁnd useful for learning to live mindfully. The idea is to develop a personal code of ethics that can help you remember your purpose. Below is one I put together for the talk and which you might use as a starng point for your own code. It is divided into three ers so that Tier 1 sets the tone for the code. Seth’s Do not violate (63) is an excellent foundaon concept. Tier 2 is concerned with reasonably basic principles which complement or further deﬁne Do not violate. These should be intuively obvious in the context of progression. Tier 3 is Expression which includes phrases intended to guide in how to live the principles. Catchy phrases are useful here, as they make it easier to remembering the principles. Lucidity As I explained in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, how we experience reality is largely determined by our worldview. The perceptual process is part of our normally unconscious mind, but it is possible to train our unconscious mind to be more recepve to our conscious control. Through mindful living, it is possible to cull undesired beliefs from our unconscious, and in the process, become more aware of our personality. According to the

Gale Encyclopedia of Occulsm & Parapsychology (55), Lucidity is a term that was used in the early 1800s to describe the human abilies to sense subtle energy. This form of sensing has been more recently known as clairvoyance, psychometry and premonions; however, these terms have been replaced by Extra Sensory Percepon or ESP, which itself is now being replaced by psi funconing. In the context of the Implicit Cosmology, lucidity is used to describe the clarity between a person’s conscious self and unconscious personality. The term is used in much the same way to describe the extent to which a person is aware of acvity during a dream. During a very lucid dream, the dreamer would be able to direct acvity as if awake. Hyperlucidity A form of false lucidity is frequently encountered amongst new ITC praconers. This is referred to here as hyperlucidity. In one example of this, a person claims the ability to produce astounding communicaon from the other side as if he or she is completely lucid. On close examinaon, it becomes evident the person is mistaking noise or imaginaon as communicaon. This perceptual disorder is marked by the tendency to ﬁnd phenomena everywhere despite considerable tesmony to the contrary by peers. The concept comes from occasional reports of odd behavior exhibited by some people when they visit an emoonally charged locaon. It is known by such names as Paris Syndrome and Jerusalem Syndrome (65). In regard to paranormal phenomena, the eﬀect is the experiencer’s mistaken belief

in experiencing paranormal phenomena, such as reporng voices in recordings when there are none (66), seeing features in otherwise featureless visual media and misaribung thoughts as transcommunicaon. This is a diﬃcult concept because there may be a tendency to use it as an argument against the existence of transcommunicaon. Instead, hyperlucidity should be looked at as an enthusiasc approach to the study of things paranormal that is not balanced by educaon about the subject and the necessary discernment to see things as they are. The symptoms eventually moderate as the person become beer informed. Inspiraonal writer, William Arthur Ward, told us that, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” That empowering advice prey much sums up the point of view taught to people studying psi phenomena. Imagining something is true gives the mind a kind of permission to look beyond old beliefs ingrained in worldview. This is an eﬀecve tool for personal development; however, a disncon must be made between thinking one can do what is visualized and believing one has done what is visualized even though that is not the case. This is one of the reasons peer monitoring is so important. (67) It is noted in the Percepon and Expression Discourse that informed visualizaon is followed by expression. That is to say the work must be done to embody the imagined outcome. So the key to understanding hyperlucidity is to look for hints of magical thinking. If

a person thinks ability comes upon them as a gi, rather than by way of study and pracce, then an observer should ﬁrst look for the objecve evidence. If that is available, the next queson concerns the validity of that evidence. Can it be independently experienced? Good and Evil and Other Cultural Artifacts Usually, the dichotomy between good and evil is cast in a biblical light. This should forewarn you that the concepts are subjects of belief. Of course, in conversaon, good is understood to mean beneﬁcial while bad is understood to mean not beneﬁcial. Conversaonally, negave means subtracng from the middle in some way, while posive means adding to the middle. These are literal terms that gain special meaning, depending on their context. Evil, however, is a term loaded with negave meaning which comes no maer the context. There is, in fact, a polarity in nature between extremes, but the secret wisdom is that there is always the mean or middle way. For instance, with hot and cold comes warm; there is a seldom-discussed middle way for the four personality traits of driver, analycal, amiable and empathic; the middle way between belief and acceptance is discernment. See Personal Style and Astrology in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse. The deﬁnion of evil is morally objeconable and doing harm. By itself, that makes it a good word, but say evil to someone and they will predictably hear something more like demonic or a threat to one’s soul. Some words are prey much

owned by special connotaon and evil is one of the most powerful of those. As a personal pracce, I avoid the use of such terms as evil, sin and hate because it has been my experience that people never hear the intended context. We receive thousands of quesons from website visitors and past ATransC members. When someone asks about the danger of aracng an evil enty while recording for EVP, for instance, I always make an eﬀort to explain that we have found no evidence for the existence of the biblical form of evil. Some people, on either side of the veil, behave in ways that might seem evil in the sense of being demon inspired. However, on closer examinaon, they virtually always indicate that they felt their acons were jusﬁed by circumstance. An important point to remember is that people do many possibly ansocial things in an eﬀort to protect their perceived rights or to protect something important to them. Also, we as etheric personalies share a body with our human host during this lifeme. Our body is not just inﬂuenced, but outright driven, by its insncts. Killing to protect or for food is natural, as is procreang to assure survival of the species. Such acts can easily become ansocial, even evil in the sense of being demonically inspired. Demons To be clear, we have found no evidence of demons in our study of things paranormal. I would not even know how to incorporate the biblical evil into the

Implicit Cosmology. The Bible is a faith-based text wrien for readers who were modern two-thousand years ago. Back then, the concepts of demons and evil were likely useful exaggeraons to help the community understand good and bad. We also have considerably more understanding of human nature today. In fact, the sense of being jusﬁed to act and the inﬂuence of human insncts cause behaviors that are expected to be moderated by the inﬂuence of social norms. And yes, that may include religious teaching. Perception of Evil If a person has been taught to believe in evil, then that will be part of their worldview. When confronted by a negave inﬂuence, such as another driver yelling at you, it might be natural to assume the person is angry. If you are very religious, this might translate into evil. If there was an opportunity to sit down with the other driver, it might be learned that the other driver thought you had nearly hit his or her car when you changed lanes. The driver was not evil at all, only reacng to a perceived aﬀront that might have caused a serious accident. An andote to the sense of the presence of evil is understanding the way we think and mindful living. Sins, Suicide and Other Taboos Jane Roberts’ Seth (63), told us that “Thou shalt not violate” is perhaps the only commandment. I will add that all else is social norm. By that I mean choosing to commit suicide, for instance, may

violate a social norm, and certainly it seems on the surface to be a waste of a lifeme. However, an important lesson might only come from suicide for the individual or for the people aﬀected by the unexpected act. If our objecve is to gain understanding through experience, then there should be no disallowed behavior. Aer Seth’s advice, I would add that failing to take an opportunity to learn is contrary to our Prime Imperave. To understand this, ﬁrst consider what you have allowed into your worldview, and then learn to pracce discernment. See the On Being a Good Witness Discourse on EthericStudies.org. (68) Mindful Living This is an abbreviated discussion about mindful living. The main message is that what you do now will follow you for the rest of your existence–here and hereaer. The more your personal reality agrees with the actual nature of reality, the more progress you will make in your evoluon toward a spiritually mature personality; understanding begets understanding. The key is to stop and think before you react. This also applies to things you do. Stop and think about how your acons aﬀect others. You are a cizen of your community, the world and the greater reality. You psychically interact with it so that your feelings about another person in some way aﬀect that person. The only right you have is to decide what you think of your world and how you will react to what you decide. You are the only judge as to

how well you are doing and that is not based on what you have been taught but on the understanding you have gathered during your existence. In an ideal world, people would just naturally be mindful of how they are doing as cizens. Laws to enforce behavior that should be considered common decency would be unnecessary because people would be mindful of how their acons might aﬀect others. Of course, we do not live in an ideal world, but that is the point. We are also a society of people whose personal reality is very diﬀerent than the actual nature of reality. The ideal of mindful living is to evolve a society of people who understand they are part of a community. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 12: Progression, Teaching and Community The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve Spirituality It is in our spirituality that we ﬁnd our true meaning: who we really are and our purpose for existence. One of the best explanaons for the meaning of spirituality I have read is oﬀered by Deepak Chopra in his Huﬃngton Port blog (69): Spirituality is the experience of that domain of awareness where we experience our universality. This domain of awareness is a core consciousness that is beyond our mind, intellect and ego. In religious tradions this core consciousness is referred to as the soul which is part of a collecve soul or collecve consciousness, which in turn is part of a

more universal domain of consciousness referred to in religions as God. Since we are an aspect of Source in the Implicit Cosmology, “our universality” is the fact that our entanglement with Source makes us a cizen of the Source life ﬁeld (reality, reality ﬁeld). “Soul” is described as personality which is who we really are, our immortal I am this. This is the “core consciousness” of Chopra’s deﬁnion. The “collecve Soul” in Chopra’s deﬁnion is referred to as the collecve in the Implicit Cosmology, and it is modeled as the multude of personalies related to this realm of reality. The “universal domain of consciousness” is modeled as the multude of aspect which inherits their existence and purpose from Source. God then is Source, Inﬁnite Intelligence, the One, or whatever name you use for the ﬁrst cause of reality in which we are all one. This is the “domain of awareness.” Spirituality, then, is our sense of this connectedness from the perspecve of our conscious self (I think I am this). In the Implicit Cosmology, life is modeled as the building block of reality, and expressions of life are the venues for experiencing the nature of Source. We express the world around us, usually as a collecve view because we share this venue with others. There are likely many realms such as ours, each with many venues for learning. Together, they could be understood as “universal consciousness.” This may be Jesus’s “many mansions” from John 14:2. Reality is modeled as a

nested hierarchy of personalies so that the ﬁrst round of aspectaon is Source’s eﬀort to understand its nature. Our personality is an aspect of other personalies, probably many rounds removed from Source, which are further exploring Source’s queson, who am I and what is my nature? These assumpons are made to provide a beginning point for the model in much the same way the Big Bang is modeled as the beginning for the physical universe in physical sciences. The importance of the Implicit Cosmology is in the relaonship of our I am this personality which is our unconscious core intelligence with our human avatar and our conscious self as I think I am this. Spirituality, then, is our sense of this connectedness from the perspecve of our conscious self (I think I am this). Cooperation Achieving understanding is not a solitary process. Just as our collecve partners cooperate to help us while we are in this lifeme, so are we expected to help others who are in this lifeme with us. This does not mean we are our brother’s keeper, but it does mean that we are unavoidably part of our brother’s experiences. The part we play is our life experience, and so, we are unavoidably linked in the greater community and especially in our local community. See the Cooperave Communies Principle. Friends as Teachers With few excepons, I have looked to a teacher to show me the way. I don’t mean this in any myscal sense; it is just

that I have managed to have someone I trust show me how to do extraordinary things before venturing out on my own. For instance, Lisa introduced me to Electronic Voice Phenomena; a mutual friend taught us how to mine gold; a work friend introduced me to the Tarot. Another showed me how to navigate the Sacramental Delta waters at night. They did not just say, “Here it is.” They took me through everything I needed to know to get started. It was always a natural sharing. Selless People There is value in contemplang the meaning of the selﬂess concept. Diconary.com deﬁnes selﬂess as “Having lile or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, posion, money, etc.; unselﬁsh.” There are many ways in which selﬂessness is expressed: the family that takes in a foster child, a person who stops to help an animal, individuals who feed the poor and inspire selﬂessness in others, or the acvists who dedicate themselves to a cause which probably should be important to everyone. What causes people to be selﬂess? In some obscure way, there may be an evoluonary beneﬁt. Evoluonists argue that there is a selﬂess gene which induces people to selﬂess acts. If they do not survive, their selﬂessness tends to beneﬁt their family which would by inheritance have some of the selﬂess gene. In that way, they argue, selﬂessness helps survival of the gene by helping the survival of family. (70) While the selﬂess gene theory sounds reasonable, it is based

on prey tenuous evidence. However, when viewed from the perspecve of human as avatar, the concept of cooperaon amongst personalies seeking mutual progression is perhaps a more reasonable concept. The Prime Imperave would seem to invoke an urge in every personality to help one another, because by doing so, they are helping themselves and their collecve. Ulmately, one could argue that selﬂess people are those who respond to the urge to answer Source’s queson. From a religious perspecve, “God desires that I do this.” A Vision About Collectives Just minutes aer a meditaon session at the Monroe Instute (53), I had the waking vision of the face of a clock. It was suspended in the air, face- up, but lted toward me a lile so that I could see that there were many black specks scurrying about on the white surface. My impression was that they were lile sck people like those I would draw in a hurry. The space between three and four o’clock was an open hole and a few sck people had apparently fallen through. The people on the face of the clock were somehow helping the people who had fallen through the hole. As the hour hand made a complete circuit, the ones in the hole came to the surface and a few of the others jumped into the hole. My sense was that the sck people were all part of a collecve of personalies, a soul group if you want, and they were doing all

they could to help their fellows who had entered into a lifeme, symbolized by falling through the hole. I knew that they were helping one another to progress by gaining in understanding, and that none of them would be able to move on unl all had made suﬃcient progress. The hour hand represented a lifeme. Probably not all of them, but many of my helpers, friends, and guides, both on the other side and in the physical, are part of my collecve. I am never very far from them, and just as I am a student, in turn, I am teacher, for we must all move as one. First a Student Then a Teacher You have probably heard the phrase, “Our lot is to learn and having learned, our lot is to teach.” The student becoming the teacher is the natural order of life. Civilizaon survives because lessons learned by elders are passed on to oﬀspring. We cannot be around other people, especially children, without inﬂuencing them in some way as accidental role models. However, in modern society, educaon is le to schools and hired teachers. There is a business of educang our young, leaving lile more than role model duty to elders. Yet there are many examples in which individuals have taken the me to preserve knowledge for others. The Internet has countless websites in which informaon for the sake of informaon is available at no charge. Looking past all of those commercial sites, one can ﬁnd that there

are many ordinary people who have spent me developing a personal website just to share what he or she has learned. An important point to this discourse is that many of these people probably know they will not receive a thank-you. Yes, there is a human compulsion to leave a legacy for the next generaon, but virtually all of these websites will vanish when the server fees are not paid. So discounng legacy, the most probable reason is that people build them out of the desire to help others. Consider the model oﬀered by the ancient wisdom schools. There is typically a path one must follow to gain masterhood. The ﬁrst step on the path is for an individual to seek understanding by deliberately asking for a teacher. What follows is a series of lessons, tests and iniaons as the seeker progresses from neophyte to iniate and ﬁnally to teacher and master. Here, it is important to make a disncon between informaon, knowledge and understanding. The lessons provide the seeker with pernent informaon. Tests are intended to determine whether or not the seeker has assimilated the informaon in a way that can be expressed in novel ways. If so, then the seeker has demonstrated that the informaon has been assimilated as knowledge. But here is the important part. During the iniaon, the seeker is asked quesons which may only indirectly relate to the lessons. If the seeker is able to provide reasonable answers that indicate understanding, then the seeker will

be passed to the next level. A selﬂess response to the urge to teach is diﬃcult to ignore; however, the student is drawn to the lessons with usually only vague reasons for pursing understanding. It is this teacher-seeker relaonship I wish to address here. The Nature of Understanding It may be a good idea to explain how understanding is used here. There is a disncon between informaon, knowledge and understanding: Information Informaon can be compared to raw data. In the context of mind, it is sensory input from the environment brought by the physical senses and countless psi signals. As it is received, informaon is undiﬀerenated and is only sensible when organized into some context. In a praccal sense, much of what you have read in this discourse thus far is just informaon. Think of the bits and pieces of informaon as data points which must eventually be integrate into a sensible concept. Much of what people think they know is just informaon. Knowledge When informaon is considered and the related concepts are understood, the resulng comprehension is considered knowledge. To be knowledgeable about something is to comprehend related concepts so that they can be reasonably well visualized. This is the key to the nature of knowledge. It must be comprehensible enough to be visualized as a concept. Here, visualize is used in the general sense of being imaged in some way in the mind. That might be suﬃcient recognion of an odor to name its source or formulaon of

many seemingly unrelated concepts into a form that can be described to others. For instance, consider the old story of blind men examining an elephant: if each man represents a concept (leg, tail and such) then knowledge would be the ability of the men as a group to be able to describe an elephant. Knowledge is a combinaon of informaon, understanding concepts and comprehension of a global sense of meaning. Understanding In the Implicit Cosmology, percepon is modeled as the outcome of a process that begins with encountering informaon that is external to the mind. We, as etheric mind and physical body, are immersed in an array of environmental signals. Some are physically sensed by the body, but most are psychically sensed. All of these signals are processed in our Aenon Complex where they are ﬁrst ﬁltered according to whether or not we are interested. (13) The degree to which understanding agrees with reality (intended order) is also a funcon of the person’s worldview. For instance, a person who has been taught to be prejudiced about something, and who retains that prejudice, will likely take what emerges from the unconscious percepon process without queson. Here, the exercises of mindfulness as a conscious eﬀort to see things as they are intended become important in helping us see the world as it is, rather than as we are taught to think it is. Understanding is not an absolute. As is shown in the Limits of Understanding Diagram, correct percepon (understanding) is typically

limited upon ﬁrst exposure to a concept. As a mindful person seeks to beer understand the concept, understanding approaches percepon that agrees with reality. This is an obvious eﬀect when, say, a new principle in science is introduced, but it is less obvious is when the process of overcoming prejudices learned in youth and fears foisted upon the avatar relaonship by human insncts are considered. As a person moves through a lifeme from youth to old age, things held to be true populate worldview and tend to reinforce future percepon. A conscious eﬀort is usually required to break this cycle. Perhaps even more distressing, a person carries these truths into transion from this lifeme. The result can be a complex, reportedly emoonally painful period of geng well while worldview is beer aligned with reality. The Process of Gaining Understanding As a person gains in understanding via the accumulated lessons of many lifemes (our own and/or those shared by other personalies in the collecve), the person begins to understand the need for more mindful living and the desirability of having a worldview that is in agreement with reality. A magical thing happens when a person begins to consciously seek understanding. You may have heard the phrase: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” A similar saying was oﬀered by the famous psychologist Carl Jung: “Synchronicity is an ever present reality for those who have eyes to see.” “For those who have eyes to see” is also a saying used

in the Bible and secret wisdom schools. In fact, the whole idea of the occult or secret wisdom is not so much the secret but the need for the seeker to have suﬃcient understanding to recognize the lessons. An example is the concept of polarity: Everything has an opposite. The seeker is expected to realize that the middle way is the hidden knowledge to be derived from such concepts. In pracce, this realizaon translates as perceptual understanding based on worldview which is in alignment with reality. At least one reason mindfulness works is that consciously seeking understanding eﬀecvely tells the unconscious part of mind to pay aenon to external informaon that might help, rather than ignoring it as irrelevant. In many ways, the unconscious mind is an obedient servant that shields us from a world that does not support what we think is true. Quesoning assumed truths moves the horizon of conscious self deeper into the unconscious process. Worldview eﬀecvely prevents us from experiencing or believing anything that is not in agreement with worldview. That is how it shapes our personal reality, even when it conﬂicts with actual reality. It is also how a person can obsessively believe something even though the facts seem overwhelmingly to the contrary. See the Perceptual Agreement Discourse. Change must come incrementally. That is, if incoming informaon is clearly not acceptable to worldview, it is ignored. However, informaon that is reasonably similar to what is in worldview will somemes be accepted via the Maybe outcome

of the Perceptual Loop. The Maybe outcome is consciously experienced and incrementally changes worldview. In that way, progression in understanding is a gradual thing. Engineers will recognize the curve in the Limits of Understanding Diagram as a naturally occurring rate of change found in many physical processes. Change is usually evoluonary and seldom catastrophic. Collective The collecve concept is not restricted to a personality and its many entangled aspects. It also applies to social communies of like-minded people cooperang to accomplish a common purpose. We Exist to Learn Given the concepts described above, it is arguable that each of us is here to gain understanding. However, there is an old saying that “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s easy to forget you came to drain the swamp.” While we are in this lifeme and immersed in daily living, it is easy to forget what we came for. In a praccal sense, there are few signs to remind us of our Prime Imperave. Progression may seem to be a solitary path. Perhaps that is why they call such paths personal improvement. In fact, the old saying that we are all connected is more truth than platude, and the path we may seem to be walking alone is more a march of the multude of personalies who await our progression while doing what they can to assist us. We who are seeking understanding are a community, a collecve of like-minded people that exists in the physical as personality entangled

avatars and in the etheric as immortal beings. It is worth repeang the opening Understanding: The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve Spiritualist Society of Reno While it is certainly possible to gain progression in other ways, it is considerably easier to work as a member of a community. Using the Spiritualist Society of Reno as an example, the Sunday talks, oﬀered by a diﬀerent person each week, typically provide insighul messages that help members understand the nature of progression. The speaker may serve as a role model via a personal story and somemes via focused lessons. Such a gathering of like-minded people generates a contact ﬁeld which grows in strength with each meeng. Parcipants can somemes sense the ﬁeld during meengs and even as it extends into their daily lives. The thread of rapport strengthens with each shared memory. It is this ﬁeld that facilitates communion across the veil, making it easier for loved ones on the other side to assist our seeking. In a multude of ways, the community fosters a culture of seeking and mutual assistance. The community oﬀers many ways for individuals to teach others besides giving the Sunday talk. Members have a unique opportunity to ask quesons of others who have similar interests, and to join into conversaons that provide a powerful means of sorng out ideas and bringing clarity to both the one asking and the one answering. It is by teaching that the necessary

ordering of thoughts and clarity of thinking brings understanding. It is very diﬃcult to make progress without a forum in which to explore ideas. The Prime Imperative as a Spiritual Obligation While we all share an urge to gain understanding, in a very real sense, we have a sort of spiritual obligaon to respond to that urge. While it may seem to be a sacriﬁce to teach or help others learn, every such eﬀort is rewarded with new understanding and resulng progression that likely would not be possible otherwise. It is much too complex of a concept to say that each of us needs to serve in some way in the physical. As I have noted above, there are many ways we teach. Perhaps the majority of us are too early on the path to be more than inspiraon to others. However, if we have reached a point in our evoluon at which we are accustomed to self-evaluaon, it is me to begin ﬁnding ways to serve by teaching. In a very real sense, progression can go only so far without teaching and that requires a community. The Transition Experience As I understand it, all of us experience a short period of disorientaon as we begin the process of transion out of this lifeme. The ﬁrst milestone of transion appears to be the oen reported period of geng well. That is thought to be followed by a period of self-assessment and ﬁnally the compleon of transion as we enter into

a new venue for learning. The new venue could be in the physical, but it could as well be in some other aspect of reality. Personal reality is a product of worldview, and we take worldview with us into transion. That is probably why, during the inial shock of transion, it seems to be relavely easy for a personality to remain close to familiar surroundings. It is during this me that most communicaon with people in the physical seems to occur. A common report is the deparng visit to say goodbye to a good friend. The geng well period is needed to allow the personality me to realize that old handicaps no longer apply. This may also be when we undergo a self-evaluaon of our just ﬁnished lifeme. This is that dreaded judgment we are always warned about. However, instead of our being judged by some authority on high, it is a personal process in which we sense how our acons aﬀected others from the perspecve of those whom we aﬀected. Perhaps it is from this self-evaluaon that we determine our future lessons. The period of adjustment apparently begins as the sense that we are in a world very much as we experienced in the physical; again, clinging to the familiar. However, if we expect a heaven from the religious point of view, we will likely ﬁnd ourselves in that heaven. As we understand it, over me, we ﬁnd that these are only constructs of our worldview, which itself is

slowly realigned to beer agree with the greater reality. As we understand the process, we are born into a venue for learning at the end of this transion (a new lifeme), with a point of view, a degree of maturity in our understanding of the nature of reality gained from past experiences and an urge to learn speciﬁc lessons. We are not all-wise when not in a lifeme. Instead, we have an imperave to learn and a degree of perceptual maturity which helps to form our point of view. It is this maturity and resulng point of view which determine what aspect of reality we can be in agreement with. In eﬀect, the greater our understanding, the wider range of venues and opportunies for learning we have available to our personality. To emphasize this point, the relaonship between personality, Aenon Complex and conscious self remains during transion. The only real diﬀerence is that the human inﬂuence is no longer as strong. Part of transion may well be the process of sorng through worldview to ﬂush out that human inﬂuence. Meanwhile, to put it in the vernacular, if a person was an idiot in life, he is likely going to be an idiot in spirit. An important point is that there are no enforcement oﬃcers making sure we do what we should. We are self-governing. Our understanding manifests as percepon and that determines what aspects of reality we can visit (Principle of Agreement). It appears that transcommunicaon is possible during transion,

but once a personality transions into a new venue of learning, it appears that all communicaon into the physical stops unless it is assisted by other, more mature personalies. We have noted in ITC that our etheric communicators behave as if they are living in a world much as they experienced in the physical. This is true even to the extent that they might refer to grandma’s house at which members of the family in the etheric gather for a family dinner. We speculate that this familiar world eventually changes to a more conceptual view as the person’s worldview is aligned with the local reality. We are told that our natural form is as a luminous being exisng in a very luminous landscape. Self-Realization This discourse can be summarized as Understanding Self-Realizaon. The reason for metaphysics is not just to map reality. It is a process of discovery intended to help us learn how to gain personal understanding so as to fulﬁll our purpose. It is okay to ignore the details if you ﬁnd the guidance. Here, I do not mean purpose in a myscal sense. An acorn fulﬁlls its purpose by growing into an oak tree. If the acorn tries to be a willow, it will likely end up being a prey sad-looking oak tree. Metaphysics tells us that our purpose is to align our personal reality with the actual nature of reality. If we ignore that Prime Imperave, we will likely end up being less than we could

be. There is no need for me to explain this point. As you live your life as a person, you must surely see the beneﬁts of living in accordance with ordering principles and the results if you do not. Fulﬁlling your purpose may or may not be the same as what our society considers being successful. Our society is dominated by people trying to be willows. Only a few are suﬃciently self-aware to recognize there is a purpose that underlies the dynamics of our society. It is for you to live in this society as a useful cizen without allowing its less aware point of view to contaminate your worldview. Remember that it is not what happens to you. It is how you react to what happens to you. Implicit Cosmology Discourse 13: The Cosmology of Imaginary Space Introduction Reality is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as conceptual (etheric space) while the physical aspect of reality is modeled as objecve (physical space). The assumpon is that we are taught what is physical and what is not. We are taught to assign physicality to objects of physical space, but intangibility to things of etheric space. This is a convenon. As modeled in this cosmology, a personality is only able to associate with aspects of reality with which it is in perceptual agreement. This agreement is a funcon of worldview. The agreeability factor of worldview is a funcon of how well the individual personality understands the nature of local reality. The degree

of understanding is referred to as a measure of progression. Other Names for Reality Each system of belief has had a cosmology describing the relaonship of what is considered here and where God and Heaven are thought to be. Most have shown reality as a series of layers, with the here on the boom and God on top. The diﬀerence between the various layers is usually described as a diﬀerence in vibraon or coarseness, and travel from one layer to the other is described in terms of going there, being over there or the other side. Lacking a beer set of terms, these words are useful for conversaon so long as it is understood that they are just metaphors. In pracce, these terms are too oen taken literally. Perhaps this is because reality is virtually always considered from a body-centric perspecve. When informaon is revealed to us by our discarnate friends, it is necessarily in terms we understand: up, higher, over there. An interesng evoluon in terminology comes from what one might think of as myscal physics. Rather than many venues for learning, the fad now is to refer to the greater reality in terms of mulverses. As I remember, the concept originally came from speculaon that parcles rapidly vibrate in and out of physical space. If I remember correctly, this idea originates from the wave-parcle states of photons. This certainly is not my area of experse, but the argument for mulverses is based on prey tenuous logic. There is

considerably more objecve evidence for the reality described in this book. It is also prey obvious that most of the people throwing in references to the sexier aspect of physics, including mulverse and quantum mechanics, are appealing to perceived authority more than speaking from actual understanding. When you hear someone refer to mulverse in the context of things paranormal, at least as far as the Implicit Cosmology is concerned, think aspect of reality. Imaginary Model of Reality Given the idea that one gains access to an aspect of reality by gaining understanding rather than by traveling to it, a model of reality is needed that can accommodate conceptual relaonships between its parts. The closest physical analog I could ﬁnd to model the conceptual nature of etheric space is the imaginary space of the Mandelbrot Set. Imaginary Space In mathemacs, a complex number is one that includes an ordinary number and an imaginary number, for instance, X + Yi. Yi is the imaginary number where i is wrien as i equals the square root of minus one, which is a disallowed state in ordinary math since a number mes itself is always a posive number. The complex number space (imaginary space) we are concerned with here is shown in the diagram above. It is a two-dimensional complex plane, extending from -2.0 to +1.0 on the real axis and -1.5 to +1.5 on the imaginary axis. The Mandelbrot Set Equation The equaon for the Mandelbrot Set is: Z n+1 = Zn 2

+ C where Z0 = C Values of C that are in the Mandelbrot Set are those for which the value of Zn does not go to inﬁnity. That is, the formula is calculated with an inial value of C, and then calculated again with that ﬁrst result used for the new value of C. The equaon is calculated in this way a predetermined number of mes or unl the result either rapidly approaches inﬁnity or seles in a narrow range of numbers. Each point in the Mandelbrot Set is used as C in a series of calculaons to produce the plot of all points C in the set. For the plot, resulng values of the calculaons may be assigned a color; usually black to represents the stable regions, and the lightest color represents values of C that very quickly take the calculaon to inﬁnity. Although the area of this number set is a few units on a side, it is important to note that this imaginary space is inﬁnitely small. That is, there is no limit to the number of zeros to the right of the decimal point for C. You can see this in some of the ﬁgures below where the coordinates and magniﬁcaon factor (zoom) are shown. How the set is viewed is a funcon of the resoluon of the display technology and colors used to display the plot. Because color values are assigned to number ranges, the color display tends to be stepped. The Top Fractal

plot below shows a step-wise color assignment. Shading in the plot Showing Navigaon Diagram has been blended. Fractals as Attractors An important feature of chaos theory (71) is what mathemacians refer to as an aractor. (72) This is a conceptual region of stability toward which elements of a set gravitate. For our discussion, elements of a set are unstable but gain in stability as they become more closely associated with the core concept (aractor). The top fractal in the Mandelbrot Set is an aractor for all of the subsequent fractals in the set. The black regions are fractals based on the top fractal. They are regions of relave stability and the coordinates outside of the fractals are considered in their orbit and are more or less stable, depending on their relaonship with a fractal. Comparing the Mandelbrot Set to Reality As a person travels through the imaginary space of the Mandelbrot Set into ever smaller scales, an inﬁnite number of Apple Man fractals are encountered. In the plot above, think of the top fractal as Source and the other fractals as aspects of Source. The enre set is comparable to the reality ﬁeld. Point C in the plot is comparable to a person’s percepon of local reality. The result of the calculaon discussed above, Zn, will approach inﬁnity for all coordinates C except for those within the black region of a fractal. Think of Zn as worldview. In this comparison, Zn (worldview) going to inﬁnity means the personality not understanding

the nature of reality (Perceptual agreement). The more worldview is in agreement with reality, the longer it takes Zn to go to inﬁnity. The point on the plot, C, moves toward a stable region (aspect of the reality ﬁeld) as Zn is slower to go to inﬁnity. As a person (point C) gains in understanding, he or she moves closer to a stable place in reality. The stable area represented as Apple Man fractals which are comparable to collecves in the Implicit Cosmology. Every point C is under the inﬂuence of a fractal (in its orbit). Every fractal is associated with the top fractal. The threads of structure made visible in the plot are arfacts of the technology, but they serve to represent lines of entanglement between the top fractal (Source) and the other fractals represenng aspects of Source. Navigating Imaginary Space To complete the analogy, movement in the imaginary space of the Mandelbrot Set is a maer of changing worldview. Reversing the calculaon and solving for C rather than Zn, one navigates imaginary space by developing a stable value for Zn. That is the same as saying that one moves about, not by traveling up or down, but by changing worldview to agree with the aspect of reality with which one wishes to associate. A Useful Model If you are familiar with the more tradional models of reality, the uniqueness of a model based on the Mandelbrot Set should be apparent. In the same way, the Implicit Cosmology is

very diﬀerent from tradional models of reality. One reason for this is the precondion that the model explains currently understood phenomena without resorng to magical thinking and groundless appeal to mainstream science. There is substanal evidence supporng the Implicit Cosmology. Some of this evidence is produced by good science, and a lot of it is produced by replicable techniques for transcommunicaon. By its very nature, the Mandelbrot Set is a conceptual model. It technically does not exist without resorng to the device of imagining a complex number plane based on the normally mathemacally disallowed square root of minus one. Yet it exists. Section II Community Introduction to Community As it Began The ﬁrst book I wrote was the Handbook of Metaphysics in 1994. My objecve was to give people an overview of metaphysical concepts that would provide a context in which to understand new ones as they came along. The book was complex and I suspect the publisher that picked it up did so because it looked like a textbook. This paragraph originally included a long rant about publishers and the general lack of ethics in that industry as I experienced it with four books, three publishers and one agent. I am sparing you the negavity, but I do feel beer having wrien it. It is enough to say that the Handbook was published but never marketed. Now I am reluctant to show it around because it needs proofreading and is out of date. The thing about metaphysics is that

one must live with the concepts for a while to understand their nature. I was ﬁy when I wrote the Handbook. My wife, Lisa, and I have taken many classes since then. And then Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) came along. Lisa began working with EVP around 1987, and in 2000, we assumed leadership of the Associaon TransCommunicaon (ATransC). (It was the American Associaon of Electronic Voice Phenomena or AA-EVP back then.) It was a small organizaon with an average of 250 members represenng around twenty countries. Universal Studios asked us to help them market the 2005 movie White Noise, and for a while, we were “all over the Internet,” as one person explained when we asked how he found us. The White Noise DVD has a couple of very good bonus features that show us doing walkabouts in interesng places while we recorded for EVP and answered quesons. As the producers wanted, EVP became a household term as the movie was released. There are many reports of early eﬀorts to record direct voice, but the discovery of EVP is generally credited to Fredrick Jürgenson in 1959. When Sarah Estep founded the organizaon in 1982, people had known about EVP for only twenty-three years. There was lile access to the Internet, and most of what people knew about it was from the printed media. The ﬁrst year of our leadership, we set up a website to provide background informaon about EVP and discussion board on which we spent a lot of

me answering quesons. Everyone is an Expert This is discussed in some detail in the Community Commentary, but here I will say that, without a culture of recognizable subject maer specialists as the source of authoritave informaon, it is common for people to assume that authority for themselves. A second factor here is the inﬂuence of religion. Of course, religion is all about faith and belief. It is concerned with heaven and people’s relaonship with God and has a lot to say about people going to heaven. EVP has a lot to do with discarnate people, so by associaon, EVP is oen treated as a maer of faith. When it comes to maers of faith, many people—probably paranormalists in parcular—are reluctant to let others tell them what to believe. In the early days of EVP, virtually everyone who came to us came with preconcepons which we had to overcome before the concepts could be taught. Probably 90% of the thousands of quesons we answered right aer White Noise were concerned with fear of demons, fear that loved ones were stuck, and fear of bringing a demon home when they record for EVP. A second idiosyncrasy of human nature became obvious around 2007. People were coming to us with preconcepons about EVP that were based on prey silly assumpons. There was a growing number of ghost hunng clubs, and by then, each had one or two people who recorded for EVP. Individual clubs, and somemes groups of clubs, developed unique theories

of what EVP was, how to record for it and how it worked. The rest of that story is that Lisa and I are not all that charismac. We approach these phenomena with a pragmac point of view which leaves lile room for faith and unfounded belief. Our explanaons were technical, and I am afraid that we did not do a very good job of communicang the concepts. Probably the most damaging change in the community was the introducon of radio-sweep as a technique for recording EVP. It was like a silver bullet because all people had to do was repeatedly move the tuning dial through the radio spectrum in about 2.5 second sweeps. The resulng audio stream of music and voice fragments was thought to contain meaningful messages. It did not help that White Noise used a similar technique as a prop. Our study of radio-sweep (73) (74) has shown that it probably does not produce EVP, even though good stories can be concocted about the sounds to make it seem like there are messages. The silver bullet proved too tempng for most people, and as we began refusing to review radio-sweep examples, the ATransC became less and less popular as people looked for places to share their radio-sweep messages. As the ghost hunng clubs became more popular, and as social media drew people from discussion boards to FaceBook-like outlets to sasfy the need for sharing, membership in the ATransC began to dwindle. At one me, I was able

to gather ten or ﬁeen competent praconers for an experiment. But because we will only use transform EVP for research, we can no longer aract the necessary praconers. Wikipedia In 2007, I registered as a Wikipedia editor. This is discussed in more detail in the Wikipedia Commentary. As that experience applies to this discussion, it became painfully obvious that there are people in the world who have the same kind of faith in science as others do in religion. This faith in the infallibility of science is referred to as sciensm, and from personal experience, I can say that it is as damaging as religion in so far as the exchange of ideas is concerned. The Wikipedia experience gave me a good sense of how people, in what one must think of as mainstream society, deal with metaphysical concepts. This is important because the skepcal editors, who control what is wrien in arcles concerned with things paranormal, learn their point of view from opinion seers in the skepcal community. As witness that the skepc’s message is being heard, virtually every parapsychologist who publishes arcles in the media has at one me or another railed at the injusce of skepcal aacks. Funding for parapsychological research is nearly nonexistent, and the claim that parapsychological phenomena are pseudoscience and therefore a danger to society has turned the U.S. government and others against their study. It is said that a scienst can ruin his or her career by being associated with anything paranormal, making

it almost a certainty that the mainstream status quo will connue for the foreseeable future. Parapsychology The majority of people in the paranormalist community are hobbyists. Some may have an advanced degree, but not necessarily one related to paranormal phenomena, and they do not usually aempt to work with transcommunicaon under the authority of their degree. Some people in the community are cizen sciensts but most are just having fun. Those who are using EVP to help with their grief over losing a loved one tend to be a small minority, and from my experience, they seem to ﬁnd more help from mental mediumship. (75) With a few excepons, parapsychologists are ﬁrst psychologists, and interesngly, some of the most an-survival people hold a degree in psychology. The study of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC), which includes EVP, is technology intensive. By this, I mean that electronic devices are used and understanding physical principles is essenal to understand transcommunicaon. So the study of ITC requires an understanding of human nature, audio and visual principles, electronics, and metaphysics. Psychologists are trained to understand human nature, and as I said, most are predisposed against the survival concept. See the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study for a discussion about the complexies of transcommunicaon phenomena. Most of the ITC research conducted by parapsychologists that I am aware of has been based on poorly conceived protocols, suggesng the authors had lile or no operaonal understanding of the phenomena. Not surprisingly, the majority of what lile ITC research has

been conducted has been reported as failure to replicate-style arcles. See the Anomalisc Psychology in the Science Commentary. Lack of a Workable Theory The most common complaints I hear from skepcs about EVP are that it is fraud, mistaken noise (pareidolia), or unnoced background conversaons, in that order. I should say that here the skepcs are both mainstream science apologists and parapsychologists. If the conversaon does get past the inial accusaon of fraud, pareidolia or mundane sounds, the next complaint is that there is no workable theory to explain ITC. If this complaint comes from an academic, never mind the ﬁeld of study, the conversaon prey much ends. I am defeated for three reasons: 1. With only a four-year college degree, I am not an academic and have no intellectual standing amongst academics. (academic-layperson paron) 2. The alternave explanaon favored by most parapsychologists for transcommunicaon is the Super-Psi Hypothesis which only allows for survived memory and not connued life. 3. There is lile sense in arguing that there is the Survival Hypothesis because it exists as lile more than a name. In fact, most of the people we look to for such theories are not qualiﬁed to develop one. I know of one parapsychologist who has the academic credenals but he is poorly informed about ITC and predisposed to favor Super-Psi. The most damaging insult to the paranormalist community is the publicaon of failure to replicate-style arcles by supposedly pro- paranormal organizaons in their peer reviewed journals. The identy and

qualiﬁcaons of the peer reviewers are always hidden. At the same me, there has been lile opportunity for nonacademic rebual. This is discussed in the Science Commentary. The Implicit Cosmology The Trans-Survival Hypothesis came ﬁrst as my eﬀort to provide a useful, well-supported argument for survival of personality aer bodily death. It is my answer to the complaint that there is no theory, and is very diﬀerent from other such theories because it includes what is known about transcommunicaon. The Implicit Cosmology came next. It is based on the Trans-Survival Hypothesis and a wide range of metaphysical concepts. Some of these concepts are objecvely supported and some inherit plausibility from other concepts. It is a cosmology because it begins with a ﬁrst cause and extrapolates a model of reality that allows for known phenomena and their current explanaons. The intenon of the Implicit Cosmology is to provide a structure in which to understand transcommunicaon. As it turns out, it also helps me understand my nature. The hypothesis is also very diﬀerent because it is wrien by an engineer rather than an academic. This is a point that needs to be kept front-most in your mind as you read this book. I do not have an advanced degree, and I am only familiar with human nature based on experience and not training. The thing about engineers is that we are trained to account for all known inﬂuences on a system when we develop a design. To miss one might cause a

product to fail, perhaps cosng lives. When I develop a model, I am almost compelled to account for every factor I can imagine. At the risk of seeming snide, academics seem to be able to pick and choose what they are going to pay aenon to in a study, perhaps because they are only working in a theorecal sense. That is a statement of academic policy in the study of anomalisc psychology. Above all, my objecve in wring this book is to foster more informed conversaons about things paranormal that at least include consideraon of survival. PS: Some people have what is considered a good moral compass which guides them toward being a good cizen. However, some people only obey the law to the extent that they think they might be punished for violaons. The Implicit Cosmology was also wrien to provide a reason why people should live mindfully. They should, not because they must, but because they eventually must, and doing so now will make life very much beer in the long view. The Organizing Principles are naturally self-enforcing. I fantasize that, if people come to understand the concepts, they will just naturally become beer cizens. Community Commentary 1: Community A Community Divided It may help you beer understand the Implicit Cosmology if you have a sense of the environment in which it was developed. First, let me clarify a few terms. For lack of a beer term, I refer to people interested in things paranormal as paranormalists and

their community as the paranormalist community. Here, paranormal is used to mean subjects that are concerned with mind-body duality (nonphysical personality), the psi ﬁeld, connuaon of consciousness beyond bodily death (survival), the natural environment of mind in which personality survives (the etheric), and communicaon across the mind-body interface (transcommunicaon). Such subjects as reincarnaon, out-of-body experiences, and near- death experiences are not purposefully excluded. It is just that those communies of interest seldom overlap into what I want to talk about, so there is lile reference to them here. To some extent, the same is true of the many people who experience spontaneous aer-death communicaon. Historical Perspective A good place to begin discussing our community is with the New Age community according to Tom. I grew up in Susanville, which is a small mountain town in Northern California. We had a typical small town radio staon with a lot of country music, but on a good night, I was able to pick up a really cool jazz staon out of Salt Lake City. Becoming the New Age Community I fancied myself as a beatnik, and that self-identy followed me to Eureka, California where I aended high school. As I remember, Eureka bills itself as the Heart of the Redwoods and Rhododendron Capital of the World. That sense of beauty and art fed my beatnik mentality. Yes, I had bongo drums! In fact, I was distracted enough by art and fear of nuclear war that I would not have graduated from high

school in 1961 had it not been for architecture and commercial art classes. Here is an example as to why Wikipedia is so bad for our culture. At the me of this wring (2015), the Wikipedia arcle for Beatnik was wrien by someone who probably detested the whole concept. (76) While I expect the subculture had diﬀerent meaning for others, this lile boy from a logging town saw it as a culture that evolved out of Emerson’s Transcendentalism. Jazz was a conduit to soul and mainstream culture was not to be trusted. The Hippy generaon was in full bloom when I was discharged from the Air Force in 1966. Had I not been sequestered in that military world for four years, it is probable that I would have been seen as a hippy. But as I returned to civilian life sll condioned by military discipline, the beatnik in me was suspicious of the apparent lack of responsibility the hippy subculture exhibited. All of this is important to this account, because I was able to watch the hippy subculture evolve into the New Age culture in the 1970s from the perspecve of a far simpler worldview. By the me people began talking about the New Age, I had already been involved in the study of metaphysics for many years. This gave me a prey good understanding of the fundamental concepts. I like to think of New Agers as a community of like-minded people with a culture of seeking, rather than the

more individual-centric culture of the hippy generaon. As with paranormalists, a New Ager is apt to come across as a naïve idealist, but the New Age community sll culvates important ideas which represent our ﬁnest qualies. The New Age Culture, then, represents the basic ideals that nature is a living organism (Gaia), that we are all connected as cizens of the greater community, that our individual potenal is unrealized, and that it is important to ﬁnd ways to access that potenal. I think of this point of view as human potenal. In comparison, the paranormalist community is a blend of human potenal (psi funconing), survival, and transcommunicaon. Enter Spiritualism Okay, yes I know, spiritualism started way before beatniks or any of these modern subcultures. It is reasonable to say that the spiritualism I am concerned with here began in the last half of the 1800s. Most of the culture, religion and precepts were established prior to 1900, but shortly aer 1900, spiritualism as a religion began to withdraw, and today, it represents a relavely small community. Although organized spiritualism has diminished, well over ﬁy percent of people in our Western culture are spiritualists at heart. (77) Think of spiritualism as the belief in survival aer bodily death and communicaon across the veil and then think of the New Age community as being focused on human potenal. That is similar to the disncon I make in the Science Commentary between parapsychology being mostly focused on extraordinary human ability, and those of

us who are focused more on survival-related phenomena. Organized spiritualism claims quite a long list of phenomena as the phenomena of spiritualism, but from a more contemporary perspecve, many of the phenomena are beer seen as psi funconing or human potenal. As a praccal maer, any form of trans-etheric inﬂuence thought to be iniated by a discarnate personality is a phenomenon of spiritualism. For this discussion, the important point is that the combined inﬂuences of spiritualism and the New Age culture have produced our present paranormalist community. It is characterized by the belief in human potenal and survival, but as I will explain later, communies of interest within the paranormalist community lean more toward one or the other. Paranormalist Community The paranormalist community includes ﬁve main communies of interest. It is important to note that a person might be involved in all ﬁve: 1. Parapsychology: Academically trained, usually with doctorates, concerned with theorizing and conducng research, primarily considering the human nature-based response to phenomena, especially psi ﬁeld-related phenomena. 2. Cizen Sciensts: People who are involved in the study of these phenomena on the layperson side of the academic-layperson paron. 3. Mediumisc Praconers: People who apply techniques to induce transcommunicaon, such as mental and physical mediumship, automac wring and ITC. Healing intenon is included here. 4. Hobbyists: This community of interest is primarily composed of ghost hunters. There are hundreds of ghost hunter clubs which are usually operated as social clubs with haunted house invesgaons as oungs. They usually employ quite

a lot of technology to collect evidence, including recording for EVP. 5. Seekers: People who are interested in understanding these phenomena as it relates to their true nature and relaonship with reality. Such concepts as personal improvement and human potenal apply to this community of interest. Each group represents a very diﬀerent point of view, and while each group is relavely self-suﬃcient, all must be considered for the proper study of these phenomena. Parapsychology A parapsychologist holds a degree from an accredited college or university, usually a doctorate. Accreditaon is an important criterion because there are organizaons that teach classes in parapsychology and even oﬀer degrees or cerﬁcates, but which are not recognized within mainstream academia. Parapsychologists usually hold a degree in psychology; however, some do hold technical degrees. This is an important consideraon which is discussed later in the Science Commentary. While parapsychologists are technically paranormalist and part of the community, there is an academic-layperson paron that eﬀecvely isolates them from the rest of the community. Despite this isolaon, and probably because people are culturally indoctrinated to respect sciensts, it is common for people in the paranormalist community to look to parapsychologists for learned direcon in all things paranormal. At the same me, the focus of parapsychology is typically on extraordinary human ability, speciﬁcally as related to psi funconing. In research, phenomena thought to be related to Trans-Survival are typically studied by parapsychologists as psi funconing or the normal mistaken as paranormal. The two contending explanaons for paranormal phenomena

are the Super-Psi and Survival Hypotheses. As a general rule, parapsychologists can be expected to select the Super-Psi Hypothesis over the Survival Hypothesis if psi funconing or a normal human explanaon cannot be found. Because of its academic roots, the ﬁeld of parapsychology has inherited academic standards of peer review, collaboraon, scienﬁc methodology, and a culture of respect for academic authority. However, as is shown in the Range of Interest Diagram, below, mainstream science does not generally accept the ﬁndings of parapsychology, and in fact, any involvement in paranormal subjects can harm a scienst’s mainstream career. The mainstream academic system generally does not teach about paranormal subjects other than about the evils of pseudoscience and the many ways people can be delusional. As previously noted, most parapsychologists hold a psychology degree. I can only name one who has a second degree in technology, which I consider necessary for the study of ITC. The consequence is that most parapsychology research is restricted to human behavior else the researcher is working outside of his or her training. While possibly not qualiﬁed to study the hard science side of paranormal phenomena, parapsychologists typically do have the necessary training in methodology to conduct research that is generally lacking on the layperson side of the paron. With that said, paranormalists are frequently the best informed people in the community when it comes to working with these phenomena. Even when compared to parapsychologists, people who have studied things paranormal for many years and have parcipated in

numerous paranormal related acvies are oen the most knowledgeable about the speciﬁcs. It should also be noted that a paranormalist may hold an advanced degree in an unrelated ﬁeld and approach the study of things paranormal as an avocaon. Coupling corporate savvy and probably unrelated technical skills with ﬁrst-hand ﬁeld experience oen produces very qualiﬁed invesgators, even if they do not refer to themselves as parapsychologists. Citizen Scientist Ideally, people who study nature are trained to do so by an academically cerﬁed organizaon, but in many cases, the magnitude of a research task may be such that a few academically trained sciensts must depend on volunteer assistants for roune tasks such as data collecon and ﬁeld support. These layperson research supporters are somemes referred to as cizen sciensts. They may be paid, and in some forms of research, it is their computer that is used in a distributed network, or they may provide the necessary eyes for searching photographic data or counng species. For comparison, in the early days of radio, many ham radio operators could have been referred to as cizen sciensts. There are usually few academically trained sciensts in froner ﬁelds, in which case, virtually all of the organized study is conducted by enthusiasts. Haunngs invesgaon groups are a good example, and of course, the study of ITC has historically been shunned by academics, making it necessary for cizen sciensts to ﬁll the resulng void. A characterisc of psi and transcommunicaon phenomena is that they cannot be studied

without an able praconer. As is noted below, this means that most research protocols depend on the use of cizen sciensts as qualiﬁed praconers. A disncon needs to be made between ghost hunters as hobbyists and haunngs invesgators as cizen sciensts. For the hundreds of ghost hunng clubs, an evening looking for evidence in a presumed haunted locaon is a fun oung. While some valuable informaon about the phenomena may come from such oungs, such informaon is seldom reported in a form and venue suitable for collaboraon. Some invesgaons involve a protocol and a well-wrien ﬁnal report. The invesgators would be considered cizen sciensts if the ﬁnal report is made available to parapsychologists and other cizen sciensts in a form which permits crical examinaon and in a forum which permits quesons and answers. Admiedly these are my criteria. Mediumistic Practitioners A person who has translated interest in a subject into some form of commercial or personal pracce is considered a praconer. Praconers in the paranormalist community are mainly concerned with various forms of mediumship and psi funconing, but this group also includes people working with ITC and healing intenon. The main consideraon for inclusion in this community of interest is that the pracce is based on the person’s desire to work with objecve phenomena. These phenomena are considered forms of transcommunicaon in that they suppose the inﬂuence of intenonality on the psi ﬁeld and trans- etheric informaon access. Praconers may begin with a natural talent, but study and work developing

a personal methodology is typically necessary. Without such people, these phenomena cannot be studied under controlled condions. Without a doubt, there is a natural distribuon in nave ability. With the limitaons of current teaching methods, some people are simply beer able to develop into conﬁdent praconers than are others. With that said, with study and a lot of work, most people should be able to achieve some success in working with these phenomena. Hobbyists There is a progression of interest in things paranormal that oen begins with a casual interest in something like ghosts which leads to membership in a local group. In this way, local groups can be a person’s ﬁrst introducon to the reality of things paranormal. For a few, this becomes a life-long study, and it is this progression that the community can potenally nurture. Ghost hunters are like-minded people who gather together in local clubs to invesgate a reportedly haunted place in an eﬀort to collect evidence about the cause of the haunng phenomena. Some groups approach the hunt with formal protocols and produce meaningful reports, while others mainly just seek to have fun. Even though there are substanal diﬀerences between recreaonal ghost hunng and serious invesgaon of supposedly haunted places, both groups are generally discounted by the more academically trained members of our community. This has produced something of a vacuum of leadership which has forced the less well-trained paranormalists to their own devices. The result is less than academic-quality research and reporng, and the

isolaon of a very valuable research capability from researchers who are trained, but lack access to the necessary praconers. In a few rare instances, parapsychologists have embedded themselves with paranormal invesgaon groups to produce important research. Seeker A seeker is deﬁned here as one who consciously endeavors to gain understanding that will opmize wellbeing and that might improve the ability to live in harmony with nature. Concepts such as mindfulness, being a good cizen, we are all connected, and thoughts are things typify the seeker point of view. To be clear, we are all seekers. It is just that most of us do not consciously seek beer understanding, wellbeing, and harmony. The seeker community of interest within the paranormalist community is not normally associated with a relavely large group of casual seekers who are possibly just entering the paranormalist community, but have yet to develop the necessary knowledge base for discernment. Peripheral Inluences There are a number of social groups which are not considered paranormalists but which have an important inﬂuence on the evoluon of Etheric Studies. Surprisingly, the least organized is probably the most inﬂuenal, so I will begin there. People Who Believe A popular survey queson has to do with whether or not a person believes in some aspect of the paranormal. In a 2005 Gallup arcle, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal” (77), it is noted that “about three in four Americans profess at least one paranormal belief.” At ﬁrst glance, one would think this implies

strong support for Etheric Studies, but this belief is condional. People are very good at compartmentalizing their worldview so that beliefs that contradict objecve understanding can coexist with a person’s objecve view of reality. For instance, it is common for a usually pragmac person who does not believe in paranormal phenomena to sll be a religious person who believes in God and Divine inﬂuences in life. With this in mind, it is reasonable to think that many survey respondents answered from the religious compartment of their worldview and not from their objecve perspecve. For the purpose of this discussion, consider this casual belief. A second form of casual belief is whether or not respondents have made a conscious associaon between belief in an aspect of the paranormal and the implicaons of that belief. For instance, it may not occur to a person who believes in ghosts that the ghost might be a vising loved one. In a similar way, belief in intuion may not equate with belief in the possibility of psi funconing. As opposed to casual belief, belief as convicon translates into willingness to study the subject or in some way support the study. We are not aware of any surveys designed to diﬀerenate between casual belief and convicon, but from our experience, the number of people who are convinced some aspect of the paranormal is real is considerably smaller than seventy-ﬁve percent. When referring to the paranormalist community, I am including people who are willing to put their

beliefs into acon and not casual believers. Both casual and convicon believers have a substanal inﬂuence on the media because of markeng potenal and on the greater community when opinion is translated into funding of projects. As is noted in the discussion about pseudoscience, it is this group of people which stands between paranormalists and potenal legislaon designed to limit research. See the Psi Research Commentary. Casual Seekers It can be argued that all of us are seekers of understanding, but in this book, I am idenfying seekers as a community of interest in the paranormalist community. They are interested in understanding things paranormal so as to beer understand their nature and relaonship with reality. Such concepts as personal improvement and human potenal apply to this community of interest. A way of generalizing this group is to think of what one must understand and do to be a good cizen in society. A basic understanding for seekers is that we are all connected on both sides of the veil. This oen translates for seekers as being a good cizen in the greater society. Paranormalist seekers tend to focus on a parcular path of learning. For instance, one might be primarily involved in the study of and working with transcommunicaon. To be on a path generally means to be learning to be mindful and to pracce discernment. Seekers that I do not consider part of the paranormalist community are those who, for the lack of a beer word, dabble in the

study of things paranormal. As a longme observer, I speculate that these casual seekers involve themselves in paranormal subjects because of curiosity and/or while seeking personal improvement without regard to their cizenship in the community. In me, many casual seekers do sele on a path of learning and become dedicated seekers. There are no numbers I am aware of for the relave size of this group, but if mainstream society represents 100% and 75% of those who believe in some form of paranormal phenomena, then casual seekers are probably 2-3% and paranormalists are probably less than 0.5%. Religion The most fundamental criterion for a paranormalist community of interest is that it is not intenonally associated with faith or magical thinking. With that said, it is very diﬃcult to completely transform the way tradionally religious concepts are described into new terminology that does not imply the usual religious concepts. The term spirit is probably the most diﬃcult to replace, but others such as death and angels are also concepts carrying substanal religious baggage. Interesngly, the same problem occurs with terms used in science. For instance, the science-based meaning of energy is not applicable in purely conceptual etheric space, yet it is the term one reaches for when trying to talk about potenal. With energy not having the usual meaning in etheric terms, concepts such as electromagnec and frequency also do not apply. One knows what is intended, but using them leads people oﬀ on dead-end ways of thinking. The tradional inﬂuence

religion has on paranormal phenomena has had and connues to have a substanal inﬂuence on paranormalists. For instance, it is common to hear a paranormalist speak in objecve terms about a mediumisc ability, but then in the same sentence, describe it as a gi. Skeptics While many people have healthy skepcism about paranormalist claims, there is a small segment of mainstream society who have taken the name of skepcs and who are aggressively an-paranormal. Aer a few years of aempng to balance paranormal arcles in Wikipedia, and being more or less constantly abused by skepcs, I have come to understand that there is a point of view in mainstream society that has assumed the moral authority to combat the spread of pseudoscience, AKA, belief in all things paranormal. The skepc point of view is that, if science does not speciﬁcally account for a phenomenon, then it cannot be, and therefore it cannot exist. Of course this is sciensm. The nature of the skepc threat to the paranormalist community is illustrated with this quote from the “Health and Educaon Implicaons” secon of the Pseudoscience arcle in Wikipedia: Pseudoscienﬁc beliefs are irraonal and impossible to combat with raonal arguments, and even agreeing to talk about pseudoscience indicates acceptance as a credible discipline. Pseudoscience harbors a connuous and an increasing threat to our society. It is impossible to determine the irreversible harm that will happen in the long term. In a me when the public science literacy has declined and the danger of

pseudoscience has increased…. (78) (current as of January 2016). When this point of view is translated into acon, it could potenally lead to limitaons on paranormalist ability to work with these phenomena. See the Skepcs and Wikipedia commentaries. A More Pragmatic View of the Community The way I have parsed the community is a funconal view which I have learned through experience. Each part of the community is ulmately dependent on the others. Each part has a role to play if the reality of psi funconing, survival, and transcommunicaon are to become part of mainstream thought. While I speak of community support for research, the actual support is coming from a few people who are interested in the science and want to support the work. These are generally successful, well-educated senior cizens who make it their business to be knowledgeable about these phenomena. Yes, of course, there are many more generally successful, well-educated senior cizens who can be found on the non-academic discussion boards, but most have not exhibited the discernment, understanding, or ability and inclinaon to help fund research. Look around the places you frequent on the Internet. Are you seeing pragmac discussion amongst discerning, knowledgeable people? Can you get a sense of informed parcipants? If not, perhaps it is me to reconsider how you spend your me. The point of these comments is that the intellectual minority is supporng research and giving parapsychologists a reason to do their work. The next part of these commentaries is tled Science,

and while much of my commentary there is in the form of complaining about parapsychology and the academic-layperson paron, it is intended to focus on what needs to be improved. Personal Agendas The New Age community was probably at its greatest in the late 1970s. Today, New Ager is something of a condescending term reserved for people who are willing to believe in anything that might unleash their hidden potenal. At the same me, there are many people in the New Age community who will sell anything from blessed rocks to special treatments guaranteed to open chakras. Care must be taken here not to be too general. Certainly some techniques, devices and beliefs are eﬀecve, if only to condion expectaons so that the client can create the desired reality. However, there is much about the New Ager selling to New Ager culture that gives the rest of us a bad name in the eyes of mainstream society. In the ﬁrst dra of this book, I argued in this commentary that the commercial inﬂuence had not yet aﬀected our community; however, it is clear now that I was ignoring the evidence. When Lisa and I assumed leadership of the ATransC, my focus was on EVP, and later on ITC. Sure, there were a few courses oﬀered for a fee, but the devices used for ITC were mostly repurposed commercially available equipment. While most of what was oﬀered for sale was informaon, most of that was freely available on organizaon websites such

as atranc.org. Between 2000 and about 2007, it was easy to gather people who were eager to experiment with ITC. Most of the conversaons found on the sll young Internet were about comparing experiences, sharing examples, and helping one another work with techniques. Aer 2007, our ATransC membership began to diminish, as did parcipaon on paranormalist discussion boards around the Internet. Facebook was introduced in 2005 and it was really catching on by 2007. Social media has had a profound inﬂuence on how people share ideas and sasfy their need for community. This has led to diminished quality of communicaon as here now and gone tomorrow posts provide the illusion of community while reducing it to a new kind of inane babble. A strong supporter of the ATransC recently used Kickstarter to help fund a new television series on survival. His target was $500K. While I thought it was a lile high, I also thought it might be possible considering the thousands of paranormalists in our community. As it turned out, 35 people pledged a total of $10,277. (79) Considering the number of paranormalists that I am sure knew about the fund drive, such a poor turnout was unexpected. Was it just that people were lost in social media or was there a more praccal explanaon? Why does ATransC.org have six or seven hundred website visitors every day but ﬁnd it impossible to aract parcipaon on the discussion board or help with research? Why are many other discussion boards virtually

abandoned? It is clear that many people seek informaon about things paranormal. But few of these same people make an eﬀort to further the understanding of others, or even to seek beer understanding by asking quesons. I understand that beer educated science buﬀs tend to stay out of the public eye and that parapsychologists do not fraternize with laypeople, but what about the other ninety-nine percent of paranormalists? If you pay close aenon to who is posng in the paranormal oriented Facebook pages, you will noce that many, probably most, people posng are mediums, authors, or people teaching a paranormal oriented course or selling products. Some are also focused on spreading the word about a favorite theory. In short, much of the parcipaon in online paranormalist circles is by people who have an agenda other than seeking understanding. Here, I need to make it clear that I am one of the people teaching and promong an organizaon. Probably like most other people promong something, I am involved with these things because of a strong interest in all things paranormal and a desire to see the community mature. There is nothing wrong with being acve on the Internet to make a point. I am the last person who wants someone to do something for free. The eﬀort required to serve others warrants a reasonable fee, and certainly me and eﬀort should be compensated. It is also important to note that it is the people seeking to promote something who are building

the infrastructure for the paranormalist community. The problem is that most of what is being built today are islands of informaon that seldom connect with or even relate with the larger community. My point is that, while the Internet looks like a very busy place, many of the acve people are seeking to do or teach and not seeking to learn. The seekers and intellectuals are mostly absent. While many people are fans of my friend’s eﬀorts to produce a television series we would all beneﬁt from, hardly anyone is willing to pitch in a dollar to help out. While everyone is happy to read the four hundred plus pages on ATransC.org, virtually no one is willing to help out or even ask a queson. The only conclusion that seems to answer the evidence is that the paranormalist community is following the way of the New Age community as paranormalists seek to sell to paranormalists, rather than do what it takes to move understanding of these phenomena out of the froner and into mainstream society. In a very real sense, ours is not a cooperave community. Blind Men and an Elephant In the Blind Men and an Elephant parable, blind men were tasked with describing an elephant based on the part near which they stood. As you might expect, the elephant was variously described as a tree, wall, spear, even a snake. The point of the parable is that one cannot know what is being studied by only studying a

part. In a very praccal sense, mainstream science, parapsychologists, praconers and people involved in survival research are as blind men examining the elephant-paranormal. This blind examinaon of the phenomena is exasperated by the academic-layperson paron but it is compounded by a tendency of laypeople to assume understanding they do not have. Natural Cycles An important concept for seekers is the idea that progression tends to be cyclic. The same can be said for communies. It may take a new generaon for meaningful progress to be made, but it is a reasonable certainty that future history will describe today’s paranormalist community as a short- lived transion between superson and mainstream understanding of the greater reality. The Implicit Cosmology will not be the last such aempt to facilitate this evoluon, but for now, it is my vision that you will take what you learn here and help develop the paranormalist community. Progression takes a community. Help others to help yourself. Community Commentary 2: Point of View Introduction Point of view is our I think the world looks like this perspecve. While I talk about the etheric personality perspecve in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse, this commentary addresses point of view from the physical body or body-centric perspecve: that is, from the perspecve of our conscious self as it is informed by our immortal personality, cultural educaon, and human body insncts. This is the I think I am this identy we are accustomed to thinking of as who we are. In the Implicit Cosmology,

the immortal personality is modeled as our mostly unconscious I am this identy. Our point of view determines the community we gravitate toward and the kind of cizen we become within that community. Point of view is determined by worldview. Worldview represents what we believe to be true, and because it has such a profound impact on our lives, it is important to know what we believe and why. This commentary is intended to provide a sense of how we become who we are in terms of atude about life, how beliefs aﬀect a lifeme and how we might take charge of these very important inﬂuences. The second aspect of this discussion concerns understanding the point of view of other people. Since organizaons and communies tend to develop a collecve personality, understanding point of view will also help you understand how to relate to these enes. Models for Reality There are three well-established models or theories designed to explain who people are and their relaonship to the world. (80) These models are: Personality and body are one: This is the mainstream view in which the mind is believed to be the product of the brain. The mind exists enrely within the brain and all funcons of mind can be aributed to processes within the brain. Personality and body are one and the psi ﬁeld exists: This is the same as mind and body are one with the excepon that it allows for the existence of a psi ﬁeld which permeates

the enre physical universe. Each person is thought to be connected to the whole by this ﬁeld, and through psi funconing, is able to sense it. In this view, personality is a product of brain, but memory of that personality remains in the psi ﬁeld and is accessible via psi funconing. Personality and body are independent: This view requires that there is a nonphysical aspect of reality, referred to here as the etheric. This view suggests that the physical body evolved in the physical and hosts the etheric personality which evolved in the etheric. The personality and body are independent model best answers current evidence and is used throughout the Implicit Cosmology. In general, the physical body is considered an avatar for the etheric personality. In this view, personality requires the physical body in order to directly experience the physical. While the etheric personality is associated with the physical body during a lifeme, its perspecve is as conscious self peering at the world from within the avatar’s head. Here, a person is deﬁned as a personality entangled with an avatar. What We Are Born With According to the Implicit Cosmology, we came into this lifeme with the urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality through life experiences. Our etheric personality has probably experienced many diﬀerent venues for learning, and so we come into this lifeme with a certain amount of acquired understanding which prepares us to beer understand the nature of new experiences. In eﬀect, we are born

with a hunger to learn and a preexisng inclinaon toward what we will learn. This urge guides us in life choices which might lead to beneﬁcial or at least meaningful experiences and helps us make sense of them. The Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse includes a descripon about how the environment, body consciousness, worldview, and experiences inﬂuence percepon. Because point of view is usually physical body-centric, the ability of our etheric personality to inﬂuence behavior is very limited. As is illustrated in the Percepon Diagram, the path of learning for personality is via the Perceptual Loop as it is limited by worldview in the Aenon Complex which supports percepon and expression. Worldview The Aenon Complex in the Percepon Diagram is an unconscious process. It represents how environmental informaon is translated into conscious awareness. Note that the Perceptual Loop is moderated by worldview and funcons as a ﬁlter that stands between a person’s I think I am this perspecve of the conscious self and the I am this perspecve of the person’s etheric personality. What we think of sensed informaon is what emerges into our awareness aer it is moderated by worldview. As such, worldview represents personal reality because it determines how we understand experiences. A person is born into this lifeme with a degree of understanding inherited from its collecve, and perhaps gained through prior experiences in other venues, plus an urge to gain further understanding about the nature of reality. However, at birth, worldview is dominated by the human insncts of

its avatar. Worldview is quickly populated with informaon happily provided by our parents, teachers, religious leaders and community. We are taught what is right according to our culture. We are not born with a moral guide, and therefore, might not have the presence of mind to recognize atudes taught about other people as prejudices. Conscious self’s ability to inﬂuence worldview is also limited by the Perceptual Loop, meaning that cultural norms may be all we know. As the perceptual process is modeled, if someone tells us something like “New York City is a great place to live,” the informaon is unconsciously visualized and compared with worldview in the Aenon Complex. The unconscious process would likely relate the statement with how we currently live and how we would like to live. Because this is an unconscious process, our reacon to the statement might emerge into our conscious awareness with agreement or perhaps an alternave view without our realizing how we arrived at that response. Even more importantly, if the statement is reasonably close to what we previously believed, it will likely go toward modifying our worldview. Perhaps this would be experienced something like “So and so thinks that....” Temperament As is discussed in the Personal Style and Astrology poron of the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse, the concepts of personality styles and astrological inﬂuences may help us understand our temperament. The idea is that we are born with a temperament which stays with us through the lifeme. Personality styles we appear to be

born with are typically describe din terms we would use for raonal thinking such as analycal or amiable. Astrological traits are described in terms more appropriate for animal insncts such as need for shelter or compable with another sign. You may remember that a basic queson in psychology is whether temperament is inherited from a family member (nature) or learned while a child (nurture). Considering Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon, temperament can be at least parally modeled as Nature’s habit established by preceding generaons. A reﬁnement of Sheldrake’s hypothesis oﬀered in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is that the entangled personality contributes the urge to gain understanding to a person’s temperament. Point of View as Inluenced by Temperament If we come into a lifeme with an urge to learn and a predisposion to prefer certain experiences, then the temperament models may be an indicator of the nature of that predisposion. Our worldview helps to shape atudes, but that inﬂuence is moderated by our predisposion or the temperament with which we were born. For instance, a community may teach its cizens to be deeply afraid of demons, but if the temperament of a member of that society is to queson authority, it may be natural for that person to turn that fearfulness into a curiosity as to why demons are fearful. Upon discovering there is nothing to fear, temperament might help to modify worldview’s inﬂuence, perming the person to be more accepng of the unknown. So it is temperament or predisposion to select

learning opportunies that determines point of view. In turn, being aware of point of view helps us to beer understand who we are and why we do what we do. This in turn changes automac reacons to situaons into more deliberate responses. We will experience and learn from those experiences without deliberate control, but being truly self-aware means knowing why. In that way, it is possible to align worldview and point of view with nature. Villager-Explorer Effect This is more commonly known as the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect, but I do not much like being called a sheep. In 1942, Professor Gertrude Schmeidler idenﬁed a correlaon between people scoring high on a belief in the paranormal survey with their psi funconing scores. Conversely, a poor belief score correlated with a lower than chance psi funcon score. She referred to this as the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect with believers as the sheep. (81) As noted, for my self-esteem, I am referring to the believers as explorers because of their willingness to explore new ideas. Conversely, I am referring to disbelievers as villagers because of the more conservave atude of people who follow cultural norms and depend on maintaining the status quo. This concept implies that people who allow for the possibility of new ideas are more likely to experience new ideas. The inverse of this can be seen in the concept of incredulity blindness, a term I use to describe how some people are inexplicably unable to see or hear examples of paranormal phenomena. See

the Perceptual Agreement Discourse. Even if a person is skepcal, suspended judgment as an openness to the possibility of the unknown oﬀers far more opportunies to experience phenomena. The Aenon Complex which supports percepon is designed to make decisions about what is real and what is not. It is also designed to characterize what is real in terms familiar to the person. In this same model, intenon expressed by the conscious self is the means by which the perceptual process can be evolved. As such, following the Villager-Explorer Eﬀect, the intenon to withhold judgement about experiences enables more experiences. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Engineering Imperative At least in ﬁelds of study concerned with the physical sciences, there is a hierarchy of skill in which sciensts expand knowledge, engineers apply knowledge and technicians implement plans. This is a generalizaon, but one which is of praccal importance to this discussion. In a parcular subject or skill set, neither a scienst nor an engineer can be expected to have the praccal experse held by a journeyman technician. In froner subjects, technician-level skills might be equivalent to psi, medium and ITC praconers. In froner subjects, praconers are oen the most knowledgeable about the subject even though they may not be prepared to assess the paranormality of their experience. For the most part, an engineer holding a Bachelor’s of Science degree has been trained in the same subjects as a doctorate in a physical science. Doctoral programs are generally more detailed and some

include training in many tasks related to research design, data collecon, analysis and research documentaon. Engineering curriculums are designed to introduce the physical concepts necessary to understand involved principles with emphasis on applicaon. From personal experience, this means that an electronics engineer should be able to idenfy known physical principles that might be involved in research data. Of course there are many life circumstances that help to determine how far a person progresses in college, but experience has shown that there is a substanal diﬀerence in point of view between people who choose to be an engineer with a four-year degree and those who go on to earn a doctorate. In my experience, this diﬀerence becomes a factor when it comes to characterizing phenomena. Doctorates depend on precedence and the guidance of exisng theory, and while engineers do depend on precedence, they are also obliged to account for observed circumstances without regard to their theorecal nature. Put in terms important to the study of froner subjects, mainstream sciensts are taught that everything must be deﬁned or at least predicted by exisng theory. If an observed incident is not covered by known principles, it is likely to be discounted as either an illusion or fraud. For instance, stascal outliers are rounely discarded during data analysis. This dismissive point of view is demonstrated over and over again in the struggle for truth between skepcs and experiencers in froner subjects with skepcs saying, “It is impossible and therefore cannot be.” This is diﬃcult

to characterize without over-generalizing. The point is that people with an engineer’s point of view do not have the luxury of discounng phenomenal events just because they do not comply with known science. In this sense, there is something of an engineering imperave to account for the objecve inﬂuences as well as the human factors constung the circumstances of a design. If people experience it, then it must become a factor in the design. In response to this imperave, the engineer’s approach to the study of froner subjects can be expected to begin with the development of a hypothesis based on the assumpon that the phenomena exist. In a praccal sense, doctorates are not allowed to make that assumpon. It is crical that people working on either side of the discussion remember that this diﬀerence in point of view is a huge hindrance to meaningful communicaon across the academic-layperson paron. (Of course, an engineer with a Bachelor of Science degree is seen as a layperson.) In the spirit of Thomas Harris who told us in his book I’m OK, You’re OK that real communicaon between two people could only occur if both are in an OK place in life, communicaon can only occur if both sides agree that phenomena have occurred. (46) Point of View of Organizations People have a point of view, but organizaons are composed of a community of people. While personality style (temperaments) is a way to model the point of view of people, a similar model

might be used for organizaons based on typical goals, objecves and assumpons. From the perspecve of Etheric Studies, an organizaon might have one of the following points of view: Human Psychology: Usually parapsychology; speciﬁcally, an academic approach with emphasis on a physical-world perspecve; emphasis on research; and collaboraon but guided by community norms. This is the parapsychology community of interest. Emergent Science: Emphasis on an academic approach; deliberate openness to new ideas; and open to concepts of nonphysical and survived personality if they can be explained with mainstream science. This is the parapsychology community of interest. Human Potenal: Usually academic; open to nonphysical explanaons; focus on personal growth and the human condion; supports research; and educaon by opinion seers. This is the parapsychology community of interest. Social Paranormal: Desire for scienﬁc approach; for many, oen ﬁrst experience in paranormal; strong community; emphasis on nonphysical and survived personality; lile formal collaboraon; and, educaon by emergent cultural norm. These are the Trans-Survival and transcommunicaon communies of interest. Metaphysical: Study/research of phenomena related to trans-etheric inﬂuence; desire for scienﬁc approach; community emphasizing educaon and applicaon of organizing principles; and speciﬁcally open to nonphysical and survived personality. These are the trans- survival and transcommunicaon communies of interest. Parapsychology is marginally involved. Naturally, the Metaphysical point of view best suits Etheric Studies; however, it is important to emphasize that this list is conceived from the ATransC perspecve. Other points of view may be appropriate for the representave organizaon’s goals, but it is important that people

understand there are signiﬁcant diﬀerences between organizaons based on mainstream thought and those allowing for possible postmortem survival. Litmus Test As a general observaon, members of the parapsychological community of interest are less than candid about their point of view. As a professional choice, some will do almost anything to avoid adming a preference for Trans-Survival, Super-Psi or mental aberraon, I suppose, so as to avoid seeming unscienﬁc. There is lile doubt this book is wrien from the point of view that the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is valid. So it should not surprise you that I use a litmus test of sorts when I consider the usefulness of organizaons, theories and research reports. If Trans-Survival is not even considered in the discussion, my ﬁrst reacon is that the person will not present an honest assessment of these phenomena. Anomalisc psychology is a good example of this. Community Commentary 3: Etheric Studies Introduction Even a cursory review of the scienﬁc literature will show that survival of the personality aer physical death (Trans-Survival), and an aspect of reality in which personality survives (the etheric), is not well studied by the scienﬁc community. The ﬁeld of parapsychology typically stops short of the study of survival as a possibility, tending instead to study it as probable residual memory or illusion. 1234 The subjects of near-death experiences, reincarnaon, and out-of-body experiences are also studied in parapsychology, but lile from that community of interest reaches those of us interested in survival. There remains a substanal body of

experiences and empirical evidence that is mostly ignored by the academic community. It is this systemacally ignored informaon which is the focus of Etheric Studies. Scope of Etheric Studies The relave range of interest of physical, psi, and Etheric Studies is shown in the Scope of Etheric Studies Diagram below. The physical aspect of reality would be just a subset of all of reality. Anything other than physical reality, or that which is not considered physical, is etheric. There is some form of etheric-to-physical interface which is probably being experienced via the psi ﬁeld. Psi studies is treated as a stand-alone ﬁeld of study, but in this cosmology, it is treated as a subset of Etheric Studies. In fact, the physical is also part of Etheric Studies because, in the Implicit Cosmology, reality is modeled as consisng of life ﬁelds and the expression of life ﬁelds. Reality itself is modeled as a life ﬁeld called Source. As such, Source is the reality ﬁeld and all of the elements in the reality ﬁeld including the physical are either direct or indirect expressions of Source. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. As life ﬁelds entangled in an avatar relaonship with a human, we express reality as we understand it. Here, it is important to note that the physical is seen as a collecve expression in which we are both one of the creator personalies and one of the experiencers. Reality is modeled as conceptual in form and only experienced as objecve because

the mind is trained to experience it as such. Hints via various forms of transcommunicaon indicate that our sense of what is objecve will evolve as we move on to other venues for learning. With these consideraons, physical characteriscs such as evoluon and great planetary age are arfacts of how the physical was conceived. As it is modeled, worldview, which represents our personal reality, resists large changes, but is responsive to small, incremental changes. We create based on habit, so evoluon of the physical is a reasonable arfact of how the collecve learned to experience the physical. Why the Name, Etheric Studies? Most of the people involved in the study of survival from the perspecve of ITC are cizen sciensts. Because of this, the actual study of survival is from a very diﬀerent point of view than typically expressed in parapsychology. This disconnect in points of view is the reason it is always important in report wring and conversaon to clarify which point of view is being expressed. To facilitate conversaon, a name was required to disnguish that part of the paranormalist community which is concerned with the study of Trans-Survival as possibly real from that part which studies it as probably not real. One of the requirements for a name is that it is easy to use, not a new term, and recognized by the average person. For instance, when someone hears the term things etheric, he or she at least understands that the subject has something to do

with the nonphysical. Terms, such as meta science turn out to be too arcane, and anything that is speciﬁc to ITC or any other subject of the paranormal would not accommodate the other aspects of these phenomena. Empirical metaphysics was a good candidate at one me, since the study is primarily based on research and objecve examples, but again, the term sent people scrambling for a diconary. Simplicity is important for a household term. Nonphysical was tried for a while. It works okay, but it is something of a physical-centric term while all of the models are etheric-centric. Surprisingly, fewer people have indicated that they have even an idea of what is intended by nonphysical, while etheric is easily related to the early eﬀorts to deﬁne the greater reality. (82) Most people have been taught about aether in relaonship with Greek philosophy in high school. (83) It is interesng that even Albert Einstein speculated about the existence of a characterisc of space sll best described as ether. (84) Even though the idea was set aside by later sciensts, the need for an etheric characterisc of reality is oen noted in quantum physics, although physicists will probably not refer to it as ether. What Einstein called the Cosmological Constant seems to have been resurrected as Zero Point Energy in quantum physics. This diﬀerenal between absolute zero energy and what is actually measured in a vacuum at absolute zero temperature may represent the etheric-to-physical interface. This is a good illustraon of how

important mainstream science is to Etheric Studies. Surely a beer term for this ﬁeld of study can be found, but by now, Etheric Studies is fast becoming established and changing it would cause much lost me. It seems best to sele on the current term for now and let circumstances lead us to whatever will become common usage as this ﬁeld becomes established. Who Studies the Etheric? Anyone aempng to understand the nature of survival is by deﬁnion, involved in Etheric Studies. A mental medium or a person working with ITC is an Etheric Studies praconer. A person who studies these subjects is an Etheric Studies researcher. A researcher may be a physicist or psychologist specializing in psi studies as a parapsychologist, but when studying the relaonship between the medium and the etheric communicator, the researcher is working in the ﬁeld of Etheric Studies. The demarcaon between physical, psi, and Etheric Studies is dependent on the subject. For instance, a theory proposed by Alexander MacRae (85) to explain the mechanism of etheric to physical inﬂuence is that the physical property ﬁrst inﬂuenced by psi is the relave permeability of physical maer. (86) This hypothesis involves a conceptual inﬂuence organized by a person which produces a physical change. To evaluate this hypothesis, it is necessary to employ researchers with psychology, metaphysics, transcommunicaon, and physics skill sets. In a diﬀerent example, a proposal that there is a psi ﬁeld which connects people is normally the domain of parapsychology (psi studies), yet when

the queson of how an etheric communicator inﬂuences that ﬁeld is studied, Etheric Studies must be considered. The disnguishing assumpons here are the parapsychologist’s preferred point of view that mediumisc messages are psi funconing only and the Etheric Studies point of view that they may be expressed by discarnate personalies. Future As a term, Etheric Studies is a placeholder unl it has more popular acceptance or a more popular/useful name comes along. As a ﬁeld of study, Etheric Studies and parapsychology should eventually merge, just as both will likely eventually merge into the mainstream with an even more appropriate name. In the meanme, as cizen sciensts try and fail to gain cooperaon from parapsychologists, and as more one-sided research reports are published which include statements known to be wrong, naïve, and/or harmful to the community, the academic-layperson paron becomes a “Do it yourself” signpost for cizen sciensts. Community Commentary 4: Science As you read this commentary, please remember that it is wrien from the perspecve of a non-academic person looking over the wall of the academic-layperson paron. My comments are a lile strident because I look for meaningful direcon from the academic community, but instead, daily deal with its absence. Your experience may be diﬀerent—but is it reality? Introduction Hands down the most disrupve inﬂuence for the paranormalist community is science. When Lisa and I assumed leadership of the ATransC in 2000, one of our ﬁrst goals was to engage science in our eﬀort to understand Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP).

From all of our eﬀorts since that naïve beginning, praccally the only thing we learned from science has been why we should give up trying to work with the established scienﬁc community. Now to be clear, science as a philosophy is sll king. It is only through disciplined study, codiﬁcaon of observaons, theorizing, and hypothesis tesng that humankind has been able to consolidate progress as civilizaon. The problem has been in how that noble philosophy has been applied on behalf of the paranormalist community. In short, too many people posing as parapsychologists under the cloak of authority of their doctorate degree have treated the paranormalist community as a plaything by ignoring best pracces of science and ethics. Cultural Landscape In this commentary, I aempt to explain the point of view I have developed about science during my aempts to understand transcommunicaon. As a director of an organizaon that is chartered to support people who seek to understand and apply these phenomena, I see it as one of my dues to comment on the community dynamics which inﬂuences the paranormalist community. Dominant Views of Reality There are three primary subject areas which shape the paranormalist science landscape: Psi Field: Mind-body duality and psi ﬁeld theory, as well as extraordinary human abilies such as psi funconing, which includes such abilies as clairsenence, intenonality, psychokinesis, remote viewing and healing intenon. (Super-Psi Hypothesis) Spontaneous Trans-Survival phenomena: Near-death and out-of-body experiences, reincarnaon and spontaneous trans-etheric inﬂuences which are generally referred to as Aer-Death Communicaon (ADC).

(Survival Hypothesis) Transcommunicaon: This includes such induced forms of trans- etheric inﬂuence as induced ADC; mediumship, precipitaon, apports, and both audio and visual forms of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC). (Trans-Survival Hypothesis) As I discussed in the Etheric Studies Commentary, the study of transcommunicaon is dependent on the study of psi. Conversely, the study of psi has a dependency on the study of transcommunicaon, in that it is unlikely the ﬁeld will progress much further without including concepts associated with Trans-Survival. Point of View The dominant points of view are psychology, emergent or froner science, human potenal, social paranormal and metaphysical. Parapsychology supports all of these areas of interest but is more supporve of psi-related phenomena. The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) (87), Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon (SSE) (88), and Parapsychological Society (PA) (89) are the organizaons I look to for support. Organizaons that anchor themselves with the concepts of transcommunicaon and survival include the NSAC Spiritualist (2) Associaon TransCommunicaon (ATransC) (90) and Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc. (ASCSI). (3) These focus on phenomena that can be construed as the inﬂuence of a discarnate personality. These are represented above as Trans-Survival and Transcommunicaon communies of interest. An encouraging change: Mark Leary, Ph.D. (74) was asked to submit a secon on EVP for the 2015 Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century. (91) Leary invited me to parcipate, which I happily did (thank you, Mark). This is perhaps the beginning of a new me for Etheric Studies which could bring changes

negang much of what I complain about in this commentary. Communities of Interest The paranormalist community is fragmented into ﬁve communies of interest. These are Parapsychology, Cizen Sciensts, Mediumisc Praconers, and Seekers. They are discussed in detail in the Community Commentary. The focus of this commentary is science as it is pracced in parapsychology. Names that Separate Science from Belief It is natural for a person who wishes to be taken seriously by the academic community to rename phenomena so that what is being studied might appear less woo woo, to use a term favored by skepcs. An important example of this is the shi of perspecve from studying spirit, which is a religious term, to studying psi, which is a more analycal term. Such a change is more than cosmec. Parapsychologists maintain that the term psi is a placeholder to be used unl more is known about the apparently nonphysical, subtle ﬁeld it represents. Spirit is a term that is oen used to describe that subtle ﬁeld, but the term’s religious connotaons unnecessarily complicates discussion of related phenomena. For instance, while spirit and psi may be diﬀerent words for the same characteriscs of reality, in a general sense, there is nothing about the way psi is deﬁned to suggest it has any relaonship with God, while spirit is commonly described as the stuﬀ of God. The use of etheric is also an eﬀort to avoid spirit and to signify the greater reality, as opposed to the more local psi

ﬁeld. It is used as a characterisc of Source, but here I intend Source in a conceptual sense and not as a deity. Of course, the diﬀerence is probably nonexistent. It is just that I see support for none of the religious-related behaviors such as worshiping a father god. As deﬁned, Etheric is also a superset of psi, or put another way, psi is just a local occurrence or aspectaon of the more universal and less diﬀerenated etheric space. The etheric verses psi choice of terms is a good example of point of view. As I have stated above, parapsychologists are reluctant to refer to heaven in any way. A religious person might use etheric space as a synonym for heaven. The psi ﬁeld is oen described as a characterisc of the physical. One might think of it as an aura of sorts. If so, then it would be a local aspect of heaven in a religious context. You can see the thin line scholars must walk to maintain an objecve pose. The shi in perspecve from the terms used by experiencers to psi- oriented terms has changed the academic vocabulary so that academics no longer eﬀecvely communicate with experiencers. For instance, I have encountered the phrase anomalous cognion used when medium or clairvoyance was intended. Bioﬁeld therapy is a good one for spiritual healing, but here I am guilty as well because I use healing intenon. Normalizing Terms One of the most important points to consider in the study

of these phenomena is that two people may be discussing the same phenomena, even from the same point of view, yet be using very diﬀerent terminology. On close examinaon, many systems of thought commonly assumed to be more religion than factual actually contain important insights that support modern objecve observaons. For instance, the idea of cyclic progression is expressed as Key 16, The Tower, in the Major Arcana of the Tarot (59), as Dark Night of Soul (92) in biblical text, and as the modern realizaon that people naturally learn in cycles. (93) One reason for suspended judgment is that we understand what we experience based on our worldview. All three points of view menoned above—Tarot, biblical, and modern educaon—are concerned with how we learn. Deciding that one or the other is wrong based on our percepon of word meaning too easily robs us of an opportunity to gain insight. If we do not pause to normalize terms into the perspecve of our point of view, we might well miss the point. In many ways, the path to understanding is by way of suspended judgment. Theory of Everything There are many Theories of Everything (TOE) that are speciﬁcally designed to explain these phenomena in terms of mainstream science. They are usually wrien in a way intended to convey academic rigor, but the result is too oen incomprehensible to the casual reader. Few readers take the me necessary to understand what is intended. The result is that their oen slick, usually

persistent presentaon may lead to wide acceptance of TOEs that contradict the beliefs of those who applaud the theory The litmus test for a TOE is whether or not it allows for survival. Most do not and instead maintain that mind is a product of brain and ceases when the body dies. They may provide for some form of psychic funconing with retenon of memory in some form of subtle energy ﬁeld. These days, the subtle energy ﬁeld will probably be described in terms of quantum theory. This form of survival is a fundamental concept in the Super-Psi Hypothesis and only provides for survival of memory, not living personality. To allow for Trans-Survival, a theory should provide for personality to exist prior to birth of the body and connue aer death in an interacve, sll evolving form. To cut through the confusion, just ask if survived memory existed before the birth of the body. In one TOE, it is necessary to ask if it existed before physical world life began because the author argues that survived memory begins from the primordial soup. A Close Look at the Science-Layperson Relationship The deﬁnion of science is typically stated as the study of the natural world using theorecal models based on experimental data or observaon. Sciensts are people who have studied those theorecal models, methodically conducted experiments, and who have made observaons to further reﬁne those models. In our society, a scienst is understood to hold a doctorate degree from an accredited instuon.

Certainly the quality and subject of educaon is important but immersion into the academic community introduces doctoral candidates to a culture in which crical thinking, careful aenon to detail, literature reviews and collaboraon is the norm. While this diﬀerence in culture is probably the reason for the academic-layperson paron, the discipline is necessary for a maturing community. Some organizaons oﬀer a doctorate degree in exchange for a fee and perhaps a lile academic eﬀort. As I understand it, a degree purchased from an organizaon that does not have mainstream accreditaon is useless. It is also likely that having such a degree means the person has not learned the disciplines needed for careful research. A point of order to keep in mind is that a person holding a doctorate is not necessarily a scienst. A praccing psychologist, for instance, may not be a qualiﬁed researcher. He or she may turn toward that work, but just having a degree and pracce by itself is not enough. Academic-Layperson Partition The academic-layperson paron is the funconal separaon of academia from laypeople. It is probably more cultural arfact than deliberate separaon, but the eﬀect is that people who have a doctorate degree from an accredited instuon tend to shun people who do not. More than once, Lisa and I have found ourselves ignored by doctorates. For instance, during a conference at which we presented, all of the doctorate presenters were on the stage during the queson and answer session while the rest of the presenters

were on the ﬂoor in front of the stage. Not a big deal in itself, but the message was clear. This paron is very pervasive. We gave two parapsychologists free access to a world-class physical mediumship demonstraon. I asked for feedback from them in return. Aerwards, one said that he was in an interesng discussion about physical mediumship in a parapsychologist’s discussion group. Knowing beer than to ask to parcipate, I again asked to be told what came of the discussion. We have never received an answer. By itself, this would not raise a red ﬂag other than perhaps to note the inconsiderate behavior, but when considered in the light of an academic- layperson paron, it is infuriang! Peer Review In the academic view, science journals are not credible unless they follow a policy of peer review and maintain a high scholasc standard for authors. If a publicaon claims to be peer reviewed, it is saying that included arcles have been read by advisors who are knowledgeable in the same or a closely related ﬁeld with the intenon of providing suggesons for improvement. In principle, readers can properly believe peer reviewed arcles meet a high standard of report design, conceptual integrity, and adherence to the best pracces of scienﬁc methodology. The three English-language organizaons with peer review journals I see as having the most inﬂuence in transcommunicaon and survival studies are Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon (SSE) (88), Parapsychological Associaon (PA) (89), and Society for Psychical Research (SPR). (87) Who their

peer reviewers are is kept secret. The reader is expected to assume the editor acts in good faith to team the most qualiﬁed reviewers with authors to assure published arcles meet the highest standards possible. From my perspecve, this is not the case for at least one of the organizaons. The SSE has published a number of failure to replicate-style research reports that appear to me to be based on ill-informed assumpons and poorly designed protocols. At the same me, the organizaon has been unfriendly toward leers to the editor from the lay public. It also has a history of favoring an-survival reports. The result is to isolate the organizaon from much of the supporng community and create the kind of dissension I have expressed here. Scientiic Method Aer truth, the most sacred arcle of faith in the scienﬁc community is the scienﬁc method. The ﬁrst signpost of the scienﬁc method is the understanding that, if something is to be researched, it must be done with the intenon that a ﬁnal report will be submied to formal review leading to publicaon. Otherwise, it is just an informal study. According to the academic community, people holding a doctorate degree conduct research while laypeople can only study. There are a number of fundamental elements that are reasonably expected in any research project: Hypothesis: The underlying assumpons should be clearly stated. Research Queson: A research queson based on the hypothesis should be able to be arculated. Literature Review: There should be a well-understood

reason for the queson which can be arculated in the ﬁnal report. This should at least include reference to applicable exisng theories and prior research. Protocol: A protocol should be prepared which states how the queson will be studied. It should include a step-by-step procedure showing how data will be generated and collected and the form it is expected to take. The protocol must be followed. Analysis: How the resulng data is to be analyzed should be decided as part of protocol design. Analysis should be limited to data collected during execuon of the protocol. That which is collected outside of the protocol is only informaon and should have lile inﬂuence on the ﬁnal report. (Of course, such informaon would be expected to help shape future protocols.) Report: The ﬁnal report should be reviewed by subject maer specialists for both conceptual understanding and sound pracces. It is especially important that the data analysis phase of report development is evaluated by independent reviewers. Modiﬁcaon of Hypothesis: Results of the research should be used to modify the hypothesis, presumably leading to a new research queson. Best Practices In the idea of best pracces is that the basic scienﬁc methodology will be adapted, based on current and most successful methodologies. That is one of the main reasons for the literature review. No one expects a single person to be an expert in all things, so an underlying assumpon of science is that research is supported before, during and aer by collaboraon with subject-maer

specialists in the same and related disciplines. Legitimacy of Research Reports A psychologist is not qualiﬁed to unilaterally conduct research on the nature of ITC. This is true in the same way that, with only a degree in electronics, I cannot credibly conduct research on a mental syndrome or eﬃcacy of a drug. It is something of a cultural norm that someone holding a doctorate can conduct research, but someone without one can only conduct studies. While this is something of a social rule, it is also a praccal consideraon of qualiﬁcaons and a way to set the expectaons of the public. I might say that I researched something, but it is important not to do so under cloak of the kind of authority people look for in people holding a doctorate degree. Researching something is not the same as presenng a research report. By the same social rules, and I expect academic rules, it is not okay for a person to present work as science just because the person has an advanced degree. It is an abuse of academic authority and unethically biases the public’s expectaon of truth. The same can be said for a journal claiming to employ peer reviewers. Without disclosing the reviewer’s qualiﬁcaons, there can be no realisc expectaon of good science. Conversely, good science is not established if the reviewers are not reasonably conversant in the subject. In our too small paranormalist community, it is also unreasonable for a research report to be published without

a mechanism for public comment. Here, I mean comment by the paranormalist community and not just fellow parapsychologists. The alternave is that people like me have no choice but to complain from outside of the system. While it is something of a social obligaon to speak out about perceived problems, doing so only alienates segments of our community and displays internal confusion to our detractors. One of the rules in science is that research must be published. The alternave is accusaon of what some refer to as the ﬁle drawer eﬀect in which data that does not agree with the researcher’s expectaons are discarded. It is also known as selecve reporng. The rule that research must be reported is reasonable, but it cannot apply to people working outside of their discipline. By that, I mean a psychologist studying ITC is not required to publish unless there is reason to think the research complies with best pracces. In praccal terms, most, if not all of the failure to replicate-style reports I have read should not have been published under the cloak of academic authority because the authors were working outside of the ﬁeld in which they were trained. Writing Style Naturally, research report wring requires a good understanding of the subject, but it also requires good communicaon skills. It is reasonable for research to be published in membership supported journals. Having helped to publish the quarterly ATransC NewsJournal for many years, I understand that it takes organizaon, money, and qualiﬁed human

resources to support journals. Consistent with the science-layperson paron, research reports too oen end up behind the paywall of academic libraries. Membership in these tends to be free to alumni and individual university libraries usually extend access to alumni from other universies. It might cost $60 or more to read a single report if the person is not in the library system. With this pay-to-read system, it is virtually impossible for laypeople to conduct a literature review, which is one of the prerequisites of proper research. Public funds are allocated for supports of universies, and by extension their library system. An example of the very substanal infrastructure and public support of academia is the Naonal Science Foundaon Network (NSFNET) which “was iniated in 1985 to support and promote advanced networking among U.S. research and educaon instuons.” (94) The second part of this issue is the apparent need for parapsychologists to appear scienﬁc. I say this because so many of the reports are clearly wrien more to impress than to communicate. Another tell that parapsychologists are trying to look scienﬁc is their inclinaon to frame of every point in stascal parameters. As I discuss in Decisive Determinism in this commentary, most of these phenomena need to be studied with a deﬁnitely there–deﬁnitely not there standard for inclusion. There is a place for stascs, but by now the need to establish for proof is mostly past. It is me to begin establishing theorecal models. Pseudoscience A hypothesis must be able to be

proven or disproven, a principle referred to as falsiﬁability. It is the falsiﬁability problem that leads most people to discount paranormal subjects. For instance, saying “I believe in God” is heard by a scienst as “God is real.” It is not considered possible to prove there is a God. You can present many example based on “How can you doubt that God did this?” but a cute lile animal is not proof of divinity when it can be argued that the animal’s evoluon can be traced from primordial soup to its present form. Modern science does not predict the psi ﬁeld, nonphysical beings, or mind-body duality. As such, hypotheses which depend on concepts that are not predicted by accepted theory are not considered falsiﬁable. A scienst may believe in God, but it is typical for people to compartmentalize their religious beliefs from their percepon of an otherwise objecve world. From my experience, anyone trained in reduconist reasoning will tend to tune out when presumably unfalsiﬁable concepts are menoned. Thanks to the skepc, mainstream society is being taught to think of our eﬀorts to study these phenomena as pseudoscience. The pseud- preﬁx means false. Also review Pseudoscience in the Skepc Commentary. Anomalistic Psychology Later in this commentary, I talk about the concept of Trojan horse paranormalists. Anomalisc psychology is a Trojan horse ﬁeld of study. The author of “What is Anomalisc Psychology?” (95) deﬁnes paranormal as: “Alleged phenomena that cannot be accounted for in terms of convenonal scienﬁc theories.” He explains

that “Anomalisc psychology may be deﬁned as the study of extraordinary phenomena of behavior and experience, including (but not restricted to) those which are oen labeled ‘paranormal.’ It is directed towards understanding bizarre experiences that many people have without assuming a priori that there is anything paranormal involved. It entails aempng to explain paranormal and related beliefs and ostensibly paranormal experiences in terms of known psychological and physical factors.” At least some transcommunicaon phenomena such as ITC occur in an objecve manner that can be experienced by others. ITC depends on psi funconing and an intelligent trans-communicator. Other phenomena have similar characteriscs that can be studied by their eﬀects on the physical. For instance, intenonality can be objecvely studied by the inﬂuence it may have on living organisms. Since these eﬀects are oen studied as non- contact inﬂuences, even far across the world and as real-me exchanges between praconers and siers, nonlocality is also studied. The concept of a psi ﬁeld and intenonality inﬂuencing psi ﬁelds permeates all of these phenomena. This means that psi funconing is part of the study of ITC, mediumship, intenonality and healing intenon. Transcommunicaon, especially induced ITC, and some aspects of mediumship are best explained with the Survival Hypothesis as living personality rather than residual memory. Whichever hypothesis is considered, Super-Psi or Survival Hypothesis, the phenomena are modeled in such a way that they can be studied as a system of related experiences. Research that ignores these facts can only be seen as debunkery. In

reference to the above quote from “What is Anomalisc Psychology?” it is insulng to suggest that I am ignorant enough to be “assuming a priori that there is anything paranormal involved.” The study of anomalisc psychology typically involves giving subjects a psychological test designed to determine their belief in things paranormal, and then showing them examples that might indicate something paranormal. If the person says the example is of something paranormal, then the response becomes part of the proof that people with a predilecon toward things paranormal tend to idenfy things as paranormal even though everyone knows there is no such thing. From the above quote, the emphasis is on “It entails aempng to explain paranormal and related beliefs and ostensibly paranormal experiences in terms of known psychological and physical factors.” While it is apparently wrong to aribute something as paranormal, it is okay to assume a person is delusional while requiring only a good story to explain why. This is a kind of circular referencing because the conclusion of witness bias is based on predisposion, frequently learned from actual experience. See the Villager-Explorer Eﬀect in the Point of View Commentary. The study of anomalisc psychology is treated by the Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon (SSE) (88), Parapsychological Associaon (PA) (89), and Society for Psychical Research (SPR) (87) as a form of parapsychology. This is a problem for many paranormalists because they tend to assume that anything to do with psychology in paranormal research is going to be from the paranormalist’s

point of view. The result is that anomalisc psychology is having much more inﬂuence than it should because of false representaon. The Study of Paranormal Concepts Experience has shown that research of paranormal phenomena may need to be conducted with a diﬀerent scienﬁc method than used for mainstream research. I say this because paranormal phenomena are all about conceptual inﬂuences causing apparently objecve eﬀects. In a very real sense, the meaning of percepon is assigned by convenon so that we are taught from birth to experience informaon associated with the physical as objecve and informaon associated with the etheric as imaginary. Probably because of this, reduconist methodologies oen fail to consider the conceptual inﬂuences and treat what we assign as objecve as the only things that are real. The Paradox of Objectivity From a body-centric point of view, conceptual means all in the mind and objecve means physically solid; however, the inﬂuence of intenonality is from outside of the physical system, so that paradoxically, intended expression is perceived by the conscious self as objecve. It is assigned that characterisc by convenon. As it is used for mainstream research, the scienﬁc method is designed to study such characteriscs as acon-reacon, mass, momentum, velocity and propagaon. In this cosmology, these characteriscs are results of intended expression, actually mental arfacts that are ideoplasc structures. In mainstream science, the conceptual-objecve interface is not considered. Instead, theories are designed to explain a purely objecve nature of reality. Parapsychologists have aempted to adapt this point of

view for psi research with mixed results. However, there has been lile success in adapng mainstream methodology to survival-related research. Departures from the Science Methodology The fundamentals of the scienﬁc method are probably universal. However, the following are important points of departure in Etheric Studies from the mainstream approach to science: • Brain as transceiver: It is assumed by mainstream academia that the brain’s processing of sensed informaon can be monitored by monitoring biological acvity. From that, it is assumed that disabling the part of the brain that is processing sensed informaon also destroys that informaon In Etheric Studies, the brain’s processing of sensed informaon might be able to be monitored, but the informaon is modeled as exisng outside of the brain. The mind-body duality model followed in Etheric Studies holds that disabling the brain only disables its ability to express associated informaon into the physical. The informaon itself is assumed to remain in the psi ﬁeld. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. • Modeling percepon: A host of issues are involved with the idea of how people perceive reality. Agnosia, incredulity blindness, inaenonal blindness, villager-explorer eﬀect (sheep-goat), pareidolia, and gestalt associaon are just a few of the terms oen used to describe perceptual error. The best model I have found to describe percepon is First Sight Theory (13), which is used in the Implicit Cosmology as the rule set for the Perceptual Loop. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Any research concerning percepon is incomplete if it does not

consider these inﬂuences in protocol design and data reducon. • Body-centric and personality-centric: There are a number of ways in which the body inﬂuences percepon that can bias research results. The Life Field Complex Diagram illustrates the relaonship between personality and body mind as it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology. The diagram is useful for visualizing the diﬀerences between body-centric and personality-centric percepon. To indicate this diﬀerence, a general statement can be made that the body reacts while the mind examines. For instance, the body fears while personality is cauous. Protocols should consider this diﬀerence between the inﬂuence of human insncts and the presumably more raonal percepon of the entangled personality. See the Point of View Commentary. • Inability to shield intenon: A common praconer error is the assumpon that, if the praconer is not touching the equipment, then he or she is not involved. In fact, one must think in terms of inﬂuence from the praconer or an interested observer. The praconer and observer may be anywhere. • The inﬂuence of intenonality: Electronic measuring devices are designed to display inﬂuences they are intended to detect. Properly designed, they suppress spurious physical inﬂuences. However, psi inﬂuence can cause changes in transistor circuitry that may produce a false posive reading. For instance, a magnec ﬁeld detector might signal the presence of a magnec ﬁeld, when in fact it is detecng a psi inﬂuence on the noise within its circuitry. The device is, by design, only able to indicate this inﬂuence

as a change in magnesm. Evaluaon of protocols and data should be a collaborave eﬀort that includes people qualiﬁed to idenfy sources of false posives. See the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study. • Peer review: The qualiﬁcaons of peer reviewers are probably as important as the qualiﬁcaons of the researchers. Their qualiﬁcaons should be known to the reader and they should represent mulple disciplines. If this is not reasonable, then the reader should be advised as to the limits of review. In our sparsely populated community, it is reasonable to publish a research report in a normally peer reviewed journal even if suitable peers are not available. It is more important that good studies are made available for collaboraon. If such a report is published, it is the ﬁrst duty of the editor to assure the lack of peer review is explained. • Stascal analysis: Current best pracces for stascal analysis apparently require that outliers be discarded. A Class A EVP, for instance, is by deﬁnion, an outlier. As such, stascal analysis may not be appropriate for EVP. The same can be said for most ITC and mediumship. Mediums who are able to reliably deliver veriﬁable informaon are outliers themselves. The average person is able to funcon as a medium, but the rare veriﬁable message would have to be considered a stascal outlier. Decisive Determinism The inﬂuence of intenonality as it is detected in controlled condions is typically very small so that a study of psychokinesis involves detecon of small

deviaons from the norm. It is also well established that experimenters are able to inﬂuence the outcome of experiments. This can be due to unconscious bias in procedural decisions and analysis of data, but there are indicaons experimenters might contaminate data collecon by introducing a small psi inﬂuence during experiments. There is no known way to shield the psi ﬁeld from the inﬂuence of intenonality. That simple fact might turn out to be one of the best proofs of the existence of the inﬂuence of intenonality, but for now, it is a reason why protocols intended to detect small deviaon should be avoided. In transcommunicaon, the communicaon is either there or it is not. For instance, it is ATransC policy to not use Class C and Class B EVP for demonstraon unless there is some compelling reason. Requiring Class A examples can be construed an all or nothing approach to research. In controlled studies of mental mediumship, the medium produces veriﬁable informaon or not. Stascal analysis of whether or not a message is veriﬁable ignores the reality of the phenomena and how people translate psi informaon into messages. On the other hand, stascal analysis of the frequency of veriﬁable messages is useful for determining the conﬁdence of the praconer, but that is an operaonal issue and should not be a measure of proof. Decisive determinism also helps with the issue of experimenter bias. Such bias usually has a very small eﬀect, and the saturaon state of all or nothing at

all means ignoring small signal inﬂuences. Qualiied Practitioner Another deviaon from common pracces in science is how data is acquired. A common pracce is to hire college students to do the roune work required by research protocols. In a study of EVP reported in the Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon (96), recording EVP was considered roune work and was conducted by college students. As should be expected, other important aspects of this protocol designed and executed by a psychologist were fatally ﬂawed, but the assumpon that would usually doom the study was that any inexperienced person can reliably record and hear EVP. This is an example of how wrong assumpons produced a useless protocol: the would-be researcher recorded around sixty hours of sound ﬁles and then listened to the results for EVP. Our pracce is to record for about three minutes in a single session. It takes us an average of thirty minutes to examine the three-minute recording. Based on ten minutes of analysis per minute of recording, it would have taken us some 600 hours to properly analyze the recordings for EVP. I am assuming he did not spend that amount of me, and in fact, used a procedure that assured he would overlook possible EVP. (96) The best pracce for such studies is to standardize recording sessions to about three minutes and then to consider the number of uerances and quality per session using mulple blind listeners. The average person should be able to learn how to record EVP,

but it takes a lile focus and pracce. Probably the biggest problem is learning how to ﬁnd, and then understand, the recorded uerances. People have described it as learning a second language because the paranormally formed voices usually lack the usual audio cues people need to recognize words from noise. (21) I am a good example. Try as I do, I can only occasionally record a useful EVP. Lisa can reliably record one almost every session. Most of mine are Class C and B, while many of hers are very exceponal Class A. Probably one in a hundred people who try will become a competent praconer. Anyone can master the mechanics, but it appears to be more a queson of lucidity than one of determinaon. So here is the boom line. As a best pracce, transcommunicaon research protocols must require proven praconers and the use of qualiﬁed witness panels. This applies to all forms of transcommunicaon including mediumship. Research Grants Verses Contracts Parapsychologists depend a great deal on research grants; however, as might be expected, there are very few granng organizaons that support the study of anything having to do with things paranormal. One important reason for so few granng organizaons is that they are virtually enrely supported by our relavely small paranormalist community. As directors, Lisa and I have always considered the ATransC a research organizaon. (Here, I use research in the generic sense as formal study.) We have iniated a number of studies with both member and website

visitor parcipaon. Our expectaon has always been that informaon would be shared throughout the project and that a ﬁnal report would be issued. Lacking realisc access to peer reviewed journals, we depended on publicaon in the quarterly ATransC NewsJournal and the online Journal secon of ATransC.org. We have also issued two research grants that were targeted toward speciﬁc research quesons. It is the experience of these two projects that has produced much of what I have included in this Science Commentary. In the ﬁrst project, our ﬁrst shock was the researcher’s demand for secrecy during the several years of the project. We also feel that the contracng organizaon’s refusal to consider our input, inappropriate applicaon of the scienﬁc method, and failure to comprehend the concept of a pilot study contributed to the disaster that was delivered to us. The second project was with a more mature organizaon, but it was abandoned by that organizaon before it was begun. My guess is that soberer minds prevailed when they realized the subject was EVP and that the ATransC is not an academic organizaon. An ATransC member and parapsychologist salvaged the project, and even completed it using some of his own funds. I am not menoning the name of the organizaon because there remains hope for future professionalism. The ATransC is sll a publicly funded research organizaon, but thanks to our experience with supposed real science, and aer witnessing the almost religious applicaon of the scienﬁc method in our ﬁrst eﬀort, our policy

now is to keep research under a strict contract model. In eﬀect, when we have a queson, we pay to get it answered. There is no secrecy and the results are publicly accessible. The administrator of one granng organizaon I am familiar with admits that all they can do is screen the candidate before issuing a grant, but aer it is issued, they are not able to impose restricons or even assure a report is published. This is a problem because, as enablers, granng organizaons have a responsibility to assure they have not funded work that is contrary to their stated objecves. Stated another way, the granng organizaon has a degree of ethical responsibility for the contents of the resulng research report. As an example, see One Bad Apple: A case Study below. I recognize it is idealisc to expect granng organizaons to manage work they have funded, but the alternave appears to be too many of the kind of debunking failure to replicate kind of reports that I am complaining about in this commentary. Litmus Test Having a yes-no test for something is intellectually risky, but there are tells. If I can know from the abstract that the author assumed mental aberraon over the possibility of genuine phenomena, the journal editor should be able to know not to include it without appropriate warning to the reader. This is really a simple point. Trojan horse arcles typically ignore current understanding. As such, the research is incomplete and the report should

not pass peer review. Most sciensts know that the discussion secon should at least consider alternave hypotheses. Trojan Horse Organizations I am of two minds concerning naming names in this commentary. As an ATransC director, I have always assumed the responsibility to warn members about problems in the larger community. If we did not, then who would? The other side of the argument is that naming names is divisive for the community and skepcs too oen use the tension as proof of our confusion. For the most part, I have tried to generalize my comments here, but in some cases, the problem is just too acute to ignore and I feel compelled to accept a leadership responsibility to shine light where it is needed. As you read this book, please consider the need for awareness by other praconers who might become the object of some armature scienst’s aenon. My comments are limited here, but I am a lile more aggressive on EthericStudies.org, should you wish to explore. Especially look under the Essays Tab. Poorly Managed Expectations Some organizaons claim to represent the full range of paranormal phenomena, yet their acons suggest they are covertly skepcal about Trans-Survival. Since the rest of us want to take them at face value, the result is a form of entrapment as our expectaons are not matched by their acons. The same can be said for psi phenomena when a parapsychological organizaon publishes reports that are ostensibly honest studies of extraordinary human potenal, but are

in fact intended to debunk the paranormality of the experiences. Here, I am speaking of the growing number of anomalous psychology reports in the leading parapsychological journals. The fault is really not with the organizaons. The problem is more likely that we are culturally condioned to respect academic organizaons. I know that I began thinking parapsychologists are our sciensts. It took a closer look and a few bad experiences to teach me that at least some people in the parapsychological community of interest are not actually sciensts and that some are aggressively an-survival. It is in the failure to meet expectaons that invokes the idea of a Trojan horse. We invite people posing as sciensts to join our work and help us understand experiences we know are real. Our only recourse when that trust is betrayed is to complain and feel confused by those mixed signals. I have seen this interacon too many mes to think it is accidental. At the risk of overgeneralizing, it is the culture in the parapsychological community which fosters this decepon. Take a close look. Most members of that community are rered academics, oen professors who take on this study as a late-life hobby. They are playing at science and can do so with lile or no peer oversight. The community s too professional for self- policing of member behavior, even though it hurts all of us. One Bad Apple: A case Study An example of a Trojan horse is seen in the treatment given

the medium for the Felix Experimental Group (28). The short version is that the medium submied to a study that involved a long series of séances during which the researchers had prey much total control over the medium and the circumstances. This even included body and cavity searches. Even though the medium succeeded in producing astounding phenomena under those controlled condions, three members of the research teams focused on accusaons of fraud that supposedly occurred prior to the study. The accusaons are based on assumpons and innuendoes about the medium’s behavior while ignoring alternave explanaons. Stephen Braude (PhD philosophy) was the lead researcher and is chief editor of the supposedly peer reviewed Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon in which two of the arcles were published (97) (98). A grant to fund the research was issued by the Parapsychological Associaon. The Society for Psychical Research gave Braude their Myers Memorial Medal for “signiﬁcant contribuons to psychical research.” This was at the same event in which he gave a talk on the Felix medium. (99) The following Paranormal Review published by the SPR included an interview with Braude; an arcle by another of the research team, Michael Nahm (PhD biology); and an arcle tled “Fall of the House of Felix” by Peter Mulacz (PhD psychology), a third member of the research team. I discuss this in some detail in the Essay secon of EthericStudies.org (100) and will not go into more detail here. The enre incident is distasteful and diminishes all who idenfy

with the paranormalist community. My point should be obvious: researchers with mostly unrelated training are doing everything they can to discredit physical mediumship, and by extension trans-survival, at the expense of a test subject who gave them his trust. Braude’s arcle in the journal he edits amounts to self-publishing an arcle that should never have passed peer review if only because the study ignored minimal requirements of ethical treatment of a test subject. (101) The takeaway message from all of this is that the three parapsychological organizaons I look to for intellectual guidance in this ﬁeld have turned out to be Trojan horse organizaons. Members of the research team, especially Braude, have been taking every opportunity to further their aack on the FEG medium. Yet it seems that no one is bothered by this treatment of perhaps one of our most important praconers demonstrang survival. For the record, in 2010, Lisa and I aended a séance in the FEG medium’s home (28), during which substanal phenomena were demonstrated under condions that made fraud virtually impossible. I believe this was well before the supposed trickery Nahm complains about. The ATransC sponsored two visits to Reno for ﬁve séances by the medium, and again, astounding phenomena were demonstrated under circumstances over which I had complete control. We are not privy to all of the circumstances leading to the complaints by the doctorates, and as such, our complaints must focus on the good of the community. In simple terms, my complaint is that

academics have unethically aacked a layperson praconer in a way that will diminish our community. They do so with impunity because their professional organizaons applaud their work. Finally, this whole sordid aﬀair will contribute to contracon of the paranormalist community and gives new condemning talking point to the skepcs. Research Ethics Ethical treatment of research subjects has become a regulatory policy imposed by organizaons and governments to help assure humane treatment of test subjects. The Belmont Report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (101) idenﬁes three foundaon consideraons recommended to university research ethics review boards. Respect for persons: To show lack of respect for an autonomous agent is to repudiate that person’s considered judgments, to deny an individual the freedom to act on those considered judgments, or to withhold informaon necessary to make a considered judgment, when there are no compelling reasons to do so. Beneﬁcence: Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecng their decisions and protecng them from harm, but also by making eﬀorts to secure their well-being. Beneﬁcence can be understood as do no harm. Jusce: Who ought to receive the beneﬁts of research and bear its burdens? This is a queson of jusce, in the sense of fairness in distribuon or what is deserved. An injusce occurs when some beneﬁt to which a person is entled is denied without good reason or when some burden is imposed unduly. To my knowledge, there is no code of ethics for parapsychological

research, and certainly no review panel. The parapsychological community is guided by the mainstream academic culture, so I will guess this lack of concern for ethics is because many of our academics rered from the mainstream before the new policies were enacted and have not learned the need for ethical codes. For whatever reason, an ethical standard is currently missing, but clearly needed in the paranormalist community. Also see A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness in the Mindfulness Discourse. Omniscient Science Syndrome This tle was chosen with much deliberaon. Omniscient means inﬁnitely wise. Science is used here in the sense of the body of knowledge, community of sciensts, and the act of conducng science. Syndrome usually refers to human nature as a complex of behaviors related to a common factor. So Omniscient Science Syndrome is used here to mean a complex of beliefs that science is inﬁnitely wise. By extension, sciensts are believed to be inﬁnitely wise. This point of view is too oen expressed in behavior and acons by laypeople and sciensts, themselves. Yes, the academic-layperson paron again. It is diﬃcult to resist a lile sarcasm. The third expression of Omniscient Science Syndrome is the apparent belief of the academics that they are inﬁnitely wise. In reality though, it is more like the Wizard of Oz Syndrome in which the wizard expresses himself as this larger-than-life, fearsome-in-his-intelligence praconer of the magical arts while the cizenry fears his awesomeness. To complete the picture, too many of our academics

have a wizard complex! Something like Omniscient Science Syndrome is intended by under the cloak of academic authority. We have been culturally taught to trust and respect science, sciensts, and what sciensts tell us. Because we have been taught to expect sciensts to have a doctorate, virtually anyone with a doctorate degree inherits that respect. As I think I have made prey clear above, this unthinking trust is seldom deserved and is too oen abused. As a point of order, sciensts acquire new knowledge, but it is engineers who transform that knowledge into applicaons that serve society. In pracce, a few sciensts tend to be supported by many engineers, and those are supported by many more technicians as knowledge is transformed into products. The point is that the people who understand the praccal sense of what sciensts present are the engineers, and they typically have just a four-year bachelor’s degree. We need to respect doctorates but it is important that we understand why, and that should be on a case-by-case basis. If the subject is transistor radios, a medical doctor is just a cizen. If the subject is opcal illusion, a psychologist with a doctorate has no more standing than an opcal engineer with a bachelor’s degree. With that said, if the subject is how to research opcal phenomena, then anyone with an advanced degree, the curriculum for which included classes in research techniques, probably has important insight for protocol design of any subject. Again, qualiﬁcaons should be considered on

a case- by-case basis. The objecve of my comments on this is to say that we should not blindly assume intellectual authority if a person has an advanced degree. A person with an advanced degree should not expect or encourage belief that he or she has that authority. At the same me, all of us should respect the training and experience some people with an advanced degree have gained in such subjects as applicaon of the scienﬁc method and crical thinking. Perhaps that respect can be extended to the layperson with a lifeme of study in the subject at hand. The Syndrome The assumpons about science and sciensts are rather diﬀerent, depending on the point of view of the people making them. The general assumpons are that sciensts: • Are well educated in appropriate subjects. • Are knowledgeable about the subjects about which they comment. • With integrity, strive to serve the public’s interest. • Search for understanding no maer where it leads. • Are infallible: If science does not support the concept, then it cannot be (the skepc’s mantra). Mainstream society seems to be most guilty of blind acceptance of culturally taught truths. The skepc community aggressively aacks all things paranormal and anyone involved in paranormal study or applicaon. As a reacon, people in the paranormalist community tend to be a lile more suspicious of mainstream sciensts. Interesngly, as parapsychologists protest the intellectual injusce of skepcs, they also teach us to distrust people claiming intellectual authority. It is fair

to say that the study of ITC has been harmed more by parapsychologists than by mainstream sciensts. Mainstream sciensts usually ignore ITC, while many parapsychologists have made uninformed (simply wrong) pronouncements about ITC under the cloak of their academic authority. More than one skepc has referred me to a statement by a respected parapsychologist that contradicted a point I was trying to make in favor of paranormal phenomena. Lay-Paranormalist Assumptions In addion to the above list, we in the paranormalist community tend to assume that sciensts: • Are working on our behalf to understand these phenomena. • Listen to our input and organize their theories accordingly. • Are candidly honest when they engage us in discussion about the phenomena with which we are experienced. • Tell us what they are concluding in a collaborave manner when they are studying our examples. These assumpons are mostly unsupported by acon. An academic policy of secrecy unl publicaon usually extends to the person being studied and related phenomena. As such, the academic-layperson paron clearly turns conversaons into a decepon. From my experience, the thoughts of “I’ll listen but I know the person does not really understand the implicaons of what is said” on the parapsychologist’s part and “I am so happy the scienst is considering what I have to say” on the part of the layperson assures that no real communicaon occurs. Academic-Layperson Partition as a Syndrome It is likely that the academic-layperson paron is just one manifestaon of a self-organizing behavior. Based

on how I acted when I came out of engineering school, it is my guess that the universies inadvertently teach this behavior. It is also probably diﬃcult to maintain a lile humility when the general public so easily believes what sciensts say and is so willing to fund research for almost anything a scienst claims is important—anything seen as mainstream, that is. (Think Large Hadron Collider.) Again, I will say that this is a general assessment based on personal experience. There are many important excepons, so please do not assume the worst of your academic/scienst friends. This discussion is intended to make our community aware of these issues but not to indict the enre community. Of course, sciensts are not going to easily admit fallibility. It is human nature to develop a point of view that is based on educaon. The problem is that it is necessary to evaluate those assumpons. That is a foundaon concept for mindfulness. So here I will say that these are apparent assumpons demonstrated by John Q. Scienst: • The public will trust what I say without requiring supporng informaon. • The public will not understand how I arrive at my conclusions even if I explain. • The public should not see processes such as peer review and data analysis. It will only confuse them. • I know best what is important to the public. • Sciensts who study theories that are not supported by accepted evidence are bad players. • People who aack me

do so because my research did not support their beliefs. • If it is not speciﬁcally supported by the evidence I accept, then it must not be real. In defense of parapsychologists, I am adding one more assumpon that seems to underlie much of what parapsychologists publish: • It is important that I protect the academic integrity of my work. There is not much that parapsychologists say and do that is not scrunized by people like me (friendly ﬁre) and the mainstream academic community. For instance, my guess is that the overreliance on stascal analysis is a response to mainstream cricism. But here is an example of obsessive use of stascal notaon, from a survey of parapsychologists’ view of their ﬁeld: These changes in belief (belief verses skepcism) did not correlate with age (Spearman’s rho=-0.08, df=112, p=0.42). (102) There is much intellectual/academic verbiage like this in some reports that eﬀecvely overshadows intended communicaon. Reason to Expect Leadership Quite a lot of college and university operang costs are funded by the public. Yes, a college degree is expensive for the student, but it is subsidized by the public with the assumpon that the people with advanced degrees further the greater good of the community. The following is from a 2009 arcle, “Higher Educaon Subsidies” on the CATO website: The Department of Educaon spends about $30 billion a year on subsidies for higher educaon. The bulk of that funding goes toward student aid programs, with the balance going toward grants to educaonal

instuons. In 2008, grants to instuons cost $2.3 billion and aid programs cost $27.6 billion, which included $17.4 billion for student grants, $9.6 billion for student loans, and $0.6 billion for administraon. (103) Perspective Science as a disciplined search for understanding is an essenal component of the paranormalist community. Realiscally, it is the academic community that provides that science. However, it is the lay community that hosts it. This must be clear: parapsychology alone would have nothing to study without praconers, experiencers and witnesses. Test subjects in parapsychology are praconers in the larger paranormalist community. The two are partners in the search for understanding. When I say that the parapsychology community of interest has abdicated its authority to explain the paranormal, I do so from the perspecve of transcommunicaon. Psi has been idenﬁed and is being mapped, but by now that search for proof is reaching the point of diminishing returns. This will not change unl transcommunicaon is added to the equaon. As a ﬁnal note, I accept that it can be diﬃcult to have an intelligent conversaon with people who do not hold an advanced degree. But I experience a similar problem talking with people who are not well informed about transcommunicaon, and this includes many people with an advanced degree. The soluon for me is educaon of the general public. An important concept in mindfulness is that our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach. Shunning the unwashed is self-defeang! Community Commentary 5:

Psi Research Also see the Transcommunicaon Research Study Keep in Mind the Good The preceding commentary was a long list of complaints about science. For balance, it is important to point out some of the ways our community is supported by parapsychologists. Many of the characteriscs I complain about have also given us foundaon science which has helped us evolve from faith-based to research-based understanding of these phenomena. Some seekers sll proceed with the belief that the lessons they learn from metaphysical teachers and ancient wisdom schools represent state of the art understanding about human nature and reality. In fact, parapsychologists are changing our long-standing assumpons about fundamental concepts such as mediumship and intenonality. As a long- me paranormalist, I can say with conﬁdence that most of our fondly held assumpons about our nature and the nature of reality are simply out of date. It is the science community of interest that will shine a light on more contemporary understanding, and therefore on a beer way to progression. First Sight Theory Dr. James Carpenter’s First Sight Theory makes a clear case for the separaon between our conscious self and our unconscious mind. (13) The theory includes a set of characteriscs describing how the unconscious mind processes informaon. Three important points that come from this theory should cause us to reconsider what we know and what we believe to be true. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The ﬁrst point is that everything appears to produce a psi signature which we

unconsciously sense. In turn, part of our unconscious expression is a psi signal sent into the environment represenng our expression. The second point is that informaon we psychically and physically sense from the environment is unconsciously processed, and this processing is very much inﬂuenced by our personality type and worldview. The third point is that we only become consciously aware of the results of that mostly unconscious processing. In fact, we only become aware of what our worldview thinks of the informaon. Some of the consequences of First Sight Theory are that we begin to physically react to informaon before becoming conscious of it. This seems to explain presenment, in which people seem to sense near-future events. What is sensed from the other side is necessarily ﬁltered in our unconscious process, what I refer to as the Perceptual Loop. This means that mental mediumship, even much of the informaon coming to us via deep-trance mediumship, is unavoidably colored by what the medium unconsciously thinks; that is, what is in the medium’s worldview. First Sight Theory is based on meta-analysis of a very large number of clinical studies, including those related to psi funconing, and current thought in psychology. Interesngly, a brief survey of the Internet will show that mainstream sciensts are beginning to report that much of our decision-making occurs in the unconscious. (11) This seems to be a convergence of mainstream and parapsychological thought in support of psi phenomena. Formative Causation Darwinian Evoluon requires accidental soluons to environmental challenges.

That is, organisms mutate and some mutaons allow the organism to survive beer than others without the mutaon. Before Darwin, Jean Lamarck (Lamarckian Evoluon) (104) proposed that organisms learn how to cope with the environment, and that the learned behavior is inherited by oﬀspring. Of course, Darwinian Evoluon prevailed to become mainstream gospel in science. The problem is that Darwinism does not explain morphogenesis, speciﬁcally, how does a single cell at concepon know to divide into cells which are diﬀerenated for speciﬁc parts of the body such as skin and hair cells? Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has proposed the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon, in which he argues that a subtle ﬁeld, referred to as a morphic ﬁeld, organizes cell formaon according to how that cell has always formed. (9) He refers to this memory as Nature’s habit, and the process as morphic resonance. The top ﬁeld of an organism is represented by a morphic ﬁeld which organizes a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds right down to cell ﬁelds. Each ﬁeld consists of a nonphysical (etheric) set of funcons which support memory (Nature’s habit or worldview) and decision making. An important funcon in this hypothesis is the ability to consider changes for possible modiﬁcaon of Nature’s habit. It is this funconal area that is interpreted by me as the Perceptual Loop described in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. While this model sll allows for evoluon by survival of the ﬁest, it also considers the existence of a psi ﬁeld and provides a way

to change the momentum of Nature’s habit with creave soluons to environmental challenges. Visualize a morphic ﬁeld as a thoughorm that contains all of the informaon necessary to form an organism. This would be organized into funconal areas such as memory, test of external inﬂuences for agreement with memory and a means of modeling and then expressing change. Global Consciousness The following is from the Global Consciousness Project website: The Global Consciousness Project is an internaonal, muldisciplinary collaboraon of sciensts and engineers. We collect data connuously from a global network of physical random number generators located in up to 70 host sites around the world at any given me. The data are transmied to a central archive which now contains more than 15 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials generated every second. (51) The Random Number Generators (RNG) are based on tunneling diode technology to generate a highly random string of zeros and ones. The array has consistently shown changes in average randomness moments before major events such as the 911 aack. These seem to indicate a global sense of dread before disasters occur. This is also an indicaon of nonlocal characteriscs of reality. The importance of this research for paranormalists is that the project produces repeatable indicaons of a collecve consciousness, the inﬂuence of this consciousness on random processes and an indicaon of at least short-term nontemporal behavior of consciousness. An RNG based on lessons learned from the Global Consciousness Project is available from

Psyleron. (57) The device and soware make it possible for individuals to study the eﬀect of intenonality on the device. One such study approach involves looking for changes in the output of the REG as a group of people meditate. Quantum Entanglement Amongst his many contribuons to our understanding of consciousness, Dean Radin, Chief Scienst for the Instute of Noec Sciences (IONS) (105) , has conducted experiments to determine the eﬀect of aenon on the behavior of entangled photons. The following is from the Abstract: A double-slit opcal system was used to test the possible role of consciousness in the collapse of the quantum wavefuncon. The rao of the interference paern’s double-slit spectral power to its single-slit spectral power was predicted to decrease when aenon was focused toward the double slit as compared to away from it.… factors associated with consciousness, such as meditaon experience, electrocorcal markers of focused aenon, and psychological factors including openness and absorpon, signiﬁcantly correlated in predicted ways with perturbaons in the double-slit interference paern. The results appear to be consistent with a consciousness-related interpretaon of the quantum measurement problem. (41) There are two points I would like to make here. One is that Radin holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in psychology. It has always been my contenon that transcommunicaon research requires a mul-disciplinary approach. As I understand it, Radin works with a team at IONS and is himself qualiﬁed to understand the behavior of technology by understanding the capabilies designed

into experimental devices. The combinaon of his awareness of technological idiosyncrasies and human behavior and the fact that he has access to team collaboraon makes his work an important model for parapsychology. Of course my second point is that the double-slit experiments provide an important benchmark for consciousness and intenonality research. Citizen Scientist Research From the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, transcommunicaon is, by deﬁnion, communicaon between (etheric) personalies with an objecve expression in the physical. As such, the study of transcommunicaon is primarily conducted with emphasis on the Survival Hypothesis. Of course, most parapsychological study of transcommunicaon is more focused on human nature and why people think there is such a thing as the paranormal. Please review the Transcommunicaon Research Study for a discussion of that work. Community Commentary 6: Skeptics Introduction Anyone who does not share our truth is apt to be a skepc. Truth is maintained in worldview which is the arbiter of percepon and the template of personal reality. Assuming two people do not share exactly the same worldview, it is reasonable to expect one will be skepcal about some aspect of the other’s truth. Years ago, I was told that older people’s ﬁrst reacon to a new idea is rejecon. The argument was that older people are more set in their ways and take me to come around to new ideas. As I aged, I watched for that negave ﬁrst reacon to new ideas, and sure enough, that has become something that I must now

consciously moderate. There are two reasons for this I can think of and both involve the same underlying process. The less familiar we are with a concept, the less likely our mostly unconscious perceptual processes will ﬁnd a match in our worldview, and therefore, the more likely it will be rejected in the Perceptual Loop. The other side is the more we know about something, the more conﬁdence we have in our understanding. A new idea that challenges a dominant paradigm will almost certainly be rejected by our perceptual processes. For our discussion, skepcism is in three forms: Spontaneous Skepcism: Probably the most common source of a skepcal response to an idea is the mostly spontaneous rejecon of an idea because it is unfamiliar or because it challenges what is familiar. This response is generated in the Perceptual Loop based on worldview. If this response is not balanced with suspended judgement, it may produce a skepc’s response. Emoonal Skepcism (a.k.a. skepc): This is typically a determined aack on an idea that challenges a belief. This form deﬁnes what I am referring to as a skepc, and in my experience, the system of belief is best described as sciensm. Objecve Skepcism: When people speak of healthy skepcism, it is this form they intend. It is typically a reluctance to accept an idea based on an informed opinion which produces well-reasoned quesons. If the person is able to recognize and accept well-reasoned responses, it remains healthy skepcism. If it becomes apparent that

only an answer that agrees with the person’s preconcepons is acceptable, it becomes a skepc response. Make a disncon between skepcism, which is usually expressed as reasoned quesons that may, with further understanding, lead to acceptance of an idea, and skepc, which is the name claimed by people who aack ideas that do not agree with their sense of proper science. It is worth nong that a number of friends have urged me to use pseudoskepc (false skepc) as a name for the people I describe as skepcs; however, the people causing all of the trouble are found with Internet searches for skepc, and for the most part, remain invisible if pseudoskepc is used. Also note my comment about Objecve Skepcism. An insidious form of skepc is the person who asks informed, reasonable quesons but rejects all answers supporng the new idea. On close examinaon, it usually becomes evident that the person is an emoonal skepc and will only accept answers that disprove the idea. Discernment as an Alternative Name for Skepticism In our community, skepcs are prey much the enemy of free enquiry. For those who wish to respect healthy skepcism, I suggest they adopt discernment as a beer term. To be discerning means to express informed judgment. One of the more important traits for a paranormalist is discernment, but as it happens, it is also a trait many do not exhibit. From my experience, this lack of informed judgment is more a problem of educaon than lazy thinking.

One of the objecves of this book is to recfy that by providing a useful model on which informed judgment can be based. Scientism and Uninformed Skepticism Another way of looking at skepcs is in terms of the source of their objecon. Sciensm is the belief that science, the scienﬁc method and research are the only way to validate reality. In praccal terms, sciensm holds that, if something is not recognized by mainstream science, then it is not real and is, therefore, impossible. When people under the cloak of authority of science advise the public about any subject without analysis of available informaon about that subject, they are eﬀecvely praccing sciensm. (106) Pseudoscience I invite you to take a look at the Pseudoscience arcle in Wikipedia. (107) As I will discuss in the next commentary, the paranormal arcles in that online encyclopedia are controlled by a cadre of skepcs. One of the cornerstone arcles in their organized aack on all things paranormal is the Pseudoscience arcle. As far as I can tell, the term pseudoscience was coined by a skepc as a way of branding concepts that are not speciﬁcally supported by mainstream science. Pseudoscience is used as a derogatory term to brand virtually all paranormal subjects. The people paranormalists see as skepcs are seldom mainstream sciensts. They are more like science apologists who behave as if it is their sacred duty to see to it that everyone adheres to pronounced truths of science as they see them. The skepcs

paranormalists are concerned with are the ones that seek to prevent funding for research and who would make our study illegal as a maer of the public good. They are all about science verses what they perceive as pseudoscience. Also see Pseudoscience in the Science Commentary. Skeptics Impact on Research It is reasonable to speculate that a large percentage of our populaon is open to the possibility of these phenomena. Yet the Naonal Science Foundaon (NSF), the department of the U.S. Government chartered to advance the naonal health, prosperity and welfare, considers these phenomena pseudoscience. The NSF in the 2006 annual Science and Technology report includes: A recent study of 20 years of survey data collected by NSF concluded that ‘many Americans accept pseudoscienﬁc beliefs,’ such as astrology, lucky numbers, the existence of unidenﬁed ﬂying objects (UFOs), extrasensory percepon (ESP) and magnec therapy (Losh et al. 2003). Such beliefs indicate a lack of understanding of how science works and how evidence is invesgated and subsequently determined to be either valid or not. (108) Losh et al. is a reference to an arcle in the Skepcal Inquirer magazine. A further comment about pseudoscienﬁc beliefs is based on a reference from the Commiee for Skepcal Inquiry (CSI) which states: According to one group studying such phenomena, pseudoscienﬁc topics include yogi ﬂying, therapeuc touch, astrology, ﬁre walking, voodoo, magical thinking, alternave medicine, channeling, psychic hotlines and detecves, near-death experiences, unidenﬁed ﬂying objects and alien abducons, the Bermuda Triangle, homeopathy, faith healing, and reincarnaon.

Note that the celebrity skepc, James Randi, is one of the founders and the publisher of the Skepcal Inquirer Magazine. The skepcal community is well organized and dedicated to eliminang pseudoscience in our culture. They have had an impact on government funding for research and have likely been successful in aligning many school systems with their beliefs. Consequently, being associated with the study of paranormal subjects can be damaging to a science career. We have also had many members in the ATransC who insisted that their involvement not be made public out of fear of harming their career in a conservave ﬁeld such as law and medicine. Tells of a Skeptic Skepcs aempt to show the unacceptability of an idea by beliling it and associang it with obviously silly ideas, rather than with facts, evidence and sound logic. They describe ideas they disagree with, and people associated with them, in terms that would usually cause a ﬁght if spoken face-to-face. They seem to assume believers are seen as second-class cizens by the mainstream public and thus do not enjoy the protecon of social norms aﬀorded mainstream cizens. So if you read something that calls someone a whacko or fraud, or describes a pracce as fraudulent or woo-woo, then you know that the material was wrien by a skepc and is probably based on belief rather than fact. Name-calling is especially true of skepcs who focus their aacks on alternave or complementary health pracces. They commonly refer to these with the

derogatory term of quackery and praconers as quacks. Of course any such pracce that is not speciﬁcally approved by the government is considered pseudoscience, and even some that are approved, such as chiropracc, feel the wrath of those who think complementary is just another word for fraud. Without research to support their accusaons, skepcs seldom add knowledge to the subjects they aack but are only able to destroy knowledge. Here the Lan term a priori has special meaning. Skepcs rounely make statements about subjects for which they have no knowledge other than that their peer group is against them. In this context, a priori means without prior knowledge and is used to say that the person is judging without having become informed about the subject. The praccal result of this book-burning mentality is that new ideas are suppressed and examinaon of new ideas by academically trained researchers has become probable professional suicide. Comparing the View of Science with the View of Skeptics Wikipedia editor Ludwigs2 expressed one of the beer descripons of the skepc view: Science and skepcism are enrely diﬀerent projects; they share the word skepcism, but it has diﬀerent meanings for each group. For a scienst, skepcism means (roughly) “I choose not to have any beliefs about a subject in the absence of evidence.” It’s a philosophically conservave posion designed to keep people from making a priori asserons about the world (except those dictated by logic or math). For skepcs, by contrast, skepcism means (roughly) “I choose to

believe that non-convenonal ideas are wrong unl they have met some burden of evidence.” This is an ideological posion designed to advocate against certain kinds of viewpoints. See how these diﬀer on (for example) acupuncture: Looking at something like acupuncture scienﬁcally one would be forced to admit that there really isn’t much evidence either way— there is no scienﬁc reason to recommend its use, but no obvious reason to say that it’s wrong, either. That is, acupuncture is morally neutral, like drinking tea with honey and lemon when you have a cold. Looking at something like acupuncture as a skepc one would ﬁnd oneself saying that acupuncture hasn’t met the needed burden of evidence, and so acupuncture is wrong—and this will lead to ideological claims that people who take acupuncture are stupid, that people who do acupuncture are charlatans, and etc. That is acupuncture is morally bere, like selling sugar pills as cure for cancer. Sciensts and skepcs overlap in the asseron that one should use pracces that have been borne out by systemac experience. But that’s where the similarity ends: skepcs go on to make moral judgments about pracces that science can never make, and to engage in advocacy with respect to those moral claims. Consider the vast range of skepcal literature, almost none of which contains any actual research (aside from literature reviews of other people’s published work), and which is almost enrely dedicated to crical declamaons against one or another quesonable acvity. Skepcism is (frankly) scienﬁc punditry,

and while I won’t deny its value in that consumer advocate sort of way, one needs to be cauous with it as an intellectual enterprise. Skepticism is Relative Unless praccing suspended judgement, anyone is likely a skepc about something. In our study of transcommunicaon, we rounely have parapsychologists a priori say that something like EVP is probably stray radio waves or pareidolia. Ironically, these are the same people who rail against the injusce of skepc aacks. I had a friend who was a longme Spiritualist and familiar with many of the related phenomena such as healing intenon and mental mediumship. Yet he came out of a very impressive demonstraon of physical mediumship completely doubng its authencity. Granted the séance was held in a completely dark room, but every precauon was taken to assure no trickery. The medium was bound in a way from which it would be simply impossible to escape without much noise and shuﬄing about. Certainly he would never have been able to get back into the bindings before the lights were turned on. The room was new to the medium, and I had personally inspected every inch of it and assured that the medium and siers had all been searched. A number of evidenal things occurred during the séance. If a sier accepted that the medium was not able to physically cause movement or voice far from his body, then the experience should have at least been given condional acceptance that something important occurred. There is also

the precedence that other research has shown phenomena does occur, which is why the séance was called a demonstraon and not a proof. My friend insisted that the séance was completely unconvincing. At least concerning that séance, he was a skepc and was not expressing healthy skepcism, but outright rejecon. The task for paranormalists is to understand why people react in this way and how to beer manage percepon. As a general rule, if a person does not have personal experience with a concept, he or she will likely reject it on ﬁrst exposure. As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, we learn incrementally, as opposed to readily accepng enrely new ideas. My friend was a veteran Spiritualist, but I suspect he had lile experience with darkroom séances. Further exposure to such phenomena would likely have incrementally changed his mind. The researchers involved in the case study I described in the Science Commentary are applauded by other parapsychologists because they are dedicated works in the ﬁeld. In fact, it is my opinion that people do the best they can, and that it is the limits of their physical capabilies and understanding that determines how they relate to concepts. Accepng the Super-Psi concept simply requires a smaller change in worldview than does Survival. Paranormalist’s Diminishing Inluence Paranormalists represent a small and mostly unorganized community. The skepcal community, on the other hand, is relavely well organized and fast growing. In Skepcism: The New Religion, Roy Stemman notes that Spiritualism’s public outreach

is contracng while the skepcal community is becoming more organized and much more eﬀecve in inﬂuencing the media. (109) In fact, the paranormalist community in general is contracng. Yes, those who hunt for ghosts are increasing in number, and there seems to be more parapsychologists. The problem is in the cohesiveness of our community. We remain like the blind men and the elephant. Parapsychologists seem ﬁxated on more proof, ghost hunters tend to prefer silver bullets tools for detecng ghosts, and serious ITC praconers interested in research have become almost nonexistent. While many people accept the need for self-regulaon, their soluons are almost always to develop their own, rather than seeking collaboraon with like- minded people. Skepcs, on the other hand, are thriving as a coherent community. A search of the Internet for skepc will produce dozens of pages full of well- designed and oen-visited skepc websites. They have absolute control over Wikipedia and appear to be blessed by the mainstream science community. They have a shared objecve to protect humankind from the degenerate inﬂuence of pseudoscience and those who would pracce pseudoscience concepts. A case study: Government Acting on Skeptical Views I am not well informed about how governments have acted against people who have been accused of acvity deemed by skepcs to be pseudoscience. Please be sure to examine this for yourself. The ﬁrst point I would make is that the study of froner subjects is not protected by law and can go away with the right social

pressure. The paern is simple: • Establish that anything not speciﬁcally supported by mainstream science is pseudoscience (false science). A model for how to do this has been established in Wikipedia* (107) (110) See the Wikipedia Commentary. • Deﬁne pseudoscience as a danger to the public welfare. This is usually accomplished concerning health dangers, but it is also a major focus of the Naonal Science Federaon’s eﬀorts to educate the public about what is real and not real science. (111) (108) • Establish that paranormal subjects (psi studies, healing intenon, mediumship) are pseudoscience. Again, the skepc Wikipedia editors have established this as policy for the online encyclopedia. (107) (110) (112) • Once it is socially okay to say that what paranormalists study contradicts science and may be harmful to the public, it becomes possible for governments and organizaons to make examples of paranormalists for the greater good of society. We have seen this reenacted many mes in our history with everything from witch hunts to internment during the Second World War. Wilhelm Reich is a good example of such branding. (7) The short story is that he was put in jail for making claims about subtle energy which were deemed by the skepcs to be unsupportable and therefore pseudoscience. He also developed devices that might put the energy to work and claimed he could heal people of some diseases with the energy. In fact, the actual jail me was because he ignored the charges, and apparently his partner transported some

of their material across state lines, which was seen as criminal contempt of court. The following is from the Wilhelm Reich Museum website: While Reich appealed his sentence, the government carried out the destrucon of orgone accumulators and literature. In Maine, several boxes of literature were burned, and accumulators and accumulator materials either destroyed or dismantled. In New York City, on August 23, 1956, the FDA supervised the burning of several tons of Reich’s publicaons in one of the city’s garbage incinerators.... This destrucon of literature constutes one of the most heinous examples of censorship in United States history. (7) Reich died of heart failure while in prison, and I understand his research partner commied suicide shortly thereaer. Reviewing “What is Orgone Energy?” by Charles R. Kelley, Ph.D. (113) will give you a sense of the nature of this subtle energy which Reich called Orgone. You will also see that Reich’s discovery is really just one of many rediscoveries of the same inﬂuence ﬁeld which is today studied as psi funconing and the psi ﬁeld. Because of its apparent eﬀect on living ssue, the inﬂuence intenonality has on this ﬁeld to heal a person is a primary means of its study. See “An Unusual Form of Radiaon has a Reproducible Eﬀect in the Laboratory” by Robert A. Charman (114). The U.S. Food and Drug Administraon took its direcon from public pressure brought by the skepc community. Otherwise, Reich would probably have been seen as just one of many crackpots. A

Case Study: Skeptical Control of the Media It is obvious from a simple search of the Internet that the skepcs dominate the media when it comes to public outreach about froner subjects. Yes, there are thousands of ghost hunter websites and websites promong the many forms of complementary medicine, but if you look for substanve support for the concepts, you run into a wall of skepcal websites supported by skepc clubs, universies and mainstream science organizaons. An example of how skepcs have had a substanal inﬂuence on the media is the Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) group which produces conferences. TED was formed to disseminate “Ideas worth spreading.” According to some reports, videos of the talks are widely distributed via the Internet, and collecvely have been viewed by more than a billion people. TED grants licenses to third pares to organize independent TED-like events known as TEDx conferences. At a TEDx WestHollywood conference, Rupert Sheldrake gave a talk in which he suggested that modern science is based on ten dogmas, and then made the case that none of them hold up to scruny. The videos of his talk and that of co-presenter Graham Hancock were removed from the TED website when two TED science advisors complained that the talks were unscienﬁc. The videos were later returned to the website, albeit in a hard to ﬁnd secon, aer a strong response from the paranormalist community. The struggle between skepcs and supporters over the Sheldrake and Hancock videos is documented in the

well-researched book by Craig Weiler: PSI WARS: TED, Wikipedia and the Bale for the Internet. (115) The TED altercaon between mainstream defenders and paranormalists spilled over to the Rupert Sheldrake biography in Wikipedia. (116) There, a long and bier bale was conducted between skepc editors trying to use the arcle to discredit Sheldrake and more balanced editors who were trying to keep the biography of a living person from being used as a tool for skepc propaganda. Several editors were banned from Wikipedia because of the bale. I was banned from eding that arcle for life. See the Wikipedia Commentary and Craig Weiler’s blog, The Weiler Psi. (117) The skepcs have complete control of the Sheldrake arcle, but it is much less biased than when the bale was on. Today, the View History and Talk tabs provide an important lesson in how skepcs defeat opposing views in all froner subject arcles. Be sure to read the archived talk pages, as the skepcs have been using a bot tool to quickly archive material in an eﬀort to remove discussions from the public view. Healthy Skepticism There is a balance between a priori skepcism and open-minded gullibility. Some claims are not even reasonable judging by the more lenient standards necessary for froner subjects. Many reported experiences are clearly some form of mispercepon or the ordinary mistaken as unusual. Every bump in the night is not a ghost and not every instance of improved health is because of healing intenon. On the other

hand, some of these reported experiences are not explained by current principles of science and may point to new understanding of nature. It is not reasonable to accept some of the extreme explanaons without substanang research but it is also not reasonable to discount the reports because they are not currently part of known science. My moo Believe what you wish but understand the implicaons of what you believe is based on the idea that we should pracce crical thinking leading to discernment. That means taking me to examine the evidence before adopng a condional opinion. I say condional opinion because the rest of the story is that whatever is decided should be rounely reexamined to see if it sll makes sense. If possible, the opinion should be tested. If there is not suﬃcient informaon to arrive at an informed opinion, then no opinion is the only appropriate response. To respond otherwise is to base opinion on faith derived from popular wisdom, superson and/or the opinion of others who may be even less knowledgeable about the subject. A fair poron of academia believes all major principles in nature have been discovered and that all we are doing now is ﬁlling in the details. Basically that is to say that there is only the physical universe, period! Anything outside of that, such as a psi ﬁeld, etheric personality and survival of personality aer bodily death, is not included in these major principles of nature and therefore cannot be. As I have

said, such an a priori assumpon is Sciensm at its worst. Each of us has a responsibility to pracce discernment about what we believe. At the same me, anyone who makes a claim about these phenomena has the responsibility to clearly disnguish between what can be objecvely proven and what is believed as a maer of faith. If a claimed study is not based on the applicable scienﬁc methodology with the intenon of publishing a report, it cannot be claimed as experimentally proven. Fruits of the study can be described as ongoing study, but be careful not to claim science unless reasonably well-considered methodologies have been applied. See A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness. A second, equally important consideraon when someone makes a claim of truth under the cloak of science is the qualiﬁcaons of the people who conducted the research. Even a person with a doctorate in parapsychology must establish credibility to study the parcular subject. As an example, a person claiming to be a parapsychologist and who is academically trained as a philosopher is not qualiﬁed to conduct research concerning transcommunicaon under the cloak of academic authority. In the same way, a biologist who parcipates in a study of physical mediumship has no direct academic standing. Yes, the training in research methodology learned for the doctorate may be applicable, but claiming authority as a biologist is a far reach in the study of phenomena which appear to involve small signal processing and percepon. Our ﬁeld is

especially vulnerable to skepcal aacks based on the qualiﬁcaons of our specialists. Such terms as experience, study and research have speciﬁc meaning in the eyes of mainstream academia. Anyone can claim experience with some credibility. Anyone can study phenomena and comment with some degree of credibility. But research reports have lile or no credibility unless the work was conducted by an academically trained researcher in an applicable ﬁeld, and has been reviewed by qualiﬁed, informed subject maer specialists. Of course, cizen sciensts are usually capable of conducng very good research, but it is important to be mindful of how mainstream society views this. Each of us is a representave of our ﬁeld. Skepcs have inﬂuence because they are zealous, not because they are right. Yes, there is sll the problem that things paranormal are outside of known and therefore acceptable science, but that can never be addressed so long as skepcs are able to make their ridicule of us believable by using our own words and acons. It is for us to show the world they are wrong. Community Commentary 7: Wikipedia Introduction Wikipedia is a wonderful idea and it includes a huge amount of informaon, but the fastest way to turn a scholarly dissertaon into meaningless blog is to use Wikipedia as a reference. Because of the way the arcles are developed, this condemnaon is generally true of the enre online encyclopedia. It is especially true of arcles concerned with paranormal subjects. If you search the Internet for substanve

support for paranormalist concepts, you run into a wall of skepcal websites supported by skepc clubs, universies and mainstream science organizaons. One of the most dominant of the skepc’s media is Wikipedia. In nearly every search subject, Wikipedia is the ﬁrst or nearly the ﬁrst website to come up. Perhaps even more confusing is the circular referencing that is common amongst skepc websites and Wikipedia. To see this for yourself, search for your favorite froner subject using one of the main search tools, such as Google.com. It is probable that an arcle in Wikipedia will come up ﬁrst or nearly ﬁrst. For instance, in a February 6, 2015 Google search for pseudoscience and mediumship, the Wikipedia arcle was number one. For healing and EVP, it was one and two, while for ghost, it was three and four. Stascs for how many mes a Wikipedia arcle is visited are available for February 4, 2015 and they are Pseudoscience = 1085, mediumship = 404, healing = 182 and EVP = 191 visits. The ATransC website has over four hundred pages and for the same day, the enre site only had 673 unique website visitors. Without a doubt, Wikipedia has much more public reach than ATransC, and likely any website with a posive paranormalist message. Anyone Can Edit Articles Anyone can register to be an editor. It is reported that even school-age children are somemes given an assignment to make changes in Wikipedia. New editors are advised to use a pseudonym instead of

their real name and to keep their personal informaon private. The problem is that people might personally aack an editor for an entry. One of the fastest ways to be permanently banned is to deliberately out an editor by revealing the person’s name. The downside of using screen names is that editors can say prey much whatever they want without fear of reprisal. Naturally, this means immunity to real-world social norms. There are Wiki norms which amount to whatever the dominant group of editors wants them to be. This is an important reason why I have come to the conclusion that screen names are a hindrance to the exchange of meaningful informaon and a corrupng factor for all aspects of Internet society. Wikipedia Rules of Behavior Wikipedia has rules governing the interacon of editors such as the need to assume good faith and be civil toward other editors. There are also procedural rules, such as how oen and why an editor might change another person’s edits. It is considered edit warring when an editor reverts another editor’s entry more than three mes. This is an oﬀense that can result in the oﬀending editor being blocked from eding for a me. Civility is policy, but the dominang skepcs found civility just got in the way, and so today it is okay to aack people outside of the skepc group, but hell to pay for outsiders to aack skepcs. This is best seen by reading arcle talk pages recorded during more contenous

periods. An editor’s failure to follow the rules is usually addressed by other editors, but if that does not work, then it is possible to bring an editor before a tribunal that has the power to ban an editor from making further contribuons. I was banned from ever eding the Rupert Sheldrake arcle because several skepcal editors took me to the administrators claiming I was a one subject editor. That one subject was anything paranormal so that now I am one complaint away from being banned from ever eding any Wikipedia arcle in my ﬁeld. In this way, the now dominant skepcs are able to drive away contending editors. Subject Matter Specialists The policy of Wikipedia, or at least the dominant editor’s policy, is that subject maer specialists are discouraged from eding arcles within their area of experse. (118) (119) In fact, it is common for subject maer specialists to be so abused that they soon stop aempng to contribute content. One of the Wikipedia founders, Larry Sanger, has even wrien the arcle, “Why Wikipedia Must Jeson Its An-Elism,” explaining the pialls of editors not using their real names (no accountability) and not being knowledgeable about the subjects they edit. His response was to begin Cizendium.org, which is supposed to be a kinder and more dependable online encyclopedia. I did aempt to organize paranormalists to work on paranormal arcles in Cizendium. There is now a paranormal subgroup at en.cizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Paranormal_Subgroup. Included there is the structure for arcles and indexes, but no

eding contribuons from others beyond what I put together. The two contribuons that came from exisng Cizendium editors were deleons of some of the material I had added. Had there been other paranormalist editors, I could have reversed those, but instead, I have copied the material to the Collecve (ATransC.org/bp/Collecve) and given up on the publicly edited online encyclopedia. Wikipedia Editing Rules Perhaps most important are the rules governing what may be included in arcles. For instance, arcles are required to be wrien from a neutral point of view and everything in arcles must be based on veriﬁable references. The references themselves must be from mainstream publicaons and must not be self-serving. All of the parapsychological journals are considered fringe and their content is not acceptable as a reference. (112) This eﬀecvely assures that only the less informed, usually more an-paranormal publicaons are acceptable. Of course, this means the skepcal publicaons are acceptable. An interesng consequence of not allowing subject-maer specialists or froner subject publicaons is that Wikipedia arcles about paranormal subjects are usually out of date. For instance, the arcle on Spiritualism is virtually all historical, so that one would get the impression that Spiritualists are sll living in the early 1900s. Virtually the enre EVP arcle is out of date, and there are no arcles for Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) or physical mediumship. This past tense bias in arcles also has the eﬀect of slowing progress. A person seeking informaon about a paranormal subject likely ends up at an

authoritave sounding Wikipedia arcle that provides an erroneous sense of the state of the art. It is reasonable to expect that young people’s understanding is likely based on what is in Wikipedia. In fact, my guess is that most people depend on Wikipedia, ghost hunng television programs and ghost hunng club websites for their understanding of the paranormalist community. As a note to the paranormalist community, this array of misleading media must certainly serve the skepc’s objecve of marginalizing our study of these phenomena. Circular Referencing One of the more blatant ways to bias an arcle is to ﬁrst have someone say what you want in an arcle published in an acceptable publicaon. Somemes a skepc blog will do. The arcle is then used as a reference to make the editor’s point. An example of how this works can be found on the Pseudoscience talk page (107) in the secon tled “Learning styles as pseudoscience.” The secon will probably be archived by the me this book is published, so look in the Talk Page archive for the secon tle and/or date. I have only included the ﬁnal, January 15, 2015 comment here. Wikipedia editor User:Puedo82 wanted to have learning styles (120) added to the subjects listed in the pseudoscience arcle. User:Jytdog has a problem with User:Puedo82’s references because none of them speciﬁcally name learning styles as pseudoscience. In the end, User:Jytdog advises: Here is what I suggest. See if you can succeed in having the word “pseudoscience” included in the

lead of the learning style arcle. [on Wikipedia] The word does not appear in that arcle, as of today. To have the word “pseudoscience” in the lead, you will need support for it in the body, per WP:LEAD*. If you can do that, I think you will have no problem geng that listed here. But this is not the place to make the determinaon. Jytdog 15 January 2015 *brieﬂy, WP:LEAD says that the lead is just a summary of the body; nothing should be in the lead that is not in the body. Pseudoscience is now in the Learning Styles arcle. The pracce of tailoring arcles in acceptable publicaons to speciﬁcally support the dominant group of editor’s view is common and eﬀecvely defeats the rule requiring authoritave references to support statements. Foundation Rules The fundamental principles of Wikipedia are described as the Five Pillars: (121) 1. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. 2. Wikipedia is wrien from a neutral point of view. 3. Wikipedia is free content that anyone can use, edit and distribute. 4. Editors should treat each other with respect and civility. 5. Wikipedia has no ﬁrm rules. I say that skepcs control the paranormal arcles in Wikipedia, but the cultural norm for the enre encyclopedia appears to be based on sciensm. Three major arbitraon cases, which I believe were moderated by arbitrators from all around Wikipedia, speciﬁcally concern paranormal subjects but likely have far-reaching implicaons for the enre wiki. Informaon about these is accessible via the Viewpoint secon of

ethericstudies.org. Also note that arbitrators are senior editors elected by the dominant group of editors. Collecvely, these arbitraon cases establish oﬃcial Wikipedia approval for what is considered acceptable treatment of paranormal subjects: Requests for arbitration/Fringe science (2009) The arbitrators generally found in favor of the skepcs with a series of decisions. (112) The most important ones include: Principle 9) Relevant comparisons: The prominence of fringe views need to be put in perspecve relave to the views of the enre encompassing ﬁeld; liming that relave perspecve to a restricted subset of specialists or only amongst the proponents of that view is, necessarily, biased and unrepresentave. Principle 10) Advocacy: Wikipedia is not for advocacy. The purpose of an encyclopedia is to state neutrally the current knowledge in a ﬁeld, not to put forward arguments to promote or deride any parcular view. In parcular, conjectures that hold signiﬁcant prominence must no more be suppressed than be promoted as factual. Principle 11) Citaons: Citaons should not be used disproporonately to the prominence of the view they are cing or in a manner that conveys undue weight. Exceponal claims in Wikipedia require high-quality sources; if such sources are not available, the material should not be included. Principle 13) Scienﬁc focus: Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and its content on scienﬁc and quasi-scienﬁc topics will primarily reﬂect current mainstream scienﬁc consensus. This is my whole point. Skepcs know the power of Wikipedia to inﬂuence the public. For every word they ﬁght to keep in an arcles, such

as is it pseudoscience or not, or is Rupert Sheldrake to be called a scienst or not, they are clearly eding to sway public opinion. Requests for arbitration/ Paranormal (2007): (122) Principle 3) Basis for inclusion: In addion to ﬁrmly established scienﬁc truth, Wikipedia contains many other types of informaon. “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is veriﬁability, not truth” (from Wikipedia:Veriﬁability). Here, scienﬁc truth translates as “only what mainstream science says is true.” Veriﬁability is based on mainstream media, since the Fringe arbitraon gave skepcs permission to reject virtually all of the froner subject media unless it supports their point of view. Principle 6.1) Appropriate handling of epistemological status: It is the responsibility of editors to appropriately handle any queson regarding the epistemological status of a subject, that is, quesons of whether something exists, is hypothesized to exist, general scienﬁc consensus, etc. The goal is not arrival at the correct conclusion, but adequate treatment of any controversy. Principle 9.1) Editorial judgment regarding reliability: Determining the reliability of sources is a maer of sound editorial judgment informed by experse. Exceponal claims should be supported by strong sources. Sensaonalist sources, when used at all, should not be the sole sources for an arcle. Topics for which no reliable source can be found are not suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia. Principle 10.1) Conﬂict of interest: Wikipedia: Conﬂict of interest, strongly cauons but does not forbid an editor from working in subject areas where the editor is strongly invested. Such eding must be

done responsibly. Other editors are expected to respond diplomacally even when they believe a conﬂict of interest may exist. This is a restatement of prior policy, but including it in the Pseudoscience arbitraon gives it special meaning. I have been admonished a number of mes with the strongly cauons of this principle being read as deﬁnitely not allowed. Principle 11) Generally considered pseudoscience: Theories which have a following, such as various manifestaons of the paranormal, but which are generally considered pseudoscience by the scienﬁc community may, with adequate sourcing, properly contain that informaon and may be categorized as pseudoscience. Finding of Fact 3) Status of parapsychology: Parapsychology has an ambiguous status, engaging in scienﬁc research, but strongly cricized for lack of rigor. Finding of Fact 7) External campaigning: Acvists, including a Tom Butler, have put up pages which campaign regarding the content of Wikipedia arcles… This is a good illustraon of the embaled Wikipedia mentality. The complaint concerns an arcle I wrote for the ATransC NewsJournal about how paranormal subjects are treated. Of course I would write about the subject, but Wikipedia editors seem to believe they are above public cricism. Value of Wikipedia Because of the requirement that all substanve statements have a reliable source, virtually all material in Wikipedia arcles is at least secondhand and oen based on very outdated material. Because books are preferred over websites as being more academic, and it oen takes years to publish a book, it is common to ﬁnd book references that

have long-since been outdated by new research published in journals and on websites. More importantly, references are oen used that are unavailable to the reader, making it nearly impossible to verify that the included informaon is actually supported. Too oen, it is not. An arcle published in a science journal, which is wrien by a researcher about his or her research, is considered original research. This means that informaon about research must be wrien by someone else, which usually means secondhand and potenally inaccurate reports are preferred. Small and/or non-mainstream publicaons are considered fringe, and are therefore easily discounted by an editor determined not to allow their use. In most froner subjects, there are only small publicaons because of the immaturity of the ﬁeld and small readership. At the same me, mainstream publicaons will not venture to publish a posive report about a froner subject. Also, major book publishers will not invest the resources to publish a book intended as a serious research report unless there is a large audience. All of this means that collaboraon in froner subjects is accomplished via newsleers, self-published books and websites. The most current research informaon is too oen on the same search engine page as hobbyists speculang about the subject from a point of view of “how it helped me today,” rather than whether or not it has any validity in fact. Using Wikipedia First and foremost, Wikipedia should never be used as a reference. There really are no excepons. Since anyone can

edit, there is no way of knowing if comments are reasonably correct or if the references supporng an arcle actually say what is needed to support the informaon. The arcles are changed as new people come along with diﬀerent opinions so that what is in the arcle one day may not be there the next. It is possible that a useful comment in an arcle will be changed so that your reader might visit your reference and ﬁnd a contradictory statement. Since every substanve comment is supposed to be supported with a reliable reference, Wikipedia arcles should be excellent research tools and study guides. If you want to know about a subject, read the Wikipedia arcle, but then use the references to see what the subject-maer specialists have to say. Be mindful though, that references from froner subject journals will probably be unrepresented if there are any at all. In the Rupert Sheldrake arcle, references are something like ten to one in support of pro skepc points of view. (116) It is informave to follow the View History tab to see if there is an edit war underway. Also follow the Talk tab to see if there are any current controversies that might make the arcle unstable. A new trick of the skepcs is to hide comments on the talk page with a very quick archive bot. Comments on the talk page of the Rupert Sheldrake arcle, for instance, are almost all in the archive. Look for the Archive box.

Personal Attacks It is common for skepcal editors to denounce anyone who studies froner subjects as morons, idiots, deluded, charlatans and frauds. There are administrave-level editors and procedures to request help with such abuse, but in many instances, complaints are answered by a barrage of comments agreeing with the original insult and adding many more disparaging words to the list. In the end, it is an inescapable conclusion that Wikipedia intends to maintain a civil work environment, but is unable to apply exisng rules to protect editors from other editors. The common term is poisoned atmosphere. I was an acve editor for a couple of years and suﬀered considerable abuse from the skepc editors both in Wikipedia and elsewhere on the Internet. All were childish aacks on me and any point I might have been trying to make. The aacks were not the problem so much as the poisoned atmosphere that allowed them to seem to be okay and the arrogant atude of the aackers. Occasionally, there were individuals who stood with me. These editors did not necessarily understand paranormal phenomena, but did have a keen sense of fairness and saw the need for balance in arcles. For instance, some did not like Rupert Sheldrake’s ideas, but felt a proper encyclopedia needed to explain Sheldrake’s hypotheses in a neutral way that would not endorse or condemn while leng the reader know what they included. Each balanced editor working on that arcle was eventually driven out of Wikipedia with lifelong bans

or such severe personal aacks that they could not stay. As an indicator of how diﬃcult it can be for a froner subject editor, Wikipedia at least did have a civility board on which I once posted a complaint about verbal abuse. Ironically, I was aacked more aggressively there than in any other part of Wikipedia. EVP Article It occurs to me that some readers might wonder why, if I am an editor and knowledgeable about EVP, the Electronic Voice Phenomena arcle is in such bad shape. Your ﬁrst hint is the tle. It was phenomena (plural as it is used in the community) but now it is phenomenon even though the opening sentence begins with phenomena. That was just one of the bales I lost. My original reason for becoming an editor was to update a very poorly wrien EVP arcle. I began by suggesng a paper that has since evolved into the Transcommunicaon White Paper (123) which is available for download from ATransC.org. The other editors threw a ﬁt because it is not done that way, and so, I learned my ﬁrst lesson about Wikipedia culture. One or two neutral editors and several hardcore skepcs joined the discussion. What followed was a long edit war in which I was oﬃcially charged with various wiki crimes such as conﬂict of interest, pushing original research and bias. In the end, the very fact that I was a director of the ATransC (then it was the AA-EVP) proved that I had

a conﬂict of interest. Because of my scope of study, I can probably be banned from eding any paranormal arcle for potenal conﬂict of interest. It is because of the nature of our community and how Wikipedia rules are enforced that virtually any acve member of our community can be banned for one such Wiki rule or another. Again, it is at the convenience of the controlling skepcs. All of the publicaons I cited to support EVP theory were classiﬁed as fringe, and therefore unreliable, as the result of the Fringe Science arbitraon. (112) They were not allowed while blogs, columns and hearsay arcles wrien by skepcs were allowed as reliable. On the other hand, any of our fringe arcles are allowed if it proves the skepc’s point. Some of our best researchers were aacked as crackpots and I was rounely insulted oﬀ-wiki in skepcal forums. Again, the qualiﬁcaons of a psychologist or magician skepc to pronounce with authority about EVP was given respect while parapsychologists were deemed unqualiﬁed. Many of the explanaons for EVP in the arcle are a priori pronouncements that sound good but have no empirical foundaon. Even meteor showers are given credence, for instance: “there is a possibility of meteor reﬂecon of the radio signal.” None of the more reasonable speculaon is included because it depends on parapsychological research which is not allowed. Also, original research is not allowed, while reports from a wiki-reliable second sources are. Virtually all work in our lile community is original

research. One of the more irritang surprises was that negave comments made by people in the paranormalist community were found and used as proof these phenomena are not real. It is especially damaging when one of our own denounces our work. Amongst the most damaging are these quotes from the Wikipedia arcle: • Rorschach Audio: “And a broad class of phenomena referred to by author Joe Banks as Rorschach Audio has been described as a global explanaon for all manifestaons of EVP.” Banks used old, usually Class B and C examples from the beginning of EVP and did not seem to think the more contemporary and beer authencated Class A material worth using to balance his work. • Rosemary Guiley has wrien, “Within the parapsychology establishment, Rogo was oen faulted for poor scholarship, which, crics said, led to erroneous conclusions.” In fact, anything to do with EVP in Rogo’s day was as taboo as it is today amongst parapsychologists. A common skepc tacc is to deﬂect the reader from the facts by aacking procedures that produced the facts. By including that kind of aspersion in her wring, Guiley just gave the skepcs another talking point. • Imants Barušs: “While we did replicate EVP in the weak sense of ﬁnding voices on audio tapes, none of the phenomena found in our study was clearly anomalous, let alone aributable to discarnate beings. Hence we have failed to replicate EVP in the strong sense.” I have discussed Barušs’ “Failure to Replicate” arcle on

my website. (96) In fact, his protocol was fatally ﬂawed, yet his work is happily published by one of our parapsychological journals and widely quoted by the skepcs. In the EVP arcle, if you click on the reference number associated with a statement, the system will take you to the reference at the boom of the arcle. At that reference, you can click on the up symbol at the beginning of the arcle to see where it is used. If there are also lowercase leers, they will take you to addional uses of the reference. Note that many of the references are only allowed because they are negave and not because they are authoritave. I am basically not allowed to edit the arcle because of potenal conﬂict of interest. As such, I have abandoned interest in it. My failed aempt to support the development of an informave arcle within the bounds of Wikipedia policy has taught me a lot about the skepcal world. It has also caused me to go it alone in terms of trying to inform the public. My loss of paence for long, drawn out arguments over what is truth is collateral damage from that experience. As you probably see by now, the paranormalist community has not stepped up to the task of reasonable public educaon. Unthinking comments as I excerpted above are quickly used to prove we are delusional. We are our worst enemy in this bale for respectability. Passive Paranormalist As I have previously stated,

the reason paranormal arcles in Wikipedia are controlled by skepcs is because they outnumber moderate editors so completely that they are able to decide how the Five Pillars are applied as pracce. This has not always been the case. When I ﬁrst began eding Wikipedia, the arbitraon cases had not been translated into pracce and there was sll an ongoing discussion about what was acceptable for inclusion in arcles. I tried very hard to ence other paranormalists to join into the discussion. I know others in our community also tried. Hardly anyone joined in and virtually none stayed to help. The Wikipedia we have today is arguably the result of paranormalist complacency. You will ﬁnd many places in my wring in which I say that paranormalists are a gentle folk who prefer not to get involved in disagreements such as those that are all too common on Wikipedia. In fact, I have had a number of paranormalists privately tell me that they would never subject themselves to what I have experienced. The problem, I think, is that we are sll developing a sense of community and cooperave eﬀorts, such as establishing a strong group of editors in Wikipedia, are simply not yet part of our cultural norm. It is my hope that these commentaries might help to change that. Alternative to Wikipedia Wikipedia is an open source WikiMedia project: “The Wikimedia Foundaon, Inc. is a nonproﬁt charitable organizaon dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribuon of free, mullingual, educaonal

content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge.” (124) All of the websites I manage use the Creave Commons “Aribuon-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license: Share—copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format; Adapt—remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.” (125) The WikiMedia plaorm is probably the most eﬀecve tool I have found on the Internet for collaborave arcle development. It connues to be maintained with frequent updates, improvements and security ﬁxes. It also provides a means by which the public is able to see the interacon of editors and evoluon of arcles. Assuming editors use their real names and take the me to include a brief descripon of their qualiﬁcaons on their user page, this extraordinary visibility would amount to an eﬀecve alternave to peer review for observant readers. Because the arbitraon cases noted above are now part of Wikipedia rule, it is unlikely that Wikipedia can be changed toward a more neutral encyclopedia; however, it is possible that an alternave wiki could be developed. With proper aribuon, the enrety of Wikipedia could be ported to a new wiki under new management that is more agreeable to balanced reporng. In principle, Cizendium (126) is such an alternave wiki, but again, it would require a group of editors working together, as right now it is sll prey much dominated by editors leaning toward sciensm. The Collecve (67) is a WikiMidia wiki dedicated to developing best pracces.

It is sponsored by the nonproﬁt ATransC. We are always seeking qualiﬁed volunteers to help develop arcles. Wiki Aggregator A number of discussion boards and alternave wikis are showing up on paranormalist sites. Of course, there is the ATransC Idea Exchange and Collecve, but some other organizaons also have their version. All are probably doomed to obscurity, though. The problem is that, rather than cooperang with other groups, each group, including the ones I manage, has preferred to develop its own, presumably because of special needs. A natural result of these islands of informaon is that it is diﬃcult for them to rise very high in search results, meaning that they are mostly lost to those who are not part of that community of interest. One alternave would be to encourage the development of such specialty knowledge bases, and then as a community, to develop an aggregator tool which allows people to conduct informaon searches speciﬁcally in those sites. I have set up a Google search tool at ATransC.org/links_community.htm that does this for some sites, but the need is for a much more sophiscated tool. (127) Such a tool would amount to a virtual alternave wiki. On Being an Editor Unl recently, it had been my policy to encourage people to become a Wikipedia editor and help in the eﬀort to balance arcles. However, now it is clearly a lost cause. The only soluon is a policy change and the managers have stated that they are happy with the current

environment. While I think Wikipedia serves an important service in the mainstream arcles, the online encyclopedia is just a propaganda tool for skepcs. As such, it is taking up a niche on the Internet that would be beer ﬁlled by a new eﬀort. Here are a few things to consider, should you wish to parcipate in community informaon sharing: • Blogs and personal websites are a good place to develop your ideas because they tend to be stable for public assess. • Public forums are too freeform for eﬀecve long-term idea development. They are also very transient as new comments quickly push old ones out of sight. • Unless a wiki is managed by paranormalists, it will be taken over by skepcs. Forums such as the ATransC Collecve wiki at ATransC.org/bp/Collecve (4) are a safe place to help develop community pracces and useful informaonal arcles. • Aggregator tools such as the dedicated search tool at ATransC.org/links_community.htm enable a person to access informaon from many included sites. Please let me know if you wish to have your website added to the ATransC search tool. You have a unique perspecve about paranormal subjects. It is by sharing your perspecve with others that we all gain understanding and by which we develop a cohesive cooperave community. Personal blogs and websites allow you to state your point without needing to consider other people’s input, but you can probably expect the number of people reading your material to be very small. Cooperave websites develop much

greater audiences, but you will probably need to work with others to develop a shared view. We have seen with Wikipedia that such communal eﬀorts are very eﬀecve. In most cases, I consider reaching a consensus view for an arcle worth sacriﬁcing my opinion in favor of a shared opinion. In turn, I almost always learn. Conclusion Wikipedia is a very important tool for accessing informaon about noncontroversial subjects and as a study guide. However, be mindful that it has become a plaorm for social engineering. Because of its eding rules, arcles are almost always out of date. This means that even the references are probably lile beer than suggesons for what you should be looking for to beer understand the subject. Whenever I see someone using Wikipedia as a reference in an arcle intended to be taken seriously, my ﬁrst impression is that the person has not done the necessary work to understand the references, and therefore, the subject. If you want to be taken seriously as a subject-maer specialist, it is in your best interest not to use Wikipedia as a reference. Community Commentary 8: Perspective My Reader Being mindful means pausing to consider personal acons as we act. It also means taking me to see ourselves as others see us. We do this so that we can be aware of how our acons aﬀect others, and whether we are communicang as we intend. In the essay “Clarity of Communicaons,” (128) I discussed how important it is to

understand that there are diﬀerent ways people relate to informaon, and therefore, how they unconsciously process our words and acons into conscious awareness. Of course, this is based on the model used in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. In that, I explain that First Sight Theory (13) argues there is a diﬀerence between unconscious processing of informaon and conscious awareness of the results of that processing. Since mainstream science is beginning to support that model, it is reasonable to argue that a person (conscious self as “I think I am this”) is the product of unconscious mental processes which are based on prior condioning of which we are hardly aware. The inﬂuence of this wizard behind the curtain manifests as a person’s point of view. Because our communicaon with others is really addressing this wizard in their unconscious mind, it is necessary for us to carefully select our tone. The model I use is discussed in the Point of View Commentary under Temperament. As illustrated in the Personality Styles Diagram, it uses a simple four-sided model: Driver, Analycal, Expressive and Amiable. The model helps me to be mindful of reader diversity. Much of my wring is technical—not just technology technical, but also conceptually complex. As I write, I try to imagine some of my less analycal friends reading my material. Will it make sense to them? Perhaps not, no maer how many ways I make the point, but at least more will understand than if I only wrote for my

way of learning. Learning styles hints at a person’s point of view. That is the Idea I tried to convey in the Science Commentary as I described the various communies of interest and their focus. You may remember in that commentary that I had three ways in which the community is categorized: • The Dominant Views of Reality in the paranormalist community are psi ﬁeld, Trans-Survival and transcommunicaon. • These are considered from the human psychology, emergent science, human potenal, social paranormal and metaphysical points of view. • The communies of interest that consider them are parapsychology, cizen sciensts, mediumisc praconers, hobbyists and seekers. It is the point of view that must be given the most consideraon, but each community of interest presumably aracts people with a speciﬁc point of view. Key 9: The Hermit: From the Major Arcana of the Tarot in the Waite deck. (Colors are not true) Realistically Speaking A key concept from ancient wisdom schools is that our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach. In the Progression, Teaching and the Community Discourse, I begin with: The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve From the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, we are born with an imperave to gain understanding which is expressed as progression. It is through the act of teaching that we compile the disparate bits of informaon we collect in our lifeme into a kind of gestalt understanding. It is

this understanding that we take with us to the other side beyond transion. Teaching is one of the best ways to integrate that understanding because it requires us to organize our thoughts via conscious consideraon of worldview. As an idealist, it is natural for me to occasionally dramaze a concept with imagery intended to appeal to our inner wizard. You may recognize the Hermit, key 9 of the Tarot’s Major Arcane (59) from the ethericstudies.org banner. (If you are studying the Tarot, you will know the robe is supposed to be gray and the background is supposed to be black or deep blue.) No, it does not symbolize my ideal me. It is intended to represent The Way of Progression noted above. In the Tarot, the Hermit represents the consciousness of a person who has aained some notable amount of understanding. Having been a seeker, the Hermit is now the wayshower or teacher. He holds the light high above the path so that others may know the way. In eﬀect, “As I am, so may you be.” An example of a wayshower is found in John 14-5 and 14-6 of the Chrisan Bible. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his arrest and certain death. Here, he is explaining that they too would be able to go where he was going (to heaven) and that they would know the way. John 14-5: Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? John

14-6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus is saying that he represents the three aspects of a teacher. The Hermit also represents those three aspects: a seeker who has achieved a degree of understanding, has integrated that understanding into his or her life and has paused to show the way to those who would come aer. So the Hermit is symbolic of what I believe all of us who count ourselves as seekers will become. He is also symbolic of the path we will eventually ﬁnd as we become the Hermit. The Village Model In the Point of View Commentary, I described the Sheep-Goat Model in terms of Villager-Explorer. You will remember that the sheep in Gertrude Schmeidler’s model were the believers in paranormal phenomena and the goats were the nonbelievers. I prefer a more ﬂaering model of explorers for people who believe in paranormal phenomena and villagers for those who do not. A second concept to consider here is the blind men and an elephant parable. In that, a number of blind men examined an elephant by touch with the expectaon of describing what it looked like. As the story goes, each individual perspecve produced a diﬀerent descripon of the elephant. I used this parable in the Community Commentary to make the point that our community’s acng as many isolated communies of interest cannot possibly see enough of the paranormal phenomena to

properly understand the whole. If the villager-explorer model is expanded to also consider their perspecves, then it might be useful as an updated version of the blind men and elephant parable. Think in terms of the village center as mainstream society, the village outskirts as our paranormalist community and the wilderness as reality. The idea is that the village is surrounded by and profoundly inﬂuenced by the wilderness. And in actuality, the village is a human construct, a human expression of reality. The people living on the outskirts of the village are more directly inﬂuenced by the wilderness, and as explorers come and go, they hear tales of wonders that the mainstream cizens cannot comprehend. Here, the explorers are the conscious seekers who hold the light for others to see. Legacy While I do not see myself as any kind of wayshower, I do understand that some of what I have learned may be of value to others. The tools I came into this lifeme with are well suited for comprehending complex concepts. If you are familiar with the story of the Tent Maker, then you will understand when I say that the life path I stumbled upon has given me objecve tools, such as technical wring and training in technology, which serve to facilitate the preservaon of what I have learned for others to study. Personal ability and life experiences maer lile if they are not directed into useful ﬁelds of study. Lisa has been an important navigator for

me by involving me in interests that I would not have considered on my own. Spiritualism, Electronic Voice Phenomena and mediumship are good examples. More likely, I would have focused my life on technology. While I like ancient wisdom and complex theories, it is the hands-on applicaon of technology that called me. So if you ﬁnd value in this book, thank Lisa, as it would not exist without her. If I did not wish to put some of my more controversial words in her mouth, her name would be on this book as co-author. You are the rest of the story. It is for you to step onto the path. Perhaps the Implicit Cosmology is not your way, but surely you will recognize the power it suggests you have in shaping your desny. You came into this lifeme with an urge to gain understanding. In my mind, it is impossible to fulﬁll that goal without eventually teaching others. Your personality understands this, as it is expressed in everything you do. These twin urges do not dominate you, perhaps they only make you restless. Probably, they are lost in the noise of your body’s insnctual urges and its natural inclinaon to play. Thus, your ﬁrst iniaon is to recognize that there is a path and that consciously deciding that entering into the mindful way is the only way to sasfy those urges. While we say “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” perhaps we should be saying,

“Teach me as I teach you.” Section III Transcommunication Introduction The Trans- Preix In the Implicit Cosmology, the trans- preﬁx signiﬁes from the etheric aspect of reality to the physical aspect. This can be considered in the same sense as across the veil of forgeulness. Transcommunicaon then, is two-way communicaon between the etheric and physical. This might also be phrased as a trans-etheric inﬂuence. Technically, all trans-etheric inﬂuences are considered intenonal expressions of a personality; however, transcommunicaon is a term generally reserved for inﬂuences that result in some form of objecve informaon. This includes mediumship, Aer-Death Communicaon (ADC) and Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC). Psychokinec acvity such as levitaon and apports are considered indirect form of transcommunicaon because they are assumed to occur under intelligent control for a speciﬁc purpose. Out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences and dreams are not usually included; however, there might be circumstances in which such experiences result in objecve informaon, and as such, those instances would be considered transcommunicaon. As a historical note, Ernst Senkowski (129) coined the term, Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) to describe “meaningful anomalies including extraordinary voices, computer text, recorded images and images found on video displays suggesve of a connuance of life aer death.” Note that aer-death communicaon and mediumship should be considered forms of transcommunicaon but are not necessarily ITC. (Because of common usage in this ﬁeld, terms with a trans- preﬁx can be used without the hyphen.) Transcommunication Study 1: Foundation Principles Introduction Transcommunicaon is explained here as it relates to the Implicit Cosmology.

To understand the nature of transcommunicaon then, it is necessary to be familiar with a few important concepts. These are explained in detail in the body of this work and are brieﬂy covered here. Please refer to the referenced arcles for more complete explanaons and please do use the Glossary of Terms. Once again, you are invited to register on the ATransC Idea Exchange discussion board at ATransC.org/forum/ to ask quesons, discuss concepts and share results. Organizing Principles All of the principles listed in the Organizing Principles Discourse apply to transcommunicaon. The principles listed here are the most inﬂuenal. Expression: Reality is expressed via personality’s aenon on an imagined outcome with the intenon to make it so. Intended order is the inﬂuence expression has on the environment. It may be in the form of conscious awareness of an output of the perceptual process, speech, order impressed on a chaoc process or an ideoplasc form. Expression is iniated by conscious intenon but the formaon of expression is a mostly unconscious process of the Aenon Complex. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. In transcommunicaon, order in the form of recognizable images, objects or sounds is known to emerge out of chaoc signals. In Instrumental TransCommunicaon, the physical process that enables this emergence of intended order appears to be stochasc ampliﬁcaon acng on chaoc, broad-spectrum energy. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. This organizing principle

provides a mechanism by which order can be imposed on a system without many complex rules liming the behavior of individual life ﬁelds (personalies). It results in the existence of the Veil of Forgeulness (130), which is the praccal consequence of the etheric-physical interface. The link between conscious self (I think I am this) and personality (I am this), as it is associated with a human avatar, is ﬁltered by worldview in the Aenon Complex. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. The praccal consequence of this principle is that the etheric personality is not able to directly inﬂuence the physical, but must rely on its conscious self, which is entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. Entanglement: Personality remains associated with its expressions via aenon. The Principle of Entanglement is seen as a property inherent in the process of expression. In this model, expression is in the form of an aspect of a personality (Lile Me) or an ideoplasc structure. These remain associated with the creang personality by way of aenon and the extent to which personality intends that the expressions connue to exist. Personal Reality: Percepon of reality deﬁnes personal reality. The database deﬁning percepon is contained in worldview as part of the Aenon Complex. At birth, worldview is populated with insncts from the human body, with some level of understanding about reality and an urge to gain further understanding inherited from etheric personality. The body’s insncts are dominant in the person’s early years, but personality, by way

of conscious self, is expected to eventually gain control of worldview as the person matures. Even so, the insncts and beliefs taught to the person by family, school and media tend to dominate the person’s sense of reality, right and wrong (cultural norms). Important Concepts The relaonship between our etheric personality and our human body is modeled as an avatar relaonship. Understanding the following concepts will help you understand this relaonship: Avatar: In Hinduism, an avatar (from Sanskrit for descent) is a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth. The term can be translated into English as incarnaon. A person is an etheric personality entangled with a human body in an avatar relaonship. See the Life Field Complex Diagram. Life Field: The ﬁeld concept dominates this cosmology. Fields are generally referred to as etheric ﬁelds of which there are many forms. In this concept, reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds. See the Life Fields Discourse. The Life Field Complex Diagram shows the entangled relaonship between personality, body mind and physical body. All of the funconal areas are in the etheric except for the physical body itself. This includes mind, memory, intenon, insncts and body image. Praccal consequences of this avatar relaonship include: • Unconscious expression: As described in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, expression is the output of the Aenon Complex. It is informed by worldview, so that expressions are colored by cultural beliefs and human insncts. Expression can be outward from the life ﬁeld into

the environment, but it is also inward as thought, memory, dreams and imaginings. Expression is bounded by perceptual agreement. • Unconscious worldview deﬁnes personal reality: How a person consciously experiences the world is based on worldview. In childhood, human insncts tend to dominate worldview, and as such, a young person must be taught to be a cizen. Maturing is the process of learning how to manage insncts with understanding gained through experience. Right and wrong are cultural arfacts which the person must be taught by the community. Insncts of the body must also be managed by the entangled personality. From a cosmological perspecve, the Organizing Principles represent enduring understanding leading to perceptual agreement. • Body Mind is not the same as worldview: The body is governed by body image which is managed by body mind. Via the Perceptual Loop, gradual changes in the body are capable of modifying the body image. Aging is a gradual change. Also, there are culturally developed expectaons that age equals old. In fact, this gradual decline may not be necessary but is driven by that culturally developed expectaon. • All percepon is psi; objecvity is assigned: All of the funconal areas are in etheric space except the physical structure of the human body and the ideoplasc structures that result in physical objects as the person’s expression. That which we consider physically objecve is a convenon used to color percepon. In the Implicit Cosmology, the only diﬀerence between percepon of a distant object sensed via clairvoyance

and percepon of a nearby object sensed via the body’s sight and touch is how we have been taught to assign meaning. Percepon and Expression: The Percepon and Expression Diagram illustrates the informaon ﬂow for how we think based on the most current science I can ﬁnd. (See the Percepon and Expression Discourse for more details.) All of the funconal areas are in the etheric and are beer thought of as nonphysical ﬁelds which are bound into a system by the inﬂuence of aenon. As such the Aenon Complex represents our unconscious mind. Important features to note in the diagram include: • Transcommunicaon: Personality interfaces with other personalies via the Aenon Complex. Interacon is limited by perceptual agreement as deﬁned in worldview. • Mind is like an Internet IP Address: Only external signals (psi inﬂuences, physical signals) of interest to the person are passed by the Aenon Limiter. • Worldview limits percepon: In eﬀect, the Perceptual Loop asks the queson, “Is this real?” of the informaon passed by the Aenon Limiter. The answer is based on worldview which funcons as the moderator for what is real. • Worldview can be incrementally changed: Worldview represents habit, and as such, experiencing what is familiar requires much less eﬀort than that required to experience something new. A slight or ambiguous diﬀerence between worldview and sensed informaon is most apt to change worldview while a great diﬀerence will likely be rejected (ignored by the conscious self). • Percepon develops moment-by-moment: The Perceptual Loop is

a streaming process so that environmental informaon is connuously sampled. The eﬀect is an evolving percepon as more informaon becomes available. This may explain stream-of-thought dreams in which one moment suggests the next but not always to produce a logical experience. Stochastic Ampliication The most common form of EVP is known as transform EVP because they are known to depend on the presence of broad-spectrum audio energy for formaon. Also, most visual forms of ITC are induced by causing the presence of chaoc visible light which is transformed into features, apparently, according to intended order. Precipitaon phenomena are somemes associated with the availability of raw material in the physical which is thought to be apported to and then deposited in its new locaon according intended order expressed by the communicang personality. An apport is modeled as decomposion of objects at their original physical locaon and precipitaon of them in a new locaon. The common factors appear to be chaoc energy and intended order. As such, our working hypothesis is that the creave process involves aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order in a chaoc system. Here, a chaoc system is any physical system, ﬁeld or material that is not conﬁned by design or funcon to a parcular order. Audio-frequency noise with many irregularies, including short spikes of noise, is useful for transform EVP formaon. Medium-density light is considered an ideal chaoc source for feature formaon in visual ITC. An electronic device that is engineered so as not

to allow processing of unexpected signals is not a chaoc system. An example is a shortwave radio with squelch control. Within the constraints of the energy barriers of the material, semiconductor juncons may produce chaoc signals. Stochasc resonance is an eﬀect that results in a weak signal being ampliﬁed in a nonlinear system when a large noise background is applied. (131) It is speculated that a weak psychokinec psi inﬂuence (signal) is made stronger via stochasc ampliﬁcaon. In electronic circuits, the acve regions of tubes and transistors provide the necessary nonlinear condion for ampliﬁcaon. It is the combinaon of the electronic environment and the presence of a chaoc signal that we think makes psi inﬂuence of electronic equipment so common. By comparison, a physical object such as a cupboard door does not provide the necessary leverage to amplify psi inﬂuences. One Thought In the front material of this book, I said that the theory, community and transcommunicaon secons were three parts of one thought. I understand this is a long book. As my proofreader pointed out, the EVP secon alone seems like a book. But this is the me for paence, as many of my comments about these phenomena make most sense if you understand the theory and the environment in which it has developed. The Discourses are the teaching, the Commentaries are the living experience and the Studies are the applicaon. These are the three parts of a whole that can lead to understanding. Transcommunication Study 2: The Nature

of Transcommunication Introduction Because there are so many pernent concepts, the following comments are oﬀered in a shorthand version. Please take advantage of the links, other studies and Glossary of Terms for supporng material. Mechanics of Transcommunication From the physical perspecve and with the excepon of our human organism, everything about us is nonphysical, made real by way of the Aenon Complex and by convenon taught to us since physical birth. Even mainstream sciensts are beginning to think the physical world we live in might be a product of our imaginaon, not in a sense that it is not objecve, but in the sense that everything objecve must ﬁrst be visualized in our unconscious mind before some version of the world is expressed to our conscious self. Quantum theory is beyond the scope of this cosmology, but you can ﬁnd ample support for this statement via an Internet search for Collapse of the quantum wave funcon and Wave funcon represents reality. Avatar as Trans-channel In this model, a personality in the etheric is only able to express intended order in the physical by way of an entangled avatar. In simpler terms, this means that long dead Uncle John must speak through a physical person, which is someone who is an etheric personality entangled with a human body (avatar). In praccal terms, this means that the message in EVP, mediumisc messages, automac wring, the images of visual ITC, apported objects and precipitated images must be formed by an entangled avatar. That

is, by way of a physical person. It apparently does not maer who is providing the channel. For instance, in EVP, the channel could be an interested observer. The observer could be in New York City talking to the praconer in San Francisco. In the same way, a mental medium could be accessing informaon via any etheric personality, entangled with an avatar or not. Apparently, the only liming factor for this informaon access is the Principle of Perceptual Agreement. In that, if the person’s Aenon Complex cannot develop a visualizaon of the informaon based on worldview, it cannot be expressed as awareness to the conscious self. In a praccal sense, this means that if the channel (person providing the entangled avatar) believes all ﬂowers are red, then the message from a discarnate loved one that said “These blue ﬂowers are for you” will likely be expressed as “These red ﬂowers are for you.” In other words, for the channel, communicaon from a discarnate loved one is just another environmental input. It must pass through the Perceptual Loop, and therefore is subject to interpretaon by the channel’s worldview. If the person providing the channel understands a second language, the message could be in that language or a mix of ﬁrst and second languages. This is one of the reasons EVP are thought to be mostly in a language the praconer or an interested observer understands. A possible excepon to the need for an avatar relaonship for trans- etheric inﬂuences is the

Contact Field. In that, links of rapport connecng a cooperang community are thought to produce an intenonality ﬁeld. If the intenon is to facilitate trans-etheric inﬂuences, then it may be possible that the intenon ﬁeld ﬁlls the same funcon as the channel provided by an etheric personality entangled avatar. This may be the underlying mechanism of séances and development circles. We are prey sure we experienced this amongst ATransC members during the me of the Big Circle. What We Sense That which we sense begins as that which enters into our Aenon Complex by way of our Aenon Limiter. The informaon is ﬁrst limited by the extent to which we are paying aenon: are we interested, does it maer to us, does it involve survival, is it a threat? The Aenon Limiter ﬁlters uninteresng informaon from the environment. Human insncts have a lot to do with what is deemed important and anything seeming to threaten or help survival (procreaon, food, and protecon of oﬀspring) will readily pass the limiter. Personal interests such as considering the purchase of a new car will tend to alert the conscious self every me that model of car is near. The two assumpons of First Sight Theory proposed by James Carpenter (13) can be paraphrased as: First, everything and everyone produces a psi signal that perturbs the psi ﬁeld that connects all of us. People psychically sense these changes in psi space just as they physically sense changes in physical space. Second, every expression from

the Aenon Complex includes a related psychokinec inﬂuence. Carpenter proposes thirteen corollaries describing the implicaons of these assumpons for how people process informaon. The Percepon and Expression Discourse includes a descripon of how they apply to the Perceptual Loop. Factors such as how well a person focuses on informaon, what a person is interested in and how well a person is able to sense into the unconscious acvity of the Aenon Complex determine the clarity with which a person is able to experience the world. The extent of this clarity is referred to as lucidity. What We Express What we express is based on our personal reality as it has developed in our worldview. This is an important point because as you think, so do you experience and so do you express. An example is how we react to a stranger. First will come an alert of something unfamiliar, then an unconscious aempt to remember something familiar about the person (in worldview). If we are culturally taught to be suspicious of strangers, and if we tend to be fearful of the unknown, then it is more likely that we will describe the person in a prejudicial way. We will ﬁnd terms like outsider or intruder in our memory to describe the person. If we are open to new experiences, the descripon might be more like someone new. An interesng aspect of the Perceptual Loop is that we unconsciously aempt to visualize or create a mental model of incoming environmental informaon

based on what is already in worldview. This is accomplished in the iterave process of the Perceptual Loop. Your mind almost instantaneously tries a series of possible soluons that either produces conscious percepon or rejecon of the informaon. You may have detected this process, most likely as you try to remember something. Be mindful that what you ﬁnally remember is determined by that modeling process and may not accurately represent the original input. The diﬀerence is message coloring. Message coloring is easy to detect if acons and speech are considered in the context of the situaon. Transcommunicaon begins as a concept, and it is clothed in familiar meaning as it is made physical. As such, it is natural for a communicated concept to be expressed in a way that is characterisc of the praconer (or an interested observer). As is discussed in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse, we share worldview with our human host. That means our responses to environmental inﬂuences are colored by our human insncts. When confronted with a threatening situaon, our human will probably respond with something like a ﬁght or ﬂight reacon, but depending on our degree of lucidity, our conscious self will more likely respond with curiosity and desire to understand. One way for us to know why we respond as we do to a situaon is to consider how much raonal reasoning is involved. This is true of the way we relate to food and our relaonship with others, especially people of the other sex.

Expectation Colors Perception Amongst Spiritualists, it is called coloring when a medium’s thoughts seem to change the message that is supposed to be from the sier’s loved one. Typical coloring might be as simple as changing the intended “These ﬂowers are for you” message to “This gi is for you.” Such a change preserves the intent but is probably expressed as well as the medium’s lucidity will allow. It is when the medium delivers the intended “I love you” spirit greeng to “I worry about you” for a sier the medium thinks looks unhealthy that coloring turns mediumship into probably unconscious social engineering. This is especially evident in EVP. An observer of a group of people who are recording for EVP on a walkabout will likely noce how captured EVP tend to reﬂect the praconer’s worldview. For example, a person who thinks the world is more than a lile fearful will more oen record conﬁrming uerances such as “Help” or “I hate you.” A person who thinks discarnate people are earthbound and hang around cemeteries will oen record “Help me” messages around cemeteries. This point is one of the foundaon concepts for the Implicit Cosmology because it clearly demonstrates that the messages in EVP are colored by beliefs as they are transformed in the Aenon Complex. The remedy for the coloring of messages with belief is mindful living. This is more speciﬁcally discussed in the Being a Good Witness Discourse on EthericStudies.org. (68) Coloring is also a problem for the

witness (sier). If the witness is not open to new concepts and aempts instead to explain everything in familiar terms, what the witness consciously experiences will oen be diﬀerent from the actual nature of the event. There are a number of terms for diﬀerent aspects of this idiosyncrasy of human nature, such as incredulity blindness and agnosia. Hyperlucidity is a human behavior that is just the opposite of incredulity blindness. Paranormal phenomena are poorly understood and explanaons for them are usually not well considered. Add to that the tendency for people to reject the authority of more experienced people in favor of their own beliefs and the result is somemes a tendency to see phenomena where there are none. Misaribuon of mundane phenomena as paranormal is usually just a maer of a witness not understanding the situaon or what to expect; however, the reason for this behavior can be more complex. The person might genuinely believe phenomena are present despite explanaons to the contrary. This is not just a maer of persistence. In Hyperlucidity, a person is described as being convinced to the point of irraonal insistence. Be careful not to think that the possibility of hyperlucidity supports accusaons of fraud. The existence of paranormal phenomena is well established. It is just that poor discernment can lead a person to wrong conclusions. Objecve phenomena can be witnessed by many people. In EVP, for instance, hyperlucidity shows up when a person reports hearing speciﬁc messages while no one else agrees. As

one person complained, “She hears the enre Geysburg Address in a ten second sound ﬁle.” Accounting for Human Nature As we became more aware of the characteriscs of ITC, the mostly unconscious inﬂuences on the perceptual process are increasingly recognized as the dominant factor for how phenomena are experienced and reported. The phenomena have been substanated as being real. The problem is that witnesses and praconers alike too oen lack the necessary theorecal understanding to reasonably characterize their experiences. This is addressed in the Commentaries of Secon 2. Here, I will say that informaon received via transcommunicaon must be processed in the mostly unconscious Aenon Complex before becoming available to the conscious self. What does become available is a version of the intended informaon as it is translated in the Perceptual Loop. That is, it is almost inevitably colored by worldview. As far as we can tell, this applies to informaon found in all forms of mediumship including ITC. Evidence of Transcommunication Of the dominant proofs of survival—reincarnaon, near-death experience and mediumship—mediumship is considered the least convincing by mainstream science as well as many parapsychologists. The main concern is that psychic access to informaon as an explanaon for the many veriﬁable messages in mediumship cannot be completely ruled out. Of the three, mediumship is the one counted as a form of transcommunicaon. Instrumental TransCommunicaon is studied by cizen sciensts with more of a decisive determinism approach than by calculang deviaons from chance so commonly preferred in parapsychology. By that standard,

both audio and visible forms of ITC have been shown to be objecvely real and reproducible by competent praconers using accepted pracces. In my opinion, the missing element required to substanate these phenomena for the scienﬁc community has been a workable theorecal model. Of course, that is the purpose of the Implicit Cosmology, so once it is published, what will remain in an ideal world is the need to educate the community. (And evolve the cosmology with thoughul collaboraon.) So the perspecve I take in my study is that the objecvity of these phenomena is based on shared experience as measured by witness panels. And that the theory can be reasonably applied to enhance people’s understanding about the nature of reality and their relaon with it—not as a maer of faith, but as objecve, aconable understanding. Information from the Environment All forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence are modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as expressions from personality into the physical via an avatar relaonship with a human body. The entangled personality-human complex is referred to as a person, but as is shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram, the person’s personality is held separate from the person’s conscious self by the Aenon Complex and worldview. Informaon exchange amongst personalies is also moderated by the Principle of Perceptual Agreement. In that, the exchange of informaon is limited by how well one personality can perceive informaon from another as it passes through the Perceptual Loop in the Aenon Complex. If this model is reasonably

correct, then informaon communicated to a physical person (the sier) from a discarnate loved one would necessarily be by way of an exchange between the loved one’s personality (in the etheric) and a personality (in the etheric) that is entangled in a physical avatar relaonship (the medium). This means that a mental medium psychically brings a message from a loved one by way of his or her Aenon Complex in the same way ordinary informaon is sensed. In parapsychological terms, this communicaon looks like a psi inﬂuence. That is, the medium senses the psi ﬁeld for informaon about the sier in the same way that it is sensed for every other unconscious funcon. Presumably, psi signatures from other people’s thoughts and acons are always presented to a person’s Aenon Complex. The diﬀerence between an average person and a medium is that a medium has learned to pay aenon. Sensed Information as Evidence of Survival Evidence is not always evidenal. That lile gem of a saying represents the dividing line between the academically trained researcher and the lay praconer. To be evidenal, an example must have a very well controlled and documented chain of custody, and the protocol by which it was collected must be known, repeatable and observable. And of course, meaning of evidence must be based on understanding. For instance, from an online listening study, the words in the EVP example “It’s Frank,” recorded by Karen Mossey, were correctly reported an average of 48.6% of the me. (21) This

establishes that the voice is objecve in the sense that people can hear the words and that 48% of them correctly understand the words. However, the objecvity of the example only means it exists. Who spoke the words, and when, are enrely diﬀerent quesons. Ignoring the usual explanaons oﬀered by the skepc community that the example is a fake or that people are delusional to think there are words in the recoding, reasonable arguments are that there were unnoced speakers or that the praconer is confused as to when and where the recording was made. Here, the experienced praconer has cross-corresponding evidence because Frank was a cat owned by the family for which Mossey’s group was conducng an invesgaon concerning a reported ghost child in the house. A mental medium had just stated that there was a child in the closet about the me that Frank wandered into the closet and the recording was made. A mental medium can say anything. Even a well- meaning medium can mistakenly think there is an enty nearby. Who would know? Having eyewitnesses hear the medium’s statement, and then see the cat named Frank walk into a closet, is not very good evidence by itself. The fact that the group was looking for a ghost child may have simply predisposed the medium’s interpretaon of what she sensed. Also, the EVP was heard later during the analysis of the data. The EVP containing a child’s voice commenng on the cat as it walked into the

closet in which the medium had just said a child was present amounts to corresponding evidence that is, indeed, evidenal. It should be noted that the cross-correspondence of the medium’s report and the child’s voice in the EVP provides strong evidence for the existence of psi funconing, but it does not assure there was a survived child in the closet. Collecvely, the invesgators had full awareness of the story about the ghost. A contact ﬁeld had likely formed, which theorecally would enable the common awareness to produce expected phenomena. Nonlocal The everywhere is here characterisc of the psi ﬁeld is referred to as nonlocality. The argument made by parapsychologists that EVP is only proof of psi funconing is properly based on nonlocality. The importance of the “Doja, no!” (33) example is that, when the recording was made, there was no pre-exisng memory of the event. Nonlocality is not an explanaon for that example. See Nonlocal and Nontemporal in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Nontemporal It is somemes argued that informaon in ITC could have come from a person’s future knowledge of an event. When Martha returned home and saw the mess, she could have thought, Cathy would never have let this happen if she was sll here. And based on the theorecal nontemporal nature of reality, she could have psychokinecally injected the EVP onto the recorder as the recording was being made before she got home. There is some indicaon that presenment, the physiological reacon to an event before it actually

occurs, is best explained with First Sight Theory. Presenment is a short-term phenomenon while most reports of precognion indicate a long-term eﬀect. In that, the concept of emerging thoughorms represenng potenal futures might beer explain the eﬀect. Rather than precognion as sensing the future, there is beer support for the idea of sensing the potenal of a parcular future. As such, a nontemporal characterisc of etheric space is probably incorrect. See the Nonlocal and Nontemporal in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Apports EVP are somemes formed by more than one voice, as if one person begins a phrase and a second ﬁnishes it. Especially in telephone recorder EVP, there is the occasional sound of what a telephone technician might describe as a break-in, as if the transmission signal carrying the message has to override the ﬁrst signal. For instance, the recording might begin with a lile noise abruptly interrupted by a burst of louder noise which trails oﬀ as the voice of the EVP begins. This is demonstrated in the Transcommunicaon Via Telephone Calls arcle on ATransC.org. (132) In some form of EVP apparently produced by more than one person, the ﬁrst speaker might begin with “John …” followed by a second speaker saying “…is okay.” The eﬀect is very much as one would hear if a sound engineer had spliced two statements spoken by diﬀerent people together to produce one phrase. This is the kind of sound track one might expect if parts of the EVP are apported from existent

recordings in other parts of the world. This possible spirit plagiarism is seen in visual forms of ITC as well. For instance, the precipitaon art Hoyt Robinee produced for me has the likeness of a man dressed in Civil War era military clothing. (See the example here.) The feature looks as if it was taken from exisng media. The features produced by Robinee on squares of cloth are prey clearly from exisng media. (See an example here.) Yet aer much examinaon of the materials and physical environment before, during and aer they were formed, there is no evidence indicang anything other than paranormally produced art. Apport is a term used to describe the movement of a physical object from one locaon to another. Usually, it is experienced as an object suddenly appearing, perhaps in the air and then falling to the ﬂoor. Flower petals, stones, even ﬁgurines have been reported. Apported objects are described as apports. The apport process is thought to be the dissoluon of an object in one locaon, movement of the object’s formave informaon through the etheric, and precipitaon of the object back into its original form in the new locaon. Remembering the nonlocality of the etheric, through the etheric is conceptual. Yes, this sounds a lot like teleportaon, and that is a good model for visualizaon of the process. Physical objects are described in the Implicit Cosmology as ideoplasc structures. This means that they are formed as expressions from the Aenon Complex. In this model, our

sense of the physical world is expressed in our mind as being objecvely real, when in fact, reality is a mental construct based on a collecve intenon to make an imagined object of reality real. See The Nature of Reality Discourse. In physical terms, transcommunicaon is an energy-intensive process. The etheric equivalence of physical energy is intenon, and so in etheric terms, the creave process is likely demanding and its expression is seen to be limited by a personality’s ability to maintain the necessary focus of aenon, clarity of imaginaon and intenon to express a desired outcome. So in physical terms, trans-etheric inﬂuences in general are probably very energy intensive. Using available ideoplasc structures already exisng in the physical that sasfy an intended expression may well be more eﬃcient than producing a new ideoplasc structure. While some EVP are clearly in the voice of the known speaker, some can be more sensibly explained as existent bits of speech opportuniscally apported to the sound ﬁle. A planned study is the analysis of a collecon of synchronized sound ﬁle pairs: one containing an EVP and one recorded at the same me but without the EVP. The objecve is to determine if there is a net increase in energy in the ﬁle containing EVP. See the call for examples of transform EVP on ATransC.org. (133) Apportaon may well be one of the most common forms of transcommunicaon. With this in mind, researchers and praconers alike should be cauous about too quickly deciding the

authencity of examples just because they are based on exisng material. Precipitation Another form of trans-etheric inﬂuence is known as precipitaon. In that, physical material in a chaoc form is deposited into the physical under the inﬂuence of intended order. Probably the most common form of this is precipitated art. Precipitaon is also seen as the end-phase of apportaon. Precipitaon medium Hoyt Robinee produces very impressive examples of precipitated art. In the one shown here, Robine placed crayons, felt-p pins and pencils in a basket with a package of newly opened three-by-ﬁve white paper cards. The basket was covered while he conducted billet readings for about an hour, and then the basket was opened and the cards removed. For each of the twenty-some siers, there was a card with their name and one or more drawings on it. Robine performed a similar feat using squares of cloth and many opened colored inkboles as raw material. (See an example from a cloth here.) Intended Order Intended order is one of the common denominators for trans-inﬂuence phenomena. If reality consists of life ﬁelds and the expressions of life ﬁelds, then reality is an example of intended order. It is a characterisc we should expect to see in all of our phenomena. The Global Consciousness Project involves the apparent inﬂuence of some form of collecve consciousness on random event generators. The inﬂuence is seen as increasing order in a process very carefully designed to be random. Virtually all forms of EVP involve the

impression of intended order on noise. The ideal noise is currently understood to be broad-spectrum chaoc noise, heavily weighted in voice frequencies and frequently perturbed by noise spikes. It is thought that the spikes facilitate the impression of the intelligence signal on the stochasc process, as if a kernel around which the voice can form. Most if not all visual forms of ITC are formed in opcal noise. Video loop ITC, for instance, involves the producon of very chaoc opcal noise by poinng a video camera at a television screen on which the output of the camera is being displayed. This camera recording what it has just recorded produces wide-spectrum, chaoc opcal noise in which recognizable features such as human faces and animals. Some specialty devices and computer programs involve white noise or other chaoc sources as the core process. In some techniques, memory addresses containing bits of speech are selected, based on changes in this chaoc input. The streaming output of that process is expected to produce meaningful messages. The common factor in all of these is the impression of intended order on a chaoc process. As a common factor in many forms of transcommunicaon, the evidence of intended order is both a way to evaluate techniques for producing the phenomena of transcommunicaon and a way to model the nature of those phenomena. EVP as a Lab Rat for Psi Research An important aspect of EVP is that an experienced, conﬁdent praconer can be expected to produce examples on

demand. In this way, recording for EVP provides a means by which other forms of phenomena can be studied. It appears possible for an EVP to be produced by a physical person if the informaon is currently known by someone or if it exists in the etheric. As such, locality does seem to be a factor. It does appear that me is a factor. The potenal ﬁeld for something to occur might produce an EVP as it is sensed by a person, but it is very diﬃcult to argue that a speciﬁc EVP such as “Doja, no!” might be the product of presenment. In fact, we are aware of no examples in which an EVP example foretold an event that could not have been explained as a praconer or interested observer sensing the potenal for that event to occur. (There is more on the “Doja, no!” example here.) There is currently no known way to shield from psi. This means that any psi experiment has the potenal of contaminaon by the experimenter and interested observers. This is certainly true of EVP sessions. However, if a protocol for EVP can be designed in which no physical person is aware of an event, its form or when it will occur, then it may be possible to enlist discarnate helpers to observe and report via EVP. Such a protocol would be useful for studying psi shielding techniques and validaon of survival evidence. It would be necessary to ignore other evidence, but for the

sake of research, it is reasonable to argue that the praconer is the source of the uerance if researchers insist on the Super-Psi Hypothesis. Implications of the Implicit Cosmology The phenomena of transcommunicaon are usually considered from the perspecve of known physics, human nature and psi research. The Survival Hypothesis is typically dismissively considered as a preamble to the eﬀorts to explain proposed evidence of survival as mental aberraon. If that fails, then the Super-Psi Hypothesis is turned to as the last word. While the evidence oﬀered by mediumship is usually dismissed as insuﬃciently convincing or easily explained with Super-Psi, there is virtually no consideraon within academic circles of evidence oﬀered by ITC. However, when ITC is considered, it is seen to be consistent with the evidence of mediumship. (We consider ITC a form of physical mediumship.) From my perspecve, it is easy to develop a consistent model that makes sense of both psi and transcommunicaon phenomena. If the Implicit Cosmology is correct, then all forms of transcommunicaon should depend on essenally the same concepts and their behavior should be reasonably well predicted by including those concepts. In the same way, examples of phenomena that seem to contradict the cosmology should be considered with some hesitaon. They are either not what they seem or they present new concepts that should be, but may not have been considered. It is important that phenomena that agree with predicons of the Implicit Cosmology inherit credibility from one another. As proof of survival, mental

mediumship should be seen as more plausible if EVP is seen as evidence of survival. EVP should be seen as more plausible if precipitaon can be established as real process. In the same way, apportaon as a means of producing some EVP should make sense if there is seen to be a net increase in audio energy in an audio signal containing an EVP. It all depends on understanding the model and understanding the phenomena. Transcommunication Study 3: Audio ITC a.k.a. EVP Introduction Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is the audio form of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC). There are anomalous, intelligible speech produced in electronic devices. They may be heard as a real-me output, but because the voice is usually diﬃcult to understand, they are more generally heard on review of a subsequent recording. No currently understood physical processes account for the existence of EVP. Most praconers use a three-er scale for classifying how well an EVP example is expected to be heard and understood by a listener. These are Class A for easily heard, Class B for marginal and Class C for very diﬃcult to hear and understand. See Classifying EVP in this Study. There are two very diﬀerent schools of thought about how these phenomena are experienced. One is that these phenomena just spontaneously happen and the receiver must be lucky enough to have someone on the other side make contact. The second is that many forms of these phenomena are able to be induced. Given the evidence, it is

reasonable to think that the second point of view is held by the more recently informed. History Speculaon about EVP can be traced back to the 1920s. In a Scienﬁc American interview, Thomas Edison was quizzed on his views regarding contacng the dead. Edison said that it might be “possible to construct an apparatus which will be so delicate that, if there are personalies in another existence or sphere who wish to get in touch with us in this existence or sphere, this apparatus will at least give them a beer opportunity to express themselves than the lng tables and raps and Ouija boards and mediums and the other crude methods now purported to be the only means of communicaon.” There is no indicaon that Edison designed or tried to construct such a device. (134) The Edison Naonal Historic Site at home.nps.gov/edis/faqs.htm. Had a Queson and Answer item concerning a possible Edison’s machine for transcommunicaon (the item has been removed): Did Edison make a machine that could talk to the dead? This seems to be another tall tale that Edison pulled on a reporter. In 1920 Edison told the reporter, B.F. Forbes, that he was working on a machine that could make contact with the spirits of the dead. Newspapers all over the world picked up this story. Aer a few years, Edison admied that he had made the whole thing up. Today at Edison Naonal Historic Site, we take care of over ﬁve million pages of documents. None of

them menon such an experiment. In 1936, Ala von Szalay began capturing paranormal voices on phonograph records and then in the mid-1950s he was joined by Raymond Bayless. Together they acquired many evidenal EVP on their new tape recorders and they published their ﬁndings in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. (135) The person credited with bringing EVP to the public is Friedrich Jürgenson, a Russian-born Swedish ﬁlm producer. In 1959, aer recording birdsong on his tape recorder, Jürgenson heard on playback what appeared to be a human voice. Subsequent recordings contained a message which seemed to be coming from his dead mother. (136) Konstann Raudive is credited for learning about EVP as a student of Jürgenson and introducing EVP to the English-speaking world with the Colin Smythe publicaon of the English-language book, Breakthrough. (137) Colin Smythe is credited with coining the term, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) as a more inclusive alternave to Raudive Voices, as the voices recorded by Raudive were referred to at the me. Sarah Estep founded the American Associaon of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) in 1982. In 2000, she sent us an email tled, “Would you” in which she asked us to assume leadership of the Associaon. We agreed and our lives became regulated with the quarterly cycle of research, wring and publicaon of the ATransC NewsJournal. In 2003, we wrote and published There Is No Death and There Are No Dead (1) as a sort of textbook for members and people who

wished to have an understanding of EVP. All of the proceeds of the book have gone to the Associaon for operaons, outreach and research. To date, it has earned $37,100. In 2014, aer uninterrupted publicaon of 129 issues of the Associaon newsleer, 57 of which we published, we changed the model for the Associaon from membership supported nonproﬁt to a general public supported one. That is the essenal history, but there are numerous other historically important events, such as the development of video loop ITC and the many blind alleys such as Spiricom and radio-sweep. We have never had much interest in history, preferring instead to focus on the present and potenal futures. It is important in this study to remember that any informaon older than ten or twelve years is probably out of date. In fact, the history only contaminates present understanding, making it diﬃcult for contemporary observers to see past the false noons it has brought. Types of EVP EVP are spoken of in the plural because they are formed in at least three very diﬀerent ways, all of which are dependent on the availability of a relavely chaoc signal which has been shown in research to be more readily inﬂuenced with psychokinesis than more ordered signals. Transform EVP Tradionally EVP formaon has involved the transformaon of available audio-frequency energy into voice. This transformaon is thought to occur in the electronic equipment, speciﬁcally in an analog stage before or aer the signal is digized for storage. The resulng

signal is seen as a simulaon of human voice which may closely mimic the physical voice of the person thought to be speaking. This includes nuances of voice indicang accent, age, sex and atude. Analysis of the resulng voice oen shows novel arrangement of formants (clusters of frequency groups occurring characterized as octaves of the voice box frequency produced during passage through the mouth). Fragmented voice box frequencies (Formant 0) are also characterisc of EVP. (138) Prior to wide availability of personal computers, the stac between radio staons was oen used as background sound for transform EVP since radios were a readily available source of sound. Current best pracces involve the use of noise, such as that produced by a fan. The use of any form of live voice, such as a possible voice from a radio broadcast, is strongly discouraged. Random Selection This is also known as opportunisc EVP because it is thought to require the availability of already formed voice fragments. It depends on a random process which is thought to be inﬂuenced by the communicang enty. In the applicaon known as EVPmaker (22), a pre-recorded sound ﬁle containing voice is stored in a buﬀer with each buﬀer address containing a small segment of the original sound ﬁle. A random process is then presumed to be intelligently inﬂuenced by the trans-communicator to select buﬀer memory locaons presumably containing the necessary bit of sound for message formaon. The resulng sound fragments are combined in a streaming output sound ﬁle.

Meaningful messages are somemes found in that output stream. EVPmaker developer, Stefan Bion (22), has provided an input sound ﬁle on his website which contains speech fragments known as allophones which are generated by a speech synthesis program. In this applicaon, it is argued that, if a word is present in the output, it must be formed by a chance arrangement of allophones or it must be the product of intended manipulaon of the random process. The deciding factor is whether or not the uerance is meaningful for the circumstance. Environmental Control of Speech Synthesis Some applicaons employ environmental energy sensors to control the operaon of a speech synthesis process or to select addresses in a word or voice fragment buﬀer. It is believed that the communicang personality’s intenon to communicate might cause meaningful perturbaons in the environmental energy, thus selecng intended buﬀer addresses to form a voice message. Depending on the design, the environmental energy sensing mechanism may also be directly inﬂuenced by the communicator. This goes back to the problem that the mechanism can only report changes as it is designed. What is Probably Not EVP Review the characteriscs for EVP discussed in this Study. Based on those common characteriscs, and the results of other studies, it is becoming evident that certain technologies probably do not produce EVP. The most commonly used of these quesonable technologies is radio- sweep, which uses modiﬁed radios popularly known as ghost boxes or spirit boxes. The concept is that repeatedly tuning a

radio by sweeping through the local radio staons will produce an output of meaningful sounds. It is thought that the communicang personality will arrange for the right sounds to be present in ambient radio transmissions to produce the desired message. Radio-Sweep: A Case Study, which I conducted in 2009 (73), is typical of the kind of study indicang radio-sweep technology probably does not produce EVP. A Research Study into the Interpretaon of EVP (74), which is a 2013 study conducted by parapsychologist Dr. Mark Leary, indicates that radio-sweep examples thought to be EVP are typically not correctly understood by a listening panel. See Errors in Percepon in the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study. Characteristics of EVP These characteriscs will provide a sense of how EVP sound and the nature of the phenomenal voices. Transform EVP The ﬁrst group of characteriscs is speciﬁcally for transform EVP. 1 EVP are disncve: EVP have a disncve character of cadence, pitch, frequency, volume and use of background sound. The voices have a disncve sound to them that is diﬃcult to describe. For instance, EVP messages oen have an unusual speed of enunciaon; the words seem to be spoken more quickly than normal human speech. 2 A need for background sound sources: Research has shown that the voice in EVP is formed out of ambient sound. (138) Because of these characteriscs, it is standard pracce to assure the availability of ambient sound for voice formaon, even while isolang the recording device or process from uncontrolled

ambient sounds, such as crowd noise, so as to avoid mistaking unnoced normal voices as EVP. 3 Frequency range: EVP are formed in available background sound. As such, if there is a high frequency component in the background sound, say caused by whistling wind, it is possible that the EVP will be of similar frequency range. If there are both higher and lower frequency components in the background sound, it is possible to ﬁnd EVP formed in both regions of the sound. In some instances, two diﬀerent voices might overlap. 4 Missing frequencies: Spectral analysis of EVP samples has shown that the fundamental frequencies of voice associated with the human voice box are somemes missing. One researcher describes the typical EVP as a thickening of the background noise to form the voice. (138) 5 Precursor sounds: Sounds are oen heard prior to an occurrence of EVP. Although these vary in nature, they tend to be within tenths of a second of a phrase and are a popping or clicking noise reminiscent of the squelch sound caused when the automac gain control engages as the push to talk buon is depressed on a Cizens Band radio. (139) 6 EVP show evidence of being limited by available energy: Uerances tend to have about the same amount of audio power in their associated sound wave from one EVP sample to another. That is, a short EVP will tend to be louder than a long EVP. A very long phrase might be composed of

two or more average-length phrases separated by brief pauses. Also, an uerance may trail oﬀ at the end, as if the energy is being depleted before the message is ﬁnished. It is as if the communicator is aempng to manage available power as packets of energy. (85) 7 EVP are complete words or phrases: Message are typically one to two seconds in duraon and are not truncated at the beginning or end. If EVP were radio interference, they would oen begin in the middle of a word. EVP messages are usually complete thoughts, as well. (85) 8 The voices in EVP are oen recognizable: It is common for an EVP to contain the recognizable voice of the discarnate person thought to be speaking. It is also common for that enty to say something that was typical of what he or she would have said while in the physical. Personality clearly remains intact even though the person no longer has a physical body. (33) 9 EVP is found wherever the praconer listens: This suggests that the source of audio noise is not a factor for EVP, so long as the audio energy is suitable for voice formaon. In pracce, the majority of techniques for recording EVP involve sound condioning, rather than unique forms of psi detecon. For instance, upscaling infrasound so that it can be heard by human ears or downscaling ultrasound really constute techniques of sound condioning. The resulng EVP is not evidence that the uerance was formed beyond human

hearing, but that it was formed when the audio frequency energy was made available to the recording process. All Forms of EVP These characteriscs are common to all forms of EVP: 1 EVP are in a language the praconer understands: Alexander MacRae has conducted experiments in a place that has no English language radio or television staons, yet resulng EVP were in English, which is his primary language. It is typical for the EVP, no maer where they are recorded, to be in a language that the praconer understands. There have been excepons to this which were apparently intended as a demonstraon, but as a rule, EVP will be spoken in a language understood by the praconer or an interested observer. (140) This brings up an interesng point of speculaon about psi- based communicaon. Mental mediums oen report that they receive communicaon from nonphysical enes as images which they must interpret. These images are not just mental pictures. They are packets of informaon that are suﬃciently complete for the receiver to fully understand their meaning. Robert Monroe (53) referred to this form of informaon as thought balls. 2 EVP are not ambient sound or broadcast programming: Studies have been conducted to determine if EVP are stray radio signals, ambient but unnoced voices or other sounds. EVP have been collected in an electrical, audio and radio frequency shielded room. (140) In one study, a radio and a recorder were placed in a padded chamber which was then buried under ground. The

recorder did not record radio programming but did record EVP, which were transformed from the noise produced by the radio. (141) 3 Party line: Some EVP sound as if they are comments intended for someone other than the praconer. This is much like momentarily listening in on a party line telephone call. It is not uncommon in both ﬁeld and controlled recording situaons to record comments that seem as if unseen people are discussing the praconer’s acons in much the same way that you might discuss the acvity of someone that you were watching. 4 EVP are appropriate to the circumstances: There are numerous examples of EVP that are clearly direct responses to quesons recorded just prior to the EVP phrase or to the circumstances. An example of an EVP being appropriate to a circumstance is an EVP recorded by Lisa. We were asking a woman about the upstairs lighng and sound room for the Frank Sinatra Theater at the Cal- Neva Casino at Lake Tahoe, California. They had heard that the heavy door to the room oen shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews seng up lights and sound systems for shows. The woman told them that she never, ever went to the control room. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the woman for her assistance. On the recording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her voice, is a clearly heard paranormal voice saying, “Please don’t come.” However politely said, it seems obvious

someone did not want to be disturbed. (142) 5 Precognive responses: Answers to quesons may be recorded prior to a queson being asked, so that the answer, as a phenomenal message, is on the sound track followed by the praconer asking the queson. More research is required before making informed speculaon about this observed characterisc, but the indicaon is that the enty may be sensing what the praconer is about to ask as a mind-to-mind exchange following the avatar model. See Nonlocal and Nontemporal in the Etheric Fields Discourse 6 Vocalized quesons elicit more EVP: There is evidence that the communicang enes are able to read our thoughts, as illustrated by the occasional EVP which clearly responds to a comment just seconds before the comment is expressed. However, analysis by MacRae suggests vocalizing our comments and quesons produces more frequent EVP. (85) 7 The newness eﬀect: The praconer’s excitement in trying a new detecon device or recording technique may be the cause of improved EVP collecon. As the new approach becomes normal operang procedure, the improvements generally fade back to a more normal Quality and Quanty (QQ) of EVP collecon. This suggests that it is important for the praconer to maintain piqued interest during experiments. This is also one of the reasons it is speculated that the praconer is an integral part of the recording circuit. The praconer is apparently supplying the necessary psi inﬂuence to produce a useful contact ﬁeld to enable a nonphysical to physical transfer of informaon.

8 Eﬀecve devices unique to the praconer: Exceponally eﬀecve EVP and ITC collecng systems have been developed; however, these typically work well for the developer, but do not necessarily work as well for other praconers. This paradox supports the belief that the praconer is part of the recording circuit. It has also reinforced the concept that the communicang enty may be speciﬁc to the praconer. 9 EVP can be thoughts of living people: Two experiments appear to show that at least some EVP might be iniated by living people who were sleeping or distracted at the me. In these prearranged experiments between a praconer and a sleeping person, quesons were clearly answered by a communicang enty, and the answers were appropriate for the sleeping person. This fact of EVP suggests the possibility that EVP can become an important tool for consciousness research. For instance, is it possible that a paent in a coma might iniate an EVP? (143) 10 Understanding EVP may be like learning a new language: As discussed in the EVP Online Listening trials report, people with lile or no experience listening to EVP will typically correctly report words in Class A transform EVP on average of 20% to 25% of the me. In contrast, an experienced praconer should correctly understand close to 100% of Class A uerances. (21) This number drops to 0% to 5% for studies of radio-sweep (Spirit Box, Frank Box, Ghost Box) and 0% if single-syllable uerances are omied. (73), (74) Theories Proposed to

Explain Observed ITC Phenomena The existence of EVP is not realiscally contested. Any reasonably capable person with a device capable of recording audio can expect to eventually record an understandable uerance that cannot be explained with known science. The same can be said for some forms of visual ITC. A workable protocol for recording EVP is provided in this Study. The real quesons are what or who is causing them and how they are caused. It will be helpful if you understand the three dominant models used to explain the nature of reality: Physical Universe Hypothesis, Super-Psi Hypothesis and Survival Hypothesis. There is a detailed discussion of these in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse. Normal Explanations Alternave explanaons for EVP that do not require paranormal phenomena are typically sounds good ones that ignore current understanding about transcommunicaon. With that said, the following sounds can be mistaken as paranormal. It is for the praconer to gain the necessary experience and understanding to tell the diﬀerence. Radio Signals and Unnoticed Conversations Probably the most obvious explanaon is that the voices of EVP are recordings of stray radio signals. Inexpensive portable electronic equipment designed to process audio signals is, under certain condions, able to detect and record stray radio signals. This is not normally a problem, but it is possible and should be considered when evaluang possible EVP. The proliferaon of digital technology is making it less likely that radio signals might be mistaken as EVP. Analog radio is about the last signal source

that a voice recorder can detect so that the broadcast informaon can be understood. If the signal is in a digital format, it must be converted to analog to be understood and audio recorders are not designed to do this. If you wish to assure yourself that EVP are not radio signals, consider the arcle “Eliminang Radio Frequency Contaminaon for EVP.” (141) It is usually the near zero level of the recorded signal that becomes contaminated by stray radio signals and that can become audible with ampliﬁcaon. This is one of the reasons that very much signal processing to bring out the voice is discouraged, especially the use of more than ten or so decibels of ampliﬁcaon. Simple content analysis of EVP is usually suﬃcient to establish that the uerance in queson is unlikely to be crosstalk or unnoced voices from people in the room. Assuming the praconer is not aempng to provide scienﬁc evidence, it is usually adequate to note whether or not the uerances are complete statements, if they are appropriate to the circumstances and if they are understandable. If they were stray radio or television signals, they would contain the telltale signs of commercial broadcast; they would oen be paral statements and they would usually be nonsensical, considering the circumstance. Unl you have gained conﬁdence in the validity of EVP you record, it is important to ask friends to be your listening panel. The Best Pracce: Witness Panel Study will help. (67) It is also a best

pracce to use a second audio recording process as a control for situaons that might have unnoced voices in the room or stray radio. (144) The need for background sound in transform EVP makes it less likely that a higher quality recorder will pick up an EVP. This makes the use of a video recorder to make a visual record of ﬁeldwork an excellent technique for making a control audio recording of the session. Practitioner Imagination This is an important possible explanaon for any form of phenomena involving unexpected sounds, images or events. As is discussed in the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study, modern technology is capable of producing a wide variety of unexpected results. A person can easily mistake an arfact for phenomenal unless the person is an expert in the use of that technology. Example of Background Noise: Figure illustrang a sound track with the uerance, “Bey’s in there.” A workable level for background sound used in voice formaon is shown. The increase in amplitude of the voice is believed to be due to the accumulaon of energy prior to formaon of the uerance. This is transform EVP. (210) Sounds in an audio recording can be made by very mundane inﬂuences yet sound very phenomenal. For instance, it is common for a person to take a breath of air just before speaking. The sound of an intake of breath can be mistaken for something phenomenal when a person is examining every lile sound in the recording. All aspects

of Etheric Studies are plagued by a general lack of crical thinking amongst people seeking to experience these phenomena. In view of the complexity of the involved technologies, this is natural but there are precauons one can take to moderate problem. The recorded sound of a sigh can be eliminated as being paranormal by making it a pracce to discard all single-syllable, standalone sounds. While most people resist discarding any possible EVP, it is beer to err on the side of the mundane. Recent study is indicang that the expectaons of the praconer or witnesses can have an inﬂuence on how sound is experienced. In the Phantom Voices study (66), nearly half of the parcipants reported hearing some form of voice in two audio ﬁles that were clearly marked as only containing noise and no voice. A clever praconer might describe simple noise as voices and provide an explanaon as to how those voices are meaningful. This is referred to as storytelling. Distressingly, witnesses will too oen agree with the story as evidence, especially if they trust the experience of the praconer. Hyperlucidity [154] can apparently be a shared experience. This characterisc of EVP is sll being studied, but is clear that all of us must be very careful to manage expectaons and cultural inﬂuences. EVP is objecve evidence and that means that other people can hear the same thing without coaching. The inverse of this is also true. Concepts such as inaenonal blindness and incredulity blindness suggest that people

who have a strong disbelief in things paranormal are less likely to be able to experience EVP. Psi Explanations EVP are not necessarily iniated by a discarnate personality. As shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram discussed in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse, a person (etheric personality entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship) is thought to be required for trans-etheric inﬂuences. As such, it is necessary to idenfy which personality expressed the inial intenon to communicate. Thoughts of the Practitioner Once the normal explanaons have been asked and answered, there remains the possibility that the voices are paranormal but that they are caused by a physical person. It is here that the argument changes from “Is EVP real” to “Who is talking?” A number of experiments have been conducted that indicated it is possible to record the thoughts of people known to be sll in the physical. (143) Current thinking is that the conscious aspect of a person is what survives physical death, and when a sll living person is in some way disassociated from the physical body, his or her conscious self is much the same as the etheric communicator. In other words, it is predicted that the thoughts of a living person should be able to be recorded as EVP. While many of the observed characteriscs of EVP could be explained as thoughts of the living, there is evidence that some are not. On occasion, the voice of a person will be recorded, say “John,” who is

later shown to be the discarnate son of a person who, at that me was unknown to the praconer or interested observers. However, subsequently, the person joins the group and recognizes John’s voice saying the sort of things his son would have said while in the ﬂesh. EVP are Echoes of the Past or Residual Energy The Super-Psi Hypothesis (145) proposes that the mind is a product of the brain and the informaon being accessed via EVP the other forms of apparent etheric-to-physical inﬂuences are either caused by the praconer, some other physical agent or a form of residual energy. Physicist David Bohm and neurophysiologist Karl Pribram described this residual energy as a ﬁeld of energy that underlies all of reality. (146) This ﬁeld of energy is thought to have three characteriscs that might account for the observed etheric-to-physical phenomena: 1. It is thought to behave according to quantum principles, especially that of entanglement, which shows that once objects have become associated at a quantum level, inﬂuencing one object will have a similar inﬂuence on the other, even though it may be very far away in distance and me. 2. This ﬁeld exhibits the character of nonlocality, meaning that informaon in it is equally available from any place in the ﬁeld. This characterisc is required to explain such phenomena as a remote viewer accessing informaon that is miles away and a medium supposedly geng informaon from discarnate enes. 3. This ﬁeld is formed of the residual energy of consciousness, and

therefore contains all that was ever known, thought and experienced. It is this residual energy that provides the psychically gathered informaon. An alternave version of this is that, if the informaon is in someone’s memory, then it is accessible to others, at least subconsciously. Recording Techniques The following informaon is intended to provide a technique which is most likely to produce results. This is for transform EVP based on the material provided by ATransC in the Techniques secon of ATransC.org. Please also consider the best pracces which are draed in the ATransC Collecve at atransc.org/bp/Collecve. Contact Field A contact ﬁeld is modeled as a special instance of a thoughorm which is entangled with a group of people or locaon. The concept is dependent on the concepts of rapport and cooperang communies. Contact ﬁelds are thought to develop from rapport amongst people sharing a common point of view, focused aenon (usually long term) and the expression of relavely intense emoons such as pain, anger or love. A person can intenonally develop a contact ﬁeld by seng aside a quiet place for meditaon and transcommunicaon. The idea of a dedicated place in which focused intenon and aenon are oen expressed is thought to be the basis for Sarah Estep’s instrucon to ﬁnd a quiet place and try to make contact via EVP every day for at least a week. (147) In ﬁeld recording, a contact ﬁeld may already be present in known haunted locaons. As a general rule, look for a place

with longme human occupancy, and/or places in which there has been the expression of intense emoons such as a church or hospital. Theaters are oen associated with haunng phenomena, possibly because of the somemes intense emoons expressed by the actors. Types of Recording Sessions We recommend people begin working with EVP in controlled condions in which ambient sounds can be controlled. This also helps develop a personal contact ﬁeld. Controlled condions also make it easier to use a second recorder for experimentaon and to help eliminate false posives. Experience has shown that once a person becomes proﬁcient recording for EVP under controlled condions, it is probable that the person will be able to be successful wherever he or she records. The implicaon is that the person develops a personal contact ﬁeld which is anchored with his or her aenon, rather than a locaon. Field condions are especially challenging for EVP. For instance, when recording with a group in a haunted locaon, always use a second recorder to help eliminate false posives. Using a video camera to record the invesgaon is useful because the audio track acts as a second recorder. As a reliable rule, if the suspected EVP is on both recorders, it is more likely not EVP and should be discarded. An excepon to this rule might be if the voice is thought to be direct voice. When on a walkabout while recording for EVP, it is a good pracce to announce for the recording where you are and

to acknowledge ambient sounds so they will not be mistaken for EVP. Recording Equipment Any device capable of recording voice frequency sound will work for EVP. A computer is recommended for storing sound ﬁles and a way to transfer audio from the recording device to a computer will be needed. The computer should be equipped with an audio management program, such as the open source program, Audacity. (148) Digital voice recorders are recommended for transform EVP. Less expensive models produce more internal noise which is useful for voice formaon. High quality units will probably require added background noise. A computer can also be used but will probably require added noise. As has previously been explained, noise with many perturbaons is more useful than steady-state noise. As such, an inexpensive recorder that produces a lot of internal noise that is steady-state may not be as useful for EVP. Ideal Background Noise Early aempts to produce EVP were based on recording in silence; however, it was quickly discovered that the voices tended to occur near or in noise. Radio stac was used for background noise in the days when radios were about the only dependable source for noise. Over the years, just about every praconer joined the quest to ﬁnd the ideal background noise. The ﬁrst hint of what makes useful background sound came with the Panasonic RR-DR60 digital note taker. It was one of the ﬁrst baery-powered, hand-held digital audio recorders on the market. It tended to have a lot of

internal noise in the sound track, and one of the characteriscs of that noise was what sounded like the noise one gets while adjusng the squelch level on a Cizen’s Band radio. I characterized it as intermient noise spikes. The DR60 produced a lot of EVP, but because of the noise, the quality of EVP was usually very low. Even so, all of our examples on the ATransC.org were made with a DR60. The “Doja, no!” (34) EVP was also made with one. Newer recorders tend to be a lot quieter internally, so a general rule is the quieter the recorder, the more noise needs to be supplied. Also, steady-state noise, such as white noise, or the rushing sound heard as background in recording made with inexpensive recorders, is not useful for EVP. Radio-Sweep as a Noise Source There is confusion about when an EVP is the direct result of radio-sweep or transformaon of the noise produced by radio-sweep. Most radio-sweep devices use a two- to three-second sweep. Too oen, enre syllables can be heard in such a slow sweep; however, a sweep of less than a second, or fast enough so that no understandable voice can be heard, oen produces an output sound that has all of the characteriscs needed for transform EVP. The result is that some transform EVP are formed during radio-sweep sessions. It is for the praconer to learn to tell the diﬀerence. Background Sound Most recording situaons have some background sounds, but it may be

necessary to add noise with something like a fan or running water. Always consider how sounds in the environment might seem like EVP in a recording. Be invenve. In controlled condions, it is also possible to use high- quality recorders, because you can supply sound. Experience is showing that a microphone is only important to introduce addional noise if the noise generated internally by the recorder is not useful for voice formaon. Of course, microphones are also important for maintaining a record of the recording process. Live Voice Some people use foreign language radio, crowd babble or prerecorded allophones as background sound, but research has repeatedly shown these techniques also have far too many false posives to be useful. In one informal study, we used the same foreign-language input ﬁle for Big Circle recording sessions over a period of six months. While the input ﬁle was played on one recorder, Lisa and I recorded using individual recorders. Nearly every uerance one of us idenﬁed as an EVP could be found on the other person’s recording and the original sound ﬁle, clearly indicang that we had not recorded EVP The current best pracce for ﬁeld recording is to use two recorders and discard anything found in both recording processes. (144) This is considered a best pracce because it is well established that EVP occurs in one analog segment so that two recorders will not normally record the same EVP. Using live voice, EVP are expected to be formed as a transformaon

of the live voice into a language understood by the praconer or interested observer, but based on our study, naturally occurring sounds in a foreign language are too oen mistaken as diﬀerent words in other languages. This is enough of a problem to warrant recommending that, when using live voice, two recorders should be used and both output ﬁles examined to assure suspected EVP are only in one of the ﬁles. (Be sure to account for diﬀerences in atmospheric aenuaon and recording process frequency response.) Beer yet, don’t use live voice for EVP, including radio-sweep technology which access local broadcast signals. There are just too many false posives. Preparation Begin with meditaon and a short prayer to ask for only those intending the highest good and an invitaon to friends on the other side to parcipate. This is not a religious funcon. The conscious expression of intent helps to set your expectaons and sets bounds for your communicators. Even if you do not accept the hypothesis that EVP are iniated by discarnate beings, whoever or whatever is iniang the messages, seng intenon helps the process. Also, it is best to record when personal energy is the highest. Scheduling Enes will speak at any me, day or night. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to record at a regular me and place. By doing this, the enes learn when there will be an opportunity for contact and your expectaon of the upcoming session helps focus your aenon on the process.

Try to ﬁnd a place that will be quiet and free of interrupons. Background sounds are okay, but it is important to be aware of them so that they can be disnguished from EVP during analysis. Recording Begin by stang your intenon for communicaon and then say that you are turning on the recorder. The communicators will oen come through as soon as the recorder is turned on and these beginning messages may be the loudest, so it is a good idea to turn on the recorder and wait a few seconds before speaking. Vocalize your comments during an EVP session. Quesons should be recorded, and about ten seconds should be le between each comment for the communicators to respond. At the end, ask if they have something to say and leave me for them to respond. Playback Some audio recorders allow you to monitor what is being recorded, but in most situaons, EVP are not suﬃciently clear to be understood in real me. So as a general rule, EVP are not heard unl playback. Praconers report that the voices tend to become stronger and clearer as the communicators and the praconer gains in experience, but at ﬁrst the voices may be whispers. Voices may not be recorded in every session and it may take several sessions to discover the ﬁrst voice. Learning where to look for the voice amongst the noise and your voice takes a lile pracce. Many praconers describe it as a learned ability because the uerances

are oen spoken with odd cadences and emphases on syllables. It might take thirty minutes to examine a three- or four-minute recording, as each part is oen listened to several mes. Experienced praconers learn to use the waveform as a clue as to where an uerance might be. The Bey’s in there waveform will give you an idea of what to look for. Think of EVP as a form of communicaon. The atude held by experienced praconers is that the communicators will leave their message wherever they think someone will listen. It is a good pracce to expect to ﬁnd the voices where normal human voice would be found. It is not a good pracce to amplify a nearly ﬂat-line waveform to see if speech is present because enough ampliﬁcaon to make it clearly audible may amplify radio-frequency contaminaon. Classifying EVP Most EVP are diﬃcult to understand. Using a classiﬁcaon system helps you have a sense of the quality of your examples and helps to set the expectaons of your listeners when you share examples. The three-er system is most commonly used; however, the ATransC is tesng a slightly expanded system intended to also include visual forms of ITC. It is explained in the Best Pracce: Classifying Phenomena Study. Keeping a Log Keeping a recording log is helpful for tracking your progress. If you do keep a wrien log, it is a good pracce to include the date, me and circumstances of the recording. If there are mulple recordings in

the recorder, then it is always important to speak your locaon and to note ambient voices and such at the beginning of each recording. When you ﬁnd an EVP that is clear enough to keep, note the date and me and seconds into the recording in your log. Also note the words thought to be spoken and if you were doing something the enty commented on. Be sure to label and save the audio ﬁle so that it can be found at a later me. Keeping a well-organized storage system and notes will be very helpful to you when you have many recordings, or want to revisit an old one and need to know when and where it was recorded. Experience has shown that keeping everything is just unreasonable. Unless the message has special signiﬁcance, it is a good pracce to discard all but the clearest examples. Depend on the help of friends acng as your listening panel. If they do not hear what you hear, discard the recording. It is just too easy to fool yourself. Digital Voice Recorders Digital voice recorders are recommended for EVP experiments. Today, all sound tracks—digital or analog—should be listened to in a computer and with a headset. Unlike tape recorders, the built-in microphone in digital recorders is usually sasfactory for EVP. Analog Technology The requirement of a nonlinear process in electronic circuity is an important characterisc. For instance, in digital voice recorders, EVP are thought to be formed in the analog ﬁrst stage

where the analog voice is transformed to an electrical signal ready for digizaon. Once the signal is digized, it is known to be very stable. However, it is possible that a new EVP might be formed in the output of the digital memory, since it is necessary to pass that through at least one analog stage to be heard. The diﬀerence would be that the secondary uerance would not be present when the ﬁle is played a second me. Analyzing the Recording for EVP Always use headphones when listening to the recording. The earmuﬀ style that completely covers the ear is best, but also good are the so rubber ear buds that are inserted into the channel of the ear. It will be necessary to use an audio cable for computer analysis of a sound ﬁle from a recorder with only an earphone output. In that case, the signal must pass from digital to analog in the recorder and then analog to digital in the computer. There is lile or no evidence that an EVP will be changed while in a digital format, but it is possible for change or even new uerance to be injected while transferring in the analog phase. There is no digital-analog conversion in the newer recorders using a USB interface It is possible to reasonably reproduce the average human voice with a sample rate of 8,000 KHz, so it is recommended that the audio ﬁle be saved in the computer at typically the next higher

sample rate of 11025 KHz, 16-bit text ﬁle. Mono or stereo is a personal choice. Once the audio ﬁle is in the computer, it should be saved as a *.wav ﬁle for storage and eding. Current best pracce for sharing an EVP example on the Internet is to convert the ﬁle to mono, *.mp3 format, but using eding tools on mp3 is discouraged if it is for research. A 200 kb audio ﬁle can be reduced to around 15 Kb when converted from a *.wav ﬁle to an *.mp3 ﬁle. This makes it easy for sharing ﬁles via the Internet. Under no circumstances should an audio example be shared in video format. These days, I receive a lot of requests to examine examples on YouTube. In that format, it is very diﬃcult for me to break down the sound ﬁle to examine the possible uerance. I just don’t have me to work with such examples, and I know many of my more qualiﬁed friends feel the same. It is also best pracce to provide a raw clip of the EVP, along with a bit of your voice for reference, if possible, followed by a short silence and then the whole clip again with any eding you may have done. Explain what you have done so that your listener will know what to expect. Finally, ten decibels or so of ampliﬁcaon, perhaps a lile noise reducon and high-end ﬁltering are about all that should be done to a soundtrack to make

the uerance more easily understood. It is possible to change the meaning of an EVP with very much processing. The general rule is to discard the EVP if it cannot be understood with only slight enhancement. Certainly discard nonsensical and single syllable uerances! A listening technique is to select a few syllables of a possible uerance and then play it over and over to allow your mind to look for familiar sounds. People are trained to recognize common arrangements of sound as words, but EVP are oen formed from odd arrangements of sound, depending on what is supplied. Also, the usual cues are oen missing. A very loud, well-spoken phrase could sll be diﬃcult to make out for a person not accustomed to hearing EVP. In every case, try to use a listening panel. Storage and sharing Be sure to set up a method of saving your recordings in your computer that will allow you to easily locate examples. A good pracce is to save the raw recording session in a dated folder and then save clips containing the EVP in the same folder. We save ﬁeld recordings under the name of the locaon and the date. It is helpful to keep a separate folder for your Class A examples for easy retrieval for demonstraon to friends. Unless you are conducng EVP sessions for research, consider it a kindness to only send the poron of the sound ﬁle containing the EVP. We too oen receive examples that are embedded somewhere

in a ten or ﬁeen-minute-long ﬁle. It is just too demanding for your witnesses to search for the intended uerance in a long ﬁle. As a ﬁnal note on this, aer recording for over ﬁeen years, we ﬁnally learned that it is senseless to keep all of our recordings and logs. It is a good pracce to cull the best from the ﬁles as you go and discard all but the most meaningful. EVP are actually very common amongst praconers, and there is lile special about Class C and B examples. What You Need to Know The following observaons will help you gain a perspecve on the scope of this study. Lucidity The degree of clarity between conscious self and etheric personality is referred to as lucidity. Thinking there is a clear connecon, when in fact, there is hardly any at all is referred to as hyperlucidity. Hyperlucidity seems to most oen occur when a person works alone or does not accept input from others. It is usually seen as a complex of behaviors including delusion, argumentave interacon with those who do not support the delusion and rejecon of the opinion of subject-maer specialists. See the Mindfulness Discourse. Hearing the Voices A series of online listening studies showed that the average ATransC website visitor parcipang in the study could correctly idenfy only 25% of the words in the Class A examples. (21) Most experienced praconers have learned not to expect a person who is unaccustomed to hearing EVP to correctly

understand examples. This is especially true if the person is skepcal to begin with. The message to all of us is that, even though the example may be very clear and obvious to us, it is unrealisc to aempt to show an example to the police or a grieving person if there is not an opportunity to prepare the listener. Before aempng to share an example with untrained witnesses, we recommend that the example be passed by a listening panel without prompng. Only if the majority of a listening panel is able to hear what is believed to be in the example is it ready for untrained ears. Doing this helps to protect the praconer from accusaons of taking advantage of people. An important note to remember is that, if you are aempng to use radio-sweep technology for evidenal EVP, most experienced praconers I know will refuse to conﬁrm your work. We are publically on record stang doubts that such technology produces EVP. Safety A common concern is whether or not it is possible to aract a discarnate personality (ghost) and later be bothered by it. People are realiscally concerned that they might bring one home. In fact, we have no veriﬁed record of anyone being harmed by their communicators. Any harm that has been reported has been due to the praconer’s overreacon to imagined danger. There is a potenal problem for people who are fearful of the unknown, as their imaginaon can create circumstances which might be dangerous for

them. If you are very fearful of the unknown, if you are inclined to do what you imagine you have been instructed to do or if you have a history of mental illness, it is advisable that you avoid working with any form of transcommunicaon. Transcommunication Study 4: Techniques: Visual ITC Introduction Just as voice phenomena are somemes found in audio recording processes, visual phenomena are somemes found in opcal recording processes. When we think of visual Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC), we are thinking of the presence of anomalous features in the media, such as faces and recognizable shapes. To be ITC, phenomena need to be objecvely experienced, meaning that they are suﬃciently substanal to be recorded in physical media that can be witnessed by others. Also, technology of some form must be employed to enable the phenomena. Paranormal experiences that are witnessed by one or more people as mental percepon, such as a shared deathbed vision, are not considered ITC because they cannot be recorded. While probably real, in a pragmac sense, they are not considered objecve. Poltergeist and other psychokinec acvity, direct voice and materializaons that are able to be recorded are considered transcommunicaon, but unless they involve technology to manifest, they would not be considered ITC. There are two primary categories of visual ITC. The most common form is oen referred to as spirit or apparion photography. As a general statement, spirit photography involves the unexpected presence in recording media of paranormal features that are considered indicave of

discarnate personalies or their inﬂuence. Chaoc Visual Noise in Video Frame: This is a video frame taken from a video-loop ITC session. Contrast in a region of the frame has been changed to make the feature more visible. The same region has been copied to a second ﬁle and contrast has been further enhanced. The feature appears to be a woman or girl wearing a bonnet and looking to your right shoulder. The second primary category is induced visual ITC in which a technique is used with the expectaon that the resulng media will contain paranormal features. Current speculaon is that all induced phenomena are via the transformaon of noise which is produced by the technique. A typical technique produces visual chaoc noise with many regions of diﬀerent brightness. See the Chaoc Visual Noise example shown here. Apparition Photography Before beginning this subject, look ahead to the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study. I will address the main forms of apparion photography here, but it is important to be aware of the many ways that ordinary phenomena can be mistaken as paranormal. It is diﬃcult to establish a conﬁdence level for the authencity of apparion photography because the examples are usually spontaneous, as opposed to induced ITC which is usually collected under controlled condions. A second reason for diﬃcules in authencaon is that there is no well- established set of characteriscs. Unlike the usual transform phenomena of induced ITC, spontaneous phenomena tend to be unique with few obvious similaries in how

they are formed. With these consideraons in mind, the small number of examples presented here does not represent all of the ways spontaneous phenomena may form. Faces on Turned Off Television Sets A turned-oﬀ television screen provides an excellent surface for the producon of neutral-density chaoc light as ambient light is reﬂected from the surface. However, in the typical face on a turned-oﬀ television screen example, reﬂected light does not appear to be a factor. The ﬁrst example was taken by a Las Vegas family when the baby boy had pulled himself up with a chair to stand for the ﬁrst me. The woman, who can be seen on the television screen, was recognized as the photographer’s sister-in-law, who had transioned a year and a half earlier. The television was turned oﬀ. And by the way, this is not a picture of a well- known actor. Face on turned oﬀ TV 1: In this case, the mother’s discarnate sister is watching baby’s ﬁrst step. © The second picture was sent to us in 2005 by Laurel Kenton. In it, you can see him sing with his grandson. The turned-oﬀ television set behind him displays the parally formed face of his mother who transioned in 1992. Face on turned oﬀ TV 2: Photographer’s transioned mother on turned oﬀ TV screen, as if peering in to see him and his grandson. Insert is enlargement of TV screen. © We have collected a number of these faces on turned oﬀ TVs photographs. Some

of the faces are full-color while some are black and white, and some even appear to be line drawings. A common factor is the presence of a child in the scene, as if the person on the screen is peering into the room to see the child. Like the two oﬀered here, some faces are recognized, but many are not. A characterisc of this phenomenon that agrees with other forms of visual ITC is the missing lower part of the face as if to emphasize the eyes. An arfact of taking sll pictures of a turned-on TV is the presence of frame lines, and parally formed images. This has been considered and rejected as an explanaon here. Orbs As discussed in the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study, most orbs are mundane arfacts; however, the opcal noise found in orbs is oen useful for the formaon of paranormal features. As such, a naturally occurring orb in a photograph might contain an instance of visual ITC as transform phenomena. The Orb 1 example was taken by Peter Berg. It shows an orb arfact obscuring part of the Reverend Gene Pfortmiller’s face. There is no reason to think the face-like feature in the orb has anything to do with the circumstances of the photograph. It may, but without other, more deﬁnive reasons to think it does, the prudent thing to do is to set the example oﬀ as interesng, but indeterminate. Orb 1: Probably mundane photographic arfact that has a possible paranormal face

formed in the opcal noise. The orb is enlarged on the le and background is erased around feature on right. It appears to be a woman facing to your le. © There possibly are paranormal orbs. Lisa and I helped Universal Studios market the movie White Noise. For the DVD bonus features, they had us doing walkabouts in reportedly haunted locaons while being interviewed for the DVD. We were climbing a staircase in the Los Angeles Hollymont Castle when a fuzzy black ball a lile larger than a soball moved past the top of the staircase. In the Orb 2 video frame from that scene, Lisa can be seen walking ahead of me. We did not see the orb at the me and only learned of it from website visitors. The camera operator used available light video, which means the orb is probably not a camera arfact. It moved a lile faster than a person walks, and seemed to be geng out of our way. Orb 2: Orb (white arrow) moved from center frame to le exit in White Noise DVD, Hearing is Believing. ©Universal Films Mr. D. contacted us concerning a series of experiences he had in his apartment. One aspect of these was the occasional presence of two teardrop-shaped orbs which could pass through walls and apparently delighted in tormenng his dog. In one video Mr. D. sent us, his dog can be seen suddenly jumping oﬀ of the couch, closely followed by a white orb. As can

be seen in Orb 3, the orb appears to be self-luminous. Mr. D. reports that the orb somemes hovered in the air, which is why he was able to take this picture. He reported that it seemed to wiggle its tail before taking oﬀ. Orb 3: This orb was photographed standing sll (here) and recorded in moon. © As a best pracce, orbs found in bright light situaons, or when the camera ﬂash is used, should probably be discarded as arfacts. Faces found in orbs are not necessarily caused by loved ones or the local ghost, and are virtually always so poorly formed that they should be discarded as Class C examples. Self-luminous orbs and black orbs may deserve more study. Apparitions Certainly this survey of visual phenomena would not be complete without an example of apparently human apparions. Both examples presented here were recorded by Rashelle Eastman Morrison. In the ﬁrst, a nighme photograph of her grandmother’s backyard produced this image of a woman apparently dressed in a 1800s dress. Shell thought she was hovering above the ground, but that is diﬃcult to tell for sure. She also thought it might be her great-great grandmother. Apparion 1: Taken in Rashelle’s grandmother’s yard. Woman apparion hovering a few feet oﬀ the ground is thought to be Rashelle’s great-grandmother. © In Apparion 2, Shell was aempng to capture orbs outside of her window. The window is a tall, narrow shape and was opened a lile. The ﬂash washed out the window

frame but chimes are visible. A lile girl appears to be looking in from the dark. Shell said that no one was there when she took the picture. Instrumental TransCommunication The two main diﬀerences between Apparion photography (spontaneous phenomena) and Instrumental TransCommunicaon or ITC (induced phenomena) is that, in induced ITC, the communicang personality is thought to be aracted by the praconer’s intenon to make contact via technology. The features appear to be made possible by the ability of the communicang personality to impress intended order on a chaoc process. As such, it is funconally the same as transform EVP. Apparion 2: Rashelle was aempng to photograph orbs and found this lile girl looking in when she examined the photographs. © The physical process known as stochasc resonance is a means by which a small signal is ampliﬁed when combined with a chaoc signal in a nonlinear electrical circuit. This process is hypothesized as the mechanism by which a weak psi inﬂuence is able to impress an intended order on the chaoc signal, thereby producing a visual ITC feature. Video Loop ITC In the video loop technique, a video camera is connected to the Aux In of a television set. The camera is pointed at the screen so that it is able to record the camera output as it is displayed on the screen. The circuit shown in the Video Loop ITC Diagram is typical for producing chaoc opcal noise suitable for visual ITC. We have been using a Cannon

8mm ES2000 analog camcorder placed about three feet from a Sony KV20TS32, 20 inch Trinitron color TV. The camera is used in Portrait Mode and is focused just beyond the screen surface. The camera lens is zoomed so that only about 75% of the screen is visible to the camera. We usually have the camera at about a 45-degree angle from the screen and pointed just to the side of the center where the rolling image seems to begin. It is roune for us to try diﬀerent angles, and camera distances from the screen in an eﬀort to ﬁnd the best conﬁguraon. It is interesng that, some days, we are hardly able to develop the desired rolling scene. We have made no eﬀort to track environmental condions except that we noted a diﬀerence, apparently due to locaon. We were able to develop a good rolling scene in the corner bedroom but the best producon of the phenomenal features was in the middle bedroom. The only diﬀerence between the two adjacent rooms is that, in the corner room, the equipment was about ten feet closer to an outside wall supporng the house power distribuon box. The Chaoc Noise Example screen print will give you an idea of what has been an opmum display to produce the features. Clarity is a Function of Equipment Each conﬁguraon of equipment used in video loop ITC will produce a diﬀerent visual eﬀect, probably even amongst units of the same brand. The rolling eﬀect on the

screen is a cycle that is about a second in duraon. An average of thirty frames per second of full video quality only produces ﬁve or six frames per cycle that contain noise suitable for phenomena. A session is usually about ﬁeen seconds so that there may be ninety or so frames that may contain features. To save me, we only save the ones that appear interesng as we step, frame-by-frame through the saved video ﬁle. A typical ﬁeen second session will produce thirty or so frames interesng enough to carefully examine. If we have the equipment set right, and if a number of as yet undetermined environmental factors are okay, we may save ten or so useful features from the session. There have been many sessions in which we saved none. Also, the texture of the noise may be more or less grainy, depending on where we had the focus plane. Software for Frame Analysis Finding suitable video capture and frame examining soware has been a challenge. Adobe’s Premier 10 was not very expensive and came bundled with Photoshop Elements 10. Currently, we are trying CyberLink Power Director with some success. Each likely frame should be rotated in 90 degree increments while being examined. Frames are numbered something like 1-2-14-2007, 2-2-14-2007, 3-2-14-2007 and so on. Individual features are each copied into a new ﬁle, and those worth saving are labeled 3-2-14-2007a, 3-2-14-2007b 3-2-14- 2007c and so on. The idea is to be able to associate a feature with the

video frame from which it was captured. Sharing Examples The video loop examples shown here were made with an analog TV and a digital video camera that uses magnec tape to store the video signal. The grabbed frames are saved as JPG ﬁles which is a ﬁle compression format that loses detail and introduces noise. Your computer monitor may have a number of diﬀerent resoluons, but it is reasonable to assume there will be a resoluon mismatch between the original TV display and a viewer’s monitor. If an example ﬁle is stored on the Internet for sharing, it will potenally be further compressed and then a person viewing the example has a monitor of unknown resoluon, and it is unknown how well a viewer will be able to see/resolve the feature. We conducted an online viewer test with a number of prey good examples. (20) Each example was displayed in raw format as it was in the video frame stored in my computer before any processing. Also, as shades of gray, and a third, enhanced to increase contrast and brightness. 61% did not see the features we thought were in the examples. Video-loop ITC Example 2 of the Percepon of Visual ITC Images study: Website visitors correctly described the feature 28% of the respondents. The dog shown in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse was correctly described by 81% of the respondents. Detail of a saved video frame is a funcon of the resoluon of each device beginning with the relavely low

resoluon of the television set. As such, you can add all of the pixels you want in your photo manager, but the actual informaon in the example will never be beer than the lowest resoluon component of the capture equipment. As with EVP, sharing visual ITC examples with others can be a lile tricky. The usual approach is to send an example via the Internet as a JPG ﬁle, but you should ancipate needing to help your viewer. A long as it is not for research, one of the best ways to help your viewer is to describe what you think they should see. For instance, in Video Loop ITC Example 2 above, I would include that “I see a face looking to your le and slightly lted as if the person is slouching. The person, probably a man, appears to be in oriental, ancient clothing with either a black hat or black hair done up like a crown. The face is skin tone and he appears to be wearing a light colored vest of some kind.” The only enhancement is to change contrast. As you can see in Video Loop ITC Example 2, the master frame (le) was le unchanged to provide a control. Your good judgment is required as to how much enhancement is done (middle). Somemes changing to grayscale helps (right). I will somemes erase or smudge out the background of a feature to make it more evident to witnesses. As such, in the Troll example, the

contrast was changed ﬁrst, and then the background was smudged. Example of Enhanced Example: The troll from the alien composite: unaltered clip from the original video frame (le) and aer the background was deemphasized (right). Any enhancement should be noted if the original is not provided for comparison. I am guilty of rounely adjusng color density and contrast, because at mes, that is the only way to make a feature stand out from the shadows for examinaon. Use discernment in such processing and always be prepared to provide the raw original. Another way I somemes enhance a picture to highlight a feature is by changing the contrast, and then using the smudge tool to further lighten the color density to highlight a feature. In the Cow example, the original (le) is not much diﬀerent than the version in which the contrast has been increased and lightened (center). The real change is in the small areas indicated by A and B, which are shown heavily enhanced on the right. I discuss the small features in Face Fractals, below. About the Technology From our experience, every hardware setup is diﬀerent. We use color analog equipment and many of our features seem to have true skin colors. When we began in 2000, it was generally understood that, if there is any color in the ﬁnal example, it should be removed for proper display. It is diﬃcult to know if we are simply doing it wrong or if our technique is an improvement. Most

of our eﬀorts to use all digital equipment lack color as well. Analog Verses Digital In EVP, it is prey clear that the voice is formed in the electronics, probably in a single transistor juncon. Stochasc ampliﬁcaon requires an analog, nonlinear process which is available in the acve region of semiconductor devices. There is no apparent requirement for which transistor juncon is used, except that it should be in a part of the circuit that permits recording of the results. Because of the nature of the video loop, it is not clear which device is actually used. An all-digital circuit would not seem to provide the necessary environment for stochasc ampliﬁcaon. For instance, when a webcam is used that has a digital image sensor, and that connects to the computer via USB cable, the only analog stage before display on the computer monitor is the image sensor. While we are prey sure transform occurs in a single acve region, there is no reason to think that images can be impressed across an array of charge coupled devices as is usually used for image sensors. So to make this simple, our speculaon is that video loop ITC will be most successful if an analog stage is intenonally supplied. For instance, an analog camera might be used. We have not explored all of the alternave techniques. It is an important area for further study, because analog is less available to the average person. Some of the most astounding visual ITC has been

captured by the early experimenters using older, modular, analog technology such as a video recorder, video camera frame synchronizer and video ampliﬁer. A modern equivalent is needed. Much more experience is needed to understand how the technology aﬀects formaon of the features. For instance, how does high deﬁnion video change the dynamics? One thing that needs to be understood by modern praconers is that simply replicang the funcon with modern equipment (combined video camera, recorder and playback) will not replicate the early experiments. On the other hand, the only way to increase the quality of the examples is to use much higher resoluon capture and reproducon. Perhaps Not ITC We have been seeing a lot of mirrored examples in which one half of the feature was captured, copied, ﬂipped horizontally and joined with the original so that the original is mirrored by the copy. This is beginning to look like a visual equivalent of radio-sweep because one of the characteriscs our mind uses to idenfy a face is symmetry. As is shown in the Mirrored Image picture, the typical mirrored shape looks like an alien— almost every me. While this is an interesng characterisc, I think further study of how we see things will show that the mirror-formed faces are mundane arfacts of percepon. Mirrored Image: The photograph at the le is modiﬁed in the middle with a kaleidoscope tool using three mirrors. The arrows are poinng to two face-like features on the right. Any combinaon of eye-like shapes and

symmetry will potenally produce a face-like feature. (215) A second trend we have noced is the technique of erasing all of the picture but the presumed paranormal feature. That is what I did with the Orb 1 Example. I see the vague shape of a woman’s head. To help you see it, I have erased all but the feature. Fortunately, I preserved the original so that you can see what I changed. The Orb 1 Example is useful to illustrate a diﬃcult to see concept, but it is a risky pracce. In a way, selecvely erasing parts of a picture to show a parcular feature is a lot like storytelling in EVP. If it is done, the original should be displayed alongside the enhanced version. Excepons to this might be instances in which the feature is well-outlined as is the Troll in the alien composite. Witness Panels Complying with the Witness Panel Best Pracce is perhaps the most important tool available to the inexperienced praconer. As has been stated many mes in this book, we too easily fool ourselves. By deﬁnion fool means we don’t know we are being fooled. The way to guard against being fooled is to ask others to review our examples and give us a candid descripon of what they see or hear. In some of the examples I have seen on the Internet, I doubt an uncoached witness would see in the raw example what the praconer highlighted. Even for a Class A example, probably

not all of your friends will see what you see. To validate the feature, at least a few should independently describe what you think is in the example. The Percepon of Visual ITC Images (20) study will give you a sense of how people see visual ITC examples. It is online in the Journal secon of ATransC.org. What are the Paranormal Features? Just about any way you can imagine to produce chaoc opcal noise is suitable for the spontaneous formaon of anomalous features. That is why face-like features are oen found in photographic orbs. I say spontaneous because they usually have none of the characteriscs of communicaon. However, with that said, there is evidence that some such features are impressed into the noise as communicaon with the praconer or an interested observer. Our working hypothesis is that the patches of brightness in the looped video are areas of relave order that naturally form in chaoc noise because of stochasc ampliﬁcaon. In that process, small irregularies in the uniformity of baseline energy are ampliﬁed, and in video loop ITC, those emergent areas of increased order appear to be intelligently controlled. What Have We Learned? We use color video equipment and we have found that resulng features are oen displayed in true colors such as skin tones and color of lips or hair. We also note that, in all forms of visual ITC, it is common for the boom poron of the face to be obscured. In some examples, there is apparent

interacon between features. More rarely, a feature may be in a scene. In a Class C example, I found a man apparently dressed as a medieval lord, his foot on a low wall as if he was posing for the camera. In another example, the man is clearly posing for the camera in the Man with a Dog example. Cow: Video-loop ITC: Unenhanced on le, enhanced with Photoshop Smart Fix in middle and regions A and B isolated and enhanced with contrast tools. I see a number of face- like features. As is found in many EVP, the features are approximaons of what they appear to represent, as if the transform process was not completely controlled. EVP will oen decrease in volume and/or become garbled near the end of a phrase. In a similar way, faces might be distorted, or as noted, not completely formed. Face Fractal In the Implicit Cosmology, life ﬁelds are described as the fundamental building block of reality. In eﬀect, reality consists of life ﬁelds and their expressions as ideoplasc structures. Using fractals as the model, Source would be the top fractal and aspects of Source would be Source-like fractals. The Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse will give you a sense of how you can imagine this cosmological model. Also in the Implicit Cosmology, the etheric personality of a person is able to interact with other personalies within the bounds of perceptual agreement. Conscious awareness of this interacon is ﬁltered in the Aenon Complex so that

a person is normally unaware of the resulng informaon. That is, how much we become aware of things etheric depends on our lucidity. All of this informaon is provided here to help explain the apparent fractal eﬀect of visual ITC. Probably the most disconcerng aspect of visual ITC is that faces seem to compete for space in the display. Faces seem to be a most common fractal as if they are some etheric background noise. For instance, if the naturally occurring physical noise is suitably chaoc, there might be faces formed of faces. That is, a primary face will be present, but on closer inspecon, usually aer the viewer resets aenon or steps back from the display for a fresh perspecve, many less well formed faces will become evident. The right frame of the Cow example above shows the two darker regions around the cow as they have been enhanced to make the smaller features more obvious. Again, it is important when viewing these examples to remember that the actual nature of the anomalous features is obscured by the limitaons of our equipment. With that said, it may be possible that the cow is also formed mosaic-like by many face-like features. Two Lovers: The pale colored area in the middle-le of the frame appears to be a man’s head facing your right. The yellow-orange area right of center appears to be a woman’s face parally obscured by the man. Her le eye is showing. They are together as if caught

in an inmate pose. Lesser face features are in the light areas behind them. The Lovers example shows the face-like secondary features and also two primary features apparently interacng. Focus on the white area at the middle of the frame. Let your eyes ﬁnd a man’s face looking slightly down and toward your right. His skin is white. Once you ﬁnd him, look at the yellow-orange area behind his head. I see a woman’s face as she is looking at him, maybe whispering in his le ear. He is obscuring the right side of her face. All of the yellow-orange area represents her face and neck. Close examinaon of the lighter colored areas in the background will show that there are numerous faces in the picture as well. Animals and Aliens It is common to ﬁnd a person apparently proudly displaying a favored pet. In the Man with Dog example, the man’s skin color appears to be correct. If by this, we can guess other colors are correct, he is wearing a white jacket that looks like a dress uniform. The dog appears to be white. Man with Dog: This appears to be the portrait of a uniformed man proudly holding his lile white dog. The head of the man is badly distorted but the skin colors appear to be true. He appears to be wearing a white jacket. The white dog is looking directly at you. According to the Implicit Cosmology, and considering the nonlocal character of reality, it

is logically consistent to expect people from other lines of evoluon (extraterrestrials) to appear in visual ITC. In fact, a number of convincingly alien features have been collected. The Aliens example here is representave of this. As I noted before, the colors oen seem to be true, so that appropriate skin, lip and hair colors are somemes seen. With this in mind, I refer to the ﬁrst feature on the le in the Alien example as the Blue-faced Man. He appears to be wearing a chest-plate with a dark fur collar. We have collected a lile, spindly-armed creature with a pointed head and ears which point right and le directly away from the skull. This is a poor Class C example and cannot be displayed here. However, it is very much like the gremlin captured by Jose Garrido and Alfonso Galeano, and the one captured by Erland Babcock. Possible Aliens: Video-loop examples that seem to be of alien people. From the le, blue-faced man (recorded by Butler), Gremlin (Jose Garrido and Alfonso Galeano) ©, possibly same gremlin species (Erland Babcock) ©, apparent grasshopper-like being (Butler), possible troll (Butler). The background has been suppressed to make the troll more apparent. Some contrast and color intensity adjustments have probably been made on these. Ask if you need to know for sure. It is important to note that Babcock used much older technology than we have and produced what I think are considerably beer examples. If you experiment with visual ITC, be aware

that success is as much inﬂuenced by the technology you use as the human factors contributed by you, interested observers and the trans-communicang personality. Induced Visual ITC In one visual ITC example, we had asked my father to show himself in our visual ITC session. The example below is what we found. Again, it is common for the lower part of the face to be obscured. It is also interesng to note that I had the photograph of my father on my desk, as it was being moved from one storage area to another. Possibly My Father, Clayton: We asked my father to show himself in a session. We later found this feature. It has a similar pose to a photograph of him on my desk. Of course, I will not say the Clayton example is deﬁnitely the product of my father’s intenon to respond to our request. I feel that it is. Because aer carefully examining hundreds of video frames without seeing anything even remotely like my father’s face, it is unreasonable to expect his face to be found in a video frame from the session in which we asked him to appear. Another reason I am inclined to say the feature is my father is that his pose in the video frame is the same as in the photograph I had on my desk. We have also noted that the appearance of an anomalous face does somemes closely match available photographs. While this characterisc may be explained by

the communicang personality’s access to the praconer’s memory, it might also be explained as an apport. Apported Material for Feature Formation A characterisc of apports is that they are physical-world objects such as stones, trinkets and ﬂowers. In ﬁeld condions, they either mysteriously appear, such as one that Lisa found in her shoe, or they fall from the air as if they have emerged from an alternave reality. Apports come to us as physical objects because that is the way we are able to experience them; however, one of the characteriscs of ITC is that the features somemes seem to be at least parally formed with preexisng physical world objects. It may be more eﬃcient to adapt something already embodied in the physical than to create it from pure thought. If so, then it makes sense that the pose of the Clayton feature is similar to what was on my desk at the me. Again, remember that these features are representave of the actual thing, and are oen very distorted. Light Relected from Moving Water Technique Short of simply taking a picture of medium-density texture and brightness surfaces, probably the simplest method to produce ITC features is photographing light reﬂected from moving water. All you need is a camera and a container for water as shown in the Water-ITC photograph. Any camera will do but if you use a video camera, you will need a computer program for examining the individual frames. Otherwise, handling of the individual pictures is the

same as for video loop ITC. Water Technique: Arthur Soesman of the Netherlands introduced us to this technique in 2004 with this illustraon. Most praconers have substuted the jug with a sauce pan. © Sauce Pan for Water ITC: Glass sauce pan in a black pot with about three inches of water. Black pot is just for contrast. Any overhead light source will do to reﬂect from water. Take pictures of water as it is disturbed with ﬁnger or spoon. The objecve is for the moving water to produce many areas of medium-intensity reﬂected light. As shown in the Water Technique Diagram, this technique began for us with Arthur Soesman’s report of using moving water in a bole but quickly evolved into the use of any container. Since the features are found in color photographs or videos, a colored container or added colored lighng has been popular. As previously noted, clarity of video loop ITC features is limited by the video equipment and method of their display. Since a very high resoluon camera can be used, the actual liming factor is the resoluon of the display technology. However, the reﬂected light tends to be very high contrast, which limits the amount of usable neutral-density regions of reﬂected light necessary for feature formaon. From Erland: A one-gallon brown glass jug (le). Erland situated his camera at about 1/3 the way up the side of the jug with the camera very close to the jug. The jug was wrapped in black paper

with an opening for the camera. Light was applied from above. © Before his transion, associaon member Erland Babcok was very good with photographic phenomena. As shown in the From Erland Picture, he found a large amber glass jug for his experiments and oen added a violet light source. It was common to add high-frequency light to experiments because of the persistent belief that The Other Side is only separate from the physical because it is of a higher frequency. The light was intended to help bridge the gap. While it is sll uncertain if it helped, the colored light did produce interesng anomalous features with oen beauful accents. Erland produced many excellent ITC examples with the moving water technique, and some were of such beauty that he even had a showing in his local library. The one oﬀered here in the Elves example is especially interesng. You may need to look for a while to see what I describe, but please do. It seemingly provides a mysterious glimpse into an unknown world. Elves: An example of Erland Babcock’s moving water technique. © In the Elves example, it appears as if a strong wind blows from your le toward your right. Look for a tall man-like creature in the background with long hair blowing in the wind. His right ear scks out from his hair more like a mule’s ear. He is looking toward you but down at the girl. Directly under his chin is a translucent dome hat (think

mushroom cap), in which you can see the head and hair of a lile girl facing your right. Hair on the le side of her head is blowing past her right cheek. It looks like her bare shoulders are pulled up, as if resisng the wind that is at her back. Just in front of her is possibly a boy wearing the same type of hat. His chin is sloped into his neck and you can see his open mouth just under his nose that is facing up. There may be a dog in front of and facing him. King: Except for the face, the le picture is typical for light reﬂected from moving water. The violet comes from the glass sauce pan. The paranormal face at the right of the le frame has been enlarged in the right picture. Most of our light reﬂected from moving water features are what we would refer to as Class C, meaning that recognizable facial features are present but are so distorted that they probably would not be recognized by witnesses. The King example is an excepon. You should see a human face looking toward your le. The Class A face is very close to a second feature I would consider a Class C. Margaret Downey is a very capable ITC praconer. In the Grandfather example, she found a face in her video that looked like her great-great- grandfather. Daniele Gullà, with the Italian Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernecs Research (Il Laboratorio) (122), used

forensic-quality face recognion soware to compare Margaret’s ITC image with a photograph of her great-great-grandfather while he was in the physical. Gullà wrote that “I have processed the human face as a 3D model and rotated it to superimpose over the ITC face. I have compared the repere [reference] points (only 5: eyes, lips, nasal and subnasal) in the human face and ITC face. The ﬁnal result is that the diﬀerence in the two images is inferior to [less than] 5%. They are very similar!” Grandfather: Margaret’s great-great-grandfather Benjamin Franklin Main Sr. (upper-le), ITC image recorded by Margaret (lower-le) and the two images superimposed by Gullà (right). © Composite prepared by Gullà. Theory Eﬀort has been made to eliminate mundane explanaons for the examples of visual ITC presented in this study. This is not to say that one will be found, but based on current understanding, it is reasonable to consider the possibility they represent an etheric-to-physical inﬂuence. Not all examples are communicaon in the sense of a two-way exchange of informaon. However, it might be argued that all are caused by an intelligence that has expressed an interest in the situaon in which the phenomena were experienced. Many examples indicate a person looking into the scene, perhaps out of curiosity but more likely with a purpose. For instance, the presence of a child in the room is a common characterisc of faces on turned oﬀ television sets. This seems to indicate a degree of family aachment. A common belief

amongst paranormalists is that people have personalies in the etheric who aempt to provide guidance for them without interfering with self-determinaon. Perhaps the people looking in are guides observing the progress of a physical charge. Certainly, the presence of these people looking into our world serves as a catalyst, causing us to reconsider what we know about the world. The Implicit Cosmology remains the overriding theory in this book for how these phenomena are formed. As such, the worldview of the praconer or an interested observer likely plays a part in how the features are actually formed. For instance, in the Apparion 1 example from Rochelle, the great-grandmother apparion may have been presented to her unconscious awareness as an intenon ﬁeld which was translated by her into familiar terms. So Many Faces It appears likely that stochasc ampliﬁcaon is the physical process by which the inﬂuence of intenon acts on opcal noise to produce an intended feature. This follows the concept of intended order. The real challenge is in modeling the presence of so many face features found in noise. How we raon our aenon seems to oﬀer a possible model. A person entering a crowded room is aware of most or all of the people in the room. Some will be more familiar than others, but the person will become more aware of one person at a me. The presence of paranormal faces is modeled as having been formed via the personality-avatar entanglement of the praconer or interested observer.

A video frame that has a face feature in it typically has one well- formed, primary face feature and numerous more or less well-formed secondary face features. Based on this, anomalous features found in a video frame are a reasonably fair expression of the personality’s personal reality. That is, my personality is aware of many others, probably in my collecve. All of those personalies are liable to be represented in the transformaon of noise into features, but more likely, the one to show up the most is the one with which I am aempng to communicate or that is trying to communicate with me. Inherited Credibility Examples in this book which we think represent trans-etheric inﬂuences may not provide conclusive proof of our etheric nature; however, when considered as a set, each inherits validity from the others. For instance, physical mediumship brings credibility to the idea that ideoplasc structures are possible. If they are shown to be possible, then inﬂuencing an electronic device should be considered a logical extension of those phenomena. The well-documented eﬀect of intenon on random event generators (51) establishes a sort of behavior that must be applied to ITC involving random audible or visible noise. I say this because both involve the apparent eﬀect of intenon on the behavior of noise in a nonlinear system. The common factor is stochasc ampliﬁcaon. One of the themes of this book is that Etheric Studies inherits some validity from psi studies and also that psi studies inherits some validity

from Etheric Studies. However, this inheritance should not be construed as proof of survival. Much more study is needed before such a conclusion can be made. Because in the foreseeable future it is unlikely psi researchers will take up Etheric Studies, the task for metaphysicians is to ﬁnd a way to model trans-etheric phenomena so that psi researchers will see the compability of the two studies. I See It, Why Don’t You? It is part of paranormalist lore that the ability to hear and understand the voices of EVP is an acquired skill. EVP usually only approximate live speech so that the usual structural cues found in live speech, and on which we depend to understand meaning, are oen formed in novel ways, making it diﬃcult to decode meaning. The context of what is said may also be obscure so that the important circumstanal hints which help us assign meaning to the words of EVP may be missing. The anomalous features in visual ITC suﬀer from an equivalent problem. Consider this, if an inkblot used in psychological tests is consistently idenﬁed by testees as a buerﬂy landing on a ﬂower, is it reasonable to argue that the inkblot appears to be a simulaon of a buerﬂy landing on a ﬂower? Just because the feature was formed by a randomly bloed ink spot does not mean it cannot reasonably represent something real. This is a common problem in visual ITC. The context in which a feature is formed can be used

to assign intended meaning. If an inkblot on white paper is intended to be random and without meaning, but is consistently reported as a buerﬂy, should it be required to contain no meaning? What if Vincent van Gogh had splashed black ink on a piece of paper that looked just like the ink blot and tled it Buerﬂy on Flower? Would that give us reason to accept that the ink blot was a reasonable simulaon of a buerﬂy? One of my jobs in the corporate world was long-range planning. You may know it as strategic planning. The core ability for long range-planning is the ability to conceptualize trends as a possible future. In many ways, arsts are long-range planners because it is necessary to visualize the consequence of every step as it will relate to a conceptualized system called the work of art. When I search video frames for anomalous features, I try to see each part as a component of a system of related shapes and colors. Very oen, once I see a face-like shape, it becomes diﬃcult not to see the face. I will somemes reset my mind by walking away and later taking a second look. In poorly formed features, it takes me a while to ﬁnd the face. The important thing is that I do ﬁnd the face. All of this is to say that I have a nave aptude to see the features in visual ITC that not all viewers share. It is a fact

of corporate experience and it is apparently an explanaon as to why not everyone viewing my examples sees what I expect them to see. As with EVP, there is something of a learning curve one must traverse to work with visual ITC. The only way I know to develop the ability is to work with the examples with the intenon to see meaningful relaonships amongst the otherwise random shapes. If someone tells you they see a buerﬂy, take a lile me to see the same. Of course, we must be mindful of the hyperlucidity trap and not force meaning where there is none. There is a balance which can be found with experience and by cooperang with a witness panel. A second diﬃculty people have in seeing the anomalous features is looking in the right place. Oen, the video frame will not have a primary feature, so just looking at the frame as one image is not enough. Look at the lile parts where there is a spot of brightness amongst the darker, random shapes. A good example of this is the Cow feature. The Future Visual ITC is potenally one of the most promising forms of paranormal phenomena. The anomalous features seem to represent a moment in the life of a probably long-transioned person. Somemes they represent meaning for us or an interested observer. Most likely, they review an otherwise invisible characterisc of reality. Visual ITC is one of the least understood forms of paranormal phenomena. Virtually every parapsychologist

with whom I have discussed the features have advised me to sck to EVP because the features are simply too unlikely. So if you decide to study them, be aware that seeing the faces is not enough. At some point in your study, it will become necessary to stop just collecng examples and begin developing a conceptual context for what they are and why they exist. ITC is clearly a metaphysical study, but there is an important physiological link, as the appearance of the features is biased by praconer and/or interested observer expectaons. Transcommunication Study 5: Artifacts and Perceptual Error Introduction Perhaps the single biggest problem aﬀecng how people perceive their world is that they do not understand how it operates. Of course, this is the root of superson in primive tribes, but we moderns have our own supersons. For instance, I grew up with the idea of earthquake weather. That came about because the adults in my life as a child had experienced a strong, mid-summer earthquake. It was hot and muggy with virtually no breeze when the earthquake occurred. Thereaer, every hot and muggy day had the older folk around me on edge, if not consciously, at least unconsciously fearful of another earthquake. I am not a geologist, but as far as I know, the weather has lile to do with earthquakes. But then, that is the point. I have only a tourist-level understanding of geology and do not know how to argue that hot days are not

a sign of coming earthquakes, other than it makes no sense based on my worldview. And that is the second point. Mindful living can be described as habitually asking yourself if what you think and do makes sense. Considering your intenon, are your thoughts and acons reasonable. If you do not know the consequences of your acons, then it is incumbent on you to move with cauon. Instead of “It is this,” at least say, “It might be this,” or even beer, “Is it this?” As an electronic engineer, I have a relavely good sense of how technology might bias the expected output of devices. For instance, there is a design ﬂaw in Panasonic RR-DR60 digital voice recorders that causes an occasional, loud noise that was at one me called Angry Man EVP. Of course, it is just an angry sounding arfact of the device, but it took some me before we listened carefully to the noise and found that the trans- communicators were using the noise, perhaps even iniang it, to produce the audio energy needed to say such things as “I love you.” Reality is complex. Chaos theory is probably the best way to study reality. To be realisc, every experience we have is apt to have unexpected elements. If you consider this point, it is a profound statement. The stascal norm probably applies, meaning that the weather will be about as it was predicted and work will be more or less as expected. Yet meteors occasionally fall

out of the sky, the ground under our feet somemes moves and a storm occasionally brings catastrophic ﬂooding. Technology and the environment combine to inﬂuence our experiences. A picture taken of a bird in a tree is apt to be ruined by a ghostly light caused by over-exposure from the sun which was just out of camera range. A magnetometer might register a psi inﬂuence as a change in magnesm when there is no such change. Apparent paranormal words might be formed by recording foreign-language speech, when in fact, the sound was only muﬄed by aenuaon in the air and poor quality of the player and recorder. The rest is all listener expectaons. Photographic Artifacts The list of potenal environmental and technology photographic arfacts is much longer than the ones oﬀered here, but these are the ones I most commonly encounter. By becoming familiar with these, you should know to look for others. This too is part of mindful living. Low Light Latency If you are an experienced ﬁlm photographer, you will know about image latency. It is a term used to describe the presence of an image in exposed ﬁlm which has not been developed. That concept does not apply here. The latency we are interested in here is the delay between the beginning and end of a process. In imaging devices such as moon and sll cameras, the concept is usually applied to command latency. This is the delay between pressing the buon to take a picture (command)

and the me it takes the camera to ﬁnish taking the picture (response). When the process to take a picture begins, the light coming into the detector increases the electrical potenal of each pixel in the detector, and it is the size of that charge that is entered into the electronic process to create image data. A brighter object in the scene will produce more charge in a cell than a dim one. Latency: Example of latency in low light photography. The eﬀect of latency is easily seen in many of the nighme photographs collected by ghost hunters. One example I spent a long me trying to explain to a website visitor was a twilight picture of a supposedly haunted house. A nearby house had a porch light on, and while the haunted house was dimly but well imaged in the scene, there was a bright yellow trace that wiggled around to its le. Even though the camera was on a tripod, when the person pressed the buon to take the picture, he slightly moved the camera. The camera returned to a stable posion for most of the exposure and produced a good image of the house. However, the porch light was much brighter than the haunted house and it saturated aﬀected pixels for every slight movement of the camera to produce a wiggly yellow trace. The picture here is of a large ferry at sea. I took the picture with the camera set to automac. You can see that

the dimmer parts of the ship are well imaged (see the name), but all of the bright lights produced the same trace paern as I moved the camera to take the picture. Daytime Latency A common example of dayme latency is a photograph that has something in the scene missing a part. For instance, people walking in a museum without legs or a dog that is missing its head because it moved during the exposure. Again, the camera is usually automacally seng the exposure for the average light it detects. A walking person’s legs move faster than the rest of the body. If automac camera exposure is perfect for the relavely large area of the torso, it may be too short to image rapidly moving legs. The result is a ruined photograph which is too easily mistaken as paranormal by a person with a predisposion to seek evidence of the paranormal. Sun Flares If the sun or a bright light is just out of range of the camera lens, it is apt to register in the resulng photograph as an oen very prey rainbow or series of colorful orbs. Most camera lenses are compound, meaning they are formed of more than one lens shaped element. The front surface of each element may image the bright light as an orb. It is usually possible to imagine a single straight line passing through the orbs and the sun. Sun Fade Bright light will somemes cause a photograph to have what appears to

be a fog in the scene. This is usually just saturated image detector or ﬁlm, but somemes the ruined photograph will have a ghostly quality. Orbs Photographic orbs are usually round, oen translucent objects found in opcal media. Because they generally appear as chaoc opcal energy, they are prone to have recognizable facial features in the manner of visual ITC. Being mostly white with lile texture, features they may contain are seldom more than outlines suggesve of recognizable forms. Popular wisdom amongst some paranormalist holds that orbs are evidence of discarnate personalies or that they contain the face of a local ghost. It is clear, however, that most orbs are arfacts caused by light reﬂected from shiny surfaces or parculates in the air. Others are easily shown to be caused by bright light sources such as the sun. With that said, there are circumstances in which some orb-like photographic objects may be paranormal. These are discussed in the Visual ITC Study. Audio Artifacts Audio technology can produce arfacts as well. The technology introduces the arfacts, but it tends to be the way praconers process sound ﬁles that makes the arfacts audible. Over Ampliication Inexpensive audio eding programs make very sophiscated capabilies available to EVP praconers. Of course, all of us have tried everything available to make that hint of a voice clear enough to share with others. Aer working with thousands of audio ﬁles since the mid-1980s, Lisa and I have come to the realizaon that the only safe processing

is around ten or ﬁeen decibels of ampliﬁcaon and maybe a lile noise reducon. Anything more tends to produce processing arfacts that can make the possible uerance say what was not intended. Electricity at the power outlet is very noisy. This becomes obvious when it is examined with a device that will show small signal noise. The problem is that the many miles of wire tends to act as an antenna, allowing energy from radio broadcasts to produce a small signal in the wire. This can somemes be ampliﬁed so as to be heard with the unaided ear. Hand-held devices are also excellent antennas for radio-frequency contaminaon. The result is that ampliﬁcaon of any recorded sound track of more than twenty or so decibels will begin to make the contaminaon audible. We have had many sound ﬁles brought to us for examinaon that had been ampliﬁed and the resulng audible radio contaminaon mistaken as EVP. Single Syllable Error One of the more common mistakes EVP praconers make is thinking naturally occurring single syllable-like sounds are paranormal voices. This is especially a problem for people using silver bullet technologies such as radio-sweep. For instance, if the queson is “Who lived here?” a “Bo” sound that was a fragment of a phrase spoken by the radio announcer as “Boy did we win!” might be idenﬁed as a paranormal voice saying “Bob.” Since the praconer does not know the name of the person who lived there, Bob is as good a name as

any. The majority of EVP examples we have seen posted around the Internet are mundane, single syllable-like sounds aributed as EVP. In some cases, a single syllable sound might have other, probably mundane sounds nearby in the sound stream, enabling the praconer to claim they are part of a mul-syllable uerance. As representaves of the ATransC, our recommendaon is that possible single syllable uerances be either disregarded or reserved for personal use. Certainly, they should not be used for research. Selective Reporting The technology used in radio-sweep and EVPmaker is designed to produce a stream of random sounds. Presumably, the output sound stream is inﬂuenced by a communicang personality to produce meaningful messages. One problem with these technologies is that they always produce a streaming output of oen voice or voice-like bits of sound. If a meaningful word or phrase is detected in the output sound stream, the sounds before and aer in the sound stream may be included in the interpretaon of the possible paranormal uerance. This is a reasonable approach, but it is usually a judgment call as to how much of the sound stream applies to the suspected EVP. As such, the praconer must be mindful not to inappropriately include trailing or leading sounds in the reported EVP. This ﬂexibility too oen leads to storytelling or selecve reporng as the praconer aempts to show meaning where none is intended. In transform EVP, the uerance may come aer it has been unconsciously composed by the praconer but before

it is consciously spoken. With this in mind, an acceptable interval between queson and answer in transform EVP is just a second or two, but certainly aer the preceding queson and before the next queson. Selective Reporting by Deletion A second and more damning form of selecve reporng is modiﬁcaon of a sound ﬁle to eliminate irrelevant sounds and only present the queson and answer as if one was directly associated with the other. While it may be a technique to show the listener what the praconer believes is present in the recording, selecve reporng of this kind is more an ethical violaon than a mistake. If such eding pracces are to be used, unedited sound ﬁle should be presented with the display version for comparison. What a person is guided to believe as real has the potenal of changing that person’s worldview. The praconer presents examples under the cloak of assumed experse, and therefore, has an obligaon to be clear about what is thought to be paranormal and what is known to be mundane. Storytelling A common pracce amongst praconers is to record a likely sound and then concoct a story designed to make it sound like a meaningful EVP. Without nocing, a praconer might have recorded the intake of breath from one of the ghost hunng team. Upon review of the recording, the breath sound is in the recording just before that person said, “Is there anyone here?” The praconer then explains that the one syllable breath sound

is really an EVP answering “Yes” just before the queson. An important pracce in ﬁeld recording is to use a second recorder, and then to compare recordings to see if the suspected EVP is on both. As a general and very reliable rule, EVP only occur in one recording process, so if the sound is on two, simultaneous recordings, then it is either direct voice (paranormal voice in the air) or it is an arfact. (144) Mistaken Low Volume Sounds Especially in ﬁeld recording, there may be people speaking in other parts of the building. Such normal sounds oen do not register in the praconer’s mind. The voices might be picked up on one recorder, but depending on the quality of microphone, a second recorder might not register them. While such distant sounds are oen reported as EVP, the best pracce is to discard them as, at best, poor Class C examples. Errors in Perception Here, I am not talking about the need for a person to learn how to hear EVP. Not being a psychologist, the best way I can explain this concept is to say that people tend to mentally ﬁll in what their unconscious mind assumes is missing. This closure, as I have heard it described, is mostly a problem with live voice techniques, such as radio-sweep and EVPmaker, in which a fragment of speech is heard as a whole word. A good listener is one who has learned to resist closure and to hear sounds more

as they are rather than as they seem. However, it is common for a person to say “I don’t hear anything but noise.” But when told what is thought to be said in the EVP, the listener will be beer able to make out the words—even if the example is only noise. Research by Dr. Mark Leary has clearly shown this listener suggeson bias. (74) The following is from Item 2 in Part 3 of the cited report: All EVP enthusiasts know that people’s interpretaons of EVP are somemes aﬀected by what they think other people hear. In fact, it is oen diﬃcult not to hear what someone else said they heard. In our second study, we found that agreement with the individual words in an EVP jumped from 6% to 23% when listeners were told what the recording invesgator thought the EVP said. The following is from Leary’s Part 2 Conclusions and Recommendaons: The results of this study suggest that invesgators should be less conﬁdent in their interpretaons of EVP than they typically are. On average, the most common interpretaon of each EVP was shared by only 22% of other people. And, of course, all interpretaons other than the most common, consensual one had even less agreement. In fact, most of the raters’ interpretaons were not given by any other listener! Furthermore, raters were not parcularly good at judging the correctness of their interpretaons. Thus, having the sense that ‘I’m sure this is what it says’ does not indicate

that other people will agree with one’s interpretaon (or that it is actually correct). These results lead me to oﬀer four recommendaons for the responsible interpretaon of EVP: 1. In light of the fact that any parcular invesgator’s interpretaon of an EVP is not likely to be shared by other people and that people’s interpretaons are biased by what they expect to hear, invesgators should never interpret an EVP for other people without playing it for them several mes and solicing their independent interpretaons. 2. If the interpretaon of a speciﬁc EVP is parcularly important (such as when it is being interpreted for grieving family members), invesgators should use a scaled-down version of the procedure used in this study. Have at least 10 people independently listen to the EVP and determine the consensus interpretaon, if any. Then report an interpretaon of the EVP to others only if a majority of listeners agrees on that interpretaon. In some cases, it may be helpful to report more than one potenal interpretaon, along with the percentage of people who agreed with each one. Providing listeners with such data is a more honest and responsible way to share EVP than to oﬀer a parcular interpretaon that might, in fact, be idiosyncrac. 3. Invesgators should be willing to refrain from interpreng ambiguous EVP. Providing a quesonable interpretaon as if it is certain is misleading, if not somemes dishonest. Just because an EVP cannot be interpreted does not mean it is not a useful piece of

evidence, so invesgators should not interpret EVP that are unclear. 4. Paranormal invesgaon groups and EVP praconers should have formal guidelines for the interpretaon of EVP that minimize the likelihood that they will oﬀer interpretaons of EVP —whether to other group members, clients, or outsiders—that are expressed with greater conﬁdence than the objecve evidence warrants. Invesgators should exercise greater care in sharing their interpretaons of EVP, and procedures should be in place to ensure that clients, other invesgators and the public are not inadvertently misled regarding interpretaons of an EVP. Faux Transcommunication Aer years of abuse from the skepcs of Wikipedia, I have come to understand that some people do not understand the logical disncon between a phenomenon and something that only looks like that phenomenon. EVP, for instance, is deﬁned as a form of transcommunicaon. It is experienced as instrumentally aided anomalous access to informaon. By that, it is intended that no mundane explanaon has been found for the presence of apparently paranormal voices in recording media. If an example can be shown to be fraudulently produced, that it is actually produced by an unnoced person speaking in the room, or it can be demonstrated as an arfact of the technology, it is not EVP. Two things must be true to properly debunk EVP. First, the praconer must have followed best pracces to record an example, including use of two recorders and a listening panel. Then the debunker must show a physical explanaon for the presence of the reported

EVP. The idea is that there ﬁrst must be an actual uerance honestly thought to be EVP. There are hundreds of examples on the Internet that are reported as EVP but for which there is no chain of custody, so to speak. Also, praconer experience is generally not known, nor is the recording technique and whether or not the example has been altered or if me has been cut out. It is illogical to think a proper evaluaon of EVP can be made with such examples. Unexpected Technique Induced Artifact Praconers try just about everything they can imagine to improve transcommunicaon. Oen, the technology they us is new and the community has lile experience as to what causes what problem, what works and how best to apply the technology. Of course, radio-sweep is a good example of this, but in visual ITC, technology is making it possible to mirror pictures, causing some very strange, face-like features to emerge out of an otherwise mundane frame. Both mirrored pictures and radio-sweep involve eﬀects which are not well understood by praconers and witnesses. The naturally occurring angry sounding noise arfacts originally idenﬁed as Angry Man EVP menoned at the beginning of this study is also a good example. When a technique is used to produce phenomenal results, praconers and witnesses alike are expecng the next output of the device to be transcommunicaon. This predisposes them to mistake mundane output as paranormal. Retro Familiar Storytelling In mental mediumship, informaon tends to come to the

medium as a vague impression which must be clariﬁed before it can be expressed as a message to the sier. To be clear, it has been experimentally shown that the original informaon is oen correct and veriﬁable. It is the human factor which causes confusion. The more lucid the medium, the clearer percepon of the intended message. The task of the medium is to express that informaon to the sier as it was received. It is called coloring when the medium changes the message to agree with his or her worldview. A good medium will resist translang the inial sense of the informaon and express the message to the sier in a give what you get format. An example might be the original sense of a puppy and the accompanying understanding that it relates to the sier. As such, the medium might say, “I see a puppy near you.” The sier’s response to such a general statement determines the veracity of the message. If the sier replies that he or she just brought a puppy home, then the message is complete and the medium should move on. However, this is when a form of storytelling oen begins. If the medium elaborates by saying something like “Yes, I see it exploring your home” it is likely the medium is mentally ﬁlling in detail of the original impression based on what the sier is saying. This new detail would seem like it was part of the original impression, but in fact is

what I refer to as retro familiar storytelling. If the medium elaborates by saying something like “Yes, I see it exploring your home,” it is likely that the medium is mentally ﬁlling in detail of the original impression based on what the sier is saying. This feedback can produce changes in percepon that can seem to be part of the original impression. But, in fact, feedback is from the sier rather than the original source and is not paranormal. Allowing the sense of the inial informaon to be modiﬁed by feedback from the sier is what I refer to as retro familiar storytelling. In eﬀect, it is the development of a false memory based on guidance from a witness, and then accepng that false memory as if it is the inial memory. This is probably a natural problem and a medium who allows this to occur should not be considered fraudulent. More properly, it should be considered a bad habit which needs to be managed. From the Spiritualist perspecve, the message in this example would be considered a psychic message because it relates to something that is probably in the mind of the sier, rather than a mediumisc message iniated by a discarnate personality. From the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, both sources come to the medium in the same way, and as such, there is no funconal diﬀerence. One must consider the message, rather than the source. It is also possible that a discarnate personality might iniate the message

because the puppy is important to the sier. It is very diﬃcult to know what has occurred upstream of the message before it emerges into the medium’s conscious awareness. Education People seldom have the necessary technical or cultural references to be reliable witnesses; however, perceptual errors are avoidable with a lile discernment and willingness to learn from subject-maer specialists. Perhaps the most eﬀecve way to avoid perceptual errors is the pracce of suspended judgment. (68) As a person who is dedicated to the study of survival and trans-etheric inﬂuences, it is important to me that people make an eﬀort to learn about the nature of their possibly paranormal experiences. The alternave is fueling the public percepon that we are delusional. Perhaps more important is the negave inﬂuence such faith-based comments have on our eﬀorts to understand these phenomena. Transcommunication Study 6: Mediumship a.k.a. Psi Sensing Mediumship A useful deﬁnion of mediumship as the term is intended here comes from the Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches: A medium is one whose organism is sensive to vibraons from the spirit world and through whose instrumentality intelligences in that world are able to convey messages and produce the phenomena of Spiritualism. (2) To paraphrase, a medium is a person who is able to sense the expression of etheric personalies (discarnate people) and convey the intenon of that expression to people sll in the physical. The phenomena of Spiritualism are the forms of trans-etheric inﬂuences thought to be iniated by etheric communicators. Usually, these

are various forms of mental and physical mediumship and healing intenon. It is important to note the emphasis on who is supplying the informaon in mediumship. In the tradional view, mediumship is characterized as an exchange of informaon from a friend or loved one in the etheric to a person in the physical (the sier) by way of a medium. The tradional Spiritualist point of view is body-centric. From the personality-centric perspecve, which is the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, a person is a personality entangled with a human body in an avatar relaonship during a lifeme. A person who has translated out of a lifeme (died) is usually referred to here as an etheric or discarnate personality. Both living and dead people have an immortal personality as their core intelligence. See the Life Fields Discourse and Life Field Complex Diagram. There is also more on Spiritualism in the Contemporary Spiritualism subsecon of this Study. Psi Sensing or Being Psychic Verses Mediumship A person is said to be psychic if he or she is able to access informaon by sensing the psi ﬁeld. In the past, this ability has been referred to as Extra Sensory Percepon or ESP, but more recently it is known in parapsychology as psi funconing. It is correct to say that a person is psychic or to refer to a psychic ability. In the tradional point of view, a psychic is not necessarily a medium but a medium is always a psychic. This can be understood

to say that a psychic only access informaon from a person’s mind, presumed residual informaon in psi space (Super-Psi Hypothesis) or from objects. A medium is able to access that same informaon, but primarily accesses informaon by way of a discarnate helper or a sier’s loved one. In the tradional view, the diﬀerence is profound. From the personality-centric point of view, a person is always psychic in that the Aenon Complex interfaces with reality via the Aenon Limiter. This interface includes psi signals from other personalies (loved ones) and a signature signal from objects in the environment (Ideoplasc structures). See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. In the sense of psi funconing, psychic and medium are funconally the same and any disncon between the two is in the origin of the informaon that is being accessed. That is, if the message is thought to come from a person in the etheric it is referred to as mediumship. If it is thought to come from some physical source or residual informaon in psi space, it is considered psychic. This is a major deviaon from tradional Spiritualism. It is also based on current science. All I have done is translate that new science as part of this cosmology. If you have been trained to disnguish between psychic and medium, it is good to recognize that science is an ever-evolving understanding of Nature. Being open to new ideas also means allowing old ideas to be replaced with new ones if appropriate. Psi Sensing Psi

sensing is a more contemporary term for psychic or being psychic, and as noted above, it may as well be a new term for mediumship. The term accommodates the parapsychological term of psi and sensing describes the process by which psychic and mediumisc communicaon is accomplished. Lucidity As discussed in the Mindfulness Discourse, lucidity is used to describe the clarity of awareness between a person’s conscious self and mostly unconscious personality. Take a moment to examine the Life Field Complex Diagram. Note in the Life Fields Discourse that personality represents the core intelligence of the life ﬁeld. It is also important to note that the conscious self (I think I am this) is isolated from the (mostly) unconscious personality (I am this) aspect of our life ﬁeld by the Aenon Complex. In the tradional view, one of the objecves of training in mediumship is to teach the student to beer sense inner guides and to get out of the way by not coloring the message. In more contemporary terms, this objecve can be paraphrased as making the personality-to-conscious self connecon more lucid (clearer). In the Aenon Complex, the Aenon Limiter ﬁlters out all uninteresng informaon from the environment and the Perceptual Loop makes a decision about what is passed by that ﬁlter. Since it is the outcome of these process that emerges into conscious awareness, the ﬁrst step in gaining lucidity is to gain control by expressing intenon to do so. The lack of aenon about environmental informaon can be

overcome by learning to be open to new ideas. It is very hard to undo a decision, but the conscious decision to suspend judgement provides a means of telling your unconscious processes to more oen arrive at a Maybe outcome of the Perceptual Loop. Remembering that worldview can be changed in small increment, it is the Maybe outcome of percepon that provides that incremental inﬂuence. The Collective An important concept for the study of transcommunicaon is the idea of a group consciousness or collecve of personalies sharing the same local source. For instance, it is common for a communicang personality to indicate that it is part of a group or that it is only the speaker for a group. Jane Roberts’ Seth (63) and the SORRAT’s (149) Imperator group are examples. As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, a personality expresses aspects of itself to gain understanding through experiences in an imagined venue for learning. Once expressed, the life ﬁeld represenng an aspect is persistent and remains entangled with its source personality as part of a collecve of similarly expressed aspects related to the same source personality. The Principle of Perceptual Agreement is deﬁned as Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. Based on this, a person will be most in agreement with other members of its collecve and in agreement to a lesser degree with people from other collecves. In praccal terms, in a room full of people, a

person might feel that one or two people are soul mates (collecve mates) and while there will probably be a few that rub the person the wrong way, the person’s response to most in the room will be neutral. Collecves can be described as cooperave communies. That is, as it is modeled, members of a collecve tend to help one another gain understanding. Each member of a collecve contributes acquired understanding to the source personality, and therefore to each other. The objecve is to bring their source personality’s percepon into agreement with its source personality. As it is modeled, this agreement includes acquired understanding which is sought by the source personality. You can see that cooperaon amongst members of a collecve furthers their progression, and thereby, their source personality’s progression. The same sort of mutual support can be seen in cooperave communies within our physical, social networks. Two understandings illustrate this: The Golden Rule Redo: Teach me as I teach you. and The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve Sensing Reality Sensing reality is a way of describing psi sensing and mediumship. While some people naturally come by mediumisc/psychic ability, most of us must develop the ability. In most cases, that means unlearning bad perceptual habits. As explained above, a person senses reality by way of the Aenon Complex. That is a mostly unconscious part of our mind which translates informaon from our psi and physical environment, according to our worldview,

into conscious awareness. The expression of intenon is how we indicate to our unconscious mind our interests and preferences. Managing the perceptual process is an acquired discipline that can begin with understanding the Implicit Cosmology. Most of the thirteen Discourses describing the cosmology are focused on theory; however, the last four discourses, beginning with Discourse 9: Percepon and Expression, include explanaons for how the cosmology might be integrated into daily living. Test Beliefs From my experience, I have learned that if you have studied psychic or mediumisc phenomena, it is likely you accept a parcular person’s teaching. For instance, you may consider informaon from across the veil to be from a parcular level of reality or you may assume that a parcular group enty is the only source of truth. The Implicit Cosmology is just a blueprint for our spiritual anatomy and our relaonship with others. It is not a thing of belief, as most of it is based on current science and lessons learned from transcommunicaon. Anyone should be able to arrive at essenally the same cosmology aer examining the evidence. If it is reasonably correct, then it is important that you use it as a test for what you believe to be true. That is, learning to deﬁne what you believe to be truth, based the structure of the Implicit Cosmology, will help you align your worldview with what I will call contemporary spiritualism. Sensing Potential Fields Every event has a psi signature and every event is preceded

by a ﬁeld represenng the nature of the event and the gathering potenal for it to occur. As it is modeled, a potenal ﬁeld is the output expression of the Aenon Complex and is created when a person ﬁrst imagines the possibility of doing something. This expression might be a thought, an acon such as speaking or walking, an aspect of the personality or an ideoplasc structure. As a product of the creave process, potenal ﬁelds represenng events are shaped by the creang person’s quality of aenon, clarity of visualized outcome and extent of intenon to make it so. When ﬁrst conceived, the event might have oponal outcomes. In this model, each potenal outcome would be represented by a potenal ﬁeld. Each of these ﬁelds would gain or decrease in potenal as the expression of the event approaches, with the one represenng the actual outcome becoming dominant as the others dissipate. Following the concepts associated with percepon, and as shown in the Percepon and Expression Diagram, a person unconsciously senses psi signals from the environment. If a potenal event is of interest to a personality and passes the Aenon Limiter, then it will be introduced to the Perceptual Loop. Working with worldview, that process will aempt to characterize the potenal in familiar terms, and if that is possible, present it to conscious percepon. This process occurs for everyone but most of the usually unrelated events remain in the unconscious. They become more evident for those who are trained to listen

to subtle cues from their unconscious. Potenal ﬁelds may precede their related event by considerable me. If for instance the event is an act of war or a crippling fault in a commercial aircra’s baery, the potenal ﬁeld might be sensed very early. Even a minor potenal might be sensed if it involved safety of the person or a loved one. Remember the idea of the Buerﬂy Eﬀect in Chaos Theory: it is said that the ﬂapping of a buerﬂy’s wings in one part of the world might produce a storm in another part. Thus is the nature of a chaoc system. The potenal of that storm would begin with the buerﬂy. The potenal would have many possible forms, depending on the climac condions. Only one potenal would be realized. (150) A person might sense all potenal ﬁelds, or perhaps only those that make sense according to worldview. Since the moment for expression of an event might grow near only to be aborted by the creator personality, a medium might sense a future that had been possible, but never occurred. Sensing the Physical The Life Field Complex Diagram will help clarify the way informaon is thought to be processed via the etheric personality-avatar relaonship. Early versions of the Implicit Cosmology included the idea that the human senses made physical informaon directly available to the conscious self, but it appears more correct with current understanding to say that all environmental informaon is ﬁltered before coming to the conscious self. As modeled,

if the informaon does not make it into the worldview, it cannot be directly sensed by personality. In eﬀect, a person is blind to anything that falls too far outside of personal reality as it is held in worldview. Ambiguous informaon, the Maybe soluon to the Perceptual Loop, will likely be sensed, but its true nature may be masked by a substute version as mind seeks to ﬁnd a familiar interpretaon of unexpected informaon. Once again, the importance of purging worldview of beliefs in favor of more objecve understanding cannot be stressed enough. So very much of who you are is determined by your worldview and that is enrely under your control. See the Mindfulness Discourse. Mind-to-Mind Sensing An important factor in psi research is the current inability to shield from psi inﬂuence. For instance, if an experiment calls for a sier to idenfy what is in an envelope, it is possible that the sier may determine the contents by psychically sensing the informaon from the memory of the person who put the object in the envelope. In a telepathic mind-to-mind exchange of informaon, the receiver becomes aware of informaon via the contact its etheric personality makes with the personality of the sender. Awareness of that exchange must be translated into physical consciousness via the person’s perceptual process and is limited by perceptual agreement. In remote viewing, the viewer likely views the target locaon by way of a mind-to-mind exchange of informaon between the viewer and someone who is either

physically viewing the target or has memory of the target. See the Personality-Centric Perspecve and Percepon and Expression Discourses for clariﬁcaon of how a person might be aware of telepathic exchanges. Channel A channel is said to be a person who is able to mentally step aside while in deep trance to allow an etheric communicator to speak through its physical body. The disncon between a medium and a channel is usually based on who is communicang and for what purpose. Generally, a medium is said to be a person who senses messages from discarnate people. It is usually thought that a channel brings through more profound informaon from higher beings. This may include enes who have not experienced a physical lifeme. A personality represenng a group of personalies is frequently a contact. Physical Mediumship Physical mediumship is discussed in a number of other locaons in this book, especially in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse. A mental medium typically funcons in a state of awareness ranging from fully conscious to medium trance. A physical medium is expected to enter into a very deep trance. As a deep-trance medium, a physical medium is thought to be able to allow the conscious mind to step aside so that a second personality may assume control of the body. In the Implicit Cosmology, the actual process is seen as a combinaon of increasing lucidity and a conscious decision to accept the direct inﬂuence of the communicang personality. In most examples I have witnessed, the physical

medium has been as if in a stupor, able to walk and talk, but when doing so, acng as if trying to hold on to a tenuous sense of lucidity. In all of the cases I have witnessed, this has been a trained mental state, making it diﬃcult to disnguish between aﬀectaon and actual disassociaon. Perhaps it is this behaving as if that is necessary to maintain an open channel. There is lile doubt that the resulng phenomena are real. Spirit lights, levitaon, ectoplasm, reunions and apports during darkroom séances argue the presence of very sophiscated control one would not expect from a conscious person. Another factor that is clear is the ability of the communicang personality to orchestrate the intenonality of the siers. Virtually everything I have learned indicates that parcipaon of a second personality is essenal for the producon of phenomena. (28) Why the Old Beliefs Are Suspect Let me ﬁrst explain why the usual source for informaon about the other side is not widely accepted by researchers who seek an objecve view. Most of what we are told about the other side is conveyed to us via a medium. That is, a physical person has made contact with an etheric personality, and in some way, has conveyed informaon to us from that personality. Having a physical person in the circuit is seen as a problem because research is showing that the person acng as the medium is more involved in the message than popular wisdom would have

us believe. In mediumship, what they call “coloring” is seen when the medium’s own worldview contaminates the informaon coming from the etheric communicator. This is a known problem and mediumisc or trance messages are almost always taken with considerable reservaon by researchers seeking objecve evidence. (26) A test of how clear the channel is would be if channeled messages have a cultural bias. In fact, they do. For instance, how heaven was described to us in the late 1800s and how the Other Side is described to us today has changed in much the same way that our sociees have changed. The same can be said about the diﬀerence in informaon channeled by a USA medium, and, say, an Australian aborigine. Transcommunicaon involves the movement of informaon across the veil from the very conceptual environment of the etheric to the mostly objecve environment of the physical. A message exchanged between a medium and an etheric communicator appears to occur as the mind-to- mind exchange of a gestalt thoughorm containing everything one would want to know about the subject. It is then translated by the medium via familiar paerns and embodied into the physical as a spoken message. Misunderstood Messages Considering how trans-etheric inﬂuences are thought to be propagated, it is important to pay aenon to how the Principle of Perceptual Agreement applies to cultural diﬀerences. For instance, a holy man of ancient mes would have had a relavely simple worldview. Many of our strongly held beliefs of today were revealed

in the early days of civilizaon and passed forward to us as systems of belief. Belief such as the existence of karma and a silver chord connecng soul with our body are frequently accepted today in a literal sense when current understanding suggests a more objecve alternave view. If old beliefs are understood in the light of the Organizing Principles, it should be clear that self-determinaon and the Prime Imperave to gain understanding make the karma concept obsolete. In the same way, the concept of entanglement helps us understand how the link of inﬂuence between personality and conscious self could easily have been understood as a silver cord by an ancient holy man. The same kind of misunderstanding can be seen today. For instance, if the medium is very religious, then something like “I am part of your collecve” might translate as “I am God.” In this cosmology, each of us is a point of view of a group consciousness modeled as a collecve. We have found in EVP that a person will tend to record messages conﬁrming expectaons. We are reasonably sure the communicaon is real. It is just that the message must be processed in the praconer’s or an interested observer’s Aenon Complex. In fact, the colored messages represent an important part of our foundaon evidence for the Life Field model we use here. You can see that we think of informaon given to us via mediums and holy books as historically interesng but not very useful. Of

course, it does have value as a reference point, and we have spent a lot of me normalizing such informaon in an eﬀort to ﬁnd the root message. (47) The messages of ITC oen have an objecve component which gives us reason to have more trust in the informaon. This has given us a unique perspecve not shared by those who study survival but who do not understand or accept the evidence of ITC. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis is the result of this normalizaon and consensus building based on psi research, mediumisc and ITC sources. A Meditation to Train Psi Sensing One of the beer meditaons I have found for developing your psi funconing, and by extension, mediumship, is to visualize your unconscious mind as a vast, deep cave. You as conscious self are standing at the entrance of the cave, your back to it, as you look at the bright, sunlit world before you. The sunlit world represents your conscious self. Normally, people learning to meditate are taught to suppress their mental chaer by clearing their mind. So let us call this a contemplaon because, while I want you to enter into the body asleep-mind awake meditave state, I also want you to think of that chaer as bubbles ﬂoang toward you from the back of the cave. Imagine the bubbles of colored oil that rise up toward the light in a lava lamp. Each thought emerges from the darkness of your unconscious, and you only become aware of them

as they enter into the dim light of the cave entrance. Each bubble is a fragment of thought beckoning you to pursue it to examine the story it can tell. Consider each thought as it comes into your awareness. If it is familiar, if you know what it is about, then mentally send it back into the cave or ignore it. Familiar thoughts need no further acon, other than to acknowledge them and then let them go. You are looking for the unexpected thoughts, the ones that are a lile surprising. Allow yourself me to get comfortable with this visualizaon. The cave is a safe place, but it is very large and very dark. While it represents your unconscious mind, it also represents a doorway to the rest of reality. Hidden at the back of the cave is a threshold through which you are connected to everything. The daylight at your face represents your waking reality. It is what the world looks like from your body’s eyes. When you turn to look into the cave, you are trying to see reality as that etheric part of you which is the intelligent core of who you are, your I am this. To do so, you must extend your senses deep into the cave and the way you do that is to disnguish the occasional, unexpected scrap of memory as it ﬂoats into your awareness. Assume that, if you do not recognize the thought bubble or if it surprises you, then it

does not come from you; it is from beyond your I am this. It will take me to learn how to get to the point in your contemplaon to consciously examine the scraps of thought to know if they are from your etheric personality or from beyond your life ﬁeld. When you do ﬁnd a new thought, consciously see your mind’s eye follow the thought bubble as it dris back into the cave. Do not see your body follow the thought, only follow with your aenon. You are now a free-ﬂoang observer who is able to enter the deepest reaches of your subconscious. Work with this exercise over many sessions. The back of the cave is your Perceptual Loop, and it is possible to teach your mind to reach far into that loop to sense the informaon as it comes from the etheric environment. As you learn to do so, you will be able to direct your aenon beyond the back of the cave, through that threshold and on to sense other personalies that are perceptually in agreement with yours. In eﬀect, you can develop your natural psi sensing ability. Contemporary Spiritualism There are six foundaon concepts I will refer to as Six Pillars of the Implicit Cosmology. Understanding them will help you understand what I intend by Contemporary Spiritualism: Pillar 1, Reality: Reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds. (Reality Discourse) Pillar 2, Person: A person is an immortal etheric personality entangled with a human in

an avatar relaonship. (Life Fields Discourse) Pillar 3, Purpose: We inherited the urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality from our source personality. (Prime Imperave in the Organizing Principle Discourse) Pillar 4, Mind: Unconscious psi sensing precedes conscious percepon with unconscious worldview as the arbiter and conscious intenon as the movator. (Percepon and Expression Discourse) Pillar 5, Creaon: The creave process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. (Percepon and Expression Discourse) Pillar 6, Progression: Integrang acquired understanding of the nature of reality into worldview constutes progression and expands opportunies for greater understanding. (Perceptual Agreement Discourse) What is usually thought of as Modern Spiritualism is based on 19th century understanding. Many of the pioneers are of that me as well. It is from that understanding that many of us have learned about mediumship. In fact, many of those early concepts have been shown to be correct within the context of a body-centric cosmology: however, much has been learned since the beginning of modern spiritualism that suggests a more contemporary view is needed. I make a point of this modern verses contemporary nature of belief because the diﬀerence also applies to a large part of New Age thought. When compared to the implicaons of current understanding—pragmac, objecve understanding rather than magical thinking—concepts such as karma, vibraon, ascended masters and planes of existence begin to seem more fairytale than beliefs worth shaping worldview. Discussion There are three common ways of considering the phenomena of mediumship: Organized

Spiritualism sees mediumship as the exchange of informaon from a discarnate personality to a person in the physical (the sier). A medium is one who provides the conduit for this exchange. Psychic funconing (informaon from the physical) is discouraged if it is disguised as mediumship. As such, in Spiritualism it is poor form to call oneself a psychic-medium. Paranormalist culture sees mediumship as psychic-medium, since the medium may access informaon from the environment, other people or the sier and possibly discarnate personalies. In the Implicit Cosmology, all anomalous access to informaon is via the unconscious perceptual process. This means that mediumship and telepathy are seen as a mind-to-mind exchange of informaon between etheric personalies. This informaon must pass through the perceptual process, as does psi informaon from the environment and mental translaons from physical senses. As such, there is really no diﬀerence between psychic and mediumisc funconing. To tell the diﬀerence, one must consider the message content. This is also why I prefer to think of transcommunicaon and psychic funconing as psi sensing. Ethics A point that needs to be emphasized here is that, to people who are unfamiliar with the actual nature of transcommunicaon, a medium is seen as a spokesperson for discarnate loved ones. The ethical consideraons of this are profound and potenally have legal implicaons. As a general statement, mediums are unaware of current thought on the relaonship between worldview and percepon. In actuality, the average medium is not prepared to manage sier expectaons in an ethical

or legal manner. In my mind, this is a measure of how important general awareness of a good cosmology is to our community. A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness in the Mindfulness Discourse addresses ethics and oﬀers a means by which developing a personal code of ethics can be beneﬁcial as a tool for personal development. Ethics is not just about right living. Awareness of right living advances progression. Transcommunication Study 7: Healing Intention Introduction You may know this subject as spiritual healing. Perhaps a more progressive term is energy healing, but if you really want to be technically correct, I believe bioﬁeld therapy is the term becoming popular in parapsychology. In their essence, the various modalies of healing involve the expression of a praconer’s (the healer’s) intenon to help a sier (the person being healed). The healing inﬂuence is typically expressed with the intenon to directly improving the sier’s health, or at least to improve the sier’s general sense of wellbeing. This study focuses on the nature of healing intenon in the context of the Implicit Cosmology. However, as is discussed in the Etheric Fields Discourse, it is the combinaon of what is intended, how it is visualized and the focus of aenon that determines whether or not the expression is sensed as healing, or perhaps, only as friendship. Spiritualism According to the Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (NSAC), a “Spiritualist Healer is one who, either through their own inherent powers or through his or her mediumship

is able to impart vital, curave force to pathologic condions.” The healer’s objecve is to access help from a discarnate loved one to heal the sier. “Imparng vital, curave force” should be understood as the medium’s personal energy being used for healing the sier. This appears to happen, but Spiritualism is all about pung the discarnate helper or loved one to work. Implicit Cosmology As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, the healing expression may be given purpose from ether the praconer’s etheric personality or another personality, perhaps the sier’s personality. It is the conscious self of the praconer that iniates the intenon to help signal to his or her Aenon Complex. My Qualiications to Speak About Healing Especially when it comes to discussing healing, it is good that you understand my qualiﬁcaons. Developing a model such as the Implicit Cosmology is a logical process which requires me to be knowledgeable about a wide range of subjects. To speak about these subjects with a degree of authority also requires the kind of understanding that usually comes from personal experience and considerable contemplaon. I feel qualiﬁed to speak on many metaphysical subjects, but there are areas in which I have not gained suﬃcient knowledge to speak with any authority. Healing intenon is one of those subjects. Much of my personal experience in metaphysics is with ITC, but over the years, I have been trained in and have pracced a wide range of healing modalies. I am a cerﬁed Reiki Master

and an NSAC Commissioned Spiritualist Healer (2), and I am trained in a number of other healing modalies from various metaphysical schools. Even with this experience, I do not consider myself qualiﬁed to make blanket statements about healing. With that in mind, what I say here about healing is in the context of the Implicit Cosmology. In other words, I am stang what makes sense if all or most of that model is correct. It is for you to decide whether or not this makes sense to you. Please take advantage of the references I provide along the way, especially the bibliography provided by Dean Radin on his personal website. (151) Foundation Concepts As is my custom, we will begin with some of the foundaon concepts you will need to understand. Intention Intenonality is the move inﬂuence which is necessary to realize a visualized outcome. The creave process entails aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. In a praccal sense, that process without intenon is just fantasy. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Perception and Expression The output of the Aenon Complex is an expression of awareness to the conscious self (percepon) or expression of intenon to the environment (intended order). The creave process itself is a mostly unconscious one of which the conscious self only becomes aware when the process results in some form of outward expression. This may be movement of a hand, speaking, walking, a conscious thought or the awareness of something in the

environment. Expression can also be unconscious, for instance, as the unconscious expression of doubt when consciously trying to achieve some goal. Rapport The outcome of the creave process which includes the intenon to heal might be imagined as a thread of aenon between the praconer and the sier. This thread is characterized as rapport, the nature of which is a factor of aenon, visualizaon and intenon. Intention Field Expression of intenon manifests as an intenon ﬁeld which represents all of the imagery, thoughts, understanding and beliefs associated with the expression, as well as the organizing rules necessary to establish intended order. Intenon ﬁelds persist as long as the personality maintains aenon on the intended outcome. This is a form of etheric ﬁeld. Bioield As a biological organism, the human body has an electromagnec ﬁeld produced as a byproduct of biological processes. This ﬁeld is detecble with instruments, but some people also maintain that they are able to see, or at least sense this ﬁeld. This ﬁeld is physical and is studied in the mainstream sciences. The body also has an etheric ﬁeld (psi ﬁeld or morphic ﬁeld) which is associated with the conscious mind, body consciousness, and if applicable, the entangled etheric personality. These ﬁelds are not currently recognized by mainstream science, but are studied in parapsychology and are an integral part of many systems of belief. Mapping a Person In the context of the Implicit Cosmology, and as shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram, there are three ﬁelds

associated with a human body which must be considered to understand healing intenon. 1. The life ﬁeld is the primary ﬁeld from the personality-centric perspecve. The immortal intelligent core of a life ﬁeld is an etheric personality which is our I am this. As an entangled aspect of its source, it represents inherited purpose and prior understanding. It is also part of a collecve of personalies so that, although it funcons as an individual, it is able to solicit cooperaon from fellow personalies in its collecve. See the Perceptual Agreement Discourse. 2. The life ﬁeld represented by the human organism is described as a morphic ﬁeld in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) It holds the body’s formave body image and includes the body consciousness. The formave inﬂuence for the body image is derived from a prior form of the organism (Nature’s habit). The organism’s autonomic controls are represented in the morphic ﬁeld. The body consciousness brings insncts which are based on the intended survival of the species. 3. The funconal areas represenng percepon, known here as the Aenon Complex, are shared by both physical organism and etheric personality ﬁelds. This complex includes a worldview memory database which represents the person’s worldview and personal reality (a person is a personality entangled with a human body). Worldview is similar to the body image memory ﬁeld associated with the morphic ﬁeld, but is more concerned with expression and understanding. This complex includes an Aenon Limiter which ﬁlters out uninteresng external smuli and

a Perceptual Loop which, working with worldview, determines what a person becomes conscious of and how it is perceived and/or expressed. The personality is entangled with the human body in an avatar relaonship; however, in praccal terms, the human body consciousness is dominant unl personality has become suﬃciently self-aware to moderate the otherwise insnctual behavior of the organism. Worldview Worldview represents the person’s personal reality, and the educaon of the person eﬀecvely ﬁlls the database with beliefs that shapes the point of view and behavior of the person as a cizen of its community. Worldview also supports inherited and acquired understanding. It is important to note that understanding is relave and gaining understanding is an iterave process. Inherited understanding predisposes a person to styles of learning, but during a person’s youth, the avatar’s inﬂuence should be expected to bias acquired understanding toward human insncts. Attention Complex and Attention Limiter Everything in the environment produces a psi signal which, if it passes the Aenon Limiter, is sensed in the Aenon Complex. Likewise, the physical body senses numerous physical signals. The Aenon Limiter serves as a ﬁlter to ignore or process these environmental signals, depending on the person’s interests and whether or not there are potenal survival implicaons. Perceptual Loop The Perceptual Loop aempts to image each external inﬂuence based on worldview. The resulng image is then oﬀered to worldview, and if it agrees with current personal reality, it will be perceived (consciously sensed), but as it is colored by worldview. For

instance, a farmer might ignore a plane ﬂying overhead but quickly noce a hawk. The mayor of a town might see a new subdivision as a good thing, while a farmer might see it as more compeon for water. A person not governing its avatar’s insncts might overeat, while one who has learned to moderate such insncts might know to limit porons. A person taught to believe in evil is more likely to translate experiences as evil inﬂuences than a person who sees such behavior as just errant human nature. All of these funconal areas are etheric (nonphysical) in the sense that mind is separate from the brain. All but some aspects of percepon are unconscious, so that what is consciously sensed is a representaon of what was unconsciously sensed based on worldview (personal reality). The Aging Paradox As proposed in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9), the component parts of a biological organism are organized by morphic ﬁelds based on body image informed by Nature’s habit. Body image is for the physical body as worldview is for personality. The human body is formed as humans have always been formed, but evolved by the creave soluons to environmental problems inherited from previous generaons via morphic resonance. Also, cells in the body have a much shorter life span than the body itself, and new ones are frequently formed according to the memory of morphic ﬁelds. See Organizing Fields in the Etheric Fields Discourse. There is clearly a mechanism built into the

human body morphic ﬁeld that causes aging. At ﬁrst, it is the process of maturing to adulthood with ever-increasing vitality, but at some point, the growth stops and aging sets in, leading to eventual death of the body. Things do go wrong during the growing up and aging process. Beyond mechanical problems, there are a host of potenal malfuncons that plague the body. Aging, though, appears to occur independent of the normal wear and tear on the body. One of the aging mechanisms built into the body is the telomere. (152) It is a component of the cell that, in eﬀect, seals the end of a DNA string and keeps it from binding with other strings. Biologists say a cell starts out with some 15,000 base pairs but loses 25-200 base pairs each me it divides. When the cell runs out of telomeres, it dies. In eﬀect, the cell is scheduled to die, and that seems to be echoed in the enre organism. Based on depleon of telomeres, the human body is apparently not intended to be immortal. At the same me, a cancer cell is a problem because it is immortal. Somehow, the telomeres are not depleted in cancer cells and the cell can divide indeﬁnitely. So to me, the paradox is how the body image, which determines the formaon of the body, fails to form the cells according to Nature’s habit— unless it is Nature’s habit for the organism to get old and die. Of course, I am

not a biologist. What I have described here is based on how I understand relevant arcles. So please don’t go up to a biologist and tell him “Tom said ….” No Magic One of the assumpons of the Implicit Cosmology is that there is no magic in the sense that something might magically violate Nature’s principles. Processes always proceed according to knowable inﬂuences and outcomes are always natural. There are no magical shortcuts, just an ordered reality. Be mindful that Nature’s principles and knowable are relave terms. In reduconist physics there is no such thing as the etheric and related principles. Everything paranormal is magical thinking to a reduconist. Magical to one may be science to another. The assumpon is that everything in reality is ordered by knowable processes that naturally follow from intenon. The formaon of our human body is also predictable, as are its internal processes. No magic! For this to be true, then the body image must have a mechanism as part of Nature’s habit that is causing the organism to age. Sciensts are working on techniques to stop aging. For instance, telomerase is an enzyme that restores telomeres. It is acve in young bodies, but not very acve in aging bodies. The idea is to ﬁnd a way to increase the producon of telomerase to keep cells young without promong growth of cancer cells. It appears to be at least feasible that cells can be enabled to divide indeﬁnitely, presumably bringing longer life for the body.

Given that body aging can be at least postponed, then the body image (Nature’s habit) should be equally pliable. As such, a reasonable objecve of healing intenon is to inﬂuence the body image to remember its youth. Incremental Change in Worldview Studies indicate that worldview resists dramac change, but is responsive to small incremental changes. This is the Maybe outcome of the Perceptual Loop. The human body image is the morphogenec equivalent of worldview, and according to the models, changes in the body are preceded by changes in the body image. The incremental change in worldview comes from changes in behavior in response to external inﬂuences. As the model goes, these adaptaons do not normally occur unless they are small changes while proposals for dramac changes in behavior are simply ignored, rejected or negoated into a series of increments within the Aenon Complex. Rupert Sheldrake described this evoluon of the body image in terms of creave responses to environmental inﬂuences. In some ways, this hypothesis is a modern variaon on Lamarckism’s 1809 Inherited Adaptaon Hypothesis. (104) Lamarckism held that changes in a species were caused by adaptaon to environmental inﬂuences and that these were inherited. That theory was set aside in favor of Darwin’s 1859 Natural Selecon Hypothesis (153), which proposed that random mutaons were selected based on their contribuon to survival and that stronger individuals were able to perpetuate beneﬁcial mutaons. Darwinism does not allow for the existence of an etheric mind, and without the etheric body image concept,

there is no apparent mechanism for creave responses to change the body. Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon does include the possibility of an etheric body image (Nature’s habit), and thus, a way for environmental inﬂuences to cause a change in the body via the body image. Conversely, the relaonship of the morphic ﬁeld with a collecve provides a mechanism for propagaon of a change throughout ﬁelds sharing the same characteriscs. Based on the Implicit Cosmology, it is possible that aging came about as an accidental response to environmental inﬂuences. There is nothing in the model that restricts evoluonary changes to be only beneﬁcial ones. A series of incremental responses to environmental inﬂuences such as skin damaged by the sun or too much mineral in available water might have produced creave survival response changes to the body image as the species aempted to adapt. Aging may be nothing more than an evoluonary response to environmental inﬂuences. Assuming aging is not predesned, then it should be possible to address the eﬀects of aging by addressing the creave process associated with the body image. I leave it to people more qualiﬁed to design self-help regimes to explore this possibility. Mind is Impressionable An alternave explanaon of aging is that body image is easily inﬂuenced by expectaon. Looking again at hyperlucidity, it is clear that raonal thinking can be overridden by imaginaon. This impressionable nature of morphic memory is possibly a factor in aging, as in modern mes, aging is something we are all

expected to do. There is clearly a purpose for the aging process associated with the growth of a newborn baby into an adult. That aging process basically completes the development of the organism, as can be seen with the many provisions in the formaon of bones and glandular secreons for growth. As is too oen demonstrated in modern culture, a young person typically views a physically prime person as old. Is it possible that this concept of age diﬀerenal has become so much a part of our culture that aging is considered an inevitable fate? The Expression of Healing Intent When a person thinks of another person, a link of inﬂuence is established between the two. In the context of the Implicit Cosmology, this is referred to as rapport. The nature of this rapport (the link) is determined by the person’s aenon, visualizaon and intenon. For instance: • A thought may be in the form of a casual glance devoid of intenon. The object of the glance will become unconsciously aware of the aenon, depending on how open the person is to uninvited aenon and how recepve the person is to the intenon signal accompanying the aenon. • The thought might be a stare inadvertently expressing admiraon. In this case, the other might sense the admiraon, but since it is not speciﬁc, it might never emerge into the person’s conscious mind. • The thought might be an expression of love, complete with a recalled mental image of the loved one

and desire that the loved one know. In this case, aenon on the image of the loved one, with the intenon that the loved one is aware of the love, will likely be sensed by the other. However, not being accustomed to translang psi-received informaon, the other person might never become consciously aware of the thought. Even so, it would likely have an inﬂuence on the person’s sense of wellbeing. • The thought might be in the form of the intenon to send healing to another. As with the thought of the loved one, if the thought is accompanied by focused aenon, a clear image and speciﬁc intenon, then the receiver can be expected to at least unconsciously sense the inﬂuence. It will likely not be consciously sensed unless that was the intenon. Once again, if the person is not accustomed to consciously experiencing such psi inﬂuences, the person’s worldview might not have the necessary data to translate the inﬂuence into recognizable form. There is lile systemac diﬀerence between expression in the form of telling a story, seeking informaon from the Internet and expression in the form of a desire to beneﬁt the health and wellbeing of another. The creave process applies the same. A diﬀerence in quality of rapport based on clarity of expressed intenon, visualizaon and focused aenon is predicted by the Implicit Cosmology. However, there seems to be a not so evident diﬀerence in quality between the expression of healing intenon and a mundane act. The expression

of reverence, love and intenon to help another seems to have, as yet unidenﬁed qualies. An interesng exploraon of this other quality is Robert Monroe’s story of loosh he told in Far Journeys. (154) (155) The short version is that earth was developed to culvate loosh, which is the thoughorm associated with an expression of emoon that (in the story) has great value in the greater reality. A mother expresses a form of low-quality loosh when she cares for her child, but she expresses very high quality loosh when she risks all to save her child. We insncvely respond to strongly felt/expressed feelings (their thoughorm). It appears that we are more moved by love than by anger, probably because our human responds to anger in a primal way while love likely appeals to our etheric insncts. Perhaps this is a subject beer addressed by philosophers than by metaphysicians. Expressing Healing Intention There are many diﬀerent healing modalies, and each is supported by a system of thought that is oen based on centuries of tradion. Most are based on assumpons that include considerable arcles of belief, but because healing intenon is so inﬂuenal, probably all of these modalies are eﬀecve. What might be quesoned is whether or not they are eﬀecve because of the associated beliefs or because simply wishing someone good health helps. The process of expressing healing intenon involves important ethical consideraons that are shared by all modalies I am aware of. As a general pracce, a healer-praconer expresses

the intent to improve the sier’s wellbeing no maer how that might look. It is le to the sier’s etheric personality and body image to respond in a way that is best for the sier. While healing is the intenon, it is up to the sier to accept healing, or how to apply the good intenon. (This is generally an unconscious process for the sier.) Examine the Life Field Complex Diagram. The physical body is really the outward expression of a very complex unconscious process which includes both the human body consciousness and the personality. In this model, all of the external inﬂuences must pass through the Aenon Complex, and with healing intenon, the expression of that complex is the sier’s response. Basically, the healing intenon is just another external inﬂuence. If the sier’s worldview includes acceptance of the concept of a healer- praconer/sier relaonship, inﬂuence of the healing intenon will be more readily accepted by the sier. The same is true if the sier thinks something might happen. If the sier believes in healing but doubts it will ever personally happen (I am not good enough, I am too sick, the healer is just an amateur), then that aspect of the sier’s worldview will tend to defeat the process. One of the techniques in healing is to ﬁnd a way to make the sier believe something might happen. A healer-praconer’s good reputaon helps. A dramac environment can evoke a strong this might happen response in the sier, which in

turn, opens the Aenon Matrix to express beneﬁcial informaon to the body. The idea of fooling the sier’s Perceptual Loop into accepng the healing is just acknowledgment of human nature. For the praconer, the sier is a human, and when it comes to health, the human insncts are usually dominant. This means the body image is the target of the praconer’s intenon. If the sier accepts poor health (I am just geng old, I am always sickly), worldview will tend to defeat posive input. Fear is another powerful block to well-being. From my studies, counseling related to alternave health pracces involves a great deal of fooling the fear response. The very idea of cancer is so loaded with fear that it is diﬃcult for the sier to keep from incorporang acceptance of eminent death into worldview. Such pracces as meditang to imagine ny creatures running around in the body to eat cancer cells is really a way of cajoling worldview into accepng hope, and thereby oﬀering the body image a more posive perspecve. Hyperlucidity Remembering the hyperlucidity concept, inspiraonal writer William Arthur Ward told us that, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” Imagining something is true gives the mind a kind of permission to look beyond old beliefs ingrained in worldview. In hyperlucidity, this can become a problem if the person is unable to make a disncon between thinking one can do what is visualized and believing one

has done what is visualized, even though that is not the case. Hyperlucidity can be a delusional state, but this same mechanism is potenally a powerful tool for changing body image. The healer- praconer is addressing the oen irraonal hindbrain and not the more raonal etheric personality. As such, the praconer can be instrumental in fooling the sier’s avatar’s hindbrain into accepng the possibility healing can happen. Who is Doing What? In Spiritualist tradions, the healer is assumed to be a conduit for healing energy provided by discarnate loved ones and helpers. However, in most healing modalies the healer-praconer is thought to provide the healing inﬂuence. In some, it is understood that the praconer is more of a counselor and that the sier is self-healing. Considering the Implicit Cosmology, the praconer is always a source of the expression of healing intenon. Other personalies are probably involved in any such exchange between praconer and sier, and the more appropriate model is that the intenon of the praconer, the acceptance of the sier and the circumstances of the session all come together to facilitate modiﬁcaon of the sier’s self/body image. All of us are part of a personal and universal community integrated as a whole by aenon, intenon and the entanglement of rapport. The praconer usually consciously expresses the intenon to access assistance from this community, thus opening a channel for the expression of healing intenon from the community. For an experienced praconer, the act of approaching a sier likely triggers an

unconscious healing response which also opens this channel. In the same way, the sier opens a similar channel by the act of being a sier and the expression of the desire to gain help. Given the fact of self-determinaon, it is this opening of the channel that is necessary for others to help. In the end, though, the sier is the source and the means by which healing occurs. Modes of Healing It is possible to learn how to sense the bioﬁeld. Healer-praconers are oen taught to move a hand over the sier’s body, usually not touching but inches above the body, and imagine feeling a diﬀerence in the auric ﬁeld. Depending on the modality, the praconer might be taught to feel sﬀening in the ﬁeld near a problem area. Alternavely, the area might be expected to feel warmer or colder. It depends on the system of thought. From my experience, it is possible to learn to feel a change, and this can be veriﬁed by blind tests. Of course, problem areas in the body might actually be warmer because of increased biological acvity, but the sﬀening is unexpected. In one modality, in which the thickening is related to an item in the sier’s memory, having the praconer physically break up the thickening to make it smoother, might evoke related memories in the sier’s mind. This is related to a counselor-sier role more than a praconer-sier one. When dealing with people and human nature, it is diﬃcult to argue that

the eﬀect is real and not just psychosomac, but the results can be therapeuc. The point is that the interacon between praconer and sier can be tangible. In some systems, a disncon is made between spiritual healing and magnec healing. Here, magnec is an old term that might be beer thought of as vitality. The idea is that some of the praconer’s own vitality goes to the wellbeing of the sier. In this case, it is common for the praconer to report being depleted aer a session. Probably the more desirable approach to healing is what is commonly referred to as spiritual healing: the praconer imagines him or herself as a channel for healing energy from loved ones on the other side. In the Implicit Cosmology, vitality from the praconer or spiritual healing form the other side are modeled in the same way. In fact, I do not know if there is an actual physiological diﬀerence, as I treat both the same. For me, it is all intenon and clarity of imagined outcome. I do focus more on mentally addressing the sier’s body image than I do the personality. As a historical note, in the 1700s, Franz Anton Mesmer (156) introduced the world to animal magnesm and mesmerism. Like a shaman, he used suggeson to entrain people’s aenon. Mesmerism was probably a precursor to psychotherapy and hypnosm, and the concept of animal magnesm certainly relates to the concept of bioﬁeld healing as opposed to body image healing. What I refer

to here as vitality is probably just a more acceptable name for what Mesmer referred to as magnec ﬂuids in the body. Again, diﬀerent systems have diﬀerent ways of looking at essenally the same concepts. Prayer Prayer as a means of communicang intenon with an unseen god has been fundamental to religions throughout the world and throughout history. Other than giving thanks, probably the most common purpose of prayer is to ask for divine help. Prayer in behalf of others has also been a common pracce. In the Implicit Cosmology, prayer is seen as the expression of the intenon to realize an intended outcome. When thought of as prayer, the person’s worldview likely includes the assumpon that some intermediary personality will sense this expression and cause the intended result. For instance, asking a saint for protecon or God for healing. This desire to help another by way of what parapsychologists refer to as intercessory prayer is translated as spiritual healing when a person’s health is concerned. Intercessory prayer is funconally the same as noncontact healing or distant healing, both of which have been shown to be eﬀecve. In the Implicit Cosmology, the act of praying expresses an intenon ﬁeld which includes the purpose and visualized outcome. In principle, the quality of focused aenon, how clearly the desired outcome is visualized and the degree to which the desire is intended to be true are important factors determining if the intended outcome will be realized. These factors apply to both the praconer

and sier; however, research shows that beneﬁt can come even if the sier is unaware of the praconer’s eﬀort. This is likely because, in the etheric, the sier and praconer can be expected to be mutually aware of the eﬀort and intenon. The etheric personality of the person who is praying (healer- praconer) is modeled as always being in contact with its collecve of related personalies. By extension, this contact includes the collecve of all other personalies, so it is correct to say in this model that the praconer is not alone in this expression. The ability of one person to inﬂuence another person’s wellbeing appears to be limited to the praconer’s ability to manage the creave process and the extent to which the sier is able to accept the inﬂuence. Given self-determinaon (free choice), there is no reason in this model to expect anything like divine intervenon. But then this is just a model, the validity of which you must decide. Body Image In Rupert Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (9), physical organisms are modeled as a hierarchy of nested organizing ﬁelds which he describes as morphic ﬁelds. Morphic ﬁelds determine how the body will be formed. I am not sure if this is in Sheldrake’s model, but as I translate his work for the Implicit Cosmology, the etheric body mind is necessarily the regulang inﬂuence that determines how the body will change over me. As shown in the Life Field Complex Diagram, the body mind can be seen

as the physical organism’s equivalent of the Aenon Complex. Morphic memory translates as worldview, and body image translates as personal reality. Cells in the body are frequently replaced and the new ones must be organized according to the body image. Yet, as the cells are replaced, they reﬂect recent changes that may not be represented in the body image. For instance, the aging process may reﬂect environmental inﬂuences such as cell damage from the sun and physical injuries, but it aﬀects protected parts of the body as well. These aging and environmentally induced changes are passed on to the new cells, which means they must somehow change the body image despite morphic memory. Also, based on First Sight Theory (13), as it is described in the Percepon and Expression Discourse, worldview resists change, but is more responsive to incremental changes produced by ambiguous results of the Perceptual Loop. This momentum is also present in morphic ﬁelds. So, in a similar way, it is reasonable to expect that the body image, as it is informed by morphic memory, should dominate the connuous regeneraon of body cells. So the queson to consider is how the aging process seemingly drives changes in the body image independent of the inﬂuence of morphic memory. I do not have an answer to this queson, but it is clear that the mechanism is in some way part of the etheric body mind. The body is an ideoplasc structure expressed by the body mind, and as such, gradual

aging of the body and perpetuaon of injuries must be in agreement with body image. The Way Back from Aging To make a bold statement, aging is a response to expectaon and not a response to me. Like worldview, morphic memory evolves incrementally, and as such, that evoluon should be able to be reversed incrementally. I would not expect to see an old person suddenly become young in body, say under the direcon of hypnosis. However, I would expect a bodily response to a life-long rejecon of tradional expectaons. As the praconer addresses the sier for a session, the visualized outcome probably should be directed toward the body and not the personality. This may sound like nitpicking, but there is a diﬀerence in expressed intenon and visualized outcome. The praconer can be expected to be stuck with the expectaon that the person seems sick, old or in some way malfunconing. That accepted impression in the praconer’s worldview limits the praconer’s ability to visualize the sier in good health. The roune pracce of visualizing the body in its prime might side step this presumpon. Such mental devices are important when dealing with human nature. As many systems of thought tell us, sickness comes ﬁrst in the emoonal body. In the same way, illnesses should also be considered an expectaon arfact. It is that physiological response to expectaon (in this case, fear) that makes a cancer diagnoses so dangerous. A Well-Documented Example There is a lot of material on the Internet concerning

healing, and it is not my intenon here to say one system is beer than another. There are also a lot of quesonable claims which confuse any casual research on the subject. If the basic assumpons of the Implicit Cosmology can be accepted, then it can provide guidance as to what to believe and what to ignore. In any case, I recommend that you err on the side of cauon, as some simply silly claims can be very convincing. One example I am willing to recommend for study is the work of William Bengston. (157) As he explained in his book, The Energy Cure, Bengston met and became a student of a man who was an able healer- praconer. As an academic, he was naturally oriented toward research and clinically veriﬁed his healing ability via numerous studies in which he reportedly (literally) cured lab mice that had been injected with virtually always fatal cancer. An interesng aspect of Bengston’s technique is what he refers to as cycling. In that, he teaches the praconer to visualize a list of life goals or things the praconer wants to achieve. At the beginning of a session, the praconer should set the intenon to heal the sier, but rather than trying to push or will the healing energy into the sier, the praconer should begin remembering the list of goals, visualizing each one in succession, rapidly cycling through them for the remainder of the session. Bengston emphasizes the idea that this should be very

rapid cycling from visualized want to visualized want, over and over again. Following the Implicit Cosmology, cycling would be eﬀecve in helping the praconer sidestep self-doubt. In eﬀect, it takes the Perceptual Loop out of the equaon and allows the etheric personality to more directly inﬂuence the expression output of the Aenon Complex. Proxy Sitters An interesng approach to healing intenon, and one that helps sidestep praconer’s preconceived noon about the sier’s wellbeing, is the use of a proxy sier. In this, the intended receiver of healing intenon is not present. Instead, a healthy person who knows the intended receiver acts as the sier, and while the healer-praconer focuses aenon on the sier, the sier focuses aenon on the intended receiver. A second version of this is use of a cuddly stuﬀed animal as a carrier of healing intenon. In this, the healer-praconer treats the stuﬀed animal as the sier. This approach is useful for a development circle to send healing to a friend. Tradion holds that physical objects are able to absorb and retain the characterisc signature of thought energy. Psychometry is based on this understanding, as is the concept of an intenon ﬁeld. In healing intenon, the intenon of the healer-praconer establishes a thoughorm which represents that intenon. The intenon ﬁeld-thoughorm is entangled with the physical object and remains with it as long as the intenon remains. As I understand this concept, when the healing intenon is expressed for the sier, the entanglement links the praconer, the stuﬀed

animal and the intended receiver. In this way, the receiver is thought to beneﬁt from the healing intenon when in contact with the stuﬀed animal. A beneﬁt of this technique is the sense of objecve possibility, as opposed to the usual need to visualize help. William Bengston talked about using natural coon balls as a carrier for healing intenon in The Energy Cure. (157) Mindfulness Tool for Healing Intention As I noted in the Mediumship Study, there are ethical issues that must be considered for praconer-sier relaonships. That is one of the reason why I prefer healing intenon instead of healer. The term beer describes the healer-praconer’s probable ability and does not remove personal responsibility for self-healing by the sier. Here are a few issues to remember: • Because of perceived authority, comments by the praconer about the siers wellbeing may develop into a self-fulﬁlling prophesy. • A promise of healing could cause the sier to suspend medical care. • Always, there is a concern about inappropriate touching. • There may be legal issues about praccing without a license. Praconers have some protecon if working in religious service, but not so much if the sier brings legal acon. See A Personal Code of Ethics for Developing Mindfulness. Distant Healing as a Tool for Psi Research The psi ﬁeld and psi funconing are diﬃcult to study. First, no physical substance is known to shield a person from psi. As such, a person funconing as a mental medium is always suspected of

reading someone’s mind to access desired informaon. Pung them in a diﬀerent room or even in a diﬀerent country is not believed to stop this possibility. Most psi funconing eﬀects are small, so that the best way to study, say, the psychokinec inﬂuence on coin tosses, is to look for deviaon from chance over many trials. That is one of the reasons stascal analysis has become so prevalent in parapsychological research reporng. Bioﬁeld therapy typically involves very small eﬀects, as well. Then there is the problem of subjecve responses to suggeson. Research is usually complicated when human nature is involved. This is especially true when the subject is supposed to be impossible in the ﬁrst place. As it turns out, distant healing research provides a way to study the eﬀecveness of the healing concept as well as the nature of psi. If a beneﬁt from distant healing intenon can be shown to be real, then the psi inﬂuence for delivering that means should also be real. There is a substanal body of research concerning healing intenon, nonlocal healing and psychokinec inﬂuence. I see that parapsychologist Dean Radin is maintaining “Selected Peer Reviewed Publicaons on Psi Research,” (151) so rather than aempng to develop a list of references here, I will refer you to the list on his personal website. From Radin’s comments on that page: Commonly repeated criques about psi, such as “these phenomena are impossible,”’ or “there’s no valid scienﬁc evidence,” or “the results are all due to fraud,”

have been soundly rejected for many decades. Such criques persist due to ignorance of the relevant literature and to entrenched, incorrect beliefs. Legimate debates today no longer focus on existenal quesons but on development of adequate theorecal explanaons, advancements in methodology, the ‘source’ of psi, and issues about eﬀect size heterogeneity and robustness of replicaon. Transcommunication Study 8: Introduction to Best Practices Foundation of Civilization Of the thousands of quesons from website visitors I have answered about ITC, most could have been answered with a few form leers. That is because there really are not that many variables. For instance, the main themes for EVP are how to record, does it aract evil spirits, who is communicang and how to share examples. If you consider these phenomena in general term, all of the phenomena are like that. That is why best pracces are such a great idea. A second beneﬁt of best pracces is that, properly executed, they are composed as a community project and represent a consensus from experienced paranormalists. They are also seen as living documents which evolve as new understanding emerges. Contrast that with The World According to Tom. While I accept the responsibility to teach, I am probably the ﬁrst person to complain that everyone is an expert. By that I mean that a quick survey of the Internet will show that much of what I have taught has been ignored or superseded with new, usually baseless ideas. Happiness for me is poinng to a best

pracce, rather than one of my FAQs. A community can be described as a group of people cooperang to achieve a common goal. One of the most important ways in which this occurs is when the elders take me to teach what they have learned during their lifeme to younger members of the community. The ability to convey lessons learned to the next generaon permits the community to move forward with new discoveries without the burden of needing to rediscover foundaon concepts. A business accomplishes the same perpetuaon of experience by maintaining best pracces. These may be in many diﬀerent forms, but the basic idea is to preserve what has been found to work best for the company, instrucons for operaonal standards and maintenance procedures, in a form that is easily accessible to new employees. Living Document Best pracces are important contributors to the community’s cultural norms. In the short term, this is a good thing, as the uniformity in pracces across the community allows for a kind of plug and play environment in which members may reasonably expect certain behaviors everywhere in the community. In the long term, however, pracces tend to discourage innovaon if they do not evolve with changing circumstances. For instance, the educaon system represents most of our civilizaon’s best pracces. However, as we can see with the cultural tension between mainstream science and the paranormalist community, currently accepted pracces are eﬀecvely sﬂing possible progress oﬀered by the paranormalist community. To be eﬀecve, best pracces require

a few important characteriscs. First, there is a need for a mechanism to evolve them as circumstances and understanding evolve. In a business, this is usually accomplished by assignment of a dedicated pracces manager charged with periodic review. Of course, the pracces manager also needs to maintain a revision management system so that employees may know that they have the latest version. The second need is a way of veng pracces. The people who do the work, who are usually subject-maer specialists, may not be directly involved in the mechanics of pracce development and maintenance. A best pracces manager will periodically convene a subject-maer specialist review of the applicable pracces. An important version of this in which I parcipated for a few years is somemes known as strategic planning. In that, a few subject-maer specialists are given secondary assignments to consider current trends with the objecve of understanding how pracces might need to evolve to intersect with future requirements. An example of that today is how I have aempted to evolve the Survival Hypothesis to accommodate First Sight Theory. Enforcement At least in the paranormalist community, use of best pracces is voluntary. They only become important when members of our community are willing to ask “Did you follow best pracces?” A no answer should detract from the credibility of the work. In this way, pracces are like a cultural norm in which there is a reasonable expectaon of behavior. The Collective The Collecve at ATransC.org/bp/Collecve is a WikiMedia wiki sponsored

by the ATransC. Its purpose is to enable members of the paranormalist community to develop best pracces and related standards to further understanding within the larger community. As of this wring, it is very much in a development stage and has not been supported by others. I maintain it with the understanding that it will eventually gain support. The Collecve wiki is essenally the same document development and management program used by Wikipedia. Eding is easy but does require learning a few simple eding rules. Eding an arcle is intended to be a community eﬀort with subject-maer specialist review. Eding rules are designed to avoid the kind of tyranny of the majority seen in Wikipedia. Wiki arcles wrien as a community eﬀort can converge on useful standards as long as basic rules of collaboraon are followed. They are excellent for living documents because editors are encouraged to update them as understanding changes. Being on the Internet, anyone can access them as a free and open library. Another beneﬁt of an online, publically viewable wiki is that version control is always built in. The history of changes can be easily reviewed, as well as possible discussions amongst the contribung editors. A major failure of Wikipedia is that a few editors working together can dominate the process to foist their view of truth on the world. As such, it is important for readers to review the History and Talk pages, especially the archived Talk pages, to see how the editors arrived at

the current version of the arcle. While it is intellectually lazy to use Wikipedia arcles as references, the Collecve is intended to be cited as a potenal community standard. If readers see something they disagree with, it is expected that they will either make a change to the arcle or propose a change on the Talk page. If anyone feels their input is being ignored or ridiculed, contacng the staﬀ editors should bring a fair referee to help. Such oﬀered changes may not be accepted, but they must be fairly considered. Please consider becoming an editor. You need not be an expert, as many of the more important aspects of the arcles involve grammar, research and common sense. For instance, the one Wikipedia editor I trusted, and who provided the most construcve guidance for me, seemed not to accept many of the paranormal concepts. His approach to eding was that all arcles should be balanced to give the reader a candid but imparal understanding of the subject. As I remember, he was banned when mulple skepcal editors ganged up on him. Please use the contact form at ethericstudies.org/contact.htm to request access, make suggesons or ask quesons. A Pragmatic View of Best Practices Many of the concepts in Etheric Studies resemble religious tradion. There are also many aspects of the etheric that are held to be true in paranormalist tradion but that have not been experimentally demonstrated. To add to the confusion, the metaphysical meanings of many paranormalist terms are not

well known. This poses the diﬃculty of knowing what is based on religious belief and/or tradion and what is supported by experimental evidence or well-established, eﬀecve methodology. The use of best pracces is an aempt to idenfy what works and what is problemac, what is substanated by evidence and what is merely supposed. If a person studying trans-etheric inﬂuences follows applicable best pracces, the results can be described as being standardized by those pracces. This means that anyone studying the results of such work will know what measures have been taken to avoid known pialls, and therefore will have a beer understanding of the results. This also means that the praconer will more likely avoid operaonal errors that might not be obvious without extensive trial and error. As an example of how best pracces can help, a person might report the recording of an EVP that, when measured against applicable pracces, would indicate the possibility of unnoced voices in other parts of the recording environment. The simple recommendaon that a person recording for EVP in the ﬁeld should idenfy in the recording each change in locaon is considered a best pracce. An ATransC website visitor used the contact form to inform us about the many EVP he had recorded. Because what he described was very far outside of the norm for EVP, we asked him if he had used a listening panel to see if others agreed with what he heard. He ignored the queson the ﬁrst me we asked,

but days later, when he described in a second contact that many of the messages called him by name and others were very evil, we asked again if he used a listening panel. He responded, “Oh yes, my wife heard them and so did a few friends.” The protocol for a listening panel is very speciﬁc about uncoached and independent listeners. Knowing the tendency for people to feel like they need to please the praconer, a wife and friends are probably not the best test for the validity of phenomena. If he had indicated that he actually read the pracce I referred him to, and then told me that, using that protocol, independent listeners agreed with his assessment of what was said in his examples, then I would have reason to think he had new and novel examples. As it stands now, I am inclined to think the explanaon of his unusual examples is hyperlucidity. Standard Practices Already in Use Some organizaons have included in their charter the requirement to teach members the techniques for working in that ﬁeld of study. For instance, the ATransC aempts to teach about EVP, its nature and the best ways to record for voices. Other organizaons include dependable methodologies for organizing a ﬁeld invesgaon, as well as how to use the associated invesgave tools and how to report the results. Also, experienced circle leaders have documented techniques for sing for phenomena. A well wrien best pracces should not presuppose that a parcular method of

teaching is wrong. Instead, editors should ﬁrst solicit input from the community and incorporate exisng pracces as part of a consensus of what is known to work. Ideally, instructors within the community would base their lesson plans on the applicable best pracce. In this way, it is felt that instructors can move the burden of being right to the community. One might say, “Do it this way because it is a well-documented technique not because it is the way I do it.” Scope Best pracces are concerned with methods and procedures only. They are not rules, but may be referred to as community norms or any similar phrase indicang common pracce; they should never be required, as informed innovaon is always encouraged. A person reporng the results of an acvity concerned with the study of trans-etheric phenomena can be expected to idenfy whether or not best pracces have been followed. A person claiming to be qualiﬁed in some aspect of Etheric Studies, such as recording for EVP, should be aware of the applicable best pracces. Anyone conducng research into some aspect of Etheric Studies and intending to submit a report for publicaon in the online ATransC Journal should be aware of the applicable best pracces and should apply them except in the area of the research objecve. For instance, for a study of the eﬀecveness of an audio ﬁltering technique, best pracces should be followed for the recording sessions and the determinaon of what was said, but may not be

appropriate for the analysis phase. One Must Do the Work Probably the single most important factor separang hobbyists from serious researchers and praconers is a willingness to do the work necessary to become informed about paranormal concepts. It is not necessary to become a paranormalist scholar, but the unfounded assumpon of knowledge many members of our community have sﬂes progress toward a mature community. It also gives the general public reason to think all of us are just hobbyists and tends to conﬁrm the skepc’s idea that we are deluded. Many best pracces will also serve as educaonal text. This is especially true of an arcle development and maintenance process that is well supported by the community. Examples Two dra best pracces are oﬀered here as examples. I say they are dra because I am the only author. In best pracces, a one-author document has limited authority. You are invited to register as an editor (contact me) and make changes to these as you see ﬁt. Of course, you will need to parcipate in a consensus building process for the changes, but your work will become a valuable contribuon to the community. Transcommunication Study 9: Best Practice: Classifying Phenomena Draft Abstract The classiﬁcaon of paranormal phenomena is important for seng the expectaon of an observer and to help the praconer gauge how well he or she is doing based on community norms. A three-class system has previously been used, and only for audio ITC (EVP). This pracce is designed to

accommodate stac and transient forms of audio and visual ITC. The two-type, three-er classiﬁcaon includes Type 1 for noise transform phenomena (transient) and Type 2 for more persistent (stac) features opportuniscally formed from mundane sources. The Class A (easy to experience), B (more diﬃcult to experience) and C (mostly experienced by the praconer) remains so that there are Type 1, A, B or C and Type 2 A, B or C. Justiication/Introduction A common dilemma for praconers is how to classify examples. The phenomena of interest to the paranormalist community may take many diﬀerent forms. Two primary categories are spontaneous and induced. For instance, near-death experiences are usually considered spontaneous while EVP are usually considered induced. Aer Death Communicaon (ADC) was considered a spontaneous phenomenon unl EVP came along, so now we have spontaneous and induced ADC. In most instances, classiﬁcaon is embedded in the introductory dialogue of an example. The praconer or witness is expected to realize that excepons to the general rule should be explained. For instance, an EVP that was stumbled upon during a video-take for a television commercial is an unusual spontaneous EVP and should be explained as such. Psi sensing as human potenal is considered very diﬀerent from psi ﬁeld phenomena related to survival. This is a diﬀerenaon seldom made by paranormalists who assume there is no such thing as survival. There is a need to disnguish research intended to prove phenomena is mundane and research intended to understand phenomena. Anomalisc psychology verses psi sensing

studies is a good example. How phenomena are described in the two diﬀerent contexts determines how examples are introduced. In this case, it is important to make sure the audience knows which view the praconer or witness is taking. Trans-etheric Inluences This is a young ﬁeld of study, and there are many forms of phenomena about which too lile is known to classify. This leaves the praconer or witness lile alternave but to be conservave by describing such phenomena as probably not paranormal. For instance, the paranormal faces somemes found in video loop ITC are typically present for just a moment (transient). That is why they are usually only seen in photographs or video frames. There is lile doubt amongst people who have studied the technique that video loop ITC produces paranormal phenomena. Classiﬁcaon for the examples are discussed below. As a comparison, a face seen in calcium buildup on a subway wall (persistent) may be paranormal, but it is tempng to ignore it as happenstance. Ignoring such examples may be intellectually lazy in that we really do not know the bounds of our etheric friends’ capabilies or their movaon. Our reacon might be very diﬀerent if we knew that a person looking a lot like the calcium paern had been killed on that very spot. Current Classiication System EVP can be classiﬁed as transform and opportunisc. A three-er system for classifying EVP has been successfully used for many years for transform EVP but has been proven inadequate for other

forms. For the purpose of classiﬁcaon, the main diﬀerence is that transform phenomena is transient and opportunisc EVP are persistent. A similar problem has been encountered with visual forms of ITC, for which there has been no classiﬁcaon system. The three-class system for rang EVP is: Class A: Can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people. Class B: Can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said. Class C: Can only be heard with headphones and is diﬃcult to understand. Class B or C voices may have one or two clearly understood words but it is how well the overall meaning can be understood that determines the class. Also, loud does not equal Class A. Practice As illustrated in Figure 1, in the exisng classiﬁcaon system, the majority of examples are rated as Class C while a small percentage of examples are rated Class B and even fewer are rated Class A. It is esmated that there are a thousand or more Class C examples for every Class A. Distinguishing Characteristics The proposed system is based on two major types of phenomena. Phenomena that are typically only momentarily present in the physical are classiﬁed in this pracce as Type 1 or transient. Phenomena that typically exist in the physical for a relavely long me are classiﬁed as Type 2 or persistent. In Type 2, persistence can be quanﬁed as suﬃcient me for a person to observe the feature. As a

general rule, persistent phenomena appear to be formed by opportuniscally adapng naturally occurring processes to express the message, assuming one is intended—a cloud formaon that resembles a face, for instance. Each type is divided into three-subclasses as Class A, B and C. As before, the classes are deﬁned so that there are many Class C examples for a few Class B and even fewer Class A examples. As indicated in Figure 2, Class C examples (less objecve) are considered much less evidenal than Class B or Class A examples (more objecve) because they are not easily shared. For examples that are perceived as less objecve it is much more diﬃcult to establish their paranormality. Both audible and visible phenomena are classiﬁed as: Type 1: Transformed physical media; not always present, a transient feature. Type 2: Long-lasng presence; oen as a persistent arfact. Both Type 1 and Type 2 are divided into three classes. They are described as before, but in more generic terms to accommodate diﬀerent types of phenomena. Class A: Evident without explanaon. Class B: May require direcons to witness. Class C: May be vaguely experienced; mostly obscured. Audio ITC The input sound used in EVP helps determine the type. There will be excepons, but as a general rule, the following holds. Type 1 Audible: Input is audio-frequency noise, either ambient room noise or supplied, perhaps from a fan or a noise generator. The formaon of voice is thought to be via transformaon as the communicator imposes intended order

on the otherwise chaoc noise. This appears to involve a stochasc ampliﬁcaon-like process. Type 2 Audible: Input sound is typically live voice. This includes someone talking on the radio, in the room or pre-recorded, perhaps in a foreign language. The easily heard voice is supplied, but formaon of the message is seen as the opportunisc selecon of parts of the exisng voice. Oen, paranormal status comes from the context of the voice-like sound. It is important to note that a Type 1 EVP can be formed in any sound, including noise or voice. As such, foreign-language voice can be transformed into new words. With that said, the praconer can be expected to provide both input and output ﬁles for comparison. Also, since it is known that EVP occur in one process, two recorders recording the same input ﬁle should not produce the same EVP. (144) Visual ITC Features found in photographs and video frames of medium-density opcal noise are considered transform features. They are transient, in that an observer does not see them at the me of recording, only upon review of the media. By comparison, a paern on a piece of toast that resembles a face is long lasng and visible without the need to examine a photograph. With these consideraons in mind, the following holds. Type 1 Visual: Input is opcal noise, usually medium density which is not very light or very dark. Textured surfaces facilitate image formaon, as do image compression techniques. Oen, visibility of the resulng

paranormal feature is limited by the resoluon of the media. Type 2 Visual: Naturally occurring surface characteriscs which are more or less stac can somemes be arranged to form faces. Whether or not the faces are intenonally formed is not clear. The feature may be mundane background shapes seen in a distorted reﬂecon, unfamiliar combinaons of shapes or naturally occurring processes such as the buildup of calcium on a wet wall that seems to resemble something familiar. In many cases, Type 2 visual examples may be mundane, but become paranormal based on when or where they are detected. Example Application The ITC images shown in this montage would be classiﬁed as: 1. Type 1, Class B: Original breath-vapor photograph. (158) © 2. Not classed; Image 1 enhanced by the arst. 3. Type 2, Class B: The crystal Chris used to make his point. The arrow points to an enlarged, enhanced version of a face more or less on the surface. We argued that it is a fortuitously arranged arfact. (159) © 4. Type 1, Class A: A face in a crystal photographed by the Scole Mediums. © 5. Type 1, Class A: A face found in light reﬂected from moving water. 6. Type 2, Class C: Original photograph of a face on a wall of a Spiritualist church. You will barely see it. The congregaon swears that it was not there when they painted the wall white. 7. Not classed; The same face as in 6 only enhanced. The camera

used to take the picture did not have a good UV ﬁlter and detected the mostly blue image beer than the naked eye. It could be argued that the feature in example 7 is now a Type 2- A, but since it is enhanced, the example probably should only be used to help witnesses make out the feature in the original, unenhanced version. 8. Type 1, Class A: The video loop image I use for my avatar. Further Reading 1 Locang EVP Formaon and Detecng False Posives, ATransC.org/journal/false_posives.htm (160) 2 The Formaon of EVP, ATransC.org/journal/evp_formaon.htm (161) 3 A Research Study into the Interpretaon of EVP, ATransC.org/journal/radio-sweep_study2.htm (74) Transcommunication Study 10: Best Practice: Witness Panel Draft Abstract One of the biggest problems in ITC is the diﬃculty praconers have in assessing the quality of examples. Even examples that are considered Class A, which should be correctly seen or heard without prompng, are shown to be correctly understood only on average 25% of the me by online listeners (21) and 61% for video loop ITC. (20) An important aid for praconers is the use of witness panels, people with at least average hearing, vision and comprehension who will examine examples, and without prompng, tell the praconer what is seen or heard. The rest of the task is for the praconer to accept the results. This pracce details a methodology for establishing and using a witness panel to assess the quality of examples. Justiication/Introduction People asked to examine examples of reportedly paranormal phenomena

oen complain that the examples are not convincing. For EVP, the ﬁrst response from witnesses tends to be that the examples are just noise. If voices are heard, it is diﬃcult for witnesses to mentally orient themselves so as to place the voices in a context that will give the words meaning if all that is oﬀered is just the presumed phenomenal voice. Examples of visual ITC can be even more confusing. For instance, reﬂected light phenomena are too easily discounted as mundane if the part of the scene that is being reﬂected is not known. In another example, it is diﬃcult to convince the witness that a face-like feature in any medium is paranormal if the witness can associate the oﬀered example with the faces-in-clouds eﬀect. A lile me spent on the Internet examining examples posted on various websites will show that this complaint is oen deserved. Each me a website visitor responds to an example with “That is just noise” or “All I see is odd paerns that look more like a Rorschach test than something paranormal,” the credibility of anyone in the paranormalist community becomes easier to discount. The result is increased credibility for the scepcs and progressively less funding for research. Examples of ITC are frequently composed in novel ways the average witness will have diﬃculty comprehending. EVP are oen very diﬃcult to understand. Even Class A examples are likely formed with a novel arrangement of formants, distorng audio cues and making it diﬃcult for the

witness to understand. It is correctly noted that hearing EVP is oen like learning a new language. To complicate this is the fact that each praconer tends to record in what amounts to a diﬀerent dialect of this novel language. Visual examples of ITC range from something normal that is out of place to faces formed in noise. The paranormality of something normal but out of place is diﬃcult to argue as paranormal because it is so normal. The paranormal features formed in noise are diﬃcult to comprehend because the witness must learn to look at paerns rather than hard-edge features. It is common for a witness to say, “Oh, I was looking for a photograph.” There is no realisc way to police the quality of paranormal phenomena examples being presented to the public. Instead, individual praconers must learn to self-edit and take special care to help witnesses understand what they are being shown, preferably while leng the witness independently discover the feature. Unreliable Sensing A single person’s senses are unreliable. Anomalisc psychology is based on the assumpon that people too easily fool themselves into believing the mundane is paranormal. A second way of looking at this is that people’s natural mental processes can produce erroneous comprehension from confusing environmental informaon. One study clearly demonstrated that people tend to hear what they are told to expect (74), even if it is not present in the example. In visual ITC, people are more likely to see what the praconer expects them

to see aer being told what to look for. Experience has shown that one reliable way to assure an example represents what the praconer thinks is to ask a number of people to examine the example and tell the praconer what they see or hear. The most common approach to this review is the use of a witness panel. Witness Panel Best Practice The objecve of a witness panel is not to ﬁnd people who will agree with the praconer, but to establish how the average member of the public will experience an example. If at least a majority of the panel does not report experiencing an example as the praconer expects, then the example should be set aside and not be shared with the public. The one consideraon that the praconer should always be aware of is that witnesses will eventually become expert for the praconer’s unique EVP dialect or ITC visual characterisc. This is unavoidable, but a periodical test that asks a new person to grade the example will help maintain the usefulness of the panel. It is up to the praconer to make this work. 1 It is recommended that an uneven number of people parcipate in a witness panel to avoid es and simplify grading of examples. Five people are recommended as a manageable number and should provide a suﬃciently large review. 2 While there are no studies of this, observaons indicate that individual ability to hear follows a natural distribuon determined by comprehension, hearing ability

(both frequency and volume), vision and span of aenon. Even aer ﬁnding enough volunteers, it may be necessary to screen witnesses with known examples of known quality to ﬁnd people who can be depended on to represent the average listener. 3 Examples should be saved in a ﬁle only marked as Example (number). The praconer will need to track the true tle. Please refer to the subsecon below on Sound File Consideraons. 4 Members of the panel should be asked to examine or listen to the example and write down what is seen or heard. It is reasonable to include alternave interpretaons, but this should be limited to avoid guessing bias. Witnesses should work alone to avoid expectaon bias. 5 The praconer should compile the responses and compare them to what is thought to be in the example. 6 At this point, the praconer must decide whether or not the example is suitable for public demonstraon. It is possible that the example should be discarded. Certainly, if it is being considered for a client, then the results of the panel may lead the praconer not to display the example to the client. Sound File Considerations The Sharing EVP (162) pracce should be reviewed before any example is sent to the listening panel. It is always a good idea to include a lile natural voice in sound ﬁles, such as the praconer’s voice asking a queson. This provides context to help witnesses orient themselves in the recording. Very long examples are

oen diﬃcult to understand, so it may be necessary to segment the uerance into several ﬁles. One or two syllable uerances are very oen arfacts. Especially in opportunisc EVP, very brief uerances may appear to be phenomenal, but in fact be naturally occurring. It is strongly recommended that the praconer consider context of the uerance and be prepared to discard any example that might possibly be a naturally occurring sound. Certainly, one-word EVP are not acceptable for public demonstraon unless clearly relevant. For instance, a “Bob” uerance is suspect when asking for why a person might be in the house while “Stuck” might be a meaningful response. Be leery of examples which are supposedly an answer to a queson for which any response can be construed as the correct answer. Visual Example Considerations Transform EVP examples ulmately come down to whether or not the uerance is present and states what is reported; however, some forms of visual ITC are plagued with diﬃcules in disnguishing real phenomena from arfacts. Before sharing examples of visual phenomena, it is a good idea for the praconer to become familiar with the kinds of mundane phenomena that might seem paranormal. It is important to explain to the witness how the example was collected and the environment in which it occurred. This requires good record keeping by the praconer. In ﬁeld studies, environmental snapshots are useful for later reconstrucon of the scene. Captive Syndrome Capve syndrome, more correctly known as Stockholm Syndrome, is roughly described as

a psychological condion in which hostages develop a sympathec point of view about their captors. As it applies to witness panels, people, especially family members, tend to want to please praconers. It translates as a willingness to fudge a lile in how they describe examples if they perceive it will make the praconer happy. Consideraon of this tendency to error in favor of the praconer is the reason it is very important that the praconer does not reveal what is thought to be in the example unl aer the witness independently arrives at a conclusion. Above all, the praconer should never argue with a witness as to what is in the example. This may seem obvious, but it is very common for the praconer to become angry when witnesses do not see what is thought to be obvious. Transcommunication Study 11: Transcommunication Research Also see the Psi Research Commentary. Introduction The study of transcommunicaon phenomena is primarily conducted by cizen sciensts. This automacally means that it is mostly self-funded and conducted without support from a community infrastructure. Studies conducted by cizen sciensts oen lack peer reviewed reporng. In fact, there are a lot of good, well, let us call them important studies that I am unaware of and that should be included here. Part of the reason this list of studies is limited is the lack of infrastructure and consequenal lack of collaboraon means I do not have the necessary resources to properly report much of the good work being

done in this part of the community. Parapsychological Research Because I was mostly talking (complaining really) about parapsychologists in the Science Commentary, I followed it with a brief discussion of the important work some parapsychologists have done which indirectly contributes to the study of transcommunicaon. That is in the Psi Research Commentary. Here, I will focus on research and studies speciﬁcally applicable to the study of survival. Authenticity of Channeled Material We know people somemes unconsciously color messages they think are coming from people on the other side. Most of the me, we depend on the reasonableness of the message as a measure of credibility. Some informaon can be veriﬁed, but we also know that informaon from other people in the physical can be unconsciously, psychically accessed. Keeping these factors in mind, it is clear that some people are able to provide a clear channel between a communicang personality and the medium’s outward expression. What we require is a science/study-based reference that supports this belief. Professor Paul Cunningham conducted a study intended to determine whether or not the channeled, Jane Roberts’ Seth material has characteriscs that might indicate a source outside of Roberts’ imaginaon. His study of Roberts’ personal wring and her channeled work, as well as her husband’s wring, strongly suggests that the words aributed to Seth originated from an independent personality. (26) This study is important because, for me, it is the only study I am aware of that provides an objecve reason to think at least some

channeled material may be from a second personality and not just from the author’s imaginaon. 4Cell EVP Demonstration In and around 2005, ATransC members parcipated in a series of experiments intended to assess the informaon gathering capability of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). The studies are collecvely known as the 4Cell EVP Demonstraon. From the Abstract: Can the etheric communicator communicate with people in diﬀerent parts of the world? Can the communicator in EVP hear a queson from one person, ascertain the correct answer and deliver that answer to someone else in a diﬀerent part of the world? A series of experiments employing a speciﬁc protocol were conducted by diﬀerent four-person teams. Coordinaon with team members who were in diﬀerent parts of the USA was via email and the Idea Exchange discussion board (ATransC.org/forum/). One person thought of a queson and told the Sender the queson but not the answer. The Sender communed in some way with his or her EVP communicators, asking them to tell the Receiver the correct answer. Once noﬁed that a queson had been sent, but not the queson or answer, the Receiver conducted an EVP session to ask for the answer. A fourth person (Scribe) evaluated the resulng recordings for possible EVP and made ﬁrst determinaon of what was said, if anything. The study indicated that it is possible to use EVP to gather informaon, but that there are limits to the kind of informaon that may be accessed. (163) The study produced an average of

61% reasonably correct responses. An example is “What can we, as receivers on the physical level, do to help facilitate communicaon from you, the transmiers in the spiritual?” Class B+ answer: “Just open up the portal.” In another session, “Who is the arst and what is the name of the painng hanging at the end of the entrance hallway in Vicki and Pete’s home?” Correct Answer: “Marc Chagall” and “The Lovers.” Class B answer: “Who painted it? … Chagall did.” The value of these experiments is ﬁrst, an eﬀecve protocol can be designed to use EVP as a research tool, and second, the demonstraon that there is some kind of interacve intelligence iniang EVP. EVP Online Listening Trials A major queson has been whether or not EVP are objecve in the sense that, without prompng, a listener will hear what the praconer thinks is said in an EVP. A series of three online listening studies were conducted by the ATransC. From the report Abstract: A common explanaon for Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is that the reported uerances are mundane sounds mistaken as voice forming words. This report describes three online listening trials which were conducted to determine whether or not website visitors can correctly idenfy words that are thought to be present in EVP examples by listening to unmarked sound ﬁles. A second consideraon is that it is popular wisdom amongst EVP praconers that one must learn to correctly understand EVP. A variety of approaches were tried to test this

theory, including polling experienced listeners, using quesons in an aempt to assess interest and predisposion to believe in EVP and asking parcipants to indicate experience in hearing examples. Analysis of the trials is included, along with an assessment of the reliability of the results. When the total number of words correctly recognized for the three trials is compared to the possible number, the overall percent of Recognized words (%Rw) is 25.2%, indicang that at least some EVP do constute recognizable words. (21) A similar study conducted by Mark Leary,Ph.D. reported that “on average, only 21% of the invesgators’ interpretaon of parcular words agreed with the consensus interpretaon.” (74) Considering a few less well- organized studies, it appears that 20 to 25% agreement is about what a praconer should expect for listeners. Phantom Voices It is startling how completely we can be fooled by our senses. As we learned more about transcommunicaon, we became increasingly alert to the problem of comprehension error. Somemes, intelligent people with at least normal reasoning ability, and presumably normal hearing, reported hearing uerances in sound ﬁles that others could not. We have begun referring to this phenomenon as Phantom Voices. There is a listener cueing eﬀect in which a person will not be able to make out what is said in an EVP example, but will be able to once they are told what to expect. This eﬀect can defeat the beneﬁts of a witness panel and lead many, otherwise reasonable people to report hearing informaon

that simply is not present. To test this theory, we (ATransC) conducted an online listening test using two sound ﬁles. One contained simple brown noise (broad-spectrum noise with emphasis on voice-frequencies) and the other contained broad- spectrum noise modulated with audio pulses that simulate the cadence of speech. It was clearly stated that neither example contained voice. Possible explanaons about what might cause a person to hear phantom voices were included above the hearing test and what was in the ﬁles was clearly stated. From the Abstract: A frequent source of consternaon for people who are asked to listen to EVP examples is their failure to hear what is reported. It is expected there will be some disagreement between listeners and praconers. That is the nature of EVP (see Online Listening Study). However, a problem develops when listeners report hearing only noise, and doing so with example aer example from the same praconer when the praconer insists there are paranormal voices in the examples. The queson necessarily must turn to why the praconer is hearing what others do not. For this study, sound ﬁles containing only noise were presented to ATransC.org online listeners who were told there was only noise and were then asked to report what they heard. The study conﬁrmed the prevalence of people who report hearing phantom voices. The study includes a discussion as to why this may be. Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophone Using EVP for informaon gathering is something of the ulmate goal for

EVP praconers. One of the most common quesons put to the unseen communicators is whether or not they can help us improve our equipment. (From my experience such help has come but has just been distracng. It appears to be true that transion does not make a person brilliant.) The ATransC conducted a study using a computer program developed by Stefan Bion (22) which insets bits of a supplied sound ﬁle into a buﬀer, and then uses a relavely random process to select buﬀer addresses, which are concatenated into a new output sound ﬁle. EVP are thought to occur from a psi inﬂuence on the random process. Bion also provided an audio ﬁle containing allophones generated with a speech synthesis program. This experiment required that every parcipant use the EVPmaker program and supplied input ﬁle containing allophones. From the Abstract: This twelve-month trial was designed to determine whether or not informaon not known to a parcipant could be requested and received via Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) using EVPmaker with allophones. A target object was le undisturbed in the same locaon at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Parcipants were asked to use only EVPmaker with allophones to produce a sound ﬁle containing the informaon idenfying the target. The project manager did not know the target, so to qualify submissions, she screened them for reasonableness. Those possibly containing usable informaon were submied to a listening panel of people who were familiar with EVP but who did not know the

identy of the target. If a majority of the listening panel heard informaon as reported by the parcipant, the submission was considered a valid submission. Submissions were rejected if a majority did not hear what the parcipant heard. Valid submissions were screened for a posive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. This trial did not produce posive responses based on the study’s protocol. However, the abundance of non-protocol EVP captured in the study might suggest EVPmaker is not suited for the type of communicaon this study was designed to capture. Also, parcipant knowledge of the target might have to be reexamined as several targets were idenﬁed either before the target was placed or aer when the parcipant knew what the target was. Future studies may wish to look at these non-protocol results when designing a follow up study. Perception of Visual ITC Images This was a study to determine whether or not paranormal images recorded in opcal-frequency noise could be consistently described by website visitors without coaching. The video-feedback technique was used for all of these examples. From the Abstract: In visual Instrumental TransCommunicaon (Visual ITC), recognizable features are found in what should be only random opcal noise. No known physical principles account for the phenomenal features and they may be found in virtually any suﬃciently noisy media. The Examples and Techniques secons of this website include several such techniques for capturing the features. This report includes results of an online viewing study in which website

visitors were asked to describe what they saw in unmarked visual ITC images. Of the seven examples, an average of 61% of respondents correctly idenﬁed the feature. Each example was presented with original, grayscale and increased contrast versions. The increased contrast version was most oen correctly idenﬁed. Victual Percepon Study: Image 1 of the Visual Percepon Study: Le is original, Center is grayscale and right is enhanced. Witnesses reported 81% correct recognion for this example. EVPmaker with Allophones: Where Are We Now? This was a study that was funded by the ATransC to determine if real-me, two-way transcommunicaon could be conducted under controlled condions. The study came out as a failure to replicate-style report published in the Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon. (88) Because we did not manage the researchers well, the study has become more a lesson in what not to do to manage projects and how not to conduct research. For that reason, I have focused more on the lessons learned than on the organizaon. The full report is accessible via the Journal secon of ATransC.org. (24) Some of the lessons learned are part of the Science Commentary. Abstract Based on a number of recent demonstraons by mulple praconers, ATransC commissioned a study to determine the suitability of that technology for real-me, two-way communicaon. Aer three years, a failure to replicate-style report was published. This arcle is a discussion of procedural concerns with the study and a discussion of lessons learned which may guide future studies. “Singe” Project: Instrumental

Analysis of EVP Collected via a Sound-Psi Interaction The Sﬁnge Project was a study conducted by members of the Italian research group, Il Laboratorio. (164) From its conclusion: From the electroacousc analyses performed on the audio samples recorded under controlled condions, we extracted the acousc parameters disnguishing a vocal signal. These elements allowed us to idenfy the phonemes constung the words we decoded linguiscally. By examining their structures and their anomalies, we were able to assert with documented evidence, that these events exhibit phonec features associated with the voices. These voices have evident and absolutely original features and are structured and characterized by parameters which deviate from the typical human standards. The presence of formanc bands, with localized noise strengthening, confers to the voice an acousc structure close, but not idencal, to the human one. The anomalies found where the voices were recorded allow us to aﬃrm the existence of an atypical process of formaon which is sll today scienﬁcally unknown despite their objecve nature. Abstract The research team of Il Laboratorio from Bologna, Italy conducted a two-year long study of well-known Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) operator, Mrs. Lida Russo of Livorno, Italy. The microphone recording method with a commercial recorder with built-in microphone was used by the operator and professional digital devices were used to monitor the sessions. However, only a few anomalous voices of poor acousc quality were found upon review of Mrs. Russo’s audio tape. Contrary to the expected, the most interesng voices in terms of quanty

and quality were recorded on the digital devices operated by Daniele Gullà. State-of-the art soware commonly used for forensic analysis was used for analyses of the resulng voices. This new approach to EVP research was introduced to the world by the researchers of Il Laboratorio and has revealed many structural electroacouscal features that prove the authencity of these acousc events, which now can legimately be classiﬁed as linguisc events. Relationship Between Physical Phenomena and Electronic Voice Phenomena in Séances with a Physical Circle Rachel Browning conducted a mul-year study of recorded EVP in an experimental physical séance circle. (165) This is the kind of research cizen sciensts are best suited to conduct. She was part of a dedicated circle and had the organizaonal skills to maintain a prolonged study with adequate recordkeeping to develop reasonable conclusions. From the conclusion: The ability to capture a voice on more than one device at the same me may indicate that the EVP is a recorded transmission of a physical sound wave and not a mechanical or electrical fault inherent to a recording device. This does not in itself provide evidence of an incorporeal source but it does suppose a source of physical generaon. It also leads to the unanswerable queson; how would an etherical intelligence commute thought to a sound wave that is able to be recorded at the same pitch and volume as human speech but that is not heard in the environment at the me of recording? It would be logical

having only read the study results to conclude that EVP does not provide evidence of post mortem communicaon. However, had you taken part in a sing, witnessed the recording and were sasﬁed that no decepon took place, then on playback were able to hear an anomalous voice in reply to yours, it would be logical to explore all alternave explanaons, regardless of how unlikely they were. We are fortunate in connuing to experience and report physical phenomena and EVP in our sings; the study and recordings will connue. A Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP This study concerned the ability to collect EVP under controlled condions. It is important because it constutes a replicaon of other work under very controlled condions. Anabela Cardoso has published the ITC Journal (166) since March, 2000. This is one of the few remaining publicaons dedicated to the study of ITC. Abstract A relavely novel acousc phenomenon has inundated the Internet and specialized literature. Several Associaons, some of them with an important number of members, have formed around it in many countries. In the Anglo-Saxon world the phenomenon is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) and is usually assumed as electronically mediated communicaon from or with the deceased. The ﬁrst tests aimed at verifying the reality of these claims were carried out in Sweden and in Germany, in 1964 and 1970, under the direcon of Professor Hans Bender from Freiburg University (Bender, 1970; 1972; 2011). The present report describes in detail the

tests designed to record the allegedly anomalous electronic voices, or EVP, under controlled acousc condions. Series of experiments were carried out in Vigo, Spain throughout a period of two years under condions controlled to the highest degree achievable. Several operators were involved in the many tests conducted in Acousc Laboratories and professional recording studios equipped with very high levels of acousc shielding. The protocols and procedures followed in the experiments, as well as the results obtained, are herewith described. During the many experiments performed, several extra voices were recorded for which no normal explanaon was found. Observations There have been other studies, but these are the more informave ones for this discussion. A few studies have been conducted outside of the ATransC for which we are awaing a report. Too few people are able to devote the me and eﬀort to conduct studies, and a natural result is that there are usually just one or two studies for a parcular queson. This means that anything resembling meta- analysis is in the form of an individual’s eﬀort to make sense of what is known based on just a few empirical data points. That is one of the reasons I place so much emphasis on subject-maer specialists. An important point for future researchers to consider is that one does not usually just decide to set up a development circle to conduct a weeklong study. From personal experience and tesmony from others, it is clear that a circle may not produce meaningful phenomena

at all, especially not in a short study period. With this in mind, the only realisc way to study circle phenomena is to study a willing group of siers who are already reporng phenomena. It must be remembered that praconers and siers are live subjects to whom ethical consideraons must be applied. As it stands now, having seen the shabby treatment some researchers have given their subjects, the atmosphere is poisoned for many praconers when it comes to working with a would-be researcher. This is one of the issues that must be addressed for future research. (167) So few studies and so few people conducng studies also means that what work is done needs to be directed where it will do the most good. That is one of the reasons why I maintain that research grants need to be treated like contracts. The queson of whether or not these phenomena are real has been answered. That is an important message to future researchers. The focus now should be on the nature of these phenomena. The Implicit Cosmology was modeled to provide a working hypothesis which can be tested. As such, we are very interested in supporng research that is focused on that kind of study. A study to Test the Implicit Cosmology The ATransC has had a study in the cue for over a year. Here is the abstract for The Energy Proﬁle of Transform EVP study (133): The propose of the arcle is to issue a call for transform

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) examples in the form of audio output ﬁles containing EVP and a ﬁle containing the environmental sound and/or sound used as input for voice formaon. Both ﬁles must be so conﬁgured as to allow side-by- side comparison from a sound marker. The examples will be analyzed in an eﬀort to ﬁnd a relaonship between EVP formaon and the energy proﬁle of the sound ﬁle which contains the example. An overview of the various forms of EVP and current theories for transform EVP formaon are provided. A hypothesis is proposed that transform EVP are formed via stochasc ampliﬁcaon and that the source energy in the form of the message (that which is ampliﬁed) is made available by strategically apporng sounds already present in the physical. The study is expected to show a net increase in energy associated with EVP. Thus far, there have been no example entries. This is a tesmony to how few experienced EVP praconers the ATransC is able to access for research. A few years ago, we would likely have had half a dozen people helping. It is not that there are no people able to produce examples. The Associaon no longer has the level of parcipaon it once had. The importance of the study is that a net increase in energy in a sound ﬁle coincident with the supposed uerance would indicate that something has been added. It may indicate support for the apport theory, but certainly would be another indicator of the

objecve nature of EVP. Closing Comments And so, that is the Implicit Cosmology. On the back cover, I wrote, “Having learned, it is our lot to teach. As Hermes taught us, the three phases of a teacher are the lessons, how we live the lessons and the product of that living.” The book is formaed as those three phases, but it is important for you to understand that you are that teacher. Everything wrien here is intended to help you be the best teacher possible. I have tried to convey the understanding that what I have wrien is probably like what will be seen as correct by future generaons, but not necessarily exactly the same. Again, you are the teacher and will probably contribute in some way as our community reﬁnes this cosmology. Acknowledging this urge to teach will help you fulﬁll that role with excellence. Catch Phrases Help Describe Reality A number of interesng phrases came to mind during the over three years required to write this book. Some are silly, all are simplisc, but they serve as a sort of short name for a much more complex thoughorm. Having learned, it is our lot to teach. The three phases of a student: study, comprehend and apply. The three aspects of a teacher: study, comprehend and teach. The Golden Rule Redo: Teach me as I teach you. The Way of Progression: Through community comes knowledge; through teaching comes understanding; it takes a collecve. Just because you can, doesn’t mean

you should. You are part of a collecve: You are never alone. Worldview represents personal reality: You create worldview with your intenon and creave process. Worldview determines your happiness and unhappiness here and hereaer. The Six Pillars of the Implicit Cosmology Pillar 1, Reality: Reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds. (Reality Discourse) Pillar 2, Person: A person is an immortal etheric personality entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. (Life Fields Discourse) Pillar 3, Purpose: We inherited the urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality from our source personality. (Prime Imperave in the Organizing Principle Discourse) Pillar 4, Mind: Unconscious psi sensing precedes conscious percepon with unconscious worldview as the arbiter and conscious intenon as the movator. (Percepon and Expression Discourse) Pillar 5, Creaon: The creave process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. (Percepon and Expression Discourse) Pillar 6, Progression: Integrang acquired understanding of the nature of reality into worldview constutes progression and expands opportunies for greater understanding. (Perceptual Agreement Discourse) Wizard of Oz Syndrome: The misconcepon that people with doctorate degrees are inﬁnitely knowledgeable and wise, that they work to help us beer understand reality. Evidence is not always evidenal: To be evidenal, an example must have a very well-controlled and documented chain of custody, and the protocol by which it was collected must be known, repeatable and observable. And of course, meaning of evidence must be based on understanding. Wizard Complex: People with doctorates believe they

are inﬁnitely knowledgeable and wise. Omniscient Science: Prey much Wizard Syndrome/Complex. Hyperlucidity: Self-delusion. Assumed Knowledge: Oen stems from hyperlucidity, but is usually a product of religious training and/or Wizard Complex. Both laypeople and academics potenally suﬀer from this social malady. Academic-Layperson Paron: Separaon between people without an advanced degree imposed by people with an advanced degree—an aspect of Wizard Complex. Shit Happens: Our life lessons and future experiences are not so much in what we create as they are in how we react to what is created. There are a few more, but you probably get my point. The message I would like you to take away is that you are immortal, your purpose is to understand your world. You are in a community with people involved in some way with things paranormal, that community is dysfunconal and that dysfuncon jeopardizes your progression. Most important, you are able to manage your potenal with the expression of intenon based on understanding. As such, the most important point you must understand to progress is Pillar 5, Creaon: The creave process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. For beer or worse, you are a creator and thereby make your world. Ask Questions! The Implicit Cosmology is complex. It is likely a very diﬀerent way for you to look at yourself and your world. It is important that you understand and have the opportunity to integrate at least parts of it into your life. Having spent so much me

developing the Implicit Cosmology and wring this book, I have no intenon of ignoring your need to ask quesons. Here are a few of the ways available to you to ask quesons and parcipate in discussion: • Ethericstudies.org and ATransC.org websites have a contact tool at the boom of each page. • The Occasional Update Email List is a good way to stay current about what seems important at the me. There is a link to sign up for it on the Contact page of ATransC.org. • The ATransC Idea Exchange at ATransC.org/forum/ is maintained expressly for you to ask quesons and parcipate in discussions about things paranormal. • The Collecve at ATransC.org/bp/Collecve is a wiki intended to support the development of best pracces by members of the community. By becoming an editor, you can help build consensus arcles about paranormal subjects. • Keep an eye on ethericstudies.org, especially the Concepts secon. I will be updang the discourses that support the Implicit Cosmology. It is up to you. Thank you for reading this book! Glossary of Terms AB CDEFGHI J KLM NOPQRST UVWXYZ Please click on a leer to access a term A good cizen of any froner subject is one who is informed about the important concepts involved in that ﬁeld of study. One of the most eﬀecve ways of becoming informed about the study of trans-etheric phenomena is to learn how to speak about them with others. Doing so requires an ordered understanding of the subject which begins

with understanding the terminology. A Academic Paywall: The Academic-layperson paron is ampliﬁed by the professional and university library systems in which paid membership is necessary to access scholarly papers, eﬀecvely assuring that most froner subject cizen sciensts (laypersons) do not have access to the results of applicable research even though it is oen publicly funded. Academic-Layperson Paron: A phrase used here to describe the funconal separaon of academia from laypeople. The eﬀect is that people who have a doctorate degree from an accredited instuon tend to shun people who do not. For ﬁelds of study in which praccal experience, ability and understanding rests with lay people or cizen sciensts, this paron oen produces peer reviewed studies which portray a false image of the subject. See the Science Commentary. Aer-Death Communicaon: Aer-Death Communicaon or ADC is a concept popularized by Bill and Judy Guggenheim in their book, Hello from Heaven. (14) From their website: ADC is deﬁned as “a spiritual experience, which occurs when you are contacted directly and spontaneously by a deceased family member or friend, without the use of psychics, mediums, rituals or devices of any kind.” The important points in this explanaon are that ADCs are spontaneous and instruments are not required. They do include phone calls as a type, but they have been very deﬁnite that EVP is not included in the list. See Induced Aer-Death Communicaon. From the ADC website, here are the twelve most frequent types of ADC people report having with their deceased loved

ones: Sensing A Presence; Hearing A Voice; Feeling A Touch; Smelling A Fragrance; Visual Experiences; Visions; Twilight Experiences; ADC Experiences While Asleep; Out-Of-Body ADCs; Telephone Calls; Physical Phenomena; and Symbolic ADCs Agnosia: Loss of the ability to interpret sensory smuli, such as sounds or images. Agnosia was once considered a rare condion, but since the work with inaenonal blindness, it has become clear that it is much more common than previously thought. Anomalisc Psychology: The study of human behavior and ostensibly paranormal phenomena with the assumpon that no paranormal phenomena are involved. Research in this area is oen reported as an academic study, but fails to even consider a paranormal hypothesis. Essenally, a ﬁeld of study intended to debunk things paranormal. See Anomalisc Psychology in the Science Commentary. Apologists: A person who speaks in defense of someone or something. This is an important form of public educaon if the apologist is knowledgeable about the subject and has the objecve of informing and not indoctrinang. In some cases, such as in the case of skepcs who brand ideas they think mainstream science does not support as pseudoscience, the science apologist is more frequently uninformed and speaking as an ideologue. See Sciensm. Apophenia: The percepon of paerns or connecons where none exist. It may be the underlying natural response that leads a person to hear distant voices or music in noise that can almost be understood, but that on closer examinaon, do not exist and cannot be objecvely recorded. It appears to

be natural for our minds to seek to ﬁnd order in chaoc informaon and that order comes from our worldview; making the unexplained familiar. See Pareidolia and Gestalt. Apparion: The anomalous appearance of a discarnate person; usually a spontaneous visual phenomenon. Apparions seem more likely to manifest in moments of crisis and the message given by them is usually brief as if the contact ﬁeld is unfocused. Apparions may appear quite solid and yet objects may be seen beyond them. They also may be accompanied by bright light. Apport: The apparent physical-to-etheric-to-physical transport of an object under the control of an etheric personality. Usually in the context of a Séance, but may occur any me. The object that is thus transported is referred to as an apport. Objects diﬀer in size, may be organic or inanimate and appear not to be harmed by their movement. In the case of living objects, it is speculated that the obstrucons are dematerialized to allow the life form to pass unharmed. Apport: An apport received by the Felix Experimental Group (compared to a 2.5-inch candle). © FEG In recent theory, it is speculated that other forms of phenomena might be explained as an apport. For instance, credible praconers have reported examples of transform EVP which include sound known to previously exist in other media. Others have reported examples which are expressed by mulple speakers so that the phrase begins with one voice and ends with another. It is common for an uerance to clearly

be a response to a queson but with an unusual choice of phrasing. It might be more eﬃcient to ﬁnd the required words in the physical and apport them to the sound track, rather than introducing the necessary inﬂuence to aﬀect a physical process such as stochasc Ampliﬁcaon. See Stochasc Ampliﬁcaon in the Foundaon Principles Study and Apport in the Transcommunicaon Study. Appropriate Science: The populaon of parcipants in a froner subject and the history of the subject area determine the ability of the community to document the subject. Every discipline of science has undergone an evoluon as it is developed into a system of understanding or an eﬀecve tool for learning. In the beginning phase of the evoluon of the community, people studying the subject are untrained and oen not supported by academic instuons and literature. With this consideraon, the measure of how well the discipline of science is applied to the understanding of a subject must necessarily be judged by its evoluonary progress. A priori: A conclusion made without examinaon or factual study. The viewpoint that something is impossible, therefore it cannot be, is an a priori conclusion if the person has made an assumpon based on faith or popular wisdom and not on evidence or actual study of the subject. The skepc community is especially guilty of following an a priori assumpon about anything they think is not explicitly supported by mainstream science. Aspectaon: The creave process of intenon acng on an imagined result produces aspects of

reality which are a subset of personality’s personal reality. For instance, when a person imagines driving a new car, the car and its environment are formed out of a subset of how the person imagines reality (personal reality). The lile me personality in the car is an aspect of the person as the person imagines him or herself to be. See the Principles of Aspectaon in the Organizing Principles Discourse. Assumed Knowledge: Everyone is an expert! is a common complaint of people who have studied transcommunicaon for many years. As people come into this ﬁeld and learn a lile from fellow enthusiasts, some too quickly decide they are more knowledgeable about things paranormal than others. Even without doing the work of studying exisng material, they assume their experse is greater than anyone who has been in the ﬁeld for many years. Assumed knowledge is also prevalent amongst academically trained researchers. Many holding doctorates tend to automacally disregard anything said by people who do not hold doctorates even though they may have considerably more praccal experience in the subject. In the academic-layperson paron, the person appears to assume that college training, and in most cases for transcommunicaon, a degree in psychology suﬃciently prepares the person to study any subject without input from subject maer specialists. Aenon Matrix: In the Implicit Cosmology the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram illustrates the funconal areas of a life ﬁeld. Aenon funcons as an aractor matrix in which intenon, emoon and curiosity are inﬂuences

and represent the etheric equivalent of physical energy. Visualizaon and expression are fundamental processes which operate with these inﬂuences. Throughout the Implicit Cosmology, funconal areas exist only so long as, and to the extent that aenon is on them. For instance, a visualized aspect of reality is created within the matrix of the personality’s aenon and ceases to exist, other than as memory, when aenon is withdrawn. Aractor: This is a term associated with chaos theory. (72) An aractor is an element of a set that acts as a locus of inﬂuence for the other elements in the set. In eﬀect, they tend to favor the aractor element in some way. An aractor for an etheric ﬁeld is probably best described as purpose. In a life ﬁeld, personality is the aractor. In the reality ﬁeld, Source is the aractor. In a collecve ﬁeld, the local source for that collecve is the aractor. See Field. Aura: An energy ﬁeld or ﬁeld of radiaon thought to surround a physical, living organism. Those who can see an auric ﬁeld (clairvoyance), say it consist of bands of color. The auric ﬁeld may be a combinaon of an electromagnec byproduct of biological processes and the psi inﬂuence associated with the morphic ﬁeld. See Bioﬁeld. Automac Wring: Text produced while in a disassociated state, presumably originang from a discarnate personality. Also known as autoscript, this is probably best thought of as a means of more directly accessing the person’s etheric personality or as a more lucid

awareness of the Perceptual Loop. Similar abilies are automac drawing, painng and psychic art. These are arsc expression without the control of the conscious self. Somemes this is done in complete darkness and at great speed. See Trance. Avatar: In Hinduism, an avatar (from Sanskrit for descent) is a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth. The term can be translated into English as incarnaon. A person is an etheric personality entangled with a human body in an avatar relaonship. There is a discussion of the avatar concept in the Personality-Centric Perspecve Discourse. B Best Pracces: Methods and procedures found to be most eﬀecve. Best pracces are not rules, laws or standards which people are expected to follow. In principle, best pracces are to be used as a guide to help a person be aware of that which is known to work and that which has inherent pialls. Best pracces are an excellent means of maintaining aconable aspects of the public memory. It is reasonable to ask someone if they followed best pracces as a means of gaging their work. See the Witness Panel and Classiﬁcaon Studies. Big Circle: The Big Circle consists of our loved ones in the etheric along with their loved ones in the physical. The realizaon that this group existed in the etheric, and was trying to connect to their loved ones here in the physical world, prompted members of the Associaon TransCommunicaon to form a special group called Big Circle – Bridge to the Aerlife,

which is now referred to simply as the Big Circle. This group is composed of bereaved parents, spouses, siblings and friends whose mission is to build a channel between the physical and etheric aspects of reality—a Bridge to the Aerlife. The people who formed the circle have mostly moved on to other interests, but it is thought to remain a viable way of forming a contact ﬁeld as a cooperave community. The ATransC remains available to assist in this endeavor by way of the Idea Exchange at ATransC.org/forum/. Billet Reading: Billet reading involves reading and commenng on quesons wrien on folded and sealed paper—without breaking the seal. Bioﬁeld: Life-based emanaon somemes referred to as a human energy ﬁeld. From the physical person perspecve (clairvoyance), the bioﬁeld may be a combinaon of bioelectric byproduct and psi ﬁeld inﬂuence perceived as a visible ﬁeld of energy. The net eﬀect is that the bioﬁeld presents useful informaon about the living organism. See Aura. Black Box Analysis: Engineers design models for systems they are trying to understand. One way to develop a model is to ﬁguravely put the subject in a black box with the known input and output clearly deﬁned. Not knowing for sure what is inside the box, engineers must design a set of funconal areas within the box that will produce the observed outputs. This is an eﬀecve technique for organizaons to reverse engineer copyrighted or patented technology in an eﬀort to develop alternave designs. It is important to note that,

when black box modeling is used for a metaphysical cosmology, a plausible explanaon may be developed that does not correctly describe reality. Even so, the resulng model may be useful as a guide for further development. Also see Black Box Analysis in the Theory Introducon Discourse. C Cabinet: An enclosed space in which mediums are thought to condense the psi ﬁeld that is necessary for physical phenomena. A cabinet may be as simple as a curtain hung across the corner of a room. Some mediums sit in the cabinet while others sit outside of it. Many great mediums who produced physical phenomena found a cabinet unnecessary. See Contact Field in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Chakras: Also known as energy centers or spiritual centers. According to Hindu and occult teaching, there are usually seven major centers associated with ductless glands in the physical body. As with the aura, these centers, which are a mixture of colors of varying brightness, are seen clairvoyantly. Some praconers say that they work on the chakras to smulate a healing of the physical body. See Bioﬁeld and Aura. Channel: A person who is able to mentally step aside with deep trance to allow an etheric communicator to speak through his or her physical body. The disncon between a medium and a channel is usually made by who is communicang and for what purpose. Generally, a medium communicates messages from discarnate people. A channel is usually thought to be bringing through more profound informaon from higher beings,

usually an enty who has probably not experienced a physical lifeme, and frequently, a personality represenng a group of personalies. See the Mediumship Study. Cizen Scienst: Ideally, people who study nature are trained to do so by an academically cerﬁed organizaon, but in many cases, the magnitude of a research task may be such that a few academically trained sciensts must depend on volunteer assistants for roune tasks such as data collecon and ﬁeld support. These layperson research supporters are somemes referred to as cizen sciensts. In the early days of radio, many ham radio operators could have been referred to as cizen sciensts. There are relavely few academically trained sciensts acvely conducng research in froner ﬁelds, in which case, most of the organized study is conducted by enthusiasts. Haunngs invesgaon groups are a good example, and of course, the study of ITC has historically been shunned by academics, making it necessary for cizen sciensts to ﬁll the resulng void. See Appropriate Science and the Science Commentary. Clairaudience: This is a French word that means clear hearing. It is the ability to sense presumably psi informaon as sounds rather than impressions or images. To the person who experiences this, it is as if hearing someone speak; however, not with the physical ear because it is not an acouscal phenomenon. See Clairvoyance for more detail. Claircognizance: This is a French word that means clear knowing. It is the ability to sense presumably psi informaon as a knowing, somemes described as a

gestalt understanding. See Clairvoyance for more detail. Clairsenence: This is a French word that means clear sensing. A person senses characteriscs of the etheric communicator or circumstance but does not hear or see the informaon. See Clairvoyance for more detail. Clairvoyance: This is a French word that means clear seeing. It is the ability to sense presumably psi informaon as mental images. The percepon may be of objects, people and/or scenes, and can be from the present, past or future. The clairvoyant experience may be spontaneous or induced as through meditaon, scrying or other methods of divinaon. The term clairvoyance has become a catchall term which includes all forms of sensing informaon in the psi ﬁeld. Since this term is so commonly used in Spiritualism and by the New Age culture, parapsychologists coined Extra Sensory Percepon or ESP, which is apparently being replaced with psi funconing. In mediumship, anomalous informaon recepon is a currently popular term. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Collecve: In the Implicit Cosmology, reality is seen as being hierarchical with Source as the top life ﬁeld and the reality ﬁeld. Aspects of Source inhabing sub-realies as imagined by those aspects. Altogether, the life ﬁelds represent a collecve that might be called the Source Collecve. Each aspect is seen as the source of many sub-aspects so that each aspect would represent a collecve. The Principle of Aspectaon Diagram illustrates the relaonship amongst rounds of aspectaon. See the Organizing Principles Discourse. Coloring: A message purported to come from

the etheric that has been inﬂuenced by the medium’s own thoughts and ideas. Mediums are trained to give what they receive even if they do not understand the message. They are trained to guard against trying to interpret or translate a message to assure that their own thoughts and views are not placed into the message. Nevertheless, it is arguable that all forms of transcommunicaon are colored in some way because they must traverse the medium’s perceptual processes. An excepon to this may be trans-inﬂuences that involve a contact ﬁeld without the need for an entangled avatar. Concept: A fundamental idea; a root thoughorm from which systems of thought can be derived. For instance, the concept of something to protect a foot is the fundamental concept for shoes, sandals and such. In Etheric Studies, the intenon of concept is to refer to the underlying thoughorms from which reality is formed. Conceptual: Reality is experienced in a conceptual form, as opposed to an objecve one. Informaon can only be treated in an etheric form. As the expression of the informaon emerges into consciousness, it is assigned objecvity so that the physical world is conceptual, but experienced based on habit as objecve. See the Percepon and Expression Discourses. Consciousness: The I think I am this aspect of the I am this personality. Conscious self is the experienal aspect of a life ﬁeld. By comparison, the personality, as the core intelligence of a life ﬁeld, is the purposeful aspect. Personality and all of

the percepon and expression processes are mostly unconscious, as compared to the conscious self. Contact Field: The concept is that the rapport amongst mutual cooperang personalies and persons results in an intenonality ﬁeld useful for trans- etheric inﬂuences. See the Contact Field in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Contact Healing: Physical contact is made between the sier and the healer-praconer. Also called laying on of hands or spiritual healing. Absent, distant and non-contact healing is healing done without contact and/or at a distance. As a means of managing expectaons, healing intenon may be a more appropriate term for healing. See the Healing Intenon Study. Control: The etheric personality thought to be controlling the entranced medium and the ﬂow of a séance. Cooperave Community: An eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. Collecves are inherently cooperave communies. A person is aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate progression. This is an Organizing Principle. Corollary: A proposion that follows with lile or no proof required from a previously proven statement. Hermec Qabalah: The hierarchical cosmology as described in the Hermec Qabalah (as if a layer cake) is useful in conversaon as a means of indicang here and relavely not here as one moves into other aspects of reality. Cosmology: In metaphysics, a conceptual model represenng the relaonship of the component parts of reality. In Etheric Studies, the cosmology relang such concepts as personality, the physical verses the greater aspects of reality, transion and transcommunicaon are modeled as the Implicit Cosmology.

Not to be mistaken for an astronomical cosmology addressing only the physical universe. Tradional metaphysical cosmologies portray reality as what might be thought of as a layer cake arrangements of component parts. See the Hermec Qabalah Cosmology Diagram above The Implicit Cosmology is modeled as a distributed array of ﬁelds related to the inﬂuence of a single source. See The Cosmology of Imaginary Space Discourse. Cross-Correspondence: One or more forms of phenomena are experienced as separate events and found to produce informaon that agrees. For instance, a medium might say that the loved one is standing behind a person, and at the same me, a photograph of the person contains a disturbance that seems to be the shape of a person. Cross-Reference: Diﬀerent mediums simultaneously receive the same message with a request to forward the message to the same person. Crystal Gazing or Scrying: A form of divinaon done by gazing at a surface that appears to have great depth such as a crystal ball, pool of water or lted mirror in a featureless enclosure. Aer a me of apparent cloudiness in the depth of the material, pictures and scenes are said to appear. This is the form of divinaon said to have been used at the me of the Greek Oracles and also by Nostradamus. See Divinaon. Cultural Contaminaon: Worldview is populated with cultural inﬂuences. Worldview is also the funconal area of mind represenng memory, beliefs and understanding that produces personal reality for conscious self. If a concept is

in the cultural domain, it should be expected to be an inﬂuence in worldview. For instance, there was lile agreement in the cultural view of what an extraterrestrial looks like unl publicaon of the cover of Whitley Strieber's 1987 book Communion, which portrayed a typical gray extraterrestrial. Today, close encounters with aliens, can be expected to include the now standard alien descripon which agrees with the Communion book cover. That kind of cultural contaminaon must be considered when evaluang the usefulness of any report based on percepon. D Death-Bed Visions: In typical death-bed visions, a person near the moment of transion reports seeing the appearance of deceased loved ones and relaves. The dying brain explanaon does not explain why the person reports seeing only people on the other side and not just anyone from memory. There have been instances in which the person reported seeing a friend who had recently transioned without the person or person’s family knowing of the transion. Dematerializaon: The disappearance of maer or a materialized form. Parts of the medium’s body have been recorded as temporarily disappearing during séances in which physical phenomena has taken place. Development Circle: A group of people working together over an extended period of me to develop their individual mediumisc abilies and/or to establish objecve contact with cooperang personalies. The circle may be formaed as a class which includes meditaon and learning how to work with psi and communicate across the veil. This is an excellent format for developing mediumship and

healing intenon, as many techniques can be used to familiarize the student with psi funconing. In some cases, the circle works in total darkness with the intenon of using ectoplasm or psi for materializaon (ideoplasc structures). A classroom circle may meet for only a few months, but one seeking trans- etheric phenomena in the séance room may sit for many years before establishing contact. This is one reason why there are so few materializaon mediums sll praccing today. Diﬀerenaon: The mechanism by which aspects of reality are formed. See the Principle of Aspectaon in the Organizing Principles Discourse. Direct Drawing, Painng and Wring: This is accomplished without human contact with the materials used. The materials combine directly to produce the arsc result. The process is believed to be under the control of a discarnate personality. It is probable that the eﬀect is accomplished via the person acng as a praconer. See Physical Mediumship in the Trans- Survival Hypothesis Discourse. Direct Voice: A voice heard in the air without any visible source. The voice oen emanates from a trumpet, which serves as a condenser and ampliﬁer for the voice. But with a suﬃciently strong contact ﬁeld, the voice can be heard from any part of the room. The theory of how this is done is that ectoplasm is withdrawn from the medium’s or sier’s body to produce a larynx or ectoplasmic voice box. The voices may be human sounding or the sounds of animals. Direct voice phenomena have been reported outside

of the séance room as well. It is one of the possible explanaons for EVP occurring on more than one recorder even though it was known that no one was speaking at the me. In such a case, the voice should be heard in real me by observers. See Physical Mediumship in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse. Discarnate: A person who has transioned out of a physical lifeme. A personality that is not associated with a physical body. Divinaon: Discovery of things that are hidden using various pracces such as dowsing, astrology, numerology, palmistry, crystal gazing and various cards used for divinaon such as the Tarot. This is a form of psi funconing as informaon acquision using a device or object for aenon entrainment. Doorkeeper: See Control. Dowsing: Using a rod, twig or pendulum to discover informaon such as locang water for a well or ﬁnding a lost object. Dowsing is oen used as a means to help focus the mind for clairvoyance. E Earthbound Enty: A term oen used to describe enes believed to have remained perceptually close to the physical aspect of reality because of habits, aachments or ignorance of their true state. Earthbound spirits are oen thought to be responsible for haunng acvity. Rescue circles seek to assist such personalies to complete their transion. As directors of the ATransC, we have found no support for this concept and advise that it is inappropriate to think discarnate personalies require rescue. The concept of perceptual agreement appears to assure that

a personality will be aracted to the aspect of reality with which it is in most agreement. A personality might perceptually associate with the physical aspect of reality, but as a purposeful act and not as an involuntarily stuck personality. We wonder how many loved ones come to say hello but have been rejected by a supposed clearing of the house. Ectoplasm: A column of ectoplasm in front of the medium in the Felix Experimental Group circle. (184) © Ectoplasm: Typically, a white substance that is somemes produced by the medium during séances. It is usually produced via the mouth but reportedly might come from any oriﬁce. In red light, we have witnessed the FEG medium produce it in copious amounts, oen pulling the white substance from his mouth with both hands. Skepcs typically claim that ectoplasm is just cloth the medium put in his mouth before the séance. The material does tend to hold shape as cloth does, but it never smells of bile or any other bodily odor. The mes I witnessed the FEG medium’s preparaon for a séance, he drank nearly a liter of orange-colored juice. Doing so guaranteed that any cloth he regurgitated to fake ectoplasm would have come out orange. It did not. Once in good red light, the medium walked about the séance room leng each sier feel a handful of ectoplasm by way of the medium touching the person’s head with it. It was very wet, and water could be seen dripping from

it, even though other mes it only had a slight white, self-luminous quality and le no water mark where it was on the unpainted plywood ﬂoor. The ectoplasm is produced as a tool. It can become semi-rigid and move on its own so as to li a spirit light or trumpet to swing about the room. That is usually in darkness, but we have seen a hand rise from a pile of the substance as if it was a white glove with no hand in it. We could see it wave about as if greeng the siers; this, without the aenon or aendant movement of the medium. Inspecon of the cabinet before and aer each séance revealed no mechanism to make the ectoplasm move. Certainly, he carried nothing with him. Ectoplasm is able to assume the shape of a person, even to the extent of ﬂesh tones. We have seen cameo-like faces embedded in it, and somemes those have been recognized as loved ones. I have seen the face of Hans Bender, the medium’s etheric control. Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP: EVP are anomalous, intelligible speech produced in electronic devices. They may be heard as a real-me output from the recording device but are more generally heard on review of a subsequent recording. The voices are not acouscal so that they cannot be heard in the air. No currently understood physical processes account for the existence of EVP. They are considered a subset of Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC). Also see the

Best Pracces: Classiﬁcaon Study. Energy Healing: See Healing Intenon. Entanglement: The concept of entanglement is used to indicate the binding rapport between aspects of reality which are linked by aenon. The aenon of the Core Intelligence of a life ﬁeld on the life ﬁeld’s component parts established a link of integrang inﬂuence or entanglement. In the same way, the aenon of an etheric personality on its avatar (physical body) during a lifeme creates a link of entanglement. An important example of entanglement is the link of inﬂuence binding aspect of a shared personalies into a collecve as a cooperave community. The nature of this connecon is not clear but the most obvious indicaon of its nature is the diﬃculty a person has in disassociang from the body. Entanglement is binding, because once established, the resulng rapport is a living link of aenon that is maintained by personality’s intenon to gain understanding. Entanglement is thought to be a common characterisc of nested formave ﬁelds. In this concept, the top organizing ﬁeld of an organism is entangled with the related subﬁelds composing the organism. Etheric: Etheric is an old term referring to heaven. From the body-centric perspecve, the etheric is that aspect of the reality ﬁeld that is not physical. From the personality-centric perspecve, the physical is an aspect of the etheric. The term has been tradionally used to describe the subtle, underlying media supporng reality. As a generic term for the conceptual space of reality, the Etheric concept will probably be

subdivided as more is understood about the greater reality. For instance, today, the parapsychologist’s psi ﬁeld is considered in the implicit Cosmology a subset of the etheric. See the Etheric Fields and Reality Discourses. Etheric Communicator: All trans-etheric inﬂuences are thought to be under the intelligent and mindful direcon of a personality. In the Trans- Survival Hypothesis, personality is nave to the etheric, and is seen as a communicator. The personality iniang the inﬂuence may be that of a physical person or that of a discarnate person. Etheric Field: Conceptually, a ﬁeld represents a set of elements with common characteriscs and bound together by a common inﬂuence. Etheric ﬁelds are regions of reality that can be modeled as a node or nexus (aractor) associated with a set of related elements. It is useful to model reality as a single etheric ﬁeld (reality ﬁeld) expressed by a ﬁrst cause or Source. In this view, the reality ﬁeld is the top etheric ﬁeld, from which all other ﬁelds have been derived via aspectaon. In this way, the reality ﬁeld has been diﬀerenated as a hierarchy of nested etheric ﬁelds. See the Etheric Fields Discourse for more on etheric ﬁelds. Etheric Studies: The study of all things etheric. This is not an individual science, such as biology or physics. It is a ﬁeld of study concerned with the nature of the etheric aspects of reality. By comparison, physics and biology are sciences concerned with the physical aspect of reality and would be part

of Physical Studies. The ﬁeld of Etheric Studies is intended to complement physical science, as it is thought that discoveries in Etheric Studies will oen extend the deﬁnion of physical principles while occasionally requiring the deﬁnion of new principles. Cauon here, this is a term I have adopted. It is not widely accepted. See the Etheric Studies Commentary. Experiencer: A person who witnesses or experiences phenomena. F Field: A set of elements with related characteriscs which are bound into a system by a common inﬂuence (the aractor). In metaphysics, a ﬁeld is bound by the extent of inﬂuence the aractor is able to exert. Also in metaphysics, a ﬁeld is not located by coordinates. Instead, they are located by associaon with other ﬁelds. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. First Sight Theory: First Sight theory is a term used by James Carpenter. (13) Fractals: See Life Field. Froner Subject: Any ﬁeld of study that has not been embraced by mainstream society, especially mainstream science. A froner subject may appear to be pure fantasy or it may have some supporng evidence. A froner subject is one that has not beneﬁted from having a well-trained and well-funded community vet the subject for reasonableness and supporng evidence. It is assumed that froner subjects will eventually merge with mainstream understanding or be shown as unsupported belief. A similar concept is emergent science. G Gestalt: A system or set of elements that can be experienced as a whole; something that is understood as a whole, such

as a gestalt realizaon resulng in sudden overall comprehension. The idea is that informaon in the etheric is managed as concepts which are apparently conveyed by gestalt bundles of related concepts. Our minds, which are oriented toward a building-block perspecve of reality, then converts this thought ball into understanding based on our worldview. See Thoughorm in the Etheric Fields Discourse. An interesng explanaon for how praconers and listeners might ﬁnd EVP where there are none is seen in the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organizaon, which includes (168): The Law of Proximity: Smulus elements that are closed together tend to be perceived as a group. The Law of Similarity: Similar smuli tend to be grouped, this tendency can even dominate grouping due to proximity. The Law of Closure: Smuli tend to be grouped into complete ﬁgures. The Law of Good Connuaon: Smuli tend to be grouped as to minimize change or disconnuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical boarders tend to be perceived as coherent ﬁgures. The Law Simplicity: Ambiguous smuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. Ghost: Any visitaon from a discarnate personality. The presence of the personality might be sensed as a feeling or as the result of some psychokinec inﬂuence such as lights turning on and oﬀ. In extreme cases, the personality manifests as an apparion which may be seen by more than one person and even photographed. It is the apparion one usually thinks of as a ghost. In ghost hunng lore,

a personality is said to be earthbound or stuck because it has unﬁnished business, does not know it is dead or has some emoonal e to a place or person. Ghost recue is a common pracce in which a person aempts to convince the personality to move on. There is speculaon that some apparions are really just the residual body consciousness or body image behaving as a recorder ghost by repeang more or less the same habitual acons. See the Life Fields Discourse. Glossolalia: Speaking in a language unknown to the medium or person doing the speaking. God: God, Source, First Cause, Inﬁnite Intelligence and Prime Creator are terms referring to an intelligence which is considered the source of all of reality. God is a term most commonly thought of in the religious sense as a divine being. In the Implicit Cosmology, Source is used in lieu of God to avoid religious implicaons. See the Source Discourse. Guide: A connual, benevolent, protecve inﬂuence thought of as an advanced enty that voluntarily returns to the physical locale with a purpose in mind. Some guides say that they are only the mediums for even higher or more advanced enes. They may also be loved ones who remain perceptually close to help loved ones sll in the physical. H Haunng: Paranormal disturbances usually aributed to the personality of a discarnate person. Various phenomena are reported as haunng events including moving objects, strange noises, lights, cold spots, unpleasant smells and the appearance of ghostly

ﬁgures. See Trans-Etheric Inﬂuence. Haunngs Invesgaon: An organized study of a reportedly haunted locaon following a protocol to use instruments and sensives to sense the local psi ﬁeld. Tests may include measurements of temperature, magnesm, broadcast electromagnec radiaon, light and sound. Oen a mental medium or psychic will parcipate. Gathered data is compared with historical records and a report is made intended to show whether or not trans-etheric inﬂuences have been detected, and if so, how they relate to the known history of the locaon. This is known as ghost hunng when such invesgaons are more in the form of a club oung with no intenon of publishing a paper. Healing Intenon: When a person thinks of another person, a link of inﬂuence is established between the two. In the context of the Implicit Cosmology, this is referred to as rapport. The nature of this rapport (the link) is determined by the person’s aenon, visualizaon and intenon. When intenon is focused on the wellbeing of the other person, the resulng expression of intended order is seen as a healing inﬂuence. The various healing modalies are modeled as healing intenon, but with unique points of view as to how healing is expected to occur. Some modalies are more about seng expectaons and condioning the sier’s worldview to accept healing. Others depend on a condioned expectaon that there will be some tacle/sensed eﬀect such as a diﬀerence in heat, sﬀness or vitality near the surface of the body, depending on the system.

Healing intenon is thought to apply more to the avatar body mind (body image) but certainly has the potenal of inﬂuencing the etheric personality. See the Healing Intenon Study. Home Circle: A group of friends who meet on a regular basis, usually in a person’s home, to develop their mediumisc abilies. Some circles sit for speciﬁc purposes such as absent healing, meditaon, psychic development, mediumship and physical phenomena. See Séance. Hyperlucidity: A short-term change in behavior marked by the tendency to ﬁnd phenomena everywhere despite considerable tesmony to the contrary by peers. The concept comes from occasional reports of odd behavior exhibited by some people when they visit an emoonally charged place. This condion is known by such names as Paris syndrome and Jerusalem syndrome (65). In regard to paranormal phenomena, the eﬀect is the experiencer’s mistaken belief in experiencing paranormal phenomena such as reporng voices in recordings when there are none, seeing features in otherwise featureless visual media and misaribung thoughts as transcommunicaon. See Lucidity and hyperlucidity in the Mindfulness Discourse. Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a statement that is assumed to be true for the sake of discussion. Validity of a hypothesis is dependent on veriﬁcaon of predicons derived from the hypothecal statement. A hypothesis is typically based on one or more assumpons that imply a number of supporng concepts. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis is designed to unify current understanding of personality, survival of personality aer transion and the nature of reality in which personality connues aer transion. It is

not proposed as a truth, but is a speculaon presented as a uniﬁed view of current understanding (speciﬁcally Tom Butler’s understanding). Testable predicons should be able to be derived from the hypothecal statement which, if shown to be true, should be used to evolve the hypothecal statement toward a reasonably well tested representaon of reality. I Ideoplasc Structure: The Ideo- preﬁx means idea or image. Ideoplasc is used here to mean the nature of objects formed in the creave process as mind-to-object expression. Ideoplasy means the process of formaon. The term was coined by Max Vorworm, but is used here in the sense intended by the German parapsychology icon Dr. Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing as “Everything that can be remembered, also things the person has read or observed or is interested in, all these memories can ﬁnd a materializing reﬂecon in the inﬂuence ﬁeld” [of the séance room]. (169) See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Imagined Reality: A special case of personal reality is involved in the creave process. The perceptual process involves comparing environmental informaon with worldview. As it is modeled here, part of the comparison process involves forming an imagined version of how the informaon may be understood and then comparing that with worldview. If it agrees, then the imagined version becomes the expression of the understanding to conscious self or as a psychokinec inﬂuence to the environment. The person’s personal reality (worldview) is changed to accommodate the expression. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Inaenonal Blindness: The failure

to noce a fully visible, but unexpected object because aenon was engaged on another task, event or object. (170) Incredulity Blindness: A category of agnosia, in which an audio or visual example of a phenomenon is not experienced because it is foreign to a person’s worldview. There are at least two forms of the experimenter eﬀect. One is the diﬀerence in experimental results collected by believers and skepcs. The second is due to the diﬀerence in reported results between a believer and a skepc. Induced Aer-Death Communicaon: The Guggenheims maintain Aer- Death Communicaons (ADC) are spontaneous, which is why Allan Botkin (171) refers to his EMDR (172) induced ADCs as induced or IADCTM. Eye Movement Desensizaon and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeuc technique in which the praconer guides a client to move his or her eyes back and forth while dwelling on an emoonal memory. This is over simpliﬁcaon. In pracce, the technique helps remove the emoonal charge of a memory. Based on his work with war veterans, Botkin developed a technique in which clients have impressively vivid communicaon with transioned loved ones, thus the Induced part of ADC. Inﬁnite Intelligence: In Spiritualism, Source, Prime Creator, First Cause, God, whatever you think of when you think of the inﬂuence that started reality in the ﬁrst place, is known as Inﬁnite Intelligence. Yes, it is correct to say that Inﬁnite Intelligence is God. Spiritualists do believe in God. But there are a few important diﬀerences in the way Spiritualists understand God.

Most importantly, Inﬁnite Intelligence is not a father ﬁgure that oﬀers rewards and punishment to his children. See the Source Discourse. Informed: Informed is used here to mean based on or inﬂuenced by. Percepon is informed by worldview. Informed visualizaon is visualizaon based on what is known about the objecve. In fact, all visualizaon is informed by the past and current understanding by way of worldview. See the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC): Communicaon across the veil with the aid of technology. Trans-etheric inﬂuence is a more global term meaning communicaon between the physical and the greater reality with or without devices. ITC occurs via technology as images, voices and text messages iniated by communicang etheric personalies. To be ITC, phenomena needs to be objecvely experienced, meaning that they are suﬃciently substanal to be recorded in physical media that can be witnessed by others. And, technology of some form is employed to enable the phenomena. Paranormal experiences that are witnessed by one or more people as mental percepon, such as a shared deathbed vision, are not considered ITC because they cannot be recorded. While probably real, in a pragmac sense, they are not considered objecve. Poltergeist and other psychokinec acvity, direct voice and materializaons that are able to be recorded sasfy the ITC requirement, but unless they involve technology to manifest, they would not be considered ITC. See the Audio ITC and Video ITC Studies. Intended Order: This is one of the foundaon

concepts of the Implicit Cosmology. A common factor in ITC is the transformaon of broad- spectrum, chaoc energy into intelligently intended features such as the voice in EVP and faces in visual ITC. Current research is showing that output of random event generators increase in order when in the presence of strongly expressed intenon. There is evidence in precipitaon phenomena, such as spirit art, that the precipitaon material undergoes a transformaon from chaoc energy to intended order as raw material is brought via the etheric (apported) and organized as informed by the imagined outcome. This research suggests that the basic element of the creave process is the emergence of intended order. See Intended Order in the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Intenon Field: Expression of intenon accumulates as an intenon ﬁeld which represents all of the imagery, thoughts, understanding and beliefs associated with the expression. Intenon ﬁelds persist as long as the personality maintains aenon on the intended outcome. This is a form of etheric ﬁeld. See Intenon Field in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Interested Observer: A person is considered an interested observer or witness if the person is present for an experimental session, knows about it or in some way has aenon on the session. In the study of trans-etheric inﬂuences, it is not necessary for the person to be physically involved to have an inﬂuence on the process. At this me, there is no way to shield from aenon, even if it is only subconscious. (Empty) J K Karma:

A principle in Theosophy, Buddhism and Hinduism maintaining that we are the cause of our present condions. These condions are said to be governed by the Law of Acon which holds that for every acon there is a reacon with our deeds, acts and atudes creang our future and making us ulmately responsible for ourselves. From the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, karma is probably more correctly thought of as understanding of the operaon of reality, with bad karma being imperfect understanding. Knowing: The current best pracce for measuring accuracy of understanding is an iterave test. That is, if something is presumably understood, but that understanding changes with the next relevant experience, then it must be only belief. If, however, understanding stands up to repeated tests, then a degree of conﬁdence about its correctness can be assumed. Here, that is referred to as knowing. Knowing must always be tempered with the certainty that the nature of reality is evolving and what is known today may be diﬀerent tomorrow. Thus is the nature of living systems. L Levitaon: The movement of a person or object, usually up or down. Not always paranormal, but as paranormal phenomena, levitaon is presumably caused by the expression of intenon as psychokinesis (or the older term, telekinesis). Levitaon is a commonly observed phenomenon in physical mediumship, especially during séances. See Psychokinesis. Life: In the Implicit Cosmology, reality is modeled as life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds. Life is modeled with the characteriscs shown in the

Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. See the Life Field Discourse. Life Field: In the Implicit Cosmology, life is considered the fundamental component of reality. If modeled as a fractal, then Source is the top fractal. Fractals occur as a top fractal, subsequent to which is a hierarchy of fractals of diminishing scale. A fractal is structure, shape or form that is expressed in a similar way at all scales. The Sierpinski Triangle for instance, below, is formed by connecng the midpoints of each side of a triangle to form three triangles inside the ﬁrst, and repeang that as scale allows. The triangle is a fractal which is repeated at many diﬀerent scales. The veining of a river drainage system or branching of plants can also be seen as fractal paerns. See the Life Fields Discourse. Fractal: The Sierpinski Triangle is formed as nested equilateral triangles. The triangle is a fractal. Lucidity: The concept of consciousness has lile meaning if talking about the person as an etheric personality. A more appropriate term is lucidity in the sense of a clear and open channel of awareness between the I think I am this (conscious self) and the true I am this intelligent core (personality). It is becoming increasingly evident that a clear channel of communicaon between physical consciousness and the etheric personality is a factor for management of psi informaon. For instance, if people are informed about their environment on an unconscious level by way of psi sensing, then lucidity

would be a measure of how aware the person is of that connecon. More about lucidity in the Mindfulness Discourse. Luminous Phenomena: These frequently occur in associaon with physical mediumship; however, luminous discharges have been reported during healing intenon sessions, as well. A technique for detecng the inﬂuence of intenonality at a distance is to monitor luminosity of cucumbers. (173) M Materializaon: In metaphysics, materializaon is generally the appearance of any formaon of physical material, apparently out of thin air. It is considered one of the phenomena of physical mediumship, and the objects are tradionally thought to originate ﬁrst as ectoplasm which then takes the shape of the materialized object. Such objects usually retain their physical shape for a short period of me, depending on intenon. There might be many diﬀerent objects or discarnate people materialized during a physical séance but aerwards, there will be no remaining evidence that they were present. Materializaon might be in the form of precipitaon, in which physical material acts as the raw stuﬀ acted on by intenon to produce an image or object. In this case, the object may be relavely permanent. Lore has it that such precipitated forms somemes require a period of me; say twenty-four hours, to stabilize before becoming permanent. An object might be apported to the present locaon, in which case, it would presumably have existed elsewhere in the physical, but then dematerialized, moved in some way in the etheric and then materialized in the present locaon. An apported object

is thought to be a permanent form. In the Implicit Cosmology, ectoplasm is considered just another form of materializaon. The mechanism for this expression is the Aenon Complex producing intended order. In this cosmology, all objects of reality are modeled as ideoplasc structures. Matrixing: This is a term that has apparently been coined by one of the ghost hunng TV programs. It is used instead of the more commonly accepted term, pareidolia, to indicate that a person is mistaking an ordinary object or smulus as paranormal because the person is not seeing it as it really is. In the interest of maintaining communicaon with people outside of the haunngs invesgaon community, pareidolia is the recommended term. See Pareidolia. Maer-Through-Maer: In the work of the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT) (174), this phenomenon has been produced on many occasions with a variety of items being removed or introduced into sealed jars and locked containers. In physical séances, clothing that has been stched on has been removed from mediums. Rings of wood, leather, iron and other maer have been linked together. Items have been reported passing through tables and in and out of closed séance rooms. See Apports in the Nature of Transcommunicaon Study. SORRAT: Film canister passing through the glass wall of an aquarium used as a mini-lab used by the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis. (149) Medium: A person who is able to sense etheric personalies and convey informaon from them to people in the

physical. The task of a medium is to be as clear and open a channel as possible to avoid coloring the message. This is usually accomplished by the medium entering into trance. Inspiraonal speaking, for instance, is usually accomplished while the person is in a light trance. Mediums giving spirit greengs in a Spiritualist meeng and mental mediums giving full readings also typically work in a light trance. A physical medium producing materializaon phenomena is thought to be in a more or less complete or deep trance in which the medium’s personality has stepped aside so that the personality of the communicang personality may directly communicate using the medium’s physical body. See the Mediumship Study. Mediumship: Funconing as a medium. See the Mediumship Study. Metaphysics: In philosophy, the examinaon of the nature of reality, including the relaonship between personality and the greater reality. Models used to describe a set of metaphysical concepts are referred to as a cosmology. In Etheric Studies, metaphysics is the study of an ordered set of concepts which are described in a cosmology. Mind: The Implicit Cosmology is a model that has been developed around funconal areas of a person as a nonphysical personality entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. In this context, mind is the collecon of funconal areas described in the Life Field Complex Diagram. The term, consciousness is used as a connuum from fully consciousness awareness to unconscious so that conscious self represents the physical point of view of a personality

that is entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship (body-centric). The mental processes associated with percepon and expression are modeled in the Percepon and Expression Diagram. In that, the rules of percepon are thought to agree with the proposed corollaries in First Sight Theory. (13) A person in a light trance might be fully aware but a person in a deep trance would be unconscious. Trance-like states presumably allow the person greater awareness along the connuum between conscious and unconscious. A sleeping person is considered unconscious; however, if the person has achieved some degree of lucidity, he or she may have greater access to normally unconscious processes. Mind Tensor: In the context of etheric space, the term can be used to signify how a life-ﬁeld navigates amongst etheric ﬁelds. The Perceptual Loop is thought to be incapable of processing informaon that is very diﬀerent from that which is in worldview. This is the foundaon of the Principle of Perceptual Agreement. According to the Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Diconary. (2010), a tensor is a mathemacal enty with components that change in a parcular way in a transformaon from one coordinate system to another. Tensors are becoming an important tool in the study of large- scale quantum ﬁelds. The term is not used in this book because it overly complicates the descripon of this model. Modes of Transcommunicaon: There are two fundamental forms of transcommunicaon. A person can iniate communicaon across the veil via an expression of intenon or instrumentally

as in EVP. This form of transcommunicaon is considered induced. When communicaon is induced via the expression of intenon and without the use of devices, it is considered direct. When instruments are used such as for EVP, the communicaon is considered to be instrumental. For most people, communicaon across the veil is spontaneous, in that the etheric communicator might approach the person or there might be contact with a thoughorm as a result of an environmental inﬂuence that smulates the creave process. Spontaneous transcommunicaon can be either direct as in mental impressions or instrumental as in unexpected voices in recording media. Morphic Field: According to Rupert Sheldrake (9), this is “a ﬁeld within and around a morphic unit which organizes its characterisc structure and paern of acvity. Morphic ﬁelds underlie the form and behavior of holons or morphic units at all levels of complexity. The term morphic ﬁeld includes morphogenec, behavioral, social, cultural, and mental ﬁelds. Morphic ﬁelds are shaped and stabilized by morphic resonance from previous similar morphic units, which were under the inﬂuence of ﬁelds of the same kind. They consequently contain a kind of cumulave memory and tend to become increasingly habitual.” See the Etheric Fields Discourse. Morphic Resonance: According to Rupert Sheldrake (9), this refers to “the inﬂuence of previous structures of acvity on subsequent similar structures of acvity organized by morphic ﬁelds. Through morphic resonance, formave causal inﬂuences pass through or across both space and me, and these inﬂuences are assumed not to fall oﬀ

with distance in space or me, but they come only from the past. The greater the degree of similarity, the greater is the inﬂuence of morphic resonance. In general, morphic units closely resemble themselves in the past and are subject to self-resonance from their own past states.” See the Etheric Fields Discourse. Morphogenec Field: See Morphic Fields, above. N Natural Law: Natural Law is deﬁned as an “ascertained working sequence or constant order among the phenomena of nature” (NSAC Spiritualism (2)) In concept, Natural Laws include all of the principles governing the operaon of reality. They are thought to be the same everywhere. Understanding the principles of Natural Law permits the person to live in accordance with the operaon of reality, which is thought to be the objecve of living. The degree to which a person understands and is able to live in accordance with the principles is a measure of the person’s progression which is the degree to which a person understands the true nature of reality. There is lile agreement about the principles of Natural Law. For instance, from a metaphysical view, Organizing Principles are described in fundamental concepts such as aspectaon and perceptual agreement. In sociological views, the Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and like aracts like are usually included in lists of Natural Law. There is also considerable confusion about the scale or context to which principles apply. So to be speciﬁc, in Etheric Studies, Organizing Principles are

described in terms of fundamental concepts within the context of Reality, Formaon and Personality. Some principles such as the Principles of Aspectaon, Life Field and Perceptual Agreement appear to be universal. However, it is important to note that the Implicit Cosmology assumes Source is learning about itself via aspect personalies. As such, Source’s nature is expected to evolve as understanding is gained, meaning that the Organizing Principles also evolve. This is also a fundamental concept of the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (9) New Ager: The idea of a new age begins with the idea that, in terms of astrology, we are entering into the utopian Age of Aquarius. There is no single organizaon that can be idenﬁed as The New Age Movement. It has become a worldwide community idenﬁed by a common point of view. New Agers are typically interested in developing personal potenal, understanding nature and living as a good cizen of the universe. Beliefs include a universal god of which everyone and everything is part, personal responsibility, respect for the life in all things and the connectedness of all things. Being seen as a New Ager is perhaps a badge of honor because it signiﬁes a personal desire to be the best cizen possible in Mother Nature’s creaon. A person who is seen as a New Ager is not necessarily a person who believes in transcommunicaon, survival of personality or a greater reality. Nonlocal: Ubiquitous or everywhere at once. It may be correct to say that everywhere is

here. This is a physical space perspecve. In the etheric, movement is accomplished by changing one’s mind. See NonLocal and Nontemporal in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Nonphysical: See Etheric. Nontemporal: The concept that all me is now in etheric space. There is some indicaon that presenment, the physiological reacon to an event before it actually occurs, is best explained with First Sight Theory. Presenment is a short-term phenomenon while most reports of precognion indicate a long-term eﬀect. In that, the concept of emerging thoughorms represenng potenal futures might beer explain the eﬀect. A second factor is the concept of potenal. Rather than precognion as sensing the future, there is beer support for the idea of sensing the potenal of a parcular future. As such, a nontemporal characterisc of etheric space is probably incorrect. See the NonLocal and Nontemporal in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Normalize: Normalizaon is the process of reducing two or more diﬀerent sets of informaon to a common denominator that can be considered the root for both sets. For instance, conversaon about car races and a diﬀerent conversaon about a Sunday drive. The common denominator is car. We automacally ﬁnd car in our memory and use it as a reference to make sense of the conversaons. O Object of Reality: In the Implicit Cosmology, reality exists in two forms: life ﬁelds which are morphic ﬁelds for physical organisms, and expressions of life which are ideoplasc structures. Expressions are described in terms of thoughorms that have been given substance

in the creave process, where substance only has meaning in the venue in which it is imagined. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Objecve Phenomena: Phenomena that have external reality and that can be perceived and observed by others. Objecve phenomena are considered the physical manifestaon of a subjecve inﬂuence. Ouija Board: A board with leers of the alphabet used as an aid for transcommunicaon. A pointer aached to a small, easily moved plaorm is placed on the board. One or more people acng as siers in the circle lightly place their ﬁngers on the plaorm. The plaorm is expected to move, presumably under the control of discarnate enes, to spell out messages one leer at a me. See Planchee. Outlier: In stascs, an outlier is a data point that falls very far outside of the norm. The logic is that an outlier may be due to faulty measurement or some otherwise unidenﬁed experimental error. Alternavely, one extreme measurement might give a false impression of what is average. As a general rule, outliers are discarded to avoid inappropriately biasing a dataset. It is noteworthy that Class A EVP are, by deﬁnion, outliers. P Paranormal: Subjects that are concerned with mind-body duality (nonphysical personality), the psi ﬁeld, connuaon of consciousness beyond bodily death (survival), the natural environment of mind in which personality survives (the etheric) and communicaon across the mind- body interface (transcommunicaon) are considered paranormal. Such subjects as reincarnaon, out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences are not addressed in this book.

They are indirectly related to trans-etheric inﬂuences, but probably because of their subjecve nature, they have lile bearing on the study of things paranormal. The same is true of the many people who experience spontaneous Aer-Death Communicaon if the experience is not objecvely shared by others. Phenomena thought to be physical but not ordinary, such as UFOs, cryptozoological creatures and parallel realies would likely be considered paranormal, but they are not usually included in Etheric Studies, unless a psi ﬁeld explanaon is involved. Paranormalist: This term has become useful for idenfying people who are more than a lile interested in paranormal phenomena, or who are studying or praccing some technique related to the paranormal. Examples of paranormalist interests include the study of psi phenomena (telepathy, remote viewing, telekinesis), healing intenon (bioﬁeld healing, distant healing, healing prayer), haunngs invesgaon, transcommunicaon (mediumship, ITC, channeling) and survival (the etheric, personality, cosmology). Paranormalist Community: The paranormalist community consists of anyone in some way interested in paranormal phenomena. The community is not homogenous, in that it is composed of a number of sub-communies of interest related only by shared interest in the phenomena. See the Community Commentary. Parapsychologist: Speciﬁcally, a person who is academically trained in the subject of parapsychology. Anyone with an advanced degree can be accepted into the parapsychological organizaons as a full member. However, there is a problem with this, in that too many people claiming to be parapsychologists do not have the necessary training. It is common for academically trained people

to cross over from a diﬀerent specialty, usually psychology, to conduct parapsychological studies. These crossover sciensts should be considered cizen sciensts, depending on the extent to which they inform themselves in the subject. See the Science Commentary. Parapsychology: A froner subject; a ﬁeld of study about the evidence for psi phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance and psychokinesis, which are not explained by mainstream science. These phenomena are forms of human potenal described as psi funconing. In the Implicit Cosmology, the study of trans-etheric phenomena is referred to as Etheric Studies, while it can be said that parapsychology is Psi Studies. See the Etheric Studies Commentary. Pareidolia: A form of apophenia (seeing paerns where there are none) in which the person ﬁnds meaning in images and sounds when there in none. Pareidolia and apophenia are terms used to describe a very real human tendency to mistake the mundane as paranormal. An example might be the deer hunter who mistakes tree limbs for antlers (buck fever) or seeing faces in clouds (Rorschach test). See Gestalt. Peer: Froner subjects seldom have a large community of subject maer specialists who are academically trained. In many cases, it is praconers who have come to the subject from another ﬁeld who may be the only qualiﬁed people. Yet mainstream culture demands that an academically trained person, even if the qualiﬁcaons are in an unrelated ﬁeld, should be given authority over the possibly more qualiﬁed praconers who may not hold a degree. Of course, this is an

untenable approach to understanding the ﬁeld of study, so in order to disnguish between diﬀerent kinds of experience and experse in Etheric Studies, a peer is idenﬁed as either an academic peer (trained in an accredited educaonal instuon) or a praccal peer (may be academically trained outside of the ﬁeld, but in any case is self-trained in the ﬁeld). Peer Review: The examinaon of a research report by others who are trained in the same ﬁeld. There are no, or very few people working in Etheric Studies who are academically trained in a related subject. Consequently, review of arcles for reasonableness of hypothesis, protocol and conclusions is necessarily accomplished with probably not academically trained subject maer specialists (praccal peers). Because of this necessary departure from academic standards, the process of judging arcles is beer described as veng rather than peer review. See Veed. Percepon: In the Implicit Cosmology, percepon is the result of the decision made in the Perceptual Loop as illustrated in the Percepon and Expression Diagram. If the Agree? decision produces a Yes, the person will experience (perceive) the smulus, probably more or less as it is. If the decision is Maybe, the person more likely experiences a version of what is intended based on worldview. A No decision will likely stop conscious percepon of the informaon. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Perceptual Agreement: This is an oen-used term in the Implicit Cosmology. The Principle of Perceptual Agreement holds that Personality must be in perceptual agreement with

the aspect of reality with which it will associate. The objecve of progression toward greater understanding is to bring worldview (personal reality) into agreement with nature as it is and not as the person is taught. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Personality: Personality is deﬁned here as the etheric essence of a person. From the perspecve that a person is a physical body that has evolved in the physical and mind which has evolved in the etheric, personality is that part of a person that has evolved in the etheric. Personality existed before this lifeme and will connue aer this lifeme. It can be thought of as an etheric ﬁeld containing the essence of who the person is including a measure of the person’s understanding which is realized as progression and an inherited urge to acquire understanding by way of experience. See the Life Fields Discourse. Phenomena: In the context of Etheric Studies, any expression of intenon into physical form; a trans-etheric inﬂuence. Examples include mediumship, clairvoyance, healing intenon, ITC and psychokinesis. Planchee: A small, table-like device that can be easily moved over a surface containing leers, words or other informaon. In applicaon, one or more parcipants lightly place ﬁngers on the device. It is thought to move under the control of an etheric personality. A planchee might also have a pencil aached so as to mark a paper when it is moved. See Ouija Board. Point of view: Used to describe the perspecve or viewpoint in literature and

art. In terms of living a life, people also have a point of view, and just as the author intends the reader to come away with a speciﬁc perspecve of the story, so does a person’s point of view direct us toward understanding a speciﬁc perspecve of experiences. See the Point of View Commentary. Potenal Field: Events are accompanied by a probability signature referred to here as a potenal ﬁeld. In this concept, an event might exist in the etheric as a potenal to occur. Each potenal ﬁeld represents the possible characteriscs of an event, so that an event that has occurred may have been preceded by many potenal ﬁelds represenng diﬀerent or oponal potenal outcomes. Praconer: In Etheric Studies, a person conducng a recording session for EVP or ITC; a person who applies principles intended to cause phenomena; may be instrumental or it may be direct as in mental mediumship. See Modes of Transcommunicaon. Precipitaon: By deﬁnion, a precipitate is something that condenses out of a soluon and falls as a deposit. Rain or snow is one example. A precipitaon medium is one who is able to work with etheric helpers to produce physical objects, via precipitaon. A good example of this is the Reverend Hoyt Z. Robinee as described in the arcle, “Sing with Hoyt Robinee.” (31) Currently available evidence indicates that the precipitate originates in the physical and is in eﬀect, dematerialized, transported via the etheric and rematerialized according to the intended order expressed by the medium

(may be under the direcon of communicang enes). In eﬀect, this is the same process thought to be involved with apportaon of object, except that the precipitate becomes objecve in a new form. See Materializaon. Precognion: Knowledge of something in advance of its occurrence, especially by extrasensory percepon; clairvoyance. Presenment: The sense that something is about to happen. In parapsychology, studies indicate that a person will unconsciously react to a smulus just before it is delivered. When the response is in reference to an event that occurs in the near future (seconds, minutes), it is referred to as presenment; however, if the event is relavely more in the future (hours, years), this is usually referred to as precognion. There is growing understanding that every event has a psi signature, and that the body unconsciously senses this signature. Research now suggests that this signature may also relate to a growing potenal for the event to occur. Presenment and precognion seem to support the concept of a nontemporal nature of reality, meaning that all me is now. However, sensing that something is about to happen may be sensing the potenal for the event to occur, rather than clairvoyantly seeing into the future to experience the event. There seems to be more support for the idea that me exists and is not nontemporal. Prime Imperave: This is a rather ﬂamboyant way of saying that the one purpose everyone seems to share is to gain understanding from experience. This concept is fundamental to the

Implicit Cosmology. That is, Source exists and reality is an expression of Source. Curious to understand the nature of its own expression (implicaons, the so what), it is speculated that Source expressed aspects of itself to explore reality and eventually return understanding of its nature. As aspects of Source, we share this curiosity and the urge to understand...everything. In eﬀect, this understanding gained during a lifeme is our payload as we transion out of this lifeme and become more in agreement with Source. See Prime Imperave and Progression in the Ordering Principles Discourse. Process: A process is an ordered sequence of events. In metaphysics, creaon through process is an important alternave to the idea that a fully mature reality might spring into existence. The creave process is described as aenon on the expression of an imagined outcome with the intenon of making it so. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Progression: Progression represent the degree to which a personality sasﬁes its inherited urge to gain understanding. Progression can be described as spiritual maturity from a body-centric perspecve. See Prime Imperave and Progression in the Ordering Principles Discourse. Pseudoscience: Pseudoscience means false science. It is a derogatory term coined by skepcs (175) to label subjects with which they disagree. This disagreement is seldom based on known instances of bad science, but rather because, in the Skepcal view, the subject is not supported by orthodox science. This term is virtually always used in conjuncon with eﬀorts to convince an audience to dislike,

mistrust or even fear the subject. See Froner Subject. Pseudoskepc: Pseudoskepcs or false skepc is a term that refers to people who reject ideas without examinaon if they do not seem to be supported by mainstream science. Since pseudoskepcs proudly refer to themselves as skepcs and it is under that tle that they are found on the Internet, the ATransC refers to them as skepcs. See the Skepcs Commentary Psi: Term coined by J. B. Rhine to represent the unknown force involved in Extrasensory Percepon (ESP) and psychokinesis. It is popularly used today to mean psychic. Psi represents processes and elements in nature or in the human personality, which appear to transcend the accepted liming principles of science. Psi Field: Etheric ﬁelds are described in parapsychology as a psi ﬁeld. While physical energy is local and me dependent, the psi ﬁeld is experienced as being everywhere at the same me (nonlocal). The term is used in the Implicit Cosmology as it is intended in parapsychology, but here, psi ﬁelds are modeled as interconnected etheric ﬁelds, each instance being associated with a life ﬁeld’s percepon. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. Psi Funconing: The expression of intenon on the subtle energy referred to as psi. See psi funconing in the Mediumship Study. Psych-: This preﬁx is generally seen in psychology for mind or mental, which in paranormal phenomena, assumes the person is the direct causave agent when it has not been determined that such inﬂuence is not accomplished in cooperaon with or

by an etheric personality. Psychic: Ability to access informaon by sensing the nature of the psi ﬁeld. In the past, this ability has been referred to as Extra Sensory Percepon or ESP, but more recently it is known as psi funconing. It is correct to say that a person is psychic or to refer to a psychic ability. A psychic may not necessarily funcon as a medium, meaning the person may not be intending to access informaon from a discarnate personality. A psychic may be able to foretell the future, excel in psychometry and be clairvoyant but would not say that this informaon was coming from an etheric personality. See the Mediumship Study for a discussion about the disncon between psychic and medium. Psychokinesis (P.K.): Movement of an object via psi funconing. This is a term used in parapsychology. Telekinesis is an alternave term meaning to have an inﬂuence from a distance. See Telekinesis. Psychometry: In psychometry, informaon about a place, object or the owner of the object is accessed by touching an object, an auric ﬁeld or the local environment such as near a person or in a building. This is a form of psi funconing in which the praconer senses informaon carried by objects or places in which their history is thought to be imprinted. (Blank) Q R Raps: A common feature of physical séances. Noises are heard as knocks, pops, cracks and bangs. Coded communicaon is possible. Current research indicates that the raps originate within the material,

suggesng they are psychokinecally induced. Rapport: Relaonship, especially one of mutual trust or emoonal aﬃnity. Transcommunicaon messages have emphasized the importance of rapport within a circle wishing to develop physical phenomena. The aenon/intenon relaonship amongst life ﬁelds can be characterized as rapport. Likewise, the link of entanglement between etheric personality and its avatar and between a top organizing ﬁeld and its subﬁelds might be characterized in terms of rapport. See the Rapport in the Ordering Principles Discourse and the SORRAT (174) and (149) references. Reality: Reality is seen in the Implicit Cosmology as a fundamental characterisc of all there is. And here, all there is is deﬁned as the life ﬁeld referred to in this cosmology as Source. That would make Source’s life ﬁeld the reality ﬁeld. While there is one reality, experienced reality is relave because it is perceived by individuals as personal reality. If Source is just an aspect of an even greater reality, then that greater reality is well beyond the scope of this cosmology. Here, all things begin with Source as a basic assumpon. See the The Nature of Reality Discourse. Reincarnaon: The rebirth of the personality in another physical body. Based on the Implicit Cosmology, it appears that some people may choose to reincarnate into this physical venue for learning; however, it is as likely that a person will decide to move on to a diﬀerent venue for learning, depending on the need for experience. It should be noted that a past life regression is

capable of calling up a thoughorm represenng someone’s lifeme that might help answer the sier’s needs to learn, even though it is not necessarily that person’s past lifeme. This is a common explanaon for why so many people have been important historical ﬁgure in their past. Researcher: While an EVP praconer conducts roune recordings for the collecon of informaon, a researcher conducts experiments following a protocol designed to provide veriﬁable data. In froner subjects, it is more oen the praconers who must conduct research. Residual Energy: Living organisms are thought to emanate a form of energy somemes referred to as the bioﬁeld. This is usually the heat, light and electromagnec signature of biological processes. Life forms are also thought to have a psi ﬁeld which is associated with their organizing ﬁeld and mental expressions. From the body-centric perspecve, some characteriscs of these ﬁelds are believed to accumulate in a locaon or in associaon with an object such as a ring. This residual signature is thought to be expressed in greater abundance when the person expresses extreme emoons. Thus, locaons with long-me human occupancy, especially hospitals and theaters, are thought to have a strong presence of this residual ﬁeld. From the personality-centric perspecve, a contact ﬁeld is developed in relaonship with a point of aenon. This is not an energy-based explanaon, but a focus of aenon and rapport-based model. See Contact Field in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Retrocognion: Awareness or knowledge of facts of past events or persons acquired by means

of psychic ability. Retro Familiar Storytelling: Modiﬁcaon of an inial memory or sense based on feedback from the environment. In mediumship, this is seen when the medium elaborates on the message based on the sier’s feedback. For instance, the Medium might say “I see a big tree.” The sier might respond with “I like to read under a big tree.” In Retro Familiar Storytelling, the feedback from the sier might produce a response from the medium as “Yes, I see that. You like the warmth from the sun.” This is coloring based on informaon that was not in the originally sensed message. Any modiﬁcaon of how a person senses memory, a psi signal or visualizaon based on feedback from the environment should be considered a form of storytelling that possibly colors the original sense beyond its inial meaning. This eﬀect is probably best seen as a sloppy mental habit that can be managed through mindfulness. See Retro Familiar Storytelling in the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study. Revelaon: Something revealed especially a dramac disclosure of something not previously known or realized. S Science: Science is based on the point of view that reality is knowable. It is pracced as the scienﬁc method. The objecve is to produce understanding in a form that can be tested and applied as engineering soluons. See the Science Commentary. Sciensm: The belief that science, the scienﬁc method and work product is the only way to validate reality. In praccal terms, sciensm holds that, if something is

not recognized by mainstream science, then it is not real and is, therefore, impossible. When people under the cloak of authority of science advise the public about any subject without analysis of available informaon about that subject, they are eﬀecvely praccing sciensm. (106) Skepcs are, by deﬁnion, believers in sciensm. Scienﬁc Method: A systemac approach to gaining understanding about a subject. There are a number of techniques commonly used for research. Stascal analysis, for instance, is used as a means of determining whether or not there is a signiﬁcant diﬀerence between control and experimental results. Also common is meta-analysis which involves reviewing many research reports to idenfy trends. It is becoming evident that techniques which are useful for physical phenomena may not be appropriate for the study of trans-etheric inﬂuences. As such, it should be cauoned that one size does not ﬁt all. (176) See the Science Commentary. Séance: A group of people sing for the purpose of obtaining psychic manifestaons or for establishing transcommunicaon. The presence of an established physical medium is helpful, but in development circles, the group may seek to have one of their members emerge as a new physical medium. Séances are typically conducted in a completely dark room; however, some choose to work in dim light or red light. See Home Circle. Sier: The aendees of a séance or sing; a person who is the point of aenon for a medium, healing intenon or for psi funconing. Skepc: Perhaps the most important trait for anyone

involved in the study of froner subjects is the ability to maintain an open mind while praccing discernment. This atude is somemes referred to as skepcism; however, when a person is skepcal of something without reason or to favor a belief over objecvity, that person is popularly known as a skepc. Rather than praccing discernment, skepcs acvely campaign to teach the public to see new thought as a hazard to society. As is already occurring in some governments, including the USA, this viliﬁcaon of froner subjects has the potenal to cause social and governmental reacon that could at the least prevent further study and possibly provoke acon harmful to people studying these subjects. (7) Because of this, it is no longer realisc to ignore skepcs or their eﬀorts. A potenally useful alternave term for the kind of skepcism pracced by skepcs is sciensm which means the ideological belief that science (mainstream science) is the only authority on the nature of reality. This is where the idea comes from that “If it is impossible according to (main- stream) science, then it cannot be.” The rest of this ideology is that anything not accepted by mainstream science must be pseudoscience. Skepcism in itself is a healthy atude so long as it is accompanied by open-minded invesgaon. Perhaps a beer term for open-minded skepcism is discernment. See the Skepcs Commentary. Skepc’s Syndrome: Assumed knowledge which is usually based on faith, belief or popular wisdom but seldom based on empirical evidence. The syndrome manifests

as the assumpon that one’s own understanding of a subject is more correct than that held by others without regard to evidence to the contrary. This atude is maintained in the face of empirical evidence by making unsupported assumpons, beliling those who do not agree and aempng to associate the opposing view with previously discredited concepts. See Assumed Knowledge. Source: Source is used in the Implicit Cosmology as the name for the inial cause of reality. This is the same concept as God, First Cause, Inﬁnite Intelligence and Creator Personality. In this hypothesis, Source is credited with the same aributes idenﬁed with life ﬁelds including self- determinaon, point of view, purpose and an urge to understand local reality. In fractals, Source is the top fractal. See the Source Discourse. Spirit: As common usage, spirit refers to the vital principle or animang force of life; the indestrucble essence of self-conscious life. The word spirit is oen used to describe a discarnate person. The more correct term for a person who has transioned from a physical lifeme is a person in spirit or a discarnate person. The term, spirit, is closely related to religious belief, and so is somemes avoided when discussing metaphysics. When the healing inﬂuence is said to be derived directly from Source (God) and undiﬀerenated by any other personality, it is said to be coming from Spirit. Here Spirit is wrien with a capital S. In common usage, spirit, wrien with a lower case s is a reference to

the psi ﬁeld as it is inﬂuenced by intenonality. See Etheric. Spiritual: Anything relang to Source (Inﬁnite Intelligence, God, Prime Creator or First Cause). It is reasonable and proper to refer to the purpose and originaon of reality as spiritual. A person expressing the high ideals of cizenship in the greater reality might be referred to as spiritual or being spiritual. (Yes, the ideals themselves are an abstracon, but the point should be clear that a conscious eﬀort to be a good cizen is paramount.) Spiritual Healing: See the Healing Intenon Study. Spiritualism: A system of belief based on the acceptance of the survival hypothesis, transcommunicaon and healing intenon. It assumes that all trans-etheric inﬂuences including acquision of informaon via mediumship and healing intenon exists as the cooperaon between a Medium and a discarnate helper. The Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (NSAC) (2) deﬁnes Spiritualism as the “Science, Philosophy and Religion of connuous life, based upon the demonstrated fact of communicaon, by means of mediumship, with those who live in the Spirit World.” Spiritualism, especially NSAC Spiritualism, is listed here because it does not require members of the community to believe anything beyond the Declaraon of Principles (10), and does oﬀer a community of likeminded seekers. It maintains nine principles of the Declaraon of Principles constute the NSAC tenet, which are consistent with the Implicit Cosmology. The only belief is the existence of Inﬁnite Intelligence. The rest is acceptance of survival, an assumpon of personal responsibility and the expectaon that

a person will seek to understand the nature of reality and live in accordance with that understanding. Stochasc Resonance: Stochasc resonance (131) is an eﬀect that results in a weak signal being ampliﬁed in a nonlinear system when a large noise background is applied. A common factor in many forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence is the presence of noise. It is speculated that a weak telekinec inﬂuence (signal) is made stronger via stochasc ampliﬁcaon. In electronic circuits, the acve regions of tubes and transistors provide the necessary nonlinear condion for ampliﬁcaon. See Apports and Intended Order. Storytelling: Claiming what was experienced is phenomenal by telling a reasonable story that seems to make the claim sensible. This is a way of leading a witness into believing an event or example is paranormal even though it is mundane. In EVP, something to the eﬀect of “I asked where my book was and recorded, ‘ten ... other ...yes.’ The enty was telling me I was only ten feet from it and that it was somewhere other than where I was looking and that ‘yes,’ I will ﬁnd it.” In fact, the possible EVP had nothing to do with the queson, but the story seemed to make it sound like a good answer. See the Arfacts and Perceptual Error Study. Subjecve Phenomena: See Conceptual. Subject Maer Specialist: A person who has more than average experience as a praconer; may or may not be a researcher, experience consistent with appropriate science; parcipates in peer review; somemes

a cizen scienst. (177) Subliminal: Below the threshold of conscious percepon; not suﬃcient to produce conscious awareness but able to cause a response by way of the Aenon Complex. See the Percepon and Expression Discourse. Subtle Energy: See Etheric, Etheric Field and Psi Field. Super-Psi Hypothesis: A theory designed to explain observed psychic abilies, but from the perspecve of psychology. Rather than allowing for survived personality, it depends on the belief that, once created, informaon exists forever. The hypothesis proposes a vast reservoir of residual conscious energy (fossil memory) which is accessible by people who exhibit the ability to psychically access informaon. This hypothesis depends on mind as a product of brain, but which is then independent of brain and connues aer the brain dies as a survived memory. It also depends on the existence of a psi ﬁeld. See the Trans- Survival Hypothesis Discourse. Survival: In the context of metaphysics, the connuance of the personality aer the change called death. It is the fundamental doctrine of Spiritualism. See the Transion Experience in the Progression, Teaching and the Community Discourse. Survival Hypothesis: See the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse. T Telekinesis: The movement of objects with the inﬂuence of intenon; have an inﬂuence from a distance; psi funconing. Also known as Psychokinesis. Thought Ball: Robert Monroe (53) described the method of communicaon between people he encountered during his out-of-body travels as an exchange of thought balls he called rotes. Thought balls may be thought of as thoughorms, or more speciﬁcally, intenon ﬁelds.

The term is useful in describing an exchange of informaon that is sensed as a gestalt impression that includes intenon, feelings and imagery as an instantaneous experience. See Intenon Fields in the Etheric Fields Discourse. Thoughorm: Thoughorms are treated as etheric ﬁelds that funcon as a container for informaon. In their simplest form, they are a collecon of related informaon bound by or aracted to a central theme. The intended outcome (expression) of the creave process is generally thought of as a thoughorm which acts as a formave inﬂuence for physical acon (moon, voice), conscious thought or an ideoplasc structure. See the Etheric Fields Discourse. Trance: A spontaneous or induced sleep-like condion or altered state of consciousness that permits the subject’s body to be used by a discarnate personality for communicaon. Trance may be very light with lile diﬀerence than consciousness, either outward or inward. It may be very deep with the medium totally unaware of the surroundings or the messages being spoken via the body. Upon coming back to consciousness, the person so entranced may remember nothing of what has happened while in the trance state. To all intents and purposes the personality speaking and the person in trance are enrely diﬀerent. Trans-: Across, from there to here. Used here as across the interface from the greater reality to the physical aspect of reality. Etheric is used as shorthand to indicate the greater reality. Transcommunicaon: A trans-etheric inﬂuence that is intended to be communicaon; trans-etheric communicaon. Not all trans-etheric

inﬂuences are considered communicaon. Some, such as residual inﬂuence phenomena may simply happen without regard to who is experiencing the event. Ernst Senkowski (129) coined the term Instrumental TransCommunicaon or ITC to describe meaningful anomalies including extraordinary voices, computer text, recorded images and images found on video displays which are suggesve of a connuance of life aer death. (Because of common usage in this ﬁeld, terms with a trans- preﬁx can be used without the hyphen.) Note that aer-death communicaon, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and mediumship should be considered forms of transcommunicaon. Trans-etheric: From the etheric aspect of reality to the physical aspect of reality. The trans- preﬁx is always used here to mean across the veil. Trans-etheric Communicaon: See Transcommunicaon above. Trans-etheric Inﬂuence: The expression of intended order from the etheric to the physical when an etheric personality communicates with a physical person or when a haunngs event occurs. All trans-etheric inﬂuences are considered conceptual inﬂuences producing objecve eﬀects. See Transcommunicaon above. Transﬁguraon: Recognizable portrayals of discarnate persons are formed over the medium’s features. This phenomenon usually takes place in dim light as ectoplasm is thought to be used to produce the transformaon. In good subjects, the ectoplasmic material can be seen during the forming process. Transform EVP: In ITC, available physical energy is transformed into words or images. That is, the resulng voice in EVP has much the same frequency proﬁle as the background noise. The physical process thought to be involved is stochasc ampliﬁcaon of a weak

signal imposed via the psychokinec expression of intenon; acve component such as a transistor. See Audio ITC in the Transcommunicaon Study. Transion: A term used to describe the process of dying out of this physical aspect of reality (this lifeme) and the return of the conscious focus of aenon to the more natural nonphysical environment. Transion is a more accurate term for what is currently called death. Trans-Survival Hypothesis: A theorecal model designed to put current understanding about the connuaon of personality aer transion (physical death) into a form that can be used to predict outcomes of future research. This is the ATransC version of the survival hypothesis used in parapsychology. It is rather diﬀerent from the parapsychological version because it incorporates what has been learned in the study of transcommunicaon. This hypothesis is an aempt to idenfy objecve studies which support the Survival Hypothesis over the Super-Psi Hypothesis, and, of course, the Physical Universe Hypothesis. The Implicit Cosmology is designed to provide a model of reality that is based on the implicaons of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis. See the Trans-Survival Hypothesis Discourse for a full explanaon U Understanding: The presumed objecve of progression is returning to Source an understanding of its true nature. Understanding is resident in worldview. It informs percepon by way of the Perceptual Loop, and is therefore a controlling factor for a person’s personal reality. In pracce, understanding decides what of reality a person is able to experience (Perceptual Agreement). See the Progression, Teaching and the Community

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1923. archive.org/details/phenomenaofmater00schr. 39999056769407. 170. Scholarpedia. scholarpedia.org. 171. Botkin, Allan. Induced Aer-Death Communicaon. induced- adc.com/. 172. EMDR. Eye Movement Desensizatoion and Reprocessing Therapy. EMDR Instute, Inc. emdr.com/. 173. Kokubo, Hideyuki, Takagi, Osamu and Nemoto, Yasuyuki. “Spaal Distribuon of Healing Power: Spaal Distribuon of Healing Power.” Society for Anomaliscs. 2011. anomalisk.de/images/pdf/sdm/sdm- 2011-10-kokubo.pdf. 174. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Examples of Other ITC Techniques: SORRAT.” Associaon TransCommunicaon. atransc.org/examples/examples_other_techniques.htm. 175. Butler, Tom. “Skepc: On Praccing Healthy Skepcism and Being a Skepc.” Etheric Studies. 2011. ethericstudies.org/culture/skepc.htm. 176. Butler, Tom. “The Scienﬁc Method: As it Applies to The Study of Transcommunicaon.” Etheric Studies. 2014. ethericstudies.org/culture/scienﬁc_method.htm. 177. Jones, Andrew Zimmerman. “Decoherence and the Measurement Problem.” About.com Physics. physics.about.com/od/quantumphysics/ﬂ/Decoherence-and-the- Measurement-Problem.htm. 178. Myers, Steve. “Myers Briggs Personality Types.” Team Technology. teamtechnology.co.uk//t-arcl/mb-simpl.htm. 179. David W. Merrill, Roger H. Reid. Personal Styles and Eﬀecve Performance. Chilton Book Company, 1981. 180. Weitz, Edmund Prof. Dr. “Mandelbrot set explorer.” Edi Weitz. 2013. weitz.de/mandelbrot/. 181. Tymn, Michael E. “Imperator and Rector.” Survival Aer Death. survivalaerdeath.info/spiritcontrols/imperator-rector.htm. 182. Tippit, Sarah. “Study: Brains Funcon in Clinically Dead.” NBC News, About, 2003. abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98447 183. Russell, Ronald. “Far Journeys by Robert Monroe: An Excerpt from the new book.” Intuive Connecons Network. 1992. intuive- connecons.net/2007/book-monroe.htm. ISBN-10: 0385231822. 184. Mügge, Kai. “Felix Experimental Group.” Felix Experimental Group. felixcircle.blogspot.com/. 185. McTaggart, Lynne. The Intenon Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World. Free Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0743276957, ISBN-13: 978-0743276955. 186. Near-Death Experience, Consciousness and the Brain. Lommel, Pim Van. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2006, World Futures, The Journal of

Tom and Lisa, Editors. “ATransC Online Journal.” Associaon TransCommunicaon. atransc.org/journal.htm. 206. Butler, Tom. “Pseudoscience.” Etheric Studies. 2012. ethericstudies.org/culture/pseudoscience.htm. 207. Pell, Rich. “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain).” EE Times. 2007. eemes.com/author.asp? secon_id=1&doc_id=1283413. 208. Gurstelle EB, de Oliveira JL. “Dayme parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep.” US Naonal Library of Medicine, Naonal Instute of Health. 2004. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619. 209. Saw, James T. “Gestalt.” Design Notes: Art 104 Sesign and Composion. Palomar College, 2000. daphne.palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html. 210. Blank 211. Blank 212. “David Chalmers - the hard problem.” Conscious Enes. consciousenes.com/chalmers.htm. 213. Nahmias, Eddy. “Why we have free will.” Scienﬁc American. January 2015. scienﬁcamerican.com/arcle/why-we-have-free-will/. 214. Singer, Emily. “A Comeback for Lamarckian Evoluon?” MIT Technology Review. 2009. technologyreview.com/news/411880/a- comeback-for-lamarckian-evoluon/. 215. American Society of Standards in Mediumship and Psychical Invesgaon. assmpi.org/. 216. Nashawaty, Chris. “The Jerusalem Syndrome: Why Some Religious Tourists Believe They Are the Messiah.” Wired Magazine. 2012. wired.com/2012/02/ﬀ_jerusalemsyndrome. 217. Miller, Glenn M.D. “Voyager Syndrome.” Glenn Miller M.D. glennmillermd.com/voyager-syndrome. 218. Blank 219. “Talk:Pseudoscience.” Wikipedia. January 15, 2015. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Pseudoscience#Learning_styles_as_pseud oscience. 220. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “The EVP of Tom and Lisa Butler 2.” Associaon TransCommunicaon. atransc.org/examples/evpexamples_butler2.htm. 221. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Faces on the Wall.” Spiritualist Society of Reno. 1998. spiritualistsocietyofreno.org/arcles/face_on_wall.htm. 222. Interdisciplinary Laboratory For Biopsychocybernecs Research (Il Laboratorio). Defunct. 223. Butler, Tom. “The Monroe Way.” Associaon TransCommunicaon. 2008. atransc.org/arcles/monroe_way.htm. 224. Blank 225. Hogan, Craig Ph.D. Self-guided Aerlife Connecons. selfguided.spiritualunderstanding.org/. 226. Zahradnik, Walter von Lucadou & Frauke. “Predicons of The Model of Pragmac Informaon About RSPK.” Parapsych.org. 2004.

Arst: Anne Wipf From the arst: “This picture belongs to a series of 64 landscapes inspired by the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching (Yi King), the Chinese oracle book. I hope you’ll like my interpretaon. “Words which inspired me: Tree on a mountain, bride, wild geese, shore, cliﬀ, dry plateau, cloudy heights.” I thank Anne for allowing the use of her work for this book cover. 1. Back Cover Immortal Self-Centric Mindfulness The most important understanding seekers of spiritual maturity must come to is the diﬀerence between lucidity and hyperlucidity. Lucidity is the degree to which we are able to clearly sense informaon from our mostly unconscious mind. Hyperlucidity is a term used in the Implicit Cosmology for a complex of behaviors movated by the belief we are lucid when we are actually only sensing what we have been taught to expect. The second most important understanding is that lucidity is the seeker’s objecve, but that it is achieved in small steps. The only real conscious inﬂuence we have on our mostly unconscious mind is the expression of intenon. This means that we must learn to consciously examine what we think is true. Mind changes only slowly, and so, the seeker’s objecve is to habitually express the intenon to align percepon with the actual nature of reality. In the ﬁrst book, Your Immortal Self, the process of consciously seeking greater lucidity is referred to as the Mindful Way. Many people pracce mindfulness simply to improve personal wellbeing. A few

step onto the Mindful Way to seek greater understanding of their immortal nature and the nature of the reality they inhabit. Even fewer remain as wayshowers for those who seek greater lucidity. The fact of our immortality is explained in Your Immortal Self. This book, Exploring the Mindful Way, includes twenty-one essays explaining some of the more important concepts encountered on the Mindful Way. While you will beneﬁt from ﬁrst reading Your Immortal Self, there are suﬃcient explanaons in this book to make it a stand-alone text. Will you be a wayshower? Acknowledgments Admiedly, this book is all about reality according to Tom Butler. Should you disagree with what I have said, your disagreement is with me. However, much of what I think is true is anchored on what I have learned in the study of transcommunicaon with Lisa, so if you like the book, thank her. Lisa has also been the move force for our work in this ﬁeld. This is important, because I think there are contribuons in this book and Your Immortal Self (1) that will eventually further general understanding of our nature and the nature of reality. Had she not persisted in the study of EVP, I might have focused my interests on easier subjects such as invenng perpetual moon. As I said in Your Immortal Self, the paranormalist community provided the background inﬂuence which gave me reason to compose this work in the ﬁrst place. Every me someone made a faith-based comment as if it

were fact, I hurried back to my computer to worked on this book. Content Exploring the Mindful Way Exploring the Mindful Way Publisher Use License About the Cover Back Cover Acknowledgments Content Introducon to This Book Test Your Teacher Important Inﬂuences Mechanics Possible Errors References and Alternave Sources Essay 1 Condional Free Will About This Essay Introducon Anatomy of a Life Field Determinisc Inﬂuences Finding Free Will A Talisman Essay 2 The Mindful Way About This Essay Purpose Mindfulness Teachers What We Do Now Maers Worldview Personal Reality, Local Reality and the Greater Reality Suspended Judgment Self-Determinaon The Mindful Way Essay 3 Prime Imperave About This Essay Abstract Introducon Point of View for This Essay Our Etheric Nature Natural Law Organizing Principles Understanding Purpose as Prime Imperave Essay 4 Immortal Self-Centric Perspecve About This Essay Introducon Perspecve Our Body is a Complete Organism Our Body as Avatar Survival of Body Mind Personal Style and Astrology Balance Irraonal Behavior Degrading Avatar Relaonship May I Introduce Myself? Essay 5 Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness About This Essay Introducon Morality Versus Ethics First Ethical Consideraon Ethical Treatment of Human Research Subject A Useful Code of Ethics Ethical Conduct is a Lifelong Learning Experience Essay 6 Paranormalist Community About This Essay The Paranormalist Community A Divided Community A Community Divided Cannot Stand Culvang a Common Culture Essay 7 Clarity of Communicaon About This Essay Introducon People Have a Style of Learning. Selecve Understanding Selecve Aenon A mismatch of agenda impairs communicaon. Worldview

changes in small increments Discussion Essay 8 How We Think About This Essay Introducon Terms How We Think First Sight Theory Implicaons of Unconscious Preprocessing of Thought Lucidity Hyperlucidity Discussion Essay 9 Consensus Building in the Paranormalist Community About This Essay Introducon A Fractured Community Importance of Sharing Ideas Spiritual Anatomy Understanding is Relave Cooperave Community Jusﬁed Belief without understanding is Faith Summary Essay 10 Skepc About This Essay Abstract Introducon Skepcism and Sciensm Tells of a Skepc Comparing the View of Science with the View of Skepcs Organized Harm to Society A Case Study: Government Acng on Skepcal Views A Case Study: Skepcal Control of the Media Healthy Skepcism Skepcal About Skepcs Essay 11 Pseudoscience About This Essay Introducon Fact of Paranormal Phenomena is the Issue The Scienﬁc Method Inappropriate Science Pseudoscience Alternave Terms for Pseudoscience Sciensm Relave Sciensm Community Response Essay 12 Concerns with Wikipedia About This Essay General Treatment of Subjects Wikipedia Eding Rules Who Can Edit Arcles The Skepcal Community Personal Aacks Why This Is Important What can be Done? Navigaon Guide for Wikipedia Conclusion Essay 13 Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority About This Essay Background Science in the Paranormalist Community Human Research Subject Libel and Slander Opinion About Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority From My Experience Update Essay 14 Open Leer to Paranormalists About This Essay Introducon About This Leer The Paranormalist Community Theories of Reality Experiencing Phenomena What You Need to Know About Science Qualiﬁed to Pracce Science Pseudoscience Science and the Paranormalist Community Blind People

and an Elephant Concluding Comments Comments from the Media Essay 15 Let’s Talk About God About This Essay Introducon Building a Cosmology Implicit Cosmology As Above, So Below Unconscious Percepon Personal Reality Self-Organizing Reality God and Gods Essay 16 What is it Like on the Other Side About This Essay Introducon Old Models of Reality Transion Next Venue for Learning Moving On Essay 17 The Hermes Concepts About This Essay Introducon Who Was Hermes? Paraphrasing the Emerald Tablet The Foundaon Concepts Associated with Hermes The Three Aspects of a Teacher Important Metaphysical Concepts Aributed to Hermes The Seven Organizing Principles of the Kybalion My Introducon to the Hermec Concepts Reseng the Old Concepts Essay 18 The Razor’s Edge About This Essay Introducon Origin of the Upanishads Katha Upanishad Universal Message Essay 19 Progression, Teaching and Community About This Essay Spirituality Cooperaon Friends as Teachers Selﬂess People A Vision About Collecves First a Student, Then a Teacher The Nature of Understanding The Process of Gaining Understanding We Exist to Learn The Prime Imperave as a Spiritual Obligaon The Transion Experience Self-Realizaon Essay 20 Law of Silence About This Essay Introducon Suspended Judgment It Takes a Community Praccing the Law of Silence Community Essay 21 Informed Regret About This Essay Introducon As it Happened for Me My Learned Point of View References and Alternave Sources Introduction to This Book Published 1994 Published 2016 Your Immortal Self: Exploring The Mindful Way (1) is my second version of a guidebook to the other side.

The ﬁrst was Handbook of Metaphysics. (2) Both were wrien in response to an urge to gather and present informaon which might help all of us on our journey to spiritual maturity. Handbook of Metaphysics was my ﬁrst book. It was intended to provide the kind of foundaon informaon I felt people needed to understand their paranormal experiences. It was wrien before the Internet, and as it turned out, I did not have the necessary experience to realize the publisher was not giving me the kind of guidance needed by new authors. Consequently, there are structural errors I would not make today. The Handbook is useful in a basic way, but it is out of date as compared to Your Immortal Self. Even though a few copies of the book are sll available from the publisher (no proﬁt to me), I do not recommend that you take me to read it. As a conservave paranormalist, I am probably one of the most pragmac people you will meet. This translates into an almost obsessive desire to focus on the more objecve aspects of these phenomena. This should be important to you because I am asking you to accept the possibility of survival as a fact, and not as a belief. You need to trust me well enough to at least tentavely accept the validity of the concepts I present. Doing so will help open your mind to the more abstract concepts. If survival is a fact, the implicaons of survival are

aconable. By that, I mean that understanding our spiritual nature should suggest acons we can take to beer align our thinking to be more in agreement with our immortal self. Your Immortal Self begins with an explanaon why the Survival Hypothesis needs to be considered when evaluang evidence related to all things paranormal. That argument is in Discourse 1: Trans-Survival Hypothesis. Discourse 2: Introducon to the Implicit Cosmology provides a detailed disclosure of the implicaons of survival. It is followed by many discourses that explain important elements of the cosmology, such as Discourse 2: Organizing Principles of Formaon, Discourse 6: Etheric Fields and Discourse 7: Life Fields. Essay 2: The Mindful Way in this book is based on Discourse 11. Essay 4: Immortal Self-Centric Perspecve is based on Discourse 8. Essay 19: Progression, Teaching and Community is based on Discourse 12. Your Immortal Self, Secon II: Community is concerned with the paranormalist community in which we must study phenomena related to our psychic ability and survival. For the same reason, this book, Exploring the Mindful Way, includes essays wrien in an immortal self-centric context about paranormalist community issues. Community is the habitat which we must experience to gain understanding. As such, it is important that we have at least a passing acquaintance with its nature. Your Immortal Self, Secon III: Transcommunicaon is concerned with some of the phenomena related to communicaon across the veil. I highly recommend Secon III: Transcommunicaon if you wish to learn how to work with survival-related

phenomena. To do so, you will need to read Your Immortal Self, as Exploring the Mindful Way has lile speciﬁcally about transcommunicaon. It is useful, though, to understand the nature of your immortal self to underpin your study of transcommunicaon. This enre book is wrien from the perspecve of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis with close aenon to the immortal self-centric perspecve. Each essay is complete in itself. I have aempted to follow the way of a teacher by arranging them as concepts, experiences and eﬀect. Test Your Teacher An important concept in the ancient wisdom schools is the idea that seekers most ask to be taught. However, having found a likely teacher, seekers are expected to test their teacher before agreeing to be a student. In the ancient wisdom schools, seekers oen study under the same teacher for many years. The relaonship should not be taken lightly. There is also the queson of the foundaon concepts taught by the school. What is the point of view taught in the school? For instance, in contemporary terms, does the teacher follow the Normalist school of thought in thinking there is no such thing as paranormal phenomena? In those terms, I am a Dualist and accept the evidence that we are immortal self. See: “A Divided Community“ in Essay 6: Paranormalist Community. When reading an arcle about anything important to you, it is always good to examine the author’s credenals. This is especially true for paranormalist subjects because there are so many people with

a view of the nature of reality that is simply not supported by the evidence. Sadly, many people in our community are happy to assert opinions under cloak of their unrelated academic authority, apparently without caring about the ethical implicaons of not telling their readers what they actually think is true. For instance, the parapsychological journals rounely include research reports wrien from the perspecve of anomalisc psychology, but rather than disclosing they are aempts to debunk phenomena, the arcles appear to be honest exploraons of how people experience the phenomena. There is even a recent book about EVP that includes material strongly reminiscent of the an-survival wring of anomalisc psychology. Anomalisc psychology is the study of unusual human experiences with the intenon to prove they have a non-paranormal explanaon. (58) Beyond advanced training in their speciﬁc subject, doctorates are supposed to be trained in crical thinking, technical wring, research design and advanced use of libraries. As a four-year engineering graduate, I was trained in the same, but did not have some of the advanced technical courses, nor did I undergo the rigorous coaching for theses wring. Even though my engineering degree is probably more technically rigorous than required for an advanced degree in psychology or philosophy, you should expect a Ph.D. in one of those ﬁelds to be beer trained in crical thinking, a most important skill for paranormalists. If you do not have a college degree, it is reasonable for me to expect that you are not as well

trained in crical thinking, research design or praccal report wring. Certainly, I know my skills fall short of many Ph.Ds. I have encountered. This is not to say a person without a college degree is inferior, it is just a fact of life that all of us must consider. The same must be said about the subject area in which a person is academically trained. My degree in electronics included considerable training in physics and some in chemistry. I am close to a master’s degree in math, but there is no way I can or should claim academic authority held by a Ph.D. in physics or chemistry. By the same token, I have ﬁy or so years studying various aspects of metaphysics. Of course, I read books … hundreds, it seems! In 1992, I turned that reading for personal improvement into research for the Handbook of Metaphysics. (2) Interspersed with my reading, hands-on pracce and wring has been numerous total emersion courses such as those oﬀered by The Monroe Instute, (3) The Silva Method (4) and Delphi University (5). It has been my belief that the best way to understand a system of thought is to immerse myself in that system for a me. That has resulted in mul-year experiences in systems such as BOTA, (6) Eckankar (7) and even ordinaon in Spiritualism. (8) Lisa and I have been the Directors of the ATransC since 2000. As directors, we have been directly involved in research, study, producon of phenomena and

sing with praconers, including hosng sessions with some of the most acve physical mediums of our me. The enrety of my experience has been from the crical eye of an engineer. Lisa and I consider ourselves amongst the most pragmac people you will meet in this community. While this has turned out to be a handicap, considering that popularity is part of leadership, it should give you assurance that we are going to base our comments on the most objecve view available. Important Inluences Many of the ideas explored in Your Immortal Self came from some of the situaons I oen encounter in day-to-day living. For instance, the skepc’s complaint that we have no theory explaining survival phenomena parcularly informed my eﬀorts with the Implicit Cosmology. It was from my days as a Wikipedia editor that I learned the depth of the skepc’s faith in orthodox science. Of course, I have been inﬂuenced by parapsychological research. As you would see in Essay 13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority and Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists in the book, my study of that research and interacon with parapsychologists has also informed my dissasfacon with the way transcommunicaon praconers have been treated. Some theories have had an important inﬂuence on my point of view. You will see that I am parcularly impressed with Rupert Sheldrake‘s work on morphogenec ﬁelds and James Carpenter‘s work on percepon. The study of psi phenomena by parapsychologists has established an important foundaon for discussing survival. But don’t be

too impressed. Psi-to- survival phenomena is a lile like the way gravity is to rocketry. Rocketry is all about thrust and payload, of which gravity is only one factor, albeit a major one. All mental funconing involves psi funconing, but the study we are interested in is the relaonship between conscious self and mostly unconscious mind. As James Carpenter proposes in First Sight Theory, the real study is in how the mind process informaon. Exisng metaphysics and ancient wisdoms have shaped New Age thought. Of course, religions have an inﬂuence, but they were ﬁrst inﬂuenced by the same ancient wisdoms and philosophy, which was eventually corrupted in response to the need for social engineering. The principles governing our nature believed to be taught by Hermes, probably 6,000 years ago in Egypt, are essenally the same as those we seek to understand today. The Tarot is a relavely modern interpretaon of those ancient wisdoms. And, in fact, combined with contemporary understanding, the Major Arcana of the Tarot represent an important tool for personal progression. More contemporary developments are leading to the rediscovery of the ancient wisdoms; however, it is the more contemporary view I present in my wring. With that said, I ﬁnd it useful to point out how our current understanding tends to verify some of the concepts of ancient wisdom. Transcommunicaon phenomena have been the most important inﬂuence on my wring. They are also the most objecve. Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) provides a means of tesng trans-etheric inﬂuences. Survival

is a trans-etheric experience. Thinking is a trans-etheric process. All of these are psi funconing, but it is the transformaon of psi inﬂuence to physical objecvity that provides important hints about our immortal nature. The beer part of my life has been in pursuit of understanding about my own nature. This has given me insight into what needs to be done to increase lucidity, to have a sense of the variety of phenomena, to eﬀecvely product phenomena and to recognize the confusion of false posives. It is diﬃcult to assess the degree to which I have gained lucidity. For me, clear sensing of the etheric is more an emergent knowing then voices or pictures. Aer so many years of gradual development, it is probably no longer possible for me to know what it is like not to have this clarity. As a person trained to solve problems in my work as an engineer, I have always begun with a mental exercise. This means it is also diﬃcult to disnguish the knowing of simple problem solving and the knowing that comes from my friends on the other side. Is there really a diﬀerence? Much of my wring begins with that sense of knowing. While I am not so vain as to think I am a channel for discarnate geniuses, I am also not so arrogant as to claim I did this on my own. All of us work as a community. Your Immortal Self and this book are designed to help

you make that a conscious collaboraon. Mechanics Each essay in this book was originally wrien as my eﬀort to understand an aspect of the Mindful Way. Wring an essay about a subject I am trying to understand helps me focus. I speak of the need for parcipaon in a cooperave community for personal progression. In a way, wring an essay serves as my cooperave community. (Perhaps with a lile help from my friends on the other side.) The result of this approach to essay wring is that each easy is a standalone document. My theme is always “How can this subject be understood in terms of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis?” As such, most essays share more or less the same foundaon concepts. That means, when they are compiled into a book, the supporng concepts are oen repeated. I am saying all of this to explain that you will ﬁnd parts of each essay that seem familiar. When you do, resist skimming past those parts. Each explanaon of the concepts is tailored to show how they apply to the topic. In this way, I hope to help you understand the concepts you need for progression by showing how they apply to real-life subjects. Some of the essays, such as Essay 2: The Mindful Way, are taken directly from Your Immortal Self, but typically with a lile updang. You will ﬁnd many of these essays on EthericStudies.org but those may be out of date. If you noce the year the essay was originally

wrien, you can guess that my understanding has evolved. The version for this book has been evolved and some integraon with the other essays has been done to clarify communicaon. Possible Errors You will ﬁnd mechanical, grammacal, and possibly, logical disconnuies in this book. We spent nearly ﬁve $5,000 having Your Immortal Self proofread and copyedited. Even so, since it was ﬁrst published, I have found enough mistakes to feel the need to reissue the book. Yet, it is likely more errors remain. Proceeds from sales of Your Immortal Self are being used to pay for the inial cost of publishing, including prooﬁng. At the rate the book is selling, it will probably never pay for those costs. Yes, I am wring to a very small audience, but the cost simply does not warrant the beneﬁt of a slightly improved product, so I am the proofreader. I was once told by an English teacher that, based on my entrance exams, I should not be in college. Perhaps he had a point. The logical review of my work is even more diﬃcult. Academically trained metaphysicians will probably not care for my self-taught approach. From my experience with parapsychologists, few have the necessary background to logically review the Implicit Cosmology. Possibly, this is one of those “Write it and help will come” situaons. Because of this lack of peer veng, it is wise for you to focus more on the usefulness of the message than on the metaphysics. As I somemes do

on the website, I am asking for input from you, should you see problems in structure that need to be ﬁxed. The website contact tool is available for your suggesons, comments and quesons. Depending on interest, the Idea Exchange will be available, as well. You will see in the essays that I consider collaboraon essenal for our progressions. References and Alternative Sources The more you know about the subject, the beer prepared you will be to apply them to your daily living. It is up to you to do the work. That is why so many alternave sources are listed in the References. I do not necessarily endorse the supporng material. The references are provided to give you access to further background, or in some cases, more detailed explanaons. Consider the References a study guide. The book is available as an eBook and a paperback. I have not included as many internal links in the eBook version as I did in Your Immortal Self, but sll, the eBook version is designed to make study a lile easier. You may also want to keep the Glossary of Terms (9) open on your computer. It is at ethericstudies.org/glossary-of-terms/ under the Glossary Tab. Alternavely, a more current version is at the back of Your Immortal Self. Because of the standalone nature of each essay, you need not have read Your Immortal Self. When I would normally refer to Your Immortal Self, I have usually been able to refer to another essay for the

more detailed explanaon I intend. With that said, this is a companion book to Your Immortal Self. I do recommend that you read both. It is my pracce to include sidebars containing informaon that should be helpful but break the ﬂow of the argument. Sidebars do not work well in small-format books or eBooks, so such comments are set aside with a diﬀerent color and oﬀset like this. Essay 1 Conditional Free Will 2017 About This Essay Whether or not we have free will has always been a concern in my work with metaphysics. A cornerstone of the cosmologies I work with is the idea that we are creators and that we create by imposing our intended order. But, what if what we express is not what we intend? The queson became increasingly present in my daily acvies as I began the inial layout of this book. The way I respond to such perturbaons in my life is to write an essay. It is during the process of composing my thoughts to write, that I am able to access the scraps of memory related to the subject at hand. At my age, there are a lot of scraps and the ruminang can take days. The way I put it, my study of the Hermec Wisdoms has taught me to learn everything I can about everything. This is not so much a study as it is mental taking note for future reference. Evidence for the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) is evidence of

our etheric anatomy and that is evidence of the concept of intended order. As you will see in this essay, our ability to express intended order is impaired by environmental inﬂuences which include physical, biological, social and spiritual principles. Essay 2: The Mindful Way was going to be the ﬁrst in this book, but by the me I ﬁnished Condional Free Will, it seemed best to make that essay ﬁrst. Condional Free Will essay explains the best reason ever for you to step onto the Mindful Way. Also, the detailed explanaon of your spiritual anatomy will help you understand the rest of the book. Introduction The assumpon that we have free will is part of the foundaon on which we build our sense of self. Free will is usually characterized as the ability to decide for ourselves what to do next or how to react to informaon. Other ways of saying free will include self-determinaon and freedom of choice. While most of us assume we have free will, it turns out that many philosophers and sciensts think we might not. Here is a brief overview of contending theories (a more detailed discussion of these inﬂuences is provided under Determinisc Inﬂuences (below): Determinism In philosophy, the idea that the operaon of reality is determinisc means our choices are possibly predetermined. Determinism is something of an umbrella term for a number of determinisc inﬂuences. (11) In terms of human behavior, it means that our present is determined by our past. Determinisc inﬂuences

include our genes, prior experiences, social dynamics and cultural inﬂuences. In physical processes, it means that a process is bound by natural principles. Nature-Nurture Is a person’s temperament predominantly the product of social, environmental inﬂuences such as growing up in an academically inclined family versus one more focused on sports (Nurture)? Or, is a person’s temperament something that is set at birth; perhaps carried in our genes (Nature)? Also see Spiritual Insncts, below. Nature’s Habit The blueprint for the way biological organisms are formed, a process known as morphogenesis, has considerable momentum. That is, organisms change over me but do not abruptly change. An instance of a species formed today is virtually the same as that born yesterday. Rupert Sheldrake referred to this blueprint as Nature’s Habit. Human insncts are a behavior version of Nature’s Habit which tends to determine how an organism will behave. Just as with morphogenec momentum, behavior also has momentum so that our human body has essenally the same guiding insncts as all humans. These insncts tend to dominate our behavior at birth and are only moderated by reason as we gain in raonal maturity. God’s Will A widely held view is the religious one in which our fate is thought to be predesned as God’s will. This would seem to argue that whatever happens to us is not our fault but is our fate. This appears to be the ulmate surrender of self-determinaon, in which our only responsibility is to be a righteous believer. Predetermined

by Agreement This seems like a New Age theory, but it is actually very similar to God’s will, in that our acons are possibly predetermined by trans-etheric inﬂuences beyond our control once we enter into a lifeme. The idea is that, before we were born, we entered into an agreement with one or more other personalies to facilitate speciﬁc life experiences. This might be an agreement to be a mate, but there is no reason it cannot be an agreement to kill a person. In this view, people killed in a war would have agreed prior to being born to experience a violent death. This follows the argument that we must have a speciﬁc kind of experience to gain a speciﬁc kind of understanding. If this concept is true, we may be both the benefactor of the agreement and the supporng actor. This would suggest that we have free will prior to agreeing on an acon but are determiniscally guided for the life of the contract. Some argue that we might decide not to parcipate in the agreement when it is me to fulﬁll the contract. If so, that would be an expression of free will, but a violaon of a prior agreement. There is also the likelihood that we would not have the presence of mind to consciously decide our behavior. Spiritual Insncts If we accept the evidence of our immortality, then God’s will and pre- lifeme agreements are not out of the queson. As I will explain below,

we may have entered into this lifeme, this venue for learning, to gain understanding about some aspect of reality. Our free will is how we decide to respond to insncts we inherit from our local source. I refer to them as spiritual insncts to disnguish them from our human’s insncts. It seems prey clear that our free will is limited to some extent by determinisc inﬂuences. If I jump oﬀ of a cliﬀ, the natural principle of gravity assures I cannot change my mind. Being born a man predicts diﬀerent acons in life than being born a woman. Human insncts dominate our behavior, especially if we do not learn to manage them. There is lile doubt that some of us are very diﬀerent than others in our family, but the inﬂuence of family and culture determines who we are if we do not consciously act to make it otherwise. Anatomy of a Life Field This essay is wrien from the point of view that we are immortal personalies temporarily entangled with a human for this lifeme—a person. That is the essence of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) which I explain in detail in Your Immortal Self. (1) The model describing our life ﬁeld is included in the Implicit Cosmology, (12) which is based on implicaons of survival, current understanding and theory derived from our work with transcommunicaon. For the explanaons oﬀered in this essay to make sense, it is important that you are familiar with that model. As such, it is

brieﬂy explained here. Please note the meaning of implicaon. As I use it, implicaon means the consequences of what has been stated must be true for the original statement to be true. If we are immortal self, the implicaons that must be considered include the idea that we are not our human body, we are a person for a reason and we are likely inﬂuenced in some way by our human. If we do not accept those consequences, we cannot raonally accept the idea that we are immortal. A ﬁeld is deﬁned here as a set of elements with related characteriscs which are bound into a system by a common inﬂuence. In this model, life ﬁelds are the basic building blocks of reality. (13) A hypothecal Source life ﬁeld is the top ﬁeld in a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds. (14) Thus, the Source life ﬁeld is the body of reality. This follows the same model proposed by Rupert Sheldrake in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (15) In that, the morphic ﬁeld organizing a human organism is proposed as the top ﬁeld for all of the sub- ﬁelds represenng the various components of the body. In eﬀect, our life ﬁeld is a sub-life ﬁeld of Source and exist in Source’s ﬁeld of inﬂuence as an aspect of Source. A Source life ﬁeld and our relaonship with it is not important to a discussion about free will, except to establish a boundary for this model. The important elements of this boundary include:

• Our real home is described here as the etheric, which appears to be a form of conceptual space. • Reality consists of life ﬁeld and the expressions of life ﬁelds. • All is thought. Expression follows the Creave Process: Aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. • Fields of inﬂuence are the conceptual equivalent of physical objects. As such, the Source life ﬁeld is reality. • Everything in the Source life ﬁeld (everything in reality) is within the Source scope of inﬂuence. • Everywhere is here. Parapsychologists refer to this as nonlocality; however, it is more correct to say that everywhere is local. To understand the limits of our free will, it is necessary to understand how our mind processes informaon. That means understanding the anatomy of our life ﬁeld. But before I explain, it is necessary to clarify that I am not a psychologist, nor am I trained in any of the mind sciences. The model I use has been developed from black box analysis based on known and hypothecal input and output signals of an imaginary container represenng our life ﬁeld. Engineers use the same approach for designing electronic circuits. The result is a set of funconal areas inside the container which will respond to known inputs to produce known outputs. Done right, the resulng funconal areas of the model can be used to predict previously unnoced signals. People who are well informed about current thought concerning how our mind works will probably not

recognize or accept this model. I suppose one of the reasons for this is that few people actually trained in the subject are willing to include survival or transcommunicaon assumpons in its design. Just be clear that this is a useful tool for understanding the concepts I wish to discuss and not one that is likely to show up in academic literature. The Life Field Complex Diagram (above) represents the model which has resulted from black box analysis of our etheric anatomy. It is based on the assumpon that the Trans-Survival Hypothesis is mostly correct, (10) that the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon is essenally correct (15) and First Sight Theory is a reasonable model for our thought processes. (16) Supporng informaon includes the way we think transcommunicaon works and current parapsychological research results concerning psi funconing. As shown in the diagram, the major funconal areas of our life ﬁeld are: Intelligent Core Personality, which is our immortal aspect and source of our purpose. This is our I am this. It is this aspect with which we seek to become more consciously integrated. Aenon Complex Our mostly unconscious mind which represents the memory, percepon and expression processes. Conscious Self Our conscious perspecve as I think I am this. Conscious self is a traveling perspecve which, during a lifeme, seems to rest in the head of our human avatar. However, when sleeping or in an altered state, our perspecve is disassociated from our body and free to roam etheric space. This freedom

is limited by the Principle of Perceptual Agreement, which itself, is governed by Worldview. (17) In this model, processes such as expression and percepon are referenced in a very fundamental form. It is up to you to extrapolate how they apply to any one circumstance. The essays I write are intended to explain ideas that seem to be important for following the Mindful Way, such as Essay 17: The Hermes Concepts, Essay 3: Prime Imperave, Essay 9: Consensus Building in the Paranormalist Community and Essay 5: Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness. Environmental Signals Our mind is an etheric thing. Our body is physical. Well, at least we assign physicality to all of the informaon that comes to us via its senses. Given this physical-etheric diﬀerence, there must be some kind of conversion of informaon from physical to etheric. It seems reasonable to speculate that our human brain is where that conversion occurs. The eﬀect is that all of our body senses must be converted to etheric signals. In turn, all of our physical expressions such as speech or moon are converted by the brain from etheric to physical commands. Environmental informaon consists of signals from your body and psi signals from the etheric. Here, signal is used in the sense of expressed informaon, more as a gestalt-like thoughorm than a stream of informaon. James Carpenter posited that everything in reality expresses a psi signal and that all of our expressions are accompanied by a psi or psychokinec signal

impressed into the etheric. (17) (18) His Personalness Corollary [#1] and Weighng and Signing Corollary [#6] describe how we tend to pay aenon to or ignore informaon, depending on its importance and our interest. As you read this explanaon, keep in mind that what you think of as who you are is not your body. You are not in your head. You are a nonphysical personality entangled with your body in an avatar relaonship for this lifeme. That means you are aware of the book or computer screen you are reading as informaon sensed by your body’s eyes and converted into a psi signal which you, as an etheric personality, are able to access. Put a diﬀerent way, your body is connuously sending sensed informaon as bioelectrical impulses passed from your ﬁve senses to your brain. We think it is in the brain that the informaon those signals carry is converted into nonphysical psi signals which can be used by your nonphysical mind to develop a picture of the physical world that you visualize as being inhabited by your body. As I will explain below, how those signals are presented to your conscious awareness is decided by your worldview funconal area which represents what you have been taught. Thus, you create the world you think your body is in based on what you have been taught. Catalyst for Sentience Our mind is in etheric space where concepts are things in a similar way that objects are things in the physical.

To model mind, it is necessary to idenfy inﬂuences, funcons and states as concepts. The most important state is aenon because, without it, the mind funcons would be dormant. Think of the aenon state as a precondion for senence. Funconally, it does lile more than act as a sort of integrang catalyc inﬂuence which we would characterize as the life force. I include it here for completeness to bound the percepon-expression funcons. Intenon is in the model as two forms. It is an inﬂuence which we consciously express toward mind. It is also a catalyst for the percepon and expression processes. It represents the intenon to perceive or express. The catalyst concept may seem to add unnecessary complexity, but not including it would leave a huge hole in the model. Once you have digested the model, you will see that these elements might point toward important realizaons. Perception Noce that the Percepon Funconal Area in the Aenon Complex is closely associated with the Visualizaon Funconal Area and that both are in the Intenon Funconal Area. They are part of the Perceptual Loop discussed below. As well as I can tell, all of our thoughts, acons and percepons occur in response to an environmental signal; either current as in seeing or smelling something, or historical as in considering an old insult. When we are triggered to react, the intenon to do so is lile more than an impulse. That impulse to react iniates a process that begins with the Visualizaon Funcon.

The Visualizaon Funcon creates a characterizaon of the environmental signal based on Worldview and submits the result to the Perceptual Loop. Visualizaon is probably a gestalt-like thoughorm form of characterizaon, rather than a single picture. The environmental signal might be from the body’s ﬁve senses or a psi signal from either side of the veil. Physical objects exist as they are perceived by a person (conscious self-avatar). The visualizaon precedes the objecve experience. The characterizaon formed by the Visualizaon Funconal Area is compared with the contents of Worldview to determine if it is familiar. This might be a many-tries process as the characterizaon is adjusted to closer agree with Worldview. If suﬃcient agreement is found, the characterizaon is submied to the Percepon Funconal Area. An acon in response to the environmental signal is generated as a psi signal (perhaps psychokinec) and possibly as a signal to the brain to change the body in some way. A signal is also sent to conscious self to produce conscious awareness of the signal. Again, this is awareness of what has come out of the Perceptual Loop and not necessarily a true representaon of the actual signal. Attention Limiter The Aenon Limiter acts as a ﬁlter to screen out environmental informaon that is of no interest to us. Environmental signals include informaon from our etheric personality (core intelligence), other personalies such as those in our collecve, loved ones and friends on the other side. Signals from our body’s physical senses are also ﬁltered by

the Aenon Limiter. Our control of this ﬁlter is limited to the extent we are able to control the Perceptual Loop to control the contents of Worldview (lucidity). The Reject outcome of the Perceptual Loop discussed below, is a signal to the Aenon Limiter to ignore such informaon in the future. In science ﬁcon, a common issue is how telepaths are able to funcon if they are bombarded with telepathic signals from everyone. This funconal area answers that worry. In principle, we are able to sense virtually every signal in reality, but our previously expressed threshold of interest protects us. The challenge is in seng that threshold. Our human insncts have it set to detect threats, food and opportunies for mang. Do our spiritual insncts have it set to detect opportunies for greater understanding? Worldview Worldview is like a database which is populated by our human’s insncts and what we have been taught by our family, teachers, religions, media and experiences. It presumably includes a degree of understanding inherited from our collecve and a sense of speciﬁc purpose inherited from our core intelligence (personality), which is described here as spiritual insnct. Worldview is the most inﬂuenal aspect of our life ﬁeld. It is Nature’s Habit for our life ﬁled as described in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (15) and the yardsck by which environmental informaon is measured. Worldview has considerable momentum, in that once a decision is made, once informaon is integrated into Worldview, it is very diﬃcult to change.

Expect that it must be changed in small increments. Also, expect that everything we consciously perceive is decided by how it is characterized based on Worldview. Perceptual Loop and Worldview We know that our mostly unconscious mind has a mechanism to accept or ignore some informaon, decide what will be allowed into our worldview, what will be presented to our conscious mind and how that presented informaon is characterized. We are prey sure this is also true of what we express into the environment and the signals sent to our body. This mechanism is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as the Perceptual Loop. Informaon that passes through the Aenon Limiter next enters the Perceptual Loop. The Perceptual Loop process begins with an aempt to characterize the informaon (visualize) based on what is in Worldview. The informaon comes as a gestalt-like thoughorm and must be characterized based on familiar informaon. An important point to keep in mind while modeling our mind is that we create the present based on the past. The inial characterizaon is then compared with the contents of Worldview. The visualized form is not yet submied to conscious self as percepon or sent into the environment as expression. The process of visualizaon and then comparison with Worldview is probably a very rapid, iterave one resulng in many tries. Each try would produce a slight modiﬁcaon of the original input so that aer many tries, the visualized version may have dried quite a bit from the intended input. This

process is a lile like when a repair person needs a specialty tool that is not present, and so looks in the toolbox for something that will work in its place. The Perceptual Loop produces a visualizaon of reality that is already in memory and that matches at least some of the characteriscs found in the incoming gestalt thoughorm. That informaon is visualized and held up to Worldview in an “Is this what you mean” manner. It is the “Yes, that will have to do” result that is sent to conscious awareness. Thus, the more we know, the more tools we have in the toolbox, the beer our percepon might agree with actual reality. There are probably many extenuang consideraons involved in the comparison. For instance, was the original input accompanied by a sense of urgency? Did the signal come from a friend? Was it an ordinary signal from the body? The three primary states expected to come from the Perceptual Loop are: Reject If no agreement is found between what is in worldview (familiar) and what is visualized, the environmental informaon is simply rejected as if it never passed the Aenon Limiter. That Reject outcome is probably fed back to the Aenon Limiter as a modiﬁcaon of the ﬁlter. Condional Accept A second possible outcome of the Perceptual Loop Agree decision is “Yes.” However, the incoming informaon is probably in the form of a thoughorm which is not a format we are able to consciously experience. The perceptual process

produces a version of that informaon based on more familiar symbols represented in Worldview. Thus. if there is some amount of agreement between sensed informaon and Worldview, a characterizaon of the informaon is oﬀered to conscious awareness. This is an important point. What we become aware of is not the raw informaon we sensed. It is a characterizaon of it that is in suﬃcient agreement with memory to be considered familiar. We consciously experience a version of the informaon, a result described in mental mediumship as a colored message. This argues that any informaon access is potenally colored by cultural contaminaon. This is especially true of transcommunicaon. This colored result is especially inﬂuenced by expectaon. We are more apt to experience what we expect. Conversely, we are less apt to experience informaon if we have previously expressed disbelief in the subject. The Perceptual Loop is used for expression as well. What we intend to express into the environment, say speaking to a friend or a command to the body to pick something up, is colored by Worldview. In terms of the psi signals we send to the environment, our worldview is doing the speaking. All we do is express the intenon. If we intend to be forgiving of an oﬀending person, the signal that person receives may well be a drop-dead message instead, if that is how we previously informed our worldview. Even if our spoken message is loving, the psi signal we send to the person’s Aenon Complex may

be that drop- dead message if we feel that way but have forced a kinder spoken response. Ambiguous Accept The sensed informaon may be ambiguous, meaning that it seems familiar but is not speciﬁcally deﬁned in Worldview. In this case, it has the potenal of being integrated into Worldview and submied to conscious percepon as a modiﬁed version of familiar informaon, but now updated with the new inﬂuence. It is this output of the Perceptual Loop on which we have conscious inﬂuence. By consciously intending to see things as they are, consciously quesoning percepon and avoiding making an Accept- Reject (believe or not) decision, we are able to encourage the Perceptual Loop to be more accepng of sensed informaon as it is, rather than as it compares to Worldview. This is the enabling concept of the Mindful Way as I speak of it in my wring, and which I explain in great detail in Your Immortal Self: Exploring the Mindful Way. (1) Be aware that training the percepon-expression processes to respond as you intend is a small change-at-a-me process that should be developed as a lifestyle. Expression When we decide to speak, act or even when we think about something, we iniate a perceptual process to visualize what we want to say or do. The diﬀerence between a fantasy and an expression is the intenon to make it so. As it is modeled here, the creave process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. (19) Expression

then, is a process consisng of intenon iniang the visualizaon of what is intended, perceiving that visualized outcome and then intending to express it into reality. This process is moderated throughout by the Perceptual Loop just as if it were sensed informaon. As such, expression is the outward inﬂuence of percepon. We tend to think, do, speak and feel based on Worldview. This is central to the idea that we create our reality, and we do so, based on what we know, which is contained in Worldview. The idea is that we cannot express what we cannot visualize. And the visualizaon process is based on what we have been taught. Lucidity To be lucid means to have clear percepon of our usually unconscious mind. More to the point, it means being able to consciously sense environmental informaon as it was intended and not as it is colored by the perceptual processes. It is arguable that none of us are completely lucid, so we speak in terms of degrees of lucidity. As a praccal maer, the average person has virtually zero lucidity, and always senses the world as he or she has been taught. In that regard, the average person’s personal reality is essenally the same as all the others in the community. The assumpon here is that the community has a local sense of actual reality which is usually not helpful for a person seeking spiritual maturity. Our personal reality is deﬁned by our worldview. The process of aligning our

personal reality with the actual nature of reality begins when we realize that there is a diﬀerence and consciously seek to change. The intenon to change is expressed to the Perceptual Loop as increased curiosity, consciously turning aenon toward things that seem real, examining consequences of beliefs and quesoning every acon. Deterministic Inluences Determinism is an argument that must be considered in three parts. For physical systems, it assumes that naturally occurring principles in nature determine the behavior of physical processes. For the behavior of biological systems, it assumes that behavior is inherited by way of a genec predisposion. Assuming the Survival Hypothesis is allowed, the third part is a set of inﬂuences emanang from our etheric (nonphysical) aspect. Physical Principles For the purpose of this essay, the rules governing operaon of the physical world can be generalized by saying that the behavior of everything is constrained in some way by rules which are thought to apply to all of the physical universe. For instance, an important fundamental relaonship in electrical circuits is known by Ohm’s Law, which states that voltage (V) is equal to the to the current I (I) mes the resistance (R): V = I × R. This relaonship should be equally valid on the other side of the galaxy. I use the Mandelbrot Set to demonstrate how a simple equaon can represent an inﬁnitely complex aspect of reality. The set consists of all the numbers from -2.0 to +1.0 on the real axis and -1.5 to

+1.5 on the imaginary axis. Using the simple equaon: Z n+1 = Zn 2 + C, where Z0 = C the plot shown below is produced by calculang each point a predetermined number of mes, using the result as the beginning value of C for the next cycle. If the result approaches inﬁnity, the point is assigned black on the plot. Otherwise, it is typically assigned a color or intensity based on the size of the resulng value. There is a more detailed explanaon in Your Immortal Self, and an earlier version in “The Cosmology of Imaginary Space” Discourse on EthericStudies.org. (20) The top ﬁgure, somemes known as The Apple Man, is a fractal, meaning that it is repeated many mes in the plot, but at diﬀerent scales; by selecng beginning points of increasingly small values (for instance Real Number: -1.165, Imaginary Number: -0.288). Inset A in the Navigang Within the Mandelbrot Set Diagram (below), is an enlargement of the area marked Inset A at the boom of the larger ﬁgure. Inset B shows part of Inset A for which the plot has been further telescoped. In it, you can just begin to make out a miniature version of the Apple Man fractal. There is an inﬁnite number of such fractals that become visible as the formula is used as a telescope to calculate points with ever small coordinates. The message is that the complexity of the physical world is organized by relavely simple rules. The same can be said

of the greater reality, but with a diﬀerent sort of rules. Genetic Predisposition This is an area for which I have lile training. The idea is that each of our cells contains 23 chromosomes, each containing hundreds or thousands of genes, which in turn, contain our DNA. All the characteriscs of the body are dictated by the DNA within the genes. In the determinisc models, it is argued that our personality is also coded into our genes. The research is prey clear that the blueprint for our physical body is in our genes. It is also logical to think that much of our temperament is inﬂuenced by our body, its abilies and diﬀerences in appearance from the norm. However, it is not so deﬁnite that our temperament is determined by our genes, and evoluon does not seem to completely explain how the characteriscs of a species change over me. Nature’s Habit Rupert Sheldrake developed the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon as a possible explanaon for how morphogenesis is controlled. (15) Morphogenesis is the process in which a cell is diﬀerenated into another cell. Remembering that an organism begins as a single cell, all included cells have the same genes. How a cell knows to divide into a skin cell or bone cell, for instance, is one of the mysteries of nature that has yet to be reasonably well modeled using mainstream science. Formave Causaon holds that morphogenesis is managed by way of ﬁelds which represent each element of an organism. A

human body has a ﬁeld, as does its skin, bones and cells, each kind with its aendant ﬁeld. The ﬁeld is deﬁned by a set of instrucons which orchestrates the formaon and acvity of its part of the organism. This is a nested hierarchy of ﬁelds model. The instrucons are based on what Sheldrake referred to as Nature’s Habit. In other words, the aendant morphic ﬁelds (aka morphogenec ﬁelds) cause their part of the organism to form and funcon by way of morphic resonance based on how that part has always been formed. This theory does allow for gradual changes based on successful, creave soluon to environmental challenges which may be inherited by the morphogenec memory of the species. In the Implicit Cosmology, each instance of a species is expected to be a complete life ﬁled as a member of a collecve represenng that species. If the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon is correct, the collecve would share a single intelligent core containing the body image (memory and Nature’s Habit). That is, if there are a billion instances of a variety of dog, then their collecve consists of a billion top dog ﬁelds integrated by one intelligent core. The idea of a shared intelligent core is proposed to account for the mystery of what guides morphogenesis, to provide a means of transming evoluonary changes to all the species and to agree with the model used in the Implicit Cosmology to explain survival phenomena. All members of a species biologically share the

same genec code, but we do see variaons in temperament amongst members of a species. As I understand it, the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon’s provision for inheritance of insncts does not account for diﬀerences in temperament. Diﬀerences in temperament remains an open queson. The Implicit Cosmology was designed to model a person as a life ﬁeld (who we really are) entangled with another life ﬁeld (our human avatar). There is nothing in the model forbidding it to be applied to a diﬀerent animal, such as a dog or bird. In that case, the diﬀerence in temperament in animals can be explained using the Implicit Cosmology. In the concept of transmigraon (related to reincarnaon), through many life cycles, a soul is born into increasingly complex avatars unl it ﬁnally joins with a human. The idea that we might have once been a plant, bug or dog does not set well with most of us. But, most of us who accept survival, also accept that we will eventually ﬁnd ourselves in a diﬀerent venue for learning … not necessarily on earth, and therefore, not necessarily as a human. That is lile diﬀerent than transmigrang from a bug to a human. I do not know, and the subject is a lile outside of this cosmology; however, be aware that our animal friends may well have been us at one me or could be next me around. Human Instincts The human brain can be considered in two parts: forebrain and brain stem. According to

“Brain Structures and Their Funcons,” the brain stem: “is responsible for basic vital life funcons such as breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure. Sciensts say that this is the ‘simplest’ part of human brains because animals’ enre brains, such as reples (who appear early on the evoluonary scale) resemble our brain stem.” (21) The forebrain supports raonal thought, so an assumpon in the Implicit Cosmology is that the brain stem has evolved to support survival of the human body and the forebrain has evolved to support the entangled personality. In this view, it is reasonable to expect that, like other animals, humans would get along prey well without an entangled personality. Human insncts are a behavioral version of Nature’s Habit. They become part of our worldview and dominate our behavior at birth. We spend the majority of our life trying to manage them, our success in which is somemes known as raonal maturity. A brief Internet survey did not produce a useful list of insncts. It is prey clear that they all relate to the urge to perpetuate the species. The challenge is to disnguish between our human’s insncts and our spiritual insncts. For instance, curiosity is somemes included in lists for human insncts. Curiosity about the habitat is useful for survival, but it also contributes to gaining understanding through experience. Mimicking play is an important trait for survival and procreaon, as it teaches adult skills such as child care, hunng and protecng the family. We see that a playful atude

is common amongst our trans- communicators, so play may be a fundamental insnct. Spiritual Instincts The assumpons for my comments about spiritual insncts are that we are immortal personality entangled with a human avatar as a person. Also, that we enter into a lifeme for the purpose of gaining understanding about the nature of reality as it is expressed in this venue. Further, that each of us is a member of a collecve of other personalies with which we share our understanding, and in turn beneﬁt from the collecve understanding. (you and I are not necessarily in the same collecve) These assumpons are detailed and jusﬁed in Your Immortal Self. (1) We may be in this lifeme for secondary purposes, such as helping a member of our collecve have a speciﬁc experience. But in every experience rests an opportunity to gain understanding. I posit here that each of us has an insnct to gain understanding through experience that came with us into this lifeme and will follow us into whatever new venue we ﬁnd ourselves in aer this lifeme. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. When we are mindfully seeking to understand the nature of our experiences, we are going with the ﬂow of our insncts. Life is easier in a spiritual sense. This is the path toward free will … at least freer will; certainly self-determinaon. When we remain steeped in our human insncts, we are resisng our urge to gain understanding. Spiritually, life is harder. This is the path

dictated by circumstance and our human’s survival insncts. The idea that we have insncts that are concerned with more than simple human existence is addressed in the Katha Upanishad [1-III-4 through 1-III-8]. In it, the teacher explains to the seeker the importance of discernment in life’s experiences with an eye toward understanding may avoid the necessity of future lifemes. (22) See Essay 18: The Razor’s Edge. Natural Law The physical science view of determinism is that principles are a natural result of fundamental forces such as gravity, atomic-level inﬂuence and constants such as the natural rate of decay or the rate at which a ﬁeld loses strength as one moves away from the source. Biological processes also evolve out of these fundamental principles. That is the physical view held by mainstream science. The metaphysical view of principles governing the operaon of reality is known by many as the Principles of Natural Law. Taking the metaphysical point of view makes sense if you accept the premise that reality is enrely thought, and we create the physical with our mind. Before you discount this mental point of view, remember that it is an overly simple way of saying that we are immortal beings and that the physical is an aspect of the greater reality, which we and other immortal beings express according to our collecve consciousness. This is the natural consequence of our survival beyond this lifeme. One of the most important rules I follow in metaphysics is that magic is not

allowed. I make a disncon between the personality of which I am an aspect created to experience the physical, and personalies that hold the physical venue for learning in their imaginaon. The idea is that many personalies use the physical as a school, but that there are others in charge of running the school. Every indicaon is that these school enes did not imagine the physical as it is today but did so as an evoluon of trial and error. Reality is very eﬃcient, and everywhere we look, complex evolves from simple. If that is true, the best way to create the physical I can think of is to begin with a handful of simple principles and let them do the creave work. Natural Law can be thought of as riding above the physical principles. They are concerned with the relaonship of a person (personality entangled with a human) with the etheric. Think of them as something of a roadmap for the operaon of a person. The degree to which a person understands and is able to live in accordance with the principles is a measure of the person’s progression. The principles are thought to be everywhere the same. (23) Historical View My ﬁrst aempt to develop a cosmology included the concept that Source expressed the experienal aspect of itself from which we evolved, and a formave aspect represenng a parallel nested hierarchy of personalies. (2) I was inﬂuenced by the idea of nature spirits apparently involved in formaon, care

and evoluon of the various aspects of reality. The concept is so deeply embedded in New Age thought that it is diﬃcult to ignore. The Implicit Cosmology does not speciﬁcally call for a hierarchy of formave aspects of Source. It does include the idea that the various venues, such as the physical, are imagined and maintained by probably many personalies. However, I also argue that the life ﬁeld concept is the fundamental building block and organizing principles are the formave rules for the creave process. What diﬀerenates a personality into a venue builder as opposed to an experiencer remains a detail to be worked out. It is clear that we are all creators, and it is our spiritual urges that guide us in our experiences. Perhaps we will spend a while holding a venue in our mind. Perhaps we are doing that now. Certainly, we create venues for our lile me to try out ideas. We are both experiencers and the formave aspects represented by nature spirits in lore, as our acons are constrained by organizing principles. Spiritualism The Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (NSAC) deﬁnes Natural Law as an “ascertained working sequence or constant order among the phenomena of nature.” (8) That constant order is considered the expression of Inﬁnite Intelligence (non-anthropomorphic god, Source, Nature). The NSAC has a statement of understanding known as the Declaraon of Principles.(24) Principles 1, 2, 3 and 7 are relevant to this discussion: 1. We believe in Inﬁnite Intelligence. 2. We believe that

the phenomena of Nature, both physical and spiritual, are the expression of Inﬁnite Intelligence. 3. We aﬃrm that a correct understanding of such expression and living in accordance therewith, constute true religion. 7. We aﬃrm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature’s physical and spiritual laws. Hermetic Teaching Natural Law is also an important part of the Hermec systems of thought. The more commonly cited principles are from The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus. (25) Hermes was thought to have lived in Egypt 6,000 years ago. Many believe he represents the source of important concepts concerning the operaon of reality. From The Kybalion: (26) 1. The Principle of Mentalism. The all is mind; The universe is mental. 2. The Principle of Correspondence. As above, so below; as below, so above. 3. The Principle of Vibraon. Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates. 4. The Principle of Polarity. Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are idencal in nature, but diﬀerent in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. 5. The Principle of Rhythm. Everything ﬂows, out and in; everything has its des; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the le; rhythm compensates. 6. The Principle of Cause and Eﬀect. Every

Cause has its eﬀect; every eﬀect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causaon, but nothing escapes the Law. 7. The Principle of Gender. Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes. I discuss these in more detail in Essay 17: The Hermes Concepts. Implicit Cosmology While developing the Implicit Cosmology (12) as it is implied by the Trans- Survival Hypothesis, I found certain concepts were involved throughout. It was evident that they are foundaon concepts on which reality is formed. Thus, I deﬁned thirty-eight Organizing Principles. (27) As it turns out, only a few resembled the usual Natural Laws which evolve out of the Hermec teaching. (28) The principles are in three degrees of granularity so that concepts like Collecve and Field are associated under Reality, concepts such as Aracon and Life Field are associated with Formaon and concepts such as Aenon and Transion are related to Personality. Do not be overly concerned with the names of these. A diﬀerent model might describe diﬀerent terms because of diﬀerent granularity or perspecve. The underlying principles would be the same for every version of a reality model even though the nomenclature might be diﬀerent. Organizing Principles are acve agents, rather than immutable laws. In principle, each life ﬁeld is a creang intelligence and the principles regulate the creave process. (19) They might be able to be superseded or

ignored but they are always present and do exert an inﬂuence. That inﬂuence becomes more important when aenon is turned toward an applicable characterisc. For instance, the Field Organizing Principle simply represents a fundamental characterisc of how reality self- organizes. Things exist as ﬁelds. However, life ﬁeld as a formave agent does not come into play as a concept unl purpose is considered. The inﬂuence of Organizing Principles is always present and becomes a factor as we turn our aenon toward a visualized ﬁeld with the intenon to express it into the environment. That is just a speciﬁc way of saying that a concept becomes a factor when a person intends to apply it in some way. Creaon of intended order will be much more diﬃcult if the visualizaon and intenon are inconsistent with organizing principles governing a concept. The idea of immutable laws is a tradional part of systems of thought that seek to incorporate the Hermec Principles. As I model Organizing Principles, they are expressions of Source’s understanding of itself. The model also holds that we are aspects of Source that exist to sasfy its curiosity about itself. If this is true, as we gain understanding about the nature of reality, and return that to Source, presumably, Source will learn a more complete self-image of itself. That would potenally result in changes in the underlying principles. As such, if Source is sll learning, then Organizing Principles are evolving. Here are a few examples from “Discourse 3: Organizing Principles”

taken from Your Immortal Self: (27) (Early versions of these are at ethericstudies.org/organizing-principles/.) In the category of Reality Hierarchy: A hierarchical relaonship exists between Source, aspects of Source and subsequent expressions of those aspects. Prime Imperave: Aspect personalies inherit purpose from their source. In the category of Formaon Aspectaon: The inﬂuence of intenon on an imagined result expresses aspects of reality which are a subset of personality’s personal reality Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. In the category of Personality Personal Reality: Percepon of reality deﬁnes personal reality. Self-Determinaon: Personality’s behavior is limited only by the Organizing Principles. Worldview: Worldview is a learned response moderated by understanding. Retro Familiar Storytelling This is something of an undocumented concept. As a Sunday Society Meeng Medium, I must always be alert for new ways my mind will fool me. I deﬁne the retro familiar concept as Modiﬁcaon of an inial memory or percepon based on secondary feedback from the environment. In mediumship, this is seen when the medium elaborates on the message based on the sier’s feedback. For instance, the medium might say “I see a big tree.” The sier might respond with “I like to read under a big tree.” In Retro Familiar Storytelling, the feedback from the sier might produce a response from the medium as “Yes, I see that. You like the warmth from the sun.” This is coloring based on informaon that was not in the originally

sensed message but that seems like it was in retrospect. Any modiﬁcaon of how a person senses memory, a psi signal or visualizaon based on feedback from the environment should be considered a form of storytelling that possibly colors the original sense beyond its inial meaning. This eﬀect is probably best seen as a sloppy mental habit that can be managed through mindfulness. The retro-familiar response is a form of hyperlucidity. (29) It should be considered a problem for free will because the response provides posive feedback to the perceptual processes, possibly indicang an erroneous belief is correct. To be clear, this concept does not indicate that the person is faking in the sense of “Yes, I meant to say that.” Because current awareness is being presented to conscious self in real me, the Perceptual Loop can too easily link the sier’s feedback with the medium’s sense of the message. This may also be related to how false memories are formed. Finding Free Will The Tower Key 16 of the Tarot as illustrated by Dr. Paul Foster Case (30) Meaning: Breaking up of old mental structures to make way for greater clarity; Culminaon of understanding leads to realizaon and possibility of further understanding; Relates to the Dark Night of Soul and the Dawn that follows. (176) As a praccal maer, our freedom to make informed decisions about our life is a funcon of how well we understand the processes which limit free will, and the success we have in managing

those inﬂuences. In pracce, we are prey much on automac (no free will) unl we know to take control. We then have increasing free will as we gain understanding. Here, I use the Organizing Principle of Understanding from the Implicit Cosmology which is deﬁned as Percepon of reality as it is and not as it is believed to be, with emphasis on underlying principles. (12) (27) There is something of a threshold of acquired understanding about our personal nature, beyond which we begin to recognize the need to deliberately seek greater understanding. It is crossing that threshold which I describe as stepping onto the Mindful Way. Unl we have taken that most important step, our free will remains more illusion than fact. Paradoxically, the less free will we have, the less aware we are of our lack of free will. Consequently, it is unlikely a person will cross that mindfulness threshold without some form of outside inﬂuence. That is typically in the form of a personal crisis brought on by a growing realizaon that accepted truths are not so true aer all. This is a concept that has been understood by spiritual teachers since the me of Hermes. Consider The Tower, Key 16 of the Tarot. I use the Case deck as taught by the Builders of the Adytum: To this Key is aributed the stage of spiritual unfoldment called Awakening, because it represents the ﬂash of clear vision which reveals to the searcher the true nature of his being

which has previously been hidden from him because of the bondage of his consciousness. (30) Personal Responsibility Of course, each of us must be responsible for our acons. Well, at least we must be accountable, else our society could not be based on the rule of law. But, is it possible to have personal responsibility for our acons if we do not have conscious control over our percepon? Perhaps the highest expression of personal responsibility is the sacriﬁce of ourselves for a perceived higher purpose. I read somewhere that our insnct for survival is hierarchical. Many of us will ﬁght to survive, but readily sacriﬁce ourselves for our family. However, we will sacriﬁce ourselves for our country at the expense of our family. The United States depends on an all-volunteer military, which means we depend on cizens willing to sacriﬁce their life for the good of our country. This paradox is pointed out by David Ropeik in his arcle The Greatest Threat of All: Human Insncts Overwhelm Reason: (31) You woke up each day last year and went about your business as any human does, compelled by deep and ancient insncts to do the things necessary to get yourself safely to bed at night. And later: We are compelled from the deepest level of our genes and survival insncts to taking more from the system than it can provide and put back in more waste than it can handle, and no amount of human brain power outwit the natural insncts

that are driving us 150 miles an hour toward a cliﬀ. And last: Dangerous, because the belief that our intellect can provide the tools and enlightened leadership that will ride to the rescue, arrogantly denies the inescapable truth that we are sll mostly insncve animals, each of us compelled by deep subconscious urges to do what we can as individuals to survive today; and the day aer that, and everybody else, are just not as much of a concern. Ropeik was addressing how being controlled by insncts allow us to ignore greater, less obvious threats to our survival. This is the problem of our human’s insncve response to cultural inﬂuences (Worldview) versus our conscious self’s mindful examinaon of our acons. Personal responsibility cannot be executed without examinaon of our every acon from the perspecve of understanding of Natural Law. Without that understanding, and realizaon that our mostly unconscious mind only lets us be aware of what we have previously believed to be true, our free will is an illusion. Taking Control of Free Will The assumpon of this essay is that we entered into this lifeme with a purpose, but because entanglement with our human is so complete, most of us have lost sight of that purpose. Probably for all of us, the dominance of our human’s insncts has overshadowed the fact that our body is a faithful servant and not our actual self. A common theme in New Age literature is that transcendent spiritual teachers deliberately enter into a

lifeme to help those of us who are sll in the physical. They do so knowing the risk that they might lose control of their spiritual maturity by succumbing to the belief that they are their body. The physical is a compelling temptress to whom we willingly surrender our self-determinaon. Consider what has been explained in this essay, seeking to take conscious control of your thought processes is perhaps the most important step you can take to gain spiritual maturity. Essay 9: Consensus Building in the Paranormalist Community, includes quite a lot about taking control of the thought process. Also, understanding the Life Field Complex model discussed above gives you the necessary tools for relang what you have learned to other situaons. The most important thing to remember is that taking control is a deliberate, lifelong process. Done right, it will become a way of life that moves your current body-centric perspecve to an etheric, immortal self- centric perspecve. A Talisman A few years ago, the phrase, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” became stuck in my mind. From me-to-me, I worry it like a dog worries a rock. It came to me when a jacked-up pickup came past me way too fast, way too noisy and so high that, in a collision, the average compact would roll under the bumper. The truck may have been legal, but it was not compable with civil society. In a word, the owner was ansocial; thumbing his nose at the right

thing to do. The truck was a rolling example of “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” As I wrote this essay, I tried to think of a touchstone or talisman of sorts that would help us know when we are not expressing free will. I think the answer is this phrase. Ask yourself, “Should I do this?” This is not a queson if it is the right thing to do because that is a moral queson enrely dependent on social norms. It is an ethical queson that is dependent on spiritual insncts. Is it something that a mindful person would do? References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 2 The Mindful Way 2014 About This Essay You may know mindfulness as a form of meditave stress reducon. It has evolved from Hinduism, and later from Buddhism. It is taught as a way of living in the now by being aware of our feelings, senses and the world around us as calm parcipants, rather than hassled vicms of daily living. The ﬁrst menon I can ﬁnd of mindfulness is in the Katha Upanishad, Verse III, Line 8. This 3,000 to 4,000 years-old text is discussed in Essay 18: The Razor’s Edge. I have included the most pernent lines here: (22) 1-III-3. Know the Self to be the master of the chariot, and the body to be the chariot. Know the intellect to be the charioteer, and the mind to be the reins. 1-III-4. The

senses they speak of as the horses; the objects within their view, the way. When the Self is yoked with the mind and the senses, the wise call It the enjoyer. 1-III-5. But whoso is devoid of discriminaon and is possessed of a mind ever uncollected - his senses are uncontrollable like the vicious horses of a driver. 1-III-6. But whoso is discriminave and possessed of a mind ever collected - his senses are controllable like the good horses of a driver. 1-III-7. But whoso is devoid of a discriminang intellect, possessed of an unrestrained mind [unmindful*] and is ever impure, does not aain that goal, but goes to samsara. 1-III-8. But whoso is possessed of a discriminang intellect and a restrained mind [mindful*], and is ever pure, aains that goal from which he is not born again. 1-III-9. But the man who has a discriminang intellect as his driver, and a controlled-mind as the reins, reaches the end of the path - that supreme state of Vishnu *I have added [unmindful] and [mindful], as that is the terminology used in some of the other translaons. In terms of the Implicit Cosmology, these lines say that we are in an avatar relaonship with our body. Becoming aware of this presents a path to spiritual maturity. Without that realizaon, we will not gain that most important realizaon. The Katha Upanishad preceded Hinduism, which adapted the concepts to the Yoga Tradion as mindfulness. However, one of the relevant root terms from the

Buddhist line of development means remembering, as in “Remember the Buddha.” This is a reminder that ancient wisdoms can take on diﬀerent meaning through translaon from language to language. Today, most versions of mindfulness are reformaed ancient wisdom directed toward techniques for improving quality of life. In fact, that is exactly how it is intended here. The value I wish to add is to explain these concepts from an immortal self point of view, rather than the usual point of view that we are our body. From the perspecve of immortal self, the way we experience our world as explained by current science and lessons learned from the study of transcommunicaon, we know the study of mindfulness needs to include a focus on how to manage percepon. This begins with understanding the role Worldview plays in forming our personal reality. My assumpon is that aligning Worldview with the actual nature of reality may well improve quality of life. That alignment is an important part of the Mindful Way. A common reacon people have to my wring about mindfulness is irritaon that I am trying to make mindfulness something it is not. This complaint usually comes without the person reading the essay or knowing the history of mindfulness. The term emerged into my way of thinking as I looked for a way to describe how our study of EVP had evolved into the study of transcommunicaon, and how that evolved into a search for understanding about how we, as experiencers, are

aﬀected by these phenomena. Last Issue #129: Spring 2014 ATransC NewsJournal The Spring 2014 ATransC NewsJournal (32) was our last issue. The ﬁrst version of The Mindful Way essay was included as my eﬀort to explain the so what of our study. I have since dedicated myself to ﬁnding other ways of explaining the main point we have learned from transcommunicaon. That is, what we do now maers for the rest of our existence. My challenge is to ﬁnd a way to convey to you the urgency I feel about the need for us to understand the implicaons of our existence. From my experience as a life-long seeker, mindfulness is the most important tool available for us to manage percepon. Our percepon, what we consciously experience, is a funcon of Worldview, and that is really just a database of memory and insncts. Since the only conscious inﬂuence we have on Worldview is the expression of intenon, mindfulness is just a way of saying that we learn to be aware of the intenon we are expressing to our mostly unconscious mind. Improving awareness can be generalized as improving lucidity. For us who are in a lifeme, stepping onto the Mindful Way is the raonal response to the realizaon that we are immortal. It is for that reason this essay was included in Your Immortal Self. The other essays from that book which are included here are Essay 4: Immortal Self-Centric Perspecve and Essay 19: Progression, Teaching and Community. To be clear,

while I am suggesng that you adopt a mindfulness approach to seeking spiritual maturity, I am not licensed or qualiﬁed to advise you to do so as a therapy or remedy. Any path that takes you in that direcon can be expected to provide the side beneﬁt of a more agreeable life, but my intenon here is to shine a light on a way for you to gain spiritual maturity. Purpose The phenomena of transcommunicaon appear to have a purpose beyond the reassurance it oﬀers to loved ones. Aer examining mediumisc messages from the other side and revelaons brought by past teachers, it is easy to imagine that our etheric communicators are trying to teach us about the reality of our immortality by showing us they exist. This essay is wrien as an exploraon of the idea that the EVP messages in our recorders, or the paranormal images we ﬁnd in our photographs, are a new way of telling us that we are part of a larger community. Perhaps it is up to us to understand what that means. Mindfulness The terms mindfulness and mindful living have become catchphrases for right living, but not in a pretenous way or in an aempt to tell us what to do. People speak of mindfulness almost in a reverent tone, as if the concept relates more to God than to daily living. Always, it is used to oﬀer guidance in how to improve our life, how to be all that we can be.

Discussions about the phenomena of transcommunicaon are usually about technique and quality of examples. Who is talking may be discussed, especially if the informaon seems to come from a loved one, but the queson of connuous life seldom comes up. While in fact, considered from the perspecve of our immortal self, transcommunicaon may actually be all about our immortality. If this is true, then learning to live mindfully may be the most important ability we can learn. It is noteworthy that, in a typical Spiritualist meeng, mediumship is demonstrated as a spirit greeng, rather than a comprehensive message. The spirit greengs are demonstrated to show the truth of our connuous life. Teachers With proper controls, Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) can be a rich source of informaon about the other side. For instance, we have learned from EVP that we should expect a life review during our transion. We know they can see us, and we know our communicators somemes get together with friends on the other side. We also know that there are changes in their ability or need to communicate so that some do not report in for years and some make contact right away, but aer a while, seem to move on. Mediumistally acquired informaon, somemes referred to as channeled material, must be considered with reservaon because we know cultural inﬂuences can color messages. Even so, consistency amongst communicators seems to add credibility to some messages. (33) The fabled Hermes of ancient Egypt connues to be an important teacher

of mindfulness. The only document credited to Hermes that seems reliable is The Emerald Tablet. (28) In Line 2, he speaks of The One Thing, which represents the expression of Source as the organizing principles involved in The Great Work of the Hermec tradion. (34) 2. And as all things are from only One Thing, by will of the one God, so all things have their origin in this One Power, by adaptaon to their individual purposes. The One Power is the Creave Process (19) by which reality is adapted to sasfy imagined purpose. The Creave Process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. The Great Work is all about the path followed by seekers to gain understanding. The lessons involved in this are virtually the same as those brought by many more contemporary teachers. The message is that a person beneﬁts from learning to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. Jesus is another important wayshower. A review of teachings aributed to Jesus, as found in Aramaic-to-English translaons, shows that he taught that our I Am presence exists in the greater reality and that our transion out of this lifeme is toward our I Am presence: “Where that I Am really is, there you already are, and you can be, consciously” (from Luke 24:38-49). The “…and you can be, consciously” part is a direct reference to lucidity. See the Lucidity secon in Essay 8: How We Think Jesus also taught the unity of

humankind, that one person’s acons reﬂect on all people. (35) A transcript of Hans Bender‘s words as conveyed by Kai Mügge during a séance can be read on the ATransC website (atransc.org/hans-benders-message/). (36) To paraphrase, Bender explained that we are not alone and that how we view the other side has a lot to do with how we experienced it during our transion. He said that what we are doing here aﬀects the other side and that we can project negavity into the greater reality which can cause problems for others. Jane Roberts‘ Seth material (37) appears to be a reliable source of informaon about the other side. (33) Three important instrucons from Seth are: • People create their own reality. • People exist in more than one aspect of reality at once. • The only wrong act is to violate oneself or other life. The common message from all of these sources is: • Who we really are, our I am this personality, always exists in the greater reality. • We are able to connect with our etheric aspect through right thinking. • How we think now, aﬀects us and others now and beyond this lifeme. • It is for us to learn to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. This understanding is not based on one person or one organizaon teaching religious doctrine. Think of it as the handbook for right living given to us by our friends on the other side. What We Do

Now Matters With close examinaon of ITC messages, a paern begins to emerge that tells us much about the person. While the messages appear to be paranormal, it has been noted by many researchers that diﬀerent praconers are apt to record rather diﬀerent kinds of messages from the same situaon. To illustrate, Lisa and another person went into a dark room of a reportedly haunted building and recorded for EVP. Lisa is a pragmac, levelheaded witness and recorded EVP containing useful informaon. The other person delighted in being scared and expected scary EVP, and in fact, she recorded scary EVP. In both cases, the messages were clearly paranormal, but their character tended to agree with the praconer’s temperament and Worldview. As it turns out, it appears people’s expectaons are projected onto their experiences. This has been noted in what has become known as the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect. In that, people who are more psi-sensive (psychic) tend to have more paranormal experiences. In his book, First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life, (38) James Carpenter explained a hypothesis, based on evidence currently being presented in parapsychology, which holds that people are always informed about the world via their natural psychic sensing. Further, he argues that people are constantly psychokinecally inﬂuencing their world. What all of this means is that we also see with our inner senses (ﬁrst sight) and always have some inﬂuence on our world with our intenon, which is based on what we think is true. Worldview Engineers design

models for systems they are trying to understand. One way to develop a model is to ﬁguravely put the subject in an imaginary black box with the known inputs and outputs clearly deﬁned. The trick is then to think of what would have to happen inside of the box in response to the inputs to produce the outputs. Not knowing for sure what is inside the box, engineers usually solve the problem by theorizing a model with funconal areas inside the box. I refer to a model as a theorecal set of funconal areas deﬁned to produce the eﬀect proposed by a hypothesis. As in black box analysis, the model need not be factually correct, but it must funconally produce the intended results. In terms of the etheric, a model is a thought exercise. Researchers have found that people imagine what they are experiencing, and the informaon for that imagining comes from the Worldview database. If the incoming informaon agrees with the database, then it will actually be experienced by the person. If it does not match the database, then it will either be changed to agree with the database and experienced in that changed form or outright rejected. Refer to the Funconal Areas for Percepon and Expression Diagram (below). The way we express ourselves involves the same processes. Something causes us to react, and however that inial smulus is translated by Worldview, an imagined reacon is developed. At that point, it is just a fantasy, but if we intend

to act, then, what is visualized is expressed in some way. The rest of the story is that, with that intenon to act, we begin to psychokinecally inﬂuence the world. (16) Using this model, it becomes evident that Worldview plays an important part in our lives. By all indicaons, we are born with a more-or- less empty Worldview database populated only with our human’s insncts. It appears reasonable to argue that we do begin with a degree of understanding so that one might say that a child is an old soul if born with more than average understanding about the world. It also seems reasonable to say that the average person’s worldview is full of what has been taught by teachers, parents, clergy and the media. Much of that is simply local custom or popular wisdom. Personal Reality, Local Reality and the Greater Reality Of course, there is only one actual reality, but there are diﬀerences in the way people experience that one reality. This is all about the individual person, so it is important to understand that each of us has a local reality which is that part of the greater reality which we are aware of, and more importantly, to which we pay aenon. Our hometown is part of our local reality, but there are likely parts of it we are acvely aware of and other parts that only provide background for the sense of town. Our neighbor will have a slightly diﬀerent local reality and someone living

in another country will hardly be aware of most of what we think of as real. The greater reality just is. It does not have the capacity to be posive or negave. The same can be said of local reality: it just is. How we perceive our local reality is rather diﬀerent. For instance, where we live just is, but it has characteriscs such as good, bad, warm or uninving, depending on how we think of it. Our personal reality is how we perceive our local reality; what we think of it. Right or wrong, as far as we are concerned, our personal reality is the real reality and that is determined by our worldview– what we have been taught but biased by whatever understanding we have achieved. In the Mindful Way, we learn to examine our worldview to see if what we believe is true makes sense. The idea is to align personal reality with local reality; the true nature of reality and not what we have been taught to think is true. Suspended Judgment Rethinking what we believe to be true may seem paradoxical. If we believe something to be true, how can we tell if we should change our mind or even examine the belief? In praccal applicaon, the Mindful Way is a life- long process, a path to be followed one-step at a me, so how does one begin in the middle of a lifeme? An eﬀecve way to begin mindful living is to make a

conscious decision to have an open mind. We do this by taking conscious control of the process our mind uses to consider new informaon. The Funconal Areas for Percepon and Expression Diagram above represents a model for how a person experiences informaon from the environment. We visualize what we are experiencing in a very fast, mostly subconscious reacon to informaon from our environment. This visualizaon is based on what we have been taught, which is in our worldview. If the incoming informaon agrees with what we expect, say a friend on the phone or the door opening when we turn the handle, then it will be experienced. If it does not agree with what we visualize, it may not be noced, as if we are blind to it. An important characterisc of this comparison between what we expect and what we encounter is that a close agreement will likely result in percepon of the informaon as well as feedback that can modify Worldview with an ambiguous maybe. In other words, we learn. As what we learn begins to consistently agree with reality, it becomes understanding. While we are told that Worldview shapes our ﬁrst aer- death experiences, it appears that it is this understanding that persists beyond this lifeme. The idea is to learn to monitor the decision that comes out of that comparison. The idea of suspended judgment is that we seek to just experience and not decide if we accept it or not. People tend to automacally reject

things they do not understand. With suspended judgment, the decision to accept or reject is not made without allowing me to consider the experience in the context of more informaon. Self-Determination We have to decide … everything. If not what we experience, then we must at least decide how to react. Self-determinaon also means that we create our world. Again, not necessarily the brick and mortar places and things we live in, for we live in a collecvely visualized venue for learning. For sure, we decide how to react to these things. Two people might have essenally the same experience, but each will remember it in a diﬀerent way. A person who is in the habit of thinking things always go wrong will likely remember it as a bad experience; however, a person who is generally opmisc about life is likely to remember it as a good experience or at least as a learning experience. It is all about atude and that is a learned thing. Here too, suspended judgment can help. Whatever we think the world is like, we can learn to consciously intercept that “Oh, it’s awful” response with either a “wait and see” or an “it has a good side” response. You may be thinking that this is idealisc, but it works. Once it becomes a habit to intercept those internal decisions, there is more room for alternave explanaons for what we experience. An awful reacon tends to stop further consideraon of alternave explanaons. We are always

psychically interacng with your environment. How we think of incoming informaon also has a lot to do with how that informaon connues to develop. It is likely that a posive or at least neutral response will encourage a more beneﬁcial eﬀect in our environment. It is helpful to know when interacng with others if they are fundamentally afraid of the world. From what we learn about a person through normal interacon, we can ask, “Do they think they live in a friendly world or a scary world?” Self-determinaon is always colored by how we feel about the fundamental nature of our world. Fear of our world can become a basic part of our decision making without our realizing. For instance, owning a gun is a fear reacon. Belief in original sin is a fear reacon. Our human is very afraid of the unknown, and that fear will color our thoughts about situaons in which there are many unknowns, such as the dark and social commitments. Aggressiveness is oen a fear reacon. The Mindful Way This is an abbreviated discussion about the Mindful Way. The main message is that what we do now will follow us for the rest of our existence–here and hereaer. The more our personal reality agrees with the actual nature of reality, the more progress we will make in our evoluon toward a spiritually mature personality; understanding begets understanding. The key is to stop and think before we react. To paraphrase Jane Roberts‘ Seth, perhaps the only

sin is to impose our will on others. We must learn to stop and think about how our acons aﬀect others. We are cizens of our community, the world … and the greater reality. We psychically interact with it so that our feelings about another person in some way aﬀect that person. The only right we have is to decide what we think of our world and how we will react to what we decide. We are the only judge as to how well we are doing and that is not based on what we have been taught but on understanding we have gathered during our existence. In an ideal world, people would just naturally be mindful of how they are doing as cizens. Laws to enforce behavior considered common decency today would be unnecessary because people would be mindful of how their acons might aﬀect others. Of course, we do not live in an ideal world, but that is the point. We are also a society of people whose personal reality is very diﬀerent than the actual nature of reality. The ideal of the Mindful Way is to evolve a society of people who understand they are part of a community. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 3 Prime Imperative 2014 About This Essay In speaking of our spiritual aspect, we depend on many concepts that may be true as a maer of popular wisdom, but that might not actually be true. For

example, I speak of our spiritual progression as if it is a factual characterisc of who we are. But, I am assuming we are expected to progress in the sense of increasing spiritual maturity. The idea comes as a consequence of the assumed eﬃciency of nature and our assumed immortality, which in turn comes as a consequence of the assumpon that we will survive beyond this physical lifeme for a reason. But is it true? From whence come our spiritual insncts? Many of the essays I write begin as an eﬀort to address a nagging sense that I am making assumpons for which I have not established a reasonably raonal foundaon. The idea that we have spiritual insncts is such an assumpon. This essay is my eﬀort to establish that raonal foundaon. The etheric aspect of reality is, by deﬁnion, nonphysical. Anything nonphysical is conceptual, and sll today, necessarily theorecal. Consequently, any raonal argument I make about the etheric is based on theories proven by theories. This is not an acceptable, logical argument. However, it can be argued that each theory inherits validity if all of the related theories are considered … and are at least marginally supported by the evidence. In fact, much of what we know about our physical world is based on credibility inherited from a few objecve observaons. The resulng principles work very well. The proof for survival I presented in Your Immortal Self (1) is based on consideraon of many forms of trans-etheric phenomena. For

instance, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are well-established as actual phenomena. (39) It is reasonably well established through forensic-quality analysis (40) and abundant anecdotal evidence that EVP are a form of trans-etheric inﬂuence. It is not as well established that they are iniated by discarnate personalies, but the discarnate origin of EVP inherits validity from other theories, especially those supporng mindfulness and content analysis of the Seth Material. (33) In this essay, I have aempted to develop a logical argument to say that we exist for the purpose of gaining understanding about the nature of reality. I also argue that we have a spiritual insnct or urge to gain understanding that tends to inﬂuence our every acon. The ideas of purpose and spiritual insncts are foundaon concepts in the New Age and Spiritualist communies. Perhaps one of the most inﬂuenal books for me was Robert Ardrey‘s 1961 African Genesis. (41) I did not realize it at the me, but looking back, I can see that Ardrey became something of a role model for me. His process involved watching animals in their natural habitat, and so, it was from him that I learned about the naturalist approach to science. His observaons of how animals behaved in their natural habitat were interesng, but it quickly became clear that they translate into human insncts. For example, I learned from him about the way birds establish a pecking order. This behavior extends to other animals in the wild, and certainly to humans. Ardrey caused quite

a controversy when he claimed that animals are natural killers. Probably the only line I remember from the original Star Trek television series was Captain Kirk saying, “Yes, we are killers. But we can choose not to kill today.” In that one line, is acknowledgment that we have human insncts which drive us, but we also have a raonal aspect which is able to moderate those insncts. That, with the conscious decision to moderate our behavior, is a good explanaon of mindfulness. The work I have done in the study of transcommunicaon and survival has been largely that of a naturalist observing the phenomena in its natural habitat. As it should be for any good naturalist, these observaons have evolved into a theory about their nature. Another lesson learned from Ardrey is his concept of Territorial Imperave. He proposed that humans have evolved an insnct to take and hold territory. The important idea I have taken from this is that others also think humans are driven to possess. Again, it is not the territory part I am geng at. It is that our human has survival insncts which govern its every acon. It also has an overriding urge to be the top human in all circumstances to further the objecve of those insncts. From the perspecve of this essay, the territorial imperave can be thought of as a pinnacle insnct. Our human’s foundaon insncts are concerned with survival of the species, and most parcularly, survival of our human’s gene pool.

Territory represents a master urge intended to enable realizaon of those foundaon insncts. Our immortal self’s pinnacle insnct can be seen as the urge to gain understanding about our local reality. The foundaon spiritual insncts it enables include teaching, learning, cooperaon and tesng. The stronger the community, the more able we are to fulﬁll the objecve of our spiritual insncts. Abstract The foundaon assumpon of this essay is that a person is an etheric personality entangled with a human body for a lifeme. And, that a person enters into a lifeme to gain understanding about the nature of reality through daily living experiences. It is argued here that part of gaining maturity is learning to manage the inﬂuence of human insncts while responding to the urge inherited from our etheric nature to turn toward parcular experiences. Understanding is seen as the objecve. Curiosity is seen as the perspecve. Mindfulness is seen as a way of life. Introduction If we are more than our body, if we are spirit beings only temporarily entangled with a human body during a lifeme as a person, it seems reasonable to think we are a person for a purpose. It is also reasonable to think this purpose relates to who we are as immortal personalies, rather than a purpose related to our human and just this lifeme. Our ﬁrst purpose is to live a good life, wherever it takes us and whatever we do for a living. It is through life experiences that we have

opportunity to gain understanding. In support of our ﬁrst purpose, our second purpose is to turn toward those experiences that challenge us so that we might gain understanding. Point of View for This Essay The point of view taken in this essay is that our real home is in the greater reality, which I refer to here as the etheric. The supporng concepts are concerned with our collecve, but in order to have a beginning and end to who we are, I say that reality is the body of Source. In Spiritualism, this is Inﬁnite Intelligence. This is also the omnipresence aspect of the biblical God but not the omniscience or omnipotence aspects. We are an aspect of Source. Well, we are more likely an aspect of a personality that is many rounds of aspectaon removed from Source. To be consistent with the way we imagine things, each aspect likely produced many aspects of itself. Thus, probably the best way to look at our relaonship with Source is to think of Source’s life ﬁeld as a nested hierarchy of life ﬁelds. Think of those nested groups as collecves. The collecve we are part of is formed of many aspects of a single local source. I think that, someday, we will once again become one with our local source, just as it will eventually become one with its local source. Think of a local source as the nexus personality for a collecve. This is not a personality to be worshiped. It

is to be respected as the source of our purpose for being. I will get to that purpose in a moment. A useful way of thinking of a nexus personality and its collecve is to remember the mental process you follow to decide about something. Suppose you are thinking about going shopping. The ﬁrst step is to visualize what you are shopping for and where. You might imagine yourself being there and looking at the merchandise; perhaps trying on something. Perhaps you will realize the price and forget the who thing. When we imagine a place in our mind, in which we imagine ourselves, we create a venue for learning and an aspect of ourselves to experience the venue. We give that lile me a purpose to experience (shop) and the self-determinaon to thereby gain understanding (cost). The imagined venue is an aspect or subset of our sense of reality and our lile me is a subset of who we are as we imagine ourselves. Now here is the important part. The imagined venue is in our life ﬁeld. It will forever be part of our reality as a memory and we will remember that lile me experience forever. All of the experience will have become part of our sense of reality. All of this will be in the form of understanding which will ever so slightly modify our understanding of reality. Our venue for learning is the physical universe. It appears to be an imagined aspect of reality that

is shared by many nexus personalies, so that you may well be in a diﬀerent collecve than your neighbor. Certainly, your nexus personality will have a lile diﬀerent reason for expressing you into a lifeme. All of us have the shared purpose of gaining understanding, but probably for diﬀerent aspects of this venue or from diﬀerent perspecves. We are inﬂuenced by the insncts of our human body. But we begin with diﬀerent circumstances and with a diﬀerent degree of prior understanding inherited from our nexus personality. So, while we share the need to assure survival of the human species, we diﬀer in how we approach life and how well equipped we are to ﬁnd meaning in daily experiences. Cooperative Collective I once had a waking vision of the face of a clock. It was suspended in the air, face-up, but lted toward me a lile so that I could see that there were many black specks scurrying about on the white surface. My impression was that they were lile sck people like those I might draw in a hurry. The space between three and four o’clock was an open hole and a few sck people had apparently fallen through. The people on the face of the clock were somehow helping the people who had fallen through the hole. As the hour hand made a complete circuit, the ones in the hole came to the surface and a few of the others jumped into the hole. My sense was that the

sck people were all part of a collecve of personalies, a soul group if you want, and they were doing all they could to help their fellows who had entered into a lifeme, symbolized by falling through the hole. I knew that they were helping one another to progress by gaining understanding, and that none of them would be able to move on unl all had made suﬃcient progress. The hour hand represented a lifeme. Probably not all of them, but many of my helpers, friends, and guides, both on the other side and in the physical, are part of my collecve. I am never very far from them, and just as I am a student, in turn, I am teacher, for we must all move as one. Immortal Self Your ﬁrst reacon about what I have said so far might be that you do not want to return to your nexus personality if it means you will disappear like your lile mes more or less disappear in your memory. I have thought about this a lot. As I understand the metaphysics, a good way to think of your relaonship with your nexus personality and your collecve … and ulmately with Source … is as a chorus. Your nexus personality is the chorus. Individual personalies in your collecve are the members of the chorus. During a lifeme, you step out before the chorus and sing a solo. You are backed by the harmonizing sounds of the other members. When you

have ﬁnished your solo, you step back to join the chorus. At no me has your conscious self become anything less. Rather, your presence is made greater by the chorus. There is nothing in the metaphysics I have studied indicang we will lose our sense of individuality. Our Etheric Nature To understand our purpose, we must ﬁrst understand our nature. Popular Wisdom Religious leaders tend to consider perpetuang the species and assuring supremacy of their religion as sacred work of God. For them, survival is a maer of going to a heaven of one kind or another to receive their just rewards. In mainstream science, the theory of evoluon holds that organisms undergo random mutaons. (42) Survival of the mutaons depends on how useful they are to the survival of the species. There is no intenon involved in the theory of evoluon, just chance. In a real sense, mainstream science is religious about what it accepts as truth. When it comes to agreement between mainstream and survival- based philosophy, experience has taught us that it is not a maer of having enough quality evidence, but rather, it is a maer of honest examinaon of exisng evidence. So, the ﬁrst idea we need to consider is that, what is taught by religions and mainstream science, is biased toward faith-based beliefs; faith in the Bible or faith in science. Life Fields as the Basic Building Block of Reality As shown in the diagram below, a ﬁeld can be thought of as a

number of elements bound together by a common inﬂuence acng as a nexus. In a life ﬁeld, an intelligent core acts as the nexus for the ﬁeld and is ulmately who we really are. I refer to this intelligent core as personality. From the perspecve of conscious self, personality is normally an unconscious presence that maintains our form and purpose. It funcons as our higher self or soul. Conscious self is the experiencing aspect of a life ﬁeld. Our conscious self is also who we think we are and represents our perspecve of reality. Between personality and conscious self is our mostly unconscious mind. Mind is like a computer that considers inputs from the environment and makes decisions about how to react depending on how that informaon compares to what is in the database called Worldview. As we enter into a lifeme, our worldview is populated with human insncts inherited from the human’s body mind. Also, at birth, Worldview includes what can be thought of as spiritual insncts and a degree of understanding inherited from personality. As we gain in maturity during this lifeme, we learn to manage our human’s insncts, but in the process, our worldview is populated with cultural wisdom and what we learn from friends, schools, religions and the media. Most people live a life dictated by their human’s insncts as they are moderated by cultural wisdom. Some, however, turn toward a more mindful way. It is in the nature of the Mindful Way that we see

evidence that we have a purpose beyond simple survival of the species. The consequences of duality and survival are that our human must be an independent life form. If it is, then it must have its own core intelligence. (15) The diﬀerence, I think is that our human is part of a collecve with a shared Worldview. That is, our body’s life ﬁeld is like ours but with many conscious selves in the form of instances of that species, rather than the single conscious self we experience. The argument for this is a complex one, of which I have aempted to make sense in Your Immortal Self. (1) As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology (12), every instance of life is a life ﬁeld with a Worldview funcon. Consequently, I speculate that each life ﬁelds represenng a physical organism has a Worldview. But focus on the diﬀerence between an etheric life form (in the psi ﬁeld) and aspects of reality to which we assign physicality (the physical). The physical organism is thought to be organized by a group consciousness thoughorm. Thus, a memory common to the physical species organizes the morphogenesis of the organism. That is, Nature’s Habit, (15) is shared across all instances of the species as a common body memory. There seems not enough informaon to speculate about what this means in terms of a physical organism’s senence beyond inherited insncts and genec coding. I speculate that our human undergoes a return, so to speak, to its

common body memory, and that behavior of each instance of the species is enrely insnctual or genecally coded if it is not funconing as an avatar. A consequence of this model is that your pet may well be an avatar for a personality in much the same way your human funcons as your avatar. I hesitate to speculate beyond that because it is too easy to get into the subject of Hinduism‘s transmigraon of souls, which is beyond the scope of this essay. The Mindful Way Our mostly unconscious mind is our receiver of informaon. The best theory I have seen for this is that everything in reality produces a psi signal. (38) Our mind receives these psi signals but ignores all but those which are important to our body’s wellbeing, and which are either directed to us or in which we have intended an interest. The body’s ﬁve senses must be translated into psi signals, presumably in the brain. A consequence of what our body senses being processed by mind is that it can as easily ignore what we physically sense as it can ignore informaon from other minds. Mind has a set of funconal areas which, in eﬀect, asks Worldview if it recognizes the informaon. This queson and answer may occur many mes in sequence unl mind either decides to ignore the informaon, modify it into a form which agrees with Worldview or modify Worldview to recognize the informaon in future encounters. The result of this “Do you

recognize this?” process is sent to conscious self, so that what we actually experience is a version of the original informaon based on Worldview. This tends to produce conscious percepon that conforms with cultural expectaon. I refer to this as cultural contaminaon because it is a hinderance to lucidity. The only inﬂuence we have on mind is the expression of our intenon. In mindfulness, we learn to intend to experience reality as it is, rather than how we are taught to believe it is. The idea is that we do not necessarily know the actual nature of reality because of cultural contaminaon. In eﬀect, we live in a personal reality which is a version of actual reality. Through mindfulness, we evolve our percepon toward the actual nature of reality by habitually quesoning the implicaons of our percepon. Worldview has considerable momentum so that it tends to only change in small increments. First Sight Theory (38) teaches us that we can inﬂuence Worldview by intending certain behaviors. This tends to cause mind to turn toward one kind of informaon and away from others. By examining our every assumpon with quesons such as “Does this make sense?” or “How will this aﬀect others?” while intending that we do no harm or intending that we see things as they are, we can begin the long process of aligning our personal reality with the actual nature of reality. Natural Law Natural Law is deﬁned by the Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (NSAC) as an

“Ascertained working sequence or constant order among the phenomena of nature.” They explain: “Natural laws are simple statements of the orderly working of the universe and all that is in it. They represent the constant outward expression of what we can expect to happen in any given situaon.” (8) Inﬁnite Intelligence is the Spiritualist equivalent of Source spoken of in this essay and the book, Your Immortal Self. It is understood that Natural Law is an aspect of Inﬁnite Intelligence. As it is in the NSAC Declaraon of Principles, (24) it is also understood that the goal of a Spiritualist is to learn to recognize and understand the principles and learn to live in accordance with their dictates. We have self-determinaon, but it is inﬂuenced by Natural Law. This philosophy is embodied in four of the nine principles of the Declaraon of Principles: 1. We believe in Inﬁnite Intelligence. 2. We believe that the phenomena of Nature, both physical and spiritual, are the expression of Inﬁnite Intelligence. 3. We aﬃrm that a correct understanding of such expression and living in accordance therewith, constute true religion. And 7. We aﬃrm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature’s physical and spiritual laws. Organizing Principles The Implicit Cosmology, described in Your Immortal Self, has been developed from the implicaons of survival. It includes thirty-eight Organizing Principles.(27) There was no aempt to adhere to known natural laws which came to us

by way of the Hermec Teachings(28) and are from the human perspecve. Organizing Principles became evident during the design of the Implicit Cosmology and are from an etheric personality perspecve. The concept that there are organizing principles is noted as one of the eight Organizing Principles related to formaon of reality. It is deﬁned as Reality operates according to a body of Organizing Principles which are inherent from Source’s creave expression. From the supporng text: Source is modeled here in the sense of from whence it came rather than as a father god. Since reality is Source’s life ﬁeld, everything in reality is governed by the same rules of behavior governing Source and its expressions. Given the existence of Source and Organizing Principles, a logical argument could be composed to describe how the whole of reality might self-organize. Curiosity For the purpose of this discussion, the most important organizing principle is Curiosity deﬁned as Curiosity is the source of aenon. It is proposed in the Implicit Cosmology (12) that our curiosity is inherited from Source which is seen as self-aware and curious about its nature. The Ancipaon Corollary of First Sight Theory, (38) which essenally states that mind seeks to ancipate events, provides reasonably good support for this idea of a personality having a natural tendency to seek to understand its environment in order to ancipate changes. In mindfulness, we express curiosity with the intenon to understand how experiences align with what we think is true and what we actually

experience. The key concepts here are intended, which is a conscious inﬂuence on mind, and understand, which is comprehension of the relaonship between expression and percepon. Understanding Thus far in this essay, I have argued that we are spiritual beings temporarily entangled with a human during this lifeme and that we are part of a collecve of personalies who cooperate to gain understand which is intended to sasfy the curiosity of our nexus (top) personality. If this argument is reasonably correct, then the reason for our existence is to seek understanding. Understanding in this sense is characterized as comprehending the principles of Natural Law or Organizing Principles. That is, our purpose is to come to understand the fundamental rules by which reality operates … and their consequences. In the ancient wisdom schools, students are oen referred to as seekers. Seeking involves the process of intending to ﬁnd understanding in experience. But more important, seekers look for experiences that will help them understand speciﬁc aspects of reality. You may be familiar with the idea of iniaons. Seekers undergo iniaons intended to establish that they have gained speciﬁc understanding. During an iniaon, seekers are challenged to answer quesons about subjects that are unrelated to what they were taught. The expected answer requires suﬃcient understanding about what they were taught. In this way, understanding is seen as a universal knowing that is independent of the experiences which taught the understanding. Understanding is Relative Understanding is relave. By that, I mean that awareness of

an underlying principle oen leads to recognion that even more fundamental principles are involved. For instance, borrowing something from a friend brings the responsibility to assure its safe return. You might think the understanding to be gained is the nature of responsibility. It is, but as we proceed, it may become clear that it is also that borrowing obligates us to oﬀer a favor in return, so obligaon is a new understanding. There are many possible concepts to understand that come from the inial decision to borrow something but underlying all of them is the important concept of cooperave communies. I deﬁne the Cooperave Communies Organizing Principle as “An eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. Collecves are inherently cooperave communies. A person is aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate progression.” The cooperave community concept applies to many kinds of interacon amongst people. Understanding one should enable you to apply it to others. Purpose as Prime Imperative Religion prey much began with the message that our purpose is to follow the path of the Great Work, which is to understand “The One Thing” as it is addressed in the Emerald Tablet. The Emerald Tablet (28) is widely believed to be one of the few surviving documents from the Hermec Teaching thought to have been set forth some 6,000 years ago in Egypt. The text is very esoteric if you are not familiar with metaphysical concept. I have taken the liberty of paraphrasing it in Essay 17:

Hermes Concepts. (28) The paraphrase is included here. (Line numbers in parentheses are from Essay 17.) Here, Hermes as talking to his students in conversaonal terms. Lesson Name: The Truly Great Work a. I can tell you as your teacher that your thoughts and your deeds are directly related so that your thoughts aﬀect your expression, and your percepon of that expression aﬀects your thoughts. (Line 1) b. Reality is both singular as Source and the expression of Source according to its intenon. This expression of intenon represents ordering principles which govern the adaptaon of reality to individual purpose. The world you live in is an aspect of the greater reality as it is expressed by way of the Creave Process. (Line 2) c. The Creave Process requires the visualizaon of the imagined purpose with the intenon to make it so. (Line 3 and 4) d. You, the person as an etheric personality entangled with a physical body, are the creator in this lesson. (Line 5) e. And so, the creave inﬂuence produces all things in reality. The Creave Process ﬁnds expression through the informed intenon of the person. (Line 6) f. It is necessary to learn to disnguish between that which is part of actual reality as expression moderated by organizing principles and that which is perceived as real, but which is actually illusion. (Line 7) g. Increased understanding of the actual nature of reality is contributed by the student to the collecve of personalies in the greater reality,

and thus merged, becomes available to the student as more profound understanding. (Line 8) h. As such, you will ﬁnd that understanding leads to clear sensing which enables a person to experience reality as it is, rather than as you have been taught. (Line 10 and 11) i. Your increased understanding achieved through the Great Work may lead you to beer living and increased stature in your community. (Line 9) j. Thus, I have told you how the world has been created. But be mindful that these truths are not evident to those who have not stepped onto this path of learning. (Line 12) k. As the teacher of this hidden way, I represent the three parts of a teacher. That is, I represent the understanding of the One Thing and The Great Work, I am an example of how you may integrate this understanding into daily life and in me you can see the possibilies of living this path. I am three mes accomplished: as a teacher, role model and a cizen. (Line 13) l. And now you understand the Truly Great Work. (Line 14) It would be easy to translate the One Thing of the Emerald Tablet to mean god, but the Hermec Teaching is about one god and many aspects of that god. Those aspects are the organizing principles which govern the operaon of reality. Those principles are modeled as the expression of Source. In that sense, the One Thing is Source (God). What I like to

refer to as The Prime Imperave (23) is described in Line 6. Gaining understanding means learning to see reality as it is, rather than as we are taught. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 4 Immortal Self-Centric Perspective 2014 About This Essay In his book Far Journeys, Robert Monroe described some of the lessons he had been taught while astral traveling. In one, he described two etheric tourists who came on a tour near the Earth Plane. Tourist AA decided he wanted to enter into a lifeme to see what it was like in the physical. Tourist BB was worried for him and advised against such folly. His fear was that AA would enter into a lifeme and soon forget who he was. (43) AA did enter into a lifeme, and as BB feared, soon forget he was an etheric being only temporarily entangled with a human for a lifeme. As BB worried about AA and remained near to help as he could, AA entered into lifeme aer lifeme, slipping ever further into the illusion of physical life. As the story goes, there came a me in which AA began to remember his true nature and began the gradual process of regaining memory of his actual self. Aer many lifemes more, he ﬁnally completely remembered his etheric nature and was able to escape the Earth Plane. Ascended masters volunteering to enter into a lifeme in order to help humankind is an oen-repeated concept. The

idea is that even the spiritually advanced personality risks succumbing to the illusion of thinking they are their body and forget their spiritual nature. Think of it. We are born into a body in which human insncts dominate. The brain is not fully formed, and therefore is not able to fully funcon as a transmier-receiver for mind. Parents treat the person as if it is the body. By the me the baby is suﬃciently developed for the conscious self to begin exerng an inﬂuence, the experiencer aspect of the entangled personality (conscious self) is already convinced it is the body. The cycle only changes when the person ﬁnally achieves the presence of mind to queson beliefs and its human’s insnctual behavior. It is then that something like mindfulness becomes a viable tool to gain further understanding. The rest depends on the availability of teachers, a cooperave community and the person’s determinaon to gain understanding. This essay is inspired by my observaons of the way people struggle to remain on the Mindful Way. Even aer deciding to live mindfully, the illusion of being the body oen biases lessons learned to cast everything in a body-centric perspecve. The intenon of this essay is to convince you to stop and reconsider your perspecve as part of your daily mindful behavior. When you ask yourself if what you are sensing is real, also ask yourself if you are sensing it from your human’s perspecve or your immortal self’s perspecve. Learning to maintain an immortal

self-centric perspecve is an essenal tool for progression. It is for that reason this was included in Your Immortal Self as Discourse 8. The other essays from that book are Essay 2: The Mindful Way and Essay 19: Progression, Teaching and Community. Introduction This discourse is about our nonphysical nature: our conscious mind, memories, and that mostly unconscious part of our mind we somemes meet in our dreams. It is for you to decide, but it has been my experience that our happiness and progression depend on our informed life choices. If the Implicit Cosmology (12) is reasonably correct, it must be understood that what we do in this lifeme will aﬀect the rest of our eternity. This subject is important because understanding the more universal nature of who we are will have an important inﬂuence on how we understand the implicaons of our life experiences. Put a diﬀerent way, we have been taught from birth that the limits of our word are what we can see, smell, taste, feel and hear. In fact, our physical senses only mark the limits of our human body’s physical world. Sciensts who are willing to at least consider the nonphysical nature of mind tell us that even informaon from our ﬁve senses must be translated into the same psi form before their informaon can be considered. This means that our real sensory funcons are beer related to our core personality than to our physical body. If this is true, then we have spent

a good part of our lifeme totally misunderstanding what real actually means. That is a prey shaky foundaon on which to make life-changing decisions. The soluon, of course, is to change our perspecve through educaon. Perspective The perspecve from which a queson is considered has a lot to do with how it is answered. Our normal perspecve is that of being our human body. We look at the world through our human’s eyes from the perspecve of within our human’s head. This is natural. We have had that perspecve since birth. However, if we are immortal personalies temporarily hosted by our physical body, the more correct perspecve is to say “This is my human, but my true self is not physical. I am not my body.” We might say that the usual perspecve is body-centric but that the more correct perspecve is immortal self-centric. Here, personality is used to indicate the intelligent core of the complex of inﬂuences and funconal areas that composes our whole self. In this view, personality is the immortal intelligent core while the human body is an avatar-host for personality’s conscious self. Our Body is a Complete Organism As an organism that has evolved on this planet, our physical body is probably fully funconal without our entanglement. It is proposed in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (15) that the morphogenec development of physical organisms, such as our body, is organized by a morphic ﬁeld which supports the body image and the necessary rules for its development

(known as morphogenesis). Morphic ﬁelds are life ﬁelds but are described in terms of a physical organism. They include funconal areas for Worldview (memory, Nature’s Habit), percepon, levels of consciousness and a means of expression. As such, the human body life ﬁeld is essenally the same as our personality life ﬁeld. By that, I mean that our worldview is directly comparable with Nature’s Habit. The one major diﬀerence appears to be that our insnct is to gain understanding through experience and our body’s insnct appears primarily to survive in the physical world. The message is that, during our physical lifeme, we share Worldview and many of our perceptual and expressive abilies with our human. However, as shown in the Life Field Complex with Avatar Diagram, the morphic ﬁeld for our avatar also has a funconal area represenng Nature’s Habit. The Body Image funconal area is comparable to our personality’s intelligent core. Our Body as Avatar Based on current understanding, our human body has a consciousness which is not completely suppressed during a lifeme. In fact, the relaonship, is at least to some extent, a symbioc one in which our daily choices are oen greatly inﬂuenced by our human. A person gains in maturity by learning to cooperate with the body consciousness while remaining true to the ideals of balance and progression toward greater understanding. It helps to understand how to disnguish between our body’s insncts and our understanding. To do this, it is necessary for a person to recognize the

diﬀerence between the inherited urge to understand and the body’s insnctual urge to survive and perpetuate its kind. It is also a challenge to disnguish between the beliefs that are taught by our local culture and the actual nature of reality as it is understood when those beliefs are superseded by understanding. This can best be accomplished when we are aware that we are not our body. Avatar In Hinduism, an avatar (from Sanskrit for descent) is characterized as a deliberate descent of a deity to Earth. The term can be translated into English as incarnaon. A person is an immortal self entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. In the avatar relaonship, the personality remains associated with the etheric aspect of reality, but its perspecve is the personality’s conscious self, as it thinks it is the physical body. In trying to understand this relaonship, the most important thing to remember is that we do not know much about how humans might behave if they did not have an entangled personality. While it is necessary to make a few assumpons for informed speculaon, the underlying rule should be that humans are life forms which deserve respect and good care as hosts that enable our existence in the physical. The relaonship between etheric personality and the human avatar is shown in the Life Field Complex with Avatar Diagram. Noce in the diagram that the Aenon Complex (middle) is shared by the etheric personality (upper-le) and the complex represenng the human

body consciousness (upper-right). The actual human body is in the box marked Avatar (lower-right). This relaonship is discussed below. Cooperation Between Personality and Avatar At the me of personality’s entanglement with its human avatar, its Worldview is populated with a subset of understanding and the urge to gain further understanding. All of this is inherited from a source personality. As is shown in the Life Field Complex with Avatar Diagram above, the conscious self and its human avatar share Worldview. This shared memory is the main point of this discussion, because beginning at birth, the dominant conscious self must learn to manage the human inﬂuence, even as it learns to adapt to its local reality. An example of the human inﬂuence’s persistence is demonstrated by the way we frequently hear in transcommunicaon that newly transioned communicators sll idenfy with their physical bodies. Some communicators even report something like a geng well period as they become accustomed to healthy mind and body. This suggests that people remain under the inﬂuence of the human body image well into transion. Understanding the avatar relaonship can help us live a producve life from the perspecve of following inherited urges from personality (spiritual insncts) while managing our body’s insncts. The challenge is in learning how to disnguish which are our body’s issues and which are real to our personality. Essay 2: The Mindful Way addresses this. Each avatar relaonship begins with a blend of personality and human body traits. One way to make an informed

guess as to what those traits are is to look for those that we were born with that inﬂuence our behavior today. If the avatar hypothesis is correct, then the human part of our worldview should be memory, beliefs and insncts related to survival. Understanding and inclinaons inherited from our etheric personality should be related to increasing understanding or progression of personality. For instance, responding to peer pressure would support herd or tribal safety but it would also tend to restrict learning. In a similar way, compulsive behavior would seem to suggest human insncts while habitual curiosity would seem to support learning (spiritual insncts). While proofreading this essay, I had an interacon on Facebook with a fellow who was convinced Hillary Clinton tried to steal the 2015 elecon from Bernie Sanders. He clearly had considerable anger about it. There was no possibility of a raonal discussion. Polical acvism that is not balanced with an open mind is a likely place to ﬁnd human insncts overriding spiritual insncts. Acvely campaigning for the beerment of society is good and important. I submit doing so is evidence of the inﬂuence of immortal self. However, for any side of the discussion, the inﬂuence of hindbrain survival insncts become evident when acvism turns to belief in absolutes. Tribalism is a bright red ﬂag when it comes to polical ideologies. It is a form of herd behavior that manifests as dogged loyalty to a parcular ideology. This behavior seems only possible if human insncts are in

full control of the member of the tribe. Survival of Body Mind It is diﬃcult to say that the human exists just as an avatar for etheric personalies, and then to say that all life forms have a personality. The collecve model probably applies for all life forms, but is there a diﬀerence in the character of consciousness? We know that animals exhibit self- conscious behavior, clearly indicang that they are more than simply a collecve mind, but is there a diﬀerence in purpose? The physical organism body consciousness is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as being part of a collecve, as well. The diﬀerence is that it is more of a group consciousness as described in the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon. (15) In that model, a morphic ﬁeld has access to a worldview- like database that is a collecon of Nature’s Habits for that family of closely related organisms. For the human, it represents how the human body has evolved since its origin. This is an area that needs much more consideraon. It is important to know that there is nothing in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis that argues it only applies to people. How it might apply to a loving pet is beyond my speculaon at this me; however, there is nothing in the cosmology that says other animals cannot be avatars for immortal self. Personal Style and Astrology Just as people are born le or right-handed, people are born with basic personality traits that tend to inﬂuence their behavior.

Personal styles are cataloged and studied in psychology as a means of understanding human behavior. (44) They have also been adapted to teach salespeople how to relate to customers. In 1981, David Merrill and Roger Reid published a book reporng their study of corporate personnel interacons which became something of an industry standard. (45) They noted four main personal styles: Analycal: Thinking, thorough, disciplined Amiable: Supporve, paent, diplomac Driver: Independent, decisive, determined Expressive: Good communicator, enthusiasc, imaginave Each basic style is typically further divided so that a person might be seen as a Driver-Analycal or a Driver-Expressive. The point of these styles is that people likely begin dealing with a situaon from the perspecve of one of these styles. The queson is whether or not this inclinaon is inherited from personality or from avatar. The idea of astrology is that people’s behavior is inﬂuenced by the astrological condions at the me of their birth. A year is divided into twelve signs based on the ancient zodiac and each indicates a diﬀerent set of personality traits. The Personal Styles Diagram shows a suggested relaonship between astrological signs and the four personal styles. It is important to note that personal styles and astrology are not being recommended here. They are used to demonstrate that we tend to display personality characteriscs that are evident at a very young age and which tend to shape our lives. There appears to be general agreement between the systems; however, the personal styles are more oen described

in terms of informaon acquision or community, while the astrological signs tend to emphasize the same sort of characteriscs usually associated with insncts. For instance, an Aries, who is a person born between March 21 and April 20, is described as (amongst other qualies) impulsive, physical and driven. Aries is related to a Driver in the Personal Styles Diagram, and a Driver is described in terms like independent, decisive and determined. A Capricorn (December 23 to January 20) is described as (amongst other qualies) insncve, over-reacng and moody. A Capricorn compares to an Analycal who is described in terms of thinking, thorough and disciplined. Since there is so lile known about this from the immortal self-centric view, it must be le for us to take the iniave to study and self-analyze. The interpretaon of astrological signs and personal styles oﬀered here is just an opinion, and your experience may be diﬀerent. Again, these are examples indicang the kind of cues you would look for if you conduct a self-appraisal. Balance Noce the center circle in the Personal Styles Diagram labeled Balance. As you come to beer understand yourself and your avatar, and therefore gain in maturity, you will ﬁnd yourself converging on the middle way. One of the most important secret lessons taught by ancient wisdom schools is that balance is the middle way toward maturity. This does not mean a balanced person would never express extreme behavior, only that such a person would consciously do so, taccally for a

purpose, and then return to the center without aachment for the outcome of his or her acons. See the Essay 2: The Mindful Way. Irrational Behavior Do you have a pet, perhaps a dog or cat? If so, you may have noced a lot of behavior that seems to be irraonal. For instance, your pet might be fearful of an unexpected object in the backyard, or it might be unreasonably afraid of men, especially strangers. Sure, you would think it is just behaving like an animal. Animals oen seem irraonal. That is one of the disnguishing characteriscs between humans and animals. But what if you have irraonal behaviors? Are you afraid of the dark? Do you go out of your way to avoid strangers? Is it diﬃcult to communicate with people of the opposite sex? Are these behaviors raonal? Do you have reasons for them which are more than just an excuse? Everyone has fears that might be more exaggerated than circumstances would seem to require. The usual way of dealing with them is to talk the person out of the fear, either by appealing to logic or by showing that there is no need for fear, in eﬀect, to wear out the fear response. In the body-centric view, we naturally appeal to the raonal mind, which is that part of us that is supposed to be logical, thinking and learning. However, in the immortal self-centric view, it can be seen that the human animal is the source of irraonal

fear. Because of the entangled avatar relaonship, the human insncts are part of the shared Worldview, which is in turn, the governing factor of the Perceptual Loop of a life ﬁeld’s Aenon Complex. As such, too oen, the strongest and ﬁrst response to an external inﬂuence is the human animal’s ﬁght or ﬂight reacon. See the “Perceptual Loop and Worldview“ in Essay 1: Condional Free Will. It is natural that a young person will more oen respond to circumstance from the human’s insncts, but over me, it is expected that the person will more oen have a raonal response. That is the idea of maturity. Even so, people are plagued all of their lives with an unrecognized human inﬂuence. So long as they think with a body-centric point of view, it will be natural for them to seek to suppress the animal response, rather than understand the necessity to more directly manage the Perceptual Loop through mindfulness. A beer model for therapy might be to learn how to appeal to the animal in us, rather than the raonal personality. We need a human whisperer more than we need a psychologist. Degrading Avatar Relationship There would be circumstances in which personality is forced to withdraw from the human avatar. Of course, physical death of the human is the usual reason, but personality might also withdraw if the body is physically healthy but is otherwise no longer able to support the expression of conscious self. The inability of the brain to connue

funconing as a physical-to- etheric transducer in cases of senility would be such a situaon. This would not necessarily be a forced withdrawal, but there may be lile reason for personality to connue the avatar relaonship if personality’s intenon to gain understanding through experience in the physical can no longer be supported. Personality’s withdrawal from the human may be temporary, as is seen in the case of physical injury to the brain or coma. The reports of a persona with advanced senility who becomes temporarily lucid is another example that might be explained by temporary voluntary withdrawal. Keep in mind that this model recognizes that the human is a complete life form. As is illustrated in the Life Field Complex with Avatar Diagram (above), the Body Mind funconal area includes human insncts which are ﬁltered in the Aenon Complex before presentaon to conscious percepon of the organism. In the event the personality disengages from the human, the human’s percepon would no longer be moderated by the expression of intenon informed by personality. A human that has experienced a lifeme entangled with personality would not be well equipped to connue funconing as a person without the raonal inﬂuence of conscious self. At the same me, the Worldview funcon shared during entanglement would connue to be part of the human’s percepon and expression processes. The missing inﬂuence would be intenon expressed by conscious self. Extrapolang what I know about human behavior, and relang that to the Implicit Cosmology, I would expect to

see the human-minus conscious self to physically appear the same, but to exhibit changes in behavior which should be predictable from the model. Worldview is memory, and the Perceptual Loop in the Aenon Complex is moderated by intenon. Without raonal intenon informed by personality, the percepon-expression process would tend to present stream-of-consciousness thoughts to the human’s conscious state. This would look like waking expression of the kind of mostly random dream imagery we experience in light sleep. (46) The human’s insncts would no longer have the raonal inﬂuence of conscious self, and would therefore, have greater inﬂuence on the percepon-expression process. This would manifest as more animal-like responses and a tendency to ﬁxate on or obsess about otherwise trivial things in the environment. This would likely include rapid, swings of emoon from passive happiness to aggressive behavior. Terminal lucidity is a term used to describe how people near the beginning of their transion, and who suﬀers from demena, suddenly become coherent. They are able to say goodbye to their loved ones before their physical death. If the entangled personality has disengaged from the human, terminal lucidity may be explainable by personality’s return for the transion. Other unusual terminal behavior might also be explained by examining the personality-avatar relaonship. May I Introduce Myself? With these consideraons, then, how should we think of ourselves? How do we think with an immortal self-centric perspecve? Each of us will have diﬀerent takes on this but there are general points that should be considered. To

begin, try thinking of yourself as two people. For instance, I am Tom Butler. Butler is the family name of my body, and it serves to give you a sense of its lineage. Perhaps we can call my body Mr. Butler. Tom is a good name for my personality in this lifeme, so a proper introducon might be “Hi, I am Tom, and this is Mr. Butler.” Mr. Butler was born in May, and according to astrology, should be stubborn, think habitat is very important and have a strong dependence on tacle sense. When compared to characteriscs of other signs, this is prey accurate. According to the avatar model, these characteriscs should provide hints about the nature of Mr. Butler. My astrological chart always seemed to indicate more what I need to overcome than what drives me, but I also fall into the Analycal-Expressive side of the personal styles chart, which is where I feel comfortable. Again, according to the avatar model, these characteriscs should provide hints about Tom’s nature. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 5 Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness 2014 About This Essay Right behavior has always been a focus for us as directors of the Associaon TransCommunicaon. We are also ordained Spiritualists, for which we are mindful of the need to represent Spiritualism in good light. Most importantly, we have accepted the evidence that we are immortal selves and what we do now will have an inﬂuence on

the rest of our existence. It is because of our immortality that we pay so much aenon to Natural Law and the implicaons of our acons. Being in my sevenes, many of the people I have known have made their transion. Some of my past relaonships have not ended in the best light, yet I know that the fact they are possibly no longer in the physical does not mean I no longer need to worry about the consequences of my acons. There will come a me in which I will want to honestly examine my acons. The fewer such mes I need to face, the beer, so I am trying to learn to be nice. Being nice may be a learned response, but most of the lessons we are taught in school about being nice are seriously contaminated by cultural norms. For instance, it was acceptable for me to light up a cigaree aer dinner … sll at the dinner table … even in a restaurant. Remember those days? So, being nice is a relave atude. Ethics are not. Even though people will try to explain ethics in terms of social norms, ethics are a bedrock concept which must be based on our immortality. Seth is a good teacher for this. When I was subming the Handbook of Metaphysics (2) manuscript to various publishers, one told me that he had 600 channeled books in his cue waing to be reviewed. Anyone with a lile me on their hands can

write a philosophical dissertaon and call it channeled. Most I have examined show they are fatally ﬂawed by cultural contaminaon. The words aributed to Seth tend to rise above local norms. I also like Jane Roberts‘ Seth Material (47) because at least one study indicates the informaon aributed to Seth does, indeed, come from a personality other than Jane or her husband. There is reason to accept its validity as originang from a discarnate personality. (33) Besides that, it is diﬃcult to ﬁnd metaphysical lessons that ring so true. We must consider our teachers wherever we ﬁnd them. For this essay, the most important advice we have received from Seth is that we should not violate others. I like to paraphrase that as “I must not impose my will on others.” As a litmus test, I ask if my acons interfere with another person’s self-determinaon. My bedrock ethics begins there. All else come for that litmus test. Here are a few praccal applicaons of the Thou Shalt Not Violate Clause: • Loud noises can evoke all kinds of reacons in involuntary listeners. Making a person anxious or angry with loud music or aggressive acons is both a violaon and can cause strong reacons. As a praccal maer, the violator depends on the vicm’s respect for the rule of law to prevent an aggressive response. Alternavely, the vicm may simply be too fearful of retaliaon to speak up. Else, there might be mayhem. • It is ﬁne to select your friends

and associates but check your reasons. If you avoid someone because of what you have been taught or because they are diﬀerent, it is possible you are being prejudiced. Prejudicial acons are a form of imposing your will on others. Also, they potenally deprive us of opportunies for greater understanding. • Behavior that is inmidang to others may be an imposion of your will on them. For instance, a man in typical ridding leathers and club logo on his back, passed us on a large, loud motorcycle. He had a pistol strapped to his leg. My ﬁrst reacon was concern that the man was not safe to be around. His every acon seemed designed to impress his will on people around him. Not to menon that he is likely the last sort of person we want to see packing a device only intended to kill. • The Academic-Layperson Paron is a self-imposed separaon by people with an advanced degree from people without an advanced degree. Again, it is ﬁne to prefer to be around peers, but science is a service to humanity, to a great degree paid for by the public through grants and the funding of universies. Ignoring the obligaon of science is a blatant violaon of cizens’ trust in the form of intellectual prejudice. The violaon is in the form of the abdicaon of duty implied by tle. You can probably ﬁnd similar examples from your experiences. The point is that we oen unconsciously violate others by acng

without examining how our acon aﬀects others. That is the opposite of mindfulness. This essay began as my eﬀort to understand whether or not I was out of line for thinking a supposed scienst had violated a research subject. Essay 13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority was the ﬁrst wring to come of my study. As I considered wring Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists, it occurred to me that a code of ethics had important potenal for our spiritual seeking. As you read this short essay, imagine yourself as a Seth trying to explain the importance of seeking spiritual maturity to an interested but uninformed audience. How would you word the message? Use those words to help yourself see the importance of ethics to your spiritual maturity. The Pledge Introduction The Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (NSAC) Declaraon of Principles funcons as an outline for a personal ethics code based on the understanding that our “… existence and personal identy connue aer the change called death” (Principle 4). When it comes to ethics in daily living, the personal responsibility described in Principle 7 sets the tone for the highest standard of right living. It reads: “We aﬃrm the moral responsibility of individuals and that we make our own happiness or unhappiness as we obey or disobey Nature’s physical and spiritual laws.” (See nsac.org under the Spiritualism Tab for more on this) (8) The simplest understanding to come from Principle 7 is ﬁrst that we are responsible for our acons. And

second, we beneﬁt from understanding and living in accordance with the principles governing the operaon of Nature. But how do we do the work to understand those organizing principles? The Mindful Way represents techniques intended to help a person learn to be present in everyday life. The idea is to become aware of our acons by habitually quesoning what we do and why. Mindfulness is a powerful way of coming to understand Natural Law and teaches our unconscious mind to replace belief in our worldview with beneﬁcial understanding. It is our worldview that informs our mostly automac responses to daily living. (48) Morality Versus Ethics Virtually all of the deﬁnions of morality and ethics I have found are based on a body-centric perspecve with no consideraon of our immortality. To make my point, I have taken something of a backdoor approach by including reference to two diﬀerent philosophical essays: Morality “The Deﬁnion of Morality” by Bernard and Joshua Gert provides an excellent discussion of morality and ethics. The authors suggest that one of two dominant perspecves on morality might be taken by theorist: (49) 1. Descripvely to refer to certain codes of conduct put forward by a society or a group (such as a religion), or accepted by an individual for her own behavior, or 2. Normavely to refer to a code of conduct that, given speciﬁed condions, would be put forward by all raonal persons. The authors propose that: “If one uses ‘morality’ in its descripve sense, (Perspecve 1)

and therefore uses it to refer to codes of conduct actually put forward by disnct groups or sociees, one will almost certainly deny that there is a universal morality that applies to all human beings.” They explain that: “Those who use ‘morality’ normavely (Perspecve 2) hold that morality is (or would be) the code that meets the following condion: all raonal persons, under certain speciﬁed condions, would endorse it.” And later in the essay, “... “virtually all hold that ‘morality’ refers to a code of conduct that applies to all who can understand it and can govern their behavior by it, …” Ethics “Aristotle’s Ethics” by Richard Kraut includes this overview of Aristotle’s point of view about ethics in the Preamble to the essay. In part: (50) Aristotle follows Socrates and Plato in taking the virtues to be central to a well-lived life. Like Plato, he regards the ethical virtues (jusce, courage, temperance and so on) as complex raonal, emoonal and social skills.… What we need, in order to live well, is a proper appreciaon of the way in which such goods as friendship, pleasure, virtue, honor and wealth ﬁt together as a whole. In order to apply that general understanding to parcular cases, we must acquire, through proper upbringing and habits, the ability to see, on each occasion, which course of acon is best supported by reasons. Therefore, praccal wisdom, as he conceives it, cannot be acquired solely by learning general rules. We must also acquire, through pracce, those

deliberave, emoonal and social skills that enable us to put our general understanding of well-being into pracce in ways that are suitable to each occasion. Consider this about Aristotle’s philosophy from the perspecve of our immortality and the idea of a cooperave community. Kraut concludes his essay with: (Based on Aristotle’s wring) … Human beings cannot achieve happiness, or even something that approximates happiness, unless they live in communies that foster good habits and provide the basic equipment of a well-lived life. The study of the human good has therefore led to two conclusions: The best life is not to be found in the pracce of polics. But the wellbeing of whole communies depends on the willingness of some to lead a second-best life—a life devoted to the study and pracce of the art of polics, and to the expression of those qualies of thought and passion that exhibit our raonal self- mastery. Both terms have very similar meaning, but in praccal use by contemporary society, morality is most oen deﬁned in terms of what the organizaon expects of its members. This could be a religious moral code, a corporate code of conduct or an instuonal one such as the expected behavior of college students. Even when a code includes references to ethics, the code virtually always requires compliance with social norms which are typically described in terms of morality. The point of view suggested by the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) is that we are immortal self and must not be

governed solely by cultural (local) norms. If we succumb to behaving according to what is socially right, rather than what is spiritually right, we eﬀecvely abdicate our responsibility to seek spiritual maturity. The more universal meaning of right and wrong is expressed in terms of ethical behavior. Ethical also has less burden of meaning from religions and is used less for social engineering. Thus, the deﬁnions I use here are: Morality is deﬁned here as a disncon between right and wrong based on local standards of behavior. Ethics is deﬁned here as a disncon between right and wrong; based on the organizing principles governing reality. Learning to recognize and understand the universal principles that moderate the organizaon of reality is an important part of the Mindful Way. It is easy enough to ignore those principles in the short term but learning to habitually live in agreement with them is the path of least resistance toward spiritual maturity. First Ethical Consideration Useful guidance in ethical conduct came from Jane Roberts‘ Seth in regard to how a person should interact with others. The advice is simply that “Thou shalt not violate….” (47) Seth went on to explain what he intended by violate: An outright lie may or may not be a violaon. A sex act may or may not be a violaon. A scienﬁc expedion may or may not be a violaon. Not going to church on Sunday is not a violaon. Having normal aggressive thoughts is not a violaon. Doing violence

to your body, or another’s, is a violaon. Doing violence to the spirit of another is a violaon, but again, because you are conscious beings the interpretaons are yours. Swearing is not a violaon. If you believe that it is then in your mind it becomes one. Killing another human being is a violaon. Killing while protecng your own body from death at the hands of another through immediate contact is a violaon. Whether or not any jusﬁcaon seems apparent, the violaon exists. Seth explained that there are ways to deal with situaons that do not involve killing. He also suggested that: You would not be in such a hypothecal situaon to begin with unless violent thoughts of your own, faced or unfaced, had aracted it to you. As for the Golden Rule, in Jane Roberts’ The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events, Session 852, Seth says: When you are discussing the nature of good and bad, you are on tricky ground indeed, for many—or most—of man’s atrocies to man have been commied in misguided pursuit of “the good.” Ethical Treatment of Human Research Subject The Belmont Report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives us another measure of ethics. (51) It appears to be the golden standard for research ethics involving a human subject. The major points from the Belmont Report are that researchers must respect the person, do no harm (beneﬁcence) and provide due beneﬁts (jusce). These three points provide guidance in how

to deﬁne basic ethical principles. I discuss the queson of ethics in research in more detail in Essay13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority. A Useful Code of Ethics Here is a suggeson for a personal code of ethics. It should be useful for anyone in any part of society. The idea is to stay with a foundaon ethical concept for Tier 1 that sets the tone for the code. Seth’s Do not violate is an excellent foundaon concept. Tier 2 is concerned with reasonably basic principles which complement or further deﬁne Do not violate. These should be intuively obvious in the context of your personal progression. Tier 3 is concerned with how Tier 1 and 2 are expressed. Expressions include phrases intended to provide guidance for how to live by the Organizing Principles. Catchy phrases are useful here, as they make it easier to remember the principles. You will likely want to add Principles and Expressions as you become used to working with the code. Be careful not to overcomplicate it, though. It is important that you can remember the elements so as to apply them as warranted. Ethical Conduct is a Lifelong Learning Experience Learning to live by a personal ethical code oen means realigning our unconscious mind away from our human avatar’s survival insncts and cultural dogma with which we have been condioned over the years. Such a change in consciousness takes me and aenon that comes through experience. Remember that your conscious expression is ﬁrst formed in your

mostly unconscious mind. That means you have relavely lile control of your ﬁrst response to situaons. The control you do have is before the event by consistently intending to act in a mindful way. A feedback expression to yourself aer the event expressing how to be more mindful in a speciﬁc way helps to reinforce your intended behavior message to your mind. Yes, talk to yourself. The process of managing expectaons of those with whom you share me, in friendship or service, provides opportunies to exercise mindfulness. Unspoken quesons and concerns can quickly cast a shadow over a relaonship. An Expression for the Principle of Kindness might be “Cizenship means cooperaon” or “How will my acons aﬀect me and others?” In pracce, these translate into making sure people know what to expect from you. Above all, think of a personal code of ethics as a lifelong way of learning. It is unlikely any of us are able to always live up to the ideas represented by a code of ethics. The most important thing is to set our intenon to apply the code to our every acon. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 6 Paranormalist Community 2014 About This Essay As explained in Essay 9: Consensus Building in the Paranormalist Community Paranormalists are deﬁned here as people who experience, study or have a more than casual interest in psychic ability (psi funconing, remote viewing, healing intenon), healing intenon (bioﬁeld healing, distant healing, healing prayer)

and the phenomena related to survival of consciousness (mediumship, visual and audible ITC, haunngs). Although individual paranormalists may not accept survival, or even psi phenomena, all are concerned with study or applicaon of the phenomena. The acons of one member of our community reﬂects on all of us. We all share a need for useful models describing the phenomena and theories as to their nature. The Blind Men Describing an Elephant parable applies to the paranormalist community in that each sub-community of interest has a part of the answer but is unlikely to have the correct answer without collaboraon with the others. Our eﬀorts as directors of the ATransC to collaborate with other organizaons has been only marginally successful. As it turned out, each exisng organizaon had a diﬀerent focus. There was, and remains, a serious problem of founder’s syndrome in which opinion leaders tend to emphasize local pride rather than community support. It also seemed that some saw us as a threat. We have never been a threat, as we have never wanted the ATransC to be an umbrella organizaon. Organizaons based on a more academically trained membership are a diﬀerent story. While such groups as the Parapsychological Associaon, (52) the Society for Psychical Research (53) and the Rhine Research Center (54) have diﬀerent origins, they oen share resources. People with an advanced degree are typically culturally condioned to collaborate and support what they see as their peer community. Someday, I hope to see them turn that human resource

to support of the larger community. It may help you understand this essay if you understand how I model the paranormalist community. It is composed of several subcommunies of interest, primary of which are: • Local ghost hunng clubs – These are oen inspired by the popular ghost hunng programs on television. From my experience, they are typically local clubs that organize meengs and local ghost hunts, more for sport than science, but they provide a great introducon to things paranormal. • Pop culture-like general interest groups – Usually supports a wide range of phenomena. In some cases, as with the ghost hunng clubs, member parcipaon rather than science is the primary objecve. From my experience, an underlying vision of their founders is to be the dominant organizaon; baseless claims of being scienﬁc are common. • Specialty groups – The ATransC began as the American Associaon of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP). Even with the current broader focus on all kinds of transcommunicaon, the ATransC is sll best described as an example of a specialty group. Groups speciﬁcally focused on near-death and out of body experiences are other examples. • Cizen-scienst groups – There are a few organizaons that seek to further understanding of one or more aspect of the paranormal while including both academically trained people and laypeople. Below, I menon the ASCS as an example. The cizen scienst concept has a rather diﬀerent meaning in the paranormalist community. In most cases, people trained to conduct proper research are either

subversive debunkers or too poorly informed to properly apply the scienﬁc method. That has le laypeople to fend for themselves when it comes to developing raonal models and pracces. I refer to those who try as cizen sciensts. • Parapsychological groups speciﬁcally for Ph.Ds. – These are professional associaons that only incidentally include laypeople. Collaboraon amongst similar parapsychological groups is common. From my experience, claims to be scienﬁc are oen only parally true, and the science is oen inappropriate for the subject and may include false claims of objecvity. The Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies (ASCS) (55) has been the most supporve of our community’s general interest as a cizen scienst group. Struggling to survive, the ASCS is faced with the proverbial three-door challenge. By the me this book is published, the ASCS may have morphed into another group requiring a Ph.D. for full membership, a more progressive version of its current model or it may have faded away. The point I want to make here is that the paranormalist community is actually rather small with few people inclined to lead. It is very diﬃcult for an individual to ﬁnd and follow the mindful way without the support of a community which includes wayshowers, seekers and skepcs. So, if you ﬁnd a group with which you are comfortable, make an eﬀort to support it by being involved. Interact to learn. You are an important resource for our community. Examine the group you are in or intend to support. Most

are beneﬁcial to the community, but organizaons that take a silver-bullet approach to collecng feel-good imaginary examples, rather than objecvely evidenal results, do more harm than good for the community. Test your teacher! Your support without examinaon will do lile for your personal progression or the greater good. The Paranormalist Community Think of a community as a collecon of people who share an interest in one or more ideas. If you have more than a passing interest in the ideas related to the paranormal, then you are automacally a member of what I refer to as the Paranormalist Community. For sure, dogmac skepcs have an interest in these phenomena, but all who outright reject things paranormal are so far oﬀ the raonal chart that their negave-only approach must be ignored if we are to make progress. However, with that said, more moderate skepcs in our community who claim to study these phenomena, but who are really trying to prove they are delusion, need to be heard. It is by others quesoning what we think is true that we become aware of the need to queson those truths for ourselves. Else, we become complacent in a bubble of circular evidence. My focus here is on we who have an aﬃrmave interest in these phenomena. We must all deal with the same facts and the same misconcepons. And even though some of us reject the Survival Hypothesis, we are like the fabled blind men trying to describe an elephant with touch alone.

If we do not work together as a community, it is likely we will not learn the actual nature of these phenomena. Probably the most important unifying idea for the Paranormalist Community is the existence of a subtle ﬁeld that permeates reality. This is referred to by parapsychologists as the psi ﬁeld. A second unifying idea is that it is possible to access informaon by way of the psi ﬁeld. This can be thought of as psi-sensing or being psychic. (16) A third unifying idea is that a person is able to aﬀect objects of reality by way of the inﬂuence of intenon on the psi ﬁeld. This faculty is known in parapsychology as psychokinesis (16) There is considerable discussion about whether mind is a product of brain or if it is independent of brain. The idea that mind is a product of brain but is able to interface with the psi ﬁeld is generalized as the Super- Psi Hypothesis. (56) Increasingly, this group is working under the banner of Exceponal Experiences Psychology. (57) The idea that mind is independent of brain, and therefore existed before this lifeme and will exist in a senent form aer this lifeme, is usually generalized as the Survival Hypothesis. (56) It is good to acknowledge that there is a group of people working as parapsychologists under the banner of Anomalisc Psychology who seek to prove reports of paranormal phenomena are not real, but only the imaginaon of the experiencer. Let us refer to their

point of view as the Physical Hypothesis. (58) A Divided Community While everyone in this community is a paranormalist, there is lile agreement about how to explain paranormal phenomena, and so, there are divisions in our community. The most obvious division is the mind-body debate. That is, is mind a product of brain or is it separate with brain funconing as a transmier-receiver for physical senses and motor controls? From the paranormalist perspecve, brain and mind being separate would seem to require that mind survives death of the brain as a sll-living personality. Informaon thought to be coming from discarnate loved ones via mediumship and Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) would be coming from them as they now exist in a diﬀerent environment. As noted, this idea is generally modeled as the Survival Hypothesis. (56) If mind is a product of brain, then there is no survival. The informaon thought to be coming from discarnate loved ones would necessarily be coming from memories of them held by sll living people or from the residual memory of loved ones theorized to remain in the psi ﬁeld (aka Akashic or life records). As noted, the idea of the informaon via mediumship and ITC coming only from survived energy or living memory is generally modeled as the Super-Psi Hypothesis. (56) The community is divided by what I refer to as the Academic-Layperson Paron. When it comes to understanding things paranormal, on one side of this paron are people who seek to understand these phenomena, usually

without a Ph.D.-level educaon, funconing as cizen sciensts. On the other side of the paron are academically trained people, always Ph.Ds., who have claimed the scienﬁc high ground under the banner of parapsychology. Parapsychology has three primary points of view: The Physical Hypothesis point of view holds that paranormal phenomena are delusion, fraud or are mundane, mistaken as paranormal. In this view, the necessary science-based supporng mechanisms for paranormalist phenomena are not established, and therefore any reference to them must be pseudoscience. This is being addressed these days as Anomalisc Psychology. (58) In this, consciousness is considered a product of the brain and ceases to exist when the brain dies. For conversaonal convenience, I refer to this point of view as Normalist. The Super-Psi Hypothesis point of view is the Physical Hypothesis modiﬁed with the contenon that the physical universe is permeated by a psi ﬁeld. (56) From this point of view, if not mundane, delusion or fraud, anomalously accessed informaon is produced via psychic access to residual memory or the mind of sll living people. This is beginning to be addressed as Exceponal Experiences Psychology. (57) In this, consciousness is either a product of the brain or a psi ﬁeld phenomenon originang from the brain. For conversaonal convenience, I refer to this point of view as Psi+ Normalist. The Survival Hypothesis represents the point of view that we are immortal self temporarily entangled with a human for this lifeme, that our conscious self existed before this lifeme and will

connue to exist in a senent, self-aware form aer this lifeme. (10) For conversaonal convenience, I refer to this point of view as Dualists. For my personal study, I refer to the study of survival as Etheric Studies. (59) A Community Divided Cannot Stand Roy Stemman wrote an excellent essay about how Spiritualism is contracng while the skepcal community is becoming beer and beer organized. In Skepcism: The New Religion, he noted that organizaons such as the James Randi Foundaon have developed a uniﬁed message and are producing abundant literature aimed at casng all thing paranormal as pseudoscience, and therefore, a danger to society. (60) The skepcal message is having the desired eﬀect because some governments, including the US Government, have adopted the skepc point of view, even to the extent of quong skepcal literature to support policies concerning funds allocaon for research grants. The skepcal community maintains a list of experts in the skepcal point of view who are available for interviews. Their experts need not be experts in a parcular science, only in the talking points about how things paranormal are illusion and paranormalists are either ignorant, delusional or frauds. In comparison, the paranormalist community has no such focus. Because one parapsychologist with a Ph.D. probably looks like the other experts, we shudder to think what supposed experts in our ﬁeld might say to the media. There are no talking points that many of us have discussed and on which we agree. Consequently, even if the person is

conceptually correct, it is probable the person’s version will be misleading and technically ﬂawed. Also, because of the super-psi - survival divide, there are too few widely respected people in our community to legimately represent the survival perspecve. It is common during an interview with a specialist in one aspect of paranormalist phenomena to be asked about other phenomena about which he or she has lile experience. The response typically leans toward the skepcal perspecve. From the mainstream perspecve, there is lile disncon between ghost hunng by a club and serious research by qualiﬁed, informed praconers. All of us are culturally condioned to trust what a Ph.D. has to say over anything a layperson might say. Thus, it is all too common for a Ph.D. to speak with great authority about phenomena for which he or she has lile understanding, under the cloak of parapsychology. We have had more than a few parapsychologists pronounce with great authority that EVP are probably caused by stray radio signals. Yet, we have never had a conversaon with them or had our work cited. Without a well-considered public face, the paranormalist community will always look like ghost hunng television programs and meaningless noise passed oﬀ as Electronic Voice Phenomena. People remember the most outlandish and the silliest. Skepticism is Relative Each of us is potenally a skepc. As a rule, the least deviaon from mainstream thought is skepcal of the greater deviaon, so that a psychologist studying remote viewing will tend to be skepcal

of anything to do with survival. In the same way, a person who accepts the evidence of mental mediumship may be skepcal of the evidence for physical mediumship. Of course, there is such a thing as healthy skepcism, but the term skepc has been taken over by the zealous, faith-based skepcs who pracce a form of sciensm. While we seldom actually refer to our fellow paranormalists as skepcs, the fact remains that some rather well-studied phenomena have been denounced without examinaon by people who should know beer because of their study of less controversial phenomena. Behind the facade of academic authority too oen lurks sciensm, even in our community. Gerhard Mayer reported in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research that, based on a recent opinion survey of parapsychologists in Germany: (61) The proporon of responses that disagreed with the statement ‘Aer the physical body dies some part of the person survives’ was much lower in the more internaonal PA (14%) than in the GfA (36%) and WGFP (44%) samples. A third of the PA respondents instead displayed an undecided atude (compared to 8% among the WGFP and 6% among the GfA). PA = Parapsychological Associaon; GfA = Gesellscha Für Anomalisck; WGFP = Wissenschaliche Gesellscha zur Förderung der Parapsycholodies. A beer term for crical thinking is discernment which promotes suspended judgment unl more is known. This change of perspecve from skepcism, even veiled skepcism, to the suspended judgment of discernment, is perhaps one our ﬁrst lessons in community building.

Cultivating a Common Culture Here I argue that the physical is an aspect of the etheric. If that is true, it must be argued that the psi and survival-related phenomena we experience share the etheric as a common aribute. That is the same as saying that all physical experiences share the physical as a common aribute. If we tried to study gravity without considering the aributes of mass and momentum, for instance, we would always come up with theories that only addressed part of the equaon. It is probably true that those theories would be wrong. That is exactly what is occurring in parapsychology. Some parapsychologists (Normalists) strive to prove all phenomena are physical. Others (Psi+ Normalists) try to show that some may be physical, but many have a subtle-energy aribute they call psi. A very few honestly seek to show that survival-related phenomena are actual evidence of survival. We are very much like the ﬁve blind men trying to describe an elephant. From my experience, it is not possible to study transcommunicaon without ﬁnding an alternave form of space to act as a propagaon medium for thought. The psi ﬁeld sasﬁes that requirement. Except for the hand-waving Psi+ Normalists must do to explain how informaon is somehow stored in the psi ﬁeld, the Super-Psi Hypothesis is technically part of the Survival Hypothesis. When a Normalist researches exceponal experiences, while deliberately and admiedly ignoring evidence provided via transcommunicaon, the result must always be wrong in the same way the blind

man deciding an elephant as a snake is wrong. Where to Begin? The Survival hypothesis is based on the premise that we are immortal self temporarily in this lifeme to gain understanding. To explain that point of view, it is necessary to include consideraon of virtually all paranormalist phenomena. Thus, the Dualist deﬁnions for these phenomena are a useful place to begin developing a common culture. Dualist Concepts Common to the Larger Community One need not believe in survival to beneﬁt from the more important implicaon of survival. The lessons learned listed here are prey high-level, but the conceptual models that suggest their validity apply to the human condion in general, as well as the metaphysics related to the psi ﬁeld. Mindfulness: The possibility that we survive beyond this lifeme oﬀers profound implicaons for how we might live this lifeme to the fullest. The most immediate implicaon is that what we do now maers now, and if we do survive, certainly hereaer. This translates into a need for mindful living that beneﬁts anyone, paranormalist or not, by teaching good cizenship and ethical values for life. Living as if life maers: We connue to exist, if not actually, at least through our legacy. Memory is modeled by Psi+ Normalists as a simple thoughorm of residual energy. Memory is modeled by Dualists as Worldview as it is part of and informs a senent life form. Either way, we connue to have a presence in the psi ﬁeld that can be sensed by

others. With only slight modiﬁcaon, the metaphysics of how that might be can be applied to both Super-Psi and Survival. The consequences of our acons during this lifeme unavoidably aﬀect our community now and represent our legacy on which we can have substanal inﬂuence even aer we are gone or transioned. Personal responsibility: Personal responsibility means learning to live as a good cizen of the greater reality, but more important, it means learning to make our connued existence as meaningful as possible. The idea of personal responsibility is important to the enre paranormalist community, because even if our view is that only memory survives, the unifying idea that we are all connected via the psi ﬁeld means that our acons aﬀect the larger community on both sides of the veil. Spirituality A good cizen of the paranormalist community is one who seeks to be a contribung part of the community, rather than an accidental bystander. An excellent deﬁnion of spirituality is oﬀered by Deepak Chopra in his Huﬃngton Post blog: (62) Spirituality is the experience of that domain of awareness where we experience our universality. This domain of awareness is a core consciousness that is beyond our mind, intellect and ego. In religious tradions, this core consciousness is referred to as the soul which is part of a collecve soul or collecve consciousness, which in turn is part of a more universal domain of consciousness referred to in religions as God. Spirituality is about being aware that we are an

important part of a universal community, what we do maers here and hereaer and that our every acon aﬀects the rest of reality. Yes, most of us are accustomed to thinking of the kind of spirituality tradional religions seek to evoke, but the kind of spirituality I am thinking about is the kind that, when personally realized, leads to greater understanding and the desire to be a good cizen of the collecve (the community on both sides of the veil). If you are familiar with the idea of mindfulness, you will understand that mindfulness is a roadmap to beer living. Spirituality can be thought of as an eventual product of mindfulness done right. The characteriscs of a spiritual person and a mindful person converge on agreement with the actual nature of reality. Discernment A favorite saying of mine is that you should “Believe what you wish but understand the implicaons of what you believe.” Being mindful of what is in your worldview determines the world you live in. See James Carpenter‘s First Sight Theory (16) (18) There has been a lot of discussion about how our expectaons tend to determine what we experience. For instance, the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect, so named in 1942 by Professor Gertrude Schmeidler, implies that people who allow for the possibility of new ideas (believers or sheep) are more likely to experience new ideas. (63) The inverse of this can be seen in the concept of incredulity blindness, a term I use to describe how some people

are inexplicably unable to see or hear examples of paranormal phenomena (goats). In research sponsored by the ATransC and conducted by Mark Leary, Ph.D., listeners were more apt to hear what was expected in ambiguous sound streams when told what to expect. (64) In pracce, it is known that the mostly unconscious mind colors what is transferred to conscious percepon based on Worldview and expectaon. (16) If percepon is the dominant factor in how we experience phenomena. Discernment is the key to seeing phenomena as it really is. That is a skill all of us can learn. Our mostly unconscious mind processes informaon with the intenon of characterizing it based on familiar references. Once a decision is made, it is very diﬃcult to change our mind. Thus, learning to intenonally postpone making an agree or disagree decision unl more informaon is available helps keep the mind open to new ideas. It also helps avoid making the wrong agree or disagree decision. See Essay 1: Condional Free Will for more informaon about how we think. Cooperation Read Deepak Chopra‘s deﬁnion of spirituality again. Especially noce the way he uses the term, collecve. Universality, collecve soul, collecve consciousness and universal domain are all terms that describe interconnectedness amongst people. A common factor in transcommunicaon is the implicaon and somemes outright admission that the communicator is a group consciousness which presents a representave personality to facilitate our body-centric comprehension. Much of what is brought to us via deep trance channel, even our dreams,

is the hint that we are part of a collecve of personalies. While we experience a lifeme with a body-centric focus, our etheric personality, which is the intelligent core of who we are, is cooperang with fellow personalies to assure our connued educaon. This idea of being an etheric personality, temporarily entangled with our avatar body to gain understanding, is admiedly more hypothesis than objecvely known. The one persistent message in this concept that you will likely recognize is that we are ulmately a collecve under one source. The way that manifests in praccal terms can be seen in how people mature, ﬁrst as students and then as teachers. Many of us have the compulsion to share lessons learned. For instance, the reason for wring essays like this is speciﬁcally to promote cooperaon in the community. People like me write them in the spirit of “those who have come before pausing to help us achieve even greater understanding.” The idea of a collecve of like-minded people cooperang to promote further understanding involves the idea of rapport which is the link of aenon/intenon that develops between two people as they share ideas. (65) A community is formed by a sense of rapport which integrates many people and only marginally related ideas into a community of common interest. In such a community, educaonal resources, standards and a common voice to speak to mainstream society can evolve. But only if we cooperate. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book.

Essay 7 Clarity of Communication 2014 About This Essay It is likely that all of us have had the experience of explaining something to others, only to have them later indicate that they heard something very diﬀerent. This is especially a problem when discussing conceptual ideas. Ideas such as words have meaning, and the power of words, are common themes in my wring. The reason I keep wring about clearly communicang ideas and saying what we mean is that parcipaon in discussions on the Internet has brought me face-to-face with the reality that I am a poor communicator. It is surprising to me that my focus has recently changed from explaining the need to clearly express ideas to the need to pay aenon to what is said. As I try and try to be clear, I see that my listeners and readers are not doing a very good job of hearing what I am saying. One might say they are inconvincible. There is support for this! In recent years, I have noced arcles in the popular science media about how we do not directly experience our environment. (66) (67) (68) Instead, our mostly unconscious mind senses the informaon and only lets our conscious mind know what it thinks about the informaon based on memory. As I explained in Essay 1: Condional Free Will, this is not some New Age wisul thinking. It is emerging mainstream understanding that has profound implicaons for the paranormalist community. This essay represents one of my

ﬁrst eﬀorts to turn the perspecve from teaching the need to be careful what we say to teaching the need to be careful how we listen. Yes, it remains important to clearly state the informaon, but clarity of communicaon represents a two-way exchange. It began as something of a rant that was to be tled Inconvincible, but aer a few rewrites, I calmed down enough to change the perspecve from complaining to honest quesoning. Introduction What our audience hears us say is too oen diﬀerent from what we intend. Probably all of us have had the experience of explaining something, say giving instrucons about how to do something, and then seeing the person do it wrong. “Why?” you might ask of the person. “I thought you said to.…” is likely the answer. The ability to communicate an abstract concept is essenal for anyone wishing to share ideas about the paranormal. And, as it happens, virtually every idea about the paranormal is abstract. Lacking a common vocabulary, the words we use are oen laden with unintended meaning. What does spirit mean? Is spiritual healing just pung a hand on someone’s forehead and praying out loud to God? Are dead people demons if they talk to you? Is that person crazy for hearing dead people or just a witch? How we answer quesons like these depend on our listener’s upbringing. A person who has spent most of a lifeme cloistered in a very orthodox religious family will likely hear words like spirit

diﬀerently than a person raised in a Spiritualist household. A technical metaphysician will answer diﬀerently than a causal seeker. On the other hand, a casual seeker will likely be confused by a metaphysician’s answer. While I am no expert in communicang abstract ideas, I do have experience in communicang complex ones. From my experience, the art of communicaon is all about understanding that: 1. People have a style of learning. 2. What people read or are told is diﬀerent from what they understand, and understanding is always based on their worldview. 3. People pay aenon to, or ignore ideas, depending on how the informaon is delivered, their interest and learning style. 4. A mismatch of agenda impairs communicaon. 5. Worldview changes in small increments; learning hardly ever occurs in great leaps. The two messages I would like you to take away from this essay is that sharing informaon means understanding your audience and your audience’s percepon requires their aenon. It is especially important for mediums, healers and society leaders to be mindful of how their words are received. For instance, mental mediums speak under the cloak of authority as if they are holy people speaking in the name of the dead. Like it or not, that authority is unconsciously aributed to them by many in their audience. The result is that mediums have extraordinary responsibility to manage their comments so as to avoid unintended implicaons and exaggerated expectaons. Here, it is important to picture yourself outside of the paranormalist community.

Most paranormalists will know what you intend because they have direct experience. We are insiders, but people in mainstream society do not know what you intend and only hear your words in the context of their experience. For that reason, it is safest to assume members of your audience are literalists who will hold you to the literal meaning of every word. People Have a Style of Learning. Just as people are born le or right-handed, people are born with basic traits that tend to inﬂuence their behavior. Using the avatar model for a person, our entangled self brings a personal style in the form of prior understanding and inherited urges, but the human body also inﬂuences our decision-making because of the more dominant human insncts. Personal Style Personal styles are cataloged and studied in psychology as a means of understanding human behavior and have been adapted to teach salespeople how to relate to customers. A useful categorizaon is shown in the Personal Styles diagram below. (45) They are: Analycal: Thinking, thorough, disciplined; always a student of the subject Amiable: Supporve, paent, diplomac, healer and caregiver Driver: Independent, decisive, determined; always thinking about the next step Expressive: Good communicator, enthusiasc, imaginave; oen the opinion seer Each basic style is typically further divided so that a person might be seen as a Driver-Analycal or a Drive-Expressive. The point of these styles is that people likely begin dealing with a situaon from the perspecve of one of these styles. Styles are probably

associated with your intelligent core (I Am This) as opposed to your conscious self (I think I am this). Astrology Astrology is based on the assumpon that behavior is inﬂuenced by the posion of the stars and planets at the me of the human’s birth. Astrological inﬂuences are probably associated with your human’s body, as opposed to your immortal self. Astrology and styles are not being recommended here. I am using them to demonstrate that we display personality characteriscs that are evident at a very young age and which tend to shape our lives and how we relate to others. Of course, the secret wisdom of the diagram is that, by praccing the middle way, we can move toward speciﬁc behaviors as appropriate, but return to balance without aachment to the outcome of our acons. By the way, in the context of personal progression, detachment is a term used to indicate an openness to unexpected outcomes. For instance, consider only being oﬀered a sedan when you were hoping to have a sports car. If your actual objecve was to have a safe, dependable car, you succeeded in aracng one to you. Perhaps rejecng the sedan would be a poor decision. It is a judgment call to be made at the moment, but one to be made from the mindful perspecve. Being open for possibilies somemes means following the surprising way. Being aached mean not being open, thus possibly missing important learning opportunies. Our friends on the other side are always

seeking to help us. Being aached to an outcome is a form of resistance to that change. So What? A person with a Driver personal style, for example, tends to be impaent with people who are slow geng to the point. While they are important to have around if you want to get things done, they tend to scare Amiables. Expressives help to keep Drivers on track and Analycals help to keep Drivers on the right track. For a second example, Amiables connect a community with its purpose as its feeling, sensing aspect; however, that inﬂuence must be balanced by the other three aspects for the community to thrive. The Internet brings people together according to their interests, but there is usually no way to separate people by learning styles. As such, it is common to see all four styles represented in any one thread, oen to the dismay of the person who started it. This diversity is important but can be damaging if communicators do not act accordingly. Selective Understanding What people read or are told is diﬀerent from what they understand, and understanding is always based on their worldview. It is becoming increasingly evident to psychologists that we unconsciously process what we sense and only become aware of the results of that processing. The translaon from what is heard, felt or seen is based on our worldview. Worldview represents personal reality. It is like a database that is ﬁlled by our parents, teachers, local culture and the media.

(29) A hint as to the rules for this unconscious processing of informaon— what I refer to as the Perceptual Loop—can be seen in a person’s personal style, as described above. The Perceptual Loop is an unconscious process that compares a possible understanding of incoming informaon with what is in Worldview. As modeled, the result of this iterave, streaming process is: Accept which is presented to conscious self in a form Worldview understands. Reject which results in the informaon being ignored. Condional acceptance which changes Worldview and presents new understanding to conscious self. This is the ambiguous maybe result we seek in learning new concepts. See Essay 1: Condional Free Will and Essay 8: How We Think for a more complete explanaon. So What? If the listener is accustomed to hearing about the subject from the perspecve of, say a strong religious upbringing, then a statement such as “I heard from my loved one last night” may well be heard more in terms of possession. The person may hear the words correctly, but the words will likely be understood from the person’s personal point of view (Worldview). The founder of a system of thought I was once involved in was a technical metaphysician and his way of explaining things agreed with my way of learning. He made his transion and the man who took his place spoke about the same ideas in more feeling terms. One phrase I remember from the new leader is “The Golden Heart.” Well, okay, I

have no idea what that means. That was the beginning of the end for my me with that group. In the Golden Heart example, I literally have nothing in my worldview to help me visualize what that means. My personal style leans toward Analycal with emphasis on Expressive and all I am sure of is that Golden heart does not register with me. The point here is that we unconsciously color what we experience to make the experience more familiar. Somemes this may result in our listeners understanding the message in a very diﬀerent way than what was intended or maybe even not registering the informaon at all. Selective Attention People pay aenon to or ignore ideas, depending on how the informaon is delivered, their interest and learning style. This is a consequence of Item 2 and is referred to as Switching by James Carpenter in his proposed First Sight Theory. (38) In that theory, percepon is modeled as an unconscious streaming process in that it produces a ﬂow of impressions to the conscious mind (awareness) as informaon is received. It is important to note the incremental nature of how awareness comes to us. A connuing process such as someone talking or informaon from reading a sentence, emerges into the conscious mind as a gradual coming to understand. If the reader is a Driver and the informaon is wrien by an Amiable, the Driver’s aenon will likely switch between trying to absorb the message and wondering why the person didn’t

get to the point faster. For instance, it is diﬃcult for a Driver-Analycal to sit through a video to access informaon. For them, video presentaons just take too much me to get to the point. In fact, a ﬁve-minute video seldom conveys more informaon than can be wrien in a few paragraphs, so unless some animated or reality segment is required, an Analycal and certainly a Driver will probably not sit through a video. There is also the danger that some people will resent the perceived waste of me. The same can be said for explanatory arcles. Magazines intended for popular consumpon oen begin arcles with a too long “It was a sunny day and I admired the person’s home as I drove up…” kind of dialogue. If an arcle is a reasonably technical discussion about immunology, for instance, why would the reader be interested in where the immunology expert lives or if the sun was shining? So What? Your audience will listen to you with rapt aenon but take a close look at their eyes. Are they glazed over? Be aware of your purpose and get to the point. In technical wring, a good introducon, or beer, a good abstract may be your only chance to communicate your point. Video may be easier for you, but a few wrien paragraphs might result in beer communicaon. Presenng a video without some kind of wrien brief may be a lost opportunity to communicate. Also, think about what you want from your

communicaon. Do you expect your target audience to refer back to parts of your presentaon? Would you like your work to be cited as a reference in an essay? Imagine your audience as you write. Controlling Switching Another implicaon of switching is that we are condional about what we focus on and therefore what we experience. During conversaons, we likely, rapidly move our aenon from what we are supposed to be experiencing to whatever we are planning … maybe lunch. It is important to be mindful of this because it has a lot to do with our ability to learn. If developing mediumship skills, for instance, the ability to suppress switching will greatly enhance lucidity. While switching is an unconscious process, it is driven by Worldview and that can be changed over me like changing a habit. Intenon is a funcon of conscious self. As we intend to focus our aenon, we signal to our unconscious perceptual processes what is important to us, but it takes me to develop that habit. A mismatch of agenda impairs communication. This is all about point of view. An example is what I have experienced when trying to explain to a skepc editor why the Rupert Sheldrake arcle in Wikipedia is biased. The skepc’s agenda was to make Sheldrake look like a fool, and saying he is a biologist would indicate he is qualiﬁed to discuss morphogenesis interfered with that objecve. My objecve was to have the arcle describe the man in a balanced

manner. No maer what was actually said, the outcome was already determined by the skepc’s agenda and the overwhelming number of skepcs backing him. Thomas Harris told us in his book I’m OK-You’re OK that real communicaon between two people could only occur if both are in an okay place in life. (69) This is also true of agendas. What are the two pares trying to get out of the exchange? Mismatch of agendas tend to produce the phenomena of skepcism. The less what we say agrees with what our listener is expecng from us, the more likely our listener is to reject our words. The result is a skepcal response that emerges into our listener’s conscious awareness. Everyone is potenally a skepc. It depends on how well Worldviews match. See Essay 10: Skepc. People always have tells that give them away if only we are paying aenon. For instance, it is possible to ancipate people who might righteously aack others, based on their history. The recent aack by several parapsychologists on one of our mediums is an example of a totally irraonal response instead of the true and expected levelheaded report indicang that phenomena had been witnessed under stringently controlled condions. The irraonal aack tells us the aackers may be threatened by the possibility survival might be proven by the praconer they were studying. See Essay13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority The invesgators had substanal access to the medium during an extended series of séances. The medium later told me

he understood that the invesgator’s agenda was to understand the physical phenomena. Because phenomena were produced despite the stringent controls and distracons, he believed they would produce a posive report. Yet, the invesgators wrote reports demonstrang their probably unconscious agenda. In wring the arcles, the authors mostly ignored data collected via the prearranged protocol, and instead, focused on innuendo and hearsay from outside of the protocol to support what if explanaons that were not evident in the data. In eﬀect, if not a conscious one, their agenda was to debunk. This was predicted, as the lead invesgator had telegraphed his real agenda about survival concepts on numerous occasions prior to the study. (70) So What? An interesng story portrays a group of friends sing around a kitchen table, deciding if it is me to drive into town for lunch. During the exchange, there is a lot of “well, okay” kind of comments, rather than “Okay! Let’s go!” comments. At the end of the story, it turned out that none of them really wanted to go, but because they had previously agreed, they felt obligated. In that story, all had the same but unspoken agenda not to go into town. They did not clearly express their posion and mistook the posion of the others. This story was designed for corporate employee training in oﬃce communicaon. The moral of the story is to make a conscious eﬀort to let others know what you are thinking. Try to pause the conversaon long enough

for you to think about what is happening. Being honest (candid) about your objecves will greatly facilitate communicaon. Conversely, be mindful of the people with whom you are communicang. I know skepcs have an “If mainstream science does not say it is so, then it cannot be” agenda in everything they say and do concerning what they see as pseudoscience. If you have read much of my wring, you will know that my agenda is to teach about survival. When you read my wring, and if you are aware of this, then you will know to look for hints of the underlying purpose of what I say. Most of us intend to say what we mean but we oen have unconscious drivers that shape our selecon of words. Take a moment and consider whether you are understanding what is being said and what you are saying. A pause can make a huge diﬀerence. If you have been traveling the Mindful Way for a while, it is reasonable to think you have developed a sense of how your audience is responding. This may be especially true of conversaons before they begin, as people tend to telegraph their agenda in the opening. If you have a sense that the person has an agenda to which he or she is strongly aached, ﬁnd a way to gracefully avoid the conversaon. Being a teacher takes many forms, of which outright teaching is only one. I have ignored my own advice on this many mes,

as I seek to live up to my self-declared responsibility to teach. I have mostly stopped agreeing to examine examples because my response virtually always pisses oﬀ the person. It is in supposedly good deeds of trying to explain oponal ways of thinking of a person’s experience that I too oen get a response like: “Yes, I know you are supposed to be the expert, but I have to disagree with you.” That is typically followed by a long, passive-aggressive response. If the person exhibits such a degree of naivety, or worse, delusion, change the subject. It is a fool’s errand to think you can teach a person who clearly has the agenda to prove beliefs which are contrary to your understanding. Trying and failing tends to sow seeds of self-doubt. Worldview changes in small increments Learning hardly ever occurs in great leaps. This is an organizing principle for persuasive expression. Based on First Sight Theory (38) and on the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon, (15) Worldview resists change, but does accept small changes if they are an evoluon of exisng belief or understanding. In praccal applicaon, we tend to readily experience something if it agrees with our worldview. Remember, this is an unconscious process based on our prior condioning, so if the experience is not recognized by Worldview, it might be outright rejected in the unconscious process. This means it will not be consciously experienced. If it is possible for the perceptual process to imagine how the experience might agree

with prior condioning, that maybe outcome can evolve Worldview to accommodate that slight diﬀerence. It is the maybe outcome of the perceptual process that results in learning. It is the rejecon of informaon that does not agree with Worldview that leads to skepcism and a breakdown in communicaon. My eﬀort to explain the Implicit Cosmology is a good example. (12) Many parts of the cosmology are likely new to you. Because of this, you will likely reject it if you try to absorb it all at once. To facilitate your understanding of it, I incorporate the concepts in my essays. For instance, you may have noced that I oen speak of a person as an immortal self entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. As I read my audience, I expect that the idea of an avatar relaonship will make sense and will not be outwardly rejected. So What? An interesng aspect of early alien abducon reports was the frequency in which rabbits were involved in the accounts. The ability of the perceptual process to imagine an alternave percepon of an experience, to make it agree with Worldview, is thought to result in substuons in our percepon, such as rabbits for lile gray aliens. This is a cause of what Spiritualist refers to as coloring. Coloring is usually an unconscious, honest process but somemes a conscious one. An interesng example of cultural contaminaon that applies here is how descripons of the reported abductors changed from rabbits to the big-eyed

gray hominoids commonly reported today. In 1987, Whitely Strieber published Communion: A True Story by Whitley Strieber, (71) which portrayed a typical gray extraterrestrial. Today, close encounters with aliens can be expected to include the now standard alien descripon which agrees with the Communion book cover. That kind of cultural contaminaon must be considered when evaluang the usefulness of any report based on percepon. The streaming dream experience looks a lot like our unconscious mind aempng to ﬁnd a story for sensed informaon that our worldview will accept. This ability of our mind to tell us a story emerges into our conscious awareness as understanding that is possibly only like but not the same as what was intended. This is also a factor in what is somemes referred to as storytelling, in which a person tries to make a supposed paranormal example or mediumisc message make sense by concocng a plausible explanaon. A creave story can bring meaning where there is none intended. If you are training to be a mental medium, be aware that what you sense via psi funconing is possibly translated by your perceptual processes into your personal symbols based on your point of view. Incremental learning is involved, so for me, it has been a lifelong process of learning to recognize how my unconscious perceptual processes present mediumiscally sensed informaon to my conscious awareness. Automac wring, pendulum work, even physical phenomena of the séance room is subject to this translaon of original intent into the medium’s

or an interested observer’s understanding. Here, it is important to note that the medium works with the sier and both contribute to percepon. This co-creaon of experiences appears to be a factor in all forms of trans-etheric inﬂuence. What I refer to as the Intenon Channel is the link of inﬂuence between conscious awareness as source of intenon and our mostly unconscious as servant of intenon. In deep-trance mediumship, the Intenon Channel between the medium’s conscious and unconscious awareness appears to be idled in some way so that the external communicang personality is more able to express its intenon on the medium’s perceptual processes. This transfer of the source of intenonality appears to be necessary for clear lucidity in mediumship which produces uncolored message and phenomena. As a ﬁnal note, it is apparent that many of us are able to spontaneously enter into a relavely deep trance and remain funconal. This usually occurs without our realizing the change in state. For instance, when we pause to remember something, we momentarily suspend many of our mental processes in order to increase lucidity. This translates as clearer access to the mostly unconscious perceptual processes. Acknowledging to ourselves that we are likely funconing trance mediums is one way to increase roune lucidity. Discussion This essay began as a contemplaon about why I am uncomfortable exchanging comments in social media. On the Internet, what we say through our wring is all we are to others. Others seldom tell us they do not understand what

we say. They do not see our smile or always understand if we are kidding. This is especially true if there are unexpected cultural implicaons aached to our words. The Internet is a most powerful tool for community building. But to use this tool, it is important to be mindful of the underlying dynamics that shape how our words are understood. This is doubly true of serving others via mediumship. Try to listen to what you say from the perspecve of mainstream society. Many people believe in some things paranormal such as ghosts and heaven, but they subscribe to what mainstream sciensts teach them. Part of what they are taught is to be suspicious of what the mainstream does not understand. Especially, pay close aenon to the thoughts that came to you while reading this essay. I have encountered substanal resistance to the idea that we only indirectly sense our world, and that what we do consciously sense is colored by our expectaons based on memory. If you are a Spiritualist, or if you have read a lot of Spiritualist literature, you will have been taught a very diﬀerent point of view about how you interface with your communicators and the world. As a Cerﬁed Spiritualist Teacher, I say with the utmost desire you to objecvely understand that what you have been taught is likely out of date. It is for you, only, to make sense of the more contemporary science. I say only because your usual teachers may also

be struggling to adopt a more raonal point of view. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 8 How We Think 2014 About This Essay Perhaps you have heard the phrase “For those who have eyes to see.” The idea is not that some people have a special set of eyes. It means that some people have developed the ability to noce things about their environment that others tend to ignore. This is an especially important concept when it comes to the Mindful Way. The earliest reference to the idea I have found comes from Hermes, Line 12 of the Emerald Tablet:(28) 12. So the world was created. Hence were all the wonderful adaptaons of the One Thing manifested; but the arrangements that follow this great mysc path are hidden. The One Thing is the organizing principles expressed by Source. In Line 2 of the lesson, Hermes speaks of the One Power, which is modeled as the Creave Process (19) in the Implicit Cosmology. (12) The Creave Process is a person’s aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. Hermes was explaining that all of reality was formed by way of natural, knowable principles. An important concept here is the need for the seeker to gain suﬃcient understanding to perceive the secret wisdom of Nature. The phrase “…the arrangements that follow this great mysc path are hidden” can be understood as “This great mysc path is hidden except for those who have eyes

to see.” Hermes was telling his listeners that they needed to understand what he had just told them if they were to understand the One Thing in order to perform the Great Work. Also see Essay 17: The Herec Concepts. For a more contemporary reference, famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung told us that “Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see.” Essay 19: Progression, Teaching and Community. Here are the implicaons of the principles as I understand them: 1. The secret of lucidity: Recognize and learn to live in balance with the organizing principles of reality. Our purpose in this lifeme is to gain understanding about the nature of our world. Doing so can be described as gaining spiritual maturity. 2. The urge to seek understanding: Our immortal self has an insnct to acvely seek understanding. Even though we make some progress simply by living, ignoring the urge to acvely seek understanding can be a source of frustraon, a sort of restlessness that brings dissasfacon with our life if we are not responding to the urge. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. 3. Learn to be a seeker: There are many diﬀerent ways to gain understanding. Certainly, the ancient wisdom schools are a tried and proven way, but they are diﬃcult and can take a lifeme to achieve mastery. Simply deciding to do so, and then consciously seeking understanding, is a way, but my experience is that self- guided ways are uncertain. The best way I know

to consciously seek understanding is to know how we think, and then learn to integrate that into our daily living. That is what I describe in my wring as the Mindful Way. The Mindful Way sll takes a lifeme, as cultural contaminaon is a never-ending inﬂuence, but progress gets easier as mindfulness becomes equally never-ending. See Essay 2: The Mindful Way. Finding a teacher, a guru, if you wish, was about the only way to learn about the nature of reality in ancient mes. Today, there are many would be gurus oﬀering to teach, but I hesitate to recommend a single one … including myself. The single teacher as the only way to gain access to knowledge can now be replaced with selecve reading of informaon accessible via the Internet. That is one of the reasons I write so much about community. Today, the Mindful Way can be based on the community as teacher and suﬃcient discernment of the seeker to disnguish objecve understanding from fantasy. 4. Limited imaginaon limits experience: An organizing principle I have found useful is the Principle of Perceptual Agreement deﬁned as Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. (27) Percepon is based on understanding. That is, our access to actual reality is limited by our ability to perceive reality as it is and not as we have been taught. That depends on the correct alignment of our worldview with the actual nature of reality. When our

human is no longer able to sustain us in the physical, we will transion to a new venue for learning; however, we will only be able to enter one which we are able to visualize. Otherwise, our worldview will discard the new venue as being outside of our sense of reality. You and I cannot share the same heaven unless we are in perceptual agreement with the nature of that heaven. See Essay 16: What is it Like on the Other Side. 5. Understanding is the gatekeeper of future experiences: To further explain the idea of Number 4, we live in a personal reality deﬁned by our worldview. That personal reality is a subset of the actual nature of reality. You cannot experience my personal reality unless you and I agree about the nature of reality (perceptual agreement). Your degree of spiritual maturity, which is the extent to which your personal reality agrees with actual reality, has a direct inﬂuence on your moment-to-moment experiences and connues to inﬂuence your experiences as you transion out of this lifeme. Put another way; if you are spiritually immature now, you will sll be spiritually immature when you are out of this lifeme. Dying does not make you more mature, only more aware of your immaturity. From my study, I have learned that the way one develops the eyes to see is by developing a more lucid awareness of mostly unconscious mind. Doing so is an expected result of habitual mindfulness. Another important saying

is You have to do the work! The best way I know of to do the work is to learn to follow the Mindful Way. That begins with learning how we think. Introduction Emerging understanding of how we think is shedding important light on how we might seek to improve ourselves, our psi funconing and our relaonship with the community. As it turns out, the body-centric perspecve of I think I am this is simply not supported by current research. New thought is leading to a more dynamic perspecve in which consciousness is seen as a product of aenon and expression as a funcon of intenon. These are etheric rather than physical in nature, suggesng that understanding the immortal self-centric perspecve might show how to consciously access the true I am this nature of who we really are. This essay provides an introducon to this new thought. First, it is important that you understand that even though I use a few psychological and parapsychological terms, I am neither psychologist nor parapsychologist. As an engineer, I tend to maintain a pragmac approach to modeling and oen focus on diﬀerent concepts than you might expect from people trained in psychology, so please don’t tell your parapsychologist friends that “Tom said so.” Terms Most of the terms I use are intended as they are commonly used, but there are a few for which a more obscure deﬁnion is intended. A full glossary of the terms I use for these essays can be found

at ethericstudies.org/glossary-of-terms/. Refer to Essay 1: Condional Free Will, for an overview of the model I use for mind. A more thorough explanaon is included in Your Immortal Self. (1) A brief descripon of each funconal area is included in this essay. Although I repeat these explanaons in many of the essays, I tend to describe them a lile diﬀerently each me and the diﬀerent approach might help you understand. About Spirit-Related Terms Here, I am careful to avoid religious connotaon, but some terms common to religion are too useful to ignore. Spirit: Saying that someone is in spirit is the same as saying they are in the etheric. If you are religious, it is the same as saying in heaven. Considering the Implicit Cosmology and the anatomy of a life ﬁeld explained in Essay 1: Condional Free Will, I refer to a discarnate enty (somemes, a ghost) as a personality, etheric personality or immortal self rather than a spirit. The self-aware aspect of immortal self is referred to here as conscious self. Conscious self represents your conscious perspecve of reality; the experiencer as a traveling perspecve. Think video camera in a drone. Nature spirit: The formave personalies somemes referred to as devas are also somemes referred to as nature spirits. Considering the anatomy of a life ﬁeld discussion in Essay 1: Condional Free Will as a building block of reality, it is probably beer to think of nature spirits as just like you and me, but with diﬀerent intenon

and from diﬀerent collecves. As such, I prefer to address their funcon rather than thinking of them as a special form of personality. Spiritual: Spiritual relates to the high ideals oen associated with being very religious. In my wring, spiritual is intended in a more objecve sense emphasizing understanding rather than believing. Thus, I say spiritual maturity, meaning the development of understanding about the nature of reality. Spirituality: Spirituality is the point of view associated with seeking to gain spiritual maturity. It is also a state of spiritual maturity but is relave to how lucid a person has become and the degree to which that lucidity has manifest as compassionate behavior. Personality Personality is the immortal part of who we are; our intelligent core. In this model, there is personality, unconscious self and conscious self. When entangled with an avatar, there is also the avatar’s body consciousness. I generalize our etheric nature with the term, immortal self. Lucidity is further explained below in this essay. It is seen as the degree to which we are able to sense actual reality, which is the same as saying how well we are able to consciously manage our Perceptual Loop which is modeled as the percepon and expression generator of our mind. That means that part of who we are which is normally thought of as unconscious mind is beer described as mostly unconscious. As we gain in spiritual maturity, it becomes more accessible to our conscious self. I refer to who we

are while in a lifeme as a person which is immortal self entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship for this lifeme. When we are a person, our conscious self normally has a body-centric perspecve as if seeing the world through the eyes of the human. Of course, the reason for gaining spiritual maturity is to develop an immortal self-centric perspecve. Just to be sure we are on the same page, centric is used here in the sense of our perspecve or where we think our real self exists. We naturally assume a body-centric perspecve when we enter a lifeme. The objecve is to change that perspecve to that of immortal self in the greater reality (immortal self-centric) while being able to operate as a person (body-centric). Worldview A thoughorm (etheric ﬁeld) that funcons as a database or repository of memory and human and spiritual insncts. It holds our beliefs and understanding which represents (determines) the nature of our personal reality. This model assumes we are born with only a degree of conceptual understanding and an urge to gain further understanding, both inherited from our personality. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. As shown in the Funconal Areas for Percepon Diagram, Worldview represents the standard by which the output of the Perceptual Loop is determined. In eﬀect, it determines what the conscious self is able to consciously experience. Worldview is funconally situated between the Aenon Complex and Personality. Even though Personality represents the life ﬁeld’s intelligent core, its ability to

experience the physical is limited by Worldview. In an avatar relaonship (a lifeme), Worldview is populated with the body’s insncts as well. The avatar inﬂuence appears to be dominant in the ﬁrst few years of a lifeme. Part of the process of maturing toward adulthood is the increasing inﬂuence of inherited spiritual insncts and prior understanding of percepon. Perception and Expression Percepon produces external expression. The output of the Perceptual Loop may be conscious awareness of something, a decision to act or an ideoplasc formaon (expression) of our perceived reality. Basically, Expression represents unconscious thought coming to conscious awareness based on how it is perceived in the Perceptual Loop. In a way, it is the etheric-to-physical interface. Expression is the funcon by which we make the world as our personal reality. The Ideo- preﬁx means idea or image. Ideoplasc is used here to mean the nature of objects formed in the creave process as a mind-to-object expression. In this model, the world we witness through our human’s eyes is described as an ideoplasc expression. In the Implicit Cosmology, all of our expressions are thoughorms. We assign physicality to some of them and dream-like qualies to others. The expression and expression processes are the same in the Aenon Complex (mind). The diﬀerence is in conscious self’s intenon. In either case, the Aenon Complex submits the visualized result to conscious self in the manner of “This is what I said” or “This is what I hear.” Attention Limiter Both psi and physical

informaon sensed from the environment are ﬁltered, depending on whether or not it is of interest to us. We are presumably immersed in a huge amount of psi and physical smuli and this process helps to enable the Perceptual Loop to focus on more important input. In terms of digital data, think of this as the router interface: if the Aenon Complex is not speciﬁcally addressed by the environmental signal, the signal is ignored. Perceptual Loop A process in which smuli are translated into awareness … or rejected. This is a streaming process in which: • Ignore: Informaon from the environment is visualized, compared to Worldview, and if there is no recognion, it is rejected, and the conscious self does not become aware of the informaon. • Try again: The informaon is visualized, compared to Worldview, and if familiar, it may be modiﬁed for repeated visualizaon. The visualized image will likely pass through the loop several mes to be modiﬁed to agree with Worldview or rejected. • Accept: If it is a good match with Worldview (personal sense of what is real), it is accepted and sent to the percepon funcon and will be consciously experienced. • Maybe: If the Perceptual Loop produces a maybe or ambiguous result, it is accepted and sent to the percepon funcon and allowed to change Worldview. It is important in cosmology to idenfy a mechanism by which evoluon may occur. Rupert Sheldrake‘s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon includes provisions for creave soluons to evolve Nature’s

Habit. (15) In the Implicit Cosmology, an ambiguous result of the Perceptual Loop evolves Worldview. Thus, we can see that a small change or a lile newness is more apt to cause learning than will a dramac change. Attention Complex As a funconal area of the Implicit Cosmology model, the Aenon Complex represents the mostly unconscious mind. Personality has individual awareness which is limited to its etheric environment and what is available from its collecve. It also accesses Worldview. This informaon access is also limited by what it can comprehend (perceptual agreement limited by Worldview). Conscious self is our outward sense of I think I am this and I live in this world. Conscious self’s access to personality, its collecve and other personalies is via the Aenon Complex. Conversely, our core intelligence’s (personality as I am this) access to conscious self, its collecve and other personalies is via the Aenon Complex. Thus, the Aenon Complex, as mostly unconscious mind, is the gateway to the rest of reality for our life ﬁeld. Attention Aenon is a state of existence which is fundamental to life. It is an automac process in a similar way that the physical body has autonomic processes controlling such funcons as breathing. Both personality and avatar share this funconal area. An important disncon to note is that aenon is part of what makes us senent. Thus, it is necessary for percepon or expression to exist. Besides being necessary for the existence of life in the life ﬁeld, aenon

is also part of the inﬂuence conscious self has on the Aenon Complex (mostly unconscious mind). The only inﬂuence conscious self has on the percepon and expression processes is the inﬂuence of intenon. That is enabled, ﬁrst by aenon on the process, and then by the intenon to make it so. Aenon on an intended outcome with the intenon to make it so is the creave process which must be iniated by conscious self, but the actual visualizaon of what is intended is developed in the Aenon Complex. The result is that we might wish to do something, but the nature of that something is limited by our ability to visualize it, which is limited by Worldview. How We Think It is a prey bold statement to say, “this is how we think,” but whether or not this model is technically correct, it is a very useful one for understanding our etheric nature and how we experience our physical and etheric environment. Learning to integrate this model into our daily thinking gives us important tools for improving our intuive sense and helps us place our feet more ﬁrmly on the Mindful Way. The Funconal Areas for Percepon Diagram provides a block diagram of how we think based on the most current science I can ﬁnd. All of the funconal areas are in the etheric and are beer thought of as nonphysical ﬁelds which are bound by aenon into a system. As such, the Aenon Complex represents our mostly unconscious mind.

Here are a few of the consequences posed by the diagram: • Mind is nonphysical and exists in the etheric aspect of reality. In the etheric, everywhere is here, so that an apparent change in locaon is actually just a change in percepon (change of perspecve). • Conscious self is also nonphysical. When in an avatar relaonship with a human body, everything we know about our body’s physical world comes to us by way of our body’s ﬁve senses. I speculate that the informaon stream is transformed from bioelectric to psi in the brain. Sll as a streaming signal, the psi form of that informaon is ﬁrst processed by our mostly unconscious mind via the perceptual Loop, as informed by worldview. That means signals from our body are processed in more or less instantaneous sample. In that way, we develop awareness of the signal probably a moment aer it is sensed by the body. The resulng percepon of the signal becomes part of worldview as memory and is sent to our conscious self as conscious awareness in a streaming fashion. Conscious reacon to those signals is again translated by mostly unconscious mind. While this may produce a streaming output for the body, it appears that the results of our reacon will also be a gestalt thoughorm; a whole thought with meaning, intenon and purpose, all as they are moderated by worldview. The thoughorm appears to be expressed into the etheric environment. The process is modeled this way because we know

it can be sensed by other personalies. If the response is a physical acon, it must be transformed from the psi form to a bio-electric signal in the brain. Thus, the brain acts as the etheric-physical interface to operate the body. • Our Aenon Complex receives informaon from other personalies via thoughorms developed in their Aenon Complex and according to their worldview. In the case of remote viewing, for instance, we see what other conscious selves are registering as physical in their perceptual process. Our Perceptual Loop appears able to merge informaon about the physical environment experienced by other personalies that have been received from their entangled body. Each personality has learned to assign physicality to signals they have been taught to think of as physical. The result for each of us currently in a lifeme is the percepon of a physical world and our interacon with it. To be clear, we do not see the remote physical scene because it only exists as an ideoplasc construct of other conscious selves. The way we psychically sense a scene is to sense the expression products produced in the Aenon Complex of the people who are both aware of the scene and whose worldview is reasonably in agreement with ours. • Since the Perceptual Loop is a streaming process, environmental informaon is connuously sampled so that we experience an evolving percepon as more informaon becomes available. In dreams, this may explain stream-of-thought dreams in which one moment suggests the next but does

not always produce a logical experience. First Sight Theory (Use discernment here. I am explaining this theory as I understand Carpenter’s explanaon.) James Carpenter has proposed an important hypothesis he refers to as First Sight Theory. (16) (38) He explains that people ﬁrst sense the world psychically. As he puts it: “What if ESP is like subliminal percepon? What if psychokinesis is like unconsciously but psychologically meaningful expressive behaviors?” He answers these quesons by proposing two proposions based on the assumpon that: (paraphrasing) everything and everyone, every acon in the past, now or in the future, perturbs the subtle energy space that connects all of us. Carpenter argues that research indicates people psychically sense these changes in psi space just as they physically sense changes in physical space. By “research indicates” I am saying that Carpenter based his theory on meta-analysis and personal research concerning hundreds of research reports—both mainstream and parapsychological. According to Carpenter, if that is true, then: (sll paraphrasing) First, people sense their environment psychically as well as with their physical senses. Second, people process this informaon unconsciously, and it is the conclusion of this processing that they become aware of and react to … not what has been psychically or physically sensed or unconsciously considered. A person might psychically sense someone near or far, a person’s acons and apparently their thoughts when they are expressed as intenon. Note 1: In this theory, the expression of intenon is what produces a change in psi space which can

be sensed by others. Simply thinking of something does not appear to produce informaon which is detectable by others. Note 2: The result of the unconscious perceptual process is described as formang of “experience and acon.” This is the percepon funconal area in the Funconal Areas of Percepon diagram (above). In this context, the person does not directly experience informaon from the environment. Instead, the person becomes aware of the informaon aer it is formaed in a way that agrees with Worldview. Carpenter proposes thirteen corollaries which amount to a decision tree deﬁning the Perceptual Loop in the above Percepon Diagram. I will spare you the list here, but it may be useful for you to read the Percepon Essay at ethericstudies.org/percepon/. (18) Also refer back to Essay 1: Condional Free Will. The diagrams here are intended to reﬂect the essence of Carpenter’s theory, but as modiﬁed based on other parapsychological literature and lessons learned from transcommunicaon (physical, mental, trance- channel forms of mediumship and Instrumental TransCommunicaon which includes EVP). The concepts are presented as the Implicit Cosmology (12). The applicaon of these concepts is described in Essay 2: The Mindful Way. Implications of Unconscious Preprocessing of Thought If the above informaon is reasonably correct, then our conscious self which is the I think I am this part of who we are, and what we sense around us, are the product of unconscious processes of which we have only indirect control. This means that we sense a lot more about

our environment than that sensed with our ﬁve physical senses. In fact, we are likely psi-sensing smuli much before our physical sensing. Paying Attention If we do not care about something, if it is uninteresng, then it will likely be unconsciously ignored. Of course, our body is constantly watching for survival-related input, so anything potenally scary, good to eat, sexual or related to territory will be ﬁrst unconsciously reacted to, and if persistent, will enter conscious awareness. For instance, adrenalin may ﬂow in our system some me before we become consciously aware of a looming threat. An assumpon of this model is that we are born with an urge to gain understanding. (23) In eﬀect, that is a spiritual insnct; however, contrary to body insncts which compel the human to act, it appears we must consciously decide to respond to the urge to gain understanding. It may be possible to live a lifeme without responding to our spiritual urges. However, it has been my experience that ignoring them can result in a sort of restlessness as if our friends in spirit somemes coax us to pay aenon. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. This is not a maer of self-determinaon (free will). It is a maer of ﬁnally gaining suﬃcient presence of mind to realize there is a need. Yes, we are urged to act in small ways, but seldom in a way that leads to conscious pursuit of spiritual maturity. One way we can take conscious control of our progression

is by learning to pay aenon to our world with the intenon of gaining understanding. It is the expression of intenon that counts. In the ancient wisdom of the Cabala, the Great Work consists of transmung the relavely immature mind (lead), into a more mature mind (gold). (30) One of the techniques for teaching this is to teach the seeker to learn as much as possible about everything. Learn to pay aenon! Here, I should add the wisdom of detachment. It is important to be interested in what is happening around us while not being aached to the outcome. Be open to unexpected possibilies. This translates as suspended judgment when witnessing things paranormal. Avoid expecng immediate understanding. The mind will try to shape what is being observed into something familiar, so not needing immediate understanding teaches the unconscious mind to allow what is observed to unfold naturally. The same goes for creang an intended reality. Seek an outcome but remain open to unexpected results. I need to emphasize here that our mostly unconscious mind is a world-class storyteller. Always be aware that what we are consciously thinking is a product of what we already know. This means that what we think we correctly understand about an unfamiliar situaon may actually be a fabricated understanding based on similar but not the same references. On a personal note, too oen when people bring a report of something paranormal to me, they become angry with me if I do not agree that it

is paranormal. It appears they are already set in their mind that it is paranormal and has a speciﬁc meaning. That is a form of aachment and prejudgment that defeats learning. It also makes teacher disappear. Worldview Can Be Taught Like a mental database, our worldview is ﬁlled by family, teachers, schools, church, and probably most importantly, the media. A red ﬂag concept of the Mindful Way is that we share this worldview with our human avatar. At birth, it is mostly the insncts of our human that governs our behavior. Maturing means learning to moderate the inﬂuence of these insncts with understanding. Sll, there are adults who are mostly controlled by their avatar. It takes a community because we are not born already understanding how to become a good cizen. It is taught. It is common to know people who are ostensibly like-minded, but who report rather diﬀerent experiences from a shared event. This is mostly because of diﬀerent Worldviews, so that for example, a person with a strong orthodox religious upbringing tends to experience or interpret phenomena with religious overtones while a Spiritualist is more apt to see the same phenomena in terms of interacon with their friends on the other side. Some people see spirits everywhere while others see Natural Law at work. Interesngly, none of these points of view are necessarily incorrect, as each is based on a combinaon of good sense and belief. If we normalize them by translang them into fundamental concepts, it is

oen evident that the beliefs are based on the same concepts, only with rather diﬀerent aribuon. For instance, if we let Jesus be a wayshower instead of a savior and let God be the reality ﬁeld rather than a father sing in judgment, the common characteriscs become more evident. Angels, guides, loved ones, inner teachers and devic enes all present themselves to our unconscious in much the same way. How they emerge into our conscious mind is determined by how we have been taught to look for them. Temperament Since ancient mes, observers of human behavior have noted that people tend to ﬁt into personality types or styles of behavior that govern how they interact with the world. This concept is explained in the People Have a Style of Learning Secon of Essay 7: Clarity of Communicaons. Lucidity Working with Worldview, the Perceptual Loop acts as a ﬁlter to restrict what part of the raw psi input becomes available to the conscious self. Learning to manage this process is important in developing a clear channel between conscious self and etheric personality. A person who demonstrates psychic ability is seen as one who is able to sense more of the Perceptual Loop process than the average person. This ability is referred to as lucidity. The threshold between unconscious and conscious awareness is referred to as liminal. According to Carpenter‘s last two First Sight Theory corollaries: (16) (38) Extracng from Carpenter’s explanaon of the Inadvertency and Frustraon Corollary: Informaon gathered via psi

is not available to conscious experience but does contribute to the formaon of conscious experience by the arousal of ancipatory networks of ideas and feelings (assuming that they are heavily weighted, aﬀorded slow switching and approached with the intenon of assimilaon). Because of this arousal, their acon can be glimpsed consciously only by observing thoughts, feelings and behaviors that are inadvertent; that is, not intenonal and not obviously caused by any current experiences. Someone who has become skillful in interpreng them is thought of as relavely psychic. Extracng from Carpenter’s explanaon of the Liminality Corollary: The arousal of ancipatory networks of ideas and feelings resulng from unconscious psi informaon may be considered liminal ones, in terms of the boundary between conscious and unconscious thought. Habitual interest in liminal experiences facilitates expression of psi processes (openness), leading to unconscious reference to psi material (and other streams of unconscious material). A more posive, open, secure state of mind will tend to facilitate reference to a broader spectrum of contextual, potenally liminal experience. In other words, habitually paying aenon to subtle informaon emerging from your unconscious can lead to more direct awareness of what has been psychically sensed from psi space. This means that a person wishing to develop psychic ability should learn to focus on inner thoughts, think what is sensed is potenally useful and expect more informaon. It is important to note here that no disncon is made between mediumship and psychic funconing. From the perspecve of percepon, the mechanism of

transcommunicaon is the same and only the aribuon is diﬀerent. That is the theory. Instead of seeking a meditave state of no mental chaer, every thought should be invited and at least brieﬂy examined with interest (contemplaon). I like the meditaon in which I mentally stand at the opening of a vast cave. The world full of light and solidity is before me, while fragments of thoughts ﬂier toward me out of the cave as if they are buerﬂies. I turn to face them, and as each thought comes, I brieﬂy aempt to make sense of it, before sending it back into the cave. I mentally follow the thoughts that are especially interesng, deep into the cave, seeking to understand their source. It is the source I am most interested in, and as I seek to visualize that from the temperament side and not the astrological side, I intend that my unconscious mind will learn what is important and what is not, based on reason and not on habit. Informaon from our friends on the other side comes to us via a mind- to-mind exchange by way of our Aenon Complex. As illustrated in the Lucidity Diagram below, informaon from the etheric is sll ﬁltered by Worldview, but that ﬁltering is moderated by understanding so that greater understanding results in greater lucidity. Ideally, the experiencer (conscious self) learns to sense the diﬀerence between that which is cultural contaminaon and that which is from the environment. For me, it is oen

the surprise factor that hints of something outside of my musing. Hyperlucidity Hyperlucidity is marked by the tendency to ﬁnd phenomena everywhere despite considerable tesmony to the contrary by peers. The concept is adapted from occasional reports of odd behavior exhibited by some people when they visit an emoonally charged place (Paris Syndrome, Jerusalem Syndrome) or experience great beauty (Stendhal Syndrome). (72) (73) In the Hyperlucidity Diagram, the experiencer (conscious self) imagines what is being perceived to be from transcommunicators while in fact, it is just from the physical environment or internal mental musing guided by cultural teaching. The key to understanding hyperlucidity is to look for hints of magical thinking. If a person thinks ability comes upon them as if as a gi, rather than by way of study and pracce, then an observer should ﬁrst look for the objecve evidence. If that is available, the next queson concerns the validity of that evidence. Can it be independently experienced? This concept provides a possible explanaon for the abundance of not so evidenal evidence displayed on the Internet. From personal experience, I know that mental mediums can be very evidenal, but it takes pracce to learn to disnguish between mental preconcepon and thought emerging from personality. One of my favorite talks given in our Spiritualist Society was by Steve Crow, tled You have to do the work. A person tending toward hyperlucidity is typically one who ﬁrst comes to these phenomena as an expert. This is a diﬃcult concept because

there may be a tendency to use it as an argument against the existence of transcommunicaon. Instead, hyperlucidity should be looked at as an enthusiasc approach to the study of things paranormal that is not balanced by discernment and educaon about the subject. As a behavior, it will eventually moderate as the person become beer informed. I know I tend to harp on this but forgive. Hyperlucidity appears to be the greatest roadblock to gaining understanding you will encounter on the Mindful Way. Hyperlucidity is a pervasive syndrome that inﬂicts most people new to serious consideraon of paranormal phenomena. Hyperlucidity oen shows up in the form of pronouncements of truth based on unsubstanated, assumed truths. The eﬀect is to reject the oﬀer of alternave thought from others in the community. When I say that a cooperave community requires a candid exchange of informaon, I am saying that personal pet theories must be held in abeyance in order to consider new ideas. Candid responses are those that reveal honest consideraon. Discernment means recognizing the inﬂuence of our inner judge when it poses as all-knowing. Discussion This essay rather brieﬂy covers a lot of material. While much of it may be new to you, even contrary to what you have learned, it is supported by quite a lot of solid research by many very knowledgeable people. Psi ﬁeld, psi funconing and ﬁrst sight are concepts that may well iniate a global mind change. It is for you to decide if you are

willing to join the early adopters on the path of mindfulness in the pursuit of greater lucidity. The way is not easy, but reward comes early. The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve Take advantage of opportunies to discuss these concepts. Doing so helps their integraon into your worldview. What you have to say is important because sharing your unique perspecve, observaons and experiences will help the rest of us. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 9 Consensus Building in the Paranormalist Community 2017 About This Essay In Essay 1: Condional Free Will, I tried to explain the limits of our ability to say what we intend. When I speak, I intend to speak the truth, but in actuality, I am only able to speak the truth as I understand it. We are all the same in that regard; however, I am willing to argue that I am more able to speak the truth than the average person. The reason is that I have spent much of this lifeme trying to learn how to see the truth … Nature as her actual self. This is something you can do, as well. When I write an essay, my movaon is usually to explore a concept that has been more frequently coming to my aenon than usual. This essay is a good example. I had been shown one example too many for why I am not doing

a good job of explaining myself. One good example is my failure to organize an ethics panel. Five or six opinion seers in our community had agreed to parcipate, but when it came down to actually doing the work to get things started, none were to be found. They wanted to be part of it, so I must assume I failed in some way to movate them into acon. I blame myself because such disappointments are common with my bright ideas. Another example is the many hours I might spend explaining the Implicit Cosmology to people, only to ﬁnd months later that their acons argue that they did not believe or understand a word of it. The crowning disappointment has been the public response to Your Immortal Self. (1) The book was not intended to make money, but sales are the only metric I have to tell how well it is received. I do watch to see if people comment about it or list it in recommended reading. It did show up on a couple of lists but fell oﬀ one in weeks. I sent it out to a few people I considered important opinion seers in our community; however, despite kind words, I have the sense they did not actually read the work. Two did give me excellent reviews, which probably accounts for those who have purchased it. The most telling, and important comment I received was that the book was inmidang. Others complained that it is too long

or too complex. These comments are important to me and help me understand the need to learn how to more eﬀecvely communicate. While new, when compared to, say momentum or osmoses, the concepts are not all that confusing. It is just that I do not stop explaining unl I have addressed all of the variables. There are a lot of variable you can expect to encounter when trying to apply the concepts, so yes, the story is probably too long. This book was to be around 250 pages, but here it is at nearly 390. So, I did it again. And despite my eﬀorts to be more reader-friendly, it will likely be seen as inmidang. The moral of my lile story is that our community needs people who can convey these concepts in more reader-friendly ways. It is by that skill that we will see a useful consensus about the nature of our reality develop. This essay began with the tle of Inconvincible, in the sense that some people cannot be convinced about new ideas. But, every me I started the essay, it quickly degenerated into a rant. The same thing happened with Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists. All of my aempts turned into complaining. I realized this and began again, only for the wring to dri into another rant. Being me is frustrang somemes. I suppose we can all say that. The soluon is not easily found when I am busy being frustrated. Somemes I wake up in

the morning with insights about whatever I am working on at the me. The change in approach for the essay usually begins then. It sll took me many restarts, but with each, the perspecve gradually changed from me complaining, to more construcve observaons with possibly aconable suggesons. This is where I explain that I have help wring these essays. Well, yes, I clearly do, but the trick is learning to listen to that help. My objecve is to trust the urge I sense to write this or that in the same way, I trust advice from an old friend … with the understanding that it is me who must accept responsibility for what I write. This is to say that this essay began as a rant but ended up, I think, as a useful guide for working as a cooperave community. If you like it, thank my friend Mr. Writer. If you do not, then let me know in what way and I will try to make it more useful. Introduction Longme observers of the paranormalist community may have noced considerable change in the community over the years, but with lile apparent progress in understanding the nature of these phenomena. All of us are in the same boat, Paranormal. In a very real sense, we are dependent on one another, as sciensts need praconers to produce examples for study and praconers need sciensts for guidance in how to work with them. If progress requires cooperaon amongst cizens of the community,

how can cooperaon be improved? In my view, the answer has everything to do with how we mentally process informaon and the nature of our spiritual insncts. Shared Perception of Reality If our purpose is to gain understanding about the nature of reality, and if there is one actual reality, it seems clear that each of us is converging on the same understanding. If this is true, our diﬀerences are ulmately temporary. I say we are converging on the same understanding because it appears that understanding, itself, is a relave concept. An experience might be new to us and our understanding of it only slight, but that understanding becomes more precise as we have other, similar experiences. And so, it might be true that none of us are completely right in our opinion because our understanding is not complete. Even so, it is arguable that some of us see reality with greater lucidity than do others. If so, the sages were right all along in saying that the truth is evident for those who have eyes to see. In the end, it comes down to the simple truth that the present is created from the past. That is, unless we have developed the presence of mind to examine the validity of what we perceive, with the intenon to beer align our understanding with the actual nature of reality, our percepon will be enrely based on memory of past experiences. You may know this presence of mind as mindfulness and the

path we must travel to gain it as the Mindful Way. See Essay 2: The Mindful Way. This is a good place to discuss karma. Karma is commonly described in New Age circles as a system of merits we earn through good deeds and demerits we must work oﬀ by making amends. Karma is said to follow us from one lifeme to another. As it is described in the Katha Upanishad, (74) karma is of our physical nature, as opposed to our spiritual nature. The term is used in the sense spiritual lessons we are intended to learn in a lifeme. I see a close comparison between the karma of Hinduism and Buddhism to the Prime Imperave I discuss in Essay 3: Prime Imperave. In both systems of thought, we are born into this lifeme with the urge to gain understanding about a speciﬁc aspect of reality. Seeking the lessons is our purpose for exisng. As I understand the Upanishads, a karma is one of those bits of understanding we are intended to gain in this lifeme. So, you can see, karma can be paraphrased as imperfect understanding about the nature of reality that is intended to be resolved in this lifeme. It translates in praccal terms as the beer you understand reality, the less diﬃcult the remaining lessons (karma). Community As I will explain in Spiritual Anatomy, below in this essay, one of the more important tools for the Mindful Way is the cooperave community. Parcipaon in a community

enables self-evaluaon. The process of composing what to say helps us organize our thoughts. An honest response from others in the community helps us develop an idea of how sensible our understanding has become. An underlying assumpon of a cooperave community is that its members return candid responses. They need not agree, or even be raonal, but they do need to be candid by speaking up about why they agree or disagree and their quesons. It is when people do not return honest feedback that the cooperave community fails. Paranormalists and Paranormalist Seekers Paranormalists are deﬁned here as people who experience, study or have a more than casual interest in psychic ability (psi funconing, remote viewing, healing intenon), healing intenon (bioﬁeld healing, distant healing, healing prayer) and the phenomena related to survival of consciousness (mediumship, visual and audible Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC), haunngs). However, being a paranormalist does not mean a person is consciously seeking to gain understanding. For instance, to a casual observer, ghost hunng clubs appear to be more like sporng sociees than study groups. As you read this essay, keep in mind that I am addressing it to paranormalists in general, but when it comes to quesons of increasing understanding, I am speciﬁcally direcng my comments to seekers. Here, a seeker is one who consciously responds to the urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality. (23) As an aside to the skepcs amongst us, being a paranormalist does not mean all paranormalists think these phenomena are

actually paranormal. In fact, skepc-ism is relave so that the further a concept is from mainstream thought, the more likely it will be rejected by a person who studies these phenomena. For instance, anomalisc psychologists (58) reject psi and survival phenomena, while exceponal experiences psychologists (57) may accept psi but reject survival phenomena. The cohesiveness of a community is based on its member’s common understanding of the concepts which deﬁne it. Greater agreement in understanding tends to aract improved understanding, while decreasing agreement tends to disperse the binding inﬂuence. In eﬀect, unlimited freedom of opinion with lile or no collaboraon produces a chaoc environment which tend to defeat eﬀorts to develop a cohesive foundaon of understanding. In this sense, the paranormalist community is fast becoming a failed community. Even as more is understood as sound theory, we have less and less general agreement about the nature of the related phenomena. Belief rather than objecve understanding, proﬁteering and pet theories dominate. It seems that everyone has become their own expert, learned leadership is oen an-psi, but predominantly an-survival. Roadblocks to Idea Sharing As I have said, establishing the consensus necessary for community norms requires members of the community to be candid about expressing their point of view and open to the possibility of seeing other people’s point of view. Consensus building is typically an ongoing process as opinions converge toward a common view. If a common view is not found, the community can be expected to splinter as people who do

agree, self- organize into sub-communies of interests. This appears to be our current state. A Fractured Community The old blind men trying to describe an elephant parable applies here. From it, we learn that a coherent explanaon of the phenomena may only be possible if all the sub-communies of interest work together. As it is today, some sub-communies disagree with the others to the point of acvely aempng to debunk their view of the phenomena. The dominant sub-communies are: 1. Parapsychology: Academically trained, usually with doctorates, concerned with theorizing and conducng research, primarily considering the human nature-based response to phenomena, especially psi ﬁeld-related phenomena. Oen, research is designed to explain why people believe in these phenomena rather than to develop metaphysical models. 2. Cizen Sciensts: People who are involved in the study of these phenomena on the layperson side of the Academic-Layperson Paron. These include haunngs invesgaon as opposed to ghost hunng. Occasionally apply well-considered, protocol-based invesgaon of mediumship and ITC. More an emphasis on survival phenomena. 3. Mediumisc Praconers: People who apply techniques to induce transcommunicaon, such as mental and physical mediumship, automac wring and ITC. Healing intenon is included here. Usually an assumpon of survival, but also presumably psi-only praconers such as remote viewing and healing intenon 4. Hobbyists: This community of interest is primarily composed of ghost hunters. There are hundreds of ghost hunter clubs which are usually operated as social clubs with haunted place invesgaons as oungs. They usually employ quite a lot of technology to

collect evidence, including recording for EVP. 5. Seekers: People who are interested in understanding these phenomena as it relates to their true nature and relaonship with reality. Such concepts as mindfulness, personal improvement and human potenal apply to this community of interest. These sub-groups tend to be interdependent so that parapsychology depends on the other groups for access to phenomena, and the other groups depend on parapsychology for learned guidance about the nature of the phenomena and possibly how to work with them. This happens to some extent; however, my observaon has been that all ﬁve groups mostly ignore the others. They have developed their own stories about the nature of these phenomena; oen many diﬀerent stories within a group. Thus, each group tends to insulate itself from the others. The eﬀect of this is self-review which leads to a possible bubble of baseless beliefs used as the standard within the group to peer review new thought. This internal consensus tends to be a roadblock for the development of a global consensus. The eﬀect is more like the various belief systems developing into a sort of contemporary form of religions compeng for the ownership of actual truth. As we have found amongst orthodox religions, belief-based compeon for truth assures that no global consensus will form without individual acceptance of the need for change. A common story is necessary for progress to be made in our understanding. Lacking it, the paranormalist community is rapidly contracng into isolated subgroups. For the most

part, the way is le for superson and sciensm to overshadow objecve study of these phenomena. My objecve here is to understand the dynamics of this dispersal and seek ways to ﬁnd a common story. The obstacles I see, those behaviors I think are at the center of this failure to communicate, include: 1. People tend to be protecve of their examples of phenomena Sharing examples of phenomena is an important part of social media for paranormalist. On the surface, sharing is an eﬀecve way to teach one another about the nature of the phenomena and encourage further aempts to collect more examples. However, many shared examples are simply not paranormal. Some are arfacts of whatever technology was used. Many of these technologies are poorly understood and most of us do not know the many ways the technology might fool us. For instance, photographic latency can produce ghost lights and bright objects and parculates can produce orbs which are oen described as evidence of ghosts. A witness may not think the example is evidenal, but it has become something of a social norm to praise the example, perhaps to support the person’s emoonal need for validaon or the witness not wanng to be shunned as a doubter. The witness, failing to be candid about the example, eﬀecvely reinforces the exhibitor’s erroneous belief. No learning occurs and community understanding about the actual nature of the phenomena is further devolved into belief and away from objecve thinking. While praising an example that

probably is not paranormal may seem like a kind gesture, it is more likely the witness does not wish to argue with the exhibitor. We have had so many angry responses to our reports that examples are probably mundane, that now, we hardly ever agree to examine examples from the public. Our perspecve on this is explained at the top of the ATransC.org website front page: When encountering an extraordinary event, seek ﬁrst to ﬁnd commonalies with other extraordinary events and known science before assuming something new. Always error on the side of the mundane. 2. Delusion Delusion is deﬁned as belief in something despite evidence to the contrary. This may be a touchy subject, and certainly, I am not qualiﬁed to speak of it in academic terms. While not intended here as a derogatory comment about a person’s sanity, it is intended as a red ﬂag for experiencers and witnesses. This human condion is described in the Implicit Cosmology (12) as hyperlucidity and is considered a form of erroneous percepon that is self-correcng with educaon. See Hyperlucidity in Essay 8: How We Think. There are a number of common forms of delusion we encounter that make discussing examples diﬃcult. Typically, it is the result of naturally occurring perceptual arfacts that become obvious when how we think is understood. In one form, it is natural for the mind to aempt to ﬁnd meaning in ambiguous sounds. This usually occurs when a person is distracted or hypnagogic (not fully awake). For

instance, always wanng to be the judge, our mind will try to hear the mostly unnoced hum of a motor as a distant conversaon, radio staon or music … a familiar sound. Sounds other than the motor’s hum cannot be recorded, making recording a good test. This auditory arfact can be reported in audio recording when the experiencer thinks there are countless EVP, oen evil, in a recording. Yet, others do not hear the same. We conducted a study in which online listeners were asked what they heard in soundtracks we speciﬁcally explain had no speech. A surprising percentage of people insisted there were spoken words present. (75) Regreully, it is necessary for paranormalists to make themselves aware of the potenal for delusional experiences when experiencing phenomena or witnessing examples. We are all subject to delusional episodes, but it is important to recognize that some people should avoid working with anything paranormal because of a tendency toward erroneous percepon. 3. Pet theories When we assumed leadership of the ATransC in 2000, a frequently expressed theory was that the only real EVP were those found in the subsonic region of the audio spectrum. Later, some people insisted the only real EVP were in the ultrasonic region. Reversing the audio track to ﬁnd EVP was popular back then, and some insisted that the only real EVP were those found by reversing the soundtrack. Over the years, it has become evident that the unseen communicators will speak where we are listening. To our

knowledge, none of those theories were tested under controlled condions. None have stood the test of further experience. Prior religious training can cause people to believe their unseen communicators are stuck or earthbound. The same can be said about the way religious beliefs can lead to fear of encountering demons, possible possession and the danger of evil spirits. We know that percepon is inﬂuenced by prior belief, which I refer to as cultural contaminaon. Because of this, the proofs oﬀered by these theorists are suspect. Such faith-based beliefs can make these phenomena unnecessarily scary for the average experiencer and help to defeat our community’s forward progress. The idea of a pet theory also comes up in the form of “Spirit told me.” We see evidence of spiritualism in this argument, and even though we are both ordained Spiritualists, cerﬁed Naonal Spiritualist Teachers and cerﬁed mediums with the Naonal Spiritualist Associaon of Churches (nsac.org), there seems to be no way that we can convince such seers that they likely colored the message from spirit to agree with their worldview. It needs to be noted that a pet theory is something of a gi in the sense that it cannot exist unless the theorist has been able to see beyond the dogma of our community. However, a theory cannot move us forward unless people are willing to challenge it by asking why. It also cannot move us forward if the theorist is unable to explain it, or unwilling to engage in extended,

candid discussions about its merit. Just as a person manufacturing an ITC device has the ethical responsibility to conduct studies to establish that the device works and to document how arfacts occur, so does a theorist have the responsibility to establish a foundaon of evidence and supporng precedence. The usual reacon when we queson a pet theory is anger. Again, this is a form of being protecve of one’s phenomena. We have also noted a degree of arrogance in theorists as if our degree or experience does not warrant consideraon of our input. A theorist telling a witness his theory is right (period!), thus ending the conversaon, is perhaps the most common way learned discourse is defeated in our community. The andote is for the conversaon to connue with a well-considered “Yah, but” or “Consider it this way.” I am potenally guilty of this “My theory is beer than yours” syndrome. Knowing the potenal of this problem, I spend a great deal of me examining my models and trying to normalize other models so as to compare apples to apples. 4. The Silver Bullet Syndrome Transform EVP are the original form of transcommunicaon and remains the form best understood by way of pracce and research. They appear to form under the inﬂuence of intended order on chaoc audio noise. The problem is that transform EVP can be a diﬃcult means of contacng the other side. Not everyone is successful and only a relave few collect clearly understandable examples. On the

other hand, opportunisc forms of EVP are supposedly found in the output audio stream of radio-sweep, EVPmaker and most technologies that use detected changes in environmental energy to select from a pre-recorded speech database. The resulng sound stream consists of bits of speech, some of which are supposed to be arranged to produce the phenomenal message. The bits of sound are in every output. All that remains is for the praconer to ﬁgure out how to make the resulng babble seem like a message. In pracce, we see that the majority of people trying EVP are willing to force those bits of sound into expected meaning, whether or not it is actually present. The result is that opportunisc techniques have become so popular that they have prey much pushed the old fashion and harder to use transform technique into obscurity. In fact, much of what is being reported as EVP today is probably not EVP. Aer considerable study and honest aempts to see how opportunisc technique might produce EVP, (64) (76) (77) (78) we have ﬁnally oﬃcially set it aside as a technique that causes too many false posives to be of use. Our policy now is to explain to people that, for teaching or research, we no longer consider supposed EVP produced by opportunisc techniques, including ghost or spirit boxes and some of the new apps. We rounely suggest that we would be happy to revisit this policy if someone presented us with meaningful research supporng opportunisc techniques. The

people who should be conducng such research are those selling the equipment. As it appears, the proﬁt move menoned next in Item 5 appears to be the reason the vendors work so hard to convince people the equipment works. Again, the tendency of people to be protecve of their examples of phenomena appear to be the problem. People who openly discount examples, no maer which phenomenon, are likely to receive an angry response, or be shunned as a non-believer. From my perspecve, the transform-opportunisc EVP divide has had a devastang eﬀect on the forward progress of our community. At root is a widely shared belief in something that has lile or no objecve support. 5. A proﬁt move Some people have developed a theory to explain some or all of these phenomena. While many are only movated to prove they are right, it seems the most aggressive are those who have wrien a book, and now beneﬁt from the book being right. We see this in a number of opinion seers in our community, as they have found an audience to agree with their views and now seek to proﬁt with books and website adversing revenue. The people promong opportunisc EVP tend to be making money by geng people to purchase the equipment. This is also a potenal problem when people promote an event to pay the rent. We have aended a few excellent mediumship demonstraons held at private venues, even hosted a few, but some we aended bordered on

decepon. We have been kicked out of a séance facility in France because we were too negave, according to the sponsors. In fact, we were challenging the promoters for disingenuous representaon of the phenomena. It would have been unethical had we not. The proﬁt move usually consists of a person trying to sell a book. But many researchers depend on donors to fund their university department or at least a project. An interesng new development is academics seeking funding under false pretenses; perhaps ostensibly to study survival phenomena while intending to debunk it, or seeking funding to develop old, failed ideas as if they are newly invented. People should be paid for their work. Lisa and I originally sold signed copies of the book we wrote for the Associaon, but ﬁnally stopped because of the personal cost and me. Without a lile proﬁt move, service to the community has a limited lifespan for many of us. From my experience, a mental medium stands spiritually naked before a client. I for one have found the experience uncomfortable beyond my willingness to serve. The years people spend developing ability … in this lifeme or others, warrants reasonable reimbursement, else they should not be expected to be available to serve without the same sort of scheduling and remuneraon one would expect for a professional such as an aorney or medical doctor. A similar situaon exists with EVP praconers. Not everyone is able to successfully record for EVP and only a few we know

of are able to contact speciﬁc people with any conﬁdence. Like mental mediumship, there is always a risk that the praconer must report a failed aempt. It also takes considerable me and eﬀort to properly examine the recordings and compassionately deal with the sier. Thinking someone should do these things for free is the same as thinking a therapist should work for free. A belief-based assumpon used to jusfy many accusaons of fraud is that mediumship ability is a God-given gi that should be used in service to others for free. To be clear, psi sensing of any form is a characterisc of life. It is not a gi to be taken away because someone thinks it is being abused. It is an ability which can be developed and is applied according to the person’s worldview. 6. Academic-Layperson Paron. Parapsychologists typically hold a Ph.D. and operate under the cloak of that authority. Members of the other communies of interest typically do not have an advanced degree, or if they do, do not operate under its authority. The expected social order is that people with an advanced degree provide learned guidance to people who are not as well informed about their specialty. We have observed, and personally experienced, a tendency of parapsychologist Ph.Ds. to avoid discussing theory with laypeople. Instead, much of the parapsychological literature consists of one- sided studies that, with the author’s apparent assumpon of witness delusion or ignorance, too oen discount reported phenomena. Given the lack of informed

discourse amongst the laypeople of our community, it is easy to understand how the Academic- Layperson Paron came about. However, almost every eﬀort we have made to bridge that divide has failed. When a sub-community is closed to discourse with the other sub-communies … all trying to describe the same elephant … the greater community either fails or ﬁnds a way to compensate for the missing input. That appears to be happening now as the parapsychological community becomes less relevant in the objecve study of transcommunicaon and survival. Importance of Sharing Ideas Two realizaons began to emerge as I studied these phenomena and sought to explain the related concepts to others. The most important is that the phenomena are a symptom and not the end objecve. This is important so let me say it a diﬀerent way. EVP, for instance, is a tool with which we can study our spiritual nature and the nature of the greater reality, which is our true home. Yes, having an EVP example containing the voice of a loved one is reassuring, but that should not obscure the fact that our dead loved one is not dead at all, only transioned to a diﬀerent aspect of reality. If we miss that point, then all else is just cultural pabulum. If the implicaons of these phenomena are as we think, they are profound. They suggest that living a full life means seeking to understand the greater reality and living in accordance with its organizing principles. I

describe this realizaon in terms of mindfulness and explaining the implicaons of this realizaon has become the underlying theme of all I do these days. You may have other ways of describing this way of knowing. The important point is that the underlying concepts amongst the diﬀerent ways of visualizing this idea must be the same if they are real. It is the common underlying concepts for which we must ﬁnd a consensus. The second realizaon is that explaining the ﬁrst realizaon is more diﬃcult than I expected. My wife Lisa and I have developed many ways to bring these phenomena to the public. Of the 129 issues of the newsleer published by Associaon TransCommunicaon, Lisa and I published the last 54 between 2000 and 2014. We esmate each issue has been read by some 1000 people. The website rounely receives 700 to 900 unique visitors a day. The book we wrote, There is No Death and There are No Dead, (79) has made the associaon more than $34,000, which means nearly 7,000 people have read the book. Over the years, I have personally answered thousands of quesons from website visitors. Yet, there is lile evidence in the paranormalist community that we have existed. It is probably human nature to gather all the informaon about a subject of interest and synthesize a personal point of view that does not normally highlight any one source. Assuming that is true, it is reasonable to think our contribuon to the community has been

considered and merged with all the rest. The problem I see, however, is that much of the belief popularly held by members of our community appears to contradict what we have wrien. If we have had an eﬀect, it is a very subtle one. Again, this apparent diﬃculty in geng ideas out to the public is not unique to us, but it is a problem that must be resolved if we are to see understanding about these phenomena progress. So, the queson is, how do the opinion seers amongst us help us develop stories about these phenomena that are both objecvely meaningful and realiscally useful? I do not have an answer, but the following point to consider might help in our eﬀorts to collaborate with others. Spiritual Anatomy To understand ourselves and others, we must ﬁrst understand our spiritual anatomy. (80) By spiritual anatomy, I mean who we are as immortal beings and the funconal areas involved in developing unconscious and conscious percepon. This is important because, considering the more objecve theories of today, we can see that it is probable we experience the world as we were taught, rather than experiencing its actual nature. See Anatomy of a Life Field in Essay 1: Condional Free Will. This secon provides a brief overview of the factors which appear to determine how we form opinions. All of it is discussed in more detail in Your Immortal Self: Exploring the Mindful Way. (1) (Also see ethericstudies.org/concepts/.) If you have read other essays

by me, you will know that some of this material is oen repeated; however, I tend to tailor explanaons for the subject, so please take the me to read the version presented here. Anatomy of a Life Field in Essay 1: Condional Free Will, also has a comprehensive introducon to these concepts. Objective Thinking For the sake of discussion, it is necessary to make a disncon between that which seems to be less in alignment with actual reality and that which appears to be more in alignment. The American Associaon of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide objecve evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state. When we assumed leadership of the AA-EVP in 2000, we were determined to maintain a focus on the objecve aspect of Sarah’s goal. The Associaon is now the ATransC, and a review of the ATransC.org website will show that we have tried to remain objecve to this day. At the boom of each page of ATransC.org is a link to the Our Pledge to You page, on which we say: We pledge to do all we can to provide the most accurate and up-to- date informaon about all things etheric. While we do not know what will be seen as true in the future, we will aempt to idenfy what on this website is supported by empirical evidence, what is speculaon and what is common knowledge. The pledge is important because we have found that

an objecve point of view is essenal to ethical disclosure of informaon about the nature of reality. Otherwise, our audience has reason to think our work is based on belief. As it is used here, Objecve is intended as understanding based on empirical evidence supported by sound theory and undistorted by emoon or personal bias. Considering our goal, our Pledge and the need to support those in need of assurance, it is important that we strive to provide only the most ethical and reasonable explanaons about these phenomena. Of course, I have been way oﬀ in the past about some concepts. For instance, we were very supporve of some audio and visual ITC techniques in the past, but which I would hesitate to support today. Naturally, our understanding is also evolving. That is why I have learned to provide references and links to addional informaon in my wring. This is not to say the addional informaon is correct. It is to say that the more you know about the subject, the beer prepared you are to decide for yourself. It is for you to do the work of exploring the references and links. Rational Personal Responsibility When I say that the present is decided by the past, I am referring to the concept that our worldview is the ﬁlter for our percepon. Our worldview is a mostly unconscious database populated with memory, cultural training and spiritual insncts inherited from our personality (Core Intelligence) and the collecve of personalies with whom

we share a common source. Since we share Worldview with our human, our human’s insncts are also involved. If we do not stop and think about our acons, Worldview prey much determines how we perceive our world. Rupert Sheldrake referred to this as Nature’s Habit. (15) This is another way of saying that we do what we have always done unless we make a conscious eﬀort to change. Making that eﬀort is the essence of mindfulness, and what I think of as raonal personal responsibility. Not making the eﬀort is a deﬁnion of the average person. For instance, I argue in my Irraonal Nature of Gun Ownership Musing on EthericStudies.org that owning a gun is more a surrender to our human survival insncts than it is the expression of a raonal mind. (81) The idea of raonal personal responsibility is nicely summarized as the ﬁrst item in the Ethical Expression Column of the Possible Mindfulness Personal Code of Ethics Table (below): Just because you can, does not mean you should. (82) Communies are developed by people cooperang to support a common set of ideals. Cooperave communies are torn apart by people disregarding such ideals in favor of personal wants. Personal Responsibility as a Process The Essay 1: Condional Freewill includes a discussion about the implicaon of mostly unconscious processing of percepon on our ability to personally account for our acons. Our ability to assure that what we say and do what we intend is limited by our lucidity. Here, lucidity

is used to mean the extent to which we are able to sense the actual nature of environmental informaon before it is colored by Worldview. Greater lucidity means greater ability to be responsible for our acons; personal responsibility or self-determinaon. This is in contrast to hyperlucidity, which is a useful term for the problem of thinking we are sensing clearly, while in fact, we are only seeing a story created by our worldview. The most important points for you to consider when evaluang your next acon is that the environmental informaon you just received into your mind, possibly a biological-to-psi signal from your body’s ﬁve senses or a psi signal from a friend in spirit, will have been changed from its original form before entering into your conscious awareness. The determining factors for what you ﬁnally sense is what is in your worldview and the intenon you previously expressed to your mostly unconscious mind. Your worldview is shared by your human body and your spiritual self. That means what you were taught in school, what you learned from that horror movie last night and what your body thinks it is supposed to do to maintain its place in the pecking order or to assure connuity of its kind, are all factors in forming the informaon that comes to your conscious mind each moment of your life. The one conscious inﬂuence you have on your mind’s coloring of informaon is the expression of intenon to experience things as they actually are.

The day you realize the need for this conscious inﬂuence on your mind is the day you step onto the Mindful Way. It is how you take control of your self-determinaon. Expression of intenon is a lifestyle behavior, so if you are just beginning, give your mental processes a while to respond. As an aside, pay close aenon to the statement, realizing the need. You can think to yourself, “Of course, I realize the need,” but that is not the same as fully comprehending the need as an aconable idea. One of my ﬁrst talks to a Spiritualist group was about the winning atude. In it, I explored the diﬀerence between gamblers who want to win but do not and those who seem to win all the me. Both people are the same except the winners have learned to change the desire to win into an atude that winning is expected. Realizing the need is like that. The percepon and expression processes of the Aenon Complex represent the creave process. The creave process can be deﬁned as aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. It is decisively inﬂuenced by your prior training, so that the created outcome will always be modiﬁed to agree with Worldview. If you were raised to doubt the existence of a greater reality, and to believe that your body is who you are, simply wanng to gain spiritual maturity will not be enough. It is necessary to teach your worldview to accept the

necessary concepts. Again, that is the Mindful Way. Understanding is Relative One of the organizing concepts for Personality is the Principle of Understanding: Percepon of reality as it is and not as it is believed to be, with emphasis on underlying principles. Experience becomes understanding as a person aligns personal reality with local reality. A fundamental concept in the Implicit Cosmology is that personality exists to experience reality, gain understanding from that experience and return that understanding to the Collecve. Understanding is seen as being a quality of personality and is, therefore, the quality determining perceptual agreement. Extent of understanding is a measure of progression. Note that local reality is a special instance of actual reality. Actual reality is as it is moderated by organizing principles which are perceived by Source (expressed by Source). Local reality is the expression of actual reality as it is understood by those personalies said to be collecvely imagining physical reality to create a venue for learning. Based on the Principle of Perceptual Agreement, percepon of personal reality converges on local reality as it is visualized by those who maintain this venue. Thus, it can be said that “Experience becomes understanding as a person aligns personal reality with local reality.” (Principle of Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate.) (27) The Nature of Understanding A disncon is made in the Implicit Cosmology between informaon, knowledge and understanding: Informaon Informaon can be compared to raw

data. In the context of mind, it is sensory input from the environment brought by the physical senses and countless psi signals. As it is received, informaon is undiﬀerenated and is only sensible when organized into some context. Think of the bits and pieces of informaon coming to us every moment as data points which must eventually be integrated into a sensible image. Much of what people think they know is just informaon. Knowledge When informaon is considered, and the related concepts are understood, the resulng comprehension is considered knowledge. To be knowledgeable about something is to comprehend related concepts so that they can be reasonably well visualized. This is the key to the nature of knowledge. It must be comprehensible enough to be visualized as a concept. Here, visualize is used in the general sense of being imaged in some way in the mind. That might be suﬃcient recognion of an odor to name its source or formulaon of many seemingly unrelated concepts into a form that can be described to others. Once again, consider the old story of blind men examining an elephant: if each man represents a concept (leg, tail and such), then knowledge would be the ability of the men as a group to be able to describe an elephant. Knowledge is a combinaon of informaon, understanding concepts and comprehension of a global sense of meaning. Understanding In the Implicit Cosmology, percepon is modeled as the outcome of a process that begins with encountering informaon that

is external to the mind. We, as etheric mind and physical body, are immersed in a multude of environmental signals. All come to us as a psi signal, some from the body’s physical senses, the rest from other personalies in the etheric. These signals are processed in our Aenon Complex where they are ﬁltered according to our interest. Only some reach our conscious awareness, but always as they have been translated by Worldview. (29) (Refer to the Lucidity Diagram, above) The degree to which understanding agrees with reality is also a funcon of our worldview. For instance, if we have been taught to be prejudiced about something, and we retain that prejudice, we will have that prejudice reinforced by the tone of the informaon coming to our conscious awareness. Unless we have become aware of the need to examine that percepon, we will likely take what emerges from the unconscious percepon process without queson. Here, mindfulness as a conscious eﬀort to see things as they are intended becomes important in helping us see the world as it is, rather than as we are taught to think it is. I want to stress this point. Something is not true because we think it is true. Take, for instance, a person who has been raised in a family that is prejudiced toward minority farm workers. When he sees several in a ﬁeld tending a crop, he likely sees inferior people doing only work for which they are capable. He thinks this is

true because that is his honest percepon … because that is what he has been taught to think is true and not what he has come to understand by examining the evidence. However, it is also possible the workers are doing the limited work they have been able to ﬁnd. It is enrely possible some of them are working their way through college. Others may be the parents of his children’s future boss. IQ does not maer much when the infrastructure of society is not working for you. Many who have considered alternave theories about reality ﬁrst think of their own story about reality. What they think is true dominates what they have yet to learn, and so, it is easy to discard the new idea with the assumpon that current understanding is superior. Whatever you think is correct, you are probably out of date, and therefore, incorrect. Take the me to rethink your assumpons. Doing so is a most important step on the mindful way. Understanding is not an absolute. As is shown in the Limits of Understanding Diagram (above), correct percepon (understanding) is typically limited on ﬁrst exposure to a concept. As a mindful person seeks to beer understand the concept, understanding approaches (converges on but does not reach) percepon that agrees with reality. This is an obvious eﬀect when, say, a new principle in science is introduced, but it is less obvious when the process of overcoming prejudices learned in youth and fears foisted upon the avatar

relaonship by human insncts are considered. As we move through a lifeme from youth to old age, things held to be true populate our worldview and tend to reinforce future percepon. A conscious eﬀort is required to break this cycle. Perhaps even more distressing is that we carry these false truths into transion from this lifeme. The result can be a complex, reportedly emoonally painful period of geng well while Worldview is beer aligned with reality. To emphasize the point of these paragraphs: • We experience what we expect to experience. • How well what we experience agrees with the actual nature of reality depends on the degree to which our understanding agrees with reality. • Our understanding is held in Worldview. • We can only manage our worldview with the habitual, conscious expression of the intenon to see reality as it is, rather than as we have been taught. • If the people with whom we are trying to build a consensus do not understand this point … more importantly, if they are not praccing mindfulness, it is unlikely we will ﬁnd common ground for agreement, only mutual beneﬁt for compromise. Cooperative Community The Cooperave Community Organizing Principle is deﬁned in the Implicit Cosmology as an eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. A person is aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate progression. (27) Communies of like-minded people help to sasfy our human’s social need. They can be considered cooperave communies if they enable members

to express ideas and receive meaningful feedback. The act of ordering thoughts before speaking helps us beer understand our point. Learning how others respond helps establish a sense of reasonableness. Without purposeful consideraon of what we think about something, it is diﬃcult for us to transform informaon into understanding. It appears to be understanding that we take with us beyond this lifeme. A saying I like based on the Cooperave Community Organizing Principle is: The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve In a cooperave community, it is the responsibility of the individual to take the iniave to either comment or respond based on point of view. Being correct is not the idea. It is the preparaon to express an idea that is so powerful. In this way, the speaker is both student and teacher. As an old adage goes, our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach. Each member of a cooperave community ﬁlls both the role of seeker and that of teacher, simply by interacng with other members of the community. An important point of this is that the listener does not need to be convinced by the speaker. Much of my current understanding has come from aempts to explain the reasonableness of paranormalist thought to other Wikipedia editors; a challenge at which I completely failed. The real value comes from composing our thoughts into sensible expressions of what we think is true, and the

candid response from our listener. This process fails when the listener does not provide a candid response. Wikipedia editors are very candid. Making a Cooperative Community Work A person automacally becomes a member of a community by having the same or similar interests as held by other members of the community. A cooperave community, which is typically a subset of such a community, develops when members of the greater community begin to share ideas and give considered feedback to other member’s ideas. On a global scale, paranormalists are in the same community, but not all paranormalists are open to the exchange of ideas. The test is if people make meaningful comments about things related to the subject at hand and if others respond in a considered fashion. Communicaon does not begin if people lurk in silence or only oﬀer ﬂippant remarks. Words have consequences. An oand, poorly considered remark brings lile value in promong understanding amongst other members. Perhaps more important is that the harm ill-considered comments do to both the exchange of ideas and the speaker’s worldview is substanal. For ﬂippant speakers, it sends a reinforcing signal of intenon to their unconscious mental processes, telling it to accept cultural contaminaon without review. Assuming the person you are talking with does intend to be like- minded, there are points to consider when sharing ideas that might improve chances of reaching mutual understanding. A few points to consider are suggested below. Just use them as guides, as every situaon is unique.

Social Media As it turns out, social media does not support very eﬀecve cooperave communies. Yes, anyone can voice their opinion, but it is more of a talking at one another kind of exchange. From my experience, most people who comment, do so in not very well considered statements that invite lile conversaon. A good deal of the me, I cannot ﬁgure out their point, the comments are so brief or obscure. Interesngly, it can be argued that social media works as a mechanism for suppressing considered discussion. Is this creang a generaon of people who are no longer able to form a meaningful consensus? Discussion boards have their shortcoming, but an important feature is easy parcipaon in a thoughul discussion. A second beneﬁt of discussion boards over Facebook-like websites is that the discussion remains for a me so that others can learn. This is why the ATransC Idea Exchange has been maintained. (atransc.org/forum/) Please feel free to take advantage of its capability. Access to the Idea Exchange is free, but we now require members to use their real name. Using a pseudonym is a lot like wearing a mask. If you have read the Lord of the Flies, (83) you will understand my point when I say that part of personal progression is having the courage of our convicons. It is also important to speak as our real name if we ever hope to become an opinion seer. Building our reputaon as a thoughul person requires name recognion. Tell

Me Three Times A quote I remember from many years ago, I think from a Nave American Shaman, addresses our diﬃculty in comprehending informaon. I remember it as: Tell me three mes; once for my head, once for my heart and once for my spirit. The telling is not simple repeon. Here, telling the head is an analycal explanaon. Telling the heart is explaining why it maers to the person. Telling the spirit is an appeal to the underlying moral and ethical meaning of existence. Trice-telling can be paraphrased here as recognion that a conversaon with a person is really a conversaon with his or her mostly unconscious mind. As a funconal area for thought, the mind has considerable resistance to change. It must be changed in small increments, and depending on how the person learns, the conversaon must be addressed to the person’s learning style if it is to get past the Aenon Limiter. (Review the Aenon Limiter poron of Essay 1: Condional Free Will.) A change of mind becomes most diﬃcult when the listener’s mostly unconscious mind has made a decision. The result of the decision likely becomes part of Worldview to be used to measuring the acceptability of the next bit of informaon. A possible way to avoid this self-imposed listener roadblock is to avoid speaking in absolutes. Ambiguous informaon is more apt to be accepted so long as it is not evasive. This may be why some people learn best via storytelling in which the point

is part of the storyline. Learning Styles The way people approach learning has a lot to do with the way they do best in conversaon. I am a good example. Watching a video to ﬁnd out what a presenter said is the worst possible way for me to learn. The informaon-per-second delivery rate of video is very low compared to me scanning the abstract and reading the concluding remarks in a PDF ﬁle. Considering the Personal Styles Model in Essay 7: Clarity of Communicaon (Analycal, Amiable, Drive, Expressive), it is reasonable to argue that a quarter of our populaon has the same impaence with slow delivery of informaon. Conversely, an amiable personality might ﬁnd a video more humanizing, and therefore, beer for comprehension. A soluon I have oen looked for when being referred to a video is if the author has included a brief wrien synopsis on the same page as the video. My wring style is technical but detailed. From conversaons with others, I gather it is a diﬃcult style for reader comprehension. When seeking to develop a consensus of understanding about something, it is important that others in the discussion explain how they understand the point, but in terms that makes beer sense for them. A successful cooperave community is one that has acve representaves of all learning styles. Temperament You may remember that a basic queson in psychology is whether temperament is inherited from a family member (nature) or learned while a child (nurture). Considering Sheldrake’s Hypothesis

of Formave Causaon, (15) temperament can be at least parally modeled as Nature’s Habit established by preceding generaons (nature). A reﬁnement of Sheldrake’s hypothesis oﬀered in the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) is that the entangled personality contributes the urge to gain understanding to a person’s temperament, while the human insncts contribute the urge to assure survival of the species. Formave Causaon and the Trans-Survival Hypothesis leans understanding of the nature-nurture queson toward nature, but cultural contaminaon has a more contemporary inﬂuence on temperament that cannot be ignored. What we are taught introduces a strong, oen repeated inﬂuence on our temperament, but that is biased by the nature side of the equaon. We translate cultural inﬂuences (nurture) according to our nature. With that in mind, it makes sense to deﬁne temperament as a predisposion to understand experiences. And, a person’s temperament is based on previous understanding inherited from Source, personality and the personality’s and human’s collecves, as it is modiﬁed by intended understanding. If a life ﬁeld is not entangled with a personality, its temperament is likely inherited from its collecve. A person’s point of view is how a person expresses Worldview as it is biased by temperament. For instance, a person with a strong Driver temperament might hear “Be responsible for your family” from cultural upbringing as a command to keep family members away from worldly inﬂuences at all cost. A community may teach its cizens to be deeply afraid of demons, but if the temperament of a member of that

society is to queson authority, it may be natural for that person to turn that fearfulness into curiosity as to why demons are fearful. Upon discovering there is nothing to fear, the person’s temperament might help to modify Worldview’s inﬂuence, perming the person to be more accepng of the unknown. Villager-Explorer Effect This is more commonly known as the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect, but I do not much like being called a sheep. In 1942, Professor Gertrude Schmeidler idenﬁed a correlaon between people scoring high on a belief in the paranormal survey with their psi funconing scores. Conversely, a poor belief score correlated with a lower than chance psi funcon score. She referred to this as the Sheep-Goat Eﬀect with believers as the sheep. (63) As noted, for my self-esteem, I am referring to the believers as explorers because of their willingness to explore new ideas. Conversely, I am referring to disbelievers as villagers because of the more conservave atude of people who follow cultural norms and depend on maintaining the status quo. This concept implies that people who allow for the possibility of new ideas are more likely to consciously experience new ideas. The inverse of this can be seen in the concept of incredulity blindness, a useful term to describe how some people are inexplicably unable to see or hear examples of paranormal phenomena. Discourse 10: “Perceptual Agreement” in Your Immortal Self (1) addresses this concept in detail. (Or, see ethericstudies.org/perceptual-agreement/) (17) Suspended Judgment If you are following this progression

for how we relate to our world, you will noce that there are many factors conspiring to inﬂuence the way we experience life, most of which are beyond our direct control. As a general statement, insncts must be recognized, acknowledged and managed; once learned, beliefs are diﬃcult to change, but incremental change is possible. The only real inﬂuence we have on our temperament is the conscious expression of intenon to be diﬀerent. An old Zen Buddhist saying is, “Before enlightenment chop wood–carry water, aer enlightenment chop wood–carry water” This might be paraphrased as “Queson for understanding; aer understanding, queson again.” The most powerful technique I know for remembering to queson is to habitually pracce suspended judgment. Even if a person is skepcal, suspended judgment as an openness to the possibility of the unknown oﬀers far more opportunies to experience phenomena. The Aenon Complex which supports percepon is designed to make an agree or disagree decision about what is real and what is not. Once a decision is made, it becomes part of Worldview, and is, therefore, diﬃcult to change. The perceptual processes in our mostly unconscious mind are also designed to characterize what is real in terms familiar to the person. In this same model, intenon expressed by the conscious self is the means by which the perceptual process can be evolved. As such, following the Villager-Explorer Eﬀect, the intenon to withhold judgment about experiences enables more experiences. Discourse 9: Percepon and Expression in Your Immortal Self (1) addresses this

concept in detail. (Or, see: ethericstudies.org/percepon/) (18) Knowing Enough to Judge My engineering training has taught me to beware of absolutes. In engineering, there are always tolerances of accuracy which must be acknowledged and possible unknowns for which preparaon must be made. Even in metaphysics, I might weave a good explanaon, but it is always with the awareness that this is what I understand today. Saying I know for sure potenally closes the door to further understanding. An example that comes up way too oen is the way people pronounce that someone is a fraud. Saying someone is a fraud is potenally a personal violaon (Seth: “Do not violate”) and potenally threaten that person’s wellbeing. Yet, in fact, none of us know enough to say for sure how transcommunicaon might manifest. At best, all we can do is seek beer controls. Consider the situaons in which a physical medium has been caught moving about the dark room during a séance. Of course, this appears to be clear evidence of fraud. However, I have on many occasions, witnessed convincing demonstraons of maer-through-maer during séances. For instance, a plasc strap binding the medium’s arm to the chair or an apport. I understand how deep a physical medium’s trance can be. There is nothing in what we know today that says the medium’s controlling personality cannot release the medium from the binding straps, move the medium about like a trance puppet and then return the medium to the chair and reaach the straps;

all without the medium’s awareness. We have seen the eﬀects of this too many mes to think fraud is possible. There are just too many siers trying to sense every movement … even in total darkness. Unless such possibilies have been accounted for, no one has the intellectual or moral authority to make accusaons of fraud. The best remedy I know is to have siers maintain physical contact with the medium while the lights are out. It might also be helpful to have a candid discussion with siers and medium aer the medium has recovered from the séance. Then, it would be appropriate for siers to ask the medium why he or she seemed to be walking about. It is a fair queson. Without the availability of our praconers to demonstrate these phenomena, the rest of us might never have the opportunity to witness proof of our immortality, make contact with a loved one or even learn the necessary skills for ourselves. Without them, research would be impossible. Aacking them as frauds when too lile is known for us to say for sure, only serves our debunkers. Justiied Over the years I have studied metaphysics, I have found no evidence of evil or demons. For sure, I have encountered people behaving badly, but in every case which I have had the opportunity to examine, the person has in some way, felt jusﬁed in his or her acons. This is an important perspecve to have when considering why people behave as

they do. There is lile sense in simply concluding they are wrong. The need is ﬁrst for us to examine the sensibility of our point of view, and then seek to understand the other person’s movaon. To be sure, this is not a turn the other cheek philosophy. I am not speaking of how to act with someone who poses potenal harm. Even though a person may feel jusﬁed in threatening acons, it is sll necessary for us to react defensively. A person wishing to carry a concealed weapon, for instance, is a person with a fearful personality. We have every reason to avoid them, whether they are jusﬁed or not. My focus is on the frequently expressed fear of evil we encounter amongst paranormalists. Above all else, remember that it is not what happens to us, but how we react to what happens to us. If we can understand why a person behaves or thinks as they do, we are well underway to understand how to deal with the situaon. Essay 1: Condional Freewill is an aempt to idenfy the characteriscs of free will, what of it is real and what is predetermined. The essay also includes a reasonably well-detailed examinaon of how we think, which should help you integrate what is in this essay. It is important to have a clear sense of the evil concept. I say evil, and I can almost see my listener’s mind go straight to divine evil, as in demons and the Devil.

The secondary reacon is that there is no defense against such evil: we must surrender to our fate, so it is beer never to aract evil in the ﬁrst place. Learn to consider the usual meaning of the words you use. Consider the thoughts your words will trigger in your listener’s mind. I am not making a disncon that does not exist when I say there is no evil, only people behaving badly. I am trying to communicate understanding by avoiding triggering a faith-based response. As a praccal maer, people behaving badly are people making conscious decisions for which they feel jusﬁed. Evil people implies puppets of God who are unable to be any other way. A fundamental concept in metaphysics is that we have self- determinaon. If so, being a God puppet is a violaon of self- determinaon. Belief without understanding is Faith Here is something of a case study. A person contacted me wanng someone to examine a message she found in her cell phone voice mail. The girl told me she thought it might be from her transioned boyfriend. She explained that she had called the telephone number shown for the recording, but the person there knew nothing of the call. (By implicaon, the call was, therefore, paranormal.) Because my responses so oen anger requesters, it is my pracce these days not to examine evidence; however, she was insistent, and I agreed. Here is where I usually get in trouble. If the person wants to believe something

is said in the recording, then I know enough not to get involved. But, I assume people ask us to examine their example because they truly want to know what is said. The moo for the ATransC website includes the phrase “objecve evidence that we survive.” That means we aempt to base our examinaon of examples on objecve evidence, rather than belief. This includes resisng the Phantom Voices Syndrome. (75) The short audio consisted of a young male’s voice which was interrupted so that one heard fragments of voice (about 10%) separated by longer periods of quiet (about 90%). I could make out a low-volume swishing sound in most of the quiet segments. Even with ten or so tries, I was unable to make out what was being said. I reported as much to the girl. True to form, she was very indignant and scolded me, saying “I thought you were a believer.” If you listen closely to a radio-sweep sound ﬁle, you will somemes noce a repeated, low volume swishing sound in the quieter segments. That is the sound of the sweep locking on to one staon aer another in quick succession. In areas in which there are few radio staons, the sweep will have many quiet segments with the occasional fragment of voice or music. The sweep is typically a few seconds long, so a person speaking on one staon with no voice or music on the others, will produce exactly what I heard in the girl’s example.

In a subsequent email, I suggested that the girl might have been spoofed. I was trying to warn her to use extra discernment. Instead, she said that others heard her name and that the voice had made a crypc statement which she could not understand. (That, by the way, should have been her ﬁrst hint that the ﬁle should be discarded.) Feeling reasonably sure the recording was not paranormal, I did a lile research about how a telephone number can be spoofed. As it turns out, there are apps one can use that do just that. It is apparently easy and free to put a message in someone’s voice mailbox which appears to have come from a diﬀerent telephone number. Receiving an “I did not make that call” when she called the number to ask, proves nothing. Objective or Belief The possibly spoofed call illustrates an important problem for cooperave communies. There need not be agreement in any one exchange, but there does need to be raonal feedback. Remember I said that we are converging on the same understanding? The intenon to gain objecve understanding is the key characterisc of a paranormalist seeker. As one myself, for me, a like-minded person is one who is also a paranormalist seeker. If a person prefers more of a belief or faith-based point of view, a like- minded person might be one who prefers the llaon of being spooked by the unknown. For instance, the ATransC is not a place to ﬁnd belief-

oriented people. I say this because we have suspected one of the reasons for diminishing membership in the ATransC has been our determinaon to remain objecve. It is apparently a lot more fun if people can just enjoy spooky examples, rather than trying to learn if they are only an arfact of the technology. When you consider with whom you might share your interest in things paranormal, and assuming you wish to seek objecve understanding rather than belief, make sure who you chose is interested in the same approach. The ATransC is no longer a membership organizaon. Parcipaon is via correspondence, the website, parcipaon in research/studies, signing up for the Occasional Update Email and discussions in the Idea Exchange. Summary This essay evolved from my growing frustraon about how easily people turn away from an objecve perspecve and toward a belief-based view of their world. At the same me, some people seem to avoid situaons that might help them beer understand their world. In a real sense, no maer what, some people are simply not able to or do not wish to be convinced about ideas that contradict their beliefs. The fact is that we know enough these days to follow an objecve way of progression. The book for which this book is a companion, Your Immortal Self, (1) includes a model designed to help people understand the nature of transcommunicaon. I am a reporter and do not claim to be the inventor of the model, but since I have

found that it applies to so many diﬀerent forms of phenomena, it seems reasonable for me to think that it has lasng merit. Even though it has not been reasonably veed by others, I feel comfortable sharing guidance about these phenomena which is based on the model and personal experience. It is arguable that the paranormalist community is in contracon. (60) Rather than well-informed seekers, we see mostly debunkers or people who prefer explanaons based on quantum myscism or religious doctrine. In a very real sense, sincere paranormalist seekers are a very small minority. As a minority, our ability to study these phenomena is not assured. (84) Keep in mind that skepcs have deﬁned pseudoscience as a danger to society and have gained wide acceptance in the idea that these phenomena are pseudoscience. Some parts of the US Federal Government agree. (85) We are all born with the urge to gain spiritual understanding. I suggest that the more we respond to that urge, the happier we can be. In the long view of our immortality, resistance is self-destrucve. In the end, it is an individual responsibility, but if you want to just believe, do the rest of us a favor by telling us up front so that we can stay out of your way. Consensus building requires the desire to ﬁnd common understanding. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 10 Skeptic 2016 About This Essay This essay is probably something of a surprise, in

that the essays thus far have been all about concepts, mind and implicaons of the way we think. This essay is decidedly about our community rather than concepts. I write about community issues because the dominant factor in how well we can research, study and pracce working with these phenomena is the cooperave nature of the paranormalist community. Imagine yourself at the very farthest reaches of thought where survival is studied. From that rariﬁed space, imagine yourself facing toward the center of society where mainstream science is king. Everyone between you and the center is likely skepcal of your study. Most parapsychologists studying psi phenomena do not accept survival as even a possibility. Yet, those who stand closer to the center studying mental aberraons are skepcal of psi phenomena and probably disdain those who think survival is possible. Skepcism favors the status quo established by the dominant mainstream segments of society. People with a Ph.D. tend to think of those without a Ph.D. as the intellectual unwashed. Just about every parapsychologist has wrien about the problem of skepcs who try to debunk anything paranormal. This essay was wrien quite a while ago as my eﬀort to make sense of the way Wikipedia has been dominated by skepcs. As you will see in Essay 13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority and Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists, the ethical shortcoming and an-survival prejudices of many parapsychologists have inspired more confrontaonal essays by me. There are two kinds of skepc. The obvious skepcs

are found amongst Wikipedia editors and mainstream sciensts. They believe in the status quo of knowledge as it is taught in most universies and by most sciensts. Organized skepcism has been eﬀecve in making it diﬃcult for seekers to gain spiritual progression. They scare away young, would be parapsychologists and the funding necessary for proper research. However, the obvious skepcs are not really the problem. The problem skepcs are those who live amongst us. They are the Trojan Horse skepcs of our community. As is discussed in “Skepcism is Relave“ of Essay 6: Paranormalist Community, a surprisingly high percentage of paranormalists discount any possibility of survival. Certainly, more parapsychologists accept the possibility of psi phenomena. Many amongst those who do, also accept a form of survival somemes referred to as residual memory. (See: “A Divided Community“ in Essay 6: Paranormalist Community.) The Trojan Horse skepcs also mislead our less well-informed seekers by posing as experts who are trying to help us understand these phenomena. With that said, I suspect one of the reasons we have such an everyone is an expert community is that, while seekers may not know the science, many trust their sense of truth more than scienﬁc guidance. We may not know why people are wrong when they tell us the phenomena we experience is illusion, but for sure we know they are not right. The lack of respected leadership has produced a vacuum of learned guidance necessary for a healthy cooperave community. So, while this and

some of the following essays are more about community than metaphysical concepts, it is important that you are aware of the issues. Let them guide your seeking. Most of all, remember that it is the community that provides the informaon which populates your worldview. Abstract Perhaps the most important trait for anyone involved in the study of froner subjects is the ability to maintain an open mind while praccing discernment. This atude is somemes referred to as skepcism; however, when a person is skepcal of something without raonal reason, that person is known as a skepc. Skepcism in itself is a healthy atude so long as it is accompanied by open- minded invesgaon. Rather than praccing discernment, skepcs acvely campaign to teach the public to see such new thought as a danger to society. As is already occurring in some governments, including the USA, this viliﬁcaon of froner subjects has the potenal to cause a social and governmental reacon that could at the least prevent further study and possibly provoke acon harmful to people studying these subjects. Because of this, it is no longer realisc to ignore skepcs or their eﬀorts. Introduction The word skepc is based on a Greek term meaning thoughul. According to TheFreeDiconary.com, a skepc is: 1. One who insncvely or habitually doubts, quesons, or disagrees with asserons or generally accepted conclusions. 2. One inclined to skepcism in religious maers. From the Etheric Studies perspecve, people who describe themselves as skepcs have the common interest of suppressing

any idea or concept they believe is not supported by mainstream science. This perspecve works for parapsychologists, as well. If you read their literature, you will see that they tend to obsess about being seen by mainstream thinkers as praccing good science. That mainstream envy is probably one of the reasons parapsychologists are so quick to denounce survival related phenomena. A number of friends have urged me to use pseudoskepc, as in false skepc, to idenfy people I describe here; however, the mainstream people causing all the trouble are found with Internet searches for skepc, and for the most part, remain invisible if searched for with pseudoskepc. (86) Because my intenon is to inform our community about the problems skepcs are causing, I feel it is necessary to call them what they call themselves. The term has been co-opted by habitual detractors. Healthy skepcs, people who open-mindedly queson to learn and understand or to assure the speaker knows what he or she is talking about, will need to ﬁnd a beer term for themselves. Perhaps discerning. It seems that virtually every parapsychologist and psychical researcher has wrien arcles complaining about skepcs. It is common to ﬁnd laypeople in our community complaining about being beliled for believing what the skepcs consider nonsense. The moo for my personal website, EthericStudies.org, is: “Believe what you wish but understand the implicaons what you believe.” To understand the implicaons of what you believe, it is important to examine how you develop your assumpons about the

world around you. The Point of View essay on EthericStudies.org addresses the relaonship between what we come into this lifeme with, how we approach new learning situaons and how we develop our point of view. (87) In this essay, I have addressed what skepcism is and what skepcs are from the point of view of the Implicit Cosmology. (12) Skepticism and Scientism Contrary to the objecves of healthy skepcism, skepcs tend to condemn the exploraon of new ideas, thereby protecng the status quo. Their oen-stated posion is that something cannot be if it is not explicitly supported by exisng, mainstream science. That is a form of Sciensm which means the ideological belief that science—mainstream science—is the only authority on the nature of reality. In his essay, “Sagan and Sciensm,” Greg Koukl deﬁned sciensm thus: Sciensm states this: only that which can be proved by science is true. Science can only prove things about the physical world; therefore if it doesn’t prove something about the nonphysical world, which it’s really not equipped to do, then the only raonal belief is that only physical things exist and non-physical things like the mind or the soul don’t exist. That is the doctrine of sciensm…. (Paragraph 15) (88) Tells of a Skeptic Skepcs aempt to show the unacceptability of an idea by beliling it and associang it with obviously silly ideas, rather than relying on facts, evidence and sound logic to prove their point. They describe the idea and people associated with it in

terms that would usually cause a ﬁght if spoken face-to-face. As I explain in the secon below about Wilhelm Reich, you should consider skepcs more than just a nuisance. They seem to assume that if believers are seen as second-class cizens by the mainstream public, they will not enjoy the protecon of social norms aﬀorded mainstream cizens. So, if you read something that calls someone a whacko, fraud or describes a pracce as fraudulent or woo-woo, you can know that the material was wrien by a skepc. Their intenon is clearly to ﬁnd a way to make your subject go away. Name-calling is especially true of skepcs who focus on alternave or complementary health pracces. They commonly refer to these with the derogatory term of quackery and praconers as quacks. Of course, any such pracce that is not speciﬁcally approved by the government is considered pseudoscience, and even some that are approved such as chiropracc feel the wrath of those who think complementary is just another word for fraud. Without research to support their accusaons, skepcs seldom add knowledge to the subjects they aack. They are only able to destroy knowledge. Here, the Lan term, a priori has special meaning. They rounely make statements about subjects for which they have no knowledge other than that their peer group is against it. In this context, the term means without prior knowledge and is used to say that the person is judging without having become informed about the subject. The praccal result

of this book burning mentality is that new ideas are suppressed and examinaon of new ideas by academically trained researchers has become probable professional suicide. Comparing the View of Science with the View of Skeptics Wikipedia editor Ludwigs2 expressed one of the beer descripons of the skepc view: Science and skepcism are enrely diﬀerent projects; they share the word skepcism, but it has diﬀerent meanings for each group. For a scienst, skepcism means (roughly) “I choose not to have any beliefs about a subject in the absence of evidence.” It’s a philosophically conservave posion designed to keep people from making a priori asserons about the world (except those dictated by logic or math). For skepcs, by contrast, skepcism means (roughly) “I choose to believe that non-convenonal ideas are wrong unl they have met some burden of evidence.” This is an ideological posion designed to advocate against certain kinds of viewpoints. See how these diﬀer on (for example) acupuncture: Looking at something like acupuncture scienﬁcally one would be forced to admit that there really isn’t much evidence either way —there is no scienﬁc reason to recommend its use, but no obvious reason to say that it’s wrong, either. That is, acupuncture is morally neutral, like drinking tea with honey and lemon when you have a cold. Looking at something like acupuncture as a skepc one would ﬁnd oneself saying that acupuncture hasn’t met the needed burden of evidence, and so acupuncture is wrong—and this will lead to ideological claims that people

who take acupuncture are stupid, that people who do acupuncture are charlatans, and etc. That is acupuncture is morally bere, like selling sugar pills as a cure for cancer. Sciensts and skepcs overlap in the asseron that one should use pracces that have been borne out by systemac experience. But that’s where the similarity ends: skepcs go on to make moral judgments about pracces that science can never make, and to engage in advocacy with respect to those moral claims. Consider the vast range of skepcal literature, almost none of which contains any actual research (aside from literature reviews of other people’s published work), and which is almost enrely dedicated to crical declamaons against one or another quesonable acvity. Skepcism is (frankly) scienﬁc punditry, and while I won’t deny its value in that consumer advocate sort of way, one needs to be cauous with it as an intellectual enterprise.” Organized Harm to Society Paranormalists represent a small and mostly unorganized community. The skepcal community, on the other hand, is relavely well organized and fast growing. In Skepcism: The New Religion, Roy Stemman notes that Spiritualism’s public outreach is contracng while the skepcal community is becoming more organized and much more eﬀecve in inﬂuencing the media. (60) A search of the Internet for skepc will produce dozens of pages full of skepcal websites. The Associaon TransCommunicaon website (ATransC.org) and Etheric Studies (EthericStudies.org), which contains my personal wring, are clearly homegrown. By comparison, many of the skepcal websites are slick, professionally designed

and maintained, and I am sure, well-funded. It is clear that paranormalists are losing the ﬁght to gain public respect and support. That should be a concern if you enjoy the right to publicly study these subjects. Some governments, including the US Government, have adopted the viewpoints espoused by organized skepcal groups and rounely label the study of paranormal phenomena as pseudoscience and cite harm to the best interest of the public caused by belief in pseudoscience. In many such claims, supporng references are skepcal sources, which in turn cite these government reports for support of their viewpoint. This is, in actuality, a form of circular referencing in which truth is invented as a means of vilifying ideas that do not agree with the prevailing scienﬁc ideologies. A Case Study: Government Acting on Skeptical Views I am not well informed about how governments have acted against people who have been accused of acvity deemed by skepcs as pseudoscience. Please be sure to examine this for yourself. The ﬁrst point I would make is that the study of froner subjects is not protected by the law. Once it is socially okay to say that, what we study contradicts science and may be harmful to the public, it becomes possible for governments and organizaons to make examples of individuals by suppressing their freedom. We have seen this reenacted many mes in our history with everything from witch burning to internment during the Second World War. Wilhelm Reich is a more recent example.

The short story about Reich is that he was put in jail in 1956 for making claims about a hypothecal form of subtle energy deemed by skepcs to be unsupported by accepted science. He also developed devices that might put the energy to work and claimed he could heal people of some diseases with the energy. In fact, he was jailed because he ignored the government charges (Food and Drug Administraon (FDA)), and apparently because his partner transported some of their experimental material across state lines against government orders. That act was treated as criminal contempt of court. From the Wilhelm Reich Museum website (84): While Reich appealed his sentence, the government carried out the destrucon of orgone accumulators and literature. In Maine, several boxes of literature were burned, and accumulators and accumulator materials either destroyed or dismantled. In New York City, on August 23, 1956, the FDA supervised the burning of several tons of Reich’s publicaons in one of the city’s garbage incinerators, …. This destrucon of literature constutes one of the most heinous examples of censorship in United States history. Reich died of heart failure while in prison, and I understand his research partner commied suicide shortly thereaer. Reviewing What is Orgone Energy? by Charles R. Kelley, Ph.D. will give you a sense of the nature of this subtle energy which Reich called Orgone. (89) You will also see that Reich’s discovery is likely just one of many rediscoveries of the same energy. Today, it is being studied

as psi or bioﬁeld. Because of its apparent eﬀect on living ssue, the inﬂuence intenonality has on this energy to heal a person is a primary means of studying the energy (see An Unusual Form of Radiaon has a Reproducible Eﬀect in the Laboratory by Robert A. Charman (90)). It also appears that meditaon and group intenon can reduce the randomness of random event generators. This eﬀect may be the result of a change in the bioﬁeld and may also help explain how EVP are formed. Be aware that, like the psi ﬁeld, Orgone is not a proper energy as energy is deﬁned in mainstream physics. It appears to be more correct to refer to it as an etheric ﬁeld which is inﬂuenced by intenonality, rather than such physical characteriscs as gravity and diﬀerence of electrical potenal. It is evidently not propagated as an electromagnec ﬁeld. Rather than vibraon, it exhibits the characterisc of potenal to manifest as an aspect of reality; a conceptual thing to which we may aribute physicality. A Case Study: Skeptical Control of the Media It is obvious from a simple search of the Internet that the skepcs dominate the media when it comes to public outreach about froner subjects. Yes, there are thousands of ghost hunng club websites and websites promong the many forms of complementary medicine, but if you look for substanve support for the concepts, you run into a wall of skepcal websites supported by skepc clubs, universies and mainstream science organizaons. One

of the most dominant of the skepc’s media is Wikipedia. An arcle in Wikipedia is the ﬁrst result for many search subjects. If you are surprised to hear that Wikipedia is counted at the top of the skepc’s media, I recommend that you take some me to read the Talk Page associated with your favorite froner subject on Wikipedia. There is usually an ongoing discussion amongst editors about the struggle to balance the point of view of the arcle–a cardinal rule of the online encyclopedia. The problem is that the rules favor the majority group of editors, which are skepcs and nearly all of the editors who seek a true balance have been permanently blocked from eding or simply run oﬀ. Subject-maer specialists are not allowed to edit subjects in which they may have a conﬂict of interest. See Essay 12: Concerns with Wikipedia for more on this. The associated arcle Talk Pages is oen a baleground in which naive new editors are aacked and eventually driven oﬀ by the dominang skepcal editors. An example is the biography of a living person for Rupert Sheldrake, (91) an arcle I am banned from eding for life. Especially, look at the Archive Pages (upper-right corner of the Talk Page). Being sensive to prying eyes of the public, the skepcs quickly archive embarrassing exchanges to make them harder to ﬁnd. In a nutshell, a group of determined people hiding behind screen names have managed to gain control of what is thought by the

public to be a respected online encyclopedia. Rather than wring the arcles as “This is what the subject is about, and here are the various viewpoints about the subject,” arcles about what they call fringe subjects are wrien in a tone that subtly gives the sense that the subject is nonsense and a danger to society. The arcles may have a lot of informaon, but it is always couched in terms of believers, proponents and how it is pseudoscience or quackery. The Internet has given skepcs considerably more access to the public so that people with strong opinions and too much me on their hands can substanally inﬂuence the opinions of many people. A lile me spent reviewing the Internaonal Skepcs Forum (92) might shock you as to the strong opinions against froner subjects spoken by ill-informed people hiding behind ﬁcous screen names. Healthy Skepticism There is a balance between a priori skepcism and open-minded gullibility. Some claims are not reasonable, even for froner subjects. Many reported experiences are clearly delusion or the ordinary mistaken as unusual. Every bump in the night is not a ghost and not every instance of improved health is because of healing intenon. Oen, the diﬀerence between a report of a genuine paranormal experience and an ordinary one mistaken as paranormal is educaon of the witness. On the other hand, some of these reported experiences are not explained by current principles of science and may point to new understanding of nature. It is not reasonable

to accept some of the extreme explanaons without substanang research, but it is also not reasonable to discount the reports because they are not currently part of known science. “Understand the implicaons of what you believe,” from my moo, is based on the idea that we should pracce crical thinking leading to discernment. That means we take the me to examine the evidence before adopng a condional opinion. I say condional opinion because the rest of the story is that whatever is decided should be rounely reexamined to see if it sll makes sense. If possible, the opinion should be tested. If the opinion cannot be reasonably based on evidence and good understanding of involved technology, then we should remain undecided. If there is not suﬃcient informaon to arrive at an informed opinion, no opinion is the only answer. To do otherwise is to base the opinion on faith derived from popular wisdom, superson and/or the opinion of others who may be acng on an undisclosed agenda. The idea of suspended judgment is based on the understanding that our mostly unconscious mind tends to quickly integrate a decision into Worldview. The mindful approach to new ideas is to resist deciding unl more informaon is available. A discerning person is one who does not assume he or she has all of the informaon necessary to decide. A fair poron of academia believes all major principles in nature have been discovered and that all we are doing now is ﬁlling in the

details. That is to say that there is only the physical universe … period! Anything outside of that, such as a psi ﬁeld, etheric personality and survival of personality aer bodily death, is not included in these major principles of nature and therefore cannot be. As an a priori assumpon, this is Sciensm at its worst. Each of us has a responsibility to pracce discernment about what we believe. At the same me, anyone who makes a claim about these phenomena has the responsibility to clearly disnguish between what can be experimentally proven and what is believed as a maer of faith. Essay 11: Pseudoscience is a discussion about what these terms mean. In essence, if study is not based on ideas developed from a clearly stated hypothesis (theory about the subject) following a predeﬁned protocol (methodology of how to conduct the study) with the intenon of publishing a report that will be veed by subject-maer specialists, then resulng opinions cannot be claimed as experimentally proven. Fruits of the study can be described as an ongoing study but be careful not to claim science unless reasonably well-considered methodologies have been applied. And publicaon has been aempted. A second, equally important consideraon when claiming science is the qualiﬁcaons of the people who conduct the research. Evan a person with a doctorate in parapsychology must establish credibility to study the parcular subject. An example is a person trained as a psychologist conducng research concerning transcommunicaon. If it is about how a person

experiences the phenomena, then the researcher should be considered qualiﬁed. If it is about how the phenomena are formed, then there is no reason to assume the person is any more qualiﬁed than an experienced paranormal ﬁeld invesgator who is able to put together and report on a sound protocol based on a well-conceived research queson. Our ﬁeld is especially vulnerable to skepcal aacks based on qualiﬁcaons of our specialists because it is so roune for rered professors to publish reports under cloak of academic authority about things paranormal about which they have no real training. Their peers are clearly not willing to police their pracces, so it is up to the rest of us to make our concerns heard. Your point of view need not be based on your research alone. EthericStudies.org and ATransC.org represent eﬀorts to provide a growing body of material you can refer to. There are other associaon journals and judicious use of Internet material can help you develop a supportable statement about your understanding of these phenomena. Be careful of the Trojan Horse Eﬀect, however. As noted above, skepcs are somemes members of organizaons that are involved in paranormal research. In some cases, these organizaons eﬀecvely funcon as debunkers for some concepts, especially survival related phenomena. There is a hierarchy of approval for concepts, so that while the mainstream objects to things paranormal, many paranormal organizaons (or at least members of these organizaons) regard the idea of survived personality as pure nonsense. Use discernment. Skeptical

About Skeptics On the other side of the debate are people who are genuinely open- minded skepcs. The Skepcal About Skepcs website is a good example. (93) From the website: Pseudoskepcs Revealed Many self-proclaimed skepcs are commied to upholding the authority of established science by maintaining convenonal taboos. They are intolerant of those who transgress the boundaries of scienﬁc orthodoxy. These self-appointed gatekeepers of the dominant paradigm proudly call themselves skepcs, but reveal themselves as fundamentalists who dismiss any evidence that challenges their belief system. Skepcal About Skepcs examines the ill-informed aacks leveled by these pseudoskepcs. With arcles by well-known sciensts and thinkers, we reveal their faulty criques and the underhanded methods they employ. We highlight controversies in speciﬁc ﬁelds of research and shine a light on prominent skepcs and skepcal organizaons. We are pro-science, and we are in favor of open-minded inquiry. Each of us is a representave of our ﬁeld. The skepcs have inﬂuence because they are zealous, not because they are right but mostly because we do not represent ourselves in a defensible way. Yes, there is sll the problem that things paranormal are outside of known and therefore acceptable science, but that can never be addressed so long as the skepcs are able to make their ridicule of us so believable by using our own words and acons. It is for us to show the world they are wrong. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 11 Pseudoscience 2014 About This

Essay The Glossary of Terms on EthericStudies.org, (9) was wrien to support the Implicit Cosmology. In it, concepts are deﬁned as fundamental ideas; root thoughorms from which systems of thought can be derived. As fundamental elements of thought, they might be considered a building block of reality, but more importantly, concepts are the building block of understanding. Comprehension of concepts is fundamental to understanding the nature of reality. The pseudoscience concept was brought to me by skepcs in Wikipedia. Before that, I assumed the term was a reference to really silly ideas such as proofs that the earth is ﬂat. But then I was schooled by the dominant group of editors in Wikipedia. They are usually prey smart people, but they are also typically adherents of Sciensm. If their mainstream science god has not acknowledged the possibility of something, then it cannot be. Anyone claiming that it can is comming sacrilege in the form of pseudoscience … false science. As I have said, the reason I am no longer allowed to edit the Rupert Sheldrake biography arcle (91) in Wikipedia is that I promoted his ideas as actually worth considering. The outcome of the Paranormal (94) and Pseudoscience (95) Arbitraon Cases is now understood to mean thou shalt not speak of pseudoscience as if it is real science. Doing so can get you permanently blocked from eding Wikipedia if you get in the way of a skepc editor. As a lesson in human nature and the way people develop their

personal reality, Wikipedia has given me a most valuable educaon. This essay is just one of the resulng studies I have used to develop my perspecve on the nature of reality. This essay is included in this book because it addresses an important part of the environment in which we must seek understanding. In fact, an accusaon of pseudoscience is potenally a means by which mainstream crics might be able to deny us of the ability to openly study these phenomena. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Deinition of Pseudoscience: A system of theories, assumpons, and methods erroneously regarded as scienﬁc. pseu-do-sci-en-f-ic, an adjecve Skeptic’s Deinition: A belief or process which masquerades as science in an aempt to claim a legimacy which it would not otherwise be able to achieve on its own terms; it is oen known as fringe- or alternave science. The most important of its defects is usually the lack of the carefully controlled and thoughully interpreted experiments which provide the foundaon of the natural sciences and which contribute to their advancement. (Stephen Lower, Chem1 Virtual Textbook) (96) US Government: Pseudoscience has been deﬁned as “claims presented so that they appear [to be] scienﬁc even though they lack supporng evidence and plausibility” (Shermer (97) 1997, p. 33). In contrast, science is “a set of methods designed to describe and interpret observed and inferred phenomena, past or present, and aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejecon or conﬁrmaon” (Shermer (97) 1997, p. 17). Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

Naonal Science Board. (85) Please note that Michael Shermer is an opinion seer for the skepc community. In a praccal way, the Skepc’s and US Government deﬁnions are from the same opinion seer. The fact that skepcs want to make pseudoscience illegal to protect the country, and that the government echoes the skepc’s posion, should give paranormalists reason for concern that their freedom to study these subjects might be in jeopardy. Practical Deinition: A derogatory term coined by skepcs to label subjects with which they disagree. This disagreement is seldom based on the presence of bad science, but rather because, in the skepc’s view, the subject is not supported by orthodox science. This term is virtually always used in conjuncon with eﬀorts to convince an audience to dislike, mistrust or even fear the subject. Use of the term is oen indicave of sciensm. (Tom Butler See Essay 10: Skepc) Scientism The belief that science, the scienﬁc method and work product is the only way to validate reality. In praccal terms, sciensm holds that, if something is not recognized by mainstream science, it is not real and is, therefore, impossible. When people under the cloak of authority of science advise the public about any subject without ﬁrst becoming informed about its nature, for instance calling the subject pseudoscience, they are eﬀecvely praccing sciensm. (Tom Butler) Introduction March 2014, I was noﬁed by a Wikipedia Administrator that (in part): The following sancon now applies to you: Topic banned from Rupert Sheldrake in

accordance with the terms at WP:TBAN You have been sanconed per this arbitraon enforcement request This sancon is imposed in my capacity as an uninvolved administrator under the authority of the Arbitraon Commiee’s decision at Wikipedia:Requests for arbitraon/Pseudoscience#Final decision and, if applicable, the procedure described at Wikipedia:Arbitraon Commiee/Discreonary sancons. This sancon has been recorded in the log of sancons for that decision. If the sancon includes a ban, please read the banning policy to ensure you understand what this means. If you do not comply with this sancon, you may be blocked for an extended period, by way of enforcement of this sancon—and you may also be made subject to further sancons. (98) In eﬀect, I was banned forever from arguing that the work of Rupert Sheldrake was valid science; not pseudoscience. The complaint was stated in terms of “Downplaying rejecon by the scienﬁc community” and “Further fringe promoon, rewording beliefs into ‘hypothesis’” It was brought to the sancons enforcement court by User:Second Quanzaon, with the conclusion that “This editor has been problemac over a prolonged period in the topic area of pseudoscience and fringe science.” My “prolonged period in the topic area of pseudoscience and fringe science” began in 2006 with my aempts to balance the Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) page. (99) Second Quanzaon is a pseudonym, which means I was charged in Wikipedia court by a pseudoperson. (humor) The complaint notes that “User:76.107.171.90 did much of the legwork for the diﬀs” (evidence). This editor is only idenﬁed with

his IP address because the person has not bothered to establish even a screen name. It is in red because the editor has not added text to his/her personal page. Implications It is well-known that eding the arcles about paranormal subjects in Wikipedia has been taken over by skepcs. While I was acvely trying to balance the arcles, I witnessed virtually all of the moderate editors driven oﬀ, banned for life, or like me, followed by skepc trolls wanng to revert my every edit. (Yes, Troll is an oﬃcial Wikipedia term.) Consider the impact Wikipedia has on the general public. It is an important opinion seer, and typically the ﬁrst result in searches for most subjects. The skepc community is much beer organized than the paranormalist community, and with the percepon of mainstream truth, it has the ear of many governments, including the US Government. (60) The objecve of the skepc community is to eliminate claims of truth that do not comply with established mainstream science. The term they use for such fringe subjects is pseudoscience. They literally want to make paranormal subjects illegal. Fact of Paranormal Phenomena is the Issue For nearly 60 years, people around the world have recorded EVP. Careful, well-educated people have devised ways to test EVP in an eﬀort to determine what causes the phenomenal voices. In many cases, good science has been conducted, leading to peer reviewed reports that reinforce the one important fact that no known physical principle has been found to explain

the existence of EVP. If a physical explanaon cannot be found, then it is sensible to look for nonphysical explanaons. In a diﬀerent forum, researchers have discovered that it is possible to inﬂuence the environment at a distance with intenonality. Substanal research has been conducted on what is commonly referred to as psi funconing. Psi funconing is a term used to denote mental inﬂuence on a hypothecal psi ﬁeld which is thought to permeate the physical. Since current instruments of science do not directly detect the psi ﬁeld, it is studied by detecng how it aﬀects physical or biological processes, or by examining the validity of apparent psi (psychic) informaon access. For instance, random event generators are known to become less random when near a group of meditang people. (100) Similar changes have been detected during successful remote viewing sessions. (101) If a physical explanaon cannot be found to explain these eﬀects, then it is sensible to look for nonphysical explanaons. By all reasonable standards, the scienﬁc method is oen followed in these studies, making the pseudoscience accusaon technically baseless. Apparently, the real reason for the pseudoscience branding is that skepcs, acng as apologists for science, believe that mainstream science does not allow for the existence of these phenomena, and therefore, they cannot be real. The net result has been that the possible beneﬁt to humankind brought by these and similar phenomena has only parally developed. If the skepcs prove successful, the beneﬁt will never manifest. This arcle about pseudoscience

addresses this issue and explores ways our community might respond. The Scientiic Method Science is basically the organized inquiry into the nature of reality. In its simplest form, it is observaon of nature leading to a hypothesis describing what is observed. This, in turn, leads to predicons about the behavior of what has been observed. For science to be pracced, these predicons must be able to be tested, and test results must be able to be used to modify the hypotheses so that it can beer describe the behavior of nature. Anyone can conduct science; however, three very important elements are considered necessary if real science is to be conducted. The most important is that there must be a well-considered protocol describing how the predicons are to be tested. This protocol should be designed to assure that unnoced arfacts of the experimental process do not contaminate the results or lead to misleading conclusions. The protocol must also allow for the collecon of results that might conﬁrm or disprove the theory. The second element is development of a research report and some form of media for publicaon that allows for veng of the report by a community of subject-maer specialists. Conducng science requires that qualiﬁed people are able to review the results and agree that the hypothesis has been tested and the results have been analyzed to produce a reasonable conclusion. Here, reasonable will generally be determined by best pracces for that ﬁeld of study. For instance, trans-etheric inﬂuences are experienced

or detected diﬀerently than are physical phenomena such as apples falling from a tree. It may be unreasonable to arrive at a ﬁrm conclusion about the meaning of an EVP and there should be many more indeterminate results in etheric studies than there are in physics. The third element is a history of prior research. This is a body of knowledge developed over me which will help to provide a foundaon for development and evoluon of the hypotheses. In principle, science is conducted in a connuum so that the present inherits some characteriscs of the past and contributes to the future. Prior art is very important in Science. In mainstream society, the pracce of science is conducted by a well- established community supported by universies and professional organizaons. It is funded by an established network of government and private funding. The community has evolved a culture of professionalism and peer pressure with many, oen acve lay-supporters. Inappropriate Science As a froner ﬁeld of study, the number of people studying paranormal phenomena is relavely small. It has only been recently that some of the New Age and religious beliefs have given way to research-based understanding. The net result is that the scienﬁc history is very short, and the number of studies for any single aspect may be small if there are any at all. Studying the eﬀecveness of alternave medicine is probably best done using the same techniques used for mainstream medical studies. But in some froner subject, the usual methodology

of mainstream science may be inappropriate. The etheric is hypothesized to be a mostly conceptual environment in which intenon may be an equivalent to force in the physical. Any protocol that does not consider our current inability to shield from psi inﬂuences is simply inappropriate. Stascal analysis has its place, but one should remember that some phenomena are very rare. Yes, a Class A example can be dependably recorded by a conﬁdent praconer given enough sessions, but stascal analysis can be expected to reject the rare Class A example simply because it is considered a stascal outlier. (77) Another example of possibly inappropriate science is the approach to tesng experimental repeatability. This is discussed in my crique of two failure to replicate-kinds of arcles published by the Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon. (102) The study’s protocol called for the use of untrained college students as praconers. Recording EVP is repeatable to a point, but like many mundane pracces, it is very diﬃcult to conduct research if one does not have a skilled praconer. The conclusion that the protocol had eﬀecvely tested the subject is not supported by best pracces. While it is ﬁne for a layperson to conduct studies of paranormal phenomena, it is inappropriate to report the results as good science if the person is not trained in an applicable discipline. For instance, EVP needs to be studied from an electronic technology (physics) perspecve ﬁrst and perceptual (psychology) second. A degree in psychology alone is not suﬃcient unless the study

is restricted to quesons of percepon. A common reason for the accusaon of bad science is the idea that only successful results might be reported while unsuccessful results remain unreported in a ﬁle drawer. However, as a point of order, the ﬁle drawer eﬀect cannot apply to research if it is conducted by a person who is working out of his or her discipline. Research that fails this test should not pass peer review. Pseudoscience Pseudoscience is a term adopted by skepcs to describe everything that does not conform to their sense of proper science. It is a very eﬀecve term because one of the main characteriscs listed for pseudoscience is that people who pracce pseudoscience will naturally argue that they conduct real science, thus conﬁrming the predicon. To be clear, there are ﬁelds of study to which these characteriscs apply. The problem is that skepcs likely do not know enough about the ﬁelds to simply write them oﬀ with a derogatory name. At the very most, one must consider that a quesonable ﬁeld is possibly emergent science, but remains theorecal, awaing beer research. For instance, I have studied transcommunicaon for many years and sll do not think I know enough to say any parcular theory is wrong. Radio-sweep is a good example. I have come out against using it for EVP because it makes no metaphysical sense and produces too many false- posives to be praccal for use by people new to the ﬁeld. Sll, I am open to

the idea that proper studies might produce informaon that changes my mind. I am not wise enough to think otherwise. Commonly Cited Characteristics of Pseudoscience Having an easy name for the subject of conversaon is useful for communicang ideas. Except in rare confrontaon, skepcs only talk about the study of paranormal phenomena from the perspecve of explaining the subject to the public. They write arcles for the public, their websites and magazines are targeted for the public or other skepcs and they have conferences to promote their point of view to the public. As you read this essay, keep in mind that the term is about things paranormal, but its use is directed by the skepcs to the general public as a warning sign, so that: “This is what pseudoscience means and beware that it describes this subject.” The skepc’s message is that pseudoscience is dangerous and harmful to the greater good of our country. Once a subject is established as pseudoscience, it is a small step to make it illegal. We have a taste of this with the way the Federal Government jailed Wilhelm Reich and burned his books. (84) See Wilhelm Reich in Essay 10: Skepc. Lisng characteriscs is a common approach used by skepcs to explain how to recognize pseudoscience. As you might expect, they include everything skepcs don’t like about all things paranormal. Below, I used a list that begins with dogmac because that is a characterisc I have most oen noted amongst paranormalists. While you

may encounter these characteriscs amongst paranormalists, it is important to note that there are reasons for this that are apparently not considered by the skepcs. As you read this list, try to ﬁrst view the characterisc from the perspecve of a doubter and then from the perspecve of an advocate. The characterisc oen listed as pseudoscience by skepcs include: (103) Dogmac; ignores contradicng facts Here, contradictory facts are taken from mainstream theory. The reason they are ignored by paranormalist is that the so-called facts tend to ignore the possibility of a psi ﬁeld and survival. An informed paranormalist will know that they are being told an untrue story. Dogmac comes in when we are told that psi is pseudoscience and we say it is not. It is like saying you are dogmac for denying that you are purple. Paraphrasing from the paranormalist’s point of view: Frustrated, seeking beer guidance from learned sciensts. Subject to conﬁrmaon-bias by selecvely reporng evidence and research results Conﬁrmaon bias can be understood as the tendency of a person to think evidence supports beliefs, even though it may not. It also implies that a person will only report experiences that support beliefs. In terms of First Sight Theory, (16) (38) (Page 23) conﬁrmaon bias would relate to Corollary 8: Bidireconality: (paraphrasing) In this summave process, the person may turn toward informaon (signed posively) to include it in the construcon of experience, aﬀect or acon, or turn away from informaon (signed negavely) and exclude it. This is

a mostly unconscious process which helps to determine experiences of which we will become consciously aware. In other words, if we have previously established an interest in things paranormal, we are more apt to noce things possibly paranormal. Read Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists. In it, I describe how some parapsychologists deliberately ignore studies related to survival, apparently to strengthen their original assumpons. This would be a clear case of conﬁrmaon bias. In science, the tendency to report only supporng research is referred to as the ﬁle drawer eﬀect, as if research that does not support the theory is hidden in a ﬁle drawer. An alternave version of the ﬁle drawer eﬀect is the rejecon of reports the journal judges do not agree with, thus converging the ﬁeld toward a status quo. (104) In parapsychology, Exceponal Experiences Psychology seeks to idenfy ways in which people who believe in things paranormal tend to report experiences deﬁned by the researchers as ordinary experiences. Such explanaons should probably be ignored if they do not consider the Bidireconality Corollary. Lisa’s avatar is a video-loop ITC image from our early studies. You should see a woman demurely looking toward her le shoulder. She wears a dress with a V-neck collar and possibly a ﬂowered hat. In a ﬁeen-second video loop Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) session, I record around 450 video frames (like single pictures), but only keep ﬁeen or so and only ﬁnd six or seven keepers which I save and somemes report as examples.

You can argue that this selecon of only the feature-producing frames is selecve reporng. The same sort of selecon happens in EVP as we listen to many minutes of EVP before ﬁnding a Class A or B uerance … if we do at all. Meanwhile, we usually hear many more Class C, which we ignore. The fact is, we are looking for an eﬀect which is produced by applying a theory. We predict an average rate of occurrence of the examples, and so, the presence of an example supports the theory. You can apply the same test and demonstrate this for yourself. Fewer than expected features may indicate the equipment was not set up correctly but may also be due to the nave ability of the praconer. And so, looking at it from the paranormalist’s point of view, repeatability is based on having a qualiﬁed praconer correctly applying a procedure. Validaon is based on agreement with a set of previously known characteriscs. We would paraphrase this point as: A praconer reports examples which agree with previously known characteriscs and ignores all else while seeking a reason for the rate of occurrence of the examples. Hypotheses cannot be tested This argument may be true of some of the global quesons such as the existence of a ﬁrst cause, but the real subject skepcs are trying to make go away concern psi and survival phenomena. Paranormalist researchers are not saying that there is some godly intervenon which cannot be tested. They are

saying that “If we do this, this happens.” That is a very testable hypothesis. For instance, if a video loop is set up in a certain, repeatable way, a resulng recording will oen contain human faces that are detected by others without prompng. Where those faces come from, and why, are separate issues. People speculate, and in some cases, that speculaon can be tested. From the paranormalist’s point of view, this is beer stated as: Inability to aract more and beer-funded researchers has hampered examinaon of theory. No evoluon in understanding or theory This is a typical problem of froner subjects, in that there is such a small populaon of people actually studying the phenomena. In fact, understanding does evolve depending on the me people are able to study the subject and available funding. Consider the number of people involved, funding and mainstream popularity of such science projects as the Large Hadron Collider and the Hubble telescope. All of the people studying psi and survival phenomena would probably not match the number of people on the human resource recruing staﬀ for either project. The funding and number of sciensts have a direct eﬀect on the progress in a ﬁeld. Compared with mainstream science, there is hardly any noceable progress. But there is progress. We have all the ATransC NewsJournals on ATransC.org. If you examine the ﬁrst few and last few, you will see some progress in understanding. Then read Your Immortal Self or examine the Concepts secon of EthericStudies.org. We

are making considerable progress in survival research, and much of that is only because of the progress made in psi studies. Take me to read A Model for EVP at ATransC.org/model-for-evp/. (105) That essay includes a solid, testable model for the nature of EVP that did not exist just a few years ago. From the paranormalist point of view, this can be stated as: An observer informed about available resources in the ﬁeld will note progress in theory and understanding. An appeal to recognized authority is used to support claims There are two sides to this. In terms of major ideas such as quantum mechanics, psi phenomena behave a lile as if they may be governed by quantum principles. This is a hypothecal link. Yet, it is becoming increasingly popular to claim some aspect of a favorite phenomenon is governed by quantum principles. Skepcs somemes refer to this appeal to authority as Quantum Myscism. With that said, as we study these phenomena, it is important that we ﬁrst aempt to apply known physical principles. It is expected that some will apply, but experience has shown that none explain the core characteriscs indicang a psi ﬁeld or survival. Researchers aempt to incorporate those that do seem to apply into their models. For instance, I speculate that stochasc ampliﬁcaon is involved in the expression of intended order. That, at least, gives me something to test. Right or wrong, trying to apply exisng theory is not proof of pseudoscience. It is proof of

inadequate educaon or lack of resources to test a related hypothesis. In some cases, referencing exisng authories indicates that the researcher has conducted the necessary literature surveys to determine if exisng work applies. A paranormalist might paraphrase this point with: Researchers are expected to recognize and test the applicability of known physical principles. Metaphorical/analogy driven thinking When a person reports an experience for which there seems to be no normal explanaon, it is natural to look about for alternave explanaons. When the person ﬁnds that others have a similar experience and the community of experiencers generally agree that the experience is paranormal, then it is human for the experiencer to begin thinking the experience is also paranormal. It is also normal to compare the strangeness of possibly paranormal experiences to the strangeness of quantum phenomena. For instance, the apparent nonlocality of quantum entanglement is comparable to the apparent nonlocality of psi funconing. The two may exhibit this characterisc for very diﬀerent reasons, but researchers would be remiss if they did not at least aempt to integrate the two models. Experiencer’s acceptance of a belief-based explanaon is likely what the skepcs are referring to. However, lacking learned guidance from science, it is natural for experiencers to develop a belief-based explanaon for paranormal experiences. Metaphors are useful as a tool for understanding experiences and sharing ideas but are not intended to be science. In the end, it is up to the sciensts in the community to provide construcve guidance. This characterisc might

beer be stated as: Observers of the paranormalist community must be suﬃciently informed to disnguish between experiencer’s belief and researcher’s theorecal understanding. Anecdotes as evidence It is true that, as with the early naturalists in mainstream science, paranormalist ﬁeld research oen involves observing and reporng on what was observed. This is especially true today for the study of survival-related phenomena. However, psi funconing studies have been conducted under very controlled condions and managed following scienﬁc methodologies. The paranormalist might say: Assumpon of ignorance is the ﬁrst tell of a skepc. Lack of explicit mechanisms My early educaon did not include the theory of Connental Dri. That came later as a mechanism for it was ﬁnally accepted. Looking back, many really good geologists were convinced of the theory before that. As I look at it now, their theory was seen as a hypothesis looking for a proper model. That was seen as good science. Early eﬀorts to explain some paranormal phenomena were actually eﬀorts to develop a reasonable hypothesis. It has been only recently that useful models have begun to emerge. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis and resulng Implicit Cosmology are my eﬀorts to deﬁne such a model. (10) (12) The reason paranormalists prefer terms such as froner science or emergent science is that they recognize the study is very new and that it is unreasonable to expect it to come into being with a full-ﬂedged model. Skepc’s expectaon that it should is further sign of their determinaon to protect the status quo,

rather than to embrace new ideas. A paranormalist would counter with: Insistence on recognion of a mechanism before research has been conducted indicates poor understanding of science. Special pleading (elusive evidence) EVP have typical characteriscs which make them diﬃcult to understand. My studies indicate an average 25% correct word recognion of Class A examples by inexperienced listeners. (39) Anyone can expect to replicate the process of collecng an EVP, but Class A examples are relavely rare, and experience is somemes necessary to collect one. As in most human endeavors, there appears to be a natural distribuon of ability to record EVP, so that the combinaon of rarity and limits in natural ability makes it diﬃcult for a casual observer to test the hypothesis. (102) Trans-etheric inﬂuences can be described as a conceptual inﬂuence causing an objecve eﬀect. A major problem in the study of paranormal phenomena is that this inﬂuence appears to depend on the observer as a conduit, and cultural beliefs appear to inﬂuence the manifestaon of the eﬀect. Thus, we see Worldview play a large role in the way these eﬀects manifest. In this way, we see that a person who accepts the possibility of paranormal phenomena is more apt to experience them. To the uninformed, aempts to explain these limitaons can appear to be special pleading; however, the ability to experience the phenomena can be taught to a willing person with objecve results. In that way, the argument would appear to a lazy invesgator as special pleading.

A beer way to approach this characterisc would be to say: Invesgators should expect to do the work to become properly informed about the nature of the phenomena to be invesgated. Conspiracy theory I was oen assured by skepc Wikipedia editors that there was no conspiracy by science to suppress our study. This is a good example of the tyranny of the majority. They can think they are doing us a favor by protecng us from delusion. In a real sense, each person seems to assume that people further out on the froner of thought is wrong. With that belief comes an apparent cultural norm that it is okay to ignore the more froner person’s argument. Even in the paranormalist community, the majority of parapsychologists do not accept survival hypothesis while a smaller number do not even accept the psi hypothesis. Feedback I have received on Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists makes it clear that many people think I am paranoid. This bothers me, but it is diﬃcult to ignore the evidence. But which is it? Am I paranoid, or are people misinformed who think I am simply ignoring the facts? This is one of those me will tell situaons. I cannot prove something to people who refuse to consider the evidence. Conversely, it is illogical to think we who study these phenomena are going to simply give up because of lack of informed validaon. I am conﬁdent that the accumulaon of evidence and emerging understanding in mainstream science

about how we think will change the discussion from condemnaon of us by the mainstream to quesons from people eager to learn more. If not now, soon, for many of us are diligently working to make it happen. Will you help? I would answer this one with: Mainstream and froner sciensts are expected to do a beer job of explaining the implicaons of their assumpons to the public. Concept is described for the public rather than sciensts I write for the public but am mindful that academics might one day measure what I say. There are expectaons sciensts have that can only be met by other sciensts. For instance, academics depends on their work being cited for credibility. In turn, more credibility results in more citaons. In a real sense, that is how scienﬁc truth is established. I am aware of no similar system of collaboraon amongst paranormalist laypeople. Without a doctorate, it is unlikely any of my work will be cited. So, while I aempt to be a good technical writer, I have no delusion of credibility amongst the paranormalists holding a Ph.D. Being ignored by academics is depressing, but not as depressing as knowing that the kind of shunning I experience from some Ph.Ds. is exactly the kind of shunning they experience from mainstream sciensts. The resulng inability for parapsychologists to access research funding hurts all of our community. Parapsychologists appear to be very aware of this accusaon from mainstream sciensts and respond by overcompensang with ultra- scienﬁc

wring styles full of stascal analysis and obscure terminology. This approach has not accomplished its intended objecve but has made it diﬃcult for laypeople to follow their work. When there is overcompensaon, wring for sciensts tends to defeat the purpose of wring. The obvious answer is for all of us who are in this community to work together. I, for one, have exhausted my ideas for making that happen. See Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists I can think of no good counter statement for this, as many of us are, indeed, guilty of direcng our work toward the greater community. Alternative Terms for Pseudoscience Other than pseudoscience, skepcs will somemes refer to science they disagree with as junk science. This is oen used in polical and legal context to brand science as spurious and is commonly claimed by the skepcal community to be a form of fraud, or at the very least, ignorance. A second common derogave term is pathological science, which is a reference to science which involves barely detectable phenomena that are then reported as being carefully studied. It is interesng that this term is an example of circular referencing. Irving Langmuir coined the term. (106) He has the 1932 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and probably ran into a good deal of bad science. According to Langmuir, symptoms of pathological science are: 1. The maximum eﬀect that is observed is produced by a causave agent of barely detectable intensity, and the magnitude of the eﬀect is substanally

independent of the intensity of the cause. 2. The eﬀect is of a magnitude that remains close to the limit of detectability. Or, many measurements are necessary because of the very low stascal signiﬁcance of the results. 3. Claims of great accuracy. 4. Fantasc theories contrary to experience. 5. Cricisms are met by ad hoc excuses thought up on the spur of the moment. 6. Rao of supporters to crics rises up to somewhere near 50% and then falls gradually to oblivion. These characteriscs are very similar to other such lists that can be found around the Internet and rather similar to the one above for pseudoscience. Scientism If skepcs are associated with an ideology which amounts to a faith-based view, it would be sciensm, (88) which is the ideological belief that science —mainstream science—is the only authority on the nature of reality. It is helpful to understand this. When confronted by skepcs, it is important to determine if they are concerned with the validity of your point of view because they have sincere quesons or simply refuse to consider your proposion because it is contrary to their worldview. If it is the later, then you may as well change the subject. It has been my experience that skepcs might be evasive about the reason for their interest. They will feign interest but disagree with you in the end no maer what you say. There have been mes I have ﬁnished a conversaon with a person, thinking I succeeded in

making my point, only to learn in later days that the person was faking agreement and lacked the intellectual integrity to say as much at the me. More likely, the person felt no need to engage with someone who was on the wrong side of the academic-layperson paron. Relative Scientism A surprisingly common form of sciensm in the paranormalist community shows up in the bait-and-switch study. Rather than thinking mainstream science has all the answers, it is a modiﬁed form of sciensm in which mainstream science as it is enhanced by a favored theory has all of the answers. To study paranormal phenomena under controlled condions, it is necessary to have competent praconers. In most examples I have seen of this form of sciensm, the researcher ulmately does not accept the possibility of the phenomena, and so, seeks to use reportedly successful praconers to prove their point. Of course, it is necessary to mislead praconers into thinking the researcher has the praconer’s best interest in mind. Community Response If you are acvely seeking understanding about possible survival of personality beyond physical death (transion), trans-etheric communicaon (transcommunicaon including audio ITC (EVP) and visual ITC), reported haunngs phenomena (trans-etheric inﬂuences) and the nature of subtle energy involved in such human abilies as remote viewing and healing intenon (psi funconing), then you are a member of the paranormalist community. Take a lile me to search the Internet to ﬁnd our community. If you search for skepc, you will ﬁnd page aer page of

lisngs for pro-skepcal websites. That community is clearly branded. In comparison, the paranormalist community has no such clear identy. For every apparently serious study group such as the Parapsychological Associaon, there are hundreds of groups talking about ghosts or trying to sell classes, and lately, selling ghost hunng hardware. The objecve is lost in the cluer of the fantasy. Did you know that the religion known as Spiritualism is more properly a member of this community than it is a religion? Did you know that parapsychology includes Ph.Ds. with interest ranging from an-psi ﬁeld and an-survival phenomena to just a few who consider survival a possibility? Which amongst paranormalists groups, found with Internet searches, pracce objecve examinaon and which base their understanding on belief? If you cannot tell, don’t expect mainstream society to know. Our ﬁrst task is to learn how to look like a community. We can begin to do that by learning to talk with a common vocabulary; one that does not feed the monster skepc or make what we think is true sound like religious dogma. But before we begin, it is important that we know who we are. Take a very close look at the way skepcs, and now the US Government, use pseudoscience in their literature. Pay aenon to the fact that I was blocked from defending a parapsychologist in Wikipedia because the skepcs were able to argue that I was supporng pseudoscience. It did not maer what I said, just that I was openly

in favor of something they have successfully idenﬁed as pseudoscience. Note also that they are the ones who deﬁned the term. Our freedom to study these phenomena is not assured. It is arguable that the primary movaon to aack us is not for the good of the country, but in defense of the skepc’s religion … either sciensm or one of the main religions. It may be illogical for them to aack us, but then, belief- based thought is seldom logical. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 12 Concerns with Wikipedia 2014 About This Essay What would you do if you wanted to learn about your etheric nature but there were no books available and no Internet? That was about how it was when I was growing up. About the only books available to me were religious text and science ﬁcon. As the years went on, a few more books became available. Many of them were useful, but some were outright misleading. Looking back, it was the dominance of channeled material that culvated my pragmac approach to metaphysics. Virtually all of the channels and their unseen teachers eventually turned toward doom and gloom. Anyone with a good imaginaon could weave a story based on popular wisdom and claim it was from a higher spirit. If you believe the channeled material, humanity has been catastrophically destroyed a thousand mes by now. Is that a window on our collecve worldview? We are sll today, suﬀering under

the legacy of Friedrich Jürgenson published examples of EVP. As a historical ﬁgure, it is important that he helped introduce the world to EVP. But, his experimental work was very early in the development of techniques and theory and has lile educaonal and no technical value today. Yet, skepcs rounely use his really poor-quality examples as proof that we are all delusional. (107) (108) Judging by some of the people who sll think he is the top authority in this ﬁeld, the skepcs are right about at least some of us. My point is that informaon is our most important tool for self- educaon. Today, we have more informaon than ever, but we have no real way of telling what of it is useful and what is misleading. We can’t trust our learned parapsychologists because so many are trying to prove we are delusional. We can’t trust the books we read or the thousands of paranormalist websites. Some are excellent, but some are not. Anyone can slap together a website or book and self-publish … many do. In eﬀect, Wikipedia is one of those websites. It has been created by a collecve Joe Editor who selecvely quotes and freely translates sources according to its mainstream point of view. Some kind of consorum created to establish standards in published material might help, but that is essenally what Wikipedia was supposed to be. Now, we see with the introducon of the Society for Psychical Research‘s Psi Encyclopedia that, when a respected parapsychological

organizaon tries to standardize truth, they are almost as prejudiced toward survival as Wikipedia. (109) Your best bet is to inform yourself so that you at least have a sense of the path you wish to follow; its nature and basic tenets. You must be informed enough to be able to vet a teacher … and then ﬁnd one to vet. The value of teachers is that a good one can help you navigate the thicket of the sense and nonsense in the informaon world we have today. None of us self-proclaimed teachers know it all. Some of us are clearly on the wrong path for you. Even if we are on a good path, our approach may not suit your learning style. Even the ancient teachers advised that we ﬁnd a teacher in order to gain understanding. The advice stands today. Just as we need to have others act as our witness panel for phenomena we produce, so do we need a witness panel to give us a sanity check on the ideas we express based on our understanding. If you do not have a teacher, ﬁnd an online group, discussion board or local society and ask quesons with an open mind. This essay was wrien to warn others about the danger of misinformaon posed by Wikipedia. The real lesson is in how the online encyclopedia was able to become such a potent tool for disinformaon. That lesson is all about personal responsibility, cooperave communies and the way of

a teacher. Above all, know your detractors, as they oen see more clearly than your supporters. General Wikipedia is hugely important as a means of documenng society and making that knowledgebase available to anyone with access to the Internet. For the most part, it has been successful. The point of this arcle is that Wikipedia has become a means for special interest groups to exert undue inﬂuence on public opinion. This is most obvious for subjects that are not part of mainstream thought, what is referred to here as a Froner Subject: The study, pracce or experience of a phenomenon which has not been academically established as an accepted part of mainstream culture. The reason this is important is that a search of the Internet for almost any subject presents a Wikipedia arcle as ﬁrst or nearly ﬁrst choice. Cizens, and especially children, will oen learn about a subject from Wikipedia ﬁrst, and that means they may learn from a small group of editors pushing their parcular view of the subject. Treatment of Subjects Wikipedia rules governing the content of arcles are intended to assure a balanced disclosure of each subject in the detached style of tradional encyclopedias. Because the volunteer editors are seldom subject maer experts, everything in arcles must be referenced. Consequently, the main rules used to control the tone of an arcle concerns the acceptability of the informaon source and neutral point of view of wording in the arcle. Original research is not allowed and material from

froner subjects journals is virtually not acceptable. The problem is that it is the dominant group of editors that decides what is acceptable and that determine how a subject is characterized. Because of the rules, material in Wikipedia arcles is at least second hand and oen based on very outdated material. Because books are believed to be more authoritave than websites, they are preferred as references. Because it oen takes years to publish a book, it is common to ﬁnd book references that have long-since been outdated by new research published in journals and on websites. More importantly, references are oen used that are unavailable to the reader, making it nearly impossible to verify that the included informaon is actually supported by the reference. Too oen, it is not. Original research means that what must be used is an arcle wrien by someone else about that research, other than the researcher. Small or non-mainstream publicaons are considered fringe, (110) and are therefore easily discounted by an editor determined not to allow its use. In most froner subjects, there are only small publicaons because of the immaturity of the ﬁeld. Mainstream publicaons will not venture to publish a posive report about a nonmainstream subject. Also, book publishers will not invest the resources to publish a book intended as a serious research report unless there is a large audience. All of this means that collaboraon in froner subjects is accomplished via newsleers, self- published books and websites. The most current research informaon

is too oen on the same search engine page as hobbyists speculang about the subject from the point of view of “how it helped me today,” rather than if it has any validity in fact. Wikipedia Editing Rules Wikipedia has rules governing the interacon of editors such as the need to assume good faith and the need to be civil toward other editors. There are also procedural rules, such as how oen and why an editor might change another person’s edits. Perhaps most important are the rules governing what may be included in arcles. For instance, Arcles are required to be wrien from a neutral point of view, and everything in arcles must be based on veriﬁable references. The references themselves must not be out of the mainstream or self-serving to the author, and so there is also a conﬂict of interest rule. An editor’s failure to follow the rules is usually addressed by other editors, but if that does not work, then it is possible to bring an editor before a tribunal that has the power to ban an editor from making further contribuons. Who Can Edit Articles The policy of Wikipedia, or at least the dominant culture’s policy, is that subject maer experts are discouraged from eding arcles within their area of experse. In fact, it is common for subject maer experts to be so abused that they soon stop aempng to contribute content. One of the Wikipedia founders, Larry Sanger, has even wrien the arcle, Why Wikipedia

Must Jeson Its An-Elism, (111) explaining the pialls of editors not using their real name (no accountability) and not being knowledgeable about the subjects they edit. His response was to begin Cizendium, (112) which is intended to be a kinder and more dependable online encyclopedia. In fact, anyone can edit Wikipedia arcles because anyone can register under an assumed name. However, if an editor is found out as a person who might in some way beneﬁt from what is said in an arcle, that person is considered to have a conﬂict of interest and is strongly discouraged from eding associated arcles. This is an important rule because, in the case of froner subjects, virtually all the people who are knowledgeable about the subject are the same people who are leading study groups, have websites, have or might write a book or give talks on the subject. The Skeptical Community By special interest groups, I am referring to the members of Wikiproject:Raonal Skepcism (113) and those who are sympathec to them. Based on my encounters with this group, they appear to be mostly James Randi (114) and Robert Carroll (115) adherents. People involved with froner subjects oen document their dismay at how unreasonably closed the skepcal community is to new thought and how ruthless its adherents are in their eﬀorts to make sure the general public understands that the froner subject is impossible, and therefore, cannot be. People believing such things are branded as delusional or possibly fraudulent. This tradion of

pathological skepcism is now an integral part of Wikipedia. This is a problem for all of us because the online encyclopedia has given skepcs inordinate access to students of the world looking for material to write a term paper. The skepcal theme is that anything that is not explicitly deﬁned by mainstream science must not be shown in Wikipedia to have any form of possibility. Review of any arcle in Wikipedia will show that the subject is carefully characterized as fringe (116) and pseudoscience (117). It is essenal to remember that the skepcal community believes that it is execung the will of mainstream science to protect the community from being deceived. They edit from this perspecve even though they seldom actually know anything about the subject. The inescapable conclusion is that the most aggressive skepcs have adopted a faith-based viewpoint and their argument is an emoonal one cloaked with the authority of science. Personal Attacks It is common for skepc editors to denounce anyone who studies froner subjects as morons, idiots, deluded, or even more libelous, charlatans and frauds. There are administrave-level editors and procedures to request help from such abuse, but in many instances, complaints are answered by a barrage of comments agreeing with the original insult and adding many more disparaging words to the list. In the end, it is an inescapable conclusion that Wikipedia intends to maintain a civil work environment but is unable to apply exisng rules to protect editors from other editors. The common term

is poisoned atmosphere. Why This Is Important Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is a good example of why you should be concerned about the inﬂuence of Wikipedia. The Associaon TransCommunicaon (ATransC) has gathered substanal informaon from members and the general public about the characteriscs of EVP, including the circumstances under which they tend to occur, their typical characteriscs and consideraons about how to record, locate and listen to them. The voices of EVP somemes appear to be spoken by deceased people or at least include things they might say, in their voice and in response to speciﬁc quesons. The ATransC has conducted well-organized studies and funded research by academically trained sciensts. Careful analysis of this anecdotal and experimental data seems to indicate that no known physical principle accounts for their existence. (118) If you look through the ATransC NewsJournal Archive on ATransC.org, (32) you will see that over the years, other groups and individuals have also conducted excellent work. Alexander MacRae (119) is an important example, as is Keith Clark, (120) Sonia Rinaldi (121) and Anabela Cardoso. Anabela is one of the few remaining people publishing a journal dedicated to Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) (itcjournal.org). By any raonal standard, EVP are a form of paranormal phenomena which clearly requires further invesgaon. If they are paranormal, the least beneﬁt is that they represent an experimental tool with which other forms of apparent psi phenomena can be studied in controlled condions. The most important possible beneﬁt of studying EVP is what they might tell

us about our etheric nature and the well-being of our discarnate loved ones. But having been branded a pseudoscience by skepcs, mainstream society is cauoned to think of EVP as simply ordinary experiences mistaken as paranormal; at best illusion or fraud. (99) With skepc’s success in branding EVP a pseudoscience, and their success in convincing governments that pseudoscience is a danger to society, funding for EVP research is virtually nonexistent compared to that available for mainstream subjects. Research funded is ulmately determined by the popular wisdom of mainstream culture. That opinion is shaped by mainstream science and opinion seers, such as the late Carl Sagan and presumably authoritave sources of informaon such as Wikipedia. Abdicaon of responsibility in the scienﬁc community: In society, the responsibility of sciensts is to explain Nature. If members of the scienﬁc community ignore aspects of Nature being experienced by the cizens, the scienﬁc community is eﬀecvely abdicang its responsibility. Conversely, it is intellectually arrogant for sciensts to ridicule laypeople who take it upon themselves to seek explanaons for the experiences. It is also unethical for sciensts to then comment on the work done by laypeople without becoming familiar with protocols used and what has been learned. Peer pressure and popular wisdom are other important factors. Sciensts dare not associate themselves with a subject that is characterized as fringe or pseudoscience for fear of ruining their career. History will surely show that the skepcal community is delaying discovery of many new ideas because of the peer

pressure they bring to mainstream science. Froner subjects will not be studied by mainstream science unl opinion seers become more accepng of new ideas. When the public demands to know more, funding will follow, and sciensts will follow the funding. The Internet provides extraordinary access to the public making it possible for a determined, but minority group of people to have extraordinary inﬂuence on what people believe. It is not realisc to think that private websites can be controlled, but Wikipedia is publicly funded and aﬀords public access to virtually everything that is wrien in its pages. What can be Done? The best way for paranormalists to counter Wikipedia is to tell our story in a levelheaded manner. Whatever your subject, learn to talk about it in terms that a person new to the subject will understand. Giving talks, wring arcles and being on talk shows give opportunies to learn what works and what does not. Much of the cricism of the froner subjects is due to the failure of people who study them to communicate what they are and why they are important. Maintain the point of view that the subject is an observed phenomenon and that there is a need to study what it is. Avoid a single conclusion by clearly explaining the working hypothesis that best explains the evidence at this me and always try to leave the discussion open for alternave explanaons. Do not appear to be determined to prove anything. Let the evidence determine the

next step. Establish a presence on the Internet with an informave website. It need not be slick or even prey so long as it conveys a sense that you are level-headed and that you know what you are talking about. Keep it current. If there is empirical evidence for some parts of what you want to say, then clearly explain that. If parts of it are based on assumpon or belief, then clearly explain those parts and clearly disnguish the two. Make the diﬀerence between demonstrably objecve and theorecal assumpon clear if you wish to be seen as a researcher with integrity. Probably most important is that the arcles that others might link to for citaons are stable. Credible arcles that can be referenced in other work have become an important replacement for scholarly books in froner subjects. Mainstream sciensts live and die with citaons of their work by others. It is a way that researchers can gain a sense of how credible the person’s work is seen to be by others. We in the paranormalist community are no diﬀerent. If you refer to an idea posed by another, include some kind of a reference so that your readers can ﬁnd the source and learn more. Links are very useful for quick access. It is the cizenship thing to do in a cooperave community. Seek crique and feedback from friends, or even beer, from webmasters related to other froner subjects. Mainstream science has a system of sociees, universies and publicaons

that enable collaboraon and archiving of the knowledgebase. This is missing for most froner subjects, so it is important to establish a culture of cooperaon amongst interested people. This essay is about an issue that is common to all froner subjects and it is not necessary for us to have common subject maer interests for this issue to be addressed. Write an arcle about your subject that is suitable for an encyclopedia and include it on the website. For all of its faults, Wikipedia is a good place to see what formats work best. The arcle you would write is not to prove your point in any way. It should be a clear explanaon of what your subject is without too much emphasis on proving your point. Let your reader decide. Perhaps people outside your circle of experts should help dra the arcle because it needs to be a serious “What I would like to see in Wikipedia” arcle that is wrien from a neutral point of view with good, solid references. The good should be shown with the bad. Seek and include viable alternave explanaons. This arcle may also make an excellent white paper to be used as a handout at conferences. Place this link logo on your website and help others become informed about Wikipedia. (ethericstudies.org/concerns-with-wikipedia/) Alternavely, write an arcle yourself warning people about Wikipedia. You can also use this logo to link to the Concerns with Wikipedia arcle on EthericStudies.org. It is worth nong that the content

of ethericstudies.org is copyright free (Creave Commons (122)), and available for you to use as you see ﬁt with appropriate aribuon. But remember, the more links there are to a web page, the higher it will be in the search engines and the more people will read it. This is all about public educaon, so oen include links to other paranormalist pages on your website or wring to help counter Wikipedia’s inﬂuence. We do not recommend that anyone becomes an editor at Wikipedia. Unl the environment has become more civil, we feel that the anger you will certainly come to know will do more harm than good. If you do want to contribute to an online encyclopedia, we recommend the Paranormal Subgroup of Cizendium (112) (en.cizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Paranormal_Subgroup). Wherever you edit online, always use your real name. Reading the essay about the Lord of the Flies (83) will tell you why we feel Wikipedia is able to sustain such a gangland-like atmosphere amongst editors. Navigation Guide for Wikipedia The most important thing anyone can do to help aract serious research is to become personally educated about this ﬁeld of study and how people react to it. What are the arguments used to discount the work? Insight into this can be found by reading the Talk Page associated with Arcle Pages in Wikipedia--in eﬀect, by looking behind the curtain. Always look at the archives listed on the Talk page, as the skepc editors seek to hide bad things. Read the History of both

the arcle and talk pages. For instance, on the History page for the Rupert Sheldrake Arcle, (91) you can see in Archive 19 (123) that I was trying to talk the skepc editors out of calling Sheldrake’s work pseudoscience. But on 5 March 2014, the skepcs were able to permanently ban me from eding the Rupert Sheldrake arcle because I was promong pseudoscience. (See the ban noce at User_talk:Tom_Butler. (98) and read Wikipedia Under Threat on Rupert Sheldrake’s website. (124) A very important point is that the skepcal community has even managed to establish an arcle category of pseudoscience. (125) The term is usually used to reduce the credibility of froner subjects and is generally considered a derogatory term. Likely your subject is on the list or will soon be added. Qualifying terms or phrases that imply unscienﬁc thinking or pracces are rounely used to suggest through innuendo that the subject is not credible. Something as subtle as relang a subject to religious or spiritual subjects eﬀecvely changes a froner subject from an eﬀort to apply good science to understand something, to a belief system that is not to be taken seriously. Editors are supposed to sign their posts in the discussion pages. By clicking on the editor’s name at the end of the post, for instance, ScienceApologist (Talk) (now signing as 9SGjOSfyHJaQVsEmy9NS … I will call him User:SA), you will go to the editor’s personal page. Every editor has one, and it is considered oﬀ-limits for others to post

anything there. You will ﬁrst see that User:SA does not much like what he prefers to as fringe subject or believers, and that he is dedicated to protecng the status quo as he understands it to be deﬁned by mainstream science. User:SA has apparently received his Ph.D. and is now a teacher, so as 9SGjOSfyHJaQVsEmy9NS, he appears to be trying to look more professional on his personal page. However, take a look at one of his old personal pages as ScienceApologist. That is the User:SA I dealt with. (126) If you click on the (Talk) aer the editor’s name, you will go directly to its discussion page. It is there that Administrators (Admins) alert editors about formal complaints, warnings and advice. It is educaonal to see who is commenng there and why. As an aside, consider the inﬂuence User:SA has had on Wikipedia, and by extension, on Wikipedia readers. He has been instrumental in the skepc’s takeover of Wikipedia. As a young astronomy student, there is virtually zero reason to think he knows more than the average person about things paranormal. Yet, he has pronounced over and over again about the pseudoscience nature of all things paranormal … oen in very demeaning terms. You can thank the rules of Wikipedia for his success, and the silence of other paranormalists as a few lonely editors like me failed to stop the skepc takeover. One more point. User:SA is likely teaching young people under cloak of academic authority the same sciensm he

pracces. There is a virtual labyrinth of administrave and policy pages in Wikipedia. One sure way to navigate the maze is to follow comments from interesng editors. For instance, an editor might make a complaint about incivility at Wikipedia:Wikiquee Alerts. Someone will warn another about civility with, “You have violated WP:CIVIL,” which is a link to the Wikipedia:Civility Page containing the policy. (Please note that the policy is also edited and has been occasionally diluted by editors wanng to be allowed more leeway in how rude they are to others. Another good place to look is the Request for Arbitraon Pages. Two important ones are Paranormal (94) and Marnphi-ScienceApologist (User:SA). (127) Both have several associated pages for evidence and such, and although painful to read, they oﬀer an important lesson for all of us. There are others, such as the Incident noce board (116) and the Arbitraon enforcement board. Conclusion It is important to keep in mind that Wikipedia is not the evil empire, it is a very important tool that needs a few changes to keep it from being a plaorm for social engineering. It really is not realisc to say that one person is at fault for the harmful social engineering a few skepcs are able to accomplish with its content. Looking behind the curtain, it is evident that the skepcal community of Wikipedia is out of control, and that as long as people can insult people with impunity and ignore consensus and balanced reporng, it is essenal

that the public be told that the online encyclopedia cannot be trusted as a knowledge base. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 13 Arrogance of Scientiic Authority 2015 About This Essay In the ancient past, the public only heard rumors of esoteric schools in which wise men taught about the wonders of hidden realies and magical pracces. The reason they call them esoteric schools is that they were secret. They taught hidden wisdom. The wise men were masters of the occult. The schools were hidden from the public for several important reasons. They were not about religion or faith. The lessons were taught as a form of natural science. A sequence of lessons and iniaons was designed to transmute the seeker from a common, dull-sensed cizen to a master of the natural principles of nature. You will recognize this as the transming of lead into gold, as taught in the Hermec Wisdom Schools. Even today, most people do not understand the diﬀerence between belief and understanding. Religions are all about completely trusng the priest and accepng faith-based dogma. The wisdom schools were all about understanding the nature of reality as it pertained to personal wisdom. In wisdom schools, seekers are intended to test their teachers. The problem is that esoteric teachings and religious subjects are essenally the same. A wisdom school lesson about our relaonship with the inﬁnite sounds a lot like a church lesson in our relaonship with God. Thus, there was a

conﬂict of authority between the priests and the wisdom masters, and resulng clash posed a danger to the unaﬃliated wisdom schools. The Law of Silence applies here as well. Imagine that you had a most wonderful experience while on vacaon, about which you eagerly tell your co-workers. If they rejoice with you, the sharing reinforces the joy of your experience. If they prey much ignore your story while telling you about their work, their reacon tends to subtract from your joy. See Essay 20: Law of Silence. Fun vacaons are relavely objecve, so imagine you had a life- changing experience while in deep meditaon. That is a most conceptual experience. The inﬂuence of the memory can be tenuous and easily dissipated with doubt. Telling others about such an experience is risky because, if they do not react in a reinforcing way, it is likely the warm memory will quickly fade. Doubt is a most insidious enemy of conceptual lessons. The third reason for secrecy is the most applicable to our work today. Seekers are on a diﬃcult path that frequently tests their determinaon to gain understanding. It is so much easier to have a beer and enjoy the Sunday game. Like a very young athlete training for the Olympics. Seeking requires dedicaon and sacriﬁce. Unlike the athlete, a seeker must be mindful throughout life. Remember the Zen Buddhist saying, “Before enlightenment chop wood–carry water, aer enlightenment chop wood–carry water.” One must do the work to learn. One must do the

work to test. One must do the work to understand. Understanding is relave and its pursuit if forever. For the average cizen, seekers must seem like peculiar people with strange ideas about life. It is easy for people to feel a degree of jealousy if they learn of the seeker’s objecves. Aer all, the seeker is working to become an enlightened being while the average observer is not. Secrecy is a praccal maer of self-preservaon. It protects the school from the church, it helps protect the fragile emerging understanding of the seeker and it protects the seeker from local jealousy. I think mostly with the inﬂuence of the Internet, the veil is being lied from the secret wisdom schools. From my experience, this is not a good thing for the seeker, but it is very good for potenal seekers who wish to ﬁnd a path to personal enlightenment. Our task as a community is to learn how to help potenal seekers while protecng our ability to seek. As a praccal maer, the paranormalist community is teetering between a return to secrecy and even further disclosure. The determining factor is the ability and willingness of the paranormalist community to protect its seekers and praconers. On the one side of the scale is a New Age-like community future in which paranormalists seek to sell to paranormalists and everyone believes whatever feels good. Such populist behavior is no threat to mainstream society. Accusing cizens of that community of praccing pseudoscience would be silly

because such shallow beliefs are not likely to be mistaken as science. The other side of the scale is as it has been in the past. Religions would dominate the teaching of the nature of reality, secret wisdom schools would disappear into the shadows, and a gray zone of counter-culture ghost hunters would ﬂourish somewhere between. Parapsychologists are the determining factor. They are divided by mainstream skepc posing as open-minded parapsychologists, psi phenomena advocates suﬀering from mainstream envy and a few who seriously consider survival. The average paranormalist seeks to understand these phenomena for personal reasons. They may simply be fascinated by the unknown, perhaps they seek to know their transioned loved one is okay or perhaps they fear death and are looking for reassurance. Many are in it for the social scene of ghost hunters. Whatever the reason, paranormalists depend on sciensts to tell them the true nature of their interest. Are the phenomena real? If so, how do we work with them? What about them is veriﬁed and what is just popular wisdom. None of us want to be delusional. As I discuss in Essay 14: Open Leer to Paranormalists, our parapsychologists are mostly interested in furthering their personal beliefs. While they depend on the rest of us as experiencers, and praconers, they tend to mislead us to gain our cooperaon so that they can prove we are delusional. In doing so, they are driving our serious seekers back into the shadows. This essay is about the way

one team of parapsychologists have aacked their physical medium, research subject. I have become outspoken about the abuse of our praconers because it has so obviously interfered with my eﬀorts on behalf of the ATransC. It is easy for me as a praconer to imagine being treated the same way. There is no reason you cannot be treated the same way. The problem goes beyond this oﬀending team of parapsychologists, making me think it is a cultural byproduct of the Academic-Layperson Paron. The way it is organized, the parapsychological community encourages its people to produce study reports about subjects for which they have no training. It is common to read anomalisc psychology reports in the journals that are about how believers foolishly aribute paranormality to mundane things based on gotcha-like studies. The average paranormalist is not well-informed about the more detailed aspect of these phenomena. This is not a cricism. All of us are seekers at one stage or another of our educaon. But, parapsychologists’ cricism tends to drive serious praconers and seekers into the shadows. I hear them saying “I will not share my understanding with people who might doubt my experiences, rather than help me beer understand them.” This essay was wrien because of my disgust about how a good man was so unfairly and needlessly aacked by people who are supposed to know beer. The simple fact is that the researchers do not know enough about physical mediumship to be so judgmental. It is recognion of that

lack of understanding which is supposed to be guiding their research. Having read books and sat in séances does not make one suﬃciently knowledgeable to make eye-witness ﬁeld study reports as experts. That alone is intellectually unethical. None of us know enough about these phenomena to say all the ways it will or will not manifest. Possibly excepng a few theories, such as the Implicit Cosmology, we lack the necessary models on which we might base our characterizaon of these phenomena. We are prey much sll in the naturalist phase of this emerging science. It is tradion in Spiritualism that mediumship is in service to the individual and only publicly demonstrated to the public as a means of showing our immortality. The Felix Experimental Group is a development circle that demonstrates to the public as a service. The medium has accepted direcon from his etheric helpers to devote himself to public demonstraon of an ability that has taken many years to develop. If he wanted to earn a decent living, he would need to ﬁnd a real job. If we wish to connue having the opportunity to witness such demonstraons, it is necessary that we ﬁnd ways to protect our praconers, lest they protect themselves by once again retreang into the shadows. An aside about retreang into the shadows. As I proofread this book, there is increasing pressure on the government here in the USA to ﬁgure out a way to keep guns away from mentally ill people. While that

is a good idea, one of the measures being discussed for how to recognize mentally ill people is if they hear voices. Hearing voices is one way to describe mental mediumship. For all of us who seek to develop our mediumship ability, it is a good idea to ﬁnd a way to clearly disnguish ourselves from mentally ill people. I am not qualiﬁed to make suggesons for this. For myself, I will speak in terms of depending on external veriﬁcaon of sensed informaon as a way to know it is objecve. Suggesons are welcome. I will try to generate a discussion about this on the ATransC Idea Exchange. Background With an invitaon from the Felix Experimental Group (FEG) circle leader, Stephen Braude assembled a team to study the phenomena demonstrated by the FEG medium. The team included Michael Nahm and Peter Mulacz. Aer the mul-year study, it is my understanding that Braude was about to publish a generally posive report conﬁrming the mediumship phenomena, but then Nahm indicated he would submit his own report detailing his suspicions of fraud. As I understand from Braude, he rewrote his report to agree with Nahm’s and both were published in the Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon, issue 28-2, Summer 2014. (128) (129) My essay on EthericStudies.org, Debunking Survival Under Cover of False Academic Authority, (70) also includes a brief discussion of the original aack. Here are the links to the two arcles that began what I think of as an unethical aack on a

research subject. • A brief of the two arcles can be found on history buﬀ and strong Braude supporter, Carlos Alvarado‘s blog under Quesons about the Physical Phenomena of the Felix Circle. (130) • Braude holds a doctorate in philosophy and apparently specializes in the philosophy of science. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon, a Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon publicaon. His arcle, “Invesgaons of the Felix Experimental Group: 2010–2013,” can be read on Academia.edu. (It is free to become a member of Academia.edu) (128) • Nahm holds a doctorate in biology with a specialty of Forest Science. His arcle is “The Development and Phenomena of a Circle for Physical Mediumship.” (129) The suspicions expressed by Nahm involve his belief that, in the early years of his work, the medium used several tricks to fake phenomena. I stress here that Nahm based his suspicions on a number of sources, which from my experience in sing with the medium, depend on circumstanal evidence that could as easily be interpreted in other ways. For his part, Braude took the mediums recence to respond to direct quesons about the accusaons as an implicit admission of guilt. It is important to note that, even though the medium speaks prey good English, it is his second language. We oen confused him during conversaons with our American references. Braude’s supposed gotcha occurred during a Skype call in which he confronted the medium. I expect the medium hesitated to digest what he was being asked

… a sure sign of guilt, according to Braude. Apparently, there were no indicaons of trickery in any of the séances on which the research team was supposed to base their study. The medium did produce phenomena and it was witnessed under at least some level of invesgator control (reportedly including an invasive cavity search for cheesecloth). I asked Braude why he had not included tests for Nahm’s suspicions in the protocol, to which he replied something to the eﬀect that “Things come up.” So, in eﬀect, the team has ignored their ﬁndings and focused on Nahm’s suspicions. Very scienﬁc indeed! Aer the publicaon of the original report, both Braude and Nahm repeated their accusaons in every speaking forum they could ﬁnd. For instance, “Fall of the House of Felix” by team member Peter Mulacz (Ph.D. psychology) is the leading arcle in the Spring 2015 Society for Psychical Research Paranormal Review magazine. (131) (132) The issue also includes arcles about Stefan Braude (Ph.D. philosophy) and one by Michael Nahm (Ph.D. biology). The issue is generally negave toward the Felix Experimental Group’s (FEG) medium while celebrang the Myers Memorial Medal the SPR has given Braude for his “contribuon to the subject of Psychical Research.” Here, I will say that I have sat with the medium at least seven mes in three venues. We (ATransC) hosted him for demonstraons on two, mul- session occasions. For the ﬁve or so sessions we hosted, I had complete control of the room and inspected it

before each session. Siers were searched, and I inspected the medium’s near-naked body before each séance. Aer those strip inspecons and my watching him drink a liter of colored juice, I escorted him to the séance room. There, he was constantly under the control of two experienced siers. They held his hands and arms, somemes making contact with one another to assure everyone was doing their job. I inspected the room aer each session. In each séance I witnessed, phenomena were displayed which could not be explained in mundane terms; some in prey good red-light eliminaon. As an engineer, I am trained to look for how things work. Braude is trained in philosophy, Nahm in biology and Mulacz in psychology. Trickery of the kind claimed by Nahm requires devices and sleight of hand. The training best suited for detecng fraud is more in how things work than how people think. As such, I will argue that, skill for skill, my training is more to the point for judging the authencity of the physical phenomena. My objecve here is not to say that I am a beer observer or more knowledgeable about how the phenomena are formed. As a cerﬁed medium and healer, and experienced ITC praconer, I have produced some of the phenomena myself. Aer more than ﬁeen years examining thousands of examples of photographic and audio evidence of the paranormal, I have come to understand how even expert witnesses can be confused by photographs in poor light. Our mind

is not trained to process some of the phenomena of darkroom séances such as impossible lights and unexpected faces in ectoplasm. I have wrien before about the perceptual process. For many, the only valid perspecve is suspended judgment. Certainly, deciding there is fraud based on very unusual witness condions and then acng on that decision to ruin a person’s reputaon is not the best approach to understanding. Certainly, no raonal observer would think of such behavior as scienﬁc. Science in the Paranormalist Community It took me a long me to ﬁgure out why I have been so indignant about how the three parapsychologists have treated the FEG medium. The common factor of our community is our interest in paranormal phenomena. As is true of society in general, either directly or via our opinion seers, we all look to our sciensts for guidance. It is that guidance that is becoming a problem for the paranormalist community. In Your Immortal Self, I begin the secon on science by stang: “Hands down the most disrupve inﬂuence for the paranormalist community is science.” (1) Consider these points: • Three professional/academic organizaons we have all come to trust are the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), (53) the Parapsychological Associaon (PA) (52) and the Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon (SSE). (133) They are ostensibly seeking to understand all paranormal phenomena … and presumably report their ﬁndings to the community so that we might beer understand and work with these phenomena. That is how science is supposed to

work. • In fact, all three organizaons focus on understanding psi phenomena and/or understanding why people believe in it (aka delusional). With the excepon of mental mediumship, survival- related phenomena are seldom studied. Yes, reincarnaon, near- death and out-of-body experiences are studied, but those groups are prey insular and play only a small part in the paranormalist community. • Parapsychologists are obsessive about proof and have seemingly turned inward to bale skepcs rather than reaching out to the paranormalist community. Even without bad behavior such as the subject of this essay, we (ATransC) have determined that there is no sense in looking to parapsychology for our science. • The SSE has been especially hard on transcommunicaon by publishing failure to replicate-types of research reports wrien by a clearly unqualiﬁed doctorate in psychology. (102) Braude is the chief editor for the peer reviewed SSE journal. Peer review is in secret, and Braude has been … unfriendly toward comments about arcles from the non-doctorate community. • The slanderous arcles about the FEG medium were poorly considered, and in most communies, such treatment of the research subject would be considered unethical. (134) Nahm’s arcle is a study in pure what if, could be and might be. There is no way it could be construed as a research report. Neither arcle should have passed peer review unless Braude abused his authority to demand that they be accepted. • Now the SPR has allowed Braude and Nahm’s unchallenged comments in their Paranormal Review, which is

intended for a more general audience. In fact, the SPR has recently given Braude the Myers Memorial Medal. • The researchers obtained grants money to conduct the research from the Parapsychological Associaon (PA). Also, the PA cooperates with the SPR, making all three of our more important organizaons solidly on the wrong side of our best interest. As we watch, the parapsychological community has, in eﬀect, circled the wagons in support of Braude and his team. • The SPR has included an arcle tled “Felix Experimental Group” by Braude in their new Psi Encyclopedia. That is an online informaon source intended as an outreach to the public, meaning we must assume Braude’s repeated accusaons about the FEG medium in his contribuon are oﬃcial SPR policy. (135) Human Research Subject Take a lile me to look over the Research Ethics guidelines published by the University of Washington School of Medicine. (134) It is loosely based on the Belmont Report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (51) The Belmont Report appears to be the golden standard for research ethics. Major points from the report that apply to this essay are: Respect for persons: “To show lack of respect for an autonomous agent is to repudiate that person’s considered judgments, to deny an individual the freedom to act on those considered judgments, or to withhold informaon necessary to make a considered judgment when there are no compelling reasons to do so.” It is clear from conversaons with the medium

prior, during and immediately aer the study that he had an expectaon of fair reporng of the data. The medium was excited! There was no expectaon that possible informaon outside of the protocol would be used. In research, the protocol is all there is. Part of the funding process for research is review of ethics-related porons of the research protocol. This does not appear to be the case for parapsychology. Beneﬁcence: “Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecng their decisions and protecng them from harm, but also by making eﬀorts to secure their well-being.” The research team operated under the cloak of scienﬁc authority. This is at least one point psychologist Mulacz should have understood. While the medium is clearly more knowledgeable about the phenomena than the researchers, he and his circle members have been culturally trained to respect perceived scienﬁc authority. The medium and his circle opened their home to the invesgators with the expectaon of fair treatment. As such, the invesgators had a moral obligaon to protect their research subject. Jusce: “Who ought to receive the beneﬁts of research and bear its burdens? This is a queson of jusce, in the sense of ‘fairness in distribuon’ or ‘what is deserved.’ An injusce occurs when some beneﬁt to which a person is entled is denied without good reason or when some burden is imposed unduly.” To be clear, the medium is not making a fortune by causing himself, his wife and his circle to take

their me for the séances the invesgators requested. In fact, most people would not give so freely of their me. The medium also risked a lot by agreeing to be the test subject. It took him years of great personal cost to develop his ability. Each session demands that he pay a high penalty in physical eﬀort. There are very few physical mediums able to demonstrate even the basic phenomena. For a scienst seeking to win the approval of his academic community, the FEG medium represented a once-in-a-lifeme opportunity. At the same me, the resulng research reports have cast a shadow over the medium’s reputaon. The resulng costs to the medium are incalculable. Libel and Slander According to The Free Diconary by Farlex: Collecvely known as defamaon, libel and slander are civil wrongs that harm a reputaon; decrease respect, regard, or conﬁdence; or induce disparaging, hosle, or disagreeable opinions or feelings against an individual or enty. The injury to one’s good name or reputaon is aﬀected through wrien or spoken words or visual images. (136) From the abstract of Braude’s report: “…Regreably, recent indicaons of fraud (explored also by Michael Nahm in this issue) have tarnished the case as a whole. …” (128) From Nahm’s report Abstract: “…and explain why I ﬁnally arrived at the conclusion that considerable parts of the phenomena were produced by fraudulent means.” (129) The last statement in of Mulacz’s arcle: “Where there is conscious and deliberate fraud it is absurd to speculate whether some of

the ostensible phenomena might perhaps be genuinely paranormal (although the desire of some disappointed observers ‘to save what can be saved’ is psychologically understandable) and it is a waste of resources—me as well as money—to connue invesgaons of such pseudo-mediums. From my observaons, I conclude that (the medium)’s ‘physical mediumship’ is a deliberate decepon from beginning to end.” (132) These accusaons of fraud are made under cover of academic authority. That gives their word considerably more weight than if they were spoken by a person hiding behind a screen name on a discussion board. So not only are the accusaons of fraud hurul and unnecessarily damaging to the medium and our community, they are spoken by people others are culturally condioned to believe without queson. That undue authority makes their words especially harmful. If you read the reports that provide a context for the above quotes, you will see that they spring from accusaons made by Nahm concerning suspicions related to séances that were conducted years before the actual study began. There is no evidence based on scienﬁc inquiry provided by the supposed sciensts to support the accusaons. Certainly, no eﬀort is made to account for the apparent phenomena produced during the study, making it clear that discreding the medium is of a higher priority than discovery of possibly new principles of nature. Opinion About Arrogance of Scientiic Authority Here are my concerns: • As with many parapsychologists, it seems that the three invesgators come to the subject more as

a hobby than as qualiﬁed observers. Braude is a philosophy major and Nahm is a biologist. Both are clearly unfamiliar with the methodologies of science. In the context of studying mediumship phenomena, they have no more standing than the average, well-educated observer and certainly no standing as doctorates in the ﬁeld of mediumisc phenomena. • Some of their comments are naive. Braude has a history of assuming authority that he does not have. For instance, he has wrien at length about how Rupert Sheldrake, a cellular biologist, is wrong about his theories concerning cellular morphogenesis. (137) In that, and his comments about séance phenomena, he clearly lacks understanding about the metaphysics. • One of Nahm’s accusaons is that the medium purchased Halloween cobweb with the intenon of faking ectoplasm during a séance. This is one of those circumstanal situaons that all of us need to be aware of. Having been accused of regurgitang cheesecloth or the fake cobweb, it is natural that the medium experimented to see if those materials made convincing ectoplasm. In fact, they do not; never did! Any even halfway decent observer would see that the medium’s ectoplasm is not so contrived. We have never found residue of the ectoplasm in the room aer seances. The large quanty of colored liquid the medium drinks just before going into the séance room cabinet would stain cheesecloth or Halloween cobweb. The body juices should also make the regurgitated material smell of bile. I have had the ectoplasm touch my

face, yet there was no odor, it was very wet, but then it was gone. • The parapsychological community is standing behind the three researchers by enabling the widest possible distribuon of their libelous arcles. The Academic-Layperson Paron problem is encountered in a lot of ways, but the most damning is the atude doctorates—qualiﬁed parapsychologists and academic hobbyists alike—have toward the layperson praconer. This is further illustrated in the next point. In the “They eat their own, don’t they” department, the negave eﬀect of the cricism is prey well summed up by one post on the Spiritualismlink.com concerning the original arcles: “Another one bites the dust...” • Mulacz conveys a sense of disdain for the medium, FEG and Braude in his comments ending with: “Aending such séances at home circles has but lile value; scienﬁc séances must occur under laboratory condions where the invesgators are in control.” (132) This is an expression of academic arrogance, as he clearly thinks the medium should submit to every demand made by the invesgators. In the model I have been working with, collecng examples of trans-etheric phenomena involves a parcular and extraordinary mindset and/or the presence of a contact ﬁeld which can enable trans-etheric inﬂuences. Much of the acvity in a physical séance is a process of developing such a contact ﬁeld to which the siers must contribute. Too sharp of a focus on the process or the distracon of external controls are known to defeat this process. (138) The medium expressed too me

great relief that he was able to produce any phenomena at all for the researchers. • Like it or not, parapsychologists are bound to layperson praconers by virtue of what they study. But they seldom behave as if they are, choosing instead to treat those they depend on for the producon of phenomena as inconvenient lab rats. In fact, most parapsychologists, and speciﬁcally the three researchers discussed here, behave as if they are not at all part of our community. • Having spent me as an editor in Wikipedia, I know it will be just a maer of me before these arcles are used to jusfy negave comments in paranormal arcles. Even as parapsychologists rail against skepcs, they give the skepcs ammunion to demonstrate the social danger of belief in the paranormal. Again, I need to stress that this is all my opinion. Obviously, the doctorates who govern the parapsychological organizaons think the arcles they publish represent good science. If you agree with my assessment that the pseudo-researchers eﬀecvely threw the FEG medium under the bus, then you should also be very cauous about possible dealings with the supposed sciensts who might wish to study your work. Establishing a research capability as part of an organizaon dedicated to supporng mediums, such as the Forever Family Foundaon (139) is probably the only way to assure that our phenomena are studied by people who actually understand the metaphysics. As it stands now, the Academic-Layperson Paron assures that cooperaon is a one-way street.

While I trust the FEG medium, I have not personally witnessed some of the séances Nahm referred to as instances of possible cheang. The concern I have is that the three invesgators had the moral obligaon in the researcher-test subject relaonship and in the parapsychologist- paranormal community relaonship, to sck to their protocol. As far as I can tell, every instance of possible fraud they have complained about falls into the category of maybe so, but no hard evidence … certainly no evidence during execuon of the protocol. From My Experience 2010, my wife Lisa and I aended a séance in the FEG medium’s home, (140) I believe well before the supposed trickery Nahm complains about. There were a number of phenomena demonstrated that were beyond the reasonable scope of trickery. For instance, raps on the wall directly behind my head, almost instantly followed by others on the ceiling, all well away from the medium. In the dark, with no one aware of my intenon, I dared the communicators to place the rapidly moving spirit light in the palm of my hand. A moment later, the light hit the palm of my hand. A) Illustraon of luminous plate with simulaon of hand responding request to show an “OK” sign. B) Same plate illustrang relave size of other simulated hands that we saw. At another me, I dared the communicators to make an OK sign with the spirit hand that was occluding a luminous plate on the ﬂoor. Moments later, I

saw the hand momentarily form the universal OK sign. Cameo Faces in Ectoplasm: FEG Medium Kai Mügge separang ectoplasm to reveal three cameo-like faces. The image below shows the three faces in closeup. Reportedly, all three were recognized by siers. The séance was amongst friends and there was lile done to assure no trickery, but there was also good light from me to me that enabled reasonably careful observaon. As an engineer, I was almost manically looking for alternave explanaons for the astounding phenomena demonstrated that day. I cannot speak to all of his demonstraons, but then and in many subsequent séances in which I did have complete access for inspecons, I have no raonal reason to think the medium is other than genuine. By the way, the spirit light, hand and raps were moving about far out of reach of the medium or any likely tricky device postulated by Nahm. There was a lot of ectoplasm and a hand did form which rose up a lile and seemed to wave about. Good red light, two observers holding the cabinet curtain open sat very close to him and the rest of us were trying to see … everything. String to hold the ectoplasmic hand up, and make it move about as it did, would have been quickly detected. As always, the ectoplasm came and went without residue, smell or even a hint of trickery, save the cloth-like appearance. In later séances, the cameo-like faces that formed in the ectoplasm were

much like historical examples I have seen in the literature. Cameo Faces in Ectoplasm (above) shows the FEG medium holding ectoplasm during a séance. We did not aend that séance, but the cameo-like faces shown in the photograph are similar to other faces we witnessed. In one of those seances, I clearly recognized Hans Bender as one face. A member of our local Spiritualist Society recognized a loved one. The faces appeared to be formed as a precipitated simulaon of a face, rather than as a photograph and had a three-dimensional quality. There is quite a lot of precedence in Instrumental TransCommunicaon for such features. When the medium stood and circled the room in red light with a handful of ectoplasm, I could see that the substance was dripping water. When he came to me, he unceremoniously ﬂopped the ectoplasm against my forehead. It made my head very wet. Yet, when I inspected the unpainted plywood panel we had placed under his chair to cover the rough brick ﬂoor, there was no hint of moisture residue from where the ectoplasm had been. By the way, at another me, the substance glowed bioluminescent green as it came out of his mouth! I do not know if the medium has tried ways of cheang. He is constantly looking for ways to assure siers that there is no fraud, so it is possible he has tried to cheat to learn how to guard against it. I would! The glaring double standard here is

that parapsychologists discount many examples of our phenomena because there were no scienﬁc controls when the examples were collected. At the same me, I am sure no one actually trained in the use of the scienﬁc method would propose a ﬁnding in science based on the level of evidence being used to smear the FEG medium. How was an arcle smearing the medium’s good name, based on lame theories, innuendo and magical thinking, published in what is supposed to be a peer reviewed science journal? Perhaps the answer is that that part of our community is just a toy for rered professors. From the perspecve of a director of an organizaon “Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objecve Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State” I believe the treatment received at the hand of these supposed sciensts has set our work back in ways we are sll learning. Beyond the grief imposed on the medium, the most damning of all of this is that there are so few people speaking out to make sure this will not happen again. Certainly, the parapsychological community seems just ﬁne with the treatment. Update Instances in which the parapsychological team has publicly aacked the FEG medium: Coast-To-Coast: February 22, 2016 - From the Coast-To-Coast AM website. (141) An example of connuing public accusaon well beyond any research or scienﬁc value: Braude was able to invesgate the German physical medium Kai Muegge of the Felix Circle under somewhat controlled condions,

and searched his body before the videotaped experiment. During the séance, there were some table levitaons, and Kai produced large quanes of ectoplasm from his mouth, in a seemingly unexplained manner. Yet, Braude learned later that there was conclusive evidence that Kai had cheated at some other seances he hadn’t supervised. “Even so, just because a medium uses decepon on occasion, it doesn’t mean they don’t have genuine abilies,” Braude pointed out, adding that “these so-called ‘mixed mediums’ someme use trickery out of convenience or necessity when they make their living from producing spirit contacts. Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 5–9, 2016: (142) Follow-Up Invesgaon of the Felix Circle by Stephen Braude in which he essenally rehashes previous reports. Remembering that Braude is Chief Editor of the Journal, I note with much dismay, the arrogant conclusion of his editorial in the same issue “For reasons I discuss, it seems unlikely that Kai will again submit himself to examinaon by me or any other careful researcher. It appears, instead, that he would prefer to connue shoong himself in the foot.” Further Comments about Kai Mügge‘s Alleged Mediumship and Recent Developments by Michael Nahm in which he endlessly elaborates on his accusaons. These are sll based mostly on an “it seems to be” kind of aack. (143) Psi Encyclopedia owned by the Society for Psychical Research This new online encyclopedia is supposed to provide true informaon to the public to counter Wikipedia. However, they asked Stephen Braude to

write the mediumship arcle. He simply wrote more of the same to connue his eﬀorts to defame the FEG medium. Not only must we contend with the very biased arcle about paranormal subjects in Wikipedia, but we must also deal with aacks from the SPR. (135) References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 14 Open Letter to Paranormalists 2017 About This Essay The full tle of this essay is Open Leer to Paranormalists: Limits of science, trust and responsibility. Wring it was a most diﬃcult task. As I learned more about ITC, my wring has become more focused on community, ethics and mindfulness. While the phenomena are paramount in showing us the way, they are just that, a beacon shining a light on truths revealed to us in every generaon from Hermes of ancient Egypt to our contemporary theorists. It is telling that I am not cing contemporary teachers. I feel one has yet to emerge in our community. But, I know what the new teachers will say. Each will in some way tell you that the one lesson you are to learn is that you are immortal self experiencing this lifeme to gain understanding. Virtually all of the phenomena we study, especially communicaon from our transioned loved ones, exists to show us the reality of that one thing. The fact of our immortality is in itself a simple lesson. But as they say, the devil is in the detail. There are implicaons brought by

the fact of our immortality, and those have consequences. The Implicit Cosmology (12) is my version of the nature of those implicaons and consequences. The new teachers will have diﬀerent, probably more easily understood cosmologies. I know it is important to speak to the heart in these maers, rather than just the brain. Speaking to the heart is something for which I am not parcularly well equipped. But, their cosmologies will undoubtedly look a lot like the Implicit Cosmology. It is a good place to begin while you await a teacher. Knowing that I think this way, can you see why I might be concerned about supposed sciensts aacking our praconers without due science? In doing so, they put our emerging understanding at risk. Essay 13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority explains one of my complaints. That was a diﬃcult essay to write because I used it to call out parapsychologists by name. Doing so puts me even further on the fringe of our community, certainly outcast from parapsychology. However, while highlighng conﬂicts within our community is divisive, saying nothing is the greater oﬀense. This essay began as an open leer to parapsychologists. My point was that, to mislead the rest of the community, even to the point of condoning unethical treatment of research subjects, is an abuse of academic authority. My intenon was to post grievances, in response to which they might reconsider their ways. One grievance is that the oﬀending researchers focused their report on unproven accusaons about behavior

rumored to have occurred before execuon of the research protocol. Rather than challenging the report on grounds of bad science, the parapsychological community gave the researchers every opportunity to publicly repeat their accusaons. They even invited the team leader to repeat the claim in the Society for Psychical Research‘s (53) new Psi Encyclopedia. (109) I spell out other grievances in the essay. My sense is that the oﬀenses are only possible because of the Academic-Layperson Paron. If the self- superior academically trained people feel above those of us who simply produce the phenomena, it becomes permissible amongst their ranks to treat us as they wish. Without an outcry from the greater paranormalist community over such abuse, there is no penalty for such treatment and no likelihood of change. As you might think, every aempt I made to write this essay turned into a rant, which served no good for any of us. Finally, I began composing it in terms of a warning to other praconers. In eﬀect, I have given up on parapsychology. The message to you now is to beware of the Trojan Horse researcher and make darn sure your claims of paranormal phenomena are raonal and well-supported. Keep Essay 13 in mind as you read this essay. Learning about these phenomena is important because of the light it shines on the Mindful Way. A good percentage of the parapsychological community will seek ways to prove you are … well, to prove you are delusional, if nothing else works,

so be informed. Introduction Science is good. The science pracced by parapsychologists is not necessarily good. Much of it is done to prove paranormalists are delusional. You and I know that to prove we are delusional, they must ignore or falsely represent our evidence. Sciensts are supposed to be our friends. Some are, but the majority consider the average paranormalist inferior in many ways … as second- class cizens that are not as smart, as well educated and as wise as people with a Ph.D. Most people calling themselves paranormalists are rered from unrelated careers and are using the study of paranormal phenomena as a hobby. They are likely less informed about the actual nature of these phenomena than you, the praconers and experiencers. If you come away from reading this with nothing else, I pray that you remember these points. If you want to see these phenomena properly studied, if you want informed sciensts to help you understand your experiences, if you want to see this ﬁeld of study evolve into a well- understood science, then it is important that you know who to trust, who to believe and with whom it is safe to trust your phenomena. It is important that you encourage the pretenders to go away so that real sciensts will feel free to help. It is most important that you speak up! About This Letter While many of us look forward to the day a scienst will want to study our work, few of us

realize the potenal problems that can come from being studied. In simple terms, science is great; sciensts are not always so great. It is for you to be aware of the diﬀerences, because many of those who have not been aware of the diﬀerence, have regreed ever volunteering to be research subjects. To understand the science of paranormal phenomena, it is necessary to understand the phenomena. You may not agree with the model I use for this leer but take me to think about it. If I did the work correctly, the model should be reasonably close to reality, if not in detail, at least in principle. The model is based on currently understood mainstream and parapsychological science. Unlike more widely accepted models, it is greatly informed by lessons learned from mediumship and Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC), especially Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). It will evolve over me, but for now, I am scking with it because I need a target of sorts toward which I can develop arguments and collect supporng data. I suggest you also pick a story about which you can learn to talk. The Paranormalist Community In the context of this leer, paranormalist are people who experience, study or have a more than casual interest in psychic ability (psi funconing, remote viewing, healing intenon), healing intenon (bioﬁeld healing, distant healing, healing prayer) and the phenomena related to survival of consciousness (mediumship, visual and audible ITC, haunngs). The paranormalist community is actually several communies of interest that are in

the same boat, so to speak, because they all seek to understand the same phenomena but with diﬀerent intenons. A useful way to think of the paranormalist community is as an aggregate of communies of interest such as ghost hunters, experiencers seeking understanding of oen disturbing experiences, grief management, invesgators and academics working as parapsychologists. Theories of Reality Because it is important that you are clear about who believes what, the three dominant theories designed to explain the nature of reality are provided here. This is taken from the book, Your Immortal Self: (1) The Physical Universe Hypothesis • All that exists is the physical universe. • The universe has evolved from a singularity into what it is today. • Life has evolved on earth into what it is today. • Mind has evolved as a product of brain which is a product of evoluon. • Memory is an arfact of mind. • When the brain dies, mind and memory cease to exist. • People have ﬁve senses: smell, sight, hearing, touch and taste. To simplify conversaon, people who think the Physical Universe Hypothesis is correct are described here as Normalists. Parapsychologists who lean toward the Physical Universe Hypothesis oen work under the banner of Anomalisc Psychology, (58) which holds that reported paranormal experiences are actually ordinary-world experiences mistaken as paranormal. In eﬀect, these parapsychologists are paranormal phenomena debunkers determined to ﬁnd a normal explanaon for all psi and survival-related phenomena. They try to do so by ignoring exisng research

seemingly supporng the existence of a psi ﬁeld and survival. The Super-Psi Hypothesis • All that exists is the physical universe. • The universe may have evolved from a singularity into what it is today. • An as yet unidenﬁed form of space called psi (psi ﬁeld) permeates all of physical reality. • Life has evolved on earth into what it is today. • Mind exists in the psi ﬁeld and connues beyond death of the brain as diﬀerenated, residual energy. • Brain is a transmier/receiver for mind. • Thought, memory and emoons are retained in the psi ﬁeld. • People experience reality via ﬁve bodily senses that are informed by impressions from the psi ﬁeld. People who think the Super-Psi Hypothesis is correct are described here as Psi+ Normalists. Parapsychologists who lean toward the Super-Psi Hypothesis are increasingly working under the banner of Exceponal Experiences Psychology, (57) which holds that reported paranormal experiences may be ordinary-world experiences mistaken as paranormal but may also be evidence of psi. In eﬀect, these parapsychologists are survival phenomena debunkers determined to ﬁnd a normal or psi explanaon for all psi and survival-related phenomena. The Survival Hypothesis • There is a greater reality of which the physical universe is an aspect. • An as yet unidenﬁed form of space called psi permeates all of reality. • The psi ﬁeld is an aspect of the greater reality. • Mind, with its thoughts, memories and emoons, has evolved in the greater reality and connues to exist

beyond death of the brain. • For a lifeme, mind and brain are entangled to produce a physical- etheric link: a person. • During a lifeme, mind is expressed as consciousness (I think I am this) and a mostly unconscious etheric personality (I am this). • Mostly unconscious mind is informed by the person’s ﬁve physical senses and psi signatures from the environment. • Mostly unconscious mind expresses to conscious self an understanding of the environment as it is informed by Worldview (memory, experience, human and personality insncts). People who think the Survival Hypothesis is correct are described here as Dualists. Some Psi+ Normalists accept that mind is diﬀerent from body. The disncon is that Dualists think mind preceded body and connues aer the body in a senent form. Psi+ Normalists think mind is a product of body and senence ceases when the body dies. For them, all evidence of survival is just evidence of survived memory. Experiencing Phenomena It is true that paranormalists, mainly experiencers and praconers, are occasionally guilty of making claims that simply do not make sense when the larger ﬁeld of study is considered. From my experience, it is clear that this reporng error can be corrected with beer training. Here are a few points that are true or as good as true, and which will help you speak intelligently about the phenomena: 1. We, or an interested observer, provide the channel through which paranormal phenomena are produced. The avatar model (80) seems to best describe

what we know about our etheric-physical nature. The idea is that a person is the conscious self of an immortal etheric personality which becomes entangled with a human body at the moment of the human’s birth. The conscious self experiences a lifeme from the perspecve of the human. Personality and body consciousness share the mostly unconscious mental processes, including Worldview. At ﬁrst, conscious self is mostly inﬂuenced by the human’s insncts, but with maturity, gains control as it acquires new understanding. In this model, it is the understanding that is returned to the immortal, intelligent core. There is an extensive explanaon of this model in Your Immortal Self, (1) and early essays under the Concepts tab of EthericStudies.org. Here, I will explain that all the funconal areas in the Life Field with Avatar Diagram, except the human body itself, are etheric. If you take a lile me to contemplate the implicaons of this point, I think you will see that conscious self has experiences, and by convenon, assigns physicality to experiences encountered from the avatar perspecve. In a very real sense, we create our world. It only exists as our mostly unconscious perceptual processes assign meaning to sensed environmental psi signals. Those psi signals come from our loved ones, our collecve of fellow personalies, thoughorms, our body’s self-image and our physical body’s ﬁve physical senses. A model that is useful and may as well be correct is that a person is necessary for a psi inﬂuence to manifest in the

physical. Put diﬀerently, we, or an interested observer, provide the channel for trans-etheric inﬂuences such as EVP, remote viewing, precipitaon and haunng phenomena. This is especially meaningful in view of the next item. 2. All mental acvity is psi funconing. If Item 1 is correct, we need to think of such phenomena as mental mediumship, remote viewing and precipitaon as essenally the same process, just with diﬀerent intent. If we are not our body, then we should think that we are our mind. The greater reality (etheric) is a conceptual environment, meaning that, instead of physical objects, it is made of ﬁelds of inﬂuence. The ﬁeld of inﬂuence of our life ﬁeld is anything we turn our aenon to such as a loved one or work. From the parapsychological perspecve, our life ﬁeld, decision process and inﬂuence are all psi. 3. What we experience is always modiﬁed in our unconscious mind before we become aware of the informaon. Always! Our experience in the ATransC has shown that a person tends to record EVP that tend to conﬁrm unconsciously held beliefs. It is important to note that informaon in the psi signal which is the kernel for EVP formaon is understood to be real. But since etheric space is conceptual, psi informaon is necessarily conceptual as well and must be embodied into objecve form. It is how that inial conceptual signal, say from a discarnate loved one, is embodied through our mental channel that determines the content of the message. For

instance, Lisa and another person recorded for EVP in the same dark, reportedly haunted place. As a pragmac researcher, Lisa is neither afraid of the dark nor does she believe in demons. She recorded helpful informaon and names. The other person, who liked being afraid, recorded mostly scary EVP such as “Get out!” and “I hate you.” (Again, it is important to note that the phenomena are real. It is just that the intended meaning can be changed by Worldview as they are manifest into the physical.) In a similar example, a Korean television crew came to our home to make a segment on EVP for their Korean audience. The reporter and crew became very excited during the on-camera playback of an EVP recording session. We had no idea why unl they explained that we had recorded an appropriate response in their language. In that case, we believe the message had come through the trans-etheric channel provided by one of the Korean crew, and it was in that person’s language as expected since it passed through his worldview. Mainstream and parapsychological research is showing that our mostly unconscious mind acts as a ﬁlter to present only informaon to our conscious self that conforms to our expectaons held in Worldview. (38) (66) (67)We will somemes not even noce informaon if it is something for which we have lile interest because it will be discarded by our mind. This science is sll evolving, and these points are only indicators. The message to

us is that what we experience tends to agree with what we believe. We tend to more oen have possibly genuine paranormal experience if we believe in the paranormal. Conversely, if we do not believe in the paranormal, we might not even noce such experiences. 4. Cultural expectaons tend to contaminate percepon and subsequent eﬀects. One of the ways to recognize that a person’s worldview is involved in formaon of physical phenomena is if the result sounds like something the person would normally say. For instance, if many individuals in a group of haunngs invesgators are recording for EVP, the resulng messages can be expected to be couched in terms which are consistent with the way the individual praconers think of the world. As such, more religious praconers will tend to record more religiously inﬂuenced messages while people who believe in etheric staons will tend to record more references to those staons. We must also be mindful of erroneous percepon. I refer to the complex of ways in which we become delusional about paranormal phenomena as hyperlucidity.(29) Lucidity is used here to indicate the degree to which conscious self has become aware of mostly unconscious mind. That is the objecve of mindfulness. Hyperlucidity is used here to idenfy situaons in which the person thinks they are very lucid, but are in fact, fooling themselves by imagining they are aware of their unconscious mind. This can become evident when people mistakenly think they are hearing words from discarnate loved ones in

EVP when there is only noise. (75) 5. Some of the experiences you think are paranormal can be explained in ordinary terms. My experience is with Buck Fever: It is true that many a cow standing in front of a tree has been mistaken as a buck. Research has shown that people who believe in paranormal phenomena are more apt to think a picture is paranormal then those who do not believe. This is true of all forms of phenomena. It does not mean there are no paranormal phenomena, only that some of us are not as discerning as we need to be. This tendency to error on the side of paranormal is used by Anomalisc Psychologists to prove that all reported phenomena are errors in percepon. Since established evidence of the existence of things paranormal is deliberately ignored, it can be diﬃcult to know when reading Anomalisc Psychology research reports that the intenon is to debunk rather than to understand. 6. Etheric space is nonlocal, meaning that everywhere is here. Parapsychologists argue that the psi ﬁeld is nonlocal, meaning that a psi inﬂuence is experienced everywhere at the same me. To my knowledge, parapsychologists retain the understanding that there is physical distance. The diﬀerence is important. This item makes essenally the same argument, except to say that a psi inﬂuence is experienced everywhere at the same me because everywhere is the same place. There is no distance in the etheric. The eﬀect is that people in a diﬀerent part

of the physical world are in the same part of etheric space. When we record an EVP, the etheric personality producing the voice can be anywhere relave to our physical locaon. We can be in San Francisco, speaking over the phone with a person in New York while both of us are operang a recorder. Either one of us can provide the channel for an EVP on either recorder … at the same instant. The EVP could be iniated by the thoughts of anyone living or dead, anywhere in physical or etheric space. It is who we intend to contact that determines who we contact. The same goes for haunted locaons. The evidence thus far is that an EVP apparently iniated by a personality associated with a place does not mean that the personality is in the physical space. It only means we, or an interested observer, have provided a channel for a message from the intended personality. This can also be said for faces in visual ITC phenomena. For instance, a face in a photographed orb only means that light, probably reﬂected from dust, produced suﬃciently chaoc noise for transform phenomena to occur. Sll in the ﬂesh or not, the personality iniang the face is in etheric space in which everywhere is here. To make this clear, current understanding is that we contact the local ghost because we expect to. We see this eﬀect when a mental medium brings informaon from a loved one. When this happens, there is

no reason to think the loved one has rushed to the scene to make contact. 7. Time is a praccal necessity. Process is sequenal because the nature of the next event in a process is dependent on the nature of the preceding event. Each event is a concept which is created by the thinker/observer. I cannot argue if me exists, but I can argue that me may as well exist. In the Implicit Cosmology, (12) there is a delay in percepon between recepon of a psi signal and presentaon to conscious mind. Sensing a psi signal can produce a physiological change before the person becomes conscious of the event. In psi research showing the presenment eﬀect, the apparent precognion of the nature of the next picture in a study is possibly explained as the person responding to this psi signal before the informaon comes to conscious awareness. (1443) Processes are modeled in the Implicit Cosmology as related ﬁelds which change in character as the process develops. Since these are psi signals and people are normally unconsciously aware of such signals, developing potenal events will also be sensed by people. Many possible events might never develop into an actual event and potenal events might merge as the moment for the event comes closer. If this model is correct, precognion might actually be the sensing of these potenal events. That would help explain why some predicons never come to pass. 8. Physical principles might resemble paranormal phenomena, but not necessarily account for

those phenomena. Electromagnesm, vibraon, spaal direcon, physical energy, holography and quantum mechanics are oen used to describe, even explain paranormal phenomena. Using these physical world concepts is convenient as an analogy to describe phenomena, but it is important not to assume they actually explain phenomena. Making this mistake, especially references to energy and electromagnesm, has caused many researchers to invesgate dead-end research quesons. Etheric space is conceptual in nature, and the principles, forces and processes of physical space are considered objecve. (We assign the characterisc of physicality to things we consider objecve.) At best, they are a derivave of a psi inﬂuence. To my knowledge, the only etheric to physical inﬂuence that has objecve support is the eﬀect of stochasc ampliﬁcaon on small signals. Even there, the causave relaonship has only been marginally empirically established. Many of these points are the consequence of duality. If we are not our body, the implied consequence of our mind not being our body is that there must be a ﬂow of informaon from our mostly unconscious mind to our conscious self. Put another way, if we accept that we existed before this lifeme and will connue to exist aer, then we must also accept the idea that our intelligence creates our awareness (conscious self), but that our awareness is only a part of who we really are. Our usual perspecve is from inside of our head and looking at the world via our body’s eyes (body-centric). Think of that perspecve as a video

camera for our mind. When we sleep, that video camera is aimed at other aspects of our personal reality (more immortal self-centric). In the end, we are not our body. We are in an avatar relaonship with our body. To speak intelligently about the phenomena, it is necessary to understand that there are some well-established … if not facts, at least points which are arguably true, given the evidence. The most common red ﬂag comment I hear is “We will never know for sure.” The reason we study these phenomena is because we think it is possible to know for sure. The study is producing understanding that, if not truth, may as well be truth, as it provides a solid foundaon for further study. What You Need to Know About Science The natural order of things in a mature society is mutually beneﬁcial exchange of informed guidance from sciensts to the general public in return for ﬁnancial support of higher educaon and research. The public is condioned to trust sciensts without queson. In turn, sciensts are trained to follow the scienﬁc method, ethically and truthfully. They are also expected to assure useful informaon about research is made available to the public. (Here, I emphasize useful.) A hypothesis is a statement of theory. For instance: Objects have an invisible force that aracts other objects. Corollaries of the hypothesis explore the so what of the hypothesis, for instance: The earth (object 1) has gravity (invisible force) that aracts objects (object 2). Research

quesons are designed to test the corollary, for instance: Will an object fall to the ground? Once the queson has been established, a series of events must take place for the work to be respected as actual scienﬁc research: 1. A literature review should be conducted, and subject maer specialists consulted to determine what is already known about the queson. For paranormalist interested in survival-related phenomena, a review of the literature must include published studies about survival subjects such as EVP. A point I will make here is that much of the lay-literature is not considered in a proper literature review because it is neither peer reviewed nor produced by a Ph.D. 2. Assumpons should be stated which lead to the development of a step-by-step test procedure (the protocol). The protocol is designed to direct acons intended to test the assumpons related to the queson. 3. The protocol should be closely followed while the results are recorded. Deviaons from the protocol may possibly discredit the research. 4. Concluding remarks should be limited to ﬁndings resulng from following the protocol. 5. For the work to be considered research, a ﬁnal report must be readied for peer review with the intenon that it will eventually be published in a respected journal. At the least, it must be made available for others to review in the literature. Research reports should include a brief discussion of the literature and prior study supporng protocol design. This should include the foundaon theory and important contending theories.

The conclusions should also address if and how well research results support the foundaon theory. This is where the contending theories should be considered with an explanaon as to whether they are supported by the study, and if so, in what way. Paranormalists may be academics, but most are laypeople, meaning they do not have an advanced college degree. Lay- paranormalists seldom have access to the library systems used by Ph.Ds. It has been my experience that few laypeople have access to parapsychological journals. (We subscribe to four journals at the cost of about $400 a year. Even so, I am not allowed full membership because I do not have a Ph.D.) To be available to the larger community, research reports should be wrien in terms understandable to a wide audience and made accessible via an Internet search. The report may be published behind a paywall. If so, to fulﬁll the scienst-public support social contract, the essence of the report should be accessible to the public at no charge, and via a commonly used access method. 6. Based on research results, the hypothesis is reviewed for possible redeﬁnion, probably leading to a new and improved research queson. The scienﬁc method is really a system involving people, instuons and media. In simplisc terms, sciensts develop and test theory, the results of which are passed to engineers who produce usable products for the public based on that research. The scienﬁc method must be adapted to each situaon, but the common factor must

be the intenon to organize ﬁndings into an understandable form for the intended audience and making that informaon available to the public. In mainstream society, the populaon of sciensts is great enough that it is reasonable for sciensts to write just for other sciensts without wring a version of the report for public reading. But in fact, they are failing an implicit contract requiring them to ﬁnd a way to communicate with the public. In many areas, media reporters acng as science writers have assumed the role of disseminang research results to the public. However, the paranormalist community is relavely small, and while some of us have assumed the science writer role, an eﬀecve path of communicaon between sciensts and lay people has not yet developed. A ﬁnal point about proper science concerns ethical treatment of research subjects. I address this later in this leer. Qualiied to Practice Science It is understood that sciensts hold a Ph.D. in the ﬁeld to which they apply the scienﬁc method. Yes, anyone can conduct science, but the system is designed to ﬁlter out all but academically trained people. I hold a BSEE and it is acceptable for me to say that I study a subject but saying that I am researching a subject is not technically acceptable. The culture only allows people without a Ph.D. to be cizen sciensts, presumably in service to a Ph.D. Mainstream culture is that well organized. For Normalists, a degree in psychology is assumed to be suﬃcient to

study paranormal phenomena because the study is seen as actually a study of mental problems. If you are a Psi+ Normalist, then a degree in psychology may apply to some study. For instance, a person’s point of view appears to have a lot to do with whether a person experiences phenomena, and if so, in what way. If the nature of psi phenomena is being considered, a degree in physics might be most appropriate. There is also a need for substanal understanding of the applicable technology. For instance, an experiment to determine if psi produces an objecve eﬀect is a queson of physical principles, psi interacon with the test equipment and the nature of the psi ﬁeld. A psychologist is no more qualiﬁed to study those than is a plumber. EVP has a physical eﬀect but appears to have a mental component. It is thought to be related to survived personality, which itself, requires an unidenﬁed form of space in which to survive. In the case of instrumental forms of transcommunicaon such as EVP, both a psychology and a physical science degree is needed. In every case, an understanding of currently popular cosmologies is essenal. Of course, studying EVP without understanding the idiosyncrasies of the audio devices is simply naive. If a psychologist is involved in research of transcommunicaon, the way people develop percepon and the way people respond to cultural inﬂuences must be considered as two diﬀerent factors. It may be that a Cognive Psychology specialty is required. The

queson of who is qualiﬁed to study what is fundamental to the issues addressed in this leer. In fact, I cannot name a Ph.D. in our community that I know to be qualiﬁed to study EVP without a muldisciplinary team. For the study of EVP, a rered professor of psychology, biology or philosophy has lile academic standing. Yes, the rered professor may have superior reasoning skills and a good understanding of the scienﬁc method. But, without well-qualiﬁed praconers, technologists and metaphysicians on the team, research results must be reported in terms of a hobby or a personal study. According to the preferences of the academic community, such qualiﬁcaons alone are certainly not suﬃcient for research. The reason this is important is that parapsychologists are rather obsessive about conducng research that is seen as good science by mainstream sciensts. Two of the problems they avoid are known as the File Drawer Eﬀect and Selecve Reporng. To avoid these, all research should be candidly reported. My contenon is that anyone working outside of their area of experse is not conducng science and the ﬁle drawer problem does not apply. In fact, their work should never pass peer review if it is reported as science. General Rules for Qualiications Most parapsychologists seem to assume a Ph.D. in any subject is all that is required to study paranormal phenomena. In fact, more speciﬁc skill sets are required to study them under cloak of academic authority, that is, as a person trained in college to

study the parcular subject. In every case, an understanding of contemporary metaphysics and an understanding of the methods of working with the phenomena is essenal. Here is a summary of qualiﬁcaons I think are necessary if researchers are to have the authority to speak under cloak of a Ph.D.: Type A: Physical Trans-Etheric Inﬂuence: The study of phenomena that involves an eﬀect anyone might physically witness. This class includes such phenomena as Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) (both visual and audio (EVP)), apparions if witnessed by many, phantom lights, movement of objects, direct voice and healing intenon. This does not include apparent phenomena that require direct human involvement to manifest such as movement of a planchee, mental mediumship and automac wring. Expected Qualiﬁcaons: Requires understanding of cognive psychology, physics, applicable technology and prior art for that form of phenomena. Type B: Mental Trans-Etheric Inﬂuence: The study of phenomena that is only experienced by one person, or that must be reported by one person for others to be aware of the nature of the event. This includes mental mediumship, any physical manifestaon that requires physical contact or interpretaon of the praconer such as Ouija Board-like devices, automac wring, mental mediumship and remote viewing, near-death and out of body experiences. Expected Qualiﬁcaons: Requires understanding of prior art for that form of phenomena. It is a psychological study if veriﬁable informaon is not produced. It is a psychological and applicable technology study if veriﬁable informaon is reported. Data mining is oen required to establish veriﬁability

of informaon. Study of Paranormal Phenomena with Instruments Whether or not the study involves a physical eﬀect, if instruments are used, it is necessary for the study team to include a person who is knowledgeable about electronics and trained in ITC studies. The need for this comes from the study of EVP. Transform EVP is believed to be formed via stochasc ampliﬁcaon in a nonlinear, acve region of a device. This means that any electronic instrument with such a component is apt to be inﬂuenced by psi. At the same me, the instrument may only be able to display that inﬂuence as an unrelated change according to its design. An example is a magnec ﬁeld detector which is designed to report changes in the magnec environment of the detector as a change in magnec ﬁeld. A psi inﬂuence on the detector would display as a change in magnesm, when in fact, there might not have been a change in magnesm, but just the inﬂuence of intenon on the detector. A person versed in the technology and the phenomena should be able to idenfy this possible ambiguity. A second aspect of this is precedence. Most of the literature for many of these phenomena is in the form of anecdotal reports. While a Ph.D. might not ﬁnd applicable informaon in a proper literature review, a well- informed praconer should know that there is no precedence for changes in magnec ﬁeld in response to psi inﬂuence. While this does not mean there is

none, an instrument signaling such a change should raise a red ﬂag for researchers. Citizen Scientists as Naturalists In mainstream society, cizen sciensts are thought of as people who help Ph.D. sciensts conducng research. For instance, linking a home personal computer to a network so that a central computer can use available compung me from each linked computer to conduct data analysis, or so that the volunteer can help examine photographs. As I have observed, research in the paranormalist community is not so well funded or organized, and there is lile acvity for cizen sciensts. Yes, a person does act as a cizen scienst when volunteering to take a survey. However, being a test subject for psi funcon tests such as guessing next events is not being a cizen scienst. It is being a test subject. Expected ethical conduct, I oen discuss, apply. When a praconer volunteers to be part of a study, as the FEG medium did, it is as a human test subject and not as a cizen scienst. As discussed in Essay 6: Paranormalist Community, people who seek to further understanding of one or more aspect of the paranormal can be thought of as cizen sciensts. The methodology may even be the same as used by trained sciensts, but because they either do not hold a Ph.D. or have one in an unrelated discipline, it is best if they do not claim science. This is especially true if their ﬁnal report is not published in a peer

reviewed journal. From my experience, the most common methodology used by cizen sciensts is observaonal studies typical of the naturalist‘s approach to science. The major element of this include: • Educaon – Aer intenon to gain understanding, the ﬁrst characterisc disnguishing an accidental witness and a naturalist is educaon. Simply witnessing phenomena does not further our understanding. Of the many unexplained events in our life, few, if any, have a nonphysical origin. Being informed means being knowledgeable about how phenomena have occurred in the past, current theories explaining them, idiosyncrasies of human cognion and the ways in which naturally occurring arfacts might seem to be paranormal. • Observaons – Record keeping based on observaon of the phenomena as it occurs in usually uncontrolled ﬁeld condions, as opposed to more controlled laboratory condions. This is typically in the form of ﬁrst-person accounts, such as accumulang observaon records from haunngs invesgaons or séances. • Modeling – This is an important step in any form of ﬁeld studies. The naturalist should be aware of exisng models (theories, hypotheses) and be able to relate ﬁeld observaons in best-ﬁt comparisons. In other words, does what has been observed agree with commonly held theories about what the experience represents? If diﬀerent, in what way? This comparison may be to the naturalist’s own models or to popular wisdom. • Reporng – Communicaon skills are vital for anyone seriously studying phenomena of any form. A milestone-triggered, periodic report should be submied to one of the layperson-oriented publicaons, posted

on a website or included in a formal report on academia.edu or similar. The process is not complete unl the public has been informed. The protocol in the naturalist methodology is the observaon of events as they unfold, analysis and reporng. If it is your intenon to conduct a study involving induced phenomena following a speciﬁc protocol, the methodology described in What You Need to Know About Science of this essay would apply. Develop the habit of documenng experience (perhaps journaling) and take advantage of opportunies to discuss observaons and theories in an informed way. The value of any scienﬁc methodology is not in the degree held by the researcher, but how well informed the person has become and how eﬀecve the person is in communicang acquired understanding. This is true no maer your level of educaon. Pseudoscience The study of the phenomena we are interested in is branded by skepcs and the mainstream academic community as pseudoscience, meaning false science. They argue that the existence of paranormal phenomena is not supported by known physical principles. Thus, arguing that such phenomena are being scienﬁcally studied leads the average observer to think there is more to science than is possible. Belief in pseudoscience is said to be a danger to society because it promotes science illiteracy. Such belief is thought to diminish the ability of cizens to disnguish between good science and bad science, as measured by mainstream academia. Studying the phenomena can cost a mainstream scienst his or her career.

Perhaps that is why it is mostly rered professors who are brave enough to study these phenomena. To be sure, it has historically been professional suicide for an academic to be associated with paranormal phenomena. We all should acknowledge that possible sacriﬁce. As a mirror of mainstream science, skepc Wikipedia editors have managed to make the online encyclopedia’s oﬃcial policy that pseudoscience is a danger to society. The arbitraon cases that set the classiﬁcaon standard for Pseudoscience, Fringe and Paranormal can be accessed via the “Wikipedia Arbitraon” Essay ethericstudies.org/wikipedia-arbitraon/). (145) As I experienced, it is now possible for skepc editors to cause an editor to be banned for claiming a paranormal subject is not pseudoscience. An example is how I was banned from eding the Rupert Sheldrake arcle in Wikipedia. (98) The idea that the study of paranormal phenomena is pseudoscience, and that pseudoscience is a danger to society, has made it more acceptable for the Federal Government to acvely suppress unpopular science. (85) The Federal Government has already adopted the skepc’s lead and oﬃcially maintains that belief in pseudoscience is a hazard to the public welfare. This is important to all of us because it demonstrates that our ability to work with and study these phenomena is not guaranteed. The case of Wilhelm Reich is a good example of what can happen when skepcs apply pressure on the government to act against someone promong pseudoscience. (84) The short story is that Reich was put in jail for making claims

about subtle energy which were deemed by the skepcs to be unsupportable and therefore pseudoscience. He also developed devices that might put the energy to work and claimed he could heal people of some diseases with the energy. In fact, the actual jail me was because he ignored the charges, and apparently, his partner transported some of their material across state lines, which was seen as criminal contempt of court. The following is from the Wilhelm Reich Museum website: While Reich appealed his sentence, the government carried out the destrucon of orgone accumulators and literature. In Maine, several boxes of literature were burned, and accumulators and accumulator materials either destroyed or dismantled. In New York City, on August 23, 1956, the FDA supervised the burning of several tons of Reich’s publicaons in one of the city’s garbage incinerators…. This destrucon of literature constutes one of the most heinous examples of censorship in United States history. (84) Reich died of heart failure while in prison, and I understand his research partner commied suicide shortly thereaer. The only real protecon we have from skepcs and skepc-promoted suppression of our study is proper applicaon of the scienﬁc method. Assumed belief without raonal reason is why pseudoscience is seen as a public danger. In the view of mainstream culture, raonal explanaons about the nature of reality must only come from sciensts. The point I will make below is that our parapsychologists are actually defeang our eﬀorts to develop raonal explanaons about the nature of

psi and survival- related phenomena. Science and the Paranormalist Community Most paranormalists see parapsychologists as our sciensts. Yet, as I have explained here, parapsychologists are not a homogenous group diligently working to help us understand the nature of the phenomena we experience. In fact, most are actually an-paranormal or at least an- survival. It should also be obvious that I speak as a Dualist. Your Immortal Self is essenally a book about survival, the nature of survival, available proof, and how it aﬀects our life. This leer also applies to you if you consider yourself a Psi+ Normalist, as our best science indicates that the media, by which etheric concepts interface with the physical world, is psi, the psi ﬁeld and the way in which a person expresses intenon. But old habits are hard to break. Aer most of a lifeme learning to see the world as a person, which is an etheric personality entangled with a human body, it is almost impossible for people to imagine anything else. But consider this, if we are a nonphysical mind ﬁrst and a human body second, then the proper way to interact with reality is from the perspecve of that nonphysical mind. To be true to Psi+ Normalist or Dualist understanding, our point of view must be as an immortal self-centric and not as a person or body-centric. Practicing Science It is common to see paranormalist organizaons announce that they are a scienﬁc organizaon or that they plan to conduct research. Of

the several dozen mes I have seen this, to my knowledge, not one has actually done so. It is fair to say some have conducted studies, but most have only made a record of what was done without the expected protocol designed with controls. Conducng science can be a lot of work. The parapsychological organizaons are lile help. They won’t even let people have full membership in their organizaons unless they have a doctorate and a recommendaon from a current member. The literature is mostly not available to non-academics and the literature that is, is too oen wrien in terms intended for other academics familiar with the terminology of stascal analysis. The Academic-Layperson Paron I describe below might help make sense of the fact that many of these subjects must be studied by laypeople because our academic friends will not, at least not with good science. It is ulmately up to us, but we need to be beer informed to do so. Academic-Layperson Partition Besides division by interests, the paranormalist community is divided by what I refer to as the Academic-Layperson Paron. The paron has been created by those who claim intellectual authority based on their college degree and their subsequent reluctance to collaborate with people they (apparently) perceive to be of lesser intellect. The eﬀect is that people who are trained in the scienﬁc method too oen try to conduct research without collaborang with people who are able to produce the phenomena and who have personal experience. Trojan Horse

Science Paranormalists are all in the same boat. Parapsychologists seek credibility, probably all of us want to understand these phenomena and the urge to commune with spirit is strong in anyone who has realized they might be more than their physical body. Like the blind men and the elephant parable I explain below, the elephant-paranormal is not to be described by examining just one part. At the same me, we live in that proverbial glass house. The rest of society is watching us. They think we may be crazy. Anything any one of us does to support that belief casts doubt on all of us. While you might think what you do concerning things paranormal is your business alone, it is not. If it is public, it is all of our business. That is why it is so important that you are able to recognize the diﬀerence between a parapsychologist who wants to help you understand and one that wants to prove you are delusional. That is also why I think it is a good idea to stop calling them parapsychologists. Call them what they are, Anomalisc Psychologist (Normalists), Exceponal Experience Psychologist (Psi+ Normalists) or survival researcher (Dualist). Aer all, if survival is real, any discipline based on psychology is probably not the right ﬁeld of study … when pracced by itself. I have come to think of people, organizaons and websites, that represent themselves as pro-paranormal, even pro-survival, as Trojan Horses when they turn out to be an-paranormal or

an-survival. The parapsychological journals are full of such Trojan Horse arcles. An-psi or survival researchers rounely aract the cooperaon of praconers and witnesses by seeming to be pro-paranormal. You may ﬁnd it distasteful to call out Trojan Horses. I do. So, consider opening a discussion about them on a discussion board such as the ATransC Idea Exchange at atransc.org/forum/. At least there, you can get a second opinion and perhaps work with others to ﬁnd a way to neutralize bad players without making a public spectacle or without leaving the problem for the next person to become a vicm. Good Science … Bad Science Yes, I am obsessing about this, but I want to make sure I only need to write this essay once. Consider all the theories Good science means considering all contending theories; at least the major ones. We are concerned with “is it normal mistaken as paranormal?” and “If it is paranormal, is it evidence of survival?” If good research indicates a reported EVP is not paranormal, it is necessary to either report an indeterminate outcome or explain with good science and logic why it is not. Saying a reported EVP, which has been collected in a light/sound/EMF shielded chamber and correctly heard by several uncoached listeners, is just illusion or stray radio waves is only acceptable if a mechanism for radio signals to enter a shielded compartment is idenﬁed. Else, it is not science. Witness reports are not science Anyone can sit in on a séance

or witness a paranormal event and tell others about it. Doing so is not being a scienst. It is only being a witness. A walkabout in a reportedly haunted house does not make science. Reporng about it does not make science. In ﬁeld studies, good science means having a protocol deﬁning what will be done in the walkabout. There should be proper controls such as control recorders and cameras. If there is a walkabout, the space should be locked down. Following the protocol should produce a detailed report which considers the collected data and explore alternave explanaons. At a minimum, a survey of historical documents, resident quesonnaires and a record of environmental condions are required. And then it is science only if the report is submied to a review of subject maer specialists and made available to the public in an easily accessible way. If part of the credibility is the fact that the report has been reviewed by subject-maer specialists (peers), the specialists need to be idenﬁed along with the qualiﬁcaons that make them a specialist for that review. In my opinion, that is veng, rather than peer review. This is an important point. Reports about walkabouts or séances for the popular press or blogs is good and useful, but not if it is expressed as science. A Ph.D. sing in on a few séances and wring a ﬁrst-person account is not science. This is especially true if it is done under cloak of academic authority. Be the adult

Please don’t take this the wrong way. It is good to have fun with things paranormal. If you are not reverent toward your neighbors now, don’t be reverent toward them on the other side. Have fun, but you sll have to do the work. Sloppy work signals sloppy thinking. You will noce that Ph.Ds. try to act academic. They play the part of the learned ones, even if it is in a fake it unl you convince everyone sort of way. That is actually a good way to be because it fosters exactly that behavior in the actors and those around them. Mature behavior can be characterized as being pragmac, discerning, praccing suspended judgment and mindfulness. Learn the meaning of these terms and seek to make them your own. See the Glossary at ethericstudies.org/glossary-of-terms/. Peer review The claim made by the parapsychological organizaons, that they publish peer reviewed journals, is misleading. My apologies to certain editors, but secret peer review is just a way for good ol’ boys and girls to give a wink and nod to poorly conceived arcles. I have seen too many arcles wrien by people who are not trained or even well informed about the subject published in supposedly peer reviewed journals. It is bad enough that such arcles are wrien under inappropriate cloak of authority. It compounds the oﬀense when the arcles are supposed to have been judged by qualiﬁed peers who are judging under inappropriate cloak of authority. Don’t make that mistake. If you

are presenng an arcle as a study or research report, make sure you ask people outside of your circle of inﬂuence to look over the work beforehand. Find a friend willing to irritate you. Remember that there is a diﬀerence between a review of the quality of communicaon and a review of content source. Quality of communicaon, such as grammar and clarity of meaning, requires no disclosure of reviewer qualiﬁcaons. Claims of content source, how they were formed and whether they are trans-etheric inﬂuences, do require review. Claiming an arcle about the communicaon is peer reviewed is saying that you are not the only one making the point. Peer review gives the arcle addional intellectual authority, and in eﬀect, the reviewers are co-claimants. As such, their qualiﬁcaons are nearly as important as yours and need to be disclosed. Note my comments above about veng in Witness reports are not science. Ethics Mainstream science conducng research involving living test subjects are obliged to have some kind of ethics board overview. The Parapsychological Associaon (146) has published a good ethics guideline which addresses the need to inform human test subject about the study. Under the subheading of Treatment of Parcipants, it is wrien that “Parcipants should be treated with respect, concern for their welfare, and recognion of their own needs which are being subserved by parcipaon in a study.” As with peer review, the parapsychological organizaons have not shown the willingness to oversee ethical pracces of its members. As a professional organizaon,

membership should include submission to such oversight. That they are not, suggests unethical treatment of research subjects, and misinformaon about the actual objecve of studies, is a systemic problem. This leaves us with the need to manage the ethical consideraons ourselves before we agree to be a test subject. If a Normalist or a Psi+ Normalist asks you to parcipate as a praconer in a research project or study, make sure you have a wrien agreement signed by the scienst and witnessed by a friend. It is best that you ask someone outside of your circle of inﬂuence to review the agreement. The agreement should include the research queson, how the quesons will be tested (protocol) and how the results will be reported. An eﬀort to form a Praconer Advocacy Panel for the purpose of represenng the lay-person community to the academic community is stalled due to lack of interest. The ATransC is willing to support this eﬀort, should there be more interest. (147) Of course, you expect to be treated fairly and with respect, but your most important concern should be how the conclusions are wrien. Remember I said that Anomalisc Psychologists deliberately ignore evidence of paranormal phenomena. To make their point, they must ﬁnd ways to conduct research with praconers that will show the praconer is delusional or cheang. From experience, there is a good possibility that, even if you produce phenomena under controlled condions, the resulng report will be wrien to suggest that you did not or

in some way may have been cheang. For instance, there might be ten words acknowledging the phenomena and a hundred words explaining it away. In one example, a recent study of séances resulted in an aggressive, public character assassinaon of the praconer based on rumors of prior bad acts, even though phenomena were recorded. The only protecon you have against such treatment is group support, witnesses and a line item in the contract clearly stang that you have ﬁnal approval of the report, or at the very least, that the report will only include reference to the actual data collected during the protocol. See Essay 13: Arrogance of Scienﬁc Authority. The golden standard for research ethics is The Belmont Report. (51) The main points of the report are: Respect for persons: “To show lack of respect for an autonomous agent is to repudiate that person’s considered judgments, to deny an individual the freedom to act on those considered judgments, or to withhold informaon necessary to make a considered judgment, when there are no compelling reasons to do so.” Beneﬁcence: “Persons are treated in an ethical manner not only by respecng their decisions and protecng them from harm, but also by making eﬀorts to secure their well-being.” Jusce: “Who ought to receive the beneﬁts of research and bear its burdens? This is a queson of jusce, in the sense of ‘fairness in distribuon’ or ‘what is deserved.’ An injusce occurs when some beneﬁt to which a person is entled is denied

without good reason or when some burden is imposed unduly.” Praconers also have ethical responsibilies. When making a public comment about another paranormalist (any person, really), it is important to remember that the consequences of the comments may have ethical and legal consequences. In Essay 5: Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness, I have recommended a personal code of ethics to help develop mindfulness. It is the least we can do as cizens of this community. Personal responsibility is an issue in the paranormalist community. I have witnessed too many people and organizaons relentlessly aack individual praconers because they queson the truthfulness of the demonstrated phenomena. In fact, the accusaons were based on what I have come to think of as the trapdoor defense. In that, people who do not know enough about the phenomena, the situaon or the metaphysics, make accusaons such as “There must have been a trap door” about what is demonstrably valid phenomena. I have seen one Spiritualist group join into a sort of accusaon feeding frenzy against a well-known medium, a grief management group aack another medium without proof and academics discount phenomena based on supposion. Blind People and an Elephant Do you remember the Blind Men and an Elephant Parable? In it, blind men were tasked with describing an elephant based on the body part near which they stood. As you might expect, the elephant was variously described as a tree, wall, spear, even a snake. The point of the parable is that

one cannot know what is being studied by only studying a part. In a very praccal sense, Normalists, Psi+ Normalists and Dualists are as blind people examining the elephant-paranormal. Errors resulng from this lack of collaboraon are exasperated by the Academic-Layperson Paron. It is further compounded by the tendency of laypeople to assume academics have subject maer understanding that does not exist. Concluding Comments This is a long leer, but I think you will see that we can all beneﬁt by being aware of the many consideraons listed here. It is mostly about science, but there is much here about our community and culture. It is ulmately about cizenship. There is probably no source of informaon for how many paranormalists this leer applies to. For discussion, if there are 10,000 paranormalists, maybe twenty will read all of this leer. If you think this informaon is useful, consider menoning it to your friends. Comments from the Media The Skepc’s Boot website has posted a prey comprehensive review of this leer tled: “Science is not the enemy: A Response to ‘Limits of science, trust and responsibility.’” (148) It has a derisive tone but is useful for learning an alternave point of view. Much of what author Brian Cox has to say reﬂects the mainstream’s self-image, and some such as his denial that Anomalisc Psychology deliberately ignores the possibility of psi or survival, are simply knee-jerk denials. The author of “What is Anomalisc Psychology?” (58) deﬁnes paranormal as: “Alleged phenomena that cannot be

accounted for in terms of convenonal scienﬁc theories.” He explains that “Anomalisc psychology may be deﬁned as the study of extraordinary phenomena of behavior and experience, including (but not restricted to) those which are oen labeled ‘paranormal.’ It is directed towards understanding bizarre experiences that many people have without assuming a priori that there is anything paranormal involved. It entails aempng to explain paranormal and related beliefs and ostensibly paranormal experiences in terms of known psychological and physical factors.” The only way these phenomena can be explained “… in terms of known psychological and physical factors” is to discount, perhaps even ignore contemporary research. It is like proving the earth is ﬂat while ignoring evidence of the ever-receding horizon. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. “ Essay 15 Let’s Talk About God 2016 About This Essay The saying, Old habits are hard to break, is especially true when it comes to our self-identy. For instance, it is common to hear Spiritualist say that we are spirit having a physical experience. Yet, few behave as if it is true. From my experience, the hardest habit of all to change is to stop thinking like a person and begin thinking as an immortal personality. From years of trying to communicate these ideas to others, I know part of the problem is that we are taught from birth to think of ourselves as our body. Our cultural indoctrinaon begins soon aer birth with local beliefs and religious dogma.

Virtually every aspect of our early training is colored by belief in our relaonship with God, death and morality. According to religions, God lives in heaven. When we die, we hopefully go to heaven. Even though the idea of Etheric Studies is to develop an objecve, evidence-based understanding of the nature of reality, it shares many of the same words used in religious dogma. The dominant cultural references are religious. If listeners are not prepared to change their mental references, they will always hear terms like death to mean going to heaven or hell. Immortal personality is likely understood as forever in heaven. The intenonally generic term of Source will be ﬁrst understood as a father god unless the listener is mindful to look for the diﬀerence. Religious training is a life-long experience while most paranormalists come to etheric studies later in life. That usually means that the ﬁrst thing a person thinks of when god is menoned, is the religious God and all of the associated dogma. It works the other way, as well. Atheists reject the god concept, so it is natural for them to turn away from any talk of a metaphysical ﬁrst cause or Source. Even though they are probably in agreement with the Implicit Cosmology, it is likely they do not get past the subject line. The fact that cultural training tends to bias how people hear and understand the terms I use is why I so oen restate or rephrase my point. Your Immortal

Self (1) even has a comprehensive glossary of terms. The glossary is also available on EthericStudies.org. (9) I intenonally repeat explanaons of concepts I think are essenal for you to understand the nature of your immortal self. To be clear, your mostly unconscious expectaon of what I am trying to say is dominated by your cultural training. Even the way you allow paranormal experiences to unfold around you is dominated by prior training. If you do not consciously seek to become a more open-minded experiencer, you will ﬁnish this lifeme and go well into the rest of your eternity thinking what your church has told you is true. Of the ideas most diﬃcult to stop thinking about in religious terms, the god concept is probably the most diﬃcult. I am not a religious person, and I go to extremes to avoid taking any of the metaphysical concepts I work with on faith. So, the ﬁrst promise I can make to you is that there is nothing in this book I am asking you to believe as a maer of faith. People say my wring is too complex. If it is, it is because I write to be speciﬁc and to show what is reasonably established as actual and what remains to be proven. Explaining what I think is actual reality is complicated by what I think you have been taught to think is true. To say a concept is faith-based, is to say there is lile or no objecve evidence

that can be experienced by others without prompng. It can only be real as a maer of faith or belief in the supposion that it is actual. Since we fool ourselves into thinking the world is as we have been taught, objecve evidence is not enough. There is also a need for experimental support which produces a raonal, testable hypothesis. The Implicit Cosmology, (12) which is explained in Your Immortal Self, has many explanaons that depend on the validity of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis. That, in turn, is extensively supported in the book with evidence based on mainstream and parapsychological research and theory derived from the way Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) and other survival-oriented phenomena are experienced. I cannot prove Source (God) exists, the only reason I write about it is to bound the scope of the hypothesis and to model a consistent cosmology. The Source concept is based on the life ﬁled concept. If we can say that our thinking mechanism works in a parcular way, and that instances of life are quanvely diﬀerent but qualitavely the same, it becomes reasonable to think of life as a building block of reality. At the same me, the expressions of life would be the stuﬀ of which our experienal world is made. We have good science indicang how we think. The same can be said for the existence of a subtle ﬁeld of inﬂuence permeang the physical known as the psi ﬁeld. The only real queson that needs to be answered in order

for us to reasonably speculate about Source is whether there is a purpose that uniﬁes us. If a common purpose for our existence can be idenﬁed, that would be the inﬂuence that binds reality into a single thoughorm. We could reasonable model reality as the expression of that unifying purpose. If not, then it is enough to say the Source or God concept is just a logical mechanism which is useful for establishing the limits of the Implicit Cosmology. The Source concept would otherwise have no real signiﬁcance. With all of this said, I wrote this essay as an eﬀort to turn your aenon away from belief in a religious God and more toward understanding a more pragmac, evidenal Source. As an aside, I should say that belief in God gives us something greater than ourselves to turn to in mes of emoonal need. If you are an aspect of a purposeful Source, it is reasonable to think achieving that purpose is important to all life. When you pray for help. Pray to your loved ones and your collecve, your teachers and guides on the other side. You are never alone. By praying for help, you give your friends on the other side permission to help you as you proceed to make it happen. Introduction This essay introduces a metaphysical model for God that sasﬁes current understanding of the nature of reality based on parapsychological and survival research with emphasis on the evidence of transcommunicaon. It is common to hear

people speak of God, usually in grand terms such as “God is the all-knowing yet unknowable punisher of the wicked and benign provider to the deserving.” The usual proof of this god is “Look around. How else could all of this be possible?” Spiritualists speak of God as a ubiquitous presence and the source of Natural Law. The Naonal Spiritualist Society of Churches (NSAC), with which I am aﬃliated, rejects the father god characterizaon. But, individually, Spiritualists tend to stay with the old ways, characterizing God as a benefactor and giver of laws. For many people, the need to look to a higher source is stronger than the desire to maintain a raonal world perspecve. A person may not believe in God but sll look to a divine inﬂuence to make sense of life. We are good at compartmentalizing our need for divinity from our need for raonality. Informed Perception of God If God is a father god living in some distant part of reality like the mythological gods of Mount Olympus, then perhaps God will remain unknowable. However, ancient wisdom schools, especially Hermec Tradions, tend to be knowledge-based, rather than faith-based. The assumpon that reality, and by extension, God is knowable, is the foundaon assumpon of systems teaching the concept of Natural Law. So, let’s talk about what we know, beginning with three assumpons: 1. God is the source of reality: The Source life ﬁeld is the reality ﬁeld. 2. God is expressed as order in reality: This is

Natural Law or Organizing Principles. 3. God is knowable: This is fundamental in the Prime Imperave concept and seeking progression. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave 4. Each instance of life is an aspect of God: Aspectaon is deﬁned in the Implicit Cosmology as “The creave process of intenon acng on an imagined result produces aspects of reality which are a subset of personality’s personal reality.” Consider The Creave Process, (19) and Life Fields. (13) Taken as a logical argument, these assumpons imply a conclusion which might be worded as: Therefore: By knowing about ourselves, we can know about God. Building a Cosmology A cosmology is a model of reality based on the metaphysical study of the nature of reality. A useful tool for developing a cosmology is black box analysis. The technique is oen used for reverse engineering a competor’s device when only the purpose, input and output are known. The result is supposed to be a device, process, technique … something that will sasfy the input and output to fulﬁll the same purpose. Black box analysis is also a way to develop a metaphysical cosmology that may not be actually correct but is funconally correct and useful for further study. The theory presented here has evolved from such a study. It is important to note that the funconal areas in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram are not necessarily accurate representaons of reality. Psychologists probably will not recognize them or agree that they are useful representaons. However,

as a praccal maer, they provide a useful guide for personal development. Foundation Concepts A number of concepts need to be part of this study. It is important that you understand and are comfortable with them, so please feel free to use the contact tool at the boom of every page of EthericStudies.org and ATransC.org if you would like a beer explanaon, have quesons or suggesons: • Reality is referred to here as the etheric, as opposed to the physical which is referred to as an aspect of the etheric. The psi ﬁeld described in parapsychology is referred to by me in this cosmology as the etheric. The confusion comes from the fact that psi ﬁeld researchers speak of it as an aspect of the physical which is a body-centric perspecve. From the perspecve of immortal self, one must use the immortal self-centric explanaon for the psi ﬁeld. That is, that it is actually a local manifestaon of the etheric. It is an aspect of reality, sensed signals of which we assign physicality. Trying to retain old references for clarity of communicaon, I do oen say psi ﬁeld rather than etheric. • A person is an immortal self entangled with a human in an avatar relaonship. The Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram below illustrates many of these points. (13) • Our natural habitat is the etheric. This includes our personality (who we really are, Core Intelligence as I am this), mostly unconscious mind, percepon and expression processes and

conscious self (I think I am this). Our natural perspecve is etheric- centric. As a person, our conscious self experiences reality from the perspecve of the human body. That is body-centric. • Conscious self’s percepon is normally dominated by Worldview. Worldview is populated with a combinaon of human insncts, inherited urge to learn, inherited and acquired understanding from immortal self and beliefs acquired during the current lifeme (cultural contaminaon). • Sensed informaon from the human body is transformed via the brain into etheric form. The brain transforms bioelectric signals from the body’s ﬁve senses into psi signals mostly unconscious mind in the etheric is able to process. Once it is in etheric form, the physically sensed informaon is processed in the percepon and expression funconal areas of our mostly unconscious mind (This is the External Inﬂuence signal shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram below). Informaon from the body and other etheric personalies is processed in the same way. The meaning of that informaon is assigned based on Worldview. Informaon intended to control the body is transformed from etheric to physical form in the brain. • The Prime Imperave. We inherit an urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality. As such, we enter into a lifeme to experience reality as it is expressed in the physical. It is this acquired understanding we retain aer transioning out of a lifeme. Understanding determines percepon, and therefore, the aspects of reality we are able to access. See Essay

3: Prime Imperave. • Life ﬁelds are the basic building block of reality. As objects of reality, ﬁelds consist of related elements which are aracted to an intelligent core (common or shared inﬂuence). Reality consists of life ﬁelds and expressions of life ﬁelds. (13) • All life ﬁelds have the same basic characteriscs, but express them to a diﬀerent degree, depending on percepon. The basic funconal characteriscs include are illustrated in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. The behavioral characteriscs of life ﬁelds include: Purpose movated: Spiritual insnct to gain understanding which is ulmately integrated with the collecve understanding of other life ﬁelds. Percepon: Selecvely sensing to environmental signals. Expression: Selecvely responding to environmental signals. Curiosity: Urge to seek experiences that oﬀer opportunies to gain speciﬁc understanding. Collecve cooperaon: Shared inﬂuence on percepon to create opportunies for speciﬁc understanding. • Source is the Core Intelligence of reality. Source (God for this discussion) is the top Life ﬁeld, and therefore, is the reality ﬁeld from which the Prime Imperave is expressed. In the cosmology, life ﬁelds are arranged as a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds. Funconal areas of each instance of a life ﬁeld are more or less expressed. For instance, compare human life ﬁeld to cell life ﬁeld. (149) Implicit Cosmology The Implicit Cosmology (12) represents my eﬀort to model what we think we know about reality, our immortal self and our relaonship to reality. The funconal areas in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram provide an

overview of the cosmology. Our perspecve is always the Conscious Self funconal area. The Aenon Complex is our mostly unconscious mind and Personality funconal area is our higher self and that which is immortal. The Intelligent Core is the autonomic system of our life ﬁeld in the same way its body consciousness is the autonomic system for our human body (avatar). Think of the Conscious Self funconal area as a traveling perspecve which is the experiencer part of who we are. It represents our etheric eyes and ears and typically thinks it is our physical body during the waking state. When free of our body during sleep or meditaon, it is the experiencer of our inner consciousness. Always, what it experiences is moderated by the Aenon Complex, speciﬁcally the contents of Worldview, which acts as our inner judge. As Above, So Below Another assumpon is that reality is homogenous, in that knowing the nature of one part indicates the nature of the rest. Hermes is said to have taught this fundamental concept around 6,000 years ago via the Emerald Tablet. (28) The ﬁrst two lines of the Emerald Tablet read: 1. It is true and no lie, certain and to be depended upon, that which is above is as that which is below; and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the one truly great work. 2. And as all things are from only one thing, by will of the one God, so

all things have their origin in this one power, by adaptaon to their individual purposes. The Great Work is the process of transmung a faith-based Worldview into one that is in accordance with the actual nature of reality. Of course, the One Thing is God in the form of expressed organizing principles, purpose and understanding. It is important to note that, while Hermes has told us all things are of God, he also said that each individual has been diﬀerenated as a unique aspect of God. This echoes the concept of life as a fractal in which God is the top fractal. Morphic Fields In the Hypothesis of Formave Causaon proposed by Rupert Sheldrake, (15) formaon of a living organism is managed via what he refers to as a morphic ﬁeld. The ﬁeld is nonphysical. and formaon is based on what he refers to as Nature’s Habit. In a physical organism, the ﬁelds are arranged in a hierarchy of nested ﬁelds, meaning that there is a top ﬁeld (Intelligent core is body consciousness) and many dependent ﬁelds such as skin, bones, organs and cells. There is a many-to-one relaonship (nested) so that for instance, many cell morphic ﬁelds would be associated with the skin morphic ﬁeld. The Sierpinski Triangle is an example of fractals in which the triangular shape is the fractal, each smaller triangle is a fractal of the top triangle. Speaking in terms of cosmology, morphic ﬁelds are related to the etheric as opposed to the physical. To

work, they need the same funconal areas shown in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram. Nature’s Habit is like the Worldview funconal area. The ability to evolve Nature’s Habit is in the Perceptual Loop. External expression in the diagram represents the organizing inﬂuence a morphic ﬁeld has on the physical processes of organism formaon. Sheldrake’s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon is by no means established science. In fact, it tends to be an updated variaon of Lamarckian Evoluon (150) which competed for a me with Darwinian Evoluon but then was discarded for lack of a recognize physical mechanism for transming change to the next generaon. The diﬀerence is that Sheldrake has given a mechanism for inheritance that makes sense considering current understanding of the etheric. There is some analycal support for the inheritance of acquired traits, (151) but the real interest for this discussion is how Sheldrake applies Nature’s Habit. Expression by a life ﬁeld and a morphic ﬁeld must follow the same principles. If morphic ﬁelds are validated as the building block of organic life, the same principles and research should apply to life ﬁelds. And, of course, Hermes told us so in line one of the Emerald Tablet. Unconscious Perception Who we are, is not who we think we are. (152) As the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram shows, the Aenon Complex is a mostly unconscious part of our mind. We become consciously aware of the output of the Perceptual Loop. And so, what we

become consciously aware of is based on our worldview. (66) (67) (68) The importance of unconscious percepon is that we use the same mechanisms that organize cell formaon to develop an objecve image of our physical world. This is an emerging realizaon of mainstream science (67) and you can expect to hear a lot more about it in the future. Source as a Life Field Considering what has been presented here, reality can be modeled as a hierarchy of nested life ﬁelds. Source is the top life ﬁeld, and as such, it is also the reality ﬁeld. In eﬀect, everything in reality is in Source’s life ﬁeld by way of the thread of entanglement between ﬁrst cause and subsequent aspectaons. This inﬂuence of entanglement is a funcon of intenon, aenon and imagined outcomes. A morphic ﬁeld is modeled so that the organism it inﬂuences is in the ﬁeld. This is because the morphic ﬁeld imposes an inﬂuence on the biological process. In the ﬁeld means within the ﬁeld of inﬂuence expressed by the morphic ﬁeld or life ﬁeld. Since the etheric is conceptual space in which everywhere is here, this is a conceptual In the ﬁeld and not something like a physical envelope around the organism. This hypothecal model is important to explain that God (Source) is the reality ﬁeld. Consider how we express our personal reality. What we imagine remains associated with us by way of a link of aenon. What we expect to express via our creave process

remains in our inﬂuence ﬁeld. It is in eﬀect, in our ﬁeld of inﬂuence, just as we are in God’s ﬁeld of inﬂuence (reality ﬁeld). Personal Reality Key to this discussion is the idea that we make our world. We have a personal reality based on what we believe to be true (Worldview). Since we only become consciously aware of what our mostly unconscious perceptual processes present to our conscious self, we literally experience objecve reality as it is biased by our beliefs. This is becoming established science. (66) (67) (68) We manage our sense of reality by learning to change Worldview. One way to accomplish this is via mindful living. (48) In eﬀect, that is what we do while learning to understand the nature of our local reality. If life ﬁelds are in Source’s reality, then it is arguable that Source also has a personal reality and is seeking to align it with its actual nature. As such, God is sll learning. Self-Organizing Reality An important indicaon about the nature of God (Source) is that the Organizing Principles (Natural Law) enable reality to self-organize without an all-knowing god. If a cosmology begins with a senent personality that is given the funconal aributes of a life ﬁeld, then all else follows without much intervenon. Noce in the Funconal Areas of a Life Field Diagram that there is an Intenon Channel between conscious self and the Aenon Complex. That is the one conscious inﬂuence we have on our unconscious perceptual processes.

If Source is given the aribute of curiosity about its own nature, it is arguable that it will aempt to visualize itself and its environment as a means of sasfying that curiosity. Using ourselves as a model, our curiosity about something naturally iniates a mental exercise in which we imagine various aspects of it as it might relate to us. A useful exercise is to imagine what it would be like to own a new sports car. It is likely that we would imagine a situaon in which we would be driving the car. If we really want to know what it is like, we would give that lile me self-determinaon. When we have explored the situaon, our lile me would return understanding of the experience to our worldview. Such imaginings are usually only a moment in duraon in our mostly unconscious mind and only the sense of the experience emerges into conscious awareness. However, the exercise will become part of our personal reality if we focus our aenon on the queson and allow our conscious exploraon to run its course. In terms of cosmology, the process of creang lile me and the situaon we want our lile me to explore is referred to here as aspectaon and the process is diﬀerenaon. It is our intenon that gives the imagined lile me purpose and aenon which determines the duraon of the exercise. In this model, the physical aspect of reality is such an imagining done by creators of our venue

for learning (local source). It is shared by many personalies via their collecve of aspects. The idea of a shared venue for learning is useful to explain the many references in religion to personalies holding the physical aspect of reality in their mind (angels, devas, nature spirits) and we who experience lifemes in the physical. As it is modeled in the Implicit Cosmology, (12) many personalies are using the physical venue to gain understanding about speciﬁc aspect of Source’s nature. Their imaginings produce many aspect personalies which remain entangled with them so that they are the top life ﬁeld for the collecve of their imagined personalies. I am part of such a collecve. You may be part of the same collecve (Soulmate?), but more likely part of another. Examples of Self-Organization The funconal areas of Life Fields naturally occur in response to the inﬂuence of curiosity (intenon and percepon) and the state of understanding (Worldview). This assumpon is based on the expectaon that such funconal areas are necessary to produce known response paerns. An organizing principle that naturally results from our perceptual processes is Perceptual Agreement which can be stated as: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. The implicaon is that we are not able to experience parts of reality which do not agree with our expectaons (personal reality). There is no need for an ethereal being to say we cannot go to heaven. If our worldview will not allow

our sensing of heaven to emerge to conscious self from the Perceptual Loop, we will simply not be able to experience that aspect of reality. A second organizing principle is Cooperave Communies which may be stated as: An eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. This can be understood in simpler terms as: Personalies are aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate personal progression. The conscious decision to express an idea by one person must be coupled with the conscious intenon to understand by others in the community. A connuing exchange of ideas can aﬀect Worldview in the same way as a Maybe outcome of the Perceptual Loop. (A Maybe outcome can change Worldview). A more pragmac way to express the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is to say Teach me as I teach you. The objecve of a lifeme is to gain understanding. As it is modeled, the collecve may not fulﬁll its inial purpose unl the intended understanding has been gained by every member of the collecve. Cooperave communies are a natural response to that imperave. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. God and Gods In a sense, people speak as if there is an impersonal ubiquitous god of Natural Law and a personal god of our reason for being. We ﬁnd meaning in communion with our loved ones and enjoy the comfort of knowing we have guides dedicated to our progression. Our inner space is populated with

loved ones and guides, … somemes with nature spirits of one character or another. Always implicit in our sense of inner community is the understanding that there are ethereal beings at the edge of our awareness; present but acng through our more accessible loved ones and guides. It is to those implied gods that I believe we direct our prayers; perhaps not as the deliberate act of a metaphysician, but the insncve act of respect for those whom we sense care if we progress in our understanding. In this cosmology, these ethereal beings are the top life ﬁeld of our collecve. Just as we have many lile me aspects of ourselves populang our imagined inner worlds, created by us to experience an imagined situaon, so we are lile mes for these beings. It is those pinnacle life ﬁelds who must wait unl we gain suﬃcient perceptual agreement to return our treasure of understanding so that they may have the perceptual awareness to move on toward their source. As I have come to understand order, it is through this progression that Source will eventually come to understand its nature. As expressions of Source, we are part of its nature. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 16 What is it Like on the Other Side 2014 About This Essay This essay is put together with bits and pieces of informaon about the other side I have gathered over the years. That informaon has been updated and

organized here based on the Implicit Cosmology. That means it is based on the most current informaon I have been able to ﬁnd about the other side. To be sure, I am not an authority on dying. I am also not well studied in near-death or out-of-body experiences. Of course, I have spent quite a lot of me in trance and have had a few noteworthy out-of-body experiences. But, as I explain in the essay, I think that is not the same as the mind-state we experience during transion. We say that we die when our human avatar is no longer able to support us in this lifeme. When that happens, and our worldview is free of our human’s insncts, we move on to a diﬀerent aspect of reality. It is a given that we will die someday. Nothing more than that is certain. That is one of the reasons they refer to the separaon between our awake life and the aspect of reality beyond death as the veil. The veil earns its name from the phrase, “Veil of forgeulness.” The idea is that we existed before this lifeme and memory of that prior existence becomes obscure at birth and quickly fades in our infancy. The veil is also a factor as we change from the disassociated mental states of sleep and trance back to an awake state. The veil represents the diﬀerence in percepon between raw environmental informaon coming to mostly unconscious mind and that which is presented to

conscious self. In eﬀect, we expect to experience things in physical terms. That expectaon is something our immortal self must learn when ﬁrst becoming entangled with its human. This might explain why some infants seem to remember their pre-birth existence. As we learn on the Mindful Way to assume more control over Worldview, the veil is expected to thin. We gain in lucidity. The fear of death is part of our psyche. It colors much of our thinking about aging. In fact, a loved one’s transion and the sense of growing old are two of the primary reasons people take up a personal study of these phenomena. This essay is as much wrien to explain what is known as it is to help people feel more comfortable with the idea of their inevitable transion. This essay is wrien in terms of our exit from this lifeme as a journey, rather than an event. I refer to this journey as transion. Separaon from our human is an event. Our process of going out of this lifeme and into another venue for learning is ended, we think, with something like a mini-transion as we exit the in-between and enter into the new experience. In-between is something of a place for rest and recuperaon as we digest what we have learned and decide what we will seek to learn in a new venue. As a maer of speaking, we die out of that place of rest. It appears to be the way we

move from perspecve to perspecve. Introduction This essay began as a response to a queson from a website visitor about the nature of the other side. I answered the queson from the perspecve of the actual nature of reality, as opposed to the popular wisdom commonly held by many modern seekers. The diﬀerence is a point of view in which I am always striving for objecve understanding of the actual nature of reality, as opposed to one accepng the ancient wisdoms and modern channeled material which is unavoidably colored by the ancient wisdoms. The answer given the website visitor was wrien before I began formulang the Implicit Cosmology. (12) So naturally, it has undergone a number of revisions as I aligned it with my current understanding. Old Beliefs Versus New Understanding I began answering the queson by explaining why the usual sources for informaon are not widely accepted by researchers who seek an objecve view of reality. Having studied these concepts since the early 1950s, I can say that the old truths based on ancient wisdoms and channeled guidance are slowly giving way to more contemporary understanding based on well- considered research and beer-informed models. Most of what we are told about the other side is conveyed to us via a medium. That is, a physical person has made contact with an etheric personality and has in some way conveyed informaon from the etheric to the physical. Having a person in the path of communicaon is seen as a problem

because research is showing that the beliefs of the medium are more involved in the message than popular wisdom would have us believe. In mediumship, what they call coloring is the medium’s own worldview contaminang the informaon coming from the etheric communicator. This is a known problem, and because of it, mediumisc messages are almost always taken with considerable reservaon by researchers seeking objecve evidence. (153) For instance, mediums who are very religious might color a message originang as “I am part of your group” to be delivered as “I am God.” People who are fond of conspiracy theories might color a message that originated as “Change is a natural part of growth” to be delivered as “beware of change in your life.” Careful reading of the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) will show that we think all transcommunicaon must pass through the worldview of a physical person. That is because, based on emerging mainstream and parapsychological research, all informaon ﬁrst comes to our mostly unconscious mind where it is ﬁltered according to Worldview before being presented to conscious awareness. See Essay 1: Condional Free Will for a brief explanaon of the Implicit Cosmology. The ﬁltering process based on Worldview is where the coloring occurs. For most of us, it is beyond conscious control. The only way we can control it is by managing what is allowed into Worldview beforehand. That is accomplished by habitually having the intenon to examine our thoughts while trying to understand their consequences. I refer to developing

this habit as the Mindful Way. Lucidity is the conscious awareness of our perceptual and expressive processes. It ranges from unquesoning acceptance of what we have been taught and its implicaons to spontaneous examinaon and understanding of our worldview. The mostly unconscious mind is somemes referred to as the judge because it decides what it thinks about sensed informaon before, and if, it is passed to conscious self. in involuntary coloring, the medium has lile control over what emerges into awareness each moment. The eﬀect of mostly unconscious cultural contaminaon can be minimized through habitually intending to sense reality as it is, rather than as the medium has been taught. That is described here as the Mindful Way. Another form of coloring might best be described as proﬁling. The medium’s message is developed around visual and behavioral cues from the sier. Developing a message around quesons and answers is a form of proﬁling. The form of coloring that is usually very obvious and is certainly unethical is the “Spirit tells me you should …” kind of message somemes referred to as social engineering. The medium’s competence as a clear channel is determined by how well he or she is able to manage coloring by developing lucidity and adhering to a well-considered personal code of ethics. Old Models of Reality As you can tell from my other essays, ﬁnding ancient wisdoms that seem to agree with our more contemporary models is especially interesng for me. As it turns out, what I

tell you about mindfulness has been revealed to humanity many mes over the millennia. However, ancient translators tended to hide the lessons in local religious beliefs or the social engineering preferred by the priesthood. From the Handbook of Metaphysics: The hierarchical cosmology as described in the Hermec Qabalah (as if a layer cake) works in conversaon as a means of indicang here and relavely not here as one moves into other aspects of reality. (81) It is understandable that there would be some cultural contaminaon. For people who think they are their body, the nature of reality must be explained from that body-centric perspecve. We stand on the ground and look up to heaven. We understand concepts like vibraon and density. It seems obvious that humans are above animals who are above plants and minerals. But then, gods must always be above humans. Some humans are more spiritually advanced than others, so they must exist above the rest of us but not all the way to the gods. Probably as an early aempt to explain concepts such as progression and spiritual maturity, ancient teachers developed cosmologies based on something of a layer-cake model. The models are not necessarily wrong from the human perspecve, but they tend to cloud the ancient messages when considered from our actual etheric nature. If you should ever aempt to explain a metaphysical concept using the perspecve of the Implicit Cosmology, you will learn that modern people sll ﬁnd it diﬃcult to comprehend reality from the

perspecve of their immortal self. They might understand they are not their body but remain unable to shi their perspecve. It has taken me years and remains a journey not yet ﬁnished. My ﬁrst eﬀort to develop a model of reality was with the Handbook of Metaphysics (2) published by Christopher Publishing House in 1994. The book included a discussion about several of the more popular cosmologies. The Handbook of Metaphysics was published. But, it was my ﬁrst eﬀort and I did not understand publisher and author roles. The publisher took my manuscript and went right to publishing without any copyeding. It was not widely distributed and is now out of date. Unl I ﬁnd me to produce a second edion, it remains a rarity on the market, but otherwise just a tle. I have also studied mediumship and the informaon we receive via mediumship, both (mostly) conscious and deep trance. This study has included aending many classes and connued eﬀorts to develop my mediumisc ability. While I am convinced some informaon brought via mediumship is meaningful, I am painfully aware of the problem of coloring. This applies to all forms of informaon access that involves our mostly unconscious-to-conscious self as the channel. The most common response I receive when trying to explain elements of the Implicit Cosmology are based on the other person’s strong convicons that the layer-cake model is correct. For instance: “… the astral- ethereal body is a substanve second body.” Or, “ … It is not

an illusionary construct; it’s a very real body ….” “Very real body” is a direct rejecon of the suggeson that we experience reality as an ideoplasc construct based on Worldview. It is true that the body is experienced as being very real, but the speaker is ignoring what is being learned about our perceptual process and how it is guided by what we have been taught. Ideoplasc: The Ideo- preﬁx means idea or image. Ideoplasc is used here to mean the nature of objects formed in the creave process as mind to object expression. Ideoplasy means the process of formaon. The term was coined by Max Vorworm. While ectoplasmic forms in the séance room are ideoplasc, according to the Implicit Cosmology, all of the physical is an idioplasmic creaon of minds. The old models have some value, but they need to be reconsidered with emerging understanding about the nature of mind. A typical error is thinking being more or less spiritual is being of higher or lower vibraon. That too easily leads the person to think of reality as diﬀerent frequencies of electromagnec radiaon. The next step is to assume transcommunicaon must be a maer of changing electromagnec vibraon. None of these models stand up to controlled study or logical consequences of the nonphysical concept. Thinking in these terms has sent many metaphysicians and experimenters down blind alleys. Transition Death or dying is a meaningful term when we think of ourselves as our physical body. However, we are not our

physical body. Our body is just our host and avatar for this lifeme. When our avatar is no longer able to support us in this lifeme, we begin a process of transion out of this lifeme that is thought to eventually take us to a new venue for learning. Think of our conscious self as a video camera. The lens of the camera is our human’s eyes when our body is awake, and our perspecve is associated with it. It is normal for us to dissociate from our body. Daydreaming is a light form of dissociaon. A light trance is a form of dissociaon. We momentarily dissociate when we access informaon from our memory. Sleep is a more complete dissociaon. However, while the body lives, we connue to share Worldview, so that our stream of consciousness is always colored by our human’s insncts. As we understand the process, when we die, this dissociaon becomes complete and permanent. It appears the diﬀerence between a deep dissociave state and death is the release from the inﬂuence of our human insncts. This release begins the transion process and also marks the ﬁrst me we have been without the burden of human insncts since birth. Beginning Transition We think all of us experience a short period of shock when we physically die, followed by a period of geng well. That is thought to be followed by a period of adjustment and ﬁnally, a second transion into a new venue for learning. The new venue

could be in the physical, but it could as well be in some other imagined world. During the inial shock of transion, we think it is relavely easy for the enty to remain perceptually close and communicate with people in the physical. Keep in mind that this is not physically close. Think of yourself as the center of reality. In fact, think of yourself as the Axis Mundi spoken of in many systems of thought. Axis Mundi is a reference to the center of the world or connecon between heaven and earth. We are that. Being perceptually close means that we are able to clearly visualize our physical life as it was. By doing so, in eﬀect, we are able to be there. The early phase of transion seems to be when we are apt to experience the tunnel some people report in near-death experiences. I am not qualiﬁed to speak of the near-death experience; however, I believe the Implicit Cosmology is rather diﬀerent from what most theorecians have considered, so I am going to speculate. The Implicit Cosmology predicts the inﬂuence of our human’s mind is separated from our worldview at the beginning of transion. That sudden freedom from controlling insncts must be expected to produce a period of confusion. Since Worldview is thought to be the primary factor forming our percepon of reality, the percepon of passing through a tunnel may possibly be a resulng perceptual arfact. Our human insncts cause us to always be aware of our

surroundings. Let us call that awareness, peripheral aenon. When we are free of that urge to see everything, we are, probably for the ﬁrst me in the lifeme, able to truly focus our aenon. It may be that we experience this new focus literally as tunnel vision. This would only last while the Aenon Complex of our mind adjusts its perceptual processes. Refer to the Basic Funconal Areas of Percepon Diagram. Even though our natural habitat is the etheric, we spend a lifeme being convinced we are our body. We create our physical environment according to what we have learned. Based on reports from recently transioned people, we will connue to create a version of our body during the transion period, and probably a version of our familiar world. Those of us who have been condioned to think of the next world as a brighter, more colorful and magical place, are also condioned to ﬁnd their new world to be that way. In eﬀect, that has become as real a New Ager’s heaven as that promised by religions. Imagine the shock of suddenly ﬁnding that we are no longer in our lifeme but are sll in a body. Old rules would seem not to apply as we realized our intenon was so inﬂuenal that we could actually imagine ourselves somewhere and be there. In me, we would discover that our body was no longer crippled with age. We would feel young and strong again, and so, ﬁnd that our body

was also once again young and strong. From the reports, we think memory of our physical life remains strong as a visualized reality. As with our body, at ﬁrst, we probably connue to create physical reality more or less as we remember. During that me, we are more able to impress our inﬂuence on the physical and our thoughts on people close to us. Our ability to inﬂuence the physical is a funcon of how well we can mentally associate ourselves with it. As we come to realize we are no longer part of that old reality, our percepon will begin to shi toward our new situaon. If for some reason, we do not allow ourselves to turn toward the new situaon, it is possible we will remain perceptually close to the physical. It may be this refusal to accept change that causes some personalies to seem earthbound, possibly even to produce haunng-like eﬀects in the physical. As a device in the novel, Two Worlds, One Heart, (154) I used the idea that it was possible to move between alternate mestreams by changing the person’s perspecve to agree with the intended reality. As a modern Californian, me shiing to join a pre-colonial Nave American society was accomplished by remembering or clearly visualizing what it is to be immersed in that perspecve. Guidance An important experience reported by near-death experiencers is the presence of loved ones and guides. Again, I am not qualiﬁed to speak with any authority about near-death experiences;

however, the Implicit Cosmology does provide a lile guidance. The way we experience the perceptual presence of a loved one or interested personality is subject to what we have been taught to expect. While sll more associated with the physical, we expect to experience the presence of a person as a physical person. As a mental medium, I am occasionally aware of the presence of other people’s discarnate loved ones. I am even somemes able to describe them and their mannerisms. Sll, there are mes when I only sense their aenon on me and the intended receiver of the message. I am never sure, but I think it is by following the sensed personality’s thread of aenon that I discover for whom the message is intended. On days in which my lucidity is not clear, my delivery becomes “I have a message for someone in this part of the room.” In Spiritualism, this is bad form for a medium. Part of the demonstraon of mediumship in Spiritualism is supposed to be the ability to know who the message is for. I should be calling out the intended sier. For instance, “Jeﬀ, may I come to you?” So, as a praccal maer, I know etheric personalies are at least occasionally close to us. This is not a “Move over; you are standing on your uncle” kind of thing. The personality comes perceptually close by turning its aenon to us in the same way that we can see a loved one in

our mind’s eye by thinking of them. We have quite a lot of friends on the other side. The ones I think are arguably true include: Our collecve In the Implicit Cosmology, each of us is an aspect of a local creator personality, even as it is an aspect of another, and so on, as one looks toward Source. We are all direct or indirect aspects of Source. When we create an aspect of ourselves to experience an imagined situaon, that aspect and aendant memory of the experience remains with us. Think of the aspects you have created as a collecve of personalies sharing you as their source. In the same sense, you are part of a collecve. Think of where those aspects exist. They are not out there somewhere in space. They are where you are, in your life ﬁeld. Everywhere is here. According to this model, aspects are created to gain understanding about some part of reality. In principle, the source personality has not gained the understanding it seeks unl the collecve of personalies it created have gained the poron of that understanding for which they were created. In the end, they are all one mind just as your aspects are all one mind … as they are held in our worldview. The guide we have been taught to look for on the other side is likely part of our collecve. Members of our collecve are vested in your success and can be expected to help you cross.

See Cooperave Collecve in Essay 3: Prime Imperave. Loved ones People in the physical with whom we have a close relaonship are apt to become more present for us when we enter into the etheric. This is equally true of close acquaintances such as workmates and fellow military. These friends come to us when we think of them now, not in a physical sense, but perceptually near. In Essay 5: Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness, I began an example code of ethics with advice from the channeled enty known as Seth who advised: Do not violate. Common guidance for seeking help from our friends on the other side is that we must ask them. They cannot impose their help on us. There are also praccal limits to the kind of help we can be given. For instance, they are not going to help us impose our will on someone or interfere with a lesson our core intelligence seeks. The point is that they will be present to help as they can, should we be open to the help. Teachers This is an interesng concept. In the Implicit Cosmology, (12) the Cooperave Communies Organizing Principle is deﬁned as An eﬀort to express understanding is necessary for progression. (27) The urge to teach is part of a cycle of seeking understanding. A seeker learns to integrate informaon into a logical form of knowledge, but it does not become understanding unl the seeker is able to express it in a meaningful

form. Teaching others is a means by which the seeker is able to consolidate understanding. For the student, being taught is the ﬁrst step toward understanding. While you read this book, I am your teacher. In eﬀect, you have asked for help by taking the me to read and I have agreed to provide that help as I am able by having wrien the book. The urge to teach appears to be with each of us. Even aer so many years trying to communicate these ideas, I sll have no idea what movates me. It remains an itch I can only scratch by teaching. We know that some personalies purposely remain perceptually close to the physical so as to be beer able to provide guidance. The control personalies known to help physical mediums are one example. Channeled enes are another. Jane Roberts‘ Seth, (47) for instance. Following the Implicit Cosmology, we will have aracted a teacher personality if we have consciously expressed the intenon to gain understanding. Presumably, the same intended understanding might be gained from many diﬀerent kinds of experiences, such as baseball or hunng. Thus, it is reasonable to think a great warrior personality might aract a warrior-like personality as an etheric teacher. If we have a conscious relaonship with such a teacher, it is reasonable that we would be greeted by that teacher when we make our transion. Devic personalies This is a complex concept. Our culture is inﬂuenced by nature spirit myths, which when deeply integrated

into our worldview, eﬀecvely makes their inﬂuence real. As such, they may as well be real, and as thoughorms, probably are amongst our friends on the other side. My early eﬀorts to develop a cosmology included a source at the top of two parallel hierarchies of personalies. One hierarchy represented experiencers such as you and me. The other represented formave personalies generally known as devas, but also known as angels and nature spirits. The idea was that reality needed personalies who were not so concerned with gaining understanding as they were in helping others to have experiences to gain understanding. The lord of the physical plane was actually a formave personality in that cosmology. One source for that thinking came from the work of Paul Twitchell. (155) He taught about a personality named Kal Niranjan who is said to be the lord of the lower planes. Kal is also known as the Devil because he is thought to be the instrument of our lessons, many of which can be learned via painful experiences. In the Trimur concept of Hinduism, the cosmic funcons of creaon, maintenance, and destrucon are personiﬁed by Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Shiva the destroyer or transformer. Kal Niranjan relates to the Shiva aspect, seemingly the destroyer or Devil, but actually the transformer or teacher. In terms of the Bible, devic personalies are angels. In other systems, they are nature spirits. Every aspect of life is said to have a devic personality assigned

to help in the life funcons. For instance, the elementals of Western mythology and New Age lore. As I evolved the Implicit Cosmology, it became clear that reality is self-regulated, so that the formave funcon is an integral part of every life ﬁeld, as what I refer to as a core intelligence. For our human avatar, this is the body mind funcon which maintains the body image used for the ongoing formaon of every cell. For our immortal self, it is associated with our etheric personality, which is the intelligence (I am this) for which we are conscious self (I think I am this). We, as immortal self, create thoughorms based on our beliefs held in Worldview. It is possible, even likely that, when we begin transion and are free of the blinding inﬂuence of our human body vision, we will become aware of the thoughorms we have created. For instance, if we are very involved in systems of thought based on gardening with nature spirits, we can expect to encounter nature spirits in our new reality. In the same way, a strong belief in Jesus will likely produce a Jesus thoughorm during your transion. I expect Tinkerbell will show up for me, as I so much wanted her to be real when I was a child. The boom line is that we have learned to personify characteriscs of nature which we then experience as thoughorms. The angels we encounter during transion will be our loved ones and members of

our collecve. Our local creator personality, who is the life ﬁeld for our collecve, might be experienced as an Archangel or Deva. Very spiritually mature personalies remaining close as teachers might be sensed as ethereal beings. It all has a lot to do with how we have been taught. Perception Adjustment A geng well period is thought to be needed for the newly discarnate personality as they change their percepon of what is real (at least more real). The transion process allows the personality to realize that old handicaps no longer apply. For instance, many of the reports we have heard include the expression of happiness in no longer needing a wheelchair or no longer being in pain. We think this is also when we undergo a self-evaluaon of our past lifeme. The self-evaluaon is that dreaded judgment we are always warned about, but instead of our being judged by some authority on high, it is a personal process in which we sense how our acons aﬀected others. During the series of 4Cell EVP Demonstraons, (156) a queson posed by Terry Dulin was “What were some of your misconcepons about death and/or life on the other side?” The response recorded by Vicki Talbo was her son Braden saying “Regrets.” The message is one of the conﬁrmaons we have encountered indicang we undergo a life review. And, since it is from the perspecve of those with whom we interacted, it has the potenal to bring regrets for our acons during the

physical lifeme. In the context of this 4Cell session, it was understood by Vicki that Braden was reluctant to answer because he felt it would pain her to know that she would have to face her life-deeds, good and not so good. This is apparently true for all of us. Memory of our physical lifeme fades as we become accustomed to our new surroundings. As we have noted, our etheric communicators somemes behave as if they are living in a world much as they experienced in the physical. This is true even to the extent that they might refer to a heavenly grandma’s house at which members of the family in the etheric gather for a family dinner. Note that Instrumental TransCommunicaon (ITC) messages are probably colored by the expectaons of the praconer. In fact, the message about grandma’s house might begin as a thoughorm represenng something like “We are aware of each other and remain close in love.” It is the assumpon of a person around the holidays that there would be a family gathering, and so it manifests in the ITC. The messages we receive from loved ones are oen collected close to the me of transion. It is not clear how soon we begin to move perceptually away from our old lifeme. We are told that our natural form is as a luminous being exisng in a landscape easily inﬂuenced by our thoughts, and that ulmately, we are pure thought. I expect that we do not realize

that aspect of our nature unl we have gained great maturity, but it is likely that communicaon across the veil decreases as the person turns aenon toward future opportunies to gain understanding. As suggested by the Implicit Cosmology, the longer we are away from our physical form, the weaker the link to our physical form becomes in our worldview. The Perceptual Agreement Organizing Principle is deﬁned as Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. (27) If this principle accurately describes the inﬂuence of percepon, it suggests that we cannot go to parts of reality that we cannot imagine. It also suggests that personalies who have not been directly associated with the physical for many cycles of their existence will likely have diﬃculty coming close to us. We will either experience them as a luminous being or by way of a representave. (Remember that close and go to are diﬀerences of percepon in the etheric, not diﬀerences of distance.) Purpose My assumpons about why we experience a lifeme are explained in Essay 1: Condional Free Will, and especially in Essay 3: Prime Imperave. The idea is that we exist to gain understanding about speciﬁc aspects of the nature of reality and our relaonship with it. This purpose manifests as an urge to have life experiences that might provide opportunies to gain bits of that understanding. Reality is complex, and understanding is seldom absolute. Since our ability to perceive reality depends on our

current understanding, clear percepon requiring many opportunies to converge on understanding the actual nature of reality. We do not gain this understanding by ourselves. Members of our collecve share the same urge to gain understanding, but of slightly diﬀerent aspect of reality. We are prey sure that, during our transion, we in some way compare our current understanding with the intended. This is possibly done with the cooperaon of our collecve. Next Venue for Learning In the Implicit Cosmology, the urge to gain understanding is modeled as a basic characterisc of a life ﬁeld inherited from Source. That means we appear to exist as Source’s eﬀort to understand itself. As we respond to the urge to understand our parcular aspect of reality, we become perceptually more in agreement with Source. In that way, we are moving closer to Source, or are returning, as it is somemes stated in other systems of thought. In the Implicit Cosmology, the physical universe is modeled as an aspect of reality created by many personalies cooperang to hold the physical in their imaginaon as a collecve thoughorm. In this model, each creator personality has issued many aspects of itself into the physical to experience and gain understanding. Together, we aspects populate the physical, and by interacng with each other and the physical, provide one another with unique learning opportunies. While the interacon may seem severe such as an “I will kill you this me and you kill me next” kind of cooperaon, it may also

be an “I will be your mother this me and you be mine next” relaonship. It depends on the kind of experience that will provide the kind of understanding we seek. If you think about it, a gardener and a naon’s president can potenally gain the same understanding about the nature of kindness. Remember that what happens to us is not as important as how we react to what happens to us. It is our ability to ﬁnd new understanding in experiences that is so important to our spiritual progression. Self-Governing An important point is that there are no enforcement oﬃcers on the other side making sure we do what we should. We are self-governing. By that, I mean that we are only able to experience what we can imagine and that is based on Worldview. That is why we tend to create what we already know. It is also what limits the aspects of reality with which we are able to interact. Moving On This essay provides a simplisc view of transion. Certainly, there are a lot of details that will make your personal experience diﬀerent from everyone else’s. However, this essay is generally accurate within the context of the Implicit Cosmology and reasonably reﬂects commonly reported near-death experiences. The major diﬀerences between what you have been taught and what is explained here is the Implicit Cosmology. That, in turn, has been developed based on a foundaon of current research and experience from various forms of transcommunicaon. If you

do not accept the view posed in this essay, it might be good for you to review the evidence and be sure what you think is true is not just based on habit or faith. It is ﬁne to develop your own cosmology, but if you do, be sure to explore the implicaons of your assumpons. The ﬁnal assumpon is that at some point in the process of reviewing what you understand, the need for addional opportunies to gain further understanding will become apparent. Working with other members of your collecve, it is expected that you will select a new venue for learning. It may be in the physical, on earth or another planet, but it might also be in an enrely diﬀerent, nonphysical aspect of reality. The reason I have wrien this book, and Your Immortal Self, is that I know you have complete control over your desny, if only you understood the principles. Mindfulness is your tool for assuring a producve and enjoyable transion. We can believe what we wish but it is important that we understand the implicaons of what we believe. The more our worldview is in accord with the actual nature of reality, the more successful we will have been in this lifeme. What we do maers, here and hereaer. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 17 The Hermes Concepts 2014 About This Essay Consider the conversaons you have with your friends and acquaintances about things paranormal. Would you

say that at least some of your friends are well-informed about the more abstract concept such as the diﬀerence between a concept and a thoughorm? My experience has been that few people have learned enough about these phenomena to independently form a point of view. Virtually everyone I know base their understanding on popular wisdom. When I try to understand their logical basis, it seems channeled material, preachers, television and friends are their source. Okay, so that is our culture. Their beliefs exemplify thinking I consider a form of cultural contaminaon in which the ill-informed lead the even less informed. People are generally happy with their beliefs and I can think of their misconcepons as an entry-level understanding of a most complex and abstract subject; a good place from which to begin their journey of self-discovery. As I remember, I billed the Handbook of Metaphysics (2) as a plain English introducon to the concepts intended to provide a framework of understanding. The idea was that, if my readers were beer informed about the basics, they would be beer prepared to understand new ideas. In a praccal sense, that is the underlying intenon of Your Immortal Self (1) and this book. Here, I am speaking of modern people who have access to prey good educaon and countless online sources of informaon. Do you think people living 6,000 years ago would have more objecve understanding? Would I ﬁnd a beer conversaon back then? Think of the study of ancient text as a

sort of metaphysical archaeology. The reason I am so fascinated with lessons aributed to Hermes and the Katha Upanishad is that they contain bits and pieces of informaon that are as abstract and profound as some of the material being discovered today. Sure, I can use the ancient material to say that, even back then, others thought the same way. That is one of the things I do. But my real fascinaon, and the real message to you is the queson about the source of that informaon. In this essay, and also Essay 18: The Razor’s Edge, are references to metaphysical concepts that are not widely understood today. Think of it! Ideas, such as the ancient teacher’s version of the creave process appear to have fully matured before becoming part of the ancient teaching we see. Remembering that our subject is all about the other side and communicaon across the veil, it seems reasonable to argue that our friends on the other side were as acve back then are they are today. Perhaps even more so, judging by the sophiscaon of some of the concepts in the ancient text. While we marvel at the fact that our ancestors knew some of these concepts, also wonder about how they learned. One of the proofs of the reality of the other side may be the evidence that there was transcommunicaon 6,000 years ago. Introduction Western metaphysical thought is greatly inﬂuenced by a wayshower known as Hermes, who is thought to have lived

in Egypt some 6,000 years ago. The concepts aributed to him represent the foundaon for most of Western religion and philosophy. However, intervening cultures have transformed Hermes the truth giver into more of an ideal which represents the greatest good associated with the desire to gain self-realizaon. This essay is concerned with some of the metaphysical concepts thought to have been introduced by Hermes as they might be understood from the perspecve of the contemporary paranormalist community. New understanding of how our mostly unconscious perceptual process produces conscious awareness is emerging in both mainstreams psychology and parapsychology. There is also a growing foundaon of informaon indicang the nature of our immortality, our relaonship with our physical body and the nature of the greater reality (etheric). A basic assumpon of this essay is that this new understanding provides a conceptual check on the ancient Hermec teaching. This normalizaon of the ancient concepts with contemporary thought may help us beer understand the original intent of teachings aributed to Hermes. (12) As you read this essay, keep in mind that my comments are based on a cosmology which is implied by my take on current understanding I have found amongst researchers in the paranormalist community. Much of this cosmology has not been veed, and so, it is important that you are mindful that the explanaons here are condional. It has yet to be seen if our greater community will embrace the cosmology. There is a lot of “It is not that way, it

is this way,” in this essay. The main reason is that emergent understanding is very diﬀerent from what you might consider tradional metaphysics. Who Was Hermes? The Egypans had a god named Thoth which was considered the mind of God as a teacher, source of wring, healing, art and music. (157) Many contemporary accounts describe Thoth and Hermes as the same person but it is more likely Thoth was an aspect of God, or ideal, while Hermes was probably an inﬂuenal priest. As discussed below, based on the diagram typically associated with Thoth, the Thoth-Hermes character was a man who expressed the essence of Thoth. Thoth Image from: Biblioteca Pleyades Italia/Italy - EU Of the many opinions about the reason an ibis is associated with Thoth, I like Edward Malkowski‘s interpretaon because of the overall pragmac view he takes with the history. (25) From his arcle: For the ancient Egypans, Ba animated a living person, whereas Ka was the energy emanang from that person. Although not an exact analogy, the Ka and the Ba are what tradional Western thought might refer as spirit and soul. Another important aspect of Egypan belief represented immortality, the ankh, depicted as the crested ibis. and … the meaning of a speciﬁc neter [Egypan for god] was communicated in a visually symbolic manner. When a human was depicted with an animal head, this signiﬁed the principle as it occurs in man. If the whole animal was depicted it was a reference to a principle in

general. Alternavely, a human head depicted on an animal represented that principle as it relates to the divine essence within mankind, not any person in parcular, but the archetypal; as the immortal Ba is represented by a human-faced bird. Amongst many tles, Thoth was considered the heart and tongue of the Sun God Ra and the means by which Ra’s will was translated into speech. He also had the tle of “Three mes great, great.” The Greeks thought Thoth and Hermes were the same, and thus gave Hermes-Thoth the tle of Trismegistus (Greek for Hermes the thrice-greatest). The Romans referred to him as the god Mercury (Mercurius ter Maximus in Lan). The Upanishads are a set of Sanskrit text thought to have been wrien 3,000-to-4,000 years ago. They are based on oral tradion about truths given to seekers by the gods. Some historians speculate that the oral tradion that preceded the Upanishads may have originated in Egypt some 2,000 years earlier, during the me of Hermes. As explained in Essay 18: The Razor’s Edge, it seems reasonable to speculate that the metaphysical concepts were spread by ancient traders across the Middle East and into the Indus Valley in what is Pakistan today, where the Upanishads are thought to have been wrien. Some historians argue that Greek philosophers in the ﬁrst millennium BC aributed their philosophical work to a famous person to increase the apparent importance of the work. If this is true, then it is safe to say that nearly

all of the text aributed to Hermes was actually wrien by more contemporary philosophers. A second confusing factor is that scholars of subsequent cultures have translated work aributed to Hermes from the perspecve of their current beliefs. It is this babble of Hermec aribuon that one ﬁnds on the Internet today. Thoth was considered the patron of scribes and the god of magic, healing and wisdom. It seems reasonable to argue that a man named Hermes, as a high priest of very early Egypt, was exalted as the spokesman for Thoth. In a praccal view, there were probably many such priests over the centuries around the me associated with Hermes. For this reason, it may be most sensible to think of the Hermeca as the product of an early system of thought based on metaphysical concepts evolved from even earlier mes. Emerald Tablet Because of what it includes, of all of the Hermeca, the Emerald Tablet is the one document I think may reasonably reﬂect the ancient teaching aributed to Hermes. It comes to us as it has been translated via a line of diﬀerent cultures with diﬀerent cultural references. Mindful of this, I have studied the text from the perspecve of contemporary metaphysics. My thought is that, if I can make sense of the Emerald Tablet from a contemporary point of view, perhaps the ancient text will inherit a degree of new credibility. There are as many diﬀerent versions of the Emerald Tablet’s origin as there are people wring

on the subject. The most sensible consensus seems to be that the original version has been lost and the source for currently available translaons is a Sumerian clay tablet containing Cuneiform script. Some people claim the work was magically impressed onto a piece of emerald stone, but it is probable the name comes from the color of the original clay tablet. Early Egypans used a form of glaze with which they covered the clay. It is known as blue-green Egypan faience or Egypan paste which is a sintered-quartz ceramic. As I understand the history, this technique was reserved for the most important arfacts. Considering the content of the tablet, it was probably tled something like The Truly Great Work. There are a number of diﬀerent translaons of the Emerald Tablet. I prefer the version translated from the Lan of Ficinus by Kircher, and into English by Dr. John Everard. It was ﬁrst published in 1650. Even the translaons aributed to Everard have slight diﬀerences. The one I use here is the ﬁrst I encountered in 1990 during my early studies. The translaon is provided here in Italics. Each part is followed by how I understand the Tablet based on contemporary metaphysics. The Emerald Tablet by Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus This is a lesson taught by a master to his iniates. It is concerned with the process of gaining progression (spiritual maturity). 1. It is true and no lie, certain and to be depended upon, that which is above is as that

which is below; and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the one truly great work. This principle signiﬁes that everything exisng in the physical aspect of reality has its correspondence in the greater reality. Perhaps a clearer explanaon of this principle is that everything in the physical (below) has been expressed from the etheric (above). In turn, that which has been expressed has an inﬂuence on the expresser (and other personalies). A number of important lessons can come from this. There is direct correlaon between eﬀect (below or physical) and expression of intenon (above or etheric). Be mindful of your intenon (below to above) as it is can produce eﬀects (above to below) which may or may not be what you envisioned. The second lesson from this is what many people refer to as the Principle of Connuity. Reality exists as an unbroken thread of percepon and expression from the intelligent core of Source to our conscious self and personal reality. As such, it is reasonable to extrapolate the nature of the greater reality from our local sense of reality (personal reality). For quantum principles enthusiasts, the connuity of reality from our immortal self to Source is thought to be by way of a hierarchy of personalies. I refer to that as a nested hierarchy because there is a many-to-one relaonship between a personality and aspects it has created in an eﬀort to gain its intended understanding. This is also a quantum-like

arrangement because it is stepwise, rather than one connuous ﬂow of creaon. However, it is also a fractal-like arrangement in that Source is the top fractal and each aspect of Source (you and me) is a sub-fractal of the Source fractal. 2. And as all things are from only One Thing, by will of the one God, so all things have their origin in this one power, by adaptaon to their individual purposes. Reality is the expression of Source (God) and is governed by organizing principles which emanate from the intenon of Source. The combinaon of the expression of reality (the etheric) and the reason for that expression as organizing principles represent The One Thing. We are being told that Source has created all things from Itself. The One Power is the Creave Process by which reality is adapted by individual aspects of Source to sasfy imagined purpose. The Creave Process is aenon on an imagined outcome to produce an intended order. This process is limited by the ordering principles emanang from Source. As such, the One Thing is reality and organizing principles as the expression of Source, and the One Power is the Creave Process by which the One Thing is adapted. 3. That only One Thing has the sun for its father, the moon for its mother. Sun is creave inﬂuence. Moon is recepve Self (immortal personality). The three aspects of creaon are within each of us as aenon (the Sun) on a visualized outcome (the Moon) with

the intenon (wind—Line 4) to make it so. 4. The wind carries it in its wings. The third part of the Creave Process (adaptaon) is intenon. It seems reasonable that the wind is the intenon to make it so. 5. But its nurse is a spiritual Earth. Here, I think Earth is a reference to self (immortal self entangled with a human body in an avatar relaonship; aka a person). We are the ones who are performing the Great Work, as we live in the physical (earth). Thus far, Hermes has told us that we are empowered to gain progression by the very structure of reality, and through the organizing principles given to us by Source. The etheric is diﬀerenated into new form through a person’s inﬂuence based on the Creave Process. 6. That only One Thing is the true father of all things in the universe. Its power is integrang or perfecng aer it has been united to a spiritualized Earth. Again, the only One Thing is Source’s expression of organizing principles governing the behavior of reality, which undiﬀerenated, is Source’s life ﬁeld; the reality ﬁeld. Reality can be modeled as life ﬁelds and the expression of life ﬁelds. Thus, the organizing principles are the Father of all things. This emanaon from Source is perfected or changed as it is diﬀerenated by Self. We, as Self in the physical represents the Earth in this lesson. It is through increasing understanding that we perfect reality. 7. Thou shalt separate the

Earth from the ﬁre, the subtle from the gross, by means of a gentle heat, and with great ingenuity. In most esoteric schools of thought today, ﬁre is the intuive aspect and earth is the empirical, objecve aspect. To be consistent, subtle would be unconscious percepon of reality as it is diﬀerenated through the Creave Process. Gross would be reality as it is perceived as the product of the perceptual processes. Heat would be focused or directed intenon and ingenuity is an excellent descripon of the kind of work required to learn how to think beyond cultural inﬂuences to follow the Mindful Way. If this understanding is correct, Hermes is explaining the need to become aware of the diﬀerence between what is consciously perceived and the existence of a conceptual reality which underlies experience. This can be described as the diﬀerence between the etheric personality (immortal personality as I am this) and the person (conscious self as I think I am this). 8. It ascends from Earth to heaven, and descends again to Earth. Thereby it receives the power of the superiors and the inferiors. “It” is based on the One Thing as reality and the one power as the Creave Process. But here, “it” is the product of the Creave Process which is correct understanding of reality. That is the ulmate objecve of the Great Work. Some people believe that this is a direct reference to the Kundalini and the seven Chakras. (The sixth and seventh Chakras are somemes

referred to as the Superior Chakras.) However, that is clearly a local system of thought. The concept of earth as the physical person is consistently used in the Emerald Tablet. Also, the issue at hand is the Great Work. The Great Work is a way turned toward understanding (progression or spiritual maturity). To follow this path, we are told to change our awareness from body-centric to an immortal self-centric perspecve. Understanding is relave so that something understood tends to shine new light on that something, thus oﬀering potenal new understanding. Since a lifeme is a transient experience, acquision of understanding appears to be for the beneﬁt of the greater community or collecve of personalies. Thus, we have access to understanding from the collecve even as we contribute new understanding to the collecve. 9. By this process thou wilt partake of life, love, and light, and the honors of the whole world; therefore, let all obscurity ﬂee before thee. Hermes has idenﬁed our purpose in life and has described the process with which we can pursue that purpose. Now he is telling us that by living the life while consciously seeking understanding, we will align ourselves with the true nature of reality (Organizing Principles or Natural Law). Near the end of this lesson (Line 13), Hermes idenﬁes himself as an example of what living in accordance with the true nature of reality means. That is, teacher, expression of the principles in daily living and the potenal eﬀect of living in that

way manifest as a (spiritually) successful person. In eﬀect then, he is telling us that we too can be happy and respected cizens. 10. This is the strongest of all forces, overcoming every subtle and penetrang every solid thing. Hermes connues to refer to the etheric and principles from Source that permeates all of reality from the ﬁnest (undiﬀerenated etheric) to every aspect of the physical. 11. With this thou wilt be able to master all things and transmute all that is ﬁne and all that is coarse. The Great Work described in the Cabala is the process of changing the young, immature Self into a Master of the principles governing the operaon of reality. In the terminology of the Cabala, achieving God-Realizaon is described as a transmutaon. While the process of transmung the base metal of lead into a higher quality gold is a subject of earnest research in alchemy, it is oen used as an analogy for the process of transmung the ignorant seeker into a spiritually mature master. The process is achieved through adaptaon of the organizing principles into all of the objects of reality. 12. So the world was created. Hence were all the wonderful adaptaons of the One Thing manifested; but the arrangements that follow this great mysc path are hidden. Again, the One Thing is diﬀerenaon of reality by way of the Creave Process. The Creave Process is a person’s intenon acng on an imagined outcome to make it so. Diﬀerenaon is bound by

organizing principles. Hermes was explaining that all of reality was formed by way of the same principles he explained in the previous lines. An important concept here is “For those who have eyes to see.” The way described in this lesson is hidden to those who have not followed this path. 13. For this reason, I am called Hermes Trismegistus--one in essence but three in total aspect. In this Trinity are concealed the three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. See The Three Aspects of a Teacher, below. 14. What I have to tell is now completed concerning the operaon of the Sun. And so, Hermes has told his students the secret of creaon, their purpose in this lifeme, and by doing so, has pointed them toward the Mindful Way of life. Compare the advice of the Emerald Tablet with the Creave Process Discourse in Secon I of Your Immortal Self. (1) An early version is at ethericstudies.org/creave-process/. Paraphrasing the Emerald Tablet Visualize Hermes giving his students a roune lesson. Lesson Name: The Truly Great Work a. I can tell you as your teacher that your thoughts and your deeds are directly related so that your thoughts aﬀect your expression, and your percepon of that expression aﬀects your thoughts. (Line 1) b. Reality is both singular as Source and complex as the expression of Source according to Its intenon. This expression of intenon represents ordering principles which govern the adaptaon of reality to individual purpose. The world you

live in is an aspect of the greater reality as it is expressed by way of the Creave Process. (Line 2) c. The Creave Process requires the visualizaon of the imagined purpose with the intenon to make it so. (Line 3 and 4) d. You, the person as an etheric personality entangled with a physical body, are the creator in this lesson. (Line 5) e. Thus, the creave inﬂuence produces all things in reality. The Creave Process ﬁnds expression through the informed intenon of the person. (Line 6) f. It is necessary to learn to disnguish between that which is part of actual reality as expression moderated by organizing principles and that which is perceived as real, but which is actually illusion. (Line 7) g. Increased understanding of the actual nature of reality is contributed by the student to the collecve of personalies in the greater reality, and thus merged, becomes available to the student as more profound understanding. (Line 8) h. As such, you will ﬁnd that understanding leads to clear sensing which enables a person to experience reality as it is, rather than as you have been taught. (Line 10 and 11) i. Your increased understanding achieved through the Great Work may lead you to beer living and increased contentment. (Line 9) j. Thus, I have told you how the world has been created. But be mindful that these truths are not evident to those who have not stepped onto this way of learning. (Line 12) k. As

the teacher of this hidden way, I represent the three parts of a teacher. That is, I represent the understanding of the One Thing and The Great Work, I am an example of how you may integrate this understanding into daily life, and in me, you can see the possibilies of living this path. I am three mes accomplished: as a teacher, role model and cizen. (Line 13) l. And now you understand the Truly Great Work. (Line 14) The Foundation Concepts Associated with Hermes Your Immortal Self (1) includes a model of reality in which a number of organizing principles are used to deﬁne the fundamental nature of reality. In some systems of thought, these principles would be described as Natural Law; however, the ones listed in the book are rather diﬀerent from what you may have learned. An older version of the Organizing Principles can be found on the Etheric Studies website. (27) An important evoluon in how we can study the early introducon of metaphysical concepts is the ability to say that, based on contemporary research, certain concepts have become reasonably well established. This is not to say that we are now 100% correct, only that we have entered into an age in which the concepts can be objecvely and repeatedly examined. Perhaps the one reason I have persisted in wring about these concepts as long as I have is my sense of revelaon contemporary transcommunicaon oﬀers. Somemes, I think of this me in our evoluon as

a people as the dawning of an age of understanding through mindfulness. With this consideraon, it is not too much of a stretch to argue that an ancient society might believe in one god but describe that one god in terms of how people relate to its characteriscs. This is done today with Natural Law as people aempt to describe reality by way of its characteriscs. It is also noteworthy that arcles about prehistoric Egypt are derived from Greek translaons. I am not a language expert, but I know it can be shown that much of the metaphysical importance of the Aramaic language used by Jesus was lost by way of the Greek translaons. (35) It is probable that similar loss in metaphysical meaning has occurred in the translaon from Egypan to Greek. A useful technique for understanding other people’s point of view is to normalize their concepts in more fundamental terms, and then to compare those with more familiar models. Doing that with what I can discover about the me of Hermes, and before the gods of ancient Egypt, it seems clear the Egypans accepted the idea of one god with many aspects. Support for the idea that the Egypans had one god with many aspects is the early Egypan name for god. The writers of the Internet Sacred Text Archive tell us: To the great and supreme power which made the earth, the heavens, the sea, the sky, men and women, animals, birds, and creeping things, all that

is and all that shall be, the Egypans gave the name Neter. (158) According to Edward Malkowski: (159) From a modern Western perspecve, their [the Egypan’s] religion has been billed as primive and polytheisc, and appears as a mythological menagerie of gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. The source of this misunderstanding stems from the Egypan word neter being translated into Greek as ‘god,’ which later took on the Westernised meaning of deity. The true meaning of neter was to describe an aspect of deity, not a deity to be worshipped. In essence, neters referred to principles of nature in a praccal scienﬁc way. The Three Aspects of a Teacher The Emerald Tablet gives us a good test of this perspecve. One of the keys to who Hermes was is the assigned name, Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for Hermes the thrice-greatest). This tle is found in the Emerald Tablet in which Hermes tells his students: 13. For this reason, I am called Hermes Trismegistus–one in essence but three in total aspect. In this Trinity are concealed the three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. It is likely that there are mulple meanings in this line. The trinity is important throughout the Hermec Wisdom, such as posive, negave, neutral, and body, mind, spirit. The concept of balance permeates the teaching. However, there is a more deeply hidden aspect of the trinity concept. Understanding of, and ability to properly manage the trinity of imaginaon, intenon and aenon is the

foundaon of “the wisdom of the whole world.” This is the Creave Process. The Greeks translated three-me great as Trismegistus. When considered with Line 12, the phrase, “For this reason,” makes it clear that the “three parts of the wisdom of the world” is a direct reference to the three aspects of all teachers. That is, a teacher represents the lesson to be taught (imaginaon), appears to the student as an example of what it is to understand the lesson (intenon) and demonstrates the value of the lesson through applicaon of the lesson in life (aenon). 12. So the world was created. Hence were all the wonderful adaptaons of the One Thing manifested; but the arrangements that follow this great mysc path are hidden. These three aspects are also demonstrated by the way Jesus presented himself in the Bible: John 14.6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. In this line, Jesus is showing himself to his followers as the three aspects of the teacher: follow me that I am the path; follow me as the Spirit of Truth; and, follow me as I have lived. See Metaphysical View of John 14 essay at EthericStudies.org/metaphysical-view-john-14/. (160) The Hermetica as Revealed Information? It is a fair bet that scholars specializing in ancient civilizaons are not likely to be students of metaphysics, and even less likely to be familiar with the concepts as they are informed by

understanding gained via transcommunicaon. An Internet search for informaon about Hermes, pre-history religions and migraon of religious thought will produce a wide variety of scholarly and special interest commentary but lile agreement. A good example of this disagreement is the origin of why Hermes is called Hermes Trismegistus. The ﬁrst hint is that all of the English translaons of the Emerald Tablet I have read use Trismegistus, which is a name given him by the Greeks much aer his lifeme. I would expect the original text was more like “… I am called Hermes Trice Great–one in essence but three in total aspect.” Did the Greeks understand the cultural signiﬁcance of whatever Egypan term represented Hermes in his me? According to Edward Malkowski (above), they probably did not in the same way they missed the meaning of neter. Important Metaphysical Concepts Attributed to Hermes Hermes is associated with astrology, alchemy and magic by way of the Hermec philosophy which has come to be aributed to him. As noted above, part of the problem is that there is so much cultural contaminaon that aribuon of any speciﬁc concept is intellectually risky. It is more probable that astrology, alchemy and magic are much later invenons based on then-current understanding of concepts aributed to Hermes. The major concepts thought to have been introduced by Hermes include: • One God: There is one God, which is comparable to Source or Inﬁnite Intelligence. • Avatar Relaonship: The concept of man as a chariot with spirit

as its driver comes to us from the Upanishads. (161) It is consistent with Line 7 and 8 of the Emerald Tablet in which a person, understanding and purpose are treated in terms of the two aspects of the gross and the subtle. See Line 1-III-3. in The Story in Essay 18: The Razor’s Edge. • Progression: The purpose of gaining understanding about the self and reality. This is described in the Emerald Tablet as the Great Work. • Creave Process: The Emerald Tablet is all about the major elements of the Creave Process. • Three Aspects of a Teacher: This is actually a commandment of sorts. I have always maintained that “Our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach.” This would appear to be a consequence of progression as described in the status of Hermes as being thrice-great. As noted below, it is also mirrored in the Tarot. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. • Organizing Principles: Hermes opens the Emerald Tablet with “… that which is above is as that which is below; and that which is below is as that which is above…,” which has become known as the Hermec Law of Correspondence. The One Thing of Line 2 is the expression of Source. It is described in Line 6 as “That only One Thing is the true father of all things in the universe.” Although not speciﬁcally stated, organizing principles are implicit in the concept of “…by adaptaon to their individual purposes”

as stated in the last part of Line 2. It is important to note here that Natural Law, as it is taught today, is a much more contemporary invenon. Cabala (oen spelled Kabbalah, which is Hebrew meaning to receive or to accept) emerged out of Jewish myscism around the 12th-century. It is a technical form of metaphysics that involves many interrelated, oen secret concepts. There are many organizing principles (Natural Law to some) described in the Divine Pymander which is tradionally aributed to the wring of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus. (25) Considering this, it is interesng that virtually all of the Internet websites discussing Hermes and the principles only address the seven proposed in The Kybalion. The Seven Organizing Principles of the Kybalion Seven principles said to deﬁne the nature of reality have become the standard version of Natural Law. They probably became popular from the 1908 booklet tled The Kybalion by Three Iniates. (26) It should be noted that these are described from a physical or body-centric perspecve. There are certainly more commonly cited principles aributed to ancient teaching from other sources, but it is only these seven I have found directly aributed to Hermec teaching. In keeping with my eﬀort to normalize the Hermeca with more contemporary thought, I have added a suggested, more current understanding for each. 1. The Principle of Mentalism. The all is mind; The universe is mental. This can be taken literally. In terms of the way we have been taught to disnguish mental from

physical, the expression of reality from Source (God) is a thought. Emergent understanding from mainstream science indicates that we create our world as a thought exercise. This is supported in psi ﬁeld studies. Reality is mental. We assign physical meaning to aspects of it, such as our body. Be careful not to be distracted by the cultural references for the thought concept. From the physical perspecve, we as our body are solid and real while our thoughts are intangible and not real. But our physical perspecve is only for this lifeme and restricted to our local culture. In fact, we are immortal, and our real perspecve is that of your immortal self. From that more correct perspecve, our body is a thought. 2. The Principle of Correspondence. As above, so below; as below, so above. This principle signiﬁes that everything exisng in the physical aspect of reality has its correspondence in the greater reality. Perhaps a clearer explanaon of this principle is that everything in the physical (below) has been expressed from the etheric (above). In turn, that which has been expressed has an inﬂuence on the expresser (and other personalies). It is reasonable to think of reality as a collecve thought, of which, our immortal aspect is one of the thinkers. A number of important lessons can come from this. There is direct correlaon between eﬀect (below or physical) and expression of intenon (above or etheric). We should be mindful of our intenon (below to above) as it is

can produce eﬀects (above to below) which may or may not be what we envisioned. A second lesson from this is what many people refer to as the Principle of Connuity. Reality exists as an unbroken thread of percepon and expression from the intelligent core of Source to our conscious self and personal reality. As such, it is reasonable to extrapolate the nature of the greater reality from our local sense of reality (personal reality). It is also reasonable to think this unbroken thread of percepon and expression represents successive changes in understanding. In terms of understanding as the foundaon of percepon, reality is quanzed. The connuity of reality is step-wise as one moves from relavely lile percepon of the actual nature of reality to more correct percepon. But understanding is seen as relave, so that percepon produces the potenal for new understanding. 3. The Principle of Vibraon. Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates. This principle is oen understood as the closer one gets to God, the ﬁner the vibraon one must experience. However, our contemporary understanding is that vibraon is a physical concept that has no evident, direct equivalent in the etheric. In fact, in the Emerald Tablet, Hermes uses “subtle from the gross” to indicate a diﬀerence between etheric and physical. A more useful measure is relave understanding. In the Implicit Cosmology, (2) progression (perceptually toward Source) is achieved by gaining understanding. Understanding goes toward aligning Worldview with the actual nature of reality. It is Worldview that determines

percepon. As such, perceptual agreement becomes a determining factor for what a person can experience in reality. Stated as the Organizing Principle of Perceptual Agreement: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. 4. The Principle of Polarity. Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are idencal in nature, but diﬀerent in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. The Principle of Polarity is good advice and appears to be true in a praccal sense as a physical principle, but it tends to lose meaning in the etheric. A life ﬁeld is a singularity and its expression are not polar. Balance does exist as a beneﬁcial behavior, but polar extremes and balance do not appear to be factors in the percepon and expression funconal areas of mind. 5. The Principle of Rhythm. Everything ﬂows, out and in; everything has its des; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the le; rhythm compensates. As with Principle 4, this is good advice for operang in the physical when rhythm is understood as regular, periodic cycles. The annual cycle of seasons, for instance, is a regular periodic cycle; however, the seasons are an arfact of what may not be a universally usual alignment of our planet’s axis with its

orbit around the sun. There is no apparent support for the concept in terms of the etheric. The principle does appear to have meaning in the sense of a process. An example is the process of birth, youth, maturity, and death as we see in the cycle of the seasons. The disncon is important. We see the process of gaining understanding typically experienced as a cycle, but not a regular periodic cycle. The iniaon experience in ancient wisdom schools, for instance. The rhythm in queson is a cycle of gaining informaon, living with that informaon as it becomes personal knowledge, and then a change in state of that knowledge to understanding. That cycle of learning is somemes referred to as the Dark Night of Soul (162) when the cycle includes a period of mental anguish as the seeker integrates new understanding into Worldview. The governing inﬂuence for the behavior of processes in the etheric appears to be the Perceptual Agreement Organizing Principle. Some people relate the Principle of Rhythm to the Principle of Cycles, and that to the Principle of Reciprocity. My comments apply to all three perspecves, but also see my comments below for the Principle of Cause and Eﬀect. 6. The Principle of Cause and Eﬀect. Every Cause has its eﬀect; every eﬀect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causaon, but nothing escapes the Law. This is a complex principle. It is

a well-established physical principle, but its etheric counterpart is a lile less deﬁnive. As noted above, the concept of reciprocity is beer related to cause and eﬀect than to cycles or rhythm. The associated concept of reciprocity is mutual inﬂuence. While we think of force in the physical, we think in terms of inﬂuence in the etheric. There does not appear to be a direct one-to-one exchange of inﬂuence, but rather the expression of inﬂuence which changes percepon. That is, my thinking of you causes my percepon of you to change in some way. There is a cause and eﬀect, but it is not equal and opposite as we think of it in the physical. 7. The Principle of Gender. Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes. Current versions of the Hermeca is full of reference to male and female aspects. But it does not ﬁt well with my current understanding unless I rephrase the concept. So, instead of male and female, think in terms of two aspects of the Creave Process. (163) This might be beer understood as the process of formaon in which potenal (female) is expressed through intenon (male). This is consistent with Line 3 of the Emerald Tablet. My Introduction to the Hermetic Concepts Of course, I intended to be the ﬁrst man on the moon, but it was in my teens that science clubs began to give way to curiosity about the nature of reality. Many

of the science ﬁcon books I had been reading had a strong metaphysical, magical sense that was complemented by such movies as The Wizard of Oz and my speculaon about what it was really like over the rainbow. The Rosicrucian‘s “Thoughts have Wings” (163) adversements in the science magazines I read in my teens was suﬃciently encing for me to join and begin receiving their weekly discourses. The Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) (6) gave me much-needed diversion from college study with a two-year course in the Tarot. They use the Tarot as a tool for teaching courses in the Ageless Wisdom of Sacred Tarot and Cabala. (164) Their deck is a version of the 1910 Rider-Waite deck modiﬁed by Paul Foster Case. The term Cabala is derived from the Hebrew root to receive, to accept and represents a system of thought based on the earliest teaching aributed to Hermes. As previously noted, the teachings have been considerably altered in later cultures up to its more or less formal establishment in the Middle Ages, beginning probably with the seventh century. The Tarot One ﬁnal point of reference to help you understand the importance of Hermes’ contribuon to (my) contemporary thought is the Tarot. While it is based on the Hermeca, it is so by way of centuries of reinterpretaon and must be considered with discernment. Its value though, is that it embraces the spirit of the Great Work and much more that has been learned about human nature since the

me of Hermes. The Tarot is thought to be based on playing cards which have been adapted for use as a means of fortune telling. Occult versions of the cards began to show up in the 1300s.The Case deck I use consists of 78 cards with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards. Arcana from the Lan arcānum means secret, or as it is used in the Tarot, specialized knowledge which is unknown to or misunderstood by the average person. While the Tarot is most commonly used for divinaon, in their occult use, the 22 Major Arcana, somemes referred to as 22 Keys (keys to secret wisdom), represent the path to self-realizaon. Each card represents a step along the path beginning with Key 0, The Fool, which represents the person both at the beginning of the cycle of educaon as, … well, as a fool, and at the end of the cycle following key 21 as the now enlightened, … well, sll a fool because the cycle is never-ending. Important to my point about the evoluon of the Hermec concept is that the keys can be arranged in three rows of seven with Key 0 set above. The ﬁrst row represents powers or potencies, those in the middle row represent laws or agencies and those in the boom row represent condions or eﬀects. For instance, Key 1, The Magician, (self-conscious phase of mental acvity, intenon) represents the potenal which works through the agency symbolized by Key 8, Strength, (authority

over primal nature) to modify the condions or eﬀects typiﬁed by Key 15, The Devil, (erroneous belief in limitaons). (165) Each row represents a progression from relavely lile self-awareness toward greater understanding. Every element has been designed to have signiﬁcance in that progression, even down to the colors. The male and female ﬁgures typically represent an aspect of a person (percepon and expression, not sex) and water always represents the essence of mind. As an example of the secret meanings encoded into the keys, the Fool’s bag contains the same tools represenng self-conscious phases of mental acvity the Magician is working with on the table of Key 1. As the beginning of the cycle, the Fool is unaware of the tools, but then must have them out to see and feel in Key 1. However, aer Key 21, the Fool represents the completed cycle and no longer needs to have the tools out to be able to work with them. He is master of them no maer where they are. Note also the comparison between the three rows in the tableau and the three aspects of a teacher discussed earlier in this essay. The ﬁrst row, powers or potencies, can be compared to fundamental organizing principles as the ﬁrst aspect of the teacher. The second row, laws or agencies, can be compared to the applicaon of the principles taught by the teacher as the second aspect. The third row, condions or eﬀects of the principles as they are applied, can

be compared to the result of living in accordance with the principles of nature as the third aspect of the teacher. Know me as I express the principle, as I live the principles and as I beneﬁted from living the principles. Resetting the Old Concepts My ﬁrst aempt to develop a metaphysical cosmology was the Handbook of Metaphysics. (2) It provides a good overview which can be useful to the reader as context for understanding new metaphysical ideas. I tried very hard to normalize the many diﬀerent perspecves as a single view but found much disagreement amongst the various schools of thought. Even more problemac was the fact that so many systems of thought seemed to have originated from just a few original sources, themselves primive from a contemporary perspecve. As I have discussed above, the problem of cultural contaminaon makes it necessary for us to ﬁnd a new, contemporary anchor on which to reset the old teachings. I have a great deal of respect for the Hermeca and the Tarot, but it is now me to refresh our perspecve. The new book, Your Immortal Self, (1) is what I believe to be a useful reset of the old concepts. It is also a leap forward from what we thought was true when I wrote the Handbook. The take away I hope you will gain from this essay is that the ideas of our immortality and the need for our pursuit of understanding are fundamental lessons that have been given

to us by our friends on the other side since the earliest days of civilizaon. These lessons have been refreshed many mes by important wayshowers of all of the world’s religions. There is a reason for this which we will all do well to head References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 18 The Razor’s Edge 2016 About This Essay Lisa and I became involved in Eckankar (7) while we lived in Sacramento and before Lisa read Sarah Estep‘s book about Electronic Voice Phenomena, Voices of Eternity. (166) For me, it was the technical approach to metaphysics taught by Eckankar founder, Paul Twitchell that I found useful. 1234 We moved away from Eckankar when we relocated to Kansas City, and our three years with them did not make me an authority on their beliefs. The reason I even menon the group is that Twitchell had a background in Eastern religions and brought many of their concepts into Eckankar. The foundaon concept is that, as soul, we are co-workers with God, and that it is for us to understand Its nature as the “Light and Sound of God.” There are magical ideas in Eckankar. At least back then, I argued that you have not lived unl you have sung the Hu with over 5,000 other Eckists at one of their conferences. Suddenly coming upon lucid awareness of an inner teacher during an experience referred to by Hindus and Eckists as the Darshan is reason enough for

years of study and meditaon. I have had experiences that seem at least similar to the Darshan. While they were a lile unnerving at the me, I will say the eﬀect has remained with me. There was no lightning strike of understanding. What came was the spontaneous shock of a rumbling sound and a subtle vibraon throughout my body as if I was about to have an out-of-body experience. I was in a disassociated state each me. Rather than the desired enlightenment, from the experiences came a subtle certainty that I was on the right path, and that I really was a luminous being. I suppose it is that sort of realizaon I needed to enlighten my most stubborn perceptual processes. In a vivid dream during my Eckankar days, I remember crouching down near a lile boy who was with his mother in a grocery store. He was standing with his hand on a shopping cart … for security from an encroaching stranger, I suppose. I sang the Hu to him, and as I did, I was able to see the sound waves radiate from my mouth. As they did, they turned to shimmering light. It was from that dream that I realized we are all wayshowers, like it or not, for the beerment or the detriment of our fellow seekers. The sound of our expression becomes the light of our fellow’s understanding. This, in a similar fashion as the Great Work as described in Essay 3: Prime Imperave. I

said the experiences spontaneously came to me, but it is important to note that, as with any system of study in which we become deeply involved, that very involvement has the potenal over me to condion the mind to produce a desired response. The experiences were spontaneous in that I did not consciously trigger them, but they were predictable in that I set out to acquire that relevant understanding. You can do the same. Another magical concept was the Dark Night of Soul. In that, it is thought to be common for a person to undergo a period of personal crisis just before passing through an iniaon into greater understanding. None of these ideas are unique to Eckankar, but they ﬁt in well with their lessons. The Razor’s Edge concept represents a way of thinking about what I refer to as the Mindful Way. There was even a movie made using it as the theme. An important point to remember about the Razor’s Edge concept is that, like balancing a pencil by its pointy end, it is easier to fall oﬀ of that narrow way than to remain. Those who remain are special, indeed! Introduction The Razor’s Edge refers to one of the ancient wisdoms concerned with the development of spiritual maturity. You may remember that there is a book tled The Razor’s Edge, and later, at least two movies based on the book. (167) The story is about a person’s journey to India to seek the transcendent meaning of

life. The phrase is found in the ancient Hindu Vedic Sanskrit text called the Katha Upanishad. The over 200 Upanishads describe the nature of ulmate reality and the path to gain spiritual maturity. They are thought to have been wrien 3,000-to-4,000 years ago and are based on oral tradion about truths given to seekers by the gods. There is also some evidence that Buddhism may have adopted concepts credited to the same origin. Origin of the Upanishads Upanishad is from Sanskrit, probably originally as Upaniṣad. Katha can be understood as story or legend and Upanishad refers to sing down near something, presumably a teacher. The Upanishad originated from oral tradion that likely predates the usual 1,800-2,000 BCE stated for the origin of the wrien form. Some historians speculate that the oral tradion may have originated in Egypt some 6,000 years ago, during the me of Hermes. It is thought that the metaphysical concepts were spread by ancient traders across the Middle East and into the Indus Valley in what is Pakistan today. Existence of essenally the same important concepts in many diﬀerent cultures provides hints about how they may have evolved. If a parcular concept such as mind-body duality was taught in ancient Egypt, then it is not parcularly unexpected to see it also taught in Hinduism and Chrisanity. Katha Upanishad The Katha Upanishad is told as a story about a boy, his father and the god of death. It is concerned with the nature of God as Source, individual

seeking of greater understanding and the relaonship between Self and the human body. As with any text wrien in ancient mes, Katha Upanishad has been translated by a number of modern scholars. This has resulted in many diﬀerent versions. Because of this, it is necessary to focus on the underlying meaning, rather than taking them in a literal sense. Invocation It is common, when seeking personal understanding with the help of our unseen friends, to speak a prayer designed to align teacher, student and helper’s intenon. Middle East from Egypt to Indus Valley in Pakistan. (Google Maps) According to Swami Krishnananda (74), every Upanishad lesson between a teacher and student begins and ends with an invocaon of peace called the Shan Mantra. As Swami Krishnananda’s invocaon is translated: May we both be protected. May both of us be taken care of properly. May we study together. May our teaching and learning be resplendent. May there be no misunderstanding between us. May there be no discord of any kind. May there be peace, may there be peace, may there be peace. According to Swami Krishnananda, “It means that there should be proper aunement of spirit between the Guru and disciple before they begin the study, for only then will the teaching be fruiul.” He also explains the three repeons of “may there be peace,” as “We have three kinds of troubles called tapatraya (internally, physical ones), externally from outside beings and from above given by the gods.” The Story As I

understand the translaons, Katha Upanishad begins with Gautama’s sacriﬁce of all his worldly possessions to the gods, expecng good favor in return. Nachiketa noces that his father’s sacriﬁce is insincere because the possessions were only those which were worn out. He asked his father, “I too am yours, to which god will you oﬀer me?” Gautama‘s terse response was, “I give you to Yama (the god of death).” Nachiketa went to Yama’s home but Yama was away and Nachiketa had to wait. Yama returned aer three days and expressed regret that Nachiketa had to wait so long. He told Nachiketa, “You have waited three days so ask three favors of me.” Nachiketa asked for peace for his father and to learn the Sacred Fire Sacriﬁce. Yama agreed. For his third request, Nachiketa asked to learn the mystery of what comes aer death. Yama pleaded with him to ask something else. Nachiketa insisted, so Yama tested the boy by oﬀering him wealth instead of the secret. The boy chose the path of spiritual understanding over the path of material possessions. This pleased Yama, and so he agreed to tell the boy about what came aer death. Yama explained that the key to understanding what comes aer death is to understand that self, which is within each person, is inseparable from the Supreme Spirit, the vital force in the universe. In this regard, Part 1-II of Katha Upanishad is concerned with the need for a person to realize the importance of consciously

deciding to seek understanding. Brahman is a Sanskrit word for Supreme Spirit or creave principle present in everything. The part of the story concerned with The Razor’s Edge is here and a brief discussion about the lesson is provided aer. The material quoted here is from the Vedanta Spiritual Library:(22) 1-III-3. Know the Self to be the master of the chariot, and the body to be the chariot. Know the intellect to be the charioteer, and the mind to be the reins. 1-III-4. The senses they speak of as the horses; the objects within their view, the way. When the Self is yoked with the mind and the senses, the wise call It the enjoyer. 1-III-5. But whoso is devoid of discriminaon and is possessed of a mind ever uncollected - his senses are uncontrollable like the vicious horses of a driver. 1-III-6. But whoso is discriminave and possessed of a mind ever collected - his senses are controllable like the good horses of a driver. 1-III-7. But whoso is devoid of a discriminang intellect, possessed of an unrestrained mind [unmindful] and is ever impure, does not aain that goal, but goes to samsara. Samsara is Hindu for the cycle of death and rebirth as life is bound to the material world. 1-III-8. But whoso is possessed of a discriminang intellect and a restrained mind [mindful], and is ever pure, aains that goal from which he is not born again. 1-III-9. But the man who has a discriminang intellect as

his driver, and a controlled-mind as the reins, reaches the end of the path - that supreme state of Vishnu. Supreme state of Vishnu refers to self-realizaon or self-knowledge. 1-III-10. The sensory objects are subtler than the senses, and subtler than the sensory objects is mind. But intellect is subtler than mind and subtler than intellect is Mahat (the Hiranyagarbha). Mahat refers to the origin or Source of creaon. Hiranyagarbha can be understood as the golden egg, where gold means objects of fulﬁlment and joy. 1-III-11. The un-manifested (Avyakta) is subtler than Mahat and subtler than the un-manifested is Purusha. There is nothing subtler than Purusha. That is the end, that is the supreme goal. The universe itself is a person, though without the limitaons and prejudices of our human personality. This is what the science of Yoga calls the Purusha. The Purusha, meaning a person or conscious being, is a Sanskrit term for the Cosmic Being behind the universe, the spirit within all things. The enre universe is a manifestaon of the Cosmic Person. This Cosmic Person endows every creature with personhood or a sense of self, not only humans but also animals and ulmately all of nature. (168) This agrees with the Implicit Cosmology. 1-III-12. This Self hidden in all beings does not shine. But by seers of subtle and pointed intellect capable of perceiving subtle objects, It is seen. 1-III-13. Let the wise man merge speech in his mind, merge that (mind) into the intelligent self and

the intelligent self into the Mahat. (Let him then) merge the Mahat into the peaceful Self. 1-III-14. Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the exalted ones, for that path is sharp as a razor’s edge, impassable, and hard to go by, say the wise. 1-III-15. By knowing that which is soundless, touchless, formless, un- decaying, so also tasteless, eternal, odourless, beginningless, endless, subtler than Mahat and constant, man is liberated from the jaws of death. A Hindu Teacher’s Translation According to Gupta, (169) Yama’s explanaon is a succinct descripon of Hindu metaphysics, and focuses on the following points: • Yama said [in Line 1-II] there are the two life paths: pleasant/aracve and good/transcendental. ○ Pleasant/aracve, which is the path of material pleasures that tempts humans, leads to death. ○ Good/transcendental, which is the path of spiritual bliss, leads to immortality. ○ By a process of detached thinking, the clear minded choose the path of immortality and the muddle-headed fall for the path of pleasure and eventual pain and death. • The sound Om! is the syllable of the Supreme Spirit • The self is the same as the omnipresent Supreme Spirit. Smaller than the smallest and larger than the largest, the self is formless and all-pervading. • The goal of the wise is to know this self. • The self is like a rider; the horses are the senses, which self guides through the maze of desires. • Aer death, it is the self that remains; the self is immortal.

• Mere reading of the scriptures or intellectual learning cannot lead to the realizaon of self. • One must discriminate the self from the body, which is the seat of desire. • Inability to realize Brahman results in one being enmeshed in the cycle of rebirths. • Realizaon of the self leads to liberaon from the cycle of life and death Universal Message Preparing this essay has been an adventure for me. What I refer to as the Trans-Survival Hypothesis (10) and the resulng Implicit Cosmology (12) explain a model of reality which I believe represents current science and understanding gleaned from transcommunicaon. It is excing to me that the Katha Upanishad very closely agrees with that cosmology. While I had considered the Hermec teaching and John 14 of the Bible, I had never looked at Hindu philosophy, mainly because of its convoluted terminology. Aer reading the Katha Upanishad, I took a close look at my prior understanding that religion was thought to have begun in the Hindus Valley as it evolved from Arian philosophy. Now I see that the philosophy contained in the Upanishads probably originated millennia earlier, in Egypt as the same source aributed to Hermes. Here is a brief translaon of the Katha Upanishad in terms of the Implicit Cosmology: 1-III-3 describes the avatar model used to describe the relaonship between mind and body. In this model, mind is described in three parts: personality is the normally unconscious core intelligence which provides purpose; mind is the normally

unconscious funconal areas supporng percepon and expression; and, Self is the conscious aspect of who we are. In this model, the intellect is conscious self’s expression of intenon which can be thought of as one of two steering inﬂuences on normally unconscious mind. The second steering inﬂuence on mind is the urge or spiritual insnct to gain understanding expressed by personality. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. What the world looks like to self is managed in mostly unconscious mind as Worldview, which is populated by cultural inﬂuences, prior understanding gain by the self/personality life ﬁeld and human insncts. Worldview represents Self’s personal reality: Self’s percepon of the world emerges into conscious awareness from the normally unconscious mind process which considers and translates environmental inﬂuences based on Worldview. 1-III-5 and 1-III-6 refer to the conscious inﬂuence of discerning intenon on normally unconscious mind. This is one of the foundaon concepts in the Mindful Way. 1-III-7 and 1-III-8 refer to the results of consciously applying accumulang understanding to discerning acons. This is another foundaon concept in the Mindful Way. 1-III-9: Supreme State of Vishnu refers to self-realizaon or self- knowledge. This line tells us that mindfulness and conscious seeking may lead to the form of understanding we think of in contemporary terms as spiritual maturity. 1-III-10 and 1-III-11 describe the characteriscs of Source. This is the all is one concept of a universal Inﬁnite Intelligence, rather than a human- like god. Source manifests in the following ways: 1 In the avatar model,

which is also described by the chariot analogy of the Upanishad, that which is sensed is transformed into subtle informaon able to be processed by the even more subtle mind. 2. The personality/mind/self complex or life ﬁeld is subtle and not seen with the physical senses. 3. Personality, as the core intelligence of the life ﬁeld, is that which is immortal, and which is subtler than mind. (Here I would argue that the life ﬁeld integrates personality, mind and conscious self. In this way, personality is the source of purpose, conscious self is the experiencing aspect of personality and mind is judge as the funconal aspect of experiencing.) 4. Mahat refers to the origin or source of creaon, which is even more subtle than its aspects represented by the life ﬁeld. 5. Source is seen as inﬁnitely present (all is one, Mahat), inﬁnite possibilies with the potenal to manifest reality (Avyakta) and the intelligent core of reality (Purusha). 1-III-12 and 1-III-13 advise that the Self is in all things. An important cosmological point is that Source is the reality ﬁeld and the life ﬁeld of a person is an instance of the Source life ﬁeld. As such, all things are either an aspect of Source or the expression of an aspect. The potenal to create and Source, as the universal presence, is in each of us. These lines tell us that those who have learned to sense the subtle characteriscs of reality can sense the presence of self/Source in all

things. We are advised to integrate this understanding into our worldview so as to align our percepon and expression with the actual nature of Source. 1-III-14 and 1-III-15 Advise that we should ﬁnd a teacher and consciously step onto the path toward greater understanding. The path is a narrow way in that it is far from the excesses seen on either extreme. It is also a diﬃcult way because it is so easy for the seeker to turn toward misconcepon and illusion. Finally, we are told that it is through correct understanding that we may step oﬀ of the wheel of reincarnaon to move further toward universal understanding. (More likely, we will ﬁnd ourselves with new and even more interesng challenges to understand.) References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 19 Progression, Teaching and Community 2014 The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve About This Essay This essay is Discourse 12 of Your Immortal Self. (1) I included it here as a reminder about several of the reasons you exist. The point is that you are part of a larger community. While we may not have a physical-world or societal reason to cooperate with our fellow persons, we do have an implied imperave to help others gain spiritual maturity. By doing so, we enable them to assist in our progression. The Way of Progression is one of those thoughts that was stuck in my head one

morning. I know it sounds kind of silly but take some me to consider the words. To teach, it is necessary to order our thoughts. In doing so, we gain a lile understanding about that which we will teach. It does not work in front of a mirror. You need to interact with others to learn. Spirituality It is in our spirituality that we ﬁnd our true meaning: who we really are and our purpose for existence. One of the best explanaons for the meaning of spirituality I have read is oﬀered by Deepak Chopra in his Huﬃngton Post blog: (62) Spirituality is the experience of that domain of awareness where we experience our universality. This domain of awareness is a core consciousness that is beyond our mind, intellect and ego. In religious tradions, this core consciousness is referred to as the soul which is part of a collecve soul or collecve consciousness, which in turn is part of a more universal domain of consciousness referred to in religions as God. Since we are an aspect of Source, in the Implicit Cosmology, “our universality” is the fact that our entanglement with Source makes us a cizen of the Source life ﬁeld (reality, reality ﬁeld). “Soul” is described as etheric personality which is who we really are, our immortal I am this. This is the “core consciousness” of Chopra’s deﬁnion. The “collecve Soul” in Chopra’s deﬁnion is referred to as the collecve in the Implicit Cosmology, and it is modeled as

the multude of personalies related to this realm of reality. The “universal domain of consciousness” is modeled as the multude of aspect which inherit their existence and purpose from Source. God then is Source, Inﬁnite Intelligence, the One, or whatever name you use for the ﬁrst cause of reality in which we are all one. This is the “domain of awareness.” Spirituality, then, is our sense of this connectedness from the perspecve of our conscious self (I think I am this). In the Implicit Cosmology, life is modeled as the building block of reality, and expressions of life are the venues for experiencing the nature of Source. We express the world around us, usually as a collecve view because we share this venue with others. There are likely many realms similar to ours, each with many venues for learning. Together, they could be understood as “universal consciousness.” This may be Jesus‘ “many mansions” from John 14:2. Reality is modeled as a nested hierarchy of personalies so that the ﬁrst round of aspectaon is Source’s eﬀort to understand its nature. Our personality is an aspect of other personalies, probably many rounds removed from Source, which are further exploring Source’s queson: who am I and what is my nature? These assumpons are made to provide a beginning point for the model in much the same way the Big Bang is modeled as the beginning for the physical universe in physical sciences. The importance of the Implicit Cosmology is in the relaonship of

our I am this personality which is our unconscious core intelligence with our human avatar and our conscious self as I think I am this. Spirituality, then, is our sense of this connectedness from the perspecve of our conscious self (I think I am this). Cooperation Achieving understanding is not a solitary process. Just as our collecve partners cooperate to help us while we are in this lifeme, so are we expected to help others who are in this lifeme with us. This does not mean we are our brother’s keeper, but it does mean that we are unavoidably part of our brother’s experiences. The part we play is our life experience, and so, we are unavoidably linked in the greater community and especially in our local community. Friends as Teachers With few excepons, I have looked to a teacher to show me the way. I don’t mean this in a myscal sense; it is just that I have managed to have someone I trust show me how to do extraordinary things before venturing out on my own. For instance, Lisa introduced me to Electronic Voice Phenomena; a mutual friend taught us how to mine for gold; a work friend introduced me to the Tarot. Another showed me how to navigate the Sacramental Delta waters at night. They did not just say, “Here it is.” They took me through everything I needed to know to get started. It was always a natural sharing. Selless People There is value in contemplang

the meaning of the selﬂess concept. Diconary.com deﬁnes selﬂess as “Having lile or no concern for oneself, especially with regard to fame, posion, money, etc.; unselﬁsh.” There are many ways in which selﬂessness is expressed: the family that takes in a foster child, a person who stops to help an animal, individuals who feed the poor and inspire selﬂessness in others, or the acvists who dedicate themselves to a cause which probably should be important to everyone. What causes people to be selﬂess? In some obscure way, there may be an evoluonary beneﬁt. Evoluonists argue that there is a selﬂess gene which induces people to selﬂess acts. If they do not survive, their selﬂessness tends to beneﬁt their family which would by inheritance also have the selﬂess gene. In that way, they argue, selﬂessness helps survival of the gene by helping the survival of family. (170). While the selﬂess gene theory sounds reasonable, it is based on prey tenuous evidence. When viewed from the perspecve of human as avatar, the concept of cooperaon amongst personalies seeking mutual progression is perhaps a more reasonable concept. The Prime Imperave would seem to result in an urge in every personality to help others, because by doing so, they are helping themselves and their collecve. Ulmately, one could argue that selﬂess people are those who respond to the urge to answer Source’s queson. From a religious perspecve, “God desires that I do this.” See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. A Vision About Collectives Just minutes

aer a meditaon session at the Monroe Instute (171), I had the waking vision of the face of a clock. It was suspended in the air, face- up, but lted toward me a lile so that I could see that there were many black specks scurrying about on the white surface. My impression was that they were lile sck people like those I would draw in a hurry. The space between three and four o’clock was an open hole and a few sck people had apparently fallen through. The people on the face of the clock were somehow helping the people who had fallen through the hole. As the hour hand made a complete circuit, the ones in the hole came to the surface and a few of the others jumped into the hole. My sense was that the sck people were all part of a collecve of personalies, a soul group if you want, and they were doing all they could to help their fellows who had entered into a lifeme, symbolized by falling through the hole. I knew that they were helping one another progress by gaining in understanding and that none of them would be able to move on unl all had made suﬃcient progress. The hour hand represented a lifeme. Probably not all of them, but many of my helpers, friends, and guides, both on the other side and in the physical, are part of my collecve. I am never very far from them, and just

as I am a student, in turn, I am teacher, for we must all move as one. First a Student, Then a Teacher You have probably heard the phrase, “Our lot is to learn and having learned, our lot is to teach.” The student becoming the teacher is the natural order of life. Civilizaon survives because lessons learned by elders are passed on to the children. We cannot be around other people, especially children, without inﬂuencing them in some way as accidental role models. However, in modern society, educaon is le to schools and hired teachers. There is a business of educang our young, leaving lile more than role model duty to elders. Yet there are many examples in which individuals have taken the me to preserve knowledge for others. The Internet has countless websites in which informaon for the sake of informaon is available at no charge. Looking past all of those commercial sites, one can ﬁnd that there are many ordinary people who have spent me developing a personal website just to share what he or she has learned. An important point of this essay is that many of these people probably know they will not receive a thank-you. Yes, there is a human compulsion to leave a legacy for the next generaon, but virtually all of these websites will vanish when the server fees are not paid. So discounng legacy, the most probable reason is that people build them out of the desire to help others. Consider

the model oﬀered by the ancient wisdom schools. There is typically a path one must follow to gain masterhood. The ﬁrst step on the path is for an individual to seek understanding by deliberately asking for a teacher. What follows is a series of lessons, tests and iniaons as the seeker progresses from neophyte to iniate and ﬁnally to teacher and master. The lessons provide the seeker with pernent informaon. Tests are intended to determine if the seeker has assimilated the informaon in a way that can be expressed in novel ways. If so, then the seeker has demonstrated that the informaon has been assimilated as knowledge. But here is the important part. During the iniaon, the seeker is asked quesons which may only indirectly relate to the lessons. If the seeker is able to provide reasonable answers that indicate understanding, then the seeker will be passed to the next level. A selﬂess response to the urge to teach is diﬃcult to ignore; however, the student is drawn to the lessons with usually only vague reasons for pursuing understanding. It is this teacher-seeker relaonship I wish to address here. The Nature of Understanding There is a disncon between informaon, knowledge and understanding: Information Informaon can be compared to raw data. In the context of mind, it is sensory input from the environment brought by the physical senses and countless psi signals. As it is received, informaon is undiﬀerenated and is only sensible when organized into some context. In a praccal

sense, much of what you have read in this essay thus far is just informaon. Think of the bits and pieces of informaon as data points which must eventually be integrated into a sensible concept. Much of what people think they know is just informaon. Knowledge When informaon is considered, and the related concepts are understood, the resulng comprehension is considered knowledge. To be knowledgeable about something is to comprehend related concepts so that they can be reasonably well visualized. This is the key to the nature of knowledge. It must be comprehensible enough to be visualized as a concept. Here, visualize is used in the general sense of being imaged in some way in the mind. That might be suﬃcient recognion of an odor to name its source or formulaon of many seemingly unrelated concepts into a form that can be described to others. For instance, consider the old story of blind men examining an elephant: if each man represents a concept (leg, tail and such), then knowledge would be the ability of the men as a group to be able to describe an elephant. Knowledge is a combinaon of informaon, understanding concepts and comprehension of a global sense of meaning. Understanding In the Implicit Cosmology, percepon is modeled as the outcome of a process that begins with encountering informaon that is external to the mind. We, as etheric mind and physical body, are immersed in an array of environmental signals. Some are physically sensed by the body, but

most are psychically sensed. All of these signals are processed in our Aenon Complex where they are ﬁrst ﬁltered according to whether or not we are interested. (38) The degree to which understanding agrees with reality is also a funcon of our worldview. For instance, if we have been taught to be prejudiced about something, and we retain that prejudice, we will have that prejudice reinforced by the tone of the informaon coming to our conscious awareness. Unless we have become aware of the need to examine that percepon, we will likely take what emerges from the unconscious percepon process without queson. Here, the exercises of mindfulness as a conscious eﬀort to see things as they are intended become important in helping us see the world as it is, rather than as we are taught to think it is. Understanding is not an absolute. As is shown in the Limits of Understanding Diagram, correct percepon (understanding) is typically limited upon ﬁrst exposure to a concept. As a mindful person seeks to beer understand the concept, understanding approaches percepon that agrees with reality. This is an obvious eﬀect when, say, a new principle in science is introduced, but less obvious is the process of overcoming prejudices learned in youth and fears foisted upon the avatar relaonship by human insncts. As a person moves through a lifeme from youth to old age, things held to be true populate Worldview and tend to reinforce future percepon. A conscious eﬀort is usually required to

break this cycle. Perhaps even more distressing, a person carries these truths into transion from this lifeme. The result can be a complex, reportedly emoonally painful period of geng well while Worldview is beer aligned with reality. The Process of Gaining Understanding As a person gains in understanding via the accumulated lessons of many lifemes (our own and/or those shared by other personalies in the collecve), the person begins to understand the need for more mindfulness and the desirability of having a worldview that is in agreement with reality. A magical thing happens when a person begins to consciously seek understanding. You may have heard the phrase: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” A similar saying was oﬀered by psychologist Carl Jung: “Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see.” “For those who have eyes to see” is also a saying used in the Bible and secret wisdom schools. In fact, the whole idea of the occult or secret wisdom is not so much the secret but the need for the seeker to have suﬃcient understanding to recognize the lessons. An example is the concept of polarity: Everything has an opposite. The seeker is expected to realize that the middle way is the hidden knowledge to be derived from such concepts. In pracce, this realizaon translates as perceptual understanding based on Worldview which is in alignment with reality. At least one reason mindfulness works is that consciously seeking understanding eﬀecvely tells the unconscious

part of mind to pay aenon to external informaon that might help, rather than ignoring it as irrelevant. In many ways, the mostly unconscious mind is an obedient servant that shields us from a world that does not support what we think is true. Quesoning assumed truths moves the horizon of conscious self deeper into the unconscious process. Worldview eﬀecvely prevents us from experiencing or believing anything that is not in agreement with our worldview. That is how it shapes our personal reality, even when it conﬂicts with actual reality. It is also how a person can obsessively believe something even though the facts seem overwhelmingly to the contrary. Change must come incrementally. That is, if incoming informaon is clearly not acceptable to Worldview, it is ignored. However, informaon that is reasonably similar to what is in Worldview will somemes be accepted via the Maybe outcome of the Perceptual Loop. The Maybe outcome is consciously experienced and incrementally changes Worldview. In that way, progression in understanding is a gradual thing. Engineers will recognize the curve in the Limits of Understanding Diagram as a naturally occurring rate of change found in many physical processes. Change is usually evoluonary and seldom catastrophic. We Exist to Learn Given the concepts described above, it is arguable that each of us is here to gain understanding. However, there is an old saying that “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s easy to forget you came to drain the swamp.” While we are in

this lifeme and immersed in daily living, it is easy to forget why we came. In a praccal sense, there are few signs to remind us of our Prime Imperave. (See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. Progression may seem to be a solitary path. Perhaps that is why they call such paths personal improvement. In fact, the old saying that we are all connected is more truth than platude, and the path we may seem to be walking alone is more a march of the multude of personalies who await our progression while doing what they can to assist us. We who are seeking understanding are a community, a collecve of like-minded people that exists in the physical as personality entangled avatars and in the etheric as immortal beings. It is worth repeang the opening understanding: The Way of Progression Through community comes knowledge Through teaching comes understanding It takes a collecve The Prime Imperative as a Spiritual Obligation While we all share an urge to gain understanding, in a very real sense, we have a sort of spiritual obligaon to respond to that urge. While it may seem to be a sacriﬁce to teach or help others learn, every such eﬀort is rewarded with new understanding and resulng progression that likely would not be possible otherwise. It is much too complex of a concept to say that each of us needs to serve in some way in the physical. As I have noted above, there are many ways we teach.

Perhaps the majority of us are too early on the path to be more than inspiraon to others. However, if we have reached a point in our evoluon at which we are accustomed to self-evaluaon, it is me to begin ﬁnding ways to serve by teaching. In a very real sense, progression can go only so far without teaching and that requires a community. The Transition Experience As I understand it, all of us experience a short period of disorientaon as we begin the process of transion out of this lifeme. The ﬁrst milestone of transion appears to be the oen-reported period of geng well. That is thought to be followed by a period of self-assessment and ﬁnally the compleon of transion as we enter into a new venue for learning. The new venue could be in the physical, but it could as well be in some other aspect of reality. Personal reality is a product of Worldview, and we take Worldview with us into transion. That is probably why, during the inial shock of transion, it seems to be relavely easy for a personality to remain perceptually close to familiar surroundings. It is during this me that most communicaon with people in the physical seems to occur. A common report is the deparng visit to say goodbye to a good friend. The geng well period is needed to allow the personality me to realize that old handicaps no longer apply. This may also be when we undergo a self-evaluaon

of our just ﬁnished lifeme. This is that dreaded judgment we are warned about. However, instead of our being judged by some authority on high, it is a personal process in which we sense how our acons aﬀected others from the perspecve of those whom we aﬀected. Perhaps it is from this self-evaluaon that we determine our future lessons. The period of adjustment apparently begins as the sense that we are in a world very much as we experienced in the physical; again, clinging to the familiar. However, if we expect a heaven from the religious point of view, we will likely ﬁnd ourselves in that heaven. As we understand it, over me, we ﬁnd that these are only constructs of our worldview, which itself is slowly realigned to beer agree with the greater reality. As we understand the process, we are born into a venue for learning at the end of this transion (a new lifeme), with a point of view, a degree of maturity in our understanding of the nature of reality gained from past experiences and an urge to learn speciﬁc lessons. We are not all-wise when not in a lifeme. Instead, we have an imperave to learn and a degree of perceptual maturity which helps to form our point of view. It is this maturity and resulng point of view which determine what aspect of reality we can be in agreement with. In eﬀect, the greater our understanding, the wider range of venues and opportunies for

learning we have available to our personality. To emphasize this point, the relaonship between personality, Aenon Complex and conscious self remains during transion. The only real diﬀerence is that the human inﬂuence is no longer as strong. Part of transion may well be the process of sorng through Worldview to ﬂush out that human inﬂuence. Meanwhile, to put it in the vernacular, if a person was an idiot in life, he or she is likely going to be an idiot in transion. An important point is that there are no enforcement oﬃcers making sure we do what we should. We are self-governing. Our understanding manifests as percepon and that determines what aspects of reality we can visit (Principle of Agreement). It appears that transcommunicaon is possible during transion, but once a personality transions into a new venue of learning, it appears that all communicaon into the physical stops unless it is assisted by other, more mature personalies. See Essay 16: What is it Like on the Other Side Self-Realization This essay can be summarized as Understanding Self-Realizaon. The reason to study metaphysics is not just to map reality. It involves a process of discovery intended to help us learn how to gain personal understanding so as to fulﬁll our purpose. It is okay to ignore the details if you ﬁnd the guidance. Here, I do not mean purpose in a myscal sense. An acorn fulﬁlls its purpose by growing into an oak tree. If the acorn tries to be a

willow, it will likely end up being a prey sad-looking oak tree. Metaphysics tells us that our purpose is to align our personal reality with the actual nature of reality. If we ignore that Prime Imperave, we will likely end up being less than we could be. There is no need for me to explain this point. As you live your life as a person, you must surely see the beneﬁts of living in accordance with organizing principles and the resulng discomfort if you do not. Fulﬁlling your purpose may or may not be the same as what society considers being successful. Mainstream society is dominated by people trying to be willows. Only a few are suﬃciently self-aware to recognize there is a purpose that underlies the dynamics of our society. It is for you to live in this society as a useful cizen without allowing its less aware point of view contaminate your worldview. Remember that it is not what happens to you. It is how you react to what happens to you. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 20 Law of Silence 2017 About This Essay As seekers, we live in a rather diﬀerent world than our friends and family who are not on the Mindful Way. Paying more aenon to our thoughts produces greater sensivity to community dynamics and a diﬀerent way of thinking that is oen misunderstood by our friends. Knowing the teacher must be asked, it can be painful

to remain quiet when we know people around us are expressing belief in baseless cultural wisdom. A praccal consequence of increased spiritual maturity is oen uncomfortable awareness of the actual nature of our world. Yet, we must remain a part of the world in order to connue our development; perhaps to be of service along the way. You may noce that I address many of these issues in my wring. While some are the focus of an essay, most are embedded in those essays as part of my explanaon of the main point. My objecve is to explain every aspect of the metaphysics, as I understand the concepts in the context of the Implicit Cosmology. (10) If I were to design a college course on the subject, tests would be in the form of asking you to describe your understanding of these incidental concepts. The Law of Silence is one such incidental concept. I wrote this essay while I was acvely supporng The Otherside Press Magazine. (172) The magazine was a startup publicaon of the American Society for Standards in Mediumship & Psychical Invesgaon (ASSMPI). (173) Most of the essays I wrote for the magazine were slanted toward the need for and beneﬁts of a cooperave community. Personal progression is facilitated by parcipaon in one. Law of Silence was wrien to guide people toward eﬀecve communicaon. Understanding the dynamics of communicaon is fundamental to parcipaon in a cooperave community. I believe the reason so many people tend to be lurkers,

rather than acve parcipants is that they have spoken when it was best to remain quiet and were somehow discouraged from further aempts to communicate. Of course, I am not a psychologist, so this is only based on my observaons and personal experience. Many argue that the Bible includes reference to the Law of Silence, but from my reading, it is used in the Bible in the form of “Thou shalt not speak…” in the context of not speaking untruths or out of turn. For instance, in 1 Timothy 2:11 states: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjecon.” And, in 1 Timothy 2:12 “But I suﬀer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” My ﬁrst real encountered with the Law of Silence came from the teaching of Paul Twitchell, founder of Eckankar. (25) As a technical metaphysician, Twitchell’s lectures were able to help me make sense of this rather abstract concept. It took me many years and a lot of weird conversaons to realize I see the world rather diﬀerently than others. For instance, I remember being excited about how I could actually see the pecking order described by Ardrey in his book, African Genesis, (41) as it was demonstrated when a ﬂock of birds made claim to a fence. Try as I did, none of the people I told about it showed any interest. I saw the same sort of dynamic when a recently divorced friend tried

to explain his grief to others. He inevitably went away with a sense of empness, as his friends failed to respond as he expected. I spent a lot of me with him as we talked it out. In the end, the message was that he needed to look elsewhere for sympathec ears. It was about then that the book, I’m OK - You’re OK (69) came out. That was one of the more useful self-help books of the me, and it gave me a way of telling others that there was a logical ﬂow of communicaon. The Law of Silence is a tool which can help you be a more eﬀecve communicator in any venue. It is a more eﬀecve tool when considered in the context of your immortal self. Introduction The Law of Silence can be deﬁned as Sharing important informaon with someone who does not respond as well as expected can dissipate the sense of the importance of the informaon. This does not amount to a law so much as it is a cauonary wisdom, but it is a foundaon concept for the secrecy oen required by ancient wisdom schools and advice to be at least considered by everyone. Secrecy has been part of the ancient wisdom schools since the early days of civilizaon. There were a number of reasons for secrecy that involved the nature of the schools and local society. Of those, the wisdom of keeping our own counsel remains important today. However, paradoxically, personal progression

is greatly facilitated by mastering meaningful communicaon of ideas. So, which is it? Should we not share our thoughts about these concepts or should we openly talk about them? The answer is that somemes it is best to remain silent, but somemes it is more important to speak out. Understanding three aspects of communicaon will help to resolve this paradox. Suspended Judgment The Principle of Suspended Judgment is described in the Implicit Cosmology as Increased understanding may come from unexpected or unwanted outcomes of expression. (27) As we mature into adults, Worldview, what we unconsciously think is true about the world, is mostly populated with cultural beliefs. These beliefs are too oen local prejudices and baseless lore that, if acted on, may lead us into a less than beneﬁcial way of living. From this perspecve, the purpose of life can be described as a quest to align Worldview with the actual nature of reality. That is, to replace beliefs with correct understanding. A good way to take control of our unconscious mental processes is the Mindful Way. (48) By consciously making the pracce of suspended judgment a habitual part of our relaonship with our environment, it is possible to train our unconscious perceptual process to avoid premature decisions and thereby gain understanding that might not come if we simply accepted our ﬁrst impressions. Suspended judgment involves avoiding good-bad, agree-disagree, believe-disbelieve decisions about experiences so as to allow me, somemes months or years, for more informaon to develop. It is important

to be responsible for our acons, including seeking to accomplish speciﬁc tasks. The idea is that realizing something other than an intended result does not mean failure. Instead, the unexpected result oﬀers an opportunity to reevaluate the assumpons on which the acons were based. Suspended Judgment can be considered a more contemporary expression of the Law of Detachment. Deepak Chopra provides a good descripon of the Law of Detachment: (174) In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty, in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past condioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the ﬁeld of all possibilies, we surrender ourselves to the creave mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe. The idea of the Law of Detachment is that being set on a parcular result of some eﬀort will blind us from seeing the potenal beneﬁts of alternave results. There is a problem of literal interpretaon, though. Virtually everything in society tells us to become engaged, making the idea of being detached from the outcome of our acons seem like we do not care. We can resolve this in our mind by making a disncon between detachment and objecve. If we set out to achieve a ﬁnal objecve, our aachment might be in achieving that objecve but not how we achieve it. For instance, if our objecve is to have aﬀordable transportaon, programming for a sports car might miss the point. When a really

nice sedan becomes available, the Law of Detachment tells us that we should take it. Alternavely, it might be wiser to decide not to buy a car if we live and work in a large city. Deciding that would meet our objecve. The principle of suspended judgment supports a more general perspecve. Our unconscious mental processes are hard-wired to make decisions. That means there is an accept, reject or narrowly deﬁned condional accept decision for everything we do, sense or visualize. Consciously deciding to replace a reject outcome with a wait and see response teaches the unconscious mind to be more lenient in the condional accept decision. This has the potenal to make the content of Worldview more accessible to evoluon toward greater understanding. The second beneﬁt of suspended judgment can be found in how the mostly unconscious mind decides to ignore some environmental informaon based on our prior interests. In fact, there must be countless signals coming to our mind, yet only a few are presented to our conscious awareness. Our expression of intenon helps to direct this ﬁltering process, but mind learns very slowly, so it takes me. By habitually maintaining the atude of suspended judgment, we create more ambiguity in our interests, thus making the door for what gets through the ﬁlter open a lile wider. The eﬀect is that we become more aware of many events in our environment we would otherwise ignore. Paranormal experiences fall into that category because we have been taught from birth

that they do not exist. Perceptual Agreement The Principle of Perceptual Agreement is described as Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. (18) This principle provides a mechanism by which order can be imposed on a system without many complex rules liming behavior. Rather than some ethereal being telling us what we can and cannot do, or where we can go in heaven, this principle assures that we will gravitate toward aspects of reality which we are best able to understand. The praccal consequence is that freedom of access to the greater reality is increased by gaining understanding which is in accordance with the actual nature of reality. The self-liming aspect based on understanding appears to be made praccal by the Maybe state of the Perceptual Loop shown in the Funconal Areas of Percepon Diagram (above). New understanding occurs when the new input is diﬀerent but reasonably close to prior understanding. When it is, the new input is allowed into Worldview, albeit aer it is visualized by our Perceptual Loop based on prior understanding held in Worldview. In this model, in response to the inherited urge to gain understanding, personality turns toward that which is familiar but with a preference for new experiences. Put a diﬀerent way, without the intervenon of conscious intenon to habitually see actual reality, the perceptual processes tend to turn us toward the familiar. There is a requirement in Rupert Sheldrake‘s Hypothesis of Formave Causaon (15) for

Nature’s Habit to be evolved under the inﬂuence of creave soluons to environmental problems. The Maybe soluon in the Perceptual Loop provides this mechanism. For our discussion, a consequence of this principle is that communicaon between two people is best when they are in perceptual agreement. That is, when their worldview leads them to see the world more or less the same way. This agreement need not be complete, but communicaon improves as the diﬀerences decrease. When describing an important, personal experience to others, it is more likely they will understand if they have a similar worldview or percepon of reality. For Those Who Have Eyes to See As it happened, most of our mental processes are unconscious. (16) (67) (68)As the arbiter of our mostly unconscious perceptual process, (18) our worldview determines what we become consciously aware of and the atude we will have toward that emerging awareness. You have probably heard the phrase, “For those who have eyes to see.” It can be found in the Bible and in modern philosophy. For instance, Carl Jung told us that “Synchronicity is an ever-present reality for those who have eyes to see.” The phrase, eyes to see, is another way of saying perceptual agreement. In its simplest form, if we are not familiar with a concept, then we may not understand references to it. This becomes important to the Law of Silence when abstract concepts or emoon-laden informaon is involved. If our audience does not have relevant informaon in Worldview

because of lack of relevant experience or due to inaenon, then communicaon is impaired, and the person will likely not respond as expected. This disconnect in understanding is the source of such unfortunate responses as inaenonal blindness or incredulity blindness. It Takes a Community Some of you will be familiar with the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This sage wisdom is in the literature of just about every religion and is one of the ﬁrst lessons most of us learned as a child. I am in my sevenes now, and for the life of me, I have never been able to see the praccal logic of the saying. Sure, I understand the idea that being kind to others will encourage them to be kind to me, but it doesn’t really work that way. I needn’t go into the dynamics of prejudice and cultural fallacy. The point is prey obvious. The urge to assure survival of our gene pool is so deeply embedded in our thinking that every acon is based, ﬁrst on a spontaneous insnctual response and then on what we have been taught is real. For all of us, our every acon is determined by our worldview. My acon can only slightly modify another person’s worldview. The cure is mindfulness, (48) but one must come to that without being forced. Habitually examining our every acon is the only way I know to override the inﬂuence of insncts and cultural training. If

one steps onto that path of mindful reeducaon, in me, this examinaon becomes automac to produce a more understanding reacon to the world. Under that condion, the Golden Rule makes sense. Even though the literal interpretaon of the Golden Rule seems to be only wishful thinking, the underlying esoteric lesson it conveys is one of the most important wisdoms paving our way to spiritual maturity. Three of the organizing principles in the Implicit Cosmology, (12) Cooperave Communies (below), Rapport (below) and Perceptual Agreement (above) support this conjecture: Cooperative Communities The Cooperave Community Principle is deﬁned as Personalies are aracted to communies of like-minded people cooperang to facilitate progression. (27) In eﬀect, we inherit a sort of Prime Imperave from our local source to gain understanding about the nature of reality. Understanding is relave but converges on a sense of the actual nature of reality as a person progresses. In the spiritual sense of “what is our purpose,” progression is accomplished by learning through experience. See Essay 3: Prime Imperave. Note the disncon between collecves and communies. A Collecve is deﬁned as Personalies related by a shared source tend to cooperate to favor the progression of mutually entangled individuals. Members of a collecve are bound together by their common source. There is evidence that many personalies cooperate in the etheric as part of a collecve to fulﬁll the intenon of their common source. In the physical, we are aracted to communies of like-minded people for mutual cooperaon toward gaining understanding. Cooperave

communies likely support people from diﬀerent collecves with rather diﬀerent inherited objecves. The intenon to gain understanding is a common factor. Cooperaon is facilitated by rapport which is established between personalies as they interact in the community. As an old adage goes, “Our lot is to learn, and having learned, our lot is to teach.” Each member of a cooperave community ﬁlls both the role of seeker and teacher simply by interacng with other members of the community. Rapport Rapport can be deﬁned as Personalies are interconnected by links of cooperaon (inﬂuence) forming a matrix of relaonships (cooperang community). One person’s awareness of another personality produces a link of inﬂuence between the two life ﬁelds. The nature and intensity of this link is a funcon of one or both personality’s visualizaon, aenon and intenon. The nature of this link of rapport also depends on the clarity (intensity) of awareness and the reason for the awareness. These links are dynamic and are thought to facilitate cooperaon. Perceptual Agreement is a moderang factor for rapport. Presumably, the more two people agree on the nature of reality, the stronger the link of rapport. This is something that can wax and wane from moment-to- moment, as one or the other party is more or less at ease. This idea is well- characterized by the book, I’m OK - You’re OK. (69) The links of rapport, coupled with the Principle of Perceptual Agreement, would serve to integrate reality toward a single thought. Using the chorus

model, that would look like a super chorus of individual singers singing the same song. This super-unity, I think, is the objecve of our existence. It also explains why Hans Bender, (36) speaking through the FEG medium, was so determined about how our acons in the physical are disrupng the greater community in the etheric. The Three Aspects of a Teacher The teacher-student relaonship is inherent in the Cooperave Community Principle. It seems reasonable to imagine that a long past wayshower might have told his students something to the eﬀect of: “As you seek so do you teach, as you parcipate in the great work.” In keeping with the habit of secrecy, such a profundity would have been deliberately made obscure. Thus, most of these lessons had a public version. The seeker-teacher relaonship is all about cooperaon, and that might have been popularized as the Golden Rule. The Emerald Tablet aributed to Hermes (28) is an example of hidden knowledge that might have preceded the Golden Rule. Of the fourteen lines, Line 12 and 13 are arguably teaching the importance of cooperaon. 12. So the world was created. Hence were all the wonderful adaptaons of the one thing manifested; but the arrangements that follow this great mysc path are hidden. The One Thing is the organizing principles acng on the etheric, which is Source as the reality ﬁeld. Hermes is explaining that everything in reality was formed by way of the same principles he has explained in the previous lines.

An important concept here is “For those who have eyes to see.” The way described in this lesson is hidden to those who have not followed this path. 13. For this reason I am called Hermes Trismegistus--one in essence but three in total aspect. In this Trinity are concealed the three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. It is likely that there are mulple meanings in this line. The trinity concept is important throughout the Hermec Wisdom. For instance, posive, negave and neutral, and body, mind and spirit. However, there is a more deeply hidden aspect of the trinity concept. Understanding of, and ability to properly manage the trinity of imaginaon, aenon and intenon is the foundaon of “the wisdom of the whole world.” See the Funconal Areas of Percepon Diagram (above). Trismegistus was the honorary name given to a person who had achieved mastery over himself and the principles, and who has integrated them into a way of life to live a good life. When considered with Line 12, the phrase, “For this reason,” makes it clear that the “three parts of the wisdom of the world” is a direct reference to the three aspects of all teachers. That is, a teacher represents the lesson to be taught, appears to the student as an example of what it is to understand the lesson and demonstrates the value of the lesson through applicaon of the lesson in life. These three aspects are demonstrated by the way Jesus presented

himself in the Bible: John 14.6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” In this line, Jesus has told his disciples that he personiﬁes the path that they must follow to return to God. He is showing himself to his followers as the three aspects of the teacher: follow me that I am the path; follow me as the Spirit of Truth; and, follow me as I have lived. With these consideraons, I believe the Golden Rule can be understood as a much-simpliﬁed expression of the concepts related to community, cooperaon and rapport: Teach others as they teach you. These principles and the three aspects of a teacher are fundamental enablers for our personal progression. The challenge is to balance the wisdom of silence with the advice that we should be wayshowers for others. Practicing the Law of Silence Keep your own counsel is excellent advice, especially for people who are new to a path of learning; however, it is also excellent advice to ﬁnd others with whom to safely discuss important informaon. The task is in knowing when to share and when to remain silent. There are obvious cues for when to refrain from sharing important informaon. For instance, a conservave Chrisan is predictably oﬀended by metaphysical subjects that might seem to conﬂict with popular understanding of biblical teaching. A discussion of the sancty of all life would not be a good subject in

a gun shop or at a Second Amendment meeng unless you are looking for a ﬁght. Sharing news of family problems with someone who has no useful references to understand your stress will likely not produce a supporve response. In the same way, sharing your excitement about having learned a very conceptual lesson about life, with someone who is not yet ready for self-improvement, is likely to drain away your enthusiasm as you try in vain to explain your excitement. The key to when to share is in understanding perceptual agreement. Make sure your listener is at least reasonably close to you in Worldview. At the same me, be mindful that you are always a teacher. We seldom experience grand awakenings. Instead, we learn in small increments. Be paent with the uniniated people around you. If you think you understand a lile something about the world that might be of help to your friend’s progression, it is important that you share what you know. However, do so in increments that will be understandable. The rest of that story is that you should not be aached to the outcome of the telling. People seldom react as we expect, so be open to whatever your friend’s reacon might be. Because people learn in small increments, they are more likely to understand in the future if you expose them to the concept now. If you are not prepared to accept a “So what” response, keep your counsel. Community The most important thing you

can do is to ﬁnd a community of like-minded people and culvate a culture of sharing and mutual support. It is by cooperang in a community that you will fulﬁll your urge to gain understanding. It should be prey clear by now that I have an extensive background in what I like to refer to as Etheric Studies. I do not consider myself an expert; however, unlike most people around me, I have thought longer and harder about many of the concepts related to progression than others in the community. While I try to remain open to new ideas and unexpected improvements in my understanding, like everyone else, my worldview has considerable momentum. It is diﬃcult for me to see past that which I think I have come to understand. This is important to you in that encountering a very knowledgeable person in a presumably cooperave community comes with special cauons. Learn to speak with others as if you have a queson you wish them to answer. Don’t assume they have superior knowledge. Just be aware that your next important lesson might come from a stranger’s oand comment or even an apparently wrong comment about the nature of reality. Contemplate a lot on what it means to have an open mind. Everything has a message for you, should you know how to look. Especially know that people like me have become so accustomed to teaching that it is diﬃcult for us to stop and listen. Oh, and looking back, I

realize that somemes I say the strangest things. One can only hope that there is an unexpected message in what I say for someone. References and Alternave Sources Listed at the end of the book. Essay 21 Informed Regret 2017 About This Essay I close this book with a warning of sorts. You may have noced that some of our most brilliant people turn their aenon to philosophical musing in their later years. It is probably true that we all would, given the right situaons in life. Perhaps it is necessary for us to have lived a lifeme in order to become suﬃciently self-aware to realize that we might have been much happier had we taken a diﬀerent, perhaps more spiritual path in life. It is a truism that all of the ﬁnancial gain in the world will not keep us from transion or that moment in which we must realize the implicaons of our acons toward others. We think it is also a truism that what we do now maers here and hereaer. It is not that being good lets us into heaven. It is that the more aware we are of the actual nature of reality, the more aware we can expect to be during our transion. By extension, that means the more we are able to inﬂuence our next learning experiences. I have to admit that this is all speculaon. However, having a pragmac temperament, I would not say these things if I did not see reasonable

support for their validity. So, this essay is a reminder that it is me to begin following the Mindful Way. Lucidity is not something we decide to have. It is developed over many years as a lifestyle. Do yourself and the rest of us a most important service by turning your intenon toward understanding. You will be glad you did. Abstract In the song, If I Were Brave, singer Jana Stanﬁeld (175) answers the queson, “What would I do today, if I were brave?” with, “If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge.” If I were brave is a reference to learning to follow our spiritual insncts. The Razor’s edge represents the path we follow while obeying those insncts. The Implicit Cosmology (12) posits that we inherit a spiritual urge to gain understanding about the nature of reality. (23) (See: Essay 3: Prime Imperave) This urge is as compelling as our human’s survival insncts, but as a praccal maer, it is the human insncts which drive much of our thinking. In pracce, we must come to the realizaon that there is a need to consciously seek progression, as our insncts urge. Even though we are oen reminded of the need to follow our spiritual insncts, most of us who do, come to this realizaon late in life. This essay focuses on the concept of informed regret. The original tle was “I Could Have Had a V8.” The intenon of this essay is to help you decide before there is

need for regret. Introduction Remember the adversement: “I Could Have Had a V8”? The idea is that you already knew about the good-for-you wonders of the V8® brand drink, but without thinking, you had something else to drink like a less nutrious soda pop. Consider the sense of regret the phrase is intended to evoke. Focus on the feeling that comes from realizing you have made the wrong decision. Perhaps you just realized you should have bought the blue car, rather than the red one you were driving when you got a speeding cket. Perhaps you realized that you just said something mean to a friend that can never be taken back. Try to enter into that consciousness for a moment. It is a sense of lost opportunity. A foolish, perhaps unthinking decision that cannot be undone. Yet, there is the promise to yourself that, next me, you will remember to have a V8! This is about the emergent feeling that can be found at the edge of your conscious awareness. In contemplaon, look between your unconscious and conscious awareness; the region in which your lucidity is developing. That is where, in your mind, those urges to act ﬁrst emerge. Here, I wish to evoke that sense of lost opportunity in your spiritual life. Assume for a moment that you have lived your life thus far without stepping onto a path of deliberate spiritual progression. Sure, you have taken a few courses and read a lot of books about things

spiritual, but if you have not consciously decided to follow a parcular way of learning, perhaps you are really just dabbling. Everything changes when (if) that moment comes in which you realize that you really are an immortal being. As the implicaons of that realizaon sink in, it must become evident that seeking is for your immortal self, and not just to improve this lifeme. The ulmate meaning must come that what you do now maers the rest of your eternity. As it Happened for Me Other than the promise of Santa Clause and those taletale elves my mother claimed were always watching me, my ﬁrst real brush with a formal system of thought came when my mother made me aend Sunday School. The church’s preacher lived in the house next to ours. My brush with faith abruptly ended when I saw his wife run out of the house, only to have him grab her and literally kick her back in. Faith quickly gave way to science when I talked my kindergarten teacher into reading books to me on astronomy. It seemed important to know about astronomy if I was to be the ﬁrst person on the moon. It took me decades to realize that, in many disciplines, science is just another form of faith. Over me, my sense of world order changed to be the convergence of scienﬁc theory with engineering principles. Science became learned speculaon for me while engineering became clever applicaon of science. In 1987, Lisa introduced

me to Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Then in 2000, we assumed leadership of the Associaon TransCommunicaon (ATransC) and I became deeply involved with the study of the survival hypothesis. While I mingled my engineering career with the study of metaphysics, my focus was always on the praccal aspects of human potenal. Think of it as personal improvement, which is a body-centric pursuit. Even though I studied telepathy, out-of-body travel and such, it never really occurred to me that I was an immortal being only temporarily enjoying the human condion. I was told that very thing by many teachers, but I was told otherwise in hundreds of diﬀerent ways. Informaon about my immortality had lile eﬀect on my sense of world order. We published 57 quarterly ATransC NewsJournals through the Spring of 2014. As we developed arcles for them, the realizaon dawned on me that EVP are not just interesng phenomena like ghosts and Astral projecon. They represent a kind of revelaon about our immortality. I think Essay 2: The Mindful Way that I wrote for that last NewsJournal was my “I could have had a V8” moment. I was 71 by then and becoming aware of my physical mortality. Rather than looking for ways to increase my potenal as a human, I should have been seeking ways to improve my lucidity by consciously purging lazy beliefs. I had been told, but the warnings were abstracons that had lile eﬀect on my sense of order unl I realized that the voices

in EVP could only have been iniated by immortal personalies. The original tle of The Mindful Way essay in the last ATransC NewsJournal was actually Mindfulness. I changed the tle as it became evident that my wring was about a system of thought. Humankind Has Been Told Many Times Here, I want to give you a few references which will help you understand the diﬀerence between dabbling along the seeker’s path and purposefully traveling the Mindful Way. The Katha Upanishad is a 4,000 years old ancient Hindu Vedic Sanskrit text which tells how the God of Death explained the nature of life to a seeker. Swami Krishnananda tells us that the God of Death explained that there are two paths in life from which we must choose: The Good and the Pleasant. (74) below is, ﬁrst, Panoli‘s Sanskrit-to-English translaon of lines 1-11-1 and 1-11-2 of the Katha Upanishad, followed by the Swami’s explanaon: The Panoli Translaon: Diﬀerent is (that which is) preferable; and diﬀerent, indeed, is the pleasurable. These two, serving diﬀerent purposes, blind man. Good accrues to him who, of these two, chooses the preferable. He who chooses the pleasurable falls from the goal. 1- 11-1 Katha Upanishad (22) Swami’s paraphrase: “There are two things in this world, and people pursue either this or that. These two may be regarded as the path of the pleasant, and the path of the good. Most people choose the former, and not the good. The pleasant is pleasing, but passing, and ends

in pain. It is diﬀerent from the good. But while the good need not necessarily be pleasant, the pleasant is not good.” Swami’s explanaon: Both come to a person, and we are free to choose. But we choose the nsel because it gliers. An experience seems to be pleasant because of the reacon of our nerves. A condion that is brought about as a result of a reacon is passing, and not being. Lack of discriminaon is the reason for choosing pleasure; confusion of mind causes a wrong choice. When you grope in darkness, you fall into the pit, but you know it only aer the fall. Similarly, the senseworld is darkness, and sense- objects come to ruin you, but the misguided mind cannot understand this. “Good comes to a person who chooses the good. But he who chooses the pleasant falls short of his aim.” The Panoli Translaon: The preferable and the pleasurable approach man. The intelligent one examines both and separates them. Yea, the intelligent one prefers the preferable to the pleasurable, (whereas) the ignorant one selects the pleasurable for the sake of yoga (aainment of that which is not already possessed) and kshema (the preservaon of that which is already in possession). 1-11-2 Katha Upanishad (22) Swami’s paraphrase: “The dull-wied person chooses the pleasant: he wants to pass the day somehow. He does not know where or how the good is. The hero who is endowed with the power of discriminaon, chooses the ulmate good.” Swami’s explanaon:

When the pleasant and good come to us, they come together, in a mixed form, so that you cannot understand them. The best example for this is the world itself: you can use it as a passage to eternity, or for your pleasure. Yama (God of death) tested Nachiketas (The Seeker in this Upanishad) in the same way as this world tests us. Temptaons come every day, in everything we see. We are caught in them because we are unable to disnguish between right and wrong. We do not know what will happen tomorrow. But our ignorance is so dark that we expect more pleasure, forgeng that death may come any moment. Death is the best teacher; there is not a beer one: Understanding dawns by meditaon on death. Suppose death comes to you in ﬁve minutes. Suppose you know it. What will you do? Will you act as you act now? You will act diﬀerently. It is true that we may die any moment. Yet, we do not think of it. Who prevents us from choosing the good? It is lack of understanding, which hides the defecve side and shows only the pleasant aspects. The Razor’s Edge The second stanza of If I Were Brave by Jana Stanﬁeld, (175) has the words: If I were brave, I’d walk the razor’s edge, where fools and dreamers dare to tread. And never lose faith, even when losing my way. What step would I take … today, if I were brave? What

would I do today, if I were brave? The razor’s edge is a phrase also found in the Katha Upanishad. Arise, awake, and learn by approaching the exalted ones, for that path is sharp as a razor’s edge, impassable, and hard to go by, say the wise. 1-III-14 Katha Upanishad (27) As I learned from Paul Twitchell‘s lectures, (155) spiritual seeking requires courage. The best illustraon I can give is the ﬁrst me a person experiences what Twitchell referred to as Darshan, a Sanskrit term (darśana) related to coming in sight of a deity or a holy person. Darshan somemes produces a similarly traumac sense as that when a person undergoes a diﬃcult exit during what is somemes referred to as an out- of-body or Astral projecon experience. Some people simply move into that dissociated awareness, but for some, it is like pulling a cork from a wine bole. It can be very fearful when a person suddenly enters into such a dissociated state for the ﬁrst me. An important funcon of a teacher is to prepare the seeker for this, because if the experiencer’s mostly unconscious mind goes into the “Stranger! Danger!” mode, it may be diﬃcult for the student to be open to future experiences. It is possible that a fearful response can cut of further development for this lifeme. Another example of the dangers of seeking is how diﬃcult it is to remain on the path while managing our human’s insnctual responses to life’s situaons. It is

said that, even an advanced personality that has chosen to enter into a lifeme for some purpose, is apt to slide into ignorance of the Mindful Way because of the appealing nature of the physical world. The Mindful Way is traveled moment-by-moment. Every acon, every decision has the potenal of moving us further from understanding. As we progress, our judgment becomes more in tune with the Mindful Way, but it takes me and there is always the unexpected challenge which might distract us from the way. What Would You Do? Taking the queson of “What would I do today, if I were brave?” in the context of the ﬁrst stanza of the song, the answer is that, if I were brave, I would be a seeker. Here, I deﬁne a seeker as one who realizes the need to consciously seek spiritual maturity. In the context of the Katha Upanishad, this means to wisely select the spiritual way, rather than seeking fame and wealth. In the context of our current reality, it means to learn to habitually live this lifeme while turning toward opportunies to gain understanding, seeking understanding in all experiences while allowing that understanding to inﬂuence our choices. In ancient mes, taking the Mindful Way may have demanded making a choice between seeking material success and spiritual progression. Our consciousness has changed since then, and we seem more able to ﬁnd progression without rejecng a prosperous way of life. In our me, this means living the life in a

mindful way … wherever life takes us. While I might judge other people’s acons from a raonal living or good cizenship perspecve, I am not prepared to judge those acons from the perspecve of spiritual seeking. It is clear that we somemes need diﬃcult experiences to gain important understanding. As Twitchell oen noted, a wealthy businessman might well be a spiritual master, as might be the janitor serving his building. The measure of the good choice rather than the choice of pleasure, as discussed in the Katha Upanishad, is not material versus spiritual. It is probably best described as an ethical one. See Essay 5: Ethics as a Personal Code for Mindfulness. From my experience, by seeking to follow a personal code of ethics, I ﬁnd myself also turning toward a more spiritual perspecve in my daily living. Mine begins with Seth’s “Do not violate,” which is elaborated on with such ethical principles as respect and judgment. Those are expressed as such ideas as “just because I can, doesn’t mean I should” and “I will not impose my will on others.” Develop such a code for yourself and then apply it to every aspect of whatever you do in life, be it living in a cave or seeking success in the corporate world. This is at least one version of that V8 drink you can have, should you decide to consciously seek spiritual maturity. My Learned Point of View Your mindful way will not look like mine. You live in

a diﬀerent personal reality and have had diﬀerent experiences which are leading to future experiences which are diﬀerent from my future experiences. Even so, I can act as a role model for you in the spirit of teach me as I teach you. Here is an overview of the way I have come to deal with my world. You can think of this as what to do or what not to do, depending on how you view my example. I should preface this by saying I began dabbling with seeking in my teens but did not begin seriously considering the reality of my immortality unl I was in my early fores. By now, I do have a good sense of the wisdom of lucidity but have not learned to integrate it so that I can consider myself anything like an adept. I am a role model because of my book learning more than because of my wisdom and spiritual maturity. A Pragmatic Point of View Part of wring Your Immortal Self, (1) was ﬁnding a way to explain the implicaons of survival. The most important consequence of survival is that our mind is not in our body. We are an etheric life form which has joined in an entangled relaonship with a human body to experience the physical aspect of reality. This has been a gradual realizaon for me. It has taken many years to even parally integrate the implicaons into my view of reality. To become entangled with our

human avatar, we are born into this lifeme. Because we share Worldview with our human, our ﬁrst few years are spent populang Worldview with learned things from our family community and the media … and learning to cope with our human’s insncts. The result is that we naturally develop a body-centric perspecve of reality. We think we are our body, and for most people, we think our body’s urges are our urges. For many of us, our senior years brings the realizaon that there is more to us than our body. Even fewer of us consciously become a seeker of greater understanding about our etheric nature. When this happened, the process of changing point of view from body-centric (we are our body) to an immortal self-centric perspecve can begin. The ﬁrst lesson of the immortal self-centric perspecve is that our conscious self is our experiencer and our mostly unconscious mind is our judge. We always experience reality from the perspecve of our experiencer as a video camera-like perspecve. This is true when we are awake and when we are disassociated as in meditaon, dream or delirium. I say that our mind is mostly unconscious mind because, as judge, it includes our percepon and expression funcons. The judge uses Worldview as a standard to decide if our conscious self will experience incoming informaon. (16) It also colors how we experience that informaon by changing it into a familiar form. The result is that we, as conscious self, tend to experience reality

as we think it is supposed to be, based on experience … what we have been taught. Worldview only changes in small increments. The one inﬂuence we have on it is our conscious intenon to understand the implicaons of what we think is true. Part of learning to experience reality as it is, rather than as we have been taught, is the long process of examining everything we think. Is it true? Does it make sense? Do we understand the implicaons of what we think is true? Do we agree with those implicaons? When we believe something, it is important that we also believe the implicaons. What are the consequences of our beliefs; of our acons? If we are persistent in quesoning our beliefs, in me, we develop a clear sense of reality that is more in agreement with its actual nature. The more this is true, the greater our lucidity. That is how we begin to see further into the mysteries of reality. We do not become enlightened beings by wishing it so. We do so by doing the work. We accept responsibility for what we believe to be true and work very hard to align our beliefs with the actual nature of reality. That is the way of the seeker. My Advice Live your life by engaging with it, rather than avoiding potenally stressful experiences just because they might get your blood pressure up. We are here to gain understanding about the nature of reality through experience. Some

of the most important understanding comes from the most challenging experiences. Think as an immortal self, not as a person living in fear of death. Being killed is not the worst thing that can happen to us. At least intend to get a good night’s sleep without cluering it with a lucid dreaming to do list. For me, lucid dreaming is a lot of work for lile gain. I can make beer progress simply by paying aenon to life and habitually contemplang daily experiences. Any understanding you think you gain from lucid dreaming is apt to be just your worldview oﬀering bits of memory to answer your requests … telling you a likely story. There is no way of knowing if your conclusions are the right ones. For me, dream interpretaon is a game of stump the chump. Never forget the inﬂuence of cultural contaminaon on your experiences. Experience through your senses and not through those of your teacher. Observe the inﬂuence of cultural contaminaon on the thinking of your friends and opinion seers. Be pragmac. Belief is the safe harbor for those who wish to abdicate their self-determinaon. It is not necessary to be sure about the choices you make. There may be many ways to the same end. All you can do is pick the way which seems best and try it out. Living is all about tesng what you think is right. That means a good life is one in which a person seeks understanding without precondions

of right and wrong, correct or incorrect. It is not a the last one with all of the toys wins kind of life. Accept that stuﬀ happens. If, in retrospect, you made the wrong choice, admit it, clean up the mess and look for the lessons as you move on. Bad mistakes are the stuﬀ of great life lessons. The implicaon of pragmasm is that it is good to unburden ourselves of those keep in case they are useful fragments of our life. Our consciousness changes as we gain in understanding. Relics tend to hold us back. Pragmasm means making useful decisions and moving on. You are a creator. Take responsibility for your creaons. It is true that we live in a shared venue for learning, but we are ulmately the creator of our reality by the way we react to our circumstances as vicm or student. It is not about what happens to us, but how we react to what happens to us. Resist being aached to a parcular outcome of your creave eﬀorts. Do this by focusing on the basic intent rather than a parcular soluon. Meditaon is important, but as a tool, not as a haven. Undertake a course of acon in which you decide to develop a channel to a deep meditave state, whatever that means for you. The Monroe Instute Hemi Sync is a good approach for that. (3) The more familiar that deep state of mental relaxaon is to your mind, the more useful

it will be as a tool. We are all deep-trance mediums. By that, I mean in those moments in which you pause to think of something, you slip into that deep trance state … and then so quickly back that you do not noce you were disassociated. The more familiar the path to that deep state, the beer access to your collecve, friends and teachers on the other side. The alpha frequencies of mind are your working meditave level of awareness. Seek to make that part of your waking awareness. Learn to think from the perspecve of an immortal being temporarily entangled with your human during this lifeme. This is important! Think about what it means. We experience the world based on informaon that has been translated by our worldview. This is not a New Age idea. It is solid science that will likely serve your seeking beer than any way of meditaon. Also, remember that your worldview includes your human’s insncts. Strong emoons such as obsession, fear, anger and envy are your human’s reacon. As you learn to understand this, you will ﬁnd ways to enter into one of these emoonal states as needed, but then as quickly return to balance with relavely lile discontent. Be mindful of the potenally negave inﬂuence of cultural contaminaon. The ﬁrst secret wisdom of the ancient way is balance. The second is that the teacher is also the student. The hidden way is the narrow way which requires suspended judgment to tame the

inner judge. Judgment is easy and swi, but once a decision is made, it requires much eﬀort to undo. There is no magic, only the inﬂuence of organizing principles. Learn to recognize the fundamental principles governing the operaon of reality and to use them in your life. (27) The ability to spout baseless belief appears as wisdom to the uninformed. Increasing lucidity means increasingly seeing actual reality. Hyperlucidity is thinking we see actual reality, when in fact, we only see what we have been taught to see. The reason I warn away from gaining wisdom through lucid dreaming, meditaon and the help of mediums is that the informaon must come ﬁrst to our mostly unconscious mental percepon which wants to color it in familiar terms. Thus, the narrow way is followed by tesng everything, thereby teaching our perceptual processes to be less judgmental. Learning to test percepon quickly leads us to more pragmac sources of understanding. Your mediums, teachers and friends probably do not realize this. Learn to understand the concept of coloring in mediumship. Learn to pracce suspended judgment. It is important to learn from those who have come before. But, while using that informaon to further your understanding, resist taking it as truth or rejecng it as false. Civilizaon is based on the teacher- student relaonship. Assuming you know more than your teacher denies you of opportunies to learn. As we are told in the Katha Upanishad, ﬁnd trusted teachers. Of course, there is always more, but these

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Mulacz, Peter. “Fall of the House of Felix?” Spring 2015. doczz.com.br/doc/1053347/fall-of-the-house-of- felix%3F.%20Published%20on%20Paranormal%20Review.%20Socie ty%20for%20Psychical%20Research.%20spr.ac.uk. 133. Society for Scienﬁc Exploraon. scienﬁcexploraon.org/. 134. Lizbeth A. Adams, Ph.D. CIP. with contribuons by Timothy Callahan, Ph.D. “Research Ethics.” University of Washington School of Medicine. 2014. depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/resrch.html. 135. Broude, Stephen. “Felix Experimental Group.” Psi Encyclopedia. 2016. psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/arcles/felix-experimental-group. 136. “Libel and Slander.” The Free Diconary by Farlex. legal- diconary.thefreediconary.com/Libel+and+Slander. 137. Braude, Stephen. “Provincialism in the Life Sciences: A Review of Rupert Sheldrake’s A New Science of Life.” academia.edu. 1983. academia.edu/2643570/_Radical_Provincialism_in_the_Life_Scienc es_A_Review_of_Rupert_Sheldrakes_A_New_Science_of_Life. 138. Zahradnik, Walter von Lucadou & Frauke. “Predicons of The Model of Pragmac Informaon About RSPK.” Parapsych.org. 2004. archived.parapsych.org/papers/09.pdf. 139. Forever Family Foundaon. www.foreverfamilyfoundaon.org/. 140. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “A Visit to the Felix Experimental Group.” Associaon TransCommunicaon. 2010 ATransC NewsJournal, Vols. 29-3, Page 4. atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/29-3-Fall- 2010-ATransC-NewsJournal.pdf. 141. Noory, George with Braude, Stephen E. “Student Loan Crisis Parapsychology.” Coast-to-Coast AM with George Noory. 2016. coasocoastam.com/show/2016/02/22. 142. Braude, Stephen. “Editorial.” Journal of Scienﬁc Exploraon. Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 5–9, 2016. scienﬁcexploraon.org/docs/30/jse_30_1_Editorial.pdf. 143. Nahm, Michael. “Further comments about Kai Mügge’s alleged mediumship and recent developments.” Journal of Scienﬁ c Exploraon. Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 56–62, 2016. scienﬁcexploraon.org/docs/30/jse_30_1_Nahm.pdf. 144. Ventola, Annalisa. “A Brain Response to a Future Event?” Public Parapsychology. 2007. publicparapsychology.blogspot.com/2007/11/brain-response-to- future-event.html. 145. Butler, Tom. “Wikipedia Arbitraon.” Etheric Studies. 2016. ethericstudies.org/wikipedia-arbitraon/. 146. “Ethical and Professional Standards for Parapsychologists: Aspiraonal Guidelines.” Paraphychological Associaon. 2005. parapsych.org/secon/42/ethical_and_professional_standards.asp x. 147. Butler, Tom. “Praconer Advocacy Panel.” Etheric Studies. 2016. ethericstudies.org/praconer-advocacy-panel/. 148. Lea, Robert. “Science is not the enemy: A Response to

Ages. Richmond : Macoy Publishing Company, 1947. 166. Estep, Sarah. Voices of Eternity. New York : Fawce Gold Medal Book, Ballanne Books, 1988. ISBN 0-449-13424-5. atransc.org/resources/books.htm. 167. Maugham, W. Somerset. The Razor’s Edge. Vintage, Reprint: 2003, 1944. ISBN-13: 978-1400034208. 168. Frawley, David. “Yoga, the Purusha and the Cosmic Being” (from the book: Yoga and the Sacred Fire ). American Instute of Vedic Studies. 2012. vedanet.com/the-purusha-principle-of-yoga/. 169. Gupta, K. Soul. “The Eternal Being.” Spirituality and Us. 2014. spiritualityandus.org/2014/09/14/soul-the-eternal-being/. 170. Judson, Olivia. “The Selﬂess Gene.” Manchester.edu. 2007. users.manchester.edu/Facstaﬀ/SSNaragon/Online/texts/201/Judso n-SelﬂessGene.pdf. 171. Monroe, Robert. “The Monroe Instute.” The Monroe Instute. monroeinstute.org/. 172. The Otherside Press. theothersidepress.com/. 173. American Society of Standards in Mediumship and Psychical Invesgaon. assmpi.org/. 174. Chopra, Deepak. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A praccal guide to the fulﬁllment of your dreams. Amber-Allen Publishing & New World Library, 1994. ISBN 1-878424-11-4. chopra.com/the- seven-spiritual-laws-of-success. 175. Stanﬁeld, Jana. “If I Were Brave.” 1914. janastanﬁeld.com/2014/09/if-i-were-brave/. 176. Coleman, Patrick John. “A Shaman’s Guide To The Dark Night Of The Soul.” Medium. 2014. medium.com/concrete-shamanism/a- shamans-guide-to-the-dark-night-of-the-soul-e9e699a6a787. End ===== NEW DOCUMENT ===== There is No Death and There are No Dead ii Through Technology, It is Now Possible for Anyone to Contact the Other Side Do we continue to survive after death? Is it possible to talk to those who are supposedly dead? This book provides evidence that death is only a gateway to another level of existence and even more amazingly, this book will show you that the so-called dead can and do communi- cate with those

still on earth. You will learn how to do this on your own and without the help of a medium. Why would someone want to contact the other side? There are more reasons than there are pages in this book, but proof of survival and knowledge about the afterlife would certainly be a good reason. Another reason people wish to communicate with the other side is simply because they have a loved one who is there. They long to know that their loved one continues and is all right. Perhaps they wish to hear words of love or maybe there were things that were left unsaid. Many people simply do not like to rely on faith or what others say, and only believe in something through direct experience. Whatever the reason for seeking contact, the desire to reach those who are no longer on earth is as old as the human race. In this book, you will read the stories of many individuals who have received messages from those in other dimensions through com- mon electronic devices. Perhaps reading about these conversations from other worlds will make you want to experience these phenomena for yourself. If so, this book will show you how. You will learn that it is possible for anyone to contact the other side by using a simple audio recorder, video recorder, or computer. There is No Death and There are No Dead iii Dedication This book is dedicated to the members of the American Association of

Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP). If they had not shared their stories with the original founder of the AA-EVP, Sarah Estep, and then later with us, this book would never have come to be. This book is a celebration of the achievements of AA-EVP members in the ever growing field of Electronic Voice Phenomena and Instrumental Transcommunication. The book is also dedicated to all of the pioneers in this field who have generously shared their research with the public. Acknowledgments We wish to say a special thank you to Barbara Thurman, Sarah Estep and her daughter Becky, Janice Oberding and Tracy Sherwood for their assistance and support in making this book a reality. Warning Although the publishers have made every effort to insure the informa- tion was correct at the time of going to press, the authors and publish- ers do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage or injury caused by information contained in this book. Further, there are potential hazards to the mentally delicate as- sociated with EVP/ITC experiments, as the results may not be what the person expects. The authors, publisher and agents disclaim any li- ability resulting from use of this book. There is No Death And There are No Dead Evidence of Survival and Spirit Communication Through Voices and Images from those on the Other Side By Tom and Lisa Butler AA-EVP Publishing PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507 There is No Death and There are No Dead vi

Chapter 13 How to Record Video ITC........................................ 235 Closing Thoughts...................................................... 253 Chapter 14 Appendix A Environmental Influence on EVP ............................. 255 Appendix B Techniques for Editing Sound Files.......................... 259 Appendix C American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena.................................... 265 References................................................................. 267 Index ......................................................................... 273 About the Title .......................................................... 277 There is No Death and There are No Dead viii About the Authors Lisa has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Tom has a Bachelor of Science Degree as an Electronics Engineer. They assumed the role of Directors for the American Association of Electronic Voice Phe- nomena (AA-EVP) in 2000 after the founder, pioneer EVP researcher, Sarah Estep, retired. They publish a quarterly NewsJournal for Asso- ciation members and have published articles in other magazines and journals. They are also the Directors of the Department of Phenomenal Evidence for the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Both became interested in survival, phenomena and metaphysical concepts at an early age. They have been working in the field of Elec- tronic Voice Phenomena and recording the voices for over fourteen years. Their current research is focused on receiving paranormal fea- tures through Video Instrumental Transcommunication. When not writing or conducting research and experiments, the two conduct lec- tures about nonphysical phenomena for various groups. To Write to the Authors: If you wish to contact the authors or would like more information about this book or the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena, you can send a self-addressed stamped envelope or an international postal reply coupon

to: AA-EVP Publishing PO Box 13111 Reno, Nevada 89507 USA Or send email to [email protected] The authors appreciate hearing from you, learning about how you feel about this book and if it has helped you. The authors would also enjoy hearing about your experiences with contact from the other side. Your experiences may be shared in the AA-EVP NewsJournal, articles or in another book. Due to the amount of correspondence, AA-EVP Pub- lishing cannot guarantee that every letter written to the authors can be answered. About This Book This book provides an extensive history of Electronic Voice Phenom- ena (EVP) and Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC). You will come to understand that these phenomena have been documented over a longer period of time than you might have first realized. The first part of this book contains chapters with stories and examples of EVP and ITC. These are just a few of many such stories. The number of people that have experienced these communications adds to the valid- ity that these paranormal voices and pictures are real occurrences. Most of the people who collect these phenomena will tell you that they were not born with any special gifts, and that anyone can receive the voices and pictures with a little patience and persistence. In the second part of the book, you will find detailed information on how to conduct experiments to record the voices and images from the other side. The Book Cover The cover design of this book includes a feature we

collected during a Video ITC experiment in which we asked our contacts on the other side to give us an image for the book cover. They did give us one. From EVP messages we have received, we believe the face on the cover is one of our guides. The image has been enhanced and the background color changed for the printing of this cover; however, the original image can be seen at http://aaevp.com/resources/pictures_in_no_dead.htm Clarification of Terms Artifact: An artifact is something that is produced by electronic equipment or the environment. An artifact may be such common things as sound in an audio recording caused by electrical static or a light flair in film or digital photography. A mundane artifact may be mistaken for nonphysical phenomena; however, sound and light en- ergy caused by these natural disturbances may be used by the commu- nicating entity to create messages or images. Entity: Any self-aware being is an entity. Since we do not always know if the entity communicating with us is a discarnate person, we There is No Death and There are No Dead x often use the more generic word, “Entity,” to describe the “person” we are communicating with from the other side. Nonphysical: There is just one reality, but reality has many aspects. The Physical Plane is an aspect of reality. Nonphysical is used in this book to denote the aspects of reality that are not considered part of the Physical Plane. Some of the other terms used to denote

the nonphysi- cal aspect of reality are, “The other side,” “Other dimension” and “Be- yond the veil.” Classification of EVP. To provide a tool with which people could specify the quality of their EVP samples, Sarah Estep defined a grad- ing system using the following three levels. Class A: Voices can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people. (The average person will hear what you expect them to hear without prompting.) Class B: Voices can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said. (The average person will hear what you ex- pect them to hear with prompting.) Class C: Voices must usually be heard with headphones and are diffi- cult to understand. (There is usually no sense in playing Class C EVP for someone else.) Class C or B voices may have one or two clearly understood words. However, loud does not equal Class A. A Note about References and Quotes An attempt has been made to provide ample information about our sources so that you can, at the very least, see where we have begun our research. In these days of the Internet, many important references are published only on the Internet. Web pages are often changed, so we understand that this is not a firm reference, but the reference should at least be a starting point for retracing our steps. When referring to web- sites, we have omitted the http:// from the beginning of the web ad- dress

except where necessary for clarity. This will automatically be inserted by your web browser when you enter the web address. About This Book xi Reference numbers are shown as a superscript number, and if a par- ticular page of a book is being cited, that will be shown in parentheses. For instance, David Wilson.45(118-123) This is for Reference Number 45: 1. Rogo, D Scott and Bayless, Raymond—Phone Calls From The Dead, 1979 Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey. Most of the stories and examples came from articles in the AA- EVP NewsJournal. Because of the complexity of trying to reference the NewsJournal issue and page that each of these stories appeared in, we have decided to make a blanket statement that, if the source is not given, you should first look to the AA-EVP NewsJournal. Sarah Estep published seventy-four NewsJournals before we assumed leadership of the Association and it is through her work and documentation that you are able to see many of the stories in this book. In some special in- stances; however, we have referenced the AA-EVP NewsJournal and other Journals, in doing so we have shown the particular Volume and Number as: 54(V2N4) The comments that come from those in other dimensions are printed in italics. By their nature, EVP and ITC do not lend themselves well to demonstration through the written word. The paranormal pic- tures do not print well, if at all, and with EVP, you will want to hear the sound of the EVP voices. At

aaevp.com, you can find EVP exam- ples that you can listen to with your computer and full-color ITC im- ages that are better able to be seen than the printed version. You will find many other examples on the Internet. If you do not have access to the Internet, either on your computer or through a friend or the library, the next best solution would be for you to record EVP for yourself. We are confident that you would soon have plenty of examples of your own. Part I Electronic Voice Phenomena And Instrumental Transcommunication Our role model for our experimentation in Electronic Voice Phenom- ena (EVP) and Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) has been the experimenters and researchers who have come before us. It is they, from whom we have learned the methods by which we may experi- ence these phenomena, what has been learned by their trial and error, and the breadth of what seems possible. In that same light, we offer you here the history, stories and examples of EVP and ITC so that you might also learn, experience and understand these life-changing phe- nomena. Techniques and theory on how to record EVP and ITC are provided in Part II. Chapter 1 A History A New Way to Communicate With the “Dead” From the earliest recorded history humans have sought ways to com- municate with the “dead.” Often, this was through a shaman or an ora- cle. In more recent times people communicated with those who had passed to

the Spirit World through mediums. With the rise in popular- ity of mediums like John Edward, we now see this type of spirit com- munication broadcast to millions of television viewers. What is not as well known is that, in the last hundred years, com- munication with the so-called dead has also been taking place through various mechanical and electrical devices. Today people record the voices of the unseen on electronic and digital devices and some ex- periments have even been carried out using lasers. This possibility of spirit entities recording their voice on tape is be- yond the comprehension of most people. But, as you will see from this chapter on the history of such communication, the so-called dead have used our advancing technology to communicate at increasingly sophis- ticated and evidential levels. At first there was no real term for these paranormal communica- tions. Then in the 1970s, the voices were given the name: Electronic Voice Phenomena, or EVP. The term, EVP, signified the recording of the voices on audio tape. As technology further progressed, the com- munications from those unseen sources in other dimensions became even more fantastic and were not just recorded voices. Various re- searchers received pictures, computer messages, faxes, and even two way communications via radio and telephone. The new term, Instru- mental Transcommunication, or ITC, came into being to address this expanded spirit communication. When a loved one crosses to the other side, most of us wish that we could once more communicate

with them. Perhaps there are things that we did not take the time to tell them or there are things that we wish we could ask. The need to communicate often comes simply from the desire to know that they are all right. It might be wrong to assume this There is No Death and There are No Dead 2 need is only felt on our part. The discarnate might also have the need to contact their loved ones who now reside in a different place from where they are. It certainly seems that this is the case. The history of spirit communication using electronic devices is filled with information indicating that many of the technical designs for creating these devices have come through mediums or the medi- umship of the inventor. It seems that we are not the only ones experi- menting with instruments to make contact across the veil. Throughout history, the discarnate also seem to be experimenting in techniques to contact us. One of the reasons the history is presented here is to show that these paranormal communications have not only occurred over a long period of time, but they have occurred in many different ways to many different people living around the world. People who have substantial training in the sciences have experienced these phenomena. With the depth and complexity found in the way these phenomena occur, we believe you can see reason to accept that EVP and ITC are not isolated phenomena experienced by just

a few fortunate people. EVP and ITC represent real communication that is frequently demonstrated. At the same time, these factors also indicate that communication can be re- ceived by nearly anyone who is willing to make a committed attempt. A History of EVP and ITC Waldemar Bogoras. Bogoras was exiled to Siberia as a youth where he had the opportunity to observe the natives of eastern Siberia. He also lived in the United States for several years of his life. Bogoras received praise from his peers for his artistic gifts, scientific insight, power of observation, descriptive clarity and careful analysis of ob- served facts. He also wrote novels under the pen name of Tan. In approximately 1901, Bogoras observed a Siberian shaman per- form a conjuring ritual.17(99) In a darkened room, the shaman beat the drum more and more rapidly while entering into a trance state. Bo- goras was astonished by the strange voices that he heard filling the room. They seemed to come from everywhere and were speaking in both English and Russian. Bogoras set up his recording equipment so that he could record in the dark with the shaman sitting twenty feet from him. The light was turned off, and after some hesitation, the spirit voices were once again A History 3 heard. They followed the shaman’s request that they speak directly into the horn of Bogoras’ portable Edison phonograph. The Bogoras recording is the first in which the “direct voices” of spirits were registered on a recording

device. The recording showed a clear difference between the spirit voices, which seemed to come di- rectly from the mouth of the phonograph horn, and the voice of the shaman some distance away. Throughout the recording, “…the sha- man’s ceaseless drum beats can be heard as if to prove that he re- mained in the same spot.” =====0===== Dr. J. L. Matla and Dr. G. J. Zaalbert van Zelst. Documented at- tempts were made in Holland in the early 1900s to prove that spirit entities could manipulate devices. Dr. J. L. Matla and Dr. G. J. Zaal- bert van Zelst began research into this area in 1904.45(138-139) Both men were physicists and over a long period of time had investigated psy- chics and mediums in their hometown. Most of their experimental equipment was designed from information that had come through the mediums that they had been studying. Their first attempt included a small cylinder that was hermetically sealed. Air could escape from the cylinder through a rubber tube con- nected to a device they called a “Manometer.” The manometer looked like a carpenter’s level and had an alcohol bubble that floated in a glass tube. The two scientists also built a special room in which the experiments took place. It was sealed to provide a controlled environ- ment in which drafts, tremors and other physical influences could not cause readings on the manometer. Tests in the room could be moni- tored through a window in an adjoining control room. The

two wanted to see if they could encourage a spirit to influence the air in the cylinder, thus causing a movement of the alcohol bubble. During their experiments, the men sat in the control room mentally invoking the unseen entities. They reported that a deflection was al- most immediately registered by the manometer in their first experi- ment. They conducted further tests using two cylinders and were suc- cessful in their requests for the discarnate to manipulate one cylinder while not affecting the other. In their book, La Mystere de la Mort (The Mystery of Death), they stated that there was no normal explana- tion for the consistent results they received. Both were convinced that unseen entities were the cause of the phenomena. There is No Death and There are No Dead 4 They next built a more complex device called a “Dynamistograph.” An indicator, a key and a register were its only working parts. The in- dicator consisted of a wheel that was electrically driven and on which letters of the alphabet were written. When activated, the wheel rotated sequentially. The wheel was connected to a very sensitive key, and when the key was depressed the letter at the top of the wheel was printed on the register. An old-fashioned Wimshurst Machine powered the device through static charges. Meaningful messages were recorded from the device for over a year, even when it was left alone and the two physicists were not there. The men discovered that their results suffered

when it was raining or humid and their best communications were received during the drier periods of the year. Also, certain electrical currents channeled through the device produced better results and Matla came to the conclusion that, “The very element of our personality that survives death is par- tially electrical in nature and has an affinity for manipulating electrical energy.” =====0===== David Wilson. In 1915, David Wilson,45(118-123) a London amateur wireless operator, designed and built a detection device that was sensi- tive to electrical influences. It was attached to a galvanometer, which registered the presence and strength of an electric current. Wilson saw movement of the galvanometer over several days and finally noticed that the meter seemed to be making organized movements. He won- dered if this could be Morse Code. A few days later, on June 10, 1915, the galvanometer registered activity for eight continuous minutes. Wilson was able to translate the registrations into Morse Code. The message read, “Great difficulty; await message, five days, six eve- nings.” Wilson reported his findings in the March 13, 1915 issue of Light.46 He decided that he needed an independent observer to verify what he was receiving. When the day came for the experiment with the ob- server, Wilson was unsure if the machine would even work, as the reg- istrations of the device had become incoherent. He was relieved and astounded when the dial recorded Morse Code for almost half an hour. The letters were taken down independently by both men.

When the two were compared it was apparent that the message read, “Try elimi- nate vibrations. ARTK” A History 5 Wilson modified his device based on the understanding of this mes- sage and added a human subject into the design along with a dummy Morse key. In Wilson’s words, “The only possible way in which the message could come through the receiver would be by means of an agency which could not only affect the new detector but also the brain of the … ‘circuit person.’ Moreover, these actions would have to be synchronous before the needle of the galvanometer would deflect.” Wilson received some communication with the new device, but the contents were disappointing. He reconstructed his machine several more times finally removing the deflecting needle and linking the de- vice to another apparatus that converted all incoming code into audible signals that represented dots and dashes. Wilson collaborated with a friend who lived in Paris to see if the same device, separated by a large distance from the first, would pick up the same message. He gave the friend instructions and a duplicate device was created. On March 19, 1916, Wilson’s machine received the message “Nyet leezdyes Kogoeedbood kto gavoreet poroosky?” In English, “Is there anyone who speaks Russian here?” Six minutes later, a somewhat distorted and fragmented message was picked up by the machine in Paris. It recorded, “Nyet … lee … (incoherent)…. Kto … porooski.” After publishing these findings in Light, Wilson dropped from sight never

publishing anything on his work again. =====0===== Grace Boylan. In 1918, Grace Boylan’s book, Thy Son Liveth: Mes- sages from a Soldier to His Mother, was published by Little, Brown and Company.12 Grace and her son, Bob, had both learned Morse Code. Bob would often practice using Morse Code by sending mes- sages to his mother who was in another part of the house. During World War I, Bob, a second lieutenant, was sent to France. Grace was reading a letter from him when the wireless indicated that a message was coming in. The message was from Bob and read, “Mother…I am alive and loving you, but my body is with thousands of other mothers’ boys near Lens. Get this fact to others if you can. It’s awful when you grieve, and we can’t get in touch with you to tell you we are all right. This is a clumsy way. I’ll figure out something easier. I’m confused yet. Bob.” A later message came from Bob telling his mother of his death and asking her to tell others that there was no “horror in death.” He told There is No Death and There are No Dead 6 her that he had been in the middle of battle when suddenly another Lieutenant had touched his arm and said, “Our command has crossed, let’s go.” At first Bob did not understand, but then realized that they were all dead. He told his mother that he had then sent the Morse Code message

from an enemy’s wireless station. All later communication from Bob took place through automatic writing. =====0===== Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison believed that there could be a radio frequency between the long and short waves, which would make pos- sible some form of telepathic contact with the other world.44 In the Oc- tober 1920 issue of Scientific American,47 Edison was quoted as say- ing, “If our personality survives, then it is strictly logical or scientific to assume that it retains memory, intellect, other faculties and knowl- edge that we acquire on this earth. Therefore, if personality exists after what we call death, it is reasonable to conclude that those who leave the earth would like to communicate with those they have left here. I am inclined to believe that our personality hereafter will be able to af- fect matter. If this reasoning be correct, then, if we can evolve an in- strument so delicate as to be affected by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, ought to re- cord something.” There has been much speculation and rumor that Edison did work on some sort of telephone that would reach the “dead,” but no plans of such a machine have ever been found. A blueprint of a purported Edi- son device did surface in New York in the early 1940s; however, the blueprint was not felt to be authentic. A machine was constructed from the blueprints, but it did not work. =====0===== F.R.

Melton. F.R. Melton was an inventor and psychic investigator in England.45(125) His son, George, had been a wireless operator during World War I. George had received anomalous messages over the wire- less during that time that could not be accounted for. He had wondered if these messages were coming from discarnate entities. After the war, the Meltons decided to explore this possibility in more detail and were excited in 1920 when they read reports in British newspapers about A History 7 wireless stations across the country picking up strange and unaccount- able signals. In 1921, an article written by Melton was published in Light.46 In it, he claimed that he had invented a “psychic telephone.” The machine was a telephone connected to an amplifier that was placed in a small box. Melton claimed that he had received many paranormal voices di- rectly over the device. He also published a booklet, A Psychic Tele- phone, which provided illustrations and details on its construction. Melton did not feel that everyone could use his psychic telephone. He only claimed that the device would amplify psychic voices. His son was a medium and the first device was built specifically to amplify the independent voices that he received. =====0===== Francis Grierson. Francis Grierson, a United States author and me- dium, invented a telephonic device through which he received several communications from the deceased. The communications were de- scribed in a short book, Psychophone Messages, published in Los An- geles in 1921. =====0===== Oscar D’argonell. In

1925, Brazilian Oscar D’argonell, described contacts with the deceased through the telephone in a book titled, Voices from Beyond by Telephone. =====0===== Edgar Wallace. Author Edgar Wallace, used a 78 r.p.m. record cutter for his work. After his death in 1932, his secretary used the record cut- ter to cut a disc. When she replayed the record she was shocked to hear a few words spoken by Edgar Wallace. No one took this incident seriously but it may have actually been one of the first recorded para- normal voices.45 (137) =====0===== World Broadcasting Company. On April 23, 1933, a test was set up at the World Broadcasting Company’s studios (became Decca Re- cords) in Manhattan, New York, to test the validity of the voices re- ceived during a direct voice séance.54(V7N4) World studios had the latest sound recording equipment installed. The medium was William Cartheuser and many well-known researchers in the field of parapsy- There is No Death and There are No Dead 8 chology were in attendance. Among these were Hereward Carrington and Mrs. Helen Bigelow. The engineers at World were very skeptical and did not believe that voices from the so-called dead could actually be received. They de- vised test conditions that they felt would eliminate all possibility of fraud. Three microphones were set up for the séance. Microphone 1 was placed on the floor. Microphones 2 and 3 were installed on the opposite corners of the ceiling twenty feet in the air and twenty feet away from

the sitters. The microphones on the ceiling were only sensi- tive to sounds that were within twelve inches and directly in front of them, assuring that they could not pick up voices that would be re- corded on Microphone 1. Further, each microphone had a direct con- nection into the control room. The medium and sitters were unaware of how the microphones had been set up by the engineers and proceeded with the séance. A spirit voice quickly showed interest in the experiment saying, “We think they have worked out a very interesting testing procedure for us on their equipment.” The engineers in the control room asked who was speaking. The voice, speaking into microphone 1, told them that he was an engineer in the Spirit World who had colleagues with him. He then told them that they, the spirits in attendance, were all interested in cooperating with making a recording. The engineers in the control room requested that the person, calling himself a spirit and who was now speaking in Microphone 1, to speak directly into Microphones 2 and 3. Almost immediately, the voice an- swered within inches of both mics. The voice said that they wanted to provide a demonstration and proceeded to make a quick circuit of the three microphones while speaking a simple short sentence. Next, the voice introduced a colleague and told those present that he was an eminent research engineer in the science of sound. The spirit research engineer told the sitters and studio

engineers that he and the other communicators were, “Surviving personalities speaking to you from another dimension.” He then moved his voice from the nor- mal level of the human male voice, 300 Hertz, to levels of 3,000 to 5,000 Hertz. While doing this, his voice trailed off to sound like, “An incredibly distant radio signal.” The spirit engineer then descended through the frequencies so that eventually his voice sounded like, “a A History 9 giant mumbling at the bottom of a well.” And finally, “Like the lowest note on the longest pipe in a giant organ.” The original spirit voice returned and thanked the sitters and engi- neers for helping in the experiment. He concluded with an offer of help and collaboration in future tests. The records of the experiment were sent to the American Society for Psychical Research. However, the recording stayed at World Broadcasting, as they did not want to testify publicly that spirit voices had been recorded in their studio. =====0===== Attila von Szalay. In 1938 Attila von Szalay, a natural psychic, heard a voice calling his name. The voice yelled, “Art” and von Szalay was certain that he recognized it as that of his deceased son. Von Szalay continued to receive these “direct voices” and in 1941 attempted to record them on a 78 r.p.m. record cutter with little success. In 1947 von Szalay began working with a magnetic tape recorder and received some voices of clear quality. =====0===== Harry Gardner and J. Gilbert Wright. In

the 1940s, Harry Gardner and J. Gilbert Wright45(129) invented a device that was similar to the Melton telephone. Gardner claimed that the apparatus could act as a channel for spirit voices in the presence of a psychic. The device was simple; a twenty-four-inch by seven-inch box was lined with sound- proofing material. A microphone was placed inside the box and a small hole was drilled in the side of the box that led to a loudspeaker. The box was later lined with finely reduced iron to make it magnetic. In the initial experiments, voices immediately issued through the loud- speaker even with the device several feet away from the medium. =====0===== N. Zwann. The Psychic News,7 a British Spiritualist publication, re- ported that N. Zwann had come to England in 1947 with plans for a spirit radio. The plans had been received through mediumistic com- munication. Psychic News also reported that the use of the apparatus had been successful. In 1949 the Spirit Electronic Communication So- ciety was formed in Manchester, England, and Zwaan demonstrated a device named “Super Rays.” It was later renamed “Zwaan Rays” in honor of Zwann. There is No Death and There are No Dead 10 =====0===== Leslie Flint. In 1948 during a demonstration at Denison House, Lon- don, an American wire recording apparatus was used to produce gramophone records of the spirit voices made possible by the direct voice medium, Leslie Flint.84 The recording was a success, and the direct voices were recorded as clearly

as when they were spoken by the various spirit entities. =====0===== Father Ernetti and Father Gemelli. In Italy in 1952, Father Ernetti was collaborating on music research with Father Dr. Gemelli68(12) in the Experimental Physics Laboratory of the Catholic University of Mi- lan. Ernetti was a respected medical doctor and nuclear physicist and Gemelli was the President of the Papal Academy. The two were con- ducting oscillographic experiments with a wire magnetophone (wire recorder) in an effort to produce clearer singing voices in Gregorian chants. The wire broke frequently and it was the habit of Father Ge- melli to call on his paternal father when things went wrong in his day- to-day activities. That day when the wire broke once again, he called out, “Oh father, help me!” After the experiment, the two men played back what had registered on the magnetophone and to their astonishment, heard a voice say, “But of course I’ll help you! I’m always with you.” Gemelli recog- nized the voice as that of his father. They turned the magnetophone back on and Germelli asked out loud, “Papa, if you are really here, please repeat what you said before.” On playback the reply followed immediately after his request with “But Zucchini (a childhood nick- name only known by his father), it is clear, don’t you know it is I?” These messages were later reported to Pope Pius XII. Over thirty years after this event, in October of 1986 Father Ernetti broke a long silence and publicly

reported in the Italian magazine, Oggi on his experiments with a group of physicists in the construction of a “Chronovisor,” a device that permitted reception of pictures and sounds of events from the past.54(V5N4) Ernetti reported that they had been successful with the device dating back to the 1950s. Father Ernetti’s original theory was based on accepting one of the principles of classical science, which predicated that light and sound waves are not lost after emission but transformed and remain pre- A History 11 sent.69 He felt that it theoretically would be possible to reconstitute them by restoring them to their original energy pattern. The Chronovisor consisted of three elements. First a series of an- tennas were linked in a chain. They were formed out of different al- loys and received all or nearly all of the electromagnetic and non- electromagnetic waves existing in space. The second element was de- signed to convert what the antennas received into an electronic signal. The third element produced sounds and images similar to a television set. The device was said to have picked up early pictures and sounds from the ancient days of Rome and from other places and times. =====0===== Raymond Bayless and Attila von Szalay. Raymond Bayless became interested in Attila von Szalay’s earlier work with spirit voices in 1956 and the two men decided to resume von Szalay’s earlier experi- ments.45(85-90) They wanted to determine if von Szalay really could produce objective psychic voices and if they could physically isolate

and separate von Szalay from the source of the voices. The surprising outcome of the experiments led to the first discovery of the tape- recorded voice phenomenon. They published their initial findings as a letter in the January 1959 issue of The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research.48 It was a few months after this that Friedrich Jürgenson13 announced the discovery of the voices in Sweden. The two constructed a cabinet that von Szalay sat in while trying to generate the voices. A microphone was placed in the opening of a trumpet, a device used by Spiritualist mediums to amplify spirit voices, and then placed in the cabinet. A tape recorder was placed out- side the cabinet and connected to a speaker so that any voices or noises developed within the enclosure could be heard. Whistles, whis- pered voices and rapping were heard coming from the speakers whether von Szalay was in the cabinet or outside of it several feet away. The voices could be recognized as male and female and often sounded mechanical. Bayless reported to the ASPR journal that the first taped voices happened on December 5, 1956. Attila had been sitting in the cabinet, Bayless was outside of the cabinet observing and both men felt that nothing had taken place. When the recording was reviewed neither man expected to hear anything; however, they were astonished when they heard a voice clearly say, “This is G.” They immediately per- There is No Death and There are

No Dead 12 formed another test. They stood outside the cabinet and in view of each other. Attila made single whistles while Bayless listened to test the amplifying system. Bayless suddenly realized that they were re- ceiving low whistles in reply. The December test demonstrated that von Szalay was not only able to produce these paranormal voices but was also able to get them to appear directly on the tape recorder. More tests were performed, and on the first pilot test, three distinc- tive voices were heard but were so garbled they could not be under- stood. It may be of interest to readers that Bayless wrote, “I’ve en- countered this type of reception with von Szalay very often. The psy- chic voices will be almost as loud as our own, but so ‘mush-mouthed’ that they cannot be understood.” Most researchers remain baffled to this day as to why some taped voices are often difficult to understand even when they are quite loud. A very evidential voice, that gave credence to the supposition that the voices were coming from discarnates, was recorded on July 7, 1957. Von Szalay was experimenting alone. He had heard no inde- pendent voices but on listening back to the recording of the session he heard, “Hot dog, Art!” The voice ended with a high pitched laugh that had a special meaning for von Szalay. He recognized the voice as that of a woman that he had dated during the Depression. The two had lived on

two-for-a-nickel hot dogs during these hard times and had promised never to forget their hot dog dinners. The researchers soon realized that the voices showed intelligence. One experiment gave the location of Bayless’ brother after being asked where he was. The brother had left town without telling him where he was moving, the information was later verified as correct. When asked the name of Bayless’ grandmother, a name unknown to von Szalay, a voice answered, “Emma,” which was correct. Once, von Szalay recognized the recorded voice of a woman he had known years earlier. They later learned that she had committed suicide only days before her voice was recorded. At first the recorded voices were only five to seven words, but over many years of research, the length of the messages increased and one message of forty-five seconds was recorded. The voices gave their names, delivered messages, answered questions and sometimes even gave advice on better methods of recording and equipment setup. Bayless and von Szalay commented on the criticism, that the voices A History 13 were merely random radio broadcasts, as ridiculous by pointing to the above evidence. They noted that the entities often used crass profanity, something that would not be picked up on the radio. They also felt that the single most important thing that they had been able to conclude from their research was the fact that the voices were somehow inde- pendent of Attila von Szalay’s mind. =====0===== Friedrich Jürgenson. Friedrich Jürgenson,13 of Sweden, recorded

his first voices on a tape recorder in 1959. He was recording the sounds of bird songs near his villa. He was startled to hear among the bird’s melodies a voice talking about, “nocturnal bird songs.” He wondered if he had picked up a stray radio broadcast but felt that it was quite a coincidence to have picked up those words, as he was recording birds singing. He did more recordings and heard his deceased mother’s voice saying, “Friedrich, you are being watched. Friedel, my little Friedel, can you hear me?” He devoted himself to the recording of the voices and published several books, Voice Transmissions with the De- ceased,13 Voices from the Universe, and Radio-Link with the Beyond. Jürgenson had very close connections with the Vatican and Pope Paul VI. In 1969, the Pope gave Jürgenson the Commander’s Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. The award is given to acknowledge an individual’s meritorious service to the Church. Jürgenson told oth- ers that he had found a sympathetic ear for the voice phenomenon in the Vatican. Jürgenson crossed to the other side on October 15 1987, and ap- peared on the television set of Claude and Ellen Thorlin just a few days later. Ellen, a very psychic individual, heard an inner voice re- peating, “Channel 4,” and felt that it had something to do with Jür- genson’s funeral.54(V7N2) Claude got out his Polaroid camera and shortly before the 1 p.m. funeral, turned the television on. Channel 4

was an empty station in Sweden and so it simply displayed random noise. They watched this snow for quite a while and had almost given up. Ellen even left the room, but then a strange thing happened. A spot of light appeared and expanded quickly, disappeared and then ex- panded again. Claude released the camera shutter. The Polaroid pic- ture developed into the face of their friend Jürgenson. The picture was taken at the same time of Jürgenson’s burial service being held sev- enty-five miles away. There is No Death and There are No Dead 14 =====0===== Stewart Robb. Another interesting communication with the other side was reported as taking place in England in the 1960s. Stewart Robb tells about this experiment in his book Strange Prophecies that Came True.60 Robb writes that Michael Ash had told him about a laboratory in Surrey, England where he witnessed a new way to communicate with the next world. Robb asked Ash to write an account of what he saw and he wrote the following, “The setup was a radiation source in a lead screen. The radiation from this source was being recorded by a Geiger counter onto a cathode ray oscilloscope as a spiral tracing. The tracing consisted of a record of each pair of charges produced by the disintegration of the radiation source. The pattern was photographed and was found to be made up of short and long signals like interna- tional Morse Code. The message was decoded by observing that

the signals at the start of a letter were of a slightly different duration than those at the end of a letter. Anyone who knew international Morse Code could thus decode the signals recorded, and records were kept of the words thus produced. “There was evidence of considerable education (although the per- son communicating could not spell very well). The information re- ceived was highly technical and had to do with improvements in the setup used and instruction to the user … The messages were signed “M.F.,” making Michael Faraday, a famous physicist who died in the 1900s, suspect as their possible source. The messages came in at the rate of near eight thousand words a minute, as each photographed spi- ral contained great numbers of dot and dashes.” =====0===== Konstantin Raudive. Dr. Konstantin Raudive, a psychologist, phi- losopher and Latvian then living in Sweden, read one of the Friedrich Jürgenson books. Raudive was intrigued with the voice phenomena, but skeptical, and asked if he could join Jürgenson for a recording ses- sion. After working with Jürgenson, he became convinced that the voices were real. Jürgenson taught Raudive how to record and from 1965 on he devoted his time to the voice recordings. Both Raudive and Jürgenson were multilingual and the voices they recorded were a mix- ture of languages. These voices were unlike any normal voice broad- cast. The speech was almost double the usual speed and the sound was pulsed in rhythms like poetry or chanting.49(226) A History

15 Many engineers, scientists and experts worked with Raudive over the years conducting voice experiments. Physicist, Professor Alexan- der Schneider, was one of them. In 1969 Raudive and Professor Schneider were jointly given the first prize awarded by the Swiss As- sociation for Parapsychology for their work on direct voice messages on tape recordings. Although not the first person to record EVP, Raudive is given a good deal of credit for being the first to bring Electronic Voice Phe- nomena to the attention of a larger audience. His book, The Inaudible Made Audible, was translated into English in 1971 and published by Colin Smythe, Ltd. under the title Breakthrough: An Amazing Experi- ment in Electronic Communication with the Dead.2 In the preface to Breakthrough, Smythe writes that before publishing the book, he wanted to be sure that the voice phenomenon was real. He did some test recordings and thought that he heard a voice, but he could not un- derstand it. He asked Peter Bander, the editor of Breakthrough, to lis- ten to the tape. After listening, Bander heard a woman’s voice say in German, “Why don’t you open the door?” Bander recognized it as his mother’s voice. Bander and his mother had done all of their corre- spondence by tape and her voice was unmistakable. The message also made sense, because during the previous week, Bander had insisted on keeping the door of his office closed and his colleagues had teased him for his seclusion. Bander knew that Smythe

could not understand German and so asked others to write down phonetically what they heard. They all heard the same thing. The voices became known as “Raudive Voices” after Breakthrough was published. However, Colin Smythe and Peter Bander became more aware of Friedrich Jürgenson’s role and continued activity in voice phenomena research. It was obvious to them that a less personal and more accurate name needed to be coined for the phenomena. Peter Bander used the term, “Electronic Voice Phenomena,” in the introduc- tion to his book, Carry on Talking. Smythe said that their policy to use the term, “Electronic Voice Phenomenon,” in an official sense was first carried out in a determined fashion in an article written by Mal- colm Hughes in The Spiritualist Gazette, in April of 1973. In 1971, controlled EVP experiments were conducted with Raudive by the chief engineers of Pye Records, Ltd.50(59-63) Precautions were taken to prevent freak pick-ups of any kind. Controls within the ex- There is No Death and There are No Dead 16 periment also excluded random high or low frequencies being re- ceived. Raudive was not allowed to touch the equipment and was al- lowed only to speak into a microphone. No one present heard anything but Raudive speaking while the recording was being made. However, when the recording was played back, over two hundred voices were found on the eighteen minutes of tape. Many of these messages were personal and very evidential to those who were there. In his book,

Carry on Talking, published in 1972, Peter Bander said that there was so much excitement from those who were there that the experiments continued into the early hours of the morning. Carry on Talking was published in the United States as Voices From the Tapes: Recordings from the Other World.50 In 1972, Belling and Lee, Ltd., at Enfield, England, conducted ex- periments with Raudive and the recording of the paranormal voices in their Radio Frequency Screened Laboratory.50(65-67) Peter Hale super- vised the experiments. Peter, a physicist and electronics engineer, was considered the leading expert on electronic-suppression in Great Brit- ain. The Belling and Lee lab was used to test the most sophisticated electronic equipment for British defense and was expressly designed to screen out electromagnetic transmissions. Before the experiment, Hale had expressed his opinion that Raudive’s voices originated from normal radio signals. The lab’s own recording equipment was used for the test and paranormal voices, that should not have been there, were recorded on factory fresh tape. Peter Hale said after the experiment, “I cannot explain what happened in normal physical terms.” =====0===== Franz Seidl. In 1967, Franz Seidl of Vienna, developed a device called the “psychophone.”45(142) This consisted of a primitive type of radio receiver with a wide frequency range combined with an ampli- fier. A tape recorder was attached to this and any voices coming over the receiver were automatically recorded. Siedl described his device and his work in, The Phenomenon of Transcendental Voices, pub- lished in 1971.

=====0===== Marcello Bacci. Marcello Bacci, of Grosseto, Italy, has been experi- menting in the paranormal for many years and is still active today. In the early 1970s he developed direct “Electro Acoustic Voices” that A History 17 conveyed long messages via a tube radio and were capable of partial dialogue. The people who were lucky enough to attend a Bacci session often heard their departed loved ones talk directly to them through Bacci’s radios.31 Also in the 1970s, associations of people interested in EVP were formed in Germany, Italy, and Austria. =====0===== George Meek, Bill O’Neil and Dr. Müller. Americans George Meek, Hans Heckman and Paul Jones opened a small laboratory to conduct research into the phenomena of EVP in 1971. Meek, a retired engineer had been interested in survival after death for many years. The idea for building a device to speak to the so-called dead was given to him by a discarnate scientist during a séance. The discarnate scientist told Meek that he would cooperate in building the device by giving the laboratory team instructions. Meek wanted to achieve two-way communication with the other side and became convinced that sophisticated equip- ment needed to be developed if communication with those on the other side was to improve. In 1977, Meek was introduced to Bill O’Neil, a gifted medium and electronics engineer. O’Neil’s spirit communicator called himself “Doc Nick” and told him that he was a former radio ham operator. Doc Nick told O’Neil that the development team should

try using cer- tain audio frequencies instead of the white noise that was being used by most researchers. Doc Nick delivered technical information on how to build the communication device and told the researchers that it would provide thousands of sensitive frequencies that the other side would be able to use for communication. A series of devices were made. Soon, another spirit was in contact with O’Neil. His name was Dr. George Jeffries Müller. He materialized in O’Neil’s living room and said that he had come to join the team in their work on the device. In October of 1977, Dr. Müller’s first words were recorded on the device now called “Spiricom.” Müller gave the team considerable personal information about himself. He told them that he died in 1967 and had been a college professor. He gave them his social security number and advised them where to find his death certificate. All of the information was verified as correct. Meek held a press conference on April 6, 1982, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He told those who attended, “An ele- There is No Death and There are No Dead 18 mentary start has been made toward the eventual perfection of an elec- tromagnetic-etheric communications system, which will someday permit those living on earth to have telephone-like conversations with persons very much alive in higher levels of consciousness.” Tapes of the conversations between O’Neil and Müller were made available to the public at the press conference. They provided

very in- teresting listening, ranging from mundane discussions on food to tech- nical advice on how to build experimental video equipment. The sound of Müller’s voice is fascinating as it sounds much like a robot in a science fiction movie. The “robotic” sound of Müller’s voice was an artifact of the suite of audio frequencies that were used in Spiricom. Meek had hoped to present the device to the media at the press con- ference, and by doing so, reach a large public audience. However, a large section of the media refused to attend. In the end the conference made little impact and Spiricom went largely unreported. In addition, Müller eventually told Bill O’Neil that he needed to move on and the two-way conversations via Spiricom ceased. One of the limitations of Spiricom was that it seemed to be depend- ent on William O’Neil. George Meek had others try out the device, one being American researcher and founder of the AA-EVP, Sarah Estep. The fantastic results achieved by O’Neil were never repeated. =====0===== Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless. In 1979, two American parapsy- chologists, Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless, published their book, Phone Calls from the Dead.45 The book was the result of a two-year investigation into phantom phone calls. It provided empirical evidence that many people had received telephone calls from loved ones after the person had transitioned to the other side, and that such phantom phone calls were more common than the authors originally believed. These calls from

another dimension were of short duration and did not register on the telephone company’s equipment. There were even re- ports of calls coming through telephones that were not connected. =====0===== Manfred Boden. In 1980, German cabinetmaker, Manfred Boden, was at his computer when letters and entire lines of text on his com- puter monitor began to change on their own. Boden’s first name and family name appeared, then the name of an acquaintance that had died A History 19 three months before. The message read, “I am here. You will die, Manfred, 1982 accident, August 16, 1982. Yours, Klaus.” A later mes- sage changed and listed the cause of death to be from a heart attack. The message caused Boden much stress, as he was overweight and not living what one would call a healthy lifestyle. Boden’s telephone was also affected. In 1981, strange cracking noises were heard during his telephone calls. Then his telephone con- versations became filled with voices of unknown origin. The voices often could only be heard by one of the parties and this led to many misunderstandings. This continued to happen over a period of four years and telephone company traces found no evidence of problems with the phone line or crosstalk. The various computer contacts and paranormal phone calls received by Boden were investigated by Professor Ernst Senkowski, Dr. Ralf Determeyer, Dr. Theo Locher and Guenter Heim. These men reassured Boden that Klaus, the deceased friend, would never scare him in such a way.

The message had to come from a deceptive spirit and impostor. Boden called friends to assure them that he was still alive after the date given for his death had passed. The experience had caused con- siderable duress. Unfortunately, researchers can be contacted by those on the other side who are not particularly advanced. This message, however un- friendly, was received on a Commodore CBM 8032 personal com- puter, and is considered the first known instance of a spirit using a computer to contact a living person. Manfred Boden’s contacts continued and he was able to reach spir- its who were more advanced. Researcher, Ernst Senkowski, played an eighteen minute two-way conversation between Boden and several entities who said that they were pure energy at an AA-EVP conference in 1985. =====0===== Hans-Otto Koenig. In 1982 electronics engineer, Hans-Otto Koenig, had been closely following George Meek’s work. Koenig was an elec- tronics and acoustics expert and created a device using extremely low beat frequency oscillators with ultraviolet and infrared lights. The “Koenig’s Generator,” as it was called, was set up for a live broadcast on Radio Luxembourg. The station engineers closely supervised the set up of the equipment and Koenig was not allowed to touch the de- There is No Death and There are No Dead 20 vice. The equipment was connected to a set of speakers and switched on. An engineer asked Koenig if the voices would come on request. To everyone’s total astonishment a clear voice replied, “Otto Koenig

makes wireless with the dead,” and chaos ensued. The voice replied, after a second question was asked, saying, “We hear your voice.” Rainer Holbe, the program presenter, assured the audience while they were still on the air, “I tell you, dear listeners of Radio Luxem- bourg, and I swear by the life of my children, that nothing has been manipulated. There are no tricks. It is a voice and we do not know from where it comes.”51(339) The engineers at the station later issued a statement that they had found no natural explanation for the voices that were heard in the studio and on the air during the live radio broad- cast. Fidelio Koberle reported on Koenig’s Radio Luxemburg session in the VTF Post53 newsletter (German EVP association called the Vereins Fur Tonbandstimmenforschung or VTF). He wrote, “Now there are microphone recorded voices of unexpected strength, precision, clear and noise-free. People can no longer say that one is hearing something in the background noise that isn’t there.”54(V2N4) Hans-Otto Koenig demonstrated his equipment at a conference put on by the VTF in 1984. One person who was present commented, “One can hear the answers from the other side at once so this really is like a call with the telephone. Two mothers that had lost their children called on them and the children answered with clear voices and several times with long sentences.”54 =====0===== Sarah Estep. In May of 1982, Sarah Estep founded the American As- sociation of Electronic Voice Phenomena

(AA-EVP) after proving to herself that the paranormal voices were real. She published a quarterly NewsJournal to Association members that provided ideas on equip- ment and experiments, kept them up to date on the latest developments in EVP and ITC, and reported on what various experimenters were receiving in the way of messages. Sarah wrote an outstanding book on EVP and her personal experiences in working with the phenomena ti- tled, “Voices of Eternity.”3 It was published in 1989. A History 21 =====0===== Kenneth Webster. In 1984 Ken Webster, and his friend Debby Oakes, reconditioned a house built on a very old foundation in Dodle- ston, near Chester, England. Not long after they did this, they began experiencing poltergeist activity. Most of it was focused in the kitchen area. The activity included moving furniture, stacked dishes and even hand written notes. Webster, an economics professor, brought home a computer to work on. By modern standards, the computer was a primitive BBC Model 4. The computer had around 32K of memory with a word proc- essor installed on a chip. The only way to save information was to place it on a floppy disc on an external drive. There was no modem, no Internet and no computer network. The couple accidentally left the computer on one evening, and when they returned home, they found a poem that neither of them had written on the screen. They felt that this was some kind of joke and assumed that someone must have entered

the house while they were away. The next time a message was received, they were certain that the house was secured. A friend offhandedly suggested that they reply to the message. They did and the results were astonishing. One computer message said “… You live in my house, with lights, which the devil makes. It was a large crime my house to have stolen.” Over an extended period of communication, the couple learned that the messages were coming from a man named Thomas Harden. Harden gave information on the period of time he lived in and an- swered questions about that time period correctly. The language the messages were written in has been called correct for the 16th century by some and incorrect by others. They asked how Harden communicated with them and were told that it was through a box of lights which sat near his chimney. In an- other message Harden wrote, “You say you are from 1985. I thought you were from 2109 like your friend who brought me the box of lights.” When Harden, in his time period, was arrested, Webster and Oakes decided to try to contact the beings from 2109. They typed out a mes- sage that read, “Calling 2109, calling 2109.” Communication was es- tablished through the computer to these “energy beings” from the fu- There is No Death and There are No Dead 22 ture who had succeeded in synchronizing the time of Webster and Oakes in 1984 with the time of

Harden in 1546. Webster documented the experience in his book The Vertical Plane.52 All together there were more than two hundred and fifty two- way computer contacts over sixteen months. =====0===== Klaus Schreiber. Klaus Schreiber invented a device in 1985 called, “Vidicom,” after studying George Meek’s Spiricom design. He had suffered the deaths of many loved ones in his life. After hearing about transcommunication on the radio, he and some friends conducted an experiment as a joke. Nothing was heard until the very end, when an extra voice was picked up. After that, Schreiber continued recording and picked up the voices of his daughter, Karin, and other deceased family members. The EVP voices mentioned using video as part of his experimentation. He did and eventually recorded faces on his televi- sion by recording blank channels with a video camera. The technique used by Schreiber consisted of aiming a video camera at the television set. The output of the camera was then feed back into the television thereby creating a feedback loop. The loop created a swirling cloud- like appearance in which the spirit images gradually appeared over several frames. This procedure for receiving video ITC pictures is still used by many researchers and is further described in Chapter 13. Schreiber’s first images were blurred, but over the ensuing years and by using the feedback loop, his pictures greatly improved. He cap- tured a picture of his daughter, Karin, and the faces of other relatives. His daughter became his research counterpart

on the other side and assisted him with receiving further contacts from deceased family and friends. Schreiber also received some pictures of those who were fa- mous such as the actress, Romi Schneider. Parapsychologist, Professor Hans Bender, declared that the phenomenon experienced by Schreiber was real. =====0===== Maggy Harsch-Fischbach and Jules Harsch. Maggy Harsch- Fischbach and her husband Jules Harsch, of Luxembourg, began to receive spectacular voice contacts through radio systems early in their experiments in 1986.17(14) Often a high-pitched, computer-like voice came through their radios to announce the beginning and end of ex- A History 23 periments. The entity gave the couple information on how to custom- ize their equipment for better communication. The voice identified it- self as a higher being with no name and told them that they could call him “Technician.” They soon came to know that there was a group of beings working on the other side to make the contacts possible. They called themselves the “Timestream Research Group.” The Director of Timestream was a scientist named Swejen Salter.17(10-14) She told the couple that she was a scientist who had lived in a parallel world and had never lived a life on earth. Salter made frequent telephone contacts to the Harsch-Fischbachs. As time passed many eminent ITC researchers from earth joined the group af- ter their death, including Konstantin Raudive, Friedrich Jürgenson and Klaus Schreiber. On October 4, 1986, the couple received their first video image from Timestream. It was recorded from a television screen

with a video recorder and a video camera. The image was of Pierre K. They had previously received audio transmissions from Pierre. Many more images from the Spirit World came through via video. By 1993, the television transmissions were replaced by computer contacts. Timestream was able to access the hard drive of the couple’s com- puter, leaving detailed messages and amazingly clear computer- scanned images. The contacts received by the Harsch-Fishbachs were nothing short of phenomenal. The information received covered many topics about how those who were communicating with the couple lived in this other realm of existence. The communication included pictures of people and scenes from this other reality being downloaded into the couple’s computer. The main message of all communication was that we do not die and that we continue to live beyond physical death. Information was often of a spiritual nature and also gave information how people should live their life while on earth. Information was also received on the importance of ITC researchers coming together to create a resonant field of energy, and of being of like mind in order for the contacts of these higher beings to continue and improve. =====0===== INIT. The International Network for Instrumental Transcommunica- tion (INIT) was formed out of this desire to form a resonant field be- tween researchers here and those on the other side. INIT had its first There is No Death and There are No Dead 24 meeting in September of 1995. Fifteen ITC researchers attended the

meeting that was closed to the public and the media. They formed INIT and signed a declaration of their underlying aim to ensure that ITC spread with an ethical/moral base as well as a technical one. Information and news of the Harsch-Fischbach contacts were cov- ered extensively in the Cercle d’Etudes sur la Transcommunication62 or CETL journal that was translated into English by Hans Heckman. Later more information on the Harsch couple’s results, as well as in- formation on what those in INIT were receiving, was published in CETL INFOnews, translated by Heckman and edited and published by Mark Macy. Mark continued to provide information on many out- standing and sensational ITC contacts from various researchers in his later journals Contact and Transdimsension. The book Conversations Beyond The Light.17 written by Dr. Pat Kubis and Mark Macy further spread the word of these amazing contacts. =====0===== Consideration of the Evidence of Timestream. As it goes for indi- viduals or groups who receive extraordinary phenomena, the Harsch couple’s results came under attack and criticism. This has occurred with Spiricom, Kenneth Webster, The Scole experiments and others. It seems that it only takes one person to write or say something about a researcher’s results possibly being fraudulent or questionable, for the word to spread. So we researched the subject via telephone calls and letters to people who had been involved and who are respected as be- ing critical and unbiased observers. In August of 1988, respected Swiss parapsychologist, Dr. Theo Locher, was

able to experience one of the Harsch couple’s contacts with the other side. On the day that Dr. Locher was to visit, Maggy Harsch-Fischbach received a telephone contact from their spirit team that said that contact would be attempted at 8 p.m. when Dr. Locher would be present. Dr. Locher had an opportunity to look over the experiment room before the attempted contact. He noted that the small black and white television set used for communications was plugged in but that the screen would not light up. The speakers on the set were also not work- ing. At 8:22 p.m., the television screen came to life and he, along with the Harschs, saw a picture of a group of trees for almost three minutes. He also heard the chopped and synthesized voice of Technician clearly A History 25 from the television set loudspeaker, speaking about the development of ITC contacts. Dr. Raudive greeted them and ended the contact. Dr. Locher was convinced that the phenomenon was genuine. He gave two reasons; the broken television set was made to work and the Techni- cian and Raudive called him by name. If one goes through just a little of the material on the Harsch- Fischbach research, instances of cross-correspondence are found that seem impossible to have been faked. In one instance, a telephone call from Jürgenson was made, first to Maggy Harsch-Fischbach, and then to Ernst Senkowski. Jürgenson told them that the group on the other side would send a picture through

the television of Adolf Homes. That picture did come through Adolf’s television and a transcript and pic- ture were received regarding the communication in Luxembourg. In October of 2002 we contacted eminent researcher and author, Dr. Ernst Senkowski, and asked him about the results that came out of Luxembourg. Quoting from parts of his letter, he wrote that, “There is no doubt from my side that the Harsch-Fischbachs played an important role in the evolution (of ITC) ... I personally witnessed part of these phenomena ... There is no question that the Harschs are psychic and mediumistic. No doubt they realized genuine phenomena which could not have been faked by any normal means. In the case of the Harsch- Fischbachs, I have never seen evidence or proof of fraud. =====0===== Fritz Malkhoff and Adolf Homes. Fritz Malkhoff and Adolf Homes began ITC experiments independently in 1987. Each received voices on tape. Homes of Rivenich, Germany, placed an advertisement in a newspaper trying to find other people with an interest in the phenom- ena. Malkhoff of Schweich, Germany, responded to the advertisement and the two began conducting recording experiments together. They learned of the Harsch-Fischbach contacts with the group Timestream and obtained the schematic for the GA-1 system, which was used by the Harsch-Fischbachs, and had it built.62 In January 1989, they set up the equipment at the Homes residence and tried it out. They were shocked to hear, “The souls will lift up to us,” come out of the radio

loudspeaker. On April 4, 1989 a voice came through the telephone, the first of many phone calls from the other side that would be received by the two. There is No Death and There are No Dead 26 The two set up a Commodore C 64 in an attempt for contact via the computer, and on April 4, 1989, they asked their otherworldly friends for news and stored the text. Two days later, an answer was on the computer. In October of 1989 they began receiving pictures on the television. In October of 1989 Adolf Homes found a short message on his computer. It read, “1120 TELELIVINGRM.” He interpreted this as an alert for a video contact at 11:20 A.M. At the announced time, he re- ceived the first video picture with a spoken comment. In the next four- teen months, three more pictures were received. The third was of Homes’ father-in-law who had died one year earlier. Between the years of 1989 and 1997, Homes received fifty-three telephone calls from the other side, eighty-four radio or telex messages and one hundred ninety-five computer contacts.65(98/2) In 1996, Homes arranged with Deutsche Telekom to have his phone calls monitored and traced for two months. Homes received four paranormal calls dur- ing the time of monitoring, while the telephone company registered no calls at all. The first call from the beyond came on January 15 at 3:35 p.m. “This is Mother …. The results of this telephone control will give assurance to

your friends. Mother is going to contact you several times on your phone …. The vibrational ties with your equipment make our contacts possible ….” Important Instances of Cross-Correspondence In 1991 a group of ITC researchers led by Adolf Homes receive an image of Dr. George Jeffries Müller on their television screen. Dr. Müller was the person who carried on two-way conversations with William O’Neil over the Spiricom device created by George Meek. The image was photographed and an eight by ten picture was later pre- sented to Meek. =====0===== On June 19, 1991, Professor Hans Bender, a German parapsychologist who had made his transition to the other side in May, came through the computer of Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach in Luxembourg and the tape recorder of Adolf Homes in Germany at the same time with the same message.54(V10N4) A History 27 On June 18, Homes had received a telephone call from the other side with the message, “Contact tomorrow morning.” The following morning, June 19, he switched on his equipment; two radios, a televi- sion set and a tape recorder. He and his wife had to go out on business and left the house. They returned at 10:30 a.m. and found the equip- ment turned off. The cassette recorder contained a ten-minute re- cording. The voice was similar to that of Professor Hans Bender’s life- time speaking voice and the message on the Harsch-Fischbachs com- puter contained the same basic message. =====0===== February 10, 1992, Dr. Ernst Senkowski of

Germany was working on his computer and referring to a book by Rogo and Bayless, Phone Calls From The Dead.45 The telephone rang and deceased ITC re- searcher Klaus Schreiber gave his full name. Ernst was on one phone and had his wife pick up an extension phone. Ernst received permis- sion from Klaus to record the call which lasted two minutes. Thirty minutes after Ernst received this call the Harsch-Fischbachs received a call on their answering machine, as they were away from home. The answering machine message referred to the call made to Ernst by Klaus.54(V11N2) =====0===== On April 28, 1992, a French television crew visited Dr. Ernst Senkowski.54(V11N3) The crew conducted an interview and then tried to record EVP voices without convincing results. Right before they were to leave, the phone rang and it was the deceased pioneer EVP re- searcher, Friedrich Jürgenson, on the line. Permission was granted to record the conversation in which Jürgenson first spoke in French and thanked the television crew. The conversation then continued in Ger- man and said that information would also come via the colleagues Homes and Harsch-Fischbach. Ernst wrote, “No outsider knew that the French television crew was here, or planned to be here as the date had been changed shortly before.” The next day Ernst Senkowski spoke with Maggy Harsch- Fischbach on the telephone and she told him that she had had a seven- minute telephone call from Jürgenson before he had placed the call to Senkowski. Jürgenson told

Maggy that they planned to send a picture through to the television set of the German researcher, Adolf Homes. There is No Death and There are No Dead 28 Over a month later, Homes’ daughter received a phone call from Raudive, which she recorded.62(2/92) Raudive said that a picture of Jür- genson would come through Homes’ television the following day. Homes set up his video camera in front of the television the next day, with the television tuned to a blank channel. He turned the camera on and saw a face flash on the screen. At almost the same time a message from Jürgenson was placed on the computer of Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach.54(V11N3) The picture received on the Harsch cou- ple’s computer showed Swejen Salter, one of the main communicators for the group on the other side called Timestream, as she transmitted the picture of Jürgenson to the television set of Adolf Homes. The pic- ture received on Homes’ television was only of the face of Jürgenson and it was the exact same picture that can be seen on the transmitting monitor in the middle of the picture sent to the Harsch-Fischbachs. =====0===== On October 13, 1992, Adolf Homes was in his kitchen washing dishes and listening to a musical program on an FM radio station when he heard the words, “Homes Record!” over the radio speaker.54(V11N4) He grabbed his cassette recorder and microphone and placed them on an armchair in front of the small radio. The music ended

and was fol- lowed by a news broadcast. Homes remained quiet and suddenly heard, “This is Doc Müller.” A four-minute conversation then took place between Homes and Müller over the radio. There were two spontaneous contacts between Homes and Doc Müller via the small radio on Oct.13 and Oct.15. On Oct 21 Homes deliberately called on Müller and made contact. All dialogs lasted approximately four min- utes. On October 29, Adolf Homes’ deceased mother called and told him that William O’Neil was a member of the transcommunication group, Timestream, and was working with Doc. Müller. =====0===== The Scole Group. In October of 1993, four friends, Robin and San- dra Foy and Alan and Diana Bennett, sat around a table in a dark cellar, in the small village of Scole, England.66 Soon, Diana Bennett drifted into trance and a voice spoke through her. The voice introduced himself as Manu and told the group that he was the gatekeeper be- tween earth and the other side. He said that he represented thousands of minds from many other realms of existence. He explained that it A History 29 was the wish of this group of entities to pioneer methods of communi- cation between the two dimensions using “creative energy” that would be a combination of spiritual, human and earthbound energy forces. He continued, saying that the small group in Norfolk had been chosen to help them. Characteristics of this new form of energy include:  No physical dangers to the health of the

medium;  Limitless variety of phenomena produced in this way;  Thought to be relatively quick to develop in a group. This first contact with Manu heralded experiments that continued over a five-year period. Manu was instructed by a team of scientists and technicians on the other side, and as time passed, the Scole Group achieved incredible breakthroughs that were observed by many senior scientists and investigators. Some of the phenomena that occurred dur- ing the sessions were spirit lights that performed intricate maneuvers, responded to verbal requests and were able to go through people and solid objects. Over fifty apports were received by the group. These included various coins and pieces of jewelry. Materialization of solid beings became a common occurrence and these beings were able to be touched by those that were lucky enough to be invited to view the pro- ceedings. Interesting experiments were undertaken with photography. Hand- writing, symbols, pictures and messages were imprinted on factory- sealed, unopened photographic film that had been placed in a locked box. Some of the images were actual photographs of people and places from the past and of other dimensions. Eventually, video cameras were able to record images using blank videotape in a camcorder that was focused on a mirror reflecting a brown ceiling. EVP experiments were conducted via a specially built Germanium device which culminated in an audible performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, recorded on a machine from which the microphone had been removed. The fact that the

Scole Report that was written for the SPR devotes some two hundred and forty pages to the experiments, is an indication of just how varied and extensive the phenomena were.67 There is No Death and There are No Dead 30 =====0===== The history, people and events that have opened the door to EVP and ITC for the world have been described in this chapter. These pio- neers have helped us realize the depth and complexity of these phe- nomena. You will see in the following chapters that people around the world continue the experimentation and research necessary to under- stand the nature of these phenomena, to improve techniques for com- munications and to find ways to apply what has been learned for the betterment of humankind. Chapter 2 Sarah Estep and the AA-EVP Sarah Estep is the founder of the AA-EVP and continues today to grace us with her wisdom and experience as we continue the work of the Association. We asked her to describe how she discovered EVP and what motivated her to begin the AA-EVP. Her response came to us as an essay titled, Death No More a Casket. This title fairly well sums up Sarah’s life experiences that brought her to EVP. Sarah had already come to the conclusion that life ended with death when she was six. Her Grandfather Harry owned a funeral home in another state, and her family visited once a year. In Sarah’s words, “Slipping into the viewing room, I softly closed the

sliding door be- hind me. Walking over to the casket, standing on tiptoes, with my hands gripping the edge of the casket, I gazed into the face less than two feet away. Most children would have been terrified but not me. I could tell by looking at the body in front of me, that there was no life there. He couldn’t hurt anyone, so I was perfectly safe. “Two days after the man was buried, a female body was placed in the room for viewing by loved ones and friends. Again, when my fam- ily wasn’t around, I would slip into the room, close the sliding door and go over to look at her body. My feeling about her was the same as it had been for the man. In my view, there was nothing left in the body. She was gone. She could not hurt anything. “The day before leaving that summer, I crept into the room again. Leaning as close as I could to the woman who was still in her casket, I wondered if anything came to anyone who died, after death. I knew that my mother and father believed in something they called God, but I decided they’d never seen a dead person as close as I had. There was nothing left in dead people, so obviously they couldn’t go on to live another life in what adults called Heaven. The only place a person went at death was into a hole in the ground, where

they’d stay as long as our world lasted. Life ended at death’s door. Death was a casket. There is No Death and There are No Dead 32 For a child of six, these were unusual convictions that lasted for over forty years.” Sarah’s memory of the grief showed by the loved ones of those si- lent bodies led her to decide that she would become a social worker after graduation from college. As testament to her ability to focus on a goal, she was soon employed as a social worker in a child welfare agency. She wrote, “During the next four years, I worked with hun- dreds of children and parents, helping them to a certain extent.” However, it was not until after she married and had three children that she began to have an interest in parapsychology. Her first intro- duction into the world of the paranormal was through the books about Seth by Jane Roberts.14 “I started branching out, and turned to books about reincarnation. If we reincarnated then that meant we survived death! How unbelievably wonderful that would be. It would show I’d been totally wrong for most of my life. It also meant that my three deeply loved children would never really die; for them and everyone, death would not be a casket. The books about reincarnation by Dr. Ian Stevenson,55 psychiatrist, of the University of Virginia, especially ap- pealed to me. I began working in that field since I couldn’t accept something of that nature

unless I proved it to myself. If I could prove just one child had reincarnated, then I would become a believer. “A nine-year-old girl I worked with remembered her previous life as a Native American who had died under a tree in the woods while hunting. She also had another amazing factor that strongly suggested she had been her great-grandmother who died several years before she was born. I contacted Dr. Stevenson, and he invited me to bring Mary and her mother to his office in Charlottesville, VA. I did this and we had a good meeting together.” Sarah’s work with reincarnation and children came to an abrupt end when the child, Mary, unexpectedly transitioned. However, her explo- ration into the unexplained aspects of the world continued. As she wrote to us, “Then I read Handbook of PSI Discoveries49 by Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder. That changed my life. “The last two chapters in their book focused on recording voices, which were called paranormal, through a tape recorder. They men- tioned individuals in Europe, many that were scientists, who had dif- ferent theories as to how the voices ended up on tape. Some thought they were put there by psychokinesis. Others thought they were a mix- Sarah Estep and the AA-EVP 33 ture of radio sounds in the environment. A few thought it might be a living person who was able to put his thoughts on the tape. Friedrich Jürgenson,13 of Sweden, and Konstantin Raudive,2 of Latvia, were the earliest

tapers that had become known for their amazing contacts with those whom they thought once lived on planet earth, and who were now communicating from the Spirit World. These deceased people lived a full life there, and could speak to friends and loved ones through a tape recorder. The authors also mentioned well-known peo- ple in this country, such as Walter Uphoff and Harold Sherman,16 who had listened to some of the European tapes and felt it was a good pos- sibility that the speakers were from spirit.” These books electrified Sarah into action. It is fundamental to her personality that she requires objective evidence before admitting an idea into her worldview as true. So naturally, she had to try to collect EVP samples for herself. “Based on what I’d believed about death for over forty years, obviously something like this—the dead speaking to us from spirit—was impossible.” Sarah committed to experimentation for one week. “The next morn- ing I started, making five-minute recordings as recommended in Handbook of PSI Discoveries. I asked the same four questions over and over, allowing time after each question for an answer. Playing it back at the end of the recording, I heard nothing. I taped for two hours every morning, after everyone had left for work or school, and then for an hour at night, when the family went to bed. There was only silence after my questions. “On the morning of the sixth day, I was so bored with the hours of

futile taping that I was ready to quit. Thinking to myself, ‘If there is really anyone over there (and of course there wasn’t) they must be as bored as I am. Thank goodness I just have twenty-four hours to go be- fore I can stop.’ Trying to take away my total feeling of boredom, and theirs (if there was someone), I asked, ‘Please tell me what your world is like.’ “In several seconds, a clear Class A voice replied, ‘Beauty.’” There followed a long period of trial and error as Sarah persisted in her effort to find the best method to record EVP. Other than an occa- sional encouraging message, such as “don’t give up,” she recorded mostly whispers and was not at all sure that her initial success was anything more than a fluke. It was 1976 and there were few people There is No Death and There are No Dead 34 experimenting with these phenomena. She communicated with the EVP experimenter, Raymond Cass of England, who suggested that she try using a radio that had air-to-ground frequencies—often referred to as an air-band. Sarah purchased such a radio and was soon recording seven to eight messages a day, many of them what she classifies as, “Class A” messages. This experience also demonstrated for Sarah that a background sound source was needed for the voices to form. Naturally, Sarah found that using a radio as a background sound source brings criticism from those who would try to discount EVP as

an artifact of the equipment, imagination or mistaken interpretation of sounds. About this, she said, “Skeptics of recording voices from spirit are especially delighted when they learn about tapers using sound sources to get voices. They are happiest when they discover many of the best tapers are using a radio as a sound source. ‘All of those voices are Earth Plane radio voices from regular broadcasts,’ they tell every- one. They can’t quite explain why the taper is called by name or is having his direct questions (which can be heard first on tape) answered within a few seconds. Some of us have many contacts on the reverse side of our reel-to-reel and cassette tapes. You’ll hear my voice speak- ing backwards, asking a question, or the air-control tower operator or pilot that spoke during the recording, also speaking backwards. You can’t interpret what they or I have said. You can only do that if you return the tape to the forward side. Going back to the reverse (wrong) side of the tape, the only thing that is clear is the voice from an invisi- ble. The skeptics will just shake their heads and usually claim there’s nothing there, even though—as with the forward side—many are Class A. To me, the reverse voices are some of the best objective evidence we have that we are hearing from another world.” Sarah has had many interesting experiences with EVP. For in- stance, she has had contact with several historical figures and managed

to carry on a conversation for over twenty years with an entity claim- ing to be her brother in a previous life. She has also participated with a number of television programs, most of which, concerned field re- cordings in haunted places. These experiences are richly described in her book, Voices of Eternity.3 This book is currently out of print, but there are usually copies available in the Internet used book market. Interestingly, Sarah reports that she has had very convincing EVP from entities who claimed to originate from other planets in our physi- Sarah Estep and the AA-EVP 35 cal universe. In one instance, they evidently came to visit in person. “One morning they told me, “We look like yellow. We’ll sit, sit by the window.” Thirty-six hours later, at about 8:30 p.m., I was in my office reading, which I do every evening. Looking up, I saw a round yellow sphere the size of a basketball, not ten feet from me. It slowly floated down outside the window. It was in view for about three seconds be- fore vanishing in front on my eyes. I was thrilled. It was too small to be an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) but I feel it was an object they sent from their ship to me. The next morning during taping, I asked them many questions about it. A loud, clear voice assured me they had sent the object down for me to see. They said, ‘We see there. We see after

her. Yes, look after her.’ It is obvious that they knew where I sit each night until bedtime. “Several days later, I developed a serious skin condition. There were large places all over my arms that broke out, first looking like a rash but then developing into unsightly sores. Eventually I went to the doctor who said he’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t tell him what might have caused it. He gave me several prescription drugs, and after several weeks it disappeared. I’ve wondered if I might have had some radiation poisoning.” Small spheres of light are often reported in association with the formation of crop circles. Apparent radiation burns are also occasion- ally reported by people claiming to have come close to what they be- lieved to be an UFO. It was not until 1982 that Sarah decided to form an organization that focused on recording voices of the invisibles. She called it the American Association - Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) and published her first NewsJournal in May of 1982. Her aim was to help everyone learn to record EVP and to give objective evidence that there was no death. In the year 2000, and after publishing seventy-four NewsJournals without a miss, Sarah decided it was time to retire from her service to the EVP community. “Eventually, after eighteen years, for several rea- sons, I knew I would have to give up the AA-EVP. I felt though, that it had to continue in order to help others

whether they were taping or not. Who could I ask that would do a good job and who shared basi- cally the same beliefs I had? There is No Death and There are No Dead 36 “Immediately the names, Lisa and Tom Butler, came to my mind and never left. They had been members for several years, and we had exchanged a few e-mails. We’d never met since they lived thousands of miles from me, and I couldn’t claim to know them very well. How- ever, I must have been guided to ask them, for none of the other three hundred names of my membership ever entered my mind. I sent them an e-mail and requested they take over. “A few days later they called and we talked for a long time. Warm, positive energies became a part of the talk. In an e-mail from Lisa a few days later, she wrote they’d discussed whether to accept leader- ship and they both felt strongly guided to do this. We worked together and discussed how I would notify members in the May NewsJournal about my leaving and their taking over. That is what I did, and many members joined them. They have done an outstanding job, and I’ve never regretted for a moment their becoming the new leaders of the AA-EVP. I thank, again and again, the invisibles that guided me into asking them.” To close this chapter, we will quote Sarah concerning her recollec- tion of some of the more

important EVP she has recorded. “Whenever I’m being interviewed for a television program, or the radio, I’m al- ways asked what I felt were the most important messages I’ve ever received. As far as I’m concerned each message is important but there are three that stand out, that are always a part of me. Each was Class A. One of them came as I was finishing my manuscript, Voices of Eternity. A clear voice said, “Your soul is not defeated.” How reassur- ing that is! It tells us that no matter what difficulties we face as we move through this life our soul will always be the same, it will remain undefeated. We will take with us, as we move to Spirit, the soul we had when we came here. The good, or evil, we have committed during our years here, will determine just what kind of a life we’ll find there. We’ll have to make up, possibly in many lives to come, what we did to others that may have caused great problems and sadness. “The second message that is always a part of me came through one morning when I thanked the other side, as I do every so often, for helping me over the years, for communicating with me and turning my life around. At the end of my thanks that morning, a clear male voice told me, ‘We offer soul freedom.’ And so they do. Our knowing that life never ends, our soul is invincible and

remains with us throughout Sarah Estep and the AA-EVP 37 all lives, wherever lived, can give us the freedom to live as we choose. If we are wise, we will live good, helpful lives and thus be able to fully enjoy life in spirit. “The third message that I always hold close to my heart, for several reasons, was their coming through one morning and telling me, ‘Death no more a casket.’ How true this is! It shows that my guides, no doubt from the time I was born, knew how I’d become convinced when visit- ing my grand-parents at the age of six and seeing dead people in cas- kets, that death was a casket. They had always felt they had to con- vince me otherwise that life never ended. “They were no doubt instrumental in bringing the knowledge of audio voice phenomena into my life and helped me with all the verbal contacts that have been received over the years, as well as in other ar- eas. I owe them a debt that I can never re-pay completely. The best I can do, besides knowing that God does exist and that death never hap- pens, is to try to help others as much as possible. Eventually, I will know what grade I’ve earned. I hope it will give me some joy.” The history of the field of EVP and ITC is short; but already, there are important pioneers who have worked hard to open the door for fu-

ture generations. The very thought that these phenomena might exist is absurd when considered in the light of modern science. Yet, these pio- neers have persisted, and in doing so, have laid the solid foundation of rational understanding which we enjoy today. Sarah Estep will un- doubtedly go into the history books as a modern pioneer in our field. The EVP and ITC community owe Sarah our respect and our gratitude for the work she has done in our behalf. She has mentored many peo- ple who sought to record these voices for themselves. Chapter 3 Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP In this chapter, we would like to bring the AA-EVP history up to date by explaining how we came to assume leadership of the Association, and in doing so, tell you a little about who we are. We met in Sacramento, California, in 1982. Both of us had previ- ously been married and we were comfortable in our single lifestyles. Today, it is easy to look back and say, “Of course, we were brought together so that we could shepherd the continuation of the AA-EVP.” But at the time, the quick attraction and decision to marry after just two weeks surprised us both. There was a kind of “knowing” between us from the very beginning, and we entered into our lives together without hesitation. From our view, the thought that we could as easily have not met, or that we could have chosen our single lives over

mar- riage, are unthinkable. Both of us had previously been interested in various aspects on New Age thought. Tom had studied The Silva Method,79 Builders of the Adytum,80 Rosicrucians81 and had even ran a personal improve- ment center at one time. As Tom puts it, “Collectively, these systems of belief teach a person to have a sense of order in reality and to know that a person can learn to be in agreement with that order. My early experience with these systems of belief set the tone for all of what would come in my life.” Tom is quick to admit that knowing things about reality is a far cry from knowing how to apply those things, so he is always seeking ways to live what he has learned. Lisa had read many books in her youth about personal improve- ment and the power of belief and had learned to use affirmations to bring things she desired into her life. In fact, she was so good at creat- ing her reality that it sometimes spooked her. She quickly learned that it was possible to bring things into her life that she did not want if she was not careful in her visualization. All of her experiences did, how- ever, bring learning, which is of course our purpose for being here. Lisa used to call it, “witching things up,” and naturally, she attributes There is No Death and There are No Dead 40 our meeting to this ability. In truth, though,

we both know that it was much more than affirmations that brought us together. The early days of our marriage were filled with the typical trials and tribulations of a couple without much money. Vacations were of- ten spent sleeping in the back of a station wagon at camp sites. One fond memory is of a meteor shower we saw while sitting on the tail gate of our station wagon, near Mount Hood, in Oregon. Then there is the Wild Mountain Cat, the park manager’s cat that jumped on our car in the middle of the night. We knew for sure that we were about to be abducted by aliens. Both of us were seekers, and naturally, we quickly rekindled one another’s interest in metaphysics. One of the more interesting authors we found was Paul Twitchell, and it was while we were reading some of his books that Lisa had an important experience. She had received a call that her father was ill, in the hospital, and not expected to live. Her mother was upset and told her to catch the next plane home. Her mind was spinning as she tried to figure out what to do next. She decided that she needed to meditate to calm herself down. What happened next had not been experienced by her before. She experi- enced a vision of Paul Twitchell and his spiritual teacher, Rebazar Tarzs. In her vision, she came upon the two men sitting on a log with her father and

was told that it was not his time yet. The experience was not like a normal meditation but more of an out of body experience, which is what Paul tried to teach. The meditation experience did in- deed turn out to be true and it was not until several years later that her father made his transition. California weather and outdoor life were central to our lifestyle, as was a large garden and also a green house for the many lovely orchids we had collected. Nature photography became an important hobby for us and we always took our cameras when we traveled. Then in 1987, Tom came home from work and said that his job had been moved to Kansas City. He said that he would have to let the company move us, or he would have to find other work in Sacramento. Culture Shock If you know anything about West Coast living, you will understand when we say that the move to Kansas brought considerable culture shock for us. As it turned out, we ended up working for the same com- Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 41 pany, and financially, we were doing just fine. However, it seemed that working for a corporation drained our spirit and living in Kansas did little to help us replace that loss. It took us nearly three years to finally unpack all of our boxes and hang our pictures on the walls. Almost from the beginning of our stay in Kansas,

we were looking for a way to move back to the West Coast. Although we did not adapt well to Kansas, we realize now that it was exactly where we needed to be. There was not much time in our lives due to the long hours we worked. But because of the long winters and humid summers, whatever spare time we had was focused on metaphysical pursuits, rather than outdoor activities. We discovered EVP and Tom began writing a book about metaphysics. As with so many other people, our introduction to EVP came with Sarah Estep’s book, Voices of Eternity. Even with our background in metaphysical concepts, we found the idea of being able to record the voices of discarnate people outlandish, even improbable. Nevertheless, Sarah made a good case for EVP and we could see that finding out for ourselves would be easy. After all, what if she was right? As it turned out, it did not take long at all until we recorded EVP messages on our old reel-to-reel tape recorder. It is difficult to describe the feeling of wonder we felt when we knew that we had recorded a voice for which there was no mundane explanation. The truth of what we had done was shocking! The para- normal voices became part of our lives, as we recorded nightly, and then spent hours deciphering what had been recorded. Interestingly, we quickly learned that we could not talk about the amazing phenom- ena to anyone that we knew.

The reactions and strange expressions always came quickly, making it clear that our friends thought we were delusional. Wanting very much to know that we were not, we joined Sarah’s AA-EVP and were relieved to find a group of fellow experi- menters who were receiving and recording the voices of those in other worlds. From EVP messages that we received, we quickly satisfied our- selves that the voices were not stray sounds in the environment or stray radio broadcasts. In fact, with deceased relatives giving us mes- sages on our audio tape, we came to realize that EVP was the most important proof of survival that we had ever experienced. There is No Death and There are No Dead 42 The AA-EVP NewsJournals written by Sarah were a wonderful gold mine of ideas, and in an attempt to improve the quality of the voices, we tried many different devices and sound sources that we learned about from the NewsJournal. The NewsJournal also came to be an important source of assurance that other people in the world un- derstood the importance of the voices and were working to bring knowledge of EVP to the public. When we took a vacation from our demanding jobs, it was always to a place that Lisa had found that offered personal development, such as the Light Institute5 about which Shirley Maclaine wrote. For our spiritual growth, we also attended classes at the Monroe Institute4 and Delphi University.6 These classes also helped balance our logical, hard

driving and aggressive work styles. Along with our EVP work, we found a local Reiki83 group to learn and practice spiritual healing. This was our first introduction to spiri- tual healing and we eventually became Reiki Masters. Some of the other classes included a variety of different healing methods, and we could see that all of these come from the same source. Healing meth- ods may have different names but they are all spiritual healing and they all provide a profound demonstration that we are spiritual beings. Naturally, we really enjoyed the personal development classes that we had attended. Soon, we found that EVP was not the only phenom- ena in our lives. There is nothing quite as mentally stimulating as that moment when something happens that cannot be explained with known physical principles. For instance, we were beginning to have prophetic dreams, and occasionally see lights that should not be there. Such experiences drove home the reality of our larger Self faster than any lecture, class or well-written book. The lesson was clear that there is much more to our reality than most people had thought. Our spiritual growth served to make us want even more to escape the corporate world. Both of us were in positions that required us to interface with people in ways that we would not in our personal life. In fact, our corporate lives were quickly becoming radically different from our increasingly expanded view of reality and what was really important in life. We

would return from our classes happy, with new knowledge and our minds at peace, only to have our tranquility shatter by our pressure-cooker corporate lives. Yet, neither of us knew much Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 43 about life outside of the corporation and it was difficult for us to imag- ine our alternatives. After writing out goals of what we wanted our life to be like, we meditated. Remembering her uncanny success using affirmations to change her work situation against what seemed like insurmountable odds, Lisa returned to working with affirmations in an effort to create a more spiritual environment for the two of us. However, we were both educated, logical people working for the same company. On more occasions than we could count, one of us would come home from work threatening to quit, only to be talked out of it by the other. After all, we had good paying jobs and we were not sure of what we would do if we quit, but there was a hole in our lives. Finding the Courage to Drop Out Delphi University is a training center founded by Patricia Hayes and Marshall Smith that is devoted to healing, mediumship and metaphysi- cal studies. Our classes at Delphi began in 1995 and continued into the next year. The classes were intense and sometimes hard on our egos, but we noticed positive changes in our worldview with the very first sessions. The week-long classes involved nearly total immersion into on-campus

living, from dawn to late at night, in which we learned about mediumship, healing and teaching. Even with all of our study in metaphysics and work in EVP, it had simply not occurred to us that we could have the abilities that we had so often read about in others. In fact, EVP had appealed to us because we felt that it was something outside of us, and that we had no part in the creation of the voices. Af- ter the classes, we had little choice but to accept that our mediumship played a part in our success with EVP. The third or fourth night of our first week at Delphi, Lisa stopped to speak with some of the other women who were attending the same class, while Tom continued on to bed. It was very late when Lisa qui- etly returned to the room where Tom was already sleeping. She was still trying to fall to sleep when she smelled cigar or cigarette smoke, and then heard a man speak to her. In Lisa’s words, “It was as if the voice was in the room and outside of me, but it was not waking Tom so I guess it had to have been in my head. The man said that he was Arthur Ford, the mentor of Patricia Hayes and the Godfather to her children. In fact, we were sleeping on campus in the Arthur Ford Hall, There is No Death and There are No Dead 44 and

Marshall Smith, Patricia’s husband, conducted channeling ses- sions for the students in which Arthur spoke through him. “The voice of Arthur Ford gave me three messages. The first was a personal message for me. The second was that Tom and I would be running an organization that would help others learn that death is not the end. The last message was to tell Patricia to get business cards. Even as he spoke, I was wondering how my mind could be producing such incredible happenings. I decided that I was simply hallucinating because I had not been getting enough sleep. Satisfied with that expla- nation, I rolled over for some sleep. But, the voice was having none of that. The voice, calling himself “Arthur,” told me to write the mes- sages down, because otherwise, I would forget them. In my head, I told him I could not do that because turning on the light would wake Tom. He was insistent and also humorous. ‘You write them down,’ he said, ‘and I’ll let you go to sleep.’ Reluctantly, I turned the light on and wrote the messages down. The voice went away and miraculously, Tom did not wake up. “I read over the messages the next morning. They were pretty far fetched. To me, the very thought of Tom and I running any kind of organization like that sounded like wishful thinking since we were working ten to twelve hours a day for the company we were with and there was little

time for anything else. And the last message proved that I had been hallucinating. Patricia Hayes had a successful school and was a well-known medium. She most certainly had business cards. What a ridiculous message. But then, I would never know what had happened for sure unless I asked Patricia if she had business cards. “That afternoon, Patricia was photocopying something for me and I had a minute alone with her. I gathered my nerve, and feeling more than a little foolish, asked her if she had business cards. I will never forget her reply. ‘Arthur has been pestering me about those darn busi- ness cards. I just never seem to get the time to get it done.’” The classes showed us that everyone has a psychic ability and with work it could be brought out. It was when we were boarding an airplane to come home from one of these week-long classes when we both decided to quit work. We were often high on energy right after the classes. During the wait in the airport for our flight home, Lisa said that she was seeing energy around people that was much like the human aura. In awe of this new Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 45 seeing ability, we were laughing and enjoying the moment. Some- where amongst the laughter, we came to know that things had changed in our lives. One of the outcomes we believe people hope for when they attend personal improvement courses is

that they will undergo some form of life-changing transformation that will help them escape their mundane lives as they come to fulfill some divine purpose. People seek signifi- cance in their lives, and we are no different. For us, Delphi did offer life-changing insights that eventually led us to find the courage to make a profound change in our lives. The very next day after we returned home, we put the house on the market. It was the beginning of winter, which you will know is not a very logical time of year to sell a house, if you have spent a winter in Kansas. Nevertheless, we persisted, and began by either selling or giv- ing away everything we owned that would not fit in a trailer and a ten by twenty foot storage compartment. Our intention was to use the money to buy a fifth-wheel trailer and spend the following summer in Alaska. After that, we planned to return to the West Coast where we would stop in Portland, or Seattle, and find jobs. Neither of us talked the other out of executing this grand scheme. In March of 1996, we had our fifth-wheel trailer and a huge truck to tow it, and had begun a journey that would introduce us to some beau- tiful soul-filling country. It is surprising how little fits into a home on wheels. Our EVP recording gear took up precious closet space, but we gladly sacrificed the space. Would the voices be able to

be recorded on this road trip? As it turned out, travel was no barrier for them, but we learned that the voices came in better at different locations. Were these places ley lines, or so-called power spots? Could earth energy be yet another equation in obtaining better quality voices? From Kansas, we went south to Albuquerque, New Mexico, since that is where we chose to rent a storage compartment. Lisa had been raised there and her mother still lived in the valley. From there, we slowly traveled north, taking our time so that we would reach the southern end of the Canada-Alaska highway in warm weather. Along the way, we experienced what we remember as a never-ending spring. The buds on the trees had not yet begun to swell in Kansas when we left. There was just a hint of green in New Mexico, and it was spring There is No Death and There are No Dead 46 for the next few months as we traveled north, staying just south of the frost line. This is a huge country with vast beauty throughout. Along the way we learned that we could make it without going back to work. If you don’t have much of a place to put things, you don’t buy much. So, when we returned from the beauty of Alaska, we passed right through Seattle and Portland, confident that proper budg- eting would allow us to avoid returning to the corporate world. Our plan was to spend the

winter along the Northern California coast, but before settling into a winter trailer park, we stopped in Mount Shasta, California, to check on a piece of property that we had once intended to make our retirement home. Mount Shasta is a beauti- ful place that is dominated by a volcanic mountain whose white peak is visible nearly to Sacramento. The town is also awash in young New Agers who make a pilgrimage there to experience the spiritual energy said to be around the mountain. It had always been our belief that this New Age energy was a lot of hype, but when Lisa woke up after our very first night there; she said that she had had a dream. A being had come to her in the dream and told her that we should not stay on the coast but should spend our winter in Arizona. Experience had taught us to allow ourselves to be guided by such encounters with Spirit. How can you argue with a dream? It was September when Lisa had the dream, and knowing that thou- sands of “Snow Birds” would have already planned their journey south for the winter, we immediately began making calls to trailer parks in an effort to find a place to stay in Phoenix, Arizona, for the winter. There were no spaces available in any of the more desirable parks, and out of desperation, we began calling what we considered the “C” list until we found one with a space that

was big enough for our fifth- wheel. In November of 1996, we arrived in Phoenix to find the people at this trailer park to be very nice, but it was at the end of a busy airport runway, and small planes were constantly taking off and landing. However, we soon learned that we were once again where we were supposed to be. Metropolitan Phoenix is forty or fifty miles across by road, yet the trailer park was only blocks from the Church of the Liv- ing Spirit, Spiritualist Church in Glendale, Arizona.8 We attended their service that first weekend and met the pastors, the Reverends Gene and Sandy Pfortmiller. Sandy commented that she felt like she knew Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 47 us from before, and we felt the same. Since then, we have been very close to Sandy and Gene. One important thing that we learned is that when we mentioned we worked with EVP, Sandy and Gene not only knew what we were talk- ing about, but also believed that the communication came from those in spirit. It was something of a shock for us to learn that these Spiritu- alists not only knew about EVP, they even had a brochure about EVP on their church table that had been written by the Reverend Bernard Baker. Bernard was the director of the Department on Phenomenal Evidence within the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC). His name was familiar to us, as he was also a

member of the AA-EVP. One of the more important services provided by many of the Spiri- tualist churches are classes that include instruction in spiritual healing, mediumship and Spiritualist concepts. It has become our practice to recommend such classes to people who have questions about survival and other metaphysical concepts, as we have found most Spiritualist instructors to have a strong desire to help others develop their poten- tial. We had met a wonderful group of people in Phoenix. That, along with watching the news and seeing that the trailer park we were going to stay in on the California coast had been partially washed away dur- ing an El Niño storm season, led us to believe that we had indeed been guided to Arizona. The NSAC, of which Sandy and Gene’s church was a member, supported EVP as proof of survival. NSAC Spiritualists have no dogma in the usual sense, but they do have what they call a “Declara- tion of Principles.” There are nine of them. Principle Five states, “We affirm that communication with the so-called dead is a fact, scientifi- cally proven by the phenomena of Spiritualism.” If you know anything about the way we approach nonphysical phenomena, you will know that it was easy to embrace the Fifth Principle. In the same way, NSAC Spiritualists have embraced our approach to phenomena. It was another winter and we were once again in Arizona when we received a telephone call informing us that Lisa’s mother was near the

time of her transition. Lisa flew to New Mexico to be with her mother who made her transition on Halloween of 1998. Her mother had left a small inheritance and with this, and a careful budget, we were hopeful There is No Death and There are No Dead 48 that we would never need to return to the corporate world with its ac- companying stress. Phenomena One of the things we really missed while on the road, was the intense physical phenomena that often happened during our immersion in weeklong development classes. Oh, sure, we had some experiences. For instance, while gold mining in the Arizona Desert, we heard a few voices that may have been from outside of our dimension. Some of the old-timers we mined with knew of these voices and refused to camp in that mining area. Lisa also saw an old miner at a different dig site who was probably a ghost. Again, our friends, who were familiar with the area, confirmed that they knew of others who had seen the old man who looked very much alive; but otherwise, could not be found in the area. Wanting to see if we could pick up EVP in these areas, we pur- chased an inexpensive cassette recorder. But it proved to be a waste of time, as we picked up very little EVP in areas that we knew to have haunting activity. Looking back on this, we know it had to be that cas- sette recorder, because

since then, we have collected amazing EVP in the field with the IC recorder that we have now. The second winter that we were in Phoenix, Lisa subscribed to the Morris Pratt Correspondence Course in Modern Spiritualism.10 After seeing that she was determined to finish the course, Tom signed up as well. The Morris Pratt Institute is affiliated with the NSAC and com- pletion of the course is a prerequisite for all of the church’s certifica- tions. It took several years of training and study, but we became NSAC ordained ministers with credentials in healing, mediumship and teaching. In August 2001, we were appointed the Co-Directors of the NSAC, Department of Phenomenal Evidence (DPE). We should make a comment here about the synergy between Spiri- tualism and the AA-EVP. While it is true that much of our work in behalf of either the DPE or the AA-EVP also applies to the other, we keep the two interests separate. EVP is not about religion and we have taken pains to keep religious overtones away from the AA-EVP. In fact, reading this book will probably provide the first inkling for many of our AA-EVP members that we are Spiritualists. Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 49 The AA-EVP In May of 2000, Sarah Estep asked us if we could take over the AA- EVP. Our first realization about taking over the Association was that it would mean another major life change. Perhaps the road trip was over and we were ready

to go back to work, doing something that might make a small difference. A little stunned, and torn between wanting to help Sarah and the recognition that we were not Sarah, we agreed to wait at least a day before responding. As Lisa recalls, “That night I had many beings ap- pear to me in a dream; a very vivid dream. They said, ‘Tom thinks you can do this and Sarah thinks you can do this. You can do this and we will help.’ I told Tom about my dream when we woke that morning. We called Sarah right away.” Sarah told us that she had worried over what to do about the AA-EVP and felt that the Association was impor- tant to many people. She told us that she had felt guided to approach us about taking the AA-EVP over. This is amazing on both our parts, as the three of us had never met in person. Hoping that we knew what we were doing, we agreed then and there to do our very best to continue the Association. Sarah said that she would send a letter of introduction to the members, along with money for the remaining value of their membership. She sent us the membership list, and as soon as it arrived, we mailed our own intro- ductory letter to the members, along with a new membership form. Sarah had been steward of the AA-EVP for many years and she had a long list of loyal members.

Would they rejoin if she was no longer its leader? Even though we had been experimenting with EVP for over twelve years, at the time, we were unknown in the EVP community. Knowing this gave us good reason to worry that perhaps just one or two people would rejoin. What would we do then? Our mail was delivered to us via a forwarding service that added a week to the usual delivery time for mail service. So, we did not expect any membership forms back in the mail that first week. To our great relief, there were twenty-eight. Many of the letters kindly thanked us for carrying on Sarah’s work and described how important the AA- EVP had been to them. Encouraged, we decided that we could give the Association a fair shot even if we only ended up with fifty members. The next bag of mail brought eighty membership renewals! The AA- EVP was alive and well. There is No Death and There are No Dead 50 A House for the AA-EVP Since we were in Reno, Nevada, and had the fifth-wheel at a year- round park, we actually had a telephone line. However, after our agreement to assume leadership of the AA-EVP, came the realization that our 19.2 Kbps wireless, Internet modem and single telephone line was not enough to support the work we had ahead of us. There was a new website to build and maintain and we knew that we wanted to open an email distribution

service for members to share emails and EVP samples with one another. Obviously something had to be done, and it was then that our favorite pastime, “window shopping” for a home, turned into a serious search for an office so that we could have more than one telephone line. And yes, a place that would have room for us to eat and sleep along with a real experiment room, as well. The small town of Reno had always given us good feelings when we visited. The view of the mountains and the big sky that was often filled with lenticular (lens) clouds were our favorite. It took no more than twenty minutes to drive from one end of town to the other; it had an airport, a shopping center, plenty of grocery stores—everything we needed. That is one of the reasons that we spent most of each summer there the last few years we were on the road. Interestingly, we had looked at houses before, but felt that we could not afford them. Our financial resources were and are fixed, and the idea of committing ourselves to the cost of a house was more than a little intimidating. However, as we examined the cost of owning a home in comparison to the cost of living in a trailer, we came to real- ize that we could not afford not to give up our life on the road. As it turned out, living in a trailer is a perpetual financial drain,

while a home always offers the possibility of appreciation. There was a special area that we often toured when we “window shopped” for that house we would like to buy someday. The area was a hill to the north of town and above the University. The same year, and before we agreed to assume leadership of the AA-EVP, we had once again toured “the hill” and stopped by a particularly inviting house that had a “For Sale” sign in front. The place stuck in our mind because the box that held fliers about the house had fallen with Lisa’s first touch. Naturally, the owner had just stepped out the front door. After the mad scramble to help the owner run down the flyers that Lisa and Tom Butler and the AA-EVP 51 were blowing around in the brisk wind, more than a little embarrassed, we jumped back in the car and made our escape. The first time we looked at the price we thought we could not af- ford the house. The second time, the house had been reduced and was just within our affordable range for a home. To make a long story short, we ended up buying the house. Many EVP and ITC researchers say that, when you move to a new location, it can take a while to build up a bridge to the other side. Un- derstanding that some locations were simply better than others were for EVP, we wondered if this would be the case

with our new home. The spirit voices came in on our first experiment. They were happy with the new home they helped us find! That first year was spent taking care of the Association, trying to make more contacts in the International EVP and ITC community and conducting our own research and experiments, while also redoing bathrooms and most certainly getting rid of the wallpaper. In October of the following year we received our first communica- tion from Lisa’s mother. It was a shock but also much needed. She had been mentally ill in her physical life and we had been concerned that she might be stuck close to the Earth Plane. The contact also provided a major healing for Lisa, as there had been unfinished issues that needed to be resolved. A year after that, we began experimenting with video ITC. We talk about those experiences in Chapter 9. We have no idea what tomorrow will bring into our lives, but as we prepare this book, we are very happy in the roles that Sarah Estep asked us to fill. Recording and receiving EVP messages have touched our lives as well as the lives of the many wonderful people in the AA- EVP. You will be reading about many of their stories and experiences in this book. Others outside of the Association, and from many differ- ent countries, write to tell us of their experience with EVP and the messages from those in other worlds. It is our desire

that this book will encourage you to conduct your own experiments with EVP and ITC. For our part, we are exceedingly grateful that we have found a way to serve those in Spirit who want to communicate with their loved ones here on earth, to let them know that there is no death and there are no dead. Chapter 4 Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC There are many researchers working all over the world in EVP and ITC. However, because they speak other languages and information on them is not readily available in English, we have been unable to report on all who probably deserve to be mentioned in these pages. There are many others who are not listed here simply due to space limitations. So what follows are just a few of those who have become well-known, have been covered in the media and/or are spreading the word about these phenomena to the public. Erland Babcock Erland Babcock’s background is electronics and photography. He was a senior electronic technician in various departments at the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology (MIT) for fifteen years. In 1982, Erland’s son, David, was fooling around with a tape recorder because he had heard that one could record voices of the so-called dead. David used a radio between stations as a source of background noise. After making a recording, he took the tapes to his father’s home and asked him to listen to them for unusual voices. Erland could hear something, but

having a background in electronics, he always blamed the sounds he heard on just the noise of the radio or on some artifact of the equip- ment. His son persisted and told Erland to “really” listen. “Listen for a se- ries of tones and then a whispering voice,” he said. After several tries, Erland did hear what was being said by the voices on the tape and was flabbergasted. What he heard was his mother’s voice saying, “Hi David, where is Erlin?” Erland’s mother always called him “Erlin.” “How could this be?” he thought, knowing that she was dead and bur- ied. This experience marked the beginning of a long career of research There is No Death and There are No Dead 54 and experimentation, as he sought to understand the nature of the voices. In 1984, Erland read a story in the National Enquirer about a scien- tist who talked with the dead. Erland was working at a University at the time and so wrote to the scientist using the University letterhead. The scientist was George Meek. Meek eventually gave him a grant to work on EVP and ITC in the fields of possible magnetic influences on EVP, and lasers as a source for both EVP and optical ITC. As part of Meek’s team, his research focus was primarily on laser technology, while Hans Heckman focused on magnetic field research. Erland had read about the work of Klaus Schreiber who had re- ceived a picture of his discarnate daughter

using video equipment. At that time, Erland was working in MIT’s Audio/Video Laboratory and believed he could apply some of his expertise in Video ITC experi- ments. He copied Schreiber’s video loop method, which is very much like the one we describe in Chapter 13, and immediately began receiv- ing phenomenal features. Erland may be the first person to work with Video ITC in the United States. Over the years, Erland Babcock has received many wonderful ITC images, including scenes of people, animals and landscapes. Samples of his work are included at aaevp.com. Stefan Bion Stefan Bion always asked questions like, “Where was our conscious- ness before we were born; where do we go after we leave behind our physical body and what is the meaning of this ‘play’ called life?” He began to read esoteric literature in his search for answers. In 1987 he met an author of one of those books and was told about Electronic Voice Phenomena. Stefan had some knowledge of electronics and saw this as an ideal field of research. He found the address for the German EVP association, Vereins Fur Tonbandstimmenforschung (VTF), and contacted them. At a monthly meeting of one VTF group, he was able to convince himself that EVP was real. He conducted his first EVP recording as soon as he returned home. He wrote, “I took an elektret microphone with a preamplifier, which I put into a glass bottle with a wide neck for the purpose of resonance. I have no

idea whether this made sense. It was approxi- mately 1:40 a.m. and absolutely quiet. I made the first recording and Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 55 analyzed it, nothing except the ticking of my alarm clock. I removed the battery from the clock. Second recording at 2:00 a.m. I listened again and suddenly, like out of the void, there was a voice which sounded like a talking budgie: ‘You see, I can’t do this!’ It was over- whelming! “Next I visited a local VTF group in Cologne. Mrs. K. told me, ‘We’re recording using water.’ I didn’t understand what she meant. When we entered the ‘EVP recording cellar,’ I saw the mysterious equipment: Several funnel-shaped piezo speakers hung down from the ceiling, and a wire connected them to a funny-looking metal tea-can, which, after removing the cover, turned out to be a self-made micro- phone preamplifier. A reverberation device and a cassette deck fol- lowed. The mentioned ‘water’ was a fountain in the garden pond whose splashing noise penetrated quietly through the cellar window into the room. When the recording started, I was quite curious. Each one of us asked some questions, and upon playback, I noticed the pe- culiar sound of the recording which was probably caused by the fre- quency response of the piezo speakers which were ‘abused’ as micro- phones. The original splashing noise was no longer identifiable as such. Instead, a strangely croaking noise was heard which sounded somehow articulated and sometimes actually contained

words and even sentences! Especially astounding was a voice which seemed to make a technical comment, “Has of course also a sound switch— contact!” I was really stunned. It was always said and written that EVP were very faint and only decipherable after a long time of prac- ticing—and now there was such a clear voice which I was able to hear immediately!” A time of experiments followed, in which Stefan tested all known recording methods. He wrote, “I soon noticed that the quantity and the quality of the voices does not depend primarily on the technique used, but that there’s another ‘unknown factor,’ which lets the results vary in temporal periods. As frustrating as this can sometimes be—it clearly shows that EVP are not merely a technical-physical or a perception- psychological phenomena. I experimented with different kinds of acoustic ‘raw materials’ and now use a computer to produce a syn- thetic background noise which can be used by the ‘voice entities’ to form their messages. The software is free for anyone who is interested There is No Death and There are No Dead 56 in this method.” This software is known as EVPMaker72 and can be downloaded from the Internet at no charge at: www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/. Since 1997, Stefan has been the administrator of the VTF website, and since 2001, has been the editor of the VTF-Pos German language EVP magazine. Stefan tells us that, “Besides my technical interest, also the phi- losophical and spiritual aspect of this phenomenon has

always been important to me. Perhaps this research can contribute to a more hu- mane world by making people realize that there could be something beyond our pure material existence, that life does not lead us into a dead end and that we are all embedded into something greater. For details on contacting the German EVP organization, the VTF, please see information under Jutta Liebmann in this chapter. Jacques Blanc-Garin Jacques Blanc-Garin of France and his wife Monique Laage, work to- gether in the field of ITC. He has a strong computer technology back- ground and currently operates an information security company. Jacques’ introduction to EVP came in 1986, soon after the transi- tion of his first wife, Annick. He received his first EVP from Annick nine months after his first recording efforts. This short message, in which he recognized Annick’s voice, was, “Je suis là” (I am there). Jacques began experimenting with Video ITC in 1991 with his re- search friend, Monique Simonet. Some of their results were published in her books about ITC. It was in 1992 that he met Monique Laage and founded the ITC association, Infinitude. The focus of Infinitude is to help people who are mourning. EVP is used to communicate with the deceased. This helps people accept the loss of a loved one and also learn they will continue to survive. Infinitude offers various forms of support for those who are grieving. This includes a website, www.infinitude.asso.fr, conferences, and a magazine. With sixteen hundred

members, Infinitude is a very active Associa- tion. Jacques has told us that, “Since the founding of Infinitude, we have provided eighty lectures, conducted more than one hundred and fifty experiments during conferences and have conducted more than four hundred and fifty EVP sessions that enabled grieving families to contact their loved ones on the other side. We have focused our efforts Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 57 on grief management sessions with people in mourning, but we also assist people who need help understanding and dealing with haunting situations. To facilitate this, we have begun travelling to various prov- inces throughout France to meet with people who are not able to travel to our city. As part of these travels, we have visited fifteen towns since 1998, in which we have held congresses to present ITC and have par- ticipated in six television shows.” As testimony to just how active Infinitude is, Jacques has told us that they have published an ITC magazine, first known as INF’INIT, then Infomonde Tci and now an excellent trimester publication known as Le Messager. They have also released two audio tapes with EVP samples titled, Voyage dans l’Au-delà et Messages de l’Au-delà. Fi- nally, he and his wife, Monique, have written a book about their story and their work with ITC titled, En communion avec nos défunts, dans l’infinitude de l’amour, edited by Les Editions du Rocher in June 2002. Jacques Blanc-Garin closed his comments to us with, “The most important

part of our work is to help people who have lost a loved one, but we also participate in research projects.” Anabela Cardoso Anabela Cardoso is Portugal’s consul general in the Rhone-Alps re- gion of France. She has a Ph.D. in Germanic Philology and was Portu- gal’s first female consular. After being deeply stricken by the grief of losing a loved one, and in an effort to find out what really happened to those whom she loved and missed, Anabela and a small group of people began attempts to make contact with other realities by means of EVP in 1997. Two other members of the four-member group were also suffering from the loss of a loved one. The background noise used for these communications was that of three radios variously tuned between station on the short wave and AM bands. The group customarily sat with a tape recorder, asked a question, and then waited in silence for a time. After which, they re- wound and listened to the recording to see if an answer had come via EVP. At the end of two and a half months, the answers began coming, sometime including words in two or three different languages. Ana- There is No Death and There are No Dead 58 bela’s mother tongue is Portuguese but she speaks other languages as well. The little group eventually disbanded, but Anabela continued trying to make contact with those on the other side. She had read Hideard Schäffer and Maggy Harsch-Fishbach’s books

on ITC, from which she learned about Timestream Station. Timestream is a group of thousands of people in spirit, many of whom are devoted to establishing commu- nication between their world and ours. She included questions about Timestream in her attempts to make contact with the other side. On March 11, 1998, Anabela was alone at home conducting an EVP ex- periment when she heard her first direct radio voice. The contact on the radio from the other side was made by Carlos de Almeida of the group, Timestream. She writes that this was the most memorable day of her life and that she was in a state of shock for twenty-four hours and unable to turn the radios on for a couple of days. Anabela Cardoso established the ITC Journal,68 with the hope that it would provide an incentive for those who wanted to know more about Instrumental Transcommunication and provide a guide for oth- ers wishing to learn how to experiment with the phenomena. She is the Director and Editor of this nonprofit publication and there are many highly respected EVP and ITC researchers on the advisory board. The journal is published quarterly, and includes articles by renowned re- searchers and specialists in the field of EVP and ITC. For more infor- mation on the ITC Journal see the website: www.eureka.ya.com/cadernostci. Judith Chisholm Judith Chisholm is a journalist living in London who unexpectedly lost Paul, one of her sons, in 1992. Overcome with the grief from this loss,

Judith embarked on a search to learn more about what had hap- pened to Paul after his death. Judith met another woman whose son had also died, and was told about a weekly séance that met near her home. She began attending the sittings, and one evening, took her tape recorder and placed it on the table in the center of the circle. When she later listened to the re- cording she heard a woman saying, “Judith.” This intrigued her, as she was certain that her name had not been spoken during the sitting. Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 59 After some research, Judith learned about EVP and that the voice might be an example of that type of phenomena. she began working with her other son, Victor, to record for EVP. They sat for an hour twice a week, recording and examining the resulting sound tracks. Their focus was on contacting the woman who had whispered Judith’s name, or of course, any other spirit that would communicate. The experiments continued for six months without results. Then, just as they were about to give up, they finally heard something on a recording. A man’s voice said, “I’ve been every week!” After this the voices came more frequently and Paul, the son whom Judith so des- perately wanted to speak with, recorded his voice in early 1994. This was eighteen months after his death. Judith Chisholm has recorded hundreds of paranormal voices and written a book about her discoveries

titled, “Voices From Paradise.”57 In 1996 she started The EVP and Transcommunication Society of Great Britain and Ireland in order to disseminate information about EVP. She publishes a quarterly newsletter for the Society, has pro- moted EVP on television and has provided many presentations and talks promoting the voices from the invisibles. You can go to www.voicesfromparadise.co.uk for more information on the EVP and Transcommunication Society of Great Britain and Ireland. www.voicesfromparadise.co.uk Pascal Jouini Pascal Jouini is a French researcher who has been working in the field of ITC for over fourteen years. The exploration began with his very passionate interest in ghosts. His search into this field is purely ex- perimental and apart from all philosophies and religions. His website (http://perso.club-internet.fr/pjouini/menugb.htm) dis- plays many of his ITC pictures, as well as diagrams and pictures of his ITC equipment. There are also images displayed that have been cap- tured by other experimenters. One feature that sets Pascal’s website apart from others is his online Video ITC webcam. He usually runs a Video ITC experiment on Sundays. People from around the world can visit his site and see what an experiment looks like, and even partici- pate by capturing “screen shots” while the experiment is running. There is No Death and There are No Dead 60 Tina Laurent Tina Laurent, England, had read Konstantin Raudive’s book Breatkthough,2 but it was not until 1981 that she heard her first voice. She wrote, “I remember the first time I listened to discarnate voices

emanating from magnetic recording tape! It was 1981, in the Maryland house of Sarah Estep. For three hours I sat enthralled, listening to the voices and knowing full well that this was a day that was to change the course of my life.” When Tina returned home she borrowed a tape recorder and began attempts to communicate with any passing spirits who might hear her. She immediately heard unintelligible whispers and was certain that they should not have been there. Within two weeks, Tina heard her first intelligible voice saying, “Tina.” Since then, she has contacted her EVP friends on a daily basis. Tina Laurent has written several articles on EVP, provided many public presentations spreading the word about the phenomena and has appeared in numerous TV programs. Jutta Liebmann Jutta Liebmann, of Germany, read about Konstantin Raudive’s book, The Inaudible Made Audible (original version of the book later trans- lated into English as Breakthrough) in a fashion magazine at the hair- dressers. Due to her interest, her parents bought the book as a gift for her. She read the book with a mixture of skepticism and belief. Jutta put the book away for nearly two years, but something lead her to return to it, and it was not long before she began experimenting using a microphone and reel-to-reel tape recorder. After six weeks, she recorded her first word, “Contact,” and this word was repeated during her next recording session. Jutta, was a little bit frightened at first, and tried

to find an EVP recording group for support. Jutta became acquainted with Hanna Buschbeck, an EVP pioneer who was coordinating experimenters in Germany. At her first meeting with the group, she had the privilege of meeting the great pioneer Friedrich Jürgenson. EVP experiments changed her worldview to a more spiritualistic at- titude towards life. The authenticity of EVP brought Jutta to the reali- Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 61 zation that there is a spiritual world and that individuals survive bodily death. She has received reasonable answers and statements from the spiritual world in reply to her questions concerning many topics of general interest. She has told us that she has received answers “con- cerning the existence of non-human entities … in the cosmic worlds, i.e. entities originating from another evolution than mankind.” Some of Jutta’s friends in spirit were interested in extraterrestrial life and have given her fascinating answers during her numerous EVP recording sessions. In the mid-eighties she began recording long mes- sages that appeared to be transmitted with an extraordinarily strong energy containing strange background frequencies. These messages sounded quite different from those that she usually received, leading her to believe that they came from a different dimension and might even be of extraterrestrial origin. She wrote, “I have never before or after recorded such long and clear messages. Therefore, I base the fact that ninety six percent of the EVP contacts originate from the spiritual worlds and the rest come from extraterrestrial and/or inter-dimensional

realms of existence.” She has received thousands of EVP voices. She has recognized the voices of deceased relatives and tells us that many messages have been extremely helpful in her personal life and have helped her to avoid harm on several occasions. Her audio archives include many clear au- dible voices that have been presented at the twice a year Vereins Fur Tonbandstimmenforschung (VTF) conferences. Jutta has been a mem- ber of this German EVP and ITC group since it’s foundation by Fide- lio Koberle in 1975 and has been on the board of directors of the VTF since May 2000. The VTF’s goal is to prove the spiritual survival of bodily death. They publish a quarterly magazine. For further information on this or- ganization you can go to their website at: www.vtf.de. Alexander MacRae Alexander MacRae (Alec), Scotland, began researching EVP in 1979. As part of his study, he developed a biofeedback device designed to detect changes in the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) of mediums. The Alpha, as he named it, included self-balancing circuitry that caused a There is No Death and There are No Dead 62 light to change color as the GSR changed. It also generated audible tones that changed in frequency with a change in GSR. Alec was conducting experiments on the device in 1982 when the Spirit of Serendipity intervened. He was trying to increase the sensitiv- ity of the device and was frustrated. Deciding to take a coffee break, he sat the device on

top of an old clock radio. Unknown to Alec, the radio was actually turned on but was not tuned to a radio station. He had the GSR contacts on and they were connected to the Alpha. Quite unexpectedly, he found that sounds came from the radio in response to his every movement. Even his surprise registered as a change in sound. He tried to take down some lab notes on this unexpected event but his every move caused new noise in the radio. A small tape re- corder was close by and he used it to dictate his notes about his ex- periment so that he would not have to move the GSR contacts while writing. When Alec reviewed the tape recording containing his lab notes, he was shocked to hear a voice that was not his own say, “Carl John- son.” He rewound the tape to see if there were other EVP that he had missed and there were. The first message was the voice of his father who had died eleven months before. This serendipitous combination of events resulted in the develop- ment of the “Alpha” Device. The Alpha has gone through many modi- fications and Alec continues to work on improvements to the device. In March of 2003, he flew from Scotland to the United States to test the Alpha Device in a laboratory at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). On March 03, 2003, at about 11 a.m., EVP messages were recorded in an IONS laboratory,

in California, using the Alpha Device. The lab was shielded from all electromagnetic radiation, such as radio waves or laser beams. It was also shielded from all acoustic waves in- cluding audible sound, infrasound or ultrasonic waves. In Alec’s opin- ion, “There is no way known in our present science that the EVP could have been recorded in this laboratory by physical means.” For more information on Alexander MacRae, visit his website at: http://aspsite.tripod.com/. Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 63 Mark Macy Mark Macy was raised in Windsor, Colorado where he earned degrees in journalism and electronics. He worked for two decades as a profes- sional writer and editor on newspapers and in technical writing de- partments of high technology corporations. In the early 1980s, Mark was an atheist who was firmly convinced that notions of God and an afterlife were no more than wishful thinking. In 1988, Mark was diagnosed with cancer. He read many books during his return to health, some of which opened his mind to the pos- sibility of a higher reality. However, his skeptical mind still needed proof that the things described in books by such authors as Paramah- ansa Yogananda, Herman Hesse, and Peter Hayes, were real. Mark found that evidence in a new field of research called Instru- mental Transcommunication. ITC represented the research of a few individuals working on spirit communication through technology. The findings of George Meek, Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach, Adolf Homes, and Fritz Malkhoff, were so amazing

and so indisputable to Macy that he became immersed in the work of promoting and sharing information on ITC with the world. As one of the founders of INIT (the International Network for In- strumental Transcommunication), Mark arranged funding for the an- nual meetings of its members who were scientists and ITC researchers from various countries. During the 90s, Mark published a journal that provided information on the amazing ITC results of the research team, Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach, Adolf Homes and others.62 He later published the journals Contact and Transdimension,56 through his organization, Continuing Life Research. In 2002, Mark formed the organization, World ITC, with ITC re- searcher, Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt. This is a nonprofit corporation for scientific and educational purposes, “…to promote decency in human relationships, to sustain resonance among ITC researchers and to forge a link with the light, ethereal realms of existence.” Mark spreads the word about ITC research through presentations, radio and television interviews, and has authored several books. Visit Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt and Mark’s excellent World ITC website at www.worlditc.org/. It is filled with interesting articles, historical in- formation, video clips, voice examples and information about various researchers. There is No Death and There are No Dead 64 Dale Palmer Dale Palmer is not an experimenter, but he needs to be noted in this book as one of the important supporters of the scientific investigation of what he calls, “Electronic Disturbance Phenomenon” or “EDP.” EDP is a term coined by long-time researcher Professor Euvaldo Cabral Jr.

Dale Palmer has founded the Noetics Institute, Inc. (NII), a not-for- profit organization with headquarters in Plainfield, Indiana. Professor Cabral has been with the NII since the end of October 2001, working in a very specific sub-area of EDP: the voices heard in the background of files containing only recorded noise. NII researchers have been working with pseudo-random noise generated by software and with noise generated by different hardware devices. According to what they report, their conclusions up to now are remarkable and they are con- vinced they will be able to publish their results in the mainstream of science. Paolo Presi Paolo Presi has been interested in ITC since 1973.68(10) He has written many articles for several well-known ITC and parapsychology jour- nals. Presi has a technical background and uses the scientific method in his research whenever possible. After years of research into EVP, ITC and related phenomena, such as direct voice, his efforts have been directed into documenting the phenomenal constraints and variables which characterize these phenomena. Presi’s research has brought him to several conclusions. He has found that the psychological conditions existing in the experimenter are fundamental for the production of the phenomena and that the qualitative results are strictly dependent on the level of mediumship existing in the experimenter. He has also concluded that technical de- vices used in experiments are not the determining factor in receiving EVP and do not influence either the quality or quantity of what is re- ceived. He also notes that

the EVP phenomena do not follow well- established physical laws. These conclusions are based on sound re- search conducted by him and other researchers in the field. Some Researchers Working in EVP and ITC 65 Presi is one of the founding members, and on the Board of Direc- tors, of the “ll Laboratorio” (Interdisciplinary Laboratory for the Bi- opsychocybernetic Research.) This is an Italian Research Association, founded in Bologna in 2002, that is dedicated to scientific and techni- cal research into paranormal phenomena in Italy. A number of profes- sional independent researchers, such as Presi, Marcello Bacci and Daniele Gulla, are in charge of scientifically testing the authenticity of the paranormal phenomena that takes place with the specific task of validating the authentic phenomena and exposing the fraudulent or improvised ones. Presi, along with Daniele Gulla and Michele Dinicastro, manage an International Program in the Association for researching into the pos- sible electroacoustical anomalies characterizing the paranormal voices. This investigation is using the most sophisticated professional soft- ware for voice electroacoustical analyses. The website for ll Laborato- rio is: www.laboratorio.too.it/. Sonia Rinaldi Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi, began her research into EVP in 1988. She had read Jürgenson’s book and other such literature on EVP in the 70s. Then in 1988, in a session with a trance channel at the Bra- zilian Institute of Psicobiofísics Researches (IBPP), she met Dr. Her- nani. It was suggested that they should begin experiments with ITC, and they began experiments that same week. At the

time, there was no literature that provided details about how to conduct ITC experiments, and they were forced to improvise. It took almost three years for the group of researchers to hear the first paranormal words. They later dis- covered that the long delay in their success was because there was no “station” on the other side at the time that was interested in contacting Brazil. Finally, they had news of the foundation of a group of spirit entities who were interested in developing contacts with them, and the communication with those in spirit began. Sonia told us that, “There is now a Station in the Beyond especially destined to contact Brazil, and which has now expanded to other countries of the Americas, begin- ning experiments in ITC is now much easier than at the time I began.” There is No Death and There are No Dead 66 Sonia has written several books on her work and founded the ANT (AssociaçÃo Nacional de Trancomunicadores), the Brazilian ITC as- sociation in 1990. Today, this association has 1,700 members from all around Brazil. The ANT website is: www.geocities.com/ant-tci/ Sonia tells us that those on the other side are using ITC to give people information in a very concrete way that spirit survives after the death of the physical body. This has enormous implications; for exam- ple, grief management. She has been helping parents whose children have died by making phone calls to the Beyond so that the parents might communicate with their

loved ones. A transcript of one of her telephone calls is provided in Chapter 8. Siyoh Tomiyama Siyoh Tomiyama of Japan is a composer and guitar player. From a very young age, and as a result of a possible out of body experience, he has always wanted to know why we live and the purpose for our lives. He read many books and at the age of twenty became convinced of an afterlife. In 1997 he translated Conversations Beyond the Light, by Dr. Pat Kubis and Mark Macy, and introduced it to the Japanese people. He has also introduced to the Japanese people the research of the Scole Group in England, Victor Zammit in Australia and others research through the Internet and magazines. His most recent article, “The logical structure of the afterlife,” was published in 2002. Siyoh conducts ITC experiments once a month with a small group of people who have formed ITC Japan. After a deep breathing exercise they tape for about three minutes using the video feed back loop method. Siyoh established ITC Japan and maintains a Japanese language website at: www.spiritmusic.net. Chapter 5 Examples of EVP What do the messages from the other side say? In the next two chap- ters, we want to give you examples of what EVP messages are like. The paranormal voices can come through in some very surprising ways and not just on a particular person’s tape recorder. Over ninety percent of the reports on EVP presented here come from past

or current members of the AA-EVP. Each quarterly News- Journal includes reports from members about interesting and surpris- ing examples of EVP messages they have collected. At the time of this writing, the NewsJournals and other historical documents are being made available to AA-EVP members in an online document archive. The archive is intended to become a valuable re- source which should help people learn from the past so that they may be more prepared to work in this field. Many of the individuals, who have heard about electronic voice phenomena, join the Association and then conduct their own experi- ments with the hope of reaching a loved one. Just as some people seek the services of a medium to find assurance that their loved one still lives and is all right, many pick up a recording device for the same reason. One of the important benefits of an EVP message from a loved one is how extremely evidential it can be. There is no other evidence like it. The examples provided in the following pages will give you an idea as to the nature of EVP and of what is possible in your own recording. In some of the examples, we have used only the person’s initials or first name in order to protect his or her privacy. Hearing from Loved Ones Through EVP One of the more dedicated original members of the AA-EVP is the amazing researcher, Clara Laughlin. In the field of mediums, some have risen to

the top because of the consistent evidential information There is No Death and There are No Dead 68 they receive. Clara Laughlin has done this through her work with a tape recorder. Clara read a book on EVP in 1959, but it wasn’t until much later that she became involved. In 1982 she, along with Mercedes Shepanek and Betty Evans, had the good fortune to meet Sarah Estep who gave them a demonstration on how to record EVP. In late July of that same year Clara began her experiments and received her first voice, “Hello,” on August 4. Her spirit team had made immediate contact! Clara’s original spirit team consisted of her husband Tom and Dr. William Callie. They were later joined by a friend’s husband, her sister Elsa, and finally by Mercedes and Betty. Clara’s husband, Tom, was in the hospital undergoing tests in 1981. He called her and told her to come to pick him up, as they were ready to release him. When she arrived, he was not in the room and she quickly found that he was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). When she reached the ICU, she learned that Tom had had a heart attack and that several doctors were gathered around his bed attending him. She heard them say, “Try again,” and shortly thereafter, they came out of his room, many with tears in their eyes with the news of his passing. Tom had been connected with the hospital and many of these

people knew him well. One of Clara’s first EVP messages came from Tom. The message was quite long for an EVP message and it was also extremely eviden- tial. Tom’s EVP said, “After I died at Walter Reed, I awakened. I looked around for you and B. and you were not there. Then they took me to Pathology where they did research on me (an autopsy). You think of our beautiful life together. Don’t look back. Nothing has changed. It isn’t over yet.” In a recording on May 2, 1983, Clara received these EVP messages from Tom, “I was sick on earth. No more. No longer sick.” On May 3, she again recorded messages from him saying, “Clara I have to say this. I am living.” On May 7, he came through again saying, “Clara … take this serious. I continue to live. This is the truth.” Clara soon realized that there was one particular person on her re- cordings who was always there and who brought the people to talk to her when she asked for them. He called himself Dr. William Callie, Bill, or Doc Callie. It was Callie that first brought Tom to talk to Clara. Of course Clara wanted to know more about him and asked him Examples of EVP 69 if he had known Tom before. He replied, “Tom was in trouble and I came to help.” This had been the time that Tom was in the hospital and had made his transition. Dr. Callie

is now a close friend of both Tom, in the spiritual realms, and Clara in the physical. Clara also has received many EVP messages from two other charter members of the AA-EVP, Mercedes Shepanek and Betty Evans. Both are now on the other side but continue their interest in proving that we live after death. In 1991, another AA-EVP member, Walter, crossed to the other side. Both Clara and Mercedes, now also on the other side, had been friends with Walter. After Clara heard about Walter’s transition, she made a recording to ask Mercedes about Walter. She was careful not to mention his name, but asked Mercedes if she’d had a recent transi- tion over there from, “One of us.” Mercedes voice replied back on the recording, “Walter. No kidding!” Clara’s sister, Elsa, finally crossed to the other side after a long ill- ness. Clara conducted a recording and at the time did not know that Elsa had passed, but on the recording her spirit friends told her that Elsa had died and now was with her friends and loved ones. Clara made a call to relatives and confirmed Elsa’s transition. The next day she conducted another recording and Elsa came through saying, “It’s a miracle, Elsa your sister.” =====0===== Martha Copeland’s first EVP messages were wonderful confirmations of survival. Her daughter, Cathy, was best friends with Martha’s niece, Rachel. Rachel and Cathy had been in an automobile accident in which neither was hurt, but at that time they made

a pact. If one of them died, that person would try to reach the living one, through the computer. Just weeks after this, Cathy was killed in another automo- bile accident in which she was once again the passenger. Rachel was upset because she missed Cathy and one night demon- strated this by yelling and kicking things around. She shouted, “Cathy, you left me alone. You said you would come back and contact me!” After a while, she turned on her computer and made a recording. It was in that recording that she heard Cathy say, “I’m still here.” A young man’s voice is then heard saying, “How do you know they can hear?” There is No Death and There are No Dead 70 After hearing Rachel’s recording, Martha sat down at the computer and tried for many hours to record Cathy’s voice. Frustrated by her lack of success, she began crying. Cathy’s voice is heard saying, “Mama I’m right here!” Soon after these first messages, Martha took Cathy’s cell phone to the phone company to find the voicemail password for the phone so that she could check for possible messages that may not have been re- trieved. She wrote, “I was placed alone in a small room with the phone to contact the customer service department. While on hold, Cathy’s cell phone rang and then went into voicemail right away. I had to wait four hours after my call to customer service to access her voicemail. The only message

was the call that I received while in that little room. It was a female voice saying, ‘I know Cathy.’ I tried to return the call but it was not a working number.” Martha has also used a portable tape recorder in Cathy’s bedroom and picked up her daughter’s voice calling for her dogs, saying, “Shishi, Grete.” Both dogs are with Cathy on the other side and the recording was made on the anniversary of Shishi’s death. Recently, Martha conducted a recording session on her computer with her mother, father (a non-believer), and sister. Martha’s mother asked Cathy if she had been a good girl. Martha’s father was the first one to hear Martha’s deceased uncle’s voice reply, “You’re damn right!” Martha wrote, “I bet my uncle got a kick out of seeing the shocked expression on my father’s face. They were always playing jokes on each other when he was alive. I think he is still doing this from the other side!” =====0===== Norman Marsh, who lived in England, had lost his wife three years before he had learned about EVP. He decided to try to contact his wife through the tape recorder, but after months of trying, he still had not succeeded. Norman wrote to the well-known English EVP researcher, Gilbert Bonner, and asked him for suggestions. He followed those instructions and used background noise as suggested by Bonner. Norman recorded a German newscaster and played a tape of this as a noise source so that those on

the other side would have something to modulate to form Examples of EVP 71 their voices. Using this technique, he was startled to hear a woman’s strong voice say, “Norman it’s Marjorie, it’s true, it’s true, it’s true.” Three days later, Norman sat down to listen to the message again and found no trace of the voice. The message had been totally erased. He wrote, “I had waited so long and then this happened. I was miser- able but decided that I would carry on.” He made another recording, again using the German language broadcast for background noise. As he was making the new recording he was surprised to hear the re- cording of his wife’s voice on the German language tape. The re- cording that had disappeared from his experimental tape had been somehow transferred to the background noise tape. The tape player had been playing the German broadcast and had not been in the record mode! Norman wrote that his wife had believed in survival by faith, but had been hesitant to accept that communication was possible. He had no doubt that the words, “It’s true, it’s true, it’s true,” referred to communication through EVP. United Kingdom researcher, Tina Laurent, knew Marsh and has said that he was a very gentle soul. She also said that she still gets goose bumps on her arms when she thinks about the first time Marsh played Marjorie’s voice for her. She wrote, “I’ve never seen a happier man and for a

few months before he died, I had some messages myself from Marjorie, the same voice, saying his name and asking me to take care of him.” =====0===== Art Counts cared for his sister, Lill, during a long terminal illness. Most of his taping had been directed toward contacting her after her transition. He succeeded in receiving messages from her as well as other spirit entities. One day, he heard her voice on his tape say, “Breakthrough.” Six days after recording this voice, he was listening to some music and had almost dozed off when he heard a voice say, “Art.” He wrote, “I sat bolt upright, wide awake, and there before me was Lill, plain as day. Not altogether solid, but not hazy either. She was looking at me with that same sweet, so gentle smile, her appear- ance unchanged.” Art knew that her appearance was what the “Break- through” message had meant. There is No Death and There are No Dead 72 =====0===== Sarah Estep has taped messages indicating that they have regular doc- tors and nurses in spirit who help those who have just crossed over. Her Auntie Esther came through to her many times the first couple of weeks after her death. Sarah wrote, “The first time or two, another spirit spoke for her, then Auntie Esther began speaking. The loudest and clearest message from her was, “This is my healing except now I’m going to rush it.” This was very typical of her, and I suspect

she’d quickly learned while undergoing healing, just what she could do, once she was returned to good health.” Some People Can Get Through and Others Can Not Our own experience with getting in touch with loved ones has been a learning experience. Lisa was very close to her father, Art Zerwer, and very much wanted to hear from him. He was an electrical engineer and Lisa figured that EVP would be something that he might try to use to get in touch with us. Our first contact with Art came about a month after his death. Lisa had a very vivid dream in which he made contact, expressed his love for her and let it be known that he was well and alive. Two more vivid dreams followed within two weeks. He showed her what he was work- ing on and where he was living. He showed her his apartment in what looked like a quaint foreign town. The town was full of activity and her father even took her to see a movie at a theater. She could not bring back what the movie had been about, no matter how hard she tried to remember. He also told her that there was a place out in the country to which he often traveled. These dreams were so real and so vivid that Lisa was convinced by the third dream that she had indeed been with her father; however, af- ter this the dreams stopped. Lisa continued to try to

reach Art through EVP with interesting results. Instead of her father coming in through EVP, his mother, Lisa’s grandmother Nettie, began communicating. The first message received was, “Arthur is fine and with us, Nettie.” Lisa thanked her grandmother the next day and asked her how she was and what she was doing. The message, “Zerwer people have house on lake” and “Busy lives but visit here.” Later, messages re- garding the house indicated that it was in the country and we came to Examples of EVP 73 understand that this was where the Zerwer family would gather and visit with each other, much as we would go to our grandparent’s house on holidays when they were alive. The interesting thing about Nettie was that this was one of the last people that we thought would communicate. She had been active with a very orthodox church in her earth life, and had told the rest of the family that they were going to end up in Hell unless they joined that particular religion. Speaking to the dead was also a ticket to eternal damnation. Yet, here she was with the family updates. =====0===== Carol Barron-Karajohn had been trying for over a year to reach a dear friend who had passed to the other side. The friend knew about Carol’s taping and Carol felt that the friend would come through on the re- corder, but she had not. Then her daughter called and told her of a vivid dream that she had

about a friend, Bonnie. She did not understand it but felt that Carol should call Bonnie’s mother and relay the events of the dream to her. Carol did this and found that the dream had significance for Bonnie’s mother, who was extremely grateful. Shortly after this, Carol was making a recording and received a man’s voice saying, “Bonnie loves you.” Bonnie was able to get through to Carol’s daughter in a dream and yet was unable to come through on tape. Her message had to be relayed by another person. =====0===== Many attempts have been made by various people and groups to estab- lish a code word or phrase that can be given in an EVP after one makes his or her transition, so that the continuation, and therefore sur- vival, can be proven. Sarah Estep wrote about a world renowned para- psychologist who had participated in a survival project where numer- als were given that were supposed to open a combination lock. Sarah worked to contact this man and felt that she had succeeded. He pro- vided her with evidential information but no lock number. Those who devised the survival project would only accept the lock number as proof. Sarah pleaded with the deceased man, “Give me your lock number so I can let Dr. X know I’ve heard from you.” Her requests were ignored or answered with, “No.” Finally, after a week, he answered in a frustrated tone, “I can’t remember.” “I didn’t There is No Death and

There are No Dead 74 think I’d forget.” “It was always with me.” Several months later the doctor’s failure to communicate the lock code was mentioned in a pro- fessional psi magazine. The author wrote, “Dr. Y, always carried his number with him in his wallet.” As shown in the above story, when we cross to the other side, we may not remember things that people in the physical think that we should. When Sarah and Clara Laughlin first contacted their husbands, they found this out. Sarah reported to AA-EVP members that when she asked her late husband, Charlie, whom he first saw when he stepped through death’s door, he replied, “I don’t remember. Things come back.” =====0===== Clara Laughlin wrote to Sarah and told her that she had recorded some messages that were very similar, when she first contacted her husband, Tom. Clara mentioned an unusual experience that she thought Tom would never forget. He replied on tape, “I don’t remember. When one goes on, one looks back.” On another occasion, she mentioned a cou- ple that they had been close to. He replied, “I don’t know these peo- ple.” =====0===== The German EVP association, VTF,53 conducted an EVP session dur- ing a conference in Fulda, Germany. The group called on a person who had recently made his transition. Instead, another recently de- ceased person, Mrs. Nestler, who regularly came to the Fulda confer- ences, came through saying (translated from German), “Of course, I’m present, Nestler, I was here

so often.” Precognitive EVP Many experimenters have collected messages that correctly predicted a future event or gave them information that is unknown to them but was later verified. Jacques Blanc-Garin and some Infinitude members had planned a weekend meeting. The first day would focus on ITC experimentation and the next day they would all go to a lovely Basilica, called Mont- ligeon, where they would pray for the deceased. During the first day, the group made a recording and a mother whose son had died two years before asked, “What are we going to do tomorrow?” Her son Examples of EVP 75 answered, “Tomorrow … To Montligeon … To dance.” They all thought that this was a curious answer as one prays in a church but usually does not dance. The next day when they were at the church, they listened to a Congolese group singing “God Spell.” It was so moving that the Sisters and even the Priest began to clap their hands and dance. =====0===== J.L. asked for the names of her mother’s sisters while recording. She only knew the name of one of them, an aunt named Viola. The name “Harriet” was recorded. Later she found some old family records at the Courthouse. There was a photograph of a grave stone with “Har- riet” on it. Harriet had died in 1893 at the age of four and J.L.’s mother had not known Harriet either, as she was born eight years later. Later on the same recording, J.L.

taped, “Aunt Harriet loves Judy” followed with the sound of a barking dog. Judy was J.L’s pet dog who had died many years ago. =====0===== Researcher, Clara Laughlin, has made many recordings that have per- tained to events that were unknown to her at the time. She was re- cording one day when she received, “You should learn shortly I died and am in heaven. Surprise I went so early. You should tell Libby.” Clara had been a good friend with Libby and her husband when they had lived in another state. A day later, Clara received a card from Libby saying that her husband had died. The recording had taken place seventy-two hours after his death. Clara contacted Libby as requested and Libby found the recording very comforting. In 1986, Clara received a message in her deceased husband’s voice that said, “Hello, grandmother.” Her daughter later found out that she was pregnant and the doctor told her she would have twins. Clara went back to her tape recorder and asked if this was true. Her husband Tom replied, “Single baby boy,” which proved to be correct. Clara’s daughter called to say that the father of a close friend was in a hospice and that death was imminent. She said that the family was distraught. Clara was asked for a prognosis of the situation. She told us that she printed the man’s name on a piece of paper, held it to the mir- ror and asked her guide Dr. Callie

for help. He replied, “How about There is No Death and There are No Dead 76 survival!” A couple of days later the man was moved from hospice and was recovering. =====0===== This last example of a precognitive EVP will give you a chuckle. Ann Longmore-Etheridge sent a box of books to her sister. Before her sister received the books, Ann was making a recording and asked if anyone had a message for her sister. She recorded a female voice saying, “Yes, I have. Put your clothes on.” Ann and her sister discussed the message and could not quite un- derstand its meaning. Just a day later, Ann’s sister was lounging around her living room in the summer heat with little clothing on. The doorbell rang and she peeked out to see who it was. It was the delivery man with the books. She was unable to get her clothes on before he left and so she did not receive the books that day! Phone Calls from the Dead A transcommunication group founded in Frankfurt, Germany, in Oc- tober 1987, received excellent results. Their contacts were through tape recorders, telephones, television and computers. They reported on a woman’s voice, which spoke over the telephone. The voice sounded like Hanna Buschbeck, the founder of the German VTF, who had crossed to the other side years before. She said, “You will have eternal life after you pass over. You will be given the opportunity to learn, to see and your being will

get closer to the truth. Do not be afraid of dy- ing, for there is no death. Do not make the mistake of considering your reality as the only real one. It will make your later learning process more difficult.” =====0===== Susan Cole wrote that her friend Rick had died while she was away from home and unreachable. She realized later, that from the minute that he died, she had begun experiencing poltergeist activity. In retro- spect, she came to feel that Rick had been trying to reach her. She was packing for the trip to his funeral when the phone rang. She said, “Hello” and a voice said, “Good Morning, how are you?” She told us that the voice sounded strange. It had a lot of reverberation in it and sounded hollow, as in a tunnel. Examples of EVP 77 “Fine, who’s this?” Susan said. “This is Rick, who’s this?” the man said. “This is Susan,” was her confused answer. At this point she said that her mind was searching for whom she knew named Rick. She wrote, “I didn’t yet even imagine it was my deceased friend.” “Hi Susan, how are you?” the man on the phone said, sounding very happy, lively and friendly. At this point Susan recognized his voice, but was very startled and thought that the call was some sort of cruel joke or strange coincidence. “What number were you dialing?” she asked. He said, “5032” or “5033.” Susan told us that she was not

certain which the man said, but that 5033 is her correct number. She replied to the man, “I think you have the wrong number.” She told us that she knew no other “Rick,” but her friend Rick who had just transi- tioned. The man then made strange gargling sounds and suddenly there was a dial tone. She dialed the 5032 number, to see if a Susan was there but it was not a working number. “I then called a friend,” Susan wrote. “The first thing that she asked me was if he had sounded hollow, like an echo. Boy, did that startle me! My friend told me that her grandmother had called after her death and that was how she sounded. Looking back, I realized that when I got upset during the call, my emotions broke the connection.” =====0===== J.R. described an experience he had with a phone call, “A distant cousin was married to my father-in-law. I was aware of her being in the hospital and in poor health due to her age. One morning the phone rang, I answered and a voice said, ‘She’s Dead.’” Thinking that this was a prank, John hung up the phone. Five minutes later the phone rang again. It was John’s brother-in-law telling him that the woman had passed. =====0===== Pat J. ran a mediumship circle with her husband in the mid- 1980s.54(V15N4) The day that Pat’s mother made her transition, she re- ceived a telephone call from the late Helen Duncan. As

many of you know, Helen Duncan was a famous physical medium during her life on earth. She was also the principle communicator from the other side in Pat’s circle. Over the phone, Helen told Pat, “Mum is safe and with us.” This was then followed by the voice of her son, who was also on the other side. There is No Death and There are No Dead 78 =====0===== B.E. had made a phone call to a friend. The friend asked her to hold on a minute while she went to get something. All of the sudden, a man’s voice came on the line and said, “Hey, how are you doing?” and then was gone. The voice sounded just like that of her deceased brother. She asked her friend if her son could have picked up the phone and was assured that he was away and that no one in the house had picked up the phone. =====0===== Jean’s son, John, was a friend of a boy named Sam. Sam had been killed when he rode his bike into the side of a bus. A few days after Sam’s transition, the phone rang and Jean picked it up. She recognized the male voice as Sam. He asked, “Is John there?” Not believing what she was hearing since she knew he was dead, she asked who was call- ing. He replied, “It’s Sam.” Jean asked for a phone number where her son could call him back and he answered, “No, I’ll

call back.” There was no sound of the caller hanging up and the line just remained open. =====0===== Here in the United States, probably the most sensational and reported series of phone calls came from Konstantin Raudive. These took place in January of 1994. He called several people who had been instrumen- tal in advancing the knowledge of ITC. Sarah Estep, Mark Macy, Hans Heckman, George Meek, and Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff were all blessed with a phone call from this eminent researcher who was on the other side at the time. Sarah was working in her office when the phone rang. When the voice said it was Konstantin Raudive, she had the presence of mind to turn a tape recorder on that sits next to the telephone. She was a little shocked and said, “How are you Dr. Raudive?” His reply shows that his sense of humor was still intact, “I’m as fine as a ‘Dead One’ can be. Dear Sarah, thank you very much for everything you did for the propagation of the voices. We tried and we succeeded in building this bridge to the States. You are one of the first who are contacted by this means. Thank you very much for all the work you did. We are very proud and honored that we could contact you. I must interrupt now. This was the first contact, this is Konstantin Raudive.” Examples of EVP 79 Mary Jo Uphoff told us about the phone call that they

received, “Raudive called one morning and Walt answered the phone. Walt mo- tioned to me to take the extension telephone in the adjoining den. I was in a rather obtuse state of mind and at first didn’t know what he wanted and by the time I picked up the den phone the conversation had ended. I came back to the kitchen where Walt had hung up and asked, ‘Who was it?’ ‘Raudive’, he said. He told me that Raudive had said that he wanted to get a call through and that they were experi- menting. It took me several moments to realize that this was a most extraordinary event. One of the characteristics, in my experience, of such events is that when they are taking place, there is not any sense of awe or strangeness; it is only afterward that it seems to sink in that they were very, very extraordinary.” EVP on Answering Machines There are many reports of EVP voices appearing on answering ma- chines. The first such message we received was rather amusing. Our family room is open to the kitchen with a long counter in between. The phone sits on this counter. The family room did not have a chance of being used for its intended purpose. Instead, it is filled with two desks, file cabinets, and other legacy of the AA-EVP. The first answering machine we had used a micro cassette tape and we were sure that it was just exactly the right device to

capture an an- swering machine EVP. But we had received no EVP on the device for six months and the telephone part was old and people had difficulty hearing us. Giving up the hope of receiving EVP in this manner, we got rid of it. In less than a week after purchasing a portable phone with a digital answering device, we came home to our first phenomenal message. The message began with a long period of silence and then a loud whispery voice saying, “You need an office.” Most EVP have a differ- ent sound to them as compared to a human voice. Once you have been recording EVP for a while you immediately recognize them and what was on the machine was definitely EVP. From the following examples you might believe that it is a good idea to check your answering machine for EVP. If your machine is like ours, there is no tape, but you can buy an inductive coupler from Radio Shack (Part Number: 44-533). It looks like a suction cup with There is No Death and There are No Dead 80 an audio cord attached. You place this over the speaker of the machine and record messages from your answering machine into a regular re- corder or directly into your computer. You will also learn that if you can download and listen to the messages left by your friends you can occasionally find EVP in the pauses between their words. Our friends now know that, when

they reach our answering machine, they should leave a message and then leave a little time at the end before they hang up so that the entities can also leave a message. =====0===== L.S. had taken two jobs during the summer and she also attended classes. This busy schedule had prevented her from conducting her normal EVP recording sessions. One of her jobs was to take the mes- sages off of her employer’s answering machine. On the last day she was to work at this job, she received a strange message on this ma- chine. She had been out of the office for twenty minutes and came back to find one message on the machine. She recognized the voice on the machine as that of a person that she had recorded in her EVP experi- ments. It was unlike any normal message and the voice did not give a name or whom he was trying to reach. He spoke quickly in a mono- tone voice saying, “We wanna make sure you come back and visit. We love you.” =====0===== D.S. has received numerous messages on his answering machine. He says that they often appear before the person calling begins talking, in between breaks in the person’s words and at the end of the recording. “I’m missing now my pretty love,” is one of the many messages that he has recorded on his machine. D.S. receives calls that have a long silence in which the entities then leave messages. This is

exactly what happened with our first an- swering machine EVP. D.S. once said that he felt that these might be telemarketer calls, or automatic dialers used for the same purpose, that initiate the call and then do not immediately hang up. This type of call provides a way for the EVP messages to come through. It’s funny to think that there could be anything positive that could come from a telemarketing call, but it sounds like this is the case, as long as they are intercepted by your recorder. Examples of EVP 81 One more recent answering machine EVP that D.S. has received was of a mature sounding female who said, “We walk alone, please pack.” He surmised that, “Perhaps this means that each person must be fully prepared in his or her journey through life. Maybe it is a refer- ence to the Spiritualist concept of personal responsibility.” =====0===== L.C. wrote, “My mother had a phone call from the dead about ten years ago. She was checking her messages on her micro cassette an- swering machine when she received a message saying, ‘Tell Laurita … tell Laurita, tell Laurita.’ It was my Aunt Stella’s voice in monotone, but that was my aunt’s voice. I heard it for myself. We thought, ‘What sicko could do this to us?’ We all missed my aunt. My mom was very close to her. Why would someone fake my Aunt Stella’s voice and say my name but not leave a clear message? At that

time I was going through a lot of struggles in my life and it was a very hard time for me. Now I know about EVP and such things and I know that Aunt Stella was simply telling my mom to tell me everything would work out.” =====0===== Bill Weber related two messages that he received on his answering machine some time ago. In the first, a male voice recorded, “We’ve been excused.” This voice came on the machine with only one phone ring; the machine was set to pick up only after four rings. On another occasion Bill’s machine recorded a female voice singing, “Bill.” =====0===== When Dave Sircom was conducting a regular recording session, he recorded, “We tried to call you.” He immediately went to his answer- ing machine with a microphone in hand. His machine had recorded two messages, both of which were hang-ups. By listening to them with audio editing software in his computer, he was able to hear the mes- sages, “I saw the whole house” on the first and his name “David,” on the second. =====0===== Perhaps Sarah Estep should get the credit for receiving one of the most memorable EVP message on an answering device. The message was received in 1995 and came from Konstantin Raudive. This was re- corded on the telephone company’s answering service and not on a personal home answering machine. The call was not only very eviden- There is No Death and There are No Dead 82 tial in

proving that the other side is aware of what is going on in our lives, but was also a great source of comfort to Sarah at a time that she needed comforting. Sarah’s husband, Charles, had suffered several strokes. She had taken him to the hospital for tests the day before the call from the other side came through. The information was not what they had hoped and Sarah was disheartened and a bit down. The next day, she returned from being out of the house for a couple of hours and checked the an- swering service. The message that she picked up from the telephone service was a voice that she had heard before. It said, “Dear Sarah, this is Konstantin Raudive. Thanks a lot for the engagement in ITC and its recent development. Our medical group here on this side is working on intertwaining (intertwining) lots of life and afterlife of Charles. I can assure you that every possible intervention will be made. This is Konstantin Raudive.” Unexpected and Expected EVP on Some Unexpected Devices Most researchers working in EVP now know the name Charlotte (Charli) Claypool. When Charlotte Claypool first wrote to us about EVP and about her interest in joining the AA-EVP, we were immedi- ately interested in hearing more about her EVP contacts. You see, Charli has been receiving EVP messages in a number of ways but most interesting are the voices coming from her coffeepot! Charli wrote, “I am a Real Estate Broker with

no prior interest in EVP or paranormal activities. Phenomena began taking place in my presence ten months ago. Voices began to emanate from a common household appliance which was purchased in November 2000. The voices are discernable and can be heard in ‘real time’ by anyone; they do not have to be recorded to be heard. The entities coming through are prolific speakers and they are numerous. The “common household appliance” is a Krups Duofilter, Chrystal Arome Coffeemaker. “Once I got up the courage to record the voices, using a digital voice recorder, I found that the entities actually had discernable male or female voices, different dialects and plenty of opinions. They read- ily answer questions. The digital recorder downloads directly into the computer for analysis. Examples of EVP 83 “I had these ladies that kept talking about pink lemonade so I went out and got a bottle and set it by the coffeepot. Later I asked if they knew about the pink lemonade. The Ladies in unison replied, ‘Yes, sweet new girl.’” Charli said she gets different groups through different media. “Di- rect recording off my ham radio with scratchy static produced rela- tives; people who knew my mother.” One interesting set of EVP was in regard to Charli’s grandfather, Whipkey, whose nickname was “Art.” The voices have spoken about her grandfather using both his last name and his nickname. Charli never knew her grandfather and had no idea what name he went by. He was estranged from her

grand- mother decades before she was born and her grandmother refused to ever speak about him. They have said, “That’s Charlotte Whipkey’s young lady.” Charlotte Whipkey is her mother’s maiden name. On an- other occasion she recorded, “I see Charli’s Mother,” and then an- other spirit voice said, “No, that’s not Charli’s Mother, that’s her Grandmother Gladys.” Charli’s husband is adopted and her spirit friends have referred to him by using his first and last birth names, which are different from the name given him by his adopted family. She also writes her ques- tions down on a piece of paper for those on the other side to read. She wrote, “They love the notes. One lady said, ‘Fun to read letters from Charli.’ I knew that they could read because of different remarks ref- erencing reading.” =====0===== There are several other AA-EVP members who write messages and notes to their spirit friends. Clara Laughlin often puts her notes up to the mirror she uses in her recording room. Her friends have told her that they “see” through the mirror. Also, we want you to know that the voices have come through with many interesting background sounds. After we ran a story in the NewsJournal on Charli’s coffeepot, many members wrote to tell us of other background sounds that produced the voices. Some of them were a child’s swing, a steam iron, and the sound of material rubbing against other material. Many members have used the noise of an elec-

tric fan or running water as background noise to help the voices come through. One member always records when she fills the Jacuzzi. There is No Death and There are No Dead 84 =====0===== Ann Longmore-Etheridge related an interesting encounter with EVP. “There is a small parking lot by the cemetery where I usually park my car. I always have a feeling that someone is watching me from the cemetery whenever I park and walk across the road to my house. I’ve always thought of this ‘watcher’ as an angry man.” Ann’s son has a two-inch long battery operated memo recorder that is part of a toy key-chain. She had just brought her son home and was playing with the recorder as they crossed the street from the parking lot. “First I recorded myself saying, ‘Hello,’ and played that back. Then I said to my son, ‘I think I’ll take this to the cemetery and see if the ghost will talk to me.’ Then I hit the record button accidentally, actually meaning to hit the play button to hear myself saying, ‘Hello,’ again. When I did hit play, I heard a deep male voice say, ‘No!’ I guess there really is a grumpy man in the cemetery who doesn’t want me around.” Psychokinetic Effects Although it is not often reported, some unusual things can happen dur- ing EVP recordings. Both of us have experienced hearing direct voices and we have had our equipment turn on by itself. On one occasion,

we had just spent a week of vacation in an intensive psychic development class. When we returned, we sat some equipment up on the floor and conducted an EVP session. Lisa was sitting on the floor between the tape recorder and the microphone. She leaned over the top of the re- corder to look at the counter and received quite a surprise. She yelled and quickly moved her head back. What felt like an ungrounded 220 volt circuit had buzzed right through her head. =====0===== Bill Weber has recorded EVP using conventional methods for many years. A few years ago, he began experimenting with a piece of soft- ware call EVPMaker.72 He was quite excited at first, as he began hav- ing recurring contacts with a group of what seemed to be teenagers or young people. They used words like “dude,” gave their names and commented on many things. The contacts soon turned critical about Bill and things like his housekeeping skills. The EVP messages con- tained more and more profanity. Then things began occurring in his Examples of EVP 85 home. Lights would go on and off, the doorbell would ring when no one was at the door and his sleep became disturbed. It is known that prolonged, careful analysis of audio tracks, while listening for low-volume EVP, can have the tendency to enhance a person’s clairaudient and clairvoyant perception. So, we were not sur- prised when Bill stopped recording for a while. Despite Bill’s strong background in spiritual

matters, the group of entities he was appar- ently in contact with via EVP was causing too many disturbances in his life. =====0===== M.H. was experimenting with using his ultrasonic burglar alarm as a noise source during recording. He had been recording for only a cou- ple of minutes when the front door, or storm door, was violently shaken. Irritated that the person making the noise at the front door had wrecked his recording, he turned the recorder off and went to see who it was. No one was there. M.H. resumed taping and five minutes later, the same thing hap- pened. Being prepared this time, it took him only seconds to reach the door and throw it open. Again, no one was there. =====0===== C.G. conducted her recording experiments in a book store that she op- erated. The recordings were done near a window in the front of the store. Hanging from the window were many crystal prisms. One per- son often spoke on her tapes and always said, “I love you.” Whenever C.G. was listening back to this particular voice the crystals would start clinking and banging the window. She wrote, “I know he is doing this. It is a physical manifestation of his presence.” EVP Used for Investigations EVP has been used to find missing items and has even been used in investigations of missing persons and to help solve crimes. Perhaps in the future it can be used more for this purpose. The use of EVP

to help solve crimes poses some interesting problems which are similar to those posed by the use of a psychic or medium. Some psychics are bet- ter at this than are others and many have done outstanding work that has provided a great service to government agencies and families. In There is No Death and There are No Dead 86 the same way, some EVP experimenters are more capable than are others and their messages are more reliable. In the use of mediums, the problem comes with the inexperienced mediums who contact the media or authorities to report predictive messages that rarely come true. This problem is aggravated when it comes to receiving this type of information through EVP. In EVP, the message can be spoken in a very convincing manner by an entity who claims to be the victim or someone who should know about the situa- tion. Yet, unless the experimenter has established a working, trusting relationship with the entity, either directly or via a “control” or “gate- keeper” entity, the message may be initiated by a mischievous indi- vidual on the other side who might be interested in nothing more than being entertained. Just because a person exists in another dimension, that person does not necessarily have the ability to know more than we do here. It is certain that an EVP experimenter could have contacts on the other side that are as good at solving crimes as do the few excellent mediums and psychics that we

have on earth who are doing this work. But without a trusted gatekeeper, there is a fair chance that EVP messages concern- ing something that the experimenter wants to know may be counter- feited in some way by a mischievous communicator. Unless a bridge to a group of known entities has been established, the communicating entities are often strangers to the experimenter. Would you trust a mes- sage from a stranger you might meet in the supermarket? Would you deliver such a message to the police or to a grieving family? Prediction after prediction has been brought to us from various people who have not taken the time to understand with whom they might be communicating. It is natural for an experimenter to want to share their message with others. Sharing messages in a forum, such as the AA-EVP Idea Exchange or amongst friends is part of the learning experience the Association offers to members. However, it is quite an- other matter when the experimenter with the predictive message de- cides to call the media. Sadly, we have known people who have told us about their predictive EVP, and even though the predictions had not come to pass months or years later, we have seen them speaking to the public about a new predictive EVP. The media loves sensation and what do they care if only an occasional prediction comes true. Examples of EVP 87 The lack of discretion in an experimenter can cast a shadow over the work of

other EVP and ITC experimenters who are patiently build- ing a foundation of evidence and credible examples. These predictions that never come true are used by skeptics to point out that EVP re- searchers are hysterical and unbalanced individuals who are hearing voices that are not there. If you are interested in EVP and if you think it could be used to help solve police cases, we ask that you first have a strong connection with your EVP partners on the other side and that they prove their ability in doing this kind of work to you before you go to the media. Remember, you are representing all of us when you speak about EVP to others. One excellent source for raw material necessary for develop- ing this ability is the “Secret Witness” program that most communities have. It is usually possible to gain access to public information about many cases, which can be used for “targets” in EVP experiments. Then all that is required is the patience to track the outcome of these cases and to compare these outcomes with your results. With that said, here are a few examples of where EVP did provide some interesting information. =====0===== An article was published in the January 1987 Gazette titled, “Spirit Voice on Tape Recorder Traps Murderer.” The Gazette was published by the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain. Two pensioners moved from Switzerland to live in Vienna. Their new neighbors liked the couple and they made many friends. After not

seeing the couple for four weeks, the neighbors finally called the police. The bodies of the couple were found in the house and both had been strangled. One of the neighbors had been successful for many years in re- cording voices. He gathered a group of friends and they sent their thoughts out to the murdered couple. The tape recorder was turned on and they asked repeatedly, “Do you know your killer?” A voice finally came through with the answer, “Yes.” “Do you know his name?” they then asked. The same female voice answered, “Bozidar Sajn.” The friends were convinced that this was the voice of the wife. They took the recording to the police who laughed at them. However, the police later came across a man with the same name who had also lived in the same block where the crime took place. He confessed and received a life sentence. There is No Death and There are No Dead 88 =====0===== Bill Weber made a recording two days after John Kennedy’s plane was reported missing. The Navy and Coast guard were searching ex- tensively trying to locate the plane, and Bill thought that he might be able to discover the location of the plane through EVP. He repeatedly asked for those on the other side to tell him where the plane was, but none of his questions were answered. However, at the beginning of the recording, when he first asked for the location, a voice replied, “He’s here.” Bill

asks John Jr., “How are you sir? Do you have a message for the world?” Immediately a loud clear voice answered, “I live in Spirit!” Bill continued to ask for the location of the plane and a voice replies, “John was killed.” A minute later an even louder and clearer voice repeats the message, “John was killed.” =====0===== Clara Laughlin had a friend who was a psychic. Her friend was work- ing with the police department on a case in which he had been a friend of the murdered victim. Using her tape recorder, Clara recorded an EVP with the middle name of the murder victim and this later proved to be correct. She also recorded a woman’s voice saying, “Ralph, I miss Ralph.” It turned out that this was the name of the murder vic- tim’s boyfriend. =====0===== Erland Babcock and his son, David, were asked by the aunt of a girl who had been murdered in her home to “look into” the crime scene. Erland took his recorder and recorded two of the better EVP examples we have in our files. When Erland and his son played back their re- cording, they were startled by a loud woman’s voice saying, “This is my dream.” The EVP voice was actually louder on the recording than the voices of the investigators. The EVP had absolutely no meaning to Erland and his son but they decided to play it for the Aunt anyway. When the Aunt heard the voice she became

very excited and rushed into another room. She had a piece of paper in her hand when she re- turned. The girl had written a poem right before her death titled, “This is my dream.” The Aunt also recognized the girl’s voice. =====0===== We have heard from many individuals about EVP helping in small ways. This is one such story. Examples of EVP 89 Jürgen Nett, the chairperson of the German ITC group, VTF, wrote an interesting article titled “The Rediscovered Safe Key,” for the VTF quarterly journal. Thanks to George Wynne for translating the story for us. “During my talk at the Kolpinghaus [During a VTF Annual Meet- ing], I reported a happening that was confirmed by Mrs. Werner of Rotenburg, Fulda, in the presence of all the participants. In the mean- time, Mrs. Werner has passed into the spirit sphere. “What happened was the following: Mrs. Werner came to my office one day and requested that I make a recording for a well-known busi- nesswoman in the town of Rotenburg. Before leaving for her vacation, this lady had hidden the key to her bank safe deposit box. She always used the same spot for this purpose. On her return from the vacation she looked for the key and could not find it in the usual place. She searched the entire house. The key simply could not be found. She was afraid to tell her husband, since a replacement key would cost a con- siderable amount. “In her plight,

she contacted Mrs. Werner because the latter was always engaged, “in such queer doing as talking with the dead and similar ‘humbug,’ as this is called in the small town. I made a re- cording for Mrs. Werner and the answer came: ‘On top of the wooden shelf.’ “With this bit of information, Mrs. Werner visited the business woman and shared the sentence with her. The woman thought about this and replied that she did not have any wooden shelf, except in the bedroom above the two beds where linens, towels and washcloths were put away. But, she had never put the safe key there. Neverthe- less, they went into the bedroom, and what do you know? Under a pile of towels was the missing safe key!” EVP and Reincarnation From the examples of EVP that you have read, you can see that for the most part, those from the other side who record their voices onto our recorders are those who have lived on earth and are considered by us to be amongst the so-called dead. A couple of researchers, one being Sarah Estep, have been told by communicating entities that the entity and the researcher knew each other in a past life. There is No Death and There are No Dead 90 After Sarah began having good results with recording the voices, she returned to her exploration of reincarnation, since that was how she had first tried to prove to herself that we survived death. During this time,

a clear male voice came through and said his name was Jef- frey and that he was her brother in a previous life. Jeffrey told Sarah that they had been brother and sister in the 1700s in Philadelphia, and that he had worked as a lamp lighter. In her re- search, Sarah found that Philadelphia did have men whose job it was to light all the lamps in the city when night came. In addition, Sarah’s grandfather, James Wilson, had come from Scotland during that time. He was a tutor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and also an attorney. Her grandfather, along with Benjamin Franklin, be- gan the Law School at the University. He had a wife and several chil- dren and lived most of his life in Philadelphia. =====0===== One of Carol Barron-Karajohn’s first messages was “I love you Kathy.” She thought that it was someone talking to someone else. Ex- perimenters often record voices that sound like the entities are talking to each other and are not even aware that they are being recorded. This is much as you would experience if you picked up your telephone hand set on an old time two-party line and heard two people carrying on a conversation. However, Carol was soon to learn that they were indeed addressing her. Not long after Carol had begun experimenting with EVP, she no- ticed that some of those who left messages on her recorder referred to her as Kathy (Cathy). She also discovered

that she had a primary spirit communicator who gave his name as Hegeler. Hegeler told her that he was William Hegeler and that he was German. Later, Carol met the German EVP researcher, Ernst Senkowski, at a conference and asked him about Hegeler. Ernst sent her a genealogy report on the author, Wilhelm A. Hegeler. Carol also learned that Hegeler had a sister named Catharina, which was interesting because Carol had been called Katiana on her recordings, which she thought might be a pet name for Catharina. The entities have told Carol that Hegeler is her brother and he has told her that she is his sister. When she asked if she was Kathy in a past life, they replied, “You ARE her!” Examples of EVP 91 =====0===== More recently Charli Claypool wrote to say that she really was not into past lives, as she had her hands full with EVP and its overwhelming proof of spirit existence, but that her contacts on the other side had told her that, “Your name is really Valerie Davis. You were a really old slave.” Charli was very surprised at this declaration as she has an- cestors on her father’s side with the last name of Davis. EVP Coming from Other Dimensions Many EVP/ITC researchers have had contact with entities who say they are extraterrestrial beings. Voices are recorded and Video ITC images of beings that do not resemble humans are numerous. Some of the voices that we have recorded say things that

make us feel that they may not be of human origin. For instance, a couple of the messages of this type that we have received are, “We come in a Spaceship” and “We are from Alpha Centauri.” One time, in the days of our early re- cording, we asked where they were speaking from and recorded, “From a spaceship.” Over the years, we have recorded voices that sound as if they are computer generated. In fact one even said, “Now you have the com- puters.” Many will probably recall that Sarah Estep recorded many of these alien voices. In fact she has said that ten percent of her voices were of extraterrestrial origin, and that they have mentioned Alpha Centauri more than once. There were two chapters devoted to these contacts in her book, Voices of Eternity.3 In that book, Sarah said that they were usually of a better and louder quality as compared to the spirit voices, that they often used words not found in the dictionary and that some voices had a computer generated quality. =====0===== It is interesting to note that Dan McKee, a person whom Sarah felt was one of the best tapers in the United States before his transition, also recorded thousands of space messages. One of Dan’s recordings said, “Tomorrow night you will be looking for Centauri.” =====0===== Jutta Liebmann, of the German VFT, has also taped many loud and clear voices which she feels are non-human. Some of her contacts There is No

Death and There are No Dead 92 have said that they are from the Alpha Centauri region and others have said that they are from the Sirius system. Sarah, Dan and Jutta did not know at the time they received these messages, that other researchers had received similar messages. Al- though we did not recall knowing about these contacts at the time we recorded the Alpha Centauri message, we must have known about Sarah’s messages, as we had read her book. =====0===== In 1993, Sarah Estep received an interesting letter from Jamal Hussein, a physicist working in the Paramann Programme Laboratories in Am- man, Jordan. He wrote at length about contacts that he and his col- leagues had with inhabitants of other dimensions, “After over a year of continuous communication with an unseen voice, we were astonished to hear this very voice, which we used to think of as being a human voice of someone who lived a life on the Earth Plane, announce that he was very ashamed that he had ‘cheated’ us by claiming that he was a human being because, in fact, he is one of the inhabitants of an unseen world that surrounds our world. He and his people can take human form when they like and the reason he claimed that he was human in his contacts with us was his fear that we might end communication with him on the basis of being afraid of him, as he does not belong to our plane

of existence! Further communication has resulted in proving that what he was saying about his real identity is absolutely correct. I feel that these beings are very emotional and that they do, as you have mentioned in your book, express love and friendship and a desire to help. We in the Paramann Programme Laboratories, are very happy to know that you are brave enough not to be afraid to announce what you have come across in your over sixteen years of tape recording unseen voices. I think that you, unlike those who try to interpret all paranor- mal phenomena as being spiritually caused, have the courage to de- clare that you have experimental evidence that can prove the existence of unseen worlds, which have nothing to do with human spirits and whose inhabitants are endowed with consciousness which is by no means human though it does have a lot of similarities with human con- sciousness.” Examples of EVP 93 Some Cautions about Working with EVP In the Summer 1988 AA-EVP NewsJournal, Sarah ran a brief review of the CETL62 newsletter written by Maggy and Jules Harsch- Fischbach in Luxembourg. The couple expressed that experimenters could attract positive as well as negative contacts. They quoted a comment made by Konstantin Raudive, “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t cope with the realities of life.” In the heyday of Spiritualism, people sat in groups trying to com- municate with the other side. One of the important benefits of these groups

was to provide a safe place for mediums to develop. For in- stance, when a person is working to develop trance mediumship, he or she can feel open and safe if there are experienced mediums in the cir- cle who are able to offer assistance should there be trouble. Many Spiritualist churches offer development groups today. There have been a number of occasions in which the value of a cir- cle for developing mediumship ability has been demonstrated. For in- stance, we worked for several years with the Reverends Sandy and Gene Pfortmiller and their group from the Church of the Living Spirit in Phoenix, Arizona. During one trance class, a relatively inexperi- enced medium was “taken over” by a lost little girl. In this instance, the student medium behaved as if she had difficulty moving her atten- tion away from contact with the little girl. It was not as if the little girl had taken control of her body. It required quite a bit of effort on the part of the Pfortmillers to first assist the little girl, and then to bring the medium’s attention back to her body. In another instance, and with another development class, a more experienced trance medium was “taken over” by an entity who yelled that, “I (the entity) am now in control!” It was actually quite shocking but the facilitator of the group remained very calm and maintained control protecting the medium and sending the entity on its way. Many, if not most,

EVP experimenters experiment with EVP alone and do not have the benefit of a group or another more experienced EVP researcher. It would be best if everyone who experimented with EVP had a strong metaphysical or spiritual background. One recom- mendation we would make is that EVP experimenters continue to learn everything that they can about what it is like on the other side through reading and that they also try to attend spiritual development classes. There is No Death and There are No Dead 94 =====0===== In the Autumn 1989 NewsJournal, Sarah Estep wrote, “Obviously, no one starts taping, automatic writing or playing with the Ouija Board, thinking he or she will become possessed or obsessed. But it can hap- pen. As I wrote on page 196 of Voices of Eternity, The difficulty is in ascertaining who is susceptible…. I am not trying to frighten people who are thinking about beginning to tape…. Working in the field can bring some of the most rewarding, enriching experiences of your life. It would be amiss of me, however, not to caution you about the darker side of psi. Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything that comes through. You have your liars on the other side, as you have here. The more they realize they are getting you upset, the more they will continue. Human nature being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are there when in fact, there is nothing. The important thing though is, if

a person believes a message is on tape, he or she will re- spond to it for better or worse. “If anyone at anytime thinks he or she is in contact with low level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control at all times. Any- one can sit down to tape. It takes much more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away.” =====0===== Jutta Liebmann, of the VTF, once wrote that it is necessary to caution new tapers, saying that some might think that all those who are on the other side have become angels in the Spirit World, and that this is really not the case. She wrote, “They remain the same personalities as they had been on earth.” =====0===== Back to thoughts on spiritual development, Spiritualist training teaches that as you work toward the development of your abilities, you will come in contact with a guide or what some call a door or gatekeeper. This person protects you and the contact field. The “contact field” is the etheric energy which helps to power nonphysical to physical com- munication. The same thing can be said for EVP. As you work with EVP you will build up a contact field and if you are sincere and not just approaching EVP out of idle curiosity, you will attract to you be- ings of a higher awareness whom you will learn to love and trust and who will help protect the doorway that is open to other worlds. Examples

of EVP 95 Lisa remembers, “When we first began recording, Tom had also started writing a book. Sometimes, I would conduct EVP experiments on my own, giving Tom a chance to write. Early in these recording sessions, I found myself in a most disconcerting situation. What I would call a ‘dirty old man’ began showing up on the recordings. He clearly enjoyed the opportunity to speak on the recording equipment. He not only used profanity, but also was quite vulgar and frequently made sexually suggestive remarks. What was even more unnerving was his ability to tell me exactly what I was wearing and then say, ‘I’m right behind you.’” The “dirty old man” that bothered Lisa via EVP messages was very obnoxious. He tended to hog recording sessions and was extremely persistent. You name the trick to make him go away and we tried it, from the ‘go to the light’ speech, trying to reason with him, trying to educate him, to finally demanding that he leave. Prayers, white light and positive affirmations failed. In the end, everything that we tried just seemed to give this uneducated spirit more power. Nevertheless, EVP was so phenomenal and held so much promise that we were de- termined to regain control over our new spirit phone. What did we do, you ask? Well, we gave up and ignored him. And instead, we concentrated on the positive messages from a wonderful group of spirit ladies who continued their effort to place their voices on

our audio tape, despite the interruptions by the rude man. The “La- dies” helped by warning us that he was about to speak, and the second that we heard his voice, we simply ignored it and moved on to the next EVP message. Of course, we did listen to some of his messages and we knew that he was complaining about our treatment of him. Like some sort of bizarre phantom, we could actually hear his voice grow- ing weaker until finally he melted away into the ether like the bad witch in the Wizard of OZ. There have been no similar problems with unwanted communication after this episode. With the help of our spirit friends, we had finally built a secure bridge of communication that has held to this day. Letters have come to us from people who belong to ghost clubs or paranormal groups telling us that they would never try recording EVP in their own home. They indicated that they feared finding messages from one of the angry or mean entities that they come across while recording in haunted sites. First of all, ninety-nine percent of the enti- There is No Death and There are No Dead 96 ties that we have recorded in haunted sites have been nice spirit folk, perhaps confused, but rarely scary as portrayed in the horror movies. Secondly, we have never once had an entity from an investigation turn up in a recording made in our ITC experiment room. Nevertheless, if you

have any fear or doubt about experimenting at home, then do not. Our thoughts are powerful things and will attract to us our beliefs. =====0===== Charli Claypool wrote to provide some thoughtful information about how to deal with negative entities, and to offer another way of looking at this type of situation. The letter was in response to a discussion within the AA-EVP email sharing group. The group was discussing an angry entity that had been coming through on a particular member’s recordings. Charli wrote, “Spirit entities with this kind of personality change radically when treated with kindness.... It takes some inten- tional fortitude in the beginning to be kind. I’ve heard the disappoint- ment in the voices of entities who have had their feelings hurt by ‘ban- ishment.’ “What bugs me is that spirits for the most part have tried to interact with their families left behind on earth and have found themselves shut out by their loved one’s inability to see and hear them. We, who can penetrate the veils and interact with these personalities, have the op- portunity to show them love and improve their lot. Remember that love is the key driving force to interaction between the veils.” Charli deserves credit for maintaining such a positive point of view and we agree with her thoughts. There is a great need for rescue work, which involves the efforts of the “living” to guide those on the other side who might be “stuck” so that they may move

away from our lo- cale and to their destined worlds. Just like hospice work, there are not enough people drawn to this calling. There may be some who are not as strong as Charli and who are unable to give the kind of kindness certain entities need, but all of us have a responsibility to help when we can. Not all entities you will encounter want to be rescued. There is sub- stantial evidence that some entities are, indeed, earthbound, and that they are so because they do not understand that their physical body has died, because of unresolved issues or because they feel that they will be punished for something they did in the physical if they go on. These entities can often be reasoned with and convinced that it is both okay Examples of EVP 97 and important for them to go on, and reportedly the most effective way to communicate what “going on” means is to tell them to go to the light. However, there is also evidence that some entities chose to re- main close to the physical. They have free choice and we can only of- fer our advice. Most people tend to pick their friends on this side of the veil very carefully. As far as our close friends go, we pick those with a positive attitude, similar interests and ethics. Finding people with whom we can learn new and interesting things, and with whom we can share what we know, is indeed special.

This seems to create growth and bring more positive things into our lives—and theirs. This is what we seek from our friends on the other side as well. Our aim has been to reach for the highest information possible. =====0===== Before his transition, Bill Weisensale published a technical EVP news- letter for many years called, Spirit Voices.73 He wrote, “Electronic transcommunication is awesome and fascinating. In time, without real- izing it, one can become obsessed with this work. If you find taping is beginning to have a detrimental effect on other aspects of your life, slow down or even stop altogether. “If you hear things you don’t want to hear, remember the ‘off’ switch is on our side. Like obscene phone calls, continuing to listen only encourages the caller. “Always use common sense and take what you hear with a grain of salt. If someday, someone who appears to be your aunt tells you to sell all your property and invest in junk bonds, or do yourself in because life is more pleasant over there, forget it! “Never under any circumstances consider taping as ‘entertainment.’ To do so, invites lower level Spirits into your home who may entertain you in ways you are not ready for.” =====0===== In an article written for Psychic Observer & Chimes,74(460-466) Harold Sherman, recounted a friend’s distressing experience in trying to reach his wife and running into what he called “low grade discarnates.” When the man lost his temper and told them to go away,

it only seemed to increase their interference. Sherman listened to some of the recordings and called it pure drivel. There is No Death and There are No Dead 98 Sherman came to the conclusion that the mental attitude of the ex- perimenter played an important part in what was recorded. He wrote, “It is as though low grade intelligences come in on the emotionally disturbed ‘wave length’ of the operator. Unless the mind is prepared through prayer or a spiritually motivated meditative period, one is apt to invite the wrong kind of communicants.” Chapter 6 More Examples of EVP Neither of us had heard of Electronic Voice Phenomena before reading Sarah Estep’s book, Voices of Eternity3 in 1989. It seems bizarre that we would believe that talking to the dead was possible. When we look back on it today, the idea of recording dead people’s voices on tape … well, it just sounds like no one should have believed such a claim. But, we did. When we decided to try to collect EVP voices for ourselves, we be- gan by following the instructions for how to go about it that Sarah had written in her book. Lisa lead the way by deciding that we would re- cord at the same time each day at 7 p.m., and experiment everyday for at least a week. There were no voices on the recordings the first two days. The third morning was a Saturday, and Lisa woke up with the idea and compulsion

to gather crystals that we had found during our rock hunting excursions, and place them around the recording equip- ment. She did not act on this right away, and went about her weekend chores; however, the idea of using crystals continued to nag her. Fi- nally, she abandoned her chores and gathered some of the biggest crystals from the bookcases and shelves where they were displayed. She placed them around the equipment in preparation for our 7 p.m. experiment. When she played back the tape from that evening’s ex- periment, she heard a faint voice say, “Crystals help.” To quote Lisa, “I will never forget that moment! I played the faint voice over and over again. I had trouble sleeping that night and for several more. I lay there, eyes wide, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the significance of what I had heard and what that voice meant to my idea of reality.” =====0===== In 1983, longtime EVP researcher, Carol Barron-Karajohn, read an article over lunch in the National Enquirer. The story was about a lady named Sarah Estep who routinely made contact with the dead via her tape recorder. Carol wrote, “Having had many paranormal experiences There is No Death and There are No Dead 100 over the years, I was open to stories about the Spirit World. I could well accept visual visitation. But … coming through over a tape re- corder? This seemed a little strange, even to me!” The story that Carol had read could

have easily ended on her lunch break, but that was not to be. Carol had just begun a new health regime that included exercising with an exercise cassette tape as a guide. The tape recorder was right there from her morning work out and she knew that the other side of the tape was blank. She flipped the tape over without giving it much thought and pressed the record button. After a few short minutes of recording, she played the tape back and was shocked to hear, amid the whir of the tape recorder, an ex- tremely loud guttural whisper saying, “Cah-Wall.” It was not exactly “Carol” but very close. She told herself that it had to be static and tried another recording. This time there was no mistake, she heard what sounded like a church bell, and then in a clear whisper, a voice that said, “I love you! Do you love me?” Carol wrote, “Looking back, I should have been more hospitable, but I was overwhelmed and to tell the truth, a little scared to think I was being watched by the unseen! I nervously put it aside and decided to leave it alone. After a few days, I started to think that it was only my awareness that had changed. They had been aware of me all along, so what was there to be afraid of? “This was the beginning of my relationship with those on the other side. To this day, I still feel overwhelmed at

times, almost to tears, when I get a particularly significant message. But it is a feeling of joy … not fear.” =====0===== David Sircom first tried to record for EVP in August 2001, at 9:30 p.m. However, he recorded no discernable EVP on that first attempt. At 11:30 p.m., he again recorded, beginning by stating his name and asking, “Is there any friendly entity that wishes to speak?” David wrote that, “In playback I expected nothing. But, clear as a bell, I heard a voice say, ‘Did anybody answer?’ Startled, I threw down the earphones and backed toward the other end of the room with all the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. After the initial shock, I tried again with my greeting and recorded a male voice saying, ‘No time for this.’” More Examples of EVP 101 David has gone on to record many other spirit voices. He meets with an EVP group and wrote to us saying, “If I never receive another EVP, I know they are there! It is because of your efforts and guidance that this one time skeptic is a full time believer!” There Is No Death and There Are No Dead and They Want Us To Know This! Marcello Bacci, a famous pioneer of EVP and ITC research, received the message, “Life beyond death, beyond the life we know, from death is life.” =====0===== Clara Laughlin wrote, “The so-called dead want to communicate, they can communicate and they do communicate. They

are not in the ceme- tery.” =====0===== Carol Barron-Karajohn recorded an EVP that we never fail to play when we conduct a presentation. You would have to hear the enthusi- asm in this voice to understand why we love it so. Carol had made friends with another AA-EVP member. She wrote, “He called me many times because of my work in the field and we ex- changed many audio cassette letters.” A short time after her friend crossed to the other side, Carol was making a recording for EVP in the morning. On that recording she received the message that this friend would, “Be on this evening.” Carol had never recorded an “appoint- ment” for a friend from the other side to come through. That night she eagerly made her recording and was not disappointed with the results. The friend loudly and enthusiastically said, “I’m alive!” His voice was recognizable and just as it had been in his earth life. The man’s rela- tives heard the recording and confirmed that it was his voice. He gave her other evidential information, such as where his parents had lived while on earth—information that Carol did not know. Carol said, “I’m sure that he is happy to be spreading the word from the other side that we don’t die!” A couple of other messages that Carol has recorded that seem to fit here quite clearly are, “We, the dead, speak.” and “Praise be the dead, the dead didn’t die!” Most researchers in EVP

have recorded many messages along these same lines. There is No Death and There are No Dead 102 =====0===== David had a friend, Bob, who did not believe in EVP at all. The two friends would argue for hours about the voice phenomena. While re- cording one day, David received the message, “I’m across David … Bob T … Free!” David thought that Bob was still alive but immedi- ately began checking and learned that his old friend had died a short time before the message was recorded. The friend, who had not be- lieved in EVP and had argued that it was not real, used EVP to prove his survival. =====0===== The famous German researcher, Hans-Otto Koenig, recorded the name of a close friend who was in the hospital. Fifteen minutes later, the man’s wife called Koenig and said that her husband had died fifteen minutes earlier! After this, Koenig was successful in recording a two- minute, two-way conversation with this same friend. Several people were present while this took place. The deceased friend gave his first and last name and everyone recognized his voice, as it sounded exactly the same as his voice while in life. =====0===== Betty’s father had died in 1948. In 1984 Mercedes Shepanek began recording EVP messages from him. She sent Betty a tape of her fa- ther’s voice saying, “This is Illtyd Evans speaking. This is Illtyd!” In 1988 EVP researcher Clara Laughlin recorded a voice saying, “This is Illtyd, this is Illtyd.”

When the two tapes were compared the voice Clara recorded sounded exactly like the voice taped by Mercedes in 1984. =====0===== Erland Babcock speaks of a time when he was close to being an atheist and how his thoughts have changed. He had a friend fall off a roof, break his neck and die. Erland was able to contact him through EVP and the friend said, “Everything so beautiful … there is a God!” =====0===== The mother of Lee had a miscarriage some years ago. When Lee asked her deceased grandparents to speak, she often recorded a young boy’s voice calling, “Grandpa.” She could not understand this, as there were no grandchildren who had died. Finally, Lee asked her grandpar- More Examples of EVP 103 ents if the baby boy who was with them was the baby that her mother had miscarried, and if so, what was his name. The grandmother re- plied, “Why don’t you ask him?” On her next recording she did this and a young boy replied, “Evan.” =====0===== Alexander MacRae, the developer of the Alpha Device30 for EVP, tells of some interesting things that happened in the early days, when he was conducting presentations of the Alpha in an effort to find backers to fund further research. At the Buchanan Street Hotel in Glasgow, he conducted a demon- stration for two physicists and a young lady. One man claimed he heard his late wife’s voice. Later, the man told Alec that he had been so depressed;

he was on the point of suicide. Hearing the EVP changed that and he was so impressed that he set up another meeting for Alec to present the Alpha in the boardroom of a major Scottish electronics company. Present at this meeting were the two physicists, the financial direc- tor and a company engineer. On playback, an elderly lady’s voice called out, “Andy!” The young engineer’s face became red and he left the room. Later, the widower whose name was Archie, said that he had heard a message from his wife. Alec returned home and analyzed the tape but had to tell Archie that the voice was not his wife Margaret but someone named Molly. “Oh,” the widower said, “It was my wife Margaret, Molly was just the pet name I had for her.” At a demonstration of the Alpha Device by Alec to twenty visiting scientists at the Palace Hotel in Inverness, Professor Leslie W. said she heard her brother’s voice. Alec later isolated the EVP to hear, “Leslie. This is it. David.” After listening carefully he detected that the first name had three syllables like “Lessillee.” When Alec admitted this to the professor, she said, “God bless your good ears Alec. That was what they used to call me as a child!” They are Aware of Us, and What We are Doing At one time or another, every experimenter will realize that those on the other side can see us and they can see what we are doing.

It may be their comment about a new piece of equipment we are trying or about There is No Death and There are No Dead 104 what we are wearing. Both of these things have happened to us. They probably do not watch us all the time or invade our privacy. However, there are others, like Charli Claypool, who feel that her spirit friends are always there and even go with her when she travels to craft shows. On her recordings, the spirits talk about everything in her life, from making lemonade to what she is preparing in the kitchen. When our cat has entered the room while we were conducting an experiment, we recorded an EVP commenting on how lovely our cat is. They have also commented on our activities that are away from the experiment room, such as the fact that we are preparing for a trip. Dur- ing one of our early recordings that we will never forget, we recorded our first direct voice from a radio that we could hear in real-time. What it said was certainly truthful and also amusing. The recording setup at that time consisted of a foreign language tape that we played for background noise. Our bedroom was across the hallway from the room we used for experiments, and we had an old clock-radio next to the bed. A few odd things had happened with the radio in the past, so we turned it on as well for background noise dur- ing

experiments. It was tuned off-station to white noise and the vol- ume turned up so that we could hear the static from the experiment room. During one interesting experiment, we were more tired than usual and ended the recording early by saying, “We have some things to do and so are going to end the session a little early.” A loud voice boomed from the radio by the bed saying, “You want to watch TV.” =====0===== Jacques Blanc-Garin’s first wife, Annick, crossed to the other side. Several months later Jacques had a car accident in snow and black ice, in which his car went over a protective rail. He was all right and could not understand how it had been possible to come out of the accident unhurt, as his car was destroyed. Monique Laage a good friend of Jacques who later became his wife, had called another friend, Genevieve, to tell her about the acci- dent. Genevieve had been working in EVP for quite a while and she was recording during the phone call. Genevieve told Monique, “It’s a small miracle that Jacques didn’t get hurt.” When Genevieve listened to the tape, a clear woman’s voice said, “But Monique, I was there.” When Jacques listened to the recording he perfectly recognized the More Examples of EVP 105 voice and intonations of his deceased wife, Annick. He then under- stood that she had been there and protected him during the accident. =====0===== J.L. sat down at her recorder with a

red hat on, something that she had never done before. She later found this message on her recording, “This is Alvin. I love you. I love your hat.” Alvin was the boyfriend she had as a young girl. He had died four years before. Learning Lessons about Communication through EVP When we communicate with our friends across the veil, we should not forget that they are still much like us and should be treated ethically with the respect and consideration that we would have for any of our good friends who live in the Physical Plane. These paranormal voices can seem so fantastic when we first discover them that it is easy to forget that our contacts are indeed real people, just like us. You may remember that we lived in Kansas when we first began recording EVP. At that time, the Midwest was hit with intense rains that lasted weeks; rivers flooded and levees broke. The news was filled with the pictures of people fleeing their homes, and then with the pic- tures of the animals and livestock that were left behind. Lisa was heartsick over the plight of these animals and immediately began asking our contacts on the other side about them. The entities told us that the “animals also survive.” They told us that many on the other side work to rescue the animals and help bring them to the other side. They said, “The pictures are sad,” but that “they continue” and “nothing that lives there

is ever lost.” Each night, we continued to ask about the animals in our recordings and our contacts continued to reassure us that the animals were being helped and taken care of. It was about the seventh night that Lisa once again asked for a report on the animals. A loud frustrated voice re- plied, “Stop with the animals! They are all right!” This led us to realize that we had become as irritating as a two year old who incessantly repeated the same question. They had certainly been as patient as any parent might be with a two year old, but obvi- ously, a two year old can get on one’s nerves. Thus, we learned an im- portant lesson. There is No Death and There are No Dead 106 =====0===== David Sircom reached an individual named Jennifer in his EVP re- cordings. He first wrote about this to us saying, “A few months ago, I made contact with Jennifer. She gave me her last name, after two months, but swore me to secrecy about revealing it. She has been very helpful … her voice seems to be getting stronger.” Jennifer was David’s first contact to give her name, age and when she died. She told him that she had been a teacher in life. What happened next was very intriguing. A very ominous, growl- ing voice in an EVP warned David to leave his wife (Jennifer) alone. David wrote, “Well of course I didn’t until she actually told me

it would be better to stop ‘asking’ for her. She sounded so sad, almost crying. Not wishing to cause her any additional grief, I stopped asking for her.” =====0===== Sarah Estep has written about an incident in which she heard the name of a well-known scientist on one of her recordings and she called on him frequently during the following week. Messages came through on both sides of her tape indicating that he was with her and also bringing other scientists in to give messages. After a week she recorded this message after calling on him, “That’s still my name but I wish she’d never heard. I rest!” When she heard this she apologized and told him that she did not mean to bother him and that she would not call on him again. Sarah wondered why this person could not just walk away and ig- nore her. She decided that he or one of his colleagues had spoken his name and that she had not been meant to hear it. She wrote, “Once I had come upon his particular energies, his frequencies, he found it hard to break free. It was almost as if I had to ‘release’ him, which I did as soon as I knew how he felt.” =====0===== Talking about “release,” those who pursue getting paranormal voices, and succeed, will inevitably find that they will at one point or another record voices asking for help. Our nonphysical friends probably can- not be released to move on

unless they want to, but when you record voices that ask for help, take just a little time to try to find out more about them and how they need help. You might tell them that they are More Examples of EVP 107 in another dimension from you, and that often, the people that you have heard from in the dimension that they are in now, have departed from earth life. Tell them they are very much alive but they are vibrat- ing at a different frequency and that they need to find the untold num- bers of souls who live in their higher plane of existence. Tell them that you are sure there will be a light, and if they go toward it, they will see loved ones that they know. You should receive an interesting response if this person is from another dimension and is not someone who has died and is confused. Many researchers record voices from what we would call extrater- restrials and from others that have never lived in the Physical Plane. But nine times out of ten, an entity who asks for help is confused, frightened and does not know that there is life after death. Some may not know what to do. Others may simply not even realize that they are dead. Some spirits are afraid to go on because they have been taught that there is a hell. Those on the other side have told us that there is no hell and

that there is no one that will judge another person’s life. The individual entity will do the judging of the life it has led. There is constant pro- gression and learning, not only here but in the next dimension as well. If the life was not what the entity wished it had led, it will be able to make up for and learn from past mistakes. The only possibility of hell is if we should create it for ourselves. Thought creates reality in this world and even more quickly in the next. Our spirit communicators have also told us that many on their side try to reach these “stuck” in- dividuals, but that they are often vibrating at a level closer to our own and are difficult for them to reach. It is the people still living in the physical, they say, who have a better chance of reaching many of those who are stuck close to the Earth Plane. =====0===== A.R. recorded a message from a man saying, “I’m from another world. Can’t get help. Won’t you help me?” After receiving the mes- sage, A.R. prayed for the man, told him to look for a light and follow it, and as he did so, to ask for help. Several days later, she heard from the same man who said, “I’m telling you they’ve gone free. Got a mes- sage set them free. It was quite a scene!” The entity spoke again three days later saying, “You should see our

school. It’s out on farmland.” The man told A.R. that he would be at the farm for six months. There is No Death and There are No Dead 108 =====0===== It takes two to communicate and if the entity we are trying to reach on the other side for some reason either can not or does not want to par- ticipate, communication is not going to happen. Bill Weber had an in- teresting experience in which an entity spoke, but made it clear that this comment would be it for the time being. He had conducted a re- cording for a friend whose brother had committed suicide, leaving his parents, wife and child behind. Bill called on the man without receiv- ing a response and then called on him again. After ten seconds a loud clear voice said, “Nobody feels like this. Bye Bye.” =====0===== Olga recorded a clear voice that said, “Olga you are protected. I will love you. We will see each other again.” During a later recording, she commented that it must be difficult for people who die because they are still able to perceive their loved ones, but are not perceived in re- turn. A loud voice came from her radio and said, “That is true!” =====0===== A communicator from the other side gave some advice to the famous researcher, Hans-Otto Koenig, and others in a recording made in Ger- many. The message was, “Love and patience are very important for your contacts…. A stream of

energy [helps] to build a bridge with earth…. Your loved ones be not alone but are of the same vibration within the energy field…. Damage to the material body has no influ- ence on the astral body.” Do Our Pets and other Animals Survive? You have already been told you about how we learned early on that all animals do survive. Here is another story regarding animals that repre- sents a personal breakthrough for us. It is clear that we were fortunate to be able to record EVP voices so quickly. Lisa heard that first EVP, “Crystals Help,” on the third eve- ning and the EVP have continued to come through since. One of the frustrating things about the EVP we were collecting was that, in the beginning, the voices were low and very much in the noise. Lisa was able to hear them but Tom could not. This left Lisa more than a little uncertain as to whether or not she was truly hearing phenomenal voices in the white noise. But this too had a breakthrough. More Examples of EVP 109 A couple of months after the first voices came through, Lisa had an experience with a nest of birds near her office building. She was a Fa- cilities Manager and managed several large buildings for a major cor- poration. Each building had a Building Manager, with whom she would coordinate change orders. One of these managers had become a good friend. The two were outside one of the

buildings one day and they noticed a noisy nest of baby birds. After that, they went out each day to check on the progress of the babies, waiting to see them fly. The day before a three-day weekend, they noticed that one of the baby birds had fallen out of the nest. The parents were continuing to feed it on the ground and the two thought that perhaps it was learning how to fly. Both were shocked and saddened when they returned from their holiday to find the baby bird dead. Lisa was very upset that they had not tried to put it back in the nest. That evening she told her friends on the other side how sorry she was for not taking action to save the baby bird. She asked, “What can I do now that the baby bird is on your side?” A very loud, lovely and airy female voice said, “Release and remember.” This voice was so beautiful that it sounded angelic. She was also an angel because Tom clearly heard her voice and was able to hear EVP messages from then on. It was not just our first Class A EVP. The message was profound and has stayed in our memories. In fact, “Release and Remember” was the original working title for this book. =====0===== Sarah Estep’s husband, Charlie, transitioned to the other side February 15, 1998. We asked Sarah if Charlie had communicated with her through EVP about their pets. Sarah wrote, “On February

15, 2002, which was the fourth anniver- sary of his death, I devoted the recording to him. I do this each year at that time and often have a response from him. This last February, I was ending the five-minute recording and said, ‘We gave each other three wonderful children.’ Immediately, in conversational style that made me feel as if he’d been sitting beside me during the five minutes, he replied, ‘And there’s Misty.’ … “Misty was the … last dog Charlie and I had together. … Several months after Charlie passed on, he came to my recording room and said, ‘I brought Misty down with me.’ When I asked him in the next recording what he and Misty did, he replied, still Class A, ‘We play.’” There is No Death and There are No Dead 110 =====0===== Carol Barron-Karajohn knows that our pets can respond from the other side. She wrote, “Shortly after my cat Bambi died, I taped a female voice saying, ‘Bambi.’ During another session [on another night] I heard a cat meow upon playback.” =====0===== J.E., of Germany, reported that her dear dog, Rolf, died, and that this was very sad for her as it is for all of us who love our pets as if they were our children. She frequently asked about the dog when she re- corded and often received answers. On two or three occasions, he even barked for her. Three weeks after his death she recorded, “I already am friends with

the dog.” She thought that she would never get another dog because her grief was so great, but two years later, she read about a man who was giving away dogs and went to see him. Two dogs appealed to her and she adopted them. She named one Wanda. Wanda had many of the unique behavior patterns that Rolf had and knew many things that only Rolf knew. When she went to a national ITC conference in her country, she took the dogs. She entered a room with two hundred people, and even though both dogs were shy, Wanda immediately ran across the room to a man who had been friends with her dog, Rolf. Wanda climbed onto the man’s lap and licked his face. Both J.E. and another friend received taped messages indicating that Wanda was once Rolf. =====0===== Gerda Slater had to put to sleep her well loved cat, Shamballa. While taping she asked her husband and parents, now on the other side, where Shamballa was. Her husband, Ed, answered clearly, “We have him!” This was followed by three meows. A month later she asked Ed if Shamballa was with Nicky, their Schnauzer dog. The two had played together before Nicky’s transition. Ed answered back loud and clear, “Yes!” This was followed by several loud, shrill barks. =====0===== I.M. and her father shared the love of a little dog named Boopie. Her father died and then Boopie died a few years later. After the dog’s death, she was

recording in her kitchen. The tape had several mes- sages, first the word, “Jump!” came through and just a few seconds More Examples of EVP 111 later, “Boopie!” followed by her father’s voice saying, “I’m taking care of Boopi.” =====0===== Martha Copeland has been communicating through EVP with her daughter, Cathy. Martha and her sister were conducting a recording and picked up Cathy’s voice saying, “Mama, I have Muffin.” This was followed by the sound of a dog. Muffin, had been Cathy’s dog for sev- enteen years, and had transitioned shortly after Cathy. Martha has heard Cathy calling for her dogs, Shishi and Gretel, or talking about the other animals in Martha’s house. Before Cathy crossed to the other side, she also had a pet rat named Elainey. Martha’s sister, Ginny, took the rat because Martha was, al- though a true animal lover, not keen on rats. Ginny, on the other hand, had become very fond of the rat. One day, Ginny was using her daughter Rachel’s computer. Rachel was sitting on the bed studying for an exam. Ginny made an EVP re- cording using the computer, and when she played it back, they could both hear Cathy singing, “Elainey, Elainey, I miss my rat, Elainey!” Martha suggested that Cathy might be preparing Ginny for the possi- bility that Elainey might soon transition. Weeks later, Ginny recorded an EVP indicating that Cathy was coming for Elainey. Elainey transi- tioned not long after that. Messages Showing Cross-Correspondence Twenty years ago, Sarah

Estep recorded dozens of messages in which those on the other side requested that she place a mirror in her re- cording room, so she went to a local variety store and bought a mirror. After placing the mirror on top of her reel-to-reel recorder, she re- ceived seven or eight messages regarding the mirror, including “Sarah has a mirror,” and “We can talk into it!” Three to four weeks after Sarah began using the mirror, another AA-EVP member and good friend called and said that he had been recording messages telling him that he should use a mirror. This friend did not know that Sarah had received mirror messages as well. A few weeks later, AA-EVP member, Mercedes Shepanek, called Sarah to talk about mirror messages. Mercedes was also unaware of the mirror messages that Sarah and the other member had received. There is No Death and There are No Dead 112 She told Sarah that she had been receiving many messages telling her to use a mirror, and so, she had purchased two mirrors and had placed them on either side of her reel-to-reel recorder. The entities seemed very happy with this and told her that, “Two mirrors are enough!” After she had read the draft of this book, Sarah wrote to us, point- ing out that, “Alexander MacRae of Scotland also reported receiving messages telling him to get a mirror for his experiment room. A woman in England reported the same thing. None of us knew at

the time anyone else had received mirror messages.” Sarah did not feel that this series of events was a coincidence. She felt that, “Someone or something in another dimension was showing all of us at the same time, that they were aware of us, and wanted to let us know. They accomplished this by giving us almost identical mes- sages, proving that what we got on tape was coming from an unseen dimension. “Are mirrors vital to communication?” Sarah questions. “I don’t think so. Most people who tape, and have good results, do so without mirrors…. I still feel the main reason for the mirror messages … was to present us with a synchronistic experience.” =====0===== Clara Laughlin went on a trip with her daughter and a girlfriend for a few days. Without reservations, they found that there was only one place that could give them a room and that would only be for one night. The man at the counter held out little hope that a cancellation was possible. The room was lovely and Clara said out loud to Tom, her husband now on the other side, “For heaven’s sake, do something so we won’t have to move. There is nothing else.” The next morning, Tom came to Clara in a dream. She was standing on the first floor in front of the elevator. Tom was there and looked her straight in the eyes and handed her a key that was exactly like their room key without saying a

word. The next day, the front desk informed them that there had been a cancellation and that they could keep the room. When Clara arrived home she made a recording and asked if any- one had been with them on the trip. You can imagine how Clara felt when she played her recording back and heard, “Elevator. Key to my wife, Clara. Tom.” More Examples of EVP 113 =====0===== Ann Longmore-Etheridge wrote us about an interesting case. In the late 1980s, her mother was a food service worker at an elementary school. She was not fond of many of the students, but she did tell Ann some amusing stories about a little girl named Rosie. Her mother de- scribed Rosie as a friendly dark-haired child who was half Asian. One day, Ann’s mother tearfully told her that Rosie had been kidnapped. Ann has been psychic since she was a child, and had communicated with discarnate entities through automatic writing, as well as clairvoy- antly. At the time of Rosie’s abduction, she had grown skeptical of her psychic abilities and would not accept her psychic impressions as evi- dence of life after death. She wanted and searched for incontrovertible evidence of survival. Ann read Sarah Estep’s book and turned to ex- perimenting with EVP. She felt that if she could record voices that were strong and clear, and that were in answer to questions that she asked, she would then be convinced of after-death survival. At the time Rosie disappeared, she

had been taping with limited success for six months, but had not yet received a loud, clear voice and had be- come frustrated with the faint whispers or voices that she was re- cording. Out of sympathy for her mother, and despite her disenchantment with her psychic abilities, Ann decided to ask her spirit friends to look over Rosie’s situation and was told through automatic writing that Rosie was dead and was now in the care of a woman who may have been a relative. Her body was found in a ditch the next day. She had been strangled. Police later tied her murder to a string of killings by a sexual predator. Within a few days of her death, Rosie herself put in an appearance through Ann’s automatic writing, asking her to tell her parents that she was still alive. Ann wrote, “I explained that I couldn’t tell them be- cause they would think I was crazy. (I’m sure I looked crazy arguing with a black space in my living room.) I felt that Rosie was frustrated and I believe that what followed was her attempt to convince me to reconsider. “I had never heard a child’s voice among the EVP I had received. The first time I did was soon thereafter. I had announced that I was about to turn off the tape recorder and a young girl’s voice replied in a clearly understood voice, ‘I knew it.’ Then, after a beat, ‘Goodbye!’ There is No Death and

There are No Dead 114 Not many days later, I taped what sounded like a room full of people talking. I thought I could pick out a child’s voice saying, ‘That’s amazing Spanish, Harry.’ This thrilled me because I did, in fact, fre- quently call on an entity named Harry. I also often asked to hear from another spirit named Francis. Several days later, I was taping with a friend. I called on Francis and when we played the tape back, we were startled by a voice that was louder than my own. We were so fright- ened by the unexpected volume that we clung to each other, shaking. It was a little girl calling, ‘Francis!’ as if she summoned him to speak. I would hear from that little girl again soon, although not by the mecha- nism of the tape recorder.” Ann’s family has been part of the congregation of a Spiritualist Church9 for multiple generations. A few months after she received this loud voice, her church was playing host to the Spiritualist’s annual conference. One night during the event, and at the end of a special church service, a crowd had gathered to hear four respected mediums offer spirit greetings to the congregation. Ann told us that, “Because of time constraints and the huge audience, it was announced that each medium would give only about a half-dozen messages; therefore, out of a crowd of about two hundred and fifty, around twenty-four people were going to receive a message

from a departed loved one. “I had arrived late and was sitting in the very last row of pews, in a dark corner. Despite this disadvantage, the first medium stood up and pointed to me. He began by mentioning a long list of people who were there for me, including my beloved Uncle Carl and Aunt Helen. As I was trying to commit to memory all these names, and marveling over my relation’s appearance, the medium described a dark-haired girl with oriental eyes who was out in front, demanding that I acknowledge her. In a moment of what I’ve heard the medium, John Edward, call ‘psychic amnesia,’ I drew a blank and shook my head. ‘She says you know her,’ the medium stressed. I just shook my head. Seeming quite frustrated, he told me to remember what he’d said, and then he went on to give other messages. “When he had finished, the second medium took over. She was the Reverend Anne Gehman, who participated in The Afterlife Experi- ments, Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death, as chronicled by Gary E. Schwartz with William L. Simon.71 She stood up, swept across the podium in her long white gown and pointed More Examples of EVP 115 straight at me. ‘Who is ROSE?’ she demanded, jabbing her finger at me to stress each word. ‘She’s telling you to recognize her. WHO IS ROSE?’ “I remember my mouth falling open and saying something to ac- knowledge my sudden understanding. Gehman nodded and

said, ‘Good, because she’s not going to give up until you get it.’ “Although I felt Rosie’s presence around me in the months that fol- lowed, I never heard from her on tape again. In time, she seemed to move away into the new world that was her home. Sadly, I still failed to work up the courage to give Rosie’s parents her message. I often feel bad about that now, because Rosie gave me the best evidence of survival that I have ever had—proof that I could not ignore or rational- ize away. She brought back my hope, at a time when it was low. I wish I had done half as much for her.” =====0===== You have seen many EVP examples that have come from Martha Copeland’s communication with her daughter Cathy. Another AA- EVP member, Karen Mossey had lost her son Rob. Karen wrote, “I cried reading Martha’s Emails on the AA-EVP Egroup. I wanted to reach out to her and there was a driving force that I had to know about Cathy. It was stronger than just emailing each other. We began to talk, finding we shared so much in common. We found that our children were in fact very much alike.” Karen asked her son Rob to send her a dream. He did send a dream, but not to Karen. Instead, another of Karen’s friends, Judy, who did not know either Cathy or Rob, had a dream about Rob, as did Martha. Martha’s daughter, Cathy,

came to her in a dream and told her that she had a new friend named Rob and that he liked to fish all of the time. In her dreams, Martha had normally seen Cathy in a meadow near the ocean. However, with the news of Cathy’s new friend, Martha began seeing her in a log cabin. She just could not understand this, as Cathy was very much connected to the ocean before her transition. As Judy related her dream to Karen, “Karen, your son came to me in a dream last night. I have never met him but I know it was him.” Judy said that, in her dream, Karen and Judy were managing a small store with another friend. Karen and the friend had to leave the store and the minute that they did, Judy saw a bright flash of light and then Karen’s son, Rob, appeared with a young woman. Judy said that the There is No Death and There are No Dead 116 girl was Rob’s girlfriend and she had blonde hair. (Cathy has blonde hair.) Rob told Judy, “Tell my mother I am happy and that I have found a new love.” Karen wrote, “This was such a confirmation for Martha and I that Rob and Cathy would come through together to a stranger, my friend Judy, who did not know either one of them. Judy believes that I am still too fragile to receive Rob in person and that is why I needed to

be taken out of the store and why the message had to come through her.” Karen continued, “I immediately called Martha because she had just told me about her dream in which Rob and Cathy were in the fish- ing lodge and Rob was cooking fish. He was always cooking fish! Rob’s passion was fishing.” Karen told us that Rob’s headstone even has a picture of him fishing, with Karen and the rest of the family hav- ing a picnic. “Gone fishin” is etched in the black marble. As even further proof, one night Karen called Martha and told her that she had remembered something. She had been given a little log cabin bird house when Rob died. She sent a picture of it to Martha and Martha immediately recognized it as the log cabin in her dreams. Karen next began to have a repeated vision of Rob and Cathy danc- ing, which she felt that she needed to paint. Martha and Cathy loved dancing. Rob, on the other hand, was not very fond of dancing. A week later, Martha called Karen and said that she had another dream. Rob and Cathy were in the log cabin again. Rob was sitting with two of his friends. (Karen wrote that, “Ironically Rob had two very good friends, Brandon and John, who passed on before Rob—as with Cathy and Rob, because of auto accidents.”) In Martha’s dream, the boys were watching television. Also in the dream, Cathy told Martha that Rob had

sent the vision of them dancing to Karen to let her know that he is happy. Rob also told Cathy in the dream that, “My Mom is an awesome artist.” These are the exact words he used to tell Karen this, before his transition. Martha told us, “I had another strange thing happen regarding Cathy with Karen. Karen had wanted to paint a picture of Cathy and Rob dancing. Cathy had a very nice wooden artist studio box that had been missing for some time and I wanted to give it to Karen.” Martha had repeatedly looked in Cathy’s room but the box was nowhere to be found. She wrote, “I kept hearing Cathy’s voice in my head telling me to look in her room. She seemed to be saying, ‘Mom look in my room More Examples of EVP 117 one more time.’ When I did, I found the artist set placed in the middle of her bed. I guess Cathy wanted the box sent to Karen, too!” Karen is also getting EVP messages about Rob but is not yet sure if the EVP are coming directly from him. Karen wrote that, “One mes- sage lately was, ‘Robbie, you’re needed here,’ so somebody was talk- ing to him.” The two feel that their meeting has been a miracle that was set into motion, and very much meant to be, through their membership in the Association, and Cathy and Rob working together from the other side, to make it happen. Using

EVP for Grief Management Linda Williamson sits with a group of woman who are using EVP to assist others with overcoming the grief of losing a loved one. Recently Linda worked with a woman who had lost her daughter twenty years ago. The woman had not gotten over this death and was angry with God for taking her child. Linda was able to help this woman through an EVP message from her daughter and the woman was overcome with joy. Linda has also been using the telephone to capture EVP with great success. She finds EVP voices in the messages left by friends on her answering machine, and with permission, she also records telephone calls that she has with people. EVP messages from the caller’s loved ones are always found. Larry Dean left a message on Linda’s answering machine and then completed a call to her a few days later. At that time, Linda told Larry that she had found EVP messages on the answering machine re- cording. She then sent the results to Larry, who was amazed. An EVP saying, “Jim,” was on the tape several times. This is the name of Larry’s father and grandfather. Another EVP clearly said, “This is Edison.” Larry and his fellow researcher, Patricia Begley, have been told that Edison is one of the scientists working with them to establish ITC contacts. Linda recorded a subsequent phone call and received an EVP say- ing, “I love you.” Patricia immediately recognized the voice as that

of her father who had also come in on one of the couple’s ITC experi- ments. There is No Death and There are No Dead 118 Tina Laurent wrote to us about a tape that Linda had sent to her. Linda had recorded a telephone conversation between the two. Tina said that there were nearly forty EVP utterances, and although some of them were indistinct, most of them were quite loud. The word, “Tina,” was spoken frequently. Tina recognized the voice of her first husband saying, “I’m Helm.” Tina has received EVP messages from him on several occasions and is familiar with his voice. The word, “Mona,” was also received and this is the name that Helm had called Tina when he was on earth. One of her favorite uncles also came through giving his name, “Horace.” Linda is deeply committed to using EVP to help people through the grieving process. Her team of spirit helpers has a great ability to do just that by bringing in loved ones from the other side. =====0===== Susan Bové lost her Aunt Margie after years of illness. Just three months later, her Uncle Tony, to whom her Aunt had been married for fifty-seven years, was dying of cancer. Susan’s cousin was desperate for confirmation that her grandmother was nearby and asked Susan’s sister to place a recorder on his pillow to see if any voices could be captured. The day that he died, they recorded for forty-five minutes and captured six spirit voices.

Susan wrote, “While I listened to the recording for voices, I immediately started crying when I heard the voice of my Aunt Marge! It was so clearly her, as she sounded toward the end of her own life.” The recording has been passed around their large family and everyone has been astonished that it was her Aunt’s voice. One particular EVP voice that they treasure can be heard say- ing, “I love you.” =====0===== Tina Laurent previously gave readings for people. She customarily used her tape recorder the day before a client was to see her, to see what messages she could record for them via EVP. She often recorded useful information and would play the voices and messages that she received for the people when they came to see her. Many were very evidential. On one particular recording, she asked about a client who would be coming the following day. A man’s voice replied, “Uncle Tom.” He then went on to call her his “little girl” and said that she had “a big More Examples of EVP 119 decision to make.” Tina did not feel comfortable with the message as hardly anyone in Wales is named Tom. She did, however, go ahead and play the messages for her client. The woman began crying. She did have an Uncle Tom who had been very close before his death and she also admitted that she did have a big decision to make. On another occasion, Tina was recording with a friend.

The name, “Max Wall,” was recorded, which was a name that was unknown to Tina. The friend became very excited after hearing the recording, as this was the name of a man that she almost married many years before. He had died at the age of thirty-three. =====0===== A French researcher, Monique Simonet, was recording for a friend who had just lost her husband. As Monique was soon to learn, the husband had not been a very good man. As soon as she started the tape, the husband came through saying, “I was waiting for your call. I love you. Please forgive me. I am waiting here for you.” After these messages, he was quiet, and another voice came in and said, “Contact ended. Pray for him.” After the messages came through, Monique’s friend began crying. In confidence, she told Monique things about her husband that were shocking and that Monique had known nothing about. Messages of Wisdom from the Other Side The transcommunication group called the Mitmenchlicher Transcom- munikations Forschungs Dienst (MTFD), formed in Frankfurt Ger- many in 1987, received a video and audio communication in January 1988. Dr. Ernst Senkowski was present at the time. A male voice was heard over radio and his face was seen in black and white on the tele- vision set. He said, “The whole consists of good and bad. Your exis- tence is made up of every type of feeling. Every feeling is reality and you are responsible for everything. This is

how your being (life) gains purpose…. By your own energies you create good and evil.”54(V9N2) =====0===== On March 23,1990, Manfred Boden, who is well-known for his con- tacts with those in other dimensions, made his transition. On the day of his funeral, March 29, he communicated through the computer of the MTDF group in Germany. The communication read, “I am in a famil- There is No Death and There are No Dead 120 iar world of unlimited diversity. Everything is possible. Middle plane of existence. The Past, Present and Future join logically together. I am seeking experience as my cycle of reincarnation is finished. There are infinitely many systems. It is as if I am experiencing everything in a dream. There are a great number of people here who are confused. Everything is part of the all. I need rest and concentration.”54(V9N3) Boden gave evidence to prove his survival. The word, “Charly,” was given. This was the identification he used as part of a Citizens Band radio system during his life. In addition, Boden and Fritz Malk- hoff had agreed on a code word, “L”, and this also came through from him.54(V9N4) =====0===== In an early communication to the Harsch-Fischbachs at the end of 1986, Technician said, “The grief and suffering people bear and have to go through is a part of their inner self. Some of it is through their own action or initiated by higher forces in order to activate the learn- ing process that leads to recognition,

improvement, and perfection… It is all closely connected and tied in with free will and choice of the in- dividual, which God’s power has granted to each of us as a great gift…. Without free will and choice, there is no recognition of truth which comes from within. Therefore, blind obedience is not what higher powers want…. God prefers the seeker and those who question. No efforts are spared to advance human thinking and individual initia- tive from its low animal instincts to a position of spiritual think- ing.”3(167) =====0===== In 1992, Konstantin Raudive made a phone call from the other side to Adolf Homes. He first confirmed the contact made by Doc Müller to Homes via a small radio. He then went on to say, “All your daily events, your thoughts and actions as well as events you seem unable to control, such as environmental catastrophes, in the final analysis were created by yourself, though they originate in other dimensions, in dreams and in other, trance-like conditions when you were your real self. “None of you has to die in order to be what you would like to be. You only have to die, because you selected one of many possibilities that were open to you. Even the person who is panic-stricken for fear More Examples of EVP 121 of death, long ago in another dimension decided his physical death.”54(V12N1) =====0===== In 1994 Hans Bender, former parapsychologist of the University of Freidburg, Germany, spoke through the radio in the

home of Adolf Homes.54(V13N3) He said, “Your system of reality is one of countless others. All are happening at the same time. The ‘frequency’ of our own reality is so short that it cannot be perceived by you. It is far outside the range of electromagnetic wavelengths and has nothing to do with it anymore. Do not visualize that we exist about you such as in ‘Heaven.’ The concepts ‘Above’ and ‘Below’ are products of your mind. The soul does not swing upwards, it exists in the center and ori- ents itself in every direction. Things which you create with your mind are always part of your post mortal life whether they seem real or not. This is also true of your religion. You shall always find what you cre- ated in your mind such as a benevolent God or an evil Devil. There- fore, concentrate on the depth of your consciousness and on what you consider positive and good.” =====0===== As new experimenters and researchers enter the field of EVP and ITC they often ask the same question, “Why do those on the other side not tell us how to improve our equipment so that better contacts can be made?” Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach often noticed that their technical questions were put off as not urgent, and that their spirit friends preferred questions of human interest. They began to realize that contacts through their equipment were not triggered by intricate technical circuitry and its understanding but by a state

of inner readi- ness, efforts for a positive spiritual attitude and many other factors that they knew little about. They wrote that the words of technical advice that they did get from the other side were merely hints and that they did not know why a certain piece of equipment would work well when used by one experimenter and not another. Technology is an important part of EVP and ITC, but as you can see in these examples, transcommunication is between people and is very much about human concerns. From these messages, we know that the proof of their validity is in the comfort and guidance they offer those who have sought to communicate with loved ones. Chapter 7 Ghost Hunting Most EVP experimentation is accomplished in the experimenter’s home under controlled conditions. If you are ready to record EVP in this fashion you can go to Chapter 10 of this book and learn how to begin. There are a growing number of people who like to conduct EVP experiments in the field, especially in locations that are thought to be frequented by discarnate entities. In principle, the techniques are the same for both situations, except that the environment or the recording equipment must provide the necessary background noise in field re- cording. There is evidence that EVP collected under field conditions may be initiated by entities who are in very different circumstances than those who are called on under controlled conditions. This may be because of the expectations of

the experimenter and the way the session is con- ducted. It is clear with recording in the field that we expect to record EVP from the resident ghost. The evidence is accumulating in support of the belief that some locations, such as sacred locations and old buildings, retain the energy of past events, and sometimes, the spirits of the people who participated in those events. There is also growing evidence that certain geophysical conditions, places and buildings that have had long-time human occupancy may cause the formation of etheric vortices through which entities may more readily visit our world. As such, some entities encountered in field conditions may not be “local” at all, but may be simply there for a visit. It is also possible that those who record in controlled conditions may have some of the members of their own spirit team go along with them on field trips to haunted sites. In this chapter, we will address the differences between EVP col- lection in controlled circumstances and EVP collection in the field. This will include techniques for field recording and some of the spe- cial considerations those recording conditions suggest. If you are plan- There is No Death and There are No Dead 124 ning to collect EVP in the field, we recommend that you take time to visit some of the paranormal or haunting investigation websites to see what they have to say about the subject. Many of these sites have ex- cellent information with examples and

“how to” instructions. From members in the AA-EVP who belong to various investigation groups, we know that there are many different ways in which an investigation may be accomplished. Differences Between Controlled and Field Conditions for EVP Collection Stating that EVP or ITC experimentation is best accomplished one way or another is usually not a good idea, since the results of a par- ticular technique will differ depending on the circumstances. Every situation is different and every experimenter brings unique characteris- tics to the experimental situation. As a result, EVP messages may be more or less meaningful, evidential or clearly understood depending on the experimental circumstance. Our comments here are designed to reflect the trends that we have observed. You can expect that your ac- tual experience with these phenomena will be somewhat different. In experiments conducted in the controlled conditions of the home, the experimenter usually asks questions or asks for a specific person. Also, controlled experimental sessions over a long period of time ap- pear to attract entities that are often willing to assist the experimenter in improving communication. Thus, the resulting EVP tend to be more uplifting, and are sometimes, clearly initiated by entities who have de- veloped a working relationship with the experimenter or who have been asked to speak. The quality of EVP collected in controlled situa- tions is not necessarily greater than EVP collected in field conditions, but we have noticed more frequent reports of recognized voices and answered questions from people who record

in their home using com- mon recording techniques. On the other hand, we feel that it is easier to get EVP voices in a haunted location. In field recording, EVP experimenters are usually seeking to record comments from the entities that are thought to reside in that particular location. The experimenter does not expect to hear from a loved one, but does expect to hear from whichever entity that might be responsi- ble for the reports of possible haunting activity in the area. Thus, the Ghost Hunting 125 EVP from field conditions do tend to be consistent with an entity that might be “earthbound” or “stuck” in the haunted location. Sometimes, these are angry or confused sounding EVP, such as, “Get out!” or “Turn it off!” But often they are the voices of friendly entities wanting to be heard and saying things like “Listen to me,” or giving helpful in- formation like a name or telling about some event that has taken place in the location. A common type of message, and one that we have col- lected, is the communicating entity saying something like, “What is happening?” “They see us” and even “help me,” indicating that the entities who are present are curious and can see what the investigator is doing. Through our own experiences with field recording, we have learned that not all EVP collected in a haunted location will be from the resi- dent ghosts. At first this was just an idea we had, but the entities

proved it to us. On a trip to Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, we recorded many messages that fit the location; however, other voices were recorded that seemed enlightened. These “enlightened” voices perplexed us. Could a being that had not gone on, in other words a ghost, be profound? In the Alcatraz prison, we paused a moment to admire the view through the heavily screened window. Alcatraz was first a military prison and then later a federal prison. The view from the window was very beautiful. To be locked up on an island with beautiful scenes from every window must have been living hell, and we said this. The recorders were set to “Voice Activation,” and on one recorder, there is a loud clear distinguished sounding voice that speaks immediately af- ter our statement saying, “Think positive, instantly away.” This seemed very profound for a “stuck” entity. It was not long after this that we recorded an EVP that proves that entities who are not “local” will come to us, even on field trips to haunted locations. This was very clearly demonstrated when we were in the hospital area and in the hydrotherapy room of the prison. This is the room that many psychics have said contains a great deal of nega- tive energy. It was in this room that we received an EVP from a group of ladies singing the name, “Paolo Presi.” Paolo Presi is a well- known ITC researcher in Italy. Immediately after this, the

Italian word “Bongiorno” is spoken; Bongiorno is “good day” in English. There have been several articles about Presi’s work in the AA-EVP News- There is No Death and There are No Dead 126 Journal and we have communicated with him a few times through email. However, we certainly were not thinking about Paolo Presi at Alcatraz. It seems obvious to us that the entities used this opportunity to send a greeting to Paolo through our tape recorder. That this greet- ing was placed on a recording made at Alcatraz was quite a shock. One difference between field and controlled recording is that, in controlled recording circumstances, the experimenter is able to supply the sound energy that we believe helps the entity to form the voice. The opposing viewpoints about the need to supply background sound energy will be discussed in Chapter 11, so here we will say that the evidence seems to support the belief that the communicating entity changes available sound into words. This is accomplished by a direct transfiguration of the sound, or by accumulating sound energy, and then “bursting” the energy as a phrase. Assuming that it is necessary to have available sound energy to form EVP, then a very quiet recording device will work well, so long as sound from something like a fan or static from an electronic device is available in the room while recording. Also, communicating entities will sometimes use the experimenter’s words to form their phrases, just as they use ambient noise.

In controlled conditions, the experi- menter is more able to keep track of voices and noises that are in the room or that come from other parts of the house. In field recording, we have found that a very quiet tape recorder is not as effective. The solid-state digital recorders that are known as digital note takers or IC recorders tend to be better for EVP. (“IC” stands for the Integrated Circuit that contains the circuitry for this type of recorder.) One of the reasons for this, we believe, is that the electri- cal circuit of the IC recorders produces the necessary noise for EVP. That is, they tend to “chatter” internally as the signal is controlled by the voice activated recording switch and level thresholds in the cir- cuitry. Some IC recorders have proven to be very poor voice recorders because of the internal noise, but for the same reason, they have proven to be excellent devices for EVP. In field recording, it is necessary for the experimenter to have a way of keeping track of ambient voices and noise. For instance, we had difficulty finding a quiet moment to record when we were in a multi-story building and there were people talking on a lower floor. Ghost Hunting 127 Their voices sounded much like EVP when we listened to our re- cording. Many investigators, who try to record EVP during the investigation of an active site, team up to work in pairs. As you will see in the

fol- lowing, it is very unlikely that any two recorders will capture the same EVP. Therefore the two recordings can be compared and mundane sounds that actually did take place at the site can be found, as they will appear on both recorders. Another excellent solution is to have a partner videotape the re- cording sessions. This will provide a visual record of the session and the sound track on the video will provide a way of discounting ambi- ent noises. To our knowledge, we have never received a documented case of two recorders picking up the same EVP. So, even though the video sound track may have EVP, using the video sound track as a control should help you distinguish between EVP and other noise made by people or just the creaking of an old building. Hauntings Investigation Versus Ghost Hunting This is a good time to address an important difference between ex- perimenters who seek to record EVP in reportedly haunted locations and researchers who investigate haunting situations. EVP is fast be- coming an important tool for research on haunted locations. When teamed with a clairvoyant, and instruments capable of sensing slight changes in electromagnetic radiation, heat, and movement, EVP can be very helpful in increasing the information gathered during an inves- tigation. It can actually help describe the entity or entities that are at a particular site. The EVP voices will be male or female. The voice of a child can be distinguished and in some cases,

the names of the entities present have been recorded. You may even be able to tell if an entity is angry or simply playful, and if they are earthbound or just visiting. But true haunting investigation is much more than entity detection. It is also careful research into the history of the site and its past occu- pants, careful documentation of the situation, procedure and results, and if possible, an earnest attempt to help the nonphysical entity move on to higher aspects of reality. The end goal of a serious haunting in- vestigation may be to clear the location of an unwanted nonphysical influence, and to help the occupants learn to deal with the situation. In some cases the occupants may even need counseling services. A seri- There is No Death and There are No Dead 128 ous investigation may add to the body of evidence that these phenom- ena are real, and/or add to information about the history of the haunted site. It is our belief that the majority of EVP experimenters who like to record in known haunted locations do so out of a desire to collect EVP from the local ghost. In effect, the experimenter is a ghost hunter and makes no claim at all of being a researcher. There have been very pub- lic complaints regarding ghost groups from people who consider themselves legitimate researchers. They complain that these people are just amateurs and how such groups make a mockery of professional efforts to conduct serious

research. There are ghost hunting groups all around the world. Some do make an effort to follow acceptable proce- dure but some are simply seeking phenomena. As long as these groups do not claim that they are something they are not, and conduct them- selves in an ethical fashion, then we believe that the search to experi- ence phenomena is a great and honorable pastime that often leads the seeker to more serious research and sometimes helps teach the truth of personal survival. It is our belief that, while some people may use the term, “haunting investigation,” they actually mean something more like, “ghost hunting.” The Gold Canyon Restaurant Janice Oberding36 is the author of Haunted Nevada, Director of The Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society37 and the Northern Nevada area representative for the American Ghost Society.38 We met Janice at the 2002 Virginia City, Nevada Ghost Conference that she helped organize, and at which we were speakers. After the conference, we accompanied Janice and a few other hauntings enthusiasts to evaluate a restaurant in nearby Dayton as a possible site for a future investigation. Virginia City is located in Northwestern Nevada. Janice told us that, “The town is rich in Wild West history. When the Comstock Lode was discovered, Virginia City became a haven for those seeking their fortunes. Millionaires were made and bankrupted by its silver mines, and gunslingers ruled the streets. Mark Twain began his career in Virginia City writing for the Territorial Enterprise, and stars of

Ghost Hunting 129 their day, such as Shakespearean actor, Edwin Booth, performed at Piper’s Opera House.” Janice did not know much about the restaurant in Dayton. The owner of the restaurant had approached her at a book signing to tell her that the restaurant was quite haunted. Janice had liked her and felt that she was a credible and honest individual, and had agreed to take a preliminary look after the patrons in the restaurant had gone home. At least for us, what took place on this preliminary look was phe- nomenal. Let us first say that the restaurant has been in existence since 1887. It is quite elegantly arranged into several eating areas, with lace tablecloths and many old pictures on the walls. The entrance to the eating areas is through the Bar, which has a wonderful historic feel that is accented by an enormous rock fireplace. Team members began preparing their equipment after an interview with the owner and a friendly exchange of ghost stories with a few of the late night patrons. One of the members of the team had an electro- magnetic field detector and immediately detected an exceptional read- ing near the fireplace. She wondered if the rocks were setting the de- tector off. Janice’s husband, Bill, began taking pictures with his digital camera and Lisa turned on our Panasonic RR-DR60 recorder. Bill immediately found orbs in his pictures, and Lisa later learned that we had recorded an EVP saying, “Looking to meet forces here.

John Coney.” The walk through of the site took place over two hours, but we cap- tured only about six minutes of recording because of our recorder’s voice activation feature. To avoid mistaking the voice of someone in the room for an EVP, we only recorded away from others or when just one person was in a particular area. Otherwise, we left the recorder on “Hold” so that we would not accidentally record. Employees had seen apparitions around the two wait stations just off of the Kitchen, so Lisa went alone, in the dark with her flashlight, to the closest station and turned on the recorder. With the flashlight, she could see that it was recording something. This area produced an EVP with a male voice that was louder than her voice. It said, “The Flashlight hunt!” The second wait station was very interesting. The energy in that small space felt like a tangible pressure, as if we were being pushed down. A young lady, who told us she was a psychic, was already There is No Death and There are No Dead 130 standing at the entrance of the wait station when we arrived. She did not want to enter the area and only did so because Lisa led the way. On the recording you can hear Lisa say, “Do you feel that pressure?” Immediately a woman’s voice said in an EVP, “Man shot, is sick.” Later, we noticed a commotion in one of the rooms. Janice had seen

a blue streak go by her that could possibly have been an apparition. Several people in the room were taking pictures and reading their meters. Tom was using our Olympus C700 Ultrazoom digital camera, set at an ISO of 800, with the flash turned off. The room was fairly dark with some light coming through the windows from the street. The picture you see here was taken in that room. The bright spots are not light fixtures that were turned on, but reflected light from a glass door. Notice the face in the light on the right. By identifying known objects in the picture, we know that the hand-held camera moved very Figure 7-1: Available light photograph showing possible phe- nomenal features slightly. With this in mind, it is possible that the “latency” of the image in the camera detector may have caused a single point of reflected light to paint the “U” shaped light in the picture. This is a problem one encounters when taking nighttime pictures, as poorly il- luminated objects will not expose the film or the digital detector as well as will bright objects. As a result, movement of the camera during the exposure may show up in the resulting picture as a relatively sharp background while points of light may appear to have moved to cause a streak that follows the movement of the camera. The original also shows an interesting electric blue area of light under the “U” shaped streak of light. When the

picture is blown up, other ITC features are evident in the optical noise of that area. After that, we went down a long narrow eating area. “Oswald James” was recorded in that area. A girl with another recorder came up to us and we walked through the kitchen together. On Lisa’s re- corder you can hear the other person’s voice ask, “What is your name?” The voice of a man answered back on our recorder, “Payne and Isaiah.” Ghost Hunting 131 In another area we recorded a voice saying, “That’s Niccolites.” Several interesting raps not only preceded this EVP but also occurred after the voice on the recording. Other EVP in this amazing recording session were, “This is Matt Simmons” and “Speak to me. So un- happy.” Knowing that we would shortly have to leave, Lisa went to another quiet eating area by herself and sat in a chair that was sitting by itself near the wall. She felt that it just looked inviting. Out loud, she said something about how beautiful the place was and that, “I would cer- tainly live here and I know that you are here (meaning the spirits).” Immediately a woman’s poignant voice replied in an EVP, “No, I didn’t mean to stay here.” We followed up our visit to the restaurant with research into the history of the restaurant and the small town of Dayton. A man named John Cooney had lived in the area in 1870, but we have nothing that connects him

to this site. The restaurant was first a boarding house that served food, then a bar, and then a restaurant and bar. The area of town around the restaurant experienced two major fires that burned buildings located next door. In the 1930s, a woman shot a man in the back over water rights but he did not die from his wounds. Beyond that, we can not place that happening with this location. Historical in- formation dating back to the 1800s is difficult to find. On a second trip to the location, we had an additional interesting experience. Concerned about the woman who had recorded, “No, I didn’t mean to stay here,” we went to the location in the restaurant that the EVP had been recorded and tried to tune in with the entity to offer our assistance. Naturally, we had a recorder going. At one point, we told the woman to look around for a light and to go toward the light where friends would be waiting. After making this statement, an EVP came through in a strong male voice saying, “We are already in the light.” This of course leads to more questions. This was not the female entity for whom we were concerned. Is it possible that she has stayed in the location because this male has not gone on? Did he tell us that they were already in the light because he wants to discourage any rescue work? Or was this another entity that is able to

move back and forth between etheric realms? Only further investigation and recording will hopefully ascertain what is taking place at this location. There is No Death and There are No Dead 132 Other Investigators’ Experiences Long time ITC researcher, Erland Babcock, told us about his experi- ence of trying to record EVP in a cemetery. Erland and his son made arrangements to go to a cemetery to record for EVP. They had in- formed the police of their intentions, and as Erland recounts, “That night, when we were trying to make a recording, the police came and checked on us, as a neighbor had reported something strange going on in the cemetery. The police locked up their car and came up to see what we were doing. While they were speaking with us, the lights on the police car suddenly started to blink, the radio went on and off and the overhead lights began flashing. The police just stood there for a while until things quieted down. Needless to say, they walked back to the police station and came for the car the next day. That was the talk around the town for a while. We did not get a single voice and never went back.” =====0===== Tina Laurent made an appearance as an EVP experimenter in one of a series of shows shown in the United Kingdom called, The Scream Team. One of the first utterances she recorded was that of an animal. One of the young adults who

appear as a regular in the program, and who is clairvoyant, was bending down stroking a phantom cat. Tina asked her if she had a cat and she replied, “Yes.” On the recording be- tween “Cat” and “Yes,” a very loud “Purr” is heard. The purr was recorded two more times within just a few minutes. A young medium was also on the program and Tina’s EVP voices corroborated what he was saying at the very time that he was speaking the words. At one point the medium was describing a man, whom he was seeing in the corner. The man was telling them all to “Go Away.” On Tina’s recording a man’s voice says, “Go Away” moments later. Tina wrote about another interesting thing happening to one of her recordings during another television appearance, “A few years ago I did a short thing with a local television station in a haunted pub by the seaside. During a break I went over the road by myself to a dark, very old graveyard and made a short tape. I got a loud, clear male saying, ‘I killed her.’ I immediately played it for the crew, they all heard it, cop- ied it, yet when I went over the same bit again an hour later the utter- ance had completely disappeared.” Ghost Hunting 133 EVP messages disappearing or being changed is reported to us from time to time. It seems to occur sometimes on cassette tapes. At this point in time, it

is felt that this will not happen if the paranormal voice is placed on a compact disc. However, we are constantly sur- prised at the way our spirit friends seem to be able to manipulate tech- nology and so who knows what they will be able to do next. =====0===== Susan Bové was raised in a house that had considerable physical phe- nomena. She wrote that the activity just seemed normal to everyone in the house. This included her parents and three sisters. In 1998, she joined a ghost group and bought a digital recorder. She remembers the first EVP that she recorded, “I was in Mt. Peace Cemetery in Lawn- side, New Jersey, and I said into the night air, ‘If anyone is here, could you talk to me?’ A reply came from a male voice that said, ‘Yeah, Miss?’ I was floored! After that, I recorded every investigation and what I have obtained over the years, never ceases to amaze me.” By November of 2002, Susan and six others started their own group. She is the co-director of the South Jersey Paranormal Research (SJPR) group. They have been active in investigating many locations and always have some good stories to share. For instance, the SJPR was conducting an investigation in a Masonic Lodge. Susan was with a group on the second floor when they heard a woman singing near the steps leading to the third floor. A member who was on the third floor also heard the singing

and also felt that the sound was coming from the second floor. Susan radioed other team members and found that no member had been singing. The singing was heard for approximately fifteen sec- onds. On the tape, you can hear a woman singing, “I hear you … are you here?” You then hear one of the team members ask the spirit if she’s female and what she is doing there, as the lodge is a men’s club. The spirit responds, “Singing,” and then another female voice says, “She likes to sing.” The SJPR group is conducting an ongoing investigation in one lo- cation that has been found to be very active. It is a private residence in Camden. Susan reports that the group has literally heard spirits and seen apparitions walking around in the house. In one visit to the house, they captured a very interesting event on one of the video cameras! Susan wrote, “The videographer was sitting on the couch, filming into There is No Death and There are No Dead 134 the room. Just to the left, out of the picture’s frame, is a Grandmother clock. You can see in the footage, two or more orbs flying out of cam- era range, towards the clock. All of a sudden, a very loud “BANG” was heard and was captured on the audio portion of the video. The sound was so loud that the camera man jumped! You then see the orbs fly away from the clock. “Upon inspection,

it was found that the weight in the clock was un- hooked and had crashed to the bottom of the clock cabinet. The resi- dent’s father, who came to inspect it even more closely after the inves- tigation, had made the clock. There was nothing broken. The chain was intact, the hook at the end of the chain was tight and unbent and the hook in the weight was actually a welded hook, so it was all one piece; this was also intact. The only way it could have become un- hooked is if someone unhooked it.” Many of the EVP samples that were collected in the house are in a little girl’s voice and it is felt they all may be the same little girl. The group had heard a young girl whispering much of the time, but could not hear what she was saying. Susan was sitting on the floor by an open bedroom door. She had just commented on how “pitch black” the hallway had become. After her comment you can hear a young girl say, “I see now, near to the door.” On a previous investigation she had been in the same bedroom with another member who had commented that they felt like they had been stepped on, immediately after this a man was recorded saying, “Sorry.” The team has also experienced interesting phenomena associated with the family’s television set, as well. Once, even though it was turned off, little lights were seen dancing across the

screen or running along the bottom of the set. It didn’t happen again and the team de- cided it was some sort of fluke. Then in the last hour of a recent inves- tigation the lights appeared on the television once more. On Susan’s recorder you hear the EVP of a little girl saying, “Did you see it?” You then hear the homeowner who had just seen it, say, “Oh, My God.” Then the little girl again says, “Did you see it?” =====0===== Karen Camus moved into a house in 1995 that turned out to be haunted. She experienced a wide variety of very dramatic paranormal activities for the three years that she lived there. This experience re- Ghost Hunting 135 newed a passion for the paranormal that she had as a teenager and led to her current research and study in the field. Karen was with a group investigating a mortuary that was suppos- edly haunted. The group was sitting around a table preparing for a sé- ance. One of the participating psychics was talking about whether or not people at the table needed to be moved around to achieve a better spacing of male and female energy. When they played back the re- cording you can hear the psychic speaking but there is also an extra voice speaking at the same time. A strong deep male spirit voice slowly said, “Poor, I couldn’t bury their son.” This particular site provided quite a bit of material through EVP re-

cording. One particular EVP was in a child’s clear voice saying, “Fa- ther.” Quite a bit of information was gathered through the EVP re- corded at the mortuary and information obtained by the psychics. With the girl in the mortuary are three other spirits, a male cousin, an adult female and although he has not recorded his voice, the group feels the child’s father is also there. EVP was recorded from the male cousin saying, “Poor little cousin Bridget,” “She still blames him,” “Please help her,” “Forgive him,” and “She’ll thank you.” The adult female was recorded saying, “I’m little Bridget’s babysitter,” and then, “Go to your daughter.” “Com- fort her,” “She needs you.” Karen felt that the last three EVP mes- sages from the adult female were directed to the father and that the child in the recordings may have some unresolved anger toward her father. They are continuing to research this very interesting site. =====0===== Sarah Estep has appeared on numerous television shows to record EVP in haunted locations. She was with two London producers and a camera crew in the William Paca House in Historic Annapolis, Mary- land. The house was over two hundred and fifty years old and Paca was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Sarah, of course, had her recorder and was trying to record a few good EVP for a British television program. While they were in the kitchen of the house, with Sarah standing in front of the open fireplace where

most of the cook- ing took place, she asked, “Is William Paca here?” Within three sec- onds an indignant woman’s voice is heard on the recording saying, “I think not!” There is No Death and There are No Dead 136 Unknown to Sarah, one of the producers stood with the curator in the hallway. He whispered to the producer, “Of all the people Sarah could have called on, William Paca is the last. He never went into the kitchen.” The woman’s voice that Sarah had recorded sounded a little indignant, as if Sarah should have known this. =====0===== Michele Hardison has been fascinated with the possibility of life after death from a young age. It has been the driving force behind her work. She is the representative in Southern Nevada and Southern Utah for the American Ghost Hunters Society and was the co-founder of Para- normal Investigators of Southern Nevada. Michele has appeared on several television programs and radio shows. Michele has participated in several investigations at the Pioneer Sa- loon. It was built in 1856 and is located about fifty miles outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Saloon was in the middle of a busy mining camp and was the host to many nightly poker games. In 1915, Joe Armstrong was caught cheating in one such card came and was shot dead. His body lay on the floor for ten hours before the coroner arrived from Las Vegas. The original bullet holes still remain in the saloon. Michele and

her team of investigators recorded an EVP of gun shots being fired. It sounds like something straight from a scene in the “OK Corral.” You can clearly hear a loud “Bang” then a pause for a split second and then rapid fire, “Bang, Bang Bang Bang.” A picture was taken the same night in the saloon and showed a paranormal cow- boy hat and face. Both of these have been featured on the History and Travel Channels in the United States. Another interesting piece of history regarding the Pioneer Saloon is a sad visit by the famous American actor, Clark Gabel. Michele wrote, “Carol Lombard’s plane had crashed in the mountains behind the sa- loon. Clark Gabel spent three days in the bar waiting for word on her only to learn that her body could not be recovered.” At an investigation at the Washoe Club in Virginia City, Nevada, Michele and her team recorded the sounds of breaking glass and a woman’s voice saying, “Poison.” The Washoe Club was formerly known as the Millionaires Club. It was known for the wild parties that were hosted upstairs with drinking, dancing and prostitutes. On one occasion, the body of a female who had attended one of these parties was found in the red light district. The death was surrounded by mys- Ghost Hunting 137 tery and was unsolved. Was the voice that the team recorded saying, “poison,” a clue to the death of this prostitute? =====0===== David Vee of Ghosts-UK sent us

one of the most interesting EVP re- cordings that we have ever heard. It was recorded on a MiniDisc re- corder in one of England’s most haunted castles. On the recording, you hear people speaking in what sounds like Medieval Latin and then you hear the sound of a drawbridge being raised. The site did have a drawbridge but it was removed in 1550. The MiniDisc recorder was placed in the drawbridge mechanism closet and sealed shut. This closet was the original housing for the drawbridge controls but it is now completely bare. The door to the room that the closet was in was also sealed shut. David and another Ghost-UK researcher, Steve Paton, were the only people on the prop- erty at the time the recording was made. They captured this sound eighty five times in a seven-hour period. =====0===== Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi, was contacted by a couple of friends who had moved into a house and then began experiencing ter- rible problems like sickness, the loss of a car and arguments. They learned that a person had been murdered in the house and were con- vinced that it was going to be necessary to move. Sonia asked her spirit team, “I would like to know about the house of C. and M. … and if you know the person who died there named…?” A male voice came back saying, “He is already in my house.” Sonia understood this to mean that her spirit friends had re- moved

the murdered man and took him to their house in the Beyond for treatment and rest. Sonia did not tell her friends of this recording and later wrote to them asking how things were going in their house. They wrote back, “Oh, incredible! It is wonderful! We don’t feel bad anymore.” Sonia then told them that she had received a paranormal voice telling her that her spirit team had “cleared” the house. There is No Death and There are No Dead 138 Guidelines for Hauntings Investigation Using EVP There are numerous ghost hunting techniques to be found on the Inter- net. There are even correspondence courses that you can take, com- plete with certifications. Since our focus here is on EVP, we will not attempt to delineate the accepted procedures for hauntings investigation; but instead, we will describe some of the procedural considerations for collecting EVP in field conditions.  Rule number one is to always have permission to investigate a location. It may also be necessary to have team members sign re- lease forms to protect the property owner and other team mem- bers. Investigations are often done in the dark, in locations that may have hazards.  Leave everything as you found it. Respect the property that you are on, especially that of historical locations. Know the local or- dinances. For instance, it can be illegal to enter a cemetery at night.  Interview the people involved with the location. Learn about the current situation and what is

taking place. Be on the lookout for real phenomena, but also be alert for individuals who like the idea of becoming famous because their house has a ghost. Be discreet and know where to get help if you find yourself in a situation with a family or individual that needs counseling or other assistance that you may not be qualified to give. Know your limitations. Do not try to be an “armchair” psychologist when you are not qualified to do so because you may do much more harm than help. Know the services available in the com- munity and have a referral list with you so that you will be able to refer someone needing help to a professional.  Take a note pad. It is a good idea to document the experimental session. For instance, note local and sidereal time, local weather, solar and geomagnetic weather, location and any special ar- rangements made or techniques to try.  Some investigators tell us that they leave their recorder in one particular location and let it record unattended. Other investiga- Ghost Hunting 139 tors like to take their recorder with them to the different locations within a site. In our experience, the latter method is preferable. This is because evidence indicates that the experimenter is an important part of the recording circuit; entity, experimenter, re- cording device. If you move around with the recorder, it will be helpful to verbally record your location each time you move within a site. For

instance, saying something like, “I am at the entrance of Building X.” Then move on, and again state your new location into the recorder. When you do find an EVP, you will know the exact location it was recorded. This has been help- ful for us when we have wanted to go back and try to assist a spirit that seemed to be stuck and had asked for help. Also, knowing our location has often helped to make an EVP message more meaningful and has often provided information that we would have missed or not really understood. EVP recordings may be checked on site but the real scrutiny of the recording will come after leaving the site. Knowing where you were when you collected a voice will allow you to go back to that exact location for follow-up recordings.  It may also be a good idea to record your impressions once you are at the location. Some EVP become more relevant, and can also be a learning experience, when the message can be com- pared to impressions the experimenter felt at the time. At the haunted restaurant location previously described, Lisa felt a downward pressure in one of the rooms. It is common to feel drops in temperature or to sense spirit entities, but this was a new sensation for her and Lisa’s recorded impressions were very helpful. After she mentions it, we recorded a very emotional woman’s voice saying that a man had been shot. The next time

that we were out in the field and Lisa again felt this sensation, we received a confirmation. In the operating room area at Alca- traz, the downward pressure was again felt and a male voice was recorded telling us that he had died in the room. So do not forget to record any feeling that you may have. Remember that every- one has some latent clairvoyant ability.  Make sure there is a way to distinguish between genuine EVP and the voices of people talking in your area. Operating a second There is No Death and There are No Dead 140 tape recorder or a camcorder, while recording for EVP is a good way to do this. It is not a good idea to depend on your memory, and the ability to compare sound tracks will be useful in elimi- nating false EVP. If working with other people, or if there are other people in the area, it is okay to ask them to give you a few minutes of si- lence so that you can conduct a recording session. If you are not alone, depend on the second recorder to help screen out false EVP. Additionally, if you are concerned about mistaking a human voice for an EVP, it might help to have a record of the voice of each member of the team doing an investigation and all others that are in attendance. That means a voice recording of the own- ers and the television crew, as well.

If an EVP sounds more hu- man than paranormal it can be compared with the voice record of those present.  It has been found that EVP usually fits the context of the conver- sations of those present or the questions asked by the investiga- tor. When you record, ask questions of the entities that may be present. When you receive a Class “B” EVP, the context of the question or conversation will help you figure out what is said. Even a very clear EVP will be better understood in conjunction with what is taking place. It has also been proven through ex- periments that more EVP will be recorded if you ask questions.  Before beginning field experiments, learn about the broadcast radio and television transmitters in the area of the site. It is pos- sible to record programming from nearby transmitters that sound very much like EVP. If you collect relatively long EVP, or if the EVP includes phrases that might be found in transmitted pro- gramming and do not fit with the conversations at the site or questions asked, this should be thoroughly checked out before the claim that they are EVP is made. One very honest and dedi- cated researcher that we know picked up some very interesting and long religious dialog during an investigation. EVP voices usually have a different quality to them than a human voice. This recording was so clear and human sounding that the team Ghost Hunting 141 checked and found the

house was next to a radio antenna. A reli- gious program was being broadcast at the time of the recording. If a broadcast antenna is found close to a site a solution to possible cross-talk might be to shield the recorder. For instance, setting the recorder to “Record” and placing it in an insulated tin, such as a cookie tin, will help shield it from stray radio and tele- vision broadcasts.  Try to work with a team of people that includes someone who is willing to do historical research about the property. You may collect names or information, through EVP or a psychic, which points to a historical event that has already been documented. From personal experience, we know that it is one thing to be an EVP experimenter, but that it is very different to be a skilled his- torian.  It is useful to have a travel kit containing paper, pen, flashlights, batteries, water and food for snacks, along with the equipment you will use for the investigation. There have been instances in which experimenters have had their recorder and flashlight bat- teries unexpectedly drained. Bringing fresh batteries to the site, stored in some sort of shielded container, may protect against this. It is not known how the batteries are drained or how to pre- vent it, but a shielded container is a good start. A coat may be needed, and if working outside, rain gear may be useful. It is a good idea to review the

location in good light if you are attempt- ing to record in a very old house or a graveyard—locations that might harbor trip hazards.  Working with a good clairvoyant may offer a way to use cross- correspondence to better understand the EVP. If a clairvoyant was to say, “I sense a woman standing in the corner and she seems sad,” and you record a woman’s voice saying, “Help me,” at about the same time, you would have a very evidential EVP— especially if you have the clairvoyant’s voice in the recording. If you behave “as if” you are a medium, and record your location and feelings as you move within a site, we think that you will also be pleasantly surprised with other EVP that become very evidential, as you may find many interactions of which you were unaware. There is No Death and There are No Dead 142  Ghost hunting is not a dangerous activity. In fact, we have no re- ports of an entity harming an EVP experimenter in any way. With that said, we do recommend that you consider your attitude during an investigation. Discarnate entities are people too. It is always a good policy to behave as if you are a guest in someone else’s home. At the same time, if you tend to be excitable, or if you are fearful of the unknown, you are apt to make yourself a target for a mischievous entity. There is evidence that expecta- tion has an

influence on results.  It is not in the best interest of the entity to “hang around” a physical location. Yes, as we have said, it is possible that the en- tities creating EVP on your recorder are not earthbound or “stuck.” But if you feel that an entity may be “stuck,” and if the entity asks for help, consider spending time encouraging the en- tity to move on. A clairvoyant is especially useful in such rescue work.  If using a camera or video recorder, be aware of the possibility that you may be stirring up considerable dust, and that airborne dust can cause orbs in your film or recording media that are eas- ily mistaken as evidence of an entity. It does appear that some orbs are evidential, but it is very difficult to distinguish artifacts of this sort from true evidence. Our recommendation is that the camera should be used with available light if possible, and that the camera flash should be used as little as possible to avoid such artifacts. Remember to check the audio of the video recording for EVP.  Show respect for the living. Many haunting clubs make it a pol- icy not to attempt an investigation in a location of a recent trag- edy. Be aware that the loss of loved ones will be fresh and at- tempts to contact the deceased may not be well received. When a tragedy takes place, such as what occurred on September 11, many experimenters at

distant locations have picked up refer- ences to these events through EVP. It is not necessary to go to the location of the event. If you want information about such a tragedy, simply try recording and asking questions about the event wherever you are. Ghost Hunting 143  It is a good practice to be sensitive to the feelings of others, should you collect an EVP that seems to pertain to a missing per- son or some other situation that might invoke strong feelings in a loved one. First, do not give people a message via EVP unless they have asked for the message. Next, if you are not one hun- dred percent confident that your EVP is accurate, respect those who are grieving and do not attempt to publicize the message. Be mindful that some entities will tell you anything you want to hear, especially an individual that is looking for publicity and has no ethics.  People who invite you into their home or onto their property for EVP experiments are often curious about what you are doing and whether or not evidence has been collected. They will probably want to know your conclusions as well. It is always a good idea to offer a follow-up report, and it is very important that if you agree to such a report, you follow through. When you do make the report, tell them what you know. If you are speculating about one aspect of the report or another, tell them

that as well. It is better to admit that you “think” something is true, rather than to leave them with the false impression that you have reason to know something is true. Earthbound Entities Some EVP are initiated by local entities such as those that have stayed in the physical locale for various reasons and have not crossed to the other side. A friend and medium, Vickie Gay, recently began offering readings at psychic fairs. She had not thought that she would be con- ducting rescue work but has already found herself in this situation. She commented that one entity, that came with a lady for a reading, had not moved on because he was afraid that if he did, he would not be able to see his family again. Vicky worked with the young man and convinced him that, if he went on, he would be able to progress and grow and still be able to contact his family through various methods, such as through a medium or through EVP. In reality he was earthbound and was following family members around, but they did not know this. Vicky was able to convince the entity that, in going on to the other side, he would be able to find others interested in contact- There is No Death and There are No Dead 144 ing those still on the physical side of the veil and be able to learn from them. Another funny, yet sad, entity that Vickie also found herself

help- ing was one who did not feel that he could move on until he saw eve- ryone floating up to the sky in the Rapture. His belief that Christ would appear in the sky above the earth, and in a flash, every “saved” believer would disappear from earth and be lifted into the sky, had prevented this person from moving on to his true state of being. You can see from the above two situations that every entity repre- sents a unique situation, but we have found that there are a number of typical reasons why entities may become stuck.  They may not know that they are dead. Many EVP recorded at haunted sites are those of children and we feel that many of these did not understand death.  Alternatively, they may realize that they are dead but are afraid to cross over because of the possibility of judgment, and the pos- sibility of being cast into hell, for some act that they have com- mitted in life.  Their religious beliefs are such that they feel they can not move on. They are waiting for a certain event to take place on earth, as this is the time when all people of their religion will cross to the other side together.  Based on EVP messages we have collected, some entities have remained near the physical locale because another discarnate en- tity that they are close to refuses to move on. This can happen with groups

of people, such as families or soldiers. If one is con- ducting rescue work in a situation where there is a group, the en- tity refusing to go must be the one worked with. If that entity is helped and convinced to move on, all others in the group will usually follow.  Stuck entities are often associated with a traumatic or emotional event, such as a violent death or an unexpected transition that has left them with a sense of “unfinished business.”  You may also find entities who have remained in a locale be- cause of a perceived injustice that might hold them until it is re- Ghost Hunting 145 solved or until they have been convinced that it will not be re- solved.  Some entities simply do not wish to abandon earthly possessions or situations which they loved in life. This latter group may sim- ply crave physical experiences or sensations or be deeply at- tached to their home or some other possession. Not all Ghosts are Entities Not all ghosts are self-aware entities. Look back at the EVP example described on Page 136 in which the sound of gunfire can be heard, and the sample on Page 137 in which people speaking and the sound of a drawbridge being raised can be heard. These are examples of EVP that are clearly initiated by what is commonly referred to as a “recorder ghost.” Traumatic events are thought to cause a record of the event to be

etched into the fabric of the location. It is not clear what triggers these memories to “replay” the event, but the result is that witnesses sometimes see ghosts that are not responsive, and that repeat the same activity time after time. These reenactments are sometimes caught in recordings. In this case, the person who speaks in an EVP message, or the per- son who is seen as an apparition, is thought to be little more than the manifestation of residual energy left there by an emotion-filled event. There is a synergy Field recording for EVP can be a very enjoyable pastime. EVP is a potent tool for hauntings investigations, and when used in conjunction with the other tools in the investigator’s arsenal, it offers interesting information and an effective way to better understand the nature of the haunting activity. EVP and ITC research share a common goal. Both are concerned with discovering the nature of the greater reality. Both are important tools in our search for proof that our personality survives bodily death. Investigation of hauntings is considered by some to provide an impor- tant introduction to the world of paranormal phenomena for people who might otherwise never consider that there is anything more to the world than meets the eye. We, who study EVP and ITC, find haunt- ings investigations and ghost hunting not only fascinating but also a There is No Death and There are No Dead 146 valuable source of voice and image phenomena that prove there

are many things going on in the etheric space around us that we can not physically see or hear. Chapter 8 Results from Current ITC Researchers Erland Babcock - Video ITC Images - United States Erland Babcock has been conducting research in EVP and ITC for many years. He was one of the members of George Meek’s research team. Erland has experimented in capturing images and voices in many different ways, thus it is difficult to tell the reader of an exact equipment setup that he uses. Erland has told us that he operated a television recording studio in which he used a Panasonic Vidicon camera. The camera was focused on a twenty-five inch commercial, high-resolution monitor/receiver in the monitor mode. The output of the camera was fed through a Time Base Corrector, which enables him to “freeze” a video frame, then through a video enhancer and then back to the monitor. Thus, there was a loop in which the camera “saw” what the monitor displayed and the monitor displayed what the camera saw. Erland normally operated the camera just a few inches from the picture tube and slightly out of focus. Erland normally recorded for just a few minutes and then reviewed the tape, a frame at a time. He took a photograph of the most interest- ing frames with an ordinary camera. Erland did not specify whom he wanted to see nor did he know any of the people or the scenes in the pictures. Not all frames

had features, and sometimes a week would pass without a feature. Some features appear to be bird’s eye views of clouds or land. You can see examples of his work using this technique at aaevp.com. Erland has also collected features simply by photographing noise on a blank Figure 8-1: Video ITC features collected by Erland Babcock by taking a picture of tele- vision static. There is No Death and There are No Dead 148 television channel with a digital camera. He wrote, “I was using a blank television channel on my computer. I used my digital camera to photograph the moving snow on the screen. I did this several times at random times. I then removed the television channel from the com- puter screen and loaded the images from the camera into the com- puter.” Erland brings up each image one at a time and uses software to remove the color so that he has a black and white image. He then searches the image for anything that looks like it might be interesting. When he finds something, he crops it to remove the rest of the frame, and enlarges the feature one to eight hundred percent. He wrote, “If the feature remained interesting, I enhanced it by the use of contrast, brightness, sharpness and any other control that will make it more rec- ognizable. “These pictures (Figure 8-1) were produced that way and are from nothing more than random noise on a blank television channel.” Marcello Bacci - Radio

ITC Voices - Italy Marcello Bacci, of Grosseto, Italy, became interested in the paranor- mal in 1949. Soon after this, he began recording voices using an old vacuum tube radio tuned between seven and nine megahertz as a sound source. Marcello has been contributing to research in ITC for over thirty-five years. Word of his early results spread and people frequently stopped by his lab at home, and often had their departed loved ones talk to them through Marcello’s radio. These early sessions soon developed into Friday evening group meetings attended by many people. The Marcello voices are often so loud and clear that everyone in the room can hear and interpret what is being said. Contact with the other side often lasts for over an hour. Questions are asked by the sitters and some of the questions are immediately answered and can be heard clearly over the loudspeaker. Other answers from the entities can only be heard by replaying the tape, which is used for documentation. Marcello does not only receive paranormal voices. The spirit group ends each session with singing. It may last for over a minute and sounds like a heavenly chorus. In one of the earlier experiments, Marcello and his colleagues took two identical receivers and placed them about a meter apart and achieved contact with the invisibles. Both were tuned to the same fre- Results from Current ITC Researchers 149 quency but only one of them brought the paranormal voices in. They changed the tuning

on that radio while reception of the voice was be- ing heard and the voices continued to communicate. Professor Mario Salvatore Festa writes that he has been privileged to witness Marcello’s experiments for six years.75 He explained that the session begins when Marcello calls for the door to be closed and the lights turned down. Everyone waits while he turns the knob on the radio looking for a zone of white noise. Finally, he announces that he hears them. Immediately something sensational happens. All radio signals stop and a sound like the noise of the wind is heard. Marcello talks to the radio and calls out, “Friends, we are here, can you please make yourselves heard?” And then, the voices are heard. They speak clearly and answer questions. Many messages are filled with esoteric content. Children who have crossed over speak to their parents and the room is filled with extraordinary emotion and joy. During experiments in April 2002, Mario brought professional tools to measure the electromagnetic field to gain a better understand- ing of how the phenomena come about. Measurements were taken with the radio switched off and with it on. In the instant when the voice phenomena started, there was no significant variation in the electromagnetic field. Festa writes, “We began what was to be a surprising and shocking experiment to the astonishment of the people present, especially the mothers … Electro-technician Mr. Franco Santi … with my agree- ment, took out two valves [vacuum tubes] from the

radio while the experiment was taking place. Firstly, he took out the valve that con- trols the frequency modulation …. This did not have any impact on the working of the radio, as the receiver was tuned on short waves. “Then, as the people present continued to look and comment with disbelief, he took out the second valve, a local medium frequency os- cillation converter. This silenced the short waves completely. “It was then … that I could move the tuning knob up and down the frequencies to find ‘the absence of a signal’ while the connection with the voice from the other dimensions continued unchanged.… What was happening? The rule of standard physics had been turned upside down, the ‘entities’ continued talking as if nothing had happened.” There is No Death and There are No Dead 150 Diana and Alan Bennett - ITC Pictures of Other Dimensions - United Kingdom Most people who are interested in the paranormal have heard of the Scole Experiments. The four members of the Scole Experimental Group (Sandra and Robin Foy and Diana and Alan Bennett) sat over a period of four years. The spirit team at Scole was prolific, using a new Spirit World technology that did not require the use of ectoplasm for the production of physical phenomena. The use of ectoplasm can be dangerous for the medium, while this new energy was a blend of Spirit World energy with earth energy and did not involve ectoplasm at all. Phenomena experienced by

the Scole group included the appear- ances of solid spirit beings and fifty small objects received as apports. People, such as psychic researchers from the SPR, witnessed physical phenomena including pictures, handwriting, symbols and messages that appeared on factory-sealed photographic film. the The phenomenal success of group and their spirit team resulted in the book, The Scole Experiment,66 by Grant and Jane Solomon. The group stopped sitting together for experiments in 1998. The Scole mediums, Diana and Alan Bennett, have spent the time since the last Scole session exploring their own particular interests in psychic phenom- ena and healing.76 They felt that they owed so much to those in the higher realms and knew in their hearts that they would continue to experiment in one way or another. Alan wrote, “I have always seen in my mind’s eye, a phoenix rising from the ashes with renewed vigor to live through another cycle. Diana has always had that wonderful gift of ‘far sight’ and receiving guidance in her dreams, so it was no sur- prise when she told me that she had ‘seen’ the two of us working to- gether again. She was told how we should take the first step in the Figure 8-2: Woman—The Bennetts have been given the name of this helper on other side Results from Current ITC Researchers 151 form of a shared experience. We followed her vision of a simple ex- periment using a crystal, where the two of us linked together mentally and shared

a journey of exploration. “This experience was incredible; as we were both shown such wonders and places. We were guided by a sentient being through a wonderful ‘magical mystery tour’ where we met another being whom we conversed with. Through several other forms of communication, we were shown how to set up an experiment that would, they ex- plained, enable us to glimpse into other worlds (dimensions). We found that it was necessary to continue to follow our intuition, and to be ‘guided’ by them, if we were to achieve satisfactory results. It has required total dedication and perseverance as well as an open but still discerning mind. in the past “Before I continue, I would like to mention one very important factor, and that is that old chestnut ‘total darkness.’ We were ‘guided’ to do this new work in full light. After so much regarding physical criticism phenomena obtained in total darkness, we decided that we would only continue to work as mediums in full light. This has proven not to be prohibitive in anyway whatsoever, as we have achieved very encouraging results. Figure 8-3: Old Man “These experiments are collected by the primarily attempts to see Bennetts into and capture visions of other dimensions of existence. To be more precise, these visions are more like frozen images or pictures of different moments in time as we look into these dimen- sions.” Since that first experiment, the Bennetts have conducted many more experiments, progressing and building on what they

have learned. Alan told us, “It seems that the possibilities are endless, as we modify and intro- duce other equipment into the experiments. The experiments are based on the idea that there are dimensions not only beyond our own but within them also. By using a combination of electronic and photo- Figure 8-4: Owl collected by the Bennetts There is No Death and There are No Dead 152 graphic equipment coupled to image enhancement computer software (for magnification purposes only), we have been fortunate enough to obtain fleeting glimpses into these ‘other’ dimensions during our ex- perimental sessions. The experiments also require focused visualiza- tion by the two of us to create a central focal point for the experi- ment.” Diana told us that, “The images pictured here were obtained with the use of an ordinary camera and a good lens (not digital). The proc- ess requires us to strategically place crystals, according to instructions given by Spirit. (This varies with each experiment.) Light is focused over the crystal area, some through mirrors, colored filters and/or re- flective surfaces. We intuitively know when it is the optimum time to take the picture. When the pictures are developed, they are digitized, enlarged and then examined using Photoshop.22 As you can see, (in Figures 8-2, 3 and 4) the images are fascinating. Sometimes, the im- ages take up most of the frame sometimes only a small part.” What excites Alan is that, “This new approach is only now possible with the advancement

in electronics and the related computer tech- nologies. Therefore, where will we be and what will we discover in the years ahead?” Paulo Cabral and Phyllis Delduque - Video ITC - Brazil Phyllis Delduque and Paulo Cabral are two Brazilian researchers who have been working with Instrumental Transcommunication since 1998. They work with both voices and images. The researchers say that ITC not only changes one’s ideas about the continuation of life but also transforms the consciousness of the individual. Their contacts from the other side share teachings as well as messages from friends and relatives who have already gone to the other side of life. Phyllis and Paulo feel that the majority of what they receive through ITC is related to spiritual mediumship, with the other factors being the equipment that they use and their applied methodology. Phyllis and Paulo use a video camera that is connected to a video recorder. The output of the video camera is connected to a television. The camera is focused on the television. This arrangement provides a record of the process while supplying the necessary feedback for the video camera. In effect the camera is “looking” at what it looked at a few milliseconds past. Results from Current ITC Researchers 153 Anabela Cardoso - Radio ITC - Portugal On March 11, 1998, Anabela Cardoso was home alone with her dogs. She tried making contact via EVP at around 7:00 p.m. This was the usual time that she had been trying to make contact.

Suddenly, from one of the old valve radios tuned in to white noise, a loud voice shouted: “We are listening to everything! We want to know about the world, we want to hear your things! Now we are going to count on you to offer what is fair! I was not the one who spoke, but I suppose that you have made a question! This is very and very difficult! Another world!” When the voice came, Anabela had just asked if the contacts that they were getting through EVP so frequently were really coming from Timestream Station (some messages said they were) and from Carlos de Almeida. She knew that Carlos de Almeida was active at Timestream and she usually asked for his help and protection at the beginning of each recording session, as she still does. From that date on, the voices came frequently from one of the ra- dios tuned into the white noise of short waves. On a few occasions the voices would start on one of the radios and then suddenly “jump” to another radio tuned to a completely different frequency. Carlos de Almeida and the voices of Timestream speak about a wonderful world very similar to ours. They say that they have new, young and vigorous bodies and that they can travel by way of their thoughts. They have told her that they modulate radio waves with thought and that this takes a lot of effort and concentration. Anabela was told that it is their

thoughts that become audible and that their thoughts come, in a way, like radio waves. Anabela writes that, “This is probably the reason why there are so many semantic and grammatical mistakes in direct radio voices, why there are words of different languages mixed in the same sentence and why they jump without stopping from one subject to another in the conversation, they can speak among themselves without stopping for hours, and why that often an answer to a question asked from our side becomes glued to their own conversation. Maybe this is how thought sounds.” The confirmation of Carlos de Almeida’s identity had come several times in answer to her repeated questions, and she also heard from There is No Death and There are No Dead 154 close relatives who identified themselves by giving their names. It was announced that Timestream Station would begin transmitting regularly to her on June 1, 1998. Most of the messages that come to Anabela, using what she calls the Direct Radio Voice, or DRV method, are in Portuguese and so the examples given in the following text have been translated into English. Some of the information that she has received from this group is:  There are no conditions at all attached to contacts. A normal per- son who is sufficiently interested and persistent can aim to com- municate (with the other world).  The most important thing to establish contacts is “Contact itself.”  The level of transpartners on the other side

always corresponds to the ethical and intellectual conditions of the earth partners.  Meditation is very important.  They have a physical body of a different nature. They can feel the sensations perceived by our physical senses. Some of the information that they have given Anabela about what their world is like is, “It is beautiful here,” and, “It is the gate of light.” Anabela’s contacts have told her that they can be in their world and in ours at the same time. They also say that they have contact with other worlds besides the earth. The entities urge ethical treatment of animals and also plants say- ing, “Don’t forget that the plants are beings of your world. From that world all come to this world.” In answer to a question regarding the ideals and goals of animals in their world they said, “They also try to know more.” Larry Dean and Patricia Begley - Video ITC - United Kingdom Author Larry Dean has been working on a book on Instrumental Transcommunication. Larry told us that he was interested in spiritual pursuits at a very young age when others were out playing sports. Later in his life he devoted most of his time to making presentations Results from Current ITC Researchers 155 and teaching classes on the development of psychic abilities and heal- ing. Although Larry is naturally clairaudient and clairvoyant, it was only after he stopped teaching these classes that he took time to de- velop his own trance

work. Larry is a deep trance channel. His ITC partner, fa- Patricia Begley, cilitates and records the sessions. It is generally only through her doing this, and the recordings she makes, that Larry knows what has taken place while he has been in trance. Many years ago, the two were told by their main guide, Choi, that their spirit team was working with them to establish Video ITC contacts. Figure 8-6: Video ITC of Ethel collected by Larry Dean and Patricia Begley Figure 8-5: Patricia’s Aunt Ethel Larry and Patricia were excited and encouraged by the ITC results of the Harsch-Fischbachs, and were even able to sit in on some of the Scole Experimental Group sessions. They continued to sit with a group and did experience limited physical phenomena, but did not achieve successful television or Video ITC contacts. Larry talks about the years that they sat around looking at dots on television screens and featureless video experiments in an effort to find phenomenal features. Larry first made contact with us to ask for information about ITC for a book he was writing. Through subsequent telephone conversa- tions with him, we have found a common bond of interest in ITC. Since we had also begun work on this book in late 2002, we were able to send Larry the two chapters on Video ITC that describe how to conduct an experiment. Just weeks after he received the instructions, we received an excited phone call from Larry. He and Patricia had

fol- lowed the instructions and had received images on their very first ex- periment. One of those pictures was that of a close friend who is now on the other side. Larry has the wonderful benefit of being able to use his trance work to receive advice and direction on future experiments, and through his trance work, they were told to ask for particular people to appear in their experiments. Even though they have only been working with Video ITC since late in 2002, they have succeeded in receiving many There is No Death and There are No Dead 156 very good features, including images of people whom they have asked to appear in their video frames. For instance, they have collected im- ages of Patricia’s father and mother and also the image of Patricia’s Aunt Ethel, which is shown here. Luis de la Fuente and Estrella Fernández - Video ITC - Spain Luis de la Fuente and Estrella Fernández, of Madrid, Spain, have been conducting research in ITC since December 1989. They use a video feed-back loop connecting the television (without antenna), video camera and a VHS video recorder into a circuit. Luis writes, “We see the television screen when looking at the viewfinder of the video-camera. At this point, and by means of the video camera zoom, we obtain electromagnetic oscillatory ‘clouds.’ We then record on the video for one minute. We rewind the video and study the tape frame by frame.” The two call this series of

four frames, “Gordita.” In other experiments the two have turned the video camera to a forty-five or ninety degree angle, or they face it downwards and record through a mirror. Luis and Estrella have experimented with using filters of different color in front of the camera. They have recorded in broad daylight, with a tungsten light, infrared bulb, black light, and in total darkness. They always use the video feedback method with all of these. Their television is an old valve [vacuum tube] model. Figure 8-7: Gordita, collected by Fuente and Fernández Luis wrote, “In short, we don’t know how it is possible to obtain a moving transimage because “Gordita” and a few others are rare excep- tions. Change? An effort from the other world?” Pascal Jouini - Video ITC - France French researcher, Pascal Jouini, experimented first with EVP and ob- tained results that proved to him that the phenomena were real. He did, however, stop his experimentation in EVP because the sessions took a great deal of his energy and made him tired. On occasion, we have Results from Current ITC Researchers 157 heard this from other experimenters. One experimenter noted that she really noticed EVP taking her energy away when she was suffering through a long illness. She found that she had to stop recording during that time. Knowing that the experimenter is part of the experimental circuit, EVP experiments should be conducted when your energy is high and you are in a positive frame of mind.

In our work with these phenomena, we have not noticed a drain in energy and actually feel that we gain energy from experiments. Some months after Pascal’s first EVP experiments, he began ex- perimenting with Video ITC using the black and white Klaus Schrei- ber technique. He did not, at first, find anything of interest in the video frames and began trying variations to the Schreiber method. He found that he had good results when using color, a speedy flashing on the screen with the camera tilted sideways at a ninety degree angle to the screen. This gives Pascal an “X” pattern on the screen due to the dif- ference in the angle of the scanning trace between the television and the camera. He feels that he is getting more contrast and more faces with this method. He uses Photoshop Lite22 to analyze the pictures and to find hidden faces using the light and contrast functions. Pascal has also successfully experimented with a video feedback loop using his computer monitor. This removes the television from the circuit and proves that the ITC features are not caused by television programming. As this book is being written, Pascal sometimes runs an online webcam for video ITC on his website. This is commendable because he is able to demonstrate a live Video ITC experiment for people any- where in the world. Visitors are not only able to watch but also can capture their own ITC features. He sometimes has the webcam operat- ing

on Sundays and we have been able to access the experiments at 11a.m. Pacific Time in the United States. Pascal’s website includes many examples of his work, along with the live web cam. There are also examples of the work of other re- searchers. The address is: http://perso.club-internet.fr/pjouini/menugb.htm Mark Macy - Luminator Device - United States Mark Macy’s work can be described as a form of Photographic ITC. Very interesting features may be found by photographing people There is No Death and There are No Dead 158 who are standing in the field of energy generated by a subtle energy device called a “Luminator.” As Mark described the Luminator, “It is a tower-shaped device about four feet high. According to its inventor, Patrick Richards of Battle Creek, Michigan, it alters the environment in an area that extends about one hundred feet in all directions from the device. It has two internal fans, which move air over a series of liquid-filled rings. As the air molecules go tumbling through the rings, unusual things happen to them, according to Richards, including a re- verse spin of electrons. is “There are eight Lumina- tors in existence today which are being used in several countries. All but mine are being used for healing, as the device seems to have some important therapeutic applications. Mine the only one used exclusively for ITC research, as it pro- vides a very simple and ba- sic means of ITC contact. When I take a picture of someone with

a Polaroid camera in the presence of the Luminator, there is a good chance that there will be other faces in the picture after it devel- ops a few minutes later. These are faces of people who are not physi- cally present; spirit beings. Figure 8-8: Polaroid picture of “Joyce” (Left) taken by Mark Macy in the Luminator field. At the right, just the right side of Joyce’s face showing a resemblance to the Singer, John Denver. “I like the fact that the Luminator seems to melt away some of the subtle barriers between our physical world and the spiritual worlds that are superimposed over our reality. That superimposition of realities is a belief of many religions and a theory of many modern scientists and researchers, such as the late George W. Meek. Mainstream science disregards these theories and beliefs, for the most part, but I believe that this disregard will become harder to justify in the future as evi- dence such as the Luminator images come to light.” Mark had been corresponding with friends of John Denver, the well-known singer who died in a plane crash on October 12, 1997, in Results from Current ITC Researchers 159 an attempt to locate pictures of the late singer. One phenomenal image that Mark received at a conference in Colorado Springs in April, 2002, bears a strong resemblance to the late singer. Both Jack Stucki and Mark had Luminators running, and took pictures of about 30 work- shop participants. Many of the

Polaroid pictures had spirit faces pos- ing with the human faces. Figure 8-8 is a picture of “Joyce” taken in the Luminator field and a blow-up of a spirit face that resembles John Denver. Mark explains why he likes the technique he is using, “One tre- mendous asset of this spirit photographic process is that it seems to work best with a Polaroid camera. This eliminates the chance of a hoax, since the photographer, the subject and spectators are all present as the picture is snapped, as it develops, and as it becomes clear a few minutes later. Many people today are enmeshed in the physical world and have no knowledge of or belief in spiritual reality. My hope is that these Luminator images and other good results of ITC research will help people reconstruct their mental roadmaps or models of reality in order to accommodate a healthy spiritual view.” Jutta Liebmann–Photographic ITC–Germany Jutta Liebmann, board member of the EVP and ITC group in Germany known as the VTF,53 sent us some of her pictures of extras. “Extra” is a term that describes the presence of entities or objects in photographs that were not there in the physical sense. Jutta wrote, “I have taken these photos from my television screen with my Olympus Standard Camera AF-10 Super, using the flash attachment. During most the experiments I did not notice anything paranormal.” of the about documentary Jutta sent us several excellent pic- tures. In Figure 8-9, Jutta had videotaped early a

beginnings of humankind. At the end of the program an earth view with clouds was shown. “When I played back the videotape, I discovered this paranormal face in the clouds. I then put the video recorder into the stop/standby position Figure 8-9: Photographic “ex- tra” taken from a television pro- gram by Jutta Liebmann There is No Death and There are No Dead 160 and took the picture.” The features in Jutta’s photos look a lot like the features experi- menters find with the video feedback method. Video ITC also shows extras, even though Video ITC is accomplished with a chaotic video signal, rather than photographing a physical or video scene. It is fasci- nating to see Video ITC-like features in photographs of a taped televi- sion program. This gives us good reason to look closer at other photo- graphs and video recordings that include visually “noisy” scenes. Sonia Rinaldi - Telephone ITC - Brazil In 2001, Sonia Rinaldi34 began helping parents who have had children transition to the other side by making phone calls to the beyond. When asked how she informed the Beyond that a certain parent would call on a certain day, and that their child would be needed on the phone line, Sonia responded that she did not know, but explained that, “What seems to happen is that the ‘Beyond’ is here all the time. It seems that they control everything around here. This makes me imagine that, in the parallel space of my house, many

spirits live and work in the sta- tion. [Sonia is referring to a spirit side transmitting station for ITC] Maybe the station is over my house. I don’t know. The fact is that, when a person is put on the agenda, that is all that I do … on that spe- cific day, the expected deceased appears and replies with particulari- ties that only the parents know, and also, in the great majority the voice is recognized.” Sonia has tried to make phone calls while in other countries and has also tried having people from outside of Brazil call in for a session. This has not worked. She wrote, “For me this means that each country or big region has its own leaders on the other side. Its own stations ... I say this because maybe an AA-EVP member may wish to make a phone call with me. It will not function if he or she is not from Brazil. “Not only that. The person apparently must be Brazilian, or the de- ceased must be Brazilian. On September 11, when I saw on television that many Americans were dying, I made a contact by phone and asked, “Are you (in the station) receiving many people today? Are you receiving Americans?” The reply was, “This is a station of Brazil- ians.” Sonia had made over one hundred and sixty nine well-documented calls as of July of 2002. The Noetics Institute Incorporated (NII)64 in Results from Current ITC Researchers 161 the United

States is now supporting Sonia’s research. Here is a typical transcript of one of these calls. Arranging a Phone Call The parents make an appointment with Sonia to place the paranormal phone call in advance. They are instructed to prepare ten questions. When they call on the appointed day, Sonia has one phone in her hand and leaves an extension phone open so that those in the Spirit World may participate. The telephone is connected into the microphone jack of her computer and all conversations are recorded directly into the computer. The questions are asked leaving ten seconds between each question and the recorded conversation lasts about twelve to fifteen minutes. After the session is over, Sonia prepares a final recording of the session resulting in seven to eight minutes of pure dialog between parent and deceased child. The sound track is copied and sent to the parents who are then able to hear their loved one’s voice and decide if it is their child who is speaking. The parents often identify not only the voice itself, but also details and information which only they knew. Sonia also requests that the parents send back a report detailing their impressions of the recording. Here are excerpts from a typical transcript of one of Sonia’s tele- phone calls to the Beyond. Recording Number 18—Historical Background Luiz and Virginia, both medical doctors, lost their two only daughters, Luciane and Viviane, in an automobile accident in November of 2001. This is exactly one year

from the date that this call to the other side was made. Two others who died in the same accident were the cousin, Carolina, and the Uncle Fernando who was also a medical doctor. Fer- nando was Virginia’s brother. There are two different female voices that are recorded during the call. One is soft and sweet and the other is more energetic. Also a large number of the voices on this particular call answer before the ques- tions are asked. Sonia conducts a test of the equipment before the parent’s phone call is received. Her main contact on the other side is a gentleman who speaks Portuguese with a German accent. Sonia simply calls him “Mr. There is No Death and There are No Dead 162 German.” In the following excerpts from a transcript that has been translated for us by Sonia, all paranormal voices are in Italics. Test before the Phone Call: Sonia takes the picture of the two girls and raises it in her hand. “Hi Mr. German, these are the girls.” Male voice: “I can confirm!” Sonia: “Are you …” Male voice: “I can hear you.” Sonia: “… hearing me well?” Mr. German: “They are already here!” Sonia: “I would like to know if Luciane and Viviane ...” Male voice: “They are in contact.” … An interesting thing happens here. Sonia was contacted by the wife, Virginia, who made the appointment. Sonia thought that Virginia would be the one making the phone call and is surprised when

the call comes in from the husband instead. The following was recorded be- fore he called and shows that the girls knew they would be speaking with their father. Young girl: “He my father!” Sonia: “Hi girls ...” Young girl: “Hello!!!” Sonia: “Hi Luciane ...” Young girl: “We are here—in the challenges using ours day by day.” The Transcript of the Phone Call: Sonia: “Good morning friends, we are with Virginia and Luiz on the line, anxious to talk with Luciane and Viviane ... and we trust that they will answer and will bring happi- ness to the parents...." Another interesting thing happens. Sonia would usually say to the parents, “Okay, you may go.” This time, however, she says something different and to her surprise the young voice says what she normally would say. Young girl: “You may go!” Sonia: “Ok Luiz, you may begin!” Luiz: “How are you there in the Spiritual Plane, daughters?” Young girl: “It is the proper peace.” Results from Current ITC Researchers 163 Young girl: “I will call you up!” Luiz: “Are you both always together?” Here in the dialog, one of the most beautiful exchanges occurred as a soft voice spoke with feeling. Young girl: “You called us here and I heard you!” The delicate tone reveals that she had heard the parent’s suffering as a force that called her to them. Luiz: “Little daughter, Uncle Nanão and Nina ...” Young girl: “Yes they are!” Luiz: “… Are they well?!” Young girl: “Uncle Fernando

was informed!” (Informed of the call.) Young girl: “This date was a vision!” Young girl: “I came to enjoy it!” Luiz: “Daughters, the father and mother loves you a lot. Is there anything we can do to help you?” Young girl: “I am the responsible for my own peace!” Luiz: “Have you seen grandpa Ângelo?” Young girl: “He is beside you.” Young girl: “He already arrived!” Luiz: “Who is with you at this moment? Is uncle Nanão there? Does he want to speak anything for us?” Young girl: “There exist people beside you.” Young girl: “He is prepared.” In fact, a male voice would speak close to the end of the call— possibly uncle Nanão. … Luiz: “How is it the routine there, little daughter? Do you usually eat? Do you sleep?” An older female voice enters to command and to inform about the girl’s limits. Older Female: “They can just speak!” Luiz: “In what activity you are in charge of now, little daughter?” Young girl: “Something very crazy!” Young girl: “That is correct, my father!” Luiz: “Do you like your activities up there?” Young girl: “Take care!” Young girl: “I missed you for your love and affection!” There is No Death and There are No Dead 164 Older Female voice replies: “Yes, they do!” Luiz: “Do you already have a lot of friends there?” Older Female: “She is getting tired!” Sonia notes that this is not the first time that they have revealed to her that the contacts are

tiresome and she wonders if it is the proximity to the earth that drains their energies. Young girl: “Lu kissed you in fact!!” The father called Luciane, “Lu.” Young girl: “Unhappily not!” Luiz: “Do you leave for walking frequently?” Young girl: “Only to see you cry!” Luiz: “Do you have permission to visit us?” Young girl: “Yes in the everyday!” … Luiz: “… receive the love of your father and your mother! A big kiss!” Luiz: “We will always be together forever....” Young girl: “We count on that.” Luiz: “God allows us!” Young girl: “For sure, my father!” Sonia: “Viviane, can you say where you are at this moment?” Older female voice informs: “She is leaving!!! She is totally weak!” … Sonia then tries to speak with the girl’s uncle, who died in the same accident. Once again the answer comes before the question. Masculine voice: “I am already speaking here! It is clear!” Sonia: “Would it be possible for us to speak to Fernando?” Virginia: “Fernando ... leave a message to our father and mother” Masculine voice: “I will! In spirit, like a new man!” Virginia: “Are you happy where you are?” Masculine voice: “Friend! It is easy!” Sonia: “OK Fernando ...” Masculine voice: “Oh, I was so happy recording!” Sonia: “Our great gratitude. We thank mainly Viviane ...” Masculine voice: “Hello is here!” Sonia: “... and Luciane. We thank all the friends of the Station and we are interrupting this recording.” Results from Current ITC Researchers 165 Sonia

asks each parent of a phone contact to fill out a questionnaire and send it back to her. When doing this the parents expressed their deep gratitude. They say that they noticed the difference between the two young girl’s voices and that they coincide perfectly with the char- acteristic of their two daughters. They wrote, “Luciane, without losing her sweetness and, in spite of very calm, was always more emphatic and fast when speaking. Viviane was always more slow and sweet and calm when speaking.” The parents also say that Fernando’s expressions and voice were true to his life time personality. They told Sonia that others in the fam- ily had heard the voices and agreed. These phone calls are made in Portuguese and are translated into English by Sonia. This is only one example of several fascinating tran- scripts that we have had the pleasure to read. Each call has been unique and provides us, not only with evidential information, but also with a glimpse into life on the other side. The Noetics Institute Incorporated (NII)64 has arranged to sponsor Sonia’s work during a study period in which Sonia will follow an ex- perimental protocol designed by the NII scientists. Chapter 9 Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena The paranormal pictures collected by Klaus Schreiber, Adolf Homes and the Harsch-Fischbachs have always interested us. In fact, we had purchased a video capture card for the computer while we were in the fifth-wheel, but we never got around

to trying it with our camcorder. It was difficult to work with a video feedback loop in our home on wheels, as the television was built into an overhead cabinet. Looking back, it seems clear that we were receiving direction from the other side more than we seemed to consciously recognize. An idea can be there for us, and we can perhaps even purchase equipment knowing that something is going to take place, but the equipment will remain idle until some “final” ingredient comes into place. Since we are hard workers and we are also curious about things when we do not follow through with an idea, it is usually because of an inner knowing that the time is not yet right. After we had moved into the house in Reno, and were becoming accustomed to the work of the AA-EVP, we attended a gathering of a few EVP and ITC researchers that was sponsored by the Noetics Insti- tute.64 At the gathering we met Professor Euvaldo Cabral Jr,59 who There is No Death and There are No Dead 168 suggested that we place the camera within four or five inches of the television screen and focus it past the screen so that the resulting feed- back produced a chaotic texture on the screen. That was the last bit of information we needed to begin experimenting with Video ITC. In November of 2001, we were about to conduct an EVP experi- ment when we finally decided to try to do

a Video ITC experiment. The process that we used is explained in Chapter 13 if you are inter- ested in duplicating our experiments. In preparation for the experiment, we dug out our video camera and a camera tripod and placed the camera within inches of a television set. Then, we darkened the room for the experiment by covering the window with a blanket, but we kept a sixty watt desk lamp on so that we would not knock over the camera. After the experiment, we trans- ferred the audio from the EVP experiment into one of the computers in our office area. The first part of the experiment we reviewed was the audio, in which we heard a voice saying, “Continue with the pictures, I will help.” This was very exciting and so we immediately loaded the video into the computer and began viewing the video, frame by frame. The first lesson we learned is that it is a very slow process and takes more time to review than does an EVP session. There was nothing on the video that we could find but we could see that we may have had the camera focused incorrectly. The next day we conducted another EVP session. First, we thanked those on the other side for their assistance and then asked who had said that they would help with the pictures. The answer came immedi- ately after the question, “Anthony.” The name was not one we knew, but we were nevertheless encouraged that

someone on the other side might be taking special interest in our work. In late November of 2001, we ran another video experiment. As usual, we played the piece of music that we always play while setting up the equipment. Everything was as it had been on the first experi- ment. The room was darkened, we used the same equipment and we meditated as before. The only parameters we changed were the zoom and focus of the camera. That, we hoped, was the problem with our first experiment. When reviewing the ITC session, we did notice a couple of features that looked like faces when we saw the video frames in the review window, but they were very dark. Nevertheless, that moment was Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena 169 breathtaking. There was actually something phenomenal in our video! But, our excitement quickly turned to frustration as we “grabbed” one likely frame after another and tried to make the features clear enough to tell if they were really faces. Most remained little more than a hint of a face, as if we were seeing a face through a very foggy window. This was also our first introduction to the frustrations of trying to print a feature on paper. Those that were a little sharper and were clearly a face, as seen in the photo editing program, printed as blobs of gray and black with our laser printer or equally useless blobs of color in our ink jet printer.

There was nothing we could do with our first, triumphant examples of Video ITC outside of our computer. In early December, we sent two of our most promising video frames from our second experiment to Erland and Mary Babcock as an attachment to an email. Erland is probably the most knowledgeable person about ITC pictures in the United States, and we were fortunate that he was a member of the AA-EVP. He wrote back that the pictures were too dark to print but that he would try to work with them. He said that both he and Mary saw a man in one of the frames. Interestingly, what they saw was not what we had been focused on in that frame. The feature that we were focused on was the bust of a man that nearly filled the frame. What Erland and Mary did with the frame, and what they sent back to us, was thrilling because just to the left of the major feature we had focused on was the face of a man wearing a black hat. The picture was difficult to see, but for us it was thrilling because we could see the hat, and the man looked like he had a beard. It might not have been the greatest but we had gotten our first ITC picture with the help of Erland Babcock’s experience in working with video. With Erland’s guidance, we could see that there might be a possibility that we could do further work

in Video ITC and obtain results. It had been our dream for years to work with Video ITC and that dream has finally been realized. It took a long time to get to sleep that night. More excitement was to come a few days later. Erland had tried to print the frame that had the man with the wide brimmed hat. When he took the picture off of the printer, he found something quite different. He emailed us that he did not know where this picture came from. He even discussed the possibility that it had paranormally appeared when There is No Death and There are No Dead 170 printed. He wrote, “Wait until you see this image; it looks like some- one’s grandfather, complete with a handle bar mustache.” The picture that Erland sent us through the mail was a true gift from Spirit. That first picture, which we affectionately know as the “Standing Man,” hangs on a bulletin board in our experiment room. His hair and his mustache can be seen, he is wearing a suit jacket and what looks like an ascot is visible around his neck. One of his hands is also visible and he may be holding a cane. The Standing Man is in- cluded in this book as Figure 12-1 in Chapter 12, but if you are able, we invite you to look at the color version of this image at http://aaevp.com/resources/pictures_in_no_dead.htm. Where did the Standing Man come from? Was it paranormally placed on

Erland’s printer? After seeing the image, we once again brought the original up on our computer screen. We found that the Standing Man was oriented at a minus ninety degrees on the frame and just under the beard of the man with a hat. The pinkish field that is the legs of the Standing Man can be seen in the color version of the man with a hat. Our spirit team had shown us with the first frame we con- centrated on, that the features were not going to occur in just one ori- entation. With EVP there are often messages on the reverse side of the tape. With video ITC you have four directions per frame, and at least with us, the images will appear on any of those four orientations. As it turned out, the discovery of the Standing Man also helped us with critics who appeared with our introduction of these features in the AA-EVP NewsJournal. It was immediately claimed that we were only picking up stray television signals, even though the television had no antenna, and even though using the Video-In connection of the televi- sion effectively disconnects it from the receiver. Our answer to the critics was to ask when they had last seen television programs with standing people oriented at ninety degrees from vertical or upside down. Our transpartners had helped us with answers in anticipation of these criticisms. Reviewing the video frames took much longer in the early days of our Video ITC

experimentation. It was usual for us to take consider- able time with each frame as we enlarged them, rotated them in ninety degree increments, and adjusted the contrast and intensity to bring out every last detail. There was also a period of time in which we did not know what to think of the phenomenal features we were finding. Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena 171 Every possible alternative explanation was considered. Tom is an elec- tronics engineer, and after much thought on the subject, he decided that there was no explanation for the presence of the features that was based on known physical principles. After all of this, we were forced to accept that the features were, indeed, paranormal in origin and that they truly represented a form of spirit communication. Video ITC fea- tures were pictures of “dead” people. How could that be? Why were there faces in the video noise and how were they formed? Phenomena in our Lives In early 2002, our experiments were put on hold as Tom had angio- plasty. It was a stressful time for us but we were glad that the problem could be corrected before serious damage to his heart occurred. The day after he was released from the hospital we celebrated by conduct- ing an ITC experiment. During experiments, we operate several tube-type AM radios as sound sources. The same piece of music is played each time as we set up for the experiment and meditate. Then, of

course, there is the tele- vision set and camera power adapter. So when we are finished with an experiment, we manually turn everything off. Power is also removed from the equipment power cords by turning off power to the strips we use for surge protection and power distribution. Finally, the power switch at the door is turned off, removing power from the wall socket that supplies the power strips. These measures are taken because the power switches are there and not for any safety or paranormal reason. The point is that all of that equipment is really turned off when we are finished with an experiment. After the experiment, we took the sound and video tapes to the of- fice area to be loaded into the computer. It is cold in Reno, Nevada, in February and we routinely go through the house late afternoons to close the window blinds to retain heat. The experiment room had been entered two times after the experiment and there was nothing out of the ordinary. All of the equipment was turned off. That night, we ate dinner at around seven. Lisa recalls what took place, “Carrying my dishes to the kitchen, I heard noise coming from down the hallway. There is only the two of us living in the house, so that was rather shocking. I called for Tom and we headed off down the hallway. Believe me I was in the rear with Tom taking the lead. As we There is No Death

and There are No Dead 172 approached the experiment room, we quickly realized the noise was coming from the compact disc player. The player is used to play our meditation music, and occasionally, the Portuguese crowd babble disc that Sonia Rinaldi had provided for background sound in EVP experi- ments. The babble disc was playing!” The player holds three compact discs. The first selection is the meditation music and the second is the babble disc. Not only did the light switch that controls the equipment have to be turned on, the asso- ciated power strip for the player and the player itself also had to be turned on. Further, the compact disc player had to be selected because the unit always turns on with the radio selected first, and the second disc slot had to be selected because the unit always begins with the meditation music. The whole event was just impossible! By the way, we are the only humans living (in the flesh) in the house and the cat has never turned on lights or power strips and has never showed an ability to play compact discs. In shock, and trying to logically figure out how this could have happened, we went over every bit of equipment and every power switch. Finally, we concluded that there just was no logical explana- tion. Our invisible friends had just told us that everything was going to be fine with Tom and that they were very glad he was back and run-

ning experiments. The phenomenon was simply a big welcome home. Our next thought was how shocking it would be if the babble sound was to suddenly turn on in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. There are limits to our search for phenomena. Another strange thing happened a few months later, but it could not be as easily tied to the experiments. Two apports were received at a presentation that we made in Toronto, Canada for the International Spiritualist Federation. These were small sticks restaurants use to tell the customer how their steak has been cooked. These sticks said “Me- dium” on them and one of them was actually apported into Lisa’s shoe as she was walking. The “medium sticks” are something of a trade- mark of the Imperator Group who communicates from the other side via independent letter writing and apports with the Society for Re- search in Rapport and Telekinesis.25 Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena 173 What we Find in the Frames Our first successes with Video ITC brought the concern that it all might just be a fluke and that the next experiment might not produce phenomenal features. Thankfully, this was not the case. It is true that some experiments produced better examples of Video ITC than did others. This was partially our fault, as the focus and zoom settings seem to be critical and we are not able to lock these in a particular po- sition. These settings are reset

each time we turn off the camera. Vari- ous camera presets were tried such as “Sun and Sand” and “Sports,” but we always returned to the portrait setting. The small images that we were getting were frustrating, and after six months of experiments with the camera just inches from the screen, we were directed by our spirit team to move the camera back. The results of doing this imme- diately pleased us, as we found that we were still recording faces but many of them were larger and it was not necessary to increase their size for viewing. Moving the camera back allowed for a different kind of detail without the interference of the many pixels. In corresponding with other researchers, and based on their com- ments, we experimented with placing the camera at different angles in relationship to the surface of the screen. As of the writing of this book, we continue to have the greatest success with the camera three feet from the screen and in the “portrait” preset. The camera is set up in three different positions and we record in each position for ten seconds. These positions are straight in front of the television and then at about twenty and forty degree angles to the right of the television. In an effort to improve the features, we were guided to use a sixty watt lamp pointed downward, right under the television screen. Through later correspondence, we have learned that other researchers have had good success with

a sixty-watt lamp, but this was unknown to us at the time. One researcher aims the light at the video camera and feels that this has improved his images; another researcher aims the light at the television screen with good results. Experiments in which we aimed the light at either the camera or television were disappointing. This shows how many different ways there are to conduct Video ITC ex- periments and it also shows that one method might work for one ex- perimenter and not for another. Some ideas on how to conduct your own video ITC experiments are explained in Chapter 13. There is No Death and There are No Dead 174 From the beginning, we had received pictures of people from vari- ous periods in time. A trip to the library for costume books led us to believe that most of the clothing and headgear we were seeing were worn from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. Other images collected were of people that we would consider being extraterrestri- als. Some of them have appeared as they are portrayed in the media, but some are clearly ones that we have never seen. One entity that we have seen more than once in our own images has a point on its head and additional points where our ears would be. The three points are about the size of a large pointed ear. Erland Babcock had previously collected a similar image, and we found another that has been received by Alfonso

Galeano of Barcelona, Spain. Alfonso’s example can be seen at http://webs.demasiado.com/ufonews/ as “Psicoimagen de un supuesto DUENDE.” Many animals, which are often in close association with people, have been received in our experiments. For instance, we show in Figure 9-1, a young man in uniform proudly holding his little terrier dog in his arms. Many scenes appear to be of groups of people indoors and there are many that show people in the countryside. The frames that appear to have scenes are not sufficiently detailed to print, but we will attempt to post a few on the AA-EVP website. Figure 9-1: Man with dog After a few phone calls, we developed a wonderful long distance relationship with Larry Dean and Patricia Begley, who live in Great Britain. As a spiri- tual healer and trance medium, Larry was interested in conducting Video ITC experiments and called when Tom was in the hospital. Lisa recalls, “I was so upset at the time that Larry called. He is such a kind and caring soul and his timing could not have been better. He was easy to talk and there were so many common interests. He helped me stay upbeat and look for a positive outcome when Tom was in the ICU.” Since that first call, the friendship between all of us has grown. Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena 175 Larry and Patricia were sent a draft of Chapter 12 and 13 from this book to see if the Video ITC

instructions would help them in getting images. Soon, ITC Larry was calling; excited because they were recording Video features. Larry ITC and Patricia have been setting camera the back only three inches television from screen and unlike the small images that we close, obtained most of their images cover the full frame. the up One thing that Larry Figure 9-2: Tom’s father (left) and ITC feature resembling his father and Patricia do before an experiment is to ask for a specific person to come through. Using this approach, the two researchers have collected features of several friends and relatives, some of which can be seen at aaevp.com. In De- cember of 2002, we called on Tom’s father and asked him to appear in the middle of a frame so that it would be easy to find him. He did just that, as you can see in Figure 9-2. Early in our experiments, we collected a feature that looked a lot like Albert Einstein, the famous scientist who has been occasionally associated with ITC research. The picture was not clear enough to be definite, but we were given the information that it was Einstein. So we hoped that he might be working with us. Information was being received during the EVP experiments and on the audio portions of the video that seemed to be an acknowledge- ment from the entities that they knew we were conducting experiments and that they were working with us. Late in the year, we began receiv-

ing numbers on the audio that could be perceived as dates. For in- stance, in December, the audio on the camera had a voice that said, “twelve-twenty.” Could this be December 20? An experiment con- ducted on that date provided features that did seem to be clearer. As of There is No Death and There are No Dead 176 the writing of this book, numbers on the audio have only been re- ceived three times, and all have led to be rewarding experiments. An experiment on March 1, 2003, turned out to be particularly ex- citing. While we were going through the video frames that had been downloaded into the computer, Lisa exclaimed, “That looks like Frie- drich Jürgenson! Look, he is holding some kind of little animal next to his face.” As she relates the rest of the story, “I ran to another room to get his picture, and when I approached the computer screen, all of a sudden it hit me that the little animal was a bird!” Unfortunately the image is not one of our better ones. As you may recall from the chap- ter on the history of EVP, Friedrich Jürgenson first recorded EVP while recording bird songs, and in his lifetime, he was a dedicated worker for the protection of birds. When Tom first saw the Jürgenson picture, he looked at the bird and declared it to be that of an owl. At the time, we did not put any significance on it being an

owl. Later, we remembered that the first thing Jürgenson got on tape was something about nocturnal bird songs. An owl is of course nocturnal. This all seemed to add confirmation to the image. Little did we know there was more to come. Cross-Correspondence via Transfiguration Later that March, we had an appointment to see Jean Skinner, a British transfiguration medium who had been invited to the United States by the Golden Gate Spiritualist Church in San Francisco. As the Directors of the Department of Phenomenal Evidence for the NSAC,9 we felt that it would be a good idea to drive from Reno to the Bay Area to at- tend one of Jean’s sittings. There were to be a few small sittings in which there would only be five people sitting with the medium. A large demonstration by the medium was also planned. There would be fifty people attending that sitting. The five-person sittings were al- ready booked, and the only available opening was for the larger ses- sion. Talking with Sonny Gee, the President of the church and the per- son who had been responsible for bringing Jean Skinner to the States and who was coordinating the sessions, we requested that he contact us if there were any cancellations for a five-person session. It seemed fate had helped us when Sonny called and told us that a couple attend- ing one of the smaller sessions had cancelled. This would allow us to see the medium up close. Our Experience with

Video ITC and Other Phenomena 177 The séance took place in a small room, with the windows covered and with three red lights for illumination. The illumination was very good and it was easy to see the medium and what was taking place. After instructions to the sitters from Jean’s assistant, Jean allowed her- self to settle into a deep trance. After maybe five minutes, Jean’s Asian guide spoke to us. The guide called on Tom to sit in a chair that had been placed directly in front of the medium. Tom did so, and after just a few words, Jean’s guide requested that Lisa also come forward. Together, we held Jean’s hands as she spoke a few words and then al- lowed herself, through her guide, to become receptive to other person- alities. Several of our relatives came through in quick succession. Jean’s spirit team is working to develop an ectoplasmic voice box through which emerging personalities might speak to the sitters. Tom saw an electric blue glow near Jean’s left shoulder and neck, and occa- sional blue wisps of energy flow from her mouth, but there were no spoken messages while the personalities came through. Following the assistant’s instruction, we spoke our confirmation or told Jean that we did not recognize the personality after each one came through. Instruc- tions were given to us to make comments, such as, “The person I think is coming through had a mustache.” In which case, if we did have the right

person, evidence of an ectoplasmic mustache might begin to form. When we recognized someone, we spoke that person’s name. If that person was truly present then the entity’s body language, such as a nod of the head, would show us that we were correct. If we were wrong, the entity would pull back. Sometimes, the personality silently greeted the sitter with heart-felt expressions, as if a long lost grandmother was pleased to once again be before a favorite granddaughter. All of this was witnessed as changes in Jean’s facial expressions; these were accompanied by sub- tle changes in what appeared to be an ectoplasmic mask. While we sat in front of Jean and her guide, we watched as a new personality transfigured Jean’s features. Lisa was the first to recognize who it was. She said, “Can this be, Friedrich? Friedrich Jürgenson, is that you?” The face nodded and leaned toward us. After thanking him, we told him how honored we were to have him appear. Lisa said, “You sent us a picture.” The personality of Jürgenson quickly nodded his head. There is No Death and There are No Dead 178 For whatever reason, Lisa next said, “What we want to know is what happened to Timestream?” Jürgenson sat up straight, nodded, seemed excited and then the face melted away and another appeared. Lisa was almost speechless but managed to say, “Konstantin Raudive? Is that really you?” The personality with a decidedly rounder face ac- knowledged that it was. Tom said,

“You forgot your glasses,” and we could see dark rimmed glasses trying to form in the faintly seen ecto- plasmic mask. Others in the group exclaimed, “Look, you can see glasses forming!” Then Raudive was gone and yet another figure be- gan to form. It was Tom who first recognized this new personality, saying, “Dare I say … can it be (disbelief and shock) … Einstein?” The personality acknowledged and we were speechless! Our minds went blank from what had just taken place with these three men com- ing through. Einstein looked at the medium’s companion and she al- most shouted, “It is him! It is Einstein!” He looked around the room for a moment as he nodded to the other sitters. None of us had the presence of mind to ask a question. He looked at each person once again and then was gone. Experiencing nonphysical phenomena and the energy that accom- panies such extraordinary events is one of our favorite things. How- ever, the pursuit of phenomena has other importance for us that far exceeds the joy of the experience. Nonphysical phenomena offer im- portant evidence that we survive physical death. These phenomena also offer tantalizing hints about the operation of reality. No field of interest in the paranormal is isolated from the other fields. Transfigu- ration phenomena, such as that so ably demonstrated by Jean Skinner, has a direct correlation in EVP, as does EVP echo the principles which underlie telekinetic phenomena. Learning to understand something of

one aspect of these phenomena often leads to further understanding of the others. As we must close this chapter on our own ITC experiments, we know that there will be more exciting things that we wished we could have included. In the past few weeks, our transpartners have sent us the clearest image to date. It is of a lovely lady. Bless Sarah Estep, we were so pleased with the image that we emailed her a copy. She has always been the most wonderful support to us. She wrote, “She is beautiful and one of the very clearest I’ve ever seen anywhere. She’s different from most spirit pictures, in that she looks like she still has Our Experience with Video ITC and Other Phenomena 179 ‘living’ within her—has not passed on and looks like a spirit. She also has a lovely, colored dress on her, and I think a hat.” Again, we apolo- gize and say that these images just do not print clearly, but we have tried to put the black and white version of her as Figure 9-3. The original color image can be seen at aaevp.com. Another recent occurrence is a person speaking at the beginning, and often, at the end of experiments. He speaks on the audio of the video and calls himself simply, “The Assistant.” Other voices on the audio are not as easily understood. Messages such as, “Fading on amplitude” and, “Getting light scope,” are a sample of the kind of things about which

we cannot even guess as to their meaning. than little more You may wonder why we are so interested in establishing EVP and ITC contact with particular helpers on the other side. Samples of these phenomena can be collected with the willingness of an entity to speak or appear in our video and still cameras. However, we also know that some of the most important work that has historically been accomplished in this field, has been accomplished with the assistance of a group of entities working together on the other side in an effort to establish a major communication bridge across the veil. For now, even fuzzy ITC images are considered an enormous gift and a small view into other dimensions of existence. Each EVP voice is cherished and we are ever grateful to those on the other side who take their time to work with experimenters all over the world. Without them, there would be no EVP voices and no ITC images. Figure 9-3: Lady with hat and dress Part II Experimenting with and Understanding EVP and ITC EVP and ITC are more technologically oriented than are other forms of spirit communication, and for many, working with electronic equipment to communicate with discarnate loved ones is more of a challenge than sitting down to speak with a medium. However, re- member that the technology you will need to use is new only once. You really do not need to become any more technically involved than what is required to

record EVP and this is covered in the first part of Chapter 10. If the simple step-by-step instructions offered here are fol- lowed, and only one process is mastered at a time, you will soon be an “old hand” at collecting these phenomenal messages for yourself. As for the theory concerning these phenomena that is discussed in some of the following chapters, the theories are included for com- pleteness, and for the benefit of those who are interested in developing devices and new hypotheses. It is by no means necessary to understand them in order to successfully collect EVP and ITC messages. Chapter 10 Recording EVP In describing the history of EVP and ITC, and the experiences people have had with these phenomena, we hope that we have whetted your appetite enough that you are now interested in learning how to collect examples of these phenomena for yourself. In this chapter, there are step-by-step procedures for recording, followed by more in-depth in- formation on recording. What is offered here are the techniques for EVP experimentation that we have found to work for us. The different ways people have adapted the “standard recording technique” to suit their personal needs and available equipment is impressive. So, while we recommend that you begin with the basic approach we describe here, we also recom- mend that you experiment to find variations of this technique that best suit your situation. Recording EVP in Controlled Conditions By “controlled conditions,” we mean that you will be recording

in your home, or in other circumstances in which you have the ability to control background sound and recording conditions. There will be cer- tain pieces of equipment that you will need. You probably already have some of the equipment around your home, so try to use what you have to begin with. When we first began experimenting, we found that we had all of the necessary items. Equipment purchases were not made until we knew that we could obtain the voices and were sure that we wanted to con- tinue this pursuit. Sarah Estep mentions beginning with equipment that she had that only half worked, but she still recorded voices from the invisibles. Basic Equipment Recorder: EVP has been recorded on all types of equipment. If you use a cassette recorder, it is best to find one with mechanical controls There is No Death and There are No Dead 182 that allow easy, repeated review of the voices. Be sure the recorder has a counter. The personal note recorders, known as IC recorders, have been on the market several years now and we believe that there is suf- ficient evidence to indicate that these recorders perform better for EVP collection than do the cassette recorders. The IC recorders are about on a par with reel-to-reel recorders. Microphone: A microphone will help when making a record of your comments during the recording session, and allow you to introduce external sound sources. EVP messages will have more meaning if you have

a record of the questions asked and the recording circumstances. The use of an external microphone is recommended with cassette recorders because the built-in microphones tend to pick up motor noise. The IC recorders do not generate mechanical noise, so the ex- ternal microphone is not considered necessary for these, unless you desire to have better sensitivity. Headphones: EVP voices frequently are not loud and many may be missed unless headphones are used for listening to the recordings. The earmuff-type, which completely covers the ear, is usually used. Tape: Any low noise, high sensitivity tape may be used. Sixty-minute tape (thirty minutes each side) is recommended. Audio tape does pro- duce a certain amount of “hiss” noise that is not useful for the forma- tion of EVP and can obscure the voices. However, sound editing soft- ware can usually remove this sound. There are also hiss reduction hardware components that can be purchased for this purpose if you do not have a computer. Speaker: A separate speaker is not necessary but is good to have. With the speaker, if there is a Class A EVP, you will be able to play it over the speakers so that everyone in the room will be able to hear the message. Noise Source: The following sound sources have been found useful as background noise for EVP experiments:  An AM radio that you can tune off-station. Recording EVP 183  A fan  A short-wave radio  A cassette or CD player so

that you can play specifically pre- pared sound tracks, such as crowd babble or foreign language. A radio to play a foreign language broadcast is also an option.  A source of running water such as a fountain. Preparation Meditation and Prayer: Always tape when your energy level is high- est! Before conducting an experiment, take time to become quiet. Still your mind and focus on reaching those now in other worlds. Conduct a short meditation and/or prayer and ask for those who exist on the other side to help you create a bridge to the other side. Scheduling: Entities will speak on tape at any time of day or night. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to record at a regular time and place. By doing this, the entities learn when you will be recording. Af- ter making a connection with the entities, you will be able to collect EVP at any time and in any location. Try to find a place that will be quiet and free of interruptions. Background sounds are all right, but it is important that you are aware of these so that you will recognize what sounds are natural and what sounds are EVP. Keep your re- cordings short. You will want to listen to each part of the recording very carefully and this can take time. Background Sound Source: The entities use sounds in the environ- ment to help form EVP messages. Most recording situations have some background sounds, but you may

wish to add sound to your re- cording environment. Begin by using any of the sound sources we have previously mentioned. Also, the communicating entity will some- times remodulate your voice or other sounds in the environment. This is one of the reasons experimenters will sometimes use a foreign lan- guage sound source. A good rule of thumb: The quieter the electrical circuit in the tape recorder, the more background sound you will need to supply. There is No Death and There are No Dead 184 You will find that experimenters try all sorts of devices and energy sources to help the entities communicate. You can find ideas in past NewsJournals in the AA-EVP Archive1 or via a search on the Internet, but in the end, let your intuition be your guide. Recording: Vocalize your comments during an EVP session. Many experimenters begin with a short prayer and an invitation to friends on the other side to participate in the experiment. It is helpful to begin an experiment by speaking your name and the date. The entities will often come through as soon as the recorder is turned on. These beginning messages are often the loudest, so it is a good idea to turn on the recorder and wait a few seconds before an- nouncing yourself and then ask the first question. Your questions should be recorded, and you should leave a period of time between each comment for the entities to respond. Some experimenters make an “appointment” with the

intended en- tity the day before, during prayer or meditation. Some also provide verbal feedback, about how successful the previous session may have been, before the session so that the entities will know how the last ex- periment went. The feedback need not be recorded, just go to the ex- periment room and talk to the invisibles as you would a good friend. Some experimenters place paper with written questions in the EVP experiment area the day before. Several experimenters do this and say that the entities can read these and respond accordingly. By the way, it is not necessary to record in the dark. In fact a hu- morous EVP that we collected when we experimented with recording in the dark was, “This is not a séance!” Playback: The paranormal voice is not usually heard until playback of the tape. The voices may speak in whispers at first, but experimenters report that the voices tend to become stronger and clearer as the enti- ties gain in experience. Voices may not be recorded in every session and it may take several sessions for you to discover the first voice. Hearing the voices is something of a learned ability. Keeping a Log: It is helpful to maintain a written record of recording results. Include the date, time, place on the counter or file system where the message is received, the message itself, and the question Recording EVP 185 asked. Speaking your name and date at the beginning of a tape re-

corded session is also helpful; however, this information can be stored as a file name for recordings that are stored as computer files. Be sure to label recording tapes. Experimenters report that weather may affect results and the aaevp.com site has geomagnetic and solar reports for this purpose. There is also a link for moon phase information. The Recording Session: Begin by turning on your equipment and conducting a test by recording and playing back a few seconds of sound. This will assure that you have microphone and tape recorder properly arranged and your sound source at a level that will not drown out your voice. 1. Take some time now to relax and focus your attention on what you are about to do. This is a good time to seek your “center” or that meditative attitude that best helps you clear your mind of ex- ternal influences. It is best to turn off the sound source during this time. Perhaps you can play some meditation music instead. 2. After you have finished the meditation, turn the sound source back on. If you were playing music, turn it off. Speaking out loud, announce to the entities that you are about to turn on the tape recorder. This is a good time to explain why you are there and what you would like from the entities. 3. Turn on the “Record” function on the recorder and wait ten to fifteen seconds. 4. If you intend to maintain an oral record of

your experiments, identify yourself and say the date. 5. Ask the first question and wait fifteen seconds or more before asking the next question. It is a good idea for the last question to be an invitation to the entities to say something of their choice. Keep your recording short, no more than five minutes is best. 6. Tell the entities that you are about to turn off the record function and thank them for helping you in your experiment. Wait ten to fifteen seconds before turning off the recorder so that they may give you any last minute messages. There is No Death and There are No Dead 186 7. Shut down your equipment and begin the process of reviewing the sound track for that session. These steps are all there is to an experimental EVP recording ses- sion. If you plan to use an IC recorder for EVP, seriously consider re- viewing the sound track in a computer. If you do not have a computer, then use a good set of headphones. Remember also, that you can use a computer as your recording de- vice. Recording EVP in Field Conditions: Recording in “field conditions” is defined as recording in a situation under which you have little or no control over environmental conditions. For example, the opportunity to record for EVP in a purported haunted location. Special considerations: A list of things to consider for field recording is provided in Chapter 7. The main differences between field and con-

trolled experimentation are identified in that list. Things You Should Know about Recording EVP It is important to understand that working with EVP and ITC is actu- ally very simple. While we have described the usual technique for do- ing so, remember that there are probably as many different ways of experimenting with EVP and ITC as there are people experimenting. Actually, anything that records can be used to gather EVP, so there are numerous possibilities in what experimenters might decide to use to record these paranormal voices. As we have said so many times before, the experimenter is clearly part of the recording circuit, in that the experimenter has something to do with the quality, quantity and nature of the collected EVP simply by being who they are. That is why some people will tend to be more successful than are others, even though everyone may be using essen- tially the same equipment and technique. A few theories as to why this is true will be discussed in Chapter 11, but for now, remember that your attitude seems to be very important. If you are enthusiastic, and have a strong sense of desire to succeed, then you are more apt to be successful with EVP. Recording EVP 187 A few well respected researchers are so convinced that EVP collec- tion is dependent on the experimenter that they reject what Paolo Presi31 refers to as the “Radiophonic Model.” Like Presi, these re- searchers believe that what is used to record

and how it is used, is not particularly important because it is the person involved that is the de- termining factor. This view is supported by evidence that especially designed devices that have worked very well for the inventor, have not proven better for EVP than the usual audio recorder when used by other experimenters. Recording Entity Voices First, remember that the recording equipment need not be expensive or elaborate to work for EVP collection. Rather than the quality of the equipment, your ability to hear the EVP should be the first concern. Assuming that you have normal hearing, or that you can hear the EVP when you amplify the sound track, then the main challenge will be learning how to distinguish EVP from the many other noises often found in sound tracks. Raudive and Jürgenson both said that hearing EVP was something that had to be learned. With this in mind, it may be a good idea to spend some time browsing the Internet and listening to the many ex- amples of EVP found by conducting a search for “EVP.” Go to the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com and listen to some of the examples there. Also, the AA-EVP has a members only discussion board that is very helpful for those just beginning to experiment with EVP. Mem- bers share their EVP samples with each other, thereby receiving im- mediate feedback about what others hear. Ideas on equipment, differ- ent ways of recording and using sound editing equipment to hear

EVP are also discussed on the board. EVP messages have a characteristic cadence and are often short but meaningful. It is sometimes possible to recognize who is speaking by the sound of the voice. It is even possible to tell if the speaker is male or female, an adult or a child. Sometimes, the voice will have a me- chanical sound, as if a computer or electronic voice box is generating the words. The messages will tend to have a logical beginning and end. By comparison, if voices from a radio station were recorded dur- ing an experiment, the words would often begin or end in the middle of a sentence and would normally be unrelated to questions asked. There is No Death and There are No Dead 188 EVP messages sometimes trail off at the end, as if the speaker is rap- idly running out of energy. Also, mundane sounds can be transformed into an EVP message. For instance, the barking of your neighbor’s dog might become something entirely different on the recording. Your own voice will sometimes be remodulated or changed into words that you did not speak. Hearing and recognizing EVP may be something of an art. Yes, some EVP, the ones described as Class A EVP, are sufficiently clear so that there is little doubt as to what is said. Such EVP are decisively evidential. However, most beginners do not immediately collect Class A voices. In Class C or B EVP, you may think the EVP

sample says one thing, but other people may hear a different message. This is espe- cially true if the witnesses are not accustomed to hearing EVP. It is important that this does not discourage you. As you continue to ex- periment, you will build a bridge to the other side with the cooperation of the entities who agree to communicate. With this assistance, the re- cordings will improve in both the quantity and quality of the phe- nomenal messages. Recording EVP takes enthusiasm, patience, perseverance, good hearing and an open mind. Anyone with these qualities can learn to collect EVP. More Information on Equipment There are no rigid rules for experimenting with EVP. Anyone can ex- pect to succeed in recording EVP messages if the instructions at the beginning of this chapter are followed. However, once you have suc- ceeded, then it might serve you well to try variations to these instruc- tions, using your previous success to help you determine if the varia- tions help. Audio Recorder: EVP has been recorded on just about everything that will record voice frequencies. As was noted in the history of EVP and ITC, the first EVP recordings we are aware of were made on a de- vice that scribes audio soundtracks onto wax. Sarah Estep still uses a reel-to-reel tape recorder with great success and we began recording with a reel-to-reel recorder as well. When our reel recorder quit work- ing, we found it difficult to replace and so progressed to several

differ- ent cassette recorders. However, we were very impressed with our first Recording EVP 189 use of an IC recorder and now prefer it to a cassette recorder. Experi- ments we have made with two different IC recorders have produced very good messages. People also commonly find phenomenal voices on their telephone answering machines. Many people successfully col- lect EVP directly into their computer—sometimes without a micro- phone. Cassette tape recorders should have mechanical controls that allow easy, repeated review of the voices. The recorders that have “piano key” style controls are easiest to use. It is a common practice, when reviewing the resulting sound track, to “rock” the tape back and forth many times to listen to short segments of the tape. Be sure the recorder has a counter, because you will want to be able to return to a specific portion of a tape. A counter will also help you maintain good written records about where the EVP is located on the tape. Veteran experimenters recommend the use of component-type cas- sette recorders because of their higher quality circuitry. These units require an amplifier and an external microphone. However, more background sound may be necessary if the internal circuitry of the unit is very quiet. By comparison, most portable cassette recorders have more noise in their circuitry and they tend to have more tape hiss, which can obscure the phenomenal voices. The biggest drawback of most portable tape recorders is the need to use an external microphone to

avoid picking up noise from the cassette drive motor. IC Recorders: The tape recorder of choice for early EVP experiment- ers was the reel-to-reel tape recorders. These had excellent, quiet sound tracks and it was easy to play the reverse of the sound track by twisting the tape. As a rule, reel recorders also used vacuum tubes rather than transistors. As the cassette tape recorder dominated the market, it became more difficult to find parts for and maintain the reel recorders. The cassette recorders were generally based on transistor technology, were very portable and relatively inexpensive, effectively obsolescing reel recorders for all but the most particular audiophiles. The digital note taker, or IC recorder, has arrived on the scene in recent years. The early models lack the recording quality found in the cassettes, and certainly in the reel recorders, but they are convenient! They are not particularly expensive, they will fit in a shirt pocket and they weigh only a few ounces. The electronics in the IC recorder is There is No Death and There are No Dead 190 transistor based, but we believe they are of the low power Field Effect Transistor (FET) variety, as opposed to the type of transistor used in larger battery, or AC powered equipment. In a test conducted by the Delaware Valley Demonology Re- search,78 the reel and IC recorders were rated highest with a “10” for EVP collection while the standard cassette recorder was rated a “7.” This is consistent with our observations

because we have noticed that reports of EVP have seemed to decrease as the cassette replaced the reel recorders. However, we have also noticed that the reports of EVP have greatly increased as certain models of the IC recorders came onto the market. This must be speculation because we do not have all of the necessary information about the technology used in IC recorders. Nev- ertheless, we believe that the FET performance characteristics are very close to that of the vacuum tube and rather different from the standard transistor. Even today, some of the most outstanding EVP and ITC are being collected by people using vacuum tube devices. The message seems to be that EVP and ITC experimenters should look for FET or very low power devices for experimentation. The Panasonic RR-DR60 IC Recorder is legend amongst AA-EVP members for EVP. As the story is told, soon after the product came out—we believe it was the first of its kind for Panasonic—customers began returning them because they were finding voices in the sound tracks that they had not recorded. Other brands and models of the IC recorders have been used for field recording of EVP with great success. With that said, the later models of the Panasonic, the DR60, QR-80, QR-100 and QR-200 have all received praise from various AA-EVP members. These Panasonic models are no longer manufactured, so it is necessary to look for them in the used market. It is not a reasonable assumption to expect that the

newer models of Panasonic IC recorders will be equally effective for EVP. At the time of this writing, there is too little experimental evidence to indicate one way or the other. If the FET technology is easier for the entities to work with in the formation of the messages, then newer models should work as well as the early models. We know that, as the newer models are able to record higher quality sound tracks, which will mean that they have a quieter electronic circuit and higher sample rates, they will Recording EVP 191 probably require more background sound for the formation of the phe- nomenal messages. Tests on various IC recorders also conducted by the Delaware group78 show that some types are less effective for EVP than are oth- ers. The cause for this difference seems to be in the sample rate. IC recorders with a sample rate that is less than twelve kilohertz are said to work the best. However, finding the sample rate of a particular re- corder may not be easy. The DR60 and QR-200 that we use were pre- viously known to work well in the collection of EVP. From Panasonic, we have learned that the RR-DR60 has a fixed sample rate of six point four kilohertz. The RR-QR80 and others in that series have a sample rate of eight kilohertz in both Slow Play (SP) and Long Play (LP) modes, and sixteen kilohertz for the High Quality (HQ) mode. For EVP, we recommend the

SP or LP modes with a microphone sensitiv- ity of high and with the voice activated switch enabled. The Panasonic DR and QR models are actually very poor recorders for other purposes when compared to devices that are designed for music. This is probably because the voice-activated switch tends to turn off and on for no obvious reason in some models, and the internal compression and threshold settings seem to be constantly “hunting” for a null point. However, it may be the combination of the FET cir- cuitry and the abundant internal, electrical noise that makes these de- vices so effective for EVP collection. The recorders also have a little speaker that cannot properly reproduce the voices. Thus, it is best to always use a headset for reviewing sound tracks for the paranormal voices, or download the recordings into a computer so that you can use an audio editor such as Adobe’s Audition.18 IC recorders have a recording session or file indexing system that provides a record of session number, time and date of the recording, and duration in minutes and seconds. This information makes it possi- ble to quickly access one of many sound tracks. If the sound tracks are transferred to a computer as individual audio files, it will be necessary to label the sound file to agree with the log entry you created for that experiment. This is also true of sessions recorded with a cassette re- corder. The future history for IC recorders and the FET

technology has yet to fully unfold, but it is already apparent that this new technology will continue to improve EVP experimentation. The aaevp.com website There is No Death and There are No Dead 192 will be updated on this subject from time to time, so check the site to see what develops. Should you decide to purchase an IC recorder for EVP, remember that you will need a computer and sound editing software like Audi- tion18 to support the recorder. Some information on how to download recordings into a computer, and the use of sound editing software, is given in Appendix B and there is also information on the aaevp.com website. In the case of devices such as telephone answering machines, we also recommend that the sound track is transferred into a computer for review with a sound editing program. A handy gadget for transferring sound tracks from an answering machine is an inductive coupler. Ra- dio Shack sells them as a “Telephone Pickup,” Part Number 44 533. Microphone: If you are using a cassette recorder, a microphone will help you make a record of your comments during the recording ses- sion and enable you to introduce external sound sources. Experiment- ers have found that their EVP messages often have more meaning if they are accompanied with a record of the questions that were asked and the recording circumstances. In a test conducted in behalf of the German ITC group, the VTF,53 microphones were connected to a stereo recorder as

channel A and B. One microphone was covered so that it could not pickup sound while the other was left open to the environment. In tests using this configu- ration, EVP were collected on the channel connected to the uncovered microphone and not on the channel using the covered microphone. At first glance, this would seem to suggest that the EVP is injected into the circuit acoustically, before it is converted to an electric signal. However, we believe that this test may also confirm that background sound is required for EVP, since the covered microphone was also un- able to pickup background noise, thus restricting the noise level in the circuitry. Historically researchers have advised people to use an external mi- crophone when recording for EVP. This is primarily because, in cas- sette recorders, it has been necessary to isolate the microphone from the drive motor. You might see a paradox in this since we also suggest that, if you are using a cassette recorder, you should add background noise so that it may be used by the communicating entity to form EVP. Recording EVP 193 The drive motors of cassette recorders are noisy and this noise is in a range that is not particularly useful for EVP. The motor noise tends to drown out some of the harder to hear EVP. IC recorders do not always have a jack for an external microphone. They also do not have a drive motor. The electrical circuit in IC re- corders is

relatively noisy compared to the typical cassette recorder, but unlike the motor noise in a tape recorder, the audio noise generated by IC recorder circuitry has proven to be ideal for EVP. For this rea- son, an external microphone is not necessary on an IC recorder. Audio Tape: Selecting recording tape is a matter of what you expect to do with the record of your experiment. If you intend to experiment with the intention of establishing some form of proof as to the authen- ticity of EVP, then use a new audio tape and maintain an accurate re- cord concerning what is on the tape and where it is located. It is com- mon practice to record consecutive experiments on the same tape while keeping track of the counter number to identify each session. The sound created by the audio tape, which is known as “tape hiss,” can make hearing Class C EVP more difficult than necessary. The use of low noise, high sensitivity audio tape will help in this regard. Also, if a computer is being used to review the audio tape, then there are a number of software tools on the market that will effectively remove tape hiss. Keeping audio tapes in an archive can be very cumbersome. Most researchers have computers and now transfer their EVP sessions into the computer for review. If something of interest is found, it can be saved and archived on the computer. It is strongly recommended that sound files are archived on

external mass storage media to avoid loss due to hard disc failure in the computer. Background Sound Source: Since sounds in the environment help our invisible friends create EVP messages, the voices will often be found in the noise. Often, the less audible Class B or C messages will be so hidden in the noise that they can barely be heard or understood. Sound editing software can be used to remove some of the noise if it is the steady-state sound energy generated by a fan or radio static. Amplitude Modulated (AM) radio static has been shown to be more useful for EVP than Frequency Modulated (FM) radio static. The There is No Death and There are No Dead 194 static varies in both frequency and volume in AM radio while it varies only in frequency in FM radio. More than one sound source, especially if they are quite different in frequency, will tend to produce simultaneous EVP. That is, you might use the sound of running water, which offers a group of high frequen- cies, and a fan, which usually offers a group of lower frequencies. Un- der such circumstances, it is not uncommon to find two distinct EVP at the same point in the sound track, one using the water and one using the fan. It can be very difficult to make sense of either message in this circumstance. So, if you are using more than one sound source try to have them all in the same frequency

range. At present we normally use four to five radios tuned-off station when recording. Several of these are tube-type radios, which we rou- tinely ask the communicating entities to use for direct, real-time re- sponses to our questions. Such communication has been accomplished in the past, and other than the experimenter, the key element in those contacts appears to have been the use of tubes in the equipment, rather than transistors. The radios are set so that the resulting noise from static does not drown out our voice on the recording. There are also two fans in the room that are sometimes used for personal comfort and as added noise. For variety, one radio tuned to a foreign language sta- tion, is occasionally used as the only background noise. Throughout all of her years of recording, Sarah Estep has always used what she calls the air band, in the area of the dial between 123 and 129 MHz, as a background sound source. These are the frequency that pilots use to talk to ground control. Please note that some people believe background sound is not nec- essary. For instance, many people who only record during hauntings investigations collect excellent EVP. Since they are not adding back- ground sound, these people will often insist that doing so is not neces- sary. Yet, we do find that there is ample background sound present in these recordings when we review their examples. Also, the recorder of choice for hauntings investigators is turning out

to be the IC recorder. These little devices produce considerable internal electrical noise in the soundtrack because of the voice activated feature, signal compres- sion and threshold switching. So in effect, the electrical circuit of an IC recorder supplies the background sound we believe to be necessary for the formation of EVP. In controlled experiments in our home using Recording EVP 195 an IC recorder we have found that using the type of steady-state noise source described above produces more EVP messages as compared to no noise source. Other Environmental Modifiers: After successfully recording the phenomenal voices, you may want to try experimenting with different techniques. You will find that experimenters try all sorts of devices and energy sources to help the entities communicate, often with good results. Researchers have reported improved results when they added the oddest things. At one time, we along with others in the AA-EVP, were adding an ultrasonic rodent repellant device or the small one that supposedly protects an individual from mosquitoes, to our recording setup. A change in routine often improves results when recording EVP. This may be caused by the increased enthusiasm of the experi- menter. Do not be afraid to try different things and especially pay at- tention to your intuitive or “guided” inclination to try something new. As described in this book, the first EVP we collected was “Crystals Help.” This was a message of encouragement recorded after Lisa had placed crystals around the recording equipment in response to an inner

urging. You can also “enrich” the sound by changing the acoustical quality of the sound source that you are using. The microphone or IC recorder can be placed in a trumpet, the acoustical chamber of a musical in- strument or even between the openings of two water glasses. Your ob- jective is to have sound energy that is rich in frequency, amplitude and the sort of phase variations that occur when sound is reflected from hard surfaces. EVP on the Reverse Direction of a Sound Track: EVP experiment- ers long ago discovered that there were EVP voices on the reverse di- rection of the sound track. You may want to check for this. After you review the sound track for voices in the usual way, listen to it again while playing it backwards. Done properly, your voice will be heard in reverse, and the EVP voices will be heard as if they were being played forward. There is an example recorded by Sarah Estep at aaevp.com. Listening to the reverse direction of the recording is easiest with a computer based sound editor, such as Audition.18 Reverse playing cas- sette players are also available, and if you are mechanically inclined, it There is No Death and There are No Dead 196 is possible to “break” an auto-reversing tape player by disabling the mechanism that moves the “read” head. Other than rerecording the sound track on to audio tape, the only method we know to listen to the reverse direction of a

sound track recorded with an IC recorder is with a computer. In cassettes, the objective is not to turn the tape around and play Side B, but to actually play Side A backwards. No, we do not know how it is possible to have forward spoken voices on the sound track when it is played in reverse. This is one of the characteristics of EVP that tends to discredit many theories de- signed to explain these phenomena. The concept that all time in the Physical Plane is “now,” for an entity existing outside of the Physical Plane, might explain this. There may also be an explanation hidden away in the idea that time is nonlocal, and therefore holographic-like, because it is an aspect of the operation of reality, which we think of as Natural Law. Speculation abounds. Computer Recording: A computer may be substituted for the tape recorder. The computer should have an audio input jack, speakers, headphone jack and sound recorder/player application of some form. Microsoft Windows comes with a Sound Recorder application that will work. A sound editor like Audition18 is most popular as a com- puter based tape recorder, because these applications allow for easy amplification, filtering and reversing of the sound files. At this time, we do not know of a similar program for Macintosh users, although Mac users often resort to using the sound editing capability of video editing software. An EVP experimental session can be recorded with an audio re- corder and then transferred

into a computer for review, editing and storage, or a microphone can be attached directly to a computer and a sound editor can be used as the audio recorder. There are instructions in Appendix B and at aaevp.com that will help you set up your com- puter for recording and for transferring sound tracks from an external recorder to a computer. Analysis of the Recording: Lisa is the one in our family who is most skilled at listening to sound tracks and finding EVP. She has been do- ing this for over fourteen years, and her sense of hearing and her sense of what are and are not EVP is highly attuned. Until the more powerful Recording EVP 197 computers were available, we used a component-type reel-to-reel or cassette tape recorder/player to listen to sound tracks. This process ne- cessitated our using the counter on the tape deck to locate places on the tape that had EVP. It also required that we were able to “rock” the tape back and forth over a specific place on the tape in order to repeat- edly listen to the same segment of tape. In fact, we often listened to the same bit of tape dozens of time in an attempt to understand a possible Class B EVP. For this reason, we always insisted on using a tape deck that had control buttons that were situated like piano keys for easy ac- cess and that were mechanically linked to the tape transport mecha- nism

to assure positive response to start and stop commands. Today, we use an IC recorder, download the audio files to the com- puter and use Audition to listen to EVP recordings. This transition did require a learning curve as we learned how to transfer the sound track from the tape recorder to the computer and how to use Audition. How- ever, once mastered, this new procedure has proven to be a tremen- dous improvement over the previous method. One of the benefits of using a computer-based system to look for EVP on a sound track is that the sound editor can be put into “Loop” mode, allowing the segment of sound to be played over and over again. Also, the entire track can be reversed with a single command and then returned to normal with a second command. All of the capa- bilities of a tape deck are available in sound editing software, and are easier to use. The constant complaint of early researchers was that phenomenal messages were hidden in the noise. This problem has been solved to some extent by the introduction of sound editing software. It is now possible to separate a voice that is deeply hidden by background noise so that it may be clearly heard. Otherwise, the message would be lost if just a tape player were used. Unless there is some compelling reason, we no longer take a lot of time trying to decipher EVP that are not immediately understandable. When we first started

recording, we took the time because we wanted to understand every word. It also took us a while to develop a commu- nication bridge to bring in contacts that produced Class A voices. The voices are often whispers in the early recordings made by a new ex- perimenter, and sound editing software makes it possible to amplify sections of the sound track in which the voices may appear. Many re- There is No Death and There are No Dead 198 searchers say that experimenters should not spend time with Class C EVP at all. They reason that it takes too much of the experimenters time, and that if the entities know that they must produce Class A and B EVP in order for the experimenter to hear them, they will do so. Caution should be exercised in over amplifying a Class C message. There is the possibility that a certain amount of energy from radio or television broadcasts might find its way into your recording equip- ment. Such bleed over is usually obvious, but when you amplify a very weak EVP until it is easily understood, you may be amplifying a radio broadcast as well. Use discernment when accepting EVP that have been enhanced in this way. As a second caution, the meaning of very weak EVP can be changed, depending on the way it is enhanced and the sequence in which the enhancing steps are applied. At some point, it is best to give up on a possible EVP,

rather than risk interpreting it incorrectly. A step-by-step procedure for performing some editing functions is offered at aaevp.com and also in Appendix B. Something to Remember about Editing Your EVP Samples: Some “witnesses,” people who are not experimenters but who listen to EVP samples and pass judgment as to whether or not EVP is a nonphysical phenomena, will discount an EVP without further discussion if the sample is modified in any way. If extra background sound is present, if the experimenter’s voice is not in the recording, even if the sound track has only been amplified, some witnesses argue that the sample is disqualified from consideration. Granted, this is an extreme attitude, but it exists and you should be aware that you may encounter such re- jection if you choose to present your EVP to the public. Our position is that there are two different purposes for EVP. First, most people seek to use EVP as a means of making contact with a dis- carnate loved one or an entity in a hauntings situation. For these peo- ple, amplifying an EVP to make the voice understandable is accept- able. Second, some people use EVP as a research tool, either as an aid for the study of other fields of interest or as a means of proving the existence of EVP and understanding the nature of its reality. For these investigators, an absolute control over recording conditions and treat- ment of the sound track is essential. Recording EVP 199 Building a

Bridge Across the Veil: Some of the best EVP are col- lected by experimenters when they are enthusiastic about trying a new technique or a new piece of hardware. It has been demonstrated that people who have a strong motivation to collect EVP are more success- ful than people who have come to look upon their recording sessions as routine, and maybe even obligatory. Try to think of each recording session as a new challenge. Enthusiasm and other energetic attitudes apparently provide a special form of energy that communicating enti- ties can readily use to bring information into the physical. As we have previously discussed, EVP experimentation is a process of building a bridge between our world and the world of the communi- cating entity. If logic can be applied here, just as you must first decide to communicate and then make the effort to do so by setting up equipment and setting aside the time to experiment, so must the com- municating entities decide to work with you and make the necessary arrangements to “meet” when you turn on the recording equipment. If it is your intention to establish a communication link with a loved one or an entity who may be able to help you in some way, you are in effect, asking a person to take the time to work with you. This is very much as asking a living person to take the time to meet. Many EVP experimenters have come to believe that the communicating

entity is the one who actually selects the experimenter they will work with. Collecting EVP in the controlled conditions of your home is proba- bly best thought of as a cooperative effort. Many experimenters de- velop a relationship with a spirit guide on the other side who continues to work with them on receiving EVP and who helps bring to them those with whom they would like to communicate. When you first be- gin your EVP experiments, we would suggest that you ask for just such a spirit guide to assist you. Location: There is some evidence that it is possible to build up a field of energy in a specific location, which is beneficial for passing infor- mation across the veil. You may be familiar with the use of a “cabinet” in séances for physical phenomena. The physical medium sits in an enclosed area and the other sitters in the séance sit outside of the en- closure in a semicircle. The enclosure acts as a container for the psi energy of the physical medium and the sitters, and the accumulation of There is No Death and There are No Dead 200 energy in the enclosure is then used by the communicating entities to produce phenomena. Group energy such as this is not always thought of as being con- tained in an enclosure, but may also accumulate in a virtual container defined by the network of attention represented by like-minded people. It is entirely possible that the international network of

EVP and ITC researchers represent a contact field that facilitates their collection of these phenomenal messages. Psi energy can be accumulated more quickly by like-minded people working in concert toward a common goal. This form of energy accu- mulation is sometimes referred to as a “Contact Field” or the energy of “Rapport.” Many researchers feel that EVP contact is more easily achieved when researchers work in a strong cohesive group rather than individually. It is possible to quickly dissipate this energy if “negative” or dis- senting thought is injected into the group. For instance, if you have built up a strong contact field in the room you use for EVP experimen- tation, and then invite a visitor into it who holds considerable doubt in what you are doing, the person’s doubt will tend to dissipate the con- tact field. A specific room in our home is set aside for EVP and ITC experi- mentation. Other venues have produced successful experiments for us, but we think of the experiment room as a battery of sorts for all of our experiments. The equipment that we use for experiments is kept sepa- rate from the equipment used for mundane pursuits. If someone wishes to visit us to witness an experiment, we are very careful to “sense” his or her agreement in what we are doing. This is not to say that we ex- clude anyone who is not already “a true believer” in EVP. It is the people who see themselves as living

in a negative world, or who tend to find the downside of just about everything around them, that we would rather not have in our home and certainly not in the experiment room. The concept of rapport, or a contact field, represents a subtle influ- ence that is a measurable factor in your success experimenting with these phenomena. You will find that avoiding exposing your environ- ment to undue negative influences, while seeking cooperation with like-minded people, will have a beneficial influence in other areas of your life as well. Chapter 11 What We Know About EVP Think of EVP as a form of direct communication with people who are no longer living in the physical world. Information has been received from entities through EVP and ITC that show we can also receive messages from those who have never lived on earth. These entities state that they live or have lived in dimensions other than our aspect of reality. Also, messages have been received from those we would con- sider as extraterrestrials who are very much alive in our reality. Infor- mation has even come through EVP and ITC that points to the source as being that of devic energy, which includes nature spirits and other entities who may never have experienced a lifetime as a human. How- ever, we will explain in this chapter that we have good reasons to be- lieve that most paranormal voices come from those who once lived in the physical and who now live

in another realm of existence. The best thing about EVP is that you do not have to take our word that the paranormal voices can be recorded. You can prove it to your- self by simply conducting EVP experiments for yourself. As you learn to record EVP, you will most likely want to tell your family and friends about these exciting phenomena. What you will find is that many people will simply not believe you. EVP is way past most peo- ple’s limit of acceptance because it simply does not fit into their worldview. Keeping this in mind, we believe that it is best to drop the subject of EVP and ITC with anyone who reacts in a negative way. The alternative seems to be to evoke a potentially hostile reaction from people as they attempt to preserve their sense of what is real in the world. Interestingly, some religions embrace EVP and others think it is the work of the Devil. It might be a surprise as to which is which. If in- formation which has come from the Vatican is any indication, some leaders of the Catholic religion have been supportive of research in EVP.29 Of course, Spiritualists and Spiritists find many points of There is No Death and There are No Dead 202 agreement between EVP and their concepts. One of the points of agreement between people who study EVP and ITC and Spiritualists is that both are concerned with the need for a solid foundation for

any- thing they believe. Most researchers who study EVP do all they can to apply good science to their experiments. In the same way, Spiritualists take the “Science” part of Spiritualism seriously and think of EVP as “science-based” phenomena. Characteristics of EVP By definition, EVP are unexpected voices that are collected onto digi- tal and analog recording medium and that are not explained by cur- rently known physical principles. They appear to be ubiquitous in that experimenters around the world are able to collect them with just about anything that will record human voice frequencies and under just about any recording circumstance. They often vary in nature as the experimenter, recording environment and technique is changed. Eng- lish speaking people tend to collect English EVP phrases. Multilingual people often collect EVP in a mixture of the languages that they speak. People who have a strong music background often record phrases that are sung, rather than spoken. The following list of characteristics will provide a sense of how EVP sounds and the nature of the phenomenal voices. 1. EVP are Distinctive: EVP have a distinctive character of ca- dence, pitch, frequency, volume and use of background sound. The voices have a distinctive sound to them that is difficult to describe. For instance, EVP messages often have an unusual speed of enunciation; the words seem to be spoken more quickly than normal human speech. Regarding this peculiarity, Konstan- tinos40 wrote, “The best way I can describe it is that it’s almost as

if each word is spoken quickly, yet the pauses between the words are of a natural length. The combination of these two speed factors makes for the peculiar rhythm and perceived speed.” You may also notice that the paranormal voices often have a hollow and/or monotone quality. 2. Frequency Range: EVP are sometimes received at higher or lower time-base than normal speech. The enunciation of words is What We Know About EVP 203 not just faster, but the frequency range of the phrases is some- times higher than normal human speech. Such recordings are typically adjusted up to plus or minus ten percent of the initial time-base (sped up or slowed down) during analysis to make them more understandable. 3. Missing Frequencies: Italian researcher, Paolo Presi,31 has re- ported that spectral analysis of EVP samples has shown that the fundamental frequencies of voice associated with the human voice box are sometimes missing in EVP. He describes the typi- cal EVP as a “thickening” of the background noise to form the voice. It is noted by others that the wave form of an EVP tends to have a relatively slow “rise” and “fall” time, when compared to normal human speech. 4. Precursor Sounds: Sounds are often heard prior to an occur- rence of EVP. Although these vary in nature, they tend to be within tenths of a second of a phrase and are a “popping” or “clicking” noise reminiscent of the “squelch” sound caused when the automatic gain control engages as

the “push to talk” button is depressed on a Citizen’s Band radio. There are various ideas on what this sound may signify. The sound may be caused by a di- mensional breakthrough and may be an artifact of spirit world energy entering the physical world. There is evidence that “Psy- chic Time” flows differently than “Physical Time” and so the noise may be caused by a shift in time as the two aspects of real- ity link up. Many researchers feel that the sound suggests that the communicating entity is using some form of mechanism to assist in communications. As Dr. Ernst Senkowski described this aspect of EVP,54(V9N2) “Several observations clearly show ‘carrier’ signals apparently following a remarkable reduction of the volume/noise coming from the radio receiver and starting with a sharp click like switching on. Afterwards, the receivers may be ‘dead’ for some time. So, in our system and with our words, we suppose someone transmitting signals which supermodulate our electromagnetic- acoustic field. In my view, this is a clear sign for a special ‘field’ not yet to be measured by our instruments but overlaying and There is No Death and There are No Dead 204 manipulating our space-time ‘reality’ which is tightly bound to certain functions of our mind-brain system.” 5. EVP Show Evidence of Being Limited by Available Energy: Alexander MacRae30 has noted that the utterances tend to have about the same amount of audio power in their associated sound wave from one EVP sample to another.

That is, a short EVP will tend to be louder than a long EVP. A very long phrase might be composed of two or more average length phrases separated by minor pauses. Again, this is as if a communicating entity is at- tempting to manage available power as “packets” of sound or psi energy. The evidence is very strong that EVP are energy-limited phenomena. This question will be addressed later in this chapter. 6. EVP are Complete Words or Phrases: Researcher Alexander MacRae, has also conducted considerable analysis of EVP mes- sages, determining that a message is typically one to two seconds in duration and is not truncated at the beginning or end. If EVP were crosstalk, they would often begin in the middle of a word. EVP messages are usually complete thoughts, as well. 7. EVP are in the Language of the Experimenter: Alexander MacRae has conducted experiments in a place that has no Eng- lish language radio or television stations, yet resulting EVP were in English, which is his primary language. It is typical for the EVP, no matter where they are recorded, to be in a language that the experimenter understands. There have been exceptions to this, but as a rule, experimenters will hear EVP in their native language, or a language in which they are conversant. This brings up an interesting point of speculation about psi- based communication. Mental mediums often report that they re- ceive communication from nonphysical entities as images which they must interpret.

These images are not just mental pictures. They are packets of information that are sufficiently complete for the receiver to fully understand their meaning. Robert Monroe4 referred to this form of information as a, “Thought Balls.” There are numerous reports of EVP that are apparently initi- ated by extraterrestrials. It seems safe to assume that extrater- restrials do not speak English. Is it possible that, in EVP, we have proof of the nature of telepathy? Are images the standard What We Know About EVP 205 mode of communication in nonphysical aspects of reality? If so, our Self/brain mechanism must be an effective translator of im- ages into recognizable words in a language we understand. 8. EVP are not Ambient Sound or Broadcast Programming: Again, Alexander MacRae has made a contribution to the field of EVP by submitting the newest model of his Alpha Device for testing at the Institute of Noetic Sciences. The device produced EVP in a chamber that was shielded from both Radio Frequency (RF) and sound energy in the environment. This demonstration proving that EVP are not stray sound or RF has been made be- fore. One of the problems we have faced in the past is that “old proof” is often discounted because of the considerable improve- ment in instrumentation, experimental protocol and understand- ing of physical principles. In light of this, it is important that our modern generation of scientists is able to witness demonstrations that adhere to modern standards for research, such as that

just provided by Alexander MacRae. As of the writing of this book, we await a response from the scientists. 9. EVP are Appropriate to the Circumstances: There are numer- ous examples of EVP that are clearly direct responses to ques- tions recorded just prior to the EVP phrase or to the circum- stances. As an example of an EVP being appropriate to a circum- stance, we were trying to figure out how to set up a new tape re- corder while we were preparing to conduct an experiment. The tape recorder was finally set up correctly but not before causing a very loud feedback squeal that was recorded. On the recording a male voice said in a Class A EVP, “Leave it alone” right after the loud squeal. Considering the circumstances, we took that to be good advice, as tinkering with the equipment had caused the noise and we had finally set it up correctly. EVP can be obscure in meaning in that, without a reference point as to the subject, the message may sound meaningful yet may not make sense to the listener. If we had not recorded the squeal, therefore knowing what had just taken place, the EVP “Leave it alone” would have had little meaning for us. 10. Precognitive Responses: Interestingly, answers to questions may be recorded prior to the question being asked, so that the an- There is No Death and There are No Dead 206 swer as a phenomenal message is on the sound track

followed by the experimenter asking the question. While time may be mean- ingful to us, our time may well be irrelevant to a nonphysical en- tity. Alternatively, the entity may be sensing what the experi- menter is about to ask. The transcript of a telephone call in Chap- ter 8, which was provided by Sonia Rinaldi, includes several in- stances in which the entity answered a question before or while it was being asked. 11. EVP are Found by Playing the Soundtrack Backwards: One of the more bizarre characteristics of EVP is that it is possible to discover an EVP that seems to be garbled, but that makes perfect sense when the soundtrack is played in reverse. By this, we mean to say that the sound track is played so that the voice of the ex- perimenter can be heard speaking backwards, but the EVP can be heard speaking forwards. As with the ability of communicating entities to anticipate questions by placing answers into recording media before the question is asked, the phenomenon of reverse track EVP pro- vides important hints as to the nature of time. 12. Vocalized Questions Elicit more EVP: There is evidence that the communicating entities are able to read our thoughts, as in placing an answer on a recording prior to our asking the ques- tion. However, experiments conducted by Alexander MacRae30 have shown that EVP responses increase when questions are asked out loud. MacRae conducted a simple experiment during which he ran numerous sessions

and did not verbalize questions, and then the same number of sessions speaking the questions. He then counted the number of EVP responses. On the non- verbalized sessions he collected 3.2 utterances per session, while as on the verbalized sessions he collected 5.3 utterances per ses- sion. 13. The Voices in EVP are often Recognizable: If you have ever felt that EVP experimenters are mistaking stray radio broadcasts for phenomena, you should know that it is common for an EVP to contain the recognizable voice of a deceased person. It is also common for that entity to say something that was typical of what they would say when in the physical. Their personality clearly What We Know About EVP 207 remains intact even though they no longer have a physical body. There are just too many reports of a loved one’s voice being rec- ognizable to ignore this fact, even after they have been on the other side for many years. 14. Mundane Voices are Sometimes Transfigured: A communi- cating entity will sometimes remodulate or transfigure the ex- perimenter’s words into EVP. In one striking example, the words of a French speaking radio announcer were changed, mid sen- tence, into an English spoken EVP. The EVP was clearly inap- propriate for what the announcer had been saying. By the way, here we use the term “transfigured” in much the same way that it is used in mediumship to describe how an entity transfigures or changes the medium’s features into the

entity’s likeness. Many successful experimenters use a foreign language radio station or recording for background noise and have great success in receiv- ing loud message in their own language. 15. Party Line: Some EVP sound as if they are comments intended for someone other than the experimenter. This is much like mo- mentarily listening in on a party line telephone call. It is not un- common in both field and controlled recording situations to re- cord comments that seem as if unseen people are discussing the experimenter’s actions in much the same way that you might dis- cuss the activity of someone that you were watching. 16. A Need for Background Sound Sources: As has been noted, sound energy is often provided during EVP experiments in con- trolled situations. It is felt that the internal noise in IC recorders is used by the communicating entities to form EVP in lieu of supplied background sound. The conclusion is that communicat- ing entities require such sound energy as raw material to gener- ate EVP. As is noted in Item 4, there is also evidence that back- ground sound energy is “collected” prior to an EVP, as if the words are being “burst” transmitted after sufficient energy has been accumulated.30 In the same way, EVP may trail off or be- come garbled near the end, as if available energy is being rapidly depleted.32 17. Recording Media Stability: It has been reported that EVP mes- sages stored on audio tape will sometimes change over

time. For There is No Death and There are No Dead 208 instance, an experimenter notes the presence of an EVP in his or her log book, but on later examination of the recording find the message changed or no longer present. So far we have not heard that EVP recorded on compact disc has changed. Some research- ers have said that audio tape will degrade over time and should be re-recorded after several years. Interestingly, copying an au- diotape is apt to contaminate it with new EVP. 18. Layered EVP: Experimenters often complain about having sev- eral layers of EVP in the same location of the recording media. This is especially common when more than one background sound source is used during the experiment. For instance, if a fan and radio static is used for background sound, a message might be found in the fan noise and a second message might be found in the radio static—both in the same segment of sound track. This is one of the reasons we say that there is something of a “learning curve” for learning how to hear Class C and Class B EVP. To detect every last EVP, you must learn to selectively lis- ten to each contributing sound on the track if you wish. 19. The “Newness” Effect: The experimenter’s excitement in trying a new detection device or recording technique may be the source of improved EVP collection. As the new approach becomes “normal operating procedure,” the improvements generally fade

back to a more “normal” frequency and quality of EVP collec- tion. This suggests that it is important for the experimenter to maintain peaked interest during experiments. This is also one of the reasons we believe that the experimenter is an integral part of the recording circuit. The experimenter is clearly supplying the necessary psi energy to enable a nonphysical to physical transfer of energy. 20. Effective Devices Unique to the Experimenter: Exceptionally effective EVP and ITC collecting systems have been developed; however, these typically work well for the developer, but do not work as well for other experimenters.31 This paradox supports the belief that the experimenter is part of the recording circuit. It has also reinforced the concept that the communicating entity may be specific to the experimenter. What We Know About EVP 209 Because various devices and equipment setups have worked exceptionally well for one experimenter and not for another, it has been argued that it is a waste of time to try to develop the hoped for equipment that will become the proverbial “spirit tele- phone” that anyone would be able to use to call up his or her loved one on the other side. This may prove to be the wrong as- sumption. There is growing evidence that people who had not been able to record EVP with a cassette recorder are now doing so on IC recorders, and people who had recorded mostly class C and B EVP are now collecting many Class A voices

using this type of recorder. This argues that technological improvements are possible for EVP. It is reasonable to expect that the thousands of hours spent by EVP researchers around the world will result in new devices and techniques. Such advances, teamed with our growing under- standing of these phenomena, should assure that better and more meaningful EVP and ITC collection will be possible in the fu- ture. Nevertheless, the attitude of the experimenter seems to be the dominant success factor and the quality of a particular device is less important than how and by whom the device is used. 21. EVP can be Thoughts of Living People: There have been a number of well designed experiments that appear to have re- sulted in EVP initiated by living people who were sleeping at the time. As an ethical consideration, such experiments are always prearranged with the person who volunteers to be the sleeping target. In these experiments, questions are clearly answered by a communicating entity, and the answers are appropriate for the sleeping person. This fact of EVP suggests the possibility that EVP can become an important tool for consciousness research. For instance, is it possible that a patient in a coma might initiate an EVP when requested? This fact also offers support for the Survival Hypothesis, in that it demonstrates that when Self is disentangled from the physical body, as in sleep or meditation, it is very much the same as a discarnate entity. This is a prediction of the

Survival Hypothesis. Do not take the fact that living people can initiate an EVP to be the explanation for all EVP. The fact that a living person can initiate an EVP is something that must be expected if we are Self There is No Death and There are No Dead 210 in a physical body. When we physically “die,” we simply be- come discarnate Self in an etheric body. When taken in the con- text of the other evidence about EVP and the Survival Hypothe- sis, the fact that we can record thoughts of living people provides a substantiation of that other evidence. Identified EVP characteristics are much more extensive than those listed here, but these are the more noteworthy and most commonly ex- perienced. These characteristics have been noted for years by experi- menters and researchers around the world. There are still many ques- tions and much that we do not know about EVP. However, through the continued work of dedicated researchers like Alexander MacRae, Paolo Presi and others we are certain that the list of what we know will continue to expand and grow. EVP as a tool for spirit communication is still evolving. You might think of the current state of EVP evolution as being similar to that of the radio about the time that Heinrich Hertz was experimenting with electromagnetic waves in 1894. Theories Explaining EVP There have been many theories offered to explain EVP. To date, all of these theories have failed to provide a

complete model that answers all of the evidence except the Survival Hypothesis. Of the theories to ex- plain EVP that you will encounter, the technology artifacts, normal physiological response, Survival Hypothesis and Quantum Holo- graphic Universe Hypothesis are dominant. Each of these will be briefly discussed with an attempt to relate them to the evidence. The Technology Artifacts Argument: The “artifact” argument holds that EVP are the result of radio or television broadcasts bleeding into the electronic circuit or are natural manifestations of electronic cir- cuitry. It is possible to record the signal from a local radio station in an au- dio recorder. This is not common, but we are aware of instances in which people have used IC recorders for recording EVP in a hauntings investigation, in which mundane voices were picked up from a radio transmitter that was located near the site. EVP experimenters should always be aware of this possibility. Again, this is rare and an experi- What We Know About EVP 211 enced experimenter will be able to distinguish between a radio broad- cast and an EVP. It is also possible to mistake a burst of noise caused by something like a bumped microphone for an EVP. As will be discussed under “normal physiological responses,” it is not uncommon for a person to find words in what is actually just random noise. However, and this is an important “however,” random noise is audio energy and communi- cating entities will use such energy to form words. One

of the characteristics of the Panasonic RR-DR60 IC Recorder, which is one of the earliest models of the recorders often used for field recording, is that the internal circuitry will tend to cause loud bursts of noise that sometimes lasts about as long as it takes to speak a word. The bursts of noise are probably true artifacts of the recorder, but as it turns out, the noise is often used by an entity to form words. Research- ers still know little about the nature of EVP and how EVP are formed. Thus, we do not know if the communicating entity is causing a pertur- bation in the circuitry that will cause a noise so that it can speak, or if the entity is simply taking advantage of burst of noise within the cir- cuitry to speak. The “artifact” and “broadcast” argument are usually the first to be voiced by skeptics who are new to the field. These were also the first possible explanations for EVP that were tested by past and present EVP researchers. These possibilities have been eliminated by re- searchers working with two separate audio recorders, or as Alexander MacRae did by recording in a compartment that is screened from radio frequency and sound energy that is in the environment. These experi- ments have been conducted numerous times. EVP will occur on one of the two recorders while ambient (environmental) sounds will occur on both, thereby eliminating the “artifact” hypothesis. EVP will occur in a screened compartment

even though the compartment is effectively shielded from all possible types of radio waves, laser beams, electro- magnetic radiation and all acoustic energy, including audible sound, infra-sound and ultrasonic waves, thereby eliminating the “broadcast” hypothesis. The Normal Physiological Responses Argument: The argument is that EVP are actually a normal physiological response to mundane noise. In this, it is maintained that the mind is trained to recognize pat- There is No Death and There are No Dead 212 terns in noise, such as human voices or human faces. Thus, EVP are random noises that the mind forces into recognizable words, even though such words are not present. Again, we will concede that this does occur. However, this does not account for instances in which the average person will agree on what is said in a Class A EVP, even without prompting. In the June 1974 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research,61 “Letters to the Editor,” renowned psi researcher, Scott Rogo, wrote that, “I want to point out a fallacy that critics have made about tape recorded voices. It is claimed that, because several indi- viduals have different interpretations of a ‘voice,’ that disqualifies that voice. Instead, it is some mechanical or accidental sound that really exists on a tape. This is based on the idea that if a voice did occur on the tape, all listeners would interpret it uniformly.” Scott goes on to show the fallacy of this premise and mentions ex- periments by Dr. John

Lily, known for his work with dolphins. In this case, Lily presented a tape of a clearly enunciated word spoken by a human voice. It was discovered that individuals heard up to thirty dif- ferent words, for this one word. Scott concluded his letter with, “This seems to rule out the argument that the lack of unanimity among the listeners must destroy confidence in tape recorded voices.” It has been shown that any audio message that is very low in level, compared to the background noise, is difficult to understand. Follow- ing the work of Paolo Presi31 and his team, some EVP do not have the typical spread of frequencies and are often abnormally high or low pitched. Much of the difficulty people have agreeing on what a Class C or Class B EVP is saying can be attributed to the absence of some of the more important cues we depend on to interpret speech. In the end, this explanation for EVP can be discounted because of the numerous listening panel tests that have shown selected EVP to be clearly understood and meaningful in content. Quantum Holographic Universe Hypothesis: The Quantum Holo- graphic Universe (QHU) Hypothesis argues that there is a field of en- ergy underlying the universe of physical matter that has not yet been quantified. Further, that information never ceases to exist. It is nonlo- cal in that any part of the universe contains all of the information there is. Information is accessible through the human senses. What

We Know About EVP 213 This hypothesis is often used to explain many observed nonphysi- cal phenomena as “echoes of the past.” Edgar Mitchell24 is a strong proponent of a variation of this hypothesis that includes the concept of “spontaneous” occurrences of life and/or intelligence, thus eliminating the need for a creator entity. You can also find considerable informa- tion about variations of this hypothesis in the book, The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot.33 A holographic image of an object can be made by splitting a beam of coherent light, which is laser light, and shining the resulting two beams onto a photographic plate after reflecting one beam off of that object. The image produced on the photographic plate is an array of dots representing an interference pattern that is caused by the com- bined effect of the different distances the two beams travel and the in- formation caused by the beam’s reflection from the target object. The image on the photographic plate can then be projected as a three- dimensional rendition of the target object by essentially reversing the projection path of the laser. You can use a very small portion of the photographic plate to reproduce the whole object; however, an image from a portion of the plate will not be as clear as that produced using the entire plate. The fact that a portion of the photographic plate contains essentially all of the information necessary to reproduce the image is referred to as nonlocality, meaning that all

of the information can be found in any part of the whole. Since it seems possible for a person to psychically access information that should only exist in one part of the universe, no matter where the person is, it is a natural leap in logic to argue that such information is nonlocal—just like the information on a holo- graphic plate. The QHU Hypothesis acknowledges the existence of a portion of reality that is not yet defined by principles of physical science. How- ever, this uncharted aspect of reality is not considered to be “non- physical” in nature. This is not a subtle difference. Metaphysical cos- mologies usually describe reality as consisting of planes or levels of existence. In the QHU Hypothesis, there is but one level of existence and there is no such thing as a Self existing in other planes of exis- tence. As will be discussed later in the chapters on Video ITC, we have noted holographic-like characteristics in Video ITC as well. In fact, There is No Death and There are No Dead 214 there is growing evidence that the QHU Hypothesis may correctly ex- plain certain aspects of reality. For instance, the existence of EVP found by playing a sound track backwards, the multitude of faces found in Video ITC and the accessibility of nonphysical information by anyone living in any part of the world, seems to be best explained using the holographic principle of nonlocality. However, we do not feel that nonlocality accounts for

the existence of a nonphysical aspect of Self. This is an important omission because we have substantial evidence that we, as Self, survive physical death and that we retain our personality. The QHU Hypothesis does not account for the real-time intelli- gence that is obviously initiating contact. It does not allow for entities answering direct questions, which is seen in many EVP messages. For instance, one open-minded skeptic within the AA-EVP asked tapers to ask communicating entities to record the words “Mary had a little lamb.” One experimenter finally recorded the words sufficiently clear for the skeptic to hear them. The experimenter asked the communicat- ing entity to do something specific. If EVP were a product of a Holo- graphic Universe, such a direct response would not be possible. In ad- dition, as is shown in the chapters containing examples of EVP, the communicating entities show that they are very much aware of us and often comment on what we are wearing or something that is different in the recording area. How could such responses come from a re- cording of the past? EVP are very much two way communications that often have logical and meaningful responses to our questions and re- quests. This is nothing like picking up echoes of the past and rules out the QHU Hypothesis. Survival Hypothesis: It is held in the Survival Hypothesis that the real you, the point or perspective from which you experience reality, is Self. Self, is nonphysical in nature and is

in a symbiotic relationship with a physical body during a lifetime. When the physical body dies, Self (its attention) returns to nonphysical reality. It is the nonphysical aspect of Self that initiates EVP. The Survival Hypothesis must be taken in the context of a meta- physical cosmology to make sense. The existence of a nonphysical aspect of Self existing in a reality as described by metaphysical con- cepts does account for most of the characteristics of both EVP and What We Know About EVP 215 Video ITC. For instance, the responsiveness of the EVP originators to questions and recording circumstances cannot be explained as “echoes of the past” as argued in the QHU Hypothesis, but requires the exis- tence of an unseen intelligence. The body of evidence gathered through past revelations, which have been brought to us through various forms of mediumship, tends to agree with information that is collected through EVP. Communicat- ing entities sometimes describe their environment in ways that are consistent with known metaphysical cosmologies. They also some- times indicate that they must “go on” to aspects of reality that are “out of range” for EVP communication. This latter point seems to argue that there is a hierarchy of levels of existence in reality. The AA-EVP NewsJournal has the slogan, “Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.” The “survival” phrase had been in the NewsJournals published by Sarah and we decided to continue that tra-

dition when we assumed leadership of the Association, because the evidence received through EVP and ITC is overwhelmingly supportive of the Survival Hypothesis. It is immensely evident that there is a greater reality of which our physical aspect is just a small part, and that we exist in that larger reality. Our experience in this lifetime is both a temporary one and one that is only dominant in our awareness because that is where our point of view is focused during physical life. Our natural state is nonphysical in nature. The Survival Hypothesis and some of the Quantum Holographic Universe Hypothesis can be complementary. The Survival Hypothesis helps to explain the “who,” “why” and some of the “how,” while the QHU Hypothesis may help to explain some of the “how.” For the “who,” we know that discarnate entities are amongst those who are initiating our EVP messages. For the “why,” we know that these enti- ties are as eager to communicate with us as we are with them and that they are for many of the same reasons. There is also some evidence that EVP are initiated in an effort to offer guidance that might lead the experimenter to a greater understanding of themselves and the greater reality. This, we believe, is important to assure that the experimenter will know what to do when he or she transitions. As for the “how,” we think that the messages are created as a mind- to-mind transfer of information between the nonphysical entity

and the There is No Death and There are No Dead 216 nonphysical aspect of ourselves. That is mediumship and is supported in the Survival Hypothesis. What is not clear is how the nonphysical entity, experimenter and recording apparatus combine to produce the phenomenal messages. The Survival Hypothesis does not address this question to any extent. If reality has a holographic aspect to its opera- tion, then the QHU Hypothesis may help us better understand the “how.” For instance, as explained in Chapter 12, stochastic resonance, in combination with the subtle psi energy of telekinesis, may be the mechanism by which the phenomenal information is impressed into our recording media. If this is correct, then there is a strong link be- tween how nonphysical reality behaves and the quantum and holo- graphic principles we are learning to use to explain how our physical aspect of reality operates. For us, the objective of future research is to find a model that will account for all of the observed characteristics of these phenomena, and we expect that it will be much more complex than what has been noted here. “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you must not seek to show that no crows are; it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white.” William James This quote from William James has become something of a battle cry for people who would prove to scientists that survival is real and that phenomena like

EVP and mediumship prove this to be the case. With EVP and mediumship we feel that we actually have a whole flock of white crows. However, you must be the final judge of this. Final proof of anything is always gained through personal experience. Pick up an audio recorder and bring a generous supply of patience as you seek to collect EVP examples for yourself. You can do this, and when you do, we are confident that you will then harbor a white crow of your own. Chapter 12 What We Know About Video ITC This chapter is devoted to explaining what we know about Video ITC, what we think we know, and what others have said about the subject. We attempt to address the question of whether or not Video ITC features are true phenomena, as opposed to artifacts of the technology or simply the overac- tive imagination of the experimenter. Some of our observations concerning the characteristics of Video ITC features will be discussed. We believe that it is important for you to understand that this aspect of ITC is rich in “hints” about the nature of reality. Also, the very fact that there are observable patterns to the way these fea- tures appear offers a form of validation, showing that Video ITC limited occurrence is not a experienced by just a few people under very con- trolled conditions. It is a phenomenon that can be replicated under many different circumstances, and Figure 12-1: Standing Man is, in

fact, replicated around the world. A System of Nomenclature We have adopted a somewhat specialized vocabulary to describe Video ITC images: Frame = One frame of a video clip. In the National Television System Committee standard for video used in camcorders sold in the USA, there are about twenty-nine frames per second. Feature = A recognizable cluster of optical noise, such as a face, that is found in a frame. This is the goal in Video ITC. There is No Death and There are No Dead 218 Large Feature = A feature that dominates a frame in size. These are often suggestive of human or other forms. A large feature may be a scene. Several of the images that Erland Babcock has captured show nature scenes that appear to have come from another dimension. They cover the full frame. Inserted Feature (Insert) = A feature that is better defined than other features in the frame. These often look like human or other recogniz- able forms. The feature often stands out so sharply from the surround- ing video noise that it appears to have been “pasted” or deliberately inserted into the frame. Occasionally, we have seen rectangular areas of slightly different noise intensity around these features. Holographic Feature (face fractal) = A feature that is suggestive of human or other forms but that is not as well defined as an insert and is accompanied by numerous other face fractals. Since these are not photographs, in the usual sense, we avoid the

use of this word when describing Video ITC features. One of our greatest challenges in bringing these features to the public has been the task of expectation management, as we work to dispel a viewer’s ten- dency to look for photographic quality evidence. These are not photo- graphs they are paranormal pictures. The Nature of Video ITC As stated in the chapters on EVP, the fact that these phenomena are complex with many characteristics suggests that they are real and not chance, accidental or illusory. Of course, complexity does not guaran- tee this in and of itself, but without this complexity it would be diffi- cult to argue their authenticity. It would also be difficult to study these phenomena if they did not occur in many ways, under many different circumstances and if they did not often provide evidence in their con- tent. The very nature of the way the pictures are received in Video ITC makes them fuzzy so that they are usually not as crisp and clear as real world photographs. The better defined ITC pictures received by sev- eral researchers during the 1980s and 90s were downloaded onto their computers by their spirit team and provided much clearer images. What We Know About Video ITC 219 These researchers began their experiments with Video ITC, and then later, their spirit contacts were able to actually access their computers. Very few people are working with Video ITC at this time. It is our opinion that more people would attempt

experiments if they had a step by step method given to them on how to set up their equipment. This in fact was one of the main purposes of this book. When we received our first video ITC image, we were very excited. Later, when we gave Larry Dean instructions on how to set up his equipment, he was suc- cessful and it was a thrill for us to hear his excitement when he also found his first image. In the next chapter, we have provided step by step instructions on how to conduct Video ITC experiments with the hope that more people will begin experimenting in this area. The video experiments are a source of excitement and joy for us and we believe they will be for others as well. Each one is unique, and we are always excited to see what images have come through. Video ITC features are not as clear but are similar to snapshots of people, animals and occasionally scenes. We have received many im- ages. Some we have recognized but the majority of the images are of people or animals that we do not know. As we continue to build a bridge to those working with us on the other side, we hope that the in- formation about what we are seeing will increase. As demonstrated with Figure 9-2, asking a particular person to appear in a Video ITC experimental session can be successful, much like asking for someone during an EVP experiment. A

few of the many images that we have received are posted on the aaevp.com website. As it is today, what we know about Video ITC features is what we surmise from what we see, the information re- ceived from our spirit team and what we have observed about the way the phenomena occur. The images are from various eras of history. This can easily be seen from the different periods of clothing that show up. Some images do not appear to be from humans and must be considered extraterrestrial. It has been just a little over a year since we first began working with the images from other worlds. It takes a lot of time to review the experiments and we are pleased with what we have gotten in the very few experiments that we have had time to do. An improvement in the quality of the figures coming through has been seen and we have even received a few images that appear to be mov- ing, as seen on several frames. There is No Death and There are No Dead 220 Patterns have been observed in the way these phenomena manifest, and from these patterns we have derived a few hypotheses. Experi- menters around the world are attempting to test many of these hy- potheses, so the list of what is “known” continues to grow. In the fol- lowing pages, we will discuss a few of the better established hypothe- ses that are being considered today. But before we

begin, it is impor- tant to us that you understand that few people are willing to say that any of these hypotheses are the “correct” explanation for EVP or ITC. This is the same as with other types of paranormal physical phenom- ena like, psychokinesis, direct voice, materialization, apports, levita- tion and so forth. EVP and ITC are real and occur; however, how they occur is still conjecture. Video ITC as an Illusion One of the dominating explanations offered by the scientific commu- nity for Video ITC is that humans are genetically predisposed to see faces in noise. In other words, it is argued that humans have been con- ditioned since life’s emergence from that fabled primordial soup to recognize certain shapes in the environment that may be a threat to their survival, food or a potential opportunity for reproduction. Thus, today, it is argued that we will see a face in almost any random ar- rangement of dots or optical noise, such as what you find in a thicket of bushes, because it is a survival trait to do so. Probably one of the more commonly cited sources for this argu- ment is an article in the “Neuro Quest” column of the February 2002 Discover magazine. That unattributed article cited research suggesting that face recognition was centered in the fuiform gyrus regions of the human brain. Based on this finding, it is argued that humans are “hardwired” to recognize faces. Conducting a little research of our own, we have

found that probably the more correct interpretation of current research is that, while face recognition does seem to involve that region of the brain, there is little evidence that region is geneti- cally preconditioned to recognize humans alone. Research23 seems to support the idea that humans must learn to recognize shapes and that it is possible to learn to recognize new shapes as readily as we do faces. This argues that face recognition is not an unavoidable result of look- ing at optical noise. What We Know About Video ITC 221 The counterpoints to the genetic predisposition argument can take many forms. For instance, if Video ITC features are an illusory prod- uct of our mind, we would expect to find prey animals that our mind would see as a threat to our survival. A few cats and dogs, and other animals have been found, but so far, we have found two friendly look- ing bears, a wolf and a few baby lions. This is hardly a fair representa- tion of animals that might eat us amongst the many features we have collected. Video ITC as Television Programming While some people are quick to accept these features as true phenom- ena, some have argued that we are actually recording stray broadcast programs. That is, that the faces are simply faces of actors in a televi- sion program that has somehow found its way into the video loop. On the surface, this seems like a strong argument, but there are a

number of factors that make it unlikely that television programming is in- volved. Many researchers have conducted Video ITC experiments using a computer monitor or a television set in which the tuner has been re- moved. They have received images and so the images could not come from stray television signals. Have you received a stray television sig- nal when you have had your computer monitor turned on? In a typical Video ITC video loopback configuration with the cam- era just a few inches from the monitor screen, the video camera “sees” only about ten percent of the screen. That is, a twenty inch screen is about sixteen inches by twelve inches or slightly less than two hundred square inches of screen surface. When we first began experimenting, we typically exposed an area that was about four inches by five inches or twenty square inches of screen surface. If you look back to the last time you viewed a television program, the typical human face also takes up about ten percent of the screen, so let us assume that the video camera was pointed directly at a human face on the screen. The face would just about fill the video frame of the camera. Next, we typically focus the camera beyond the television screen so that the rap- idly rolling or flashing image (about three cycles per second) which results from the video feedback loop has a “cloudy” texture between the bright and dark extremes. This typically puts the focal

plane of the camera some eight to ten inches beyond the television screen. Under There is No Death and There are No Dead 222 these conditions, the human face would be little more than a blob of color, making it very unlikely that our Video ITC features are the re- sult of a stray television program. There is another factor that leads us to believe we are not recording television programs. The television set is switched to the Video-In cir- cuit, and not to the antenna or cable. Some experimenters even remove the tuner portion of the television set so that the set is incapable of re- ceiving the high-frequency broadcast and converting it into a usable signal for display. This modification of the television receiver has not had an effect on Video ITC collection. Also, the video loop does some rather drastic things to the image that is displayed on the television screen. The video camera and the television screen have approximately the same number of pixels. When the camera is “looking” at only ten percent of the television screen, it does so with a standard complement of pixels. The result is that ten percent of the television screen pixels are “seen” by one hun- dred percent of the camera pixels. One hundred percent of the camera pixels are then projected onto one hundred percent of the television screen. The camera then sees only ten percent of that new projection, and if our math is correct, only one percent

of the original image. The next time that one percent of the original feature passes through the video camera, the initial image will be reduced to a tenth of a percent and so on at the rate of about three reductions a second. In effect, the video camera/television set combination functions as a microscope to enlarge whatever is on the television screen. Even if we did have im- ages from a television program, they would be quickly enlarged be- yond recognition. Finally, many of the features are found by rotating the video frame in ninety degree increments. If these images were the product of a stray television program, that program would necessarily be featuring an occasional actor who is standing upside down. So you can see that the video loop does great violence to the video signal and any stray television program would be quickly scrambled into a melee of color, intensity and video pixels. The Stochastic Resonance Hypothesis Emerging understanding of how stochastic resonance influences elec- tronic signal integrity provides an interesting area of speculation that What We Know About Video ITC 223 may help us explain how these features are formed. The definition for stochastic resonance is: “Noise-controlled onset of order in a complex system.” Noise will combine with a weak signal to cause portions of the signal to become stronger, and therefore, detectable. Scientists are looking at this physical phenomenon as a way to recover weak signals that would otherwise be lost in the noise. The video

signal we use for Video ITC is essentially a random sig- nal that is chaotic in nature. Study of chaotic systems has shown that patterns will spontaneously emerge out of the chaotic energy, and that sometimes, these patterns will appear to be recognizable features. Sto- chastic resonance is apparently the process by which this occurs. You can see that it would be natural for a person who knows a little about stochastic resonance, and the emergence of order out of chaos, to suspect that the Video ITC examples we present are simply emer- gent patterns and not faces at all. We acknowledge that, while one would expect an even distribution of color dots and intensity in the video loopback signal we record, we do find splotches of color and intensity. Some of these are even suggestive of recognizable objects, but they are seldom well formed, and finding faces in them is a little like finding faces in clouds. As it turns out, it is these areas of emer- gent order that are used by the initiator of the ITC features. In fact, these areas of order appear to be a requirement for feature formation. The images we find in Video ITC are entirely too well detailed to be the result of any random process or our imagination. It is more likely that stochastic resonance is one of the mechanisms by which the communicating entities inject features into the video noise. Remember that the process of stochastic resonance enables a weak

signal to pro- duce large effects. Psi energy (thought energy) is a weak signal as it relates to physical processes. Our speculation is that psi energy from the communicating entity is either directly, or as communicated through the experimenter’s mediumistic ability, amplified through the process of stochastic resonance in the video noise to form the phe- nomenal images. A similar argument has been made by us for EVP and the same idea, in regard to the use of noise for EVP, is noted by Dr. Dean Radin in a memo to AA-EVP member, Karen Camus54(V21N4) that, “… noise itself is probably a stimulus for opening the unconscious mind to psy- chic impressions (although perhaps this includes the conscious mind There is No Death and There are No Dead 224 for highly experienced listeners). The Oracles at Delphi apparently knew about this and used it for thousands of years. The Oracle site it- self is located inside long tunnels near the ocean—the result being that not only were the Oracles likely inhaling intoxicating fumes from natural hot springs or vents deep inside the mountain cliffs, but they were also hearing the sounds of the surf echoing and rumbling through the tunnels. That noise (not exactly white noise, more like “red” noise) is said to stimulate audio hallucinations, and in fact this is exactly why to this day we use white noise to stimulate the receiver’s imagination during telepathy tests.” Robert Monroe4 established that changing sound frequency can cause a “frequency following”

response in the brain. Knowing this, and knowing that stochastic resonance appears to be the mechanism by which weak psi energy is amplified to cause an effect on chaotic opti- cal energy, we speculate that a similar process might explain why psi functioning is enhanced with the introduction of noise. This reinforces the notion that understanding one aspect of these phenomena might help us understand other aspects. Scientists are obliged to explain observed phenomena from the per- spective of known physical principles. In this view of reality, life’s path of evolution, which is sometimes referred to as the “arrow of creation,” points from the origins of the physical universe to the pre- sent. In this view, life has emerged out of some primordial soup and consciousness is a product of that evolution. Thus a phenomenon must have a mundane explanation based on known physical principles oth- erwise it simply cannot exist. However, if you add an arrow of crea- tion that represents consciousness and that points from outside of our physical aspect of reality, then you have the emergence of all known physical things as described in physical science, but there is also con- sciousness emerging from somewhere outside of the current scope of physical science. In this view it is possible for consciousness to exist in the physical aspect of reality, but only because of the evolution of the brain. Consciousness, or more specifically, Self, exists outside of the physical and is hosted in the physical by the physical

body. Following this line of logic, Video ITC features are a product of physical processes such as stochastic resonance. But they are only made possible by these processes. They are governed by an external intelligence that takes advantage of these processes. What We Know About Video ITC 225 For the sake of completeness, we will state the Stochastic Reso- nance Hypothesis here, but do understand that you should use caution in citing this hypothesis as part of a “proof” for EVP or ITC. As of this writing, this hypothesis has not been subjected to rigorous scientific scrutiny. Stochastic Resonance Hypothesis: That psi energy is ampli- fied through the process of stochastic resonance acting on chaotic physical energy to form physical phenomena. Prediction: ITC fea- tures and EVP messages may emerge from any suitably chaotic, physical energy. The Use of Background Noise in Video ITC As was pointed out in Chapter 11, it is common for an EVP experi- menter to provide some form of background sound during a recording session. Evidence indicates that the communicating entity requires some form of sound energy, which it transfigures into recognizable speech. As the theory goes, the entity’s thoughts are nonphysical en- ergy and anything nonphysical must be somehow made to energeti- cally agree with the aspect of reality it will inhabit. This is the Natural Law known as the Principle of Agreement. In practical terms, this is described as embodiment, since we describe the process of coming into agreement as that of taking

on a body which is suitable for this level of existence. Our physical body provides the necessary embodi- ment to permit our Self to energetically agree with the physical aspect of reality. We believe that, in the same way, audio sound provides a means to embody the communicating entity’s thoughts. A testable prediction of the hypothesis that energy must agree with the aspect of reality it will inhabit is that some form of embodiment of nonphysical energy must also occur in Video ITC. In fact, we believe that it is the highly chaotic video loopback energy that is necessary to embody the otherwise nonphysical features we find in Video ITC. Somehow, the communicating entity is able to transfigure the optical energy with the nonphysical information to form the features that we see. There is evidence of a similar requirement for physical energy in many forms of paranormal phenomena. In our study, we have found that just about any optically noisy en- vironment is liable to contain phenomenal images. We will discuss the variations of this theme later, but here we will state that it is as if non- physical entities are looking for a way to communicate and are seizing There is No Death and There are No Dead 226 any opportunity to do so. One example is the “Face on the Wall” once found in the Spiritualist Desert Church in Las Vegas,9 Nevada. The Reverend Catherine Stewart, who recently transitioned, was Pastor at the time. The church has since

closed and the face has been lost due to remodeling. the wall The congregation painted in question shortly after they moved into a new church building. Close examination of the painted wall shows that they may have first used a paint roller and then something like a sponge to daub a medium blue texture onto the light blue wall. A few months after painting the wall, the congregation noticed that they could just make out the outline of a face in the paint. On a visit to the church, we photographed the wall with a digital camera. A little change in the intensity and contrast of the digital picture produced what you see in Figure 12-2. Figure 12-2: Face on the wall We have a high confidence that the face was not deliberately painted under the new paint, nor could it have been without leaving telltale level changes in the surface. The feature is also very convincingly not fortuitously organized random noise or a product of a human predisposition to find faces in noise. The painted wall represents an optically noisy environment, and even though it is not a dynamic energy as found in a video loop, it is chaotic and it is physical, satisfying all of the predictions of the Stochastic Resonance Hypothesis—if you allow the existence of the external force of psi energy. Figure 12-3: ITC Feature like the “Face on the wall” A discussion concerning cross-correspondence is appropriate here. In cross-correspondence, two or more people or spirit

communication techniques will produce information that is of essentially the same content. In this instance, the congregation of the Desert Spiritualist Church conducted a group meditation shortly before vacating the building for the last time. During that meditation, they asked the lady whose face was represented in the wall to follow them to their next What We Know About Video ITC 227 church building and to make herself visible to others. That was on a Sunday and at the time, we were unaware of their meeting, meditation and request to the lady on the wall. The following Monday evening, we conducted a Video ITC experiment. Figure 12-3 is a feature that we found in that session. As you can see, the lady from our experiment bears a strong resemblance to the lady on the church wall. When we saw the face, Lisa immediately recognized it as the same lady before finding a photo to compare the two. The timing of this and the resem- blance is considered by us to possibly be a case of cross- correspondence. The Holographic Hypothesis for Video ITC Features The standard nomenclature used to describe Video ITC features is ex- plained at the beginning of this chapter. One of these, the holographic feature, may point to a very important characteristic of how nonphysi- cal reality is experienced through physical phenomena. This is a rela- tively arcane concept, so we will explain the elements first.  The “emergent patterns” in individual Video ITC frames tend to

contain face-like features.  In actuality, all of the optical texture found in Video ITC frames may contain features, but we are only able to see these features in areas of relative brightness. suitable patterns  Some video frames have hundreds of emergent for transfiguration. However, most of the resulting features are not well formed. For instance, it is common to find numerous faces that consist of little more than ten or fifteen bits of appropriately placed light and dark spots. See Figure 12-4. We sometimes refer to these as “face fractals.” The resulting features are sufficiently face-like to make “faces in the clouds” an unlikely explanation, but not sufficiently face-like to prevent some ob- Figure 12-4: Holographic Feature There is No Death and There are No Dead 228 servers from arguing that they are just dots and that the appear- ance of a face is just an illusion. There is nothing quite like the experience of loading an al- most black video frame into photo editing software, and after a few adjustments in intensity and contrast, finding it to be full of little faces. Seeing so many face-like features, some of which are well developed likenesses of human faces with individual char- acteristics, drastically exceed our ability to comprehend their significance. Yet, we are certain that we perceive something that challenges our science, pre-telling of a reality that is barely at the fringe of our perception.  These faces will tend to overlap such that they may share the

same bit of optical noise for their formation. For instance, a black area used for one face as a left eye may be the right eye for an adjacent face.  Some faces are well defined with sufficient detail for an observer to recognize such details as eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hairline and even clothing. However, even in those that are clearly human faces, the same areas of brightness in the video frame may host several other faces. One face will usually be dominant, but close examination will show that others are also present—some very clear and some little more detailed than a few not so random dots. It is a little strange to see a well formed face, but on closer inspection to find that the forehead of the face contains another, but smaller face. An example of these holographic features is included here as Figure 12-4, but these phenomenal images do not reproduce well in print and we would like to ask you to visit the AA-EVP website to see more clearly presented examples. The image in Figure 12-4 is a full video frame that has been rotated ninety degrees to the right. Depending on how well this picture reproduces in print, you should be able to see a black field containing numerous lighter areas. When viewed on a computer screen, it is clear that each patch of brightness contains the likeness of a human face. The one near the lower left corner is the best formed. In

that patch of light, you can see spots of gray where the chin, nose, cheeks and forehead should be. There are appropriately What We Know About Video ITC 229 placed dark spots for the two eyes and a wide spot for the mouth. There is even a suggestion of a spiked head of hair and evidence of a neck. Although not as well defined, each of the other areas of light has similar faces. Before we attempt to make sense of this holography-like property of Video ITC, perhaps it would be best to describe a similar holo- graphic effect that can be found in the form of physical mediumship known as “transfiguration.” Transfiguration features are often fleeting and many changes can pass over the medium’s face in a short period of time, suggestive of the same holographic effect we observe in Video ITC. As reinforcement to this comparison, it is interesting to note the common practice in mediumship development circles to sing, or in some other way bring sound into the room that is of differing fre- quencies. The objective of introducing these sounds is to change or lift the “vibration” of the room to bring everyone together in harmony and make it easier for the communicating entities to cause physical phe- nomena. People who use this technique have reported to us that they find that the entities seem to prefer some songs to others. This intro- duction of sound is not unlike the way we fiddle with the video

loop to improve image quality. So that we will be able to make notes for later use, we sometimes record “brainstorming sessions.” In one such session, in which we were discussing this relationship between singing to enhance phenom- ena and the use of background noise in EVP and Video ITC, we re- corded the EVP, “There’s a synergy.” Thus, we might assume that the communicating entity felt that we were on the right track. The implication of these comparisons is that, by understanding one form of the phenomena, we might better understand another form. Is it possible that the holographic-like features we find in Video ITC point toward a principle that describes the nature of nonphysical reality? Are the people who argue that reality is holographic in nature correct? In hypotheses depending on quantum holographics, for instance those offered by Edgar Mitchell,24 it is held that the psi phenomena we study are actually a natural product of quantum physical principles. To quote Dr. Mitchell, “… recognition that the quantum hologram is a macro- scale, non-local, information structure described by the standard for- malism of quantum mechanics extends quantum mechanics to all There is No Death and There are No Dead 230 physical objects including DNA molecules, organic cells, organs, brains and bodies.” It is instructive to conduct a search with an Internet search engine using “hologram” as a key word. Doing so reviews hundreds of at- tempts to compare consciousness, psi phenomena and God to holo- graphic principles. Obviously, many

people27 have observed the holo- graphic-like behavior of some nonphysical phenomena. The primary source of this observation appears to be the “nonlocal” behavior of information in nonphysical reality. By this, it is meant that a person can psychically access the same information from any location. Also, if God is in everything, then God is nonlocal. Video ITC features are not necessarily “nonlocal” in the sense that you find nonlocality in holographic imaging. What we observe in Video ITC are features that seem holographic-like in nature. Since we are rendering multi-dimensional video noise on a two dimensional sur- face, it is entirely possible that the holographic-like features are also nonlocal, but that the video display medium does not support direct evidence of that nonlocality. Much more research will need to be con- ducted in this area, but for now, it is important to note that we feel that we see some evidence in Video ITC features supporting the contention that reality behaves like a hologram. It is also important to note that we feel that the holographic model for reality does not explain every aspect of reality, as some researchers propose. Holographic principles will probably help us explain how things work, but they do not appear to be the explanation for the exis- tence of Self or the survival of Self beyond physical death. This point is sufficiently important to state it in a different way. The Quantum Holographic Universe Hypothesis may eventually ex- plain the mechanism or operation of reality;

however, no version of this hypothesis, in our opinion, has effectively explained the presence of self-aware intelligence or the essential elements of the Survival Hy- pothesis. When the models depending on quantum holographic princi- ples are considered with those arguing survival, the resulting view does explain the evidence we find in EVP and ITC. Further discussion of this hypothesis is provided in Chapter 11. What We Know About Video ITC 231 Synchronization Artifacts The last technical issue is the apparent difficulty communicating enti- ties have in lining up all of the optical bits of color, light and pixels to form their likeness. As we have said, the video loopback approach does terrible things to any bit of order that may exist in the data stream. Forming a recognizable likeness of a person or animal must be a true challenge for whatever intelligence may be at work. Common synchronization artifacts we see are apparent echoes, in which a primary feature appears to be at least partially repeated nearby. One side of a face may be misshapen, as if the screen had sud- denly moved down a little while the face was being formed. It is also all too common for faces to be partially obscured by optical noise. One example on the AA-EVP website is that of a man’s face, but on close examination, we see that he has two pairs of cheek bones. This may be because it is two different faces, but we consider this fea- ture to be

an example of an echoed image. It is as if the entity began forming an image of the left side of a face, lost synchronization with the video signal and ended up finishing the rest of face slightly shifted to the right resulting in a face with three eyes, three cheeks and two noses. With careful examination, you will see that most of the examples provided in this book have some amount of distortion or obstruction due to optical noise. The indication is that, just as we are, our spirit team is still learning how to use this media. Our belief is that, in time, our team will learn to improve the quality of the images and we are beginning to see evidence of this. Similar problems with synchronization are evident in other forms of paranormal phenomena. For instance, people who draw human faces based on their psychic impressions in mediumistic art sometimes complain that the entity they sense, and are depicting in the drawing, will occasionally change in the middle of a drawing. These unexpected changes result in a drawing that depicts two different people within the same face. For instance, the face in the drawing may have a young man’s upper face and an old man or woman’s chin and mouth. In ef- fect, the artist and the entity lost synchronization. The man with three eyes that we described seems to be a Video ITC equivalent of this problem. There is No Death and There are No Dead

232 What we Find in Video ITC Features Most of the features we find in this method of Video ITC are human faces. The holographic images previously mentioned are usually sim- ple faces. Insert features tend to be whole body or from the lower chest up with evidence of a background scene. For instance, we have found a man dressed in the style of sixteenth century nobility with one foot on a low rock wall, which is located in what appears to be a pastoral scene. Unfortunately, the entire frame is so saturated with noise that it is unsuitable for display. Figure 12-5 offers another example of the period dress we find in Video ITC. In that figure, we see a man from mid-chest up, facing to your right. You should be able to see light reflecting off of his forehead. He may have a beard, and in the color version, it is evident that he is wearing a two- layered ruff that is close under his chin and low around his shoulders like a lapel. Ruffs were popular during the Renaissance. Figure 12-5: Man with ruff Beginning with the first man, we began finding people wearing hats. Not just men, we also find women wearing very stylish hats. In fact one of the more interesting characteristics of Video ITC is the period attire of the people depicted in the frames. The “Standing Man” shown at the beginning of this chapter in Figure 12.1 appears to be dressed in either

late 1800s or early 1900s attire. He is not a particularly uncommon example of a feature in which you can make out such details as slicked back hair, a mustache, a possible cane, and blazer. A few of the people we have found look a lot like the “little people” of Irish lore. Actually, we have found a few “elfin” features that are representative of just about every “species” of little people you find in the lore. There are a couple of possible conclusions to be drawn from this. First, we know that Video ITC images are evidence of the exis- tence of nonphysical entities. Therefore, finding elfin-like people in our ITC could argue that they either did or do exist in our physical as- pect of reality. Alternatively, they could exist in some alternate aspect What We Know About Video ITC 233 of physical reality or in some aspect of nonphysical reality. Could they be devic entities or nonphysical nature spirits that have accepted the appearance we humans have endowed them with over the years? If the universe holds other life forms, then we should also find evi- dence of these other life forms in our Video ITC. In fact, we do. An apparent extraterrestrial “person” is shown at aaevp.com. In this fea- ture, we see a person whose body is facing to your left, but who is looking toward you. He has a short forehead and appears to have a bald head. His chin is unusually broad and

his head is hanging from its neck in an unusual way. He also appears to be standing in front of a large round window. You must be the judge if this is simply a much distorted “Earthling” or if it is an extraterrestrial. Yes, we do believe we have found examples that look a little like the gray extraterrestrial as they are often depicted in the media. There are many features we have collected that appear to be of extraterrestrial life forms, but because we do not know what these other life forms look like, we are forced to classify them somewhere in the category of “strange creatures.” More interesting though, are the ones that look human, except for some small detail. For instance, as shown in Figure 12-6, we have found a man who appears to have an armored chest plate, some form of ruff around the neck and a very blue face. One of the interesting characteristics of Video ITC is that the images are often appropriate in color, which is no small thing for such chaotic video circumstances. So, in this figure, the chest plate seems to be the right color for something metal. The color of the ruff is plausi- ble as well. Does that mean that the man’s blue face is correctly col- ored? We cannot know for sure. If it is, then we might be permitted to believe that we have another image of an extraterrestrial. Figure 12-6: Extraterrestrial? There are examples of many

different animals in our Video ITC. For instance, we have seen cows, horses, dogs and cats, a wolf and many other types of animals. There have even been a fish or two. For There is No Death and There are No Dead 234 those of you who love animals, and who wonder what becomes of them when they transition, we are happy to say that it is rather com- mon for us to find people with their pets. We find many people hold- ing their dog or cat, or closely situated with an animal. It is as if peo- ple are proudly presenting their beloved animal. Figure 9-1 is a good example of this. In it, you should be able to see what appears to be a nineteenth century military man that is facing a little toward your left, and holding a dog in his right arm. The dog is at the left of the frame and slightly below the center. This image is also an example of how the features are sometimes distorted. The little Terrier dog’s image is appropriately shaped but the man’s head is distorted. From the beginning, we have found people together inside build- ings. One frame looks like individuals in a large room in which the seats were tiered like an auditorium. The room even appeared to have windows above the top tier of seats. Another indoor image showed people sitting around a circular table in some sort of gathering. Other scenes show people outside

with what appears to be landscapes, just as you would see on earth. In the future we hope to find more of these with suitable definition for printing. The ITC images that we are finding have improved and we are re- ceiving more communication regarding the processes involved. Per- haps these improvements will continue as this bridge between worlds is strengthened. Summary of Conclusions about Video ITC Video ITC is another proof of personal survival and a greater reality. This greater reality is not just populated with those who have lived on earth. It apparently contains animals and all other life forms, as well. If one looks over the many ITC images that have been transmitted to re- searchers all over the world they will see water, mountains, plants and even towns. The ITC images also show life forms that we do not rec- ognize as ever having been on earth. We have attempted to show that Video ITC is a complex and robust form of physical phenomena. While EVP offers recognizable voices saying meaningful things that clearly affirm our survival beyond physical death, Video ITC offers a tantalizing glimpse into the com- munity of life that inhabits that greater reality. Chapter 13 How to Record Video ITC Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) is the term used to describe spirit communication through the use of technological, generally elec- tronic, devices. In Video ITC, a video camera is used to record para- normal images. The presence of these images cannot be explained with

currently known physical principles. Other than EVP, the use of a video camera and a television set or computer monitor configured in a video loop, is probably the most repeatable method for studying these phenomena. Video ITC does require more hardware than does EVP, but the results can be very dramatic. For the record, the Video ITC technique described here is known as the Klaus Schreiber19 method for Video ITC. The technique of con- necting the output of a video camera to the input of a television set, and then taping the video noise that can be seen on the television screen, was apparently first developed for Schreiber by Martin Wenzel. It was a modification of this method that led to our first suc- cess. His suggestion was to place the camera just a few inches away from the television screen and then focus beyond its surface. Although a motion camera is used in Video ITC, the final results are “still” images. As with EVP, the Video ITC experimenter gener- ally does not see the phenomenal features while they are being re- corded. The experimenter expresses the desire to receive these images and the communicating entities comply by impressing features in the There is No Death and There are No Dead 236 video noise. It is possible to ask a particular entity to place his or her image in the Video ITC. As previously described, we have succeeded in requesting Tom’s father to appear in the middle of a video

frame. Using the Video ITC Technique The following technique is designed to enable anyone to replicate the experiments we have been conducting in Video ITC. This is not the only way to conduct Video ITC experiments. It is a technique that has worked for us and has worked for other beginning Video ITC experi- menters. The essence of Video ITC is the creation of background energy in the form of optical noise via the feedback circuit between display and imaging devices, and then recording that noise in an effort to obtain “snapshots” that can be individually examined. The snapshots are the individual video frames. An alternative source of optical noise will be discussed at the end of this chapter. Equipment: There are numerous ways to conduct Video ITC experi- ments. For instance, the beginning setup we describe here uses only a portion of a television screen, but at present, we are using nearly the entire screen for most of our experiments. You may record with the video camcorder or use something like a security camera or web cam- era that has no recording capability. You may also use a stand-alone video tape recorder and/or a computer for the recording device. You should be able to use a computer monitor rather than a television set. Researcher Pascal Jouini did this and recorded faces. Some people prefer to record in black and white rather than in color, and some ex- perimenters will remove the tuner stage of the television set to assure

that no broadcast channels are involved. These are options which you may wish to explore as you gain experience and depending on your available resources. Please note that we are not experienced with digital camera re- cording and that these instructions are specifically applicable to analog cameras. We also have no experience with the use of a digital monitor. A digital video camera and/or monitor may work, but since we do not know exactly how or where the features are injected into the circuit, we cannot say how the use of digital technology will affect the results. We do know that even the slightest change in camera settings and po- How to Record Video ITC 237 sition results in a dramatic change in the resulting features. From this, we believe that two cameras that are of the same manufacturer and model, and that are set up with identical supporting hardware, will produce different results. Just as we suggested in the chapter on recording EVP, if you want to experiment with video ITC, try to do so with the equipment that you have available. The required equipment can be expensive for a person to purchase it all at once. The following list of suggested equipment and software will be ex- plained in detail, and then the procedure for using the items will be described so that the steps can be clearly viewed in the proper order. Video Camera: Any analog camcorder should work just fine. We use a Canon20 8mm ES2000

analog camcorder. Because the camera is ana- log, we require an input capability for our computer that includes S- Video or Composite Video. For us, this input capability is currently a Pinnacle Systems21 Studio DC10 Plus analog video capture card. The camera we are using has a major flaw for Video ITC in that we cannot lock the focus and zoom where they were last set, because these fea- tures reset to automatic mode when the power is removed. When we have a particularly exceptional session, we would like to conduct an- other session with exactly the same settings. The Cannon video cam- era makes this impossible. So, if possible, you will want to use a cam- era in which you can return to the same focus and zoom points each time you turn on the camera. It should be noted that the video interface is important. The objec- tive is to record as many pixels as the equipment will allow. The num- ber of pixels in the frame in a television set, and what most camcor- ders will record, are fixed at the industrial standard for broadcast video display. However, depending on the interface you are able to use be- tween the recorder and the television set, and later, between the re- corder and the computer, there can be a difference in the overall reso- lution (pixels/inch) of the final video recording. The Composite Video interface, which is usually the yellow input jack near two audio jacks, will not

support as high a bandwidth as will S-Video. The USB port on a computer will support only about half the resolution as will the S- Video port. The newer, USB 2 and Ethernet ports should offer resolu- There is No Death and There are No Dead 238 tions comparable to an S-Video port, if you are using a digital video camera. One exception to the need to use the highest bandwidth interface available is the interface between the camera and the display for re- cording. We are unable to achieve the desired feedback pattern when we connect the camera to the Video-In of the television set using the S-Video port of the two devices. Consequently, we use the Composite Video ports during recording and the S-Video ports between the cam- era and the computer during the capture of the frames. Most digital monitors are configured to operate at a much higher resolution than televisions or video cameras. If you can take advantage of this by using a video monitor in place of a television set, the higher resolution may be beneficial. We know of people who have used com- puter monitors for Video ITC, but so far, we have not received a de- finitive report that the increased resolution helps. In fact, we know that Pascal Jouini experimented with a computer monitor to prove that the images were not bleed-over from television signals, got positive re- sults, and then returned to the use of a television screen. The small webcam

that often comes with computers is a low- resolution device. We have attempted Video ITC with one of these without success, but we should also note that we did so using a liquid crystal computer monitor. These two digital based devices combined with the low resolution of the camera may have been the problem. In principle, a webcam should work. Perhaps we simply did not find the correct combination of hardware and settings. As we have stated, we have not used a digital camcorder. Again, in principle, a digital camera should work, but we want you to be aware of the possibility that the entities cannot work with digital formats as readily as they are able to work with analog. Based on what we know today, we believe there needs to be at least one analog component in the video path. However, we simply have not had the time or resources to explore this. When conducting video ITC experiments, we use our camera in the color mode of operation. However, some experimenters say that it is easier to see the features in black and white, and so, they convert their color video into black and white after the frames are captured. How to Record Video ITC 239 Video Tape: Any video tape that works with your camera should be fine. Always use a fresh video tape. You will be marking the begin- ning of each session with a one or two second exposure on a focus page that includes details

of the experiment. Since each session is usu- ally less than a minute long, this should allow the use of a single tape for many sessions, assuming that a separator, such as a focus page, is used. The used video tape is saved as an archive, but we depend on sav- ing the captured video onto compact disc for our primary archive. It is especially important to save the video tape record of experiments if you conduct experiments to prove the reality of these phenomena to others. Environmental Modifiers: Some Video ITC experimenters who use the video loop method also shine various colored lights, such as ultra- violet or fluorescent lights, at the television screen during experiments. The idea is to bias the feedback loop toward one optical frequency or another in an effort to provide better energy for feature formation. This provides a form of background energy which is much like adding background sound for EVP, making the similarities between EVP and Video ITC even more evident. Although not shown in Figure 13-1, we usually use a sixty watt in- candescent lamp which is on the floor below the television set and fac- ing the floor. This provides a small amount of optical energy as a bias to the video loop. The room is otherwise darkened, so the light also helps us see to maneuver around the camera and tripod. Television Set: The television that we currently use for experiments is a twenty-inch color Sony, but we have also

had success on a thirty- four-inch Panasonic set. The size and make of the television does not seem to be important. The distance of the camera from the television and the size of the set will determine how many television screen pix- els are in the exposure window. As we understand this technique, the objective is to have as many pixels in the exposure as possible. However, considering what happens to the pixels as they pass through the video loop, the number of televi- sion pixels the camera detects may not be important. Remember that there is usually the same number of pixels in both the camera and on There is No Death and There are No Dead 240 the television screen. When the camera is placed very close to the television screen, only a small percentage of the pixels on the televi- sion screen are recorded, but they are always recorded with the same number of pixels in the camera. The result is that the pixels of the television screen are, in effect, enlarged each time they pass through the video camera and back to the screen to be recorded again. It would require just a few passes through the video loop to enlarge the screen pixels beyond recognition. More or less television pixels should not be a critical factor except for the potential sharpness of ITC features. Because the focus of the camera is beyond or in front of the screen, even further obliterating the screen pixels, the

size of the set should have little to do with the results. We have found that different televi- sion sets produce slightly different results, but we believe that this is largely due to the electrical circuit causing a shorter or longer feed- back loop. Perhaps it is best to think of the television set as nothing more than a loopback device that functions as part of an optical noise generator. By the way, should you think that we might be video taping a tele- vision program then consider what we have just said in the previous few paragraphs. When we conduct an experiment, any possible televi- sion broadcast image on the screen would be quickly obliterated in the video loop. A television set that has a Composite Video-In jack is required. If the television set had a broken tuner, that would be all the better. If you are handy with a soldering iron, wire cutters and a screwdriver, it is possible to disable the tuner section of the set. However, we would advise that you do this only if you are afraid that you might pick up a broadcast signal in the video loop. Also, please do not attempt to make changes to the electrical circuit of a television set, or any electronic component, without proper training in working with electricity. Tripod: The camera needs to be positioned so that a portion of the television screen will be exposed. Also, you will want to be able to change the camera

distance from the screen and be able to pivot the camera away from the screen to set the focus. It is helpful to be able to return the camera to the same location for repeated experiments. Any- thing that will hold the camera in place will do; however, a camera tripod will facilitate these positioning tasks. How to Record Video ITC 241 Computer: To analyze the video we use a Windows based Computer. Any well-equipped computer should do. Look for plenty of video and hard disc memory and a spare circuit card slot if you are using an ana- log camera. A read-write CD drive for storing all of the ITC images you will collect is extremely helpful. However, the final video ITC files are usually small enough to be saved onto a floppy disc. If you are using a digital video camera, you will want to make sure that you have the appropriate digital input port, depending on your camera. Caution, the early USB ports will not support the full resolution of the video camera. The newer USB 2 ports will do so in most computers. Video Capture Card: To capture the video into the computer we use the capture card that came with Studio AV by Pinnacle Systems.21 It came with analog inputs and video editing software. Once the video has been transferred, or “captured,” into the computer, it is more or less “standardized,” therefore any method of video capture should work. If a digital video camera is

used, you will probably be able to use one of the computer’s existing input methods. As noted above, avoid using the early USB ports because of their low bandwidth. Video Editing Software: Pinnacle Studio Version 821 is our current video editor. However, there are several very good video editors on the market. Whatever you use, it should have the capability of display- ing one frame at a time and “grabbing” selected frames as still photo- graphs. The ITC images are found in the grabbed frames. All of the consumer video capture and editing programs that we have reviewed have a relatively small viewing window for displaying individual frames. Video capture cards that have a Composite or S- Video output port will allow what is displayed in the review window of the editing software to be simultaneously displayed in a television set. It is possible to make do with the small review window, but it may be worth the effort if you can arrange for a larger screen, as it would help you eliminate marginal frames. In the Studio DC10 software, there is an output selection option that allows you to select between Composite and S-Video inputs and outputs. Make sure that these are correctly set for video capture. If an external monitor is used, make sure that the output settings are correct. There is No Death and There are No Dead 242 There is one final note about using the video editor software. It is usually possible to adjust various

parameters, such as intensity, color balance and contrast in the video frames within the video editor soft- ware. Experience indicates that it is best to reserve these editing proc- esses for the photo editing software, because, often, very small changes can result in dramatic changes in what can be seen as ITC fea- tures. Features can be seen better in the photo editor, whereas making changes to the frame in the video editor may cause you to miss impor- tant but subtle features. Photograph Editing Software: You will need the capability to edit photographs. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.022 is the current software we are using. In the past we have used Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition with good success. Some of the software that comes with digi- tal cameras provides very good image editing capabilities, and there are many photo editing packages on the market that should work just fine. Beside the ability to crop, rotate and size images, the main thing to look for is the ability to change the contrast and brightness of the image. Some of the ITC we have collected began as a grabbed frame that was almost completely black. The photo editing software made it possible for us to lighten and improve contrast until we had a rela- tively clear image. To preserve detail, work with as high a resolution (number of pixels per inch) as you reasonably can when editing the frames. The resulting images can be saved as low resolution JPEG file. When working

with our images, we usually use two to four hundred pixels per inch. When emailing a file or posting it to the web, we save the features as a JPEG file at seventy-two pixels per inch. Color, and Black and White Printers: For printing we use a LaserJet for black and white printing and a color Inkjet for color printing. Us- ing these printers, we have found that many of the relatively good ITC features simply do not print well. They are typically very dark against a dark background and the printers do not have a sufficiently high resolution to reproduce them. Thus, there may be some difficulty shar- ing your features via printouts. For public presentation, we use either a slide show capability on our laptop computer screen or a digital video projector driven by our laptop. How to Record Video ITC 243 Sound Editing Software (Optional): You may wish to examine the sound track, made during the video recording sessions, for EVP. If so, sound editing software such as Audition18 should be available. See Chapters 10 and 11 for a detailed discussion about recording EVP. Equipment Setup As we have previously stated, these instructions are a guideline that can be modified as you gain experience and depending on the type of hardware that is available to you. Camera-Television Connection: The television should be positioned so that the video camera is a short distance in front of the screen, pref- erably on a tripod. The output of the video

camera should be con- nected to the input of the television set via the Composite Video-In jack, or other connection, such as S-Video, depending on your capabil- ity. The television should be set to receive input from that jack. With the television and camera turned on, you should be able to see the out- put of the video camera on the television screen. Thus, there is a video loop in which the camera “sees” its own output. To double check that there is a video loop, zoom the lens out so that the television cabinet can be seen in the camera viewfinder. Repeated copies of the televi- sion set should be seen on the screen . It is possible to insert a video tape recorder into this circuit if a camera is used that does not have recording capability. The video tape recorder can also be used to view the images on the television set, frame by frame, if you do not have the equipment to download and view them in a computer. If an ITC image is found, you could then take a picture of it with a digital or film camera. We have included a video tape recorder in the loop as a delay device and found little change in quality or quantity of features. Camera Position: The camera must be pointing at the television screen so that there is a video loop, but there are no hard and fast rules as to how close the camera should

be. During various experiments, we have tried the camera within three inches of a twenty-inch screen and as far back as three feet. Since we set the zoom at about forty percent of maximum in, we are “looking” at from four or five inches of the There is No Death and There are No Dead 244 screen up close and almost the whole screen when further back. The features we have collected have been generally more detailed when collected with the camera close to the screen but they tend to be smaller and more pixilated. The features tend to be larger when col- lected from a greater distance, but they also tend to be less well de- fined. The latter are preferable because the pixels are less intrusive. Television No Antenna or Cable Focus Target and Data Video Camera Camera Video-Out to TV Video-In Adjust Focus for Desired Texture Figure 13-1: Video ITC Equipment Configuration We have also tried positioning the camera at different angles in re- lationship to the screen. If a mental line is drawn straight out from the screen and perpendicular to the plane of the screen, then we have posi- tioned the camera at about ten, twenty and forty degrees with good results. Some experimenters also tilt their camera to ninety degrees so that they see the screen sideways in the viewfinder and have had good results. This approach does produce an interesting feedback pattern but the results were not as good for us when we

tried this. However, our poor results tilting the camera might simply be due to our team on the other side not having sufficient time to adjust to the different configu- ration. Since our results seem to be steadily improving at three feet back with a normally mounted camera, we went back to that. How to Record Video ITC 245 To begin your experiments, we suggest that the camera is placed about three inches from the screen. We feel that this will give the highest probability of collecting features within a short period of time. After conducting successful experiments and finding the phenomenal features, it is reasonable to experiment with different locations for the camera. As just mentioned, our preference today is working with the camera set three feet from the screen. Camera Focus: The camera should be adjusted to about the same fo- cus each time the equipment is set up so that you can repeat experi- ments. One way to assure that the camera’s focus is at about the same setting each time, is to place a piece of paper with the session informa- tion written on it, at the side of the television set. With this arrange- ment, it is possible to pivot the camera to focus on the target paper. Begin by placing the camera where you will first record, turn off the auto focus and then adjust the camera’s focus and zoom until there is a cloudy texture flashing on the television screen. This is done

by focusing past the screen. Sharply defined specks of light, moving from the center of the screen to the edge, will probably be visible at first. As the defocus of the camera is moved past the surface of the screen, these spots of light will dissolve into a moving field of bright cloudy texture interrupted by dark flashes. As we have found, this is in the “range” of the optimum video texture for the formation of the phe- nomenal images. Once you are satisfied that the camera is properly focused, pivot the camera away from the screen and position the target paper so that it can be seen to be in focus through the viewfinder. Find a way to mark the location of the paper and camera so that you can return them to the same location for future experiments if the current experiment produces good results. The camera we use to do our experiments might behave differently than the one that you will use. When discussing with another re- searcher that we saw the cloudy texture in a bright white followed by dark flashes he remarked that he saw this in blue. The cloudy texture that we see is a combination of grays, browns, reds, blues and white. General Camera Settings: How the options within the camera are selected is not critical; however, note the settings so that experiments can be repeated. The “Portrait” exposure preset is what we prefer to There is No Death and There are No

Dead 246 use. Each preset will tend to produce a slightly different chaotic image on the television screen, so experiment to find the one that gives the greatest amount of “cloudiness” between light and dark extremes. Any possible camera control information that is displayed on the television screen, such as “Record” and “Auto Focus,” should be removed, either with a setting in the camera or with the remote control that may have come with the camera. Procedure Once again, we need to state that the following procedure is a begin- ning point, which can be modified as you develop your personal tech- nique. Steps 1 and 2 are designed to assure that you can control the focus of the camera. If the focus control of the camera can be locked, you will not need to use these steps, other than to record a second or two of a target paper to mark the beginning of the next session. 1. Preparing the Video Loop: For the first experiment, turn on the equipment and position the camera about three to five inches in front of the television screen. Connect the Video-Out of the Camera to Video-In of the television and select Video-In on the television set. Aim the camera at the television set and slowly adjust the focus, and zoom until the dark to light flashing is visi- ble on the television screen, with cloudy or foggy texture in vari- ous colors during the bright flashes. The focus should be six to

twelve inches beyond or past the surface of the screen when the equipment is ready to record. The most important objective is to see swirling clouds. We are emphasizing the focus because we feel that focus and zoom are the most critical determinants in creating the necessary optical energy for feature formation. In our opinion, it is entirely possible to conduct a successful experiment, and to follow it with a less successful experiment because the focus and zoom might not have been returned to the same settings. A second feature of being able to accurately return to settings from a previous ex- periment is the possibility of being able to gradually change the focus over many experiments to optimize the settings. 2. Preparing the Focus Target: As previously described, pivot the camera to point at a target paper that has identifying comments How to Record Video ITC 247 for the current experiment. Position the target to be in focus as seen in the camera viewfinder, and then mark that location. Re- cord the target paper for about one second. If the experiment is successful you will be able to focus on your target paper in your next session so that you can return to the same setting. Turn the camcorder back toward the television screen. 3. Preparing Yourself: Follow the same preparatory process you use for EVP sessions. Remember that there are nonphysical enti- ties who are present and able to “witness” your activity. Consider using the same music each

time as a “signature” or “signpost,” indicating that preparation for a session is underway. Also con- sider conducting a short meditation or prayer. After meditation, we change from music to the background sound that we use for EVP. The background sound of white noise is used because we always listen to the video sound track. Also, an IC recorder is usually recording during the sessions. This, of course, is optional. Speaking out loud, we talk to our team about the last session and discuss the various successes or failures of that experiment. Asking for their assistance in bring- ing the images through, we announce that we are going to begin the experiment. This is all done just as if they were standing in the room with us. Each session brings different discussions and questions. Ask for information on how to improve the experi- ments, and for specific people to show themselves in the video. If working with another person or a group, discussing and agreeing on what sort of features you would like to receive be- fore the experiment may be helpful. After deciding this, consider conducting a joint meditation with each person focusing on what the group wishes to receive. The experimenter is part of the circuit and we feel that medi- tation and/or prayer helps bring the experimenter into a more balanced state. This helps to focus the experimenter’s intention and better helps those on the other side create a link to the ex- perimenter. 4. Conducting the

Experiment: Speaking out loud, tell the entities that you are about to begin recording. State what you wish to see in your video frames, and perhaps, offer feedback about the pre- There is No Death and There are No Dead 248 vious experiment. Turn on the equipment and wait a few seconds for the feedback loop to stabilize. Record for about thirty sec- onds. You may record longer, but remember that the camera will record around twenty-nine frames a second, and that thirty sec- onds represents a large number of frames. Turn off the video camera and verbally thank the entities for their help. Evaluating the Video Transfer the resulting video into the computer and begin the process of looking for ITC features. This is a frame by frame process. As you can see in the screen print in Figure 13-2, the video editor we use provides a small viewing window which is at the right of the picture. With close examination of the video frame that is displayed in the viewing win- dow, you may make out a pattern of light and dark that looks a lot like a distorted human face. It is in the middle of the frame. Figure 13-2: Screen print of Pinnacle Systems, Studio DC10 Plus video editor. The objective is to look for irregularities in each video frame. There are a number of examples at aaevp.com that should help you begin recognizing frames that may contain features. When going through the frames one by

one, we “grab” just about all of the frames that seem to have unexpected deviations in texture and then examine them more carefully using the photo editor. The result can be hours spent examin- ing frames with the photo editor. How to Record Video ITC 249 Analysis of Video Frames for ITC Features There is a discussion of how we humans see ITC features, and their validity as phenomena, in the previous chapter. The question is impor- tant because there are characteristics of our mind that do influence how we see things and that could lead us to mistake a natural artifact of the Video ITC recording process as nonphysical phenomena. This capability of mistaking random optical noise for familiar objects is sometimes described as the “Faces in the Clouds” or “Rorschach Test” explanation. The bottom line of our comments in the previous chapter was that we feel extremely confident that the images you will find are a valid form of nonphysical phenomena. Here, we will concentrate on the steps necessary to recognize and find ITC features in “grabbed” video frames. We will base our com- ments on the Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.022 software that we use; however, any good photo editing software should suffice. Besides the usual copy, paste, new and save, the primary capabilities needed in a photo editor include:  Size: The ability to set the width and height of the image, and the number of pixels per inch.  Crop: The ability to select an area

of a larger picture and either copy it into a new frame or delete the portion of the original frame that is not wanted.  Save as JPEG: This format works well because it is easily sent over the Internet and takes up little disc space. The negative is that the format loses some resolution that cannot be regained, so consider keeping your original “grabbed” frames on a compact disc for future reference.  Color to Black and White: Some features simply do not show up well in color. We prefer to keep the color whenever possible, but there are times when it becomes a choice between having color and being able to see an image. Using the editing software to remove all color can sometimes make features more clear.  Contrast and Brightness Control: Some frames are nearly black when analysis is begun. By changing the contrast and There is No Death and There are No Dead 250 brightness together, we can usually bring out features that would otherwise be invisible. Figure 13-3: Screen print of PhotoShop Elements 2.0 showing a picture cropped from a Video frame Figure 13-3, which is an Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 screen print, gives an idea of the process used to find ITC features in video frames. The image at the right is a frame that displayed texture, and therefore was “grabbed” during our review of video. An area to the right showed a possible image. The selected area can be seen as a

lighter rectangle that was copied into a new canvas to create a second file so that we could see if the feature was worthy of being saved. As you can see, the image at the left in Figure 13-3 looks a lot like a child’s or woman’s face. Brightness and contrast of the feature was then adjusted for clarity. After looking at the frame in the normal position, we then rotate the frame in ninety-degree increments to check for images at other angles. In this particular image there were the beginnings of several faces at other angles but none was worth working with. When studying these frames in the photo editor, make a point to stand back from the computer screen from time to time. There have been numerous instances in which we were looking at a frame that How to Record Video ITC 251 seemed to have nothing on it, but when we left the computer to do something else, we saw a major feature on the computer monitor from across the room. The features are nearly obscured by video noise, and it is often the case that a change in our perspective has revealed fea- tures that we might otherwise have missed. Attention may be focused on one image, but often when we simply refocus our eyes, other features will be discovered in the same loca- tion. This is the case with the holographic-like images. It is as if there is so little available optical energy suitable for

impressing their like- ness that the communicating entities are “piling on” wherever they can. Again, remind yourself to refocus your attention from time to time as you look for features. Photographic ITC Since the features form in the optical noise, it is reasonable to expect that other forms of optical noise will also produce phenomena. In fact, researchers have found that ordinary photographs have images hidden away in areas of optical noise. Features can be found in the medium intensity areas of photographs, such as a wall or ceiling in the back- ground of a flash photograph. Jutta Liebmann, of the German VTF, photographs her television set while programs are being shown. She waits for scenes that have a lot of optical texture, such as clouds or an aerial picture of water. She has found some very interesting ITC features in this way. Things to Consider In practical application, there is a difference between Video and Pho- tographic ITC and spirit photography. Spirit photography is generally a photograph of an apparition or energy form. The entity is said to have been photographically “captured” in an otherwise mundane scene. In ITC, the image is thought to be deliberately caused by the entity through some form of transfiguration of available physical en- ergy. Even in the instances in which the face of an entity is in a photo- graph or video frame taken of a mundane scene, it is understood that the entity has somehow caused the image to be injected into

the re- cording medium. There is No Death and There are No Dead 252 The ITC methods we have described in this chapter are based on the creation of optical noise with a video feedback loop. In effect, you are taking photographs of the resulting noise. And indeed, it is possi- ble to simply create a video loop with a cheap camera and television set, and take photographs of the television screen with a still camera, as in the Photographic ITC method. “Grabbed” video frames that are BMP files are around nine hun- dred kilobits in size, but when the same file is saved as a JPEG file, it can be as small as thirty kilobits. However, there is a lot of difference in resolution between the two formats. It is best to search the BMP file for images, edit those at a relatively high resolution—say two hundred pixels per inch—and then save the result as a JPEG file. In our system, JPEG files are stored in our computer and the raw video file and BMP files are stored on “write only” compact discs. As a rule, we save fea- tures as seventy-two pixels per inch JPEG files if we are going to email one to a friend. We use a higher resolution if we think it is nec- essary to preserve detail. Finally, remember that we are all learning how to experiment in this area of ITC. What we know about Video ITC has been shared in this book.

In turn, we would appreciate hearing from you about how your experiments go and if you find a better way to bring the images in. It will be through such sharing of information that we will one day find a way to change Video ITC from an experimental art to a reliable tool so that others may benefit. Chapter 14 Closing Thoughts Reality is said to be continuous, meaning that its entirety is governed by a common set of principles and that change is gradual from one as- pect to another. From this, it is reasonable to believe that we can know something of the nature of the worlds on the other side of the veil by looking at our world. It is widely accepted that who we are here is not very different from who we will be after we transition to the other side. Contacts through EVP and ITC have shown this to be true. The first paranormal “voices,” giving hints about what life was like on the other side of the veil, had to come through the air as direct voices. These voices were heard in the presence of shamans and physical mediums. Electronic voice phenomena only came about when the technology was available and history shows that EVP did not really gain any attention until the 1940s. Even today, few people know about these voices from other worlds. The ITC images have even less of a history. Perhaps the first im- ages could be considered to

be the materialized forms of people and animals seen and studied by researchers during séances. Humankind became aware of these paranormal images as our technology advanced to include the ability to take pictures. The first ITC images began ap- pearing in the 1980s with the use of video and televisions, and then later through computers. In the 1990s a group of scientists and researchers from the other side teamed up with a group of sitters here on earth, who lived in Scole, England, to develop a new kind of energy to produce phenom- ena. Looking at these contacts it is obvious that our friends on the other side are as interested in communicating with us as we are with them. The paranormal contacts through devices show progression and ad- vancement on both sides. Physical death does not obscure love or the desire to help loved ones who are still in the flesh. Thus, we know that everyone who conducts research and experiments with these phenom- ena have counterparts on the other side who are working just as hard. There is No Death and There are No Dead 254 If you have the time and interest, consider following some of the simple directions set forth in this book to see if you can contact the other side. It is possible, and it will be one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life. At the very least, keep in mind the meaning of some of the messages from our

nonphysical friends that we have described here. You do survive and you will, sooner or later, find yourself on the other side. Be prepared. Learn what you can now so that you will know what to expect when you do make that most interesting transi- tion. Greet the life change as a great adventure. You can, you know. When you do experiment with EVP and ITC, believe in the bridge model that we have described and know that the veil may be near to fading away. For us, when we go to the other side, our work will con- tinue as it has in this lifetime. We will continue working to build that bridge because we feel that it is the most important work we can do. It is exciting to think about what the future will bring. This is a rela- tively new phenomenon and has only come about through our world’s advances in technology. At the same time we can see that the other side has made advances in communication and has even used new kinds of energy to do this. One thing that is certain is that the commu- nication between worlds that has already taken place proves there is no death and there are no dead. Finally, we wish to thank you for taking the time to read this book. Your purchase of the book will help us continue the work of the AA- EVP, and for that, we also thank you. Appendix A Environmental Influence

on EVP We believe EVP and ITC are made possible, at least partially, because of the mediumistic ability of the experimenter. Everyone is inherently a medium. Some people are just naturally more able mediums than are others in much the same way that everyone has some athletic ability but some people are better athletes than others. Just as athletes can train to improve their ability, so too can individuals train to improve their mediumship ability. Following this analogy further, the day-to- day ability of an athlete changes somewhat, depending on such factors as the weather, the athlete’s eating habits and how rested he or she is. An individual’s day-to-day mediumistic ability is also influenced by such factors as the person’s ability to focus on the task at hand, atti- tude about the situation and his or her energetic agreement with the situation. There are actually many environmental influences in medi- umship, but we would like to point out a newly identified influence that may eventually lead to major breakthroughs in our understanding of psi phenomena in general. To quote a report written by Dr. S. James Spottiswoode,39 “Evi- dence has been given to support a relationship between the local side- real time at which an anomalous cognition experiment occurs and the resulting effect size. The primary association is an approximately four- fold enhancement in AC effect size at 13.5 h LST. (Anomalous Cogni- tion (AC)” seems to be a new term for Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)—Editor) This association was found

in one large data set and confirmed in another, each set comprising AC experiments with a range of free response protocols, from different laboratories and inves- tigators. It is likely that the increase of effect size for AC trials occur- ring at 13.5 h LST is real, replicable across different laboratories and occurs in the diverse protocols of the ganzfeld and remote viewing ex- periments.” Dr. S. James P. Spottiswoode has published a number of studies re- porting his growing understanding of the way environmental condi- tions, such as geomagnetic weather and solar flare activity influences There is No Death and There are No Dead 256 psi functioning. In general, it is clear that solar flare activity has a di- rect influence on geomagnetic activity, and that in turn, has an influ- ence on psi function. The evidence is still not fully understood, but it appears that psi functioning is slightly improved when the geomag- netic activity is greater. However, when it comes to sidereal time, the story is very different. Dr. Spottiswoode has examined the rather large collection of psychic ability experiments he has conducted over the years to see if they pointed to a relationship between sidereal time and the psychic profi- ciency of his subjects. There was a direct relationship! He then asked colleagues to conduct a new set of experiments to confirm his conclu- sions. The results, and therefore the phenomena, were verified. Sidereal time is star time and a sidereal day is approximately three minutes,

fifty-six seconds shorter than a solar day. Thus, Local Side- real Time (LST) moves backward in solar time about four minutes a day, two hours a month and one day a year. At any place on the planet, at the same LST, the same stars will be seen overhead. 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.2 Psi effect over time Average Psi effect Guessing 18.9 Figure A: Mean Effect Size Verses LST for the Original Data Set 13.5 The essence of the article referenced is that scientists have found a direct correlation between the sidereal time of day and success in psy- chic ability experiments. The graph shown in Figure A is from Dr. Spottiswoode’s article. The graph depicts “Effect Size” on the vertical axis and “Local Sidereal Time” on the horizontal axis. “Effect Size” is the amount of deviation more or less than the expected normal for chance. The horizontal line between 0.1 and 0.2 represents the average Environmental Influence on EVP 257 of the graph curve. The line at 0.0 represents what would be expected with guessing. The graph is from Dr. Spottiswoode’s work, but we have added vertical, dotted lines at 13.5 hours and near 19.0 hours Psychic ability is real and the problem proving it in the past may be that researchers have been conducting experiments at different sidereal times of day. Almost a six-fold difference in performance of a psychic between 13.5 h and 18.9 h LST is substantial. And remember, 13.5 hours LST changes in solar

time each day. The evidence suggests that there is something near or beyond the edge of the Solar System that is influencing our psychic ability. Of course, experiments will need to be conducted to see if this influence affects EVP collection in the same way as psychic ability. But, re- member that mediumship is a form of psi functioning. The discovery of this relationship suggests an external influence on psychic ability and may explain why psychic phenomena are so diffi- cult to prove. It should be just a matter of time before someone figures out what that influence is and what it is influencing in the human brain. Once that has been accomplished, it should be possible to en- hance psychic ability with technology. In the meantime, you may wish to consider scheduling your EVP and ITC experiments in accordance with Sidereal Time. We have added a sidereal time calculator on aaevp.com and you can download a good clock for your computer at: www.radiosky.com/sidclockdownload.html. Appendix B Techniques for Editing Sound Files Some of the more important advancements in the field of EVP and ITC have been the availability of affordable and powerful computer software tools which enable anyone with a computer, especially a Windows computer, to review and edit sound and image files. For in- stance, the increasing popularity of the IC recorders would not have been possible were it not for the ability to load sound files into a com- puter to analyze and store the recordings. Also, the

Internet has en- abled experimenters to easily share sound and image files so that oth- ers around the world are able to see and hear examples of these phe- nomena. These enabling tools can present a formidable challenge for anyone who is not well versed in the use of a computer. One of the more im- portant features of the AA-EVP discussion board, we call the “Idea Exchange,” is the possibility that the more experienced experimenters may answer questions for the more computer challenged members. For instance, we have seen numerous messages offering helpful hints con- cerning the use of sound editing software for recovering an EVP utter- ance that is otherwise lost in the noise of a sound file. The use of computer programs for EVP and ITC is more of an art than a science, as each offer a number of ways to solve particular problems. The following paragraphs describe some of these techniques for the more commonly used programs. However, we advise that the experimenter should select a program and simply experiment to see what each feature offers for improving experimental results. Please note that http://aaevp.com/techniques.html includes a growing list of techniques for both EVP and Video ITC editing. Using a Noise Reduction Process on Sound Files We have found that if there is a relatively consistent background noise in an EVP recording, perhaps from a noise generator or a fan, Audi- tion18 can be used to effectively remove that noise. (Note that there are There is

No Death and There are No Dead 260 similar capabilities in other programs, such as Acoustica and Gold Wave, which are commonly used by AA-EVP members.) Audition To Begin: Open Audition and start a fresh recording session: Under menu item, FILE, click on NEW and set Sample Rate = 11025, Chan- nels = Mono, Resolution = 8 bit, then click on OK. It may be neces- sary to experiment with different sample rates to successfully load a sound track into the computer. Play the sound track into the computer while Audition is in RECORD mode. Try different outputs from the tape recorder. The best is LINE-OUT of the recorder to LINE-IN of the computer. Also, check the SOUND and MULTIMEDIA application to be sure that the correct input jack is active. Look under the AUDIO tab in the SOUND RECORD window and then click on VOLUME. Place a check at the bottom of the volume control that represents the input jack being used. If the headphone jack is used in the recorder to transfer files, a “Dubbing” or “Attenuating” patch cord may be needed to help match the resistive difference between HEADPHONE-OUT and LINE-IN. These requirements tend to vary from computer to computer. Techniques for Editing Sound Files 261 For Noise Reduction: Once the sound track is visible in the sound editor application, select a few seconds of sound track that has typical noise but no voice (or no suspected voice). Go to menu item, TRANSFORM, and select NOISE REDUCTION

and NOISE REDUCTION again. Click on GET PROFILE FROM SELECTION. (If there is not a large enough data sample selected, this option will not be available.) Next, notice that a graph will be displayed and SAVE PROFILE will become available. Save the profile and use it as a “standard” filter for similar background noise. Please note that the saved Profile is specific to the sample rate of your sound file. When the application has finished, click on CLOSE (do not click on OK) and then select the entire sound file or that portion you wish to analyze. Then open the noise reduction window again and click on OK. This will filter the selected sound track based on the profile of the previously selected noise. (The UNDO may be selected if a SAVE function was not performed. Be sure that ENABLE UNDUE is checked under the menu item, EDIT.) Since EVP is formed from the noise, reducing the noise may reduce Audition Noise Reduction Window There is No Death and There are No Dead 262 the voice as well. Try different NOISE REDUCTION LEVEL set- tings. This is a slide selector just under the noise profile graph. This process may need to be repeated to find the best combination. Depending on the uniformity of the noise on the track, the voices should stand out more from the noise. Please note that this process sometimes induces a “ringing” sound into the sound track. This noise is considered an artifact. If unable to

select a large enough sample of noise without also se- lecting possible voices, select what you can and open a new sound file. Make sure that the new file has the same settings as the original file. Then repeatedly paste the sample into the new sound file until there is enough to create a profile. Once a profile is created, bring up the file being analyzed, select the sound file and then go to the NOISE REDUCTION window and click on OK. Audition has many capabilities that will assist in listening to the voices as well as bring them in more clearly. Another piece of soft- ware, Clear Voice Denoiser,28 is only a noise reduction program, but several AA-EVP members have had good success with it. At the time of the writing of this book a free demo version was available on line at www.speechpro.com. The free version has a size limitation and only short segments of a recording can be loaded. Most EVP samples are of short duration; so, if only the EVP sample that needs to be cleaned is loaded the size limitation should not be a problem. Reversing a Sound Track. Some EVP messages are found on the re- verse of recordings. In Audition, to reverse the sound track, select the entire sound track and use menu item TRANSFORM and click on REVERSE. Playing the sound track in this way will be much the same as playing a cassette tape in the reverse. You will hear your

voice spo- ken backwards and then you will hopefully hear EVP messages spo- ken forwards in the areas where you are not speaking. Using a Noise Filtering on Sound Files: The Noise Reduction proc- ess filters a broad spectrum of frequencies; however, it is possible to remove specific frequency groups by applying a Band Pass filter. Select the entire file by double-clicking on the wave form. Under TRANSFORM in the menu, select FILTERS and then FFT FILTER. In the FFT FILTER window, select LOW PASS 4000 Hz in the Techniques for Editing Sound Files 263 PRESETS field. Click on the PREVIEW button, and then with the mouse pointer over the top yellow square of the graph that is above 4000Hz click and hold, and then slowly slide the square to the left. There may also be a need to slide the lower square to around 2000Hz. Audition Noise Filter Window A corresponding change in the fidelity of the sound track can be heard as the filter settings are moved with the mouse and released. It is good to try a variety of settings and filters until an optimum setting is found. Remember that there is the UNDO capability if you go too far. If you place the pointer over the line of the graph and click, a new yel- low square is formed. By doing this, the curve is shaped as needed. Other than AMPLIFY, the procedures described above are probably the most commonly used in EVP analysis. There are

a number of pa- rameters in each procedure that should be experimented with to learn their full potential. Also, change the view between WAVEFORM and SPECTRAL to see how the frequencies are distributed in each part of the sound file. See how much power the frequencies have by using the FREQUENCY ANALYSIS function under menu item, ANALYZE. There is No Death and There are No Dead 264 There are other capabilities available in sound editing programs for analyzing sound files for EVP. For instance, words in EVP are some- times spoken faster or slower than normal human speech. Under menu items TRANSFORM, TIME/PITCH, STRETCH, how fast the words are spoken can be changed. It is a good idea to load a sound file into the sound editor and simply experiment with each function. No harm can be done to a file as long as you do not save the file or if you only save the file using SAVE AS. Remember to have the UNDO feature always on. A Word of Caution about “Enhancing” Sound Files EVP are formed from background noise, rather than from a set of fre- quencies formed by the human vocal cords, throat and mouth. This means that many of the cues we depend on to recognize words are missing. This also means that word recognition in EVP is often de- pendent on the situation in which the words were recorded and the ex- pectation of the listener. Thus, without the contextual cues, sometimes even a

slight reduction of noise can change the way a sample is under- stood. So, be on the lookout for such changes and understand that some sound file enhancements may make it more or less difficult for others to understand EVP examples. Management of Sound Files The standard amongst AA-EVP members for sound files is the “.wav” format. The MP3 format is occasionally used, but usually only when the “.wav” file is too large to be attached to an email. As a courtesy to the other person, select only the portion of a sound file that has the EVP and save it as a wav file. Sound files can be huge and most email services will not accept very large attachments. It is always good advice for people who work with EVP on their computer to have a way to backup the files outside of their computer. A read/write compact disc drive is excellent for this purpose. This tool will also make it possible for you to back up your personal informa- tion. The external read/write disc drives that connect to the computer via a USB port are fast enough for normal use. Appendix C American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was established in 1982 to provide objective evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state. The main focus of the Associa- tion is on communication that comes from other dimensions through various technologies and ways of applying information gained

through those communications to daily living. The Association is a Federally recognized 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Despite its name, the Association is not just an “American” Association, as it includes members from around the world. The membership includes people who have experienced communication through many different types of devices, researchers who attempt to understand the “how” of these phenomena, researchers who are working on improving devices for communication, people who are seeking to communicate with loved ones and many others who do not experiment but wish to learn about these phenomena. The AA-EVP is not about religion. The AA-EVP publishes a quarterly NewsJournal. The NewsJournal carries articles about what various researchers around the world are experiencing with these phenomena and the discoveries they are mak- ing in their research. It also carries articles that are aimed at helping people learn about the technology used to capture these phenomena. The Association has a website (aaevp.com), an optional email sharing group and an optional cross-country list, in which members can share their addresses with other members. There is also an online member archive that will eventually have all past Association NewsJournals as well as other important documents related to this subject. Benefits of Membership in the AA-EVP Learning to collect examples of these phenomena is not difficult, but there are many aspects of working in this field that can be difficult to work with alone. This book has told all that you need to know to begin experimenting and to understand what

it is you will experience. How- ever, we have found that there are always new questions and points of There is No Death and There are No Dead 266 confusions that are expressed by people new to the field. Membership benefits of the AA-EVP are designed to help new people become vet- erans. For instance, the discussion board, we call the AA-EVP Idea Exchange, is proving to be a valuable means by which members can help one another. It is common for a member to post an EVP sample to the group to ask others what they hear. Other members often work with these samples using Audition, or another sound editing program, to enhance the sample, often making it more easily understood. The AA-EVP online document Archive is another important benefit of membership. Eventually, all of the AA-EVP NewsJournals pub- lished since 1982 will be in the Archive as searchable text. Also, the Spirit Voices newsletters published by Bill Weisensale are being in- cluded. Bill’s newsletters contain many important technical discus- sions about EVP. Access to this Archive provides an important history for the field, since many of the questions and ideas for experimenta- tion that are discussed today have been discussed in the past. Often the results of those discussions are in the old NewsJournals. Historical documents will continue to be added to the archive as they become available to the Association. Join the AA-EVP Annual Membership dues for the AA-EVP are $30 in the United States. International members

not receiving the NewsJournal via email must add $8.00. There is also a Sustaining Member membership of $100+ annually. Annual dues cover the cost of publishing the News- Journal. The Association relies on donations for all other operating costs. To join the Association copy, fill out and send the membership form at the end of this book, along with your annual dues, to AA-EVP, P.O. Box 13111, Reno NV, 89507. You will also find a membership form at aaevp.com. This can be printed and mailed to the above ad- dress or you can join online at aaevp.com via PayPal if you have a PayPal account. References 1. AA-EVP Archive—A benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. The online Archive contains past AA-EVP NewsJournals and other documents of his- torical interest in the field of EVP and ITC. 2. Raudive, Konstantin—Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Elec- tronic Communication with the Dead, New York: Taplinger, 1971. First published by Colin Smythe, Ltd. and still available at www.colin- smythe.com. 3. Estep, Sarah—Voices of Eternity, Fawcett Gold Medal Book, Ballantine Books, New York, 1988. 4. Monroe Institute—62 Roberts Mountain Road, Faber, Virginia 22938 5. Light Institute—Galisteo New Mexico, www.lightinstitute.com. 6. Delphi University—P.O. Box 70, 940 Old Silvermine Road, McCays- ville, GA 30555, www.delphi-center.com 7. Psychic News—British publication, Coach House, Stansted Hall, Stan- sted, Essex, CM24 8UD, www.snu.org.uk/p_main.htm. 8. Church of the Living Spirit—Chartered Auxiliary of the National Spiri- tualist Association of Churches,9 The Reverends Sandra and Gene Pfortmiller, NST, Pastors, 3521 W. Topeka, Glendale, AZ

85308-2325, (623)-581-5544. Call about services. 9. The National Spiritualist Association of Churches—PO Box 217, Lily Dale, NY 14752-0217, (716) 595-2000, www.nsac.org. See also, www.nsacphenomena.net/ 10. The Morris Pratt Institute—11811 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226-3342, (414) 774-2994, www.morrispratt.org. 11. Blank 12. “Messages from A Dead Soldier,” ARPR Bulletin, June 2003, Depoe Bay, Oregon. Our thanks to The Academy of Religion and Psychic Re- search, and the Bulletin’s editor, Michael E. Tymn. 13. Jürgenson, Friedrich—Voice Transmissions with the Deceased, (German to English Translation, T. Wingert & G. Wynne, 2001) Friedrich Jür- genson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964) www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/ 14. The Seth Books—information channeled by Jane Roberts. One notewor- thy example is Seth Speaks, Bantam Books, 1974. There is No Death and There are No Dead 268 15. Doyle, Arthur Conan—The History of Spiritualism, Arno Press, New York, 1975. 16. Harold Sherman—The Dead Are Alive, Fawcett Gold Medal, New York, 1986. 17. Macy, Mark and Dr. Pat Kubis—Conversations Beyond the Light, Grif- fin Publishing, Irvine, CA, in conjunction with Continuing Life Re- search, Boulder, CO, 1995. You can learn more about Mark Macy at www.worlditc.org. 18. Audition—Sound editing software for PC by Adobe, www.adobe.com/products/audition/main.html. Was Cool Edit 19. Schrieber, Klaus— www.worlditc.org/a_12_itc_history.htm#Klaus%20Schreiber 20. Canon, Inc.—100 Jamesburg Road, Jamesburg, NJ 08831, 21. Pinnacle Systems—280 N. Bernardo Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043, www.pinnaclesys.com 22. Adobe Systems—San Jose Corporate Headquarters, Adobe Systems In- corporated, 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, California 95110-2704. www.adobe.com/ 23. Face Recognition in the Fusiform Gyrus—Brown University research, www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/1998-99/98-154.html 24. Mitchell, Edgar,

Sc.D. (for instance)—“Nature’s Mind: the quantum hologram,” Article at www.edmitchellapollo14.com/articles.htm 25. SORRAT—The Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT), Directed by Dr. Thomas Richards 309 West Ninth Street, Rolla, Missouri 65401 26. Wiseman, R. & Schlitz, M.—“Experimenter Effect and the Remote De- tection of Staring,” Journal of Parapsychology, 61, 197-208, (1998) 27. For Example—Stanley Sobottka, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Univer- sity of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4714, http://faculty.virginia.edu/consciousness/home.html 28. Clear Voice Denoiser—Speech Technology Center, software program designed to reduce noise in a sound track, www.speechpro.com/eng/products/denoiserkit.html. 29. Zammit, Victor—A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife, P.O. Box 1810 Dee Why 2099, NSW, Australia, www.victorzammit.com/book/ 30. MacRae, Alexander—The Mystery of the Voices, Self published CD, 2000, Portree Skye, Scotland. See http://aspsite.tripod.com/ for details about the Alpha Device. References 269 31. Presi, Paolo—Italian ITC researcher with Il Laboratorio, Bologna, Italy, www.laboratorio.too.it/ 32. Butler, Lisa—Private recording, 2001 33. Talbot, Michael—The Holographic Universe, HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1992 34. Rinaldi, Sonia—Brazilian ITC researcher, www.anttci.hpg.ig.com.br/ingles.html 35. Blanc-Garin, Jacque—Co-director of French EVP association, Infini- tude. Conducted experiments with prearranged sleep and recording times. Results appear to affirm that some EVP may be thoughts of living people. www.chez.com/infinitude/Garde/EN_Garde.htm 36. Oberding, Janice—Haunted Nevada, Universal Publish- ers/uPUBLISH.com, Reno, Nevada, 2001. http://hauntednevada.com. 37. The Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society— www.ghrs.org/nevada/ 38. American Ghost Society— www.prairieghosts.com 39. Spottiswoode, S. James P.—“Apparent Association between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. II, No. 2, 1997, Lawrence, KS, www.jsasoc.com/library.html. 40. Konstantinos—Contact the

Other Side, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383, 2001. 41. Anderson, George— well-known spiritual medium, www.georgeanderson.com 42. Botkin, Allan L., Psy.D—“The Induction of After-Death Communica- tions Utilizing Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: A New Discovery,” Journal of Near-Death Studies, Vol. 18 #3, Spring 2000, IANDS, PO Box 502, East Windsor Hill, CT 06028, www.iands.org. Dr. Botkin’s website is www.induced-adc.com/. 43. Smythe, Colin—Publisher, Colin Smythe Ltd, P.O.Box 6, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 8XA, UK, http://www.colin- smythe.com/authors/covers/voices.htm 44. Stemmen, Roy—Spirits and Spirit Worlds, Aldus Books, London, 1975 45. Rogo, D Scott and Raymond Bayless—Phone Calls From The Dead, Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey, 1979. 46. Light Journal, F.R. “Telephonic Communication with the Next World,” August 20, 1921. There is No Death and There are No Dead 270 47. Scientific American—Scientific American, Inc. New York, NY, www.sciam.com/. 48. The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research—5 West 73rd Street, Street, New York, NY 10023, www.aspr.com. 49. Ostrander, Sheila and Lynn Schroeder— Handbook of Psychic Discover- ies, Berkeley Publishing Corp., New York, NY, 1975. 50. Bander, Peter—Voices From the Tapes: Recordings from the Other World, Drake Publishers Inc., New York, 1973. Initial German Language title: Carry on Talking. 51. Fuller, John G.—Ghost of 29 Megacycles, A New Breakthrough in Life after Death? Souvenir Press, London GB, 1985. 52. Webster, Kenneth—The Vertical Plane, Rare Publishers Ltd., London, 1989. 53. VTF Post—German EVP and ITC organization, Vereins Fur Tonband- stimmenforschung (VTF), www.vtf.de 54. AA-EVP NewsJournal—American Association of Electronic Voice Phe- nomena, Reno, NV, 1982-2003. www.aaevp.com. Please note

that the name of the AA-EVP newsletter was changed to the AA-EVP News- Journal in 2003. 55. Stevenson, Dr. Ian—Children’s Past Life Research Center, www.childpastlives.org. 56. Transdimension—International Network for Instrumental Transcommu- nication (INIT), Published in the United States by Continuing Life Re- search, Mark Macy, Boulder CO, January-June 1999. 57. Chisholm, Judith—Voices From Paradise: how the dead speak to us, Jon Carpenter Publishing, 2000, Kent, UK. 58. Ebon, Martin—Communicating with the Dead, The New American Li- brary, New York, 1968. 59. Cabral, Euvaldo—Brazilian EVP and ITC researcher in the field of ex- tremely low signal to noise ratio speech enhancement techniques who is now associated with the Noetics Institute, Incorporated, Plainfield IN. 60. Robb, Stewart—Strange Prophecies that Came True, Ace Books, New York, 1967. 61. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research—49 Marloes Road, Lon- dan, W8 6LA, www.spr.ac.uk, Tel.: 020-7937-8984. References 271 62. Info News—English edition of Cercle D’etudes sur la Transcommuni- caton, Luxembourg, (Luxembourg Study Circle in Transcommunica- tion,) Translation: Hans Heckman, US Publishing: Continuing Life Re- search, PO Box 11036, Boulder, CO, 80301. (No longer published.) 63. Feola, Jose, Ph.D—“The Alpha Mystery,” Fate Magazine, July 2000, PO Box 64383, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383. 64. Palmer, Dale—Noetics Institute, Inc., Plainfield IN. 65. Contact—Published by Continuing Life Research, PO Box 11036, Boul- der, CO, 80301. (No longer published.) 66. Solomon, Grant & Jane—The Scole Experiment, Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd, 1999, London. 67. “Scole Report”–Proceedings, Society for Psychical Research, Vol. 58, Pt 220, pages 150-392 with supplementary criticisms and responses by

Montague Keen. http://moebius.psy.ed.ac.uk/~spr/scole_report.html 68. ITC Journal—Published by Dr. Anabela Cardoso, Apartado de Correos 3157 VIGO - Pontevedra – Spain. 69. Charrous, Robert—The Mysterious Past, Berkley Medallion, NY, 1975, Page 253. 70. Fate Magazine—PO Box 460, Lakeville MN 55044-0460 71. Schwartz, Gary, Ph.D. and William L. Simon—The Afterlife Experi- ments, Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life After Death, Pocket Star, New York, 2002 72. Bion, Stephen—EVPMaker, Personal Computer program developed by Bion as a software-based EVP experimental device. See www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/. 73. Spirit Voices—Technical EVP newsletter published by Bill Weisensale, Sandy Valley, NV, 1980 to 1995. (Issues are being included in the AA- EVP Archive.) 74. Psychic Observer and Chimes—Journal of Spiritual Science, Vol. XXXVII No. 5, ESPress, Inc., Washington DC, 1977. 75. Festa, Mario Salvatore—“A particular experiment at the psychophonic centre in Grosseto, directed by Marcello Bacci,” ITC Journal68 No.10 June 2002 76. The Spiritual Scientist—Spiritual Science Foundation, Scole, Diss Nor- folk, www.psisci.f9.co.up. 77. Le Messager—tri-annual magazine published by the French ITC Asso- ciation, Infinitude, Les Mesnil des Frétils F-27250 Les Bottereaux. We thank Jacques Blanc-Garin of Infinitude for translations. There is No Death and There are No Dead 272 78. Delaware Valley Demonology Research— www.demonologyresearch.com/DVDR/evps.htm 79. The Silva Method—A self-improvement training program, www.silvamethod.com. 80. Builders of the Adytom (BOTA)—An Ancient Wisdom School based on the Hermetic teachings, www.bota.org/. 81. Rosicrucians Order AMORC—An Ancient Wisdom School based on the Hermetic teachings, www.rosicrucian.org/. 82. Botkin, Dr. Allan L.—Reconnections: A Psychological Discovery for Resolving Grief and Traumatic Loss, (Book is not yet available at

the time of this writing), http://induced-adc.com/iadctherapy.htm 83. Reiki—A system of energy or spiritual healing, www.reiki.org/. 84. Flint, Leslie—Voices in the Dark, Two Worlds Publishing Co Ltd., Lon- don 2000. Index 2109................................................21 AA-EVP Archive .................184, 266 AA-EVP NewsJournals ........215, 266 AA-EVP .........................20, 259, 266 Adobe Photo Elements .................249 Alcatraz Island..............................125 Almeida, Carlos de .................58, 153 Alpha Device..................62, 103, 205 American Ghost Hunters Society .136 American Ghost Society...............128 Artifact (Mundane Feature) ..........210 Ash, Michael ..................................14 AssociaçÃo Nacional de Trancomunicadores ....................66 Audio Tape ...................................193 Audition................................243, 260 Awtry-Smith, Marilyn ..................277 Babcock, Erland ......53, 88, 102, 132, 147, 169, 174 Bacci, Marcello ........16, 65, 101, 148 Bander, Peter ..................................15 Barron-Karajohn, Carol.....73, 90, 99, 101, 110 Bayless, Raymond ....................11, 18 Begley, Patricia ............117, 155, 174 Belling and Lee, Ltd. ......................16 Bender, Hans ....................22, 26, 121 Bennett, Diana and Alan.........28, 150 Bigelow, Helen.................................8 Bion, Stefan ....................................54 Blanc-Garin, Jacques........56, 74, 104 Boden, Manfred......................18, 119 Bogoras, Waldemar ..........................2 Bonner, Gilbert...............................70 Bové, Susan ..........................118, 133 Builders of the Adytum ..................39 Buschbeck, Hanna ....................60, 76 Butler, Lisa and Tom.....................36 Cabral Jr, Euvaldo. .......................167 Cabral, Paulo ................................152 Cadwallader, Mercy E. .................277 Callie, Dr. William ........................ 68 Camus, Karen .......................134, 223 Cannon......................................... 237 Cardoso, Anabela Cardoso .....57, 153 Carrington, Hereward ...................... 8 Cartheuser, William......................... 7 Cass, Raymond .............................. 34 Catholic ....................................... 201 Chisholm, Judith............................ 58 Chronovisors.................................. 10 Church of the Living Spirit.......46, 93 Class A (EVP Voice).................... viii Class B (EVP Voice) .................... viii Class C (EVP Voice) .................... viii Claypool, Charlotte.....82, 91, 96, 104 Clear Voice Denoiser................... 262 Cole, Susan .................................... 76

Contact (Journal) ........................... 63 Contact Field ..........................94, 200 Continuing Life Research .............. 63 Control (Spirit Gatekeeper) ........... 86 Controlled Conditions (recording)181 Copeland, Martha ...........69, 111, 115 Counts, Art .................................... 71 Cross-correspondence.................. 226 Dean, Larry...........117, 154, 174, 219 Declaration of Principles ............... 47 Delaware Valley Demonology Re- search....................................... 190 Delduque, Phyllis ........................ 152 Delphi University .......................... 42 Department of Phenomenal Evidence ............................................48, 176 Determeyer, Ralf ........................... 19 Deutsche Telekom ......................... 26 Devic Entities .............................. 233 Dinicastro, Michele ....................... 65 Duncan, Helen ............................... 77 Dynamistograph .............................. 4 Edison, Thomas ............................... 6 Ehrhardt, Rolf-Dietmar.................. 63 There is No Death and There are No Dead 274 Einstein, Albert.....................175, 178 Ernetti, Father.................................10 Estep, Sarah ....18, 20, 31, 41, 49, 60, 72, 73, 78, 81, 89, 91, 94, 99, 106, 109, 111, 113, 135, 178, 181, 188, 194, 215 Evans, Betty....................................68 EVPMaker ......................................56 Extra (Photographic) ....................159 Extraterrestrial ........................61, 233 Face Fractal (Video ITC)..............218 Face on the Wall...........................226 Faraday, Michael ............................14 Feature (Video ITC) .....................217 Fernández, Estrella .......................156 Festa, Mario Salvatore..................149 Field Effect Transistor..................190 Ford, Arthur....................................43 Fox Sisters ....................................277 Fox, Margaretta ............................277 Frame (Video) ..............................217 Fuente, Luis de la .........................156 Fuiform Gyrus (Brain)..................220 GA-1 System ..................................25 Galeano, Alfonso..........................174 Gardner, Harry..................................9 Gatekeeper..........................28, 86, 94 Gay, Vickie...................................143 Gee, Sonny ...................................176 Gemelli, Father Dr..........................10 Geomagnetic Weather ..................255 Ghost Hunting ..............................128 Ghosts-UK....................................137 Golden Gate Spiritualist Church...176 Grief Management..........................57 Grierson, Francis ..............................7 Gulla, Daniele.................................65 Hale, Peter ......................................16 Harden, Thomas .............................21 Hardison, Michele ........................136 Harsch-Fischbach, Maggy and Jules .............22-27, 58, 63, 93, 120, 167 Haunting Investigation .................127 Hayes, Patricia................................43 Hayes, Peter....................................63 Heckman, Hans

............17, 24, 54, 78 Heim, Guenter ............................... 19 Hernani, Dr. ................................... 65 Hertz, Heinrich ............................ 210 Hesse, Herman............................... 63 Holbe, Rainer................................. 20 Holographic Feature (ITC) ...218, 227 Homes, Adolf .....25, 26, 27, 63, 120, 167 House, William Paca ................... 135 Hughes, Malcolm........................... 15 Hussein, Jamal ............................... 92 IC Recorder (Audio).............126, 189 Idea Exchange ......................259, 266 Imperator Group .......................... 172 Infinitude ..................................56, 74 Inserted Feature (Video ITC)....... 218 Institute of Noetic Sciences ....62, 205 International Network for ITC....... 63 International Spiritualist Federation ................................................. 172 ITC Journal.................................... 58 James, William ............................ 216 Jones, Paul ..................................... 17 Jouini, Pascal ..........................59, 156 Jürgenson, Friedrich ....11, 13, 23, 25, 27, 33, 60, 176, 177, 187 Kennedy, John ............................... 88 Koberle, Fidelio ........................20, 61 Koenig, Hans-Otto..........19, 102, 108 Koenig’s Generator........................ 19 Konstantinos ................................ 202 Kubis, Dr. Pat ...........................24, 66 Laage, Monique ......................56, 104 Large Feature (Video ITC) .......... 218 Laughlin, Clara ......67, 74, 75, 83, 88, 101, 102, 112 Laurent, Tina ............60, 71, 118, 132 Le Messager (Journal) ................... 57 Liebmann, Jutta ..60, 91, 94, 159, 251 Light Institute ................................ 42 Lily, John..................................... 212 Little People................................. 232 ll Laboratorio ................................. 65 Local Sidereal Time..................... 256 Locher, Theo.............................19, 24 Longmore-Etheridge, Ann ......76, 84, 113 Luminator .....................................158 Maclaine, Shirley............................42 MacRae, Alexander ........61, 103, 204 Macy, Mark ..................24, 63, 66, 78 Magnetophone ................................10 Malkhoff, Fritz .................25, 63, 120 Manometer........................................3 Manu...............................................28 Marsh, Norman...............................70 Matla, Dr. J. L. .................................3 McKee, Dan....................................91 Mediumship..................................255 Meek, George W. ..17, 22, 26, 54, 63, 78, 147, 158 Melton, F.R.......................................6 Microphone ..................................192 Mitchell, Edgar.....................213, 229 Mitmenchlicher

Transcommunikations Forschungs Dienst .......................................119 Monroe Institute .............................42 Monroe, Robert ............................224 Müller, George Jeffries.............17, 26 Natural Law..........................196, 225 Nature Spirits................................233 Nett, Jürgen ....................................89 Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society ......................128 Noetics Institute............161, 165, 167 Nonlocality ...................................213 Normal Physiological Response..210, 211 NSAC ...........................................176 O’Neil, William........................17, 26 Oakes, Debby .................................21 Oberding, Janice ...........................128 Oracles at Delphi ..........................224 Ostrander, Sheila ............................32 Ouija Board ....................................94 Palmer, Dale and Kay...................167 Panasonic RR-DR60.....129, 190, 211 Paramann Programme Laboratories ....................................................92 Index 275 Paranormal Investigators of Southern Nevada..................................... 136 Paton, Steve ................................. 137 Pfortmiller, Gene and Sandy.....46, 93 PhotoDeluxe Business Edition .... 242 Photographic ITC ........................ 251 Photoshop Elements 2.0 .....152, 157, 242 Pinnacle Systems ..................237, 241 Pope Paul VI.................................. 13 Pope Pius XII................................. 10 Precursor Sounds (EVP).............. 203 Presi, Paolo .....64, 125, 187, 203, 212 Principle of Agreement................ 225 Psychic Observer & Chimes.......... 97 Psychic Telephone........................... 7 Psychophone.................................. 16 Quantum Holographic Universe Hypothesis ........................210, 212 Quantum Holographics................ 229 Radin, Dean ................................. 223 Radiophonic Model ..................... 187 Rapport ........................................ 200 Raudive, Konstantin ....14, 23, 25, 33, 60, 78, 81, 93, 120, 178, 187 Rays, Zwaan .................................... 9 Reiki (Healing) .............................. 42 Reverse Direction (EVP) ............. 195 Richards, Patrick.......................... 158 Rinaldi, Sonia .65, 137, 160, 172, 206 Robb, Stewart ................................ 14 Roberts, Jane.................................. 32 Rogo, Scott .............................18, 212 Rosicrucians .................................. 39 Salter, Swejen ...........................23, 28 Sandra and Robin Foy ............28, 150 Schäffer, Hideard........................... 58 Schneider, Alexander..................... 15 Schreiber, Klaus ..22, 23, 27, 54, 157, 167, 235 Schroeder, Lynn ............................ 32 Scole Group ................24, 28, 66, 150 Seidl, Franz.................................... 16 Senkowski,

Dr. Ernst ...19, 25, 27, 90, 203 Shepanek, Mercedes .......68, 102, 111 There is No Death and There are No Dead 276 Sherman, Harold.......................33, 97 Simonet, Monique ..................56, 119 Sircom, David.................81, 100, 106 Skinner, Jean ................................176 Slater, Gerda.................................110 Smith, Marshall ..............................44 Smythe, Colin.................................15 Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis................................172 Solar Flair .....................................255 Sound Energy ...............................126 Sound Recorder ............................196 South Jersey Paranormal Research ..................................................133 Spiricom .............................17, 22, 24 Spirit Electronic Communication Society..........................................9 Spirit Voices ...........................97, 266 Spiritists........................................201 Spiritualism ................46, 93, 94, 201 Spiritualist Association of Great Brit- ain ...............................................87 Spiritualist Desert Church ............226 Spottiswoode, S. James P. ............255 Stevenson, Dr. Ian ..........................32 Stewart, Catherine ........................226 Stochastic Resonance Hypothesis .............................................. 223-5 Super Rays........................................9 Survival Hypothesis.....209, 210, 214, 215 Swiss Association for Parapsychology ..........................15 Synchronization Artifacts.............231 Talbot, Michael ............................213 Tape Recorder ..............................188 Tarzs, Rebazar ................................40 Technician ........................23, 24, 120 Technology Artifacts ....................210 Telephone Pickup .........................192 The EVP and Transcommunication Society of Great Britain and Ireland........................................ 59 The International Network for Instrumental Transcommunication ................................................... 23 The Morris Pratt Institute............... 48 The Silva Method .......................... 39 Thorlin, Claude and Ellen.............. 13 Timestream .........23, 28, 58, 153, 178 Tomiyama, Siyoh........................... 66 Transdimension ............................. 63 Transfiguration ............................ 126 Twitchell, Paul............................... 40 Unidentified Flying Object ............ 35 Uphoff, Mary Jo and Walter.....33, 78 van Zelst, Dr. G. J. Zaalbert............. 3 Vatican......................................... 201 Vee, David................................... 137 Vereins Fur Tonbandstimmenforschung (VTF) 20, 54, 61, 74, 76, 89, 94, 159, 192, 251 Vidicom ......................................... 22 Virginia City................................ 128 von Szalay, Attila .......................9, 11 Wallace, Edgar ................................ 7 Weber, Bill .................81,

84, 88, 108 Webster, Ken ............................21, 24 Weisensale, Bill ......................97, 266 Wenzel, Martin ............................ 235 Williamson, Linda ....................... 117 Wilson, David.................................. 4 Wimshurst (Electric Generator)....... 4 World Broadcasting Company ........ 7 World ITC ..................................... 63 Wright, J. Gilbert ............................. 9 Wynne, George.............................. 89 Yogananda, Paramahansa .............. 63 Zammit, Victor .............................. 66 Zerwer, Art .................................... 72 Zwann, N. ........................................ 9 About the Title In 1848, the Fox sisters experienced persistent raps and other physical phenomena in their family cottage in Hydesville, New York. One eve- ning, one of the Fox sisters attempted to mimic the rapping sound by snapping her fingers. The youngest sister, Catherine, said, “Mr. Split- foot, do as I do,” and clapped her hands a number of times. The un- seen entity rapped the same number of times. The entity turned out to be a peddler who had been murdered in the cottage years before. His name was Charles B. Rosna, and he was important in that he persisted in establishing communication with the Fox family. In doing so, he gave proof that life continues beyond physical death. It is this ex- change between the Fox Family and Mr. Rosna that is credited as the beginning of Modern Spiritualism. Using the alphabet as a key for interpreting the raps, the first mes- sage from the peddler was, “Dear Friends, you must proclaim these truths to the world. This is the dawning of a new era: you must not try to conceal it any longer. When you do your

duty, God will protect you and the good spirits will watch over you.” Thus, the Hydesville raps proclaimed to the world that, “There is no death and there are no dead.” From information Spiritualist historian The Reverend Marilyn Aw- try-Smith has provided, we believe that the phrase, “There is no death and there are no dead,” was coined by Mercy E. Cadwallader when she had the tombstone engraved and placed in the yard of the Fox Cot- tage. Cadwallader was given a four-line song from spirit that ended in, “There is no Death, There are no Dead, We live, and love you still.” As an early figure in Spiritualism, Mercy E. Cadwallader is known as the Animated Encyclopedia of Spiritualism. She is author of the booklet, Hydesville in History. Footnote of History: It is a matter of record that the older Fox Sister, Leah, became at odds with the two younger sisters, Margaretta and Kate. The root of this problem was Kate’s drinking and a subsequent threat supported by Leah to take Kate’s children from her. The cir- cumstances of an established church’s desire to discredit Spiritualism, and a reporter eager to facilitate this cause by capitalizing on the rift between the Fox Sisters, ultimately resulted in Kate’s public admission that she had faked the famous raps by cracking a double-jointed big 278 There is No Death and There are No Dead toe. She later recanted her confession in a well documented, written statement.15 The historical record of the interaction

between the peddler and the Fox Sisters has been collaborated by physical evidence and careful evaluation by trained researchers. This research has set aside an obvi- ous effort to debunk an important historical event. AA-EVP Membership Form Membership in the Association is open to anyone. Annual dues are: $30 All services for one year 0 Member 0 * International Member not using Email $40 All services for one year $100 Member + name listed in 0 Sustaining member NewsJournal * International member not receiving NewsJournal via email as a PDF file. All dues must be in US Denomination. Please make checks payable to AA-EVP. Mail check and form to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89514 Name Email Address (Optional) Phone Number (Optional) Address City/State/Zip code Country Do you wish to be on the Cross-country list? Do you wish to include your physical address? Do you wish to include your email address? Do you wish to receive the NewsJournal via email or, via the Postal Service? On the other side, tell us a little about yourself, and if you record and what techniques you like to use. Member Profile (Please check what best describes your interest in EVP) [ ] I record on a regular basis. [ ] I plan to begin recording. [ ] I joined because of the loss of a loved one. [ ] None of the above, I have an interest in EVP and its evidence for survival. I understand that the cross-country list should not

be used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I realize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my member- ship in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed You can now submit a membership form online at aaevp.com. You can also submit your membership dues online via PayPal. You will be guided to do so after filling out the online membership form. The AA-EVP is a 501 (c)(3) or- ganization. Funds in excess of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Date Ordering Additional Copies of This Book this book may be ordered from Copies of the AA-EVP at http://book.aaevp.com. Credit card orders are accepted on the website via secure PayPal.com. You can order from AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 using a check or money order made payable to AA- EVP. Allow additional six to ten days for personal checks to clear. There is No Death and There are No Dead $18.00 each Number of copies: X $18.00 Subtotal: Nevada State Sales Tax: (Nevada Residence only) Shipping and Handling: Total Enclosed: Please make check to: AA-EVP First book: Each additional: Shipping and Handling Charges First Class $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Please attach

a list with instructions if you would like signed cop- ies of this book. Mail book(s) to: Name: Street address: City, State, Zip: Telephone Number: Email Address (Optional): Contact [email protected] if you have questions. ===== NEW DOCUMENT ===== Association TransCommunication ATransC Newsletter and NewsJournal Archive All documents in the ATransC Archive are copyrighted. With the exception of material marked with a © sign or that is clearly written by someone other than Sarah Estep or the Butlers, permission for use of parts of these documents is given under the Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. Permission is specifically not given for reproduction of entire documents or for the publication of these documents in any form. Sharing this combined archive is permitted but reproduction of this combined file in any form is restricted without prior arrangements with the ATransC. It is a good idea to use the contact form at the bottom of each web page to check with us before extensive use of the material. Please use the contact tool at atransc.org/contact-atransc/ The Association TransCommunication was founded by Sarah Estep in 1982, and since May of that year, quarterly newsletters were published without interruption until the spring of 2014. Sarah published seventy-four AA-EVP newsletters between 1982 and 2000. Tom and Lisa Butler assumed leadership of the AA-EVP in 2000 and continued publication with issue 19-2. The newsletter was changed to the AA-EVP NewsJournal in 2003, as an average twenty-page publication providing news, education and inspiration about many forms

of trans-etheric influence. However, the butlers maintained a focus on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and visual forms of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC). January 2010, beginning with issue 28-4, the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) became the Association TransCommunication (ATransC). This change was intended to recognize that the Association had become an international one and that all forms of objective transcommunication were being studied. The ATransC NewsJournal became one of the most comprehensive sources of information in this field. The final NewsJournal issue was published Spring 2014 as Volume 33 Number 1. Of the 129 issues, Sarah Estep published 57 and the Butlers published 72. The Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/ was established by Tom and Lisa Butler in 2016 to preserve the documents and provide a searchable library for the public. Bill Weisensale published sixteen Spirit Voices newsletters. Each are much longer and contain more technical information. Bill conducted much study to find improved technology for EVP, and the newsletters reflected that. The Spirit Voices are also available at atransc.org/spirit-voices/. The Association TransCommunication Document Archive has been made possible through the contributions of ATransC members and friends of the Association. We would like to thank all of you who have supported this effort. We would like to thank Sarah Estep and Mary Weisensale for giving permission to preserve these documents. It is important to note that it took the urging and technical help from Steve G. for the Spirit Voices conversion to be completed and the newsletters made available to the

public. Tom and Lisa Butler Association TransCommunication Directors American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1982 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Greetings fellow AA-EVP members! We are on our way! Memberships are coming in weekly and ten states and Canada are now represented. I am confident that as others learn about our Association the membership will grow and additional states will be added. This is Your Association. I believe that strongly. All of us who sit in front of a tape recorder and ask other dimensions to communicate know that it takes the active help of unseen entities to make our efforts succeed. I feel we are in partnership with those in other realities. We can’t do it alone. They have their reasons, as we do, for wanting contact so it takes our combined efforts to make inter-dimension communication work. It is the same for the AA-EVP. I am not the Association. You alone are not the Association. We, together, are the Association. My role, as I see it, is to try and bring us together, to give our individual efforts some cohesiveness. Great discoveries may be made singly or in a group, but however they are made, they should be shared. Look upon me as a conduit for your discoveries. Pass them on to me and I will pass them on to others through our newsletter. Together we will do great things! Since

one of our reasons for being is, “...to provide evidence of survival and to share results with all,” I feel this means all. Those of us who work extensively in EVP are forced, somewhat by circumstances, to travel alone into uncharted dimensions of reality. What we discover on our journeys, especially as it relates to survival, is meant to be shared. My personal belief is that although a very small number, comparatively speaking, will ever try to record paranormal voices, those who do should share what they learn with everyone. The good news of survival and the evidence we have accumulated over the years belongs to all. This is why I look upon AA-EVP as a group, not just to help other EVP experimenters but as an out-reach organization to let others know what we have learned. I believe if man can know he survives death in an individual conscious state and that he takes with him the person he was in his physical life, then he will try to live a fuller, more meaningful and useful life on the physical plane. Reverse Voices In the spirit of sharing, let me share with you something that was first shared with me by Dan McKee, an AA-EVP member from Illinois, and which has become an important part of my recordings—the reverse voices. Some experimenters have discovered that they have paranormal voices on the wrong side of recorded tapes. A recording is made in the usual way and upon the conclusion the

tape is turned over and played in reverse. If you have recorded from 0-100, you play it back from 100-0. It is at this point that the voices are heard. They are not heard on the forward side of the tape. Take the following steps, one by one. First: Take both reels off your tape recorder. Turn both reels to the other side. If you have completed a recording on Side 1, you will turn both reels to Side 2. If you have completed a recording on Side 2, turn the two reels back to Side 1. Second: Put the right reel on the left reel holder and the left on the right. Third: Give one twist to the tape on the left side, just before it starts to play back. In most tapes the shiny side is now up. Fourth: Push the play button and the tape will start to play in reverse. When you hear your voice speaking gibberish you will know you have completed the transaction correctly. The EVP voice will be clear. The reverse voices need sounds just as the forward voices do. I prefer the air-band on the radio tuned to 125-131 MHz. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 11/21/2016 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Reverse voices are not occasional phenomena. It is rare for me not to have several at the end of a day’s recording. Some experimenters express concern that by playing their tape in reverse their tape will be wrong

side out. This is not the case. When you have finished playing the tape on the wrong side, take the two reels off and return them to their original position. Because you have twisted the tape one time, in returning the reels to the way they were the twist is no longer there and your tape is ready for you to begin another recording. One time when I asked my unseen contacts if they found any difference between one side of the tape to the other, someone replied, “We use either side.” Try turning your tapes over! I have heard many messages of significance there, and it adds more insight and depth to the whole area of taped voices. Let me know your results, and I will pass them on to others. Incidentally, the reverse voices confound our skeptics. Only paranormal entities to whom space, time, and matter itself, have different meanings, from us, would be capable of such a feat! Air Florida Crash Mercedes Shepanek, Virginia state coordinator for AA-EVP has taped excellent voices on the reverse side of tapes. She recently sent me a duplicate tape of a recording she made on January the day following the crash of the Air Florida plane into the Potomac River. Mercedes had asked if those on the other side were aware of the crash. At once a babble of voices, some confused, others comforting, responded. There isn’t room to report all of the messages, but some were: “…on that airliner...” “We

got a loser.” “Redeem.” “Will you come with me now, you come?” “I’ll do it right away … right in the snow.” “Reach down ...now reach down … I don’t want ‘em all killed.” The tape is one of the most “chilling” I have listened to, as well as moving. All of the voices are tonal and you can hear the anguish some of those felt who evidently had just died. It was clear, however, that there were helpers standing by to assist the newly dead, as well as others who seemed to be in charge of what was going on. The messages were all received on the reverse side of the tape. Spiricom On April 6, George Meek, a retired engineer, inventor and president of Metascience Foundation, announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. the development of SPIRICOM. Those attending the press conference were told, “An elementary start has been made toward the eventual perfection of an electromagnetic-etheric communications system which will someday permit those living on earth to have telephone-like conversations with persons very much alive on higher levels of consciousness.” SPIRICOM is the result of twelve years of research carried out by Mr. Meek and other scientists at Metascience. Using SPIRICOM during the last four years, many hours of conversation were held with some of the “so-called dead.” The most extensive were with Dr. George Mueller, a deceased engineering and mathematics college professor. Dr. Mueller, who gave suggestions for the development of the present SPIRICOM

system which is based on multi-frequency audio tones, supplied personal information, such as his social security number, that was later verified. With the release of the news about SPIRICOM, Mr. Meek also made available to the public a 100-page technical manual which will allow anyone who is electronically inclined to build a similar instrument. There is a ninety-minute tape which contains, among other things, some of the conversations held with Dr. Mueller, from beyond the grave, and William O’Neil, a consultant to Metascience. I have the manual and also the tape which is amazing in the loudness, clarity, and the ability of the spirit communicator to carry on extended conversations with the experimenter of this side. Mr. Meek has released this information at this time primarily in the hope that it will encourage other experimenters to try to duplicate the results in which so far only Mr. O’Neil has been successful, and to further research in communications with other levels of human consciousness. 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Maryland State Coordinator Reports Arabella Roberts, who is the Maryland coordinator for AA-EVP, has been recording paranormal voices since 1970. It was not until 1974, that she read about Konstantin Raudive and knew other individuals were receiving voices through their tape recorders. She writes, “Before I started recording voices, quite often I would hear my name being called and at other times I would hear a whispery, “Hello.” On two occasions my name

was called on the clock radio right before the program came on.” When Arabella decided to try to record these voices, they were at first soft and low, but they spoke clearly enough to tell her she needed another tape recorder. The voices also told her what else she needed in the way of recording equipment. She followed these suggestions and finally a voice said, “Your set’s complete.” In the twelve years that Arabella has been recording, she has taped many messages that were meaningful to her as well as several friends. Mirror, Mirror on The Wall Three AA-EVP members independent and unknown to each other at the time have recorded messages about mirrors. Dan McKee, Mercedes Shepanek, and I have been recipients of this type of message. In my own case, they started sixteen months ago, and since then over a dozen such messages have come through. Last November when I asked what I could do to help them answer more of my questions, a clear voice said, “Try and talking into the mirror.” Several days later, I placed on top of my equalizer, less than a foot away, a small mirror. Many excellent messages came through that day about the mirror. When I asked if this would help them, a Class A voice said, on the reverse side of the tape, “If you use that mode can help you.” Have any of you received messages about mirrors? If so, please write and tell me. It is significant when

researchers working independently receive similar messages, especially if they don’t know anyone else has received them. This type of communication shows a coordination of efforts in another reality, in their attempts to have contact with us. A Recent Book From time to time, I will recommend a book I have read and feel you would enjoy and find helpful. Harold Sherman, an AA-EVP member, has written such a book: The Dead Are Alive. Harold, a distinguished psychic, sensitive, author, and founder of ESP Research Associates Foundation, needs no introduction to most of us. In The Dead Are Alive, he describes different ways that show how the dead try to prove to us that they survive death in a conscious state. Several chapters are devoted to electronic communication with the discarnate through a tape recorder. Odds and Ends A few words about mailing lists, group meetings, letters to the editor, and so on... In each AA-EVP NEWS you will receive an updated list of all those in your state who are AA-EVP members. If there is no mailing list included with your NEWS that means you are the only person in your state who is a member of AA-EVP. This might be considered a singular honor, but it is one that I hope will be of short duration. In some of the states, where there is more than one member, there is a state coordinator. This individual has indicated a willingness to help others in his state with advice about EVP

if contacted, and to organize area meetings where feasible. It is hoped that there will be meetings on a local and state basis where information can be shared and ideas for future EVP research can be implemented. All of this will be passed on to me by the coordinators and I will publish it in future AA-EVP NEWS. By working together in small core groups your efforts will become more productive. By giving me the opportunity of sharing it with everyone else, the Association and the entire field of EVP will benefit. I will cherish each of your letters. Please let me know what you are doing, your personal thoughts about EVP, and any ideas you have about future EVP research. Time being what it is, I will not be able to answer your letters individually but they will be carefully read and considered. Unless you ask me not to, I will feel 11/21/2016 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena free to share at least parts of your letters in future issues of AA-EVP NEWS. Since the next NEWS will go to the printer on July 30, the closing date for this type of information will be July 23. With each NEWS, you will receive a yellow flyer. Pass this on to someone who is interested in the Association. We will only be successful, if we are active. Right now, we are a seedling. Let us grow to be a mighty oak with

many branches stretching out to everyone. Again, together we will do great things! Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1982 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Summer Greetings to everyone! During the last three months, I have been busy answering letters from people who have heard and want to learn more about our Association. There have been phone calls from Maine to California from those who want immediate answers to questions about taping and hope I can provide some answers. In May, I was part of a five-hour marathon radio talk show appearance, from midnight until five in the morning, and yes, phone calls were still coming in at five! I came to the conclusion that Baltimore never sleeps! Additionally, WJZ, Baltimore TV, as part of its Evening Magazine feature taped a six-and-a-half-minute segment in July about the electronic voice and the AA-EVP which is bringing inquiries. It is evident that word about the Association is getting around and people are learning they can communicate with other dimensions through their tape recorders. As one young man wrote to me from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania after listening to the radio show, “. . .I really cared about your message on WBAL Baltimore, very early May 23,

‘82. I really do want information on taping the Spirit messages, only after being part of crowds the next day, I started to fear that your message may be too good to be true.” I answered David’s letter and assured him the Voices are real and offered some suggestions as to how he might start recording them. In the first newsletter, I wrote that I looked, “... upon AA-EVP as a group, not just to help other EVP experimenters but as an out-reach organization to let others know what we have learned.” We should not forget the thousands of Davids who have never heard about the electronic voice and yet, after hearing about them have a “hunger” to know more. We can never be satisfied with our own accomplishments until we have “spoken” to all of the Davids everywhere. Since the first AA-EVP NEWS, our membership has almost doubled and we now have members from sixteen states as well as Canada. I mentioned a moment ago about receiving calls from Maine to California. Membership-wise, we could draw a big X across the country. There are members in Maine to California; and in Florida to Washington. As long as we continue growing we should feel encouraged. Reverse Voice Cassette Tapes Some correspondents have indicated great interest in the reverse voices and have written that they plan to start turning over their reel to reel tapes. Others have also said they are interested but since they use a cassette tape deck for

recording, there is no conceivable way they can play this type of tape in reverse. If there are voices there, they will remain forever unknown. Take heart, cassette tape deckers! There are voices on the reverse side of your cassette tapes. Each of you can have the satisfaction of Sherlock as you track them down. All you need is a friend who has a reel to reel recorder. After making a cassette recording, have it duplicated onto a reel to reel tape. Then turn the reel over, as described in the first newsletter, and play it in reverse. This will be, in effect, a play through of a cassette tape on its wrong side. As the reel tape is playing the cassette recording in reverse, the recording can be duplicated onto a cassette tape. You will then have a copy of the cassette recording you have made, as it sounds in reverse, and can listen to it at your leisure. Reverse cassette voices are just as frequent as reverse reel to reel voices. They are as easily understood and the nature of their messages is the same. D. Scott Rogo, well-known parapsychologist, author and psychic investigator, in a recent letter to me wrote, “The reverse tape effect is not new. Dr. Bender discovered this with Jurgenson years ago, and the effect has long been part of ‘tape voice lore.’” 1 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Let me know your results, if any,

when you turn your tapes over. Also, please include information as to what you were using as a sound source at the time. I would like to share this with others in future AA- EVP NEWS. Research Projects As stated on the letterhead, one of the six benefits offered to members of AA-EVP is the opportunity to take part in research projects. I am happy to recommend the following to you. 1. “Artist/researcher dealing with futurist aesthetics, and art forms generated by the new realities of other dimensions needs help in attempting to communicate with Calbraith Perry Rodgers and Wiley Post. Rodgers in 1911 was the first person to fly across the U.S. Post in 1933 was first to fly around the world alone. “As a pilot, I am flying Rodger’s route this summer. This work will be shown publicly Sept.-Oct., 1983 in a major exhibition sponsored by the University of Maryland Baltimore County. All tapes sent will be used and acknowledged in the exhibition catalogue. Tapes will be returned. Please send tapes by Feb., 1983 to: Pat Canavan, Associate Professor. (Address removed) I have met Mr. Canavan, as well as the other two men who will be flying with him: Jerry Stephany, head of the photography department, U. of M., Baltimore County, and Bill Tutor, musician and composer from the University music department. They will be using a battery operated reel to reel tape recorder as they are flying cross-country to see if paranormal voices will come through. In

itself, this should prove to be an interesting experiment. Mr. Canavan has promised to let me know if voices are recorded high in the sky! I will let you know their results in the November NEWS. If any AA-EVP members believe they have succeeded in having contact with Rodgers or Post, through their tape recorders, ask for evidential information. I suggest you do this before you read anything about them. It makes the experiment “cleaner,” more valid, in the eyes of many, if you check the information after it has been received. 2. Arthur Berger, President of the Survival Research Foundation, has written to me. He is eager to hear from AA-EVP members who may be interested in participating in research projects undertaken by the Foundation. Quoting from his letter, “...Our survival research project to investigate the question of survival of bodily death is based on tests by which persons may establish their survival through posthumous communication of specific unknown but objectively verifiable information. Such information might be the communication of a predetermined word, such as “Excelsior,” or sentence such as “We will survive death.” “...After their death (of the participant,) we will attempt to get their specific information. These attempts will be made with both mediums and tape recordings. “...Your members can participate in our project in two ways: by using our test to prepare the evidence of their own survival which we will try to get after they die; and by acting as volunteer co- experimenters, try via

EVP to get evidence of the survival of people who have used our tests and died.” For any AA-EVP member who would like to take part in the projects described by Mr. Berger, write to: (Address removed. This became known as the Susy Smith project. We believe the project is closed now.) Please note, those members who are not taping voices can still take part in the project by choosing a word or phrase to try to communicate after death. 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Metascience Foundation-Spiricom George Meek, of Metascience Foundation, wrote to me recently, “. . .as a result of the early April press conference reporting on the work of SPIRICOM, (I am) in touch with twenty-one persons or organizations in Brazil, Germany, England, and the U.S. who are starting serious work. A number of psychics have volunteered for research in various parts of the U.S. In the months ahead it is planned to alert the electronic researchers to any apparently qualified and volunteer psychics in their vicinity. “As a result of the great flood of correspondence from many countries it has become obvious that it will be desirable to supply the researchers with supplemental information to be sent to all those who are doing serious research. The first mailing of supplemental information will probably be made in July.” We have five state coordinators so far. They are: State Coordinators California-David Lothamer Illinois-Dan McKee Maine-Leslie Bugbee Maryland-Arabella Roberts Virginia-Mercedes

Shepanek These five individuals have been working in the field of EVP for some time and are very knowledgeable about the electronic voice. They have agreed to offer help and give suggestions to other AA-EVP members in their state who turn to them for assistance. Where practical, they will hold group meetings from time to time. I am grateful to each and every one of them. Help Wanted-A Chance To Serve As we continue to grow we will need more state coordinators and also area coordinators. By working in local and state groups we will develop a sense of cohesiveness and the national Association will become stronger. Would you like to be a state or area coordinator? Qualifications: 1. A sincere, lasting interest in EVP. 2. Some knowledge, which need not be extensive, about EVP. 3. A willingness to organize one or more groups of local Association members to meet occasionally in order to share ideas and discoveries and to discuss possible projects for future research. 4. Area coordinators will pass on to state coordinators what is being done on a local basis. 5. State coordinators to pass on to me what is being done in the local groups. If you think you are qualified to be a state or area coordinator let me know. Don’t be shy! Step forwards! Chances are, you’ll be greeted with open arm! Maryland – Virginia Hold Joint Meeting The state coordinators of Maryland and Virginia, along with Association members from both states, met on

July 18, at Sarah Estep’s home. Several members played short demonstration tapes which were then discussed. It proved to be a very interesting meeting, and some of those attending indicated they now have a better understanding of how to record paranormal voices. It is hoped that another meeting can be held in the near future. 3 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Reports from and About Members After Mercedes Shepanek read the report about mirrors in the May, AA-EVP NEWS, she asked the Voices for further mirror information. You will remember that Mercedes is one of the three Association members I mentioned that, unknown and independently of each other, has received messages concerning mirrors. On this particular day, she asked if they use the mirrors and if they are a help to them. Someone replied, “I look at you with this energy.” During the same recording, someone added, “Now we look down. There’s mirrors enough.” Mercedes has two large mirrors in her recording room and so the entities seem to be telling her that she doesn’t need any more. In the spring, Governor Hughes of Maryland, honored in a special ceremony at the University of Maryland those individuals who had made a significant contribution in time and effort to the state. Kevin Mack, a Maryland AA-EVP member, and I, both received certificates. We were so honored because of the several trips we made to Point Lookout to investigate a purportedly haunted lighthouse, which

is located in a Maryland state park. A number of good quality paranormal voices were recorded on tape as well as some photographs which showed the apparent presence of spirits. Odds and Ends The updated list of all those in your state who are Association members is included in this mailing. Every name on your list has indicated they would like to hear from other AA-EVP members in your state. Pick up the phone and call each other, or drop a line. Perhaps you can meet! You have a good basis for friendship, a mutual interest in EVP! Again, if you do not receive a mailing list, you are still the only AA-EVP member in your state. We hope this will soon change. Tell others about the Association. Generate interest! Pass on the yellow flyers, If you are attending a meeting or belong to an organization that you think might be interested in the Association, let me know and I will send you additional flyers. The next newsletter will be mailed the first week in November. Please let me have all of your news on or before October 1,5. This is our Association. We each are responsible for its future! Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public

about these phenomena. Fall 1982 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint A proverb that I like and one I think is especially apropos for we who work in the field of EVP is, “Patience is a bitter cup that only the strong can drink.” Rarely a day goes by but I find it in my thoughts. We each have our own reasons for wanting to contact other dimensions through our tape recorders but we all learn very quickly this contact does not come easily. Some work for months before we receive our first message from an unseen entity. No one forces us to sit day after day and ask, “Is anyone here?” We sit because we want to, for whatever reason or reasons, and in time our efforts are usually successful, eventually some of us decide that what we are learning is so monumental it should be shared with everyone. Most of us are familiar with the work of Raymond Bayless as a psychic investigator and author. In the July, 1978, Fate magazine book review of, Natural And Supernatural: A History Of The Paranormal by Inglis, Fiodder and Stoughton, Bayless mentioned the incredible refusal of most parapsychologists to give a fair hearing to taped voice phenomena. In the September, 1978, issue of Fate, he reviewed the book, Psi Search. Although he felt the work was a generally useful introduction to modern parapsychology, he wrote that the authors “...are skeptical of the (voice) phenomenon as is the parapsychological establishment which treats the

problem with the same studied disregard it once afforded the photographs of Ted Serios.” Not much is written about EVP in professional journals, and what is, is usually negative. Time has not changed the tenor of what is said and while this does not bother me to a great extent, the closed minds, and yes, even the lack of moral fairness does excite my sensibilities. In the Autumn, 1982, issue of Theta published by the Psychical Research Foundation of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, we find the article, Involuntary Whispering, Conversational Analysis, and Electronic Voice Phenomena, by Gerd H. Hovelmann, Mr. Hovelmann is a graduate student in linguistics, philosophy, and literature at Marburg University in West Germany, and while he may know a good deal about linguistics, he obviously knows little about EVP. Although we might be dazzled when we note that he used twenty-five sources as references, we are less impressed when we notice that fourteen of these sources are seven or more years old and have little to do with EVP. Indeed, one source is forty-two years old, long before the discovery of the electronic voice. Mr. Hovelmann goes on at great length writing that many of the messages we record, and which we think are paranormal, are really the result of whispering taking part between the experimenter and others who sit with him during a recording. I do not deny that this might happen at times, and for all of you who record with a friend, I advise

you to be extremely careful when making a joint recording. Most EVP experimenters to whom I have talked have told me that they record alone. Out of the thousands of recordings I have made in the last six years, less than thirty have been done with someone else in the room. Whispering is clearly not the answer to the electronic voice. In the January, 1982, issue of Fate, the Psychical Research Foundation offered twenty tapes for sale. I ordered Paranormal Voice Phenomena. This tape was a lecture given by Davis Peck in 1977. Many of us know Dave personally and have great respect for his sincere efforts in the field of EVP. During the lecture, Dave went into the history of EVP and discussed some of the efforts of EVP experimenters. At the end of his talk he played a number of messages recorded by one individual with whom he had been working. They were of poor quality. This individual is a close friend of mine and when I called her about the tape she was surprised. No one had gotten in touch with her about it, then or since, and if it hadn’t been for my call she never would have known. In the last several years this person’s “voices” have improved tremendously and she now has many excellent quality tonal voices. I later learned that Dave also knew nothing about his lecture being reproduced and sold commercially. Besides my feeling that it is not quite the thing to

sell someone else’s lecture and voices without their consent and the ethical, if not legal, nicety of such an act, I have to question the decision to sell the tape to the public at all. By so doing it is implied that this is the state of the art today. It isn’t. Those of us who have 1 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena worked for some time taping voices know that progress is being made. We are learning how to better communicate with unseen dimensions and, more importantly, I feel they are becoming more adept at communicating with us. Over the years I have become acquainted with some well-known professional parapsychologists. Many still want nothing to do with the voices, but a few are starting to come out more openly and indicate a willingness to at least consider EVP. One or two are beginning limited experiments. We as individuals and as a group can contribute a great deal to the eventual acceptance of the electronic voice as voices speaking to us from other realities. What we say, how we act, our very lives must reflect the highest qualities. It won’t come soon, it won’t be easy, it demands that bitter cup of patience but in time EVP just might change the world. Interpretation of the AA-EVP Logo Some individuals have asked what the logo means, so for the benefit of all who may have wondered, let me explain. The tape recorder is

the way we communicate with other realities, and, in respect to the electronic voice, it is the way they communicate with us, We cross the bridge to them and they cross the bridge to us and so, for that reason, we have an arrow pointing in both directions. The links joining the tape recorder to the bridge are a result of a message I received one day when I asked how they were able to find us sitting at our tape recorder. Someone answered, “I found the link,” thus the links in the logo. Death Notice The following was translated for me by Thomas Roers from the German magazine Esotera “The Viennese Engineer Franz Seidl, a recognized pioneer in magnetic tape voice research, died on 2 June, (1982) shortly before his 71st birthday. He died in Vienna after a short, serious illness. He was one of the most active pioneers of tape research. Seidl became recognized especially through his invention of the “Psychophon” which was accepted the world over among voice researchers and which serves as an instrument for high quality voice phenomena. Up to the moment of his sudden death he was busy in the Vienna working group of voice researchers as well as in the completion of his inventions.” Roll Call During the summer months, the rate of new members decreased. Evidently gardens, vacations and picnics claimed the attention of many. How about you? Did your work with your tape recorder slide as you fought tomato blight or

tried to conquer the beetles on your roses? Most of us are guilty of playing hooky now and then. But now fall is with us. I live on a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, and as I write a large flock of geese going southward has just honked their way as they fly over my home. For those of us who have been laggard the last few months in respect to our tape recorders, it is time to return. In spite of summer delights, we have added some members and additional states to our list. Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and North Dakota have joined and we are happy to give them a special greeting. At the present time twenty states and Canada are represented in the AA-EVP. Report on Research Project in Progress In the August NEWS, I wrote about Pat Canavan, a professor of art, and two of his friends, also professors, from the University of Maryland. Members of the Association were invited to try to contact Calbraith Perry Rodgers and Wiley Post, two early pilots, and let Mr. Canavan know if such contacts were successful. He and his two friends planned to fly cross country in August, re-tracing the early routes of Rodgers and Post. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the plane and they were unable to go. They have firm plans to make the trip between January 15-22. Bill Tutor, musician and composer from the University, and one of the three members of the team, has

developed a smaller version of SPIRICOM which 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena weighs less than twenty-five pounds and can be carried in one hand. They will use this system along with their battery operated reel to reel tape recorder to see if voices can be recorded while they are in flight. The plane will be making a number of stops along the way. If you would like to meet these gentlemen and see if you can record voices in your home using their electronic system, write to Mr. Canavan. Provided your home is on their flight path, they will make every effort to stop and will get in touch with you beforehand. Mr. Canavan’s address is: (Address removed) New Research Project A new member of our Association, and one who heeded my Help Wanted-A Chance To Serve feature in the last newsletter, is Shirley Starke of North Dakota. Shirley has volunteered to be state coordinator for her state so she joins the other five state coordinators with my special thanks. Shirley has an idea for a new research project in which everyone can take part. A close friend of hers, known as “the Belfast poet,” has died. He lived in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and according to Shirley some of his poetry will soon be published. The name of this poet, musician, and song writer is known to Shirley as well as a professor at Concordia College. It is Shirley’s hope that

perhaps some AA-EVP member might be able to pick up a song or poem from him, as yet unpublished, from his existing body of work that can be later verified. Since those who speak to us through our tape recorders are largely, at this point, unable to have long sustained communications, even a short, unique phrase from one of his unpublished poems or songs would be considered evidential. Furthermore, if you can record on tape the name of this man, or that of another noted poet who reportedly is with him, this would appear to be a communication from another dimension. Shirley suggests that those who do not have a tape recorder could still take part in the project by trying to have contact through automatic writing. Anyone who feels they may have been successful in hearing from or about “the Belfast Poet,” please write directly to Shirley. Her address Is: (Address Removed) The Dead Are Alive-Second Edition In the May issue of the NEWS, I mentioned a recent book by Harold Sherman titled, The Dead Are Alive. Harold is recognized by many as this country’s premier psychic and sensitive. He is author of numerous books and founder of ESP Research Associates Foundation. In the book, he describes different ways the dead try to communicate with us and there are several chapters devoted to EVP. Harold has recently come out with a second edition of the book, and so for those of you who have not had the opportunity to

read it, you might want to order the book directly from him. The cost is 9.95 postpaid. His address IS: (Address Removed) Reports from and About Members David Lothamer, state coordinator for California and I talked recently by phone. He told me about contacts he has had with California Association members. David has been doing some interesting EVP experiments using a remote mike. He hopes to soon conduct experiments with a wireless microphone. Leslie Bugbee, state coordinator for Maine, and I are working with a well-known free-lance writer who lives in Maine. This gentleman is writing an article about EVP for a prestigious magazine. He has talked to the editor who has encouraged him to go ahead with it. Leslie and the author have plans to visit a purportedly haunted house near them to see if they can record voices. Clara Laughlin, an AA-EVP member from Virginia, reports her first real break-through in recording voices. Ever since her husband died about a year ago she has tried to contact him through her tape recorder. Although feeling discouraged because of her lack of success, she continued. Finally, two months ago different voices began speaking to her. These are of good quality. One person asked her, “Are you making this a habit Clara?” evidently referring to her patient persistence in recording. Another voice asked, “Can I help you, Tom?” This was followed with, “Does that help?” Tom was the name of her husband. Clara receives messages on both sides of her tapes.

3 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Mercedes Shepanek, state coordinator for Virginia, has gotten a computer, she is going to go through all of her messages and divide them according to subject area. Although she has been working with it for only a few days, Mercedes feels it will be a great boon to her as she makes a more systematic study of the taped voice. She will try to have a report ready for us in the February NEWS. Odds and Ends Some of you will receive a mailing list, along with your NEWS for the first time because many states who had one member previously now have more than one. Since all those on the mailing list have indicated they want to be in contact with other state members, call or write to them. They are new, you are “old” (figuratively speaking of courses) so you make the first move. Let me hear from you. I know it takes time, which few of us have in abundance, but even a short note will be cherished. Some Association members I know well from letters, phone calls, or personal meetings. Others, are just a name. Won’t you change that? I would like to know your feelings about EVP whether you are recording voices or not, and if so, what method(s) you use. Pass on the enclosed yellow flyer. Several individuals wrote to me after the August NEWS and asked for additional flyers

to hand out to organizations to which they belonged. Let me know if you would like more. The next newsletter will be mailed the first week in February. Please let me have all of your news on or before January 15. Always, my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1983 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In the Fall-Winter New Frontiers Center Newsletter published by Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff of Oregon, Wisconsin, I read a quote from Arthur Koestler’s, The Roots of Coincidences that I like: “The limitations of our biological equipment may condemn us to the role of Peeping Toms at the Keyhole of Eternity, but at least let us take the stuffing out of the Keyhole, which blocks even our limited view.” Throughout history there have been a few individuals who have seemed, at times, to have more than a limited view of Eternity. Emily French, Eileen Garrett and Emanuel Swedenborg were three. Not many though, are so gifted. Then, in the 1950’s, the ability to talk to the unseen through a tape recorder was discovered by Attila von Szalay of California and Friedrich Jurgenson of Sweden. In time, word got around that almost anyone with a certain amount of recording equipment

and great patience could also talk to those who claimed to have lived a physical life and had died. Slowly the phenomena grew and now there are thousands of individuals around the world who sit down at their tape recorders and ask, “Is there anyone here?” How fortunate we are! Those of us who have learned about EVP are becoming less a Peeping Tom and, bit by bit, are unraveling some of the mystery that surrounds life, death, and life again. We will never learn it all; mystery will always remain, and that is good. The challenge to know more, to develop a greater understanding of the nature of those who speak, will always be there. Yes, our biological equipment will limit us to a certain degree but we are learning to compensate for those limitations. The tape recorder is helping us explore new frontiers. We are taking the stuffing out of the Keyhole of Eternity. Gilbert Bonner’s Recording Method Gilbert is a well-known English researcher who has been working in the field of EVP for many years We have been corresponding for some time and have exchanged voice tapes. The voices he tapes are, for the most part, loud, clear and of unusual quality. I think you will find his method interesting and perhaps helpful in your own efforts. He reports as follows: “The method of recording from radio that I have adopted allows voices to be received whether transmitted by EM waves or ‘metamorphosed’ from existing radio material

by some PK type effect. Generally, I tune to a frequency that is near 1500 kHz. I allow radio stations to fade in and out...a beating effect.... Care is needed to get the signal-to-noise ratio correct, or voices can easily be masked by radio. I prefer to work with the open microphone method rather than direct patch cord. I often use stereo mikes...one in front of the speaker, and one for me to speak into. Recordings may appear on either track and I have noted several times a strange thing. Voices coming in from one track may suddenly switch to the other track. I use three recorders in a special set up that links them all. One Toshiba deck goes both to a Sony TC 280 reel to reel recorder, and a Sanyo radio cassette recorder fitted with two speakers and four microphones. I also sometimes use a radio microphone which has produced excellent results from special sound sources provided for pure mic recordings. I do not belie voices can be recorded in a vacuum. It is essential we have PATIENCE. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Computers and EVP Mercedes Shepanek of Virginia reports on her use of a computer in her EVP work. She writes: “Indexing the taped voices on computer is going ahead with moderate speed. I decided the best approach to be subject area index and, therefore, a good deal of organization and collation was required. Subject headings used

include ‘ref. (reference to) mirrors,’ ‘energy used,’ ‘rescues,’ ‘drop-ins,’ etc. The relevant reel number and counter numbers are listed under the heading. The necessary abbreviation of the input can result in some startling irreverence appearing on the video screen, such as ‘ref. God’ or ‘dead rel/friends.’ One becomes accustomed to it, however.” Report on Research Project in Progress Shirley Starke wrote that one AA-EVP member contacted her after the November NEWS and said that he would try to learn the name of the Belfast Poet, either through his tape recorder or while in trance. I talked to this gentleman recently and he said he has not had sufficient time to devote to the effort, but hopes to be able to do so soon. This is an on-going experiment so if you feel you may have received the name of this poet through your tape recorder, or some other method, Shirley would like you to write. Her address is (Address Removed) Request for Ideas for Future Research Projects In each issue of the NEWS, I would like to offer you at least one new project in which you can participate. By taking part in these projects and sharing with me your results which will be published in future NEWS, all of us will learn more about the nature of the Voices and develop a greater understanding of the phenomena. Please if you have an idea for a future project write to me. Share your ideas with all of us. Sleep Experiment

In line with the above, let me tell you about an experiment I have done on four occasions and which produced results each time. All that is needed is a tape recorder, a clock and an automatic timer. The timers are not expensive and can be bought at any hardware or department store. Your only requirement while doing this experiment is to be asleep! I placed my small portable tape recorder on the bedside table. I set the timer to come on automatically at 2:30 AM when I was fairly confident I would be asleep. In the tape recorder, I placed a sixty-minute tape, (thirty minutes to each side.) The idea was that the tape recorder would begin to record at 2:30 and turn off automatically at the end of the tape, (thirty minutes.) When I made my regular recordings each morning, I told my unseen contacts about the experiment I would be doing that night and asked them to try to come through. They agreed. Every morning when I replayed the tape there were always voices. Some of the messages were: “I will get.” “Sally.” (my name) “Help Carry.” “Come and wait.” “She is best for him.” “Stay!” “I will come.” “Waite for me.” “We wait here.” Most of the voices were tonal. Although not as loud as what I normally receive, remember the sleep experiments were done without a sound source. The four nights produced a total of thirty-three messages, some of which were Class A. The significance

of recording paranormal voices while asleep cannot be overlooked. My purpose for doing the experiments was to see if voices could speak while I was lying in bed unconscious (sleeping). Also, if they spoke, what would be the nature of their messages? If true consciousness exists in these unseen entities, I hypothesized they, knowing I was unaware of them and unable to respond since I was sleeping, would show this in whatever they might say. This turned out to be true. Without exception, each of the messages were either about me, or a comment from one entity to another. Although our PK energies may work in any state, they would seem to be less while we sleep. Those who claim the voices are a result of our PK energies placing words on tape as we sit beside a tape recorder find it difficult to continue such 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena assertions with the sleep experiments. Let me know your results. I will be happy to listen to any sleep experiment tape on which you feel you have recorded voices. This will be returned with my comments. Roll Call--AA-EVP International In the last three months we have added ten new members. Most of them have come from states already represented but two new states, Wisconsin and New Hampshire, have been added to the list. An individual from Weilersberg, Germany has also joined. With our two Canadian members and now our German

member, we can say AA-EVP is international! We hope they will find their membership in the Association interesting and worthwhile. New York Gains State Coordinator It is with many thanks that I accept Paul Brother’s offer to be state coordinator for New York. Paul wrote to me shortly before Christmas and, in response to my plea to take an active part in our Association, said he would be willing to serve as coordinator for his state. He joins our other five state coordinators and to each, I am very grateful. An AA-EVP Member Gives Help Arabella Roberts of Maryland told me about a recent experience she had while recording voices. Significantly, it shows a continuity of awareness lasting several days with one entity. In addition, it demonstrates how we, the experimenter, have a moral responsibility to give help whenever we can to those who ask for our help. Arabella reported that one evening she received the message, “I’m from another world. Can’t get help. Won’t you help me?” After she received this message, she prayed for him and advised him to ask for help and look for and follow a white light. Several days later, the same man said, “I’m telling you they’ve free. Got a message set them free. It was quite a scene! That’s what it’s all about.” Three days later, the same person came back and said, “You should see our school. It’s out on farmland.” The latest report Arabella has had from this man is that

they are still on the farm and will be there six months. Reports from Members Leslie Bugbee said in a phone conversation that he is working with an engineer and that they are trying to incorporate a computer with recording and sound pick-up devices. He plans to put an ad in his local Maine paper about the Association and invite all those interested to his home for a meeting. EVP as a whole will be discussed. Leslie feels confident this will bring some new members, and give him a group of individuals with whom to work closely as they explore their mutual interest—the electronic voice. David Lothamer of California said he has found inexpensive reel to reel concert tape unbeatable for our work. He feels the expensive tape has too heavy a drag for what we do. David also suggests we try to record in a room that has some resonance. If this is impossible, we might want to consider getting a reverberator amp. David, and an engineer to whom he has talked, believe this type of vibration may have a positive effect in recording voices. Clara Laughlin of Virginia reports she is getting excellent results with her recordings. She receives most of her transmissions on the reverse side of the tape and alters the speed (back and forth) while she listens. She finds success in clarifying muddled or scrambled voices with this method. Virginia Bates, another AA-EVP member from Virginia, assists her with going over unclear transmissions and verifies

or differs with Clara’s version. Clara is also involved with spirit photography. Using a very simple camera and Kodacolor film she has filmed three entities in the backyard and one on her living room wall. Dan McKee of Illinois sent me an interesting tape. On it a Class A voice said, “I was on Earth. I lived down there with ‘ya.” Many of the voices claim to be from other worlds in space. Dan and an engineer 3 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena from a nearby atomic energy plant are going to experiment to see if they can capture the tone that unseen entities have told him they use to begin transmissions. To Meet or not to Meet Would you like to get to know other AA-EVP members? Would you like to meet those who are interested in electronic communication with different realities? Would you like to listen to experts in the field of postmortem survival speak about their discoveries? Would you like to attend workshops designed to help those who are working in the field of EVP or who have an interest in this type of communication? Plans are being made on a very tentative basis to hold a conference in Baltimore, Maryland from August 26-28. I have reserved the necessary meeting rooms and sleeping accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, located at Baltimore’s fascinating inner harbor. The theme of the conference would be about evidence for survival with the focus

on EVP. George Meek of Metascience Foundation, the developer of SPIRICOM has promised to come and speak about: SPIRICOM Today. Stuart Wilde, a gifted English medium, President of Impossible Possibilities, and host of the radio show, “Mystic Moments” will be a featured speaker and lead a Saturday morning workshop. Walter Uphoff has also said he will make a very serious effort to be with us and speak. Full registration for the conference, which does not include room or meals, would be $60.00 for AA- EVP members. Room reservations are to be made with the Hyatt Regency. They are offering those attending the conference a special rate—a night, single or double. If you want such a conference, please sign and return the enclosed slip within two weeks. This does not commit you but only sign it if you have serious intentions of attending. I will not go ahead with plans unless I have a good response from you Odds and Ends Leslie’s idea about putting an ad concerning the Association in his local newspaper is a good one. This is something that perhaps you might like to consider doing. You need not be a state coordinator to do this. Only six states out of the twenty-three represented in the Association have coordinators, so you are encouraged to try and develop core groups. Let me know if you need additional membership flyers. Pass on the enclosed flyer to someone, or, perhaps you would like to give a friend a gift membership to

the Association. A member in Utah gave her son-in-law a membership for his birthday! A woman in Maryland gave a membership as a Christmas gift to a New Jersey minister who had expressed great interest in the Association. At least four times a year your friend will be reminded of your thoughtfulness as his quarterly newsletter arrives! Keep in touch. Let me hear from you. Always, my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1983 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint One year ago, I wrote, “Greetings fellow AA-EVP members! We are on our way!” Here we are, one year later and the only word I would add is, “We are continuing on our way!” As the year ends, it is time to reflect, to assess. It has been a year of excitement, of meeting some of you personally, and of hearing from many more by phone or letter. It has also been a year of growth for me. I am grateful to all of you who ‘gave’ me a bit of yourself. There have been some difficult moments, but many more of quiet joy. Ultimately we must each find our own answers, no one can give them to us but individually, and through the Association,

we can help others to begin to find some of those answers and to look towards the future with hope. Our future, that of the Association, is bright with promise. A year ago, I had certain goals in mind that I hoped to achieve during the first year. All goals have been met and some even surpassed. One that I had not expected, was that we would become known internationally. I have received letters from all parts of the world. Whatever the writer’s social, economic and religious background, a close kinship is felt as we exchange ideas and write about what touches our hearts. I have always believed strongly John Donne’s wonderful statement, “No man is an island.” This has been proven to me time and again. As we begin our second year we continue to be mindful of the need to encourage research and to develop better systems of EVP communication. Some members are moving in this direction and have made significant discoveries. We are also looking forward to our first national conference to be held in August. Additionally, there are reasonable hopes of continued growth here and abroad. Whatever the future holds, we will continue to work towards what I wrote about EVP in the first From My Viewpoint column: “I believe if man can know that he survives death in an individual conscious state and that he takes with him the person he was in his physical life, then he will try to live a fuller, more

meaningful life on the physical plane.” German EVP Researchers Report Potentially Important Development I received the following in a note from George Meek of Metascience Foundation. “While I was in Germany last October, Dr. Ernst Senkowski told me that Hans Otto Konig of Rattingen had started to experiment with ultrasonic frequencies in his EVP research—from 25,000 to 70,000 Hz. … A letter just received reports that Konig took his ultrasonic equipment to Radio Luxembourg on January 1 1983. Under supervision of the station’s technicians they succeeded in receiving, ‘two voices of absolutely fantastic quality—without any background noise.’ One said (translated from German), ‘Otto Konig makes wireless with the dead.’ The other one said, ‘We hear your voice.’” In conclusion, Mr. Meek wrote, “Both Ernst and my American colleagues are of the opinion we should begin to think about a mix of frequencies such as Dr. Mueller’s and then bring it down into the audible range.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Time Running Out for Belfast Poet Project In a recent letter from Shirley Starke, she stated that a book by the poet has just been published. It is not yet available in the United States; therefore, if you can record his name or quote from the book via a tape recorder, automatic writing or during meditation, it would be evidential. Shirley described an experience she had concerning the poet. Last winter she wrote to a foreign company and ordered what can be

best described as a ‘mystery gift.’ When it arrived, she was astonished to find that it was the recall of an experience the person had had with the Belfast Poet. To add to the coincidence (and I use the word advisably), for over a year Shirley has had a daydream of taking part in just such an activity with the poet. Another time while Shirley was watching TV, the poet’s first name was mentioned as the name of one of the characters. Immediately, an electric light that was off blinked on for a split second. If you feel you have contacted the poet, write to Shirley. Once the book reaches the United States, possible contact will be less evidential. Follow-up on Sleep Experiment In the February NEWS, I described experiments I had done for four consecutive nights and how a total of thirty-three messages were received on tape while I was asleep. I urged members who tried the experiment to let me know if they were successful. Mercedes Shepanek of Virginia has performed the experiment a number of times since then and many messages have been recorded. She has heard from male and female entities, including her son Raymond who died eight years ago. Raymond has told her he is, “In the house.” Another time he said, “I sent back my second pack.” Mercedes didn’t know what he meant by this except she recalled that one year ago while he was hiking through the West, he sent home a backpack.

A few days after the message was taped, Mercedes talked with another son who told her he had been looking, unknown to Mercedes, for Raymond’s backpack in the garage. This search took place the day before the message from Raymond and indicates that he knew his brother had been searching for his backpack. Alpha Monitor—New EVP Aid Alexander MacRae of Skye, Scotland and I recently have exchanged a number of letters. Mr. MacRae is Company Secretary and one of the directors of Skyetech which manufactures products mainly in the areas of speech recognition and synthesis, robotics, and health products. One of these is the Alpha Monitor. Although originally designed as a psychic’s aid, recently it has been discovered that when combined with a radio many EVP voices axe produced. To quote from his most recent letter, “Perhaps the most exciting UK development currently is the ‘Alpha.’ Based on detecting changes in the free-space properties surrounding the operator, the theory, ‘Mu Epsilon,’ was presented at the London EVP convention sponsored by ASSAP November ‘82. … Alpha is not just hardware, it is interactive, has its own software on tape, with debug and application procedures.” He wrote that although the initial quality of the EVP voices is not good, the quantity is excellent, but, “… best of all, the user improves with use.” In addition to the Alpha Monitor, Mr. MacRae plans to produce a quarterly EVP cassette tape. The first tape will be ready April 28. Some of the contributors are:

George Meek, with a SPIRICOM update; Dr. Ernst Senkowski on the European scene, and Gilbert Bonner on sychoacoustic factors. Mr. MacRae will give a layman’s guide to decibels and what signal to noise ratio means with a specially prepared on—tape listening test. To receive this tape by airmail, send $10, (U.S. funds are welcome) to: Alexander MacRae, Grianan, Portree Skye, Scotland IV 519 DJ. Additionally, he will be happy to answer any questions you may have about Alpha. 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ideas for Research Projects In the February NEWS, I asked members to send me ideas that could be used for future EVP projects. The response has been good. Jerry Bennett, a new AA-EVP member from Georgia, knows a lot about electronics. In a letter he commented that the early Marconi detector is similar to a modern tape recorder. For experimentation purposes, he suggests, “Place a coil, or extra recording head if one is available, near the main recording head. Have this connected to antenna and ground wires.” It is Jerry’s thought that this may be an improved method of recording voices. Let me know your results and I will pass them on to Jerry. V. Krishnan, of Tamilnad, India, suggests trying ‘absent’ recordings. He writes, “What I plan is this: When I make a recording in the ordinary way, I shall tell my contacts to come through in my absence, switch off and, after a period of time,

say six hours, turn on the recorder and leave the house.” Please continue to send me ideas for future EVP research projects that I can share with all members through the AA-EVP NEWS. EVP Tone Captured? In the February NEWS, I mentioned that Dan McKee of Illinois, had written that he and an engineer were going to try to capture the tone that entities have told him they use to begin transmissions. A short time ago, it occurred to me that Arabella Roberts, of Maryland, and I may have this tone. Over a year ago, Arabella called and said she had recorded for the first time, unusual tones at 131 MHz on her radio. When she asked about them, an unseen entity replied that they were speaking from the “Voice Super-Dome.” I tuned my radio to the same place and within several days I too heard tones. Arabella has listened to the tones I receive and believes my tones are more musical than hers. Soon 131 MHz became the most active place, by far, on my radio for recording voices. Apparently, unseen entities wait for the tones, and one or two seconds after hearing them, they would begin to speak. The quality of the voice is different from other EVP voices. They frequently use the pronoun “we” and usually several speak simultaneously, making the “we” logical. The major disadvantage to these voices is that, as a whole, they are not as clear as EVP voices received at other places on

the airband. For this reason, I did not, except for now and then to see if the tones and voices were still there, record at 131 MHz. After Dan shared with us the message he had received about the tones, I decided to further experiment. While tuned to 131 MHz, I first asked whether these were the tones about which Dan had been told. A clear Class A voice replied, “You’re being told is possibility.” I bought a six- minute endless cassette tape and went through a number of recordings, duplicating only the tones in isolation, of which there is a wide variety. Next I used this as a sound source played on my cassette tape deck. Since I wanted to duplicate as closely as possible the conditions that these voices find most favorable, I have the tape deck patched into an RF Signal Generator. The Signal Generator is tuned to 131 MHz, and I turn on two small radios in my office. In this way, the sound source tone tape is heard playing through both radios as if it is one broadcast. The one radio is tuned exactly to 131 MHz, and the other is slightly off; consequently, you hear a mixture of the tones along with white noise and a limited amount of airband intrusion through the second radio. 3 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena It is this second radio which receives most of the paranormal messages. A number of

interesting messages have been recorded using this method and I am happy to note, the quality has surpassed the previous 131 MHz voices. One more thing should be mentioned. I am not at all sure that the tones are paranormal. They may be earth-plane, or a combination of both. Whatever they are, the tones are used by at least some of those who speak to us. If any AA-EVP member would like to attempt to receive voices using the tone tape, I will be happy to duplicate my six-minute endless tape onto a regular 15-minute cassette tape. $2 should cover costs. If you do not have an RF Signal Generator to use with a radio, you can still play it as a sound source on a cassette player, while using your regular recorder for recording. Let me know your results! Roll Call With the addition of eighteen new members since February, the AA-EVP has shown a healthy growth. Minnesota, Kentucky, Montana and Missouri can now claim AA-EVP members, which means twenty-seven states are represented. We have added a member from Scotland. To all new members, a special WELCOME! Reports from Members Eric Brodish and Hubert Custer, two new members from Pennsylvania, spoke about EVP at a Spiritual Frontiers meeting in Harrisburg, PA recently. They played several demonstration tapes and answered a number of questions about the phenomena. Eric said there was great interest in the electronic voice, and several individuals came up afterwards and told him it was the best

meeting they had attended. I received an interesting letter from Dan McKee. He wrote, “...about a month ago a quite clear voice came through and said, ‘Use New Way. I’ve Selected You.’ My further queries about what new way fell on closed ears and I had to assume it must have referred to the multiple tone method. ...I have selected a couple of transmitters on about 7325 KHz. The 7330 KHz is the Canadian time control station and you can hear the beeps every second followed by the spoken in French and English time announcements each minute. ...I have had some rather good results—some with forward taping but more with backward taping referring to, ‘The circuit,’ ‘Hearing you,’ and ‘God will help.’ Then dropping down to the amateur radio band just below and using Single Side Band Signals, better than average results seem to happen. It takes so very many tests before much of a conclusion can be reached that I do not want to say that anything more than encouraging results have been obtained thus far.” I hope members who have equipment similar to Dan’s will experiment using the same as well as different frequencies than he uses. Like the sleep experiments, it is good if we can reinforce one another’s results. The inability to replicate an experiment can also be significant. Let me know results, positive or negative, and I will pass them on. Whenever we try a new experiment we must give it a fair trial. Some

individuals have told me that they tried something a time or two, and when it didn’t work, they stopped. Usually those in other dimensions need a period of adjustment to adapt to something different. All efforts are worthwhile if in the end, the quality of the EVP voice is improved. How long a fair trial constitutes is difficult to say, but depending on the experimenter and the experiment, I would suggest at least twelve separate recording sessions. Arabella Roberts called and reported an interesting message she received one evening as she was making a recording. There were several of the musical tones that she and I receive around 131 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena MHz, on the airband. Then a clear, male voice came through and said, “We’ve got a new type of system. Got a winner with you! One response and we’ve got it.” Since then Arabella has tried to learn what new type of system they have but her questions have gone unanswered. Notice how similar Arabella’s message is to Dan’s, With Dan it was, “Use new way. I’ve selected you.” Arabella: “We’ve got a new type of system. Got a winner with you!...” Although Dan’s message came through about four weeks before Arabella’s she did not know about Dan’s until after her own was received. I have suggested before that it could be considered evidential when EVP experimenters working independently and unknown to each other receive similar transmissions.

This seems to be one of those cases. Clara Laughlin, an AA-EVP member from Virginia told me of the excellent results she is having with her recordings and some of the messages that have come through. Those who seem to be in charge of her tapings often call themselves her, “Panel Leaders.” On March 25, Clara received 35-40 messages, and she said the entities even called her by her middle name. Although a few messages were on the forward side, most were on the reverse side. Two days later, Clara thanked her Panel Leaders for enabling her to communicate with her loved ones. A male voice replied, “I expect that. Clara this is Deltrude (unknown to Clara), 1718 Panel assist bound for Adalash.” At the end of the recording another voice said, “She has come forty minute thousand for my stop.” One day someone said, “This is four panel dock. I got a partner.” This was followed with, “Leave her spaces.” At once someone said, “I don’t quite come to her. See if she can be a leader.” Clara also has received, “Let’s use the north-east apro for Clarissa” (Clara.) Because of the unusual nature of some of the messages, Clara wondered if she was hearing from a dimension that was not spirit. She asked if space or spirit was communicating and a clear voice replied, “This is spirit.” One day Clara commented that she thought it was wonderful we could communicate with them. An entity agreed with her, replying,

“It is dramatic.” Another time Clara intended to stop her tape recorder when she reached 100 on her counter. When she looked up a while later, she saw 126. Immediately, a paranormal voice announced, “126.” Clara uses the airband on her radio as a sound source. At times, she will tune to the extreme right on the airband where only white noise is heard. When a paranormal message comes through, it is usually loud. She has also discovered that results are poor when music is used as a sound source. Clara is especially interested in knowing if any other AA-EVP member has received the term “Panel Leader.” AA-EVP National Conference Plans are progressing for our conference to be held in Baltimore, Maryland from August 26 – 28. The success and worthiness of a conference depends foremost upon the speakers and workshops, and I can say without hesitation that ours is of the highest quality in every respect. The theme of the conference is: Evidence for Survival, with some focus on EVP. Internationally known leaders in the field of postmortem research will be featured speakers including: George Meek, Kenneth Ring, Walter Uphoff and Stuart Wilde. Harold Sherman and his wife Martha will be special guests. In addition to the speakers, a number of excellent workshops and other special activities are planned. I have visited the Hyatt Regency hotel, site of our conference, and met with the convention manager. The rooms they have reserved for AA-EVP, the hotel itself, and its location,

being at the heart of Baltimore’s fascinating new Inner Harbor, make it ideal for our purpose. Later this month you will receive your conference brochure. Look it over. See for yourself the very worthwhile experience that awaits all who attend. Fill out the reservation form. Select your 5 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena workshop choices and return the form to me without delay. Workshops will be assigned in order of reservations received. We are expecting a good turn out with AA-EVP members coming from many areas. Come! Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity. We want to be a part of our conference. Odds and Ends Fortunately, I have nothing ‘odd’ to report. And fortunately, this is not the end! Thank you for making the first year possible. We have done it together. Always, my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 6 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1983 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint The hot days of summer are here and while some are busy pulling weeds from their tomato patch, many are not. In the last three months, more letters and phone calls have come from old and new friends than in the first twelve. There are reasons for this. National Enquirer did

a good job reporting the work of various researchers of postmortem survival and included a segment about my work with the electronic voice. In May, Evening Magazine-Philadelphia reran a program they had filmed over a year ago concerning voice phenomena. Harold Sherman and Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff wrote about the August conference in their Foundation newsletters. There have also been two notices about the conference in the last two issues of Fate. All of this has led to countless letters from people who want to know more about EVP. As I answer their letters and try to give suggestions, the thought keeps reoccurring that people are eager for information as to what awaits their loved ones and them at death. Virgil, a new Georgia member, signed his letter, “An open-minded skeptic. In my reply to him I wrote: “Open minded skeptics are especially welcome! Perhaps in a year you will be a little less of a skeptic. Let us hope so!” Within the last three months, a well-known psychic investigator returned six spirit photographs to me. He had thought they might lead to a story and had asked to see them. The photographs, however, did not show the usual “ghostly” apparitions. What they show can best be described as a spinning ball of light with pointed ends, moving around my friend, who was acting as medium, and me sitting at the tape recorder. A number of Class A messages were taped during the experiment, as well as a month

later when I spread the pictures out on my desk and invited the unseen to come and look at them. Upon seeing the photos, one entity said that he was sure it was “Rabideu,” but another entity replied, “I doubt it.” These taped messages were sent along with the photographs to the person who requested them. In his return note he wrote, “I thought the photos would be the more traditional kind.” Much can be said about traditions. There are some that deserve to be kept and cherished, but there are others whose rightful place is in the attic with other dusty discards that have proven to be no longer practical. Clinging to tradition, disregarding other evidence, can lead to a sterile, stultifying life. Unfortunately, some people are not willing to accept what William James called the pain of a new idea. In the August issue of Fate, Curtis Fuller quoted from Vernon Howard’s Pathways to Perfect Living. “To live rightly in this world we must first become aware of it. The problem is a man’s false assumption that he is already aware, which leaves him no motive for investigation...” Those of us working at our tape recorder know there is much we don’t know, we are investigating worlds of possibilities. It seems appropriate to close with a quote from Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in the woods, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Perhaps all of us need, at times,

to consider alternate roads. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena George Meek Meets Otto Konig In the May newsletter, I mentioned a note that was received from George Meek concerning the excellent results Otto Konig of Rattingen, Germany was having using ultrasonic frequencies in his EVP experiments. George called me June 19, shortly after he returned from Europe. During this trip, he met some of the leading EVP researchers in that part of the world including Otto Konig. George said during our phone conversation that he was very pleased with what he found—that Konig is a highly qualified man who has already made a significant contribution to the field, and we can expect important developments from him in the future. George reminded me that in the SPIRICOM manual, Dr. Walter Russell’s writings were mentioned in which he stated that there are octaves above and below what can be heard with the human ear and that influence what is going on. The purpose of using ultrasonic frequencies is to get the Voices down to within the human hearing level. With ordinary amplifiers and mikes, which most of us use, there is a cut-off point around 18-20,000 cycles. All of Konig’s work, which requires some special equipment, is from 25-50,000 Kilocycles, to reach this range of kilocycles it is necessary to go to piezo electric transducers, but the paranormal voices which can come through are of exceptional quality with no background noise. At our August

conference, George will speak to us Saturday afternoon, the 27th. He will play a tape of some of the EVP voices that Konig has recorded and will share with us what he learned from Konig and other EVP researchers during his recent trip. Further Follow-Up on Sleep Experiments In the May newsletter, I reported the excellent results Mercedes Shepanek, Virginia Coordinator, was having with her sleep experiments. Briefly, for our many new members, in the February NEWS, I described a series of four sleep experiments I had done. I placed next to my bed, a small portable tape recorder that was connected to an automatic timer set for 2:30 A.M. Each morning when I replayed the tape I heard many male and female paranormal voices, which showed an awareness of me. Since the May newsletter was published I have heard from three other individuals who reported similar success. Carolyn and Helen, twin sisters and new Maryland AA-EVP members, have tried the experiment and received messages. One man asked for “Help.” In June Phyllis Butcher (AA-EVP member formerly of Virginia who recently moved to the Philippine Islands) called and said she had done the experiment several times and recorded messages. One male voice said, “Remember December,” and gave his name. After some thought, Phyllis recalled a Christmas party at which she had met this person seven years ago. During another sleep experiment a voice came through and said, evidently referring to the experiment, that it was, “Adventurous.” Phyllis commented that in

every experiment she has tried, it has sounded as if more than one voice is speaking in the background. If any of our other members try the sleep experiments, let me know your results. Follow-Up on EVP Tone Experiments In the May newsletter, I wrote that Arabella Roberts, Maryland State Coordinator, and I may have “captured” the tone that Dan McKee, Illinois State Coordinator, was told by the unseen that they use to begin their transmissions. I expressed the belief that these tones, which occur at about 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena 131-132 MHz on the air-band of the radio, may not be paranormal but rather of earth-plane origin and that at least some of those who speak to us wait for the tones before communicating. Some members ordered the fifteen-minute cassette tape of these tones, which I offered for $2, and a good deal of interest has been shown in them by a number of individuals. After reading the May NEWS, Mercedes Shepanek tuned her radio to 132 MHz. Almost at once she heard the tones and since then has done most of her recordings there. She has sent me two tapes of messages recorded at 132 MHz, and while space does not permit me to list all of them, the following will give you an idea of the interesting nature of these messages: “Reverend, we’re pools at the side of your channel.” “We help you my friend. Hear us.

Fight on.” Mercedes asked if the sounds were coming from the spirit world and a voice replied, “Spirit comes from us. To Spirit from us. That’s it” Another time when she repeated her question as to the origin of the sounds she was told, “They’re both of our sounds, it’s thy love, thy belief makes them.” One morning someone said, “Isabello we are traveled in space by the stellar light.” Just as Mercedes found the tones one morning a voice said, “Thou did touch thy channel because you discovered this fact.” A close family relative was having a serious operation the following day. Mercedes asked the other side to tell her deceased son, Raymond, about the operation so he could stand by his relative and give him encouragement. A clear voice answered, “Your son has a hardship with this kind of service.” It is Mercedes’ feeling that despite the fact that some of those on the other side say the tones are coming from them, most, if not all, are earth-plane. She also believes that the somewhat archaic language such as, thee and thou which is used at times, is used deliberately to help distinguish it from an earth-plane broadcast. A Letter from Germany I received an interesting letter from Association member Luise Fuchs, of Allfeld, Germany. Tom Roers, Maryland AA-EVP member translated it for me and I would like to share part of it with you. “I live in Allfeld, a small town of 1200 inhabitants. It’s very peaceful

here, good clear air, and ideally situated for tape recorder contact with our friends in the other world. I’ve been working since June 1978 with the tape recorder to make contact. I spent a week in Sweden with Mr. Jurgenson in October 1979. It was extraordinarily interesting to listen to his clear, sometimes lengthy communications. I will be indebted to him my entire life for this week of work. Up until my trip to Sweden I sought, as no doubt everyone does at the outset, the best “recording method.” After returning from Sweden, I’ve worked exclusively with the so-called Jurgenson wave. …I’ve gotten many good communications through this wave. ...I worked by myself for 3 years, then had the great desire to pass along my experiences to others who are interested in the subject. For 2 years, we’ve been meeting in the adjoining room of a Gasthaus (combination inn-restaurant.) We convene once a month and attempt to make recordings, and it’s a joy for me that young people show great interest.” Reports from Members At the end of November, Arabella Roberts called me about several messages that she had recorded on November 28. They were: “Going on a bus. Don’t drop it. Your pocketbook.” We wondered if this might be a precognitive message; however, because Arabella seldom rides the bus, we were not too concerned. On June 19, for the first time in years, Arabella went on a one- day bus trip. As she was getting on the bus, preparing

to return home a man tried to grab her pocketbook. Fortunately, Arabella was able to hold onto it and no harm was done. 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, AA-EVP member from Virginia receives many interesting messages, the majority on the reverse side of her tapes. On May 2, her husband, Tom, who communicates frequently said, “…I was sick on earth. No more. No longer sick.” During this time, he asked his daughter, Barbara, about her birthday which had occurred several days earlier. The following day, May 3, he again spoke to Clara and said, “Clara, I have to say this. I am living.” On the 7th he returned with, “Clara, …take this serious. I continue to live. This is the truth.” I received an interesting tape and letter from David Lothamer, California State Coordinator. Some of the messages were: “We know there are frustrations.” (A few minutes earlier an individual in their group had said they were frustrated in their EVP work.) David continuously asks for proof of survival and names of deceased loved ones which he feels is important. One morning at 5 A.M, someone said, “We know you’ve been discouraged but dead isn’t dead.” One time David asked for the help of Padre Pio and a voice commented, “I hear that that is your saint.” A voice of most unusual quality said, “Evil person Satan.” David was reading a letter once while recording and someone whispered, “You

mail lover!” David wrote, “And still I mull the question over. Do the entities have limitations on the choice of words? Thus, some of the awkward sentences we get.” He also questions why so few EVP researchers have a special guide or helper, as the well-known mediums had of 50-75 years ago. He wonders at the apparently complete absence of American Indian guides in our work since the early mediums frequently believed they had them. If you have any thoughts on this, or if you feel you do have a special helper in your work, please let me know. Dan McKee called me one evening and said he is making progress using the multiple tones in his recordings. He has discovered there is a channel on his short wave that comes on each hour, on the hour, during which time groups of names are read. Dan records these names and then at the conclusion turns his tape over and plays it in reverse. The EVP voice takes the energy of the earth- plane voice and somehow shapes and turns it into the paranormal message. Since the earth-plane voice speaks clearly, in measured cadence, with a short pause between the names, the paranormal voice seems to be able to use this to good advantage. Dan has asked them who they are and someone said, “We are opposite.” They talk about “going through the mirror.” (Mercedes Shepanek, Clara Laughlin and I have all received many mirror messages.) Dan said he suspects this

group may have something to do with anti-matter, which has been proven in the laboratory. For anyone who has a shortwave set and would like to try to replicate Dan’s results, turn to 7329 KHz on the upper side band. After finding the channel and recording the names, remember to turn your reel tape over and play the tape in reverse, following the suggestions I gave in the May 1982 newsletter. Roll Call With the addition of thirty-five new members since the first of May, we have experienced more growth than during any other three-month period. The new members come from: Delaware, Oregon, Louisiana, West Virginia, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and England. Florida deserves special congratulations because it has added eight members during this time. With a total of eleven, it has the largest number of AA-EVP members. It’s GOOD to have all of you! Oregon Gains State Co-Coordinators In May, I had the pleasure of meeting Bobby and Monty Hearon of Portland, Oregon who have been working in the field of EVP for many years. They came to my home for a short visit and 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena before leaving not only joined the AA-EVP but agreed to act as state coordinators as well. They are our first, but I hope not the last, husband-wife co-coordinators. Help Needed for Future EVP Experiments and Research I received a letter in June from Arthur S. Berger, President of Survival

Research Foundation. He wrote, “...a very prominent parapsychologist is willing to work with me and EVP researchers, provided rigorous experimental conditions imposed by electronic experts were agreed upon. In this connection, we are also looking for electronic experts willing to volunteer their services.” This request for help from Mr. Berger should appeal to many members since he is interested in hearing not only from those who record Voices but those with a technical background. From your letters, I know that a number of you have good electronic know-how. Here is your opportunity to take part in EVP research. Mr. Berger’s address is: (Address removed) An Interesting Book Ben Lee Harris, a retired electronics engineer and an AA-EVP member from Leavenworth, Washington, wrote to me about a “project” book that he thinks you might find interesting. He wrote, “..I was attracted to the solid state (chips) coupling with parapsychology research. It is most provocative by two sensitive writers, Mike and Ruth Wolverton.” I have read portions of this book. The title of Chapter 10 is, “Stalking The Wild and Ghostly Voices,” which gives an idea of the informal and interesting style the Wolvertons use. They are people who have worked at a tape recorder and successfully recorded voices. As a result, they know where of they speak (and write). Due to their knowledge of electronics they can give us some solid information about building electronic aids to help the Voices come through. For the book write to TAB Books, Inc. Blue

Ridge Summit, PA 17214. It is book #1349 and titled: How To Build A Lie Detector, Brainwave Monitor and Other Parapsychological Electronics Projects. The cost is $14.95. 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Alpha Monitor-EVP Quarterly Tape Alexander MacRae of Skye, Scotland called me recently. He told me that refinements are continuing on the Alpha Monitor, a new EVP aid mentioned in the May NEWS. As I wrote in that newsletter, the Alpha, when combined with a radio, produces many EVP voices. In our phone conversation, Mr. MacRae said the new EVP Quarterly cassette tape which he produces is ready. The first tape, which came out in April, was excellent. Dr. Ernst Senkowski, a German scientist, spoke at length about Otto Konig and his research. Gilbert Bonner, the well- known English EVP researcher, talked about psychoacoustic factors. George Meek updated the listener on SPIRICOM, and I gave recent news about the AA-EVP and the work of EVP researchers in this country. The newest tape will again have talks by Dr. Senkowski, Gilbert Bonner, myself and others. To order either tape send $11.80 for one or $23.60 for two, to: Alexander MacRae, (Address removed). It will be sent to you airmail. U.S. currency is welcomed. AA-EVP National Conference In less than a month our conference will be history! Will you be a part of that history? Only if you come! Registrations are coming in. Everyone I have heard from seems intensely enthusiastic. Our

speakers, our workshop leaders, our helpers behind the desk and at the book tables, those who are coming from five miles to a thousand, seem aware that they will be taking part in a “historic” conference, the first national conference of AA-EVP. Get to know through their workshops those you have read about in the past fifteen months. Dan McKee, Arabella Roberts and Mercedes Shepanek will be leading Friday afternoon workshops. On Saturday morning, you will again have the opportunity to choose the workshop that appeals to you most. Jack Blevins, EVP photography; Stuart Wilde, Mediumship and EVP; and I, EVP for Novices, will lead workshops. Late Saturday afternoon there is a workshop for those who have special EVP recording problems. Listen to Kenneth Ring lecture about Life at Death. Walter Uphoff will tell us about the many EVP researchers he has known since 1968! Hear George Meek talk about SPIRICOM and recent developments in the EVP field. Stuart Wilde will close our conference on Sunday with his talk, Communicating with the Unseen. Many of you know Harold and Martha Sherman, who will be at the conference to greet old and new friends. Some of the leading EVP researchers will share tapes and methods on Saturday. A panel discussion Sunday morning during which guest speakers and workshop leaders will take part, will consider the question of the significance of EVP for everyone. Bring a cassette of some of the Voices you have recorded. We will try to plan a “rap”

session in which everyone who wishes will have the chance to play a short tape. One of the unique features of the conference, not found at many other conferences, is that our speakers will be with us the entire time. Instead of coming, giving their talk and leaving, they will be at the Hyatt from Friday through Sunday. You will be able to meet them, to ask questions, to learn. As a courtesy to the speakers there is to be no individual taping during their lectures. This also applies to the tape demonstration on Saturday and the panel discussion Sunday. Hubert Custer, of STAR, who tapes professionally for many conferences, will record the lectures and special 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena activities. These tapes will be available shortly after each event for those who wish to purchase them. In the November NEWS, there will be a list of all tapes available and their cost for those who are unable to attend. Our conference theme is Evidence for Survival and there will be books on this topic, a number written by our guest speakers, at the book tables. Although time is getting short you can still register if you don’t delay. Some workshops have more participants than others, but there is at least one or two openings in each. If you act promptly chances are you can have your first choice. Since the special room rate for us at the Hyatt of

$58 a night (single or double) ends August 5 I suggest you call them and tell them your check is on the way. Then send your registration fee ($70 for AA-EVP members, $80 for others) to me, with the completed yellow form indicating workshop choices. I will try to have your receipt and workshop assignments in the mail to you within 24 hours. Enclosed is another conference brochure for those who may have misplaced their first one. Or if you have already registered, give it to a friend. A wonderful experience awaits everyone who comes. See you in Baltimore! Always my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1983 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Days are shorter. Nights are longer. There is more time for though. The August conference is history but the many seeds planted there show signs of germinating and growing into healthy further development of the electronic voice. As any garner knows, one must always be vigilant against weeds and disease. A vegetable or flower garden is like the garden of our mind. Not all of us are gardeners in the fields, but we are all gardeners of thoughts and of deciding to put certain of those thoughts into action. Those who

have spent years in front of their tape recorders find it a humbling experience. The longer they sit, the more hours they spend asking for communication from the other side to answers to their questions, the more they realize how little they know. They have had more genuine electronic contact with other dimensions than anyone else, yet none of them would presume to tell others that they have discovered the secrets or unlocked the many facets of the complex phenomena known as EVP. They know the answers to the phenomena do not come quickly or easily and yet they are content. Each tiny bit of the puzzle that is unlocked is regarded as a great victory. When we sit down at our tape recorders we never know what is going to be recorded. I, and I know others, have received messages at times that could cause considerable grief, panic or excitement among large numbers of people. It is the type of information that the weekly tabloids found in your supermarkets would blazon on their front pages. We who have received messages of this type feel deeply responsible to others. We know that at times unseen contacts speak with “crooked” tongues. We want nothing to do with sensationalism. Once we were few; now we are many. On one hand this is good, but on the other, as more and more individuals learn about EVP and become actively involved with it, dangers increase. The self-declared prophets, those who want to share with

the world their messages from God who spoke to them last week on tape; the purveyors of “truth,” be it gloom, doom or joy from their EVP contact from Mars or the Man in the Moon, must find, it is hoped, a small audience. We can understand how such claims can only harm the entire field of EVP. What comes through to us and what we think we hear on tape (and the two are not always the same) must at times be seriously questioned. Let us continue to be responsible individuals when we “speak” for EVP and do nothing that could harm others or the field of EVP itself. Let us hope that we are given the wisdom to know when to speak and when to remain silent. Conference Report Our August conference was even more successful than I dared hope. Although registrations began to trickle in last April, and slowly grew in number, it was not until the middle of August that we were almost overwhelmed with them. In addition, the last week we had phone calls day and night from people who said they were on their way. So many came that the Hyatt Regency ran out of rooms. Fortunately, I was able to help the late registrants find accommodations at a near-by hotel. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Participants came from seventeen states, Washington, D.C., Canada and Finland. Altogether we had slightly over 100 individuals with us during

the three days. The feelings expressed to me during the conference, and in the many letters since then, were almost unanimous in praise for the featured speakers, workshops and general meetings, and Hyatt facilities. The fact that we had outstanding lecturers and a number of interesting workshops helped attract many individuals. Several remarked during the conference that the only criticism they had was that they couldn’t attend all the workshops; each one sounded so interesting. Another person asked on Sunday as he was leaving, “How did you manage to get so many leading researchers in the field of survival?” Increasingly, the evidence presented through EVP suggests survival and more and more researchers in the field are looking upon it as such. Most of those who were with us took a positive approach towards the electronic voice and felt the future looked bright and held much promise. Time and again I and others emphasized the need for research that could lead to better communication for the many of us sitting in front of our tape recorders and those who speak to us from other dimensions. I had the privilege of meeting for the first time several extremely knowledgeable individuals in the field of electronics. Each one has recently become interested in EVP, and by talking to them and getting to know them personally I feel they will have much to contribute to the field of research and development that we will be able to use on a practical level in the

next few years. We had a heterogeneous group at the conference but whatever their background they were all united in their interest in EVP. The group was friendly, and I had the pleasure of frequently observing people who had been strangers the day before sitting and talking animatedly with new friends about the electronic voice. One of the most important benefits of attending a conference of this nature is meeting and exchanging ideas with people. This happened in Baltimore. To all those who were unable to be with us—you were missed! To those who were there—it was good meeting you! Com-Feedback The second EVP Quarterly Tape was recently received from Alexander MacRae of Skye, Scotland. One of the most interesting parts of the tape was a demonstration of an EVP phenomena recently discovered by MacRae. He calls it Com-Feedback which is basically a repetitive process of playing possible EVP communications through a resonant system. You place a small tape recorder (the portable cassette type is good) inside a small resonant enclosure, such as a can, bucket, etc. After doing this, you play a cassette tape of one or more suspected paranormal messages through the tape recorder that is inside the enclosure. As you are playing back the tape, make a copy of this onto another cassette tape recorder. The microphone should be placed close to the resonant system with the volume low. You now have a copy of a copy. Take the second copy and play it through the resonant

system, again making a copy of that. (Only two tapes are needed.) Continue doing this five to seven times, listening to the segment you are copying every time or two. Something interesting and unexpected starts to happen. Not surprisingly your voice and background noise begins to deteriorate and by the fourth copy you will not be able to understand what you have said. The surprise is that the paranormal voice becomes clearer, up to a certain point, with each new copying process. You will also notice new paranormal messages emerging that you had no idea where there. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena It takes some time, patience, and a certain amount of experimenting until you get a good workable resonant system, but results can be worth the time spent. For a copy of the tape and for future EVP Quarterly Tapes write: Alexander MacRae, (address removed). Cost of each tape which will be sent airmail is $11.80 Letter from AFAR Further news of the Jurgenson “Wave” has been received from Luise Fuchs of Allfeld, West Germany. In the May NEWS, I quoted from Luise’s letter in which she said she had spent a week in Sweden with Friedrich Jurgenson in October 1979. While there, she learned how to use the Jurgerson “Wave” and since that time has used it exclusively with good results. I wrote to Luise and asked her for more information. Tom Roers, Maryland AA-EVP member, kindly translated her

reply, which I will quote in part. “…at Mr. Jurgenson’s in Sweden, I witnessed what can come in on the so-called Jurgenson Wave. I have gotten the longest recordings on this wave. It is found on: Medium Wave=AM Here in Allfeld on Frequency 1492 “Within West Germany, this frequency can be a little different and I don’t know whether it’s a lot different for America. Therefore, I would advise you to seek the medium wave AM spot which lies between Moscow and Vienna: (in Germany) this is the right frequency. At this point on the radio various transmissions are able to come through, but they comprise EVP voices too. If our friends are coming through well, then the EVP voices come in a wave-like or rhythmic rushing sound. Please don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear this rhythmic rushing right away. Keep trying. Once this point is found, stay with it even if EVP voices are not immediately satisfactory. From my experience, I can say that this is the best frequency for radio-recording.” We are indebted to Luise for her clear explanation and for sharing with us her experiences using the Jurgenson Wave. She is eager to hear from other AA-EVP members who use it successfully. If you do, let me know and I will pass the word on to Luise. An invitation to visit has come from Edelgard John of Rothenburg, West Germany. Mrs. John, a friend of Luise Fuchs, joined the AA-EVP last June. In her recent letter

she wrote, “Many American tourists are coming here. If ever a member of our Association would visit Rothenburg, I should be glad to meet her or him.” For any AA-EVP member who plans to be near Rothenburg in the future and would like to accept Mrs. John’s kind invitation you may write to her: (Address removed). An interesting and thought provoking letter has come from AA-EVP member, Norman Marsh of England After his wife Marjorie died over three years ago, he decided to try to contact her via a tape recorder. Norman bought a recorder and attempted unsuccessfully for months to reach her. He wrote to Gilbert Bonner, well-known English EVP researcher, for suggestions which he followed closely. I will quote in part from Norman’s letter: “I purchased a small cassette recorder and made a recording of a German newscaster and played this back as a noise source, placing my reel to reel recorder about 7 feet away with the microphone in the middle… (After about 6 more months of negative results) I was startled to hear a strong woman’s voice call my name. …The following day I asked aloud who is doing this and a voice of excellent quality said, ‘Norman, it’s Marjorie, it’s true, it’s true, it’s true!’” Three days later, Norman sat down to listen to the ‘Marjorie’ message on the reel tape before transferring it to a cassette tape. He writes, “There was no trace of it. Every word had vanished. 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa

Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena …I turned the tape over and tried each side and tracks 1 to 4, but to no avail. The recording had been erased without a trace. …I had waited so long and then this happened. I was miserable but decided that I would carry on. “I continued my recordings using the same German speaker as a noise source when halfway through the cassette was the recording that had been erased from the reel tape, ‘Norman, it’s Marjorie, it’s true, it’s true, it’s true!’” Norman asks, “How did the message become erased from the tape of the reel to reel recorder and find its way on to the cassette which was 7 feet away in the PLAYBACK position? Was it done deliberately to show that paranormal activity was responsible...?” He closed his letter with, “While she (Marjorie) believed implicitly in survival by faith she was hesitant to accept that communication was possible. I have no doubt that the words, ‘It’s true,’ referred to communication.” EVP has spread to the East! Jamil (and I will not use his last name on the possibility it might cause him some difficulty) lives in Amman, Jordan. We have exchanged many letters and I have sent him some EVP tapes. Jamil has become interested in the electronic voice and recently joined AA-EVP. In the letter in which he enclosed his membership he wrote, “I am doing my best to introduce EVP but I have to be tactful

since fanaticism prevails in this part of the world. Anyway, slowly but steadily I will act.” Korean-007 Air Disaster Those who attended the August conference and heard Mercedes Shepanek, Virginia State Coordinator, play her tape Saturday morning as part of the tape demonstration were highly impressed. All of the messages were received 8-9 hours after the Air Florida crash into the Potomac River in January 1982, and seemed to come directly from ‘helpers’ who were trying to assist the victims of the crash. (Tape 3C on enclosed list.) Now, it seems possible that Mercedes may have tuned into what took place after the Korean airplane crash the end of August. It is noteworthy that with the Air Florida crash, Mercedes knew about it and asked for information which was apparently given. However, in the Korean disaster she did not know that the plane had been shot down. It was not until the following day that the world learned what had happened. Mercedes sent me a copy of the excellent tape. Some of the Class A messages, all on the reverse side of her tape, are: “This man has her ear cut off.” “These people went up there you know. They all have hysterics, they all hysteric, they all hysteric.” “Look now. Things are no good.” “Well God chose them.” “So be it.” “We all may work quietly?” The messages came one after the other. With the ‘hysteric’ message there was a babble of several excited voices. The message near the

end, “We all may work quietly?” suggests that someone was asking the ‘helpers’ to become calmer as they were working. William Welch Speaks? William Welch was one of the foremost EVP researchers in this country before his death in the 1970’s. He is the author of the book, Talks With The Dead, published in 1975. Harold Sherman called me several weeks ago and said that he had received a letter from Raymond Cass, English EVP researcher. Raymond had written that he had just listened to the William Welch Memorial tape, “Talks With The Dead,” which was given in 1976 at the Harold Sherman Body/Mind/Spirit Workshop in St. Louis and which Harold recently sent to him. Cass 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena was so moved by the tape that he felt compelled to go to his tape recorder to see if he could record a message. A clear voice whispered loudly, “Darling Kitty.” Since Kitty was the name of Welch’es wife, Harold tried to reach her in California to see what term her husband had used in addressing her. Although Kitty was not home at the time, Harold talked to a gentleman who knew William and Kitty well and had recorded many times with them. According to this gentleman, when William spoke to his wife he would frequently refer to her as “Darling Kitty.” The day following my conversation with Harold, I wrote to Raymond and said I would like to share

his experience with the AA-EVP members in the November NEWS. Raymond promptly replied and most kindly sent me a copy of the Class A “Darling Kitty” message. I will quote from his letter. “The Kitty voice was received just after listening to the Wm Welch tape and trying a mike recording which proved abortive. I quickly switched over to the medium wave and twiddled around the Jurgenson frequency (about 1480 KHz.) On the instant I heard a loud hoarse whisper.. . “Darling Kitty,” riding on the drone and immediately captured copies of it.” I might add that this is the first tune I have heard the Jurgenson frequency (or “wave” as Luise Fuchs calls it.) It is a distinctive, unusual sound that seems to be created deliberately by the other side and does not sound like the typical electronic sounds that come through our radios. Once heard it will not be forgotten. Research Ideas In each issue of the NEWS we try to give you one or two ideas that you can use in your EVP work. This time, as a result of the conference and of individuals knowledgeable in the field of electronics who want to share their ideas with us, we have more. Melvin Sobol a physicist from New York, attended our conference and presented several excellent ideas during the panel discussion Sunday morning. (Tape 9C & l0C enclosed list.) There isn’t room to give all of them but the following are two of those he gave. 1.

Try adjusting the bias on your tape recorders. You might have to modify them a bit but Melvin thinks it is a useful avenue to investigate. If we turn the bias up there should be an additional base of energy available. 2. If the Spirits do, in fact, operate on a higher frequency and if this frequency corresponds to our physical idea of frequency, it might be a good idea to record for a very short period, the tape moving very, very rapidly. The entities apparently use short bursts of live energy. If we can record at extremely fast speeds, entities may be able to give us a great deal of information on a short segment of tape, which we could hear as we slowly play back the tape. Melvin said that electronic technology might have to be developed to permit doing what he has in mind. Do any of our engineers and electronic experts have some ideas along this line? Here is an opportunity for you to become more involved. Let me have your ideas and I will share them with others. Monty Hearon an engineer and Co-State Coordinator with his wife, Bobby, from Oregon has written to me about how he uses ultrasonics in his EVP work. Many of us have heard or read about Otto Konig, in Germany, who is using ultrasonics to produce unusually loud and clear paranormal voices. We who attended the August conference had the opportunity to listen to a tape of the several

outstanding voices he has received, but we learned that his equipment was unusually complicated and expensive. Since then, I have heard that he has not been successful in picking up 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena much if anything, that is paranormal. From meeting and talking to Monty and Bobby last May, I learned that he has been using the ultrasonic sound with good results since February 1982. I asked him to share with us how he did this and I will quote from his letter. “… As you know, we use the microphone technique for recording. We have many times heard a click or faint rap just before a voice starts speaking. We asked why this occurred and received the answer, “It makes it louder.” This led to the concept that some source of energy might help our invisible friends… I realize that others have reached the same conclusion and use a radio or music softly in the background for that purpose. However, it occurred to me that ultrasonic sound would be ideal. It would not be picked up by the microphones and ultrasonic sound having a higher frequency has more energy than audible sound. I had a Radio Shack ultrasonic sound burglar alarm so simply disconnected the horns and turned it on. The microphones were directly in front of the alarm about six feet away... We received some tonal voices and quite loud. As you would suspect though, all the

voices were not that way but enough were that we have continued to use the ultrasonic sound when recording. “The alarm I first used had a frequency of around 23,000 Hertz. Later I bought another for taping and it has a frequency of about 40,000 Hertz. I think the better, although we have gotten some good results with the newer one.” Monty would like to hear about anybody who tries this technique and learn what results they get. If you let me know, I will pass the word on to him. Incidentally, if you have access to an audio generator, this already has an ultrasonic band on it and you can use it for experimental purposes. Walter Sherbrooke an electronics engineer from California who attended our conference has many good ideas. In a recent phone conversation, he suggested that those who are taping voices try to get hold of a double-head tape recorder. The moment it records it plays back in less than a second. If headphones are worn during recording, the recorder will be playing back at you through the headphones and through the recorder. You will be able to hear the paranormal entities speaking and perhaps could have a running conversation with them. Walter is compiling a cross-country list of AA-EVP researchers which was begun at the conference. If you would like your name and address on this list, with the idea in mind that perhaps sometime in the future it will be shared with other AA-EVP members

on the list, please let me know and I will send it to Walter. Reports from Members I am pleased to announce that Bill Weisensale, an AA-EVP member from California, has resumed publication of The Spirit Voice. [Editor’s note: These are to be in the AA-EVP Archive. Bill has transitioned to the other side.] This was published for a while several years ago but, for personal reasons, had to be discontinued. I received my first copy of the new issue in September. His newsletter reflects his excellent grasp of electronics. Bill is interested in the technical development of equipment which can be used by many. In a recent letter to me he wrote, “The Spirit Voice is an independent, technical EVP newsletter published as time permits, with a quarterly goal. The primary objective is to assist in the development of Spirit Voice Receivers. Subscription is by request. Donations not exceeding $15 a year, to help cover publishing and mailing costs, are appreciated. You may write to Bill: (Address removed). Paul Johnson, President Spiritual Advisory Council (SAC), attended our conference. His organization holds several conferences a year. SAC, interested in various types of survival 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena evidence, is becoming increasingly interested in EVP. At their recent conference, Walter Uphoff, a lecturer at our August conference spoke about EVP. Dan McKee, Illinois State Coordinator has written that he is starting to play the tapes made at the conference in reverse.

This is a time consuming job but he sent me the reverse tape of one of the lectures and there were interesting messages on it such as: “I see those downward. I reach the cement.” “Life is in part. Enjoys it.” “A line to cut in there.” “Sounds all right. That big a ruckus I’m hearing it.” “We are with him.” New State Coordinators Two people I met at our August conference and with whom I was very impressed were Jerry Bennett of Georgia and Roger Brower of North Carolina. Both men show an interest and the ability to further electronic research of the paranormal voice. I am pleased to announce their acceptance as State Coordinators of their respective states! Roll Call Since August the AA-EVP has gained 50 new members. A record! We have left the “magic” We have number of 100 far behind and are “galloping” onwards. We have members in thirty- four states and seven foreign countries. Our Puerto Rican member has moved to Massachusetts and is enrolled in the doctoral program at Harvard. Conference Tapes You who were saddened that you were unable to attend our conference; those who did come but had difficulty in choosing among the interesting workshops; to everyone who wants to discover or relive memories as to what took place during a workshop, lecture, tape demonstration or panel discussion—take heart—all of this is possible! Hugh Custer and his wife, Ann, who tape for many conferences, taped ours. Look over the cassette order

form and order your tapes directly from STAR. The tapes contain a wealth of information and suggestions that will help all those interested in EVP. Meet new Friends—Share Names and Addresses One of the services offered by the AA-EVP is making available to members in the various states, the names and addresses of other AA-EVP members in their particular state. Due to the great influx of members, these lists are not up to date. About half of you will get a form with this newsletter to be filled out and returned to me within two weeks if you want your name and address shared with Association members in your state. If you would rather not have your name on the list, just ignore the form. For those of you who do not receive a form, it is because you have already indicated to me whether or not you want to be on the list. However, if you have changed your mind, one way or the other, drop me a note in the next fourteen days, and I will change your status. Odds and Ends How about a membership to AA-EVP to a close friend or relative for a Holiday gift? If you like, I can send an appropriate Holiday card, their membership card, and a personal note to them the first part of December so they will know this is your gift to them. Reflect on how fortunate we are in our world as compared to Jamil who wrote, “...fanaticism

prevails in this part of the world.” 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Berthelot Urbain, our new Belgium member in his recent letter to me quoted a saying of Aristotle that I like: “The ignorant affirms, the experts doubt, and the wise reflect!” Let us all try to be wise! Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 8 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1984 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint It is winter and the weather has brought to Maryland it’s not entirely welcome gifts of cold, snow and ice. The ice reminds me of a message I received through my tape recorder over a year ago. My home is along the banks of a river which becomes ice covered during the winter. One morning, after the ice had returned, I sat down to start my usual morning taping. At once a Class A voice, apparently referring to the ice on the river asked, “Is that thick water?” The question raises the issue as to whether this entity came from a world in which ice is unknown. If this is the case, then we must further wonder just what his world is like. He obviously knew, by his use of the word “water,” what water is.

One morning to his surprise the water is gone. What has happened? All that he can think is that the water is thick. In the following recording, I tried to explain to him what had occurred during the night and how the water had turned into ice. Perhaps he now knows what ice is and has carried this information to others. At least I have received no further observations that the ice outside my office window is thick water. Another time when I was communicating with a reality I felt was not spirit, I asked how they were able to use our language so well and seemed to have a reasonably good understanding of concepts expressed and unexpressed in our day-to-day life. Someone replied, “We sit with thee.” Some of us, and I know I am one of them, look upon those who communicate with us as teachers at times. They also seem to regard us as teachers and this could be one reason why they speak. As William James wrote in The Varieties of Religious Experiences, “… our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness whilst all about it, parted by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different.” In the last newsletter, I wrote about the responsibility we who are taping voices have to the public at large. I also feel that this responsibility stretches from our tape recorders to encompass all the unseen from

wherever they speak. We need to consider how helpful we can be to them when this help seems needed. One of the challenges we have is to learn as much as we can about these possible alternate realities. I would like to suggest that we give more consideration to those messages that seem strange and not dismiss them as an aberration. Most of them probably have meaning to those who give them. I personally find it heartwarming to believe we are not alone There may well be consciousness existing on other planets millions of miles away. I suggest it is not necessary to search that far. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena BEVPA Conference Cancelled I have learned from Gilbert Bonner and others that the EVP conference planned for London in November had to be canceled due to lack of support. Again, how fortunate we were and I repeat my sincere thanks to everyone who helped make our first national conference last August in Baltimore such a tremendous success! Gilbert, a well-known English EVP researcher, is writing a book about the phenomena, has also written articles, and given lectures concerning the electronic voice. He would welcome hearing from AA-EVP researchers with statements 400-500 words long giving their opinions, discoveries, etc. concerning their EVP work, for possible inclusion in his presentations. His address is (Address removed) England. Word from Veilleuxes Richard, Fred, and their father Joseph, Veilleux, of Maine, are well-known for their psychic

photographs as well as some EVP voices. Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff wrote about them and included some of their photographs in their book, New Psychic Frontiers. Recently I wrote to Richard to see if they are continuing their EVP work. He replied that they are to a limited degree but are concentrating more in the area of photography and automatic writing. One of their communicants told them, “Truth is a torch, and the more you shake it, the brighter it burns.” Richard commented, “It would appear as if there is a bit more ‘shaking’ to do with what we have been gifted to receive.” Holophonic Sound Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator for the AA-EVP, and I have discussed upon several occasions the Brain/Mind Bulletin for May 30, 1983, which is devoted largely to holophonic Sound. Zuccarelli, a scientist who lives in London, has invented this new sound technique which broadcasts directly to the brain. Zuccarelli speculates that the brain perceives moving sound in a way that is similar to the construction of a hologram. That is, the auditory system emits its own tone which acts as a reference beam similar to the one used to construct and decode a hologram. Those who listen to a holophonic cassette recording describe the effect as ‘realer than real.’ It has a strange penetrating intensity. Not only do the sounds seem to move freely around the room, but sometimes they seem to be inside the brain or are felt in various body areas.

Even the loudest sounds do not cause the normal discomfort associated with volume. Apparently because the holophonic effect depends primarily on its access to the brain rather than acoustic power, sound equipment meters do not reflect the apparent increase in volume. Zuccarelli says, “The effect is not dependent on two ears. Each channel of perception works for itself. We don’t need the cooperation of two channels. Each can give the brain the full information of its speciality.” There is a great deal more about holophonic sound in the Bulletin but space limits my going into it. Mercedes and I have speculated whether it might be possible to somehow develop a holophonic sound recording device that could be used in our EVP work. The advantages are obvious. So much of what we now miss would perhaps be audible, and the results we do get would be clearer. We call upon our engineers and scientists to consider if this approach would be practical and if so to do some research. For a copy of the issue mentioned, send S3 to Brain/Mind Bulletin (Address removed). Zuccarelli’s address is (Address removed) England. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena More Mirror Messages In earlier issues of the NEWS, I wrote that several of us such as Mercedes, Dan McKee, Clara Laughlin and I had received messages telling us we should use mirrors in our work. I spoke about the mirror messages on the EVPQ-3 tape produced by

Alexander MacRae, which is sent to many individuals around the world. At the end, I asked the listeners to let me know if they had recorded mirror messages, because I was eager to learn if similar messages crossed the boundaries of one country. Apparently, they do. Alec said on tape, at the conclusion of my talk, that he also has received mirror messages. In one, he was told to, “Look in the mirror.” In a recent letter, Alec said that he believes the reverse voices are valid. There is controversy as to whether the voices heard on the wrong side of our tapes are genuine paranormal voices. There is every evidence that they frequently are, but some have trouble accepting this because the whole idea seems so incredible. I was happy to know that Alec, who worked for Stanford Research and NASA before returning home to Skye, Scotland and is regarded as one of the top men in the Western world in the field of voice analysis and research, does accept reverse voices as communication from other realities. EVP Experiment Opportunity Do you like the thrill and challenge of taking part in experiments? Are you eager to help provide more evidence for survival? This is for you! I received a letter from Arthur S. Berger, President of Survival Research Foundation. He wrote, “The experiment will require several EVP experimenters located in different parts of the world who are willing to work with us in one experiment which should not extend

over too long a period of time. In this experiment, we will be coordinating the survival research experiment and evaluating the material. Details will be supplied to those who write to me.” Sound exciting? You may write to Arthur at (Address removed). AA-EVP Members Are Busy It is especially gratifying to me that many of our members are becoming actively involved in the field of EVP. No longer are they satisfied to just sit back and observe, letting someone else do the work. They have stepped forward and each, using his unique talents, is helping the phenomena to progress. To briefly mention the activities of some of them: Betty Barnell, who joined the Association last June and lives in Austin, Texas, has been asked to give a talk about EVP at her local church. Jerry Bennett, the Georgia State Coordinator for the AA-EVP, has personally met all Georgia members who are willing to share names and addresses. Jerry, who is especially interested in the research and development of equipment to aid us in our communications with other dimensions, has written that he has completed work on an ultrasonic listening device. He will send it to me in the near future for testing. Jerry has also learned that an ultrasonic superheterodyne receiver (#C 5148 @ $39.95) can be bought from Chaney Electronics, Inc. For their 1984 Product Catalogue write P.O. Box 27038 Denver, Colorado 80227. Robert Camburn, a PA member, has recently had an article accepted by the Journal of Spiritual

Frontiers, a national organization. The title of the article is: The Evidence for Spiritual 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Realities, or, The Death of Materialism. I have been privileged to read the article and it is excellent. Among other things, he discusses the electronic voice and how it presents us with evidence for the Spiritual realities. Those of you who are members of Spiritual Frontiers will want to watch for Robert’s article which will be published in one of the Journals this year. Association members in other countries have also been busy. Tine El-Ramli, who joined the Association last summer and attended our national conference, has returned home to Wales. Since September she has met some of the leading English EVP researchers such as Gilbert Bonner and Association member Norman Marsh. In a recent letter, Tina wrote that she has also become acquainted with Benson Herbert in his Paraphysical Laboratory in Wiltshire. He was involved with EVP in the early years and studied Raudive’s results. His interest in EVP has recently been rekindled, and Tina was invited to meet with him and two groups of his friends. She discussed her feelings about EVP, as a newcomer to the field, with the individuals who came. Herbert has asked Tina to take part in some EVP experiments in his laboratory in the next several months and he may publish the results in his Journal. Jamil Jashan (he has given permission to use his

last name) from Amman, Jordan, who I mentioned in the November newsletter, has been hard at work introducing EVP to his part of the world. In his recent letter, he wrote that he has made the acquaintance of the cultural editor of one of the local newspapers in Amman. This gentleman owns a publishing house and asked Jamil to translate a book about life after death into Arabic for publication. Jamil is presently translating Harold Sherman’s book, The Dead Are Alive, which contains two chapters about EVP for this editor. In addition, Jamil has mailed a four-page article about EVP to a Lebanese magazine. Another friend of Jainil’s is the Director of the English programs on Radio Amman, Jordan. Jamil introduced him to the subject of EVP and after having read in the May 1983, newsletter about the success of Otto Konig in receiving outstanding EVP voices at Radio Luxemburg, told his friend about this. This man is now ready to examine EVP taped messages with an electronic engineer. I was pleased to be asked to give a ten-minute talk about the electronic voice for the radio station. At the end, I included five EVP messages on the tape in order to give the listeners in Jordan a better idea of the electronic voice. Members’ EVP Messages Carol Barron, AA-EVP member from MA, began recording EVP voices last spring after reading about the phenomena in the National Enquirer Despite the relatively short time she has been working in the field,

a number of voices are coming through. Some of them are: “Feel better? Huh? You all right?” (After Carol had been sick.) “I have to quit.” “Cut through.” “Too bad she fell asleep.” (After Carol went to take a nap.) Monty Hearon, Oregon State Coordinator, wrote that he used to correspond with a Mr. H. who lived in GA. Since “Ham” had lost his eyesight all correspondence was done via cassette tapes in 1973. This was four years before the Hearons began EVP taping. Monty writes, “A while back I had reason to listen to his tapes again and this time with earphones. Much to my surprise, there were paranormal voices on several of his tapes…. On the first one, a loud, but whispery voice says, ‘Miller.’ Last summer, when the Hearons were in England, they had a sitting with Ena Twigg, Britain famous medium. She did not know about any particular EVP messages the Hearons had received but said that someone by the name of Joseph Miller was telling her that he was trying to help the Hearons with their taping! 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, AA-EVP member from VA, continues to get interesting messages. One day she was grumbling during a recording that she couldn’t hear anything. A voice replied, on tape, “Clara we try. We don’t catch the earth between the opening.” Clara has also been helping Anne Smisko, a new AA-EVP member from VA, get

started in her EVP work. Anne’s husband, Mike, died in January 1983. Although the Smiskos had attended Clara’s church, she did not know them. After Mike’s death, Clara began recording “Michael” on her tapes. When Anne came to Clara’s home and they made a recording together, Mike came through with his last name and other evidential messages. In a later letter, Clara wrote, “Anne has joyfully received her first voice, ‘Mike Smisko.’” Clara listened to it and says it is of good quality. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, wrote that he thinks it would be a good idea if everyone sent me their “Best of the Year” intercepts. I agree! Please drop me a note by April 1 telling me about the most interesting message(s) you recorded in ‘83. I would like to publish these in the May NEWS. Dan thinks. that perhaps the most significant one he taped last year was, “The incentive; the inventive. Now does he know there isn’t any error!” Dan wrote, “Then to wipe out that lingering doubt we all fight with, ‘There isn’t any error!’ was a tremendous climax.” Mercedes Shepanek recently became a grandmother for the first time. One day while baby- sitting with six-week-old Gregory, she was doing her regular morning recording. Proudly she held him up in front of her tape recorder and said to anyone who might be with her, “Isn’t he gorgeous?” On tape playback, a female voice answered her question with, “Looks good!” followed by a male voice

who said, “Looks awfully green!” Gregory was wearing a green Jordache jumpsuit! Otto Konig Continues Getting Results Since the November NEWS was mailed, several individuals have written to me and, contrary to what I had been led to believe, have told me that Konig is continuing to get excellent results with the ultrasonic electronic equipment he has developed. The first individual to write was Dr. Ernst Senkowski, an AA-EVP member from Germany. I will quote from his interesting letter: “Meanwhile he (Konig) had to go to the Fulda meeting of the VTF (German EVP Association) of which he is a member. They got a couple of good voices in the meeting (500 people) ... one saying in somewhat distorted German, ‘The dead greeting.’ … A lady asked whether Konstantin Raudive could possibly come in. Konig repeated this call, and after a few seconds a low pitched slowly speaking voice answered ‘Raudive.’ “I compared this voice, raising the velocity/speed in replaying it, with the original of Raudive during lifetime taken from an old record and believe me, they are quite similar to say the least!” Dr. Senkowski also wrote that Konig recorded the name of his close friend Walter Steinokel, who was ill in the hospital. Fifteen minutes later, Steinokel’s wife called Konig and said her husband had died fifteen minutes earlier! Since then he has succeeded in recording two minutes of a two-way conversation between himself and Steinokel in which Steinokel gave his complete name. This conversation took place with

several other people in the room. His voice has been compared to his life-time voice and as Dr. Senkowski wrote, “They are so similar that any reasonable person will immediately recognize, again there is a certain touch/dialect very characteristic.” Edelgard John, another German member, subsequently wrote that she was present at the Fulda conference when Otto Konig demonstrated his equipment. She wrote: “One can hear the answers from the other side at once so this really is like a call with the telephone! The very best, well fascinating thing was, two mothers that had lost their children called, and the children answered with clear voices and several times with long sentences.” 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I am grateful to Dr. Senkowski and Mrs. John for their two interesting letters and for bringing us up to date on Otto Konig’s work. We all ‘rejoice’ I am sure, at his continued success. I have always felt that one person’s success is a success for all of us. Review-German EVP News I am indebted to Urbain Berthelot, Belgium AA-EVP member, for sending to me a xerox copy of an article from the German EVP newsletter. Many thanks are also owed to Tom Roers, MD AA-EVP member, who translated it for me. The article, written ‘by Fidelio Koberle, tells about Otto Konig’s recording session at Radio Luxemburg on January 15, 1983. It mentions how loud and clear many of the voices are that come

through Konig’s “generator.” Koberle writes, “Now there are microphone recorded voices of unexpected strength, precision, clear and noise-free. People can no longer say that one is hearing something in the background noise that isn’t there.” Mr. Berthelot also included in his letter two block diagrams Konig had made of his electronic set-up for recording EVP voices. Space prohibits showing both of them but Monty Hearon, a retired engineer, has examined them and suggests the one shown here might be of most interest to other engineers and researchers. Roll Call Since the November NEWS, we have added a member from Australia, two more German members, plus members from states already represented. For those interested in a mild dose of statistics, we have twenty-six more men than women who are members of AA-EVP. This might be of interest to sociologists and others, who feel women are more interested in things that go bump in the night. To me there is no mystery why men outnumber women in their interest in EVP. This is one area of the so-called “paranormal” (and I use that term with reservation) that our “nuts and bolts” engineers and scientists can cane to grips with in “hard” research. Cross-Country List Mailed Many responded to the notice in the November NEWS about having their name and address on the cross-country list. The first week in January, I sent a list of fifty-eight names to all who wished to participate. This list will be updated periodically. If you are not

on the current list but would like to be on subsequent lists let me know. A special note to our friends in other countries: 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena This list is also for you; it is truly cross-country. We already have names on it from three foreign countries. Please send me a note if you want your name and address on future lists. EVP Tape for Sale After reading Mike and Ruth Wolverton’s interesting book, How To Build A Lie Detector, Brain Wave Monitor and Other Secret Parapsychological Electronics Projects, which was kindly sent to me as a surprise gift by Harold Sherman. (Recommended by Ben Lee Harris, AA-EVP member, Washington, August NEWS.) I wrote to the Wolvertons. Mike replied graciously and said they are living in Australia and continuing to lecture, teach workshops and do parapsychological research. He mentioned that they have a series of audio cassettes about surviving death, one which deals “… with the latest theory and practice of electronic voice phenomena.” To order a copy ($9.95 plus $2 for airmail) or learn more about the other tapes Mike has available write (Address removed). Cassette Tapes in Bulk For those who use many cassette tapes in your EVP work, you may be interested in contacting Long’s Electronics of Birmingham, Alabama. Rev. H. H. Van Dick, New Jersey AA-EVP member, wrote that he finds them to be inexpensive and of excellent quality. Mercedes Shepanek and I have also

used them for some time and can agree with Rev. Van Dick. In addition, Long’s offers many other reasonably priced electronic aids. For a catalogue, call toll free: 1-800—633-6461. www.longselectronics.com/index.jsp SAC Conference Paul Johnson, President and Founder of Spiritual Advisory Council (SAC), member of AA- EVP, is holding his fifth Winter Festival in Orlando, Florida from February 2-5. Notice of this is probably arriving too late for most of our AA-EVP members to consider going, but if you live near Orlando, you might want to attend for at least a day or two. The program promises to be excellent with Sol Lewis and Bryce Bond as featured speakers. I will lecture Saturday morning about EVP and teach a workshop that afternoon. Odds and Ends In 1601, William Shakespeare wrote, “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Those of us who are interested in the electronic voice are getting a glimpse of Eternity. Unlike in Shakespeare’s time, we have a better idea of what we may be in the future; the potential that is there for all of us. It could be that the quality of one’s Eternity depends on the quality of one’s present. Always my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about

these phenomena. Spring 1984 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are—our Second Anniversary! A year ago I wrote, “We are continuing on our way! It is time to reflect, to assess.” Evaluation of a group, of a life, should be done more than once a year. Perhaps I may be forgiven if I say I feel the AA-EVP has a life of its own. Two years ago, I breathed a spark of life into—something—that I felt was waiting. It took off and as one person said to me recently about the Association, “You’ve got a tiger by the tail.” Ah, yes, but what a tiger it is! I give the lead a tug here and there, but I am not it. It has its own mind and seems to be headed in a direction towards which I can only dimly perceive and encourage. In the first newsletter, I wrote we had members in ten states and Canada. A year later our membership had grown to twenty-seven states and three countries. Today thirty-four states, the District of Columbia and eight foreign countries are represented. We have added over 100 new members in the last year. Statistics can sound impressive but numbers in themselves have little meaning. What lies behind the numbers? In this case you are the numbers. In a proper evaluation, we have to ask ourselves “What has AA-EVP meant to its members?” One member living temporarily overseas wrote on her Christmas card, “Your newsletter is the one bright

spot in my life!” A man from Pennsylvania wrote last month on his renewal membership, “Best organization I belong to.” In March, a woman came to my office to see what kind of equipment I use and to observe me making a recording. For almost a year she and her sister had tried unsuccessfully to contact their father who died a year ago in another country. We made a recording together and when she called on her father three messages were received, including one on the reverse side of the tape when he said, “I’m with you my daughter.” Members write or phone asking for help with recording problems or just to tell me how things are going for them. You have let me know that AA-EVP is important to you. Last August we held a successful national conference in Baltimore. New friends were made at the conference. Valuable ideas and suggestions came from those who were there and are being carried out today. Curtis Fuller, Publisher of Fate magazine, wrote about the conference in his, I See By The Papers feature in the March 1984 issue and suggested that the AA-EVP is one of the “new doors” being opened to “extrasensory perception and other mind phenomena.” One can live with failure as long as one has tried. To do less for something in which one believes is unforgivable. No matter how limited a person is he can take at least one step. The future for AA-EVP? Who can say.

First, it seems necessary to let others know about the electronic voice for it is surprising how many have never heard about it. Secondly, we will try to learn more about the phenomena for there is much we don’t know and there may be worlds of consciousness to explore. Thirdly, we will continue to support all valid research which leads to better communication with the unseen from wherever they speak. 1 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena With your help, we have come this far. With your continued help we will move into the future, together. EVP Contact? 1936 Most of us have heard about the early days of EVP recordings which took place in the 1950’s. It may come as a surprise to learn that an effort to produce voices came as early as 1936. In a letter from William Callander of England, he wrote, “You might be interested to know I had made the first (I believe) effort to produce voices in 1936, a box-like wireless set-2 valves and a large H.T. Battery, with two leads attached to a speaker, holding one lead in each hand. I got lots of noises... Alex MacRae thinks I would have had voices if I could have taped them, but tapes were unknown.” Mirrors Each time the enigma of the mirrors has been mentioned in a newsletter it brings a flood of inquiries. To bring new members up to date, several years ago three of

us unknown to each other at the time, taped messages telling us to use a mirror while recording. I mentioned the mirrors on A. MacRae’s EVP Quarterly Tape-3, and said I was eager to learn if unique messages, such as those about mirrors, crossed the boundaries of one country. Barbara Jennison, new AA-EVP member from England, wrote that she had heard the tape and thought I might be interested in her experience with mirrors. One day while taping, she said, “Here’s a photo of the lady.” Someone said on tape, “Use a mirror.” Clara Laughlin, Virginia AA-EVP member, recently recorded two mirror messages. A voice said, “I’m in front of you. I love to watch your conscious and your mirror.” Another time a voice asked her, “Can’t you watch your husband in the mirror?” In February I was asked to lecture and teach a workshop about EVP at the Spiritual Advisory Council conference in Orlando, Florida. During the talk I mentioned the mirrors and how they related somewhat to the cross-correspondence cases, famous in literature about evidence for survival. Several people came up to talk to me about them later. Sol Lewis, keynote lecturer at the conference, President of the Michigan Metaphysical Society, new member of AA-EVP, wrote to me after the conference. He said he had been “impressed” to tell me to use two mirrors angled toward the other so a reflection would be created. I am now doing this. The first time I tried it I asked if

they thought the second mirror would help them. A male entity in a Class A voice replied, “Yes, I see with them. Doesn’t seem to help me today. I will go over and learn to use it.” Since then, they have said they like the two mirrors and have learned to use them. David Lothamer’s Technique David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator for AA-EVP, is eager to share with you the recording technique that works so well for him. He thought some of you might like to try it. If you do, David would like to hear about your results. He is on the cross list. Connect a patch cord from headphones outlet of radio that you are using for a sound source to Main In of equalizer. Connect another patch cord from Main Out of equalizer to Line In of 2 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena recorder. Either channel of recorder can be used. Microphone should be plugged into the other channel. Headphones are plugged into headphone outlet of recorder. You can now hear what is on the radio and can control the volume. On tape playback, all radio intrusions and most of the paranormal messages are on the channel that is not carrying the mike. David sent me a tape of voices recorded this way and they are unusually clear. Gilbert Bonner Reports In an interesting letter received from Gilbert Bonner, English EVP researcher he wrote, “I put in for a

grant for further study in EVP in relation to Left/Right brain hemisphere decoding and Subliminal hearing to SPR London. On a split decision, my request was refused but I was interviewed by a psychiatrist and his assistant ... given a cassette by them and told to get voices. Before two witnesses at 4 in the afternoon on their own tape I recorded EVP, including Raudive.” Best of 1983 In the February NEWS, Dan McKee, State Coordinator of Illinois, suggested AA-EVP members send in what they considered their best, (most interesting) intercepts of 1983. A number of people did this and so I am indebted to you for your response and to Dan for conceiving the idea in the first place. Carol Barron of MA has been taping less than a year but has already received many clear, interesting messages. A number of her communicants show a delightful sense of humor. In one instance, which demonstrates how our unseen friends are sometimes a step ahead of us, Carol kept asking for the name of a man who spoke to her frequently. Carol writes, “I decided to be ‘crafty’ and ask another way. I said, ‘What did your parents call you when you were small?’ Immediately, he answered, “Baby.” William Duvendack of MT received one word last year, but it was the most important word any of us has received, our first word. Bill, although interested in EVP, was a bit skeptical that the unseen could speak to us. One evening, as

an experiment, he put the sound source tape I sell for $2, on a tape recorder and a blank tape on another recorder. He and a friend went into the kitchen and later when they came back, stopped the recorder and replayed the tape. They heard, “Ye-e-s-s-s-s!” Others have listened to it and confirm the message. Bill wrote, “Strange, the conscious, rational mind has difficulty accepting this, yet it’s there.” Edelgard John, one of our German members, wrote that it was not easy to decide what was her best but she would take what gave her personally much comfort and hoped it would give comfort to others. She said, “In this year 1983, my dear dog Rolf died. This was very, very sad for me and I often asked about him and got answers. Two or three times he even barked for me. A voice said, three weeks after Rolf died, “I already am friends with the dog.” Clara Laughlin continues to receive many interesting messages. Her friend, Virginia Bates, another VA, AA-EVP member, listens to all of Clara’s messages and helps to confirm them. A short time ago someone said, “Clara never been out farther than our planet Androma.” (Clara stresses that the word was Androma and not Andromeda, the galaxy.) More recently she heard from her husband, Tom, who has spoken to her frequently. He said he was moving “up” so would not be 3 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena

able to come through quite as often. Tom assured Clara that his side was very interested in our “Mission,” which Clara believes relates to our “mission” of communicating with them. David Lothamer writes that for some time he had asked for Fred Ray to come through because Fred had once been his guardian. The clear message was received, which had deep personal meaning for David when someone said, “Fred Ray loves you.” Another time, when David was feeling despondent, a voice said, “We know you’ve been discouraged but dead isn’t dead.” Perhaps the most chilling message that he received was, “Man’s a savage lot. That’s part of his far descent.” Dan McKee’s excellent Class A messages come through on the reverse side of his tapes. Dan had been taping for just seven years, and although he hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, a voice said, “After seven years, does God still need us?” The message Dan finds most reassuring about our work and the doubts that sometimes plague us was, “The inventive, the incentive, now does he know, there isn’t any error.” Arabella Roberts, MD State Coordinator, feels that the most interesting and thought provoking message she received was about a family member a short time after his death. A clear voice said, “Viernon’s a third of a free shepherd.” Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, said that the most interesting aspect of her recordings for 1983 was how many of the Voices began using Biblical language and that “thee,” and “thou”

were heard frequently. One time when she asked, “What do you do to make the sounds, what makes the Voices?” someone answered, “They are both of our sounds. It is thy love, thy belief makes them. A different type of voice which came through clipped and robotic sounding gave the message, “Isabello, we are traveled in space by the stellar light.” Friedrich Jürgenson Documentary In a recent letter from Monty Hearon, Oregon State Coordinator, he wrote about well-known Friedrich Jürgenson, Swedish EVP researcher. For those new to the world of voice phenomena, Jurgenson (along with Attila von Szaley of California) is credited with bringing the phenomena to the attention of the world in the 1950s. Monty wrote, “You know that Jürgenson is a good friend of ours … Friedrich has been working on a TV program for several years which I gather will be a documentary on his taping. The program is essentially finished. On May 10-12, in Milan, there will be a press conference with Jürgenson attended by reporters from press, radio and TV from all over the world. We might be on the lookout for the releases coming from that press conference …. Apparently, the program will be shown by TV Luxemburg shortly after the press conference.” Dan Mckee’s Recording Method I asked Dan to share with members the method he uses to get his excellent voices, most of which are on the reverse side of his tapes. The following is from his letter. “Just outside the 40-

meter amateur band, 7329.5 kHz to be exact, in the evening there is a military station that sends multiple tones constantly to hold the channel open for their use. On the hour, they transmit a coded message with the operator phonetically speaking each letter distinctly. Using an audio rejection filter I can usually reduce the multiple tones to a low enough level so the voice signal 4 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena predominates. Also, backing the R.F. gain control down tends to bring the voice up. Then I copy the message in the normal reverse manner and it is often more distinct than any other way I’ve used. Sometimes I generate my own multiple tones by adjusting my transmitter frequency slightly different from the receiver frequency which results in multiple bird chirp sounds. I then voice modulate my transmitter, copy this from the receiver on a tape recorder and play it backwards.” News from Members Arthur S. Berger, President of Survival Research Foundation, wrote that he was pleased that some of our members had responded to his request to help in a survival research project mentioned in the February NEWS. If anyone is interested in helping Arthur with various experiments, you may contact him: (Address removed). Betty Evans, VA AA-EVP member, reports that she has had several messages lately from her father and brother. “London” was mentioned in the one message in connection with her brother which she felt was evidential. Philip

Paul, TX AA-EVP member, stopped to visit me one day on his way to China. He will be living in Peking for the next several years. Mercedes Shepanek will be a part of history in the year 2001! Her daughter and son-in-law have made-up a time capsule for their son Gregory born last fall. The capsule, which has been sealed, contains many artifacts from 1983. One of them is an EVP tape of some voices Mercedes has recorded, a brief explanation about EVP itself, and the suggestion Gregory check with his mother further about the phenomena. Mercedes included a small tape recorder in the capsule just in case tape recorders capable of playing our present cassette tapes are no longer manufactured. Gregory will open the capsule in 2001 on his eighteenth birthday. Anne Smisko, VA AA-EVP member, has reported that her tape recorder was stolen. The police recovered it but it was damaged. Anne hopes to have it repaired soon so she can continue with her recordings. Tim Smith, new MD AA-EVP member, wrote to me that he took his portable tape recorder to the room where Abraham Lincoln died. He made a recording but nothing was heard. This stands to reason. Although an apparition, that many people feel is Lincoln, has been seen at various locations around Washington, it is doubtful if an individual of his caliber would linger in the room in which he had died. 5 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic

Voice Phenomena Ultrasonics in Germany Dr. Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, wrote that Otto Konig, German researcher, is continuing to work on the ultrasonic method for EVP recordings. In his letter, he wrote, “In long- time experimentation you never have a stand-still. The parts are changed, rearranged, it is a dynamic procedure … Konig himself is of opinion that the whole development is far from perfect—so what is the use of giving exact data which—at time given—are already surpassed by another set.” George Meek, President of Metascience Foundation, Franklin, NC, sent me a tape of Voices Konig had recorded. It is outstanding. Raudive’s voice, which came through at the Fulda conference, is on it as well as Walter Steinokel, a former co-worker of Konig’s. Their after- death voices are compared with their before death voices, and one can hear that they match! Ultrasonics in U.S.A. I am pleased to report that some of our members are doing research which will, we hope, ultimately lead to improved communication between dimensions for all. Walter Sherbrooke, CA AA-EVP member, is working on an ultrasonic system which will be ready for field testing by several of us in the near future. Jerry Bennett, GA State Coordinator of AA-EVP, has completed work on his first ultrasonic converter which I am now field testing with interesting results. It will then go to Dan McKee and finally to Mercedes Shepanek for additional testing before going back to Jerry for further modification. Although I have experimented with Jerry’s

converter in various ways, and each way has brought positive results, the best results have been achieved when I use it in combination with other sound sources such as the short wave on the radio set to 14 MHz. There is a lead on front of the converter which is plugged into the right channel of my reel to reel tape recorder. (The microphone is plugged into the left channel.) I have an audio generator set to 40-43 KHz, and a tweeter connected to the generator. In this way I am able to hear the sounds over the wall speakers, or through the tape recorder, by wearing headphones plugged into the headphone outlet of the recorder. You can build a similar converter. Jerry used the plans shown in Radio 6 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Electronics-Special Projects Book-Spring 1981. Permission to print the schematic diagram was kindly granted to us by Gernsback Publications Inc., 1981. Roll Call We have added members in the last three months. Men continue to outnumber women. In the February NEWS, I wrote there were twenty-six more men than women. Today, the men have a lead of twenty-seven. Maryland leads the states with sixteen members. Virginia is close behind with fifteen. Cross-country List Those of you who have renewed your membership in the last several months have noticed there is no longer a space to check if you want to share your name and address with others in

your state. I have had to eliminate, state mailing lists due to the large growth in membership. Instead of thirty some individual lists, we now have one large cross-country list. Many of you have indicated you prefer this and at this time we have seventy names on the list. The list will be updated each quarter and those who are on the list will receive the new names along with your newsletter. Newsletter Deadline I am pleased at the increased participation that AA-EVP members are taking in the newsletter. It seems each time we have more members with NEWS to share. This is good! Deadlines, however, are necessary. Once I have your contributions, I must put them together in some sort of readable collation, keeping an eye to space limitations. Then off to the printer it must go, followed by putting the paper together, addressing and stuffing envelopes, writing special notes to some, enclosing updated cross-country lists in the proper envelopes, separating overseas envelopes from the domestic ones and so on. If you have something you want in the next newsletter, please meet newsletter deadlines or regretfully it might be too late. The deadline for the August newsletter is July 7. AA-EVP National Conference – 1985 Many members who attended the conference last year, and a number who did not, have asked me whether we were going to have another conference this summer. Something that was as successful as our August ‘83 conference bears repeating. For several reasons having a

conference this summer is impractical but one is planned for 1985. I will contact the Hyatt Regency in the next several months and make reservations for a firm date. Already I have in mind several things for program and it is something you won’t want to miss. Watch future newsletters for details! Egypt On May 13, my daughter Becky, who many of you met at the conference, and I will be leaving for Egypt. During the two weeks, we are away, we will be part of a group of 36 lead by Lynn J. Gardner of Indianapolis, Indiana. The group is comprised largely of individuals interested in 7 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena exploring inner-dimensions, and open to the possibility of other realities. We will spend all night in the Great Pyramid of Cheops, part of a night at the feet of the Sphinx, and hold a séance at Seti’s Tomb. Our travels will take us to the Sinai Desert and St. Katherine’s Monastery. At dawn we will climb Mt. Sinai. Becky and I will take along several tape recorders and it is our hope that unseen entities will speak to us on tape at different locations. Odds and Ends Today we begin our third year. We have reached this point because of the faith and support of many. Each new year is a milestone, a marker, which points towards the future. Recently on a tape sent to me by Stuart Wilde,

Publisher of the Mystic Trader, a friend of his and well-known trance medium, spoke in trance. Someone who calls himself the Old Chinese and says he lived thousands of years ago, speaks through this individual. One of the things that impressed me, and can be applied to our individual lives, as well as the AA-EVP, was something he said. I would like to share it with you at this time. “Have faith in what you are. Have faith in what you are to be.” Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Provide Evidence of Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 8 11/21/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1984 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In the last three months, I have experienced many things, some for the first time. I took my first flight and traveled close to 12,000 miles. My life has been touched by hundreds of people from around the world and it will never be the same. It was no surprise to have my belief reinforced that people are people, from wherever they come and in whatever situation they exist. I am reminded, however, of Ken Wilber’s comment from his new book, Quantum Questions: The Mystical Writings of the World’s Great Physicists, “...all things are God, but some things are more God than others...” The same could

be said a People. Although many of those I have met since May came from backgrounds as different as it is possible to be from mine, we had no difficulty communicating. A smile, a touch, looking deeply into each other’s eyes, was usually all that was necessary. Most people I met had never heard about recording voices of the dead. Indeed, some had never seen a tape recorder before but, somehow, I was able to show them what I did or hoped to do. “AY wa, AY wa,” they replied, and I knew by their smiles and a nod of their heads that, “Yes,” they were with me. The book, Adventures In Immortality: A Look Beyond The Threshold of Death, by George Gallup, Jr. with William Proctor, states that belief in the possibility of contact with the dead is held by perhaps 37 million people. It was my good fortune that many of those I met in the last three months were part of that 37 million. Each of us find our own way to communicate with the living. Some of us also find a way to communicate with those who have completed their death experience. Two articles about EVP, one published, one unpublished, have crossed my desk since May. I have questions and reservations about both of them. The unpublished piece is written by a person who calls himself, “...a curious outsider who has casually followed developments in the EVP field....” Since I am personally acquainted with this individual

I can endorse both of these assessments of himself. It baffles me then how such a person, who has never done any real work in the field, can write fifteen pages which basically focuses on what we are doing wrong and how it can be corrected. I would be the first to say that the field of EVP is far, from perfect. Much needs to be done. New equipment, new energy sources, and perhaps new ways to approach what we do need to be devised. This will not be accomplished by theorizing, especially by curious outsiders. It will only be realized by gifted, knowledgeable, creative people who are willing to become involved in the nitty-gritty, frustrating work of trial and error. There is always room for this sort of person. If you have been uninvolved until now, think about joining us! The door is open. Just Ask Since May I have had a number of people write or call me requesting specific instructions on how to record paranormal voices. I have tried to help each of these individuals and trust before long they will have the joy and thrill as they record their first EVP message. Ross Brown, AA-EVP member from Calgary, suggested that perhaps I could write about how to get voices on tape in the newsletter. I explained to Ross that it would take a large portion of the newsletter to do this but promised to give it some thought. I have, and so would like to make

this offer. In order to help you become involved, I will mail you a how-to paper about recording EVP voices if you will send me a self-addressed, stamped, Number 10 size envelope. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ultrasonic – Psychokinetic Effect? Monty Hearon, Oregon State Coordinator, sent me an interesting letter in which he described an incident that happened to him the first time he was using ultrasonic frequencies as a sound source. I will quote from it: “It occurred on Feb. 16th, 1982 when I first tried out the use of ultrasonic sound as an adjunct to paranormal taping. Our ultrasonic burglar alarm is upstairs, so I brought the taping equipment upstairs and put it in the breakfast nook where the mikes would get a direct blast from the alarm. I was in the house alone... I had only been taping several minutes when the front door (or maybe the storm door) was violently shaken as though by a giant. I was naturally irritated since this noise was ruining my taping. I turned off the tape recorder and went to the door and threw it open. You guessed it, there was no one there. The noise occurred while I was in the recording mode and the first part of the noise is on the tape. Well, I returned to my taping and about five minutes later the same thing happened. This time I was prepared and it took me about one

second to get to the door and throw it open. Again, no one was there. The second time the noise occurred when I was in the playback mode so it is not recorded. “The purpose of reporting this incident in your newsletter is to find out if other tapers have had similar experiences. While I think all of us get audible raps while taping, have others gotten these strong psychokinetic effects? The one I mentioned is the only thing of that type which has occurred to me while taping. Naturally I asked on the tape who was at the front door, but got no reply. I had gotten some voices, so contact had been made.” If any of you have received an unusual psychokinetic effect while taping, please let me know so I may report it in the November newsletter. You may also write directly to Monty. He is on the cross-country list. Similar to Cross-correspondence Most readers are familiar with cross-correspondence in the history of psychic phenomena. Very briefly, it allegedly originated with the spirit of F.W.H. Myers in the early 1900’s. He devised a plan whereby mediums in various parts of the world received fragments of messages at about the same time that apparently had no particular point, or meaning. When these messages were put together it was like fitting pieces of a puzzle together and the meaning then became clear. Most of the messages were received through automatic writing and the mediums did not know what anyone

else was receiving at the time. There have been a number of cross-correspondence cases since then and they are strong evidence for survival. The closest case of cross-correspondence for EVP are the mirror messages. This is especially true when several years ago three of us (Estep; McKee; Shepanek) unknown to each other taped messages about mirrors. Something similar occurred more recently. Although I had heard the word for the first and only time three months earlier and had seldom thought about it since then, it is only fair to mention that it was part of my knowledge. In January, I received a thirty-minute tape of s paranormal messages Otto Konig had taped. One of the recordings took place in his home in December in front of several people. Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member from Germany, was part of this group. During the taping a very clear voice said, “Auroraclub.” You can hear Dr. Senkowski’s excitement when this word comes over the wall speakers for he calls his transcommunication station “Aurora” and it had not been taped before. An unseen entity had created a new word, “Auroraclub.” On April 27, I recorded an excellent Class A male voice which said, “Auroraclub.” This, along with several other messages received in the next two days, was sent to Dr. Senkowski. He agrees with my interpretation of “Auroraclub.” Reports from and About AA-EVP Members AA-EVP members have been busy. The following reports of their activities relate to the field of EVP or psychic phenomena

in general. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 11/22/2016 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Bernadette Arras, a new member from Viernheim, West Germany wrote that she heard about the AA- EVP from her friend, Luise Fuchs, another West German member. Bernadette and her mother have been taping voices for two years and last August visited Friedrich Jürgenson in Sweden. She wrote, “He (Jürgenson) spoke to us about his long time experiments, his so called “electronic bridge,” and we were deeply touched by his excellent voices and unique messages.” Carol Barron, from Massachusetts, has volunteered to be the state coordinator for her state and her offer is accepted with grateful thanks. She recently gave an EVP presentation to a group of which she is a member when they visited Maplecroft, the mansion Lizzie Borden bought with her inheritance after she was acquitted. Carol wrote that she recorded in each room and the tape got caught in the recorder twice. She replaced it with another tape that seemed to be working and later listened to it briefly. Voices were on the tape but it got so tangle she had to take it and the recorder back to the store where it had been bought. They succeeded in releasing the tape but it was destroyed. She put the second tape in a different recorder not wanting to take any further chances with it. That tape also became badly wound up in the mechanism and in trying to release it, it was

destroyed like the first one. Carol’s report is interesting and reinforces what Hans Holzer wrote in his book, Murder in Amityville “...I had experienced similar mechanical failures (referring to cameras and tape recorders) in other haunted houses due to the presence of electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere.” Although I have never had a problem with my tape recorder when visiting such locations, I have been with professional photographers whose cameras refused to work. Jerry Bennett, Georgia State Coordinator, sent me a book list from Health Research in California. The company carries old and rare books in facsimile copies. I have examined the list and it is excellent. If you have been trying unsuccessfully to locate a book, you may want to contact them, Health Research, Box 70- Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245, www.healthresearchbooks.com/. Robert Camburn, from Pennsylvania, has a full-length article appearing in the Spring Issue of the Spiritual Frontiers Journal. The title is, Contact With The next World-What’s It Like? I recall this outstanding article. For those of you who are not members of SFF, you may order a single copy ($2.50) by writing to, Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, Inc. 10819 Winner Road, Independence, MO 64052, www.spiritual-frontiers.com/. Hu Custer, from Pennsylvania, who so ably taped our national conference last August wrote to me recently. He has many years of experience in taping conferences and lectures, and is especially interested in the field of EVP. If you are interested in having any of your tapes duplicated or in the many other services

Hu offers, write to him for information, (Address removed). Tina El-Ramli, from Wales, recently sent me an interesting tape and letter. She has been using a pre- recorded tape with running water on it as a sound source while taping with two different recorders. Tine has discovered on tape playback that each recorder has its own unique messages. Two female names came through to her a number of times. Both first and last names were given, and since neither were known to Tina, she checked the phone book. After much sleuthing and many phone calls, she apparently located the two women’s families. Both families said the person she was inquiring about had died same time ago. Tina has also taped a number of messages about “books.” At times when she asks a particular question she is told it is in the “books,” or they will “Check the books.” She wonders if any other AA-EVP member has received similar messages. Jamil Jahshan, of Jordan, sent me an excellent, full-length article that he had written about contacting the dead and which appeared in the Jordan Times. He surveys the question of survival and makes a number of very good points. The AA-EVP is mentioned as well as some suggestions for anyone in Jordan who wants to sit down at a recorder to try to record voices. On my way to Egypt in May, we had several hours lay-over at the airport in Amman, Jamil received special permission from the head of security

to visit with me and was brought by a guard to the floor where we waited. Jamil, my daughter Becky, and I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time and we talked together for two hours. I had brought him the book, Life After Life, by Raymond Moody, which the guard checked and permitted him to keep. Before leaving, Jamil gave me a poem that he had written in 1962 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena which dealt mainly with the soul surviving death. The poem is very moving and closes with: “The great designer commands, Souls are divided into bands, Then scattered throughout lands, To dwell in other handfuls of sand.” Dan McKee, Illinois State Coordinator, wrote that the best example of reverse taping he has come across is a taped voice on the forward side counting, “One-two-three-four-five-six.” When he played the tape in reverse a clear voice said, “I think he wants to know you, O-God!” Dan commented, “Both sides are so clear and well-spaced it would be a perfect example to put on a voice analyzer.” Ernst Senkowski taped an important message that I think expresses what the unseen look for and in fact may need for successful EVP communication to occur. “It is a question of feeling, emotion and technique.” Field Testing Continues with Ultrasonic Converter In the May NEWS, I reported that Jerry Bennett had completed work on an ultrasonic converter which I was field

testing. I mentioned that I had experimented with it in various ways with positive results. Since May, Dan McKee and Mercedes Shepanek have completed testing it. Messages were received when it was used in combination with other sound sources. One morning Mercedes taped, “Too much window!” which conceivably could have meant the spread of frequencies was too great. Carol Barron is now testing it. Schematic for Dual Ultrasonic Oscillators Here is a schematic of a dual ultrasonic oscillator. Perhaps some of you would like to build one to use in your recordings. Since the low range and high range units have some overlap there are several settings of the that will frequency control knobs produce a “beat note” that is audible through the speaker despite the fact that the two individual frequencies are well above the average hearing range of humans. This fact can be used to check that the oscillators are working. For first-time operation set the low frequency unit at about 20 KHz and the high frequency. unit at about 23 KHz and listen for the 3 KHz beat note or squeal. Afterwards use the unit in any mode desired. If you build the unit, please let me know your results. I have been experimenting with something similar for the last month. Voices from Egypt Egypt spoke to me in many ways. The people, the land, its history and countless numbers of invisibles reached out and touched me during the two weeks I visited in May. Before going

to Egypt, I wondered whether the unseen would speak. If on-going consciousness was found in the ancient tombs and temples what would its nature be? Would I be communicating with 4,000- year-old earth-bound entities or would conscious entities from higher realms be willing, or even able, to speak through something as prosaic as a tape recorder? Since Becky agreed to try for the first time a limited amount of taping, I gave her a Sanyo recorder while I “wore” a microcassette recorder in the camera case hung around my neck. All recordings were battery operated because there are no convenient electrical outlets in tombs thousands of years old. 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Our group was led by Lynn Gardner. It was comprised of people accepting of other realities and open to the possibility of contacting them. There was great interest in what I was doing and some tried their own recordings. Lynn is leading a similar group to Egypt from October 5-21, and has invited me to go as co- host and teach an EVP workshop “on location.” If I can possibly get away I will accept. If you are interested in going, drop me a note. I’ll send you some helpful tips as to useful equipment. Becky and I taped over 100 EVP messages. Voices were recorded in more than twelve locations in such areas as the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Temples of Abydos, Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the

Kings, and the Coptic tombs in the Western desert. I cannot begin to go into all that took place or cover fully the many excellent Class A voices that were taped. I have made a sixty-minute composite tape of some of the things we recorded. There is an order blank enclosed if you would like to order one. In many of the locations, I felt as if I could reach out and touch the unseen presences. A warm, caring feeling was paramount. They showed an awareness of us at all times and responded to our requests, singing a number of messages as I had asked. At the Temple of Abydos, Becky taped two minutes of the most unusual, beautiful paranormal singing I have heard. Unique words I used in my questions or comments were used by them. Only three messages indicated that the communicator was earth-bound or in trouble. In only one place, did I feel at all threatened. This happened at the Temple of Denderah. I had climbed down a steep ladder to a small room under the temple that was used for “Magic” rites thousands of years ago. Immediately, I felt as if an unseen horde was crowding up against me. I stood with my back against the rock wall and made one quick three-minute recording before heading back to the ladder. On tape playback there were two Class A messages. In the one, a male voice called my name and asked me to guide him. At the

Rock Tombs of Beni Hassan, reached after crossing the Nile on a ferry-boat, riding donkeys to the foot of steep cliffs, and then climbing the cliffs, I recorded many Class A messages. Cameras were strictly prohibited in the tombs because the flash from them would further fade the beautiful wall murals. As we entered each of these 4,000-year-old tombs, I would slip away from the group and walk around before beginning to record. The Egyptian guard noticed me doing this, and thinking it was a camera I held, started over to me with stick upraised in a threatening manner. Neither of us spoke the other’s language and it looked as if we were about to have an unpleasant incident. Fortunately, I was able to show him with smiles and gestures that what I held in my hand was not a camera but a tape recorder for recording voices. After a moment, he seemed to understand. He lowered his stick, smiled, nodded his head and walked away so I was free to continue recording. On tape playback, a clear male voice said, immediately before the guard approached, “Have no fear.” The two locations that affected me the most personally were the Coptic tombs in the Western desert and a small tomb by the Pyramids that few people visit. At the second, I felt great sadness as I sat on the stone floor by a statue of a young boy. Many messages were taped including: “I’m back with you,” and “We thought

you’d come.” Becky was sitting in the same roan a few feet away and taped a group of five Class A messages, different from mine. Her first message was, “My mother.” The feeling at the Coptic tombs was one of joy and peace. When I turned the microphone over to anyone who wished to speak a female voice said, “I buried you.” The day before returning home, I contacted an Egyptian with whom I had become acquainted on the second day I was in Cairo. The Queen’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid of Cheops is now kept locked, but my companion was able to obtain the key. We met early at the Pyramids, and he unlocked the gate to the Chamber promising to return in an hour. During this time, while I sat alone, locked in the Chamber, a number of excellent quality voices were taped. Perhaps it is appropriate that the last two messages I recorded in Egypt called me by name and said they stayed with me. In comparing the voices received in Egypt with those taped in my office there are some notable differences. No sound source was ever used. The voices in Egypt had an unusual “power” to them. Many had a strong drum beat rhythm. Since I was aware that I might be contacting some very “old” entities, I carefully explained each time what the tape recorder was that I held in my hand and what it would do. Recording in places going back eons

of tine, considering their history and what we know about their purpose for being built, it is perhaps not surprising that the invisibles were near-by. One, however, can have only 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the greatest sense of gratitude to them for speaking and for the type of message that they brought. They could easily have remained silent. The fact that they didn’t, that they spoke frequently of love, truth and light, gives evidence as to what qualities are important to them. I sensed a nobility of spirit in many of those who spoke and one can only continue to wonder from what realm they came. Roll Call In the last three months, we have added members from six states plus two foreign countries, including our first member from the Republic of South Africa. To all new members, Welcome! Cross-country List Our cross-country list is continuing to grow. Many members who are renewing their memberships are indicating they want to be included, and their names have been added. If you are on the list, an update is enclosed. AA-EVP National Convention Mark your calendars! A date has been selected for the second AA-EVP national conference. It will be held at the Hilton Inn, Columbia, Maryland from August 8 to 11; 1985. The Hyatt-Regency, where the conference was held last year, had nothing open until the middle of September 1985. In addition, their room rates had increased $30 a night and

there was a good possibility that by next year they would be even higher. I have signed a contract with the Hilton and by so doing their very reasonable rates, in effect at this time, are guaranteed for our conference. The Hilton is beautiful with superior accommodations meeting rooms and restaurants. Columbia is only twenty-five minutes from downtown Baltimore and forty minutes from Washington, D.C. There is limousine service from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport to the Hilton and plenty of parking for cars. There will be new features and opportunities offered to those who attend the conference. I have been in touch by letter and phone with Ernst Senkowski in Germany. He and Otto Konig, the German EVP researcher who has had such excellent results in the development of ultrasonic equipment, will be with us. The two of them will conduct a one-day intensive workshop on Thursday, August 8, for those interested in an in-depth study of ultrasonics and their relation to the electronic voice. On Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, the remainder of the conference will be held. More details about the conference in future newsletters. It is not too soon to start planning to be with us for this outstanding event! Keep in touch with me and with others through our newsletter. If you have something you feel would be appropriate for our November newsletter, please send it to me no later than October 6. Until then, Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep. Established to Provide Evidence of

Survival Through the Electronic Voice and to Share Results With All. 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1984 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In the last three months I have received hundreds of letters and many phone calls. This is largely due to over 200,000 people learning about the AA-EVP through a lecture, newsletters, special features in catalogues and a television appearance in Chicago. One unusually poignant letter came from Doris, a forty-year-old woman who lives in a large southern city. Doris asked me to pray for her pet pig Valentine. I must admit I was nonplussed when I read this. I’ve been asked to pray for a lot of things but never a pig! I won’t go into all the details except to say Valentine was taken from Doris because pigs aren’t allowed in the city. The final disposition of Valentine is to be decided in court and Doris begged me to call the mayor and ask him to save her pig. She closed her letter with, “God bless you. Please help.” Unexpressed, but very clear, was her fear that the court would decide to kill Valentine. She would lose the only thing she loved and, she felt, the one thing that loved her. She was terrified of the hurt that would come if she had to face life without Valentine. A month

later, Kay phoned me. She asked if I would teach her how to contact her husband through a tape recorder. Ed had died six months earlier but was still around. During the last eleven years of their fifty-four year old marriage, Ed had been bedfast. Kay cared for him the entire time and said Ed begged her near the end to have him cremated and bring his ashes back to the house for safekeeping. He was “afraid” to leave her. Kay did this and daily goes into the room where his ashes are kept, puts her hands on the urn and talks to him. Ed is quiet during the day but as soon as Kay goes to bed, the windows rattle and someone pounds on the front door so loudly that the entire house shakes. This keeps up all night and Kay can’t sleep. The once skeptical daughter-in-law spent a night with Kay and heard the same thing. She is so frightened she won’t come back and thinks Kay’s wanting to contact Ed is “evil.” Kay said, “You know it’s hard to give up someone you love who you’ve been married to for over fifty years. If I tell him to be quiet at night, he’ll think I don’t love him.” We talked about this and perhaps I helped Kay see that for her sake, as well as Ed’s, she should help him move on. Like Doris, Kay was not able to face life without that which she loved. In

his excellent article, “Archarmonics of Egypt,” Dr. Joseph Jochmans ( Earth Star Summer Resources paper) writes about the initiation which took place ages ago in Aswan, Egypt. The initiate was brought before a covered statue of Isis and at the base read the inscription, “No man has uncovered the last veil.” As Dr. Jochmans so aptly wrote, “When the inner realms are explored and information is received from beyond, even that other reality is found to be a veil covering another deeper reality…. One can keep penetrating veil after veil…. The mysteries of the universe and creation go on forever.” Those of us who work extensively with EVP have discovered the same thing. As we penetrate one reality after another we learn there are others. The answer of one, or a hundred, questions always brings more questions. There is no final answer because there is no final question. We can perhaps help Doris, Kay (and Ed), and others who turn to us for help, but we can go only so far. One might become discouraged to realize there will never be an “end in sight.” Or one can accept this with joy knowing that knowing is limitless and we are free to journey towards an unreachable infinity. 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Look into the Mirror The mirror messages some EVP researchers have received have fascinated almost everyone interested in the phenomena of the electronic voice. Jerry Bennett, Georgia State Coordinator,

sent the following to me. Everyone who wishes, whether they are actively involved in recording or not, can try Jerry’s experiment. “Those of you who have received the cryptic phrase, “Look into the mirror,” on their EVP tapes may be interested in some experiences of mine. I don’t know that this is what the EVP Voices are referring to or not, but I suspect it is. You may want to try the experiment to “see” (hopefully) the person or spirit who has been speaking to you on your tapes. “I was given instructions on how to see “spirits” in a psychic development class... I tried the experiment and it worked! On three occasions I was startled to see someone looking back at me in my own mirror! ... For those anxious to try for themselves let me explain the method I was given. First, and most important of all, is to protect yourself from undesirable type spirits by asking for God’s protection before you start. “Now for the details. I use my bathroom mirror at night with one candle burning off to my left side several feet from me. This is the only illumination. I stand looking into my own eyes in the mirror, trying not to blink and being very still and quiet. Blinking the eyes seems to retard the process and requires starting over with the concentration... Soon you may notice that your facial features appear to be rearranging themselves. Don’t be alarmed but continue looking into the

mirror. The next step may take 15—20 minutes to occur. The condition you are looking for is when the mirror temporarily clouds over with swirling white clouds, then instantly, you are looking through a window (where the mirror was) and see people and places in full color. This last step happens with startling swiftness and the clarity of vision is so great and the colors so bright that everything appears “more real” than real! “If you don’t achieve success after several attempts, you may want to try daily meditations and a vegetarian diet. “For the future, I want to try the experiment with someone else present to determine if they agree on what’s been seen. Also, I would like to set up a camera and video tape recorder and try to capture the images that I see. “I would like to hear the results of anyone trying these experiments. Jerry D. Bennett (Address removed)” I also would like to hear from anyone who tries Jerry’s experiment so I can use this in the Winter newsletter. Jerry enclosed a book list for those who want more information on scrying. Unfortunately, there isn’t room to print it but he said most of the books could be obtained from Health Research Box 70; Mokelumne Hill, California 95245, www.healthresearchbooks.com/. News from Abroad I received an interesting letter from Gilbert Bonner, an English EVP researcher. Gilbert has been working in the field of EVP for many years and feels discouraged by the lack of positive

feedback. Gilbert wrote, “Things regarding EVP at moment here are dead. The News of the World (largest Sunday) has shelved article on EVP. …ASSAP has done nothing re-conference promised. ...Hearing voices requires good hearing plus the correct psychological attitude. An attentive yet relaxed state of mind.” Gilbert feels the major problem is to prove to skeptics (such as many psychologists, parapsychologists and other scientists) that the voices are from separate entities speaking from one or more dimensions. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Up to a Challenge? Let’s give some serious thought to what Gilbert and many others feel is a major problem for EVP. How can we prove to open-minded skeptics that those who speak to us on tape are independent, conscious entities? Think about this and send me your ideas. I’d like to feature them in the Winter newsletter. Our Members Report Things may be at a lull EVP wise, at least in parts of Europe as Gilbert Bonner wrote, but as far as our members are concerned there is much activity. John Anthony, new AA-EVP member, is interested in the video recording aspect of EVP. He wrote, “Interested to hear from any who have attempted electronic video recording of phenomena and those who might want to discuss high/low energy physics of EVP and possible video” Carol Barron, MA state Coordinator, has been busy contacting AA-EVP members in her state. She also wrote, “For the past few months … I

have been using a neon light. I place it near the microphone and it generates static that at times has been conducive for voices. I have been presenting my tapes to individuals and small groups of people and they are very interested.” Robert Camburn, from PA, wrote that his article, “Contact With The Next World-What’s It Like?,” which appeared in the Spring Issue of the Spiritual Frontiers Journal, has received enthusiastic comments. In another letter Robert commented about an article he had read in which the author wrote, “spirit communicators may be inhibited from progressing by the emotional needs of the living.” Robert suggests, “It appears that contact with “lost souls” may help them understand what has happened to them and enable them to “look for the light” and begin their outward journey. All in all, if our efforts are intelligently directed, we and they may be mutually helpful.” Wm Duvendack, from MT, wrote that he is building an isolation float tank. I have suggested to him that he experiments to see if Voices can be recorded while he is in the tank. Tina El-Ramli, of Wales, sent me a series of newspaper articles describing her and a reporter’s investigations of a number of apparently haunted locations in South Wales. Numerous photos showed Tina attempting to contact the unseen through her portable tape recorder. Tina wrote that she had given a lecture about EVP at the end of August to thirty-four Americans from Oregon who were on a month’s “occult”

tour of England. Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator writes, “We have never gotten any low grade spirits, no obscene or abusive words. But we have also heard a voice three times say, just before I start speaking, “Get out!” which I am sure is directed to some low character who wanted to muscle in. The point in putting this into the newsletter is to learn if others have had the same experience.” Jamil Jahshan, of Amman, Jordan, sent me a newspaper article he wrote in Arabic about EVP and that was published in Jordan. He translated part of it for me. The article should be very helpful for those who want to start their own experiments. Jamil wrote that it was encouraging people to become more involved with the phenomena. The previous week a Kuwaiti newspaper had interviewed him. It is good that word about EVP is spreading to all parts of the world and is no longer limited to a few countries. Jamil closed his letter by saying that he is going to write an article about Raymond Moody’s book, Life After Life. That is the book I gave Jamil when we met him at the airport in Amman last May on our way to Egypt. 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, from Virginia, uses the air-band on her radio as a sound source. It had been unusually quiet lately and one day she mentioned this while recording. A

clear voice said, “Don’t worry about that. We’re tracking your beam with radar.” Another time an unseen entity said, “I love my work. Clarissa (Clara) knows words are programmed. I’m glad you know the system.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, recently sent me a tape with four messages on it. They were of excellent quality and two of them are especially thought provoking. Someone said in rhythmic voice, “science is chaotic.” In the other you hear David asking, “How do you make the Voices from the land of the dead?” The clear response is, “No contact ‘til they went from eternity.” Although David uses the air-band on the radio for his sound sources, he is able to adjust his equipment so there is no background noise. Janet Majors, from MO, wrote that she works with a group that investigates places where there is evidence of paranormal activity. They have recorded sounds of a ticking clock on their tape even when there is no clock present. The same recorder is used for other activities but the ticking sound is absent. At times the energy level with static background noise is so high they cannot hear the information they have taped. She would like to hear from members who have found the same problems and how they were solved. Janet is on the cross-country list. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, is a ham radio operator. He is interested in starting a net on a common frequency other AA-EVP ham radio operators could

use in order to discuss the electronic voice. Dan said W 9 EQT operates all bands and probably 20 to 40 meters on a weekend would be best. His address is on the cross-country list. Tom Roers, from MD, and his wife Linda have started publication of a catalogue which should interest many Association members. It is called, Second Sight, and the catalogue carries products and features articles which make use of the five physical senses to expand awareness. The Roers express through their catalogue their belief of, “Applying ancient wisdoms and modern technology to self-development philosophy.” For your free copy of Second Sight write to: (Address removed). Robert St Pierre, new AA-EVP member from CA, said in a phone conversation that he is interested in hearing from anyone who has received unusual groups of messages such as the mirror messages. He wants to correspond with those who have an idea for an electronic invention that would help with recordings. Robert is working with a friend who has a number of electronic patents and they are hoping to devise new equipment that will lead to improved recording results for everyone. He is listed on the Fall Cross-Country List. Nancy White, new AA-EVP member from TX, called me in October about her future two week trip to Egypt. She was “inspired” by my account in the August NEWS of messages my daughter and I had recorded while there in May. She asked for suggestions that might help her find success as

she attempts her own recordings in Egypt at the end of October. Helping Hands In the last three months, many different aspects of the media have helped spread the word about the AA-EVP. The first was a special story about my work which appeared in Stuart Wilde’s Summer and Fall issues of his Mystic Trader catalogue. Next, ABC TV, Chicago, brought me to Chicago to appear on their Monday morning “A.M. Chicago” show. I had a few minutes to talk about EVP and the engineer played several Voice samples I had given him. Dale Kaczmarek, AA-EVP member from IL, was also on the show. He had been invited to tell about the work his ghost research group is doing. 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Harold Sherman wrote in his ESP Research Associates Foundation Newsletter (Jul-Aug issue) about our trip to Egypt and recording voices in the pyramids and other locations. He also mentioned our national conference to be held near Baltimore in August of ‘85. On the front page of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship Newsletter (Sept. issue), Mary Jo and Walter Uphoff’s article about the electronic voice appeared. They mentioned the AA-EVP and the conference we had in August 1983. Helping hands are being extended for the future. David Newfeld of a Toronto, Canada radio station called recently to interview me for a broadcast they are preparing. We talked at length and the AA-EVP will receive good coverage. David has since

joined the AA-EVP. Michael Kimball’s article, Soul Search, which mentions the electronic voice, is scheduled to appear in the November issue of Yankee, a reputable national magazine published in New England. Helping hands are important. I would not be where I am without the hundreds of people who have helped me along the way. To each I owe the deepest sense of gratitude. Reversed Tape Psychic Lecture Experience Hu Custer, PA AA-EVP member, of STAR Tapes has devised a reverse tape experiment for everyone. The outcome could help give significant evidence for the reverse voice phenomena if many people (you!) take part. Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, will collaborate with Hu on the experiment. Hu wrote: “Three taped lectures given by people claimed to be psychic will be reverse copied and offered to AA-EVP members for EVP analysis. The three will be chosen from a collection of 600 or so masters, copies of which are currently available for members of several organizations. The experiment is a preliminary attempt to determine if the lecturers have impressed any information onto their recordings which can be heard by reverse playing. Help is needed from members of AA-EVP. You will need a cassette player with a counter. Tapes will be exact copies of the master, reversed, and you will listen to up to 60 minutes of recorded material. This will take several hours. You must agree to complete the work within two weeks and return the tape and a completed set of results as

well as answering a number of questions. Results will be analyzed and the outcome shared with the membership. Complete instructions and data sheets will be sent with the cassette. You will not know who is lecturing on the tape and are requested to not try to find out. If you desire to take part in the experiment, please send your name, address and $1.00 to help cover costs to Mercedes Shepanek, (Address removed). Cassettes become the property of AA-EVP when the experiment is completed. Several blinds are built into the experiment. You will know your tape only by a number. Please help!” Order your tape from Mercedes by Nov. 19 The results will be given in a future newsletter. Schematic for Dual Swept Oscillator I have been working with the unit below for two months, along with a dual ultrasonic oscillator (schematic in Aug. NEWS). With the present unit, you have two tones working separately sweeping from audible to inaudible range and back down again. Combining this with the first unit has helped produce interesting results. 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tips for Trips Going on a trip? Thinking about taking your tape recorder along? Let me encourage you to do this. The unseen are everywhere and in many cases will speak. Recording in the field, however, is not the same as recording in your home. The acoustics are very different and you will not be able to use a sound

source. Recording techniques need to be altered slightly. There are unique challenges to be met but meeting them successfully brings its own special sense of reward. There are several small pieces of equipment (inexpensive and easily obtained) that you should take with you. If you would like to receive your “tips” send … (These are no longer available) Roll Call With so many people learning about the AA-EVP in the last three months, I have had difficulty keeping up with the number of requests for additional information and the follow-up work that has been required. As a result, it has been necessary to engage the services of a part-time secretary for several hours a week. A sign of growth! Over 40 new members have joined the Association. Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Carolina are now represented with thirty some other states. California has shown the greatest growth with seven new members. To everyone, we’re glad to have you! Cross-country List Over thirty names have been added to the cross-country list. Those of you who are on the list will find the Fall supplemental list enclosed. In the Winter newsletter, there will be one updated and current list. If you want your status changed, your name added to the list or taken off, now is the time to let me know. The first week in January is the deadline! 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Best of ‘84 In the May

newsletter we had an excellent feature, suggested by Dan McKee, of the best EVP messages received by members during the year. A number of you urged that we do this yearly. The first newsletter of the new year seems to be more appropriate so please send me, no later than January 5, what you consider to be the two or three most interesting messages you taped during 1984. These will be featured in the Winter newsletter. AA-EVP National Conference Response Although our national conference is nine months away, many people have written that they have marked their calendars for August 8 through 11, and will be with us. Luise Fuchs, of Germany, wrote that she expects to come. Her friend Bernadette Arras, also of Germany, called and said she, and possibly her mother, plan to be present. Bernadette will bring some of her tapes and this will be interesting for everyone. One of our Canadian members said she is coming. Perhaps we should call the conference International Whatever, it promises to be outstanding. Our State Coordinators are responding with helpful suggestions. Odds and Ends “Thank you!” for the many gracious letters that came as a response to the May newsletter and to those who wrote after receiving the Egyptian tape. Your response was heart-warming. As Bernadette Arras said in our phone conversation, “I was afraid when I ordered, “Voices From Egypt,” I would have difficulty understanding it since it is not in my native tongue. My friends and I found

it very clear.” The only criticism concerning the May newsletter was from people who wrote, “You didn’t say enough about Egypt.” Well, there must be a limit to my own contributions for the NEWS. The newsletter is for you and, as much as possible, by you! There are still a few tales to be told about our experiences. Possibly I may have a special workshop about Egypt at the conference, as suggested by several people. We will wait and see what develops. Meanwhile, until later, you have always my best wishes, Sarah Estep. Established to Provide Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1985 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In his excellent book, The Divining Hand - The 500-Year-Old Mystery of Dowsing, Christopher Bird quotes British psychiatrist Alan McGlashan’s definition of psyche as “spontaneous, unpredictable, free, its very existence is a challenge to logical thought, the glitter of an executioner’s axe to every strutting orthodoxy. The psyche is beautiful and dangerous.” Just how dangerous it can be is brought home to me now and then. I frequently am asked to counsel people, most of whom I have never seen. They are just a voice over the telephone. A few, such as Joe, a paranoid schizophrenic, are certifiable. Joe, raised in a church orphanage,

was constantly told by his guardians that if he was bad the devil would get him. In his twenties, Joe could not resist finding out if this would, in fact, happen. He went to a meeting of those who practiced black magic, and the devil got him and for twenty years has not let him go. Joe has been in and out of mental hospitals and once in California, was put in jail for trying to stab the devil (fortunately the air) with a knife on a street corner. His life is in torment and he calls me every so often for advice. Joe’s psyche was tampered with as a child and the prognosis for his recovery is bleak. More typical is a phone call I received from Anne a week before Christmas. She has a full scholarship and is a Junior a near-by state college. Her first words to me were, “I’m a victim of psychic attack.” I questioned her carefully. My conclusion was that she was highly intelligent, impressionable, had a smattering of knowledge about the paranormal which, sadly in her case, was just enough to hurt her. Anne said there was a campus-wide movement of voodoo started last fall by several professors. She was chosen by the professors to he a student leader of the practice. At first she was thrilled with what was happening but then became frightened. She has tried unsuccessfully to get out several times and because of this, she believes her mind has

been “taken over” and she is under psychic attack. She is afraid she will have to drop out of school, lose her scholarship and not graduate. Yes, the psyche is beautiful and dangerous. In talks I often mention that the mind is capable of all sorts of marvelous and not so marvelous things. I have known several EVP researchers whose mental outlook caused me concern. They were convinced one or morer entities were trying to control them and this belief, right or wrong, was the importer thing to consider. Dr. X, a parapsychologist, who has written for professional journals, wrote to me that he thought the person who is taping voices may be splitting into a number of personalities. This explains why, according to him, the researcher, regardless of gender, will get voices of both sexes on his tapes. He doesn’t care to address himself to the question as to how all of us Jekylls and Hydes are able to place messages on the reverse or wrong side of our tapes. Some members responded to my Up to a Challenge? as mentioned in the Fall Newsletter, and we will take a look at what they have to say about skeptics such as Dr. X. A New Slogan AA-EVP member, Barry Detwiler, of New Jersey, wrote that he felt a more accurate statement for our Association, found at the bottom of our stationary, would be to substitute the word, “Provide Evidence” to “Investigate Evidence…” Barry is correct and I owe him

many thanks for his excellent suggestion! 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Long Messages Recorded One of the drawbacks of EVP communication is the short nature of most messages. Several theories for this exist, such as our inability to provide those in other dimensions with the necessary energies to aid in their communication. The majority of messages taped are three to four words. With a few rare exceptions, messages longer than twenty words are infrequent. Now Dan McKee seems to have made a breakthrough. Quoting from his letter he writes, “I asked for my voice communicator friends to work with me in improving this method of communication. An immediate reply came back saying, ‘Give us hours of work it.’ That intercept continued with a total of 52 continuous words. Most of the replies are this long, or longer, which rather dispels the common notion that only a few words at a time can be said. Some of the other things they said were, ‘You are to work it, we help you.’ ‘Help it help ‘ye.’ ‘You, you are one.’ ‘Hear us, we on daily.’” In his letter Dan described his recording equipment set-up so anyone with similar equipment may want to try to replicate his results. He wrote, “I’m still working with multiple tone injection as the entry level for the voices. Besides using the multiple tone signal of a government station on 7329 KHz upper side band, I use the reel

to reel recorder and turn the gain control open to the point of oscillation which produces several bird like sounds at one time. Also, I have operated the transmitter and receiver at the same time and on the same frequency which produces an effect similar to the howl of a public address system when the microphone hears the speaker. Moving a few cycles off zero beat generates the birdies and produces a multiple tone effect as needed. Voice injection is still required and playing this combination backwards has produced some pretty good results. ... It takes a lot of juggling to get this method operating but it has been worth it many times. It appears our friends will try to accommodate us in almost anything we want to try.” Dan’s communications are received on the reverse side of his tapes. Reverse Tape Experiment Continued In the Fall Newsletter, I wrote about a reverse tape experiment that had been devised by Hu Custer, PA AA-EVP member. Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, is collaborating with Hu on the experiment. They have reported that some members responded. We have discussed the experiment, the interest shown, and the possible significant evidence for the phenomena if many people (you) take part. It is our hope that with the holidays over, more people will want to participate. It has also occurred to me that, with so many people joining the Association in the last six months, they may not know what the reverse voice is. Let

me briefly explain. Some EVP tapers have discovered that they have paranormal messages on the reverse or wrong side of their tapes. They are just as loud and clear, in fact, at times clearer, than messages found on the forward side of tapes. They continue to call the experimenter by name, answer his direct questions, and make pertinent comments about existing situations. The whole thing sounds impossible but they are there! We won’t go into the mechanics involved as to discovering whether there are reverse voices on tapes. That is clearly spelled-out in the “how-to” paper I send to those interested. For now, it is enough to say that the unseen speak to us, at times, on both sides of recording tapes. It is also some of the best evidence we have for open-minded skeptics (and others) that we are communicating with entities from other dimensions. Only such an entity would be capable of this type of feat. Such voices cannot be illusionary; they cannot be placed there by our subconscious mind. Back to the experiment. Hu, as President of STAR Tapes, is the official recorder of many regional and national conferences. He taped our own national conference in 1983 and is expected to do the same at our conference next August. He has in his possession over 600 master tapes. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Hu has taken several of these tapes and reverse duplicated them onto cassette tapes. Anyone

whether they have ever tried to record voices or not, can take part in the experiment. All that you need is a cassette tape recorder with a counter. Complete instructions and a data sheet that you will fill out will be sent with your tape. Upon completing the experiment you will return the tape, which becomes the property of AA-EVP, and data sheet to the person designated. To take part in the experiment, send your name and address and $1.00 to help cover costs, to Mercedes Shepanek, ) Address removed) by February 15. Your results are due back by March 8th. You will not know who is taking part in the experiment or what tapes are being used. The objective of the experiment is to learn if people listening to the same tape will hear the same messages. Results will be analyzed and shared in a future newsletter. Here is your opportunity to become involved in a project of the Association. Challenge Accepted In the Fall Newsletter, I asked readers if they were up to the challenge of trying to show open- minded skeptics that those who speak to us on tape are independent, conscious entities. The responses, which ranged from a philosophical approach to evidential information received, were all interesting. To each of you who accepted the challenge, “Thank you!” Bernadette Arras, of West Germany wrote, “It should be proof when an EVP researcher is recording voices on tape and unseen friends are calling him by name sometimes the

entities talk about things only known by themselves and the researcher. We have many proofs like these. During the centuries many scientists had a lot of difficulties to get acknowledged such as Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler.” Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, said that she has tried to be cautiously slow in analyzing the phenomena. Eventually she had to accept that the Voices were separate, conscious entities with their own personalities and expressions. She doesn’t know if her experiences would convince others but, in the end, they convinced her. She mentioned that her sleep experiments were, to her, the most evidential. One time a Voice whispered to someone else, “Too bad she fell asleep.” This came through as soon as Carol lay down but before she was asleep. Another time, after laying down, she opened her eyes for a moment. A Voice asked, “You woke up?” Here again, Carol had not been asleep but an unseen entity thought she had been. Gilbert Bonner, of England feels it is difficult to convince skeptics that the voices are genuine. He wrote that one author referred to EVP as “illusion.” Gilbert feels this does happen at times and our task is, “hindered by any errors that may happen or any suggestion of fraud.” Gilbert would like researchers to try and collect good voice samples that talk about life after death, the beyond and so forth. Robert Camburn, of PA said that, “The individual scientist, or layman, who is skeptical that the tape messages

come from “the dead” hasn’t read the literature on the subject, or, if he has, has not done so with an open or perceptive mind. Even should this first use of modern technology to contact the departed be perfected, there may be those who will still resist the implication. They would have to admit a basic error in their view of existence. More than a century has gone by since the first modern evidence of survival and contact with “survivors” appeared. From the beginning scientists have rejected the evidence, even when offered by outstanding members of their own fraternity. … It must be remembered that what is really at stake in the scientific world is its sacrosanct materialistic philosophy. That philosophy will not be yielded readily, but recent developments in science have begun to erode it.” Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, wrote, “I don’t think there is any way one can prove that a voice purportedly from outer space can be proved to be an entity. They may tell you about 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena where they live but how do you prove what it is really like on plant X, Y light years away? But voices purportedly from people who used to live as we do, but are now on another plane of existence, is another story. Basically, these entities must identify themselves and give responses to questions that make sense and fit with their personalities and character.” Monty

gave several evidential messages received over the years. One time when they were visiting Friedrich Jurgenson, Jurgenson played a tape for them on which his friend Boris Sakarov gave him a personal message. Jurgenson was surprised because he thought Boris was alive. He checked and discovered that Boris had been killed two weeks earlier. Monty wrote, “Some people suggest that the responses come from the taper’s mind, however, I am convinced that is not the case, at least in my experience. I never have gotten words I casually think might be the answer which would come. One time I asked, “Is it easier for me to communicate with you, than you with me?” The answer I received was one that I would never have anticipated. It was, ‘We both have our problems.’ Gary Hickethier, a new member from WI, also accepted the challenge. He wrote, “When presenting EVP tapes to the public, concentrate on presenting only those which could not possibly be interpreted as freak radio reception, static from the atmosphere or equipment. In other words, any voices which respond directly to questions, objects or conditions present at the time of the recording would be difficult to explain in purely mundane ways. You mentioned a recording in which two female names were present. After some detective work, the two women’s families were located and it was verified that the two named persons had died some time ago. ...Evidence like this is difficult to ignore. Finally, I think that the best

way to get scientists, skeptics, and almost anyone else to take the EVPers seriously would be to increase the number of people who make these recordings, or who are aware that this phenomena exists and who become curious and eager to learn about it.” Best of ‘84 Bernadette Arras wrote that she and her mother were very grateful for the messages they received during the year. Their German shepherd dog called, “Schatzel” (darling), died last February. The following day while they were recording, someone said that “Schatzel” now belonged to them. They said: “Schatzel is waiting for you!” Bernadette added that they would bring these messages and others they have recorded to our conference next August. Carol Barron wrote that she gave a friend an unusual birthday present in ‘84. While taping alone one day she said it was her boyfriend’s birthday and after stating his name and age asked if they had a birthday greeting. Immediately, several voices whispered repetitiously, “Happy Birthday.” This was followed by a man’s tonal voice who called her friend by name and said, “You’re not old!” Clara Laughlin, of VA, wrote that it has been a wonderful year for recording. In the last newsletter I mentioned that she had taped a message saying that her “beam” was being tracked with “radar.” Clara said that instead of “radar” the word “laser” should have been used. One of the most interesting recent developments Clara reports is when she buys something new, although she doesn’t mention it

in her recordings, the unseen will give the correct brand name such as, “You bought a London Fog raincoat.” Dan McKee tapes every day and receives many communications from the unseen. Some recent ones are: “You raise yourself up in this.” “That’s right, you with Margie.” (his wife) “This is love I give you.” “Love you forever.” “I love you Margie.” “For he is a dreamer, daily.” “For I live! For I live!” 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena It was reported in the Fall Newsletter that Nancy White, of TX, was leaving for two weeks in Egypt. Although she had never tried EVP recordings before, she hoped she would be able to do this at some of the locations. I sent her “Tips for Trips” which she found helpful. After her return, I talked to her and she was thrilled with her Egyptian experience as well as one special message she taped with her portable tape recorder. Nancy has long “searched” for a name to call the home she plans to build. At one tomb she recorded a clear female voice which said, “The legend of Tel-Amon.” When Nancy spoke to their Egyptian guide about the message he said it really translated into “The hill (or mountain, or home) of peace,” so Nancy plans to call her home Tel-Amon Reports from and about Members In her interesting letter Bernadette Arras wrote that Friedrich Jurgenson told them that the voices recorded on

tape get weaker with age. He suggests that voice tapes should be re-recorded after approximately two years. Carol Barron and I were invited to appear on a CBS TV morning talk show in Boston before Christmas. We discussed our work recording Voices, and the message, “Sarah! Please guide me. I love,” that I recorded at the Temple of Denderah in Egypt last May, was played for the listeners. Great interest was shown, many phone calls were received and several people joined the Association. Morry Cuttler, FL AA-EVP member, wrote that he is starting a local group in Florida in February. He is on the cross-country list and anyone who lives in the Miami area may want to contact him for further information. Monty Hearon wrote that as a scientist he has long been interested in the question as to how the Voices get on the tapes. Monty uses both channels on his tape recorder and two mics, but at times has experimented with just one mic. He has learned that consistently the Voices would be only on the channel with the mic attached. Recently, taping in his usual way with two mics and two channels, he received a short musical segment. The musical tones, however, were on just the left channel. Monty assures us that all of his equipment was in good working order. His voice was still on both channels. Only the music was missing from the one track. Edelgard John, of West Germany, in commenting about the tape

I have made, Voices From Egypt, wrote that with the exception of one message, all others were in English. She said, “It is known that they—those who usually speak to us—use exactly the languages we know.” She then asked, “Do you not think of the building of the “Tower of Babel” when we were punished with no longer being able to understand each other! Is the time near when we understand again?” In the Fall newsletter, I wrote that Dan McKee, a ham radio operator, was eager to start a net on a common frequency other AA-EVP ham radio operators could use to discuss the electronic voice. Dan is pleased to report that two members responded. John Anthony, of NY, and Ben Kobb, of VA, contacted him. They try to chat on 3840 kHz Friday evenings. Dan has discovered that many other individuals have picked up their conversations and have a number of questions about EVP. Dan has sent membership applications and how-to papers to some of them. Dan wrote, “I feel there is potential for membership growth here and it should stimulate idea exchange among those participating.” So, all of you ham operators who would like to drop in and visit Fridays, a warm welcome awaits you. Dan is on the cross-country list if you want to contact him ahead of time to confirm plans. Mercedes Shepanek is going to Africa the end of March on a three week camera safari. She will take along her portable tape recorder

and see if Voices will speak to her in the grass lands and the jungle! 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tape Alert! All of us who are recording Voices have messages that are especially important to us. We need to be aware of their possible fading after a period of time as suggested by Frederich Jurgenson to Bernadette Arras. Deterioration of this recorded information can be expected when you consider that the magnetic oxide particles can be influenced by any magnetic field present after the recording is made. The tightly wound tapes could be influenced by adjacent layers of tape which lie only one one-thousandth of an inch away. The earth’s magnetic field might slowly change the recorded information, or changes in the physical properties of the plastic tape might degrade the fidelity. Valuable tapes should be re-recorded periodically using the best quality tape available. We could use your ideas on this important subject. Your thoughts will be shared in a future newsletter. A Look at some Books Three books I have read in the last several months, which made special impressions on me and which you might like to read are: The Divining Hand, by Christopher Bird, is about dowsing and if you think dowsing is simply going out with a forked stick and trying to locate water, you have much to learn about the art. As I read this excellent book it occurred to me that we dowse with

our tape recorders. This is especially true when we try to record voices in the field, whether it is in a purportedly haunted house, the Sphinx or pyramids. Both seem to require the use of unique energies. The dowser searches for numerous things besides water. The approach a number of them take, philosophically, is similar to the approach many of us take with our tape recorders. The book can be ordered for $14.50 from The American Society of Dowsers, Danville, Vermont 05828—0024. http://dowsers.new-hampshire.net/ The Hundredth Monkey, by Ken Keyes, is an uncomfortable book to read. It may disturb your sleep and thoughts of it will linger with you during the day. The book should be read by everyone who thinks might is right and best. It shows clearly that if we don’t learn to live together, we will perish together. Send $2.00 to: Vision Books, (Address removed). On A Slide Of Light, by Greta Woodrew, is a fascinating, provocative book. Dr. Woodrew describes how she was suddenly contacted by entities from another solar system. Many of the things they told her would happen in the future are starting to take place. One result from her contacts with the Ogatta group is her ability to manifest unusual energies which strongly affects matter. You may order the book for $10.00 directly from STAR Foundation, (Address removed). If you would like the book autographed, mention this in your note as well as to whom it should be autographed. We have taken in twenty-six

new members in the last three months. New Mexico is now represented. A warm welcome to everyone! Roll Call Enclosed is the updated list of all AA-EVP members on the cross-country list. There are over 120 names on it. Cross-country List 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Conference Update Plans are continuing for our August 8 to 11 conference. A clear picture is emerging as to the direction we will go. It holds great promise and should appeal to everyone whether they are taping Voices or not. Unfortunately, Otto Konig has decided he cannot attend. We have not changed our plans to hold a one-day special seminar on Thursday, August 8. This will be an exciting, outstanding day as we examine the manifestation and ways unique energies are used. Dr. Ernst Senkowski, German physicist and EVP researcher, plans to be with us and his contribution to the conference as a scientist and active Voice researcher will be invaluable. I expect to complete program planning and contacting lecturers and workshop leaders within the next month. More about this in the coming Newsletter. For now, anticipate! You won’t he disappointed! Odds and Ends Share your ideas and thoughts with us. Each is cherished. Please have this to me by the time of the next deadline—March 23! Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep. Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC

Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1985 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Happy third birthday to us! Three years ago when I wrote the first newsletter, I had many dreams. I dreamt I would write, in due time, “Happy third birthday,” hut I wondered if this was a realistic dream. It turns out it was. There were other dreams, some of which have been realized, while others are still waiting their turn. This year has been an exciting, enriching year. It brought some problems, but they were mainly in the area of growth. Like a mother who must buy her toddler new clothes to accommodate his growth, I had to enlarge and adjust to the sudden spurt in growth which began after I returned from Egypt last May. My belief is that the value of any organization can only he measured to the extent it has meaning for its members. I would rather have 200 members to whom AA-EVP is important in that it has affected their lives constructively, than 1,000 members who look upon it as just another group to which they belong. Your letters and phone calls have assured me the Association is important to you. Someone this past year, in referring to the newsletter, wrote, “I can’t wait for it to come.” Another individual wrote, “I devour it.” A third person said, “It helps keep me sane.” To

all of you who have written or called, I am warmly grateful. You didn’t have to take the time to do this, but you did! I am even more grateful to you who sent me material for the newsletter. It is thanks to you that we have a newsletter of this nature. You, the contributors, are largely responsible for it being the sort of newsletter that, as one friend put it, “When it comes, everything else stops until I sit down to read it.” You have made a difference in the lives of our members and I thought you should know this. Several nights ago when I was sitting quietly in my office thinking about the Association and where we have come in three years, and where I hope we will go in the future, I saw a bright light. This light, almost indescribably beautiful, was very different from the lights I see upon rare occasions. It was four feet to my right, about one foot above the floor, and there were dozens of tiny, brilliant white and silver lights, all connected, rapidly spinning, in the form of a wheel with spokes. It was in sight, perhaps two seconds, before it abruptly disappeared. What does it mean? I think it meant several things. One, that what we are doing, you and I, is regarded favorably by the invisibles. Secondly, in a subtle way it was telling me that there is an interconnectedness between all life, all consciousness, in all planes

of existence. Our future? Who can say. In less than four months our second national conference will be held, during which there will be a meeting concerning a plan that will help the Association grow and make an important difference in the lives of others. I hope many of you will think about attending this meeting. There are other goals but since you are the Association, only by your efforts and by sharing with me your ideas can we hope to realize our dreams. Frederick Frank, the artist, wrote, “However far you may walk, every pilgrimage is a safari into your own dark interior.” This is, in a sense, true, but I like to feel that our efforts, together, will shed illumination for those known and unknown to us; that our personal pilgrimage need not be a fumbling in the dark, but that we will light a light for each other. Tina Laurent, AA-EVP member from Wales, recently sent me a long letter in which she summarized her findings after three years of extensive EVP recordings. Since many of her A Letter from Wales 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena observations are significant and give evidence for the paranormality of the electronic voice, I would like to share at least part of her letter with you. She wrote, “Simultaneously run tapes giving different results—i.e., EVP message being the same but in a different place, or EVP message on one tape but not

on the other, or different EVP messages on both tapes.” Tina records many unusual names and situations which are unfamiliar to her. Usually, within a few days she will find the name or situation in a book or film. One day an EVP voice said, “House of seven bodies.” Two days later on TV she saw a film called, “House of Seven Corpses.” In her letter Tina wrote, “I have noticed that many times there seems to be a false start to the EVP voice as if they are practicing what they are saying. The first few syllables or words are heard faintly and then are repeated more strongly.” (In my reply to Tina, I said I also have this anomaly at times, as does Fredrich Jürgenson who calls them “echo voices.”) Tina records many voices at the beginning or end of her sessions. She also has forward- speaking voices on the reverse side of her tapes. Tina observes, “My EVP voices have changed from mostly typical (speed, pitch, rhythm, etc.) to normal-sounding ones. Also, certain places and certain people seem to encourage volume and strength of voices … with my cousin, I can be assured of LOUD normal-sounding EVP voices.” Tina asked, “Does she turn into a medium in the presence of a recorder?” When investigating some haunted houses she gets numerous voices. She also made the interesting comment, “Where poltergeist happenings are occurring I always get voices that mimic.” Near the end Tina wrote, “I’ve had, on two

occasions, voices that sound exactly like two people I know and they gave their names too, but they are STILL living. I don’t know what to make of that. Do you? One of them, I played for my brother and his wife and they recognized it straight away and they have always thought that I played a joke on them.” Tina would like to undertake a project to categorize the voices and asks AA-EVP members to help her. For example, when she visits certain buildings that appear to have a ghost she records: “Who’s that?” “Go away! “Who are you? “This is my house.” At locations where great sickness or sympathy with ill or dying people has occurred she invariably gets many “Help me” voices. Tina believes these are voices of spirits who do not know where they are and she always prays and gives them her love. Other categories are: The recording of a mimicking voice in a house that has a poltergeist; the taping of voices that claim to be extraterrestrials; recording voices of people you know are still living. If you have received any of these types of voices on your tapes, Tina would appreciate your getting in touch with her. If you could include a duplicate tape of the voice(s), she would be especially grateful. Tina is on the cross-country list. EVP Voices from the Living? Tina’s letter provides evidence that the electronic voice originates from different sources, a theory to which I have long subscribed.

Let’s consider dust one source, perhaps the most puzzling of all—the recording of a voice of someone still living. Upon two occasions, Tina feels this occurred. In one instance, her brother and sister-in-law confirm that it did occur, although they think she used a pre-recorded tape of the individual’s voice. How can such a thing happen? Seven years ago I read about a similar incident. The explanation was that possibly the person who spoke had been in the dream-state, had an out-of-body experience, and visited the EVP taper whom he knew. Seeing that the person was recording at that time, he spoke to them and his voice was picked up by the microphone and recorded. Sounds fantastic? Yes, but fantastic things do happen at times. I should make it clear that I am not convinced this is what occurred. I only offer it as one explanation given some years ago. Have any AA-EVP members had a similar experience? Does anyone else have a theory about it? Let me know. I’d like to use this in a future newsletter if there is a response. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News from Other Publications Dennis Stillings, A.A-VP member from Minneapolis, Founder of the Archaeus Project and editor of Artifex, requests information that may he of interest to many AA-EVP members. In his Spring issue he wrote: “The Artifex staff would like to receive any information that members and subscribers may have on ‘strange

places to visit on your travels.’ Archaeological sites, places associated with paranormal events or “anomalous” phenomena and museums with Fortean-type objects are all appropriate…” Dennis wants full information on locating the site as well as your impressions of it. He will use the information to provide subscribers with an annual Travel Guide Artifex. You may contact Dennis at: (Address removed). Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff, AA-EVP members from WI, quoted G.B. EVP researcher whom we often quote, in their Fall, Winter, 1984 Newsletter (address: Fellowship Farm Address removed) “I now do most of my research (EVP - paranormal voices) for my OWN benefit, to try and better understand other dimensions of reality. I am not out to convert or to preach. I no longer care what the critics say. I have some 35,000 voice recordings on tape, which I feel are, in general, of paranormal origin...” In the Earth Mysteries Handbook prepared by Sig Lonegren in a joint venture of the American Society of Dowsers, Inc. (Danville, Vermont 05828-0024, http://dowsers.new- hampshire.net/) and the new England Antiquities Research Association, Sig mentions EVP as being “particularly exciting,” and suggests placing a tape recorder in a “sacred space” such as Chartres Cathedral, the Aztec and Mayan Temples, Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, and many underground stone chambers found in New England. He suggested that the reader contact the AA-EVP for further information. Several people have done so thus far. Norm Cauthier, Founder and director of the Society for Psychic Research of New Hampshire and

Massachusetts, reports in his March 1985 newsletter about the way some people are being led into trying to contact the dead. He wrote in Transcendental Telegraphs, “A company was founded in Chicago in 1982 which makes a business out of relaying messages to the dead by using terminally ill patients … A $40.00 fee (is charged) each client to place a message with a patient who is destined to die. The message sender receives notification through the mail of the messenger’s time and place of departure. The dying person need not memorize the message or even understand it. He just incorporates the message into his spirit, and then relays it to other spirits when he passes over.” In the first months of business about 5 people paid to have their messages delivered to someone on the other side. Several publications, such as Fate magazine, and the conference brochure for the Midwest Retreat for Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, have mentioned the death of Jane Roberts, from arthritis on September 5, 1984. Jane, well-known for her many books of metaphysical nature, was especially noted for her Seth books. A number of people, including myself, first became aware of the possibility of alternate realities upon reading Seth Speaks. In my own case, this sparked my interest to learn more. Eventually I became a psychical investigator, did some research into reincarnation, and finally settled upon the electronic voice as the best evidence we have that man survives death in an individual, conscious state. In Tina

Laurent’s letter, she included the following quote from the book, On The Edge of the Etheric, by Arthur Findlay published in 1931. Fifty-four Years Ago “Question: Can you suggest a means of communication without a medium?” 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Answer: By finding something on earth susceptible to the higher vibrations of the spirit world. This, scientists on our side are trying to influence you to accomplish, as it is a thing for you to do, not us. We cannot do more than get our vibrations down to near those of your earth. It is for you to get your vibrations up to meet ours when we come down.” That quote seems especially applicable to EVP researchers working in the field of research and development. Many of those on the other side want to communicate with us, but they can do only so much. We call on knowledgeable people in the fields of engineering and electronics to assist us through the development of suitable equipment to help us get our vibrations “up” to meet those who come “down.” Mediumship and the Tape Recorder We come to that ticklish question that frightens many people, “How much, if any, mediumship ability is required for successful EVP recordings?” Some of those actively working in the field refuse to consider the question. They are afraid if we inject an aura of mediumship into the electronic voice, the phenomena will be discounted by those of

scientific bent. This may be true to a certain extent, but the true scientist doesn’t reject ... he investigates with an open mind. Can we do less? From listening to many tapes over the years something becomes apparent—there is a vast difference in the quality of the voices that different experimenters record. Most are not outstanding but, here and there, a bright star gleams. It is also noteworthy that the highest quality communications usually receive the most interesting messages. It appears that we have virtuosos sitting at the “keyboard” of the tape recorder as we have them sitting at the keyboard of a piano. What makes an EVP virtuoso? What unique quality do they possess that others lack? To start with, many never felt they were mediumistic and some, in spite of their results, continue to say publicly they are not. Evidence is to the contrary. Urbain Berthelot, AA-EVP member from Belgium, wrote, “My experience is you can only get voices when somebody is medium and is near the tape recorder. Myself or with my wife didn’t get nothing … but when a third person came and sit down near us, then we get them … but this third person is a little medium.” Tina Laurent, you remember, also wrote about her cousin who, with her presence, assured Tina of recording loud, normal sounding voices. Tina wonders if her cousin “turns” into medium during a recording. There has been extensive concern the last few years with developing equipment which will

enable us to contact the unseen. Is equipment then, the answer? Is that all that is needed? Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, expresses it succinctly, “I’m confessing publicly to “eating crow” about my past theories for successful EVP taping. For ten years, I’ve looked aghast at any suggestion of “mediumship” involved and believed only in the unexplained interaction of tape and equipment and some other unknown dimension. However, this was always accompanied by an intuitive wonder and awe at the phenomena’s very existence. “A gradual drop off in the past two years has brought about a reassessment. An increasing preoccupation with ever-increasingly sophisticated equipment, and (I suspect) a lessening of intuition and simplicity of approach and expectation, has resulted in diminished returns. Emphasis on pragmatism has put my efforts out of balance. I have an intuitive feeling of disappointment on “the other side.” Is what I’ve lost called “mediumship?” Horrors! But—I’ve begun to wonder!” No, equipment in itself is not the answer. The most elaborate equipment in the world used by a pragmatic taper will probably result in little, if anything. The taper who intuitively believes such communication is possible and is filled with “wonder and awe” that different dimensions 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena can communicate will, it appears, become a virtuoso at his tape recorder no matter what equipment he uses. If he is blessed with elaborate electronic equipment which, as Arthur Findlay wrote, is “susceptible to the higher

vibrations of the spirit world,” which helps get his “vibrations up” to meet those who want to come down, then he can hope to achieve the highest quality voices. Both equipment and a special type of mediumship using unique energies are needed for outstanding success. Of the two, however, it appears the taper is the most important. This person, in a sense, places himself in a special “slot” which seems to be the key to open the door to other realities as he begins to record. This is not to suggest that everyone who receives just an occasional whispered, “I’m here,” should put the dust cover over their tape recorder and walk away. Every genuine communication from another dimension is important in its significance for, in it, we have objective communication with other worlds. By definition, anyone who relays a message from one entity to another, whether we tell a child his father said he should take out the garbage, or we report that an unseen voice told us he was with us while we were recording, is a medium. There is nothing “spooky” or shameful about it. Why are we so concerned with the simple little word, “medium?” Everyone is a medium— some to one dimension, some to more than one. So, of course, we’re mediums. Welcome to a not very exclusive club! Reverse Tape Up-Date The tapes have been returned by those people who took part in the Reverse Tape Experiment. Hu Custer, originator of the experiment, assisted

by Mercedes Shepanek, will study the results. We hope to have a report of their findings in the Summer newsletter. Reports from Members Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, did an interesting experiment using a clock. She and a friend placed a tape recorder near a loudly ticking clock. Verbally, they requested it to tick faster, slower, louder and erratically. Carol sent me a duplicate of the tape and you can clearly hear their request and the clock responding correctly. I played the tape on a portable tape recorder which was connected to an oscilloscope, hoping to isolate and visually see the response of the clock. There was too much background noise on the tape to see this. I have suggested to Carol she reduce the volume on her tape recorder next time, request the clock to tick slower (faster; erratically; etc.) and leave the room for several minutes while the experiment is taking place. This is an experiment other AA-EVP members might like to try. Any clock with an escapement that can he heard ticking is suitable for the experiment. Let me know your results. Carol also reports recording voices in a haunted house. She and the owner both used tape recorders and received some loud, clear messages. Later, when the owner played her tape hack for friends, all the paranormal voices were gone from the tape but Carol’s voice was still there! On the tape Carol sent, she mentioned recording words at times that seemed to have no meaning,

such as, “Mestaxis,” “Cantelviric,” “Rapitan” and “Rontankin.” So called “nonsense” words have always fascinated me. They are one answer to the skeptic who claims all of our messages are placed on tape through psychokinetic action of the taper’s mind with the tape. I also have received words of this nature and have long wondered from what dimension they come. They are usually loud and clear and interpretation of them causes no difficulty. In my book, Voices From Eternity, I mentioned this phenomena within a phenomena. Unfortunately, the publisher who accepted it went bankrupt and the manuscript was eventually returned. 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Mercedes Shepanek spent a week in Jamaica this winter with her family. Each day she would record when no one was around. During one recording she asked if anyone was present. A clear male voice responded with, “I kiss you!” followed by a loud smacking sound!! Mercedes is spending three weeks in Africa in April and hopes to record frequently. She has found my Tips for Trips helpful. Quite a few have sent for this. With vacation time approaching, there may be others who would like to have it. Just let me know. Please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. Roll Call New members have been added the last three months, including our first member in Italy. Those who requested it are on the cross-country list, which is enclosed. For the year we have shown a healthy growth,

having enrolled seventy-eight new members. Well over 100 people have renewed their membership. Men still outnumber the women with 59 of our members being men. Maryland leads the states with seventeen members. California is next with fourteen. Pennsylvania and Virginia tie with twelve each. AA-EVP National Seminar-conference Up-date It may not be grammatical, but our second national seminar-conference scheduled Aug. 8 through 11, is chock full of “wonderfulness.” Many of you said you wished the first conference could have lasted longer, therefore, our conference will start with three very special seminars on Thursday. The manifestation and constructive use of all unique energies is important and so, with this in mind, I have put together the exceptional program we are now privileged to offer. It should appeal to everyone whether their main interest is the electronic voice or other areas that are evidential of survival. At the same time it will help us see how we can tap into unique energies and use them in our lives. Beginning Thursday morning at 10:00, Louis Matacia, a surveyor and master dowser, will teach a three hour seminar on dowsing. Christopher Bird devotes an entire chapter in his hook, The Divining Hand, to Louis, who will teach us how to dowse and each participant will make his own dowsing rod before the end of the seminar. From 2:30 to 5:30, Dr. Greta Woodrew, noted for her book, On A Slide Of Light, will cover the area of unique energies with her seminar topic, Spectrum

Span “From E.S.P. to E.T.” As one of the leading psychics in the world today, she is well qualified to help us examine metal bending, psychic healing, telepathy, psychometry, psychokinesis, etc. Dr. Ernst Serikowski, German physicist and engineer, member of AA-EVP, will bring us a three hour seminar Thursday evening from 7:00 to 10:00 on the Electronic Voice. Dr. Senkowski, as a scientist and active EVP researcher, will help us gain a better insight into the unique energies that are used to effect TransCommunication between different levels of consciousness. From Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, the quality of the program remains just as high. We will focus on different areas that suggest postmortem survival and continue to examine the unique energies that affect all of our lives. Stuart Wilde, a met ienced EVP taper. If your name is chosen, you will have the opportunity to give a brief message to a loved one. Conference brochures will he mailed in May. Read it carefully. Return your registration and workshop choices to me promptly You not only will receive a price break by so doing, but you 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena will be more assured of getting your first workshop choices. Workshops are assigned in order received, so don’t delay! Reservation cards for the Hilton Inn, Columbia, MD, will be with the brochure. They should be returned promptly to the Hilton which is giving us a special rate. I hope you are

as enthusiastic about the upcoming conference as I am. It promises to be a truly worthwhile experience for everyone who attends. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1985 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Good things have happened the last three months to the Association. We have reached and passed that milestone of 200 members. A local chapter of a national organization highlighted the AA-EVP, and the upcoming Seminar-Conference, in their monthly newsletter. As a result, many calls and letters have come from their members. Other letters, from non-members, from around the world have reached me. Belgium, France, and Italy have been heard from and the gentleman from France then went on to join. A month ago a Police-Constable from Mauritius wrote wanting to know more about our group. He said he had read something about the electronic voice and was extremely interested in the phenomena. When I took my letter in reply to him to the local post office, the postmaster wanted to know where Mauritius was located for that might affect the rate I had to pay. Fortunately, I had looked it up in my World Atlas and could tell him it was an island in the Indian Ocean a bit east

of Madagascar. My answer was reassuring to him for he then had no difficulty affixing the correct postage to the envelope. We each search and, if we are fortunate, find reassurance in many facets of life. There are always unreachable stars and perhaps in some ways that is good for it keeps us stretching and in the stretching we grow. One of the things that I find reassuring is that more and more people around the world are learning about the voice phenomena. You notice I didn’t say “AA-EVP,” for I feel, in the end, we are unimportant. What is important is the electronic voice and its significance. If we, as an organization, can help others learn about EVP, we have done a good job. When a letter, such as the one from the tiny island of Mauritius comes, I feel we are progressing reasonably well in our objective. We are opening frontiers and helping to shed light to an area that still remains largely dark, shrouded in mystery and a good deal of fear. In the opening up of frontiers we should also keep in mind we are doing this not only for others in our world but for the invisibles who are on the other side of our tape recorders. A member sent me some information recently that was startling. Although he wrote that he knew it was incredible, it was no more incredible than EVP had once been. This person, when he first joined the Association three

years ago, said he was taking a chance on us because he doubted we could communicate with other dimensions. It was a show me-convince me type of membership. Each year he has promptly renewed his membership and evidently from what he has just written, he no longer finds the voice phenomena incredible. This brings up that well known quote from Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher. “Any unexplained phenomenon passes through three stages before the reality of it is accepted. During the first stage, it is considered laughable. During the second stage, it is adamantly opposed. Finally, during the third stage, it is accepted as self-evident.” Schopenhauer died 125 years ago but he could have been describing the electronic voice as it is today. There are still a number of individuals in the first two stages but an increasing number are beginning to move into the third stage. You, through your interest and efforts, are helping to bring about this transition. Realistic Expectations What can EVP tapers realistically expect to receive through their tape recorders? What can we lead our audiences of one, or one-hundred, or one-thousand to expect? I am constantly challenged on these two questions, both directly and indirectly, and the issues need to be considered by everyone involved with the phenomena. 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena First, I am reluctant to place limits on anything that we might accomplish in the field in the near or distant future. There

are some things, though, that I think experienced researchers have learned from sitting in front of their tape recorders. We are not going to receive a heavenly “pops” orchestra playing uninterruptedly for ten minutes. Someone isn’t going to come through with a long discourse telling us what we have to do to earn a key to the Pearly Gates. Even the choir(s) are not likely to sing for our benefit, at least for any length of time. In the past I have always told the individual who is considering sitting down at his tape recorder that patience and persistence are important. Human nature being what it is, these words seem to escape the attention of most people. Although I feel other attributes are also important for outstanding successful recording, such as equipment and a special type of mediumship, without patience and persistence nothing much will be achieved. Upon many occasions someone has said, “I listened to X’s tape and it was noisy or too faint to hear anything.” These are often valid criticisms, although the person criticizing had never tried recording and didn’t understand the immense amount of effort involved with EVP work. A few of these people go on to try recording and are surprised to discover it isn’t as easy as they expected. In most fields, one must pay his “dues” before getting anywhere, as is certainly true with the field of EVP. Those that continue to tape learn many lessons, and not all come from the unseen.

Those that drop out at least develop a better appreciation for the struggles that the EVP taper endures. We come to the second question...What can we lead others to expect when they sit down to listen to a demonstration tape? I have done my fair share of tape demonstrating and I have learned, at times to my sorrow, that a large part of most audiences expect to be entertained with heavenly music or at least long, clear as a bell, expositions as to what life is like over there. Many in such an audience have visited mediums where Uncle Joe, or some exalted being in flowery language, comes through and clearly describes spirit life or what the sitter needs to do with his own life to achieve his goals. This is fine, as far as it goes, and the value of such contacts received in this type of communication rests directly on the worth of the medium involved, whether s/he is having a good day or not, and how truly exalted “St. Eureka!” is. It has always baffled me how the import of the electronic voice escapes the awareness of so many. This is the only phenomena from other dimensions that affects matter objectively, and this effect, captured on tape, can be played over and over and examined and measured in scientific laboratories. I would rather have one genuine “boo!” from an unseen entity than hear from the lips of a well-meaning medium that Aunt Susie is happy in her

“heaven” world. In demonstrating a tape, however, we must remember we are demonstrating to a largely unschooled audience of the phenomena. Obviously, my belief in the significance of EVP is high. At the same time, I can stand back and see that from a technical standpoint, it leaves much room for improvement. I think we who are actively working in the field must do two things when playing a tape for others. First, we should demonstrate only the best Voices. It is far better to play a ten to fifteen minute tape of excellent quality Voices than a thirty minute one with which our audience will have difficulty. We need to be aware that most, if not all, of our group has never heard an electronic voice before. What is good and clear to us and may, in fact, be regarded as a good Voice by other tapers who are familiar with the electronic voice, may come out as a jumble to the audience. We have had years of learning to listen to these voices. Those who are facing us, have not. The second thing we should do before playing a tape is to try to give the listener(s) a realistic expectation as to what they are going to hear and the Voices sound as they do at this point in time. If we do these two things, those who are listening will have a greater understanding as to what we have done and what we hope eventually to accomplish.

I always issue a challenge at the end of my lectures for those on the other side of the podium to join me in the field, whether as a 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena taper, in research and development of equipment, or just as a person interested in this type of communication who wants to be kept abreast of what others are doing. At times the challenge is accepted and this has led to growth for the field and for all those involved. Evidential Message Received David Lothamer, California State Coordinator, taped a message from a friend which must be considered evidential. An individual by the name of Bob T. was a friend of David’s and they would frequently discuss David’s taping Voices through his tape recorder. Bob had little faith in the phenomena and according to David, they would argue about this for hours. Quoting Bob, David wrote, “Well let me tell you something. If you ever take me to one of them SEANCES of yours, I better never see any antennas or any electronic stuff.” One morning David recorded, “I’m across David ... Bob T ... FREE.” David was shocked because as far as he knew, Bob was still living. Upon checking, David learned that Bob had died a short time before the message was taped! David commented, “Isn’t it ironic that he should come through on the EVP?” Listen To Your Overlaps An interesting letter has been received

from Dan McKee, Illinois State Coordinator. Dan writes, “Of all the strange happenings in EVP taping, the changing overlap must be the strangest. When I finish recording, the tape counter is returned to zero, or the starting point, and the momentum normally carries the tape past so I have to run forward a few numbers to line up the zero again. As this is done each day, what is on the overlap soon becomes quite familiar. Most often it is random nothing but several times a year a distinct voice will leave a message for me to ponder its meaning. One that just came through was a clear voice that said, “I touched your photograph.” A slightly different version of the same effect was when the senders repeated a previously received message two times saying, “I think he said to know with you, Oh God. You hear ‘em, I’d heard ‘em, It loves you.” Then the identical wording was repeated again, all on the overlap. One time a voice stated, “All over the overlap, I need to make an answer.” In most instances the quality is better than average and there must be something special about them as this is done without the recorder in the record mode. It is tricky at first to catch these overlaps but with some persistence and careful record keeping, I believe this is happening to others who tape.” Reverse Tape Experiment Results The results are in from our reverse tape experiment. We are grateful

to Hu Custer, owner of STAR cassette custom copy and direct mail company, Elizabethtown, PA, who originated the experiment and to Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, who worked closely with Hu and helped to analyze the results. Hu’s report follows: “Two tapes were chosen. The first was a Spiritual Frontiers Tape made in 1975 at their Elizabethtown retreat. Only three AA-EVP members requested this tape and only two were returned with completed data sheets. One person received nothing and the other, seven bits of communication. Mrs. Shepanek detected 17. “Since there were so few responses to the first offer, another was made. At the request of our consultant a different tape was chosen. (This was a tape made at the first national AA-EVP conference.) “A number of people participated (on the tape) including the audience. Four AA- EVP members requested this one and two completed their work. One received 11 communications and the other, 15, with Mrs. Shepanek hearing 19. Only this writer (Hu Custer) knew which tapes had been chosen. Samples of what was heard follow: 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tape #1: Now, see, we all hear voices. Will all eat with us. Now see you’ll hear voices. Born again. Scouts (many times). Examination. Etched granite. Yours and yours, it’s enough. Tape #2: What have you to say? They were in Vietnam. The odds are there. Not yet, you certain GI’s. Loved Pittar News. Don’t be afraid to be

reared by her folks. The worst are in Vietnam. Not yet, you certain gizar. Messier needs help. Tho there was news of Vietnam. “In addition, Mrs. Shepanek heard panting on one tape. Also: Etched in granite. Hiroshima. Something must have happened. It has. The earth, the earth. You live in reality. “The writer was disappointed that more people did not take part in this experiment. It might be wise to hand pick tapes that have more variation in content for future work. He was very discouraged that he did not hear communications and quite encouraged that Mrs. Shepanek and the others did.” Follow-up Reports During the last three months more letters and phone calls have come from members than ever before. Many of these individuals contacted me for the first time. The “fuel” that seemed to ignite these letters were two subjects in the Spring NEWS: EVP Voices from the Living? and, Mediumship and the Tape Recorder. To each of you who got in touch with me, many thanks! Since I think you are interested in the ideas of fellow members, I will quote briefly from some of the letters received. Concerning EVP Voices from the Living?, Gary Hickethier, from WI wrote, “The first thing that came to my mind was that the tape is picking up the sender’s thoughts that were transmitted (perhaps unconsciously) by the sender via telepathy. ...It might help if the person who made the recording could remember the exact time that he received the voice.

If the person who’s voice appears on the tape was asleep or meditating at the time, this would add weight to the astral projection theory.” Shirley Matthews, a new member from UT wrote, “Perhaps I can be of some help regarding the recorded voice of a person still living. ...It’s not at all puzzling when you understand the mechanics of an out-of-body experience and communication. When the astral body leaves its physical shell it operates on an entirely different wavelength. Communication is by thought energy and when impressed on magnetic tape, takes on the form of voice sound.” Ernst Senkowski, from Germany wrote, “I several times observed at least the name and possibly the voice of a living person some 300 miles away. ... (A) case seems to have happened in Italy wherein an EVP experimenter succeeded in taping the contents of the mind of a far absent living person. So we have to be very careful in stating that all ‘our’ voices came from the ‘dead.’ This is by no means correct. Whether it is necessary that a living person be in a dreamlike state of mind seems doubtful to me—it may well be that a ‘telepathic’ connection works independent from the conscious mind which may be busy with something quite different. ... It becomes quite clear: there is a general interconnectedness on the unconscious levels—not only between earthbound people but at the same time between the inhabitants of the different ‘worlds’ or “levels” including the deceased. ...” Mediumship

and the Tape Recorder also brought a good response. Richard Busse, from IN wrote, “I’ve been at this study for twenty years Sarah. I wholeheartedly agree that a person who is a “proven” medium, or a person who may have unrecognized mediumistic qualities, can be used as a conduit to help bring in the discarnate on tape, but on TAPES, Sarah. The tapes must do the talking, not the medium. ...I went through, years ago, the “faith in mediums” stage. It’s no longer enough. ...“ 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Philip Carroll, from MD wrote, “I have the feeling that mediumistic ability is necessary for EVP.” Philip also commented about the “nonsense words” referred to in the last newsletter and although this is apart from the subject at hand, I think you will find it interesting. “Have you ever listened to someone talk in their sleep? Sometimes they come out with perfectly clearly pronounced words of this kind. Do you suppose there could be some sort of connection?” And finally, Ernst Senkowski closed his letter with, “Correct: Outstanding (EVP) success depends on a special type of mediumship and probably to a lesser degree on equipment—as long as we have no theoretical understanding we completely depend upon the faculties and possibilities of our friends over there! And completely agreeing: Every—and anybody must be considered as a medium—so welcome to the club of those who are just starting to awake to other dimensions!”

Looking for Books? Alan Cameron, AA-EVP member from Maryland, very kindly sent me the book, Raymond or Life and Death, by Sir Oliver Lodge. In it, Sir Oliver describes the evidential contacts he and other members of his family had with his son, Raymond, after he was killed in the first World War. I had long wanted a copy for my library but Raymond is out of print and hard to find. VTF Newsletter A letter was received from Hans Heckman, PA AA-EVP member, who subscribes to the German VTF (quarterly newsletter which deals largely with EVP.) Hans, who is fluent in German, very kindly offered to send me each time a review/translation of the newsletter, an offer which I accepted with enthusiasm. In the April 1985 newsletter, we learn they are celebrating their 10th anniversary and have a membership of almost 2,000. The program for their conference from June 3 to June 8 is given with Edelgard John, one of our German members, lecturing on the subject, “Voice contacts are necessary.” A number of pages are devoted to the technical aspects of EVP recordings with seven pages given to “differential amplification,” a method which seems to help remove noise from our recordings. It becomes quite technical but what the experimenter appears to do is to tune two radios to the same exact signal. Their cable outputs are fed “out-of-phase,” into a single recorder input. Since the spirit voice is most likely impinging on only one radio, it will pass

undiminished to the recorder and be fully amplified. We again thank Hans for his gracious offer and will look forward to carrying news from the German VTF in future newsletters. We learn from each other! News From and About Members Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, writes that she frequently tapes while she irons. Quoting Carol, “The sound of the steam has produced excellent results … Try it!” Norman Basile and Dale Kaczmarek, two members from IL, were mentioned in Curtis Fuller’s editorial in the July issue of Fate magazine. They were referred to as “ghost hunters.” Dale will be teaching a Sunday workshop, Photography and EVP, at our national conference. Robert Camburn, from PA, reminds us that in Lawrence LeShan’s excellent book, The Medium, The Mystic, and the Physicist, the rejection of the field of parapsychology by many in the scientific community has taken a number of forms from outright rejection to avoidance. LeShan cites Carrington’s statement that the reluctant scientists fear that the established status of natural law would be weakened and the way re-opened for a renaissance of superstitions and 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena belief in magic. But to ignore the evidence, “is to violate the scientist’s obligation to the facts and also to delay and withhold a wider and truer comprehension of the cosmos and our place in it.” Clara Laughlin, from VA, writes that recently she has been holding up family pictures and the unseen will

come back on tape with the names in the photos and also make comments about those individuals. Clara commented that some of the details in the pictures were small and she was surprised that those on the other side were able to see them. Recently she asked if they could see her in the mirrors in her house. Someone replied, “We see you, but we do not spy.” Mercedes Shepanek taped some interesting messages on her battery operated tape recorder while on safari in Africa. At one point she said, “What an interesting bird call. I wonder what it is?” Shortly a whispered answer was returned, “A Cockatoo.” Another time a voice said, “Africa is a hell of a place,” followed two counters later by someone saying, “Mexico has tequila.” Since the Spring newsletter, we have added over twenty new members, including our first member from France. A welcome to each of you! We hope you will find your AA-EVP membership interesting and worthwhile. Roll Call Seminar-Conference Program Staff Addition It is with great pleasure I announce that Lynn Gardner, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has joined our program staff for our national seminar-conference on August 8 to 11. Lynn, you will remember, led the metaphysical tour to Egypt in May 1984, of which I was fortunate to be a part. She is an outstanding and gifted psychic-medium, and is truly a “mystical, magical woman,” as she has been referred to by the media. We are indeed fortunate to have her with

us. After I returned from Egypt, many of you requested more information about our trip there. With this in mind, I have asked Lynn to discuss that trip and others she has led and will lead to the Land of the Nile. She will do this at a special assembly, titled, Egyptian Odyssey, on Saturday evening at 6:45. You will not want to miss this fascinating presentation. Lynn will be available for metaphysical consultation by appointment. Seminar-Conference Update Registrations are coming in. People are calling and saying, “Mine is on its way. Save a place for me!” The response to the program as outlined in the brochure has been enthusiastic, many indicating how well-balanced they think it is. If you have been teetering between coming or not, teeter no more. Come! Make new friends. Meet many of those you have read about in the newsletters. Learn from our featured speakers and workshop leaders. Open up and explore new horizons for yourself. Grow! Put your registration in the mail today, or call saying, “I’m coming!” I’ll mail your receipt within twenty-four hours. Bring an EVP Voice Tape with you. We’ll have a get-together tape potpourri Saturday evening after our featured speaker. A word or two if you want to break bread with us Sunday morning. I have checked with the Hilton and must turn in all reservations for Sunday before the conference starts. If you plan to eat breakfast with the group on Sunday and have not sent your $6, please

send it to me as promptly as possible. Odds and Ends I leave you with this thought. “Parachutes and the human mind have this in common; they should open up properly.” Joaquin Cunanan, former president of the Union Espiritistica Cristian 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Filipinas. Let’s all try to be like parachutes. You choose the kind you want. I opt for the open one! See you at the conference! Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1985 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are. Summer is over and we are moving into the season of cool days and cooler nights. There will be time now, I hope, to assess realistically the last six months and the direction towards which we are heading. For me, I have just lived through the summer that never was. Except for the wonderful conference days in August, the rest of the time was a blur of preparation for the event and the follow-up work that such a meeting entails. As a member of the program staff wrote to me after it was over, “The whirling Dervishes have nothing on you.” She was accurate in describing my feelings, but

I was glad to be able to write back, “The top has run down.” Life in the fast lane is not for me. In such a life there is a slack time to contemplate and evaluate the past on an inner microcosmic basis and how it may relate to a larger macrocosmic level. There also needs to be time to think about the future and to begin moving in that direction. In my closing remarks at the conference I said that although the conference would soon be history we should make it a never-ending story. I felt we should carry forth, into the future, what we had learned during the last four days, expanding horizons for ourselves and trying to bring closer a quality future for all. An AA-EVP member called me recently and said she felt like a “fool” at times for trying to communicate with a loved one without success. She has to wonder if there is anyone there; if there is anyone listening. I reminded her about the hundreds of people around the world who are having contact, at times very evidential contact, from those who have made their transition into the next life. She agreed and said this was one reason why she found our newsletter so comforting. We are helping Mrs. X to expand her horizon and to give her hope that life survives. Life should not be static. I doubt it could be even if we wished it. We do, however, have the freedom

to minimize or maximize life and I suspect this carries over into the life beyond life. This brings us to an apropos comment from Plotinus, a great philosopher and religious genius of the third century A.D., who wrote in the Enneads, “Souls which once were in men, when they leave the body, need not cease from benefiting mankind. Some indeed, in addition to other services, give occult messages, thus proving by their own case that other souls also survive.” We should never forget that the unseen who speak to us from the other side of our tape recorders, especially those we have never known, are providing a service which they hope will benefit all of us still here. Each message I receive is treated as a treasured gift. Plotinus felt “souls” gave messages to prove survival. This being the case, it becomes the responsibility of those involved with EVP not to break the link but to reach out, extending it as far as possible to let others know that life is a never-ending story. Conference Report Where to start? I could use the next five pages reporting on all that took place: On our excellent program staff; the interesting workshops and outstanding Thursday seminars and lectures which we had Friday through Sunday; I could try, but probably fail, to describe the wonderful cohesiveness which emerged very quickly and went further than I dared hope. I can mention, but unless you were there you will not appreciate, the positive energy flow

that was almost tangible and lifted me, and I think everyone, to a high which still has not completely left. 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena One of my greatest joys, and I think the joy of others, was greeting again those I had met for the first time two years ago at our first conference. I also met many new friends who, until August, had been just a name to me. A special pleasure was welcoming Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder, two conference registrants. I first heard about EVP ten years ago when I read their book, Handbook of PSI Discoveries. As I told the group when I introduced Sheila and Lynn on Saturday, it was thanks to them that not only had my own life been so completely changed but that the AA-EVP had been started over three years ago. The success of any conference should not be measured in just how much hugging and kissing and yes, even tears, occurs at the end, but to what degree it has affected the lives of the participants. There was certainly ample evidence that many who came were responding in a positive way, and the countless letters received since then indicate that this continues. There is not room to quote from all of the letters but I think you will be interested in reading some of the remarks: Virginia Bates, VA, “Let me tell you again how much I appreciate your producing

such a high level conference. I’ll mentally relive many, many of the moments many times.” Bruce English, MA, “Just a short note to tell you how very, very much I enjoyed the AA-EVP conference. It was much more than I ever imagined, and I’m sure I’ll be riding a high for many days. I was so impressed by the caliber of the speakers. All in all it was a beautiful event.” Richard Galston, FL, “I was happy to meet you at the conference. I had a good time there. Best of luck. May the EVP forces be with you.” Dale Kaczmarek, IL, “First of all I want to tell you how much I enjoyed being a part of your conference and meeting everyone involved. It was a truly enjoyable time! The speakers and workshops were excellent. I just wish it were possible to attend all of them.” Clara Laughlin, VA, “An excellent conference—even better than 1983, if possible. It has taken some time to come down to earth. I’m sure the room was packed with unseen friends and relatives of all. It is extremely encouraging to meet people working so devotedly on the technical end for better communication. Again, let me say it was a memorable weekend.” Conference Experiment Saturday morning, some of the conference registrants chose to go with Carol Barron to give a message to a loved one, while others decided to take part in an experiment. Mercedes Shepanek, Clara Laughlin, and I had prepared short tapes each

lasting just a minute or two. The messages, played three times, were not interpreted until the conclusion. The audience wrote down their interpretation and the idea was to see if anyone gave the same interpretation to any of the messages that the EVP taper had given. Out of a total of eleven messages, two messages were interpreted the same way as the taper and many of the other messages had at least one or two words with the same interpretation. Considering the general difficulty of people agreeing on EVP message interpretation, the results of our conference experiment were interesting and encouraging. Lost and Found A tan, spiral ring notebook was left on one of the book tables in the rear of the Washington room at the conclusion of the conference. Very careful notes, starting with Thursday, were taken of the different events. If it is yours, just let me know and I will be happy to return it to you. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena To Russia with Love In the last three months two articles have appeared in weekly tabloids claiming that scientists in Russia and East Germany have successfully contacted the dead. These were sent to me by George Fathman, AZ AA-EVP member, and Ted Morrison, IL AA-EVP member. The first said that Professor Dr. Pyater Mazurov of the University of Tashkent in Russia, using sensitive electronic equipment, had established a communication link between a dead child and her

mother. The conversations described the child telling her mother what it was like during early months of spirit life. Her description was similar to that received by mediums in trance as well as what some of us have recorded through tape recorders. I wrote to Dr. Pyater and asked for further information about the equipment that was used and enclosed a copy of our Summer newsletter along with some other information. The second article told about some supposedly excellent results Dr. Otto Stangl, an East German physicist, is having. Working with Arkady Kurylev, a Soviet electronics expert, they have recorded communications with more than a dozen deceased people. The research team is using computers linked to satellite dishes located in the Soviet Union to change frequencies until a clear connection is established. The article quoted Stangl as saying, “Once the proper frequencies were determined, the results were swift and shocking even to us.” Further attempts are being made to contact the researchers involved to learn more about their work. From Italy with Love Rosalba Harris, PA AA-EVP member, has offered to send me a review/translation of the Milan, Italy EVP newsletter published twice a year. I accepted her offer with thanks. The first two pages of their No. 20 1st semester 1985 newsletter is devoted to a review of several issues of our AA-EVP News. They mentioned the work of Ernst Senkowski and quoted the opinions of Urbain Berthelot and Mercedes Shepanek as to why some people are more successful

than others in recording EVP messages. Page 2 concluded with information about our conference and a complete schedule of the events was given. A number of pages were devoted to members’ opinions relating to EVP. In trying to answer the question as to how the EVP phenomena occurs, a member reported receiving the message, “Our energies are so deep that for you and your experiments a long time has to pass before you succeed in establishing the method to use to hear us better.” Again, we are grateful to Rosalba for her efforts and will look forward to reading more from future Milan EVP newsletters. VTF News We reported in the Summer NEWS, the kind offer of Hans Heckman, PA AA-EVP member, to give a review/translation of the quarterly German VTF newsletter for our newsletter. At the August conference, Hans gave me another review of the German paper. Raymond Cass of England was quoted as having written that public opinion in England was unfavorable towards Para voices. Mr. Cass feels British parapsychologists are twenty years behind development. A new German magazine, Atlantis, is mentioned and that the new publishers consider Spirit voice research of importance in proving continuous life after death. A debt of gratitude is owed Hans for his help. Urbain Berthelot Word has been received that Urbain Berthelot, AA-EVP member in Belgium, has died. Urbain was an engineer who joined the Association two years ago. He was an active member, writing to 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena me frequently and was often quoted in our newsletter. In the November, 1983 newsletter, I quoted a saying of Aristotle that he had sent me: “The ignorant affirms, the experts doubt, and the wise reflect!” I am sure all of you will keep Urbain in our thoughts as we wish him an active, happy spirit life. Parallel Universe-Opposite Much has been written about whether there is a parallel universe. My question about it years ago brought a Class A positive response. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, has received numerous messages on the reverse side of his tapes which support the idea of its possible existence. In an excellent tape which he sent to me recently, some of the messages were: “If you’re going to Earth and that’s reverse.” “In Earth they’re within the reverse class.” “This is an opposite. Now I know what they are.” “I knew him. That’s opposite.” “Were opposite in ‘ya.” “And therefore he’s opposite of him.” “Our Christ there kept saying, opposite is the same.” With the tape Dan included a review of an article from the July/August 1985 Science magazine, pages 73-74, which seems to support the theory of a parallel universe. Quoting in part, “An atom of antioxygen linked with two antihydrogen atoms makes a molecule of antiwater. Many of them packed together will make an ocean of antiwater, and this ocean will be indistinguishable from ours.” If you are interested in reading more, visit your

local library. They probably have the magazine on file. Simultaneous Recording Experiment At our August conference I met two new AA-EVP members from CA. Judith Ann Christie and her daughter Rosemarie unfortunately had to return home early Friday morning for a family emergency but we found the time to talk Thursday evening. Judith Ann thought it might be interesting to make a simultaneous recording. I agreed and so have chosen October 27, 10 P.M. EST. as the time for the experiment. In order to coordinate our efforts, please use EST. as your key. In other words, CA members will make their recording at 7 P.M., while those of us in the east will sit down at 10:00 P.M. Some suggestions for our “game” plan: Make one ten minute recording. Ask: (1) “How do you speak to us?” (2) “In what world do you live?” (3) “Where do your voices originate?” and (4) “What can we do to help you come through?” It is my practice to ask each question several times, allowing about thirty seconds between questions for a response. I would also suggest that during the last recording you make before the experiment, that you tell them about it, ask for their cooperation in trying to speak, and set the time for your (and their) return. Please write to me about any responses you get, whether they are in answer to your questions or not. I would like to feature this in the Winter NEWS. Deadline, December 30. Phone

Calls from The ? In their book, Phone Calls From The Dead, Raymond Bayless and Scott Rogo described telephone calls many people have received that appear to come from deceased friends and loved ones. A number of people have also told me about being recipients of such calls. Two individuals recently reported discovering brief messages on their phone answering system from someone they loved who had died. After Ernst Senkowski’s lecture Saturday evening at the conference, I played several tapes sent to me by AA-EVP members who were unable to attend. Ernst then played two tapes in 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena which the messages had come via a telephone. The first was from a young couple who had been killed in an automobile accident. The second, lasting eighteen minutes, was a two-way conversation between Manfred Boden, a German researcher, and several entities who said they were “pure” energy. Those of us who were privileged to hear his tapes found them fascinating and some said they were going to try to have telephone contact with other dimensions as soon as they returned home. Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, was one such individual. Her report follows: “I have been working with the telephone technique for a short period of time and have had a few results, mostly whispers. Two of the transmissions were, ‘We will call you.’ and, ‘We will ring you.’ “This technique requires a telephone recording control (available from Radio

Shack for $24.95) and a telephone jack adapter ($4.95). To convert your existing telephone jack to a “two- holer” the device jacks into the telephone wall jack along with your telephone and also into the microphone and remote input of a cassette recorder. The method is as follows: Put the recorder into record mode (it will not be activated until the telephone receiver is lifted). Lift phone receiver and dial any single digit. Make a brief announcement as you would in any tape session. You will have 34 seconds of clear line before the taped offer of assistance breaks in. Hang up and repeat the procedure. The obvious shortcoming is the brevity of the clear line time. I am in the fortunate position of having two trunk lines into the house. Thus, I dial one from the other, leaving the second receiver off the hook and have as much time as desired. Another alternative is to arrange with a friend (preferably one acquainted with your strange life style) to call at a preset time and leave his/her telephone off the hook for whatever period is agreed upon. One of our VA experimenters reports still another system. She has just begun telephone taping; dials time and is recording voices in the pauses between the time announcements.” Members Report Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, reports recording one day while driving in her car. A drunk approached the car as she slowed down and yelled, “Hey! You got a cigarette?” On tape playback

you can hear his question followed five seconds later with an EVP voice which whispers, “Habit.” Carol will be teaching an EVP workshop in October at the New England Spiritualists conference near Boston. Betty Evans, VA, reports that she has been getting some good results taping since our August conference. One day, using her portable Panasonic tape recorder, which was sitting beside the telephone with the receiver off the hook, she asked, “How about some raps?” A Class A tonal voice replied, “It is not a good day. It is sad to always be dead and always wandering.” This was followed by a number of church bells chiming. Betty said there are no churches in her area or on her TV, which she was using as a sound source. The same voice added a moment later, “Betty Evans.” After this, a cheerful voice said, “I’m Mick!” Betty found it especially interesting that in the middle of the long message the voice paused for a moment when the TV was silent. It continued again, when the talk-show host began talking. Betty feels the unseen voice was waiting for the TV voice to give it added energies and to help provide it with sounds to conclude its own message. She is not sure if this is a telephone voice, speaking through the receiver, or if the voice originated somewhere else. Clara Laughlin, VA, had an interesting experience a week after the conference. She was sitting in the den with the TV on.

At one point, she saw the word “Spirit” in letters at least three inches high on the screen. It stayed there for several minutes before disappearing. Later, the word was back. A day or two after this, she received a taped message which said, “Watch your television. We have a surprise for Clarissa.” (Clara) 5 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I have suggested to Clara that she keep her camera handy to try to take a picture of anything that may come through in the future. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that she not only will tape the name of the father of someone who is with her, but twice she has recorded the sound of his former profession. Once they heard the clink of glasses (the man had been a bar tender) and another time the sound of a loudly ticking clock (the person had repaired watches and clocks before dying). On another occasion, a woman was with Tina and told about seeing the paw prints of her dead dog. Tina was taping at the time and an unknown male voice said on her tape, “Marks of the king.” The woman then told Tina the name of her dead dog was Rex. Best of ‘85 Reminder For the last two years we have had the special feature, suggested by Dan McKee, to share with other members the one or two messages we have recorded during the year that we think are the

most interesting. I would like to feature this in the Winter NEWS. Deadline for your contribution is December 30. We have taken in a number of new members, including one from Belgium, in the last three months. Welcome to everyone! Roll Call Cross-Country Up-date in Winter Newsletter I hope to mail, with your next NEWS, an updated cross-country list. The names of those who have not renewed membership will be removed. Those who are not on the list, but would like to be, will be added. If you aren’t receiving a list each time with your NEWS, you are not on it. When renewing membership, it is important to check the line on the form if you want to continue to be listed. If you want to have your status changed either to be on the list, or to have your name removed, let me know promptly! Conference Tapes You who were saddened that you were unable to attend our conference; those who did come but had difficulty in choosing among the interesting workshops; to everyone who want to discover or relive memories as to what took place during a seminar; workshop, lecture, tape demonstration or panel discussion—take heart—all of this is possible! Ray Dietz, assisted by his son Jeffrey, and Vincent Monico, did an excellent job taping ours. Look over the cassette order form and order your tapes directly from Ray at Spirited Communications. The tapes contain a wealth of information and suggestions that will help all those interested

in EVP. Government Garage Sales Do you like garage sales? Are you always looking for a bargain? Then the government auction sales are for you! These sales, held frequently all over the country, are a delight to many people. Everything is offered at such sales—from kitchen tables and chairs, to highly sophisticated electronic equipment. At some sales it is necessary to be present. For others you send in your bid. To get on the mailing list and to be notified about upcoming sales write to: DoD Sales, P.O. Box 1370, Battle Creek, MI 49016. 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Odds and Ends Having difficulty with your holiday (or birthday) list? How about a membership to AA-EVP for that person who is difficult to buy for, or who seems to have everything? Send me the necessary information, and I will be happy to send an appropriate card, their membership card, and a personal note to them so they will know this is your gift. Several people have already done this and the giver, as well as the receiver, is pleased with the idea. As mentioned several times in the newsletter, the deadline for all contributions for the Winter newsletter is December 30. If you think you have something appropriate to share with other members, please send it to me by then. No one has ever been scolded for getting their news to me early. I run a very tight schedule—usually less than

2 weeks from deadline until I take the NEWS to the printer. Since I never know how much material I’ll have until I hear from you, I appreciate hearing from you promptly. Those people are especially cherished who send in a contribution before the due date. Always my best wishes, Sara Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1986 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “Fantasy.” In a long grocery line a few days before Christmas, I had an encounter with a child, “just four,” and her mother. The child, sitting in the passenger seat of the grocery cart, waved her teddy bear in my face. It was obvious she wanted me to acknowledge its presence. When I said, “That’s a nice teddy,” I knew I had made a friend for life. “Yes, he is,” replied Mother. She then went on, “Tell the lady the new word you just learned.” So prompted, the child answered, “Fantasy.” “Ah!” Looking suitably impressed I wondered just where this conversation was taking us. Mother enlightened me. Nodding in my direction she said, “Tell her Mr. Teddy is not fantasy. Since you love him so much he is real.” Well now. I felt we might be treading dangerous waters. It is important to be able

to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. Under the conditions in which this meeting was taking place, and not wanting to openly disagree with strange Mother who was so eager to convince child that Mr. Teddy was real, I spoke to the child by saying, “Love is the most important thing of all.” As Mother turned to place her groceries on the counter, Child leaned over to me and whispered confidingly, “I know Mr. Teddy really isn’t real.” We concluded our encounter by my saying, “You know then the difference between what is real and what is fantasy, or imagination. That’s good!” We move from the world of children and teddy bears to an article published in December on the editorial page of a large city newspaper entitled, “Americans have a shocking tendency to believe utter nonsense.” Mr. Z writes that this is the age of “science.” He says that while we need to keep abreast of scientific development, “We must learn to thread our ways through the swamps and jungles of pseudoscience.” In the muck and trees he includes “Ghosts, poltergeists, mediums, psychics, monsters, astrology, Bigfoot, biorhythm, numerology, astral projection, Kirlian photography,” and so on. The electronic voice phenomena is not mentioned, evidently because Mr. Z never heard of it. We could look upon this as a mixed blessing, I suppose. Mr. Z says we can get our daily “fix” of fiction/fraud through such places as public libraries, supermarkets, newspaper, radio and TV. He even tells us how

we can create our own nonsense to titillate others ... just “lie a lot.” We are informed that there is, “not one scrap of verifiable proof of any paranormal occurrence.” The work of J. B. Rhine and Geller is mentioned, but Mr. Z asserts that “virtually” all their claims have been discredited. For those who care to read about the other side of pseudosciences, Mr. Z recommends, among others, James Randi’s book, Flim-Flam. (It is at his knee we are to learn the truth??) Although I feel that we need to remain aware of what is fantasy and what is not, we also need the imagination to dream, to have the courage to see if our dreams may be capable of moving beyond dreaming to an independent existence, to a touchable reality. Give me the child with her teddy bear. Life Beyond Life—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross One of my dreams has become reality. For some time I have dreamt and wondered if the voices we record might somehow help, in a more positive way, those who are terminally ill, or those who are having difficulty coping with the death of a loved one. 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Six years ago, I met Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in Annapolis. She had given a lecture nearby the night before and invited me to have lunch with her the following day at her hotel. After discussing our work we made a short recording together. During lunch,

a mother whose child had been brutally murdered several months earlier, joined us. As Elisabeth talked to her about what happens as we make our transition, it was clear, through the tears of our guest, that she was finding the first comfort she had known since the death of her child. Dr. Ross, as I imagine everyone knows, is internationally known through her books, death- and-dying workshops, and personal work with the terminally ill. She is a true pioneer in the field and was one of the first to bring to our attention the experiences someone has who is dying. Since our meeting in Annapolis, I have been on her mailing list and followed her progress from California to Head Waters, Virginia where she now has her center. It occurred to me that she might be able to use a tape of electronic voices giving information which would bring reassurance, comfort, and understanding to someone dying or a grieving loved one. About this time, through the generosity of two AA-EVP members, one in South Carolina and one overseas, I received the impetus to carry through on my idea. I made a thirty- minute tape that I sent to Elisabeth and said if she felt it would help her in her work, it would be my joy to donate thirty duplicated tapes and turn over to her all rights to it. Before long, Elisabeth replied saying she was warmly touched by my offer which she accepted with gratitude. The thirty tapes

were made and sent to her the week before Christmas. Although I conceived the idea and made the tape, I feel each of you has a very real part in it. Without your warm, and sometimes loving, support over the years, I doubt the tape would ever have been made. In a very true sense, I am indebted to you. Our joy is mutual, I believe, in the thought of the hope the Life Beyond Life tape will bring to many in the future. Simultaneous Recording Experiment Follow-Up In the Fall newsletter, I announced a simultaneous recording experiment to take place Sunday evening, October 27, at ten EST. The experiment was to last ten minutes and I suggested four questions to ask. The idea behind the experiment was to see if the Voices that spoke at that time would give similar answers to the same questions. Reports were received from three members by the deadline, December 30. With my own results, that gives a total of four who participated. I had hoped for more but appreciate the efforts of those who responded. Going in alphabetical order: Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, “We took part in your national experiment and asked the questions you suggested. Not too much luck. The only thing we got was in answer to “How do you speak to us?” A loud whisper was, ‘Your death—is aside us.’ The last three words were faint.” Sarah Estep. I recorded eight messages of excellent quality. A week before, and

each day following, during my morning recording, I mentioned the experiment to the other side and asked them to try and come through for everyone who took part. They assured me they would help. At the start of the experiment, a Class A voice said, “We go up,” followed immediately with a different voice, still Class A, that said, “Hello.” One of the most outstanding messages of the eight was, “The mirror!” followed one counter later with, “We see the plate.” The mirror message is especially interesting because several of us independently, and at first unknown to each other, received messages a few years ago about using a mirror in our tapings. I have two sitting on top of my recording equipment and although in the past have recorded many messages about the mirror, had not received such messages for about a year. The “plate” message is puzzling since I don’t have one in my office. Possibly they looked upon the mirror as a plate. 2 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The only answer that seemed to come in direct response to my questions was when I asked, “Where do your voices originate?” and someone answered, “We’re in the house.” Clara Laughlin, VA AA-EVP Member, had good results and her communicants came closer to answering her direct questions than the unseen did for the rest of us. When she asked “How do you speak to us?” someone replied, “When we hear our

Clarissa, you give us back your special energy to your dear people.” The second question, “In what world do you live?” was answered with, “We give you an example. Doesn’t Tom (husband) know what you do?” Clara then asked, “Where do your voices originate?” The interesting answer was taped, “We come there daily to the people through Callie’s special window.” Her final question, “What can we do to help you come through?” received a very long answer which Clara says she boiled down to “sending out love.” Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP Member, made her recording at three A.M. in order to coincide with ten P.M. EST. She wrote that after her alarm woke her up she heard six or seven light bangs from the stairs without any apparent source. During the recording she received many messages. Some were: “Here’s Peter,” “Hello,” “We’re up Tina,” “Talking to Tina,” “On the tape Tina,” “He’s in there,” “Sarah is steadfast,” “Try this program Tina,” (after Tina said she wanted to cross the bridge to them.) “Help please,” “I can’t see.” Three of the four participants in the experiment seemed to feel they had good results. Although one objective—to see if similar answers would be received—was not met, the results were interesting in themselves. With the exception of Clara, the rest of us seemed to make contact with entities who were more interested in speaking than in answering direct questions. In my own case, I felt that the four or five different voices I

was taping, were speaking to me for the first time. There was in their voices, the sound of pleasure and excitement at being able to do this. Again, thank you for taking part! I am always open to ideas for future experiments. Morry Cuttler and Robert St. Pierre Word has been received that two of our members have died in the last three months. Morry Cuttler, spiritual leader of the Round Table of Light in Miami, Florida, died suddenly the first of November. Just two weeks earlier he had written and asked if I would lecture at one of his meetings this winter. Robert St. Pierre, from California, died after a short illness. He had called me several times a few months before his death and also written about taping voices. He and a member of his church congregation were working on the development of equipment to improve communication with the unseen. All of us, I am sure, will keep both men in our thoughts and prayers as they continue the busy, helpful lives started here in their new homes on the other side. VTF Report-Microphone Recordings Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, has translated an article for me from a recent VTF Journal, published by a German EVP organization. The article was taken from a speech given by Hans Berger, a technician from Vienna, who spoke about test results he compiled together with Mr. Stadler, a physicist. They found in using the microphone method that: (1) Low sensitivity microphones do

not produce voices (2) It is not possible to get para voices when playing back an empty tape 3 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena (3) When feeding a normal mike into channel “A” of a stereo tape recorder, and a mike wrapped in sound absorbing material into channel “B”, only channel “A” would record voices (4) The residual noise level of commonly used microphone preamplifiers is too high. To effectively reduce this noise by filtering would also remove many of the voices. A better way is the use of a microphone mounted in a small parabolic reflector (5) Parametric filters are not suitable for filtering para voices (6) The use of ultra sound is ineffective. Taped Survival Project An ongoing survival project for AA-EVP members who wish to participate is announced. If you want to take part send me one cassette tape of good quality, on which you give your name and a brief background of yourself. This taped information should not be more than five to ten minutes. On the tape, as well as the covering letter you send with it, be sure to include the address of one or two people we should contact if you succeed in communicating with someone on our survival board. Tapes will be filed and the information on the tape will be kept confidential. I am the only one who will have access to them and won’t listen to your tape until after your transition

and only then if it appears you have communicated with a member of the board. It is anticipated that we will have four to five individuals on the board who are currently successfully recording voices of the unseen. Their names will be given in the Spring newsletter. The composition of the board may change from time to time, with names added or deleted. This will be announced in future newsletters when and if it occurs. You should ask a family member to contact me soon after your death. I will then notify the survival board so they will be alerted to your transition and will be listening for you in case you are able to contact them. If they feel contact has been made they will send me whatever they believe has been recorded from you. At that time, I will check your tape to see if there is evidence you have come through. If it appears you have succeeded in doing this, I will notify the person you request me to on the tape you send to me. I reserve the right to share the evidence of your survival with others. We know from experience that the electronic voice at this point usually gives short messages. As you speak from the other side to a member of the survival board, give your name as well as something of evidential nature. To be evidential, this information must be on the tape I have. “This is John. I’m happy,” would not

be good evidence. However, saying, “This is John. I love Shirley,” would be stronger evidence of survival if the name of your wife, child, or mother was Shirley. Or, “This is John. I fish,” would also be considered evidential if fishing was your hobby before death. Again, we could only consider “Shirley” or “fishing” if it was on the tape in my possession. You may send your tape at any time. There is no charge for this; however, because of the work involved, and the expense, it must be limited to just AA-EVP members. News from and About Members Richard Berman, from AR, has called and written about messages he feels he may be taping from undesirable entities. He suggests we always say a short prayer and surround ourselves with a white light before beginning any metaphysical work. Robert Camburn, from PA, had an excellent article published in the Fall issue of the Spiritual Frontiers Journal. The title is, Research Report: A Brief Summary of the Evidence for Spiritual 4 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Realities. Different areas such as the electronic voice, are mentioned by Robert as providing survival evidence. Edelgard John, West Germany, wrote recently about several messages she had taped about recording through her telephone. One time a mysterious phone call came from a child, calling her by her first name, and insisting Edelgard was her mother. When Edelgard told the child she was wrong, the child began weeping.

Edelgard commented she is going to try recording through the telephone as suggested in the Fall newsletter. Benn Kobb, from VA, gave a lecture to Mensa about the electronic voice in November. He has also written several articles about the subject and one was to appear in the November-December issue of Reality Change. Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff, from WI, are well-known in the field of parapsychology for their investigations, books, and as founders and directors of the New Frontiers Center of Oregon, WI. In their Fall-Winter 1985 newsletter, Walter wrote that he and Mary Jo had been chosen to receive the first prize annual award of 3,000 Swiss Francs given by the Swiss Society for Parapsychology. TPP (Television Picture Phenomena) Letters have been exchanged recently with Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member from West Germany. From taped messages, those in other dimensions seem eager to contact us visually through our TV sets. Two gentlemen in Germany, Klaus Schreiber and Otto Konig, have independently received a number of TV pictures which they have taped on video recorders. Their method, extremely laborious and expensive, is not suited for most people. Ernst suggests an easier, and perhaps just as effective a method. He writes, “Try to get an oscillator in the VHF or UHF range and modulate it with any signal mixture tuned to a free channel.” This would be connected to a video tape recorder so you will have a record on tape of any paranormal pictures that are received. Many AA-EVP

members have video tape recorders and could start experimenting at once. If you don’t have an oscillator, you can still experiment. From a message I received through my tape recorder, I would suggest you begin your experiments by turning to Channel 47 at night. There is just “snow” at this channel, but the TPP forms itself out of the snow. Your video recorder should be taping the entire time. If it has a pause control, you have the advantage of stopping it if a paranormal picture is received and taking a picture of it with a separate camera. Let me know your results. Two Evidential Communications Two AA-EVP members in Virginia recently recorded or received evidential messages that showed they were in contact with the other side. Betty Evans tried to contact her deceased sister, Nell, one evening through her tape recorder without success. The following day at work while Betty was busy at her desk, she heard her first name called two times over the paging system. Betty wondered about this because when someone is paged in her office, the first and last names are always given and then the person is told to report to someone. Checking with the girl at the switchboard, Betty learned she had not been paged. Later, she asked Clara Laughlin to check with Callie (Clara’s guide) to see if Nell had spoken to her at work. Clara did and taped in response, “Yes, she talked to Betty.” During this same 5 11/22/2016 Tom

and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena recording, Clara recorded, “Henry is healthy,” which she also reported to Betty. Unknown to Clara at the time, Henry was Betty’s uncle with whom she was close. Clara Laughlin also received a personal evidential message. One day she recorded, “You should learn shortly I died and am in heaven. Surprise I went so early. You should tell Libby.” Clara had been good friends with Libby and her husband, Cecil, when they lived in CA and had not heard that Cecil was sick. A day or two later, Clara received a card from Libby saying Cecil had died. His death, and Clara’s taping the message occurred within 72 hours of each other. As Cecil had requested, Clara called Libby and told her she had heard from him which Libby found very comforting. A Look at a Book The Ghost of 29 Megacycles, (New American Library) by John Fuller. This should be of special interest for those interested in the electronic voice. It is about the development of “Spiricom” constructed by George Meek and his associates. The system was then used successfully by William O’Neil from 1977 to 1981 in communicating with Dr. George Mueller, a scientist who died in 1967. It is a fascinating, well written book by the author of Ghost of Flight 401 and other books. Book List Enclosed Speaking of books, you will find a list of books available that are left over from our conference. Many

of them are excellent and offer hours of good reading. Look the list over and send your order to me promptly. I have only one or two copies of some and your request(s) will be processed in the order received. Best of ‘85 Carol Barron has continued taping many interesting messages this year. Some of her favorites are: “Is this a telephone call? Call me!” “You’re in the mid-land.” A few days later, “Greetings from the highlanders.” “There’s a fiber on the wall!” When Carol looked, she saw a large cobweb near the ceiling! Louis Kara John, MA, has not been taping very long but has received some interesting messages. One of them is, “We live for man forever.” Clara Laughlin feels one of the most interesting messages she received in 1985 was, “We love Clarissa, cybernite. Since she was a very young child, this system knows Clara.” Clara wrote that the unseen frequently use the term, “this system” and she wonders if we have been pre- selected to do this work. Tina Laurent’s forte appears to be taping names, unknown to her, but having meaning for the person she is interviewing. Recently she recorded the name, “Max Wall.” When her companion heard this she became excited because Max was the man she almost married many years ago but had died at the age of thirty-three. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, continues recording voices of excellent quality with interesting content. In a recent tape he sent me, some of the

outstanding messages were: “No Saint is bad.” “Ah, my mom’s free spirit is now depart.” “I’m across David, Bob Turner free!” (Evidential since David did not know at the time that Bob had died.) Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, sent the following as some of his most interesting reverse intercepts of 1985. “Dying is not as the Earth make it.” “I did not help you, here is Master.” “The Master is here staying at your side now.” 6 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Egyptian odyssey Up-date Reservations are coming in! Tips for Trips have gone out to quite a few. Several persons have expressed concern about traveling abroad at this time, but be reassured your safety is uppermost in our minds. We will travel by KLM and land only at the Amsterdam airport—safest in the world! Conditions in Egypt are stable. If we felt there was any danger we would not go. The following is from Lynn Gardner, our tour leader. “In a few months, on April 25th, we’ll be boarding our flight on KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) for an exciting and memorable trip to Egypt. For those of you who have already sent in your deposit you will be receiving a list of suggested books to read in preparation for the extraordinary experiences that await you. I urge those who are considering joining us to call Sarah or myself at (Telephone number removed) so we can answer any additional questions you

might have so you can avoid disappointment later if we have reached capacity before your deposit has been received. Sarah and I agreed to make the first opportunity to join the group available to AA-EVP members and as of early January, additional letters and ads reaching other groups will appear and reservations will be taken. Let us hear from you if you want to join us for an incredible journey of learning, transformation, fun, and beautiful people.” Eleven people have joined the AA-EVP in the last three months, including our first Swedish member. Welcome to everyone! Roll Call Membership Dues Increased Although I am not trying to make money out of the AA-EVP, I feel I should break even. This has not been happening. The best year financially was 1984 when I cleared $83! This year shows a loss. I belong to 7 national metaphysical organizations. Two have yearly dues of $20; three are $25; and two charge $30. In order to continue providing a quarterly newsletter and other services, I must raise the AA-EVP dues to $20 a year, effective immediately. Odds and Ends Thanks to everyone who sent in their contributions early for our newsletter. You eased my mind considerably. The deadline for our Spring NEWS is March 21! Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated

to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1986 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are, four years old. I look upon each Spring Newsletter as our anniversary issue. One of the highlights this year was our second national conference which opened new doors and expanded horizons for many who attended. Another highlight was the Life Beyond Life tape of EVP voices that Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has indicated she will use in her work. We have just begun a unique taped survival project which we hope will lead to increased evidence for postmortem survival and bring comfort to many. In our first newsletter, published in May 1982, I wrote that ten states and Canada were represented. Today, we have thirty-five states, the District of Columbia, and ten foreign countries. Our membership has increased tenfold. Although, for obvious reasons, I am perhaps not the best person to evaluate the Association, I will try to give a realistic assessment of what we have done, what perhaps we could have done better, and the goals which we might hope to bring closer to realization. One of the goals, mentioned in the first newsletter, in regards to EVP, was, “. . .not just to help other EVP experimenters but as an out-reach organization to let others know what we have learned.” This, I feel, was a worthy goal and will remain a goal for the future. What kind of a job have we done in meeting this

goal? Growth suggests success but could we have done more? We have about a dozen members who are actively telling others about EVP. They do it in different ways, and many of the people whose lives have been touched in this manner, write to me and say, “My life has been changed.” It doesn’t take much imagination to believe that some of the lives that have been changed go on, in some cases, to change other lives and they in turn go on.... One can’t help but wonder what the story would be if we had 100, rather than a dozen people speaking out about EVP. In the second anniversary issue, dated May 1983, I wrote, “…we continue to be mindful of the need to encourage research and to develop better systems of EVP communication.” This goal remains, and is slowly, so slowly, coming closer but we have, as the poem goes, “Many miles to travel before we (rest).” Perhaps we will never rest (or sleep) in our research; we may never get that far, but I believe eventually research will bring about more effective ways for communicating with the unseen. Another goal mentioned, and this was in the May 1984 issue, was, “We will try to learn more about the phenomena for there is much we don’t know and there may be worlds of consciousness to explore.” Here again, we have progressed but still, the end is not in sight, and, as in the area of research, I doubt

very much if there is a finite boundary. Realistically, looking at this many faceted phenomena known as EVP, and believing the final key to unlock the door to objective inter-dimension communication or discovering the “last” world of consciousness, is beyond our reach, does not in any way discourage me. Failure is not a frightening word. Only being afraid to try because one might fail, brings sleepless nights. There is victory in the attempt. Last year I wrote in Viewpoint, “I like to feel that our efforts, together, will shed illumination for those known and unknown to us, that our personal pilgrimage need not be a fumbling in the dark, but that we will light a light for each other.” We have come far since 1982. Working together, we will go further. Let us continue to share our light with everyone who has a need as we move into the future. 1 11/22/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena It is with great pleasure that I announce our Survival Board: Survival Board 1. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator 2. Clara Laughlin, VA AA-EVP Member 3. Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP Member 4. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator 5. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator 6. Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator The above six people have been recording for many years and each has had outstanding success in EVP work. In addition, all of them have received evidential messages from deceased individuals, at times unknown to them, which

upon checking later gave strong evidence that the communicant was who he claimed to be and had survived death in an individual, conscious state. Up-Date—Taped Survival Project In the Winter Newsletter, an ongoing survival project for AA-EVP members was announced. The response has been positive with tapes starting to come in, and other members saying their tapes will soon be mailed. To recap briefly: Members are invited to send me a cassette tape on which they mention things that are important to them: likes, dislikes, family members and so on. This background information should last only five to ten minutes. Be sure to include the address of one or two people we should contact if it appears you have come through to one or more of our Survival Board members. As soon as your family member notifies me of your death, I will contact our board members. They will start to listen for you through their recorders, and will actively ask for help from those on the other side to bring you to them and assist you in giving your message. Remember to be evidential. At least one thing you say to a board member must be on the tape in my possession. No board member will have any idea what is on your tape. I also will not listen to your tape until after your transition, and only then if a board member reports possible contact. All members are encouraged to participate! Challenger Communications After the explosion of the

Challenger on January 28, several AA-EVP members reported taping messages in reference to the astronauts or the space shuttle itself. Sarah Estep. I requested that the other side try to help the astronauts move into the spirit world. A Class A male voice, using the word “try” in his answer, as I had used in my request, replied, “I’ll try with them.” Arthur and Pat Huff. The Huffs attended our August conference and learned about the reverse voice in Dan McKee’s workshop. Since then, they tape nightly and report receiving excellent reverse messages. Some of the things that they taped after the accident were: “We’re about to crack.” “We’re going to crack.” “Permanently survive.” “Exhaust line.” “A problem.” Clara Laughlin. Clara taped several messages when she asked about the astronauts. Her guide, Callie, came through and said, “Now we make this official, Clarissa (Clara) They perish in Atlantic.” “That was terrible. Clara, it had no future. Challenger has a loss of power.” “(name of one of the astronauts) pleased that he is there with her.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Dan McKee. Dan reports that he received a fair amount of relative information. The other side said, “We see them.” Dan commented that he felt that he had no direct contact with the astronauts themselves. Dan’s observation is interesting because in looking over the messages the rest of us taped, this also becomes apparent. We received messages about the astronauts, or the

craft, but no astronaut spoke to us. This somewhat reinforces that what we taped were genuine EVP messages. TPP (Television Picture Phenomena) The above 2 pictures were received from Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member from West Germany. Ernst wrote that Klaus Schreiber of West Germany gave them to him, and Schreiber feels they show his mother (No. 1) and daughter, Karin, (No. 2). Schreiber told Ernst they came through his TV and he taped the pictures with his video tape recorder, using an expensive, laborious method suggested by Karin, via EVP communication with her father. As mentioned in the Winter Newsletter, AA-EVP members who have a video recorder, might like to begin experiments. Ernst suggested trying to use an oscillator in the VHF or UHF range and modulate it with any signal mixture tuned to a free channel on your TV. Even if you don’t have an oscillator, you can still start to experiment. One of our members is doing this, and thinks she may have seen two faint words in the “snow.” [TPP is known as Video ITC today] EVP—Stray Pick-up? Many skeptics of EVP say the voices we record are C.B. broadcasts, stray radio waves and so on. How a stray pick-up could conveniently land on the tape as the recorder is recording, call the experimenter by name and answer his direct questions, has never been explained. The reverse voices are also unexplainable from this standpoint. In a recent bulletin sent to me by Alexander MacRae, of Skye, Scotland,

he wrote,”...you no longer have to spend hours arguing with people who say EVP is just due to stray pick-up… In late 1985 I took an Alpha 3.5 to Calpe, a small town in Southern Spain. Now, if EVP was due to stray pick-up then what was picked up in Spain should be in Spanish. It wasn’t. An English resident of another foreign country has been using an Alpha for 18 months. Out of 300 voices, he reports, only two were (possibly) in the native language.” EVP—Ouija Correspondence Several months ago, Evening Magazine—Baltimore, interviewed Stoker Hunt about his recently published book, Ouija, The Most Dangerous Game, (Barnes & Noble, Harper & Row). At the conclusion of the interview, AA-EVP member, Linda Roers (co-editor and publisher of Second Sight Metaphysical Magazine, (Address removed) and I, demonstrated the use of the board. I 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena have reservations about the Ouija, and had not used one for over ten years, but agreed to see if we could have communication. The interview and demonstration took place in a 200 year old house. When I asked if there was anyone present who had lived on the property at one time, we learned that a man by the name of Franck had been there in the early 1800’s. Upon questioning, Franck spelled out that he was still staying in the area and looking for his family. While the cameras were filming, I gave him suggestions

about looking for a bright light and going in that direction. I also told Franck he would find his loved ones waiting for him. At the end Franck indicated he was doing this. Much of our communication was shown to the public at a later date. During the demonstration, I used my tape recorder. Immediately after I asked if we had anyone with us who had at one time lived on the property, but before the name Franck was spelled out on the board, a Class A male voice said on tape, “Franck.” Mighty Mike The above diagram shows the microphone system I am now using. The idea was suggested in the German VTF Journal (1/86) kindly translated for me by Hans Heckmann, PA AA- EVP member. I have made some changes from the original diagram, placing six microphones in a small housing facing in towards a parabolic dish. The dish is not necessary and if one isn’t used, the microphones should face the taper. All components are easily obtained from Radio Shack. The mike elements are electret condenser ($2.69) each. In the month I have been using it, the EVP voices are outstanding in clarity. Along with the mike, I am using two radios tuned to the same station on the air-band for my sound source. The one radio tends to nullify the other. By turning the dial slightly a beating occurs. The first time this technique was used, when I asked if they were with me, a Class

A voice answered, “On our parity.” One dictionary definition for parity is close correspondence which is an accurate but unusual way to describe what I was doing with the radio. VTF Review In further reviewing the 1/86 German Journal, Hans Heckmann said that Fidelio Koberle (editor of the Journal) was interviewed in Berlin on the subject of EVP. The program is to be shown in the USA with an expected viewing audience of 12 million. (No date given). Experiments with the TANDY (Radio Shack) monaural reverberation unit (Cat. No. 32-1110) were mentioned. The unit is a microphone preamplifier and has three channels of reverberation (slide controlled) which allows a multitude of microphone sound combinations. It is felt that certain amounts of reverberation result in “sharper” microphone voices. We are indebted to Hans for his work in translating the German VTF Journal. It helps keep us aware of what EVP experimenters are doing in Germany as well as give those of us who are actively taping, new ideas to use in our own work. Italian EVP Newsletter Review 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Rosalba Harris, PA AA-EVP member, called me recently about the latest Milan, Italy EVP newsletter which she received. Virginia Ursi, AA-EVP member from Milan, is the editor of the newsletter. Rosalba met Mrs. Ursi last year when she visited Milan. The first part of the Metafonia was a report of our own AA-EVP NEWS, and some of our activities. Mrs.

Ursi also wrote, “During recent contacts with German experimenters, (I) was able to see on TV recognizable images of presumed discarnates in experiments conducted by physicist Ernst Senkowski and Hans Otto Konig. These studies seem to give positive results which allow us to hope for continued developments in manifestations from other dimensions.” We are grateful to Rosalba for her translation of the Italian newsletter. Along with the German newsletter, it helps us to be aware of what EVP experimenters are doing in other countries. AA-EVP Mini-Reunion On March 15, Tom Roers, (AA-EVP member, Second Sight) and I, taught an all day EVP workshop near Annapolis. Notices went out to AA-EVP members from Maryland and surrounding states. Over ten members attended, along with thirty other individuals. Many of the participants had never heard an EVP voice until I played a demonstration tape at the start of the workshop. Only two or three had been successful until then, in taping voices. After the workshop and a buffet lunch, we broke up into small groups and walked around the “haunted” restaurant trying to tape voices of the unseen with our portable tape recorders. Close to half the people reported contact when they played their tapes back later. Since we had such an enthusiastic response from those who attended, we hope to have a similar day next fall. New from and about Members Richard Berman, AR, called recently and said he has given two lectures about parapsychology and EVP. Richard told me that many

people are interested in the electronic voice in his area and he always plays a short tape of EVP voices as part of his presentation. William Duvendack, MT, wrote that he is taking a course about radionics and wonders if it might be an effective way to “tune” in on the EVP phenomena. He commented that distance is no factor for someone using a radionics machine, which is an electrical device. He hopes to do some experiments using it with EVP taping and will let me know the results. Betty Evans, VA, attended the all-day EVP workshop near Annapolis. Near the end of the day, Betty whispered to me that she had to leave early to meet her son who was coming from New York. Later, on tape playback, Betty heard, “Ha, ha, ha, he’s already here.” This was true because, to Betty’s surprise, when she reached home she found her son had arrived earlier than planned. Clara Laughlin, VA, continues to tape interesting EVP messages. A voice told her recently, “Cloudy weather is our strategy. To come near is no easy feature.” Several months ago she asked on tape that those on the other side send healing to a friend’s son-in-law. She did not mention what was wrong with the man. The following day, an EVP voice said, “(name removed) has a malignancy.” This is true, because the person concerned has asbestos lung cancer. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that she was giving a talk to a group of people

who belong to the National Federation of Housewives. The first twenty minutes she lectures about EVP, the next twenty minutes she plays a tape of EVP voices, and this is followed by discussion. Dan McKee, IL, wrote about some reverse EVP messages he taped recently. He said, “One quite interesting voice said, “There are doubts I’m visible.” Dan feels he is receiving above average material referring to being born. As an example, someone said, “I was told to go in the womb.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Dan commented that he has observed in reverse taping that too much signal strength seems to be undesirable. One time there was a good deal of laughter on the forward side of the tape and on the reverse side a voice told him, “The crashes are bad during laughter.” Howard Ruess, TX, called a few months ago about a voice that had whispered his name during his daily taping. Howard played the tape for me over the telephone. Normally, in this sort of situation, I hear little, if anything. The whisper Howard played for me, however, was so loud and clear, I heard it without difficulty. Ernst Senkowski, West Germany, wrote that he took part in a Munich satellite TV production. Professor Bender, Professor Resch, and Dr. Determeyer also were on the program. Thirty minutes were devoted to EVP and another thirty minutes to more general cases of TransCommunications. Mercedes Shepanek, VA, told me in

a recent phone conversation that they had just sealed a time capsule for her second grandson, Jeffrey. They did the same for Jeffrey’s brother, Gregory, two years ago at his christening. The capsule will be opened by each boy on his eighteenth birthday. They contain pertinent information of the present, an explanation of the electronic voice and some samples of EVP voices. In Jeffrey’s capsule, Mercedes included some “seventh dimension” voices Ernst Senkowski played for us at the conference last August. Psychic Experiences—EVP Tapers? In a recent letter, Carol Barron described many psychic experiences she has had all her life. The first one she remembers was at the age of four while visiting St Simons Island, Georgia. While in the woods she saw a large flash of light which “spoke” to her, but the rest, she wrote, has been lost in her memory. Carol feels it would be an interesting feature for a future newsletter to have EVP tapers describe psychic experiences they have had in the past. She feels such experiences may have served as a catalyst and opened us to communication with other dimensions through our tape recorders. Let me know about your past experiences. I feel members would be interested in this. Roll Call We have added a number of new members in the last three months, including our first member from Luxembourg. Welcome to everyone! For the year we have shown a healthy growth, having enrolled fifty-nine new members. Well over 100 people have renewed their

memberships. MD leads the states with 23 members; VA is next with 19; CA is third with 14. Men still outnumber the women with 54% of our members being men. Light Journal You will find enclosed, On “Holy” War, written by Brenda Marshall, President/Editor of Light, published quarterly by the College of Psychic Studies, London. When I wrote to Mrs. Marshall about reprinting her piece and sharing it with our AA-EVP members, she graciously gave permission. She wrote, “I must say it does seem to me all very obvious, but I agree it is helpful to keep stating it.” Light is an excellent metaphysical journal. I have subscribed to it for two years. Subscription rates are $15 a year for the U.S. which includes airmail postage. The address is: 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB England, www.psychic-studies.org.uk/l_journal.htm. 6 Egyptian Odyssey Update Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena We are packing our suitcases and rushing out to buy extra supplies of tapes and batteries for our battery operated tape recorders. Yes, we are going! Due to world conditions, the group is small but there is something to be said for small groups, especially because of our EVP recordings in the places we will be visiting. As mentioned in the tour brochure, I will be teaching an EVP workshop on location and helping group members with their tapings as we move from one location to the next. At the tomb of Amon-Hotep who died in 1224

B.C., and in the crypt that was used for magic rites thousands of years ago, located under the Temple of Dendera, special ceremonies will be held. It was at these two places, that the invisibles spoke to me on tape in May 1984, one of them calling me by name, asking for my help. This time I will try to give suggestions to help them move on. Lynn Gardner, who many of you met at the August conference, and who will be leading our tour, has been unflagging in her efforts to make our Egyptian Odyssey experience truly outstanding for all participants. It promises to exceed all expectations. Those of us who are going will meet at the KLM counter, Kennedy Airport, NY, at 6:30 P.M., April 24. We will return on May 10. The Summer NEWS will carry a report of our trip! Odds and Ends A special note of thanks to the many people who upgraded or sent in their membership renewal early after the last newsletter. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Some have asked how they can know ahead of time when their membership will expire. On each white mailing label, I have the month when your membership is due. If you have a C on the label, this indicates that you have requested that your name be placed on the cross-country list. Deadline for your contribution(s) for our Summer newsletter is June 20! Until then... Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a

Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1986 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint There is a Roman saying, “Plvs Vltra,” which translated means: “There is more beyond.” Those of us who have an interest in what is loosely termed “paranormal” are well aware that there is much beyond the physical world of the five senses which can touch our lives. Plvs Vltra would make an ideal obituary but it could also be a motto for us as we greet the rising of the sun each morning. If we look around, if we get beyond the neat little box into which most lives have been placed, we will find, like a child of two who shrieks with joy at every butterfly and lovingly smells roses and dandelions alike, that our world is full of excitement and a good deal of beauty. Two months ago, I returned from seventeen days in Egypt. There was advice from high and low that the trip be forgotten. Due consideration was given to the world situation and our group was polled. The decision was unanimous: “Go!” Certain precautions were taken and never, at any time, did we feel at all threatened. Egypt! Still a land that inspires awe and, to me, a land of beauty. Two acquaintances who had been there before were

surprised when I said I was going back. “You were there two years ago. It’s so dirty. Why do you want to return?” they asked. Well, yes, in a way it is dirty. Water is scarce in many places; they don’t have modern machines to scrub their streets. There’s not enough water to always have a clean face or clean clothes. I prefer, however, to raise my eyes above the dust and look at the Pyramids and the Sphinx; at the temples and the tombs. I needn’t look that high. I can look at the people, especially those in villages scattered throughout the country side. When I look, I see that their priorities, although in some ways like ours, are met in a different way. Having nothing in a material sense, many have found a quiet contentment and joy at being with family and others in their community. This doesn’t suggest all Egyptians are angels or paragons of virtue. They are people and like people everywhere, they have their individual differences, some pleasant, some unpleasant. I am reminded of one occasion when I went off to do some private taping. As I sat at the base of a tomb waiting for others in my group to join me, it was time for lunch. The guard took his sandwich, wrapped in a newspaper, from a crevice and offered me half. He wanted to share what he had. To me, that is beauty. Beauty was also seen in the joy on the

faces of Egyptian children as another member of our group and I, gave them pens to use for school. Education is compulsory in Egypt but some children come from families too poor to provide them with school materials. One night, at our hotel in Asyut, we learned about the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl. We stopped the following morning in the Western desert and formed a circle, each member giving a personal affirmation that our planet find peace and be healed. When we released the balloons which another member of our group had brought, and watched them spin and dance away in the wind across the sand, we saw beauty. Although the world needs the most positive efforts each of us can give, it also needs, I feel, people who, like the child of two, see beauty in the dandelion. Plvs Vltra offers hope for tomorrow. It should also challenge us for today. Controls—Taped Survival Project Monty Hearon, Oregon State Coordinator, visited me for two days in June. We discussed many developments that have taken place in the field of EVP over the last four years, and the direction 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the phenomena seems to be going. During this time we shared ideas about the AA-EVP. We talked about the taped survival project and our hope that it will bring comfort to many in the future, as well as add to the evidence that individual consciousness survives bodily death. Monty

feels we should try to place a control, a safeguard, on the survival tape that you send to me. He is concerned that if a member of our survival board hears from someone after death, whose tape is in my possession, critics of the phenomena will claim this information was passed on to the board member earlier. To try to prevent this accusation, he suggests you place within the tape case a small piece of paper with your signature and several of your inked fingerprints. Wrap the box in tissue paper and scotch tape it securely. On the tissue paper, again write your name and add the inked fingerprints. After your transition, and contact of a board member, I will open the tape in front of witnesses. Together we will listen to the tape. So, I can’t be accused of placing my own fingerprints on the tape, or having someone else do it, it would be a good idea to leave a set of your inked fingerprints in a secure place in your home. All this may seem a bit cumbersome but in actuality it shouldn’t take more than several minutes. You are, of course, free to do as you wish. I feel Monty’s idea has a great deal of merit and I encourage you to consider it. For those who have already sent me a tape, if you wish to make another tape, following Monty’s suggestion, I will return your first tape to you. New Ideas about EVP Tina

Laurent, AA-EVP member from Wales, has contacted me about a recent letter she received from Benson Herbert, internationally known British parapsychologist. Since returning to Wales three years ago, Tina has become acquainted with Herbert and done experiments with him and two of his associates. Herbert is familiar with EVP and has listened to many of Tina’s tapes. Although he accepts there are voices on the tapes, until recently he did not believe they were voices of the dead. Now, with his letter to Tina in which he quoted from articles written by two Russian scientists, he commented that he guessed he might have to become a spiritualist and an EVPist. In the one article by Dr. Romen of Alma-Ata University in the U.S.S.R., titled “Bio-Plasma and Psychic and Auto Regulation,” he wrote, “Yoga and auto-suggestion can deeply affect the bio-energetic processes in a person’s system and is of great value in the prevention of and curing of diseases and promoting regeneration … with the possibility of maintaining the personal “I” (ego) on the conditions of extreme stress, and after death in a definite biological form... This energetic image maintains the personal characteristics independently of spatial and temporal factors ... and is a recognizable individual.” The other article, quoted by Herbert, was by Dr. G. P. Krokhalev of Perm University, U.S.S.R. It is titled, “EVP” and he wrote, “The human body can act as a receiver and a transmitter of radio waves. The skin acts as a transistor to modulate the

waves so transmitting an audible sound via tissue and bones to the brain... Concentration of thought can cause the ears to transmit faint sounds which can be picked up by a sensitive microphone and tape recorded...” In his own EVP experiments, Dr. Krokhalev uses a plastic or rubber ear-cap, fitting around the ear, with a small hole in the middle for the insertion of a tiny microphone. Herbert concluded his letter to Tina by writing, “So there is nothing to hinder the supposition that the energetic image (ghost?) as described by Romen to persist after death, could emit radio signals capable of being picked-up by the body of a living person, converted into sound through the person’s ears and then tape recorded, hence EVP?” Since the above was received from Tina, I have talked to her by phone. She has again heard from Herbert, who said he is leaning even more strongly towards EVP being evidential of post mortem survival. He kindly gave permission to quote him in our NEWS. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Headphone Microphone This diagram shows how I have adapted Dr. Krokhalev’s method of using a plastic ear—cap with a small microphone. Taking a spare set of stereo headphones, I had built into them two mics, one in each earpiece. The headphones fit comfortably around my head and are worn while making a recording on my four-track TEAC tape recorder. I have used them alone, without any other

microphone; at other times, I combine them with Mighty Mike described in the Spring newsletter. Voices have been recorded both ways. When using just the headphone mic, external sound sources are almost completely eliminated (such as the radio). This is due, no doubt, to the fact that the small mics inside the headphone fit tightly against the ears and unless the sound source is unusually loud, the mics do not record it. The voices that are taped with the headphone mic, although at times loud, clear and Class A, have an unusual quality. There is more white noise in the background than with normal recordings. The taper’s voice is surprisingly loud. Recently, in order to use all the microphones in Mighty Mike, and both mics in Headphone Mike, I bought two Siamese connectors at Radio Shack. The two leads carrying the six mics from Mighty Mike, using the Siamese connector, is plugged into one channel of my TEAC. The other Siamese connector carrying the two leads with two mics from Headphone Mike, is plugged into the other channel of my TEAC. There have been good results so far. EVP Tapers Report Psychic Experiences In our Spring Newsletter, I wrote about Carol Barron’s, MA State Coordinator, suggestion that EVP tapers contact me about psychic experiences they have had. She felt such experiences may serve as a catalyst to open us to communicating with other dimensions through our tape recorder. Many thanks to the tapers who sent reports and to Carol for

her idea. Carol Barron, at age 11, saw a lady appear by her bed. The lady “spoke” to her with her eyes and gave Carol a feeling of overwhelming love and peace. Since then, she has experienced her presence twice and both times were during a very traumatic period in Carol’s life. Monty Hearon wrote in response to my request: “...therefore have had some psychic experiences. These cover such things as seeing an apparition and speaking briefly to him; having three percussive raps, one before witnesses; having the front door shaken violently while I was 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena taping and no one was there; my mother-in-law speaking to me after she had gone on; seeing my sister twice after she had departed; etc.” Clara Laughlin, VA AA-EVP member. When Clara was five, she lived across the street from her maternal grandmother. One day her mother said she was going to check on the grandmother and would be back soon. She had barely left the house when Clara looked up and saw the shoulders and head of a man and woman. The woman said to her, “Don’t worry Clara. We’ll always take care of you.” When Clara’s mother returned, Clara told her about the experience. The mother got out a photo album and Clara picked out the picture of her paternal grandmother as the person she saw and who had spoken to her. Tina Laurent reports many psychic experiences. As long

as she can remember, she has heard raps in her head, several times a year, right before falling asleep. After her mother’s recent death, she communicated with Tina for two months and then this stopped. Although Tina grew up in a home that had no belief in spiritual matters, she got the idea she would hear angels sing if she pressed her ear to her pillow at bedtime. Occasionally, Tina reports, she did hear beautiful singing, right on the fringe of her hearing, and would fall asleep listening to this. Tina commented, “Who knows, Sarah. Forty years ago I may have heard EVP voices!” Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, wrote that one evening after recording, he heard clearly outside his left ear, an audible voice that said, “748.” He checked that counter on his recording and at that point, there was the message, “Tomorrow night you will be looking for Centaria.” Unfortunately, the tape jammed the following evening and Dan was unable to record. Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, relates the following experience. “At 3 o’clock one morning (having taped the previous evening from 10 to 11 P.M.), I suddenly awoke and after waking heard 2 voices in the tape room which is adjacent to the bedroom. One voice was deep and one was “light.” I couldn’t characterize them as either male or female. The deep voice spoke about 10 words. The second voice, 6 or 7. I had a very strong impression they were commenting on the tape equipment

but couldn’t make out what they were saying. I was alone in the house, but rose up, put on my robe and searched every room in the house, all of which were dark. Of course, found nothing unknown.” Egyptian Odyssey Report There are different reasons for traveling, especially to foreign countries. Most people want to see the “sights”, those well-known places touted by tour brochures. Others want to come in touch with the people and try to learn something about them. A smaller number hope to expand their inner consciousness, to reach out and come in contact with the visible and invisible forces which affect their lives. Lynn Gardner and I tried to provide all of these experiences for the people in our group. Since returning, we have received letters and calls from many who went with us, and each has indicated that we succeeded. We saw the usual places: The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx which, no matter how often are visited, never fail to inspire. The Step Pyramid, considered to be the oldest stone building in the world, located at Sakkara, was seen. We stopped at the beautiful Temples of Abydous and Dendera. Several days were spent in Luxor and we went to Karnak a few miles away. One morning was devoted to the magnificent Valley of the Kings; another morning to the Coptic tombs in the Western desert where, in some of the tombs, the unseen seems to be still waiting, and you feel they are

so close you need only stretch out your hand to touch them. We also went to many places not usually seen by tourists: The Pyramid of Medium; the 2,000-year-old town of El Bagawat where people still live and time seems to have stopped. There was no one around as 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena we took a swim in a healing spring located at the Kharga Oasis. At Aswan we sailed in a faluca to St. Simeon’s Monastery, dating back to the sixth century. As we walked through the ruins, I felt we had the loving presence of some of the early monks walking with us. The people also touched our lives in many ways. Wherever we went we heard, “Welcome! Welcome!” Our coming was a big event in small villages which seldom see outsiders. Small children would run for even smaller brothers and sisters so they wouldn’t miss the “happening.” They would be followed by the adults who came to look us over. Getting out of our bus, we would smile and nod at each other, language not being really necessary. They were pleased we wanted to take their picture, and after tucking in shirts and patting their hair, their smiles indicated they were ready. Our group was interested in, and accepting of, the metaphysical. Each individual had the opportunity to proceed at his own pace, to open up if he wished to the invisible, spiritual side of life. This was

done individually and at times in groups. As a result, some people had deep personal experiences that will affect them the rest of their lives. My tape recorder went everywhere with me. Many voices were recorded and I have prepared a new thirty-minute tape. There is a form enclosed if you would like to order one. Side 1 has voices taped during my first visit to Egypt and was taken from the sixty-minute tape some of you may have. Side 2 contains voices recorded from my most recent trip. A few of the voices sound like the voices taped during my first trip and came through at the same location. I always said at such places, “I have returned to you. Can you please speak to me again?” At the Quar tomb and the Temple of Abydous, messages were taped that indicated they were doing this. Two days before leaving Egypt, we went to the Church of Zeitoun in Cairo, where an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared many times in 1968, and was seen by over a million people. Perhaps it is appropriate that the last two messages I taped came through as I was sitting quietly in the sanctuary of the church. Much of the success of the trip is due to Ahmed Fayed, our excellent Egyptian guide. He said the first night we were in Egypt, “While you are here, you are part of my family,” and this feeling prevailed the entire time. The night before leaving

for home, Lynn and I talked to Ahmed about plans for a future trip. There will be an Egyptian Odyssey II in October 1987. Start to put it in your bank of positive thoughts. I hope you will be with us. News from and about Members Roy Bauer, Canada, is experimenting with a friend to see if a person is able to affect a recording while in the out-of-body state. He reports one success in which his friend said Roy’s name while having an O.B.E. Roy would like to hear from other researchers who are trying to develop better techniques for recording. He is on the cross-country list. Kay Croissant/Catherine Dees, CA, have been doing EVP experiments for nine years. Last year they spent seven weeks in Egypt, Greece, Italy and France to research historical places for writing projects in which they are involved. During their trip, they taped many EVP voices. At a site of medieval devil worship in Italy, they first walked through a nearby hermit cave where a benevolent voice said, “Seek out,” and, “Let nothing prevent you.” As they entered the cave used for devil worship, someone said, “Malestro” (mischief or damage) and then, “You all will fail,” followed by, “Don’t look.” They are planning a novel on the lives of the Brownings and spent two hours in their home in Florence. When they asked, “Do you like our story?” a soft woman’s voice replied, “We especially do,” and later, “Thank you for your words. We

wait for them.” They closed their letter to me with, “This work is a vital part of human understanding of our great responsibility in our thoughts and actions. If memories are retained in the subtle atomic structure of matter, then how careful we must all be with our very thoughts, not to let them join 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the larger negative energies at work in the world today.” They have published several historical and romance novels under the name Catherine Kay. Betty Evans, VA, called a friend one evening and while waiting for her to come to the phone, a man’s voice came on the line and said, “Hey, how are you? How are you doing?” After a moment of shock, Betty realized it sounded like the voice of her deceased brother, Henry. She checked with her friend as to whether the friend’s son might have spoken and was assured he was nowhere near the phone. Betty called Clara Laughlin and asked her to inquire about the incident through her tape recorder. Clara did, and taped a number of messages indicating that Henry had spoken to Betty on the phone and would try to do the same in the future. Jules Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg, called a few days before we left for Egypt to wish us well. He has contacted several European AA-EVP members through the cross-country list, and received replies in response. Jules feels with “this system” (Newsletter and cross-country

list) we can “give on light to help the whole world.” Rosalba Harris, PA, and Dave Overton, TX, are due special thanks for writing to me about Curtis Fuller’s editorial in the July issue of Fate magazine. Over a column was devoted to Hans Heckman’s (PA, AA-EVP member) translation from the VTF journal about Microphone Recordings which appeared in our Winter Newsletter. Benn Kobb, VA, had an article about EVP published in the Spring Edition of Reality Change. A number of people have contacted me for more information. Clara Laughlin recently became a grandmother. Before her daughter, Barbara, knew she was pregnant, Tom (Clara’s deceased husband) came on tape and said, “Hello, grandmother.” Later on, the doctor told Barbara she would have twins. Clara went to her tape recorder and asked if this was true. Tom replied, “Single baby boy,” which proved to be correct. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, sent me a flyer his group had printed, announcing a lecture and tape demonstration of the electronic voice. The meeting was held in May and much interest was shown by those who attended. Steve Glanz, another CA, AA-EVP member, visited David and they held a successful taping session. Steve hopes to begin some research in the area of TPP (television picture phenomena) [known as Video ITC today]. Looking at Books Jeff Vilencia recently sent me his just published book: Spirit Voices. It is a short book of seventy pages, with the last twenty-five pages being largely a transcript and explanation

of how the voices came through on the cassette tape which is included with the price of the book. Although Jeff writes in a clear manner about his experiences with EVP the last ten years, you will not learn anything new. He mentions nothing about recent research and experimenters, and one suspects he is unaware of them. This is unfortunate, for the field needs an up-to-date, all-purpose book to encourage research and create new interest among the public. I wrote to Jeff that I was sorry I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about his book because he appears to be sincere. Side 1 of the 60-minute tape has EVP voices. Side 2 has about a five- minute demonstration of how to make a recording. The rest of the tape is blank. Since Jeff works with groups who evidently still believe “Silence is golden,” most of the voices are faint, whisper type of poor quality. There are a few that are louder and could be called Class A Jeff includes over a dozen of Raudive’s voices so, if you haven’t heard these before, you may be interested. To order the book and tape, send $9.95 plus $1.50 to: (Address removed). Rosalba Harris has located a dealer who had a copy of Konstantin Raudive’s book: Breakthrough, for $6. If you are still looking for the book, you can write to: (Address removed). 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Harold Sherman, AR, AA-EVP member, wrote recently that

his excellent book: The Dead Are Alive, is being brought out in a new edition by Ballantine Books the first of January. If the book is not already in your library, you will want to add it as soon as it reaches the bookstores. AA-EVP National Conference Mark your calendars! A date has been chosen for our third national conference. It will be held at the Holiday Inn, Inner Harbor-Baltimore, from August 7 to 9, 1987. The location, within walking distance of 130 shops and restaurants; fine museums; historical sites and the National Aquarium, will be a delight to everyone and offers an ideal vacation place for the entire family. By signing a contract with the Holiday Inn now, we have been guaranteed the very reasonable rate of $64 a night, single or double. There is limousine service from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and parking for those who drive. The accommodations, sleeping and meeting rooms will be excellent for our purpose. The first two conferences have been so outstanding; you will not want to miss this one. Whether you will be a repeat attendant, or coming for the first time, it is not too soon to start planning to be with us. There will be more exciting details about the conference in future newsletters. Odds and Ends A note! Please remember to check the box on the membership renewal notice, if you wish to remain on the cross-country list. A number of people are not doing this. Deadline for your

contribution(s) to the Fall Newsletter is September 13. Special blessings to those who don’t wait until the last minute. Let me hear from you! Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1986 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “There is a principle which is proof against all information, which is proof against all arguments, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance; that principle is contempt, prior to investigation.” Herbert Spencer Investigation! How often have we denounced skeptics of psychic phenomena for failing to investigate with an open mind various areas of PSI/ESP? How often have they charged us with being deluded and deceived? Both sides are justified in their accusations. Boggle thresholds vary from person to person. We each have our own level at which the mind boggles at an idea that cannot be accepted into our usual pattern of thought. Scientists usually have a lower boggle point than those who are interested in and accept, to a certain extent, different aspects of the paranormal. Unfortunately, those with a high boggle threshold may find themselves victims of fraud. Fraud of any kind is intolerable but perhaps the greatest harm is perpetrated in the paranormal field. The corrupt person can take the last hope

of someone and by his machinations leave him in utter despair. This is especially true for those interested in evidence for postmortem survival for they are often the most vulnerable. Their deep need to believe too often makes them, without justification, believers, and this is something that the unscrupulous are well aware of and will use to their own advantage. The history of psychic phenomena, especially in the area of mediumship, has been degraded with countless instances of fraud. Many mediums were caught cheating and the result placed the entire field of mediumship in disrepute. Although the public was partly to blame with its insistence that a medium always “produce”, that did not excuse the deceit. Magicians tell us that they can duplicate from their bag of magic tricks, everything that is regarded as paranormal. This may be true, but that does not make less true that which is genuine. When I founded the AA-EVP in 1982, a man wrote to me from Indiana wanting to know how he (I) could be positive fraud was not being committed in relation to the Voices. I answered from my own experience, and the experiences of other tapers who I knew personally and fully trusted, that I didn’t think this was possible and gave reasons for my belief. My boggle point was higher than it is now. In the last four years rumors of fraud have arisen and although I have wondered at times about the truth of those rumors, I have tried

to avoid taking part in the charges and counter- charges. My mind always goes back to the magician and his bag of tricks, but evidence is not proof and perhaps, to a fault, I tend to give most people the benefit of the doubt. Where there is an accusation of fraud in connection with EVP, we need to consider all evidence presented. We must investigate, as much as possible, those charges and in the end try to decide whether the evidence is strong enough to accept or reject, the premise presented. Both decisions can take courage and there is no easy answer. It is understandable that asking people to believe we can communicate with other realities through a tape recorder, is stretching many boggle points to the limit. Whatever happens, we must show by our own approach to inter- dimension communication and by our own personal integrity, that faith in voice phenomena is justified. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena We are Listed! Come November, the AA-EVP will be as close as your local library. At the suggestion of Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, I wrote to the Gale Research Company, publishers of the Encyclopedia of Associations to see if we were eligible to be listed in their encyclopedia. Long information forms soon arrived with a request for any publications we had, to be returned with the forms. Our AA-EVP newsletters for the last year were sent along with the requested information. Several

months passed, and then a phone call came from the editor. She had some additional questions as well as personal questions about taping. At the conclusion, she said she found our organization, and the newsletter, one of the most fascinating that has ever crossed her desk. We will be listed in the November supplement and in the main book when it is published the early part of 1987. Look us up! EVP and the Japanese Lynn Schroeder and Sheila Ostrander, AA-EVP members, have returned from a month’s stay in Japan. They were invited to talk on Superlearning, a new approach to learning which they have developed and which has received excellent results world-wide. Since it was the tenth anniversary of the Japanese psi society, they were also invited to speak to groups all over the country about psi. Lynn wrote, “EVP was one of our main topics. Seemed like a good idea to get the Japanese with their electronic expertise and traditional patience interested. Translation of our talks in Tokyo was quite good ... in other cities translation got very wobbly. It was eye widening to see the questions that came back, third generation translation by then… People did seem very interested in EVP. After the lecture (in Sapporo) fifteen 18 to 23 year olds showed up at the hotel with a young English teacher… The kids mainly wanted to know about New York and EVP ... We passed around a Walkman with your Egyptian tape. The translator tried to

explain what was on the tape… All listened intently and said, “Yes, yes.” Essentially, I think they thought you were the EVP. “Two young men (artists) said something strange had happened to them. They heard a voice that spoke aloud to them, no one was there, they were not recording anything, but later when playing a tape, the voice was on it.” Near the end of her letter, Lynn commented that apart from the technology and patience, it seemed to them that the Japanese might succeed at EVP because of their Shinto religion. Shintoism is very open to linking with the dead. I had the pleasure of introducing Lynn and Sheila at our national conference last summer. This was a special pleasure because it was from reading their book: Handbook of Psi Discoveries, over ten years ago, that I first read about electronic voice phenomena. Sound Modulation Experiments Carol Barron, NA State Coordinator, and David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, are continuing their experiments with sound. These experiments differ from the radio airband/shortwave sound source that many of us use while taping. Some of the taped examples David sent were Class A, and Carol also reports good results. They use something of the same approach, creating noise near the tape recorder, which the unseen use to help them speak. Carol made the interesting observation, “Some things come in very clear, but this method rarely yields a tonal voice but rather, articulation out of the noise itself.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I have also done sound experiments in the past with interesting results. Once, while using just the open flame of a propane gas tank, I asked if they could speak. An unusually clear Class A voice answered, “You will know we talk. Important.” My own experiments indicate that the unseen voice tends to take on the characteristics of whatever sound source is used. The propane gas voice had the whooshing sound of the flame in it. Caution must be used with this approach for it is all too easy to think you have a voice when, in fact, it is just noise. EVP on Broadway? No, but the Pioneer Square Theater of Seattle, WA, which brings live theater to the public, used in a recent production some of the communications I have taped from the unseen. In August, Paula Magar, Literary Manager and Assistant Director for the group of four theaters, called and said they were putting on an original play, “Mass for Dead Voices,” and the playwright wanted to hear examples of the electronic voice. Tapes 1 and 2 were promptly sent with the suggestion that perhaps they could use some of the voices during the play with a brief program note explaining that they were the actual voices of the deceased. A short time later, Paula wrote that they thought this was an excellent idea and they would also include in the program a note about our Association. VTF Review

- Gernany Many thanks are owed to Hans Heckmann, PA, AA-EVP member, who translated a recent German VTF Journal for me. Such translations always give new ideas and at times, new techniques for taping. Several references were again made about using reverberation devices with recordings and how, in each case, they enhanced the quality of the voices. (I have recently started to use Radio Shack-42-2108 Stereo Reverb System and found this to be true. S.E.) There was a long article in the Journal by Siegfried Scheunert, titled: “Gravity and Paranormal Voices.” Scheunert said that he started looking for a connection between gravity and para voices five years ago and presented his theoretical views. He wrote, “Each point of matter is a point of entry for the energy effects of gravity in three-dimensional space. Paranormal voices fit into this play of energies. This means the speaker in higher dimensional space has to generate a sufficiently accurate voice signal wave which will enter the elementary particles of matter in the same manner as gravity does… The assumed beam of gravity acts upon the real mass of matter; i.e., the atomic nuclei. These vibrate at audio frequencies and create the peculiar tonal color of para voices… We now shift the area of vibration into an electronic component through which flow a current. It is important that this component has a crystalline structure which can mechanically vibrate and thereby change its electronic value… The transistor has the proper structure and makes paranormal voices possible.

Since audio frequencies are involved, the area of vibration has to be within transistors of audio frequency stages. The vibration here changes a flowing signal and we therefore speak of conversion. Only a flowing current can be regulated and thus we have to provide a background noise. However, the quiescent direct current flowing in an amplifier circuit can be used instead and should result in better voices.” Scheunert believes that the entities are unaware of this but sometimes the right portion of the transistor is affected and a clear voice results. All other attempts produce the bulk of bad voices. He feels we could increase “hits” by making transistor amplification stages, particularly the final stages, more easily accessible and illuminated. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena AISP Report - Italy Thanks are also due to Rosalba Harris, PA, AA-EVP member, for her translation of articles from the July issue of EVP Information, published by the Italian Association for the Study of Psychophony. The EVP conference held in Milan, Italy, in June was discussed. Mrs. Virginia Ursi, AA- EVP member, is the founder of the Milanese Metaphony Center. Otto Konig conducted a successful EVP experiment with the aid of the generator he invented. Konig continues to refuse to give many details about his generator for he feels it isn’t sufficiently perfected. It is known however, that the recording technique is based on ultrasound and infrared and ultraviolet rays. Dr. Ernst Senkowski (West German AA-EVP

member) lectured on, “The Voice Phenomena From the Scientific Point of View.” The newsletter also carried a report from various items in one of our AA-EVP NEWS. Rosalba commented that although the Italian words “metafonia” and “psicofonia” both refer to EVP, they have different meanings. Those who use “metafonia” attribute all EVP to voices from the dead. With “psicofonia,” other sources are also considered. The AISP is holding a conference the end of October. Ernst Senkowski will lecture. Rosalba plans to attend the conference. Radio Communications In a recent letter from Ernst Senkowski, he wrote that he had taken part in two recording sessions with Marcello Bacci of Grosseto, Italy. Bacci, who has been taping for fifteen years, tunes his receiver between 7 and 9 MHz (short wave band), looking for a special signal which sounds like the chirping of large grass-hoppers. Within several minutes, the signal starts to fluctuate until it goes down to nearly zero. At this point, a message comes through. At the end of the message, the background sound comes up again and this can continue for half an hour or longer, with the sound fading in and Out. Most messages are received when the chirping stops. Ernst wrote, “In between, questions are asked by the sitters, and some of them immediately answered and completely understandable from the loudspeaker—others only by replaying the tape which is running for documentation. Observation shows that the “blockade” of the normal behavior of the receiver holds for some time after

the contact is finished—normal stations are to be heard only with low volume. For technicians, it might be still more interesting that Bacci and his colleagues tried the following experiment: They took two practically identical receivers, put them about one meter apart in the lab and got a contact. In spite of tuning both of them to as far as possible the same frequency, only one of them brought the paranormal voices in, the other just received the normal unchanged signals. During the voice reception, they changed the tuning, but the voice remained. That means the paranormal modulation is not primarily in the high frequency part but more on the audio side—but it seems that “THEY” use the high frequency fields/signals together with the etheric of Bacci and the group to supermodulate the system and produce the voices.” Ernst also wrote that Klaus Schreiber of West Germany is continuing to receive pictures of the deceased on his television screen. By using several light sources of different wavelengths or colors, including ultraviolet, he gets paranormal pictures on a projection screen. Most of the procedures are given to him through his tape recorder by his deceased daughter, Karin, and come through on the wrong side of his recording tape. Ernst plans to visit Schreiber in Aachen in the near future. News from and about Members 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Many of you must have taken to heart my comment in the Summer Odds

and Eends about a special “blessing” to those who sent their “news” early. You did! Interesting letters came from members who had never written before. A number of our members have indicated they especially enjoy this feature, so all of us are “blessed” with your response. Bernadette Arras, West Germany, wrote to me about a book published in Germany. She gave a translation of the section concerning Thomas Edison: “An editor of the journal called Scientific American wrote about Edison’s dream of a technical medium. He wrote: ‘Mr. Edison can no longer believe in the old traditional theories about death and life. He stated that he could construct a highly sensitive instrument to communicate with another sphere… At age seventy- three he declared: ‘I believe that life is as undestroyable as matter.’” Carol Barron, MA gave a lecture and tape demonstration to a college class. During the demonstration, which produced voices, she used the airband on her small radio as a sound source. An electronics teacher in the class said he’d be more impressed if she used something besides a radio for this purpose. The entire class moved down the hall to a room with a sink and Carol made another recording using running water for her background sound. Two messages, one Class A, were taped and everyone, especially the doubting Thomas, was impressed. Vincent DeVincenzo, NJ, is trying to get in touch with the Vatican Archives through the Vatican Embassy in Washington, in the hope of locating the EVP

tapes made by the late Father Leo Schmid of Switzerland. If he succeeds, he will send a copy to us. Joyce Gaines, LA, frequently hears voices clairaudiently. In August, she was awakened by a voice that told her to, “Sell, sell.” She mulled it over for several days and then sold her investment in a High Yield money market fund, thereby avoiding the stock market’s recent sharp decline. Valerie Huggett, FL, has just finished reading a book about Arthur Ford which she feels “all EVPers could read for enlightenment.” The book, titled: Extension of Life, is by Pat Hayes who, along with her mother, were good friends of Arthur. Valerie wrote that she had taken classes from Arthur and feels the book is a genuine case of channeling for it has his “mind-set.” For a copy, send $12 plus $2 postage to: The Extension of Life Foundation, Delphi Center, P.O. Box 70, 940 Old Silvermine Road, McCaysville, GA 30555, www.delphi- center.com/institutes/extoflif.htm. Virgil Hunter, GA, sent me the article, “Here Comes DAT” from the August 1986 issue of Popular Science. Digital audio tape recorders will probably be available for the consumer in 1987. They promise to eliminate the hiss and noise heard from conventional tape recorders which should improve the quality of EVP voices. Many companies are about ready to release the recorders but Onkyo may be first. The cost is expected to be around $1,000, but this should quickly drop as the machines become popular. Edelgard John, West Germany, gave

a lecture, “Reincarnation of Animals?” at the VTF conference in Fulda. In two letters, Edelgard expressed her belief to me in animal reincarnation. Rolf, a previous dog of Edelgard’s, died at the age of seven from a broken leg after the misdiagnosis by three veterinarians. At first, Edelgard thought she would never get another dog because her grief was so great. Finally, after two visits to a shepherd, she adopted two dogs, one named Wanda. Since then, Edelgard and her friend, Christine Koberle, have both received taped messages indicating Wanda was once Rolf. Wanda also has many of the unique behavior patterns and knows many things that only Rolf knew. Edelgard closed her first letter with, “For me there is difference between man and animal, in intelligence, not in soul.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Benn Kobb, VA, Editor of Personal Communications Technology magazine, has had another article published, this time a technical one titled: “The New World of Communications” (Radio Electronics, Sept. 1986). Benn sent me a transcript of the EVP discussion by the entity “James,” channeled through Tam Mossman. Mossman was editor of the Seth books while at Prentice-Hall and worked closely with the late Jane Roberts. Quoting from the transcript James said, “Your audio voice recordings of discarnate voices are indeed genuine phenomena. However, their sources vary and the means which you have been using up to now are primitive at best. ...It is possible, though laborious, for an

entity to change the molecular surface (of the tape) so you get words... Magnetic tape can be primed, so it may more easily attract and hold discarnate voices. The way to do it is to ‘magnetize’ that tape with your own vibrations. Hold the cassette. Stroke it lovingly. Keep it with you on your body for at least twenty-four hours. Imagine your bodily energies flowing into it. …Tapes thus primed will show a greater fidelity, and more concepts, more evidential messages may in this way be recorded. ...What you are trying to do—your mistake, is that you are trying to get ghosts on your machine without having a ghost in your machine. You are making things doubly difficult for yourself by trying to remove the personal aspect from what is an intensely personal and loving exchange. When you (are taping) precise- ify your desires. You will listen to the tape lovingly from backwards to forwards, in your search for answers.” Benn has been invited to lecture about the electronic voice at the annual Info Fortfest meeting in Virginia the early part of October. Clara Laughlin, VA, in summing up four years of taping, wrote, “The quality of the voice has not gotten any better or worse, but the rewards are beyond description. I have immediate contact with Tom (her deceased husband) who knows I like evidential messages such as, “Yesterday I saw you painting on the Oldsmobile.” I’ve made a dear new spirit friend (Callie). Also, other friends have asked

for help and it has been given.” Tina Laurent, Wales, recently sent me an article from the International Journal of Paraphysics published by Benson Herbert, internationally known British parapsychologist. In the article, Herbert discusses EVP and offers some theories and suggestions. Tina also wrote that she and her husband, Carl, are compiling a book tentatively called, Welsh Ghostbuster’s Casebook. She has again appeared in the local Tenby paper and had a three-minute spot on Radio Wales. Shirley Matthews, UT, sent information about our organization to Heritage Foundation Psychic Research Group. As a result, the newsletter carried our logo, the diagram of Mighty Mike and the two TPP (television picture phenomena) [TRR is now known as Video ITC] pictures received by Klaus Schreiber (AA-EVP NEWS, Spring 1986). Many people wrote to me for more information and in most cases, the person commented he had never heard of EVP before reading about it in the Heritage newsletter. Don’t Give Up Since Shirley Matthews wrote to the Psychic Research Group about the AA-EVP, I have been in touch with Wayne Davis, editor of their newsletter, published ten times a year. The group also publishes a bi-monthly magazine, A Look At the Unusual. Subscription rates are $13.95 for one year which also makes a person eligible for the newsletter. One of the features that might especially appeal to our members is the listing in the publications, of hard to find books and unusual metaphysical products. In the June issue of the newsletter, Davis commented

about the necessity of using proper procedure and a willingness to continue to experiment in spite of not succeeding with early efforts. His views should be taken to heart by all tapers or those who are thinking about starting 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena to tape. He wrote, “And the single most important realization that must be in the experimenter’s mind at all times is simply that no mechanical psychic device has ever been invented that will cause a startling and noticeable reaction in the user as soon as he begins to use it. ...those who attempt various experiments with psychic devices should realize that the fruits of that experiment may not be readily discernable without lengthy comparisons. ...the researcher (should) remain calm and aloof from premature conclusions. … all information garnered will be written down carefully and fully and (at least) several experiments must be conducted before he can even begin to evaluate the device or procedure in use.” If interested in the group and its publications, write to: Wayne Davis (Address removed). Cross-country List Our cross-country list is growing but its growth is causing a problem or two. I don’t want to discontinue it since so many members enjoy this unique feature. Unfortunately, many people renewing memberships don’t indicate if they want to remain on the list. From now on, once you indicate you want to be listed, you will continue to be listed as long as you are a

member of AA- EVP. Only if you write to me requesting that your name be taken off, will it be removed. Odds and Ends Our Winter NEWS means time for the Best of ‘86 feature. Tapers, please send me a list of two or three messages you taped during 1986, which you feel were most significant as well as being of good quality. Everyone, tapers and non-tapers alike, enjoys reading about this. Mark your calendar. Deadline for all Winter NEWS is December 12. Let’s have as good a response next time as we did this time. We want to hear from you! In closing, I want to leave you with a saying from the Talmud that I like very much: “In death, two worlds meet with a kiss; the world going out and the future coming in. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep. Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1987 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Each morning when I come to my office, before turning on the light, I look out the window in front of my desk. Since it is always early, daylight is far away and the world, my part of it, is still dark. I look at the dark water which glistens from the lights on boat

docks surrounding the large creek on which our home is situated. In those few moments I have many thoughts. First, I send out a silent prayer that this will be a good day for all I love in this world and the next. Then, I echo William James’ thought, “I will act as if what I do makes a difference.” All too easily we can decide that we are helpless to affect our world in even the smallest way. Discouragement for many, has become a chronic curse. Few of us are like Don Quixote who found his pleasure in tilting at windmills. Instead of trying to fight the windmills, which could be said to represent the world, we should perhaps look at our world, our individual personal world on a microcosmic level. That we can affect for better or worse, and that is one of my thoughts as I look out of my office window so early each day. That thought leads to the next, to a parapsychological conference I attended two months ago. Little was said about the possibility of postmortem survival which didn’t surprise me. To a certain extent, I have never felt the survival issue belonged to the field of psi phenomena, but rather in its own separate category. The electronic voice was mentioned when a psychiatrist asked a noted parapsychologist and college professor who was lecturing, what his opinion was of them. Dr. X replied that he thought most people played their tapes over 100 times

and then became convinced there was something there. For the few faint things he had heard on demonstration tapes, he felt they were put there by psychokinesis from the taper. When I spoke to him privately the next day and asked when he had last listened to a voice tape he replied, “Oh, years ago.” After I told him the phenomena has changed, in some ways radically, in the last ten years, he said he would like to hear a recent tape. A composite tape of forward and reverse voices was sent the following week of voices different tapers have sent me. In the covering letter, I again pointed out to Dr. X that the voices we record today cannot be compared with earlier voices. “Something intelligent is making progress,” I wrote, “and that should cause even the most skeptical to give some thought to this phenomena.” The new moon, hiding in its own shadow, reflects brightly in the water in front of me. This brings to mind what Viktor Frankl, the psychiatrist wrote: “A higher dimension is simply a more inclusive dimension.” Yes, the dimensions, the worlds are there but, like the moon before me, we are unable to see them. In time either in this world or later, we will see more clearly. The sun will rise and we will stop fumbling in the dark. As I reach to turn on my light, I think of the words by the poet, G. Appolinaire: “Come to the edge, he

said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them.. .and they flew.” Let us not be afraid of the darkness, real or symbolic. Let us not be afraid to fly. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A Tribute Our dear friend and associate, Mercedes Shepanek, made her transition on November 6. She was one of our closest collaborators, always supportive, having joined the AA-EVP when it was founded in May 1982. From the beginning, she was the State Coordinator for Virginia and contributed something to each issue of our newsletter. Her approach to the electronic voice phenomena was extremely intelligent and she demonstrated, at all times, good common sense in her own efforts in the field and with those with whom she came in contact. Without fail, she continued to encourage others who wanted to learn more about the taped voices, spending much time in correspondence and on the phone answering requests for help. A number of you met Mercedes at our national conferences and took part in the workshops she taught. The week following the last conference held in August 1985, she entered the hospital with cancer. From then on she was never well and, at the end, was eager to go on to be with her loved ones. I remember when I first met Mercedes about seven years ago. She had been taping for five years and brought some of her tapes and

several friends to my home. We listened to each other’s tapes and she expressed her firm conviction that we survived bodily death with memory and consciousness intact. As she said then, “I have my suitcase packed and am ready to go whenever it’s time.” Her faith never wavered and in my final conversation with her two weeks before her death, she said, “I’m looking forward to going. It will be a new adventure. Let’s stay in touch.” Ten days before she died, Mercedes received a letter from my daughter, Becky, who had met Mercedes at our conferences. Becky loved Mercedes and wanted to tell her this before it was too late. It is one of the last letters Mercedes received and I am quoting from it because I feel it may help everyone who has lost, and will lose someone they love, in the future. “Dear Mercedes, … Since the age of twelve, I’ve pondered upon the infinite mystery of life. In twenty years of searching, I’ve come to the conclusion that death is just as mysterious as life. Heaven and earth are linked together by every passing moment. Life is full of many initiations … Death is also an initiation; a rite of passage, so to speak. The Soul is an altar upon which God has laid his wisdom and love. In the infinite mind and heart of God, we all come home at last, only to realize that coming home is yet another beginning. Each of us represents

a prayer in the vision of eternity’s dream. In that vision we are born forever. … I will joyfully carry the memory of you as I go forward into my destiny. Please send your prayers down to us, and we will send ours up to you. We all look forward to seeing you again, when we finally come home, too. Bless you, and in much love, Becky Estep” Mercedes has moved beyond our horizon, but a horizon is only the limit of our sight. She has traveled over that horizon and is happy in the world of someplace else. Outstanding Taped Messages Wanted There are many occasions when it is desirable that I play a demonstration tape for others. These times range from lectures, personal appearances on radio and television, people coming to my home to learn more about the phenomena, and tapes I send to people, such as Dr. X mentioned in my editorial. It is more effective if such tapes have a sampling of messages received by different tapers, rather than just my own. I would like to make one master composite tape to use at such times. For all active tapers, please send to me, no later than March 1, five or six of your clearest and loudest messages. I will choose from these and put all of them on one tape. You will be given full credit on the tape for the messages used. Thank you! 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association

Electronic Voice Phenomena The above diagram shows the antenna I am now using with my recordings. The idea for it appeared in the German VTF Journal dated October 1986, and was kindly translated for me by AA-EVP member, Hans Hleckmann of Pennsylvania. Herbert Spirik, Vienna, reported how he had built it. “The five pointed star antenna should (have) a 21.65” diameter circle, while the wire length between star points should be 20.66.” For normal use 60 windings is ideal from starting point A across five star points to end point E. One complete winding has a wire length of 5X 0.525=2.625 meter (103”). Total wire length requires about 517 feet of 26 gauge copper insulated or enameled wire. The finished antenna has a measured induction of 5.7 millihenry.” I have connected the antenna wire from the antenna to the External Antenna in the back of my Patrolman 60 radio. I have another jack going from the Headphone of the Patrolman to the Auxiliary outlet in the back of the amplifier. Nothing is heard directly through the radio, but instead everything comes over the wall speaker. At times the EVP message is loud enough to be heard as it is given, permitting me to respond immediately. VTF Journal Translation Continued Hans also translated various presentations given at the VTF conference in Fulda, Germany, which was held in May 1986. Hans Berger from Vienna spoke about the thoroughness with which the EVP phenomena were investigated in Vienna. He cautioned that we should

not expect miracles in our research. It is wrong to assume para voices happen outside natural laws. One of these assumptions says para voices are not physically measurable. The voices are, in fact, measurable. It is the origin and means of the impingement we cannot measure. In a translation from an earlier VTF Journal, which Hans sent to me, it was reported that in May, The Hague, Netherlands, held a large Parapsychology Fair. Over 10,000 advanced tickets were sold. During the three-day event, 130 lectures were given in ten rooms seating 400 people each. The crowds were so large that the doors had to be closed for most of the speakers. Several EVP lectures were attended by 1,400 people. We are grateful to Hans for his excellent translations. They give us many ideas to use in our own work, and also keep us abreast of what our colleagues are doing in Europe. A Visit to Italy Rosalba Harris, AA-EVP member PA, attended the Italian Association for the Study of Psychophony (AISP) conference, the end of October. She reports that many topics, besides EVP, were discussed during the three day conference. On Friday, there were 300 people present and on Saturday, there were 500 in attendance. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Several days before the conference started Rosalba visited Marcello Bacci of Grosseto, Italy (mentioned in the Fall Newsletter). During the recording, Rosalba requested that her sister, Liliana, speak to her. Several clear

messages were returned in Italian as well as English, a language which Liliana spoke fluently. Rosalba said that although she wasn’t sure it was Liliana, she didn’t exclude it. The tape Rosalba sent me from the recording was very impressive. Bacci uses short wave set at 7.2 MHz as a sound source. The voices have a ripple-like quality to them. The groups which work with Bacci and his close friend, Capitani, always close their communication for the day by singing. A number of voices sing and it is the most beautiful singing I have heard from another dimension. No one has been able to interpret the singing which has been studied by musicologists. They all agree it is unlike anything they have ever heard. Chronovisor Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) one of the greatest electronic geniuses and inventors that ever lived, predicted before his death that someday a device would be invented that would permit the world to ‘look back’ at history. This was based on the concept that all events imprint themselves into energy which cannot be lost but continue to vibrate indefinitely in space. He pre-named this device ‘Cosmovision.’ In a recent letter from Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member, West Germany, he wrote that this may now have been done. He enclosed with his letter, a translation and comments about an article that appeared in the October issue of the Italian magazine, Oggi. On October 18/19, a congress on border sciences was held at Lake Garda in Italy. Padre Pellegrino

Ernetti, a member of the Roman Catholic Order of Benedictines and teaching Archaic Music in Venice, broke his long-held silence. He publicly reported his experiments which, along with a group of physicists, resulted in the construction of Chronovisors, which permits reception of pictures and sounds of events from the past. The instruments necessary to receive these events consist of three elements: A series of antennas formed out of different alloys linked in a chain to be able to receive all or nearly all the different qualities of the electromagnetic and non-electromagnetic waves existing in space. The second group is built from devices reconstructing that which is searched for in space and selecting the pictures and voices always at the ‘speed of light.’ Finally, a third group that will reproduce the images and sounds similar to a TV set. Padre Ernetti reported on some of their successes dating back to the 1950s. Some of the early pictures and sounds received were from the ancient days of Rome. Ernst commented that the validity of the concept of storage of events on the basis of energy conservation is doubtful. He wrote, “… energy—according to the best of physical knowledge will not keep its form indefinitely in our system…. In a general sense the process could be understood as a special form of psychic-technical (electromagnetic-etheric) access to a ‘Cosmic Memory’ (‘Akasha’), or to a metaphoric ‘Information space’ outside or ‘above’ space time in ‘higher dimensions.’ “Ernst is trying to contact Padre Ernetti directly, and

it is hoped he will have additional information to share in the future. News from and About Members Roy Bauer, Canada, has written several times since our Fall Newsletter. In his first letter, he wrote how much he enjoyed the newsletter and that it not only encouraged him to continue taping during the times his attempts to record voices have failed, but gives him many new ideas to use for experimenting. In his second letter, Roy wrote that he has taped many unusual voices, although most of them occurred when he was experimenting and not sitting down for a regular 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena session. The majority of his loud tonal voices have come through when he was using a combination of both pre-recorded white noise and human voices. At present he is experimenting with computer and electronic synthesized sound. Robert Camburn, PA, wonders if any AA-EVP member has a better, more realistic term than “dead” or “deceased” for spirit entities. “Departed” is more acceptable, but still not accurate since “they” tell us they are still here and haven’t gone anywhere. Robert says the words “discarnate” and “disembodied” are available but he isn’t very fond of either. Can you help Robert (all of us) find a better word? Send your ideas to me and I will publish them in our Spring Newsletter. Michael Engebretson, WI, has been taping voices for two years and is still “amazed” that such a thing is

possible. Michael, who is an electronics technician, has a background in physics. Quoting from the October letter, “I came across an article in the January ‘84 issue of Science Digest about Kaluza-Klein theories. It states that what we experience as the electromagnetic field is the result of a gravitational disturbance in another dimension. If this theory is correct, it could be that our voice entities are somehow affecting their gravitational field to produce an electromagnetic disturbance in our dimension that can be picked-up by the radio, microphone or directly by transistor circuit.” Michael enclosed with the letter, the first page from the above mentioned article: “Exploring Other Realities-The Eleventh Dimension” by Paul Davies. You may want to check your library for a copy. There have been times when I (and I’m sure others) have taped messages which showed the unseen had no idea what they were saying was being recorded on this side. If the theory is correct about our experiences being caused by a gravitational disturbance in another dimension, (and I suspect this may be especially true with psi experiences) it could help explain how some voice communications come through “accidentally” and not by deliberate intent as I feel most messages do. Stefan Horavth, OH, sent me several articles. In the one article, a microcomputer circuit called a Zeta Noise Blocker, was shown next to a penny. The microcomputer is about one/sixth the penny’s size. The circuit, which was recently introduced to the hearing aid industry, helps hearing devices

to discriminate speech from background noise. I called Intellitec of Northbrook, IL, who manufactures it for information. I hope to be able to incorporate it, somehow, into my recording system. Letter Received A letter, and several articles and pictures from German magazines, have been received from Fidelio Koberle, editor of the German VTF Journal. Koberle referred to our Spring Newsletter that showed two pictures Klaus Schreiber felt he had received from the other side through his TV. Picture 2, he believed, was his daughter, Karin. Koberle wrote this was not the case, but instead was a picture of a young skater from a TV program. He enclosed a photograph taken by Rainer Holbe from the same video-tape and published in the German Magazine, “Neue Revue,” which shows the skater. Both pictures are similar. It is felt that in the Schreiber picture, he photographed an image that had drifted from a station and thought he had Karin. Koberle did not question picture 1, which seemed to show Schreiber’s mother. He feels television picture phenomena is possible. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Best of ‘86 Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, wrote that she had asked if the voice speaking was from space or spirit. The entity replied, “It’s the man spirit … Spirit in space.” Carol said, “Somehow those seven words summed up a lot. Perhaps there is little or no distinction and spirit can be anywhere.” Clara Laughlin, VA, wrote that she is

encouraged by the taped messages she receives in which the unseen assure her they will eventually come through her TV. At times, she seems to see printed words and letters. On another occasion she and Virginia Bates (AA-EVP member VA) were talking on the phone when someone whispered to them. She asked about this later during a taping and her husband, Tom, replied, “On the telephone I’m allowed to whisper.” Most messages are received on the reverse side of her tapes. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that recently she taped the interesting, puzzling message, “They’ve brought you down in doubles.” Another time someone said, “Come in Tina. Hello Tina. Help is with us. This must be quick Tina. Is she going?” Tina tapes messages on both sides of her tapes. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, said in a phone call that one message that meant a great deal to him this year was, “You will not die,” which was of excellent quality. All of David’s messages are heard on the forward side of his tapes. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, also gave his report over the telephone. He gets many messages in which the word “opposite” is heard. In March a clear voice said, “I see the man opposite. They all want to hear you better.” Another time someone said, “To use you mean a shell with a man. Live you know it.” In reply to Dan’s question as to whether they have bodies like us, a voice answered, “The earth

scale one would be the tenth of us.” This was followed with, “I doubt that I’m visible.” All messages were on the reverse side of his tapes. Dan feels reverse messages are clearer and of more interest than what is heard on the forward side of tapes. ESP Research Associates Foundation “A thousand memories flood my mind as I begin this last and final newsletter,” Harold Sherman wrote in his November-December newsletter. After many years of publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, Harold feels, at the age of eighty-nine, that it is time to let go. Since its start, it has brought hope and news of research and activities in the field of psi phenomena to thousands of people. Harold’s middle name could be “integrity” for he has always stood for the highest standards in all areas of psi. It is with sadness that we see him end his newsletter, but the good he has accomplished over the years, the positive influence he has had, will continue indefinitely. The Dead are Alive Harold Sherman recently sent me a new copy of The Dead Are Alive. It was originally published in 1981, and was an immediate success. Now, Fawcett, a leading publisher, has brought Harold’s book out in paperback. If you have not already read the book, you will want to do so. It is a fascinating book which offers many instances of evidence for postmortem survival. There are two chapters about the electronic voice phenomena. One is by Raymond Cass of England.

The other, Chapter 4, “Spirit Messages On Tape” I was privileged to write. Back Issues of Newsletter Available In Roy Bauer’s second letter, he asked if it would be possible to buy back issues of the newsletter. Since he had not joined the AA-EVP until December 1985, he was missing the first 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena thirteen. When I assured him that I had extra copies of all newsletters, Roy promptly sent me a check to cover the thirteen issues. If anyone else would like to order back issues, just let me know which ones you want. Since they are published quarterly, with this issue there are a total of twenty. Cost: $1 each which includes postage. U.S. Funds. Dimensions of Consciousness Conference We are continuing to plan for our third national conference to be held August 7-9, 1987, at the Holiday Inn-Inner Harbor, Baltimore. One woman in New York called after our Summer Newsletter and said she is coming. A man in New Jersey wrote that he had reserved those days as vacation time from work. We are planning new features; exciting workshops with a unique twist! Several State Coordinators have written, or called, and said, “You can count on me to help.” Excellent lecturers, leaders in their field will speak. If you haven’t already marked your calendar, do so now! There will be more details in our Spring NEWS. You won’t want to miss those three wonderful August days.

Egyptian Odyssey II The tentative date for our second EVP workshop on location tour of Egypt, is planned for October 2-18. That will place us in Cairo, at the foot of the Pyramids and Sphinx under a full moon! Lynn Gardner, who will again be co-hosting the trip with me, will be at our national conference to help prepare those who plan to go with us for this experience of a lifetime. Odds and Ends Many people, not wanting to miss a single issue of our newsletter, have asked how they can tell when their membership will expire. The mailing label of your newsletter envelope shows the month your membership ends. Some individuals send their fee early and are given credit for this. For those who don’t, you will receive a reminder the month before your due date. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 7. Please send your news to me by then. Thank you! Always my best Wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1987 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Five years ago I wrote, “We are on our way!” Now, with this, the fifth anniversary newsletter I can write that we are continuing our way together into the future. I like to think of the

future, as I said in my closing remarks at our August ‘85 conference, as a never-ending story. I am not nearly as pessimistic as many who, looking into their crystal ball, see only dark clouds. My ball may have shadows here and there, but beyond the shadows I always see the rays of the sun breaking through. The future is infinite. Although each of us is finite in our physical form, we will move on to an infinite future. In our second anniversary newsletter I wrote, “I have always believed strongly in John Donne’s wonderful statement, ‘No man is an island.’” Nothing since then has changed my mind. You have constantly reinforced my belief that you care about others; that you have a sensitivity, a desire to reach out and make our infinite future better today. One man, a charter AA-EVP member, wrote several months ago that his letter was “inspired by the fact that loved ones have been in the hospital this year.” He said, “It is in hospitals, Sarah, that one sees the bright promise of EVP most graphically illustrated. ... I see only that those people—and all the rest of us—need hope in demonstrable form.” This man could have sat back and wrung his hands, but instead he is reaching out and becoming involved. He is making active efforts to interest others in research and development of the electronic voice. In life, we are always aware of death. This can bring days filled with dread, or vistas

of the never-ending story mentioned a moment ago. At the end of January, another individual wrote, when he renewed his membership, “I am looking forward to the conference this summer. The amount of power and energy produced by like-minds is astounding! I am happy to be a member of the organization. The AA-EVP helps me to realize more of the inner light. In times of stillness, I know this invisible power is all I really need.” This has been a good year for the AA-EVP. Two months ago, our size suddenly increased over one-third. It is pleasing to be able to say we have grown from twenty-some members in ten states and Canada in our first newsletter, to approaching 300 representatives in forty-one states, the District of Columbia, and eleven foreign countries in this, our twenty-first newsletter. Size, though, brings increased responsibility as well as some dangers. It can be a two-edged sword which can more easily lead to misunderstanding and even misrepresentation. What are my hopes for the future? From here, from my viewpoint, 1987 looks good. An outstanding third national conference has been planned for August. You will find enclosed, your invitation to Discover Keys to Life as Egyptian Odyssey II leaves October 1, for Egypt. There are several situations developing which give promise of additional positive growth for our Association. It is important that we remain an out-reach organization, to let others know what we have learned and to present all genuine evidence for postmortem survival. It

is just as important though, that the AA-EVP helps others realize more of the “inner light” as quoted earlier. To know we survive death is comforting but survival without virtue is an empty victory. Size is not the ultimate goal. It is what we do with what we have that counts. It is the essence of a person, a group, that is important. Ideals expressed are not always ideals lived. To live what we believe, in spite of tremendous difficulties at times, is not easy and yet, it is the only way to find peace within. You are important. Together, we are making an important difference as we continue our never-ending journey into a never-ending future. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ESP Research Associates Foundation AA-EVP In our Winter newsletter, I wrote that Harold Sherman, at the age of eighty-nine, felt it was time to give up publication of his bi-monthly newsletter and his work with the Foundation which he started many years ago. Over the years, Harold’s work and his Foundation became known around the world. He brought hope and news of research and activities in the fields of survival and psi phenomena, to thousands of people. As I wrote three months ago, his middle name could be “integrity” for he always stood for the highest standards in all areas of psi. I have been a member of his Foundation since 1977, and we have been close friends for nine years.

When I learned from him that he was ending his work with the Foundation, I asked how he felt about his members becoming a part of the AA-EVP. Harold has been a charter member of our organization and so was well acquainted with our focus and philosophies. Several letters and phone calls followed and in January, all of his members became associated with our group. No one, no group, can ever replace another for each is unique, but I believe our own members, as well as Harold’s, have much in common. We are interested in evidence for survival, and all of us together are searching for the “inner light.” We want more of that light in our own lives and want to help others find it also. I know you will join me in saying to the Foundation members, “Welcome to the AA-EVP!” Foundation Members Respond In the letter of welcome I sent to all Foundation members at the time of their becoming a part of our organization, I enclosed background information about the AA-EVP as well as the Winter newsletter and invited them to take an active part in our upcoming activities, such as the August conference and Egyptian Odyssey II. I encouraged them to share with us what they were doing and suggested they might like to contribute to our newsletter. Two of those who responded were the Rev. Virginia Elmgren of IL and Kay Sterner of CA. Virginia described her work over the years with the ESP

Foundation, Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, and as a Life Member of Daily Word and Unity. She is familiar with voice recordings, having read about them. She also attended Harold Sherman’s last conference in St. Louis, when Walter Uphoff played some voice tapes in a workshop. She closed her letter with, “I send you my unconditional love and support.” Kay Sterner and I had exchanged several letters two years ago when she sent me her excellent book: A Psychic Explores the Unseen World. We were privileged to offer this at the book table at our last conference and some of you have bought it since then. Kay founded the California Parapsychology Foundation, Inc. in 1957. She has traveled the world, investigating many areas of psi phenomena, including taped voices. In her letter to me Kay wrote, “The Psychic is one denominator common to all religions.” She also mentioned that she has been involved with psychic surgery and will discuss this in her next book. Since Kay is active in teaching and leading workshops in psychic and spiritual development, you may wish to contact her: [Address withheld]. How a Special Spirit Friend was Made Some of us have been fortunate in our tapings, over the years, to make new spirit friends who speak to us frequently on tape and help us with our efforts in voice phenomena. Clara Laughlin of VA is one such person. In a recent phone conversation, I asked Clara how Bill Callie had come into her life. He is

an individual who has come through to her many times and often brings Clara’s husband, Tom, to speak to her. Clara replied that she had never known Callie in his physical life and so asked why he came to speak to her so frequently. Callie replied that during Tom’s long illness, he had been with him 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena to help and then assisted him in his transition. From that experience, he and Tom have become close friends in Spirit, and so he feels something of a responsibility to continue to help, in this case Clara, as she is reaching out for voice contact with those on the other side. Clara says he has a wonderful sense of humor, always seems to know what she is doing (as does Tom) and doesn’t hesitate to offer advice about her various activities. Chronovisor Follow-Up In the Winter newsletter, I wrote about a letter received from Dr. Ernst Senkowski, West German AA-EVP member, in which he described a presentation made by Padre Pellegrino Ernetti at a congress of border sciences at Lake Garda, Italy. To briefly recount ... Padre Ernetti is a member of the Roman Catholic Order of Benedictines and teaches Archaic Music in Vienna. Although few details were known, some people were aware that he had been working for years on an instrument he called Chronovisor, which permitted the viewer to look into the past. At Lake Garda, he revealed more

about his work. and th rGsearch that h was carrying out with a group of physicists in which they had successfully received pictures and sounds from the early days of Rome as well as other events. Ernst wrote in January that he had found a report about Padre Ernetti’s work dated March 1, 1979. This letter confirms the newer data presented at Lake Garda. The 1979 paper stated that in an interview with Padre Ernetti, he said he had been working with twelve physicists. Together, they had constructed a complex system with which pictures, tones and events from earlier centuries could be received. His system possesses a number of antennas for tuning into different tones and pictures. Each person is characterized by a sort of individual identity card. As mentioned in the Winter newsletter, Ernst feels there is still much more to be learned about Chronovisor, before it can be accepted. He reminds us that, “Energy, according to the best of physical knowledge, will not keep form indefinitely in our system.” He is continuing in his efforts to contact Padre Ernetti directly and will share with us if this occurs. This and That Numerous items have crossed my desk in the last three months, many of which I believe will be of interest to you. Since they require more than two or three lines to do them justice, I decided that a new feature—This And That—was required. “Spirit Voice on Tape Recorder Traps Murderer” appeared in the January 1987 issue

of the GAZETTE, published by the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain/London. Several members sent it to me and I will briefly review it. Hedwig and George Riedel, old age pensioners, moved from their home in Switzerland to spend their last days in Vienna. They quickly became popular with their new neighbors, but then mysteriously disappeared. After four weeks the neighbors called the police. The house was searched and the bodies of Hedwig and George were discovered. Both had been brutally murdered by strangulation. One of the neighbors, Hans Luksch, had successfully taped voices of the unseen for many years. He gathered a group of friends together, and they sent out their thoughts to the deceased couple. With the tape recorder recording, they repeatedly asked, “Do you know your killer?” At first here was much crackling and distortion but then suddenly, and clearly a lady’s voice replied, “Yes.” Luksch then asked, “Do you know his name?” The same female voice answered, “Bozidar Sajn.” Luksch and his friends were convinced the voice was Hedwig’s. The police laughed at Luksch when he presented them with the tape, but eventually they located a 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Yugoslavian with the same name. It was discovered he lived in the same apartment block as the Riedels and he confessed to the crime. The Vienna court sentenced him to life in prison. “Thomas Edison Working on Machine to Communicate With the Dead at the Time of his

Death,” was the title of an article sent to me by Richard Busse of Indiana. Most of us have heard that Edison was working on such a machine before he died, but efforts to locate his plans have met with failure. In the January ‘87 issue of Astrology & Psychic News, Alvin Speckler, a New Jersey scientist and distant relative of Edison, reported that the machine he is working on is a creation of Edison’s. He feels that the most difficult aspect of the research has been completed and he has “heard some fascinating things about the next life.” The article closed with, “A report to the scientific community concerning Mr. Speckler’s work should be made public later this year.” “Typewritten letter from the dead” was a fascinating report which I received in a recent letter from Monty Hearson, OR State Coordinator. Atilla von Szalay of CA, as many people know, was one of the first people to record voices of the unseen on tape. Raymond Bayless, well-known psychical investigator and author, reported this in the January 1959 issue of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research. Later, D. Scott Rogo, also noted psychical investigator and author, wrote about working with von Szalay. Now, according to Monty’s letter, von Szalay is receiving communications in a different way. He has a beeper, similar to what doctors use. One day it started beeping independently. Von Szalay asked questions and it beeped once or twice for yes and no answers, such

as raps heard in table turning. From reports, he has rigged up an electronic contraption which will receive beeps and translate them into letters on a typewriter. He has received one letter this way and believes it will be possible to get more. Robert Thouless’ Cipher Tests—further information about this came from Tina Laurent, Wales, Survival Board Member. Thouless was an eminent British psychologist and parapsychologist, and Cambridge University professor. Before his death in 1984, Thouless had signed up to take part in what is known as a cipher test, information which was to be relayed after his death. So far, it appears he has not been successful in communicating the two messages he left. Tina reported in her letter that the Society for Psychical Research (London), wrote that they had received money to cover expenses from Dr. Ian Stevenson, psychiatrist and parapsychologist, of the University of Virginia. With the money, they were able to have fourteen sittings with eight mediums during the last year. The Society said that they felt they had good contact with Thouless but he was unable to remember the keys to his tests. He reportedly said that, “It was like trying to remember something from a dream and that (he) had not expected that.” In a newspaper clipping I received from Florida, the Survival Research Foundation of Pembroke Pines, FL, of which Thousless was a member, also has not received communication from him. The message received from Thouless through mediums sitting for the S.P.R. is

similar to a message I recorded on the wrong side of my tape a few years ago. I was in contact (I feel) with another parapsychologist who was taking part in a survival test. A number of evidential Class A messages came through on both sides of my tapes. I repeatedly asked him for the key to his test. Finally, in a tone showing frustration, he replied in a reverse message, “I can’t remember! I’m surprised. It was always with me!” This gentleman, unfortunately, had changed his test not long 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena before his death, from an acronym to numbers, which I feel is probably more difficult to remember. Our own Survival Project although also trying to provide evidence for postmortem communication has important differences. I have tried to incorporate into it all the necessary safeguards, while making it as easy as possible for those on the other side to come through. Censing The Paranormal, by Jerome Clark, editor of FATE magazine, appeared in the February 1987 issue of Omni It is excellent, and I suggest you check your library for a copy if you haven’t read it. Clark presents the strong negative feelings many individuals and groups have in regards to anything which is an anomaly. Near the end of his article, Clark points out that many scientists don’t share the skeptics certainty that all anomalies are bogus. The article was brought to me by Dan McKee, IL

State Coordinator, Survival Board Member, and his wife, Marjorie, when they visited us for several days in March. Dan also brought the following Class A message received on the reverse side of his tape. “I say the end soul in flesh as ye the man is. I am I, but the self over your days is numbered there. We mighty down there with ‘ya. Remember, we lived that he’s gonna use, and I need them there. I hope you live. Reign with that.” Dan and I discussed at some length the meaning. What do you think it means? Write and let me know. Perhaps this is something we can share in our Summer newsletter. Virginia State Coordinator Clara Laughlin, a charter member of the Association who began taping voices in 1982, has agreed to become the state coordinator for Virginia. We are grateful to Clara for her willingness to serve in this capacity. VTF Journal Many thanks are owed to Hans Heckmann, AA-EVP member from Pennsylvania, who translated the latest German VTF Journal for us. The Journal mentions the completion of Friedrich Jürgenson’s long awaited film about his pioneering efforts in the field of EVP going back to the 1950s. The one hour film is described as spellbinding and fast moving. Quoting from the review, “The message of life after death is expressed convincingly.” Last Gate to Eternity will be made into VHS copies suitable for home viewing for approximately $40. Hans reminds us that VHS films from Europe use

the PAL System. This system is not compatible with American TV/VHS systems. Digital recording, which I mentioned in the Fall 1986 NEWS, was also discussed in the latest Journal. The quality of the recording is as good as the sound from a compact disc. Koberle, the editor of the Journal wrote, “An analog recorder could hardly amplify the EVP voice without also adding noise of its own. The digital method however, with its extremely low noise level could greatly amplify the voice without adding noise.” Hans commented at the end of his translation that the two considerations of the performance of any tape recorder are of great importance to the recording of paranormal voices. 1) The Signal-to-Noise ratio of the recorder. 2) The dynamic range of the recorder (difference between the lowest and loudest recorded sound). The bigger the range, the better. He feels that a truly digital tape recorder excels in both. The recorders are still extremely expensive (about $1,000) and not generally available. In time, price should come down as more reach the market. At that point, those working in the field of taped voice phenomena may want to consider them seriously. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News From and About Members Bernadette Arias, West Germany, has called and written several times in the last three months. She and her mother drove to Luxembourg to visit Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach who are also AA-EVP members. She wrote, “It was indeed

an impressive evening. We heard a loud voice from the famous EVP researcher Konstantin Raudive who died in 1974. He spoke long sentences and explained that in the future we will see dead persons on the screen and at the same time receive their voices on tape!” Robert Camburn, PA, had a poem, “Three Little Candles,” published in the February issue of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship newsletter. Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg, sent me an excellent tape of voices and have also written and called several times. In addition to AA-EVP members Bernadette Arras and her mother being present for recordings, Ernst Senkowski also visited them for a taping. Unseen voices came through each time. Maggie wrote in her letter that they felt teamwork among people interested in the voice phenomena was of utmost importance in getting valuable results. In reply to my question as to what sound source they used, Jules answered that they use short wave below 88 MHz. Maggie ended their tape to me by saying, “Transcommunication shows the way to other dimensions and it has become an important and beautiful task.” Rosalba Harris, PA, has translated several of Marcello Bacci’s letters for me. Bacci is the Italian researcher who is having outstanding transcommunication contacts, many resulting in two way conversations. In a recent letter Bacci wrote, “Our group is involved in hypnosis and mediumistic studies from a scientific point of view. We would like to exchange information and to collaborate with groups also interested in these

phenomena.” You may write to him at: [address withheld] Grosseto, Italy Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, in answer to Robert Camburn’s request in the last NEWS for a better word to describe the dead than deceased or discarnate, suggests “liberants.” Monty wrote, “There is no such word in any of our dictionaries, but people make up words in this area all the time. It would be defined as “those who have been liberated from the body.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, Survival Board Member, sent me an excellent tape. Some of the message on it are, “You won’t die” and “Hold that vision.” When David asked if life after death was a dream, a Class A voice answered, “It’s not a dream for soul.” John Webb, CA, recently joined the AA-EVP. He wrote, “I finally began getting EVP with my earphones used as paired microphones simply by plugging them into the mike jack. It works as a high impedance mike since speakers, earphones and mikes have similar circuitry.” August Conference Up-Date Program planning is complete for our third national conference from August 7 through 9. I can say without reservation, that although our first two conferences were good, this is the best! For one thing, it is better balanced. For another, speakers and workshop leaders are outstanding in their knowledge and special charisma which not only captivates their audience while they are speaking, but makes them a delight to be near when they are not on the speaker’s podium. The

location of this conference also helps make it exceptional. We are returning to the inner-harbor, Baltimore, location of our first conference. Within a five minute walk, you will find 130 shops and restaurants. With Baltimore’s fine museums and historical attractions, Baltimore has become a leading vacation spot on the East Coast for the entire family. Bring your children and spouse. They can enjoy the large indoor swimming pool at 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the Holiday Inn, and visit the National Aquarium, the Constellation, the Science Center, while you are taking part in our conference. The Holiday Inn has turned over their newly redecorated entire top floor to us! No more searching frantically for workshop locations. Everything is spacious. The general assembly room holds 200. The smaller workshop rooms hold seventy-five. There is a long hallway with many nooks and crannies, ideal for talking between meetings with old and new friends, and our keynote speakers who will be with us the entire time. The success of any conference, to a great extent, depends on program. Martin Ebon, Joseph Jochmans, Shala Mattingly are featured speakers. Lynn Gardner will teach an intensive workshop starting Friday morning titled, “Keys To Life,” which will run to 3:30, for those who want something very special. Our conference will officially get under-way at 4:00 P.M. From then on, until it ends about 4:00 P.M. Sunday, every moment will be filled with one exciting happening after another. Saturday workshops

are unique. You will choose one that lasts three hours, which will give you a more solid experience. Two of the four Saturday workshops—the “Spirit Photography” and the “Taping Voices of the Unseen” workshops, will take their participants on an actual field trip that afternoon to put into practice what they learned during the morning segment of the workshop. These two workshops must be strictly limited to the first thirteen who sign-up for them, so it is important to register early! Other special features are a “Potpourri of Psychic Phenomena” Friday evening when you can try to bend a spoon (bring your own!), dowse for a lucky quarter, practice pendulum power, or play an EVP tape for us to hear. I could go on and on, but some surprises must be saved for the conference brochure which you will receive in May. Decide now to come. When the brochure arrives, make your workshop choices (five exciting ones are offered Sunday morning) and without delay return it to me. We are doing extensive national advertising. According to reports, more people are attending conferences of this nature than ever before. I hope every seat of the 200 in the assembly room will be taken. I hope you will be sitting on one of them! Send me your news for the Summer NEWS. We want to hear from you! Deadline is June 5. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice

That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1987 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “And let in knowledge by another sense.” John Dryden. In my work, and in learning about the work of certain individuals, I am constantly aware of knowledge gained by the use of the super- senses. At the same time, I become privy to confidences that show there are those in our world who use the super-sense gifts of others for their own gain. Recently, I received a letter from a member who was distressed because she thought a magazine had used several short articles she had sent them, without giving proper credit. The articles had been returned to her several months earlier with the usual thank-you but no thanks. May enclosed copies of her articles, as well as the pages from the magazine in which she felt her ideas had been used. Some of the unique wording in both were exact duplicates. In this case, fortunately, I was able to reassure May that because of the time involved, the magazine was in the clear. Apparently, May, who has frequently shown super-sense gifts, had focused in to several experiences that would be reported in an upcoming issue of the magazine. This brought to mind several of her own traumatic experiences she’d had earlier and she sent a report about them

to the magazine. Although in this situation, the magazine was innocent of any wrong-doing, such is not always the case. One well-known author used the unpublished work of another well-known author without acknowledging the efforts of the man from whom he had done the pirating. This book, based on psi phenomena, was well received when brought out by a major publisher. A woman in Ohio wrote to me about $3,000 she and her daughter had given to an invention corporation. Mrs. Smith, along with her daughter, had invented a way in which they could talk to the deceased, including her husband. Their invention made many of the conversations very clear, “like a phone call,” she wrote. The corporation promised to market the device for $3,000. Once the money was sent, attempts to contact them failed. Mrs. Smith asked me what she should do. Ethics ... morality, call it what you will, there seems to be a singular lack of this quality in our world today. They are words which, thanks to television and publications, are in every mind if not in every heart. Colleges are urging students to sign-up for courses in ethics so they’ll know the proper way to act-react when they get out in the real world. Dog eat dog is no longer quite the thing to do. I doubt, though, that taking Ethics 401 will greatly change a person’s thinking if he comes to the class believing other dogs will make a tasty dish. We know governments

are interested in using the super-senses of a few to find out what other governments are doing. The work of Russia in encouraging and developing super-psychics has been well documented in several books and articles. Our own government’s involvement along these lines has been partially reported in several periodicals. A very real moral dilemma may occur for some if they are approached to use their super- senses to try to be a peeping Tom on the governments of other countries. At first, the individual may feel flattered that his government needs him, but he must then go on to ask what could be the ultimate result to the world, as a whole, if his peeping is successful. Given the current state of the voice phenomena, probably not much could be learned trying to peep through the keyholes of governments or private citizens. This may change as research and development continues. Unfortunately, the unscrupulous here may find counterparts beyond. When and if faced with a decision that could affect not only ourselves but others, I think we must try to look at the larger picture and hope we have the wisdom and the courage to choose the answer and the action that will benefit the largest number of people possible. The gifts of the super-senses are not to be taken lightly. They are a serious responsibility. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ABC-Good Morning America (Good Morning—Haunted Europe) The third week in May, ABC

television presented a series of famous hauntings in Europe on their popular program, “Good Morning America.” Ronald Regan, Jr., who originated the idea for the series and was the host, took the viewer to five locations such as Dracula’s castle in Romania and the catacombs in Rome. Several months earlier, the producer contacted AA-EVP member, Tina Laurent of Wales and Benson Herbert, internationally known parapsychologist, about visiting Athelhampton Hall in England, which is one of the oldest 15th century manor houses still being lived in. There are many reports of repeated visitations of several ghosts, including a pair of duelists, a monk and a Grey Lady with her pet laughing ape. All have been seen at one time or another, and sounds that they make, such as the duelists dueling, have been frequently heard. Tina spent two days with Herbert at Athelhampton assisting him in his investigations. During the actual program, which aired May 22, Herbert was shown observing and commenting about his electronic equipment which was set up to register the presence of unseen entities. Before leaving Atheihampton, Tina found the opportunity to talk briefly to the producer and Regan about the AA-EVP and give them information about the Association, several newsletters, and the travel brochure for Egyptian Odyssey II. Meaning of Long Message Given In the Spring NEWS I gave a long message Dan Mckee had brought when he and his wife, Marjorie, visited us in March. I asked for your opinions as to what the message meant

and said I would like to share this in the Summer newsletter. Three people sent their interpretations. For new members, or those who may have forgotten the message, it goes as follows, “I say the end soul in flesh as ye the man is. I am I, but the self over your days is numbered there. We mighty down there with ‘ya. Remember, we lived that he’s gonna use, and I need them there. I hope you live. Reign with that.” Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, wrote that he believes the person was trying to say that man is an eternal soul in flesh. That he (the communicator) was still himself, but we, on the earth plane, have a limited time. That they (on their plane) are always with us on our plane. The speaker asks us to remember that they develop by helping us and so they need us, and he hopes our life is “ruled by that thought.” Tina Laurent said she gets the feeling that the originator is talking about reincarnation and that “the human may have more than one type of ‘soul’ or spirit ... it is a very deep statement.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, feels the message says that the real spirit (soul) exists in the physical flesh of man, but the person speaking is existing in the spirit world. The person is telling us that we, personally, have a limited number of days on Earth. David also feels that the spokesperson is saying

that their power (help) is down here with us. He believes that the individual is indicating that they lived and worked so we could use our own life correctly. They want us to live a good life; that we have been given responsibilities and duties and we are needed here on Earth. I am grateful to the three people who sent their interpretations. New Jersey Begins Taping Group It was with great pleasure that I recently read a letter from Victor DeVincenzo, N.J. AA-EVP member. He wrote that he and his wife, Geri, have started a group that will meet periodically for joint taping and photography experiments. Valerie Tjaden, AA-EVP member, and her mother, 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena attended the first meeting and expect to be an active part of the group. Victor wrote, “My role is mainly to assist her (Valerie) and maintain scientific controls.” Victor will attend our conference in August and I am sure would be happy to talk to other individuals there from N.J. I hope Victor’s efforts will be an inspiration to others. One of my reasons for starting the AA-EVP was the hope we would have an outgrowth of many such groups. As far as I know, Victor is the first person to do this. I urge you to become similarly involved! Valerie Huggett-Liberant Word has been received that Valerie Huggett, FL AA-EVP member, has made her transition. Valerie, a charter member of the AA-EVP,

joined the Association in May 1982. She was intensely interested in our work and would write to us about it from time to time. In the Fall newsletter I wrote about a book Valerie had just completed reading titled, Extension of Life, by Pat Hayes, and which she felt “all EVPers should read for enlightenment.” It is about Arthur Ford and Valeie, who knew Ford, felt was a genuine case of channeling since it had his “mind- set.” I know all of us will keep Valerie in our thoughts and prayers that she will continue to find happiness and expanded opportunities in the world beyond death. Listen for Code Words David Lothamer wrote, “Some members might be interested and listen for CODE messages.” He has found that at times those on the other side use some of the words he has used in his comments or questions, for their answers. This, I know, happens in my own taping. In fact, I frequently remind those in other dimensions to try to use as many of the unique words I have used in my questions, in their replies. I explain that if they can do this, it will be evidential I am hearing from them, and have not picked up a radio transmission. As an example, if I ask, “Please tell me if you are in my office,” and within several seconds I tape, “We are in your office now,” I can be reasonably confident I have recorded a message from another

dimension. Since David and I both experience this sort of thing in our tapings, you may also. David would like AA-EVP members to report similar findings if they have them. Check you message logs and let me know if you have unique code words being used by the unseen. “The Heart is Agitated by a Tremor of Tenderness” The excellent results Marcello Bacci and his friend, Luciano Capitani of Grosseto, Italy, have been receiving through their tape recorder has been mentioned in previous AA-EVP newsletters. I have heard several of their tapes which, since they are largely in Italian, I have been unable to interpret. However, because of the quality of the voices one can usually tell when the unseen are speaking. The two men use an old World War II tube short wave receiver usually set at 7.2 MHz for their sound source. Rosalba Harris, PA AA-EVP member, kindly translated their latest tape for me. The voices are heard directly over the speakers and are loud and clear enough to be replied to at once which permits two-way conversation. Many of the messages on their most recent tape are worthy of comment. In speaking about death, the unseen told the tapers, “The dead come back to life,” (in communicating) followed with the moving statement, “The heart is agitated by a tremor of tenderness.” We are told during the taping that, “Man is the cause of his own pain.” Later, someone says, “Life beyond death, beyond the life we know,

from death is life.” 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In answer to Bacci’:s question, “Do you live where we live or not?” the reply comes, “No, it is not yet so. There are still two separate worlds.” The experimenters asked how the phenomenon of the voices takes place and were told, “It is necessary to have a personal, direct flux in your life. We can collaborate. The human needs our collaboration.” In the matter of research on the other side, an invisible said, “Here we are at the very beginning of the research.” One time, Capitani was discussing the voice phenomenon with the other side and said, although many people are dedicated to it, he regretted the little importance generally attributed to the research. A voice reassured him with, “Blessed are the names of those who have brought the research forward—they have lived.” Results for Some but Not for Others There has been much consternation, and at times even accusations of fraud, aimed at some tapers who have outstanding results which cannot be replicated by others using the same system. Rosalba Harris wrote to me recently about a letter she had received from Saria Buioni. Saria is a collaborator to Virginia Ursi, AA-EVP member, Italy, and head of the Italian organization in Milan (CE. M.M.) for the investigation of the voice phenomena. In Saria’s letter to Rosalba, she pointed out that some equipment gives results only when used by a certain experimenter.

“Koenig’s equipment works for him; Bacci has great success with his radio (short wave) but when the same type of radio is used at CE. M.M., there is no success.” She further wrote, “Spiricom, Koenig, Bacci, Capitani, etc. are all persons of good will, in search of something ... they are all open to attack and criticism from envious parties.” I have long held the theory that each of us has energies as unique as our fingerprints. You will find no two people exactly alike. The reasons why Bacci and Capitani, (and others) are so successful with their taping systems when no one else is, are undoubtedly many. One important factor could well be that their unique energies have combined with the energy source (sound and otherwise) they are using which helps the voices speak. When someone else uses the system their results, if any, are of inferior quality. The explanation for this could be that their energies are not as compatible with the sound source that the person uses that they are trying to duplicate. A Generous Offer Richard Black, LA AA-EVP member, has made a very generous offer. Richard is gifted in psychometry and the use of a pendulum. He is willing to give a free reading to any member who sends him a photograph and by using his pendulum can give a yes or no answer to your questions. Your picture will be returned but please remember to enclose a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope. His address

is: [Address withheld] Publication Reviews Several of our members have sent me articles that they felt would be of interest to us. Many thanks to each for bringing them to my attention. Monty Hearon sent me a clipping from The Oregonian which was about how the personal experiences of many clash with the ‘closed system.’ Quoting briefly from it, “Most modern thought assumes the world is a closed, natural system in which such things as heavenly appearances and voices simply don’t happen, at least not anymore.” The findings of Dr. Johnson, a St. Cloud, Minn. Lutheran minister conflict with this assumption. His survey in 14 Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations in St. Cloud found that 30 percent of the people reported 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena extraordinary experiences such as religious visions, prophetic dreams, heavenly voices or visitations. Benn Kobb, VA AA-EVP member, sent me an article from the September/October 1986 issue of Venture Inward titled, “The Ghost in The Machine,” it describes how The British Society for Psychical Research has made eight investigations of a report from an economics professor in England. The professor describes how the ghost of Thomas Harden, Dean of Brasenose College at Oxford in 1530, has been “haunting” his computer. The good Dean, flashes messages upon his computer screen making commentaries about contemporary events or gives facts about his identity. Enough information has been provided by the ghost to identify it as being Dean Harden. Howard Ruess,

TX AA-EVP member, sent me an article from the January/February ‘87 issue of American Health, “Mysticism Goes Mainstream,” written by Father Andrew Greeley. Dr. Greeley describes two surveys done by him and his colleagues at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Council. In the latest survey 67% of all adults report having experienced ESP. In another poll conducted in 1973, it was 58%. He feels the rise of reports is due to the fact that people are less afraid to talk about their experiences. Although there isn’t space to report fully on this excellent article, Dr. Greeley writes, “What was paranormal is now normal.” He also commented, “Our studies show that people who have tasted the paranormal ... are anything but religious nuts or psychiatric cases. They are, for the most part, ordinary Americans, somewhat above the norm in education and intelligence and somewhat less than average in religious involvement.” Egyptian Odyssey II Up-Date There has been much interest in our Egyptian Odyssey II trip which leaves October 1 for eighteen wonderful days in Egypt. A number of people have said they expect to go and are looking forward to being part of the group. Lynn Gardner, tour leader, and I as co-host, have made additional plans. We will have two sections leaving from this country. Those who live closer to Chicago will meet Lynn the evening of October 1 at O’Hare airport. For those who prefer leaving from New York, I will meet them at Kennedy for departure

to Amsterdam at 6:50 October 1. The two planes land at Amsterdam within a few minutes of each other, and so that is where we will meet. From then on, we will be together until leaving October 18; the Chicago group going back to Chicago and the New York group to Kennedy. There is more good news! For our European members—you can meet us in Cairo at the Mena House, located at the foot of the Pyramids on October 2. This will be our headquarters while in Cairo. By making your own plans to get to Cairo, you save $1,050 from the tour price and need send Lynn just $1 ,935 (U.S. Funds). One European member, frequently mentioned in our newsletters, feels she’ll be with us. Let’s have at least three or four more. Egypt is for everybody! Some good news for our American members. If it makes it easier for you financially not to have to pay the entire tour price at one time, you can charge your air-fare through Lynn and pay that portion later. Lynn and I feel this trip to Egypt is going to surpass all that went before. We want you to be a part of it and are making it as easy as possible for you. Lynn will be taking an active part at our conference and, as mentioned in the conference brochure, will have a special workshop on Sunday morning for those who have signed up for the trip or are seriously considering

doing so. Although it isn’t definite, our Egyptian guide, Ahmed Fayed, is going to make every effort to attend at least part of our conference! If you have any questions or if you have misplaced your trip brochure, get in touch with Lynn ([phone number withheld]) or me. We will help make your dream come true! 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News From and About Members Robert Camburn, PA, wrote, “It seems that much channeling is being reported in the public press as well as in publications in the psychic field, and this euphuism for medium- communication may induce, in those not given to thoughtful examination, a credulity that accepts whatever purports to come from psychic or esoteric realms. And even what comes from invisible quarters is not necessarily the truth, the whole truth. There are evidently, deceptive spirits, and those that intend no deception may still be speaking out of knowledge distorted by continuing prejudices and misperceptions. And the channeled material may be ‘polluted’ by subconscious intrusions from the channeler. We must rely on our own intellects and not accept every voice that speaks....” From the proliferation of channelers on the scene, many looked upon with questionable reverence by an adoring public, I felt it wise to quote Robert’s thoughtful letter at some length. Victor DeVincenzo is due congratulations for having an article accepted for publication by the Journal of Religion and Psychical Science. The article is about the 1968 Zeitoun

apparitions in Egypt. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that her guide, Callie, mentioned in the Spring newsletter, calls himself her doorkeeper. Clara said that after watching a Phil Donahue program about cryogenics, she asked Callie what spirit thought about this. He gave the interesting message, “A frozen soul gives no comfort.” An evidential message was taped recently, “Philadelphia people come to your conference.” This came at about the time I received, but before Clara knew, that Rosalba Harris, of Philadelphia, had mailed her conference registration. Tina Laurent, wrote, “Regarding Dan Mckee’s reverse voices, I can understand how he concentrates on them. From my nightly tapings I am getting more messages on the reverse side, so much that I may concentrate on that for a while. Those voices are so distinct and ear-catching and you KNOW there is absolutely no other explanation for them, I just get a lot more satisfaction from them.” Dan Mckee, IL State Coordinator, called about a long message he had taped concerning his brother-in-law who had died twelve hours earlier. “Faith will now be here. Faith gave now, be thee seeing light played this into this side. They put ‘em now on the further side. You hear two men opposite. Dan’s aware, you would not catch that. Aw, we get that guy tell us, no more than a cancer too. I wish you nurse him. No way out of it. Great chance that we’re over. He live here. He miss her.” Mentioning cancer is evidential

since that was the cause of death. Richard Stanton, N.H., wrote that he believes what is really needed to improve communications is better technology and this can only be accomplished through the efforts of electronic technicians on both sides of the “veil.” He said, “I think those people who have accepted the fact that life continues after death of the body are interested in the kind of ‘life-style,’ if you will, they’ll be experiencing after they have made their transition.” Near the end of his letter he wrote “Whatever sphere I find myself on when I pass through the ‘Gates’ I expect to discover a reality parallel to the one I left but perhaps of greater explication and more beautiful according to those who have had that brief encounter,” (from reports of those who have had a clinical death experience). Ray’s Light, Too Ray Dietz, MD AA-EVP member, has just had a book of his poetry and prose published. I had the privilege of reading his manuscript before it was published and found t delightful. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In the forward, Rev. Louis Richard Batzler, former national President of Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, wrote, “In this book of poetry and prose, Ray Dietz presents an interesting blend of homespun, folksy, common-sense philosophy and some profound truths concerning life—its meaning, source, many possibilities and wonders....” You may order the book directly from Ray: Spirited Communications [address withheld]. Cost:$6.95 + $1.00 postage and

handling. We will have the book at our conference book table. Ray will tape our activities as he did two years ago. If you buy the book at the conference, I know he will be pleased to autograph it. August Conference Up-Date Registrations are coming in. Now that the conference is less than eight weeks away, more and more people are calling or writing for additional information. The response has been enthusiastic, many saying how well-balanced they think the program is and that our new features sound exciting. Our national advertising is bringing good results. I ran out of my original printing of 1,000 brochures two weeks ago and had to have 200 more printed. As of this date, June 15, there are openings in all workshops, although two are proving very popular and are starting to fill. If you have been hesitating or procrastinating about mailing your registration, wait no longer. Remember, all registrations postmarked June 30 or before, receive a special rate. More importantly, the sooner your registration is received, the better chance you have of getting your first choice of workshops. I have checked with the Holiday Inn. They have agreed to extend their special room rate for the AA-EVP, beyond the stated date of July 6, but only if they have rooms available. Four years ago, when we met at the Hyatt Regency-Inner Harbor, the Hyatt became filled and our last ten registrants had to go elsewhere. Don’t let that happen to you. The Holiday Inn

is within a five minute walk of the Inner Harbor, a popular vacation spot for the entire family. Don’t be afraid to come because you don’t know anyone. At our first two conferences (and this will be the same) everyone remarked how friendly and open we are. There are no strangers at AA-EVP conferences. Don’t think you live too far to come. We have had people from California, Florida, New Mexico, Canada and Sweden attend our conferences. Come! Make new friends. Meet many of those you have read about in our newsletters. Learn from our outstanding featured speakers and workshop leaders. Take part in our special activities. Explore new horizons. Put your registration in the mail today. I’ll mail your receipt, workshop assignments and registration card for the Holiday Inn within twenty-four hours. Send your news for the Fall NEWS by September 4. See you at the conference! Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1987 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint The seasons revolve and we move with them. Like the seasons, so goes life. Old age is compared to winter but winter is just a prelude to spring before we experience the beautiful return of new growth of leaves on trees

and bushes, flowers cultivated or not, and baby robins snug in their nests chirruping their joy as mother drops a tasty morsel into their open beaks. One of the many sights I enjoy most each year, is the early return of the dandelion for it is seeing its bright face blooming in my yard that lets me know another winter has passed and all is right with my world. We, being part of our world, must journey on with it. There is no stopping the world, as the saying goes, to permit us to get off. All of us are, whether we like it or not, a part of everything that goes on at that particular moment in every place of the earth. Our actions create a ripple effect which touches the lives of all those around us. They, in turn, create their own ripples which move out and on and on and eventually come back to us in one form or another. In August, a woman from another country came to my home for several hours to find out more about the voices and how she could start taping them. She said, “I started on the path to enlightenment thirteen years ago when I first read about Edgar Cayce. Since then, I’ve continued my search.” During our conversation our talk moved to our two respective countries which in the past have warred with each other. We both expressed the strong hope that before long, Man would learn to live

in harmony with all men everywhere. When I introduced Joseph Jochmans at our conference Sunday afternoon for our concluding lecture which was about Earth energies and planetary healing, I said unless Man learned to take an active part in loving, in healing, in caring for Earth, whatever pathway to consciousness he chose, there would be no pathway left for him to travel. We cannot love Earth and not man, for the two are as one. Getting back to our seasons, and comparing life with them, there are many who dread the winter of their life because they look upon it as the end. There are even more who are fearful because they can’t be sure. They may admit there is some evidence for continuation of individual consciousness after death but for them evidence isn’t enough, they want proof. Not everyone can feel as assured as the gentleman who attended our August conference and wrote to me two years ago about his belief that life follows life, “Do you know all it would take to improve just about everybody? If they knew, I mean really knew the way I know the sun’s coming up tomorrow, that there was a life after death. That’s all.” Too many, I am afraid, are like the “soul” in the popular song that goes, “The soul afraid of dying has never learned to live.” To meet life bravely, whatever it brings, to look upon what comes after with hope and as much confidence as possible is

a brave soul. This does not mean blind faith. Rather, we should examine all evidence for survival, of which there is a great deal, and not until we do that can we draw an intelligent conclusion. If the Great Creator insures the eternal return of the dandelion, do you think less will be done for man? A Tribute Our dear friend of many years, Harold Sherman, made his transition at 2:30 P.M. on Wednesday, August 19. He died at home with his beloved wife, Martha, and daughter, Marcia, at his side. In a phone call from Marcia the morning following his death, Marcia said her dad’s passing was peaceful. She said Harold showed he knew death was at hand and that he was ready to go. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I first met Harold at his last conference held in St. Louis ten years ago. We had exchanged several letters before then and he had encouraged me from the very first in my efforts with the taped voice. Harold and Martha visited us upon several occasions. At our first national conference, he was an honored guest and took part in the Sunday morning panel discussion. Without his unfailing love and support, I doubt very much I would be where I am today. He showed faith and trust when both were needed, which prompted me to go on and accomplish more than I ever thought possible. This past January, when because of

failing health, he had to discontinue his ESP Research Associates Foundation, begun years ago, he showed his concern for his members, and further trust in our efforts, by arranging that the Foundation members become a part of the AA-EVP. Harold has over sixty published books to his credit. Most of them focus on how to live a happier life, ESP, and evidence for life after death. You Live After Death, published in 1945, has remained a best seller and has brought comfort to thousands who have lost loved ones. I was honored when he asked me to write about the electronic voice, which became Chapter 4, in his book, The Dead Are Alive. Harold was one of the most impressive psychics and mediums who ever lived. Because of his personal characteristics as a man, loving, concerned about others to the very end, he helped move the entire field of Psi from a clouded, questionable, not quite respectable background, to the forefront of what many now look upon as another of God’s great gifts. Harold loved life and lived it to the fullest. He lived a spiritual life, a positive life. At the time of his death, he was regarded around the world as the Elder Statesman and leading Lay Authority of ESP. One of Harold’s final requests was that Martha prepare a small white card to be given to his friends. It reads, “I EXPECT IT WILL BE A GREAT MOMENT WHEN I GREET YOU IN THE NEXT DIMENSION!” At

the National conference of Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship held in Baltimore in May 1980, Harold gave the featured address on Saturday evening. He also gave each person who attended a poem he wrote in 1939. This poem was read at his Memorial Service. My framed copy hangs in the office above my tape recorder. Harold will feel joy knowing that I have shared his poem with you which is enclosed on a separate sheet so you may also frame it if you wish. It is apropos to quote the ending. “Eternity and I embrace. At last I meet God face to face.” I know Harold has done this. Heaven will be a better, happier place with Harold there. List of Anomalies Wanted Doctor Vladimir Delavre, a new member living in West Germany, wrote to me in June. I will quote from his interesting letter. “One of the great scientific mysteries is the fact that all 5 direct communication systems which have come to my attention (Konig, Meek, Hartning, Bacci, Harsch-Fischbach) operate with quite different electronic set-ups. Yet, as there is order in the universe, there should be some scientific connection between the different approaches. I have discussed this with Ernst Senkowski and all we could agree is the fact that the experimenter seems to act as an antenna (medium) and the electronic equipment as the reproducing system. There is much evidence that transcommunication is a time/condition dependent phenomenon.... We are trying to compile a list of effects occurring simultaneously with EVP

(both tape and direct) such as silencing of radio receivers, transposition of transmitting frequencies, lowering of magnetic field, and concurring signals in the Elf range.” If you send me information about any anomalies you have noticed in relation to your taping, I will forward them to Dr. Delavare. I know he will be grateful to you for your help. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Voices of Eternity It was with great pleasure that I received word that Fawcett, one of the largest paperback book publishers in this country, has accepted my manuscript, Voices Of Eternity, for publication. Louisa Rudeen, my editor at Fawcett, attended our conference. We had the opportunity to sit down Sunday morning and go over a number of details. At the present time I am making final revisions. Voices focuses on my work with the electronic voice for the last eleven years. There are also chapters devoted to the work of other tapers in the field, a brief history of voice phenomena going back to the Bible, various experiments, controversy for and against the voices as being actual conscious entities speaking to us from other dimensions, and so on. My main purpose for the book is to present evidence that we are communicating with such entities, and to give an up- to-date report of just where we are today in communication with other realities, Voices will be a Gold Medal book and is scheduled for publication in September 1988.

This and That In the May/June issue of Woodrew Update, there was an item you might find of interest. King Hussein of Jordan, who has a chronic heart condition, began hemorrhaging suddenly and lost consciousness in January 1984. During this time his heart stopped beating. Hussein has since stated publicly that when this happened, he died and came back to life after an out-of-body experience. He believes he went to another world. He told an interviewer, “I was a free spirit, floating above my own body. It was rather pleasant, really.” A member in the Chicago area recently sent me a clipping of an article from Astrology & Psychic News about a computer. We have mentioned from time to time that some people, especially in Europe, are apparently receiving messages from the invisibles through home computers. In our Summer NEWS, I wrote about an article sent to me by Benn Kobb, VA AA- EVP member, in which the ghost of Thomas Harden, Dean of Brasenose College of Oxford in 1530, was communicating through the computer of an economics professor. Now, with our ‘American’ computer, it seems as if it is keeping in step with its European counterpart but with a unique twist. The article reports that Norman Ling, 22 of California suddenly discovered that his home computer was printing out E.S.P. messages transmitted by a neighbor who is a psychic. Ling received the first message after buying and installing the computer in his home. He first thought there was something

wrong with it. “I would enter something into the computer and when I printed it out there would be whole sentences that I had not put into the machine. They were about people I’d never heard of and usually had to do with some question about somebody’s health or love life or about money.” Ling suddenly remembered that his neighbor was a psychic who often gave readings in her home. He took some of his computer printouts to her and asked if the messages might have any connection with her psychic work. She was very amazed, Ling reported, and said that many of the printouts were familiar to her. She told Ling that she sometimes contacted other psychics through long-distance telepathy to help her when she was doing a reading. Ling’s computer had somehow picked up a few of these signals and printed them out. In the Spring-Summer 1987 issue of the New Frontiers newsletter published by Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff, WI AA-EVP members, they wrote about home video films produced by Alan Neuman. Some of them are, The Psychic Connection-105 minute motion picture feature shot on twenty locations of five continents; Dr. Fritz, Psychic Surgeon; The Crystal Skull; Prior Life Hypnotic Regression. Most films are $16.95 or $29.95 depending on length. For a list of films and videocassettes available write: Alan Neuman Productions, 8170 Laurel View Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90069. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Conference Report They say

a picture is worth 1,000 words. I hope this is true of the above four pictures taken by my daughter Becky, for I could write that many words to describe the wonderful time and the positive experience that each person seemed to have who attended our third national conference in August. Although we had many there who had also been present at our first two conferences, the turn-out was not as large as hoped. With the outstanding speakers, excellent workshops and group activities, if you were one of the missing you missed a great deal. We had people there from over ten states plus Canada and Haiti. There is room to quote from just five notes received since the conference. Carol Barron: “I want to tell you how much I enjoyed the conference. As usual, your selection of speakers was terrific and of course, it’s always so enjoyable sharing experiences of our mutual interests with other members.” Jerry Bennett: “I thoroughly enjoyed the conference this year and hope some of the members will try the ‘mirror experiments’ (carefully). I do feel that this will be a breakthrough in the area of communications.” Dale Kaczmarek: “Just wanted to let you know what a wonderful time I had at your conference. I made many new friends and met many old ones!” Clara Laughlin: “Bouquets to you for the beautifully organized conference and also to your supportive family. The weekend slipped away too quickly, but maybe it inspired some of the people to

go home and tape. ... The angels are smiling at you Sarah, and saying, ‘job well done.’” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ruth McWilliams: “Just a note to tell you how much (we) enjoyed your conference. Everything was so well organized and the speakers were excellent.” Director of Research and Development I am very happy to announce that Roger Brower, N.C. State Coordinator has agreed to become Director of Research and Development for the AA-EVP. The two of us talked together at our conference, and several times since then, about the need for getting more members actively engaged in taping and to present them with good practical ideas that they can use with some hope of success, as they experiment in trying to contact entities in other dimensions. Roger is ideally suited for this position. He has had many years experience in the field of electronics and radar. For two years, he worked at Cape Kennedy with missile guidance. Since 1969, he has been running an electronics business in Raleigh which is involved in product development and manufacturing. Their specialty is instrumentation and microcomputer systems. Roger hopes to present ideas and various systems for experimentation in future newsletters. I know all of us are grateful to Roger for being willing to accept this responsibility. Wireless Microphone Picture number 4 [above], shows Roger working with the wireless mic which he demonstrated to the group Saturday evening after Martin Ebon’s lecture. The FM wireless

mic can be bought at Radio Shack which has two suitable models. One, sells for $19.95; the other for $6.95 (model 60-2109). Roger feels either will work equally well. The microphone is used in conjunction with the FM band on your radio. First, tune your radio to an off station where there is no station voice coming through. Next, turn on the microphone. It should be 4-5 feet away from your speaker. Turn amplification up on amplifier until it “squeals,” then turn it down, just below squealing point. If you have completed the setup correctly, your voice will be heard coming through the radio as well as the voices of the unseen who are trying to speak with you. A noise source, such as a second radio, can still be provided. The wireless mic should not be held by the taper but placed nearby. By using this type of mic, there is a better chance of hearing and interpreting messages from the next dimension, at that moment, thus permitting two-way conversation. Several people who watched Roger demonstrate the microphone have since bought a similar mic and are experimenting with it. Betty Evans, VA AA-EVP member, reports success. Please let me know if you try such tapings so I can report them in future newsletters. A Letter from Luxembourg Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg AA-EVP members, have written several times in the last three months and sent an excellent tape of voices they have recorded from other dimensions. I have also

talked to them by phone upon three occasions. In her letter dated June 28, Maggie wrote about a meeting at their home attended by Ernst and Mrs. Senkowski, and George Meek, AA-EVP members, Engineer Seyler of Luxembourg, and Father Andreas Resch, a professor at Lateran University, Vatican. Maggie quoted Father Resch who said, “Our aims are quite the same.” Commenting upon this meeting, Maggie wrote, “Each of us learned from the others, as all men should ever learn and never stop to do so.” ... Later on, she wrote, “(We) are very honored that we were chosen to fulfill this important task as a tool in the hand of the ‘Higher’ one. ... Man himself is not as important in transcommunication as he sometimes thinks he is - he is, in fact, only the ‘receiver,’ and if the ‘sender’ on the other side does not want to emit, there are no results. ... Let us be happy about every message that comes through and let’s always be aware that we are not the rulers of the game.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News From and About Members Bernadette Arras, West Germany, wrote that she and her mother had met privately with Friedrich Jürgenson in Munich after his film, “Last Gate to Eternity,” was shown. They talked to him about the AA-EVP and our activities. Bernadette said he was very pleased and asked her to extend his kind regards to all members of

the Association. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, wrote that since the conference she has visited and taped in a haunted house. She told the spirit that his physical body was dead and he was now “alive” in another dimension and should move on. When she played her tape back she heard, “On Earth, it’s a nice life down there,” and later, “Forgive.” Luise Fuchs, West Germany, who has been taping voices for years, wrote recently that she is now working with a video camera and has already gotten good transmissions. I am looking forward to the pictures she has promised to send and have asked her to tell us the method she is using so I can share this with members in a future newsletter. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, reports that her special guide, Callie, in commenting about spirit communication said, “This is the gift that God gave to Callie.” Tina Laurent, Wales, has called and written several times in the last three months. She has formed a Survival Study Group which meets weekly to study all aspects of paranormal phenomena, while developing their own psychic talents. Differences in Mediumistic Communication Many thanks are owed to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, who translated several of the excellent Harsch-Fischbach newsletters from German to English. Technician, a non-human entity, who assists the Fischbachs in their work described the difference between a medium and electronically assisted communication as follows: Communication via Medium (Deep trance; half trance, awake) 4/5 Psyche – 1/5 Spirit

Electronically assisted communication – 1/5 Psyche – 4/5 Spirit Egyptian Odyssey in Egypt At this time, a group of individuals is having a wonderful, enriching experience with Lynn Gardner in Egypt. I had hoped, and expected, to be a part of the group, but because of my commitment to Fawcett and AA-EVP demands, I just could not find the time to get away for eighteen days. Lynn is planning a trip to Peru in June. I will not be able to go, but if you are interested in an excellent metaphysical tour of Peru write to Lynn: [address withheld]. A Note About Enclosures Your Fall Newsletter, is “rich” with enclosures. So rich, in fact, that for the first time, it is being mailed in a large manila envelope. The main reason is Harold Sherman’s poem which could be mailed flat without folding in case you want to frame it. You will also find a tape order form for all three conferences. Look it over carefully. If you were unable to be with us, or even if you were, this is an excellent way for you to vicariously live, or relive, our truly outstanding programs. You will also find a form to order, Ray’s Light, Too, a book of poetry by Ray Dietz, MD AA-EVP member, and finally, a membership application. Share the fun of AA-EVP with a friend. Give them the opportunity to read about EVP-transcommunication through tape recorder and television, plus other evidence for survival and different areas of

Psi phenomena through our quarterly newsletter. Christmas will soon be here; birthdays are ever re-occurring; and “time” to 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena be thoughtful is always a factor. If you would like your gift to be a surprise, just make a note of this when you return the application, giving the date and occasion for the event. I will send an appropriate card at the date specified telling them their gift has come from you! Odds and Ends Our Winter NEWS means time for the Best Of ‘87 feature. Tapers, please send me a list of two or three messages you taped during 1987, which you feel were most significant as well as being of good quality. Everyone has always enjoyed this in the past. Deadline for all Winter NEWS is December 12. We want to hear from you. This is your newsletter! Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1988 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In the midst of death there are affirmations of life, if we are open enough to recognize them. My next-door neighbor died in November. His wife, to whom he’d been married for sixty years, called me frantically one morning and

said, “Sarah, I think Henry has had a stroke. He’s on the floor and can’t get up. Will you come?” I ran over and although Henry was conscious, he was partially paralyzed. As Patty rushed around getting dressed, waiting for the doctor and ambulance to arrive, I could do little more than kneel beside Henry, pat his shoulder and murmur words of comfort. Although he was than six hours from death, he recognized me, raised his hand in greeting and said, “Thank you.” A short time later, driving Patty to the hospital, she said, “The doctor told me I must be prepared for Henry’s death. Perhaps it’s just as well since his mind has started to go. Last week he began talking about wanting to go back home, that he had to go there.” As gently as I could, I explained to Patty that Henry was talking about going back home to the spirit world. Many times when a person nears death, he realizes his true home is in the spirit dimension. Fortunately, Patty is the sort of person who could accept what I was saying and felt greatly comforted. I was only able to give this comfort though, because of what I have learned through my tape recorder the last eleven years—that life follows life. In December, three people came to my home. Joan’s husband and son had died within six months of each other. The couple she was with had a sixteen year old daughter who had been

killed in an automobile accident last summer. “We’re hurting,” Joan said, “and we’ve come to you for help.” During our conversation, before playing a short tape for them, I asked if any of their loved ones had given an indication that they thought death might be approaching. “Why, yes!” answered Barbara whose daughter had been killed. “Lisa started talking about dying several months earlier and even wondered if her boyfriend would be able to come home from the Navy to attend her funeral.” You would not normally expect a sixteen year old to suddenly start talking about dying unless they had a precognitive feeling this might happen. We explored this further and when I asked if Lisa had given any sign she might still be around, such as the movement or disappearance of objects, the father, who because of his grief had been unable to speak until then, said, “Yes!” and smiled for the first time. Barbara mentioned several personal trinkets of Lisa’s that had been mysteriously moved from one place to another. I helped them see that Lisa was trying to let them know she was all right. When they left they said, “You’ve given us hope.” To be truthful, it was not I who had given them hope, it was the Voices on the tape they’d heard and the fact that I could help them see that there is life beyond life. Recently, a person we will call John phoned me. He had read about my work in,

The Dead Are Alive, by Harold Sherman. Last spring a person he loved very much had died and he felt devastated. Sitting alone on the beach in August, he was not at all sure he would ever know joy again. A man who he had never seen before, or since, walked up and quietly handed him Harold’s book. Turning, he walked away just as quietly as he had come. John started to read the book and by the time he had finished, he knew the dead must be alive, including his loved one. We can wonder who this man was who appeared out of nowhere and returned to —?—. There are few who would call the incident a coincidence. Although the man was unknown to John, I suspect John was not unknown to him. In the last three months, I have been exposed to an unusual number of deaths. In some cases, I was privileged to offer comfort to those who were grieving. They could begin to see those they loved were giving affirmations that it was not the end—that they Lived! 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A Visit to Luxembourg The last part of October, my husband and I flew to Luxembourg to visit AA-EVP members Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach for several days. The Fischbachs are noted for their success in receiving long discourses from the other side through the speaker of their radio using a technique which they call the

Eurosignal-Bridge system. The Eurosignal is a series of electronic sounds heard through radios of certain European countries. Jules and Maggie tune one radio to this signal, while the voices come through a second radio. Along with the radio, they use a TV for the white noise produced when tuned to a blank channel, two ultra-violet lamps, a battery powered fluorescent lamp, combined with an incandescent blinking lamp, and a square-wave field generator which they bought from Otto Konig of West Germany. All of these devices used together seem to produce the necessary sounds and energies, which combined with Maggie’s unique energies, enable the next dimension to speak. Those sitting in the recording room can clearly hear what is being said and can largely interpret such communications which come through in the native tongue of the person to whom it is being given. We made two excellent recordings while there. The first, on Friday evening, brought Konstantin Raudive, who greeted us personally by name, followed by a long discourse from Henri Sainte Claire Deville, a frequent communicator. On Saturday morning after greetings by Technician, the Fischbach’s special helper from the other side, Raudive came through and spoke at length. Our very pleasant visit was enhanced when AA-EVP members, Dr. Ernst Senkowski and his wife Adelheid, drove from Mainz, West Germany on Friday morning, and Tina Laurent and her husband, Carl, flew in from London an hour later. From then, until we flew back to the U.S. Saturday afternoon, all of us

spent many good hours of conversation around the large dining room table in the Fischbach apartment. We asked and answered many questions about our personal efforts in the field of voice phenomena, we listened to tapes of messages received from the beyond, and as it should always be, we shared what we knew, we learned from each other! Oscar Solibakke-Liberant Word has come that Oscar Solibakke, NC AA-EVP member since 1 983, died in November. Many of you met Oscar who attended our first two conferences. When I wrote to him last July to see if he would be coming to the ‘87 conference, he replied, “Sarah, I am quite ill so I may be on your tapes from the other side soon, where I’ll continue as an AA-EVP member...” In my note back to him, after expressing distress at hearing about his illness, I said his faith in life after life should be of great comfort to him. I reminded him of what our dear friend Mercedes Shepanek had said in her last phone conversation with me, “I’m looking forward to it. It will be a new adventure.” I closed my letter with, “Miracles do happen at times ... but if it is time for you to go, please give my love to Mercedes. Both of you will always be AA-EVP members! Someday, our paths will cross again...” A card came November 9, saying, “Oscar Solibakke has peacefully returned to his maker.” We wish you joy Oscar. Fine Tuning-New

Zealand A letter came in December from Rex Sanders of Auckland, New Zealand, who had heard about the AA-EVP. He was eager to share a discovery his group has made with all of us. According to Rex it, “Made all the difference to our experiments.” He wrote, “After tuning your equipment to the finest degree, you are to close your eyes, still with fingers lightly on tuning knob, wait for an image to appear in your mind’s eye. This image is to be of a specific and reliable person and with 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena delicately moving the tuner, the image will intensify. Once the person’s mouth can be seen moving, you will note that your fingers have lost contact with the tuner. You are psychically FINE TUNING.” Rex and his group have been interested in voice phenomena since 1958, and have investigated many different aspects of it. We thank them for sharing with us, and as mentioned earlier, we should share what we know. We should learn from each other. Group Project for ‘88 This project is for every AA-EVP member. All you need is a tape recorder. It need not be an expensive recorder, as almost any type will do. Experience is not required. You need not feel you are unqualified if you don’t possess great psychic-mediumistic gifts. Patience, persistence, an openness and desire to communicate with those in the next dimension are important attributes. In most cases where

outstanding earth plane-other dimension communication has taken place, the entire focus has been taping voices of the unseen: (such as, the Darmstadt group of West Germany, the Bacci-Capitani group of Grosseto, Italy, and the Harsch-Fischbach group of Luxembourg). It appears the joint positive energies of group recordings aids greatly in helping the other side to communicate. Almost, unbelievably, there is not a single such group in the United States! At the present time we have isolated tapers scattered here and there toiling mightily at their tape recorders. Some have told me, “I feel like I’m getting stale. Nothing exciting is coming through.” I can well believe it. We have only so many energies to expend. Eventually, sooner or later, they are consumed and new energies need to be infused. To put it simply, new blood is needed. This project, however, is not specifically aimed at current tapers, although I certainly hope they will take an active part. It is for you who perhaps have never taped before, or have become discouraged after receiving one or two messages. Gather a few like-minded people together. More than six would probably be too unwieldy. Less then three might not give the helpful extra energies. Agree to meet once a week at the same time in the same location for the sole purpose of receiving taped communication from the next dimension. I ended my first newsletter (May 1982) with, “Together we will do great things.” We have, but I believe we can do even

greater things. With the number of members we have, located in forty states, and with many AA-EVP members living less than thirty minutes from other Association members, we are in an ideal situation to further electronic-transcommunication. There is no other group in our country to do this. It is up to us. Think about it! Don’t put the idea aside as a good one, but one in which you’ll let someone else step forward. You are the one to take that step. If you need help in getting started, write or call. I’ll do everything I can to assist you. News From and About Members Roy Bauer, Canada, included a letter with his membership renewal. He wrote, “I have been interested in psychic phenomena for the last five years, but nothing has interested me as much as EVP. ... The most important thing I have learnt while experimenting with EVP is that the ability to record voices is not a right, but is a privilege.” Roy indicated that, although he had taped some good voices, he was discouraged and was going to stop for now, but, “I will always be interested in EVP and will probably go back to recording...” (some day). Ingeborg Teek Frank, N.Y. and West Germany, wrote that she had just read an excellent book in German that she feels our members who are literate in reading German would enjoy. It is based on sayings by Leonardo da Vinci and is called, Worte Meister Leonardos (Words by

3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Master Leonardo). It is published by Insel Bücherei. One of the passages that especially caught Ingeborg’s attention, and which she feels is especially appropriate for those who are interested in voice phenomena, reads, “Fortunate those people who listen to what the dead have to say.” Tina Laurent, Wales, has acquired practically all of the proceedings and Journals of the Society for Psychical Research (London) dating back to 1864. She said if any AA-EVP member needs a specific reference to it, she will be glad to make a copy of it. Tina is on the cross-country list. The Survival Study Group, which she started, continues to meet each Monday. Although there are only four members, Tina writes, “We are recruiting members of quality slowly from an ad in the local main library.” In her last letter she wrote, “I have found a deep sea biologist from the Oceanography Dept. who is going to take a tape recorder in the diving bell soon to make experimental tapes for me.” Valerie Tjaden, NJ, sent me an article about her work which appeared in the local newspaper. She and her mother work together out in the field trying to capture pictures of the unseen. Victor De Vincenzo, another NJ AA-EVP member, was also quoted in the article. She closed her letter with, “Everybody should know that just because our loved ones moves on to another plane, they never leave us. We’ve

all heard it said before, but it really is true.” Television Picture Phenomena-Luise Fuchs Luise Fuchs, West German, AA-EVP member, recently sent me a group of pictures which she has received through her television from the other side. Many thanks to Tom Roers, MD AA- EVP member and publisher of Second Sight, a metaphysical catalogue, who translated Luise’s letter. “I’m sending you today as promised some of the photographs taken from my video tapes.... The following is necessary: A TV set and an “empty” channel for the video. A video cassette recorder. It should have a “Pause/Still” button which will permit a clear picture to be frozen, and a slow motion button. A video camera. The video recorder is connected by cable to the TV set and tuned to the empty channel. The video camera is connected to the video recorder. The focus (zoom lens) is turned up all the way. Peculiar forms and illuminations will begin to appear on the screen. At this point, the video recorder is turned on and these images are recorded. Once this taping has ended (don’t record too long in the beginning), turn off the camera and rewind the recording to the beginning. Now the real work begins. The tape can’t be run through like a film, but the “Pause/Still” button has to be pressed and a thorough search made on the screen for what looks like paranormal phenomena. If nothing or something very faint can be recognized, thoroughly search with the slow motion

button or the so-called “arrest” [pause] switch, picture by picture. You will then find paranormal images on your screen, as are to be seen in the enclosed photos. I would also like to mention that several weeks work is necessary until you’re able to tune in images successfully. But once the images come in, there’s hardly a recording which will not have some (paranormal) content. To all who want to try this, I wish them much success and the joy that is connected with work such as this.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Friedrich Jürgenson-Transition October 15, 1987 Friedrich Jürgenson, the great pioneer-father of electronic voice phenomena, has returned home to the world beyond. In 1959, while he was recording songs of birds, he discovered he had voices on his tapes, one of which he recognized as his deceased mother. He continued with his work up until his death and wrote two books about his efforts, neither translated into English. Ingeborg Frank spent three days visiting him in Sweden a week before his death. She sent us the above picture, which was taken on Oct. 5, ten days before he died in his sleep, and is probably the last picture of him. Ingeborg, in writing to me about her visit said, “I was overwhelmed by his kindness and warmth. I also was deeply impressed by the purity of his heart and mind.” Technician has told the Fischbachs that Jürgenson will, in time,

communicate with us on tape. Meanwhile, “We wish you godspeed Friedrich. Our debt to you is beyond measure.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena [Please note that, in 2001, two A-EVP members, Tom Wingert and George Wynne, translated Friedrich Jürgenson’s book, Voice Transmissions with the Deceased, into English. You can download a copy from http://www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/] Best of ‘87 Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, wrote that when she asked if we continue to exist after death, a male voice answered, “Thou Carol, will in orbit, to far out in spirit!” The funniest for ‘87 was a heavily accented female voice which said, “Carol, we have streudel here.” Betty Evens, VA, asked her deceased sister how she liked her newest granddaughter and the sister replied, “I like little Sissie.” Betty played this for us at our national conference last August, and it was an exceptionally loud, clear voice. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, said her special guide, Callie, gives a message once in a while that indicates reincarnation. Early this year he said, “Mr. Laughlin holds up Clara’s Indian-East Asian biography.” Several months later she received, “You still love your Asian hero Tom.” (Tom was the name of Clara’s husband). Clara also taped the name, “Deenah,” which is a word the Lamoreaux brothers (early tapers) received many times and was supposedly the name of a planet. Tina Laurent wrote that while she was visiting the Swansea museum in Wales, she said into her portable tape

recorder that she was trying to contact “anyone within the walls of this museum.” A voice replied, “We’re the dead and buried.” Later, she said she’d like to hear from anyone who was listening, and the voice heard in the previous message answered, “Who is anyone? The Living? I’m going stay careful.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, said he felt one of the most significant messages he taped this year was when he asked why we don’t have continuity of spirit communicators. His question was answered with, “Be it the frequent change of Spirits.” Dan Mckee, IL State Coordinator, feels the most important message he received was the one mentioned in the Spring ‘87 NEWS. “I say the end soul in flesh, as ye the man is. I am I, but the self is over. Your days is numbered there. We mighty down there with ‘ya. Remember, we lived that he’s gonna use, and I need them there. I hope you live. Reign with that.” Manifestation of the EVP Miracle Noel Heagerty, NY AA-EVP member writes, “The sudden reality of being able to contact a loved one (through EVP) can create a most sensitive situation.... This mixture of extreme realities can, at the onset of recording, cause a strange type of hysteria because you are so desperate to make contact.... A person should be calm and as relaxed as possible when recording, otherwise it will cause much unneeded tension and wasted expectation.... The EVP can manifest as the miracle it

really is if you relax more than you think you ever could. The mere possibility of making contact is so powerful, awesome and incredible, that you have to keep cool...” Looking at Books Joy Wallace, RI, AA-EVP member, has published a book of poetry which is uplifting and spiritual. Many of our members would enjoy Joy’s book, Whispers of The Soul, which she sells for $4.40, (postage included). Joy plans to donate any proceeds to charity and the less fortunate. Her address is: [Address withheld]. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Forthcoming Books Irish Gallagher, MD, AA-EVP member, hopes to have a book out this spring about ghosts in MD. Lynn Gardner, IN, is finishing her book which should be out in the near future. Ernst Senkowski will soon have a book published about Electronic-Transcommunication. Although it will be in German, it will give an excellent picture of the phenomena for those literate in German. Spirit Summonings—An editor from Time-Life Books contacted me in December about the field of voice phenomena. Spirit Summonings will be one of the Time-Life Book series which are so popular and will be available the end of ‘88. It will examine the entire field of spirit communication dating back to early Spiritualism. The last part of the book will focus on Electronic-Transcommunication. [As it turns out, only Video ITC was briefly mentioned in the book.] Voices Of Eternity—My book about electronic communication with other dimensions is moving ahead

right on schedule. Louisa Rudeen, my editor at Fawcett, has notified me that it is being type-set this month and it will be available in bookstores around the country in September 1988. Locating Books Is there a book you want but have been unable to find because it is out of print? Chances are, Middle Earth Book Shop can find it for you. They recently located a good second-hand copy of: The Unobstructed Universe by Stewart Edward White for me when all other sources had failed. Write or call: Paul B. Hudson, Middle Earth Books, 251 Crestone Way, Livermore, CO 80536 USA, (970) 224 5650, email: [email protected] Director of Research and Development Report Roger Brower, N.C., who is our Research and Development director, wrote in a recent letter, “I am becoming a believer ... that a ‘sophisticated’ approach may not have a greater chance of success than a layman’s experimental approach. What an answer for all the enthusiastic tapers who have limited technical understanding and resources. They do have a good chance of success with ‘simple’ equipment.” Roger also wrote that before the next newsletter he plans to set up an arrangement using the Radio Shack wireless microphone for tests. He will provide diagrams and instructions for us. In addition, he will set up the arrangement used by the Harsch-Fischbachs and report results. Journey to Mystical England Pack your suitcase. Dust off your portable tape recorder. Lynn Gardner and I are leading a group of AA-EVP members and their friends

to England, leaving June 23, and returning July 4. Many of you met Lynn at our last two conferences and you will remember the two of us took a group to Egypt in the spring of ‘86. Our journey will focus on southern England and will explore the mystical-spiritual dimensions which abound in many of those areas such as Glastonbury, Coventry, Bath, Stratford on Avon and Stonehenge, where we hope to make special arrangements so our group can spend several hours meditating under the full moon! As in Egypt, I will teach EVP workshops on location to those interested. Lynn will have special sessions in which she will show how you can open yourself to your own unique inner potential. The trip is under the auspices of the AA-EVP. Read the enclosed information sheet carefully. If interested in a trip of a lifetime with like-minded individuals, return the form to me promptly requesting more information. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Odds and Ends Those on the cross-country list will find enclosed the complete list which is mailed each January. For those individuals who are concerned as to when their membership expires, check your envelope which shows the expiration date. A special thank you to all those who mail their renewals a month early so I don’t have to contact them about it. Don’t worry! Even if your membership renewal arrives before the month it is due, you will be given the proper

credit for it. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is April 2. Please mark your calendar and send your news on time. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of people who do this, saving me the time and effort of having to remind them. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1988 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint A time for celebration! With our Spring newsletter, we are celebrating our sixth anniversary. Who would have thought when I wrote the first: “From My Viewpoint” six years ago that so much would come to pass? As I look back over the years to our birth in the spring of 1982, I see not only the growth our organization has enjoyed, which is the least important of our achievements, but first, what the AA-EVP has meant in the lives of hundreds of people, the positive difference it has made. In addition, I feel that we have in some small way contributed to the entire field of electronic transcommunication. With your help, we have held three national conferences, sponsored two trips to Egypt, with a trip to England on the horizon just two months away. We have published twenty-five newsletters. Without you this certainly couldn’t have been done. My book, Voices Of

Eternity, was sold this year to Fawcett. It is now in galley form and will reach the bookstores this September. Again, without you, I doubt I would ever have seen it through to completion. You, the AA-EVP, play an important part in it. Six years ago, it was almost unheard of for anyone to receive pictures through their TV from the beyond. Now, although still not an everyday occurrence, more and more European experimenters are reporting positive results. They are sharing with us their methods so others may hope to see, as well as hear, from loved ones who have made their transition. Computer contacts were unknown. Today, again in Europe, they are becoming almost commonplace for a few experimenters. From my viewpoint, I have something of a bird’s eye view of the field and I can tell you that it looks promising. There have been many changes in the last six years, most of them for the good. The future is bright, even brighter than I dared hope in my May editorial of 1982. As I wrote then, and as I write today, “This is Your Association. ... Together we will do great things.” In the Anniversary issue last year I wrote, “It is important that we remain an out-reach organization, to let others know what we have learned and to present all genuine evidence for postmortem survival.” I also wrote that it was important to help others realize more of their “inner-light.” We each have this inner-light. It

may be dim at times and flicker weakly, but if we search within ourselves, it can be found. As we nourish it and try to live ideals expressed, then perhaps, we will be privileged to help others also realize the goodness of their own inner light. We have grown from twenty some members living in ten states and Canada, to a large group living in many states and ten countries. A number of our original charter members still remain. I am indebted to you for your faithful support. The six years haven’t always been easy but your encouragement helped keep me going. I think, I hope, we have learned a great deal together. For those who joined later, for those yet to come, we welcome you and ask that you share your “gifts” whatever they may be. No one need fear they have nothing to contribute. By reaching out to others, by giving a hand to those who stumble, by sharing our essence of being, we give the greatest gift imaginable. Let us light each other’s path. On March 30, my husband and I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit Hans Heckmann, AA-EVP member and his houseguest, Martin Wenzel of West Germany. Martin was in the U.S. to lecture A Trip to Pennsylvania 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena about Klaus Schrieber’s video experiments at a Seth conference held in Louisville, KY. During the two weeks he was here, he also visited Walter and

Mary Jo Uphoff, WI AA-EVP members. Although Martin and I had never met, we immediately felt a close rapport. I have noticed before, in meeting tapers from around the world, that there is an immediate harmony as we sit and discuss mutual efforts. There is not always complete agreement about all aspects but there has never been a feeling of strangeness. Rather, there is joy we have found a kindred soul. Martin expressed a concern, shared by me, that people who begin taping seldom realize that upon rare occasions they can open themselves to negative entities. When this occurs, the person may not understand what has happened; they may not even be aware of it. Eventually, if it continues to such an extent that it can no longer be ignored, the affected person becomes panic stricken and doesn’t know what to do. We agreed that the reason the situation arises so seldom is probably largely due to the fact that few people, in the end, go very far with their tapings. He felt reassured when I said that I had gone into the matter of possible possession in Voices. Since Martin’s interest is T.P.P. (television picture phenomena), we did two experiments— first using Schreiber’s method and then his. We felt we had positive results. Martin also showed a number of slides that Schreiber had received of people, mostly known to him, from the other side through his television. Each was outstanding. Just Ask In March, Hans Heckmann mailed to me

the translation of a booklet prepared by Holger Sauer and Martin Wenzel of Aachen, West-Germany. The booklet describes the video methods used by Schreiber, Martin Wenzel and the Harsch-Fischbachs of Luxembourg. Since the booklet is copyrighted, I wrote to Sauer and asked if I had his permission to share it with our members. He replied graciously writing, “I am willing to support your efforts to spread the knowledge of life beyond death and to unveil a little bit of it by the methodology of recording voice phenomena and videos, etc. This is a very important task.” If you would like a copy of the video booklet, please send me a self-addressed stamped, number 10 (business size) envelope. You will need to affix $.45 postage. I will be pleased to copy the booklet for you without charge. Transition of Two Well-Known Investigators Klaus Schreiber, mentioned above, died the first week in January. When I asked Martin Wenzel the cause of his death, he said he had been ill from a heart condition which eventually caused his death. Richard Shergold, physical investigator from England, has also died. Word of his death was received from Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP member. Tina wrote that his death was unexpected and that they had been friends, exchanging many letters over the years. We wish both men godspeed and hope they will find joy and will continue with their work in the world beyond. A Letter from England Gilbert Bonner, well-known English taper, wrote in January after

receiving the Winter NEWS. He said, “In your newsletter you mention using a wireless mike. I have used one for some years ...in the following manner. Recording from about 1500 Khz on Medium Wave I picked (voices) up on the radio mike which is tuned to the FM Band and this was recorded directly to tape, In other words I transferred MW to FM and within this process for some unknown electronic reason, voices were amplified...” Some messages of good quality that Gilbert has taped recently 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena are: “Konstantin (Raudive) is directing.” “Bonner we’ve opened the line.” “Link unto this frequency.” “We are the great spirit.” A Visit to the Woodrow Wilson House Several months ago, the Producer of WTTG, Channel 5, Washington, D.C. (Fox Television) contacted me about taping in the Wilson house. The house, a stately mansion nearly 100 years old, is located on Embassy Row in Washington. Although the house has been unlived in for over twenty years, it is opened to the public at certain hours for tours. Several people work there daily in order to keep the fully furnished home in a fine state of preservation. They have reported many cases of unexplained phenomena. An apparition of a woman is often seen gliding down the stairs; footsteps are heard pacing back and forth; and voices and laughter come from empty rooms. Arrangements were made by the producer for Ron and Nancy Stallings, who

are close friends, and I, to visit the home one evening when all visitors were gone. Nancy is especially mediumistic and has taped many voices. Her husband, Ron, is also very mediumistic with abilities that lie in the area of spirit photography. During the three hours we spent in the Wilson house, I taped several Class A quality voices. They were all received in President Wilson’s bedroom as I held the tape recorder above the bed where he spent many months, as a result of ill health, and finally died. Near the beginning of the taping a male voice whispered, “I’m here.” The same voice added one counter later in Class A quality, “I miss the children.” About an hour later, I returned to the bedroom and this time a female tonal voice, in reply to my question as to whether there was anyone on the bed, said, “Just Swaden. Something’s trying to pull him.” The program was aired a week later to a favorable response. No claim is made that I was in contact with President Wilson or his wife, Edith, who lived in the house until 1961. The house was occupied by others before the Wilsons bought it in the 1920s. Microphone with Amplifier Monte Hearon, Oregon State Coordinator, reported that Raymond Bayless, well-known psychical investigator and author, had written to him that he was now using a microphone with a built-in amplifier to tape paranormal voices. Raymond said the results were good. In the Edmund Scientific catalogue,

Monte found a similar microphone. I ordered the mike (Model No. X38,042--cost $59.95) from Edmund. Although I have been using it less than two weeks and it is too soon to make a final judgment, the results are promising. It seems to amplify some of the fainter voices coming through the radio, so I can determine first if it is a paranormal voice and secondly, what has been said. At the same time, it amplifies some of the background white noise of the radio but, all in all, I have found its use to be a plus. Lightweight headphones are included with the mike. It is necessary to buy an adapter plug, easily found at Radio Shack, in order to plug the mike directly into the tape recorder. The Edmund Scientific web sit is http://edmunds.dminsite.com/ Harold Sherman’s Books and Papers-University of Arkansas A letter was received from Martha Sherman, widow of Harold, a few months ago. She wrote that the University of Central Arkansas at Conway had contacted her about Harold’s work. They have requested that all of Harold’s papers, books, etc. be turned over to them for their Archives! She commented that the collection of materials over the years was ‘horrendous” but the 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena University had given her orders not to destroy a thing. Martha said, “They may rue the day. Already they have taken 3 van loads with as many yet to go.” Their daughter Marcia

went to Conway to see just what was happening and said it is a beautiful and gracious arrangement. They are just beginning to process Harold’s material which will take many months to complete. I know that all of us rejoice at the final disposition of Harold’s work. It will be on display and available for countless numbers of people in the future, so they may gain some understanding as to the great contribution Harold made to man during his years on the earth-plane. Computer Contacts-Luxembourg Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg AA-EVP members, are continuing to have not only excellent results with their tape recorder, but outstanding communication through their personal computer. Some of the entities they are communicating with are deceased people from the Earth Plane. At least one, a female named Swejen Salter, is from a parallel universe called “Varid.” In a recent letter received from Ernst Senkowski, West-German AA-EVP member, he wrote, “Yes, it is very difficult to accept the existence and (maybe) importance of parallel-worlds and to fit this into our own limited worldviews. The female communicator Swejen Salter now coming through Luxembourg ... is trying to enlighten us about this subject ... We should not forget that faulty computer ‘behavior’ has been observed time and again...” Ernst then mentioned that Boden, of West-Germany, and Ken Webster, of England, had similar experiences with their computers. In Webster’s case, he was apparently in contact with a deceased entity who lived in the 16th century, and the more than

250 printed messages were largely in old English dialect. Webster has written a book about these contacts which should be out by January 1989. According to messages from Swejen Salter, she died on Varid during an experiment. Upon awakening after death, she found she was in an area where some of our own earth-plane individuals go. It was there she discovered a transcommunication station and is able to operate it with the knowledge she gained during her lifetime on Varid. Many of these communications are to Ernst, a physicist and electrical engineer, and are highly technical and of a scientific nature. George Meek, Founder of Metascience Foundation, NC AA-EVP member, called me shortly after returning from Europe. He said he and Ernst had sat with the Harsch-Fischbachs while information from the beyond was coming through on their computer print-out. They both found it extremely impressive. The print-out in German was kindly translated for me by Hans Heckmann. In his remarks, Hans wrote: “Original print-out was without spacing and in small letters (except for 2 breaks) ... No punctuations were used except slash (/) for End of Sentence.” In order to give you some idea of the way the messages look as they appear on the computer, you will see below several lines from the February 6 transmission: twortbefriedigtesienicht/ichglaubeherausgefundenzuhabenweshalb /ihrmarmoristeineandereralsderhier/imsiebzehntenjahrhundertbef assten VTF Report Hans Heckmann has translated a Journal of the German VTF for me. Most of the Journal was devoted to the various lectures and demonstrations of their annual meeting

in Fulda, Germany. In the one lecture, Professor Dr. Horstmar Holtkamp discussed microphone techniques he uses. He said he found there was greater intelligibility to the voices if he used cheaper and older headsets 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena for listening to the voices on tape playback. He felt the reason might be due to their restricted frequency response. Such headphones emphasize the voice range and filter out everything else. The core of Dr. Holtkamp’s work deals with his use of piezoelectric loudspeakers as microphones. He connects several loudspeakers together to obtain optimum amplification and has had very good success with this method. In his opening, F. Koberle, President of the Association, said that since Jürgenson discovered the voices in 1959, “Tape recorders have become smaller, many useful accessories were developed such as F. Seidl’s Psychophone, special low noise microphone preamps, parabolic mics, the use of piezoelectric loudspeakers as microphones and the use of additional reverberation units and power interrupters.” It was felt that this year’s meeting did not show any new breakthroughs, but it would be false to say that research was standing still. “The willingness to experiment ... was as great as last year. Much tinkering is going on. Seemingly weird methods are tried out, some with success. Many are not satisfied any more with old recording methods but are realistic enough not to expect more than a step-by-step technical progress.” Group Project for ‘88 Update As you remember, in

our Winter Newsletter, I urged members to become more involved with actual taping; to organize small groups to meet once a week in their home for the sole purpose of taping. I wrote, “In most cases where outstanding earth-plane, other dimension contact has taken place, the entire focus has been taping voices of the unseen ... it appears the joint positive energies of group recordings aids greatly in helping the other side to communicate. Almost, unbelievably, there is not a single such group in the Unites States!” I also pointed out that we are the only group in this country in a position to do this sort of thing. The response has been less than what I had hoped. Only Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator and Jerry Bennett, GA State Coordinator replied they planned to start. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator hopes to start a group in the future. A few others wrote that they thought it was a good idea but they didn’t know where they’d find like-minded people. Take a lesson from Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP member, mentioned in the last newsletter. “We are recruiting members of quality slowly from our ad in our local main library.” Might I suggest you do the same? You don’t need to be a state coordinator to organize such a group. Anyone can do this. For those of you who complain you don’t get much through your tape recorder, or results are diminishing, this could change things around. It could be the

start of something big! Let me know if I can help. Friedrich Jürgenson Returns! In our Winter Newsletter, we announced the transition of Friedrich Jürgenson and also were privileged to carry his last picture taken by Ingeborg Frank, NY AA-EVP member. Since his death, Jürgenson has spoken on tape to Ernst Senkowski while he was visiting the Harsch-Fischbachs in Luxembourg. It also seems that he has come through on television for at least one individual. During a phone conversation with George Meek, he said he had heard from Claude Thorli of Sweden, a correspondent of his for the last ten years. Claude’s wife Ellen, is very psychic and she was “told” to turn on her T.V. She did this and a picture of Jürgenson appeared on her screen at the same time his burial service was being held seventy-five miles away. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena An Interesting and Worthwhile Project Valerie Tjaden, NJ AA-EVP member, has started a project in which all AA-EVP members can participate. She is contacting members and asking them to share their psychic experiences with her. When completed, she is going to make up a booklet which will be available to Association members and their friends. She will withhold the names of those who request it. In a recent update Valerie wrote, “I am extremely enthusiastic over the response for the booklet. Each letter I have received is filled with wonderful experiences that will serve to comfort

and spread the messages that our deceased loved ones are sending love, comfort and protection.” The deadline for letters is the end of May. News From and About Members Jerry Bennett sent me a video tape that showed him and a friend doing what they call “table- aerobics” (table tipping). Although I have seen several demonstrations before of this phenomenon, the demonstration on Jerry’s tape is the most active I have viewed. The fairly large-size table walked all over Jerry’s living room; partly climbed up on the furniture; and Jerry and his friend had difficulty keeping up with it. Ruth McWilliams, another GA AA-EVP member filmed the table with her camera and gave suggestions for questions to ask the table, to which it replied. Phyllis Butcher, VA, wrote that she has resumed taping now that she and her husband have returned from overseas Naval duty. She has received a number of messages, some Class A. One of the most interesting was, “We received yesterday a message from Callie for you.” It was not until several months later when Phyllis received a letter from Clara Laughlin saying that Callie was her guide, that Phyllis learned who he was. Noel Heagerty, NY, wrote he is continuing to tape on a steady basis and having results. He is writing to a number of members on the cross-country list and is pleased at their response. He said, “Many people express great surprise on receiving a letter from a fellow member. All of them (mention)

their feelings on taping and often tell of their own psychic experiences.” Monte Hearon, After Friedrich Jürgenson’s death, Mary Margaret Fuller, Associate Publisher and Editor of FATE magazine, asked Monte to write an obituary for him. Monte did this and the two-page result was outstanding. It appeared in the March issue. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, wrote, “I’ve been getting many more interesting photographs of spirits from all over the world and many have proved to be totally authentic while a few others are simple lens reflections, double exposures, etc.” Dale wrote that he is getting a computer program that will enhance the photographs and he will be able to see further details. Clara Laughlin wrote that she had received a group of messages from Michael Smisko (who she never knew) directed to his wife Anne. Clara and Anne have become close friends since Anne joined the AA-EVP in 1983. The messages went, “Michael Smisko SOS Clarissa.” “Smisko to Annie.” “You’re tired, unhealthy.” “Try a doctor—Mike.” Clara called Anne at once and learned that she had crushing chest and back pains all night which were continuing as they talked. At the urging of Clara, and as a result of the messages from her husband. Anne went to the doctor who confirmed she had a heart problem. Clara’s sister, Elsa, died recently after a long illness. She was in the hospital unconscious for some time at the end. During these weeks, Clara received a number of messages from the other side indicating they

were preparing for her arrival. She died at 7:50 a.m., and at 10:30 a.m., Clara made a recording—shortly before her brother-in-law called to tell her of Elsa’s death. During the 10:30 taping a number of messages came through that Elsa had died and was now with her 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena friends and loved ones. The following day Elsa, herself, spoke to Clara giving her messages such as, “It’s a miracle! Elsa your sister. I watch you dear Clara. You write with a pencil!” Tina Laurent wrote in a recent letter that she has been discussing with a public relations woman the possibility of selling her Casebook of Paranormal Experiences for a TV series in Wales. The people who have read the Casebook believe it would be very popular and well received. Trip to Mystical England Update A number of members returned the form in our last newsletter, requesting more information for our twelve-day trip to England June 23-July 4. The response to the colored brochure outlining our journey, day to day, has been enthusiastic. This will be the first EVP workshop taught on location in England, and is under the auspices of the AA-EVP. We will leave in the early evening on June 2 from two locations: Baltimore and Chicago. The two groups will meet in London the next morning and remain together until we return. There isn’t room to detail all of the wonderful experiences that Lynn Gardner, our

tour leader, has planned but to name a few: On the first morning, we drive to Chicester to see the largest Roman ruin in England. Later that day we go to Portsmouth Harbor to visit Henry VII’s ship, the Mary Rose. Before the day is over we will also visit Beaulieu, whose resident ghost enjoys making its presence known to visitors. From then, until the end of the tour, it will be one exciting event after another. Imagine having the opportunity to tape voices and take spirit photographs at such places as Glastonbury, Stonehenge, Shakespeare’s birthplace and the Ann Hathaway cottage at Stratford Upon Avon. We will have a free morning to shop and explore Bath. We’ll visit castles and see the famous 180 ft. Cerne Giant. Stops will be made at Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London— imagine what you might get on tape there, or the spirit photographs you may take! There will be time allowed during the trip to relax and to shop. There is still time to sign-up for this wonderful once in a lifetime, never to be forgotten trip. I have been to Egypt twice with Lynn and there was no question that she was the one I wanted to direct our trip to England. She is an excellent facilitator in helping each person realize his or her fullest inner potential. Deadline is May 15. Give me a call and I will mail the brochure to you at once. I’m looking forward to having

you with us! Thank you for making the last six years possible. Let’s have this up-coming year the best one yet. Deadline for the Summer NEWS is July 9. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to the support of EVP and ITC research, and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1988 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Look at us--we have a new face! Yes, we are changing the format of our newsletter. I am not one who believes in change for the sake of change, nor do I think you should hang on forever to something for the sake of tradition. Many traditions are meaningful and should be cherished and protected. Others should be relegated to the attic with bustles and high-top shoes. For some time, I have been dissatisfied with our format. It wasn’t “pleasing” to the eye and although what is said is far more important than the physical appearance of a publication felt we could have both. Thus, we have gone into columns. To my surprise, I discovered could include a bit more material but more important, it allows greater flexibility. As an example, you will find a delightful cartoon on page 3 that the editor of Hands-on Electronics gave me special permission to use in our Summer News. I

think everyone, taping or not, will appreciate its humor. You will echo the sentiments expressed, in thinking about the recording of unseen voices with, “Ah, yes!” The last three months have been busy. Members of the Association have come to visit; some for a few hours, others for several days. There has been a heavy load of correspondence, some disturbing, from members and non-members. In many cases, the person writing felt great desperation at the death of a loved one and wondered if life was worth continuing and if they would ever know joy again. Form letters are totally inappropriate at such times and one asks for wisdom to be able to answer that particular person’s cry for help. A few days ago, I returned from a twelve day trip to England where voices were taped, not only by me, but by others in the group. A report of our journey will be found on page 2. There was additional work to do on my book: Voices of Eternity. The galley proofs came later than expected and for seven days I spent twelve hours or more each day making final corrections. Now, for better or worse, everything is “graven in stone.” Please join me in sending positive thoughts in its direction. One of the disturbing letters I received a month ago was from “Joe.” Joe has never been a member of the AA-EVP but he writes every so often and I try to reply and give what help I can

to a very disturbed person. In his latest letter, Joe wrote that the doctor had told him he is terminally ill with a lung condition. He asked if I had any healers in my group of spirits who could come and heal him. Joe ended his letter with: “God and his male angels couldn’t care less! I wonder if I could be helped by LUCIFER whom I think has been maligned, made e scapegoat of for 2,000 years.” There isn’t room to discuss our philosophical beliefs in the existence of a Lucifer. I certainly am not wise enough to debate for, or against, the actual physicality of such a person. However, if one believes in God—whatever the nature of God might be—then I think one cannot entirely dismiss a Lucifer. I do not accept the stereotype picture of a person with pointed ears and a tail who gleefully brandishes a pitchfork at all those who have “fallen” by the way. If the essence of God is light, wisdom and love, then on the other side, call it Lucifer or Satan or whatever you will, I believe you will find darkness and hate for all that is good, all that which helps man make his slow, stumbling progress to the light. The following quotes are from some of the letters sent recently by AA-EVP members. They help give me the strength to work with the Joes. Thank you for taking the time to write. “Thank you and may God bless your

Guardian Angels.” Ed Chepens – Florida 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “We enjoyed your newsletter and certainly are thankful for all your efforts through the years.” Gail Zandel – Washington, D.C. “Congradulations on another successful newsletter. I always drop everything when it arrives and read it from beginning to end! I wish the newsletter was monthly.” Diane Moranf – Arizona “Great newsletter!” Hildreth Becker – Washington, D.C. Journey to Mystical England On June 23, eight of us left for a twelve-day journey through the southern part of England. This was under the auspices of our Association and I asked Lynn Gardner of Indiana to make the physical arrangements for the tour and to guide us while we were there. You will remember I had chosen Lynn to lead our last two trips to Egypt because of her experience. She also has the ability to help members of the group realize their unique potential as well as to appreciate the hidden, mystical aspect of places along the way. Plans for the trip began shortly after our third national conference last August. In discussing plans with Lynn, we chose southern England because it had so much to offer those who wanted to touch the spiritual, unseen energies of the past and relate them to the present. From start to finish, our journey was extraordinary. The group was outstanding in its compatibility. We were each “seekers” of enlightenment and respected the path each person had

chosen for himself. Some of the people were especially eager to tape voices and I tried to help these individuals as much as possible. Winnie Peters, AA-EVP member, MD, taped humming in a cathedral. Patty Tucciarone, of NJ, who had never taped before, received two Class A messages during her first attempt when we visited Beaulieu Abbey, used many hundreds of years ago as a monastery. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena It was at Beaulieu, where we went on our first full day, that I also taped my first Class A voice. I had stopped by the family grave of people who bought Beaulieu when it ceased being an abbey, and called out the names of the three people buried behind the locked gate. When I spoke to Victoria, who was buried in the middle, a clear female voice replied, “Yes, I went home,” indicating she had returned home to the spirit world at death. Tintagel Castle, the legendary castle of King Arthur and Merlin, located on the wild and windswept Cornish coast, was spectacular. Dating back to the fifth century, remote and isolated on an island, it clings precariously to the edge of a cliff. All of us who climbed the steep steps leading up to the castle, sought out a private spot upon reaching the top. I went to an out-crop of stones and gazed down at Merlin’s cave. As the surf thundered back and forth, I could easily visualize

what life must have been like those many years ago. I called upon the unseen to speak and my own name, “Sarah,” sounding as if it was coming from a great distance, was clearly recorded on tape. At Stonehenge, I moved out into the fields away from the crowd, but still facing the monument itself. I asked how the invisibles felt about the current state of Stonehenge and a clear male voice replied, “Now I am gone.” The dungeon at Warwick Castle was another moving experience. Prisoners were kept in unbelievable deplorable conditions, sometimes for years, in a small, dark, dank room. As part of the room, a small hole had been hollowed out in the ground, with a grate over it, where especially despised prisoners were put. Lowering my tape recorder as much as possible into this hole, I said I hoped they had found the peace they sought. A Class A male voice sounding close answered, “I love you my friend.” There were many other memorable stops along the way: Glastonbury, where we climbed the Tor, a monument dating back thousands of years on top of a 500 foot high conical hill. Although it was late at night and there was rain, we found several others had preceded us. We were joined there by two young men in a circle in which we asked that our planet be healed. Our journey took us to Stratford upon Avon, where we attended Shakespeare’s play, “Much Ado About Nothing” at the

Royal Shakespeare theater, and of course, London, where we spent the last two days, will not be forgotten. A special pleasure for me was “touching bases” with some of our European tapers. I spoke to Tina Laurent, Wales, twice during our trip and she was instrumental in letting some of our members know where I would be at certain times. Ingeborg Frank, N.Y. and West Germany, called from Baden-Baden. Ena Lloyd-Kitchen of Liverpool called on Sunday. Gilbert Bonner, well known English taper, came to my hotel Sunday afternoon and we visited together for three hours. Before leaving, Gilbert gave me an excellent ninety minute tape of some of his voices as well as comments made by other researchers of electronic communication. Our trip was a success. Were sorry you weren’t with us. “Two roads diverged in the woods, and I – I too the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost “I enjoy your publication greatly. Keep up the great work.” Martin Pearl – New York “Thanks for the current newsletter; it’s loaded with goodies.” Stefan Horvath – Ohio 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Computer Talks from the Dead Dennis Pollard, IL AA-EVP member, was part of our group that went to England. He gave me a clipping that described how the researchers at the University of Tashkent in the Soviet Union have successfully intercepted more than a dozen messages from a colleague who has died.

Dr. Pyater Suslov described thirteen years of research in which they worked with 37 terminally ill subjects, training them in a specially designed computer code. They also developed a highly sensitive computerized machine which responds to the slightest change in electric fields. The first 36 people who died were unable to get through, but the last individual was successful. He told them he had been unable to communicate at first because of a faulty research design. He changed his method of transmitting signals, and finally broke through. The man, who was a physicist while living, continues to send daily messages that describe the afterlife as “joyous, peaceful and complete.” In time, he will stop communicating and is only doing so now because he wants to reassure us that death is nothing to fear. An Easy Experiment Tina Laurent called after I returned from England to tell me about an article she had read in the Journal of the British Society of Psychic Research. The man, who wished to remain anonymous, referred to himself as “a business man” in writing to the Journal. He had his electronic calculator on one day while working on some accounts. At the same time, a transistor radio was on and tuned to a medium wave band. The radio was next to the calculator. All of a sudden, according to the report, he began hearing “space” music coming from the radio. The individual seemed sure the music did not originate from earth. This experiment, which requires

little equipment, might be something that many of our members might like to try to replicate. Parallel-worlds Explanation Some experimenters, including myself, seem to be in communication with worlds not commonly thought of as spirit. In fact, some of our communicants state that they are from a world that is parallel to us. I asked Dr. Ernst Senkowski, West German AA-EVP member, and a physicist and electrical engineer to try to explain parallel worlds to me. His explanation is the clearest one I’ve heard and I think can be understood by the average layman. Ernst wrote: “The case of ‘parallel-worlds’ seems rather complicated...I would not limit the number of P-worlds to just one. If one uses the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Theory as proposed by Everett then our world is continuously splitting up into a nearly infinite number of copies more or less differing from our own. If one takes the theory of Heim as a basis then there is again an infinite number of P-worlds (or P-spaces) separated by the fifth coordinate or dimension CETL Newsletter Review Many thanks are owed to Hans Heckmann who translated the latest CETL newsletter from German to English. As you know, this excellent newsletter is written by Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg AA-EVP members. For anyone who reads German, I can heartily recommend you become a member of this group which entitles you to receive the quarterly newsletter. Their address is on the cross—country list. Unfortunately, lack of space permits only a

brief review. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Maggie wrote, “We should not forget that transcommunication involves constant searching on both sides of the veil...The question of what it is we are trying to accomplish is of utmost importance...The real task for each of us is our continued progression and development. All communication groups in both dimensions are faced with the decision to aspire for the path to the light... “We have learned that the struggle between good and evil continues in other dimensions. After death man does not immediately put away negative attributes. The will to aspire to virtues is the first step...The soul must continue a long path of spiritual development which may lead through several reincarnations... “Experimenters can attract positive as well as negative groups on the other side. Individuals in spirit can contribute greatly to the success of a taping group. By the same token, they can destroy communication and influence people negatively. Group experiments are safe only when people are united and pursue one common goal. The few who are distrustful and act negatively toward communication will unconsciously draw the attention of destructive negative spirit forces to themselves and the entire group...We are reminded of what Raudive had to say about it: “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t cope with the realities of life.” “...(Our) equipment setup was changed and greatly simplified. We are only using a radio receiver, a small signal generator (from Hans

0. Koenig) and a ultraviolet lamp. When the receiving conditions are particularly good only the radio receiver is used. ESB and GA-i do not exist anymore. The other side refers to (the new system) as the BURTON-BRIDGE. There is no doubt that the main equipment is located with our spirit partners. “The other dimension describes the experimenter as a medium in the sense of being a receiver, a mediator between two worlds. “The mutual aim, together with our communication partners, is founding a world organization in Basel, Switzerland in 1989.” ... Personal Letter from Maggie Harsch-Fischbach Recently, Maggie wrote about Swejen Salter who along with TECHNICIAN and Richard Francis Burton, the English explorer who died about 1880, is one of the Fischbachs main contacts from the beyond. Quoting from the letter, she said, “A complication comes when Swejen talks about her life on VARID. She died in autumn 1987, and explains that this planet VARID is a parallel world to our TERRA or EARTH. The political development on VARID seems not to have been the same as that one of TERRA. A Second World War has never existed there and Adolph HITLER was never more than some obscure figure at the scenery of politics who at no moment (was important). Institutes for TC (transcommunication) are on VARID and are even (supported) by the Government there. Swejen SALTER, when still alive, was a scientist in such an institute, therefore she is very advanced in the field of paranormolgy. As you know,

she died by an accident during her research work and is now in the spirit world occupied to strengthen the contacts with us...” Communications with Deceased Loved Ones When I returned from England, I found the booklet with the above title waiting for me. This is the project to which so many of you contributed reports about contacts you have had with the deceased as well as unexplainable psychic experiences. The reports were compiled by Valerie Tjaden, N.J. AA-EVP member. It makes interesting reading and I learned many things about our Association members that were previously unknown to me. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena As I wrote to Valerie, “(The booklet) is fascinating and filled with many heart-warming accounts of those who have made their transition and continue to be aware and reach out to loved ones left behind...In addition it gives the reader a greater appreciation of our own almost unlimited capabilities in going beyond the common everyday expectations and the limitations we tend to place on ourselves...” Whether you contributed to the booklet or not, I think you will want to read it. Also, if you have a friend who is having difficulty coming to terms with the death of a loved one, you might want to give the booklet to them as a gift. It could very well help. Valerie is charging exactly what it costs to reproduce and mail the booklet. For those living in the U.S. the

cost is $8.22; Canada is $8.49; overseas is $12.27. Please pay in U.S. Funds. Deadline for your orders is September 1, when Valerie will have reproduced the number of booklets requested. Her address is (withheld) Paranormal Voice Techniques In the Spring newsletter, I offered a video booklet describing methods of receiving pictures of the unseen through your T.V. This booklet was prepared by Holger Sauer and Martin Wenzel of Aachen, West Germany and was translated by Hans Heckmann. Over twenty members wrote for the booklet. Since then, I have received a similar booklet from Sauer, describing ways of taping voices from the beyond. Again, the booklet written in German, was translated for me by Hans. If you would like a copy of this, send me a self addressed, stamped Number 10 (business size) envelope. The postage required is $.45. “Death no more a casket,” Class A voice taped in the office of my home, the morning of May 2, 1988. Friedrich Jürgenson After-death Video In the Spring newsletter, we reported that Jürgenson had appeared on the TV of Claude and Ellen Thorli during the time his burial was being held seventy-five miles away. The above picture is the one that the Thorli’s say appeared at that time and has been published in several metaphysical newsletters since then. The following (in part) report was given by Claude Thorli and is found in the Spring issue of the German VTF Journal translated for me by Hans Heckmann. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “...After breakfast, my wife, Ellen, who has had psychic experiences since childhood, told me she heard an inner voice repeating ‘Channel 4.’ She said she felt it had something to do with Jürgenson’s funeral which was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. I loaded my Polaroid camera with black/white film. Shortly before 1:00, I turned on the TV tuned to Channel 4. “Since Channel 4 is not used in Sweden, the TV screen displayed the usual random noise pattern...l positioned myself, camera in hand, in a chair in front of the TV set. Ellen sat with me. After 15 minutes, she left the room...I remained in front of the TV and had given up hope when something strange happened. The flickering noise pattern on the screen stopped and became silent. Suddenly, a spot of light appeared on the screen. It expanded rapidly, disappeared, then expanded again. This lasted 6-7 seconds. I released the camera shutter. I held the Polaroid picture in my hand...it developed into a face that left no doubt was our friend Friedrich Jurgenson...” News From and About Members An unusually large number of members have shared with me, in the last three months, news about their activities. This is good because many people have written that they enjoy this feature. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, said in a phone call that she used the air-band as a sound source for her daily tapings. In between air- control tower announcements, she will

often hear clicks and whispers. Recently a Class A voice sounding close said: “This coming over to me is special.” Roy Bauer, Canada, sent me a tape in June of voices he has recorded. He wrote that he felt my idea about forming small groups of like- minded people, for the purpose of taping, was an excellent one. In an effort to meet people who might be interested in this, he is attending a local Spiritualist church. He has also lectured about the history of electronic communication with the dead to a group of the Spiritual Science Fellowship. Roy hopes to have a taping group organized by this fall. Roger Brower, NC State Coordinator and the Director of Research and Development, wrote he has not had any significant results with the FM wireless mike. He suggests that it may help to have on an ultraviolet light in the vicinity of your taping. The use of UV light is recommended by Martin Wenzel, the Harsch—Fischbachs, Otto Koenig, and in the new booklet Paranormal Voice Techniques. Roger enclosed an ad of an UV lamp that is inexpensive and can be used for taping purposes. It can be ordered from (Address Withheld) Victor De Vincenzo, NJ, wrote that after months of no results he taped a Class A voice that said, “One voice now.” He has also had his first article published in the January 1988 issue of the Journal of the Academy of Religion and Psychical Science. It is about the 1968

apparitions at Zeitoun, Egypt. Florence Estwick, France, who joined the AA-EVP in February, called in April and said she had taped her first voice. In a letter two weeks later, Florence wrote: “Since the day I first contacted you on the phone in January 1988, Life has opened a new chapter for me and things seem to be moving fast...l made 60 recordings first at 10:00 P.M. GMT and then at 8:00 P.M. GMT. I use a sensitive electret condenser mike and radio tuned at first to FM channel 108 MHz and then to LW channel 344 KHz. The shift on channel took place while I was ready to make the 55th recording on April 22. I was growing dissatisfied with (the FM) band and I was also depressed over the lack of results I was getting... I scanned the LW range. I head a beautiful vibration without any “bang.” That night I taped my first personal message very clear and very close: “With you tonight.” Since then, Florence has continued taping a number of messages and feels they are “setting up a specific line of transmission.” Florence wrote that the vibration sound remains and the voices themselves have a vibrational quality, at times very strong. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Rosalba Harris, PA, phoned and said she had read in an Italian Journal that a group in Italy, interested in electronic communication had accepted Jürgenson’s offer made before death, to store

his tapes. They will be in a central location so that researchers of voice phenomena will be able to visit and listen to the thousands of communications he taped during his lifetime. Doris Humphrey, MD, wrote an interesting report about an experience she had at the age of twelve. It is in the July 1988 issue of FATE Magazine in the feature: “My Proof of Survival.” Dale Kaczmarek, IL, wrote that he was on a radio talk show from Jackson, MS and a number of call-ins were received. He enclosed an article about Raffaella Gremese of Italy who has hundreds of images of her deceased father and others on video tape. After the first picture of her father, in spite of repeated efforts, it was another six years before she again taped his image or that of anyone else. Since 1986, she has begun to see images of dead people regularly on her TV. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that in April, she had taped: “Nostradam Conditions come up and out of and near Hawaii. Hail, gale, Hawaii. Many lives in shadows.” Several weeks later, she ordered a book about Nostradamus and learned that his family name was Nostradam. Norman Marsh, England, wrote: “During my EVP taping session I had an amazing experience. It was a woman’s voice I heard when playing back the recording. A voice called TINA, and I recognized the voice of TINA LAURENT from Wales. Tina has called at my home several times...l wonder just

how many members of AA-EVP have experienced this phenomena?” Fred McIntosh, VA, wrote that he will be speaking in Baltimore on August 6, at the Homewood Friends Meeting House-10:00 A.M. His subject will be the application of dowsing in various ways. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, wrote that he has a VCR and CAMCORDER, along with Infra-red and Ultraviolet lamps and foil reflector. Preliminary tests in trying to receive pictures through his TV have yielded background figures and gives him hope for future results. Ghosts & Haunted Houses of Maryland Trish Gallagher, MD AA-EVP member, has had the above named book published by Tidewater Publishers of Centreville, MD. 21617. It is fascinating and I think you will find it very enjoyable. Check your bookstore or write to the publisher. Cost: $6.95 plus handling. Egypt Anyone? Join Lynn Gardner on her ninth trip to Egypt for 15 days. The group leaves Chicago aboard KLM on December 21. You will step back into time as you visit the mystical land of the Pharaohs, and the magnificent temples and tombs. You will go to the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Experience the importance of ritual and expand spiritual insights as Lynn guides you in exploring this ancient land. The trip takes you from Cairo to Aswan and includes a magical camel caravan into the desert under a full moon for a Christmas Eve vigil. There is a special New Year’s eve celebration in Aswan. The total cost is $2850. There will be a 19

day trip to Egypt led by Lynn and sponsored by the Institute of Noetic Sciences leaving February 15. A pilgrimage to Israel/Egypt at Easter for 13 days, sponsored by Unity Church is also planned. For complete information contact Lynn at: (Address Withheld) 8 Voices of Eternity Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena By the time I write the Fall NEWS, my book: Voices of Eternity will be in the bookstores and I hope in your hands. Everything is moving ahead on schedule and it will reach the bookstores in September. It will be nationally distributed and published in the U.S. and Canada simultaneously. If your local bookstore doesn’t have it, please request they order it from Fawcett. Our trips to Egypt, (an entire chapter is devoted to Egypt) our national conferences, the AA-EVP itself, are all mentioned. A number of members have written that they want to buy an autographed copy directly from me. Unfortunately by written contract with Fawcett, I am prohibited from selling Voices Odds and Ends Did you notice in this NEWS, that two members who were finally successful with their tapings: Florence Estwick and Victor De Vincenzo, were so only aftermany efforts. They didn’t give up after the tenth, or the thirtieth or fiftieth try. They kept on and at last the Voices spoke. Might the same thing happen to you? Are you willing to persevere in spite of repeated disappointments? Only you can answer that question. I hope you

like our new format and will contribute to the NEWS in the future. Our deadline for the Fall newsletter is October 8. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1988 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Time for another newsletter. Where should I start? The last three months have passed quickly and it has been a time of sharing, of giving, of asking for patience, understanding and wisdom. What I have received during this period has far outweighed my own small gifts. Normally, I feel the most miserly about time because I have so little of it and I want so much to answer all requests, the needs, expressed and unexpressed of those who contact me. Understanding doesn’t usually give me a problem. From earliest days, I have understood--too well at times--the dynamics behind a particular situation. It is patience I am working on and wisdom, which must at least be considered as a gift of the gods. All too often it remains slightly out of reach. Peeking into my mailbag, I come up with letters that leave me nonplused occasionally. A month ago, a letter came from Anonymous in Pittsburgh. In his five page xerox typed letter, Anonymous wrote that we should all be “born

again” and the surest path to God was to become like an innocent, pure baby. Although I don’t entirely agree with this premise, the thing that gave me the greatest difficulty was that I had to suck my thumb or, better yet, a pacifier. As Anonymous wrote: “...you should purchase an infant’s pacifier for yourself. It’s much better to use one of them than it is to suck one of your thumbs. You probably have teeth. And if you’ve been sucking your thumb right along, you’ve noticed your teeth bite into your thumb when you suck it...” I was to suck on the pacifier while I was watching television, taking a shower, and so on. Not for a moment am I making fun of the conclusions of Anonymous. Every thought expressed in the five pages was serious and it was clear Anonymous felt he was called upon to lead people back to finding God. He deserves, as everyone deserves, credit for standing up for their beliefs. I’ve done a good deal of ‘standing’ all my life so I know from where Anonymous is coming. I thank him, whoever he might be, for his concern about me. It’s just that I don’t think the best way to find God is through sucking a pacifier. On the opposite end of the spectrum a letter came that was not unsigned. It was from ‘Joseph’ who requested I remove his name from the mailing list. In defense of Joseph, he had never joined the

Association but his membership had been a gift from a colleague. In his note to me, after I had notified him of his gift membership, he wrote: “I am a scientist but keep an open mind.” (Six months and two newsletters later, he decided he’d had enough). I wrote to ‘John,’ the man who had given the membership, “It seems as if he’s not quite as open as he likes to think. Individuals like this are more to be pitied than scorned.” I wonder if Joseph ever read the comment from E. F. S chumer: “The modern world still tends to be skeptical about everything that makes demands on mean’s higher faculties. But it is not at all skeptical about skepticism which demands hardly anything.” Fortunately, not all scientists are like Joseph. The AA-EVP has a good representation of scientists and more have joined since reading Voices of Eternity The fact that Voices is to be found in the ‘New Age’ section of most bookstores, and that a scientist might visit such a section and buy a book of this nature, may surprise some. Their ranks are still slim, but they are growing. It seems apropos to close my Viewpoint remarks with: “To live rightly in this world we must first become aware of it. The problem is man’s false assumption that he is already aware, which leaves him no motive for investigation.” From Pathways to Perfect Living, by Vernon Howard. “I like your new format! I think it is

better than before and you do have more room! Edelgard John, West Germany. One of the many letters received after the Summer Newsletter, in praise of the new format used ______________ Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ Harry Borgfund-LIBERANT Word has come that Harry Borglund, MA AA-EVP member since 1984, died in September. Although I never met Harry, I felt we were old friends. Each August he would promptly renew membership for the coming year, as he did this past August. As I wrote to Vanda, his widow, when she sent me word of Harry’s death, “...lt came as quite a shock, this sort of thing always does, but then I thought of Harry and of his faith that life does not end! I am confident that he now knows that belief was well placed and that he will continue in a busy, happy life just a step away...” We wish you joy Harry in your return home. Ethics and Psi This is a subject about which much has been written. That I am concerned about the matter is clear when I wrote on page 1 of Voices “As a psychical investigator, I have encountered some fraud and a great deal of self—delusion.” There’s not enough room here to say all I want to say, and yet I think we must bring it up front for the few people who need to be reminded that what they do and say, even if their intentions are good, can seriously affect

the lives of others. Many mediums are very charming people. They seem to emit a glow, a charisma that a number of individuals find irresistible. In many cases, these people later discover that the person they idolized is seriously flawed. To bring the situation nearer home, since August, in the close to 100 letters that have come to the P.O. Box address given at the end of Voices about a fourth have asked me to try to contact a loved one for them through my tape recorder. Some have offered money, a few a great deal. I deserve no credit for turning these offers down; to do otherwise would be despicable. In the first place, it is impossible to do what they request honestly. In the second place, if I could I would, without charge, and it would give me almost as much joy as the loved one concerned. As I always write back, “...there is no emotional tie, no bonding between your loved one and me to bring him back to speak through my tape recorder. You are the one most likely to succeed in this.” I then give suggestions and urge them to re-read Chapter 17 in Voices which is about taping methods. Our AA-EVP is an open Association. We have a cross—country list which, I believe, no other organization has. Several people who have worked briefly with me call the list a nightmare in its logistics, and it is. In spite of this, I don’t want to

abolish it, for many who are on the list find great pleasure in contacting others near and far. Warm, permanent friendships have evolved. Clearly, I can’t police the almost 150 names on it. I would remind you, though, to exert caution when you write to any unknown person and to always keep your own good judgment if a reply comes. For those of you who may hear from a new pen pal, reply in an honest straightforward way. Don’t play at being a medium, even if you are trying to lessen the grief of someone. To say you are in contact with a loved one when you’re not is a cruel hoax. Even if you think you are, unless you have had a long, successful history of mediumship, you are ninety-nine chances out of a hundred deluded. Everyone in the end has to face what he has done with his life and what he has done to others. Up-Date on the Storage of Jürgenson’s Tapes In our Summer newsletter, I mentioned that Rosalba Harris, PA AA-EVP member, had written that a group in Italy would be storing Friedrich Jürgenson ‘s voice communication tapes. Rosalba has kindly sent additional information about this: 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ “In the July 1988 issue of “Journal of Mysteries” published in Florence, Italy it was announced that Maria Annel, a close friend of Jürgenson’s for many years, expressed the wish made by Jürgenson before death, that all his tapes be kept

in Italy, a country he loved. “His wish was immediately accepted by the President of A.I.S.P. (Association ltaliana Studi Psicofonici). A small museum of the voices will be built in his honor and memory. This museum may be located in the castle of Caldarola, in Fermo, where Count Lorenzo Spinucci held the first Italian conference of paranormal voices...” We are Listed For several years, the AA-EVP has been listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations found in all libraries and published by Gale Research. Many letters from private individuals as well as the media have come as a result. Now, I have been informed by R.R. Bowker Company, a division of Reed Publishing, that our newsletter will be listed in the Bowker International Series Database which is used to produce Ulrich ‘s International Periodicals Directory found in libraries’ reference section Look us up when you visit your library! Washington State Coordinator After Dennis Taylor of lssaquah, WA read Voices of Eternity he wrote to say how much he had enjoyed it. He asked for information about the AA-EVP and said if WA did not have a State Coordinator, he would be interested in such a role. I sent the information and within a few days, Dennis joined. He also became at that time State Coordinator. Dennis is a Psychical Investigator. He teaches a class called: “Life After Death: The Emerging Communication System.” In addition, he manages a Spiritual/Metaphysical Book Store. We are pleased to have Dennis as a member of AA-EVP

and appreciate his willingness to help the Association and other members in WA as Stat Coordinator. Voices on a Bomber Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator sent me an interesting article about taped voices from a RAF bomber located in a museum hanger at Shropshire, England. The recording reveals muffled voices of the crew, engines droning, Morse code messages, and so on. Experienced pilots who heard the tape, which was made under strict scientific conditions, have said that the sounds are like those of a Lincoln bomber in flight. The tape recorder was left running in the empty cockpit and the bomber was locked within the hanger. Later, when the tape was played back, it sounded as if the plane was in flight although it hadn’t flown in 30 years. There have been other unusual phenomena associated with the bomber which has been in the museum for eleven years. When other nearby aircraft are covered with dust, the black bomber often appears to have been polished. Several people have also reported seeing a ghostly airman, dressed in a uniform, inside the hanger. Experiment Idea Many psychical investigators feel that voices on tape, spirit photographs and apparitions are due to psychic imprints left by previous individuals associated with a location, or a specific object such as the bomber, just mentioned. This is often found where there was a strong emotional feeling attached to that particular place. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ In my investigations of haunted locations, such as

Point Lookout State Park in Southern Maryland, the Westminster church in Baltimore, the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington and others, messages came through in each place. While some of them might have been psychic imprints, my feeling about most of the voices was that they did not realize they had died. A number of people live near one or more historical locations. I would like to suggest you take your portable tape recorder to one or more sites and make one or two short recordings. Play t back after returning home, listening to it carefully while wearing headphones if you have them. Let me know what you tape, giving full details such as location, why it is well-known, time of taping, if you were alone, and so on. I would like to report your findings in a future newsletter. A Letter from England A letter has come from Raymond Cass, well-known English taper. Raymond wrote, “Regarding the bit about Maggie (Harsch-Fischbach) cruising over the FM band until a transmission blots out the normal broadcast...l experienced this in rudimentary form some years ago. I found a German station on Medium Wave, and nearly every night the transmission would be blotted out for about 10 seconds and a voice or voices inserted. It does now seem that many of my early contacts were in the nature of pilot experiments from the “other side” and that a bad negative period was simply a time when the “transmissions” were inoperative. ...l think there is

an even chance that groups in the Beyond are perfecting their technology and we shall have better contacts which will depend more on the activity of the transmitting source than the status of the experimenter.” Membership Renewals Starting now, members will receive one notice when their membership is due. It will be sent 4-5 weeks before the end of their due date. In the past, I have sent a second notice to those who had not renewed by the tenth of the month. As a result of increased postage and printing costs, and less time on my part, this will stop. If you want to remain a member of AA-EVP, renew promptly. A second notice shouldn’t be needed. Many thanks to all who renew early, saving me time and money. Simultaneous Video/Audio Transmission The above picture was kindly sent to me byDr. Ernst Senkowski, West German AA—EVP member. The translation of the message from German to English was done by our good friend 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member. For the first time, a video picture from the next dimension was sent through the TV of Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach of Luxembourg, accompanied by a spoken message. It shows Konstantin Raudive as a young man. Present during the transmission were Jules and Maggie, and Dr. Ralph Determeyer. “Good evening, dear friends, this is Konstantin Raudive speaking. Dear Maggie, dear Jules, dear colleague Determeyer, I am happy to see that you have found your

way here to us again. What you are witnessing at this moment is a historical occasion on your side as well as our side. This is the first time that Video and Audio are simultaneously being transmitted and received. (Pause 12 seconds). “For the benefit of those who still doubt and those who are of good will but were afraid that I did not belong to group TIME—STREAM anymore, I decided to transmit a picture of myself showing my present appearance on this side at the banks of the River of Eternity. (Pause 6 seconds). “Dear Colleague Determeyer, happenings such as you are witnessing come about not only through our efforts on this side but also through the willingness and efforts of people on your side. (Pause 7 seconds). “You have worked yourself in an exemplary manner for the unification ... for the purpose of founding a World Organization.” End of Transmission Hans gave the following evaluation of the transmission: “...Each segment begins and ends with a clearly audible switching impulse. Reception with a partially defective B/W TV set and no antenna connection. A short distortion in the last segment announced the end. Characteristic decrease of speaking time and proportional reduction of spoken syllables, point to increasing difficulty to maintain contact.” Since that first video/audio reception on July 1, 1988, the Harsch-Fischbachs have received additional pictures on their B/W TV accompanied by audible messages. The video reception from other dimensions that Luxembourg and some other European tapers are receiving is

very exciting. You should know that in every case those now having such results only did so after years of successful taping through their tape recorder. A Word to the Wise Discovery Intercepts Dan Mckee, IL State Coordinator, called about messages he taped during the first few minutes of the Discovery space shuttle flight on September 29. Dan, a Ham radio buff, had his short wave tuned to the frequency used by the Greenbelt, MD Ham radio club. The club, located near Goddard Space Center, picked up all the conversation going on between Goddard and Houston which were linked together by a direct phone line. At the end, Dan turned his reel-to-reel tape over to the reverse side and discovered he had many intercepts from unseen entities. We discussed these intercepts and feel that several individuals were discussing the current flight as well as the Challenger flight that ended in disaster after launching. Since our talk, Dan has sent me a copy of his tape and it is excellent. Some of the messages are: “The earth have her frequency.” “Look!We used to meter that.” “You’ve seen at this thing before.” “Yours I know through thy braveness.” “Air Force, you assess of.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ “We got confused in the firing.” “Wasn’t that heat in the short?” “Stand by to evacuate.” “Ours will become noticed there—poised there—we got trouble.” “They open to him which actually killed us.” “Correct. There’s no flight to start beyond this.” “So

we have almost two days to hear you.” “Hello, they’re to make it.” “How we different.” CETL Newsletter Review We are grateful to Hans Heckmann who translated issue 02/88. This excellent newsletter is written in German by Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, leading European transcommunication experimenters and members of the AA-EVP. In her editorial, Maggie wrote: “We used to share the opinion of many that once we had a breakthrough to clear two-way communication, our goal had been reached. In time, we realized that we are only at the beginning. A new phase in T.C. begins when the door into other dimensions is opened. Not everyone is suited for T.C. The field of T.C. is much more complicated than most people want to admit! Contacts in the spiritual world indicate ‘net’ of positive energy which is slowly spreading over and among like-minded experimenters. Our scientists refer to it as “morphogenetic fields.” Required is the readiness for spiritual development within person. The God principle in our spiritual development should attract us more than the contacts with our loved ones. Prayers and thanksgiving seem to open doors. The less we demand the more we receive. Spiritual communication dealing with the existence of other worlds rarely make the headlines of our daily papers.” The following is a brief summary about parallel worlds given by Technician, one of the Harsch-Fischbachs’ chief communicators: “Man through his thoughts, wishes, and actions, ‘triggers’ many possibilities which become reality in other worlds. These worlds, just like our world, are

material in nature. All beings living in these worlds are people like us who do not pass into a spirit world until their bodily ‘death. Every person on this planet has doubles in other worlds. When you die on earth some of your other selves continue to live in parallel worlds while yet others have already died. Each of these worlds, when compared with each other, show small or large differences, historical or political changes which influence the lives of the entities living there. Our other selves live in these worlds according to the local conditions. Each entity grows and develops in his world. They influence their material universe around them by what they do and do not do. The question: “In what world is the original me?” can only be answered: “There is no original me.” A meeting with our other self in one of the material parallel worlds or on our earth would be disastrous, comparable to a small nuclear explosion and could cause a chain reaction. Every parallel world has different energy pattern and obeys different physical laws.” Maggie also wrote that their question about the existence of spiritual parallel worlds was• answered in the affirmative and that many discarnate of the third spirit level, where most go at death, are not informed sufficiently and know nothing about parallel worlds. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, wrote that she has been concentrating on Reverse messages. She has discovered that the unseen use her voice at time to help

them speak. Carol and a friend taped at Mystery Hill in N.H. recently. The location is known as American’s Stonehenge News from Members 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ and is at least 4,000 years old. Although many messages were taped, Carol felt they were entities who had not been dead for a long time. A few whispers were on the forward side of her tapes but the “reverse side yielded a whole tape’s worth of voices!” Florence Estwick, France, has written and called several times. Recently, she wrote that she is continuing to have contact through her tape recorder with her husband and others. She said, “...so you see, Sarah, transcommunication is a very alive phenomenon for me.” Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, sent me an article first published in the “Christian Science Monitor.” It focused on quantum mechanics. The term has been used for more than 60 years but the public is largely unaware of it. It is one of the most accurate sciences ever developed, making possible everything from transistors to televisions, calculators to computers, fiber optics to fission reactors. The concept is difficult to grasp and physicists use it to talk about such things as particles with no size, 10—dimensional space, a multitude of parallel universes, and a world where probability replaces certainty. Clara Laughlin wrote that she has held two group meetings lately of members in the Arlington-Alexandria, VA area. Six members attended, two of them new. They discussed electronic communication, and made

several recordings. Messages were received, the loudest and clearest on the reverse side of the tape in which one of the members present was called an “angel.” (Perhaps Clara’s efforts and results will encourage other members to form groups). Warren York is a new member from Texas. He is starting recordings on a regular basis and sent me a copy of the first word he taped which was “Help.” The word was clear and of good quality. Later on, he will set up a computer line for interested members. The above picture was taken recently at an area Waldenbooks store. The response to Voices has been most gratifying since it reached the bookstores the first week in August. As a result of Voices, we have taken in more members the last two months than ever before. It is impossible to give all of the heartwarming comments received after someone has finished reading the book. As a sample: “By far, it’s the finest book about EVP and survival I’ve ever read. I sincerely hope you plan a sequel.” (Richard Busse—IN). “Your book was very honest, beautiful and sincere, as well as awe-inspiring.” (Tina Laurent—Wales). “I have just finished your book. I can’t begin to tell you how astounded and excited I am knowing others believe life exists after death.” (Tammy Matthews-new member-IN). “I congratulate you for this really fine piece of work.” (Ernst Senkowski—West Germany). “I think the thing we (Harold and I) have always honored you most is your dedication

to honesty in your research.” (Martha Sherman-AR). Many individuals have contacted me and said they are having difficulty finding the book. Crown, Dalton, and Waldenbooks are carrying it as well as other national chains. If your local bookstore doesn’t have it, request they order a copy. They are always happy to do this. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ In September, I talked to my agent who contacted Fawcett, publishers of Voices They have given me permission to sell it to overseas members as well as U.S. members who have been unable to locate it. If you want a copy, please let me know indicating if you would like it autographed. Cost, which includes postage and handling, is: $5 U.S.; $5.50 Canada; $7 overseas. Nobel Laureate After lngeborg Frank, NY and West Germany AA-EVP member, read Voices of Eternity she wrote to say how impressed she was. lngeborg ‘s great-grandfather was Justus von Liebig, who is considered the father of organic chemistry, and also discovered photo- synthesis, and many other things. As a result, she has been in contact for the last fifteen years, by letter and phone, with a man who was awarded a Nobel prize for his scientific endeavors. This man was a great admirer of lngeborg’s great-grandfather and has expressed to lngeborg his belief that life ends at death. Ingeborg hopes to visit the individual and tell him about the discoveries made in the field of electronic communication and at that time, give him a

copy of Voices Communications with Deceased Loved Ones Valerie Tjaden, N.J. AA-EVP member, wrote that she has had a reasonable response to the above named booklet. As mentioned in the Summer NEWS, the reports were compiled by Valerie and were largely contributed by our members and focused on contacts they felt they had with the deceased, as well as unexplainable psychic experiences. Whether you contributed to the booklet or not, I think you would find it interesting and reassuring. Valerie has some extra copies available. You can contact her at: 27 Ryerson Ave., Oakland, N.J. 07436. Cost: U.S.-$8; Canada- $8.49; overseas-$12.27. U.S. Funds. Come With US On March 5, Winnie Peters, MD AA-EVP member and I, expect to leave for a two-week trip to Egypt. This is sponsored by North Mt. Artisans who have led many other successful trips to Egypt. They offer an outstanding itinerary for a metaphysical journey and are calling it a “healing odyssey.” Alberto Aguas, world-renowned healer, will accompany the group and lead us in healing meditations in the Great Pyramid and other temples we’ll visit. The cost of the trip is only $1859, which is the most reasonable to my knowledge. It includes a four day Nile cruise. There is a week’s extension to Kenya for a safari experience for those interested. I will be helping the members of the group in Egypt who want to try to tape voices. This will be my third trip to Egypt, a country I love. If you have

been thinking about going to Egypt, now is your opportunity. Write to: North Mountain Artisans-1025 Miller Lane, Harrisburg, PA 17110-2899. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is January 7. Let me hear from you Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1989 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint There is a shiny, new calendar sitting on my desk. On January 1, every year, I go over the old calendar, month by month. I look at what has been written in the large blocks provided for each day and reminisce about certain events. All in all, I can’t complain. 1988 was good to me. Loved ones, for the most part, stayed healthy. Old, true friends remained loyal. New friends were made and time alone will tell if they will join the old friends and become gold. My book, Voices of Eternity, was published and is doing well. Many new members have joined the AA-EVP as a result. Some significant messages were taped. Perhaps the ones that remain most strongly in my mind were two that came through the morning of May 2. I was taping as usual but greatly concerned because a loved one was undergoing minor surgery at that time. Even though I said

nothing about this to the invisibles, they telepathically picked up my worry and said in a Class A voice, “Protect those with you,” followed several seconds later with, “Death no more a casket.” The outcome of the operation was successful, but my communicators had taken this opportunity to remind me that no matter what happened, death was not a casket; it meant something much more. To those of us who believe in survival and feel the voices are objective evidence, death means life! Several of you who have read Voices have commented about the statement on page 54, when I was discussing “homes” with those in the beyond and someone said they looked upon the spirit world as their real home. I then asked if they felt the spirit dimension was “home” how did they look upon the earth plane. The unexpected loud, clear message, “Death,” was returned. It’s a matter of perspective I guess. There are exceptions, of course, but not many of us look upon our life here, in our earth plane home as death. A minister once said to me, “I know I have a heavenly home to go to when I die but I’m not homesick to get there.” I suspect most of us would join him in a hearty “Amen!” When talking about my relatively good year of 1 988, I must also think about all of my fellow humans for whom the year was the worst of times. In reading the evening paper, how

frequently do we read, “Only two, (or three) died?” As if that was a victory. It may have been for those who escaped, but what about those who didn’t? Ultimately, yes, a victory for them when they discovered their consciousness continued, and they were living in another dimension. It is doubtful though, if many of their loved ones left behind could immediately rejoice. The result of the explosion of Pan Am 103 in Scotland with no one aboard surviving, and many on the ground being killed, must reach into every home, whether we knew anyone on the plane or not. A young girl in her twenties, Miriam Wolfe from Severna Park, was on the plane. By all reports, she was an outstanding, warm, loving, individual- the best of persons. Two days before her death, she mailed her last letter. It was to her grandmother to whom she felt unusually close, and in it she enclosed a clipping that quoted Gandhi: “The world has enough for every man’s need but not enough for every man’s greed.” Ah, yes, if the world would only remember this, the best of times could be available for everyone. If we have difficulty keeping it in mind in our personal day to day life and carrying it over to others who touch our lives at home, at work, at play, how can we expect the world to become united and live Gandhi’s creed? Realistically, perhaps we can’t. This doesn’t mean that we should give up in

despair or stop trying to live in gentleness, in kindness, in helpfulness, in warmth, because here and there we fail. As I look at my new 1989 calendar, wonder what the year will bring, and how much I will be able to give to others. I wonder if what I do will make a positive difference in anyone’s life. I 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena hope I will not fail anyone and that my actions will not cause someone to have less faith in the present or the future to come. I hope 1988 has been a good year for you and that 1989 will be the best of years. Spirit Voices Taped Fifty-Six Years Ago Most reports of the taping of EVP voices start in the 1950’s, when Attila von Szalay of California, and three years later Friedrich Jürgenson of Sweden, said they had recorded unexplainable voices. The earliest reported voices, however, came through twenty—three years before von Szalay’s. This report is found in Chapter 16: “Recording Session in Manhattan,” and was sent to me by Martin Ebon, noted author and psychical investigator. It is from his book: Communicating With The Dead published by New American Library. Lack of space prohibits a full account but briefly it occurred on April 23, 1933 at the World Broadcasting Company’s studios which later became Decca Records in New York City. The medium was Wm Cartheuser, and the supervisory team consisted of well—known and knowledgeable

people in the field of PSI such as psychical researcher and writer Hereward Carrington, Louis Anspacher, the poet and the secretary for the Am. Society for Psychical Research, Mrs. Helen Bigelow. The Western Electric Company was installing the latest sound-recording equipment in World’s studios and the engineers at World, who were skeptical about séances and talking to the dead, devised test conditions that they felt would eliminate any chance of fraud. Mike 1 was on the floor. Mikes 2 and 3 were twenty feet from the sitters and twenty feet in the air, up by the ceiling in diagonally opposite corners. They had such a short range of sensitivity that they could not record voices from mike 1. In order for mikes 2 or 3 to pick up a voice, the speaker had to be within twelve inches and since they were directional, had to be spoken into head-on. Each mike had its own line of communication with the control room. The sitters were unaware what the engineers had done and proceeded with a normal direct voice séance. Soon; a spirit voice expressed interest the experiment and said, “We think they have worked out a very interesting testing procedure for us on their equipment.” When the control room asked who was speaking the voice, speaking into mike 1, said he was engineer in the spirit world. He added had colleagues with him and they wanted cooperate in making the important recording. When requested by the control, speak directly into mikes

2 and 3, the spirit responded quickly, answering within inches of these mikes. Next, the unseen voice said they wanted to give a demonstration. With that, he made a circuit of the three mikes, while speaking a short, simple sentence. Then the speaker introduced a colleague who said had been an “eminent research engineer the science of sound.” The new speaker told the listeners and engineers in the studio that he and the other unseen communicator were “surviving personalities speaking to you from another dimension.” He concluded the demonstration by moving his voice from the normal level for a male human (around 300 cycles) up to the levels of 3,000 and 5,000 cycles, which is beyond the range of human hearing. His commentary became a thread sound like “an incredibly distant radio signal.” Repeating the test, the communicator descended through the frequency cycles. Eventually, it sounded like “a giant mumbling the bottom of a well,” and faded into sound “like the lowest note on the longest pipe in a giant organ.” The original spirit engineer’s voice returned. He thanked the sitters and recording staff for helping in the experiment and offered to collaborate in future tests. Within a few days the records were sent the American Society for Psychical Research, but the crucial test stayed in the hands of the studio engineers. They did not want to testify publicly that spirit voices had been recorded in a recording studio in New York’s Manhattan, one night in April 1933! 2 Tom

and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Harold Sherman’s Papers Ready A letter has been received from Tom Dillard, director of the Archives of the University of Central Arkansas, in Conway that Harold Sherman’s papers have been catalogued and are ready for research use. They were donated to the University. Harold’s wife, Martha. The collection has family correspondence going back to Harold’s childhood, copies of his sixty books, and tape recordings of many of his lectures. Television Picture Phenomena of Luise Fuchs In our Winter 1 988 newsletter, we showed some pictures that Luise Fuchs,West German AA- EVP member, had sent that had been received through her TV from the other side. Many of you found them fascinating. Recently, Luise sent more video pictures and I think you will agree that they are even clearer than her first group. VTF Journal Review We are grateful to Hans Heckmann, PA, AA-EVP member, for translating a recent journal of the Gerirnan VTF organization based in Dusseldorf, West Germany under the leadership of Fidelio Koberle. Mrs. Eva Busse, like most of us who are seriously taping, has tried all kinds of sound sources in the hope of finding something to help the voices come through. She feels that musical instruments capable of resonating to other sounds are desirable in that they produce more natural sounds than the use of mechanically or electrically generated sounds. As a result, her attempts have included the use of a tambourine, a guitar, and

a heavy iron on the right pedal of her piano to allow the piano strings to resonate freely. In spite of all of her efforts, Mrs. Busse writes that she keeps returning to the radio method because the voice passages are longer, due to the stronger energy carrier. Guest Article Contributors Several months ago, I decided it would be a good idea to ask certain AA-EVP members to write an article along their special line of expertise. Since Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, has 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena successfully taped in many historical locations throughout the New England states, I asked if she would write about this. She graciously agreed and I know all of us appreciate her efforts and the interesting article she sent. Although Carol is our first guest contributor, we hope she won’t be the last. I have approached several other members about writing articles for us, so look for them in the future. Taping at Historical Locations by Carol Barron Nothing is more discouraging for a taper than to sit, day after day at a recorder, and get few, if any, responses. EVP requires the utmost patience and even the most experienced tapers can become discouraged when they are having a slow period with few taped messages. Time to “hit the road!” With a little imagination and a minimum of equipment, you can try your hand at field-taping. First, you will need a portable, battery operated, cassette

recorder. I use my tried and true standard size, but many people prefer the pocket variety. The advantages to the latter being obvious; it is more compact and less conspicuous. A small, battery-operated radio to be used as a sound source is helpful; preferably one with an airband if possible. My method is to tape for a short while without any sound source, and the remainder of the time, with one. Now, where to tape? Perhaps there are historical buildings in your city or town; old houses, museums, churches, ships, etc. Anything old can yield some surprising communication. In some cases, it may be necessary to ask permission first. Also, it is best to tape at a time when there will be fewest distractions. If you are not so fortunate as to have any of the above sites nearby, don’t neglect other sites, such as outdoor locations where important events took place, like battlefields, caves, cemeteries, etc. Or, record as you commune with nature, at the ocean, mountains or parks. Going on a trip? Don’t forget to bring along your recorder. You’ll find that field taping can break the monotony of recording at home, and revive your interest in EVP. Happy Hunting! Carol also enclosed the following along with her article, to show two experiences she had while taping out in the field. “In regard to taping where there might be “psychic impressions,” or voices from long ago: “While taping with a friend on the grounds of one of the

mansions on Ocean Drive, in Newport, RI, we received a male voice saying, “Please do come in.” This was followed by another voice saying, “Invite them in for tea!” Because of the formality of the invitation, especially the male voice, it brought to mind the elegance and grandeur of the days of the Newport mansions. I felt very strongly that the voice was a part of that era; perhaps that of a servant inviting us in. Or could it be that we were only eavesdropping, and the invitation, instead, was for visitors of long ago? “Some old locations have yielded voices that do not seem to be associated with the area I tape in. Such was the case while taping this summer at the ancient site of “Mystery Hill” in New Hampshire, also known as “American’s Stonehenge.” I received many voices on the reverse side of the tape. Perhaps the success is due to the “energy” at such a place. The most significant message on that tape was a voice saying, “Her Callie’s always with Anthony.” (This is followed by, “And out of their pores she has it”). Knowing that Callie is the name of Clara Laughlin’s “guide,” I contacted her to relay that message and to see if Anthony meant anything to her. Clara said that on October 9th, she had received this message: “My channel loves you. Tony.” “Although I had taped the “Anthony” message in August, I did not notify Clara until November. We found that to

be an interesting crosscheck of our recordings.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Taping at Historical Locations - Wales Tina Laurent, Welsh AA-EVP member has also made many recordings at historical places in Wales. In September 1984, she and a reporter for the South Wales Echo newspaper did a week long series about ghosts for the paper. Two hundred letters were received as a result. One of the places where Tina taped was Stalling Down, an old Roman road where stagecoaches stopped 100 years ago. The road is located by Gallows Wood where thieves and murderers were hung. There was also a bloody battle there between Henry IV and the Welsh hero, Owen Glyndwr. Tina taped many “Help me” messages, and two voices mimicked her. At the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff, Tina wrote that there had been a great deal of ghost and poltergeist activity. Mr. Dunbar Smith, the architect of the museum, had his casket bricked up in the center wing. Later, it was moved just outside the men’s lavatory, and Tina feels this could h been an affront to his dignity. He is protesting this move by making the elevators and telephones work when no one is around but one warden. Two messages Tina taped at the museum were: “Please, poor instructions” and “I got killed here.” Tina spent midnight to six A.M. at the 1,000 year old Cardiff Castle. There is much poltergeist activity, and ghosts have been

seen. Members of the Royal Family regularly stay there. Many historical prisoners were kept there before being sent to the Tower of London. Tina taped voices laughing and singing in the banquet area. “Peepo,” was taped in the children’s nursery. A refined, imperious woman’s voice asked, “What’s that? Who’s that?” when Tina asked if she could be heard or seen. Two voices said, “ Bobby, Tina. When Tina commented to the reporter that she felt “tingly” in the children’s nursery a child’s voice said, “Tingully.” Indiana State Coordinator Richard Busse of Rensselaer has accepted my request to be State Coordinator for IN. He is a charter member of AA-EVP having joined in May 1982. We have exchanged many letters over the years and I have always been impressed with his interest and general knowledge of PSI and with the sensitivity and caring he has expressed in his letters. We thank him for his willingness to serve in this capacity. Help For Florida Members Although we have eight members in FL, with the majority on the cross-country list, there has never been a State Coordinator. Now, that problem has been resolved! Dan Mckee, IL State Coordinator, owns condominium in Bradenton. He and his wife, Marjorie, spend many months during the year there. In a recent phone call from Dan, asked if he would agree to be Coordinator for FL while he is there. Dan agreed to this and help in every way possible. His FL addres there has never been a

State Coordinator. Now, that problem has been resolved! Dan Mckee, IL State Coordinator, owns condominium in Bradenton. He and his wife, Marjorie, spend many months during the year there. In a recent phone call from Dan, asked if he would agree to be Coordinator for FL while he is there. Dan agreed to this and helps in every way possible. He expects to be there until the first of March. Dan one of this country’s outstanding tapers and has been working in the field for twelve years. Give him a call. You’ll be in good hands with the help of Dan! CETL Newsletter Review In a recent CETL newsletter, published by Maggie and Jules Harsch-Fischbach, AA-EVP members, Luxembourg, and translated Hans Heckmann, Maggie wrote: “Information for construction of a new equipment set-up increased Lately....Swejen Salter, one of their main contacts on the other side, said last summer, “The new equipment will only function properly when spiritual progress guaranteed among men.” A comment from TECHNICIAN, another main 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena contact, important to all members of AA-EVP, well as others who begin their taping efforts from a strictly scientific basis. He said, “This person could not make any contact because he approached Transcommunication from the technical side.” In her newsletter, Maggie quoted the report of Herbert Spirik, Vienna, in his taping experiences. Mr. Spirik feels good weather conditions are helpful. He said that the personal condition and spiritual attitude of the

tapers and other participants are important. A destructive attitude by someone in the group can put a “brake” on good communication. Voices are mostly captured with the mike sitting near a radio receiver. EVP voices are “transformations” of these radio transmissions. MD Taping Group Being Formed! Gene and Jan Simonds, new MD AA-EVP members who joined after reading Voices have already started taping with positive results. I have met with Jan several times and listened to one of her tapes on which there were three good quality EVP voices. They are eager to start a MD group to meet in their home at a mutually convenient time. Give them a call: 301-757-8859, Or write: 620 Bay Green Drive, Arnold 21012. News from Members Phyllis Butcher, District of Columbia, in her letter to me before Christmas, wrote she and her husband were being transferred by the Navy from Norfolk, VA, to Washington the first of January. In October 1987, she taped “Rapid tour.” Since her husband was not scheduled for transfer until September of ‘89, Phyllis said it was indeed a prophetic message. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, has taken the first section off of a three-section spirit trumpet and slipped it over her mike on the stand. She wrote, “Spirit noticed and the following came through: “Love that trumpet,” “The trumpet lovely feature,” “Efficiency” and “Trumpet every day.” In the next taping, Clara commented that they really seemed to like the trumpet. There was one loud clap—like hands—and then Callie,

her chief contact said, “Gives energy. Those of you who have visited my office or have read Voices know that I use a metal funnel at the end of my long, narrow mike. I bought this over eleven years ago at the local hardware store, and as I wrote in Voices I’ve never taken it off because the voices immediately improved in loudness and clarity. It is Clara’s and my thought that some of you might like to try the same thing. If you do, let me know the results. Jean Lodge, NY, joined after reading Voices and has resumed taping after several years absence from her tape recorder. One evening she asked for the names of her mother’s sisters, only knowing the name of one of them: “Viola.” The name, “Harriet,” was taped. Later, Jean found some old family records at the County Courthouse. There was a photograph included in the records that showed a picture of a grave stone with “Harriet” on it. She had died in 1893, at the age of four. Jean’s mother was born eight years later so hadn’t known Harriet either. Later, on tape, Jean taped, “Aunt Harriet loves Judy,” followed with a “Bow-wow.” Jean wrote that “Judy” was the name of her pet dog who died many years ago at the age of nineteen. Shirley Matthews, UT, has also resumed taping. She wrote that when she first joined the AA- EVP in 1985, she tried taping for six months without results so became

discouraged and discontinued her efforts. In December, she began taping again and her results have been better than expected. Shirley said she is trying a new technique. She put a blank tape in her answering machine and switched it to messages. There is a steady beeping sound. Shirley feels the sound acts as a beacon to the other side and thought other members might like to try the same thing. She thinks it would be interesting to compare results. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Oddur Sigurdsson, Maine, called recently concerning a lecture he was giving about EVP at a nearby church. During our talk he said he had made a variable speed circuit for his reel-to-reel tape recorder. It is not difficult to find this feature on portable tape recorders, but I had never heard of one on a reel recorder, and often wished I had this to slow down or speed up messages that come through at unusual speeds. Upon question, Oddur said he uses step resistors in his circuit and this circuit is plugged directly into the motor of his tape recorder. Anyone with a bit of electronic know-how should be able to build a similar device. Dennis Taylor, WA State Coordinator, wrote that he and his wife planned to go to Portland, OR before Christmas to meet Monty Hearon and his wife, Bobby, Co-State Coordinators for Oregon. They hoped to pick up some recording tips from Monty. When Dennis

contacted the WA members, he found that he had already met one of them, Ellen Pugh, at a Spiritual Frontiers Retreat eight years ago. Valerie Tjaden, NJ, wrote that in November, she and her mother held a group taping session with Victor DeVincenzo and his wife, Geri, who are also members of the AA-EVP. They received several clear statements: “What do you think I am?” “You can feel” and “Frankenstein.” A few days later, her mother worked a “jumble puzzle” from the Saturday newspaper. The puzzle was about Frankenstein! Valerie wants to have monthly group taping sessions. Two Conferences There are two upcoming metaphysical conferences scheduled n the near future that I think you would find interesting and helpful to you in your own personal growth. The first, is the annual Winter Festival from February 10-12, held in Orlando, FL. It is sponsored by Spiritual Advisory Council, of which Paul Johnson, an AA-EVP member is the founder and president. Some of the noted speakers are: Brad and Sherry Steiger; Kenneth Hurst; Frank Tribbe; and Meredith Lady Young, author of Agartha The second conference I can recommend will be held April 6-12, at the Sheraton Lakeview Hotel, Louisville, KY/Clarksville, IN. It is the third intercontinental Seth and metaphysical conference and the focus is Spiritual Sight and Healing Visions. The co sponsors are: Peter Moscow and Joyce Kovelman. Some of the outstanding presenters are: Coral Polge, psychic artist; Anna Mitchell-Hedges with the world famous crystal skull, along with Carol Davis who will

do channeling with the skull; Budd Hopkins, one of this country’s leading investigators in the field of UFO research; Bryce Bond, internationally known Spiritual Healer; Martin Wenzel, who contributed two special papers to our AA-EVP members on audio and video taping; and Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach who will be at the conference for twenty-four hours. They, along with Martin Wenzel and Walter Uphoff, of New Frontiers Center, will spend Friday afternoon describing their work in Electronic Visual Phenomena, and conduct some experiments. Please! Many thanks to all of you who send me news clippings. I frequently use them in our newsletter or pass them on to others. In the future, please write the source and date of the clipping. It is important to know the background and give proper credit. Winnie Peters, MD AA-EVP member, and are continuing plans for our early March trip to Egypt. Look for a report in the Spring NEWS, and other special features. Deadline for contributions to our Seventh Anniversary newsletter, is April 8. Odds and Ends 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1989 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Another anniversary! Another milestone! Our seventh one

to be exact. Some people (although I’ve never learned why) look upon seven as being lucky. I guess I have to agree with them, at least as far as the past seven years are concerned. The first newsletter which was four pages long, was mailed to twenty-five members in ten states and Canada. At that time, little did I think that our membership would grow over 800% from 1982 to 1989. On page 3 of that first newsletter an incorrect address was given. I crossed it out with my typewriter and typed in the correct one, for all twenty-five copies, plus ten for good measure. Even then I hoped we would grow but I didn’t dare dream it would be to such an extent. For some reason, I decided to make membership applications and membership cards yellow. A psychic told me later that yellow was a sign of confidence. If so, it was my subconscious that was so endowed because, if truth be told, I was not sure we would ‘fly.’ Membership, per Se, has never been the most important factor to me, but members have always been of primary importance. l have been chided upon occasion for the amount of time I spend in my office, or the two to three hours it frequently takes to personally answer a letter. “Use form letters,” I’m advised. Yes, I do, whenever possible, but so much can’t fit into a formula. People are not stamped out of a mold but each is

an individual with his own unique problem, grief, or concern. Form letters are totally unsuitable in such situations. A brief rundown of what has occurred in the last seven years as a result of the AA-EVP would include: Three national conferences; trips to Egypt and England; my book, Voices of Eternity, radio, TV, and newspaper interviews and lectures. But are these things really important? Like membership versus members, they are secondary. The impact that some of those activities have had upon individual lives is what I hold closest to my heart. Your letters, and letters from the hundreds who have written just one time to let me know that an interview, a tape demonstration, or my book, has given them comfort, hope and bettered their lives is, in the end, all that counts. Someone said yesterday, “A lot of good things are happening to you lately.” I replied, “Yes, but all of those things bring added responsibility. Nothing is free. There is always a price to pay.” I often think about those first twenty—five members. Some are still with us. Others have made their transition. They had hope, as I did, that the AA-EVP would become a viable organization. Even before the first newsletter, they joined. Somewhat belatedly, I decided that for being so trusting, they deserved a membership card. I quickly designed the card and then scrambled around trying to find a printer who, I hoped, would be ‘in tune’ with our ideas. When I found one who wore

his astrological sign around his neck, I decided he was the one and so he has remained through the years. Seven years ago I wrote, “This is Your Association.” I have expressed the same thought almost every year at this time. It is said a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is why our NEWS from the beginning has been member orientated, and I am trying to move more and more in that direction by having members contribute articles. We made a start in our Winter newsletter. We are including even more in the Spring NEWS. I hope you like this. We have come so far together. There are other roads left to travel. Let us travel them together, sharing what we know, giving comfort and hope to those in need, and showing that there is light at the end. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena What EVP Has Meant To Me With our Winter newsletter, I mailed requests to some of our members that they write a segment about what EVP has meant to them. This seemed appropriate, I wrote, since we would be celebrating our seventh anniversary with the Spring NEWS. In the group, some were tapers, some not. Some joined the AA-EVP the first year. Others, more recently. I tried to get a good cross-section of our people and they responded admirably. In fact, so admirably I have far more than I can use in one

NEWS. Since I don’t want to cut their comments more than is absolutely necessary, I have decided to extend this feature into future newsletters. I will go down the list taking the names in alphabetical order. To everyone who took part, my deepest gratitude. I think all of our members will find your remarks interesting and heartwarming: “Most religions encompass the teaching of the survival of the human soul. Yet, when confronted with such evidence as spirit communication, many people tend to dismiss it as unreal, or to be afraid of it. Fear is understandable! But the limits it imposes saddens me as it becomes a denial of the essence of self; of what we are and of what we will become. “The Electronic Voice Phenomena has been a deeply rewarding experience for me, both spiritually and emotionally. It has taught me the uniqueness of individual personality as it continues after death, and as a result, I feel more respect and tolerance for those on this side of the veil, as well. “It has expanded my awareness of the need to make the most of our lives while here, and has made me more in awe of the many things that are, as yet, beyond our comprehension. “Most important, those on the other side continually stress the importance of love and God. EVP has been a beautiful experience and I am very grateful to have been able to be a part of it!” Carol Barron, MA “EVP has further confirmed

to me the continuity of life. It offers a mental challenge to those willing to learn and develop an expanded consciousness. EVP messages can give important information, support and comfort to individuals. I appreciate the AA-EVP which gives guidance (that) can make these benefits available to all who are ready for such a valuable experience.” Virginia Bates, VA Mankind’s history has been the product of his confinement to planet Earth and to his physical body. No matter the dearest and most secret desires of his soul for the finest and most noble qualities of life, it has been to the sustenance of that body and its physical environment that his efforts, of nece and priority, have been directed. Even the sacred tenets of the Bible have seemed out of reach compared to that reality. And so he has not realized the sort of world that Book envisions. His master has been the demands of physical existence and he has had to confront, and contend with, the worst of man inherent in, and inspired by that condition. Now, through EVP, he sees open a window to possibilities elsewhere he thought impossible to Earth. He begins to comprehend that what he longed for all this time--the release of his soul from the bondage of the physical universe, and acquiring the finest and most noble qualities of existence--might be possible after all in another but far more productive dimension offering freedom from Earth-type and body priorities, where the dictates of the soul are

master and his potential for good in a place of unbounded beauty are limitless. This is what my membership in the AA-EVP has meant to me. It has been, and remains, that window to greater promise than we imagined before its inception--with a view looking at new and expanded possibilities for the mind and spirit of man.” Richard Busse, IN “When I first started with EVP it was to be proof, for me, that there was survival after death. As a devout Christian, life after death had been, always, a matter of faith. But now, through EVP, I was going to prove it to myself. Granted a very selfish reason, but at that time it was important. The one thing that has been constant, throughout my worship of God, is that you ask for proof and you always get more than you bargained for. Which was exactly what happened to me. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Indeed, I found survival. And I found what survived. I even got a few answers as to how and where. What came through, loud and clear, in a hundred different ways, was love. That those who have gone on, come back out of a love and caring for us. We reach out with love--they return with love. Sometimes to prod us, sometimes to protect us, sometimes to preserve us and always to teach us. What I have gotten from working with EVP is that love never

dies, it continues and it grows. Something a lot of us have given lip service to over the years, and really had no idea what we were talking about. But the greatest love of all is that God allowed me to hear the voices, feel the presences and find one more way to learn in this classroom, Earth.” Phyllis C. Butcher, D.C. Rosalba Harris-LIBERANT A letter has been received from Clara Monsimer, sister of Rosalba Harris, that Rosalba made her transition on March 14. She had been ill for over a year with cancer and knew the end was approaching. All of us will remember with gratitude, the excellent translations Rosalba did for us from the Italian EVP newsletter, Metafonia, published by Virginia Ursi, AA-EVP member in Milan. I had a special fondness for Rosalba from our second trip to Egypt when she was a member of our group. She had a dry sense of humor that lifted all of our spirits and everyone tried to help Rosalba find an Egyptian cat that she so wanted to take home. Unfortunate” because of the quarantine laws, this plan fell through. At one point, we went around the group and told about something for which we were especially grateful. Rosalba said she was grateful for having the AA-EVP come into her life. To the end, she remained interested in all we did. She would call now and then, and the last time she called was just a week before I left for

Egypt. Althouqh Rosalba’s membership renewal was not yet due, she was concerned about this and said her husband would mail it, which he did. I knew as we talked that I would not hear her voice again. Mrs. Monsimer wrote that Rosalba never stopped worrying about others. She reminded her husband not to forget to give her sister a birthday gift. At 3:30 A.M. on March 14, she told the nurse, “The time has come, don’t worry, all is well.” With that, Rosalba’s spirit returned home to the Spirit world. Joy to you Rosalba. We know all is well! All of us have read about Near Death Experiences (NDE). Paul Seaman, one of our new members describes his in the following segment. Near Death Experiences My Near Death Experience by Paul Seaman, Hawaii On a hot, sunny, humid Hawaiian day in1978, I went for a 30-minute jog at a park in Honolulu. The temperature was ninety-one and I jogged without a hat. As I finished my run, breathless, several men along the beach looked at me strangely. I wobbled to my Volkswagen, peered into the rearview mirror and saw a face as white as a sheet. I was chilled and my heart raced. That evening I woke at 2 am. I was weak and faint. My pulse had climbed to 150; the beet was wildly erratic. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread, of finality. “Damn, I’m going to die,” I thought to myself. I passed out and found myself

rocketing through a long, dark tunnel. I shot through the end and floated into a limitless black void. I felt a profound sense of peace. A sparkling cloud of light 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena appeared. “You have died,” a calm, emotionless voice told me telepathically. “You will pass to another existence.” “I’m not ready to go,” I replied. “Can I go back? I have so much to do!” “You can go back,” the shimmering, luminous cloud of light said after a moment, “this one time.” Again I found myself hurtling through the cavernous, black tunnel. A moment later I awoke in my bed. My clock’s luminous hands pointed to 2:45 am. I was lying in a pool of sweat. My heartbeat was normal. I fell asleep. In the morning my doctor said I’d had a classic dose of heat prostration. I was lucky I hadn’t died as one runner already had. Psitrons What causes some people to be especially sensitive to psychic experiences? Why does one person living, or visiting briefly, in an apparently haunted place see apparitions, hear ghostly talk and footsteps, while others in the same location never see or hear a thing? Three weeks before I left for Egypt, Martin Ebon sent me his interesting book, Mysterious Pyramid Power edited by him and published by Signet in 1976. When I wrote to thank him, I said his gift was “apropos...a possible case of syncronicity?” since I was leaving

for Egypt on March 5, which he hadn’t known. Most of us are familiar with the curse of Tutankhamen which was on an alabaster vase taken from his tomb that said, “Death shall come on swift wings to him that toucheth the tomb of the Pharaoh.” Howard Carter had tried for sixteen years to discover the tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Finally, in November 1922, with only four days left on the permit for excavation, Carter made one more try and found the buried stairway leading to the tomb. Most archeologists seem to escape tomb curses with little difficulty, but the situation resulting from Tutakamen’s tomb was far different, It is true that some, such as Carter himself, suffered no ill effect from their connection with the tomb, while others died unexpectedly, even violently. The Earl of Carnarvon, who financed and collaborated with Carter in his work at the tomb, was bitten on the face by a mosquito as he emerged from the tomb. This was unusual because the Valley is mosquito—free due to a lack of water. The bite became infected; Carnarvon developed pneumonia and in less than ten days, was dead. It is interesting that before Carnarvon went to Egypt the last time, two psychics strongly recommended he not go and that his life would be in danger if he persisted with his work on the tomb. In the third chapter by Gordon Thistlewaite, Thistlewaite wrote about the late Adrian Dobbs. the mathematical genius of Cambridge

university. Dobb’s theory may help explain why some people have a psychic or mediumistic experience and others don’t. Dobbs saw a transfer of psychic energy in sub-atomic particles he named pistrons. Quoting from the chapter, he wrote, “Such a particle carries a “bit” of information to a critically poised neuron in a receptive subject, causing the neuron to fire. A chain reaction is set up; other neurons become involved and the subject perceives. The only condition for the interaction is that the first neuron be critically poised when the psitron hits.” The author postulates that the maliciously charged psitrons saturating the tomb of Tutankamen fired poised neurons in receptive nervous systems and passed harmlessly through others. Nearly three years after Carnarvon’s death, Tutankamen’s mummy was unwrapped and examined by pathologists. They found a wound on the cheek, exactly like the mosquito bite that had caused Carnarvon’s death. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Journey to Egypt From March 5 to the 19th, I visited Egypt for the third time. As always, Egypt has a special charm for me that never fail to enchant. Winnie Peters, AA-EVP member from Annapolis, went with me and also discovered that Egypt has its own unique charm. The conditions on this trip were different from my first two trips. The group was excellent in many ways and I felt fortunate to be a part of t. There were sixty-five of us, which was far too large to do

much in a metaphysical sense. This was fine for the people who were only looking for a trip to that fabled land. There were some, however, who expressed to me near the end of the trip that they wished we could have focused more on the metaphysical aspect; that we could have shared metaphysical experiences of the past and those that were occurring during our trip. Several of our group members had memories of past lives where they had lived, and in some cases died violently, in Egypt. They needed help with these unfolding memories and I, along with one or two others, did what we could. Our group leaders, Larry and Sandy, were conscientious and well organized. Everyone felt we had received from the trip what had been promised. The two Egyptian guides that went with us everywhere were also conscientious, thoroughly nice men, who were eager to share with us their wealth of knowledge of Egyptian history. The peaceful days and nights traveling on our large, modern Nile ship, were especially welcomed. There was a good mix of activities; days of high activity followed with a day or two when those who wished could relax. There were unexpected, somewhat amusing incidents such as that which took place the second night at our hotel, the Mena House, in Cairo I was awakened at 1:30 A.M. by a noise at the door. Getting up, I saw a message had been slipped under it. It was a Fax-gram, and my first

thought was that it was for Winnie or me and concerned someone in our family back home. My concern turned to astonishment when I saw it came from one of the chief residents of Buckingham Palace. No, she hadn’t written to Winnie or me, but to two other people staying at the Mena House. (The devil made me read it)! The next morning when I handed it to the manager and said this had come to our room by mistake, I thought he would have apoplexy. His grasp of English deserted him completely. Did I tape any voices? Yes, a few, but because of the size of the group, and the lack of opportunity to get off by myself for the necessary time and quiet, it was difficult. One of the first messages I taped was when I held my portable tape recorder against the outside wall of the Great Pyramid. Tourists are not permitted inside because of repairs that are going on. When I told the invisibles I had returned to a place I loved, a clear voice said, “I’m very glad you’re here.” USSR Academy Of Sciences The Institute of Scientific Information of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow, has contacted me. They requested I send them information about the AA-EVP as well as a recent newsletter. I was pleased to do this. In addition to the fact sheet I mail to people who inquire about our Association, I mailed the Winter newsletter and also the newsletter

for Summer 1986. This described my second trip to Egypt. It told how the group learned about the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl and the next morning how we had formed a circle in the Western desert, each member giving a personal affirmation that our planet find peace and be healed. Looking at Books Tina Laurent, AA-EVP member Wales, has sent us reports of two interesting books. She quotes from Psychic Phenomena by Bradley: “Electromagnetism is involved in the mechanics of the reliving function of the brain. Researchers have suggested that electromagnetic recording of these neurological memory 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena impulses could be picked up and preserved on magnetic tapes and we could ‘replay’ from our library any recorded past experiences at will. From Omens of Awareness by David Tinsley. Baird Spalding, a traveling research engineer, organized a group of twenty-six dedicated men about eighty years ago. One of Spalding’s friends was Steinmetz, who had known Edison. The group invented a device they called “Camera of Past Events.” Their first success was the filming of George Washington giving his inagural address, showing all of the dignitaries present on the platform and Washington walking back and forth before them as he spoke. His voice was also on the sound track. They filmed many other events from history. True to esoteric tradition the camera has faded from sight. At the end of her book reports, Tina said that the “Camera of Past Events”

reminded her of Chronovisor This is also a ‘camera’ capable of filming past events and reportedly developed by Padre Pellegrino Ernetti, a member of the Benedictines who teaches Archaic music in Venice. Chronovisor was mentioned in the Winter and Spring 1987 newsletters as a result of information sent to us by Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member in West Germany. A press release for Ken Webster’s book, The Vertical Plane was sent to me recently by Ernst Senkowski. Ernst wrote that he “found it a fascinating report in many instances. Strongly recommended reading.” The book describes Ken’s many contacts for fourteen months through his computer from an entity who lived during the sixteenth century in’ the home where Ken was and still is. Poltergeist activity was also involved most of the time. The entity answered Ken’s questions and a close relationship was formed between the two of them. Contact was ultimately made with an enigmatic entity called ‘2109.’ All of this was witnessed by others. I will contact Grafton publishers in London to see about making the book available to interested AA-EVP members. Microphone Box Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine AA-EVP member and his wife, have regular ‘sittings’ in their home in order to have Spirit communication. At times they tape good quality voices of the unseen. He recently sent me the diagram below of the box they use to enclose their mike. You may want to try similar experiments. The size of the box depends on the size of the mike used.

Rupert wrote, “This is the mike box I am having success with. I believe EVP is similar to the old trumpet meetings only requiring much less power. The box (may) give an area to build up power.” Luxembourg Report Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, has kindly translated a recent C.E.T.L. newsletter for us from Luxembourg. Maggie-Harsch-Fischbach wrote that TECHNICIAN, their chief contact from the other side, advises tapers and researchers to pay special attention to the development of new devices; that it should be a priority. The newsletter also described a tape recorded session, (sent by Ernst Senkowski) that took place with Hans Otto Koenig and others in Buedingen, West Germany. The communicator from the other side said: “Love and patience are very important for your contacts....A stream of energy (helps) to build a bridge with earth...Your loved ones be not 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena alone but are of the same vibration within the energy field...Damage to the material body has no influence on the astral body...” Hither and Yon It is not yet time to hang up my traveling shoes. The Centro Milanese Metafonia group in Milan, has invited me to lecture about my book at their third International Conference the last weekend in May. Ernst Senkowski will also take part. In June, I will again pack my suitcase and go to Lake Forest College, IL. Paul Johnson, founder and president of Spiritual Advisory Council is holding his fourteenth conference

there from June 18-23. I have an advance copy of the program and it is outstanding. On Monday evening I will lecture about my book and then for four afternoons present an experiential workshop titled, “How to Tape Voices from Other Dimensions.’ There are many excellent workshops, lectures and activities planned. Registrants can stay in the college dormitory and have meals in the dining hall. For old and new friends, try to come. Let’s celebrate this time together! News from and About Members Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, said that on the day of an elderly friend’s funeral, she came through and said, “Carol, I read a paper!” followed by her name. Carol said this might seem like a strange message, but the woman was totally blind at death. In spite of this, she prided herself most on her ability to keep up with current events. Carol had a newspaper beside her while taping and commented her friend’s voice sounded like her. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, said that one day while taping, she remarked to Callie (her chief guide) that many people believed EVP wasn’t real. He replied, “They doubt the gift of heaven missions.” Clara heard about the death of her Aunt Lucille a month after she had died. Shortly before this, Clara made a recording to which she hadn’t had time to listen. When she played it back a voice said, “Lucille is sleeping.” Clara and I feel this is evidential because the message came before she

knew about her aunt. Howard Ruess, TX has very kindly sent me a number of books about PSI phenomena from his personal library. Most, I had not read. Others, were out of print or difficult to find. I am grateful to Howard for his generous gift. Jan and Gene Simonds, MD, held a group meeting in their home on February 21. Over a dozen members attended and I had the pleasure of meeting some of them for the first time. We discussed the general field of PSI, the personal experiences we’d had along this line, and made two recordings. Even though nothing came through, we felt we had benefited by meeting and exchanging ideas. Valerie Tjaden, N.J., wrote that they have had another group taping session at their home. During a separate taping session, they recorded the voice of a young child sounding panicky, calling for his mother. It is Valerie’s thought that they taped the child’s voice during his transition or that it might have been a memory left in the house by a previous family. Warren York, TX, works in a Research and Development lab in Electronics. His special interests are in the field of gravity and Scalar Waves. It is felt by Warren, as well as some other scientists, that Scalar Waves may be the ‘missing link’ between the ‘real world’ and phenomena such as EVP. He has been developing and testing equipment along this line with results that can be replicated. Warren and his work has

been mentioned in several books such as: Mind Over Matter and Psychokinesis, both by Adrian Clark; and Excalibur Briefings by Lt. Col. Thomas F. Bearden. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In another letter, Warren wrote that his computer system is now working twenty-four hours a day and he is eager for AA—EVP members to contact him through this. His computer BBS number is: 915-833-0405. The number for his home phone is: 91 5-581 -3931. Warren said he has found that the members who have already contacted him are, “...very warm and open people. I hope I can help them with their studies as they have with mine.” Membership Report With a paid membership of over 200, fifty-four percent are men. Members live in thirty- five states, the District of Columbia and thirteen countries. Maryland has the most members with twenty-three. California is right behind with twenty-two. The countries are: Australia; Canada; England; France; India; Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands Antilles; New Zealand; Phillipine Islands; Sweden; Wales; W. Germany. Enclosed is a separate sheet about a very exciting World EVP Conference to be held in Basel, Switzerland in November. Read it carefully and know, if at all possible, you’ll be going with me and other AA-EVP members! Odds and Ends Deadline for the Summer NEWS is July 1. Thank you for the last seven years. Without you, it couldn’t have been done. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result

of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1989 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Mid-summer and the days are hot. Our tomato plants, as usual, are the talk of the neighborhood. Presently five feet tall, they grow and grow and grow. Fancifully, consider climbing them as Jack did with his beanstalk. What would I find if I did? Would I find a giant, like Jack, who wanted to eat me? Would I have to use my trusty ax to chop the vine down as he chased me back into my world, thereby bringing about his quick end? I think not. My world of fancy is a beautiful world of light, peace and love. There are no mean, blood-thirsty goblins in this world but individuals who show kindness, warmth and acceptance. At a meeting I recently attended, Jim, one of the participants, asked: “If I am mugged sometime and it is apparent the mugger is going to kill me, should I kill him first, which will save him from committing the sin of murder, but putting my own soul in danger? Or, should I let him kill me, saving my soul but in the process have him lose his?” Forgetting the instinct for survival, I’m not sure how Jim’s question should be answered. Perhaps it is unanswerable. How would you

answer it? We are an organization focused on objective contact with other worlds. We encourage research that leads to bettering this type of communication. We feel a commitment to let others know about this communication and what we have learned as a result. It is not amiss, though, to consider to a certain extent, some of the larger philosophical issues that lie beyond life and transition. It is wonderful to have objective tools that give us knowledge but does it stop there? What do we do with our tools? Do we dig ditches with them or will we try to carve a “Pieta” like Michelangelo? In the last three months I have traveled thousands of miles, taken part in two conferences (a third, in Colorado, had to be turned down because I was in Rome at the time), lectured about my book: Voices of Eternity taught a four day workshop on how to tape voices, gave two interviews for television, and met hundreds of people. I mention this last because to me that was the most important. Few people would deny that language is an important tool. Used correctly, it can stir the hearts of man to do great things; to seek peace and understanding among humankind. Incorrectly used, it can lead to misunderstanding, incite riots, can cause murder. It is a tool, however, that isn’t always needed. Two months ago, my husband and I were in Italy. Our grasp of the language was nonexistent but we got along well.

True, many Italians knew a smattering of English, but smiles and gestures on our part, as well as the Italians we met who tried very hard to be helpful, got us there and back. Language would have smoothed the way, and would have helped us understand better the inner feelings of those with whom we spent time, but the smiles and the hugs from the Milan conference let us know we had touched each other’s hearts. I have always had great faith in the innate goodness of most people; less faith in governments. In the scheme of things, governments are a necessary tool needed in order to keep a country running. How often have we seen this tool misused? It is unfortunate that many of those who govern lose sight of what is in the heart of everyman, that the tool they have been given in trust would find no place in the world of the Michelangelos. What EVP Has Meant To Me In our Spring newsletter, we started a r series in which some of our members described what EVP meant to them in their lives. I mentioned that those who responded to my request had done such an excellent job that I didn’t want to shorten their replies more than necessary and so would continue the feature in future NEWS. Many members in their letters to me have said how much they enjoy the new series. Continuing to go alphabetically, Betty Evans writes: 1 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “It proves to me that there is no death but an ongoing existence that is beyond comprehension. In 1948, my father died and in 1984, Mercedes Shepanek sent me a tape of my father’s voice saying, “This is Ilityd Evans speaking. This is Ilityd!” Mercedes put the Class A voice on tape three times. In 1988, Clara Laughlin received a voice saying, “This is illtyd, this is Ilityd”, which sounded exactly like the voice taped by Mercedes in 1984. I was thrilled to hear from my father. When he was young he lived in MN and was interested in Spiritualism. “In 1986, when I asked my sister Nell, who had died, how she liked Jessica, her new granddaughter, she said: “I like little Sissie.” That was the name used by Jessica’s two older sisters in referring to their new sister. I played this Class A message at our last national conference in Baltimore. “During the time Mercedes and I taped in the 70’s, Merce and I received many messages from Merce’s son, Ray, my Uncle Bledden, and other relatives of us both. We taped messages from people we didn’t know. One interesting entity who had an unusual name turned out to be buried along with his son, in a grave adjacent to Ray Shepanek’s. The following year in the law office where I worked, I heard one of the attorneys say that the relative of this man would be in later. I

will never forget my taping sessions with Mercedes and the joy I had from finding answers to things I had wondered about all my life. What a wonderful thing EVP is!” Betty Evans, VA “EVP proves there definitely is life after death although I have always believed it. I fear death less now than I did before. Our life has a purpose and so does death. To know we can reach our loved ones and know it doesn’t end at the grave is a joy. EVP means everything to me since I lost my husband. When a loved one dies a person will always say now they are happy, but when you hear your loved one say on tape they are happy you know they are.” Shirley Flamm, IL “The opportunity to learn about taping in July 1982, literally opened a new world for me. The first voices came in August 1982, with the introduction of husband, Tom, and channel leader Wm Callie, MD. We have “built a bridge” (their term) of communication with many so-called dead relatives, friends, neighbors, unknown and well-known entities. The experience of attending EVP conferences, meeting other devoted tapers, exchange of information via the newsletter, untold love and help from spirit and the passing of comforting and reassuring messages to grieving friends is a blessing beyond adequate expression.” Clara Laughlin, VA “Becoming a member of AA-EVP has made me aware that wonderful things can happen like hearing recently, for the first time, a faint but

audible voice saying, “Robert.” Having lost my son, Robert, two and a half years ago this is indeed a breakthrough. Receiving letters from AA- EVP members with their news is something I look forward to with great pleasure. Friends have been made. I am so glad to have become a member for a new world has been opened and there is much more to discover.” Ena & Jim Lloyd-Kitchen, England Has Arnold Barber Survived Death? The following notice was received from Arthur Berger. Perhaps some of our members would like to try and contact Arnold. “Arnold Barber is dead. He left a test message enciphered under a system designed by Arthur S. Berger called the “By the Numbers” Test for Survival. The key for the message is a single word. Barber intended to communicate this key after death to enable his message to be deciphered and so to provide evidence of his survival of death. “The Survival Research Foundation which is investigating the question of survival after death will pay $1,000 to the first person who sends the Foundation the word that will decipher Arnold Barber’s test message. “Please send any key word purporting to come from Barber and a description of how obtained to: Survival Research Foundation [Address Withheld].” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Transitions In the last three months two of our members have moved from life to life. The first, Louis Loinba from Massachusetts, joined our group in 1987.

A letter came from Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, saying his death was sudden and unexpected. She wrote: “I will miss him. He was forever sending me BLANK TAPES to tape on, and all the recent magazines he had read such as FATE. (He also sent) funny little notes with his special brand of humor. He really encouraged me in my EVP work. Wednesday, the day after his death, another magazine and note came from him. It was strange to get that, knowing he had died the night before.” We wish you well Louis and know that you will find great joy in your new life and there will be additional opportunities for you in your desire to help others. The second member to make a transition was a dear personal friend, Marjorie McKee. A letter came from her husband Dan, Illinois State Coordinator, in June, saying Marjorie had moved to her new life the end of May after a long period of failing health. Dan and Marjorie were charter members of AA-EVP and strongly supportive of all of our activities. I met both of them for the first time at our first national conference in Baltimore in 1983. At the conclusion of the conference they, along with Harold and Martha Sherman, came to our home for dinner and the evening. Many of you will remember Marjorie from that conference as well as the two following ones. She was vitally interested in objective communication with other worlds, and in spite

of physical problems, she was always cheerful, warmly greeting everyone who stopped by to speak. Several years ago, Dan and Marjorie stayed with us for three days while waiting for her appointment at Johns Hopkins hospital. During that time, it became even clearer to me that she never doubted for a moment that we survived death and would move on to another life in a world that awaited our coming. In spite of being completely blind the last few years of her life, she lived life fully. Now that she has gone home to the world, just a step away, I am confident (as she was) that she can see and fully enjoy all the beauty that surrounds her. A Visit to Italy From May 26 until May 29, my husband and I were guests of the Centro Milanese Metafonia in Milan, Italy. This excellent group is under the direction of Virginia Ursi and her capable assistant Saria Buioni. The international conference was housed in a beautiful hotel—conference center about an hour’s drive from Milan. Everything possible was done to make us feel welcome. To ensure we received full benefit from the outstanding speakers, my husband and I were given headphones and each talk was translated into English as it was being given. My own talk was immediately translated into Italian over the wall speakers as I went along. At the conclusion of the session, many of those in attendance came up, hugged me, spoke in Italian or halting English

as best they could. One person wrote a beautiful letter to me in Italian (which I later had translated) saying how much my talk, which focused on my book, had meant to her. Another person gave me a picture of his ‘Master” which cannot be reproduced. It is sitting on my windowsill as a reminder of the love I felt in Milan. During my stay, the TV station of Milan came and interviewed me for a special program they were showing the following week about the conference. Saria stood beside me and translated the questions of the producer into English and my answers back into Italian. It was a large conference with over 400 registrants. Our friends, Ernst Senkowski and Martin Wenzel, were there and gave talks. Martin had spent several days with us two weeks earlier in Severna Park, and it was good to see him as well as Ernst again. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Following the conference, my husband and I went to Rome for four days. We visited many of the well—known historical locations. I did a limited amount of taping and some messages came through. At the Colosseum, there were mixed feelings: desperation, fear, happy excitement and some guilt. This was no doubt due to the emotional differences existing between the spectators and those they had come to watch. Two messages came through, one Class A, “We love you.” Sitting quietly in the Sanctuary at St. Peter’s

Church, I had just explained that I was holding a tape recorder in my hand and could record their words if they wished to speak. A clear voice I can hear without headphones says “Recorder” followed a moment later with “We like you,” in a Class A voice. At the catacomb of St. Domitilla there were also mixed feelings. There was some fear, but it was largely one of quiet joy, of expectation. Leaving the roup, I went into a small room where there were candles and a cross. Inviting the invisibles to speak, three messages came through within two counters on my small battery operated tape recorder. The first, a male voice, said clearly, “We will watch her.” This was immediately followed by a Class A female voice that gave two messages: “With her.” “I go with her.” Our trip to Italy exceeded all of our expectations. Thanks to Virginia Ursi and her group for making it possible. An Interesting Letter From England Gilbert Bonner, an EVP taper of many years, and I have exchanged many letters. In his most recent letter he wrote: “I have had a request from a major university in the UK for tapes of my voices and other data they wish to study … I know they checked me out with the American Parapsychologist Dr. Braud.” Gilbert also commented about John Keel’s book, Visitors From Space published in the 1970’s. He wrote, “Some interesting points emerge that could be related to the EVP phenomenon.

For example, quoting Keel, “I have pointed out the entities obsession with time. Their behavior as described by various witnesses further suggests their problems in adjusting to our time frame, such as THEIR RAPID FIRE UNINTELLIGIBLE LANGUAGE noted by witnesses all over the world as sounding like a speeded up record on a phonograph. (This) could be caused by their failure to adjust to our time cycle... (pg. 173 V.F.S.) Gilbert wrote that over the past ten years he has had at least three sightings of UFO’s but has no theories and is careful in his approach to the literature of the subject. He feels, however, that we can no longer believe that we are either the center of the cosmos or its only life forms. An Idea for You? Carol Barron wrote that she had bought extra copies of my book. She keeps several for lending and gave them to ministers she know who she felt would welcome books of this nature. She requested they put them in their church libraries when they completed reading them. In this way, members of their congregations can receive comfort and help by reading Voices at special times of need. Every so often, Carol places information sheets about the AA-EVP in metaphysical books at nearby libraries. It is hoped that some of the recipients will go on to contact us and find out more about the Association. Luxembourg Report Many thanks again to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, who translated a recent newsletter

published by Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach of Luxembourg. Quoting from the editorial, Maggie, President of the C.E.T.L. wrote: “A worldwide ORGANIZATION FOR TRANSCOMMUNICATION is in the making. It will be necessary to coordinate the research groups of all participating countries in order to do justice to the questions and demands of people 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena from around the world. Contacts between dead family members and their relatives on this side need only few “energies.” These contacts are being supported by the harmony and affection of people who love each other across time and dimensions. If we want to spread T.C. in public and want experiments among large circles of people, we will not only be dependent on the help of higher powers but especially on the harmonious cooperation of all participants. At present it is our duty to first prepare a foundation for the broadening of T.C. This foundation will consist of a group of researchers who agree in mind and in their goals and are ready to live according to spirit guidelines.” Maggie, quoting Technician, their main teacher from the other side, wrote: “You may not like it, reincarnation exists. There are parallel worlds! Mankind evolves in a forever moving wheel of life. Reincarnation means progression forward not backwards. Animals too, are subject to the cycle of incarnation. A human body does not reincarnate in an animal body. There is a purpose for sickness and infirmity. Do not judge

the fate of other people. Those individuals have selected a life of suffering for their incarnation.” Maggie wrote that they have learned that life forms such as higher, non-human beings are far removed and different from us. According to Technician, some of them are not aware of us and yet all living beings on earth are connected with them; no matter how many different forms of life exist in the cosmos, they are all part of a whole. Man can open him/herself to positive as well as negative power. Dealing with the supernatural can therefore help one person while it may do damage to the other one. This and That “Izvestia,” the Soviet government’s official newspaper, finally decided after almost ten years that the ‘death’ of Mrs. Yuliya Vorobyeva’s in the Ukraine was news probably because two doctors reported it. In 1978, she was ‘killed’ by a 380 volt shock of electricity, was pronounced dead, and spent two nights in the morgue. But she revived, stayed awake for six months, and then fell into a long, deep sleep. When she finally awoke and resumed her day to day life, she wasn’t normal. She was strongly psychic, she could see into people, or through them, and she could even see through things as solid as roadways. When the two doctors examined her, she gave one of them a correct diagnosis of his physical defects. When “Izvestia” interviewed her, she ‘saw’ what the reporter had eaten for lunch. (Spiritual Frontier Journal, Fall

1987) What was the Light? In our Spring newsletter, Paul Seaman, HI AA-EVP member, shared with us his near-death experience. In my note of appreciation, I asked what he thought the light was. In his reply, Paul wrote that he has a degree in philosophy and is a confirmed Episcopalian but he felt much of what Christ said had probably been distorted by organized religion. As a result, he has difficulty accepting the Christian concept of God. Quoting him in part, he wrote: “I feel there is a sense of coherence in the universe, of a vast, regulated energy system (regulated by what? Who knows?) that has within itself a sort of intercommunicative capability, and that sense of communication pervades all of human consciousness. That ‘communicative stuff’ in human consciousness has a role in generating concepts of good and bad, morality, human relationships, society and so on. So what I perceived as a white light probably was my consciousness linking up with the great transpersonal consciousness, if you will—that profound energy system at the core of everything. The feeling I remember having when encountering the light was not one of reverence, really, but one of great calm and peacefulness, a kind of sensing of “Oh, yeah, here it is, at last.” I’ve 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena essentially lost any fear of death so in that sense, maybe I’m more relaxed and accepting about things. I hope that I have become a

bit more tolerant of the foibles of others.” Lake Forest Conference Paul Johnson, Founder and President of Spiritual Advisory Council Longwood, FL, invited me to give a lecture and teach a four-day workshop at his yearly conference held at Lake Forest College in Illinois. The campus is beautiful. Towering oak trees, grassy lawns, old buildings melding with new, give the college that has been a part of the community for 100 years, a feeling of peace and contentment. For six days, our group lived in one of the dorms and ate in the college dining hail. Worry about what was going on away from the conference was forgotten. Stone benches, under shade trees dotted the campus readily available for quiet contemplation. I could have spent the summer there. Lovely setting aside, this feeling of happiness would not have been possible if those attending the conference had not brought with them warmth, love, acceptance. Most registrants had been there before. Their joy at seeing each other again was obvious and I frequently heard, “This is my second home. I’m back home again!” New attendants were quickly welcomed and made to feel an important part of the group. Having organized and presented three national conferences myself, I am well aware of the tremendous amount of pre-planning that starts months ahead if a conference is to be successful. The Lake Forest conference under the direction of Paul and his wife Mary Kay, was successful in every aspect. An outstanding program staff had been

lined up for lectures and workshops. Paul had suggested I lecture about my book. It went well. The eight copies of Voices that Paul brought to the conference for the book-room were sold within several days. My workshop: How to Tape Voices was an on-going four-day workshop. Although the group wasn’t large it was enthusiastic, with two people going to town the second day to buy tape recorders. We made two recordings during the four days. Everyone in the group received a message, or a special sound, indicating the other side was trying to come through. Mary Walczak, a new AA-EVP member, called on her teacher “Master Michael.” A clear tonal male voice, that you could hear without headphones, replied, “This is Master Michael.” I also had the pleasure of meeting other AA-EVP members for the first time. Richard Busse, Indiana State Coordinator, stopped by Sunday evening on his way home from weekend reserve duty at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. We spent several hours together and had dinner discussing many aspects of the AA-EVP and communicating with other dimensions. Virginia Elmgren who lives in Lake Forest and is on our cross-country list, attended my lecture and took an active part in our EVP workshop. We had many chances to talk and although there was sadness when it came time to part, there was joy knowing that we now had a place in each other’s heart. Besides the yearly conference at Lake Forest, Paul also has a Feb. Winter

Festival in Orlando. His monthly newsletter is interesting and mentions other activities taking place in various locations. Dimensions in Parapsychology Bryce Bond, of New York City, lectured and taught a four-day workshop at Lake Forest. He has distinguished himself through his work in spiritual and psychic development as well as being an outstanding healer. Through his weekly cable TV program, “Dimensions In Parapsychology,” Bryce has interviewed many leaders in the field of PSI. He brought his equipment to the conference and filmed most lectures. On Wednesday, sitting on a bench under large oak trees in 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena front of the stone chapel, Bryce interviewed me for sixty minutes. Focusing on my book, and my discoveries in the last thirteen years in taping, it will be shown over seven cable stations on Saturday morning the end of July or first of August. If you live in the NY, NJ or CT area, check your listings for time and station. Book Look Eugene Maurey, IL AA-EVP member, has just published a book titled: Exorcism—How To Clear At A Distance A Spirit Possessed Person. In it, Eugene tells how he has ‘cleared’ many people possessed by negative energies. He uses a pendulum to help him and then sends them on their way. Eugene also tells how you can do the same thing. It is an interesting book. Betty Riley and I shared a suite at Lake Forest. Meeting for the first time,

I came to know Betty as a warm, caring and sincere person. She focuses on helping people look at life more clearly through her contacts with those in Spirit who bring special insights to those seeking her help. Betty’s book: A Veil Too Thin Reincarnation Out of Control, describes her previous life in England several hundred years ago. It is much more than your typical reincarnation book. Thoroughly researched by Lucy C. Huie, a competent researcher of Atlanta, the evidence presented is convincing. I think you will find it fascinating and well worth reading. You may order it for $2.95 from: Valley of the Sun Box 38, Malibu, CA 90265. News from Members Ingeborg Frank, New York, reported that she was looking for: Beethoven’s Letters by Dr. A. C. Kalischer. Returning home, after locating it, she checked her telephone answering machine. To her astonishment, she heard several musical measures from Fur Elise, Beethoven’s well-known composition. In a recent letter from Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, Monty wrote that he had heard from his friend, Raymond Bayless, psychical investigator and author. Raymond is interested in EVP and tries different taping experiments. In a recent experiment, he had a mike touch the side of a plastic container which was upside down on a hard surface. Monty tried several experiments lasting five minutes. On playback, he heard 15 loud raps and a voice saying, “Hello.” Monty’s conclusion was that the use of the container did give many raps, but the mike did not

have to touch the container as long as it was about an inch away. You may want to try this experiment and see what happens. Walter Sherbrooke, CA, has sent me a picture and information about an electronic board he has developed. Called COMPU-PSI, it is similar to an Ouija board but Walter feels is far superior. He reports he has received messages through it from Spirits. Switzerland Adventure Our plans to visit Switzerland from Nov. 5-13, to attend the international Technical Trans— Communication Conference at Basel, are progressing. Several people have made reservations and their places are assured. The trip, starting with four days in Lucerne, will be outstanding. This is your opportunity to see a beautiful country and take part in an excellent conference at the very reasonable cost of $1550, conference included! Don’t delay in signing up for the trip. Deadline is September 2! Let me hear from you. Deadline for the Fall Newsletter is September 30. Odds and Ends 7 Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Fall 1989 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Let’s look at some quotes by well-known individuals who express so eloquently thoughts many of us have but have never been able to put into words. In my younger, more foolish days, I wrote poetry. Emily Dickinson was (and still is) a favorite of

mine. Although Emily has fallen somewhat out of favor with critics, she expressed many of my feelings and I still have an inner warmth when I read her poems. One time she wrote: “The world is not conclusion; A sequel stands beyond, Invisible as music, But positive as sound.” Ah, yes. For those of us who accept survival of consciousness, we say, “Amen” to what Dickinson wrote, but was she correct? Are we whistling in the dark trying to keep thoughts of final dissolution at bay? Perhaps we can relate more to F.W.H. Myers, early psychical researcher who wrote: “The question for man most momentous of all is whether or no he has an immortal soul or whether or no his personality involves any element which can survive bodily death.” That is the eternal question for a number of people. We hope Dickinson’s faith is reality, but the more pragmatic person accepts Myers. Norman Cousins’ comment is accurate for many. He wrote: “Death is not the enemy; living in constant fear of it is...” Since starting to tape thirteen years ago I have met many ‘whistlers in the dark.’ For some, I have been their last hope that I could convince them that their consciousness continued beyond the grave; that there is a sequel for all of us to move into, once the physical body dies. I always take this responsibility seriously. As I try to work with these people, some almost consumed by fear or grief because of the

death of a loved one, I have learned they don’t want the pabulum of reassuring words from me; they want proof. Sadly, one man’s proof is another man’s evidence, or not even that. I understand how they feel and empathize with them to a certain extent. There is so much in the voluminous literature on survival that gives me pause. We won’t go into what I consider weak--I could write a book about that subject alone-—but I will share with you some of that which I feel is strong evidence of survival of consciousness. (1) Death Bed Visions—the ‘Peak in Dairen’ cases as mentioned on pages 17 & 18 of my book Voices of Eternity (2) Apparitions—those that are genuine and not wishful thinking. Unfortunately, it is not (3) (4) (5) always easy to determine into which category a report falls. Cross—Correspondence--We have some of this in our taping. See pages 45 & 46 in Voices Possession—those that are genuine, but it is extremely difficult to be sure about such a case. Electronic Voice Phenomena—the Reverse Voices especially, making the category, as far as I am concerned, proof. Many of you will wonder why I didn’t include another category. It is because, to me, it is weak, or not as strong as the five I have presented. As a result of early childhood traumatic experiences, I did not come early or easily to accept a belief in survival. Now I do, and largely because of the five categories listed. My

belief is stated on a card sitting on a window—sill above the desk in 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena my office and written by R.W. Raymond: “Life is eternal; and love is immortal; and death is only a horizon; and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.” What EVP has Meant to Me This is the third and concluding part in our series about what EVP has meant to some of our members. A number of people wrote that they enjoyed the contributions and hoped we would continue with future series. Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, said: “We all have the same thoughts but express them so differently.” “EVP has opened a doorway to a whole new world. The discovery that the process called “living” continues to exist after we die has dispelled a lot of my fears. I am always amazed by the information I receive when taping. It has provided me with questions, answers, comfort and enthusiasm to keep contacting our unseen friends!” Jan Simonds, MD “Involvement in EVP taping convinced me without an iota of doubt that life continues after death and those who have gone on are trying to help us. Words of encouragement and affection from my husband via taping are very comforting to me. “I am grateful to Clara Laughlin, a super taper who launched me on my taping endeavors. Her instructions were very clear and simple. EVP is indeed a doorway to

another world. “I want to add, the EVP conferences were also a very worthwhile experience for anyone interested in meeting other tapers and learn of their successes in reaching the Spirit World.” Anne Smisko, VA “I think that when most of us become members of the AA-EVP, there is an element of anticipation of one day hearing a deceased loved one’s voice on tape. And if or when that happens, it is a wonderful moment; in that instant, comfort and the protection of love which is so healing becomes a gift to cherish forever. “But my lessons fell into a different path. First, it came from within myself. After I learned that life really does move on after death, I felt a genuine sense of peace inside me which has helped to enrich my relationships with those I love. When I finally felt ready to tape, communication did open up to the “other side” and it was very exciting. But the surprising part of all is that EVP also opened up communication with people all around me. I’ve made so many new friends—lasting friends due to our common search for answers to the mysteries of life. “It’s been a marvelous journey that I know will never come to an end but will forever teach me about the goodness of life and what lies beyond.” Valerie Tjaden, N.J. New Series Starting-Contributions Wanted Since our first series has proven so popular with our members, with many saying they hope we will have

others, we are responding to your requests. Starting with the Winter Newsletter, we will begin a series titled: “Evidence For Survival” I would like as many of our members as possible to participate, and it is hoped the series will run for at least two to three issues. Ground rules: (1) Choose one or two areas (no more) that you think are evidentially the strongest that individual consciousness survives bodily death. (2) Give your reasons for feeling this way (3) Keep your contribution to a maximum of 200 words. (4) Type or print what you send. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena As always, I reserve the right to edit. Let me hear from you. Our members and I want to know what you have found the most convincing that life continues after we die. Special deadline for this series is Dec. 1. Metascience-Change in Leadership In a special membership update sent to all Metascience members around the first of August, George W. Meek, Founder and President of Metascience, announced a leadership change in the Foundation. George will remain Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and feels his “fervent prayers, extending over two years, for younger and capable hands to take over management of Metascience Foundation have been answered.” Thomas R. Love, Ph.D., is the new President of Metascience. He and his wife, Jeanne, live on a 40 acre farm thirty miles from Buffalo, N.Y. Dr. Love’s Doctoral degree is in mathematics and

he wrote his dissertation on The Geometry of Elementary Particles. Dr. Love says that he personally channeled important portions of his thesis. Tom and Jeanne, who is a highly developed telepathic channel, have worked in Unity churches in several areas in the U.S. He will accompany George to the conference in Basel, where George is giving a lecture. In this way, Dr. Love will be able to establish personal contact with old and potential new members of the International Advisory Panel for Metascience. We wish Tom well with Metascience and our very best wishes, along with high personal regards, are extended to George and his wife, Jeannette. Metascience has always been an organization that was interested in exploring further the mind, body and spirit of man and his relation to this world and worlds beyond. Communications from/about Edcar Cayce? Edgar Cayce is known by everyone who has any interest in the world of PSI as one of the greatest psychics who ever lived. A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment) of Virginia Beach, VA, has continued trying to further his aims by holding a number of seminars and workshops each year. The many ‘readings’ he received while in a sleeping trance are preserved in a large library on the grounds of the Association and are available to all interested persons. Some years ago, I felt I had taped contact about Cayce when a Class A male voice said, “You take care of Edgar Cayce.” I believed the message meant that Cayce

had come to my taping session and someone was being told to help him (perhaps) find a seat. Later, when I asked about this message, two more Class A male voices spoke. The first said, “Clarify that,” followed a moment later with, “That’s my man. Disciple.” I inferred that the second speaker looked upon himself as a disciple of Cayce. (Pages 98 & 100 Voices) In the last three months, several letters and tapes have come from Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator. Apparently, she also has been the recipient of taped contacts about and possibly from Cayce himself. Some of the messages are: “I hear you. Edgar Cayce.”“We’s love to work with you. I can develop.” “Carol we are crossing the line.” Since I didn’t want to influence her, I made no comment except to say I felt the messages were excellent Class A and sent the Cayce messages I had recorded to her. To me, Carol’s message, “Carol, we are crossing the line,” was very close in tonal quality to, “That’s my man. Disciple.” When Carol wrote back, it was clear that she felt as I did when she remarked that she found a striking similarity in the unusual high pitched voice of the two messages. She played them side by side and feels they are “too similar to dismiss.” 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Carol wondered if I knew whether any tapes existed of Edgar Cayce’s actual voice. I suggested

she contact Hildy Becker, VA AA-EVP member, who works as a volunteer in the A.R.E. library. Carol did, and Hildy said there is a brief, faint message of Cayce’s voice when he was alive, placed in the library. Carol has mailed a copy of her tape to Hildy for further comparison. Hildy will also send Carol a tape of Hugh Lynn Cayce’s voice, since he supposedly sounded very much like his father, Edgar. Luxembourg Report In a letter received from Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, President of the C.E.T.L., she wrote: “I totally agree with your thoughts in “FROM MY VIEWPOINT.” Having had similar experiences, I often think mankind stays to be like babies but in the wrong way. To explain (transcommunication) to them reminds me of teaching colors in kindergarten.” (Maggie teaches Kindergarten aged children). Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, continues his much appreciated translation of the excellent C.E.T.L. newsletter. In one issue Maggie wrote, “To be able to advise us, non human entities adapt themselves to our life form and occasionally accept incarnation to live among us. The same is true of those higher beings who have again incarnated on earth. As they adopt a human body, only part of their total self has incarnated. They become subject to all the limitations of the human body; i.e., weaknesses and sicknesses. They are distinguished by their inner strength, wisdom and strong will, but sometimes they also exhibit sensibility, sensitivity and obstinacy. These beings stand out from an idle apathetic mass of people

they are sometimes misunderstood and usually go about doing good. If they have not withdrawn from others they usually try to get people together to make them happy and create harmony by the strength of their abilities and talents. They accept humanity where others suppress it. The love of higher beings for man distinguishes their thinking and behavior. The other side tells us there are many beings with many forms of life. Each is important in their own way. Obsession/Possession I ended the Luxembourg Report in the Summer Newsletter, quoting a message Maggie Harsch- Fischbach had received from the other side with: “Man can open him/herself to positive as well as negative power. Dealing with the supernatural can therefore help one person while it may do damage to the other one.” When I began taping in October 1976, I dismissed the possibility of obsession, feeling I would never become obsessed with anything. Possession was also shrugged away with a rather blase attitude. I felt no one would become possessed unless he ‘opened’ himself to this. Just what it might take to open oneself was somewhat vague in my mind, but I was sure I didn’t have it and it would never happen to me. Fortunately, my eager but lighthearted approach and superficial faith that I’d be protected by someone if something out there was waiting to jump in and possess me, was well founded. I’ve never had a problem with possession or obsession. My personal life is far too busy

to become obsessed. Possession? I was so skeptical of the taped phenomena when I began taping, I didn’t even believe I was taping voices from (anywhere) the first few months they spoke. If something wanted me, it would have had difficulty finding a toehold, let alone a foot—hold. Now, thirteen years later, I can look back over the years with perspective and great deal of thankfulness. I was protected, for various reasons, which I won’t go into. During those years, I have known or heard about hundreds of tapers. Over ninety percent have had no problems, but there are some that have. I have always been concerned for those that find themselves in difficulty because of taping. This concern is expressed on pages 194-196 of Voices where I go 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena into the matter of possession and obsession. I cannot stress too strongly that there are some people who should never become involved with any area of the paranormal--as I wrote, “it is similar to a child playing with dynamite.” Obviously, no one starts taping, automatic writing, or playing with the Ouija board, thinking he will become possessed or obsessed. But it can happen. As I wrote on page 196 of Voices “The difficulty is in ascertaining who is susceptible, which is an uncertain venture at best.” I am not trying to frighten people who are thinking about beginning to tape, or are in their early weeks or months

of attempting to establish contact. Working in the field can bring some of the most rewarding, enriching experiences of your life. It would be amiss of me, however, not to caution you about the darker side of PSI. Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything that comes through. You have your liars on the other side, as you have here. The more they realize they are getting you upset, the more they will continue. Human nature being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are there, when in fact, there is nothing. The important thing though is, if a person believes a message is on tape, he will respond to it for better or worse. If anyone at any time thinks he is in contact with low level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control at all times. Anyone can sit down to tape. It takes much more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away. Help for You Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, is very active in his local Presbyterian church. Upon two occasions he has been invited to give a course in their adult education at the church on the psychic. Each course had nine one—hour sessions and were well attended. He entitled the course, “Adventures in the Spiritual World.” Basically, he answered two questions: “Did miracles stop with the Bible?” (No)! “Is there modern evidence for the survival of spirit after bodily death?” (Emphatically, yes)! Monty said he still has all of

the material and could send it to anyone who is invited to give similar talks. Although he didn’t request it, I am sure you will want to send Monty a large, self-addressed stamped envelope (better put $.65 on it) and $2 to help cover Xeroxing expenses, if you want a copy of the material. His address: [address withheld]. Healing in Russia A letter came recently from new Canadian members, Howard and Carolyn Reed. Howard wrote that they had just returned from a group tour to Russia that included stops at Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev. Howard said that Russia is very open to metaphysical ideas but uses non-spiritual terms such as bioplasm. A healer appears each morning for thirty minutes on the government operated TV. N.J. State Coordinator Valerie Tjaden has accepted my request to become the State Coordinator for New Jersey. Many of you are already familiar with Valerie and either took part or purchased her excellent booklet: Communications With Deceased Loved Ones published a little over a year ago. I have always been impressed with Valerie’s warmth, sensitivity and compassion. In her letter of acceptance she wrote: “Being a Coordinator puts me in a position to give support, understanding and care to those who want it, and that is truly something I enjoy. The AA-EVP stands for so many good things, and I will do my best to convey this to the New Jersey members.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Can’t

Find Voices Some members have written or called saying they are having difficulty finding Voices of Eternity. There’s a solution to your problem! Go to London. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that she had bought six copies of it at Watkins Bookshop in London!! If London is a little far for you to go, try closer home. The November issue of FATE Magazine, gave a reasonable and fair review of Voices. They are also selling it. To order a copy, send $3.95 plus $2 for postage and handling to: Venture Bookshop-[address withheld] Could It Be? Most people feel that life, as we know it, cannot exist in other worlds. What we have learned from our space probes tells us this. What about the countless number of U.F.O.s flying helter- skelter through our skies and reported seen by thousands? How about all of the books claiming close contact with space brothers (or devils) and the (fortunately) two-way trip to World XYZ? At one time I found such reports highly suspect. If the writer was sincere, and he usually seemed to be, then I sent out a wish that he would soon be cured of his mental aberration. In the middle of my hoping that the unfortunate be cured, I started having my own contacts. Chapters 13 & 14, in Voices goes into my experiences with worlds, not thought of as spirit, so I won’t do it here, but only mention that I heard from several known places such as Alpha Centauri on

both sides of my tapes. Saying so, obviously doesn’t make it so, and I am extremely cautious about vocal claims, or inner-belief that the worlds, mentioned on tape, did in fact communicate. Messages aside, there was a good deal of evidence, described in Chapter 14, that I indeed had many contacts with different worlds. Edelgard John, West Germany, who has been a member of AA-EVP since 1983, wrote after reading Voices “What you write about voices from other worlds fascinates me for I also have voices I am sure are not from the so-called dead ones. You write about Alpha Centauri. I have someone speaking quite long who begins with: “Centens are here! We are here to love. Scared ones from earth. Tomorrow we are at the surface of the earth of the clock-time. We are jetting.” In another letter, Edelgard noted, as I have, that voices from other worlds are “mostly much louder than from the so-called dead.” A letter came recently from Jutta Liebnann, a new friend who lives in Bielefeld, West Germany. She writes that she has had many loud, clear taped contacts from space. Her entities claim to be from the Ashtar Sheran Command originating from a planet called Metaria in the Alpha Centauri range. Some also claim to be from the Sirius system. Jutta commented: “I am very surprised to hear and read that years before and still now, other researchers world-wide have got similar messages from space without knowing from each other!” In her

letter, Jutta wrote that her space messages on tape are clear and their “source of emitting energy seems to be much stronger than those compared with spirit contacts.” She also noted that there are “significant differences concerning acoustics, topics of messages, pronunciation of words, phrasing, background signals and especially the duration of these messages.” All of this has been observed in my own contacts and mentioned in my book. I by no means accept all reports, written or otherwise, of human contact with space. Much is still suspect. I do believe, though, that we are in contact with many worlds, and some of those worlds, along with Spirit, are able to speak through a tape recorder to some tapers. The idea may be mind boggling, but if they have the ability to travel from their world(s) to ours, as they seem to, being able to communicate on tape would surely be a very simple task to them. Could it be that they are taking this additional way in an attempt to prove that they exist, and should be as real to us as we are to them? 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News from and About Members Robert Camburn, PA, has had two items published lately in Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship newsletters. His beautiful poem “The Singer” was in the June newsletter, and his excellent article, “The Everlasting Reality” was in the September newsletter. Robert Hyner and his wife from Western Australia are

two new members. In his first letter, Robert wrote that he and his wife have been taping for years and have had many contacts. Their best results seem to be on a small, pocket size, cassette recorder and their poorest on their Sony reel to reel tape recorder. In his second letter, he said that they are concentrating on the ‘good’ entities and try to protect themselves with light and a prayer. Robert. commented: It seems as if the higher developed souls have greater difficulties in communicating. Their vibrations are much higher and maybe they have problems in lowering them in order to get their voices on tape.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, has written that she has been working with a new VA member, Ann Longmore, to help her learn how to tape voices. Already, Ann has had her first breakthrough with a voice saying, “We hear you! She was using a fan as her sound source and plans to experiment with other sounds. Ann has strong mediumistic gifts and has been actively in contact with spirits for some years. She is excited at the idea of now having their objective voices on tape. Tina Laurent expects to move from Wales to Ireland soon. Recently, she and two friends were walking through a graveyard. The church was locked and no one was nearby. They stopped by the headstone of the former organ master, Willis, who died ninety years ago. Standing there for about two minutes, they invited the unseen

to make themselves known. Later, on tape playback, they heard music which sounds like an organ, with chorale singing. It continued until they moved on. Ernst Senkowski, West Germany, wrote that his book: Instrumental TransCommunication will be published this month. The main part consists of 200 pages, along with 40 graphic charts. In addition, 100 pages will deal with documentation of important T.C. contacts. It will close with 120 pages of supplement (remarks, references, listing of literature, and index). The book is written in German. Dennis Taylor, WA State Coordinator, wrote he has contacted the two new members in his state. Nicole Buchannon and her daughter, live near Dennis and they have visited since joining the AA-EVP. Dennis reports that Nicole’s taping is going well. He and his wife have a metaphysical bookstore and growth center. Dennis feels his fourteen years as a psychical researcher and his training in the Hospice movement, will be helpful to the AA-EVP members in his state. Switzerland Adventure Up-Date Our trip to Switzerland is less than a month away. The group is small but there is enough enthusiasm for 100 people. For everyone who considered going but decided to pass, we’ll miss you. Our hotels in Lucerne and Basel are putting out the welcome mats and I suspect there may be a few tears when it comes time to say, “Auf Wiedersehen” to our Swiss hosts. The Basel PSi Days program is finalized and is outstanding in every way. Members of the AA-EVP are

an important part. We are looking forward to meeting Jules and Maggie Harsch— Fischbach again, Ernst Senkowski, George Meek, and meeting Dr. Vladimir Delavre for the first time. Our good friend Martin Wenzel will also be taking part in the program and we are eager to touch bases with him. I will be teaching two workshops and along with George Meek, will be involved in a discussion group, In English, on Friday evening, titled: “Technically Supported Transcommunication.” They will be wonderful days. Look for a report in your Winter NEWS. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Do Your Shopping Early! The holidays are right around the corner. What better way to remember a special friend than by using the enclosed membership application to give him a year’s gift membership to the AA- EVP? Think what your membership has meant to you. He’ll make new friends through the quarterly newsletter and cross—country list, if he chooses to be on it. Just let me know what special holiday is to be celebrated, and I will send an appropriate card and membership card at the correct time telling him it is from you! Deadline for the Winter Newsletter is December 15. May your holiday season be filled with love, warmth and peace. May you rejoice in knowing you are cherished by others here and beyond; that you are never alone. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result

of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1990 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here I sit at my desk again looking at my new calendar, the start of a new decade. Much has been made on TV and in the papers the last few weeks about the 80s, and the beginning of the 90’s. Just think what it’s going to be like in ten years when we arrive at a new millennium! What will our thoughts be, what will our world be like, when we first look at our calendar that shows January 2000? The buying of a new desk calendar each year is important to me. Symbolically, I know that this represents days and months of events ahead of me. There will be laughter and tears; surprises-some pleasant, some I’d rather do without. There will be some things during the year that will cause me fear and that I wonder if I can meet with courage. Some of those days will bring pleas for help, pleas that I hope I can answer with a willing and understanding heart. So, you can understand, perhaps, why I start looking for my new yearly calendar months ahead of time. It must “speak” to me. My calendar this year is about Roads. Each month shows a picture of a beautiful road,

with an appropriate comment. Some are especially noteworthy. January presents a lovely snow covered road, with “Our future is limited only to the roads we travel” written beneath it. Ah, yes, how often have we wondered what our life might have been if we had taken a different road in the past that brought us to today? We must live today to take us to the future. The road we choose now will lead us to what is to come. This suggests that we must pick our road carefully but at the same time, we must have courage to face new paths that would not limit our growth. What does my calendar say for February? “Roads, like our dreams, keep us searching for what is over the hill... around the next bend.” I have said before that life should not be static. Each day is a transition, a bridge from the day before to the day beyond. I think there is a need for contemplation; some would call it meditation, others, prayer. Whatever, you would call it, I think it is necessary for each person to make time for a quiet assessment of where he is, where he wants to go, and then find the road that is most likely to take him to his dreams realized. March suggests that, “New opportunities dawn with each new day.” Yes, obviously, but how many snatch at, or create opportunities during the day? How many go to bed at night and think, “Just

another day?” To me, such a thought is an insult to God. For April, we are told that, “Sometimes we must step apart from our world to find our place in it.” I suggested this for February, but I should add that we can never divorce ourselves from our world, our society. Whether we like it or not, we are an integral part of it. What we do, or don’t do, affects it more than we realize. I always keep in mind that one person can make a difference and this gives me hope. “To some, roads are only the paths to a destination; to others, they are the adventure themselves,” suggests June. Are you going to endure life, or are you going to find the courage to move out, to face the unknown in spite of fears and greet the adventure of life with open arms? July brings us, “When the road you’re traveling isn’t going where you want it to, step out in a new direction.” This is similar to what I wrote for June. Have courage! Believe in yourself! September: “I seek the road that leads me toward the far horizon.” How often I have written words to that effect, but as I said at our national conference in 1987, “A horizon is nothing more than the limit of our sight” What road will you choose? In the end, we must each choose our own road. No one should or can, do it for us. Whatever road

you take, may it bring you joy. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Do We Survive? A member wrote to me that she is having doubts about whether we survive death. Her question has come about because so many people say that they’ll return to a loved one after they die, and then they never do. “X” has experienced her own lack of communication from those she loved. She closed her letter with, “I now do not know what to believe... have you anything to tell me?” In replying to X, I wrote that I felt many times the loved one did return, they tried to give a clue, but the person was unaware that this had happened. I said that coming through on tape, or any way else, was difficult and that some spirits apparently didn’t, or couldn’t, for whatever reason. It could also be that the higher level the spirit is on, the more difficult it would be to communicate I also reminded X that the contact they were attempting might be so subtle that it could easily be missed. Since writing to X, Dennis Stillings Director, Archaeus Project and a member of the AA- EVP, sent me a book that he has edited titled: cyber-biological studies of the imaginal component in the UFO contact experience. One of the chapters, contributed by Peter Rojcewicz, although focusing on the UFO experience (or lack of) could well apply to why the majority of

people feel they have not had contact with a deceased individual. Quoting briefly, Rojcewicz writes: “We need to understand the mind’s contribution to reality to appreciate how the mind both organizes and invents what is real. There exists a threshold of perception beyond which our senses cannot perform. Because our eyes are selective, we all must learn how to see. What we see is significantly shaped by what we have already seen, by the laws of our cultural “maps.” Evidence for Survival In the Autumn Newsletter, I requested that our members choose one or two areas that they felt were evidentially the strongest that individual consciousness survived bodily death. I am grateful to Robert Camburn of Glenside, PA and Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator for responding. Robert wrote: “I think that the near-death (NDE) and the electronic voice phenomena (EVP) give the strongest, that is the most rationally supportable and generally acceptable, evidence that human consciousness survives death. The full NDE experience (all reported stages) produces a vivid impression of after-life existence and, following resuscitation from “death” (frequently doctor certified) often or usually leaves an individual transformed psychologically and spiritually including a loss of fear of death through certainty of survival, and with feelings of unconditional love toward all. Even an incomplete or partial experience includes a sense of separation from— and therefore independence-of the body. The established unusual quality of normally unaccountable EVP voices and the content of some recorded messages, offer impressive evidence that the voices are those

of discarnates demonstrating survival. Both of these evidences of survival are most important because they do not hint of suspect mediumistic or telepathic coloration, or fraudulent production, strongly suggest survival and have achieved a significant degree of respectability among careful and methodical investigators.” Monty Hearon wrote: “Death-bed visions are of several types, including: Visions seen by the dying of persons unknown by them to be dead, death-bed visions seen by others and visions of the spirit of the dying person leaving the body. Perhaps the strongest evidence of survival of the spirit is the first type mentioned above. Frequently, knowledge of the passing of the person seen had been withheld from the dying person because of that person’s terminal illness. Many of these occurrences had many witnesses. It is very difficult to explain such occurrences except through the concept of survival of the spirit. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Almost as strong evidence for survival are the experiences where both the person dying and one or more witnesses see the figure of one who has already passed on and has come to welcome the dying person. There are many examples of witnesses seeing the spirit leaving the body of the person at the moment of death. For further information on this subject reference could be made to Sir William Barrett’s book, Death-Bed Visions re published in 1986 by Aquarian Press, and to What They Saw at the Hour of Death by Karlis

Osis and Erlendur Haroldsson published by Avon Books in 1977.” Communications with Deceased Loved Ones I talked to Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, who compiled the above named booklet for our members in 1988. It is filled with many heart-warming accounts of those who have made their transition and continue to be aware and reach out to loved ones left behind. A number of the reports were contributed by AA-EVP members. Valerie is willing to have it republished for those interested. To order a copy, send a check for $8.22 U.S. residents, $8.49 Canada, and $12.27 for overseas—-all payable in U.S. funds, no later than February 15, to her at: [Address withheld] Ghosts at Fate! Many of our members, as I do, subscribe to FATE magazine. As you know, Curtis Fuller, who began the magazine many years ago, sold it recently to Lleweliyn Publications. Shortly before Christmas, I sent a 3,000 word article to them titled: “Have Tape Recorder: Will Travel.” It describes my experiences and messages that came through while I was taping in the field in such places as Egypt, England, Italy, Westminster Church in Baltimore, and President Woodrow Wilson’s home in Washington, D.C. Within a week, the managing editor called and said they liked the article very much and would be publishing it in a future issue. As we talked, the Editor said FATE had just moved into a new building and from the disturbances going on in the basement, they felt they had some ghostly spirits.

I was requested to send my How-To paper to them, that I offer free of charge at the end of the article, to anyone who contacts me. The Editor stated that as soon as my paper came, they would take a portable tape recorder to the basement and, following my suggestions, try to get rid of their ghosts! The paper was mailed later that day. You Don’t have to Wait! If you would like a copy of “Tips For Trips” that I will mail to the readers of the article, who request it, send me a self-addressed stamped business size envelope, and I will mail it to you promptly. News From and About Members Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, sent me a copy of the tape which Hildy Becker, VA, had mailed her that has the only example of Edgar Cayce’s voice. Hildy is a volunteer in the A.R.E. library in VA Beach, that holds the Cayce recording. Carol hopes to be able to have a voice print made of the messages she and I have received about Cayce and also the tape Elildy sent, so a comparison can be made. Dr. Eli Feldman, N.Y., a retired psychologist, devotes all of his time now to collecting evidence of survival after death. In January he sent me clippings of several interviews he has given to N.Y. papers about his interest. He holds classes in his home for people interested in survival. Jeff King, a new member from New Zealand, sent me

a tape recently. He taped for months without many results but has discovered that by using an electret mike with 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena running water as a sound source, the voices are coming through better. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that she also has Edgar Cayce on her tapes. He usually speaks when she requests healing for people. Recently he told her, “This is Cayce from the vivacious seventh.” Clara wonders if this means Cayce has moved to the seventh level of the spirit world. Tina Laurent, Wales, called and said that London TV has interviewed her. In February, they will devote an eight minute spot to her work in the field of voice phenomena. Jean Lodge, N.Y., wrote that she is sometimes surprised how much those in other dimensions know about what goes on here in the physical plane. Several months ago, she sat down to tape, while wearing a red hat--something she has never done before. The message came through: “This is Alvin. I love you. I love your hat.” Jean said that Alvin was her boyfriend when she was a young girl and had died four years ago. Valerie Tjaden, wrote that she and Victor De Vincenzo and his wife Geri, two other N.J. members, hope to have another taping session soon for interested N.J. members. Valerie said that her mother, Irene Maletsky, is having good results taping while she is working in the kitchen. She,

like Jeff King, uses running water as her background sound source. Greta Van De Carr, a new member from N.Y., is a Senior at Cornell University majoring in communications. She is taking a year off from college to work on her Senior thesis. It will be about communicating with earthbound spirits. During the year she will travel to famous haunts in the U.S. that have strong paranormal activity. Greta hopes to tape many voices during her travels. Bill Weisensale, CA, included a letter with his renewal. He wrote that he is still working on the electronics of trans-reception, and is convinced it can be done. Switzerland Adventure 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Our nine day trip to Switzerland exceeded every expectation. The days we spent in beautiful Lucerne were all too short. On Tuesday, our limousine and Swiss driver drove us to the famous Benedictine church dating back to 946, located in Einsiedeln, over an hour away. The church houses the Black Madonna, to which many miraculous cures have been attributed. During the drive, we saw the lovely Swiss countryside with picturesque homes, and each of us agreed that the picture postcard reputation the country has is well deserved. Wednesday, we took a train to the foot of Mt. Politus and from there, a cog railroad took us to the top of the high mountain. Surrounded by snow and ice, our view was breathtaking and unobstructed as we could see for miles

the rolling hills and valleys with homes and villages below. Thursday was the beginning of the second part of our Swiss adventure. Our car and driver picked us up early and took us directly to our excellent 4 Star hotel in Basel. The Hotel Europe, located almost across the street from the conference center, couldn’t have been more convenient. We quickly made ourselves at home and then went over to the Center to complete registration. Everything was handled quickly and smoothly and we were soon ready to start enjoying four wonderful conference days. There is not room to begin to give you a full report about how outstanding it was. Leaders in the field of electronic trans-communication lectured and taught workshops. The main language was German but headphones were provided with simultaneous translation into French, English and German. Our AA-EVP members played an important, active part in planning the conference and in presenting lectures and workshops. Dr. Ernst Senkowski, West Germany, was a member of the scientific committee and Program staff. He also gave a major lecture the first afternoon, acted as moderator on panel discussions, and together we presented a workshop on Saturday afternoon when I played a composite tape of voices sent to me. Dr. Vladimir Delavre lectured about “The Psychosomatic Effects of Electro Magnetic Fields,” on Saturday morning. A medical doctor living in Frankfurt, West Germany, we had exchanged several letters in the past and I had the pleasure of meeting him after his talk. His lecture

was followed with an interesting lecture by George Meek. Then, on Sunday, Jules and Maggy Harsch-Fischbach lectured and gave several tape demonstrations. My own two workshops were well attended. The first one was on Thursday afternoon, which I presented by myself. I spoke and gave many taped examples I have recorded around the world and also during experiments such as the sleep experiments. The group was large, very receptive and interested in my playing of the Voices, with a number of people coming up later to talk to me about my work. I had the joy of meeting other AA-EVP members, such as Luise Fuchs of Billigheim, West Germany. Luise, a charter member of AA-EVP, joined us in 1982. She receives excellent pictures through her TV from other dimensions which I have published several times in our newsletter. Luise reminded me that she was our first overseas member which helped make our Association international. Ingeborg Frank came from her home in Baden-Baden, and we had a pleasant visit. I was very happy to welcome two new AA-EVP members to our organization during the conference: Renate Scheller of Zell, West Germany, who has been taping outstanding voices for years, and Alfons Steiner of Vienna, our first Austrian member. They both asked that their names be placed on the cross-country list. The conference had 1200 registrations, but in spite of its size, it went smoothly with never a hitch as far as I could tell. It showed months of planning and work,

and the result was an exceptional, outstanding program in every aspect. As I mentioned on the final panel Sunday morning, which I had been asked to participate in, I was filled with admiration and grateful to the board for making a conference like this possible. We reached Basel, as the Berlin wall was starting to come down. You can imagine the electrifying excitement shared by all of us, as we were but a short distance from everything that 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena was happening. Being able to talk to those from other countries, sharing ideas and hopes together, reinforced my belief that we are all truly one. The focus for the November conference next year will be Paranormal Healing I am thinking seriously about going. Do you want to go along? From My Mailbag A letter came from Gilbert Bonner, EVP taper for many years. He said that recently he made a 1½ hour cassette tape about EVP covering his seventeen years of work, and sent it to every UK researcher he knows. In going over his recordings, dating back to the 70’s, he discovered some interesting voices that he had originally missed. Many of them spoke in sentences and called him by name. Gilbert said the majority of them fit well into the survival hypothesis and he feels all were from some other dimension. Jutta Liebmann of Bielefeld, West Germany, sent me an interesting tape of excellent voices that she

feels come from spirit and other worlds. She has used short wave for her sound source for many years and commented she believes those from other dimensions know how we tape and adapt to our individual methods. Jutta is fluent in many languages but tunes her radio to stations that use Hindi, Urdu, Chinese and Arabic. In spite of this, her EVP messages are largely in German, with an occasional message in English. It is significant I feel that Jutta’s messages are in her mother tongue, and not the language of the broadcasting station. In the Spring 1986 newsletter (page 3), I wrote how many skeptics of EVP say the voices we record are C.B. broadcasts, stray radio waves and so on. I commented from a bulletin sent to me by Alexander MacRae of Skye, Scotland. He wrote about taping in Calpe, a small town in southern Spain, and that none of his EVP messages were in Spanish, but everything came through to him in English. Book Look On page 2, I mentioned cyber-biological studies of the imaginal component in the UFO contact experience This was a project of ARCHAEUS. Dennis Stillings sent the book to me in December and I have finished reading it. The contents of the book consists of nine chapters (Stillings calls them “papers”) written by those who Stillings feels have something worthwhile to say about UFOs. In reading the book, I found the writers had presented their ideas in a careful, scholarly way. There is

much in the book with which I disagree but I approved the thoughtful approach. Although each writer admitted the phenomenon is extremely complex, the overall “tone” was one of skepticism that we are having contact with extraterrestrials. The book would have been better balanced, I feel, if Stillings had presented some papers written by serious investigators who think extraterrestrial contact is occurring and who have just as impressive credentials as the current contributors. Although the book is one-sided in my opinion, all those who are interested in the question would find the studies worth reading. We need to be open-minded about the phenomena, to which I personally feel no single answer will suffice but believe it could well be multi-faceted. To order a copy, send $8.00 to: [Address withheld] In Brazil, Ernst Senkowski kindly gave me a copy of his recently published book: Instrumentelle Trans-Konununikatin: Dialog mit dem Unbekannten. For any of our members who can read German, you will want to have a copy in your library, Hans Heckmann, PA AA- EVP member, wrote about Ernst book: “It is very comprehensive. It may well become the ultimate reference and workbook for serious Transcommunication researchers and experimenters. A great job!’ 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena If you are interested in ordering a copy, write to Ernst directly about cost. His address is: Eichendorfstrasse 19-D 6500 Mainz, West Germany Might It Work? When Dave Whaley, IL AA-EVP member, renewed his membership, he included

an interesting note. Quoting from it he wrote: “Is it possible that the voices can be taped at a different frequency, such as ultrasonic, and then converted to Audio frequency where we can hear them? Is it because the other side is at a higher vibration and when we record them, the voices have to lower their vibrations in order for us to record them?” I wrote back to Dave that he had asked a very interesting question. I reminded him that in my book, Voices of Eternity I had said that we felt those in other dimensions operate at a higher frequency and faster vibration than we do and must lower their frequencies and vibrations to come through to us. This helps explain, we believe, why the voices are frequently not loud and most messages are 3-5 words in length. In order to try to answer Dave’s question, I checked with a person knowledgeable in the field of electronics. This individual said you could put your mike in front of an ultrasonic generator while taping. On tape playback, you would (probably) hear nothing. If, however, you used a Down converter, that would lower the ultrasonic frequencies so you could, in theory, be able to hear any voices from other dimensions which had spoken. Unfortunately, Down converters are not easy to come by and they are expensive. The easiest and perhaps most economical way is to try to get a Leak detector, such as is used in automotive shops, or

to detect gas leaks and so on. You might be able to find a second—hand one in an Automotive magazine. If you try Dave’s innovative and, I feel, promising idea, let me know your results. I would like to report it in a future NEWS. Sac Winter Festival Paul Johnson, Founder and President of Spiritual Advisory Council, is holding his 11th annual winter festival in Orlando, FL from February 9-11. The focus of the conference is Journey Into Oneness. Martin Ebon, Nan Porter, Frank Tribbe, and others will be a part of the excellent program. Those in the “Snow Belt’ will enjoy a few days in a warmer clime. For members already living in FL, you are just a hop skip and jump away! For details call: ----. Some Words about Enclosures As is my custom each year with the Winter NEWS, I send the complete cross-country list to all those listed. Check it over. See who may live nearby and get in touch. You will find over 150 names. I continue to hope and encourage you to form small taping groups. Others, who know something about electronics, might want to work with one or two others in research and development of new equip to bring about more emphasis on instrumental communication with unseen worlds. Let us be a vital organization, not a static one. Only you can make it happen! Everyone will find a Book-Tape list enclosed. If you want any of the books, order soon. For some, there

is just one or two copies available. Odds and Ends We are looking for more contributions to our series: “Evidence For Survival” as found on page 2. Try to keep it close to 200 words. All of us want to read what you feel gives the best evidence that consciousness survives bodily death. Also, if you have an idea for a new series, please let me know. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 24. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1990 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Happy Eighth Anniversary to us! The Spring Newsletter each year celebrates this special time. It was in April 1982, that I wrote: “Greetings fellow AA-EVP members! We are on our way!” Now, eight years later, we are still on our way. You have made it possible Normally, with the Spring NEWS, we review in capsule form the past year and the years preceding it. This year I thought we would do something different, and so I invite you to visit the windowsill above my desk. Fortunately, it is a wide windowsill able to hold the 40-50 objects on it, and those of you who

have visited me in my office know I don’t exaggerate. You may or may not be interested in the state of my windowsill but its “life” began when I started the AA-EVP, and so you are responsible for many of the things found there. Since 1982, I have traveled far. Before then I’d barely left the state. Now, the miles traveled would take me around the world several times. Some of the trips were business-pleasure, such as the lectures and workshops taught about voice phenomena in Milan, Italy and Easel, Switzerland. Others, including the three trips to Egypt and then England two summers ago, were sponsored by the AA-EVP. Some of us took tape recorders to see if the unseen would speak to us in ancient tombs and temples; churches and castles, and we found they did! There are dozens of pictures and small objects on my windowsill. There is a crystal pyramid and a picture of the Cheops Pyramid. Each time I look at it I remember my first visit there and sitting on a stone ledge inside the entrance, waiting for the rest of my group. It was time for lunch and the guard took out his sandwich, which was all he had, wrapped in a piece of paper. He offered me half. How many of us, if we had been that guard having nothing in the way of worldly goods and probably very hungry, would have found the same generosity of spirit? When everything seems to pile

up on me with people asking for my help, and I am tempted to say “No”, I think about that guard and ask, “Can I do less?” A clay statue of Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, science and writing stands next to a small wooden cross sent to me from Jerusalem. In my day-to-day living, I try to keep the precepts expressed by both symbols in mind. There is a small clay plaque bought at an outdoor bazaar in front of the Temple of Abydos when I visited Egypt the first time with my daughter. “The real thing, Lady. It came from the Temple.” Everyone knows it didn’t, but each time I look at it, I’m reminded of what my daughter and I recorded as we sat separately in two rooms of the Temple. I got the “blessing” I requested, and Becky recorded beautiful, unusual music. There is a clay statue of “The Dying Lion of Lucerne,” that I found there the day before going on to Bagel. A statue cannot be imbued with life, it is not animistic, but the “Lion” expresses so well the grief that everyone suffers at times. Lest I get too serious, I look at the glass marble within several inches of the lion. It was given to me by Cindy, another daughter, after our last conference that some of you attended. This was to reassure me I hadn’t lost all of my ‘marbles’ during the preceding three days. A typical English cottage sits

to the right of the lion. It brings back memories of the AA-EVP trip to England in June 1988. It was a “magical” trip, filled with special moments as we explored the Tor, Merlin’s cave, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, and so on. If plans work out and we return to Switzerland in November followed by a week in England, there will be additional objects to add. To the far right of the cottage, there is the red rose still in its vase and mentioned on page 153 of my book Voices of Eternity. It was in the light of the sphere which floated in front of my window one summer night. It survived the visitation in better physical shape than I, but although 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena it is now dried, some of the redness remains and I would not dream of throwing it out. We shared too much together. And so, we come to the present. There is not room to describe everything on my windowsill; that would take several newsletters. Since my windowsill is an outgrowth of the AA-EVP and you are the AA-EVP, I thought you would like to see what you have brought about. You have enriched my life so much and I am grateful. Thank you! Fear of Death Not many people can face death with the equanimity of Emily Bront who wrote at age thirty, as death approached: “No coward soul is mine. No trembler in the

world’s storm-troubled sphere. I see Heaven’s glories shine and faith shines equal, arming me from fear.” A letter came recently from a new member who wrote: “I am one of those who suffers from an unreasonable fear of death. I hope through membership to prove to myself that death is not the end and in the process, to meet like-minded people who sound so adventuresome and so much fun.” We hope the feature below, which was begun in the Winter NEWS, will help this member and others who face the same doubts and fears. Evidence for Survival This feature was started with the excellent contributions from Robert Camburn, PA and Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator. I asked that other members send contributions to the series and I appreciate your response. We will conclude Monty’s contribution and then move on to the others. “EVP is strong evidence for survival. My wife, Bobby, and I were taping. She asked if there was someone in our contact group whom she had known but I had not. “Yes there is,” was taped. She continued saying she was thinking of a friend she knew in college. A male voice said, “That’s Marie Curnan.” Several weeks later, while taping, she again asked for someone whom she knew but I hadn’t. The answer came, “Yes, it’s your father.” The requirement was met since her father Oscar Olsen had died two years before we started going together. Two days later, I was taping alone and asked for Mr.

Olsen. He replied, “Oscar Olsen.” I then asked if he ever saw his wife Esther, who was in the hospital recovering from surgery. He replied, “I’m watching her all the time.” In the weeks that followed, I had additional messages from him in which he gave his name and when I asked if he had a message for Esther, taped: “I’m beside her. I’m with her.” Dorothy Elisson, ID wrote: “My father died seven years ago at age 82. Two years ago, I was awake and noticed the sun shining through the drapes. There, standing by my bedroom ‘door five feet away, was my father looking as he did at about age 45-50. He looked healthy and happy, and was solid because he blocked off of the wall as well as part of the doorframe. He was dressed as he was when he worked on the farm, wearing starched and ironed denim overalls, work shirt and a jacket. This was such a natural feeling seeing my father that finally I said “Hi” and then he was gone. “My mother also died at age 82. Two weeks before her death she told me she had decided to go on, meaning she had decided it was time for her to die. A week after her death I was alone in my office catching up on some paper work. I became aware of a presence and felt a great love. I looked around and asked mentally, “Mom is that you? ... You did

real well. Don’t be concerned about us here. We are fine. Just go toward the light because Dad and the others are waiting for you.” Then in my mind I heard my mother’s voice saying, “I can’t go on until you understand that I did love you as much as I loved the boys (my brothers.)” I had always felt that my mother favored my brothers over me but I had certainly never told her or anyone else that I thought this. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Then the voice said, “Things look different from this side.” In a few minutes the presence was gone and I finally knew my mother had loved me as much as she had loved my brothers, she just showed it in a different way. I felt a sense of comfort and peace.” Shari Langer, a new member from CA, wrote: “I would like you to know that there are not many people I can talk to about my experience, since there is much disbelief. So, you can see what a comfort it is for me to have someone to write to about this experience, how grateful I am about you and your group.” Shari then went on and described several incidents that occurred after the death of her aunt last April. She was devastated by this death because her aunt had been like a second mother to her after her mother died 27 years ago when

Shari was seventeen. The most significant incident happened one evening. Shari was in the den of her home where she had hung many of the pictures her aunt had painted. Shari continued her letter with, “One night I was praying and I said to God that love was stronger than death. I was staring at my aunt’s picture, just rambling, talking to myself and God. I was so up with God for taking her away. All at once my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the mirror on the adjacent wall. I turned around and right in front of me, I saw what I can only describe as a ghost, an apparition! There was a perfectly round shaped head, like a white cloud of steam or vapor. A neck, shoulders, half a body, no legs or feet. Standing over a chair so I could not see the bottom portion. You cannot imagine the comfort I felt. I can only say there must be a God, and there must be life eternal. I don’t: know if I would ever have pulled out of my depression if I had not seen that figure. I will remember it as long as I live!’ Bill Weisensale, CA, wrote about the many years of correspondence he had with Harold Sherman, who established the ESP Research Associates Foundation and wrote over 60 books. My own book is dedicated to Harold was a dear personal friend. Harold took part in our first national conference and when

he became too ill to continue with his Foundation, it became a part of the AA-EVP. Bill wrote that he had the opportunity to meet Harold in 1978 and continued with, “In the winter of 1988, several months after Harold had gone through the transition, on several occasions I thought I recognized his voice on recordings. When I asked about this I was told “Yes Bill. He talked to you,” and “He is here now.” When I asked if there was any message he would like me to relay to his wife, Martha, I was given a brief two-part message about him by another male voice. “When I sent this message to Mrs. Sherman she replied that they had not set up any verbal code but that a friend in Florida who is not a taper (and whose existence I had not known about) had received exactly the same message telepathically from the other side. I will not say what this message was as it is possible it may also be received through others. In my opinion the message is unusual enough that it could not possibly have been coincidence and that therefore its’ only possible origin is Mr. Sherman himself.” Bill has told me in confidence what the unique message is. I agree completely that only someone who is with Harold in the next dimension could have given Harold’s message to the man in Florida as well as Bill, both working independently and unknown to each other. This message,

intended for Martha, is similar to the cross-correspondence cases famous in mediumistic literature and which present very strong evidence for survival. Children and the Near-Death Experience Near-death experiences are often cited as providing strong survival evidence. This, as most people know, is where a person has been declared dead, been resuscitated and then describes what happened to him while dead. Since many of these reports are similar, they help reinforce the validity of such events. Children, as I wrote on page 22 of my book, also have NDE. I am interested in exploring further the NDE that young children have had. They have not had the opportunity to read the 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena metaphysical literature that abounds with these accounts. Chances are, they have not heard such cases discussed. If a significant number of children can give similar reports about what happens to them at death—which may or may not be like an adult’s experience I think we can then say we have additional good evidence for survival. I will be grateful to you if you know of such cases and ask the adult who was caring for the child at the time to contact me directly. The following is one such report that was sent to me recently by a mother. I find it very significant and thought provoking. In this case, a child of three was sent back because of his size and brought with him a message

that because of his age would not have realized was precognitive. This message was carried through, tragically, fourteen years later, and opens up the disturbing question as to what degree our life is programmed. “My son had open heart surgery in 1963 at the age of 3½. During surgery, his heart stopped several times. When we saw him after surgery he told us he had a dream. ‘A fisher man caught him in a net, looked at him and said he is going to throw him back because he was too small, he wants him to grow more.’ My son died in 1977, at the age of seventeen, killed by a drunk driver.” You Must First Touch the Paint What kind of life will we discover after death? Those of us who believe we survive death must wonder at times. Will we find pearly gates? Will we sing with the angels? Or, will we end up shoveling coal to help keep the furnace warm? Robert Hyner, and his wife Meta, from West Australia joined the AA-EVP in September. I will quote from Robert’s eloquent letter about what he thinks life after death will be like. “The thought of speaking with the next dimension is in one way awe inspiring and in another way, absolutely logical. This life on earth is but a mirror of the other life. How else could it be? If life over there was vastly different it would be too much of a psychological strain to adjust

to earthly conditions and also visa versa. Here the material is a test to overcome, and there, the control of thoughts is the main bug bear, whilst the material adjusts itself to the vibration of the person involved and hers or his thought-life. I wonder which is the hardest? The logical answer is that those whose thought-life is not pure would have problems there and find themselves in an environment expressing those thoughts. It is those who often long to return to earth, which they most likely do, as here exists a greater chance of hiding from yourself. They forget that purity of thought on earth is a necessary attribute, but one seems able to get away with it down here. It is difficult to reach those of the higher realms. All that lays behind them has little attraction. I suppose that when they contact us, it will be done out of love and compassion. How hard it must be for those more evolved beings to not interfere in our lives. How much they could tell us. But we must first touch the paint ourselves before we will believe the notice of the wet paint.” C.E.T.L. Newsletter Publication It is with regret that I must announce to our members the decision of Jules and Maggie Harsch- Fischbach to stop the publication of their newsletter. The pressure in their personal and professional lives became too great to continue. Both are employed full time and those demands, coupled with the many requests

they received from the public for private and public appearances, expanded to such a degree they felt it wise to withdraw. When my husband and I visited them in October 1987 at their home in Luxembourg, we were impressed with their kindness and generosity, with their sincerity and openness. Whatever path they decide to travel in the future we hope it will bring them joy. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Electronic Transcommunication Suggestions Bill Weisensale has sent me a list of suggestions that he felt would be helpful to tapers. Many of his suggestions agree with my own suggestions as found in Chapter 17 of my book. We both feel the earmuff type head phone is superior to the flat kind and should be worn when playing back a tape. Bill wrote, “This type of earphone generally has larger speakers which are better at reproducing the lower half of the audio spectrum where the voice band is located. “When trying to understand weak voices, there is the temptation to listen at high volume levels. Actually, there is an optimal level which varies slightly with each voice. This level is slightly uncomfortable. Repeated listening at very uncomfortable levels will in time cause hearing loss. “Electronic transcommunication is awesome and fascinating. In time, without realizing it, one can become obsessed with this work. If you find taping is beginning to have a detrimental effect on other aspects of your life, slow down or even

stop altogether. “If you hear things you don’t want to hear remember the “off” switch is on our side. Like obscene phone calls, continuing to listen only encourages the caller. “Always use common sense and take what you hear with a grain of salt. If some day someone who appears to be your aunt tells you to sell all your property and invest in junk bonds or to do yourself in because life is more pleasant over there—forget it! “Never under any circumstances consider taping as “entertainment.” To do so invites lower level Spirits into your home who may entertain you in ways you are not ready for. “Accord your friends in the Spirit World the same respect and consideration you would your friends in this world. Remember, most of humanity is over there. They are the main stream; it is we who are in the unusual circumstances. It is we who are trying to see reality through a frosty window pane.” A Scottish Friend Jane Longmore and Lata Chennareddy of VA, are close friends who tape together at times. They report getting very good results. Jane says she h been mediumistic. since she was a young child. In 1988, she began to receive messages through automatic writing and clairaudiently from a man who said he was Charles Rennie McKintosh. She had earlier heard a song dedicated to him and then bought a book about his architecture. MacKintosh was born in Glasgow in 1868 and died in 1928. Jane wrote

that she first met the “post-departum” MacKintosh in 1988. “I had been thinking about him and his art and he showed up. At that time, I knew nothing of his life and throughout the coming months he went to great lengths to give me obscure facts that later proved true. He also told me that he had been “hiding” for years in some place where he was utterly alone. I suggested he move toward the light, which he did.” Since Jane and Lata have started taping, he has come through three times with strong, clear messages in a Scottish accent 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A Spirit Photograph Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, sent me the above picture. The Bernardsville Library, not far from where she lives, has a history of being haunted, going back to the Revolution. Formerly a tavern, the story goes that Phyllis Parker, a daughter of the tavern owner, went insane after discovering the body of Aaron Wilde, who had been hung as a Tory spy. Her father brought Wilde’s body back to the tavern and placed it in a closed coffin. Phyllis and Wilde had been in love, and when she opened the coffin in the middle of the night and saw Wilde, she became insane from then on. In the more than 200 years since the incident there have been many unexplained noises, and an apparition of a woman in a long flowing dress has been

frequently seen. In February, Valerie and her mother, along with Victor and Geri Devincenzo, N.J. AA-EVP members, went to the library to investigate. Valerie had talked to the librarian before the visit, and they were given permission to move about freely. Valerie said the above picture was taken outside of the library as she focused her camera on the window. She feels it shows a picture of a man’s face. Victor is now trying to learn more about the history of Wilde. Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, sent me the above picture. The Bernardsville Library, not far from where she lives, has a history of being haunted, going back to the Revolution. Formerly a tavern, the story goes that Phyllis Parker, a daughter of the tavern owner, went insane after discovering the body of Aaron Wilde, who had been hung as a Tory spy. Her father brought Wilde’s body back to the tavern and placed it in a closed coffin. Phyllis and Wilde had been in love, and when she opened the coffin in the middle of the night and saw Wilde, she became insane from then on. In the more than 200 years since the incident there have been many unexplained noises, and an apparition of a woman in a long flowing dress has been frequently seen. In February, Valerie and her mother, along with Victor and Geri Devincenzo, N.J. AA—EVP members, went to the library to investigate. Valerie had talked to the librarian before the visit, and they

were given permission to move about freely. Valerie said the above picture was taken outside of the library as she focused her camera on the window. She feels it shows a picture of a man’s face. Victor is now trying to learn more about the history of Wilde. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Psychic Theft? As most of our members know, a psychic theft is when an object disappears from a spot and then, usually within a day or two, reappears either in the same place or somewhere strange. The recipients of these psychic thefts are baffled by the dematerializations and rematerializations of their objects. “Such things are impossible!” they say, but they happen! It appears that a psychic theft is yet another way spirits try to let us know they are around. Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP member, called in March and told about an incident that happened to her, her husband Carl, and Ingeborg Frank, an AA-EVP member from N.Y. who spends a large part of her time in Europe. She and the Laurents have become close friends, through the AA-EVP. The last time she was in Europe, she made plans to meet them at an inn. After her shower, Ingeborg went to put on her slippers that she had left in the middle of the bedroom floor. They were gone. When the Laurents arrived, they looked everywhere--the room was taken apart--but no slippers. Tina told Ingeborg not to worry, they

would reappear before she left the inn. The next day, there the slippers were in the middle of the floor where they had been left. Interestingly enough, before leaving home to meet Ingeborg, Tina had “asked” Frank, Ingeborg’s deceased husband, to give his wife a sign he was around. It appears Frank heard this request and lovingly showed Ingeborg he was with her. Word of our work continues to become known to others. We’re Getting Around Hildy Becker, VA AA-EVP member, said a copy of my book is now in Cayce library in Virginia Beach. Wayne Green, editor and publisher of “73 Amateur Radio”, reviewed my book in the Jan. 1990 issue of the magazine. Quoting from the review he wrote: “Another book, Voices of Eternity by Estep, explained how she set up rudimentary communications with the spirit world using a VHF radio and tape recorder. A chap named Raudive wrote a book on this twenty years ago, but his results weren’t nearly as convincing.” Channel 11, CBS Baltimore, spent several hours in my home the end of March. The producer asked many questions about voice phenomena and we made a five-minute recording together. Two messages were taped. The interview will be shown in April. The Lily Dale Assembly, the largest center in the world for the religion of Spiritualism and Metaphysical New Age philosophy, has asked me to lecture and teach a workshop about how to record voices this summer. Joseph Merrill, Program Co-Chairman, contacted me after he had

read a review of my book in a Spiritual Frontiers Journal. The day of my lecture is July 22, followed by the two-day workshop. I have received an early program for the summer’s activities and it looks excellent. You may want to write for a copy. The address is: Lily Dale Assembly, 5 Melrose Park, Lily Dale N.Y. 14752. Phone: 716-595-8721 SAC 15th Annual Conference The Spiritual Advisory Council will hold its summer conference at Lake Forest College from June 16-21. The theme is: “A Journey of Transformation.” The campus is in IL, just north of Chicago. The planned program is excellent. Last year I was privileged to be a part of the program and I can recommend this conference highly to our members. If you are looking for a six-day respite from your daily routine, you will find it here on this lovely campus. Write to Paul Johnson, Founder and President of SAC for more details: [Address withheld]. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Some Bouquets “Your newsletters are very nice. They give me in put as to why I exist. God bless you.” John K TX “Your column ‘Do We Survive’ in the Winter News, hit home with me. Since a child, I have tried to convince people of ongoing life.” Clara Laughln, VA “This latest one (Winter) was especially good for me in that you described so beautifully the reason why our loved ones do not/cannot make contact with us

via EVP. AA-EVP is a mind- extender.” Irene Nelson, WI “What would we ever do without you?” Anne Smisko, VA. “I particularly enjoyed ‘From My Viewpoint’ (Winter). You managed to really reach me with your inspiring words about our place in the world and the choices we all have.” Valerie Tjaden, N.J. We continue to have a paid membership of over 200 with positive growth for the last year. For the eighth year in a row, men continue to outnumber women, with 54%. Our members live in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and 11 foreign countries. Membership Report Garage Sale My husband is on the mailing list for government sales. He mainly buys oscilloscopes which he reconditions and sells. Recently, in one lot from John Hopkins Science Lab, 3 used Sony reel— reel tape recorders were included. He has corrected the minor problems they had and they are now available to the first three people who send $60. Try it for 15 days. If dissatisfied, return by UPS. You pay the shipping back. Your money will be refunded. Sony model-IC 2 77-4, 4 Track, 3 Speed, Single Motor, Tape Deck Switzerland England November 1990 It’s not too soon to start thinking in a positive way about going with us to Basel in November, followed by a week in England! I have talked to my travel agent, told her what I have in mind, and she is making the necessary contacts and planning the itinerary. We will fly from JFK

in N.Y. arriving in Zurich the following morning. From there we will be transported to the Hotel Europe in Basel. We stayed at the Europe last November and it is a modern, excellent hotel with two restaurants that are ranked among the city’s best. Located within a five-minute walk of the conference, it is very convenient. After arriving at the Europe, we will have time to check in before going over to register for the conference that starts Thursday afternoon. I think most people are interested in paranormal healing. At times, it offers an alternative to main-stream medical care or can be used in conjunction with it. Speaking from my experience of last year, I know the four-day program will present outstanding people in the field of healing from around the world. There will be a wide selection of lectures, workshops and panel discussions to attend from Thursday until the conclusion on Sunday afternoon. On Monday, we will leave to spend a week in magical, mystical England. Our stops will include Bath, Salisbury Cathedral, the Tor, Glastonbury, Avebury, Stonehenge and several days in London. We are trying to make plans to visit one or more of the fields where the mysterious circles have appeared. The cost will include: Round trip air from JFK, all Basel conference fees and the banquet Saturday night, hotel(s) in Basel and England, breakfast each morning and some dinners. The 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena anticipated date for

the trip is Nov. 7-Nov. 19. The cost for the thirteen-day trip is not firm but is tentatively estimated to be about $2600. If you are interested, please sign the enclosed and return it to me within 15 days. This doesn’t commit you but please don’t send it back unless you are serious about going. Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 23. Odds and Ends Again, thank you for your caring, for your support, for making the last eight years possible. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1990 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint There is an old Buddhist prayer that I like: “I will become enlightened for the sake of all living things.” There is only one problem with this prayer—what is enlightenment? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as: “to instruct; to give information to; to make clear; to free from superstition.” Ah, yes, this sounds good, but enlightenment is a personal matter which has been an important part of my own enlightenment. This is something that has been constantly reinforced to me the last fourteen years. Truth (enlightenment) that so many like to think is unimpeachable is, in fact, a philosophical concept, a mental picture of what we think is, or should be.

There are some societies that think it is good to eat their captives. We shudder at the notion and are unanimous, I believe, in loathing the idea. Try to convince these groups though, that their way is wrong and they are unenlightened to continue such practices. This, admittedly, is an extreme example. Let us bring it closer to home and consider something that many of us have experienced--the fundamentalist. These individuals think that what we do—talking to the unseen through our tape recorders, or even having an interest in the phenomena, or any psychic phenomena--is wrong. Over the years I have had a number of contacts with such people and they have never been pleasant. A dentist from Atlanta called one evening on a ‘mission’ to save me. I had never heard of him, and how he’d heard of me is unknown, but that is unimportant. He told me his wife was out for the evening, so perhaps that is why he felt free to rant for half an hour, quoting passages from the Bible, to prove I was headed for fire and brimstone. The entire time he talked, I could hear a baby screaming in the background. “Charity” I couldn’t help but think, “should begin at home.” He was so busy ‘saving’ me that he couldn’t comfort his own child who was in distress. Truth is often subjective. In eight years, only two members have asked to have their names removed from the mailing list before their membership expired.

One, a man in California, wrote I was “too religious, so don’t send me any more newsletters.” The other, a woman, asked to have her membership discontinued because “you’re not religious enough.” Interestingly, this woman used the I Ching system of divination which is not based on religion. In any case, the system told her she was having “dealings with an evil person,” so she decided I was it! Was I upset at their withdrawals? Not really. How could I decide what direction was right for either of them? I couldn’t, and accepted their decision to leave us as the right one, the enlightened one, for them at that point in their lives. Must we stumble around then in a morass of confusion searching for truth? Must we look under every rock trying to learn what truth is, only to discover that very little light (or beauty) exists in such places? Are we, in the end, little better than children crying for the light in enlightenment that never comes our way? I think not. If we are searchers, then we soon learn that the search is an intensely personal one. A familiarity with the great philosophies of many religions and cultures needs to be thoughtfully considered. Much we will discard but here and there we will find grains of gold that will shine brightly and help light our way throughout all the years to come. We learn that we cannot, should not, judge others by our own belief system. Everyone

must have the freedom to choose his own truth. We need to find the time to sit quietly, to search within ourselves, to listen to the voice of our inner being guide us to what is right for us. Enlightenment should be a personal odyssey that never ends. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Jeannette Meek-Liberant In the Spring issue of Unlimited Horizons, George Meek, President of the Metascience Foundation, wrote about the transition of his wife Jeannette, April 25, after a long illness. Jeannette worked tirelessly beside George, actively participating in and supporting his business interests for the last 40 years. She was a real part in the life of the Foundation from the beginning of its conception eight years ago, encouraging George every step of the way in his efforts. Upon two occasions, Jeannette and George were guests in our home and I came to know her as a warm, loving and understanding person. She had no doubt that life continued after death, and eventually she would move on to live in one of her Father’s Many Mansions. Those of us who knew and loved Jeannette are convinced her new Mansion is a beautiful one filled with light, love, and laughter. Evidence for Survival In the last two issues of the Newsletter, AA-EVP members have shared with us heartwarming stories of how loved ones have contacted them after death. Many of you have written about how much you enjoy this feature

and I hope we can continue it in future NEWS as other members share their experiences. Edelgard John of West Germany has been a member of our Association since 1983. Over the years, we have exchanged many letters. In a recent letter, she wrote about her husband Walter, who made his transition a number of years ago. Quoting from Edelgard’s letter she wrote: “I did see my dear husband several times, but only in the first year. (One time) I went home from the graveyard when a young man about twenty years old, came and took the same step and smiled at me. I found this strange because I did not know him. He tried to take my arm like my husband did and I said, ‘Go away, you are not my husband!’ The young man did not go away, he just vanished. “Some weeks later a cousin of my husband wrote to me: ‘I found a picture of your Walter, as he looked when he was nineteen. As you married late, I think you do not have it, so I am sending it to you!’ I looked at the picture and it showed the young man who took my arm!” “Peak in Dairen” Tina Laurent, Wales wrote: “Concerning your series on survival evidence, the Peak in Dairen cases are the most convincing from an objective point of view.” To me, also, these are extremely convincing. As I wrote about them on pages 17 & 18 in my book: Voices

of Eternity “In this situation a dying individual describes seeing a deceased relative or friend whom he did not know had died. In some instances, the people in the room with the dying person also did not know that the “take-away” entity had died. This must rule out the possibility of telepathic thought being picked up by the dying.” Animal Survival Do animals survive death? Many believe they do and that you will find animals of every kind living beside you in the world after death. There have been many reports of beloved pets, especially dogs and cats, returning to visit for a short time with those they loved. In my own work, I have asked if we will be reunited with pets we loved after our own transition, and have been reassured in a Class A voice on tape that this does happen. Ann, a grieving young woman in her thirties, called me recently. She was experiencing extreme grief over the loss of her cat and wondered if she was going ‘crazy.’ Ann had nothing else in her life. She lived alone, was handicapped and rarely left her house. Her cat had died a week earlier, and several days later, Ann, while lying awake in bed, heard her cat purr. The cat 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena then walked across her bed and Ann felt the covers go down. Then Kitty snuggled up beside Ann, as she did before her death,

and gave her a kiss. This continued for three nights and Ann said she hugged Kitty, who felt just as solid after death as before. Edelgard John also believes animals not only survive death but are reincarnated, at times coming back in new physical bodies to their previous owners who loved them so much. Rolf, a dog whom Edelgard had for seven years died, and Edelgard missed him to such an extent she felt she would never get another dog again. Two years later, Edelgard read about a man who was giving away some dogs so she went to see him. Two dogs appealed to her so much she came home with both. She called one of them Wanda, and according to Edelgard, she knew amazing thipgs: She knew Edelgard’s car, the streets she had walked with Rolf; the neighbors he had loved—and the ones he didn’t. Edelgard took both dogs to Fulda to attend the VTF conference about the electronic voice. Even though both dogs were shy, as soon as Edelgard entered the room where there were 200 people, Wanda immediately ran across the room where Branton de Geus sat, who had been a good friend of Rolf’s. She crawled up onto his lap and licked his face. Edelgard wrote that Branton also believed Wanda had once been Rolf. A new member, Denise Riccardo of Berwyn, IL ‘wrote about the experience she had when she was five or six. She had a black cat and liked playing with him.

She would pull a string on the floor while he would chase after it. The cat became very ill and her parents had it put to sleep, her mother telling her it had gone to “kitty heaven.” Denise wrote that she was not really sure what this was and she had never heard about ghosts. One evening she was thinking about her pet and missing him. She saw an old string with the cat toy tied on one end in the corner. She picked it up and began to walk around dragging the string. Quoting from Denise’s letter, she wrote: “I knew that he was gone and my mother had said he would not be back, so I was merely pantomiming my playing with him. All at once, and to my surprise, he darted out from under the dining room table. He batted at the string, green eyes shining in the dark and then softly touched my bare instep. I can remember the velvety feel of his cat paw. It all happened very quick, and to my dismay he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.” Was it a Dream? Jane, a woman in her fifties, called me one day in May. Her husband had died a month earlier after a long illness, and a friend suggested she contact me. As we talked, Jane said she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to continue living now that Joe was gone. I asked if she would like to come and see

me so we could talk about this further. Jane came the next afternoon with her daughter Sue. As Jane shared her grief and despair with me and we talked about life, death and transition she said, “If I could only be sure Joe was O.K., I’d be able to get on with my own life. We knew for a long time he was dying and he always promised he’d let me know after he died that he was all right.” We talked about different ways loved ones let us know after death that they are still living and can be with us. I asked if she had experienced a ‘psychic theft’ (mentioned in the Spring News), or had she had any unusual, vivid dreams? “Yes!” Jane said. “My husband came through several nights in my dreams and kept saying, ‘The pencil mug! The pencil mug!’ Jane explained her husband kept a large mug on his desk that always held three sharpened pencils. After having this dream, Jane looked in the mug and saw just two pencils. She knows she didn’t take a pencil from it, and since she was alone, no one else did either. Before they left, we made a five-minute recording. A male voice gave two messages: “Yes, I’m going down,” and “I hear you.” Jane and Sue are convinced it was Joe. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena From My Mailbag Gilbert Bonner, England, wrote that a video tape of

his work was made by students of London University. He has corresponded with Barbara Ivanova, a well-known parapsychologist from Russia. She is interested in the taped voice but said there is no official view of EVP in the USSR. Normally the view has been negative to all para-events but it is hoped this will now change. Jutta Liebmann, of West Germany, wrote that although she has moved to a new house, the voices quickly let her know they were aware of this. She feels it is necessary to caution new tapers who might try any means to get voices on tape, which could be a mistake. Jutta wrote, “Some new tapers think that all deceased have become ‘angels’ in the spirit world and this is really not true. They remain the same personalities as they had been on earth for some time over there.” Help for You! Bill Weisensale, CA AA-EVP member has sent me an excellent 30-page booklet titled: “Transcommunication For The Voices (and others).” In it, Bill discusses many aspects of the phenomena and gives practical ideas how you may become a successful taper. In his letter he wrote: “This is primarily for new people who have not yet attempted to tape and for those who may have tried but gave up because they simply did not realize the difficulties involved. But it may also be of interest to others who are more experienced.” Although Bill will send it free on request, he will accept donations up to

$2 to help defray the cost of printing and mailing. Write: [Address withheld]. Garage Sale Successful Our garage sale of three used reel to reel Sony tape recorders, announced in the Spring News, was a sell out! All three, plus one other that came into our possession later, were sold to AA- EVP members who are now happily taping away. Perhaps later on we will have additional recorders. Video Pictures 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena At the international Basel conference, last November, I shared a workshop with Mme. Monique Simonet of Reims, France. My focus was taping voices around the world, as well as recording experiments I have done. Mme. Simonet focused on her contacts with the invisibles, especially through her television. Since the conference we have exchanged several letters and I think you will find the above excellent video pictures that she sent me in June very interesting. VTF Review Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, translated a recent German VTF Journal for me. Fidelio Koberle, the President of VTF and Editor of the Journal discussed various taping methods, most of which are familiar to our members. A new one, however, may be of some interest to you. This is called the Synthesized Speech Method. Koberle wrote: “Experience has taught us that paranormal voices can form more easily when acoustic ‘raw material we offer resembles more closely the human voice. Less energy is needed by the other side to form their words.

A method that offers ‘chopped’ synthesized speech and could be combined to a multitude of combinations is currently being developed. We hope to be able to demonstrate this method and appropriate equipment at our meeting in Fulda this June.” An Interesting Observation David Lothamer,CA State Coordinator said in a recent letter/tape that although we are trying everything we know in order to have successful communication with Spirit through our tape recorders, we forget that a recorder is not a natural “medium” for our Spirit friends. In effect, we are asking them to leave their world of different frequencies and vibrations, to speak to us through equipment adapted to our world. My thought (Estep) is if we could somehow get a better idea of frequencies and the vibrations in other dimensions, and then design equipment compatible with them, we could reasonably hope that communications would improve tremendously. Impossible? Perhaps, but let’s think about it. Let me know if you have any ideas. The publication board of Marquis Who’s Who has notified me that I will be listed in their next book: Who’s Who in the East This will appear in libraries this September. Look me up! Who’s Who Transmitting Signals In a recent letter from Dr. Ernst Senkowski, physicist and AA-EVP member from West Germany, he wrote: “Several observations clearly show ‘carrier’ signals apparently produced from the other side, sometimes following a remarkable reduction of the volume/noise coming from the radio receiver and starting with a sharp click like switching on.

Afterwards, the receivers may be ‘dead’ for some time. So, in our system and with our words, we suppose someone transmitting signals which supermodulate our electromagnetic-acoustic field. In my view this is a clear sign for a special ‘field’ not yet to be measured by our instruments but overlaying and manipulating our space-time ‘reality’ which is tightly bound to certain functions of our mind-brain systems.” MTFD The MTFD is a transcommunication group founded in Frankfurt, W. Germany, in Oct. 1987. They publish a newsletter in German and I have received their last several news letters from Peter Kllmke, the President of the group. We are indebted to Hans Heckmann and his willingness to translate their newsletters so we can share the highlights with our AA-EVP members. Some of the members of the group are having outstanding results through their tape 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena recorders, telephones, TV and computers. The video contacts include sound which hasn’t always been the case in the past with other experimenters. The newsletter reported about a woman’s voice which spoke over the phone. It is felt the voice was Flanna Buschbeck, founder of the German VTF, who died some years ago. She said: “You will have eternal life after you pass over. You will be given the opportunity to LEARN to SEE and your BEING will get CLOSER TO THE TRUTH. Do not be afraid of dying, for there is no death. Do not make the

mistake of considering your reality as the only real one. It will make your later learning process more difficult...” In January, a video experiment was tried. The setup consisted of 2 TV sets and 4 older radio sets. All equipment was tuned to idle TV channels and radio frequencies for the purpose of offering R.F. energy and inter-channel hash to our friends. A black/white image of a man’s face appeared on the screen. A male voice heard by us and Dr. Senkowski spoke: ‘The whole consists of good and bad. Your existence is made up of every type of feeling. Every feeling is reality and you are responsible for everything. This is how your being (life) gains purpose. By your own energies you create good and evil.’ “Christmas 1989, brought the following tape recorded message: ‘Love and Forgive. Every thing that ever lived, lives now, this very second. Abraham and Jesus Christ therefore live among you, today, spiritually. Your present being is changeable as you will change after your physical death until somewhere you will experience the cosmos that is infinite to you. Nothing ever gets lost and all your personalities from past lives now also live within you.’ There are many computer contacts reported by the MTFD Association. Some of them are: Q.: How many planes do you know? A.: Very many ... and many we do not know. Q.: What should be our concept of God? A.: God is spirit which interpenetrates All that is. God is in

Everything. All that is. Q.: Can we contact our departed loved ones? A.: That is possible if you wish Q.: Does the person crossing over go directly to the third level? A.: It differs and depends on karma. Q.: What happens with us next? A.: We cannot answer that as your future can be shaped by you and we are not all knowing. Computer Contacts In the letter that Hans Heckmann included, along with his translation of the MTFD newsletter, he wrote: “A most fascinating time phenomena takes place in all computer contacts. There is a distinct time delay between questions and the type-out of the answers. My guess is that it has to do with the shift from “No-Time” dimensions to our dimension of Space/Time. Only physical manifestations seem to be subject to this delay such as the appearance of a computer type-out or the appearance/disappearance of physical objects (Apports). Direct or indirect (recorded) spirit voice does not seem to be limited by time. They are direct manipulations (modulations) of already existing electron magnetic fields or even psychic energy fields in our physical world. I am not sure in what category TV images belong. The entire subject of TIME-LINES, TIME- 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena SLIDES, and TIME-WARPS is still a closed book to us. A most fascinating subject indeed, about which we are greatly ignorant!” Computer Experiments Many AA-EVP members have computers. Let’s try some experiments and attempt to have

contacts with the invisibles through our home computers. All objective contact with the unseen, whether it be through recorders, TV. or computers, is valid. Game Plan: Type one question on your computer screen. Leave it. Go back every so often to see if there is an answer. The time delay that Hans mentioned in his letter is very real. Those that are having successful computer contacts find that answers can take from several hours to several days to be returned. If after three or four days nothing has been received, clear your screen and type another question. If you are taping tell the other side during a recording what you are going to do and ask their help in bringing computer messages to you. If you are not taping, verbally ask during a quiet time for computer contact. Let me know your results! News from and About Members Benata Barbarigo, a new member from FL, has had communication through her recorder from her seven-year-old daughter who died in 1950. More recently, her husband died and she grieved deeply. Benata kept hearing him speaking to her clairaudiently and wondered if she was “sick in my mind.” Then in March 1989, still speaking clairaudiently, he told her to focus her camera on a clear TV channel and take a picture. Benata did, and her husband came through. She enclosed a picture showing this, and a male image from the shoulders up can be seen in the “snow.’ Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator,

wrote that her father made his transition the end of January. At her family’s request, she taped during the funeral. She received: “We can help you Carol” and “Ed Monize (her father’s name) is come!” Carol said she later played the funeral tape and another demonstration tape for the minister who had officiated and he could hear most of it. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, sent me a flyer that announces the publication of the book: True Tales of the Unknown published by Bantam. Dale’s article: “Bachelor’s Grove: Most Haunted Cemetery” is one of the thirteen true stories in the book. You can order the book directly from Dale for $5.75 which includes first class postage and handling. Write: [Address withheld] Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator wrote that soon after the death of her neighbor of 21 years, the neighbor came through and asked for “forgiveness.” Clara assured her there was nothing to forgive, but suspects this request was made because during her life she had appeared skeptical about the voices. Jean Lodge, N.Y. wrote that she has several “mirror” messages as some of the rest of us have taped. One of them is, “I want a mirror.” Jean hoped to meet me at Lily Dale the end of July when I am lecturing and teaching a two-day workshop. Irene Maletsky, N.J., sent an interesting tape that has some excellent voices. She uses an old Emerson cassette recorder with a built-in mike. Irene turns her recorder on while working in the kitchen.

The invisibles use the background sounds in the kitchen, such as running water and the rattle of pots and pans, to help them speak. Norman Marsh, England, sent me a recent issue of Psychic News, a British weekly spiritualist newspaper. The English Tourist Board is preparing a directory that will list haunted locations to visit where super-normal happenings can be expected. From the enclosed flyer, you can see we have been busy planning a wonderful trip to Switzerland and England this November. 7 Switzerland-England Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In the last two months, I have called Basel three times and dealt with three travel agencies. The first two couldn’t give us the kind of week in England I wanted and their rates were too high. Finally, I found a good agency, not far from home, who can give us exactly what I want for an excellent price (over $150 less than I had estimated in the Spring NEWS). Gina, the owner of the agency, said the itinerary I’ve planned sounds so wonderful, if she can possibly get away, she wants to go along. Need anymore be said?! The topic for the Basel conference is: Power Sites and Life Energies. This will appeal to everyone as we examine special power sites around the world that have unique energies such as the Pyramids, Glastonbury, Stonehenge, ley lines, and so on. Look the flyer over. Decide to go with us. Don’t delay. I will be

advertising the tour to metaphysical MD-D.C.-VA groups (over 20,000 people). I don’t believe in large tour groups so if you wait, you may be too late! Deadline for the Autumn NEWS is Sept. 22nd. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1990 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Marcus Aurelius, an early stoic writer and philosopher who became Emperor of Rome between 161-180 A.D., wrote in his meditations, “Everything that exists is in a way the seed of what will be.” Sixteen hundred years later, Benjamin Franklin expressed much the same idea when he wrote, “This is an embryo state, a preparation for living. A man is not completely born until he is dead. A hundred years after Franklin, another U.S. philosopher and historian by the name of John Fiske said, “Who can tell but this which we call life is really death, from which what we call death is awakening.” What purpose is there in quoting the above three men, brilliant though they were in their own time, and beyond the fact that they all reached the same conclusion? Implied, but unspoken in what they said, is the idea of transition being brought about by dying. Like Aurelius, Franklin and Fiske, when

we think about transition, our first thought is death. Transition from life to death—or better said, from life to life beyond this life, will in time come to each. One element of transition is moving into something that is not totally known. It is natural to have some fear, some insecurity, about the unknown, but is there any other type of transition? Must we experience death to learn what transition means? Not at all. We have been going through transition since the moment of our birth. There is not one second of our life that is identical to any previous second. Think of all of the millions, billions of transitions you have survived since you took your first breath. True, most of our transitions have occurred without our conscious awareness. Think, however, of the milestone transitions that have come your way. Some may have brought fear, grief, pain and loss, but others brought great joy, a sense of meeting a challenge successfully. All through your early years you moved through one stage to the next, some giving more problems than others. You may have felt more or less successful than your peers in various stages of transition but in the end, a change was made. Another significant transition occurred when you moved from the home nest to a nest of your own. Loved ones died, and you made a transition from one point in your life to another—as they did in their new life and home. There was marriage and

children for many, each a significant transition with its own unique difficulties. At times, you found insurmountable problems and so you had to make a transition from that problem to another phase; you chose a different step. Now, here we are today, with those uncountable number of transitions behind us. All of us have made transitions which we deeply regret. If we were wise, we realized the negative lessons learned brought positive growth, and we adjusted to that. Think of all the moments of transition that lie ahead for each of. us. Think of the milestone transitions that are waiting for us to experience. Consider the opportunities that may e available for us in those transitions, if we can only find the courage to step out to face the challenges they present. Life is inescapably a part of transition. Life cannot be static, even if we wished it. I suspect that our life beyond this life will not be much different in the matter of transition. You have survived all of your transitions thus far. You need not fear transitions; you are truly experienced. There is nothing to suggest you won’t survive all those that come in the future, all those that lead from this life to the next. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena D. Scott Rogo’s Death Word has been received from Monty Hearon, State’ Coordinator, of ‘the untimely, tragic death of’ D. Scott Rogo in his California home. Raymond Bayless,

well-known author and psychical investigator and close friend of Monty and his wife, called Monty the middle of August to say Scott’s body had just been discovered by neighbors. He had been stabbed to death. For now, not much more is known. Many of us have read one or more Scott’s books. ‘He was a prolific writer, collaborating with Bayless on some of them and writing a number of them independently. The subject of most books was PSI phenomena. He, along with Bayless, investigated Attila von Szalay of CA in 1956, when Szalay was recording unexplained voices and both men felt they were of paranormal origin. For a number of years, Rogo was a Consulting Editor for FATE magazine, and his feature, “On the Psychic Frontier” appeared regularly. Rogo’s interest in the taped voices lasted until his death. We had exchanged several letters and I had sent him tapes. He will be missed by many, all of whom I am sure join me in wishing him “God-Speed” in his new life. Can Trees Help with Taping? Over the years I have received five or six messages that came in response to my asking where my unseen contacts were. The answers, always Class A, were, “By the tree,” or ‘We’re in the tree.” I have a number of trees in my yard, one a huge oak right outside my office window, and so I always found these answers intriguing. Geoffrey Tilga, a new member from N.Y., has sent the following contribution.

The idea came from an article in a 1919 issue of Scientific American. I think you will find it interesting as well s thought provoking. Please let me know if you follow Geoffrey’s ideas and your results. “With Trees for Ears” “In 1919, General Squires of the US Army Signal Corps, discovered that a tree is as good as any man-made antenna for receiving radio waves; and better in that there is far less background noise in the received signal. A tree in leaf is more sensitive than a tree in its winter dormant state. A dead tree will not work, this receiving capability is a property of the living organism. “The late Konstantin Raudive gave a voice example from his collection, “du hast kein fluidon.” (German) ‘you have the fluid,’ as an explanation of why some people are able to receive paranormal voices with electronic equipment. This ‘fluid’ is associated with living organisms. “The tree shares properties with the wire (Hertzian) antenna: Reception at night isbetter than daytime reception. (We have observed it is best at sunset). It is better in dry, clear weather than damp, muggy weather. Reception is unaffected by rain--if there is no thunder or lightning with it.” Geoffrey has duplicated General Squires’ tree-antenna experiment and will share the technical information necessary to use a tree as an antenna in EVP work. Write to him at: [Address withheld]. Out-of-Body Experiences There has been a great deal written about out-of-body experiences. Within several days of each other

in September, the subject was presented on the Oprah Winfrey Show as well as Unsolved Mysteries. Both programs did a good job in their presentations. Ken Newell, TX AA-EVP member, wrote in July about two OBEs he has had, and said they occurred when he was in the dream state. He corresponded with Dr. Robert Crookall who has made a study of OBEs. Dr. Crookall assured him that this type was a valid OBE experience. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ken wrote: “The first took place shortly after my dad’s death. We were very close and I was grieving deeply. I had gone to sleep but almost immediately found myself in the familiar tunnel. There was a light at the end of the tunnel so I went in that direction. I emerged into a beautiful sunlit area filled with flowers of all variety and color, as well as trees and shrubbery. There was also a fence and a gate behind which stood my dad. I couldn’t open the gate so I decided to climb over it. Before I could do this however, my dad held his hand up and said, ‘Wait--it isn’t time.’ Then I awakened. “The second experience I found myself in a totally black void. There was no indication that I was in a tunnel but of course that is what it was. I was conscious of floating but in no way, was it frightening; rather a deep sense of

peace. Then I saw a tiny speck of light and I began floating towards it. I stepped out into the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen. Flowers were everywhere and the colors were so vibrant. Grass was the greenest I had ever seen and the sky was a deep blue. Trees were aspen white anè1 lined the banks of a deep flowing river. People were standing around in conversation. They looked at me and smiled. I sat down to wait for my dad to arrive. Then I awakened.” Near-Death Experience In the Spring Newsletter, I wrote that I was interested in exploring the NDE that children have had. My reasons were that young children have not had the opportunity to read or hear about these experiences. If their accounts were similar to other children’s NDE reports, I felt this would be additional good evidence for survival. I think you will find the following report interesting. It has been noted by survival researchers that out-of-body experiences and near death experiences are frequently similar. Notice how this is the case with Johnny and Ken’s report of his OBE on page 2. Diane, a friend in LA sent me the following: “(This) is an account of what took place in 1985, when our son, then aged 5½, had what I believe was a near-death experience. ... “(Johnny) had a severe asthma attack and was in a coma in a hospital in Alabama. The hospital staff was kind enough to let me spend

the night at our son’s bedside. “The following morning, when he woke from the coma, he told me what had happened. He said he was in a red tunnel, heading toward a bright light. He said he saw his great-grandmother (who had passed away in 1983) at the bright end of the tunnel. He then turned around and saw me and his grandparents standing at the other end of the tunnel. He said he took two steps back to return to us because he loved us. His exact words were ‘I came back.’ “Ever since this experience he has been more mature, introspective and sensitive than many children his age.” MTFD Correspondence A personal letter from Peter Klimke, Pres. of the MTFD, a transcommunication group in W. Germany, has been received. Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, has kindly translated it for me. Quoting from it, Klimke wrote: “A few friends translated your letter. Many thanks for your kind words…We are making headway with our experiments in Frankfurt. We already had an adjustment (change) in our computer texts. The voices improved also as they came over the ‘Antenna Translator’ unit…We are looking forward to further improvements but this will come when more unified thinking among researchers is achieved…Dear colleague, we send you our heartfelt thanks and the best of greetings from our members in Frankfurt.” MTFD Computer Contacts Hans also translated computer contacts that came through a computer in Rivenich. Manfred Boden, W. Germany, well-known for his contacts with the unseen,

made his transition on March 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena 23, 1990. On the day of his funeral on March 29, in Baden-Baden, he communicated through the computer the following: “I am in a familiar world of unlimited diversity. Everything is possible. middle plane of existence. The past, present and future join logically together. I am seeking experience as my cycle of reincarnation is finished. There are infinitely many systems. It is as if I am experiencing everything in a dream. There are a great number of people here who are confused. Everything is part of the all. I need rest and concentration.” New Journal for Research into the Beyond Information has come from Dr. Ernst Senkowski, W. German AA-EVP member that he and two others are starting a journal about transcommunication. It will be published in German but later they hope to publish it in English. Quoting from the Press Release: “The paranormal phenomenon originally known as ‘Voices on Tape’ or ‘Electronic Voice Phenomena’ has undergone remarkable changes in the last few years. New developments have led to advanced communication through radio, TV and computers. The sources of these paranormal messages whether on tape or through other electronic systems are not fully understood. Many believe that by using EVP they can have contact with their loved ones who passed away. TRANSKOMMUNIKATION wants to document this development from a scientific point of view. “Contents include experimental designs and theoretical discussions, messages from

the ‘beyond’ and reports from readers. Other subjects of interest are: paraphysics, bioenergetic fields, interactions between consciousness and electronic devices, contact with extraterrestrial intelligences. “The journal is published twice a year. Price for one volume equals 4 issues: DM 48 + foreign postage. Subscription orders may be sent to the publisher: [Address withheld].” I have accepted with pleasure their request to be their U.S. correspondent. Follow-Up on Animal Survival I was gratified by the number of favorable letters that came after the Summer Newsletter was mailed. Many of the writers mentioned our feature, “Animal Survival.” Ben Lee Harris, WA wrote: “Of great interest to Bonnie and I was your discussion of animal survival with which we are well acquainted. Thanks.” Mary Kelley, a new MD member wrote: “Words are inadequate to tell you how much your letter and newsletter meant to me. Please continue to put articles about the afterlife, reincarnation of animals in your newsletter as there is such a LACK relative to this. Sincerely and gratefully.” Monty Hearon also wrote favorably about the article and encouraged his daughter Leigh of WA state, to share the story of her cat Max’s survival. We are grateful to Leigh for doing this and I will quote from her letter. “...(I) have never doubted the existence of a life beyond this one, or the form that it would take…I must admit I was amazed, and a little frightened when proof of this (came) even if it was in the form of a

cat. “I acquired Max, a long-haired tabby, from a friend while living in Oregon. Max and I lived in an apartment that was not precisely suitable for felines. The complex was near a busy street and there wasn’t much grass or free space for him to roam around. Nonetheless, he would freely go in and out my apartment, and seemed content in his new quarters, no matter how restrictive they were. I was very attached to Max, as I am toward all my cats, I lavish great affection upon them, which is equally returned. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “One day, I returned (from being out) and saw a notice on my door. ‘Oh, God,’ it read. ‘Max was run over by a car. I’m so sorry. I loved that cat so much.’ It was signed by a tenant who lived in the complex. “I missed Max, of course, and was glad that I was going to CA with my ‘parents to be present for my sister’s ordination in the Presbyterian Church. The service took place in Pasadena, and while there we visited our friends, Raymond and Marjorie Bayless. I asked if they believed in the afterlife of their many pets. They assured me they did and often heard one of their deceased dogs pad into their bedroom, and jump up on their bed. I was relieved. That night, I remember waking up in the middle of the night, calling Max’s name

and feeling a thick swirling mass of air around me. I also thought I felt Max land on my stomach, a typical place for him to be when I was in bed. “I returned home a week later. A friend of mine had been caring for my apartment in my absence, and that night told me about how one evening while watching TV on the floor, he felt “Max come up against his leg, as he often did, demanding attention. Dave said, ‘Not now Max,’ and then realized that Max was dead. I then told him about my experience in California. “On at least two other occasions, each while I was lying in bed, I felt and heard Max leap up onto the bed. His presence is proceeded by a peculiar heavy aura. I have prayed many times that if Max’s proper place was somewhere else, for someone to guide him there. I haven’t felt his distinct aura for some time; however, I’m not entirely convinced that Max isn’t still with me. I turn around a half-dozen times a week and see, out of the corner of my eye, a tabby cat near me-- -and it’s neither of the two cats I now have. In fact, I have often watched my cats side-step around areas where a cat could be, and watch, for extended periods, an area in my home where to my eye, I see nothing.” A Vivid Dream Answered Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that for years

she has received messages and made trips in her dreams. She is always aware that she is ‘visiting’ in the dream state and must come back. Clara shares with us a vivid dream she had in July. “Daughter Barbara insisted I go to PA with her and a girlfriend for a couple of days. We arrived without reservations and found we could get a room for one night only. The clerk said it was doubtful there would be a cancellation. The room was lovely and I said out loud to Tom (Clara’s deceased husband) “For heaven’s sake, do something so we won’t have to move, there’s nothing else.” Early the next morning, Tom came to me in a dream. We were standing in front of the elevator on the first floor of the motel. He looked me straight in the eye-handed me a key exactly like our room key-didn’t say a word-I woke up. There was a cancellation, and we kept the room! “Arriving home, I sat down to tape and near the end asked if anyone accompanied us on the trip. (You can imagine how I felt) when the reply came back: “Elevator. Key to my wife Clara. Tom.” A Vivid Survival Dream There are different kinds of dreams. In the one, we sometimes go over in our subconscious mind, the feelings of guilt, fear and longing. The other type is very different in that it comes almost like a photograph and we are aware that it is more

than a dream; that we have somehow ‘left’ the dream. This is called a ‘vivid dream.’ Denise Riccardo, IL AA-EVP member, wrote about several vivid dreams she has had. Her parents died within eight months of each other, her mother dying first in March 1988. In October, she had several vivid dreams about her mother and feels she was trying to prepare her for the death of her father the following month. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Denise wrote, “After my dad passed on, I did not have dreams or any kind of messages for nine months. Then I had a dream in which he appeared to me and did not say anything. He looked very happy and in radiant health. I could sense his love for me, and this dream had that quality of a vision more than just a dream state. When I awoke, I felt very happy and at peace. “(Later) my husband and I were with his parents. His mother took me aside and told me that she had a dream of my Father. In her dream, she talked to him. He looked happy and said to tell his daughter that everything was ‘Just fine.’ He then gave her a very personal message to tell me. There was no way she would have known this, nor did anyone. When she awoke, she felt at first paralyzed, and heard a crackling sound like, as she put it, electricity above

her head toward the ceiling. The paralysis state was brief and so was the noise. Also, she had this dream early in the morning at the same time I did.” Near the end of her letter, Denise said she seeks information to help her understand her experiences. She especially asked my opinion why her mother-in-law felt paralysis and heard the crackling electrical sounds after her vivid dream of Denise’s father. I replied that I had heard of this sort of thing before and although we couldn’t be sure, I suspect it happens because of the unique energies and vibrations those in other planes have in contrast to our own. (We believe theirs are much higher). Normally, they lower their energies to come through and so we don’t feel many, if any, physical changes within ourselves. In this particular instance, her father evidently didn’t change his Spirit energies a great deal--probably because he was coming through to her as well as the mother-in-law, at the same time. As a result, he needed many more energies than if he had contacted just one person. Be Careful What You Say! Edelgard John, West German AA-EVP member, wrote that her neighbor had a large cherry tree in his yard. Each year he looked at the tree with hope, wanting it to produce a large cherry crop that he could enjoy. Never, however, did it bloom or offer a single cherry.’ Finally, in exasperation, he went to it and said, ‘If you don’t bloom this

year; if you don’t give me cherries, I’m going to chop you down!’ That year, he had a prolific crop! News from Russia Near the end of July, a letter came from Jurij Pokholkov, Co-Chairman of the Siberian Scientific Research Center, about the second international conference they had held in Tomsk in April 1990. The title of the conference was: “Rapidflowing Phenomena in Suroundings” and 500 reports were presented. These reports focused on: nonspherical interactions; general methodology and philosophical aspects; methods, devices and techniques of experiments; the scientific aspects of ufology; and new approaches to investigations of anomalous phenomena. I replied, thanking Mr. Pokholkov for his letter and sent him the information sheet about the AA-EVP and the Summer Newsletter. This and That Bill Guogenheim wrote to me about his research project called, “After-Death Communication Experiences” (ADC) He said he has interviewed 1200 people in all 50 states and six Canadian provinces who have been contacted, by a deceased relative or friend. He and those working with him are researching this for a series of books they’re writing for the general public. They are intended to document the reality of After-Death Communications. If you are willing to be interviewed by phone about such experiences (at Bill’s expense) you can contact him at the above address and give him your phone number and a convenient time for him to call you. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena John LaMartine, Librarian of the American Society

for Psychical Research (a respected and professional organization) called recently. He said people contact them at times about the voice phenomena and he always refers them to me. He asked if I would be willing to exchange publications with them in the future and I said this would give me great pleasure. I also told him about my book, Voices of Eternity and he said he would order it immediately to be placed in their library. There were a number of interesting items in the newsletter I received shortly after our talk. The ASPR had just completed a poll of their members and one of the questions asked was: “What types of research would you like to see undertaken?” Survival after death led the response. Cohn Smythe, editor and publisher (Cohn Smythe Limited) of England, wrote to me in September. Smythe is the original publisher of Raudive’s book, Breakthrough as well as Peter Bander’s book, Carry on Talking (From The Tapes) and other related books. Smythe wrote that they had many people contacting them asking for up-to-date information on Voice Phenomena. Although he always gives them my name and address, as well as two researchers in England, he asked me to send him current information about the phenomena, and also about the AA-EVP. News from and About Members Carol Barron, MA State Coordinator, is now Carol Barron-Karajohn. She was married in August, and in a recent letter she said she took her tape recorder with her on her honeymoon and

taped (Would I have 1,000 other members like her)! Ray Dietz, MD, suggested in a phone call, a new idea for a sound source that some of our members might like to try. He has taken part in a number of Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship workshops taught by Ron Mangravite, who is a scientist from N.J. Among other things, Ron discusses how many Buddhists are helped on their journey into death by the ringing of a bell. Ray suggests that EVP tapers prepare a tape of white noise and as it is playing, ring a bell every 5-10 seconds. It is thought that the tape, along with the sounds and vibrations of the bell, might help the unseen speak. Let me know your results if you try it. Steve Glanz, CA, wrote that he is Director of Research for the San Francisco chapter of the International Tesla Society. It is his feeling that Tesla’s ideas can contribute greatly to EVP technology. In the spring, he gave a lecture about EVP drawing heavily on my book. A reporter was there from the “San Francisco Chronicle.” Although this man is normally a ‘satirist’ according to Steve, he wrote positively about Steve’s talk and EVP in general, in his next two columns. Steve said the reporter was now interested in EVP. Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, called and said she is planning an open-house for all N.J. AA-EVP members. This will give everyone the opportunity to meet other members, discuss taping and anything else

of interest in the field of PSI phenomena. Lily Dale Four happy days were spent at Lily Dale, the world’s largest Spiritualist community, the end of July. I closed my lecture Sunday afternoon by playing a nine-minute demonstration tape of Voices. Then, on Monday and Tuesday morning, I taught a six-hour workshop. There were twenty some people in the workshop and I have never worked with a group so eager and enthusiastic. Every person came with their own portable tape recorder. Their energies enhanced my own and in the two tapings we did, over 80% of the people recorded one or more messages. At the end of the workshop on Tuesday, there were hugs and a few I had the pleasure of meeting Jean Lodge, N.Y. AA-EVP member who took my workshop. Steve Hermann, VA member, was introduced to me on Saturday. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The bookstore reported a sell-out of my book after my lecture on Sunday, with many others asking for it. The Community, ever 100 years old, with many beautiful homes almost that old, and towering oaks everywhere, is located in N.Y. state on a lovely lake. One was almost overwhelmed at times with the positive energies, and the feelings of peace and serenity remain with me. Donald Michael Kraig, Editor of “FATE has written and said my article: “Have Tape Recorder: Will Travel” is scheduled for publication in the December or January issue of the magazine.

If you are a subscriber, you should receive your copy in October or November. FATE Read Your Labels! Some members write expressing concern as to when their membership is due. “I don’t want to miss a single issue!” is the frequent comment. Although your sentiments delight me, I don’t want you to fret unduly. You can determine easily when your membership will expire. Look at the label on the envelope of your quarterly NEWS. Beside your name you will see, as an example (Exp. Nov.) That means you are in good standing until November. In addition, I always mail a yellow membership renewal form the first of the month to everyone who is due that month. You can help me most by renewing promptly! Extra reminders to you cost me time and money. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is December 28. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1991 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here it is, January again, the start of a new year, the arrival of a new calendar. I shared with you a year ago how important the buying of a calendar is for me because I know it represents days and months of events that lie ahead. I

want one that shows beautiful nature scenes that can transport me, even for a few seconds, to their midst. There must also be a memorable quote for each month that I hope will lead to personal growth. How do I feel as I look at the new calendar lying to the right of me on my desk? There are fears, doubts, gloom, a knowing that we have not learned what we needed to learn about the intangibles of spirit-soul since we first stood upon our planet earth. We have learned greed and hate. We have become masters on how to destroy all that lies in our path, a path that often leads to what we think must be ours, no matter whom we may harm in the process. There are prophets of doom prophesying that the end is near. We are informed by others that there are space ships hovering nearby who will intervene at any moment and whisk the righteous to...? I must admit I have my doubts about the accuracy of both. I don’t think the end is near. I place little faith in space ships taking masses of people anywhere. Yes, I think there are space ships. Those of you who have read my book know that I’ve had my own ‘encounters’ but I have difficulty accepting that they are coming to save us. What I have learned is that they are interested in us, they are observing us, but if there is any saving to be

done, it must be done by man. Although I question that the individuals are right who think space ships are standing by in the wings to take the ‘good’ people away from their evil brothers, would I choose to go if given the choice? I doubt I’ve earned the right to a ticket but just suppose I—you—have, what would you do with yours? My first feeling would be one of joy in knowing others felt I was worthy enough to climb aboard. Then, I would feel exultation that now I was going to have an opportunity to explore, to learn about other physical worlds and forms of life. My next thought would be, “Who will be with me that I love?” If that answer was satisfactory, I would then feel tremendous relief that at last I was leaving our ‘sick’ world whose ills are increasingly affecting me. As I took my first step up the ramp, I would stop and look back one last time at all the ugliness that has become a part of our society of which even the most blind must soon be aware. What freedom to go on! What happiness in knowing that soon I would be a part of a new and better world. I would then look ahead at those waiting for me, holding out their hands to my own outstretched hand. Slowly, my hand would drop. I see me, even more slowly, stepping aside, stepping of f the ramp back to planet earth.

This is my world, here and now, and perhaps in the future. I have helped create it, I suspect from earliest times; I cannot abandon it. It is, alas, what I and my brothers have made it. We cannot deny our responsibility and place the blame on others for what it, and we, have become. There is beauty here and there, still; there is some light. If beauty is to grow, if light is to become more brilliant, I must do what I can to make it flourish. There is a saying, “If the world ends, it will not do so with a bang but rather with a whimper.” I must try to do what I can to see neither happens. I invite you to join me. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Bonnie Harris Liberant Word came in October from Ben Lee Harris of A, that his wife Bonnie made her transition September 1. They have been charter members of AA-EVP, joining in May 1982, the month I began accepting membership applications. Ben Lee wrote that Bonnie had been ill for just 3½ months, a victim of Lou Gerrig’s disease. He feels that since her death, she has contacted him at least twice in “two dramatic and most unusual experiences.” Bonnie shared with Ben Lee his interest for many years in PSI and encouraged him in his exhaustive study of the phenomena and how it often relates to passages in the Bible.

We are confident that Bonnie has returned t vibrant health and is already experiencing the joy of being back home. Some Eloquent Thoughts In a three-month period, well over 300 pieces of mail cross my desk relating to the AA-EVP. Many are personal letters concerning everything you might, or might not, imagine. Some of them are especially noteworthy and stay in my mind a long time. Although a number are pleas for help, others express sentiments that help me in my own journey and I think may help you. Along with his letter about Bonnie, Ben Lee Harris enclosed the following thought: “Man Is a timeless inter-dimensional spirit, functioning through a soul matrix, expressing love, understanding and awareness through mind and brain, operating a physical body, fulfilling THE will of God (the law and essence of eternal life)”. Robert Hyner of West Australia wrote: “We have had a lot of sickness here. It is in it sometimes despairing times that the importance of the voices become apparent. The comfort of the strong evidence of the voices on the tape gives the strength to continue...As the years go by the barrier separating this dimension from the rest will narrow until the influence will be felt throughout the world, changing our approach to life and at long last showing us what the purpose of this material world is, a laboratory for human evolution. “What you do… (what all of us can do)… has left its mark on many and most likely has

created a thought form of light which will help all those who strive for a better world.” Martha Sherman, AR, after reading a recent AA-EVP editorial wrote: “Like you, I feel that Truth for one person may be anathema to another. We see it through the perspective of our own experiences---so how could it be the same until we each have chalked up enough to understand the other’s point of view! I pray constantly that I may know the TRUTH when I find it even though I know it has to be relative! And the search becomes mind-boggling but fascinating!” We Are One Sir Arthur Eddington, (1882-1944), noted English physicist, astronomer and writer, wrote: “When the electron vibrates, the universe shakes.” Years later, Irish physicist John Bell said much the same thing when he formulated in 1964, what is known as Bell’s theorem. Very simply, it means that all objects and events in the cosmos are inter-connected with one another and respond to each other’s changes of state. On October 15, I taped a Class A male voice that said, “I bring her home.” Two days later, I developed chest pains. Although mild, they continued on and off until November 1. On that day, a loved one unexpectedly made her transition from a massive heart attack. The pains stopped the morning of her death, but before I knew she had died. My thought is that I somehow picked up the pains and the disquietude my loved one was experiencing with

her heart during that time. My contacts knew two weeks ahead of time they would be bringing her back home. The only regret I have is that I didn’t give her a basket-full of hugs during those last two weeks. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Perhaps it will help all of us to keep in mind that we should stop for a moment when we would frown, or say or do something unkind, whether it be to someone we love or a stranger. What we do, or neglect to do, can through its ripple effect, “shake the universe.” We’ll Talk Next Week Sir Oliver Lodge was a respected English scientist of the early 1900s, and well known in the early days of British Spiritualism. His book Raymond describing his contacts with his son Raymond, after the young man was killed in the First World War, is a classic in Spiritualistic literature. One day, Sir Oliver was talking to a friend and told him he’d been trying to contact a colleague but no one seemed to be at home. “He died last week,” he was informed. “Oh, I didn’t know. In that case, I’ll talk to him next week,” Sir Oliver replied.” Do Mosquitoes Go to Heaven? Dennis Stillings, AA-EVP member from MN and director of the Archaeus Project and Editor of Artifex, wrote to me after receiving the Autumn Newsletter. Quoting from his letter, he wrote: “Your discussion of animal survival caught

my attention. It is all very well to speak of the survival of pets—cats, dogs, horses—however, in principle, one must also grant immortality to spiders, flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and gnats. Now, if the little souls of all these organisms, from the beginning of time, pass on to another world, it would appear that other world would be one to which we would not like to go…I would certainly like to know how you or your readers would handle this problem. Do we opt for separate Heavens? Do mosquitoes become nice in heaven? Even if they would become nice, how would one navigate through the gigantic cloud of ‘skito’ souls and fend off the incredible hordes of things that creep and crawl?” Quoting from my answer to Dennis, I wrote: “Well, yes, it is a puzzle, isn’t it? Much as I love all forms of life—although I admit I have reservations about cockroaches—and to my shame, I’m not too enthusiastic about snakes, if I had the gift to grant immortality I would not deny it to any kind of conscious life. Like you, I do not want to continue swatting at skeeters in the great beyond, or shriek at a wasp, ‘Little bee, get away from me!’ “So what is heaven; what is survival? As I indicated in my book, and referred to at various times in the newsletter, there is much we don t know. Even when we get ‘There,’ wherever it may be, puzzles will remain and all of

our questions will not be answered. This becomes clear on tapes when we have several spirits arguing about an answer to a question. For me survival means continuing consciousness, and the kind of consciousness in which I will continue to strive to learn answers to that which is unknown. If I can continue to know that I am still me, and not one lived in a dream-state as some researchers believe, and have a consciousness in which some of the unknown will slowly become known, then I think I will be content. This, obviously, is not the sort of survival everyone wants. They will be happy to sit beside Golden Pond for infinity. I hope their wish is granted as much as I want my own. Their desire is not more or less worthy than mine, but rather a different genus from which all rank and order is absent. “Getting back to those pesky creepy crawlies, I think they also survive but perhaps they have their own heaven. They, it appears, have a personal type of consciousness although I am (rather) sure they’re not striving in their earth plane life to try to earn Brownie Points to get to Summerland. When I see an ant in my path I step around it. It has an ant’s consciousness, and’ although I can’t enter it, life, to an ant is savored as much in its personal consciousness as our life is to us. They have the instinct (will) to survive. Just get

out a can of big spray and start spraying away, or a fly swatter and begin swatting at a fly that has been foolishly buzzing you much too long. They quickly prove they are not ready to give up the ghost. “Why should dogs, cats, horses, birds, and perhaps a few other forms of animal life continue to share our world after death, and not ticks and gnats as you asked? No one can give a definite 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena answer. However, it may be our love, for them and their love for us has created a bonding that carries us through together to life beyond life. As I have already indicated, I truly feel a love for all conscious forms of life; yet that doesn’t mean I want to share my home here and beyond with each species. The Bible tells us there are different levels of heavens. We have some indication on tape that this is correct. So, perhaps pesky critters want nothing more than to be with other pesky critters---that is their idea of heaven. I must confess I hope this is so, and I am more than willing to grant it to them!” Do you have an answer to Dennis’ question? If so, please send it to me. Perhaps I can use it in the Spring Newsletter. MTFD A recent newsletter of the MTFD, Frankfurt, Germany, has been translated for us by Hans l- Heckntann, PA

AA-EVP member to whom we are deeply grateful. Without Hans, we would be unaware of the important work our European colleagues are doing. Several people associated with the MTFD are continuing to have computer and tape recorder contacts. Manfred Boden, who died in March 1990 and was deeply involved with trans communication, has given evidence to prove his idenity, including the word CHARY which was the identification he used as part of a CB system during his life. One woman, through automatic writing, received, “Life so empty— Death so Beautiful-Pray-Thanks.” She didn’t known Boden during his life but his friends said that at the end, Boden felt life was very empty. Another time, she received, “L” is positive.” The “L” is a code word known only to Boden and F. Malkoff who is associated with the MTFD. It was decided between the two men four months before Boden’s death, to be used as positive identification. The above four pictures were sent to me by Monique Simonet of Reims, France. She has made an exciting discovery in the field of spirit video photography which she calls Macro- Photography. Quoting from Monique’s letter, she wrote: “The four pictures came from the negatives I obtained after taking a picture of the original negatives. I take a picture of the I screen when it seems as if there is a form, a face, or just a whirling cloud...When we look at the negative with a good light, we see often other faces (pale...which is

invisible on the print we had made). Then we take a picture (Macro-photography) of the negative against a bright light, which = a second negative. From these negatives, we get prints like the 4 prints enclosed.” For those of you working in the field of TV photography, you may want to try this discovery. We also have members whose special interest is spirit photography while visiting an apparent haunted location. I would like to suggest you take some of the negatives from good spirit photographs, take a picture of those negatives against a bright light as Monique suggests, and see if there is anything there on the developed prints. It seems logical, that if the phenomenon occurs in video photography, it could also take place in still photography. Even those who don’t regard themselves as spirit photographers could try the same thing. Many people take pictures of special family dinners-birthday, holidays, and so on. Follow the suggestions given for Macro- photography. I feel at times that loved ones, who are no longer physically with us, drop in for special, events, whether it be a dinner or other occasion. Let me know your results—or better yet, send me a convincing print(s). This discovery (your work) could revolutionize spirit photography and add a new dimension to the field! A Miraculous Healing Nancy and on Stallings are close friends of mine. I mention them several times in Voices of Eternity and the experiments and investigations we’ve done together in my home and out

in the field. A year ago, Nancy was diagnosed as having an inoperable brain tumor. She was taken to several outstanding hospitals including the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. Top men 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena in the field examined her and she underwent the most sophisticated tests available. During this time, Nancy’s health continued to fail. She suffered a stroke which affected her speech, her sense of balance, and a weakness on one side. The doctors agreed the stroke was caused by the tumor. Six months after the tumor appeared, Nancy was scheduled for one final test at Hopkins the following day. The night before, right after Nancy fell asleep, she was taken out of her body. Since Nancy is no stranger to OBEs, she knew immediately what was happening. She found herself on a table in an examining room with a small dark haired woman approaching her. The woman told Nancy she was a doctor and was going to cure her. Nancy told her she had an inoperable brain tumor, and the doctor replied that this was correct but she was going t take it away. “I’m to see Dr. X tomorrow at Hopkins for a final test,” Nancy said. “You will, but he won’t find anything. We know about Dr. X and the fine work he is doing but no one can yet cure you of your problem. Only we can do this, and only for a very

few people. We have decided to cure you but you must do exactly what I tell you.” The doctor then told Nancy that for the rest of the night she was to drink great amounts of water and gave her a special large crystal that she was to put under her back when she was returned to her body in her bed. This is what Nancy did, and although she couldn’t see the crystal, she told me she felt it was there. She was taken out of her body several times during the rest of the night, and each time found herself back in the examining room being examined by the same woman doctor. The following morning, Ron took Nancy to Johns Hopkins hospital. She underwent the final test by the well-known physician. There was no evidence of a tumor. It was gone. Nancy’s story could stop there, but she continued to feel unwell. In desperation, she had Ron take her to a doctor who had once been their family physician but who she hadn’t seen for years. He conducted several simple tests in his office and told her she had diabetes. Later tests by the local community hospital confirmed his diagnosis. Nancy is taking medication for this and has returned to almost normal health. Although Nancy thanked the woman doctor for curing her, she asked that I do this through my tape recorder. The following morning, and during my regular ten-minute taping, I asked my unseen contacts to express

Nancy’s thanks, as well as my own, for curing her of her brain tumor, to the woman doctor. Two Class A messages were returned that referred to their visiting her while she was asleep: “Yes, I will sleep with her. I will sleep with her,” and two minutes later, “We find her. We find her. We sleep with her.” This was sent to the Stallings who confirmed my interpretation. They also heard several additional messages that I hadn’t. The question arises why the woman doctor ‘gave’ Nancy diabetes when she took away the brain tumor? The tumor would have killed her. With diabetes, she can live an almost normal life. But give her anything? I know some of our members are heavily involved in healing. Do you have an answer? News from and About Members As mentioned in the last newsletter, Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, took her tape recorder with her on her honeymoon to Aruba and taped. She has now had the chance to analyze her tape and there are many messages on both the forward and reverse sides. They said her name repeatedly and her guide Hegeler spoke several times. Robert Camburn, Pa, had an excellent article in the Fall Spiritual Frontiers Journal under the title, Christmas Is A-Coming There were three articles appearing under this title and Robert wrote the third part: “Christmas-The Uncertain Birthday.” In it, he explored the historical date celebrated by the Christian church, and showed various reasons why Dec. 25 is probably

not the correct date. Robert ends his article with: “It would seem that Jesus’ birth occurred no later than 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena 4 B.C. and in one of the warmer months of the year. The exact date may forever escape the historians so that the traditional festivities of December 25 will remain undisturbed.” Ray Dietz, MD, further commented upon his idea as found in the Autumn NEWS that tapers make a tape of white noise and ring a bell every 5-10 seconds while taping as a sound source. He wrote that the bell should not be a clapper type, but rather a Tibetan bell, rung by striking. Justice Krishna Iyer of Cochin, India, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court in India, was in the U.S. on business in October. While here, he visited me, Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, and Carol Barron-Karajohn. Each of us taped while he was present and messages came through at each home he visited. In the November 1990 issue of FATE Magazine, there was a special section about Chicago. One section was titled, “Chicago: The World’s Biggest Ghost Town.” The investigations of Dale Kaczmarek, IL, and his picture, were a prominent part of the article. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that she was part of a four-person panel on Central TV in Oct. Tina now has an agent who is trying to arrange for her to give lectures about EVP and survival. Dennis Stillings wrote

a long review of Paul Kurtz’s book, Exuberance: An Affirmative Philosophy of Life in the November issue of FATE. Paul Kurtz, as many members know, is an important part of CISCOP, chief de-bunker of the paranormal. Dennis’ review of the book was very negative, and he gave a number of good examples to support his conclusion. Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, said that she and her mother held an open house on Nov. 11, for all N.J. AA-EVP members. Many came and Valerie reported it was a “Success! And What FUN!” In a later letter, Valerie wrote that she and her mother visited a haunted house. Her mother taped, “Lady” and also laughter. Valerie got a photo of a small dog. She contacted the owners of the home and they said the description sounded like their previous dog who died three years ago. Valerie has sent the picture to the owners and is waiting for confirmation. We Didn’t Fly Unfortunately, it was necessary to cancel our November trip to Switzerland/England. Up until the last minute, I hoped we could go, but several people who had planned to attend were unable to because of health or personal reasons. The international situation and the economy discouraged others. From all reports, it was an excellent conference and I am sorry we had to miss it. Exciting Innovation for Cross-Country List You will find enclosed a form that asks you to check what best describes your interest in EVP. Walter Sherbrooke, CA AA-EVP member,

first suggested this several months ago. He, taping with AA-EVP member Paul Simmons also of CA, felt it would be especially helpful to other cross-country members to know the chief focus of interest of members listed. Starting in November, every new membership application form, and every renewal notice, had such a place for members to check. Some of you have already done this so you needn’t be concerned with the enclosed paper unless you want your status changed. Although the check list is primarily for cross-country people, I would like to know the focus of your interest even if you’re not listed. If you aren’t sure whether you are on the list (many people sign for it originally and then fail to mark the box provided when they renew), check your envelope. All cross-country people have C on their envelope. You should also receive an update of new cross-country people with each newsletter. There is a space provided on the enclosed form for you to sign for cross-country—if you wish, or to indicate you don’t want to be listed. The cross-country list is only one of the things that is unique to AA-EVP and not found anywhere else. Many people are happy at the idea of meeting other like-minded people through 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena it, some discovering and making new friends living in the same city. As you know, I have never charged for the list even though it sometimes

means additional postage. Although it is extra work for me, and for my faithful daughter Cindy, who types the master list every three months, I want to continue offering this service to those who wish. In our Spring NEWS, our Ninth Anniversary! I hope to send a complete list of all cross- country people, indicating their special interest to everyone on the list. If you are on the list, or want to be on and have your interest indicated, please return the form no ‘later than March 15. We Are Listed Word has come that we are listed in two other reference sources in addition to Who’s Who In The East and their special supplement for this year’s Who’s Who In America. Reference Press International of Greenwich, Cr has listed the AA-EVP in their new book. R. R. Bowker N.Y., publishers of Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory also describes the AA-EVP and its quarterly newsletter, in its book. Books for You You will find enclosed a list of books, a special record and tapes that are available. Look it over carefully and order promptly. For some of the books, I have just one or two copies. A delay could mean disappointment. As I mentioned in the Autumn NEWS, Cohn Smythe, editor and publisher in England, and I have been in communication with one another. You will remember he is the original publisher of Raudive’s book, Breakthrough into English. I arranged with him to send me several copies of the book, as

well as Raudive’s famous record, both unavailable for a long time in the United States. When the books arrived, I was surprised to discover they are in hardback, so this is a rare opportunity for you to get either or both. In order to avoid delays, please add your figures accurately, taking into account the proper amount for postage and handling. Journey into Oneness Paul Johnson, FL AA-EVP member, President and Founder of the Spiritual Advisory Council, is holding his yearly winter festival from February 8-10, at Las Palmas Inn, Orlando, FL. The conference promises to be outstanding, as always, with many noted lecturers and workshops. There are also several pre-festival intensive workshops offered that sound interesting. Odds and Ends My wish, my hope, for each of you is that 1991 will bring you joy and good health. May you be surrounded by love. At the end of 1991 may you look back upon the year as one well lived in which you freely shared love and hope with others. Let me hear from you. The deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 29. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1991 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Now we are nine! It was in the

spring of 1982, that twenty some people received VOL. 1 Number 1, of the AA-EVP NEWS. They were willing to take a chance and trust me with their fifteen dollars in return for a yellow membership card and the promise of a quarterly newsletter. The newsletter then ran four pages, without columns, and had a letter head about twice the size of today’s. With the first anniversary, we grew to six pages in length. It wasn’t until the Winter 1986 issue, that I raised the yearly dues to twenty dollars which I am still trying to maintain. Then, in the Summer 1988 issue, we left the solid page format and moved into columns, a change which everyone has enthusiastically endorsed. So there, old and new members, you have a capsule report of the AA-EVP, but how much is left unsaid! Aside from the fact that the Association has sponsored three national conferences, several trips to Egypt, one to England, one to Switzerland, and my book was published by Fawcett, there is so much more that has happened. It is those other ‘things’ that I feel are the most important. The Association has brought comfort and hope to those who despaired. It has lit a candle for some who at one time ‘cursed’ the darkness, and no longer do. As an example, a woman called me last month, and said her sixteen-year-old son had recently died. He was warm, loving, articulate, popular and extremely intelligent. Because of the nature of his

death, although listed as an accident, there was a suspicion in the mother’s mind that it was suicide. Her husband was convinced it was accidental. Not being sure was tearing her apart, she said. Could I help, she asked? I sent her the tape I made a few years ago for Elisabeth Kubler-Ross designed especially for the terminally ill, as well as their grieving loved ones. This reassured her, but her greatest hope was to have Joe speak to her on tape, as the voices do on the tape I made for Dr. Ross. It took a while but eventually Joe gave four messages, three Class A in which he called her “twice, and said his death was an accident. As we talked about this, she said Joe had materialized in the home. One evening, while sitting with her husband he pointed and said, “There’s Joe!” Mary saw him at the same time and I commented that I guessed this made a believer out of her husband, who until then, did not think we survived death. She agreed it almost has. Her husband’s entire belief system is being challenged, so he’s moving cautiously and slowly, but he is moving. This brings us to the new letterhead on this issue of the newsletter, and also a different statement on the bottom of the page: “Established in 1982 to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.” This is the third motto we have had in nine years.

The previous ones were correct. Investigation is still of utmost importance. Sharing results with all will remain a primary goal. With our current statement, we are moving further along a necessary path. Back in 1982, I felt the only objective evidence was the electronic voice. The world has changed greatly since then and evidence for survival has kept pace. Since 1982 many experimenters have had objective evidence provided through their television screens. Computers, giving long messages about the life and world after ‘death, are a recent development. Whether you accept the information given in the messages as valid is one thing, but it is difficult to deny that there is a conscious, individual intelligence, typing out messages from beyond this plane, for us to read. The future...who can say? Yes, the Association has changed in nine years, but I feel the changes have all been positive. You, your ideas, your caring, your concern, not only about us, but about others, have brought about these changes. They will, I hope, continue to bring positive 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena changes in the future. Holmes expressed. it so well when he wrote: “The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” A letter came in February from Paul Simmons, CA AA-EVP member, saying that Walter had died unexpectedly from a heart attack the night of February 11. He and Walter had met through

the cross-country list, became close friends and taped together once a week. Walter joined the AA-EVP in 1982, and came to our first conference in Baltimore. On Sunday morning during the audience-speaker time of interaction with comments and questions, Walter suggested we have a cross-country list. He collected the names and addresses of all who wanted to be on the list, before leaving that afternoon to return to CA. Several months ago in a phone call to me one evening, he suggested we expand the list to indicate a person’s main interest in electronic communication with the unseen. He felt this information would help other listed people. The list, that so many of you have enjoyed over the years and will enjoy in the future, is an outcome of Walter’s idea. Walter had done little taping since joining, but after meeting Paul he began taping daily. Almost at once he had a breakthrough. Long messages, many of a scientific/philosophical nature, began coming through. Walter, an engineer, was given ideas from the other side to improve taping. He was working on these ideas at the time of his death. Before Christmas, he sent me a 70-minute tape of voices that I found impressive. My feeling is that after a period of rest, Walter will begin working in communication to help us on this side of our tape recorders. Walter made an important contribution to the AA-EVP for originating the idea of a cross- country list. He will be missed, but I

am confident his work will continue in the future. Evidential Message about Walter Sherbrooke Some of us have called on Walter since his transition and messages have been received. Walter met Mercedes Shepanek at the first conference and they became friends. Many of you will remember Mercedes, who was Coordinator for VA until her death in Nov. 1986. Although they met just that one time, Walter phoned Mercedes at times and they exchanged letters upon occasion. After Walter’s death, Clara Laughlin, the present State Coordinator for VA, who has had numerous taped messages from Mercedes since her death, called on her. She was careful not to mention Walter by name, but asked her if she had a recent transition over there, one of us.” Mercedes replied, “Walter. No kidding!" Mosquitoes Go to Heaven? (Follow-Up) There was excellent response to the Winter Newsletter with many favorable letters received. One of our articles, “Do Mosquitoes Go To Heaven?” came about because Dennis Stillings, MN AA- EVP member, wrote and asked my opinion and the opinion of our members, as to whether survival is possible for such forms of life as spiders, flies, mosquitoes and so on. After expressing my opinion--”Yes, they probably go to their own after-death level with similar life forms,” I invited our members to try to answer Dennis’ question. Many of you did; so many in fact, that I can only use a few here. I will try to publish additional replies in future newsletters. Marilyn Blondin, wife of

John, FL AA-EVP, member wrote: “We understand that we return to where our belief lies. In a truth of oneness there is only one consciousness but there are many belief systems in that one consciousness. The earth, insects, reptiles, and birds are all part of the one consciousness, one spirit, one soul. Trees return to their vibrations. Animals, insects, birds, 2 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena fishes, reptiles, rocks, do the same, returning to their belief systems. The universe is balanced and in harmony, each with its own truth.” Robert Camburn, PA AA-EVP member, wrote: “Dennis Stillings has raised a fundamental question about heaven. It points up, I think, our tendency to picture the spiritual world as a close replica of the physical one. Perhaps the lowest spiritual plane is similar to our world, but if evolution is a cosmic law, then survival will lead to existences so ethereal, so advanced, that they cannot be perceived or revealed in earth terms... Scientifically all creatures below man exist, seemingly, to make life possible for man, being the balance of nature in the world’s ecological system...The bird could (also) need the insect, e.g., and such life may have instinctual consciousness which reverts at death to the great Source.” Doreen Di Crescenzo, a new member from N.J. wrote: “There is the possibility that gnats, flies, spiders, etc. may have some sort of immortality, but they would be harder to identify than say a cat crawling

up to you. Because of their short life span, I believe that they wouldn’t have many emotional ties with this plane. In my opinion, they go through reincarnation to reach their karma.” (To Be Continued) Stochastic Resonance Experienced tapers have learned that to receive good quality voices reasonably often, a certain amount of noise needs to be added to their taping efforts. Few Class A voices are recorded in a taping environment where quiet is the rule. I am indebted to Steven Blumenthal who sent me an article from the Feb. 23, 1991 issue of Science News. The title of the article is: “The Signal Value of Noise” and it discusses the work of physicist Rajarshi Roy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as others working in the field. It has been discovered that under certain circumstances, noise can help detect a weak signal. (We could certainly say that the EVP voice is normally weak, especially without the help of an external sound--noise). Quoting from the article, it says: “This amplifying effect, known as stochastic resonance, has recently surfaced in a number of electronic circuits.” Roy also noted (what we, as tapers, have long known) that if you add too little noise, nothing happens; if you add too much, it will drown out the signal (voices). The article pointed out that although by adding noise the background noise goes up, the intensity of the detected signal goes up more. The concept of Stochastic Resonance is a recent one,

emerging in 1981 with a group of Italian researchers. This was followed in 1983 by researchers in Germany who produced the first laboratory demonstration, finding evidence for it in the behavior of an electronic system known as a Schmitt trigger. This research was carried out further in 1988 by Roy and his colleagues who reported the first observation of the phenomena in an optical device. Further research is continuing. In order to read the complete, interesting article, check your local library. Letters arrive weekly saying they’ve heard about the AA-EVP and want to know more. I often wonder how word about us has reached such places as South Africa, Brazil, Mauritius --which threw the local post office into a frenzy as they tried to locate it so they’d know what to charge Word from Abroad 3 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena for my airmail reply. In case you’re wondering, it’s a small island in the Indian ocean. In March, a letter came from Sweden and the person said her local library in Sater had a copy of my newsletter which she’d read carefully and was fascinated. Please write and tell me all about your group she requested. I was happy to do this, but how did the AA-EVP NEWS reach her library in Sater—a place I’d never heard of until her letter came? I welcome all letters from abroad because it shows the AA-EVP is getting around. The NEWS offers not only

objective evidence for survival, as well as technical ideas to aid electronic communication, but also personal experiences and opinions (which although usually subjective) are still at times evidential. Gilbert Bonner in England, who has been taping with excellent results since 1972 has written several interesting letters in the last few months. He began listening again to tapes made earlier and was amazed at what he heard. One recording turned out to be a dialogue going on from the other side. He wrote: “How I could have missed these voices previously, I do not know. Perhaps I was tired, but it certainly shows how careful we have to be.” At one point, Gilbert told the unseen, “I will put out the lights now to see if this helps you come through.” A male voice replied clearly, “This is NOT a spiritualist meeting.” Gilbert said that he had noted what Jurgenson also noted, “the sound of a vast number of people gathered as if in a large hall that reverberated to the sound. There was also singing, quite informal.” Jutta Liebmann from Germany has also been in touch. She attended the VTF conference in Fulda in November at which about 60 people had been present. Jutta wrote: “Some new recording methods by means of computer-supported equipment was introduced and the recording with that method brought many good audible voices from the spirit world... The new recording experiments by means of computers are costly and not every experimenter can afford such expenditures... Spirit

communication by radio/tape recorder remains for me the most important proof for bodily survival.” Equipment for You Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. AA-EVP member, sent me information where tapers, and would-be tapers, can get equipment. Fair Radio Sales CO. [address and phone number removed] , sells military surplus RD 365 reel to reel recorders. It is a transistorized monaural unit with footage counter and signal level meter. Used, but guaranteed, $36. New with microphone, 2 tape reels and manual $75. Prime Electronics/Projector Recorder Belt CO. [phone number removed], sells drive belts for all makes of recorders. Belts are the most likely to break and are easily replaced. Always check with a company before sending money to see about current availability. “Your newsletter is warm, caring, and most informative. Three qualities that blend well together. Again, thank you for your sincere commitment in running an excellent association, one that I am proud to tell others about.” Jeff King, New Zealand Luise Fuchs of Billingheim, Germany, has been a member of the AA-EVP since October 1982. She taped successfully for years, before trying to receive Spirit images through her TV. In the Winter 1988 issue of the NEWS, I published some of her pictures. She sent me additional ones in January that I find outstanding. Following is a report of the method Luise uses. 4 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “You need a TV set and an empty channel. A video recorder. It should have a

Pause/Still button which will permit a clear picture to be frozen, and a slow-motion button. A video camera. The video recorder is connected by cable to the empty channel on the TV. The camera is connected to the video recorder. The focus (zoom lens) is turned up all the way. Strange forms will begin to appear on the screen. At this point, the video recorder is turned on and these images are recorded. Once taping has ended. (don’t record too long in the beginning), turn off the camera and rewind the recording to the beginning. Now the real work begins. The tape can’t be run through like a film, but the Pause/Still button has to be pressed and a thorough search made on the screen for what looks like paranormal phenomena. If nothing or something faint can be seen, thoroughly search with the slow motion- button, picture by picture. You will then find paranormal images on your screen. Several weeks work is needed until you get images. Once they start to come in, there’s hardly a recording which will not have some paranormal content. To all who want to try this, I wish them much success and the joy that is connected with work such as this.” Other Publications When the AA-EVP newsletter was first published nine years ago, there was only one other journal being issued at the time that focused on electronic communication with different realities. Today, there are perhaps a dozen such journals and newsletters, mostly in

Europe, devoted to the topic. Some of the ones in Germany are translated for me by my good friend Hans Heckmann. This is no light task, because over a three-month period, Hans translates close to 200 pages. In addition, we have other material to try to mention that is published in English. Various members have written that they are interested in what is being done by others in the field, so I will mention one or two highlights from each journal. Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach are now publishing their newsletter INFONEWS twice a year from their center in Luxembourg. They are continuing to have outstanding results with their, TV, computer and telephone. Maggie writes: “We get an average of three telephone calls a week. Most come from Swejen Salter, Technician, and Konstantin Raudive (helpers on the other side). Swejen has said that many new transcommunication (T.C.) stations have been developed on her side as friends and relatives of earth experimenters form groups. All nationalities are represented and everyone has a common goal: To enlarge contacts to earth. Much of what Swejen and Technician talk about can be heard by us in the background (of the phone calls). A mixture of voices during meetings; discussions, music, the barking of a dog and happy laughter. Children are crying for parents they left behind and are comforted by the loving beings who are concerned with their welfare.” The MTFD Newsletter--Frankfurt, Germany is continuing publication twice a year. Several of their members, such as

Adolf Homes and Fritz Malkoff, who are also collaborating with the CETL-Luxembourg, are having excellent quality voice contacts through their tape recorders. They also receive phone calls from other dimensions and long computer messages. Homes uses two radios and a TV for background sound when taping. Questions are asked by Homes and often immediately answered by Thomas, a helper on the other side. The dialogue between the two men can last over two minutes. Network News is now being published by Alex MacRae of Scotland. I mention Alex, and his background in Voices of Eternity on pages 45 & 46. Alex, an engineer and scientist, works in the area of research and development for EVP and does some taping. In February, he sent me a 45- minute tape of some of his Voices, demonstrating how he thoroughly analyzes each message and uses a computer to assist him in editing them. His explanations can be understood by scientist 5 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena and layman alike. Alex also enclosed information that read: “Network News-a newsheet about EVP matters will be issued from Skyetech at regular intervals in the future. To reserve your free copy, write: “Skyetech LTD. [Address withheld].” Spirit Voices-A Transcommunication Technical Letter is being published by Bill Weisensale, CA AA-EVP member. Quoting briefly from his comments, we read: “Spirit Voices is free to concentrate on the technical aspects of T.C. There will be no set subscription fee (but) donations to

help cover the costs of printing and mailing will be accepted and appreciated.” Bill will publish Spirit Voices at irregular intervals as time permits. Many of our cross-country people have already heard from Bill. The first Journal of Transkommunikation has been received from Dr. Ernst’ Senkowski, German AA-EVP member. Ernst and Vladimir Delavre, M.D. another AA-EVP member, are joint editors of this worthwhile journal. Although published in German, brief summaries in English are given for major articles. An interesting article translated for me by Hans Heckmann, discusses Erland Babcock’s work. Babcock has been experimenting for some time trying to have visual contact through TV with the unseen. He is now receiving outstanding pictures. Babcock uses the electro-optical feedback principle introduced by Klaus Schreiber. In his most recent experiments, Babcock expanded this method by beaming a stroboscopic light at the TV monitor. Two types are used. One is similar to the strobe light used in photography. The other one is a neon gas discharge lamp operating at a variable discharge frequency of a few hundred HZ to a few 10 KHZ. No clear dependency of the rate of discharge was noted but the optimum seemed to be about 1400 HZ. Babcock suspects the Rise Time of the light pulses has something to do with the increase of picture quantity and quality. Tapes from the Dead My article, under the above title, appears in the May issue of FATE magazine. I am pleased with the way they handled it since they didn’t

change a word and used the five photographs I sent. The only thing FATE changed was the title. I used, “Have Tape Recorder: Will Travel”, because it discusses my travels with a tape recorder to Egypt, England, Italy, as well as in this country. After I saw the cover, I could understand the change. The article is the featured cover story and shows a girl sitting in front of a reel to reel tape recorder, headphones on her head, half scared out of her wits, as a bony blue skeleton, holding a mike, talks to her. The magazine has been out ten days and in the last week, I’ve received 174 letters addressed to my P.O. box, plus four phone calls requesting more information. This and That The Gallup Poll, in a recent survey, said more Americans now believe in heaven and hell than ever recorded before. Of those surveyed, 78% said they believe there is a place where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded. A very small percent believes there is a place for those who have led bad lives (and die without being sorry), are eternally damned. Most people who believe in heaven expect to go there, the survey reported, but few expected to go to hell. Interestingly, those who claim no church affiliation, or religion, are the most concerned about ending up in hell. The Society Newsletter, said that of 360 people polled by Dr. Julian Burton (Director West Side Center for Growth &

Counseling, Los Angeles), 55% said they had been contacted by a dead relative or friend. In almost every case, the deceased that had contacted the living had a positive message. 6 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena News from and About Members Michel Granger-FRANCE, wrote that he hoped transcommunication would be admitted into the scientific area in 1991. He is a writer and some of his articles have been about communication with the voices. Michel said he’d had 71 papers published in 1990. Jean Lodge-N.Y., said that while taping one day, she commented that the unseen knew more about us than we did about them. She asked if it was because of fear on our part and how could we lift the veil. A male voice said, “See the Parables.” Jean looked in her Bible and found the parables deal largely with fear and explains how, through wisdom, we may find understanding. Dan McKee-IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me an excellent tape and letter. As many of our members know, his messages come on the reverse or wrong side of his tapes. Most of the intercepts on Dan’s tapes are Class A. Some of them appeared to be about Harold Sherman and two messages came through on what Dan calls “over laps.” In the Summer 1985 Newsletter, Dan explained what he meant by this. For those of you who joined since then, or for those who were members, but have forgotten, when

Dan stops taping, he runs his tape back to the counter 0 to be ready for the next day’s taping. Sometimes, his tape goes past 0 and so he advances it until he reaches the 0. At times, there will be a clear message between the ‘negative’ number until he reaches 0, that wasn’t there before. Normally, the voice quality is better on these overlaps and the fascinating thing about them is that Dan did not have the recorder in the record mode as he was forwarding his tape to reach 0 again. Dan believes other tapers may have the same thing, of which they are unaware, and urges everyone to listen carefully. One time, a message came through: “All over the overlap, I need to make an answer.” In his most recent tape, on one overlap, a Class A voice said, “It’s so weird to dub sound.” Winnie Peters-MD, said in a phone call, that she’d attended Paul Johnson’s (Fl member) Winter conference in February. She’d gone to this conference several years ago with her husband George, who died in June. As she walked into the lobby, she was overcome with grief, thinking back to the last conference and how George had been with her. Sitting on one of the sofas, and obviously in great distress, several people, including Marikay, Paul’s wife, came to comfort her. Later, feeling better, she went to her room. Opening her new pocketbook, she found a wooden kitchen match. Winnie doesn’t smoke and never

carries any matches. However, a few months before George died, he began smoking again. He always went out to the garden to do this, and always used wooden kitchen matches to light his cigarettes. Membership Report Members come and members go. Happily, more come than go, so we continue to have a paid membership of over 200. It is always a special delight to me that about 10% of our members who ‘go’ return after a year or two-- they haven’t been able to forget us, they write. I welcome all returning members with open arms. For the ninth year in a row, men outnumber women with 53%. Members live in 32 states, the District of Columbia and 11 foreign countries. CA leads with 20 members. MD follows with 18. For foreign countries, Germany leads with 7. Canada follows with six. Cross-Country List The complete list is enclosed for all cross-country members. I was pleased at the number of people who returned the slip of paper that was sent with the Winter NEWS, showing their current focus of interest. It was a nice surprise to find that 30 members are regular tapers--many that I had no idea about before. Twenty-three people are interested in research & development 7 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena and feel they have the scientific background to take part in this area. For the names without a number, they are interested in voice phenomena and the evidence it

gives for survival. Book List You want books and I am pleased. You just about cleaned out my stock, so more were ordered. Those who were disappointed before and had checks returned, don’t delay, order now! There are many new titles on the list. The Vertical Plane by Ken Webster is an excellent, fascinating book. It tells about the many experiences Ken and Debbie Oakes had in their home in Dodleston, England for two years with Tomas Harden who lived in the 16th century. A number of Harden’s messages came through a computer in Old English. There were disturbances within the small cottage, which once was Harden’s home. Pictures are included with the book, unobtainable in the U.S., except through the AA-EVP. Again, order promptly. For most of the books, there are just two or three copies. Some Bouquets “I am enclosing a check for my 1991 dues. I wouldn’t want to miss your beautiful newsletter for anything.” Morgot Gizienski, CA “I hope to always get this letter as long as you are putting it out.” D. Riccardo, IL “I really enjoy the informative newsletters.” Dale Sizemore, S.C. “Love your newsletters and read every word of it.” Sandra Traweek, TX “Your newsletter is great!” John Weber, CA Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 29. Odds and Ends We have come to the end of another year. All of you have made this, our ninth year, a good one as you have made the previous eight. I closed the first

Odds and Ends with: “Right now we are a seedling. Let us grow to be a mighty oak with branches stretching out to everyone.” Thanks to your caring and support, we are past the seedling stage. ‘Oakhood’ looms ahead! Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep 8 11/23/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1991 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In June, a columnist interviewed me for “Insight” a weekly news-commentary magazine with a circulation of 500,000. During the three hours, he spent in my office, many questions were asked, some requiring soul searching on my part that continues today. “Why do you still tape after nearly fifteen years?” he asked. “Haven’t you explored about everything you can? What is the point? What more do you hope to learn?” His questions were valid. After all these years, there will probably not be a great deal more revealed by the other side. I suspect they have told me just about all they are going to tell. To a large extent, what I have learned will be found in my book. So why continue? Do you throw away an old friend because there isn’t a great deal more to say to each other? Not if they’re a cherished friend. You feel a closeness to

them, a comfort that only they can give. You sense a steadiness in them, an easing of the stress in a life that is at times harried. Also, with the Voices, I have found that when they feel there is something I need to know, they will speak in a loud, clear Class A voice. I mentioned this in the Winter Newsletter when they told me two weeks before the death of a loved one, “I bring her home.” “What is the main reason for having the AA-EVP? What purpose does it serve? he wanted to know. We have many reasons for continuing the Association. My files are filled with letters from those who have found comfort and reassurance from the statement on the bottom of our letterhead stationary: “Established in 1982 to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.” A few, considering suicide, have decided to wait and see if things got better. With the help from some of you, to whom they turned, and with my counseling, things have improved. As one person wrote in June, after reading the Spring Newsletter and before becoming a member, “I had the first sense of hope in over a year.” I feel we also bring together those who want to learn more about the world after death. They want to exchange ideas with others. They want to make new friends, someone to whom they can talk and who will understand. As an organization, we have always

encouraged objective research into survival and tried to bring together those with a scientific background to promote research. “What are your plans, your hopes for the future? What about all those tapes you have with voices on them. Are you planning to put them in an archive at a university?” he asked near the end. I answered that although this was a concern of some, it had not been a concern of mine. My main reason for starting to tape in October 1976, was to try to prove to myself survival of death. This was done to my satisfaction years ago. When I began taping, there were few tapers; EVP was largely unknown. Never, did I dream, that I would go on to form an international organization. In fourteen years, the phenomenon has spread around the world, partly because of our own efforts, and certainly by the efforts of other excellent groups that have started within the last six or seven years. We are no longer lonely voices shouting in the wilderness. Our shouts have been heard, and people are responding. I have frequently said that not only are we learning, but I feel the Voices are learning. They are evolving, they are moving into new areas such as TV and computers. I doubt they would have done this if interest in them remained at the 1976 level. The AA-EVP will live its life. Whatever happens, I will be accepting and happy that I was given the opportunity to take

part. My tapes? They have more than served the purpose, not only for me, but more importantly for others. One of the things that makes the AA-EVP unique is the cross-country list. Normally, listed members get the complete list once a year, and updates with their other newsletters. You received the entire list 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena with your Spring NEWS. Our growth has been phenomenal in the last three months, with close to 80% of the new members asking to be put on the list. Therefore, my daughter, Cindy, who updates the list for me, and I agreed we should again send the complete list with this newsletter. You will see that it now runs 4 pages on two 8½x14” sheets of paper. With over 200 names on the list, I suppose we should not be surprised that a few members are ‘loose cannons.’ I want to strongly urge all members to be careful if someone calls you and claims to be related to the King of Siam, or the Man in the Moon. Don’t go off the deep end and make plans to meet your space brothers some night because you are from somewhere not of this earth. You think I’m being facetious? I wish I was. I have come to know many of you personally, and I am proud of the quality of 99% of our members. You are warm, caring, and you’ve got the ‘smarts.’ For our

new members, I feel it is important to caution you against a possible loose cannon here or there who might try to impress you. Another admonition is also necessary. I thought it was understood that our cross-country list is just for AA-EVP members. I do not sell it. It is not a mailing list for personal gain. It is strictly private. I do this to protect you from unwanted advances and undesirable publicity. If I learn that someone has given the list to a person who is not a member, his name will be removed permanently. Several weeks ago, I became involved in a matter brought about by a new member. It was unpleasant, cost me money, and caused lost sleep and time from my seventeen hour days, none of which I could afford. None of this would have happened if the member had listened to my advice in May. He didn’t and got into a situation potentially dangerous for himself. For me, and the AA-EVP, it was embarrassing and certainly undesirable. Having said all of that, I again want to reaffirm my belief in the list. It can continue to bring joy to many but may I again say, be cautious. I don’t want to stop the list, but at this point, I am thinking about it. It is up to you whether we continue. DO MOSQUITOES GO TO HEAVEN? (CONCLUSION) With this issue, we conclude your excellent response to the original question asked in our Winter Newsletter: Should

survival be denied to such forms of life as spiders, flies, and mosquitoes? Again, my thanks to everyone who wrote and showed by your thoughtful replies that the AA-EVP is indeed a special group interested in the deeper meanings of survival. Brother Mark Dohle of GA wrote: “Cats, dogs, horses, etc. have some sort of personality, or awareness that could survive death. Gnats, flies, and so on don’t seem to have that. It would seem that there is nothing to survive.” Edelgard John of Germany said: “Do we not know that the body stays on earth after death, that our soul goes to another dimension, or heaven? Why should it be different with any form of life? Souls cannot bite nor be bitten -- do not eat or are eaten. I think it is wonderful that you think about animals, even mosquitoes. I also try not to harm them.” Denise Riccardo of IL wrote: “There could also possibly be a group soul for animals, especially the lower ones such as insects. I believe that by loving our pets, this would call them to us in the hereafter. Love is the bond that draws people as well as animals to us in this world as well as the next.” J.J. Snyder of CA wrote: “I would imagine, and have read in several books that animals, such as pets, birds, and etc. survive because of their relationship with humans on the physical level. This carries over to the etheric level. My feeling

is that lower forms such as flies and ants, down to and probably past bacteria form distinct parts of a great life pool which goes into the physical plane.” WAS MUFFIN THERE? Richard Busse, IN State Coordinator, wrote he had his first contact while taping one night. It was, “Hello” and said twice. A friend later agreed that was correct without Richard telling her what he heard. During 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the same session, Richard taped a dog barking. He said, “My little dog, Muffin, died that very day, and though the bark was not hers, I’m intrigued by it.” Richard wrote he has large outside dogs on his farm but is sure none of them barked for he would have heard them. He added, “They barked at something after I taped.” A thought! Could Muffin have stopped by while Richard was taping with a new spirit dog friend who barked during the recording? The other dogs, seeing their ‘ghostly’ visitors, greeted them before they left by also barking. Hans Heckmann, AA-EVP member, has again translated for us many pages from German Journals related to the voice phenomena. In the 2/91 VTF Post, an article was written and schematics given by Peter Stein of Denmark. I was especially interested in this article because I discovered the same thing nine years ago during my tapings. This is mentioned on page 192 in my book: Voices of Eternity. I called my discovery

a “Wave Effect” and I can personally testify it was excellent. In my own case, as I wrote on page 192, I slowly turned the radio dial between 125-127 MHZ. CA State Coordinator, David Lothamer, told me last year in a phone conversation that he also had discovered turning back and forth between channels could bring outstanding voices. Quoting from Stein’s article, he wrote: “The term ‘wobble’ in electronics applies to automatic tuning changes between two fixed frequencies. A wobble in a radio receiver takes place when the dial moves back and forth over a predetermined (small) frequency.” Although Stein stresses the need for a small change on the frequency band, he gives as an example (for European tapers) a wobble width of plus/minus 10 KHZ; i.e.; 1520-1540 KHZ, if the mid-point is 1530 KHZ. As you can see, this is a greater width than my own experiments. In spite of the difference, though, our discoveries were the same. Quoting again from Han’s translation, Stein wrote: “With such a mess (of frequencies) we often record speech mutations that are independent of the language mixture. Their rhythm of speech is strongly tied to the wobble. The voices are made possible by the wobble effect.” This is exactly what David and I discovered but we (and other tapers) have also learned that the voices very often will take on the quality of the earth plane voice. Stein has designed two simple circuits that will produce electronically (and probably better) what David and

I did mechanically. He wrote: “We need two circuit arrangements. In the radio receiver, the best connecting point for a wobble input is the Mixer or Converter oscillator. A wobble adaptor has to be used (see receiver schematic above). The wobbler itself is a small home-built device with an adjustable increasing and decreasing voltage output.” Many of you have excellent electronic know-how, and I would suggest your building the two devices shown above, as a good place to start in helping the Voices manifest on tape. Please let me know your results. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena CANNED SOUNDS Hans translated for me from the same VTF Journal, an article by Roswitha Calnaido, who joined the AA- EVP in December. Although I, and most other tapers I know, have not had much success with pre-recorded tapes used as a sound source, Roswitha uses them in a way that works well. She plays a pre-recorded tape of sounds on one recorder while taping on another recorder. She found by combining this tape with a live sound source she gets good results. She wrote, “I was surprised when I used the best pre-recorded tapes with live radio sounds. A wobble effect, foreign commentators on live radio added to the paranormal voices.” David Scott Rogo SPEAKS(?) Few people know that the D in Scott Rogo’s name stands for David. Bart Ellis, CA member, knew Scott. He and Raymond Bayless are close friends and at times

tape together. Most of our members know that Raymond and Scott co-authored many books such as: Phone Calls From The Dead. In two recent phone calls from Bart, he said he and Raymond had called on Scott one night while taping and asked him to give three knocks if he was there. This was returned. He then said his first name, “David.” Bart talked about the murder investigation concerning Scott. A psychic said there were two men involved and the fingerprints of one of them would be found on a glass in Scott’s home. This glass was found and the finger prints match one of the men in police custody. The second man has not been found. Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, got information while in a meditative state that may have bearing on the case. This is also being considered. Erland Babcock of MA is one of the few people in this country who is successfully receiving paranormal pictures through his TV. In the last several months he has sent me many outstanding pictures. I asked Erl to share with us his methods. Quoting from his reply: “The basic set up is a TV camera looking at a monitor. The output of the camera is fed to a VCR at the same time, the output of the VCR is fed through a TBC (Time Base Corrector) the output of the TBC is sent to a video corrector (used for enhancement and color correction... Some of our pictures are in

color), the output of this corrector is then fed into the VIDEO LINE INPUT on the monitor. The camera must be focused on THE BACK of the picture tube. You are defocusing slightly. You adjust the distance between the camera and monitor so you get what looks like swirling grey clouds. It takes a great deal of dithering to get it correct. I always say a prayer before starting. “You do not need expensive equipment. You can use your ordinary TV and TV camera. Even a camcorder will work. You must have the feedback. The camera output goes to the input of the VCR and the output of the VCR goes to the TV. Point the camera at the TV (IMPORTANT... LOWER THE BRIGHTNESS 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena OF THE TV UNTIL YOU JUST LOOSE THE SIGNAL. THEN BRING IT UP TILL YOU SEE THINGS HAPPENING). If the brightness is too high, you can ruin your camera. “Record a couple of minutes. Look at the recording one frame at a time. It is very helpful if your recorder also permits you to reverse one frame at a time. An addition that will help your reception will be the use of UV light. I use a 2-wave-length (short & long) lamp that I bought from Edmund Scientific. You must have extreme patience. It is much like learning to listen for EVP. Your results depend a lot on your personality.” Erl will be

happy to answer your further questions on recording video pictures. If you write to Erl, please enclose a S.A.S.E. (business size). His address is 38 Lantern Lane, Burlington, MA 01803. BREAKTHROUGHS It is always a joy to hear from members who have received their first taped message. Four members, all joining within the last five months, have reported their first success! Milton Cole, FL, said in a phone call that he tapes every night. He makes short tapings as recommended, using a sound source, and wears headphones when playing a recording back. The Voices are starting to speak. Milton said there is no joy comparable to having contact. Ray Kent of CA has written about the thrill he feels when messages are taped. His daughter, Taralyn, is having the most success and has taped many messages. One evening when she and her mother were taping, a Class A male voice said, “Rockbert.” Then, a soft voice said, “You know him.” Ray wrote that the name was very close to the last name of his wife’s uncle who died a few years ago. Edward Moore of OH is another new member who is having success. He wrote, “My first tape has a clear voice that says, “Eddie this is...” The voice is soft and fades away.” One evening, while taping, he heard a loud crash. Although he is sure the sound was in the room, nothing was disturbed. Jean Perkins, CT, feels she is taping voices. She sent me a tape

and several times when she asks for knocks, knocks were heard. You can see from the above that breakthroughs do happen, sometimes fairly soon. According to my records, 75 of our members are taping. Please let me know when you have your own breakthrough. I would very much like to continue this feature in future newsletters. TAPING SET-UP OF SUCCESSFUL TAPERS Everyone who is a serious taper is always interested in the electronic set-up used by outstanding experimenters. In the latest Transcommunication Journal For Psychobiophysics & Interdimensional Communication Systems” (VOL 1, NO. 2 1991) Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member, wrote an article and gave schematics for several systems. We are indebted to Hans Heckmann for translating this fine German publication for us. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ernst wrote: “Although builders achieved good and at times unusual results with these systems there can be no assurance that other experimenters will get similar results. It is quite likely that strong personal contributions play an important part in the highly unusual equipment functions and are not necessarily transferable.” Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, AA-EVP members from Luxembourg, need no introduction to old members and probably not many new members. They stand at the very top with four or five others who have had the best results with inter-dimensional communication through tape recorder, TV, computer, and telephone. Chapter 16 in my book describes a long weekend my husband and I spent with them in October 1987.

In describing the Eurosignal Bridge, Ernst wrote: “Two Short/Wave/FM receivers and a B/W TV together with two UV lamps, a fluorescent lamp plus one incandescent blinking lamp make up the system. At times, a square wave generator is added. The radio receivers are tuned near the Eurosignal (heard only in some European countries—88 MHZ). The ‘IV set is tuned to a free channel near 470 MHZ. The voices from the radio sets could be heard directly and recorded by microphone. (On) “The GA-i system, the antenna of a SW/ FM receiver is connected to 2 diode circuits and the output of a modulated generator. At times, a square wave generator is used. Two-way conversations with directly audible voices were possible.” In our on-going survey begun about six months ago, there are currently 39 members who have indicated they are especially interested in research and development and feel they have the necessary scientific background to take part in R&D. With the Wobbler schematic shown on page 3, and the system shown on this page, you can go to your workbench and pick up your tools! Perhaps you have ideas of your own. Whatever, don’t tell the ‘angel’ sitting on your shoulder, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” I plan to publish another set-up in our Autumn NEWS in which a system built by an outstanding experimenter is bringing objective results. COMPUTER EXAMPLE Many members have computers and have said they’d like to try computer contact with other levels. From the German Journal just

mentioned, there was a sample given by Adolph Homes & Friedrich Malkoff, of Germany of their contacts. Answers to the questions they enter on their computer can take anywhere from a few hours to several days to come back. Messages for them and for other computer experimenters very often look like the following which was translated for us by Hans. FATE UPDATE My cover article, “Tapes From The Dead” in the May issue of FATE brought a response that was almost overwhelming. As of July 6, 765 letters have come to my P.O. Box and they haven’t stopped completely. I have also given 15 radio interviews, some live, with this country and Canada. With National Canadian Broadcasting, I did a taping over the phone with a talk show host who had me lead him, step by step, through his first recording. He used a tape deck and at my suggestion, called upon a deceased friend. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena An answer came back! With a California broadcast, the host asked if he could interview me. I agreed and asked when he had in mind. “Right now,” he replied. “You’re on the air live! Tell us all you know about EVP in 60 seconds.” I talked fast! BOOK LOOK I was pleased when Peter Skutches, Editor at Richard Gallen & Company, Inc., sent me an advance copy of Super-Memory The Revolution, and asked that I write a commentary. This excellent book by

Sheila Ostrander & Lynn Schroeder was one I was happy to endorse without reservation. In my opening statement I wrote: “Super-Memory The Revolution provides a cornucopia of information about that which dwells within each of us and regrettably eludes us all too often when most wanted, our memory.” The authors give practical suggestions on how we can retrieve memories that seem to be lost. They give us insights of super memories of the ancient past and how they worked. Memory starts before birth and affects us each day of our lives. Near the end of my commentary I wrote: “Memory is the ‘cement’ that binds together all consciousness from the creation of our planet to current times. It stands to reason that we must understand this and take steps to cleanse and accept our memories making them a living part of our world if we want to heal it and look towards the future with courage and with hope.” An extensive appendix, resource section, index, and bibliography is included at the end. I feel many members would be interested and benefit from reading this fine book. It should be available at your local bookstore. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Renata Barbarigo, FL, wrote that she often hears from her deceased husband and daughter. One time the daughter said, “Is nice here. Hello Mamma.” Renata uses the SW radio for her sound source. Through the static she hears voices calling her by name, telling her they love her and send her

kisses. They also tell her, “You have many spirits that protect you.” Most of the voices, including her husband and daughter speak to Renata in Italian, since that is native tongue. Richard Busse has been busy contacting all IN members, five joining as a result of my article in FATE. He sends them a packet of material, including my detailed “How to Tape Voices.” He also notifies the other members about the new member. Richard hopes to start a monthly IN newsletter, “Hoosier Voices,” that will update each member in his state on what other IN members are doing. Robert Camburn, PA had a beautiful poem published in a recent Spiritual Frontiers Newsletter. The poem, “Petition” was from his booklet, “The Silent Stars and Other Verses;’ Joyce Gaines, LA, wrote that she is active in a forum group which meets each Saturday at the City Book Store in Shreveport. On June 29, she gave a talk titled, “Gifts: Spiritual or Psychic.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, is trying to get pictures through her TV. She experimented with infra-red film but the experiment was unsuccessful. Clara wrote that she had a new roof and shingles put on her house with two coats of white paint. She asked her deceased husband, Tom, how he liked what she’d done to the house. He replied, “The roof sure looks pretty from heaven,” and “Epoxy – all white.” Jonathan Marten, a new member from England, wrote that when he did EVP experiments, he had the

best results when he called on family members, rather than those who were casual friends. He said he finds that this fits in with theories that mediums believe our deceased loved ones communicate to show their continued love for us. Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, wrote that she had heard from the owner of the house in Phillipsburg, N.J. which she and her mother had visited. This was mentioned in the Winter 1991 NEWS and that Valerie had gotten a spirit photograph of a small dog. The owner said the dog was not theirs, but her husband had dug up a dog license dated in the 1940’s, buried under an old pear tree. Bill Weisensale, CA, wrote that he had just seen the video “Ghost” and recommends it to our members who have not seen it. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena IF YOU WRITE FOR US I am delighted at the number of AA-EVP members who send me material for our newsletter. You are truly outstanding in this. You in a real sense, make the newsletter. Unfortunately, space is limited. If you send something, try to keep it around 100 words. As always, I reserve the right to edit your contribution to fit editorial requirements. Have a good summer! May your tomato plants flourish as mine are, which are now taller than me. Deadline for our Autumn Newsletter is September 28. ODDS AND ENDS Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to

Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1991 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “The thought of death leaves me in perfect peace for I have a firm conviction that our Spirit is a being of indestructible nature.” Goethe Worry! How many of us waste what could be productive hours, even days, in needless worry? We worry about many things. Children, jobs, money, teetering relationships with significant people in our lives, health, death. The list is endless. Letters, and sometimes phone calls, come to me weekly from people who are worried. Their worries run the gamut of human emotions. They ask for advice on how to solve their problems. It is clear that some of them need professional help and I suggest this as tactfully as possible. The word “psychiatrist” frightens them and they immediately reject the idea. “Counseling” is much less threatening and usually they will finally agree that this might be acceptable. There is only so much I can, and should, do over the phone or in a letter. Death! This is the greatest worry, the greatest fear, of most. Has their loved one survived death? Since many regard me as a survival researcher, and to a certain extent I suppose I am, they think I have all the answers. Alas, no!

In the last three months, TV and radio interviews have continued apace, and not one interviewer has failed to ask, “What happens when we die?” “What do Spirits tell you life is like after death?” Although I try to answer their questions, I always say that what other researchers and I have learned from electronic communication is just the tip of the iceberg. In college, the head of the Psychology Department asked the class one day, “How many of you have ever been concerned about death?” Four of us out of a class of thirty, between the ages of nineteen and twenty, raised our hands. Dr. Smith was surprised. “It’s unusual for people your age to be worried about dying,” she said. She didn’t ask, so I didn’t say, but my worry started when I was seven--but then, I lived through some unusual circumstances. Unfortunately, for me and my three fellow classmates, research into survival didn’t become a prominent issue until thirty years later. None of us, I venture to say, had read the words about death by Goethe, or any other great thinkers on the matter in ages past. Recently, I read an article written by a woman who was ninety. She described how full and joyous her life was in spite of some physical infirmities. Although she admitted there are calamities in life which cannot be controlled and must be endured, she feels to worry about them before they happen, or afterward, is to abuse oneself. She writes

that she has wiped worry out of her life. She refuses to dwell on real or imagined catastrophes. Near the end of the article, she says there is one adventure ahead of her, the greatest experience of all. It has no strings attached, there are no loose ends. It is death. She looks upon death as the perfect ending. Yes, death can be a positive or negative experience. How many of us regard death as a negative experience for ourselves; for our loved ones? It need not be. Could we try to be more like Goethe to whom the thought of death left him in perfect peace? Or, like Beethoven whose dying words were: “I shall hear in Heaven.” For those greater or smaller worries that come to us as we journey through life, it might help to remember some words I read recently: 1 “Common things happen commonly. Uncommon things do not. When you hear hoof beats Don’t think of zebras.” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena LOOK AT US NOW! Did you take a good look at the letterhead of your newsletter? If so, you noticed we have become incorporated! My attorney was distressed we hadn’t taken this step and felt it needed to be done for various reasons. Bowing to his advice, I began the process. It was interesting and at times amusing. After the papers and seal arrived, we held our first board meeting in his office. Legally, I was

required to resign— for five minutes there was no one at the helm of the AA-EVP! Then, my daughter Becky, who I appointed Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, before my resignation, nominated me for President. Since there were no opposing votes, it was carried unanimously, so here I am! Also, upon legal counsel, the membership applications and renewal forms have been changed. When you renew, or join, please read both sides. If you want to be on the cross- country list, it is not only necessary to put an X in the proper place on the front of the form. On the reverse side, you will see a space at the bottom for your signature. It’s not that I am being fussy--my attorney says the signature is needed. Just a few more words about the forms, and our ‘house-keeping’ chores will be done. There is a place for you to indicate what your main interest is in voice phenomena. Most people check box 1 or 2, sometimes both, which is fine. A few people check all 3 boxes. I suggest that if you have checked either the first or second box, you shouldn’t check the third. When you do, it makes it confusing, and I don’t know how to list you in our records. TRANSITIONS Two men, well known for their interest in psychic phenomena, have made their transitions. In a letter from Dr. Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, he wrote: “The late Professor (Hans) Bender, our most prominent academic parapsychologist, passed

over May 7. He came through the Luxemburg computer and by voice to Homes, (a German EVP researcher) with the same long message at the same time June 19. Moreover, he sent greetings to a certain Mr. Steiner, to whom he had promised in 1984, to send word via another person if possible, when he died. None of the experimenters knew about this. It was not even clear whether Bender had met Steiner during his lifetime.” The August issue of FATE Magazine announced the death of Curtis Fuller, co-founder of FATE in 1948, and for many years its publisher. A personal remembrance of Curtis was written by Clark, a close friend of Curtis and his wife, Mary, for over 30 years. Clark said that Curtis had died of heart failure at the age of 79 in Scottsdale, AZ. He described him as a “voice of reason throughout the world of the paranormal. His numerous articles and regular column in FATE were always insightful and introduced many of us to the world of the strange and unknown. Now he is gone.” We wish both men god-speed in their return home. They are now able to pursue their interests and further develop them. I am confident that many of the questions they had about the world of psychic phenomena will be answered. AN INTRIGUING QUESTION Many of you have bought Tape 5, my 45-minute Spirit/Space Tape. On Side 2, which I call “space” for lack of a better word, there are a

number of, at times, bizarre messages (to our earth-mind frame). As I point out in my book, Voices of Eternity “space” messages frequently use words unknown to us. Some words are strangely repeated, and the quality of the voices occasionally sounds computerized or robotic. All of this is evident on Tape 5. In Number 2, we hear: “Pro pro sirus is is a fact. This is an an attack. They headed up they were practical.” The message is loud, Class A. At least two male voices speak. I have no answer for the meaning of the message. To me, it is one of those imponderables which most experienced tapers face at times. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Near the end of July, a letter came from Ray Kent, CA AA-EVP member. Referring to the message, he wrote: “If we consider the first syllable (pro), meaning ‘for’ then we could have a rough translation that Sirus is a fact. Sirus the Mead, was a significant biblical character. Maybe there is some sense to the message after all.” Ray is correct. However, I was deliberately making an effort to communicate with realities not commonly regarded as the Spirit world. Ray’s letter, though, made me consider the message more carefully. Sirius is a star of the first magnitude known as the Dog Star. Quoting from the book: We Are Not The First (Riddles of Ancient Science by Andrew Tomas, he writes: “The Dogons of Sudan

have a strange tradition about the “dark companion of Sirius.” This dark companion of the bright star Sirius is visible only in the most powerful telescopes, such as that of Mount Palomar.” Years ago, I saw a TV program that focused on how some primitive people ‘knew’ things that they could not possibly have known. The astronomical knowledge of the Dogons was discussed. It mentioned that part of the Dogon folk-lore involved ‘beings’ from another world who had come down and lived with them for a while. These entities claimed they came from Sirius. I try to keep my imagination within bounds. Perhaps the idea may pass the boggle point for some of you, but could they have been trying to tell me that not only Sirius exists, which almost everyone knows, but that it did, in fact, play a part in the Dogcn folk-lore? AN UNSETTLING EXPERIENCE Leigh Hearon, daughter of Monty & Bobby Hearon, OR State Coordinators, has written to me about an experience she had. Quoting from her letter, she wrote: “At the time I was working on a case for a convicted murderer serving a life sentence in the Walla, Walla, WA state penitentiary. One Saturday, after visiting my client in prison, I arrived back home. I heard a ‘whoosh-whoosh’ sound in my basement, along with bangings that simulated the noise of doors slamming. This continued for five minutes or so. When I got into bed, the bed shook with a vengeance. “As time went on,

the shakings extended themselves throughout my bedroom. One evening, while talking to another investigator on the phone about the case, my heavy desk chair began to shake, along with the picture frames on the wall. On other occasions, I saw the blinds and adjoining bathroom and bedroom doors shake and rattle. I consulted a Catholic priest, who blessed my house and sprinkled it with holy water. Ironically, the next evening I had some of the most vigorous activity yet. “I have a good psychic friend who picked up the fact that my client in prison was sub consciously sending out his disturbed thoughts to me which (helped) create the phenomena.” The friend and another psychic, had a very intensive clearing session in Leigh’s home. They, along with a man who has also been successful in clearing a person from unwanted negative entities, were finally able to clear Leigh from the disturbances. Leigh also feels her decision to drop the case helped bring the activity to an end but that the process took two months before she could go to bed without fearing it would return. Near the end of her letter, Leigh commented, “In one way, it helped open my psychic self, and I now feel more open to experiencing extrasensory phenomena.” THE FAMILY THAT TAPES TOGETHER We have more people taping today than ever before. Over eighty members say they are active tapers, taping at least once a week. This is good—with reservations. A number of you have my

book and I suggest that you again read pages 194-196, in which I write that not everyone should become involved with psychic phenomena. I mean these words as much today as I did when I wrote Voices. Husbands, wives, and adult children who tape together can bring positive energies to taping, provided they don’t fall into any of the categories mentioned in my book. At what age does a child become an adult? There is, of course, no exact age when a person becomes emotionally and psychologically mature. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena For the most part, I feel very uneasy if I learn that someone less than sixteen is taping, As far as I am concerned, sixteen to nineteen or twenty, is a gray area. Some young people that age can handle what may come through. They won’t go into a ‘tailspin’ at real or imagined messages they think are on tape. Children less than fifteen should not be encouraged to tape. If they have emotional problems, they (and you) should not suggest they sit down at a tape recorder at any age. You may open the door to some extremely undesirable experiences for you child, and yourself, if you do. SKEPTICAL SOCIETY Gilbert Bonner, England, wrote and said that a recent Journal of the English SPR (Society for Psychical Research) stated they have been unable to discover in all their research anything that is paranormal. I agree with them. As

many people know, I don’t like the word paranormal. I feel there is nothing that is paranormal, only many things we don’t understand. However, I don’t think the Society and I are looking at the word in the same light. They have long been known as being skeptical about many areas of psychic phenomena, including EVP and other aspects of objective contact with Spirit and alternate realities. I applaud the necessity of being skeptical about many claims made by the fringe elements in the field. With some people and groups however, skepticism becomes almost a religion. Perhaps these people need to consider the words of Heraclitus: “Most people do not take heed of the things they encounter nor do they grasp them even when they have learned about them, although they suppose they do.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TAPING SET-UP OF KOENIG, GERMANY In the Summer Newsletter, I published the set-up for taping used by Jules & Maggie Harsch-Fischbach of Luxembourg. That, along with other systems, was published in the “Transcommunication Journal for Psychobiophysics and Interdimensional Communication Systems.” As mentioned in the Summer NEWS, Ernst Senkowski, an editor of the Journal, wrote: “That although builders of the systems achieved good results with these systems there can be no assurance that other experimenters will get similar results.” He feels, as I do, that the personal factor in taping plays an important role, and is not necessarily transferable. We are grateful to Hans

Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, for translating the article. Hans Otto Koenig has continued in his outstanding results with TC (transcommunication). In describing the Ultra Sound Generator System, Senkowski wrote: “The signals of square wave generators 1-2-3 are mixed by mixer 1. Mixer 2 further mixes these signals with the frequency modulated outputs of generator 4-5-6. The resulting mixture is partly audible because of the beat frequencies and modulating warble tones. Beaming it across the room for demodulation and recording is accomplished by a Ultra Sound speaker-Step 1, or antenna Step 2. “Infra-red signals of generator 1 are sent out across the room to IR receiver No. 2 where they are demodulated. The result of this demodulation then modulates the 37.5 MHZ carrier of VHF generator #2. The carrier is radiated across the room and picked up by receiver #2. The 37.5 MHZ demodulation then feeds back into generator #1 forming a feedback loop. The second output of receiver #1 provides amplification for the voices and feeds a stereo tape recorder.” TWO EXPERIMENT IDEAS Erland Babcock, MA AA-EVP member, wrote he was pleased with the clarity of the pictures I published in the last newsletter, which had come through his TV. He said they gave him an idea for an experiment. Erland is going to re-photograph some of his television pictures using various filters. Some of our members are especially interested in Spirit photography. If you are one, you might like to try his idea. Richard Light, N.Y. AA-EVP member, has

discovered a way to slow down recordings to 1/8 of their original speed. He heard ‘chipmunk chatterings’ on tape and decided to slow the tape down to see if it made sense. Quoting from his letter, he wrote: “My little recorder only has two speeds, 3 3/4 and 1 7/8. I cut the speed in half. No good. So, I re-recorded the half speed to my Sony reel-to-reel tape deck at speed 7½. Now I had something to work with. I played the tape back, cutting down the speed each time. At speed 1 7/8, peoples’ voices could be heard (that I could interpret). Remember, when doing this, the original recording has been slowed down to 1/8 of the original speed.” TAPERS REPORT Ann Longmore-Etheridge, VA AA-EVP member, wrote that she had sent a box of books dealing with various aspects of parapsychology to her sister, Alice. Before the books arrived, Ann asked if anyone had a message for her sister. Several things came back, among them a female voice who said on tape: “Yes, I have. Put your clothes on...” Ann called Alice the next day to report the messages. Both agreed the one about the clothes was puzzling. Twenty-four hours later Ann reports: “My sister was lounging around her living room in the summer heat with the windows open and the blinds drawn, wearing next to nothing. The doorbell rang and peeking through the window, she saw it was the UPS man with the books. Since she was

nearly naked, she couldn’t open the door to receive them.” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, sent me an outstanding tape of over twenty messages. A number were about Arnold Barber, and some purportedly came from him. Barber was mentioned in the Summer 1989 NEWS, regarding how the Survival Research Foundation of FL hoped to receive a ‘key’ word from him after his death. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me an excellent tape of reverse voices. In his letter, Dan wrote: “I have been taping wired direct from Receiver to Input Jack of Recorder with good results. No mike (is being used)!” Gail Zandel, Washington, D.C. AA-EVP member, wrote: “I sometimes wonder who I’m talking to when doing the tapings. Last week I received, ‘Mrs. Zandel where are you? Can you hear me’”? THOUGHTS ON TECHNICAL RESEARCH & EQUIPMENT In a letter dated Sept. 2, Hans Heckmann, who translates all of our German publications and has an extensive technical background, wrote to me about his thoughts on technical research. Quoting from his letter, he said: “The earthside technical aspect presently is not that important. There is not much more that we can do technically now to make it easier for the other side. I think we have seen and read enough evidence that makes it pretty clear that “mind link” and the concentrated power of mind, when unified and in frequency with the other side,

will accomplish more. These things are much more important than any technical efforts no matter how well meaning and sincere they may be. Believe me, it is quite a sobering experience for a technically minded person like me to realize that all the wonderful equipment is really not that important. I have an admiration for sophisticated electronic equipment. The strong desires and tendencies of the T.C. researcher (and medium) on earth can become the guideline for spirit cooperation. There is nothing wrong with that. Too much giving in and the actual catering to the researcher’s desires should be a warning to us. On the other hand, wonderful cooperation is possible when both sides are sincere and have much in common.” Hans echoes my thoughts in his letter. I, like most other tapers, am guilty of always trying to find a better way, a better piece of equipment, to help more voices come through louder and clearer. It was in Oct. 1976 that I first sat down and asked, “Is anyone here?” In the fifteen years since then, I have learned it is not equipment or methods that make the difference. It is the taper. As an unseen male entity told me once on the reverse side of the tape, “We need to see within the heart.” Hans, and I, and most other knowledgeable active tapers, certainly do not dismiss the importance of equipment. I have written and frequently said that I feel 80% of successful communication with other dimensions, depends

upon the person communicating. Twenty percent is a result of equipment used. CE. M. M. Sarai Buioni, Italian AA—EVP member, in answer to my letter, said that she and Virginia Ursi still publish their excellent newsletter. It deals mainly with communication (instrumental and otherwise) with the spirit dimension. The work of Italian researchers and others is discussed. The newsletter published in June and December, is available to all members of their center. Subscription is 30,000 lire a year. It is published in Italian and for those able to read this language, I feel you would find it worthwhile. The address is: CE. M. M.-Via Porro Lambertenghi, 34--20159 Milano, Italy. CAN YOU HELP? Two years ago, at the International PSI Conference in Basel, Switzerland, I met Christine Berge from France. She has her Ph.D. in philosophy and was teaching at a French University. We have exchanged letters, and Christine is living in VA until next summer. She is doing research on channeling for a dissertation which will lead to a second Ph.D., this one in anthropology. Her focus will be EVP, mainly in this country. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, and I have each met twice with her. She is eager to do a survey of our members to help with her dissertation. She will be grateful if you send the answers to the questions below so she can contact you. Write to: P.O. Box 195Urbanna, VA 23175. 1. Name 2. Sex 3. Race 4. Birthdate 5. Place of birth 6.

Present address 7. Marital status (married; single; divorced; spouse dead) 8. Children 9. Education—highest level achieved. 10. Your current work 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena situation or are you retired? 11. Religion 12. Do you tape or are you trying to receive pictures through your TV? If so, what are your methods and results? 13. Do you try other forms of “channeling”? 14. Do you read about EVP or other phenomena? 15. Do you have any particular doctrine which is important to you? 16. Do you believe in reincarnation? Ray Kent wrote that his new license plate reads: EVPTAPR NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Richard Light said that he has a large collection of old books about psychic phenomena. He has two copies of Peter Bander’s book: Voices From the Tapes which he will sell. If you are interested in his books, write P.O. Box 177-Holmes, N.Y. 12531. Ann Longmore-Etheridge, is scheduled to give two talks in October to a metaphysical group in VA. She will play sample tapes and discuss recording methods. Rupert Sigurdsson, ME, frequently teaches workshops and gives talks on voice phenomena. He sent me an outline of a program he had given this summer at a church, and it was excellent. WE’RE GETTING AROUND Since July, there have been several TV appearances and six phone hook-up radio interviews from the office in my home. This has resulted in many inquiries and new members. On July 15, I was

live on nationwide CNN, from their new studio in Washington, D.C. The interview lasted for fifteen minutes and was a fascinating experience. One week later, WGN, a TV cable company based in Chicago, came to my home to interview me in my office. All went well. Some members wrote and said how surprised they were to turn on their TV and-there I was--larger than life! OPUS 27, NO. 2 Another question invariably asked by TV and radio interviewers, in addition to the two mentioned in my editorial is: “Have you ever heard from anyone famous?” I briefly answer that several well-known people have apparently communicated with me. “Who?” they ask. I refuse to go into this on camera or radio, because I am aware that the very idea of EVP passes the boggle point of many. To claim Julius Caesar and I have chats via my tape recorder would completely destroy the creditability of the field and myself. This situation arose in September when Bob Terrio, a producer for Hollyberry Productions, a TV cable company reaching 51 areas, came to my home. Hollyberry is starting a new series in several months, titled: “Mystic Journey,” and my work with voice phenomena will be one of the early thirty-minute programs. After the camera was turned off, Bob asked about the musician I had mentioned (without elaboration). I told Bob about the messages and music I feel I received from Beethoven and his colleagues thirteen years ago. The contacts lasted for over a

month and resulted in a tape that runs about thirty minutes. I told Bob I had never sold it—nor did I intend to sell it in the future. Only a very few people have heard it, including six noted musicians all listed in Who’s Who. At Bob’s request, I played the tape for him, and he was almost overwhelmed. The clear musical notes, and a young boy singing his message in the form of the diatonic scale, is moving. The strongest evidence is the minute of music that came through one night during a severe electrical storm. That morning, during my usual taping, musical notes had been taped. When I ended the recording, I said I would try to come back that evening. With that, Beethoven presumably, said: “I will try playing.” He did this and two measures from his Opus 27, No. 2 better known as “Moonlight Sonata,” are heard. At the conclusion of the music, several male voices said in a Class A voice, “We are good!” Unlike many EVP messages, there was great emotion in their voices and you can easily hear how 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena pleased they are with the results. It is utterly convincing. Bob asked if I would give him permission to use it as the musical theme to introduce each program in the “Mystic Journey” series. The following week, I wrote to Bob and said I would give permission for I have long

felt the music was meant to be shared. I must, however, retain all rights. At my request, my name will not be mentioned; Beethoven and his colleagues will receive full credit. In addition, at the end of each show where the credits are shown, it will state that the musical theme heard at the start of the program was taped the night of September 12, 1978, through a tape recorder, and came from Beethoven in the Spirit world. My stipulations were quickly agreed to and my attorney is preparing the necessary document. FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES Winnie Peters, MD AA-EVP member, called last week and said her young granddaughter had reached some conclusions about God and dying. The child’s baby-sitter, whom she loved, died one night from a massive heart attack. The death was unexpected and when S. was told about it the following morning, she wept bitterly for fifteen minutes. She then dried her tears and told her mother, “When someone dies that you love, it is good to cry about it. Now I’ve cried and I’m finished. I wondered though why Mrs. T. had to die last night. I’ve decided when God sits down for his morning decaf coffee, since he’s health conscious, he waves his wand at 1,000 people, and they’re the ones that die that day.” ODDS AND ENDS “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” Plato

Winter Newsletter deadline is December 28. Until then, always my best wishes. Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1992 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint There is a cold winter sky in front of me as I look out the window facing my desk. The large creek, that I also see, has shut down to boat traffic until warmer days return. The sailboats and power boats are buttoned up; the bubbling systems churn briskly, to keep the water from freezing and buckling the piers and harming the many boats. A lone, large white goose, who took up residence on our bank leading down to the water, gives his mournful cry. All of his sisters and brothers chose to return to warmer climes months ago, but ‘our’ goose decided for his own good reason to remain behind. Obviously, he marches (or waddles) to a different drummer. I have become very fond of him (or her) and would miss him if he decided to leave. Why does he cry? Does he regret not going south with his kin and now misses them intolerably? I thought so at first because last spring and summer, there were four of them who adopted our bank and the banks of neighbors. But no, it is

not those other particular geese he misses, the poor fellow is just lonely. He is calling for the ducks, of which we and the surrounding neighbors have dozens. He sometimes calls for several hours before the ducks come and join him on our bank. As soon as they come, he stops crying. Happily, together, they peck around the yard looking for tasty tidbits or waddle up to our pier and together enjoy the winter sun. Ducks and goose appear in perfect harmony and give no indication they think each other strange or different, or out of place. Perhaps we can learn an important lesson from them. The past three months have been somewhat international for me, with letters, some business, and visits from those of other countries coming to Dill Road. I don’t like the word “foreign” for to me, that denotes someone who is different and of course, no one is really that unless living in a mental hospital-- and I’m not always sure about them. In November, a psychiatrist from India, now living in this country, came to visit for several hours. She had done a great deal of reading in the field, especially in the area of survival, and for the most part had not been particularly impressed by any of it. She said patients in India who are terminally ill, normally come to a quiet acceptance for what lies ahead. In this country, Dr. C., said, it is completely different. Most of her patients here, facing

imminent death, fight against it and are terrified. This has been her experience and perhaps the experience of many other psychiatrists. I feel though, that those who seek the help of psychiatrists in order to face death with equanimity, are the desperate ones. The large majority don’t. As someone said to me last month after listening to the tape I have especially prepared for those who are terminally ill, or unable to come to terms over the death of a loved one: “I no longer fear death.” Then, in December, I received my first letter from Iran. Amir R., who lives on Roadaky Avenue in Tehran, sent a letter to the “AA-EVP NEWS”, and had the correct address, even down to the zip code. He wrote that he had long been interested in parapsychology and had heard I worked in the field. He asked for information about our group. I replied immediately and included in the airmail postage required, the $.52 stamp that shows two lovebirds with the word “LOVE.” I like the words of Edith Wharton: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” Sometimes we can be candles. More often and just as important, we are the mirror. As we enter the early days of 1992, let us make a resolution to warmly receive those who turn to us. Let’s not look at the differences between ourselves and others but rather at the basic kinship in all humanity. If

the ducks and goose can do it, should we do less? As a popular song of today goes: “It all comes down to you and me.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena William O’Neil LIBERANT A letter has come from Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, in which he said Wm O’Neil had died on September 4, 1991 in Pennsylvania. Many of you are familiar with the work of Bill in relation to the Spiricom system that was developed by George Meek. Bill, who had very strong mediumistic abilities, succeeded in having over 20 hours of meaningful two-way communication via Spiricom with Dr. George Mueller who had died a number of years earlier. Two weeks after his death, Bill came through a trance medium and chatted for twenty-five minutes with George Meek. He told George that he now sees all happenings and past events in their proper perspective. Bill also indicated he is working with children on the other side. This may not be too surprising. At one time, he had a TV program for children on the Wilkes-Barre, PA TV station. He entertained them with puppets, songs and ventriloquism. Our warmest thoughts and wishes go to Bill that he will find happiness in his new life. WHAT THE AA-EVP HAS MEANT TO ME Letters frequently come from members saying what the Association has meant to them. They are invariably heart-warming. Each correspondent writes how much they feel they have been ‘given’ from being

a member of our group. This ranges all the way from making a “best friend” through the cross- country list, to finding hope and comfort, for the first time, that there is no death. Perhaps, in this instance, I am a ‘candle’ but the light that is reflecting back from your ‘mirrors’ has brought me great joy. This joy is all the greater because I know you are then turning around and becoming a candle yourself as you share what you have learned with others. What you have received as a result of being a member of the AA-EVP, has been given back to me ten-fold. All of you are in a very real way my extended family. Rob and Meta Hyner, West Australia AA-EVP members, put it so beautifully in a recent letter that I want to share it with you. “We enjoy the newsletter very much. It crosses the borders of the countries and makes us part of a family. A family of wonderful people who have the ability to use the full availability of their faculties enhanced by their evolutionary development. Here in West Australia, living near the most isolated city in the world, we sometimes get lonely and your newsletter helps in breaking this isolation.... If people only were aware of what really matters, what really governs us all... For all those who participate in the work you do, Sarah, the veils of our future life are being removed.” EXPLODING LIGHT BULBS Subject matter of the

hundreds of letters that come during a three-month period varies widely. Most are interesting and while not related strictly to the voices, deal with anomalies that lead us to further consider the fascinating world in which we live. Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, and I have exchanged several letters about our respective exploding light bulbs. In a recent letter, he wrote: “We have had two such explosions in light fixtures in the hall. Like you, the explosions deposited 100s of pieces in a relatively small area. In the first one the bulb was intact but the filament was out. In the second case, though, the bulb was not only intact but still burning! I still think the explosions were caused by a percussive rap inside the globe.” Monty goes on to mention that he has had five very loud percussive raps in the air near him, and his wife Bobby, has had one. Several of these raps were witnessed (heard) by others. He reminded me that Jung had two such percussive raps while at Freud’s home, which he mentioned in his memoirs. My experience was similar to Monty’s. I had just started to enter the kitchen when an overhead light bulb, about six feet away, exploded. It was not in a shade at the time, so the glass from the bulb rained 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena down to the floor. My thought is that I may have had an implosion rather

than an explosion. It was impossible to count the pieces since it was largely like grains of sand. It also fell in a small area of about three feet, instead of flying across the room. Have any of you personally experienced a strange anomaly (not necessarily exploding light bulbs) that you can’t explain? If so, please write and tell me. Such anomalies often seem to be an outgrowth of unusual energies not very well, if at all, understood. These energies, I feel, are related, to a certain extent, to electronic communication with other dimensions. I might like to share some of them in future newsletters with our readers. INTENTIONAL VERSUS UNINTENTIONAL MESSAGES One of our new members wrote after hearing the Voices for the first time on Tapes 1 & 2 that I sent him. He felt that a number of the voices were “ambiguous.” He may be correct to a certain extent. Out of the 83 messages on the tapes, I would call about 10% ambiguous. Reflecting further on his contention, which incidentally is not unique, and thinking about some of the outstanding messages I have taped and heard on tapes sent to me, I have to agree most of us do receive messages at times that could be called ambiguous. Why? The most logical explanation seems that we were not intended to pick them up in the first place. A clear example of this was my taped contact with a well-known scientist who died in the early 1900’s.

His name was said clearly one morning. During the week that followed, I called on him frequently. Messages came through on both sides of my tapes, indicating he was with me and brought others with him. It is interesting that this was during a period when other scientists were also coming and using scientific jargon such as “laser,” In any case, after a week, he said on the reverse side of my tape: “That’s still my name but I wish she’d never heard. I rest!” The voice is loud, clear Class A. When I heard this, I apologized, said I didn’t mean to bother him and would not call on him again. I believe it is important to look beyond the message. Why couldn’t this person just walk away, ignore me, refuse to have anything to do with the situation? It seems as if he couldn’t. Each time I called on him during that week, I received a reply. This man, who was interested in psychical research during his life, somehow heard about me. He came with several colleagues to see what I was doing. Inadvertently, he, or more likely one of his associates, said his name which I wasn’t meant to hear. Once I did, he couldn’t get away. It was almost as if I had to ‘release’ him, which I did as soon as I knew how he felt. Could an analogy be when you’re at home and someone keeps calling you on the telephone? You wish they

wouldn’t but there’s nothing you can do because they have your number. Once I had come upon his particular energies, his frequencies, he found it hard to break free. I guess no one will ever know, but it gives us much food for thought. All serious tapers, I suspect, may have 100s of messages on tape that weren’t intended for them specifically. Look over your message log and mark those that seem out of place. I think you may be surprised. We are many times, I feel, eavesdropping on other dimensions. Please write and tell me about two or three of your most outstanding messages that seem to fall within this category. IS DEATH THE END OF AWARENESS OR IS IT THE BEGINNING? J. J. Snyder, CA AA-EVP member, corresponds with Lois Gordon of FL. Lois has been involved with metaphysical explorations for some time. Her thoughts, which she wrote under the above title, and which I will paraphrase, may be of interest to our members. “I have wondered many times what will happen when we die. If there is eternal life what will it be like? I have always thought that maybe there was a simpler answer than all the dogmas we are given, most of which are created by man. I believe that life in this world, prepares us for our fate in the next. “However, while spirit worlds are based on our thinking in this world, there are levels of existence according to our works. The levels

in the spirit world are levels of thought and our accomplishments, as 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena they deal with our fellow man. If you lead a life of vice and corruption here, that is the kind of spirit world in which you will find corruption being done to you as you did it to those with whom you were in contact at the physical level. “There is no eternal hell, though. It is within the reach of every soul to be in the higher realms. You must first understand that the mistakes you made need to be corrected. It is only through fervent desire with the guided energy of love for all God’s creations that it is possible to enter a higher level. “We are our own judges in the spirit world. We cannot lie to ourselves, or rationalize our deeds. Spiritual advancement is a personal thing, requiring us to review our lives (and make amends) for what we have done. We are not forced to do this alone. There are spirit teachers who will help us if we ask. Free will operates as eternally on the spirit level as on the physical. “It would seem then, that death is not an ending, but a beginning, a transitional state to contemplate our lives and further our advancement and soul growth. There is no vengeful God that strikes us down and forces eternal damnation upon us. God is all, and all is

love.” HEAVENLY REPAIRS My Olympia electronic typewriter is weary. It has typed (probably) a half million words since I got it over six years ago. Last fall, it showed its age by typing ‘crazy’ squiggles, slashes, and lines that were completely with out meaning. This wasn’t an occasional problem but rather a daily one. A call was made to a typewriter dealer in Annapolis. If I brought it in, they’d try to get around to it in the next week or two. Giving it up for that length of time was unthinkable. Then, one morning I sat down to tape. On tape playback, a Class A male voice said: “A-6 fixed the typewriter.” The Olympia has worked perfectly since then, but who is A-6 and with a name like that, from what dimension did he come? More recently, my TEAC A-6300 reel to reel tape recorder has also begun to show its age. There is a lot of static; the amplifier fades in and out; the wall speakers shut off and then back on -- it is very distressing. My husband, a retired electrical engineer who is knowledgeable about electronics, has been unable to pin down the problem or problems, which may be myriad. Not forgetting the excellent help of A-6 on my Olympia, I was not shy about asking if they could possibly fix my tape recorder. No problem. As soon as I made my request, a Class A male voice said: “We can repair! We can repair!” The

following morning when I began my recording, an exceptionally clear, loud Class A male voice said: “Somebody’s standing in front of the tape recorder.” I could almost sense someone standing immediately in front of me, making minute adjustments to my equipment. I’m happy to report the tape recorder is better. It still has problems but they have decreased greatly. TRANSCOMMUNICATION JOURNAL We are indebted to Hans Heckmann for his, as always, excellent job of translating VOL. 1, NO. 3 of the German journal about communicating with the unseen. This is published by AA-EVP member Dr. Ernst Senkowski and Dr. Vladimir Delavre. Quoting from the Journal, we read: “Observations show that successful voice reception does not depend on the tuning frequency of the receiver. This had been reported by several experimenters including the German taper Homes. During a TV voice transmission he changed channels without influencing the voice.” (This has also been my experience. Often, unknown to me, a message starts to come through as I slowly move the dial on my Patrolman radio. On playback, the voice continues his message, ending it on the new frequency. S.E.) 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Good voices are also obtained by scaling the tuning range from one end to the other and hear voices as fragments of normal broadcasts. We should also point out the previously reported preference of tube receivers to transistor sets.’ In the Autumn Newsletter we wrote about the transition last May

of Professor Hans Bender, a noted German parapsychologist from Freiburg. Professor Bender had come through the computer of Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach in Luxemburg and the tape recorder of Homes in Germany at the same time with essentially the same message. Thanks to Han’s translation, we now have more information about this. “…(On June 18) A. Homes received a phone call from the other side and was told: “Contact tomorrow morning.” The following morning, he switched on his usual equipment combination (2 radios, 1 TV set, a tape recorder) and left the house with his wife on business matters. Upon his return at 10:30 A.M., he found the equipment turned off. The cassette recorder had a 10½ minute voice recording. Intelligibility is relatively good and the voice had a similarity with Professor Bender’s lifetime speaking voice.” As mentioned, the computer of the Harsch-Fischbachs contained the same basic message as the taped voice which said: “This is Hans Bender from Freiburg reporting. As we concentrate on you, many physical processes are taking place within you. Your friend Ernst Senkowski suspects correctly: An unconscious personality structure backed by a conscious will, as well as a geo-biological filter pass on earth, make possible the meeting of the minds of different worlds. This includes instrumental T.C. Your contact experiments in Rivenich in 1988 were only possible because you offered us five frequency mixtures in an altered state of consciousness (as a medium). This should point the way for other experimenters. ( When Homes started

experimenting he worked with 5 radio sets, each tuned to different stations. In this recorded frequency mixture the first voices could be heard). Through multidimensional effects you achieve a higher vibration. Even the burning of a candle can contribute to that. Your science and your scientific methods can hardly help here. From our side we work with “radar.” This has nothing to do with your radar energy. At the moment I am visiting Freiburg and am feeling very well…” There was also an article in the Journal about a device called the “Ocluarium.” The late Viennese engineer Franz Seidl in the early 1970’s, tried using a small glow lamp as a source of light. It was to form an optical transmission link between the output of a microphone preamp and a cassette recorder. These experiments did not succeed, probably because of the great inertia of the filament. Herbert Spirik, a German taper, with the help of Maria Pokorny, also an experimenter, has asked Seidl (in Spirit) for help. In his reply, Seidl used the word Ocularium. He explained that the optical transmission link basically consists of a light emitting diode (LED) which is modulated by the output of the mike preamp. The light, concentrated by a reflector, carries the mike signals which fall on a photo diode for demodulation. An adjustable feedback loop between photo diode output and LED input completes the setup. According to Seidl, the wavelength of the light is unimportant. Infra-red devices could be used also. The

cost is small and the addition is simple. TAPERS REPORT Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that one Sunday she took a small portable Sony cassette recorder to church to tape some music. While it was recording during the service, Clara began to reminisce. On playback later at home, a voice said during the recording which had occurred: “Don’t look back.” Clara said that this type of taping might bore some but “for myself, in the quiet, one feels the spirit come closer.” Dan McKee, IL and Fl. State Coordinator, sent me an excellent composite tape of over 100 messages. All of them were on the reverse side of his tape. Two of the most unusual things he included were sound effects produced by the other side, evidently used to help them speak. The first was a variable tone. This began when he was using his Sony cassette recorder for the first time, along with a new tape. The tone started low, went up to high, and back down to low again. The second unusual sound effect was a clear 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena gong sound that immediately preceded the message: “Wait! The fact of signals go beyond.” Dan commented on the tape that he frequently hears this gong before a message comes through. OPTIMAL CARRIER FREQUENCY I wrote on page 4 that “successful voice reception does not depend on the tuning frequency of the receiver.” My personal preference is the

airband (not found on all radios). This is the band used by air traffic control and the aircraft themselves. The reason I prefer this band is because it is limited in earthplane message content. If I hear: “You are cleared for landing,” or, “I have a passenger on board that doesn’t have a ticket,” I am not going to think I have recorded a message from the heavenly realms. Normally, I tune my radio between 120-131 MHz, and the unseen also seems to like these frequencies. Perhaps, and this may be important, after fifteen years they’ve become accustomed to them, as far as speaking to me is concerned. They have adjusted their equipment and there is little doubt in my mind that they have equipment, to come through to me at these frequencies. In a recent letter from Bill Weisensale, CA AA-EVP member, who publishes “Spirit Voices,” an excellent technical transcommunication newsletter, he wrote about the optimum frequency for recording. Quoting from his letter, Bill said: “I believe that although voice reception is possible, and in fact frequently happens in systems that contain no above voiceband frequencies that an above voiceband carrier will be needed in an efficient TC receiver. When I inquired about this, it was indicated that the optimal carrier frequency is around 1 GHz (1,000 Megahertz).” SPIRITUAL ADVISORY COUNCIL CONFERENCE Paul Johnson, FL AA-EVP member, is holding his annual winter Spiritual Development Conference in Orlando, FL from February 14-16. The conference, titled: “Journey Into Light,” features many

outstanding speakers and workshop leaders. Some of them are: Steven McFadden, Betty Riley, Frank Tribbe, Kenneth Thurston Hurst, and Ron Warmoth. Ron, a professional dowser/psychic, will be teaching an intensive workshop: “The Art of Self-Fulfillment” for three days preceding the conference. I have attended and participated in Paul’s winter, and also summer conferences, and can recommend them highly. You will find your time well spent if you attend. In order to receive full details quickly, call Paul. His number is: 407- 774-6151. FROM MY MAILBAG Gilbert Bonner, from England, wrote that although he is discouraged at the overall, lack of serious EVP research in his country, he continues with his own daily efforts. He was recently notified by a publication that the 3,000 word article he submitted to them about the phenomena, will be published this spring. Gilbert said: “I believe still that EVP is the most amazing and important breakthrough to have taken place in PSI history.” Jon Marten, English AA-EVP member, has become a good friend of Gilbert and has visited him twice in his home. Letters, in response to my article in the May 1991 issue of FATE Magazine, are still trickling in, (three last week) bringing a total of over 850. One, from a Mrs. Carr in FL, commented about the messages I had taped in the Woodrow Wilson house in Washington. She wrote: “I used to be a hostess and guide there and it was ‘haunted’ even then. There was a little china bell on

the mantel in the living room that would ring by itself when there were no visitors. The houseman who slept on the 3rd floor said there were spirits around when he shaved in the bathroom. Pres. Wilson and his wife’s brother had used a ouija board during their lifetime.” “Out of the scads of reading material that comes into my house your newletter is by far the most interesting and thought provoking. DON’T EVER CHANGE!” Irene Nelson, WI. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TUNE IN After listening to one of my tapes and reading my book: Voices of Eternity Fox network, headquartered in Los Angeles, has contacted me. They produce a regular series of programs about unexplained phenomena presenting them as investigative documentaries. Rob Kirk, a producer, called and said they would like to show the electronic voice as part of one segment. A crew of four will be coming from Los Angeles the third week of January to film me in my office and out in the field. It is expected the show will air nationwide the end of February. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Robert Camburn, PA, sent me a copy of a letter he wrote that appeared on the editorial page of The Philadelphia Inquirer under: “Letters to the Editor.” In it, he commented about an article that had appeared earlier in the paper concerning near-death experiences. While agreeing that such experiences support evidence that the soul survives physical

death, Robert said other phenomena also suggests this, such as: voices appearing on blank tape, images coming through the TV and messages from the ‘departed’ on the telephone and computers. Ray Dietz, MD, had an article published in the Spiritual Frontiers Journal, titled: “How is Poetry Written”? Ray, an aeronautical engineer, is also a poet and has published two books of poetry (Ray’s Light and Ray’s Light, Too) With this Journal article, Ray included one of his poems: “Near-Life Experiences.” Stefan Horvath, OH, is the Founder & President of the Ohio Society for Psychic Research. The group meets occasionally to discuss such subjects as: auras, psychometry, astrology, and dowsing. For information, you can contact Stefan at: P.O. Box 12083-Columbus, OH 43212. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, wrote he had a major article in the Chicago Tribune Magazine in October. He also appeared on NBC’s Chicago Live and Fox 32. Jeff King, New Zealand, said in a recent letter that he especially enjoys the technical bits in our newsletter. He commented that he uses a ‘Wobbler’ in his work station and the noise it makes while tuning the receiver is “quite hypnotic!” He feels a factor in this is the repetition sound heard at about 10 Hertz. (A schematic to build a Wobbler was given in the Summer 1991 AA-EVP NEWS). Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, said that she and her mother were guest speakers for The New Jersey Society of Parapsychology, Inc. Valerie discussed spirit photography and her mother played a tape

of Voices she had taped. The program was well received and was followed by a “lively discussion.” Those of you listed, will find enclosed the entire list of other cross-country people. Put it in a safe place! As is our custom, the complete list is included only with the Winter NEWS. The other three quarterly newsletters will have updates. EXPLORING HORIZONS CONFERENCE! We are going to have another conference! It is time to get together again. Besides, it is our tenth anniversary, and what better way to celebrate? Mark your calendar for July 24-26 for the gathering of the clan. Hotels in Baltimore have priced themselves out of business with a minimum of $92 a night plus meals, so we will be going to the Baltimore campus of the world-famous John Hopkins University. The campus is large and beautiful. All buildings are air-conditioned and Hopkins has offered us an attractive package. We will sleep in a building on campus reserved for conferences and our meals will be in the spacious college cafeteria. Your fee will include two nights lodging, all meals and conference registration at a fraction of what it would be if we went to a hotel. The conference theme will be “Exploring Horizons.” I am working on the program and it will be outstanding. Already I have a commitment from Ken Webster (England), author of The Vertical Plane. He, Debbie Oakes (who was featured in the book), and a British camera crew will end their two month stay

in 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the U.S. at our conference. All of them will be traveling throughout the country, interviewing and filming people engaged in unusual activities. Our conference will play an important part in the film which will be shown on British television in the future. There will be more details in the Spring Newsletter. You don’t want to miss being a part of our fourth national conference! ODDS AND ENDS Many thanks to everyone who sent special notes and cards during the holidays. It is always heart-warming to know that one is remembered. My wish for each of you is that 1992 will be one of joy and good health. May you be surrounded by love. Let 1992 be a year in which your dreams will he realized and you will help others realize their dreams. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 28. Until then, always my best wishes! Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1992 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint With this newsletter, we have reached a milestone-—we are now ten years old! Each spring we celebrate our anniversary, for it was in the spring of 1982 that I mailed the first newsletter to our

small, but eager group of less than twenty-five members. Today, it is mailed to over 300 individuals around the world. Many times, I have to wonder how people hear about us, especially from other lands. At the end of January, Victor Perekoskiy wrote from the village of Belenkoye, a part of the commonwealth of Independent States (Russia). He said, “I would like to ask you to help to find work in your country. I’m pharmaceutical chemist. I’m 24 and shall be grateful for your any help.” An hour and six phone calls later, I spoke to the personnel director of Johns Hopkins University International Faculty. She said they would be happy to have Victor as part of the staff at the medical school, provided all of his papers were in order, and he had the proper educational back ground. I wrote to Victor with the information, wished him luck, and said if he came to Baltimore, I hoped we could meet. This obviously has nothing to do with voice phenomena, or even survival after death, but it is symptomatic of how we have become known, somehow, even in a small Russian village. Why become concerned, why spend time and effort, on something so far afield from the focus of the AA-EVP? My personal belief is that we must reach out our hand and try to answer a cry for help, in whatever guise it comes. Yes, our focus is objective evidence for survival, but what kind of survival can we

hope for if we become so involved with immediate concerns, that we lose compassion and lack time to listen to others? In ten years, much has been accomplished. I could use all six pages of our newsletter, and then some, writing about what has taken place since 1982. But that’s not what you, or I, want. Trips, three conferences, my book, media coverage in books, magazines, newspapers, radio and TV are only a small part. With this “notoriety,” as some people would call it, comes a heavy responsibility. I am always aware that what I do or say, or fail to do, or when I speak thoughtlessly in a moment of stress, can cause disillusionment. For myself, I don’t mind, but people being what they are, they tie the AA-EVP and what it stands for, to me. I, in truth, am but an infinitesimal, a 1/300 part of it, if you will. As one of our outstanding tapers wrote to me recently, “I’ve got a responsibility to the voices and to helping others. If I don’t do it right this time, I may have to come back in 70 years and do it again.” A bird’s eye capsule of the last ten years? That’s not possible in the space we have. Perhaps we can manage the last twelve months. For starters, 1,000 (975 to be exact) people have written for information about the AA-EVP. A large part of them came as a result of my cover article in the May

1991 issue of FATE Magazine. We compare that with 1990, when 78 people wrote. This year, we have had our greatest growth with over 100 new members. Increased media coverage has led to other requests for interviews and appearances. Our fourth national conference is scheduled for the end of July at Johns Hopkins University. All of you, with your continued letters and calls, have been my greatest support, my greatest comfort. The future? You are the future. Be active not passive in your beliefs. Paraphrasing a well-known saying: “The greatest evil is good men who do nothing.” You are good! You will find time to light a candle to help those who need its light. Put on your traveling shoes as together we start down the road to second decade! 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena WHO SPEAKS? Lois M. Gordon After hearing a voice tape for the first time, Lois, a Florida friend, sent the following poem. Perhaps she expresses the thoughts of many of us. “Spirit voices, from whence do they come? from what time, or space or plane? and if they come, why do they come? and speak, again and again? “Perhaps they feel the need to speak to tell us that all is well. Perhaps “out there” they feel that they have important tales to tell. “And if we listen, can we learn from these voices from someplace? or understand our place on earth is an alternate life we

face? “Is there more to life that death can tell? That maybe they are one? and that death is not an ending but a new “life” that’s then begun? “We know not all the answers but the truth exists somewhere Perhaps the answer then is we ARE both “here” and there!” INTENTIONAL/UNINTENTIONAL MESSAGES--FOLLOW-UP In the Winter 1992 newsletter, I wrote that I felt many tapers recorded messages that were not intended for them. It was as if we are eavesdropping on other dimensions and happen to pick up brief conversations among two or more entities. This, I believe, is evidential in itself that the phenomena is genuine. Skeptics cannot claim in such a situation that we are trying to impress a message on the tape. I asked members to send me examples of such messages. Thank you to all who responded. Dr. Ernst Senkowski, Germany AA-EVP member, wrote: “I believe that many taped passages are the results of inter-dimension “cross-talk!” Sarah Estep: “I have taped hundreds of unintentional messages. Some of them are: “I stop. He must guide me. Only road.” “We’ll help you guard ship.” “Ah, we’ll fly tonight.” “He don’t build the robot.” “I’m still coming over. Out of luck!” All were reverse messages. Except for the first, and possibly the last, I feel the other messages came from dimensions not commonly thought of as spirit. Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, wrote that most of the messages he and his wife, Bobby, tape, seem to be answers to

questions. “However, we have received some weirdos. “He’s done a lot of studying.” “Titser, oh!” “Get out!” and, “You’re parmish.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, sent the following. The people mentioned are unknown to her. All are reverse messages: “Sister Dana, can you deny you got rich from it?” “Clyde, this is Arnold. There 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena is no defeat for my defender.” “Joe, we’ll help you. Don‘t be so rough with yourself.” “Good day. This is Maverick. Is this the same time Rudy?” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, wrote: “I’m sure there are many unintentional messages, perhaps more than intentional ones.” His messages are also from the reverse side of his tapes. He listed: “For they are opposite--you laugh--man’s ear is set.” “Sit down with us, if you know to understand that you’re repel here.” “We will use a kelly to work this recorder.” LOVE AFTER DEATH From “Psychic Pathways” of Woodmere, N.Y., came a report of love continuing after death. A group of friends vowed that they would try to communicate with each other when they died. Many subsequently died, but there was no contact from any of them. Della, a member of the group, then decided that death was the end. Della had an automobile accident and as she, flew through the car’s windshield her one idea was to communicate with friends and family. She found herself floating towards a bright light where she found

a profound love. There was no need to communicate with those on earth since there was no separation. She then knew that her departed friends from the group had met with the same experience. When Della recovered consciousness in the hospital she remembered her experience and said: “I know that the cosmos of love and trust and eternity is all around us in dimensions only the ego fails to comprehend.” ANIMAL SURVIVAL Fred McIntosh, VA AA-EVP member, is a well-known dowser. He wrote: “As you know, I teach dowsing and do a lot of helping people locate their lost or stolen pets. The animal agency I work with kept records over a three year period (unknown to me). If the dowsing said that the animal was “in spirit” (dead) and the remains were somewhere that they could be recovered the recovery rate was about 90%! If the dowsing said the animal was still alive, the recovery rate was slightly better than 50%. The point here, of course, is the existence of a communication link as well as the ability of that link to function after physical death.” Erland Babcock, MA AA-EVP member, sent me the above picture of an unknown man he had received through his television. Erland will be teaching a workshop at our conference about how he receives TV pictures with his camera. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A LETTER FROM GERMANY In his letter to me, mentioned on page

2, Ernst Senkowski discussed many points that I think our members will find interesting and helpful. In a channeled dialogue with a medium, Ernst asked a number of scientific questions which were answered. One comment from the other side was: ‘It is scalar waves which we use to articulate ourselves but they cannot be detected (by your means).” They also stressed that the new physics should be erected on the basis of feeling where man recognizes that he is a part of creation. Ernst, commenting about our Winter NEWS, said he found my report about Dan McKee’s taping variable tones at times before he started to record, “most interesting.” He had heard similar tones, which were taped in his presence at Hans-Otto Konig’s laboratory. He wrote: “There is something about the tones enhancing (voice communication). So why do not our experimenters ‘answer’ by using those tones as taped to possibly improve contacts?” For our many new members who are unaware of Ernst’s background, he has a Ph.D. in physics and electrical engineering and was a college professor in Germany before retiring a few years ago. Consequently, he is well qualified to make scientific/technical observations and his ideas must be given serious consideration. EVP TONE TAPE AVAILABLE In the May 1983 newsletter, I offered members a tone tape of sounds that I had taped at 131 MHz. As with Dan and Konig, the voices often began their messages with these unusual sounds. As I wrote in that newsletter, I isolated these

sounds onto a six-minute endless cassette tape which I would play on a portable recorder as my sound source, while making a regular recording on my primary tape recorder. Some good results were obtained. At that time, I offered to send interested members a cassette tape with a fifteen-minute recording of these sounds to use as part of their taping experiments. Many members wrote for the tape. In light of Dan’s experience and Ernst’s comments, I am again offering the tape. Please send $3 to cover the cost of the tape and mailing. If you experiment with the tape, I would like to know your results. THE STARS ARE STILL THERE Robert Camburn, PA AA-EVP member, and I have exchanged letters about the above-named titled book by Stewart Edward White. He and his wife, Betty, are especially well-known as the authors of The Unobstructed Universe. There is an interesting sidelight to The Stars. In the October 1991 issue of FATE magazine, Lionel P. Miller wrote about his experience with the book that must be considered as strong evidence for survival. In 1945, Miller was serving in the army in the Philippine Islands. He received word that his six-year- old daughter had died from a brain tumor. During the next four weeks, he dreamt several times about his deceased daughter. She kept insisting he get a particular book, and so, he wrote down the title she told him: The Stars Are Still There He searched all the libraries he had access

to: Army, USO, Red Cross, but it could not be found. When he returned to San Francisco, he called the largest bookstore in the city, but they had never heard of it. Miller gave them his name and address, asking that they search for it. Six months later, the bookstore wrote to him. They now had the book and it had just been published. Miller wrote he was on “cloud nine” for his daughter had told him to get the book, months before it was published! The book deals mostly with the astral life and also discusses pre-existence, immortality, and reincarnation, as accepted facts of life. Much that is found in the book has also been taped through our recorders. We read that planes over there are not geographical. Like those on earth, there are different psychological and intellectual levels. Consciousness is the only reality. We take with us what we’ve gained 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena on earth, in the way of character. The book also mentioned that upon death “one gains no sudden illumination, but goes on from where he was and with what he has.” Some are said to have a period of adjustment, required of those without sufficient earth growth. . C.E.T.L. JOURNAL In a recent phone call from Maggie Harsch-Fischbach, Luxemburg, she said all is going well for her and husband, Jules. Their video results, and now pictures coming through their computer, are even better than a

few years ago. They send best wishes to all AA-EVP members. The above pictures show Konrad Lorenz. In his earth plane life, Lorenz was a rioted nature researcher. The two pictures on the right are from the book: Konrad Lorenz-From the World of the Great Researcher of Nature by Antal Festetics. The picture on the left shows him standing by some of his equipment in the spirit world, used to help newly arrived animals. Lorenz, a member of the group Timestream, continues with his love of nature and animals, helping animals who arrive, to restore them to health through a process of regeneration. I think our readers will be especially interested in comparing the picture of Lorenz, today in spirit, with that taken when he was 25. In spirit, he has chosen to return to the age when he felt most vibrant and in the best of health. In the current Journal, Maggie writes that they have noticed their inquiries about spirit children are answered sooner than any other request. Questions about mistreated animals were handled more thoroughly than technical ones. Maggie said that their communication partners on the other side analyze not only their questions, but the motivation that leads to the question. She wrote: “At the same time, an analysis of the personality of the questioner takes place, which is rarely passed on to the experimenter.” Swejen Salter, a chief communicator for the other side, spoke about healing. She said: “When wounded children and adults arrive here they

are being bedded in tubs filled with healing waters. It is no easy work. The wounds have to be treated and their body has to be washed. Amputated limbs regrow within a short time and the sick tissue regenerates itself. Marie (Maggie’s maternal grandmother) does all this work. She is a very resolute woman and has much help.” Technician, another leading communicator in speaking about reincarnation, had this to say: “When a man has experienced all facets of earthly life—grief, joy, happiness, pain, suffering and exhaustion, when all search for knowledge was satisfied and he explored all corners of the earth, when the wheel of life comes to a conclusion after many incarnations, then it is time to look for new horizons.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena As always, we are grateful to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, for his excellent translation of the C.E.T.L. Journal. AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH COMMUNICATION? Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine AA-EVP member, sent me an unusual tape. Two young men were driving in a car. On the built-in car cassette tape player, they were playing a Creedence Clearwater tape. There was an accident, the car was demolished, and both men killed instantly. Later, the tape was found in the car and given to a woman in Rupert’s church who, knowing of his interest in voice phenomena, gave it to him. First, you hear one of the songs on the tape. Suddenly (possibly at the moment of

death) this stops and there are five seconds of very unusual sounds which, although having some musical elements to it, is really indescribable. The original song being sung, then continues to the end. CONFERENCES Paul Johnson, AA-EVP member FL, is holding his annual Lake Forest College conference at Lake Forest, IL, from May 31-June 5. This is always an excellent conference with outstanding speakers and workshops. I feel all members would thoroughly enjoy this event and benefit greatly from it. For complete information, contact Paul at his new address: 14345 SE 103rd Terrace—Summerfield, FL 32691 Ernst Senkowski has sent information about a conference to be held at the Hilton Hotel in Dusseldorf, Germany from May 1-3. The theme is: Life After Death and the program looks out standing. Speakers and workshop leaders come from several countries and apparently, many sessions will be in English. Ernst has a leading role to play in the conference. Contact him for details: Eichendorfstrasse 19-D 6500 Mainz, Germany. An international congress on Transcommunication will be held from May 22-24 in S. Paulo, Brazil. English & Portuguese will be the two official languages. Some of the well-known speakers are: Martin Wenzel, Ernst Senkowski, Jules & Maggie Harsch-Fischbach and Ken Webster. I have programs. For more info, contact me. FROM MY MAILBAG Quoting from a letter received from Fanel Dragon, she wrote: “Thanks to your wonderful book, Voices of Eternity, I’m now in contact with you Three years ago I came in U.S. I’m a political refugee

from Romania. I’m hungry to know more. This kind of book does not exist in Romania. Soon I will be back in Romania after six years in exile and I wish to share what I found out in free world. I do not know if somebody will believe me when I know and believe firmly now what I expect after life. Death is a wonderful thing!” A letter and conference program came from Dr. K. Mohan, Secretary General of the Fourth World Spiritual Peace Congress held in New Delhi, (India). He wrote: Here in Delhi half way round the world, we have come to know about your Electro-magnetic tape wonders through your book, only now. We would be grateful, if you kindly keep us informed of your further research in the special field detected by you and other members of your group. Since it is now too late for us to invite you to India to participate in the Sessions of the Congress, kindly accept our congratulations on your research. This soul is sure that you would certainly keep us in your mental frame.” MEMBERSHIP REPORT Each spring we try to give a membership up date in our newsletter. As already mentioned, we have added over 100 new members since last April. Members come from 40 states, the District of Columbia, and 11 foreign countries. The countries represented are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, New Zealand, and Wales. For the 10th year in a row, men

outnumber women. This year, 55% of our members are male. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena SOME BOUQUETS “I’m amazed at the amount of thought and work that went into your newsletter. The dedication it demonstrates truly is impressive. Thank you!” Richard Busse, IN State Coordinator. “I am delighted to be a member of AA-EVP. I look forward eagerly to the Newsletter. I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a member of such a wonderful organization.” Desiree Eden, Idaho. “Thank you again for your beautiful comprehensive Newsletter. It always amazes me how you can switch from poetic writing, into highly scientific one. Thank you so much for the personal attention you gave me.” Margot Gizenski, CA. “Really enjoy receiving your newletter each quarter. It always inspires me to think about a wider reality than ordinary life.” Jeff King, New Zealand. “When the Newsletter comes through the door everything comes to a grinding halt. As always, this one is packed with interesting items and reminds me how fortunate we are. The 24th of July is my 10th anniversary at EVP. It has carried me through some very rough spots. God Bless!” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator. “This note to you is to tell you how very much I enjoy and look forward to your newsletters. I love being a part of such a group.” Florence Ratcliffe, VA COINCIDENCE OR REINCARNATION? Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator wrote that she has

done some research on her main spirit communicator, Hegeler. Ernst Senkowski had a genealogy sent to her of the noted German author, Wilhelm A. Hegeler, who died in 1943. From the beginning, Carol has been called Kathy (Cathy) from the other side, although no one she knows has ever referred to her this way. In her research, Carol learned that Hegeler had a sister named Catharina, who died at the age of 31. She has taped messages saying, “We’ll get your brother Hegeler for you.” Carol may have age regression to see if she was Hegeler’s sister in a previous life. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Dr. Eli Feldman, N.Y., continues publishing his newsletter. It is largely a compilation of many articles and books he has read about psi phenomena. If you would like more information, contact Eli. His address is: 270 27G Grand Central Pkwy., Floral Park, N.Y. 11005. Michel Granger, France, wrote that his work on taping voices will be published in the news paper column he writes. The column focuses on strange and fortean facts. Doris Humphrey, MD, had a full-length article published in FATE (Jan. ‘92) titled: “Dancing Balls of Light.” This was about the interesting phenomena of ball lightning. Edelgard John, Germany, writes that she has taped voices that complain about the cold and pain. She believes that the etheric body does not feel either and asks: “Could it be that they are not long in the other world and do not know they have

died?” Tina Laurent, Wales, sent a tape of voices. She was recording while a friend was preparing tea for the two of them. Several Class A messages were taped. One message referred to the tea the friend was making with: “What a feast you’re making!” She and her husband Carl plan to attend our July conference. Jon Marten, England, wrote that he has been “Active on the EVP front on this side of the Atlantic.” Jon enclosed an article that he had just published in the ASSAP NEWS The news letter looks excellent. In his article, Jon interviewed Professor Bob Morris, a noted para-psychologist. Morris has the Chair of Para psychology at Edinburgh University in Scotland. Martha Sherman, AR, wrote that she has donated all of Harold’s books to Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship International. They will be kept in their archives in Philadelphia, where hundreds of people may enjoy and use them for reference for years to come. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena J. J. Snyder, CA, sent a booklet he wrote: “Has Science Confirmed Survival?” This was published in England by Michael Roll and his group of researchers. It is an excellent twelve-page treatise on the subject. Voice phenomena and the AA-EVP are mentioned. Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y., along with his sister, Carolynne, came to visit one Saturday afternoon the end of February. He brought a cassette tape of voices he has recorded and many of them were very clear. Geoffrey also brought

his reel to reel tape recorder which has given him good results. This is smaller and lighter than most open reel tape recorders and is easily portable. In spite of this, it still takes regular size reels. Fair Radio Sales Co., Inc sells these second-hand reconditioned recorders for under $75. For the price, they seem to be a good buy. For information write to: 1016 East Eureka—P.O. Box 1105, Lima, OH 45802-1105. Phone: 419-227-6573. EXPLORING HORIZONS--CONFERENCE UPDATE Program for our July 24-26 conference is 100% completed! All speakers and workshop leaders have committed themselves to be with us and I can say without reservation that this, our fourth national conference, will be the finest ever held. Featured speakers include: Ken Webster from Wales; Joan Windsor; Frank Tribbe; Sheila Ostrander from Canada; Lynn Schroeder; and Rauni Kanen-Kilde, M.D., from Switzerland. Some of you may remember Rauni who came to our first conference in 1983. Since then, she has had a near-death experience and contacts with aliens. Each will be sharing their experiences and knowledge. In planning a conference, one must try to have as many different workshops as possible that will appeal to everyone. You will find this is the case at our conference. In fact, if there is a complaint, it will be that you have difficulty choosing between workshops. There will be two intensive (4 hour) workshops: Dreams and Healing and seven shorter workshops (2 hours each). There will be everything from learning how to tape, taught by a

‘master’, to Kirlian photography; from filming spirit video pictures through your TV, to astrology/numerology. I could say more, but I don’t want to give away all the surprises that are in store. We will gather together as a group for discussions and activities. Our 10th anniversary will be celebrated Saturday evening. Johns Hopkins University has been outstanding in helping us plan for the three-day event. At my request, they’ll bring a catered buffet breakfast to us Saturday and Sunday morning, in our conference headquarters. We will be able to sit and chat informally with each other and program staff over a good cup of coffee and other ‘delights.’ The program brochure will go to the printer April 10th. Target date for mailing it to you is the first week in May. When you get it, return it promptly. Not only will you save on the registration fee, but you will be more assured in getting your first workshop choices. Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 20th. ODDS AND ENDS We have come to the end of our tenth year. All of you have helped make this a good year with exciting events, and much positive growth. Together we begin our second decade. The road will take us where it will, but you have been, and always will be, in my thoughts. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact:

atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1992 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “Be Good or Be Gone” reads a sign above the door of a Severna Park restaurant that we frequent once a week. I have never seen the manager point his finger at any patron and then usher him to the door. We are all good. Perhaps we don’t want to lose our eating privilege of their excellent chili and ribs. Those five words enter my thoughts daily and how they relate to our lives here, as we live them, and in the future when we will live them somewhere else. All of us meet with situations when we want to say “Be Gone!” Surrounded by negativity that drags our very being down, we can surrender and become a part of it or somehow, almost literally, claw our way out of the darkness and move towards what we hope will be light. Struggles always exact a heavy price. Success may seem minimal and yet, to choose not to struggle, to not say, “Be Gone!” will be in the end more costly to the health of our inner spirit. Struggles may do little to ease personal burdens but we can try to ease the burdens of others. In our effort to Be Good, to help those who ask for and need our help, perhaps our own load will seem less heavy. It

will always be there, it can never be forgotten, but at least it has not over whelmed us completely--it has not consumed us as it most easily could. As we look at society today, who has not felt like weeping? Big Brother, wearing the cloak of authority, whether on a local, state, or national level has, in too many instances, forgotten his weaker brothers and sisters who are struggling to just exist. Too often, the helping hand is missing and the foot upon the neck is heavy. Our AA-EVP members come from all levels of society. We are a microcosmic community, socially and economically, of the world at large. The thing that unites us, that makes us a community, is our interest in objective evidence for survival, and helping to spread ‘light’ as we each move along our individual, unique paths. I think it is safe to say that all of us, whether we be saint or sinner (and isn’t everyone a bit of both?) want to say “Be Gone!” to the dis-ease of our world. There are lighter moments in my daily correspondence such as the letter that came last week from an eleven-year-old girl. She enclosed her school picture and requested I ask my spirit friends who she was going to marry. Several letters come each school year from young people. They want to do a project about ghosts or psychic phenomena for their school science fair. Can I help? I try to, and often wonder if any

of them have won a blue ribbon. Five or six letters have come from a men’s penitentiary in CA. My book, Voices of Eternity is in the prison library. They have read it and want to let me know how much the book has meant to them, “Ignore those letters”, I was advised. Indeed, not! Those correspondents need as much, if not more, encouragement as the others who write. I can’t shout, “Be Gone” to them, but feel I must sit down and promptly write a short reply saying I am glad my book has helped and they have my very best wishes for the future. I think our greatest inhibitor in trying to do something about our unhappy world is the feeling we are helpless. We are one frail individual facing a Goliath that not even David would have dreamt about in his worst nightmares. We are not asked to take on the world, however -- just one small microcosmic speck of it. Those of you who write telling me about your volunteer efforts are all brave Davids. You are saying, “Be Gone” to the Goliaths of our world. When you reach the ‘Heavenly Gates’ I am confident St. Peter won’t say “Be Gone!” to you. The gates will open wide, he’ll say, “Come right in!” and you will find you are back home. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena PHONE CALLS FROM THE LIVING DEAD Many people report their loved ones

have called them after death. Scott Rogo and Raymond. Bayless detailed this phenomena in their book: Phone Calls From The Dead (Prentice-Hall, 1979). Individuals, known and unknown, have written or called me about their experiences along this line. In almost every case, they have been unnerved by what happened and wanted to know if I had ever heard of similar calls. A few thought they might have imagined their call and were afraid they were—as they put it—”going crazy.” Fortunately, I have been able to reassure everyone who has contacted me. A letter was received from Dr. Ernst Senkowski German AA-EVP member, telling about his evidential call from the living dead. I will quote in part. “On Feb. 10, I received a first paranormal telephone call from our late friend Klaus Schreiber mediating a deceased person from Poland. “When I was at my word processor Feb. 10, writing about earlier telephone contacts and referring to Phone Calls From The Dead (Rogo/ Bayless) I tried to formulate a sentence with the remark that during the last years, thanks to the answering machine and recorder, such calls could be documented technically. The telephone then rang normally. Adelheid (Ernst’s wife) picked up the receiver downstairs and listened while I talked on the phone upstairs. “After Klaus gave his full name I asked for his OK to tape the conversation. He agreed and I switched on the machine. The dialogue runs for 2 minutes in excellent quality. “There are several points to be observed.

Klaus spoke his typical native dialect. The man with him spoke in his native dialect of his region (southwest Poland, southeast Germany). His main concern was that the way existence really is after death, must be told to people which is understandable because he was a Roman Catholic Cardinal during his lifetime.” Ernst cited the evidential information the former churchman had given. He said he knew Ernst’s father who died in 1959 and quoted a unique phrase originated and used only by his father during his life. Ernst said he had never used it himself and that neither Adelheid or any of their children knew it. Later it was learned that Swejen Salter, a spirit world contact of the Harsch-Fischbachs, had called them while they were at work. She left a message on their answering machine which was activated about 30 minutes after Ernst’s call. In the call, she referred to the call made to Ernst from Schreiber and the Cardinal. The significance of the call, coming when it did, can’t be overlooked. Ernst, alone at his desk, working on the phenomena of the dead using the telephone to call us, received his own call at that time. They knew what he was doing and took this method to show him that the living dead do contact us with phone calls! This is an idea that tapers and non-tapers can try. AN IDEA FOR AN EXPERIMENT Connect a portable tape recorder to your telephone. This is very easy to do

and no technical knowledge is required. Radio Shack sells a small inexpensive device called a “Telephone Recorder Control.” (Model No. 43-228). One end plugs into a wall outlet, the other into your tape recorder. When someone calls you, if you want a record of that call, simply push the record button of your recorder. The entire conversation with your voice, as well as theirs, will be on tape. For tapers, I would suggest you ask during your recordings that a specific loved one try to call you on your telephone which is now connected to a tape recorder. If you are fortunate to receive a call, such as Ernst did, I feel you should follow Ernst’s example of requesting permission to tape the call. This will no doubt be given but it’s only courteous to ask first. Please let me know if you receive a call of this nature and I would appreciate a taped copy of the call. Your success is something I will want to share with others. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “I MADE IT! IT’S TRUE!” Carolyn Sullivan, TN AA-EVP member, wrote recently about the transition of her husband, Jim. Her heart- warming and evidential experiences before and after his death, will be of interest to everyone. She is happy to share this with all members so I will quote from her letter. “For two weeks before Jim passed away, my Guide was with me, 24 hours a

day. The day Jim died, he fell in the kitchen and as I rushed to help, my Guide made himself very evident in my consciousness, before departing. (He has not returned). We got him to the hospital, ministrations in the emergency room were given and he made his transition—No fear, no pain, no distress of any sort! Daughter Jane and I went directly to the bank. (Jim and I had discussed in the past what we should do). Once well inside the bank and involved with the task on hand the power went completely off and then on. We got home and the instant we came into the house, the same thing occurred. Lights have continued their “fun.” Jane’s electrical system on her car periodically doesn’t work. Light bulbs flash and burn out or don’t work and then do. We smell his tobacco scent. He has appeared in my dreams as well as the dreams of our children and grandchildren. He also appeared to me in Auburn, AL where I was asked to judge a college air meet. (We are both pilots and I knew he’d approve). His appearing showed me that he knows wherever I am, whatever I am doing. His appearance is that of a much younger, wiser, person. He has no concerns, no worries. He is totally calm, serene and purposeful. “These experiences have been as if he is saying: ‘I made it, it’s true, it’s true!’” HEAVENLY REPAIRS FOLLOW-UP Many people wrote after reading in their

Winter Newsletter how my Olympia electronic typewriter, with serious electronic problems, had been ‘magically’ repaired. This was announced to me during my taping, with: “A-6 fixed the typewriter.” It has worked perfectly ever since. Ernst Senkowski wrote that the complicated video equipment of Klaus Schreiber would break down and Klaus, not being a technician, would somehow be ‘directed’ how to repair it. J.J. Snyder, CA AA-EVP member, sent me part of a letter he had received from Lois Gordon, a FL friend. He commented... “Both experiences, yours and hers, are very evidential in affirming that other dimensions which interact with ours, and on occasion intervene in our affairs, really exist!” Quoting from Lois’ letter she wrote: “The other night, my new printer began making noises. The next day, in the car I said: ‘Please, whoever is listening, ask God to fix the printer. I know this sounds petty, but it was like the printer was symbolic, because it is where my work (writing) will be produced. An unknown voice said, “When you get home, get out the book and we’ll fix it.” I did, and the voice kept telling me what to do, and I’d read the book. Then I opened the machine and spirit said, “Listen!” I heard a clink and this piece of metal fell out. It was some packing metal or something that had been there since setting it up and had become jammed by the print platen. Once that was removed, it worked fine!” “Your newsletter

is always filled with interesting reports but I particularly enjoy your first page commentaries! They are so very YOU and must make everyone feel that they are your personal friend!” Martha Sherman 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Renate Scheller, German AA-EVP member, sent the above picture which was received by Klaus Schreiber through his TV. She wrote that many who have seen the paranormal picture believe it is the Madonna. Renate said: “I have seen the video. The Madonna’s mouth moves. It is wonderful! TAPED CONTACTS It is always good news to hear from members about messages they have recorded. Renata Barbarigo, FL, said the following messages came through her SW radio set at 12-13 MHz. Most are in her native Italian language. She asked why her husband wasn’t able to help her make some decisions. The answer was: “Because he’s cautious. The spirit is more cautious.” “Is your world better than this?” “It’s more logic and realistic than yours.” “Do you have flowers?” “We have everything here.” “Why can’t you tell the world of your existence?” “We are not permitted to tell everyone, only some of those who search.” Renata wrote that her husband, daughter, and others, continuously send her kisses, say they are well, and happy that they can communicate with her. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, wrote about some of his recent messages: “We saw Arthur Ford.” “Padre Pio.” “We are now the dead.” “I’m not dead-Ogden.” David said

that Ogden was the real name of his Uncle Jack who recently died. Olga, a member since 1988, and who asks I not give her last name, has written twice in the last month or so. She has hundreds of visual and taped contacts with beings who are of a dimension not regarded as spirit. Olga calls these contacts “yellow people” or Lichtwesen, which in German means light figure. They have shared with her much about their world and why they come here. Olga sent me eight of the 96 pictures she has, and they are thought provoking. A message she received from them is: “Olga, you are accepted as a member in the club of memories.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Our thanks to Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member, who sent the above chuckle. ANOTHER CHUCKLE OR TWO? As indicated in my commentary, letters cover a wide spectrum. So do some phone calls that leave me flabbergasted and at a loss for words — at least for a moment or two. Some examples: It Was Bound to Happen: The 60 minute Fox TV program, in which I played a part, was again shown nationwide the evening of June 5. “Sightings: Ghosts” brought many calls and letters both times it was shown. One caller .wanted me to come and investigate her toilet because she thought she had a ghost. “In your toilet!?” I asked — I couldn’t believe it. “No, no, in

the bathroom.” The toilet kept flushing day and night for no reason. She believed a ghost was playing ticks. Further questioning revealed there was nothing else going on in the house. The ghost stayed in the bathroom. “I guess he likes it there,” she said. I agreed this might be so but I rather suspected she had a plumbing problem and thought she should call a plumber. Mrs. B. agreed to do this. So What Does This Make Us? A woman called last week and said she’d heard about us and asked that I send her information about the group. When I said I would, she confided she was the only person in her family who believed in ghosts. “Everyone else in my family is educated. They all have college degrees. I’m the only one that doesn’t so I guess that’s why I believe in such things.” How Should I Take This? “Dear Sarah, I just read your book, Voices of Eternity and thought it was very interesting. You did a good job. Please write telling me all you know about EVP.” FROM MY MAILBAG Gilbert Bonner, England, in a recent letter said he’d had an experience which he thinks all tapers should take into consideration. One day he received a message in a loud, clear male voice. He played it four times on his portable cassette recorder and it was the same. The next day, he played the on his Sony Walkman. This time, the message was different. The

only two words that alike on both recorders, were the first two: “Mr. Bonner.” Gilbert wrote: “I seldom have this problem but it shows how careful we must be. I am always aware of the need for care in interpretation. One time you may hear one thing. The next time something else.” TWO IDEAS FOR EXPERIMENTS Michel Granger, AA-EVP member, France, wrote that he had read in Network News, published by SKYETECH LTD, Scotland, that a Dominic McQuire noticed voices were taped when light from a projector 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena was shown on a tape-deck head. This is something you could easily add to your taping set-up. Knowledgeable researchers in the field of transcommunication have suggested infra-red light, and perhaps ultra-violet light, may help in voice manifestation. Be careful though, where you focus your light. Five years ago, I was experimenting with ultra-violet light shining its strong beam at me and my TEAC reel to reel recorder while taping. Good quality voices were taped. A week or so later, I discovered the beam had also hit the plastic keys of the TEAC cassette tape deck, off to the side, which I wasn’t using. All of the keys had melted, making the recorder useless. Marion Wilkerson, FL member, has some ideas for video experiments that she would like to see members try. I will quote from her letter: “If you are getting good tape voices, ask your communicators to picture themselves

on TV. Turn on your TV to an empty channel (where you see just snow). Photograph the screen. Look at the picture carefully. At first it will look like nothing but ‘snowflakes’. Later, go back and look at it again. A picture may ‘pop out’—not clearly, but discernibly. If you discover a picture, see whether a computer expert could remove the snow by computer enhancement.” If you decide to try this experiment, I suggest you tell the other side, while making your regular recording, that you are going to attempt to take their picture through your TV. Ask them to please try to come through at a certain time. In other words, make an appointment. Years ago, when I was receiving TV pictures, I would tell the unseen during my morning taping: “Tonight I am going to sit in front of my TV. I hope you can come through.” That evening, five minutes before going out to the TV, I would again sit down at my recorder, push the record button and say: “Now I am going out to the TV. I will be very grateful if you can come through.” About half the time they did. As far as a camera is concerned, black and white film is usually recommended, although the eight pictures Olga sent me are in color. A Polaroid, if you have one, can be used. The reason I stress making appointments with the other side, is that I suspect they may have to do special

manipulations of energies, perhaps even go to where they have special equipment for video/com contact. I agree with Marion, that someone who has had good taped results is the one most likely to have success with TV. A VISIT TO GERMANY AND THE DUSSELDORF CONFERENCE In the Spring Newsletter, I mentioned the Life After Death conference that was to be held at the Hilton in Dusseldorf, Germany, May 1-3. Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, attended as George Meek’s special emissary. Quoting from his letter that he mailed after returning home, he wrote: “Before reaching Dusseldorf we visited Friedrich Malkhoff (a German researcher). He surprised us with a 8x10 photo of the paranormal image of Dr. Mueller. (Mueller spoke to Wm O’Neil via Spiricom developed by George Meek). Mueller had recently come through the Rivenich/Schweich TV screen. This picture also was to be a surprise for George. “We stopped by and had a very pleasant visit with Luise Fuchs (German AA-EVP member). The strictly German conversation centered around the voice phenomena and spirit pictures. Friedrich Jurgenson was a good friend of hers and she has regular voice contacts from former monks of the Monte Cassino monastery in Italy. She also gets video pictures similar to Erland Babcock (MA AA-EVP member who will be teaching a Sunday TV workshop at our conference). “I taped the podium discussions in the morning at the conference and some of the work shops in the afternoon. Several good paranormal pictures were shown on a large screen.

The cost of the 3 day conference was high—approximately $610 just for the conference and banquet. A double room at the Hilton was an additional $170 a night. In spite of that, and the fact that the entire public transportation system in Germany was on strike, the conference was a success.” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena C.E.T.L. JOURNAL--GOOD NEWS! Lack of space always prohibits our publishing much from the Harsch-Fischbach’s out standing Journal. We include as much as we can, but you can see that with their twice yearly Journal often running twenty- thirty pages, we can barely touch the surface. Hans Heckmann does a masterful job in his translations, and the Fischbachs (Luxemburg) who are also AA-EVP members, and I, have discussed this lack of space problem in a phone call. I know from your letters that you want to be kept up-to-date on what is coming through to them via phone, answering machine, tape recorder and TV. I have also made clear to Hans how grateful all of you are for his efforts. At the end of the Dusseldorf conference, Hans drove to Luxemburg to meet the Fischbachs for the first time. I will again quote from his letter dated May 29th. “I can report agreement with Maggy and Jules H.F. about an essentially full translation into English of their bi-annual CETL INFONEWS beginning with the next issue. No agreement about the distribution was made yet. For more information and

subscription price, write to: CETL- B.P. 2 5887 Hesperange, Luxemburg.” RECORDERS WITH REVIEW KEYS Many successful European tapers favor the Phillips Cassette tape recorder, Model D 6350. Chances are, you’ll not be able to locate it in U.S. electronic stores, but if you can find a Phillips distributor, he might be able to order it. There may also be other recorders, more easily found, with the unique feature of a Review Key. In his May letter, Hans wrote: “Look for the designation “Review” in addition to “Rewind.” This would indicate a suitable cassette recorder. To make sure, take a recorded cassette with you to the store and play back your tape in the recorder you want to buy. Press the “Rewind” key. If an automatic “Review” feature is present and activated the “Play” key will not snap up but stay depressed. After releasing “Rewind”, the recorder will automatically start repeating the tape passage.” CHILDISH (?) INTUITION Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote about a visit her daughter, Barbara, and small grandson, Jonathan, made to her home. Jonathan had disappeared and looking around, they found he had gone into the room Clara sets aside for taping. There he sat, in front of the tape recorder, earphones on, ‘reading’ my book, Voices (Jonathan has not started school yet and can’t read.) Clara commented: “The puzzling thing to us was how he connected the two-—the taping equipment with the book—because the book was over in my bedroom with other books. He could just

as well have picked up something else.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Ali AIlmaker, MA, called to say he had bought the reel to reel tape recorder mentioned in the Spring Newsletter. (Fair Radio Sales Co. Inc., Lirna, OH). He was very pleased at the price ($36) and the prompt service offered. David Fox, England, was one of 28 members who bought the Sound Source Tape that I made available in the Spring NEWS. In his letter requesting the tape, he said he was anxious to hear the tones my voice contacts sometimes used at the beginning of a message because he had also noticed them in his own taping. Carole Gordnier, MA, owns a store that sells metaphysical products. She wrote: “There is a phenomena that occurs repeatedly on my tapes when the one who says, “I love you” speaks. I have crystal prisms hanging in the front window of my store where I do my recordings, and after he speaks the crystals start clinking and banging the window. I know he is doing this. It is a physical manifestation of his presence.” 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Doris Humphrey, MD, wrote about hearing messages that make no sense as she is falling asleep. Although these messages belong in a different category from ambiguous recorded messages tapers sometimes get, others report hearing such messages. Some of the ones Doris has heard are: “Cowboy”, “Not until the day after tomorrow”, “Sky-load”, “California”,

and “The final day.” Phyllis Jaquett, N.J. sent an excellent article she wrote titled, “Loss and Recovery” which was published in the “Afterloss” newsletter, an outstanding publication for those who have lost a loved one. Phyllis’ article eloquently focuses on how she is moving on and working through her grief after the death of her beloved husband, Ralph. The piece will be included in the book Afterloss due out in July or August. The CA publishing company that publishes “Afterloss” has hired Phyllis to do editing for them from her home in N.J. EXPLORING HORIZONS-CONFERENCE UPDATE I have been delighted at the wonderful response thus far from members who have sent in their registrations for our July 24-26 conference at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Many new faces will be present as well as those who have been with us before. We have far exceeded the number coming at this time (June 22) compared to this date for our last conference five years ago. Distance is no deterrent to our intrepid members. Registrants thus far are coming from 13 states, as far away as AZ, FL, IL, OH, OK, TX, and UT. Special arrangements have been made with Hopkins for those who wish to spend Sunday night at the University and not leave until Monday. This means you’ll not need to miss a moment of our conference but can wait until the next day to return home. Just let me know, beforehand, if you want this option. Two positive program

changes have been made. The Live Taping workshop Saturday afternoon proved to be even more popular than I expected. I want to keep that group small so participants can have a few private minutes with the leader. Although husbands and wives, sisters, cousins, etc., will share this time, the workshop filled several weeks ago. My daughter, Becky, has agreed to take a second section. Becky had out standing success taping in Egypt with me on my first trip and some of her messages are on the Egyptian tape many of you have. Even with the second section, it is almost filled. One or two others are reaching capacity. Remember, if you are in the Live or Group taping workshops, bring a portable tape recorder and a blank cassette tape to your workshop. Earphones to fit your recorder are recommended to insure privacy upon playback and also help you hear the recording better in case you are fortunate enough to get a message. The second positive change is that Martin Ebon will be with us and give the 9:00 A.M. Saturday lecture. Ken Webster, scheduled for then, wrote several weeks ago from Wales and said he couldn’t come. We feel most fortunate to have Martin. He is the author of over sixty books and is known as the most knowledgeable person in parapsychology today. He expresses his wisdom through a marvelous sense of humor and is someone you won’t want to miss. Martin’s talk is titled: “Safe Journey Through the Land

of Psychic Phenomena”, an important topic for everyone interested in any area of PSI. The other reason I want to stress for your registering quickly is that Hopkins is not a hotel. They order all linens from a Baltimore company two weeks before an event and then prepare the rooms needed. Our other conferences were at hotels so lodging was no problem. Some people arrived unannounced, the day of the conference and we and the hotel were able to accommodate them. I don’t want you to miss out on this, the most outstanding conference we have ever held, but I fear if you don’t preregister, you will find there is no room at the inn! If you are trying to decide whether to come or not, or were procrastinating, wait no longer. Let me hear from you. Come share those three wonderful days with each other and with me! 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Deadline for our Autumn Newsletter is Sept. 26th. Until then, I’m looking forward to seeing you at our conference! ODDS AND ENDS Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1992 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Time is eternal and life goes on. Each

day as we arise, those two precepts are in the hidden recess of our mind. Rarely voiced, seldom thought of, they are just there. If we think of anything, it’s: “Another day. The same thing today as yesterday, and tomorrow no doubt will be the same as today.” We are confident in the continued sameness of our life. There will be no crisis, no decisive moment, in which we will be called upon to make decisions that could unalterably affect the life of someone else, or ourselves. Dissatisfaction. I have never known anyone who said his life was perfect, that there was not a single thorn here and there along the way. Perhaps this is good. If life was a continuous pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, there would be no motivation to try to improve things in our own life or even in the lives of others. I think though, we have to be a gardener of unparalleled excellence to know what thorns in our life need to be disposed of and what are merely a petty inconvenience. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence in every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” This is true, but we could replace the word “fear” with the word “problem.” If we have the courage to face a situation that is truly a problem, and go on to deal with it, we will grow and become stronger as a result. In

most lives, however, I suspect what we call problems are not truly that. Sometimes it seems as if by taking a nuisance and enlarging it past all proper proportion, we almost deliberately cause grief in our own lives and sometimes in the lives of others. This is not the lesson we are meant to learn. This is not why we are here. Why are we here? The answer to this is unique to each person, as unique as our fingerprints, but there are similarities. Just as most people are born with two hands in which you find little difference, so it is with our lives. Fingerprints are what largely distinguishes us from one another and they are not obvious unless you make a study of them. In our current life, I believe each has been ‘fine-tuned’ for this particular time. In some ways, though, we have the same lessons to learn. As a first-grade teacher hopes all of the children in her class will learn to read that year, she knows some will do a better job of it than others. I think we are here to learn lessons and then, as in every school, we are tested to see how well we have learned them. While I believe the ‘Master’ teacher hopes we will all learn love and compassion for others, there are many other lessons placed in our individual knapsacks that He hopes we will become aware of and at least examine upon occasion. I feel we need

to learn that life is indeed fragile and that while what lies beyond death is timeless, our physical life is limited. The status quo is not a given. Tomorrow can be different from today and is something over which we, at times, have little control. We are not always masters of our fate and there is not a great deal we can do to prepare for the unexpected. We should appreciate what we have today, even if it’s not perfect, because, literally, life can change irrevocably from one minute to the next. Although thorns can’t and shouldn’t always be ignored, there is beauty there if we will but look, and to fail to do so is an insult to God. Let us try to keep in mind the words of Yeshua Ben Josef who closed his autobiography, The Magian Gospel with: “Live not in the limitations of time, but in the intimations of immortality. Go onward and inward. Seek understanding and the light. And, above all, be joyful.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena CONFERENCE CANCELLED On June 30th, the day after I mailed the Summer Newsletter, my husband Charlie had the first of two strokes. Twelve hours after being rushed to the hospital by ambulance, he had the second stroke, which was massive. A week later, I decided the conference had to be cancelled. Letters and refunds were mailed to all registrants on July 6th. Cancelling the conference was the hardest decision

I ever had to make, but I felt my first responsibility was to my husband who needed my full attention and presence most of the day and part of the night. This lasted for almost a month. It is fortunate I made this decision because a few days after mailing the July 6th letter, Charlie became critical again. For a week, he battled pneumonia and breathed through an oxygen mask until an emergency tracheotomy was performed late one night. For over a week we didn’t know if he would live from one day to the next, as he remained in a coma. Finally, he started to pull out of it and consciousness slowly returned. The response from AA-EVP members, as well as the conference program staff, has been over whelming. Over half of the conference registrants wrote, assuring me of their understanding and full support. Although each mentioned their disappointment at the change in plans, most said, “You did the only thing you could.” Martin Ebon wrote: “Certainly, you have your priorities right!” Another member, who had registered, a professional journalist, from VA, offered to help get out an edition of the newsletter. A N.J. member called and asked if he couldn’t return his conference refund to help with the money I lost from cancelling the conference. This was declined with deep appreciation. As other members learned about the situation, letters and cards to both Charlie and me were received. Flowers and phone calls from this and other countries came.

I regret not being able to answer each one personally, but I’m sure you understand. If there has been one bright spot this summer, it has been the warmth, love, and support offered by so many. Upon discharge from the hospital, Charlie went to a convalescent center for skilled nursing care and therapy. On September 18th, a bed became available for him at Johns Hopkins rehabilitation hospital in Baltimore. I visit him daily. He remains severely disabled, unable to walk, use his right arm or hand, or to swallow food so must be fed through a tube. It is hoped with intensive therapy that many of his skills will at least partly return. Our three children and I, ask for your continued support and prayers. A PHONE CALL FROM FRIEDRICH JURGENSON In the Summer Newsletter, I told how Dr. Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, received a joint phone call from Klaus Schreiber, deceased transcommunication experimenter, and another man who was a Roman Catholic Cardinal during his lifetime. At the end of June, Ernst wrote about a second paranormal phone call he’d had. I will quote from his letter. “Pere Francois Brune, together with Prof. Remy Chauvin and a crew from a French TV network, visited us April 28. We had interviews and tried to catch some EVP without convincing results. Near the end, the telephone rang. When I answered, Friedrich Jurgenson (deceased EVP researcher) gave his name. I asked for permission to record, got his OK, pressed the recording button

on my answering machine and asked if he had a message for me. Immediately, he spoke French, and thanked the French TV crew, and then continued in German. He said: ‘I thank the French friends and we shall-you will receive (information) via the colleagues Homes and Harsch.’ Ernst said that the voice sounded very similar to that of Jurgenson. Continuing to quote from Ernst’s letter, he wrote: “It is necessary to state that no outsider knew that the French TV crew was here, or planned to be here--the date had been changed shortly before. Next day, I had a phone conversation with Maggy Harsch-Fischbach. She said the day before she had a seven-minute telephone talk with Jurgenson before he called me. He mentioned that a picture through TV was planned to be sent to Adolph Homes (German researcher). 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena (Over a month later,) ”Adolph’s TV camera taped a picture of a man. It shows a rather young man’s face. The hair cut is characteristic of Jurgenson’s later life. I have no early photo of him but we are trying to get in touch with people, possibly his family, for checking. “Later that day, Homes received a call from the Harsch-Fischbachs. He was told that when they came home at noon there were two combined messages on their computer which had been switched off when they left but was now on. The first part, signed by Jurgenson, had some

ideas of the group of theologians on the other side. In the second part, reference is made to the transvideo event of Homes and said there had been technical difficulties which prevented the originally planned transaudjo contact to come through.” “It is always a happy moment when we get your newsletter.” Saria Buioni, Italy A LETTER FROM LUXEMBOURG In a letter received in August from Maggy Harsch-Fischbach, AA-EVP member, Luxembourg, she enclosed the above picture. It came through the PC of Maggy and Jules at the same time the picture was being transmitted through the TV set of Adolph Homes in Rivenich, Germany (men tioned on pg. 2). Technician, who along with Swejen, is a leading communicator from Spirit to Maggy and her husband, Jules, told them the round objects above Jurgenson’s head are the “three suns of Marduk.” In her letter, Maggy wrote about some of the outstanding results they are having through their tape recorder, video, telephone and computer with the other side. I will quote from her letter: ‘Your work and ours will flow like streams into one another. When people ask for SWEJEN’S advice how to get the same TC results as we have, she answers: “Good TC (trans-communication) contacts via radio, TV, computer and phone are beginning by the research with your tape recorder. When you want that your new technical equipment will work one day, begin with a microphone and a simple tape recorder.” Maggy commented that she had asked SWEJEN for help with

a new two-way communication via radios and she agreed to do this, telling her to call it GA2. SWEJEN also told Maggy that she should begin with the old EVP method and to do many experiments until she hears her (SWEJEN) speaking out of the loud speaker. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In her letter, Maggy wrote that SWEJEN had come through the MEZA 1 (a system developed earlier) and spoke Finnish, a language unknown to her and Jules. Konstantin Raudive (an early pioneer in the EVP field) also spoke to them and their committee through MEZA 1. Maggy commented: “SWEJEN SALTER, TECHNICIAN and KONSTANTIN RAUDIVE are continuing their communication with us via telephone and PC, part of the BURTION-BRIDGE II equipment. SWEJEN sends regularly new pictures from her side. KONSTANTIN RAIJDIVE goes on with his communication with Friedrich Makhoff also via phone.” SOME THOUGHTS TO PONDER Robert Hyner, AA-EVP member living in West Australia, wrote recently and I feel many of the ideas expressed in his letter will be as meaningful to you as they were to me. “Through your newsletter you are constantly in our house. All of us who are so very interested in the next dimension, have one thing in common—love for our fellow beings… Does this mean we all vibrate in a similar fashion? When one reads your newsletter, this is what I feel, the common bond, but above all the love, which leaves its trail wherever

the letter goes. (It is) a preparation for the life to come, the golden thread, which connects us and in combination with each other causes a light to burn, which can be even seen in the spheres... “The spirit body is not ill and the strength of that thought is making itself felt in the material. So we fight on, meditating and visualizing and trying not to give in. Is it not time that we all realize that we should not have to leave the earth because of bodily failure but more of mental fatigue? Surely that is the time that awaits us in the new age. But oh, what a battle to bring it about. But we just have to… The responsibility is ours and somehow I feel certain that our friends in the next life agree with this and they might even assist us in this quest.” SUSY Ann Longmore-Etheridge, VA AA-EVP member, sent me the following interesting account that concerns a little girl by the name of Susy (pseudonym used). Several years ago, Susy, who was eight, disappeared while coming home from the store. She lived near Ann and was well known to Ann’s mother who was very upset when Susy disappeared. Ann wrote: “Out of sympathy for Mom, I decided to ask my spirit friends to look over the situation and give me a report on Susy. I was told by them that Susy was dead and was now in the care of a woman who

may have been a relative, that her transition had been difficult and she was very glad when it was over. Her body was found in a ditch the next day. She had been strangled. “A few weeks later, I was attending the opening ceremony of The National Spiritualist Convention at The Church of Two Worlds in Washington, D.C. There were 300 people there and four mediums who were going to give several messages each. The odds of getting a personal message were small, but the first medium immediately pointed to me. (I was sitting in back of the church) and said there was a woman who wanted to come to me and had with her a little girl who had dark almond-shaped eyes and black hair. The medium kept asking me if I knew the child and I kept saying I didn’t so he gave up and moved on. “The next medium was Anne Gehman, a noted D.C. psychic. She immediately pointed to me and said: ‘Susy! Who is Susy?’ I knew now who the child was and I also remembered my mother telling me the child was half oriental. I rather sheepishly admitted that I now recognized the child. “It was about then that my taping partner, Lata Chenreddy, and I were beginning to get good EVP voices. Within the space of a week we heard three different messages all spoken by the same little girl’s voice. None were evidential in proving the speaker was Susy, but I had

never heard a child’s voice before- -or since--and I felt strongly it was Susy. During one taping, I called on an entity by the name of Francis to speak and immediately following, and louder than my own voice, a little girl calls ‘Francis!’ It remains the loudest voice I have ever received.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TRANSCOMMUNICATION JOURNAL We are indebted to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, for translating the German T.C. Journal of which Ernst Senkowski is an editor. I will quote from his excellent translation of this outstanding journal. “Adolf Homes and Friedrich Malkhoff started EVP research independently from each other at the end of 1987. They were motivated mostly by curiosity and had no great expectations. They were brought together by a newspaper ad in which Homes was looking for another person with a mutual interest in T.C. “All equipment consists of ordinary microphones and tape recorders, old tube operated radio sets (at times up to 5 were used to provide a mixture), personal computers and TV with or without antenna. Ultra- violet lamps were used especially during TV experiments. They were advised (by the invisibles) ‘Keep using the U-V lamps for now... U-V lamps improve the volume. Could also be useful for radio contacts.’ The first direct voice (heard over the loudspeaker in room) said: ‘We are in the area of the double plane. We are happy about your T.C. efforts.’ “Homes found the following short computer

text in October 1989: 1120 TELELIVINGRM. He interpreted this as an alert for a video contact at 11:20 A.M. At the announced time, he received the first video picture with a spoken comment. 1n the next 14 months, three more pictures were received. The third one was of Home’s father-in-law who had died one year earlier. “Below is a computer printout received by the experimenters Homes and Malkhoff. Reading paranormal computer texts is tricky. Words are run-together and there is no punctuation.” OUR MEMBERS PUBLISH! It is always a pleasurable feeling when I reflect upon the background of many of our members. At times, someone will suggest obliquely to me that an interest in unexplained phenomena is the province of uneducated, superstitious individuals. I hasten to tell them about some of those I know who certainly don’t fall within that category. Many of our members are professionals, some with Ph.D.’s in the fields of physics, engineering, clinical psychology and counseling, theology and medicine. We have attorneys and teachers. Some are writers whose words have appeared in national publications. A few have written books. Ray Dietz, MD AA-EVP member, has published two books of poetry. His poems have appeared in the Spiritual Frontiers Journal, an international journal of Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. In the last three months, four members have had their works published. Bernard Baker, AZ, a minister in the National Spiritualist church, wrote an article titled: “Electronic Voice Phenomena” (EVP) for the August 1992 magazine that the church publishes. It

gives a good overview of the phenomena from 1928- 1988. The AA-EVP is mentioned. In the same magazine, Rupert Sigurdsson, ME, had an article published under the title: “Is This The Mediumship OF The Future?” Rupert also wrote about the development of EVP. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Paul Johnson, FL, had an excellent article appear in the Winter/Spring issue of Spiritual Frontiers Journal. “I Experienced The Battle Of Gettysburg” describes an experience he had in July of ‘71 while visiting the battlefield that changed his life. He realized for the first time there was “something beyond the earth plane.” Since then, he has gone on to found and become president of the outstanding organization, Spiritual Advisory Council which publishes a newsletter and has two national conferences yearly. Rozella Roberts, CA, recently sent me a book she published titled: Mind Assassins It is an interesting fictional account of a woman who, according to the introduction, “had the courage to expose a worldwide conspiracy…the events portrayed are true.” REPORTS FROM TAPERS Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that they had out-of-state company in the summer. She and her husband, Lou, took them on tour of the Newport mansions in Rhode Island. She took along her portable tape recorder and while taping at the “Elms” got: “Barron we talk with you.” “So glad you could make it.” “Kathy.” (The other side frequently calls Carol “Kathy” and have indicated that was her name in a

previous life.). At the “Breakers” she taped: “You bring the darkness with light.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, has apparently had contact about the grandson of a close friend. He was twenty-two and in the back-seat of a car being driven by a friend. Of the four people in the car, Michael was the only one killed. Clara called on him and on the reverse side of the tape, a voice replied: “Michael. I see you my people. Comical facing you people. Mikey’s dead. Loss of body. A good man, Michael. He’s sorry. Hit the wall. Lisa Michael is sleepy.” Clara said the car had hit something that looked like a wall. Michael’s father died five years earlier, and a week after Michael’s death, his father appeared at the side of his wife’s (Michael’s mother’s bed.) Tina Laurent, Wales, called and also sent a tape of voices she has recently recorded. A TV producer in Britain is making a video of people involved in the psychic phenomena field. The video will be available in Great Britain, and Tina is one of those featured. While they were filming, Tina made a recording and taped over twenty messages. A number were Class A and one voice said, “Estep!” Tina included that on the tape she sent and many were excellent. Dan McKee, IL State Coordinator, wrote and said that he and his wife Betty had visited Washington D.C. in July. He wrote: “I tape 5 days a week, sometimes 6. I taped

the last shuttle landing communications and as almost always, had communications. (While in D.C.) I rented a car and stopped by Greenbelt, Maryland where communications are relayed back and forth. Met a brick wall there and also at NASA headquarters in D.C. The last man there said, “Send me a tape and I’ll listen to it and see if I can get you to the right person.” EVP TONE TAPE FOLLOW-UP In the spring ‘92 newsletter, I offered a 15-minute cassette tone tape of sounds that I had taped at 131 MHz. The idea was to play this tape on a separate tape recorder, using it as a sound source, while making a short recording on a primary tape recorder. I feel these sounds came to me from another dimension. Over thirty people sent for the $3 tape. I was eager to have feedback as to whether those who used it had positive results. Unfortunately, only one or two wrote back and said it may have helped in a limited way. Nothing was said in the newsletter about any message that I had taped while originally putting it on a six-minute endless cassette tape. However, I hear one clear message on it. A male voice says: “We bring this back to you.” The message is about six minutes into the tape, can be heard without headphones, and I would call it Class B. Since the tape was copied from the endless cassette tape, you will hear it again near the

twelfth minute. Evidently, my contact on the other side knew I was making the tape and made an appropriate remark about it. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In Ann Longmore-Etheridge’s letter, she wrote that she has been using the tape all summer “with fair to middling luck.” She and her taping partner hear several “low grade EVP voices on it.” Several of them are “Tommy.” “I hear you, I hear you.” “Right behind you.” Those of you who bought the tape may want to listen to it again carefully to see if you hear any of the messages Ann picked up, or the one I hear. Also, please let me know if you feel the tape has helped you in your own taping efforts. I’VE BEEN PROMOTED! For the last year and a half, I have been listed in the Marquis, Who’s Who In The East. In a recent letter from them, they said they were now going to list me in their 47th edition of Who’s Who In America. I find the situation ironic. Seventeen years ago, I sent a questionnaire to 1,000 people listed in Who’s Who In America. The focus of the questionnaire was: “Have you ever had a paranormal experience? If so, please describe it fully. “My thought at the time was that if I received enough responses, I would put them in a book. It would be interesting, I felt, to see if well-known, mostly professional, well-educated

people had psychic experiences like John and Mary Smith who lived next door. To my surprise, I had a 50% response. As any professional pollster will tell you, this large a response is almost unheard of in the polling field. Of the close to 500 people who mailed their replies back to me, about half indicated they’d had an unexplained experience that they called paranormal. Some went on at great length, adding several pages to their reply. It proved several things to me: One, that people were eager to tell about their experiences to someone who they felt was understanding and sympathetic. Two, anyone can have a psychic experience. As I was organizing the material, I wrote to Who’s Who and told them what I had in mind for a possible book. I asked if they had any objection if I mentioned in the Foreword that everyone in the book had been listed in Who’s Who. Within a short time, a letter came back from one of the editors, saying they would prefer I not mention this. Although I still feel the idea had merit, I went on to discover EVP, and so dropped the idea about a book. Now they are listing me, fully aware of what I am doing. Could it be that times are changing? NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS In her letter, Ann Longmore-Etheridge said she will be giving a lecture about EVP on Nov. 9th, for the Silva Method (formerly Silva Mind Control) group in

the Washington area. Eli Feldman, N.Y. sent me an article from one of the tabloids titled: “Home Computer Can Talk with the Dead.” Supposedly, Japanese scientists have developed a personal computer that can be used by anyone to talk with those who are deceased. It is called the Kimi PC and is expected to be on the market by 1994. It has an omni-sensitive receiving device, so sensitive that it can pick up faint electrical pulses and patterns that current machines can’t detect. Quoting from the article: “Our research shows people can contact the dead in about 80% of attempts.” It is expected the computer will sell for about $10,000. Mary Kelley, MD, wrote after hearing about the Fox TV program “Sightings: Ghosts.” This was first shown nationally in February and repeated several months later. EVP was one of the features with the camera crew coming to my home and the following day going to Point Lookout, a haunted lighthouse in southern MD. Mary wrote: “I was born and raised near there and never had any doubts of their presence. I have seen manifestations since I was a very little girl.” Irene Maletsky, mother of Valerie Tjaden, N.J. State Coordinator, wrote that she and Valerie are sharing the job of Coordinator. Irene has been taping successfully for several years, and Valerie’s special area of expertise is spirit photography. N.J. members are ‘blessed’ by having two such excellent, friendly, caring leaders at the helm! Jonathan Marten, England, wrote that a fellow

member of SPR (Society for Psychical Research), Dr. Bernard Carr, is a physicist, theorist, and a mathematician. He has tapes of Dr. Carr’s lectures in which he 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena discusses the likelihood of the existence of higher dimensions and he calls these levels “Actuality Planes.” Dr. Carr claims he has generated mathematical support for his theory. Jonathan also said that researchers there call spontaneous disappearance of objects “JOTS” (just one of those things). He said he had put a letter to be mailed in his wife’s handbag and a short time later, it had mysteriously vanished from the bag. Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. called one evening. He said he had learned that there are four reel to reel tape recorders available from a person who he feels is reliable. They are being sold for $65 each plus UPS postage. If interested write: Mr. Litsche-Air Navigation Industries—P.O. Box 191, Canandaigua, N.Y. 14424-0191 for details. CONFERENCE-BASEL, SWITZERLAND A program has come from Basel, announcing their 10th international conference. It will be held from Nov. 12th through Nov. 15th. The focus this year is healing: Spiritual healers: “What they do. How they work-- whom they help.” English is one of the three languages used at the conference and for anyone who is able to go, I feel you would find it interesting and helpful. For information write: Messe Basel, Congress Dept., P.O. Box, CH-4021 Basel, Switzerland. ODDS AND ENDS An order form is

enclosed for tapes from our 3 previous conferences. Return form for those wanted. Ray Dietz will fill your orders. Deadline for our Winter Newsletter is December 19th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1993 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint January, a new year, a time filled with hope for many, fear for some, despair for others. A period when perhaps most stand on the threshold, looking at the twelve months ahead, wondering what is to come. We may feel if we are fortunate, like the young child peering into a room filled with packages on that special morning when presents from family 1ie in front of us. what excitement! What joy is just beyond our fingertips as we step into the room and then, make the gifts ours. Someone said to me recently, “If we only had a crystal ball.” I want no crystal ball. To be able to see the future clearly might bring grief too difficult to bear. Without foreknowledge showing gloom and doom that may wait for us, perhaps we can ‘operate’ with hope, in as positive a way as possible to try to bring the future into the present that will offer some semblance of joy. In previous Winter Newsletters,

I have mentioned how important the buying of my new yearly desk calendar is. A dear friend in Wales always sends me a long slim calendar to hang from the floor lamp besides my desk so I can see the entire month at a glance. The one on my desk must have space on it to write each day’s appointments. It must have a lovely picture for the month to lift my spirits and a meaningful saying to nourish my soul. The 1993 calendar meets all requisites although one or two are more grim than normal Ferdinand Raimund for September wrote: “No matter how fair the sun shines still it must set.” Ah, yes. There is an end to everything. Night must follow day; sadness follows joy; death follows life. We could go on, there is no limit to the list. However, if we are of a more positive bent, we could reverse the list and put the last word first—joy follows sadness; life follows death—you get the point, I’m sure. To paraphrase Khalil Gibran, one cannot know joy unless he has first known sadness. It could well be that one must experience and live the storms of life in order to develop, to fine tune character. If we hide under a bush to try to escape the ravages of life we can only emerge as a pale, unlovely slug. I think Raimund must have been a pessimistic fellow. Why couldn’t he have looked beyond the setting sun to see

the dawn that was sure to come, or at least looked up into the night sky to see the beautiful evening star? For the month of April, Virgil wrote: “Look with favor upon a bold beginning.” Well, I think that depends upon what kind of a beginning you are facing. There are some I would just as soon skip, but if I did, I would not learn if Goethe was correct. The picture for October gives us a sky filled with clouds and Goethe’s words: “A talent is formed in stillness, a character in the world’s torrent.” I’m not sure one should or could develop a talent by being ‘still’ about it. At least we agree on the character part. As I indicated, I feel one must experience life’s storms (successfully) if they are to fully develop strength of character. August shows a beautiful rainbow touching some rocks and Alfred Lord Tennyson’s comment: “After it, follow it; follow the gleam.” It is words like that which give me nourishment. How easy it is at times when we are beset on every side with problems, to forget the rainbows in life. For our spirit’s triumph, one must continue to reach outward, to not stop in our upwards climb towards a goal, even though it may always remain slightly out of reach. To me, victory is in the continued trying. My wish for you in this new year of 1993, is that you will continue to pursue whatever gleam is in your

life, which gives your life meaning. May you find health and joy knowing there is no end to your journey and your own special gleam is always there beckoning you forward. Stefan Horvath LIBERANT Word has been received that Stefan Horvath of Ohio has made his transition. Stefan, a longtime member of the AA-EVP, was Founder and President of the Ohio Society for Psychic Research. In their group meetings, they would discuss and try to learn more about many areas of psychic phenomena. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I know everyone joins me in sending positive thoughts to Stefan, as he continues his exciting journey in his new life. TELEPHONE CALLS FROM THE DEAD In recent newsletters, I have written about phone calls that European experimenters in the area of voice/visual communication have received from deceased personalities. Many of the calls later proved to be highly evidential and were recorded on voice answering machines. Since the Autumn Newsletter three of our members have written about calls they received, or someone close to them received, from a deceased individual. Monty Hearon, who along with his wife Bobby, are the Oregon State Coordinators, wrote about a phone call his daughter Leigh Hearon had received. Leigh, apparently, has strong mediumistic/psychic gifts and has been mentioned upon several occasions in our newsletters. I will quote from Monty’s recent letter. “As you know, Leigh joined the RC church and the organist there was a Howard _______________. He

became ill and had to go to the hospital. While there, Leigh used to take meals to him. She had also taken organ lessons from him at the church. “…Howard died at the hospital and the night after he passed on, Leigh’s telephone rang. Howard was on the line and they had a nice conversation. He said he was doing fine on the other side.” Edelgard John, German AA-EVP member, wrote that she had an “undoubted phone call from the other side.” Edelgard’s call was unusual because it came from a child and the nature of it was atypical. Quoting from Edelgard’s letter, she wrote: “The child said I was her mother.” (Edelgard commented she did not have a child in this life, only a miscarriage). “I told the child she had a wrong connection, and then the child cried. She knew my first name, which was not in the phone book. I hope I might have another phone call again, this time from my dear husband who died many years ago.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote about several phone calls she has received, most not very clear. She said, “The first one, however, was a loud whisper, “I love you,” so loud I recognized Tom.” (Clara’s deceased husband). Virginia Bates, VA AA-E\/P member, was on the phone talking to Clara at the time, and she also heard the voice. “Virginia said, ‘Oh, was that Tom--was that Tom??!!’ We had just enough of a break in the conversation to

hear that. There have been two other messages I couldn’t make out but they were a little longer—about 5 or 6 words. Since I wasn’t taping the conversations, they have all been lost.” A REMINDER In our Summer ‘92 Newsletter, I suggested an easy method to record phone conversation which tapers and non-tapers alike could use to record a phone call from another dimension. For our many new members who have joined us since then, and for those of you who might have put it on a ‘back burner’ and then forgotten about it, consider the following: Connect a portable tape recorder to your telephone. This is easy to do. Radio Shack sells a small inexpensive device called a “Telephone Recorder Control” (Model no. 43- 228). One end plugs into a wall outlet, the other into your tape recorder. When someone calls you, and if you want a record of that call, push the record button on your recorder. The entire conversation with your voice, as well as theirs, will be on tape. For taper I suggest you ask during your recordings that a specific loved one try to call you on your telephone, explaining that it is connected to your recorder. You might also want to consider Clara Laughlin’s experiences when her husband, Tom, came through on at least one occasion, while she was talking to a friend on the phone. We know those on the other side frequently use sounds in our environment to help them speak. Clara’s

and Virginia’s voices could have helped give Tom that extra push that was needed. Perhaps this suggests that it is easier for some deceased individuals to join in when the line is already open. As an experiment, you might want to automatically 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena tape each conversation. Listen to it later through headphones. If you have a cassette tape deck, as well as the portable, play it through the deck. Don’t let your imagination run wild but listen carefully for an ‘extra’ voice, such as Tom’s, “I love you,” to Clara. Please let me know if you have positive results so I can share it with others. RADIO CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD More and more individuals report receiving messages via their radios from those in other dimensions. My own radio contacts go back over fifteen years and I would estimate at least 70% of the communicators used this medium to come through. Unfortunately, except for rare exceptions, they were not loud enough for me to instantly interpret, and I had to play them back later through headphones. In a personal note at the end of October from George Meek, developer of the Spiricom system for communication, he wrote: Ernst (Senkowski—German AA-EVP member) called me yesterday and said Dr. Mueller came through ‘Loud and Clear!’” A week later, in a letter to me, Ernst wrote: “Adolph Homes got a first spontaneous contact via radio under the name of Don Mueller

Oct. 13. A second one happened Oct. 15. A third one (provoked by Homes calling Mueller) Oct.21. In all cases, a dialogue was possible of about 4.5 minutes’ duration in German language. On Oct.29, Homes (deceased mother) told him via telephone that Wm ONeil, as a member of the group Zeitstrom, is working together (on the other side) with Mueller. Hopefully the dialogues ran continue.” Some of our members may be unaware that Wm O’Neil was the PA experimenter who used the Spiricom system, developed by Meek, Hans Heckmann, and several others, to hold long conversations with Dr. Jeffries Mueller, a scientist who died some years before. ONeil made his own transition in September 1991. We owe Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, many thanks for sending us a complete translation of these contacts. I will quote what Hans wrote: October 13, 1992: Report of experimenter Adolph Homes: “I was in the kitchen rinsing dishes and 1istening to a musical program on the FM radio when I heard the following words very clearly coming from the loud-speaker: “HOMES RECORD!” This was repeated three times. I stopped rinsing to get my cassette recorder and microphone into the kitchen. I placed both on an armchair in front of the small red radio receiver. Meanwhile the news started. I remained quiet and suddenly heard the words: “THIS IS DOC MUELLER. A.H. Who is there? D.M. ‘THIS IS DOC MUELLER. A.H. Doc Miller?? who is Doc Miller? D.M. I ANNOUNCED MYSELF THROUGH MARK IV (Spiricom).

A.H. Could you speak a little clearer? D.M. PLEASE GIVE MY GREETING AND MY THANKS TO MR. MEEK AND MR. SENKOWSKI. A.H. I understand. D.M. I DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOU BELIEVE ME OR NOT. THE OBJECTIVE IS THE RESEARCH, NOT THE DISCUSSION. A.H. Where do you reside? Hello, where are you? From where are you calling me? 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena D.M. I AM IN A STATE OF BEING. BEING IS LEARNING TO LIVE. LEARNING TO LIVE IS EXPERIENCING. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHEN, WHERE OR HOW IT HAPPENS BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING NOW. A.H. I got that! Does time only exist only for us humans? D.M. THE ILLUSION OF YOUR TIME IS CLOSELY BOUND TO OTHER ILLUSIONS. A. F. The general condition of our p1anet is a very serious one. D.M. YES. (This is the only word Dr. M. spoke in English. Otherwise the entire conversation was in German). THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF YOUR REALITY IS NOT ON A LEVEL WORTHY OF EVOLUTION. IS MEN PRESENTLY ABLE TO DO SOMETHING DECISIVE TO… (save the)? PLANET…(?) ABSTRACTIONS WHICH GOVERN THE UNIVERSE ARE NOT PART OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF MANKIND. A.H. How will the misery of our planet end? Who is speaking with me? D.M. MEN ALWAYS POSSESS THAT, WHICH HE IS ABOUT TO LOOSE AT ANY TIME. A. H. I did not get that? What are the worst cases, which…the destruction of our earth? D. M. PLEASE DO NOT

LOOK FOR CAUSES, BECAUSE YOUR ENTIRE LOGIC IS NOT CORRECT. HAS MAN NOT BEEN POLARIZED NEGATIVELY SINCE BIRTH? THAT’S THE QUESTION. GOD IS IN ALL THAT IS. WHAT YOU BELIEVE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. IN ALL IS PERFECTION. YOUR SITUATION BECOMES MORE AND MORE FRIGHTENING. A.H. Yes, we know that. D. M. I SHALL STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOU. END OF CONTACT. A. H. Yes, I got most of it. My heartfelt thanks. I heard you say “End of contact.” I shall play back the entire recording.” Remarks by Dr. E. Senkowsi: “Duration of dialogue 4 minutes 25 seconds. Very high volume of trans- signal. Rather low distortion. The syllables are strongly accented. During pauses, the radio news can be heard with considerably lower volume. Oct. 15, 1992-10:45 A.M. Small FM radio. Dialogue begins after music program is suppressed. D.M. THIS IS DOCTOR MEULLER. A.H. Hello Doctor Mueller! Do you want to communicate something to me? D.M. HELLO HERR (Homes). A.H. Hello Doctor. Would you like to communicate with me? D.M. ALL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ARE BASICALLY LED THROUGH MIND-TELEPATHY. ONLY AFTER THAT ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME THROUGH YOUR RADIO. A.H. Yes, I understand. D.M. THEREFORE TWO-WAY CONTACTS STOP AFTER THE EXPERIMETER PASSED OVER. THE NECESSARY VIBRATION DOES NOT EXIST ANY MORE. A. H. Yes, that is also my opinion, Dr. Mueller. Can you speak English with me? Hello! D. M. THIS QUESTION IS SUPERFLUOUS IF YOU UNDERSTAND ME. A. H. Yes, I understand you Doctor. How

did Spiricom function in the USA? D.M. THE METHOD IS KNOWN AND OUTDATED. A.H. Aha. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena D.M. DIFFERENT TONE FREQUENCIES ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY. WE, A GROUP OF PHYSICISTS AND OTHERS ARE WORKING ON OUR SIDE WHICH WE WILL CALL MARK IV. A.H. I see. D.M. THE ASSUMPTION THAT I AM IN HIGHER LEVELS IS INCORRECT. A.H. is incorrect . . . Doctor do these contacts in time get better worldwide, or do they remain singular cases? D.M. I REFER TO THE MEDIUMISTIC CONTACT OF APRIL 14, 1920. A.H. 1920? I was not even born then. D.M. MAN WITH HIS BELIEF CAN NOT MOVE MUCH. ONLY THE RECOGNITION OF PROBABILITIES ENABLES THE PSYCHE TO ADVANCE TO OTHER SYSTEMS OF REALITY. A.H. I see. Yes, I partially understand that. D. M. PLEASE PASS ON MY GREETINGS THROUGH MR. SENKOWSKI TO MR. MEEK AND THE METASCIENCE GROUP. A.H. I got that. I thank you sincerely Doctor Mueller for your message and am hoping for further contacts through this radio. Music program comes back full volume. Remarks by Dr. Enrst Senkowski: “The date April 14, 1920 refers to mediumistic message quoted by Carl A. Wickland, M.D. in his book: Thirty Years Among the Dead and referred to in Senkowski’s book, Instumental Transcommunication Quoting from Wicklands book: “Soon the time will come for which all of us are working when an instrument will be invented on earth, by means of which all

who wish will be able to hear the great masters in the world of spirit.” REPORTS FROM TAPERS Phyllis Jaciuett of N.J. wrote: “Break-through! As is my custom, the other morning I recorded while I had breakfast. Playback gave me a brief message of “ Hello, Vilva.” The “Hello” is loud, clear Class A. The “Vilva” is clear, but where I hear “Vilva,” the other people say it’ sounds like “Phyllis.” They all say it sounds like Ralph (Phyllis’ deceased husband) deep and husky, a singular voice. I’m being careful not to deceive myself. Perhaps too much so. It was an exciting moment and still is everytime I listen to the message.” Edward Moore of OH has also had a break through. In recent months, he has taped a number of messages, some Class A, such as “Wait!” “That friendly cat.” (When his cat was sniffing Ed’s tape recorder that was on the floor while he was taping). “Friendly cat” (during the same recording) and “God is good.” Laurie Schoenick of WI, like Phyllis, has been a member of AA-EVP for less than a year. In December, she wrote: “I am taping quite a few words at a time, usually Class B or C. It’s difficult to get Class A voices and I am always amazed at how loud and clear my grand- pa’s voice is on the tape he came through on.” Gerda Slater of FL wrote: “On Oct. 21, ‘92 a loud male voice said through my little

spirit trumpet (slipped over the external electric mike) “We will speak to you!” Ever since, I get voices, many A, just about every morning when I tape 4 to 5 times a week. They call me by name, pet name, my parents sneak in German—always telling me of their love and help. I am thrilled. Perseverance does nay off!” CAN YOU HELP THESE MEMBERS? Sherry Presneli of AR wrote: “Something I would be interested in reading more about is what other members are discussing with our friends (on the other side through their tape recorders) and what they have to say in answer.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In Laurie Schoenick’s letter, telling me about her taping results, she agsed: have a rather unusual question. Do people ever tape animals? The reason I ask is that when I was taping a couple of times, upon playback there is a cat meowing on tape. Others in my family that I’ve played the tape for have also heardit. It sounds very much like my cat who passed over a year and a half ago. He was a Siamese with a very distinct and loud meow, and very talkative... So, I would like to know if anyone else has recorded animals during taping sessions. Thank you, Sarah, for any help you can give.” If any of our members can help Sherry or Laurie, please send your answers to me, and I will forward them to

the proper person. Also, if there is space, I will print them in the Spring Newsletter for I feel they will be of interest to other members. TV EXPERIMENT A letter has been received from Dick Walker, OR AA-EVP member, in which he describes a successful TV experiment he and some friends conducted two years ago. I will quote from his letter. “A judqe, a world famous medical, researcher, and my brilliant C.P.A. and I were the participants. We set up the equipment as suggested in one of Walter Uphoff’s newsletters. I found an open channel on my TV, pointed my video camera at the screen and inserted a fresh tape in the VCR. We turned everything on and watched the picture of snow for ten minutes. It became boring so we took our eyes off the screen and started chatting...all except the judge who doesn’t bore easily. Suddenly, he exclaimed ‘Something happened. A gray blob flashed by on the screen!’ “We rewound the film then played it back a frame at a time. Walking briskly across the picture tube was a tall slender man wearing a golf sweater. He was slightly stooped and his hair was a widow’s peak. Unfortunately, I forgot to focus my camera on the screen. Therefore, we couldn’t make out the man’s features. I suspect that one of us might have known him when he was in our frequency. We called our wives into the room and replayed it for them. They were all very

disturbed and did not want a repeat showing! The physician took the tape back to his home city and had it tested and inspected in a lab. The results indicated no fraud. I am hoping to soon find time to repeat this experiment and I most certainly expect to have positive results.” C.E.T.L. JOURNAL The first complete English translation of the excellent C.E.T.L. Journal (Luxembourg) is now ready. This Journal is largely an account of the contacts Maggy Harsch-Fischbach has with the spirit dimension through tape recorder, TV, computer, and telephone, and is written by her and her husband Jules, Secretary of the C.E.T.L. There are contributions from other European researchers describing their own results in the field of transcommunication. The Harsch-Fischbachs are members of the AA-EVP and have asked Hans Heckmann to handle the translation of their long, fascinating Journal into English. Hans sent the translated Journal to me several months ago, which runs 54 pages! Many of you will want to subscribe to this excellent Journal that is published twice a year, so I will only quote briefly from it. Maggy asked TECHNICIAN (one of her main communicators from spirit) about sacrifice and why many people felt a need to do this. Some of his comments about it were: “If you pray or send out positive thoughts with the same intensity that other people use to make sacrifices, your thoughts are just as effective.” “You cannot buy a better spirit existence through sacrifices.” “We are happy that people

of this age finally understand we do not expect sacrifices which involve self-destruction or the destruction of other forms of life.” In her comments, Maggy wrote that their spirit communicators say that elemental beings like gnomes, river spirits, forest spirits, etc. are real and for some humans they are visible. Swejen Salter, another leading communicator with Maggy from the other side, recommends a frequency mixture of several radios. (The Harsch-Fischbachs use seven). The reason for this is that since 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena people on both sides differ slightly in their thoughts and actions, it is advisable that the earthside group tunes their equipment themselves until, in unison with the spirit group, they arrive at the ‘right’ frequency. Swejen said: “Tell all experimenters we advise you not to rely totally on us. Do not just turn on your equipment and wait for help but take some action yourself. Scan the dials. Replace old equipment with new units which allow a finer, more accurate setting of the dials. It is desirable you help with that!” Friedrich Malkoff, a noted German experimenter, contributed to the journal a phone conversation he had with Konstantin Raudive, a deceased pioneer in the field of EVP, who died in the 1970’s. One of the comments Raudive made was: “It is confusing when the doubters or those who do not want to understand think they know everything better. Transcommunication is not a hobby for those people who cannot

cope with the reality of life.” To receive the complete 54 page issue of this outstanding Journal, write to: (CETL Research Center- Residence Marie Curie-Ave. Louis Pasteur 13-17—L—2311 Luxembourg. My understanding is that it is $12 a copy.) FROM MY OVERSEAS MAILBAG During a three-month period, letters are received from all parts of the world. I always wonder when hearing from an unknown individual how they learned about the AA-EVP. In a letter from Gilbert Bonner, a friend who lives in England, he wrote about several individuals we both know who are more or 1ess connected with the government. Quoting from his letter he said: “We know ‘Jim’ reports to ‘Tom’ and he is interested mainly in PK as is the head of the department. So, it looks as if their interest in EVP was PK related and has no bearing on metaphysical concepts like survival… If we go along with the PK mechanism for the voices which seems a reasonable hypothesis, we do not of course have to accept the mind producing this as our own.” Three weeks ago, a letter and pictures came from Jamal Hussein, PH.D. of Amman, Jordan. Although I had never heard of Dr. Hussein, a physicist, his letter (and pictures) were fascinating. For the last ten years, he and a group of experimental physicists and experts in the field of medical sciences have been “scientifically studying those phenomena of unusual body reaction to pain, injury and infection as demonstrated by swamis, gurus, fakirs, etc.”

Their objective is to succeed in helping medical science overcome human pain and infection and to bring about healing of injuries “within a few moments without infection.” In their experiments at the Paramann Programme Laboratories during this time, they have worked not only with those gifted with unusual body reactions, but with ordinary individuals. Using some old Sufi doctrines going back to the 7th century, they feel they are achieving their goals in the field of “Schmerz-demonstration” and also a “technique called ‘Switch Technique’ that was come across accidentally in our laboratories.” Dr. Hussein closed his letter by writing: “We do believe that what we have succeeded to develop inside Paramann Programme Laboratories can help science in many ways. We hope that our programme can be of interest to you so that we can make joined researches together in fields of mutual interest.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Jay Feeley, MN, had an interesting short article published in the Oct. ‘92 issue of FATE. It described a number of experiences he had while living in a haunted house and how one or two individuals continued to come back, seemingly unaware that they had died. Tina Laurent, WALES, has called several times in the last three months. She will again be featured in a TV program in ‘93 which will focus on her work with the electronic voice. On her Christmas card, she wrote: “EVP will be prominent in a new series this spring by Central/Anglia TV called Believe It or

Not.” Valerie Tjaden, N.J., along with her mother Irene Maletsky, are sharing State Coordinator duties. Valerie wrote on her Christmas card: Mom has come to know quite a few members through correspondence and we plan to invite them to our home probably this spring. . .There is a restaurant that 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena has some ‘activity’ that I would like to visit. I want to coordinate it with Victor DeVincenzo (N.J. member) so that we can go together.” BOUQUETS If all of the ‘bouquets’ you write to me were transformed into flowers, I would be unable to get past my front door. I am grateful to you for your expressions of love, friendship, and sharing with me how much the AA-EVP means to you. Some of those that have been received in recent months are: “I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your newsletters. Most informative and enjoyable.” Joyce Graham, PA “I think your Autumn Newsletter was the finest yet.” Monty Heron, OR “Your article, ‘From My Viewpoint’ Vol. 11, Number 2, was the most uplifting I have ever read. I hope you are inspired to write many more.” Robert Paterson, CA “You have been so much help to so many people. God Bless You!” Bertha Whitney, R.I. CONFERENCES A well-organized conference with a worthwhile program focusing on your special interests can be a boon in helping you to recharge your energies and move along your chosen path. Paul

Johnson, FL AA-EVP member, is holding his annual Winter Festival in FL the middle of February. He has sent me a program and it is outstanding. There are several pre-festival workshops for those who are interested followed immediately by the conference which runs from Friday to Sunday. The emphasis will be on spirit evolvement and survival. If you can possibly attend, I am confident you will find your time well spent. Write to Paul for a brochure: SAC-14345 SE 103rd Terrace-Summerfield, FL 32691 Phone: 904- 288-8664. Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff, WI AA-EVP members, sent me a conference program that will be held in Montreal, Canada from May 7-9. It is an international conference and the noted invited guests are from many countries. The theme of the conference is: “Spirit: ’93-The Power for Planetary Transformation.” THANK YOU FOR CARING To everyone who wrote or sent Christmas cards with expressions of love and support and assured me of your prayers, to those who perhaps didn’t but sent positive thoughts our way after learning about my husband’s massive stroke six months ago, thank you! I only wish I could have answered each one personally but my days and sometimes nights, have become unbelievably complicated at times. Charlie returned home from the rehabilitation hospital on Nov. 24th. He is still greatly handicapped and it is questionable if he will ever walk again. His joy is in being home. We are trying to do the best we can and I ask for your continued

prayers and support. “Blessed are they who promptly renew when their yearly notices come due.” ODDS AND ENDS “No second reminders for us” they say, “For within the folds of the AA-EVP we’ll always stay.” My best, my love to all of you in this new year. Remember to follow the special gleam in your life. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 26th. Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1993 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are. We have reached the magical number of eleven. With this, our Spring Newsletter, we celebrate our eleventh anniversary. In numerology, the number eleven is a special number. In truth, I’m not sure about numerology, but I am reason ably open-minded about it and find it somewhat intriguing. The number “two” has seemed to be my number for years. Two phone calls within two minutes. Two new members the same day with similar names—Mary; Maria. Two letters in the same mail asking about the AA-EVP with addresses such as “Swan Lake” and “Bird Pond.” Two magazine editors calling the same week asking for information about the Association, and so on. From this brief account, you can see the number two has my number. I’m not that cognizant about numerology but my understanding is that “2” is not a number to be

especially cherished. However, for better or worse, it seems to be mine. Perhaps none of this has anything to do with numerology. Instead, it could be more a feature of the phenomenon known as synchronicity. Now that does interest me. So much that happens is beyond coincidence. There is the philosophy that the universe is chaotic and it came into existence out of chaos. On the other hand, the few experiences I have described, and I have a half a dozen or more a week, give lie to that philosophy. If the events are truly synchronistic, which I prefer to believe, I find it reassuring. Instead of chaos, there is order in all things. It may not seem so to us in our usually hectic lives as we look at the world around us which frequently seems insane. We cannot begin to grasp the larger picture and I suspect very much from the hints that I have been given, from just being aware and trying to stay in touch with life, that there has been a plan for our world, for all of us, from that first speck of dust that started to take form and began us on our way aeons ago. It is man who creates chaos, not the earth itself. We have been given the planet to care for, to nurture. The greatest gift of all is that we have been given each other. Too many of us through the ages have been messy housekeepers. We have

not cared enough. In February, a letter came from a member whose husband had recently died. I had mailed her the special tape I made for Elisabeth Kubler-Ross some years ago to help those who are facing imminent death, or who have lost a loved one. H. wrote: “I have listened to the tape over and over and it is a comforting and joyful thing. When tough times arise, I put the tape back on, sit back and listen to the voices that say to me: “We’re alive.” We’re well.” “We’re happy.” “We’re busy.” I can then get on with my life.” When a letter like that comes, I know what we are doing is good. Whether you have been a member for the full eleven years, as some of you have, or whether you joined a month ago—you, individually, are important. You are the AA-EVP; the AA-EVP is you. As I wrote in that first newsletter: “I am not the Association. You alone are not the Association. We, together are the Association. Together we will do great things!” My belief in that statement has never wavered. All of you have helped in the past to do some truly great things. Will we, in this eleventh year— magical or not—continue to do great things? Each of you has that light within yourself to share with others, so the answer is yours. It is your decision to make. I suspect that you will, and I will find you, my very good

companions, keeping me company as we journey along the path together. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ralph Politte, LIBERANT Word has come that Ralph Politte, VA AA-EVP member, made his transition in March. I first met Ralph at a national Spiritual Frontiers conference. Although never having met before, we sat together for lunch and were soon chatting like old friends. When I told him about the AA-EVP, he said: “Sign me up!” That was ten years ago and he remained a faithful member, attending all three conferences. We will miss Ralph, but I am confident the other side will benefit from his cheerful friendliness and desire to help. EVIDENCE FOR SURVIVAL All of us, whether we are taping or not, are interested in good evidence for survival. The following is such a case and involves Olga Worrall, famous healer and medium before her death in the 1980’s. P., a MD member since 1983, who has asked I not use his name, called shortly after the Winter Newsletter was mailed. On page 2 of the Winter NEWS, I reported a phone call Edelgard John, a German member, had from the other side. In the call, a young child, unknown to Edelgard, kept crying and insisting Edelgard was her mother. Edelgard said in her letter to me that she’d never had a child in this life, only a miscarriage many years ago. It was this report that prompted P’s call. He was a close

friend of Olga Worrall and her husband Ambrose, and spent a good deal of time with them. Olga told P. about visiting an Episcopal vicar and his wife while traveling in England. After dinner, Olga became psychic and told the couple: “Your son John is with us.” The vicar’s wife insisted they never had a son named John. Later, the vicar took Olga aside and told her that several years earlier his wife had a miscarriage. His wife was evidently unconscious at the time, so the vicar took the child and before burying it christened it “John.” Hoping to spare his wife further grief, he never told her what he’d done, just that he’d taken care of everything. Now John had come back and made his presence known to Olga. P. feels that Edelgard’s call from the unknown child could well have been the child she had miscarried. RADIO CONTACTS CONTINUE In the Winter Newsletter, I reported about the two radio contacts Adolph Homes, German experimenter, had with Dr. Jeffries Mueller who died in 1967. Members wrote saying they found the report fascinating and several made copies and sent them to friends. Now, thanks to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, we have a translation of a third contact Homes had with Mueller. This appeared in the Journal “Trans-Kommunkation” published by Dr. Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member who lives in Mainz. In this third contact, Homes deliberately called on Mueller. You will remember that the first two contacts, as reported in

the last newsletter, were instigated by Mueller. A.H. “Herr Dr. Mueller, I welcome you.” D.M. “Hello, Mr. Homes.” A.H. “Dr. Senkowski has asked me to pass on two questions to you: 1. How can we explain the T.C. interaction of spirit entity and spirit apparatus with the earthside experimenter and his equipment? 2. What is the task and purpose of your equipment in communication with us?” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena D.M. “My answer to both questions: As you know, the human body has an energy which you understand to be of electro-psychological nature. Concerning instrumental communication, a channel or corridor opens through our contact methods with your equipment in connection with intuitive centers of your body and your psyche. Our thoughts get through to you when all 5 (?) concepts are in agreement (alignment).” A.H. “Dr. Mueller, how is mediumistic communication without electronic equipment made?” D.M. “A human channel develops by expanding telepathic brain activities and by a strong desire and aim. In all, cases a strong motivation is necessary.” A.H. “Dr. Mueller, do you want to say anything else to us?” D.M. “Please stay in a timeless state of day dreaming. Apprehensions will diminish and you will be better ready to coordinate yourself. Give my greetings to Mr. Senkowski and Meta-science. End of contact.” YOU HELPED! In our Winter Newsletter, Laurie Schoenick, WI AA-EVP member, wondered if members had ever taped animals. She had taped a cat meowing on tape

several times and thought it might be her beloved Siamese cat who died two years ago. Several members answered Laurie’s request. John Blondin, FL, said he has taped barking during his recordings. While he is in a meditative prayer state, a cat will at times curl up on his legs. Although he can see the cat clearly, his wife can’t. John believes his new dog is a reincarnation of his former dog. (This is similar to Edelgard John’s belief. She also feels her current dog was a dog she once had and loved very much). Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J., sent me two pictures which he feels shows his Yorkshire Terrier who died in November 1992. Lloyd still has the brother of the deceased Yorkie and said he acts at times as if he can see his dead brother. Lloyd wrote that he has taped “doggie toenails on the tile floor,” and felt something pressing against his leg. During the NFL, playoffs, Lloyd said he was watching the game, and the deceased Yorkie walked in and looked at Lloyd for about fifteen seconds before vanishing. Gerda Slater, FL, also answered Laurie’s request for help. She wrote: “One day after I had my beloved old cat Shamballa put to sleep, I asked my husband and parents (in spirit) during my morning taping session, “Where is our Shamballa?” Ed answered clearly: “We have him!” and then, there were 3 meows!!!” (A month later) “I asked Ed if Shamballa was there with Nicky (our Schnauzer

with whom Shamballa used to play.) He said, “Yes!” and then I heard a few loud shrill barks.” MICROPHONE BOX Saria Buioni, Italian AA-EVP member, is a director of an excellent organization in Italy called the Centro Milanese Metafonia which is devoted to studying genuine spirit contacts. In May 1989, I was a guest of their group at their national conference held in Milan, which was attended by several hundred people. On Saturday I lectured and played a demonstration tape of Voices; On Sunday afternoon, I took art in a panel discussion. In conjunction with their group, Saria and Virginia Ursi, another director, publish an outstanding Journal. Several months ago, Sarai sent me a copy of their recent Journal in which the AA-EVP was mentioned favorably. The Journal included a diagram of a microphone box designed by Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine AA-EVP member. I had published this in the Spring 1989 issue of our newsletter 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena because Rupert felt it helped the voices come through. I sent Rupert a copy of the page from the Italian Journal so he could see his experiment is being used in Italy. Rupert replied saying that he hopes his design helps others. He continues to tape daily but is trying to stay away from using a radio as his sound source which many of us favor. He wrote: “Being in radio and TV for years I realize how crowded the air waves are

and am working with non-radio sources. I would welcome suggestions for non-radio sources, or different mike setups or other electronic circuits from your readers.” If you have any ideas along the line Rupert requested, send them to me and I will mail them to him. Also, I might use some of these ideas in our Summer Newsletter for I feel they could be of interest to other members. If you would like a copy of the microphone box designed by Rupert , please send a S.A.S.E. to me and I will be happy to mail it to you. PHONE CALLS CONTINUE European experimenters, such as the Harsch-Fischhachs and others, report frequent phone calls from the spirit side. In Hans Heckman’s letter with the translation of Mueller’s third radio contact with Adolph Homes, he also included a translation of Konstantin Raudive’s phone call to Homes which lasted 5 mm. 22 sec. Quoting from it, Raudive first confirmed that Homes had indeed heard from their co- worker, Mueller. He went on to say: “All your daily events, your thoughts and actions as well as events you seem unable to control, such as environmental catastrophes, in the final, analysis were created by yourself, though they originate in other dimensions, in dreams and in other, trance-like conditions when you were your real self. “None of you has to die in order to be what you would like to be. You only have to die, because you selected one of many possibilities that was open

to you. Even the person who is panic-stricken for fear of death, long ago in another dimension decided his physical death. “…You should not look so much at the I.T.C. problem from the technical side alone, or you get caught in a false web of ideas. This seems to be the case at present.” Several of our members have written and said they are concentrating more on having phone contacts with the other side, as a result of reading about them in our newsletter. At least three members have bought the Radio Shack Telephone Recorder Control-Model No. 43-228 that I recommended. Peggy Van Lear, OH, is one of them and she reports contact! Although it was limited to one word, it was significant. Quoting from Peggy’s letter, she wrote: “During one of my taping sessions, I asked if there was anything I could do to make communication easier. A male computerized voice said: “Yes, try the phone.” I invested in the Radio Shack device to be prepared on the upper level of our home. I have taped conversations with various living members of my family. One time, after taping a conversation with my sister Beth, I listened to it again, and realized anyone trying to get through would have to shout. Not only were there no gaps, but we practically talked over each other. During the conversation with Beth, I went downstairs to the kitchen phone to look up a number for her. After we finished talking, I went back

up to the bedroom to hang up the other phone. Upon playing back the tape, I heard one word: “Bad.” This wasn’t quite what I wanted to hear and at first it gave me the creeps. Then, I thought about the conversation I’d just had and how difficult it would have been for anyone to come through, so the word was quite appropriate.” Peggy plans to record more conversations and hopes to have eventual contact with her sister Charlotte who is in spirit. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena FATE MAGAZINE/BALL LIGHTNING In the last few months, some of our members have kept FATE happily busy publishing their experiences and comments. Rupert Sigurdsson had a piece in the March issue under the heading “True Mystic Experiences” section. In the same issue, Kathleen Tory, MN, had a request in “Report From the Readers” feature. She is collecting dreams and paranormal stories about pregnancy and conception. J. J. Snyder, CA, has an interesting article in the January 1993 issue of FATE under the title: “Ball Lightning and Crop Circles.” J. J. is a pilot and his picture appears standing beside his airplane. You will perhaps remember I mentioned Doris Humphrey, MD AA-EVP member, in the Spring 1992 Newsletter. She, also, had an article about ball lightning in the January 1992 issue of FATE titled: “Dancing Balls of Light.” My own experience with the phenomenon was an unforgettable one. It happened one summer afternoon several years

ago. I was at the beauty parlor having my hair cut. There had been a brief summer storm a short time earlier, but now the sun shone brightly and everything was crystal clear. The owner had the door open, trying to catch a breeze, when all of a sudden, in through the door, rolled a red/orange ball about the size of a basketball. There were five or six of us in the shop at the time. We all saw it and immediately became frozen watching its antics. The object was in our presence seven or eight seconds, rolling around the shop and between the chairs. At its closest point to me, it was about five feet away. Then, as silently as it came, it rolled back out the door and was gone. All of us looked at one another and said: “Did you see that!?” However, we were unusually calm, so no further mention was made of the incident and everyone continued what they were doing. I have always found our psychological acceptance of this remarkable incident somewhat remarkable in itself. When I wrote to J.J. congratulating him on his article, I said I almost had the feeling, from the way the object carefully rolled around the room, avoiding the people and furniture, that it had a type of limited intelligence. An experience with ball lightning is something one never forgets. C.E.T.L. JOURNAL The latest translation of the excellent C.E.T.L. Journal, published by Maggie & Jules Harsch- Fischbach, AA-EVP members,

Luxembourg, has been sent to me by Hans Heckmann. In it Maggie discusses their participation at the international conference on transcommunication that was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last May. She wrote: “Between presentations we met young technicians who belong to the technical members of Sarah Estep’s AA-EVP organization. These young people reported about the good cooperation and friendly relations between I.T.C. researchers in USA and in Europe.” Further on in the newsletter, Maggie asked: “Should we ask more technical and scientific questions?” She said that she and Jules often noticed that their technical questions were put off as not urgent, and that their spirit friends preferred questions of human interest. They began to realize that contacts through their equipment are not triggered by intricate technical circuitry and its understanding but by a state of inner readiness, efforts for a positive spiritual attitude and many other factors they still know little about. She went on, however, to say that the experimenter should not ignore his interest in science and technology because the time may come when this knowledge can help them make new discoveries. She also said that the technical advice they get from the other side are merely hints. We still do not know why a certain piece of equipment only works well in connection with a certain experimenter. As far as they know, there are no spirit plans for the construction of electronic equipment that would provide a ready made spirit contact for everybody. In the matter of

reincarnation, Maggie wrote: “At the beginning of our first clear speaking contacts with Timestream, Technician and Raudive told us that reincarnation is a “Spiritual Law.” Every being on 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena both sides of the veil has the right to “detour” this law for a while to avoid it or even reject it, but you cannot escape it forever.” Technician “The human soul returns back to earth often enough to learn all human life experiences. Reincarnation is a constant evolution that moves forward starting with minerals to plants and animals and then to human beings. There is no backwards evolution. The human soul never returns in the body of an animal.” AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU! It is impossible to give more than a brief idea of what is to be found in the C.E.T.L. Journal. Hans’ translation ran over 40 pages. You can receive the full Journal translation which is now available in this country. Send $13.20 to receive the next issue; $25 for the next two issues to: Mark Macy-Continuing Life Research—P.O. Box 11036—Boulder, CO 80301. OUR TAPERS REPORT Arthur Counts, MD joined last April and tapes on a regular basis. He has had results and is especially eager to hear from his deceased sister who died over a year ago. He visited a friend in a nearby hospital whose room was just one door away from where his sister had been. Several days after his second visit he

taped: “Welcome,” and two days later, “Welcome back to the hospital.” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that she taped one day while she and her daughter were practicing their guitar lessons. Her daughter was doing well, but Carol said she “sounded awful.” When she played the tape back later, a clear male voice said, “Cancel that test!” “I think” Carol wrote, “that was his lingo for “Skip the lessons,” or just plain “Forget it!” Carol commented it always amazes her how the other side will use completely different phrases to get their point across. Carol has since stopped playing the guitar and is now taking piano lessons! Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that her tape recorder was in the repair shop so she was unable to tape. At last it came back and she had everything connected. She sat down to make her first recording and said she now had her tape recorder and could talk again. A voice said on tape: “We have been watching.” Irene Maletsky, who along with her daughter, Valerie Tjaden, is N.J. State Coordinator, wrote that she had taped “two spectacular messages.” She had her recorder running in the kitchen while she was doing the dishes. Her young granddaughter was seated nearby playing with her toys. She spoke to her grandmother, calling her “Letsby.” A voice immediately came through on tape correcting the child’s pronunciation with “Maletsky.” In her letter, Irene also said that at one time, she and her father shared the

love of a little dog called “Boopie.” Her father died a number of years ago and then Boooie died a few years later. On tape she received, “Jump!” and a few counters later she taped, “Boopie!” followed with, “I’m taking care of Boopie.” Lynda Noel, N.H., wrote that she received a good many voices but most are whispers which she can’t interpret. One time she was having trouble with her tape recorder and asked the other side what the problem was. Someone told her, “Screwdriver.” Lynda tried using a screwdriver on the recorder but it remained broken although she could hear something loose, possibly a screw, rolling around inside. Olga Pfaff, CANADA, tapes and also takes pictures which she feels show those who live in other dimensions. In a recent letter, she wrote she had taped the following sentence: “Olga, as you know, you have big slender friends.” Laurie Schoenick, WI, wrote that she still hears occasionally from her grandparents. She said that she has received many short messages from unknown entities such as: “Help,” and “Save me.” When 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena she tapes something like this, she tells them to go towards the light; there are people there waiting to help them. OVERSEAS MAILBAG Letters continue to come from far away. Chitra Dhakal, a student at a British assisted school in Kathmandu, Nepal., wrote that she had just taken her A-level. exams. She read my book: Voices of Eternity

which was lent to her by Kamal. Ghimire of India. This was her introduction to the Voices and she found it very interesting. She is becoming involved with the phenomena and hopes to carry out some research when she returns to her village in the rurals. Another interesting letter has come from Jamal. Hussein, Amman-Jordan, mentioned in the Winter Newsletter. Dr. Hussein wrote that he was impressed with my letters and newsletter and had forwarded them to all the members of their Programme Laboratories. He also sent copies to Professor Shetha Al- Dergazekkus of Durham University, England, who was at one time a director of the Programme Laboratories. Dr. Hussein commented: “She is one of the hard workers in the field of investigating the phenomena relating to P-worlds.” Dr. Hussein, who is by training a physicist, wrote at length about contacts he and his colleagues have had with inhabitants of P-worlds (other dimensions) that he is convinced surround us. Quoting from his letter he said: “After over a year of continuous communication with an unseen voice, we were astonished to hear this very voice, which we used to think of as being a human voice of someone who lived a life on the earth plane, announce that he is very ashamed that he had ‘cheated’ us for claiming he was a human being because, in fact, he is one of the inhabitants of an unseen world that surround our world. He and his people can take human form when they

like and the reason he claimed he was human in his contacts with us was his fear we might end communication with him on the basis of being afraid of him as he does not belong to our plane of existence! Further communication has resulted in proving that what he was saying about his real identity is absolutely correct. I feel that these beings are very emotional and that they do, as you have mentioned in your book, express love and friendship and a desire to help. We in the Paramann Programme Laboratories, are very happy to know that you are brave enough not to be afraid to announce what you have come across in your over sixteen years of tape recording un seen voices. I think that you, unlike those who try to interpret all paranormal phenomena as being spiritually caused, have the courage to declare that you have experimental evidence that can prove the existence of unseen worlds which have nothing to do with human spirits and whose inhabitants are endowed with cons which is by no means human though it does have a lot of similarities with human consciousness.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Monique Simonet, France, has finished an other book whi’h wilt soon be published. She wrote that she has used three oi’t uses in it that Erland Babcork (MA AA—EVP) member received from the other side through his TV. Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ, is a minister with the National Spiritualist Assoc. of Churches. They

have appointed him Curator of the Bureau of paranormal Evidence for the church. He is seeking documented cases of phenomena (phe nomena that has been seen by more than one person.) He hooes in time to publish his find ings. If you have had such an experience write to him at: 1710 E. Bell Do Mar—Tempe, AZ 85283. Paul Johnson, FL, will hold his 18th Annual Conference on the beautiful campus of Lake Forest College, IL, from June 5-10. The theme is: “Allowing The Spirit To Emerge.” For infor mation write: 14345 SE 103rd Terrace—Summer— field, FL 34491——Phone: 1—800—245—1389. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tina Laurent, Wales, called recently. Another TV program in Wales, featuring her work, is expected to be shown shortly to the public. Jonathan Marten, England, sent me an ex— cellent article he wrote for “The PSI Research er” the magazine for The Society for Psychical Research in London. The title is: “Who Needs The Paranormal? Why Do We Believe? What Do We Achieve?” Among other topics, he discusses EVP and the video phenomena. Near the end he wrote: “Parapsychology may presently be a scientific “Cinderella”, but pantomime qoers everywhere will recall the turn of events at the end of the r’lassic fairy tale.” Dan Mckee, FL & IL State Coordinator, wrote that he had contacted FL members this past winter. Several resoonded and went to vts him at his home in Bradenton. Rozelta Roberts, CA, sent me a

tape of a long interview she had with “Timeless Voyager Radio” in CA. It was very interesting with a number of subjects discussed, especially mmmunicatjon with other dimensions. Ernst Fenkowski, Germany, wrote that his excel hook: Instrumentelle Transkommuni— kation is being translated into Spanish. It is hoped before long the Spanish edition will he oubl ished. Valerie Tiaden, N.J., has a number of her Spirit photographs on display at the Middlesex County Museum in N.J. They are part of an exhibit on local folklore. MEMBERSHIP REPORT Members come and members go but, happily, more come than go. Of special note is that guite a few come back after having been gone for a year or more. A recent example is a woman who returned to us after an absence of 2½ years. These ‘prodigals’ have never been able to forget us, which is a personal delig’ From April. 1992, until the present time, we have welcomed 102 new members which I feel is outstanding. Renewals average a 1 over 75%. We have members living in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and 10 foreign countries. As has always been the case, men outnumber women. We now have 31 more men than women. The future——who can say? Interest in what we do continues to grow worldwide. In the first three months last year, 27 people wrote or called for information about the AA—FVP. In the same time frame for this year, 55 people have contacted me, so it looks good! ODDS

AND ENDS Deadline for the Summer News is June 5th. We have come to the end of another year. It has been a good year which all of you helped make nossible. In the first Qids and Ends written in May 1982, I wrote: “Right now we are a seedling. Let us grow to be a mighty oak with branches stretching out to everyone.” Over the years we, together, have done this. We have branches stretching everywhere. Yr have brought light and comfort to others. Yu have impacted many lives in a positive way. I am grateful to you for this and for your continued love and support. Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena OVERSEAS MAILBAG Letters continue to come from far away. Chitra Dhakal, a student at a British assisted school in Kathmandu, Nepal, wrote that she had just taken her A-level exams. She read my book: Voices of Eternity which was lent to her by Kamal Ghimire of India. This was her introduction to the Voices and she found it very interesting. She is becoming involved with the phenomena and hopes to carry out some research when she returns to her village in the rurals. Another interesting letter has come from Jamal Hussein, Amman-Jordan, mentioned in the Winter Newsletter. Dr. Hussein wrote that he was impressed with my letters and

newsletter and had forwarded them to all the members of their Programme Laboratories. He also sent copies to Professor Shetha Al- Dergazekkus of Durham University-England, who was at one time a director of the Programme Laboratories. Dr. Hussein commented: “She is one of the hard workers in the field of investigating the phenomena relating to P-worlds.” Dr. Hussein, who is by training a physicist, wrote at length about contacts he and his colleagues have had with inhabitants of P-worlds (other dimensions) that he is convinced surround us. Quoting from his letter he said: “After over a year of continuous communication with an unseen voice, we were astonished to hear this very voice, which we used to think of as being a human voice of someone who lived a life on the earth plane, announce that he is very ashamed that he had ‘cheated’ us for claiming he was a human being because, in fact, he is one of the inhabitants of an unseen world that surrounds our world. He and his people can take human form when they like and the reason he claimed he was human in his contacts with us was his fear we might end communication with him on the basis of being afraid of him as he does not belong to our plane of existence! Further communication has resulted in proving that what he was saying about his real identity is absolutely correct. I feel that these beings are very emotional and that they do, as

you have mentioned in your book, express love and friendship and a desire to help. We in the Paramann Programme Laboratories, are very happy to know that you are brave enough not to be afraid to announce what you have come across in your over sixteen years of tape recording unseen voices. I think that you, unlike those who try to interpret all paranormal phenomena as being spiritually caused, have the courage to declare that you have experimental evidence that can prove the existence of unseen worlds which have nothing to do with human spirits and whose inhabitants are endowed with consciousness which is by no means human though it does have a lot of similarities with human consciousness.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Monique Simonet, France, has finished another book which will soon be published. She wrote that she has used three pictures in it that Erland Babcork (MA AA-EVP) member received from the other side through his TV. Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ, is a minister with the National Spiritualist Assoc. of Churches. They have appointed him Curator of the Bureau of paranormal Evidence for the church. He is seeking documented cases of phenomena (phenomena that has been seen by more than one person.) He hopes in time to publish his findings. If you have had such an experience write to him at: 1710 E. Bell De Mar-Tempe, AZ 85283. Paul Johnson, FL, will hold his 18th Annual Conference on the beautiful campus of Lake Forest College, IL, from

June 5-10. The theme is: “Allowing The Spirit To Emerge.” For information write: 14345 SE 103rd Terrace-Summerfield, FL 34491—Phone: 1-800-245-1389. 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tina Laurent, Wales, called recently. Another TV program in Wales, featuring her work, is expected to be shown shortly to the public. Jonathan Marten, England, sent me an excellent article he wrote for “The PSI Researcher” the magazine for The Society for Psychical Research in London. The title is: “Who Needs The Paranormal? Why Do We Believe? What Do We Achieve?” Among other topics, he discusses EVP and the video phenomena. Near the end he wrote: “Parapsychology may presently be a scientific “Cinderella”, but pantomime goers everywhere will recall the turn of events at the end of the classic fairy tale.” Dan Mckee, FL & IL State Coordinator, wrote that he had contacted FL members this past winter. Several responded and went to visit him at his home in Bradenton. Rozella Roberts, CA, sent me a tape of a long interview she had with “Timeless Voyager Radio” in CA. It was very interesting with a number of subjects discussed, especially communication with other dimensions. Ernst Senkowski, Germany, wrote that his excellent book: Instrumentelle Transkommunikation is being translated into Spanish. It is hoped before long the Spanish edition will he published. Valerie Tjaden, N.J., has a number of her Spirit photographs on display at the Middlesex County Museum in N.J. They are part of an exhibit on local

folklore. MEMBERSHIP REPORT Members come and members go but, happily, more come than go. Of special note is that quite a few come back after having been gone for a year or more. A recent example is a woman who returned to us after an absence of 2½ years. These ‘prodigals’ have never been able to forget us, which is a personal delight. From April. 1992, until the present time, we have welcomed 102 new members which I feel is outstanding. Renewals average a little over 75%. We have members living in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and 10 foreign countries. As has always been the case, men outnumber women. We now have 31 more men than women. The future—who can say? Interest in what we do continues to grow worldwide. In the first three months, last year, 27 people wrote or called for information about the AA-EVP. In the same time frame for this year, 55 people have contacted me, so it looks good! ODDS AND ENDS Deadline for the Summer News is June 5th. We have come to the end of another year. It has been a good year which all of you helped make possible. In the first Odds and Ends written in May 1982, I wrote: “Right now we are a seedling. Let us grow to be a mighty oak with branches stretching out to everyone.” Over the years we, together, have done this. We have branches stretching everywhere. You have brought light and comfort

to others. You have impacted many lives in a positive way. I am grateful to you for this and for your continued love and support. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 10 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1993 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Some of you may have been surprised as you took your Summer NEWS out of its envelope. “A month early!” you’re saying. Others, having glanced at the letterhead first, noticed I have a new address. Yes, to both. On July 1, I am moving to Annapolis. This will be just five miles from the group home where my husband is now living, still suffering the effects of his massive stroke a year ago, and emergency major abdominal surgery in April. My present home, with almost an acre of ground leading down to the pier and water, is too large for me to maintain. My new home is small and all on one level. I think once I get settled—and I dread to think how long it may take—I’ll be happy in the adult community I’ve chosen. Normally the summer newsletter wouldn’t be mailed until the middle of July, but I’ll be lucky if I even uncover my typewriter by then! For the last two months, I’ve had

an ongoing household sale, so things have been moving out the door in a constant stream. The people coming to my door have come in all shapes and sizes and personalities. A few I’ll never forget. One woman, seeing the box of metaphysical tapes I’m selling, wanted to know what the word “metaphysical” meant. After I tried to explain in as simple a way as possible what it was, she smiled and said: “Oh, I thought perhaps it was Christian.” I refrained asking why she felt Christian/Judaic philosophies would be absent from the world of the metaphysical. As I followed her from one room to the next, she enlightened me about how active she is in her church. I found it somewhat ironic in the way she tried to bargain me down from many things already priced ridiculously low. The street vendors of Cairo could learn a thing or two from her. Most of the people who came asked how I could bear to leave such a beautiful waterfront home. It will be difficult, but life moves on, and whether one likes it or not, you have no choice but to move with it. You can scream and beat your breast to fate and the heavens above, or you can try to adjust and make the best of the situation. The first will accomplish nothing; it will not change a thing, so I choose the second. The last twelve months have been a time of turmoil for me. A member

whose opinions I value wrote in regards to the disasters that occur eventually to everyone: “Nice voices, whether by channels or by instruments, try to convince us that all this (if not God’s will) is our own will to look for experiences. Thinking this out, it comes to the point that most of us must have been complete idiots in choosing such a fate. No, I do not believe that. I do not know a reasonable solution of the problem. Maybe our brain- mind system is too ‘small’ for comprehension.” Perhaps it is. It is difficult for me to believe that before I returned this time, I chose what has happened in my life since last June. I, also, can’t believe that many of you who have shared your grief, your agony and doubts with me over the suicide of a beloved child, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a crippling disease that causes you constant pain and suffering, chose any of this before returning. For myself, I like to think I have learned more about myself and others in the last year than I have in the first sixty. I believe I am stronger as a result. I am a bit more confident that I can meet emergencies and make decisions; but I am totally aware of the need I have for others to step in and help where knowledge is limited and beyond my ability. I think all of us can learn from experiences, whatever their

nature. As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: “Nothing that happens to anyone has value unless it is a preparation for what lies ahead. We face the 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena future fortified only with the lessons we have learned from the past. It is today, that we must create the world of the future.” Each of us is creating today, the world we will live in tomorrow. I know you will create a good one. Ali Allmaker-LIBERANT Word has just been received that Dr. Ali Allmaker, MA AA-EVP member, made his transition last October after a long period of failing health. Those of you on the cross-country list will recognize that his name leads the list with a 2 in front of it, indicating he was interested in research and development. Ali had a scientific background and was knowledgeable about the various aspects of PSI. In earlier years he had, as a psychical investigator, investigated numerous cases of psychic phenomena and had an extensive library on the subject. Ali joined the AA-EVP in May 1991, after reading my article: “Tapes From The Dead” which was the cover article in the May 1991 issue of FATE magazine. We wish Ali godspeed, and are confident he will know great joy on the other side. He will be able to fully continue his interests in renewed health and vigor. SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO Bill Weisensale Can faint EVP voices be made louder by increasing the volume

and copying at a higher level? I have mentioned before that by trying to do this, you also increase the background sound and end up no better than before. I wrote to Bill Weisensale, CA AA-EVP member for his opinion. We are grateful for his comments. “You are 100% correct that amplifying the sound makes the voices louder, but also makes the noise louder. The only factor that’s really important is what we refer to as the S/N ratio. This is the ratio of signal level, in this case voice level, to noise which is usually expressed in decibels. Simply amplifying the sound has no effect on the S/N ratio. “This process in fact, if not done correctly, can actually make the voices harder to understand. Recording tape has a “ceiling” beyond which it cannot record sound at any higher level. If the voices on a given tape are above the noise level at all, then the voices are the loudest part of the sound. If this is copied at too high a level, the voices go up against the ceiling and cannot record at any higher level. In the meantime, the noise which is not quite as loud, can record at a higher level. The overall effect is that the voices will be distorted, and the S/N ratio is decreased. “As far as increasing the signal to noise ratio is concerned, there are several methods. Naturally, the simplest and least expensive are also the least effective, while the most

effective is also the most complicated and expensive. I’ll try to give you a rundown of these various methods.” Bill then gave a two-page technical description of six different ways to enhance the voices. They range from a simple graphic equalizer, which normally is not very expensive and gives minimum benefits, to a complicated computer enhancement system which would set a taper back about $125,000. As he wrote: “I don’t think such systems are going to become a living room fixture anytime in the near future.” If you would like a copy of these methods, described by Bill, please send me a stamped, self- addressed business size envelope and I will mail it to you. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena You may also write to Bill directly. He publishes an excellent technical newsletter titled; “Spirit Voices,” and will be happy to send you complete information. His address is: P.O. Box B.Q.-Barstow, CA 92312+4. CROSS CORRESPONDENCE AND MIRRORS Skeptics of transcommunication, which covers the field of EVP, computer messages, TV and telephone, are legion when it comes to believing anyone is able to have objective communication with those in other dimensions. As Art Counts, MD AA-EVP member, recently reminded me: “Sigmund Freud once wrote: ‘The skeptic should occasionally be skeptical of his own skepticism.’” Indeed, he should. Strong evidence for survival of individual consciousness lies in what we call “cross-correspondence.” For those unfamiliar with the phenomena, this is when two or more individuals,

unknown to each other, receive the same unique information from the unseen. At times, this information may fit together like pieces of a puzzle, one piece alone not making much sense. However, when two or more pieces are put together, received by different people, then the puzzle takes shape and the picture becomes clear. We have a good example of this in the matter of mirrors and EVP taping. For weeks, I taped a dozen or more Class A messages telling me I should get a mirror to use with my taping. These messages came through on the forward as well as the reverse side of my tapes. To me, the whole thing was senseless so I ignored them and didn’t tell anyone about the silly messages I was getting. Eventually, the other side became provoked and several times in a two-week period said emphatically: “I told you to get a mirror!” Get a mirror!” Finally, more to quiet them than anything else, I went to the local K-Mart, bought a mirror and placed it on top of my tape recorder. The invisibles were thrilled. The first morning I taped with it messages again came through on both sides of my tape. They talked to each other about it saying: “Sarah got a mirror!” “This is fine mirror!” and so on. When I asked if they thought it would help them come through, they assured me it would. I left the taping session feeling my $1.98 had been well spent

and happy it took so little to please the next dimension. Still, feeling the whole thing was odd, I didn’t mention it to anyone. A week or two later, Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, called and said: “Sarah, I’ve been getting messages about mirrors.” I then told him about my own mirror messages. Within the next week, Mercedes Shepanek, who was the VA State Coordinator until her death, called and said: “Sarah, I’ve taped several messages telling me to get a mirror and use it with my tapings.” I want to emphasize that Mercedes and Dan did not know each other at the time and had never corresponded. I told her Dan and I were getting the same messages. I had bought one and was using it which pleased our unseen friends. Mercedes began using a mirror, and like me won praise from the other side for doing this. Several tapers since learning about the mirror messages, have begun using mirrors. Clara Laughlin, who became the VA State Coordinator upon Mercedes’ death, has used a mirror for years. From time to time, she continued to tape mirror messages. Just recently, she received a startling message from a non-taper that further strengthens the cross-correspondence aspect of mirrors as strong evidence for survival. Clara will tell us, in her own words, how it happened. A VISIT TO A MEDIUM Clara Laughlin “It has been a wish of mine to hear from transcommunication partner, Callie by means other than EVP --

perhaps a good cross-check. This finally happened at the end of an evidential mediumistic consultation. Coming to the session, was late husband, Tom, and good friend, Bill (in spirit). He is a gentleman to pay attention to and trust and is a counselor and helper. Several messages were received. Thinking this was 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the conclusion, I started to leave. The medium said, “wait a minute--he is talking about mirrors— mirrors. He has a message for you. ‘And when you look into the mirror, say, “and on reflection.” (Not “upon” reflection).” The next time I taped, I did not mention this experience. At the end, I said, “Thank you for helping me Callie, and on reflection, this is Clara.” On the reverse side, came back the reply, “Believe in Mary, (pseudonym for the medium) Clarissa, Callie,” The use of mirrors at every taping and Callie using his first name ‘Bill’ at the medium’s was convincing to me. I don’t call him ‘Bill’ but he uses the name frequently. I could see the medium struggling trying to figure out what in the world is this woman doing! And with mirrors!! I sat stone faced and gave no acknowledgment that she was correct. She thought I was disappointed, but I assured her at the end that she had a beautiful gift and was very accurate. “This is why I was so secretly excited when the medium used the name Bill. He

calls himself Bill, Doctor Callie, Doc Callie, Willie, Billy—whatever the vibration will stretch to. He is well aware that we love evidential information and I knew exactly what he was doing when he gave that message about mirrors and used his name.” FURTHER COMMENT ON MIRRORS Do mirrors help in EVP taping? Could they be used to good advantage in other areas of transcommunication? Perhaps. I really don’t know. Mirrors have a magical connotation to many who are interested in the field of PSI, but I haven’t seen enough evidence in regard to mirrors to revere them as some people do. Just possibly, they might help a limited few who speak to us from other dimensions. It could well be, however, that by their urging three of us (Dan, Mercedes, and myself) some years ago to use mirrors, they were establishing a cross-correspondence check. The unique word “mirrors” was the key word that each of us separately (and I remind you unknown to each other) were taping at the same time. The unseen are eager to establish their validity through objective evidence. They continued to do this with Clara’s recent visit to a medium. HELL LOCATED Good News. The location of hell has been discovered so we can do our best to avoid it! “Biblical Archaeology Review” a magazine slanted towards those interested in the ancient and early history of Biblical and pre-Biblical days, has a feature called ‘Barlines’. In it, there is a piece titled “Hell Found Under Siberia:

Screams Scare Scientists”. Quoting from it: “Hell itself has been discovered by geologists in Siberia. (A Finnish newspaper reported) that Scientists drilled a hole in the crust of the earth nine miles deep and accidentally reached hell. When they took soundings from the hole, they heard human screams... Screams have been heard from the condemned souls from the earth’s deepest hole.” The manager of the project, Dr. Azzacov said: “The information we are gathering is so surprising that we are sincerely afraid of what we might find down there.” According to the report, the geologists were dumbfounded. After they had drilled several kilometers through the earth’s crust, the drill bit began to rotate wildly. They were surprised that the deep center of the earth is not only hollow but so hot. Dr. Azzacov said that the calculations indicate the temperature was over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which was far more than expected. A later discovery was even more shocking, he said, so shocking that the scientists are now afraid to continue with the project. He said: “We tried to listen to the earth’s movements with super-sensitive microphones which were let down through the hole. What we heard turned those logically thinking scientists into trembling ruins.” (At first we thought the sounds were coming from our equipment) but after some adjustments we knew the sound came from the earth’s interior. We heard a human voice, screaming in pain. Even though one voice was discernible, we could hear thousands, perhaps millions in the

background, of suffering souls screaming. Half the scientists quit in fear.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena According to the original report, which first appeared in 1990, the matter is big news in Finland and Norway, whose scientists participated in the project. The soviets, who sponsored the project, have cancelled it. OUR TAPERS REPORT Phyllis Butcher, VA, said that while her husband was living, he thought her taping efforts were strange. As he said one time: “Well, Phyllis, you’re weird, but you’re a nice weird!” After his death, she tried to contact him through her tape recorder and received a clear laugh. Edelgard John, Germany, wrote about the letter I received from Dr. Jamal Hussein (Amman-Jordan) and mentioned in the Spring Newsletter. Dr. Hussein had written to me about the many contacts he and his colleagues have had with inhabitants of other dimensions. Edelgard feels that some tapers have taped messages from these alternate realities and reminded me of a long message she once taped: “Centers are here. We are here to love scared ones of the Earth. We are here tomorrow on the surface of the Earth of the clock-time.” Laurie Schoenick, WI, wrote that her mother had a miscarriage some years ago. It was her belief it had been a boy. When Laurie asks her deceased grandparents to speak she often hears a young boy’s voice calling: “Grandpa!” Laurie commented she could never understand this because her grandparents have no grandchild

who has died. Recently when Laurie sat down to tape she asked her grandparents if the baby her mother had miscarried was a boy and was with them, and if so, what was his name. The grand mother replied: “Why don’t you ask him?” Laurie was surprised and did this in her next taping. Immediately after her question, the young boy replied: “Evan” in a Class A voice. Laurie wrote: “It can be heard loudly and clearly without headphones even the skeptics in my family are more or less left speechless when they hear it. I am happy to hear from and even know the name of my other brother! It was something I had not expected and hope to continue our communication.” PHONE CALL TO A SKEPTIC Carole Gordnier, MA AA-EVP member, wrote about her daughter’s hospitalization. Quoting from her letter, she wrote: “I had a health crisis with my 30-year-old daughter. She was in the hospital for routine surgery and ended up having three surgeries in one week, and spent 5 days in intensive care, receiving 4 pints of blood. She almost died while she was in ICU, and was in the hospital for 30 days. During this stay, my sister spent a great deal of time there with me. One evening when Cheryl was in ICU, we sat in the waiting room, and I read the AA-EVP 1992 Summer Newsletter, and the article about phone calls from the dead. The next morning my sister called just before

we left for the hospital. She said at 5:00 A.M., she had a very strange phone call. A faint and very far away voice said, ‘Awake.’ She told me it gave her a strange feeling. She asked ‘What?’ and the voice repeated ‘Awake.’ My sister does not have the same spiritual beliefs as I, nor did she know about the newsletter. When we got to the hospital, we found that Cheryl had finally turned the corner that morning and was no longer critical. When I told my sister where I thought the call had come from, she said, “But why would it come to me when you’re the one that believes in all this?” I told her that was exactly the point. If the call had come to me, especially after having read the newsletter the night before about just that sort of thing, I probably would have doubted its source. Although there is no way to prove the call’s origin, Sarah, I know deep within where that call came from and I am grateful to have such caring friends.” “Never would I want to miss a single newsletter of yours. So inspiring, so beautifully written! You give me hope when I can’t find it anywhere else. Thank you!” Margot Gizienski, CA. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena PYRAMID EXPERIMENTS Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, ME AA-EVP member, sent the above diagram to me and wrote: “My newest experiment is using a pyramid for EVP

pickup. The amplification is very good. I haven’t worked with it long enough to be able to comment about results but I feel good with the idea. I have received the word “water” when I asked how to improve communication. So I am experimenting with a small bowl of water under the mike which is suspended from the peak of the pyramid. The dimensions are as close as I can work out from the real one.” ANOTHER EXPERIMENT TO TRY Tina Laurent, AA-EVP member Wales, called on May 29th. She said she had just done a new experiment she thought some of our members might like to try. Her cat at times brings in small rodents and birds, much to Tina’s dismay. She bought a small “attack wave pestrepeller” which works on VLF (very low frequency). As I understand it, she fastens this to her cat’s collar. The small animals the cat loves so much hear it and know they should scramble as the cat approaches. A person can’t normally hear the VLF sounds, but a red light comes on to show it is activated. During her taping on the 29th, she removed the device, held it up to her ear and could hear a soft ticking sound. She put it beside her microphone and the results were “wonderful!” Tina said many, many loud, clear voices came through and she felt she had to call in the hope I could share it with members. The cost of the pestrepeller was

only a few pounds (dollars in U.S. currency). Although it may be called by a different name in this country, I am sure you could find the same sort of device, perhaps in a pet or hardware store. THOUGHTS TO SHARE So many of you write such beautiful, eloquent letter to me that not only uplift my own spirits but help me take another step forward towards the light. I know our members will also be inspired by your thoughts. Richard Busse, IN State Coordinator wrote: “Disappointment, (in transcommunication) never becomes an issue. Faith does. And we’re moved by that faith toward what we instinctively or intuitively know is the truth. Time merely becomes an obstacle, a natural obstacle, much as water lying between two islands. We must swim through its resistance to reach a far shore we know is just beyond the horizon. I, like others who have gone before, do not intend to quit the swim, ever, no matter what dimension I one day awaken within. It may be that when we leave this dimension, we begin the swim all over again from that far shore, ironically enough, toward the one we recently left, hoping to touch the fingertips of the mortal swimmers still approaching. Perhaps, it’s the destiny of both aides to reach each other: Perhaps, at that hour, human evolution, mortal and immortal, will take a giant step forward. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Perhaps, our entire concept

of man will suddenly expand to parameters we can only now dimly conceptualize. Imagine that time when the mortal world recognizes and understands the next world in all of its vicissitudes and lives next to it as nations now live next to each other—and in comprehensive and ongoing communication.” Rob Hyner, Western Australia wrote: “Where shall I start, how do I begin this letter to you? I search within myself and find all I can think of as superfluous. I wonder what the great masters would say to you and your husband? We have come to the conclusion that where they live all is positive, all is light and love. They do not recognize negative thought and yet they are aware of what we all go through. What else can they do than send us strength, love in its true form, visible through light. I do not think that such a master would give us words, but more concepts. Life is eternal and as life on earth is but a small speck of time in relation to eternity, what else can they say, if they would say something, “all will be well, eventually, all will be well”. Are we all doing an admittance exam for a higher sphere? Is that why we are thrown together, all those who vibrate on a similar wave length? We shall see when we enter the next dimension, but that we shall meet each other is without doubt. But, you know what will be so

remarkable—we will understand each other, without a word being spoken, for in this sphere, everyone will have gone through some sort of ordeal, which meets the standard set for this particular exam.” WORD FROM LUXEMBOURG Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach, AA-EVP members Luxembourg, sent an update in April to a few of us about some of the things that have been coming through recently from their contacts on the other side. As mentioned in the Spring AA-EVP Newsletter, Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, is doing a complete English translation of the CETL Journal. This is made available to others through Mark Macy of Colorado. Maggie wrote: “In the meantime we made new fascinating experiences with Timestream. We are convinced that they were released by your efforts, your translations, George (Meek’s) work of many years and Mark’s top article in NOETIC SCIENCES REVIEW. “Here a short summary: “A German friend of us, called Ernst Mackes, who died in November 1992, sent his image (March 1993) by computer-scanner. We also received two letters from him via PC, describing his arrival in his next existence. “Paracelus” contacted us by GA 2, two-way and has spoken in the idiom of Switzerland. The contact has been recorded. (April 14th, 1993). “On Friday, April 16th, we received the first contact by FAX from Swejen Salter (!!) in which she thanks Mark Macy and Hans Heckmann (from the other side) for their excellent work. “Besides these overwhelming experiences the audio-contacts of Konstantin Raudive, Technician and Swejen Salter are

going on.” If you are interested in receiving the CETL Journal which is published twice a year, contact Mark Macy-Continuing Life Research-P.O. Box 11036-Boulder, CO 80301. $13.20 for one issue; $25 for the next two. writing and publishing. In his last letter, he said: “The Spanish translation of my book is currently being done. The young lady from Valencia, has it finished up to the last 60 pages. Hopefully, it shall be in print.” 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Dale Kaczmerek, IL, and President of the Ghost Research Society, wrote that he has contributed several chapters to a new book called: Dead Zones. This is a compilation of over 35 haunts of the supernatural. The book was edited by Sharon Jarvis and published by Warner Books. Dale is selling the book directly. You can write to him for information: GRS-P.O. Box 205, Oak Lawn, IL 60454-0205. Jonathan Marten, England, wrote: “Good news. I have received a proof copy of the article I wrote for “The Psi Researcher”. It now looks certain to be included in the next issue. I was very thrilled.” In his letter, Jonathan also said that he has received permission from Maggy Harsch-Fischbach to report on the work of CETL to the English Society for Psychical Research. He mentioned in his letter that he and Tina Laurent hope to do some experiments together. Ernst Senkowski, Germany, like the two members mentioned above, is also

busy with writing and publishing. In his last letter, he said: “The Spanish translation of my book is currently being done. The young lady from Valencia, has it finished up to the last 60 pages. Hopefully, it shall be in print.” In his letter about his pyramid experiments, Rupert Sigurdsson wrote that he is scheduled to give several talks on EVP. Rupert is an ordained minister in the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Rev. Bernard Baker, AA-EVP member AZ, and also a Spiritualist minister, gave a seminar at Rupert’s church in Maine, at the end of April. The theme was out of body experiences. TIDBITS In her last letter, Edelgard John wrote: “You believe and write about animals surviving. I am a member and get papers from 3 Electronic Voice Associations, but you are the only one that writes about this. Thank you, Sarah!” From the many letters that have come from members in response to my pieces on animal survival, and your sharing your own stories about a beloved pet, I know this is of great interest to you. You may want to get the May 1993 issue of FATE. It has a number of articles about animals—everything from how to have telepathic contact with your pet to evidence for survival. In the May 18, 1993 Baltimore Evening Sun, an article was reprinted from the Chicago Tribune titled: “Belief in God Found to be Prevalent.” It discusses a survey conducted in 13 predominantly Judeo- Christian countries which showed a

large majority believed in God and life after death. The survey also found strong belief in the supernatural, with the majority in 6 countries believing in miracles. Questions about good-luck charms, horoscopes, and fortune tellers were asked only in Britain, the former East Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, and the former West Germany. Varying minorities in these countries, with the exception of Slovenia, believe in such “magic.” ODDS AND ENDS Although not everyone would agree, there is nothing really ‘odd’ about us. I always tell people that communicating with those in other dimensions is the most natural thing in the world. ‘End’-well this is the end of the newsletter from Severna Park. The lord willing, the next one will be from Annapolis. Deadline for the Autumn NEWS will be September 25. Have a good summer! Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1993 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “They probably deliver all of their mail by camel,” said the mail clerk with a sneer at the branch post office in Annapolis. I had gone there to have a letter weighed destined for Al Bir in Saudi Arabia. “I doubt that,” I replied, a bit provoked at the clerk’s assumption that anything in that part of the world

would not have the conveniences for mail (and other things) found in our country. Granted, camels are not the most pleasant animals, which I learned on my trips to Egypt. Although I’d not want one for a pet, there is a place for them in our world. As I continue thinking about the clerk’s remarks concerning camels, and the superior air he unconsciously portrayed, it brings other thoughts to mind. Misunderstanding leads to ignorance which we could call the twin furies of our time. In classical mythology, the Furies punished crimes at the instigation of their victims. Today, we are being punished by our lack of understanding and ignorance. In August, I received a letter from physicist Dr. Jamal Hussein, a director of the Paramann Programme Laboratories in Amman, Jordan. Dr. Hussein, mentioned in our winter and spring newsletters, invited me to lecture and teach a workshop at a World Congress on unconventional healing to be held in Baghdad from November 9-13th. His laboratory and the Tariqa Casnazaniyyah Laboratory of Iraq, are holding a joint conference and asked me to participate with most expenses paid. The plan was for me to fly to Amman, where I and the other congress members would be met by air-conditioned, sight-seeing buses and driven to Baghdad. The official language of the congress is English, with instantaneous translations into French, German, Italian, and Spanish. I realized there could be problems getting permission to travel to Iraq and when I called the State Department, my fears

were confirmed. The attorney I spoke to immediately said I had 100% chance of refusal because the President and Secretary of State don’t want anyone traveling there. Although I explained the congress was on healing and I had been asked to be a part of the program, he remained unmoved. “Go ahead and write a letter” he said, “it’ll make you feel better, but I can tell you right off, you’ll not be permitted to go.” I did this, and enclosed copies of Dr. Hussein’s two letters about the congress. On September 28th, a letter came from the State Department denying my request “for the purposes stated in your letter.” The last paragraph reads: “Since conditions within Iraq remain extremely hazardous, especially for American citizens, the granting of an exception to the restriction on the use of the passport to travel there for the purposes described in your request would be inconsistent with our responsibility to safeguard the lives of Americans abroad.” Many would say going to Iraq is not a good idea. However, I feel that now is the time, more than ever before, when those who have an open heart towards all humanity need to go wherever there is distress between nations. By accepting their invitation, by taking their own outstretched hand in mine, I could say with great joy, “We are one in our personhood.” What could be more benign than a healing congress? What could our government possibly fear by my going? It is not me,

Sarah Estep, that our government is 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena concerned about, but rather of maintaining their position of wounded, righteous dignity. They fear the light from the candle I might light. So, unless there is a miracle, I will stay home. Misunderstanding and ignorance will continue to bedevil us. What message will my failing to be at the congress, for the absence of any American to be there, give to the rest of the world? LIBERANTS Three members have made their transition. Betty Evans, a charter member of AA-EVP having joined in 1982, died Sept. 21st in Maine. Long a resident of VA, she and her son Eddie, moved to Maine several years ago. Betty was a close friend of Mercedes Shepanek a leading taper and VA State Coordinator before her death. They taped together frequently with outstanding success. Even after Mercedes’ death, Betty’s interest in the Voices continued and she would usually get at least one good Class A voice whenever she taped. Betty had been in failing health for over a year and messages had been taped from her family members on the other side, as well as her dear friend Mercedes, that they were aware of this and were standing by. Now Betty is with them and I suspect there were tears of joy at the reunion when she stepped through the door as she returned back home. Leonid Kovalevsky of CA has died recently. He had

been a member of the AA-EVP since 1987. Although never on the cross-country list, he was interested in our activities. In the letters we exchanged, he always expressed how much he enjoyed reading about what other members were doing. Leonid was a friend of Harold Sherman and Harold mentions him in his book: The Dead Are Alive. Many of you have this book and you may want to turn to Chapter 12: “Spirit Communication by Telephone” to read further about him. In July, a phone call came from the daughter of Victor Oliver, a MD AA-EVP member who made his transition in March. She said in going through her father’s things, she came across an AA-EVP newsletter and felt she should call. Victor had been a member for just three months and was on the cross-country list. He wrote several times during this time and it was evident from his letters that the taped voices gave him much comfort and reassurance. Although I didn’t know it, his daughter said he had been terminally ill for some time and they had tried to make arrangements for him to return home to Nigeria. Unfortunately, Victor died before this could be carried out. We wish our three members godspeed. I always feel that the death of any member diminishes us a little. They leave a small empty place behind that can never be entirely filled. FOLLOW-UP ON MIRRORS The feature in our Summer Newsletter that created the most interest was the segment about

mirrors, and how they had played a role in several cross-correspondence cases. “Tell us more!” some asked, but there is really not a great deal I can add. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, mentioned in the feature, wrote after receiving her NEWS: “I can’t tell if the mirrors help in taping, but one of my first messages was: ‘We look out our window. We see you through the mirror.’ At the beginning there were some strange messages: ‘Move over—there—there.’ Then something was said that made me realize that I should look directly into the mirror. (Sometimes) I forget to do that during the entire taping but I make sure I am directly in front of it.” Jerry Bennett, GA State Coordinator, called in August and said he had read in the National Examiner an interesting article about mirrors. It told about Dr. Raymond Moody’s work with mirrors. Moody, a psychiatrist, first became known for his book about near-death experiences. Now he is working with mirrors in a setting he calls “Theater of the Mind” located in AL. He has had contact with his dead 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena grandmother. She manifested herself visually to him and they had a long conversation. Interestingly enough, this was the grandmother Moody never especially liked but after their talk Moody said she cleared up some things for him and he now feels closer to her. Not all of this was in the Examiner but a

great deal more was in the Journal of Near- Death Studies (Winter 1992), sent to me in July by Steve Glanz, CA AA-EVP member. The article describes individuals who have taken part in Moody’s “Theater of the Mind,” and many report experiences similar to Moody’s. A friend or loved one—and it’s not always the person most hoped to have contact with—somehow comes through the mirror and greets the person on this side. When they do this, the entity is in solid form and is as, remembered, although perhaps younger. Steve wrote that in the autumn of this year, Random House (?) will publish Moody’s latest book called: Family Reunions which details his experiments with mirrors. Last winter a member sent me a tape of a lecture she heard Dr. Moody give about mirror work. The subject is fascinating and can be explored by just about anyone. As in any psychic experiment, caution and good judgment need to be exercised. One of our members tried mirror experiments several years ago. He is a level-headed, no nonsense type of person, and what he saw through his mirror was so frightening he never tried it again. Wise person. I repeatedly tell people (and I’m afraid it falls on deaf ears) if what you believe you get through your tape recorder frightens you, stop immediately what you are doing. For myself, I would like to obtain a genuine electronic quartz crystal polished to a mirror sheen and large enough to use as a mirror

for taping experiments. Such an object would be rare, perhaps impossible to find. If such a crystal could be located and used, the results might be outstanding. “IT CHANGED MY LIFE” From time to time, people write describing an experience they have had that altered their life profoundly. Those individuals, not members of AA-EVP, have given me permission to share their experience in any written report. The following incident could be called a Mystical Experience which happens to just a few people. It comes from Professor Doctor Edward Czerwinski, Professor Emeritus of foreign languages in New York State University. “1 was twenty-three years old, a college graduate, serving in the Air Force and attending Officer Candidate School. It was a Saturday afternoon and no one was in the barracks. I was lying on my bunk, studying for exams which were scheduled for Monday. All my friends had taken leave and were enjoying themselves in San Antonio. I felt like being alone. “I had gone over my notes and had closed my eyes for a few moments. Suddenly I was enveloped in a warm light. My eyes were open. I had never experienced such a feeling of well-being. Suddenly I knew what I must do and what direction my life would go. It only lasted a few seconds—perhaps ten seconds. It did not return nor has that feeling every come over me again. But it did change my life. I realized then that one must love everyone, one must forgive every

one, and one must get rid of ego. Simple: and it gets easier as I get older.” NEW FEATURE FOR HAM-RADIO BUFFS Dan McKee, IL and Fl State Coordinator, has graciously agreed to be the coordinator for all those who are ham radio enthusiasts. I know from your letters, that some of our old members have been involved in the field for years. Many new members have said the same thing, and some have even sent me their call letters. Now you have an outlet for your hobby! Dan will lay down the ground rules—days for contact, hours when the line will be open, that sort of thing. Good manners should always prevail. The more people on the line, the better for a free exchange of ideas. If you wish to take part, write to Dan at: 2435 Knollwood, Decatur, IL 62521. His FL address is: 425 30th Avenue West, Bradenton 34205. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Just received my newsletter and am reading it for the third time. It’s like receiving mail from home. I enjoy it very much.” Ed Moore, OH The above picture does not begin to do justice to the four large colored pictures of the Crystal Skull sent to me in September by Frank Dorland of California. Frank and I began exchanging letters a month ago and in that time he has sent me several books, including his book: Holy Ice— Bridge to the Subconscious ($12.95) published

by Galde Press, Inc.—P.O. Box 65611, St. Paul, MN 55165. The book focuses on crystals, especially the work he and his wife Mabel, did with the world-known artifact, the Crystal Skull. Frank and Mabel received the skull in 1964 from Anna, daughter of F. A. Mitchell-Hedges, who discovered the skull, supposedly while probing through the ruins of the ancient city of Lubaantun in Belize. The Dorlands had it until 1970, when Anna took it back home to Canada. During the six years it was in their possession, it was thoroughly studied and they became so involved with the Skull, that they gave up their original business which was art conservation, devoting themselves full time to the Skull. It is made from a single piece of left-hand electronic quartz crystal. It’s carved age is 12,000 years. The Dorlands observed many episodes of strange phenomena with the Skull. When things were very quiet, they could hear soft voices and music. Quoting from Holy Ice “Sometimes there was an odor—an elusive, sweet-sour, wet fragrance. If we put our hands close to the skull, we could feel a tingling like an electrical current, and there were other times when we clearly saw shapes and shadows moving around inside it.” The Dorlands became convinced, through their experiences, that there were more things going on in the invisible world than they had ever imagined. He comments on page 17 of Holy Ice “Human detection capabilities in the average person are currently estimated to be less than

two per cent of the known wave- length spectrum.” Frank writes that the electronic quartz crystal is the world’s first solid-state tool—but the human mind must control the crystal. “The mind is the power supply; the crystal is the reflecting amplifier.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The concluding sentence in the Preface of Holy Ice is: “A human being is a living, walking, liquid crystal of amazing potential.” I would encourage you to read the book. OUR TAPERS REPORT More and more of our members are sitting down in front of their tape recorder and asking: “Is anyone here?” According to reports, the other side is increasingly answering “Yes!” Genuine results make me happy and I thank the members who have written to me about what they are taping. A new member, Jacqueline Colligan of NV, believes she is having good results. She turns on the faucet in her bedroom while taping and feels the running water helps the voices speak. Jacqueline lives in Las Vegas and thinks that explains the large number of negative, combative messages she gets, such as: “I hope he’s a born fighter.” “He’s one lucky kid, he’s liable to kick them both.” “Don’t you want to talk to me from jail?” “He killed himself.” Art Counts, MD, is continuing his efforts for taped contact, especially with his sister, Lill. He wrote: “Sarah, I’m still ELATED. I think my dear sister, Lill spoke, thus my elation. When she

was here with me, and there was something a bit urgent, she’d call out to me in a special and most individual tone of voice, soft, gently, low, so as not to unduly alarm me. She’d say: ‘Artie.’ Sarah, that’s exactly what came through. One of my friends came and listened and she also heard: ‘Artie.’” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote and said she’d been extremely busy for three weeks and hadn’t taped. When she returned to her tape recorder she apologized for her absence and said she’d try to record on a regular schedule again. A male voice said: “It’ll be great to see you again.” Carol is trying to get a voice print made of a message she received several years ago from a deceased AA-EVP member. She has a recording of his voice before death and then, shortly after he died, he came through and said: “Alive!” Carol sent me a copy of this and I agree they sound the same. She has contacted several universities, the latest was the U. of Rhode Island, but they replied they didn’t have the staff to accommodate her request. In her letter, Clara Laughlin wrote that Callie, her main contact on the other side, told her: “This time you chose a lonely life.” Clara commented, “Well, if I did, I don’t like it and I hope I’ve learned my lesson.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, sent me an outstanding tape in July. Some of the good Class A messages

were: “He talks to you in his speakers.” “Please take care of Raudive.” “Science is chaotic.” “Trust with me to talk to the other side. Love and faith.” “It’s Raudive. We love you. We join your destiny so that you’ll feel evolved.” “You’re prone to sanctify death.” “We saw Arthur Ford.” Ed Moore, OH, wrote and said the message he taped was: “We sleep.” Laurie Schoenick, WI, has written several times reporting her taping results. She visited the Crow Agency in Montana where the Battle of the Little Big Horn was fought. She used a portable tape recorder with a separate mike on which she had placed a funnel to amplify the voices. Two faint messages were received, one of them was: “Don’t kill.” During a recent recording she taped the name: “Ernst .” The name was unknown to her, but she wrote it down in her log. That evening, listening to a news report, the reporter told about a tornado in a nearby state in which a man and his wife, living in a trailer, had their home demolished. Both had been killed and the name of the man was the same as recorded earlier in the day. Gerda Slater, FL, wrote that her results are getting, “Better and better and louder and louder.” A member in her spiritualist church asked her if she could make contact with her deceased loved ones through EVP. Gerda asked while taping, if there was someone there for her friend. She recorded “Seymour”

and then later on, “Marcus.” She passed these names on to the church member, who was delighted. Both were close family members. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. has been taping church services at the Church of Divine Inspiration, a Spiritualist Church in Rochester. The members are interested and supportive of his efforts. Using a reel to reel tape recorder, Geoffrey has discovered that most of his messages come through on the reverse side of his tapes. Another interesting facet he has uncovered is that the reverse messages correspond exactly to what the medium, or minister is saying on the forward side of the tape. As an example, the medium would say: “I have a message for Jane Smith. Is there a Jane Smith here?” On the reverse side of the tape a voice might answer: “You have Jane Smith with you.” Geoffrey made a copy of some of the messages that have come through and sent them to me on a cassette tape. Many were good Class A. OVERSEAS MAILBAG Gilbert Bonner, England, wrote in August that he’d had a visitor from Munich, Germany who spent one full day with him. They discussed EVP and the situation concerning transcommunication in Germany and the rest of Europe. He said that Fidelio Koberle, long-time director and editor of the German VTF Journal, which focused on EVP has retired and that Peter Stein of Denmark is now in charge. Of special interest

to tapers is Gilbert mentioning that a friend of his had a cassette recorder that plays a tape backwards without turning it over. Gilbert said he has never had much faith in the backwards (or reverse) voices; however, he gave his friend a short tape of five voices to play on the recorder. To his surprise, two of the voices made sense when played backwards and one of the two said exactly the same thing backwards as forwards. A deep male, strong voice said: “We are great Spirit.” After receiving Gilbert’s letter about the cassette tape recorder that plays cassettes backwards, I asked if he would send me more information. Gilbert replied: “The Germans offer a machine that plays backwards only. It is from a German electronics firm that caters to EVP buffs. The cost in Germany, payable in advance, is 180DM (about 90 pounds UK, or roughly $170 US Funds). He suggests that those interested write to DIPL Holger Sauer—Ewigkeit 37--DW 2900 Oldenburg, Germany, for a catalogue and USA prices. Stress that you are especially interested in the tape recorder that plays cassette recordings backwards Monique Simonet, France, has written several times. The Association she has founded that focuses on transcommunication is called: “Infinitude--The beyond speaks to us .” The group continues to grow. In the spring, Monique was on French television in Paris talking about the voices. Afterwards, the commentator said: “I cannot believe. What are these voices? The dead person has no vocal cords!” Monique wrote that

she looked at him and thought: “He is no intelligent.” With her on the program was Father Brune, a great scholar and scientist, who fully accepts the voices. Knowing this, the commentator treated him well, but he had difficulty accepting what Monique was saying. Monique has completed writing her fourth book. The first three, already in print, are doing well and Monique has hopes for this, her latest book. She reminded me in her letter, “Think always that this life on our world is just the way for a real life.” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The above diagram is to be found in Bi1l Weisensale’s Spirit Voice newsletter (Aug. 1993). I felt it was well worth including in our own AA-EVP NEWS. As time permits, Bill publishes a newsletter aimed more towards the person with a technical background, although others no doubt will also find it interesting. For complete information, write to Bill: P.O. Box B.Q., Barstow, CA 92312-3030. TRY IT! YOU MIGHT LIKE IT! As many of you know, I am a firm believer in using sound sources while taping. The Voices use sounds in the environment to help them speak. There is controversy as to just how these sounds help. We do know that most people who use the straight open mike approach to taping (with no extra sounds provided by the taper) receive few voices and what they get is usually of poor quality. Many of us get

the best results by using what I like to call live sounds. This means sounds originating at that moment from a source. I, and a number of others, receive little by using a ‘canned’ sound--RF generator—that sort of thing. A few people report results by using a pre-recorded tape which they play on a secondary recorder while taping with their primary recorder. This may be a pre-recorded music tape, foreign language broadcast, etc. I have tried this but again, with few results. It is live sounds that give most tapers the loudest, clearest, most frequent voices. Something that I have pointed out before, but which seems to be largely ignored by technical researchers, is that the type of sound source you use will largely determine the sound quality of those who speak. As an example, using running water as a sound source, the voices tend to take on that characteristic and you will hear a whispery, ‘watery’ tape of voice. On Oct. 24th, I will observe my seventeenth year of taping. During that time I have tried many types of sound sources, but in the end, I always go back to the airband on my two Radio Shack Realistic radios. This was suggested by Raymond Cass, well known English taper. His voices 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena are tonal (close to the human voice). Most of my voices when using the airband are also tonal. The voices of what I consider this

country’s best tapers are tonal. Each one is using the radio—airband and/or short wave as their sound source. My theory is that everything has its own unique energy pattern—vibrations. From trees to humans; from flowers to birds--everything. All created sound sources also have unique energies, vibrations. Whatever sound source you are using is used by the invisible to speak. The taper combines his own energies, vibrations to the sound source and the voices are then produced. Normally, I tape between 120-130 MHz on the airband. Most radios don’t have airbands but they can be found. Some people are reluctant to use a radio for fear they, and others, will say they are not voices speaking from other dimensions, but normal earth plane voices. This happens but you can soon learn to distinguish between the two. If they call you by name, answer your direct questions, make meaningful comments about something in your life or a family member, you can be confident you have taped a voice coming from a dimension or world that is not your own. The other side likes radios as their sound source. If you’re not presently using one, turn it to the airband if possible, or short wave as a second choice. You just might decide that you like it also! NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ is on the board of The National Spiritualist Association. In this role, he is also the curator of Phenomenal Evidence. He sent me the July issue

of their Journal. An article he wrote for it, mentions AA-EVP and taped voice as documented evidence for survival. Irene Maletsky has assumed many duties as State Coordinator of N.J. to help her daughter Valerie Tjaden who is busy with job and family. In a recent letter, Irene reported she had contacted N.J. members. In August, Valerie, her husband and their two children spent a week on Deer Island, Canada. Valerie took pictures in Eleanor Roosevelt’s bedroom when they toured Campobello. She got a face in the window “with a mouth that sure looks like Eleanor.” She also got a picture of a stern looking face in the bushes outside of the window. Angela Thompson, NV, said in a recent phone call that she expects to teach a workshop soon on psychic development. The organization for which she works, is interested in psychic/spiritual development. They host a radio show each week that explores such topics. VOIXS D’ ETERNITE Good News! A letter and contract has come from my literary agent in New York. The contract was from Editions du Rocher a French publisher. It is an agreement to publish my book: Voices of Eternity in French. In about a year, Voixs will be in French bookstores. THANK YOU FOR YOUR GOOD WISHES Cards, letters and phone calls came from dozens of members this summer wishing me happiness in my new home. Your positive thoughts helped tremendously with the traumatic move and difficult days that followed. Bruce Dudley, a member, is

a neighbor which I hadn’t known until he turned up at my front door the first evening to welcome me to the neighborhood. Winnie Peters, another member who has traveled with me to several foreign countries, lives over the hill. I wrote to a friend recently and said I thought I’d spent the summer in an altered state. Now, I’m fairly well settled, content, and have rediscovered that the sun shines on most days. ODDS AND ENDS 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Stumped as to what to give a friend for Christmas, or special occasion gift? How about a gift membership to the AA-EVP? It will be a unique gift, that will keep on giving through an entire year. Share the fun, the learning, the insights our newsletter provides. Until next winter—next year—may all of your days be bright, filled with joy and love. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is December 18th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1994 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint January. A new year. A new calendar. Traditionally, a time for making “New Year Resolutions” for “Turning over a new Leaf.” Perhaps I am indeed strange, as some people tell me (and

many more I am afraid think) because I never make New Year resolutions. I don’t believe in them. However, I am a champion turner over of new leaves. If I think something needs to be changed in my life as happens frequently, I do it then. Why wait until January first? To do so would be another blot on my copy book. Not all of the new leaves I turn over in a year end up a success. When that occurs, the situation must be reassessed and another decision made on a different approach. The ink never dries in my copy book. At best, it remains damp. Montaigne writes on the February page of my ‘94 calendar: “I care not so much what I am in the opinion of others, as what I am in my own.” That philosophy has earned a damp place in my copy book. I do care what others think, but it has become much less important to me over the years. Fifteen years ago if you had turned to that page you would have found it wet. Now, there might be only a smudge if you ran your finger across it. With April’s calendar, we find Victor Hugo’s immortal words: “There is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.” If one would choose an idea to live by, he couldn’t go far wrong by having those words as his talisman. In my copy book, you would find them as

part of the Foreword. The Foreword never changes. Occasionally I will add a few thoughts to it but what is there, is there for life. The ink is always dry. When spirits flag, or if I consider what is to me an unworthy deed or thought, I turn back to the Foreword and then, with renewed hope and strength, move ahead along the path that I think goes in the right direction. The philosophy expressed for October is Helen Keller’s. She said: “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” I feel life is meant to be lived, to be an adventure, as Keller said. It should not be, as someone wrote, “lived in quiet desperation.” We are the ‘doers’ and it is up to us to paint the picture during our time here on earth. Not all of the pictures will be beautiful, but if we can learn from those less so, we will slowly become a more talented artist. A member enclosed with his Christmas card a short article (source unknown), titled: “Ghosts in the Machine.” In discussing transcommunication, the author wrote: “Research continues in the U.S. among groups such as the 11-year-old American Association-Electronic Voice Phenomena (the group’s logo appropriately, is a reel-to-reel tape recorder linked to a cemetery gate).” Heavens no! I looked at our logo very carefully after I read that, and I guess the author could be excused in thinking it was a gate to a cemetery. If he had talked to me before

writing his article, I would have explained that what he thought was a gate, was really a bridge. This is why I have an arrow pointing in both directions. We cross the bridge to the unseen; they cross the bridge to us, via a tape recorder. I feel all of us are building bridges—bridges that stretch on to horizons that never end. We don’t stop at cemetery gates. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena With that thought in mind, it is appropriate to end with what Pliny the Younger wrote and which is on the calendar page for December. “Since it is not granted to us to live long, let us transmit to posterity some memorial that we have at least lived.” Everyone can create memorials of love, loyalty, kindness and compassion. These feelings, given to others, grow; they spread from one person to the next, long after the person who gave them has gone on. His name may be forgotten, but what he did remains in positive form. In the end, each takes with him just his copy book that details how much joy, beauty, and love he has given others. May 1994 be a year in which you will. Paint many beautiful pictures in your copy book. LIBERANTS Word has come that two more members have made their transition. Australian AA-EVP member, Rob Hyner, wrote that his wife, Meta, after a long period of failing health, died on October 23rd. They

joined the Association in 1989 and had been interested in transcommunication for a number of years. Meta was a gifted musician and composer. In several newspaper clippings Rob sent me, her contributions to musical fields are stressed. Her output, stretching over 40 years, included 10 operas, 27 chamber works and song cycles. As one reviewer wrote: “Meta-Hyner-Overman’s works must be regarded as an important contribution to Australian music. They combined beauty and strength.” I am confident that Meta is now in a world surrounded by music and actively taking part in composing and playing beautiful music. Over the years, I have taped many musical notes, chords, and once a full minute of music. Now, Meta, in renewed health, is continuing with her wonderful gift, sharing her music with those in the world beyond death. A note has been received that Howard Ruess, TX AA-VP member, has also made his transition. Howard, a charter member of our organization, joined in 1982. We had exchanged letters for about a year before I began the AA-EVP. Howard had been taping for over ten months when he first wrote about how he was trying desperately to have contact with his beloved wife. Each day found him at his tape recorder, calling on her to speak. Nothing was heard. I sent Howard a tape and some suggestions, and one day my phone rang. “She spoke to me this morning!” he said. We both rejoiced at this breakthrough which had taken a full year. He went

on to have other messages from his wife as well as a few friends who had gone on. Two or three times a year, he would call me just to “touch base.” Howard, remembering his own difficult start, was always happy to help others who were having taping problems. Howard and his wife are now together, the tape recorder no longer necessary, as they continue their uninterrupted journey through life and beyond. COMMUNICATIONS FROM AND ABOUT BETTY EVANS In our Autumn Newsletter, I mentioned the transition of charter AA-VP member, Betty Evans, in September. Betty spent much of her life in VA, but the last year or two, she had lived in Maine. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, was Betty’s closest friend, and since Betty’s death, she has had a number of communications concerning Betty. One of the first was: “I see Clara in mirror.” The name of the nursing home in Maine where Betty died, also came through. Another time when she called on Betty, Callie (Clara’s guide) said: “Betty is sleeping.” Clara wrote that this was a pattern from Betty’s earth life for she took naps throughout the day. Clara has also picked up “David” and “Edward” the names of Betty’s twin sons. Recently, Betty said her name and Clara wrote: “It gave me the chills, it was the voice I know so well.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena SYNCHRONISM I like true synchronistic experiences. To me, they are strong

evidence that the universe is not chaotic; that chaos doesn’t reign supreme. Although I don’t understand a great deal about the Chaos Theory, I find it fascinating. The thing I like best about it, is that some scientists are now discovering that even in chaos, there is a kind of order. It may be a bizarre, exotic sort of order, but it’s there! The dictionary says that synchronism is a “coincidence in time.” Well, perhaps. Coincidence may happen now and then, but maybe less than we think. Synchronism is much more. There is a neatness to the situation, a tying up of ends, an order, that gives a feeling of delight to the person experiencing it. At the same time we must be careful not to label everything that happens as synchronistic. That is like a taper who hears voices when nothing is there. I don’t deny the existence of a certain amount of coincidence. Try to discern between the two. In early December, I had what I consider a synchronistic experience. An unknown woman, a nurse, living in FL, wrote to me. She had read about me, and thought I might be able to help her find a reputable past life therapist living in her FL area. I didn’t know of anyone but felt there was a woman in Hollywood, FL who could steer her in the right direction. This woman, a leader in the metaphysical field, is a widely known, gifted and highly reputable person. Although, to my

knowledge, she doesn’t do past life regressions, I believed she could refer my correspondent to the right person. However, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t remember her name. During the next twenty-four hours I kept asking myself: “What is her name?” The following day a Christmas card and note came from Gerda Slater, FL AA-EVP member. She wrote: “I watched a fascinating 40 minute film about EVP at the FL Society for Psychical Research in Hollywood, FL, directed by Lilia Logette.” Lilia was the name I had been trying to remember. I immediately wrote to the nurse in FL, giving her Lilia’s name and wishing her luck in her search. The story could end there, but twenty-four hours after this, another letter came in which an individual wrote: “I want to tell you about a synchronistic experience I recently had.” Within 48 hours I had two related synchronistic situations. It’s as if someone/something, not wanting me to think it was just coincidence that Gerda gave me Lilia’s name, followed it up with a letter from a man who used the term “synchronistic experience.” This is what I meant when I wrote that there is a “neatness”, a “tying up of ends”, in synchronicity. Could anyone, except the most skeptical, say it was merely coincidence the way things happened? If you have had what you consider is a true synchronistic experience, please write and tell me about it. Perhaps I can share it with our members in future newsletters. FOLLOW-UP

ON REVERSE PLAYING TAPE RECORDERS In our Autumn Newsletter, I mentioned a letter I had received from Gilbert Bonner of England. In it he described and gave the address for a German manufacturer who sold cassette recorders that only played tapes backwards. The price would have been about $170. Why would anyone want a tape recorder that plays recordings in reverse or backwards? To our many new members, it has been discovered that the electronic voice speaks on the wrong side of recording tapes, as well as the forward side. To me, this is some of the best objective evidence we have that these voices are valid, for only someone living in another dimension would be capable of such a feat. The reverse voices are just as loud, just as clear—in fact, often clearer than the forward voices. They answer questions, call the experimenter by name and make meaningful comments on their own. Four of this country’s outstanding tapers have hundreds of reverse voices. Each of the four uses a reel-to-reel tape recorder as their primary recorder. With this type of recorder, it is a fairly easy matter of playing a recording in reverse. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Unfortunately, reel-to-reel recorders are expensive and it is difficult to find one under a $1,000. Consequently, most tapers, including those in Europe, use cassette recorders. These give just as good results—if they are tape decks (not portables), as your reel-to-reel. The one big

drawback, is that it is impossible to play a recording in reverse on it. Not many, though, would want to spend $170 for a German cassette recorder that was capable of playing recordings just in the reverse mode. During the third week of October, a letter came from a friend in Colorado (he asks I not use his name). The situation might be regarded as another example of synchronicity, although not quite as strong as the one described on page 2, and this page. Z thanked me for the Autumn NEWS which he had received just that day and reference was made to “a machine that plays backwards only. (Page 5—3rd paragraph).” He then wrote: “A few days ago, I had a cassette player modified to play cassette tapes forwards and backwards automatically. It is a player only which is a little larger than a cigarette pack. It is called ‘Auto Reverse-Stereo Cassette Player-Bass Boost System— Realistic’ (SCP-51, Cat. No. 14-1091) which I purchased from Radio Shack on sale for $19.99 + tax. (Headphones cost $5.99 + tax. The two AA batteries are extra). “An electronics technician modified the player for me in an hour for $35. He said the player must be an ‘Auto Reverse’—that is, a ‘continuous-play cassette player.” In a second letter from Z in answer to the questions I had bout his Oct. letter, Z wrote: “The same technician said he could ALSO modify a cassette tape player/RECORDER for me, but the unit must be an

Automatic Reverse one to begin with.” Some of our tapers, and I am delighted to say that the numbers are increasing steadily, may want to get the type of cassette player or cassette player/recorder, described by Z. I know from your letters, that most of you are using cassette recorders. For a modest sum you can discover if you have voices on the reverse side of your tapes. It could open a new world for you! HEAVENLY REPAIRS Emylu Hughes, FL, joined AA-EVP in October. In her first letter she wrote about her husband, Robert, who died in June, and their two computers—one acquired in 1980, which she used, and a later, hard disc model Robert bought a few years ago. Quoting from her letter, she said: “I stuck with operating the old Pet professional though Robert kept trying to get me to learn to use the new one. Well, the Pet got to the point that it would not load a program soon after he passed into the next life and I was quite frustrated. Dr. Linda Myers (FL AA-EVP member who told Emylu about AA-EVP) sent Robert a message to fix it, which he did. Later the same thing happened and I asked her to please tell him again it needed repaired. A few days later it was again operational. Only now it’s off again. Well, obviously, the message is to learn to use the newer one, and I’m working on it.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC

Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena We owe the above chuckle to Max Petersen, a new member from AZ who joined us in October. A HOLIDAY TURKEY Continuing in a light-hearted vein, although one might find something meaningful in the experience, is my winning a turkey four days before Christmas. Our daughter-in-law, Terri, invited all of us for Christmas dinner. Since she also had everyone for Thanksgiving, I felt it only right that I provide a turkey or ham for Christmas. Terri was adamant. She didn’t want me to get either, or reimburse her for whatever she bought. I tried to insist, but she kept shaking her head. “You gave to us all these years. Now it’s our time to give to you.” Finally, I dropped it, even though I still felt the ham or turkey should come from me. This thought remained in my thinking, always a part of me. Every other Tuesday, our community has bingo at the lodge. It is popular with 200 attending faithfully. I seldom go since bingo is not my game. Several friends were going and wanted me to join them. I almost didn’t go. I was tired from shopping, it was 10 degrees above zero, and the wind was blowing. Finally, at the last minute, ‘something’ got behind me and pushed me out the door. I headed for the lodge. After intermission, five names were drawn from a box holding over 1,000 names. (They’d been collecting all ticket stubs since Sept.). I,

who never win a thing, was one of the five who won a 15 pound turkey. Terri felt free to accept the turkey since I hadn’t paid for it. In the end, I had the joy of being able to give when I thought this was going to be denied me. Surely those in the beyond are too busy to concern themselves by providing us with Christmas turkeys. Or are they? CANDLE EXPERIMENTS In a personal letter from Bill Weisensale, CA AA-EVP member, he wrote: “From what we know at this point, those on the other side communicate by affecting our electronics, and the mechanism they use to do this, is psychokinetic energy… (They) must draw energy, from one or more sources external to themselves in order to generate the PK energy they need to communicate. We have been told they can use either energy from the environment, or energy from the operator. Which type of energy they use seems to depend mostly on whether or not there is an embodied person present at the time. In the case 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena of computer and answering machine messages, which are left when no person is present, they use energy from the environment, probably thermal energy from the air.” Bill goes on to write in the same letter: “Use the airband on your radio as a sound source, doing everything as you always do, with the exception of setting a lit

candle near the system. A candle will provide a good amount of thermal energy, which they may be able to ‘add’ together with energy they draw from you, and so be able to come through at even a better quality than they already do.” This is certainly an inexpensive, easy experiment to do. Why not try it for at least several weeks and see what happens? Bill, as most of you know, publishes an excellent technical newsletter, as time allows. You might want to give him, or me, feedback as to the results of your candle experiment. Bill’s address is: P.O. Box B.Q., Barstow, CA 92312. WHY DON’T THEY WRITE? Some cross-country people report great success in hearing from other cross-country members they have contacted. One member said recently she had difficulty getting anything else done, she was so busy replying to letters from those on the list to whom she had first written. Another member told me: “I met my best friend through your cross-country list.” Sadly, this isn’t always the case. Some have written that they never get a response from anyone. The following is such an example and came from Elaine Tillack of Ohio. In her Nov. letter, Elaine wrote: “I am faced with a problem. Over the course of the past 6 months I have written to 7 or 8 people on the list and no one ever writes back. Why, Sarah, do people want their names on a list if they never write or answer

anyone?” Good question. The list is meant to be a ‘friendly’ list. A list of members contacting members in friendship, sometimes for taping help, a sharing of ideas and suggestions. If you would rather not get involved with this, don’t sign for the list when you join the AA-EVP or renew your membership. It will save us both time and in addition save me money for printing and extra postage, and not cause disappointment when a member doesn’t hear from those she/he has contacted. REDUCING BACKGROUND NOISE Tapers are often faced with trying to decipher EVP messages that are more or less lost in background noise. Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. AA-EVP member, sent me several articles about this and condensed the essential ideas into the following that I will quote in part: “One of the greatest difficulties understanding recorded EVP on playback is the high level of background noise. A conventional ‘analog’ audio sound filter will remove the spirit voices along with the noise. The W9GR DSPII digital signal processor audio filter will do with an audio signal what the multimillion dollar NASA computer did. The literature states: ‘to enhance the intelligibility of speech signals while reducing hiss, static, ignition, and several other types of noise… It works great for audio signals that need to be pulled out of the mud… the noise reduction algorithm (computer program) is very effective, but passes human speech with little degradation. Although the noise filter will make stunning improvements on signals with a moderate amount

of noise, It won’t recover a signal that is completely buried-C-minus voices.” For further information for this device that may be a great boon for tapers contact: Ramsey Electronics, 793 Canning Parkway, Victor, New York 14564. TIDBITS Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, recently sent me copies of several articles that were in Psychic NEWS, published in England. In the one, Ursula Roberts, one of England’s greatest mediums and a minister of the Spiritualists’ National Union, said in an interview: “I think electronic mediumship is going to be stronger than physical mediumship. This, I think, is the mediumship of the future.” There was also an article written by our friend Gilbert Bonner of England. In it, he discusses the skepticism that still surrounds PSI phenomena, in spite of much evidence to the contrary. Gilbert wrote that he believes “reality and imagination can flow into each other. Everything is interrelated. Reality is a 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena state of mind; of consciousness… The holographic theory of the universe put forward by David Bohm opens up a totally new concept in fundamental physics in which matter and consciousness are seen as a single field. New doors to understanding the real nature of man are opening. We are the pioneers of it in the electronic age.” TAPERS FOR HIRE? I agree with the sentiments expressed in a letter from Saria Buioni, AA-EVP member, Italy. She, along with Virginia Ursi, publish an excellent Italian newsletter that

focuses on transcommunication. If you can read Italian, I feel you would find the newsletter very worthwhile. She is on the cross-country list. Like Saria, I have experienced the following many times. She writes: “It happens quite often to meet people who know very little about EVP and want, if I can say so, to “hire” you as their personal telephone or broadcasting system with the other world. Independently of their culture and education, it is generally very difficult to have them understand that this is not the way it works and—you are right—it is extremely difficult to deal with them. Sometimes they disappear and unfortunately they are easy prey for more or less costly fake ‘mediums’ (also tapers!) It is a battle we are constantly fighting against too many ‘enemies of mankind.’ Is it the same in the U.S.?” OUR TAPERS REPORT The following tapers are members (and I know there are many others) who don’t fall in to the category of wanting others to do contact work for them. They are busy building their own bridges to other dimensions. In Lisa Butler’s (Kansas) Christmas card she enclosed a note: “You have affected so many lives that I’m sure mine is just one of many. I tape nightly and have had great success. I’ll never forget the first words I heard, ‘Crystals help.’ Since then, Lisa wrote that she has heard from many wonderful helpers, and has spoken to her father, an uncle, and grandparents. She closed her note

with: “None of this would have happened if you had not written your book.” (Voices of Eternity). Jacqueline Colligan (NV) joined the AA-EVP in September. Although she has been taping just about a year, she is having outstanding results as demonstrated in the short tape she sent me in November. Most of the fifteen examples were Class A. Some of the especially good ones were: “I play dead.” “Pray for nothing.” “Millinet.” “Where’s the warmth?” “Quiet.” “I mean we ran up a lot of static with less leg ground.” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that her piano teacher told her to tape her lessons at home. She said: “I have to laugh sometimes because my EVP friends like to intersperse little comments on the tape when I do. They let me know when it’s bad!! One time after a practice lesson someone said, ‘Carol, we’re gonna love you!’ Guess they liked that one so I was a little encouraged.” Clara Laughlin wrote that her daughter’s much loved 17 year old Siamese cat, Andrea, had died. Clara’s deceased husband, Tom, was fond of the cat and so Clara said, “I was not surprised to hear Tom say: ‘Andy (Andrea’s nickname) is here with me. Kitten is beautiful.’” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent two short excellent tapes. In the one, he had messages that he feels are communications between aliens, possibly on UFOs. Some of the Class A were: “You all flew in from Eastern Sol Prestice.” “Have

the Earth man come join us.” “We now fly these Nevertsie out of your vessel.” “A number of Orshna here.” In his second tape, Dan included general messages such as: “Believe in this medium.” “Now we are free.” “God’s Fellowship, it hits now the earth.” “Time to grow enormously.” “Start with Dan and the research I have dealt ‘ya.” “The Incentive, the Inventive, now does he know there isn’t any error?” Most: of Dan’s messages are on the reverse side of his tapes. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Olga Pfaff, Canada, wrote that a clear voice told her: “Olga you are protected. I will love you. We will see each other again.” Another time while taping, she commented that people who die have a difficult time because they are still able to perceive their loved ones, but are not perceived in return. Suddenly, a loud voice heard in the radio said: “That is true!” In October, Pat Sabodish, N.J., sent me an interesting tape lasting less than one minute. She said she was taping before going to work, and very loud voices came through with many comments. She had to slow the tape down to understand it. The voice quality is unusual, and one man’s voice, standing out above the others, seemed to say: “I wanta come back.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Bill Attaway, a new member from Phoenix, AZ, teaches classes on subjects in the metaphysical field. One of them

is “A Course in Miracles.” Those who live in Phoenix, or nearby, may want to contact Bill. Emylu Hughes writes the Self-Guidance chart for the monthly HOROSCOPE magazine. Fred McIntosh, VA, taught an evening work shop on Dowsing in October for the Annapolis Holistic Health Center. It was well received and he has been invited to return and teach an all-day in-depth workshop on the subject. HAM RADIO NETWORK UPDATE In our Autumn Newsletter, we announced the formation of a ham radio network under the able direction of Dan McKee, for our many ham radio enthusiasts. In Dan’s November letter, he said he’d heard from two members—Carolyn Sullivan of N.C., and Dale Sizemore of S.C. I hope now that the holiday season is over, many more will contact Dan and take part in this opportunity to chit-chat with other members and exchange ideas related to transcommunication or whatever is of interest to you. Dan’s winter address is: 425 30th Ave. West-Bradenton, FL 34205. INFOnews—0l / 93 New members may not know that the excellent CETL Journal (Luxembourg) published by Maggy & Jules Harsch-Fischbach, is available in the U.S. It is translated by Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, and edited and published by Mark Macy—Continuing Life Research—P.O. Box 11036 Boulder, CO 80301. Each issue is $12. The last few pages are devoted to comments from Mark as well as the progress his own CO group is making. On pages 42 & 43, Mark discusses the Autumn AA-EVP NEWS, and my using

the airband on my two Radio Shack Realistic radios for best taping results. William O’Neil, who worked closely with George Meek, and who had long extended conversations with George Mueller in spirit, through Spiricom, made his own transition in 1991. O’Neil is a communicator with Mark and his associates. He encourages the use of a radio for spirit contact and suggests tuning to 1003.5 Kz on the AM band. Konstantin Raudive, early European TC pioneer, also in spirit, advised the Luxembourg researchers to acquire a 40 MHz radio receiver to use in their work. This frequency is normally used for radio-control devices. Raudive also suggests tuning to the far right of the SW band. LOVE NEVER ENDS Eddie Namerdy sent me the poem below. He wrote it on Thanksgiving Day in memory of his mother, Betty Evans, but I think it will touch the heart of everyone who has lost a loved one. “Love never ends—unless we let it. Love never dies—unless we force it. So, if we focus on our Love Inside We never die. We merely transmute.” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 8 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ODDS AND ENDS Interest in the AA-EVP remains high. In 1992, 122 people wrote and asked about us. 1993, brought 136 letters with requests for information about our activities. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 16th. May you resonate with love for all here and above in this new year. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established

to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1994 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Now we are twelve! With this, our Spring 1994 Newsletter, we celebrate our twelfth anniversary. Some psychologists view the age of twelve as an awkward age. The person can no longer be called a child and yet he’s not a teen-ager. He’s at that in between stage where he has not yet attained the cloak of wisdom. How about the AA-EVP? There have been growing pains, now and then, over the years but I like to think we are fast learners, that we are advanced for our years. Our cloak of wisdom, if still missing a few buttons, becomes more beautiful with each passing year. We are no longer threadbare. The field of EVP/transcommunication, along with the world, has also changed in the last twelve years. When we began, deliberate attempts to contact the unseen was strictly through a tape recorder. Now it’s done through telephone, TV, computer and fax. The recorder has not been replaced; it will always be the key to unlock the door for beginning experimenters in the field. Eventually, a few move on to other means of contact, with the tape recorder becoming less important, but this can take years. Anniversaries are a time for

reminiscing but they should also be a time to look ahead, to move towards future goals. One cannot remain static and hope to flourish. We must always stand ready, with hand out stretched, to those who seek our help. We must comfort the living and try to give honest reassurance to the dying. In February, a man I will call “Tom” came to see me. Tom, in his fifties, dying from cancer, has two months to live. He’d read my book and had questions. I always ask for guidance before a session like this. My hope is that I will be able to meet this person, wherever he is internally, and help him move towards the future with more confidence. Tom wanted to sit in my kitchen and so, over cups of coffee, he shared with me some of his concerns. He showed great courage, even a little humor, although at the end he admitted: “I’m a little bit scared.” I assured him he was entitled to feel this way, and we further discussed his fears. Before leaving, I took Tom to my recording room and showed him my equipment. Since Tom wants to try to contact me after death, I gave him a small crystal that I had picked up in the Egyptian desert during a trip to Egypt in 1984. It has been sitting on top of my tape recorder the last ten years, and I suggested he ask his wife to put it in his hands, or

his pocket, after he dies. He will take this with him to the grave and I told Tom I hoped it would act as a beacon to draw him to me as I was taping and would help him speak. Tom is happy and excited about the experiment we will try together some day. Each person has an important role to play in life. The problem with most, is trying to find the role meant for them. Every time I drive down West Street in Annapolis, I pass “Happy”, a retarded man in his twenties. Seven days a week, Happy, with a large trash bag swinging wildly back and forth, walks with fast strides along West Street, one of the busiest streets in the city. Nothing deters him as he darts along the side, picking up each smidgen of trash for his bag. He faces death a dozen times a day as brakes squeal. Happy is happy; there is always a smile on his face because he has found his role in life. West Street is much cleaner because of Happy, and that is no small thing. On the shelf above my kitchen sink, there is a ceramic cup. It’s far too precious for me to ever use, because it expresses so well how I feel. Under a picture of the three ships of Columbus are the words: “If it’s going to be… it’s up to me.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena

That’s the way I felt twelve years ago when I began the AA-EVP. I sent the ship sailing, but I can say without reservation, that if it hadn’t been for you, for everyone of you, it would have quickly sunk to the bottom of the sea. Let us continue sailing together to that unlimited horizon, knowing that what is to be is up to each one of us. The above picture shows Konstantin Raudive, early Latvian EVP researcher who died in 1974, and another man, listening to messages Raudive had taped from the other side. For some time, Raudive and his group, Timestream, have been communicating with Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach in Luxembourg, and several other European tapers, through tape recorder, telephone, TV, and computer. When my husband and I visited Maggy and Jules in Oct. 1987, along with Tina and Carl Laurent, Wales, and Ernst and Adelheid Senkowski, Germany, Raudive came through during the two recordings we made and spoke at length. Sadly, however, contacts with him in the U.S. were limited to a few brief messages that several of us have taped over the years through our recorders. All of this changed dramatically the last week of January and early February. On the morning of Jan. 27th, I was sitting at my desk working when my phone rang. Picking up the receiver, I said: “Esteps” as I always do. A loud, clear male voice with an accent said: “This is Konstantin Raudive.” In shock, but still able to

function, I quickly pushed the record button on my Sanyo tape recorder that is connected to my phone and asked: “How are you Dr. Raudive?” This explains his answer when he replied: “I’m as fine as a dead one can be.” My Sanyo had begun recording at that point and his answer is heard on tape. It is important to note that he heard my question and was able to answer it at once in an appropriate if surprising way, perhaps showing a dry sense of humor. He then went on to complete his message which took 40 seconds. My feelings during this time are difficult to describe. Certainly, along with the shock was great joy. There was also a physical sensation that has not been mentioned by others so I don’t know if they had them or not. Physically, I felt his presence. In any phone call, you always have a sense of location whether the call is one mile or 1,000 miles away. This feeling was strong with Raudive’s call. I felt as if I could reach out and touch him. I immediately called Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, and told him about my call. Hans said Raudive had called Mark Macy, Founder & President of Continuing Life Research of Boulder, CO several days earlier. Since Mark didn’t have a tape recorder connected to his phone, he was unable to record Raudive’s message. I next called George Meek in North Carolina. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact:

atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena As most of you know, George was the developer of Spiricom, a system introduced in the early 1980’s, which permitted the first long two-way conversation between a person on this side (Wm O’Neil) and a person on the other side (Dr. George Mueller). Hans Heckmann worked closely with Meek and O’Neil, giving technical assistance during the years it was being developed. When I called George and told him about my call he said: “I had one two hours earlier from Raudive and I also have it on tape!” We have since exchanged tapes and the voice is identical on both. On February 2nd, Mark Macy left the house for a short time. When he returned there was a message from Raudive on his answering machine. In it, Raudive said he’d first called George Meek, and asked him to pass on a message to Mark. George had not completely understood what Raudive wanted, so he (Raudive) was now calling Mark. When Mark called George, he confirmed that Raudive had called him earlier that morning with a message for Mark, but he wasn’t sure just what he wanted. Mark sent me a copy of Raudive’s call that came through his answering machine. It is the same voice as heard during George’s and my call. The three messages are as follows: To Sarah Estep: “I’m as fine as a dead one can be. Dear Sarah, thank you very much for everything you did for the propagation of

the Voices. We tried simply succeeded in building this bridge to the States. You are one of the first to who are contacted by this meaning. Thank you very much all the work you did. We are very proud and honored that we could contact you. I must interrupt now. This was the first contact. This is Konstantin Raudive speaking.” To George Meek: “This is Konstantin Raudive. George, my friend, at last we succeed in contacting ou. Jeannette (George’s wife) is beside me and she wants to give you her love. This is Konstantin Raudive. This is the first contact you get from us. I suppose you can her me?” “I can hear you very well… very plainly!” (Meek) “Fine. And so, this is the beginning of a new story—a new chapter, George. You are a very good friend of ours, even if we haven’t met. We will continue this. This is the first bridge we succeeded to build to the States. Mark was contacted, and I must interrupt now.” To Mark Macy (Answering Machine): “This is Konstantin Raudive speaking. We just tried to contact George Meek. We succeeded, but he didn’t get what we wanted to tell him. We were talking to him that we tried to make mediumistic contact to Jean Petersen (a medium that Mark uses) and he registered (that we would make contact) by other means—electronic means. There will be no (further) telephone contacts to your ITC group, colleague Mark, until you will have strengthened the

bridge—the mediumistic bridge— to our Timestream group. This is Konstantin Raudive speaking.” In a letter from Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff, WI AA-EVP members, Mary Jo wrote that on the same morning George and I heard from Raudive, they also had a call, from him. Time-wise, their call and mine were within several minutes of each other. Walter didn’t have a recorder connected to his phone so was unable to record Raudive’s message. It was basically the same as the ones received by George and me— first contact had been made to the States; how happy they were that they had succeeded in building a bridge to us, and thanking us for our efforts in the field of transcommunication. Hans Heckmann has also joined the group in the U.S. who has heard by phone from Raudive. The morning of February 11th, Raudive called him. There were technical problems with the first call so he disconnected and called back a minute later. Hans got the last sentence of Raudive’s second call on tape and it was in German. This is logical because Hans was born in Germany and his native tongue is German. Since the five of us in this country have received calls from Raudive, we have learned that he has made calls to several transcommunication experimenters in South America. In a letter dated March 8th, from Ernst Senkowski, he wrote that Adolph Homes, a German researcher who has had many contacts with Raudive and others in the Timestream group,

received a message on his computer. The message from 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Raudive, said his group had contacted experimenters in China and Japan by telephone and fax. These calls have not yet been verified. The end of January, a letter came from Maggy Harsch-Fischbach. In it she wrote: “Mark’s newest fax on Jan. 27th, makes our happiness complete. Konstantin has been talking to Sarah, to George, and to Walter as he confirmed over BURTON-BRIDGE II in Luxembourg.” Nils Jacobson, a psychiatrist in Sweden, wrote to me in early March, that he had received his first call from Raudive on Jan. 28th. Although this was a day after our three calls, he didn’t know about them until he later talked to Ernst Senkowski. Nils wrote that he didn’t have a tape recorder connected to his telephone but jotted down Raudive’s message as soon as the call was completed. Essentially, Raudive said that now for the first time a bridge was formed to the northern countries and the U.S.A. And so, what are to make of all of this; an “explosion” of so many phone calls that have been received? We know that since Wm. O’Neil’s death, he has been actively working with Raudive and the Timestream group to build contacts from their world to ours. Those who knew and worked with him, say he was an electronic genius, especially in the field of telephones. It is their thought that his efforts

since death, has a great deal to do with making these phone calls possible. It is also more than possible that the other side hopes, by giving us this additional evidence of survival, that we will help others see, by sharing our experiences that we do survive death in an individual conscious state. In Homes’ computer message from Raudive, he said in referring to their contacts by telephone and fax: “Our tests are necessary because humanity is in a phase of being-created by themselves-which is negative for us and we cannot influence consciousness. We therefore ask you to open the psychic barriers to a greater extent—only then there is a possibility for us to finish off contacts via radio receivers, TV and computers.” An unknown spirit told me one time while I was taping: “Your soul is not defeated.” All of these contacts that we are now having shown, I feel, that the soul, the human personality, is triumphant. FOLLOW-UP SYNCHRONISM In the Winter ‘94 newsletter, I wrote about synchronistic experiences and how, to me, they show a planned order to our lives and the universe. I asked members to send me reports of experiences they’ve had which they felt were synchronistic. Many thanks to all of you who did. We don’t have room for every response, but they’ll be kept on file for possible future use. Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, sent a fascinating report. Quoting from his letter: “My wife Bobby and I were planning a trip to

England. Prior to leaving, I told Harold Sherman, a good friend, that I wanted to meet Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff. I had read their books and found them most interesting. I also wanted, while in England, to see Ena Twigg who was the best psychic in the world. Everyone said to forget meeting Ena. She was old and only sat for her best friends. Bobby and I went to the Psychic News Bookstore in London, and Bobby nudged me and said she’d heard the tall man at the checkout counter ask the clerk to send the books he’d just bought to Oregon, WI. I knew the Uphoffs lived there, and although we’d never met, I went up and said: ‘You are Walter Uphoff and I am Mont Hearon. We have a mutual friend in Harold Sherman.’ We talked for an hour with the Uphoffs and as they were leaving, Walter said: ‘We are going to see Ena Twigg tonight. We always look her up when we get to London.’ I asked Walter how one could get to meet Ena, and he said he’d tell her that we’d like to see her. If she was able to do this, he’d call us at our hotel the next morning. This is what happened, and we had a nice two hour visit with Ena on Sunday morning. “This is a double synchronistic experience. What were the odds that by chance we would get to meet and know the Uphoffs, when both families

were several thousand miles from home, in a city the size of London? It is an astronomical number. Then, what were the odds by chance (that through meeting the 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Uphoffs) we would have a sitting with Ena Twigg? Another astronomical number! She passed on a year later.” Dennis Pollard, IL AA-EVP member, wrote in reference to my having segments in the last two newsletters, about adapting cassette tape recorders to play tapes backwards. He has had an experience about this, that he feels is synchronistic. Dennis wrote: “I bought a Radio Shack portable tape player with auto reverse. I discovered that in the reverse mode it plays the same side backwards. You have to flip the tape as in other players to play the other side. This is a manufacturing defect. I have not taped since the AA-EVP sponsored trip to England in 1988. Maybe I should try again.” SYNCHRONICITY ON TOP OF SYNCHRONICITY The day after I wrote: Follow-Up Synchronism, I received a letter from Mason Senft, a noted musician, vocal coach and teacher, who lives in New York. Mason and I have never met and I know him only by reputation. In his interesting letter, in which he described his spiritual/ mystical quest through life, there have been many psychical experiences. Mason wrote: “In the course of my travels I have had the privilege of meeting with great psychics such as Ena Twigg in London.”

Twenty-four hours earlier, I mentioned Ena in connection with the Uphoffs and Hearons. Now, here she is again, mentioned by an unknown person. It opens up many questions which we don’t have the space to explore here. Could Ena, herself, who Monty said “was the best psychic in the world” (she was also an outstanding medium) have helped bring about Mason’s mentioning her in a letter to me? Did she ‘know’ I was going to refer to her briefly in the Spring Newsletter in connection with synchronicity, and used this additional means to show she has survived death? (I should mention that this type of experience has happened to me before. Those of you who have my book, might want to turn to pages 87-89, where I described a very similar situation I had with Martin Ebon fifteen years ago). I suspect Ena may well have played a part in all of this. It gives us additional evidence, I feel, that synchronicity is a valid part of our world. Mason wrote: “I have learned that nothing in life is futile. I study as if I will live forever—and live as if I might die tomorrow.” OUR TAPERS REPORT In Maggy Harsch-Fischbach’s letter dated Jan. 28th, she wrote: “Jules and I look forward to receiving your most interesting “News-letter” especially with the “real” tape-contacts you publish. We think that this is the only way to bring interested people nearer to the beginnings of ITC research.” The following people have shared with

me recently taped results that they have received. Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, sent me a tape in February that had some excellent Class A messages, such as: “Talk.” “Cornfield.” “Door.” “I love it.” “Shoot him.” “Remove the raps.” “I don’t hear normal voices.” “Once they baked myself.” “Something’s burnin’”. Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, has an outstanding Class A voice that said: “We play at triple speed.” This may refer to the very fast messages that sometimes are taped. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that on the 13th of February, she taped: “Huh oh! Big disaster.” The first week of March her basement flooded with several hundred gallons of water and everything was ruined. She said she didn’t know if her message referred to her upcoming flooded basement, or some disaster in the world. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, sent me a tape recently. There were many unique, excellent Class A messages on it; some thought provoking, such as: “On Earth you build up on radio.” “It’s Tesla.” “Soldiers haunt you. We stand at the parting after life.” “I feel dead.” “Wars you accept.” “Trust me to talk with the other side. Love and faith.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member, wrote that a member of his family bought an answering machine. A dear friend of his died last Nov., and before her death she and Ed had agreed that whoever died first, would try to

contact the other. Immediately after her death Ed tried to get her voice on tape without success. Then, two nights after her transition, the phone rang at 2:00 A.M., waking him. The answering machine came on after four rings, and there was a loud burst of applause and laughter—“very happy sounding,” Ed wrote. However, the next day upon replay, there was nothing there. He is understandably puzzled and disappointed. Lynda Noel, N.H. AA-EVP member, wrote she has had many contacts with her deceased son, Danny. He said “Hello” three times while she was taping. Linda wrote: “It was our son Danny’s voice plain and clear. I could not believe it. I was so happy that I cried.” She played it for other members in her family and they all agreed it was Danny’s voice. TIDBITS In the most recent CETL Journal, we read that the Holy See in Rome is now taking extra-terrestrials seriously. The Vatican is discussing if in the future priests should go along on space missions that might make contact with aliens. They could then start their missionary work immediately. Those concerned with the project wonder if the aliens have a God-given soul. Because of the many unanswered questions the Vatican has authorized Father George Coyne to take over the Vatican observatory in the framework of this project. They have made available $90,000 for further study. Dr. Eli Feldman, N.Y. AA-EVP member, sent me a clipping that reported the National Opinion Research Center of Chicago found that

9 out of 10 people believe in God. They also discovered that 70 percent of all Americans believe in miracles; 40 percent say they’ve had contact with the dead; 78 percent believe in life after death. A survey of Americans by Time magazine reports that 69 percent believe in angels and 46 percent believe they have a guardian angel. Franklin Hemmerlein, CA AA-EVP member, also sent me a clipping which reports a number of fingerprints and handprints of the dead, which appear on wood, clothing and other articles long after the deceased person has made his transition. According to the article the supernatural prints appear to be “burned into objects with a searing hot heat and are so clear that the prints can be lifted from them without a problem.” Dr. Georg Rhinefurt, a professor of religion at the University of Munich, Germany, has spent 28 years studying the rare phenomena and feels, “The dead are coming back from the grave to leave these marks as if to reassure us that there is an afterlife.” Max Petersen, AZ AA-EVP member, sent me an article from his local paper under the title: “The Chosen Frozen.” Alcor Life Extension Foundation is moving its entire operation, including 27 frozen bodies, from CA to Scottsdale, AZ. Being frozen is not cheap: $41,000 for a head; $120,000 for an entire body. The thought is that eventually science will advance far enough to cure whatever killed the person, or grow an entire body to which the

frozen head can be attached. At that happy moment, the body or head will be defrosted and the unthawed person can start life all over again! MARTHA’S GUARDIAN ANGEL? Martha Sherman, AK AA-EVP member, wrote in the December ‘93 issue of FATE, about an experience she’d had in the early 1940’s. She and her husband, Harold, had bought 120 acres of land in AK in 1942. She enjoyed walking along what she calls the “back 40 acres” which was picturesque with a jumble of rocky drop-offs. One day, walking alone while Harold was busy at his typewriter, she prepared to jump over some stepping stones, a distance of five feet. These stones crossed a stream that was part of a waterfall cascading 35 feet over a rocky ledge to the forest floor below. She had done this many times without mishap. On this particular day, her foot slipped and she wrote: “In one terrifying moment I visualized myself lying badly injured at the bottom of those precipitous falls... but, miraculously, this did 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena not happen. Instead, I felt myself caught in mid-air, spun gently around and deposited as lightly as a feather on the very same rock from which I had just started.” What saved Martha from being seriously injured, perhaps even killed in this incident? Knowing Martha personally, I suspect her guardian angel is a very loving, powerful, yet gentle being, who is always by her side.

Hans Heckmann has translated II, No. 2, 1993 of the excellent German “Transkommunikation Journal” (of which Ernst Senkowski and Dr. Vladimir Delavre are editors) a “scientific dialogue with the beyond.” COMPUTER CONTACTS from Volume Dr. George Mueller, mentioned on page 2 of this newsletter, has been in contact with Adolph Homes of Rivenich, Germany. He has come through his TV, radio and computer. Drs. Senkowski and Delavre prepared a questionnaire, addressed to Mueller, that Homes entered into his C-64 computer. One day later, the answers were found on the computer screen. I think you will find the exchange interesting. Some of the questions and answers are as follows: Question: What fields or energies are you using to influence our physical fields? Answer: Unbalanced electrostatic-Electron- Physiology-Mystical-Radar-Telepathy. Question: Can we perceive or measure these fields or energies independently from radio contacts? Answer: No. Your measurements are not correct. Question: Do you modulate a particular band in the radio receiver? Answer: No. Question: Are there certain local or global environmental factors which influence your tansmissions? Answer: Coordination points can be created. Question: Can you derive certain favorable times for contact from this? Answer: No, since our physical laws are essentially different from yours. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote: “I’m giving another lecture for a Spiritualist Church that has just contacted me. I call it: “Ghosts And Other Paranormal Communication.” I start off with a subject that’s bound to catch their attention. I show a tape of a moving ghost,

and then I end up with EVP and play spirit voices and THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT HIT THEM!” Jonathan Marten, England, and the valuable work he is doing in the field of transcommunication, has been mentioned with much praise in a book by John Spencer. The title is: The Paranormal: A Modern Perspective. Spencer is the Chairman of the British Unidentified Object Research Association, (BUFORA). Rozella Roberts, wrote she has published a new book called: Infinite Visions It has colored pictures showing different dimensions and five articles. She feels she has had many voices from Space people and has been in touch with them for over twenty years. J. J. Snyder, CA, wrote that he had just finished reading Raymond Moody’s latest book: Reunions (mentioned in an earlier newsletter) that deals with manifestations of etheric beings in mirrors. His wife has set up a mirror-equipped psychomanteum in their bedroom closet and they have been trying to duplicate Moody’s results, so far without success. J. J. said the dark, isolated setting gives one a pleasant feeling of relaxation. I suggested to him they use a tape recorder during experiments. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena MEMBERSHIP REPORT In the Spring Newsletter, I always try to give a membership report. During the last year we have welcomed 94 new members and lost about 75. Seven of these losses were through transition. If membership history repeats itself (as it always has in the past) at least

fifteen percent of the losses will return to us anytime within the next month to three years. The prodigals are always welcomed back with open arms. For the eleventh year in a row, men outnumber women. Currently, we have 35 more men than women. Our members live in 40 states, the District of Columbia and 9 foreign countries. Overall, we have gained in membership, and although it hasn’t been dramatic, it is on the plus side. This is especially welcome because some groups have lost more members than they have gained. Several have had to discontinue their efforts or are close to it. BOUQUETS Your letters of love and support surround me at all times. They help keep me going when the path is difficult. I am grateful to you more than I can ever express. Whether I mention them or not, know your thoughts are ever in my heart. “I have just finished reading the newsletter, Thank you for such an informative and stimulating production.” Ray Dietz, MD “Thank you so much for being there for me. I called you yesterday since I was so upset over the recent loss of my loved one. I turned to you as a friend, and you were so kind. How glad I am for someone like you!” Shari Langer, CA “I am sending warm thanks for the ideas you express in your newsletter to help people like myself have better results.” B. Patterson, CA “I always look forward to your philosophical first

page with pleasure.” Martha Sherman, AK “Your newsletter is delightful because it has a personality of its own and is filled with fresh informal items that people like to read. It builds friendships among your members.” Mary Jo Uphoff, WI VOIXS D’ ETERNITE-SEPTEMBER PUBLICATION In the Autumn Newsletter, I mentioned that my book: Voices of Eternity published in 1988 by Fawcett, had been sold by my literary agent to a French publisher in Paris. Monique Simonet, my dear friend whom I’ve mentioned many times in the newsletter, and who lives in Reims, France, has been asked by my French publisher to write the Preface to Voices. Monique has had several of her books published in France and other countries describing her work in the field of transcommunication. We met in Basel, Switzerland where we shared a workshop during an international conference on communicating with the invisibles. The publisher has told Monique he plans to publish my book in Sept. Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 18th. ODDS AND ENDS The ‘magical’ eleventh year has ended and we are embarked on our twelfth year for the AA-EVP. We will continue to make our own magic as we bring comfort and light to others. Our path is no more marked, in many ways, than Columbus, but we will sail on, hoping to make further discoveries of inner/spiritual worlds. We will continue looking for the truth, the light. I invite each of you to be an active part of the voyage. Always

my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1994 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint In May 1982, I sat down to write my first newsletter. Today, I begin my fiftieth. That’s right, fifty newsletters have ‘flowed’ from my pen since then. At times, the flow resembled a log jam, but with your contributions, the jams became unclogged. “From My Viewpoint” takes the most time to write. I always hope that I’ll be able to give the reader a bit of nutritious food for thought. There is no room for junk food in my comments and I try to avoid them. Since fifty is something of a milestone, I thought it might be refreshing to mention four Viewpoints that specially touched me as I was writing them. They helped me (and I hope you) to get a better understanding of others. We wrote about Doris and her pet pig in an early Viewpoint. The only thing Doris had in her life to love, and who loved her in return, was Valentine. The city took Valentine because pigs weren’t allowed in private homes. Doris asked I pray for Valen tine and then call the mayor requesting he save her pig. She was convinced the city would put Valentine to

death and she felt she couldn’t face life without him. I contacted the mayor and city council by mail and asked if they couldn’t return Valentine to Doris, to put him in the children’s pet ting zoo. He would be cared for there and Doris could visit him at will. The pathos in Doris’ letter touched my heart deeply. What does this have to do with Transcommunication? Nothing, but I think if we are un able to share joy and grief with another, if we lack empathy, then perhaps our pleas to the other side to communicate will go unheard. They will not share with us fully, if we can’t share with our fellow man. One time I wrote about Kay in Viewpoint. She had the ashes of her husband, Ed, in an urn on a shelf in her home. During the day, she would talk to him and pat the urn. Ed was quiet. At night, however, once Kay went to bed, the windows would start to rattle and someone would pound on her front door so loudly, the whole house would shake. I gave Kay some suggestions and helped her see that for her sake, as well as Ed’s, she should help him move on. MEETINGS EVP TAPES Six years ago, I wrote about a letter that I had received from Anonymous in Pittsburgh who was concerned about my spiritual welfare. In the letter, he wrote I needed to be “born again” and the surest way to God

was to be— come like an innocent pure baby. In all seriousness, I was to start on this new path by sucking my thumb, or better yet, a pacifier since thumb sucking would leave “teeth marks.” Whatever you might think about Anonymous, I think you would agree he was a caring individual. Not for a moment did I then, or would I now, make fun of Anonymous. Every thought in his five-page typed letter was serious and it was clear he felt he was called upon to lead people back to God. Although I don’t think God is into pacifiers, I respect anyone, such as Anonymous, who cared enough to try to save someone who he felt needed saving. In the Winter 1989 Viewpoint, I wrote about a loved one undergoing minor surgery. Sitting down to tape that morning, and not mentioning the operation to the other side, two Class A messages came through. The first was: “Protect those with you,” followed a moment later with: “Death no more a casket.” There it is! Survival expressed in five words from the other side. A casket does not mean death. Life does 1 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena not end at the grave. The invisibles, knowing my concern, took this way to reassure me that all would be well. And it was! I could go on and on, but space is limited and it is time to

end this brief review of Viewpoint. Although you may feel you have little in common with those individuals mentioned here, we are alike in our humanity. Each of us was born; each of us is trudging through life meeting joy and sorrow along the way. We can find reassurance in such messages as “Death no more a casket.” I suspect that whatever we find when we pass through the door will be based upon the path we have chosen. May your ultimate journey bring you peace and joy Desiree Eden-LIBERANT A letter has come from Patricia Coe, AA—EVP member, Idaho. Patricia wrote that Desiree Eden, an active member of our Association since April ‘91, had died the end of March. Desiree owned Eden Press in Idaho, which published metaphysical books as well as books by her husband Jerome, a pioneer Ufologist and Life Energy researcher since 1953 until his death in 1989. In Desiree’s last letter to me she wrote: “I have received several voices so far. Twice my name was called and once a man’s voice said: ‘Hospital.’ I am still hoping to contact my husband Jerome. When I heard a man whisper, ‘Desiree,’ I really felt it was him.” In Patricia’s letter about Desiree’s death, she wrote that they had taped together and said: “Desiree wanted me to write and let you know she very much appreciated your work (as do I). Desi was looking forward to being with her husband Jerry and her many beloved animals when

she passed on. Your work gives us all much hope for a continued life on another plane—one that will be fruitful and pleasurable.” I am confident that Desiree and Jerome, along with their beloved animals, are together, continuing to love and work in the world that is but a step away. MEMBER HELPING MEMBER In April, Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J. AA—EVP member, called. He was extremely upset because his little Yorkie had disappeared. It was Lloyd’s feeling that Tty was not dead but had been kid napped. Could I put him in touch with a good medium who might be able to help him locate Tty? Immediately, I thought of Fred McIntosh, VA AA-EVP member. Fred is an outstanding dowser and I mentioned him in the Spring 1992 Newsletter in the segment: “Animal Survival.” In it I described how Fred works with an animal agency that kept records of his dowsing for animals over a three-year period. Fred had written: “If the dowsing said that the animal was ‘in spirit’ (dead) and the remains were somewhere that they could be recovered, the recovery was about 90%. If the dowsing said the animal was still alive, the recovery rate was slightly better than 50%.” I helped Lloyd get in touch with Fred, in the hope he could help him find Tty. Early the following day, Lloyd called back. He had talked to Fred by phone who dowsed that Tty was still living. He had been picked up by a couple who now

had him and was in no danger. Through dowsing, Fred gave Lloyd suggestions where he should start looking. At Fred’s request, Lloyd had sent him in overnight delivery a map of his town so he could do a more accurate dowsing job. Lloyd expressed confidence that Tty would soon be back home with him. Twenty-four hours later, another call came from Lloyd. He was exuberant. Tty had been returned the day before by a couple that said they’d picked him up, because they thought he was lost and without a home. In a letter received a month later, Lloyd wrote: “Fred was right! The location Tty had gone to was southeast of my main entrance door. For three days, he stayed in a single level white dwelling with an 2 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena attached garage.” Fred picked up, through dowsing, many details about Tty’s disappearance and Lloyd will always be grateful to him for his help. A IDENTIFIED? In the Winter ‘92 issue of our newsletter, I wrote on page 3 a segment titled: “Heavenly Repairs.” In it, I described how my Olympia electronic typewriter had malfunctioned for months, typing squiggles, slashes, and lines that were completely without meaning. This was a daily problem but since it would have taken a repair shop over a week to even look at it, I continued putting up with the inconvenience. Doing without my typewriter for that

length of time would be similar to doing without food. Then one morning when I sat down to tape, a Class A male voice said: “A-6 fixed the typewriter.” I wrote at that time that the Olympia had worked perfectly ever since and ended the segment with: “Who is A—6 and with a name like that, from what dimension did he come?” In June, I was writing to a person in Canada who has had frequent benign contacts with UFOs and some of their inhabitants. I was describing to him some of my own contacts, as found in Chaptersl3 & 14 of my book: Voices of Eternity Skimming through the two chapters, I read on page 144: “My space friends who have communicated by name to me are: Ras, Seran, Vrom, A.” Could this be the same A who fixed my type writer over two years ago? With a unique name like that, it seems possible. I should add that since then, my machine has still never given me additional problems. “The. depth of spiritual understanding that EVP brings to a person’s life is meaningful in guiding our own destiny, and staying in spiritual communion with those who have crossed over.” Ted Klich, Canada AN UNUSUAL TAPE In June, a tape came from Ray Thomas who lives in New Zealand. Ray had heard about me from Erland Babcock, MA AA—EVP member. In his letter to me, Ray wrote that he is a retired electronics technician with a career history in

the technical side of broadcasting, industrial radio communication and TV installation. He requested I listen to his short tape which he said had elements of “High Strange ness” about it. Indeed, it does. He also said it was his belief that the speaker is not from the Spirit realm but: “A small alien being physically alive in another domain or dimension 180 degrees removed from the physical world in which we live.” Before getting into what is on the tape, we should look at the recording procedure he used. First, it came through on the reverse side of his tape using a TEAC cassette tape recorder. It is, however, the unique and somewhat exotic energies he was using that I suspect were responsible for ‘drawing’ the entity to his equipment. Quoting from Ray’s letter, which he has given me permission to do, he wrote: “The circuit configuration employs two 6 foot Fluorescent tubes, in a balanced arrangement with a 45-watt amplifier providing regenerated white noise through coils in antiphase at approximately 39.6 KHz. There are coils and magnets, color TV, blue lateral units which are clamped on the Fluorescent tubes. For reception, the gain of the amplifier is set below the point at which they burst into bright illumination. Beyond this point, the device acts as a transmitter, with running bands of light and shade, travelling along the tubes.” On the cassette tape label, he has: “Scalar Wave Reception.” Sounds complicated? It is, but our many members who have a

scientific background and have indicated on their applications they are interested in research and development, might want to try to duplicate Ray’s set—up. 3 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The entity’s voice is light in timbre, has unusual rising inflections and odd voice manner isms. In writing back to Ray, I said I felt it was an objective voice and comes from a conscious entity, removed from Ray, who was trying to verbalize his feelings about the situation in which he now finds himself. I wrote that I had the impression that the entity was confused and puzzled, perhaps a bit: frightened, about what had happened. The entity seems to repeat several times: “What have we done?” followed by “Yes, yes, yes.” Of further interest is that I seem to hear in the background a clear female voice, more tonal, that says: “Helicopter” two to three times. I commented in my letter to Ray that this is interesting because there are many reports in articles and books about helicopters being seen right before or after a UFO sighting. I also feel, because of the vocal quality between the two speakers, that the female may be long to a different species of life form than the other entity. Near the end of Ray’s letter, he wrote: “In a way Sarah, I am sorry this communication is not from Spirit Realms, but I imagine that you share the

philosophy: When searching for a particular thing, it is quite possible to find yet another.” Again, if you have the scientific, electronic know—how, consider setting up a system similar to Ray’s. Let me know what happens. WHAT’S IN A NAME? Shakespeare wrote in: Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Names, in themselves, are unimportant. They are merely a convenience for us to identify one another. If someone calls you Tom or Mary, and you are really Bill or Jane, it matters not a whit. On rare occasions a name can take on a special significance. The name Konstantin Raudive, known by everyone in the field of transcommunication, is pronounced half a dozen different ways. There seems to be no general agreement as to the correct pronunciation. In fact, one foreign taper takes “the Americans” to task and said in a recent tape that he certainly wishes “the Americans” would learn to say “Raudive” correctly. I have always realized that I pronounce Rau dive a bit differently--even among my other American counterparts. When I began taping, like most beginning tapers, I called upon him to speak. At times a male voice came through and spoke to me in German, at my request, to help prove I was at least hearing from a German speaking individual. I know no German but wrote the words phonetically in my log. Later I bought a German dictionary and was able

to find some of the words in my log and some of them were answers to my questions. During this time Raudive said his name several times and ever since then, I have pronounced it the way he did in 1976. No one has ever known this was the reason for my ‘strange’ pronunciation. On January 27th, when the phone rang office and I picked up the receiver, I heard “This is Konstantin Raudive.” He is pronouncing “Raudive” the way he did eighteen years ago. TIDBITS Omni Magazine reports the invention of an electronic “Psychograph.” It has a moving indicator which works like a OUIJA board but can print out instantaneously the message that is to be studied later. Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP member, sent me copies of the front page of Psychic News, leading British weekly newspaper about psychic phenomena. In the June 4th issue, the phone calls five of us in the U.S. received from Raudive, were featured. Written by Michael Vinter, a journalist and 30—year veteran of EVP research, he accurately described my own call as well as the calls of my colleagues. The AA-EVP is mentioned. In a follow-up article on June 11th, Vinter writes about some of his own EVP experiments, as well as other tapers in the field. Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member, sent a clipping from the Steubenville Herald Star newspaper. It describes, work that the local Hospice is doing with terminally ill people. Hospice nurse Cathy Cich reports 4 11/24/2016 Tom and

Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena that as the individual gets closer to death, he begins to develop a special aware ness of people, places or things, even of those who have died. Cich feels that a terminally ill patient frequently lets his family know he is aware death is near and needs to hear permission from them that it is all right for him to go on. She recommends the book: Final Gift by Maggie Callanan and Pat Kelley published in 1989, which focuses on how to help those who have an awareness of their approaching death. OVERSEAS MAILBAG Monique Simonet, France, wrote how happy she is that five transcommunication researchers in the U.S. have received phone calls from Raudive. She feels it is a plan of the other side to build a “bridge to the States.” Monique said she had called on Raudive many times to speak to her through her tape recorder. One time he said: “l am with you, Madame.” Monique’ s fourth book: Reality of Beyond and Transcommunication is now in French bookstores. Many thanks to Edna Drake, AA-EVP member living in British Columbia, Canada for drawing the above cartoon. That, arid several others she drew, provided a good chuckle. SOME THOUGHTS TO PONDER Robert Camburn, PA AA-EVP member, wrote after, reading the Spring ‘94 Newsletter: “The personal nature of the NDE, though impressive, is still largely subjective in quality, and the mediumistic phenomena, important

as it has been, has still left a naturally cautious and puzzled world with something less than certainty. I feel the taped voices and now parallel indicative electronic communication via telephone contacts, computer messages, fax and TV images are most per conclusive-scientific evidence for survival that can be rejected only because of traditional concepts.” Charles Gaston, MD AA—EVP member, also wrote after receiving his Spring Newsletter. Quoting from his letter, he wrote: “As a physicist, I am very interested in the electronics techniques that are being used. But, even more, the. apparent intelligent communication that occurs is earth shaking! I cannot begin to express my appreciation for your organization and its discoveries. With each new discovery that appears in layman’s magazines and scientific journals as well, it is obvious that this universe is a very complicated place. There is an artist’s concept of the universe which appears in the National Geographic Atlas. It shows successive magnifications. An arrow points to the part of our galaxy where our solar system is. The millions of galaxies are painted as areas of color. One cannot help but be amazed to see where our little earth fits in this vast scheme of things.” A DEFINITION FOR SYNCHRONICITY Carl Jung, one of the pioneers of psychiatric research, described synchronicity as a meaningful coincidence in which two otherwise unrelated events are inexplicably linked to one another. J.J. Snyder, CA AA-EVP member, feels an experience he had fits this definition. He is a major in the CA

State Guard and was on duty at large military airshow in CA. Before the show began, he walked around the flight line inspecting the many varieties of aircraft. He noticed a small metal washer lying on the edge of the asphalt and picked it up, putting it in his guide. The Colonel, who was feeling ill, asked J.J. to take over and be in charge of the two flags that were to be used, it was found the lower leather grommet was torn at the screw hole, making it impossible to fasten the banner to the wooden shaft. This meant the ceremony would have to be cancelled. Then J.J. remembered the small washer he’d found two hours earlier. It fit perfectly the torn portion and allowed the flag to be raised at exactly 1200 hours in perfect coordination with the F-16 flyby. 5 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I, also, have frequently experienced synchronicity. One time I vividly remember, was when I was in the grocery store. I saw at the checkout: counter a magazine with a cover story on a subject that was of great importance to an acquaintance. This person had caused me deep hurt just a few days earlier. Should I spend $1.25 to buy the magazine for an individual who gave me grief? “Forget it,” I said. “Don’t be a ‘patsy.’ Why should you buy a gift for someone who acts like

that?” At the last moment, my hand snatched it out of the rack and I paid the cashier as I left the store. Did I feel noble? No, I confess, I felt a bit ashamed at being so soft. As I reached my car, I found a one dollar bill lying part way under my left rear wheel. What happiness I had at the discovery of this treasure. Never before had I found a dollar. Nickels and dimes (and very few of them) had always been my take. Tucking the dollar in my wallet, I noticed it had tire marks across it. That evening, about eight hours later, I went into my office to read, as I do every evening. Lying beside my chair was a quarter. Was it coincidence I found the exact amount of the magazine at two different locations? I think not. OUR TAPERS REPORT Jackie Colligan, NV, spent some time at a nearby lake in her camper. She continued to tape daily and had many contacts. On the short tape she sent me, most of the voices were tonal (like ours). Some of the messages were: “I’ll let him know.” “Hello.” “Help me.” “Good day.” “You are receptionist.” Art Counts, MD, wrote that he usually tapes several times a day, normally limiting each time to five minutes, as I recommended. Also at my suggestion, he asked during one recording that he be assigned a special guide to help him with his taping. Over the radio he

was using for his sound source, he heard a voice speaking for the first time. On tape playback, a Class A clear tonal voice spoke rapidly with a mild sing-song tunnel effect. It asked: “Whose plan is it?” Art feels they were referring to the suggestion I’d given him about asking for a guide. The radio was set at about 109 KHz and provides white noise as a sound source. Bart Ellis called me from CA and said that he and Raymond Bayless (well-known psychical researcher and author with many published books to his credit) frequently tape together. Their results, Bart said, are improving all the time. David Goldman, FL, wrote that he has many tape-recorded messages and has received what he feels are paranormal phone calls for years. Many of the messages, especially the phone calls, are what I would consider to be an annoying nuisance in nature. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, continues receiving messages, now and then, from Betty Evans, former VA AA-EVP member, who died last September. One of the messages was: “Betty -- your EVP buddy.” Since Clara and Betty were close friends and shared their interest in voice phenomena this could be called evidential. Tina Laurent, Wales, has written and called several times. She has had good results with her taping. At times the voices take on an almost trilling, musical sound, similar to the birds that may or may not be singing in her garden during her taping sessions. Fred McIntosh taught an

all-day dowsing work shop in Annapolis at the home of a member of the Holistic Health group. I was privileged to be able to attend this worthwhile workshop. Fred said he uses his pendulum when buying a new piece of electronic equipment to help him in his tapings. The pendulum advises him what equipment will be of most benefit. He also uses the pendulum when playing back a recording. It shows him what segment has a voice, and on which he should concentrate his efforts, and what segment is just white noise. Pat Sabodish, N.J., sent a tape on which she had taped some messages. Two of the clearest were: “Remember 1 one hundred.” “Never knew a nobody.” Pat wrote that she always uses her Radio Shack tape player that has a pitch and speed control when playing back messages. 6 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. wrote that he was experimenting with computer assisted digital enhancement and found it to be an advantage to use in working with paranormal voices. He enclosed a tape to demonstrate his different experiments. Some of the examples that were good were: “We are deeply disappointed today.” “We’re right here.” “There’s a man here.” “We have a job to do.” “I seek.” “Sight unseen.” “Sheik.” “Die!” “I’m coming.” “We have no worries here.” (The last two were especially outstanding). NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Erland Babcock has had

some outstanding success in taping, but his main focus is TV contacts. In a letter, he wrote: “I want to take time to analyze my 16 journals of research (average 300 pages each) and reduce them down to a readable amount of information.” Part Ellis said in his June phone call, that he will be featured on the national TV program: Dateline-N.B.C. They were going to his home and office in Santa Monica to do the filming. The segment will focus on Bart’s mental health work and clinic. No definite viewing time yet, but Bart said it will be soon. Check your TV program and watch Bart! Eli Feldman, N.Y., sent me a copy of a letter he and his daughter, Lili, received after speaking at the Great Neck Senior Center in April. The topic of their talk was: “Is There Life After Death?” The Executive Director praised their presentation and ended her note to Eli with: “Thank you again and let’s plan to repeat this program in the near future.” Emylu Hughes, L, wrote she has an article in the May Dell Horoscope magazine about a grandson. The title is: “Try, Try Again Taurus.” Dale Kaczmarek, President of the Ghost Research Society, IL, wrote that he is compiling a list of haunted locations and would like to hear from members who might have information in the form of clippings or personal encounters. Write: address removed. Ena Lloyd-Kitchen, England, sent me a packet of ash that had come from Sai

Baba who is re— guarded by many as a holy miracle man of India. Ena’s daughter has been unwell with a stiff neck. She put some ash on her neck before going to bed and the next morning the pain was gone. I, also, have a chronic stiff neck that has troubled me for over six months. When I remember to rub a little on my neck at night, the pain is usually less the next morning. The sweet, distinctive odor from the ash permeates my office, even after almost three months. SOME ADVICE Clara Laughlin, an outstanding taper who has been taping for years, wrote in a recent letter: “With all the evidential information on my tapes over the years, I wouldn’t think of announcing that this is absolute fact, or ‘that’ isn’t.. .my feeling is that all we can do is tape and listen and report and try to keep the bridge strong to help the bond between us.” Clara, like I, and all other tapers who have had extended Class A communications with the other side, know that not everything that comes through from the beyond will be gospel truth. You have your imposters there, as you have here. Not everyone you meet beyond death, through your taping, is unblemished. Don’t think because you have it on tape that it must be true. It could very well be faulty and to think otherwise is the height of foolishness. Most tapers I know (including myself) are communicating for

the most part, with high level spirits. However, we are aware that someone may creep in and speak on tape with a “crooked tongue.” MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL REMINDER Remember! If you want to remain on the cross—country list when you renew, you are to check the box on Side 1. Then turn it over and sign your name in the space provided. About a third of you fail to do this and when I write and ask if you really want your name removed, you reply: “Keep it on!” My attorney is 7 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ‘sticky’ about this. Save yourself and me, time and money by signing--if you want to continue to be listed. Also, please check the boxes on Side 2 showing your interest in voice phenomena. One member fretted this information was “redundant.” Not at all. Some tapers stop taping. Many more, original non—tapers, (thank fully) become interested and begin to tape. All of this is indicated on the Master List that is sent to each new member when he asks to be on the list. It is important you keep these lists, as well as the quarterly u We have over 200 names on the list and they are expensive to reproduce. ODDS AND ENDS In watching President Nixon’s funeral on TV, one of the speakers mentioned Winston Church ill’s funeral. At the end of it, Taps was played, as is

traditional. This was immediately followed by Reveille to symbolize his awakening in the world beyond death. Let’s keep Reveille always in our minds. May we live our lives so it will ring out joyfully when that time comes. Have a good summer. Deadline for our Autumn Newsletter is September 23rd. Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep 8 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, AAEVP PO Box 13111, Reno, Nevada 89507, [email protected], http://aaevp.com American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1994 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint The end of October, I will observe my eighteenth anniversary since becoming involved with voice phenomena. On the evening of October 24th, 1976, I sat down and asked for the first time, “Is anyone here?” I was not surprised when no one answered, since I was convinced nothing survived death. Those of you who have read my book: Voices of Eternity know that belief dates back to the age of seven, when I had many traumatic experiences at the funeral home owned by my grandparents. After reading about EVP in the book: Handbook of Psi Discoveries by Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder, I decided to give this impossible phenomenon one week. If nothing was heard by the end of that time I would forget about it. Fortunately, on the sixth day, I taped my first

message, “Beauty” which came in response to my asking, “What is your world like?” The rest, as they say, is history. There isn’t space to go into all of the difficulties, all of the experiences that were mine in those early years. Suffice it to say, they were busy, exciting times. What I want to look at today, however, are the changes that have taken place since October 1976, until now. When I began, there were probably less than 100 active tapers around the world. Today, no one really knows how many have joined us, but it has become quite a crowd. Even the name has changed. Then, it was EVP. Today, it is transcommunication. In 1976, there was only one way to have electronic communication with the unseen, and that was through a tape recorder. Now, in addition to the recorder, we have TV, fax, computers, radio and telephone. The tape recorder is still the key to unlocking the door to the new phenomena. Eighteen years ago, we could hope for little more than a three to four-word message. When a six or seven-word communication was received, we felt blessed. Today, some contacts are hundreds of words. Although most taped messages are still short, they can go on for pages through a computer. Telephone calls can last for minutes, and TV appearances, while limited, are becoming longer, with a few audible messages heard. All of this was unthinkable eighteen years ago. Today, thanks to the devotion of many intelligent,

spiritually enlightened individuals, it is becoming more and more accepted. The expanded phenomena, unbelievable even ten years ago, is being replicated time and again by others. What has caused this ‘explosion’ of improved, enlarged contact? There is a scientific term known as “Observer Effect.” Although it isn’t meant to apply to voice phenomena, I see a relationship. Essentially, and very simply, it means a sudden change in a physical property, when that property is observed. A question we might ask is whether any of this would have happened, if we weren’t on this end of the ‘line’ and they weren’t there at their end? Obviously not. Our relationships, our contacts, with each other, is a symbiotic one. We need them, but they also need us. Considering the growth in numbers experienced since 1976, it is not surprising that we are where we are today. A crystal ball is not needed to look ahead. If the observer effect principle continues, then we can expect that the more individuals who become involved in the field, the more contacts will improve. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I am grateful that I was permitted to be a part of the ‘new’ phenomena eighteen years ago. I am grateful to still be a part of it today. Those of you who were also early pioneers, know the uncharted lands you explored have become well marked for those who follow. Those starting out today, know you have the

opportunity to make a positive difference in our world for everyman. SYNCHRONICITY GEM Doris M. Humphrey, MD AA-EVP member, wrote that she was reading a mystery novel where a good bit of the action takes place at the British seashore. She said: “As 1 was reading, I began thinking about one of the times I’d visited Sandy Point State Park (MD) and watched a family seated at a picnic table trying to protect their sandwiches while impolite seagulls were snapping at the food. “As the plot of the novel progressed, the heroine described eating a solitary picnic lunch at the beach, then going to sleep and being wakened by seagulls fighting over the remains of her sandwiches. She was having her lunch at a beach called Sandy Point.” SYNCHRONICITY OR CROSS-CORRESPONDENCE? On September 10th, I received an outstanding tape of three messages from David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator. These messages came through after David began using a large crystal, the size of his fist. Two days later, a letter came from Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator. She wrote: “I’ve received several messages lately about using a. crystal, such as: ‘Betty--we want a crystal’, and ‘Mercedes--want a crystal’. I guess they want me to use a crystal, but I haven’t the faintest idea of where to get one.” I suggested to Clara that she contact David. DAT RECORDERS Bart Ellis, CA AA-EVP member, has called me several times and written about the DAT recorder he is now using in his taping.

He feels the DAT has made a positive result in his recordings as it has eliminated almost all of the background sound. In answer to my question as to where they can be found, Bart said that large musical supply stores have them, was well as the tapes. To use along with his DAT recorder, Bart ordered “Headroom”—a headphone amplifier and audio image processor and also the Entymotic earphones (Research ER-4). Both are expensive. Bart said the earphone, which is the insert type, was developed by a company that produces equipment used in speech research and audio logical testing. Quoting from Bart’s letter, he wrote: “These earphones are considered to be state-of-the-art and combine maximum accuracy with the virtual elimination of external background noise. The elimination of noise makes it possible to hear the total dynamic range of recordings without having to play it back at unnaturally high levels.” The headroom and earphones cost $699, but Bart suggested if you don’t want to spend that for the ‘package’ get just the earphones. He wrote: “These alone will make a world of difference in hearing the voices.” Bart stressed he has nothing to do with the company. You cannot buy either in stores, but must order them from the Headroom Corp. in MT. The free number for information is: 1-800-828-8184. EXPERIMENT IDEAS In a letter from Erland Babcock, MA, Erland wrote that he is now experimenting with sound again. He had some outstanding results in the late seventies and early eighties,

but eventually gave up on it because he felt he was not progressing. He turned his focus to his video camera and receiving pictures from other dimensions through his TV. Now, however, he is taping again, even though he received many unique and clear TV pictures. In his letter dated Sept. 8th, Erland wrote: “I found an interesting device that the Radio 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Shack sells. This device is called an Electronic Reverb. It is primarily used for music to give that twang effect. However, I find that it works very well to create an artificial LIVE environment. It will take either a mike or line input and will give an out-put for each.” In an earlier letter received in August, Erland referred to the spirit phone calls that have been received since the first of the year. He asked: “Did anyone ever think that perhaps they use the telephone because they use a magnetic signal and the telephone would be a very easy device to give a good contact? Perhaps the carbon granules are the reasons the phone is being used. I personally think it has to do with the type of field being used on the other side, much like charging up one very big capacitor and slowly draining the energy.” Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y., has called several times and sent me two short tapes on which he used a computer enhancement program that he had bought. By

using the program, almost all of the background noise is eliminated. Geoffrey is continuing to work with it, hoping to also make the voices stronger. Some additional experiment ideas came from Melvin Sobo, Ph.D., a physicist living in N.Y. These were first suggested in the November 1983 newsletter, but I think they are interesting, and may prove helpful to old as well as our many new members. Melvin suggested that we try adjusting the bias on our tape recorders. You might have to modify them some, but Melvin thinks it is a useful avenue to investigate. If we turn the bias up, there should be an additional base of energy available. Melvin said that if the Spirits do, in fact, operate on a higher frequency and if this frequency responds to our physical idea of frequency, it might be a good idea to record for a very short period, with the tape moving very, very rapidly. The entities apparently use short bursts of live energy. If we can record at extremely fast speeds, entities may be able to give us a great deal of information on a short segment of tape, which we could hear when we slowly play back the tape. Melvin said that electronic technology might have to be developed to permit doing what he has in mind. Many of our members are engineers or have a good grasp of electronics. How about accepting these ideas as a challenge, and trying to develop them? Let me know what

happens. AFTER DEATH COMMUNICATIONS Pat Sabodish, N.J. AA-EVP member, sent me an article from the Asbury Park Press (N.J.) titled: “Types of Communication Reported.” This was taken from the investigations of Bill Guggenheim of FL. Bill and I have exchanged letters in the past about our work, and he has mentioned what, to him, is strong evidence for survival. He calls them ADCs (after death communications). In the article, he listed them in order of frequency; they are: (1) Sensing the presence: A distinct feeling that your loved one is nearby. (2) Hearing a voice: Usually heard telepathically. (3) ADC experiences while asleep: Much more vivid, colorful and real than ordinary dreams, these feel like an actual visit. (4) Smelling an aroma. (5) Physical signs of the loved ones’ existence, commonly involving butterflies, rainbows, birds, animals or photographs. These are called symbolic ADCs. (6) Visual experiences: Partial to full images of the loved one fully healed. (7) Feeling a touch. (8) Twilight experiences: ADCs occurring in the “alpha state”—when falling asleep, waking up, praying. (9) Visions. (10) Physical phenomena: A sign, such as a light or appliance turning on and off by itself. (11) Out-of body ADCs. A visit to the loved one, occurring during the alpha state or when asleep. (12) Telephone ADCs: Voice heard on the telephone. AN UNUSUAL TAPE As mentioned on page 2, David Lothamer has recently started using a large crystal. He spent two days wrapping it with copper wire, and attached it to his

recording system, using Ernst Senkowski’s (German) suggestions. A colleague of Ernst’s, Dr. Delavare, lately started experimenting with this unique way, and Ernst said he is having excellent results. David sent me a copy of the tape, and the three messages are outstanding Class A. The first message came through on David’s answering machine about 9:30 at night when David had gone to the store. A tonal, slightly robotic male voice said: “This is a message from outer 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena space. I hope you will use your instruments to decode it. There are lots of things left unsaid between the syllables of the words, which you may be able to decode with your peculiar instrumentation.” A week or two later, while David was doing a regular recording, the following message came through the air-band of his radio (the voice sounded very much like the voice received in the above message): “Had it tested and I’m now receiving your world. Seeking you reset your transformer.” David feels, and I agree, that the peculiar instrumentation referred to in the first message was the large crystal he had wound. In the second recording, David believes the unseen entity was telling him to perhaps change the placement of his crystal. A third message received during this time, told him he would have to: “deal with the air-band.” Since David uses the air-band as his usual sound source, he believes they are telling him to

continue using it. OTHER TAPERS PEPORT Art Counts, MD, is taping frequently, and receiving a number of messages. He wrote that nothing will come through for a while, and then there will be many communications for several days. His deceased sister, Lill, often speaks. One of the clearest messages was: “You’re a bad boy, Arthur. God bless you. I love you, Lill!” Some of the other messages that have been received and have little meaning to him, but are clear, tonal, low, and can be heard over the speaker as well as through the earphones are: “Goodby Coke.” “Hip hip, John Henry.” “Bring on the head coach.” “Take care of my dog. That’s all.” “We’re dead.” “Art, we know her.” In addition to the two messages mentioned on page 2, which Clara Laughlin received about crystals, she reports the following also came through: “Process for Betty.” “Watch the window, Clarissa-Betty.” The Betty who speaks in these messages is, Clara feels, her dear friend, Betty Evans, former VA AA-EVP member. Clara believes that the window Betty mentions, is really the mirror that Clara has on top of her recording system. The other side often refers to the mirror as a ‘window.’ Irene Maletsky, N.J. Co-State Coordinator with her daughter Valerie Tjaden, likes taping at historical locations. One of them is the Van Allen house in Oakland. She is on the historical board and when they have a business meeting or a cleaning session, she takes her tape recorder. In the upstairs

bedroom she received a whistled tune. In the kitchen she taped the words: “Sad” and the name “Trudy.” She also taped two grunts and a sigh. In a recent letter from Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, Dan wrote: “I still tape five days a week with some interesting things coming through. The most fascinating one is a clear voice saying: ‘I am not human.’” Laurie Schoenick, WI AA-EVP member, wrote she hadn’t done much taping this summer since she was working two jobs and taking classes at the university. One of her summer jobs was getting messages off an answering machine daily. On her last day of work, she sat down to take messages. She had only been out for 20 minutes, so there was only one message on the machine. Laurie wrote: “It was unlike any normal message though, leaving no name. It was monotone, a male voice, and spoke quickly. I recognized it as someone from whom I had heard while taping. He said: ‘We wanna make sure you come back and visit. We love you.’ It is a Class A voice, easily heard without headphones. This is the first message I’ve ever received on an answering machine or by telephone.” TAPE ALERT! Everyone who is recording voices has messages that are especially important to them. We need to be aware of their possible fading after a period of time. Deterioration of this recorded information can be expected when you consider that the magnetic oxide particles

can be influenced by any magnetic field present after the recording is made. The tightly wound tapes could be influenced by adjacent layers of tape which lie only one one-thousandth of an inch away. The earth’s magnetic field might also change the 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena recorded information, or changes in the physical properties of the plastic tape might degrade the fidelity. Valuable tapes should be re-recorded periodically, using the best quality tape available. Friedrich Jürgenson said that tapes should be re-recorded every two years. I would suggest that you put together a collection of your most important messages on a fine quality cassette tape. Listen to each tape you make every six months or so. If you notice any deterioration of quality in the voices, re-tape it immediately. It has also been suggested that the tapes will deteriorate more slowly if they are kept in a freezer. If you do this, be sure your tapes are carefully wrapped, or perhaps stored in a plastic container, so the moisture won’t affect them. A RECOGNIZED VOICE In a note the end of June from George Meek, N.C., developer of the Spiricom System, he wrote he had entertained Hilda Schffranke at dinner the evening before. Hilda and her husband Rolf, who made his transition in May, have long been friends of George. The Schffrankes were also very good friends of Konstantin Raudive and his wife and had been guests in the Raudive home

in Germany. George wrote that he had played his Raudive telephone taped message for Hilda and she brightened up and said: “There! That’s him! That’s Konstantin Raudive! I would recognize that voice anywhere. Oh, what a pleasure!” RAUDIVE CALLS AGAIN! Nils 0. Jacobson, MD, a Swedish psychiatrist, is an active taper who has received many recorded messages. He received a phone call from Raudive, the end of January, about the same time five of us in the U.S. did. Nils and I have exchanged several letters in recent months. In a letter to me, dated August 20th, he wrote: “Since my last letter, I have received one more telephone call from Raudive. It was in May, about the same time of the day as the first, and this time I was alone in the kitchen. Now (unlike the last time) I have a tape recorder at the telephone, so I managed to record the closing sentence of the message (the recorder does not start automatically). The message was very short, and he said this was the second attempt to establish this new bridge, and that they would try to contact me in Swedish next time to make it easier for me. The voice was similar to the first one, but brighter in tone.” PSYCHIC NEWS HEADLINES English journalist, Michael Vinter, is a 30-year veteran of EVP. He wrote two long articles (June 4th and June 11th) which were featured on the front page of Psychic News, a leading weekly British

metaphysical newsletter. The articles focused on phone calls from the dead. Vinter discussed many phone calls that have been received from the deceased over the years. The June 4th article was largely about the Raudive calls we received in this country. Near the end of the article, Vinter writes that he is one of relatively few English people to near samples of Raudive’s distinctive living voice. He said: “I find it possible to note similarities with the phone recordings; however, that is all they are. On the other hand, bear- in mind that the physical organism which controls our speech no longer exists, I would be suspicious of a completely precise match.” Thanks are owed to Tina Laurent, Wales AA- EVP member, who sent the two articles to us. VOICE PRINT ANALYSIS People often ask me why voice print analysis isn’t done on different people calling on the telephone, who have died, comparing them with a tape of their before death voice. There are several reasons why this is not feasible. Even granting you may have that person’s before death voice on tape, you can’t realistically expect to compare it with their after death voice. Vinter points out (as I often have), the physical organism which controlled our speech before death, no longer exists. True, there are often greater or lesser similarities but that is about the best for which you can hope. There is one exception, as I pointed out in my book: Voices of Eternity. If you can

have taped contact with someone within a day or two of their 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena death, then the voice may match. Within several days, the body goes through great changes, and you can no longer expect much more than a resemblance. TRANSLATION FROM GERMAN VTF NEWSLETTER We are grateful to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, for translating the VTF newsletter. The VTF recommends the use of a Panasonic RQ 2101 cassette recorder that has a “cue to review” key function. It has a rugged mechanical function which is good for constant play-and- search in instrumental transcommunication work. A good deal of the newsletter was devoted to using computer programs in ITC work. One computer program makes possible pitch changes in steps of 1000 Hz that reach over several octaves. The paranormal voice can thus be changed over a large spectrum to examine similarities to the life time voice of that person. A proper computer program correctly used, can reduce background noise. The article sates: “The long sought possibility of isolating the paranormal voice from its surrounding canned sound or carrier noise, has come into close reach with this computer technique.” TRANSLATIONS FROM “TRANSCOMMUNICATION JOURNAL” We also are indebted to Hans Heckmann for his translations from the Journal published by Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, and his colleague Dr.Delavare. There is a great deal of nutritional food for thought in the Journal but unfortunately, we have space for only a small

part. If you are able to read German or have a friend who could translate it for you in its entirety. I would encourage you to contact Ernst. He is on the cross-country list. Hans Bender, former parapsychologist of the University of Freiburg, Germany, spoke through the radio in the home of Adolf Homes. Among other things, he said: “Free yourself from the rigid conduct of tradition and open yourself to the new forms of probability.” Two weeks later, Bender came through Home’s’ computer and said: “Your system of reality is, one of countless others. All are happening at the same time. The “frequency” of our own reality is so short that it cannot be perceived by you. It is far outside the range of electromagnetic wavelengths and has nothing to do with it anymore. Do not visualize that we exist about you such as in ‘Heaven’. The concepts ‘Above’ and ‘Below’ are products of your mind. The soul does not swing upwards, it exists in the center and orients itself in every direction. Things which you create with your mind are always part of your post mortal life whether they seem real or not. This is also true of your religion. You shall always find what you created in your mind such as a benevolent God or an evil Devil. Therefore, concentrate on the depth of your consciousness and on what you consider positive and good.” TIDBIT Max Petersen, AZ AA-EVP member, sent me a clipping from the August

6, 1994, The Arizona Republic saying that a séance was held in honor of Andy Warhol, the famous artist who died in 1987. It was held at his favorite restaurant in N.Y. in honor of the late artist’s 66th birthday. The two psychics who conducted the séance said Warhol came through and said he “wants to help souls who have died and ones that are in transition going over to the other side.” INTERESTED IN CRYSTALS? Some of you, after reading about the results David Lothamer had with his crystal, may want to try some crystal experiments yourself, but like Clara Laughlin, may not know where to find them. In his book: Holy Ice sent to me by Frank Dorland, well-known for his investigation of the Crystal Skull, he recommends readers contact Tom Struble—Holy Ice—Crystal Creations-P.O. Box 6003-Los Osos, CA 93412. Frank found Tom to be a natural and talented crystal carver whose work was true to purpose, style and quality. You might want to contact Tom and see what he has to offer in crystals. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Dr. Eli Feldman, N.Y. sent me an announcement from the adult program of the Great Neck public schools, showing he would be teaching an adult class of three sessions with the title: “Is There Life After Death?” Joyce Gaines, LA, wrote that one day she went into a Wal-Mart store. A clear voice said: “Magnesium Oxide.”

Since no one was around, she dismissed the voice as her imagination. The next day she returned to the same store to pick up the things she had failed to get the day before. She wrote: “Exactly the same voice repeated exactly the same words: ‘Magnesium Oxide.’ Joyce bought a bottle and the following day her daughter called from MS. She asked Joyce to come since she was unwell and needed someone to look after her young baby. A few days after Joyce arrived at her daughter’s home, the daughter had a massive heart attack. After a period in the hospital, she was discharged with the doctors prescribing beta and channel blockers, as well as Magnesium Oxide! Emylu Hughes called from Florida, and said her deceased husband always had given her roses for their anniversary. On the day of her anniversary, her rose bush which had no blooms on it the day before, suddenly burst forth with a half dozen beautiful roses. Since she and her husband, Bob, had enjoyed dancing, she ordered some tapes in his memory. After they came, she put one on her record player and danced around the kitchen. Later her daughter went to see a medium and the medium told her: “Bob says he is dancing with your mother every night.” Ron Hebard, OK, sent me a picture of himself showing the electronic equipment he uses for taping. The set-up is most impressive. Ron wrote that he had recently graduated from a course in Recording

Engineering with the Audio Institute of America. He is also in the process of incorporating a church in OK which “will be devoted to bringing the common bonds of theology together with scientific discoveries and theories.” Dale Kaczmarek, IL, has a video tape available: “The Evidence For Spirit Photography.” He also has the latest edition of the International Directory of Psychic Sciences. For further information about costs, write to Dale. P.O. Box 205, Oak Lawn, IL 60454-0205. Tina Laurent wrote that she is giving a talk in the near future about survival to the Noah’s Ark Society in Wales. Dan McKee wrote that he is busy getting ready to put the AA-EVP Ham Radio Network in operation. Three members have so far expressed interest. Dan wrote: “In preparation for the net, I’ve erected four steel towers 50 feet high, cut down one big tree and topped another, all to erect a 272 foot loop that sends out omni directional signals on most amateur frequencies. Also have a new 1,500 watt amplifier. I plan to set up operation on 3840 Khz plus or minus whatever is needed to find a clear channel.” Dan would be delighted to have you join him and the other members. Write: 2435 Knollwood, Decatur, IL 62521. J. J. Snyder, CA, wrote that he was on the “Laura Lee Show”, a nationwide program which originates in Seattle. Lee had read J.J.’s booklet: “Has Science Confirmed Survival?” and they discussed this during the hour program. J.J. said he

felt he was able to get his point across that survival beyond alleged ‘death’ is a natural occurrence, the same as birth, and is the future of all life. LOOKING AT BOOKS Max Petersen sent me a list of the 25 Best Sellers listed in his AZ newspaper. Out of the 25, eight focused on metaphysical subjects. Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J., sent me the book: Touched By Angels by Eileen Elias Freeman. Freeman discusses her own ‘close encounters of the celestial kind’ as well as the angelic encounters many others have had. I enjoyed the book a great deal, and you might want to check your library to see if they have it. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Kenneth Maxwell, PA, wrote that he had read the book: Parallel Universes by theoretical physicist, Dr. Fred Allen Wolf. Ken felt I would find the book interesting. The library in Annapolis ordered it for me from Enoch Pratt library in Baltimore, and I found the entire book fascinating. Although I have long accepted that there are probably many universes, parallel to our own, some perhaps intersecting ours at times, Dr. Wolf reinforced my thoughts and helped me put them in a better perspective. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the subject. ODDS AND ENDS The next time we ‘talk’ it will be 1995. How about a holiday gift membership to a friend or loved one? I will send them an

appropriate card to let them know about your thoughtful gift. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is Dec. 17th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1995 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we go again! A new year with over 360 days ahead of us, each one a treasure. We can hold those days close to our chest, like a miser, or spend them in a positive way that will enrich ourselves and others. As Henry James wrote: “Live all you can, it’s a mistake not to.” Even though some of us may be limited physically and financially in doing all that we want, we can still find avenues to explore that will bring pleasure and happiness to our life and the lives of those around us. Life should be, can be, exciting. The journey of learning should never stop. William James wrote: “Our knowledge grows in spots. The spots may be large or small, but the knowledge never grows all over.” Some people take on the aspect of a leopard in knowledge, with spots everywhere. They may know a little about a lot, but not much about anything. There is the saying: “A little knowledge can be dangerous.” How true this is. A man

in his eighties, ordered all five tapes I have available. Later, he called and said he knew I’d faked the voices. I guess I’ve been lucky. In over eighteen years of taping with the results being played for literally thousands of people, this is the first time I’ve been accused of cheating. Why did he think this? “Your results are too good!” he informed me. The real pity of the situation is not my insulted feelings, but that the man, who is a leader of a Florida self-realization group, is able to influence others and lead them to false conclusions based upon his faulty and limited knowledge. Two months later a member called who lives in the northeast. ‘Jim’, bless him, was preparing his will. He has never married and there was no one in his family to whom he felt close so he wanted to leave everything, including a very large house, to me and the Association. When he joined the AA-EVP a few years ago, he was not at all sure anything survived death. Now he knows all life lives on. We, you, have helped him learn this, and he has received his own unmistakable evidence. “You helped me so much to learn about things, that I want you and the AA-EVP to have everything.” The gratitude I felt, feel, towards Jim, fills me with joy, knowing I have helped him discover that life is an eternal journey without end. I could not, however, in good conscience encourage

him to carry through with his plans concerning the will. The AA-EVP is not a foundation. When I decide it’s time to ‘close the books’, it will end. I explained this to him and over the telephone we explored other options for him. I first suggested a church but for personal reasons he didn’t want to follow this route. My suggestion to divide his assets in several directions such as the Boy Scouts and a perpetual college scholarship at the local high school interested him and that is probably what he will do. Fred Alan Wolf, a theoretical physicist, wrote at the end of his book: Parallel Universes: “We might be able to alter the hologram (of the universe) by bringing in more conscious ‘light’ to the hell worlds (parallel worlds) that also exist side-by-side with our own. It is time to speed up the process of illuminating the hologram, time to bring in the big laser of consciousness. Evolution is our business too. It is time to know this universe-place for the first time ever.” Four months ago I wrote to someone: “We are responsible for evolution. The evolution of the future lies solely with us, as those in ages past brought us to the evolution of today.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Let us always remember we are creating day by day, by what we do or fail to do, the evolution that will take place. May you help speed

up the process of evolution by illuminating your world with beauty, with truth, with peace. TUNING IN TO EVP Terry Williams, a friend in Plymouth, England, sent me a clipping from the October ‘94 Psychic News, titled: “Tuning in to EVP.” The article was written by Dr. Tom Keen, D. Sc., of Milta Keynes, England. His thoughts may hold great interest to many of our members since they give suggestions on how to modify a tape recorder so better TC results will occur. Dr. Keen wrote: “It (TC) does not appear to be such a metaphysical problem as to how EVP occurs, as related to ordinary physics. “It appears to me that discarnate voices are pitched at a frequency which is able to impinge upon the recorder’s bias oscillations and act in the same way as a radio signal. “I believe that spirit voices are able to modulate the bias-signal of a recorder to the extent that the circuitry of that recorder can then detect this modulation and convert it back to a sound wave intelligible to our ears. “If these assumptions are correct, a considerable aid to EVP would be the modification of a recorder’s circuit to allow for variability in the bias frequency. By ‘sweeping’ the bias signal through the limited range of variation, considerably more scope would be provided for ‘tuning in’ to spirit voices. “I would offer as a clue the fairly common situation where ‘dobbler shift’ intruder alarms appear to be triggered mysteriously. Such devices

often operate on ultrasonic frequencies around the 40 kilohertz area. I feel that the ‘mystery triggers’ are, in fact, nothing more than the presence of spirits nearby. “Original reel-to-reel tape recorders often had bias oscillators operating on about that frequency, although modern cassette machines are generally about double that vibration. “It is a fact that if two frequencies are mixed together, they interact to produce two new frequencies, equal to the sum and the difference of the two original tunes. This is known as ‘beat frequency.’” ITC ANALYSIS SUPPORTS SPIRIT COTACT Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, also sent me an article from Psychic News, published in England. The article is titled: “Voice Machine Analysis Supports Spirit Contact” and was written by lawyer and psychologist Dr. Victor Zammit from New South Wales in Australia. Dr. Zammit discusses different evidence for survival and mentions Australian trance medium Shirley Bray. In one tape recorded session, three spirit teachers came through. These voices were put through a very sophisticated high-tech voice pattern machine, the same that was used by British forensic scientists in the Yorkshire Ripper case. Quoting from the article, Dr. Zammit wrote: “The results showed that three separate voices came through with different accents, rhythmic and breathing patterns. Experimenters said that it is scientifically impossible for one person to obtain the same results, especially when the session lasted over an hour.” In another experiment a test was conducted on well-known medium, Elwood Babbitt. Zammit wrote: “Whilst in trance, four EEGs were taken

of Babbitt when each of the three spirit entities were coming through and then later while Babbitt wasn’t in trance. The results show the four EEG graphs are definitely different from each other.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TELEVISION ITC GOES GLOBAL In the last three months, instrumental transcommunication has been presented on several national TV shows that focus on PSI. The day after Thanksgiving, the popular show, “The Other Side” which is taped in Los Angeles, showed a segment about TC. Although normally doing a reasonably good job on the subjects it presents, TC, unfortunately, was done in a haphazard fashion. One of the producers had called me several times four days earlier, urging me to fly to CA—all expenses paid—to be on the program. I had a strong impression I shouldn’t go. Basically, I felt I didn’t have enough time to get ready. Several important appointments would have had to be cancelled during the three days I would have been away, but the feeling went deeper than that. I had an inner sense the show would be disappointing. Mark Macy of Continuing Life Research, CO, took part. He presented some of the Luxembourg results as well as Spiricom (developed by George Meek of N.C.). Mark did a good job in the brief time he appeared. I’d suggested to the producer that he invite Bart Ellis, CA AA-EVP member who tapes and lives close to the studio, to be on the

program. He did, and Bart also presented himself well in the few minutes he had, suggesting to the audience to try taping, and stating all that was needed was a simple tape recorder. The main difficulty with the program was that they tried to do too much at one time. Five or six other people were also on the show, talking about subjective evidence for survival. TC, of course, is objective, and there is a world of difference. In a phone call from Bart after the program, and in a letter from Mark a few days later, both expressed disappointment at the way the show turned out. At the start of the sixty minute program, the beginning of Raudive’s phone call to me last January was heard: “I’m as fine as a dead one can be.” Dr. Miller, the host, commented: “This supposedly was a phone call from a man who has been dead for over twenty years.” Nothing more was mentioned about it or the calls four others in the U.S. received from Raudive at that time. A better presentation was on “Sightings” which is seen in our area Sunday afternoons from 5:00 to 6:00. A camera crew from “Sightings” came to my home one Sunday for four hours and filmed me with my tape recorder. Although the focus was not on taping, they had me analyze a taped sound they’d received while investigating a haunted location. This program was seen nationally (and as it turns out internationally) during

the early part of November. Jeff King, New Zealand AA-EVP member, wrote and said he and his wife watch the program. One day, to their great surprise, they turned on their set and there I was, in the living room! Terry Cox, a new member from England, also wrote that he had seen me on Skye TV in England. HOME DESTROYED Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, noted psychiatrist, author of many books on death and dying, and who founded the U.S. hospice movement, suffered a disastrous fire October 6th. Her home and headquarters located in Head Waters, VA, was completely destroyed by fire. Authorities are investigating it, but suspect arson. Several hours before the fire started, one of Ross’ prized llamas had been shot and killed. There also has been a string of burglaries and break-ins at her home and office. Ross was not at home when the fire started and since then has moved to her son’s home in Scottsdale, AZ. Although she refuses to give interviews, she has said her teaching center at Head Waters will remain open. I have met Elisabeth several times and had a long correspondence with her. She completely accepts the reality of the Voices and firmly believes they are the ‘dead’ speaking to us through a tape recorder. We first met fifteen years ago, on the day after she had given a lecture at the local high school. She invited me to come to her room at the Holiday Inn in Annapolis. I took along my

tape recorder and a short 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena tape of voices. She was fascinated and thrilled, and asked if we could make a recording together. We did, and although nothing came through, she commented that our ability to talk through a recorder to those on the other side, “Blows my mind!” Later, over lunch, a woman whose ten year old daughter had been brutally murdered, came and sat with us. I will always remember the compassion Elisabeth showed as she talked to the bereft mother. Nine years ago, I sent her fifty special cassette tapes. “Life After Life” was to be used for those who were terminally ill and for their families who were having difficulty coming to terms with their death. Elisabeth wrote after receiving them, about how grateful she was and she knew they would be of great help to those with whom she was working. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT There is controversy as to whether thoughts, words, even songs can linger in the atmosphere close to a location where emotional experiences took place. Then hundreds, perhaps thousands of years later, an individual visiting the location with a tape recorder can record what was expressed long ago. In the Fall/Winter New Frontiers Journal, published by WI AA-EVP members, Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff, they mentioned a lecture given by Fr. Francois Brune of France who has made outstanding contribution to the field of PSI. Fr. Brune cited an

experience of a University of Barcelona researcher, who taped in an abandoned chapel in Spain. Later, on playback, he heard women’s voices praying the rosary and singing a Gregorian chant on the tape. In another case, an Italian researcher held an ancient Etruscan jug in his hands while thinking intently about the Etruscans. Etruscan words were recorded by a recorder that was in operation at the time the researcher was holding the artifact and concentrating his mind on it. Fr. Brune said: “It may be that we are dealing with sound waves of the past which somehow are ‘collected’ by the tape recorder.” He suggests the theory that “human thoughts and emotions remain in the ether after death.” In my personal experiences, I feel this may happen upon rare occasions. During my three trips to Egypt, I recorded well over 100 messages. I would estimate at least 90% were of the invisibles who saw me, or Becky, my daughter, who spoke to us at that moment in time. When taping in historical locations each message needs to be evaluated. Does it show an immediate awareness of what is going on, or could it be a thought or emotion of the past? EGYPT ANYONE? Two outstanding trips to Egypt are planned in the near future. Although neither leader promises an opportunity to unearth a new pyramid, I don’t think you’d be disappointed with either trip. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Zecharia Sitchin is

leading a group that he calls the “Peace Tour” to Egypt-Sinai-Jordan- and Israel from Jan. 31 to Feb. 14th. Sitchin is the author of such books as: The 12th Planet, The Lost Realms, and Genesis Revisited. He would be an ideal person to travel with while visiting those countries. The brochure sounds extremely interesting and I believe your two week journey would be an unforgettable experience. The all inclusive cost is: $3,155. For complete information call: 1-800-888-5509 or 310-568-0138. FAX Number: 310-568-0246. The other tour is with North Mountain Artisans, led by Larry Arnold. The date is: March 24-April 7, and the cost is $2,489. Only Egypt will be visited. The last time I went to Egypt, Winnie Peters, MD AA-EVP member, went with me. We traveled with Larry and his group and felt the trip was worthwhile and that good value for our money was received. For details write Larry: 1024 Miller Lane-Harrisburg, PA-17110. A MACHINE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE BEYOND J. J. Snyder, CA AA-EVP member, sent me a segment from the book: Strange Prophecies That Came True by Stewart Robb (Ace Books, 1967). Quoting from the segment, Robb wrote: “(while) Michael Ash, from Britain, was in New York, he told me he had visited a laboratory in Surrey, England to witness a new way to communicate with the next world. I asked him to write an account and he wrote as follows: ‘The setup was a radiation source in a lead screen. The radiations from this source

were being recorded by a Geiger counter onto a cathode ray oscilloscope, as a spiral tracing. The tracing consisted of a record of each pair of charges produced by the disintegration of the radiation source. The pattern was photographed and was found to be made up of short and long signals like international Morse code. The message was decoded by observing a slight scanning in which the signals at the start of a letter were of a slightly different duration than those at the end of letter. Anyone who knew international Morse could thus decode the signals recorded, and records were kept of the words thus produced. There was evidence of considerable education (although the person communicating could not spell very well). The information received was highly technical and had to do with improvements in the setup used and instruction to the user to be more attentive to certain details as the timing of his work. The user was being (treated) like a schoolboy, but he was one of Britain’s leading radar pioneers during the war and he received an O.B.E. The messages were signed M.F., making Michael Faraday, a famous physicist who died in the 1900s, suspect as their possible source. The messages came in at the rate of near 8,000 words a minute, as each photographed spiral contained great numbers of dots and dashes.’” OUR TAPERS REPORT Richard Berman who was a member while living in AR, then dropped out for five years, has rejoined us and now

lives in TX. In his renewal letter, Richard wrote: “My departed father has called me on the telephone and said my name but no further conversation. He, however, has come through on the tapes.” Lisa Butler, KS, wrote: “Often I feel I’m out here alone, a little crazy to be trying to talk to the spirit world, and then the Newsletter comes and I know I’m not alone. There are others! I (think) we have to write to you about our limited successes. We might think that they are limited, but they may encourage others. Some of the things I’ve been taping lately are: “We’re in a second system”; “We’re proving we aren’t dead.” “Learn how to follow your heart.” One night I turned out the lights while taping and the first message that came through was very clear. They sang: “We don’t want a séance.” Art Counts, MD, wrote that he taped about an hour after a visitor left who had come to listen to his EVP voices. On playback he heard a number of tonal sentences, two different loud, clear Class A voices. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Some of the messages were: “That’s my voice”. “This is seven o’clock”; (it was really about 4 P.M.) “No, it isn’t”; “That’s your voice.” Terry Cox, our new member from England, focuses on photographic anomalies, some of which have been published in Japan. He has recently begun taping and wrote: “The voices

on open mike are coming every few seconds. I’ve had ‘dead’ relatives addressing me by name, practically every day now, and I am in contact with a station call sign FB which I am told are the initials of the operator whose first name is Francis.” Monty Hearon, OR State Coordinator, wrote after receiving the Autumn Newsletter. referred to the segment I wrote on page 4: “Tape Alert!” In this, I alerted the reader about the deterioration of voices on cassette tapes after a period of time and that important messages should be recorded again as soon as any loss in quality is noted. Monty wrote: “I can completely confirm the fading of voices after a period of time. I was telling a skeptic about my most convincing messages and he wanted me to put them on a tape and send them to him. Then he would believe me. When I put those old tapes on the recorder, not a sound came out! I had written down all the messages that were originally on the tapes, and sent them to the skeptic. No comment, of course, from him!” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, has bought a large crystal at the local ‘rock shop’. Although she has not connected it yet to her system as David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator has, she has taped messages referring to her new acquisition, such as: “Pretty crystal” (from Betty Evans, deceased AA-EVP member, and close friend of Clara’s). “Beautiful crystal”, “Crystal above your picture”,

(meaning the mirror) and “Crystal preserves energy, Bill.” J. J. Snyder, CA, has followed my suggestion to tape while sitting in his psychomanteum. He wrote: “Have received a number of voices, some soft and some quite loud. The thing is though, none are clear enough to positively identify the words spoken, although I can give my own interpretation to a few, which may or may not be correct. There’s no doubt whatever in my mind that these are etheric voices, because I am very careful to remain extremely quiet during the 10-12 minutes I tape. Also, on one occasion, I felt a tap on my shoulder just as I shut off the recorder.” Pierre Thery, a French member, wrote about some of his interesting taped results. One time Pierre asked what kind of question the other side preferred and the Class A reply was: “Questions of kindness”. When he played it for an aunt later, she heard nothing. Pierre also didn’t hear it, but later on the tape, there was the message! Later, it was again on the original place on the tape, so Pierre had it twice and the next morning the same voice spoke on the tape: “Questions of kindness”, which made the message appear on the tape three times instead of the original once. Pierre wrote: “There is always a lesson laying behind that sort of thing. In such a case, I understood that our friends had wished to remind me of the necessary trust I failed

in, when I didn’t simply accept the proof produced to convince the aunt.” TRANSLATION FROM TRANSCOMMUNICATION JOURNAL We are indebted to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, who translates various German T.C. Journals for us. The above named journal is published by Ernst Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, and his colleaque Dr. Delavare. An entity by the name of AARON has mediumistically communicated the following: “Mind, thought and imagination is the fountain for all forms. In our world spiritual energies are sufficient. The stability of our world created by mind and spirit, contributes to the stability of your world. Conversely, the instability and destruction of your world will lead to a change of our world. There will not be the familiar forests and streams in our world, should they have been destroyed or disappeared on earth. This is the primary reason why the basic matrix of spirit will turn against you, should your efforts for abundance and self-realization 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena be reversed and replaced by reduction and destruction. When this happens, a transformation of your world will begin and the old will be destroyed for a new beginning. “God is not thought. He is the power that gives life to everything. He is more real than any reality because he makes experiences and realities possible to begin with.” Hans also translates the German VTF Post newsletter. In a recent issue, the computer is described as a visual acoustical support (voice enhancement)

of the tape recorder. For instance—the “viewing of voice samples on the computer screen”—the “clarification of voices by filtering out background noise”—the “manipulating (stretching and compressing) of voices.” In issue 4/94, a presentation of THEO BLEITGEN given at the Fulda conference enlarged on this description. Although he still sees the audio tape recorder as the common tool for ITC he draws a promising picture of the computer’s capability as a digital audio recorder. The computer with an audio module can receive analog sounds and signals and convert them into digital information, then safely store it for further enhancement. The computer allows mixing sound sources in totally separated stereo channels. All steps can be viewed on the computer screen. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Congratulations are in order for Bernard Baker of AZ who was elected to the office of Vice President for the National Spiritualist Association of Churches. The election took place at the 102nd annual convention in October 1994. The 1995 NSAC will be held the first full week in October in Phoenix, AZ. In his letter in which he rejoined the AA-EVP Richard Berman included flyers of some of the things he is doing. He is holding a series of twelve monthly seminars based on PSI subjects. The last part of Jan. he is conducting a one day seminar on Animal Psychic communication. Edna Drake, Canada, sent me the fascinating book: You Are Becoming A Galactic Human by Virginia Essene and Sheldon Nidle. It tells about the great

positive changes coming to our planet within the next year or two. Edna wrote that she has been busy ‘networking’ in Vancouver telling others about the progress TC is making. She said her work is being made easy by Spirit helpers on the other side. Edna has been nominated to be a member of the Board of Directors of the local Psychic Society. She will assist the president and other members of the Board to further spiritual knowledge and give proof of survival by electronic means. In a phone call, Bart Ellis said that he was scheduled to be on Dateline, N.B.C. January 6th, Originally planned for Feb. 14, N.B.C. was so pleased with it they aired it early. Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote that her seminar in Scarborough, England went very well. In addition to her lecture she played EVP tapes and showed pictures of ‘ghosts’ that have come through television. Robin Foy has a center in Scole that investigates many areas of PSI. Tina and Robin worked together at the seminar, each taking half of those in attendance. At mid-point they switched groups. Jonathan Marten of England sent me information about his establishing the Transcommunication Society U.K. They have held several meetings and are gathering information for the publication of their first newsletter. Jonathan called me in November asking for permission to quote from our AA-EVP newsletter for his own newsletter. I was happy to give him this. The formation of his group earned mention in the Psychic News

newsletter. A WORTHWHILE FEBRUARY CONFERENCE Paul Johnson, FL AA-EVP member, will be holding his 16th annual conference in Orlando, FL from Feb. 3- 5. The title of the conference is: Insights Into Prophecy and Revelation. Paul’s conferences, which I have attended and taken part in, are always very well planned with excellent speakers and workshop leaders. For details call Paul at: 904-288-6607 or write: 14345 SE-l03rd Terrace-Summerfield, FL 34491. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena BOOK LOOK Bruce Dudley, AA-EVP member and neighbor, stopped by the house after reading the Autumn Newsletter, and recommended I read: Hyperspace by theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. The Annapolis library ordered it for me and it was a challenging and interesting read. At one point, Dr. Kaku wrote: “Parallel universes may be graphically represented by two parallel places. Normally, they never interact with each other. However, at times worm-holes or tubes may open up between them, perhaps making communication and travel possible between them. This is now the subject of intense interest among theoretical physicists.” THANK YOU! I appreciate the many cards and wonderful notes from you that came at Christmas time. They touched a warm spot in my heart and I am grateful to you for your thoughts and best wishes. I will mention one or two briefly. “Receipt of your newsletter is one of the brightest spots in my day. I read it from cover to cover. Since I will be 70 at my next birthday,

what lies ahead is a lot on my mind. Your book Voices and your newsletters have been a source of great comfort to me.” Bertha Whitney, R.I. FINAL THOUGHTS The following affirmation was written by Keli Adams, CA AA-EVP member, and sent to me at Christmas. It seems appropriate to use it here, at the end of our first 1995 newsletter. “Fear Not Physical Death” “To dance freely without the burden of a cumbersome body, To hear the celestial music clearly without the limitation of tiny ears, To see the luminous sound without the narrow-sighted vision of pinpoint pupils, This is ecstasy far beyond the comprehension of our shackled human imaginations and the true celebration of life and All That Is.” Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 24th. May 1995 be all that you hope for with dreams realized for you and those you love. ODDS AND ENDS Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1995 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Now we are thirteen! Our Spring NEWS is always our anniversary edition, a time for at least a small celebration. Who would have thought, with our first newsletter mailed in May of ‘82, that we would reach this age? “If we’re lucky,” I

said as I mailed it to twenty-five people, “we may have a life of four to five years.” Instead, we’re still here; we’ve become a teen-ager! Teen years are usually difficult. If the stormy years can be weathered with love, with as much understanding as possible, parent and child normally emerge as strong, wiser, worthwhile individuals. In addition, thirteen has the connotation of being an unlucky number. It exists in peoples’ minds, along with black cats, walking under ladders, and opening an umbrella in your house. How about the AA-EVP? Will we develop growing problems? Will we battle internally or with those who question instrumental communication (ITC), at least in some of its aspects? Will the number thirteen prove unlucky for our Association? I hope not. I am not afraid of confrontation; I have fought many dragons in my life. Frequently I have stood alone. None of that bothered me as long as I felt I was fighting for the truth as I knew it. However, one doesn’t always know the truth for sure. We can find bits and pieces of evidence and putting them together, it may look like proof but one cannot know without any question that it is unequivocally the truth. My nature is always to give others the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps that is a weakness on my part, but I would far rather have trust betrayed, than accuse anyone unjustly, even if accumulated evidence points in a different direction. This doesn’t mean I’m gullible;

just the opposite—for also, by nature, I’m quite skeptical about many things. None of this means I’m afraid to consider other ideas, and then make a considered judgment, which could reject once held opinions. Why bring this up in our anniversary issue? The future of ITC rests with all those involved in the field whether as active participants or observers on the fringes. How about the future of AA-EVP? Who can say? As long as I feel there is a need for AA-EVP, as long as I feel we can offer help, I want to try to continue. In the last 3½ months, I have spent many hours in the local hospital and an Annapolis nursing home. There is a woman across the hall in the home, who pleads in an unending litany, “Save. Save.” There are dozens propped in reclining chairs, or lying in comas in hospital beds kept alive with tubes, who have lost all hope. I look at these people, almost daily, and my heart cries. There is nothing I can do for them. They have lost everything, and I grieve that the end of their life has brought them to this. Lives once touched with hope, with joy, with love and laughter, and now it is all gone— there is nothing. For those more alert, for the group of three women who sit by the door in their wheelchairs and watch for my arrival, with smiles and a cherry “Hello”, all I can do is stop

and chat for a moment. That seems to help and I am glad. So I think back over the thirteen years, to the many we have helped and to whom we have given hope for themselves as well as their loved ones who are no longer with them. I know this is a good thing for the help we have given, the comfort we have brought, has been honest. In the time ahead, however long it may be, I hope we will gain more wisdom. I want the AA-EVP to continue helping others to face today and whatever the future might bring. No matter what happens; whatever doubts may arise in the months ahead, let no one ever doubt for a moment that transcommunication IS: it’s real. That is our joy. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ROLL OF HONOR-AA-EVP CHARTER MEMBERS At the different summer camps I directed (Girl Scouts; Camp Fire girls; my own private camp) we used to sing in rounds at campfires: “Make new friends but keen the old. One is silver, the other gold.” The following fifteen people deserve special recognition, for they joined us in 1982, our first year, and are still members. They could be considered our ‘gold’ friends. 1. Ben A.-TX 9. Dan McKee-IL 2. Virginia Bates-VA 10.Shirley Moorman-PA 3. Rosemary Bennett-FL 11. Winnie Peters-MD 4. Richard Busse-IN 12. Ellen Pugh-WA 5. Lusie Fuchs-Germany 13. Martha Sherman-AR 6. Blanche Larrigan-WA 14. Walter & Mary Jo

Uphoff-WI 7. Clara Laughlin-VA 15. Bill Weisensale-CA 8. David Lothamer-CA EVP AND SURVIVAL Robert Camburn, PA AA-EVP member, although not a charter member of the Association, comes close. He joined us in January 1983 and has been a faithful friend, renewing promptly, ever since. Robert has contributed many eloquent and thought provoking pieces to our newsletter over the years. The following is an example. “Isn’t it odd perversity that the matter of survival makes us most skeptical of evidence for it! For many years from my early days I wanted to ‘know’, but only with the advent of EVP and some NDE accounts, did I find the evidence incontrovertible. The Flint tapes and Neville Randall’s associated book concerning their production was also very important evidence. Although it was a deterrent that the many messages via mediums seemed to differ in details of other-world conditions, that can now be understood as due to the spiritual level of the reporting discarnate. Perhaps the increasing presence of the examination of the subject by the media will arouse the world to the fact of spiritual realities and the implications for the saving of our drastically threatened world.” TESTIMONIAL SUPPORTS PARANORMAL RECORDING Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, sent me a clipping from Psychic NEWS (12/24/94) published weekly in London. It describes how in the 1980s Albert Tisch attended trance sittings with Raymond and June Smith, the medium’s daughter and a friend in Sussex. Albert said: “In our presence one evening, the deceased Oliver Lodge, asked

June to place a new, empty audio tape into Ray’s hand while he was in trance. After a few minutes this was put into a tape recorder and when June played it back, there were several minutes of Oliver Lodge’s voice giving a lecture. “On another occasion, June was told that a piece of music she always played to help the medium enter trance, would be briefly erased. When we played the tape back, it was completely blank, but when we replayed it, it was back!” The couple was told that this was done by bending the subatomic electrons or impulses on the tape. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I’M O.K. YOU’RE O.K. At times by letter (usually unsigned), phone calls, or even in personal conversation, I’m told I’m doing the “devil’s work.” Associating one’s self with anything that suggests the paranormal will, in the minds of some, lead the individual straight to the pits. Obviously I don’t agree. Since our main reason for being is to help others, to show objectively that life continues beyond the grave, I firmly believe what we do is good; is even blessed by those beyond. Perhaps you’ve experienced the same thing with friends and family questioning your interest in psychic phenomena. The Bible is frequently quoted to ‘prove’ the point that I am assisting the devil in his nefarious activities. Now you can prove differently. You may want to read some of the following biblical

passages. They show a knowledge of and support for various activities in the field of PSI. Space limits my listing the over 120 items from the Bible that was published by the Texas Parapsychology Association. This was sent to me by Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff. Trumpet Voice: Spiritual Gifts: Exodus 19:3-25 I Corinthians 12:1-11; 28-30 20:1-36 Ministering of Angels: Revelation 1:10 4:1 Genesis 21:17-20 32:1-2 Independent Spirit Voice: Exodus 3:2, 8-21 Genesis 3:6 5:1-33 21:17 22:11, 15 Deuteronomy 9:2-18 I Kings 19:5-13 Materialization: Genesis 3:8 18: 1-10 Exodus 24:10-11 Job 4:12-16 Apports: Genesis 14:18 Numbers 11:31 Joshua Psalms Mark Acts 5:13-14 91 16:20 4:31; 5:18,19; 8:26-30 Luke Acts 1:67 6:5; 8:5-40; 21:8 Spirit Guidance: I Samuel 3:1-21 Acts 11:12-15 Seances: Genesis 24; 46:2-4 Exodus 19:3-25; 20:1-26 I Kings Psalms 3 19:6 28:24-28 John 20:19 Revelation 4:1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena There is a passage in the Bible about entertaining angels unaware. The above picture was sent to me by Keli Adams, CA AA-EVP member. She wrote: “This photograph was taken in the bedroom of a gentleman in Winston-Salem, N.C. who is physically dying of a terminal illness. He tells people that angels come to see him and so he took a picture one day to prove it. You are looking at the results. There are several figures in the room hovering above the floor and you can make out the heads and the gathers in the skirts. There are more in

the picture than you can see at first. Hold it slightly away from you and you will see more. Look at the floor also. There seems to be a rather large group of spirits standing there. I assure you that the film has been untouched and there was no damage to the film or camera when this was taken. Andrija Puharich LIBERANT The following notice was taken from the newsletter of the International Institute of Integral Human Sciences. “On January 3, 1995, Andrija suffered a fatal heart attack and fall at his home on the R J Reynolds estate in N.C. His family came from the Netherlands and his ashes were released into the Mitchell River by his son. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Dr. Puharich is best known for his research in Extremely Low Frequency magnetic fields and their effects on the human body, and for research of the paranormal, healing, and healers world-wide. He is credited with the discovery of psychics Uri Geller and Peter Hurkos.” WANT TO BET? Ladbrokes in London, the world’s largest bookie agency, has been betting against UFOs landing on earth in the next year. They offer odds of 250 to 1. Since 1976 people from all over the world—but mostly from California—have wagered nearly $200,000. The Unarious Academy of Science, with announced communication with inhabitants from the Pleiades, has stopped betting. Ladbrookes, however, is still taking bets. AN UNEXPLAINED SIGHTING Perhaps J.J. Snyder, CA AA-EVP

member, should take Ladbrokes up on their betting. J.J. who is a pilot and active in the CA air national guard, is familiar with all military aircraft. He has had more than one unexplained sightings of unidentified objects while flying. Quoting from a report he sent me, J.J. wrote: “Whenever I travel by airline, I try to get a window seat, because I love to look out on the clouds and sky and watch the ground go by. I was sitting in the rearmost right window seat of a Lockheed L-l0ll which was heading approximately west/northwest on a flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. “I suddenly saw below two circular bright, white objects, with no visible wings or tail surfaces, moving northeast at a very high speed. They were moving much faster than the fastest military aircraft would be capable of flying. (In addition) all the services now feature radar-absorptive paint, and are thus all the same dull color. Although these objects were flying together, they were not in a close formation such as military machines would be, but perhaps 3-5 degrees apart. As they moved away, they seemed to drift farther apart from each other. I watched them disappear in the distance and then looked forward along the row of seats to see if anyone ahead of me was indicating they also had seen the objects. No one had. Everyone was watching a Whoopie Goldberg movie.” Dr. Systems.” The system at the right was used by Peter Haerting,

an outstanding German taper. It was published in the “Transcommunication Journal for Psychobiophysics and Interdimensional Ernst Communication Senkowski, German AA-EVP member, is an editor of the excellent Journal. He wrote: “That although builders of the systems achieved good results with these systems there can be no assurance that other experimenters will get similar results.” He feels, as I do, that the personal factor in taping plays an important role, and is not necessarily transferable. We are grateful to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, for translating the article. TIDBITS We have mentioned crystals in the last two newsletters and how David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, using a large crystal wrapped in copper wire, had received two outstanding Class A messages from an entity who claimed he was from ‘outer space.” The messages themselves, are fascinating and thought provoking. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, bought a large crystal and is trying to replicate David’s 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena results. She wrote to Eddie Namerdy, a gifted medium, and son of Betty Evans (deceased AA-EVP VA member) and asked about using crystals and copper in taping. He “thought” about it, and received from the other side: “Crystal granules in copper foil, like tea bags. The size is relative—just as strong in reduced size—look at the mini-radios and TVs.” In VOL. 24, No. 11 of the Spiritual Frontiers Newsletter, there was a piece titled: “A Scientific Opening of The Third Eye.” Michael Persinger at Laurentian

University has many articles in parapsychological journals showing a statistical correlation between the variations in the earth’s magnetic field and the incidence of people reporting contact by relatives who have died. Recently Persinger has been applying magnetic field pulses across the temporal lobes of subjects while they wear opaque lenses. People report “a lot of visual imager… and think that there is a presence, that some entity is in there with them when the pulse is on,” Persinger stated. Diana Feldman, daughter of Eli Feldman, N.Y. AA-EVP member, was featured in the publication “New York Newsday-Manhattan Profile.” Along with her picture, it told about a car accident she’d had. She almost died and was rushed to the hospital and put on a respirator. Diana remembers floating out of her body to the ceiling and looking down at Eli. She says she felt how strongly he loved her. This brought her back to her body. After one year of rehabilitation she has fully recovered. For those of you who have ordered cassette tapes from me recently and wonder why you no longer receive them in an envelope marked: “Fragile! Cassette Tape(s). Please Hand Stamp!” the answer is simple. The post office is afraid of them. Over the years, I have mailed hundreds of cassette tapes. I always wrote on the envelope the above caution. No problem. Then, several months ago, one such package came back with a printed statement taped on the envelope from the post office. It said: “ALL ODD

SHAPED ITEMS ARE PROHIBITED IN LETTER STYLE ENVELOPES. THEIR PRESENCE COULD INJURE EMPLOYEES AND DAMAGE EQUIPMENT.” When I complained at the local post office about the matter a man standing next in line, looked at me and said: “You must have had some hot stuff on that tape.” I nodded at him and smiled while thinking: “If you only knew!” A CHRISTMAS MORNING PHONE CALL I will quote from a letter received from Charles Burtch, PA AA-EVP member. Charles wrote: “It was Christmas morning and I was still in bed thinking how I dreaded facing another Christmas alone. Suddenly the telephone answering machine on my night stand began to record but The Phone Hadn’t Rung. It stopped after 5-8 seconds and the message indicator light began to blink. I pushed the replay button. The tape ran but no message. The telephone maintenance department was totally baffled and had no explanation. Perhaps you or another member can help. I firmly believe my deceased wife or a friend was offering a Merry Christmas and the assurance that I wasn’t really alone.” OUR TAPERS REPORT Roddie Ruth Bowers, TX, attended a seminar led by Raymond Moody and George Anderson, the famous psychic/medium. She took along her portable tape recorder and taped the readings in the group discernment Anderson gave at the end of his talk. At one point, he said: “And they step aside”, meaning the one spirit group left and the next was approaching. At that point, an EVP message came through

on Roddie’s tape. It was: “Thank you Mom”, in Class A quality. We both feel it was one of Roddie’s deceased children thanking her for what she had done for them. Lisa Butler, KS, is an animal lover. During the Midwest floods, she kept asking about the animals in her recording sessions because she was concerned about them. One night during her taping, they told her to stop asking about the animals, as they were: ALL RIGHT!” Another time she and a friend were trying to care for a small bird that had fallen out of its nest. When it died, Lisa wrote she felt “devastated.” That evening she asked her spirit contacts what she could do to help, now that the bird had died. A female voice replied: “Release and remember.” Lisa wrote that some of the messages that she wished she knew 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena more about are: “We hope we’re on Saturn.” “I work on the main teleporter out.” “I’m on a spaceship.” “I want a phase free channel.” Art Counts, MD, “continues taping daily. He frequently receives his own name, and the names of others known and unknown to him. Normally, at the start of his taping, he gives the day, time, date and his name. In the middle of February, he also mentioned there was going to be snow that day which would change to rain. On tape playback a clear voice said: “It will

freeze.” That is actually what happened, but Art stresses he had not mentioned the word “freeze” in his introduction. Terry Cox, England, wrote that he has been asking the other side just how they communicate with us. He commented: “It would appear they use some form of apparatus like an artificial throat. The means is not clear as yet, but one recent message said: ‘Raudive has a throat.’ “I was puzzling over this”, Terry wrote, when Raudive spoke: ‘I don’t smoke Terry!’ This put me on the possibility of an artificial throat.” Carol Barron-Karrajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that for the past year she had been trying to get a friend by the name of Bonnie, who had died, to speak to her on tape. Although Bonnie knew about Carol’s taping and Carol felt she should come through, she never did. “Then,” Carol wrote: “A few weeks ago, my daughter called. She’d had a very vivid dream about Bonnie, that she didn’t understand, but felt I should call Bonnie’s mother and relay the events of the dream to her.” Carol did and the dream had great significance to Bonnie’s mother and she was grateful for the message. Carol concluded her letter with: “Shortly after, I got a message on tape in a man’s voice saying: ‘Bonnie loves you.’ So it seems Bonnie got through to my daughter via a dream and yet couldn’t come through, herself, on tape. (It’s such a mystery).” Dale Sizemore, N.C., wrote that he has finally

had a breakthrough. He said: “I have begun to receive a few faint Class C voices, mainly: ‘Help,’ and ‘Help us.’ Dale said he is going to try to establish a more regular time and routine for taping, and hopes for improved results. VOIXS D’ ETERNITE My book: Voices of Eternity is doing well in France. It has been chosen for one of their book clubs, according to my agent. In March, my friend Monique Simonet of France, who wrote the foreword to the French edition of Voices, wrote that she had received a letter from a woman who lives in Grenoble, France. She had received my book as a Christmas present and wrote to Monique: “Would you please tell Sarah Wilson Estep, my gratitude for the book she wrote. This book is for me like my Bible. Since Christmas, I begin to make contact by tape recorder. All that Sarah wrote is exact in the lest details. I ask you to send to Mrs. Estep my warmest thanks.” OUR MEMBERS PUBLISH Some of our members are also busy writing and publishing. Robert Camburn has had two pieces published lately. The February ‘95 issue of FATE chose his letter as “Letter of the Month.” Robert’s topic was “Tremendous Revolutionary Changes in Human Culture.” He also had a poem titled: “Cathedrals”, which was published in a Spiritual Frontiers Newsletter. My neighbor, Bruce Dudley, has completed a non-fiction book about baseball. This has been accepted by an Ohio publisher. Paul Johnson, FL,

had a major article published in the Fall 1994 Spiritual Frontier Journal titled: “Eastern Spiritualism And Mysticism.” 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Rozella Roberts, CA, has published three books and appeared on numerous radio and TV programs. She also tapes voices of the invisibles. Her books and tapes are for sale and she can be contacted through the cross-country list. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ, Vice-President of the National Spiritualist Association, as well as the Curator of its Bureau of Phenomenal Evidence, wrote that his organization would hold its annual convention in October. He said: “If any of your members have had experiences that they would like to share for use at the Oct. convention, I would be happy to hear from them.” Bernard’s address is: 1710 E. Bell de Mar, Tempe, AZ 85283-4114. Tina Laurent, Wales, in a phone call said she is helping university students prepare a ½ hour video on EVP. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, called and said he was presenting a 3 hour workshop and demonstration at one of Paul Johnson’s outreach meetings in FL in March. He also gave an EVP demonstration on March 2, at the Sarasota Ham Radio Club. TELEVISION AND TRANSCOMMUNICATION A N.Y. TV station went to Germany to film Ernst Senkowski and several other well-known tapers in the field. This was shown over many stations in the northeast in early Feb., during a three night period.

It was titled: “Voices From The Beyond.” Mark Macy, CO. kindly sent me a copy of the program, and I thought it was well done. Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member, sent me a clipping from Time Magazine that described the program. The Sightings program in which I had a part and which was aired in November, was again shown April 2. Tim White, the host, said it had received more letters after it was first aired than any other show to date. COUNTING NOSES Our anniversary newsletter is always a time to take a special look at membership. As far as total numbers is concerned we have just about the same now as a year ago. Men still outnumber women, as they have each of the previous 13 years. Currently we have 33 more men than women. Forty states are represented and we have members in 13 foreign countries. Portugal joined us in February; the Netherlands and Singapore both joined in March, and so we are happy to welcome them. The AA—EVP is truly international! CONFERENCES Spring and Summer is the time for many groups to hold conferences. Most of them are worthwhile and should hold interest for a number of our members. All programs are open to the public that are listed here. Association for Past-Life Research & Therapies, Inc. is holding a conference in Washington, D.C. from May 4-7. Raymond Moody and Brian Weiss, are two featured speakers. For a brochure, write: APRT, P.O. Box 20151, Riverside, CA

92516 or call: 909-784-1570. Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship is holding its 39th annual, conference at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA. The title is: Pathways to Expanded Consciousness. Date--May 18-21. This is immediately followed with the annual conference of The Academy of Religion and Psychical Research. Same location, date: May 21-23. The conference topic is: Personal Survival of Bodily Death. For information write: SFFI. P.O. Box 7868—Philadelphia, PA 19101. 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Paul Johnson’s Spiritual Advisory Council will hold its 21st Anniversary Conference from June 3-8, at Lake Forest College in IL. This is always an excellent conference, held in beautiful surroundings. The focus of the conference is: Insights Into Healing and Prophecy. For a brochure, write to Paul 14345 SE 103rd Terrace--Summerfield, FL 34491. January 1, 1995 On January 1, my husband, Charles, had another massive stroke. As I rode with him in the ambulance, the medics administered oxygen and struggled to keep him breathing. Tests showed that this, his second stroke, was on the opposite side of his brain from the first one. For ten days he shooed in and out of a coma, battled pneumonia, and severe sepsis. It was doubtful he would live. In the end he pulled through and was discharged to an Annapolis nursing home after 18 days in the hospital. The stroke has left him paralyzed on both sides of his body. He can’t walk, talk, or swallow, so is fed through a stomach

tube. The prognosis for much of a recovery, from his present condition is poor. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. NOTES ON MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORMS “Thank you for all your work.” Rosemary Bennett, FL “Your newsletter is great!” Philip C. MD “I do enjoy your wonderful newsletters.” Shirley Corney, N.Y. “Your newsletters are terrific.” Virginia Elmgren, IL Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 17th. ODDS AND ENDS Now that the AA-EVP has moved into its teen-age years, we can reflect for a moment upon the previous years when we helped bring comfort and light to others. Our focus, though, should be the future. We will continue to look for the truth, the light, determined to share what we learn with others so they, in turn, may know their own joy in their personal voyage towards the light. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1995 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Cartographers of the ancient world had a problem when they drew their maps. Many of them seemed to realize there was more to the world than what was known in those early days. This problem was solved by labeling what they suspected might be over the horizon with the words: “Here there

be dragons.” Today, the physical land mass and the oceans of planet earth have been well explored. Early adventurers into these fearful unknown regions came back with the good news: “We found no dragons!” In drawing maps of the heavens our current map makers are not much further advanced than the early cartographers. Yes, we can see distant stars reasonably well with powerful telescopes. We have instruments that measure the gases and temperatures of certain points in space. About the best that can be said of what we have learned is: “This area is incapable of supporting life.” (Ergo—no dragons). The stars, so unreachable, so unattainable, offer us mystery as the unexplored lands gave to early man. Instead of fearing we might find dragons there, we look upon them as a place of peace, of comfort, that would remove us from our sometimes horrendous problems of everyday life. We write songs and poems to them. The evening star is the depository for our nighttime wish. At the Annapolis nursing home that I visit almost daily, the activities director hung a chart that encouraged all residents to write where they would most like to go if they were able. One person wrote: “I’d take a shuttle star to heaven and enjoy the carefree moments.” How many of us would like to go along on the trip? I suspect there would be few empty seats for we are confident there would be no dragons waiting for us as we stepped off the

shuttle. We need no longer fear that we might find a physical dragon lurking wherever we might travel. There are no such ‘beasties’ anywhere. We are safe. While physical dragons have disappeared, along with the other chimeras of mythology, they are still very much a part of the inner life of most people. It is rare to find a person who is totally without fear of one nature or another. This can be a physical fear or an inner fear. The inner fears normally are the most crippling. Basically, we are afraid of the unknown, much like our early ancestors. We wonder what might happen, or not happen, if we do something--or fail to do it. We worry about our children; about others close to us. A new home, a new job, a new life. Do we dare take a chance? As a case worker in a welfare agency for a number of years, I learned many individuals would choose to continue to live in an intolerable situation, rather than venture out to a different life that offered other choices. There is a saying: “Rather the devil you know, than one you don’t know.” So it is with many of our lives. I dare say all of us have hidden dragons if we are honest and at least admit it to ourselves. Do we live after death? The majority of us working in the field of transcommunication, or who are interested and associate with those who do, have met that

dragon and hopefully conquered it by now. We need to find the courage to battle this dragon and any others that lie within our psyche. As you venture outward and forward, slaying them one by one, you may discover by so doing, that the dragon you so feared was a mythical dragon, not much different from those of long ago. May you be a brave dragon slayer as you triumph in your search for knowledge and for the truth. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena CODES A number of organizations that focus on survival after death, urge their members to choose a before- death code. This code is normally passed on to just the director of the group. When the member dies, the director informs his group and says: “Mary has died. Can you contact her and try to get her code?” Sadly, although many attempts have been made, no one has reported success. The AA-EVP tried such a project. It was announced in the Winter ‘86 newsletter and ground rules laid down. Briefly, each person who wished to participate was to send me a short cassette tape with their name, back ground information, and one or two brief evidential statements that they would try to communicate to our five member Survival Board after death. Such a statement could be: “This is Mark. I love Shirley.” Or, “This is Mark. I love fishing.” As soon as I was notified of the member’s death,

I would contact our Survival Board who would then get busy with their tape recorders. No one, including myself, would know what was on the tape. I would only listen to it, after one or more of the board members notified me with: “I think I’ve heard from Mark! This is what I taped.” If the information proved to be correct, I would immediately notify the surviving family member whom Mark had requested on his tape. Although I thought the idea was a good one, only one person sent a tape. After a year or so without further response, the project was dropped. Recently, a member who knew nothing about the survival project, sent me a code composed of letters and numerals he will try to send to me, and others, after his death. I urged him to choose another code using, as I suggested, a brief evidential statement. Letters and numerals appear to be the most difficult for the deceased to bring through an yet, that is usually the method chosen. A world renowned parapsychologist died unexpectedly about 15 years ago. He participated in a survival project where numerals were given that were supposed to open a combination lock. I worked on and off for about a week, trying to contact this man and I think I succeeded. He spoke clearly about his farm (which he did, in fact, own) and how much he loved it. He gave other evidential information, but no lock number was forthcoming. Those who

devised the test, unfortunately would only accept the correct lock number to prove that the man had survived. Each day I pleaded with him: “Give me your lock number so I can let Dr. X know I’ve heard from you.” My request was always ignored, or answered with “No!” Finally, after a week, he replied and you can hear the frustration in his voice: “I can’t remember. I didn’t think I’d forget. It was always with me!” Several months later the failure of the doctor to communicate his code was mentioned in a professional magazine devoted to PSI. Almost as afterthought, the author wrote: “Dr. Y, always carried his number with him in his wallet.” It is difficult for the ‘dead’ to communicate with us. Letters and numerals have no emotional impact. If you wish to leave a code (or a friend or loved one does) please encourage them to do so in a brief statement that has great personal meaning to them. CAN YOU CONTACT JOHN? In the Spring 1994 newsletter, I wrote about ‘Tom’ who had visited me. He’d read my book and now, terminally ill, he asked to meet me personally and have some questions answered. Over cups of coffee in my kitchen we had a good talk and before he left, I took Tom to my recording room and showed him my equipment. When he said he’d try to steak to me after his death, I gave him a small crystal I’d picked up in the

Egyptian desert during a trip to Egypt in 1984. I suggested he ask his wife to put it in his pocket after he died and take it to the grave with him. It was my hope the crystal would act as a beacon to draw him to me while I was taping and help him speak. In early May, I was notified that John (his actual name) had made his transition on April 24th. He requested that my crystal be placed in one of his pockets (which was done). In another pocket his wife put a gift she had given him that had great meaning to him. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I have tried to contact John upon several occasions and may have succeeded. What I am suggesting now to interested members who tape, is that you also try to contact John. In order to connect with the correct John, you can mention his visit to me in February ‘94, the crystal I gave John and which was buried with him. For evidential information try to learn what the gift was from his wife, that was also buried with him. For additional. evidential. information, you can ask for the name of his wife which is extremely unusual, and the three other names of individuals he wrote down the day of his visit to me and which he said he’d try to mention on tape. Let me know if you receive anything

and I’ll give you feedback as to whether it’s correct. Of course, if it is, I will immediately contact John’s wife, and I know she’ll be forever grateful. In the Spring Newsletter I mentioned that Clara Laughlin VA State Coordinator had bought a crystal (“as large as a man’s hand”) to use w her taping. She hoped she could replicate David Lothamer’s, CA State Coordinator, results. David, some months ago, began using a crystal and received several outstanding loud, clear, unusual messages. Clara sent me the above picture that shows how she is using her crystal. She wrote: “The crystal has been hooked up. Underneath the black tape is all copper wire. The right hand connector is plugged into the back of the radio (marked ‘ext. antenna’). The left hand wire is long and pulls out and up high to a rod over the window. The crystal sits on a shelf just above the equipment.” Clara mentioned that so far she hasn’t noticed any difference. She hopes once her unseen contacts become familiar with it, good results will follow. OUR TAPERS REPORT Anna Cely, TX, who joined us in June, has been taping less than a year. She feels she has been very successful. Although, since eye surgery in February, she believes she has heard negative messages, she also reports positive messages such as: “Happy,” and, “I love you forever and ever.” Anna thinks these words came from her husband, Tom. Beatrix Cuthbertson is another new member, and lives in

England. She wrote that even though she has never met Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP member, she has been a wonderful friend and has been guiding her all the way in her early experiments with EVP. She wrote: “Although as yet I have had no success with Radio ‘mush’ I have had many whispers using water running in the bathroom. I even heard my name called as “Trixie Cuthbert...” I sent Tina the tape and she heard it too, so I must be right!” 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin wrote: “When I think of the messages I have gotten over the years, the one that is always with me is one of the first from Tom! (Clara’s deceased husband). He said: ‘Don’t look back. It isn’t over yet. Nothing has changed.’” Another time, Clara asked the name of a murderer in VA and the answer came back: ‘We’ve told you three times.’ When he was caught and his name published, I had gotten the middle name but he had an extremely difficult last name I never would have gotten.” Tina Laurent wrote that during the second meeting with university students, who she was helping in their production of a tape for TV, she was taping in a churchyard near a haunted pub. She made a ten minute recording outside with a few of the crew. On playback, the back ground noise diminishes at one point, and very clearly, out of the

left channel, a man’s voice said: “I killed him.” Tina commented: “I played it back many times, thinking how very loud and clear it was. The next morning, it had completely disappeared! The silence is there, but no voice at all. What does it mean? Why should it disappear? I had gone over it many times and wrote it in the log-book.” INTERESTING THEORIES ABOUT RECORDED VOICES How do voices manifest on tape? Howdo we explain the often ‘quirky’ things that happen to them once we capture their voice, such as the example mentioned above? The disappearance (and at times reappearance) of the message a day or two later has been experienced by many and leaves us baffled. Many theories have been advanced about taped voices, but none have 100% satisfied most thoughtful experimenters. Jeff King, New Zealand AA-EVP member, enclosed a thought provoking letter with his renewal the end of April. I will quote from it. Jeff wrote: “Have been reading various books and research material on quantum physics and in particular quantum field theory. There are some exciting theories found within modern research, relating to the nature and activity of subatomic particles and how these particles can appear to an experimenter, depending on what his expectations are. This point has significance for the area of EVP, and it implies that at a pre-physical level, the manifestation of “ordinary” particles (e.g. those involved in electronics) can be theoretically influenced by consciousness… This opens the way for the development of

a possible plausible explanation of how spirits in other realms may be able to alter the characteristic of electrical impulses within an electronic device, such as a tape recorder, purely by an act of conscious will on their part. The realm of the quantum field, in which these changes occur, seems to be open to influence by conscious intention. In the quantum field, an act of creativity produces the appearance of particles within our dimension that may have a short or longer life... It seems likely that at the level of consciousness, probabilities are able to be altered, and this creates a spontaneous but directed occurrence within the field. This could manifest, for example, as an alteration in “random” noise, into the more coherent form of a voice print, as seems to occur in EVP… It seems likely that with these points in mind, it should be possible to start the experimental process of discovering a device within current technology, that is the most sensitive to conscious interaction at a pre-physical level. With this device we might be able to place it within existing electronics and obtain alteration of the electronics process due to conscious interaction.” A number of you have checked on your membership applications that you have a scientific background and are interested in working in research and development of I.T.C. I know we can count a good core group of engineers and physicists among our members. Here is an opportunity, following Jeff’s ideas, and adapting your own

ideas as your experiments progress, to develop a sensitive device, as suggested by Jeff, which will permit us to advance in inter-dimension communication. VTF JOURNAL Thanks are owed to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, who recently translated the German VTF Journal for us. One article, titled: The Parabolic Dish—Microphone—Reverberation Method held special interest. Quoting from it we read: “The recorder may be any type you have been using. We recommend 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena using (an electret type mike—with a small battery). To increase the efficiency of the mike, we couple it with a parabolic mirror which gives us a directional microphone or a reinforced limited area of pick-up, cutting out much of the room noises. The mike is connected with tape or rubber bands to the metal support and has to be properly centered. The reverberation unit changes the received signals into something that is closer to speech and more pronounced. The cavernous hail effect of abrupt sounds is a favorite depository for paranormal voices. The setting for the reverberation unit and adjustment of its delay has to be determined experimentally. Small changes will produce dramatic results. If distortion becomes audible reduce the microphone input level.” MIGHTY MIKE I mentioned a moment ago, that I found the article about a parabolic dish-microphone reverberation method in the VTF Journal, of special interest. I experimented with such a method, although somewhat different, nine years ago and found it brought superior results. In

the Spring ‘86 newsletter” (page 4) I described a new system I was using which I called Mighty Mike. I ‘designed’ the system in my mind, discussed it with my husband, Charles, and he built it, incorporating the necessary electronic components. The diagram is seen above, and the system is inexpensive and simple to build for someone who has any electronic know-how. Quoting from the Spring ‘86 newsletter, I wrote: “Six small microphones have been placed in a small housing which faces in towards a parabolic dish. All components are easily obtained from Radio Shack, or other good electronic stores. The mike elements are electret condenser ($2.69) each. Along with the mike, I am using two radios tuned to the same station on the airband for my sound source. The one radio tends to nullify the other. By turning the dial slightly, a beating sound occurs. The first time this technique was used when I asked if they were with me, a Class A voice answered: “On our parity.” One dictionary definition for parity is close correspondence which is an accurate but unusual way to describe what I was doing to the radio.” Using the six microphones, almost within the parabolic dish, helps set up a reverberation sound effect. This helps unseen voices come through in strong, unusual clarity. Of the dozens of experiments I have tried in order to improve voice reception, I feel, Mighty Mike was by far the best! I would encourage you to try this. If

you lack the electronic know-how to put together the system, perhaps you have a friend or family member who could do it for you. Let me know your results so I can mention them in future newsletters. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TIDBITS In the Winter ‘95 newsletter, I mentioned that the home and headquarters of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, located in Head Waters, VA had been destroyed by fire. Authorities were investigating and suspected arson. A number of people wrote or called and said how dismayed they were by the incident. One CA member called and said every time he thought about it he “broke into tears.” Clara Laughlin sent me an Associated Press newspaper clipping which states: “Fire at Noted Psychiatrist’s Home Wasn’t Arson, VA Sheriff Says.” In the article, the sheriff stated that the fire started in the center of the home on the main floor, in the stove. The stove was described as a large, wood-furnace type. Kubler-Ross told the sheriff there had been a fire in the stove the evening before her home burned and she believed it was out when she left later that day. It evidently was still smoldering, however, and ignited later. Tom Warmington, AA-EVP member, Ireland, sent me a newspaper article titled: “Wife’s Voice Recorded 10 Weeks After Death.” Norval Fyall, a retired caretaker of Dundee, Scotland has received a number of evidential messages from his wife, Valerie, since her death in May 1994. He

had never taped before her death but had read about voice communication. Deeply depressed, he ordered a Phillips variable speed tape recorder from Germany and used a radio set to 700 Khz, as suggested by other tapers. Valerie, and others have spoken a number of times in the last ten months. She calls him by his unusual name: “ Norval and asked if their son David was taking part in the tapings. One of the first messages from Valerie was: “How are you coping?” On the 24th of November ‘94, Norval taped the longest message of all on his cassette recorder. It lasted for 17 minutes and had Valerie’s voice as well as other female voices in the background, urging Valerie to speak. AA-EVP RECEIVES NATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION The end of April the AA-EVP was listed on Internet with a description of our group, its aims and my address. Letters and phone calls followed as a result. One was from an editor of the national magazine Entertainment Weekly. Several long phone calls from him were received. I sent information and the last two newsletters. In the June 2 issue, a reasonable write-up of the group (as well as Mark Macy’s CO organization) was given under the title: “Contacting The Dead On-Line—Networking Stiffs.” Additional phone calls and letters have followed from this, including one from an independent TV producer in England. The Hartford, CT newspaper Hartford Courant will do a feature article about the AA-EVP and I.T.C. this month. A RECOMMENDED

BOOK The following excerpt was sent to me by Hans Heckmann and was taken from the classic book on survival, titled: Here and Hereafter. There are several outstanding books in the series which I read seventeen years ago. I mention them in my own book: Voices of Eternity. The books by Anthony Borgia were ‘received’ by his close friend, R. Hugh Benson and published in 1958. They are out of print but can still be found in many second-hand book stores, especially those who have an extensive metaphysical section. And now let us proceed with our friend’s question. My friend of the earth recalls my account of the orchestral concert which I attended here, and he says that “if people play wind instruments in the spirit world, they must have lungs that can breathe air.” And so he asks, “Do people breathe in the spirit world? If so, are the lungs used for oxygenating blood?” Such reasoning is perfectly accurate. The spirit world has air just as you have on earth, and we have lungs in our bodies with which to breathe it. And it does “oxygenate” the blood in what would be the spirit equivalent of the process. Upon the earth the air you breathe will help to purify the blood. In the spirit 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena world we have good rich blood running through our veins, and we breathe the beautiful clean fresh fragrant air, but while your

blood undergoes the process or oxygenating, our blood is reinvigorated by the spiritual force and energy that is one of the principal constituents of the air we breathe here. Could one exist without it? Hardly. It gives us a measure of life-force just as it does you on earth. But you could not exist upon air alone. You must have food and drink. We do not need these two latter commodities, as you know, but we derive another part of our sustenance from the light of these realms, from the abundance of color, from the water, from the fruit.... NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Tina Laurent wrote that she and some friends are setting up a Psychomanteum as described in Raymond Moody’s book: Reunions. Tina has tried several experiments thus far, and although she hasn’t seen anything, she had an unusual dream following one session. A problem that had been troubling her was solved in her mind, when she ‘met’ this particular person and with whom she had clashed. Together they came to a resolution of the problem, and Tina wrote: “I felt great the next morning and know that my ‘experiment’ had an effect on my psyche to good effect.” Irene Maletsky, along with her daughter, Valerie Tjaden, are Co-State Coordinators for N.J. Irene wrote: “We did an Electronic Voice Program for the Ramsey Women’s Club. We were only supposed to speak for 45 minutes, but the members were so interested and fascinated with my tapes and Valerie’s pictures

that they kept us for two hours!” Fred McIntosh, VA, sent me a VCR tape recorded on May 8th, VE Day. It showed the ceremony at Ft. Myers, VA, which honored all the veterans of the Second World War. Fred sat on the platform besides President Clinton. A General introduced Fred and spoke glowingly of Fred’s brave feats as a fighter pilot, and wounds received during the war in the European theater. He also mentioned Elizabeth, Fred’s wife, sitting on the platform, in front of Fred, who served undercover in the Pacific during the war. Fred gave a stirring five minute speech, mentioning he was in Paris when hostilities ended. This led into the introduction of the President, who also mentioned Fred’s bravery as he began his own speech. From Ft. Myers, the President left for Andrews and boarded Air Force One to fly to Russia. Elizabeth had introduced President Clinton at the wreath laying ceremony at Arlington last Veterans Day. On the 8th, it was Fred’s turn to do the introduction! Ellen Pugh, WA, wrote: “Work in the Cancer Center of a large research hospital two days a week. See and hear much in such a setting, in the way of clairvoyance and clairaudience.” Deborah Swindel, GA is a new member. She is investigating the Lickskillet Farm Restaurant in Roswell, GA. She wrote: “I am working with the owners to capture their ghost on reel to reel tape. The dowsing rods go crazy in the attic and books fly

off the shelves in the office. It has cold spots and the adding machine types (AC) overnight, but there are no such letters on it.” TAPES FOR YOU Martha Sherman and her daughter Marcia Lynch, have donated tapes to us made by Wm Welch and Raymond Cass. These interesting tapes were sold at Harold’s conference in 1976. Welch was the outstanding taper in the U.S. in the 1970s. His book: Talks With The Dead, was published in 1975 and very popular. During the years he taped, until his death in 1976, there were probably less than six people taping in this country. Cass also needs little introduction. Living in England, he was regarded during his taping years as having better results than almost any one else. He still occasionally records. The thirty minute Welch tape has many good examples some Class A. He mentions some unusual situations such as voices appearing on tape, then disappearing the next day, only to return again months 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena later. A clear Class A German voice was taped without going through the recording head. Welch mentions the “breathing” that can be heard in the next recording. Since the tape is 20 years old, some of the words have faded with time, but it is still very interesting with some outstanding voices. The ninety minute Cass tape is very different from Welch’s. Most of it is Cass discussing the ‘state’ of EVP back in

the 1970s. Five minutes towards the end, he gives examples of voices he has taped. Enclosed with your newsletter, you will find an order form in case you want to order one or both tapes. There are a limited number of each available, so requests will be filled in the order received. Since the tapes were so generously donated to us by Martha, I am not charging for them. I only ask that you send a donation to cover costs of handling and postage. THANK YOU The many cards, letters, and phone calls that came after the Spring Newsletter, in which I mentioned my husband’s second massive stroke, were heartwarming. Charles remains in an Annapolis nursing home needing skilled nursing care around the clock. He is 90% paralyzed, can’t talk or swallow so is fed through a stomach tube 19 hours daily. The nurses try to get him up in his wheelchair for three hours a day. He can no longer read because his eyes are unable to focus on even large print. TV and our visits are his only pleasures. His mind has been unaffected, which in some ways makes it more difficult, for he is fully aware of what has happened, and that there is not much hope for his future. Your prayers and wishes for him, for all of us, are deeply appreciated. I hold each of your cards and letters close to my heart. ODDS AND ENDS Deadline for our Autumn Newsletter is Sept. 23rd. May

your summer be filled with happy, carefree days, surrounded by beautiful flowers. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1995 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint As most of you know by now, I am always looking for quotable quotes not the everyday kind that one sees on the back of automobile bumper stickers, or signs hanging in front of some stores. While they can at times be humorous, or even meaningful, I’m more on the lookout for nutritious quotes— the mind- sticking kind. Such quotes remain with me as I ponder their significance and perhaps find a place for them in my life.5 Usually in the Winter Newsletter, I share with you my new calendar for that year. This calendar is important to me and sometimes takes weeks, and visits to many stores, in order to locate. It must have a beautiful nature scene and a quote for each month, that will challenge my thoughts and which, in the end, I will accept or reject. The quote for October is a case in point. It shows bright red berries crusted in ice, while underneath are words from the well-known author, Henry James: “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t so much

matter what you do in particular so long as you have your life.” While I can agree with James’ first sentence, the second makes me shudder. It doesn’t matter how you live your life? What a miserable philosophy. I wonder how St. Peter greeted him at the pearly gates? I think if I’d been standing there as James approached, I’d have thrown away the key. A statement that strikes a harmonious chord within my psyche is attributed to the Indians: “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries, and you rejoice.” How different this philosophy is from James and yet both, while probably equally meaningful to those who espoused them would create completely different results in their personal life and the lives they touched. I think each of us must be totally aware each day we live, that the way we live those hours can have a profound effect, not only on ourselves but on others. It is a heavy responsibility. In over 60 letters received the last three months, I have heard from a schoolgirl of fourteen wanting help with a school project, a man incarcerated in a CA prison who had found my book in the prison library, a woman whose little dog had just died and she could hardly function because of grief. She was desperately seeking comfort that animals survive and we can be with them after our own death.

Another letter came from a woman in her 80s, who said she didn’t have much time left and could I give her hope for what she might find (if anything) after her death. Each letter, while answered differently, called for equal care. On a slightly different note, although there is a relationship, October is an important month for me. It was Oct. 24, 1976, that I sat down at my tape recorder and asked for the first time: “Is anyone here?” This opened up a completely new life for me that I have been greatly privileged to share with others. There has been much written about ‘walk-ins.’ For the uninitiated, this is the belief that when some people die, and before anyone realizes that person is ‘dead’, a spirit standing by ‘walks-in’ and takes over that individual’s body and mind. This is always done with the permission of the ‘departing’ person. Evidence, according to the believers, that when the person recovers, his personality has changed, usually for the better. I must admit that I am far from convinced about the matter. Instead, I believe each of us has the 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena personal capability to ‘walk-in’ to our own life, change it around and start down a different road that will bring joy and hope to others. Yes, live your life fully, but live it well; live it compassionately; live it with wisdom; and live it with as possible WHAT

MADE IT BEEP? At 1:15 A.M. last month, the phone beside my bed rang. It was the nursing home where my husband lives, calling to say an (incompetent) aide had rolled him out of bed. Although he was conscious, he was bleeding profusely from two cuts on his head, and the ambulance was taking him to the emergency room at the local hospital. When I rushed into the ER thirty minutes later, I found a doctor and nurse trying to stop the bleeding and attempting to determine if there was neurological damage. X-rays were taken which showed no skull fracture. As the doctor put in nine stitches to close the cut on top of his head, he said: “The cut is so deep you can see his skull!” Arriving back home shortly before seven, I called our two daughters to tell them about the accident. I also wanted to tell our son, Bob, but he and his family were at the beach on vacation. There was no phone in their condo and Bob had told me before leaving that if I wanted to contact him, I would need to call the local police so they could go to his condo and tell him to phone home. Since the accident turned out to not be life threatening, I decided not to involve the police, but I kept thinking: “I wish I could tell Bob.” For some reason, Bob had stuck his beeper in his luggage and at about 7:30, it began

beeping with an unusual sound. Bob was in bed and jumping up, saw numbers on the beeper screen that meant nothing. He dressed and said to his wife Terri, who was in the living room at the time and also heard the beeping, “Maybe Mom is trying to call me.” Bob went to the pay phone outside his condo and called. My thought is that my unseen friends, ‘knowing’ about Charles and my desire to tell Bob about it, somehow affected his beeper, impressing on him to: “Call home!” We might also wonder if ‘they’ somehow knew ahead of time what was going to happen and ‘directed’ Bob, without his being aware of it, to take his beeper, which made no sense. The distance between the beach and Annapolis is 150 miles, and there was no way any call from here would have activated the beeper. If Bob had left the beeper home, there would have been no sound and nothing to give him the idea he should call. So many imponderables! It is such incidents that make me feel my loving, unknown contacts are very near, totally aware of special needs and concerns. As a result, I also feel extremely close to them. I would be interested in knowing what you think about the beeper experience. Perhaps I can use some of your answers in a future NEWS. THE BENEFITS OF BACKGROUND NOISE Erland Babcock, MA, sent me the above titled article which appeared in the Aug. 1995 issue

of “Scientific American”. In his letter, Erland wrote: “The article will explain why noise is important when trying to make EVP recordings. Finally, a ‘scientific’ article on something we have known about for years.” Quoting from the article, we read: “During the past decade researchers have found that background noise is sometimes useful. Many systems, ranging from electronic circuits to nerve cells, work better amid random noise. “This phenomenon is known as stochastic resonance. A weak force coupled with noise can, on occasion, give enough energy to (the force—voices? S.E.) to increase the output. If the input (noise) falls 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena below a certain threshold, there is no output. Random noise can benefit faint signals (voices) in nonlinear systems by boosting them over the threshold (make the voices audible... S.E.) “The degree to which a signal benefits depends heavily on adding the right amount of random noise. If too little noise is added, the signal is not significantly boosted. Adding too much noise overwhelms the enhanced signal. There is an optimal amount of noise that conveys the most information (help). This finding—that noise is sometimes a bonus rather than a nuisance—has caused a recent burst of interest in stochastic resonance in almost every science where noise and thresholds are encountered.” The lesson to be learned from this article is that in taping voices, the best results are obtained by adding a ‘controlled’ sound source. As I have mentioned previously,

an interesting observation I have made is that the voices tend to take on the quality of the sound source used. THOUGHTS TO PONDER Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator wrote: “After taping for almost thirteen years, I am still very much in awe of the experience. It has fully confirmed my belief in an ‘afterlife’ and I am totally convinced of the existence of other dimensions, also. “However, I must admit to a slight ambivalence about it all! On a mental and spiritual level, I ‘know’ these things and accept them 100%. But on a physical level, at times, I find the concept still hard to conceive. That part of me is always trying to rationalize it into physical terms. I guess those of us who tape are the rare ones who stop for a minute to ‘look up’ and catch a brief glimpse of those on the other side as we reach out to them via our tape recorder.” Simon Okoronkwo, AA-EVP member from Nigeria, West Africa wrote: “In one of your newsletters you asked the question: ‘Why are we here?’ And you correctly said that the answer is unique to each person. I’m now over six decades of age and my experience during this period has convinced me that the world, as we know it, is a school in which we are all students. For this reason our Creator furnishes us with learning situations in abundance and the lessons appear in various forms so that the ‘syllabus’ can

be covered before we leave! Understandably, some lessons are hard, difficult and sad. Others are pleasant and happy.” DID JERRY GARCIA CALL? In early August, a man called who had read about my work in a New England newspaper. The caller, who had never been involved with taping, said he might have been the recipient of a call from Spirit, and because of its nature, thought it could have come from the well-known musician, Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia had died Aug. 9th, at a drug rehabilitation center from an apparent heart attack. The call came several days after his death. This man, who has since joined the AA-EVP, is a jazz musician and plays at a jazz club in weekly jam sessions. He is also a college professor of mathematics. In the long detailed report he sent, a few days after our talk, he gave permission to mention it in the newsletter but requested I withhold his name. Quoting from ‘Tim’s’ letter, he wrote: “I was speaking on the telephone to a close friend who is in tune and knowledgeable about the world of healing and many related areas. A thunderstorm was approaching and while we were speaking the power went out for less than 30 seconds. We ended our talk and checking my answering machine, I saw the light blinking as it is supposed to do when there has been a power failure. I pressed the ‘greeting’ button to listen to the message I had on

it. My voice is still on the tape with the words: ‘Leave a message after the tone’. Along with this there are three loud beeps followed by what sounds like keyboard, guitar, bass and drums playing a rhythmic riff which sounds like something from the Grateful Dead. Despite my efforts, I have not been able to identify the music which lasts about 12 seconds. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Some other things that I feel are relevant, and lead me to believe that this is an actual ITC phenomena are: There was a ‘strong contact field’ existing that involved high energy and harmony within the earthside people, plus a connection and strong spiritual rapport with the spirit side. Mary, with whom I was speaking, is one of the most spiritually connected people I know, and most of our conversations center around spiritual matters. We had both recently returned from the national convention of the American Association of Dowsers, which always produces for me the highest positive vibrations. I come away feeling overwhelmed with information and filled with loving vibrations. “After returning home from the convention, I jammed with some other musicians and there was talk about Garcia and his life and musical contributions. I have attended two Dead Shows. On August 10th, the day after Garcia died, he was constantly on my mind. That night I played in the jazz club’s jam session and wore my Grateful Dead T-shirt. Although I felt

I did not play especially well that evening, I was complimented by the drummer. That night as I was going to sleep, I remembered that in a video I have of the Dead, Garcia talks about how he could never tell while he was playing, whether or not it was good. I have used the argument from the video as an illustration of a valid deductive argument in my Logic class.” ‘Tim’ played the taped segment several times for me, that was taken from his answering machine. It is very clear. EARLY TAPERS On the last page of our Summer Newsletter, I described two tapes I had that were yours for the asking since they were donated to the AA-EVP by Martha Sherman. I only requested you make a donation to cover the costs of handling and postage. Many people requested the Welch tape and also the 90 minute Cass tape. In describing the thirty minute William Welch tape, I wrote: “During the years he taped, until his death in 1976, there were probably less than six people taping in this country.” Two of our members wrote, after reading this, to tell me they had been early tapers. Dr. John Crawford, of Orange, TX wrote: “During the early 70s, a parapsychology study group met at my home on a weekly basis. One of the projects we worked on was the tape recording of spirit voices. We started this in 1974. We continued taping for two more years and the group

folded from normal attrition.” Jean Lodge, of Chestertown, N.Y. wrote the day after receiving her Sun NEWS. “I was one of the original tapers; that would be in 1972 and Mr. Otto Binder was taping even earlier than that. I have his tapes. After he died, he spoke to me through my tape recorder.” OUR TAPERS OF TODAY REPORT It is always a special pleasure when I have heard from a number of members reporting success in taping voices the last few months. Perhaps their results will encourage some of you to begin a regular taping schedule. Jacqueline Colligan of NV, wrote: “My spirit family is still living in the mobile home, but come over my recorder at the trailer where I have been living the last sixteen months.” Jackie believes all of her contacts are earthbound spirits and “living life to the fullest. They don’t have the rigid lifestyle as we do. They eat, sleep and whatever—whenever. I have not knowingly contacted any other dimension—I tried, but gave up on it. If it happens it will have to be them contacting me.” Beatrix Cuthbertson, England, wrote: “Since writing to you and saying I had had no success with the radio mush, I have in fact had some limited success. The first was when I told the voices that ‘Saturday nights are very lonely’ and on play-back hear a paranormal voice speaking quickly say: ‘We’re with you.’ I 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice

Phenomena found this very comforting. I also had a clear whisper saying ‘T-r-i-x.’ (my pet name) which sounded like my Auntie who passed over in ‘93.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote she hadn’t been feeling well for about a week but still managed to struggle to the tape recorder several times. Her husband, Tom, spoke and said: “They take your blood,” which Clara feels showed they were aware of her illness. She also received in answer to a question: “Do you think of Annie, Clarisa”? and, “You can have a lotta fun with Betty.” These are two deceased friends of Clara’s and Betty was an AA-EVP member for a number of years. Jean Lodge continues taping after all these years. She mentioned the breathing that Wm Welch says you will hear on his tape. Jean wrote: “On one of the tapes I have, you will hear my Uncle Gerald taking a deep breath. Then say he is down by his river.” In a later letter, Jean wrote that her mother’s dog Penny, died shortly before her mother did. Soon after the mother’s death, she spoke several times while Jean was taping, saying “Penny! Penny!” Then, Jean heard a bark which she recognized as Penny so she knows the two of them are together. Jean commented: “I know when in Spirit, our loved ones have their beloved pets, their dogs and birds.” Dan McKee, IL and FL State Coordinator, sent me two outstanding tapes and a letter in Aug. Quoting

from his letter, Dan wrote: “The other side began mentioning Black Holes last fall. For some time it has become plain to me that there are two factions in the Opposite World—one friendly and desiring to be helpful and the others who will do all they can to discourage us. I am also getting much more indication that they are talking directly to me and they frequently use my name. They answer my question if they can; however, it is apparent there are a number of subjects they will not speak on. There has been so much coming through I hardly know where to start. Many are on the overlaps.” Some of the excellent Class A messages on the more than 150 examples Dan sent are: “He’ll come as God, and you’ll think he’s it.” “On ours they follow him, he was a Master.” “People opposite me, knows it.” “I am not Human.” “Some come to Earth. Those of the Earth will have expressed him Theosophy.” “God’s fellowship. It hits now the Earth.” “Time to grow enormously.” “You must not fear our look to Earth.” “For the man, he’s a mortal.” “The Incentive, the Inventive, now does he know there isn’t any error?” Dan feels this last message is vital in being a successful taper. A person must have a great deal of incentive to be willing to spend weeks, even months, trying to develop contacts with the other side. He must also be inventive, to a certain degree, in

experimenting to find the best way to cross the bridge to other dimensions. Once voices begin coming through, the taper will know there isn’t any ‘error’ in the idea that man survives death in an individual, conscious state. Ed Moore of Ohio, wrote: “After a long dry period of taping, I got two very good voices on tape. Using your ‘Sound Source Tape’ as my background sound, I received one voice which said, “Em.” The other was my name, “Ed.” They really surprised me after so long.” Ed’s experience is a good lesson for all of us. Many tapers run into periods when nothing comes through, even though they may make a short recording each day. It’s easy to become discouraged and stop. Ed also became discouraged, but he continued going to his recorder and eventually the voices returned. J. J. Snyder of CA, wrote that he has begun using an infrared light and a battery-actuated mike, so he hopes that there will be more positive results in the future. INIT Instrumental From September 1-4, Transcommunication) was held at Dartington Hall, Devon, England. The meeting, closed to the public and media, was attended by 15 individuals who are the world’s leading ITC researchers. They came from nine (International Network first meeting of INIT the for 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena countries. The purpose of the meeting was to form an international organization (similar to the United Nations) that would collaborate in bringing

information to the world about transcommunication. The meeting discussed ways to improve, expand, and protect ITC. Dr. Rolf Determeyer, Germany, and Mark Macy, U.S., presented similar ‘road maps’ of the spirit worlds; circles within circles, with the physical world at the outer edge and the ‘Source’ or ‘God’ at the center. Dr. Emde, Germany, agreed and said: “Our job is to do the will of the inner circle.” Maggy Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg, commented that “negative” researchers can get contacts of a lower nature, and it is important for those of us who are aligned to higher forces, to unite our energy. On Sunday afternoon, those in attendance formally agreed to found the international organization and named it INIT. Goals were set. Their underlying aim is to ensure that ITC spreads with an ethical/moral base as well as a technical one. This declaration, written in German and English, was signed by all. Many more items were discussed during the long weekend meeting and although there is more to accomplish, it is extraordinary how much was achieved during this time. Most of the countries represented at the meeting will begin operating within a framework in which they hope the international concept of the group of INIT will grow and strengthen in the coming year. Members will stay in touch with each other through a quarterly newsletter. Plans for the future are already being made. Credit goes to Mark Macy of Continuing Life Research, CO, who was instrumental in organizing the conference. His close

friend, Mrs. Alison van Dyk, supplied most of the funds for the meeting, assisted by Lifebridge Foundation and the Noetics Institute. As a result of their generosity, all expenses for each invited person were completely covered. I, also, had been invited to attend the conference as a founding member but had to decline with deep regret because of the fragile condition of my husband. Mark has begun a nonprofit organization in the U.S. for INIT, and will function as editor for correspondence, publishing a newsletter for the members. Hans Heckmann, because of his fluency in German and English, and deep knowledge of ITC, will be the secretary for the U.S. group. Dale Palmer will be the legal advisor on the board. I have been asked to be a board member , along with Dale, Hans, Mark and his wife. The five of us will work closely to further develop the aims of INIT. BUYING A COMPUTER FOR VOICE ANALYSIS Many thanks are again owed to Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, who continues translating the German VTF Journal for us, in spite of his very busy schedule. In a Journal published this year, there was an article about computers. Quoting from it we read: “The computer is not meant to be a substitute for conventional voice recordings but becomes a support. In addition to the acoustic control check through our hearing, the computer provides an additional visual control. Deciding on a particular system depends on the widespread software which runs under

DOS ± WINDOWS. Computers with processors 486 DX2, 486 DX or Pentium with 44, 50, 66, or 100 MHz which allows higher processing speed are usable for our purpose. “Attention should be paid to using VESA-LOCAL BUS main-board, because data transfer between processor and its periphery is much faster. “The tested programs, VOC 386 for WINDOWS, Blaster master and Blaster-Tools are available. Their disadvantages are a diminished signal resolution on the screen and disturbing crackling sound when cutting to tone data. “There is a difference in the program WAVE for WINDOWS. This system is distinguished by absolute quietness and cleanness when cutting the tone data, high resolution of details and good processing speed. Especially noteworthy is the ability to slow down the sound data several steps without sacrificing the original pitch. This has always been a primary demand for voice research.” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena There is a great deal more about computers from the VTF Journal translated for us by Hans, but I realize some of you are not computer buffs. If you would like Han’s entire translation, please send me a stamped, self-addressed business size envelope, and I will mail it to you promptly. VOICES--VOICES--VOICES In a later VTF Journal translated for us by Hans Heckmann, Hans reports on an article by Fidelio Koeberle who wrote: “Theo Bleitgen demonstrated in Cologne a sensational computerized audio filter system that is more effective than anything we have heard before. It is

possible now to clean ‘old’ voices we had disregarded because of disturbing background sounds and turn them into demonstration voices. Every serious experimenter during the years has accumulated perhaps hundreds of such voices that were put aside. From now on it is technically possible to resurrect them. There could be a flood of filtered old voice treasures that were cleaned and increased in volume. They never sounded as clear. This new filter method represents a quantum leap in our activity. In my opinion we have traveled half-way to the goal of always getting good voices.” OVERLAPS I imagine all of our members were impressed with Dan McKee’s Tapers Report on page 4. His voices are unique in many ways. All of them are on the reverse side of his tapes. There is little background noise as a result, and the message content is different from what most tapers receive. Perhaps you were puzzled by his use of the word “overlaps.” Dan explains overlaps in the following: “Of all the strange happenings in EVP taping, the changing overlap must be the strangest. When I finish recording. the tape counter is returned to zero, or the starting point, and the momentum normally carries the tape past so I have to run forward a few numbers to line up the zero again. As this is done each day, what is on the overlap soon becomes familiar. Often it is nothing, but sometimes a distinct voice will leave a message. One time a voice

stated: ‘All over the overlap, I need to make an answer.’ In most instances the quality is better than average and there must be something special about them as this is done without the recorder in the record mode. It is tricky at first to catch these overlaps but with persistence and careful record keeping I believe this is happening to others who tape.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Dr. Eli Feldman, N.Y. recently sent me the newsletter he publishes. It is filled with interesting anecdotes of letters received from well-known individuals in the field of PSI. Eli also quotes from many articles found in the tabloids that show evidence of survival. If you want to contact Eli, you will find him listed on your master cross-country list. In a phone call from Tina Laurent, Wales, and later a letter, she wrote the Welsh have a TV program called TOMORROW’S WORLD showing the latest and future inventions that will eventually change everyone’s life. They announced a MEGALAB 96 in which proposals for nation-wide participation are to be submitted. Tina and her brother have submitted a proposal for EVP participation. She sent me a copy of the proposal and it is excellent in detail and clarity. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Are you fluent in another language? From time to time, I am in need of a translator to translate a letter from a foreign country. This happens more frequently with letters from Germany and France, sometimes Brazil or Portugal. I must reply to

these letters that I am sorry I’m unable to read them (and don’t know anyone else that can). I always enclose our latest newsletter, which they probably can’t read either, but at least they know my heart is in the right place. Your duties will not be onerous. Perhaps once or twice a year, I might send a letter to you for translation. Please let me know if you are willing and able to officially be a translator for AA-EVP! 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TRUE ESOTERIC TRADITIONS Dale Palmer, IN AA-EVP member, has sent me his above titled book. It is in hardback, contains many pictures and diagrams and has an extensive bibliography and index. The book, 347 pages in length, took many years to write. Dale provides an excellent treatise of the numerous traditions found in civilizations around the world, from earliest days. His writing is clear, concise, and scholarly, but not at all difficult to read. Some of his ideas you may find controversial, but they will always challenge your own thinking and perhaps cause you to pause and reconsider at least a few of your long-held beliefs. Normally, the book sells for $29, but Dale very generously wants to contribute to the AA-EVP and make the book available to all. If you send me just five dollars ($5), and ask for his book, I will contact Dale and he’ll mail it to you. We are grateful to Dale

for his generosity. Deadline for our Winter NEWS is Dec. 29th. ODDS AND ENDS There are still a few of the Cass and Welch tapes left. Let me know if you want either or both. In a tape message one morning last week, someone told me: “You’re partly sublime.” I don’t really feel this way, but upon reflection I guess all of us are partly sublime. Let us try to live in such a way that in time we can become “largely sublime!” Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1996 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “The year is closed, the record made, The last deed done, the last word said. The memory alone remains Of all its joy, its griefs, its gains. And now with purpose full, and clear, We turn to meet another year.” Robert Browning The end is the beginning. The past, the present, the future are there; many mystics believe they exist simultaneously. Not many of us have the gift of precognition—and at times I think it would be more of a curse than a gift. David Bohm, one of the world’s most respected quantum physicists, says that the tangible reality of our everyday lives is a kind of illusion, like

a holographic image. Underneath it is a deeper order of existence that gives birth to all the objects and appearances of our physical world. He calls this deeper level of reality the implicate order (or enfolded order) and our own level of life as the explicate (unfolded order). Heady, confusing thoughts? Perhaps. You may feel they’re nonsense and not wish to involve your thinking with this. Some of the evidence Bohm and other physicists present is convincing, and while we can’t say: “Anything goes!”, it certainly seems that each person constructs his own unique reality. Let’s not concern ourselves further at this time with implicate orders of existence but look more at the explicate order. That, really, is another word for what we think has gone on in the past in our life, or is going on at the present--the results of which may possibly lead to the future. Browning expresses it very well for us and his poem could be meaningful to the life of just about everyone who reads it. Here it is, January 1996, a new year for each of us, whatever reality we choose to create. However, here again, we have to acknowledge that some religions and cultures say it is not 1996, but a different year altogether. Whatever, the large majority of us accept 1996, and even for those who don’t, they too have their own New Year, a time for starting afresh. So, 1995 is closed. We have made our record, our mark upon

it. Deeds have been done, words spoken. The memory of them wil1 remain with us for a long time, perhaps forever. We may regret some of our deeds and the words we spoke, or regret not having done other things, or spoken words of love and comfort more freely. We cannot forget the grief we experienced when a loved one died, was further handicapped, or a cherished project failed to materialize. There was joy though, throughout the year, perhaps more than we realized. I think at times, we become so immersed in personal grief and problems, that we fail to be open to the simple joys and delights which are all around us, waiting in our own personal. reality to be acknowledged. Has anything been gained? We may need to look a bit harder for this, than 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the joy we feel at a beautiful sunrise, or the smile of a stranger who crossed our path. I think, though, each of us has made a positive gain in the year concluded. It may seem we are more on the debit than the credit side, but gain and loss wear different coats and should not be balanced one against the other. Even withholding an unkind word is a gain. Trying to be more compassionate and understanding are all important gains. If we look, we’ll find them, and I suspect there are more than we thought. Yes, everything that makes

up the reality of our life is important. We take with us to the next world, what we are here. As we begin that life, it will be intimately connected to the life just concluded. Let us, as Browning suggested, be full of a determined purpose to meet this new year with the best we have to offer—and a bit more. Let us stretch the perceived limits we have placed upon ourselves, and go beyond. Konstantin Raudive CALLS AGAIN On November 7th, I made a five-minute recording. Upon playback, there was one Class A message at the end. A voice said: “Sadness.” This was evidential for the day before I had taken my husband, Charles, to the hospital for a test. The results were poor and great sorrow was felt by both of us. Later, on the morning of the seventh, I had to leave the house for two hours. Upon returning, I checked with the telephone company’s answering service and learned I had one call. I heard: “Dear Sarah, this is Konstantin Raudive. Thanks a lot for the engagement in ITC and its recent development. Our medical group here on this side is working on intertwaining (intertwining) lots of life and afterlife of Charles. I can assure you that every possible intervention will be made. This is Konstantin Raudive.” The message lasts for 40 seconds and the voice is identical to the voice that called me Jan. 27th, 1994. It is loud and clear and there is no doubt

about the interpretation. I shared the content of this message with 14 people in this country and abroad. Many wrote or called, some saying it was a ‘gift’ of love from Raudive to help ease my stress. He and his colleagues ‘know’ what is going on in my life and Charles’, and were aware of what had taken place the day before at the hospital. With this call, they reassured me that their medical group is working on ‘intertwining’ portions of Charles’ current life with his life to come and that he will receive all possible help—medically, emotionally, and psychologically after he makes his transition. The significance of the call is immeasurable. Those of us working in the field of survival research suspected that a person receives the help he needs after death so he can move on to a healthy and productive life in the next dimension. Now, we have an objective voice on tape telling us that this does indeed happen. Carolyn Sullivan LIBERANT Word has been received from the estate of Carolyn Sullivan, that she made her transition in September. Carolyn joined us in 1987, and contributed from time to time to our newsletter. After her husband died, she moved to N.C. She wrote about some of the unusual phenomena that occurred right before and after her husband’s death. She had no doubt that we survived death in an individual, conscious state. I am confident that she and her husband have been reunited and I know all

of us wish her a happy journey into the world beyond death. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena COMPUTER ASSISTED DIGITAL ENHANCEMENT Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. AA-EVP member, has called several times and sent me information on how the noise on tapes may be greatly reduced. Tapers are in something of a Catch 22 situation. Background sound is necessary if a fair number of loud, clear voices are desired. However, the background sound source that is used to help bring this about, ends up on tape, at times overshadowing the voices that speak. What to do? More and more research is being done to try to eliminate the noise as much as possible. Computer enhancement, which filters out at least some of the noise, is being used. Geoffrey sent me a tape on which he had put some of my voice examples, as well as his own. First, we heard them unfiltered, then filtered. It did seem to help at least in some of the cases. Class A examples were still Class A, but a bit better. The same for Class B. Class C were still mostly poor, but one or two were improved enough so you could tell what was said. Geoffrey wrote: “The Apollo Moon Flight of the 1970s, used a process called computer Assisted Enhancement to remove noise from radio voice communication with the astronauts. We’ve applied this to EVP with outstanding results, erasing most noise. A program called Cool Edit

does the same thing with EVP, and is compatible with IBM 386/486 PCs.” If you would like a copy of the Cool Edit program that was developed by David Johnston, Geoffrey will send it to you, along with instructions, for $2.00 U.S. or $5.00 outside U.S. (U.S. currency). Geoffrey stressed it will only work for those who have an IBM computer, or IBM compatible computer. You must also have a sound card and a mouse. Once you have tried the program and if you want to continue using it, you are honor bound to send Dave Johnston a check for his program. Geoffrey thought this might be about $30. His address will be given with the instructions. To receive your copy of the disk send ($2 or $5) to Geoffrey-l2 Meig St.- Rochester, N.Y. 14607. OUR TAPERS REPORT AA-EVP tapers are busy taping and getting results! A number have written in the last three months, reporting their success. I had the pleasure of meeting Jackie Colligan of NV and her husband Les, the end of October. She has many taped contacts with those who appear to be from an alternate dimension (not spirit) carrying on lives not much different from our own. In addition to this, unusual physical phenomena takes place in their home, and the home of her daughter. Some of Jackie’s taped messages are: “Earthpoint.” “Margaret says when you go to sleep you will see most of us. ‘Didn’t you Martha?’” “I waited too long to visit you

Jackie.” “You must be strong to want the other world.” “Rick’s gonna cook for them.” “Wilbur, I’m going to fish Sunday.” “That’s stupid. Take a bicycle to get home.” Jackie said in her letter: “Sarah, these people don’t seem any different from us. I feel just as comfortable with them as with my own family. They are involved with my family and their own.” Art Counts, MD, wrote that he continues to ask that a special guide be assigned to him to help with his taping. A soft, tonal voice told him: “Please keep trying.” They keep calling him by name, and one time said: “Speak out!” Terry Cox, England, wrote: “I have found a lazy man’s way of recording at night. I place a small voice operated recorder beside the bed which is started up for a few seconds by any noise such as coughs, and a talking clock which announces the hour. Many times a voice will peak during the sounds and once someone said: ‘Shut up. They are sleeping.’ It is amazing how they use an existing sound carrier to “carry” 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the voice. I used to get great voices on the snoring and wheezing of our old bull terrier who died recently. This has led me to believe a carrier of organic origin may be the best means of voice production.” Terry also wrote: “I would like to confirm the overlap voices of Dan

McKee’s experience mentioned in the last newsletter. I have often had this, including another message put on after another run-back.” Luise Fuchs, Germany, wrote that she has had contact with the spirit world through tape recorders and radio for 18 years. She is a member of a group that meets every other week to discuss metaphysical subjects. A member of the group died, after which her husband suffered from physical weakness. Luise went with a group of his friends, and using a dowsing rod in his bedroom, they measured a force field that they felt was from a deceased spirit. Luise was asked to try to get in touch with the spirit through her tape recorder. On tape playback, she heard a number of clear messages. Some of them were: “I really loved. I suffer from hate.” “Love is not…oh my wife.” “Lift the heart that loved so much.” “I am leaving tomorrow, going to demonstration tomorrow.” Luise wrote that the next day she asked if the spirit in the bedroom had been helped. “First, there was some very unusual music. You hear the toll of a clock on a tower, some noises such as the sound of the tattoo with drums and again the unusual music.” Luise believes this was the moment when the ghost left the house. She said a prayer, and the recording ended with the message: “He is going to heaven. He wants to teach. He gets order.” Two weeks after the tapings, they checked the

force field in the bedroom with the dowsing rod. It had become very weak. Adrian Klein, a new member from Israel, has been taping a short time, but is already having results. He has tried several unique experiments. In one letter he wrote: “As a direct consequence of your paper concerned with the reverberation effect, I immediately tried to introduce it in my work by using a big seashell (with its well-known background noise) and a double-opened ceramic container which allowed me to put in its hollow closed interior my microphone. This didn’t seem to bring results, but a few hours later, as I resumed taping in the usual manner, I was astonished to hear my parents opening the contacts in a powerful and angry voice: “Remove this awful shell! Take it out!” Tina Laurent, Wales, wrote she and six friends from Conventry met at the home of Dave who has a Spiricom (developed by George Meek, N.C.). They also made tapes together in Tina’s home and many voices came through, including: “We are Spirit.” Names were received as well as the name of a group member who died two years ago. Dale Palmer, IN, and his wife, Kay, stopped by my home on their way south to visit a sick friend. Dale and I made an early Saturday morning recording with good results. He called on several friends and also Konstantin Raudive. When he asked Raudive if he was here, a male voice replied: “I am with him.” Nine

counters later, a loud, clear, Class A voice said: “Yes, Raudive is here.” Later, still Class A, we taped: “I want to come down.” Gerda Slater, FL, wrote: “Still taping and getting many good messages.” - Congratulations to all of our tapers mentioned. May their efforts be an inspiration to everyone who has thought about taping, but hasn’t gotten around to it yet. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A GHOSTLY PICIURE? In her letter, Luise enclosed the above picture. She wrote: “This is a photo that I received through my video recordings in the same period of time. It may be the ghost.” THEY ANSWERED THE CALL In the Autumn Newsletter, I requested volunteers to translate the occasional letters I receive in another language. The member response was gratifying. Rita Golts, MD, wrote that her husband Uldis, would be glad to translate German, Swedish and Danish letters. Uldis grew up in Sweden and was a German professor at one time. Michel Granger, France, volunteered translate letters received in French. Dr. Adrian Klein, Israel, has offered to translate letters from French, German, Romanian, Hungarian, and Hebrew into English. Hazel Sarmiento, TX, wrote that she could translate Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, and French letters for me. Pierre Thery, France, can also translate French, German, Spanish and Italian letters. Grey Woodman, M.D. of Iowa, wrote he has a friend who would be willing to translate Portuguese letters into English for me. Many thanks to

all of you who heeded my call. I think we have all bases covered now. What a multilingual group we have! RECORDING VOICES FROM BEYOND by Roswitha Calnaido (Uldis Golts translator) A few weeks after Uldis volunteered, he had his first translating job. Roswitha Calnaido, a friend who lives in Weinstadt, Germany wrote she has continued her experiments (mentioned in the Summer 1991 AA- EVP newsletter). Interestingly enough, Roswitha feels it is also up to those in the beyond (as well as tapers here) to improve communication and that they should try to bring through loud, clear replies to us. She tells us what we need to suggest to the other side to help them do this, and she explains what the invisibles do to make us understand their replies when listening to the tapes. Her report was first published in the VTF Post 4/95 in Oct. ‘95. Her personal letter to me was in English and easily understood. However, her eight page report was in German. This was sent to Uldis and he promptly replied. He wrote: “I have summarized the salient facts and have translated verbatim her instructions to the Spirits.” Uldis did an excellent job but the report is still far too long to give in its entirety, so I will only touch upon the highlights. If you would like Uldis’ translation or the complete 8 page report in German, please send me a stamped self-addressed business size 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American

Association Electronic Voice Phenomena envelope. Calnaido’s approach is a unique one that seems to work. Please say if you want it in English or German. “Roswitha uses extraneous sounds with her recordings. In the one, she wobbles back and forth on her radio dial between two foreign radio stations. With “canned noises” she uses foreign speakers, German speech chopped up by a computer, running water and so on. These “canned noises” she plays back on a small cassette recorder during her voice sessions. She says: “These accompanying noses make the answers of our conversation partners louder and thus easier to understand. The fact that we can hear the voices from beyond—which actually is not speech but thoughts—is a phenomenon that astounds also our invisible conversation partners.’ “She has found that the spirits can also do their part to improve reception of their voices. They discover only by chance that there is someone who is trying to contact them. They have no idea what they could do to help us hear their voices better, so we have to tell them. They also—just like us—need proof that their answers really reach us. They are also there when we listen back to our recordings, and they can hear how clear their voices came through. It greatly helps them if we tell them what they are supposed to do and that they must practice for a week or two in order to perform better. “Roswitha tells them: ‘Practice loud answering on your own, independent

of my recordings with about a 75% effort! Then it will take you less effort to answer me—only about 50%. Since you are listening in on my play-back sessions, you will learn exactly how well your answers are received. Try thinking your answers loudly and with effort in syllables. Please think your answers in an exaggeratedly precise manner! Precise thinking is absolutely necessary. Your thoughts are captured by my mike together with the background sounds and become audible when I listen to the tape. Short answers are best. Don’t waste your strength on whole sentences.’ “Roswitha usually looks out through a window while taping trying not to think about anything so her thoughts will not interfere with the recordings of the thoughts from the beyond. She emphasizes that she wants honest answers. She says the spirits are right beside us here on Earth and that the beyond is here in this world. Our environment is also the environment of the departed ones.” DR. A. HEDRI-PRIZE FOR EPIPSYCHOLOGY 1996 In December I received a registered letter from Dr. Theo Locher, retired professor of mathematics, Brugg, Switzerland.. Quoting from it, he wrote: “We have the pleasure to inform you, that the Jury of our Hedri- Foundation has decided to award you the Dr. A Hedri-Prize for Epipsychology 1996 in recognition of your great work in the field of Tape-Voice research together with your “American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena”, for your periodical and your book, as well as for your influence on

the mass media. “This Prize, the Prize for Exopsychology and the Prize of our “Swiss Foundation for Parapsychology” Biel, will be awarded 9 February in the large auditorium of the University of Berne.” Dr. Locher, internationally known in survival research, is President of the Foundation. Epipsychology is defined as “science of consciousness of life after death.” In his letter, Dr. Locher wrote that the award (which is a very generous one monetarily) will be shared equally between George Meek and myself. George and I have talked since our notification and we both feel immensely honored to be recognized for this prestigious award. For myself, I feel as if I have received a Nobel Prize in Parapsychology. EVP TONES Four years ago, Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me a tape on which were sound effects produced by the other side and evidently used to help them speak. The first was a variable tone that started low, went up to high, then back down again. The second unusual sound effect was a clear gong 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena sound that immediately preceded the message: “Wait! The fact of signals go beyond.” Dan commented on the tape that he frequently hears this gong before a message. Professor Dr. Ernst Senkowski of Germany, when he heard about this, wrote that he also had heard similar tones which were taped in his presence at Hans-Otto Konig’s laboratory. He wrote: “There is something about

the tones enhancing voice communication.” He asked: “So why do not our experimenters ‘answer’ by using these tones as taped to improve contacts?” EVP TONE TAPE AGAIN AVAILABLE In our last newsletter (Autumn ‘95) I quoted on page 4 from Ed Moore’s (OH) letter: “After a long dry period of taping, I got two good voices using your Sound Source Tape as my background sound. I taped: “Em” and my own name, “Ed.” After reading this, several members wrote and asked if I still had the tone tape available. Yes I do. In the Spring ‘92 newsletter, I wrote that I had a tone tape of sounds taped at 131 MHz. The voices often began their messages with these sounds. I isolated the sounds on a six minute endless cassette tape which I’d play at times, on a portable recorder as my sound source while making a regular recording on my primary recorder. I offered to send to interested members a copy of the tape. Over 30 people wrote for it. Although I was eager to have feedback about it, only several replied. They felt it helped in a limited way. My offer still stands. I will send you a 15 minute cassette tape of these sounds for $3 to cover the cost of the tape and mailing. Interestingly enough, while I was making the original tape some years ago, a Class B male voice, about six minutes into the tape, gives a message that can be heard without headphones.

Since the tape was copied from the endless cassette tape, you will hear it again near the twelfth minute. I’ll not say at this time what the message is, except it is an appropriate one for the tape. If you order the tape and hear the message, please let me know what you hear. I am also especially interested in any taping results you have while using the tape. Perhaps I can give feedback in a future newsletter. MY OVERSEAS MAILBAG Monique Simonet, France, wrote that she and her close friend, Jean Cordat, have just completed writing a book: Songs of Eternal Love. It will be published this year by du Rocher of Paris. The book focuses on the telepathic and other means of contact Cordat has had with his wife, Beatrice, since she died a few years ago. One of the contacts was a phone call Cordat had from Beatrice on his birthday. Several phones in the home rang at the same time and although he picked up the phone, the one in his office continued ringing. Several friends were there for dinner, helping him observe his birthday. Everyone present heard the phones ring, and the “gurgle” of voices on the receiver that had been picked up. Martin Wenzel, Germany, wrote in December: “Your newsletter I read always with interest and pleasure. I’m still learning specially by reading: “From My Viewpoint.” I hope many people learn the lesson and understand the message (from your newsletters). We survive our death.

We will never be destroyed!” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Lisa Butler, KS, wrote that she is taking classes at Delphi University in Georgia. Delphi is a school that teaches about alternate healing as well as alternative energies. Lisa said she has to do a taped video presentation and she will do hers on EVP. She hopes this will create interest among the other students. Jackie Colligan, NV, is under book and movie contract with a Los Angeles agent. The agent has three of her book manuscripts and feels they show much promise. The title of the first book is: EARTHBOUND SPIRITS SHARE OUR HOME. It focuses on the experiences she and her family have had in their home with the unseen, and the taped messages Jackie has received. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Bart Ellis, CA, called and said a TV camera crew from “Sightings” came to his home and interviewed him about his work with voice phenomena. This will be shown on a future show. Michel Granger, France, wrote that he had completed reading my book which is selling well in bookstores throughout France. He said, in referring to the book: “What a bath of freshness.” He will write about it in his weekly chronicle called: DIMANCHE and encourage his readers to buy a copy of the book. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, sends many interesting articles to me. In Psychic News (England), there was an article titled: “Television Viewers Invited to

Send Tapes on EVP for Testing.” People in the viewing area were encouraged to send to the station examples of EVP voices they had on tape. The tapes would be sent to Germany for closer examination. The results of the test will be featured in a future program. INTEREST CONTINUES TO GROW People hear about us--I often wonder how--and write or call for more information about the AA-EVP. In 1995, 87 people contacted me about our group, of which about 12% live in other countries. Seventy-six people asked for information in 1994, so the gain—although modest—is a positive one. ISRAEL AND JAPAN JOIN US Did you notice how many members and friends from other countries contributed to our Winter Newsletter? Look it over again. I think you’ll be surprised at the number. This is how it should be. The voices are world-wide and demonstrate how, in the end, we are essentially one. It is always a pleasure to welcome new members and a special joy to count another country on our membership list. Israel and Japan can now be added to our growing number. BEYOND SYNCHRONICITY In early December, I wrote to three friends: “I think at this time of year, many of us are haunted by ghosts of Christmases past.” This is a familiar saying from Charles Dickens. In a recent letter, Ed Moore wrote: “On the evening of Dec. 23rd, the phone rang. It was a weak, funny sounding ring. My nephew answered the phone and called to

me: ‘Someone says it’s the ghost of Christmas past.’ I went to the phone but all I heard was strange static, that sounded like a computer. The line stayed like that until 10:00 P.M., then resumed its normal. dial tone. My nephew said the voice was deep and hollow. Was it a joke or EVP?” Perhaps I will be forgiven if I say that I believe ‘someone’ in the next dimension knew the unique sentence I had written to three people and used Ed as an intermediary to prove unseen existence. I want to stress I did not write that particular sentence to Ed, and he doesn’t know the three to whom I sent it. In addition, at five on the afternoon of Dec. 23rd I bought my first computer (which Ed also didn’t know). Yet, that is the sound he heard on his phone line for two hours after the call. To me, this is extremely strong evidence we are communicating with other realities. I feel, personally, it is an example of cross-correspondence, normally regarded by survival researchers as some of the best evidence we have for survival of individual consciousness. INIT-U.S. On December 22nd, the board members of INIT U.S. had their first board meeting. INIT is an international network for instrumental transcommunication. Mark Macy, of Continuing Life Research, has begun a nonprofit organization in the U.S. for it and will act as President and editor of the newsletter. Hans Heckmann (PA AA-EVP member), Dale Palmer (IN AA-EVP

member), and I are board members. 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In the telephone conference call arranged by Mark, all of us were ‘present’ and gave ideas to help the group move forward. The name of the triannual newsletter is Contact! It will focus on reports of spirit communication research. Books and tapes will be available. For a year’s subscription to Contact! Send $24 for U.S. mailing. Canada, Mexico and overseas surface mail is $26. Overseas airmail is $39. All funds must be in U.S. currency. Write: INIT—U.S.—P.O. Box 11036—Boulder, CO 80301. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 29th. ODDS AND ENDS May 1996 be a year filled with joy for you, with dreams realized as you continue your quest towards the light. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 9 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1996 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Happy Birthday to us! It was in May 1982 that I mailed our first newsletter, which was four pages long, to 25 members in ten states and Canada. Now that we are fourteen, and this is our 57th newsletter, we can celebrate our advanced age by doing something different. This is the first computer generated newsletter I have written. In

the Winter NEWS (‘96) I mentioned I’d bought a computer the afternoon of Dec. 23rd. Those of you who have computers, perhaps know the struggles that ensued as you tussled with all of the intricacies of this complex beast. I call it a ‘beast’ for all too often it seemed to have its own mind and would go in a direction, different from the one I wanted to pursue. I purchased a ‘user friendly’ machine, since I knew it would be up to me to figure it out; there would be no one to show me what to do. In spite of its reputation of being user friendly, that has not always been the case. Too often I was ‘bombed’ (yes, that’s an actual word in its lexicon) and the shrieking sound that followed, made me want to grab up my little dog, Lovey Dove, and head for the hills. Other times the screen would freeze and in spite of all my efforts, remain stuck in that mode. There was nothing to do but turn the thing off (one time I even had to pull the plug) to shut it down. This, as anyone knows who is ‘into’ computers, is a grievous crime. After gathering up my courage and turning it back on (or putting the plug back into the wall), a sad face would appear on my screen with tears running down its cheeks telling me I had turned the computer off incorrectly. I’ve decided the thing has an

I.Q. 1,000 points higher than my own. Patience and perseverance is usually rewarded. I can now play a mean game of Solitaire on it and type most personal letters using the word processing feature. The Spring Newsletter is my next brave attempt to move forward. Up until now, I have always used my Olympia electronic typewriter. It had a built-in spelling check and would whistle at me if I typed a word incorrectly. Early on, I quickly learned it always whistled if I typed “psychic” “paranormal” “mediumistic” and so forth. It was obvious that the Olympia or rather the person who programmed it, wanted nothing to do with anything related to what is called paranormal. In that one aspect, I can agree with the programmer—although for completely different reasons. To me, there is really nothing that is paranormal. It’s just a handy buzz word, but that’s a different Viewpoint. We often call what happens out of the ordinary, especially when it’s regarded as paranormal, as a miracle. St. Augustine wrote: “Miracles happen, not in opposition to Nature, but in opposition to what we know of nature.” Exactly. Does my computer whistle? No, but it does have a very good checking system. When I finish a document, I bring up the spelling check. It quickly shows me all of my mistakes and even tells me how the word should be spelled. I click “Replace” and my word disappears while their word shows on the screen. How does it feel about words

such as “mediumistic” and “psychic” that my Olympia hated? It accepts them. All of this points out a very simple thing. I think we each basically form our own reality. We learn to live more or less comfortably within the parameter we create around our individual life. What has meaning to me in the field of psychic phenomena, and what I find acceptable, may have no meaning and be unacceptable to others—whether it refers to people or computers or electronic typewriters. That doesn’t necessarily make one better than another, at least when we talk about individuals. We each must decide upon our individual goal and then pursue the path in honesty and determination, whatever obstacles may appear, towards that destination. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena BEST FROM THE PAST With this, our anniversary newsletter, it seems appropriate to begin a new feature. From time to time I enjoy looking over newsletters from the past. It helps give me a better perspective of where we have come from and the direction we seem to be heading. Since our first newsletter in May 1982, there have been a number of outstanding articles. Many of them have not been read by our newer members, and even those who have been members since the early years, could have forgotten them. In the future, upon occasion, I plan to offer: “The Best From The Past.” In the Summer 1987 newsletter, I wrote: “Listen For Code Words.” This

was contributed by David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, and a charter member of AA-EVP. David wrote: “Some members might be interested and listen for CODE messages.” He has found that at times those on the other side use some of the words he has used in his comments or questions for their answers. I know this happens in my own, taping. In fact, I frequently remind those in other dimensions to try to use as many of the unique words I have used in my questions, in their replies. I explain that if they can do this, it will be evidential I am hearing from them, and have not picked up a radio transmission. If I asked: “Please tell me if you are in my office,” and within several seconds I tape: “We are in your office now,” I can be reasonably confident I have recorded a message from another dimension. UPDATE: Code words still frequently occur for some tapers. Please check your message logs and let me know if you have unique code words being used by the unseen. Perhaps I can mention this in a future newsletter. SPIRIT VOICES/vs./LIFE TIME VOICES There has been consternation among some individuals about the difference between a contact’s spirit voice and the voice he had during his life. They accuse the taper of fraud who says he has recorded the voice of a well-known person, usually active in the transcommunication field before his death. I have tried frequently to point out that

we can’t label anyone a cheat because this voice sounds different today than that of 25 years ago. My words have largely fallen upon deaf ears. These people, many who pride themselves as (pseudo) scientists, or gifted with great electronic know-how, seem to forget that at death our body goes through great physical changes. The voice box goes and it would be unreasonable to think that this deceased individual should still sound the same. A recent letter from Hans Heckmann, PA AA- EVP member, further explains the situation faced by those who speak to us from other dimensions. Hans wrote: “(One) main argument for fakery (is) the dissimilarity of spirit voice and life time voice. It is explainable when we understand that spirit has to totally recreate their own life time human voice with their mind. The memory of the sound of their voice is vague. The output of the spirit mind is extremely rapid. The being must learn again to adopt the slow measured rhythm of their former voice. The mere fact that they can ‘speak’ at all is a miracle.” THOUGHTS ABOUT EVP Jeff King, New Zealand AA-EVP member, sent me a long letter in which he wrote: “Have been giving the whole field of EVP some thought lately and the following is a list of properties that (I feel) are associated with the technical aspects of the process.” You may not agree with all of Jeff’s ideas, but they are thought provoking and worthy of consideration. I

will quote from them. 1. “Spirits do not have physical voice boxes; therefore, their messages are not conveyed through sound vibrations, or directly recordable via microphones. 2. “Spirits have no earthly radio transmitters, therefore messages cannot be picked up directly via radio receivers as a normal radio message. Tuning a radio to specific bands to improve voice clarity may help, but again it isn’t picking up a spirit radio broadcast. 3. “Voices are still heard over radios and via recorders which use microphones, despite 1 and 2 above. The medium of reception, therefore, is not the microphone or aerial of radio. 4. “If Spirit voices are not a sound or a radio transmission, what are they? They are a “spirit intention”, 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena which: a. affects existing signals within the tape deck which are initially picked up via mike, or generated as internal noise with the deck. b. affects existing sounds with the radio picked up via the aerial or internally generated as noise. c. affects both radio and tape deck simultaneously as above. Without the existing sound or signals, the “intention” has nothing to “work on”. 5. “Where in the radio or tape deck does the spirit intention work on the existing electronic signals? This is the focus of serious EVP technical researchers and when finally discovered will lead to other spiritual electronic devices, such as aura recorders and thought-operated appliances, etc.” LILL RETURNS! On the afternoon of

Feb. 9th, Art Counts, MD AA-EVP member, called. He was immensely excited for he had just seen his first apparition. It was his beloved sister Lill. Art lived with Lill and her husband for a number of years. After her husband died, Art stayed on, taking care of Lill through a long terminal illness. They were extremely close, and Art was devastated by her death a few years ago. Most of his taping has been directed towards having contact with her, and a reasonable amount has been taped from her as well as other spirit entities. In a letter written the day after seeing Lill, Art explained further what had happened. On Feb. 3, six days before Lill returned, he taped the message: “Breakthrough.” Then, late on the afternoon of the 9th, he was relaxing and listening to one of his favorite recordings: Rachmanioffs “2nd Piano Concerto”. He was partially dozing, when he heard a soft, gentle voice saying: “Art.” He wrote: “I sat bolt upright, wide awake, and there before me was Lill! plain as day. Not altogether solid, but not hazy either. She was looking at me with that same sweet so gentle smile, her appearance unchanged. Sarah, I believe this was the answer to the taped message: “Breakthrough.” I wrote to Art with some questions. In response to my asking how long the apparition lasted, he replied: “I really don’t know. Time seemed meaningless. At most a minute or so.” I wanted to know if words were

exchanged. He answered: “There were no words. It never occurred to me to speak. And though there were no words, everything needed seemed to be exchanged.” Had he seen her complete form? “No, I don’t think so. I was wholly conscious only of her face.” Did she wear clothing? “Yes, she had clothing, but I haven’t any notion of how she was attired, color, etc. The experience seemed utterly real, intensely real.” We thank Art for permitting us to share his experience with AA-EVP members. As he wrote: “It may help other tapers in their efforts, may encourage them to keep at it. For, after all, keeping at it is how we achieve.” OUR TAPERS REPORT Jackie Colligan, NV, wrote: “Enclosed is my taping session using the radio. I’ve gotten little using this method, but your newsletter encouraged me to try again, and I am so glad that I did!” Some of the messages taped, using the radio as a sound source, are: “Give me some more background.” “Easy Writer.” “Going to work is in the lives of these ‘beings’ being normal”. “Here’s something new.” “Somewhat may feel he wants to be created in God’s creation.” “We play a song. That way he can feel the PRESENCE.” “ Bible tour.” “When I preach in Jerusalem send down six dollars.” “Oh, bridges of Mighty.” Dr. Adrian Klein, Israel, wrote: “I have kept on with my daily ITC work tenaciously, achieving sometimes very good results. My results seem to be consistent with

the generally noticed influence of the lunar cycle. A few days ago, I got from Mr. Fornoff (Germany) his Universal Filtering Device, and by now I am intensely experimenting with it, trying to get rid of the awful mechanic background noise, typical for mike-recordings... A happy event of my life recently, was my name being mentioned by Dr. Raudive in his transtext received by Mr. Homes (Germany) on his printer. This was kindly faxed to me by Dr. Determeyer (Germany)”. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, has had a difficult winter, weather-wise, as many of us have experienced in the east. She wrote that she had water in the basement after over 2 feet of snow fell. One of her messages was: “Ice below.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, wrote he had taped: 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Madame Blavatsky” at the end of a radio air terminal break-in. He also taped: “Uncle Tom: I’m with Kitty.” David said these two names were evidential because they were deceased relatives of his. Thank you to all of our tapers who have shared their work with us. Remember what Art Counts wrote: “For after all, keeping at it is how we achieve.” NOISE-CANCELING HEADPHONES How many tapers have wished for a better set of headphones to listen to recordings they’ve just made? Just about everyone, I imagine. (For beginning tapers—you should never play back a recording unless you listen to it through headphones.) Quoting from

an article in the Washington Post, we read: “Pilots and others who must concentrate amid the hums, thrums, rumbles and roars of machines have for several years used expensive versions of headphones that generate silence. Now cheaper models are coming on the market for wider use.” These headphones, which cost about $1,000, contain microphones and electronic processors that pick out certain kinds of noises and neutralize those sounds before they can hit your eardrum. The process is called ‘active noise cancellation.’ The article is much too long to go into to any extent here, but it comments that the new (and thankfully cheaper) versions let through speech, music and other sounds. Background noises, fall away, and the sudden near silence “commonly brings a smile of astonishment.” Koss Corp. of Milwaukee, manufactures a high-fidelity model for $150-200 dollars. If you are interested, you could visit a high-tech electronics store, to see if they have them available, or write to Koss directly. EVP—HOW IT WORKS—ONE OPINION Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, sent me a clipping from Psychic News, (England). Domonic MacQuire, who has studied ITC for over 30 years, and was a correspondent of Raudive, wrote the above named article. Quoting from, MacQuire’s article he wrote: “Telepathic Energy: It has been shown that Spirit can radiate telepathic energy at the same time as they imagine they are hearing a voice speaking to them. Anything Spirit can imagine can be transferred as a telepathic signal either in words or in the form of

an image. The worded signal can be projected into a beam of light, within which it becomes attached. It may then be carried to a transducer and converted into electronic impulses. These impulses are recordable and can be turned into audible sound. Electric light: The principle of light as a carrier for the intelligence signal was discovered in 1963 and differs from Dr. Raudive’s method as it does not use an unmodulated radio wave. Light is composed of many bundles of energy particles which radiate away from their source. Electric light does not depend upon uncertain radio waves or climatic conditions. It can be produced anywhere at any time. A bright electric light can carry Spirit’s telepathic signal to normal recording equipment. Telepathic Particles: The telepathic signal is a form of energy similar to light. Particles are slightly magnetic and attach themselves to photons. They are then thrust forward and carried within a stream of light photons. Telepathically charged photons produce voice signal impulses whilst photons not charged will result in silent gaps between words.” UP WITH THE BIG BOYS! A letter came the end of February, from an unknown correspondent in France. It was all in French and so completely baffled me. Looking it over, I saw it was a printed letter probably sent to many individuals. My first thought was to throw it in the trash, but in examining it closely, I saw 30-40 names listed to whom she had presumably mailed the same letter. When I saw

my own name—Sarah Wilson Estep, listed, along with the Pope and Bill Clinton, I thought I’d better take a second look. Off it went to Hazel Sarmiento, TX AA-EVP member, who had volunteered to translate French letters for me. She returned it promptly with an excellent translation. The writer was warning those listed in the letter, to prepare themselves (and I guess those with whom they are in contact) to get ready for ‘end times’. This isn’t too different from many other dire warnings, and according to the document, will occur in the year 2,000. Numerous space ships will land on earth. Angels will alight and take all the good, worthy 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena people to heaven. Space, unfortunately, will be limited, so all those not chosen, will stay behind. For the next four years, many dreadful catastrophes, (wars, plagues, natural disaster, and so on), will wipe-out 2/3 of the people who didn’t make it onto the ships. The 1/3 left, will come to their senses and we’ll have 1,000 years of paradise on earth. I’ve asked Hazel to save me a seat on the ship. THIS IS THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST FOLLOW-UP On the last page of the Winter Newsletter, I wrote about the experience Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member, had the evening of Dec. 23rd. To briefly review the incident, at about 7:30 that evening, the telephone rang in the home where Ed lives with his sister

and her son. Ed was there with the nephew, heard the ring, which he said sounded “funny”. The nephew, picking up the receiver, looked at Ed and said: “Someone says it’s the ghost of Christmas past”. Ed went to the phone but, all he heard was strange static, which the nephew said sounded like a computer. (Remember, I had bought a computer just two hours earlier). This sound lasted until 10:00 P.M. The message was clear, given in a low male voice, but neither Ed, or the nephew, had any idea what this completely unexpected message meant. When Ed wrote to me January 4th, telling me about it, he asked: “Was it a joke or EVP’? Unknown to Ed, I had written that very phrase (which originated with Charles Dickens) to three AA- EVP members: Ingeborg Frank who was in Germany at the time, Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, and Kathleen Blair, N.Y. At Christmas, many of us have a feeling of nostalgia. Mine was especially strong this year, as my memories returned to years ago and the happy times the Christmas seasons brought. Now, a good deal of that has gone, and so I wrote to the three individuals named: “I think at this time of year, many of us are haunted by ghosts of Christmases past”. None of these people knew Ed, and obviously hadn’t passed the message on to him. It was clear to me that the other side knew I had written this to

one or more persons. It also appeared as if they had picked up my emotional sadness during this holiday season. Through this shockingly wonderful news from Ed, however, I had to wonder how they had decided to use him as the ‘messenger’. Ed and I have never met. We know each other only casually through the few brief letters we’ve exchanged since he joined the AA-EVP in October 1990. Ed had no idea of the significance of the phone call, until I enclosed a letter to him with his Winter NEWS mailed Jan. 19th. He replied to this with great joy. Quoting from his letter he wrote: “What a thrill I got reading your letter. I can’t get over how ‘they’ worked it out. Every step worked together to get a meaningful message for you. It gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. As you said, it is a ‘blessing’! Here’s another touch I think they worked in. Every time I tape, I ask for a message to give to Sarah Estep. Well, nothing ever came through. Now I have my definite proof. No question about it”. Yes, that is the proof our contacts with the invisibles are genuine, for those who doubt. Those who know me, know I seldom use the word “proof’ but here I use it unreservedly. It is also now clear why they used Ed—because each time he taped, he asked for a message for me (which I didn’t know until his letter came).

I look upon this as the strongest case on record of cross-correspondence. THE CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY In February, Charles Clark, a staff writer for the magazine: The Congressional Quarterly Researcher, called me. The office, located in Washington, D.C., publishes its magazine 48 times a year. Mr. Clark said he was writing a long article, for the March 29th, issue that would focus on psychic phenomena. He had heard about me and requested that I send him more information about transcommunication, as well as the AA- EVP. Our last two newsletters were promptly sent, along with information about the AA-EVP, and my 45- minute Spirit/Space tape. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A few weeks later, Mr. Clark called. He thanked me for my help, found the information interesting and the tape impressive. He inquired if any formal studies had ever been made of the taped voices. I assured him that my tapes, and the tapes of many other experimenters, had been tested in electronic laboratories and all showed the proper characteristics of speech. He commented that it was fascinating and would send me a copy upon publication. This arrived the first week in April. Although several fields of psychic phenomena are mentioned, perhaps over 80% of it is devoted to the UFO question. The AA-EVP is mentioned. Single issues are available for $8.00. To order, call Customer service at (202) 887-8621. AA-EVP WRITERS The AA-EVP has its own ‘stable’ of writers. Many of our

members have been published, or are currently publishing. In the last three months, I have received from: Eli Feldman, N.Y., several of his newsletters that he publishes frequently. All of these newsletters, focus on Eli’s personal contacts with well-known individuals working in the field of survival. He also reviews various tabloid articles. Michel Granger, France, sent me a copy of the weekly newsletter DIMANCHE, which he publishes and that has a circulation of 90,000 readers. He gives a long and favorable review of my book: Voix de l’eternite (Voices of Eternity) and in a personal note, wrote that he hopes his review will encourage his readers to buy a copy. Rozella Roberts, CA, sent me a copy of her interesting book: Visions Of The Infinite It also contains spirit photographs. Rozella has published a number of books. These three individuals are on our cross-country list. If you wish further information, you can write to them directly, or contact me. Self-addressed stamped envelopes for something like this are always appreciated. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Alisa Butler, N.M. wrote that she and her husband have just moved from KS to N.M. (new address on cross-country list). Her talk at Delphi University went well, and the demo tape of voices I sent to her was a real hit. There were many questions and some individuals said they were going to try taping. She wrote: “We are dropping out from corporate jobs. My husband has had a new novel called: One Who Cares

published He will pursue his writing and I will be doing alternative healing therapies. As always, I will be telling people about EVP and how to tape and you, and your address.” Bart Ellis, CA, called and said his work with voice phenomena will be featured on “Sightings” during “sweep” week in April. He will be shown the week of the 20th or the 27th. Jesse Glass, Japan, teaches English at a college in that country. He is working on a project and would appreciate help from other AA-EVP members. He is especially looking for examples of neologisms, use of unusual or antiquated English, and exotic or unidentifiable language. If you have Class A or B taped examples, he would appreciate your sending them to him. He promises to respond individually to each letter. He is on the cross-country list. Tina Laurent, Wales, has volunteered to translate letters addressed to me in Arabic. Over the last few years, she has appeared on 8 TV shows and has had pieces written about her in many newspapers and magazines, all focusing on electronic communication with the unseen. MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL PROBLEMS Our foreign members have difficulty at times sending the $20 fee for their renewals. Some send a check made out to a specific bank in the U.S. There is no problem depositing such checks, but those members discover their own banks charge a hefty fee. Most members opt to send $20 in cash. This is a bit risky, but none has ever

been lost. Others send a postal money order. Until recently, our post offices would accept such checks. Now they no longer do. Our banks will deposit a check from a foreign bank, but turn around and charge me heavily. For instance, on a check from a Canadian bank for $20, I will only receive credit for $13. Having your bank write: “Payable in U.S. Funds” doesn’t solve the problem. They must actually have it payable by a named U.S. bank. I, obviously, cannot take a loss on foreign checks. Most organizations charge a good deal more for foreign members because postage alone can easily be double over domestic postage. I’ve never done this. Since January 1986, the dues have remained at $20 for 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena everyone, in spite of large increases in printing, stationary, and yes, postal rates. I have only been able to maintain the $20 membership fee because of the generosity of some members who at renewal time, will add extra--”to help you out!” they write. As you know, I have never solicited for extra money. It’s something I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing. I do have to ask though, that our members living in other countries—each who I cherish highly, pay their renewal in U.S. funds. CONFERENCE IN JUNE Paul Johnson, FL AA-EVP member, will be holding his 22nd Anniversary Conference at beautiful Lake Forest College, IL, from June 2-7. The theme is: Discovering Our Oneness. These

conferences are always excellent, with outstanding speakers and workshops. Those attending the conference, sleep in comfortable dorm rooms and eat in the cafeteria. The reasonable fee covers all expenses. For info, call Paul: 1-800-245-1389. FATE CALLS In February, Terry O’Neill, Editor-in-Chief of FATE magazine, called. She said FATE would like to do a 1,000 word interview with me concerning my work and the AA-EVP. A few days later, Dawn Brunke, a writer for FATE, called. The taped interview lasted for an hour. Two weeks after the interview I received a letter from Dawn. She wrote that she had called Terry and said there was no way she could do justice to my work with ITC, or the AA-EVP, in just 1,000 words. Terry gave her permission to go ahead and make it 2,000 words. The interview, along with my picture sitting in front of my taping equipment, is in the May issue of FATE. I am pleased with the result which focuses on electronic communication and the AA EVP. Another article in the same issue: “A Ghost In The Machine” by Don Olsowski, is also excellent. It gives good coverage as to the different ways the unseen communicate with us through various electronic instruments. A large part of it concerns my work with the invisibles and also my book: Voices of Eternity I think you’ll enjoy both articles. COUNTING NOSES We always try to take a special look at membership in our anniversary newsletter. Total number of paid members now

is about the same as in April ‘95. In 1994-95, we took in 66 new members. From April ‘95 to the present time, we’ve received 68. For the 14th year in a row, men out number women. Last year we had 30 more men than women. This year, the gap is even wider with 44 ‘extra’ men. CA, with 23 members, leads in membership. MD is right behind with 22. ODDS AND ENDS Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 21st. To each and every member, thank you for making the past year and all the years preceding it possible. As I wrote in my first Viewpoint, “We are on our way!... We, together, are the Association. ...Together, we will do great things!” We have done some great things— sharing what we have learned with others; holding out our hand to help and give comfort. Each of us is a light bearer. You have helped light my path and I remain grateful to every one of you. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1996 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “Not once in the dim past, but continuously by conscious mind is the miracle of the creation wrought!” Arthur Eddington. Eddington was a noted and

highly respected British scientist, who died in 1944 at the age of sixty-two. His efforts were mainly in the fields of astronomy and physics and he was also a writer of some repute. As a result of his work, he gained the title of “Sir” and from then on, was usually referred to as “Sir Arthur”. Unknown to many was his keen interest in psychic phenomena and he did some investigations along that line while living. Those of you who have my Tape 4—the Reverse Voice Tape—hear Eddington say his name and then at number 32, give an interesting and unique message. It is also evidential by its nature, that we, as tapers, record messages now and then that we were not intended to hear. Upon rare occasions, we become eavesdroppers at the gate of eternity. Was it Sir Arthur? We can’t be sure, but he came several times with other well-known scientists to observe what I was doing. Knowing his background and his keen mind and interest in scientific and PSI matters, it is reasonable to suspect that it was. For our purpose today, Eddington’s interest in taping is relatively unimportant. What he said, however, when we look at the meaning behind his quoted words, gives us nutritious food for thought. If I ‘read’ him correctly, he believed that God, or whatever you want to call the force that made existence possible, didn’t wave a wand and say. “Earth begin! Man, Be!” Eddington, although not denying creation began this

way, says that it is an ongoing matter, and that our conscious minds are always continuing the miracle of creation. I agree. Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, who died about 300 years before Eddlington, said: “I think. Therefore, I am”. I can agree with this, but there are all types of thinking; of awareness. Even those in a coma appear to have some brain activity. It is not the sort though that will do much in helping ease the ills of the planet. These unfortunate patients cannot be placed in the same category as those fully alert, sentient individuals who appear to live as if they are also in a coma. How about life after death? In my writing, in interviews, in the lectures and workshops I have taught in the past, I always say: “Instrumental transcommunication provides objective evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state”. Look at the bottom of this page; you’ll see it there. Each message we tape, each telephone call we receive from the world beyond death, the computer messages that appear on our screens now and then, demonstrate clearly that individual consciousness is alive and well in the next dimension. Strikingly, these ITC messages can show clear, creative, thought processes going on. They think. They are. They are continuing to demonstrate, with their conscious mind, that the miracle of creation has never ended. I am not sure I would even want to survive if I thought otherwise. Recently I read: “I

am a work in progress!” Ah, yes, that is the way we should look upon ourselves, each day. Our work is never finished. Every day we are creating what our present is, and what the future may bring. This idea has become very important to me. I never start the day without having it in mind and it occurs to me frequently as I move through the hours. All of us blot our copy book, but at the same time while we know we’re not perfect, or even meant to be, we are a truly living work. We will continue to live 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena it, to work at it, every day we live here and beyond. May you find the strength to try and write a masterpiece! AUTOMATIC WRITING/EVP Mary Kunde, MD AA-EVP member, sent me an article written by Matthew Manning, well known gifted English psychic. This appeared in the August 1979 issue of FATE magazine. Manning wrote that although he rarely used automatic writing since he believes 80% originates in the unconscious mind of the medium, and you can rarely prove any of it, there have been exceptions. In one of them Graham, an unknown entity, repeatedly came through and gave four names. Manning checked these names out, one of which was a Monsignor in Britain, who admitted he knew Graham and two other names he had mentioned. Graham had died of cancer at the age of

28, just two months earlier. During further experiments with automatic writing, Graham came through, and gave concrete information. One evening Manning was at the home of the Monsignor and Friedrich Jurgenson, early discoverer and pioneer in the field of the electronic voice, was there. Jurgenson turned on his tape recorder while Manning again used automatic writing to contact Graham, who responded. When Jurgenson played the recording back, Graham spoke to a close friend on tape who was present during the experiment and crying. Graham said: “Weep no more.” HAVE TAPE RECORDER—WILL TRAVEL ‘HOT’ SPOTS Art Counts, MD AA-EVP member, kindly sent me the book Sightings by Susan Michels. (Simon & Schuster—1996). Sightings is based on the popular TV show “Sightings”. Chapter 2: “Voices of the Dead” largely focuses upon my work. My picture is also included, surrounded by my equipment. Section I of Sightings is called: “Hauntings”. In the ten stories found in this section, a number of locations are featured, such as Mt. Washington near Los Angeles; the catacombs and burial grounds of Westminster church where Edgar Allan Poe is buried, in Baltimore; Point Lookout State Park in southern MD; a haunted castle called Berry-Pomery near Totnes, England. We also read about the Whaley House in San Diego county, CA; and Baleroy, a historic thirty-room mansion in Chestnut Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, are regarded as two of the most haunted houses in America. An entire chapter is devoted to the ghosts of the Gettysburg battlefield in PA. This,

also, must be regarded as one of the most haunted locations in the U.S. Many people have had life changing experiences at Gettysburg, including Paul Johnson, FL AA-EVP member. Space limitations prohibit my going on, but you might be interested in reading Sightings to see if any of these locations are near you. Even if they’re not, I would encourage you to take along a portable tape recorder as you travel. You never know what might turn up on tape. If you would like my paper: “Tips For Trips” for suggestions on how to tape in the field, send me a self-addressed stamped envelope. It will be my pleasure to mail it to you. Let me know if you tape any messages. I would like to report your results in a future newsletter. PARAPSYCHOLOGIST TO TRY TAPING IN THE FIELD At the end of June, an internationally known, highly regarded parapsychologist phoned me. Although he has never focused on electronic communication, he has become interested in using a tape recorder as he investigates many locations in the special field of his expertise. We talked at length, and I told him about an experience I had as I visited a home and talked to the residents who were being plagued by unknown forces. I mentioned the voices I had taped there and I felt that in the type of work he is doing, he also would be very successful in recording voices. Dr. ___indicated he was going to try to do

this, and gratefully accepted my offer to send him my “Tips For Trips”. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena THE BLIND SEE Eleanor Katz, NY AA-EVP member, sent me an article that appeared in Vital Signs, the newsletter published by The International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc. It describes Vicky’s two near-death experiences. The first occurred when she was twelve; the second happened ten years later. Vicky, who became totally blind several days after birth as a result of a hospital mistake, had the typical experience of being sucked through a tunnel. Emerging on the other side, she immediately saw, for the first time, grass, flowers, birds and people. Several identified themselves to Vicky, as friends she had known—one in the blind school she attended for years. The second experience was very similar to the first. This time, her grandmother greeted her. Both times, Vicky was greeted by a religious figure she identified as Jesus. On each occasion she was sent back because it was not her time to die. INTERESTING? Recently, a note came from a man named Judge. He wanted info about the AA-EVP. That evening a minister named Justice called from NV. He also wanted AA-EVP information. Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, sent the above picture to me. It was taken by a resident of Tehachapi, CA, on March 1, 1996. The person wrote that the three objects hovered for hours during an intense wind storm. From the picture, one

can tell it was taken in the evening. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the beautiful pink/white color of the objects, against the pink and blue sky. The small white object above the second and third object is the moon. FOLLOW-UPS In the spring newsletter (page 2) I presented a new feature called: Best From The Past. The first topic for this item was taken from the summer 1987 newsletter which suggested we “Listen For Code Words”. Briefly, I mentioned that a code word was a unique word the experimenter used as he was taping and which would then be returned from the other side. To me, and many others, code words are extremely important. I asked in the last newsletter that you check your message logs and let me know if you found such messages. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote: “Going back to the previous presidential election, I asked: ‘Will Bush still be President after the election?’ The clear answer was returned: ‘Bush proceeding to downfall’.” Clara’s code word of course was “Bush”. Clara has also received information about the upcoming election. We both agree that the answer is not something that should be published. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The second follow-up involves the segment on page 4 of the spring newsletter: “EVP—How It Works—One Opinion”. I quoted from an article sent to me by Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member. This article focuses on Dominic Macquire of England. In a

few words, it describes Dominic’s belief that Spirit can radiate telepathic energy. This energy can then be projected into a beam of light which can be carried to a transducer and converted into electronic impulses(words). Dominic also feels that a bright electric light can carry spirit’s telepathic signal to recording equipment. A few days after the newsletter was mailed, Dominic called me from England. He had received my name and phone number from Gilbert Bonner of England. We talked at length and he was pleasantly surprised when I mentioned reading about him and had, in fact, written about his ideas in the newsletter just mailed. Dominic said he would send me additional information; that Psychic News had left out the most important part of his experiments—the focusing of the light. I promised to mail the newsletter to him the following day. Dominic has written to me many times the last two months. In his first letter he wrote: “Of most importance is that the powerful light beam should be focused on an angle of 57 degrees. Aluminum and lead are two metals that are most easily detected by spirit persons, when their telepathic energy is focused on them.” Dominic suggests focusing the light beam from a slide projector upon an aluminum object, such as an aluminum ‘silver screen’ that is sometimes used to show 35mm color slides. You may want to try some of Dominic’s suggestions. If you don’t have a slide projector and screen, you can substitute something else,

trying to keep the light focused at 57 degrees. Let me know your results if you try this. I am pleased to announce that Dominic has become an AA-EVP member and is also listed on the cross-country list. THOUGHTFUL OBSERVATIONS Richard Busse, IN State Coordinator, wrote a few days after receiving his spring newsletter: “The AA-EVP and the concept have come a long way in fourteen years. It appears that many things people only speculated about for generations are coming to a head. Perhaps in our lifetime, we will see it confirmed that the so-called ‘supernatural’ exists and always has; more specifically, other dimensions of vibrant life and a second chance for mankind after all. And, perhaps, we’ll even see today’s most dogmatic icons of ‘rational thought’ humbled to the point of admitting that today’s unknowns CAN become tomorrow’s science—and that intellectual pride cannot eternally mask mortal ignorance of the greater universe and Creation’s mechanics. The AA-EVP will have helped to open minds to that universe and those mechanics. All of us have been changed by the implications of your research and of our members’. Psychologically and spiritually, there is no going back. We couldn’t if we wanted to. Out here in the country, a person learns to live with the inexorable pace of the universe. With the seasons; with the stars and the often deafening silence of nighttime skies, we live in and beneath a mystery that portends tempting answers; that yesterday, today and tomorrow are somehow one. We

know, yet we wonder, we sense yet we seek. We constantly face the mirror of our own mortality, we have heard and seen it confirmed that in our Father’s House, there, indeed, are many mansions. To think some people are asked to believe it on Faith alone!” OUR TAPERS REPORT Jackie Colligan wrote: “I am starting to use the CB band on my radio and having outstanding results with it. One of the first things that came through was: “Arrive spirit beings—will be here—give you this message.” There are no more whispers, all are genuine tonal voices. The women sing at times, always with beautiful voices what they have to say. I’ve never heard such wonderful music. It echoes with much fullness and there are no instruments, only some sort of a constant beat. Some other CB messages I’ve received are: “Maybe you’re going to the ground instead of heaven.” “I don’t wanta go to heaven 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena without you.” “Bucky saw a spacecraft.” “Through out this grief that come from living.” “My little girl is in heaven.” Gerry Connelly, England, joined the AA-EVP in May. He began taping a little over a year ago, after his wife died of a stroke, and reports much success. In fact, he wrote and published a book recently titled: “The Afterlife for the Atheist.” This largely focuses on his taping experiments and his theory, as a physicist, why the voices speak with

the patterns that they do. Art Counts wrote: “I’ve received a few messages lately such as: “You. Debt.” “Art.” “Shadow.” I continue to ask for a guide to help me in taping, and just the other day, a Class A tonal voice said: “Maybe.” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote: “When my cousin’s husband passed away recently (two years after his wife) I asked if he could hear me. The response was: “Yvonne is still in Heaven.” That was my cousin’s name.” Dr. Adrian Klein, Israel, wrote: I have had an exciting promising breakthrough a few days ago, which may be of some interest to other AA-EVP experimenters. My dear parents succeeded in entering the phone line which was left open by a friend calling me from his cellular phone, and waiting for my answer after the answering machine’s outgoing message. It happened during the 16 second after time, before my friend’s decision to hang up. It is worth mentioning that my Fax’s delayed reacting (usually it cuts the line after 7 seconds of silence)! Seemingly, the Fax device sensed the incoming paranormal input. After a long and laborious processing with my filters, I succeeded in understanding the three faint whispered short sentences. The first was my mother: “Adrian do you hear me?” Then my father spoke: “Do you hear Dagica?” (My mother’s name). Then he finished with: “No, he doesn’t hear anvthing. Nothing. nothing!” The transtext was received of course, in the Hungarian language, while I was praying in

my mother’s sanctuary. That evening during a regular recording my mother said: “I am very, very happy that you succeeded in understanding us. You can be happy!” I have tried to reproduce the receiving conditions of the phone call, by calling my own phone repeatedly, allowing for paranormal inputs. I succeeded in receiving one faint, short message. The Fax’s activation was not delayed. I suppose this technique could be of some interest to experimenters. They could try calling themselves and leaving the phone line open for a few seconds which might provide access for TC to take place.” Sal Rainone, N.Y., joined the AA-EVP in May, after reading the interview with me published by FATE Magazine (May issue). Sal is a musician and was recording an original song. Sal wrote: “In the middle of the taping, a woman screamed in my ear as if she was being murdered. I gave it no special thought. However, when I played back the cassette, a soft spoken woman’s voice is heard saying “Have mercy.” The message is appropriate when the title of the original song is considered. It is about a well known figure, accused of murder, but found innocent. Thanks to everyone who contributed to Tapers Report. Your results help encourage all of us. THE BRITISH ARE COMING! Joe Cassel, a producer of the British TV show: “Man Alive” has called me several times from London, about helping them with the show. I sent her Tape 5 (Spirit/Space) as well as our

last two newsletters. After receiving them, she again called and said a camera crew will visit in early August to film me taping. Arrangements are being made with Westminster church in Baltimore to have me tape at the different catacombs/grave sites in the church basement. This will be shown in the future in Britain. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The cartoon on the left was sent to me by Ed Moore, OH member. I’m not sure about the source of the one on the right. It was in my folder and works in so well with Ed’s I decided to use it. We see this sort of thing advertised so much on our TV sets. I knew one psychic/medium who signed up for a Psychic Friends Network. She was honest and sincere but I never felt that she was gifted enough to give accurate readings. After a year, she withdrew from the group. Another man I know, spends hundreds of dollars each month for telephone readings. His life is still in turmoil. Two years ago, a man in CA wrote for information about the AA-EVP. This was sent and almost by return mail, a check was enclosed along with his order for three tapes. He did not join AA-EVP. Two weeks later he called, thanked me for the tapes and said he and his partner were very impressed with the quality. Rather proudly, he said the two of them were going to

advertise a psychic hot-line on TV with: “Phone Us And Hear Genuine Voices of The Dead Speak”! The more money a person sent, the more voices he’d hear. I was horrified and let him know in no uncertain terms that the two of them were preying on fragile people. I also said I was sure the other side would not look upon them with favor, and sometime they would have to answer for what they had done. Adolfo quickly agreed with me and said it was really ‘his partner’ that wanted to do this. I replied he’d better find another partner. I’ve never known whether they went through with it, but no CA member has ever written and said: “We saw Spirit Voices advertised on our TV!” David Swann MO AA-EVP member, joined after reading the May interview in FATE. He has long wanted to contact a loved one who died over five years ago. In line with this, he wrote to a well-known medium to inquire about an appointment and the cost. This medium is known to me, and probably to most of you also. There have been books about him, and he has appeared as a guest on at least one popular TV program. The books are full of the comfort he has brought others, and he appears to have genuine mediumistic gifts. In his letter to me, David enclosed a Xerox letter from the medium’s program coordinator, giving the prices for appointments. One to two people can

have a 45-50 minute session for $1,000. Three persons, for 50-55 minutes will be charged $1500. If four persons sign up for 60 minutes, the cost will be $2,000. Somehow, all of this appears excessive to me. It is good he can reassure and comfort others in their loss. I suspect, however, he receives some comfort from the $1,000-$2,000 checks. BEST FROM THE PAST On page 4, Adrian Klein suggested trying to receive voices through an open telephone line. I mentioned an experiment similar to this in the Fall 1985 Newsletter (pg.5). In it, I suggested you connect a small portable tape recorder to your telephone. This can be easily and inexpensively done with a telephone 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena recording control and a telephone jack adapter (both available at Radio Shack). Quoting from the article, I wrote: “Put the recorder into record mode. It will not be activated until the telephone receiver is lifted. Lift the phone receiver and dial any single digit. Make a brief announcement. You will have about 25 seconds of clear line before the taped offer of assistance breaks in. Hang up and repeat the procedure. One member dials “time” and records voices in the pause between time announcements”. Let me know your results if you try this experiment. I would like to mention them in a future newsletter. OVERSEAS MAILBAG A letter was received from Judith Chisholm, a friend in England. Quoting from her letter,

she wrote: “You may be interested in my EVP experience which began six months after my eldest son died suddenly in Aug. ‘92. My other son, Victor, and I were devastated by his death, so began to sit in a physical circle. One evening I took along my micro-cassette recorder, only to make a literal record of what happened. (I knew nothing about EVP). On playing the tape back later, another woman said my name. I knew it wasn’t me, or anyone in the circle, because I was the only woman present that evening. That’s how it began, in March of ‘94. Since then, at home sittings of just myself and my son Victor, we have recorded dozens of voices by using just my small cassette recorder and an ionizer. They usually say just one word, but on occasion, when we accidentally knocked over a bottle with a candle in it, an Irish voice said: ‘That was a narrow escape. You nearly broke the bottle.’ “I believe my son has spoken at least twice. In the latest message, I joked about Victor hearing a knock in the kitchen while he was mixing Polyfilla. I said: ‘Perhaps the Polyfilla went hard, and you dropped it and that was the knock we heard.’ My son (in spirit) replied—and all of this is on tape: ‘Yeah, very funny, well, can you not laugh at us.’ Without question, it was my ‘dead’ son’s voice, intonation and everything. I agree with you that EVP is

a miracle. A miracle we can share with our loved ones.” NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ, Superintendent of the Bureau of Phenomena for the National Spiritualist Church and on the board of directors, called me in June. He asked if 1 would be able to lead a workshop on taping voices at their national conference in Oct. This will be held in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, I had to refuse his kind invitation. Bernard will lead the workshop in my place. For further information you can contact him at: 1710 E. Bell De Mar—Tempe 85283. Robert Camburn, PA, wrote an interesting article about Miracles in a recent Journal for Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. Heidi Casasco, MD, is the program director for Noetic Sciences in the Annapolis area. She asked me to speak about ITC at their July meeting. Since I was unable to do this, Winnie Peters, MD AA-EVP member, kindly filled in for me. Jesse Glass, Ph.D., Japan, called me in May from Japan, where he teaches English at a women’s college. He will be leading a group from his college to visit various historical sites in the U.S. in August. He will also read some of his poetry at two Universities in Boston and Syracuse. When we talked, Jesse told about a visit to an ancient Buddhist temple in Japan. That night he had several vivid dreams/experiences. In each case, he was actually thrown violently out of his bed and almost forced to go to his

balcony. The ‘entity’ tried to persuade Jesse to throw himself off the balcony which, because of the height, would have meant death. Jesse said he had to physically struggle with all of his strength against this unseen force. Eventually it left. Talking later to someone who knew the history of the temple, the person told Jesse that it had a long history of hauntings. Many people have reported seeing spectral figures while at the temple. In the last two months, I have enjoyed surfing the Internet. While surfing around the countless UFO sites, I came across: “Flying Saucer Review”. FSR is an excellent journal published in Great Britain. They have a long list of distinguished board members. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Our own Michel Granger, Ph.D., France, is listed on the board. Sally Ringen, IN, is another new member who joined after reading the FATE interview with me. She is a natural born intuitive, and is the Founding Director of The Marshall Center in Anderson. From the newspaper articles and other info she sent me, the Center is active in healing and offers many metaphysical classes. Ernst Senkowski, Ph.D., Germany, recently lectured at the Society for Psychical Research in London. E-MAIL BEING CONSIDERED Several members have suggested we offer E-mail to other members who have a computer and E- mail capability. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it could be convenient. On the other hand, it might

become an albatross around one’s neck. In any case, I have not ruled it out and so in line with this, you will find a special enclosure. If you have a computer and would like to receive and send E-mail messages, fill it our carefully. Please Print. If you have one incorrect digit, or letter, your E-mail will not ‘fly’. This also means that I have to be able to read what you write. By filling out the enclosed form and signing your name, you indicate you want to be a part of the AA-EVP E-mail network. Deadline is September 16th. I will announce in your Autumn Newsletter (October) if we will have this feature, and if so, the first E-mail list will be enclosed with your newsletter at that time. Future E-mail lists will be enclosed with each quarterly newsletter, similar to the cross-country list. LOOKING AT BOOKS Recently, I completed reading The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot (Harper Perennial- 1992). It is an excellent book in every way, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It has helped me look at my universe and the possible universe(s) around it in a different, and much more appreciative way. Jackie Colligan wrote about some books she has just finished reading. She especially recommends: Merging Dimensions by Tom Dongo-P.O. Box 2571, Sedona, AZ 82339. Write to Tom for a list of his other books. Deadline for the Autumn News is Sept. 20th. Enjoy your summer! ODDS AND ENDS Always, my best

Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1996 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are. It was in October 1976, that I sat down for the first time in front of my tape recorder and asked: “Is anyone here?” In September, a TV crew came to my home to film me for a new national TV program. The field director asked questions off screen about voice phenomena. When the show is aired, I will be shown answering questions (the questions won’t be heard). Instead, it will give the impression that I am informally talking about the phenomena in a ‘stream of consciousness’ situation. The last question asked was: “What have you learned in twenty years of taping?” For me, the most important thing I have learned is that we survive death in an individual, conscious state. Until twenty years ago, I believed we didn’t. At the age of five, I became utterly convinced no one survived death. This is a rather young age for a child to have such thoughts, but it came about as a result of a series of traumatic experiences. When my grandfather remarried, his second wife and her son owned a funeral home in New York. Twice a year my parents and I would

visit them. It was there I saw my first dead person. When visiting hours were over and no one was around, I would slide the door open to the parlor, closing it carefully behind me, and go to the casket. Standing on tiptoes, only about two feet away from the corpse, I would gaze at the person laid out in front of me. Normally, you would expect a young child to be terrified in such a situation. I wasn’t, because the person was so completely dead. Within my childish heart I knew they were totally incapable of hurting anyone or anything. It was then, at age five, I lost all hope of heaven or fear of hell. What else have I learned in twenty years? I have learned that we are met by friends and loved ones who earlier made their transition. I know we go to the level in spirit where we deserve to go. I know I will be with others after death who are like me. Those that have not lived their lives in love and peace; who have committed serious transgressions against others, will find themselves surrounded by similar spirits. They won’t like what they find, but even the ‘lowliest’ will have the opportunity to work their way out of that level and to slowly start moving away from that sad place. Those who die discover they are, as they have frequently said on tape: “Back home.” This suggests to me that reincarnation is a fact.

To my joy, I have learned since 1976 that we can be reunited with pets that we loved. They will be there waiting for us, along with our loved ones, as we cross over. I even know we are given some choice as to where we are to start our spirit life. Styhe, my chief guide for many years, answered my questions about this with: “We sit with him.” and later added: “Two places are looked over.” I know that the world beyond death is a place of peace and beauty. In fact, the very first word I taped was: “Beauty.” when I asked what their world was like. It is important to me to have learned that we, as tapers, can help the ‘dead’ who are confused by what has happened and beg for help on our tapes. I give suggestions as to how they can move on and keep them in my thoughts and prayers. Completely unexpected to me is that I have discovered other dimensions (besides spirit) who can, upon rare occasions, speak through my tape recorder. What a great relief it is to know that we don’t have to wait until the trumpets blow to arise from the grave. An active spirit life begins the instant physical life ends. All of this, and so much more, I have learned in the last twenty years. I could go on and on, but space is limited, and I must stop. Recently I read: “You cannot discover new oceans

unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” The bark I climbed aboard twenty years ago, is still sailing onward. There is no horizon in sight. May you also find the light in enlightenment as you leave the shore to explore new oceans. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena WERE THEY RELATED? Early the morning of July 27, I was awakened by the loud screeching sound of my telephone. Since I get up at 3:30 seven mornings a week, this dictates an early bedtime, normally before nine. Too often, I have had my sleep disturbed by calls that come after this. As a result, I always take the receiver off the hook at bedtime. After the usual taped message asking me to dial, and then a screeching noise, everything is quiet until I replace the receiver at 3:30 the next morning. I was deeply asleep on July 27, when the screeching of my phone occurred. Looking at my bedside clock, the red digital numbers showed 1:07. As the noise continued, the numbers changed to 1:08. Wondering what had caused this noise that had never happened before, I returned to sleep. Less than three hours later, I went out to the kitchen to get breakfast and was startled to see the large painting behind my living room sofa was gone. It had hung there since moving in three years earlier. Looking behind the sofa, there it stood with the wire in

place, and the hanger undisturbed eight feet above. At five when I turned on the TV to get the morning news, I learned there had been a bombing at the Olympics earlier that morning. The call, warning about the explosion, was made to 911 shortly before 1:00 on Saturday morning. One can only wonder if the disaster in Atlanta somehow affected my phone and picture at that same time. A VISIT TO SCOLE Scole, England, is a center for active physical manifestations from spirit entities. Weekly meetings are held and visitors from other countries have attended the gatherings, always leaving impressed. Scientists have observed the activity and have never found any evidence of fraud. Tina Laurent, AA-EVP member, Wales, attended a meeting in August. Her condensed report follows: WITNESS REPORT—Tina Laurent “On the 25th of August, I was one of nine people who had been invited to sit with the Scole experimental group. I settled in with my companions to what turned out to be the most memorable day in my life of 59 years. As Robin, the leader was introducing us to their work, the wooden table next to him gave two bangs. Each separate incident, from the initial cold wafts of air, cowbells ringing to the energy voices that moved about the middle of the room speaking to individuals was by itself a unique and inspiring thing to witness. With the ‘thickening’ of the atmosphere, temperature dropping, I began to be aware of noise and the solidity of

vague forms on both sides of me. A hand gently touched me with love. Overall, I was touched about ten times, even seeing the fingers of the hand in the illumination of the Spirit light. It tugged my thumbs, grasped my wrist and the top of my head. Unknown to my sitting companions, on first encountering the blackness of the cellar, I had hitched the bottom of my slacks up as far as they could go in order to feel more keenly the anticipated cool breezes. The hand, as a final gesture, grasping one ankle, moved up and down the bare flesh as if to say, ‘We are aware of what you’ve done.’ The Spirit light approached me, hovering gently in front of my face. We communicated telepathically and I said: ‘Yes, you can enter.’ It immediately whooshed into my solar plexus making a small plop that I felt. It moved around for a little while giving me a tickling sensation, then moved quickly down my arm and plopped back into the room through the back of my hand. What do I make of all this? Well, I know that the love encountered was very real and tangible. It is an experience that will burn warmly within me for the rest of my life.” MISSING HUSBAND SPEAKS THROUGH EVP Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, sent me the above article that appeared in the June 15 issue of Psychic News (London). It reported that Christine Curran, the wife of a missing

prison officer, is convinced he is dead- through EVP- and has heard his voice on tape. She called upon the help of Heleneia, a gifted 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena medium, who has subsequently visited upon several occasions in the Curran home. They used a tape recorder during one of the visits and Christine said there were at least 10 examples of EVP. She has submitted this tape to the Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena, who has confirmed that the tape does contain examples of EVP. Christine believes her husband was murdered, possibly by the IRA. He was based at Whitemoor, which was the scene of an attempted IRA breakout in 1994. EVP-HOW TO TUNE IN TO SPIRIT Immediately following the above article, the editor asked Dominic Macquire, AA-EVP member, England, to give suggestions on taping voices. He gave very clear, helpful suggestions, so the readers could start their own experiments. He mentions: “One of the problems with voice recordings is the speed of the particular radio wave, which serves as the carrier for the voice signal at any given time. The speed of most wave lengths used so far, has caused nearly all the spirit voices to be recorded faster than the speed of normal speech. A variable speed tape recorder is helpful to adjust the pitch of the voice during play back. It is believed that any wave in the entire electromagnetic spectrum may be used, including

light and sound waves. When sound waves are used for recording spirit voices they are recorded at more like the speed of normal speech.” TAPING IN THE FIELD Although I do very little taping anymore away from my office, there are exceptions. In early August, I spent four days working with the Man Alive group from London. It is part of the largest British commercial TV channel in Great Britain. The first two days were spent looking over the two locations I’d chosen for the shooting. Both producers were enthusiastic with my selection and so the 3rd and 4th day we returned with a large camera crew hired from near Washington, D.C. The first day of taping was aboard the U.S. Constellation, a frigate over 150 years old, docked in the Baltimore Harbor. It is closed now to the public while extensive repairs are taking place, but we received special permission to go aboard this fascinating historical ship. The Constellation fought many battles and a number of men died on her. My daughter Becky, who taped successfully with me in Egypt, joined me for the first day. Between us we recorded 21 voices, some Class A. Although we taped shoulder to shoulder, never more than a foot apart due to a very restrictive camera/sound set-up, none of our messages were identical. This is typical when recording with someone else in close proximity. It reinforces my theory that each of us has unique energies that draws the unseen to that particular

person, giving their own individual message(s). One of the clear Class A messages I taped was: “I’m beside you Becky.” This followed my question: “Is there anything in particular you want to say?” Six days later, the two London producers returned with a different camera crew. On this day, we taped at the William Paca House in historic Annapolis. The house was built over 250 years ago and has been beautifully preserved. It is decorated in the manor of Colonial homes of that era, with some of the Paca furniture still in place. Paca was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and played an important role in the formation of our country. On this day, I taped alone, receiving five messages. One of the most interesting came through in the kitchen, standing in front of the open fireplace where most of the cooking took place. My questions was: “Is William Paca here?” Within three seconds an indignant woman’s voice is heard clearly as she says: “I think not!” Unknown to me, or any of the crew in the room, the curator of the house was standing out in the hail with Jo Kessel, one of the London producers. When the curator heard my question, he whispered to Jo: “Of all the people Sarah could have called on, William Paca is the last. He never went into the kitchen.” So, the woman, acting as if I should have known better than to call on Paca, gave a very evidential message

with her reply. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The program, which will show 3-4 people in the U.S. doing significant work with the unseen, will be aired in Great Britain in March or April 1997. UNDERSTANDING ALIENS—LETTER TO THE EDITOR—THE CAPITAL (ANNAPOLIS) JULY 13, 1996 “On July 4, I, along with thousands of other people, saw the ballyhooed movie “Independence Day.” Like most Hollywood movies (with the exception of “ET” (and he was a very different kind of critter) it depicted the aliens as the ultimate in reprehensible beings. Earth men were true, brave and strong. The UFO-alien question is far more complex than most people realize. They probably come not from one world, but from several. Yes, some who visit could be considered ‘bad’ in the morality of our culture. (We have no bad Earth people among us)? To abduct and examine—many times painfully—is abhorrent. (We never do that to our own kind)? Yet I want to stress that many who come mean us no harm, and commit no acts of terrorism. (I wish I could say the same about us). Some of our visitors explain that their reason for coming is “To help man.” At rare times they will mention their God. “We have different God.” So he is different from our own? That doesn’t make him less desirable than the God of man. They look upon him much the way we look upon our own. He is omnipotent. “He

knows everything.” There is objective evidence for all of this. Frankly, I would worry more about them if they didn’t believe in a God. We are guilty of committing grave injustices against everyman. Now we are trying to inoculate the public into carrying on that mind-set toward other sentient beings in different dimensions. Eventually we may learn that while there are dissimilarities between us, we are more alike than we imagine.” Sarah Estep, Annapolis. The above picture was sent to me by Jacqueline Colligan, AA-EVP member, NV. She received it from her friend Tom Dongo, Sedona, AZ, who photographed it and called it: The Little UFO. OUR TAPERS REPORT We have more people, some for the first time, reporting taping success than ever before. It shows the bridge of communication between this world and spirit is becoming more accessible to many individuals. Going in alphabetical order: Jacqueline Colligan wrote: “Some of the very long messages I have gotten lately are: ‘Our God sends children to you.’ ‘This is the world I believe in Jesus.’ ‘How can we help you?’ ‘You can bring help for me.’ (Female singing). ‘We wrote the scribes on you.’ Terry Cox, England feels he is having good taping results. His wife, Pam, had to spend some time in the hospital. While she was there, Terry, using his mini cassette recorder for ten seconds each time, taped beside Pam’s bed. A female voice said: “They left me alone.” A man then asked: “Which one is it lady?”

Next, Terry heard a Greek chorus of women’s voices chanting: “They let me die.” He frequently finds 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena messages changed later when he enters them in his notebook. Terry wrote: “I hold the theory that a voice on the tape leaves an electronic ‘rut’ which is easier for them to use over again.” Trixie Cuthbertson, England wrote: “I tape most nights of the week and it is always a delight when I get a paranormal utterance. The most recent one occurred last week when I asked if they ‘had Sport’, or Theater in their world. A male voice replied sadly: ‘No-o-o.’ Margot Gizienski, CA said that her mother speaks from the other side through her recorder. She told Margot that she went to her own funeral. When Margot asked her what she did after the funeral, she replied that she sat in the corner and waited for the devil to come for her. Margot laughed and said her mother was a wonderful woman, but because she didn’t always go to mass, she was convinced the devil would take her at death. One day Margot recorded “Greeter.” Margot asked what that meant and he said he greeted her mother and also her grandfather at death because both were confused. Dr. Adrian Klein, Israel, continues with many experiments, trying to improve communications from Spirit, so he may receive more and clearer contact with his parents. Adrian wrote that he asked

his mother if she heard him right then. She replied: “Of course I hear you, but you don’t hear me!” Adrian said she stressed the words you and me. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that she has asked several times about TWA flight 800, that crashed in the summer. The only word she was able to pick up was “Gasoline.” She, personally, doesn’t think the reply is accurate. She taped at another time: “Little astronaut.” Clara called on a former minister of a church. She had known the minister well, and felt a great deal of respect for her. Since the woman’s death, the church has changed greatly (not for the better). Clara asked her if she wanted to make a statement about the church, and the minister replied: “This is mighty different!” Later, the same woman came through and said: “I cry. You need me,” evidently meaning the state of the church today. Jean Lodge, N.Y. wrote that eleven days after a close friend passed on to spirit, she was able to receive her on tape. Jean wrote: ‘She was her own perky self as she came through with: ‘Help you, help you. Wow, Jean! Good luck! I’ve got my puppy. I had cancer. I have my cat, Tabatha. Good pals.’ She gave her name, and everything came through in one taping. Jean said all of the information on the tape was correct. Jean stressed she had not called on her friend the first time; the woman just

came through and spoke. She has spoken to Jean several times since then. Dominic Macquire, England writes frequently about various taping experiments he is trying, and the results. Using an aluminum reflector, provided the comment: “Edward wouldn’t come.” There had been a young man visiting Dominic at the time, who had to leave before the five minute recording. The following day, he and another person returned and listened to the message. Unknown to Dominic, the real name of this visitor was Edward. Irene Maletsky, along with her daughter, Valerie Tjaden, are N.J. State Coordinators. Irene tapes each morning in the kitchen while doing the dishes. One day, Irene was doing this and singing. On tape playback, a clear male voice said: “Sick!” She and Valerie have been scheduled for several speaking engagements in 1997 for various Women’s clubs. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me two excellent tapes. Some of the Class A messages are: “Yes, and I do it all.” “Very sorry for him.” “You beneath yourself.” “He had a woman.” “Now he leave her.” “And the Book say that we be Opposite.” “Earth, the Opposite.” “Now just Reverse It. Amaze you!” Raymond Niswanger, TX joined AA-EVP in August—although he is primarily interested in research & development and is actively experimenting—he also tapes. He wrote: “Some voices monitor my work. After plugging in a new receiver to check its noise level, a Class A voice came in immediately, saying: “There you have got it.” 5 Tom and

Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Carol Ann Poole, LA accepted my offer in the summer newsletter to send: “Tips for Trips.” She wrote that she and her husband were going on a China cruise and she hopes to tape voices on her hand-held micro cassette recorder, at some of the Buddhist temples and other sites. She normally uses her Sony boom box for taping, but has received only one audible voice. A man said: “Don’t swing.” Carol commented that this made no sense to her. Sal Rainone, N.Y. called. He is eager to receive many voices, and asks the other side to speak. One day, a clear female voice answering his plea said: “Give me time.” EXPERIMENTAL WORK Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, commented on our way to New York the end of August: “The AA- EVP certainly seems to be getting more technically minded people.” This is true. The focus of the following individuals is to make communication between this dimension and the next, more successful for all tapers through new or improved electronic devices. Gerry Connelly, England has come up with an idea that I like. He wrote: “In spite of everything, there are still people who believe that the Voices are caused by radio. One way of refuting this notion is by placing the recording equipment inside a Faraday cage. This is a metal cage that will not allow in (or out) any electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength bigger than the holes

in the mesh. Most people have a Faraday cage in their homes: it’s called a microwave oven. Place a small battery operated tape recorder in your microwave. If voices are still received, that would rule out radio broadcasts. Of course, on no account should the oven be turned on!” I would like to encourage all members to try this simple experiment. Please let me know if you receive any voices, so I can do a follow-up in a future newsletter. As mentioned on page 4, Dominic Macquire tries many experiments. In a letter dated Sept. 13, Dominic wrote: “I propose that modulations of human brain waves by a SPIRIT PERSON’S mental words is possible. I tried this two weeks ago. Using a very sensitive microphone, I put my head 3 inches away from the mike which was on a floor stand, causing a loud feedback, my body probably serving as an antenna, and said aloud what I was doing. At that point, on the tape, a woman’s voice can be heard singing in chant like tones.” This is another simple experiment our tapers can try. Please let me know your results. Raymond Niswanger, mentioned previously on this page, is doing extensive experiments with voice phenomena. He wrote that he built two transmitters. “One transmitter transmitted audio only and the other a modulated carrier wave with a bandwidth from 150 Kc to 170 Mc. Some of the results are: Audio waves could be implanted onto either side of the tape in

the play or record cycle. The modulated carrier wave could not. The dynamic mike was very receptive to the audio waves but not the modulated carrier wave. The electric mike was not receptive to either the audio or modulated carrier waves. Audio amplifiers were receptive to the audio transmissions even though they were completely shielded. Telephone and house wiring also were sensitive to audio radiation. The sensitivity to sound pressure waves can be increased substantially by adding another transistor to the head of the electric mike. This is not recommended for the dynamic mike. Currently, a two-channel receiver is under construction. One channel for an antenna assembly and the other for both types of mikes. Each channel has a censor to detect any signal above the receiver internal noise. Output will be fed to both the recorder and earphones.” In a later letter, he wrote: “It may be that the voice is simply implanted on either side of the tape and does not arrive through a microphone. Planned future tests will determine which methods are used. The VR 100 receiver that is currently being designed and constructed may answer these as well as other questions concerning voice reception.” INIT CONFERENCE-TARRYTOWN, N.Y. On August 30th, IN AA-EVP member, Dale Palmer and his wife Kay, picked me up at my home in Annapolis to drive to the INIT (International Network of Instrumental Transcommunication) conference that was to start later that day. On our way, we stopped for Hans Heckmann in PA. The

meeting was held at the 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena beautiful inn and conference center located in Tarrytown, New York. Dale, Hans and I are the original U.S. board members, along with Mark Macy, CO and his wife Regina. Mark is chairman of the U.S. board. The international board, consists of leading experimenters from around the world. Many of them were present as we began our first closed meeting after dinner on Friday. Gunter Emde, Germany, led our meetings which lasted until after lunch Sunday. He did an excellent job, and I feel all 25 people who participated in the meetings felt our gathering was a most productive one. Various issues were discussed and plans made for future advances to help ITC (instrumental transcommunication) become better known and more accessible on a global basis. On Sunday afternoon at two, the doors were opened to the public for four hours. Dale Palmer introduced all speakers. Mark Macy and Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach, who are also board members, gave excellent presentations which included tapes and slides. Two hundred people attended Sunday afternoon. Some of our AA-EVP members also came. Victor DeVincenzo and his wife Gerry from N.J. were there. Allyn Kahn, N.Y.; Dr. Eli Feldman and his daughter, N.Y.; and Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. were all present. For me, personally, the conference surpassed all of my expectations. A great deal of credit and appreciation goes to Juliet Hollister, CT, who was instrumental in making the

meeting possible. TRIER, GERMANY At the N.Y. INIT meeting, one of the German members announced that the German INIT group planned a one day April conference at the Ramada Hotel in Trier. Outstanding speakers will take part such as Mark Macy, Jules & Maggy Harsh-Fischbach and Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil (a new AA-EVP member). The short conference may be too far for most U.S. people to attend, but should be of great interest to our European & British members. For info, contact: Dr. Raif Determeyer Schuetzenweg 7, D-79 199 Kirchzarten, Germany. SURFING When I have time, I like to ‘surf’ the Internet. There are many interesting items waiting to be discovered. One of these is ISCNI (Institute for the Study of Contact with Non-human Intelligence). Michael Lindemann is the editor of their twice-monthly electronic newsletter. You might like to contact him. E-mail address is: [email protected]. The first two issues are sent without charge. You must be on the Internet and have E-mail capability to receive the Flash. EVP-READING LIST Thanks go to Dominic Macquire, who has spent time and effort preparing a list of books and papers that relate to voice phenomena. Although some listed are not in English, or are out of print, it is a good comprehensive list. For a copy, please send me a self-addressed stamped envelope. SHOW ME ONE SOUL-NANCY L. STALLINGS My close friend , Nancy Stallings, has sent me her recently published book: Show Me One Soul. It is in hardback, published by Noble House.

They were so impressed with the book, it was brought out within a few months, instead of the usual year to year and a half that it normally takes. It is an excellent book describing the many experiences that occurred over a 10 year period while they were living in a haunted house in Baltimore. Nancy and her husband Ron, and their seven children were all affected—many times negatively, during these years. I mention Nancy and Ron in my own book: Voices of Eternity, and described some of the situations we investigated together. My recommendation for the book is printed on the back cover. I encourage members to examine the book at your local bookstore. Once you begin reading it, you’ll have difficulty putting it down. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena WORLD CONGRESS-BRAZIL-AUGUST 30-31 Sonia Rinaldi from Brazil, attended our INIT meeting in N.Y. Since the board hopes to meet each year in a different country, she offered to host the conference in Sao Paulo in 1997.When she asked for board members to assist her in planning, Dr. Fred Bader (CT AA-EVP member) and I, volunteered. We have heard from Sonia several times in the last six weeks. Fred and I are in charge of the U.S. contingent and organizing travel plans. At this point plans are tentative. The conference will be preceded by a 3-4 day guided tour of various mystical locations in Brazil, for those who wish. Conference sessions will

be led by outstanding experimenters from around the world. In a previous national conference held several years ago, over 1900 attended. In this, our World Congress, at least 2,000 are expected. August weather in Brazil is very much like August weather in the eastern part of the U.S. More detailed plans will be given in future newsletters. Meanwhile, place the August World Congress in Brazil, in your bank of positive thoughts. FIRST E-MAIL LIST ENCLOSED For those who signed up for E-Mail, your first list is enclosed. Your updated list will be sent with the quarterly newsletter. Members, new and old, are invited to join who are on the Internet and have E-Mail capability. If you wish to withdraw your name from the list at any time, let me know. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is December 20th. ODDS AND ENDS Always, my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1997 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Now it is 1997! It usually takes me a month or more to faithfully remember to change the dates of my correspondence to the new year. Am I trying to live in the past? No, I don’t think so. While my past holds many things I cherish, there are more than

enough experiences, ongoing and finished, that I’d rather forget; that I could live without. Rereading that last sentence, I think: “Wait a minute! Is any experience ever really finished?” I’d have to say, I guess not. Each of us today, is what every experience we have ever had has made us as of this moment. This, I suspect, goes back to the instant of birth, perhaps before. If we can tentatively accept that—that no experience is ever truly concluded, then we must look at the rest of the sentence. It’s just about a given, that nothing we have ever experienced is ever actually forgotten. It’s there, lurking deep within the subconscious, which supposedly affects to a greater or lesser degree the way we live our lives today. It governs how we act or react to what we meet as we live each day. Then, we come to the end of the sentence: “...I could live without.” Could I? Could any of us live without the experiences that we encountered since we began our moment of life? When the Lord was passing out physical characteristics before I returned this time, he left out height in the basket of goodies he bestowed upon me. I used to tell those who asked how tall I was, that I was 5’1/4”. They always laughed at the one-fourth inch, but I would reply: “If you took away the 1/4 inch, I wouldn’t be me!” And isn’t this true? If the Good Fairy could remove one

thing from you that you most wanted to lose, face it, you would no longer be you! This, naturally, applies not only to physical characteristics, but to every single experience, the bitter and the sweet, that you have ever encountered. A friend who I cherish for his wisdom and expertise in the field of instrumental transcommunication has said to me upon several occasions: “Sarah, we must have been idiots if we volunteered to come back and have some of the experiences we are having in this life.” Perhaps. I like to think, however, that much that we have found, are situations we volunteered for before our current life. We did this, knowing that we could learn more; our spirit would be strengthened, from a difficult life, than one upon which our ship sailed largely over a sea of whipped cream. Everyone knows someone whose life seems easy, who is living a ‘charmed’ life. I sometimes wonder if a puff of wind would blow them away, or if they would withdraw so completely in escape that society would then have to care for them. In the course of life, each of us face crisis’ of experience that may be of short or long duration. It may help to keep Thomas Crum’s words in mind: “Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on the shifting carpet.” Some of us do more dancing than others but I don’t suppose any of us are especially eager

to enter this type of contest. Don’t berate yourself for your missteps. While we may have difficulty keeping in step, keeping in time with the music, and finding happiness in our lives, know that it is not possible to find it anywhere else. You are what you are! Every blip, every 1/4 inch of you is precious. Take away one iota and you would no longer be you. You are a gift, an affirmation of life. Remember, God doesn’t expect perfection, only that we try to do our best. There is a Maori proverb that says: “Turn your face toward the sun and the shadow falls behind you.” This might not always be completely true on an emotional basis, but it may help. May 1997 be a year in which you find that unexpected light. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena PAUL JOHNSON LIBERANT My dear friend, Paul Johnson, Founder and President of SAC (Spiritual Advisory Council) made his transition to his new life on December 11th. Paul had been ill for over a year but in spite of failing health continued sending out his monthly newsletters and held his yearly summer conference at Lake Forest College IL, last summer. Paul was a strong supporter of instrumental transcommunication. He joined the AA-EVP in 1983 and had been a faithful member ever since. I can still see him sitting in the audience as I held the first national AA-EVP conference in August ‘83. At

the last conference I had planned for July ‘92, and had to cancel because of my husband’s first stroke, he and his wife Marikay, had been scheduled to teach a workshop. It was my privilege to lecture and teach two workshops at Paul’s conferences. There, I came to know him and Marikay who was always supportive and deeply involved in Paul’s work. Over the years, Paul and I exchanged many letters in which we shared our inner thoughts. Even this last year when it became increasingly difficult for him to write and carry on with SAC, he would send me notes of encouragement regarding my own personal difficulties. Paul was never “too busy”, he never permitted his fatal illness to stop him from holding out his hand to those in need. We felt alike about many things on a spiritual and metaphysical basis. I have never known a person who had the generosity of spirit that I found in Paul. So often, I wished I could be more like him. The February ‘97 conference upon which he had spent so much of his final ebbing energies will still be held. It will be a memorial tribute to all of his many years in which he so lovingly gave to others. Although we may weep at Paul’s passing while rejoicing at his return home, know that Paul will always be with us. His work here, the good that he has done, will never be lost. Paul is continuing his mission from

the world beyond death. VOICE FREQUENCY COMPARISON Are phone calls from the ‘dead’ genuine or are they as the skeptics say, merely a long-distance phone call from a fraudulent person? Those of us who have been fortunate to receive such calls believe they are genuine. Unfortunately, until now, we haven’t had the objective evidence to say: “They are real because of this factor!” I have received two such calls from Konstantin Raudive, and a third call, although not directed to me, involved me and was received by Ed Moore, OH AA-EVP member. This came through Dec. 23, 1995 and the caller merely said: “This is the ghost of Christmas Past.” Unknown to Ed, I had written this sentence to three friends—not Ed the first week in December, none of whom knew Ed. The male caller was aware I had written this, and also knew that many individuals claim these calls are fakes. He wanted to prove to everyone they are real. In addition to the call, Ed wrote the ring was “weak, funny sounding with strange static on the line that remained for several hours.” As I wrote in the winter ‘96 newsletter, to me this is the strongest case on record of cross-correspondence, in itself outstanding evidence of survival. Dr. Carlos Luz (Brazil), an engineer and computer analyst, has confirmed the genuineness of the phone calls. Mark Macy, President of Continuing Life Research, CO, received a letter and several articles from Dr. Luz. He has done a thorough computer

analysis of Raudive’s phone voices in comparison with an adult male’s voice. The fundamental frequency is how many times the vocal chords open/close per second. A male voice has the fundamental frequency between 100-130 Hz (vibrations) a second. This creates the “harmonics”—a by-product of the fundamental frequency. Raudive’s paranormal voice has a fundamental frequency between 500 Hz to 1,428 Hz. This shows that the voice though human sounding, is not produced by human vocal cords. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena TELECOMMUNICATION Quoting from an article in Psychic News, England the correspondent wrote: “The subject of spirit telephone calls is understandably at the more controversial end of psychic science. However, this phenomena may be more common than we think.” He then described a phone call received by Pat Jeffrey, who ran a mediumship circle with her husband, in the mid-1980’s. The day Pat’s mother died, she received a telephone call from the late Helen Duncan (the famous physical medium and principal communicator in the circle) who told Pat: “Mum is safe and with us.” This was followed by the voice of her son, Michael, who was also deceased, and then a song was sung. Pat, in a state of shock, phoned a member of their circle to tell her of the incredible events that had just taken place. During this conversation, another song was sung. Pat and the friend could both hear the singing, and yet when she called the operator to trace

the source of the call, there was no record of any call having being made. WHAT DO SPIRITS USE IN THEIR CALLS? Dominic Macquire, England AA-EVP member, tries many interesting experiments and has a number of nutritional thoughts regarding the voice phenomena as a whole. Bill Denyer, a friend, and Dominic have discussed spirit phone calls. It is his theory that the spirit voice is probably not received through the mouth piece microphone because it is carbon. He feels it is more likely that it would be through the earphone speaker which is magnetic, a magnet with a coil. Such a loud speaker (even in a telephone) is capable of serving as a microphone. OUR TAPERS REPORT It never fails to give great pleasure to write about the results our members are receiving through their tape recorders. We have two new members this time, which is always a special joy. Going in alphabetical order: Jackie Colligan, NV wrote: “Sometimes the voices talk directly to me but for the most part they allow me to listen into their conversations.” Jackie likes to experiment and uses different sound sources. She commented: “The CB is easier to hear and decipher than the water voices, but the static is maddening. I get a great deal from both sources, whereas with no sound I only receive short messages. I have many allergies, and using the CB (no antenna up) I recently taped: “I hear that Jackie is sick. When it happens it scares me sometimes.

I hope half of the saints reach her.” A female voice sang “There’s a big star. Supposed to carry in the sea. It’s as fast as me.” The end of November, Jackie was using a new recorder with a built in mike. On that day, Rick, a regular communicator said: “I don’t like this mike now. What am I going to do?” Another time Jackie taped: “There’s a planet scrapping the earth. Desert planet.” It is Jackie’s thought that they may have been referring to the companion of the comet ‘Hale Bopp’ that is larger than earth and is supposed to pass over us this coming March or April. Terry Cox, England, sent me a tape in November. He had a number of clear, interesting messages on it. Some of the especially clear ones were: “It’s Philip.” “I don’t know what’s happen.” “How are you?” “Hello.” “Rubbish.” Terry records frequently while he is sleeping. I, also, did a number of sleep experiments many years ago. Connecting my tape recorder to a timer, it would automatically come on early in the morning while I was asleep. At the end of Side 1 (or two) it would shut off. Each time I tried this, I received messages, in which ‘they’ showed they were very aware of me, as I lay sleeping. Terry does much the same thing, and some of his best voices came through while he was asleep. As examples, he taped “Alms for the lady.” (Which I called A+). “Turner.”

“Get up!” “Damn your army.” Gary Diehl, MD, joined just two months ago and has started regular taping. He wrote that his approach is orientated more to psychology than physics. He is using naturally induced (non- pharmacological) altered states of consciousness in order to determine their effect, if any, on EVP experiments. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator continues taping faithfully, even after many years. She wrote: “On the 8th of September, this message appeared via tape: “Jennifer talking. Come and see EVP channel. Jennifer on EVP. Come and see ‘Lisa’s channel.” Clara said her name is frequently abbreviated, and she is sometimes called ‘Lisa. She went on to comment that Jennifer was a friend from way back who has moved away and is not well. “Naturally, I thought she had gone to spirit, so I made a call and found out she had not died, but was quite frail and not expected to be here much longer. My feeling is that she traveled during sleep and paid a visit to me. This is my third experience of this sort.” Before closing, Clara mentioned that Mercedes Shepanek (former VA State Coordinator before her death and close friend of Clara’s) had told her that spirit often called her “Isabelle” on tape but she didn’t know why. Frequently, now, when she speaks to Clara, she will call herself Isabelle. Dominic Macquire sent me a tape with some examples. One message

from his wife was: “Oh Mac, you are a poppet.” Another time he recorded: “Coming through microphone.” Dominic was thinking to himself that he would have to get better equipment and a few minutes later he taped: “Is something wrong with the equipment?” Jim Morgan, NV, is also a new member, having joined the end of October. He wrote: “I am so glad to have found your AA-EVP. My interest is very strong. My voices are still whispers but I can understand some of them.” Jim feels that those who are persistent, who endure with their taping, will be rewarded. Dan McKee, IL and FL State Coordinator, sent me an excellent tape from just one day’s recording session—Dec. 3rd. He received in this one session over 40 outstanding messages on the reverse side of his tape. I called most of them A+. Some of them were: “You have east a lot-I trail it.” “Are they hurry?” “And that may drown to our Big Signal.” “Watch how I’m paying you.” “I fear to us also.” “Boy, you have little piece of New Earth.” “Earth I see I nearly on.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “What Do Spirits Use In Their Calls?”, found on pg.3, and the theory that the spirit voice is probably received through the earphone speaker of the telephone, reminded me of an interesting experiment I described in the summer 1986 newsletter. Dr. G. P. Krokhalev, professor at Perm Umversity, U.S.S.R.,

wrote an article titled: “EVP.” In it he said: “The human body can act as a receiver and a transmitter of radio waves. The skin acts as a transistor to modulate the waves, transmitting an audible sound via tissue and bones to the brain. Concentration of thought can cause the ears to transmit faint sounds which can be picked up by a sensitive microphone and recorded.” In his EVP experiments Dr. Krokhalev used a plastic or rubber ear-cap, fitting around the ear, with a small hole in the middle for a tiny microphone. Taking this basic idea, I described to my husband Charles, a retired electrical engineer, what I would like. He designed the headphone mike seen above. We used stereo headphones and Charles built into them two mikes, one in each ear piece. The headphones fit comfortably around my head and were worn each time I taped on my stereo tape recorder. In the summer of ‘86 newsletter, I described the results: “External sounds are almost completely eliminated (such as the radio). This is due, no doubt, to the fact that the small mikes inside the headphone fit tightly against the ears. The voices that are taped with the headphone mike, although at times loud, clear Class A, have an unusual quality. There is more white noise in the background than with normal recordings. The taper’s voice is surprisingly loud.” Anyone with a bit of electronic know-how, should be able to build a similar set of headphone mikes without

difficulty. This is an interesting experiment that I hope some of you will try. Please let me know your results. EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN PROGRESS Dominic Macquire wrote that his associate, Bill Denyer, and he, talk several times a week. Denyer is constructing three square wave generators that will cover a wide spectrum of ultrasonic energy. He will let us know what happens. In the same letter, Dominic made the interesting observations: “I have come to the conclusion that there may not be such a difference between the audio and the video methods of communication, they now seem to be two sides of the same coin. The one is produced as electronic clairaudience, the other as electronic clairvoyance.” If this idea is right, the headphone mike described on this page should help the voices speak. WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MICROWAVERS? On page 5 of the Autumn NEWS, I described a very simple experiment idea that came from Gerry Connelly of England. He suggested people place a small battery operated tape recorder in their microwave oven. Microwaves are similar to a Faraday cage that will not allow in (or out) any electromagnetic radiation, with a wavelength bigger than the holes in your mesh. Obviously, don’t turn on the microwave while your tape recorder is inside! To my surprise no one wrote that they had tried the experiment. It is an easy thing to do, so I thought I’d have a response. Yes, I tried it several times. There was one Class A

message: “Very good.” Another one, clear but not loud said: “Don’t know what to say.” There were a few other things but the voice(s) were not loud enough to interpret. I hope some of you will decide to try this during these long winter months. Be aware, that your mike in the microwave will still pick up sounds in the environment. If you try it please let me know. Even if nothing comes through, this is a result that needs to be considered. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ARE YOU A CLIFF CLIMBER? Are you like the Gorilla above, or are you more like his small companion who wants to try climbing the cliff in order to learn what just might be at the top? The cartoonist paraphrased Proverbs 18:13 so I went to the source, the Bible, to see what had inspired him. There I read: “To answer before one hears is one’s folly and shame.” Ah, yes! I doubt if there is anyone who is guiltless from making up their mind and speaking out on a situation before learning as much as possible about the subject. We adopt the attitude: “It’s impossible because it’s impossible.” Those of us involved with transcommunication hear this all the time. In surfing the Internet, I have become acquainted with many individuals and groups. In the autumn newsletter, I mentioned ISCNI (Institute for the Study of Contact with Non-human Intelligence). They publish a twice-monthly electronic

newsletter. Contact their E-mail address: [email protected] for more information. Debra L. Lindemann, the Administrator, sent me an E-mail letter after listening to my Tape 5 (the 45 minute Spirit/Space tape). Quoting from her letter, she wrote: “I think you have some very important information on Side 2. I was particularly interested in the information about the use of ‘black boxes’ as a tool to help synthesize or communicate their voices. The reason this REALLY stood out is some information that has recently surfaced in a documentary on the Roswell incident and the alien bodies. In it, one of the military men present at the crash site stated that one of the beings was still alive and was clutching a ‘black box.’ It seemed important to him/her and they didn’t want to let it go.” More recently, through the Internet, I have come in contact with Dr. Stephen Greer, the director of the CSETI Project ( Starlight) and Shari Adamiak, who is research director of the program. I sent my Spirit/Space tape to them and received very positive replies from each individual. They have asked me to assist them with their program in trying to establish taped contact with those from space. In field trips with their groups, they feel definite physical contact has taken place, although thus far it has been non- verbal. They want very much to change this factor and I have assured them I will do all I can to help. Dr. Greer has already been able

to brief numerous world leaders on the Extraterrestrial Intelligence issue. Quoting from information he sent, we read: “We have found that wide consensus exists among senior political, scientific and military/intelligence figures for a public acknowledgement of the reality of UFOs and ETIs.” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena SEE WHAT HAPPENS I know verbal contact with those not from spirit realms can take place. As described in my book: Voices of Eternity (Chapters 13 & 14), I write about some of the hundreds of messages I taped from ‘Space’. I pointed out to Dr. Greer that I am by no means the only one having such contacts. I know of at least half a dozen other people who have had similar results through their recorders. Are such contacts important? I believe they are. Although spirit contacts have always been, and will remain, our first priority, I feel it behooves us to learn as much as possible about other dimensions, other worlds. Historically, it appears that other-world craft have visited us for thousands of years. There is mounting evidence their contacts with us are increasing and there may well come a time, perhaps sooner than we think, that we may need to know more about them on a personal level. I have never felt at all threatened by any of them. Those I know who have also had taped contact, report all of their experiences as positive. I would like to suggest to all

of you who want to participate that you devote part of your taping efforts in an attempt to reach out in friendship to those from worlds not considered spirit. Let me know whether you have success or not. If messages come through, send me a transcript. I would be especially interested in a copy on tape of these voices speaking. I will be sure to share this information with the appropriate people. THANK YOU FOR ASKING To all of you who wrote inquiring about my husband on your holiday cards; to everyone in the past months who asked about him, I am grateful. Charles is still here but is 90% incapacitated. He has had two strokes since July 1992. In the last three months, he has been rushed to the Annapolis hospital four times. The first time was the end of Sept. and came while I was working on the autumn newsletter. He had advanced pneumonia in both lungs and the doctors were not sure he’d live. The last time was the day before Christmas. I have transferred him to a different Annapolis nursing home where it is hoped he’ll receive better care. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers that whatever is for the best, will be. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J., called and said he is becoming skilled in the use of his pendulum. He has established telepathic contact with his mother and others. Lloyd received the impression that his uncle had

died right before receiving word. Jackie Colligan wrote that a Japanese camera crew filmed her investigating a haunted inn in Rachel, NV. She said: “I am on video someplace in Japan talking about EVP.” Jackie also wrote she’d seen me on the TV program: “Strange Universe.” Edna Drake, Canada, wrote that she is helping to form a metaphysical group that will meet on a regular basis. Eli Feldman, N.Y., continues to send me his newsletter. It contains information from media sources of evidence for survival of bodily death. Eli is on the cross-country list. Irene Maletsky and her daughter Valerie Tjaden, are State Coordinators for N.J. Irene sent me a newspaper clipping from their local newspaper. A reporter had interviewed her the end of Oct. about her taping. She wrote: “Come Halloween, we all become famous!” Carolyn Reed, Canada, wrote that her husband, Howard, is now “quite adept with the pendulum.” They attended the annual meeting this year of the American Society of Dowsers in Vermont and enjoyed it very much. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A new member, Karen Sharp of MD, and her friend Jill Savin have formed their own group. They call it: “Underground Paranormal Stories Exchange Network.” The purpose is to record members’ stories in written form or on audio tape. UPCOMING CONFERENCES As mentioned on page 2, Spiritual Advisory Council still plans to hold their annual winter conference in Orlando, FL from Feb. 21-23. There will be

two pre-conference intensives starting Feb. 19th. The conference will not only be a memorial tribute to their beloved founder and president, Paul Johnson, but will have a full slate of speakers. For information call: 1-800-321-2323. For our British and European members, I would encourage you to attend the ITC one day conference to be held in Trier, Germany on April 5th. Speakers include Dr. Ralf Determeyer, Germany; Maggy Harsch- Fischbach, Luxembourg; Mark Macy, USA; Dr. Gunter & Gertrud Emde, Germany; Dr. Paola Giovetti & Silvana Pagnotta, Italy; and Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil. For info. contact Fritz Malkhoff—Bahnhofstr .24a—D- 54338 Schweich, Germany. Phone: 011 49 6502 9514.9 MAN ALIVE COMING! Jo Kessel, a London producer of the Man Alive group, recently wrote that she and the other producers were very pleased with the program taped in the U.S. last summer. In the autumn newsletter, I wrote that I’d spent 4 days in Aug. working with them, as I taped voices in the field in Baltimore & Annapolis. This cable program will be aired in Great Britain in March or April. Call: +44 (0) 181 743 7431 London for the exact date. BRAZILIAN CONFERENCE-AUG. 16 & 17 Plans are moving ahead for an outstanding world conference to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil next August. Sonia Rinaldi, AA-EVP member, Brazil, is largely responsible for making arrangements. She has rented a large, beautiful meeting complex in Sao Paulo for our activities, capable of holding over 3,000 people. Sonia is expecting that many to attend.

A guided tour is also planned after the conference so, those who wish, will be able to see some of the beauties of the unique country of Brazil. You will be receiving your brochure of the complete program and tour before long. Some of the speakers scheduled are: Maggy & Jules Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg; Fritz Malkhoff, Germany; Saria Buioni, AA-EVP member-Italy; Mark Macy, U.S.A.; Sonia Rinaldi and Carol Luz, Brazil. I have also been asked to speak about my 20 years of taping and the AA-EVP. Try to put this outstanding event on your “Must Do!” for 1997. May all that is good; may peace and joy, be yours in 1997. Deadline for the Spring NEWS—Mar. 26. ODDS AND ENDS Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1997 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “The fog is rising.” These four simple but eloquent words were Emily Dickinson’s last as she died in 1886. In my younger, more foolish days, I wrote poetry. One of my poems, published in the college literary magazine (coincidentally or not) was about fog. I admired Dickinson, especially her nature poems, and many of my own were about similar subjects. People greet death in different ways. Some fight and curse it as it

approaches. It is reported that Richard Wagner, the great composer, raised and shook his fist at ‘heaven’ as his last gesture. Rosalba, from PA. who was an AA-EVP member until her death ten years ago, had been ill with cancer. The nurse who had taken care of her at home, at the end, said Rosalba had asked her to let me know when she made her transition. Miss Smith wrote: Rosalba died peacefully. She’d been in a coma for several days and then, just as she died, she opened her eyes, smiled and said: ‘It is time.’ With that, she sighed, closed her eyes and died.” I am confident for Rosalba, the fog had also risen. With this, our spring ‘97 newsletter, we observe our fifteenth birthday. Our Spring NEWS is the 61st quarterly newsletter I’ve mailed over the years. The first one went to 25 members in ten states and Canada. Today it will he mailed to 300 in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and 12 foreign countries. Reading the first newsletter, especially looking for goals I had set, I read: My role as I see it, is to try to bring us together, to give our individual efforts some cohesiveness. Great discoveries may be made singly or in a group, but wherever they are made, they should be shared. Look upon me as a conduit for your discoveries. One of our reasons for being is to provide evidence of survival and to share results with all. I

look upon AA-EVP as a group, not just to help other EVP experimenters but as an out-reach organization to let others know what we have learned.” Have we met these goals? You are the best judge of that. I personally feel we’ve met them in ‘hearts.’ I use that word since it seems appropriate for what we are doing. We are compassionate individuals. We feel for others. We want to lighten the burdens others carry. Along with our ‘heart-felt’ organization, I would add the word, ‘mind.’ We should not forget that ‘mind’ needs to walk hand in hand with heart. The mind, working in intelligent and creative research, hopefully will help lessen the grief each one of us feels at times. Goals established 15 years ago, still remain firm. They should not be changed. New goals have been added and are progressing well. For the first few years, we were sometimes accused of not being “scientific enough”. There were reasons for this. Our first 25, 50, 100 members were largely ‘heart’ members, as was I. This has greatly changed in the last several years—especially the last 12 months. As one of our members said to me at the Tarrytown, N.Y. conference last August: “The AA-EVP has become more scientific lately. It’s presenting a good deal more in its quarterly newsletter of scientific interest, especially in the areas of transcommunication research.” We both agreed this was good. Groups, as well as life, can change greatly in 15 years. There are negatives,

as well as many positive aspects. The changes in the AA-EVP, I feel, have all been positive. Our ‘face’ still remains the same. We have always tried to ‘raise the fog’ with objective evidence for survival. We will continue to do so. However, you could now call us a heart/mind Association. As we age, we add new qualities, new dimensions, new character to our being. This is as it should be. This is the AA-EVP today. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EUGENE MAUREY-LIBERANT Word has come that our faithful member, Eugene Maurey of Chicago, IL, made his transition in May 1996. Eugene joined in March of’87 and renewed promptly each March. He was gifted psychically, especially with the pendulum, and helped me several times over the years. Seven years ago, he wrote a book about possession. He sent me a copy and it was excellent. From the few letters we exchanged, and knowing something about his spirituality, I am confident the doors to the spirit world swung wide as he approached. Incidentally, the word LIBERANT (meaning those who die and are ‘liberated’ from the earth plane, for the spirit dimension) was coined for us by Monty Hearon. Monty and his wife Bobby have been AA-EVP co-coordinators for Oregon since 1983. Monty and Eugene were close friends. THROUGH THICK AND THIN As mentioned in the editorial, the first newsletter was mailed to 25 people. From the 25 charter members, we still have 15

left, which I feel is a good sign. From the 10 who have been ‘lost’ to us, some died; others, after a year or two, went on to other interests. The 15 still with us today include: Ben A.-TX; Virginia Bates-VA; Rosemary Bennett-FL; Richard Busse-IN; Luise Fuchs-Germany; Blanche Larrigan-WA; Clara Laughlin- VA; David Lothamer-CA; Dan McKee-IL; Shirley Moorman-PA; Winnie Peters- MD; Ellen Pugh-WA; Martha Sherman-AR; Walter & Mary Jo Uphoff WI; Bill Weisensale-CA. TAPING EXPERIMENTS Since the first person sat down in front of a tape recorder and asked: “Is anyone here?”, the search for something new—something to improve the quality and quantity of recorded voices—has been an ongoing one. AA-EVP tapers are no exception. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, called in March. The volume on his TV is fading so it makes it difficult to hear. David went to Radio Shack and bought Porta Vision 50 (Model 12687). On it, you are able to tune to the different TV stations and hear what is being said while watching the screen. As an experiment, David decided to try it as a sound source. He was astounded at the results. At the time, he had put a 90 minute cassette in his recorder, knowing that the recommended length is 60 minutes or less. Part of the tape, because of its length, became entangled in the mechanism. Right before that, an unknown voice said: “You break machine.” Another time, a clear voice told him: “So we use those photons around you.” One

voice speaking to another said: “They have that star weapon.” David said he is receiving “many more messages during a recording” using the Porta Vision. He feels those messages have more of a “philosophical intrusion” than those that he taped before. Dominic Macquire, England, enjoys experimenting and builds various devices to help the voices manifest. He has built a solid oak box in which he places a microphone and reports some interesting and promising results. Karen Sharp, MD, wrote that she had made a recording for a friend. Four messages came through. Two were clear, two weren’t. Later she visited her brother, Joel, who is a computer buff. He played the tape through his computer, slowing it down and adjusting the clarity. Karen and two other family members observed him doing this, and heard the undecipherable messages become clear, one which was long and very meaningful. Karen concluded her letter to me with: “Sarah, we are going to be able to decipher many spirit whispers previously inaudible in this way.” Tapers, who have a computer with the necessary software and capability to play cassette tapes, may want to try this experiment. Many of your heretofore inaudible messages could become clear. Let me know your results if you try this. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ADDITIONAL ENCLOSED MIKE EXPERIMENTS I mentioned above that Dominic Macquire had built an oak box in which to enclose his microphone. This idea is similar to that tried

by Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine. Rupert has been an AA-EVP member since 1987 and his experiments were mentioned in the spring 1989 newsletter. He wrote: “The size of the box depends on the size of the mike used. I believe EVP is similar to the old trumpet meetings only requiring much less power. The box may give an area to build up power.” Rupert enclosed a diagram to show the box he had built. (See below) About 18 years ago, I also tried basically the same thing. After reading a book about pyramid power, I thought it might be interesting to try taping with the mike inside a pyramid. At my request, my husband had constructed at his plant an aluminum pyramid about 3’ tall. For weeks, I placed my condenser mike inside it when I made my daily recording. The results were excellent. Voices were louder, clear (although with a rather hollow sound) and spoke frequently. You may want to try some enclosed mike experiments. Please let me know your results, positive or negative, if you do. PYRAMID CLOCK POWER? Six or seven years ago, I bought an inexpensive fiberboard pyramid clock that runs on one AA battery. Currently, it stands on top of a file cabinet inside my office closet. We have been through a lot together. Moving, getting settled, many ups and downs. It is like a faithful friend, never asking a thing of me—not even a new battery! Yes, the same alkaline battery I installed over

six years ago has never been changed. Not only that, but it is fairly accurate—even more accurate than the clock above my desk. What is its secret? I have no idea, but day in and day out, year after year, it continues ticking away. PHONE CALL FROM THE DEAD Doris McClure Humphrey, ND AA-EVP member, wrote that her former neighbor, Jean, came running to her door one evening several years ago, in tears. She said: “Oh, Doris! He called again! Sam called again!” Doris explained that Sam was a friend of John, Jean’s son, and had been killed several days before when he rode his bike into the side of a Metro bus in the D.C. area. When Jean picked up the receiver, a male voice that she recognized as Sam’s, asked: “Is John there?” Hardly believing what she heard, since she knew he was dead, she asked who was calling and he replied: “It’s Sam.” Jean asked if he had a phone number where her son could reach him, and the voice replied: “No, I’ll call back.” He did this the following night, and it was this second call that drove Jean to the home of Doris. Doris wrote: “Jean said that there was no sound of the caller hanging up. The line just stayed open. I recall that in Phone Calls from the Dead (Scott Rogo & Raymond Bayless) this same thing was mentioned.” Doris told Jean that such calls were not uncommon, and lent her the Rogo

& Bayless book, so she could better understand the phenomena. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena WHO OWNS THE VOICES? On Easter Sunday, a member contacted me by E mail with: “Need you! Advise Immediately. Help!!” We will call the member Sue, who had written a month earlier about a family who requested she try to reach a deceased loved one for them on tape. She was successful in this and also received two or three pictures. Sue asked for advice on how she could let the public know about what had happened. She contacted local radio & TV stations but none were interested. I suggested she send her report to FATE magazine. FATE is interested in ITC and she might receive a positive reply. In Sue’s plea for help on Easter, she wrote that a member of the family had decided he didn’t want anything published about her contacts. He refused to listen to the rest of the family who wanted the story released. Quoting from Sue’s E-mail letter, she wrote: “Although I don’t have what happened copyrighted, is the recording and the spirit photographs my property? Who owns a spirit message anyway? I really need to hear from you right away.” Fortunately, I opened up my E-mail box a few minutes after the message was sent, and I replied in part: “I would not try to give legal advice ever to anyone. However, I personally would never go against the wishes

and desires of a family member, where EVP messages—or anything else—is in question. Whether you have a copyright or not, makes no difference. The person and his feelings always comes first. I would respect the wishes of the family member who wants you to drop the whole thing. He might sue; he might not—that doesn’t matter as far as I am concerned. Of course you are unhappy about this; you feel he is wrong to feel this way. I’m not judging for or against him. He, again, doesn’t want anything said. So be it! If you want to contest his ‘legal’ right in this matter, you will have to see an attorney.” This entire situation brings up an intriguing question. Who does, in fact, “own” messages (or pictures); whose “property” are they, as Sue asked? As far as I know, no one has ever had to face this situation in court, and it is hoped such an occasion will never arise. Do we own everything that comes through to us instrumentally, whether it is by recorder, computer, TV or telephone? Or does a surviving family member own what may be received in such a manner? Ethically, I personally feel I don’t own any of the messages I’ve taped over the last 20 years. They are more of a collaboration between someone in another dimension and myself. In addition, if we act in an unethical way in our contacts with the unseen and in bringing these contacts to the public’s awareness,

we can’t expect much positive help from spirit. They will either ignore us, or we will come in contact with spirits who are unethical themselves. We return to the legal question—can we ever copyright; can we ever own ITC communications? My mind delights in thrashing around such issues, but I can claim no legal expertise. I suspect though, that if anyone legally ‘owns’ such communications it would be a surviving adult family member. What is your opinion? Let me know. Perhaps we can discuss this in a future newsletter. OUR TAPERS REPORT We have a good many reports this time from members who are taping. This always warms my heart. Jackie Colligan, NV wrote that since I suggested in the winter newsletter that tapers who wished to experiment, try to contact those from worlds not considered spirit, she would attempt this. Quoting from her letter, Jackie said “I used the CB for a sound source, and asked for someone to give me information from outer space. This came back: ‘That surf is chasing a planet.’ ‘I passed that planet burnin.’ ‘Good to hang close by,’ ‘Half of us spared.’ ‘We seek.’ ‘Research favorite.’ Jackie commented: “I am so glad you asked me to find some voices that could be from outer-space, or I wouldn’t have received the above. As for the ‘Research favorite.’ I believe they might mean the CB as their favorite sound source method.” Trixie Cuthbertson, England wrote: “I am pleased to say that I have had some

recent recording responses which is most encouraging. As yet, there are just an occasional word or two. There have also been several ‘Help me’ utterances. This is so moving and one feels helpless. My response is to tell them to ‘go towards the Light,’ and ‘go with God.’ Adrian Klein, Israel continues to have many outstanding 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena taped contacts, especially with his mother. Quoting from a March E-mail letter he wrote: “At 3:00 AM this morning, I got up and began recording, not being very optimistic about the outcome because of the unusual early hour. In spite of this, a long message came from my mother. She said: ‘I’d ask you very much, go and sleep. Sleep until tomorrow in the morning. Go back (my nickname used by my dear mother) ‘Please sleep. Don’t stretch it beyond the limits. Don’t become foolish all the night.’ A few minutes later, I made another recording. With this, my father spoke. He used my nickname—different from my mother’s, and said: ‘You do not hear? You never obey our requests!’ Adrian wrote: “This time I was forced to obey.” A few weeks earlier, during his Wednesday evening recording session, his mother came through and said: “Tomorrow your train is overcrowded: there are a lot of people.” This proved to be true. Each Thursday, Adrian goes to a distant work place. Normally there are few people on the train but on this particular

Thursday, Adrian said: “My carriage was stormed by a noisy group of schoolchildren on their way to a trip.” Adrian feels this particular precognitive message is significant because it: “seems to suggest a very clear awareness of our own temporal line as seen from ‘beyond.’ “Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, said she had tried a microwave oven experiment as I suggested in our last two newsletters. She wrote: “When I played back where I explained what I was doing, my husband whispered his name, just before I popped the cassette recorder into the oven. There were plenty of whispers and voices on tape playback, but nothing at an understanding level.” Tina Laurent, Wales has been to Scole several times, which is a well-known center for physical phenomena. On her first visit she walked around the grounds, taping. The name: “Elvis Presley,” came through three times. Four months later, she revisited Scole. Again, taping on the grounds, a male voice repeated: “Elvis Presley.” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, has sent me two short outstanding tapes since February. Some of the messages received during one recording, all on the reverse side of his tape, are: “He had some church fer here.” “Now you’re here and you’ll heal.” “My head know of it for separate days.” “And knowing me, even the Doctor said no sign of it me feel.” “You’ll grow in design and I can get down there.” “Harold, I had loose to come back here.” “I thought you be

here. I heard that you come back up.” Laetitia Munro, N.J. joined us in September after reading the May FATE interview with me. She has begun taping and in her interesting letter wrote: “It took me about 4 weeks to get any response, but one day a rather loud voice said: ‘More.’ Since then I have been modestly successful, getting short messages of one or two words about once a week. Some of the more interesting messages are: ‘You got me.’ ‘We come to tell you.’ ‘Talk to me.’ One of the most poignant voices was a female or child sounding very wistful who said ‘Father.’ Laetitia commented: “When I get really frustrated and the thought of giving up crosses my mind, I start getting voices again. I think once you are hooked you can let it go. It is a fascinating, exciting adventure.” Karen Sharp, MD (and her friend Jill Savin) taped at the Edgar Allen Poe grave in Baltimore on his birthday. Both tape recorders recorded a clear female voice that said: “They all turn this way.” Karen believes that the spirit meant that everyone turns the ‘spirits’ way and eventually become a spirit themselves. Gerda Slater, FL wrote: “I have deteriorating eyesight, but I can still tape! What a comfort it is to talk to my husband and parents.” COMMENTS ON OUR TAPERS REPORT Adrian Klein observed that the precognitive message received from his mother about the train was significant because it suggests the spirit dimension is

aware of our future time line. This is true. On page 86 of my book: Voices of Eternity I wrote about the questions I asked concerning precognition and the replies that were received. One entity answered: “I can look.” Another entity said: “I look down.” The first message mentioned on page 4 as having been received by Dan McKee was: “He had some church fer here.” Unknown to both of us at the time, was that we were attempting to have contact with 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena a mutual friend who had recently died. I also seemed to be successful in this. One clear message I taped was: “Want liturgy to come on down.” This is significant in two respects. First, we both received a message about a church (liturgy—system of worship used in a church service). Even more significant than that however, is the fact that this person, an extremely spiritual person of the highest degree, was not overly enthusiastic about organized religion. So, we could say that the nature of the messages, completely unexpected because of the individual’s feeling, was strong evidence we actually heard from them. It is something of a reverse negative/positive message which makes it all the more evidential. You could also say that what Dan and I taped was an example of cross-correspondence. “From My Viewpoint” is always inspirational and I can’t wait to see what you have written each time.” Lisa Butler, N.M. OUR

MEMBERS PUBLISH lngeborg Frank, N.Y., FL, & Germany has had a book published in Germany (Peter Erd publisher) The title is: Zeit fur Liebe. Although it is written German, she has a number of personal letters in English sent to her by notable personalities. There are many, many beautiful colored photographs in it. (Ingeborg is also a photographer that shows German scenes and the garden at her home in Baden-Baden. There are also photographs taken in New York City, and her home & beach in FL. I think our members who are able to obtain a copy, would thoroughly enjoy it. Doris M. Humphrey had an excellent, full length article published in the Oct. ‘96 issue of FATE. The title is: “A Mystery Writer’s Experiences with Psychic Phenomena.” It describes the many psychic experiences Mary Roberts Rinehart, author of dozens of mystery novels, had. Dominic Macquire had an interesting article published in Psychic News, dated Dec. 28th, ‘96. The title is: “Electronic Voice Communication: The Forgotten Ingredient.” In the article, he recommends that people read Arthur Conan Doyle’s book: The History Of Spiritualism because it focuses on physical phenomena between 1850-1906. Dominic feels this information is related to E.V.P. today. Quoting from the article, Dominic writes: “Some EVP researchers believe that Bioplasmic or Psycho Kinetic Energy, may be the forgotten element required for voice recordings.” Dominic and others feel it would be a good idea for a taper to record while sitting with a physical medium because they have a

lot of that special type of energy. A BOOK AND TAPE FOR YOU Mark Macy, CO, President of Continuing Life Research sent me an outstanding book and video film recently. The title of the book is: Breakthroughs in Spirit Communication ($12.95). It is written by Maggy Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg, & Dr. Theo Locher, Switzerland. The video film is: “Communications from Beyond” ($29.95). If you would like either/both, write to Mark: INIT US—P.O. Box 11036—Boulder, CO 80301. Add $1 for each item ordered to help cover postage and handling. U.S. funds. NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Edna Drake, Canada, wrote that she held a meeting in March for people interested in exploring various areas of PSI phenomena. Twenty-one attended and they hope to meet in the future. Tina Laurent called after her winter newsletter came I had suggested our British members call the London producer of the Man Alive program for the exact airing date. Briefly, for our new members, the staff of the program visited me for 2 days last summer and filmed my daughter Becky and me taping voices in several locations. They also visited and filmed several other well-known individuals working in the field of PSI in the U.S. Jo Kessel, a producer, said the results are very good. Tina called the network and learned that the show will be shown in June or July over the ITV cable network. For an update of the time scheduled, call London: +44 (0) 181 743 7431. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena John Richardson, MD wrote that he is going to try some psychomanteum experiments. He has set up a mirror in his closet. John wrote: “I have tried a few sessions but nothing happened, although one time it seemed like I saw a flash of light in the mirror.” He also plans to take a video camera/recorder into the closet for his experiments. John hopes that he will be able to capture a picture of a spirit entity on film as well as record any message they might give. To those for whom the word “psychomanteum” is new, it means placing a mirror in a dark enclosed area, such as a closet. The experimenter gazes into a mirror hoping to have visual contacts with a friend or loved one. There are many reports that such experiments have been successful. MEMBERSHIP REPORT With the spring anniversary newsletter, we always try to give a membership report for the year. A year ago, I wrote we had taken in 68 from April 1995-’96. From April ‘96 to the present time, we’ve received 94. For the 15th year in a row, men out-number women. Last year we had 44 ‘extra’ men. This year, it is 55! CA continues to lead in membership with 35. (Last year it was 23). Again, MD is second with 22. LOOKING FOR BOOKS? Have you ever tried to locate an out-of-print book, only to be met with frustration? I have discovered Rock

Toews—Annapolis Bookfinders. He has found several books for me, that no one else could. Rock’s rates are reasonable. Fax your request(s) to him: 410-626-1363-0. Or call: 410-626-1363. He is normally home in the evening. If not, leave your name and number on his answering machine. BRAZILIAN CONFERENCE Final plans are being made for the international ITC conference in Sao Paulo August 16 & 17th. It will be an excellent, memorable event. Leading experimenters & researchers in the field of transcommunication will be speaking, playing taped contacts, and showing video pictures. There will be instantaneous translation into English, for all lectures. Some of the presenters are: Maggy & Jules Harsch-Fischhach, Luxembourg (examples of images, audio, fax, recent contacts, etc.); Fritz Malkoff, Germany (discussing impressive cases—including apports); Paola Giovette, Italy (audio/images); Jacques Blanc-Garin, France (overview of ITC in France); Mark Macy, U.S. (development of new bridges to N. America); Ralf Determeyer, Germany (healing & apports, new possibilities of contacts by technical means); Sarah Estep (from non-believer to believer). There will also he 7 Brazilians presenting recent and current ITC work taking place in Brazil. Those attending the conference will leave N.Y. or Miami Aug. 15. The conference ends Sunday afternoon. Individuals who wish, will then leave on Monday for a wonderful 7 day guided tour of Brazil. First stop will be Rio De Janeiro for 3 days & nights. The group will visit the Frei Luz Center as one of the highlights. Next will be 3 days & nights in Brasilia with

visits to the Goodwill Temple & Christalina. A one day & night stop at Iguassu Falls will end the tour. Departure back to the States will be on Aug. 25, reaching this country the morning of the 26th. The 12 day package including conference, is the very reasonable price of $2,750 (Less if you don’t want to go on the 7 day tour). No shots needed, but a VISA is required. Contact nearest Brazilian embassy for details. Ron Oyer of Sundance Tours, CA, is making all arrangements and is your contact person. CALL: 1-800-424-3434 Ext. 277. FAX: 714-833- 2769 or 714-553-3253. ODDS AND ENDS Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 21st. To all members—both new and charter—thank you for making the last 15 years possible. Without your early, faithful encouragement, without the support of all those who have more recently joined us, we would not have reached this point. We have helped each other. May the sun continue to shine through the fog for each and every one. You have helped raise the fog in my own life. I am grateful! 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1997 AA-EVP Newsletter

From My Viewpoint Bridges To Other Worlds is the topic of the talk I’ll be giving in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 16th. Briefly, the talk encompasses my almost 21 years of working ITC (instrumental transcommunication). I mention how I came into the field after 40 years as a complete disbeliever in any kind of survival and what has happened to change that opinion. I discuss what I have learned since 1976, and play 30 voice messages to illustrate various points I’m trying to make. in the area of Near the beginning, I say the most important thing I’ve learned is: “I now know that death is an empty word. It took over 40 years to learn the lesson, but once learned I feel I must share this knowledge with others.” I have discovered that the unseen (especially spirit dimensions) largely use energies to speak. The energies may come from the taper himself, the sound source(s) he provides, or from the environment as he is taping. During my years of taping, I have learned that the invisibles are with us wherever we go. We are never alone. I discuss about having taped successfully with a small battery operated tape recorder in England, Italy, and on three trips to Egypt. Focusing on Egypt, I mention some of my meaningful experiences there, messages I taped, such as one in a 2,000 year old Coptic cemetery in the Western Desert. Standing within the ruins of a tomb, a Class A female voice said:

“I buried you.” I know that most of those who speak to us from other worlds are friendly and want to assist us in our work. Two singing messages on the demonstration tape illustrate this point. We also know that we can help the unseen, such as the male entity who said in a small crypt under the Temple of Dendera (Egypt): “Sarah, Please Guide me. I love.” This is one of the two Egyptian messages I’ll be playing, and I explain how I tried to help this entity when I returned to Egypt two years later. Over the years I’ve discovered that some of my colleagues and I, have had extended contact with worlds not considered spirit. I go into this as deeply as time permits, mentioning some of the messages others have received, as well as myself. I present evidence to show that many of these contacts are, I feel, genuine and play eight messages from these contacts. Near the end of my talk, I discuss some of the contacts I’ve had with the well-known such as Darwin, Eddington and Beethoven and play messages and musical notes from them. At one point I say: “While remaining properly skeptical of those unseen communicators, who claim to be someone famous or notorious, I think we should, in all fairness, not deny them the right to speak if they so wish.” I bring out the different ways other dimensions cross the bridge to us. The most common, of course, are taped

messages. However, they also call us on the telephone, appear on our TV screen and send computer messages. What evidence do we have that these contacts are genuine? We have code words which are unique words the taper has used in his question, and the invisibles repeat in their answer. We have reverse messages that come through on the wrong side of tapes, and I play 10 of these messages where they call me by name, and answer my direct questions. There is much more evidence that our contacts are genuine, but space prohibits my going into them. I close my talk with: “There is comfort in knowing we survive death but survival, unless based on what is virtuous, is an empty victory.” 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena AA-EVP OFFERS HOPE TO MANY In February ‘95, Daniel Berg from MN joined the Association and signed up for the cross-country list. His name was familiar to me because he was a frequent contributor to FATE magazine. The following year he didn’t renew. Terry O’Neill, Editor-in-Chief of FATE, wrote in the May ‘97 issue of the magazine that Daniel, a 26- year-old FATE fan, whose strong interest in the paranormal, helped him move through his two year battle with cancer, has now gone on. Many people contact me when a loved one has made their transition, or when they are facing a life- threatening situation themselves. “You are our last hope for comfort”, they

say. Later, they may write and say that we have given the reassuring evidence they needed that life doesn’t end at the grave. Although I feel you deserve more credit than I with your reports of contacts with the invisibles, I am always grateful for such letters and knowing that we have been able to help. Our thoughts and prayers go to Daniel that he will find joy and light on his peaceful journey. THE MISSING MUG We mentioned briefly in our editorial some of the ways those in other dimensions cross the bridge to us electronically. There are many other ways, however, that they use to let us know they are still around. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator for the AA-EVP, wrote the end of April: “Last week—a strange experience. Betty Evans (VA AA-EVP member before her death and close friend of Clara’s) gave me a teddy bear coffee mug years ago. Each morning I drink a cup of coffee from Betty’s mug, then place it on a dish towel by the sink. It stays there until the next morning and this routine has been followed consistently. One morning last week when I started for the mug, it was gone. I searched everywhere, even the trash, but no mug. That mug was big and heavy. It would never inadvertently be thrown out. Over the years I’ve had other things vanish and some would turn up later in odd places. Maybe this mug will too, but it would take a

lot of energy to move in my opinion.” I wrote to Clara later about the mug and wondered if it had returned. As of June 15, it hadn’t, so has now been missing for two months. Clara asked Betty about her mug after it disappeared. She has frequently spoken to Clara on tape since her death. When Clara told Betty the mug was gone, Betty gave the somewhat puzzling reply: “I defend nothing. Betty.” Have you ever had anything disappear mysteriously, for which there is no explanation? Did it turn up later in a strange location? Please share with us if this has happened. Perhaps we can mention this in a future newsletter. SAVED BY HIS GUARDIAN ANGEL? Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J. AA-EVP member, called me in May. He was trying to recover from a terrifying, tragic experience that could have easily resulted in his death. A close friend of Lloyd’s was the caretaker of a cemetery down the road from Lloyd’s home and Lloyd would frequently walk there to visit. Lloyd said he had urged ‘Bill’ not to live in the small house on the cemetery grounds, but he would laugh and assure Lloyd there was no danger. On this particular Saturday afternoon, Lloyd had made plans with Bill to visit him for several hours. “But something happened, Sarah. Something ‘made’ me not go, and I spent all afternoon doing jobs around the house, that I hate and put off doing as long as possible.” While doing these chores, Lloyd

heard the sirens of emergency vehicles going by his home. That evening, on the news, Lloyd learned that Bill had been brutally murdered Saturday afternoon by an unidentified killer. The murder occurred during the time Lloyd would have been there. I told Lloyd that someone on the other side was protecting and looking out for him. Lloyd agrees. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena REVERSE SPEECH—REVERSE SPEECH I purposely avoid the word “versus” in my title, because there is no conflict between the two types of reverse speech. Some might think there is, but there is a world of difference between ‘normal’ reverse speech found on the wrong side of recording tapes when the taper has recorded a speech or interview, and the reverse speech of those who speak to us from other dimensions. As I mentioned on page 1, I refer to reverse messages and play examples in my talk at Sao Paulo. Quoting briefly from that, I say: “I am well aware of the claims that sometimes a tape of a conversation played in reverse, will reveal words of ‘normal’ speech. What we have in electronic voice reverse speech is far different... I feel that our reverse messages are some of the best evidence we have that these voices from other worlds are genuine.” I explain the differences and play examples to illustrate what I am saying. Knowledge of ‘normal’ reverse speech has been around for a long time; it is

certainly not a new discovery. About 16-17 years ago, there was great excitement when it was discovered that some of the ‘hard rock’ songs had words on the reverse side of tapes such as: “Death” , “Satan”, Murder” and so on. Then we have reverse other dimension voices. Friedrich Jurgenson, one of the early pioneers in the field, had them. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, told me 18 years ago he had them and I should turn my tape over and listen. I did, and there they were. Other AA-EVP tapers also have them. In June, three members called or wrote about the work of David Oates who is on the Internet and is a specialist in normal reverse speech. Dennis Pollard, AZ; Kathleen Teorey, MN; and Grey Woodman, MD; IA, had heard about Oates’ work, wondered if I knew about it, and one or two asked if I thought it might be related to EVP reverse speech. I hastened to reassure them, that yes, I had known about it for years. I am also familiar with David Oates’ work, and we have exchanged letters. His work, I feel, is valid and interesting but by no stretch of the imagination could we say that the type of reverse speech which he focuses on, could be related to EVP reverse messages. When Grey, who is a psychiatrist, called the last week in June, we talked for some time, and he agrees there is no relationship. What is heard on

normal reverse speech, he believes, is often the conscious, or subconscious thoughts of the speaker, which he feels he can’t express. At times, Grey tapes the speech of those with whom he is in contact, as well as recording TV interviews. Grey said he has taped very small children, babies actually, as they are learning to talk. What is heard on the reverse side of such tapes reveals words no one would expect a small child to know. Grey has ordered a cassette tape player that can play such tapes automatically in reverse from Oates who sells them. A “How to” book is included. If interested, call Oates for information. Phone: 1-800-669-5789. I am not trying to ‘push’ Tape 4—my 30 minute Reverse Speech tape, but if you would like to hear EVP reverse voices, it is available for $6. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ANONYMOUS One of our CA AA-EVP members has sent me some interesting material lately. He wrote: “Don’t give my name or address out please!” so of course I will honor this and call him Tom. Tom wrote in regards to trying to get images through your TV: “The hottest thing going is recording VCR tape on a clear TV channel then playing it back in slow motion. This method is good for color reproduction. You get to see your spirits in color. You can do this with a camcorder outside, pointed at the sky. Play back in slow motion. You can catch UFO pictures this way.” For taping,

Torn said: “I set up 3 radios close together and used the RF carrier method in the broadcast band. The radio in the middle is the main radio. Tune it to an open space on the AM broadcast band. Then use the second radio (set right next to the main radio) to put its local oscillator on the main radio. The third radio is used to get the audio note tone on the other two radios by beating its local oscillator against them. After a while, you will hear voices. Best time 9-1O P.M. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tom also has suggestions for the microwave experiments we’ve encouraged members to try in the last several newsletters. He says: “The microwave oven will work better if you short the microphone with a diode across the female mike plug. (You can get this at Radio Shack). Also (optional) put a small coil across lead. This method cuts out all the outside noise!!” He commented on Dr. Raymond Moody’s psychomanteum experiments: “Dr. Moody’s method works in different ways depending how naturally sensitive you are and whether the spirits are ready to appear for you when you are gazing. Always use a low-level night light as instructed.” We thank Torn for his treasure trove of ideas. Please let me know if you try any of them and your results. I’ll tell Tom and will perhaps be able to use some of them in a future

newsletter. “Your newsletter is so beautifully written, so enjoyable. You give hope when there was none before. When I read it, my belief is always reinforced, that sometime, someday, I will see my beloved ones again! God bless you.” Margot Gizienski, California. A NOD FROM THE VATICAN The Vatican has never been against communication with spirit, per se, although it has taken a cautious approach. It’s main concern is who is doing the communicating and, rightly so, how such communication is used. My understanding is that there is a department of parapsychology within the Vatican. Pope Paul VI made Friedrich Jurgenson a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory for his work in this and other fields. I have a picture of the two men standing together, the day Jurgenson was decorated. Monique Simonet, France, sent me an article that had been translated for her from Italian into French. This was written by Father Gino Concetti in the daily Vatican newspaper: “Observatore Romano”. I sent the article to Hazel Sarmiento, TX AA-EVP member, who has volunteered to translate French material for me. Many thanks are owed to her and her husband Roberto, who assisted with the translation. Quoting from it, Father Concetti wrote: “From the point of view of the Catholic church, contacts with the ‘other side’ are possible and the person who talks with the world of the dead does not sin if he does it under the inspiration of the Faith.” Another reporter commented that the article

is important because in it, one can find new tendencies in the Church’s dealing with paranormal subject. The unnamed reporter further questioned Father Concetti (who is one of the most competent theologians of the Vatican). Father Concetti said in the interview: “According to the modern catechism, God allows our dear departed persons who live in an ultra-terrestrial dimension, to send messages to guide us in certain difficult moments of our lives. The Church has decided not to forbid anymore the dialogue with the deceased with the condition that these contacts are carried out with a serious religious and scientific purpose. Messages may not come by words but by means of diverse signs, such as dreams or by spiritual impulses that penetrate into our spirit. These impulses can be transformed into visions and into concepts.” The interviewer asked other questions but space prohibits us going into them fully. Near the end of the interview Father Concetti said: “One should not play with the reality of death. One should not call the dead for futile motives; for example, to get the lottery numbers. Be careful about falling into excessive credulity” he warns. SUGGESTED EXPERIMENTS We are grateful to everyone who sends us experiment ideas to try. Many of you have placed a “2” in front of your name when you signed up for the cross-country list (which now has close to 200 names on it). The “2” means you are interested in research & development. Might I suggest you become more actively

involved with this. I have learned from talking to several of you, that you are engaged in interesting and promising research. Don’t hesitate to share it with us. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Hans Heckmann, PA AA-EVP member, wrote: “We must emphasize the ‘reality’ of spirit existence by eliminating all doubts about our contact experiments. Our experiments should be ‘scientific’ and not be contestable, as much as possible.” Hans mentions Dr. Carlos Luz of Brazil, who will be taking part in the Brazilian conference. He has developed a telephone receiver that works independently of the telephone network. The phone has its own battery operated power supply to operate the ringer and the circuitry. Hans suggests placing the phone and/or a small battery operated cassette recorder inside a microwave oven which should be unplugged. He writes: “It offers almost 100% shielding against any radio or microwave frequencies escaping or entering it. However, as we all know, electro-magnetic shielding is no barrier to spirit voice or signal.” In his letter, Hans goes on to write: “We can follow the same procedure with a small battery operated desk or laptop computer. Again, there should be no connecting cables to the outside.” Dominic Macquire, AA-EVP member, England, writes to me frequently about a number of experiment ideas he is actively pursuing many of these ideas in his own research. Quoting from a June letter, he wrote: “We know from EVP theory, that spirit persons exist on

a higher frequency than our matter. We humans already exist as spirit persons but with a physical body. Our vibration frequencies are higher than matter, but lower than spirit persons who have no physical body. Frequencies change many times during the day according to mood, environment, tiredness, etc.” (This is why I always urge tapers to record when their energies are highest—S E.) Dominic feels mental attunement is important and that the invisibles tune into our thoughts. Near the end of that letter, Dominic wrote: “The best EVP researchers already talk aloud to the communicators, but I believe they should also THINK the words of some songs before recording, while listening to vocal music of their choice.” In another letter, Dominic mentioned meeting the well-known physical medium, Bill Anderson from Scotland. Bill was staying with John Austin, a friend of Dominic’s. Dominic went there to meet him and while the three were in the kitchen, the phone rang. John picked up the receiver but there was no one there. The phone had been unplugged from the wall socket the night before, and had not been plugged back in. Dominic wrote: “This shows again, that phone messages need not come through the telephone exchange.” This bears out the thinking as already mentioned on page 4, of Hans Heckmann and Carlos Luz. In a separate letter, Tom, our member from CA, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me articles from some National Tabloids. While I am not a fan of the Tabloids,

at times they provide interesting nuggets of information. One of the articles Tom sent was about receiving phone calls from the Beyond. It is a slightly different approach so you might like to try it. The suggestions come from a Dr. Albeda of Amsterdam who is a professor of psychology. He says: “All you have to do is prepare yourself mentally and spiritually for the encounter.” Dr. Albeda believes brain waves are dispersed over the vast network of phone lines and radiate into Heaven. He also believes the lines act as receivers. He says you must first believe that you CAN communicate with the dead. First: Meditate to prepare your thoughts for about a half hour, planning what you’re going to say. Don’t try to say too much. Second: Call up a mental image of your loved one when he was alive and happy. Mentally keep repeating his name. Third: Pick up the receiver and hold it to your ear. You will hear a dial tone and signal telling you to hang up. Wait until these automatic messages stop, then proceed. Fourth: Speak slowly and clearly to your loved one. Call his name repeatedly. When you feel he is on the line, talk 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena to him. Fifth: Open your heart and mind and concentrate. With practice, you will hear the thoughts of your loved one coming over the wires. These ideas are simple and everyone can try them.

I don’t entirely dismiss subjective evidence of other world contact—some is no doubt valid—but too often imagination enters into something like this and it is difficult to be sure. It is objective evidence that we as an international organization encourage, as stated at the bottom of our letterhead stationary. Therefore, I would encourage members who try this, to connect a tape recorder to your telephone. This is a simple, inexpensive procedure. The attachment can be bought at Radio Shack (Model No. 43-228). Push the record button when you pick up the receiver. You will then have a record on tape of everything you say, as well as your loved one if they come through. Keep it short—15 minutes maximum. Wear headphones when you play the recording back. Try to do this at about the same time daily, if possible, when your energy levels are highest. Be patient. Keep trying. Let me know if you have results so I can share them with others. OUR TAPERS REPORT Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, sent me a transcript of messages she has received. All of them came through using the AIR-WX VHF Band. Quoting from one tape on which several entities spoke, one said: “You come to shore, we think the land is safe.” “I left a note, it is good. This is Cosmic. I met his dad, he had a Bible.” “I pray today for any problems.” Jackie commented that voices are starting to come over the two ceiling speakers if she

doesn’t have the recorder on. One day she was talking to a friend about her son, who has stopped speaking to a former friend. When she said this, a male voice came through the speaker that doesn’t work and said: “Because he lies.” (Jackie said this was true). Another time she was talking to a friend on the phone about someone who had missed an appointment. After she hung up the receiver and was walking away, a male voice came over the working speaker and said: “She wasn’t there.” Clara Laughlin wrote that she asked while taping if the 39 souls from Heaven’s Gate who committed suicide, met up with the spaceship they thought was behind the Hale-Bopp comet. Callie, Clara’s special guide replied: “A misconception.” Clara’s daughter, Barbara, and son-in-law, Paul, went on vacation May 19th, so Clara asked spirit that day to watch over them. When she played the tape back, there was the message: “Walk-in. Emergency. No problem.” Five days later, Barbara called to tell Clara all was well, except they had to go to the emergency room of the local hospital at 3:00 AM the morning of the 19th, because Paul had a serious ear infection. TIDBITS ABOUT AND FROM MEMBERS Jeff King, New Zealand, wrote that he has been enjoying contacting other AA-EVP members by E-mail, such as Geoffrey Tilga of N.Y. (We now have 20 members on the E-mail list). Jeff has been surfing the Internet lately, and has picked up some “interesting things

in the area of anomalous phenomena and the new sciences.” Clara Laughlin wrote: “At times when I return home after being out, I hear people talking, but it stops immediately. Daughter, Barbara, was with me one evening and as we opened the door we heard walking around. Barbara yelled, ‘That’s Daddy!’ The stride was unmistakable.” I have suggested to Clara that she set a recorder to tape when she leaves the house. When she returns, she can see if anything was recorded. Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, wrote that her organization now has a site on the Internet. I have visited it and there is a great deal about the international ITC conference to be held in Sao Paulo in August. Although the material is in Portuguese, pictures of the various participants are shown. If you have a computer and are on the Internet, you may want to bring it up on your screen: http://www.com/Athens/Acropolis/9045 Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine, sent me a flyer of the spiritualist church he has started in Hartford, Maine. It is called: “The Pinpoint Of Light.” Rupert wrote: “EVP will be a class we’ll offer.” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena COULD IT BE? Like Jeff, who commented he didn’t have much time to visit the Internet, I seldom have a spare moment to go ‘surfing’. Now and then, I manage to squeeze in a minute or two, and while doing this came across something a while ago that intrigued me. Quoting

from a Russell Baker of Merseyside (England), he wrote: “A lesser known fact for all of you out there who may be interested, is that there are apparently metallic domes stretching along the bottom of Loch Ness. These domes were detected during Project Urqhart, which was a study carried out by Simrad, a leading manufacturer of military and commercial radar. Cover- up or manmade phenomena?? As an aside, I actually have the internal corporate video in my possession and have seen the evidence with my own eyes. So, the question arises, is it Fortean or just mundane???” Perhaps some of our British members would like to explore this further. If you do, please let me know, and we may be able to do a follow-up about it in a future newsletter. WE’RE NOT A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION! Who’s Who wants to list me (!!) as a leader in their 30th Edition of Who’s Who In Finance & Industry. The idea astounds me. Six or seven years ago they sent me paperwork several times to fill out for their finance & industry edition, after I appeared in Who’s Who In The World. I tossed it in the trash. No way do I feel like a ‘giant’ in the field. However, six months ago, they again began sending the forms to me. This time, in a weak moment (the devil made me do it)! I signed my name and sent it back. On July 5th, they informed me the 30th Edition was

now closed, and I would appear. So who knows? Don’t anyone tell them that if the AA-EVP clears $900 a year, Sarah is delighted. MEXICAN ITC CONGRESS Mexico will hold its first congress of Instrumental Transcommunication from October 25-26, 1997. It will take place at the Morelos Theater in Toluca, near Mexico City. Two thousand are expected to attend. Many of those taking part in the international congress, will also be a part of the Sao Paulo program. I feel greatly honored to be invited to speak. There will be translations of all the talks into Spanish. Yvon Dray and his Mexican committee deserve much credit for having the courage to organize the first meeting of this nature in Mexico. BRAZILIAN CONGRESS—FINAL PLANS Everything is shaping up well for the international Sao Paulo Congress from Aug. 16-17th. Notices on the Bulletin Board page about it in the last several issues of FATE have brought many letters and phone calls to me for more information. Ron Oyer of Sundance Travel Agency, who is planning the week tour to follow the congress, is having a good response. To date, 16 people have signed up for the tour. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Sao Paulo! ODDS AND ENDS May your summer be a happy one and your gardens flourish! Deadline for the Autumn NEWS is September 15th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and

Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1997 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Most of you will receive this newsletter the week of October 19th. It was on October 24th, 1976, that I sat down at a tape recorder for the first time and asked: “Is anyone here?” We could say therefore, that this newsletter marks my 21st anniversary. As I contemplate the last 21 years, there is so much I could write, but space for the newsletter is limited. We normally total 4500-4600 words of which about 700 are devoted to: From My Viewpoint. Instead, I will mention and elaborate on some quotes I have read recently that I hope will have meaning for everyone. “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice,” William Jennings Bryant wrote. Did destiny sit me down by chance at my tape recorder 21 years ago, or was it choice? There is no doubt. I deliberately chose to sit down, even though I had no expectation of success. As most of you know, I had completely disavowed survival when I was six. Although that belief had not changed one iota in over 40 years, I had always wished it wasn’t so. I made a conscious decision to try taping. That decision changed my life forever. Many of us face decisions that can affect us for years to come.

We may despise the cards fate seems to have dealt, but it is normally up to us whether we are going to pick up the hand and play it through. Amelia Earhart said: “Courage is the price life exacts for granting peace.” It took some courage to push the record button that October evening. Would my latent hope for survival remain only that, or would there be something more? It took courage to continue taping through the frustrating months that followed and when some of those I knew looked at me strangely thinking I must be mentally ill. All of this turned out to be an infinitesimal price to pay for what I have so generously received from the unseen, as well as many of my colleagues. So it is, with any hard decision that we can see affecting our lives in which obligation and duty play a permanent part. Do we stay? Do we flee? It may be easier to flee but what do we gain if we choose this path? An enormous amount of guilt, knowing that we have failed our inner- being, our soul. Something a bit light-hearted and yet nutritious food for thought: A loved one sent me a card recently that I badly needed. “The birds of worry and care fly above your head. This you cannot change. That they build nests there, this you can prevent.” At times I think I have more bird nests in my hair, than hair. Since the card came,

I’ve been considering the various nests, trying to root out the raucous crows that do me, and no one, any good. Not all nests can, or should be eliminated, but I am trying to focus more on the bluebirds. Perhaps you would also like to consider your own bird nests. A lot of them only take up space and are of no benefit. Shoo them away. Tell them to return from whence they came, never to return again. On a cup recently in a gift catalog I read: “Miracles Shall Follow Miracles And Wonders Shall Never Cease.” The word “Beauty” the first word I taped on the sixth day of taping 21 years ago, was a miracle. Every contact I have had in the years since then has been another one. I look upon each contact everyone has who is working in the field of instrumental transcommunication, as further miracles. My belief is that objective contact with other dimensions are ‘intentional’ miracles. We have some part in causing these miracles to take place, but the unseen play a far greater role. There are many kinds of miracles that are waiting for everyone in their day to day lives. Believe in them. Expect them. Don’t be a passive player in life. Reach out; grasp passing moments. Miracles are events waiting to happen. They will come! 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena LIBERANTS Three well known individuals, two deeply involved in the field of transcommunication,

have been liberated to move on to the world beyond death. Gilbert Bonner, England, who was active in the field for over 20 years has made his transition. He was widely known as a conscientious, intelligent individual who had excellent results with his tape recorder. Over the years Gilbert and I frequently exchanged tapes. Gilbert also contributed articles to many publications. He was often mentioned in the AA-EVP NEWS. When I visited England eight years ago, Gilbert met me at my London hotel. We spent a pleasant time together, over tea, as we discussed the field of TC. Life was frequently not easy for Gilbert, but he held firm in his devotion to communicating with the invisibles. Willis Harman, President of IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences) died in January from a brain tumor. He had become very interested in TC and had exchanged letters with Dale Palmer (IN AA-EVP member) about designing and conducting scientific experiments to authenticate for the world, communications from the beyond. Since his death, several messages have been received in Luxembourg indicating he is now actively involved with other TC researchers in Spirit trying to improve communications on both sides of the Veil. Norman Marsh, England, has been a member of AA-EVP since 1983. A note from his nephew, John, said his uncle had died on June 3rd. Ena Lloyd-Kitchen, AA-EVP member England, called in August to tell me about Norman’s passing. Norman began taping after his wife, Marjorie, died many years ago. He taped every

day for a year hoping to hear from Marjorie but did not receive a single message from her or anyone else. On the first anniversary of her death, he sat down at his tape recorder feeling very discouraged. He was at the point of giving up. That was the day Marjorie came through, clearly called him by name and then said her own name. Norman continued taping in the years that followed and had many more messages from her and others. The world has been greatly enriched by the lives of these three men. The world of Spirit will also be enriched by them since they returned home. A LASER BEAM TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DEAD Alain Plaisant, France, sent me the above-named article from a French publication. I sent it to Hazel Sarmiento, AA-EVP member TX, so she and her husband, Roberto, could translate it. Hazel replied promptly with the translation and wrote: “It is interesting and fun to push ahead in this phenomenon of communicating with those human people in another realm!!” The article focuses on Father Guzman, a Jesuit priest and archeologist researcher who has long been associated with Princeton University. Quoting from it we read: “Father Guzman and his assistants have brought out the fact that a laser is more precise to interpolate the waves coming from ectoplasm. This procedure may disrupt the opinions of the scientific world. The discovery of the laser’s capabilities to capture ghosts forces us into a new era. This tells us

that the science of the 20th century has found a way to prove that the survival of the soul is not a utopia. Scientists have rejected for a long time unexplainable phenomena. Today, new technologies have allowed us to redefine certain limits of the unexplainable. At present there is a new technique that is revolutionizing the perceptions of the communications with the spirits of the dead. It has resulted from the alliance of the laser and the information theory (cybernetics).” The article goes on to quote Father Guzman: “It is an evening after a day of hard work. We begin arranging our materials when an unexpected visage appears on our screen. We had been making measurements of broken Maya stone statues with a laser. The use of a laser allows us to make very precise 2 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena measurements which, using cybernetic principles are translated into three dimensional contours of the object… I had finished saving all my last work (using a new laser) when, after a last look toward my screen, I realized that there was still an image left there. When I saw that the image moved, I was truly amazed.” The article reports that after Father Guzman performed many more tests, he was convinced that the rare image shown on the screen must have been that of an apparition captured and recorded by the laser. He tried further experiments but was unable to reproduce the image.

Next, he invited a specialist in paranormal phenomena to visit his laboratory. This person brought along a Spiritualist medium. The experiment was a success. Using laser technology they captured the form of an ectoplasm (living organism). Quoting again, we read: “The captured visage was very clean. There is no argument that what was visualized and reconstructed by using cybernetic processes very closely resembles that of Eva Peron.” After seeing the image, Father Guzman (who is of Argentine origin) said: “We can say that the specter of Eva Peron wanted to manifest to me, because I am Argentine and therefore should know that the proportions of Evita’s body are quite smaller than the norm.” Addendum: An outstanding Class A reverse message I received some time ago was: “Yes, jf I need help, I see a laser around it.” This was played at the conference in Brazil. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND MEETING—BRAZIL—AUGUST 13-17 Brazil held its first international congress which focused on transcommunication in Sao Paulo. The theme of the congress was: From the Tape Recorder to the Computer. Leading researchers in the field of TC, spoke to the audience which also represented many countries. Over 25 people from the U. S. attended. Instantaneous translations through headphones were in: French, English, German and Portuguese. The two day congress was sponsored by the International Network for Transcommunication (INIT) and superbly organized by board members Sonia Rinaldi (AA-EVP member) and Dr. Marlene Nobre, (Brazil). They had a large competent group of fellow Brazilians assisting them

in the event. The two-day congress was preceded by a 3 day meeting of INIT board members at the Hotel La Rosa, an hour from Sao Paulo. There were 22 board members present from nine countries. We had much business to discuss, since our meeting in Tarrytown, N.Y., last September. Seven board members from the U.S. attended, and Dale Palmer was unanimously elected to be the international president. When the meeting ended Friday, I felt greatly honored to be presented with a Life Achievement Award in instrumental transcommunication signed by everyone. The conclusion of the dedication reads: “She has helped to lift the veil between the dimensions.” We returned to Sao Paulo Friday afternoon where we remained for the rest of the congress. There were many outstanding presentations which included taped messages, videos and computer contacts. My own talk Saturday afternoon: “Bridges To Other Worlds”, with over 30 messages played, was graciously received. Over the years I have traveled to many countries and always got along well with the people in each one. Those at the Sao Paulo congress, were the most warm-hearted I have ever known. I was almost overwhelmed by the love and kindness shown to me and my colleagues from those in attendance. During every break and at the conclusion of the congress Sunday evening, the members of the audience swarmed around the speakers with questions, requests for pictures and autographs, hugs and kisses. There were tears, from those on both sides of the podium, when we

said our final goodbyes on Sunday. The next international INIT congress will be held in France the summer of ‘99, followed with a tour of France. Start saving your pennies! MESSAGE TO THE 2nd INSTRUMENTAL TRANSCOMMUNICATION CONGRESS Saturday evening, Carlos Alberto Baccelli, an outstanding Brazilian medium, had mediumistic contact through automatic writing with those in spirit. It had been a long day for me so I, along with others, 3 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena returned to our hotel. From reports on Sunday from those who stayed on, the session was highly successful. Many messages were received for those in the audience from loved ones who have died. The longest, most amazing one, was from Konstantin Raudive, an early EVP experimenter who died in the 1970s. He remains active in TC and many of us have received phone calls and other contacts from him. The message is too long to repeat so I will quote from it: “Hello, hello, my ITC friends, can you hear me?!! In the next century, if a war does not throw humanity into chaos, there will be great advances for the spirit. We are not alone. Slowly we will overcome obstacles. Organize yourselves and don’t fear criticism. Only those who dare will be enlightened. To our dear friend Sarah Estep, in name of all transcommunicators from the beyond, I wish to send our best wishes. I will not thank everyone because I could commit the unforgivable error

of forgetting someone. Brazil is a center of spiritual forces, whose destiny is to irradiate to the world the light that all of us should strive for within ourselves. With my warmest regards and wishes for a lot of success in this marvelous journey to prove scientifically to the world that there is life after death. Konstantin Raudive.” During our first break of the INIT board members on Wednesday evening, warm greetings were exchanged as we tried to catch up on what had happened to our colleagues the last eleven months. A number of us had cameras and happily snapped pictures of each other. One member with a Polaroid camera, took a picture of a member from France. Instead of the picture developing as expected, in front of the eyes of several observers, a picture of a bottle-nose dolphin, swimming in beautiful blue water, emerged. In spite of the background of the board members, who are largely accustomed to the unusual being normal, everyone was stunned. The picture that preceded the dolphin, and the one that followed, came out normally. Sunday morning, during a break, presenters and congress organizers were moving around freely on the stage of the Grand Auditorium. Again, many pictures were taken with Polaroid and other types of cameras. One of the Brazilian board members with a Polaroid camera, took the picture on the left, of other board members. Maggy Harsch-Fischbach, Luxembourg, asked the individual if he’d like to get in the picture with his colleagues. He

did, and Maggy took the picture. Those standing nearby, watched the film exiting the camera normally and developing bit by bit in the usual amount of time. Instead of the group of men we expected to see however, we have the picture on the right, of another dolphin swimming in blue water. Quickly, a third picture was taken, which produced a normal stage scene. It should be mentioned that Maggy is in contact with different worlds through her computer and by other means. One of these worlds is a world of aquatic beings. “In meditation a few days ago, I‘d been thinking about growing older—I’m 66 years old. I was told: ‘Only the body ages. The Soul gains experience dealing with an aging body.’ Dorothy Eliason, Idaho- AA- EVP. 4 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena OUR TAPERS REPORT Jackie Colligan, NV, continues to have unexpected anomalies occurring in her trailer where she and her husband Les, live, as well as other places. While some of these may be of a psycho-kinetic nature, others appear to be related to her group of communicators from another dimension. In a recent letter she wrote: “The spirits never fail to let us know their presence. The music box had been thrown off the TV twice. I was in another room and I heard a loud rumble in the living room. I quickly went there and found a large fan that sits on top of the TV

just rocking back and forth like crazy—it wasn’t even on. I immediately taped and a male voice said: ‘This is Mark. I want to know if Ray is there.’ (Ray is the name of the guitar player in Jackie’s son’s band). Some of the other taped messages that have come through lately are: “He sleeps, aren’t you scared?” “I want my God.” “I ask Margaret. These eight people drowned. Must have markers.” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, called in August. He reports that he is continuing to have good results taping. David and Gilbert Bonner (mentioned on pg. 2) were friends, and before Gilbert became seriously ill a year ago, David would frequently call him. In his phone call, David said that since Gilbert’s death, he has received several taped messages about him. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, shows us that where there is the will, there is a way. He wrote that he has developed a problem with the fingers of his right hand (his taping hand). Eventually, he lost most of the feeling in his fingers. After many tests, the doctor told him it was a problem associated with his spinal cord and neck. Dan, however, doesn’t permit this problem to interfere with his daily taping. He wrote: “I now use my knuckles instead of my fingertips, which is a bit clumsy and effects my timing—but I still tape!” All of Dan’s messages are on the reverse side of his tape. Some of those on the

outstanding tape he sent me are: “Me heal. Know of it for separate days.” “No. Stop it for several days.” “Need it to do it.” “Maybe you and I can fix that.” “On Earth, those guys just a guessin’.” “Heaven are now, once you there.” IDEAS FOR TAPING EXPERIMENTS We are grateful to our members who present us with ideas for taping. Some of these ideas come from tapers themselves, so they know what we face in our efforts. It is up to us to try these ideas, if at all possible, to see if they will work for us. They just might make all the difference. A letter came from Gerry Connelly, England in which he enclosed a paper with diagrams from Gavin Dingley (England). Gerry wrote: “I recently met Dingley who is heavily into Nikolai Tesla, whose ideas are currently being resurrected. I told him about my EVP work and gave him a copy of my book. We met again, and he gave me the enclosed paper.” The title of the document is: ‘Electronic Voice Phenomena Via the Use Of Tesla Type Radio.’ The paper gives suggestions on how to construct this type of radio (different from the usual radio of today) using a resonant LC tuned coil assembly (Tesla Coil). Dingley wrote: “Tesla himself said that the signals resulting, propagated through the earth and it worked on a principle of longitudinal electricity (as opposed to transverse electromagnetism used in hertzian radio). In modern (but still fringe) physics,

longitudinal electricity is described as Scalar Waves.” The paper gives suggestions on how to build this system to see if you can receive Elf Earth Scalar Waves and improve voice phenomena. There are also two pages of diagrams. If you would like a copy, please send me a self-addressed, stamped ($.32) business-size envelope. I will be happy to send it to you without charge. Richard Smedley, a new AA-EVP member from OK, and I, became acquainted through E-mail. He first wrote that he is taking a ‘novel’ approach to recording voices. When I asked what he meant by this (using E-mail all the way) he wrote: “I plan on recording DIRECTLY to the computer. I’ll do this using a suitable software program (WAV recorder) that replaces a mechanical tape recorder. The result will be digital audio, rather than analog audio. I’ll use a white noise generator to emulate a radio tuned ‘off station’. The advantage of this is since the computer generated the white noise signal, it can also remove it, leaving 11/24/2016 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena only non-white-noise (voices) on the digital track.” Near the end of his letter Richard commented: “I want to contribute original research to the body of knowledge that already exists. True scientific investigation builds on the work of others.” In describing his background Richard said he had 15 years of experience in the software engineering field. He co-authored the book: C Through Design which was

a best-selling textbook used by numerous universities across the nation. Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y., sent me technical information in August (through E-mail). Like Gerry’s contribution, it is about Scalar Waves. Quoting from his letter, he wrote: “A well-known European researcher was told by his guide that spirit uses a form of electricity called ‘Scalar’ electricity to manifest on tape. Tesla, the inventor of AM radio and modern AC power systems, worked on ‘Scalar’ electricity generating systems, but his results have largely been lost. Patent: #4,685,047 is a generating system for Scalar electricity granted to Dr. Raymond Phillips in 1987. It can be ordered by accessing the US Patent Office Web site: www.uspto.gov. A physicist, T. Bearden, has material to further explain this: You can contact him through the Internet: http://www.hsv.com/writers/bearden/tommenu.htm.” Please let me know if you try any of these devices and your results. You can also contact all 3 men who are on the cross-country list. In addition, Richard and Geoffrey are on the E-mail list. OUR MEMBERS PUBLISH Gerry Connelly wrote in his letter: “My publishing firm is bringing out a UFO book called: The Behar Encounter by Gilbert Nelson. The book will mention extra-terrestrial messages that have come through over the EVP.” Eli Feldman, N.Y., continues to publish his newsletter on a frequent basis. It focuses on survival of death and frequently mentions personal letters he receives from leaders in the field of survival. Dale Palmer, IN, continues to have requests for his book: True Esoteric Traditions. It

is in hardback and contains many pictures and diagrams. An extensive bibliography and index are included. The book, 347 pages in length, took many years to write. Dale provides an excellent treatise of the numerous traditions found around the world from earliest days. It is clear, concise, interesting and not at all difficult to read. Normally, the book sells for $29, but Dale very generously wants to contribute to the AA-EVP and make it available to all. If you send me just $10 and ask for his book, I will contact Dale and he’ll mail it to you. We are grateful for his generosity. J.J. Snyder, CA, sent me his latest article: “A Blown Cylinder Head” published in the July ‘97 issue of: AG-Pilot International. In it, J.J. who is a crop-dusting pilot, describes the overwhelming compulsion he had that he should land his plane one morning while dusting an orchard of pomegranates. This feeling was in spite of everything apparently going well. Upon landing, he discovered his oil had completely leaked out through a crack on the cylinder head, which blew upon touch down. The last page details his thinking and analysis of the compulsion and his concluding that the sudden impulse to land might have been an intervention from the spirit realm. Victor Zammit, Ph.D., a new member from Australia, has sent me his: Summary Argument with the title: “A Lawyer Argues For the Afterlife.” It is excellent and his full version will be released in the next

six months. Victor is a retired solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia. We will look forward to reading the full version. TIDBITS FROM MEMBERS Luise Fuchs, Germany, wrote that she enjoyed: “A Nod From The Vatican” (Summer ‘97 NEWS). I had mentioned the photo of Jurgenson (early taper) and Pope Paul VI in it. Luise said when she stayed in Sweden to learn more about TC from Jurgenson, he gave her a copy of the same picture. Luise wrote: “The article reflects how I feel. I agree that the person performing TC should do it under the inspiration of Faith.” 6 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Dale Kaczmarek, IL, President of the Ghost Research Society, wrote his web page is up and running. Check it out: www.ghostresearch.org. Dominic Macquire, England, wrote: “The thought in the summer newsletter about the telephone line carrying a mental thought has been known for many years. No one knows exactly how it works, but it does. It can be either a signal that is carried by the wire, or it can be telepathic thought transfer over distance, after the initial voice sound has established the contact.” Monique Simonet, France, wrote: “I have already done telephone experiments mentioned in your summer newsletter, and heard my father’s voice saying: ‘Hello! It’s me!’ and some other things. Now I will start to do it regularly.” Tom, CA, wrote that one method he uses

for contacting spirits is by using the RF (random frequency) carrier. He first energizes the room for 30 minutes by turning up the RF volume to high. He stressed no one should be in the room at this time. Tom then returns to the room, reduces the volume on the carrier, and records for 5 minutes. “Sing the praises of others. Those who sing about themselves, usually sing out of tune.” BOOK LOOK Arthur Myers, author of more than 20 books has sent me information about his latest book: Communicating with Animals: The Spiritual Connection between People and Animals. Arthur explores in the book how animals communicate with humans through non-verbal language, how they feel, if they’re sad, even when they’re ready to leave this life. It retails for $14.95 and is available at bookstores. You can also call directly: 1-800-323-4900. Sheila Ostrander & Lynn Schroder sent me a copy of their recent excellent book: Psychic Discoveries— Iron Curtain Lifted (Marlow & Co. Publishers) Their bestselling book: Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain published in 1971, has been abridged in the new book. That, along with the new information, makes a fascinating and informative read. In it, you will read, among other things, how different countries (including the U.S.) engage in psychic warfare to uncover the secrets of other countries. Uri Geller wrote the Foreword. It is available at your local bookstores. BECOME A PSI-EXPLORER There is now an interesting CD-ROM available ($44.95, plus $5 for postage & handling) for

PCs. Mac version will be coming soon. In it, you have access to 5 areas of psi phenomena and can also test your own abilities. Contact the dealer directly: Psi Explorer Sales, P.O. Box 380711, San Antonio, TX 78268. Phone: 210-532-8432. To see Psi Explorer on the Web, go to http://www.psiexplorer.com. EGYPT ANYONE? Lynn Gardner is planning a guided tour of Egypt, from Jan. 8th to Jan. 24th. Lynn’s tours are always worthwhile, and you enjoy many ‘extras’ that you don’t receive from other tours. My first 2 tours to Egypt were with Lynn. I also traveled to England with her. All 3 trips were outstanding. For more info., plus a brochure, call Lynn: (317) 283-7638. FAX: (317) 283-7639. E-mail: [email protected]. Deadline for the winter newsletter is: December 20th. Until then, ODDS AND ENDS Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 11/24/2016 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1998 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint A new year. A new calendar with words of wisdom. What will 1998 bring? I think it is good we can’t see the future. If we did and saw the difficulties, the griefs, that lay ahead, we might throw up our hands and say: “What’s the use?” Unfortunately, the human psyche tends to see possible problems rather

than possible joys. There is a song, played during the holiday season that goes something like this: “When you’re troubled and can’t sleep. Count your blessings instead of sheep.” Good advice. The wisdom’ for January reads: “Your attitude almost always determines your altitude in life.” Someone who counts problems instead of blessings, will not soar very high. Those who can glimpse a rainbow will he lifted above the clouds. This doesn’t mean we should always be Susie or Sammy Sunshine. Grief comes. We must learn how to deal with this learning experience, and it is largely up to us whether we pass or fail. Kahil Gibran wrote: “If one doesn’t experience grief, one will never know joy.” My new calendar tells me: “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is a success.” Most individuals belong to one or more groups. It can be a large group with members in the 100s; it can be a small one, such as a husband and wife, perhaps children. To ensure the success of any group one must listen with an open mind, and open heart, to other ideas. For civilization to advance, we need to learn to work cooperatively within the framework of a community as small as a family; as large as the world. October reads: “A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.” Those who have a near-death experience tell us what a profound change it

made in their lives. Many other things can also bring about this change. Thinking you may hear the flutter of angel wings, who then pass you by, can cause a fast assessment while you wait to see if that particular angel is for you. There are regrets at what you didn’t accomplish. There is sadness that you didn’t show your love more often to loved ones; that you weren’t there for them when you were needed. As the sound of angel wings recede, you feel grateful to be given another chance to try to do better. Those who are deeply involved in the field of ITC, might consider the words for December 1998. “Success is a journey, not a destination.” Along with that is the suggestion for next month: “Sometimes success is just a matter of hanging on.” I’ve lost count of members who have written: “I’ve taped for a month (or longer) and haven’t received a thing. What is wrong? I’m ready to quit.” Quitters never succeed. I try to help. I give suggestions, and eventually some individuals go on to achieve success. I share their joy when it happens. To my frustration, I frequently learn through additional contacts, that the troubled would-be taper hasn’t listened to my suggestions. Not that my advice promises success, but, it gives a boost to new tapers in their early attempts, until they learn what works best for them. If we are on a journey—internal or more external—such as ITC, we don’t shout

at the first contact: “Eureka! I’ve made it! Good-by, the end.” No, we keep on. There is no final destination; this is a journey we are on until we return home. Those who settle for less give me no problem; they have a right to decide on a short trip, whereas I and some of my colleagues have chosen a never-ending journey. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Whatever hopes, expectations, we may have for this life, we need to learn that we can’t sit idly by, waiting for them to come to us. We have to start our journey; to take positive steps to realize their fruition. May the glory of the rainbow shine brightly for each of you. COULD IT BE? In a December E-mail letter from Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, Jackie wrote that she had taken a history course at SEU. The professor told them that in an archaeological dig in 1995 at Giza, Egypt, they unearthed numerous tombs where mummies had been buried thousands of years ago. The team took radiation readings to measure any type of activity, including brain activity. They discovered weak electromagnetic brain activity in the mummies that responded to sounds, lights and dust. In my E-mail reply to Jackie, I said this information was fascinating. I wonder about it though. When the Priests were preparing the bodies for burial, they extracted through the nose, the brain and other organs. These were buried in the

sarcophagus in special decorated jars, along with the body. I suggested to Jackie that perhaps the Priests hadn’t done a very good job, or the tests from the archeologists had been contaminated, permitting outside influences to affect the results. I am reminded though, of the outstanding taping results I had on my 3 trips to Egypt. (Tape 3). They called me by name, sang at times at my request, and made many meaningful comments. My daughter, Becky, who went with me on my first trip, also recorded excellent messages as well as beautiful singing at the Temple of Abydos. Our situation, I must admit, was somewhat different from the archeologists who were actually testing the bodies of mummies. BEST FROM THE PAST It seems apropos at this time, to mention a segment used in the spring 1989 newsletter. It appeared under the title: PSITRONS. Martin Ebon, well-known author of numerous books that focus on PSI phenomena, sent me his book: Mysterious Pyramid Power, edited by him and published by Signet in 1976. In itself, this gift had something of a synchronistic tone to it. Unknown to Martin, I was leaving for Egypt three weeks later for my third trip. A segment of the book dealt with the curse of Tutankhamen which was on an alabaster vase taken from his tomb, that read: “Death shall come on swift wings to him that toucheth the tomb of the Pharaoh.” Most archeologists seem to escape tomb curses with little difficulty, but the situation

resulting from the tomb of Tutankhamen was far different. Some, such as Howard Carter who discovered the tomb, suffered no ill effect from their connection with the tomb, while others died unexpectedly, even violently. The Earl of Carnarvon, who financed and collaborated with Carter in his work at the tomb, was bitten on the face by a mosquito as he emerged from the tomb. This was unusual because the Valley is mosquito- free due to a lack of water. The bite became infected and in less than 10 days Carnarvon was dead. Three years later, Tutankhamen’s mummy was unwrapped and examined by pathologists. They found a wound on his cheek exactly like the mosquito bite that caused Carnarvon’s death. In the book, the work of the late Adrian Dobbs, a mathematical genius of Cambridge University is mentioned. Dobb’s theory may help explain why some people have a psychic or mediumistic experience and others don’t. Dobbs felt there was a transfer of psychic energy in subatomic particles that he named “Psitrons.” He wrote: “Such a particle carries a “bit” of information to a critically poised neuron in a receptive subject, causing the neuron to fire. A chain reaction is set-up; other neurons become involved and the subject perceives. The only condition for the interaction is that the first neuron be critically poised when the psitron hits.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The author postulated that the maliciously charged psitrons saturating Tutankhamen’s tomb fired

to poised neurons in receptive nervous systems and passed harmlessly through others. Could this be related to the brain waves in the Giza archaeological dig in 1995? Possibly. Perhaps one or more of the archeologists involved in the dig and measuring brain wave activity had ‘receptive nervous systems’ and responded to any fired neurons from the mummies. It would be interesting to know. SOMETHING MORE ABOUT ENERGIES Energies have always fascinated me. I have mentioned before that I think each of us have our own unique energies—energies as unique as our fingerprints. Yes, there are similarities between them, but in the end, the total energies of a person stand alone. This perhaps explains why those who have been taping for years have their own special helper(s). With the exception of Konstantin Raudive, there is very little cross-over from one taper to another, in the matter of spirit helpers. Maggy Harsch-Fischbach has Swejen Salter, Technician and several others. Sonia Rinaldi has the Dr. Landell group. William O’Neill had Dr. Mueller; I had Styhe. I could go on, but it’s not necessary. My feeling is that each of our unique energies helped bring these special people and groups to a particular taper. They either didn’t have the desire to go to someone else, or found it impossible because that particular spirit’s energies (or groups) could not mesh with the energies of the earth-side experimenter who perhaps called on them. For years I have noticed with interest that some mediums have a difficult

time with watches. They break down soon or show strange hours not at all related to the correct time. Could it be that the medium’s unique energies affect the running of their watches? JOINT EXPERIMENT BRINGS EVIDENTIAL CONTACT for INIT board member and head of ANT Sonia Rinaldi, Brazilian Transcommunication) wrote about a meeting she’d organized on Dec. 6th. Sixty people attended and those who were having taped contacts with other dimensions, played their best results. Sonia demonstrated the software, “Cool-96” with which you may amplify low voices. (Brazilian Association In talking to Jacques Blanc-Garin, French INIT board member, she learned that he was also planning a meeting for the same day. She and Jacques agreed to have both groups try a joint taping experiment at 4:00 P.M. Some of the people brought portable tape recorders and hoped that they, or someone else in the two groups (Brazil or France) would receive a message for them from a loved one on the other side. Sonia wrote: “We taped for 15 minutes. We used 2 tape recorders emitting noise, and 8 other tape recorders doing the actual taping. “Afterwards a friend started to analyze one of the tapes (the others will be analyzed later). In half an hour she presented the results. It was incredible!! Many questions were answered. The voices were as clear as our own and could be heard by everyone present.” Sonia mentioned some of the over 40 replies that were received. The unseen spoke about Paris, showing

that they were aware of Jacques and his group’s simultaneous experiment with Brazil. A mother in Sonia’s group called on her deceased daughter to come through. The girl replied: “Mother, nothing changes.” The mother is convinced it was her daughter because of her unique style of speaking. Another attendee, named Carmen, called on her husband, Joao. He said: “Carmen, this is Joao. I love you more than ever.” In an E-mail letter to Sonia, I said it was wonderful that the group recording went so well. I asked about Jacques and if he’d had results. Sonia replied that Jacques had faxed her after their experiment ended. They had also received messages from the unseen. One was from a Brazilian boy named 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Robinson.” A mother who took part in the December Brazilian meeting, had lost two sons. Her last name is Robinson! CROSSING MY DESK Each month, dozens of letters related to ITC cross my desk. Most are interesting. Some push my boggle point to its limits. Others require a bit of thought, even investigation. Tina Laurent, Wales, sent me an old clipping she found from the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. It was dated June 1974, and appeared in “Letters to the Editor.” The letter was from Scott Rogo who, before his death, was well known as the author of many books related to PSI, and for his investigations in the field. Quoting briefly, Scott

wrote: “I want to point out a fallacy that critics have made about tape recorded voices. It is claimed that because several individuals have different interpretations of a ‘voice’ that disqualifies that voice. Instead, it is some mechanical or accidental sound that really exists on the tape. This is based on the idea that if a voice did occur on the tape, all listeners would interpret it uniformly.” Scott goes on to show the fallacy of this premise and mentions experiments by Dr. John Lilly, known for his work with dolphins. In this case, Lilly presented a tape of a clearly enunciated word spoken by a human voice. It was discovered that individuals heard up to 30 different words, for this one word. Scott concluded his letter with: “This seems to rule out the argument that the lack of unanimity among the listeners must destroy confidence in tape recorded voices.” Think back to your own party going experiences as a youngster. A favorite game was to sit in a circle. The leader would whisper a word, such as “dog” into the ear of the person next to him. By the time it was reported by the last person, you rarely heard “dog.” It could have been anything. In a letter from Victor Zammit, Australia, Victor wrote that the research for his book: A Lawyer Argues For the Afterlife (mentioned in the autumn newsletter) is almost completed. Although he said he’s happy with the results, his research has led him to

some sad conclusions. Quoting from his letter, Victor wrote: “One of (my conclusions) is that the evidence for the afterlife and psychic phenomena is overwhelming but the establishment, universities, institutionalized churches and the extreme materialists do want to hear about it... I quite believe that we are at the stage that Galileo was—he had the scientific evidence for the heliocentric view of the solar system but the establishment nearly killed him for it. It was only when the knowledge reached a threshold the establishment could not suppress or explain away that Galileo was vindicated. How long do we have to wait?” I understand Victor’s frustration. The evidence for survival is overwhelming. At times I feel as if we are singing to the choir who already are believers. We will keep on though, as individuals and groups (such as INIT) working cooperatively, sharing our results, considering the results of others, so we will continue to learn from each other. TAPERS REPORT We have many people, more than ever before, reporting instrumental contacts with the unseen. The large number pleases me for it shows breakthroughs are occurring more often for more people. Some of these reports come from individuals having their very first contacts. As I mentioned on page 1, I share their deep joy. Lisa Butler, N.M. wrote: “I am still having good success with taping. I can only think of one time in the last couple of years that I have taped and failed to get voices. I appreciate the

ideas on taping and motivation of hearing from other tapers that your newsletter provides. In an interesting letter from Luise Fuchs, Germany, Luise said: “When I was in Sweden to learn more about transcommunication from Jurgenson, he played a tape where the scene of an accident could be heard. A voice spoke and said the driver wouldn’t be injured because they would wrap him in cotton. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena About a week after that recording, someone close to Jürgenson was in an accident and even though it was a very bad accident, there were no casualties. I have had a similar incident. Mr. M. who began a discussion group with me, had an accident not long ago. I had taped a recording announcing an accident, not indicating though who’d be in it. Within a short time there was a crash with a truck on the highway. Mr. M.’s car was totally damaged but he got out of his car without the slightest injury. Apparently, the spiritual world had put him in cotton as well.” Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that when she was recently checking some of her results, she discovered a very clear, “Hegeler.” Carol said it was the loudest and clearest message she’d ever received. He has been coming through to her since she started taping in 1983. Unfortunately, when Carol went to make a copy of it, she accidentally erased it. In the next recording, she

asked if Hegeler would call her on the telephone. Someone replied he wasn’t there by saying: “He is with the children.” Many times they have told Carol that he teaches children. She’s been told upon numerous occasions that Hegeler was her brother in a previous life in Germany. Clara Laughlin. VA State Coordinator, wrote about some of the messages she has received lately: “Clara, we’re here for you.” “We select the good people.” “You serve the dead people.” Clara said she received a surprise evidential message from Tom, her husband. “You fly with me to Mary Smith—a favorite lady.” Clara commented this went back to the early 1970s, and a trip they made to see a good friend. David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, sent me a tape with some very good voices. Some of them were: “We are on the earth.” “They have their high star weapon.” “Please give us a moment of radio.” “In the hall keep the light on. We come in on it.” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me a tape with outstanding reverse messages. Some of them were: “It will start within you—I know it.” “And know your soul whenever.” “I come down. I get the man in the earphone.” “My Lord, I want you to touch our values here.” “Nexus are many.” Dan said he looked up the word Nexus in the dictionary, and one definition for it is “link.’ Irene Nelson, WI. joined the AA-EVP in 1988. Although not a taper,

she is interested in our Association because of the objective evidence we present through our newsletter. Near the end of December, she wrote: “I just have to write you about a heart wrenching episode that happened when my dead son’s voice called out to me on the car radio—a completely eerie example of voice transference. It was Class triple A, and I’m at a total loss to comprehend.” I have written to Irene that this is rare but it does happen at times. There are several European experimenters who frequently hear their name, or messages audibly over their radios. Many have their radios by a tape recorder, and when this occurs, they quickly press the record button. It happened to me one time. I was working in my office with the radio on. A friend who was terminally ill, called to me through the radio loudspeaker. I was sure she had died, and quickly ran and called her home. She answered, so I knew she was still with us. Not wanting to worry her, I didn’t mention hearing from her through my radio a few minutes earlier. She died later that month. Al Rauber, N.J., wrote he was being interviewed for a N.J. paper and set up his equipment at the Cranbury Inn in Cranbury, N.J. He said: “The inn is haunted by a little lady named Miss Mac. She lived in the Inn for about 45 years, and died in the early 1980s. I set up my tape recorder

and directed questions to her. A voice said: ‘I’m really cold.’ When I called the Inn owner to tell her about the voice, there was dead silence. Then she said I had definitely gotten Miss Mac. While she lived there, she was constantly complaining to everyone that she was always cold.” Monique Simonet, France, wrote she has recorded many messages through her telephone. Some of them are: “Don’t stop!” (Monique’s father). “It’s me. I’m happy. It’s Papa Ludo.” (Monique’s grandfather.). He also said: “I’m here always, without leaving.” “Yes, that’s good. It is a new system!” “Hello! It’s me, Mama!” (Monique’s mother). Monique said that the voices through the telephone are 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena weak. She put a sound generator near the phone and the voices became much better. Monique mentioned that her close friend, Pierre Thery (French AA-EVP member since 1990) had also received good phone voices. Joseph Wright and his wife, Theresa, MD, joined us in December. Their hope is to hear from their seventeen year old son who died in April. Joseph has started taping, and called me very excited. The first time they taped, he said their son came through and said: “Hello!” Since then, they haven’t heard anything further. He was feeling discouraged and wondered if this was normal. I assured him it was, that he should be patient and persistent. He was extremely fortunate to hear from their son so quickly. In time they

will probably have additional contacts from him. WORTHY IDEAS TO CONSIDER An interesting letter came from Tom Butler, husband of Lisa mentioned on pg. 4. He asked for a copy of constructing a ‘Tesla Type Radio’ offered to readers in the autumn newsletter. Tom, the author of the book: Handbook of Metaphysics is working on: The Not So Departed that will focus on spirit communications, with ample examples, and an extensive section about EVP. Tom wrote about energies and said: “I have taken the position that (scalar wave) energy falls into the family of energy I refer to as etheric energy. I think of etheric energy as having a spectrum, just as does electromagnetic energy. Of course, the etheric energy spectrum would have spiritual energy in its very finest nature at one extreme and the very coarse near-physical Tesla energy at the other. Since all of this energy is felt to emanate from an intelligence at the center of reality, differentiation of the energy into lower frequencies may have been accomplished by entities as they created new ‘local’ realities in which to test possibilities offered by the operation of Natural Law on etheric energy.” Tom believes that etheric energy is more a fabric than a wave or beam of particles. It is easily influenced by intention; it has vibration and is governed by a number of specific principles which are better described as cosmological rather than scientific. Tom wrote: “Communications from a higher plane must somehow be ‘hosted’ by energy

at a physical rate of vibration.” In his letter, Tom discusses the Mandelbrot Set from chaos theory, provides a picture of the set and includes a mathematical equation. He feels that “entities beyond the veil” use this energy to communicate with us (but) we are responsible for the availability of this energy in the physical plane. Tom commented that any device which is designed to use scalar energy is closer to the point than those that use electromagnetic energy. He closed his letter with: “Our ability to provide energy through our attention, and focus it with our intention, remains the most important ingredient for successful communication.” Space limitations prohibit my quoting any further from his letter or showing his three diagrams. If you would like a copy of his letter, please send me a stamped, self-addressed business size envelope. COMPUTER TAPING More and more people who own a computer and are interested in taping, are turning to their computers and reporting success. In a personal letter from Jacques Blanc-Garin, mentioned on pg. 3, he wrote he’d enjoyed our autumn newsletter and requested a copy of the Tesla Type Radio. He also commented that Alain Plaisant (another friend in France) is using a computer to record voices and that he plans to start soon. Stacy Rawlings, MD AA-EVP member, uses her computer to tape voices. At my request, she sent excellent detailed instructions on how to do this. The instructions are applicable only for those who have Windows 95. If you

would like a copy, please send me a stamped, self-addressed business size envelope. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena MEMBERS RECEIVE RECOGNITION Richard Berman, TX, is known as “Dallas’s Dr. Doolittle” for his work as a sensitive with animals. He has appeared on radio and TV and been written up in many publications. Richard is one of the founders of the Texas Parapsychology Association, and their first president. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, President of the Ghost Research Society, IL, was a guest on the Art Bell radio show, Dec. 19th. The show is very popular and airs in many parts of the country. Art always has interesting, knowledgeable guests, frequently in the field of PSI. Sonia Rinaldi has received the very prestigious award: Prize for Epipsychology-1998. This is awarded each year to leaders in the field of parapsychology and given by the Dr. A Hedri Foundation, Zurich. The award reads: “To Sonia Rinaldi, INIT Section for South America,” and was given to her in recognition of her experiments in evaluation of ITC phenomena as well as for her publications in Brazil and abroad. LIF PROJECT FOR 1998 (?) At times, I believe those of us working in the field of ITC, are something of an insular group. Yes, we have our publications. We share with those who ask, our experiences with objective spirit communications. Groups are formed who share our interest, but much of this, as I wrote, is like singing to a choir

of believers. There is nothing wrong with this, but is it enough? I feel not. By nature, I am a people’s person. My years as a social worker working with troubled people, were the most fulfilling ones I have known. Years ago, I donated to Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, 50 cassette tapes that I especially made with my comments and taped voices, to help prepare the terminally ill person and their loved ones for what they would soon face. Dr. Ross was very grateful for the Life Beyond Life tape and said she would use it in her pioneering work. Might some of us consider (and I am fully aware this sort of thing isn’t for everyone) beginning to work with small groups of people who are facing imminent, death? Perhaps your local hospice could be a place to start. Some hospitals and nursing homes, might welcome such a program. A church or temple whose leader is open-minded and accepting, would possibly support the idea. The sort of person needed for this type of program is a nonaggressive, sympathetic, understanding type of individual, psychologically sound within themselves, who can empathize with those with whom they come in contact. They would need to believe in survival and understand what sort of a situation the dying person will meet as he leaves his physical body to return home, along with some of the things he will experience in his new life. The taped voices could be a part of this program—possibly limited to

3 or 4 sessions—but not necessarily the major part. Although I am not against working with an individual, I see more benefit in small groups where feelings, fears, and questions can be shared. I would like to know how you feel about: Life is Forever (LIF—for an acronym) project? Are you willing to become involved? Those of us who know there is life beyond this life, have been blessed with a great gift. Most people have doubts, questions, increased fears as their days are drawing to an end. Isn’t it time to share the gift we’ve been given? Deadline for our spring newsletter is March 27th. ODDS AND ENDS Many thanks to everyone who sent special notes and cards during the holidays. I cherish each one. In India, circus people say their dead have fallen without a net. Of the living, they say, “we are still falling in the net.” May the net be there for each of you, whatever your needs, in 1998. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1998 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “The wonder of this great celestial departure which is called death is that the departing ones do not go far away. They are in a world of light, but they attend, as tender witnesses, our world of darkness. They are high up and

nearby. You, whoever you are, who have seen a loved one pass out into the tomb, believe not you are left by the deceased. The latter is, more than ever, close to you. The beauty of death, it is the presence—the inexpressible presence—of the beloved souls, smiling to our weeping eyes. The lamented beings have not disappeared, not gone off. We no longer see their sweet faces; we feel ourselves under their wings. “The dead are the invisible ones, but not the absent ones. Death is the ascent, to the superior degree of everything that has lived. Dazzling and sacred ascent, each one receives its increase. Everything transfigures itself in the light and by the light.” Victor Hugo The above was read at the close of my husband’s funeral, February 18th, by one of my daughters. As many of you know, my husband, Charles, had been seriously ill, ever since his first massive stroke on July 1. 1992. Since then, he spent most of his time living in nursing homes. Life, especially the last three years, was a constant battle for him, as he struggled to survive. The three children and I also struggled—first, to provide him with the best care possible, and then trying to support him psychologically and emotionally. It was not easy but I felt as long as he wanted to live, I could do nothing less than try to make those years as comfortable for him as possible. Several times during that time, he came close

to death, but each time he somehow pulled himself back. Finally, on February 2nd, he was rushed by ambulance to the Annapolis hospital, suffering from advanced pneumonia in both lower lobes of his lungs. He was barely conscious most of the time. Then, on Sunday afternoon, February 15th, he returned home to the world beyond death. We were fortunate that he’d been placed in a small room with just one bed. We could come and go as we pleased, even spending the night with him on a cot beside his bed. We kept playing his favorite music on a cassette player we’d brought. The last three days, when I knew the end was near, I continued telling him he was free to go back home to his real home, the spirit world. I assured him his job here was finished and praised him for the courageous battle he’d fought for so many years. “We’ll always remember you. You’ll live in our hearts forever”, I promised him. During this time, I told him to look for the light and head in that direction. “Hold out your hand,” I said. “Someone will take it and lead you through the tunnel towards the light. There you’ll find all of your family and loved ones waiting to greet you. Soon you’ll he healed and able to enjoy all of the wonders and joys of your new world.” Sunday afternoon, as I held his hand, the nurse said his death was only minutes away. I

asked her to put on the tape: “Somewhere In Time” his favorite piece. Within several minutes, he took one final peaceful breath and that was it. Also read at his funeral were words from Kahil Gibran, a favorite writer of both my husband and me. Part of it went: “We (the dead) shall pass into the twilight to wake to the dawn of another world. Let love command the coming day.” The words from Victor Hugo’s speech have been reinforced many times since then. “The dead are the invisible ones, but not the absent ones.” Charlie has given evidential messages through my tape recorder. A Class A message nine days after his death, was about our three children. I duplicated it for them and they will cherish it forever. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena More recently I read a short quote, also by Victor Hugo. “Go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” Yes, Charlie slept away in peace. Now he is awake, and all is well. ANNIVERSARY ISSUE With this newsletter, VOL. 17, Number 1, we observe our sixteenth birthday. Our Spring NEWS is the 65th quarterly newsletter I’ve mailed over the years. From 25 mailings in ten states and Canada, in May 1982, it is now mailed to hundreds of members in 38 states and 12 foreign countries. We have touched a lot of lives in sixteen years. Many lives have touched mine. A member in California told me in

a recent phone call: “Sarah, we’ve never met but I feel I know you. You put so much of yourself in your newsletters, I feel we are family.” I assured her that I look upon each and every one of you as my extended family. There are no strangers among us. Whether we have met or not, we are united in a common goal, to learn more about the world beyond death, to learn more about possible other dimensions, to move towards the light of goodness, knowledge and wisdom. As a result of you and so many others touching my life the last sixteen years, I feel knowledge, wisdom and, I hope, goodness, have increased within me. At the same time, this wisdom that has become a part of my life, lets me know I have not reached the ultimate goal. So we each move forward on our journey, holding out our hand to those in need, as we continue learning on this “journey without distance.” LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE Over the years many people have said: “Sarah, I’d like to tape but I’m afraid I might get in touch with bad spirits.” While not denying there are some spirits around who you’d rather not come in contact with, this type of entity is normally rather scarce when it comes to taping. Recently a man wrote to me requesting information about the AA-EVP. In his letter he said: “Sarah, I’ve been an agnostic all my life. I’ve begun taping and I’ve

gotten some voices! Now I’m questioning my agnosticism. If we survive death, as these voices seem to prove, there must be a God who makes this possible.” He’s not the only one who has come to this conclusion. Jackie Collins, NV, sent me a print-out she’d read on the Internet. Someone wrote: “I wonder if your thoughts can summon a similar form of energy that relates to your feelings? People of goodwill usually have positive paranormal experiences and people associated with crime and other negative things usually come in contact with negative experiences. They also may come in contact with a negative entity. My assumption is your focused thought can gather energy. Maybe it is your own energy given off by this thought that attracts good (or bad) spirits.” He’s right. Keep this in mind if and when you sit down to tape. Who and what you are, largely determines the kind of spirit who comes to speak. WORMHOLES AND SPIRITS? You are likely to pick up all sorts of things on the Internet. In a piece by Dave Oester, http://www.ghostweb.com International Ghost Hunters Society, he wrote about Trish from Maine who sent “fine pictures of vortices taken in her home.” Dave said that many of them show multiple spheres within, and that perhaps some of the vortices are gateways or portals that allow spirit entities to enter and exit our dimension. Dave realizes the idea might be difficult to accept, but we should remember that spirits of the dead

exist within their own dimension and when they visit us they have left their dimension to enter ours. Dave wonders if they might think about coming here to visit a loved one, and suddenly they are within a vortex tunnel moving toward their destination. He reminds us that physicists have said a wormhole may be the access port to other dimensions or galaxies. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NOISE In previous newsletters, I’ve mentioned that extraneous sounds (noise) plays a vital part in successful EVP recordings. Those in other dimensions use these sounds to help them speak. Many of us prefer, because of its limited content, the air-band found on some radios. This is the band used to control aircraft. Virgil Hunter, AA-EVP member GA, sent me an article from the Aug. 18th issue of U.S. News and World Report. It discusses “stochastic resonance” which we have also mentioned before. Basically, some scientists have learned that by adding a certain level of noise to recordings it can make them clearer. Now, sound engineers have started adding low level noise (called dither) to CDs which greatly improves their sound. Scientists at the University of Genoa, Italy, have begun introducing random “noise”—minute grains of color—to a video screen that contains little detail. Upon this addition the viewer can recognize whatever image is there. Scientists believe the phenomenon of “stochastic resonance” may help the brain’s neurons detect weak signals. In the winter newsletter, I mentioned

Luise Fuchs, AA-EVP member, Germany. Luise wrote that while she was in Sweden many years ago, learning about transcommunication from Frederick Jurgenson (early pioneer in the field), he had played a tape for her. On the tape the scene of an accident could be heard, and then an invisible voice said the driver wouldn’t be hurt because he would be “wrapped in cotton.” More recently, Luise wrote, a close friend of hers was in a car crash, with the car almost completely demolished. Mr. M. walked away without a scratch. Luise feels that “the spiritual world had wrapped him in cotton also.” Above is a picture showing her friend’s car after the crash. Many of us have experienced or know someone who has been in a terrible accident. By rights, death or extremely serious injuries should have resulted. Yet you, or your acquaintance, escaped without harm. Could you also have been ‘wrapped in cotton?’ A VERY SPECIAL RECORDING Being ‘wrapped in cotton’ by the spirit world in order to avoid serious injury or death during an accident, may not be as outrageous an idea as it might first appear. Not that the individual is wrapped in cotton (as we know it) but perhaps the world beyond death somehow encases a person in a special etheric substance. This seems to have been the case in the following example. One of the most extraordinary, chilling, moving tapes I have ever heard was recorded by Mercedes Shepanek, VA State Coordinator, before her death.

Mercedes taped it on January 14, 1982, the day following the crash of the Air Florida plane into the 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Potomac River outside Washington, D.C. She sent the tape to me several days later and then played it at the first national AA-EVP conference held in Baltimore in August 1982. Everyone who heard it was moved, some to tears. There were 8-9 messages on it, all related to the crash. The entire recording lasted less than three minutes. Mercedes asked at the beginning of the recording if her spirit contacts were aware of the crash. Immediately there was a babble of voices, some confused, others comforting. Some of the Class A messages were: “…on that airliner.” “We got a loser.” “Redeem.” “Will you come with me now, will you come?” “I’ll do it right in the snow.” (There was a lot of snow on the ground at the time.) “Reach down...now reach down...I don’t want ‘em all killed.” All of the voices are tonal and you can hear the anguish some of those felt who had evidently just died. They were also all reverse voices, coming through on the wrong side of Mercedes reel to reel tape. It was clear there were helpers standing by to assist the newly dead, as well as others who seemed to be in charge. We know many died in the crash. “We got a loser” suggests they evaluated the bodies lying in

the snow, or still on the airplane. “Redeem” probably means that the spirit helper has found someone who will live. “Will you come with me now, will you come?” tells us that this person has died and the take-away spirit is urging him to leave his body and move on with him to the world beyond. Normally, spirit communicators show little emotion. The Air Florida tape was completely different. There was great confusion with several voices talking at once. The people who had been in the crash seemed disoriented. They wondered what had happened. Those who had come from the beyond were largely trying to reassure the newly dead; you could hear the tone of comfort in their voices. At the same time there was concern, a feeling of being rushed in trying to pull a victim back from the brink of death. This was apparent in their vocal quality. One of the most puzzling aspects of the tape is the sense of immediacy you get from listening to it. The recording sounded as if the incident was happening right then, but Mercedes made the recording the following day. Time, as we know it, doesn’t exist in the next dimension, and this recording sounded like a rerun of a previous event. Could it be that certain events are imprinted upon the fabric of time and can be replayed, relived, by special individuals when they ask about them? CONCERNS OF A PHYSICIST A friend, John Anthony Miller, a zoologist, sent me

copies of several E-mail exchanges he had with Dr. Michio Kaku, a brilliant theoretical physicist. John had written to Dr. Kaku about EVP, and some of his own results with taping. Dr. Kaku had never heard of it and he responded to John’s letter with: “I am not familiar with the phenomenon you mentioned. But is it reproducible?? If so, it would be quite dramatic evidence. But usually, claims like this are notoriously difficult to reproduce. That’s the acid test: Science is based on the reproducible. In the meantime I guess scientists can Fourier analyze the spectrum of the sounds to see precisely which human these voices belong to, much like DNA can be used to identify people.” IS VOICE PHENOMENA REPRODUCIBLE? This is a question I have been frequently asked by scientists and non-scientists. I always answer, “Yes!” Dr. Kaku asked John about it and John’s answer was a bit hesitant. To me, the phenomena is eminently reproducible. If you ask: “Are Tom and Mary always able to record voices?” I would reply, “Probably not.” However, if Tom and Mary were outstanding tapers, ‘maestros of the tape recorder’ as I called them in my book: Voices of Eternity (Fawcett, 1988) chances are they’d have results at least 90% of the time. Those results could well be that over 50% of the messages they tape would be Class A. I would also add that I believe 80% of all people who try to have contact with the invisibles will sooner

or later be successful. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Scientists put great store in what is reproducible. So, if in the future you’re asked that question, perhaps you can answer in the affirmative. TAPERS REPORT We have many tapers reporting contact. I am always pleased about this, for it shows recording messages is not just for a few isolated individuals. It is available for most who are willing to spend a moderate amount of time taping and who follow some simple suggestions. Jackie Colligan, NV member, wrote: “I have been unsuccessfully trying to scan the picture of a Chinese man. One morning, I received a message spoken by a female voice, that seemed related to it to a certain degree. She said: ‘Disceptional dysfunction. Mark in traditional Chinese medicine the tongue is considered the mirror of the entire body. Stir Lyangela on spirit into Tony’s ears, forehead, hands, feet and legs.’ “I met Jacques Blanc-Garin, and his wife, Monique (France) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, last August when we were both lecturing at the International Congress for Transcommunication. We have stayed in contact ever since. Jacques wrote that they organize a spring weekend with their members of INFINITUDE, an outstanding French organization that focuses on ITC. He said: “The first day we have a meeting with ITC experimentation and we spend the second day in a very beautiful Basilica named Montligeon, where we pray for the deceased and where we have an office

and a meeting together with the Priest who is director of the Basilica. We made a recording the first day, and a mother whose son died 2 years ago, asked him: ‘What are we going to do tomorrow?’ Her son answered: ‘Tomorrow… To Montligeon...To dance...’ Jacques commented that they thought that was a curious answer because “in a Church we generally pray but we don’t dance. The next day we were at Montligeon and there was a group of Congolese who were singing God Spell. At the end, everybody, including the Sisters and the Priest, began to clap their hands and to dance.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, recently taped: “They promise they’ll be my people.” “I cry. I need a new family.” “Kisses to look upon.” “I don’t know about these people.” Tina Laurent, Wales member, wrote she is now giving readings for people who come to her for help. She is using EVP in a unique, evidential way. She wrote: “The day before my sitter comes I make a couple of short tapings giving their name, and birth date if I know it, and ask to hear from friends and loved ones belonging to them. Although I’m not always successful I’ve had some really spot-on messages, and I seem to get more messages for the older clients than the younger ones in their 20s & 30s. One day, I taped, ‘Come hither,’ followed by, ‘Get—Michael—Gold,’ The next day, the woman came for her reading. I played the messages

for her. She was in her mid-60s, and told me she had just bought a gold ring for her son, Michael! Her mother always used the term, ‘Come hither.’ She obviously found the messages very evidential. Some clients go home and start taping on their own!” Richard Lewis, MO, asked for suggestions on taping voices, which I sent him. On January 23rd, an E- mail letter came from him that read: “I made contact this evening with the entity I believe is in our house. I followed the techniques you listed and received a male voice on the second try. He said: ‘We pass through here.’” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me an excellent tape, all reverse voices. Some of the messages were: “Here you need most of that.” “I was raised. Now you know.” “Then I’m someone.” “Notice the ships that came with it.” “And I’ll believe the ships help you one day.” “Forever I’m assign you.” Irene Maletsky, who along with her daughter, Valerie Tjaden, are State Coordinators for N. J., sent me a tape recently. All of the voices were taped in a historical house near her home, where she volunteers her services. Some of the messages were: “I found it.” “How?” “Ellen.” “It’s under here” (a clear whisper). “Here.” “Sissy” (another clear whisper). 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Tom P., CA member, was very excited when he made his first recording. He feels all of

his messages were reverse messages and some that he received were: “To Earth to Earth to say Hello to”. “Ah, this is for my speech earlier out here.” “North! North.” Sonia Rinaldi, Brazilian member, wrote: “All of a sudden my terrestrial station has become magic! Now all of my questions are answered and many other voices enter also to say something. Many incredible cases have happened, such as a mother who came to my house to talk to her little daughter who died nine years ago, and had wonderful responses. Later, there came the longest message we ever received in Brazil: a sequence of 9 sentences from the son of a member of our Association, and so on. All of this was recorded using the computer.” Sonia attributes the outstanding increased results from help she has received from Professor Doctor Euvaldo Cabral, a brilliant physicist and electronics engineer, who teaches at a university in Brazil. He and some of his 17 Ph.D. graduate students, have given Sonia some new equipment to use, and helped her set it up to bring the improved contacts. Pat Sabodish, N.J., wrote: “I have been getting very good responses when I fill the jacuzzi in the bathroom, and just let the lowest speed on. The water makes a little noise. I’ve sent many lost spirits into the light.” UNUSUAL PHONE CALL On February 12, I returned from the hospital after visiting my husband. Checking my answering machine, I heard some strange, unidentifiable music and then

a clear female voice, speaking in a monotone, while the music continued playing, said: “I’m home. I’m a hydrid.” I feel the call was from another dimension, possibly not spirit. A hydrid? I’ve checked several dictionaries, but the word is not to be found. Might she have said: “hybrid”? Perhaps, but I think it was hydrid. Whether it was hydrid or hybrid, it certainly opens up an unanswerable question. TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE INVISIBLE The above-named article was sent to me by Nicholas Reiter, AA-EVP member, OH. It was written by him and his colleague, Lori Schillig and is fascinating, giving much nutritious food for thought. Nicholas wrote that his background is in electronics, vacuum systems and chemistry and he is interested in communicating with other researchers in the field of ITC. He has been conducting recording experiments using diode circuits and magnetic field pick-ups. Briefly, Nicholas describes how the photograph (shown on pg. 6 of the six-page article) was captured, and the equipment used. He mentions how frequent unexplained ‘somethings’ turn up on film in haunted locations due probably to the faster ‘eye’ of the camera, compared to the human eye. The photographer sees nothing when he takes a picture and yet, upon development, there is some sort of image. Nicholas writes: “Our position is that while such pictures many not represent. ‘spirits’, they do seem to depict a very real, very invisible structure. We believe that careful analysis of this effect may open up valuable avenues into

the physics of anomalous events, and could add to our basic understanding of the universe.” Since June, 1997, he and Lori have worked on a hypothesis that may explain the mechanism for the appearance of photographically captured, but otherwise invisible events. He writes at length about our ability, or in-ability to see what is going on around us. Nicholas explains how animals seem aware of an unseen ‘visitor’ to our home, that we are unable to, for the most part, glimpse. He discusses the differences between the rod cells (peripheral vision) and cone cells (frontal vision) of the eye. Peripheral vision seems to be faster. We, as humans, depend largely on the slower cone cells to see, while animals appear to use the faster rod cells. Although the article is technical in nature the language used is clear and easily understood. Nicholas gives much evidential information to support his evolving hypothesis. If you would like to read the complete article, please send me a self-addressed, stamped, business size envelope. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Edna Drake, Canada, wrote: “My husband, Jim, has buried the Elf Frequency Cable that he copied from the schematic you sent. It is outside the door of our front room, so it will enable clearer signals to come from other dimensions.” Dominic Macquire, England, is continuing experimentation with a mediumistic circle near his home in West Sussex. He reports outstanding success with different

spirits coming through and giving suggestions as to how their equipment and experiments can be improved. Fred McIntosh, VA, called and said his wife’s book: Sisterhood of Spies will appear in bookstores in April. It is published by the prestigious Naval Institute. Elizabeth describes her two years as a spy behind the Japanese lines during the Second World War as well as the lives of other women who were spies. Already it has been reviewed favorably by the “New York Times.” Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine, is a Spiritualist minister. He wrote: “I always look forward to your newsletters and hand them out in our church.” Victor Zammit, Australia, wrote that his book: A Lawyer Argues For the Afterlife is finished. The full version is on his web site, and the printed version will be out soon. Victor was a solicitor of the Supreme Court, NSW. HAUNTINGS OF CAPE MAY, N.J. TOUR Al Rauber, a friend, leads a 90-minute tour of historic Cape May, from April-Nov. Many ‘ghostly’ locations are visited. Call Al to find out more. Phone: 609-463-8984. WE’RE GALLOPING ALONG In the anniversary newsletter, I always try to give an update of our members. From April ‘97 to the present time, we’ve received 70 new members. For the 16th year in a row, men outnumber women. Currently, we have 44 more men than women. Close to 200 members have chosen to be on the cross-country list, with 30 on the E-mail network list. LIF PROJECT FOLLOW-UP In the winter

newsletter, I wrote that I hoped members would sign up for the LIF (Life Is Forever) project. I explained that our focus would be to work with small groups of the terminally ill, presenting them with many types of evidence that show life is forever. The taped voice would only be a part of this program, possibly limited to only 3 or 4 sessions. Those who volunteer for LIF would need to be psychologically sound within themselves, and able to empathize with those with whom they come in contact. The volunteer would help the terminally ill understand what they will face as death nears; they would help them not be afraid to let go and move on to the world beyond death. Nursing homes, churches and temples where the leader was open-minded and accepting, might be the places where the sessions could take place. I’m happy to say, I’ve had volunteers who think it is a wonderful idea. New and old members, think it over and see if you would like to take part. With just 3-4 more volunteers, I think the program will fly! HELPING THE DYING Enclosed you will find a letter I wrote to Edward Casey, the Executive Editor of The Capital. His strong endorsement of the idea is included. I have received excellent support for the idea from the medical profession and public at large. The Baltimore Sun plans to use the letter in May as they do a series of articles about the health field.

I ask each of you who agree with the idea, to pass it on. Make copies and send it to your local media requesting they use it. Give, or send it to anyone who might help put the idea into practice. I have contacted Edward Casey and asked for his permission to reprint the letter elsewhere. He has kindly given 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena this. It is hoped that whatever source uses the letter, will give The Capital credit. Let me know the results you have. ODDS AND ENDS Thank you for making the last sixteen years possible. Without you, there would be no Association. You are the AA-EVP. Deadline for the summer newsletter is June 20th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1998 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint A HAPPY TRIP TO ETERNITY Sarah Estep/Rebecca Estep There’s a song which was popular, during the 1960s, titled “One Tin Soldier.” It tells about two villages that had been at war with each other for a long time. Legend had it that a treasure of great worth (presumably gold) was at the top of a nearby mountain, and each village wanted to claim that gold for

itself. Over the years, people from both villages had made many attempts to scale the mountain, trying to be the first to arrive at the summit, because whoever got there first was the one who was entitled to the gold. As soon as one group neared the top of the mountain, the townsfolk from the other village would rush forward to kill any potential champions. Finally, there came a day when people from both villages managed to reach the mountain top at the same time, each apparently taking a different path. Everyone rushed towards the treasure chest, which sat majestically beneath a lone weeping willow tree. The lid was thrown back, wrenching it from its hinges, and everyone peered into the chest. Instead of the long fought over gold, the only contents in the chest was a scrap of paper which read: “Peace on Earth. Good Will Towards Men.” Everyone needs to take the moral of this story to heart, whether they are involved in the field of transcommunication or not. How many of us can truly say we have never been jealous of anyone? How many can say they have never had a negative thought about a person, perhaps wished them ill, or spoken against them? I dare say, none of us could raise his hand. Each time we refuse to hold out our hand to someone in need, no matter how we may feel at the moment ourselves; each time we turn our back on something that needs

to be done thinking: “I’m too busy, let someone else do it,” we are denying the ‘human’ in humanity. When we verbally attack another person, justifiably or not, or try to get others to join us in our ‘crusade’ even though we may think it is a ‘holy’ crusade—I dare say the ‘angels of glory’ are less than pleased. If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that everyone has feet of clay. There is no perfect being. Instead of vehemently dwelling on the imperfection of others put that aside. They are they. You are you. All you need concern yourself about is the clay on your own feet. Can we not learn to forgive those for whatever real or perceived deed they committed against us? If we cannot, then the ‘angels of glory’ will not only be displeased, they will weep. If you can truly forgive and go on working not only for your own betterment but for the betterment of everyman, then you can face your eternity unafraid. As human beings, we can’t escape the hunger to find a reason to believe in a benevolent eternity. Yet, each time we attack another person, holding our envy and ego paramount, that benevolent eternity we each yearn for becomes a little less benevolent. The light that it sheds becomes less bright. Millions of people around the world are on the dark, lonely and terrifying journey towards death. They want proof that this journey doesn’t mean annihilation. You, who are

involved in the field of ITC, actively or passively, are blessed in that you have been given the opportunity to provide this knowledge, in many different ways. Each of us today, are creating our own eternity. Whatever your discoveries and accomplishments have been over the years, they are secondary to what awaits you at the top of your personal mountain. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Remember, we die a little more for every moment we live. It is the way, and the only way we live those moments, that will ultimately determine whether our trip to eternity will be a happy one. MARTHA SHERMAN RETURNS HOME In a note received from Marcia Lynch, she wrote that her mother, Martha, who was 99, returned to the world beyond death on June 22, 1998. Martha, as many of you know, was the widow of Harold Sherman, world renown author and sensitive, who died in 1987. Harold and Martha were dear friends of mine. They had both visited in my home and attended the first national conference of the AA-EVP, where Harold was an honored guest. Harold took part in the round-table discussion on Sunday morning. My book, Voices of Eternity was dedicated to him. They joined AA-EVP in April, 1982, the month that it was begun. In Martha’s effects was found the note: To You; Whose understanding friendship I have cherished through the years, I send a temporary fond farewell, in the profound faith

that in the limitless dimensions which await us all, our paths will again cross. And, as we greet each other joyfully, we can once more share our many continuing experiences. Until then, My loving Thoughts, Martha I am confident that Martha and Harold are together now and in the future that never ends. GHOST HUNTERS/UNEXPLAINED IMAGES In the June 1998 issue of Research and Development Magazine, there was an interesting article about bringing science into the realm of the paranormal. They are doing this by correlating temperature changes with bizarre images. The article describes the work of Bob Schott, executive producer of “Adventures Beyond.” His documentaries have aired on the Discovery and other TV channels. Four of his investigations will be aired this summer. He has found that while investigating various locations, fluctuating temperatures often correlated with unexplained images captured on film. B. E. Meyers, Inc. of Redmond, WA manufactures the high definition night vision camera that Schott uses. Each camera amplifies existing light as much as 70,000 times and records an additional 250 nm of the light spectrum beyond what human eyes can see. Along with these cameras they use the Omega rugged infrared 0S521 portable thermometer that in three models cover temperature ranges from -18 to 870 C. They are available with either laser-dot or laser-circle sighting options. For more info, contact: Omega Engineering-1 Omega Dr. P.O. Box 4047, Stamford, CT 06907-4047 SHERLOCK HOLMES ESTEP! A European friend wrote to me in June, trying desperately to locate an

individual in this country. She’d written to him but the letter had been returned and she had no idea where he might be. I started the search that afternoon. After half a dozen calls, some a dead end, I located his correct address—he wasn’t even living in the state which address she had—and his phone number. The following day I was happy to send it to her. There is an interesting, evidential point to this. Before writing to me requesting my help, she’d asked one of her contacts on the other side, through her recorder, how she could find this person. The reply came back: “Ask Sarah Estep!” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena COMPUTERS/SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONS Dominic Macquire, AA-EVP member, England, frequently sends me letters filled with nutritious food for thought. He wrote: “Under the right spiritual conditions, a loved one can, with the help of other spirit persons, make parts or the whole of his or her spirit body take upon itself semi- matter which is almost solid.” Dominic feels that this could also relate to the use of a computer keyboard by a spirit in which they type a message. In a later letter, Dominic wrote: “I believe that spirit communication received via computer/word processor occurs because spirits are able under certain conditions to temporarily make their fingertips become partially solid. Spirit communicators are still able to touch, exert a mild degree of pressure and thereby communicate in writing through the

selected individual keys of some computer keyboards. Where it is possible, adaptation of the pressure sensitivity of some working keyboards, so as to make them extremely sensitive to the least degree of pressure, might facilitate the phenomenon of worded spirit communications via computer.” In another letter, he wrote: “I feel that an electro-magnetic field is essential for EVP recording. An easy way to supply this emf field is to use an electric motor, perhaps as a sound source in the final tape. Or, provide two or three transformers near each other. “The kind of transformer to use are those that plug into household current. They should be several inches away from each other, and produce a slight humming sound. They’re the kind supplied, with portable radios, etc. and convert 100 volts down to 12 volts. The mike need not be near them. Slowly move it away until the 60 cycle hum fades out. The 60 cycle will keep the mike in a state of activity, but have it just under the threshold where it goes below audibility.” YOUR PERSONALITY AND SPIRITS In the spring newsletter on page 2: Like Attracts Like, I wrote that the type of unseen entity you were likely to draw to yourself depended largely upon the sort of person you are. Skeptics of ITC constantly accuse us of putting voices on tape in a psychokinetic way. This is provable nonsense in many ways—one, the reverse voices—but there isn’t space to go into other ways to show

the contention is ridiculous. I agree with them in one respect. Our energies, our vibrations, the resonance we give off—call it psychokinetic if you wish—determines who will stop by to communicate. This has been proven to me countless times. It also doesn’t mean that a good, up-beat person will always receive ‘bouquets’ and messages of love from the invisibles. Everyone goes through down times. If you try taping then, chances are you’ll get little, if anything, or someone may come through with: “I don’t like you.” “I’m going to hurt you,” and so on. These sort of messages may cause you great concern. They shouldn’t—not if 95% of your previous messages have been friendly ones. Return a few days, a week later, with joy in your heart, a song on your lips and your results will bring a smile. In an E-mail attachment from Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, sent originally by Dave Oester, International Ghost Hunters Society, he wrote: “The key to removing these negative spirits lies not in rituals, icons or words, but in our own attitudes and emotions. We must first clear our own house eliminating those traits and attitudes that are of a negative nature. If we change our emotional outlook, the energy flow will become positive and the negative spirits will depart because they want nothing to do with positive people. Remember, the spirits of the dead are mirrors of who they were in life... When we let go of bitterness, resentment, anger or any

other negative emotion and attitude, we are set free of this heavy weight that draws negative spirits to us.” Exactly! As a rule, it’s better not to tape when you are depressed or angry. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena JUST SO WE UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER I am always happy to hear from AA-EVP members. Please remember, that while I enjoy your letters, E- mail or snail mail, with the growth of the AA-EVP, the time I have to spend on return correspondence is limited. I read everything that crosses my desk, and sometimes mark it for possible inclusion in a future newsletter. I’ve mentioned this before, but not recently, so perhaps it’s time to do so again—whatever you write, if I feel it might have some interest for other members, I may very well print at least some of it in an upcoming NEWS. However, if there is ever anything that you don’t want others to know, just say: “Sarah, please keep this confidential.” I always honor such requests—but you have to let me know, it’s just between thee and me! OUR TAPERS REPORT In the summer ‘97 newsletter, I wrote how Lloyd Bradshaw, N.J. AA-EVP member, would have been murdered if he’d met his friend, Bill at the cemetery where Bill was caretaker. Although Lloyd had planned to meet Bill there, ‘something’ kept him home. At about 4:00 PM, the time Lloyd would have met with Bill, Phillip Cunanan murdered Bill,

and took his car. You remember, Cunanan was on the national news for almost a week, as he went on a killing spree and killed, among others, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami Beach, before taking his own life. In a recent letter and phone call from Lloyd, he said he’d taken pictures at the cemetery and feels he has made contact with several spirits. One day, Lloyd was taping and said that Bill didn’t need to get killed. An invisible entity replied: “We know that!” Carol Barron Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that one of her favorite taped messages, came from an unknown entity who said: “Praise be the dead, the dead didn’t die.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, reminded me that Mercedes Shepanek, her close friend and former VA State Coordinator before her death, came through to Clara shortly after she died, and referring to the spirit world, said: “Oh, the wonder of it all!” Shortly after her husband, Tom died, Callie, Clara’s main helper on the other side, told her: “Tom is a happy soul!” Clara seems to have special, unique energies that draw spirits to her with evidential messages. At times she receives information about national figures, that later proves to be correct. She sends this information to me ahead of time asking that I keep it confidential. Clara has given permission to use the following, and has changed the names of those who were a part of it. Clara offered to give EVP support

to a psychic friend, “Jimmy”, who was helping police with a murder case. The victim was a pal of “Jimmy’s”. He was with her at a restaurant about 30 minutes before she was murdered. Via tape, only the middle name of the murderer was audible, which later proved correct. The victim spoke to Clara while she was taping, and said: “Ralph, I miss Ralph. I cry for Ralph.” The name “Ralph” is the pseudonym Clara has given the man the victim spoke about on tape. When Clara gave the message to “Jimmy”, he told her “Ralph” was the victim’s lover. Tina Laurent, Wales, has called several times in the last three months, and sent an interesting tape of contacts she is having. She continues getting evidential information about an individual who is coming to her for a reading the following day. Tina tells them, before starting the reading, what she was able to pick up through her recorder, and it frequently has been correct. She wrote that she always has a Welsh radio on in the background for a sound source, and was told: “Keep The Radio As It Is!” Someone told her: “You’re vital, Tina.” As Tina said, when she called, “It’s as if the flood-gates have opened. I’m getting voices all the time, often evidential.” Tina said when she goes hiking in the hills with her friend, she has a small Sony recorder hooked over her shoulder with it rubbing on the front of her as she moves.

She has discovered many good voices in the ‘movement’ noise of the rubbing recorder. She walks around the flat where she lives, with the recorder around her neck and still gets good voices from the rubbing movement. They are quite distinct from the rubbing noise itself. On the tape Tina sent, there were many interesting voices, including “This is Konstantin.” “This is Raudive.” “I am here. I’ve got hold of you.” “Would like to honor the dead.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, has a group of tour people who meet at his home, usually every other week. Martha Mikova, another CA AA-EVP member, is part of this group and drives 100 miles to attend the meetings. They always focus on recording voices, and David said they usually have fairly good results. Dan McKee, FL & IL State Coordinator, has written several times lately and sent me outstanding tapes. He wrote: “For some time now the voices are almost continuous and answer many of my questions. I listen to the face of the tape as it is being recorded which seems to have little to do with what is on the reverse side. Some of the Class A messages on his tapes are: “It knows I laugh at.” “He’ll hear most.” “Down there, doing your sitting NASA.” “You bring the standard up.” “Pick out a Grid and guess that we could land here.” “I must announce the going

there.” “It would open all the ages.” “You can just not be a dreamer.” “The best come, times will fit, I admit.” Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, is the most competent ITC researcher in her country. I also feel, she has, by far, the best taped results in Brazil, probably all of South America. She uses many sound sources while taping, sometimes as many as fifteen. In the spring she was invited to participate in the seventh national conference in Columbia. Spanish is the language used in that country, while Brazilians’ native tongue is Portuguese. Sonia was afraid the Colombians at the conference wouldn’t be able to understand her Portuguese messages, so she asked Grupo Landell Station, her special group of unseen friends, if they could give her some messages in Spanish that she could play at the Colombian conference. Immediately, she received fifteen messages, all in Spanish! Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson. Maine, a retired engineer and Spiritualist minister, wrote: “Many will accept a voice or message on a new blank tape who would not accept it in another way. This is why research in this area is so important.” A woman wrote to him and asked if he would try to contact her fifteen year old daughter, who had just died from cancer. During his next taping session, he told the daughter that this was her chance to communicate with her parents. The word, “Knows” was returned. HOW ABOUT YOU? I would like to encourage other AA-EVP members to start taping groups

like David. You don’t have to be a state coordinator to do so. Check your cross-country lists, and see if there are other members living within ten to twenty miles (remember Martha who drives 100 miles)! It is quite possible you might find two or three who would love to participate. Try to meet every week or two. Many, many times, several people taping together get results when taping alone brings little. It is the combined positive energies that can make all the difference. Let me know if you start such a group, and your results. My husband, Charles, who died in February, has made his presence known in different ways to different people. On April 25, he called our son, Bob. No one was home at the time so he left a one word message on Bob’s answering machine. I was able to dial into his machine, and duplicate the message many times onto the Marantz that is connected to my own telephone. Each of our children will cherish the copy I gave to them. I have taped a number of good quality messages from Charlie. When I asked him what his greatest surprise was, now that he is home in the spirit world, he replied: “I talk!” Another time he said: “I’m sitting down with Misty.” Misty was the dog of our hearts. I had asked him several times who was the first person he saw when he stepped into the spirit world, but never received an answer.

Then, on June 5, when I asked him again, he replied in a Class A voice: “I don’t remember. Things come back.” This gives us an interesting insight into spirit psychology. It is easily understood, that someone who has just gone through the death experience, and now realizes he has truly survived death, and is being greeted by 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena deceased loved ones, that in the traumatic, most happy experience he’s ever had, that things could be forgotten, but as Charlie said: “…things come back.” The most exciting contact I’ve had, is the above photograph taken in April. I’d been playing a game on my computer when the phone rang in my office. It was an AA-EVP member and we talked for about 15 minutes. When I went back to my bedroom, where the computer is located, I noticed the game I’d been playing had been cleared from the screen, and the scoring screen had been brought up. Something ‘told’ me to grab my Polaroid camera and take pictures. I finished the pack of seven that was in the camera, and on two was the spirit image of Charlie. He is standing behind the computer on the right, impossible for a human to do because it is on a computer console with a back to it, and is facing the camera. His left arm comes down, and he is pointing with his left hand to the scoring screen on

the computer. When I asked him the next time I taped, if I had his spirit image on the two Polaroid pictures, he replied: “Yes.” LONG RANGE AIRCRAFT FREQUENCIES As most of you know, I use the air band on two radios as sound sources while I tape. I prefer this band because it is the one used by aircraft traffic controllers and voices of the pilots and radio operators on nearby airplanes. As a result, the content is limited. An E-mail letter came from Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. AA-EVP member, in May. Quoting from it, he wrote that he knew I used the air band in order to obtain spirit voice communications. However, “The frequencies used are in the frequency range where a taper must live near an airport in order to make these recordings because the signals are short range and fade out beyond this radius.” Geoffrey is correct. I live not far from the Baltimore-Washington International airport, and the two large Washington D.C. airports are also picked up by my radios. Geoffrey has found international calling frequencies used by airline pilots on international flights. They can be used by anyone using a short-wave radio, and that the user of these radio frequencies need not live near an airport. Some of the frequencies he gives are: 5598khz; 5616khz; 6577khz; 8825khz; 8846kh; 8891khz;104149khz; 11282khz; 13306khz. Geoffrey also commented that getting reverse tape voices meant playing a reel to reel tape in reverse. Now, however, AA-EVP members can download an IBM

compatible digital sound editor “Cool Edit 96” from: http://www.syntrillium.com/cool.htm This will reverse the aircraft pilot’s voice (and also EVP voices) and reduce background noise. Geoffrey wrote that it is shareware, but fully functional. He hasn’t been able to find such a program for Macintosh users, but he understands they exist. “Your newsletter always seems to me as if it is a letter from home.” Ed Moore, Ohio NEWS FROM AND ABOUT MEMBERS Florence Galassini, IL, wrote that in the March/April magazine “Intuition” there was an 11 page article about the work of Russell Targ, a pioneering physicist who has explored the mind’s ability to transcend the limits of time. His goal has been “to validate the reality of ESP.” Dr. Targ has many books to his credit and you might want to check with your local library to see what they have. Dale Kaczmarek, also from IL, sent me a flyer about the Am. Ghost Society National Conference that is being held August 7-9, in “Haunted Decatur, IL.” There are many activities planned during that time with a number of nationally-known speakers. Bob Schott, mentioned on pg. 2, will be one of them, as will Dale, who is President of the Ghost Research Society. You can register by calling toll free: 1-888-GHOSTLY. Credit cards accepted. In an E-mail letter from Jeff King, New Zeal and, he wrote: “I am in communication with a researcher in England, who is involved heavily with crop circle research. I have been helping him develop

an electronic detection device. Rupert Sigurdsson, mentioned on page 4, became the Superintendent of the Bureau of Phenomenal Evidence, for NST Spiritualist Churches in March. He sent me part of his next newsletter that will be mailed 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena to members on July 15. He listed the names of four Spiritualist members who have offered to be his assistants. Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ AA-EVP member, is one of them. I sent him the how-to tape paper that I offer to anyone interested, and Rupert replied in an E-mail letter: “Thanks, I will copy the instructions on the next NSAC NEWSLETTER; it goes to the secretaries of almost 200 churches.” OUR MEMBERS PUBLISH Eli Feldman, N.Y. has sent me copies of his frequently published newsletters. They include his personal experiences, as well as reviews of articles he has found especially interesting. Eli is on the cross-country list. Victor Zammit, Australia, mailed to me his completed book: A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife. Underneath the title is: “Irrefutable Objective Evidence.” It is an outstanding book, and on the back cover are excellent endorsements from nine well-known individuals. The AA-EVP and I are mentioned in his book. Victor wrote that over 2,000 people a week from more than 16 countries, access the summary of his book on the Internet: http://www.ozemail.com.au Victor is also on the cross-country list, and the AA-EVP E-mail network. IS PERU FOR YOU? Lynn Gardner, a sensitive

and medium, who has led many groups on tours to countries all over the world, is taking a group to Peru from Oct. 3-16. The itinerary is excellent, but it will be a “very physical tour.” To contact Lynn, see below. EGYPT ANYONE? Lynn is also leading a group to Egypt from Feb.25-Mar. 11, ‘99. If it is like her other trips it will be outstanding. I’ve traveled to Egypt two times with her, and taped over 100 voices. It will be her 13th Egyptian Journey of Transformation. Quoting from Lynn’s letter, she wrote: “Join us on this sacred transforming journey through time, as we walk in the footsteps of the ancestors of this mystical, magical and astounding 5,000 year old plus civilization. It’s awesome to stand before the Nile, its deserts, oasis and lush deltas and enter into the monuments and temples that you’ve seen pictured all your life and to feel the special energy that is part of this. Lynn’s Journey of Transformation workshops are small groups of individuals who are helped to develop more of their own abilities and learn more about the country. Each trip is full of spontaneous opportunities for the individual ready to stretch and grow in spiritual and physical experiencing. Playfulness, laughter, joy, and having a sense of adventure are part of our journey. You will travel in comfort, staying in 5* hotels with fine restaurants. Think carefully before you join us as ancient Egypt has a transforming catalytic way of assisting change

and expansion.” Last winter I contacted Lynn about planning a trip to Egypt geared to Senior Citizens and those who have minor physical problems. This trip to Egypt is a slower-paced trip, and the ages of the participants will always be kept in mind. I hope to go and teach a taping workshop on location. Winnie Peters, AA-EVP member from Annapolis, also expects to go. 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ODDS AND ENDS There is nothing odd about us! The “ends” have all been taken care of, I hope. May your tomato plants flourish like mine. Deadline for the Autumn NEWS is Sept. 25. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1998 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint It is impossible to list all of the things that have happened to me since I first sat down at a tape recorder twenty-two years ago and asked: “Is anyone here?” I always stop and try to assess what has occurred, as my anniversary of October 24th, 1976 approaches. There have been seven trips overseas directly related to my work with instrumental transcommunication, to lecture/teach workshops. I always felt the world was one—now I know it. My book: Voices of

Eternity published in 1988 by Fawcett and later in France, was a direct outcome of my involvement in the field. Our Association, the AA-EVP, would never have been founded in 1982, if I hadn’t begun taping. I would not have met, or had contact, with many of you who have taught me so much, things that have helped me grow emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Yes, there has been a small down-side to the thousands of people who have crossed my path since 1976. A few have demonstrated strong, hateful egos that must make the spirits, who are always aware of us, weep. Fortunately, they and their misled followers number far less than one percent of those who I’ve met who at heart, want to help all human kind. As one of our members wrote to several of us in September: “I am of the opinion that the principles of universal wisdom, wherein knowledge for the greater benefit of mankind, is the property of all to have and to share, so that all are uplifted together. It is only through cooperation and sharing, that the puzzles of ITC can be solved.” Powerful words. Who can doubt the truth of what he wrote? To think less, to do less, will make that person’s peaceful voyage to eternity questionable. Taping even saved the life of a loved one. My husband, Charlie, who made his transition this past February 15th, would have died 19 years ago, if it hadn’t been for a message I

taped at 7:50 AM, the morning of May 4th, 1979. During that recording a Class A male voice said: “More sickness will come.” I urged Charlie, who hadn’t been feeling well for several days, to stop and see his doctor before going to work. He did, and a phone call came from the doctor saying Charlie had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance. He was having a ‘silent’ heart attack. Talking to the cardiologist later in the hospital, he said Charlie wouldn’t have made it, if he’d delayed twenty-four hours. Five heart bypasses followed and he had fourteen years of good quality life before suffering from his first massive stroke. In radio and TV interviews, I am always asked what I feel is the most significant message I’ve ever taped. That’s difficult to answer. The most recent one was taped on July 10th of this year. I had just finished telling the unseen how much their contacts have meant to me over the years; that it moved me from a complete disbeliever in any kind of survival (that went back to the age of seven) to my firm belief that everyone survives death in an individual, conscious state. Within a few seconds, a Class A male voice said: “We offer soul freedom.” That says it all! Whether an individual believes in survival or not, he will survive. There is a popular song that goes: “The soul afraid of dying, has never learned to live.” If you believe in survival,

you have the opportunity to develop your spirituality to its fullest extent. You needn’t sit around worrying what, if anything, will happen to you and your loved ones as you/they step through death’s door. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena You are free—your soul is free—to help everyone in whatever way is your unique ability to contribute. By so doing, you and they will find the voyage to eternity is a happy one. Objective Evidence-Spirit Photography If you read the bottom of the letterhead sheet, you will see: “Established in 1982 to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.” My focus has always been the taped voice. To me, although not everyone would agree, it offers the best objective evidence we have for survival. There are however, other phenomena that present the evidence for which we search. We have: Death Bed Visions, especially the ‘Peak in Darien’ cases. This is where a dying individual describes seeing a deceased relative or friend, whom he did not know had died. In some instances the people in the room with the dying patient also did not know that the “take-away” entity had died and only learned about it later. There is Cross-Correspondence, which is one of my favorites. There have been some very interesting examples coming through the tape recorders of experimenters, unknown to each other at the time. In addition to the two mentioned, there are others, such as spirit

photography. Spirit pictures at times give me a problem. Some I can see clearly but with others, I’m just not sure. A good clear spirit photograph, is strong objective evidence that there is no death. Some members focus on this type of phenomena and have sent me interesting pictures. Lloyd Bradshaw from N.J. has been an AA-EVP member since April ‘91. He tapes voices at times, but his chief interest is spirit photography. For any of you who may be interested in trying to take a picture of a loved one, the following suggestions he recently sent me could be very helpful. 1. “Set aside a comfortable chair with a flat, dark colored, soft surface throw over it. 2. “Have floor or table lamps or a combination of both, on the other side of the room with lamp shades that could be directed at the chair. 3. “Have a camera ready with high speed black and white film 400 ASA or faster (1200 ASA film works great)! 4. “Have another chair at level with the spirit’s chair. That’s to get them fully in the view finder. Sit while shooting but don’t block out the light. 5. “Leave a note with block hand printed large letters, taped to your computer screen, if you have one, or perhaps on the chair. You could write on the note, ‘Let’s have a spirit photo session!’ (If you tape, you could say the same thing when you end your recording, perhaps setting a date- “Tonight”,

“Tomorrow morning”—I’ll try to take your picture. Please sit on the special chair).” Spirit can read what you write. 6. “Have a portable tape recorder beside the spirit’s chair, and encourage your loved one to talk while you snap away with your camera.” Lloyd explains that the color of the spirit body (which is usually white or gray) is the reason for using a flat, dark surface on the chair. He says that these suggestions work for him, and he frequently has received pictures of his beloved Yorkie, as well as others. He finished his letter to me with: “Spirits want their picture taken. Glad to help anyway I can!” Computer Teddy Bear Picture from Spirit There are web sites that feature spirit pictures. Spirits are communicating through a few computers, leaving written messages and spoken ones. In the Winter ‘98 newsletter, I offered a how-to-have 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena computer contacts with the other side, kindly prepared for us by AA-EVP member, Stacy Rawlings of MD. The offer proved popular with 28 members requesting a copy. Sometimes it’s difficult to be sure if these written computer messages are genuine. As far as the messages are concerned, if the individual is on Internet it could really be coming from a ‘tricky Icky’ on this side. The same goes for pictures that the receiver is convinced originated in ‘heaven.’ Such computer contacts (even if genuine) will never convince the skeptics—of which we

have more than a pocketful—believe me. The following is extremely strong evidence that a computer picture did come from spirit. The story and picture were sent by Sonia Rinaldi, AA-EVP member, Brazil. Alexandre Tornice, a graduate student at Sao Paulo University, who is getting his Ph.D. in mathematics and engineering, has been working with Sonia, helping her with computer generated pictures. He is responsible for sending the picture to me after much effort. My Macintosh computer is not friendly to other computers, and Alexandre tried many different ways before finding a way that worked. Quoting from Sonia’s letter, she wrote: “I recorded for one minute directly to the computer (from the Tube to the PC via camera). Soon I started seeing many images. These pictures are not in sequence, just one after another. One especially interesting picture was that of a teddy bear. What could be its meaning? “Three days later a meeting was planned of our Association. A number of people would be there, from all over Brazil and I decided to take the picture with me to the home where we would meet. I thought the picture might have some meaning to a parent who would be present, as a remembrance of a deceased child. “The evening of the day the teddy bear had been received, I phoned the woman at whose home we would gather. I started to tell her about the teddy bear that had appeared on my computer screen that morning. She became very emotional,

and said: ‘Don’t tell me!’ Maria had lost her son, Paulo, two years earlier in a car accident. He was 19 at the time. When he was a year old, he received a teddy bear and it was something very close to him all his life. Maria told Sonia, that many times she’d said to Paulo: ‘Let’s get rid of this old and ugly toy’, but he never allowed her to do this. Two weeks before the meeting, Maria had gone into Paulo’s room (still the same way it was before his death) and saw the teddy bear. She picked it up and said: ‘Oh my son, if I could have some special sign from you.’ “So, the picture of the teddy bear that came through my computer, was his present to his mother. It proves he was with her, and heard what she said. The next day, I received an audio message that said: “It was a present from Paulo.” Right now, the image is at the University to be analyzed and to receive an Official Document stating its authenticity.” Special Equipment Used Sonia has received a great deal of help from a professor at the University of Sao Paulo, who has his Ph.D. in physics and engineering. He has developed much of her equipment, and has assigned some of his graduate students to help. I asked her what she used to receive the images and she replied: “I use a cathode ray tube with electrostatic deflection; high stabilization

power supply horizontal wave; free aerial input; z-axis: fixed for maximum emission; external influence: upon vertical axis input. “This set of equipment avoids the use of a TV tube, so people can’t say that the images come from any terrestrial TV-Station. Using the cathode ray tube, it is impossible to attract any image emitted on Earth, because the range of frequency is completely different. Any image coming from the tube is from Beyond with no risk of fake or terrestrial influence.” Some Theories About Spirit Communication Dominic Macquire, AA-EVP member England, wrote: “Here are a few thoughts which may be of help to others. Many of the ideas came through a trance medium.” Some of these ideas may provide nutritious food for thought for our members. 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena 1. “Communicators do not SPEAK words to our microphones. They THINK the words. They can VIBRATE ectoplasm by word thoughts, if and when ectoplasm is present. 2. “The electrical energy, be it ever so mild and not perceptible to us, is sufficient to cause rearrangement of the molecules on recording tape, so that the playback gives us the electronic sound of words. 3. “Energy must be present in the EVP researcher’s room to keep the microphone in a state of active receptivity. Otherwise the spirit person’s mental word thoughts could not overcome the microphone’s inner INERTIA. The sound of a radio, a radio tone, our speaking voice, our music, etc., keep

the microphone actively receptive. 4. “A radio, or an old type of tape recorder in the room, puts out an electromagnetic field, known as Flux Energy, which today is called Tesla Flux. That flux energy, similar to the electricity of our brain, is combined with the mild electricity produced in our atmosphere by the communicators. Ectoplasm is also electrical in nature and the one strengthens the other. One without the other is insufficient, as we have been told several times. 5. “In my own 1963 recordings, I was told to move the record player so that its transformer was very close to the transformer inside the tape recorder. 6. “I have used three transformers, known as voltage converters. They change household A.C. current into nine or twelve volts. The transformers should not be too near to the open microphone. They should be very close to the taper, but the microphone has to be a few feet AWAY from him or her. It may be that the transformer’s magnetic field combines with the brain and body electricity of the experimenter. “Hope these thoughts help.” Our Tapers Report Sandra Belanger, CA, joined us in July. She wrote she felt she’d had results the first time she taped. She asked if someone could help her with math. A male voice answered: “With what?” When she asked if ‘they’ wanted her to continue taping, a female voice said: “Certainly.” Jackie Coffigan, NV, wrote she had begun using an Optimus Voice Activator at night, and

having “great results.” However, she felt some of the voices were trying to come through her and do their speaking, so she is being cautious. She received a letter from a man suggesting she try to take their picture when she felt they had come. She has taken several pictures this way, and said that one of the pictures of the ceiling has a double vortex on it. Some of Jackie’s taped messages are on several web sites, along with pictures she has taken of her ‘visitors’. You may want to bring them up on the Internet, if you have a computer and are connected. Maria Guijarro is our first member from Mexico. She is trying very hard to have contact with her beloved mother who made her transition this past April. She has called several times and also written to me and other members on the cross-country list. In one letter, she wrote: “I started taping on June 8th... this technique is the most wonderful discovery of the century. I couldn’t imagine living without knowing that Mom is happy.” Maria sent me a short tape and said she is using the sound of a waterfall, that she has in her home, along with a radio, as her sound sources. She said: “I’ve heard a lot of whispers, some of them saying my name. On June 26th, I got an incredible clear male voice. For me, they are the light and hope that I needed to continue my life without

the physical presence of Mom. Thanks a lot for dedicating your time to this incredible experience and for sharing your love with others.” Some of the messages on the tape she enclosed, along with their translation were: “My pleasure”, “Fer” (my name) “Aah, Fer Camelot”, (Camelot is the name of our beloved Chihuahua dog, that left us two years ago. Now she is with a loved one on the other side). “Tell your name now.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote about some of the messages she has taped. She commented about my mentioning in the summer newsletter, some of the contacts I have had with my husband. One that had very much surprised me, was when I asked Charlie who was the first person he saw when he stepped through death’s door, and he replied: “I don’t remember. Things come back.” Clara said she’s had the same type of message several times from her deceased husband Tom. One time, she mentioned to Tom about a very unusual experience they had in France in 1948—an experience she thought he’d never forget. Tom replied on tape: “I don’t remember. When one goes on, one looks back.” Another time, she told Tom that she’d received an invitation to a 20th wedding anniversary, where he had been best man to the groom, when he married twenty years ago. Clara commented to him that she knew he’d be there. Tom answered:

“I don’t know those people.” Clara wrote: “What a shock! I wouldn’t have been more surprised if he had said he didn’t know me.” (I feel that two similar messages coming from Tom and Charlie, about ‘forgetting’ is strong evidence that the voices are genuine. S.E.) Dan McKee, IL and FL State Coordinator, has sent me several short tapes with excellent reverse voices. Some of them are: “I one that causes that.” ‘We’ve found they’re glad to.” ‘Well, this I guess, you knows it.” “Past the door and I want you.” “Signed up.” ‘We’ll live up here--it’s different.” ‘We may pick you.” “Your purpose here thought—you would.” “In Earth, that’s where you live in now.” Reverse Cassette Voices There are voices on the reverse side of cassette tapes. To discover if you have reverse messages, you need to have access to a reel to reel tape recorder, so you can duplicate your cassette tape onto that, and then give the tape one twist to play it back. In our summer newsletter, Geoffrey Tilga, N.Y. AA-EVP member, listed a number of frequencies used by airline pilots on international flights. The air band on radios is an excellent sound source, but it is necessary to live near an airport. These frequencies that Geoffrey sent can be used by anyone who has a short wave radio. I had mentioned in the piece about aircraft frequencies found on page 5 in our summer news, that Geoffrey said that getting reverse tape voices meant playing

a reel to reel tape in reverse. Quoting from the section, I wrote: “Now AA-EVP members can download an IBM compatible digital sound editor—“Cool Edit 96”—from: http://www.syntrillium.com/cool.html. This will reverse the aircraft pilot’s voices (and also EVP voices)...” When I mailed the newsletter to Geoffrey, I asked if a person could listen to a cassette tape on its reverse side (without having to duplicate it onto a reel to reel tape recorder). He called and said that a taper could do this by using the Cool Edit program. So all tapers who have a computer and a cassette recorder, you might want to try and listen to your recordings by using the Cool Edit program. Let me know your results if you do. A Different Use for a Telephone Along with the special equipment Sonia Rinaldi uses to capture pictures on her computer screen, she is also using a telephone connected to it. A special connector was devised by the Professor at the University, who ‘invented’ the system of using a cathode ray tube with other equipment for computer screen pictures. The results have been astounding. Sonia asked that I stress: “I use only the device (telephone) but not the telephone lines. When you get the phone it first makes the continuous loud sound. You don’t do anything. Just sit there holding the receiver. After it stops, you will be disconnected to the telephone company. You are not connected to anyone on Earth from that moment on, you are just

(the telephone is) connected to your computer. I then start recording in the PC—and the voices come normally as if the telephone was a microphone. They have said many times: “You phone us”. You talk into it as if it was a microphone, and the spirits often answer. You can’t hear anything through the telephone, but when you play the recording back, using the computer, that is when you become aware that you have received spirit messages. All the voices are there, replying precisely to your questions.” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I asked Sonia if she could send a schematic for the connector, but she feels this is not the time. She worries about some aspects of spirit contacts, aspects linked to morals and ethics. A Bit Of This; A Bit Of That Those of us who own Macintosh computers, one of the best computers made but sadly somewhat of a problem when it comes to software, may often wish we could use software designed for IBM or compatible computers. Now you can! Contact Connectix Corp.1-800-950-5880, or bring them up on the Internet: www.connectix.com. They have what you need—for a price—but a lot cheaper than buying a new computer. The only drawback is that you must have a Power Mac, or newer. Unfortunately, my Macintosh Performa 6116CD is too old to benefit. The end of August, I received an E-mail letter from a man unknown to me about his company, EMF

Inc. Don’t know anything about the company, but if any of our experimenters use gauss meters, electric & magnetic field detectors, remote temperature probes, or UV meters for field research, you might want to ask for information. You can visit their web site: http://www.lessemf.com or write: Less EMF Inc.-26 Valley View Lane-Ghent, N.Y. 12075 Book Look One of our new members, who requested I not give his name except to refer to him as “the chairman of a small high tech company”, wrote to me concerning a novel he heard about that focuses on spirit contact. The title is: The Frequency of Souls by Mary Kay Zuravleff. This is her first book. She has a background as an industrial engineer and writing teacher. It was published in hardcover by Farrar, Strauss, Giroux and also as a Penguin paperback. It won the American Academy’s Rosenthal Foundation Award. The setting of the book is Gaithersburg, MD, and it received good reviews. I found and ordered it from the Amazon Internet Bookstore—the largest bookstore on the Internet. If you are interested in ordering it, the Web address is: Amazon.comMailMenu. Small World The above new member learned about me and the AA-EVP, from a Japanese web site. My name, old address and phone number were given. When he tried calling me, the operator said I’d moved, and she thought I was living in Annapolis. He found a phone number for Estep in Annapolis and called. A week later he joined. Since then, I’ve exchanged

pleasant E-mail letters with Siyoh Tomiyama, the Japanese web master. News from And About Members Sandra Belanger had a near death experience in 1981, so she wrote in her first E-mail that she knows we go on. However, she said this knowledge frustrates her because she could not provide the knowing to others. She hopes now, that the technology of EVP will provide that knowing. She also told me about an experience she had last winter. Sandra is a paramedic for the San Francisco Fire Department and was in the ambulance en route to a call. Quoting from her letter, she wrote: “I heard a voice say ‘your door is open.’ Looking over I saw it was ajar, so I closed it tight. Then a voice said, ‘Seat belt.’ I immediately put it on. Soon, a steady stream of water began to fall on my head (from somewhere) and I moved over close to the driver. Two seconds later, a car embedded itself in my door, going about sixty miles an hour. If I hadn’t closed the door, put on my seat belt, and moved to the left to avoid the water, I would have been killed.” Richard Berman, TX, sent me an article from his local newspaper. It had a large picture of him, and his singing standard poodle, Pouche! Richard is looked upon by the city of Dallas as a pet psychic. He has communicated telepathically with animals for the last 10 years. 6 Tom and Lisa Butler,

ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Dale Kaczmarek, IL, sent me an E-mail note last month that read: “Major renovations are now online at the GRS web site, including the ability to order ghost tour tickets online.” You can visit his web site at: www.ghostreach.org. Jeff King, New Zealand, wrote that he had watched a show on TV that featured my daughter Becky, and me. This was from the “Man Alive” group of London, England, that spent several days with us two years ago. Brother Mark, who lives in a monastery in the south, called one evening recently. During our conversation, he said his mother had called him on the telephone, and said: “Mark!” She had died about ten years earlier. Mark said he often has vivid dreams about the deceased. Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, ME, as mentioned in our last newsletter, is the Superintendent of the Bureau of Phenomenal Evidence for the national NST spiritualist church. In a letter he sent recently to his members, he wrote: “EVP is still the easiest phenomena to verify. Spirit Photography is another important area of phenomena that if witnessed by a group is verifiable.” J.J. Snyder, CA, sent me an excellent article he wrote which appeared in the August ‘98 issue of FATE magazine. The title is “Lord Dowding’s Return.” It describes how a departed British war hero who believed in life after death, is still doing his best to prove it. GAIT Authentication Project It is with great happiness that

I can tell you about the GAIT (Global Association- Instrumental Transcommunication) project. Dale Palmer, IN AA-EVP member, who joined us in May ‘96, has been working tirelessly to bring it about. He, his wife Kay, Hans Heckmann, and I have attended several conferences together, including the one in Brazil. Dale’s aim has always been to authenticate the voices that communicate with us from other dimensions. He feels if this can be proven scientifically, it will benefit all mankind for the better. I have supported him in every way possible. Recently he heard from Winston Franklin, director of IONS (Institute of Noetic Sciences), known around the world for its investigations into many areas of life/reality. Franklin said that they will work with us in the authentication project. Marilyn Schlitz, Ph.D., Director of Scientific Projects at IONS, is assembling a top-notch group to help with the project and judge the results. Two of those individuals so far are Dean Radin, Ph.D. and Jon Klimo. Dr. Radin, is widely known and respected by many professional parapsychologists working in the field. He is the author of a number of books, the latest: The Conscious Universe Jon Klimo is also a well-known investigator, author of many books which focus on Psi. It will probably be at least a few months before we actually begin the authentication. I will keep you posted on our progress in future newsletters. Pack Your Bags! Lynn Gardner has sent me the flyers for her trip to Egypt, from Feb. 25-Mar.

11. It looks excellent, and I would encourage everyone who has ever wanted to go to Egypt to give Lynn’s trip serious thought. I’ve been with her twice in Egypt, and both experiences were outstanding. She keeps her groups small, so each person receives a great deal of personal attention on Lynn’s “journeys of transformation”. You can contact me for a flyer, or call Lynn-317-283- 7638. Address: 4146 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis, IN 46208. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is December 28th. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 1999 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here it is, a new year. As I start trying to become accustomed to writing 1999, I wonder how I and others will feel when we write January 2000. There are many dire predictions as to what may happen, or fail to happen, after midnight at the end of this year. Several of our members send me frequent tabloid! newspaper clippings, or E-mail notes about what will occur as the clock strikes twelve on December 31. No one really knows. We can only try to make an educated guess and prepare (or not prepare) as time marches on. Time is flexible. When I was seven, the next holiday season was as far away as heaven. Now it happens with increasing frequency. Each

November I begin searching for the calendar that will take me through the coming months. Inspirational comments by others, comments to which I can personally relate and apply to my own life, are of great help so I look for a motivational one. This year I found two. One was at a local card shop; the other was sent to me by a foundation for the blind who quoted Helen Keller for each month. For January, the inspirational one tells me: “Endurance is your steadfast ability to continue despite hardship.” Everyone meets many hardships of all kinds throughout life. Can we continue on, no matter what the hardship is, towards what we perceive as our goal in life? We should keep in mind when faced with innumerable difficulties and feel greatly tempted to step off the path, that: “Triumph is overcoming obstacles.” (October) An easy victory is welcomed, but in the end, it is the trial and nature of the spirit that determines your place in heaven. Helen Keller wrote: “Rebuffed, but always persevering; undaunted, tenacious, the heart of man labors toward immeasurable distant goals.” She also wrote: “No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars; or sailed on to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.” For March, we read: “Continuity is the steadfast pursuit of your goals.” For the same month, Keller said: “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.” I agree more with the

first than with Keller. To a degree what she wrote is true, at least for many. However, there are those who continue with little hope they will succeed. Something drives them forward; a feeling they must not stop, even though their world, near and far, stands against them. At times, their faint hope becomes reality and goes on to benefit one or many. Who knows if someone who refuses to remain on the popular path and travels his own unique perhaps questionable one—at least in the eyes of others—is foolish or wise? Eventually when they reach the gate of Heaven and read: “Come in. We’re open!” or: “Closed. Go down below”, they will know if they have made the correct decisions during their lifetime. April and May could go hand in hand. For the one we are told: “Independence is the courage to stand alone.” The other tells us: “Vision is seeing more than is presented.” These comments touch my heart. Those of us who talk to the dead, and to whom the dead respond, who view them through television, have faith; have the vision in knowing that what we do has helped many here and beyond. We have given comfort and realistic hope to those who grieve for their loved ones no longer here. We have given joy to those in the next world when they learn we have opened the door to heaven, as Keller wrote: “... to the human spirit.” The path is wide. There is room

for everyone who would take this path. Those of us on it, hold out our hands to one and all. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Mont Hearon/Walter Uphoff LIBERANTS Word has come from the wives of two of our members that their beloved husbands have moved on to the world after death. Mont Hearon and his wife Bobby, joined the AA- EVP in May 1983. I met both of them in Baltimore that year and they became State Coordinators for Oregon. Each time a person joined from Oregon, they would contact them and offer their help. Frequently, the new member would visit the Hearons in their Portland home. Mont and Bobby taped for many years with excellent results, and had frequent PSI experiences. They were friends of the Uphoffs, having met them for the first time many years ago in a book store in London. Their meeting there surpasses all thought that it might have been a coincidence. Over ten years ago, I invited members to send me another word for “death.” Mont replied with the word “Liberant” which, as he explained, meant a person had been ‘liberated’ from this life and was now ‘free’ in the world of spirit. In a note from Bobby written December 3rd, she wrote: “Mont moved on to new dimensions on Nov. 22nd. His transition was peaceful and he was surrounded by his family.” Walter Uphoff and his wife Mary Jo (charter members of the AA-EVP)

came to Baltimore in August 1983. I had invited Walter to speak at the first AA-EVP national conference. He gave the first talk on Friday evening and it was very well received by the audience. In a note from Mary Jo she wrote: “Walter went on to the New Dimensions on which he had focused his time and attention in the past decades.” Walter was also surrounded by loved ones and his peaceful transition occurred in the early morning hours of September 26th. The Uphoffs have several published books about parapsychology to their credit. They began the New Frontiers Center many years ago and published an outstanding Journal which focused on different areas of PSI, as well as health. I am confident that now, since both men have become Liberants, they are frequently together and enjoying all the peace, love, and light of the world beyond. A Cry for Help From South Africa Was It St. Peter At The Gate? Several months ago, I received an E-mail letter from an unknown man who lives in South Africa. He had found my address on the internet, and pleaded for any help I might be able to give. ‘Jim’ wrote: “I hope you will be able to shed some light on what has happened. I am seriously concerned about this, as is everyone around me who were also witnesses to what I am about to tell you.” His next-door neighbor, who had been a close friend for over 25 years had died

two days earlier. She was not conscious and had been on a respirator for a month. Jim said that he and his mother had gone to their neighbor’s house that morning. The neighbor’s son, who is a doctor, showed them a message he had received on his electronic pager the previous night. His mother had died 24 hours earlier. Doctor ‘Lance’ swore that the battery in his pager had run down earlier that day, and had not been replaced. “And yet, the message was there on the screen in plain sight and could still be seen today, by the more than two dozen people who were there” Jim wrote. The message read: “I’m waiting for you. Meet me at the gate, Peter.” Jim also said his father, whose name is Peter, was being treated by Dr. Lance for a foot injury. It was their first thought that perhaps his father had sent the message to Dr. Lance, asking to meet him at the gate of their home. A call from Dr. Lance to Jim’s father quickly established that his father had “not made any such call.” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Quoting further from Jim’s letter, he wrote: “My family, being of very spiritual Catholic beliefs, had but one other explanation: this could only be a message from beyond where our dead neighbor, who had been unable to say goodbye to her loved ones, had asked St. Peter to give them a

message, that she is waiting for them, and will meet them at the gate to heaven. I can offer no more plausible explanation. For the first time in my life I am utterly at a loss for any ideas.” I replied and said while I didn’t completely discount his family’s idea (as well as his) about the message coming from St. Peter, it was my thought it probably came from his neighbor who had just died. I said I thought she sent it to his father, Peter, telling him (as well as the others) that in God’s good time she will meet them at heaven’s gate. New Way to Tape Brings Amazing Results Telephone/Answering Machine The last week in November I bought a telephone/answering machine. Sonia Rinaldi (AA-EVP member, Brazil), one of the leading experimenters in the field, reported outstanding contacts by using a telephone. Her close friend, Dr. Z, a professor of physics and electrical engineering at a nearby university, made for her a special device that directly ties her telephone into her computer. He feels telephone recordings have some advantages because the telephone acts as an antenna. Sonia starts taping with it, after the telephone falls ‘silent.’ Her reports made me want to try something similar. Although I didn’t have the engineered device she had, I asked her for suggestions. She immediately replied that I should look for a telephone/answering machine, but to make very sure the one I bought had a microcassette tape—in other words, not digital.

On November 25th, I used it for the first time. The first message that came through was: “I’m here. Help me speak.” Evidently the entity, realizing I was trying something different, asked for help to come through this strange machine. In less than a minute, and in reply to my question as to who had been able to come, a voice replied: “Your addressment.” At times communicators create their own words but it is usually not difficult to figure out what they mean. “Addressment” I feel means they had one or more of the unseen there to speak to me. Near the end of the recording I always turn the microphone over to anyone who has a special message for me. As soon as I did this, I taped: “We come!” All three messages were Class A. It is important to note that none of the three messages were on my TEAC reel to reel recorder that was taping at the same time. There were several messages on that tape also, but the two tapes were completely different from each other. In the first three weeks of using my Casio, I recorded over 25 messages of which 75% were Class A. A few were: “Not going to.” This came in response when I remarked I didn’t hear the voice of a particular individual I had called on. (I now recognize his voice after dozens of contacts). The remark was correct. I didn’t hear from him that day. Another time I

called on someone else, and the message was returned: “We court. Forecasting him.” An unusual way to respond, but they meant (I feel) that they ‘courted’— asked that person to come and speak, and they ‘forecasted’ he’d be with me. In less than a minute, a happy voice said: “We have actually find him Estep.” That person then did come through and speak. There are at least two unusual factors about such messages/voices. One, less than half of them will be on the TEAC reel to reel recording. The other factor that may be significant, is that ever since I began taping over 22 years ago, at least 95% of those who speak are male. Female voices, less than 5%. With the Casio telephone/answering machine, close to 50% are female. I have one or two theories why this is the case, but perhaps some of our technical people can send me their ideas about this. The procedure I use, and which those of you who have a similar machine may want to follow, is: I remove the cordless receiver of my Casio, and wait for the dial tone, operator asking if she can help, and then the loud grating sound. When all is quiet, I push the record button on my answering machine, and carry the receiver over to my recording table. I push the record button on my TEAC so am, in fact, making two recordings simultaneously. The Casio receiver has a small microphone built into it. The recorder

sits 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena on my desk, about 8 feet away, recording the entire time. The air-band on my two radios, which I use as a sound source (both tuned to different air-band stations) is just several inches away from the Casio receiver. The other microphone, which is plugged into the TEAC, is a foot or two away from the Casio. Both tape recorders use the same sound source of the two air-band radios. Slowly turning the dial on the one radio, close to where the other air-band station is, creates loud static. The invisibles often ‘ride’ in on this sound as I tune away from it. At the conclusion, I first play back the TEAC recording, entering into my log any messages that have come through. Next, I play back the Casio. Fortunately, I have a separate microcassette recorder so I remove the cassette tape from my Casio and place it in that. Using a patch cord (a cord that ‘ties’ one recorder into another) I put one end of the cord into the ‘ear’ of the microcassette recorder, and the other end of the cord into “In” of my Sony cassette tape deck. I then set the Sony in the “Record” mode, but push the pause key. This permits me to play back the cassette tape made in the Casio (but now in the microcassette recorder) through the Sony. Wearing headphones, I listen to the recording by using

the large amplifier on my hi-fi. When an especially loud message comes through, I remove the headphones and play it over the wall speakers to decide if it is Class A. Duplicating Class A messages, I keep the two tape recorders still tied together with the patch cord. So, the messages that first came through the microcassette recorder of my Casio, is now on a regular cassette tape (in my Sony). Keep in mind, when duplicating Class A messages onto another tape, you should always try to tie the one recorder to another. This will make the duplicate tape as loud and clear as the original, for it will pick up no extraneous sounds. If you don’t do this; if you use an open mike to record messages from the original tape to another, you will pick up every sound in the environment. I encourage you to try this mode of recording, if you have a telephone/answering machine that has a microcassette recorder. Most machines are digital, and to try to copy any messages that might come through such a machine, probably means you would have to use an open mike. The end results would not be nearly as good. I realize I have gone on at great length about this, but I feel this new way to record is very good and presents some tantalizing questions. If you try telephone/answering machine taping, please let me know your results. High Tech Proof Of Survival Tina Laurent, AA-EVP member, Wales, wrote

a full-length article that appeared last summer in “Psychic News”—a British publication. She described having read the book Breakthrough by Dr. Konstantine Raudive, and then meeting me sixteen years ago. She began taping shortly afterwards, and had good results. After a hiatus of several years, she began taping again in November 1997. At the same time, she started taking long walks, climbing hills, and would carry her tape recorder on her hikes. To her “enormous pleasure”, she discovered that the voices became magnified and much more abundant on those occasions. She wondered if it was because of the rarefied atmosphere to which she climbed, or was it the stimulation of having the tape recorder around her neck and shoulders. Tina decided to experiment. She began walking around her flat to see if the voices still came through. “Eureka!” she wrote. “My friends, were there in abundance, not only coming from the right stereo channel of my recorder into which I and the Radio Wales background sound source speak, but also from the left channel which rubs against my body as I move.” She described some of her messages. On one occasion, when she spent a long time planning her next outdoor hike, someone said: “Where are we going, to Katmandu?” She continued: “I am concentrating on the serious entities who are coming on a daily basis, giving me their names and details of their lives. At 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena times

the details are so complete, I am able to find their names in the local phone book”. These people have been unknown to her, but she calls the number and talks to the person still living there. “After a tactful probe, have been able to tell them that I have messages for them from the beyond!” These individuals often come to Tina’s home then, to listen to the messages, and often say the information she’s received from their loved one is accurate. They are thrilled at objective evidence. Tina described many other messages she has received from her own friends and loved ones. She said: “I hear from Benson Herbert (a well-known parapsychologist) with whom I worked in his Paralab in Wiltshire before his death a couple of years ago. My greatest satisfaction comes when people come to visit me looking for evidence for survival and I can astound them by telling them many things about their lives, names, details, events, that I could only have received by paranormal means. All I can do for my part, is to accept the love that I am given, accept the parts of their lives that they give me and do my best to follow through in trying to match them up with their loved ones who are still on this plane.” I encourage you, whether you are a taper or not, and have a portable recorder, to carry it with you when going for a walk. If possible, like Tina, strap it

over your shoulder, so it makes a rubbing sound and picks up your body energies. All of this could play a role in helping the invisibles to come through. Please let me know your results if you try this. “Enjoy your beautiful written, inspiring newsletters. Always rekindles my hope anew”. Margot Gizienski, CA member. Bits of This And That Could it be? In the spring ‘98 newsletter, I mentioned that when I returned home February 12, after being away for several hours, I found a phone call on the answering service I have with the phone company. A voice gave the clear but puzzling message: “I’m home. I’m a hydrid.” The voice was strictly a monotone, and in the background, you can hear faint music also monotone. I searched four dictionaries for the word, but it wasn’t there. The internet also could not locate it. My feeling, as I wrote, was that it came from another dimension, probably not spirit. Recently, my daughter Becky gave me a note she had received through the internet. She had read an astronomy article in which the word “Hydra” was mentioned, and wondered if someone could give her a definition/explanation of what hydra is. Someone replied: “The Hydra was a monster from Greek mythology. It is also the name for a constellation in the night sky. It’s a common convention in astronomy to use the name of a constellation as part of the name for any object found within that constellation.” Could it be

that the “Hydrid” who spoke to me, came from that constellation? In years past, I’ve had hundreds of communications from alternate dimensions. Link your TV to the world beyond! Recently I received a flyer from Mark Gillespie, who wrote: “Explore the unknown in an interactive VHS video tape that allows anyone with a 4 head VCR to conduct three different psychic experiments on their TV screen. The experiments are Gazing Ball, The Spirit Message Board and Test Your ESP.” I’m not pushing this ad; I know nothing about the actual video, but it looks interesting and might appeal to some of our members. The video tape is $12.95 plus $3 postage and handling. For more information, write to Mark: 6981 A Chico Way. Bremerton, WA 98312. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena New Communications Devices Serge Savard, who recently joined the AA-EVP from Canada, sent me a four-page paper with the above title. It describes various areas he is considering and that he hopes will be developed and experimented with, which could further help ITC. (Instrumental Transcommunication). The different areas he covers, with suggestions as to what might be built for experimental research include: the computer mouse. He gives ideas as to how to transform a computer mouse into a spirit- operated mouse, admitting it would take considerable re-engineering. He also discusses the computer keyboard and feels that the flat keyboard could be transformed into an “ideal” keyboard, suggesting how this might be

brought about. He next writes about the microphone telling us (basically) how the typical microphone works. Serge offers advice how an experimenter could build a mike and how it could be made more compatible for spirit communications. The final area he discusses is: “A Direct Interaction Device.” He calls the device that might be built a cupola, and if built, might permit a spirit to interact directly with the physical universe. The four page article is most interesting and although somewhat technical, is not too difficult to understand. Anyone who has above average “technical smarts” could probably build at least some of the devices Serge suggests. If you would like a copy of his paper, please send me a self- addressed, stamped business size envelope and I will be pleased to send it to you. Our Tapers Report Alisa Butler, N.M., wrote in an E-mail: “I am getting many voices that say more than the typical 3 or 4 words. (Someone) named Michael said loud and clearly: “I don’t really think you’re going to help people…” He continued speaking but unfortunately, husband Tom was speaking at the same time asking for communication, so the end of Michael’s message wasn’t understandable.” Alisa said they were going to try to get Michael back to explain why he felt they weren’t going to be able to help people. Jackie Colligan, NV, also sent an E-mail in which she described her Optimus Voice Activator that she bought from Radio Shack. It will only record

if there are voices or other loud noises. She usually sets it to record at night and said: “You would be surprised at what comes over while you think you’re asleep.” She receives many voices from other dimensions during this time. Maria Guijarro, Mexico, sent me a tape in December. She is now hearing frequently from her mother, as well as others. All of the messages on the tape were in Spanish but Maria translated each one so I would understand what was said. Some of the messages were: “I love you very much my beautiful Fernandita.” “Affirmation is life wherever they are.” Lucy Guilmain, Canada, is taking a parapsychology course, and the subject the previous week had been transcommunication. The workshop leader teaches parapsychology at the University of Montreal. Lucy talked to him, and although he doesn’t want to take an active part in her taping, he is willing to help her find suitable taping partners which Lucy has long wanted. Tina Laurent called from Wales in November. She had just taped an extremely loud, clear male voice that said: “Konstan Speak!” Tina frequently hears from Raudive. She played it over the telephone for me. Normally, such messages do not come over well, but this was excellent. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me a tape in December. Some of the excellent Class A messages were: “They’ll measure it—and he’ll stay with you.” “I’m down like you from Granu.” “In Opposite he still has found it.” Tom

P., CA, wrote that his mother died two years ago, but: “I have been able to keep in contact with her via white noise Scanner radio at 31 MHz.” Sonia Rinaldi, wrote there had been another meeting of her organization. Nearly 100 people came, many bringing portable tape recorders. Sonia taped the speeches her colleagues were making, and amplified the comments that the “Spirits were making simultaneously.” Sonia invited parents to attend 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena who had lost a child, so they could try to hear from them. She wrote: “It was beautiful seeing them come— nervous, crying and emotional to speak to their babies. They received many messages from them.” Oops Received a call from Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member. He thanked me for mentioning his web site in is: the autumn news, but unfortunately my www.ghostresearch.org Sorry about that! ‘naughty’ fingers typed the wrong address. It Members and Friends Publish—Books Ingeborg Frank, N.Y., FL., Germany, sent me a German review of her latest book. It is in hard back, and written in German. The title is: Wolken-Mandalas (cloud mandalas). Ingeborg is also a professional photographer, and there are many pictures of clouds throughout the book along with meditative mandalas. Her publisher has arranged press conferences for her, and reports that the advance sales are very good. Carol Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that she has published her book for children. It is on sale at the local bookstores.

If you would like a copy, you can write to Carol: 6 Plymouth Ave. Fairhaven, MA 027119. Hans Heckmann, PA, called. George Meek has found a publisher for his last book. It is outstanding, according to Hans, and has many details in it, including his contacts with his wife Jeannette, who died over five years ago. Hans will let me know more later, along with the title, and I will pass it on to you. Monique Simonet, France, wrote that her seventh book published in October, is doing very well. She also mentioned that she is going to use Becky’s and my editorial: “A Happy Trip To Eternity” (summer newsletter) in her next publication. Her friend Pierre Thery, who joined AA-EVP in 1990, translated it for her into French. Victor Zammit, Australia, joined us in 1997. I’ve mentioned his web site upon several occasions, and how he has his book: A Lawyer Argues For the Afterlife on it. Anyone who wishes can read it there. One member wrote his daughter had copied it for him, and it was the best book on the subject he’s ever read. In a recent E-mail, Victor said he’s rewriting it for a second edition. GAIT Authentication Project Update Plans are continuing to authenticate contacts received from other dimensions through ITC. Some people question the need for such a project, saying those who work in the field know that we communicate with different worlds. They are correct. However, there are many skeptics that think this

is impossible. Some you will never convince; others want to be convinced but can’t quite decide if it is real. It is hoped through the project, we can offer proof to those individuals that the phenomena is genuine. As Siyoh Tomiyama, a friend in Japan, wrote: “Both taping and authentication are important. It is like a bird with two wings. If you give the bird just one wing, he will crash to earth. He needs both wings to fly!” Odds and Ends I hope that 1999 brings to each of you, the very best of everything. May you continue to move on towards the light of truth, love, and peace. Deadline for the Spring NEWS is March 27th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 1999 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves. “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, Live along some distant day into the answers.” From a poem by: Rainer Maria Rilke With this, our 69th newsletter, we observe our seventeenth birthday. Who would have thought it would still be continuing in the spring of 1999? When I mailed our first newsletter in

May ‘82, to 25 members in ten states and Canada, I predicted to myself, it might have a life of four to five years—if I was lucky. Today, it will be mailed to members in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and fourteen foreign countries. Word of the AA-EVP got around and we grew, and grew, and we are still growing. It didn’t take long to discover that countless individuals were living with many unanswered questions in their heart, as Rilke suggests. Above all other questions was the one: “Is there life after this life?” They turned to me, to the AA-EVP, to answer this for them. Most were about a loved one who had died and could I give them reassurance that their beloved lived on? Would they meet again someday? Some were about their won impending mortality in which their doctor had told them they had six months to live. “I’m frightened, Sarah. Can you give me proof that the end is not the end?” they wanted to know. Each plea, whatever it was, added a touch of sadness to my own heart. At times it came close to being overloaded. “Can I continue this?” I’d ask myself. “Perhaps my prediction of the AA-EVP lasting four to five years was too optimistic.” But my heart continued to stretch and stretch and... So here I am, seventeen years later, still trying to fulfill the needs of so many people. The only way I have been able to do this

is that I ‘lived’ the question of survival starting at the age of six. Then, like Rilke wrote, I gradually lived into the answer a distant forty-four years later. It took all of those years of doubt, and of searching, to learn the truth about survival. Yes, I know she wrote: “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves.” In a way I was fortunate that my question, beginning at such an early age, gave me the time to ‘live’ the question. Although I was never very patient about the unanswered question that largely dominated my thinking for so many years, and I certainly never loved it, I had the time to eventually live into the answer. Most of those who contact me, don’t have that many years to spend trying to find answers, so I could (can) do no less than share with them what I have learned, as long as I am able. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena My belief, because it pertains to my own life, is that it is best to live into the answer as a result of your own searching. However, knowing that this is impossible for the majority of individuals, I must again, try to help them. Going hand in hand with my personally living the question is you. Without you, without your help, support and love, the AA-EVP wouldn’t have made it to year two. Starting

with our charter members back in 1982, and yes, some of them are still with us, up to and including our current members (you) of today, you have done much to keep me going. In the end, I am unimportant. It is what we do together to help others, to find their answers that is all that counts. George Meek Returns Home Our dear friend, George Meek returned home to the spirit world in early January. He had been ill for many years and made his transition to the next dimension after increasingly poor health. George is known as the leading influence in the development of Spiricom, an electronic system that promoted successful communication between this world and spirit. He worked for many years on this, with most experiments taking place at the home of Wm O’Neil, a gifted medium, who lived in PA. Their efforts produced results unheard of up until that time and showed that extended two-way conversations were possible with the other side. Hans Heckmann who joined the AA-EVP in 1983, worked closely with George during all of those years, helping to develop the technical equipment needed. I met George nineteen years ago when he wrote to me about the system. He asked if I would work with Spiricom and try to duplicate O’Neil’s results. He and his wife, Jeannette, planned to visit their son who lived in VA, not far away, and he’d like to stop by. I invited him and Jeannette to dinner. My husband

and I had a nice visit with them, and after dinner, George played some of the tapes for us of voices, especially Dr. Mueller, Bill’s chief contact on the other side. He again asked if I’d be willing to work with it. I was thrilled because I had never heard such clarity of voices that took place in two-way conversations between Bill and Mueller. The next day George installed Spiricom in my office. I worked with it for a month, and although I received voices they were not at all like O’Neil’s, but remained basically the same as I had been getting through my reel to reel tape recorder. George called every few days to see how it was going, and I sent him several tapes. Finally after a month, I told him that I felt Spiricom wasn’t going to work out for me, and he should pick it up the next time he was in the area. About a week later he did. In spite of his disappointment at my not reinforcing O’Neil’s results, we remained friends, with notes and occasional phone calls up until near the end. George visited many countries, introducing Spiricom to thousands. He never tried to make money from it, offering the manual to anyone willing to pay a modest printing fee. I am sure when George returned home to Spirit, the best red carpet was rolled out and all of the heavenly choirs sang their song of hallelujah to him. 2 Tom and Lisa

Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The above picture shows us Friedrich Jurgenson, early pioneer in the field of Voice Phenomena, and Pope Paul VI. Jurgenson was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, by the Pope, for his efforts in the field as well as his work in the area of film development. The picture, as well as the following comments by leaders in the Roman Catholic .Church are taken from the book: Voices From The Tapes by Peter Bander. Rev. Fr. Pisone, S.S.P. said: “I do not see anything against the teaching of the Catholic Church in the Voices. They are something extra-ordinary but there is no reason to fear them, nor can I see any danger.” His Excellency, Archbishop H.E. Cardinale, Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium, Luxembourg and the E.E. C: “Naturally it is all very mysterious but we know the voices are there for all to hear them.” On page 4 of the Summer ‘97 newsletter, I wrote: “A Nod from The Vatican”, in which I quoted an article that appeared in the daily Vatican newspaper. This was written by Father Gino Concetti, one of the most competent theologians of the Vatican. He wrote: “From the point of view of the Catholic church, contacts with the ‘other side’ are possible and the person who talks with the world of the dead does not sin if he does it under the inspiration of the Faith.” I am well aware of

the mixed feelings some have about our work with the invisibles. My colleagues and I are regarded at times as being wicked and in league with the devil. Others bless us and say the gates of Heaven will swing wide as we approach it. Some have wanted to join the AA-EVP but were fearful they might be ‘drummed’ out of the church. Others have joined but keep their interest ‘in the closet.’ The above picture and quotes should assure you that what we do is acceptable by leading theologians. Those who condemn us, do so on a personal basis, and don’t understand that we are trying to help those here and beyond. Other Ways As you know, instrumental transcommunication (ITC) is my favored way of obtaining evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state, and that those in other dimensions are always aware of us. I choose ITC because it is objective confirmation that life continues on. There are other ways though, which offer strong evidence that life never ends, and what happens to us is always known by the invisibles. In March I received the spring newsletter of the U.S. Psychotronics Assn., in which they described, among other things, their yearly conference that will be held in Columbus, OH from July 16th to 18th, with several workshops to be taught on the 19th. Robin Foy, leader of the famous Scole mediumistic group in Scole, England, will be lecturing and teaching a workshop on Monday. Interesting, I thought,

as I went to meet my daughter. A few hours later, after seeing her, she called. She had put a bag I gave her on the trunk lid of my car (without my knowledge) and driven off. Obviously, my bag was lost somewhere along the way home. This distressed me because I had some valuable things in the bag, such as two tapes of the invisibles and a check for $30. My daughter drove along the highway that evening trying to find it, and was unsuccessful. Neither of us slept well that night. Saturday morning came. ‘Something’ made me get in my car, drive up the highway fifteen miles away, to the point where we had parted the night before. “This is ridiculous” I thought. “How do you think you’re going to find that bag, along one of the busiest highways in the county?” I kept driving. After getting to the spot where we had gone our own way, seventeen hours earlier, I turned my car around. Seeing a man taking out his garbage I started to drive by. “No!” something told me. I backed up and rolled down the window. “You didn’t happen to find a bag here last evening?” I asked. He held up his hand and nodded his head vigorously “Wait a minute!” he told me. “It’s in the house.” Bringing it to me, 100% intact, nothing missing, we talked for a few minutes. He told me he was a real estate agent, with one of the

largest firms in the county. I asked for his card and smiling happily he pulled it out of his pocket. His last name? Foy(e). The first three letters of his first name were the same as Robin—Rob... We’re not talking about a Smith or Jones. We’re talking about a Foy! Something like this, which would normally pass my boggle point, 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena except it happened to me, can only cause me to think about it and its wondrous implication. Perhaps the other side ‘engineered’ the entire incident—the losing of the bag; a ‘force’ that drove me out of my house Saturday morning, on an impossible mission; then finding the bag—retrieved by a man named Foye. My thought, rightly or wrongly is that ‘they’ were telling me, yet again, “Hey, Sarah. We’re real, we can arrange things to let you know we’re but a step away.” This event, strongly suggests most of the circumstances found in cross-correspondence, one of my favorite non-ITC evidences for survival. Scared By A Ghost An E-mail letter came from Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member in January. Quoting from her letter, she wrote: “I was scared by a ghost this afternoon. I was standing at the foot of the bed and running the sweeper when I saw, who I thought was my husband Les, step out from in back of me and stand to the side so I could see him. Only what I saw, a

foot and a half from me, was a black form, broader built than Les, but about the same height. It was standing in front of the bathroom door that was partly open, so he blocked out the light coming from it. I quickly turn to yell at Les for scaring me, but the form quickly disappeared. Les returned about five minutes later from our other mobile home. It scared me so badly, I had a crushing feeling in my chest and I felt my heart was in my throat. Took half a xanax, but that didn’t help, so had to take the other half an hour later. After telling Les what had happened, I picked up my glasses and would you believe when I put them on, I was seeing weird. The one lens had also fallen out. Now I am waiting to see if the ghost was wanting to tell me something, or if it was maybe one of the many spirits living at the trailer court.” Ghostmeter An article appeared in the recent Dec./Jan. magazine, “New Scientist”. It was about modern day ghost hunters. Quoting from it, we read: “For the first time, they are armed with affordable yet sophisticated sensors and recording equipment.” The article goes on to say that they are beginning to turn up unusual physical measurements from haunted locations as well as intriguing “if not entirely convincing photographic evidence.” According to the article, more progress has been made in the last twenty years than

in the past two hundred. Reliable investigators in the field are reporting similar discoveries. Interestingly, some of this data is of equal value to skeptics and believers alike. As usual, both sides of the fence use the data to reinforce their own beliefs. Unusual magnetic field data are regarded by believers as the telltale signatures of ghosts, but by skeptics as freakish natural phenomena that cause hallucinations. Most ghost seekers visit haunted locations accompanied by professional psychics who say they actually see the spirits. The investigators take their equipment to the spots the psychics point to, and their equipment usually shows increased activity. The most convincing (at least to some) are the sharp fluctuations at the magnetic spots where the psychics say they see a ghostly presence. Normal background levels are about 1 or 2 milligauss, but at haunted spots the readings can go up to 100 milligauss. Portable infrared thermometers show intense cold spots wherever the ghostly magnetic fields occur with temperature normally dropping 20 to 35 degrees. Geiger counters at times measure these spots as being radioactive. The most common item used by a ghost hunter is a camera. Many different types of cameras and film are available. These need not be expensive and are simple to use. Many of the best images have been captured with standard film loaded in an ordinary camera. Tape recorders are also normally used in investigations of haunted locations. Ghosts/Spirits In the early years of my involvement with voice phenomena I investigated

a number of haunted locations. Sometimes my good friends, Ron and Nancy Stallings of MD went with me, to such places as Point Lookout 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena in southern Maryland. The popular TV show “Sightings” took me there six or seven years ago, and they still show it now and then, around the world. Jeff King, AA-EVP member New Zealand, wrote that he and his wife had seen it at their home in Christchurch. Just two months ago, Dale Palmer, IN, called and said: “Sarah, Kay and I are watching you on TV!” Quickly turning there, I saw it was the “Sightings” program. “Man Alive”, a popular British TV show, came from London in Aug. ‘96 to film my daughter Becky and I aboard the hundred and fifty year old U.S. Frigate, Constellation, docked in the Baltimore harbor. This also has been seen in a number of countries—Jeff saw that one also! Each time I’ve been very fortunate in getting many Class A contacts. What are my feelings about ghosts? First, yes, I believe in them, but there are different kinds. Some, I feel, are psychic imprints left over from a terrible traumatic event. The battlefields at Gettysburg (PA) are filled with psychic imprints. Many people report seeing battalions of Union and Confederate soldiers still fighting; some even see the cavalry dashing by with soldiers clinging to their horse’s manes. Vivid imaginations? No doubt at times, but pictures have been

taken and some voices recorded. For the most part I think these may be psychic imprints—which means to me, no real spirit (or ghostly body) is present. In some haunted houses you can get the same; others appear to have a ‘real’ ghost still living in the home. The second day “Man Alive” filmed me, I took them to the William Paca House in Annapolis. The house was built over 250 years ago and was the home of Paca, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. When I went into the kitchen and asked: “Is William Paca here?” an indignant Class A woman’s voice replied: “I think not!” The curator of the house was present during the filming and said that William Paca never went into the kitchen. So the female message is evidential. It may have been a female ghost still living in the house or a spirit who may have lived in the Paca house when William did, and came down to see what this strange looking group was doing there. When I asked my question, she felt compelled to tell me, that Paca never had anything to do with being in the kitchen. The point I’m trying to make is that we cannot lump ghosts and spirits together. There is a wide difference. Some may be hanging around the familiar environment for one reason or another, which we don’t have space to go into. Others are not ghosts at all but drop down now and then to

speak to us, or join us in the get together of their family. Some people meeting me for the first time, and learning what I do look horrified. “You talk to ghosts?!” they say. No, not at all—and neither do you AA-EVP members who tape. Yes, if you go to haunted locations, you may. If, however, you tape at home, which is where I hope you do, you talk to spirits—and there is a world, literally, a world of difference! 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Ludwig Schonheid, a friend in Germany, sent me the above picture. In his letter he wrote: “Dear Sarah, something wonderful happened in Jan. when we were visiting a friend. As usual, I had my small automatic camera (YASHICA Zoomate 70 F=38.70 mm) with me, equipped with a FUJI ASA 100 film. This is the camera I have been so lucky to take energy pictures with. I had taken a number of photos already, when Mrs. Dietrich, a medium with whom I am cooperating, wanted to take my picture. She pressed the shutter release—but the flash did not work. She tried again, but there was still no flash. We felt slightly disappointed. When I got the pictures back from the photo shop I learnt why the flash had not worked: some energy structures had wanted to manifest on the photo. Previous energy pictures always showed whirling energy structures, but these show strings of light, energy strings. The slight

string oriented to my left (heart) hand is clearly stronger than the one going to my right hand. Presently we are experimenting with an AURA video unit recording the human aura on film, making it visible.” Our Tapers Report Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that two of her recent interesting messages were: “My spiritual preparation promised” “Cemetery—I went, above.” Tina Laurent, Wales AA-EVP called me on my birthday. She said she is still giving readings, and before a client comes, she spends a long time at her tape recorder, asking for information or messages for her client from a friend or loved one who has passed over. Tina stressed she knows nothing about the various clients that come—only their names. Not long ago, she asked for messages for someone due the next day. A man came back and said, “Uncle Tom”. He then went on and gave a message for the next day’s client, calling her “Little girl”, and saying she had “a big decision to make.” Tina said she had a lot of doubt about the name and message, because hardly anyone in Wales is named “Tom”. Nevertheless, the next day when her client came, she played the messages that she’d picked up for her twenty-four hours earlier. The woman began crying. She had an Uncle Tom who had died, and she’d always been very close to him. She also had a big decision to make. Tina and I both agreed that these messages were excellent objective evidence

that they came from the spirit dimension. Georg Lindstrom, Finland, joined the AA-EVP in October. In his last letter, he wrote that he is part of a group of ‘sitters’ who are “all strongly for the voices and for all evidential phenomena.” Although they haven’t yet taped human voices, Georg wrote, they were getting all kinds of different sounds. Some of the sounds are “hissing”, “rubbing”, “snaps” and “once laughing.” In March, Dan McKee, FL and IL State Coordinator, sent me an excellent tape of a recent Space Shuttle flight. Dan usually tapes these flights, using his shortwave radio tuned to WA3NAN, Greenbelt, MD, where much of the communication takes place between NASA and the crew on the shuttle flight. On this particular flight, he taped over 30 messages, most of them Class A. Some of them were: “A God, is it?” “No profaning Delta”. “We the fancier, I heard.” “You Islamic?” “The seerer, he playing on you.” “Glad our temp too high.” I wrote to Dan that it sounded as if there was an invisible crew inside the space shuttle, talking about what was going on. Some of the messages, such as: “Glad our temp too high”, sounded almost as if the speakers were from a parallel world. Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, Maine, head of the bureau for paranormal investigation for the Spiritualist church, has been an AA-EVP member for 10 years. He wrote how impressed he was with my winter newsletter, and the suggestions I gave about taping with

the microcassette recorder built into my Casio telephone/answering machine. Rupert asked for permission to copy the material from the newsletter, and send it to spiritualist church members in the U.S. I was happy to give this. Dale Sizemore, S. C., wrote that he had recently taped a cultured British male accent, who said: “Stop defending me.” Dale doesn’t know what he meant. First Anniversary February 15 was the first anniversary of my husband, Charlie’s death. I taped seven messages from him, five Class A. All came through on my Casio microcassette tape recorder. The last message, where he shouted his name and was one of the very loud and clear Class A messages, was: “Charlie!” 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Counting Noses With our anniversary newsletter, I always try to give an update of members. For the seventeenth year in a row, men outnumber women. The women though, are catching up. Last year there were 44 more men than women. This year, men surpass women by 25. CA leads with 32 members. MD is next with 20. Honor Roll: The following members joined in 1982: Ben A.-TX; Virginia Bates-VA; Rosemary Bennett-FL; Richard Busse-IN; Luise Fuchs-Germany; Blanche Larrigan-WA; Clara Laughlin- VA; David Lothamer-CA; Dan McKee-IL; Shirley Moorman-CA; Winnie Peters-MD; Ellen Pugh-WA; Mary Jo Uphoff-WI; Bill Weisensale-CA. FAME I Made It!! Guess what! I’ve been credited with the discovery of EVP! Bet you didn’t know that about me! One of our members sent me

a printout she’d gotten off the Internet, in which some college professor in California was ‘pushing’ his Skeptics Dictionary. For me he wrote: “Electronic voice phenomenon refers to the alleged communication by spirits through tape recorders and other electronic devices. The belief in EVP seems to have begun with Sarah Estep, who claims that in the 1970s she started picking up voices on her husband’s TEAC reel-to reel recorder. Estep is sure that the voices are those of spirits and prove that there is life after death. In short, no one ever really gives up the ghost.” My reply to the doctor was only to send him, without personal comment, the following quote: “If one regards himself as a skeptic, it is well from time to time to be skeptical about one’s skepticism.” Sigmund Freud in Ghost. The man’s knowledge, at least as far as voice phenomena, is as faulty as what he wrote. “Sarah, know that many of us love you and your dedicated service to us all on Earth. And truth be known.” Edna & Jim Drake, Canada Was It Mars? In an E-mail letter from Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, AA-EVP member, she sent a paper she’d down loaded from the Internet. It describes the work of Charles Francis Jenkins from Dayton, OH. Jenkins patented over 400 inventions going back to 1890. His most unusual experiment took place in Aug. 1924. That evening he participated in an exercise that involved the U.S. government. Dr. David Todd (a professor of

astronomy at Amherst College) and a machine Jenkins had built called the “radio photo message continuous transmission machine.” Mars was on a near approach to Earth and the U.S. Navy wanted to try to record any possible signals from Mars during that time. They used Jenkins’ newly developed recorder. President Calvin Coolidge ordered all American radio transmitters to shut down to avoid interfering with the signals. Other nations also participated by instructing their wireless stations to listen for strange signals. Several reported a baffling series of signals, and the word A Q U I was received. Upon developing the film it was noted that the mysterious dots and dashes formed an image that appeared to be a crudely drawn human- looking face. Jenkins described the images as: “A freak which we can’t explain.” U.S. Psychotronics Annual Conference I mentioned on page 3, having received the spring newsletter from the Psychotronics Association, and their upcoming conference. Robin Foy will be featured. He will describe a new device and methodology to talk and record audio/video from entities on the ‘Other Side.’ Other invited speakers include: Dannion Brinkley; Tom Bearden (world renowned expert on scalar electromagnetics); Sky David (designer of new types of photo biological equipment which have produced phenomenal results) and the Psychotronics President, Peter Moscow. Dale Palmer and I have already registered to attend. I hope many AA-EVP members will join us there. It would be wonderful to see and greet you, and we’ll try to get together for a togetherness

time in a special room. For info about this excellent upcoming conference, contact: USPA National Office-P.O. Box 45, Elkhorn, WI 53121. Phone: 414-472-4790. Let me know if you’re going! 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Odds and Ends Again, thank you for helping to make the last 17 years possible. Deadline for the Summer NEWS is June 18th. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 8 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Summer 1999 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here I sit at my computer thinking about all of the hundreds of letters, phone calls, and e-mails I’ve received in the last three months. Some were sad; some joyful and made me smile. Others tested my wisdom to its fullest extent, and I could just hope I helped. Only the future-that individual’s future will tell and yes, what I said, or did, may end up as a plus (or negative) mark beside my own name. In May, a member wrote how she desperately wanted to help the dying. She has a BA in psychology, and is working in an office. “How can I help them Sarah? You are my mentor. Please advise me.” I always feel great responsibility when I receive a letter like that, and

I replied giving her two suggestions. It is so important that such a person does have her plea for help answered—not only for her own sake, but for the sake of those she wants to help. In early June, a member called who has been having many physical problems. She said she was thinking about taking her car and smashing it, possibly against a tree, and killing herself. I never take something like this lightly, or criticize anyone who says this. I can feel only sadness for someone who has reached, she feels, the end of her time. We talked about her thoughts for a while. She is afraid she might end up in a coma—like a vegetable—and be kept alive by machines, and fed through a tube. I assured her I understood how she felt, and then I told her what I have read about people in a coma—that their consciousness often leaves their body during this time, and they become conscious in the world beyond death. They visit it, see old friends, and get a preview of what life will be like for them—provided they permit God to take them in His own good lime. We talked some more about it, and when she hung up, there were some tears in her voice as she thanked me for helping. A few months ago, I received a letter from ‘Paul Street’ who complained there was no good evidence we survive death. He wrote: “My wife and I have looked

under every rock for evidence but there is none to be found.” To start with, I think the Streets were looking in the wrong place for evidence. If you look under rocks for knowledge, chances are all you will find is dirt. In his letter he also wrote: “We don’t go around antagonizing people on purpose but there is usually a gap between ourselves and most people as wide as the Grand Canyon, no matter how nice we try to be.” He finished his letter with: “My wife and I feel the world is a ‘nuthouse’ and that we are walking around in a vast sea of b....” Poor souls, if that’s where they choose to walk, that’s exactly what they’ll find. What are they doing to try to change their world; to clean up the slime? Nothing as far as Paul’s letter indicated. A person can continue to wallow in the slime, or they can climb up on the bank and try to bring some relief to their place in time. I guess the Streets have never heard about lighting one candle. We can only feel sorrow for them and others of their kind. They are wandering around like lost children in the dark, and the dark must be frightening. Although Paul professed himself as being well read, he evidently was not familiar with literature in the field of survival. We have Death Bed Visions, especially ‘Peak in Dairen’ cases. There are Apparitions. There are Cross-Correspondence cases. Transcommunication in

its different forms, presents objective evidence that there is no death. 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Each of us has the potential for making a difference in our world. We can be like the Streets, or we can reach higher. The sun may not always shine, but we can try to touch the rainbow beyond, and help others see it’s right there, waiting for them also. Biological Energies/EVP Recordings An interesting letter was received in April from Dominic Macquire, AA-EVP member, England. He wrote “I believe there is a direct relationship between mediumship circles where EVP voices are recorded and the large quantity of the energy that comes from the physical body of the medium. This is used in the production of audible voice sound waves in the room. At the same time, a small amount of the same kind of physical body energy is supplied by several people in the room. “Although I cannot prove it, I believe that a small quantity of biological energy is supplied from the physical body of most EVP experimenters, even when there is no medium present. This does not mean to say that biological energy (known as ectoplasm) from EVP experimenters is the only energy that is used in EVP production. In the Colin Fry experiments, it was found that when I introduced the presence of three small transformers into the room, the audible voice quality was improved. It should be kept in mind that

tape recorders of every kind, supply a field of electromagnetic energy, which, combined into, and within the biological energy of the EVP experimenters in the room, are together the basis for the tape recorded ‘worded-thoughts’, which change the impulses going onto the recording tape. What happens then, is that the communicators’ thinking of his or her words, produce sound waves from the loudspeaker upon play back of the tape. I think the introduction of an additional electromagnetic field, from two or three unshielded transformers, into an EVP recording room should be helpful.” Dominic also wrote: “The early transformers in nearly all electronic machines were NOT screened. They allowed a greater electromagnetic field to escape into the room? Something to Think About I agree with Dominic’s statement about a large quantity of energy coming from the physical body of the taper, as well as others present in the room. I encourage people who write or call, and say they’ve had no results, to find someone who is interested in what they are doing. “Have that person join you,” I tell them. “Your combined energies may help the unseen speak.” When people have come to my home to observe me taping, I’ll start things off, and then turn the microphone over to them. At that point I say, “You can call on anyone you wish? Probably 70-80% of the time, there will be at least one or two replies from the other side. I would suggest to you that you keep this

in mind, if you are having difficulty making contact. Invite two or three close friends who are accepting of what you are doing. Do a short 5-6 minute recording together, each person taking a turn calling on a loved one, or asking a friend who has made their transition to come through. You can also ask questions about the world beyond death. At the conclusion of your recording, play the tape back, and see if there is anything there—don’t forget to wear headphones, and use a sound source. Perhaps you could agree to meet once or twice a month as a group, and encourage each other to make short recordings in their own home by themselves. Then, when you meet again, you can start off by sharing anything that has come through while you were apart. You may be very surprised, and delighted at the results that you (they) start to receive. Please let me know if you try this, and the results, so I can share them with our members in a future newsletter. If you would like a copy of “How to Tape”, which was partly prepared in cooperation with a member of Rupert Sigurdsson’s, (AA-EVP member, Maine) Spiritualist church, please send me a business size SASE and I’ll be happy to mail it to you. 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena You Might Want to Try Many members have checked a “2” on their membership applications showing they are interested

in research and development. Jeff Ring AA-EVP member New Zealand, is one of them, and spends much time working on various experimental ideas trying to improve the field of EVP. In an e-mail letter, he wrote: “I am at present modifying a high quality shortwave receiver so that it will work with a frequency wobulator (I think you called it a ‘wobbler’ in an old AA-EVP article). The wobbler is my own design, having to be custom built for the receiver, which is an older vacuum tube radio. I have additional plans for further equipment to provide further audio conditioning of the shortwave signals I will be using as part of the EVP sound source. The aim here is to study the structure of EVP carrier needed—in order to fine tune the design of my dedicated EVP receiver which is in the design stages.” Jeff is on the international e-mail list. Should You, or Shouldn’t You? Digital recorders are becoming more and more popular. Perhaps you are wondering if you should invest in one or not, for your work in the field of the electronic voice. Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member sent me information about them that she had received from a Rick Fisher. Quoting from it, he wrote: “In the past I have been instrumental in introducing the Digital Camera to the world of Ghost Hunting. Because of its digital format it was clear to see that it would capture more anomalies than conventional film. I am pleased to

announce that I have been conducting research using Digital Recorders. Since it uses no tape and uses digital format it seems to have better results in picking up more sounds and voices while doing EVP. ...The results we are getting are incredible. It seems that the voices we are recording are responding to questions we ask. (They do this with regular recorders. S.E.) One friend asked for a name, and received: ‘Jesse.’ Then my friend asked what had happened to Jesse, and the reply came back: ‘They beat me up with a chain’. Rick continued: “This would suggest that radio or sound waves could be ruled out since it is responding to specific questions. We are experiencing loud noises that sound like growling. My theory is the recorder is picking up sounds close to it and maybe getting static as the anomaly gets closer. It seems that whenever I get a loud growling or shrieking noise it is followed by words. We have placed the traditional cassette recorders by the digital recorder while attempting EVP and the cassette failed to pick up anything while the digital picked up some words. “There are various models on the market. Sony has one that records for 10 minutes, and another for 16 minutes. I am currently using the Panasonic IC recorder model RR-DR6O which will record for 60 minutes and has 5 microphone settings. The cost is $99. Since announcing this at the 1999 Gettysburg Conference, many people have purchased this model and

seem to be getting good results. I believe this to be the wave of the future for EVP.” Other Ways—Trans-Video There are other ways to have objective contact with unseen dimensions. Pascal Jouini, AA-EVP member, France, has done a great deal of work and been successful in the field of TV contacts. In a recent e-mail from him, sent to a number of people around the world, Pascal wrote: “I have tested for the first time a new configuration for recording in Trans-Video. The camera is connected in “LOOP” with COMPUTER via Capture Video card. This gives also good results, and this proves that the images are not “residual” images from TV programs because computer and capture video card are not TV receptors. The Emerald Tablet Years ago, I read the above titled book and found it extremely interesting. It focused on an ancient document molded out of a single piece of green crystal, and was about mysterious visitors to Egypt over 12,000 years ago. It was translated into Greek in 330 BC. Then, in 400 AD, it was buried somewhere on the Giza plateau in Egypt to protect it from Christian mobs burning libraries around the world at that time. Translations of the tablet survived and became the primary inspiration for Medieval alchemists who 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena believed it contained the formula for transforming everything—not only physical matter—but the subtle substances of mind and spirit as well. Now, Dennis

W. Hauck, a well-known investigator into haunted locations and other unexplained phenomena, has had his ten years of research into the tablet accepted and published by Penguin Books. It traces the roots of alchemy to reveal a practical guide to spiritual growth with ground breaking research, hands-on techniques, transformative exercises, and personal testimonials. Some of the experts in reviewing the book wrote: “This book combines esoteric wisdom with practical advice. Hauck offers his readers a remarkable path for spiritual change in the tradition of Carl Jung’s depth psychology”. (Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Dir. of Consciousness Studies the Saybrook Institute). Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., Director of Intuition Network, host of Thinking Allowed on PBS, wrote: “Every reader who gives this book the thoughtfulness it requires will discover a treasure of inner riches”. To order the illustrated, 452 pg. book, cost $16.95, call: (800)-788-6262. The complete title is: The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy For Personal Transformation The above picture was sent to me by Dominic Macquire, along with an article published in 1975 by Psychic News. It shows a picture of Pope Paul VI, decorating Friedrich Jurgenson, credited with discovering EVP, with the order of St Gregory the Great medal. The article went on to say: “The Vatican now accepts that spirit messages have been received on tape recorders.” Hans Heckmann, AA-EVP member, PA, sent me a translation from the German Journal: “VTF Post” (pub. Jan. 99). The editor, Fidelio Koberle quoted an address by Pope John Paul II, in October 1998, who spoke to

a gathering of pilgrims in Rome, and was broadcast by Radio Vatican. The pope said: “One should not think that life after death only starts at judgment day. Particular conditions exist after natural death. While the body dissolves the spiritual components continue life. This spiritual element is equipped with its own consciousness and its own free will. Man exists without a physical body.” Miracles Jackie Colligan in an e-mail, described several incidents which she called miracles. In the one she wrote: “I went outside to sweep the daily sand from the drive way. I then tried to open the door but it was locked. I went next door to see if I could use the phone, to call husband, Les, but no one was home. So I went back to the house with a large Yale key in my pocket and tried to insert it into the lock, but it was much too large. Then for some reason unbeknownst to me I decided to try the key again and right before my eyes, the key changed size, becoming small and slid easily into the lock. The door opened and I was in a state of disbelief. From the inside I tried the key again, and it was absolutely too big. 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “So stranger than strange things do happen in our lives. The spirit world can manifest things to different proportions and sizes. I imagine we have a lot

of miracles taking place that we aren’t aware of at the time.” Tidbits Following are some of the tidbits of news that have crossed my desk, or been in my e-mail box the last few months. Lloyd Bradahaw, N.J. AA-EVP member wrote that he had seen his mother’s spirit watching him from across the other side of the front room. He gave her acknowledgement. Quoting him, he said: “When she was in mortal form, she knew I did EVP and Spirit Photography. I use capital letters for those two activities because they mean a lot.” He continued: “My little Yorkie TTY dances around at times with animal and human spirit playmates. It starts and stops before I can react with tape or film. ...We’re never alone even in a seemingly empty room.” In an e-mail from Dale Kaczmarek, IL AA-EVP member, he wrote that he would be featured on the Discovery Channel TV regarding ghost photography the evening of April 28th. I watched, and it was a good program, and Dale did an excellent job in discussing his work. I asked Jeff King to describe some of his thoughts on crop circles, since he has been helping a researcher in England who is investigating them. In an e-mail he wrote: “There are a lot of hoaxers out there, but from some of the sincere people who have participated in watching for formations forming, there seems to be repeated findings, namely: The formations seem to be always formed at night. There

seems to be an activity of moving lights during the night of the event, wherein a circle will be seen to have formed in the light of the next day. No one seems to know the origin of the lights, but they seem to approach the field quickly, make sweeping circular wide passes over the vicinity, and then move off just as quick. Whatever is making the circles seems to have the health of the crop at heart, as the bent stalks still continue to grow while bent over, and show no evidence of being stressed. Deliberate attempts to make a circle by tramping or pushing stalks down, create great damage. There seems also to be electromagnetic disturbances at genuine circles that are not present at hoaxed ones. My personal belief is that there is a directed intelligence that is involved in the formation process. Whether this intelligence is part of an unknown but natural phenomena, or is the work of sentient beings is not known.” Georg Lindstrom, Finland AA-EVP member, wrote that at the end of July, they will have a congress of the Scandinavian Spiritualist Union in his country. They have invited Robin Foy, England as the main lecturer of the congress. Foy will be one of the featured speakers and workshop leaders at the Columbus, Ohio conference in mid-July. Scott Preston, VA, said that he has discovered an excellent service on the Internet, that permits a person to bring up anything he is especially interested in. It

is: Onelist.com Quoting him, he wrote: “For example, I subscribe to a Buddhist list called (out of date email). When I write a letter to this list it goes to all the other members on the list. If I choose to respond to a letter, I simply hit “reply”, edit the letter, write a response, push “send” and the reply is returned to the list.” I brought the website upon my own computer, and it is amazing the different subject sites that are available. You might want to look it over. Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, mentioned on page 2 of the Summer NEWS is the Superintendent of the Bureau of Phenomenal Evidence. In a recent letter to fellow Spiritualist members, of which he always sends me a copy, he encouraged them to let him know if they had witnessed any Phenomenal Events in the last year. So far, he has received six answers to his questionnaire. I know some of our members are Spiritualists, so if you would like to respond to Rupert, he is on the cross-country list. 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Best from The Past In the Winter 1990 newsletter, I had a piece titled: “Might It Work?” It quoted a letter from a member who had asked: “Is it possible that the voices can be taped at a different frequency, such as ultrasonics, and then converted to Audio frequency where we can hear them? Is it because the other

side is at a higher vibration and when we record them, the voices have to lower their vibrations in order for us to record them?” I replied that his question was a very interesting one. I reminded him that in my book Voices of Eternity I had said that we felt those in other dimensions operate at a higher frequency and faster vibration than we do and must lower their frequencies and vibrations to come through. This helps explain, we believe, why the voices are frequently not loud and most messages are 3-5 words in length. I checked with a person knowledgeable in the field of electronics. This individual said you could put your mike in front of an ultrasonic generator while taping. On playback you would (probably) hear nothing. If, however, you used a Down convertor, that would lower the ultrasonic frequencies so you could, in theory, be able to hear any voices from other dimensions that had spoken. Down converters are not easy to find and they are expensive. The easiest and perhaps most economical way, is to try and get a Leak detector, such as is used in automotive shops, or to detect gas leaks and so on. Check automotive magazines. You might find a second-hand one. If you try this let me know your results. I would like to report it in a future newsletter. Our Tapers Report Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that they had spent several days at Cape Cod. She always takes

her portable tape recorder with her and frequently records voices. During this most recent trip, she received: “Jim Brown”, followed by “You are my good friend.” In her letter, Carol wrote the unseen often use her telephone answering machine. Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote in June about some interesting messages that came through recently. Because of their nature, she asked that they not be printed—and I agree. One, however, can be shared. She frequently hears from Betty Evans, a good friend of hers, and an AA-EVP member before her death. In the latest message from Betty, she said: “It’s a job taping people!” David Lothamer, CA State Coordinator, phoned me the middle of June. He, his brother, and mother have not been well for some lime. Now David is feeling better. A recent taped message came from a doctor on the other side who asked David: “Anyone healthy down there?” The end of April, I received an outstanding tape from Dan McKee, FL & IL State Coordinator. He calls it his “Transition Tape” and it focuses chiefly on our transition at death, and some on the life beyond. The first message on the tape is a beautiful, Class A + singing one. Someone sings to him: “You, you’re taught Dan, not to be just here.” In other words, they were telling Dan, that because of his work for almost 25 years in the field of voice phenomena, he’s been “taught” that life is not limited to the earth-plane. Some

other Class A messages are: “If you’re self, your spirit.” “God’s fellowship, it hits now the Earth.” “This is your project.” “Helps get the new evidence here.” “We walk the Earth as you once the life is through.” “God’s where you are.” “You’ll have a memory.” “You’ll find your family.” Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, wrote in an E-mail that she received the message: “Put the noise very clear.” She’d been using a tape prepared at the University of Sao Paulo, which had 20 voices recorded and mixed on a tape. So, she changed her experiments, adding 3 radios and the noise was “Very Loud as requested by the Voices. The result is fantastic!” Books for You! Richard Hatem, AA-EVP CA, has accumulated many books related to the field of voice phenomena. He wrote: “I have several copies of Raudive’s Breakthrough. Peter Bander’s Voices From The Tapes (an 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena excellent companion piece to Raudive’s book), William Welch’s Ta1ks With The Dead. Susy Smith’s Voices of the Dead? (an interesting overview of EVP through 1977), John Fuller’s Ghost of 29 Mesa cycles (an account of George Meek and Bill O’Neil’s “Spiricom” experiments in the early 1980’s), George Meek’s After We Die. What Then? and one extremely rare hardback copy of D. Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless’ truly chilling Phone Calls From The Dead. You can contact Richard by fax at (626)284-8254 with your requests. He’ll fax you back regarding prices and

availability on a first-faxed, first-served basis. We are grateful to Richard for this service and for bringing pleasure into other lives. Friends from Other Countries One of my great pleasures are the countless friends I have made in different parts of the world. In a recent letter from Alfonso Galeano, Spain, he wrote that he and his friend Jose Garrido, had an exciting event the end of May in Barcelona. He wrote: “Jose and I tried a public experiment. In front of hundreds of people we demonstrated how we obtain images from Beyond through a TV. We were totally successful and many, many images appeared on the screen.” Alfonso attached two of them to his e mail, and they were extremely interesting. Siyoh Tomiyama, of Tokyo, Japan, and I have become good friends through the Internet. He is working vigorously in the field of instrumental transcommunication (ITC) and is doing a great deal to inform the people of Japan about the phenomena. Siyoh plans to attend the Psychotronics conference in Ohio, and we are looking forward to meeting each other. I’m 2,000! In a call from an editor of Who’s Who in America, I was told my name, background, and work in the field of voice phenomena will be listed in their Millennium edition. Sometimes I feel that old. Just wish my wisdom stretched that far— Are You Going? After mentioning on the last page of the spring newsletter, the Psychotronics Conference in OH, from July 16-18, many AA-EVP members

have called or written for more information. Right now, these members have indicated they will do their best to attend: Keli Adams; Mary Kay Johnson; Mary Kurtz; Dan McKee; Dale & Kay Palmer; and Winnie Peters. I hope very much to go, and my daughter Becky will be with me. The conference looks excellent. The theme is: “Restoring Sacred Space, Spiritually and Ecologically”. Workshop fees are extra. Robin Foy, England, will hold a Sunday eve, workshop. Four workshops are scheduled for Monday. Dr. Euvaldo Cabral, Professor at Sao Paulo University, Brazil, will be leading a workshop Monday morning in which he will describe his work and research in the field of ITC, for over 20 years. Sonia Rinaldi will assist with the workshop, and I also have been asked to help. A group taping is tentatively planned, probably through a computer, and Euvaldo and Sonia have requested my help with translating any messages that come through. Odds and Ends Always seem to run out of space at the End. Happily I don’t see anything Odd in what we’re doing. Deadline for the Autumn NEWS is Oct. 1. Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Autumn 1999 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint On October 24, I will

observe my 23rd anniversary of becoming involved in the field of voice phenomena. It was late Sunday evening in 1976, when I first sat down and asked: “Is anyone here?” There was no reply. In the years since then, there have been thousands of contacts, but for a while there was nothing. Over the years, I have been frequently interviewed by the media: radio and television, newspapers and magazines, about my work. One question always asked by every interviewer is: “Sarah, what is the most important message you’ve ever received in all of the years you’ve been taping?” My most recent interview took place on July 24th, in a telephone interview with station WCCO of Minneapolis, MN. Like all previous interviewers he also asked what message I regarded as significant above all the others. I always reply that while it is difficult to say, there are three messages that stand out in my mind, above all of the other thousands. The first one came through twenty years ago. I was working on my book: Voices of Eternity published by Fawcett, of New York in 1988, and later by Du Rocher of Paris, France. That message was: “Your soul is not defeated.” To me, it shows that no matter what hardships you have endured during life, your soul is inviolable. Nothing can ever hurt that which is the real kernel of you. We are born with that soul; we take it with us at the end. The second significant message that

I treasure because it showed me that my spirit contacts knew about my background, my beliefs, my concerns with my current day to day living, was received about twelve years ago. My granddaughter, Sara, was facing a tonsillectomy that day. I sat down to tape and planned to ask the unseen to guide the doctors and nurses who would be working with three year old Sara. I did this near the end of the recording, but before I even requested their help with Sara, within the first minute of my recording came the message: “Protect those near you.” Less than five seconds later, the message was followed with: “Death no more a casket.” This means they knew I was concerned about Sara, and they also knew she was greatly loved and dear to my heart. It also shows that no matter what happened to anyone, death (life) did not end with a casket. I had come to believe this at the age of five through traumatic experiences in my grandparents funeral home. Looking at the unknown dead lying less than a foot from me, I became convinced that life ended with the casket, and the only place we went at death was a hole in the ground. The unseen knew this, and while I no longer believed it, for 45 years I did. The third message that has strong significance to me and which I now always mention in interviews, was received less than a year ago. During my taping,

I thanked the invisibles, as I do every so often, for helping me over the years, for communicating with me, and turning my life around. At the end of my thanks that morning, a clear Class A male voice spoke, saying: “We offer soul freedom.” Those who believe in survival and the continuance of individual consciousness, have the freedom of soul to live life to its fullest, knowing that life continues without end, no matter what kind of life we live. Even the greatest world-wide criminals survive. Their after-death life will not be a happy one, since they will have to make up, in one way or another, for the crimes they have committed against mankind. Death is no more a casket for them, than it is for everyone else. God’s fingerprint is within each soul. It is never lost and survives throughout infinity. It is up to each individual what he takes with him when he returns to spirit. Our record, for this life, goes with us; with our soul, as we journey home and is responsible for the kind of continuing life we will know. 1 “I Live in Spirit!” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena In August, I received an e-mail from Bill Weber, AA-EVP member who lives in FL. He wrote that he’d received an interesting taped contact on 7/19/99 at 10:20 AM and offered to send the nine-minute tape to me for my comments. When it arrived, as I

listened to it, I was very impressed. A total of four messages came through and most were Class A. Writing back to Bill I asked him to tell me about his set-up. Bill replied: “I use a Radio Shack SW-100 multiband (analog) set to approximately 125.9 MHz. It is full of interesting white noise. A low pitched hum is heard, along with an upper midrange hum. I’ve noticed the spirits have used the LOWER HUM for vocal manifestation and it often disappears just before they speak. It is likely used for modulation before gradually returning after their message. My microphone is a unidirectional battery amplified mike set close to the radio speaker. I use a high quality JVC TD-W318 cassette tape deck. I live two miles from the local airport air tower, but a close friend who works there has heard my tapes and assured me I’ve never recorded a pilot or tower person at 125.9MHz. These are irrefutable voices from spirit.” In his letter, Bill also wrote: “I just tape messages for loved ones left behind. It is only the recording for others whose loved ones have made the transition when I get speaker modulated results. My main recorded spirit voices are always heard through the radio speaker.” Bill has a background in pro video and has built some equipment. He is trying to find a germanium chip so he can build a germanium receptor device which could help produce further results. In commenting about the tape he sent,

he said that the unique thing about it, was the “implementation of two deep bass tones immediately preceding each voice transmission. No clicking sounds were heard but I got my usual knocking sounds from the radio speaker before the voices manifested, I’e come to realize that the knocks mean they are getting ready to respond to one of my questions.” Now for the tape itself, which Bill has given me permission to share with other AA-EVP members. Bill made the recording two days after John Kennedy’s plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Our navy and coast guard were searching extensively trying to locate it. Bill hoped that his questions about the location of John’s plane might be answered and if so, he would pass this information on to those who were looking for it. During the recording, he asks repeatedly for them to tell him where the plane is. None of those questions were answered. However, within a few seconds of the start of the recording, when he first asks for the plane’s location, a loud male voice answered, while Bill was still talking, with: “He’s here!” Bill hears this through his radio but can’t interpret it until playback He continues with his questions and then asks John Jr.: “How are you sir? Do you have a message for the world, John Kennedy, Jr.?” With that a loud, clear very excited Class A male voice replies: “I live in Spirit!” Of the four messages received, that one is the loudest

and clearest. Bill continues asking for the plane’s location, and a clear male voice says: “John was killed.” A minute later, an even clearer, louder voice repeats the message: “John was killed.” Do I believe the messages came from John and one or two male spirit helpers who were evidently helping him with his transition? Bill and I both agree that there is no actual proof that it was John who spoke. I feel there is a very good possibility it was him. Most of those who speak to us on tape rarely show much excitement. The voice that said: “I live in spirit!” was very excited and the listener can hear the happiness emanating from it. John had been dead approximately 60 hours before the taped contacts. He had just returned to his home after death. John now knew that life does continue. He was alive; he had not died and he, as all of us will, “live in spirit!” 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Thomas Edison’s Belief In his book Conversations Beyond the Light by Mark Macy and Pat Kubis, they wrote about an interview Edison had with “Scientific American” in 1920. Quoting from it, Edison said: “If our personality survives, then it is logical or scientific to assume that it retains memory, intellect, and other faculties and knowledge that we acquire on this Earth. Therefore, if personality exists after what we call “death” it is reasonable to conclude that

those who leave the Earth would like to communicate with those they have left here. I am inclined to believe that our personality hereafter will be able to affect matter. If this reasoning be correct, then, if we can evolve an instrument so delicate as to be affected, or moved, or manipulated by our personality as it survives in the next life, such an instrument, when made available, ought to record something.” Telephone Recording Without a Line In a letter Hans Heckmann, AA-EVP member, PA, sent to another member, he wrote: “I would encourage the use of a telephone without a line connection. Enclose this phone in a microwave oven with or without an answering device or a tape recorder. As you know this is not my own idea but I consider it the most convincing method for a scientist. If voices can be received in this manner then perhaps it will wake up science a little.” Slowing Sound Many people report that frequently their taped contacts from the other side come through so fast they are unable to interpret them. Using a variable speed tape recorder can occasionally help. Another idea came from Erland Babcock, AA-EVP member of MA, in September. He wrote: “To slow sound down run the recorder fast while taping, and slow when playing it back. There are recorders that can do this without changing the pitch. I think Radio Shack may have them. Much more difficult to do this with a computer. You might try

using a “bucket brigade” attached to the output of the recorder. The BB is a chip(s) that when properly installed will slow down the signal. I have a delay line (made of inductances and capacitors) on a PC board that handles this problem”. A Spirit Photography Experience Lloyd Bradshaw, AA-EVP member, N.J., focuses his contacts with the unseen through the use of his camera. At times, he records voices but for the most part, his camera is his main ‘bridge’ from this world to the next. He wrote recently about a home he visited after the paternal grandmother had died. They hoped Lloyd would be able to get a picture of their departed loved one. Although they accepted what Lloyd did and believed that contacts were genuine, their college aged son didn’t. He was there the entire time Lloyd was trying to take pictures and making fun of the whole thing. Later they were all seated around the kitchen table when ‘someone’ knocked off the boy’s baseball hat, and threw it across the kitchen. With that, the boy who was home on spring break, stopped making fun of the capability of the invisibles making their presence known. In his letter, Lloyd wrote: “It’s my policy to give people the film out of the camera because it’s their home. Also puts my liability at zero percent. I don’t keep what pictures I take, or the negatives. The parents had the film developed and there was grandma sitting in a chair, looking

right at me, and in the other frames looking at the boy. No doubt, she’s the one who knocked off her grandson’s hat. I explained to the parents that spirits have the full range of thoughts, feelings and emotions we do and they have an advantage that they used to be us. They have the death experience behind them. “Two nights ago, I was lying down, trying to escape the heat, and something I couldn’t see ran into me with the force of a bowling ball. Didn’t hurt, just super surprised me.” 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena I’ve Often Wondered Some people have difficulty wearing watches. They never seem to keep time, no matter how expensive or cheap the watch is. These individuals try one after another and within a day or so the new watch is completely off base with the correct time, or stops altogether. Could it be that for those people the reason for their watch difficulty is that their energies, their vibrations, are different from most of us? If you are one of those persons, I would like to suggest you try taping. It just might be, if personal energies are affecting the watch, the unseen could possibly find it easier to speak through your tape recorder. If you attempt this, give it a fair trial, then please let me know your results. Could It Be? Those of you who have read Jane Robert’s books, especially the ‘Seth’

series, know that he talked repeatedly about parallel universes/dimensions. Many of us working with the invisibles, accept the fact that there are other dimensions/worlds in which consciousness exists. Seth ‘told’ Jane that in the parallel universe, we exist in complete consciousness and live a full life, which can be somewhat different from the life we are living; have chosen to live in this, the earth plane dimension. This idea, although it tests my boggle point a bit, is not entirely dismissed. I have difficulty thinking that ‘Sarah’ is busy in another world. Not all of ‘you’ pass on at the same time. Some may live to be 100; others shuffle off at 30. My daughter Becky, at times has very real unusual dreams. In September, she had a vivid dream about cooking a meal in her kitchen for Dan Rather of CBS (whom she likes and often watches his newscasts). Dan was in the kitchen with her, and as they were talking, Becky’s (actual) telephone ran beside her bed. She keeps her audible phone answering machine on, so she can tell who is calling. Looking at the clock, she saw it was 1:00 AM. A female voice came through and said: “Becky, Joan can’t come to the restaurant tomorrow morning to cook breakfast. Please plan to come in time to do this.” She didn’t give the restaurants’ name. The question remains: In her dream, she was cooking a meal. Then the phone rang, and the caller called her by name,

asking her to cook the restaurant breakfast. Becky is not a cook; she works for a government agency. From where did this call originate? A parallel dimension, where Becky might be a cook in a restaurant? Yes, it just about passes my boggle point, but… Something To Think About Jeff King, AA-EVP member New Zealand, sent me a copy of a letter he e-mailed to Robin Foy, leader of the Scole Group in England. In it, Jeff wrote: “I am working in areas of TDC myself, and was very interested reading about the development and theoretical descriptions of the Germanium receptor. There is much interest in this, as the geometric atomic lattice structures of Silicon (and especially Germanium) lend themselves to subtle structural interference effects, being visible in our dimension as an observed signal due to ‘supposed’ piezo-electric effect—although not directly ‘detected’ in the normal fashion. Raudive used a Germanium based detector diode in his ground breaking EVP experiments. I was also interested to read of the theories relating to the cut-off point in Germanium, which have parallels in other areas of subtle signal energetics. “Electrical equivalent to cut-off may be one way of inducing the state that would be required for TDC reception. As far as electronics is concerned, the germanium diode could be a parallel device to use in reception. In this, the diode would be in a stressed and non-linear state, where local quantum fluctuations could have measurable impact on the bias state.” Tapers Report Jackie Colligan,

AA-EVP member, NV, wrote about messages she has received lately. Many of Jackie’s voices can be heard at a website she is on. I listened to them and some of the Class A ones were “All right.” “I hear Area 51 below test site.” “Book cover.” “Bea.” 4 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Sherri Higgins, a new member from PA wrote that she and her sister visited the Gettysburg battlefield. They set up an audio camcorder. Standing on the Sacs bridge, her sister said she wanted to hear a horse. A minute later they heard one single horse slowly trot across the wooden bridge, before fading away, Sherri wrote: “That was my first animal EVP.” In the summer newsletter, I mentioned Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, and how she received messages on her answering machine. I asked to please tell me more. She replied: “The telephone answering machine messages come through when I’m out of the house. Wm Hegeler, my main contact, most often uses it. Most of the time he calls me, ‘Kathy.’ When he began contacting me, I looked his name up in my encyclopedia. He’d told me (on tape) he was German, and sure enough he was there. Hegeler was a German writer at the turn of the century. After meeting Dr. Ernst Senkowski, AA-EVP member, at your second conference, I asked him if he knew anything about ‘my’ Hegeler. Ernst had a friend who was a genealogist and through

her, I received info about him and his family. He had a sister named Caterina. Once he told me: ‘You are my Katyana.’ Others on the other side have often said that I am his sister.” Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote that Betty, a close friend before her death, who was also an AA-EVP member and speaks frequently to Clara, said: “Often I give a surprise-Betty.” Immediately after that, a male voice said: “Clara, hello-Raudive.” Tina Laurent, member from Wales, called in Sept. She continues to receive accurate messages about her clients before they come for their appointment. Her husband Carl spoke to her recently. Tina has a new variable speed recorder. She finds that when she plays a recording back in the slow mode, she can understand the messages much better. Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator wrote: “Good things have been coming through in my daily taping. Recently I was told: “The Edison name might help you.” The next day Dan asked more about this and was told: “It’s the Edison they might help you. Yes, we predict that he is—it’ll come. Found it out ‘cause he’s the one said it.’” 5 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Psychotronics Conference Several hundred-people attended the Psychotronics Conference (presided over by Peter Moscow, President) which was held in Columbus, OH, from July 16-19th. Picture shows some of the leaders of the GAIT (Global Association Instrumental Transcommunication) Project. Siyoh Tomiyama, Japan is seated

on the left. Dale Palmer, AA-EVP member, IN founder & leader of the project is standing. Sonia Rinaldi, AA-EVP member, Brazil is beside Dale. Professor Dr. Augusto Beresawskas, Professor of Physics and Engineering at Sao Paulo University Brazil, and director of Research & Development of GAIT is seated next to Sonia, and I am beside him. My daughter, Becky, is standing between Siyoh and Dale. Picture 2 shows Robin Foy (England) a lecturer and workshop leader at the conference, and me. Picture 3 shows Sonia on the left, my close friend Winnie Peters, AA-EVP member, Annapolis, and me, waiting at the airport on Monday afternoon. In Picture 4 we have a photo of the workshop led by Dr. Beresawskas and Sonia on Monday morning. They both lectured and Sonia played messages received through William O’Neil’s (who worked with George Meek and Hans Heckmann in the development of Spiritcom) recorder, my tape recorder, and her own. Several spirit pictures taken by Erland Babcock were shown. Dr. Beresawskas is listening to the computer recordings made during the last half hour. Dale and Siyoh can be seen in the background. The people in the workshop were invited to call on a friend or loved one who had made their transition. I am seated beside Sonia and helped with the translation of the eight messages that were all received in English. Several people shed tears because they felt they’d heard from a loved one during the recordings. The conference was excellent with outstanding speakers.

Dr. Beresawskas lectured on Friday afternoon. Some other outstanding speakers and workshop leaders were Dr. Jon Klimo (who attended our Monday workshop), and Thomas Bearden. It was a friendly group and I had the pleasure of meeting Keli Adams, AA-EVP member from PA. Interesting conversations took place with others about the different ways unusual energies could be used. You Might Be Interested in GoodFellow In the 9/99 issue of “Physics World” GoodFellow had an ad. Quoting from it we read: “Goodfellow is an established specialist supplier of small quantities of metals and materials for research, development, prototyping and design. Our product range is renowned for being the most comprehensive of any source in the world. Whilst we can’t guarantee to make fairy tales come true, we can help with your unusual requests for materials.” Looking For SETI? In an e-mail from The Planetary Society, we read the new SETI search program was: “Three years in the making, SETI@home--a free screensaver that analyzes data from the scientific search for extraterrestrial intelligence is now available. It can be down loaded to your computer. We are the largest space in over 140 countries.” Site: http://www.planetary.org If you wish you can download SETI@home http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ in the world, with 100,000 members interest group News From And About Members On the last page of our summer newsletter, I mentioned Richard Hatem, AA-EVP member CA, and that he had a number of second-hand books available. These books largely focus on survival. His e-mail address was given, as

well as his mailing address. However, Richard moved and I didn’t receive his new address until after the NEWS had come back from the printer. Several members called and I was able to give them his current address. Others were able to locate it on their own. Quite a few members have written and said they were able to get the books they wanted. One member even said she was able to get my book: 6 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Voices of Eternity. His new address is: 3383 N. Lake Ave. Altadena, CA 91001. Richard’s e-mail address is still the same. Sonia Rinaldi, wrote that she has had her third book accepted by a publisher. It will run about 400 pages, and a CD of voices is included. Paul Sitar, Canada AA-EVP member, wrote that he bought a CD recently. It is the first-ever CD dedicated to EVP. Paul said a small, independent British record firm, under the label Touch had produced it, and he was “rather impressed by its contents.” It goes under the title: “The Ghost Orchid” and is 63 minutes in length. In addition there is a 24 page booklet covering EVP, and mentions that the voices were first noted “by the Nazis and Soviets in the 1930s, but no records of their research remains.” Paul said there are over 70 sound samples. Some samples of Raymond Cass—well known early British taper—are included, as well as some alien voices.

Visit Me at The Embassy A letter came a few weeks ago from David, who lives in Scotland. He has done a good deal of investigation for the last 20 years into aliens and along with others, had several close viewings of their ships. An interesting part of David’s letter, is that he knows a musician of some renown, who has been declared a schizophrenic by the medical profession. This man listens to classical music on his radio, and often hears voices, which at times claim to be aliens and tell the man when they will visit earth. On at least one occasion, this happened. From David’s research, he was able to prepare a calendar table to predict when a physical manifestation will take place. He wrote: “This proved to be pretty accurate as you will see from the enclosed Admiral of the Fleet correspondence.” David enclosed copies of his letter and the Admiral’s, and it showed that there was great interest in David’s sightings and his prediction calendar. David found my address in section 4 of the Encyclopedia of Associations at the USA Embassy, London. There is nothing odd, only things that man doesn’t understand, and there is no ending to time. It stretches on to the coming millennium. Deadline for the Winter NEWS is December 31. Odds and Ends Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death 7 Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/

American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Winter 2000 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Here we are in a new millennium. Face on we have met January 1, 2000, and except for some minor glitches, the world did not end. Armageddon wasn’t waiting in the wings to blow up Earth, dump it into non-existence, or swat it into unending nothingness. There were thousands gathered in Jerusalem, and other historic places around the world, waiting for the ‘bell to toll at midnight’, December 3lst. Most of them were praying that the ‘old Earth’ would keep on turning and since it did, may have laid its survival on their prayers and the thousands of others around them, also praying. No problem—positive thoughts and prayers are always welcomed. So, we look ahead now to the coming years and our own years that may be extensive or limited, and the years that stretch ahead into unknown centuries, millennium(s). Where will we be 5 years, 10 years, a hundred years, a thousand years from now? No one can say for certain. Perhaps that is for the best. Some might like to know what the future holds, but most people, especially the older and hopefully wiser ones feel it’s good we don’t really know what is around the corner. At times the other side seems to know what is going to happen, so I asked once while taping: “How do you

know what the future holds?” A clear, Class A voice replied: “We look down at it” That, if you think about it, is a significant message. There is the theory that the past, present and future are all one. In other words there is no such thing as time. I don’t accept completely that everything is going on at once, but the above message does tend to reinforce it. Gifted mediums are often able to say correctly what is going to happen in the near future. Will we be back here in the year 3,000 celebrating the new millennium? If you believe in reincarnation you may think that’s a possibility. What will we find? A different kind of world with unimaginable inventions, different kinds of world governments, medicines, transportation? Will space travel be available for a few dollars, for those who want to go beyond to the moon, Mars, wherever? Will the physical body of man look the same, or might we look even a little different? That’s doubtful. What about evolution? Look at pictures drawn by cave men. Do we look very differently, physically? Not really. We stand a little taller, we’ve lost some of our hair, but basically we’re still the same. How about the world itself? Yes, that is where evolution takes place, constantly, for better or worse. There is a Buddhist prayer that goes: “I will become enlightened for the sake of all living things.” Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic philosopher, writer and Emperor of Rome (161-180

AD) wrote: “Everything that exists is in a way the seed of what will be.” Then, Carl Jung wrote that he felt it was important to be sure that we did not stand at the end with empty hands. I accept completely all of these beliefs. In other words, the evolution of the future lies solely with us, as those in ages past brought us to the evolution of today. What we take to the ‘bridge’, as time here ends for us, will determine which way evolution will go. Have we shown love and compassion? Have we given joy and understanding? Have we been unselfish in sharing what we have to those in need? Is the latchstring to our heart always out? About 30 years ago I wrote a book titled The Season of Being. It was a philosophical book, on 60 subjects and covered 60 pages. Quoting briefly from the subject: ‘Time’, I wrote: “Time cannot be controlled, it is ungovernable, the freest thing of earth it will never be mastered... We must decide for ourselves how time is to be spent. With it we can walk through Dante’s hells or touch the stars of the spirit.” Let us never give up as we continue reaching for the stars. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Most Significant Messages Received A number of people wrote to me after reading the autumn newsletter, and said how impressed they were. They liked what I said in

the editorial (including NBC) and the three messages I mentioned as being some of the most meaningful contacts that I have taped over the last 23 years. I thought that perhaps some of our members and friends would also like to share with you/me what they regarded as their outstanding messages. Going alphabetically, we read: Lloyd Bradshaw, NJ, wrote: “It seems the spirits know our limitations and capabilities better than we do. They know I like taping and photographing them, but what pushed me toward more photo efforts was a question and answer session I had with them. One time I set up my Akai reel to reel with a sound source and I asked: ‘What am I better at, audio or photo?’ I did it three days in a row before they finally answered, in a nearly Class A voice: “FO-TOE!” Lloyd is successful in taping as well as photos, but he stays mainly with their suggestions and has received outstanding photographs of spirit. Jackie Colligan, NV, wrote: “I have selected some voice messages (out of many) that are mind provoking. “Our life’s much different than Earthlings” When Jackie first started to tape, she said she didn’t want to do it if it was a sin. A male voice replied: “Our Lord is gonna bless you.” Another time she asked if they see people leaving their bodies. A female voice answered: “I do.” Once Jackie told a contact they were ‘dead in the flesh.’ A male voice asked: “How

are we dead?” Jacques Blanc-Garin, France replied to my letter with: “In 1988, my wife Annick took wing for the other world. Some months after, by time of snow and black ice, my car started slipping. It went over the protective rail and my car was completely out of use, but I came out not knowing how that was possible. “Much later, my good friend Monique Laage, called Genevieve, a friend, on the phone to tell her about my accident. This friend had been working in EVP for some time, and she was recording during the phone call from Monique. Genevieve told Monique, ‘it’s a small miracle that Jacques didn’t get hurt.’ After the phone call ended, Genevieve listened to the taping she’d made during the call, and a very clear woman’s voice said: “But Monique, I was there.” Jacques commented in his letter, that was the miracle. He listened to the tape, and ‘perfectly recognized the voice and intonations of my deceased wife Annick.’ Annick had been there and succeeded in protecting him during the accident Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, replied to my query with: “I consider even one whisper a miracle by the fact that it comes from a dead person. However, if I have to choose, I’d choose the following. It was the first lengthy message I received and came through shortly after I began taping, and was from my husband, Tom.” “After I died at Walter Reed I awakened. I looked around for you and

Barbara and you were not there. Then they took me to Pathology where they did research on me. You think of our beautiful life together. Don’t look back. Nothing has changed: It isn’t over yet.” In the same letter, Clara wrote the following would be her second choice, but was very dear to her because it came from her sister Elsa. Ten minutes after she’d finished taping, a call came from her brother- in-law, telling her that Elsa had died. When she played the recording back she heard Elsa’s voice speaking to her. The message was: “I sit beside you little sister. I see you writing with a pencil. The body has gone to the funeral.” Dan McKee, IL & FL State Coordinator, sent me a number of messages that he feels are most significant. Some of them are: “Our Team is down there. They are real people. Help you living down there.” “We walk the Earth as you, once the life is through.” “Heal yourself I am yours.” “I know as fast as you say it, we think of it” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 2 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, wrote: “I know many scientists don’t believe in the reality of ITC (taped voices, and instrumental transcommunication) because they say that we experimenters don’t work under laboratory control. I feel very disappointed with that, but have to admit I agree. Then, my friend, Zilda called and said she’d had a contact from her

husband (who was an experimenter also) and had died a few months before. We had his voice on tape, before his death, and then after death, in the contact he’d made with his wife Zilda. We sent both voices (dead/alive) to a laboratory for analysis and they came back the same! We now have proof the voices really do speak to us from other dimensions!” Monique Simonet, France, wrote that she observed her 20th anniversary working in the field of ITC, on April 4, 1999. She has received so many contacts over the years that it was difficult for her to choose one that was very significant. However, she included the following. “Once I made contact for Claudia, a woman who lost her husband. She loved him and was very sad. Raymond, her husband, had died when he was fifty, and had not been a very good man—in fact he was a perverted person. Still, Claudia loved him. As soon as I called on him, he was with us. He said clearly: ‘I was waiting for your call.’ After that he said: ‘I love you; please forgive me. I am waiting here for you.’ After these messages, he was quiet, and another voice came in and said: ‘Contact ended. Pray for him.’ Monique wrote that she didn’t know when she made the taping that Raymond had been so bad, but when the messages came through, Claudia started crying and then explained what her husband had been like. Recently, Claudia had

a vivid dream about him and he told her in his dream that he was cured, and was in a sort of paradise singing with children. Monique also mentioned in her letter that she’d received many messages telling her she should: “Write a book.” Since the message was received 15 years ago, Monqiue has written 8 books, all of them very popular in France. She also is responsible for finding a French publisher for my book: Voices of Eternity (Du Rocher, Paris), one of her publishers. My deepest appreciation to everyone who took the time to share with us, what holds deep meaning for them in the years they have been taping. How About You? On a number of membership renewals, members check the box: “Am a regular taper taping at least once a week.” Wonderful! Only rarely does someone say just what (s)he are taping, so I often wonder about that. If you would like to share with our readers, one or two of the messages you have received that you feel are most significant, please send them to me. I can’t promise to use everything that comes, but I’ll use as much as possible, and publish them in the spring newsletter. Apparition Visit from An Aunt Grace, a wonderful, intelligent woman comes and cleans my house several times a month. She is well aware of what I do, but because of her religious background she has mixed feelings about talking to spirits. Grace has shared with me several

things that have happened to her and it shows (which she admits) that she has special precognitive gifts. Several weeks ago, she was here, and told me that six months earlier, when she was in my office cleaning, she came face to face with her beloved aunt, Edith. The two of them had been very close, although they lived in different states. “I didn’t know what to think”, Grace said. “It kind of scared me, and then in two or three seconds, Aunt Edith just disappeared.” The next day, Edith’s husband called Grace and said her aunt had died at 2:30 the afternoon before. That was the exact time Grace had seen her, because she looked at the wall clock hanging above my desk. Grace and Edith had their encounter in the corner of my office, with Edith standing right in front of my tape recorder. I told Grace her gift for being able to see this, was a gift from God, and I hoped she sent Edith her love and prayed for her. Grace assured me she had, and now feels much better about contacts from spirits. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 3 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Automatic Writing As most of you know, I prefer objective evidence for survival over subjective. There are different kinds of subjective evidence, some stronger than others, like Grace’s visit from her aunt. I don’t dismiss subjective evidence, but give it extra thought—accepting it more or less. Hans Heckmann, PA

AA-EVP member, recently sent me a translated portion from the German Journal: “Transkommunication”, a semi-annual publication published by AA-EVP member, Dr. Ernst Senkowski. In it he quotes from the automatic writing contacts that Dr. Vladimir Delavre, his co-pubisher, has had with Aaron, who reports from the viewpoint of his sphere of life, which he describes as a “matrix level.” Writing through Dr. Delavre he discusses mankind’s possibilities in their process of learning, and says it will lead men from their material restriction to an understanding and total integration with a multiple existence. Aaron discusses transcommunication equipment, which should hold special interest for our readers. Unfortunately, the 8 pages are too long to go into any depth here, but quoting briefly from it, he talks about how the ‘mental influence’ on the basic fundamental system leads to a change of all known physical fields and their actions. Among external factors of electronic communication of modulation are light, sound magnetism and electricity. Included with this are also feelings and passions, to be absorbed with spiritual things and the blocking of all “Signals of the first kind” such as openly perceptible signals. “Singles of the second kind” are another aspect. In this Aaron says they are known as physical fields, which as a rule cannot be perceived by us, with the possible exception of gravitation, but we have not yet learned to turn it into signals. Further comments in his paper fall within this category. “Signals of the third kind” are of a

purely spiritual nature and are being emitted by the so-called living, the so-called dead and by much more which you consider inanimate matter. Aaron says these signals permeate us constantly. I have quoted just part from the first page of this fascinating paper. If you would like to receive the entire 8 pages, please send me a self-addressed stamped envelope, and I will mail a copy to you. Coincidence/Synchronism “The reality of the universe must be nonlocal; in other words, all objects and events in the cosmos are inter-connected with one another and respond to one another’s changes of state.” (Bell’s theorem, Irish physicist in 1965). Does synchronism indicate survival? In some cases it may, but it does show that someone, somewhere, is aware of us as an individual. It knows our concerns, our needs, and frequently steps in, taking a physical action to help us. All of us experience synchronism frequently. The pity is that we seldom recognize it for what it is. It has always been dear to my heart. It proves to me that I, that everyone, are not isolated motes of dust swirling alone in the vast cosmos. Carl Jung, mentioned on page 1, and one of the pioneers of psychiatric research, described synchronism as a meaningful coincidence in which two otherwise unrelated events are linked inexplicably to one another There have been dozens of these incidences that remain in my mind, even after many years. Two of them happened during Christmas week. My son, Bob,

is very fond of candy Clark Bars that are almost impossible to find in the Annapolis area. I’d looked everywhere futilely for several weeks, so I could put a few into his Christmas stocking. Then I stopped at the gasoline station at the foot of the hill, a station I’ve visited at least 50 times in the last two years without a problem. On December 23rd, it refused to accept my credit card. The attendant told me I’d have to bring it inside, get it checked, before I could fill up. I did, and as I was leaving, looked at the shelves of food they also sell. There was a huge box of Clark Bars. Needless to say, Bob’s stocking was filled with them. I’m sure skeptics will say it was a coincidence, but I can’t help but think the invisibles knew of my frustrated search, and how I wanted to make Bob smile, when he found them in his stocking. In order to do this they had to make my credit card inoperable for the first time. In my stops at the same station since then, there have been no problems. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 4 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena The other recent event took place Christmas day about two hours before my family arrived. I was sitting in my office quietly thinking about Christmases past and looking at the pictures on my walls, especially the ones I took on my first visit to Egypt.

During the two weeks I was there, with tour leader Lynn Gardner and my daughter, Becky, I taped over 100 messages on my small portable tape recorder. In a Coptic Christian cemetery, dating back almost 2,000 years, I had one of the greatest experiences of peace I have ever felt in my life. I didn’t want to leave, and Becky almost had to drag me onto the bus. Later that evening I discovered that when I had taped in one of the partially destroyed tombs, a clear Class A female voice told me: “I buried you.” The picture of that tomb is on my office wall, and I frequently glance at it. I then left my office and continued preparing for the arrival of my family. About twenty minutes later, I heard a loud crash coming from my office. Going in there, I discovered the undamaged picture of the tomb lying on the carpet. Its position was strange. In falling, it had somehow avoided the other two Egyptian pictures hanging with it, as well as the file cabinet, below all of them. It had ‘spun’ out avoiding everything, and landed with its loud noise about three feet away on a thick padded carpet. Never before had there been a problem with any of the pictures. When Bob came later, he checked it out carefully, and the hanger was in perfect condition. He re-hung it, and there it hangs. What caused it to crash? Some will say it was my psychokinetic

energies that caused it. Perhaps, but if so, they took a rather long time to become activated and besides, I have never felt especially gifted in that area. My thought is that ‘someone’ somewhere, knowing how I feel, wanted to let me know they are with me regardless of time and space. TV Experiment In Jacques Blanc-Garin’s letter mentioned on page 2, he wrote about an experiment he’d done for TV. He wrote: “We recently made this for a broadcast for TV, and a mother spoke to her deceased son and asked: ‘Can you say something for your girl?’ We received the following answer, ‘My girl, I will help you in your life.’ “No one thought that this message could be important, and yet when the mother told her daughter about the message her brother had given, she immediately understood its meaning. It is in the last verse of a song a well-known French singer, had sung a long time ago, and the girl’s father had often sung it to her when she was younger. The final line sung by the ‘hero’ of the song came after he died, and it was: “My girl, I will help you in your life.” Interesting Web Sites to Visit More and more people are buying computers and more and more individuals are then starting web sites. This includes our AA-EVP members. Going alphabetically, as usual, these are some of them. Tom and Lisa Butler, NM have just begun one and it is excellent.

I don’t have much time to surf the Internet, but I have visited their site several times. They offer information about EVP, metaphysical training resources, and you can down load books and essays by Tom. Pascal Jouini, France, has an excellent site also, that offers spirit photographs, taped messages, explanations about how he is able to have TV contact and so on. Fortunately, you will be able to read most of the articles posted in English. Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, has had her site in operation for some time. I read about her site, when I’m visiting other sites, and it is always recommended as a place to visit. There is much to fascinate everyone, such as spirit photographs, taped messages, and many comments from Sonia. Victor Zammit, Australia, has an extremely busy site. In a recent letter from him, he said: “I get thousands of hits a week, from people around the world.” I’ve also seen it mentioned on various other web sites. That, in itself, tells us it’s a good place to visit Address: http://www.victorzammit.com Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 5 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Do you have a web site that you would like mentioned? If so, please let me know, and also tell me something about it. Can’t promise, but I’ll try to mention at least some of them in the next newsletter. A Bit Of This. A Bit of That Now a person can make their mark on the ultimate personal statement: death.

Gone are the days of the somber, wooden coffin. A Dallas company called WhiteLight offers the “Art Casket”, which is a casket specially designed for you or the one you love. The company spokesman claims they have sold over 200 caskets in less than a year and said: “Nobody’s life was a blank. This is the last opportunity to make a final statement” In a personal letter from Vanderlei Marques, President of the United States Spiritist Council, he wrote that their yearly conference would be held in Miami, FL from October 5-8th. The central theme of the Congress will be “Spiritism: Science, Philosophy and Religion.” They are inviting “renowned spiritist lecturers who will speak about topics originating from these themes, and are of interest to all of us.” If you would like more information and a complete program for the upcoming conference, write to United States Spiritist Council-P.O. Box 14026-Washington, D.C. 20044. Thanks to Dan McKee for informing me that the AA EVP and I are listed in Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experiences by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. You’ll find us on pages 179 &180. Dan bought the book but it’s also probably in local libraries. Haven’t had time to look me up, but I will one of these days. Dan said the Association (and I) follow Mary Baker Eddy, in sequence. She’s an interesting person to follow... Tapers Report Edna Drake, Canada, wrote that she still finds time to tape and uses a wire connected to ELF. Also

uses a diode that her husband Jim built for her, short wave radio, crystals, and a mirror. Recently she taped two voices, when no one was around, that sounded like two children. Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, wrote that a good friend had died recently. He knew about her taping, and they agreed that he’d try to speak to her once he passed on. Carol wrote: “I’ve had whispers, such as: ‘I’m over here.’ ‘Still living!’ ‘I’m very happy!’” Tina Laurent, Wales, continues to have many contacts. Some are: “There’s steady contact” “Keep your faith.” “We’re heading for perfection.” “A call from heaven.” In her Christmas card, Gerda Slater, FL, wrote: “I am still taping often, getting good messages.” Geoffrey Tilga, NY, wrote that he’d gone to the Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY, and taped in front of a 19-century mausoleum. He asked for someone to speak. The ‘haughty’ answer came back: “I do not answer.” Bill Weber, FL, wrote that he’d tried to have contact with victims of the Egypt Air crash. He said: “A bass tone is heard and a male voice says: ‘Egypt Air.’ A minute later, another male voice is heard saying something like ‘Jose’ but not quite.” He thinks it may be an Egyptian word. News from And About Members Jackie Colligan & Michele Hardison, NV, were interviewed for sixty minutes by the local Pahrump TV station on October 14th. They played taped voices and showed spirit photographs. It was an excellent show. The

AA-EVP was mentioned several times. Gerry Connelly, England, sent a note with his membership renewal, that he’d had several articles about EVP published in various British magazines. Eli Feldman continues to send me frequent, appreciated articles about survival found in various tabloids. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 6 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena ‘John’ of CA, sent me a clipping from the November 16th Sun tabloid. The topic was: “New Proof There’s Life After Death!” The article focuses on Robin Foy and his Scole group in England, and contacts they have had through their tape recorders with the unseen. I met Robin at the Psychotronics Conference in Columbus, OH last summer. Dale Kaczmarek, IL, was seen on the Discovery Channel January 5th. The work focused on the objective research his team of ghost-hunters are involved in as they investigate possible haunted homes. The show was outstanding. Dale is the president and co-founder of the Ghost Research Society. Siyoh Tomiyama, Japan, wrote that although he’s not a taper, he’s a “spreader”. He writes many articles about the phenomena of EVP (or EDP (Electronic Disturbance Phenomena). He has also placed me on his web site, with my picture and voice samples. NBC Web Site: “The Others” Several months ago, NBC, located at Rockefeller Center, NY, called. They’d heard about me, and said they were starting a new web site. It is to reinforce Steven Spielberg’s weekly show called, “The Others” that will begin airing in February. Basically, it will focus

on contacts the stars of the show have with ‘others’ in different dimensions. At their request, I sent them the first page of the autumn newsletter, and a demonstration tape. Part of my editorial, and some of the voice samples from the tape I sent, are now on the site. When Spielberg’s show begins airing, viewers will be encouraged to bring the website up on their computers. New Computer-New E-mail On November 5th, I bought a new computer, and also got a new e-mail address. Still a bit of a struggle, and it seems to love to crash. Guess I should look for a crash helmet! A Book by George Meek Before his death a little over a year ago, my dear friend, George Meek, completed the book: Enjoy Your Own Funeral. It focuses on logical arguments and evidence of life after death, and then discusses experimental, scientific proof. It also brings out the many contacts George had with his wife, Jeannette, after her death. George, as most of you know, was the developer of Spiricom, and I was greatly honored when he and Jeannette brought it to my home to have me do experiments before he introduced it to the rest of the world. You can order a copy of the book— $16.95 plus shipping and handling, by calling Galde Press, Inc., at: 1-800-777-3454. Fax 612-891-6091. Write: Galde Press, Inc.-P.O. Box 460-Lakeville, MN 55044. It is a book I know many of you will treasure. Odds and Ends Many

thanks to all of you who sent Holiday cards, pictures of your family, and even books you’ve written. I hung each one on my office door, and many people read them. Deadline for the spring newsletter is March 31st. Wherever you are a thousand years from now, may you be happy and still reaching for the stars beyond the horizon... Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established in 1982 to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 7 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena A nonprofit corporation dedicated to supporting EVP and ITC researchers and educating the public about these phenomena. Spring 2000 AA-EVP Newsletter From My Viewpoint Winter is over. Spring is here, my favorite time of year. The grass is green, the robins are singing, and I smile when I see my colorful pansies blooming. The short, dark days of winter tend to depress me, but I keep hoping (and expecting) spring will drop from the blue skies in about ninety days. I’ve never been disappointed. As someone said, “Hope is the pass port to a better tomorrow.” Oliver Wendell Homes wrote, “A ship in the harbor is safe but that’s not what ships were made for. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it—but sail we must, and not drift nor lie at anchor.” Those are my sentiments. For many years ‘my’ ship was a somewhat troubled

one, since I believed that when death struck us down there would be no tomorrow. I felt, “This is it. There is nothing ahead but oblivion.” I hid those thoughts—that was the ‘hid den’ side of me, and I continued as a more or less normal person—sailing, sailing, sailing... As most of you know, in October 1976, I changed my path, amazed at what was revealed through a simple tape recorder. “That’s not enough!” I told myself. “I must share what I have learned with others.” So, I did, and the AA-EVP saw the light of day with the publication of the first newsletter in May 1982. That makes us eighteen years old and with the publication of this newsletter, seventy-three newsletters have gone out to the world. Since most newsletters run close to 5,000 words, we can get technical and say that’s over 350,000 words. Not important! What is important, is what do the words say? How much light do they bring to the readers? This question is constantly answered by letters and phone calls. So many of the words are your words, your comments, and your ideas. How much longer will we be on the scene? That’s hard to say. Things do change uphill—downhill, sometimes a smooth, easy road but that tin- fortunately often doesn’t last too long, and there are always bumps here and there. We will see... Letters have come over the years, from distraught, grieving people, about the death of a loved one— mostly human,

but there have been more than a few who lost a beloved pet. I have been able to reassure on both counts. Others write, fearing death is the end, and wanting me to try and convince them that isn’t so. One woman years ago wrote: “Sarah, I am so consumed by fear of death, I can’t do a thing. Can you try to tell me these fears are irrational?” I tried, and she was reassured by me—and from what she read in the newsletters from our members. All of us have choices, many choices, to make as we travel the road, the sea of life from here to there. We can decide to stay with our ship in its harbor, not venturing out of a place where we have found some comfort. Or, we can raise the sails and leave for the open, perhaps stormy seas. On my calendar for the year 2,000, the words of wisdom for March are: “Your attitude almost always determines your altitude in life” Well, yes it does. We can reach for the stars or we can put ‘blinders’ on, more or less through the years of our earth-plane life. The decision is yours. Keep in mind the words for July’s calendar: “Hold to the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” My belief is that we are here in this life to try to make the lives of others better; we are here to

help. I don’t deny that our own life is important, and that we all want, and need, some icing on the cake now and then, but other lives have always been extremely important to me. We are something like the ‘head domino.’ When I touch another life, it in turn touches one, and it... The light in enlightenment starts spreading and reaching into the dark corners of planet Earth. In closing, I will quote the October calendar. “In the midst of change we find the seeds of the future” I suggest we all become busy gardeners. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Most Significant Messages When the Winter Newsletter was mailed the end of January, I asked some of our members to try and send me several of what they regarded as the most significant messages they’d received. Carol Karajohn, MA State Coordinator, in spite of some very serious family health problems, kindly obliged. Quoting from her letter she wrote: “I have to say my three favorites are: When my dad passed away and I first tried to contact him, a man’s voice (not my dad’s) said in a Class A voice, ‘Praise be the dead; the dead didn’t die!’” Carol wrote that in her early taping years, she fell asleep while taping. Upon playback, she heard a very loud clear whisper saying, “Too bad she fell asleep!” Carol feels that was very evidential that it was not her subconscious putting it on tape

as some non-tapers believe. Carol said of course she knew better, but this message offered proof. She wrote that her favorite message was one she received from an AA-EVP member after his death. She’d had a number of letters from Harry before he died, as well as telephone and audio tapes he’d sent her while he was still here. Harry’s wife wrote and told Carol about his death, and the next time she taped, a man’s voice came through and said, “Harry’s gonna be on this evening.” Carol wrote in her letter, “Not wanting to miss that appointment, I taped again that evening. A clear Class A voice which I knew to be Harry’s said excitedly, ‘I’m alive!” She sent a copy of the tape to Harry’s family, and they agreed it was him, and since she has a before death audio tape of him while he was living and now an after-death tape of his voice, she closed her letter by saying: “Same voice! I was thrilled!” Sleep Experiments Carol mentioning the message that had come through when she was asleep, brought to mind a series of sleep experiments I did and which were mentioned in the February 1983 newsletter. I knew as Carol did, that skeptics often claim our mind is psychokinetically putting messages on tape. Of course, this is not true for many reasons. Wanting to prove to myself that the voices could speak whether I was conscious or unconscious, I did four experiments while sleeping. My

portable tape recorder was on my bedside table, connected to a timer, and set to come on at two AM, when I was reasonably sure I’d be asleep. It would tape for thirty minutes and then shut off automatically. In the four nights that I did the experiments, I received a total of thirty-three messages, some Class A. Some of them were: “Help carry,” “Sally,” (close friends call me that), “She is best for him,” “We wait here.” In the February newsletter, I suggested members might like to try the same thing. Four did, and each reported results. In my own messages, as well as those received by others, the male and female invisibles showed an awareness of us lying asleep in our beds. They are around us at all times. Their messages showed that there was more than one entity, and they were talking among themselves. As I’ve said upon more than one occasion, it is as if we are eaves droppers at the gate to eternity. Many people tell me, “I’d tape, Sarah, if I could just find the time.” “No problem,” I tell them. “You can tape while you are asleep.” Some of you might like to try sleep experiments. Please let me know your results, so I can publish them in a future newsletter. A Letter from Fried rich Jürgenson In March a letter came from Luise Fuchs, Germany, a charter member of AA-EVP, having joined us in October 1982. She was our first member from

another country and I had the pleasure of meeting her at the international conference held in Basel, Switzerland in the autumn of 1989, in which I took part. We kept a translator busy, as we chatted back and forth on Sun day morning. Luise has long been an outstanding ta per and receives many good pictures through her television. Luise wrote in her letter that she started taping in 1977, but had written to Jürgenson in 1979, asking if she could come and learn more about transcommunication from him since he was known around the Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 2 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena world as the pioneer in taped voice phenomena. He gave her permission, and she stayed in Sweden studying with him for a while. Luise sent me a copy of one of his letters he mailed to her after her visit, and since it was in German, translated it for me. One of his statements was: “When you start taping, it is not only necessary to learn to listen but to adapt an attitude of sincerity, self-awareness and alertness.” Jürgenson felt a person needed to transform his entire way of thinking and feeling and that it required his utmost attention and energy. Luise wrote, “I believe that this still applies today and I consider this approach as important and essential as Jürgenson did. I feel that someone who does TC needs to have such an attitude or else he/she will not be able

to establish a decent bridge to the spiritual world.” At the close of her letter, Luise wrote she has very fond memories of her time in Sweden. She said that Jürgenson encouraged all participants of the training period and supported us in our efforts to learn more. A Visit to Another Dimension Jackie Colligan, NV AA-EVP member, wrote about an experience that she had some years ago, while she was supposedly asleep. Quoting from her letter, Jackie wrote, “One night in the 1980s, I suddenly found myself in a light green room. The lighting was dim and there were plain benches along all four sides of the wall, filled with people. They were of all ages and sitting quietly but there were no children. There was one regular size door that opened to another building, and when my name was called, I was told to go to the next room. When I did, I was shocked to see that there was at least a foot or more distance of black space separating the rooms. I could see molecules and I instantly knew we were in space. I was scared about stepping over this space, thinking if I did, I would be lost forever. However, it was almost as if I had no choice, and it seemed to me that space was there to test us as to whether we would be afraid to make the step. So, I made the step and entered the next building, which consisted of two

green rooms. There was a woman sitting at a desk covered with files and also more benches with people sitting and waiting. A woman looked at what I guess was my file and said, ‘You can’t come over.’ I knew she meant I had to return to earth even though I wanted to stay, but not in the green rooms of course. I told her, ‘I want to come over now.’ She replied, ‘You can’t because you still have responsibilities.’ That quickly it was over and I lay in bed thinking over what had happened. It was so vivid that it seems like yesterday. The dream/visitation helped change my life and resulted in many positive affects in my life as well as the lives of my children and husband. I have come to the conclusion that we all have a certain time to pass over to the Other Side and then continue living forever without the fear of death stalking us.” A Joint Experiment Jacques Blanc-Garin, of France and Sonia Rinaldi, of Brazil tried a joint experiment. Both of their large groups held a meeting at the same time—Jacques group in France and Sonia’s group in Brazil. They wanted to see if some of the messages that came through their tape recorders would mention the other group that was also meeting. Both groups received many messages. Jacques held a question and answer session, and some of his questions were: “Dear friends, can you contact us in the same time that

our Brazilian colleagues are meeting?” “Here is Landell Big hope. Hooray for France.” (Sonia has heard many times from an unseen entity whose name is Landell). “Can you send us a beautiful message?” “There is peace here.” “Are there French spirit friends in your group? If yes, what are their names?” “Calling from French (Thibault)? That is beautiful here, it is normal I help you my dears.” “We feel better.” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 3 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena “Can you deliver a ‘crossing’ message for us and for our Brazilian col leagues?” “(We have)? To love together oil the time. Finished (near)? you.” “Together big kiss.” Do You Hear What I Hear? Ever since I bought my new computer at the beginning of November, I’ve heard a strange voice shouting at me, each time I click the ‘Sign Off’ icon. It’s always the same—same voice, same message. Let me hasten to assure you, I know it’s not an un seen entity speaking from Heaven, or some other dimension. I’m not the only person who hears it— there have been several others. What I wonder is if the computer manufacturer ‘built in’ a special psychological message, for all (or at least most) of us to hear subconsciously? I’ve read more than once, that producers of audio ads often do this to encourage their listeners to do something that will benefit the manufacturer. Since I’m accustomed to listening to invisible voices, I swear I hear it. I

won’t tell you in this newsletter what the two words are, but I ask you to listen carefully to your computer when you turn it off. If you hear anything, please let me know what they say, as well as the make of your computer. Stay tuned! I may report this in the next newsletter! Phone line to tape recorder interface Jeff King, New Zealand AA-EVP member, has always been very busy in research and development, trying to make contact with other dimensions easier for both here and there. The above diagram is one of the newest areas of his R/D. Jeff is very generous in sharing his ideas with others and happy when those who become aware of them try them out to see how well they work. The diagram shown is the one he sent to me the middle of March. He mentioned earlier newsletters in which I wrote about Sonia Rinaldi’s experiments with the telephone, and then my own which brought outstanding success. Quoting from his letter, he wrote: “I feel a different use for a telephone has great merit. To this end, I have a couple of older telephones connected up on a simulated local network to do some experiments. I feel that the use of two telephones may provide advantage over a single unit for the purposes of EVP reception, as there is a circulating interaction of simultaneous audio cur rents between the two units. In my setup, I am not using the phone network,

but a local power supply to energize the phones. Also, the use of the older rotary dial models may be preferable over the newer push-button dialing ones. In regards to the connection of the telephone to tape recorder, or computer soundcard, I have attached to this a Word 97 document that I have created for an interface circuit. This will allow the connection of phone (and phone line) to the recorder or computer for recording purposes. The device connects directly to the phone connection wiring, with the output having a mic (or soundcard) audio plug via shielded cable.” After reading the above, which he sent to me e-mail, I had several questions. He promptly replied and said that “the telephones are used as a modified form of microphone, so are for receiving voices as per the standard mic connection. A faint back ground sound may be useful. I recommend the older version of telephone for several reasons, one reason being due to them having the older carbon mic, rather than the more modem electret version.” Circuit Details: Jeff wrote: “The two l00N caps connected to the line are to isolate the line DC from the transformer, preventing any call set-up requests to the phone exchange when the device is connected Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 4 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena (phone exchange will not sense this device). Device connects to red and green wires of phone termination. Do not remove any existing wires at termination. The transformer

provides balanced input to unbalanced output, so the mic plug can be grounded via the recorder. The 100K/4K7 resistors drop the line audio level so to be compatible with normal mic input sensitivities. The two cross connected diodes ensure that any ringing voltages do not damage the tape recorder.” Jeff recommends a metal enclosure to avoid hum pickup. Please let me or Jeff (he’s on the cross-country and e-mail network lists) know if you follow his suggestions and receive results. Then they can be shared with other members. One more note. It is not necessary to have a computer to try using two phones to contact other dimensions. Just a tape recorder is all that is needed. Computer Results I mentioned in the winter newsletter that I had just bought a new computer with many bells and whistles. It was giving me some problems, and I felt I needed to wear a crash helmet. Now we have become better, if not best friends, and the helmet has been placed on a nearby shelf. I started trying to record voices with it and have been reasonably successful. First, I used the sound recorder built into it, and received voices. Sonia Rinaldi was a great help in answering the many questions I had about computer taping. Some of the messages I received through my computer are: “I sit. I sit here.” When I asked for the first time, “Are you here?” Some of the others are: “Hold on Pickford,” (reverse side), “We

will come back,” (forward side). After several weeks, I went to the “Cool Edit” program that had been strongly recommended. It is a marvel, no matter what kind of recording you do, and the results I received improved. The messages became longer and clearer, with more Class A. Most taping mornings resulted in one or more messages. Some of them were: “I know he didn’t still (go) back up.” (Class A-Reverse). “We just stand beside. They going up.” (Class A-Reverse). “So far help her to talk.” (Class A-Forward). “That’s Estep. Bring her in.” (Class A-Forward). None were earth shattering but some were interesting and evidential. One of those was, “Well, she heard. She won’t have inner slept so the words rely on his head” (Class A- Reverse). I had an appointment with the doctor later that morning and had an idea of what my ailment was. I think they meant I hadn’t ‘inner slept’ about my condition, but I should rely on the doctor’s head. I did. He was right, and my idea was incorrect. When doing computer taping, it is very easy to play a recording in reverse. Sonia helped me simplify computer taping, and now anyone who has a computer with a built-in sound recorder can try to contact the other side. Tapers Report A number of tapers have reported contact in the last three months. This is always evidential, in that not just two or three say they are in contact with other dimensions, but a fair

number. Members often tell me, especially in their renewals, they are taping and having results, but as I mentioned in the winter newsletter, they don’t always specify what they are. In an e-mail from Jackie Colligan, she wrote that she had gone to a jailer friend’s home in Las Vegas, who was having a lot of ‘knocking.’ The knocking stopped after they were there, but followed Jackie home to her trailer and there have been several knockings since then, along with her tapings. Art Counts, MD, enclosed a short note with his April renewal and said he tapes at least once every morning. His results are sporadic but often interesting. He wrote, “A couple of days ago a voice came in speaking almost as clearly as someone on the telephone, in a slow, deliberate voice and said, “It’s always there for you.” Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 5 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Clara Laughlin, VA State Coordinator, wrote about a nice message she’d received from somebody who said, “Walk with the Light, Clarissa. You gotta mission lady.” Dan McKee, FL & IN State Coordinator sent me a short tape, which was excellent. Some of the messages were: “On Earth, well that’s what is here.” “Solid become the system.” “Well the survey, our grounds gave and show it.” “The problem is more with the federal” “The Earth is standing. It should be just as I saw.” “You know the Venetian are involved” Al Rauber, a friend in PA,

spends much of his time flying from one country to another on business. Al has done a great deal of taping, and appeared on a number of national television shows. While in London he checked his voice mail (not answering machine) in his hotel room. Just before a client started to speak on it to give him a message about a meeting, a Class A emotionless EVP voice said, “Yes” He wonders if any AA-EVP members have ever received messages on voice mail? Please let me know if you have. Monique Simonet, France, wrote that she’d taped for a woman who had lost her 35-year-old son. She received 26 messages from him, many Class A. He expressed love for his parents, saying how happy he was in his new world, and gave his name clearly. He also gave the correct name for his sister (which Momque didn’t know at the time). The strangest Class A message from him was, “We have Internet...among the angels!” Monique sent all of the messages to his mother, who called a few days later and said how happy she was with her son’s communications. She then told Monqiue that her son had bought a computer shortly before his death, and planned to sign up for Internet. Dale Sizemore, SC, enclosed a letter with his renewal He wrote that he often has messages on his answering machine. His church has a monthly men’s meeting the first Sunday of each month, and the club president always calls

Saturday night to remind the men to come. When Dale isn’t there, the president leaves a message for him. Recently, during a brief gap between his words, an adult female EVP voice said, “He thinks of you.” Another time two different female voices spoke. The first said, before the chairman’s message, “Don’t forget” followed immediately with the second voice that added, “Come if you can.” Dale said the voice giving the second message sounded like the same voice a few weeks earlier that said, “He thinks of you.” Anne Smisko, VA has also received some very interesting messages. Some of those are, “Job for you.” “Get that hobby.” “You’ve been hurt” “I’m not away.” “I’ll help you.” “Don’t give up hope.” Rozella Roberts, CA, wrote that she has shared some of her messages on the radio. News from And About Members Lloyd Bradshaw, NJ, sent me a clipping from the April issue of FATE Magazine. He’d written a piece for the Philadelphia Enquirer about Egyptian Mummies, that he’d researched and then sent it to FATE where it appeared under “I See By the Papers.” Tom Butler, NM, has a new website address. It is:---- Edna Drake, Canada, wrote in her e-mail that in her meditation class she is often shown her sister’s face very clearly. Many times in her dreams they walk together, always having something to do and places to go. Edna closed her letter with, “I wonder if I am living in Two Worlds?” John, CA, wrote he

has taken several classes in dowsing, which he passed with high scores. He is still doing Time Travel Experiments. John described them as, “Wow! What an experience!” Betsy Moyer, VA, wrote she’d just finished reading the French book: A L’Ecoute De L’Au-Dela by Rev. Father Francois Brune & Remy Chauvin (1999). She said Father Brune made a number of thoughtful references about my book, Voices of Eternity, and me. He also refers to Clara Laughlin, who I mentioned in Voices I met Father Brune at the international conference in Switzerland where I took part in several workshops, and we felt a ‘connection’ between us. Philip, MD, wrote how much he enjoyed the winter newsletter. He referred to my mentioning ‘Time’ in “From My Viewpoint”. Philip had readings at one time with a London medium who said that people in Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 6 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena the spirit world saw time differently and couldn’t always distinguish between what had happened and what was about to happen. Exciting news has come from Sonia Rinaldi. She is having Iwo books published this month of April. The most traditional Brazilian publisher, Editora Pensamento, is publishing Sonia’s book: Contatos Interdmiensionais (Interdimensional Contacts) that will include a CD of voices from other dimensions. The other publisher is Editora DPL. The title of the second book is Transcommunicacao- Espiritismo e Ciencia (Transcommunication—Spiritualism and Science). Both publishers will present them at the yearly Book Fair event from April 28 to May

5 This event is attended by 5 million people. We wish Sonia much success with her two books, which, as I told her, will probably become best sellers in South America. If you have any knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish, you might want to contact Sonia and ask how these books can be purchased. Counting Noses With the spring newsletter, I always try to give an update of the AA-EVP. We have members in 39 states, the District of Columbia, and 15 countries. For the 18 year in a row, men outnumber women, with 23 more men than women. CA with 29 members leads in membership. MD is second with 18. We have been happy to add 57 members to our membership list. A Special Note To Our Foreign Members As you know, dues are just $20 a year. Most members in other countries send me a $20 bill, or a check made out to a specific bank in the U.S. Some foreign members, though, send me a postal money order or a check made out in their bank that specifies, “U.S. Funds.” Neither works. My bank charges me $5 to make such a deposit. The AA-EVP is the only organization I know where dues are just $20 a year— they’ve been that for over 15 years, in spite of many rises in cost of printing and postage. The Association is also the only one I know of that doesn’t charge more for foreign members—usually $10 a year extra, because

of added postal expenses. So, I must tell all dear foreign members, in the future I will have to return whatever you send me, unless it is actual U.S. currency or a check made out to a bank in the U.S. Some Bouquets “Just a note to thank you for your persistent efforts through the years” Robert Camburn, PA “Thank you for your devoted work” Ray Dielz, MD “When I think of what vast potential is touched by the AA-EVP, I am awed. Your organization has organized what would undoubtedly, otherwise, be a haphazard effort to make sense of tapings” Charles Gaston, MD “Thank you for your continuing inspiring work in EVP. “Martha Mikova, CA Prodigal members are blessed, however... Blessed are they who promptly renew when their yearly notices come due “No second reminder for us, they say, for in the folds of the AA-EVP we’ll always stay.” Odds and Ends We have done nothing odd the last 18 years. Thanks to you for making it all possible. Deadline for the summer newsletter is June 24 Always my best wishes, Sarah Estep Established in 1982 to Investigate Evidence as a Result of the Electronic Voice That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Contact: atransc.org/contact-atransc/ 7 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Volume 19 Number 2 AA-EVP NEWS Referrals Summer 2000 From Our Viewpoint We were shocked and saddened when Sarah Estep contacted us in May and

told us of her concerns regarding her health and the AA-EVP. She was being advised that she needed to step away from her creation, the AA-EVP. She knew this to be true, but felt a great deal of responsibility to all of us who depended upon the organization for encouragement, information, and a sense of togeth- erness. Had I heard her correctly? She wanted Tom and I to continue the AA-EVP. Sarah Estep, my heroine. Sarah Estep, the person who has changed my life. I knew that all of us who tape, or use the computer, telephone, or video to make contact with those in other dimensions were following in her footsteps, but to try to follow in her footsteps with the Association and newsletter? Tom was immedi- ately eager to take on the challenge. I, on the other hand, had my doubts of life and the AA-EVP without Sarah. During that night and over the next day I heard from those on the other side who said, "the two of you can do this, and we will help. Sarah believes that you can do this." Was it just by chance that the Spring 2000 newsletter was on my desk? There it was, Sarah's words on the front page: "All of us have choices, many choices, to make as we travel the road, the sea of life from here to there. We can decide to stay with our ship in its harbor, not venturing out of a place where we

have found some comfort. Or, we can raise the sails and leave for the open, perhaps stormy seas." She had quoted Oliver Wendell Homes who wrote, "A ship in the harbor is safe but that's not what ships were made for . . .." I have been much more adventurous since an experience I had 10 years ago. I had always been an avid reader and had used visualization and positive thinking to change my life in what seemed like impossible ways. But, I also felt that psychic ability, phenomena, or paranormal experiences were for those who had that talent. I loved reading about such things, but I was not a participant in any of them. I am not sure how "Voices of Eternity" by Sarah Estep came into my hands. You all have read things that ring true to your heart; "Voices" was like this for me. I was sure that what Sarah said was fact and that voices from the other side could be recorded. It is obvious to me how far I have come as I look back at that time. Ten years ago seems like an eternity now and I am amazed at how much I have changed. It took me a year to brave recording. Why? I must admit that I was afraid. Yes, there I have said it. I was afraid that I would invite some mean spirit into my home. What made me brave enough to sail out of the harbor? I don't

remember now, but I did. I had an old reel to reel recorder and I bought myself a decent microphone. I used what Sarah had written about how to record and set sail on a path that changed me in more ways than I can count. I set a game plan. I would record at the same time each evening. I began on a Thursday evening. For two evenings I recorded for a couple of minutes and then listened back intently, but heard nothing. On Saturday morning, my day off from work, I woke up from a dream in which I had been urged to gather the crystals I had around the house and place them around the recording equipment. I went about my chores but had a nagging urge to get the crystals. Finally I stopped what I was doing, gathered the crystals up and took them to my recording area. At 7 p.m. that evening I made my third attempt at recording the voices from eternity. I put on my headphones and started listening back. Did I hear something? I was in total shock. There it was, a voice that said, "crystals help." The marvel of it, the total awe! I can honestly say I got little sleep that night and not much for the next couple of nights. Words can not express what those two little words did to my mind, my life, and my future. There have been many tapes, and many voices from eternity since

that first night Did the crystals help me that night, or was it just a word that those in spirit knew I might hear? I do not know. I continue to use the crystals, but Continued Page 2 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2000 From Our Viewpoint (Continued from Page 1) have had my good recording nights and my bad ones. We all learn that there is much more involved in hearing from our spirit friends, and that is the reason for this newsletter. Through it, we hope to learn from others about ways to improve our recordings. How do you thank someone like Sarah Estep? Every member of the Association who has shown their support with continued membership, articles, ideas, offers to help and words of encouragement, is saying thank you Sarah for founding the AA-EVP. We hope, on our part, that by sailing out of yet another safe harbor and continuing the association and newsletter we are saying thank you as well. LB Dan McKee's Transition May 31, 2000, we received a letter from Sarah Estep that she had received a note from Betty McKee saying, "Dan went to sleep Monday evening May 22 at 9:00 p.m. with me holding his hand." Sarah went on to say that, "Dan had been bat- tling cancer for over two years and knew the end wasn't far away.

We had been friends for over 20 years, and he joined the AA-EVP as soon as it was formed so was a charter member. Dan had begun taping in the early '70s and had been taping a year or two longer than I. Of all the tapers in the U.S. I'd say Dan was the very best, and even continued taping up until several months before his death. His voices were very unique, talks between one or more of the unseen talking between themselves, many times appearing to be unaware of Dan. . . . He had many contacts with spirit, but often they were from other dimensions. The voices were extremely loud, and clear--the majority Class A. Also, they always spoke on the reverse side of his tapes (although he said he at times listened to the forward sides and would hear messages there also--but not nearly as many as on the wrong side of tapes.) "I always mentioned him, and the messages he sent me in each AA-EVP NEWS. All members were familiar with his work, some knew him personally, and although they will feel saddened by his passing, they will want to know he's no longer with us. "He was my dear friend--took part in all three conferences I held, and always played a demonstra- tion tape." Sarah Dan will be greatly missed, but we hope that he will be equally as active in EVP on the other side. Crowd Noise Babble Tape Over a year ago

we exchanged E-mails with Sonia Rinaldi, an AA-EVP member from Brazil, regarding taping. She mentioned that our friends on the other side like to use the human voice when recording their voices. Sonia suggested making a crowd tape at a party or at some public gathering to use as a background for recording. She said that it was important that no one voice was understandable and that all the voices should be at about the same volume on the tape. We did this and had some interesting results, but we also had a few problems. It was difficult to make the crowd tape without one voice being louder than the others. Because our recordings were of people speaking in English the paranormal voices became questionable as being paranormal or simply coming from the crowd babble tape. The babble tape also became contami- nated with paranormal voices. Finally, we found that hearing the voices, espe- cially Class B voices, was more difficult to do when using the babble recording in comparison to using white noise alone. However, we worked with it and found that playing the babble noise further away from our microphone, and the white noise closer to the microphone, worked well for us. Sonia Rinaldi Comments on Recording Using Crowd Babble and Cool Edit. As most of you know, Sonia Rinaldi is one of Brazil's leaders in EVP (or ITC as it is known in Brazil.) One of our U.S. members asked her several questions about the use of

a babble tape in EVP. Details about how to acquire the babble tape are given in the next article. ------------------------ Q. Member: If the babble noise made of Portu- guese human voices is sent to me in cassette, should Continued Page 3 I record it onto CD? This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 for international members, payable in US currency or by check made to a US bank. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 71 Ext. 105, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901, USA. Email may be addressed to [email protected]. Content of this publication is protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Portions of member correspondence and their names may be published in the newsletters unless otherwise noted by the member. Volume 19, Number 2, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2000 Crowd Babble and Cool Edit Continued from Page 2 A. Sonia: You may do it on CD or leave it as tape. It functions well in both formats. What we ob- served is that after a time, the tape becomes con- taminated by the spirit voices. This made me change from the tape format to CD because it will not get "contaminated." Q. Member: Am I correct that I would play this cassette tape into the microphone connected to my computer sound card, using Cool Edit in recording mode? (See Note 1) A. Sonia: Yes, if you use a babble audio tape, the tape

recorder will be in the function of playing. You will record on the PC. If you put the babble on a CD, you will have to have a CD player beside the microphone, or connect the CD player with a cable to the LINE IN of the PC audio card. In this case, the sound will enter directly inside the PC. Otherwise (and it is better) you will play the CD beside the microphone, close to you and record this in Cool Edit. The spirits like to speak over clear voices. Record for 1 or 2 minutes. During recording you have to ask ques- tions... and then avoid speaking for a time. You may ask short questions such as "Is there anybody listening to me?" Then pause for a few seconds. Then you may want to ask, "Who is listening to me?" Pause. In 2 minutes you may put about 5 or 6 questions, leaving large spaces for them to answer. I usually record for 2 minutes, or until the file being recorded is about 2,000 Kb. (See Note 2) Q. Member: Do I listen to the tape after reversing the Wave file with Cool Edit using Sarah Estep's "reverse tape" method? A. Sonia: Yes, the function of reversing a Wave file is just a click of the editing tool. First you record normally. Than you listen to the whole file in the "normal-mode." Than you select the file by double clicking over the track and press the REVERSE TOOL

in the menu. Q. Member: You said that we have to listen over many times to a recording of the babble noise to find the spirit voices. A. Sonia: Whenever you learn the way the voices speak, you will do this task in about 15 minutes. You do not have to always verify the reverse mode if you do not have time. The normal mode is the most important. When you start listening try to identify words in English, and then carefully select that segment of the file. Then listen to it many times. Then listen to the next portion of the file as you try to identify the words and sentences. ------------------------ Note: if you do not have a babble sound source, Sonia suggests that you may record using 2 or 3 small radios. Try to find stations speaking in foreign languages. Let all of them speak together... but clearly. Don't put them inter-station. Note 1: Cool Edit is at http://www.syntrillium.com/cool.htm Note 2: In Cool Edit, under FILE, select NEW and set the new file at: Sample Rate = 16000, MONO and 8-BIT. This will give you about 2,000 KB for two minutes. Sonia uses 11025, MONO, 16 BIT, but this will give you 2600k for two minutes. You can select and save only the portion of the file you want to keep. Be sure to keep enough sound track before and after the spirit voice to give you a context. Portuguese Language Crowd Babble The sound track provided

by Sonia Rinaldi (discussed above) is available to you in three forms. It is available as a two-minute babble sound track on audio cassette, as an audio CD containing an eighteen minute sound track or on the AA-EVP Egroup web page as a Wave file. You must be registered in the Egroup to access the file. If you order the audio tape, we recommend that you use that tape as a "master" version by making a copy of the tape we send you, and using the copy for your experimentation. Then if that copy be- comes corrupted by spirit voices, you can refresh it from the master. The cassette and the CD are $7.00 each for US addresses or $9.00 each in US funds for Interna- tional. There is no charge for the Egroup Wave file. Please note that we have had mixed results with this sound track. You may not have better results than with white noise. AA-EVP Logo It is always good for a group to have a logo that is symbolic of the group's goals and objectives. We are building a bridge or a gateway between our physical world and the nonphysical world of our unseen friends. Do you have an idea for a logo that would express this and help AA-EVP stand out in a crowd? Please provide artwork for a 1" by 1½" logo as a computer file or a picture that can be scanned into the computer. Also include permission for us to use

it for all AA-EVP applications. We have no prize for the one we select, other than our gratitude. Thanks! Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 2, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2000 Underground antenna to facilitate EVP An AA-EVP member has suggested that an underground antenna may be effective as part of an EVP recording set up. Radio technology is one of the more abstract fields in electronics, however the actual application of the theory can be quite simple. If you are handy with a soldering iron and wire cutter, you will feel comfortable trying this ap- proach to recording. As always, results may vary. In this approach, a radio receiver is equipped with an antenna placed underground, rather than in the air. Yes, this is contrary to common practice, but there is a good reason for us to think this may work. In the member's words: "We hypothesize that the use of the Rogers subsurface antenna system in electronic voices reception experiments will result in the reception of electronic recorded voices from the spiritual realm of superior quality, as compared to the above ground Hertzian antenna configurations currently used. Voices researcher, Dr. Ernst Senkowski of Germany was told by a discarnate teacher, by the name of 'Technician,' that those in the spiritual realms do not use 'Hertzian' waves as their primary form of communication. J. H. Rogers, the principal inventor of the underground

antenna system, and Nikolai Tesla, the scientist who laid the foundations for AM radio, both agreed that the messages received by Rogers over the subsurface antenna system '… are not Hertzian waves…' In conclu- sion, we hypothesize that the use of the Rogers subsurface/underground antenna system for spirit voices reception will result in the reception of superior quality voices because the subsurface antenna is primarily using the 'non Hertzian waves' referred to by the 'Technician' in conversation with Dr. Senkowski." We have placed downloadable files provided by the member at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp on the "Techniques" page: "Underground Antenna." These provide further explanation and instructions for antenna construction and use. The information is extensive, so if you wish to know more, let us know and we will refer you to the member. This approach to signal reception has consider- able potential that can only be unlocked through experimentation. If you are interested in a new approach, look over the material and consider building yourself an underground antenna receiving station. Phone Line Recording Interface Sarah Estep included information contributed by Jeff King about a phone line tape recorder interface in the last issue of the newsletter. Here is some supporting information Jeff sent us concern- ing how best to use the interface. Jeff suggests that, after the circuit is attached to the telephone line, you should take the phone off- hook and wait until dial tone and the line becomes quiet. You may want to provide low-level back- ground noise as in normal

EVP recording. Other- wise, recording with this interface is much the same as normal EVP recording. relay coil 220 ohm 2uF 30V DC supply Phone 1 Phone 2 relay coil 220 ohm 30mA current 2uF 200 ohm resistors adjusted to give 30mA current thro each phone To phone interface Although his circuit includes isolation that will protect both your equipment and the phone line, Jeff offers an alternative to connecting directly into the phone line. The above diagram illustrates a "stand alone" telephone company simulator. The circuit included in the last newsletter would plug into this circuit where it is labeled: "to phone interface." Jeff adds, "The use of two telephones may pro- vide advantage over a single unit for the purposes of EVP reception, as there is a circulating interaction of simultaneous audio currents between the two units, which may aid reception." We will make Jeff's letter available on the Web. Please let us know your results if you try these ideas. And, thanks for the input Jeff! About The AA-EVP Web Page To expand public awareness of EVP, we have set up a draft web site at dreamwater.com/aaevp. Remember, this is a public site. The site content will eventually include infor- mation about AA-EVP, EVP techniques and examples, and numerous links to related sites. Your suggestions as to how we may add to this are always welcome. It will take a little time for us to polish the site's content, but we believe it will be worth the

effort. Please take time to visit the site and watch our construction progress. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 2, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2000 News From and About Our Members (cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi of Brazil has a new book in Portu- guese that comes with a CD of paranormal voices called "Contatos Interdimensionais." The book includes a hundred well-documented cases along with some scientific statements. She has friends in Europe who are trying to publish it in English. Sonia would like to see the book published in the US and we certainly agree with that idea. If any- one has an idea of who may publish such a book please let us know, or contact Sonia via her web site: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/9045/ index.html#english. Sonia hopes to provide us a summary of the book in English and we will publish it in a future newsletter. (cid:1) Richard Busse, IN, wrote, "I record occasionally. I have a great interest in EVP and evidence for survival." (cid:1) Ellen Pugh, WA, noted on her subscription that she has been a supporter of AA-EVP since joining in 1982. (cid:1) The Rev. Rupert Sigurdsson, MA, hosted a seminar, June 24, on reincarnation. It was pre- sented by Peter Ramster, at the Pinpoint of Light Spiritualist Center in Hartford, Maine. He also wrote that he has just completed teaching a semi- nar on EVP. (cid:1) Florence Galassini, IL, wrote "I

practice commu- nication with the unseen forces—my spiritual eyes and ears are developed. Through reading and practice I have unfolded the spiritual gifts. This is a life time devotion. I am happy that me- chanical instruments will duplicate and verify." (cid:1) Grey M. Woodman, M.D., Iowa, wrote that as far as EVP and its evidence for survival, it was al- ready a proven as far as he was concerned. (cid:1) The Rev. Bernard Baker, AZ, wrote that he has started a new organization called "The Congrega- tional Association of Religious Expression" or CARE. (cid:1) Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, noted that she had been recording since 1983, when she first joined Sarah's group. We would like to hear from those of you who record or take spirit pictures. Let us know about the messages you are receiving. Many of you tell us that you are interested in EVP but do not record. Each of us helps in our own way. But remember, your membership helps us to help those who do experiment. Thank you! Tapers Report (cid:1) The Rev. Barbara Thurman, San Francisco Spiritualist Society, wrote that they record every week when they do table tipping. She said that the week before, the table only moved when one person spoke in Italian and another used their limited French. The past week, they once again had some interesting table movement. She will let us know about what they get on their tapes. (cid:1) Keli Adams, PA, sent us a note saying that she

will be visiting a very haunted hotel on June 22 with some people from the Monroe Institute, (Charlottesville, VA, www.monroeinstitute.org). Keli will try recording while she is there. (cid:1) Bill Weber, FL, sent a cassette with some excel- lent Class A voices. He made a tape for a friend whose brother had committed suicide, leaving his parents, wife and child behind. Bill announces himself and calls to the gentleman. He again calls to the man asking for a message. After 10 sec- onds a deep Class A male voice states: "Nobody feels like this. Bye bye". (cid:1) Art Clayton, NV, wrote that he had asked about a beloved cat who had passed on a week earlier. He asked if his pet was all right now and received: "Better!" "All is fine." "She is better." The cat was a female and Art said that he had not mentioned this while taping. (cid:1) Anthony Magness, Scotland, wrote that he has many tapes, some of which were taped in grave- yards and Spiritualist churches. He wrote that he is also able to photograpy spirits and has a large collection of tapes and photos. Juergenson CD Paul Sitar, Canada, sent us a press release and information on the new Juergenson CD. He wrote that he had just bought a copy and that he felt it was a nice, collectable package. It comes in a soft plastic slipcase and includes a jewel-case size booklet and set of larger cards with archival footage of Juergenson and

few of his paintings. The press release states that the CD is assem- bled from the original Uher tapes of his pioneering EVP recordings from the 1960s and 70s, with an English translation and notes of the recordings. The package also contains an extraordinary image of Jurgenson himself appearing on a TV screen the day of his funeral in 1987. Continued on page 6 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 2, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2000 Juergenson CD Continued from page 5 Friedrich Jurgenson [1903-1987], along with Konstantine Raudive, was one of the earliest pioneers of EVP recording. Attempting to record birdsongs in his garden on a tape recorder, Jur- genson found stray voices cutting into the re- cordings. Later he started to recognize some of the voices, including his mother, who used her pet nickname for him. Jurgenson was also a philoso- pher, painter, archaeologist, linguist and singer; court painter to Pope Pius X11, film documentary maker and recording artist. He lived through and witnessed the Russian Revolution, two world wars, the destruction of the old European order and the arrival of the technological age, bridging the gap between times when information was handed down by word of mouth and the modern era of tape recorders and televisions. Information on the CD, and other releases from The Parapsychic Acoustic Research Cooperative [PARC] are available on the PARC web site: http://parc.web.fm Examples of

Recorded Voices Sarah Estep has agreed to continue supplying the audio tapes she has made of class A voices. These are: Audio Tape 1: How to record paranormal voices. How to discover if you have paranormal voices on the reverse side of reel-to-reel tapes. Examples of both forward and reverse voices. 30 minutes Audio Tape 2: Paranormal voices recorded on forward side of tapes. Paranormal voices recorded on reverse side of reel-to-reel tapes. Explains how you can discover if you have similar voices. 30 minutes Audio Tape 3: Voices from Egypt--Egyptian Odyssey Voices. Paranormal voices recorded during trips to Egypt. Over 12 locations: Pyramids, Temples of Abydos, Coptic Tombs, etc. 30 minutes Audio Tape 4: 48 reverse voice messages. None repeated from other tapes. 30 minutes Audio Tape 5: Spirit and Space messages forward and reverse. None repeated from other tapes. 30 minutes All are $6.00 US currency if shipped within the United States or $7.00 US currency or check payable to a US Bank if shipped internationally. Please send mailing information and a check payable to Sarah Estep, 816 Midship Ct., Annapolis MD 21401. Truth of Consequences Yes, our address is a real place. But we thought we should tell you the truth in fear of the conse- quences—just joking. Tom has a degree in elec- tronics engineering and mine is in psychology. We both retired early, sold the house and cars and bought a fifth wheel trailer a few years ago. We travel and are not at any

one address more than six months. We use a wonderful mail forwarding service in Truth or Consequences to get us your mail no matter where we may be, but if you go there you probably won't find us. Membership Logistics The date on the address label for this newsletter is your membership anniversary date. When it is time, we will mail membership renewal forms along with the newsletter issue that is closest to your anniversary date. The form will help us maintain current member information. Thank You Many of you wrote that you would miss Sarah deeply but were glad to see her work continue. We received so many notes with encouraging words, that we just had to say thank you for your support. We would like to say a special thank you to those of you who have sent or emailed information to us. Without you we cannot make it! As this newsletter goes out we start to put together the next one. Don't forget us. Please keep your emails and letters coming. Deadline for submitting information for the fall newsletter is September 1st. About the AA-EVP Egroup The AA-EVP Egroup is an Internet based email management service. The group is closed to the public, in that only registered members are able to send emails, view the database of post emails and access the files. Members have the option of permanently or temporarily removing their name from the list or having messages sent to them once a day. As

a member, you should remember that the messages you send goes to everyone in the group. With this in mind, ask yourself if the group will be interested, or if they can help you by answering a question. In turn, please take time to answer emails if you can contribute. This is your group so have fun. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NewsJournal Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 28 Number 3 Fall 2009 From Our Viewpoint Feedback from members is always important because it helps us understand how well we are doing our job. Our members represent four very different, but we think equal- ly important, areas of interests. The largest group is people who have lost a loved one and seek to find a way to assure themselves the loved one is okay on the other side. For them, the science of EVP is not nearly as important as the ability to make contact with a loved one. Some members are simply interested in what we are doing. In effect, they are subscribing to the NewsJournal as they would to any other special-interest publication. We always try to keep these members in mind by including news about the state of the art in our field. A third group is composed of people who actively study EVP in an effort

to find ways to improve the technology. They try just about every imaginable approach, and in the process, give us important understanding of what works and what does not. This is an important point: science cannot happen without skilled practitioners. Skilled practi- tioners only come from practice, practice, practice. The last and smallest group are the scientists. EVP is a frontier subject, and as such, there are no scientists who have been trained in an academically accredited institution to study EVP. So when we say “scientists,” we mean people who are approaching the study of EVP from an academic viewpoint, but with training in other subjects such as the humanities and the physical sciences. If you have been with us very many years, you will know that we have attempted to support all four groups. We try to word the website in a way that science-minded visitors will feel they are dealing with rational people, and at the same time, we try to include articles in the NewsJournal that give hope and inspiration to people interested only in contacting a loved one. The Sarah Estep Research Fund is our first serious effort to begin initiating research. Meanwhile, we have estab- lished the Etheric Studies website (ethericstudies.org) in an effort to foster a culture of cooperation amongst involved organizations and a habit of critical thinking, in place of the faith-based explanations so prevalent in our field today. Interestingly, the members who have given us the most feedback have been people trying

to contact a loved one. It seems that, whenever we begin to question how well we are leading the AA-EVP, we hear from someone telling us that EVP has helped them and how important the contact is to them. We recently received a very good letter from one of our more academically trained members, commenting on the contrast between anecdotal articles about making contact with loved ones and the more technical ones we include in the NewsJournal. To quote in regards to this dichotomy, “Both constituencies are valid and have a right to be served by the organization, but mixing them together in the same publication not only does not facilitate acceptance of EVP investigations by mainstream science but decidedly works against it.” We have given these comments considerable thought. This field needs the support of academically trained re- searchers, but we also know that mainstream funding orga- nizations are not going to fund our research. It is the person seeking to contact a loved one who has the most to gain by improved techniques for EVP and they are the ones who are funding this research. It is also true that EVP cannot be studied using tech- niques of mainstream science. As we have seen in parapsy- chology, trying to act as if things etheric can be measured as if they were physical simply does not produce the kind of evidence the mainstream public is looking for. We have learned that EVP must be studied from the perspective of

studying how a subjective influence causes an objective effect. The objective (physical) part of EVP can be studied using mainstream science, but the results will be meaning- less if the subjective (etheric) part is not considered. In fact, we feel the AA-EVP NewsJournal reflects that need to consider both parts. Separating them, perhaps with two publications, would also separate people seeking con- tact with a loved one from people who simply want to study the involved processes. Both interest groups need the other to complete the picture. A Technical Article The Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influenc- es article in this issue is an effort to develop a model for how the phenomenal voices might be formed. It is com- plex, and may require a lot of contemplation before it makes sense. To keep it brief, we have left a lot of the detail out, so that will be in a more robust version on the website after we have received a few comments. The assumption of the article is that EVP are the result of a subjective influence producing an objective effect. We know that the entity works with subjective, etheric, concep- tual energy, and here in the physical, we have to work with concrete things. We assume that a physical process is involved and that we can understand what that is. Our thought is that it is time to stop simply talking about these things and to begin modeling what we think may be going on. If we

others can aspire are considered for publication in the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP 45 days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive. Subscription: The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice

Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy. Web Masters: aaevp.com: Tom Butler bigcircle.aaevp.com: Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Martha Copeland Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Advisory Panel: Martin Harris Cindy Heinen Garrett Husveth Ingrid Irwin Edgar Müller Volume 28, Number 3 Page 2 Fall 2009 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Edwina Bentinck Tom and Lisa Butler Tim Klein Sustaining Members Helene Arts Kelly Burge Debra Caruso Dale Hewey Tim Klein Don and Betty Nauratil Howard Reed Mark Tominac Supporters Kelly Burge Stephanie Davisson Jean Estrade Cindy Heinen Chris Kussavage Ginny Sawyer Stephen Siciliano Christopher Stephens Jim Stonier Jayne Thompson Scott Whybra The Felix Physical Séance Circle by K.M. [Editor: this material has been extracted from http://felixcircle.blogspot.com.] In the year 2005, several people founded an experimental circle for séance room phenomena, physical mediumship and spirit communication near Frankfurt, Germany. The group was inspired by the work of R. Foy, K. Batcheldor, J. Neihardt and supported through the findings of S. Braude and R. Pilkington a.m.o. researchers and experimenters; the circle was, from the beginning, prepared for a long-term project. After months of resultless experimenting, the first weird occurrences began taking place... At the end of 2008, one of our trance-personalities, “Rafael Gutmann,” announced there would be a change to a higher-leveled personality. This entity first came through under very unnerving circumstances. The trance induction had changed and was accompanied by heavy hyperventilat- ing and the entrancing ten minutes

were very exhausting for all present. Later the entity explained that energy assim- ilation was the problem. Moreover, the new entity did not want to reveal its name and worked under a pseudonym at the beginning. At this time it only could speak in a very difficult, but interesting manner. It sounded like a radio that loses its signal; the pitch of the voice seemed to increase and decrease in a way, while it was permanently changing its audibility. During this it alternated between fast speech- es in a high-pitched voice with changes to a slower, very deep grumbling voice which was nearly inaudible. This was very interesting to observe. Rafael had already told us that the flamboyant pseudo- nym “Imperator” was disguising an influential German scientist who wanted to work with us but did not want to reveal his identity until it was clear that a transferring of information through the entranced sitter, the medium, was possible. Later we learned that Imperator chose this name, because some of his scholars called him that unofficially. Imperator changed the whole process of sitting that we had used for over four years. He urged us to discuss certain spiritual issues and inspired us with new meditations and visualizations. Moreover he wanted us to reflect on the possibilities of ITC and psychic photography and its possi- bilities and boundaries. He introduced us to a planetary energy used by spirit helpers and instructed us in meditations to communicate with that energy. At the same

time, we applied advice given by Robin Foy and the Scole entities. The trance contents seemed to interact and somehow replenish with these. Then, what many already were expecting; Imperator identified himself as the deceased German icon of parapsy- chology, Professor Hans Bender. He gave us many details from his life, mentioning names, dates, and things that he had done, as well as things that he had ignored during his earth time. He also told us of experiments he was once part of in the nineties regarding the issue that he was passionate about; ITC and EVP. He had been involved in working with Friedrich Jürgenson, Klaus Schreiber, Ernst Senkows- ki, and V. Delavre along with many others. Hans Bender (1907-1991) was in fact part of ITC experiments from both “sides.” He was involved in the nineties when German and Luxembourgian researchers were contacted by him. During these transcommunications, he called himself “Spook- Bender” like he did when he was communicating through our entranced sitter. First picture cropped and enhanced for clarity Bender instructed our group at the beginning of June to begin to try our first experiments. We were urged to gather the no-longer-produced Polaroid 600 model and sufficient film. After much effort and many Euros later we had several Polaroid cameras from different production years as well as fresh film. After this, we sat ready to take pictures and realized that the preparation process seemed to be taking longer than expected. A mirror was requested—large enough to focus

onto it and positioned in such a way as to have a sufficient visible area that reflected the area above the séance table. This area had been mentioned many times in the months beforeas the area where new phenomena should appear! We sat Tuesday the 21st of July with nine out of eleven sitters. We waited to see if Hans Bender wanted to process what he had been planning. For the first ninety minutes, Hans Bender came through quickly and well balanced for the medium, now perfectly assimilated. He greeted those back from holiday, he thanked the others who organized the needed objects and announced that after an enquiry at “the Chemists” (a word signifying a group of spirit helpers he mentioned for the first time), he was instructed to inform us that it was possible to take one photo as long as his instructions were absolutely thoroughly followed. We were instructed to: (cid:143) Choose one sitter besides the circle leader and wake the medium up so that there were three of us involved. (cid:143) Prepare absolute total darkness; if any light touched the outside transported photo, the Chemists’ work would be destroyed. Continued page 4 Page 3 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Felix Circle Continued from page 3 (cid:143) Place the mirror on the séance table in a position where it would reflect the area above the table. (cid:143) Have the medium open the Polaroid camera, so that a green light illuminated the whole photographing process. (cid:143) Position the

chosen sitter beside the photographer who was to take the photograph and to immediately put it into the wooden box and hand it to the Circle Leader, Dr. P.J., who should not let loose of the box until the end of the séance at around 11 p.m. At that time, he would be allowed to open the box to see if the experiment had been successful! So after these instructions, Hans Bender withdrew from the medium and the medium woke up. We were eager to see if it was really possible to get some results. We turned the lights on to organize everything that was requested. We then switched the lights off again and began to talk freely knowing, that the moment the sitter opens the camera (the Polaroid 600 has to be swung-open to be able to take a picture) and the green light appears on it, seconds later the photo will be taken. And so it went! (Although the photog- rapher forgot to close the swung open part after the photo was transported outside and taken by the person with the box, we achieved the first exciting result, especially if we compare it with the two control photos we shot soon after the discovery. (See the picture on the previous page.) Although we can not definitely state what it is, we abso- lutely know that it is not a reflection of anything in the room. We sit in a completely wood-paneled room, and a reflection would have shown

maybe the diagonal wooden ceiling panels but nothing else. The moment the picture was taken, two sitters had inter- esting visual sensations. One of them saw a gray whirly sea out of an unknown substance directly above the mirror, while the other saw, for several seconds, an old man’s face with gray hair and a thin long nose; probably Hans Bender, although she had never seen him before. Both of these women very seldom see anything in the darkened room and never things that aren’t objectively there! What this first picture showed was a mystery to us but we felt that it was similar to the results of other groups and experimenters in psychic photography. Maybe it shows an underwater scene, or a cave scene. Some people see faces, others do not. Is it a work of art or a photo of something natural? Even if we never learn what it is, we are very lucky and highly proud and thankful for being able to show what commitment and disciplined work can bring forward. On August 11, 2009, the group came together again to see what the spirit control team was planning and if further photos could be achieved. Much earlier than normal, the channeling sitter announced he recognized the energy ma- trix of the entity, Hans Bender, the deceased icon of Ger- man Parapsychology.... He began to give very thorough descriptions of what steps we needed to execute in order to receive a successful outcome. First he greeted the

ten sitters who were present and thanked them for being part of the experiments. He explained that in fact, the channeling sitter has no bigger part in the production of the psychic photos and other phenomena than any other attending circle member. The necessity to give highly detailed channeled instruc- tions was the only reason why the sitter’s channeling ef- forts were essential. He explained that it is the trance per se, that opens the access to deeper realms of reality, where it is possible to influence the dimensional matrixes that create the physical realm and enable us to produce physical phenomena. This deeper level is a spiritual level, because the highly complex physical reality is nothing but a mental, a spiritual concept that interacts with our consciousness to create the illusion we live in as long as we are burdened with our physical body. This is why spiritual entities are free of the limitations of time and space.... We were told that there were two loving spirits standing very near to the circle. Hans Bender then went on to reveal the conduct for today’s experiments. This time, four photos were planned by the Chemists. He told us that maybe the spirits who were close would be able to display themselves somehow in the photographs. Next, we were instructed for over twenty minutes on how to achieve positive results: (cid:143) Three sitters had to be involved: one photo taker; one who immediately takes the exposed film and stores it into

a wooden box; and, one sitter that guards the box with all photos in it until we are told it is okay to look into it. (cid:143) The photo taker had fifteen minutes, after all preparations were done (placing the mirror on the table, choosing the Polaroid and having the box ready) and the light was extinguished again, to choose when to take the shots … and give them to the adjoining sitter. (cid:143) The photo taker was to open the camera to illuminate the shooting process with the green control light. After ev- erybody saw the photo transported to the outside, the camera had to be closed immediately, avoiding the green light destroying the Chemists preparations. Unfortunately, closing of the camera, the reopening took several seconds to get the green light back on, and only fourteen seconds were allowed. This put us under considerable time pressure that led to the fact that two of four times the photo taker forgot to close the camera before handing the photo to the adjoining sitter with the wooden box. This may be what caused two photos to have no results. (cid:143) Finally, after all photos were stored in the box, it had to be handed to the circle leader, who was to hold the box for exactly thirty-seven minutes in front of his stomach, between the navel and the lap area. We have no idea why, but the spirit entities had their reasons and we followed their directions. Exactly thirty-seven minutes after

the last photo was taken, we left the séance room and lit the bright white light in the corridor to check the outcome. Continued page 5 Volume 28, Number 3 Page 4 The Felix Circle Continued from page 4 “I hope you will forgive us. You unwillingly became part of an experiment by the Chemists who were testing differ- ent densities to bring objects successfully through! I want to say sorry, but you can be sure it is only water. To be exact: 1.0 liters of crystal clear blue, pure water. Is every- body okay again?” The spirit or trance-entity Prof. Hans Bender asked smirking. The sitters, who were sitting in their wet trousers, answered, “Yes, no problem, Hans! We will be dried again soon!” Soon everything was in order again and that evening, Hans Bender came through with an unmistakable presence and charisma that astonished us. For the first time he was so well assimilated with the medium’s body that for nearly an hour we were allowed to ask questions. These were answered with wisdom and humor and we all were deeply impressed. Polaroid photograph showing two faces Above is one of the four photos taken during that session. We have not discovered who the two figures are. We do not even know if these figures are the spirit entities allegedly standing near the sitters’ circle as was mentioned by Hans Bender. On the other hand, the pictures are basically much too cloudy to identify someone without a shadow

of a doubt. Nevertheless three sitters, a mother and her two daughters, felt that they might have an idea who the figures are and they are researching by checking old family pho- tos…. When we discover more, we will let you know. The group met again on August 27th. The group began as usual with a greeting, a prayer and two hypnotic visualiza- tions; all done to optimize the conditions of the group and the surroundings. This was followed by what the group calls “free speech.” Sitters chat, sing and laugh with no restrictions whatsoever on their communication attempts (except for the basic behavior rules, naturally). This phase helps to relax the sitters’ concentrations on personal issues and give subconscious impulses more room! The medium announced that Hans Bender would defi- nitely speak that evening, but at that point, it seemed Hans Bender was unsatisfied somehow and we were requested by the sitter, who at this point was already receiving con- tent from the spirit energy matrix of Bender, to speak with one another or to sing with the music. Then, SPLASH! With a loud splash, like a water balloon, a huge mass of water came down from above the center of the séance table, splattered in all directions and drowned everything, mainly the sitters’ laps and trousers. Water can be seen on mirror and table In the last part of the sitting, Hans Bender was very pragmatic and giving instructions before vanishing. He offered us a new experiment in

psychic photography, but explained that there were certain energetic issues that would cause a failure this time. He recommended that we wait until the following week to work with the psychic photography. [Editor: We have to end with the August 27th sitting due to our print deadline. We look forward to the continued experiments of the Felix Circle and will update you next quarter on their results. We thank them for their hard work and for sharing their results with our members. Please see http://felixcircle.blogspot.com/ for current information on the group.] Media Watch Lisa Butler has been writing a monthly “Media Watch” column for the National Spiritualist Summit magazine since August, 2001. The column contains items in the news that demonstrate the scientific support for paranormal phenomena and survival. All of the columns through 2008 are available at http://renospiritualistchurch.org/. Page 5 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal No Need to “Let Go” of Loved Ones after Death by Michael Tymn Previously published in The Searchlight, June 2009 Dr. Louis LaGrand There is a school of thought among psychologists and grief counselors that the aggrieved person should find closure by “letting go” and getting on with his or her life. Nothing is more wrong, Dr. Louis LaGrand believes. We should be saying hello to our deceased loved ones, not goodbye. a “Of all the misconceptions associated with the grief process, none is more damaging than the idea that mourners must let go of the deceased and find closure,” LaGrand, semi-retired professor, opines. He

agrees, however, that you can hold on “too tightly” to the past and that this can prevent the mourner from rebuilding his or her life in the present. He distinguishes between “love” and “attachment,” pointing out that love is being fully committed to the welfare departed, while attachment is being more concerned with one’s own needs. “In short, mourners should establish a new relationship with the deceased and reinvest in life at the same time,” he offers. the of as known otherwise The author of eight books and numerous articles, LaGrand, who lives in Florida, is known world-wide for his research on the Extraordinary Experiences (EEs) of the bereaved, After-Death Communication or ADC. EEs, LaGrand stresses, are not messages coming through mediums or psychics. Rather they involve such phenomena as seeing apparitions, hearing the deceased person, having a scent of the deceased person, the person’s presence, sometimes even feeling a touch, receiving meaningful symbols and signs, and having vivid dreams about the deceased loved one. intuitively feeling With advanced degrees from Columbia University, the University of Notre Dame and Florida State University, LaGrand is a distinguished service professor emeritus at State University of New York, as well as a certified grief counselor. He gives workshops on grief support and stress reduction in schools, hospices, and health agencies around the United States and abroad. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with him and discuss his years of work with the bereaved and his study of EEs. “The scientific method

does not lend itself well to examining spontaneous events or intuitive faculties,” LaGrand says, “and so these things must necessarily fall under the umbrella of the paranormal, but they should not be brushed aside and ignored because they do not meet scientific criteria, as they bring about healing and expanded consciousness for mourners and give meaning to life.” As LaGrand sees it, the hope generated by EEs and other forms including mediumship and near-death experiences, is the most communication, after-death of Volume 28, Number 3 Page 6 unappreciated virtue in coping with loss and change, especially the death of a loved one. To deal with grief, LaGrand recommends keeping a journal, noting synchronicities and asking yourself what the message is, reading some of the powerful evidence of the spirit world, starting a daily spiritual practice, whether meditating, writing, chanting, or simply taking time out to talk with our loved ones in spirit. believe “Without a doubt,” he responds when asked if believers are more open to accepting the death of a loved one than the “They non-believers. beloved is in a better place, out of pain, and most comforting, that there will be a reunion one day. There will always be a relationship and death cannot take it away. This also implies that they are still loved and have an advocate on the other side.” LaGrand’s interest in dying and death began some 40 years ago when he attended a conference on human ecology along with several of his fellow

educators. On the drive home from the conference, the subject of dying and death was brought up by one of his colleagues. “I realized then how little I knew about the topic and decided I needed a crash course on the subject,” he recalls. “The next semester, I included a short mini-course on the topic in the Human Ecology course and the students loved it. Within the space of a year I was able to get approval for the first full semester course on dying and death to be taught at the college. Of course, this meant I had to do a lot of study and preparation which brought me to joining the Association for Death Education and Counseling. There I learned much over the years from colleagues I befriended.” As for dealing with the dying, especially in hospice work, it would be ideal if all the terminally-ill had the knowledge and conviction of the Spiritualist and LaGrand would be happy if his books, including Love Lives On and After Death Communication: Final Farewells, were more widely available to hospice patients, but the reality is that few hospice administrators and volunteers are prepared to discuss such things. “Hospice philosophy does not push knowledge about an afterlife on its patients,” LaGrand explains. “This does not mean that the topic does not come up. Hospice personnel allow the dying person to take the lead in this regard. Some dying people want to talk about it. Others do not.” As with hospitals, hospices

can differ significantly when it comes to discussing the afterlife, depending on who is in the leadership positions and who is in the trenches, LaGrand points out. “Officially, administrators seem to want to be Continued page 7 Kevin’s Messages Kevin had cancer and no insurance and it was devastating for his family. Thanks to Lorie you can now see Kevin’s story on President Obama’s Healthcare Stories page (http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare/stories/165508) The Spring 2009 NewsJournal in- cluded an article about Lorelei McMorrow’s brother, Kevin, who transitioned in December. Lorie was devastated. She was too dev- astated to record, so she asked for help. Here is an interesting time- line of what happened next. December 8: Kevin crosses. December 9: Lorie sends an email telling us about Kevin’s crossing and asks for help. We posted her request on the Idea Exchange asking members to try to reach him. Kevin December 11: Debbie Caruso received the first message that sounds like, “Lorie, get on the phone. I’m in heaven.” December 12: Teri Daner recorded, “I’m (or Hi) Kevin, Glad to talk. Geoff.” December 13: Margaret Downey asked Kevin if he can talk to Lorie. She recorded “Yeah,” and “Hey Lorie, Cheers, It’s Kevin!” Lorie told us, “It’s interesting how Kevin went to a person on each side of the country and in the middle. Maybe it was his way of showing us what he can do now. He wanted to travel!” December 13: Lorie emailed a picture of herself and Kevin to a friend, but

in her “Sent” folder the subject line had been changed from “Pic of Kevin & Lorie” to “Picture of Fire at Organ Mountain.” When Lorie checked the date of the fire she found that it occurred on June 14th, the same day that Kevin wrote the family a letter, “If I am to pass…” December 16: Debbie Caruso and Lorie conducted a recording session over the phone and received several more messages. Debbie says his energy feels very strong. December 17: Kim, Lorie’s sister, has a dream in which Kevin visits her and shows her his house and that he is seeing everything that is happening.... Lorie wrote: “In a little over a week’s time Kevin managed to get messages of his survival through to family members and strangers alike! I’ve since received several EVP from him. A few are, “With you, Kevin.” “Kevin, love you.” and “Lorie, I love it!” “It’s just so wonderful! It would have been so much more difficult to bear his loss without the EVP It amazes me how quickly Kevin obviously adjusted on the other side. I know time is measured differently there (if at all!), but if I were to use earthly time, I would say that on December 9th, Kevin was reuniting with loved ones. On the 10th they were no doubt trying to get him to rest up and take some time to do whatever healing he may need. But I can hear him now saying, “I’m fine! Don’t need to

rest or go to any hospital!” and “I have to let Mom and Dad know I’m alright. And Lorie’s waiting to hear...” Continued from page 6 No Need to “Let Go” politically correct and not say it is policy to discuss the hereafter,” he adds. “Without a doubt many people want to talk about what’s next. One of the important skills of the caregiver is to determine when an opening for discussion presents itself.” But many caregivers are schooled in orthodox religion and therefore not prepared to discuss the subject in a meaningful way. And, of course, there is also the problem of the pastors who serve the hospices and the dying patients. “There are some denominations in orthodox religion who believe the devil is behind much of the communication that is claimed by mourners,” LaGrand says, “However, Catholics, head. Episcopalians, and some others are open to the possibility by way of the Doctrine of the Communion of Saints. When I deal with a conflict, as I did once with a Baptist minister, I let the person do all the talking and make no attempt to change his views. Why? Because both sides hold extremely strong views and I believe it is a waste of time to try to change the other.” shaking his LaGrand has observed a wide range of attitudes among the dying. “Some are very accepting of their deaths and are more concerned about how their loved ones will get along,” he muses. “Others have some fear

of the unknown. Still others will deny their deaths right up to the end. This can be very disturbing to family members. Yet, denial of one’s death may be the only coping mechanism a person possesses and can employ, and we have to be very careful about taking that away by trying to get the individual to understand that death is near. It would only greatly add to the anxiety.” While most dying people want close family and friends around for a while, at some point they tend to go within and seek peace, LaGrand ends the interview. “The last words of my father, whom I saw take his last breath, to his sister, who was trying to keep him engaged with life was, ‘Please leave me alone.’ He died shortly after. He was a believer and was ready to go.” Dr. LaGrand’s website is at: www.extraordinarygriefexperiences.com Michael Tymn is editor of The Searchlight, an Academy of Spirituality and Paranor- mal Studies, Inc. publication. www.aspsi.org Page 7 Michael Tymn Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Apparitions, Orbs, Ultraviolet and Infrared Photography by Rick Moran Originally published in the May-June 2009 issue of FATE magazine (www.fatemag.com) but in general you can’t see past the sun’s rays bouncing off the surface of the water. If you put on a pair of sun glasses with UV protective coating, you look past the glare of the sun to see the fish below. If you place a UV filter in front of the camera lens, it eliminates

the dust reflection, allowing the image of the subject to be captured, free of orbs. Other Sources of Orbs Orbs are not only caused by dust. The same anomaly can be produce by other things hanging in the air, and even by the speed of the camera lens at its focal length or f-stop setting. I tell my team of paranormal investigators to take notes, not just of the time and place they shoot a photo, but of the atmospheric conditions, whether they are inside or out in a field. They routinely carry small, personal “weather sta- tions” that they hang from their work vests. If and when you capture that amorphous orange cloud moving toward you late at night, the resulting photo is bound to undergo outside scrutiny. Skeptics will scream it is atmospheric in nature; fog, swamp gas and the like. But if you are carrying a portable weather device you have a minute by minute digital memory of the temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, dew point, wind direction and speed plus a host of other readings. Have an image of a ghost taken at 2:13 a.m. in the middle of nowhere? You can plug your weather station into your computer and respond to skeptics in a completely scientific manner. The readout will tell you if that orange blob could possibly be weather-related, as well as give you proof that it was moving against the wind when photographed. Two-Shot Rule If you still have an orb, more investigation is

needed. Remembering the biggest problem is stray reflected light, you can now understand the rule of most good paranormal investigators: take two shots forward and one shot behind you. Compare the first and second shot. Now look for other reflective objects. We had a photo of a man with an orb on his chest that almost made it into our collection of real paranormal anomalies. We used the two shot rule and found the anom- aly was identical in both, though one was not as bright as the other. After enlarging that portion of the image, we found that our orb was actually a small metal lapel pin from a fraternal organization that the subject always wore. At a distance and with a direct light source, it looked just like a classic orb. If you still have an image that shows an orb, check the lens itself; is it clean? The smallest smudge can cause out- of-focus reflective light. If the distortion is on all of your photos in the same general area of the frame, it might be dirt that is actually in the camera. Continued page 9 Orbs in a dusty basement of a Baltimore church One of the most maligned examples of reported paranor- mal evidence has been the orb. These round balls of light hovering in ghost hunters’ photos have gone from proof of unexplained phenomenon to dusty reflections in a relative- ly short period of time. In the process some interesting evidence may have been

tossed out like the proverbial baby with the bath water. The conclusion that orbs are just reflective dust has been greatly overstated. Like UFO sightings, orbs are ninety percent misidentification, but ten percent unexplained or paranormal in nature. Understanding the Problem Before you can defend the notion that some orbs are evi- dence in support of ghostly activity, you must understand what the majority of orbs really are and how they got onto the photographic film or digital memory. When you take a picture and the resulting photo shows glowing red eyes in your subject, it is not a sign of demonic possession. The flash firing in a low-light situation catches the eye by surprise, with the iris fully dilated, thus allowing the back of the eyeball to reflect back as red due to the blood vessels found there. There is also a logical explana- tion for most orbs and it has to do with the camera lens. I don’t see that many orbs on my photos and the reason is simple: I shoot with a fairly expensive digital camera, with a good lens and the standard UV filter! The filter is there to protect the lens, not to eliminate orbs, but the end result is the same. If you add that filter, you will eliminate ninety-nine percent of the causes of orbs. Inexpensive cameras usually have plastic lenses, rather than glass, and this can be the biggest drawback. Many cameras also have a built in flash, which may or

may not be automatic. By design this light source is in a direct line to the lens for reflected illumination from the target object. Dust particles can be highly reflective. When the flash fires, the reflected surface (the dust) returns to the lens as an optical illusion, an out-of-focus object that is brightly illuminated. Ultraviolet filters act like a pair of UV treated sun glasses. If you look into a lake trying to see fish with your naked eye, you might see some outline of their movement, Volume 28, Number 3 Page 8 Orbs Continued from page 8 If you still have a questionable photo, pass it around to other investigators for their opinions. Be ready to play the devil’s advocate and defend the photo. To be really sure, take your photo to the local college and ask the photography professor to give an opinion. This person may not know anything about orbs, but he or she certainly spends a lot more time around cameras than you, so listen carefully. If all else fails, you can try to enlist the help of more prestigious organizations, like the Rochester Institute of Technology’s photo imaging department or even Kodak. But don’t expect a quick response. Ghost Photograph: Then and Now Now that we talked about how to eliminate orbs, let’s talk a little about how to improve your chances of actually capturing a real apparition’s photo. Ghost photography has been around for a long time, the Gray Lady of Raynham Hall for

instance is a perfect example. Recreating that photo today would be almost impossible. It was not taken with an Instamatic, it took two photographers, a weighty 8” x 10” camera, large wet plates, a very long exposure cycle and darkroom processing using what we now call the “inspection method” where you watch the image come up before your eyes to be sure it is properly processed. While others may disagree, I think the key to such photos is in the length of the exposure and the slow plate speed. While lugging an 8” x 10” bellows camera is not conducive to paranormal field investigations, there is a relatively simple method that has produced good results. Infrared (IR) photography has been around for 100 years and was used by paranormal investigators in the mid-20th century. The spectrum of light that we can capture on film is very broad. For most applications, we only want a slice of that spectrum, roughly between 350 and 700 nm. In digital cameras, this spectrum is further limited to 400 to 700 nm, to give the casual camera owner a more robust color image. In that situation, the manufacturer has also blocked most of the infrared (IR) spectrum as well, by adding an internal filter plate. This becomes the first obsta- cle in the search of those illusive apparition images. While it is possible to take your digital camera apart to remove that filter panel, I would not advise going down that treacherous path. It is

possible to send your camera out to be altered, for a price. But unless you can add a filter to the end of your lens, that will not work either. Some of the less expensive digitals today simply are not equipped to take an external filter. Big-League Photography If you have a camera that takes a standard-size lens filter, and doesn’t have an internal IR-blocking filter, you are ready to go ghost hunting with the pros. There are any number of groups across the country that limit their field trips to this form of paranormal investigating, and several have some inspirational photos to show what can be ac- complished with the right equipment. You do not have to take apart your camera to accomplish this feat, although the alternatives are sometimes problematic. You actually have three alternatives: 1) You can buy a camera that will take the external IR filter on the lens and send it out to remove that offending IR blocking shade; 2) You can look for a camera that was produced before some- one got the smart idea of adding that pesky filter; or 3) You can buy a new camera that is already suited for this purpose. Purchasing a new camera that can take the necessary lens filter and then having it altered to remove the blocker is possible, but a bit costly. That new camera is going to cost you about $250 and the alterations another $200. Choice three, buying a new camera that is

designed to perform both IR and normal photography is also expensive, about $1500 for the bare bones system, $6000 for a full kit. Option three involves finding a well stocked photo retail- er who will order a brand new Fuji S-3 Pro 123, UVR forensics camera for you. If your budget can afford it, this is the camera of choice, the one the real CSI guys use and built to cover the entire IR spectrum. Otherwise, this leaves choice number two. Start shopping eBay and local pawn shops for an Olympus C-2020-Z. In the digital world, this camera is old, but it is built like a rock and was designed without that annoying IR blocker. With this camera you can shoot IR immediately without making any alterations. Just slap on a good grade R-72 IR red-black filter (you will need an adaptor, the Olympus takes a 41mm lens, but the standard size for the filter is 52mm–both for IR and UV), set the camera to the smallest f-stop and shoot. With any camera, a tripod is necessary in low light situations. The Olympus already has a wireless remote control, which is great. If you want to shoot a normal photo, just take off the IR filter, put on the UV and shoot. This camera is not big on pixel size, at 2.3 megapixels, good for most prints, but not if you intend to print your ghost photos poster size. The Olympus is the choice of most paranormal photogra- phers, but

the camera is no longer being manufactured, so you will have to find a good used one. Because of its recent success in photographing anomalous images and good press, the cost of this camera is in flux. A year ago they were selling for under $100; it is now being offered on eBay for $140 and the price is expected to continue to rise as more folks learn this camera’s secrets. The payoff for the use of infrared is worth the effort, no matter what decision you might make; the IR trend is now adding many new ghost images. Success with Infrared My first IR photo was taken in the 1980s with a 35mm SLR and Kodak IR film. The place was a small country inn, once a stop on a stage route in New England. The team at that time would go from room to room, one taking two photos at each set-up while a second team member would keep a log of where, when and who was in the image. Back in the darkroom, the film was developed “by inspection” and kept in one long strip. Page 9 Continued page 16 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Scientific Fallacy: Ruminations on Psi Research and Reviews by Miles Edward Allen “Evidence in science is always a matter of degree …. Both critics and proponents need to learn to think of adjudication in science as more like that found in the law courts, imperfect and with varying degrees of proof and

evidence.” — Marcello Truzzi “On Pseudo-Skepticism,” the Zetetic Scholar, #12-13, 1987. Carl Sagan, whom I greatly admired as a concerned and public-spirited astronomer, once asked: “How is it, that channelers never give us verifiable information otherwise unavailable?”1 Alexander, who revealed his tomb’s location precisely enough for an archeological team to dig it up. Based on the history of the scientific community’s reaction to phenome- na that do not fit in their world view, we can be sure that such a series of events would change the minds of very few scientists, and of no professional skeptics. Instead of “Wow, channeling is a real phenomenon!” we would have a chorus of lettered men and women claiming: (1) that the location of the tomb must have been in some document seen by the channeler, or (2) that the channeler actually ‘saw’ the tomb clairvoy- antly, or (3) that the channeler precognitively saw the future dis- covery of the tomb, or (4) that the location of the tomb was pulled from the “col- lective unconscious,” or (5) that Sagan and the channeler are frauds who made up the story after the tomb was discovered. If you think this last option too outlandish, you don’t know how fast scientists can turn on a brother, no matter how well respected. Had he endorsed the channeler, the es- teemed professor would have been ostracized faster than you can say “Crackpot Carl.” And how might Sagan have reacted to the tomb’s discovery? A strong clue is in

his next paragraph, in which he says: “If some good evidence for life after death was announced, I’d be eager to examine it; but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere anec- dote.” Whenever scientists demand that psychic evidence be “scientific,” they mean that it must come from replicable experiments, perfectly designed and perfectly controlled. Of course, they are well aware that no experiment of any kind has ever been “perfect” and so they will always have a way of discrediting evidence that doesn’t fit their view of things. And even if it were “good” evidence based on “real scientific data,” Sagan does not suggest that he would accept it, only that he would “examine it.” Scientists also know that psychic phenomena in general, and spirit communication in particular, do not lend them- selves well to repeatable laboratory experimentation. For example, the main reason that Alexander hasn’t revealed the location of his tomb is probably that he has better things to do than try to communicate with skeptical scientists. Not only does Sagan require this scientific evidence, he goes further and rules out the acceptance of “mere anec- dote.” Now, an “anecdote” is a brief account of an interest- ing incident; therefore, Sagan is setting up a dichotomy: either evidence is “real scientific data” or it must be treated as just another story or fable. Note that this leaves no room for testimony. No matter how many nor how prestigious the witnesses to the interesting incident, no

matter what oath is taken under what penalty, all testimony is relegated to folklore unless the incident can be repeated in a labora- tory or seen through a scope. Continued page 11 Arizona Falls Photograph by saa61, www.flickr.com/photos/memoryandreality Other than the biased way in which Sagan’s question is phrased (i.e. the assumption that they don’t give such information), there are several difficulties here. The main one, as you should realize by now, is that channelers have provided information unknown to anyone living at the time, yet subsequently verified. Garland’s buried crosses, the Cayce oil-of-smoke incident, and the Millboro under- ground railroad are a few that come to mind immediately. But besides revealing his ignorance of psychic phenomena, Sagan’s comments demonstrate several common problems with the so-called “scientific” approach. On first hearing it, the concept of “verifiable information otherwise unavailable” sounds reasonable enough, but a closer examination reveals an extremely tough, if not im- possible, criterion. “Information otherwise unavailable” would have to be information proven not to exist in any person’s mind or in any library or any other place in the world! And since, as skeptics are so fond of pointing out, “it is impossible to prove a negative,” this proof is unattain- able. No matter how hard one tried, one could never be sure that the information was not available somewhere. As if this wasn’t obstacle enough, Sagan also wants the informa- tion to be “verifiable.” Just how, do you suppose, is it possible to verify information that doesn’t

exist? Let’s look at one of the examples he offers in elaborating his query. “Why does Alexander the Great never tell us about the exact location of his tomb?” Suppose that a psychic did meet with Professor Sagan and channeled Volume 28, Number 3 Page 10 The Scientific Fallacy Continued from page 10 As another example of how scientists tend to handle unwel- come data, let’s look at the reaction to Schwartz’s publica- tion of The Afterlife Experiments. Reacting to Schwartz In my view, Schwartz’ results are proof, beyond any rea- sonable doubt, of life after death. Thus it was with great anticipation that I read the reviews of this book by promi- nent skeptics. What I found was about what I expected: condemnation of Schwartz’ statistics, castigation of his control groups and some nasty, but not quite libelous, insinuations about the people involved. What I did not find also lived up to my expectations. That is, there was no addressing of the evidence presented in the book other than a few quick references to “coincidence,” let alone any suggestion of alternative explanations for the outcomes. To my mind, Schwartz’ work is important, not for his flawless application of pristine scientific method (which is patently impossible) but for the presence of unimpeachable witness- es (not to mention the independently produced videotapes). Such reviews, and similar diatribes against other positive psychical research, lead me to believe that these zealots of scientism have agreed to approach psychic phenomena in the following manner:

If you can imagine any possible way that the results could be arrived at via researcher error or via duplicitous or fraudulent means, assume such to be the case. If no such possibilities occur to you, then repel all interested parties by enveloping the case within a dense and malodorous smokescreen of statistical quibbling. Another problem facing Schwartz (and likely, all sincere investigators) is the existence of some basic incompatibili- ties between scientific methodologies and his subject mat- ter. For example, after several of the readings by the psychics, lists of possible statements were shown to stu- dents acting as a control group, who attempted to guess which statements might apply to the sitter. In normal scien- tific research, control groups are gatherings of people who are not involved with or affected by the object of investiga- tion. For instance, if the study concerns the effects of a certain pill, the control group would consist of folks who have never taken the pill. But in researching psychical abilities, the attributes being studied cannot be assumed to be limited to the test group. If any personality survives death, it is very likely (although not absolutely certain) that every personality survives death. If anyone can receive messages from discarnate beings, then it is highly probable that everyone can receive messages from discarnate beings, to some extent or another. Such universal potentials make it impossible to isolate a control group from the phenomena being studied. All that Schwartz accomplished by creating control groups

of this sort was to give skeptics another opportunity for irrelevant criticism. The same problem applies to the idea (mentioned by Schwartz and endorsed by at least one reviewer) of com- paring the psychic’s performance to that of a “cold-reader” (someone practiced in making educated guesses based on the sitter’s responses and body language). If the cold-read- er’s great grandad were to take that moment to make his presence known and give a little unsought help, truly as- tounding “guesses” could be made that weren’t guesses at all. This would totally distort the outcome of the test and no one would be the wiser. The Keene Example Double Treat Photographed by Cresk, www.flickr.com/photos/cresk/ Consider, for example, an incident related in the confes- sions of Lamar Keene.2 No skeptic has ever doubted Keene’s claim that he achieved wealth and fame as a trance medium through the use of trickery and fraud. His life was turned completely around, Keene testifies, when he met a woman named Florence Hutchinson who became an inspi- rational mother figure to him. This woman had traveled from Oklahoma to obtain a reading from Keene at the spiritualist enclave of... But she had not made a reservation so, Keene says, “my first inclination was to tell her to get lost … But she really was a kindly and appealing lady,” so he allowed her to take the place of her friend who did have an appointment for the next day. Now, Keene claims that there is a network

of fraudulent mediums around the country who maintain and share files of information on their sitters, and that the files kept at ...were some of the most extensive anywhere. But, when he went to consult these files, he says, “I found myself sty- mied. Florence Hutchinson had never been to ... before and there was nothing on her in the files. However, since she looked like such an agreeable sort,” Keene decided he could get away with doing a cold reading. This he did, and things were going fine until Florence requested his help in finding a legal document that had been missing since her husband’s death. At first she asked if the document had been taken by a certain cousin of whom she was suspicious. It would have been easy for Keene to say yes and end the inquiry right there, but instead, for reasons unknown to him, he said: “Oh no.” Whereupon Florence (speaking to whom she thinks is her departed husband) asks: “Well darling, where is it?” “There was no way of ducking the question except by pretending to lose trance and to suddenly wake up,” Keene writes, but: “Then I said the first thing that came into my head, which was: ‘You have a metal file cabinet at home, the portable one, and it has a false top in it. There is a key to the false top in the bottom under some papers. Page 11 Continued page 12 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Scientific Fallacy

Continued from page 11 The document is in that false top.’” Keene thought that this sounded stupid but, at least it got rid of the woman—but not for long. As you have probably guessed by now, Flor- ence rushed home to Oklahoma and found the missing document just where Keene said it would be. Florence’s mention of the cousin was exactly the kind of clue Keene was searching for in his cold reading, so what prompted him to reject that solution? As for the rest, Keene thinks it was an “incredibly lucky” guess. Actually, though, it was a series of four statements: (1) that Florence had a portable metal file at home, (2) that the file had a false top, (3) that the key to that top was beneath the papers, and (4) that the missing document was in the false top. Dismissing those four statements plus the rejection of the cousin’s involvement as luck is, indeed, not credible. Remember, also, that this incident proved to be the key to Keene’s reformation from fraudulent medium to honest citizen. Thus, we are asked to believe that this once-in-a- lifetime series of lucky guesses just happened to occur when the person who could inspire Keene’s turnaround just happened to unexpectedly take a friend’s place in his séance room. I, for one, reject such a long line of coinci- dences as preposterous. It is far more reasonable to con- clude that Keene had a real psychic experience when he most needed one, especially

in light of all the other evi- dence in favor of spirit contact. [Note that Keene was hardly the first to lead distraught widows to secret compart- ments holding important papers. As far back as the mid 1700s, the great scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg was reported to do the same.3] If spirits can interfere with a cold reading by an admitted- ly phony medium, they can certainly influence “wild guesses” made by folks in experimental control groups and in every other walk of life. Counting Blanks To return to Schwartz’ work for a moment, I’d like to point out that the good professor weakens his own case by being far too conservative in scoring the data from psychic read- ings. For example, Schwartz tells of a session4 in which the medium simply drew a blank, receiving no information about the sitter. Logic and fairness would demand that this session be thrown out of the study. Clearly, it is unreason- able to expect there to be a willing spirit hanging around to talk about every sitter every time. But Schwartz counted the sitting as one in which the medium’s accuracy was scored at zero percent—just as if the medium had made a series of statements without any hits. Averaging this zero score in with the medium’s other scores would seriously lower the medium’s overall rating. I do not see a justifica- tion for this approach, unless Schwartz was assuming that the work of pulling information from “the great beyond” was

being done solely by the medium and did not depend upon the cooperation of a dearly departed. (If such a bias existed, his results are doubly impressive, for if there’s one thing that’s certain it is that you can’t rely on dead people.) Detectives Needed Overall, the trouble science has with psi arises from trying to quantify information that is essentially qualitative. Of what value are counts of hits and misses on irrelevant trivia such as pet’s initials or whether the diseased organ was a gall bladder or a spleen? Clearly, numbers do lie, or, at least, they are subject to biased interpretations. Statistics are designed to smooth over anomalous results; what we need is to focus on the anomalies. All the bar charts and derivatives in the world are not as convincing as a single revelation of unique character attested to by unimpeachable witnesses. To help dig up such evidence, I propose that scientists equip their teams not with statisticians, nor with cold-readers, nor magicians, but with good old-fashioned detectives. As an example of what I mean, let’s consider this case related by Dr. Thelma Moss, in her book The Probability of the Impossible.5 Dr. Moss tells of an investigation that was prompted by a homeowner’s complaint that four dif- ferent guests, on four separate occasions, had reported seeing a man walking about the house—a man who wasn’t there. The homeowner, himself, had never seen this “ghost.” Charming Commotion Photograph by Cresk, www.flickriver.com/photos/cresk/ According to Moss, she endeavored to

be “scientific” about the investigation by having each of the witnesses interviewed separately and the interviews tape recorded. From these, she learned that each witness reported seeing a man in dark pants and a white shirt (one witness included a suit jacket) walking in and around the house — one witness saw the apparition by a bedroom door, one by the swimming pool, and two saw it walking into the dining room. Next, Moss arranged for six psychics and six “nonpsychics” to be given an individual tour of the house, after which they marked on maps any places where they sensed a ghost. Dr. Moss does not include the entire study in her book, but she does make note of “the sophisticated statistical analysis” made of the data. I can just imagine the skeptics tearing that sophisticated analysis to shreds—and, of course, never mentioning the astounding facts buried beneath. Continued page 13 Volume 28, Number 3 Page 12 The Scientific Fallacy Continued from page 12 A good detective, searching for proof “beyond reasonable doubt,” would pursue this case quite differently .... When all the interviews and background checks are done, if he has uncovered no evidence of false testimony, our detec- tive has little choice but to declare the facts valid as report- ed. In other words, it can be concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that the witnesses actually saw the figure of a man in dark pants and white shirt walking about the house.... Assuming that all the interrogations

and investigations had been properly done with no adverse results, the “case of the four visitors” could have been one of the most evidential ever reported. Nothing is ever absolutely, one hundred percent certain, but it would have been evidential enough to deserve the label “solid proof” that ghosts exist. The Role of Science As for the continuation of life after death, it seems clear that experts will never reach a consensus on a statistically sound, scientifically replicable, proof. Not only can statis- tics always be distorted, but some experimental factors, such as the involvement of discarnate entities, can never be controlled. In my opinion, this does not matter, for the cases presented in Read Before Dying are more than suffi- cient to establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt in any court of logical and objective minds. All this should not be construed to mean that I am some sort of psychic Luddite seeking a return to the days of table tipping in darkened parlors—not without an infrared camera anyway. EMF meters, voice analyzers, EEG machines, and other such technological advances have a definite place in psi research. And science has a valid role in determining the characteristics and factors at play in various phenomena. But, scientists need to stop wasting time and resources on attempts to prove the already proven existence of psychic phenomena and concentrate more on determining how it works. Notes 1. The Demon-Haunted World, 1995. 2. Keene, chapter 8. 3. Berger, p. 7. 4. Schwartz, p.

187. 5. Moss, p. 323. Some text in the “Counting Blanks” section has been edited to make the article fit in the available space. The entire article is at: http://thesurvivalfiles.com/Documents /doc_SF.pdf. Miles Edward Allen is the author of The Survival Files: The Most Convincing Evidence Yet Compiled for the Survival of Your Soul, and several other books on diverse topics. His website is at: http://thesurvivalfiles.com Miles Edward Allen What is “In the Literature”? We recently received a comment that there is no literature about how to detect the presence of EVP. This raised a few interesting questions and suggested a need that is probably common to all frontier subjects. We have published a pretty good report in the online Journal that includes pertinent information about using an online listening panel in the study of hearing and under- standing EVP. Alexander MacRae has had articles pub- lished in the January 2004 and October 2005 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research that showed the use of a listening panel to establish the presence of anomalous voices. There is at least one article discussing computer analysis of EVP at aaevp.com. There are probably similar reports in other countries, but the point that was made clear by this comment is that none of these are “in the literature.” So, if not these articles, what is “in the literature”? As a rule, the “literature” is thought of as that which is produced by academically trained researchers and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Here “academic”

means work done by a doctorate-level, clinically trained researcher. EVP is a frontier subject and there are virtually no academically trained researchers in this field (based on that definition). Yet, there is good research that has been conducted and for a literature review prior to developing a research protocol, it would help to study the non-academic material. The problem is that it is difficult to find any such re- search that is reported in a way that can be used. The sad fact is that few of us in this field have been trained in writing a useful report. If one is written, what peer-re- viewed publication will print it? Where would it be ar- chived for future access as being “in the literature”? We have developed an article describing what a web page should have to pass as a source of “in the literature” articles. We have also begun a list of web pages that should be considered “in the literature” archives for EVP/ITC. A link to these pages is at http://aaevp.com/research.htm. We will also maintain a Google search tool exclusively for qualified pages. There is no membership requirement to participate. In general, an “in the literature” web page must contain articles or links to articles that comply with the standards of good science report writing. A writer’s guide is also provided and researchers are encouraged to emulate the best scientific standard possible. It is our intention that the list will be hosted on many sites and will grow

to include both a solid foundation of reports about good science in EVP/ITC and develop into a role model for others who wish to take up this study. Librarian As a community service, it would be good if someone was able to assume the role of librarian of “in the literature” sources. Let us know if you are interested in taking on the task. We can host the material on aaevp.com, but to be effective, it would require that someone develops a reason- able writer’s guide and helps to keep track of where useful, well written reports are so they can be included in the list. Page 13 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influences In the article, The Formation of EVP (Summer 2009), three techniques for the formation of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) were discussed: Transform, EVPmaker and speech synthesis stimulated with detection of changes in environmental energy. This article provides an informed speculation as to the physical processes that might be involved in voice formation using these techniques. Scope Trans-etheric influences sometimes share characteristics. For instance, EVP and visual forms of the phenomena appear to depend on the same physical processes, while apports seem to depend on other processes. Moving, inter- active orbs seem to use even different processes. Under- the standing manifestation of such phenomena may help the under- standing of what is occurring on the other side of the veil. The following theory is specific to EVP but may be appli- cable to

other phenomena, depending on future research. the physical processes involved in Theory In EVP, the voice is seen to be formed from available audio-frequency energy.1 In simple terms, this is just noise; however, some noise works better and most experimental recording devices are really noise conditioners intended to improve the Quantity and Quality (QQ) of the recorded utterances. The most optimum noise appears to be broad- spectrum audio containing many voice-frequencies and Figure 2a Potential A B C Figure 2b Decreased Potential Well Possible States Figure 2 shows energy wells A, B and C representing stable states amongst all possible states (horizontal axis). The energy required to move from between states is represented by the vertical axis. In this theory, the influence of intention decreases the “depth” of the potential well making it easier to select states. providing numerous optional stable states. Stable States: Figure 1 illustrates a chaotic system; in this case, an object orbiting a planet. It has been noted that a system tends to be more stable when it is not restricted to a single state. For instance, it has been reported that, “the rhythms of a healthy heart are chaotic.”2 By “numerous stable states,” a system such as the orbiting object in Figure 1 is intended. The object is able to occupy different orbital paths and remain in a stable orbit. The three paths illustrat- ed in Figure 1c are stable and tend toward the orbit illustrat- ed in Figure 1a. In terms of chaos theory,

the “norm” of the Volume 28, Number 3 Page 14 orbits would represent the “attractor” toward which all stable variations of the orbit are drawn. An orbit outside of B A C Figure 1c Figure 1a Figure 1b An observer may see the path inscribed by an object orbiting another object as a single path (Figure 1a); however in chaot- ic systems like the orbit of a planet around the sun, there are actually small deviations in the orbit from cycle to cycle (Figure 1b). In this discussion, paths A, B and C represent different stable states for the orbiting object (Figure 1c). the influence of the attractor would tend to be unstable and the object would be expected to “leave orbit.” Potential Wells: Figure 2 illustrates the concept of poten- tial wells. The horizontal axis indicates possible states of a system and the vertical axis represents the energy required to change states (potential). The wavy line indicates the relative potential required to change states. This can be referred to as a series of potential wells, for which locations A, B and C represent troughs. The small circle represents the selected state and the illustration indi- cates that it requires more energy to move out of a trough, but once in the next trough, the selection is once again relatively stable. This illustrates the concept of optional sta- ble states. Intention Decreases Potential Well: Fig- ure 2b is the same as 2a, except that the potential energy required to change

states decreases toward potential well B, making it easier to select relative to A and C. According to this theory, the influence of intention as expressed by a personality is able to reduce the amount of energy re- quired to change the state of a system, thereby causing the system to assume a desired state. The concept is thought to apply to physical energy in general, and should not be specific just to ITC. A common physical factor is permittivity (symbolized by the Greek letter epsilon), which is a measure of how easily an electric field affects a material; however, other possibilities should be considered, for instance a literal interpretation of an attractor in chaos theory may be more appropriate. Figure 3 is a spectral display of an EVP. The horizontal axis is time increasing to the right and the vertical axis is frequency increasing toward the top. The bright horizontal bands are caused by the anomalous voice and represent increased energy associated with emulated formants. Here, Trans-etheric Influences Continued from page 14 Formants are frequency groups formed in the mouth based on sounds generated by the vocal cords. Their relationship, intensity and duration collectively produce a voice. In EVP, available frequencies appear to be selected and given more power to emulate voice. The vertical black line in Figure 3: Spectral view of an EVP. The dark bands represent increased power density; vertical scale is frequency, horizon- tal scale is increasing time to right. Horizontal bands repre- sent emulation of

formants beginning at 350 Hz. Figure 3 represents a “time slice.” The emulated voice is created moment-by-moment. Figure 4 shows a segment of the spectrogram in Figure 3 taken to the left of the black line and up to about 1,000 Hz and rotated 90 degrees. The line below it illustrates increases in energy associated with the emulated formants as encountered along time-slice A-A’. In this theory, this sample represents many such samples over time to produce the phenomenal voice. A Power A’ 350 450 550 650 750 850 Hz Figure 4: Excerpt from Figure 3 taken left of the vertical black line and stretched. Relative power density is illustrated by loops centered on approximate center frequency for each emulated formant as found along the moment in time indicat- ed by the time-slice along line A-A’. Stochastic Resonance: A weak signal can be amplified by higher amplitude noise via the process known as stochastic resonance. A common characteristic for both visual and audio forms of ITC is the presence of noise and the forma- tion of audio or visual features in the noise. In the video- loop technique, order naturally emerges in the optical noise as small areas of about the same intensity. It is in these areas of order that features are sometimes found. The indication is that information is being impressed on these small perturbations acting as “seed energy” which evolve into the areas of order. In audio-loops, the signal tends to “go to” saturation too quickly to

permit the natural emer- gence of order to be recognized. Hypothesis: A trans-etheric influence is initiated by an etheric personality as a subtle-energy expression of inten- tion that acts on physical processes to select required ener- gy states to form a desired effect. Applicability: To determine applicability of this hypothe- sis, it is important to remember that there is necessarily an etheric-to-physical interface; that something like intention represents the etheric form of the influence and some fundamental physical characteristic must be the physical form of the influence. As with the audio signal represented in Figure 4, the influence must be considered as a moment- to-moment application of influence to produce a general result. An economical solution requiring a minimum amount of energy should be expected. In EVP, it is speculated that a specific component in an electronic circuit is used to inject the information. The component is most likely one with an active region, such as a transistor junction or the inter-element region of a vacu- um tube. It is also likely that a plasma field is more suscep- tible to influence; something common to both transistors and vacuum tubes. This hypothesis may apply to all forms of trans-etheric influence. Clearly visual and audio forms of ITC involve transformation of energy into anomalous features. Less obvious is whether or not this hypothesis applies to psi functioning. The question must be asked and tested as to if the action of intention can be seen to change the energetic environment of portions

of the brain to intelligently pro- duce information. Likewise, can audible phenomena such as direct voice be caused in this way? Can gravity be so influenced as to cause levitation? Testing The Hypothesis: The key to this hypothesis is ease of selecting energy states. In EVP, using naturally occurring noise such as that produced by a fan should produce higher QQ of EVP than using noise generated by a technology that produces many frequencies of similar amplitude. Ideally, the noise will have multiple instances of each frequency of different amplitudes so that the most useful one can be selected. This can be tested. Optical energy would be best for visual phenomena if it is very chaotic. In EVP formed via random processes, such as seen in EVPmaker,3 the random process that has the most chaotic distribution of signal noise should be the most effective for EVP. Unstable circumstances should be expected in haunting phenomena. Changes in noise or environmental energy are likely “carriers” for trans-etheric influences in much the same way that chaotic noise appears best for EVP. [Edit: A more complete version of this article will be posted at aaevp.com/research.htm.] References 1 Gullà, Daniele, Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Para- normal Voice, AA-EVP, aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_evp10.htm, 2 May, Robert, The Chaotic Rhythms of Life, http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/rhythm.html, Reviewed 22 August 2009. 3 Bion, Stephan, EVPmaker, http://www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index_e.htm, Page 15 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal New Book about Adolf Homes Jutta Liebmann of the German VTF has told us about a new book titled, Mit dem Jenseits

auf Du und Du - Ein Tag im Leben des Adolf Homes. It is written by Adolf Homes’ friend, Hans-Gerhard Kundler and provides insight into how Homes received his extraordinary contacts via com- puter, television, radio and telephone. Kundler, now eighty-seven, describes it all from his personal view during his frequent visits to Homes in Rivenich. He introduces Homes and his family as well the extraordinary contacts, which Homes received during many years. As Jutta explained, “Prior to Adolf Homes’ death in October 1997, he recommended to his wife and daughter that they should not aim to receive such contacts as he had received during all the years, in order to avoid negative effects on their health (This would suggest that his contacts as a medium had unfavorable effects on his health). “The CD included with Kundler’s book has fifty-one examples of contacts made by Homes. After listening to some of these examples, I noticed that the voices sound totally different compared with our usual EVP. The para- normal speeches by his contact partners from the other side, such as Thomas Beckett and Dr. Raudive, are very long and the voices often speak slowly, except for the contacts with his deceased mother whose voice sounds similar to the usual EVP messages. Homes’ mother died when he was an infant and his father did not return from the war, therefore he was an orphan. “To enable these contacts, he used two old tube radios, a black and white TV and a

very old Commodore computer for the written messages, which were shown on the monitor of his computer. These messages via computer came through without any space between the words and sentenc- es. The contents of most of his messages were very aca- demic and sophisticated, and sometimes Homes was unable to understand the contents. Therefore, he came into contact with Professor Ernst Senkowski, who had been a guest during these contacts. Questions were written into the computer, and sometimes the next day, the questions were answered in the computer by the entities.” Jutta sent us a further comment, “On consultation with Jürgen Nett, Christian Hilpert and other experienced VTF colleagues, and others such as Mr. Ehrhardt and Mr. For- noff who are also very serious and very experienced EVP researchers, I have come to the conclusion that the former EVP contacts received by Homes are authentic. “As I have learned from the book, Mr. Homes was very modest and not skilled at all with technology; therefore, he would not have been able to play tricks in this connection. My personal view is that Homes had the same extraordi- nary mediumistic abilities as Marcello Bacci in Italy has today. The clear reception of two-way direct-voice EVP is an advanced development in transcommunication, but it is possible as the direct voice contacts in Luxembourg and others have proven.” The book is currently only available in German. Continued from page 9 Orbs (Never cut film, the critics will tear you apart if the

film is not in one continuous run.) To my surprise there was one image on the last roll exposed. In what was then a living room, you could see two team members seated in the background, but in the fore- ground stood the figure of a man. Hat, boots and a long coat were evident, although the apparition itself was totally black and devoid of features. He was leaning on a rocking chair, but slightly transparent. Through some rough calcu- lations we determined that he stood about six feet four inches tall. Similar IR photos are now showing up on the Internet. Even a few of the popular TV shows are now featuring the use of IR photography. On the battlefield of Gettysburg, one photographer has captured many images of ghostly soldiers, not visible to the naked eye. While I do not expect that this will be the turning point in our search for proof of the survival of the human spirit after death, it does go a long way to raise new questions about our world. As we dispel some common mistakes in photography like misidentified orbs, we are introducing more exciting ways to capture otherworldly images. The FLIR System. No discussion of ghost hunting photography would be complete without acknowledging the most sought after camera of the century, the FLIR thermal imaging system. This system displays heat signatures in real time that can be recorded. I do not know a single paranormal investiga- tor who does not want

one of these systems, but most are unwilling to pay thousands of dollars to indulge their desire. The FLIR is a complicated device that has been used by police agencies and fire departments for years to find the heat signatures of victims or perpetrators in non-visible terrain. These agencies have regular training programs for the operators. Could it be used to capture ghosts, maybe? It will certainly capture the images of anomalies that could be ghostly. Standing alone, no images I have seen are proof positive of a spirit in your midst. Like a K-2 meter, tri-field meter, IR thermometer or any camera image, they add to the list of possible proofs, but can’t stand alone as the one single piece of evidence to prove a ghostly presence. If you are looking for yet another avenue to explore that is relatively inexpensive in the ghost hunting field, my choice would be the properly equipped IR digital camera. It will not replace your notebook as the most important piece of equipment in your bag of tricks, but it certainly will yield some interesting evidence. Rick Moran is a retired journalist with more than thirty-five years experience in the para- normal field. He is currently the Coordinator the Association for the Study of Unexplained Phenomenon (ASUP) a nonprofit research and educational corporation, now based in Texas. Their website is www.asup-inc.org Rick Moran Volume 28, Number 3 Page 16 Viewpoint Continued from page 1 Research As of this writing, the Real-time EVP Conversations:

A Pilot Study project being conducted by Windbridge Insti- tute is in the data analysis phase. The project, funded by a member of the AA-EVP, began in June, 2008. We had projected a finish to this phase for May, 2009, but as we understand, there have been delays in completing the lis- tening panel. After the data analysis is complete, a final phase is scheduled to allow Windbridge to write a report and find a publisher. We continue to examine possible research projects. One project that we would like to see funded is “Does EVP help a person through the grief of losing a loved one?” We believe that the answer to this question is a resounding yes and we believe that this research project could be funded for under $10,000. Having this type of study published in a peer review journal would be one of the most positive things that we could do for EVP. This type of study is not addressing that old conundrum, is it real or not, instead we think that it would show what we all know; EVP helps people! If you want to fund this study or if there is another project that interests you and you want to fund its study please contact us at [email protected]. Rhonda Burton’s Visual ITC Rhonda Burton posted an example of her visual ITC taken by video recording light re- flected from moving water. She wrote that she recorded a three minute session but that her next effort

will be just thirty seconds. Remem- ber that it is necessary to review every video frame, which are recorded at the rate of around thirty frames per second. The example provided here shows what appears to be a phenomenal face in the lower-left quadrant. There is a bubble in the lower-right and the tip of the crystal is in the upper-right. Face in moving water Big Circle Recording Dates Please think about recording with the Big Circle group on or close to October 1st, 15th, and 29th, November 12th and 26th, December 10th and 24th and January 7th and 21st. Then go to the Big Circle area of the Idea Exchange and share what you record with other members. In the past, members have recorded messages intended for other members and this has really been a blessing. So join in! This year’s recording dates fall on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, perfect times to celebrate with loved ones here and on the other side! News From Members (cid:143) Kathy Conder wrote that Michigan Paranormal Encoun- ters is hosting its 3rd annual Allegan Paranormal Confer- ence at the historic Griswold Auditorium in Allegan, Michigan on October 16th and 17th. For more details including ticket purchase and vendor information go to http://strewnpapers.com/_clients/mpe/conf2009.html (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann wrote us in late June that the annual VTF conference in Fulda was very successful. More members than ever attended and they had two excellent scientists as presenters. Dr. Van Laack spoke about NDE experi- ences and Illobrand

von Ludwiger spoke about the mul- tidimensional thesis of Burkhard Heim. (cid:143) Vicki Talbott wrote that she was on Bruce Halliday’s show and had plugged the AA-EVP as much as she could. Thanks Vicki and also to all of you other members who do this when you do media appearances. Your help spreading the word is appreciated. Thoughts and Comments (cid:143) From Regina Antonucci: IMO your hard work and ef- forts have certainly helped make EVP more acceptable as being a legitimate phenomenon of nature worthy of sci- entific research. (cid:143) From Jutta Liebmann: I have just listened to the AA-EVP sample DVD-presentation no. 2 on your website and I am moved by the evidence given there for survival. Especial- ly, the wonderful young people of the Big Circle, the messages from Braden, Cathy and the others have im- pressed me. I would like to report about it to my VTF colleagues, as we too have many members who have “lost” children and relatives. What a comfort this is! Precognitive EVP? One of the more interesting characteristics of EVP is that a response to a question might come before the question is asked. Vicki Talbott recently posted an example in the Idea Exchange that illustrates this. As she wrote: “I hear ‘That’s (or it’s) the month of May,’ before I ask ‘What month is my birthday?’” She explained that, “I was at my sister-in law’s this past July in Chicago (and recorded) late at night. I felt I had to

whisper or those in the house would think I had lost my mind and was talking to myself.” The example has been added to the web page with Vicki’s EVP examples at aaevp.com/examples.htm. It is a Class B, but perhaps with headsets you will be able to make it out. We theorize that EVP is caused as a mind-to-mind com- munication between the communicating entity and the practitioner (or an interested observer). If this is the case, then it is reasonable to assume Vicki had thought about what she was going to ask just before actually asking the question. As such, the entity would have been communicat- ing in a regular way by simply responding to what it was being asked. Page 17 Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Big Circle Members’ EVP Recognized Margaret Downey shared an EVP on the AA-EVP message board. She said that she had immediately thought of Karen Mossey’s son, Rob, the moment she heard the EVP saying, “This is Rob.” She wrote, “This message came through while doing a radio sweep session with someone on Sun- day. One second before Rob spoke, the person I was sitting with got a message from his uncle saying, “I am Ernest” (the uncle’s name). I had been talking about the Big Circle and how amazing and help- ful all the kids are. Hearing Rob right after the uncle saying his name made me think that Rob might have helped Ernest leave a mes- sage.” Robert Benjamin Browning Karen Mossey

replied, “This has made me so hap- py and it is so significant. I so needed to hear from him and I believe because I am under so much stress now with moving, that Rob chose to come through to you [knowing] you would bring it through for me. Along with this goes a special story. For nine years since Rob made his transition, his “Specialized” bike that he rode everywhere has been in my garage. He loved that bike almost as much as he loved to fish. He got in the best of shape riding it everywhere and he had put a lot into it with special shocks and gadgets…. “This past Saturday, as I was unloading things at the town landfill, I saw a man going through the metal bin pulling out old bikes. He had his father with him and his kids in the truck. I looked at him and said ‘Are you looking for a bike?’ ‘Those are all broken.’ He said, ‘My wife, kids and I like to ride on the trails. I can’t afford any other recreation because I lost my job and I am looking to find a bike so I can go riding with my family.’ For nine years, Rob’s awesome bike has sat unused and I looked at it every day. Something came over me as I looked at this young man and I said, ‘I have a bike. It is a very nice bike, a “Specialized.” Here is my cell

number if you would like to look at it. I live in Hudson and I am moving.’ He said thank you so much and I did not hear back from him until yesterday. (Yes, the same day you got this message). He said he also lived in Hudson and was living with his parents and he would like very much to come and look at the bike. I had been thinking about it, and whether after nine years, Rob approved of me letting his bike go. “When the man arrived, he brought his father and his little daughter and when he saw the bike he almost cried and said, ‘this is so wonderful. I can’t wait to show it to my friend at church who cycles too.’ He said he wished he could give me money but he had no job and was living with his parents and could not even afford $10 and I said to him all I ask is that he use it the way my son loved to use it and pray for me that I survive this stressful move. He said ‘Are you sure your son is okay with me having it?’ I told him that Rob no longer needs it where he lives and would be honored to again have it used. That is all I said. “His little daughter and I pumped up the tires and he took it for a ride. He came back and gave me a hug and said, ‘How

can I ever thank you, Karen? It is such a wonderful bike,’ and I said, ‘Ride it and enjoy it with your family.’ He said, ‘Perhaps you will see me riding it in Nashua.’ As he left, his little daughter turned to me and said, ‘Thank you ... you are so beautiful.’ “I think my Rob spoke through her little lips and was telling me that my soul has now evolved to even a more beautiful spiritual level and that all the gifts Rob gave to me in his life by sharing it with me, I could now have the opportunity to give something back.... I cried for awhile after they left and knew that Rob approved and was happy and I think he knew he had to send a message through one of my good friends to let me know that. He chose you Margaret. So with all my heart I thank you.” Martha Copeland even chimed in with, “… That voice sounds just like Rob’s physical voice! Karen and I shared videos of Cathy and Rob during her visit with me several years ago. It was from hearing Rob’s voice on Karen’s videos that I feel qualified in being able to recognize his voice on recordings. Great recording, Margaret.” EVP Recordings in Concert We received a request from Jesse Guessford: “Hello, I am creating a music composition entitled Grieving Point. I would love to utilize actual EVP within the work. I am looking for an organization or an

individual that would be willing to allow me to use their recordings within this composition.” We put the word out to members and several of them gave permission for Jesse to use their EVP. In August, the members who had shared their EVP re- ceived another email from Jesse that read, “I am writing you to invite you to the premiere of The Grieving Point by the music and dance company, MMT In Concert. I have attached a formal invitation to this email. “The work utilizes several of the EVP recordings that you so graciously donated. If you are unable to attend, I would love for you to hear how those recordings were used. You can the piece at my website: www.jesseguessford.com/mmt. The recordings are the fo- cus of the sections labeled as Interludes.” listen to From Guessford’s biography: “Most people would clas- sify Jesse Guessford as an experimental composer, his family, however, thinks he should write horror movie soundtracks. Over the years he has softened; occasionally a chord may appear that is not fully dissonant.... He usually can be found composing for electronics, but then again he also composes for solo instruments and chamber groups, so it all depends on what is on the program.... he does have a doctorate in composition, which lends a hint of credibility to some of his crazy ideas.” Volume 28, Number 3 Page 18 Researcher Reports (cid:143) Regina Antonucci says that when she is able to find time to continue EVP research she

is able to record anomalous voices on a continuous basis at almost any location. Regina has been recording for seven years. (cid:143) Amy Burns wrote a message to the AA-EVP Idea Ex- change saying that her husband’s grandmother died two weeks earlier on their 25th wedding anniversary. She was ninety-eight years old. Amy wrote, “I recorded this EVP yesterday at her grave. It was a windy day and my husband had just said “hello” to her and then he said “hello” to his grandfather, who passed away in 1972. I hear her saying “I’m talking to him,” Please feel free to edit and any help you can give is appreciated.” Christo- pher Scott worked with the recording and sent a note back saying, “I’m so sorry for your loss. I have attached my edit. In it I hear: “I’m talking to grandpa.” I used Audacity’s noise removal filter, then a high pass filter set to cut off at 7000 Hz, then I amplified it. (cid:143) Suzanne Burt wrote, “Your site has taught me a lot about techniques and how to analyze audio. I have recorded many Class A EVP using a digital recorder.” Suzanne says that she does not ask questions when she records but she does get answers. (cid:143) Domenic Capaldi shared an EVP that that says, “Jack Ruby,” and wrote, “Out of curiosity I downloaded a clip from YouTube of Jack Ruby speaking but due to the poor quality recording it was hard to make any comparison. (cid:143)

Annette Childs says that she continues to experiment with EVP. “We got a very good sample of my husband’s grandfather saying his name “Grandpop” and it is in his own distinct voice. This is the first instance where we have captured a humanoid voice. Before this, they have been more robotic or electronic sounding. (cid:143) Linda Gray was taking a video of her dog barking at a crab and recorded an unexpected voice saying, “Duch- ess.” Linda commented that, “The ghost thinks my pup- py is her dog, Duchess.” (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann wrote that she recorded at her hotel room during her stay for the VTF conference. She received a clear message stating “Scientists there, Köberle” Jutta feels that Mr. Köberle, the former VTF-president, was pleased that there were scientists participating in the conference and wanted to let the group know this. (cid:143) Richard Lovelace shared an EVP that was recorded dur- ing an investigation. His wife was telling another person about what had happened to the woman who had lived in the house. The EVP says, “and she died.” (cid:143) David Mierzwinski shared some EVP from an experi- ment. He wrote, “I have a TV tuned to the cable Spanish speaking channel. This TV is turned up loud. I position the cell phone half way between myself and the TV in the next room. It’s important to have distance between the TV sound and cell phone. I simply record the VOIP call on my computer. The process is strange

because you can sense that what you are hearing on the call does not match the sound coming from the TV in the next room. I had called on the ‘loud talkers’ from London and John Lennon’s people.… I got a garbled message that John Lennon was in Canada at a concert, and then this!: ‘What’s he look like on the phone ... Please?’” (cid:143) Deborah Preece visited an old cemetery in Mt. Dora, Florida and reported that she got two long recordings with voices as she walked and spoke at some of the grave-stones. A powerful thunderstorm began as she was leaving the cemetery, but she had to stop at the pet store. “I parked the car and announced I would leave my Sony recorder on (it is voice activated) in the car while I ran through the rain to the pet store. The rainstorm absolutely gave texture to many voices ... and then I heard one saying: “I’m so sorry … Deborah.” Due to some addi- tional comments, and I must say, the voice, I believe this to be my little brother, John, who crossed over in 1993.” (cid:143) Lance Reed was recording in a graveyard and asked, “whoever is with me, please come forward and speak.” A young boy’s voice replied, “Matthew.” (cid:143) Christopher Scott wrote, “While visiting my friend, Mi- chael, I got my first chance to serve as a proxy practitio- ner. We recorded to make contact or get news of his wife, Patti. We

each used a recorder and recorded in silence, then we used FM radio sweep. I was able to receive one message, “I love you, sweetheart,” that I believe was from Patti. I was also able to introduce Michael to the Big Circle. We did get a couple of messages from Cathy, so I am reasonably assured that the Big Circle is helping Michael. Michael is now recording on his own and I am helping him analyze his recordings. Since I am not re- cording much right now, he is also getting messages for me.” (cid:143) Richard Smith did some sessions asking about Dooms- day in the year 2012. One question was: “Will the Earth experience cataclysmic events on or about Dec 21, 2012?” He got two replies. The first was: “Angels shout, bring out parity!” (Note: parity means equality). The second was “Every human makes a difference!” Rich says, “It sounds more like spirits are suggesting that our actions can change the outcome ... certainly not the first time we have seen this type of spiritual encouragement.” To to www.paratexas.com/2012.htm see more on Rich’s experiment go (cid:143) Pamela Teters wrote to Becky Estep that, while doing a recording, she noted that Sarah Estep had recorded Beethoven and how she loved Beethoven. She recorded “He’s here.” (cid:143) Keith Clark posted a series of imag- es found in the optical noise gener- ated by a spectral view of an audio signal. In this technique, the noise is used to produce faces in

much the same way that video loop noise is used. The square is around what appears to be a male head. Page 19 Face in spectrogram Fall 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Memorial Bench for Sarah Estep A Note from Becky Estep My sister bought a “memorial bench” on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk in Mom’s honor. Cindy had a plaque made to put on the bench which says: “In loving and living memory - Sarah Wilson Estep.” My sister, brother, and I plan on making a one day trip there in a month or two to see the bench and take pictures of it. If you find yourself on the boardwalk of Ocean City, please keep a look out for the bench. It’s across the board- walk from the music pier, where there are several other rows of benches. If you’re facing the cluster of benches where Mom’s bench is, you will see an ice cream place on the right. A little ways down on the left, there is a small store called (of all things) “Heaven’s Grocery Store.” There are memorial benches all up and down the board- walk—they’ve been there for years and they all have their own special plaques on them. Mom loved the music pier; we used to sit there and watch the ocean. There were only six benches left that were available to the public to purchase, so we were really lucky to be able to get one for my mother. Help Us via Amazon and

eBay Don’t forget when you are doing your Christmas shop- ping, or for that matter any shopping, when you use the buttons on the front page of www.aaevp.com to link to Amazon and eBay, they give back a percentage to the AA-EVP. It all helps! Thank you! There is No Death and There are No Dead This was written to help teach about EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy at aaevp.com or send a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097. Or: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.

You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The AA-EVP reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 28, Number 3 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Page 20 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Referrals Volume 19 Number 4 AA-EVP

NEWS Winter 2001 From Our Viewpoint One thing that I truly love about life is how much there is that we still really don’t know about and how many things there are yet to learn. Even with our modern science and technology, we are still in the dark about many things in the world, the universe and life. We go about our daily lives accepting many things as fact about our reality when in actuality these facts are simply based on some scientific hypothesis that we were taught in school. We watched a program on PBS’s Nova last night about our run away universe. In it, several astrophysicists dis- cussed, what was to them, the shocking fact that the uni- verse is expanding rather than contracting as most of us previously accepted as fact. They even admitted that this expansion is, in fact, accelerating. These scientists are say- ing that a third of the universe is vacuum and matter, and two thirds is composed of an unknown energy that they are calling “Dark Energy.” This dark energy is what is causing the accelerating expansion of the universe. Albert Einstein is said to have been embarrassed about proposing something similar to dark energy in the form of a Universal Constant. The astrophysicists, who have once again proposed the existence of this type of energy, sur- mised that Einstein would be jumping with glee at this new evidence supporting his theories. Isn’t it amazing that they are talking about two thirds of

our universe being comprised of an energy that is not yet understood? Remember that the earth and ourselves are certainly a part of the universe and so we are right at this minute surrounded by this energy. One astrophysicist said that he could accept that the universe was “infinite” and that the universe goes on for- ever. Many of us in AA-EVP know that we do not die and that death is merely a change into another dimension or frequency. Thus, we know that we are also infinite and that we also go on forever. Have these scientists found a new way of proving what we have known for so long? In the dark energy, Tom and I believe that one-day sci- ence will find evidence of etheric energy. There has to be an interface between our physical reality and the non- physical reality that those who we talk to on the other side live in. Perhaps this research into dark energy will one-day provide proof of this other reality. When you pick this up to read, the year will be 2001. I remember a major debate that took place before the year 2000. That debate centered on the question of when the millennium really did start. Some authorities said that the millennium really did not begin until the year 2001. So, one could say that, if you didn’t like the first beginning of the millennium, you could decide to start the millennium with the year 2001. Thinking about starting

over, one of the things that I have learned in my time on earth is that not getting what I thought I wanted is often the best thing that could have ev- er happened to me. With hind site, I often look back at what I thought was a disappointment only to find that it resulted in a greater good in my life. I think we all have stories about the relationship that went wrong only to open the door for the one that was really perfect, or the job that was lost only to bring a more satisfying one. Not getting what we want in life can be a wonderful stroke of luck. The New Year is an event that society has chosen as a time for reflection. It is an opportunity to look back at the past year and what we have done in it and decide on changes that we want to make in our lives and our future behavior. We really don’t need a “New Year” to do this. We can simply change the way we think, and what we are thinking about at any second, and totally change our reali- ty. “Thought” is another energy that is little understood. Like the astrophysicist “Dark Energy” causing an acceler- ating expansion of the universe, our thoughts are an energy that create our own personal universe. We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Lisa 2001 and AA-EVP We want to say a very special thank

you to the members of the AA-EVP for the outstanding support and help you provided in the year 2000. How could we have imagined that the year 2000 would bring members the shocking news of Sarah’s retirement, and the challenge of our continuing the Association that she started in 1982? The members showed their support and the AA-EVP continues into the new millennium. Thank you, or as a dear friend of ours says, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” After six months of trying, the AA-EVP web site can now be found on Yahoo’s search engine, and other search engines are also picking it up. The site has been getting at least 75 hits (people logging on to take a look) a week, and we are excited that it is proving to be a good method of spreading the word about EVP. The AA-EVP continues to need the help of its members to live on. We want to hear from you. Let us know what you are doing, what you are recording, and what you read about that you think would be of interest to members. Submissions for the Spring Newsletter need to be in by March 1, 2001. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 4, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2001 Participate in a Joint Experiment We would like everyone to join us in getting together for EVP group taping sessions. We will

record every Sun- day at 6pm Pacific and 9pm Eastern, for four weeks start- ing on February 4, 2001. Please join in one or all of the sessions as your time permits. We do not claim that we will get earth shaking results doing this. It is simply a way for us all to do something together and let those on the oth- er side have a chance to work with our group energy. We suggest you keep the taping session short so that you can listen carefully to what you record; however we want you to record in your normal fashion. Begin as usual, but also say that you are participating in an AA-EVP group taping session. We have provided a list of questions for each experiment. We would like you to incorporate these questions into your recording session at the arranged time. Three questions will change each week with the last ques- tion remaining the same. Questions for February 4: 1. Where do you speak to us from? 2. What is it like where you live? 3. What happens when we die? 4. Who has been speaking with me? Questions for February 11: 1. Are there people, where you are who work to assist this type of communication between us? If so how do they do this? 2. Why do you communicate with us? 3. What can we do to improve this communication? 4. Who has been speaking with me? Questions for February 18: 1. What helps to

bring your voices through? 2. How do you find us when we are recording? 3. What do we look like to you from where you are? 4. Who has been speaking with me? Question for February 25: 1. What is the most important thing that we should do while we are on the earth? 2. How can we help build a bridge of communications between our worlds? 3. Do you think that several of us taping at the same time helps and why? 4. Who has been speaking with me? Please send your results to us each week via regular mail or by Email. We will put together the results for the next newsletter. Depending on participation, we may not be able to publish each and every message. The results for the last session will need to be to us by March 1 so that we have time to put them in the April newsletter. Let’s have a good time doing this! Frequency Shifts in EVP Reception by Bill (Dutch) Weisensale (Editor's Note: Bill's letter has been edited to fit in this space) There is not one, but rather three frequencies that are mentioned in connection with EVP reception. The first is unknown, the second immaterial, and the third is actually a range of frequencies which are fixed by their very nature. First is the hypothesis that spirits vibrate and that this vibration is at a very high but unknown frequency. And furthermore, that they must lower their frequency to

com- municate with us here in the material world. Whether this is true or not, this matter is up to our spirit friends to do whatever is necessary to communicate with us. The second frequency is the tuning frequency of the ra- dio receiver when the radio method is used. There is, in my opinion, ample evidence that our spirit friends are quite incapable of either generating or transmitting radio/TV signals. And that in the radio method, the receiver is simp- ly used as a white noise (in this case static) generator or sound source. Otherwise we would have to use a radio receiver at all times in EVP reception and the receiver would have to be precisely tuned, just as we do when we tune in the weather report on a local radio station. Obvi- ously such is not the case. EVP voices have been recorded on radios from less than 1 mega Hertz to nearly 1 giga Hertz. Many tapers use the airband where there is cleaner static with much less interference from ordinary radio sig- nals. One advantage of using an electronic white noise gener- ator, is that it eliminates one of the main objections to EVP, which is of course, that we are simply hearing scraps of transmissions from distant radio stations. It may also be that electronic noise, which seems to be somewhat more smooth than static, may lend itself better to the noise re- duction part of the Cool Edit program. (Cool Edit: Syntril-

lium Software, PO Box 62255, Phoenix, AZ 85082-2255, http://www.syntrillium.com/cool.htm) The third frequency mentioned is the voiceband. The frequencies of EVP voices are essentially the same as nor- mal spoken voices (300-3,000 Hertz). Since frequency is one of the primary characteristics of the voice, any shift in frequencies would cause mild to gross distortion of the voice, depending on the degree of shift. For example, a shift to even slightly lower frequencies would cause a fe- male voice to sound like a male voice. In my own work, I have never noted any such frequency shift. Females al- ways sound female, and males always sound male. I recommend learning to use the Cool Edit program. It can be considerable help in improving voice quality. It provides advanced electronic voice editing for improved EVP analysis--an idea originated by Alexander MacRae. This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Content of this publication is protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Portions of member correspondence and their names may be published in the newsletters unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in by the end of the first month of each quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 19,

Number 4, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2001 Recording Techniques AA-EVP member and Coordinator of the Institute of TransCommunication (IoTC), Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt posted an article to the AA-EVP Egroup that we believe will be of interest to all of you. Remember that there are many possible variations of this method. Digested from rodiehr 021200. [email protected], www.iotc.de.vu/ How to get fast EVP/ITC Contacts! Referring to consciousness science research, Prof. Dr. Resch, University of Innsbruck, Austria wrote: "The phe- nomena should not and can not be adapted to the research methods. Just the opposite: the research methods have to be adapted to the phenomena." EVP/ITC experimenters have favorite ways to record. Success means that the experimenter makes contact with every try. Success also means that the messages received are of the quality that makes it easy to understand what was said and to find out who has said it. These are steps that I believe will lead you to achieving fast EVP/ITC contacts. 1. You should not have had too much personal stress in the hours before recording. 2. If you have had a troubling day, calm down by listen- ing to music you like, reading a book or taking a walk. 3. Sittings should not become routine; look forward to it. 4. You should be comfortable in the room you record in. 5. Anything that will put you in a good mood is helpful: candles, fragrances, certain illumination, flowers, ar- rangement of the furniture and so on. 6. Protect yourself: have

no fear, do not have a negative attitude and do not be dependent on expected messag- es. Think positive!!! 7. If you are attempting to contact a particular person, set the tone of the session with a statement something like, "I wish to contact (name). I am looking forward to this contact. If we are not successful then no prob- lem will result and we will try again later." 8. Concentrate on one person to contact in a session. Have a picture of the person you seek to contact. Con- centrate on this person by thinking positive. Remem- ber the good times! The more emotion the better. 9. In the beginning, just a simple tape recorder, external microphone and a new cassette will do. Make sure that the microphone does not pick up noise from outside of the room. The entities indicate a problem with our time so a metronome or a noisy clock may be used for background noise and to solve this problem. 10. At the beginning of the recording state the date, time and name of the people present. Ask for contact by naming the person. What you ask is up to you, but leave periods between questions for the entity to speak. Keep your thoughts focused on contact. 11. When you are successful using this or another record- ing method, continue to use the method and try to im- prove the contacts. They will tell you from beyond if you should change something! Member's Video Images

and Setup Earland Babcock has provided us with a number of in- teresting images taken from video, and an explanation of how the recordings were made. Earland writes that he operated a TV recording studio, in which, he used a Panasonic vidicon camera. The camera was focused on a commercial, high-resolution 25-inch monitor/receiver in the monitor mode. The output of the camera was fed through a Time Base Corrector (TBC), then through a video enhancer, and then back to the monitor. Thus, there was a loop in which the camera saw what the monitor displayed, and the monitor displayed what the camera saw. The camera was a few inches from the picture tube and slightly out of focus. In this way, the usual picture within a picture was not displayed. for Earland recorded just a few minutes and then reviewed the tape a frame at a time. He then took a photo- graph of the most interesting frames with an ordinary camera. Earland did not specify who he wanted to see nor did he know any of the people or the scenes in the pictures. Not all frames had pictures, and sometimes a week would pass without an image. Some images appear to be bird's eye views of clouds or land. We have included an image of a man and an enti- ty that many would describe as an extraterrestrial. Developing a Standard Test Bed When the EVP history of our time is written, considera- ble space will be devoted

to our search for better ways to communicate with our unseen friends. Perhaps future his- torians will compare our efforts to those of early avionics pioneers. It is a good comparison, because at one time, it seemed that nothing would fly. Today, it seems that any- thing will fly. All it took was the breakthrough under- standing that lift was caused by the uneven flow of air over a wing. Will EVP researchers have a similar realization? Even after years of research, the microphone remains the most reliable EVP detector. Still, of the various factors of EVP recording, it is the EVP detector that is most open for improvement. It is a little like a telephone call. The agreement to communicate and the contents of the commu- nication are people issues. What researchers seek is a better EVP (telephone) circuit. Several AA-EVP members have been collaborating to build a test bed on which EVP detectors can be tried in a controlled way. They hope that this control will yield a clear understanding of what does and does not work. As shown in the block diagram, the approach uses four modules that can be independently changed. The energy source may be sound or light or . . .. (Continued Page 4) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 4, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2001 (Continued From Page 3) Test Bed The discriminator will be designed

to help distinguish the voice from the energy source. And of course, there is the usual recorder or computer and speaker. The real area of experimentation will be in the detector, which can be any- thing from a microphone to a plasma field. My Practice of Video ITC By Guy Révol Jacque Blanc-Garin has translated this article for AA-EVP from The Messenger. (Jacque Blanc-Garin, INFINITUDE, Le Mesnil des Fretils, F-27250 LES BOTTEREAUX France, [email protected]) The translation is approximate. ----------------------------------------------- Energy Detector Discriminator Recorder/Speaker There is much more to this design, and you should know that the test bed is still in a block diagram stage of development. Actual construction of the first design will probably not occur until next spring. There are many per- sonal things individuals can do to improve message con- tent. It is the hardware part of the circuit that EVP/ITC researchers around the world are working to improve. EVP on a Baldwin Organ. We received this letter in October from Mena in Texas and wondered if anyone had tried recording in this way. I was referred to your web site by a friend. I found it very useful in answering questions that I had about EVP. This happened to me as a child (around 9 or 10)....and unlike the examples on your web site, my recording was at least one full minute in length, possibly longer, and crystal clear. I say it was possibly longer because I was too frightened to listen to the whole thing.

I was the only child living in our home at the time and my parents could not have masterminded the recording themselves. My family heard the tape as well and no one could of- fer an explanation. The voices made my mother nauseat- ed. There were several entities both male and female, some of them with deep evil tones, some of them singing, many echoes, etc. They repeated my nickname "Mena" over and over again. The whole recording was of these voices scream- ing, singing, and chanting my name over and over again. It was crystal clear and quite lengthy. We burned the tape, my brother and I, because it really upset me. Now I will tell you how this was recorded. I had an organ, a Baldwin organ, with a cassette play- er/recorder, which would slide out under the keyboard. I thought that this was recorded while I was playing, but I may have left the organ on with the tape rolling when I left the room. An organ will produce some "white" noise if turned up really loud. The beginning of the EVP starts with me end- ing my song recording, then light static, and then the voic- es. I know that it is unlikely for you to have an organ, ready and handy, but should the opportunity present itself, try this technique. I assure you that if you can record EVP this way, you will get a clearer and more distinct record- ing. When compared to the

examples I heard on your website, it's like night and day. Mena I came to work with video a few years ago because of audio ITC. After having heard in my messages: "Video, television," I decided to buy a television set, video recorder and camera. This material remained waiting in my office until the day I clearly heard on an audiotape: "And the vid- eo it is for when?" Then I decided to begin, and I want to thank Infinitude, as well as Mrs. Sagnes, who have helped me in this way of research. The first photo that appeared was of my father, which was also recognized by my wife. This photo quickly dis- appeared. After that I received many faces. In video ITC we find the same thing as we have in audio ITC. By this, I mean that the person's image appears or disappears on movies that have already been seen, and it is necessary to decipher some of the pictures. If we are told to stop, it is necessary to stop, because nothing will appear if one persists. I was lucky to see my father. He was recognized by my mother and my family as well. I also received the face of the mother of Yves Linès, recognized by him. And spon- taneously I have received pictures of Maurice, my nephew, my sister-in-law, the grandmother of Maud Bothéreau, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Darley of Valencia who was in the accident of plane number 800 and

whose mom was con- tacted by automatic writing, and a lot of other unknowns. I practice the Klaus Schreiber method, but without am- plifier, infrared or ultraviolet light, only a black and white television screen, a video recorder and a black and white camera. I record with my screen on an empty channel and without antenna. After that, I have to review the tape frame by frame in order to find a good picture. I do that on my television or on my computer. Currently I work with a nu- meric tuner on my computer and results seem promising. I have noticed that the received material is not the most important part! Our friends from beyond had to try this new means of communication to prove to us that life exists after physical death. These faces appear so that they can be recognized by those to whom they are addressed in order to testify to this fact. The best proof is the recognition by those who knew the deceased person. (This explains why it is almost always the concerned person to recognize the image). Some persons tell us that it is autosuggestion, but when I call on a deceased person that I never knew, nor have I ever seen in a photo- graph, and then a face appears sponta- neously and is recognized by their loved ones, doubt is not possible! Unknown man, picture obtained with numeric tuner on computer. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence

That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 4, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2001 Sarah, do you really believe EVP is Real? We have received many letters asking about how Sarah Estep is doing. We are happy to report that she is doing better. Just like other things that Sarah has done in her life, she has turned out to be an excellent mentor. We can’t thank her enough for the time and support she has given to us to make sure that the AA-EVP continues on. A recent letter to her asks, “Do you really believe this EVP is real?” Here is her response: Dear Harold, Yes, of course, I believe that the voices are real. I be- gan my first taping on October 24, 1976, and have on file in my office 24,000 voices from entities who have spoken to me from other dimensions. I certainly wouldn't have been taping for 24 years if I wasn't convinced they were actual voices of the unseen, nor would I have started the AA-EVP 18 years ago. I am fond of open-minded skeptics, as I suspect you are. Fine--just so you are truly open-minded. I must tell you, that when I first started in 1976, I was as near to a 'closed- minded' skeptic as one can be. However, I kept hoping that my belief that, at death the only place you went to was into a hole in the ground, was incorrect, so that made

me begin. I won't go into that any further, except that in time, as the voices started coming through--mostly male, at times in a foreign language, and answered at least some of my ques- tions, called me by name, and once in a great while—they would be speaking as I was speaking (in other words two voices at the same time on tape) and even now and then, told me something that later proved to be true, I put aside my skepticism--not completely for a time, but enough to keep me taping. They even, many years ago, gave me a message about my husband, which enabled me to get him to the doctor that morning. That saved his life, for he was in the midst of a 'quiet' heart attack, and he was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. A few hours later, the doctor said if Charlie had waited another 24 hours, he would have been dead. Sure, if you know anything about EVP, you probably are aware of all the different reasons skeptics say these voices are not those of the 'dead.' Nonsense. There is so much evidence that they are truly from unseen entities, that those who refuse to consider the pro-evidence must be la- beled . . .. I won't go into that either. Sarah’s letter goes on to give Harold information on the AA-EVP and how to get in touch with us, as does her an- swers to all letters that she receives like this.

Members of the Egroup have the opportunity to read Sa- rah’s comments on a regular basis. She shares the wisdom gained from her years of EVP experience in many of the discussions and questions being asked in this group. If you are not in the Egroup and are a member, have a computer and are online, you can join by simply letting us know that you would like to be added to the Egroup. News From and About Our Members  Chris Peterson and Nancy Kimball head up the Utah Ghost Hunters Society. They use EVP extensively when doing an investigation and have many examples of EVP on their excellent web site at www.ghostwave.com. Chris wrote that they are finding most of their EVP in the ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) range of the spectrum. This is 0 to 300HZ. They use Cool Edit 2000 to clean and analyze their EVP recordings. If you have access to the web, you will want to take a look at their web site or you can write to them at UGHS 584 E. Briarsprings Cir. Midvale, UT 84047.  Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, wrote that the talk with demon- strations of ITC contacts she did at the Forum Espirito e Ciencia in Brasilia was a tremendous success. Sonia launched her third book for the year 2000 at the forum. She wrote that the book is “specially important because it relates the first really scientific project conducted about ITC. The results of the 5 months researching

are impres- sive. Some positive points and some negative ones…that we have to learn to deal with about the phenomena.”  Keli Adams, PA, has a new book called The Arrival is the Departure due out in the early spring of 2001. Keli is a flight attendant, and she wrote that the book “is based on the true accounts of her childhood. It is similar to the story of the little boy in the movie, The Sixth Sense, her gifts as a spirit communicator like Whoopi Goldberg in the movie, Ghost, and her amazing life as a psychic flight attendant.” You can find out more about the book at http://users.penn.com/~kadams/ or by writing to Keli at PO Box 541, Marienville, PA 16239. Thoughts From Members  Scott Preston, VA, wrote, “The sound of the sea inside a sea shell, is the sound of the natural sounds in the envi- ronment bouncing around until they become random white noise like sounds. It is the randomness, which homogenizes the sound into a sound resembling the ocean. "Interestingly, experiments done at Duke University in PK (Psychokinesis) show that PK is more effective when the randomness of the events is increased. If mind can best impress randomness then this might offer a hy- pothesis for creation, since the universe would have been at its most random point just after the Big Bang. "Perhaps a seashell could be used with great effect. It has the hard inner surface necessary to reflect sound, it is wide

at one end and narrow at the other like a spirit horn, and it spirals in the phi ratio of sacred geometry, which is supposed to be transcendental. An acoustical physicist might be able to tell you how large the opening of a spirit trumpet should be to accommodate the mid range frequencies of the human voice. It might also be possible to construct a spirit trumpet that ran in a spiral (Continued on Page 6) like the shell. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 19, Number 4, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2001 Thoughts (Continued From Page 5) Such constructions could be either large or small, straight or spiraled. Noise reduction equipment could be used to bring out the voices. I never tried this but I've thought about it in the past.”  Erland Babcock, VA, wrote, “The use of a Conch Shell might be a good idea to try. I have used what is called a "folded horn" from a windup victrola (I still have it) It did not seem to work for me. However, each person is different. What may work for me does not mean it will work for you.”  Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, wrote about something that we have personally experienced. “I have noticed over the years, that whenever I try a ‘new’ experiment, the results most often are excellent and so, I think I am really on to something. But

upon continuation of that method, it invariably fails to live up to the first try.”  Eleanor Katz, FL, wrote “I am interested in participat- ing in EVP and I find the whole field of parapsychology amazing. What I want to share is a new method of in- ducing after-death communications. This was reported on in the Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 18, Number 3, Spring 2000 in an article by Allan L. Botkin, Psy.D. No mediums are necessary and most people seem to be successful who are willing and able to participate in the procedure. It appears to be like a near death experi- ence for those who communicate and is very easy to do. The technique is known as EMDR or eye movement de- sensitization and reprocessing. To quote from the article, ‘it has been known for some time that the shifting of the eyes is associated with increased brain processing....that a purposeful shifting of the eyes causes an increase in the brain's ability to process information.’ One of the sugges- tions in the article is to hold the thought of the deceased person. Close your eyes for a period of time following each set of EMDR which is simply slowly rolling your eyes back and forth.” Eleanor goes on to say that the ar- ticle is written for psychotherapists to use this technique. Quotes "… the first demonstration of existence after death, in such a way that it can be registered on the physical plane, will come

via the radio …" (written February, 1944, and published in the book Esoteric Healing, by Alice A. Bai- ley, p.378) "Through the use of the radio by those who have passed over will communication eventually be set up and reduced to a true science" (written about 1934 by the same author and published in Esoteric Psychology, Vol. I, page 184) David J. Gaines, a California member, provided these quotes. He writes that both books are still available and that the quotes occur in a context of highly intelligent dis- cussion of life after death. Tapers Report  Renata Barbarigo, FL, wrote to us to let us know she records and receives EVP in her own language, which is Italian. She receives her messages between station 12 and 13 on the short wave radio where there is only white noise. Renata says that she became clairaudient and heard her husband whispering in her ear. One morning he told her to take her 35mm camera and take a picture on the television so that she could see him. He told her that this was because she did not believe that it was him talking in her ear. Renata sent us a copy of this picture. We found that the image got lost when we tried to print it, but if you would like to see the picture you can go to the AA-EVP web site at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp.  Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, wrote, “A good friend passed away about a year ago. Yesterday,

I asked him to come through and answer a question. He was not an atheist, but had his own idea about God and often told me that he believed in a higher power, but felt that 'God' was 'electricity' or something of that nature, since our very being is made of electrical impulses. I brought up the subject and asked if he still believed that were true. A high pitched voice sang, Nooooooo!”  Clara Laughlin, VA, wrote that she had received a mes- sage from her sister-in-law, “I leave the earth with Cau- tioness” Clara said that this was very evidential as her sister-in-law had been afraid to die.  Alexander MacRae, Scotland, joined in on one of the group experiments. He recorded “Talking from Jubilloh” using his holophonics prototype. He sent us a copy of this class A recording over the Internet. It was very in- teresting to listen to as the sound is very different from what we get using the usual recording techniques.  Bill Weber, FL, reported that when he asked the ques- tion “What may we do to help you come through?” a voice responded with the word “Light.”  Edna Drake, Canada, wrote that on the night of the first Egroup Experiment she had received a faint “Edna.” The next day she was thinking of her sister, Doreen, who she had so much wanted to hear from. She silently men- tioned to her sister that she would be taping at 6:15 that evening.

On her recording that night she got “This is Doreen.”  Sandra Belanger, CA, asked what those on the other side thought of a group taping and got a Men's chorus saying "We're here! and we're talkin'!" and "Got my vote!" A man singing "Working!" and then a man saying "Get it!" She wrote that they all sounded happy. New Address Don’t forget that we have a new physical address. It is Tom and Lisa Butler - AA-EVP, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Referrals Volume 20 Number 1 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 From Our Viewpoint Have you listened to yourself when you talk to others about EVP? What if you were the person you were speak- ing to? What would you think when you heard for the first time that people claim to actually record voices of dead people? What if you had a worldview, for which terms like “spirit communications” raised red flags of doubt? Would you speak up or would you say, “that’s nice” and change the subject? I tend to speak candidly about subjects like EVP. I figure that, even if people do not believe in the subject, hearing about it will soften them up for the next time. Sooner or later, they may begin thinking that there might be something to such strange notions.

But I have had more than one person stick their face near mine and say, “You don’t belong to a cult, do you?” “Well, no. Of course not!” I reply and try my best to look like a harmless engineer. I suffer a deep sinking feel- ing as I realize there will not be enough time to explain why I believe what I am telling them. At first glance, these concepts do seem to involve religion, and if the words do not agree with what people believe, they can easily evoke a negative response. Regretfully, most people will not tell us we are wrong. They will simply change the subject or go away thinking that we need to be watched very carefully. You and I know that EVP is not about religion it is about observed phenomena that cries for better understand- ing. And like any idea that has such profound implications for Humankind, knowledge of EVP drives us to know more about it and to do what we can to help others understand as well. No, not in the evangelical sense—there is no place for missionaries in EVP—but in the emissary sense. I ask you, how do you think you come across to others when you speak of EVP? Different people learn about new ideas in different ways. Some people will only accept EVP in metaphysical terms. Others need to hear of it in plain talk from someone who has personally heard from a loved one through EVP. We

are all different. Lisa and I always try to appear as practical and level headed about EVP as we can. In fact, you might say that we are trying to look professional. You know it can be tough looking professional when you are talking about communicating with people who are supposed to be dead and long gone! What fun! The idea of this “Viewpoint” originated from a news- paper article about a survey of local churches. The reporter attended many and awarded them one to four crosses de- pending on his “visitor’s” perception of the church. We were visiting a Spiritualist Church and were delighted to see that the reporter had awarded the church two and a half crosses—not bad for an unorthodox church. The item about the Church was interesting though. The reporter wrote that a woman, who had been sitting be- side him, put her hand over his and told him that he had healing power. One of the mediums had told someone else that there were angels over their head. (Spiritualists do healing and give spirit messages during the service.) The reporter was not familiar with Spiritualist beliefs, just as many people we talk to are not familiar with EVP. Had he not sensed such friendly sincerity, he might have given the church a much lower grade. I would not ask the people of the church to change their behavior. After all, I believe many of us can sense energy and the presence of entities. There is

much founda- tion for this. However, if the people you are speaking with about such concepts as EVP have no background in the subject, then whatever you say may come across as a little odd. The solution? Well, here are a few thoughts:  Listen to what you say, and think of what you might sound like to people who are not familiar with the con- cepts involved in EVP.  Approach the discussion of EVP from the perspective of, “Here is an interesting phenomena a few of us have been researching,” or something like this. You see, people who study things are highly respected in our culture.  Keep it simple. You may have some solid ideas of who you are communicating with and how, but you do not know for sure. Phrases like “I suspect,” “It appears” and “Some people are studying to see if,” have powerful im- plications of potential truth without cornering the person into accepting or rejecting a definite statement like “EVP is communicating with dead people.”  If you let someone listen to an EVP sound tract, be sure that it has a Class A voice that is clearly understandable. If it is not, your audience may be polite, but they will not accept what you tell them.  Finally, let them know how easy it is to try EVP for themselves. I think of EVP as the great democratization of spirit communications. Anyone is capable of record- ing an EVP message. And doing

so provides more proof than all you and I can tell them about EVP. The way you see EVP may not be the way others see the phenomenon. EVP is important. We do want to give others the opportunity to learn about it and to try recording for themselves. And they will, if we can find a way to let them see EVP as a natural part of their world. Tom Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Dutch (Bill) Weisensale Returns Home Although we knew that Dutch Weisensale had been fighting cancer for quite some time it was still a very sad evening when we learned that he would no longer be com- municating with us in the physical. Our prayers go out to his wife Mary who was instrumental in much of Dutch’s work. Sarah Estep wrote: "Dutch (Bill) Weisensale and I became close friends almost 25 years ago. He'd heard about me, somehow, and how I started taping in October 1976, so wrote to me about his work in the field. We immediately began exchanging letters (in those days neither of us had computers) and an- swered each other promptly. George Meek, the developer of Spiricom contacted Dutch and asked if he knew any ta- per who might be able to reinforce William O'Neil's work with Spiricom. Dutch suggested George contact me. “About that time,

Dutch began an international group he called "Spirit Voices." He published a quarterly Jour- nal, largely technical, about his own brilliant work in the field of EVP, and outstanding ideas he had for develop- ment. When Dutch discontinued his group, I felt others in the field needed to know what their colleagues were doing, so I began the AA-EVP in May 1982. Dutch was very happy I'd done this and supported my every effort. He re- mained a member of my AA-EVP until I turned it over to the Butlers in May 2000. Dutch joined their group and remained very active in working on R&D ideas, along with other members, to enable the invisibles to come through to us more easily and in louder and clearer voices. “Even though he was diagnosed with terminal cancer several years ago, he continued putting all of his efforts into the development of the field of ITC. Dutch had many treatments for his disease, which would cause him to re- main in the hospital for several days at a time. Just as soon as he was able, he'd return home and continue working in the field that he loved, ITC. “I am sad that Dutch is no longer with us--in a physical sense, although I know he will continue to be aware of all that we do in bringing communication from the spirit world, to our world, here. No doubt he has already re- turned to good health, and is busy working with other

out- standing scientists from his 'home' back there, to help those of us involved with EVP/ITC. “I am sure Dutch was greeted by the Heavenly Choir, upon his return, and the red carpet was laid before him....Sarah Estep” Jeff King wrote: “I first made contact with Dutch in the late 1980s, after Sarah had mentioned his work (and address) in her news- letter. The first interesting parallel between us was that he and I shared a common career and status as what he hu- morously called a "recycled technician.” He was ex-Air Force, I was ex-civil aviation. “In gaining copies of all of Dutch's printed work, I quickly realized that he and I had been on a parallel re- search path without knowing it. For my part, Dutch's in- sights validated my own, and gave me confidence to go further with formative theories. “At that time, we corresponded via snail-mail, but the major part of my involvement with Dutch was much later via personal emails, where through our collaboration, we both had some satisfying insights to long unanswered tech- nical questions. “I quickly came to greatly admire Dutch's insights (and direct approach) into the technical realms of EVP research, and felt very privileged to be able to work with him in this pioneering field. “I know that the technical work will indeed continue for him in a heavenly setting, and that somehow we will be aware of this work and its evolution. “I'll miss you Dutch...but I'm sure we'll be

hearing from you!! Jeff King” In one of his last letters to us Dutch wrote: “When I was 14 years old, I learned to ride my Dad's Harley- Davison in the cornfield behind our house. Off and on dur- ing my life I've ridden Bikes and still have our almost half- century old (1952) Harley in our little shop. Free spirit on the open road, and all that good stuff. Just a keepsake now. I'm hardly in condition to kickstart an engine with the dis- placement of a Volkswagen. Anyway I've told Mary that she doesn't have to worry about me passing on, because when my time comes, if I can't figure out how to take our Harley along, I'm just simply not going to go, period. -- So far I haven't been able to figure it out. Love, cheers and best wishes to all of you, Dutch and Mary.” We are sure that Dutch found an exact replica of the Harley waiting for him on the other side. Cards can be sent to Mary Weisensale at PO Box 19551, Jean, NV 89019. GAIT Project Update Dale Palmer of the Noetics Institute Inc. (NII) is a step closer to having a Computer Center built and operational that will allow anyone in the world, who has a computer and is on the Internet, to log on and do communications with persons in other dimensions of reality. The Computer Center went on line in test mode recently. The bugs are still being

worked out. As Dale wrote “Getting this to work at all is a miracle. Getting it to work remotely is very difficult technically. We plan to have the computer site user-friendly by July. We hope; we shall see. This work is already contracted and funded.” Published for the AA-EVP by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Annual AA-EVP membership: $20.00 for USA; $25.00 USF for international members. Dues accepted online via PayPal.com. Additional information about AA-EVP and membership form is available at http://aaevp.com. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Voices of Timestream After being deeply stricken by grief and in an effort to find out what really happened to those whom she loved and missed, Anabela Cardoso and a small group of people started trying to make contact with other realities by means of EVP in 1997. At the end of two and a half months the first answers by EVP started coming through. The background noise used for these communications was that of three radios tuned inter station in SW and AM. The group asked a question and allowed one or

two minutes between each question. The answers started com- ing, sometime including words in two or three different languages. Anabela’s mother tongue is Portuguese but she speaks other languages as well. Anebela wrote that: “On March 11, 1998 I was at home alone with the dogs. At around 7:00 pm, as usual, I tried contact by EVP. Suddenly, from one of the old valve radi- os tuned in the white noise of SW, a loud voice shouted: *‘We are listening to everything! We want to know about the world, we want to hear your things! Now we are going to count on you, to offer what is fair! I was not the one who spoke, but I suppose that you have made a question! This is very and very difficult! An- other world!’” When the voice came, Anabela had just asked if the contacts through EVP that they were getting so frequently were really coming from Timestream Station (some mes- sages said they were) and from Carlos de Almeida. She knew that Carlos de Almeida was active at Timestream and she usually asked for his help and protection at the begin- ning of each recording session, as she still does. From that date on, the voices came frequently from one of the radios tuned into the white noise of short waves. On a few occasions the voices would start on one of the radios and then suddenly "jump" to another radio tuned in to a completely different frequency. A few

months later, the recording group was reduced to Anabela and the occasional visits of Carlos Fernández, who writes articles in Spanish for their web site. Carlos de Almeida seems to be the one who gives guidance to the Portuguese Group. The voices of Timestream speak about a wonderful world very similar to ours. They say that their new, young and vigorous bodies can travel with thought and that they come to the Earth of- ten. They say that they modulate radio waves with thought and that this takes a lot of effort and concentration. Ana- bela was told that it is their thought that becomes audible and that their thoughts comes, in a way, like radio waves. Anabela writes that this is probably the reason why there are so many semantic and grammatical mistakes in direct radio voices, why there are words of different lan- guages mixed in the same sentence, why they jump without stopping from one subject to another in the conversation, can speak among themselves without stopping for hours, and why the answer to a question asked from our side comes glued to their own conversation, etc. Maybe this is how thought sounds. The confirmation of Carlos de Almeida's identity has come several times in answer to repeated questions. Ana- bela asks "Carlos de Almeida?" and the reply comes *“Yes, I am, I’m, first of June, first of June,” and “I am here, I am here, law proof in June.” In this and on other occasions it

was announced that Timestream Station would start transmitting regularly from the first of June (1998). That indeed has happened. Some of the information received:  There are no conditions at all attached to contacts. A normal person who is sufficiently interested and persis- tent can aim to communicate (with the other world).  The most important thing to establish contacts is "Contact itself.”  Mediumship is not necessary for contact.  The level of transpartners on the other side always corresponds to the ethical and intellectual conditions of the Earth partners.  Meditation is very important.  It is their world that grants them the extraordinary capac- ities that they have of modulating radio waves with thought or making their bodies travel with thought, and many other abilities.  They have a physical body of a different nature. They can feel the sensations perceived by our physical senses. About where the entities are  “It is beautiful here”  “It is the gate of light”  “We have no time, we have another space”  They can be in their world and in ours at the same time  They have contacts with other worlds besides the Earth  Regarding plants “Don’t forget that the plants are beings of your world. From that world all come to this world.”  Regarding the ideals and goals of animals in their world “They also try to know more.” Anabela has also received Transimages from the next world in collaboration with Carlos Fernandez.

The first image is thought to be that of a dog, while the second is of one, possibly two human faces. This article was taken from Anabela’s Web Site “The Voices of Timestream” at http://pagina.de/riodotempo. Subscribe to Anabela’s ITC Journal by sending $30 US dollars ($20 for those in Europe) along with your name, address, Country, Telephone number, and Email address (if you have one) to Anabela Cardoso, Apartado de Correso 3157 VIGO, Pontevedra, Spain. * = Translated to English Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 SORRAT Participation in Experiment The Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT) has been conducting a letter writing experi- ment. Tom Richards, who facilitates SORRAT asked to participate in the group EVP experiment by having us write a letter to the entities. The procedure is this: Lisa and I selected some of the questions that we used for the group recording experiment and mailed them, along with extra paper, and an unsealed SASE to Dr. Richards. He put the material in a locked box along with an uncapped felt-tipped pen. Dr. Richards has photographs, from past activity, of the pen lifting up and putting answers on paper—without visi- ble support. The second part of the experiment requires that the entities put the paper in the envelope and apport it to a post office for mailing. (We acknowledge that there have

been supporting and denouncing articles written about SORRAT, just as there have been about EVP/ITC.) Images of the actual documents are too large to include here. We have placed scans of them on the web site. Question: Where do you speak to us from? Answer: “Friends Tom and Alisa—We exist outside of the limits of one space/time locus. For practical purposes, consider our ‘location’ the other side [of the change correctly called death] but realize that this is both a subjective and an ob- jective correlative, for your side and our side are like nearby faces of the big diamond of the All.” Question: What is it like where you live? Answer: “Our reality is however and whatever we think it is. To Raymond Lodge, whiskey and cigars and comfortable chairs—to someone else, flowers and fountains--to anoth- er, pure harmonic vibratory energy—to another, loved ones—to another, travel through all the multiverse as points of living light.” Question: Who has been speaking with me? Answer: “When the body dies, the Self is free of the envelope of meat. People may speak of us as souls or spirits, but you are, in essence, just the same. Every one is ‘a spirit’ con- nected by interpenetration of the All. Whether you call this God or Brahm or the Oversoul or the Great Spirit, etc., the All is far greater than the individual Selves. This basic fact does not change, whether your body is alive or dead as salt pork, to use John King’s

expression. “Now, if you need to know more before you find out by experience, as all do, then ask and we shall gladly tell our version—which depends on the teller. “Here is a successfully sealed—jar artifact. “Shanti— “Imperator/Explicator/Rector/Mentor/W.E.C./IIIxIII/J.K.” Group Taping Experiment Several members participated in the Group Taping Ex- periments that ran during February. We thank all those who got together at the same time and recorded. There was varying success. Here are some of the answers to the ques- tions asked.  Question: Where do you speak to us from? Reverse message, “No accidents go home.” (Lisa and Tom)  Question: Are there people there to help you? “Yes, there are people here” (Carol Barron-Karajohn)  Question: Why are you communicating with us? “Death” and “I return the call.” (Lisa and Tom)  Question: How can we build a bridge between our worlds? “You can see the prism. That’s the reso- nant.” (Carol Barron-Karajohn); “When you obey in the word” (Brian Jones); “Education” (Lisa and Tom)  Question: What is the most important thing we should do while here on Earth? “Keep heart; Give a heart; Try and move up” (Brian Jones); “We have lesson”; “Recognize your part.” (Lisa and Tom) We also thank Sandra Belanger, Edna Drake, and Bill We- ber for participating. You Can Hear Dead People The February 2001 Issue of Fate magazine did an ex- cellent article by Konstantinos with the title You Can Hear Dead People. It starts with “You can hear the voices

of the dead. I’ve done it, thousands of other researchers have done it, and with a little patience and persistence soon you will, too. The other side is closer than most imagine. And it can be reached with the help of machines.” Konstantinos goes on to give a little history on EVP. He then asks, “What exactly will you be listening for on the tapes you make? . . . Most notably, EVP does not sound like normal speech. They vibrate rapidly, as if the phantom ‘voice boxes’ producing them are being jiggled hundreds of times a minute.” Kanstantinos writes that the entire sentence rhythm of an EVP has a paranormal speed to it, and that without sounding high pitched EVP tends to be faster than normal speech. The article concludes with instructions on recording voices and playing them back. He suggests when listening back to a tape to “Focus on the sound of the static. Listen for its uniform aspects – become used to these waves. Fa- miliarity with the hiss is important, so the slightest change will leap out at you. You’ll be listening for any fluctua- tions, warbles, or outright voices…You’ll find that the more times you replay each of the anomalies, the clearer they’ll become. For this reason, these repetitions are called “developing playbacks.” The AA-EVP website (http://dreamwater.com/aaevp) has a link to the article. You can get a copy of the article by writing FATE Magazine, Attention Back Issues (Febru- ary 2001), PO Box 64383, St.

Paul, MN 55164-0383 or by calling them at 1-800-728-2730. Konstantinos is the author of Contact the Other Side (Llewellyn, 2000). You may order a copy of his book by contacting Llewellyn Worldwide at 1-800-THE-MOON. Mention code K-377-F. For those on the web, visit http://konstantinos.com to see Konstantinos website. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 The EVP Christmas Present Suzanne Stevenson, FL, sent a letter in January that in- cluded a wave file of an EVP voice. She wrote “The voice you hear was recorded in my home on Christmas Day at 4:15PM. The only two people in the house were my hus- band and myself. We were testing out my new tape re- corder and microphone. We do not have a clue who this voice belongs to. It sounds like a man saying ‘I should have seen I didn't know.’ We were just playing around and not even trying to get an EVP at the time. In a later note Suzanne wrote, “I was very excited to receive such an EVP as this one. I have lived in a haunted home for 15 years, myself and others have seen at least 4 apparitions in solid form and I have several photos that are very good. Dr. William Roll sent three of his colleagues here in the 80's and about two years ago I had two more investigators

here from the college in Gainesville. I have tried several times to get an EVP on tape but I have always been unsuccessful. When we played back the tape and heard the voice my husband and I just looked at one anoth- er and he said, ‘Who the Hell is that,’ and then we just kept playing it over and over. Please… let others know to not give up trying (to record EVP) because it may happen when they least expect it.” Suzanne sent us two pictures; both are now posted on the AA-EVP web page along with the EVP message that they received Christmas Day. The photo seen here is of a Bible page. She wrote that “One night my friends were over and we were talking about all the things that happen in the house. Well I keep an open Bible under my coffee table on a shelf and as we talked the Bible page stood straight up in front of us. I pulled it out onto the floor and took some pictures and then I placed it back under the table and it stayed in that posi- tion for two weeks. My husband and I witnessed it going back down as we were watching TV. The page that stood up was Psalms 27 through 33, I believe.” University of Arizona Tests Mediums Professor Gary Schwartz and a team at the University of Arizona selected five reputable ‘spirit mediums’ to ex- amine. The five were asked to try

and contact the dead relatives of two volunteers that they had never met. The goal was to see if the mediums, under strict test conditions, could produce accurate information. The medium was put on the other side of a screen from the volunteer and the volunteers were only allowed to an- swer questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The mediums were not even allowed to speak directly to the second volunteer. The mediums achieved 83% accuracy on the subject of dead relatives, except one who scored 93%. Don’t Have Time to Tape? Try This! We talk to many people who are interested in EVP but say they just don’t have the time to try it. Sarah Estep says “No Problem, you can tape while your asleep!” and sug- gests an experiment in the following Email. Here is a new idea for an experiment that you might like to try--how we can tape voices while asleep. YES! In my 4th newsletter, published February 1983, I mentioned the sleep experiment I did on four occasions, which pro- duced results each time. All that is needed is a tape re- corder, a clock and an automatic timer. Timers are not ex- pensive (many people already have them) and they can be bought at any hardware or department store. The only re- quirement of the taper is that he/she be asleep when they do the experiment. You set the timer to come on when you think you'll be asleep. In my recorder, sitting beside my

bed on a small bedside table, I placed a 60 minute tape (30 minutes to each side). I set the timer for 2:30 and it came on automatically and turned off at the end of the tape (30 minutes). The four nights produced a total of 33 messages, some of which were Class A. Of course, no sound source was used, so everything was very quiet--except for the voices coming through. Although not quite as loud as when I use a sound source, many I called Class B (could hear them without headphones) and as I said, some were Class A. The messages themselves were very interesting, many unique. They called me by name; talked about carry- ing (something) and mentioned quite a few times about 'waiting' for each other; waiting here, and assured others they would come. Each morning when I did my regular morning taping, I told the other side about the experiment that night and asked them to please try and come through during it (while I was asleep) and speak. Many messages were received saying they would do that. I'd always play the tape back the next morning, and then when I did the morning recording tell them what I'd received from them, and thank them. They were pleased about my follow-up, which I do every time I tape. Mercedes Shepanek also tried it when I told her on the phone what I was doing. She received a number of mes- sages, some from her deceased

son, Raymond. He'd told her where he'd placed his back-pack before he died (which they hadn't been able to find) and a few days after getting that on her sleep tape, her other son, found it where Ray- mond had said. I mentioned that in the May '83 NEWS, pg. 2. Blessings, Sarah We are going to try this and ask members to join in and do the same. Let us know what you get so that we can men- tion it in the next newsletter. We ask you to either send your results to the Email address [email protected] or by mail to AA-EVP, Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Dr., Reno, NV 89512. Those of you who are in the Egroup please do not send your results to the general Egroup, but use the Email address above. We do not want tapers to know what others have gotten. Not knowing will make any cross-corresponding messages more evidential. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Science Confirms Survival AA-EVP member, J.J. Snyder has had an article pub- lished in booklet form in Britain by the Campaign for Phil- osophical Freedom. Michael Roll is the focus for this group (www.cfpf.org.uk sorry, we have no physical ad- dress). The article is available on Michael’s web site and on the AA-EVP site. We will be happy to provide a copy of

the article if you send us a SASE. The article begins: “A group of British scientists, in- cluding two astrophysicists, a thermodynamicist, and other professional researchers, are conducting experiments and solving complex equations that they believe furnish con- clusive and irrefutable proof of human survival of bodily death.” And, “The group has come to regard that continua- tion (personal survival) as the functioning of a natural, uni- versal law, the study of which is strictly a branch of chem- istry, physics, and mathematics, rather than an article of religious faith.” The article becomes rather complex, but it provides an excellent illustration of some of the thinking regarding the nature of and our relationship with nonphysical reality. News From and About our Members  Mark Macy, CO, did the ‘The Quest’ radio program with Peter Weissback on March 19 and Brian Jones, WA, was on the program March 27. The radio show is broadcast in many areas at 8:00 pm Pacific and is also available online at www.weissbachthequest.com.  Maria Testaverde, NY, has just completed Strange Changes, which is at her publishers and should be re- leased within the next two months. This is a pictorial collection of her findings in the field of retrieving elec- tronic and vibratory rates (better known as static art) via modern technological equipment. If you are on the In- at ternet, http://homtown.aol.com/landlord2/myhomepage. go Maria’s web you site can  Judith Chisholm of The EVP & Transcommunication Society of Great Britian and author of the book,

Voices From Paradise, sent us a note in January. “Things have looked up on the EVP front and Wednesday I'm on na- tional television (for the first time since forming the So- ciety). About two weeks ago I was on a different TV sta- tion, in the North of England and prior to that on radio a few times. So, hopefully, people will pick up on all of this (EVP).”  Michele Hardison, NV, is working with the Travel Channel on Haunting in Nevada. Michele takes Spirit Photos several of which are on the AA-EVP website.  Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt, Germany, chairs the Institute of Transcommunications (IoTC). You can visit his web site at www.iotc.de.vu. Visit the site to find interesting information and essays about ITC. Rolf, through the IoTC, is working to establish a scientific foundation for our understanding of EVP/ITC. (No physical address.) Recording The Thoughts of The Living? There is some evidence that at least a few of the mes- sages we record in EVP, may actually be put there by peo- ple who are still in the physical. Here are a few examples from members:  In the Spring 1982 newsletter, Sarah quoted Tina Lau- rent of Wales: "I've had on two occasions, voices that sound exactly like two people I know, they gave their names too, but they are STILL living. I don't know what to make of that. Do you? One of them I played for my brother and his wife and they recognized them

straight away and they have always thought that I played a joke on them."  Ernst Senkowski contributed this: "I several times ob- served at least the name and possibly the voice of a liv- ing person some 300 miles away. . .(A) case seems to have happened in Italy wherein an EVP experimenter succeeded in taping the contents of the mind of a far ab- sent living person. So we have to be very careful in stat- ing ‘our’ voices come from the ‘dead.’"  Jacque Blanc-Garin of France recently wrote to say that, “About the problem of voices from living persons. I tried some experiments regarding this fact. I called some persons (my wife and some other friends with their agreement - important point for ethics) who were sleep- ing. I received many messages where some were a proof. For example, I asked my wife where she was? Answer: I am in the air, Monique. Another question: Do you meet your family on the other side? Answer: I meet all but I will come to you because I love you Poupoune. (The name Poupoune is the nickname given to Monique by her parents). That means we have the possibility to tape the voice of a person who is sleeping, because we go out of body while some part of us is asleep.”  Edna Drake, B.C. Canada, comments that she has rea- son to believe an EVP message she received was from a brain damaged friend of hers.

She wrote that, “I just had a strong feeling that the “voice” trying to form words stammering and stuttering, like a handicapped person, was in fact the brain injured young man I worked with for over 2 years--to talk and communicate.”  Brian Jones, WA, has discussed the possibility that he might actually be recording his thoughts. He sent us a sound track in which a person was speaking to him via his computer phone at the same time he was recording. He indicated that he thought the voice he recorded might have been generated by thoughts from that person. You may want to test this idea for yourself by follow- ing the technique used by Jacque Blanc-Garin. It is an in- teresting idea, the possibility that we sometimes record the living as well as the departed. We are Self living in a phys- ical body during this lifetime. When free of the encum- brance of our body, perhaps during sleep, we are very much the same as the discarnate entities we seek to com- municate with. If this is true, then it is not much of a leap in logic to think we can impress messages on tape as well. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 New Research Proves NDEs All over the world and throughout time people have claimed to have journeyed into a world

beyond death and then returned to tell about it. Such experiences are called ‘Near Death Experiences’ or NDEs. Hardheaded scientists have dismissed such experiences as hallucinations caused when the brain starts to "shut down" during the process of dying. An NDE is caused from a lack of oxygen to the brain, they say. A group of doctors at the University of Southampton have published a groundbreaking report that claims for the first time, that there is scientific evidence of life after death. The team spent a year studying people resuscitated in the city's hospital after suffering a heart attack. The pa- tients brought back to life were all, for varying lengths of time, clinically dead, with no pulse, no respiration and fixed, dilated pupils. EEG studies have confirmed brain function ceases when such symptoms are present. Yet seven out of the 63 patients who survived recalled emotions and visions while they were "dead." The Southampton researchers were unable to offer a rational and scientific explanation for their results. None of the patients had been starved of oxygen, which some experts believe maybe responsible for NDEs. Dr Sam Parnia, who led the study, believes the mind might be independent of the brain. He said: "The brain is definitely needed to manifest the mind, a bit like how a television set can take what essentially are waves in the air and translate them into picture and sound." Low Frequency Microphone Jeff King told us about an interesting web site called Ghost Shop

(www.ghostshop.com). The site owner, George Marion, has spent a great deal of time researching techniques for building a low frequency microphone. One use of this device is EVP experimentation. You see, George is convinced that the use of background noise, such as running water or static from a radio, is nonsense. He holds that the voices are to be found by listening in the very low audio frequency ranges. To do this, you will need a microphone that is sensitive to such frequencies. Your standard microphone cuts off most sound energy is below about thirty hertz. that Howev- er, a stretched mem- brane connected to an ordinary crystal or ceramic phono- graph cartridge is sensitive to the lower frequencies George seeks for EVP. George is very specific that, if you do not build the mi- crophone exactly to his specifications, then it probably will not work. Once you have one working, then he encourages experimentation with other techniques. Because he has offered very good directions, and because they are long, we must tell you to go to the web site for instructions, or if you are not on Internet, send us a SASE and we will mail you a copy of the instructions. The first figure will give you some idea of the relation- ship between the diaphragm you must make and the pho- nograph cartridge. The second figure illustrates how you will need to mount the microphone in a protective enclo- sure. The device looks easy to build and

it could be fun, so if you want to try experimenting with EVP in the very low frequency range, take a bit of time to build this micro- phone. And please, let us know how you do! You've got Mail Al Rauber, PA, recently passed this humorous story on to us. We thought you might enjoy it as well. Apparently, this is a true story. A man left the snow- filled streets of Chicago for a vacation in Florida. His wife was on a business trip and was planning to meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her email address, he did his best to type it in from memory. Unfortunately, he missed one letter, and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher's wife, whose hus- band had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen: "Dearest Wife, Just got checked in. Everything pre- pared for your arrival tomorrow. Signed, Your eternally loving husband PS. Sure is hot down here." Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20,

Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Thoughts From Members  Nils Jacobson, Sweden, responded to a letter in which we had talked about difficulty recording after moving. He wrote, “It reminds me of 1994, when I was very ac- tive in EVP. In the spring of that year, I had two tele- phone calls from the ‘Raudive’ voice, short but two-way conversations. In one EVP recording session, a strong, deep male voice, very similar to his, came at the very be- ginning of the tape. Unfortunately, I ‘drowned’ it out with my own voice when I started speaking a few se- conds later. It was utterly annoying and disappointing. Until then, I used to record in mono with a simple cas- sette recorder, but now I changed to a more advanced re- corder in stereo, with one microphone in front of me, to capture my voice and separate it from the radio noise in the other microphone.” Using this new method Nils re- ceived only a few, faint and short messages! Later he saw a transmessage with the explanation that a sudden change in recording conditions would inhibit contacts, as the transbeings have to build a contact to a certain exper- imenter and their equipment over a long time.  Sandra Belanger, CA, wrote that she is very much af- fected by solar flares, and has been tracking the problem since 1997. “I have been in contact with others suffering as well, through NOAA, who I wrote to

inquiring about any ongoing research about the effect of solar flares on biological organisms on the planets surface. They wrote back that there was only research on how they affect as- tronauts. They acted as though I was a little nuts, but then they began to forward to me all the letters that they began getting from people with the same complaints. …I am curious if the problem (fewer EVP messages) isn't with the solar flares affecting those on the other side, but with solar flares affecting we, the human radios, as well as the short wave ones (not to mention a host of other things).  Lloyd Bradshaw, NJ, wrote “I tape, but mainly I’m what’s called a ‘ghost chaser’ because I do spirit photog- raphy. I don’t like the term ‘ghost chaser’ as it is abso- lutely the wrong description of what any of us in the AA- EVP are about. I explain it that way to people who don’t have ever the slightest notion beyond those Hollywood movies.”  Daniel Mackey, MA, wrote “I’ve recently began con- ducting my own recording experiments with EVP. No, I haven’t gotten any voice yet …but I believe the spirits are trying to get through to me every time I sit down and conduct a recording session. I’ve lost track of how many times my request for friends and loved ones to speak to me has been immediately answered with a hiss of static or lengthy rumbling noise. I have to

assume that some entities are trying just as hard as I am to break the barrier between worlds.” (You Bet Daniel!)  Dr. Eli Fredman, NY, spends much of his free time finding ways to tell the public about his understanding of our survival beyond physical death. Tapers Report  Sandra Belanger, CA, sent us a note letting us know that she would be recording in the evening group exper- iment. She sent along a recording saying “I feel that this may be the definitive statement from the other side!” The EVP message is “We’re here!”  Carol Barren-Karajohn, MA, wrote, “This is my favor- ite Class A EVP Message, largely because I knew the fellow who had just crossed over and it sounds just like him! I have an audio cassette of his voice while living and it’s the same voice.” The enthusiastic voice states “I’m Alive!” (You can hear this EVP message on the AA-EVP web site.)  Bill Weber, FL, wrote that while recording during one of the group experiments he called to George Meek to see if he could come through at 125.9 MHz. “I began to hear an odd electronic ‘ringing’ sound as one might get from a telephone... the ringing sound was not as evident on tape playback as during the live session. I have many lesser voices on my tape but buried in white noise. They go on for minutes without cessation. Male mostly. It also sounds like females may be chanting George

Meek, George Meek, Bill Weber but I really need to clean up the white noise to confirm this.”  Edna Drake, B.C. Canada, wrote that while taping dur- ing the group experiment she mentioned out loud that she did not have a counter on her machine and so would have to try and figure out where she had started the tape. A voice was taped right after this remark that says, “We’ll just have to see.” She played the recorded voice on to her daughter’s answering machine as her daughter is considering trying to record. Upon playback of the an- swering machine another voice is heard that sounds like “Picard” and then the alphabet is heard being whispered. Specialty Recorders A recent flurry of Emails were passed back and forth on the Egroup regarding finding specialty recorders. Sarah mentioned that she had just received the Spring 2001, Long’s Electronics Catalog #490. There are several dozen recorders in it. Some of them are equipped with variable speed and reverse playback. They have many cassette tape decks from $99 to $699. Sarah uses a Marantz PMD221 that she bought from Longs when she is doing work out in the field. They are now on sale and run from $239 to $585. She says that it is excellent, has just two speeds, but many other goodies. Call them at 800-633-3410, email for catalog: www.longselectronics.com or write to Long’s Electronics, 2630 5th Avenue South, Irondale, AL 35210. Membership Renewal The address label includes your

membership anniversary date by quarter (season) and year. Please use this infor- mation as a reminder to renew your subscription. Thank you. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 9 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Referrals Volume 20 Number 2 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2001 From Our Viewpoint The words growth, expansion, learning and develop- ment are very important to me. They represent, to me, what our time on the earth is all about. I am sure that they are close to the hearts of most of the members of the Asso- ciation and that many of you feel as I do. Electronic Voice Phenomena represents the meaning of these words, perhaps not in the way most would first think. Certainly we learn from the voices that come to us from other dimensions. We learn that there are others who exist and speak to us through electronic means and who send us pictures through our cameras and video. This is quite remarkable in itself. But EVP and Instrumental Transcommunication can also expand us personally. It is that touching in with the energy from beyond the physical that can expand us just as much as the messages that are received. In the past three months

several people have written to us about the medium John Edwards who is seen nightly on the Sci Fi network. He is immensely popular and his hav- ing a nightly show during prime time attests to this fact. Members have written wanting us to make sure that every- one knows about his television program and how fantastic it is. James Van Pragg, Silvia Brown, George Anderson and several others have also done much to educate people that we indeed go on after the change called death. I be- lieve that the gifts that these people possess are available to all of us. Perhaps we may not develop these gifts to such a great degree, nevertheless we do have these abilities and working to develop them in some way is one of the things few people take time to do. I do not know exactly why most people think that re- ceiving psychic messages is something that is only obtain- able by a select few. We all have received those little nudges that come from somewhere and that give us direc- tion to take some kind of action. We call that intuition. We don’t seem to correlate intuition, as a steppingstone to communication with those in another dimension or com- munication with a part of us that seems to be hidden. EVP may seem to be far away from receiving psychic or medi- umistic messages but it was a starting place for me person- ally. I was one of those who

believed that the gifts of those famous mediums of the past and present were just that, gifts. Others had been gifted and I thought that I most cer- tainly was not in line when those gifts were handed out. EVP did not seem like that to me. I felt that it was a phe- nomenon that did not involve me and was outside of my- self. As I got into EVP Tom and I were also exploring oth- er avenues of interest and learning that were not being taught in our schools of higher education. We pursued meditation, past life regression and even having an out of body experience. This led us to finally attend some inten- sive classes on mediumship and healing. I nearly had to be hit over the head with a message from a friend in spirit to believe that I was truly getting a message in the first place! Lucky for me this friend knew how thick headed I was and literally would not let me go to sleep until I wrote down the three messages that he was giving me. The last message was for me to tell the person who was running a development school to get business cards. To me this was absolute proof that I was delusional with what I was receiving. After all how could this person, a well-known medium that was also running a school, not have business cards? Ridiculous! (I will hand it to myself and my personality that

I did not, however, drop the ball. I did follow through with what I had been given even while feeling that I was about to be totally embarrassed.) I went ahead and approached the director of the school. I told her about the message and whom it was purportedly from. I will never forget what she said to me. “I know that I should do this he (the entity) has pestered me to do so in the past.” When we sit down at our recorders we are entering into and participating in energy that links us with something that we call paranormal. Doing so expands us past our eve- ryday physical selves. To me the word paranormal means growth. It is something beyond normal and our comforta- ble set of ideas. A member who has been very busy and who had stopped recording for a while, recently wrote about sitting down to record again and how wonderful it was to feel the energy that happens when one records. Those who record often get messages from those who speak that say, “I am behind you,” or, “I’m right next to you,” etc. We can often feel the difference in the energy when these beings are in the room. There are many avenues toward the type of growth that I am talking about. One may pursue meditation are take some classes like we have. But EVP is also an avenue that gives us more than messages and that can lead to personal

expansion, growth and development. Lisa The Prize for Epipsychology 2001 The Prize for Epipsychology 2001 has been awarded to Monique and Jacques Blanc-Garin of France and to Mark Macy of the United States. Mark was given the award for founding INIT; for promoting ITC through books, journals, and presentations; and, for experimenting with spirit imag- es through a special photographic (Continued Page 8) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2001 ITC in Portugal Phyllis Delduque and Paulo Cabral of Portugal have sent us information about their video ITC efforts that you may find interesting. We have no physical address for them, but there should soon be an English version of their site at www.geocities.com/Area51/Saturn/7921/inicial.htm. Paul informs us that they use a video camera that is connected to a video re- corder. The out- put of the video camera is con- nected to a tele- The vision. camera is focused on the television. This ar- rangement provides a record of the process while supplying the nec- essary feedback for the video camera. In effect the camera is “looking” at what it looked at a few milliseconds past. They provided us with a few ITC images. Notice that in image 1, they have insert- ed two photographs beside the ITC faces of people they recognize. Phyllis and Paulo did not comment about the images they sent us, but we want

to point out that in image 4 the landscape evident at the bottom of the frame is representa- tive of images we have re- seen from other searchers, including those of Erland Bab- cock. The fact that we recognize human faces, animals and landscapes in ITC brings us to wonder if some of the unu- sual objects, we see in ITC are not supposed to be recog- nizable to us as well. For instance, are they images of ob- jects in the communicating entity’s level of existence? Perhaps they are images of thought forms. (Figure 2 and 4 are by Phyllis Delduque and Figure 1 and 3 are by Paulo Cabral.) ITC Journal Voices, Images and Texts of Another World Anabela Cardoso has sent us back issues of her ITC Journal. In Journal No. 2 she writes about her beginning contacts with Timestream, “It seems that their (the entities) work of producing clear and understandable voices free of background noise is extremely difficult. They practice and practice, requesting that the radios be at top volume, some- times for two days without stopping. This is usually fol- lowed by the same period of rest with the radios off. “When they practice, the noises of the radios go through all sorts of changes. And suddenly the loud white noise of the radios is suppressed as if it were swallowed by the radios themselves, as if somebody were holding it. It can stay like that for several minutes. Then suddenly again, like a

cascade, the noise is released. It is really im- pressive to witness Timestream work with the noise of the radios or with the making of the voices. They repeat and repeat the same words (or broken words) – ‘We are the dead,’ ‘We are the dead of Timestream,’ ‘We are Timestream,’ etc. Two different voices practicing, ‘Say it again,’ the other voice, ‘Anhh…’ in an obviously failed attempt. And so it goes for hours. Sometimes voices jump form one radio to the other that is tuned to a different fre- quency. How could you do that? I asked. ‘Did you like it? It was Paulo Jacobo’, they answered. But if we ponder upon Timestream’s statement, ‘We modulate the waves with thought,’ replying to my question as to how they pro- duce the voices, we can imagine how difficult a task it will be, what a tremendous effort of concentration it demands.” The ITC journal is a nonprofit publication. The journal includes articles by renowned researchers and specialists of ITC such as, Adrian Klein (Israel), Carlo Trajna (Italy), Carlos Luz (Brasil), Cristina Rocha (Brasil), David Fon- tana (UK), François Brune (France), Jacques Blanc-Garin (France), Maggy Harsch (Lux.), Mark Macy (USA), Nils O. Jacobson (Sweden), Paola Giovetti (Italy), Paolo Presi (Italy), Ralf Determeyer (Germany), Sinesio Darnell (Spain). The articles are published in their original version of English, Spanish or Portuguese, and are often accompa- nied by extracts in the other languages. The goal is to tell everybody that instrumental transcommunication with oth-

er levels of life is not only possible but that it can be achieved by anybody. “The important thing is contact it- self,” said one of the friends from Timestream Station. The journal is $20 per year for 4 issues. You can write to the ITC Journal at Apartado de Correos, 3157 VIGO, Pontevedra Spain. The Web address is http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci The email address is [email protected] This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://aaevp.com. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 A Progress Report By Mark Macy “I’ve had some encouraging results in Colora- do over the past year with a special subtle energy device called a ‘luminator.’ The luminator is a tower-shaped device about four feet high (1.3 me- ters). According to its inventor, Patrick Richards of Battle Creek, Michigan, it alters the environ- ment in an area that extends about 100 feet (30 meters) in all directions

from the device. It has two internal fans, which move air over a series of liquid-filled rings. As the air molecules go tum- bling through the rings, unusual things happen to them, according to Richards, including a reverse spin of electrons. “There are eight luminators in existence today, being used in several countries. All but mine are being used for healing, as the device seems to have some important therapeutic applications. Mine is the only one used exclusively for ITC research, as it provides a very simple and basic means of ITC contact. When I take a picture of someone with a Polaroid camera in the presence of the luminator, there is a good chance that there will be other faces in the picture after it develops a few minutes lat- er—faces of people who are not physically pre- sent—that is, faces of spirit beings. “For ITC, I like the fact that the luminator seems to melt away some of the subtle barriers be- tween our physical world and the spiritual worlds that are superimposed over our reality. That super- imposition of realities is a belief of many religions and a theory of many modern scientists and re- searchers, such as the late George W. Meek. Main- stream science disregards these theories and be- liefs, for the most part, but I believe that that disre- gard will become harder to justify in the future as evidence such as the luminator images come to light. “Last year, a picture of me

(2) was taken, but when it developed, it wasn’t me in the picture. Af- ter studying it, my wife Regina and I became con- vinced that it was a composite image of two men who had recently died who were close to me: My father (3) and Dr Willis Harman (4), past president of the Institute of Noetic Science, or IONS. “Regina and I both felt certain that those two men were in the picture, but to get a second opin- ion, I contacted their wives—my mother (who lives in Colorado) and Mrs. Charlene Harman of Stan- ford, California. They both recognized their hus- bands right away. When I showed the picture to other people, some recognized my dad or Willis, and some didn’t. So I took the picture to a photo lab, and had some enlargements and reverse en- largements made. I cut them in two down the mid- dle, fit the pieces together, and came up with two compo- site images. One of them (5) is very clearly my father, Blair Macy. Anyone who knew the man can see the resemblance. I believe that the other (6) is Willis Harman, the late president of IONS. “I’ve shared that composite image (6) with several people who knew Willis Harman casually during his lifetime. Unfortunately, most of them do not see or ‘feel’ the resemblance to Willis Harman that Regina and I do. We’ll have to wait a few years to let the image be assimilated by more people who

knew Willis Harman well in or- der to draw a better consensus. Meanwhile, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that the left and right halves of the original image are clearly two different people. “In February 2001, I took my luminator along to give two workshops in New York. Each even- ing I took a picture of everyone in the audience, and almost everyone had anomalies in their pic- tures (such as everything being out of focus, two copies of every item in the picture slightly offset from each other, streaks of light, fractal patterns, and partially transparent physical bodies). Many people also had spirit faces posing with them in the picture. Some of the faces were quite clear, and some of them were immediately recognized as departed loved ones. One woman, Connie, was deeply moved to see the clear face of her late son in her picture (7). He had died recently. “One tremendous asset of this spirit photo- graphic process is that it seems to work best with a Polaroid camera, which eliminates the chance of a hoax, since the photographer, the subject, and spectators are all present as the picture is snapped, as it develops, and as it becomes clear a few minutes later. Many people today are enmeshed in the physical world and have no knowledge of or belief in spiritual reality. My hope is that these luminator images and other good results of ITC research will help people reconstruct their mental roadmaps or models of

reality in order to accom- modate a healthy spiritual view. ©2001 by Mark Macy” A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife is now available Victor Zammit’s book, A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife – Irrefutable Objective Evi- dence, to read online at www.victorzammit.com/book. The book can also be ordered by writing to Victor at P.O. Box 1810, Dee Why 2099, Sydney NSW Australia. Elimination of Humming and Whis- tles by Stefan Bion. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Stefan Bion from the VTF in Germany has provided instruc- tions for using Cool Edit to filter unwanted sounds from EVP sound tracks. The original article is offered at the VTF web site, www.vtf.de/noisered.htm. Rolf D. Ehrhardt of the IoTC translat- ed it from German. The original translated version, along with additional information from Rolf about editing sound can be found at www.iotc.de.vu. ============================================== Waveform View then you will get a better resolution. In this example the frequencies are between 2870 - 2990 Hz and 3130 - 3280 Hz. The "mean-frequency" of the highest peak is shown in the field "FREQUENCY." F F T F ilte r If you have a signal that interferes with 50--60 Hz hum or with a constant whistle sound, for instance acoustic re- generation, then Cool Edit with its FFT filter can be used. Some filters are already predefined, like those

for 60Hz hum - "60 Hz Notch " to eliminate hum. Load a wave file into Cool Edit and then under MENU item: VIEW, toggle between WAVEFORM VIEW and Spectral View SPECTRAL VIEW. In the example shown here, you can see the disturbing whistle as a light band at about 3 KHz: Using the "FFT-Filter" function under the MENU item: TRANSFORM – FILTER – FFT, you can determine a Notch-Filter that fits exactly to the frequency(ies) found in the analysis. By using the mouse key, form the filter curve to the desired shape. To eliminate a point, use "Drag & Drop" to pull the point out of the window with your mouse. With a double click on one point you can type in frequency and amplitude. In this example two small Notch-Filters have been defined using the values found out in the fre- quency analysis. (They are very close together.) Clicking on OK filters the signal. Looking at the Spec- tral View After Filtering diagram will show that the light horizontal band at 3 Khz has been eliminated. Spectral View After Filtering Frequency Analysis If you select the area in question, you can find out the frequency of the whistle by going to ANALYSIS – FREQUENCY ANALYSIS and clicking the SCAN button. Please review the screen print marked “Frequency Analy- sis.” In the example, the disturbing whistle can be recog- nized as a peak in the diagram. In this particular example there are two peaks at around 3 KHz, which

shows that there are in fact two whistles. (Knowing this and looking again at the SPECTRAL VIEW, one can see that the light band is wider in some areas) If you move the cursor to either side of the peaks in your analysis, then the frequencies of the begining and the end of the peaks will be shown. If you widen the window The VTF (Vereins Fur Tonbandstimmenforschung) The aim of the German VTF is to support the research of EVP/ITC by enabling everyone interested in this phe- nomenon to carry out experiments for the reception of such voices, by supplying them with information and advice. VTF endeavors to address all persons or institutions that may give assistance in scientific or technical aspects, or in any other way. You can contact the VTF www.vtf.de or at Verein für Transkommunikations-Forschung (VTF) e.V., Gneisenaustraße 2, 65195 Wiesbaden, Deutschland. Membership Renewal The address label includes your membership anniversary date by quarter (season) and year. Please use this infor- mation as a reminder to renew your subscription. Thank you. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 A letter from Jutta Liebmann, VTF (With some editing for clarity—Editors) “I have received your most interesting newsletters. I have studied the reports with interest and have learned about your progress in EVP research as well as about the variety of experi- ences carried out by

your members. “It is very important that the results of EVP research are published and presented to the other experimenters, who are living in many parts of the world. As far as I have learned from my own experiments and the exchange with other EVP tapers and VTF members in the course of time, it is a fact that mind is over matter. The spiritual world had once started all these con- tacts via technical devices. Our spirit friends intend to uplift our awareness and enhance and improve our inner spiritual devel- opment here on earth. Most important (they intend) to comfort the relatives and friends of the deceased by sending new hope and opening up new horizons of life itself and setting focal points for the spiritual development of each individual, if the person is open for transcendental views of existence. “On the other hand we here on earth should do our utmost to improve the technical devices for the reception of the spiritual and interdimensional messages. But I think all researchers and technicians are actually very active and all these attempts and experience should now really be coordinated. “…In 1986 and 1987, I had experienced specially loud voice contacts, but during that period I noticed that there came long messages completely transforming the Indian radio station, AIR (All India Radio) spoken in language Hindi, fully into German and English sentences respectively. Messages for me including mentioning my name, etc. These voices at that time sounded a little bit

metallic, but were spoken with strong ener- gy, but not unpleasant. I have documented these contacts on my demonstration tapes. But except at that period, I did not succeed in receiving such clear and energetic voices ever since up to now. As there was a great difference to the "usual" voice con- tacts via radio, I assume that these metallic voices had originat- ed from cosmic entities, extraterrestrial beings considering also the contents of these messages, which had been remarkable. During later voice recording sessions in the following years the spirit friends confirmed to me that these contacts had come from other beings in space and that they know about them and they told me that ‘these others’ are living more distant from the spirit world or dimension. “Up to now, one of the coordinators on the other side for EVP contacts is often Dr. Konstantin Raudive, who gives rec- ommendations and hints also to newcomers in recording ses- sions. As I know the voice of Dr. Raudive when he was living on earth, it can be well compared with the spirit voice. I have also noticed that there is no firm frequency on short waves. Sometime the communication is plenty of voices and in the fol- lowing days there is hardly any reaction to our questions on the same frequency. Most of our members have experienced the same. “For now, I close my letter to you and would like to convey all the best wishes to you also in

the name of the board of VTF. Kind regards, Jutta” EVP Maker According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “A phoneme is the smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning.” EVP Maker is a program developed by Stefan Bion, member of the German VTF, to gen- erate phonemes for the recording of EVP. In use, it is capable of seg- decomposing a ment recorded speech into a series of phonemes that contain all of the human fre- quencies and amplitude changes, but that is not otherwise recognizable as distinct words. of EVP Maker can also be used to record an EVP ses- sion. It includes support for file handling, labeling and review. This is a most interesting tool for EVP, in that it develops an alternative to white noise as a background sound. The software is available for free download at www.StefanBion.de/evpmaker. We have loaded this software in our computer and are currently testing it. Thus far, we can say that it is very professionally designed and has a good, user-friendly in- terface and instructions. Taping using EVPmaker Frank Sumption, CO uses the EVPmaker computer program developed by Stefan Bion to get voices on his computer at home. He started out using a tape-recorder and white noise but felt that trying to listen through all the noise was making him deaf, so he started using the com- puter. He says that this is much easier on the ears and that he gets EVP

in every session. He uses a microphone, sound card, sound editor and an audio expander program with speakers for play back. He writes, “I don’t think that you even need a microphone with EVPmaker. I have forgotten to turn it on and have still gotten phrases. I use portions of speech from talk shows for the raw audio. I also keep the microphone in a large peanut butter jar, which acts like an echo chamber. I use a homemade amplifier with the microphone, just an op. Amp with a max gain of about 1000. The jar also cuts feedback problems. I’ve noticed lately that if I listen close- ly while making an EVP recording with EVPmaker, I can hear the phrases being spoken. I just announce out loud that I am doing an EVP recording, then I ask my questions, and hit the enter key to start the session. Usually any an- swer to a question will be in the very first seconds of the recording.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 ITC with a Digital Camera Erland Babcock reports that he has purchased a Toshi- ba PDR-M70 digital camera that he is using for ITC. Erland tells us that his first effort to photograph a tele- vision screen tuned to “snow,” was unsuccessful. He has a Voodoo video card for his computer and has tried photo-

graphing the television display on his computer monitor with some success. He is not using a feedback mechanism, but does note that he thinks the background is important. The images shown here are of a small portion of the in- itial photograph. Earland puts the camera in the “macro mode” and places it close to the screen. He has circled an image in the photo at the left and has enlarged that image in the photo at the right. Erland recently worked with a black and white televi- sion set. He tells us that, “The reason for the Black & White TV is the fact that it is analog not digital. When the screen is defocused a bit one gets a nice smooth picture that can be blown up without showing all the squares that you get with digital. … I simply place the TV on my desk in front of my computer monitor, tune it to a blank channel, put the digital camera in the macro mode and take pictures of the screen. … There is a distinct advantage of having a high-resolution digital camera. I love it. One does not have to purchase film and have it processed before finding out the results. I may never use my darkroom again.” Thanks for your Support We thank all of you who have renewed your member- ship. By doing so you are helping us continue to get the word out about EVP/ITC. We also want to say a special thank

you to those of you who have sent in an extra dona- tion with your renewal. We are trying to expand the news- letter and we hope that you have noticed that it has grown by a page. This page has added about 30% to the printing cost and can raise the mailing cost 60% if anything else has to be put into the envelope with the newsletter. We plan to make the AA-EVP a nonprofit association in the near fu- ture. We thank those of you who have computers and who have agreed to receive the newsletter via Email. This helps keep the costs down too. For those of you doing this, if you at any time want to change back to the paper copy, just let us know and we will be glad to make the change. Many of you are helping us grow and we thank you! EVP - The Electronic Voice Phenomenon By Tina Laurent EVP researcher and AA-EVP member Tina Laurent has been honored with an article titled EVP – The Elec- tronic Voice Phenomenon published in the spring 2002 Scole Experimental Group’s Spiritual Scientist Journal. The article is in two parts, and so, we were only able to read the first part as the AA-EVP newsletter went to print. Tina has been doing EVP for 20 years and regularly lectures on the subject in the UK. The first part of the arti- cle gives some history and EVP background, and then dis- cusses her

introduction to and progress in receiving EVP. She writes, “Well, do I remember the first time I listened to discarnate voices emanating from magnetic recording tape. It was in 1981 in the Maryland house of Sarah Estep, the writer of a down-to earth book, Voices of Eternity and the founder of the American Association of EVP. For three hours I sat enthralled, knowing full well that this was a day that was to change the course of my life.” The article is on the AA-EVP web site and the second part will also be put there when it is published. Tina can be reached at 39 Coed-y-Graig, Pencoed Mid Glamorgan CF35 6YT, Wales GB. For information or to subscribe to The Spiritual Scientist go to www.psisci.f9.co.uk, or write to The New Spiritual Science Foundation, Street Farm- house, Scole, Diss, Norfolk IP21 4DR, England. BBC Documentary Dinah Lord is a producer/director who is making a documentary program for the BBC with Justine Picardie. She has interviewed Sarah Estep, Dale Palmer, Tina Lau- rent and others for the program. Sarah wrote that Dinah and Nicola Gibson, another producer for the BBC, visited with her in May. She made two recordings with them. She wrote that there were two messages on the reverse side of the first recording. One was about wanting to come down, the other was about wanting to visit. Both could be heard without headphones. Then, on playback of the second recording, forward side, a clear Class A voice said,

after Nicola had called on her grandparents (as Dinah also did) “Want to talk to her.” Sarah said that both were delighted with the results. The two asked if they could return with a camera crew at a later time to film Sarah making a recording. Afterlife Accepted Research surveys conducted by Michale Hout (Univer- sity of California, Berkeley) and Andrew M. Greely (Uni- versity of Chicago) demonstrate that the belief in life after death has become more prevalent in the 1990s than it was in the 1970s. The majority - 62% of those surveyed - had no doubts at all, 33% believed but had some doubt and on- ly 2% of the population of the US are totally skeptical. We located this information on Victor Zammits web site. You at on can http://www.victorzammit.com/ or send us a SASE. research paper read full the it Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001 Experiment – Recording the Living In April Sarah Estep participated with us in an experi- ment in which we tired to see if we could record messages from each other while asleep. This worked out well as Tom and I taped around 10 pm PST when Sarah was asleep. Sarah taped early in the morning while we were still sleeping. The experiment ran three separate evenings. On one experiment Sarah said on the tape that Tom

and Lisa were asleep right now. A loud voice says, “That’s right,” and then 16 counts later another class A message by the same male voice says, “I am.” During another exper- iment Sarah asks Tom Butler, “Are you here,” and got, “He’s here, we will try to get him back.” When Sarah asked for Lisa she got, “I’m here,” and then later, “Stop, the Lisa back.” This is interesting, as I woke up and re- member looking at the clock. This was verified with Sarah as the time that she was recording. During our experiments in trying to reach Sarah we recorded, “You have main contact,” and also, “Rain.” In- terestingly, we later learned it had been raining at Sarah’s house. We asked, “Where are you Sarah?” The message came back “I am here.” An interesting side note in all of this. Sarah also had a surprise visitor. During our running of these experiments Sonia Rinaldi, EVP researcher in Brazil, sent Sarah an Email. In it she told Sarah about a very vivid dream and wrote, “I could see you so clearly that I am sure that we really met. I was in your kitchen. … The fact is that I nev- er remember any of my dreams.” Sonia was not aware of our experiments and yet she had this lucid dream on one of the nights that we were trying to reach Sarah via tape re- corder. News From and About Members  Alexander MacRea, Scotland, tells us

that he has re- turned to his work with EVP, and that his equipment has been rebuilt. In the near future, you can expect to begin hearing of new results from his work. Also, look for a new effort from Alec to document what is known about EVP. Welcome back, Alec.  Katherine Ramsland, NJ, is in the last stages of prepar- ing Ghost: Investigating the Other Side. The book is due out in September. She says that, “Sarah’s in it.”  Linda Root, MI, continues to capture anomalous phe- nomena. She wrote saying that “ I have had results with capturing this energy while using seven different camer- as (including a polaroid), at least five different film pro- cesses and four different brands of film over the years.”  Rev. Rubert Sigurdsson, MI, wrote to tell us about a workshop on EVP that he did at the Pinpoint of Light Spiritualist Center in Hartford Maine in May.  Keli Adams, PA, wrote that her book, Friendly Shadows will be out soon.  Michele Hardison, NV, wrote that she had just got back from shooting with the Fox network at the Goldfield Ho- tel in Goldfield Nevada. Michele takes paranormal pho- tographs. She wrote “They brought in a psychic and a dog and the poor dog just about lost it towards evening.” Michele is also working with Janice Oberding, the author of Haunted Nevada, in putting together a web site. Phone Calls from the Dead Several members have shared their

experiences regard- ing receiving a phone call from someone who has died. John Richardson wrote, “I will relate an experience of a phone call from the dead. A distant cousin was married to my father in law. I was aware of her being in the hospi- tal and in bad shape due to her age. One morning the phone rang, I answered and a voice said, ‘She's Dead.’ Thinking this being a prank I hung up the phone. Then five minutes later the phone rang again, it was my brother in law and he told me his stepmother had passed.” Laurita Chmielewske wrote, “My mother had a phone call from the dead about ten years ago. She was checking her messages on her micro cassette answering machine when she got a message saying, ‘Tell Laurita …tell Lauri- ta, tell Laurita.’ It was my Aunt Stella's voice in monotone but that was my aunt’s voice. I heard it for myself. We thought, ‘What sicko could do this to us?’ We all missed my aunt. My mom was very close to her. Why would someone fake my Aunt Stella's voice and say my name but not leave a clear message? At that time I was going through a lot of struggles in my life and it was a very hard time for me. Now I know that Aunt Stella was telling my mom to tell me everything would work out.” In Katherine Ramsland’s book, Dean Kootnz: A Writer’s Biography, Dean tells of

receiving a phone call from a woman who sounded like his deceased mother warning him. The voice warned him to be careful and then faded away without hanging up. When he went to visit his father, who was mentally impaired, he took extra precau- tions. This was a good thing, because that day his father tried to kill him with a knife. Although he's not sure that ghosts can make calls, he claims that the voice he heard sounded very much like that of his mother, long dead. Taping in Cemeteries – From Erland Babcock Some years ago my son and I made a recording in a cemetery at night. We had informed the police what we were going to do. That night, when we were trying to make a recording, the police came and checked on us as a neighbor reported some thing strange going on in the cemetery. The police locked up their car and came up to see what we were doing. While they were there the lights on the police car suddenly started to blink, the radio went on and off and the overhead lights started to run. The po- lice just stood there for a while until things quieted down. Needless to say they walked back to the police station and came for the car the next day. That was the talk around the town for a while. We did not get a single voice and never went back. Thoughts From Members Founded in 1982

by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2001  Carol Barron-Karajohn often tries different things and different types of background noise when she records. Recently she wrote that she taped while ironing with a steam iron and got pretty good results.  Tina Laurent wrote, “When I play back my recordings I listen back at the lowest speed possible that my Sony variable speed recorder allows. Not only does that turn ‘noises’ into intelligible words but also I’ve discovered that there are high-pitched, usually quick intelligible EVP utterances alongside my slowed-down voice. These messages disappear completely when I play the tape at normal speed! We must be missing so many utterances.”  Sandra Belanger wrote that she had found a web site with a real time antenna for listening to meteors impact the atmosphere. She plans to make some EVP record- ings using it for background noise. The web site www.spaceweather.com. She mentioned the SETI pro- gram that allows you to listen for extraterrestrial signals and wondered if anyone had tried using it for EVP.  Renata Barbarigo and Lonna Wisdom both mentioned how much they enjoy watching the medium John Ed- wards on the Sci Fi channel. Virgil Hunter wrote “It would be interesting to see John Edwards work with a good EVP taper.” Tapers Report  Tina Laurent, Wales, sent us a tape of many fine voices. One of them

came in over her Call-Minder service. Brit- ish Telecom duplicated it for her! “Here is Kosti. Call you. Repeat, it’s not easy.” In another letter Tina wrote “There is no doubt that our spirit friends ‘see’ us in some way.” She recorded, “I can see your light,” and, “The light is on for Tina,” and, “A light thru the curtain.”  Clara Laughlin, VA, wrote back regarding some mes- sages that she had recorded. She wrote, “I asked sister- in-law Harriette Masters and daughter Barbara Masters who had died weeks apart if they were happy to be out of all the pain and those old sick bodies. The answer came back, ‘Masters people are served with joy.’ Meaning that death had brought joy. I love happy endings!” Clara also got a message in response to a healing list that she works with. It was, “Death is not patient.” She wrote that this was, “Not a happy message,” and that it meant, “Death was not going to wait and would happen when the time came regardless of our wishes for a heal- ing. This is Dr. Callie’s kind way of telling me some people won’t make it.” (Tom and I know what Clara is talking about. We know many people that work with healing lists and have grown to believe that death can sometimes actually be the healing that is being sought.)  Linda Williamson, Scotland, often records with a group of women. At one session they called on Margaret the

aunt of the lady in whose house the sitting was taking place. They received, “I am here, Hello.” At another session in a woman’s home whose brother had been killed on a Honda Motor Cycle, “Honda” was recorded. Linda wrote about recording on Christmas day and hav- ing her family members come in with EVP messages, in- cluding the pet cat she had for 17 years.  Bill Weber, FL, mentioned this recording a while back. Bill had agreed to videotape a man’s home for insurance purposes, but the man died the day before the appoint- ment. Bill called on the deceased man about two days after his death. He received, “Good-bye; Everything’s fine.” Bill says, “It sounded similar to his physical voice recorded on my answering machine before his death.”  Dale Sizemore wrote that a childhood friend, whom he had not seen for a long time, left a message on his an- swering machine from his hospital room asking Dale to come visit. During the gaps between this man’s message there were 3 EVPs. The male voice said “Guess who,” and, “Please help,” and another voice in a more pitiful tone said, “Please Help.” Dale was at work and the man left a second message before Dale returned home. On this tape an EVP by a female voice said, “Your Lights On.” Dale wrote that he immediately went to visit his old friend and that they reminisced about childhood ex- periences and caught up on each other’s lives.

 Carol Barron–Karajohn wrote that she took a nap while taping many years ago and upon playback heard, “Too bad she fell asleep!” Recently, Carol asked, “Do we continue to exist after death?” On the reverse side of the tape a voice answered, “Thou, Carol, will in orbit, to far out in spirit.” Noetics Institute Update Dale Palmer is convening a meeting to explain in per- son the operation of his new web site for EVP. We will be in attendance, and hope to be able to give you a full update on the web site progress in the next newsletter. (The Palm- er family Noetics Institute stems from the GATE project that we have reported on in the past.) The Prize for Epipsychology 2001 (Continued from page 1) process, as well as getting voices through radio and tele- phone. Monique and Jacques received the award for pro- moting ITC in France through their association Infinitude, for their periodical Le Messager and for their lectures and conferences around France. They also received the prize as a way of thanks for the help they have given to many who suffer bereavement. Sarah Estep shared the award in 1996 with George Meek. Sarah’s award explained that it had been given to her because of her tape voice research; because of her American Association - Electronic Voice Phenomena; her periodical and her book. Also because of "her influence on the mass media." George Meek received the award that year because of his work

on Spiricom. The award comes from the Dr. A Hedri Foundation for Exopsychology and Epipsychology in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Volume 20 Number 3 AA-EVP NEWS Referrals Fall 2001 From Our Viewpoint In EVP, we find reason to believe we survive physical death. Still, physical death can be traumatic and many people continue to believe death is the end. Lisa and I hold the individuals and families who have suffered the trauma of terrorist attack (both here and on the other side) in our thoughts. We will work even harder to help people know about EVP and its message that we do not die. ---------------------------- You will see in this issue, that we devote considerable space in describing the activities of a conference that we recently attended. We feel you will be interested in this because it involved EVP, but there is a deeper significance in the conference that I would like to highlight. The conference was titled: Conference on A Triadic Model of Higher Reality. The Noetics Institute, Inc. (NII) sponsored the conference. (See the conference article on Page 2.) Sarah Estep was there, and spoke during the workshop about her experiences with EVP. Lisa and I worked together to present the AA-EVP and a little back- ground of what you all have been discovering about EVP. Erland Babcock presented

a most interesting overview of his work with video ITC and some of the experiments he conducted on behalf of the Metascience Foundation in as- sociation with George Meek. You would expect Sarah, Erland, Lisa and I to talk about EVP, given the opportunity. What you might not expect, was that we were in the same gathering with two scientists and a man who has devoted much of his life to researching the continuation of life. We have included pic- tures and articles about these presentations, so I will not go into them here. What I want to bring to you is the observa- tion that EVP/ITC is maturing as a field of study. We are in the process of transitioning out of the frontier of EVP/ITC research, into an era in which the academic community is seriously considering our field of study. One of the indicators of this emerging maturity is the increasing number of EVP/ITC related organizations around the world that are working on archives for their his- torical records. We have been working on assuring that this newsletter, and Bill Weisensale’s work, is available as a long-lived archive. NII will be maintaining an archive of Erland Babcock’s work. Many of the associations around the world are doing much the same with their Pioneers. An important milestone for any community is when they are secure enough in their survival to think of preserv- ing the records of their roots for their children. We in EVP/ITC have reached this

milestone. Yes, we still discuss whether or not background sound is needed, and if so, what kind. We still speculate about the origin of these strange voices. In fact, you could argue that we really have no sense of certainty about any of this. What we do have is the sure knowledge that there are EVP voices and that there is more evidence supporting the no- tion that they originate from people on the other side of the veil than there is supporting that they do not. It is this certainty that I believe is beginning to influ- ence the academic community. It does not matter how we record. What matters is that most anyone can pick up a tape recorder and record EVP. No one can argue fraud or lack of repeatability when they can demonstrate these phe- nomena for themselves. Open minded scientists are beginning to see the possi- bilities of including EVP experiments in their study of hu- man potential. Theorists are trying to incorporate EVP into established models of reality. There is a growing recogni- tion of the power of After Death Communication (ADC) as a tool for grief management. Yes, I know that ADC is treated as an illusory phenomenon of the mind, but some researchers are covertly studying this as a possibly genuine form of spirit communication. Many of you have heard of the study of mediumship that has been underway in the University of Arizona, Tuc- son. This is the work of Dr.

Linda Russek and Dr. Gary Schwartz and their team in the Human Energy Systems Laboratory (See more at www.livingenergyuniverse.com). Gary spoke at the conference. We had an opportunity to talk about EVP and mediumship, and as I found, Gary was very excited to discover what we have been up to. You should know that he has, for all practical purposes, vali- dated mediumship as the real thing. Through his research, he has validated the existence of communicating entities that seem to be recently deceased people, some of whom he knew in this lifetime. It is not too great of a leap in logic to say that he has also provided a possible foundation to argue that EVP messages come from discarnate people. There are other scientists working on this as well, and you can see that this kind of research is providing a basis of understanding that other scientists can use to openly re- search EVP. The atmosphere of acceptance for these phe- nomena is rapidly changing. All of you are playing a part in this. By experimenting with EVP or ITC, by talking about it with your friends, even by simply thinking about it, you are helping to change the worldview of Humankind. EVP is a most important field of research. We do not know what general acceptance of EVP will mean to Hu- mankind, but we do know that the change will be benefi- cial. This is a change in which we all have a part to play.

Tom Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Noetics Institute Conference The Noetics Institute, Inc. (NII) is a private foundation founded by Kay and Dale Palmer in 1992. NII sponsored a small, invitation only, conference from July 20 through 22. The conference was originally put together to present the NII web site to a group of interested parties. This is the web site at which anyone in the world will be able to con- duct EVP/ITC experiments. The gathering grew from a presentation of the computer system into an additional day of presentations and an evening workshop on recording EVP. Dale Palmer Dale Palmer opened the Saturday presentations with the story of how the NII computer center came to be. In 1994 Dale sat with his good friend Willis Harmon who was working on a project concerning communication between dimensions of reality. Willis asked Dale to go out in the world and check on this with people who were claiming to communicate with other worlds through electronic means and report back in six months about what he had learned. Dale had seen one presentation about EVP but was un- convinced. He then called on a retired schoolteacher named Sarah Estep. She asked him to come to her home at 4am, which he did. After some conversation, Dale was taken to the area where Sarah did her EVP recordings.

She started the recording with a prayer and then after awhile told those on the other side that they had a guest. She then asked Dale if there was something he would like to ask. He asked if Dr. Raudive was there. When the tape was played back there was a noise after his question. Sarah said, “Well, did you hear that?” She played it back about ten times, saying that it was very clear. Dale laughed and said that Sarah had to play it another ten times, but that then it did become clear to him and he was able to hear “Yes, Raudive here.” With that Dale learned that the phenomena was real and was hooked. That first voice that Dale heard led him down the path that has now resulted in the nearing comple- tion of the NII computer center for EVP/ITC experiments. Sarah Estep Sarah led off the conference and played that important voice, “Yes, Raudive here.” She talked about how she became involved with voice phenomena, and her journey and involvement through the years with EVP. Sarah was a complete disbeliever of life after death when she started her work in EVP. She recounted her young years spent in her grandparent’s funeral home and her times of looking into caskets at those who were so very dead. The stillness of those bodies convinced her that there was little hope of heaven or hell. Death was a casket, and her convictions on this did not change

for over forty years. When Sarah learned about voice phenomena she was skeptical but decided to look into it. She received her first voice on the sixth day of recording. In answer to her ques- tion, “What is your world like,” the word, “beauty” was heard on playback. She was still not convinced but contin- ued with her research into EVP. After a few months the voices started to come every time that Sarah recorded. Her book, Voices of Eternity, details the first 12 years of her contact with other dimensions. (The book is now out of print.) With the help of her daughter, Becky, Sarah played many excellent EVP examples. She talked about her con- tact with Ludwig van Beethoven that went on for months. She had asked for proof that it was, indeed, him. Beetho- ven told her that he would play for her one evening. When that evening came, there was a horrible thunder and light- ing storm. Sarah was fearful of recording during such a terrible storm but felt that she must. She ended her talk with the eerie and enchanting one-minute of music that Ludwig van Beethoven recorded for her that evening. Lisa Butler Lisa talked about her discovery of EVP through the work of Sarah Estep. She recounted how, during the time that she lived in Kansas, there had been a serious flood. The news pictures of cows and pigs stuck on top of farm roofs upset her and every night she asked those

on the other side about the animals. Each night for over a week, they patiently told her that the animals were all right. They told her that there were entities on the other side who help- ed those who died, across to their new life on the other side. Every night she was assured that all animals and all things continue after death. Finally on the seventh day, she recorded a loud voice that said, “Stop with the animals. They are okay.” Before attending the gathering Lisa made a recording and asked her friends on the other side if they were aware of the conference, and if they would help with it. She played two loud answers that were recorded immediately after her question, “We know Sarah’s coming,” and, “I’m gonna help Tom.” Lisa talked about the difficulty people who record have in hearing that first EVP message and how this is the most difficult hurdle that those interested in the phenomena must get through. She discussed some of the recent break- throughs in software that can help people in listening to EVP recordings. Lisa played several EVP examples and ended her talk with a recording of a message from her mother, “I miss you, Li---sa.” She related to the audience how the com- munication with her mother had been totally unexpected. Her mother did not know that she worked with EVP, and due to her mother’s religious convictions, Lisa had never called on her to speak. But her mother

was also the person that she needed to hear from the most. There were several issues and unresolved guilt that had continued to influence her life after her mother’s death. This communication through EVP has affected her deeply and allowed for a healing that she had not thought possible. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Dale Palmer Sarah Estep Tom and Lisa Butler Photo by Erland Babcock Professor Euvaldo Cabral, Jr. Kay Palmer Becky Estep Dr. Gary Schwartz Bill Williams NII ITC Image Photo by Erland Babcock Erland Babcock David Monaghan Photo by Erland Babcock Tom Butler and Gary Schwartz Euvaldo at NII Workstation British Witness Film Crew Joe Baltar Alec and Lisa Conducting an EVP Experiment Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Tom Butler Tom talked about some of the beneficial traits that are helpful for EVP/ITC experimenters. He talked about the importance of enthusiasm, patience and open mindedness for success in EVP/ITC experiments. He talked about how those with backgrounds in science, the scientific method, philosophy and mediumship can help all of us to under- stand the phenomena better. And, how those with these types of backgrounds can assist in bringing the knowledge of EVP to the world. Tom presented information on

the environment of EVP and ITC research. He discussed some of the things that we have learned about EVP regarding background noise, soft- ware and sounds that are heard before messages. He dis- cussed experiments done by Alexander MacRae and Bill Weisensale that conclusively show that EVP is not the re- sult of stray radio signals. Tom discussed some of the areas of development being worked on with EVP such as Alexander MacRae’s work with Holophonics, Stefan Bion’s EVPMaker and Erland Babcock’s work with digital cameras. He talked about Matti Pitanen’s attempt to provide a mathematical model of nonphysical reality, others who are working on a standard test bed for EVP hardware experimentation and the Noetics Institute development of an Internet based tool, with which the public will be able to conduct EVP experiments. He ended his talk by saying, “I personally believe that interest in EVP/ITC is reaching critical mass. As Willis Harmon held in his book, Global Mind Change, Human- kind is at the threshold of change in the way we look at reality. Soon, I expect, our scientific community will no longer be able to ignore this phenomenon. Soon, every University will have a research program that is in some way seeking to define the nature of the interface between physical and nonphysical aspects of reality. Erland Babcock Erland discussed the collection of journals that he has written over the last twenty years. The twenty-five, three hundred page journals are about Erland' s research with spirit communications

and his work with the Metascience Foundation started by George Meek. Erland showed slides concerning some of his earliest ideas about sound and how to improve EVP communica- tion. He also showed slides of equipment setups and draw- ings for various EVP/ITC experiments. Erland heard about Klaus Schreiber, who was using video to photograph his dead daughter and decided to duplicate these experiments. This was the beginning of Erland’s video experiments and his many interesting ITC pictures. Erland explained that all ITC images are based on video feedback. His presentation conveyed the evolution in techniques he followed while developing video ITC. The images were fascinating with pictures of individuals, groups of people, landscapes and buildings. Erland ended his talk with a picture of what he calls the “Green Beam.” He was taking pictures of a monitor and had not see the green beam as the picture was being taken. The picture shows this beam going into one side of the monitor and coming out the other. It shows that light can travel through a solid object. Please note that the picture has been enhanced for clarity. Bill Williams Bill Willams is a researcher in Psychical research, and in particular, life after death. He is the Canadian represen- tative for the Scole experiments in Canada. His wife Muriel is an accomplished medium. Bill went over some of the 4000 years of documented evidence that proves a case for personal survival. Much of the evidence that he presented was from his library

of some 2000 books. He related several of his experiences in searching for the truth. Bill has studied many religions and found a common thread that runs through all of them. This is the belief in a divine or higher power. Bill talked about his relationship with the late Profes- sor Ivan Currie who wrote; “You Can Not Die.” Prior to his crossing, Bill and Ian made a pact that whoever went first would try to communicate back to the person still on earth. Prof. Currie has kept his word and there have been over one hundred conversations that have been docu- mented with him through Muriel’s mediumship. They are now in the process of compiling a book on this titled, “Hi There, I’m Over Here, My Life in the Spirit World.” Professor Euvaldo Cabral, Jr. Professor Euvaldo Cabral, Jr. is instrumental in the work that is being done on the NII computer system. His interest in the phenomena began in 1976 when he read Juergenson' s book, Roesterna Fraen Rymden (Voices from the Universe). His experiments with tape recorders started the same year. His interest in the subject led him to a career in Electronics as he felt that the solution to EVP/ITC was hidden in secrets related to pieces of elec- tronic equipment. In 1979 he began designing and assem- bling equipment for experiments. Professor Cabral presented a list of the many experi- ments that he has done in trying to decipher the mystery of the voices. This

list was very impressive. He is now fo- cusing his research on results that are suitable for publica- tion in mainstream scientific journals. Professor Cabral explained his research into extremely low signal to noise ratio speech enhancement techniques that he will use to develop a software-based method for recovering voices from background noise. After his many years of research Professor Cabral has come to the conclu- sion that software may be the answer that he has been searching for. By creating software to enhance the very weak voices out of the background noise, he feels that sci- entists in any part of the country will be able to obtain the same experimental results using the NII web site as a re- mote laboratory. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Gary Schwartz Gary Schwartz is a professor of Psychology, Medicine, Neurology, and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona. He is also the Director of the Human Energy Systems Laboratory there. We have reported on the mediumship research and experiments that have been conducted by the Laboratory. Some of this research has been published in the “Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.” Gary began his talk by explaining how he became in- volved in doing the Mediumship experiments in the first place. It was a friend, Linda Russek, who asked him if he thought that her father might

have continued after his death. He was surprised at the question and asked her if it was really that important to her what he thought. She told him that it was, as he was a scientist and if he believed that we continued after death then he must have a good reason. He told her about the theory that everything in the universe is eternal, alive and evolving. (Read “The Living Energy Universe” by Gary Schwartz and Linda Russek). From this conversation the work began. The first two years of research were done in secret with interesting but not publishable results. The research has now become very public. It was featured in an HBO spe- cial, written up in countless newspaper articles and pub- lished in the SPR journal. A book will be released on the experiments this winter titled, The Afterlife Experiment, Breakthrough Scientific Evidence for Life After Death. Gary spoke about how the experiments were run in great detail and also presented much of the results of sev- eral experiments. As an example the mediums in one set of experiments were 83% accurate, while 68 people in a con- trol group were only 36% accurate. Participating mediums included James Van Praagh, John Edward, Suzane Northrup, George Anderson and the Rev. Anne Gehman. Gary mentioned Peter Russell who has said that we need a new meta-paradigm, something that goes beyond the way we typically think. Gary feels that this may come from research in mediumship and EVP/ITC. “If anything

in the history of Science is going to cause us to change the way we think, … it will be this kind of work.” The NII Web Site The subject of the NII Conference was EVP, but the real purpose was introduction of the NII web site. As we have discussed in previous newsletters, Dale Palmer has been working to develop a web site that the public can ac- cess to conduct EVP and ITC experiments. The site is not ready for public access, but it was op- erational for the conference. We saw a demonstration of video ITC via a camera and frame grabber, and video frames generated by a video noise generator. The system has a video camera placed close to a television, in which the tuner has been removed. The camera is close to and focused just beyond the screen, resulting in slightly out of focus black dots on white background. It is these dots that tend to form images. Yes, we are inclined to see faces in such noise, but many of the images were decisively ITC. In the EVP mode, you can select the nature of the noise, such as pink or white noise, and the sample rate. The EVP is sometimes lower volume than in tape recorder EVP; however, as noted in the report about Professor Cabral’s presentation, filtering and analysis software is being developed to help “pull” the EVP out of the noise. In fact, Professor Cabral‘s work on the remote EVP/ITC computer

laboratory is expected to result in groundbreak- ing techniques that everyone in the field will benefit from. Dale has hired a number of engineers to make the web site ready for public access. We will notify you when the site is ready and how to use it. Background Sound and Real time EVP Here is a member’s speculation about background sound and ways to get real-time EVP. ========================= “I' d have to say that I’ve had (real time voices), but was unsure of the actual message until it was recorded and played back. In my case, when this was occurring, I was using a "ghetto-blaster" type recorder and remote electret microphone recording the sound of a running faucet. “The deck did NOT have a separate play/monitor head, so when recording, the speaker outputted the sounds picked up in "monitor" mode and before they got onto tape. The voice sounds came through the deck speaker in real time, but low level and distorted. I concluded this was because of insufficient modulation (in the monitor stage) in the deck to convert the raw sound into proper voice artifacts. “The voice segments could be better understood on playback, indicating the record and playback process added more modulation to the EVP. “The same process occurred when I used a radio as a sound source. I used short wave babble, which seemed to be the best method for me. Air band static was second; medium-wave band static was third choice. Using this method, I got

voices in real time out of the radio speaker. “Use of FM radio static noise or TV channel sound (also FM) didn’t do anything for me. My feeling is that the noise structure and dynamic range are critical to the meta- morphic process, so flat, dense FM noise didn’t do any- thing. AM background sound seems to be a winner over FM. The reason may be in the spectra and dynamic range. “In voice formation, the main process I see happening is what I call the "cookie cutter: scenario. To cut an effec- tive cookie you have to have 100% of the required dough. More adds no value, but too little results in a distorted cookie shape. Now, if you take the dough to be audio spectra, what you get is a rough analogy to the process, where insufficient spectra creates distorted or whisper voices (recorded in quiet rooms). This is, however, differ- ent from what I was explaining above, where the cookie cutting was inferior due to the lack of cutting, rather than the amount of dough, which in the above case was the same for pre and post-recording.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Editing Sound Files We have found that, if you have a relatively consistent background noise in your EVP recordings, say from a noise generator or from a fan, you can use

Cool Edit to effec- tively remove that noise. To begin, open Cool Edit and start a fresh recording session: Under menu item, FILE click on NEW and set Sample Rate = 11025, Channels = Mono, Resolution = 8 bit, then click on OK. (You need a sample rate that is at least twice the frequency that you want to listen to. The lower all of these numbers, the smaller the file size.) Play your sound track into the computer while Cool Edit is in RECORD mode. You may need to try different outputs from your tape recorder. The best is LINE OUT of the recorder to LINE IN of the computer. Also, check your SOUND and MULTIMEDIA application to be sure that the correct input jack is active. For noise reduction, once the sound track is loaded into your computer, select a few seconds of sound track that has typical noise but no voice (or no suspected voice). Go to menu item, TRANSFORM and select NOISE REDUCTION and NOISE REDUCTION again. Click on GET PROFILE FROM SELECTION. (If you do not have a large enough data sample selected, this option will not be available.) You will notice that a graph will be displayed and SAVE PROFILE will become available. You can save the profile and use it as a “standard” filter for similar back- ground noise. When the application has finished, click on CLOSE (do not click on OK) the then select and entire sound file or that portion you

wish to analyze. Then open reduction the noise window and click on OK. This will filter the selected sound track based on the profile of the pre- viously selected noise. (You can undo this if you do not do a SAVE function first. Be sure that you have ENABLE UNDUE checked under the menu item, EDIT. again Since the EVP is usually formed out of the background noise, reducing the noise may reduce the voice as well. Try different NOISE REDUCTION LEVEL settings. This is a slide selector just under the noise profile graph. This may be an iterative process to find the best combination. Depending on the uniformity of the noise on the track, the voices should stand out more from the noise. Please note that this process sometimes induces a “ringing” sound into the sound track. This noise is considered an artifact. To reverse the sound track, select the entire sound track and use menu item TRANSFORM and click on REVERSE. Playing the sound track in this way will be much the same as playing a cassette tape in the reverse. EVP and Answering Machines We have recently received several reports of EVP voices appearing on answering machines. Perhaps you will see from these examples that it is good to check your an- swering machine for EVP. (cid:0) Susan Cole and her husband were walking into their home when they heard their own voices coming through their answering machine from the cell phone in her hus- band’s pocket.

Their voices were being recorded on the answering machine as they walked in the door! As Susan’s husband, along with the cell phone, got closer to the machine it created feedback. Susan thinks that it might have been the energy from this feedback that helped a voice come through saying, “I hate you.” It is a class “A” voice. One of the possibilities of how the call occurred is that her husband accidentally hit a speed-dial number on the cell phone that is programmed to dial the house. Susan wondered if, “Maybe the spirit made the initial call, instead.” (cid:1) Sandra Belanger was re-recording her answering ma- chine message. When she played the message back to check it, after she says, “Thank you,” a voice comes in and says, “Is anyone in?” In reverse it says, “Does it hurt?” Sandra wrote, “This was recorded on a digital re- corder and is quite clear. I have decided to leave it there to confound the living who may call.” (cid:1) Bill Weber related two messages that he received on his answering machine some time ago. In the first, a male voice recorded, “We’ve been excused.” This voice came on the machine with only one phone ring; the machine was set to pick up only after four rings. On another oc- casion Bill’s machine recorded a female voice singing, “Bill.” (cid:1) Carol Barron-Karajohn wrote that she is continuing to get lots of messages on her machine but that most are in- distinguishable. She

has gotten a few that are clear. One said, “I’m fine, Don.” (cid:1) Dale Sizemore often reports getting messages on his answering machine. He says that they often appear be- fore the person calling speaks, in between breaks in the person’s words and at the end of the recording. “I’m missing now my pretty love” is one of the many mes- sages that he has recorded on his machine. (cid:1) Brian Jones has received numerous EVP messages on his telephone answering machine. He uses an older one that has a full size cassette tape so that he can also listen to the reverse side of the recording on a modified cassette player, which plays in reverse as well as forward. Brian writes, “EVP can use the cellular telephone waves to a stronger degree than other sources for projecting their voices. Try it! Use a standard phone for the receiving end of the experiment. Also, if you have a cell phone, call in to an answering machine (maybe to your own, or someone else' s answering machine) then either analyze that recording, or take it a step further, and record that recording!” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Tina Laurent’s EVP Article: Part 2 The second part of Tina Laurent’s article on EVP was published in the Summer 2002 issue of The Spiritual Scien- tist. In this part

of the article Tina discusses some of the anomalies that are found in EVP, as well as how the enti- ties communicate via EVP. The article includes a very good “Practical Guide to Recording Paranormal Voices on Tape.” Tina ends by saying, “The dead speak to us. This is not new. For centuries Spiritualists have maintained they had contact with the dead. However, scientific disci- plines were rarely imposed. But now the dead no longer need a human intermediary. They use tape recorders or even TV sets. What is more objective than a machine?” The complete article is now on the AA-EVP web site at aaevp.com with a link to The New Spiritual Science Foundation, often called The Scole Group. The Spiritual Scientist is published quarterly. Write to: The New Spiri- tual Science Foundation, Street Farmhouse, Scole, Diss, Norfolk IP21 4DR, England. A subscription is Eleven Pounds Sterling. Tina Laurent can be reached via email at [email protected] or by writing her at, 39 Coed-y- Graig, Pencoed Mid Glamorgan CF356YT Wales, GB. British TV program on EVP David Monaghan is producing a documentary as part of a religious/philosophical series called “Witness,” to be aired in the UK on Ch. 4. He has interviewed many EVP researchers, Sarah Estep, Dale Palmer, Erland Babcock, Tina Laurent, Judith Chisholm, Linda Williamson and Alexander MacRae, to name a few. He also filmed parts of the NII Conference. David Monaghan Productions was responsible for bringing Alexander MacRae to the NII conference. We got a kick out

of hearing Alec talk about his experiences with the film crew while they filmed him in Scotland. At one point the crew took Alec on location to use his device at a nearby waterfall and then they shot him rowing across a beautiful lake. What you won’t see is Alec rowing with a heavy cameraman and his heavy camera, along with a soundman with his microphone pole, all in the stern of the boat. To add insult to injury the cameraman and soundman wore the only available lifejackets. It is hoped that the film will be aired in England before 2002. No word yet if and when it will air in the States. Million Dollars: Put up or Shut up! Victor Zammit, Psychic Researcher and retired Austra- lian High Court Solicitor is offering one million dollars to anyone who can, “Rebut the evidence for the afterlife and prove that the afterlife does not or cannot exist.” This offer counters skeptic James Randi’s famous million-dollar offer to anyone to “prove the paranormal.” An International ITC Platform Dr. Adrian Klein and a number of prominent ITC re- searchers from around the world have formed the Interna- tional ITC Platform (ITCP). The members of the ITCP coordination panel are: Dr. Ralf Determeyer Germany, Sonia Rinaldi Brazil, Dr. Paolo Presi Italy, Dr. Paola Gio- vetti Italy, Mark Macy USA, Dr. Anabela Cardoso Portu- gal and Jacques Blanc Garrin France. The ITCP is intended to help coordinate information exchange and research in ITC. Emphasis now

is on finding funding for an ITC library and database. The Platform holds the potential to unify groups and EVP/ITC research- ers into a worldwide body with one face. We will bring you more about the ITCP as it develops. The EVP Voice that Saved My Life By Tom Wingert It was in winter and I was on a field exercise. I had just entered our four-man army tent after getting off duty. I was very tired and was sitting on my cot rubbing my eyes with the ball of my hands, when outside a large truck drove by and blew its loud horn for a short burst. In that moment I clearly heard a loud clear female voice yelling in German “Aufpassen!” which means, “Watch out!” I knew instantly what I had heard and I looked around me for the apparent danger and found it. At the time in the military, you warmed your tent with a “Yukon stove.” This is a boxy looking stove like an oversized shoebox, double the size. Anyway, this stove is fueled from the out- side of the tent with car gasoline, fed by a hose that comes into the tent to a simple valve on the stove. This valve is adjusted to let the gas drip onto a flat disk inside the stove. The gasoline burns after it drips and disperses into the air within the sheet metal confines of the stove. But, if the valve is opened too much, then gasoline may

drip over the edge and onto the bottom of the stove and start to accumu- late. This is the danger, for it could ignite and go off like a bomb. Well, when I looked, sure enough there was about a quarter inch of gas on the bottom. I turned the valve off immediately. This spirit had most likely saved my life. I hope I get to meet her and thank her some day. Tom Wingert EVP and Grief Management (cid:0) Linda Williamson sits with a group of woman who are using EVP to assist with overcoming the grief of losing a loved one. Recently Linda worked with a woman who had lost her daughter twenty years ago. The woman had never gotten over this death and was angry with God for taking her child. Linda was able to help this woman through an EVP message from her daughter. The woman was overcome with joy. This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the

newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 20, Number 3, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2001 Life After Death While working on a series of paranormal investiga- tions, UK TV production company, Galaxi Television, be- lieve they have come up with proof of life after death. The “Phantom or Fraud” team, led by Ross Hemsworth has captured two ghostly apparitions on Digital video, us- ing temporal time theories. The apparitions are only visi- ble when the videos are played in fast forward or fast re- verse, proving that the movement is outside of the normal accepted time patterns, and thus, in temporal time The team has also captured what they believe to be "soul forms" on stills photographs, which have been posi- tively identified by NDE survivors, as the "light they saw at the point of death." The Phantom or Fraud team has a web site at (www.phantomorfraud.com, we have no physi- cal address). News About Members (cid:0) Gerry Connelly, a physicist, has written, Electronic Voice Phenomenon: the Cinderella Science. This book clearly demonstrates that EVP is not a random phenome- non and follows patterns first researched as far back as 1893. These patterns show the restrictions EVP are bound by, and show where the voices are coming from. The book can be ordered by writing to Domra Publica- tions, 65 Constable Road, Corby Northamptonshire, NN18 0RT United Kingdom. The price per book in- cludes shipping and is 25 dollars or 10 pounds. (cid:0) Ruth

Mattson Taylor has a new book out titled Evi- dence from Beyond. Ruth’s father the Reverend A.D. Mattson has been communicating with Ruth through the distinguished British medium Margaret Flavell since 1971. The book answers questions about what life is like on the other side of the veil. It is available in bookstores or online at www.brettbooks.com/evidencefrombeyond. (cid:0) The Religion News Service did a feature this month to coincide with the release of the movie, "The Others," which is about a haunted Victorian mansion. Reporter Angela Aleiss noted the Gallup Poll, which stated, "38 per cent of Adult Americans believe that ghosts, or spir- its of the dead, do exist." Aleiss quoted NSAC President and AAEVP member Barbara Thurman who credits the media for today’s renewed interest in Spirit: "I've had more people inquire about Spiritualism in the last six months than during the whole six years since I started this church in San Francisco.” (cid:0) Michele Hardison appeared in a program about haunted Nevada on the Travel Channel, on Sept. 2. We are sure that the program will be on again so watch for it. She will also appear in an episode of the Fox Family Chan- nel’s Scariest Places. (cid:0) The Reverend Bernard Baker, AZ, made his transition to the other side on September 4. Bernard was very in- terested in Electronic Voice Phenomena and was a mem- ber of the AA-EVP for many years. We wish him well on his new journey. Tapers Report (cid:0) Erland Babcock,

MA, sent us an extremely loud and clear EVP message that was received many years ago. Erland also played this message at the NII conference. The message, “This is my dream,” was recorded at the scene of a murder about a month after the murder was committed. The message seemed to mean nothing when it was recorded. However, the aunt of the murdered girl explained that three months before her death, the girl had written a poem about her death called, This is My Dream. The EVP is actually louder than the taper’s voices. (cid:0) Tina Laurent, Wales, recorded the EVP, “You rather like death.” She wrote, “I suppose that this must be true since I spend so much of my time trying to communicate with the so-called dead.” On a recording made in May, she wrote that she had just announced that it was May 1st, and asked who was on the line that night. On play back she heard, “This is your Daddy,” and realized that it was her father’s birthday. He was killed in the war. (cid:0) Frank Sumption, CO, wrote, “One of my sons was mur- dered back in 1989. I’ve asked if he was around. The answer I got was, ‘He’s not a ghost.’ I’m assuming that he has either moved on to another level, or has reincar- nated.” (cid:0) Dale Sizemore, SC, wrote, saying that, “My cousin from out of town called and had just started her message with ‘Dale…’ on my answering machine.

During the brief gap between ‘Dale’ and her next words, there is another female voice blurting out the words, ‘What Happened.’” Dale told us that he thinks this may have been someone who recently made her transition and was wondering what happened. (cid:0) Michele Hardison, NV, was working with a friend set- ting up camera equipment. She said that the friend wanted to point the camera at a mirror. Michele re- corded the loud EVP message, “Reflection yours,” while all of this was going on. The very distinctive voice sounds like that of her mother in law who died in the house four years earlier. (cid:0) Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, told us a little more about her EVP message, “I’m alive.” When she received this recording she recognized the man’s voice. He had been an AA-EVP member. She wrote, “He called me several times because of my work in the field and we ex- changed many audio-cassette letters. I’m sure that he is happy to be spreading the word from the other side! The man’s daughter confirmed his voice. What amazed me the most with this EVP message was that it was done by ‘appointment.’ When I taped that morning, someone else told me that the fellow would, ‘be on this evening.” (cid:0) Alexander MacRae, Scotland, wrote, “A friend who had never heard of EVP before, but was so curious as to why the BBC and other TV people were coming over, would not be satisfied until he had handled the

plates. The re- sult, a clamor of voices one of which said, ‘That is my body you are over,’ in a voice that spooked us all.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Volume 20 Number 4 AA-EVP NEWS Referrals Winter 2002 (cid:0)(cid:2)(cid:1)(cid:4)(cid:3)(cid:6)(cid:5)(cid:8)(cid:7)(cid:10)(cid:9)(cid:11)(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:15)(cid:14)(cid:16)(cid:9)(cid:11)(cid:17)(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:21)(cid:20)(cid:22)(cid:17)(cid:19)(cid:23)(cid:24)(cid:12)(cid:26)(cid:25)(cid:27)(cid:17)(cid:28)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:29)(cid:30)(cid:1)(cid:16)(cid:31)(cid:21) !(cid:17)(cid:19)(cid:20)(cid:22)(cid:12)#"%$!(cid:1)’&(cid:27)(cid:17)(cid:19)$((cid:5)(cid:10))*(cid:12)#(cid:20),+(cid:21)(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:12)-(cid:7).(cid:17)(cid:19)(cid:31)/(cid:12)#(cid:31)(cid:30))0(cid:12)(cid:26)12(cid:1)(cid:16)(cid:3)430(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:13)56(cid:18)7(cid:23)(cid:28)$($8(cid:17)(cid:22)(cid:18)(cid:21)9(cid:28)(cid:9) (cid:31)(cid:30)(cid:17):(cid:25)(cid:27)(cid:1)(cid:16)(cid:31)6(cid:12) From Our Viewpoint I know that many of us were wondering if we would make it to the year 2002. Tom and I sat in shock in front the Television on Sept. 11. We had plans and were sup- posed to head out the door. I turned the TV on while the coffee was brewing and then you know what happened. We sat in disbelief never making it out the door. I know most of you know exactly what you were doing that morning. We will all never forget. Many of our members live very close to where all of this was and is happening. One member’s letter said “Hello from the front.” She lives near the pentagon. One member in New York thought about moving to property out in the country. We were to attend a conference in New York weeks after the terrible events of Sept. 11. I believe in life after death, but I was not the least bit ex- cited about getting on an airplane, but we did. Things have changed, after September 11 we have been

faced with much more uncertainty in our lives, from flying to the economy and Anthrax. People have lost loved ones; people have lost their jobs; some have loved ones going to fight a war. With all of this going on, we were faced with Christ- mas. That most happy time of year, so we are told. Yes, Christmas with all of its commercialism is still very happy for many. But for some it is also the most difficult time of the year. Forty-one percent of people, according to a survey by Prevention Magazine and Dateline NBC, consider the holiday season stressful, ranking it with ask- ing the boss for a raise. But the stress does not just come from all of those things that we are supposed to do and get done during the Holidays. Christmas and the Holi- days are the time that many are sick at heart because someone that they love is now on the other side. We have heard from many that feel a great depression because of this. Just today I found myself putting an arm around a friend in tears because she has lost both her mother and her brother this year, and it’s Christmas. What can we do for those who are missing a loved one? We can certainly reassure them, as most of us in the Association firmly believe that we live after death. But the biggest thing that we can do for someone is to just listen. When a person is

telling you about a problem, it is unlikely that they actually want you to give them a solu- tion. Most of the time, they just want you to hear them. For those of us who are EVP researchers there can be another hurt. Why don’t those whom we have lost, and most want to hear from, speak to us through EVP? Many of us have heard from the ones that we needed to, but there are others who are still waiting. I was very close to my Dad and really wanted him to use EVP to contact me and let me know that he was all right. My father did contact me. I had three vivid dreams that were as real as if he had been with me in physical reality. Perhaps I was a little skeptical about the first dream and thought that the dream was just my way of helping me through a desperate, heartbreaking time. By the third dream I was convinced that my Dad had really gotten in touch with me to let me know how much he loved me and that he was alive and still pursuing his many interests. My father never has contacted me via EVP. Whenever I ask to speak to him my grandmother, his mother, comes through. She tells me what he is do- ing, where he is, etc. My father was an engineer and I reasoned that he should be able to get through to me via EVP. After all,

he was a brilliant man with a technical mind. My paternal grandmother was a homemaker and not someone who I thought would be the least interested in electronic gadg- ets. She also came from a very strict religion that abso- lutely did not believe in any kind of communication with the dead. Messing around with anything that even smacked of the paranormal would have brought on a lengthy lecture on my winding up in hell fire. So much for logic! So what do we do when our call goes unanswered with EVP? For one thing we can keep trying. It took my Mother over two years to get through to me via EVP. But the other thing that we should be doing is looking for that communication somewhere else. We just don’t under- stand why one person can get through with EVP and an- other can’t. Because we are interested and working in EVP/ITC this is the way we expect them to communicate, but it just doesn’t always work that way. I do know that, when you are heartbroken from the loss of a loved one, they will get through to you. It just might not be in the way you expect. You may feel their touch, receive a sign, smell a fragrance associated with them, see them visually, receive a telephone call, feel their presence or have a se- ries of dreams like I did. We must remain open and look for contact in whatever way it comes, because

it will come. Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. (cid:1) Volume 20, Number 4, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 Our First ITC A while back Tom and I were going to run an EVP experiment. We have had an old color TV in the experi- ment room since we moved into the house. We decided to take out our video camera to try to see if we could get some pictures using the video feed back loop method while we did an EVP experiment. We downloaded and listened to the EVP session via the computer and Cool Edit first and found the message, “Continue with the pictures, I will help.” Well, that was exciting so we immediately downloaded the video into the computer and started viewing the video, frame by frame. We learned that it is a very slow process and takes as much time if not more time as listening to an EVP ses- sion. We found nothing on the video, but could also see from the video that we may have had the camera focused incorrectly. The next day we ran another EVP session. We thanked those on the other side for their assistance and asked who it had been who had said that they would help with the pictures. The message came back right after the question, “Anthony.” It gets busy around here and it is hard to believe how quickly time

passes, so it was at least a month before we once again tried to get ITC. We had both thought about it many times and when I meditated or spoke to those on the other side before sleeping, I would thank them and ask them to help with ITC contacts. But somehow the time was not right. Then about a month ago the time did seem right to try again. We did mediation and played a piece of music. There is a particular piece of music that I love and we al- ways play it as we set up the equipment and prepare for an EVP session. One of our friends calls it a signature piece. I feel that when that music is played, those on the other side know that we are going to do an experiment. We fo- cused on ITC only and did not run an EVP experiment. We ran the video for one minute as we had now learned how long it takes to review frame by frame. We downloaded into the computer and immediately saw two images that were interesting and very exciting. We tried to work with a couple of the images but they were very dark. We could see them on the computer screen but the same results were not there when we tried to print them. Then we got side tracked on trying to find the best software to view the images. This caused us another de- lay of a couple of

weeks. We downloaded a few free tri- als, one by Adobe that would cost over $500 if we decided on it. Learning new software, especially with online “Read Me” help files is time consuming and frustrating. We eventually went back to the video viewing software that we already had on the computer. 1 that back In early December, we sent two frames of the video to Erland and Mary Babcock. Erland is probably the most knowledgeable person in the United States on ITC pictures. He wrote us the pictures were too dark to print but that he would try to work with them. Both Erland and Mary saw a man in one of the images. Interestingly, this was not what we had been focused on in that frame. As you can see in the im- age above (1), we were seeing a larger man. What Erland and Mary did with the frame and what they sent back to us was thrilling. (See images 3 and 4 in the following article, A Brief Discussion of the Pictures.) When we looked at the picture that Erland sent back (image 4), Tom got very excited and said, “Look, it looks like he is sitting in an out door setting with the sky.” I then looked closer and could see green in a pastoral set- ting. The man is with a child, but this is very hard to see. The man in the wide-brimmed black hat seemed somehow familiar. Had I seen this in

another ITC image some- where? I looked back through as many past ITC journals as I could find, but did not find anything similar. I can’t tell you about the excitement that was going on in our house. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night. Erland had written that he had made a printed copy of one picture and was sending it to us in the mail. He said that he had been trying to print one thing when another image of a man, standing in seemingly old style clothing and sporting a handle bar mustache, showed up. “Was this a grandfather?” he asked. The printed picture that he sent us is startling. As you can see in the image at the left (2), it is full figure with only the feet missing, and yes, he has a handle bar mustache. Is he a relative? Or, is he a member of a hoped for ITC team on the other side? We again went back through the video images one by one. We were literally in shock with the number of images that were received in that one- minute. Most of them are too dark and would not print for the newsletter, but there were many people. Continued on page 3 2 This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415

Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 Our First ITC (Continued from Page 2) One picture of a lady was to dark to print, but she had a nose that looked like my mothers. If this were a picture of my mother it would be one that shows her in her late twenties. We will have to wait and hope for more images to be able to make any kind of claim, as the picture is just not good enough to do so now. There is another of a man from his head almost to his feet, only his face will print (7). Another very interesting frame shows a whole group of people together (5). It is just like a snapshot at a family gathering. One person has an arm around another. Who is this family? Who are the people now sending us pictures? We feel incredibly lucky and blessed by our unseen contacts on the other side to have received this series of pictures. But they have presented many questions. Is one of

these people Anthony? Will the contacts continue? If we do EVP with the video will be get some answers? A Brief Discussion of the Pictures produce images 2 and 4. Erland uses editing software that came with his Toshiba PDR-M70 digital camera and it is more effective than any of the editors we use. Lisa had seen other possibilities in frame 3, but I was focused on what looks like a full-bust image of a man in the middle of the frame. If you look at the upper left quadrant of the image 3, you can see that I have highlighted what looks like a hat. Image 4 is that region enlarged and enhanced by Erland. With this image, and other renditions not shown, you can see a man wearing a hat. It looks like he has a full beard. There is evidence of blue sky above him and shrubbery at his right. His shoulders may also be visible. 5 3 The ITC images described by Lisa provides an inter- esting study in ITC photography. The initial video was taken with a Cannon 8mm ES2000 analog camcorder set about six inches from a Sony KV20TS32, 20 inch Trini- tron color TV. The camera was focused just beyond the screen surface and the composite video out of the camera was connected to the video input of the TV so that the camera was “seeing” its output in a video loop. The cam- era was zoomed so that about five inches of

the screen was revealed to the camera. The resulting video clip was loaded into a computer and Pinnacle Systems Studio DC10 Plus was used for re- view. The video was frame examined by frame and interesting frames were captured as individual pictures. Image 3 is an example of “grabbed” video frames. Because we were focused on an area of the screen that had a lot of optical tex- resulting ture, frames to be dark. The screen was also strobbing from light to dark. While this seems to have given us ITC, it has also frus- trated our attempts to display the images with our method of printing this newsletter. Those of you receiving the newsletter via email will see clearer, color images. This article will be at aaevp.com, as well. the tended these 4 As Lisa said, she sent two of the more interesting frames to Erland Babcock, who performed his magic to 6 It is important to note that the resolution of the original frame should not support the fine shading of the shape of the hat. In other words, I believe that the ITC image has higher resolution the original frame. Also, if this were an illusion, we would expect to more often see other familiar objects. Erland has pointed out to us that he has captured pastoral scenes and what looks like aerial views of land and water. But as the following two images show (5, 6), we are mostly collecting faces, which raises the question again,

why faces, why whole faces and who are they? than Image 5 is the bottom half of a frame. Even in this poor reproduction, you can see that there are numerous faces, including three distinct heads at the bottom—as if it were a family portrait. Image 6 is an enlargement of the right head in image 5. Lisa pointed out to me that, in the original frame, it appears to be a group picture in which a woman has her arm around another woman. The closer we look, the more heads and faces we see. 7 Finally, we include an image showing a full head The of a person (7). original frame was almost completely black, so what is is an enhancement. It is hard to tell, but the person looks a lot like an extraterrestrial standing in front of a round window. shown here Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 British TV Program on EVP The Witness Series aired a documentary produced by David Monaghan called, Voices of the Dead, on Sunday December 9, in the UK. The British TV Guide described the documentary as, “A look at the Electronic Voice Phe- nomena Societies whose members believe they can record the voices of the dead on ordinary cassette recorders. With 30,000 members from 87 countries, this organization even has the backing of the Vatican as a

source of proof of life after death.” The TV program was the “Pick of The Day” in the prestigious London Sunday Times. David wrote after the program was shown that, “…the word here is good. The film has had excellent reviews with the words ‘magical’ and ‘fantastic,’ and there has been virtually no scoffing or mocking—a real show of interests—the viewing figures were great, and all of the British people involved.” In an email to Linda William- son he wrote, “People have begun getting in touch about the program. There has been a lot of interest and even a friend called saying he overheard people talking on a bus about how they had seen the film, and heard the voices and it was true! The letter that I received today was from a woman that tried taping the night after seeing the show and got a voice.” As of the printing of the newsletter we still had not seen the program. We do know that AA-EVP members Linda Williamson, Alexander MacRae and Judith Chis- holm were featured in the program from the UK along with Sarah Estep and Dale Palmer from the US. We have heard that Lisa is in the film for a few seconds while con- ducting an experiment with Alec. Erland Babcock and others at the NII conference were filmed and interviewed but we still do not know who all is in the program. The number of hits on the AA-EVP web site has been running 200

and 250 a week. The week following the Witness program the web site recorded 886 hits. This can only be the result of people seeing the TV program and then going to look for more information on EVP. David Monaghan is to be commended for doing this outstanding documentary. We can only hope that some US broadcast network will pick up the program so that we all have a chance to see it. Is This the Afterlife? Matt Warne sent us an article that ran in the Daily Mail on December 14 called, Is This the Afterlife? It states, “At last, scientists deliver compelling evidence of near death experiences.” The article sites a Holland study by Dr. Pim van Lommel and colleagues of Rijnstate Hos- pital in Arnhem. They found that one in five heart attack patients experienced a near death experience or NDE. The researchers said, “Our results show that medical factors cannot account for the occurrence of NDEs, al- though all patients had been clinically dead, most did not have an NDE. If purely physiological factors caused NDE most of our patients should have had this experience.” channel ITC Photography from TV Noise Erland Babcock wrote to tell us about his recent ex- periments, “I was fooling around the other night using a blank TV on my computer. I used my digital camera to photograph the moving snow on the screen. I did this several times at random times. I then removed the TV channel from the computer

screen and loaded the images from the camera into the computer. I brought up each image, one at a time, and used the computer to get rid of any color so I ended up with a black and white image. I then visually searched that image for anything that looked like it might be interesting. When I found something I cropped it to remove the rest of the image. I then blew up the image 100-200, possibly to 800%. If the image remained inter- esting I enhanced it by the use of contrast, brightness, sharpness and any other control that will enhance the im- age. “These images were produced that way and are from nothing more than random noise on a blank TV channel.” Vatican Okays Talking to the Dead The July issue of Britain' s Psychic World newspaper includes an article that notes, "Major changes to Roman Catholic views as the Vatican says it is OK to talk to the Dead." Assistant Editor, Michael Colmer says he has dis- covered the keynote Vatican policy change regarding "Communication with the Dead." It originated with the Rev. Gino Concetti, chief theological commentator for the Vatican. Fr. Concetti said in the Italian journal, L'Osser- vatore Romano, "Communication is possible between those who live on this earth and those who live in a state of eternal repose, in heaven or purgatory. It may even be that God lets our loved ones send us messages to guide us at certain moments in our life."

In the article, Fr. Concetti maintained that the new Catholic Catechism specifically endorsed the view that the dead could intercede on earth and quotes the dying St. Dominic telling his brothers: "Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life." From the July, NSAC News published by Robert Egby. AA-EVP Article The Autumn 2001 Spiritual Scientist has an article written by us that describes some of the work you are do- ing in the Association. This is the publication of the Scole Group that is widely distributed in the British Isles, Can- ada and the USA. We have had a number of people communicate with us as a result of this new exposure for the Association. You can see the article at aaevp.com. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 The EVP Coffee Pot When Charlotte Claypool first wrote to us about EVP and her interest in joining the AA-EVP, we were immedi- ately interested in hearing more from her about her EVP contacts. You see Charli has been getting EVP messages in a number of ways but most interesting are the voices coming from her coffeepot! She wrote, “I am a Real Estate Broker with no prior interest in EVP or paranormal activities. Phenomena be- gan taking place in my

presence 10 months ago. Voices began to emanate from a common household appliance which was purchased in Nov. 2000.” It is a Krups Duofil- ter Chrystal Arome Coffeemaker. “The voices are dis- cernable and can be heard in ‘real time’ by anyone; they do not have to be recorded to be heard. The entities com- ing through are prolific speakers and they are numerous. “Once I got up the courage to record the voices, using a digital voice recorder, I found that the entities actually had discernable male or female voices, different dialects and plenty of opinions. They readily answer questions. The digital recorder downloads directly into the computer and the recordings can then be analyzed using Cool Edit. “I had these ladies that kept talking about pink lemon- ade so I went out and got a bottle and set it by the coffee- pot. Later I asked if they knew about the pink lemonade? The Ladies in unison replied, ‘Yes, sweet new girl.’” Charli said she gets different groups through different media. “Direct recording off my ham radio with scratchy static produced relatives, people who knew my mother. They said, ‘That’s Charlotte Whipkey’s young lady.’” There is another thing that Charli does that is interest- ing and different. She writes her questions down on a piece of paper for those on the other side to read. She wrote, “They love the notes, one lady said, ‘Fun to read letters from Charli.’ I like to keep my own voice out

of the recordings and the notes make a good record to keep with the recording transcript.” Charli is working on a new web page at www.coffeepotghost.com that will detail her experiences and provide a way to listen to samples of her EVP. Contact Established We have been in communication with author, Larry Dean. His new book, Contact Established, will be pub- lished next year. Larry Dean is a trance channel who started receiving communication from an alien contact. These communications were later verified from informa- tion received by the New Spiritual Science Foundation (The Scole Group). Larry is also the co-founder of Skysearch UFO Research Organization in England. Larry wrote, “My liaison with the Scole Group and their Trans-dimensional communications is documented in the book, together with the history of ITC and the basic experimental methods for developing it.” We were pleased that Larry asked to use information about how to record from the AA-EVP web site. The book describes Larry’s contact experiences that have taken place since 1994 and also includes interviews with renowned UFO researchers. Is Spirit Photograph ITC? Recently, we received a photograph taken by Peter Berg at a National Spiritualist Association of Churches convention. The first photograph shows AA-EVP mem- ber, the Rev. Gene Pfortmiller holding a card over a woman’s head. The second image is an 800% enlarge- ment of the spot over his throat. The third is the enlarge- ment with the background removed, showing an apparent human head. in Look closely at the

spot of light. Some peo- ple, who saw the picture the review window of the digital camera, say that they saw it in the shape of a hand that turned into a round orb. Can you see the face? Erland Bab- cock’s wife, Mary, noticed the face after he had made the enlargement. on This is an interesting example of a photograph showing apparent phenomena closer that, examination, provides what appears to be further ITC evidence. We are aware of the “faces in the clouds” illusion. We are considering a standard: if the image exhibits six of ten reference points (face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, ears, brow, cheek, hair and profile), then it is candidate for consideration as phenomena. This example exhibits most of these reference points. We have seen many "spirit" photographs containing orbs or other irregularities in the image. In the past, we have simply considered them at face value. As more has become known about ITC techniques, it has become apparent that communicating entities are able to use strong sources of energy to produce images. This leads to a reasonable conclusion that it is wise to take a closer look at these irregularities to see if ITC is present. Can bright spots in photographs be the optical equiva- lent of background sound in EVP or video feedback in ITC? Strong white light is like random sound and the gray texture is like noise. Is it possible that this photo- graph can point to a common factor for

EVP/ITC? Another important question this photograph brings up is that of the ubiquity of faces. Why do we find so many? Why not more images of cars and houses? Let us know what you think. The full report for the photograph is on the web at aaevp.com under Examples. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 Water as a Background Source (From Egroup discussions) George Wynne asked Stefan Bion of the VTF, “What is ‘the good old water method’ to which you refer?” Stefan replied: “In a few words, I' m using a small fountain pump (hope it' s the right term) inside a vessel (large ceramic flowerpot, metal milk can, etc.), filled with a few cm of water. This bubbling water sound is recorded via a piezo horn speaker (which is "misused" as a micro- phone) onto cassette tape. Through the piezo system, the water noise disappears and the voices are coming out more clearly. Water and piezo are located in neighboring rooms, separated by a door ajar. By closing/opening the door more or less, the sound can be adjusted so that the higher frequencies are lowered. Switching the pump off and on by a remote switch seems to support the voices further. During my questions, I would switch the water off, and then on again in expectation of EVP. The sound of the voices reminds me

a bit of a talking budgie. :-) “But regardless of the method, one thing should be kept in mind: The “human factor.” If and which type of EVP one will get, seems to depend on the “mind state” of the experimenter (and maybe other, unconscious factors). Also the relation of the experimenter to “the other side” seems to be important. For instance, many experimenters are getting contacts to Konstantin Raudive. I myself don' have a relation to him and thus don' him. For grieving persons who lost a loved one, the chances for a contact seem to be increased (however, it not only depends on us).” t t get any EVP from George then asked, “There are some commercially available surf, rain and white noise sounds generated by an audio device … that are supposed to induce restful sleep. Do you know whether any experimenter has tried these as ‘raw material’?” Stefan wrote, “We have tried such noise sounds some years ago, but without much success. I prefer ‘real’ wa- ter.” Lisa Butler has used a water fountain for EVP, and al- though it does work, the resulting EVP tended to sound like little fairy people because of the high frequencies. High Frequency EVP There have been several recent comments in the AA- EVP Egroup concerning the use of high frequency back- ground sound in EVP recording. For instance, Charli Claypool reported that she and George Wynne have been working together on a few experimental ideas and that George has

tried a dog whistle. George also turns up the microphone amplifier he is using so that he has a great deal of feedback from the speakers. (It is possible in some recording arrangements to have both the computer speak- ers and the input microphone active at the same time.) Thus, he is using high frequency sound and enough feed- back to saturate the system. Charli tells us that George is getting Class A voices with this method. Frank Sumption reports that, “I ran an EVPMaker ses- sion using regular speech audio, and adjusted the speaker volume to give just enough feedback to cause the audio to begin to ring. The result was absolutely spectacular. I haven' second recording, and got enough phrases in the transcript to fill a full page.” t had a session this good in months!! I ran a 60 Both Steven Beresford and Dave Sircom told us about Konstantinos and feedback. Steven wrote, “Konstantinos mentions the following audio feedback technique: Hook up a microphone to an amplifier and a loudspeaker. Place the microphone next to the loudspeaker and adjust the vol- ume so that the feedback is just about to howl. Then invite the spirits to communicate with you. You could put a tape recorder in the loop to record whatever happens. “According to Konstantinos, this method allows real- time conversation. Apparently, it takes a while for the spirits to learn how to build up energy in the loop.” Con- tact the Other Side, 7 methods for

afterlife communication by Konstantinos, Llewellyn Books, 1-800-THE-MOON. It seems clear that the feedback between the speakers and the microphone provides a high density of sound en- ergy. Because the system is set up so that the system tends to “ring,” the sound being feed to the recording mechanism is relatively unstable. This instability may make it easier for the communicating entity to transfigure the sound as EVP. This may also explain why high fre- quency background sound sometimes works for EVP. We would be interested to hear what you get if you try ex- perimenting with this. The Dream By Lance Payette When my dad died 30 years ago, I had an oddball Af- ter Death Communication that involved a dream tele- phone. I had a series of dreams where I would pick up the phone and my dad would be on the line and I would hang up in terror. In one, I finally said, “Would you please stop calling me? You' re dead.” In a voice that sounded very tinny and far away, he simply said, “I' m dead but I' m not dead.” That was then the end of the dreams, as though his message had been delivered. Anyway, I have a pretty complete library on psychical research (I' m also a member of the SPR and ASPR) and have always found EVP to be a promising area of investigation that seems not to get much publicity or generate much interest in the U.S. I have since

read most of the Telephone Calls from the Dead sort of books and was intrigued that this one was the phenomenon within the context of a dream. It oc- curred in 1971, when I was 21. My dad was highly intel- ligent and interested in unusual subjects. He was also closer to me than to either my brother or my sister, who are much older, so it was logical that he would appear to me. What was always convincing to me about this was the simplicity of the message, the fact that the dreams stopped after the message was delivered, and the fact that my dad' s voice had a tinny, far-away quality to it. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 The Way We Hear Sound A frustrating aspect of recording EVP is demonstrat- ing examples to others and finding that they cannot under- stand a word. Richard Szumski, recently described an experiment that should shed some light on this problem. “I was intrigued with the problem (of selective hear- ing) and ... realized that a microphone is not selective in the same way our ears are. I'm sure you've been in a room where a number of conversations were taking place at the same time. You were able to focus your hearing on a par- ticular conversation while tuning out or at least subduing what you

weren't interested in. This usually takes place without conscious effort. But a microphone, unless placed close to or pointed directly at any particular source of con- versation, does not have that ability. “This can be tested, as I once did, by placing a mic among a group (of people) with different conversations taking place at the same time. I played the recording for some of my volunteer test subjects who had not attended the original recording and asked what did they hear. At first their usual reply was, ‘Just a lot of people talking.’ Then I asked if they could make out any part of the con- versations. Some would say they could make out a few words or a complete sentence if not too long or complex, and other said they didn't hear anything but a lot of voices. “I would then cue the tape to something I knew was on the tape such as, ‘Did he really do it.’ … I did get a few correct responses, but I also got, ‘Dick really did it.’ And, ‘Did she really do it.’ Also, ‘Why did he do it?’ In this case creating a totally different question.” Richard concluded with, “I'm beginning to think of EVP messages as something similar to an audio Ror- schach test. Your background, experience, beliefs and needs put meaning in a message.” Richard’s experiment illustrates the problem with hearing EVP rather well. Beyond some lower threshold of clarity, understanding what we hear depends on context

and our worldview. We should not be disappointed if people do not always hear or understand some of our samples. However, remember that a Class A EVP should be understandable by anyone. Psychic Legislator The Associated Press reported that during a morning devotional message, a Georgia state legislator told her House colleagues that she can communicate with the dead and has been “visited” by missing, intern Chandra Levy. Rep. Dorothy B. Pelote told fellow lawmakers that she has psychic abilities, the Associated Press reports. “The last person who visited me was—I don't know if I need to call her name,” the Savannah Democrat said from the speaker's rostrum. “Maybe I should not, because it's a controversial death now. She's missing. You know who I'm talking about. She has visited me. She has.” Ms. Pelote, a former teacher elected in 1992, told lawmakers her psychic experiences began after she nearly drowned as a child. She explained that she had a vision of a bright fireball in the sky and later began having visions of dead people. “And the older I get, the stronger it becomes” Thoughts From Members (cid:0) Sarah Estep, Founder of the AA-EVP, wrote some- thing to us that might help some of us who are trying to get an answer to a question or to hear from someone in particular. “The invisibles may need a minute or two after each question to 'hear' it, and come back with an answer. So, I would recommend repeating the same question

during the recording. Yes, asking the same question at least several times is good. I don't wait sev- eral days, or a week, to repeat it. I will ask the same question, depending on what it is, 3-4 times during a re- cording, allowing about 30 seconds between each re- peat. I've found that often, the 3rd or 4th time, the ques- tion will be answered.” (cid:1) Clara Laughlin wrote, “My daughter called to say that the father of a close friend was in a hospice and death was imminent, the family distraught.” Clara was then asked for a prognosis of the situation. “I printed the man’s name on paper, held it to the mirror and asked Callie (one of Clara’s many consistent communicators) for help. He replied, ‘How about survival!’ A couple of days later, the father was moved from the hospice and is recovering.” (cid:1) Charli Claypool wrote that a recent EVP message said, “Look at Nathan, he is your Cousin.” She also said that, “On my mother's side there was a long string of Nathan Shaws though, near as I can tell, the last one died in the 1800's. Doing genealogy research in con- junction with EVP is a very good idea. While looking up Nathans on some old genealogy research, I spotted some other names such as Ephraim that are familiar to me as names of some of my Spirit people. May not be one in the same but interesting because then you can go back

and ask: ‘Hey, are we related?’” (cid:1) Richard Szumski wrote back in September, “Although I joined the AA-EVP last May, I just registered (with Tom's help) to go on line so I can send mail to the Egroup. But I've been able to read your messages since May and have found them thoughtful and non- judgmental. And most important to me is the absence of dogmatism. I've been investigating the paranormal for over fifty years (I'm 76) on a semi-professional ba- sis; meaning sometimes I got paid and sometimes I did- n't ... mostly didn't. During that time I often had to deal with two basic groups; the eager believers and deter- mined non-believers. Both were absolutely intolerant of any idea that did not conform to their beliefs. And both were totally unwilling to even consider any possible al- ternate explanation to their experiences. I admire your group's avoidance of these intolerant attitudes.” Continued Page 8 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 20, Number 4, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2002 Thoughts From Members (Continued) (cid:0) Erland Babcock described a personal experience, “When my father died I tried to make contact with him. During his lifetime his spare time was always spent deep-sea fishing. When I tried to contact him, my con- tact on the other side told me, ‘He is not here (pause) he has gone fishing.’ Now that figures. I then asked the question.

‘How does one go fishing in a spirit world?’ Here is the answer I got. ‘He is not really fishing (pause) he thinks he is fishing and it is real to him.’ Now some of us have dreamed of falling off a cliff and fell out of bed. We wake up in a cold sweat. It felt real to us. Is it like a dream on the other side except you never wake up? This brings up the question. Are we really here or do we just think we are here. Then what is reality? Perhaps the other side of the veil is the real world?” News About Members (cid:0) Peter Haviland is a paranormal investigator that has been dealing with haunted phenomena for fifteen years. Pete is mentioned several times in the October 2001 FATE Magazine article “The Story of the Ale House.” (cid:0) Tina Laurent has put together a tape of utterances that she received over a period of months purportedly com- ing from Arthur Ellison. He was a longtime S.P.R. member and one of the three scientists who investigated the Scole Group along with Prof. David Fontana. Prof. Fontana contacted her after hearing that she might have EVP messages from his friend, Arthur. Fontana is now the Chairman of the S.P.R. Tina mailed the tape to Prof. Fontana but has not heard back from him. (cid:0) Alexander MacRae’s new web site at asp- site.tripod.com allows visitors to listen to voices he has recorded from his Alpha Device.

He has several inter- esting essays on the site, one on Observer Dynamics and another on his MU-Epsilon Theory. There is also a block diagram and information on how the Alpha works. (cid:0) Mark Macy' s new book Miracles in the Storm is now out. The book explores the technical revolution of spiri- tual contact through Instrumental Transcommunication, which uses modern technical equipment such as com- puters, faxes, phones, and televisions to make contact with the "other side." (cid:0) Katherine Ramsland’s book Ghost: Investigating the Other Side is getting good reviews. The book begins with Ramsland' s chance acquisition of a haunted ring. Intent to learn more about its secrets, she sets out on a quest that gradually turns into a full-blown investiga- tion. Efforts in communicating with "the other side" us- ing hard-wired equipment are discussed and Sarah Estep is featured in the book. Katherine wrote to us that “Probably the best place to get the book would be Ama- zon.com or Half.com. (cid:0) Linda Williamson was one of the AA-EVP members prominently featured in the documentary on EVP for the “Witness” program shown in the U.K. and produced by David Monaghan. Her picture was published in one newspaper and there were several newspaper write-ups that featured her. She wrote that it was funny that one called her “An earnest slightly intimidating Scots- woman.” Linda is receiving attention for sitting with a group of woman and using EVP to help those who are grieving the loss of a loved

one. Tapers Report (cid:0) Clara Laughlin wrote that after the terrorist attack she received these messages concerning it. “We have new people, many dying people,” “We enable dying peo- ple,” and, “We see problem with travel.” (cid:0) Mark Macy’s group, at a recent meeting, heard several voices as they came through the speakers and also re- ceived many EVP messages. He wrote, “When I asked, is it a message from spirit? We received, “Yes, spirit. It' s a beautiful time. You can pretend, or you can ig- nore it.” (cid:0) Dave Sircom wrote, “In reading the newsletter, I be- came aware of the numerous telephone answering ma- chine EVPs received by so many members.” Dave did a recording and got, “We tried to call you.” He said that, “I immediately went to the answering machine, with microphone in hand, and recorded three messages, all hang-ups. After running them through Cool Edit, I found, “I saw the whole house.” on the first and, “David” (loud whisper) on the second.” (cid:0) Charli Claypool recorded, “I' ve seen Snoopy and he is OK.” Snoopy was a beagle that her parents had. She also got, “I can' t wait until you and Buddy get here.” Buddy is her Brother' s nickname. She wrote, “It was a sweet sentiment, though I' m in no hurry!” (cid:0) Frank Sumption wrote to the Egroup that he thought this message he had recorded was for Steven Beres- ford. The message was, “Steven has bought part of the….” Steven

wrote back “Impressive. I have indeed just bought the critical component of my EVP antenna.” (cid:0) Michele Hardison was recording in the middle of the desert behind her house and got a woman saying, “Wa- ter.” Weeks later while recording in her house she got the same woman’s voice saying, “Water” again. (cid:0) Tina Laurent wrote that she had been too involved to do any recording for about five days and felt guilty. When she did record again she found the messages, “Tina, what’s happening” and, “Missed you.” (cid:0) Erland Babcock wrote, “I had an experience where I had an open recorder and my wife was telling me to put up the Christmas tree and I said I would do it in a little while. The next day when we listened to the tape at that point a female voice said, ‘not tonight.’” Erland writes that he, indeed, had not gotten around to putting up the tree. The EVP voice appeared to know this in advance. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena EVP Quarterly Newsletter Research Web Site ITC Referrals Volume 21 Number 1 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 From Our Viewpoint As you may have noticed, Lisa and I have just recently taken up serious experimentation with video ITC. Lisa first began studying the audio form of TransCommunica- tion after reading Sara Estep’s book, Voices of Eternity. That beginning was strictly focused

on EVP. While we occasionally played around with video ITC, it was not until just recently that we focused our attention on it. As we reported in the Winter 2002 newsletter, when we did, we were blessed with an abundance of most intriguing images. Since that first video ITC experiment, I have been spending a considerable amount of time trying to put the images into perspective. I believe it is especially im- portant to correlate what we know about EVP with what we are finding out about video ITC. You see, there ap- pears to be important similarities, and I believe these areas of agreement point to a greater understanding of both as- pects of a greater phenomenon. These are the points of agreement that I have noticed:  Both appear to require physical energy that is chaotic in nature, but that has abundant, optional stable states. In other words, audio sound energy seems to work best when it is acoustically rich with abundant harmonics and reverberation. Loopback energy that contains a wide bandwidth of chaotic energy seems to work best for video ITC. Photographic film emulsion fits this re- quirement, as does the sandpaper and illumination dis- cussed on Page 4. Apparently, the communicating enti- ties “transfigure” this energy into intelligible infor- mation.  EVP are usually short, concise but complete phrases. Any meaning in the message is often found when taking the message in the context of when and how it was de- livered. For instance a message

may be meaningless unless the question asked at the time or the environment of the recording session is known. The messages may be all but lost in the noise or they may be clearly under- standable. However, the voice is usually recognizable as male or female and may be recognized as a specific person’s voice. In video ITC, the images are usually specific features, such as a face or head with shoulders. By its nature, making sense of video ITC requires that one recognizes the faces because they do not come with labels. So, to compare apples to apples, I think it is necessary to say that a clearly discernable face is comparable to a clearly discernable voice, and one that is obviously a face, but otherwise, too fuzzy to make out details, is comparable to a voice message that is nearly lost in the noise. Thus, I think it is safe to say that audio and video ITC share similar traits in their presentation.  Both forms of ITC have an occasional, apparently me- chanical anomaly. In EVP, this is in the form of a click preceding the message as if a microphone is being keyed. In video, it is in the form of an apparent inser- tion of a surprisingly clear feature amongst a field of op- tical noise, as if a picture were pasted into the frame.  It is apparent from the sound of the voice that most EVP are caused by a person who has

once experienced a physical lifetime. However, there are occasions in which messages seem to originate from machines, extra- terrestrials; sometimes even from angels. By compari- son, human faces, apparently extraterrestrials, animals and even elfish looking people can be found in video ITC. It is interesting that we have found so many peo- ple wearing hats and period dress. You would expect this if discarnate people, who have experienced life- times in other periods and other countries, were causing the images.  EVP can be found in just about any sound source. It may be heard real-time, seemingly clairvoyantly, in the sound of a fan, the wind, even running water. As wit- ness the various images presented in this and past news- letters, forms of visual ITC can be found in any optical- ly complex and well-illuminated environment.  ITC appears to be holographic in nature. A Professor working with the Noetics Institute has pointed out that he has found different EVP in each change of time do- main of a recording. Also, many people have noticed that EVP are often layered with a different message as- sociated with each different background sound source. Then of course, there is the EVP found on the reverse of audio tracks. In video ITC, we have noticed that different faces can be found at just about every level of magnification pos- sible with the photographic editing software. In many cases, different images may become evident if the frame is rotated. Sometimes it is possible

to look closely at a portion of a face, such as a cheek, and notice that there is a smaller face in the texture of the cheek. These comparisons suggest that both EVP and video ITC are something more than a random event or a figment of our imagination. An important consideration in any phenomenon is its complexity. Continued Page 8 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 ITC Experiments and Other Phenomena We had been concerned that our first ITC pictures were a chance occurrence but this is not turning out to be the case. We have done several ITC experiments since the last newsletter and all have contained numerous ITC pic- tures. Some are better than others; many can be seen on the computer screen but do not print well. The pictures are mainly faces but many of them show people from dif- ferent time periods. This is apparent from the clothing, the hairstyles, and the hats that the people pictured are wearing. There have also been some ITC pictures of ani- mals and what seems to us to be of landscapes. There was a period in January that we were unable to do experiments for three weeks. Tom had been out of town and returned on a Friday. On Saturday we ran an experi- ment in the early afternoon. We use quite a bit of

equip- ment and after an experiment it is all turned off. The equipment is also plugged into power strips, which are also shut down. The EVP/ITC room was entered after the experiment at least three times and the equipment was all turned off and everything was normal. At about 7 PM I was taking my dishes from dinner to the kitchen and noticed noises coming from down the hallway. I called to Tom and I must admit that I followed him down the hallway instead of bravely rushing down there in the lead. As we turned the corner to the experiment room, we found a CD player turned on playing a CD recording of Portuguese babble noise that is sometimes used as back- ground noise for EVP experiments. The CD player has two music CDs used for meditation and the babble CD used for EVP. The babble recording is the number two CD. Needless to say, this was an exciting event, and naturally, we have tried to figure out a logical explanation for why the equipment turned on by itself. In order for the CD to play, the power strip had to be turned on, the “all in one” Stereo system had to be turned on, the CD function and the second CD would also have had to have been se- lected. In our last ITC experiment we ran an EVP experiment at the same time. A few seconds into the experiment one of the radios being used for white

noise suddenly in- creased in sound to a level that was quite disturbing. Tom looked at me with surprise. We were both startled and you can hear me on the recording asking Tom if I should turn it down. You can hear him say, “I’m not sure” just as you hear the sound going down because I couldn’t stand it and turned it down. When I reviewed the EVP re- cording I thought I heard voices in this very loud static. Using Cool Edit, we were able to reduce the static by using a sample of the stat- ic in a noise reduction filter. The first word is “Contact” and then there are voices but they cannot be cleaned up enough to definitely state what they say. We have included two of the lat- est ITC pictures. Even though they have been enhanced to make them more visible in print, we understand that none in this newsletter are very clear. At the left, there is a person wearing something that looks like a headdress and breastplate. Above, is the image of a man. We have posted these on the web site, as well as others that appear to be images of the fabled “little people” of Irish legion that we collected in a session conducted just before Saint Patrick’s Day. One appears to be an image of a man standing in bushes. The bushes are green, the man’s face is “flesh color” and his high-top hat is brown. It is

interesting that an unusual number of our images come with hats of various forms. These pictures help to illustrate that many of our ITC include people in “period dress.” Fredrich Juergenson’s Voice Transmissions With The Deceased Tom Wingert and George Wynne have translated the German language, out of print book, Sprechfunk mit Ver- storbenen (or in English, Voice Transmissions With The Deceased), by Fredrich Juergenson. To quote Tom Wingert, “This translation should lay to rest the many claims of others to have discovered one thing or another, which Friedrich Juergenson had long discovered first, and hopefully the wheel won’t be invented over and over again. Not only is the book incredibly interesting, but also it is somewhat of a historical account of the discovery and the many lessons learned during the following years. He describes in great detail the many methods he used and his conclusions to certain questions.” The translated book is now on the Fredrich Juergenson Foundation web site at www.fargfabriken.se/fjf/. You can download the book from this site. A hard copy version of the book is not available. Expect to see more information about Fredrich Juergenson as the site matures. This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is

available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 Brief Remarks on the Role of the Recipient in ITC Dr. Anabela Cardoso (Editor’s Note: We have posted the entirety of Anabela’s article on the aaevp.com web site under Articles. Do to space limita- tions, we have included but one section here. We believe you will be interested in the sort of message Anabela is receiving from her contact known as Timestream. Send us a SASE if you wish to read the entire article and do not have Internet access.) The Nature of the Next World as Revealed by ITC When I once asked my communicators from Timestream Station if the extraordinary capabilities that allow them for example to communicate by telepathy with animals and plants, to transport themselves by thought from place to place, and to function consciously and sim- ultaneously in their world and ours, were the result of spe- cial practices, or were natural features of their world, they answered that the latter is the case. It thus seems that they are subject to quite different laws of reality from those that appear to operate in this world. I have yet to discuss with them whether their

laws are unique to the level of existence from which they themselves operate, or whether they apply to other levels as well. I have however been able to make quite detailed enquir- ies about the conditions under which Timestream Station communicate. For example, when I relayed to them a question from the eminent psychical researcher Professor David Fontana, Past President of the British Society for Psychical Research, as to whether mediumship abilities are necessary for ITC recipients in this world, they an- swered categorically that no they are not. In reply to my querying why, in that case, do some people here on Earth get ITC results after only a few attempts while others do not after months and even years of trying, they told me that “It depends upon Timestream.” In others words, it appears to be the communicators themselves who make the decisions, although I do not know as yet the basis up- on which these decisions are made. In reply to another of my questions, this time about the extent to which the re- cipient can influence the content of communications, Timestream assured me that such influence plays no part, “We speak directly through the instruments.” From my own experience since March 11th 1998 in ITC using the Direct Radio Voice method (DRV), and before that using EVP, I can confirm the passive role of the re- cipient. The communications have always taken place independently of my own will. I can never assure any- body that on

such a day and at such an hour Timestream will speak with me. It is true that they usually tell me in advance that they intend to try to speak, and at what hour the attempt will be made, but they do not always meet with success. The only exception to this is when Timestream goes on to confirm and reconfirm a particular date and time, though they themselves have told me that even then they can never be absolutely sure of being able to make contact. Of course, I have always submitted the details of the experimental conditions in my studio to them for their approval. Thus I always check with them on the suitability of my various items of equipment, of the frequencies I use for radio white noise, of the times at which I turn on the radios, and even of the intensity of white noise coming through the radios (I now use five of these simultaneously). My belief is that since it is the communicators and not the recipients who establish the contacts, they are the best judges of what suits them best. In my own case for example, I am told by the commu- nicators that while recording DRVs I must not have either of my computers turned on elsewhere in the house, as the frequencies emitted by computers are highly disturbing for their work. I am also told I must not use my mobile telephone, though I can use the house phone. As an

ex- ample of the errors that I can make, I once bought a very sophisticated CD recorder in an attempt to improve the quality and the durability of my recordings. My intention was to record directly onto audio CDs instead of using the more perishable audio tape. However, I only used the new recorder once. Foolishly I had omitted to consult with Timestream beforehand, and when I attempted to use it I was told that the laser technology of the CD recorder made it unsuitable for their work. Even the type of questions and the topics of conversa- tion depend upon the communicators rather than upon the recipients. Timestream will only answer the questions or talk about the things that they feel are appropriate. How- ever, I have no wish to question them about the future or about mundane issues, and as I am not a scientist I also do not question them about scientific issues. My main inter- est has always been to ask them about the meaning and purpose of existence, the role of animals and plants from a transcendental point of view, the life conditions on their level of existence, and the technical requisites most suited to them. I have received very significant replies to all these questions, and therefore my communications with Timestream very much suit my own interests. (Editor: Anabela Cardoso publishes an excellent ITC Journal that includes articles about ITC in many languages, written by researchers from around the world. Visit Anabela’s excellent web

site http://personal1.iddeo.es/acardoso or write to her at Apartado de Correos 3157 – VIGO – Pontevedra - España.) Mathematical Foundation for Survival There is important work being done by Dr. Matti Pitkänen in Hanko, Finland, concerning the relationship between number theory and the existence of nonphysical reality. His focus is on p-Adic number, which we believe are in the “imaginary” number set. This work is abstract, but we think it is important for you to know that Dr. Pitkänen is beginning to establish a foundation in math that may lead to a better understanding of how our world relates to that of the communicating entities in EVP. We will fol- low his work for you, but in the meantime, you can find his writing at www.physics.helsinki.fi/~matpitka/. We are sor- ry that we do not have a physical address for him. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 Image From Sand Paper In the category of “Now we have seen everything,” Erland Babcock recently sent us an image that he photo- graphed from a sheet of ordinary sandpaper. He wrote, “ I have had the idea for some time now. It is written up in an earlier journal. It is just a section of a piece of sandpa- per. I photographed it with my digital camera when the sheet was leaning against my printer. I then cropped and processed the

image. I used a Fresnel lens in front of the paper. That I think is some- thing new. “I wasn't even careful about it. I just took a quick shot or two to see what would happen. I am beginning to think that most any rough surface (which represents noise) will produce a picture. That has yet to be proven but it is a thought.” (Editor’s Note: You must look closely to see the face. The nose and two eyes are in the upper-middle of the frame. There may be a second person to the left of the first man. Hint--look for Richard Nixon.) Signature comes from the Other Side The Rev. Janet Tisdale has worked with undeveloped film to receive pictures and writing for many years. This process is known as Skotography. Janet works with pho- tographic paper and developing solution in a room that is totally dark except for a red light. A piece of the devel- opment paper is placed on the solar plexus or third eye while the person meditates. The paper is then placed in development fluid. The light switch is then quickly clicked on and off. Spirit has told Janet to use the light switch as a shutter. The paper is left in the development fluid for only a short time or when you can see the paper just be- ginning to change color. It is then placed into a water bath to stop the development process. Bernard’s Signature Recently, Janet received a picture

that seemed to have the signature of The Rev. Bernard Baker. Bernard was a member the AA-EVP for many of years until he made his transi- tion to the other side in Sep- tember of last year. Janet had known and worked with Bernard in the past. The signa- ture was shown to other people who had also known Ber- nard and all felt that it was indeed his signature. A copy of Bernard’s signature was located and is shown here for comparison. Let us know what you think. Skotography image Online ITC Cam Experiment Richard Smedley of Ghost Safari has run a very inter- esting experiment. He set up a live ITC camera on his web site and asked visitors to download the images and send him any that were interesting. He wrote, “I'm receiving some pretty incredible captures from the online At www.ghostsafari.com/ you can see ex- amples of the Class A captures I've re- I'm ceived amazed at the detail and complexity in some of these cap- tures. It's really helped having the ‘world’ as my ‘assis- tant’ capturing and analyzing frames. (and captured myself). experiment. ITCCam “One thing I'm noticing is that once the web cam starts ‘generating’ faces there will usually be a group of them, often overlapping and interacting in strange ways. Now I could chalk these up to the "ink blot" effect, but some are VERY detailed and photographic in appearance, where it becomes difficult to attribute this to chance alone. “I believe

the images may be ‘transmissions’ from another plain of existence. How these transmissions arise is anyone's guess. I can't say if the same mechanism is in effect with EVP, although it's certainly possible. With both EVP and video ITC, however, I believe there’s a couple of scientific principles at play here. First, I think the principle of stochastic resonance is the reason why the images become visible. The camera/monitor feedback loop sets up the conditions to allow this to happen. Se- cond, Erland Babcock compares the images we see to ‘hypercube slices.’ This certainly makes sense if the im- ages are indeed being "transmitted" from a higher dimen- sion than ours. There's strong evidence of this in my es- timation since often the images interact and reinforce each other in strange ways, ways that would make sense if the images are 2-d projections of 3-d images resulting from slicing 4-d space.” There is an excellent paper called, About the Ghost Sa- fari™ ITC Cam for those who want to know more about how to do ITC experiments. You can find this article at www.ghostsafari.com/docs/ghostpapers/itccam/itccam.htm. Send a SASE for a copy if you do not have Internet. Members Experience Direct Voice Phenomena Tracy DuBois recently had to have an emergency re- moval of his appendix. He wrote “Just prior to surgery I heard a distinct voice of a woman say, ‘You'll be Fine,’ when no one was in the room.” Susan Cole wrote, “I had a similar experience post sur- gery

myself, hope it helps support what you think you ex- perienced. I was awake but with my eyes closed in a Catholic hospital and I heard a woman's voice to my right say, ‘Hello Sister.’ I said hello, opened my eyes, and no one was there. I asked a nurse and she confirmed they felt they had a nun ghost who helped them out.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 Global Consciousness Proven? The Global Consciousness Project (GCP) consists of a team of scientists who are individually associated with a number of Universities and research organizations. The GCP has been monitoring an array of Random Event Generators (REG) to see if they can detect unexpected variations in their collective “randomness.” If such devia- tions can be correlated with events in the world, the team may have evidence of global consciousness. They have announced that the array of REGs radically deviated from the norm moments before the first aircraft hit the World Trade Center and exhibited corresponding peaks in devia- tion preceding the second collision and the collision with the Pentagon. to http://noosphere.princeton.edu/ or contact the Institute of Noetic Sciences, Attention: Marilyn Schlitz, 101 San An- tonio Road, Petaluma, CA 94952, 707-775-3500. details, For please refer There is precedence for this in the work of the Mahari- shi Effect, introduced by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who is credited

for introducing the technique of Transcendental Meditation. As the concept goes, the world can be influ- enced if 1% of the population meditates at the same time. The idea can be expressed this way: If 1% of the popula- tion of a town practiced Transcendental Meditation on a regular schedule over a period of time, while concentrat- ing on the well-being of the town, the town would experi- ence greater well-being—such as less crime. The Global Consciousness Project seems to be verifying the required mechanism for this hypothesis to be true. The EVP connection is important. The mind-machine influence is called telekinesis. Here, it has been demon- strated that we can telekinetically influence RNGs. The Maharishi Effect holds that we can also telekinetically influence other forms of energy, such as good will or happiness, probably by influencing the underlying causes. The collective consciousness of EVP/ITC experimenters in the world can have a telekinetic influence on the ac- ceptance of EVP/ITC as a true phenomenon and our abil- ity to communicate with the entities. We do not under- stand this influence, but we know that the rapport and common goals of the EVP/ITC community is important in our success. Matt’s ITC Matt Warne, UK, does ITC experiments. He uses a Hi- 8 Hitachi camcorder, which is connected to a Sharp S- VHS video. He then captures the recorded video through his PC with an ATI Studio video capture card. He wrote, “I do the same setup like Tom and Lisa—with the

cam- corder viewing it’s image in a loop on the TV screen. “Something strange that I did notice last night as I re- viewed some of the frames was some kind of reality shift. It seemed on some of the frames that I paused to look at, they actually changed a bit while I was looking at them! It sounds crazy, …however it definitely isn't the equip- ment causing it. “One thing I have noticed is that on many frames, there are multiple faces, some overlap- ping each other, and it's hard to get a clear picture of the faces. Also, another thing I have no- ticed is that a lot of the faces appear to be 'behind' a layer— bar-like objects and similar—it could be an artifact of the recording process, but there is no way of knowing.” Matt also wrote that he had, “experimented with video using the Scole method of two mirrors aligned with the camera’s viewfinder and lens to create an infinity feed- back effect which can induce certain types of resonance that are helpful to ITC.” He said that it takes time to align the mirrors, and so he now usually uses the TV loop pro- cess as it takes a much shorter time to set up. Geoweather There has been much speculation about the influence solar flairs, planetary geomagnetic activity, moon phase and meteorological conditions have on nonphysical phe- nomena. For instance, from the synopsis of a speech Robert O. Becker, M.D. will give

to the American Society for Psychical Research, "Preliminary results have indicat- ed a direct relationship between the status of the geomag- netic field and the success rate of ESP experiments. The geomagnetic field may be a hidden variable that should be considered in experiments." Haunting activity is thought to increase with increased solar and geomagnetic activity. Knowing the phase of the moon would also be important as geomagnetic activity is greatest in the days around the new and full moon. We have added solar and geomagnetic indicators on the aaevp.com home page, and a link to a site that provides moon phases. You will need to check locally for meteor- ological conditions. It may be informative to keep track of these conditions as part of your experiment records. Let us know if you detect a correlation between these conditions and the success of your experiments. Are There EVP’s on My Tape? We often have people ask us to listen to their tape re- cordings to see if there are EVP messages on them. Un- fortunately, we often do not have the time to do this. AA- EVP member, Linda Williamson has said that she would be glad to help people review their EVP recordings. Lin- da wrote, “Getting the chance to help people with this would be brilliant.” Linda says that it can take four to five days to scan a 30- minute tape. Knowing this, please be considerate and try to keep the length of the tape that you

want reviewed rea- sonable. If you would like her to help you, a donation to help cover the cost of her time, postage, and tape would be appreciated. You can reach Linda via Email at [email protected] or at 32 Pitfour Street, Dundee DD2 2NW, Tayside, Scotland. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 EVP Experiment I was reading Susy Smith’s book Voices of The Dead, New American Library, 1977. I became interested in a remark made in Chapter VIII, “The Lamoreaux Bothers,” regarding a method of taping. Susy writes about a letter from Joe Lamoreaux in which he is discussing communi- cations from Bill Welch who had recently passed over. “He gave us one suggestion that we hadn’t thought of be- fore … while recording, after we ask our question or ques- tions, (he told us) to turn the recorder off for about a mi- nute. Then turn it back on to record the voice responses. This is to give the entities a chance to organize their thoughts and answer. Otherwise we will be recording about a minute of disorganized thought before we begin receiving meaningful answer to our questions.” And here is another one of those coincidences. After reading the above we had a conversation with a member we will just call Ron, as he has concerns about his work in EVP and his employer. Ron uses

a digital recorder. He mentally communicates his question, rather than saying it out loud. He then waits two or three minutes and turns the recorder on for 10 to 20 seconds to record the answer. He then asks another question telepathically; waits a few minutes and again turns the recorder on to receive the next answer. He tells us that he has had good results with this and that his questions are answered. Members may want to experiment with this. Please let us know of your results. Spirtsearchers John and Nancy Wilton have a background of years of interest and experiments in the field of EVP/ITC. They have been paranormal investigators in the New Jersey area since 1996. Along with EVP, they use photography, vid- eo and various meters to detect temperature changes and electromagnetic fields. The Wilton’s primary tool for recording EVP is a digital recorder. They wrote, “We use a Panasonic model #RR-DR60, which has been discontinued and pulled from the shelves. The story we got as to why they were discon- tinued is as follows: “This recorder was used mostly by business people for dictation. When they played back their message, strange sounds and voices could be heard in the back- ground. So, they returned the recorder as defective and Panasonic stopped production. As soon as this story got out, investigators ran to the stores to buy up all the discon- tinued marked-down recorders! Now the only place that I’ve seen this model for sale is on

sites like Ebay.” John and Nancy have an interesting web site at www.spiritsearchers.com that has many good EVP sam- ples and other interesting information. Along with EVP experiments, the Wilton’s experiment with ITC and direct voice using an old 1930’s tube radio. They have also built a Raudive Box and information on how to build one is available on their web site. Flight 93 Crash Site According to an article at www.Earthfiles.com 2002 by Reporter and Editor Linda Moulton Howe, the crash site of Flight 93 is haunted. United Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11th killing 38 passengers and seven crewmembers. Within 48 hours, the FBI and State Police had brought in a house trailer to be a command post and to store some of the evidence boxes. Eventually the crater was filled back in and local residents started referring to it as the "mass grave." A Security firm was hired to guard the site, using the house trailer as an office. According to the article, guards have reported mumbled voices and footsteps. One guard claims to have seen a woman who vanished into thin air. He later recognized her in a photograph of passengers who were on the flight. Go to www.earthfiles.com/earth319.htm to see the whole article by Linda Moulton Howe. Linda's Email is [email protected]. WaveClean as a Noise Reduction Tool George Wynne wrote us about a simple software pro- gram that is useful for reducing noise in audio tracks. “Those of you who have difficulties

managing the nu- merous calibration capabilities of Cool Edit should take a look at the ‘WAVclean’ program that will give you entire- ly decent results in reducing background noise levels. “It works in the following fashion: Look for the wav file that you want to filter by clicking on 'Open.' Fix the filter- ing degree by moving the 'Strength' arrow from left to right, the further to the right the stronger the filtering. Put a check mark in the ‘Scrub’ window, then click on the ‘Start’ button to start the filtering process. “To compare the original wav file with the filtered ver- sion, click alternately on the ‘Play’ loudspeaker symbol in the ‘Original’ or the ‘Laundered’ window. If you are sat- isfied with the result, click on ‘Save.’ Answer the ques- tion whether the original should be overwritten with ‘No’ and give the filtered file a new name in order to save the original as well. An evaluation copy of WAVclean can be downloaded from: www.excla.com./index-E.htm.” (Editor’s note: The license for this software is $20.00. We have used it some and find it to be a handy, quick way for looking “into” sound for possible EVP.) NII Web Site Update We have reported in the past that Dale Palmer’s Noetics Institute is working on a web site the public will be able to access to conduct EVP and ITC experiments. Substantial computer capability has been installed and a number of engineers are working on the site to develop essential software

for phenomena analysis and display. It is hoped that the site will be ready at the end of this year, however there is no firm date. From what we have seen so far, it will be an exciting tool for EVP and ITC research. We will update you when we know more. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 EVP on a Toy Key Chain Ann Longmore-Etheridge wrote to describe an interest- ing encounter with EVP. “There is a small parking lot by the cemetery where I usually park my car, and I always have a feeling that someone is watching me from the cemetery whenever I park and walk across the road to my house. I've always thought of this ‘watcher’ as an angry man.” Ann’s son has a two-inch long, battery operated memo recorder that is part of a toy key-chain. She had just brought her son home and was playing with the recorder as they crossed the street from the parking lot. “First I recorded myself saying, ‘Hello,’ and played that back. Then I said to my son, ‘I think I'll take this to the cemetery and see if the ghost will talk to me.’ Then I hit the record button accidentally, meaning to actually hit the play button and hear myself saying, ‘Hello,’ again. When I did hit play, I heard a deep male

voice say, ‘No.’ “I guess there really is a grumpy man in the cemetery who doesn't want me around.” News About Members  Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt’s Institute of TransCommuni- cation (loTC) web site has a wealth of valuable infor- mation for any researcher. If members have not seen this web site they should do so. If you don’t have a computer go to the library and use theirs. Spend some time at www.iotc.de/seite_2.htm reading the many ex- cellent articles. Thank you Rolf for you contributions and work in the field of ITC.  AA-EVP member Richard Hatem is the screenwriter and co-producer of The Mothman Prophecies, which was released on January 25th. The film is based on the John A. Keel non-fiction book. The movie tells of John Klein (Richard Gere), a Washington newspaper reporter who leaves his job after his wife (Debra Messing) dies, to investigate strange reports, including psychic visions (prophecies) and sightings of winged creatures (Moth- men) in a small West Virginia town. Much of his inves- tigation involves people who feel they are in psychic, sometimes physical contact with the entities.  Mark Macy will be one of many wonderful speakers at the 27th SSF-IIIHS International Conference, 2002. The International Institute of Integral Human Sciences is a non-governmental organization affiliated with the Unit- ed Nations DPI, promoting educational programs for the 21st century. They work towards the convergence of new sciences with spirituality and universal human val- ues, creating inter-religious and inter-cultural under- standing for world peace.

They will be holding a series of conferences in Montreal, May 3-12. For information call 514-937-8359 or visit site at www.iiihs.com. Mark has an upcoming events site on his web page at www.worlditc.org/upcomingevents.htm, to let people know where he will be speaking. their web  Charli Claypool is communicating with renowned de- bunker James Randi regarding proof of survival and the voices that she is receiving through EVP. You can go to www.randi.org/jr/030802.html to see her original let- ter and his response. You can hear Charli’s EVP at www.coffeepotghost.com Thoughts From Members  Erland Babcock has worked with ITC for many years. He wrote, “In most of my images, I seem to be looking at another world of people enjoying themselves. One of my images shows what appears to be mountains and has two moons in the background… I surf this other dimen- sion like some people surf the Internet. I have received many beautiful pictures of people playing games or go- ing swimming or just lying around. Unfortunately, a lot of these pictures I was not able to capture. I could see it with my eyes however, when I photographed it some thing different came out. With the new 35mm scanner I will review those negatives and see what we can find.”  Michael Ostafin is a research physicist at the Mickie- wicz University of Poland. He has been using a con- denser microphone with an additional 40dB pre-amp and digitally records directly into a computer with a sound

card. He recently tried EVPmaker and is thinking about using some speech recognition software to isolate and extract the voices from the raw background sound inherent in this method.  Peter Haviland wrote that, “I have set up an emf detec- tor and thermal gauge on site recordings and have got- ten electromagnetic field readings as well as tempera- ture drops of 25 degrees during a recording session.  One member had written on the Egroup; “I'm not con- vinced of any real value in pursuing spirit communica- tion, there is very little offered from the other side that can be considered as proof beyond the personal level” Ann Longmore-Etheridge replied, “BINGO. This is exactly why I think they do communicate. It is for the benefit/comfort/education of the taper and any who might share in this person's success with EVP via book, lecture, private conversation, etc., not to prove anything to the masses.”  Gary Nixon reported that, “I have heard, over the years, that there is a code of conduct, if you will, in effect on the other side; One that requires us on this side to arrive at the answers naturally. In other words, they're not al- lowed to influence us. That's just what I've heard, but it goes a long ways toward explaining the cryptic, yes/no types of responses that characterize EVP.”  Carol Barron-Karajohn, wrote about those who think that the tapers mind is responsible for placing the mes- sages on the recorder. She wrote, “But,

even if this were true, it would seem to me that the messages would be a little more self-serving and not things like ‘We, the dead, speak’ or ‘Praise be the dead, the dead didn’t die!’” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Spring 2002 Tapers Report  From Tina Laurent “A few years ago I did a short thing with a local TV station in a haunted pub by the seaside. During a break I went over the road, by myself, to a dark, very old graveyard and made a short tape. I got a loud, clear male saying, ‘I killed her.’ I immedi- ately played it for the crew, they all heard it, copied it, yet when I went over the same bit again an hour later the utterance had completely disappeared.”  Carol Barron-Karajohn knows that our pets can re- spond from the other side. She wrote, “Shortly after my cat Bambi died, I taped a female voice saying ‘Bambi’ and during another taping (on another night) I heard a cat meow upon playback.”  Charli Claypool recorded from her coffeepot; “Your father quit Alban Tractors.” She told us, “My Father-In Law did retire from Alban Tractors two days prior to this recording, after a fifty year career which was a big deal to him.”  Lloyd Bradshaw writes that there is a method that he has

been using for the last thirty years to get his thought pattern through to the spirit folks. Lloyd writes them a letter. Recently he asked them what their favorite color was in order to use that color ink for his notes to them. Many different voices answered “Blue.”  Frank Sumption recorded over the holidays, “My Sys- tem Isis, Hear from Isis.”  Michele Hardison recorded several EVP’s during a sitting with a group of eight people. One message was, “Love you Glendon.” Michele’s husband Jim’s real name on his birth certificate is Glendon.  Dave Sircom wrote, “A few months ago I made contact with Jennifer, she gave me her last name, after two months, but swore me to secrecy about revealing it. She has been very helpful … her voice seems to be get- ting stronger. Now, I get a male voice telling me to leave ‘his wife’ alone! Sometimes, you just can't win.” Two Years With the AA-EVP This issue of the newsletter marks the completion of our second year of stewardship of the AA-EVP. We want to say that it has been and continues to be an honor. We really had no idea what we were agreeing to when we as- sumed leadership of the Association from Sarah Estep. Sarah is a fine communicator and she has substantial ex- perience in the study of EVP. Her shoes have been chal- lenging to fill; however, with your help, we feel that the AA-EVP is thriving and that

its future is strong. Much of the future of the AA-EVP depends on you. Between now and the June 2002 newsletter, many of you will need to make the decision whether or not you wish to continue with the Association. You see, this is the renew- al season for nearly half of you. For those of you who receive the newsletter via postal service, the address label includes your renewal date by the season. Please review that date, and if you are due, please take the necessary steps to renew. Annual dues are still $20 for USA members and $25 US Funds for Interna- tional members. We run in the red but your dues help de- fray the cost. You can send a check made out to Tom or Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno, Nevada 89512, or you can use paypal.com and submit your dues on line to “American Association - Electronic Voice Phenomena.” “Out There” The Sci Fi channel has begun production on a half-hour series named “Out There,” that is billed as an interactive talk show on the paranormal. The show will be launched in the second quarter. It will be hosted by Dan Aykrod and will feature celebrity guests and everyday people dis- cussing topics of the bizarre and unexplainable. From Our Viewpoint (Continued) If it is a single event or an artifact of a technology, it will have fewer characteristics than if it is initiated by an ex- ternal intelligence. Entities, in the flesh or

otherwise, tend to do the same thing in different ways, depending on per- sonality, intention and circumstance. It is apparent that these phenomena have great depth in complexity, which strongly suggests some external intelligence is involved. There are many possible explanations based on physical science that explain some of the characteristics of EVP and ITC. However, these explanations do not satisfactori- ly explain all of the characteristics. Physical science is based on the assumption that the arrow of creation points from the “Big Bang” through some primordial soup of creation to our present forms of life via evolution. There is no room in this foundation of knowledge for a nonphys- ical aspect of reality or the presence of discarnate entities. In this view, consciousness is an artifact of the brain and the Survival Hypothesis is not considered. In metaphysics, physical science is considered, but so is the existence of a larger reality. This permits metaphysi- cians to describe the arrow of creation as originating out- side of the physical aspect of reality, and then possibly leading to the “Big Bang” and on to us. Consciousness is hosted by the physical brain but exists outside of it and our attention returns to this greater environment when we transition out of this lifetime. Thus, metaphysics helps to explain much of the phenomena in EVP and ITC. A metaphysical explanation of the evidence we have be- fore us, that employs the existence of discarnate entities as the communicating entity, better satisfies the evidence

than any explanation based on current physical science. Even the possibility of quantum holographics fails to ex- plain all of the evidence. Yes, there may be some holo- graphic aspects to EVP and ITC, but quantum holo- graphics fails to explain its interactive nature. We are well past the days in which we must prove the existence of these phenomena. It is time for us to define a hypothesis and then pursue open discussion and experi- mentation to explain the how and why of EVP and ITC. Tom Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 21 Number 2 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 THIS IS THE TWENTIETH YEAR FOR THE AA-EVP From Our Viewpoint Many of our members have talked and written to us about a noise that is often heard right before an EVP mes- sage. It appears before some of our own EVP. It is a loud, or not so loud, click, pop, boom or crackling sound. Some have described it as similar to the sound of someone keying a microphone. One noted researcher likened the noise to a micro sonic boom. When we are listening back to an EVP recording and hear this sound, we listen more intently to what comes next. If you are one of the many people who have experienced this noise

you know what I am talking about. Not all EVP messages are preceded by this precursor, “popping” sound. For us it is an occasional occurrence. But when we hear it we are not unlike Pavlov’s dogs, ears perked up waiting for that reward. The click, if there, means a reward of an EVP. It, for us, usually signals a better than average EVP as far as loudness, quality and clarity is concerned. Geoff Viney in his book Surviving Death, Evidence of the Afterlife discusses this mysterious sound in relation to other types of phenomena.  In 1986 the downstairs rooms, in a farmhouse in Eng- land, were infiltrated with the voices of those who ap- peared to be former residents. The voices were heard over several nights. The voices began and ended with a dis- tinct “click” as if a radio had been turned on and off. In- vestigators looked for a receiver or a transmitter, but none was found. Natural explanations for the phenomena were ruled out.  In 1973 the owner of a converted lighthouse in Mary- land repeatedly had his sleep interrupted by the racket of doors banging, furniture moving and footsteps. A “click- ing” sound preceded these manifestations. Upon further investigation nothing in the area that the noises came from appeared out of place. The building's owner decided to try and record what he was hearing and left a tape record- er running. The tape contained voices and extraneous noises. Some of these voices talked about

the treatment of injuries. A local librarian helped research the home and to everyone’s amazement found that the building was used as a field hospital during the Civil War.  The anomalous events centering on a World War II Lin- coln bomber at the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum were researched in 1990 by the British investigator Peter Thorneycroft. The strange sounds of scratches, squeaks, girl’s voices, bumps and human sighs had been reported in the vicinity of the bomber. The staff had seen phantom air crews and dramatic drops in temperature were reported. Other phenomena included the movement of switches and the rotation of the wheels of the aircraft. Thorneycroft saw moving points of bright light and also heard and rec- orded many anomalous sounds within the aircraft. These sounds, which were most often mechanical movement type noises, were analyzed and it was found that they al- ways began with a discernable blip on the tape similar to that produced by a sudden burst of static. The clicking noise associated with EVP messages has been the center of considerable conversation for quite sometime. Perhaps this sound is caused by a dimensional breakthrough and is an artifact of spirit world energy en- tering the physical world. The above stories might point to this type of answer. Paolo Presi on page 3 of this newsletter reports on Carlo Trajna’s “Psychotemporal Model” in which “Psychic Time” flows differently from “Physical Time.” Is this anomalous sound before EVP messages caused from a shift in

time as the two aspects of reality link up? Alexander MacRae used an oscilloscope in analyzing a well-known recording from the Palace Hotel. When viewing this recording Alec noticed that the level of back- ground noise (whistles, hums and buzzing which were side effects of the equipment) on the oscilloscope almost went to zero. Three or four seconds after the background noise disappeared, a woman’s voice was heard to say “Now.” Two seconds later, a male voice was recorded with a personal message for his sister who was in the au- dience. Another few seconds passed and a female voice said, “Finish,” and then the background noise once again returned to normal on the oscilloscope. Perhaps the precursor noise we hear on our recordings is similar to the word “Now” heard on Alexander’s record- ing. It may simply be a signal or a cue for us to listen closely to what comes next. Is this noise similar to our telephone ringing letting us know that someone is calling? Alexander’s recording may point to another possible fact, and that is that the entities need and gather all availa- ble noise and energy to get their message through to us. Do those on the other side have equipment that they use to try and contact us? Are researchers, indeed, hearing the keying of something like a microphone? And are those on the other side doing this? Several researchers in the past and present say that they have been in contact with groups

on the other side that state that they have developed appa- ratus for communication with researchers on this side and that this development continues. Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 ITC and EVP Experiments We have continued to receive interesting results from both our ITC and EVP experiments in the past three months. We were preparing to do a presentation at the International Spiritualist Federation Congress in Toronto, Canada and asked to receive some EVP messag- es that would be of interest to this group and that would be clear and loud enough to play for the mem- bers. Immediately after we said this, a loud Class A voice said, “Spirit is helping.” We asked what our friends thought about mediums and they replied loudly, “Hear us through them.” We asked them what they thought about the Spiritualist belief in life after death. Again they came through loud and clear with the message “In the end has tendency to help you.” We laughed at this message but they certainly made their point. Our friends on the other side never fail to be there to help us, and when we ask for EVP messages for presen- tations, they have always come through. Other EVP messages have been very interesting. On one experiment we asked if a channel to them was open. A voice came back saying, “Test,

open the channel.” Another loud message that did not make sense came immediately after. We reversed it and it said, “This is now coded.” Other messages have told us that we, “Now have the computers.” We have of course asked who is sending and helping us with the ITC pictures. Various names and transmitting stations have been noted. We would like to get more verification before mentioning these. However, one message said they were transmitting through the “Anderson Switch,” a station that we have not heard referred to by other researchers. Some of the interesting things that we have found in regards to the ITC pictures are that there are EVPs on the audio track of the video. We had read not to bother with listening to these audio tracks, as there was never any EVP on them. This is not the case, but so far these have not come in as clearly as through an EVP experiment with our usual equipment. Two such messages, on the audio track of the video, mentioned dates. These dates had passed by the time we decided to see if there was EVP on the video. We have set the video camera at various distances from the TV screen. We have defocused the camera past and in front of the TV screen. We have set up inches from the screen and several feet away. In every experiment ITC features have come through. Our transpartners were providing help to meet criticisms before we even knew

that they would come. We are finding the features at all four rotations of the video frames. In other words, we rotate a frame 90, 180 or 270 degrees and find faces. We have faced the criticism that we are doing nothing more than picking up TV transmissions even though the TV is not hooked up to an antenna or ca- ble. We do not believe that TV transmissions are sent sideways or upside down. It seems like they do things in se- ries. One experiment resulted in many images of people and their pets. For instance, a woman sitting with her dog and another of a man who is proudly holding his dog in his arms. Other experiments seem to have a series of frames with cer- tain nationalities of peoples. One feature that we were very excited about was of a lady sitting at a table. A perfect long stemmed rose is on the table. The bridge is getting stronger. We know this from the results that we are getting and we feel blessed with the results we have gotten in a mere seven months. The pictures in order: man’s head; woman’s face; Einstein (?); young woman’s face; clown; man in armor; and, man holding dog. We will put the aaevp.com web site so that you can see them in color. these on This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter-

national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 21, Number 2, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 Italian Research in ITC These are excerpts of an article by Paolo Presi (pao- [email protected]) published in the March 2000 ITC Journal. Send a SASE for a copy of the complete article or you can find it at http://dreamwater.com/aaevp/articles_about_evp3.htm. For information on the excellent ITC Journal write to Anabela Car- doso at Apartado de Correos 3157, Vigo, Pontevedra, Espana or visit http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/journal.htm “At the beginning of the 70s, the phenomenon (EVP) seemed to fit the so-called ‘radiophonic model.’ This model is based on the assumptions that something like broadcasting stations from the ‘other’ dimension existed and that they could be heard on specific radio frequencies. Consequently, my first duty was to locate the frequency bands involved in the phenomenon. “Firstly, the experiments showed that each operator re- ceived the ‘voices’ on a different frequency, normally found on its own, with positive results. “Secondly, the type of device used was not determinant for the quality and quantity of the

received ‘voices.’ In other words, to use sophisticated and technically advanced devices does not result in a superior sound quality of re- ceived ‘voices.’ “In addition, the phenomenon should occur either by re- cording the signals coming from a radio set as well as us- ing a simple microphone connected to a tape recorder. However, evidence suggests a different conclusion. The two methods give different, in terms of quality, kinds of ‘voices.’ While the ‘voices’ received by the radio were mainly sound-voices quite slow, those received through a microphone were whispered and fast. “In conclusion, the wide range of frequencies involved and the variety of methods used proved the ‘radiophonic model’ unreliable. For this reason the research was turned to a different approach. In particular, it was focused on the variables involved in the process of formation. “Engineer Carlo Trajna's work on the ‘Stimulated Psy- chophony’ represented a turning point in 1977. He argued that the ‘voices’ are formed because of the energy varia- tion that occurs in pre-existent acoustic or electromagnetic events. His experiments showed that, for microphonic recordings, the quantity and quality of the ‘voices’ de- pended on the acoustic conditions of the environment where the recording took place, or on the kind of sonority artificially generated (Stimulation). (Editor: background sound) This important discovery revealed how the radio itself could no longer be considered as a ‘receiver’ of the ‘voices,’ but that it was simply a sonority generator at acoustic or electromagnetic low frequency level that then was

transformed into ‘voices’ through an unknown pro- cess. This conclusion follows directly from the events observed and is consistent with the various frequency bands used by previous researchers. “There have been many attempts to find a technical de- vice able to improve the ‘production’ of ‘voices,’ but they were largely unsuccessful. New devices were proved val- id only for those who designed them or for those believing in them, but not for others.” Presi pointed out that after a Professor Ferdinando Ber- sani disclaimed EVP as an ambiguity of the voices, “per- severing research … resulted in two major achievements towards the objectivity of the messages. It was demon- strated that the messages involve an explicit intention on the part of the sender to have them heard, and that the messages received are objective (not illusory). This was proven on a scientific base.” Presi said that Carlo Trajna's statistically compared EVP messages with text from advertisements and found that, “From this comparison it followed that paranormal mes- sages involve a perceptible intention to communicate and do not present appreciable signs that indicate some kind of illusory distortion. In other words, they proved to be real and objective, whatever their origin.” Presi also referred to the work of Dr. Renato Orso from Turin, Italy who conducted voice spectrographic analysis of EVP and found that:  “Paranormal ‘voices’ have an acoustical structure simi- lar to human voices.  “The temporal sequence of the vowels, their duration, the duration of the pauses and

the accent on certain vowels of the ‘voices’ determine a speech rhythm simi- lar to ours.  “The fact that the paranormal ‘voices’ are objective re- ality and not psychoacoustic illusions is evident.  “The transfer of information or ‘message’ is based ex- clusively on the sequence of the vowel formants and the integration, made by the listener, of the missing conso- nants or the pauses of the same length of the Italian stop consonants.  “The spectrograms reveal the almost total absence of the fundamental frequency that for human voices is deter- mined by the vibration of the vocal cords” (Editor: In orther words, the entity has no voice box.) From Presi, “For this reason, it is logical to assume that an entity, able to interact with our physical dimension, is involved in the process and that, by doing so, this entity is also able to overthrow known physical laws.” In other statements, Paola said:  That Carlo Trajna developed, “The ‘Psychotemporal model’ (which) assumes that ‘Psychic Time’ flows dif- ferently from ‘Physical Time.’  “My experience shows that the best reception of voices is obtained by the operators that are strongly interested in the phenomenon especially in what concerns the life after life implications. Attempts carried out by skeptical and very critical operators are usually unsuccessful. To obtain good results, an open mind is the first require- ment to the operator approaching the phenomenon.  “It is proven that a person that is grieving is able to reach

a compromise with his own rationality when he accepts that a contact beyond life with the dear one is possible.” © Paolo Presi Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 2, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 French Sleep Experiments Jacques Blanc-Garin of the French EVP/ITC group, In- finitude, provided us with a description of experiments to contact sleeping people via EVP. See more about Infini- tude at www.infinitude.asso.fr. From 1994 to July 1995, Jacques conducted a series of experiments in which he tried to reach people while they were sleeping. A friend of his, Robert Doré, had suggest- ed that it might be possible for a person to communicate through Tci (French term for ITC) with a sleeping person. (The following is a translation from French.) Jacques wrote, “My idea with these experiences is that we would be able to help people who are considered insane. It would be possible to contact them when they are sleeping and maybe record the entity who is disturbing them. However, I have not tried this because it is not easy to bring such an idea to hospital personnel.” The following experiments were conducted with a Marrantz CP430 equipped with a micro Monacor ECM 600 ST or a Philips 6350 recorder. For ambient noises, Jacques used the sound of rubbing paper, German lan- guage conversation, and sometimes an air-band receiver. Jacques writes that the results were conclusive almost every time.

He also pointed out that, as a matter of ethics, each experiment was prearranged with the person who would be addressed while they slept. Following, are samples of what was received during some of these experiments.  Excerpts from recording of Monique Simonet during sleep, April 7, 1995. Jacques: “It is useless for me to explain to you how to make Tci. I believe that you are more expert than me in this domain and you will know how to use all vibrations that I can send you.” Answer: “I would like to make it on the Earth” (very audible whisper). Jacques: “I hope that I do not disturb your sleep.” Answer: “It was foreseen, I will remember” (whisper). Jacques: “If you answer me, you are maybe in the envi- ronment where I record. If that is it you can then tell me what I currently hold in my left hand?” Answer: “It is a crystal” (whisper). Jacques said that, “I indeed, had a crystal in my hand. Monique saw me!”  Excert from recording of Monique Laage during sleep, Nov. 8 1994. Jacques: “I call this double astral body that should be theoretically able to answer me. Are you there, Monique if it pleases you?” Answer: “I am in airs, Poupoune” (audible whisper). (Editors: “Poupoune” is pet name given to Monique by her father.)  Excert November 10, 1995 recording Monique Laage. Jacques: “When you go to the astral, do you meet other people? Answer: “I see them all

again, but I will come back, I like you, Monique who likes you” (uninterrupted, whis- per).  Excert December 10, 1994 recording Monique Laage. Jacques: “It is extraordinary that, in a little time, you are going to wake up and you are going to return to your body.” Answer: “One is well, it is happiness here” (whisper). (Editors note. We are spirit living in a physical body. It is logical that we should be able to leave messages via EVP just as those who do not have a physical body do. This should also make us think a little more about our adventures while asleep.) Wife Appears in Lucid Dream Steven Beresford has been working in the field of lucid dreaming for more than 20 years. Lucid Dreaming is a comparatively new filed of parapsychological exploration in the West. Steven has made significant progress with lucid dream- ing and recently had an outstanding semi-lucid dream with his late wife. “It was very vivid and realistic; exactly the way we were when she was alive. It was wonderful to see and hear her again. I was conscious in the dream that she had returned to me from the dead. She wrote, “If you haven’t tried lucid dreaming, I rec- ommend it. For most people including myself, it’s not easy and can take a long time and a lot of effort, but the results can be very rewarding.” VTF Holds Annual Conference Jutta Liebmann sent us an English translation of the agenda

for the annual VTF-Conference that was held in Fulda, Germany on May 30 through June 1. The list of impressive with Jutta reporting on presenters was EVP/ITC contacts received by various people in many different countries. Stefan Bion, the inventor of EVP- maker, did a live recording session in the conference hall with an evaluation of the voices. Jurgen Nennstiel spoke on “Taped voices, their validity and realization, proof and truth.” Jurgen Nett did a presentation on various EVP recording methods. There were other presentations in- cluding one on out of body experiences and another on near death experiences. The AA-EVP was Founded in 1982 Sarah Estep founded the AA-EVP in May of 1982. We assumed leadership in May of 2000. Today, the Associa- tion is more International than ever and equally involved with EVP and ITC. We are proud of the Association, but we are more proud of you, the members and the work you are doing. With your continued support, we look forward to the next twenty years with great optimism. Much has been accomplished, but it will be a mere shadow to what will be accomplished in the years to come. Thank you! Tom and Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 2, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 The EVP & Transcommunication Society Judith Chisholm runs the EVP & Transcommunication Society of Great Britain and Ireland. In her No. 20

Octo- ber 2001 newsletter Judith commented on a couple of let- ters from her readers who had gotten EVP voices. “First, I have to say I am very glad Anna persevered, and that she managed to record a discarnate voice so early on in her experimentation. … “The problem is that people have preconceived ideas. They, expect to hear a voice at the same level as, for in- stance, on the other end of a phone; full of tone and reso- nance, echo and depth. When they don’t get what they expect instantly, they claim that nothing is there. To es- tablish that something is there would mean ditching a comfortable preconceived idea, dispensing with a likely bias to consider the whole thing impossible and prepos- terous anyhow, and—a whole lot of effort. “Secondly, even when they do concede they hear a voice, which has come from nowhere, the content of what is being said is criticized as inconsequential or random. “Yes, they can appear to be all of these things, but what matters is that a voice from nowhere is on the tape; that it is there. It doesn’t matter what it says if one is looking for proof of life after death, or even proof of discarnate entities somewhere, anywhere. … The presence of recog- nizable audible human utterances from “nowhere” in a controlled situation, is what counts. “As a matter of fact, Anna’s discarnate voice saying, ‘I’m cold,’ in the circumstance she describes, makes per- fect sense.

The kitchen was cold. Anna was thinking of putting on the heating, she said out loud ‘I’m listening.’ The listening spirit tuned in to Anna’s thought about put- ting on the heating, heard her say ‘I’m listening,’ trans- posed ‘I’m listening’ by saying ‘I’m cold,’ thus proving, with only two words, the presence of an intelligent, listen- ing entity, with a sense of humor, responding to a thought. “In actual fact, in my experience, the spirit voices are never arbitrary random or inconsequential. They may ut- ter few words, especially at first, but on reflection, those words are seen to be meaningful and enigmatic. “My advice regarding the EVP is this. Have, and main- tain, an open mind. Persevere. We live in a miracle, a Universe which words cannot describe, which we have not even begun to understand. All things are possible.” Judith has written Voices From Paradise. The book is available through Judith and also is available on Ama- zon.com. She publishes a quarterly newsletter and has a CD of her EVP voice examples for sale. You can write to Judith at 15 Gunton Road, Hackney, London, E5 9JT, England or via Email at [email protected]. Her web site is www. Psychicworld.net/EVP.htm. Pet Psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick has a series on the Animal Planet channel in the United States called “Pet Psychic.” It is presently broadcast on Monday and Friday evenings. Brazilians work with Video ITC Phyllis Delduque and Paulo Cabral, are two Brazilian re- searchers who have been Instrumental working

with TransCommunication since 1998. They work with both voices and images. The re- searchers say that ITC not only changes one’s ideas about the continuation of life but also transforms the con- sciousness of the individual. Their contacts from the other side share teachings as well as messages from friends and rela- tives who have already gone to the other side of life. Phyllis and Paulo feel that the majority of what they receive through ITC is related to spiritual mediumship with the other factors being the equipment that they use and their applied methodology. You can go to their web site at www.portaltci.dk3.com/ for more information on their discoveries. You can also reach Paolo and Phyllis via Email at [email protected] and phyllisdeldu- [email protected] EVP Proves the Afterlife Victor Zammit, the author of A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife, was recently interviewed on the Jeff Rense radio show. He said that there were twenty-four different types of evidence that prove the afterlife. EVP was the first proof that Victor discussed on the program. Victor called EVP objective evidence and said that it is taking place in many different countries and even in the Vatican. According to Zammit, “EVP is something that can be objectively demonstrated. It can be shown that it is scientific.” Victor also discussed ITC and The Scole Ex- periments. When asked what his top pick would be if he were to prove the afterlife to the highest court in Austral- ia, he chose Electronic Voice

Phenomena. Beyond James Van Praagh will be doing a daytime television talk show this fall in the United States. It is called Beyond and is set to debut on September 16, 2002. Van Praagh will tackle unsolved mysteries, going out into the field to connect with restless spirits and he will explain various types of phenomenon experienced by everyday people. He will also conduct in-depth readings for celebrities and members of the studio audience. The program is produced by Tribune Entertainment (www.aboutbeyond.com/); however we do not know the channel on which it will appear in your area. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 2, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 Cross Reference of EVP Messages Sarah Estep Over twenty years ago, I received dozens of taped mes- sages telling me to get a mirror. These “commands” were on both sides of my tapes—forward and reverse. So, more to quiet them (the entities) than anything else, after several months I went to the local ten cent store and bought a cheap mirror. I have usually tried to do what they request of me; provided it doesn't conflict with my own beliefs (they've really never asked me to do something like that). After all, if my buying a mirror would make them happy for some strange reason, it was the least I could do for them. The first morning I used it (I had placed it on top

of my reel to reel tape recorder), I received probably 7/8 mes- sages on both sides of my tape, such as: "Sarah has a mir- ror!" "Do you see Sarah's mirror?" "We can talk into it!" So, they were happy, and so was I, and even today, I still have a mirror on top of my recorder. Now, the thing that I feel is most important about all of this, is about 3/4 weeks after I started using a mirror, Dan McKee, probably the best taper in the U.S. (at the time), and a very close friend of mine (he's the one who told me 23/24 years ago, that there were voices on the reverse side of tapes, along with the forward side), called me from Illi- nois where he lived, and said, "Sarah, I've been getting a lot of messages telling me I should use a mirror." He did- n't know I had also gotten dozens of messages like that. Of course, I then told him about my own messages and how I had gone out and bought a $1.98 mirror at the local store. My doing that had made the other side very happy. A couple of weeks after that, Mercedes Shepanek, a very dear friend from Virginia who was a good taper, called as she often did, and told me she had received many messages about getting a mirror. (She did not know Dan McKee at that time) and never had any contact with him. I told

her I also had many messages about mirrors, and so did Dan. I'd bought a mirror, and “they” were very happy about it. Mercedes went out and bought two mirrors, one for each side of her reel-to-reel recorder. As I had, she received a number of “happy” messages when she started using them, they also told her: “Two mirrors are enough!” What do I think about this whole thing? Was this a co- incidence? NO! I feel that it was a synchronistic event. Synchronicity (and coincidence) has been studied by many people. Carl Jung, (the great German psychoana- lyst) pioneered the study of synchronicity, and a number of others have done the same since then. Most people think many coincidences happen to them frequently. Yes, sure, at times, but much less than you may think. Jung called synchronicity a, “Production of meaningful coinci- dences.” So, think about that the next time you think you've experienced a coincidence. Synchronicity is “planned” put into “operation” by something in another dimension. Now, why did three of us, unknown at the time receive mirror messages? I think someone/something in another dimension was showing us (the 3 of us)—at the same time—that they were aware of us, and wanted to let us know—by giving us almost identical messages—that what we got on tape was coming from an unseen dimen- sion. Are mirrors vital to communication? I don't think so. Most people who tape, and have good results do so with- out mirrors. It doesn't hurt

to have one, but it's not vital. Each entity who communicates with us, has their own per- sonality (as we do) and although we are similar in some ways, deep down we are each unique. It could be a mirror may help a few come through, but I still feel the main rea- son for the mirror messages that Dan, Mercedes (both have moved on to spirit) and I received, was to present us with a synchronistic experience. ITC Images by Erland Babcock Erland has provided us with an image that he had col- lected in his past work with ITC. In his words, “On the attached figures, there is a figure of a head in the smallest circle (ac- tually not quite circle in form). I am sure some- one is going to say it is Newton's Rings. Believe me it is not. I am very careful about my photog- raphy. If I remember cor- rectly these were taken with a Crown Graphic with a roll film adaptor that produced 2 ¼ x 3 ¼ nega- tives. I process all my own black and white. I have been doing this for a good number of years and have a profes- sional darkroom. (I also used to do commercial photography). So no Newton's Rings or other arti- facts. What you see is what we got. They are interesting but I have no explanation for them. I have a number of strange photo- graphs that have never been seen by the

general public.” Erland collected another image (shown at the left) of what looks like a little alien that appears to have a point on the head and ears that point away from the head to the side. If you look closely at the feature in the middle of the rings, you can just make out what appears to be a similar creature sitting and holding its legs. Apports Received at ISF Congress Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 2, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002 We received a wonderful couple of surprises at the In- ternational Spiritualist Federation (ISF) congress we just attended. The surprises were in the form of two apports. Tom and I made a presentation on EVP/ITC Tuesday evening and had all of the rest of the time to simply enjoy and learn. We attended two classes each day and also had the opportunity to listen to three to four speakers present on various topics each day. We attended a Physical Mediumship and a Trance class. We found them very enjoyable and educational, and were even able to see clear evidence of transfiguration taking place with various sitters on that first morning of the Physical Mediumship class. On Monday afternoon Tom and I were sitting in our se- cond Trance class. We moved the chairs twice to allow more people to join the circle. In doing so, we looked at the

floor each time to make sure we had collected our wa- ter bottles. After the instructor had led us through a deep meditation for trance, I reached under my chair for my trusted bottle of water. There on the floor directly under my chair was a small white stick that said “MEDIUM” on it. The stick is plastic and is the type placed in your steak in restaurants to tell you that it is done the way you re- quested. Tom and I were stunned; in fact this is an understatement, as we have never received an apport di- rectly like this. In addition we even knew the group that used this type of apport as we had received them in mailings of the letter writ- ing experiment conducted by the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT). As if this was not exciting enough, there was more to come. On Monday we had attended our morning class and then returned to our room for a break before returning to the cafeteria for lunch. I was wearing a pair of leather flats that are very light weight. We made the walk back, went through the cafeteria line and ate our lunch. Before leaving, I returned to the food line for another glass of tea. As I walked, I felt an ob- struction in my shoe that hurt. I figured that my hose were twisted causing a lump or that something had gone wrong with the interior of my shoe.

I remember thinking that it would most assuredly give me a blister, so I sat down and slipped off my shoe to see what in the world was causing the pain. There on the side of the shoe was a little white stick that read “MEDIUM.” Our excitement turned to shock! In the Spring 2001 AA-EVP newsletter, we reported on the SORRAT letter writing experiment that we have been participating in for many years. John Thomas Richards Ph.D. facilitates the experiments. The entities who per- form the Independent Writing (messages are written with- out using any part of someone’s physical body) are called the Imperator Group. In the letter writing experiment the entities often include small artifacts (apports) in the envelopes they send to the participants. These are most often the small sticks that read “MEDIUM.” It has been over two years since we had received a “me- dium stick” artifact from the Imperator Group through the mail. In fact the last letter we received from the entities was unsolicited and read, “Friend Thomas, and others in AA/EVP- A caution to technophiles: Anyone concerned with the future of creative thought should be wary of the near-obsession with technology that is apparent. While certain benefits to this emphasis on technology cannot be denied, there are serious challenges to creative thought, which is far less amenable to this type of communication, built on thoughtful, reasoned dialogue between our side and yours, and on the primacy of ideas. We seek to culti- vate

engaged minds. We are not Luddites, but slow, wise, gestating, reasoned thought cannot be cut down to a sound-bite. Postmodernism is …” (here the letter ends. It is apparent that there was a second page but we never re- ceived it). After receiving this letter from the Imperator Group we felt that they did not find particular favor with our promo- tion of EVP/ITC. To be honest at the time we were a little disappointed, as this is the platform that was handed to Tom and I and it has provided a way for us to promote understanding of personal survival. The Imperator Group is interested in promoting survival and we felt that they would be pleased with anyone doing the same--in any manner. Perhaps, we took the letter a little too personally. It is clear that it is the Imperator Group that sent us these two wonderful proofs of survival. In view of the letter, above, we feel that they did it on the days before our presentation as a form of encouragement. The presen- tation went spectacularly well. The apports were very shocking but so very exciting at the same time. I hope that we hear more from the Impera- tor Group. We will do our part by spending time in a de- velopment group as we continue our ITC experiments. News About Members  Richard Hatem got a nice compliment from John Keel the author of The Mothman Prophecies in the April 2002 issue of Fate Magazine.

In his column, Beyond the Known, Keel wrote, “The question most often asked about my relationship with the movie is how did I sell the book to Hollywood. Well, it took 30 years. Many writers have attempted to translate The Mothman Prophecies into a film script, but it always came out too much like a 1933 horror film. Finally, Richard Hatem, a young screenwriter, had a workable plan. Before he got hold of it, there had been years of disappointment.” Continued page 8 News About Members (Continued from page 7) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 2, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Summer 2002  Mark Macy (World ITC) and Rolf-D Ehrhardt (loTC) have merged their two web sites into a single web site (www.worlditc.org) and are starting a new as- sociation called World ITC. The site now contains about three times the information as the previous sites.  Susan Bove’ is the co-chairperson for South Jersey Par- anormal Research. She conducts lectures and seminars on paranormal research and recently lectured on EVP at the Gettysburg Ghost Conference. She demonstrated the software, Cool Edit Pro, at the conference and says, “Although I am no expert at using the software, I do use it quite a bit and have had some really good results with it.” Susan said that she would be glad to help anyone using this software. You can send an Email to her at [email protected]

 Michele Hardison did another investigation for the Travel Channel in the Lake Tahoe area in March. She received several EVPs during the investigation. As soon as we hear about when the show will air we will let you know.  Linda Sperti has been taking “Spirit Energy” pictures since 1992. She wrote “I finally found a researcher to study my pictures. He is a noted Biophysicist interested in the energies. He says that he doesn’t believe in Spir- its but is excited about my pictures.”  Keli Adams’ new book, “Friendly Shadows” should be on the book shelves this July. The book is based on the true accounts of her childhood and her gifts as a spirit communicator. Keli provides a candid and personal ac- count of how her deceased mother continues to play a part in her life. Thoughts from Members  Clara Laughlin heard whistling in her hall several years ago. She picked up her camera and took a couple of pictures. On development there was no ghost but there were three or four musical notes on the picture.  Linda Noel has been recording EVP since 1989. Both she and her husband have received messages from their son, Danny, who made his transition at sixteen. Now Linda’s husband of 38 years has also gone to the other side and Linda will try to contact him through EVP.  Linda Willaimson wrote that when doing EVP, “I get my own family members, alongside friends, not just for

me but for other people also. This gives me a great sense of contentment, knowing that my own people are close by and are there for me when I call on them.”  Erland Babcock, wrote that he had been told by those on the other side, “’We see the real you…in beautiful colors.’ Those on the other side see us on a screen and perhaps they read our aura.”  Gerda Slater has been recording since 1990. She has gotten messages from her husband, also her parents in German. She often gets loud Class A voices. Tapers Report  Phyllis Jaquett tapes every night. She places her mi- crophone into a large tin, asks the spirits to talk to her, leaves the recorder running and goes to bed. A year af- ter her husband Ralph died she got a voice saying “Hel- lo Velva.” She recognized the EVP as her husband’s very distinctive voice. She wrote, “Friends and relatives all agree that the voice is Ralph’s.”  Dale Sizemore continues to get EVP messages on his answering machine. One recent EVP message was that of a mature sounding female who said, “We walk alone, please pack.” Dale wrote, “Perhaps this means that each person must be fully prepared in his or her journey through life. Maybe it is a reference to the Spiritualist concept of personal responsibility.”  Martha Copeland sent us a wonderful confirmation of survival. She wrote, “My daughter was killed in a fatal car accident on

December 23, 2001. We have been get- ting her voice on the computer. We have heard her voice saying "I'm still here."  Charli Claypool wrote that she has had, “Different (de- ceased) friends from the past go to great lengths to iden- tify themselves.” A recent EVP, “Hi honey it’s Dale,” was from her ex-husband who crossed over in 1989. She recently found two messages on her answering ma- chine. One was from a human the other had no physical voice but the recording also had an EVP saying, “This is Mickey, Lee.” Her husband’s son is named Lee and she is going to check to see if he knew a Mickey.  Susan Bove’ was doing an investigation with a friend in the dark. Her friend hit her leg on something and said “ouch.” She wrote, “Because I can sometimes be sarcas- tic, I asked her how that felt.” Susan says that, after her friend’s brief response, a voice on their tape says, “How’d that feel, Bib.” “It’s interesting that the name of the investigator that hit her leg is “Deb,” so the last word the spirit speaks could be a mock of her name.  Ann Longmore-Etheridge wrote that she had asked to hear from a friend named Francis. “As soon as I had asked for him, a child’s voice replied, “Francis,” almost as if she was calling for him to come. It was the loudest voice I have ever received.  Renata Barbarigo was near a

pool filled with children giggling and talking in English. She turned on her mi- crocassette recorder. On playback her name was spoken many times and many of the voices of the children were in Italian which is Renata’s native language. Request for Articles The next newsletter is in October. Halloween is that wonderful time of year that celebrates the dead, so we would like to celebrate with some appropriate articles. Send us your best EVP/ITC “haunting” story. Keep them as short as possible as you know the newsletter is not big. Please email or mail them to us by September 1. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 21 Number 3 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 From Our Viewpoint AA-EVP member Charli Claypool recently posted an email to the AA-EVP Egroup that included a link to the Fargate Institute, which is concerned with remote view- ing. Members of the Egroup were talking about the best time of day for phenomena and Charli was telling us of an interesting article that was posted there concerning psy- chic ability and sidereal time. The article described what turned out to be an important discovery about nonphysical phenomena, especially as it relates to Instrumental TransCommunications. In the study, the author of the article examined the ra- ther large collection of psychic ability

experiments he had conducted over the years to see if they pointed to a rela- tionship between sidereal time and the psychic proficiency of his subjects. There was a direct relationship! He then asked colleagues to conduct a new set of experiments to confirm his conclusions. The results, and therefore the phenomena, were verified. Sidereal time is star time and a sidereal day is approxi- mately 3 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than a solar day. Thus, Local Sidereal Time (LST) moves backward in so- lar time about four minutes a day, two hours a month and one day a year. Anywhere you are on the planet, at the same LST you will see the same stars overhead as anyone anywhere else will at that time. 0.7 0.2 0.1 0.0 -0.2 13.5 18.9 Figure 1. Mean Effect Size Verses LST for the Original Data Set The essence of the article we are referring to is that sci- entists have found a direct correlation between the sidereal time of day and success in psychic ability experiments. The graph shown on this page depicts “Effect Size” on the vertical axis and “Local Sidereal Time” on the horizontal axis. “Effect Size” is the amount of deviation more or less than the expected normal for chance. The horizontal line between 0.1 and 0.2 represents the average of the graph curve. The line at 0.0 represents what would be expected with guessing. We have added a vertical, dotted line at 13.5 hours and near 19.0 hours

To quote the report, “Evidence has been given to sup- port a relationship between the local sidereal time at which an anomalous cognition experiment occurs and the resulting effect size. The primary association is an ap- proximately four-fold enhancement in AC effect size at 13.5 h LST. (Anomalous Cognition (AC)” seems to be a new term for Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)—Editor) This association was found in one large data set and con- firmed in another, each set comprising AC experiments with a range of free response protocols, from different laboratories and investigators. It is likely that the increase of effect size for AC trials occurring at 13.5 h LST is real, replicable across different laboratories and occurs in the diverse protocols of the ganzfeld and remote viewing ex- periments.” The bottom line is that psychic ability is real and the problem proving it in the past has been that researchers have been conducting experiments at different sidereal times of day. Almost a six-fold difference in performance of a psychic between 13.5 h and 18.9 h LST is substantial. And remember, 13.5 hours LST changes in solar time each day. The evidence suggests that there is something near or beyond the edge of the Solar System that is influencing our psychic ability. Of course, experiments will need to be conducted to see if this influence affects EVP collec- tion in the same way as psychic ability. But, we have good reason to believe that there is a mediumistic rela- tionship in

EVP between the experimenter and the com- municating entity. And of course, mediumship is psychic ability turned toward spirit communications. Besides explaining why psychic phenomena is so hard to prove, the reason we believe the discovery of this rela- tionship is so important is that it points to an external in- fluence on psychic ability. It should be just a matter of time before someone figures out what that influence is and what in the human brain it is influencing. Once that has been accomplished, it should be possible to enhance psy- chic ability with technology. We have added a sidereal time calculator on aaevp.com and you can download a good clock for your computer at www.radiosky.com/sidclockdownload.html. Source, Apparent Association between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidere- al Time, by S. James P. Spottiswoode, published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. II, No. 2, 1997. You can find it at www.fargate.org/links.htm. Send a SASE for a hard copy of the report. Tom Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 3, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 Sonia Rinaldi and Telephone ITC Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi is the coordinator of Associação Nacional de Transcomunicadores (ANT). Sonia has been helping people by making phone calls to the beyond since March 2001. The majority have been for parents who have lost their children. Sonia writes, “With this technology controlled by the Beyond,

the call is not from the Beyond. They enter our terrestrial phone calls.” The parents make an appointment with Sonia in ad- vance. They are instructed to prepare ten questions. When they call on the appointed day, Sonia has one phone in her hand and leaves an extension phone open for those in the Spirit world to participate. The telephone is con- nected into the MIC jack of her computer and all conver- sations are recorded directly into the computer. The ques- tions are asked leaving ten seconds between each question and the recorded conversation lasts about twelve to fifteen minutes. After the session is over, Sonia prepares a final recording of the session resulting in seven to eight minutes of pure dialog between parent and deceased child. The sound track is copied and sent to the parents who are then able to hear their loved one’s voice and decide if it is their child who is speaking, identifying not only the voice itself, but also details and information which only the par- ents knew. Sonia also requests that the parents send back a report detailing their impressions of the recording. When asked how she informed the Beyond that a certain parent would call on a certain day, and that their child would be needed on the phone line, she responded that she did not know, but explained that, “What seems to happen is the “Beyond” is here all the time. It seems that they control everything around here. In

different phone calls, the deceased speaker has said that they go on living in the same house they lived in—that is with the parents. Also they seem to visit my house or live around my house. This makes me imagine that, in the parallel space of my house, many spirits live, working in the station. Maybe the station is over my house. I don’t know. The fact is that, when a person is put on the agenda, that is all that I do … on that specific day, the expected deceased appears and replies with particularities that only the parents know, and also, in the great majority the voice is recognized.” Sonia has tried to make phone calls while in other coun- tries and has also tried having people from outside of Bra- zil call in to do a phone call. This has not worked. Sonia wrote, “For me this means that each country or big region has its own leaders on the other side. Its own stations ... I say that because maybe a reader of the AA-EVP newslet- ter may wish to make a phone call with me. It will not function if he or she is not from Brazil. “Not only that. The person apparently must be Brazili- an, or the deceased must be Brazilian. On 11 September of last year, when I saw on television that many Ameri- cans were dying, I made a contact by phone and asked, “Are you (in the station) receiving many

people today? Are you receiving Americans?” The reply was, “This is a station of Brazilians.” Sonia has made 169 well-documented calls, all of them witnessed and under scientifically controlled parameters. She has sent us the transcript of part of call number 121. Data on the Case: Yanira is the name of a mother who lost a daughter in a very difficult situation. The daughter, Andrea, was 27 years old and pregnant. During her preg- nancy, Andrea went to the doctor many times and every- thing was perfect. She knew she would have a boy, and had already chosen a name for him: Murilo. On the day that the boy was to be born, all of the family went to the hospital and happily prepared a party to re- ceive the little boy. Yanira, her husband and her other daughter Ana, remained in the hospital room while An- drea went into surgery to have Murilo. They were so happy that they decided to open some champagne to celebrate the arrival of the first grandson. At this moment, the doctor entered the room to say that Andrea had died from shock of the anesthesia and that her newborn child died after fifteen minutes. The Phone Call: Yanira requested the opportunity to speak to Andrea, and the call was scheduled for 12 Octo- ber 2001. Yanira along with her husband and her live daughter, Ana, all spoke with Andrea and Murilo. The results, which were listened to later, were very good. Ya- nira

recognized Andrea’s voice in many replies. At the end of Yanira’s conversation with her daughter Sonia re- membered the child, Murilo, and wondered what had hap- pened to him. Would he grow up in the Other Side? Would he return to his previous life? What would happen to a baby with 15 minutes of life? While they were still recording, Sonia suggested to Ya- nira that they put questions straight to Murilo, to see what would happen. Of course, they had no idea of the results or even if he would be able to talk. It is important to understand that Yanira wasn’t alone. With her at their house on the beach, was her husband and Ana, her living daughter. All of them spoke with Andrea and Murilo. Below, is the part of the conversation related to Murilo. Child’s voice: “It is from my heart” Sonia: “Hi Murilo...” Child’s voice: “Be in peace” Sonia: “Are you hearing me, my dear?” Child’s voice: “I am. I’m secure” Sonia: “Do you know your grandmother?” Continued Page 3 This is an AA-EVP publication. Annual Association membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds or check written to a US Bank for inter- national members. Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. Contents of this publication are protected by U.S. copyright law. Additional information about AA-EVP is available at http:// aaevp.com. Member name and portions of correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications and interviews

unless otherwise noted by the member. Newsletter contributions should be in before last month of the quarter. The address label on the newsletter will show the quarter of the year for your renewal. Volume 21, Number 3, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 Sonia Rinaldi (Continued from Page 2) Child’s voice: “I don’t cry!” Again Murilo wants to Child’s voice: “I came, didn’t I?” At this point Sonia suggested that Yanira start speaking to Murilo, “You may speak to him, Yanira!” Yanira was listening to the child’s voice and was absolutely surprised. show that he was superior to his cousin Felipe. Wagner: “Do you know that you have a cousin named Felipe?” Child’s voice: “I say to him this way: I will teach you Yanira: “He replied, Sonia! Hello? Murilo?” Child’s voice: “She is ‘Anira!’ I love her!” Yanira: “Hey Murilo! Your voice is just like Felipe’s!” Felipe is the name of Ana’s little son, who was four years old at the time. Felipe was crying frequently in those days because of a throat ache. Because of this, Murilo’s next comment was especially meaningful. Child’s voice: “I am here, but I don’t cry” In the next sequence Murilo says something impressive related to the fact that Yanira lives at the sea shore. Child voice: “I play in the sand!” Yanira: “Murilo ..., I am your grandmother ..., Yanira! Speak to your grandfather now! Give him a kiss!” This point of the phone call is important because when Yanira’s husband spoke

to Andrea, he asked for advice about a problem in the family. Andrea didn’t reply to that question. The one to reply was Murilo. The Child’s voice: “Your two sons are the wrong ones. I noticed.” Child’s voice: “I love to walk with you in the sand ...” Yanira later confirmed that her husband used to walk on the beach every day. Grandfather: “Hi!” Child’s voice: “Hi ...” Child’s voice: “Ida has protected me when Dea died!” Sonia pointed out that it was interesting that Murilo called his mother “Da,” a nickname for Andrea. Yanira: “Murilo ... and your mother?” Child’s voice: “She has died.” Yanira: “Wow what a nice voice you have! We love you!” In this sequence is another proof of his identification. As children often are, Murilo seemed to be jealous of Fe- lipe. Felipe was sick those days, with a cold and throat ache. So, he was crying frequently because he wanted ice cream, but that was forbidden. Unexpectedly Child’s voice says, “Ice-cream is forbidden!” At this point in the recording, Yanira gives the phone to her daughter, Ana, so that she could also speak to Murilo. Yanira: “Murilo, speak to your Aunt Ana!” Ana: “Hello? Murilo? How old are you now?” Child’s voice: “I am four.” In the sequence before Ana asks him if he is well, Mu- rilo anticipates the question and confirms, “Yes I am.” Ana: “Are you fine? Are you close to your mother?” Child’s voice: “She died. Do you know? I

am beauti- ful! I swear.” At this moment Ana’s husband, Wagner, arrives. Be- fore Ana can inform Murilo that he will next speak to Wagner, Child’s voice: “The uncle doesn’t know me.” Ana: “You will speak now with Uncle Wagner!” Wagner: “Hi Murilo ...” how to walk ...” Yanira: “Murilo ...” Child’s voice: “You embraced me!” Yanira: “Good bye Murilo! God bless you ...” Child’s voice: “Bless you!” Yanira: “It was wonderful to talk to you!” Child’s voice: “Be in peace!” Sonia included two voice examples so that readers can hear how clear the boy’s voice was. This article and the two examples are on the AA-EVP website. ♦ You can find Sonia Rinaldi’s excellent ANT web site at www.geocities.com/ant-tci/ - including an English section. Sonia does not charge for her work. All that she does is ex- clusively to help people. She is also working with scientists who are presently beginning an in-depth investigation of paranormal voices, based on her phone call samples. The Noetics Institute has agreed to support Sonia’s future research, as well. Tina Laurent and the Scream Team A show in the UK called the Scream Team features six young people who are filmed 24 hours a day traveling around Britain. This is a reality show with a paranormal twist and Tina Laurent has filmed show number seven of the series, working with EVP. Tina recorded over 100 minutes of EVP during the filming and then stayed up all night listening to it. She wrote, “I

was only into the first few minutes when I real- ized that we had a winner. The EVP utterances were just about the best and loudest that I have ever captured.” One of the first utterances was that of an animal. One of the six kids, Amy, was bending down stroking a phan- tom cat. Tina asked her if she had a cat and she replied, “Yes”. On the recording between ‘Cat’ and ‘Yes’ a very loud “Purr” is heard. The purr was recorded two more times within just a few minutes. A young medium, Derek Ogilvie, was also on the pro- gram and Tina felt a connection with him. “I felt things that he was seeing,” Tina said, “and what is much more important, my EVP voices corroborated what he was say- ing at the time he was saying it.” At one point Derek was describing a man that he was seeing in the corner who was telling them all to “Go Away.” On Tina’s recording a man’s voice says, “Go Away” moments later. This hap- pen several times and Derek was thrilled at his first expe- rience with EVP. Tina wrote that the producer, the crew and the Famous Six had no trouble hearing the EVP from the very begin- ning. There will be a trailer for the program on the Sky Channel (commonly known as “Living”) in the UK on September 13 with the series starting the following Tues- day. The section with Tina and her EVP

recording will be seen around the beginning of November. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 3, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 A Visit with Anabela Cardoso by Mark Macy “ITC is much more than just a way to make contact with Beyond,” says Anabela Cardoso, Portuguese experimenter and editor of the ITC Journal. “It is a tool for understand- ing life, and it is a philosophical and social movement.” Ms. Cardoso mentions that more than a thousand people in Brazil and France—and tens of thousands of people around the world—are trying to contact their departed loved ones through tape recorders. for Like most ITC researchers, Anabela Cardoso supports her research with a full-time career. Despite her promi- nence in the world ITC community, ITC research for her is a sideline or avocation. For nearly a quarter century she has been an official diplomat the nation of Portugal, but she doesn't lead a typical life of an ambassador—a life often to scrutiny by peers and the press. To put it simply, Anabela is not afraid to make waves. Regina, Anabela and Mark subject She fights against animal cruelty because it's the right thing to do, for example. And she explores ITC research to find a higher truth. These things don't always rest well with her colleagues in the diplomatic community. … Anabela, who earned a Ph.D. in Germanic Philology at a time when few Portuguese girls

were pursuing higher education … became Portugal's first female consular in 1979 and was assigned to Rhode Island. She was also the first woman in the world to hold a diplomatic post outside her own country. Today Anabela Cardoso is Portugal's consul general in the Rhone-Alps region in France. … Her home base is her family farm near Lisbon, Portugal. She has made it an animal shelter, “Abrigo,” which pro- vides care for many dozens of homeless cats and dogs at any given time. Abrigo has developed into one of the best animal shelters in Europe, as rated by the World Society for the Protection of Animals. My wife Regina and I visited Anabela at her second home in Lyon, France on May 1, 2002. She met us at the train station and gave us a quick tour of the city before driving us to her home for dinner. (When we arrived) … Her five permanent housemates (abandoned dogs whom she had adopted over the years) gathered around us, tails wagging. Any friend of Anabela's was a friend of theirs. We washed up and got settled in the dining room, and then I noticed a powerful sound coming from upstairs. It was like the roar of the ocean, but more constant. Ana- bela explained that her ITC lab contained six radios that were turned on much of the time. She kept them tuned between stations with the volume up. That roar had be- come a normal part of home life

for Anabela; … She said she had begun experimenting in the fall of 1997, and in a two-year period she had received thousands of voices through the radio sounds—voices from her invisible friends at Timestream. Timestream is a group of thousands of people in spirit (departed colleagues and loved ones, ethereal beings, and others) whose efforts are devoted to opening up positive communication channels between their world and ours. “Timestream consists of many working groups,” she said. “Even though they have amazing technologies and abilities—like modulating our radio sounds into voices— they have told us that ITC contacts are extremely chal- lenging for them.” Conducting ITC experiments from our side should in- clude patience, as well as an ability to accept that which we can't understand. “That doesn't mean blind faith,” she emphasized, “just an open mind and spirit.” I mentioned that most successful experimenters seemed to possess some psychic abilities, but she disagreed. She said psychic abilities aren't necessary—maybe not even helpful—for ITC contacts. After some discussion we reached a compromise. We agreed that there is a sort of “focused intuition” involved in ITC. Experimenters have to learn to clear their minds and focus on their spirit friends with the same loving rapport that we might share with a good friend on Earth. That seems to be a key to opening the ITC channels and allowing information to flow more freely from their world to ours through our equipment. The term we came up with was “focused intu- ition.”

Anabela said it's especially important to release the spooky notion of ghosts and lost souls when conducting ITC experiments. “The fear of death is still humanity's main obsession, and we have to get over that,” she said. “I think it's safe to say that the first feelings that overtake a happy and successful transcommunicator are over- whelming joy and gratitude. It's really an honor to be contacted by Timestream,” she said. “They tell us often that life is unending and has a purpose that we don't fully realize while alive on Earth.” After dinner we climbed the stairs to Anabela's voice lab, where we had to speak rather loudly to hear each oth- er. The radios were in one room, and we sat in the adjoin- ing room with a tape recorder and microphone. Anabela shouted into the microphone, “Hello Rio do Tempo (Timestream)! Rio do Tempo, can you hear me?” Then she introduced Regina and me to her spirit friends. We heard fluctuations in the radio sounds that might have been in response to her greetings, and in the course of about 45 minutes we heard a few very faint voices try- ing to break through the loud radio sounds. Afterwards we were all a little disappointed, because we had all experienced quality voices coming through radios in the past—Anabela had received many clear voices here through the radios over the years, and Regina and I had received many in our Colorado lab—and I suppose we were all hoping

for the best that night. Continued Page 5 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 3, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 A Visit with Anabela Cardoso (Continued from Page 4) But as our spirit friends have told us, there are factors in- volved in ITC contacts that we are not aware of, and if there are no contacts during any particular session, it's really no big deal. The next day Anabela played some of her more mean- ingful radio contacts, which she had uploaded and cata- logued on her computer. Most of them were in Portu- guese, and are translated to English here. “Christmas, a kiss for Nina!” Nina is the oldest of Anabela's dogs living in the Lyon home. She is like the matriarch of the family, and was present in the room when the voice came through. “Hello Coqui! Hello to everyone there!” Coqui was another of the dogs in the Lyon household. Ms. Cardoso was in the kitchen at the time of that contact, talking to all the dogs and preparing their meal. The tape recorder up- stairs was set to automatic recording, so that it would come on whenever voices came through the radio sounds. “Cheers! Cheers! This is Timestream!” Our spirit friends are often elated when they are able to break through. “I am Joao Cardoso… at Timestream.” That was Ana- bela's departed father—Joao Cardoso. “It is I, Luis!

I am definitely Luis!” said Anabela's brother, Luis. “Bela, Bela, you already answered. The answer came across perfectly here on our side.” Timestream often ad- dresses Anabela in a loving way, “Bela” meaning “My beauty,” which is also her pet name that her family mem- bers always used and still use. In this case she had heard a question and had tried to answer it more than once. “I feel another color. I feel my infinite power, the un- conscious of God covers all. Always think of our world. Those of you who think about our world reduce the dis- tance.” Many contacts from Timestream contain messag- es wrapped up in a certain elation and inspiration, which seem to be a predominant mood in that part of the spirit worlds. This message said there is no better way of bring- ing the worlds closer together and building an ITC contact bridge than to be aware of our spirit friends. That is the most important message you get when you spend time with Anabela Cardoso: Think of our spirit friends often, throughout the day, with gratitude and joy, and the miracles of ITC will become an ever greater part of your life. ♦ Send a SASE for the complete article. You can also find it at aaevp.com. For information on the ITC Journal write to Ana- bela Cardoso at Apartado de Correos 3157, Vigo, Pontevedra, Espana or visit http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/journal.htm Mark Macy is a longtime researcher and promoter of ITC. You can

learn more about his and other’s work in ITC at http://worlditc.org/ Mark is also the author of Miracles in the Storm. You can find out more about this book at www.paraview.com/macy/ Message of the Beyond on Computer Written and translated to English by Jacques Blanc-Garin We, in France, have discovered some strange printing from computers. These are not very important in quantity of messages, but very curious in their demonstration. The first example concerns interference with printing a document that Marie Huvet, President of the Society of Psychic studies in Nancy, France, experienced. Marie was finalizing a document for an upcoming con- ference. The document was on the dangerous behaviour of youngsters and on the fatal consequences that frequent- ly resulted. When she printed the document, the first pag- es were reproduced correctly, but in a paragraph of the last page, some lines had been replaced by different words, printed in a different font, and without punctua- tions or capitals. Still, the words did relate to the subject of the conference. The new text read, “and say with me, all together we will have more force. Thank you for what you make, say that life is important and that it is necessary to take care of life that it has a value to achieve what we have to achieve in a physical body” The following example seems to relate to our friend, Jean-Marie Gronnier, deceased 3/01. The first incident took place on 6/17/01 at his wife, Jocelyne’s, home. One of

her daughters, Christine, was writing a report on the computer that was previously used by Jean-Marie. As she reached to remove a piece of paper from the printer, the printer began printing many hearts and explanation points on the paper. Irritated, Christine stopped the printer, put the document file on a disk, and trying again, successfully printed the document. She left the paper, with the strange characters, on the kitchen table. The next morning Joce- lyne went into the kitchen and froze. There, on the kitchen table, were the computer printout, a pencil and the following message written on the printout: “I love you” (see picture, above). There had not been a pencil on the table the previous day, and Joce- lyne had been alone since her daughter had left! June 17th was Jean-Marie's birthday! The next example occurred two days later at the home of another friend of ours, Patricia Darré. Without warning, her printer began printing a single line of characters per page for five pages. Most of the characters were like those discovered by Jocelyne’s daughter. (See example from the Gronnier family below.) But even more strange is that Patricia discovered that one of the pages included the same set of characters printed on both the front and the back of the page. It seems we can say that there is a strong presumption of the paranormal side to the phenomenon. ♦ From the Infinitude publication, Le Messager No. 39. Find more information about Jacques and the

French ITC group, Infinitude at www.chez.com/infinitude/Garde/EN_Garde.htm. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 3, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 Apports Verified In our last newsletter, we reported receiving two “Me- dium Stick” apports from the Imperator Group of entities while attending the International Spiritualist Federation Congress, at which we did a presentation. One material- ized under a chair that Lisa was sitting in and the other came the next day in her shoe. In late August we received another letter from the Imperator Group. John King is the scribe for this group of entities and is able to write letters without visible support (Independent Writing). The enti- ties put what they have written into SAS envelopes and then apport them into the US mail. All of this is done in a locked glass box in the basement of Dr. Tom Richards’ house. Dr. Richards directs the SORRAT psychokinesis experiments. To see an example of this Independent writing go to aaevp.com→examples→other techniques. Images of the four-page letter are too large to include in the newsletter. Friends Tom and Alisa – We are glad you enjoyed getting the medium sticks – although the one does not really qualify for an entry in the latest volume of Whose Shoe. … We were commenting that there is a danger involved in too much love of technology. Now, there is nothing ‘bad’ about tapes, radios, TVs, and computers, so long as

Mar- shall McLuhan’s dictum that ‘the medium is the message’ is correctly understood. But some people get so wrapped up in the mechanics involved that they do not concentrate on the full meaning of what is being transmitted from our side of the change correctly called death to your side— both of which are different facets of one All, one far vaster side. After all, wisdom is what we, and you, seek. We can learn from you, and you sometimes learn from us. The transmissions, audio and video taped, are useful convic- tion artifacts, much as the medium sticks are, but a frag- mentary vocal or visual ‘bite’ is not profound wisdom, at enough length to say anything very complicated. Just now, these are transition tools, and longer, more mean- ingful, data will come through, but a good voice medium has a far more subtle, complex, organic device inside his or her cranium. This is what we mean when we warn you against technophilia, the love of the technology in and for itself. The Piscator may love fishing, but spend so much effort with different rods, reels and very elaborate flies, that he or she never eats a fish! Still, we believe that your fine newsletter will help fish for the real prize, the minds that can willingly suspend the anchor of disbelief! Shanti – Explicator/Mentor/Rector/J.K. (J.K. is John King) ♦ Comment: Lisa’s research has shown that the Imperator Group has worked with many mediums over the years, such as

Leonore Piper and Stainton Moses. Face on Wall Appears in ITC Experiment The Reverend Catherine Stewart of the Spiritualist De- sert Church in Las Vegas, NV has brought an interesting form of ITC to our attention. The congregation had paint- ed a wall just after moving into a new church location. Months later, they noticed a woman’s face in the texture of the paint. The picture below, on the left, is a slightly enhanced photograph of the face. It is interesting that we found other, less detailed features in the paint as well. The painted wall was reminiscent of the Video ITC frames we see, in that it had many ITC features. We do not usually think of faces in paint as a form of ITC, but the phenomenon does follow the same energetic characteristics as Video ITC. The church recently gave up its lease on the site and had to abandon the face on the wall. Before doing so, the congregation conducted a mediation and asked the lady in the picture if she would move with congregation members and also appear to other people. The last church service in that space was May 26. On the evening of May 27, in Reno, Ne- vada, our development circle met and we did a class on EVP and ITC. At the end of the meeting, the group con- ducted a Video ITC experiment together, first meditating and then asking for those on the other side to bring their images through the

video loop. Several features came through in the experiment but a feature in the last video frame held a real surprise. The minute we saw it, we recognized its resemblance to the lady on the wall. We were unaware that the congregation had asked the lady to appear to others. As you can see in the two pictures shown above, the picture of the face on the wall (left), and the Video ITC picture (right) are not exactly alike, but they do share many characteristics. At the right are two other faces collected in that ex- periment. You may be able to the see that man (left) is wearing what looks like 17th Century attire. We believe we see a “ruff” around his neck. It is common for us to find ITC features of people in period attire. The feature to the right is of a young woman. She is looking toward the lower left of the frame. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 3, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 Phantom Phone Call Susan Cole wrote that her friend Rick had died while she was away from home and unreachable. She realized later, that from the minute that he died, she had begun ex- periencing poltergeist activity. In retrospect, she came to feel that Rick had been trying to reach her. She was packing for the trip to his funeral when the phone

rang. She said “Hello” and a voice said, “Good Morning, how are you?” She wrote that, “The voice sounded weird, like it had a lot of reverb in it, hollow sounding like in a tunnel. ‘Fine, who's this?’ I said. ‘This is Rick, who's this?’ the man said. ‘This is Susan,’ I answered. At this point, my mind was searching for who I knew named Rick. I didn't yet even imagine it was my deceased friend. “‘Hi Susan, how are you?’ he said, sounding very hap- py, lively and friendly. At this point I was recognizing his voice, but I was very startled and thinking this was a cruel joke or strange coincidence. ‘What number were you di- aling?’ He said, ‘5032 or 33’ (5033 is my correct num- ber). I replied, ‘I think you have the wrong number.’ I knew no other Rick, and Rick was dead. I was very upset at this prank, or whatever coincidence it might be. He then made strange gargling sounds and suddenly there was a dial tone. I dialed the 5032 number, to see if a Susan was there but it wasn't a working number. “I then called a friend. The first thing that she asked me was if he had sounded hollow, like an echo. Boy did that startle me! She told me that her Grandmother had called after her death and that was how she sounded. “Looking back, I realized that when I got upset during the call, my emotions broke

the connection. I realized no one would have pulled such a prank and that no one in his town knew me well enough to have my unlisted number. Even if it was a prank, it wouldn't explain the strange gar- gling sounds and the instant dial tone upon disconnect. The AA-EVP has definitely (easy for me to say today) helped me so that I feel I will handle it better in the future if it happens again.” News About Members  In the last “From our Viewpoint” we mentioned a me- tallic click preceding manifestations heard in Point Lookout, a converted lighthouse in Maryland. Sarah Estep has been there six or more times, usually with a TV production team like Sightings. Sarah received many outstanding voices while at Point Lookout. The grounds were used by the North as their prisoner of war camp and many soldiers died there. One of the best voices that Sarah ever received was “I was seeing the war!” recorded in the basement of the lighthouse.  Martti Walden wrote to us that ParaDigma 2003 - Un- known Dimensions of Life: The 3rd Finnish Conference for Paranormal (http://rajatiede.org/paradigma/english.html), will be held next April in the coastal city of Turku, Finland. Scientific Research the on This interdisciplinary, two-day happening is organized by Finnish Network for Scientific Research on the Para- normal—ParaNet Finland. The second day of meetings will focus on spirit. The idea of the event is linked to the questions of other intelligent life in the

uni- verse/multiverse and life after death. We are told that Anabela Cardoso will speak at the conference. The title of her presentation is, “ITC voic- es: Contact with another Reality?”  Georg Lindström has been working with Spirit for al- most thirty years. He wrote a book on physical medi- umship, as there were no Finnish language books on the subject in Finland. His second book, My Grandmother Anna will be out soon. Georg is also working with Irma Weisen on an EVP/ITC book. Irma was a founding member of the International Network for ITC. May Cape Haunted  Paranormal Investigator, Al Rauber, the founder of The Original Tour (www.hauntednewjuersey.com) recently attended a Par- anormal Investigators Conference in Concord, CA, hosted by Loyd Auerbach. He played some voices from his investigation and wrote that he “blew some people away.” Many things were discussed at the conference such as terminology, techniques, equipment, education and funding. Kerry Gainor talked about his most im- portant investigation, The Entity Case, and Al spoke about the famous Piscataway Haunting and the Heart- land Ghost. Al wrote that the famous parapsychologist, Charles Tart, was supposed to join the group the last night for dinner but that he (Al) had already left.  Charlotte Claypool and her web site “Coffee Pot Ghost” at (www.coffeepotghost.com) made it on to both the USA Today and Fortean Times web sites. Fortean Times wrote, “The haunted coffee pot of Chesapeake Bay. It’s for real! Hear the miracle for yourself, plus loads

of good info on Electronic Voice Phenomena.”  Erland Babcock has recorded his many years of ITC experiments in 26 journals. He has been working at transcribing them into a readable book. He is now on Journal No. 4 and already has 123 written pages with 32 photographs and 124 illustrations. He is also working on experiments using a laser and writes that he has just recorded his first clear EVP with the system.  The book Friendly Shadows, in which the author, Keli Adams, details communication from her deceased mother and her other experiences as a spirit communica- tor, is now available. You can receive a personalized copy by sending $20 to Keli at PO Box 364 Marienville, PA 16239.  Geoffrey Tilga mentioned a splitter that is available at Radio Shack (radioshack.com or 800-843-7422) for $14 that allows three people to listen to one recorder.  Tom Wingert is using the opportunity offered by col- lege writing assignments to get the word out about EVP. We have posted his latest essay at aaevp.com. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 3, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Fall 2002 Tapers Report  You may recall that Martha Copeland has recorded her daughter’s voice, Catherine, on her computer after she died in an automobile accident on Dec. 23, 2001. Mar- tha recently took Catherine’s cell phone to the phone company so that she could get the voicemail password

and check the phone for any voicemail that may have been on it and not retrieved. She wrote, “I was placed alone in a small room with the phone to contact the cus- tomer service department. While on hold her phone rang (3:15 p.m.) and then went into voicemail right away. I had to wait four hours after my call to customer service to enter her voicemail. The only message was the call that I received while in that little room. It was a female voice saying, ‘I know Cathy’. I tried to return the phone call but it was not a working number.”  Susan Bove’ wrote that she had lost her Aunt Margie after years of illness. Just three months later her Uncle Tony, who her Aunt had been married to for 57 years, was dying of cancer. Susan’s cousin was desperate for confirmation that her grandmother was nearby and asked Susan’s sister to place a recorder in his room to see if any voices could be captured. The day that he died they recorded for 45 minutes and captured six spirit voices. Susan wrote, “While I listened to the recording for voices, I immediately started crying when I heard the voice of my Aunt Margie! It was so clearly her, as she sounded toward the end of her own life.” The re- cording has been passed around their large family and everyone is astonished that it is her voice. The recorder was placed on her Uncle’s pillow

and one EVP voice can be heard saying, “I love you.”  Karen Camus was taping at a haunted mortuary and picked up a deep male voice that said, “poor, I couldn’t bury their son.”  Jutta Liebman of the VTF has a wonderful tape of voices that she has recorded. The EVP voices are most- ly in German but Jutta gives the English translation. Jutta uses mainly Polish, Russian and Italian programs as background noise from a shortwave radio. The EVP voices come through in German but there are bits and pieces of English. She has received many contacts that she feels are from extraterrestrials. Jutta asked why space people come to earth and recorded “We are the invited.”  David Sircom wrote that he first recorded for EVP in August 2001 at 9:30AM with no discernable response. At 11:30AM, he again recorded starting by stating his name and asking, “Is there any friendly entity that wish- es to speak?” “In playback I expected nothing,” he wrote, “but clear as a bell I heard a voice say, ‘Did any- body answer?’ Startled, I threw down the earphones and backed toward the other end of the room with all the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. After the initial shock, I tried again at 5:15PM with my greeting and got a male voice saying, ‘No time for this.’”  In an Email titled “Contact!,” Steven Beresford wrote to the group about an experiment in which he felt

that he had made decisive contact with his departed wife, Carmelita. To avoid the possibility of cell phone and other RF artifacts, Steven had put his Panasonic RR- DR60 inside a closed metal box. Carmelita’s wedding band was placed on top of the recorder to serve as a fo- cal point for her consciousness in case she needed it. Steven wrote that all of the voices that he had attached to the Email sounded like Carmelita and that “most of the EVP I’m posting relates directly to my departed wife. For example, regarding the ‘groovy laptop,’ she always wanted a laptop when she was alive, it was near the top of her wish list. In addition, at the end of Ses- sion 1, there was the EVP ‘Are you finished.’ This seems to be conclusive evidence that Carmelita really contacted me. Many thanks to all you kind folks in AA- EVP who have helped me achieve this goal.”  Mike Sullivan was recording, and at the same time, telling his daughter that the manufacture of the DR60 may have unknowingly provided an opening to commu- nication with another plane of existence when he rec- orded “It’s the gateway to nothing.” Mike questioned, “Was he responding to my conversation with my daugh- ter? And if so, how could this be the gateway to noth- ing. He doesn’t sound very friendly so maybe he’s just meanspirited (pun intended).” Group EVP Experiment We have mentioned the Panasonic RR DR60 digital note taker in

past newsletters. It seems that these were discontinued because people complained about unex- pected voices in the recordings. A number of the people in the AA-EVP Egroup have purchased this recorder. Perhaps for the first time, several AA-EVP members have the same kind of EVP device, so Danny Williford kindly volunteered to design and lead a group EVP exper- iment to test the DR60. The experiments were conducted one day a week for four weeks. DR60 owners used the same questions each week and then reported their results to Danny, along with how they may have enhanced the EVP. Danny was also attempting to see if solar, geomag- netic and phase of the moon have an influence on EVP collection. Our thanks to Danny for taking on this task. We look forward to giving everyone a report on this experiment in the next newsletter. Correction. Please note that Judith Chishom is the di- rector of The EVP & Transcommunication Society of Great Britain & Ireland, www.voicesfromparadise.co.uk, [email protected]. In the last newsletter we failed to mention that Alexander MacRae is the founder of loTC, a trademark registered to him. His web site is: http://aspsite.tripod.com/. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 21 Number 4 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 From Our Viewpoint World events are very unpredictable these days.

If we think about it, this is often the case, as we never really know what tomorrow will bring. One thing that is of great comfort to most of the members of the AA-EVP is the knowledge that we don’t die. Now we are finding that more people are joining the ranks of the AA-EVP who share our belief in survival. Some of these people, you may be surprised to know, are respected scientists. In the last couple of years we have seen an increase of the public interest in mediums and survival, due in a large part to the success of TV programs like that of John Ed- ward and James Van Praagh. These mediums bring in messages that are very evidential and millions more peo- ple today are learning about survival through their televi- sion sets then were just two years ago. Dr. Gary Schwartz, at the Human Energy Systems La- boratory in Tucson, Arizona conducted a series of exper- iments to test the validity of mediumship. Edward and Van Praagh were two of the mediums who were tested. Schwartz's experiments were conducted using carefully designed protocols and provided credible evidence for survival. As you might expect, they created considerable controversy, especially with the skeptical press. The International Association for Near-Death Studies held their Fourth Esalen conference on Survival of Bodily Death, in May of 2002. Researchers from the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, psychology and physics con- cluded that three areas of research provided strong evi- dence for

survival. Near Death Experiences (NDE) was at the top of the list. Reasons sited were, accurate observa- tions of medical operating procedures made by clinically dead patients, reported encounters with deceased persons even though the experiencer did not know the person was dead and accurate reports by blind experiencers. Reincar- nation was cited as a strong proof for survival based on examples, such as children accurately recounting previous lives and birthmarks corresponding to lethal wounds expe- rienced in a previous lifetime. Mediumship was also not- ed as strong proof of survival because of the veridical messages often delivered by mediums. Dr. Sam Parnia is one of two doctors from Southampton General Hospital in England who has been studying NDEs. The work is very significant in that it shows that a group of people who were clinically dead had well- structured, lucid thought processes with reasoning and memory formation, even though their brains were shown not to be functioning. Parnia was quoted as saying, “The possibility is certainly there to suggest that consciousness, or the soul, keeps thinking and reasoning even if a per- son‘s heart has stopped, he is not breathing and his brain activity is nil” Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands was published in volume number 358 of The Lancet. The Lancet is one of the world’s most respected medical journals and publica- tion of this article caused quite an uproar in the medical community. The article cites a study by

Dr. Pim van Lommel and colleagues of Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem. The results showed that medical factors could not account for the occurrence of NDEs. Although all patients had been clinically dead, most did not have an NDE. The re- searchers noted that, “If purely physiological factors had caused the NDE, most of our patients should have had this experience.” The paper states that induced NDE experi- ences are not identical to spontaneous NDE experiences. It questions, “How can clear consciousness outside one’s body be experienced at the moment that the brain no long- er functions during a period of clinical death with flat EEG?” A National Science Foundation report based on inter- views with 1,574 people across the country found wide- spread and increasing belief in what it terms, “pseudosci- ence.” It also cited several other polls with similar con- clusions. Among those was a Gallup survey last year that showed belief in ghosts, haunted houses, witches and the ability to communicate with the dead, all increased by double-digit percentage points in the past decade alone. Belief in ghosts and haunted houses is now around 40 percent, and communicating with the dead is nearing 30 percent. Eight of 13 such phenomena included in the Gal- lup report showed significant increases and only the belief in devil possession declined. The Science Foundation that survey showed sixty-percent of the people surveyed be- lieved that some peo- ple possess psychic powers or ESP. Those of us who are doing research in EVP

and ITC, not only have the ad- vantage of knowing that consciousness survives but we also get to hear and see our loved ones. For instance, in our last Video ITC experiment, we asked for the first time to have a relative appear. We called on Tom’s father and asked him to appear in the middle of a frame. Amazing enough, he came Continued Page 8 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 4, Page 2 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 Larry Dean and Patricia Begley: ITC Author, Larry Dean has been working on a book on In- strumental TransCommunications (ITC). Larry says that he was interested in spiritual pursuits at a very young age when others were out playing sports. Later in his life he devoted most of his time to doing presentations and teach- ing classes on the development of psychic abilities and healing. Although Larry is naturally clairaudient and clairvoyant, it was only after he stopped teaching these classes that he took time to develop his own trance work. Larry is a deep trance channel. His ITC partner, Patricia Begley facilitates and records the sessions. It is generally only through her doing this, and the recordings she makes, that Larry knows what has taken place while he has been in trance. Many years ago the two were told by their main guide, Choi, that their spirit team was working with them to establish

Video ITC contacts. Larry and Patricia worked together on sitting for physical phenomena for many years. They were excited and encour- aged by the ITC results of the Harsch-Fischbachs, and were even able to sit in on some of the Scole Experimental Group sessions. They continued to sit with a group and did expe- rience limited physical phe- nomena, but did not achieve successful television or Video ITC contacts. Larry talks about the years that they sat around looking at dots on television screens and feature- less video experiments. Larry made contact with the two of us over a year ago regarding the ITC book he is working on. We spoke with Larry numerous times on the phone and found a common bond and interest in his enthusiasm for ITC. Since we had also begun work on a book on EVP and ITC in late 2002, we were able to send Larry the two chapters on Video ITC that describe how to conduct an experiment and some of the theories that attempt to explain Video ITC. We want- ed to get his opinion about the usefulness of the chapters and to see if he could replicate what we were finding in our experiments. Within weeks we received an excited phone call from Larry. Larry and Patricia had followed the instructions and had received images on their very first experiment. One of those pictures was that of a close friend who is now on the other side. Larry has the wonderful

benefit of being able to use his trance work to receive advice and direction on future ex- periments. He was told to ask for particular people to ap- pear in their experiments. Larry and Patricia have only been working with video ITC for a few short months, but following that advice, they have received many images of people whom they have asked to appear in their video frames. For instance, they have collected images of Patri- cia’s father and mother and also the image of Patricia’s Aunt Ethel, which is shown here. Signs and Messages from Cathy By Martha Copeland A couple of weeks ago, my sister, Ginny, and I were do- ing a recording session when she picked up my daughter’s voice while I was out of the room. Cathy could be heard saying, “Mama, I have Muffin.” This was followed by the sound of a dog. Muffin, was her dog of seventeen years. She died shortly after Cathy. Yesterday, October 7, 2002, I was on the computer and received another message from Cathy saying, “I can’t find Fluffy.” Fluffy was a cat we had about fifteen years ago, until having to give him to a good home before being transferred overseas. Like any animal lover, we planned to take him with us. However, I accidentally ran over Fluffy just before our departure date, so he was unable to make the long journey. Alas, Fluffy survived and recov- ered, and lived an active life. Many of my meditations and

dreams are with Cathy. We are walking in a meadow, surrounded by our animals, (some are animals I had loved as a child—even before Cathy’s time). I had not realized, until after her last mes- sage, that I had not seen Fluffy. When I tried to save the recording, the entire program went blank, and I thought I had lost it. Disappointed and sad, I decided to get out of the house for a couple of hours. Upon returning, I noticed Cathy’s bedroom door was ajar. The door is always closed! Entering into her room, I noticed a piece of paper was lying on the floor in front of the doorway. The note was in Cathy’s handwrit- ing and read, “I smile because I love U, I love U because U care (then a picture of a smiley face) U care to make me happy & always be there!” Checking around with family members and friends of Cathy, I found that no one else had been in my house. Later, my niece, Rachel, was anxious to see the note for herself and dropped by. She recalled that Cathy had writ- ten the note a while back, but she had placed it inside a notebook. Still, why Cathy’s door was opened, and the note left on the floor, remains a mystery. This note seemed to answer a question of mine. What if I go to the other side, only to find that Cathy has already gone to another level? What would

become of our mother and daughter relationship that I treasured? Receiving this note was reassurance that our relationship of love, would continue. Published by the AA-EVP, 3415 Socrates Drive, Reno NV 89512, USA, 775-329-5980, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2002. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the mem- ber. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible. Volume 21, Number 4, Page 3 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 The Veil is No Barrier for Sarah Sarah’s Estep’s husband, Charlie, transitioned to the other side February 15, 1998. We asked Sarah if Charlie had communicated with her through EVP about their pets. Sarah wrote, “On February 15, 2002, which was the fourth anniversary of his death, I devoted the recording to him. I do this each year at that time, and often have a re- sponse from him. This last February, I was ending the five minute recording and said: ‘We gave each other three wonderful children.’ Immediately, in conversational style (that made me feel as if he'd been sitting beside me during the five minutes) he replied, ‘And there's Misty.’ It was very clear, and so I duplicated it five times each on sepa- rate cassette tapes and gave them to our children. They all hear the same thing, and are

so very pleased and happy that he came through like that. They'll always keep that tape. “Misty was the dog of both of our hearts and was the last dog Charlie and I had together. Each afternoon, he'd go out and play ball with her, and they both looked upon that as one of the happiest times of their day. She was a small miniature poodle and died about two years before Charlie had his first stroke. While he was dying, I talked with him and one of the things I said was that Misty would probably be waiting for him at the end of the tunnel and I thought she'd have her ball in her mouth, wanting him to play with her. (We buried the ball with her). Sev- eral months after Charlie passed on, he came to my recording room and said, ‘I brought Misty down with me.’ When I asked him in the next recording what he and Misty did, he replied, still Class A—‘We play.’ So, yes, animals do survive death and we will be able to reunite with them, when it comes time for us to move on. A lot of people wonder about animals surviving, and grieve very much when they die. Many of us have strong evidence that they do survive and we can be with them again.” Jutta Liebmann and “Extras” Jutta Liebmann, board member of the EVP and ITC group in Germany known as the VTF, sent us some of her

pictures of extras. “Extra” is a term that describes the presence of entities or objects in photographs that were not there in the physical sense. Jutta wrote, “I have taken these photos from my television screen with my Olympus Standard Camera AF-10 Super, using the flash attach- ment. During most of the experiments I did not notice anything paranormal.” Jutta sent us several excellent pictures. In the picture shown here, Jutta had video taped a documentary about the early beginnings of mankind. At the end of the pro- gram an earth view with clouds was shown. “When I played back the videotape, I discovered this paranormal face in the clouds. I then put the video recorder into the stop/standby position and took the picture.” “It is interesting to learn that my photos look much like Alexander MacRae and the Alpha Device You probably know about Alexander MacRae and his Alpha device. The Alpha Mystery, by Jose Feola, ap- peared in the July 2000 issue of Fate Magazine. Alec has upgraded the earlier Alpha model and added a Digital Signal Processing system designed to provide noise reduc- tion and increase the intelligibility of the voices. He plans to take an Alpha device to the Institute of No- etic Sciences (IONS) in California for testing. IONS should have the Alpha for three months, and will conduct tests with it in a combined Faraday Cage and soundproof room. This means that any voices picked up during test- ing will not have come from

a physical source. Alec is talking to one of the United Kingdom’s largest betting companies about the Faraday Cage experiment to place a wager that it will produce EVP. They are looking at the proposition so they can decide on odds and agree on a third party judge(s). He wrote, “No one thinks it will work, of course, so I am hoping for good enough odds to be able to place a substantial bet. I have also been in touch with the Randi people for the last few months but they still haven’t accepted or rejected my challenge. Ei- ther way, if the experiment is successful, I win.” (The famous debunker, James Randi, has offered a million dol- lar prize to anyone who can provide evidence of any par- anormal or supernatural event.) Alexander is also going through a final draft of a paper titled, A Bio-electromagnetic Device of Unusual Proper- ties. The paper is on how the Alpha produces EVP. It has been reviewed by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) judges. The final version should be in the April ‘03 issue. When asked for his reason for writing the paper, he said, “I wanted to bridge the ‘reality gap’ between science and things not explicable in normal terms. With the Al- pha you can describe it in perfectly acceptable scientific terms but it does things which no normal device should. I thought I would try the prestigious SPR Journal first.” what you get with the video loop. I

plan to continue to take para- normal photos in this way and think that it is another way to promote TransCom- munication in the fu- ture.” ITC Video also shows extras, even though Video ITC is accomplished with a chaotic video signal, rather than ex- posing a physical or video scene. We are fascinated to see Video ITC-like features in photographs of a taped televi- sion program. This gives us good reason to look closer at other photographs and video recordings that include visu- ally “noisy” scenes. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 4, Page 4 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 Linda Williamson – Telephone EVP Last month we ran an article on Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi’s use of the telephone in receiving EVP from those on the other side. Scottish EVP researcher, Linda Williamson, has also been using the telephone to capture EVP with great success. Larry Dean was the first to tell us about his experiences with Linda and her use of the telephone to record EVP. He left a message on her answering machine and then completed the call to her a few days later. At that time Linda told Larry that she had placed the answering ma- chine recording into her computer and listened to it using Windows Media Player. Linda sent the results to Larry, who was amazed. An EVP saying, “Jim,” was on the tape several times. This is the name

of Larry’s father and grandfather. Another EVP clearly said, “This is Edison.” Through trance Larry and Patricia have been told that Edi- son is one of the scientists working with them to establish ITC contact. Linda recorded a subsequent phone call and received an EVP saying, “I love you.” Patricia immediately recog- nized the voice as that of her father who had also come in on one of the couple’s ITC experiments. Recently Tina Laurent wrote to us about a tape that Lin- da had sent her. Tina, we can say, was astonished at what she heard. Linda had recorded a telephone conversation that the two had on Nov.1. Tina said that there were near- ly forty EVP utterances and although some of them were indistinct most of them were quite loud. The word, “Ti- na,” was spoken frequently. Tina recognized the voice of her first husband saying, “I’m Helm.” Tina has received EVP messages from him on several occasions and is fa- miliar with his voice. The word, “Mona,” was also re- ceived and this is the name that Helm had called Tina when he was on earth. One of her favorite uncles also came through giving his name, “Horace.” Linda is deeply committed to using EVP to help people through the grieving process. Her team of spirit helpers has a great ability to do just that by bringing in love ones from the other side. The Christmas Greeting Alexander MacRae wrote, “This is a true story. Around 1974

I used to write lots of letters for a certain organization. I had lots of letter chums, all over the world. This lady, who had these powers, wrote to me from Australia with her Christmas card saying ‘I will come to see you Xmas morning.’ Woo - ho ho - what a nut case! All the way from Australia? “Christmas morning, at work, at my desk in the lower hall, door open to let some fresh air in. A robin flew in and fluttered over to me, landing on a long string of Christmas cards I had hung up in front of and above my desk. It stood for a moment and bobbed at me - then flew out again. The card it landed on was the one the lady in Australia had sent me.” Richard Hatem’s Work Hits Primetime AA-EVP member, Richard Hatem, was the screen writ- er and co-producer of the movie, The Mothman Prophe- cies. His work is now hitting primetime on ABC. Mira- cles will premier January 27th, 2003 at 10p.m on every- one’s local ABC station. This will also be its regular time slot. Miracles is written and produced by Richard. Richard told us that, ABC was looking for a show that would be a sort of "Spiritual X-Files." They owned a script about a young seminarian who investigated mira- cles. Richard was hired to re-work the script, which was intended to be a theatrically released feature, into a one- hour television pilot. It was

his script for The Mothman Prophecies that brought him to the attention of ABC. Miracles is a show about a young man, raised as a Catholic, who discovers that the world of the paranormal is much larger than anything described by any one reli- gion. He investigates miracles, usually disproving them, until something very strange, frightening and miraculous happens to him. He also learns that his notion of dividing the supernatural into categories of “good” and “evil” is severely limited. When asked to tell us a little about what viewers can expect, Richard wrote, “I've tried to inject as much of my own interests into Miracles as possible. Episodes involve everything from reincarnation to poltergeists and from apports to time-slips. I manage to mention Ian Stevenson, the reincarnation expert, by name and also put in a plug for Raymond Bayless and D. Scott Rogo's book Phone Calls From The Dead. If you look closely, you will find character names like Jurgenson, Bander and even Estep. One of the main characters, Alva Keel (named after John A. Keel, author of the book, The Mothman Prophecies) relates an EVP experience as the main reason he began to investigate the paranormal. His story will sound familiar to anyone who knows about Friedrich Jurgenson's first EVP experience. In fact, in an up-coming episode I'm planning to reference Raudive and the whole EVP phe- nomenon head-on. Ultimately, I hope the show is uplift- ing. Our goal is not to just scare you; we also want

to make you cry. “So far there have been no paranormal occurrences on the set. But everyone seems to feel very strongly about the show and many people from the cast and crew have said that this show has meant more to them than anything they've ever worked on, which is a bit of a miracle in its self.” We were able to preview the pilot and found it excep- tional. The networks often cancel shows after airing only one or two episodes. We want Miracles to be a hit. So watch and tell as many friends as you can about the show. Miracles airing on a main network is truly phenomenal and a real tribute to Richard Hatem’s work. We wish you a Peaceful New Year Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 4, Page 5 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 Use of Background Noise in EVP In one of his communiqués with AA-EVP member, Ka- ren Camus, Dr. Dean Radin, who is currently associated with the Institute of Noetic Sciences, offered an interest- ing view of the use of white noise in psi research. “I tend to agree with you that noise itself is probably a stimulus for opening the unconscious mind to psychic impressions (although perhaps this includes the conscious mind for highly experienced listeners). The Oracles at Delphi ap- parently knew about this and used it for thousands of years. The Oracle

site itself is located inside long tunnels near the ocean—the result being that not only were the Oracles likely inhaling intoxicating fumes from natural hot springs or vents deep inside the mountain cliffs, but they were also hearing the sounds of the surf echoing and rumbling through the tunnels. That noise (not exactly white noise, more like “red” noise) is said to stimulate audio hallucinations, and in fact this is exactly why to this day we use white noise to stimulate the receiver's imagi- nation during telepathy tests.” As you know, broad-spectrum background noise is often used in EVP research because it has been shown that communicating entities “transfigure” the noise into voices on recording media. For those of you who like to delve into the mechanisms behind phenomena, it is interesting to speculate that the subtle psi energy of thought might be amplified through the process of stochastic resonance to produce a physically discernable signal. This hypothesis describes a mechanism that would apply to any low-level psi signal in a noisy environment. It predicts that the same effect found to occur in the neuro-electric field of the mind would also occur in the magnetic film of record- ing media, a noisy electric circuit such as is found in the Panasonic RR-DR60 or in the loopback used in Video ITC. In fact, this is what we have found to be true. You can personally apply this information by using something like the white, pink or rain noise generated by something

like a sleep noise machine for your EVP exper- iments, and with or without headset during meditation. The Nature of Phenomenal Voices We previously reported about EVP and ITC research conducted by Paolo Presi. That report and an article published in the March 2001 ITC Journal seemed to require clarification. See the Italian language web site for “Il Laboratorio,” the research group Presi works with, at www.laboratorio.too.it. For infor- mation on the excellent ITC Journal write to Anabela Cardoso at Apartado de Correos 3157, Vigo, Pontevedra, Espana or visit http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/journal.htm Question: In your article in the March 2001 ITC Journal concerning analysis of phenomenal voices you used the phrase, "Thickening of the noise." Is the significance of this that the background sound is increased in the voice? Presi: A normal human voice is constituted by both a fun- damental frequency produced by the vibrations of vocal cords and the formants that are an increasing in sound in- tensities of some groups of harmonics due to resonance in the vocal tract. In a human voice either the fundamental frequency or the formants have a sinusoidal trend. In some paranormal voices the formants seem to be produced not as consequence of resonant but as localized compres- sion of background noise. This confers to the voice its tone (for example, male or female) similar to the human voice but using a different (or abnormal) process of for- mation. This is what I mean as “thickening of the noise.” Question: You made several references

to how the para- normal voices strongly correlate with living human voic- es. Were you confirming a phenomenal quality or arguing that the voices were, therefore, not paranormal. Presi: Not all the paranormal voices have the same anom- alies. In the cases of EVP, such anomalies are very often found. For instance we found many of the paranormal voices obtained by Marcello Bacci seem to be quite near to the human voices even if, sometimes, other anomalies are detected. (Baacci collected voices from Friedrich Jürgenson via radio.) From my point of view it could depend on the grade of mediumship of the experimenter, if he is without stresses during the experiment or if he is tired or not, etc. I do not believe in the “radiophone model,” but in a pro- cess where the experimenter is a key-element for produc- ing voices. … I am strongly convinced that information coming from another plane of consciousness has to pass through an element of the same nature. That is, from the spirit world through the spirit inside the man. Question: In the article we used in the AA-EVP newslet- ter (Summer 2001), you made an argument that one char- acteristic of EVP is the lack of the fundamental frequen- cies associated with the human vocal cords. In the article we are asking about now, you show that several of the samples did show signs of a vocal cord. Does this say anything about the validity of the sample as phenomenal? Presi: A

lack of fundamental frequency is not always de- tected. This is not a good reason to refuse such voices as paranormal voices. … it could depend on many causes, mainly from the influence of the experimenter. In addition you have to know that you can find the pres- ence of the fundamental frequency, but at the same time, find an anomalous configuration of the same. For exam- ple, some anomalous peaks are completely out of predict- able ranges applicable to the human voice. Question: It would be interesting to our members to know how well some of these different instances of voice phe- nomena compare to living speech. Presi: It is difficult to summarize the differences between a normal voice and a paranormal voice. Currently we are carrying out deep analyses of many supposed paranormal voices in order to collect as many anomalies as possible for characterizing their paranormality. A final assessment will be only possible when a sufficient database of peculi- ar elements is available. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 4, Page 6 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 Haunted Restaurant By Lisa Butler We were asked by Janice Oberding of the Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research Society, and Mark Guil- ford of Sacramento Paranormal Investigators, to present at the 2002 Virginia City Paranormal Conference last Octo- ber. Virginia City is located in Northwest Nevada. Janice told us that, “The town is rich in Wild West

history. When the Comstock Lode was discovered, Virginia City became a haven for those seeking their fortunes. Million- aires were made and bankrupted by its silver mines, and gunslingers ruled the streets. Mark Twain began his ca- reer in Virginia City writing for the Territorial Enterprise, and stars of their day, such as Shakespearean actor, Edwin Booth performed at Piper's Opera House.” Janice, author of Haunted Nevada, did a presentation on the ghosts of Virginia City. Dennis Hauck author of Haunted Places showed photos and gave information on some of the fascinating cases that he has worked on, and we followed up with a presentation on EVP and ITC. Janice had asked us if we would go, with a few people the evening after the conference, to check out a restaurant in nearby Dayton. The next day we were to tour Piper’s Opera House and St. Mary’s Art Center in Virginia City; two locations with known paranormal activity. Janice did not know much about the restaurant in Day- ton. A woman had approached her at a book signing to tell her that her restaurant was quite haunted. Janice had liked her and felt that she was a credible and honest indi- vidual, and had agreed to take a preliminary look after the patrons in the restaurant had gone home. At least for us, what took place on this preliminary look was phenomenal. Let us first say that the restaurant has been in existence since 1887. It is quite elegant, broken

up into several eating areas, with lace tablecloths and many old pictures on the walls. You walk into the eating areas through the Bar, which has a wonderful historic feel that is accented by an enormous rock fireplace. After an interview with the owner, team members began preparing their equipment. One of the members of the team had an electromagnetic field detector and immedi- ately detected an exceptional reading at the fireplace. She wondered if the rocks were setting the detector off. Janice’s husband, Bill, began taking pictures with his digi- tal camera and I turned on our Panasonic RR-DR60 re- corder. Bill immediately found orbs in his pictures, and I later learned that we had recorded an EVP saying, “Look- ing to meet forces here, John Coney.” The walk through of the site took place over two hours. Tom and I captured only about six minutes of recording because of our recorder’s voice activation feature. We only recorded away from others or when just one person was in a particular area, otherwise, we left the recorder on “Hold” so that we would not mistake the voice of some- one in the room for an EVP. Employees had seen apparitions around the two wait stations just off of the Kitchen, so I went alone in the dark with my flashlight to the closest station and turned on the recorder. With my flashlight I could see that it was record- ing something. This area produced a male EVP voice louder than

my own that said, “Flashlight hunt!” The second wait station was very interesting. The ener- gy in that small space felt like pressure, as if I were being pushed down. On the recording you can hear me say to a psychic, who did not want to enter the area and only did so because I had, “Do you feel that pressure.” Immediate- ly a woman’s voice says, “Shot man, is sick.” There was a commotion going on in the back dinning room. Janice had seen a blue streak and possible apparition go by her. Several people were taking pic- tures and getting meter readings. Tom was using our Olympus C700 Ultrazoom digital camera, set at an ISO of 800, with the flash turned off. The room was fairly dark with some light coming through the windows from the street. The picture you see here was taken in that room. The bright spots are not light fixtures that were turned on. No- tice the face in the light on the right. The “U” shaped light was not made by a single point of light and camera motion, as we were able to reference it with known ob- jects in the picture. The original also shows an interesting electric blue area of light under the “U” shaped streak of light. When the picture is blown up, other ITC type imag- es are evident in the optical noise of that area. Leaving the back room, I went down a long narrow eat- ing

area on my own. “Oswald James” was recorded in that area. A girl with another recorder came up to me and the two of us walked through the kitchen. On my recorder you can hear her voice ask, “What is your name” and a man’s EVP answer back, “Payne and Isaiah.” Tom joined me in the long narrow eating area and we recorded a voice saying, “That’s Niccolites.” Several interesting raps preceded this EVP on the recording. Oth- er EVP in this amazing recording session were, “This is Matt Simmons” and “Speak to me, so unhappy.” Knowing that we would shortly have to leave, I saw a chair that was sitting by itself and away from the tables in the main dining area. It just looked inviting and I sat down on it in the dark alone. Out loud, I said something about how beautiful the place was and that, “I would cer- tainly live here and I know that you are here (meaning the spirits).” Immediately a woman’s poignant voice replied, “No, I didn’t mean to stay here.” It is interesting that this site produced more EVP than the two buildings we toured the next day that have docu- mented ghost activity. We are researching the history and the group will go back to investigate further. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 21, Number 4, Page 7 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 EVP Experiment using the

DR60 As we reported in the last newsletter, many of the members of the AA-EVP Egroup who had a Panasonic RR-DR60 solid-state audio recorder participated in a group experiment. This was the first time we had several people with the same type and brand of recorder, so the objective was to see if using the same equipment and questions would offer useful information about EVP. Danny Williford volunteered to coordinate the experi- ment and was the one who both designed the protocol and waded through the resulting reports. He used three desk- top tape recorders to set the baseline. The experiments were conducted one day a week for four weeks. DR60 owners used the same questions each week and then re- ported their results to Danny. Danny also attempted to see if solar, geomagnetic and moon phase influence EVP. Some of the more interesting results included evidence that the DR60 scored EVP 63% of the time for each ques- tion compared to 18% for the baseline. The object recog- nition question, “What is the object on the table in front of me?” scored 25% compared to 0% for the baseline. Danny reported that there was evidence that the number and quality of EVP collected by each individual may have been influenced by that person’s ability to detect EVP in recordings. This brings up an important consideration for future experiments. That is, how do we normalize the experimenter’s ability? We thank Danny for his efforts. It is clear that the DR60

is a valuable addition to our EVP tool kit. AA-EVP Now Nonprofit One of the milestones achieved this year was that of making the AA-EVP a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. The IRS and the state of Nevada granted us this status as of August 6, 2002. Now, all donations over the membership fee are tax deductible in the United States. One of the projects that we will fund through donations is an online searchable archive. Sarah Estep’s newsletters will be the first items that are placed in this archive. She published 74 newsletters and members will be able to in- put a phrase on the web site and find all newsletters in which it appears. We have been researching the cost to have the hardcopy scanned and proofread, and believe that it will cost from $800 to $1000 with additional costs for web site maintenance. We hope that other historical doc- uments and research papers will be added to this archive over time. Incorporation establishes the AA-EVP as a legal entity and offers assurances to the public that its assets will be devoted to the legal activities of the Association. The As- sociation also has a better opportunity to continue if some- thing should happen to the present directors. The archive needs to be protected beyond any individual’s lifetime and incorporation will help assure that this happens. Thoughts From Members  Karen Camus wrote that she had an interesting experi- ence with screaming EVP. The extremely loud EVP really

upset her, and so she explained to “them” how it was making her feel. Although she usually could not even make out the screaming EVP, it sounded hostile to her. She also told them that, when she listened via headphones with the volume up to hear the low parts, it hurt her ears to be suddenly hit with such loud yelling The next time she recorded after that, she heard a soft female voice say in a very gentle and rather bewil- dered/hurt tone, “We do not understand why the re- cording disturbs you.” It then occurred to her that what she was interpreting as hostile intermittent screaming might simply reflect a sudden increase in amplitude which they were not yet able to control, and possibly were not even aware of from their side. Karen had fre- quently complained to them that the EVP were often too weak to decipher. Could the screaming have been an at- tempt by the entities to be better heard?  Richard Hatem wrote to the Egroup in regards to a discussion on fraud. “ITC is by definition an instance in which communication is sent by a non-physical enti- ty and received with earth-based equipment. It makes one wonder--what are these communications ‘sup- posed’ to look like? Sheer ‘otherworldliness’ does not seem to me the best indicator of authenticity. No mat- ter where these messages are coming from, they are be- ing received on and with manmade items. Therefore, how can we complain when they

look like something any one of us could produce on our home computer, when in fact that is exactly what is happening? “Even in cases of EVP, the voices we consider ‘Class A’ are the ones that sound the most like our own. Cer- tainly nothing is more easily ‘faked’ than EVP. People have complained that Bill O'Neill's ‘Dr. Mueller’ voice sounds like an electronic voice-box, and therefore is fake. But what was Spiricom other than, well, a physi- cal electronic ‘voice-box’ to facilitate communication with someone whose own voice-box is now less than physical? “Isn't the goal of both ITC and EVP to reach a point when pictures and voices of spirits come through as eas- ily and clearly as those of living people currently do on manmade telephones, tape recorders and televisions? And if that goal is ever reached--can you imagine how ‘fake’ it will look then?”  Eddie Beloate wrote that he always uses two tape re- corders for EVP and that because of this he has captured sounds that he would have missed otherwise. As an ex- ample, he was walking with a friend down a path. On one tape you can hear the two walking, but on the se- cond tape you hear what sounds like four or five people walking. Eddie said that the coyote was an animal on his totem. He wrote, “Just about every Continued Page 8 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC

Experimenters Everywhere Volume 21, Number 4, Page 8 AA-EVP NEWS Winter 2003 Thoughts Continued from Page 7 time we go out, we hear them. There have been nights that we did not hear a single one, but on one of the tapes, there they are just howling away. So many peo- ple keep their ears open for voices and don't notice little things like these. I believe that a lot of spirits have nev- er taken human form so they will not always speak in words. I guess since I am ¼ Cherokee Indian I have al- ways had a lot of respect for all living things so I am not surprised to find them in my recordings.” News From Members  Dale Palmer reports that, “It appears that Sonia Rinaldi and her team in Brazil will conduct tests of her work pursuant to criteria laid out by Euvaldo (Cabral) and myself. Her work will be financially supported by NII (Noetics Institute, Inc.) for at least a test period.” Dale also told us that, “We have a paper 90% com- pleted which will very soon, we hope, be ready to sub- mit to scientific journals for publication. This will be step one in our work … to establish “scientifically” that the phenomena does exist.”  Jacques Blanc-Garin has informed us that, “We are in the process of analyzing voices using an international protocol. This is being performed by the International TransCommunications Platform with Adrian Klein as Coordinator, between Italy as

Director, Brazil and France.”  Judith Chisholm, who runs The EVP & Transcommu- nication Society of Great Britain & Ireland, will be giv- ing “The Gwen Tate Memorial Lecture” at the College of Psychic Studies on January 28, 2003. This is a great honor and a first for EVP in the UK.  Alexander MacRae will soon have a book titled, Lis- tening to the Spirits, The Alpha Story, available. Those interested should contact Alec at [email protected] or write to Grianan, Portree, Skye, Scotland IV51 9DJ. The book had previously been available on CDROM. Now Alec is updating it, adding some things and putting it in the traditional book format. Alex also told us that he has begun placing research notes online at http://aspsite.tripod.com. These include notes on sound spikes, white noise and EVPMaker.  Tina Laurent’s appearance recording EVP in the UK series, the Scream Team, was voted best in the series. Several of Tina’s EVP were played on the show that was filmed in the Edinburgh Vaults. She has spent many nights, since the show played, responding to ques- tions regarding EVP on an online Scream Team forum.  An interview of Michele Hardison ran in the St. George Utah newspaper The Spectrum. The article ti- tled Your House? Strange noises, unexplained happen- ings… quoted Michele’s answers to many questions on investigations and ghosts. Michele is now the repre- sentative for Southern Utah with the American Ghost Hunter’s Society. Tapers Report  Susan Bovè’s group recently did an

investigation in a Masonic Lodge. Susan was with a group on the second floor. They heard a woman singing near the steps lead- ing to the third floor. A member who was on the third floor also heard the singing and felt that the sound was coming from the second floor. Susan radioed other team members to make sure that no one was singing. The singing was heard for approximately fifteen se- conds. On the tape, you can hear a woman singing, “I hear you…are you here?” You then hear one of the team members ask the spirit if she’s female and what she is doing there, as the lodge is a men’s club. The spirit responds, “Singing” and then another female voice says, “She likes to sing.”  Michele Hardison was doing an investigation. On her recording you can hear her say to another team member, “Do you want me to go get it?” An EVP voice immedi- ately says, “Please.”  Karen Camus placed her small recorder in a seashell and placed it inside a paint can to shield it from radio, cell phone and other interference. She recorded, “Hi to his family,” and said that perhaps this was one spirit re- laying a greeting from another spirit.  Charli Claypool wrote to the Egroup, “Just as it is here, they make their own reality: from the happy, ‘Every- thing is light here!’ to the religious: ‘Heaven is so beautiful’; to the malcontent: ‘The place is not Xana-

du.’ Not many differences from here in my opinion with the possible exception of being able to ‘fly.’”  Erland Babcock responded to the above statement by saying, “Thank you for confirming a statement that I have claimed for about 25 years. The message I got was, ‘We are all lights...some are brighter then others.’ In my communications over the years that have talked about optics. One said they are getting a new lens so we could hear them better. They often spoke in terms of light. That is one of the reasons that I use light in my experiments. I am getting voices now but have to de- velop a method of removing certain complex tones that can not be removed, even with CoolEdit Pro. The voic- es ride on these tones.” From Our Viewpoint Continued from Page 1 through in the center of the frame as requested. Interest- ingly, his pose is the same as that in a picture Tom keeps at his desk. When we saw the paranormal picture we im- mediately grabbed the picture off Tom’s desk for the comparison. As you can see in the accompanying picture, the nose is distorted and enlarged. Also, from the nose down the face is mostly lost in the noise that is created with the Video ITC method. However, you should be able to make out the similarity of the eyebrows, high temple, distinctive widow’s peak and nose. Tom and Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide

Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 22 Number 1 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 From our Viewpoint Attitude is everything. Attitude is an expression of our worldview, and it is our worldview that we use as a mold to build our personal reality. We have had a number of people ask us about the dan- gers in seeking to communicate with our friends on the other side. Some have expressed great concern that they might leave themselves open for attack from angry entities or that they might inadvertently invite a disruptive force into their home. The words, “demon” and “low levels” have come up more than once. We think a better term might simply be “less spiritually evolved entities,” as this is what they are. However, “low level” seems to be the term that is most used and understood. Harold Sherman, in an article written for Psychic Ob- server & Chimes, recounted a friend’s distressing experi- ence in trying to reach his wife and running into what he called “low grade discarnates.” When the man lost his temper and told them to go away, it only seemed to in- crease their interference. Sherman listened to some of the recordings and called it pure drivel. Sherman came to the conclusion that the mental attitude of the experimenter played an important part in what was recorded. He

wrote, “It is as though low grade intelligenc- es come in on the emotionally disturbed ‘wave length’ of the operator. Unless the mind is prepared through prayer or a spiritually motivated meditative period, one is apt to invite the wrong kind of communicants.” Some researchers, who have occasion to address the public about these phenomena, will include a strong warn- ing that there are potential dangers and that the prospec- tive EVP and ITC experimenter should use caution. Oth- ers seem to wonder what all of the fuss is about because they have never had a problem. In the Summer 1988 AA-EVP newsletter, Sarah Estep ran a brief review of the CETL newsletter written by Jules and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach in Luxembourg. The cou- ple believed that experimenters could attract positive as well as negative contacts. They quoted a comment made by pioneer researcher Dr. Konstantin Raudive. Raudive said, “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t cope with the realities of life.” We believe that working with EVP and ITC is funda- mentally safe. It is difficult to find a single example in which an individual has been harmed because of their communication across the veil. Yes, people have occa- sionally been “bothered.” It is known that the time we spend carefully listening to hard to hear EVP examples seems to enhance our clairvoyant and clairaudient senses. To many people, this is exciting and something they want. To others, it can be disturbing. This enhanced sensing has been reported

to fade if one takes a break from EVP or other development work. In the heyday of Spiritualism, people sat in groups try- ing to communicate with the other side. One of the im- portant benefits of these groups was that they provided a safe place for mediums to develop. When people were working on, say for instance, trance development, they could feel open and safe, in that they had an experienced medium to assist them if they should run into some sort of trouble. By the way, many Spiritualist churches still have development groups and classes and we would recom- mend these or any other good development groups or classes to EVP/ITC experimenters. Many EVP experimenters work alone and do not have the benefit of a group of more experienced EVP research- ers. We wish that everyone who experimented with EVP had a strong metaphysical or spiritual background, be- cause it is important to have some basic knowledge about the other side and its workings. Since the experimenter is part of the bridge between those on the other side and the EVP or ITC equipment, it is important for the experiment- er to have a strong sense of self, accompanied by a posi- tive attitude and spiritual outlook on life. In the Fall 1989 newsletter, Sarah Estep wrote, “Obvi- ously, no one starts taping, automatic writing or playing with the Ouija board, thinking they will become possessed or obsessed. But it can happen. As I wrote on page 196

of Voices of Eternity, The difficulty is in ascertaining who is susceptible… I am not trying to frighten people who are thinking about beginning to tape… Working in the field can bring some of the most rewarding, enriching experi- ences of your life. It would be amiss of me, however, not to caution you about the darker side of Psi. Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything that comes through. You have your liars on the other side, as you have here. The more they realize they are getting you up- set, the more they will continue. Human nature being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are there, when in fact, there is nothing. The important thing though is, if a person believes a message is on tape, that person will re- spond to it for better or worse. “If you, at anytime, think you are in contact with low level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control at all times. Anyone can sit down to tape. It takes much more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away.” Negative thoughts, such as fear or hate, are powerful forms of energy, and this energy can accumulate and do harm. (Continued Page 2) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Success A Letter from Alexander MacRae It’s happened! We were right all along!

About 11 a.m. on the morning of 03-03-03, EVP was recorded in a lab in California that was shielded from all electromagnetic ra- diation - such as radio waves or laser beams - AND ALSO - the lab was shielded against all acoustic waves - sound, infra-sound or ultrasonic waves! So - there is no way known to science that the recorded utterances - and there are plenty of them - could have got- ten into the lab by any physical means. So don’t take any more guff about picking up stray radio broadcasts - you are working on the fringe - dealing with the non-physical - facing the unknown. But now we have to be even more careful, even more honest, even more conservative in our claims. The one thing that can set us back now and ruin all the hard work and investment that went into this, is for wild claims to be made, which when found to be untrue, will harm the repu- tation of us all. I'm not sure yet which utterance to pick for independent analysis - they all sound a bit “squashed” - but it could be “Larry - having a swell time.” From our Viewpoint. (Continued From Page 1) It is as if this negative energy is an anti-particle that neu- tralizes positive energy and dissipates it from our use. We also believe that negative energy is not as sustainable as is positive energy because it is not consistent with the fun- damentally

positive nature of reality. Thus, as entities gain in spiritual maturity, they become less able to sustain fear or hate. We advise people who are fearful of the unknown or who might have trouble keeping the voices in perspective, to pass on EVP. Our concern is that a person's fear might tend to be amplified by a close encounter with an entity. The entity could be perfectly friendly, but because of fear and because the encounter is so fleeting, a fearful person might see the encounter as a reason to be more fearful. Experimenters are responsible for creating a positive contact field for the other side. This includes expectations. You are responsible for your own life, and who and what you let into your environment and consciousness. Protect your personal environment and maintain a field of positive energy around your home and all that you do. We want to make sure that people do not feel that some- thing is wrong with them if they do encounter one of these less spiritually educated entities. Many researchers have had this happen. If you are one of them, you are not alone. Discarnate entities are attracted to people in the flesh who seem to be supportive of them in some way; someone who might be sympathetic about their plight. So, if you have attracted an angry entity, you are not necessarily an angry person. For example, if the angry entity is afraid to go on because of some dastardly deed committed in

a past life- time, and you are knowledgeable about why the entity should not be afraid, then it may very well be attracted to you as a potential source of guidance. It has been made clear, via just about all of the forms of spirit communications, that Spirit entities are always with us. They may be in our home at any time, whether we see them or not. A group we have communicated with, the Imperator Group, has told us that they do not watch us, and that they only come to us when we call on them or when we need help. We are certain that this group is not earthbound. It may be that earthbound entities do watch us. With that said, we believe that EVP researchers can request privacy and can tell earthbound entities to go away if they are being bothersome. An entity certainly does not have to be in your home to initiate EVP. It is common for an EVP experimenter to ask for help from the other side to improve communications. To our friends on the other side, this is probably equivalent to asking them into our house for a visit. If you are seeking phenomena—and you are if you work with EVP—then we would think that you would greet these visitations as a new form of communication. What a wonderful proof! These entities are people. In time, they could be you. How would you like to be treated? They deserve to be treated

with respect. If you are not living in a haunted house and if you find that you have entities in your home, odds are this is because you have called them in some way, or they have a need to communicate with you. After all, many of us have come to EVP out of a need to com- municate with one of them. Can you imagine how frustrat- ing it might be if entities in your house believe you can help them communicate with a loved one (perhaps with you) and all you do is request that they leave? You have the right to tell them to go, but you have the opportunity to greet them and find a way to communicate. Tom and Lisa Increased Size of Newsletter We had so many items for the newsletter this time that we added four more pages. Doing so, of course, increased the cost of printing and mailing. We would like to be able to increase the size, as it allows for longer articles with more information and the addition of a membership form on the last page. Will it be permanent? We don’t know. We will have to consider the AA-EVP funds as well as continue to have enough articles to do so. We want to thank those who wrote articles and sent us information this time! Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2003. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence

may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Barbara Thurman and Sandra Pfortmiller. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 The New Work of the Scole Mediums Most of our members know about the Scole Experi- ments. The four members of the Scole Experimental Group (Sandra and Rob- in Foy and Diana and Alan Bennett) sat over a period of four years. The Spirit Team at Scole was prolific, us- ing a new spirit-world technology that did not require the use of ecto- plasm for the production of physical phenomena. included Phenomena solid spirit beings and fifty small objects re- ceived as apports. Peo- ple, such as psychic re- searchers from the SPR, witnessed physical phe- nomena including pictures, handwriting, symbols and messages that appeared on factory-sealed unopened pho- tographic film. Woman—The Bennetts have been given the name of this helper on other side The phenomenal success of the group and their Spirit Team resulted in the book, The Scole Experiment, by Grant and Jane Solomon and 32 issues of The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin, a quarterly magazine, which was tem- porarily retired with the Winter 2002 issue. With the sadness of seeing the last publication

of the Bulletin also came excitement. The Scole mediums Diana and Alan Bennett have been exploring their own particular interests in psychic phenomena and healing. They felt that they owed so much to those in the higher realms and knew in their hearts that they would continue to experiment in one way or another. Alan wrote, “I have always seen in my mind’s eye, a phoenix rising from the ashes with re- newed vigor to live through another cycle. Diana has al- ways had that wonderful gift of ‘far sight’ and receiving guidance in her dreams, so it was no surprise when she told me that she had ‘seen’ the two of us working together again. She was told how we should take the first step in the form of a shared experience. We followed her vision of a simple experiment using a crystal, where the two of us linked together mentally and shared a journey of explo- ration. “This experience was incredible; as we were both shown such wonders and places. We were guided by a sentient being through a wonderful ‘magical mystery tour’ where we met another being whom we conversed with. Through several other forms of communication, we were shown how to set up an experiment that would, they ex- plained, enable us to glimpse into other worlds (dimen- sions). We found that it was necessary to continue to fol- low our intuition, and to be ‘guided’ by them, if we were to achieve satisfactory results. It

has required total dedica- tion and perseverance as well as an open but still discern- ing mind. “Before I continue, I would like to mention one very important factor, and that is that old chestnut ‘total dark- ness.’ We were ‘guided’ to do this new work in full light. After so much criticism in the past regarding physical phenomena obtained in total darkness, we decided that we would only continue to work as mediums in full light. This has proven not to be prohibitive in anyway whatso- ever, as we have achieved very encouraging results. “These experiments are primarily attempts to see into, and capture, visions of other dimensions of existence. To be more precise, these visions are more like frozen images or pictures, of different moments in time as we look into these dimensions.” Since that first experiment, the Bennetts have conducted many more experiments, progressing and building on what they have learned. Alan told us, “It seems that the pos- sibilities are endless, as we modify and introduce other equipment into the experiments. The experiments are based on the idea that there are dimensions not only beyond our own but within them also. By using a combination of elec- tronic and photographic equipment coupled to image en- hancement computer software (for magnification purposes only), we have been fortunate enough to obtain fleeting glimpses into these ‘other’ dimensions during our experi- mental sessions. The experiments also require focused visualization by the two of us to create a central focal

point for the experiment.” Old Man Diana writes, “The images pictured here were obtained with the use of an ordinary camera and a good lens (not digital). The process requires us to strategically place crystals, according to instructions given by spirit. (This varies with each experiment.) Light is focused over the crystal area, some through mirrors, colored filters and/or reflective surfaces. We intuitively know when it is the optimum time to take the pic- ture. When the pictures are developed, they are digitized, enlarged and then examined using Photoshop. As you can see, the imag- es and colors are fascinating. Sometimes, the images take up most of the frame some- times only a small part.” Owl What excites Alan is that, “this new approach is only now possible with the advancement in electronics and the related computer technologies. Therefore, where will we be and what will we discover in the years ahead?” We are very excited to be able to report on Diana and Alan’s work and thank them for sharing some of the re- sults that they have achieved. This article and additional pictures, all in color, can be seen at aaevp.com. Extracted from Winter 2002 The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Children Together on the Other Side Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey know that not only are their children together on the other

side but that their children are also responsible for the friendship that has formed between them. Karen told us that Martha had just lost Cathy, “I cried reading her Emails on the AA-EVP Egroup. I wanted to reach out to her and there was a driving force that I had to know about Cathy. It was stronger then just emailing each other; we began talk, finding we shared so much in common. We found that our children were in fact very much alike.” Rob to Karen asked her son Rob to send her a dream. He did send a dream, but not to Karen. In- stead, another of Karen’s friends, Judy, who did not know either Cathy or Rob, had a dream about Rob, as did Mar- tha. Cathy Martha’s daughter, Cathy, came to her in a dream and told her that she had a new friend named Rob and that he liked to fish all of the time. In her dreams, Martha had normally seen Cathy in a meadow near the ocean. However, with the news of Cathy’s new friend, Martha began seeing her in a log cabin. She just could not understand this, as Cathy was very much con- nected to the ocean in real life. As Judy related her dream to Karen, “Karen, your son came to me in a dream last night. I have never met him but I know it was him.” Judy said that, in her dream, Ka- ren and Judy were managing a

small store with another friend. Karen and the friend had to leave the store and the minute that they did, Judy saw a bright flash of light and then Karen’s son, Rob, appeared with a young woman. Judy said that the girl was Rob’s girlfriend and she had blonde hair. (Cathy has blonde hair.) Rob told Judy, “Tell my mother I am happy and that I have found a new love.” Karen wrote, “This was such a confirmation for Martha and I that Rob and Cathy would come through together to a stranger, my friend Judy, who did not know either one of them. Judy believes that I am still too fragile to receive Rob in person and that is why I needed to be taken out of the store and why the message had to come through her.” Karen continued, “I immediately called Martha because she had just told me about her dream in which Rob and Cathy were in the fishing lodge and Rob was cooking fish. He was always cooking fish! Rob’s passion was fishing.” We learned that Rob’s head stone even has a picture of him fishing, with Karen and the rest of the family having a picnic. “Gone fishin” is etched in the Black Marble. As even further proof, one night Karen called Martha and told her that she had remembered something. She had been given a little log cabin bird house when Rob died. She sent a picture of it to Martha and Martha

immediately recognized it as the log cabin in her dreams. Karen next began to have a repeated vision of Rob and Cathy dancing, which she felt that she needed to paint. Martha and Cathy loved dancing. Rob, on the other hand, was not very fond of dancing. A week later, Martha called Karen and said that she had another dream. Rob and Cathy were in the log cabin again. Rob was sitting with two of his friends. (Karen wrote that, “Ironically Rob had two very good friends, Brandon and John, who passed on before Rob—as with Cathy and Rob, because of auto ac- cidents.”) In Martha’s dream, the boys were watching TV. Also in the dream, Cathy told Martha that Rob had sent the vision of them dancing to Karen to let her know that he is happy. Rob also told Cathy in the dream that, “My Mom is an awesome artist.” These are the exact words he used to tell Karen this, before his transition. Martha told us, “I had another strange thing happen regarding Cathy with Karen. Karen had wanted to paint a picture of Cathy and Rob dancing. Cathy had a very nice wooden artist studio box that had been missing for some time and I wanted to give it to Karen.” Martha had repeat- edly looked in Cathy’s room but the box was nowhere to be found. She wrote, “I kept hearing Cathy's voice in my head telling me to look in her room. She seemed

to be saying, ‘Mom look in my room one more time.’ When I did, I found the artist set placed in the middle of her bed. I guess Cathy wanted the box sent to Karen, too!” As most of our members know, Martha has been receiv- ing many communications from Cathy via EVP. In Cathy’s picture, on the left, you will see a couple of Cathy’s pets on her shoulder. Martha wrote that her sister, Ginny, took the rat named Elanely after Cathy’s death. Martha, an animal lover, just was not that keen on rats, but Ginny has become very fond of Elanely. She feeds her snacks and gives her a kiss before going to work. Recently, Ginny was using her daughter Rachel’s com- puter. Rachel was in the room studying for an exam. Gin- ny did a recording on the computer and then played it back using the Cool Edit software. Both could hear Cathy singing on the recording saying, “Elanely, I miss my rat, Elanely!” Karen is also getting EVP messages about Rob but is not yet sure if the EVP are coming directly from him. Ka- ren said, “One message lately was, ‘Robbie, you’re need- ed here,’ so somebody was talking to him.” The two feel that their meeting has been a miracle that was set into motion and very much meant to be through their membership in the Association, and Cathy and Rob working together from the other side, to make it happen. Founded in 1982

by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Telephone ITC By Sonia Rinaldi, Edited by Lisa Butler Sonia has been kind enough to send us another Telephone ITC case. She is now working with Dale Palmer and his Foundation, Noetics Institute, Inc (NII). She had made 170 phone calls before starting the collaboration with NII. She has now made over 29 calls for the NII documentation project. This is call number 9. Sonia Jesus Jesus Arias Millian is very interested in ITC and trav- eled to Brazil to meet Sonia to witness an experiment. They were not expecting special contacts but were sur- prised by what was received. Jesus’ questions were in Spanish but were perfectly understood and answered in Portuguese. They did not realize they had recorded voices until after the first test. As they listened, they heard a clear voice say, “He is Cristina,” and Sonia asked Jesus if he knew any Cristina (a female name). Jesus said that he could not think of any- one. However, he emailed Sonia with supporting infor- mation when he returned home. You can see his astonish- ing comments about “Cristina” at the end of the transcript. Another important occurrence in the recording was the voice of an older female. Jesus immediately recognized her as his grandmother. She used a word only known in an old dialect that is now in disuse, but was

typical of the area of Aragon, where she lived. Jesus was surprised that the voices recommended that he move from his present house so that he could create an ITC station. This was something that he very much want- ed to do. However, he had not told Sonia. Jesus presently lives with his father who does not accept the idea of para- normal things occurring in his home. The Demonstration Phone Call Sonia: “We have a visitor” Male spirit voice: “We wish to greet him!” Sonia: “Would it be possible for you to say something?” Jesus: “I would like…” Male spirit voice: “to hear us!” Jesus: “… to know if it is possible… is there...” Male spirit voice: “Yes, there is…!” Jesus: “… anybody who speaks Spanish?” Male spirit voice: “I can hear you.” Male spirit voice: “He is Cristina!” Male spirit voice: “These are contacts.” They stopped to talk about the sound source. Sonia demonstrated the sound and then showed Jesus how it is mixed via telephone and handed the phone to Jesus say- ing, “Listen to what I will use as a sound source.” Male spirit voice: “I will use, not you!” Jesus: “Hi, is there anybody who may speak to me?” Male spirit voice: “We have Spanish people here.” Jesus: “Is there anybody who knows…” Male spirit voice: “We may call her up.” Jesus: “… the grandmother of my friend Dolor.. ?” Male spirit voice: “Please cut it.” Sonia: “A kiss and bye!” They restart another test

call. Male spirit voice: “I can confirm.” Sonia: “Are you seeing that we have company here in the room?” Sonia: “Hi friends.” Male spirit voice: “Go ahead.” Sonia: “Jesus, a friend from Spain, has a question for you.” Jesus: “I want to know if anybody may speak to me.” Male spirit voice: “Yes I can!” Here an unexpected female voice says in old dialect from Aragon, Female voice: “Galán!” Jesus: “I would like to know if I can record ITC contacts from my house in Barcelona to establish contacts. Thanks.” Male spirit voice: “Try to move first. Then you can!” When Jesus returned home he wrote back saying, “I forgot something VERY important. ‘Cristina’ is a name which I always liked, I don’t know why. So, I chose it as my password in many places like the Internet and Bank access. ‘Galán’ is such a personal word. My grandmother used to call me, ‘Come Galán.’ (In English Galán would be similar to “guy.”) The voice sounded like her and re- minded me of her way of speaking. “In regards to the comment that, ‘I should move.’ I was shocked. I think of this a lot, but have never mentioned it to anyone, as I had not mentioned it to you. Yes, my dream is to leave my father’s house and live on my own and record ITC contacts. It is incredible that our Spirit Friends have perceived this.” The Voice of a Loved One Two years after my mother’s death

I recorded her first EVP message. While listening back to the recording, I was very shocked to hear her voice. I played the EVP for Tom without telling him what was up and he immediately said, “That’s your mother’s voice.” Martha Copeland has commented, “I have received, many messages, from Cathy (Martha’s daughter now on the other side) but her voice still seems the same. I thought it would change since she does not have a body. Many people have listened to my recordings, and even before they have been told what to hear, they point out the area where her voice is speaking.” Tina Laurent said that she had received EVP from her first husband and an Uncle. She wrote, “Both of their voices were recognizable to me even though they only spoke a few words. I know it shouldn’t be possible since they are not wearing their physical bodies, but since it happened, and not the first time, either, then it must be possible and they are in accordance with some law of which we are unaware. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Movement! Luis de la Fuente and Estrella Fer- nández of Madrid, Spain, have been conducting research in Instrumental TransCommunications (ITC) since De- cember 1989. They use a video feed- back loop connecting the television (without antenna), video camera and a VHS video recorder into

a circuit. Luis writes, “We see the television screen looking at the viewfinder of the video- camera. At this point, and by means of the video-camera zoom, we obtain elec- tromagnetic oscillatory, ‘clouds.’ We then record on the video for one minute. We rewind the video and study the tape frame by frame.” The two call this se- ries of four frames, “Gordita.” In other experiments the two have turned the video camera to a 45° or 90° angle, or they face it downwards and record through a mirror. They have experimented with using several color filters in front of the camera. They have recorded in broad daylight, with a tungsten light, infrared bulb, 160w black light, and in total dark- ness. They always use the video feedback method with all of these. Their TV is an old valve [tube] model. Luis wrote, “In short, we don’t know how it is possible to obtain a moving transimage because “Gordita” and a few others are rare exceptions. Change? An effort from the other world?” Video ITC Update Tom and I have collected some interesting images in the last few months. Sometimes we are frustrated and we wish that the pictures would come in clearer and with more de- tail. However, it is obvious that our partners on the other side are things. trying new We were excited to see the man in images 1 and 2 on one frame, and then again on the next, but closer to the front of

the picture. His face is lost in the light, but he appears to be a soldier in medieval dress, complete with shield. Another unique aspect of this, and several other images, is that the man was the only thing on the frame. Normally, we have to find the image among noise and other images. 2 1 A new development is that the transpartners seem to be working with a single face in profile (image 3). We have gotten many of these. In this 3 Man with Profile of man Hat picture if you look to the left you will see a large face in profile. On the right of the picture is a person in a tall hat, I somehow imagine that he has a carriage with four horses just around the corner. An- other interesting profile pic- ture is image 4. If you look at the middle dark area you will see a profile. Now, look at the white area on each side for two other profiles. 4 We have been receiving EVP in the audio of the video. Last January, we were giv- en the words “One, Twenty Two.” We wondered if this could be the date of January 22 and did an experiment on that day. It was a good experiment with some promising images that are more like photographs, one with a group of people in front of a forest scene. We can see what they are trying to do but the quality of these images

is not there to be able to print them. Another interesting type of feature is the images we have collected that appear to be a priest (image 5). We have received the image of what may be the same man from the beginning and now have four or five pictures of him. At this point, either his name is being given in another language and we aren’t getting it, or they are simply not saying who he is. Neither of us have any experi- ence in the Catholic Church, but we are trying to figure out when they wore a black hat that looked like a sailor hat with a knob on top. Our time to conduct experiments is very limited with our workload and we have only been working with this for thirteen months, so we are always hopeful of further improvements. 5 Noise Reduction Software Mike Sullivan mentioned two software tools, “Clear Voice Denoiser” and “Amazing Slow Downer.” A free demo copy of Clear Voice Denoiser, a noise reduction program, is available at www.speechpro.com. The free version has a size limitation and one can only load short segments, but many in the group have had very good suc- cess with the software. Mike says that Amazing Slow Downer is excellent for pin point speed and pitch adjust- ments and comes with a basic equalizer. See www.ronimusic.com/ for the free demo of this program. Life after Death “Do you believe in life after death?” the boss asked one of

his employees. “Yes, sir,” the clerk replied. “That's good,” the boss said. “After you left early yes- terday to go to your grandmother’s funeral, she stopped in to see you.” Rosie Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 By Ann Longmore-Etheridge In the late 1980s, my mother was a food service worker at a Virginia elementary school. She wasn’t fond of many of the students, but I heard a lot of anecdotes about a girl named Rosie. My Mother described her as a friendly dark- haired child who was half Asian, with a quick wit and a lot of pluck. One day, my mother told me tearfully that Rosie had been kidnapped. In the Washington Post, I read that the child had been abducted by a man who hid behind a stand of bushes and grabbed her as she walked home. I have been psychic since I was a child, and have com- municated with discarnate entities through automatic writ- ing as well as clairvoyantly. However, it is pertinent to this story to know that at the time of Rosie’s abduction, I had grown skeptical of my psychic abilities and would not accept as evidence of life after death any of my psychic impressions. In my depression and anxiety, I’d asked “the powers that be” to send me incontrovertible evidence of survival. I had read Sarah Estep’s book,

Voices of Eterni- ty, and at the time Rosie disappeared, I had been taping with limited success for perhaps six months. I had not yet received a Class A voice and was becoming frustrated with the faint whispers or voices that might have come from the untuned radio I used as a sound source. Out of sympathy for Mom, despite my disenchantment with my psychic abilities, I decided to ask my spirit friends to look over the situation and report to me on Ro- sie. I was told through automatic writing that Rosie was dead and was now in the care of a woman who may have been a relative, that her transition had been difficult and she was very glad when it was over. Her body was found in a ditch the next day. She had been strangled. Police lat- er tied her murder to a string of killings by a sexual preda- tor. Within a few days of her death, Rosie herself put in an appearance through automatic writing, asking me to tell her parents that she was still alive. I explained that I couldn’t tell them because they would think I was crazy. (I’m sure I looked crazy arguing with a black space in my living room.) I felt that Rosie was frustrated and I believe that what followed was her attempt to convince me to re- consider. I had never heard a child’s voice among the EVPs I had received. The first time I did was

soon thereafter. I had announced that I was about to turn off the tape recorder, and a young girl’s voice replied, clearly, “I knew it.” Then, after a beat, “Goodbye!” Not many days later, I taped what sounded like a room full of people talking. I thought I could pick out a child’s voice saying, “That’s amazing Spanish, Harry.” This thrilled me because I did, in fact, frequently call on an entity named Harry. I also often asked to hear from another spirit named Francis. Several days later, I was taping with a friend named Lata. I called on Francis and when we played the tape back, we were startled by a voice that was louder than my own. Lata and I were so frightened by the unexpected volume that we clung to each other, shaking. It was a little girl calling, “Francis!” as if she summoned him to speak. I would hear from that little girl again soon, although not by the mechanism of the tape recorder. My family has been part of the congregation of Wash- ington, D.C.’s Spiritualist Church of Two Worlds for mul- tiple generations. I was baptized there in 1963 and would marry in the church only a year or so after Rosie died. A few months after I received my class A voice, the church was playing host to the Spiritualists’ annual conference. One night during the event, as the finale to a special church service, a crowd jammed the beautiful Victorian building to

hear four respected mediums give messages. Because of time constraints and the huge audience, it was announced that each medium would give only about a half-dozen messages; therefore, out of a crowd of about 250, around twenty-four people were going to get a mes- sage from a departed loved one. I had arrived late and was sitting in the very last row of pews, in a dark corner. Despite this disadvantage, the first medium—a gentleman whose name I don’t remember— stood up and pointed to me. He began by mentioning a long list of people who were there for me, including my beloved Uncle Carl and Aunt Helen. As I was trying to commit to memory all these names, and marveling over my relation’s appearance, the medium described a dark- haired girl with oriental eyes who was out in front, de- manding that I acknowledge her. In a moment of what I’ve heard John Edward call “psychic amnesia,” I drew a blank and shook my head. “She says you know her,” the medium stressed. I just shook my head. Seeming quite frustrated, he told me to remember what he’d said, and then he went on to give other messages. When he had finished, the second medium took over. She was the Reverend Anne Gehman, who participated in The Afterlife Experiments, Breakthrough Scientific Evi- dence of Life After Death, as chronicled by Gary E. Schwartz with William L. Simon’s 2002 book. She stood up, swept across the podium in her long

white gown and pointed straight at me. “Who is ROSE?” she demanded, jabbing her finger at me to stress each word. “She’s telling you to recognize her. WHO IS ROSE?” I remember my mouth falling open and saying some- thing to acknowledge my sudden understanding. Gehman nodded and said, “Good, because she’s not going to give up until you get it.” Although I felt Rosie’s presence in the months that fol- lowed, I never heard from her on tape again. In time, she seemed to move away into the new world that was her home. Sadly, I still failed to work up the courage to give Rosie’s parents her message. I often feel bad about that now, because Rosie gave me the best evidence of survival that I have ever had—proof that I could not ignore or ra- tionalize away. She brought back my hope, at a time when it was low. I wish I had done half as much for her. Drained Batteries Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 For whatever reason, it seems that paranormal occur- rences can cause new batteries to become worthless. New member, Marcella Regal, mentioned that she keeps hear- ing something about batteries on her recordings and won- dered if those in spirit need batteries or if they are trying to tell her to reinstall them. Eddie Beloate said that he could not

remember ever re- cording anything about batteries but that entities had used batteries as a power source to make themselves known. He wrote, “The first example that enters my mind was our trip to Shiloh, TN at the Civil War Park. We were at the Sunken Road, which was the site of a very large battle. I was setting up for an ITC recording when my TV would not work. My friend who is very sensitive to her surround- ings, didn't want to stay around the area much longer. Things didn't ‘feel’ right. As we were loading up the equipment we heard voices and other sounds. We got into the truck and started down to the dead end to turn around when we saw a figure standing ten short feet from the driver’s side window of the truck. When we turned around the figure was gone. “All the batteries we had in our equipment were drained, even though we had just replaced them less than an hour before. This happened to the flashlights, both cameras, my DR60 and my video camera. We came to the conclusion that the power was used to help the entity in showing himself to us. Other people have had the same thing happen to them as well.” Danny Williford often experiences batteries going dead after hearing a bump sound. He wrote, “Usually they get to whatever is not actively being used, but sitting in a standby mode. A great example is the bedroom of my

friend's son. She has a resident spirit, and once he said to her, “I'm here” (she says it was audible). She turned to see a blue glowing shape in the corner of her son's room ... just a vague blue glow that didn't seem to cast light. It lasted for a second or two then just faded out. All of the battery operated stuff in her son's toy chest, which was in the same corner as the blue glow, had been drained. She is particular that the toys work so that she can avoid any is- sues with her son. “I have recorded EMF spikes during EVP reception, orb occurrence, and when people reported ‘feeling’ that something was in the room. Electrical power must be tied into their appearance in our world. How can we use this as a tool to see theirs?” Batteries were Okay … but no Picture Karen Mossey wrote, “When my grandson was bap- tized, I sensed many spirits around including my son Rob. I just knew he was at his nephew’s baptism. When the pictures came back there were three amazing orbs all around the minister. We videotaped the whole event and when we played it back we found nothing but static.” Charlotte Claypool relayed an experience she had in a house where a voice unexpectedly came through over the computer speakers. She wrote, “I listed a house near Bal- timore last summer that the sellers claimed to be ‘occu- pied’ by the previous owner,

a gentleman, who had passed away in the upstairs bathroom. They and their children had experienced a lot of typical poltergeist phenomena, mostly with lights, TV, etc. It was great to have customers to share ghost stories with! “One day, I sat down at their computer to search for some real estate information. Just the wife and I were there. She booted up the computer, as it had been turned off, and I got the information as we chatted. She was standing a couple of feet away, and as I started to get back up so she could turn her computer off, a very loud, clear and absolutely lovely woman's voice came booming from the computer speakers: ‘I Heard That!’ “I jumped back and looked at my customer whose eyes were as big as saucers and we both said "Oh my God!" I asked her if that had ever happened before and she said no. To this day, I cannot get over the clarity, volume and quality of that Spirit's voice. It was as though she was standing right next to us (as she probably was). Subse- quently, my customer reported that the same lady spoke through her computer speakers two additional times at that home before they moved. They have had no Spirit activity in their new home (as of yet).” Charli realized that the family was using an Internet an- swering machine and said, “The family was not actually receiving a normal phone call/message at any of the

times that the voice spoke. No ringing tone sounded, nothing showed up on the screen and there was no indication that the Internet answering machine was engaged, the voice just spoke. and The seen service can be at software www.callwave.com. The software is free and Charli feels that the pay service might not be necessary, as “you are just creating a direct connection from your phone line to your speaker.” She wrote that when you go to the above web site, “…bypass the page where you sign up for the call forwarding service. Then on the third page, it tells how to use it without any service.” Charli has been exper- imenting with it and hopes to get direct voices. Those on the other side have certainly shown everyone that they can use phone lines! Address Change We have moved our mail service for the AA-EVP to a post office. Please change your records for The AA-EVP address. The new address is: Tom and Lisa Butler, AA-EVP PO Box 13111 Reno, NV 89507 USA Internet Answering Machine A Look at IC Recorders Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 By Mike Sullivan There are many digital recorders on the market today and all of them are capable of capturing EVP. In this arti- cle I will not attempt to determine which type is better at recording para- normal

voices, because to be honest, I don't know for sure. I have a prefer- ence for Panasonic IC recorders but other members of the group have got- ten excellent results using digital recorders from Sony, Olympus and Radio Shack. By the way, “IC” stands for the “Integrated Circuit” that is in most of these recorders. Some people know them as “digital note takers.” The fo- cus of this article will be on IC recorders in general. It really wasn't all that long ago that the audio cassette recorder replaced open reel units as the recorder of choice for EVP. Now the digital recorders are quickly making audio cassettes a thing of the past for EVP. And how could they not? There are so many advantages to record- ing with an IC recorder over a cassette unit, from the tiny size to greater reliability. Even the smallest micro cassette recorder is larger than an IC recorder and cassette record- ers eat batteries and sometimes cassettes. With IC's, there is no tape and hence no preparation, just hit “record” and your session has begun. Another ad- vantage of the digital units is a feature that allows the user to play back the recording with a touch of a button, imme- diately, without having to rewind a tape. Like cassette units, IC recorders start a new recording each time “Rec- ord” is pushed, but unlike cassettes, the IC's begin each recording as a separate file, saved in numerical order. The files can be

erased with the push of a button or locked to prevent accidental recording and can be played back im- mediately by scrolling through the numbered files. The IC recorders also display the time and date the recording oc- curred, which is important for EVP. There are a few advantages that cassette recorders have over the IC’s. One is the ability to remove an audio tape when it has reached capacity. You can’t do this with IC recorders except for the models that use a memory card. Even though new models are being introduced with longer recording times, the fact remains that eventually a digital recorder will run out of storage space, leaving the user with no choice but to erase files or stop using the recorder until the files can be downloaded into a computer. On playback, the fidelity from most cassette units is far better than that from the tiny speakers of the digital re- corders. When you want to really hear that amazing EVP you just captured, with a cassette, it's as simple as drop- ping it into a quality cassette player. Do you want to pass out copies? With cassettes, no problem but with a digital recorder it's back to the computer to load the files onto the hard drive and then distribute them by email or Compact Disk (CD). That's not a problem for many of us but for some, it makes it impossible to share your EVP without having to play it back on the

IC recorder itself. There is one area where cassette and digital recorders do share something in common. The use of an external mi- crophone has been a necessity when using a portable cas- sette recorder due to the mechanical noise generated by the drive mechanism. Digital recorders have no moving parts and are generally not considered noisy but they are very sensitive. Pressing the record button and putting the unit down in a desired location almost always results in unwanted sounds being recorded at the beginning of the session and again at the end, when picking it up and turn- ing it off. Using an external microphone eliminates this problem as well as providing a better quality recording due to the superior quality of the microphone in compari- son to the one built into the recorder. However, because there are no moving parts, using an external microphone on an IC recorder is an option you might want to save for a serious investigation. In general, all the digital recorders deliver clear soundtracks using the built-in microphone, so if you suddenly get the urge to hit the record button on a digital unit, don't feel like you have to stop and attach a microphone. Just do it. As I mentioned earlier, to some, the biggest drawback to using a digital recorder is the need to download the EVP into a computer in order to clear space, better hear the re- cording and to share EVP with others. But actually, this “drawback”

is a strength, because it's given us the ability to send our EVP captures all over the world via Internet without having to send a CD or audio tape through the post office. In addition, it allows us to edit and filter the EVP we record, greatly enhancing the quality and often times drawing out faint voices that otherwise would not be heard. This can be done with cassette recorders, but re- winding and fast forwarding to find the exact spot before recording into the computer is a tedious task. Here's a little information on recording EVP into a computer. Some of the more expensive digital recorders include software and a USB connector that connect the recorder to the USB port of the computer. For those who are so equipped, the next few steps won't be necessary. However, if you have multiple recorders, than more than likely you'll be using the method I'm about to describe since the majority of IC recorders, including some of the most popular, are not equipped with a USB connector. The first thing needed to connect to the computer is an audio cable available from any Radio Shack. Here are the part numbers from their catalogue: PN: 42-2420A—6 foot Audio Cable (1/8 mono plugs) PN: 274-327C—Mono Plug Adapter (1/8 mini phone plug to 3/32 sub-mini phone jack) Almost all IC recorders and cassette recorders use the 1/8 mono to 1/8 mono plugs listed above. The Panasonic RR-DR60, uses a sub-mini phone jack, so if you

have one, you'll also need to order the adapter which plugs into the headphone jack of the recorder. (Continued Page 10) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 1, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Document Archive – A Beginning Thanks to donations from AA-EVP members, we have been able to proceed with the Archive. The first twenty AA-EVP newsletters published by Sarah Estep are in the Archive today and the rest will be included as we are able to proofread the scanned text and format it into web pag- es. The year 2000 and 2001 newsletters we have published are included, as well. Bill Weisensale was an EVP researcher who published the Spirit Voices newsletters containing technical infor- mation about EVP. We have been given permission by his wife, Mary, to include Bill’s work in the archive. Three are their now, and the rest will soon be added. Our work on the archive will continue as our other du- ties allow. Also, we will be looking for other ways to add to the archive in the future. EVP and ITC have a history. Many of the questions we hear asked about EVP today, have been asked and an- swered in the past. We believe that a searchable archive of historically significant documents about our field will al- low researchers, and people new to the field, to learn from the past, thus enabling them to begin where

others have left off to push the frontier forward for all of us. The new web site requires an annual maintenance fee, but we feel confident that your support will help us meet this new obligation. Toward that end, we have decided to reserve the Archive for dues paying members, as it is you who have made the Archive possible. Perhaps this will also bring new members to the Association. Archive Access: Go to http://archive.aaevp.com. If it is your first time to the site, you will need to click on the REGISTER hyperlink below the fill-in fields of the login page. Follow the instructions in the next screen. Please use the name you gave us on your membership form. You will then receive an email notifying you that you have been registered and can log into the Archive. After regis- tering, you must input the name you used and your pass- word the next time you go to the Archive, so record this information somewhere. Well, that is it. We hope that you find the archive use- ful. We are personally delighted to be able to make the Archive available to you. And again, we wish to thank all of you who have donated to the AA-EVP. We hope to show that your contributions will be used for the good of the field of EVP and ITC, and the AA-EVP membership. IC Recorders (Continued From Page 9) You can record onto both channels by adapting the mono cord to the

computer with PN: 274-374 (1/8 mono jack to 1/8 stereo jack). The computer jack is stereo. Once you have the cable, the last step is to connect the cable to the recorder and the computer. Unfortunately, there isn't enough space to write a step by step guide on how to accomplish this but hopefully these general in- structions will help get you started. If anyone has addi- tional questions or would like my help, I'm always availa- ble through the AA-EVP Egroup. To connect the cable, plug one end into the headphone jack of the recorder and the other end into the “Line in” jack on the back of the PC next to where the speakers and microphone are connected. Next, double click on the “Speaker” icon in the system tray in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This brings up the volume control panel. You'll want to be sure that the “Line In” control is present and not muted. Then click on OPTIONS, then PROPERTIES and select RECORDING. Be sure that “Line In” is checked in the box that opens below. Lastly, click OK and then select “Line In” by checking the “Se- lect” box below the volume control. You should be ready to record using the basic Windows Sound Recorder or by downloading the free trial version of Cool Edit 2000 (www.syntrillium.com/) or other sound editing programs available online. News from Members  Bill and Nancy Washell, of Maine’s Paranormal Re- search Association, will be holding

their 2003 Ghost Conference in Salem, MA June 6 to 8. See: angelfire.com/me3/MGHA/SalemConference.html  Karen Camus provided a presentation on EVP to the Orange County Society for Psychic Research on Febru- ary 8. Karen had called on other members of the group and asked for quality, Class A EVP recordings to use for her talk, and several people pitched in to try and help out. Karen told us that the presentation went well and that the audience was able to clearly hear the EVP sam- ples that she presented.  Michele Hardison has been asked to write an article for the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where she works. (www.bestfriends.org/) They have a monthly magazine that has a worldwide circulation. The article will be on ghost and animal spirits. Michele wrote, “Never thought I’d be doing ghost stories that featured animals.”  Susan Bové, co-founder of the South Jersey Paranormal Research group, wrote that they recently hosted a work- shop, “Developing Your Psychic Ability” featuring Robert Egby. She said that, “Even though many of us had a psychic ability, we felt his workshop was excel- lent and taught us many new skills to apply during in- vestigations. It is definitely a skill that can be honed and sharpened. I don't think it is a coincidence that, since we have attended Robert's workshop, many of us have au- dibly heard more EVP than we ever have! We have also gotten more interactive EVP!” Susan has told us that they will hold more

workshops. Email Susan at [email protected] or see the cross- country list. Robert Egby’s web site is www.robert- egby.com for information on his work and workshops. Robert also writes a column in Britain's Psychic World monthly newspaper and writes the monthly Emailed Parapsychic Journal (www.angelfire.com/nj/writeups/journal.html). Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 1, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Thoughts from Members  Gary Nixon wrote, “If a spirit is able to directly affect our reality at will, it also seems that we, at this end, would have the ability to affect the spirit’s reality as well. I suspect we do this all the time and don't realize it. Also, we may be doing this to a major extent when attempting EVP and other spiritual endeavors.”  Clara Laughlin’s daughter Barbara was on the phone talking to a friend and got a loud spirit voice. Barbara had just asked the friend, who was having radium treat- ment, how long the treatment would be effective. A woman’s voice broke in with “the seeds are good for seven years.” Clara wrote that, “the voice was loud but the other person didn’t hear it. Barbara said it was prob- ably Madame Curie eavesdropping!”  After reading about the precursor sound in the Summer 2002 newsletter, Lance Payette wrote, “Your article about the ‘pop’ noise preceding EVP contact brought to mind famed Boston medium Leonore Piper, who was the focus

of intense study by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) and American SPR in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She disconnected from her trance state with a ‘snap.’ She used to ask sitters, ‘Did you hear the snap?’ and sometimes would actually say, ‘Snap!’ as she came out of the trance state.”  Edgar Muller, of Sweden, wrote that he and his wife run EVP experiments five or six times a week. Ninety percent of their recordings have knocking sounds of varying quality and duration.  Loyd Bradshaw said that he was hanging curtains and made a joke about not being a housewife, just a guy try- ing to do his best. He wrote, “As I’m standing back against some drawers checking the level of my work, my mother’s spirit semi-materialized, walking through the room door past me to look at those neat curtains!” Tapers Report  Jutta Liebmann, of the VTF, has been corresponding with us regarding the digital note taker recorders (IC re- corders). She tells us that several VTF members have been successful in buying some of the Panasonics that are no longer manufactured. She has had good success with her digital recorder (Scott model) and says that she recently recorded an 18 word message. She says that it was not very loud, but accentuated, and could be clearly understood. She wrote, “The entities seem to like this type of recorder (digital note taker), as they called it, “…with a golden chip.” Jutta also mentioned that

many members in the VTF often record the name of the well-known EVP pioneer, Dr. Konstantin Raudive. She feels he is often helping EVP beginners. She recently received an EVP saying “Jurgenson-Center” and said that she had earlier asked which EVP station would be responsible for their con- tacts. Friedrich Jurgenson, as most of you know, is the famous Swedish EVP pioneer.  One of the members of Susan Bové’s group recorded some EVP in a photography studio that they were inves- tigating. The person recording had clipped the micro- phone to a pocket of her apron. Her movements created a large amount of noise on the recording but this also resulted in some interesting EVP. First a male voice said, “… Len, you have to go.” Another voice respond- ed, “No.” The first male voice is then heard saying, “Lenny, you have to go.” A male answers, “I don't know where to go.” This is followed by another voice, “Where is it, Joe?” Then you hear the first male voice say, “I don't believe in her,” and then, “I don't want to go ... but, she goes.”  Susan’s member reminded us of Carol Barron- Karajohn. Carol often experimented (Continued Page 12) Donations AA-EVP membership dues for USA members have not been increased since the 1980’s. Meanwhile, we have added an Egroup, the web site with an online membership and PayPal features, and two to six pages in the newsletter. We have also incorporated the AA-EVP to assure its

continuation as Directors change. We have now introduced the Archive. The annual membership dues essentially cover the cost of the newsletter. We feel that it is important for people who do not have the elective funds for increased membership dues to have access to this important information on EVP and ITC and its message about the nature of reality. Thus, it is important for the dues to remain the same. This will only be possible through your continued donations. We now have a Board of Directors, as noted at the bottom of page two. We also have strict financial reporting re- quirements to the IRS. All of this, we believe, establishes a level of accountability that will assure you that your tax de- ductible contributions will be used to support the AA-EVP. Clearly, there has been a sizable increase in labor and cost of operating the AA-EVP. There is also an attendant need to provide more public presentations and to maintain the AA-EVP office equipment, including a badly needed printer and computer upgrade. Along with meeting these needs through straight donations, we are researching what would be required to set up an Endowment Fund. This has been suggested to us by a number of members. An Endowment Fund allows for larger donations of cash, securities, life insurance and property. Normally only the interest or a fixed amount is spent, keeping the principle in tact. This assures the person making the donation that their gift will continue to support the Association.

Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 1, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2003 Taper’s Report (Continued from Page 11) with excellent results by recording while rubbing two pieces of Blue Jean material together. She also had great success with noise from her steam iron. When we ran the story on Charli Claypool and her “haunted” coffee- pot, we received many comments regarding ambient noise. Clara Laughlin has a motorized baby swing from which she has recorded good voices. Another per- son recorded every time she filled the Jacuzzi and felt that it improved the voices. Tina Laurent deliberately puts her cassette recorder around her neck like a neck- lace, when she is doing field recordings. It will rub and create noise and she feels that she gets better results by doing so.  Stefan Bion, German VTF, prepared an “Online EVP session” via Yahoo Messeanger, in which a few people participated. In a test, an EVP voice on his recording said, “Does he now have Internet?” Another voice on the same experiment said, “Stefan, I love you. Stefan, do you hear?” We questioned Stefan about how he conducted an Online EVP session. He wrote back, “We used Yahoo Messenger for a ‘Voice Chat.’ Every person had a mi- crophone and speakers connected to his/her computer. One person played back some noise (the ‘raw materi- al’), and everyone recorded this noise on his own cas- sette recorder

or with Cool Edit, etc., while questions were asked. After the session, everyone analyzed their recording and then presented the results to the others in the group.” difficulty. EVP can be heard within the noise. A voice says, “It has to be ... tape recorder” After more noise, “Your right.” It sure sounds like his friends on the other side have figured out the voice mail-answering feature on his cell phone!  Palah Sandling, a friend of Karen Camus, is doing an investigation at the Glen Tavern in Santa Paula, Cali- fornia and hopes to sell a video of the investigation as a pilot for a TV series. If she succeeds, she will put to- gether a team of investigators for the weekly series. The team would travel around the country investigating haunted sites Karen told us that she had loaned one of her DR60 re- corders to Palah. Karen then listened to the recording for her. In the recording you hear Palah say, “I hope you're doing well.” Immediately after this you hear a very faint spirit voice say, “Tell her yes!” Then, after a slight pause, you hear a louder spirit in the forefront, say, “Yes, we're happy on the other side!” Karen wrote, “Wow, this blows me away! Not only are the spirits responding to Palah's expression of concern for them, but the response specifically indicates it's coming from the other side!”  David Vee, of Ghosts-UK, sent us an interesting EVP recording. It was recorded on

a mini disc in one of Eng- land’s most haunted castles. On the recording, you hear people speaking in what sounds like Medieval Latin and then you hear the definite sound of a drawbridge being raised (or lowered). The site did have a drawbridge but it was removed in 1550!  Ron wrote saying that he had received a very strange message on his cell phone. When you listen to the re- cording it sounds like someone made a call and then de- cided not to leave a message. There is a lot of fumbling noise as if the phone was being moved around. Perhaps they were trying to hang up while driving and had  Keli Adams was a guest on a Yuma, AZ talk show. Keli is a psychic and medium and was connecting call- ers to their departed loved ones. In listening back to some of the phone calls that had been recorded, EVP were discovered. In one three minute phone call from Eva, voices are heard saying, “Hello Eva” and “Talk to the dead.” AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly newsletter, a cross-country list, an email sharing group, Archive access and knowledge that you are helping get the word out about these phenomena to the public. Annual dues are $20 for USA and $25 USF for Internation- al members. Donations in excess of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Please mail this form and your dues and donations to the address shown below. You

can also use the online form and pay via PayPal.com at aaevp.com. Make check to AA-EVP. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to be in the Egroup? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via email rather than postal service? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I real- ize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Please mail this form to: Tom and Lisa Butler, AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 22 Number 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 From our Viewpoint This issue of the AA-EVP NewsJournal marks the begin- ning of our fourth year as Directors of the AA-EVP and

this is the twenty-second year of the Association itself. Of course, the Association has evolved over the years, but we think it is a good idea to survey how the field has evolved these twenty-two years. Sarah Estep founded the AA-EVP at a time when the reel-to-reel tape recorder was the dominant recorder avail- able to the average person. The personal computer was still rare, and was a relatively primitive device that the average person could use for little more than writing let- ters. There were no digital cameras and the VHS video cameras were huge, expensive and difficult to use. The audio cassette recorder became the dominant EVP tool of choice during the eighties. They were less expen- sive and more portable than reel-to-reel recorders. Be- cause of this, the cassette recorder essentially pushed the reel recorder off the market. The cassette recorder was certainly convenient, but it had one major drawback: it did not collect the quality and quantity of EVP that the reel recorders had in the past. In the early eighties the only way to analyze EVP re- cordings was to use headphones and play back the record- ing on the tape recorder. Affordable sound editing equip- ment did not exist. The only way to share EVP samples with others was to copy the sound track, accumulating considerable more tape noise in the process. Nevertheless, very good EVP were collected during that time and these EVP samples were successfully shared with the public. Sarah Estep’s sample

EVP recordings, which she sold on cassette tapes, would be a good example of this. The first major breakthrough that helped EVP experi- menters was the availability of powerful and easy to use personal computers. This was followed by the availability of programs, such as Cool Edit, that made it much easier for people to analyze and manage sound files. Photo- graphic and video editing software have also advanced, making it possible to work with optical forms of Instru- mental TransCommunication in ways never dreamed of when the Association was first formed. (ITC) The next development that benefited EVP researchers was the Internet. The Internet gave researchers, from all over the world, the ability to communicate almost instan- taneously. The written word was not the only thing that could be shared, as the Internet also allowed users to send sound and picture files. With the Internet, researchers were able to form a virtual community. The increased availability of powerful and inexpensive video cameras and video recorders was the next good for- tune for people interested in experimenting with Video ITC. It has become possible for a person to conduct very sophisticated experiments with Video ITC and to analyze the results with computers that were unthinkable twenty years ago, using software that once would have been the envy of forensic scientists. When teamed with the modern personal computer, digi- tal cameras have liberated experimenters from the cost of film. The use of film tended to stifle the ability of an ex-

perimenter to look for phenomenal images. Also, film was essentially incompatible with computers, and required a device or service that could digitize the film. The latest, and perhaps most important breakthrough since the computer for EVP, has been the introduction of the IC recorder. When considered in relationship to the reel-to-reel and cassette recorders, the IC recorders will be considered by future history as a milestone that enabled far more people to experience EVP. History may also show that IC recorders have pointed toward important principles in technology that will help us better understand these phenomena. It is easy for someone who is new to this field to assume that everyone has always been able to collect EVP of the quality they expect from their IC recorder, or that Video ITC has always been around. In fact, it has never been as easy to collect samples of these phenomena as it is today. There is one other aspect of this evolution we should consider. The scientific community had taken a close look at these phenomena in the early days, but then they seemed to withdraw. However, there is some evidence of growing interest in these phenomena from today’s scien- tific community. Further, their interest is based on good science and the repeatability of our experiments due to the improved equipment. Is it possible that one day, EVP and ITC could be an area of research by mainstream science? Progress in EVP and ITC has kept pace with progress in technology.

This is to be expected because we depend on technology for our experiments. Will the next advance- ment in cellular telephones bring two-way EVP to every- one? Will the next version of Cool Edit enable us to re- cover an EVP that is hopelessly lost in the noise? How about video editing software that will extrapolate the face out of the noise so that it appears photo quality? It is exciting to think about the possibilities that techno- logical advances on earth could bring to our communica- tions with the other side. There is reason to think that our friends on the other side are making advances, as well. What will the future bring? Tom and Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 Pascal Jouini and Video ITC French researcher Pascal Jouini has been working with video ITC for fourteen years. He first started research in EVP. The results that he received succeeded in proving to his satisfaction that the phenomenon was real; however, he was never quite satisfied with his results and also felt that EVP was time consuming and drained his energy. He began experimenting with Video ITC using the black and white Klaus Schreiber technique but did not receive anything of interest. After trying many different techniques he obtained good results using a color video feedback loop. Jouini uses two televisions, one computer, two

cameras, one H18 camcorder and one VHS Vidicon. The Vidicon, is a video camera that use a vacuum tube as an image detector (rather than an integrated circuit). He also uses a vacuum tube type computer monitor. from Jouini explains his ITC technique on his web site at http://perso.club-internet.fr/pjouini/menugb.htm. [Editors note: minor clarifications have been made to Jouini’s text.] Jouini writes, “I use the feedback method, a simple technique. Just place a camcorder (or a video cam- era thru a VCR) facing a TV set. The video camera must be connected to the TV set thru the video entry (never use the antenna en- try). This technique by- passes the tuner and avoids interference TV transmitters. Set the TV to Video In (the video entry). Turn the lens of the video camera in front of the screen, which is making a loop between the video camera and the TV set. At this time, you must observe a sort of moving cloud. If this is not the case, try to change the distance between the video camera and the TV set and tune the focus and the sharpness of the video camera. For fine tun- ing, use the brightness and contrast of the TV set. Warning: Always keep the color, which permits you to decode images. Color makes persons faces and the stand out from the background of video frame. Next, rotate the camera ninety degrees, this provides more interference in the feedback loop. Rotating the camera ninety degrees will cause

an “X” to form on the screen, dividing the screen into four areas. [The televi- sion screen will be rotated ninety degrees in your view- finder.] The ITC images will appear in these four areas.” Jouini feels that the X pattern caused by rotating his cam- era ninety degrees gives him additional contrast and re- sults in his receiving more paranormal images. Jouini explained that, “The moving clouds are transformed into a more or less speedy flash. With a little training you can see by the texture of the image, the best settings and perceive the image formation. After you have made a re- cording, you need to replay the vide- otape frame by frame. This requires a lot of patience and perseverance.” Jouini has been successful in conduct- ing Video ITC experiments using a computer monitor in- stead of a television set. He experimented with, and re- ceived, images through the monitor to prove that the ITC features were not being created from stray television sig- nals. One of the most innovative items on his web site is the ability of visitors to view a live Video ITC experiment. For those of you who are interested, and who may not know what a Video ITC experiment looks like, this is a perfect way to not only watch but to get involved. Be- tween 1 to 2 pm EST or 10 to 11 am PST on Sundays, you are likely to find a live Video ITC experiment underway. Jouini has

explained that he is not able to do this every Sunday so you may need to check over several weeks. He has stated the time that the experiment takes place may also vary a little. For the live video ITC experiment Jouini uses his usual television – camcorder loop to generate the optical noise in which the phenomenal images form. He then focuses a web cam on the television screen and uploads “snapshots” of the screen every five seconds to his web page. You are able to “grab” the individual frames by right clicking on the web cam picture and “Save Pic- ture As” to a folder in your computer. If you find features in the video ITC frames that you have grabbed, you can send them to Jouini for possible in- clusion on his web site. Pascal Jouini’s web site pro- vides detailed descriptions and diagrams of his equip- ment configurations so that others may duplicate his ex- periments. Many excellent ITC images are displayed and he has other pages devoted to the images received by other researchers working with video ITC. Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2003. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess

of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Barbara Thurman and Sandra Pfortmiller. Volume 22, Number 2, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 The Amazing Results of Marcello Bacci Excerpts from “A Paricular Experiment at the Psychophonic Centre in Grosseto” By Professor Mario Salvatore Festa. Trans- lated from Italian by Paolo Presi The name of Marcello Bacci is well known in Italy. He has been working with ITC for over thirty five years and has become famous for his results. Many mothers who have lost children come to Bacci’s Friday night sessions. When Bacci signals that the session is to begin, the door is shut, lights turned down and the tape recorder is left on hold, waiting for the contact to be made with those on the other side. Bacci moves the tuning knob of his old tube radio be- tween 7 and 9 MHz in an area of white noise. Soon he announces that he “hears them.” After this the radio noise is gone and another noise is heard. It has been described as sounding like wind. Bacci then talks to the radio and calls for his friends on the other side to make themselves heard. What happens next is always astonishing. The voices come in loud and clear. Most of the voices can be heard directly coming from the radio. They answer ques- tions and give messages filled with esoteric content. Many children are able to communicate with their

parents in di- rect two-way communication. If the above were not remarkable enough, Bacci is also well known for another thing that the voices do. They sing, and the sound is very beautiful. The sessions often end with this singing. Many describe it as that of the sound of angels or of some heavenly choir. Mario Salvatore Festa is a Nuclear Physicist who has witnessed Bacci’s experiments for over six years. Festa writes, “The phenomenon of the voices of Bacci is authen- tic, there is no trick of any sort!” In April of 2001, Festa took part in a meeting at Bacci’s lab in Grosseto. He brought professional tools to measure electromagnetic fields during an experiment. He writes, “We began what was to be a surprising and shocking ex- periment to the astonishment of the people present, espe- cially the mothers … Electro-technician Mr. Franco Santi … with my agreement, took out two valves [tubes] from the radio while the experiment was taking place. Firstly, he took out the valve that controls the frequency modula- tion …. This did not have any impact on the working of the radio, as the receiver was tuned on short waves. “Then, as the people present continued to look and comment with disbelief, he took out the second valve, a local medium frequency oscillation converter. This si- lenced the short waves completely. “It was then … that I could move the tuning knob up and down the frequencies to find ‘the absence of a

signal’ while the connection with the voice from the other dimen- sions continued unchanged.… What was happening? The rule of standard physics had been turned upside down, the ‘entities’ continued talking as if nothing had happened. “A quick look at the instruments registered the follow- ing facts: Electric Field: 0.54 V/m, Magnetic Field: 0 T “At this point, I felt lost. I was searching for a physical explanation, but could not find any. On one hand, I was ‘disappointed’ because the instruments had been unable to register the ‘birth’ of the voice phenomenon; on the other hand, they were also giving me other indications. “Approximately forty minutes later, when the voice phenomenon had ceased, I started to move the knob along the frequencies, but there was no signal at all. This is when Mr. Santi put back one of the two valves, and the radio started to work normally again …. “How can we interpret what happened? Was the exper- iment successful or not? What have we discovered that was new? It depends from which angle one wants to look at the phenomenon. First of all the fact that when the car- rier was created the instruments did not record any change in the electric and magnetic fields, officially validates the authenticity of the voice phenomenon, because if it was a ‘trick’ (there was a transmitter nearby) the instruments would have picked up an increase in the electric and mag- netic field. “However, this also means that, and here many

ques- tions arise, that the creation of a carrier by the entities and the resulting voice phenomenon, in spite of looking like a transmission system based on electromagnetic waves, is a phenomenon completely unknown. Maybe we could ex- plain it with quantum mechanics, generating the appropri- ate hypothesis around the ENERGY of the SPIRIT and MEDIUM intermediary between the two dimensions. “One thing is certain: the voice phenomenon happens only in the presence of Bacci. Then what is the role of the Medium? “The energy (the thought) of the Spirit, appropriately modulated (they talk of vibrations!) is transferred to the medium, who then transforms it with his brain into elec- tromagnetic waves creating the radio transmission. All this can be explained with traditional physics. Of course it cannot be! One has to formulate the appropriate hypothe- sis that goes beyond our knowledge of the paranormal phenomena, extraordinary and rich knowledge is acquired via the messages received. Man survives death and his energy (the Spirit) does not dissolve, but comes back in the form of waves, its original home in the large cosmic depository and keeping all its knowing abilities, etc., sur- viving the death of the physical body. Continuing in our quest for the truth, we will use our modest knowledge of physics and, with the help of sophisticated instruments, we will try to shed some light on the extraordinary phe- nomenon of the voices. In a departure from other re- searchers, we don’t hide. On the contrary, because we

‘be- lieve’ through our experiences and experiments, we try to explain, to understand how to find a solution to the prob- lem. It is all too simple to choose to negate what is hap- pening. Fortunately we, differently from others, have the GIFT (apologies for our lack of modesty) of FAITH and, as the Great INITIATE once said, it enables you to climb any mountain, no matter how difficult it is.” Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 2, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 Sonia Rinaldi - Video ITC It has been over two years since Sonia Rinaldi has worked with receiving images from those in other dimensions. In May, she once again began Video ITC experiments. She wrote, “It is very curious that recently, I asked if there were many extraterrestrials in the Station [Sonia’s contact on the other side] and a voice replied, “Too many.” I re- turned to the images because Spirits requested we create the Videophone, that is, they want to speak on the phone and appear simultaneously.” Articles on Sonia’s amazing phone contacts have appeared in previous AA-EVP NewsJournals. Sonia goes on to say that, “These first experi- ences seem like tests. I suppose (I hope) that in the near future they will be sending pictures of the deceased instead of animals and extraterres- trials. I think that they have to test and practice somehow.” Possible Extraterrestrial We noticed that all

of the images had left-right sym- metry and asked Sonia about her method. She replyed that she uses a function on her camera called, “Mirror.” She wrote, “What is in- teresting is that, to send a complete face, they must send half of a face be- cause of the “mirror’ ef- fect.” Sonia uses a Pana- sonic PV DV 400 video camera. She focuses on May be a Dog the snowy screen of a black and white television set. Sonia wrote, “See the curious glasses of the Figure, ‘Man with Glasses’? I have the impression that the Send- ers are just testing their capacity of thinking the images. My interpretation is that those images are thoughts modu- lating the television pix- els and that, in the near future, they will ‘think’ of the images of the de- ceased ones and dispatch them to Earth. They have sent some dozen others with the appearance of measurements, as divid- ing the faces geometrically as if they are ‘studying’ terrestrial faces (as per what I know, these Senders are Extraterrestrials). That is quite possible because they are showing the incredible capacity of dispatching in se- quences of about five clear pictures per second. Could a Human mind think so quickly? Surely not. We will just have to see, over time, what else takes place.” Man with Glasses The ZPE/ITC Connection? It's all in the frequencies! By Everett R. Walter, Ph.D. Zero Point Energy (ZPE) has been identified as a quantum flux (electromagnetic) that

occurs in hyperspace (4D) and can be cohered to manifest as an orthogonal (right angle) tensor to 3D space, subject to activation utilizing different frequencies. These specialty frequencies are yet to be found and their most effective, usable waveforms deter- mined. Much experimentation will be necessary to achieve success. The orthogonal tensor implies a higher spatial dimen- sion where the consciousness of a human, as well as plants and animals, could pass-on to during Near Death Experiences (NDE), or death itself. Certain critical fre- quencies at different energy levels could result in different levels of existence above the first (ZPE) orthogonal di- mension. ITC (Instrumental TransCommunication) has been es- tablished as voice and/or video communication between space-time dimensions. Equipment used for this type of communication includes audio tape recorders, video cas- sette recorders, radios, facsimile machines, telephones, televisions and computers. Since quantum mechanics has verified that energy and matter are identical entities, the difference being the fre- quency of vibration at observation, it seems that there should exit some “common” frequencies where ZPE ef- fects and ITC effects could and would interact. The coher- ence of the ZPE performed by the “other side” engineers and scientists, in order to cancel out the off-station static and background noise (random, noncohered ZPE) for transcommunication utilizing a two-radio technique (two different short wave frequencies), could be the result of special equipment that has been developed to aid in coher- ing ZPE from the “other side” by its operators. It could be that the

ZPE is in fact the “ether” that was predicted early in the last century, but was failed to be measured by the experimental equipment of the day. Re- member that “ether” was described as an elastic, incom- prehensible fluid that filled all space! I'm sure this ZPE/ITC Connection I’m proposing, has its roots within the theory of Quantum Mechanics (I am not a Quantum Physicist—I am an Electrical Engineer) and eventually will be analyzed and explained with great detail. As Swejen Salter, Director and Project Leader of ITC Station “Timestream” once implied to us on this side: “Learn all you can about Quantum Mechanics in order to understand what is going on within the ITC phenome- non.” ©2002Walter [Editor: We brought you this article with the hope that others who read this NewsJournal will offer theories of their own explaining the underlying principles that make these phenomena possible. Please write or email us if you would like to add your thoughts to this article. By the way, “cohere” means to cause to form.] Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 2, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 California Ghost Hunters Conference The first weekend in May, we did a presentation at the 2003 California Ghost Hunters Conference held at the haunted Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco, CA. We want to thank Gloria Young for inviting us to speak. The conference was put on by

Ghost Trackers in conjunction with GhostStudy.Info and Sacramento Paranormal Inves- tigators with support and assistance from A.G.H.O.S.T. and the Bay Area Paranormal Investigators. Janice Oberding, author of “Haunted Nevada,” and di- rector of the Nevada Ghosts and Hauntings Research So- ciety was another presenter. Janice is a historian and spoke on the importance of historical research when doing investigations. Laurie Jacobson, author of “Hollywood Haunted” was a guest speaker as well. She related many interesting stories gained from her book research on the paranormal happenings in Hollywood. On Saturday even- ing the group was taken on a trip to Alcatraz Island where we were given a private tour of the hospital area. Please see the following article for some interesting EVP that we obtained on Alcatraz. The Voices at Alcatraz By Lisa Butler The trip to Alcatraz Island, the former home of Al Ca- pone; “Machine Gun” Kelly; and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz,” was short but provided lovely views of the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone was excited about the tour of Alcatraz prison; but I must admit that I had reservations. It was hard to imagine that we would record anything because of the chaos of the tourists. As it turned out, I should not have worried because there were many surprises in the EVP we recorded there. At first, the group went on the usual Alcatraz tour. It was rather like a bizarre dream when we were in the cell block with

the other tourists. The cell block is the audio tour segment, and there were literally hundreds of people following blue lines with headphones on, listening to a guided tour on tape. I leaned back against a wall off to the side and took my headphones off. The scene looked like something out of a science fiction movie with hundreds of robots shuffling along with headphones. I realized that even with all of these people in the cell block there was no talking. They were all listening. The only sound was that of hundreds of footsteps. Could this be good white noise? I quickly took the DR60 off “Hold” and hit the record but- ton to ask, “What do you think of all these tourists?” A loud male voice responded by yelling, “Get out.” The voice made a point of stretching the sound of “ooooout.” Both of our recorders were on as we entered a cell block off of the main corridor. We had removed our headphones and were simply exploring for a quiet places to record. On Tom’s recorder you can hear my voice saying, “You can speak on this device.” Two male voices immediately re- plied one after the other, “That’s right” and “We know.” I gazed out a window in the dining hall. Thinking out loud, I remarked about how miserable it must have been to be in a prison with such beautiful views out every win- dow. A male voice said, “Having memory” and then a very

distinguished man with an English accent, speaking very slowly asserted, “Think positive, instantly away.” We were very surprised when we heard this EVP. This did not sound like a stuck entity. It seemed too profound. Most of the EVP we recorded were typical of what we expected for the site. A private tour with the group to the hospital area brought us to what was once the operating room. I felt a downward pressure and wondered if it would once again signal a traumatic event. The recording produced one man that said, “A fellow was hit, dropped dead.” Then another voice, “He got tapped.” The real surprise was still to come. When we got home and started listening back to the recordings from the hos- pital area, we were shocked to hear multiple woman’s voices singing, “Paolo Presi” in English and then saying, “Bongiorno” in Italian. In English Bongiorno would mean good morning or good day. Paolo Presi is the well- known and respected Italian ITC researcher. We sent the EVP to Paolo and received his reply “… By hearing the isolated interval between 0.5 – 1.7 hms I heard “Paolo (or Palo) Pressi (with a double “s”)”. Normally the Italian utterance of “Presi” is made with a soft “s” like in the English word “misery” and the “e” is uttered like in the word “end” and “i” like in “ship.” From 2.4 to 3.3 hms I decode something like the Italian word “Bongiorno” (English: good morning, good day) with

all three “o” ut- tered like in “dog” and “i” like in “ship.” This occurrence was very interesting and answered some questions that we had. We had previously reasoned that EVP recorded in a purported haunted location did not necessarily have to come from the local ghost. Entities that record their voices in controlled experiments certainly have the ability to travel to wherever they wish. This con- firmed that belief, as it seems extremely unlikely that an entity stuck at Alcatraz would impress the name of an Ital- ian researcher on our audio tape. It is much more likely that our own Spirit Team had taken the trip with us and was sending a greeting to Presi. It is also noteworthy that Presi’s name was spoken as we thought it was pronounced. We had never heard the Italian pronunciation. We would have missed it if the la- dies recording the voice had spoken the name with the correct Italian pronunciation. Easy Translation of Web Pages There are many very good EVP and ITC experimenters and groups with excellent web sites that are not in Eng- lish. We have found that we can usually input a web page address as a search target in google.com, and if it is not an English page, Google will offer a “Translate This Page” link that works very well. Tripod and Xoom web sites are exceptions because they do not allow translation. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP

and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 2, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 From the AA-EVP Archive Here is longtime researcher Bill Weisensale’s response to concerns expressed by Dr Karlis Osis, with the American Society for Psychical Research, about eliminating mun- dane causes for EVP. From Bill Weisensale’s article in the May 1981 Spirit Voices: In early 1975 … the controversy was still raging as to whether EVP voices arrived via acoustical or electromag- netic means. (It is generally accepted now that neither is the case.) At the time this was most perplexing. It seemed reasonable to believe that if EVP arrived by electromag- netic signal, a radio receiver would be required in all cas- es, and yet some methods did not involve any form of ra- dio receiver. Conversely, if they were of an acoustic na- ture, then all methods would, of necessity, require the use of a microphone, and yet there were some methods that do not involve a microphone. I reasoned either the voices had to be both acoustic and electromagnetic, depending upon the method of recording, which seemed very unlikely, or they had to arrive by some other kind of energy, which was of neither electromagnet- ic nor acoustic in nature. (We have come to call this PK energy, for lack of a better explanation.) In order to find out which was the case, I used a (steel) 50 gallon drum with a removable lid … I brought the drum into the house, laid it

on its side on a wooden pallet, and blocked the sides to prevent it from rolling. Next, very small holes were drilled in the drum and lid. A piece of heavy wire, with a solder terminal, was then bolted to the drum and run out through a window where another solder terminal and bolt were used to attach the wire to a steel stake driven into the ground. A second wire and solder terminal was attached to the lid and sol- dered to the first wire. All connections, drum to wire, lid to wire, wire to wire, and stake to wire, were checked with an ohmmeter to ensure there was no resistance and every- thing was properly grounded. Before doing the experi- ments, water was poured around the steel stake to ensure proper grounding. In the initial experiment, which was to check the effi- ciency of the shield, a battery powered radio receiver was tuned to a strong station, the volume set rather high, and placed inside he drum. A battery powered tape recorder was then connected via patch cord to the radio, also placed inside the drum and the lid bolted into place for several minutes. Upon removing the recorder and reviewing the tape, it was found that the station was quite clear with the lid off, but when the lid was bolted into place, the station totally disappeared and its presence could no longer be discerned even with the closest listening. We then adjusted the radio to between

station static, listening carefully to be sure there were no distant stations present, placed the radio in the drum with the recorder and made several recordings with the lid bolted in place each time. We found the voices appeared inside of the shield just as they did with no shielding. Also, since the radio and recorder were connected via patch cord and there was therefore no microphone involved, this experiment elimi- nated (to at least my own satisfaction) both the acoustic and the electromagnetic hypotheses. ---------------------------- The May 1981 Spirit Voices and other newsletters are be- ing added to the AA-EVP online document archive as time allows. We are currently up to Spring 1987 with the AA-EVP newsletters. Remember that access to the Ar- chive is a benefit of membership. We highly recommend that you take advantage of this growing library of histori- cal EVP and ITC documents. EVPMaker Version 2.0 Released Stephan Bion, the developer of the software EVP tool known as EVPMaker, recently announced the release of Version 2.0. You can download a freeware copy from www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index_e.htm. Stephan tells us that some of the new features include:  Recording function - source WAV files can now be rec- orded directly in EVPMaker  “Cross Fading” option to make the output sound “soft- er”  “Visual Feedback” to enhance the contacts  Effects such as echo or reversing  Speed control (50 ... 200%) for playback Stephan has always made his work in behalf of EVP freely available to

the public, and by our estimate, has spent countless hours helping people learn to use and un- derstand his software. We wish to extend our appreciation to Stephan for his contribution to the field and for exem- plifying the spirit of International cooperation. EVPMaker allows a person with a Window-based com- puter to conduct EVP experiments under very controlled conditions. Consider exploring EVPMaker as an alterna- tive to your sound recorder for EVP. A description of how James Jones uses EVPMaker 1.0 is on page 7 and at aaevp.com. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 2, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 How I use EVPMaker By James Jones Once the download [of EVPMaker] finishes, double click the program and follow the installer instructions. The pro- cess will put an “EVPMaker” icon on your desktop. Now to start with, you need a “raw” file that the pro- gram will mulch up. This can be anything. You can even record your own voice using Cool Edit or sound recorder and save it as a “Windows PCM .wav” file…. From here, open EVPMaker and click the “Wav File” button, navi- gate to and open the wave file you will use. If EVPMaker gives you a “Divide by zero” error, open the wave file in Cool Edit and resave it as a “Windows PCM .wav” file. [Editor’s Note: You will want to experiment with the “Segments” settings

on the main window. This is where you determine how long each “slice” of the raw sound track will be. If the samples are very long, you will hear entire words in the raw sound of the output file. If they are very short, you will not have segments long enough to form words. Your EVP will be more evidential if the sample rate is short. The User’s Manual will help explain these settings.] On the main window for EVPMaker, uncheck the “Overlap” box and keep the “Z-Cross” box checked. Note that leaving the “Overlap” function on or off is really up to you. I've had better results with the “Overlap” function off. Under the “Play EVP” section, select a reasonable time-frame, 10s or so works ... not too long, because the output seems to be full of dialog. The key to this program is to play around with the settings. Under the “EVP Session” part, click “Open.” This will launch a file browser. Just type in the name for your new session … something like “Test.” Now, from the menu bar, the “Extras” tab, go to “Ran- dom Source” and then to “Fractal Formula.” This will open another dialog box. Under the “Colors” section check ONE of them, “R,” “G” or “B,” and go to the bot- tom and click both of the buttons that say “Random.” Then click “Draw.” You'll see in the little black space, a fractal that the program just drew using the formula listed. Click

“Apply” then “Okay.” For some reason when using the Fractal Formula option, EVPMaker will sometimes loop the beginning of a clip over and over. I am not sure why, perhaps this depends on the “raw” input wave file itself; however, a workaround is to just use the Pseudo RNG method for your Random Source. All of the Ran- dom Source options will yield results. Now under “EVP Session” click the “Rec” (Record) button and it will display in red “Recording.” If you have a microphone hooked up to your computer, it’ll record what is coming through on the microphone, don’t worry it won’t hurt your sound file. Now click the “Make EVP” button. It will have you en- ter what your question is. At this point, verbalize or ask a question mentality. (Seems to me this program is a high- tech Ouija board. Talk about digital necromancy.) Enter the question and click “Enter.” Now EVPMaker will mulch your sound file for 10 seconds. Once it is done, click on the “Exp” button. This will allow you to export the wave file. Save the file somewhere that you will be able to find later. Congratulations, you’ve made a new sound file that should contain EVP. Take this new file and open it using a wave editor, such as Cool Edit 2000. The messages re- ceived are very fast. I highly suggest you listen to the clip in segments. Using the select tool of Cool Edit, or a simi- lar program, select

from the start of a voice to the peak where it ends. You will see how the dialog is divided in the wave form. If you receive a message, you may want to copy and paste it as a new file for future reference. Following the above steps should yield a successful ses- sion. As mentioned above, the key to this program is to play around with it. It … produces some unbelievable voices. Also a word of caution, after two days of using this program the voices I am receiving are already calling me by name. Please be careful when using this program. While it does indeed generate amazing results, these re- sults come very fast and there have been reports of folks having problems as a result of using this software (polter- geist manifestations, etc). The Ghostbuster AA-EVP member, Michele Hardison, was featured in an article in the March/April 2003 issue of Best Friends magazine along with Jodi Chavez. Both work for the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, which publish- es the widely circulated, Best Friends bi-monthly maga- zine. The article, “The Ghostbuster,” is about Michele and Jodi’s use of cameras and audio equipment to track down ghosts during their after-work hours. Because the maga- zine is about animals, Michele shared some of the experi- ences that she has had with investigations and animals. She related how a dog was taken from room to room during an investigation of the Goldfield Hotel in Nevada, which is

the site of a murder. The dog was energetic and eager, until reaching the room in which the murder had occurred. Michele said, “The dog cowered and refused to move. Animals are often a lot more sensitive than peo- ple.” Michele went on to say that, “The bond between person and pet is often so strong that the pet keeps manifesting for a period after its passing. Some people keep seeing them or you feel like they’ve just jumped on the bed. Just accept that this is what’s happening. It can be quite com- forting.” (Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is the nation’s largest sanctu- ary for abused and abandoned animals and has been a leader in the establishment of no-kill shelters in the United States. The Best Friends magazine is sent to those who support the sanctu- ary through donations. Their address is Best Friends Animal is Sanctuary, Kanab, Utah, 84714-5000. The web site www.bestfriends.org.) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 2, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 The Mary had a Little Lamb Challenge Last year, Steven Beresford, PhD challenged the Egroup to a test. He wrote, “There is serious concern that we are dealing with artifacts [in EVP], and the only way to de- termine if we are communicating with sentient and intelli- gent beings is to ask for verifiable information. What I am asking each member of the Egroup to do is simply

ask their spirit(s) to repeat word-for-word the phrase, ‘Mary had a little lamb.’ Explain that this is a test to differentiate between sentient life and artifacts, and don’t accept any excuses.” A few members commented on how those on the other side were not very good at repeating things like this, but Steven persisted in challenging the group to find a spirit that would perform the test. Several members took up the challenge and wave files containing the EVP, “Mary had a little lamb,” began showing up on the Egroup. It was the example recorded by Dave Sircom that Steven Beresford heard. He wrote, “Dave, thanks for taking up the challenge. Your results are impressive and add four new pieces of information [to what we know about EVP]. 1. The EVP is from a sentient being 2. The sentient being can understand EXACTLY what you said in real time (not in a vague ‘intuitive’ sense as some people suggested) 3. The sentient being can respond EXACTLY (verbatim) as requested in real time (not in a vague ‘intuitive’ sense as some people suggested) 4. The sentient being was happy to cooperate and did not make excuses!” Language Translation in EVP It is a given in EVP that the messages are always in a lan- guage the experimenter will understand. There are excep- tions to this rule, but they are rare. A possible explanation for this, and one that is support- ed by what is known in other forms of spirit communica-

tion, is that the experimenter is acting as a translator dur- ing the formation of the messages. If mediumship is in- volved, as many researchers believe, then the phenomenal message is given to the experimenter via a mind-to-mind exchange. Then the entity “directs” the injection of the message into the recording media via the telekinetic abil- ity of the experimenter. Of course, all of this is accom- plished without the conscious participation of the experi- menter. It is believed that mind-to-mind communication is ac- complished with imagery. If this is true, then the above hypothesis would be supported if the messages were al- ways in the language of the experimenter. Experimenters accept the images and then translate them into the physi- cal based on their language, vocabulary and worldview. Thus, it is reasonable that a tree or an animal, even an ex- traterrestrial, can speak our language and know our idi- oms. News  Alexander MacRae’s article on the Alpha device should be coming out in the next SPR magazine. He has written another article on the experiments that took place at the Institute of Noetic Sciences titled, “A Means of Producing the Electronic Voice Phenomenon Based on Electro-Dermal Activity,” and has submitted it to the Paranormal Review.  Karen Mossey did an investigation with the Ghost Pro- ject group at the Windham Restaurant in Kingston, NH The NH news had a couple of reporters there and the story, “A Spirited Bunch” ran in the local newspaper. Karen is quoted

several times in the article, and she even mentioned the AA-EVP. Thanks Karen!  Susan Bové did an investigation with her group at a new bed and reakfast in Ocean City, NJ. She sent out a press release and “Ghost hunters investigate ‘haunted’ Ocean City home” ran in two local newspapers. From those two articles the story was picked up by four major newspapers. Next, three major networks picked up the story and ABC and NBC paid a visit to Susan’s home. Susan said she was thrilled to get some good PR for the bed and breakfast and for their group, South Jersey Par- anormal Research.  Jutta Liebman, of the German VTF, wrote to us about the upcoming VTF conference and George Wynne translated the schedule of events. The conference will be held from June 19 to 21 in Fulda, Germany. Many interesting speakers are scheduled as well as the British medium Tony Stockwell, who will do a trance session the conference. AA-EVP member, George during Wynne, plans to attend the conference.  Anabela Cardoso did a presentation at the biannual ParaDigma conference. The conference is put on by ParaNet Finland, the Finnish Network for Scientific Re- search on the Paranormal. Anabela’s lecture was well received and she wrote, “It was amazing to watch an audience follow dialogues in foreign languages with such great attention and interest.” Anabela met AA-EVP members, Martti Walden, Professor Matti Pitkanen and Georg Lindstrom all from Findland. Martti Wal- den helped organize the conference

and wrote that Ana- bela’s lecture was excellent. He found her ITC demon- stration convincing and hoped that it had motivated some of the participants to personally experiment on their own.  For those of you who have not looked at the World ITC web site at www.worlditc.org/ in a while, a visit would be a good idea. Most know of this as Mark Macy and Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt’s web site. ITC researcher, Ehrhardt, is the web master for the site and has done an incredible job of presenting a variety of good historical information. The site now has examples of moving ITC pictures and several historic audio clips. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 2, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 Thoughts from Members  After the story came out about the children of Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey being together on the other side, several people expressed how the story had touched them. This came from Peggy Kane, “Martha … I so admire your courage in dealing with her (Cathy) be- ing there and not here. The more we work with EVP, etc., the more we understand where we will be going, or at least there is definitely a place where we will be go- ing. Even my little interaction with the angry guy has been valuable. A month ago, I would have probably freaked out and dropped the whole thing. But now,

it's no big deal. I find him a sad and somewhat pathetic soul. There is no fear attached to ‘spirits’ now and I'm glad of that. I feel like I am getting very comfortable with ‘the other side’ and my passing won’t be a fearful, big deal for me. I still have a dread of losing someone that I love, but it is easing a little, as I know I can still have contact and what a valuable thing that is. I think you are a hero, Martha and so are Karen, Heidi and Bill!” All of the individuals that Peggy mentions have children now on the other side and all are communi- cating with them, mostly through EVP.  One member wrote to the Egroup asking about descrip- tions of what it’s like on the other side. Many members wrote back with suggestions on reading material. Loret- ta Woodward mentioned Witness from Beyond by AA- EVP member Ruth Mattson Taylor. Ruth by the way, has a second book out that gives even further descriptions of the other side, Evidence from Beyond. Loretta mentioned other books that describe the other side; Our Unseen Guest by Darby and Joan, The Unob- structed Universe by Stewart Edward White and The Open Door by Theon Wright. George Wynne noted Life on the Other Side, by Dutton Publishers and also liked Michael Newton's material since it was obtained via hypnotic regression. Karen Mossey mentioned Sarah Estep’s book Voices of Eternity, as another good book

to read to obtain descriptions of the other side.  Erland Babcock wrote, “Anyone that uses the tape re- corder long enough will be able to communicate using their mind. You simply ask your questions and listen like you would listen to a Class C recording. Let your mind listen not your ears. Warning: It can also over- come you so that you are hearing it all the time. This is one of the reasons I had to stop. They would talk to me while I was driving, or if I was in my doctor’s office waiting, or any time I let my mind go blank. So be care- ful on that point. Mediums are people who have learned to use their mind for communication not so much with the ears. I have found it very easy to communicate since I have had my NDEs (I have had three). I also have had a number of visions as the result of mentally asking questions. For example I asked with whom I was com- municating, and got a beautiful vision of a Monk com- plete in his brown robe with the rope around his waist and a gold halo.” AA-EVP Book Update The book, There is No Death, went to proofreaders at the beginning of June. Our dear proofreaders zipped through the book, making corrections and also giving us sugges- tions and ideas. We hope to have the book in print by October or November. We will update members in the

October NewsJournal about our progress. The book is designed to be a tool with which people can learn about the history of EVP and ITC, learn what is being done in the field today, read about examples of the- se phenomena and learn how to conduct experiments. All proceeds from the book will go to the AA-EVP and we thank all of the research- ers and experimenters who have shared their stories with Sarah Estep and ourselves, because it is you who have made the book possible. Donations We sincerely thank everyone who has sent in donations. It is because of people like you that we can continue to keep the AA-EVP going. We have added features and benefits to the membership without increasing the cost. We have been able to do this because of your kindness and generosity. Thank you! We feel that it is important to get the information about EVP and ITC, and it’s message of survival, out to as many people as possible and with your help we can continue to do so. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 2, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2003 Experimenters Report  Martha Copeland reported on her mother’s first EVP recording. Also present with Martha and her mother, were her father, a non-believer, and her sister Ginny who is also an AA-EVP member. They were using Mar- tha’s computer to make the recording. Martha said

that her mother had asked her daughter, Cathy (now on the other side), if she was being a good girl. Her father was the first one to hear Martha’s un- cle’s voice reply, “Your damn right!” Martha wrote, “I bet my uncle got a kick out of seeing the shocked ex- pression on my father’s face. They were always, playing jokes on each other when he was alive. I think he is still doing so from the other side!”  Gary Nixon told members of the AA-EVP Egroup that, “I called ‘CQ Silent Key’ out loud into the air for weeks, hoping that someone might respond. I also framed this comment with what it was; a general call to any Ham on the other side who wished to establish con- tact. I also suggested (again, out loud) that CW (Morse code) was acceptable, and might even be easier to ac- complish than a complex voice waveform. I got one very good reply; one that I thought said "KL7...," meaning an Alaskan station. “I firmly believe that calling ‘CQ Silent Key’ (Ham radio lingo for someone who has transitioned) is a valid endeavor. Hams, on this side or the other, cannot resist the urge to make contacts.”  Tom Wingert wrote to say that he met with AA-EVP member Cindy Heinen and that the two talked and shared EVP examples. The two did a recording together and Tom said one EVP was funny. They asked if Jür- genson and Raudive could

join in and talk to them. A male voice answered very clearly, “I hope so.”  Karen Mossey recorded, “Buy that movie.” She wrote, “I think I was thinking about the movie ‘Darkness Falls’ and whether or not I should buy it as it had just been released. I think this could be my son Rob telling me to buy it. He liked scary movies.”  Heidi and William Armbruster recorded “I love you Jenny.” This had a special meaning for them. Their son, Mike, had dated a girl named Jenny for about two years and then they broke up. They were getting back together and neither wanted to be the first to say, “I love you.” After Mike crossed to the other side, Jenny told Heidi that she did not know if Mike loved her. Heidi wrote, “You can’t imagine how happy this will make her!”  Sandy Colegrove’s husband, Freddie, is on the other side and she was very excited to record the message, “Freddie loves Sandy.”  Robert Hall was setting up for a Ghost Walk at Point Lookout Lighthouse. They were setting up lights to make the Lighthouse look spooky and were about to head up to the cupola but decided that it was dark and that they would wait to install the light in the cupola during daylight hours. Shortly after they walked away to do other things, a voice was recorded that said, “Aban- don.”  On Feb. 7, Charli Claypool recorded a gentleman’s

voice that politely asked for a glass of water. Charli got a tall glass of ice water and left it on the counter for him. She recorded several other Spirit people that want- ed to know what they were supposed to do with a glass of water. Charli wrote, “Being on different planes I guess they didn’t hear him ask for it. “On Feb. 10 the gentleman recorded his voice again, saying, “I left your glass on the counter, Charli.”  Mike Sullivan was about to stop recording and was about to thank his unseen friends for attempting to come through when he recorded a voice saying, “Please don’t go.” Mike said that he did not hear the recording until the next day and wrote, “I felt kind of bad, as if I’d let him down by leaving. Hopefully he understood that I had no way of knowing at the time.” AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly newsletter, a cross-country list, an email sharing group, Archive access and knowledge that you are helping get the word out about these phenomena to the public. Annual dues are $20 for USA and $25 USF for Internation- al members. Donations in excess of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Please mail this form and your dues and donations to the address shown below. You can also use the online form and pay via PayPal.com at aaevp.com. Make check to AA-EVP. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do

you wish to be in the Egroup? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via email rather than postal service? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I real- ize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Please mail this form to: Tom and Lisa Butler, AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Volume 22 Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com AA-EVP NewsJournal Number 3 Fall 2003 From our Viewpoint One of our friends complained the other day about how people seem to forget about her until October comes around. She is the author of several books on hauntings. We are sure many of our members who conduct hauntings investigation also notice that the attention the media

gives them increases in October. The AA-EVP web pages usu- ally receive about one hundred hits a day. The week be- fore Halloween the Association web site will get over six hundred hits a day! Halloween is a special time for us, as it probably is for many of you. We look at it as a special day of remember- ing our loved ones and friends now on the other-side. In honor of their memory, we always conduct a special EVP and Video ITC session on Halloween. So how did Halloween come to be associated with the dead? The Druids celebrated the end of summer with the Celtic New Year called Samhain on October 31. They felt that the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was at its thinnest on this date. The living would dress up in ghoulish outfits to confuse and scare off the spirits of those who wanted to possess the living in order to evade an uncertain afterlife. The Celtic people would also place food out on their doorsteps to pacify any spirit that might be lurking nearby. It was believed that the spirit would eat the “treats” and then leave the family in peace. In the ninth century AD, something called “Souling” was a Christian church custom. Christians would go door- to-door gathering small pieces of bread called “soul cakes.” Those collecting the cakes would say prayers on behalf of the deceased relatives of the donors thereby quickening

the deceased’s assent to Heaven. The Roman church took events from Samhain and turned it into a Catholic holiday. The name “Halloween” was taken from All Hallows Eve, which was the evening before All Saints Day. This was the day that the Catholics commemorated their saints. During the Celtic New Year celebration, all fires would be put out and then a large fire would be lit in the center of the village. The pagan rituals would be performed around this large fire. The idea of Bonfires comes from this Druid ritual. Many of the games played at Halloween, like bobbing for apples are based on divination practices conducted on Samhain. The first to bite into an apple would be the first to get married that year. Our present-day idea of the Jack-O-Lantern is based on the lore of the fox fire, will-o-the-wisps, fairies fire, and other mischievous creatures. These were believed to be souls of the dead trapped in our world due to their having committed evil deeds while alive. A celebration that we think would appeal more to our members is the Day of the Dead. More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years called the Day of the Dead. The Spaniards unsuccessfully tried to eradicate this ritual. In Mexico and many southwest areas of the United

States, the Day of the Dead is still celebrated around No- vember 1st or 2nd. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. The Day of the Dead is celebrated differently, depend- ing on where you go. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. Gravesites are decorated with flowers and candles. Children who have made their transition are brought toys and deceased adults often receive bottles of tequila. Families sit on picnic blankets next to the grave and eat the favorite foods of their loved ones. In some places people wear wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The skulls are used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the ritual. Personally we know that it is not at all necessary to go to a gravesite to visit and honor our loved ones. We can do this anywhere we are. The members of the AA-EVP certainly think about, honor and even communicate with their loved ones on not just one but many, many days of the year. Even with this, we still find Halloween special. It is as if the Druids were right and the veil between worlds is more easily penetrated during the

Halloween season. We feel that it would be a fine tradition for AA-EVP members to adopt the “season” of October as a time to honor the rebirth we experience when we transition out of this world. Lisa and Tom References: X-Project Paranormal Magazine, “The Paranormal History of Halloween,” by Davy Russell, Editor. Also, The Ari- zona Republic, “Indigenous people wouldn't let ‘Day of the Dead’ die” by Carlos Miller Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 What Exactly is a Ghost? Excerpt from Haunted Notes, Vol 6 Issue 2, Summer 2003 “What Exactly is a Ghost” In his popular audio tape titled Ghosts, Poltergeists, and the Electronic Voice, Al Rauber defines the term “Ghost” as the continuing existence of a personal energy and con- sciousness after physical death is realized. Al says that you can ask ten different Parapsychologists or researchers what a ghost is and get ten different answers. “I think the most important factor is that, for a ghost to exist, it needs both energy and consciousness,” explains Rauber. “Ener- gy without consciousness is what is referred to as a resid- ual haunting or a place memory. A true ‘ghost’ will con- sciously interact with the environment and with those on this plane of existence. I believe that energy can exist without consciousness, but consciousness cannot exist without energy.” Researchers tend to define the term “ghost”

differently depending on their background and approach to the field. With the influx of the amateur ghost-hunters over the past few years, web-sites have sprung up defining termi- nology's associated with ghosts. Definitions found on the- se sites for paranormal terms run the spectrum from total- ly ridiculous to surprisingly professional. Acclaimed film maker (The Shadows of Moundsville) and paranormal researcher David Manganelli finds it hard to define the term “ghost” in one sentence. Dave feels that, to do justice to the term, there are two definitions which fit. 1) an intelligent, communicative, discarnate being, seemingly the surviving essence of a person who is otherwise dead and 2) a kind of “living holographic play- back” of people and events that once existed/occurred in the “haunted” location. These definitions are very similar to what Rauber had said previously. However, Manganelli prefers to present this holograph, the equivalent of Rauber's residual haunting, as a “ghost.” Manganelli feels there are other important questions as- sociated with a ghost. For example, “Why is the person having the experience; having it at that particular mo- ment?” Also, “Why are some people more sensitive to the phenomena while others at the same place and at the same time are oblivious to it?” Dave goes on to ask, “What is the motivation of the ghost and why do some hauntings seem to be cyclical?” Interestingly enough, these are some of the same questions that were being asked on that cold winter night way back in 1882 when

the first truly orga- nized group dedicated to learning about this type of phe- nomena, The Society for Psychical Research, was estab- lished. Quoting Rauber’s Ghosts, Poltergeists, And The Electronic Voice once more, “...organized psychical re- search is just over 100 years old. Yet in the last 100 plus years, the study of psychical research has not really come too far. Today, psychical research is still about 80% theoretical; at least in my estimation, and obviously in the opinion of other respected people in the field like Manganelli. Will we ever be able to fully define the term, “ghost”? With the advances in parapsychology, psychology, and even quan- tum physics, it may take time, but eventually the experi- ence and the term will be defined. We are learning more and more about how the mind and the environment influ- ence and are influenced by paranormal experiences. Through the use of EVP and Video ITC (ghostly images captured on video tape), the evidence of the phenomena is being compiled. Hopefully, we will not have to wait an- other hundred years for a proper definition of a ghost! Ghosts Haunt Castle Workmen Builders carrying out a renovation project at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, claim their laborers are being disturbed by the ghosts of prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars. Photographs of renovation work at the Queen Anne build- ing within the castle have captured hazy mysterious blue orbs floating above the builders’ heads. Many of the workers on the site have now refused to

be left alone while working and some have requested a special canopy to shield them from the glare of ghostly eyes gazing down on them. Beneath the room that the builders are working in are the cramped vaults where many prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars died horrible deaths. From The Scotsman, Scotland’s national newspaper online, Ghosts of prisoners past haunt castle workmen by David Lee www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=222002003 Disturbing EVP may have saved a Life Ginny Sawyer had spent the morning mowing the yard in the hot Georgia sun and humidity. She took a short break and then decided to take a hose to the air conditioning unit outside. It had not been running properly and Ginny thought that if she cleared the unit’s interior vent of leaves and debris it might operate more efficiently. She was pre- paring to do this when she heard the phone ring and went back into the house to get it. It was a frantic phone call from Ginny’s sister, Martha Copeland. (As you may re- member, the two get recordings from Cathy, Martha’s daughter, and Ginny’s niece.) Martha had recorded Cathy saying that Ginny was dead. This was very unnerving but it brought to Ginny’s mind that she had failed to shut off the current to the air conditioner unit. She immediately did this and then inspected the air conditioner. Fire ants had eaten the insulation off the wires inside the unit. The up- setting EVP may have saved Ginny’s life. Published by the AA-EVP,

PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2003. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Barbara Thurman and Sandra Pfortmiller. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Haunted Movie Theater Mike Sullivan has an old, small theater in his area that is rumored to be haunted. When he took his wife to the theater to see a movie, he brought along his Pana- sonic DR60 and QR80 re- corders. He knew that it might be difficult to capture good EVP while so many people were around, so he waited until the movie let out. Alone with his son and his son’s friend, he recorded at the bottom of the staircase, which is supposed to be an area where haunting activity has occurred. Mike asked, “Would anyone like to speak with us,” and recorded the EVP, “Yes,” “Randall,” and “help.” Mike later returned to the theater and took a few pic- tures in the same area that he had received the EVP mes- sages. The pictures were taken without a flash. Two of the pictures contained faces. Mike wrote, “My son thought they

looked like theater masks. This is interesting because the place was a vaudeville theater in the early 1900s, be- fore becoming a silent movie house and eventually what it is today, a very small movie theater.” During a separate outing, Mike took this unusual picture at Hills Cemetery in Hudson, NH. If you look very close, you should be able to see what appears to be a swirling funnel directly on top of a large white energy ball. If you have a chance, take a look at http://aaevp.com to get a bet- ter look at this unusual picture. You will find a link to Mike’s pictures on the front page. Ghost Directs Family to Old Letter From the January issue of The Natal Witness, South Afri- ca, comes an article about a local family who had fol- lowed instructions from the ghost of a woman and located a letter in their house that had been written 40 years earli- er by a former resident. The family’s 15-year-old daughter was the first to see an apparition. She said a young woman was visiting her at night and telling her to look for a letter. The young wom- an was clad in white with blue eyes and long blonde hair. The woman’s feet did not touch the ground and her face looked like a bright light. The mother’s boyfriend later saw the same apparition reflected in a mirror. In early January the mother had a dream about where the woman had placed

the letter. In the dream she saw the woman put the letter in a groove in the oven where bread was baked in the old days and that is exactly where it was found. It was in spotless condition. The letter was written on December 23, 1961, and was addressed to the woman’s children. The family now living in the house has appealed to whomever lived in the house at that time to come and get the letter. The outside of the letter read, “You will find when the time is right.” The woman had written that she and her husband had been unhappy for a long time and that they had not meant to hurt their children. She wrote that it had hurt her and the children to see their father with another woman. She also wrote that she did not have long to live. She asked her children to never forget her and said that she would always love them. The letter ends, “Goodbye my angels, your loving Mother.” The Ghost of Private Rex In the June issue of the Academy of Religious and Psychi- cal Research Bulletin, editor Michael Tymn, wrote a very interesting article on Hereward Carrington’s book Psychi- cal Phenomena and The War. Tymn listed various stories that Carrington had documented regarding prophecies, premonitions, apparitions, dreams, clairvoyant description of death, and communications from “dead” solders during World War I. One of them was the story of Private Rex. Private Rex’s unit was being marched to

another area by a Lieutenant Smith. Smith noticed that Private Rex was falling behind and asked him if he was hungry. The Pri- vate responded, “A little,” and so Smith gave him a malt- ed milk tablet taking note that the private looked pale and that his hand was icy cold. The officer went off to take care of other matters and when he returned once more to check on Private Rex he could not find him. Lieutenant Smith was then reminded by another officer that Private Rex had been killed three days earlier in battle. Smith told Carrington that he had temporarily forgotten due to the stress of battle and the deaths of so many oth- ers, but he was adamant that he had not only seen and talked to Private Rex, but had also touched him. Smith is quoted as saying, “It takes away all the fear of death, for I know that Private Rex lives, though dead.” From War and Psychical Phenomena, ARPR Bulletin Volume 12 No. 2, by Michael E. Tymn, editor. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 3, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Faces on Turned Off Television The first picture, which was cropped from the original photograph, appeared on the cover of the October 1995 National Spiritualist Summit. It was taken by a Las Vegas family when the boy had pulled himself up by a chair to stand for

the first time. The woman, who can be seen on the television screen, was recognized as the photogra- pher’s sister-in-law, who had transitioned a year and a half earlier. The television was turned off. The second picture, which was cropped from the original photograph, appeared in Le Messager No. 37, the journal of the French ITC group, Infinitude. The picture was submitted by Français F. Sabatier & S. Barrez of Mar- seille. The television was turned off at the time and the face on the screen is thought to be a guardian angle. been impressed into the picture by the transfiguration of available optical noise caused by such things as a textured wall or swirling clouds. In the case of these faces on tele- vision screens, the “extra” is not a spirit in a photograph, but possibly one that is on the surface of a television screen that is incidentally in the photograph. This seems to require a very different process or treatment of energy. We need to see more examples of this phenomenon be- fore a reasonable hypothesis can be formulated. So, please keep an eye out for more examples in your photographs. We would like to have the example, permission to use it in a study and possibly include it in a newsletter, on the aaevp.com web site and/or in a book, and details about the circumstances of the photograph; for instance, a family gathering, child’s first steps, type of camera, others in the room and such. We

would also be interested in your ideas of how this phenomenon occurs. Reflections of an Unseen Man? Erland Babcock recently posted a most unusual photo- graph to the AA-EVP Egroup. He was sitting in a chair in front of a television set, and while holding his camera up to his eye, took a picture of the television set. The result- ing photograph is shown here with all but the center of the television screen cropped out. You can see that there is a man standing in the middle of the scene. The right half of the picture is the same as the left, but the rest of the room has been erased. We have collected other such photographs from various sources, as has Jacques Blanc-Garin of Infinitude. Jacques observed that, except for one example, all that he has seen have been associated with a small child. Also, the televi- sion is turned off in just about every example. This is a form of ITC that is quite different from photo- graphic and Video ITC, in that optical noise does not ap- pear to be an important ingredient for image formation. It is generally recognized that “spirit photography” is usual- ly a normal photograph in which a disembodied entity is “caught” in the scene. Photographic ITC is an ordinary photograph that contains the features of a person that has In the right rendition of the photograph, the bottom set of arrows point to Erland’s legs at about his hips. The next

set up point to what appears to be the standing man’s left hand on the side of the chair. The third set of arrows point to what appears to be the man’s right hand and about where Erland’s elbow should be. The last set of arrows on the left point to where we believe Erland’s head is located. That means the top set of arrows point to the standing man’s head—a man who was not physically in the room! Assuming we are seeing what we believe we are seeing, this picture should serve as a reminder that our (usually) unseen etheric friends are always nearby. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Considerations for Improving the Quality of EVP Contacts by Stefan Bion Published in VTF Post No. 10 1/2003, page 28/29, translated by George Wynne. The VTF Post is a Quarterly publication of the VTF, which is a German EVP Association. Stefan is a com- puter expert, the VTF webmaster and developer of the EVP- Maker software program (www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker). *** Ever since the discovery of EVP phenomenon with the publication of the books of Friedrich Jürgenson and Kon- stantin Raudive, the world has anticipated the “break- through” that will finally bring us better, louder, more in- telligible and more extensive voice transmissions. The fact remains that, over a period of decades, countless experi- menters, singly or cooperatively,

have tried out and devel- oped the most varied kinds of methods but the hoped for breakthrough has eluded us (even though in the 1980s we had the impression that we had reached our goal). While in the early days of my work with this phenome- non I was also very optimistic, I soon came to the realiza- tion that substantial progress can hardly be made solely by means of technical improvements, but that other “rules of the game” prevail. No matter how optimal the technical conditions or how sterling the intentions for the improve- ment of contacts, no matter how strong the longing of a grieving survivor for the voice of a child or a partner, nor how sincere the promise of the predeceased to make con- tact from the other side, we still do not have the capability of ensuring that this contact is actually achieved. And if we are honest with ourselves we have to admit that we know next to nothing about the laws that allow for stable communications with the inhabitants of the spirit world. Consider the concept that there are “levels” or “layers” (like an onion) that connect the spirit to the material world. With the material world representing the outermost layer, every [interior] layer automatically comprises all of its adjoining interior layers. [With this cosmology,] the “lowest common denominator” for communications with the spirit level is the layer that is common to both levels. The “waking” consciousness of the inhabitants of each level

normally occurs on the surface of their respective layer of the “onion,” the deeper levels are generally sub- conscious. If we, as the inhabitants of the seventh (or ma- terial) layer, want to communicate with the inhabitants of the sixth layer, this sixth layer, also known as the astral level, will serve as the lowest common denominator. If we want to communicate with the inhabitants of the fifth lev- el, it will be this level that is common to both communica- tors, and so on. It is the partner in the more exterior layer who needs to adjust his or her consciousness to the more interior layer and not the other way around. People who have the natural talent to do this are known as mediums. But even for those human beings not natural- ly endowed with special paranormal sensitivities, a psy- chic harmonization before and during the recording ses- sion with the level to be contacted, could possibly bring improvements in the quality of the contact. Certain rituals or ceremonies designed to quiet the emotions and the roaming mind could be suitable for this purpose. How this is to be translated into practice has to be worked out by each individual or group. Of course it would be useful to request from “the other side,” pertinent suggestions for the improvement of con- tact, both as regards recording procedures and technical pointers. One needs to be open in this respect to what might initially seem to be unusual suggestions. What

are important in my view are a serious engagement and a pos- itive basic attitude. Assuming that the person is working with a group of experimenters, the least discomfort expe- rienced by a member of the group needs to be talked about. The group needs to consider whether it is on the right track with their contact efforts because, with all due respect for the spirit world, we should not allow ourselves to be made fools of by trickster spirits on the other side. Johannes Greber mentions in his book, Communication with the Spirit World, some challenges posed to séance participants from time to time by mischievous spirits on the other side. The participants in such a séance must de- velop a feeling over time whether or not a contact is posi- tive and constructive and serves a common objective. They must then decide for themselves what needs to be done, such as ending the contact if necessary. It is proba- bly helpful to request a guiding spirit on the other side to arrange contacts with other beings and to guide the com- munications. Perhaps there is even a “team” on the other side that is as interested, as we are, in the improvement of EVP contacts and that is just waiting to work with the ter- restrial team. Unless there are already present among the group, per- sons with a degree of psychic capabilities, or who develop these in the course of the sittings, it would be advanta- geous

in the beginning to invite a medium to the recording sessions, or to independently visit a medium to seek ad- vice on ways to proceed or to ask help in obtaining a spirit contact. Whether this medium is of the trance, automatic writing or pendulum variety should not matter in princi- ple.… In the ideal case, the medium would be personally interested in the expansion of knowledge and improve- ment of transcommunication and volunteer to work with the research group. It would not be essential for the medi- um to participate in the meetings of the group, but he or she could be visited from time to time to obtain infor- mation and suggestions from the other side for the im- provement of recordings or further research work. It is important that all the results obtained, and knowledge gained, is made available to the general public. There are to be no “company secrets,” no patents, no cop- yrights, no sealed instruments; everything is to be in the public domain! After all, the knowledge concerning the possibility of initiating contacts with other dimensions belongs to all of humanity, not to anyone in particular. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 3, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Video ITC Progress Report The Video ITC experi- ments we are conducting using a video feedback loop continue to produce interesting results. With the work on the book, conference planning and

operation of the Asso- ciation, we do not exper- iment nearly as often as we would like. Perhaps infrequent experi- the ments help to explain why the phenomenal features we are finding in the video frames con- tinue to hover at the verge of being outstanding. As you should be able to see, even in the poor re- production of the printed versions, the images are tantalizing. It is as if all we need do is adjust the fo- cus a little more and we will be able to see such detail that it will finally be possible to decisively identify loved ones. As our exper- iments continue, we have every expectation that our helpers on the other side will work with us to achieve that clarity. The picture at the top is of a lit- tle girl or boy facing to your left. Even with the video dis- tortion around the child’s chin, it is obvious that he or she is very young. The second picture is of a woman facing to your right. It is clear that she is wearing a dress and hat that might have been popular in the 1940s. We are impressed with this image because of the sense of “demure” we feel in the three dimensional feature. The bottom picture is apparently of a girl facing to your right and possibly wearing a black hat or shawl. You can see her blond bangs protruding from the shawl. Support from the Vatican Victor Zammit wrote

this for his weekly Victor’s Friday Report several months ago. “It may surprise a number of people that the Vatican actually has a psychic department and has priests who make contact with spirits. The Vati- can has a department that deals with the Electronic Voice Phenomenon and is getting spirit voices from the ‘spirit world.’ It must not be forgotten that for many years it was the Vatican which urged people NOT to meddle in any aspect of psychic phenomena; indeed it prohibited Catho- lics from doing so - unless specifically exempted. Now it is NOT a 'sin' to conduct EVP experiments. Historically, in the first centuries of Christianity, psy- chic mediums were given the same prestige as the priests in temples and churches. But eventually the priests lob- bied to get rid of the mediums because the mediums were getting information which conflicted with what the priests were allowed to accept.” For more information about the Vatican's view on EVP, read Chapter 3 of Victor’s book A Lawyer Presents the Case for the Afterlife, Irrefutable Objective Evidence available online free at www.victorzammit.com/book/index.html. for Raymond Cass Communicates By Jack Pleasant I consider Raymond Cass to have been Britain's most suc- cessful EVP researcher. As a journalist, I met him in the 1970s when taped messages from the dead was an un- known subject to me. His remarkable tapes of voices in various languages, some in polyglot and some, movingly singing, were extremely convincing. And it seemed as if spirits were

constantly around to react to his tape- recording. On one occasion, as he was sipping a whisky as a cold cure, he received a message, “I’ll have a Schapps.” Raymond's tapes are a wonderful legacy from a remark- able man. When, in later years, his results became frustrat- ingly infrequent, he told me that he felt older mediums lacked the energy needed by the spirits to come through. To my pleasure, Raymond, who passed away on October 3rd last year, has recently spoken on my recorder, only his name when asked for, but enough for me to know that he has already adjusted to the Other Side. His wife, Edith, recently formed the Raymond Cass Foundation in their home town of Hull to keep his memory and his EVP work alive. Its first meeting, she tells me, was a great success. Distinguishing EVP from Random Sounds The developer of EVPMaker, Stefan Bion, recently ex- plained how he differentiates between fortuitous concate- nation of bits of sound that seem like words and genuine EVP found in EVPMaker sound tracks. “Well, since EVPmaker is actually a rather stupid program, and only generates ‘random noise,’ you will of course always hear something. But, not everything which is heard is an actual EVP. To decide what is a candidate for an EVP, the ex- perimenter has to use his own criteria. Mine are: If I can hear a meaningful statement or an answer which immedi- ately follows a question, without having to repeat the

same sequence over and over, or if an EVP addresses me by name, etc., then this sequence has a good chance to be accepted as an EVP. Another very strong criteria would be paranormal changes of the raw material - but these are absolutely rare, unfortunately. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Family Recognizes ITC Picture Jacques Blanc-Garin of the French ITC group, Infinitude, recently notified us that an acquaintance had recognized the face of her recently transitioned husband in one of our Video ITC images on the AA-EVP web site. The image in question is shown above-right, beside a photograph of the site: husband. A color version http://aaevp.com/examples/butler_gallery1.htm. the web is at Even after our suggestion that it was difficult to recog- nize anyone, given the poor quality of the ITC images, the family insisted that it was their loved one. Indeed, several members of the family were very insistent. It is natural for a person to look at the image in question and assume that the family might be over anxious to have proof of a loved one’s survival. It is natural, that is, until that person has worked with EVP and other forms of these phenomena. As it turns out, a great deal of information we gather from a Video ITC feature or an EVP example, is dependent on the observer. We see that

the phenomenal utterances and images have something of a holographic nature that seems to cause them to exist in more than our three dimensional universe. Thus, we apparently hear or see the physical aspect of these examples with physical senses … and their etheric aspects with inner senses. Jacques told us that the family asked for a sign that their loved one survived beyond physical death, and that they believe the Video ITC image is the answer they sought. Volunteers Needed for AA-EVP Conference Martha Copeland has agreed to be the Chairperson for the AA-EVP 2004 conference. She will be coordinating the volunteers. Several people have already agreed to help but more are needed to help with such things as registration and monitoring the doors to the conference room and workshops. Volunteers will also be needed in the haunted room as monitors while it is open for attendees to investi- gate and try to record EVP. If you would like to help, please Email Martha at [email protected] or write to her at 1797 Dewinton Place, Lawrenceville, GA 30043. You can also call her at 770-237-3681 EVP Corrects Errors in Date of Death Tina Laurent told us that ever since she was very little she knew that her father had died during the war while on a destroyer. “I have all the records even the letter that the War Office sent to my mother saying that he had been on the Vortigern when it was torpedoed on Mar 13, 1942. Later

on I learned that his name had been put on a plaque on Portsmouth Naval Memorial in Hampshire.” On March 14, Tina recorded the name Thackeray. This is the last name of her father and her maiden name. On March 15, Tina was looking up something on the Internet and suddenly got the idea to look up the Portsmouth Na- val Memorial to verify that her father’s name was on it. She found it easily and printed it out. As she read it, she realized that there was a small discrepancy. The date of his death, as stated on the memorial, was March 15, not the 13th as she had always believed from the letter sent to the family by the War Office. Tina wrote, “You can understand how strange I felt as I suddenly realized that that very day was March 15, and all of this had come about because I had recorded his sur- name on March 14. You can’t say that my subconscious had made me manifest his name because I’d always be- lieved that his death was on March 13. I have to presume that the War Office letter written 61 years ago was incor- rect. There must have been a lot of confusion at that time, understandably. I do believe that my father, William Makepeace Thack- eray, was able to get me to record his name the day before the anniversary of his death so that this misunderstanding could be corrected.” Lynda Noel wrote that

she had lost many loved ones and had read many books about death. However, it was Sarah Estep’s book Voices of Eternity that she calls a gift from God. It took her two years to try recording and the first question that she asked was if her son Danny had died October 7. She recorded,“No, on 6th of October.” Lynda told her husband what she had recorded and he told her something that he had not told her before. The Doctor had spoken to her husband on October 6 and told him that Danny was brain dead. The doctor said they should let Danny go and turn off the life support equip- ment. Her husband asked the doctor for one more day and did not tell Lynda. Donations This is the last NewsJournal before the end of the tax year. When you are planning your 2004 tax return, please re- member that the AA-EVP is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organ- ization, and that your donations are tax deductible. Mem- bership benefits, such as the June 2004 conference, have continued to improve without an increase in membership dues. But operating costs have increased. For instance, we have recently had to replace a computer and laser printer. So if you can, please help keep the AA-EVP going with a tax deductible donation. We need your help! Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 3, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall

2003 Frequency and Other Ideas By Stacy Rawlings I was once offered the hypothesis of existences made up of different frequencies overlaid over one another like layered scarves or veils. At some points these worlds in- tercept, having to do with magnetic fields or some such idea (and a thinning of the veils theory as well). Could EVP and other similar phenomenon be a result of these portals of sorts? I read an account once of a gentleman who heard voices in his son’s room. He would go in nightly, and almost as if he were eavesdropping on the speakers, he would hear their conversation, which was mundane and unimportant in content. Interestingly, he began to notice that the spot in which he could best hear the voices moved further toward a particular direction each night, (I don't remember which direction that was). He invited others to listen and they too heard the voices. The voices continued to move each night until he was in the street ... slowly they moved on and he lost track of where they had gone. (Could have been through another home or something for all I know.) I just remember the account; it had an odd feeling of truth and fortified my own personal beliefs about what EVP might be. Since I have spoken to people I know are dead, or at least they represented themselves as such, I do believe some voices may be from that dimension or frequency, but I also believe

others are from alternate dimensions or layers of the veils. Most of my EVP are mundane and pointless in content to me personally, interesting as they are just for being on the tape, they strike no personal chord for me. Occasionally, as though to peak my interest and lure me back to rigorous taping (usually when I’m bored to my death of taping for lack of interesting results), I get a doozie that does hit home, which is an interesting point too, I think. “Who are they,” is the million dollar question I believe, and I’m far from prepared to commit to any one particular source. Unfortunately when I ask that question, I get no definitive answer. “I’m the dead,” “I’m in another dimension,” “I’m an alien,” “I’m you....” I’d appreciate any answer to that question. In listening to clips over the years, I have a theory that is a little off the wall but that I still have faith in. What if all the words ever spoken or sung from this place float out to god knows where. There they are plucked up as needed by god knows who, rearranged in order to make them- selves and their thoughts understood and sent right back at us? Some of the EVP I've heard sound like old radio broadcasts that have been diced up, rearranged and made to say something different than they originally said. I wonder where all the audio trash we make goes. Does an- yone else wonder that?

Is it recyclable? Why not? I used to be hesitant to share such ideas but the older I get, I just don’t give a poop what anyone else thinks, (grin) Photographic ITC We had previously brought you examples of the Photo- graphic ITC being collected by Jutta Liebmann of the German VTF. As you may remember, Jutta photographs scenes from regular programming that are displayed on her television screen. She then closely examines the re- sulting photographs, and often finds features that are very reminiscent of human faces. This techniques is essentially the same as the video loopback technique we use in Video ITC. In both ap- proaches, the “background noise” used in the formation of the paranormal im- ages is optically noisy pictures on the televi- sion screen. The first frame is a photograph of the tele- vision set that has been cropped to leave only the screen. A video- taped program was paused for the picture. the Look closely at feature in the center. The second image is an enlargement of that feature. We suggest that you try this very simple technique. Videotape a television pro- gram that has scenes that are rich in texture, such as clouds or views of the forest as seen from the air. Then, when you see a likely looking scene on your television screen, pause the video tape and take a photograph of the television screen. You may find that your pictures of busy scenes, such as this one used by Jutta,

will actually have features that resemble human faces. Dead Skeptics: all dressed up and nowhere to go. (Thanks also goes to Victor Zammit’s Friday Report for this funny one liner.) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 The Donner Party Investigation In 1846, a group of settlers trying to make it to California broke away from a larger wagon train to take what they thought was a short cut. The short cut turned out to be a mistake and cost the settlers precious time. Knowing that time was critical, they hurried across Nevada and toward the Sierra mountains which had to be crossed into Califor- nia. By the time they reached the Sierras it was October and early snows had al- ready blocked the high passes. It was a horrible and tragic event for this group pioneers who of found themselves stranded in the un- Sierra forgiving Mountains. They ate their live stock and then were forced into the cannibalism of those who had died. the eighty-two Of people in the party, forty-seven survived the starvation and cannibalism to be rescued by parties coming east from Sutter's Fort in February and March, 1847. Thirty-five perished in the snow and cold of the Sierras, while five died before they reached the mountains. Two Indians also lost their lives in the rescue attempts. The memorial to this group of pioneers

is a short thirty minute drive from our home in Reno. Author, historian and paranormal investigator, Janice Oberding (Haunted- nevada.com), who has been carrying out a series of inves- tigations in and around the area of the Donner monument and Alder Creek, asked us to go on one of the investiga- tions with her and also show her how to record for EVP. There is much controversy regarding the death of Tam- sen Donner and many people believe a man named Lewis Keseburg murdered her and then cannibalized her. Kese- burg admitted to cannibalizing the body of Mrs. Donner but said that she had died on her own. Tom, Janice and I all recorded at the same time. The re- corders were a Panasonic DR60, QR80 and QR200. At our first stop we recorded while Janice told us the story of the mystery of Tamsen Donner’s death. Janice was saying that Tamsen had walked seven miles from the Alder creek site to the Donner summit area after the death of her hus- band. She was saying, “She was very tired, he (Lewis Keseburg) offered her what he had but (Janice pauses and takes a breath) she said no she couldn’t eat.” A woman’s voice urgently saying “Food Human” was recorded dur- ing the time Janice paused. Janice went on with the story saying “He made her com- fortable (pause) she laid down and the next morning he said she was dead.” At the pause in this sentence, again a woman

urgently said in an EVP, “Fought first.” Both of these EVP were loud Class A. We did not really understand the “food human” EVP until we reported it to Janice and she told us that this is what he would have had to offer her; food that came from a human. The EVP “fought first” suggests that the spirit that rec- orded the EVP believes that Tamsen Donner and Lewis Keseburg fought. We ask three times if there was anything that they (the spirits) would like to set straight. Three times we got the response “He killed her.” We feel that we should say that Tamsen Donner’s daughter met Lewis Keseburg in her adult years and said that she did not be- lieve that he had killed her mother. These EVP can be heard at the California Ghost Huntings and Research Society web page: www.ghrs.org/california/DonnerSiteEVP.htm Adobe Purchased Cool Edit Adobe Systems Incorporated has purchased the rights to the Cool Edit line of software from Syntrillium Software Incorporated. We have also learned that Adobe has dis- continued the Cool Edit 2000 product. Adobe has rebranded Cool Edit Pro as Adobe Audition and is selling the product for $299. A $99 upgrade for owners of Cool Edit 2000 and Cool Edit Pro is available; however, we do not know if there is any value in purchas- ing the upgrade, other than to maintain a current license. See: www.adobe.com/products/audition/main.html A letter has been sent to Adobe asking for assistance in making an Adobe

version of Cool Edit 2000 available. Time will tell if Adobe responds. In the meantime, AA- EVP members are looking at alternatives. Cool Edit Pro has many features that EVP experimenters do not require, so Cool Edit 2000 has become something of a standard around the world for EVP. The task for EVP experiment- ers now is to find a new standard that satisfies our needs, is easy to us and reasonably priced. the If you are looking for affordable, sound editing soft- ware, take a look at the $99 Sonic Forge Studio 6.0 $40 GoldWave (www.sonicfoundry.com) or (www.goldwave.com). Mike Sullivan the reminded Egroup that Loretta Woodward found a $15 alternative called Acoustica (www.aconas.com/). Also, James Jones located a free program that looks useful called Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net). All of these are MS Windows programs. We will report to you via the next newsletter and the Internet if we find a more satisfactory alternative. Please let us know if you have a suggestion. Our objective is to find a sound editor that we can rec- ommend as a standard that all of us can use for EVP. Hav- ing such a standard enables sharing of techniques. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 3, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Airman Comes back in Séance On October 5, 1930, the British dirigible R101 went down during a thunderstorm in France on its maiden flight from England to India.

Everyone felt that lightening had caused the crash in which all aboard perished. Two days after the tragedy in a séance at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research, Flight Lieutenant H. C. Irwin, Captain of the airship, suddenly pos- sessed the entranced medium Eileen Garret. The Captain gave a highly technical account of how the airship crashed. The narrative was taken down and later submitted to the Air Ministry. Some of the data was clas- sified as top secret and the information attracted the atten- tion of the RAF Intelligence and Scotland Yard. At the Court of Inquiry, 6 months later, many of the technical details that came through Eileen Garret’s séances were confirmed. AA-EVP member George Wynne wrote, “Information on the R101 air crew ‘drop- in’ into a séance by Eileen Garret two days after the crash in 1930 is the strongest indirect confirmation of the survival hypothesis I have encountered in my life.” A fascinating 300 page book to read on this event is The Airmen Who Would Not Die by John Fuller (1979 Putnam Publishing). The book is now out of print but can be found at AddAll Used and Out of Print Books at http://used.addall.com/. News about Members  Original founder of the AA-EVP pioneer researcher Sa- rah Estep’s book, Voices of Eternity in now available to from read http://aaevp.com/voices_of_eternity_web.pdf. This is a PDF file, so to save the book to your computer, you should use the PDF reader “Save” function. download online by or 

An International Conference on, “Current Research into Survival of Physical Death, with Special Reference to ITC,” will be held at the cultural Centre in Vigo, Spain, on 23rd-25th April 2004. Anabela Cardoso’s non-profit ITC Journal is hosting the conference. There is a large list of imminent presenters. For more information write Calle Carral, 23A Bajo, 36202 Vigo, Spain or e-mail [email protected]. You can see complete in- at the formation http://aaevp.com/conferences/itc_conference.htm. Conference on Thoughts from Members  Karen Mossey wrote, “When I first started EVP, I was so into it that it almost preoccupied my life. When I could not get to my editing and recording, it would stress me out so I had to back off and put everything in- to its proper perspective and by doing that I enjoy my research so much more and get much more out of it.”  New member, Marie Yates, says that she began taping for the same reason that many have; the loss of a loved one. She wrote, “…I am thankful for whatever I get. I wonder sometimes if they [those on the other side] learn as we go along, or get stronger the harder we try. Ste- ven, my ex-husband, seems to be with his cousin Mallo- ry when he visits. I believe they work together to get a stronger message to us. Both of their lives were inter- rupted suddenly at young ages and I wonder if this also plays a part in the need to come across to

us.”  Paul Sitar wrote, “It's been known for decades … that our interpretations of the content of EVP tend to be very subjective—different listeners hear something different in the same sample, even when everyone agrees the voice is loud and apparently clear. Formal studies of EVP comprehension conducted by Hans Bender, Theo Locher and David Ellis in the 1960s and 70s have estab- lished this robust effect very convincingly.” Loretta Woodward replied, “… even in everyday con- versation people depend heavily on context to interpret what they are hearing. If someone came up to you out of the blue and stated a few words, you might be hard pressed to decode what it is they said or meant.”  Alexander MacRae wrote about background sound for EVP, “The late G. Gilbert Bonner of the UK, who was well advanced in EVP before I heard of it, had thou- sands of cassettes filled with recordings. He was the first one to use a voice-mixture as the sound source—he had three tapes running simultaneously in French. He had a little wine and fell asleep on the couch with all tapes running. When he awoke somewhere on the tape was probably the best EVP ever recorded. A very light very clear woman's voice saying, ‘Doesn't Bonner look ridiculous.’”  Susan Bové gives a tip to think about when doing a hauntings investigation. She says that it is imperative to keep accurate times on pictures and events during an in- vestigation. Susan writes,

“If your camera does not have a time stamp, you need to have a pen and paper to rec- ord each time that you take a picture. With an audio re- corder, you can just voice the times into the recorder and document them after the investigation.” When everyone’s evidence is in, Susan coordinates the times and often finds that when one person is getting a positive picture, another person may have recorded a voice. Investigator may feel like someone has touched them at the same time an EVP is recorded or a paranor- mal picture is taken. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 3, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 AA-EVP Conference 2004 It has been exciting to make arrangements for the EVP conference that the AA-EVP will sponsor in Reno, Neva- da June 3-6, 2004. Our friends on the other side seem to be finding ways to help, as well. For instance, we called many hotels in Reno and received bids that were too high for hotel and meeting rooms. The hotel that did want to work with us, may well turn out to be the most haunted building in the Downtown Reno area. While planning the conference, we found the people at the Club Cal-Neva not only open minded but very inter- ested in what the AA-EVP is doing. The convention sales rep turned out to be fun to work with

and very excited and interested in the paranormal voices. On our first visit to the Club Cal-Neva, after finding out a little about the AA- EVP, the sales rep told us stories about the ghosts in the Nevadan Hotel. She made us feel welcome, and by the time we went back for a second look at the facilities, she had actually set up meetings with four employees who had seen and had various interactions with the ghosts. We were very involved with our interviews of the em- ployees, and although we were hearing stories about the ghost, we were not actively seeking them at the time, nor were we recording or trying to tune into them. We had not even brought the recorders or a camera. Lisa was very surprised when one of the ghosts found her. “We were interviewing two of the young men at the front desk in the lobby. All of a sudden I felt this energy come rushing up to my back. It was as if someone had run up behind me and was now inches from my back, looking over my shoulder and listening to what was being said about the ghosts. I actually turned around, just to check, but I knew that I would physically see no one. I know that this entity was a man. Because of the situation, I did not want to make a scene in front of the two employees and did not say anything to anyone until Tom and

I were alone. I fig- ured that we would have plenty of time to get to know these spirits in June. But I can say without a doubt that the place is haunted! One of the entities wanted to make sure that I knew that he was around and interested in hearing us talk about the invisibles who have made the hotel home. Can you imagine what it is going to be like when they see a recorder and come to know that we can hear them?” The hotel has the makings for a very intriguing time when the conference is not in session. We now have good information and background, not only from interviews, but from historical research. It will be very interesting to compare the information and experi- ences our members get while attending the conference. While it is true that there is much more to EVP than ghost hunting, recording in haunted locations does provide im- portant opportunities for people to collect good examples of the phenomenal voices under field conditions. We be- lieve that the Nevadan will prove to be an excellent place to record, and from what we have learned, the three or four known ghosts can be expected to happily participate. Written as a tool for people interested in experimenting with EVP and Video ITC, the book includes: There is No Death and There are No Dead  A History of EVP and ITC  Numerous examples from researchers and their stories  How

you can conduct you own experiments with EVP and Video ITC  What is known today about these phenomena This new book is available on the Internet at http://book.aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP. Order Form Number of copies: ($18.00 per copy) Subtotal: Nevada State Sales Tax: (Nevada Residence only) Shipping and Handling: Total Enclosed: Please make check to: AA-EVP First book: Each additional: Media Mail $4.00 $1.00 Shipping and Handling Charges First Class $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Mail book(s) to: Name: Street address: City, State, Zip: Telephone Number: Email Address (Optional): Please include book signing instruction if you are ordering more than one book. Disclaimer: The AA-EVP cannot be responsible for consequences resulting from the use of information provided at aaevp.com or in AA-EVP literature, such as the newsletter. There are many variables involved in recording for EVP and ITC. It is possible that a person may become more “aware” of the nonphysical influence in his or her life because of working with EVP/ITC. It is also possi- ble that a person might encounter a disruptive entity or be unduly influenced by the phenomenal voices and images. The AA-EVP hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage or injury due to use of information distributed by the Association. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 3, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2003 Experimenters Report  Edwina Bennett recently joined the Association

and wrote, “I have been recording for EVP since my hus- band died two years ago. There were immediate results with the first recording I made three days after his pass- ing. His first message was in a happy, high spirited, singing voice saying, “I’m not leaving; I left a shoe down there!” I was overcome with joy. I really did not have any instructions in this other than a memory that stuck with me after listening to an Art Bell show seven or eight years ago. A caller told a short story concerning his dying grandmother. He had said that, as she lie on her deathbed she said, ‘Grandson, when I die listen to the wind. That will be me talking to you.’ So I use a gentle wind as background noise when I record.”  Susan Bové and her team returned for a visit to the Ma- sonic Lodge where they had previously recorded spirits singing. Susan was with team members on the main floor when there was a burst of loud conversation com- ing from the second floor team. “Our people are very disciplined, so I was surprised at how loud they got.” She wrote, “The kicker is, that this was NOT the second floor team talking! This was a sudden burst of audible EVP and we didn’t realize it and I told them to shut up!”  Charli Clapool has been experimenting with using a short wave foreign language broadcast as her source of background noise

while recording directly into the computer. She is getting many clear EVP using this method. Just a few of them are; “Were all completely normal,” “We talk through the hole that’s right in front of this.”  Martha Copeland who has so graciously agreed to help coordinate and be the chairperson for the AA-EVP Con- ference in June 2004, recently asked, “Would anyone on the other side like to help us with this conference,” A male voice replied “Yes, we would love to help, and Cathy will too!”  New member, Wisteria Haines, wrote that she had rec- orded, “Wisteria, this is Grandma and Grandpa …Grandma and Grandpa.” At first she thought the se- cond Grandma and Grandpa was an echo and then she wondered if her Grandfather was repeating part of the message to help her hear it.  Sylvia McNickle, a new member from Australia, wrote that she used to regularly experiment with a friend who died in 1993. Using a portable boom box tape recorder during the period of there sitting, they recorded one very clear voice which said “Hello. This is Margaret. Can you hear my voice?” Sylvia has just recently begun ex- perimenting on her own.  Karen Mossey asked her son Rob if it was nice in his world. In an EVP, you can clearly hear Rob’s voice re- ply, “Yes.” Karen wrote, “What a comforting message for me to hear.” On another day she was in the garage looking at her son’s bike;

it was his pride and joy. She turned on her recorder and said, “I know how much you love your bike and I want you to know Sean is taking very good care of it.” A voice is heard immediately say- ing, “Your son Rob’s happy. He’s with me.”  Marie Yates did a recording on Memorial Day at a cem- etery. Marie told us that, “We went to decorate ex- husband Steven’s grave, Grandpa Ralph’s grave and Grandma Shirley’s grave. While we were there, my aunt took a flag from another grave and put it on her father’s, because his had been stolen (he was a decorated WW2 veteran). This was terrible, I know. Nevertheless, I was recording when she did this and the result was a voice saying, “I saw what you took!”  George Wynne reported that he has finally recorded an EVP message from his wife, Maya. He has sought to communicate with Maya since he joined the AA-EVP June 2001. To quote Sarah Estep, to whom he had sent the recording, “Yes, I heard Maya saying “Yes” when you asked if she was with you. It is clear and definitely a female voice…” Good work George! AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly newsletter, a cross-country list, an email sharing group, Archive access and knowledge that you are helping get the word out about these phenomena to the public. Annual dues are $20 for USA and $25 USF for Internation- al members. Donations in excess

of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Please mail this form and your dues and donations to the address shown below. You can also use the online form and pay via PayPal.com at aaevp.com. Make check to AA-EVP. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to be in the Egroup? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via email rather than postal service? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I real- ize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Volume 22 Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com AA-EVP NewsJournal Number 4 Winter 2004 From our Viewpoint Serendipity is an interesting term and concept. It means accidentally making a fortunate

discovery; for instance, the serendipitous discovery of penicillin. A kindred term that describes a very similar concept is “coincidence,” which is defined as a sequence of events that occur natu- rally, even though they appear to have been planned; for instance, the appearance of a comet in the sky during a war. Under such circumstances, comets have been given the attributer of being harbingers of disasters when their appearance in the sky during bad times for society is “sci- entifically” considered coincidental. Both terms are predicated on the assumption that we live in a “rational” world ruled by principles of physical science. This is the reductionistic view that accepts the existence of life and our current civilization as an acci- dental result of “The Big Bang.” In this view of reality, there is no room for anything in reality that is not part of the physical universe. Life is considered “coincidental”! Well, in our line of work, we have learned to take a close look at occurrences that appear to be serendipitous or coincidental. As anyone who works with Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) can tell you, our world is peo- pled with a myriad of unseen entities whose influence in our lives is pervasive. “Unseen entities”? “Influence”? Pretty controversial statements, don’t you agree? Of course, claiming the pres- ence of unseen entities who have a pervasive influence in our lives is a difficult concept to embrace for people who have not examined the evidence, but we can demonstrate that our

friends beyond the veil are numerous and quite capable of talking to us via our technology. Some of you also have first hand experience with these unseen entities talking to you without the use of technology, and some- times even making their presence known by causing phys- ical changes such as rattling a door knob or a bed post. So yes, we feel that there is ample evidence to say that our friends in Spirit are capable of having a physical influence in our lives. We know how they like to talk, why should we doubt that they would like to express other forms of communication? Now, before you begin to work up a concern that we are about to tell you about poltergeist activity potentially causing trouble in your life, don’t go there! That is not our point. As it turns out, there is apparently something about the veil that causes negative energy to be self-limiting and unless you are desirous of such intrusion, the entities have difficulty exerting that kind of influence. No, what we are bringing to you here is the suggestion that intervention in our lives from the other side is common, and if you learn to look for it, we believe you will agree. A good example of such intervention is the ongoing sa- ga of the spirit painting we discuss on Page 6 of this newsletter. In that experience, you will see that we thought little about our first encounter with the painting, but

upon seeing the third painting, we accepted the proba- bility that some unseen entity was attempting to com- municate with us. In the case of the spirit painting, the phenomenon is the spirit intervention and the three ver- sions of the painting are just the opportunity to communi- cate. If you have read the book about EVP we recently pub- lished, you will know that we have learned to look for our spirit friends to communicate with us by influencing our actions or the actions of people with whom we come into contact. Things are influenced as well. We look for their influence everywhere. Within this idea that our unseen friends can communi- cate by influencing our environment is the realization that there are no accidents. This is not to say that everything is spirit communication because our world still responds to our actions. We alone create much of our world. Others live in our world and they too execute their self- determination to create aspects of their world. We experi- ence those creations as well, so you see that there is a host of influences at play in our world and only some of them are likely attempts at communication by our discarnate friends. We know that we must practice discernment in how we interact with our world and avoid reading too much significance into everything we experience. Some- times we are participants in someone else’s learning expe- rience and there is nothing personal about the situation for us

to worry about. The point is, EVP is real. Also, the communicating enti- ties are, for the most part, discarnate people. We know that these people are eager to communicate. We also know that some are motivated to try to help family members and other loved ones who are still in the flesh. We have per- sonally experienced such help and we believe that we can logically infer from our work with EVP that it is reasona- ble to expect such influence. Assuming that your unseen friends have probably had a previous influence in your life by “bringing” people and/or situations to you, how can you turn that influence into a form of communication? How can you make the task of helping you a little easier for your friends? First, behave as if what we have said is true. You need not have proof to use the concept. Continued Page 10 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 4, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 The Maryse and John Locke Development Circle Our thanks to AA-EVP member, Val de France for translating this article from the original French If the state of the art of EVP today is similar to the early days of communication before the development of the wireless telegraph, then Video Instrumental Transcommu- nication (ITC) is about the same as the early days of communication before the discovery of electricity. There are

few people working in this field and those who are, are generally using the same technique as used by Klaus Schreiber at the time that Video ITC was discovered. This is the video loopback method which we use. We are always excited to discover when someone is working in Video ITC—especially when this work in- cludes important modifications to the Klaus Schreiber method as reported in the last issue of the now retired Spiritual Scientist (the Scole Group publication) and lately in Le Messager No 44, the publication of the French ITC group, Infinitude. Maryse and John Locke of France are using the video loop method, but with important differ- ences. As you can see in the diagram, the usual television or computer screen has been replaced with a video projec- tor and a parabolic projection screen. The screen is made of cardboard that has been painted white. The Lockes work with mediums who relay guidance for design modi- fications that are offered by their nonphysical counter- parts. As is the case with researchers who consciously work with this kind of assistance, the design of the screen seems to be changing with each new experiment. Thus, you should use the shape as a suggestion and “invent” as the urge strikes you. The objective appears to be to pro- duce something other than a faithful reproduction of the projected image in the video camera. The camera itself is placed in the range of thirty inches from the screen. A pair of

florescent ultraviolet lights are used to provide optical bias, as are a pair of red and blue lights that are controlled by dimmer switches. The Lockes indicate that adjustment of the lights is critical to the formation of a proper feedback pattern. Another relatively unique feature is the completion of the video loop with a video frequency transceiver pair and a video amplifier that is incorporated into the video cam- era half of the circuit. The amplifier also feeds a signal to a computer which is running Pinnacle System’s Studio 7 is used for capture and subsequent preparation of the vid- eo for frame analysis in a photo editor. Use of a transmitter and receiver in the circuit is techni- cally unnecessary for a video loop, in that a standard vid- eo cable would do the same. However, some of the more interesting and successful experiments in ITC have been conducted with some form of transmitter/receiver in the circuit. For this reason, we have even thought of experi- menting with a wireless baby monitor for our EVP. Those are the mechanical modification to the standard video loop method. But there is more. The Lockes also conduct their experiments while sitting with mediums as if they were in a séance. The mediums sit close to the computer and are asked to tell the experimenters who it is that they find in their grabbed video frames. Except on very rare occasions, we have found in our own experi- ments that we end

up with numerous faces for whom we have no name. With the assistance of the mediums, the lockes have been able to make many more identifications. When the mediums are not available, the Lockes some- Video ITC image of a woman (left) thought to be Marie Corelli times use a tool similar to a Ouija Board that was suggest- ed to them by their spirit team. This is a small copper hoop (about 3/8th inch diameter by about 32 inches across) with a pointer attached and laid concentric to a plastic or wood plate about ten inches across that has the alphabet and 1 to 10 inscribed on its surface. The experimenters use this—usually with other sitters—in much the same way as the planchette of the Ouija Board. They have found the resulting messages, from what they call the Oui- jam, to be very helpful in identifying the people in their video frames. Continued Page 3 Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2004. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Barbara Thurman and Sandra Pfortmiller. Volume 22, Number 4, Page

3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 Development Circle Continued from Page 2 Two examples of the Locke’s work are offered here. The first is a comparison between a Video ITC feature and a photograph of Marie Corelli, favorite the romantic actress of Queen Victoria. Corel- li is a member of the Locke’s etheric team and provided instruction technical for the construction of devices. has The next example is Charles de Baz (left) Henry IV (right) thought to be of two men, based on information gathered by the Oui-jam. In the background, is Charles de Baz, 1633-1673. In the front is Henry (IV) Bourbon, Navarre, France, 1533-1610. Contacts from Other Worlds AA-EVP founder, Sarah Estep, is well known for her EVP of spirit voices, but she also had many contacts with those that we would call extraterrestrials. Sarah called these voices her “space voices.” She wrote that the majority of the space voices sounded like spirit voices but that some had a high, almost mechanical quality to them. Many of these messages were longer than the usual spirit entity EVP with some messages being fifteen to twenty words and even longer. She wrote, “The voices from space did not seem to need to go through a learning process in order to speak on tape. Unlike spirit voices, many space mes- sages were initially loud and clear Class A.” Jutta Liebman of the German VTF has also recorded many voices that were from extraterrestrials. In 1986 and 1987 Jutta called on the positive

space people and ask them to contact her via EVP. She received some amazing- ly loud audio contacts in which the voices sounded, “A little bit metallic or in some manner technical.” The EVP messages were much longer than the usual message. In addition to these amazing recordings, and at the same time, Jutta had two sightings of spaceships. Sarah sent some of her space recordings to the late Bill Weisensale, editor of the EVP newsletter, The Spirit Voice. Bill studied Sarah’s tapes on an oscilloscope and noticed that, “A few of the voices, notably some of those claiming to be from ‘space,’ exhibit a certain technical characteristic (background dropout), which indicates the presence of a very weak, but otherwise normal radio sig- nal. This effect is not present in ordinary communication from the spirit world.” It occurred to Sarah that if the space beings could speak on tape, perhaps they might be able to come through her television set. Over several days she asked them questions regarding coming through her television and finally asked them where to tune her set. They replied, “Thank you. Will repeat. At night forty-seven.” That night she sat down in front of her television and tuned it to 47 uhf. She saw nothing but the usual snow on the screen for two nights, but on the third night, she was shocked to see the let- ters, “USCA,” roll across the screen one after another with each for letter appearing about seconds. The next evening

the letters, “V E N U S,” appeared in the same way. two Sarah’s Notebook Sarah was not al- ways able to sit in front of the television to look for the space beings. Some nights when she would sit nothing would come through. Six nights after seeing the word, “Venus,” another message appeared scrolling across her screen. It was, “A R R I V E D.” Thirteen nights after this the first picture came through along with words. A round disk was seen with a black dot and four or five slash marks from the two to seven o’clock position. Underneath this was the word, VENUS, in all capital letters again. Another six nights passed and a picture of a man was received. He had long hair, was shown from the shoulders up and had his eyes closed. That same evening another image appeared. It was a side view of a man running off the screen from right to left. When Sarah asked the next day, if they had sent a picture of themselves through the television the night before, she received, “Yes, we did.” One of the most startling pictures that she received dur- ing the several months that she sat in front of her televi- sion was of a group of five or six figures running as if in formation. The figures seemed to be male. They were shown from the side running from right to left and all were dressed identically in what looked like silver-gray

uniforms. Each figure’s head was covered by a hood. The men were in view for about four seconds and during that time the ‘snow’ totally disappeared from the television. During the viewing of the figures running across the screen and some of the other images, Sarah’s dog Misty would pace around the room growling, hair bristling, greatly disturbed. She would finally sit down beside Sa- rah’s legs, whining and quivering. All of this was behav- ior that was not at all typical for the dog. When she later asked about this via her recorder she was told, “Your pet knows when we’re around it.” Sarah wrote, “I have to admit that all of this is true, for I saw them one evening in front of my television, working on their black box that no doubt had the pictures they wanted to send me at that time. They’d often said they’d put black boxes in my home, even though I saw the box just that one time.” Continued Page 4 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 4, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 The first animal introduced was a German Shepherd dog. The dog was brought into the room and, after a few seconds began barking and snarling all the while showing his teeth. The area of his concern was the far corner of the room. The same far corner which Morris and others had suspected to

be an active area. The dog backed itself out of the room. Morris than carried a cat into the room. The cat jumped from his arms and began hissing and spitting and arching his back at the same comer of the room. The cat could not be contained as it ran from the room. The third and most interesting animal which was brought in was a rattlesnake. The snake was let out and immediately coiled itself in a defensive position as if in- tending to strike at something threatening it in the previ- ously identified comer. Finally, Morris set a rat free in the room. The rat walked casually through the room into all areas and comers seem- ingly oblivious to anything there. Did he not sense the presence? Or, had the presence left annoyed at being the target of science? An interesting experiment to say the least. Scientists have always said that, in the aftermath of a nuclear confrontation the only creatures left on earth will be cockroaches and rats. This result may fuel that theory From Hauntings Notes, Spring 2002, Al Rauber, www.hauntednewjersey.com/main.htm More ITC Photos from the Scole Mediums Diana and Alan Bennett are still experimenting with capturing images of other dimensions on film. They are guided by their Spirit team on where to place crystals. Light is then reflected off the crystals and pic- tures are taken. Here are a few more images from the Bennetts. Contacts from Other Worlds Con’t From Page 3 Jutta tells

us that she always has had a very good feeling about her space contacts and never felt frightened by them. “I had at that time, a kind of ‘dream’ at night, trav- eling through space and staying on a kind of platform in space, where beings, from whom I could only see the pro- file, explained something to me. I have really seen in this ‘dream-like’ state of mind, a panel with lights of all col- ors, which looked very technical. I cannot remember, what I had been told, but I reluctantly had to leave this platform and the beings let me softly down into space, as if it was water. Then I awoke with a jerk in my physical body and my legs were ice-cold. For a reason, which I do not know, I was upset that I had to return into my physical body. “After this period I read many books about space beings and contacts with humans. Up to now, I have only occa- sionally received such ET-like voices during my EVP ses- sions, but the spirit voices clearly point out that space people/extraterrestrials exist and that they (the spirit enti- ties) are aware of them. The Psychic Ability of Animals By Al Rauber For many years, the scientific community has been studying animals for a variety of “intuitive” related rea- sons. Animals have been studied extensively as a possible tool for weather predications. It has been proven, for ex- ample, that many animals including cows, horses,

and cats affect a certain type of behavior prior to changes in the weather patterns. These animals and others, also exhibit peculiar behavioral patterns prior to earthquakes or vol- canic eruptions. But can animals also be used in the study of haunting type phenomena? Many Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Investigators put a lot of faith in this factor when studying hauntings. Most will ask at sometime during the initial consultation whether or not there are any pets in the house and if at times they react in a strange or peculiar manner. Pet owners, at least the majority of them, are very con- scious of the behavioral patterns of their animals. Any- thing out of the ordinary will jump out as unusual. Many Investigators have witnessed this change in behavior dur- ing an investigation first hand. Parapsychologists too have been studying these animal intuitions. Many have experimented with some very inter- esting animals assessing their intuitive abilities. In the fore-front of these studies was Dr. Robert Morris. Dr. Morris, as a research coordinator with the Psychical Re- search Foundation, designed a very unique test. During a haunting investigation, Dr. Morris identified the most ac- tive room in a reputedly haunted house, as well as the most active section of that room, the far corner. His plan was to introduce a series of animals into the room and record their behavior when confronted with this unwanted energy. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death

in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 4, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 Animal Friends When Cathy Copeland was on earth she loved animals. Her move to the spirit world has not changed either her love for her animals or her ability to interact with them. Cathy used to dress her animals up for the different holi- days. This is a picture of her cat, Sarah Jane, dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit. Martha Copeland was a snapping Cathy’s cat, Sarah Jane bowl of green beans the day before Thanksgiving when her sister dropped by and asked her to go shopping. She wrote, “It doesn't take much to bend my arm, so I choose to shop instead of doing the necessary preparation for the Thanks- giving meal. Being in a hurry to escape my chores I left the bowl of green beans on the couch in the den. I also left Doja (Cathy's dog, my big mistake) in the house. I totally forgot Doja was in the house. “When I returned home my den was covered with chewed up green beans. Doja also decided to transplant some of my plants for me. He did this without any consid- eration of replanting them into another pot. Doja also de- cided to add the flowers from my table into the already big mess.” Martha had also forgotten to turn her voice activated re- corder off. Once she had recovered from the shock of the mess she played the recordings.

Cathy’s voice can be heard saying “Doja, No!” The day after Thanksgiving, Martha kept getting Cathy’s voice on her recorder saying, “Penny.” Penny is the name of one of Martha’s parent’s dogs. Her mother called her later that day and told her that her father was taking Penny to the vet be- cause she was sick. Penny was 19 years old and had to be put to sleep. The EVP that Martha received from Cathy was before her mother’s tele- phone call. Cathy and Penny Animal Voices This past summer Martha Copeland thought she was go- ing crazy as she could hear her daughter Cathy’s voice in the meowing of Cathy’s cat, Sarah Jane. (See a picture of Sarah above.) Then she had a couple of workers in her kitchen while she was outside watering plants. They told her that they had heard someone else talking. When they turned around they realized that it was the cat, Sarah Jane. In July Martha’s son, Marek and his girlfriend, Mari came for a visit. Martha wrote, “Before taking them back to the airport, Mari met me in my kitchen and told me there was something she had to talk to me about. (Of course, I thought ... they’re getting married.) What Mari said to me reinforced what has been going on here in my house. “Mari told me that yesterday while I was at the grocery store, Sarah started talking. She and my son were packing their clothes and heard someone talking

downstairs. Mari said she looked downstairs and saw my cat Sarah. To her surprise she realized it was Sarah talking. I asked Mari what Sarah had said. Mari told me she (and my son) heard Sarah say, “Marek, Marek, your sister is here.” This was preceded with all the lights in our house flickering on and off. Mari said my son ran out of his room and said that it was Cathy.” Rich and Mary Smith say that they have received some very strange things while recording their cat. They wrote, “We have found that spirit voices can talk along with, and in cadence with, the meow of the cat. We also find other voices making comments along with ours ... just as if they were the pet’s owners and talking to the cats as we do. We have also put our recorder next to the cat’s throat while purring and recorded strange phrases like ‘don't you love me?’ much fun....” Cris Hazlitt commented that he had been trying to ex- plain EVP to a friend. The friend said that he had been involved with a psychic phenomena group in Canada and that they had put a tape recorder in a haunted house and left. No one was there except for a dog. On the tape re- corder one could hear words being superimposed over the dog’s bark as if the ghost was using the energy from the dog’s bark to speak. The Ghost and the Oscar Mayer Toy AA-EVP

member, Andrea Carr, lives in Chester, NH in a haunted house. When they first looked at the house as a place they might buy, the owner was sick in a nursing home and the ashes of her husband, George, were in the closet. The owner also made her transition before they moved in. After they moved in, Andrea’s daughter told her, “Tell that man to get out of my bed.” Her daughter’s bedroom had been George’s bedroom. In the picture here, Andrea was taking pictures of some items that she was planning to sell on Ebay. Can you see the anomalous figure in the background? Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 4, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 The Mystery of the Roses The Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary defines Coinci- dence as, “1. (esoteric) (Carl Jung) two events occurring simultaneously, having no known cause-and-effect con- nection and unrelated in nature but showing a meaningful response, indicating some kind of intelligence link.” If you have read our book, There is No Death, you know that we attended a transfiguration séance at the Golden Gate Spiritualist Church in San Francisco last May. The Church is an amazing place full of historical items. Some of these items are spirit paintings painted by a spirit artist during sittings given by the Reverend Flor- ence Becker. During these one to two hour sessions, a blank canvas was set out for the spirit

artist to work with. The people attending the séance sat in total darkness, con- tinuously singing until a loud clap was heard. The clap signaled that the painting was complete. When the lights were turned on, the canvas was seen to hold a portrait or scene with still wet paint. The Spirit Painting was then covered with a black cloth and placed away from light for over a year. It was known that, without this period of darkness, the precipitated painting would fade away. ance. It was a painting of a vase of Roses. While at the Golden Gate Church, we remember seeing several of the wonderful spirit paintings, but not the painting of roses. The other photograph was of another painting of roses that the woman had found in a restaurant in the California gold country. The two were somewhat alike as you can see by the photographs and she thought we might be interested in the “coincidence.” In early November of 2003 we conducted an investiga- tion in the Thunderbird Lodge at Lake Tahoe, Nevada with Janice Oberding (www.hauntednevada.com). It was a large place and it required hours of work to analyze the audio and video we collected during the investigation. Janice writes books about haunted places and was talking to us about a haunted antique store she had discovered, even as we were working on the Thunderbird material. As she was speaking about this new location, I could only think about all the work that we had

stacked up and that I was not going to let her get us interested in another inves- tigation. We simply had more to do than we could handle! So I listened, but assured myself that we were not going to get involved! A few days later an Email came from Janice informing us of the address for the haunted antique store on her web site and asking us to let her know what we thought. The first thing that I saw on the recommended page was a painting of Roses with a title, “Haunted Painting.” To say my mouth dropped open is an understatement. We imme- diately tore through the house to find the photographs that had been given to us at the convention in San Francisco. Holding the picture of the spirit painting beside the picture of the “haunted painting,” we could see that the similari- ties were unmistakable. It will be difficult to see in the black and white pictures, but the form and location of each rose and leaf is the same. There is an additional bunch of roses on the table in the antiques store version. This is exactly the location of the spirit artist signature in the original. There is also a difference in the color of the roses. The spirit painting roses are toward the red shade. The roses in the painting in the antique store are pink. Janice later explained that the rose painting had been the property of the owner’s mother. She

loved the painting and even painted a room of the house to match the pink of the roses. Continued Page 7 Most of the spirit paintings were presented to Reverend Becker’s students or Church members and were returned to the church upon the recipient’s eventual transition to spirit. The total number of such paintings is unknown but twenty-five are displayed at the Golden Gate Church. The earliest known spirit painting was completed in 1911. In October 2003 we gave a workshop at the National Spiritualist Association of Churches annual Conference in San Francisco, California. While there, a woman ap- proached us with two photographs. One was of a spirit painting that was precipitated at a Reverend Becker sé- Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 4, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 The Mystery of the Roses Continued From Page 6 When her mother transitioned, the daughter turned the home into an antique store. The rose painting was among the antiques for sale. As the story was told to us, she had agreed to sell it to a man who helped in the store and was a boarder in an up- stairs room. That very night the painting fell off the wall damaging an electrical outlet and nearly starting a fire. A few weeks later the man mentioned that they had not set a price for the painting and its sale was once again dis-

cussed. The painting again fell off the wall that evening, even though it was hung with an eight penny nail. After this the proprietor told the man that she felt the painting did not want to be sold. The next day we were all in the car, making the drive to the Antique store. The first thing that we asked after meet- ing the owner was if she knew anything about Spiritual- ism. She answered, “Have you ever heard of the Reverend Florence Becker?” We learned from the ensuing conversa- tion that her mother had lived near San Francisco and at- tended Reverend Becker’s sittings in the late 1950s. The daughter felt that the painting was from the late 1800s but the painting is not signed or dated. The Becker painting is dated 1916 and signed by the Spirit Artist, Rapierre. While we were there, we recorded for EVP around the painting. We feel that we possibly heard from the wom- an’s mother, who via EVP, reassured the daughter that she was pleased with what she had done to the home through renovations. We then asked if the painting would like to be in a Spiritualist household and received a “Yes” and another EVP saying, “We are not happy here.” We asked if the painting would like to be returned to the Golden Gate Church and also got an affirmative answer. The owner will not sell the painting and is actually afraid that some terrible thing will befall her or

the store if the painting were to be removed even for a few minutes. We did not share the EVP that we received regarding the painting. This would not be ethical considering her feel- ings about the painting. We have no idea who was speak- ing to us through EVP, and as we all know, this could have easily been a trickster. So, we really do not know the meaning of this series of events. The relationship and sim- ilarity of the painting is obvious. We feel that the Haunted Painting is most likely a copy of the original, which was a gift from the spirit artist to Reverend Becker for her work and dedication. The Rose painting hung over the fireplace at Reverend Becker’s house during the late 1950s. A pho- tograph could have been taken of it and a copy made. Still this was a most interesting experience and we wonder if the story is not yet over. At some future day it will be proved, I cannot say when and where, that the human soul is, while in earth life, al- ready in an uninterrupted communication with those liv- ing in another world. Immanuel Kant (Prussian Philosopher, 1724 – 1804) All Orbs May Not be Dust. By Ross Hemsworth of The Phantom or Fraud Project http://www.phantomorfraud.com/ On Sat November 22nd, I was involved in an experiment at an old disused school in a village outside the Bolton area. The team with me included a good mixture of

skeptics, open mindeds, sensitives and believers. There were nu- merous buildings across a wide area of the village, and the building we were in at this stage was called Redgate. At around 2 to 3 a.m. (Sunday morning) we entered a room in the building, where sensitive Amanda Sheppard, detected the presence of two young children, possibly twins, one boy and one girl. Immediately videos and cam- eras began to roll. Until this time, we had seen no orb activity to speak of, and yet all the rooms were old and dusty! Nita Grant then started to ask the “children” to play with her, and to our utter amazement, orbs were photographed in the exact positions at which Nita told us the children were. But there was even more to come…. Skeptic Philip Kimpton was running video when Nita said, “Okay now, Kayleigh (the name given to the little girl) I want you to go over there (pointing) and sit with Penny. At this point Philip became quite excited and said, “That’s amazing; an orb has just risen slowly from the floor up to Nita’s hand and then sped off across to Pen- ny!” The “orb” was then photographed appearing to be sitting on Penny’s lap! The video evidence has been viewed over and over, and Philip it has to be said, left this investigation far less of a skeptic than when he arrived! Now there will be those of you who put this down to co- incidence, but I

was there monitoring the experiment and there were far too many pieces of “evidence” to suggest that this could fall into coincidence. For years, other organizations have knocked me for sticking with the theory that orbs are on occasions, more than just airborne particles, and many organizations have stopped researching orbs altogether. But for me, this was further evidence that we just may be dealing with a soul or spirit or at the very least, a life form showing distinct in- telligence. Do you know any dust with intelligence? Fairy in Flight in Mike Sullivan recently posted this interesting picture to the AA-EVP Egroup. The picture shows what looks like a flight. One Fairy member felt the that picture was caused by the flash of the camera reflecting off a flying insect. The photo is still very unusually and in- triguing. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 4, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 EVP Tests Alexander MacRae wrote, “As you probably know I car- ried out multiple option tests on the Petaluma voices (col- lected in the IONS screen room) with spectacular results. To act as a cross-check or control in case of any lingering skepticism, I have sent another sound file 1.78 seconds long, with a choice of five interpretations as before, to the same old team who did so well, plus some others. “Poor souls, they wanted so hard to please me but

in the end, one by one, they had to report that all they heard was noise, and this in spite of the fact that the test was config- ured to be just the same as the previous ten tests using the voices obtained in the double-screened lab in Petaluma. “So, why should they hear voices in one case but only noise in another? What went wrong? Nothing went wrong. All the sound file contained was 1.78 seconds of white noise! Well, so much for those who say that we are just hearing things we want to hear! “Those people tried so hard to hear something for me. They had been through the exact same routine before. So it all looked as though there must be a voice there; and it looked as though I believed there was a voice there. So, did they fall into the trap? Did they heck! The panel included a Professor of Linguistics, a Re- search Physicist, a professor of Life Sciences, a California Attorney, a trained IT technician; a group of well balanced achievers. So if anyone even suggests to you that it is all in one’s head ask what experiments they have done.” The Message By Rhonda Lunsford My brother Robert died in January of 2001. We had been estranged for the last five years of his life and I was heartbroken when he died because I loved him so much. As a paranormal investigator, I began to notice that things had moved in

my house, two earrings suddenly came up missing from my jewelry drawer, and on four separate occasions, psychics who didn’t know me announced that a man named “Robert” or “Roger” was standing next to me. One lady even said Robert was calling out to her in an agitated manner to say, “Tell her I’m sorry.” Needless to say I was delighted! Visitors to my house began seeing tall dark shadows in the hallway and bath- room of my house. My brother had come back to me! When one of the mediums told me I wouldn’t see him un- til I “put him on the pedestal” I had to think about what that meant. My deduction was that we’d cremated Robert, placed his ashes in my other brother’s grave, but hadn’t purchased a headstone for Robert. So I got myself down to the monument company and picked one out. Of course it was pretty expensive, and as I sat there thinking, “Maybe I ought to shop around for a better deal,” the radio station coming through the over- head speakers began to play the Beach Boys song, “Help Me Rhonda.” My eyes got so big the salesman asked what was wrong. I replied, “I’ll take that stone.” The Big Circle That is what Cathy Copeland called the group of people communicating across the veil using EVP. “The Big Cir- cle” is also one of the names being considered for the people Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey have brought together for group

recordings focused on receiving mes- sages from loved ones on the other side. [It is interesting to note that the logo we settled on for the AA-EVP is a blue circle that fades from dark at the left to light at the right. We see the circle as representative of the greater reality and the blue gradient as representative of the continuum of reality from our Physical Plane to the “high- er” etheric realms. Thus, the circle seems to represent our arena of communication for EVP. Editor] You will remember that we have previously published reports of messages from Cathy Copeland and also the article detailing this ongoing story in the Spring 2003 NewsJournal. We have published the article at http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_griefmgmt2.htm for those of you who do not have that issue. Please write us with a SASE if you do not have access to the Internet. In brief, Martha and Kathy both lost children. They live in different parts of the USA but found each other in the AA-EVP Egroup. Both belonged to bereavement groups but were disappointed. Martha told us that she felt that she needed to learn to focus on her child’s new world, not the old. “It was important for me to learn how to communi- cate with Cathy in her new surroundings. Cathy does not require my help any longer in the physical, but I can con- tinue to help her in the spirit world by providing my love and understanding. The bereavement group that I

was in did not represent the different paths someone might take to deal with this kind of tragedy.” The group records every other Thursday at 8:00 p.m. EST, during which they follow a protocol posted by Mar- tha and Karen. It has been demonstrated over and over again that when a group like this asks for help in forming a “station” for communication, etheric helpers soon ap- pear to assist. These things can take time, but the results are always well worth the effort. If you would like to be part of the bi-weekly group recording please contact Mar- tha Copeland at [email protected], or by post at 1797 Dewinton Place, Lawrenceville, GA 300043. Even if you do not join in the scheduled sessions, we believe that the idea of “The Big Circle” can become a reservoir in which the energy of love and desire to reach out across the veil we share can accumulate, and thus, be available for anyone who seeks to contact a loved one. Using the energy of this growing contact field is easy. Simply conduct your meditations before recording and visualize yourself and your loved one as part of this fami- ly of like-minded friends. Replenishing the energy is also easy. Simply hold a loving thought in your mind for the others who share your desire to communicate. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 4, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter

2004 Memorial Web Site As an active poster in the AA-EVP Egroup, James Jones has seen the numerous emails in the group concerning finding ways to communicate with loved ones. When par- ticipants in the Group Recording began talking about pic- tures of their loved ones, James came up with the idea of using some of his web space to publish a memorial web page for the group. You can find this memorial at www.necrovox.com/memorial/. Take a visit. It helps us all remember the people behind the EVP that are received. If you would like to add a loved one to this Memorial Web Site, please send an email to James at audiotechni- [email protected]. Enclose a picture with the full name, date of birth and date of passing along with some information or words of your own. A donation to help cover James time and costs for the work would be appreciated. Update With the October release of “There is No Death and There are No Dead” and the decision to have a conference in Reno, June 3-6 2004, our lives have changed. Before this, we had not actively sought the attention of the media and had turned down various opportunities. But we knew that, if the book was to educate people about EVP, they would need to know that it was out there to be read. We were on the “Coast to Coast” radio show in October, and were flabbergasted that the AA-EVP website received over 10,000 hits from

this one program. Michael Tymn also gave the book a positive and excel- lent review in the December 2003 issue of The Academy of Religion and Psychical Research Bulletin. On December 15 we were on the Jeff Rense show. It is another large radio/internet talk show. Using the web page of our examples site at www.rense.com/general46/death.html, Rense gave us our first opportunity to explain some of the characteristics of Video ITC to the public. is on his web that Victor Zammit (www.victorzammit.com) has graciously recommended the book to his visitors in his online Friday Report. Other AAEVP members who have web sites have also mentioned the book and/or conference and we thank every one of you for doing this. There are other things in the works. Some of them could be very exciting and helpful to getting the word out about EVP. We hope that just a few of these possibilities will become reality. We will keep you informed. New Books Everyplace I Go Is Haunted, by Richard Smith. Rich discusses the theory and history of the study and research of EVP and then he and Mary take you on some wild jour- neys into the paranormal. The book includes a CD containing EVP examples. It is available on his web site at www.paratexas.com or through Amazon.com. AA-EVP member Cheri Kussaa- vage commented that, “I recently purchased, Everyplace I Go Is Haunted! by AA-EVP members Richard and Mary Smith. I found this book to be light-hearted and entertaining, which helped

relieve some of the fear I have about inviting spirit to speak directly to me! I’ve been playing their CD that comes with the book that has clips from their investigations, and this is helping me tune my ears.” En Communion avec nos défunts (In Communion with Our De- ceased) is a new book on ITC writ- ten in French by Jacques and Monique Blanc-Garin. Jacques and Monique are the directors of the French ITC group, Infinitude. Jacques lost his dear wife Annick in 1988. He was able to contact her through ITC a year after she made her transition. He eventually met Monique, a woman who was also researching ITC with great success. The two worked together with a group of ITC researchers for several years and then were married. Monique began to receive messages in inspired writing from Annick. Annick always signed her messages “Your little sister of the sky.” Following this period, they created the association, Infinitude, to help those who were mourn- ing, learn about ITC and its proof of survival. The book details the experiences of Jacques, Monique and the Infinitude Association. Numerous ITC messages and messages received through inspired writing are de- tailed as well as signs that were received from the other side. This beautifully written book shows that our love for our loved ones does not stop with the change called death. Yahoo no Longer Archives Attachments Yahoo.com recently announced that they will no longer store attachments to emails in the Egroup’s

email archive at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aaevp/. Historically, members of the Egroup have been able to explore the email archive and listen to attached sound files. This was an especially important resource for members who had opted to not receive emails or to receive digests. Well, not to worry. As it happens, James Jones has a rather large chunk of storage space on the Internet and has agreed to maintain an EVP archive at www.necrovox.com/aaevp. AA-EVP member, James Jones, has told us that he has dedicated himself to the better understanding of sound and the audio idiosyncrasies of EVP. He told us that the paranormal voices are largely the reason for this focus in life. So, we are pleased that he has decided to assist the Egroup in this way. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 22, Number 4, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 Contact the Other Side AA-EVP Conference 2004 A brochure and registration form for the AA-EVP confer- ence being held in Reno, Nevada, June 3 through 6 2004, is included in this mailing. The conference should provide wonderful opportunities for everyone to learn more about communicating with the other side. Throughout our four years of guiding the Association, we have heard from so many different members who have wanted to meet the great EVP pioneer and founder of the AA-EVP, Sarah Estep. People have written and said, “If only Sarah Estep could teach me how to record

the para- normal voices.” Conference attendees will get to hear Sa- rah speak and also have the opportunity to attend a “How to Record” workshop with this wonderful Lady! You will not want to miss hearing Mark Macy speak about his considerable background in ITC. He will have his ITC Luminator, a four foot high tower-shaped device said to radically alter the subtle energy environment in an area that extends some 100 feet in all directions from the device. See www.biolumanetics.net for details. Mark writes, “When I take a picture of someone with a Polaroid camera in the presence of the Luminator, there is a good chance that there will be other faces in the picture—faces of people who are not present physically—that is, faces of spirit beings. Conference attendees will have the oppor- tunity to have a picture taken. Dr. Anabela Cardoso has obtained results by capturing anomalous voices on audio tape that are audible only on playback (EVP) as well as through the Direct Radio Voice (DRV) method, in which the voices on radio allows for two-way, real-time communication. In order to assist those wishing to experiment with ITC, Anabela will detail her methods for working with both EVP and DRV. We continue to receive reports that the Reverend Robert Edgy is a wonderful teacher who can help people become more sensitive to the nonphysical aspects in their envi- ronment. Respected AA-EVP member Susan Bové at- tended one of Robert’s workshops and wrote that her team recorded more

EVP and became more clairvoyantly aware of things during investigations after working with Robert. Now you will have that opportunity too! Dennis Hauch is a world renowned paranormal investi- gator, teacher and lecturer. Many people have heard Den- nis talk but few have had the opportunity to attend a workshop on Alchemy with him. He has agreed to teach attendees how to transform their life through Alchemy! Just getting to hear from any one of these presenters is worth the cost of the whole conference but there are even more interesting workshops and opportunities for at- tendees to learn how to record the paranormal voices and images. And if you don’t think a ghost walk is interesting enough, the Association has rented a hotel room that has had known ghost sightings. Volunteers will open the room at different times during the conference for attendees to explore and try their hand at recording EVP. The conference will give members from all over an op- portunity to finally come together and meet each other. We hope that you will agree that the AA-EVP conference 2004 is not to be missed. We can’t wait to meet you there. Conference Volunteers If you are planning on coming to the AA-EVP conference in 2004, consider volunteering for a day or two. People will be needed to help with registration, the book room, door monitors and as monitors in the haunted room. If you are an AA-EVP member and would not mind helping at Martha please

[email protected], or by letter at 1797 Dewinton Place, Lawrenceville, GA 300043. Copeland contact ITC Conference in Spain An International Conference on, “Current Research into Survival of Physical Death, with Special Reference to ITC,” will be held at the cultural Centre in Vigo, Spain, on 23rd-25th April 2004. Anabela Cardoso’s non-profit ITC Journal is hosting the conference. For more information write Calle Carral, 23A Bajo, 36202 Vigo, Spain or e-mail [email protected]. The official languages of the Conference will be Span- ish and English. Simultaneous translation facilities will be provided for all participants. The Conference program is devoted to invited presenta- tions from leading international researchers into all as- pects of ITC and other survival-related areas. Featured among the speakers are Père François Brune from France, Professor Ernest Senkowski from Germany, Dr. Sinesio Darnell from Spain, Dr. Felice Masi, Dr. Enrico Marabini, Paolo Presi and Daniele Gullà from Italy, Montague Keen and Professor David Fontana from the UK, Dr. Anabela Cardoso from Portugal. Where appropriate, Conference presentations will include recorded extracts of ITC com- munications, and guidance will be given on how to com- mence experimenting for ITC results. You can see complete information on the Conference at www.eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/congresotci/ Viewpoint (Continued from Page 1) Just about any teacher will tell you that all you need to do is give yourself permission to accept the possibility that things around you are sometimes the way they are because your friends on the other side deliberately made them that way. The key to recognizing the

influence of unseen entities in your life is to pay attention to the subtle interaction of forces in your life. Accept the possibility and behave as if they may be a form of communication. Then learn to pay attention to how these forces affect your life. We are con- fident that you will find your world to be peopled with etheric friends who are actively trying to help you in this lifetime. Tom and Lisa Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 22, Number 4, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 Thoughts from Members  Steven Beresford let us know that he had recently been busy with other things and had not had much time for EVP. “The most important thing that I gained from the AA-EVP is proof of contact with my departed wife, which is of tremendous significance to me …”  Luci Guilmain wrote that she records on a regular ba- sis, “With some results, not spectacular but enough to convince me that there is ‘life after life’ and that my late husband is protecting me.  Siobhan McBride wrote that she had taken a picture of a friend at the cemetery. Her son, Tony’s, grave was in the foreground and there were several orbs in the pic- ture. “I always enlarge them to see if there is anything inside them and one had a huge smiley face in it. Yes- terday I was

getting something from by bookshelf and saw a binder of Tony’s that we had just found while cleaning out my youngest son, Lars’s, room. I hadn’t seen this binder in years. I was surprised when I realized that there was a huge smiley face sticker on the front of the binder. I know this was no coincidence just a con- firmation that they are indeed with us.”  Janice Oberding came down with a terrible cold and completely lost her voice. She wrote, “Without a voice I can certainly sympathize with those spirits that might have difficulty being heard. This might be what makes some of them seem angry or frustrated.”  Lloyd Bradshaw sent in this, “Some spirits voice frus- tration that they can’t talk to us as freely as they once did while on the mortal side. I’m inclined to believe some poltergeist activity ... is a spirit trying to get atten- tion by whatever fashion they can manage. I’ve had that here. Once I started taping and filming in this house it stopped….”  Mike Sullivan told the Egroup that his interests were radio broadcasting, 20th century history, especially 1900 to 1930, and the paranormal. “To me paranormal re- search, and especially EVP, incorporates all three of my interests and I’ve always felt that attempting to com- municate with the other side through electronics is very much the same as the early experimental days of radio and wireless telegraphy. We are basically attempting to transmit and receive

signals to and from unseen places and people and constantly working to achieve a break- through to improve the communications link. “While I was on vacation last week on Cape Cod, I visited Marconi Station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts which is the site of the first Transatlantic Wireless tele- graph station. In 1903 President Roosevelt sent a mes- sage to King Edward VII. It was the first two-way transoceanic communication and the first wireless tele- gram between America and Europe. To me it was won- derful to be standing where such an important event took place.”  Robert Smith wrote that he hoped to make a contribu- tion to the group. He also wrote, “Would like the Inter- national community to know that Uday Mukhopadhyay and I (the two Australian members) communicated for over an hour last night, he in Adelaide and I in Mel- bourne. The Australian Chapter is well and truly formal- ized!” In November Rob told us that the two of them are considering attending the AA-EVP conference in June. News from Members  Susan Bové appeared on a live call-in TV show in her area and also had a film crew from the Today Show do a piece on the investigation they had done at a Bed and Breakfast during the summer. The segment aired Hal- loween Morning.  Jutta Liebman wrote that she was supposed to conduct a group recording session at the VTF conference in Oc- tober but her recorder broke. Mr. Frans Funken from

the Netherlands helped her with his recorder. Despite these inconveniences a new VTF member received some clear messages from her deceased husband and son, who had both died in a car accident. Jutta wrote, “This colleague was really happy to hear from her loved ones and I was very glad about this fact as well!”  Alexander MacRae’s paper on the Alpha device will be published in the January 2004 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research.  Mark Macy has worked with Dr. Pat Kubis to provide an English translation of Breakthroughs in Technical Spirit Communication by Theo Locher and Maggy Harsch-Fischbach. The book can be downloaded on the World ITC web site (www.worlditc.org/) under the heading of “Books.”  Mike Sullivan’s work with EVP was highlighted in an October article in Foster’s Sunday Citizen called, “Ghost hunters probe Portsmouth’s Landmark Theater” by Dean Abbott. There is No Death and There are No Dead The new book is receiving praise as an important contribution to the field. Why not consider giv- ing a signed copy as a gift to a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or you can send a letter detailing signing instructions to us. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume

22, Number 4, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2004 Researchers Report  Susan Bové noticed that the time stamp on her digital camera was off during an investigation. She had her au- dio recorder on as she was scrolling through the pictures and recorded a voice saying, “Look at the pictures.”  Ron Kosmahl’s mother transitioned in July. In October, he found a message on his answering machine from his mother saying she is, “Now awake again.” He wrote, “They seem to rest when they cross over. My mom had a two week struggle to cross over in the hospital.”  Jutta Liebmann was searching for an appropriate for- eign Language station on short-wave to use as a back- ground sound source when she heard a woman’s voice say, “She is searching,” prior to starting her recorder. “I immediately commented on this remark by saying, ‘Yes, I have heard that. So, I know.’” When she finished the EVP recording, she reviewed the tape and found a male voice EVP that confirmed the original Direct Voice message. The EVP voice said (translated from German) “Yes, this was a message, a message, please.”  Karen Mossey was in her car on her way to teach a class and she was reminiscing about her son Rob and her Dad. She was singing some songs that brought both of them to mind. She reached over turned on her record- er and asked, “What do you think of my singing.” A very clear male voice

answered, “Great” with an em- phasis on the “T.” Karen wrote, “That would be just like my Dad, in his eyes everything I did was great.”  Judy Quillen wrote, “I have been a friend of Martha’s for over a year now. We met through Compassionate Friends and our daughters, Kathy and Jamie, who are also friends in Heaven. I am new to doing recordings but was SO excited the first time Martha invited me over to her house to do some recordings… Jamie came through with, “I’m Jamie,” and it gave me chills! I tried recording myself and after months and hours, got a Class A, “love you,” whisper from her.  Tami Schmidt was with a group at the Culp’s Hill Civil war site. They had gone down the hill with their EMF meters on and heard nothing. When they reached the bottom a police officer called to them through his meg- aphone, shouting, “Return to your Vehicles Immediate- ly!” They tried to run uphill and the eight of them yelled back to the officer that they were coming, but he just kept yelling over his speaker. As they hurriedly climbed back up, the EMF meters went wild and one member captured an EVP saying, “Retreat!”  Rich Smith wrote, “I took my neighbor for a little demonstration on EVP the other day (his first). I told him I could get EVP anywhere, so we just walked down the street about a block and stopped in front of

a house where I did not know the occupants. Turns out my neighbor (who grew up on this street) knew a couple who lived there years ago. The husband had become unstable mentally and killed his wife and himself. My neighbor didn’t divulge this info to me un- til after I produced this EVP from only two minutes of recording in front of the house. The EVP message was “Believe me, he's going back dead”  Rob Smith’s mother transitioned fifteen years ago. In November, he sent his love to her prior to recording. When he checked the recording he heard her saying, “Hello Robert.” He wrote that she had an English back- ground and that, “Her voice and intonation are eerily clear and her speech pattern is as I remember. This has absolutely blown my mind!”  Mike Sullivan says that he feels like we hear from de- parted loved ones as well as others who may or may not be whom they seem. He says that, although he does not know for sure, he feels like he has heard from his father. It was the first time that he had tried to contact him. Mike wrote, “He said ‘I love you very much’ and other comforting things. When I mentioned my mother and brothers he said, ‘Give my love.’” AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly newsletter, a cross-country list, an email sharing group, Archive access and knowledge that you are helping get the word out about these

phenomena to the public. Annual dues are $20 for USA and $25 USF for Internation- al members. Donations in excess of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Please mail this form and your dues and donations to the address shown below. You can also use the online form and pay via PayPal.com at aaevp.com. Make check to AA-EVP. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Email Address: Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to be in the Egroup? Do you wish to receive the newsletter via email rather than postal service? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I real- ize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association

Electronic Voice Phenomena Volume 23 Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com AA-EVP NewsJournal Number 1 Spring 2004 From our Viewpoint Most people in the world would agree that there is a greater reality that exists beyond physical reality. Usually, this greater reality is thought of as a heavenly place occu- pied by our ancestors and gods, and to which each of us will travel upon the day of our physical death. Regretfully though, knowledge of such a place is only a matter of faith for, as we are told, there is no evidence of the existence of anything beyond the known physical universe. Heaven, it seems, is a nice thing to think about but it is not some- thing to look forward to if you are a rational thinker. Happily, we who study Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and Instrumental transcommunication (ITC) be- lieve that we know more about the greater reality than is thought possible. First and foremost, we know that EVP can be demonstrated as communication between those of us still in the flesh and those who have left this physical world. In fact, this is something that is being demonstrated over and over again by people around the world. So, given that there is a “here,” which is the physical aspect of reality we inhabit, and there is a “there,” which is the nonphysical aspect of reality, there must be an inter- face between here and there. Physical science

studies the physical aspect of reality and stops short of that interface because, of course, there is nothing more to study. This means that “there,” which we will call “etheric reality,” is left to be studied by people who are willing to believe in, or at least speculate about the existence of what is only supposed to exist as a matter of faith. EVP Experimenters also know that communication be- tween here and there is not something that can be reduced to formula or pat procedures. Even though a general pro- cedure for communicating with EVP can be defined, in practice, some people are simply better at recording the voices than are others. Some recording devices work bet- ter than others and some of our etheric friends are more interested in communicating than are others. If you con- sider this variability and then include the complexities involved in hearing and understanding the voices, then it is easy to see that some researchers who do not believe in the existence of etheric reality have had difficulty replicat- ing EVP experiments. One element of an EVP experiment that can be picked up, weighed, modified and tested is the recording device. The recorder is also the one thing in the EVP circuit that physical science researchers understand. One of the rea- sons we can say that we know more about etheric reality than might be expected is because of what we are learning about the recorders. As we have discussed on numerous occasions

in the past, it appears that the change from reel-to-reel tape re- corder to cassette and now to IC recorder, has had an at- tendant change in quality and quantity of EVP. The evi- dence seems to argue that what engineers refer to as “ac- tive regions” of the electronic circuits in recorders are the places in which the phenomenal voices are created. It also suggests that the supplied background sound is only nec- essary to cause chaotic energy in those active regions so that the chaotic energy can be transfigured into words. A second hint that the active region of the electronic circuit is important in EVP is that the early computers used many germanium transistors and diodes while mod- ern computers probably have no germanium components. The historical records we have include many important instances of etheric communication involving the old computers, while we have fewer records of communica- tion involving modern computers. Of course there might be many factors contributing to fewer instances of phe- nomena today, but the implication is that the material used in transistors is important and that germanium devices may work better for EVP and ITC than silicon. This can be tested. Some experiments have shown that the phenomenal voices are not in the air (acoustical) but are formed some- where in the recording device. Sound (noise) energy is required as raw material for the formation of the voices and we advise people to supply sound noise via a micro- phone, but this

is only a method with which noise can be injected into the electronic circuit. (By the way, one of the reasons that some of the early IC recorders were so suc- cessful for EVP is that their electronic circuit had quite a lot of noise, making it unnecessary to supply noise.) There are other situations in which sound plays an im- portant part. For instance, white noise is supplied to a sub- ject via headphones in the Ganzfeld methodology for psi research. This was done at first as a form of sensory dep- rivation but it later became known as a technique for im- proving psi functioning of the subject. Considering the similarity between a mass of nerve cells and a mass of transistors, and considering that both situations involve a very weak psi signal that must be amplified to some de- tectible level, it seems reasonable to speculate that similar processes might be involved in psychic functioning and the transfiguration of noise into recognizable voices. And so, this brings us to the point of this discussion. We know that there is an etheric aspect of reality. We know that there is, therefore, an interface between the etheric and the physical. Continued page 10 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 AA-EVP Conference The AA-EVP is hosting a conference in Reno, Nevada. June 3-6, 2004 titled, Communicating with

the Other Side. We have included abstracts from some of the re- searchers who will be providing presentations and work- shops. We hope to see you in Reno in June! Workshop: Contacts with Timestream Station Anabela will go over the information and teachings that she has received from her spirit group called Timestream. In order to assist those wishing to experiment with ITC, the workshop will detail the author’s methods for working with both EVP and DRV. Dr. Anabela Cardoso A Portuguese career diplo- mat since 1976, Dr Cardoso was the first woman to hold a diplomatic post outside of her country. A former member of the SPR, Dr. long-standing Cardoso’s interest in questions related to life and death led her to begin experimenting with ITC in 1998. See Anabela’s web at site http://personal1.iddeo.es/acardoso/ Abstract of Presentation: Current Evidence for Survival from Communications received through ITC The presentation will summarize some of the most im- portant work that has been done in this field, and will de- tail the author’s own results, obtained in her studio under controlled conditions, using what are known respectively as the EVP or microphone recording method and Direct Radio Voices method (DRV). The EVP method records anomalous voices audible only on playback, while the DRV method captures such voices on radio and thus may allow two-way communication with the investigator. It will be explained that the author’s results have been sub- jected to independent audio analysis, with findings that indicate they contain features incompatible with

normal human voices. Some recorded examples of these results will be played in the course of the presentation, as will some results of other researchers such as the Spanish pio- neer, Sinesio Darnell. Dr. Cardoso set up a studio and began her experimental work in 1998, and her results have attracted world-wide attention. In order to provide a forum for these results and for those of other researchers, she founded the ITC Jour- nal in the year 2000. The Journal appears four times a year, is published in three languages, has an international readership and Editorial Board, and carries contributions from many countries. During the presentation, reference will be made to some of these contributions in order to illustrate the strict experimental controls that have been established by many researchers to discount the possibility of normal explanations for the results obtained. Rev. Robert Egby A practicing clinical hypnotherapist and an interfaith min- ister, Robert is a veteran jour- nalist and editor, award win- ning broadcaster and award winning news photographer. He currently publishes the monthly Parapsychic Journal and contributes a monthly col- umn to Britain's Psychic World newspaper. Robert is a Mental Medium who gives personal readings and conducts one day intensives on Psychic Devel- opment. Abstract of Presentation: Developing Your Pyschic Ability People who fail to recognize and develop their psychic abilities are like people dressed in black wandering across the busy super-freeway of life. Robert discusses ways and means of developing psychic abilities; the difference be- tween psychics

and mediums; the need to get out of your own way; how to climb the stairway of psychometry, clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; how to work with loving spirit guides and handle not so loving entities; basic protection; and, how to get into PRM (Psy- chic Receptivity Mode) or altered states of consciousness. Robert’s presentation will include a meditation, a basic development exercise and techniques for getting into PRM quickly and safely. Robert is a professional psychic medium and trainer. He also conducts spirit rescue of earth-bound spirits and will share several stories on this, plus advice on how to handle earthbound entities and en- sure a safe transition into the Spirit World, a valuable ex- ercise for EVP enthusiasts. Workshop: Sensing Spirit This hands-on workshop is designed to help participants develop their psychic senses, particularly with spirit communication techniques. Instruction will include tech- niques for getting into the PRM (Psychic Receptivity Mode) quickly and easily; automatic protection; how to “listen” to spirit voices; building self-confidence; what to do when spirits contact you; Continued Page 3 Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2004. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $20.00 for USA and $25.00 US funds for international members. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the

USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Barbara Thurman and Sandra Pfortmiller. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Rev. Robert Egby Continued from page 2 working with your spirit guides, building self-confidence, plus the ethics of working with spirit. The workshop will include meditations on achieving PRM and meeting your spirit guides. Participants should come with questions and topics they wish to raise with their guides. Time will be left for ques- tions and answers. Participants will receive Robert’s workbook which he gives to students attending his medi- umship development classes. You can find out more about Robert at his website www.robert-egby.com. Participants should bring open minds and a good senses of humor— necessary prerequisites for psychic mediumship develop- ment. Sarah Estep When Sarah was a child her grandparents owned a funeral home. Seeing life- less bodies so many times in her youth convinced her that there was little hope of heaven or hell. For her, death was a casket, and her convictions on this did not change for over forty read many years. She books on parapsychology hoping to find something that would change her mind. One day she read Handbook of PSI Discoveries by Sheila Ostrander & Lynn Schroeder. Two chapters in the book were devoted to recording the voices of the dead through a tape recorder. Sarah had never heard of such a thing, but decided that if she could get taped voices of the dead, that would change her belief

of over 40 years. The rest of the story is history. Sarah became a EVP pioneer in the Unit- ed States. She authored the book, Voices of Eternity, which bravely chronicled her EVP research and founded the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena in 1982. Abstract of Presentation: My Experience with EVP Sarah will share many of her taped messages and expe- riences. She has taped thousands of messages from “dead” friends and relatives as well as the famous and not so fa- mous. Konstantin Raudive came through many times the first year that she recorded, and later, she received several phone calls from him. She has also received many musical notes, and singing from spirit. Beethoven is one of those that came through to her. She will share some of these incredible contacts with the audience. The voices that Sarah records speak on both sides of her recordings—forward and reverse. She has over 25,000 voices on files. Most are from spirit, but she thinks that probably 1,000 or more are from space aliens and possibly parallel dimensions. Workshop: How to Record the Paranormal Voices Sarah will share her immense knowledge on how to record EVP, offering ideas and suggestions on the best methods for capturing the paranormal voices. She will then work with the group in doing actual recordings. Dennis Hauck A dedicated explorer of consciousness, Dennis Wil- liam Hauck has conducted considerable research into “exceptional human experi- ences,” which is a term used to describe a wide variety

of paranormal and mystical phenomena. He is the au- thor of the best-selling guidebooks, The Interna- tional Directory of Haunted Places and Haunted Places: The National Directory. Dennis has been interviewed on nearly four hundred radio and TV programs. See www.haunted-places.com/ for more about Dennis. Abstract of Presentation: Alchemy of Paranormal the In this slide lecture, Dennis relates his best cases from over 25 years of paranormal research and reveals the deeper aspects of so-called “hauntings.” In fact, these ex- periences often seem to initiate a process waiting to un- fold in every one of us. Common, everyday people are forging contact with another level of reality that is causing real changes in the human spirit, and it may be that para- normal encounters are part of a more fundamental trans- formation that is taking place right under our noses. Den- nis will discuss how to get to the truth behind paranormal experiences and access this hidden level that is part of all genuine cases. He will show how to see through all the mistaken identities, frauds, money-making schemes, ram- pant egotism, and just plain wishful thinking, to reveal the surprising core of spiritual truth that cannot be denied in a significant number of paranormal encounters. Workshop: Alchemy for Personal Transformation In this inspirational and unique workshop, Dennis will divulge the secret principles of the ancient art of alchemy. He will guide you through ancient meditations used to achieve higher states of consciousness. He will show you how to enter

the sacred space of the inner laboratory to create the “Philosophers Stone, an incorruptible state of consciousness that can exist on different levels of reality. Please Note: Club Cal Neva has lost its lease on the Vir- ginian hotel tower. This is not a problem because the con- ference is in the haunted Nevadan tower. They are remolding many of the Nevadan amenities, so it will be even nicer for conference attendees. But because of this change, it is important that you reserve your room early. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Mark Macy Mark was an agnostic until a brush with death by colon can- cer set him on a spiritual search in the 1980s. Then he learned about the miracles of ITC—personal letters planted mysteriously in computers by invisible hands, images from other realms flashing across television screens, and actual phone calls from angels. And when a voice from Beyond came through a radio with a long, personal greeting, Ma- cy’s skeptical mind had the proof it required to believe. He is the author of Miracles in the Storm, ITC researcher historian and pioneer. Learn more at www.worlditc.org Abstract of Workshop: Resonance, verification and contact field theory. In the late 80s, scientists and researchers from various countries began to use technical equipment to open mirac- ulous communication bridges to the “worlds of spirit.” They began to experience

spirit phone calls and two-way, real-time dialog via radio, and they received clear images from the other side through televisions and computers. Then in 1999, those bridges began to close down. So what’s the next step? How do we rebuild bridges for en- hanced ITC contacts? Mark will describe the Resonant Working Group, a team of about thirty researchers from around the world, the progress they are making and the techniques they are using. These include the concepts of resonance and fields of consciousness. As mark explained, “We’ll examine the difficult barrier between science and the human spirit. We’ll observe hard evidence and verifications gathered by ITC researchers around the world in the form of spirit phone calls, com- puter and television images from the other side, and more, received in ways that strongly support the premise that we are indeed in touch with spiritual beings. “Finally, we’ll try to get clear pictures of spirit friends on Polaroid film by using the ‘Luminator,’ a subtle energy device that seems to ‘melt away’ some of the barriers be- tween our world and the other side, allowing spirits to get ‘up close and personal’ in the pictures we take.” Mark will take a few pictures of volunteers for his files; then he will take pictures of any and all participants for $2 each, and participants can keep those pictures. More Workshops Analyzing Sound Files with Sound Editors present- ed by Mike Sullivan. Do you want to learn how to hear your EVP

better? Mike will show workshop participants how to use sound editors, like Audition and the Clear Voice Denoiser, to improve the clarity of their paranormal voice recordings. Downtown Reno History and Ghost Walk present- ed by author, Janice Oberding. Learn about the history, ghosts and legends of the ‘Biggest Little City.’ Bring a flashlight for the Thursday evening event. The number who can attend the ghost walk is limited so sign up early. Field Recording Techniques presented by Karen Mossey. Karen knows that it takes a trained ear to hear EVP in recordings. She will help participants learn how to listen to recording to locate possible EVP. Karen will also discuss techniques and guidelines for recording EVP in haunted locations. Grief Management Using EVP presented by Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey. These two women are reaching across the veil and communicating with their children who are now on the other side. They have taken bereavement groups to a new level by helping people move away from the past and reach toward of future of a continued relationship with a deceased loved one via EVP. Learn about the techniques that have been success- ful for them, as well as the important basics, before you even pick up the recorder. Photographic and Video ITC presented by Erland Babcock. Video ITC pioneer Erland Babcock was part of George Meek’s group during the Spiricom days. Learn about his many years of ITC experiments, the equipment that he has experimented with and see many of

the para- normal pictures that he has received. Spoon Bending presented by the Rev. Barbara Thur- man. Barbara will demonstrate the power of psi. Is Psy- chokinesis mind over matter? Whatever it is, things do happen which are not dependent upon one’s strength. Join Us Tom and Lisa Butler Many have asked us over the past few years to have a conference and we have done our best to put together a great lineup of presentations and workshops. Of course we will also be participating by conducting a presentation on EVP and ITC as well as a workshop on Video ITC. We thank our wonderful speakers and workshop leaders for agreeing to make presentations. We especially thank the many mem- bers of the AA-EVP who have volunteered their services to help make the conference a success. Remember to bring your checkbook to the conference. There will be a book room in which the presenters will be selling their books. The AA-EVP expects to be selling “T” shirts and possibly coffee mugs. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 A short time later while in the garage, a black mixed puppy appeared and Martha put him in the back with Doja. Don, Martha’s husband, would not let her keep him and she went door to door trying to find the owner, but no one claimed the dog. The dog

was so well be- haved that Martha felt that she just had to find him a home, so she got in her car and drove around again try- ing to find the owner. One of the neighbors told Martha that their dog had just died and that they wanted to take the dog. Martha was happy that she had found the dog a good home. The neighbor, Kerry, called first to say how happy she was with the dog and how he had slept with her boys. She called next to say that she was taking him to the veteri- narian. (Unknown to Kerry was that the veterinarian she mentioned was the one that Cathy had worked for. In addition, Cathy had been on her way to work at his of- fice the day of her fatal accident.) Next, the Neighbor asked Martha if she felt that Cathy had sent the dog to them! Face on Television Screen Jan Hornback recently sent a message to the AA-EVP Egroup regarding her husband, Gene, who is now on the Other Side. She wrote that she just could not believe what happened. “I was over at my best friend, Janet’s house with her 23 year old son, Jason. I said, ‘Let’s record! It's time, and I want to talk to Gene.’ I felt his presence. “Jason got out a plain old recorder, pushed the button, put the TV on a ‘non-channel with static,’ and turned the light down to a darker color on

the TV so it wouldn’t be so bright. We lit candles, and started talking. We each said something very short like ‘Gene, can you hear me?’ ‘Where are you?’ and ‘How are you?’ for about ten minutes. “When we finished recording, Jason went in front of the TV screen and snapped three photos with his digital cam- era. When he hooked the camera up to the TV, and showed the pictures, Gene’s FACE was captured! It was definitely, positively him. It was a close-up.” Connections It is said that we are all connected. For us in the AA-EVP, we can say that we are all not only connected to each oth- er in this world but also to those in the next.  In March 2001, Vicki Talbot lost her son, Braden, along with his best friend, Jim, in a kayaking accident in which their bodies were never found. Both were twenty years old. Braden began communicating with her through the answering machine about five months after he died. Both Vicki and Jim’s mother, Mary Jo Gran, joined the group in February, many months after AA- EVP members had started the “Recording circle–Bridge to the Afterlife.” January 19, only two weeks before Vicki joined the AA-EVP, Martha Copeland recorded the name Brad and wrote to the group saying “My nephew is Brad—but this is not intended for him. Someone in spirit is trying to get a hold of Brad. Does anyone know who Brad could be?” January 23, Mike Sullivan

wrote back to the group saying, “On your ‘Hey Brad’ clip, I heard it as ‘It's Brad.” Maybe he’s someone on the other side who’s trying to reach someone unknown to our group. I mean, he may have joined the group on the other side in the hope of reaching someone special to him but not associ- ated with the group. It would be interesting if he contin- ued to come through and could provide more details. January 26, one week before Vicki joined, Martha wrote, “I picture Brad as a young man (late teens) who has heard about our group sessions, and I feel you are right about him wanting to reach out to a loved one here in the physical world.” After Vicki joined and the group learned her son’s name was Braden, Mike Sullivan went back and lis- tened to the clip with the name Brad on it. He wrote, “I went back and listened to the clip again and the name could very well be ‘Braden.’” Before joining the AA-EVP, Vicki had the opportuni- ty to speak with two outstanding mediums. Both told her that her son was saying, “Cathy.” Vicki wrote, “I don’t think he knew a Cathy when alive and when I told the mediums, they both just said that he was very clear- ly saying, “Cathy,” and that he was confident I would figure it out. (I hate it when they say that!) When I found out the role Martha’s daughter, Cathy is

playing in the connection between those of us here and those of us there, it made sense. He seems very interested in keeping up contact, had probably already met Cathy and friends and was probably hoping I’d end up here!”  Martha Copeland was out working in her front yard when she heard her deceased daughter, Cathy’s voice in the backyard calling for her dog, Doja. Doja heard it too because he began barking his special bark. “It’s the one that he uses when he greets someone he likes,” Martha wrote. “It freaked me out but I ran into the house and turned on my recorder, but did not get anything.” Gene Hornback in life is on the left. Look for a pattern of darker bits in the TV snow at the right. Gene’s head is facing up so that you see under his chin. His head is tilted toward his left shoulder. The dark area in the lower-right is a shadow cast by his head from a light source in the up- per left. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Investigating Ghosts in Front of the Camera By Janice Oberding The reality of ghost investigations can be downright boring when compared to what Hollywood portrays. Where a real investigator might spend long tedious hours in the field with little or no results, his Hollywood coun- terpart always encounters

phenomena. In a recent movie, a parapsychologist decides to investi- gate a haunted mansion. She begins her investigation late at night; daylight ghost hunts seldom suit Hollywood’s purpose. Alone and undaunted, she steps into the library and is immediately besieged by strange noises, ghostly forms, flickering lights, and wisps of cold air. That’s en- tertainment all right! But it is seldom reality. As ghost investigators, we are well aware of this. So what happens when a television production company calls and wants you to do a “real ghost investigation?” First, cross your fingers and hope that you can somehow achieve a balance between what they think a ghost inves- tigation is, and what it actually is. Think entertainment, but strive for reality. It’s as easy as teaching your cat to fetch your slippers. My first foray into the world of television’s ghost inves- tigations began three years ago with a very friendly email. At last, my fifteen minutes of fame were there for the tak- ing. Of course I wanted to be on television! Who doesn’t? The site chosen for the investigation was to be selected by locales in Virginia City. Suffice it to say that it didn’t work out. I was credited as a coordinator for the show, but the producers decided against using me on camera when I admitted that I couldn’t talk with ghosts. Certainly anyone can talk with ghosts. But carrying on long conversations in front of the camera? Now that’s a different matter entirely. Another

show came calling next. We emailed back and forth, and finally a location was decided up- on; the Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield, Nevada. Goldfield Hotel, Photo by Janice Oberding The hotel had been closed for nearly fifty years but we were promised that the honor of sleeping in Nevada’s most haunted hotel would be ours, just for taking part in the show. I contacted my friends and fellow investigators in Las Vegas and yes, they wanted to be part of the show. Our team was ready. My husband and I packed our equipment and our sleeping bags and we headed south toward Goldfield and our fifteen minutes of fame. The director was friendly, but convinced she knew best how the ghost investigation should go; her way. When she called for action, she meant action. Who cares if a real investigation takes hours? This was to be a twenty-minute segment; the investigation would be compressed into the allotted time. Time’s wasting! Hurry up and find a ghost or anything paranormal. With the director and the cameramen following on our heels, we scurried through the dusty dark hotel. Meter readings were high in a certain room long suspected of being haunted. We stepped into the room. Someone’s flashlight gave out. A feeling akin to electrical energy rushed through us. There was definitely something in that room! Before we had time to analyze just what that might be, one of our team members became distraught and sud- denly broke down in a fit

of loud crying and screaming. The director was impressed. “Cut!” She ordered. Then turning to the nearest cameraman, she demanded, “Get a close-up of her!” “Now,” she said to the crying investigator, “Show us how scared you are. And scream like that again, only louder!” Once the investigator’s fear was captured on film, we were allowed to move on through the hotel. That might have been just another showbiz outing to the director and her crew, but for those of us who had never been permitted entrance to the hotel, the night was a thrill. Certainly, the shoot went quickly; but we had discovered the haunting stories weren’t all hype. There was indeed some sort of energy in the building. With any luck, we would be able to return someday for a full-fledged investigation. Goldfield Hotel Interior, Photo by Janice Oberding When the filming was completed, we were informed that plans had changed; we would not be permitted to sleep in the hotel after all. Safety issues and the threat of lawsuits were probably the deciding factors. To those who would argue that this type of investigation is more showbiz than anything else, I would point out that while working with television film crews, I have been able to gain access to places otherwise off limits to the general public, and ghost investigators in particular. If given the chance, should you participate in television ghost investigations? Absolutely! Think positive, there’s probably a cat somewhere that can fetch its owner's slip-

pers. Janice Oberding is author of many books about Nevada’s most haunted locations, including the book, Haunted Nevada. She will be our guide for the AA-EVP conference ghost walk in downtown Reno. You can read more about her work at http://hauntednevada.com/ Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Castle Ghosts like British Media Attention First there was quite a fuss made over a figure caught closing a pair of fire doors on closed-circuit security cam- eras at Hampton Court Palace. The media either were giv- en or chose to run a poor image of the person in period dress closing the fire doors. In the still photograph, the figure’s face seemed very white and very spooky. The media loved it and the story of the “Palace Ghost” circled the globe. Later, closer examination of the ghost’s move- ment on video made it pretty obvious that the ghost was someone in period dress; someone who was still a part of this world and not of the next. Now comes a report of a spooky EVP from a BBC Radio 4 show called Excess Baggage while they were doing a broadcast from Ireland’s haunted Leap Castle. Right before presenter Sandi Toksvig says, “Your beginning to make a believer out of me,” a whispery male voice with a decidedly British accent says, “I died.” The Excess Baggage crew was made aware

of the ghostly whisper by one of the show’s listeners. Toksvig said that the whisper was not made by them or any of the guests and that there was simply no explanation. Alexander MacRae wrote to the program offering his services but had not heard back from them as this NewsJournal went to print. Alec looked at the recording with a sound editor and found a relatively long empty space before the EVP is heard. Alec wrote, “Nowhere else in this sequesnce do you find an empty space of that length.” He then deleted the ghost voice and replaced it with the same duration of silence. “Now when you hear the delay between him finishing (the guest) and her starting (the presenter), it does not sound at all real.” A Master of Obfuscation In an attempt to clarify a point to a defense department meeting, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that, “Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are al- ways interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” Erland Babcock and Video ITC Long-time ITC experimenter, Erland Babcock, recently posted a number of examples of the phenomenal features he is collecting in his Video ITC experiments. Each ex- ample he sent was interesting, but

as is often the case with this form of phenomena, only these two would print. In the first example, you can see a person who is facing to your left. The person’s hair is visible, as is a possible wrap around the person’s shoulders. In the second example, there appears to be a man facing to your left. He seems to have a long flowing beard. Video ITC features are not photographs, and in fact, are not often well enough defined to permit printing. They are formed by transfiguring optical noise that has been created in a video feedback loop, and often, they are at least partially obscured by that same noise. The examples shown here illustrate another characteris- tic of Video ITC features. If you look closely at the appar- ent beard of the man in the second example, you should be able to make out yet another face. Close examination of the originals show that the faces will tend to appear wher- ever there is suitable optical energy. Update on Video ITC We continue to squeeze in a Video ITC experiment now and then between our other duties. Like Erland, we are always tweaking our equipment in an attempt to find the right combi- nation of camera position and settings for the best images. In the picture to the left, you should be able to make out a young woman facing to your right. She has long flowing red hair, is and wear- ing a white dress. The

second picture is of a woman, again facing your right. She has a high forehead and prominent cheeks. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 An Article about EVP in the JSPR An article by Alexander MacRae was published in the January ‘04 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. The article is titled, “A means of proving the Electronic Voice Phenomenon Based on Electro-Dermal Activity.” Alec’s article was reviewed by a panel of experts who judged his work for reasonableness, amongst other crite- ria. The SPR has been less than friendly toward EVP and it was no small feat for Alec to have his article accepted. Alec told us that he had hoped to avoid a straightfor- ward article about EVP by writing an article that talked about accepted physical principles that indirectly applied to EVP. Here is the abstract of his article: “This paper concerns a device that produces anomalous speech products similar … to the Electronic Voice Phe- nomenon (although it was not intended to function in this way), and its purpose is to describe the characteristic be- havior of this device and its products, and to consider pos- sible alternative explanations. For example, could what is happening simply be a case of stray pick-up—either elec- tromagnetic or acoustic? To answer that question, experi- ments were carried out with the equipment relocated in an environment where communication

in Spanish rather than in English was normal. Another possible alternative is considered: that these voices exist only in the mind, like an ‘audible Rorschach test’ interpretation. An objective process for assessing the most probable meaning of the information contained in an anomalous speech product is outlined, with the conclusion that such products are real and have characteristics of communication.” An article that discusses some of the main characteristic of the “device that produces anomalous speech products” is “The Alpha Mystery” by José Feola. Read it at www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/article.php?id=38. A Loved One’s Visit My brother and his family were down at their hunting camp. My brother got up early to go hunting and let his wife and two children sleep in. About 9:00 am, Marion and the kids were eating breakfast when J.J., my three year old nephew, got all excited. He saw a man with an orange hat and jacket looking in the window. Marion looked over at the window and saw no one, so she got up and looked outside. No one was there. Then she opened the door to look around, saw no one and no footsteps in the new snow. J.J. said the man was making a funny face and made his eyes big like he was trying to make J.J. laugh. (My father did this to my two sons when they were little. He passed away in 1990, J.J. and Marion never met my dad so neither one would know this). When my brother came back

to the camp at noon for lunch, Marion told him what happened. J.J. told Bob what this man looked like, so Bob (who is skeptical) got out a picture of my dad, and sure enough, that is whom J.J. saw. My Dad and Bob used to hunt together there quite often. Heidi Armbruster A Testable Hypothesis Explaining EVP Formation in Digital Recorders IC recorders, such as the Sony ICD B7, have become well known for their effectiveness as a tool for collecting EVP. This disparity between the effectiveness of digital and analog tape recorders offers an important opportunity for analysis; specifically, what is the active mechanism in IC recorders that is not present in analog recorders? AA-EVP Member, James Jones, has recently offered a possible answer that is both technically insightful and very testable. If his hypothesis is shown to be correct, it pro- vides a substantial proof that EVP are formed of noise and that they are formed within the electronic components of the recording device. In IC recorders, the analog input signal is converted to digital information to enable processing and storage. This analog to digital (a/d) conversion is based on a sample rate in which the amplitude and frequency of the signal is con- verted into a series of digital words that are suitable for processing in the digital circuit. In a hypothetical digital word of “01101,” the last “1” is the Least Significant Bit (LSB). The LSB represents the lowest level of sound that can be

accurately represented by the a/d converter. James Jones contends that the error in accuracy of the a/d conversion between the analog input and the digital output introduces a chaotic electrical environment (noise) within the recorder as the a/d attempts to find a best fit for the incoming signal. The fewer the bits in the digital word (probably smallest in inexpensive recorders) the greater the noise associated with a/d conversion. This a/d induced chaos is conducive to EVP formation. As James has noted, “Noise plays an important part in the encoding process. By strategically introducing noise, it is possibly to encode signals that are smaller than the LSB or less than one step of quantization.” Externally supplied low volume noise will allow the a/d to process signals that would normally fall below the LSB, thus reducing internal noise. Supplying extra noise is referred to as “Dither.” See http://www.earlevel.com/Digital%20Audio/Dither.html for a tutorial on the subject. “Mike Sullivan tested this theory by tracking the num- ber of EVP collected with and without the addition of white-noise. According to the theory, the amount of error and distortion allowed into the output of the recorder would be decreased with the addition of white noise, and therefore, the chaotic conditions necessary for the creation of EVP would be diminished. In fact, he recorded fewer to no EVP while supplying external noise when using an IC recorder.” This theory proposed by James Jones possibly repre- sents one of the first “smoking gun” analyses of where and how

EVP is formed within a digital recorder that an- swers the current evidence. We would like other research- ers reading this NewsJournal to consider similar experi- ments, and as always, we look forward to reports that we can include in the NewsJournal. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 A Possible Means of Studying Orbs David Sircom recently sent us a photograph saying that, “As an insurance adjuster I take hundreds of photos each week. I have many with the standard, stationary orb(s). But this one is a first for me.” that As you can see in the photograph, it appears a sphere of light has moved across the the scene while camera’s shutter was open. Where the sphere changed direction or hesitated, the trail is brighter. Thus, it appears that the sphere has come from your right to left and has doubled back a little as it turned to move directly toward the camera. It can be seen in the original that the trail of light is ac- tually a series of overlapping circles, as if the sphere were rapidly pulsing light and dark as it moved. Such “string of pearls” patterns are a common characteristic of orbs in motion as caught in photographs. Based on this example and others, it appears that what- ever these spheres of light are, they are turning on and off, moving

in and out of physical reality or vibrating at a very rapid rate. (Any one of these possibilities could cause what is seen here.) They move very rapidly and they sometimes exhibit intelligence by appearing when it is reasonable that an etheric entity might be present and re- sponding to requests that they “Go to someone” or in some way move on command. The entire issue of orbs is still too ambiguous to safely argue that they are etheric entities without more evidence or a better database of field observations. With that said, the “string of pearls” type of orb does offer important, measurable parameters that could be studied. In some in- stances, it should be possible to extrapolate the orb’s speed of movement by measuring the length of the light trail and relating that to the shutter speed. For instance, the shutter speed for this photograph was probably 1/60th of a second. However, the trail is not fully visible and it is foreshortened by a change in direction, so this example may not be useful for evaluation. We recently saw one example that would suggest the orb moved at better than 600 feet a second. That is about half the speed of sound. In some examples, the number of pulses can be counted, and when considered with the shutter speed of the camera, the pulse rate can be determined. There may be other measurements available in these photographs as well. If such data were collected and included in a

database, data analysis should show trends, which if a genuine phe- nomena is being observed, should suggest common char- acteristics of the orbs—information we lack today. Please let us know if you decide to undertake such a study. Alternatively, we are interested in receiving other examples of this type of orb. EVP gets some Media Attention In January, Michael Tymn wrote a wonderful review of “There is No Death and There are No Dead” in the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research Bulletin. Frank Joseph reviewed the book in the February Fate magazine and Jutta Liebman did an excellent article re- garding the book in the German VTF Journal. We had submitted an EVP article to Fate magazine in mid January, hoping that it would be printed before the AA-EVP conference in June. We found out, by way of an email from Sarah Estep telling us how wonderful our arti- cle on EVP was in the March Fate magazine, that we suc- ceeded. The article is over seven pages and they enlarged the pictures that we had included. The article could not have been presented better. Fate did an exceptional job and EVP and the Association received very positive atten- tion from a national magazine. In the past few months, we have written three articles for national magazines, two of which have been printed. We have also appeared on several radio shows; Rense, Cybercity and Ghostlytalk to name a few. An interview written by Melanie Billings, regarding our book is

posted at http://spiritkeep.net/ghosts/ghosts_index.html. The in- terview was chosen by About.com Paranormal guide as a top pick. For the most part, each and every person who has interviewed us has treated us very well. All have been interested and intrigued by the phenomena and each has asked us to come back on their program. In January, we worked with Janice Oberding and the BBC Twofour production crew on a British television se- ries called, Dead Famous. The Twofour crew spent sever- al months in the US trying to reach the spirits of the fa- mous. Our location with them was at the Cal Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. It was owned by Frank Sinatra at one time and was a hangout for not only the “Rat Pack” but also Marilyn Monroe and even the Kennedys. We are making plans for the coming months and in ear- ly April we will appear on Tracie Austin’s award winning cable television show, Let’s Talk Paranormal. We have also agreed to make a presentation at the International Conference on “Current Research into Survival of Physi- cal Death, with Special Reference to ITC,” which will be held at the Cultural Centre in Vigo, Spain, on the 23rd- 25th of April 2004. The conference is hosted by Anabela Cardoso who is the director and editor of the ITC Journal and Professor David Fontana, past president of the Society eure- for ka.ya.com/cadernostci/congresotci/ for more information on the conference. Research. Psychical See As you can see, we have

been keeping ourselves very busy. The book has gained attention from the media, giv- ing us a platform to talk about EVP. We have done every- thing we can to take advantage of this opportunity and to spread the word about EVP and its message of survival. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 1, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Bridge to the Afterlife Recording Circle The group recording sessions first initiated by Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey are continuing. Recently, new member, Patti Newell, sent an email to the AA-EVP Egroup, asking for more information about the group. Here is Karen’s response: Karen: Welcome to our world Patti, I will try to answer some of your questions. Patti: I am absolutely fascinated with the idea of getting a group of people together specifically for the purpose of recording EVP. For those who are currently sitting in such a group, could you give me some information about your group: Where do you meet? Karen: We have a meditation Circle which we call, “Re- cording Circle—Bridge to the Afterlife,” which is all over the country and involves a coming together of anyone in the group [AA-EVP Egroup] or family/friends who wish to record or meditate in an effort to reach our loved ones through EVP or meditation. Patti: Do you change locations? Karen: Location is wherever you are and can participate. Martha has hers in a Darkroom

which her husband Don built for her. It is similar to a psychomanteum. Patti: Do you meet at a set day and time? Karen: Usually every other Thursday at 8:00 PM EST Patti: How many people are there in your group? How many usually attend a session? WHERE DID YOU FIND THEM??? Karen: No set number. Just whoever wishes to partici- pate. Participants are AA-EVP members and their rela- tives or friends. Patti: Do your sessions have a set order? Karen: We begin at 8:00 PM EST and record/meditate for ten minutes and then usually do a brief review and then one more ten minute session. Patti: Is there a designated leader for the session? Karen: Martha Copeland founded the Session but we are all part of the Circle. I will generally send an email re- minder a half hour before the session begins. Patti: Does this change for each session? How many peo- ple are taping during the session? When do you review the tapes? Karen: No, unless indicated. Sometimes we have to change the day or time but we try to be consistent. I be- lieve the spirit world appreciates this consistency as they are working to a schedule as well and since they have work to do just as we do, it is a time they can plan on. Patti: Anything else I should know??? Karen: Join us if and when you are able. We would bene- fit form your energy, especially considering your expertise and field

of study and practice. Follow the e-mails. A most warm welcome to you. Patti: I just want you to know how very, very glad I am to have found you! Karen: And we are glad to have you. :) Love, Kare From Our Viewpoint Continued from Page 1 We also suspect that the active regions in electronic cir- cuits, specifically the active region in transistor junctions, are probably the point of injection of the influences neces- sary to transfigure physical energy into intelligible voices. The manipulation of physical objects with mind or psi energy is known as telekinesis. The telekinetic influence thought to be exerted by etheric entities is felt to be a weak signal. The process by which the weak telekinetic signal is able to manifest as relatively large changes in the sound can possibly be attributed to stochastic resonance. We see evidence of the same process occurring in the op- tical noise used in Video ITC, and we speculate that the same process is involved in the brain of the psi experiment subject because of supplied noise. Stochastic resonance is being studied in the telecommunications industry and these research techniques could be applied to EVP to doc- ument the process of noise transfiguration. It is reasonable to think that a researcher can learn to collect sufficient EVP examples to establish the existence of etheric communicators. This has been accomplished many times over. It should be possible to design experi- ments to certify that the voices are being injected

in the active region of transistors and tubes. It should also be possible to verify that vacuum tubes and FET are better than bipolar transistors and that germanium semiconduc- tor material is better than silicon for EVP. What an excellent beginning for scientists seeking to de- termine the nature of the interface between physical and etheric aspects of reality. It is no longer necessary for sci- entists to study psi phenomena via the abstraction of the human mind. It is now possible to use physical devices and standard experimental protocols with a minimum de- pendence on concepts involving etheric reality. We know much more about reality than is commonly thought. We will know much more after our scientific community ac- cepts this and takes up the challenge to look beyond known physical reality. Tom A Discussion Board is Coming The state of the art for Internet discussion boards has vast- ly improved since we last explored the use of one for the AA-EVP, and we think it is time to take advantage of the new features. To help maintain the best possible level of communica- tion amongst the members, we will inaugurate a member’s only discussion board on aaevp.com sometime during the summer. Members with an email address in our records will be added to the board with a beginning password of “1234.” Keep an eye on the aaevp.com front page for noti- fication that this new service is available. The new board will have special subject forums with moderators,

the capability of attachments, spell-check and very good security. A feature we are excited about is the search capability. In time, it will make old posts a valua- ble learning resource for new and old members alike. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 1, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Taper’s Report  Several people have written that they have taped us on various radio programs and wind up getting some unex- pected EVP. We think that’s great. Those in spirit want the world to know that the so-called dead are not very dead at all! We chuckled at one listener who wrote us concerned about an EVP that she recorded that said, “Come and join us.” EVP has never been for the faint of heart!  Steven Beresford had not recorded for awhile but had a dream indicating that he should. He went to a ravine in the wilderness and wiped out the memory on his DR60 and placed it in a Faraday cage. He meditated and then recorded for about a minute. On playback he found a remarkably clear female voice saying, “So glad we loved you.” The voice was very similar to that of Ste- ven’s departed wife Carmelita; very beautiful and me- lodic.  Susan Bové picked up several very clear EVP during an investigation in January. She had just started recording in a small room off of the client’s

kitchen. It had a wall full of books and so she was saying that they should probably call it “the library” when they captured a clear female voice saying, “What does it matter?”  Andrea Carr met a very nice woman who lost her hus- band in one of the planes on 9-11. She made a recording at the woman’s home and got, “Little Kitten I love you,” in the basement where the husband’s workshop had been.  Martha Copeland asked her daughter, Cathy, if it was more difficult to contact loved ones from heaven than the spiritual world? Cathy’s reply was, “No, the spiritu- al world and heaven are the same, it’s the same Mom.”  Roddie Eubanks was awakened by a telephone call at three in the morning. A weak female voice said, “Hel- lo,” and then the dial tone came back on. Roddie felt that it could have been her deceased daughter, Lynette. The caller ID said, “Anonymous caller.”  Harry Flagle went to a very old cemetery in Delaware to prove that EVP was a hoax. He called out the name that appeared on a head stone two times, “Alvin Daisey.” There was a pause and a voice replied, “Alvin Daisey.”  Jan Hornback called on her husband, Gene, and asked him to do whatever he could to reconnect with her. She recorded, “Eagerly.”  Cheri Kussavage got some EVP that she did not under- stand until a little later. She recorded these messages; “He didn’t

do it…I did it,” “Go to the Light” and, “Your welcome…no problem.” Cheri had been trying to help her friend’s terminally ill mother and was not sure how she could do this. She only knew that she had a strong desire to help. Cheri wrote, “I ended up helping her forgive herself and others who had hurt her over the years (the confession). We talked about all the wonder- ful possibilities about who might be waiting for her as she heads through the light. She thanked me and I knew just what to say, ‘You’re welcome, no problem.’”  Clara Laughlin’s letter mentioned many wonderful EVP confirmations. She wrote, “My brother-in-law, Jack, thought I was a crackpot. I’ve had a loud, clear message from him, ‘Clara, I’m so sorry. We miss you.’”  Kathy Malone, along with many other recorders, partic- ipate in the Thursday evening Bridge to the Afterlife re- cording sessions. In February, she recorded her son Lance saying, “It’s me,” “I’m fine” and “Love you.”  Karen Mossey sent the group an EVP saying, “This is my first EVP off my new Sony ICD-B7. This Sony is a super recorder for EVP. It does very well at it. My sin- cere thanks to Harry and Richard for introducing this recorder to our group. I think what you will hear in this clip are two spirits talking. One is advising the other. The first voice say’s, “Put it behind you.” Then the se- cond say’s, “I know.” And

then the first spirit voice speaks again and say’s, “That solves everything.”  Jutta Liebmann, of the German VTF, wrote that her EVP contacts were not strong in January and February and that she did not know why this would be, but that in the beginning of March, she received a wonderful per- sonal message. The personal EVP brought her comfort over problems that she was having at work with some colleagues. The EVP was 13 words (translated from German) “For the wounds (insults) we say prayers. You will be happy again. This will pass quickly.”  Richard Shenk sent a wonderful story about his contacts from his grandmother. He says that one of the first words that he ever spoke was “Nanny.” He sent a re- cording to the group from her that says, “Your Nanny loves you.”  Rich Smith recorded “I’m in Hell” in a old railroad ca- boose and says that he frequently gets EVP that do not seem to be oriented to the particular location  Rob Smith wrote that his girlfriend had to have an oper- ation. During this stressful time, many group members offered their prayers and support. Rob also got support from those on the other side and had recorded messages from his Mother and his Maternal Grandfather and Grandmother. One message came before they got the diagnosis. It was from the Grandfather saying “Tough luck I say … Robert!” Rob wrote, “Seems the other side knew before we did.”  Vicki

Talbott deleted the first two messages that her son, now on the other side, left on her answering ma- chine because she thought that she was going crazy. Then a couple of weeks later, he left a message that simply said, “Mom?” She saved this message and one that came from his friend who died with him. Jim's mom (AA-EVP member Mary Jo Gran) came over to listen to the messages from Braden and prayed right then and there for Jim to leave a message too. Not more than a half hour later, Jim left one Continued on Page 12 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 1, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2004 Taper’s Report Continued from Page 11 that simply said, “I’ll come again.” Vicki says that the boy’s voices “sound just like they did in life.”  Scottish member, Linda Willaimson sent us a lot of in- formation on one of her favorite places to record, St. Andrews Castle. St. Andrews has a bloody history and a lot of people lost their lives there. One EVP that Linda captured says, “I Hung Them.” Linda also included a VCR tape of a moving orb that she recorded in the un- derground mines of the Castle. News from Members  Many members from all around the country are taping together on Thursday evenings at 8pm Eastern in The Recording Circle - Bridge to the Afterlife. Many

loved ones names and messages have come through during these recordings. The list of names of people on the oth- er side that members are trying to contact has grown to 31. For information contact Martha Copeland or Karen Mossey. See www.necrovox.com/memorial/  Karen Mossey is the EVP expert for an investigation team that does a live radio broadcast called "The Ghost Chronicles" every Friday from 5-6 PM EST on WCCM 1490 AM Lawrence, MA. You can listen on Fridays via the internet at http://www.1490wccm.com/nfff.html.  Members started mentioning that a person on EBay was out bidding everyone and driving the price up on all Panasonic RR-DR60s. The buyer would then put the re- corders back on Ebay with a “buy it now” price of $199.00. Of course, this is a ridiculous price to pay for any recorder and new members Harry Flagle and Rich- ard Shenk mentioned that they were getting excellent EVP on the Sony ICD-B7 that is available at Walmart or Office Depo for under $50.  Clara Laughlin sent a clipping that talks about a movie called, White Noise, staring Michael Keaton. He plays a widower who receives messages from his dead wife. The movie is billed as a thriller. Donations We want to thank each and every one of you who have been able to donate to the AA-EVP. Your donations have allowed us to keep the membership dues the same while doubling the size of the Newsletter. In fact we now proud- ly call

it a “NewsJournal”! Please do not forget how im- portant your donations are to the AA-EVP. Donations provided the Association with 1/5 of its operating expens- es in 2003. However, at the end of 2003 the Association was in the black a mere $832.00. So you can see that the Association is running right on the edge. As you know we do not take a salary and we donate all of our time. As a matter of fact our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, paid for itself and actually brought in $1,573 in income for the Association. Please help us keep the Asso- ciation going and growing by continuing to donate to the Association. Every donation is Tax Deductible. Notice We will be unable to pick up mail April 5-7 and 21-27. If you send in your conference registration during that time, know that we will register you the minute that we return. Be sure to get your registration in before May 1st to save! There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an im- portant contribution to the field. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to us. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00

$10.00 AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly newsletter, a cross-country list, an email sharing group, Archive access and knowledge that you are helping get the word out about these phenomena to the public. Annual dues are $20 for USA and $25 USF for International members. Donations in excess of dues are tax deductible in the USA. Please mail this form and your dues and donations to the ad- dress shown below. You can also use the online form and pay via PayPal.com at aaevp.com. Make check to AA-EVP. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Email Address: Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to be in the Egroup? Do you wish to receive the newsletter via email rather than postal service? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I realize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be

terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 23 Number 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 From our Viewpoint To say that things have been happening in the last few months would be an understatement. At the end of April, we flew to Vigo, Spain, to participate in the Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) International Conference on Survival sponsored by Dr. Anabela Cardoso and Dr. David Fontana for the ITC Journal. Vigo was breathtak- ing, but we were only able to stay in Spain long enough to attend the ITC conference. The AA-EVP conference was just a few short weeks afterward, so the twenty hour plane flight to Spain was followed only a few days later by a second all day flight back to Reno. The Vigo cultural center was a wonderful facility for a conference. The speakers were top notch, most all of them with PhDs. We were extremely pleased to make further contacts with those who work at ll Laboratorio in Italy. Daniele Gulla, Paolo Presi, Dr. Felice Masi and Dr. En- rico Marabini are conducting research into the nature of ITC that is very important, but their work needs to reach the English speaking world. Some agreements were made and we are very hopeful that future NewsJournals will be carrying

more specific news about the findings coming from these important researchers. Only four weeks after returning from Spain, we had a conference to put on. It seems to have been very well re- ceived. We sincerely thank the AA-EVP members that volunteered their time to help make the conference possi- ble. Positive comments and compliments were received on every single presentation and workshop. All workshops and presentations were either video or audio recorded by the very professional Mark Waters of Backcountry Pro- ductions. You will find an order form for these included as an insert in this NewsJournal and at aaevp.com. As people left the room after the closing hours of the conference, we were surprised at the number of people who stopped to tell us that the conference had been more than just great. Several people called it a spiritual experi- ence. One person even said it had changed their life. These comments made all the hard work worth while. There was another camera crew at the AA-EVP confer- ence. They were hired by Universal Studios to collect ma- terial for the upcoming prerelease advertising campaign for White Noise, a film staring Michael Keaton to be re- leased sometime next year. We had been contacted by Gold Circle Films in January and told about a movie they were working on called White Noise. They told us that EVP played an important part in the plot of the move. In March, Gold Circle Films producer, Paul Brooks, called us and

told us that Universal Studios had agreed to distribute the movie, and that they planned to make the term, “EVP,” as well known as “UFO” and “Crop Cir- cles” are today. Brooks asked if he could fly us down to a meeting in Los Angles with the people from Universal. We agreed and attended a two hour meeting with mem- bers of the Marketing and Publicity Departments. In the meeting they talked to us about possible ways to market the film and help the public learn about EVP before the movie even came out. Those in attendance asked many questions about EVP and were intrigued when we played some of the voices for them. By the end of the meeting, almost all of them wanted to try to record the voices. At one point, Lisa said something about there being just the two of us managing the Association, and the amount of work that had been generated by being on the Coast to Coast radio show. In that instance we had received hun- dreds of pieces of correspondence and the next week had been a blur of trying to handle it all. The AA-EVP web site nearly crashed with the thousands of hits that were generated. She continued by saying that a thousand such query letters could bury the Association beyond recovery. Lisa looked up to see one of the men smiling. He was smiling because she thought a thousand queries was a lot. In other words, Universal thinks that

the AA-EVP web site might get hundreds of thousands of hits and that we might receive thousands of query letters. Universal sent six people to the AA-EVP conference. They filmed many of the workshops and presentations and conducted several private interviews. The footage may be used in a prerelease media package and/or in a companion disk when the DVD is released. The movie is a double edged sword. One of the AA- EVP charters is to get information about EVP out to the public and this mission may be accomplished with the release of the movie next year. The other side of the sword is trying to figure out how to accommodate more mem- bers and keep it as personal as it is today. We are trying to make some changes in preparation for this possible tidal wave of questions and new members. The paperwork part of running the Association is lots of work even for the two of us; however, we are preparing to hire a programmer to move the membership information into a database with a single data entry point and the abil- ity to generate the forms we require for such operations as mailing the Journal and updating the cross-country list. Right now we are going through too many steps and spending an inordinate amount of time to just update and change something as simple as an email address. Continued page 11 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in

an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 Analysis of the Phenomenal Voices Daniele Gullà, of the Italian Il Laboratorio, gave a lecture at the Vigo ITC conference concerning the analysis of EVP voices. At the heart of this analysis is the determination that forensic voice analysis techniques can help de- termine the paranormality of voices in some instances. As Gullà stated in his concluding comments in the article, Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice, “If in some cases, … the anomalies are clear and would lean toward a high para- normal index of probability. In other cases, the ambiguity of the data does not allow a clear interpretation and differ- entiation of the event.” Daniele Gullà Gullà found that, even with sophisticated software, the voices cannot be decisively identified as phenomenal. However, in some cases, there are sufficient similarities between “living” and etheric examples to warrant the status of “A high paranormal index of probability.” Possible Thermographic Evidence of Haunting Daniele Gullà also discussed the work he and other mem- bers of Il Laboratorio are conducting using thermographic photography. The article describing this is still just in Ital- ian, but we believe that Paolo Presi will be translating it this summer. If so, we will attempt to have the article in- cluded on the AA-EVP web site. The main point we wish to bring you here is that it is possible to photograph the air that surrounds the cool spots often reported during

etheric-to-physical phenome- nal activity. In the usual Infra Red (IR) method of photog- raphy the camera is calibrated to photograph objects in the field of view, such as walls and chairs. Colors are artifi- cially added to the picture, so that different colors repre- sent different ranges of temperature. As a rule, the camera is calibrated to ignore the air. Formants of spoken letters. Courtesy, Il Laboratorio As we understand the issues of analysis, most examples of EVP do not contain the fundamental frequency caused by the human voice box. As the fundamental frequency passes through the mouth, harmonic components are formed and can be displayed as frequency formants, as shown in the above figure. You can see, for instance, this particular person in speaking the letter “J” causes for- mants in the range of approximately 1.9 to 3.8 KHz. This and other such technical analysis provides many reference points that help researchers relate one voice to another when the samples contain the same words. Gullà discusses much more regarding the analysis of the voices in his complete article now posted at aaevp.com Thermograph, possibly of etheric entity. Courtesy, Il Laboratorio In Gullà’s work, a thermal camera is used that is cali- brated to detect subtle changes in the temperature of the air. As you can see in Figure 2, a person appears to be standing in a room; however, the person has no legs. In fact, there was no physical person standing in the scene. If one were to

use a temperature probe to make many temperature measurements of a cool spot in a hauntings situation, and were to plot the resulting points on a graph, the above picture may well resemble the resulting graph. The Raytheon camera used by the lab is expensive and is not readily available for most field investigators, but it might be worth the effort to investigate the surplus and used market. We will report to you as we gain more in- formation about Gullà’s work. In the meantime, keep an eye on http://aaevp.com for the eventual release of the document from which we copied Figure 2. Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©AA-EVP2004. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USFD for postage. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deducti- ble in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 her telephone The Evolving Video ITC of Sonia Rinaldi We brought you news that Brazilian ITC researcher, Sonia Rinaldi, has begun using a video camera along sessions with connecting still physical family members with loved ones on the

other side. (See Spring and Summer 2003 NewsJournals.) Sonia has now turned the video camera away from the television screen and is directing the camera at one of the members of a grieving family. She uses a Panasonic PV DV 400 video camera in Mirror mode, which produces a video frame that is vertically split in the middle, the left side a mirror image of the right side. We will show you just one side for clarity. Sonia Rinaldi Sonia describes how a couple, who had lost their young son, Allan, came to her home for a session. Before begin- ning the session, she recorded the father, James’, face in natural light. Sonia described what happened next, “Then, after some 30 frames, James’ face became very young. His wife and I immediately noticed, because we were able to see this in real time on the computer screen. His wife shouted, ‘It is my son! He had such long face ….’ Mean- ing that James’ face is more round. He is also 57 years old.” You can see in the picture below from left to right, the image of James as seen in natural light, James again as seen in the mirrored recording, Allan as he appeared in physical life and the transfigured image of James and ap- parently Allan. Especially note the left eyebrow and thin- ner face. Transfiguration of James’ face with his son, Allan’s features In a second example of Sonia Rinaldi’s work, Luiza and Marcelo Hippe visited

her with the desire to contact their son, André. Sonia had Marcelo stand in front of the camera using natural light. “The moment he was in front of the camera,” Sonia wrote us, “and Luiza was beside me, watching the PC screen where we could see in real time the images reg- istered. All of a sudden, Marcelo’s face changed com- pletely into a young boy’s face, and Luiza promptly rec- ognized her son André and started talking to him while we recorded the conversation.” In the picture, Marcelo’s face is shown as it was seen in the first few frames of the video. The middle three frames show the transfiguration of Marcelo’s face into André’s features. A picture of André while still in the physical is at the right. Especially note the softening of the lines around the mouth and the increased definition under the chin. Transfiguration of Marcelo’s face into André features Some of you noted the apparent transfiguration of the optical noise around your face when you had your picture taken in the Luminator field by Mark Macy at the AA- EVP conference. There appears to be similar principles involved between the two approaches that produce such transfiguration to reveal a second person. Sonia Rinaldi is succeeding in combining recorded, sometimes real-time contacts with discarnate loved ones for grieving families, with video that provides families with a powerful proof of survival via recognizable images of loved ones. Perhaps equally as important, Dr. Rinaldi is following careful protocols

in an effort to establish scien- tific proof of her work. Lucid Dreams Two members contacted us only four days apart with re- ports of meaningful lucid dreams. Steven Beresford sent a note on June 3 saying that he had an extraordinary lucid dream. “I was in a room with my late Grandfather (who died 30 years ago) when I suddenly realized I was dream- ing. At the moment of lucidity, his appearance changed and he became blissfully radiant and intensely real and luminous. He silently sat there in an armchair, so I went over to him and kissed him on the cheek, then said how happy I was that he had come to visit me in a lucid dream.” On June 7, after returning from the AA-EVP confer- ence, George Wynne wrote, “The last night of the confer- ence, a vibrant and healthy Maya finally appeared in my dream, a very vivid impression, a real visitation I would say. She came out of a forest, over an incredibly verdant meadow in a line of people. I could not believe my eyes. She seemed entirely alive, younger and radiant, we em- braced, I exclaimed, ‘I can’t believe you are back.’ The dream was a lucid one, because I was aware that she had died. After a few moments of great joy I woke with a start, but with the image of a very much alive Maya whom I had just held in my arms fresh in my mind, certain it

had really been her, not the usual jumbled, irrational dream images.” Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 radio. He invites grieving families to his home for regular sessions that often begin with angelic singing and include two-way discussions between the physical and etheric family members. International Gathering of ITC Researchers The International Conference on “Current Research into Survival of Physical Death, with Special Reference to ITC,” was held in Vigo, Spain, April 2004. The confer- ence was hosted by Dr. Anabela Cardoso who is the direc- tor and editor of the ITC Journal and Professor David Fontana, past president of the Society for Psychical Re- search. We attended the conference and made a presenta- tion describing some of the work being done in EVP and ITC by ourselves and other AA-EVP members. Lisa Butler with Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick at the ITC Conference in Vigo, Spain Dr. Felice Masi, also of the Italian Il Laboratorio, gave an interesting talk on finding “extras” in all sorts of me- dia. Examples included people in movie scenes who were not really there and evidence of phenomena in historical art. He also discussed a theory concerning the electro- magnetic injection of EVP. There were many other presentations, and from our per- spective, the conference was a complete success. The “of- ficial” languages were Spanish and English and headsets and interpreters were provided for

everyone, enabling us to understand every presentation. Assuming the confer- ence is held again next year, we highly recommend that you consider attending, especially if you have not had the opportunity to visit Spain. Giraffe Talk From the Encyclopedia Britannica comes this information on the giraffe. “The voice of the giraffe has so rarely been heard that is popularly supposed to be voiceless, but it is capable of producing low call notes and moans.” We are now learning that this is not the case at all. the animal that Denise Forester wrote about a she had been program watching regarding a researcher who was recording in the field for an unrelated project when she accidentally picked up the sounds made by a herd of giraffes. She later recog- nized a pattern of language in the noises that they made. Their voices are in-audible to the human ear but they do speak. Interestingly, Denise said that this same program briefly touched on the fact that Thomas Edison was working on a way to communicate with those who had passed over. Is it possible that people will learn that just like the giraffe the dead can also speak? (Picture from www.galenfrysinger.com/giraffe.htm) Dr. David Fontana and Dr. Anabela Cardoso The ITC Journal is the only publication in the field of EVP and ITC that provides an international forum for col- laboration amongst researchers who are studying these phenomena. The conference was a reflection of this goal, in that researchers from Italy, Germany, Great

Britain, Spain, Portugal, France and the USA presented and ex- changed information about their research. An example of the level of cooperation found at the conference is the agreement between members of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research in Italian and us, in which we will proofread publications translated from Italian to English by Paolo Presi. Please see “Analy- sis of the Phenomenal Voices” on Page 2 of this issue of the NewsJournal for information about one such docu- ment. As did the AA-EVP conference, the ITC Journal con- ference addressed other forms of communication across the veil as well. Dr. Peter Fenwick told us that his Near Death Experience research indicates that we do, indeed, experience a life review when we transition out of the physical, and that we will see our actions from the per- spective of those with whom we interacted. For instance, if you hurt the feelings of someone you will experience that hurt. Paolo Presi showed a video describing “The ITC Work of Marcello Bacci.” Like Anabela Cardoso, Bacci is able to bring forth voices from the other side via an old tube Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Eviden ce That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 Good and Evil By Stacy Rawlings This letter was written in response to another member who had become frightened from her EVP contacts and paranormal things taking place in her house. (editor)

Imagine all the different personalities within your com- munity. Some resonate with you, but many more do not. We all have different value and belief systems—our worldview. The way people, living or dead, express them- selves is largely due to their worldview. While it can be unsettling to hear them remark with potty mouth lan- guage, it isn’t necessarily evil or demonic. My own family could be considered trash mouths in how they express themselves and as in life so in death. I’ve gotten the same from some of them on the other side, and it actually comforts me to some degree to hear that they are still themselves. I believe those of us who do EVP are somehow illumi- nated to those in the other realm. I believe we are easy to find, and of course, we are “asking for it” aren’t we? None of us really knows how it is that they come to find us re- cording and respond as we ask questions. Is it a light that shines in the darkness? Are we heard asking our questions more clearly than anything else they can hear? Is our in- tent alone summoning them? I surely don’t know. You do however have to adjust to taking the good with the bad and not let it stop you. How do we know it isn’t a test of sorts? Get through the nasties to get to the goodies? Is your desire to find success with EVP strong enough? Maybe they

need it to be before you can continue and this is a way to find out just what your intent is. I’m a single mom, living alone with two of my kids and my many animals. I have given myself the most hideous case of Willie’s late at night when I get a response I wasn’t expecting, which seemed malicious and threaten- ing. The dogs are invited to sleep in the bed on those oc- casions, LOL! I’d say my loss ends up being the dog’s gain when that happens. Proving once again, it’s all rela- tive. The dogs don’t appear to know what has shaken me up, but I’m sure they’d like it to happen frequently. I do my best to shake it off and continue to record, to spite their rude comments. I certainly won’t let them stir me up and I hope you won’t either. The world isn’t all love and light, and I don’t believe the afterlife is either. We don’t become shaken or threatened when someone is rude or profane in the physical realm, so don’t let it bother you any more than that in this instance. Blow it off emotionally. Tell them to cut it out! That too has worked for me. One of the first voices I got was in response to my ques- tion, “how many of you are here with me as I tape,” a man answered loudly, 27. It paralyzed me to think there were 27 people in the room

with me and I couldn’t see them, hear them, touch them or screen them before they entered. I was doing this blindly! And, I had no idea what I was getting myself into! Wow, what a dose of reality that was! It made me think hard about continuing. It really gave way to a lot of think- ing on my part and a re-evaluation of my interest, intent and expectations for EVP and my involvement. I really had to decide whether or not I was capable of facing the fear (or rush) of the unknown that it presents. In the end my thrill seeking side won that one. But I still become rattled at times. Just the other day I was listening to one of my sessions and one of my dogs, lying under my desk, began to make weird sleep- ing/dreaming noises. Through the earphones, it sounded absolutely hideous and sent my heart to beating out of my chest! Silly isn't it? But I bet we all have those experi- ences doing this. It does make me laugh at myself. Because of my interest in past life, life after death and related subjects, I became a certified hypnotherapist about 7 years ago. I’ve learned a great deal about using creative visualization to obtain goals. We are far more powerful than we can comprehend I believe. We don’t give our thoughts, our creative imagination or our intent the credit or the daily use it deserves. I’ve done a great deal

of work with this and learned some amazing things about me and about us as beings. I’m a firm believer in the white light scenario used in creative visualization as a tool to gather and organize your strength. (I prefer this term rather than calling it protec- tion). I also firmly believe that thought creates reality and my intent can be felt in this realm untold miles away, not to mention where it theoretically may reach into other realms. Clear, unadulterated intent is everything. No mat- ter what any of us says, we do this for selfish reasons to some extent. Whether it is out of grief, recognition, curi- osity.... We aren’t doing it purely to better the world, or for purely selfless reasons. Motivations differ with us all. I have my reasons, and partially they are selfish, but I also do it for selfless reasons as well. I’ve come to care a great deal for those who speak to me, and I feel they count on me to be here doing this for reasons I don’t understand, so I try to do that for them. Try to keep your intent just before you tape as clear and selfless as you can. Take a few minutes to gather soul strength, think about why it is you do this and what your expectations are. Be thoughtful of those who you wish to contact as well as those who contact you out of the blue. If you’re asking for specific people for

instance, those who do not know you may be expressing their disappointment in not being addressed. Try addressing those you don’t know specifically. I did and they became friendly in short order. I strive to never ignore anyone, if they address me; I try to address them in return in the next taping. If you wouldn’t believe everything you hear in the physical realm, why believe everything you hear in EVP. Sticks and Stones ... remember. I believe Lisa and Tom mentioned discernment, what a great word. Try to develop a sense of love and well being for all involved, no matter what it is they say to you. Continued Page 9 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 New Discussion Board When we assumed leadership of the AA-EVP, we set out to utilize the power of the Internet as a way to create a virtual community of likeminded people. We knew dis- cussion boards were too limited in capability, and so, we opened a Yahoo email sharing group, or Egroup. Instead of having to go to the discussion board, information came to members via emails. In our mind, the Egroup was a complete success, in that a community did form, stitched together by the flow of emails. In many other people’s mind, we created a monster and one person after another bailed out of the group because of the

excessive flow of emails. Last April, there were 1241 emails. Also, Yahoo stopped archiving attachments, making it necessary for AA-EVP member, James Jones, to establish an EVP and picture archive on his web site www.necrovox.com/aaevp. The Egroup serves a small percentage of members today and many of them are complaining about the volume of emails. Meanwhile, discussion board technology has greatly improved. The board that the AA-EVP has purchased in- cludes spell check, the ability to attach files, an excellent search capability and numerous other features that make it easy to manage and to use. And yes, you can still have emails if you elect to have notification that a watched fo- rum has new material. The new board is called the Idea Exchange. The ad- dress is http://aaevp.com/ideaexchange. Every member who has given us an email address has been added to the board. You need never visit, but if you do, log in with the first and last name we have in our records for you and use 12evp34 as a beginning password. Once in, go to MY ACCOUNT and PASSWORD to change your password. If we have husband and wife names, then both are in the database as individual members. Another important capability is that you can select one of nine languages with which to view the board. This ca- pability should make the Idea Exchange more inclusive for our International members. Yes, the board is more complex to use than the Egroup; however, the HELP feature is

excellent. If it does not an- swer your question, ask on the board in the “Useful in- formation about how to use the board” forum. Be sure to read the “Rules” forum as well. Let us know if you see a need for additional categories on the board, but remember that we are likely to ask you to be a moderator. Because the board is capable of becom- ing such a large place, we will depend on moderators to help us help you. This means that the moderators will be like community leaders with authority and experience to match. Keep in mind that a moderator of, let us say, a metaphysics forum need not be an EVP expert. AA-EVP Conference a Success Well, we had a conference … and it went well! So well, as a matter of fact, that we are determined to have a confer- ence next year. Because of the upcoming White Noise re- lease, we feel that it would be best to time a conference between theater and the video releases. We will let you know where and when as soon as we know. Another reason for having a conference next year is the response we received from attending members. You might say that popular acclaim has convinced us that confer- ences are an effective tool for teaching people about EVP/ITC and for building a sense of community amongst members. As you will see in the accompanying pictures, there was a lot of community building in

Reno that week. All of the presenters and workshop leaders were well received. We are so thankful for the level of preparedness shown by the presenters and workshop leaders. Erland Babcock’s presentation was really astonishing in the pic- tures of phenomena and stories he presented. Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey came prepared with hand- outs and even a CD for their Grief Management Using EVP workshop. Mike Sullivan tackled the technical aspect of EVP with a comprehensive survey of sound analyzing software and techniques. He has already followed up his workshop with a list of editing software on the Idea Ex- change. Space does not permit a discussion about all of the pres- entations and workshops here, but as we said, we heard high praise for each from one person or another. With two camera crews, just about everything was recorded at the conference. Universal and Backcountry exchanged mate- rial, assuring that the videos and cassettes of the sessions from Backcountry Productions will be valuable tools for teaching others about EVP and ITC. We thank all of you who attended for the opportunity to meet you face to face. Now we look to 2005. Video and Audio Tapes of the Conference Mark Waters, of Backcountry Productions, video taped all presentations of the conference. All workshops were audio taped and many were also video taped. Audio tapes are $10, CD’s are $13 and video tapes are $23. Shipping of audio tapes and CD’s are $2 for the first CD or tape

and then .50 cents for each additional one. The shipping costs on the Video tapes are $4 first video and $1.00 each additional. Please see the order form that came in this News Journal. Backcountry Productions address is 831 Alpine St., Longmont, CO 80501. Their telephone number is 303-772-8358. Ask for the AA-EVP Conference mate- rial. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 Martha Copeland and George Wynne Sarah Estep Dennis Hauck Becky Estep Erland Babcock Mick Sullivan and daughter, Lindsay 2004 AA-EVP Conference Presenters Martha Copeland Karen Mossey Ginny Sawyer Mary Jo Grann, Kathy Malone and Sheila Hemminger Tom Butler Lisa Butler Investigating the Haunted Room Friends Making Friends Analyzing EVP Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 Lisa and Tom Mark Macy Robert Egby Judy Quillen and Kathy Malone Grief Management Workshop April Sheerin and Don Zanghi Linda and Brian Kent Group Recording Bill and Sheila Sparkman Vicky Talbott, Siobhan McBride, and Roddie Eubanks Mark and Debbie Constantino James and Wanda Irwin Pat Tracy and Angie DiBerardino Janice Oberding and Gloria Young Andrea Carr Judy Quillen and Betty Lou Kishler Mike Sullivan Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page

9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 EVP Reports from the Conference One of the messages that was recorded at the conference that we all like hearing about is an EVP received by a new member from a relative. (Because of this person’s work situation and other factors, names have been changed.) Mike Sullivan was working with the new member and helping her listen to her recording. Mike told her that he heard “This is Jan Janes. I miss you” on her recording. The new member was quite shocked and said that her cousin Jan James was on the other side. In listening again to the recording they could hear the last name as James. When the new member returned home after the confer- ence, much to her surprise, she found an answering ma- chine message from her cousin Jan’s son. The message said, “This is Don, I’ve been thinking about you.” The son had not called her in two years! New member Shellie Hawkins recorded some names while in the haunted Nevadan Hotel. Two names that she recorded were of interest to conference presenter, histo- rian and author of Haunted Nevada, Janice Oberding. A woman is heard saying the name “Charles” and another woman gives the name “Emma.” Janice wrote that Charles Mapes owned property around the Nevadan Hotel at one time and his family built the famous Mapes Hotel, which sat just kiddy corner to the Nevadan before it was removed several years ago. Emma Nevada was a famous singer

from Nevada in the 19th century. We, of course, can not say for sure that these are the people that Shellie re- corded but it is intriguing. Shellie also reported recording a couple of dogs bark- ing. Interestingly, Wanda Carson-Irwin wrote that she re- corded two dog barks during the conference. She even asked the clerk in the lobby if someone in the hotel had a dog. Pets are not allowed in the hotel. Wanda also re- corded a man saying, in a very deep voice that sounded like he was two inches from her face, “It's here.” Cheri Kussavage was staying in room 1611 which has had known sightings of an apparition dressed in top hat and tails. She recorded a male voice in her room saying, “I’m fixed to the whole, whole floor.” Ginny Sawyer and Martha Copeland were recording on the haunted 16th floor. Ginny was using Martha’s recorder and picked up a voice saying, “Get me out of here!” Mar- tha asked the spirit to move on to the light and received what sounded like an angelic voice saying, “Go to the light,” that was followed by music. Reports are still coming in, so we will include a com- pilation of what we hear from you in the next News- Journal. Donations The AA-EVP sincerely thanks these members for their support. (This will become a quarterly report.) PATRONS ($100 + Donation) DONORS ($20 + Donation) Ben Ablon Richard Adams Rosemary Bennet Sarah Estep Tom and Lisa

Butler Laurita Chmielewski Charlotte Claypool Arthur Counts Martha Copeland Clara Laughlin Dorothy Moore Walter May Don and Betty Nauratil David and Olive Saunders Ralph Thomas George Wynne A special thanks to Richard Adams, Martha Copeland and George Wynne for their contin- ued and generous sup- port. Tom and Lisa Butler Big Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife Lloyd Bradshaw Jr. Richard Busse Karen Camus Donna Cunha Chris Hazlitt Phyllis Jaquett Mary Kunde Steven Lindemann Phil Martin Herb Michelson Diane Moseley Karen Mossey Linda Noël Martin Pearl Ellen Pugh Norman Rosen Dale Sizemore Eugene Streicher Ruth Taylor Bruce Tracy Ralph Thomas Robert Wilson Good and Evil (Continued from Page 5) You should never have to worry about harm coming to you from doing this. Off hand, I haven’t heard of anyone who has had anything nightmarish develop because of a grouchy voice they have attracted. Has anyone else? Rais- ing your vibration will help and I suspect if you know that your vibration can be raised, you also know how to do it. Hang in there. While you’ll occasionally get voices you don’t desire, you can learn from them as well as the voices you do desire to hear. Good and evil are subjective after all. They can only rattle you if you choose to allow them to. Fear of the unknown dwells within us all instinctively. We deal with it more than others do because we have cho- sen to bring the unknown into our lives daily with this experimentation.

Some days it does tend to get the best of us. So much of it is left up to speculation that our imagi- nations just have a field day. Erland and Mary Babcock Andrea Carr Becky Estep Barbara Thurman Judy Quillen Ginny Sawyer Thank You Conference Volunteers! Chairperson, Martha Copeland Kathy Malone Karen Mossey Vicki Talbott George Wynne Robbie Eubanks Mike Sullivan Thank You! You helped in so many ways! Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 White Noise Here are some of the things being said on the Internet about the movie, White Noise, staring Michael Keaton. The movie is to be released sometime in 2005. or From Box Office Prophets comes this. “The next time your radio television station turns fuzzy and full of static, you might not want to turn it off. According the premise of the Michael Keaton movie, White Noise, it might mean someone’s trying to get in touch with you.” to From www.goldcirclefilms.com The piece goes on to explain EVP and even talks a little about Dr. Konstantin Raudive. There are inaccuracies in the information but the fact that this information is being used to promote the movie is exciting. Again from Box Office Prophets, “In the film, the white noise in question is coming from the voice of the Keaton character’s mur- dered wife. Is she a kind ghost or an angry ghost?

And will she help the people she left behind solve the mystery of her death? (From: www.boxofficeprophets.com) From the Internet Movie Database comes this. “The ‘White Noise’ of the title refers to a phenomenon known as EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena). Listen carefully, believers will tell you, and in amidst the white noise of a detuned radio, you might hear voices ... and in amidst the white noise of a detuned television, you might see faces. These, they’ll tell you, are the voices and faces of the dead.” From: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0375210/plotsummary The main cast of White Noise includes Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger and Ian McNeice. It was written by Niall Johnson and directed by Geoffrey Sax. The distribu- tor is Universal Studios. Confirmations  Karen Mossey wrote us to tell us thank you for using an EVP from her father that said, “I love you,” on the Tracy Austin show, “Lets Talk Paranormal.” The web site for the show is www.tracieaustin.com. On it, there is a promo clip of the show that we did with her. Near the end of the promo clip, Karen’s recording is played. Karen first wrote to her brother-in-law’s sister, Lori, and her husband who knew Karen’s father, Stanley, and asked them to listen to the clip. Lori wrote back, “Wow! Karen that’s awesome! I think the voice sounds exactly like your Dad’s. I got major chills.” Ten minutes later she mailed again saying, “I just played the clip for Jon and he couldn’t believe it! He

also got chills and  said he couldn’t believe that it sounded just like Stanley!”  We know from talking with Martha Copeland that the crash site where Cathy was killed has always been a concern to her. The tree that the car hit became a memo- rial site where Cathy’s friends would leave gifts, flow- ers, stuffed animals and Lady Bug items. Martha used to go to the make-shift memorial site the 23rd of every month and on all holidays. Then quite a while back, on a visit to the memorial, Martha and her sister Ginny re- corded Cathy saying, “Mom you don’t need to come here anymore?” Recently, Martha was driving home from her sister Donna’s house and heard Cathy’s voice in her head. Cathy told Martha to go the crash site. Martha did not want to do this, as she knew that it would cause her to be depressed, but she heard Cathy’s voice again and forced herself to go. Much to her amazement she saw that the tree that the car had crashed into had been cut down. There was construction going on to straighten the road and remove the dangerous curve on which Cathy had been killed. Martha wrote, “I felt Cathy wanted me to see that this road will not be the cause of anymore deaths. Some of our messages from our loved ones are not always from EVP.” How They Appear to Us There is quite a lot of “revealed” information about what

we look like on the other side. In most instances, we are told that we have the option as to what age we assume, or even if we assume the appearance of a physical body. In- tuitively, you would expect a person to assume a body comparable to when that person was in the prime of his or her life. However, we know that our etheric friends will show themselves to us as they believe we will recognize them; in some cases gray hair and all. Children in the etheric reportedly seek to “grow up,” once again aiming to what would be their prime, but evi- dence indicates that they will also show themselves as we might recognize them. After all, this is communication and appearance is part of the communication. Vicki Talbott had lucid dreams of her father after he died. He looked and behaved exactly the same as he did in life. He warned Vicki of brake problems with her little brother’s car the night that he died. He was dressed in clothes that she had previously seen him wear and he acted just like the concerned dad that he was. Vicki’s father appeared differently to her son Braden. When Braden was about two years old, Vicki showed him some old pictures while they were visiting her mother’s house. She showed him a picture of her father when he was 21 years old. Braden got excited and said “Gampa!” He had died before Braden had been born and

Vicki had never shown Braden any pictures of him and had never referred to him as Grandpa. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 this Faces in a Bottle Arthur Soesman of the Netherlands recently contacted us with news that he has been recording phenomenal images in the reflection of water held in a bottle. Soesman refers to technique as his psychomanteum. In effect, he is using light reflected by water and distorted by glass to create optical noise suitable for photographic ITC. There are examples at www.evp-voices.com. Click on the Dutch flag, then pick EXTRA on the left side of the page and then pick Psychomanteum. You will see hyperlinks at the bottom to view example videos. The Arthur Soesman method of Photographic ITC Soesman told us that he uses a brown bottle and a web cam that has a zoom lens. He also told us that the remain water needs agitated while recording the video and he does this by slowly rotating the bottle, and in other ways moving it around while recording with the camera. Conducting ex- periments in an otherwise dark room is important as well. In a later email, Soesman offered these words of caution, “… this phenomena can be very scary. You must do this when you are mentally strong and not using drugs or liq- uor. Do it no longer then

one hour!” to Once review recorded, the video one frame at a time. Actually, we see no reason why a digital camera would not work, except that you may need to take many pictures before catching the light necessary for image formation. A face is visible in the picture above that appears to be of a man with beard and mustache. He is looking at your right ear, has a big grin and a well-illuminated nose. He may be wearing a the fur hat. (Disregard writing in both examples.) In the second example, you can see the curvature two the bottle with of men’s heads and upper torso. These pictures were provided to us by Arthur Soesman. We know that Erland Babcock is planning to give this technique a try. Please let us know if you try it as well. Our Viewpoint (Continued from Page 1) Hopefully, having a better database will enable us to out- source this data input for a short time if we need to. Due to the amount of email on the Egroup, 75% of the AA-EVP members that were in it have had to resign from it. We hope that these members will be glad to hear that we have purchased a member’s only message board – see the article in this journal called “New Discussion Board” on page 6. Now there will be a way for members to com- municate and keep up with what is happening without their email accounts being overloaded. Numerous

people have told us that we are not charging enough for the expanded services of the AA-EVP and lar- ger NewsJournal. After debating this for over a year we have raised membership dues $10 for US members and $5 for International members. We are asking International members who request the NewsJournal be delivered via regular mail for an additional $8. People who were a member as of June 15, 2004 will be grandfathered in at the old rates for their current membership year plus an additional year as Founding Members. We hope that eve- ryone will feel this is fair. We have also created another membership category for those who can and do provide financial support to the AA- EVP. This membership level will be called a Sustaining Member. The cost will be $100 per year and the persons name will be listed in the NewsJournal along with those who make donations each quarter. We deeply thank our donors as you have kept us going. Your names are listed in this journal and we are going to make a place to express our thanks in the journal, quarterly. As you can see from the article on the movie White Noise they are actually publicizing it using the term Elec- tronic Voice Phenomena and EVP! We know that the movie is a thriller and unfortunately it might have a horror type ending. By working with Universal, we will have the opportunity to address the positive side of EVP and have a

forum to get the truth about the phenomena out there. Universal has told us that, when they put up a trailer on the movie at their website, the end of the trailer will have a message that says something like, “For more informa- tion on EVP, go to www.aaevp.com.” Universal advised us that the site this advertisement will be on gets hundreds of thousands of hits a week. It does sound like many more people are going to learn about EVP. Will we be able to handle it? Donations Please don’t forget to give to the nonprofit AA-EVP. Your donations are tax deductible and have continued to keep the Association going. It is hoped that there will be a rush of interest in EVP with the release of the movie White Noise. We are considering outsourcing some of the routine work of the Association just to be able to deal with the correspondence and your donations will help us do this. Dedicated to Pu blic Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 The Visitor In late March, Lisa was watering a large Ficus Tree. The tree takes three refills from her watering can. As she was loading the water can in the kitchen sink, she was startled by someone standing several feet behind her in the Living room, but when she turned around, no one was there. While filling the water can the

second time, the figure again appeared and startled her enough that she gasped, bringing the incident to Tom's attention. She was seeing a very solid figure with her peripheral vision, but when she turned to get a good look, it was gone. The figure was of average build, neither large nor tall. It again appeared while she was at the sink the third time and was solid enough to startle her once more! She felt that it might not have feet and she really could not say if it was male or female. It was solid energy in the shape of a body and head - no color - like a solid shadow. When we went to the post office later that day, there was a lovely card from Martha Copeland with a Ladybug on it. Inside the card was a check from the group that gets together to record at her house. She collects a Love Offer- ing each time they meet. We were both very touched by this donation to the AA-EVP from the group and even more so when we read the bottom of the check. It said, “In memory of: Cathy, Lance, Jamie, Justin and Jessica, Big Circle.” We immediately wondered if the person that Lisa had seen that morning was one of the children, as they would have known the letter was there at the Post Office. That evening, Lisa was writing Martha an Email telling her thank you. She had gotten the thank you

part written and had hit the return, and was about to hit the first key- stroke telling Martha about the apparition she had seen earlier. Before she hit the first letter the two lights in the top of her desk blinked off and then back on. Nothing else went off and on. The computer stayed on. It was a very definite and decisive blink. The lights in the desk had never done this in the three years that she has used the desk. We knew when it happened that we were being told that it was one of the children. Open Letter to Ham Operators We recently received this letter from AA-EVP member, Dr. Ali Fant. We offer it here as an open letter to all Ham radio operators. I am a life member of the American Amateur Radio League and am compiling a list of “silent keys.” SKs are amateur radio operators who have died. Currently, there is no listing of such SK hams, anywhere. My research intentions are to compile a SK list and seek specific contacts with such hams. It has been the amateur radio community that has provided the bulk of new com- munication technology since the telegraph was invented. The advantage of ham communications between life and death is a ready set of standard code abbreviations. These code abbreviations are used by hams for weak signal  work between stations. In addition, there is some Spiri- com evidence that the technicians at “Timestream Station” are

also amateur radio operators. Please ask AA-EVP members if they are hams. And if they are, please ask them to publish their call sign with me. Thank you for making such research contacts possi- ble. Sincerely, Dr. Ali Fant, WB5WAF 11700 Starview Trail Station Austin TX 78750-1339 [email protected] Dr. Fant has proven to be an aggressive researcher and has conceived several interesting avenues of study. For in- stance, she suggests that there would be a temperature change in the electronic circuitry when an EVP is injected into the sound track. This would be similar to the experi- ence of a temperature drop in hauntings situations when an etheric entity is present. Preferred Recorders Edwina Bennett wrote that she is receiving clearer EVP every since she began using a recorded that was recom- mended by Cheri Kussavage. The recorder is an Olympus DW-90. Edwina wrote, “It’s easy to use, has a much bet- ter mic, and the software that came packaged with it is good.” It is factory reconditioned and cost only $40. “It is excellent! Three years and four recorders later … finally!” Many members have been trying the Sony ICD-B7 digi- tal recorder introduced to the Egroup by Harry Flagle, and have been having good success with it in recording EVP. The recorder costs around $50 and refurbished ones are as low as $20 on the Internet. It is important that we find other digital recorders that we know work well in the recording of EVP to replace the

Panasonics that are no longer manufactured. Please let us know if you are using a digital recorder that has not been mentioned in the newsletter, and are having good success with it recording EVP. Also important is the software we use to review the re- cordings. Mike Sullivan has posted a comprehensive list of software in the Idea Exchange at AA-EVP Idea Ex- change > EVP Recording and Review Techniques > How to Filter Noise. Since Adobe purchased Cool Edit and changed its name to Audition, making only the $300+ version available, Mike has been searching for a good re- placement for Cool Edit Lite. We feel that Mike has found a couple of good alternatives to http://aaevp.com/ideaexchange and sign in with your first and last name, and 12evp34 for the password. for EVP. Go We should also note that the $30 Acoustica MP3 Audio Mixer is available with a free. It allows the user to mix mp3 www.mp3-to- files wav.com/mp3mixers.htm. wave and at Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 2, Page 13 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 News About Members  In March, Jürgen Nett, the president of the German ITC group known as the VTF, appeared on a television show and had the opportunity to present information about EVP. Jutta Liebmann wrote that his introduction went very well and he was able to convey a lot of information about EVP in the relative

short time of the program. Jürgen Nett also drew the public’s attention to the worldwide knowledge and associations concerning EVP. Jutta wrote back in May to tell us that Jürgen Nett’s presentation was well received by the public and some newspapers were also rather positive.  The Finnish Spiritualistic Association will arrange a summer seminar, from August 27 to 29, 2004. The in take place at Päivölä meeting will Valkeakoski, (see www.paivola.net). The official language of the meeting is Finnish, with interpretations if required. south-western institute Finland The theme of the conference will be different types of communication between the spirit world and the physi- cal world. The main speaker is the highly respected German ITC researcher, Hans Otto König who will lec- ture and present data about his research. A workshop on the topic will also take place. Contacts of physical me- diums are described by AA-EVP member Georg Lind- ström, in a lecture with slides and sound samples. Report on Conference Group Recording On Thursday night June 3, we led a group recording circle at the AA-EVP Conference. We were not as successful as we had hoped but a few EVP were recorded. At the be- ginning of the session we recorded “She right, fact,” and “This is John … hear me.” Lisa then went around the room asking for people to speak the names of the loved ones that they wished to come through. The first person in the circle was Jeanette Zanghi. After she speaks a

voice says, “I help” and “Who had the key.” The next EVP comes after Vicky Talbott asked for Braden. We can’t really understand the first word but we hear the next word, “… Pet.” The next EVP comes when Judy Quillen asks for Jamie. Lisa says, “OK chatter box please try to speak to us” and a female voice replies, “We’re happy.” When Kathy Malone asks for Lance, we hear a voice (we can’t make out the first word) “… was on the back.” We are sorry that we did not get more and we hope that some of these messages that make no sense to us make sense to someone else. An interesting side note about the “This is John … hear me” voice. During the conference Debbie Constantino reported recording “Are you listen- ing? Talk to us” and Shellie Hawkins recorded “Listen to me, listen to me.” It is obvious that the spirits were trying to reach us too! (left Barbara A Friend and Mentor Crosses Over Members who attended the AA-EVP conference will re- member Barbara Thurman, the lady who taught spoon bending Thursday night. in picture) is the Reverend Barbara Thurman, past of President the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC) and our mentor. She was an AA-EVP Board member and a staunch supporter of the She was Association. also a tireless teacher who helped many people develop their mediumship and healing gifts. Barbara Thurman (left) and Sarah Estep There is no doubt that we survive

physical death. Death is not the problem. It is leaving that hurts so much. It is we who are still in the physical who must find ways to face daily challenges without the support and guidance of our confidants. Because of our knowledge about survival, we can say that it is also we who must learn to listen to our confidants who are now on the other side. Barbara, we wish you well on your new journey. We know that the line of people who came to greet you was long and we know that you will continue your work from the other side. “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo White short sleeve Fruit of the Loom “T” Shirt with AA- EVP logo embroidered in blue. Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US Dollar only. at aaevp.com or PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 Order There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC learning tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to us. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. See physical address under T-shirts. Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC

and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 2, Page 14 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2004 Researchers Report  Lolyd Bradshaw wrote, “I asked the ‘unseen’ their pref- erence in being referred to as spirit, ghost or spook. There’s no harm in trying to please somebody who walks through walls at odd hours.” Using his Panasonic 454 portable tape recorder and after several tries, he got this three word answer, “You a spook!”  Sandy Colegrove hears, “I love you” a lot when she re- cords and she feels that it is her husband. She reports that she has asked specific questions about her family and has received the correct answers. Recently she asked her husband now on the other side if he was happy. She wrote, “I received very, very clearly ‘I am happily dead and alive.”  Cheri Kussavage is using an Olympus DW-90 digital recorder and says that she picks up EVP just about eve- rywhere. She sent the group an EVP from one of her first recordings using the DW-90 that says, “Oh mira- cle, talk to me.”  Alexander MacRae told us that he has been in commu- nication with Rabbi Kushner. Rabbi Kushner gave a reading at President Regan’s funeral. Alec had recorded during a research session, a conversation: Woman’s voice, “Go to the river.” Young man, “Wha?” Woman, “Go to the River of Light.” When Alec did a search on “River of Light” he found that it was the title

of a book by Kushner.  Siobhan McBride likes the voice activation feature on the Panasonic DR-60 and mentioned that she had been at the cemetery and recorded a woman saying, “Foona’s here.” This was Siobhan’s son Tony’s nick- name.  Martin Pearl wrote to us about the heart breaking task of having to put his dog to sleep. Three days later he tried to contact his dog Rambo. “I told him I hoped he was in a better place, and asked him to give me a few barks if he got my message. Sure enough I recorded his barks. I kept the tape, as the barking really amazed me.  Judy Quillen’s fat cat, Buddy, was walking around sing- ing so Judy grabbed her recorder and started recording in her daughter, Jamie’s, corner area. On playback she heard “What’d Carolyn fax you?” Judy had gotten an Email from her older sister Carolyn regarding the details of the families Mother’s Day dinner. Judy wrote, “Ja- mie had sent an EVP about Mother’s Day a few weeks ago!”  Mike Sullivan’s father used to sing on local radio sta- tions back in the 1940s. Mike had been restoring the re- cordings of his music as well as his recordings of family events. In the process of restoring the recordings he has gotten EVP’s from many of his relatives. Recently he received the EVP “Hello Michael.” Mike was able to confirm that it was his grandfather’s voice after listen- ing to his

voice on his father’s old recordings.  Vicki Talbott wrote to us in March, excited that her son, Braden, was coming through EVP. Through a medium, Braden had told Vicki to pray for help with EVP. The message that she got was “What, Mom, I thought you’d be Christian.” Before his death the two had some seri- ous discussions about spirituality and he showed interest in coming to church. The EVP is meaningful to Vicki as she said that she stopped attending the local community church after his death and she feels that he is telling her to find a church. AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes this quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board, Egroup and document archive access. An- nual dues are: Members* Sustaining members $30.00/year $100/year All services for one year (International members see *) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Founding Member renewal $20/year USA $25 USD International Renewal of people who were members prior to 15 June 2004 * If you live outside of the United States of America and do not receive the AA-EVP NewsJournal via email as a PDF file, please add $8 USD to the annual membership dues for postage. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to be in the Egroup? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service? or via email? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?

to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ I understand that the cross-country list and the Egroup distribution list should not be used for commercial purposes or the further- ance of personal causes. By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through the cross-country list, I realize this is a private list and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list. I also understand that my name will be removed from the list and my membership in AA-EVP will be terminated if I violate this agreement. Signed Date Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 23 Number 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 From our Viewpoint In the last newsletter, we mentioned the passing of our good friend and mentor, the Reverend Barbara Thurman. Barbara was the pastor of the San Francisco Spiritualist Society and was dedicated to helping people realize their potential psychic and healing abilities. She had wanted to participate in the AA-EVP conference and had agreed to teach a spoon-bending workshop nine months before the conference even took place. As the conference neared Barbara’s health and cancer treatments were getting the best of her.

Yet, she never stopped teaching her medium- ship classes in San Francisco and never even told us that she did not think that she could make the conference. Fi- nally, Lisa talked to her on a particularly bad day after a Chemo treatment and Barbara said that she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to make the trip. Lisa said she understood and was about to tell Barbara that the people who had signed up for her spoon bending class would also understand. She started, “Barbara, the eighteen people that are signed up …,” but was interrupted by Barbara saying, “Well if I’m needed, I’m going to try my very best to make it.” We hope this gives you an idea about how dedi- cated this woman was to helping others. Our friend, the Reverend Robert Egby who also spoke at the conference, talked to her just a few days before her transition. He told us that he had never had such an honest conversation with someone about death. She told him, “I’m going home soon.” She also promised that she would continue her work from the other side to “stoke the fires of … belief in the afterlife.” We are glad to say that Barbara did not seem to miss a beat. The first story we heard was from another of her friends, the Reverend Catherine Snell. Catherine had called Barbara two days before her crossing to ask her for help with a spoon bending class

she was to teach. Cath- erine was really concerned about the class, as she had never bent a spoon and was looking to Barbara for advice. The two talked but Barbara was receiving higher doses of morphine and was unable to provide the needed instruc- tions. Two days later on the morning of June 24, Catherine was sitting with another friend in a common area at a Spiritualist Camp called Temple Heights. At around 7:30 EST a definite cool breeze moved swiftly between the friends. They both said, “It’s Barbara.” Barbara had, in- deed, crossed over shortly before that. In two more days, Catherine was to teach her spoon bending class at the camp. She fretted the night before about what she was going to say and do in the class. On the day of the class, to her amazement, she went on for forty-five minutes talking about spoon bending and how it related to this and helped with that. She felt certain that Barbara was helping her through Inspirational Speaking. [Inspirational Speaking (light trance) to speak a stream of words that was not in one’s prepared speech, nor thought about be- forehand … Etheric World Intelligence flows in and out of the speaker’s mind with impressions to enhance the prepared mate- rial.1] Catherine was very pleased with her presentation but now she had to bend a spoon along with her class! She was relieved when her first spoon did bend and related, “It was not a fantastic bend but

it did bend.” She picked up her next spoon and knew within her that Barbara was up at the front of the class with her. She was electrified as she watched the spoon do a full loop, a Barbara Thurman trademark. Marie McDermott lived near Barbara and often drove Barbara to church when she was too sick to drive. She also helped set up the chairs for the service. Marie related to us how Barbara talked about her student’s abilities on those drives and how best to bring those abilities out. Marie was with Barbara the day before she crossed and said that Barbara was in a coma but would come out of it and answer questions about what she needed and then drift back out again. That last day she gave Marie instruc- tions for her memorial, saying she wanted this person to sing and another to do this or that. The next morning, Marie was dreaming about Barbara and woke up to find a glowing Barbara beside her bed, healthy, looking fifteen years younger and smiling. And in typical Barbara fashion, she told Marie, “It’s time to stop resting on your laurels and finish the Morris Pratt course.” [Editors Note: Educational Course of Study on Modern Spiritu- alism]. Marie called Barbara’s house but knew that she would hear that Barbara was finally out of her body. We also have been lucky enough to be in communica- tion with Barbara. It was via EVP from sessions we con- ducted

in an effort to make contact. Continued page 13 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence Th at We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Copper Hoop Planchette You may remember that we brought you news of the video ITC research being conducted by the French In- strumental TransCommunication workers, Maryse and John Locke in the Winter 2004 NewsJournal. In this arti- cle, we bring you the Copper Hoop Planchette the Lockes use in lieu of the usual three-legged planchette. [From Encyclopedia Psychic The was 1853 offspring tipping table. That first device was a triangular board on rollers with an attached pencil that rested on paper. The medium places his or her hand on the planchette, and if it moves, the pencil marks the paper, presumably forming a message.] Fodor’s of Science: planchette in an the Maryse and John Locke invented as of The Lockes coordinate information provided via me- diumship and the planchette to determine who is in their Video ITC images. As you can see in the accompanying image of Rasputin, in this way, they have had very reli- able identification of those who come to them via Video ITC. Here is their story about the planchette as told by Maryse Locke. ========O======== This is the story of the Copper Hoop Planchette For a few years, my husband and I have been searchers in transcommunication [an instrumental form of spirit com- munication], and have

developed different ways to communicate with the spirits. I am writing to you from 46 Kms in the South suburb of Paris, France. I am myself half Norwegian from my father. In June 2002, we received a message from the spirit scientist Allen Cathistok, (a Norwegian who lived in Oslo, and who died ninety years ago) to build a hoop with a microbore copper pipe of 10 mm (~3/8”) di- ameter. At this time, we did not know what our spirit team had in mind. The first hoop we built had the same diame- Copper Hoop Planchette ready to use ter as the round solid pine wood table, which is in our ex- perimental room. We left the hoop laying flat on the table. Some friends visited us a few days after we completed the copper hoop, and we sat around the table it was on to talk. Three of our visitors inadvertently had their hands on the “Copper Hula Hoop,” while talking. Suddenly, to our surprise, the hoop began to move. As if we were hypno- tized, we watched this phenomenon. “It is normal, John is a physical medium! The hoop must use the energy from his solar plexus,” I said. Imme- diately, the hoop came straight toward me, and banged into my stomach, then it moved and banged also into the sitter next to me, then it went again to the other sitters’ stomach. The hoop was trying to tell us that it was actually using the energy

of everybody around the table! It was answering to my intelligently comment! During the next hour, we were amazed as this hoop moved by small rotations [increments of the circle]. We just kept our fingers gently on the copper surface while the hoop was sliding under our fingers, as if our fingers were electrodes transmitting energy. Here is an example of Video ITC images. This image is of Rasputin collected by the Lockes. When we stopped using it, we discovered that the hoop was completely distorted and was no longer laying flat on the table. We understood, then, that the distortion allowed the hoop to make “bangs” and “knocks” on the table to answer “Yes” and “No” to our questions. It was evident that our spirit partners wanted to communicate with us by means of the Copper Hoop Planchette. For the next séance, John shortened the diameter of the hoop because it had a tendency to fall off of the table. He joined the ends of the hoop with a wooden dowel and filed all of the rough edges so that it would move freely on the table. Now the hoop’s dimension is approximately 80 cm (~32”) diameter (to be at approximately 20 cm (~8”) from the edge of the table). My husband glued a 23 cm (~9”) long wood skewer, normally used for barbecuing, on the hoop as a pointer. I made a round board out of polystyrene about 25 cm (~10”) in diameter, with glued on magnetic letters

and figures that I found in a toy shop. We placed the round board in the middle of the table. These same scientific spirits and guides are showing their faces on our screen while we are experimenting; they are sharing their knowledge through our mediums, and are communicating with us through our Copper Hoop Planchette, as well. Continued Page 3 Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, R aaevp.com. Member name and in contributed articles do not ne International members not receiv tional corporation. All contri Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha correspondence may be used in AA-EVP cessarily reflect AA-EVP policy. ing the NewsJournal via email should add $8 butions in excess of membership dues are tax Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberd aol.com. ©AA-EVP2004. Find information about the AA-EVP at publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Opinions expressed Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. .00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educa- deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah ing. eno, NV 89507, USA, aaevp@ Volume 23, Number 3, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Copper Hoop Planchette Continued from Page 2 [“…on our screen…” and “…experimenting…” are references to (Video Instrumental TransCommunication that produces im- ages such as the image of Rasputin shown here. Edit] Once, we had a spirit visitor who was very gentle, but one who did not bring us anything special. We were giv- ing a demonstration of our hoop to a couple of

visitors, after having lunch and good wine with them. This spirit, who died in 1967, gave us his name, the town where he used to live and the names of his eight children. He had been a Legionnaire. As his children are still alive, I asked him if he wanted me to contact them. He refused, which surprised me. Thinking that he had not understood my proposal, I reiterated my question, and again he refused. In the discussion, he told us gently that he had been an alcoholic, and that he was sorry about it. Then I under- stood why he did not want me to contact his family. He might have made a real mess for them. We understood also from this experience that it was we who had attracted him because we drank good wine at lunch. That is why it is important to practice with the copper planchette, before having any meal or any alcohol, to get valid representa- tives. Something else that we have discovered is that, during the day, it is mostly the spirits children who are communi- cating. Our adult spirit friends asked us to communicate with them at 19:00. Another observation is that the energy of the adult spirits is more powerful than is the spirit chil- dren’s energy. From the rotation speed of the hoop, one can guess if it is an adult or a child speaking. The copper hoop moves around the table, by small rota- tions in order to point

to the required letter. To increase the energy, it is best when four people are sitting. When the energy begins to be transmitted into the copper tube, the feeling is like subtle prickling on the back or top of the hands. The spirits are communicating during approxi- mately forty-five minutes, and then they leave us. Our spirit partners have always affirmed that they were composed of electricity and light. Copper is a conductible material, as gold or silver, but less expensive. It is an ex- periment in this domain of physical mediumship phenom- ena which shows, as well as the classical utilization of ectoplasm for materializations, how the spirits can create phenomena with the energy coming from our physical bodies. Three to five minutes of waiting is necessary in order to get enough “stored” energy in the tube for the spirits to make the hoop move. Our procedure is that we wait until the ring moves, and then ask the name of the speaker. If it is an unknown or unusual spirit, we try to find out if this spirit has some- thing interesting to communicate. If this is not the case, and since the séance will last only forty-five minutes, we try not to lose time and we request a guide who would be able to provide answers to a given topic. Our spirit part- ners do not know in advance what our questions will be, so the spirit visitors make us wait for about ten to fifteen seconds

in order to look for the appropriate guide. To call for a family member, we proceed the same way. At each change of speaker, in the same séance, we get a new “Hello,” which signals a new person. They often use abbreviations. As, for example, “Q,” which means, “Have you a question?”, “N” for “No,” “Y” for “Yes,” etc. They can write names with our abbreviations also (the first letter or the two first letters). Sometimes, if we have al- ready guessed a long word before they have finished spelling it out, they will not finish. We make them con- firm a letter, if the pointer has stopped in the middle of two letters. Copper Hoop Planchette showing the pointer and part of the board first We are using a mini-disc recording machine, with a mi- crophone that is omni, to avoid the necessity of letting go of the hoop to make a record of the sessions. This enables us to remember all the messages, as we repeat verbally and loudly each pointed letter, and we say, “OK! Go ahead!” This last point is important in order to give the confirmation we have understood, and to encourage them to continue. Our spirit speakers are communicating in French and in English, according to their nationality. When we have asked a quite complicated question, they may stay quiet for some seconds in order to consult the members of their group. Then the rotation starts again, and they give us their answer. Someone

asked me, “How do the attendees hold the copper circle in order not to be in the way of its rotations? Or do they have to leave it on the table, without touching it?” My response was, “Using both hands, your fingers must rest lightly on the copper during the session, in order to let the hoop slide under all the attendee’s fingers. You must not impede its movements; you must keep your hands in front of you and separated by about six inches. The CONTACT MUST REMAIN CONSTANT. This is very important in order not to stop the input of energy.” The Copper Hoop Planchette does not require a person to be a medium, which enables total independence for the people who want to communicate with their family. Fin- ished, are the frustrations of not having mediums available to help the researchers in transcommunication. For a séance with Copper Hoop Planchette, the type of chairs is important. You need to sit on SOLID WOOD chairs, without cushions. Don’t use chairs covered with fabric, as this type of chairs absorbs the energy before it reaches its goal, on the table. You can also use upright plastic stacking chairs, as plastic isolates. A very smooth SOLID WOOD table is better also. Maryse Locke. [Visit the Locke’s site at www.transcommunication.org/ to see the work they are doing today.] Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experi menters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 4

AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Real Haunting Investigations Being Filmed AA-EVP members Al Rauber and Garrett Husveth, of Haunted New Jersey (www.hauntednewjersey.com/), re- corded six television specials for a new show airing this Oc- tentatively tober, titled Ghost Story. The premier is on Halloween with a new episode airing once a week after that on the new Scream Channel. Garrett has told us that, “The producers promise to show what actually occurs during an investigation of this type. Unlike many of the shows out there, they did not set up any shots or fabricate any occurrences.” A technology intensive investigation During the shooting of the first three episodes, the team recorded a lot of audible phenomena. These were re- corded on video tape through the filming cameras and the surveillance system. The noises included footsteps, shuf- fling boxes, two toilet flushes (a common occurrence at one particular location) and the heavy sounds of furniture being dragged. Garrett wrote, “The producers … were amazed (and terrified) at the EVP and audible sounds we cap- tured.” Al and Garrett believe that the voices that they record during the investigations are the entities that reside at the different locations. The voices often respond to questions asked regarding the haunting activity, or are recognized by a living person who is still associated with the location being investigated as the voice of the deceased person they suspected was haunting the location. Listening for EVP One building that the team investigated is famous for the sighting of

a woman dressed in a white gown. In the very room that the apparition has been seen, an EVP was recorded in a woman’s voice saying, “I’m down in the wall.” The building was built around 1760 and the team admitted to wanting to start tearing walls out, something that they, of course, can’t do. Garrett wrote, “During our investigations we conduct the typical question and answer EVP sessions. This method does yield results. However, the majority of our EVP voices are ‘jump-ons’—voices recorded as we are logging pertinent information on the environment or struc- ture of the building onto our tape reorders or while inter- viewing witnesses. Also, we use standard cassette tape recorders. We have tried using digital recorders and PCs in the field but never had any success, so we have stuck to what we know works … standard cassette tape recorders. “I have equipped the Dell Latitude laptop on the left [in the picture at the left] with an external microphone, Adobe Audition and Cool Edit Pro to convert taped voices to files in the field. “There is a very important small, silver device next to the laptop. It is an Edirol 24-Bit UA-3FX audio capture device. It is usually used by musicians. There is an input for a guitar or microphone, an output for headphones and a volume control wheel. On the top and sides of this de- vice are numerous switches and knobs for adjusting sam- ple rates, audio filtering and sound effect settings.

Of course, I do not use the sound effects features but do use everything else. What is so wonderful about this device is that you can manipulate the recordings via the Edirol UA- 3FX hardware as they come off the tape and listen to the manipulated output real time. “So, before we even convert the recording to a file and open up Adobe Audition, we can do a lot of finessing of the EVP—this is especially helpful with the vague Class C voices. Use of the Edirol helps us to quickly discern what is EVP and what is erroneous noise and drastically cuts down on wasted conversion time to PC in the field. Remember, our time is limited in field investigations usu- ally from two to ten hours. Time is precious in the field, especially during an investigation that is yielding active haunting phenomena. It is imperative in these circum- stances to be as unencumbered by the equipment as possi- ble. Haunting phenomena can dissipate as quickly as it starts and we must remain as mobile as possible. Also, I might add, the Edirol is powered via USB bus so you need a PC available in the field to use it. The Edirol plugs into the USB port of the Dell so I can pull EVP off the tape to a file in the field using the Edirol as the capture device. “Under the black security monitor is a Nakamichi pro- fessional tape deck. We use this to make stationery

EVP recordings in the field and also to analyze our recordings from the portable cassette recorders. I use an external TEAC ME-80 professional microphone which plugs into the Edirol. The Edirol is connected via audio cables to the back of the Nakamichi deck’s input and output jacks. The ME-80 mic allows for crystal clear recordings. Almost no background noise and it is extremely sensitive (which can be both good and bad). “On top of the Nackamichi is an Emerson VCR/TV combo which we hook wired infrared cameras into. These cameras also have built in two-way microphones and sound. We record everything coming from the cameras onto video tape via the VCR. We use a few of these setups on overnight investigations, each camera hooking into its own TV/VCR combo system. “Next to that is a Samsung quad-screen surveillance system. This system holds up to eight cameras and is hooked into a Sony DVD/VCR Continued on Page 12 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Defining Resonance in EVP Communications By Dr. Ali Fant Researchers have noted a requirement of “resonance” be- tween sender and receiver as a vital key to successful Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), Instrumental Tele- communication (ITC), and Trans-Dimensional Communi- cation (TDC) experiments (Ehrhardt 2000, Macy 2001, Butler 2004). Resonance has been defined variously as “similar interests/desires,” “same spiritual goals/quests,” or “same ideals.” It is only

recently that I connected these definitions of “resonance” with the world of nonessential and essential telecommunications. Nonessential telecommunications is contrasted with es- sential telecommunications by the desired effect such communications have on the saving of life or property. Nonessential communications harkens back to the 1845 Baltimore-Washington line when operators telegraph would chitchat and play chess between essential commu- nications. Essential communications was defined as “communicating for payment.” A paying customer, al- though a lesser priority than emergency communications, is more important than idle talk. The latter is nonessential communications, while the former is essential to profit- able business operations. When Samuel Morse opened the first commercial tele- graph line, it was four days before the first paying cus- tomer appeared. At one cent for four characters, a passing customer paid a half-cent for the telegrapher to inquire the time in Baltimore. This just happened to be one of the “frequent question codes” used by Morse and a reply was soon received. The customer glanced at his watch and grunted approval. Apparently, no one realized that both Baltimore and Washington are in the same time zone (Standage 1999). While I am not advocating EVP communications for money, it is a historical fact that long distance communi- cations never advances technologically unless there is a governmental or profitable reason for doing so. Like the telegraph and telephone, the multiple uses of any commu- nication medium are not usually envisioned until some time after the invention date. Human nature is slow to ac-

cept new ways, especially when the present methods suf- fice. EVP communications is very similar to amateur radio (“ham”) communications in perceived importance to the individual. A ham is interested in advancing communica- tion science. Indeed, governments worldwide prohibit a ham from communicating for payment. The EVP experi- menter is also interested in advancing communications. And there are strong advisements from both sides of the “veil” against EVP profitable ventures. The method hams use to establish communications are of two types: directed and general. A directed communi- cation request is addressed to a specific station, location, or authority. A general communication is addressed to the general ham population with no particular person in mind. No one is required to answer this general call. And unless the operator is a well-known personality or at a famous station location, an answer is not even assured. Humans, whether in body or spirit, choose who they converse with in non-emergency situations. It is not really the technical aspects of EVP that deter widespread public acceptance. It is the human nature side of EVP that encourages or discourages communications. Researcher Macy (2002) calls this aspect of humanity, “the boggle threshold.” I foresee a time when, like with all human communica- tions, even EVP communications will be regulated by some governing authority. We are in the heady days of trans-dimensional communications like the early wireless experimenters before the advent of wireless regulations and operator licensing. Today, no responsible adult would advocate wireless sparkgap transmissions because they

are internationally illegal. The ease of building a sparkgap transmitter with nothing but wire and battery is not unlike the ease of EVP communications with only a microphone and tape recorder in a quite room. Until the regulatory age of trans-dimensional communi- cations arrives, successful EVP communications will re- quire humans with “resonant” or like interests on both sides of the veil. Amateur radio operators have created standard, international “sigs” to encourage successful communications. Some ideas you might want to use for your next evocation or “baiting” EVP session are:  Recorded music recognizable by entity ¹  Recorded voice of the pre-death entity  Recorded request for the Timestream, Central, or Chil- dren Group stations  Recorded request for specific entity by name or position  Dah dit dah dit dah dah dit dah Calling amateur radio operators anywhere  Recorded request for the recently deceased  * ** *** ***** ******* Prime number beeps used calling anyone for emergency in SETI research  SOS or MAYDAY communications² When Dale Carnegie authored “How to Win Friends & Influence People” in 1936, he had no idea it would con- tinued in mass production today in every known language. He wrote, “Remember that a person’s name [or voice, in our case] is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” From birth to death, people like to hear their name and the sound of their voice. Hams like to hear their unique call signs repeated by other

hams – often. Therefore, try using an endless tape loop recording of the deceased’s voice to draw the person into your space and time. A regular schedule for trying EVP communications will increase responses once an interested entity figures out the schedule. Remember, too, humans and entities have other interests than just communications. Continued Page 13 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Universal Studios Hosts EVP Parties Universal Studio’s approached us with an idea on how they might market the movie, White Noise, to members of the media in the Los Angeles area. They asked if we would come to Hollywood, California, in July and host four EVP parties for selected members of the press over two evenings. We agreed and found our- selves staying for two days in the “haunted” Roosevelt hotel on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. The stars on the sidewalk honor not only movie actors, but also ra- dio, TV, and stage performers, directors, singers, song- writers, and other well-known show-biz personalities. The closest that we got to playing tourist was watching all of the tourists in front of the Chinese Theater while having lunch at Baja Fresh across the street. The theater is where the stars have placed their hand and foot prints in con- crete. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, California The EVP parties were held in the Gable/Lombard suite, an impressive two-story,

three bedroom suite used by the famous couple. The upstairs bedroom had a five-sided pyramid shaped, wood ceiling and had an exit onto a pri- vate deck on the roof just below the well known Roosevelt Hotel sign. It was very art deco The EVP parties were exciting as well as exhausting. Alissa Grayson, our Universal contact, first showed the movie trailer that will be showing in theaters this month. We were extremely pleased with this ad for the movie as it shows several AA-EVP members talking about EVP. Actual EVP messages are played and only in the last thirty seconds, do they show images from the movie. We then talked about EVP and answered questions. Next came the recording session. Surprisingly we did get some EVP, es- pecially in the first group recording. By the second day we were tired and got only Class “C” voices. It is hoped that attendees were able to hear modulation enough to know that voices were there. Universal is hoping that, by introducing these people to EVP, they will be more apt to cover the movie and hope- fully the phenomena at a later date. We were glad they did not tell us the companies the people represented. We later heard that Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, People Magazine and others were represented. Making a “How to” video for EVP in the Gable/Lombard suite of the Roosevelt hotel The people at Universal have been wonderful, thought- ful and caring, which is something one does

not expect from Hollywood these days. While in Los Angeles, they had Laurie Osmond, who had filmed at the conference, work with us on a “How to Record” video that will be placed on the AA-EVP website. Laurie, along with Uni- versal, has shown a sincere interest in the success of the AA-EVP to educate people about EVP. Research on Mirror Gazing Arthur Hastings, from the Institute of Transpersonal Psy- chology, used mirror gazing under conditions of sensory deprivation in bereavement research. The research was designed to explore facilitated contact with deceased friends and relatives and to collect data on the phenomena, experiences and effects on bereavement. The pilot study with five participants resulted in strong experiences and four apparent contacts. The main study used twenty-seven participants who went through a three-stage process. First, they remem- bered a decease relative or friend. Next, they gazed into a mirror in a darkened room while thinking of that person, and finally, they simply reflect on and discussed the ex- perience. Thirteen participants reported contact with the person who they had been trying to reach. Participants noted a variety of imagery appearing in the mirror. They also experienced light, sounds, dialogue, body sensations and even smells. Several participants received very spe- cific messages from the sought after person. Statistically significant reductions in bereavement re- sponses were found over the entire group. These included unresolved feelings, guilt, sadness, loss, grief and the need to communicate. Participants reported a significant impact on their lives after

the study. IONS Noetic Sciences Review number 65 “Consciousness Beyond Death” pg 36. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Korean Film Crew We had a Korean film crew visit us for a day in August. They were with the Seoul Broadcasting System and inter- viewed us for a program called Million Dollar Mystery. They came complete with interpreter and filmed for over six hours! They were extremely nice and polite and seemed to have a sincere interest in EVP. Their religious and cultural background was obviously in good agreement with the idea of EVP, as evidenced by the intelligent ques- tions they asked of us during the interview. The producer, who could understand some English, was open minded but skeptical. They asked if they could try to do a re- cording and we obliged, recording and then downloading the audio from the IC recorder into a computer while they watched. We were able to hear some EVP but were unable to understand the words. Later, we realized that some of what we recorded may have been in Korean. The team also wanted to film us recording outside somewhere, and as there is no place that is “haunted” and close by, we went down the hill from our house to the Catholic cemetery. Lisa was a little embarrassed to be re- cording in a cemetery with a camera

crew. We thought for sure that someone would come and run us out, but had no such luck. In fact the producer was thrilled with the weather, the green grass, tall trees, blue sky with white puffy clouds and eighty degree weather, and wanted to continue recording there. When we returned to our home and listened to the re- cording with the crew, we decided that it had been worth the time spent in the cemetery. We discovered a clear EVP saying, “This is not the key.” We wondered if they were referring to recording in a cemetery, as you can re- cord spirits anywhere. The next EVP was a sad little voice saying, “Help me,” but it was a good EVP and we all were able to hear it and agree on what it said. Our spirit team sure better have grabbed that one and pulled him the rest of the way over to the Other Side! Korean Fan The film crew had been so very polite and interested, and had asked thoughtful questions through the entire in- terview. At the end, the Director who was also the inter- rupter relayed information from the producer saying how pleased he was and that, although skeptical when he had entered the door, he now felt that the voice phenomenon was real. He handed Lisa a wrapped present and in it was a lovely Korean fan with the Seoul Broadcast System logo; a wonderful memento to remember the day. We are honored,

as this program will be the first time that EVP is presented on Korea television. EVP Recording Comforts Family In July, Karen Mossey’s son, Alex, had his friend, Ben, stay over for the evening. Four weeks earlier, Ben’s brother, Adam, had passed to spirit due to an accident at the age of twenty-three. It was the first time Ben had been over since his brothers passing. Alex and his friends are very interested in EVP and Ben asked if they could sit down in Karen’s room and conduct a recording session. They all became quiet and Karen turned on the recorder. She asked if those in the Big Circle and on the other side would help Adam give them a message and let Ben and his family know that he loved them. Karen wrote, “We received a remarkable EVP from Adam calling his brother’s name and saying “Ben … love you … I’ll be back.” Ben recognized his brother’s voice immediately and his eyes filled up. ‘It’s Adam,’ he said. ‘It’s my brother.’ He smiled a gentle smile and thanked me. I said it wasn’t me, Ben. It was Adam.’ He called his parents the next day and told them about the message and asked them if they wanted to hear it and they said please. When I dropped Ben back home the next night his mother came to me, hugged me, and said, ‘Thank you so much. You have given me the sign I needed and so much hoped

for.’” Recording in Graveyards A member asked a question of the group, “Why would Spirit hang out in a graveyard?” This was longtime re- searcher Erland Babcock’s reply, “… Perhaps they don’t see it as a graveyard. From their position in space and time they could be in New York. I once asked the question ‘Where are you’ answer: ‘We are everywhere and no- where at the same time.’ That takes a little thought to try and solve. In our world, either you are here or you are not. You can not be everywhere at the same time. Think about it. What is everywhere yet you can not pick it up and say this is so and so. One of many answers: Energy. It is all around us yet it is nowhere. Where are the radio and TV waves? All around us but we can’t grab one and say this is such and such program. A spirit can be any where it wants to be. It will come to you no matter if you are in a grave- yard or in a church or in bed asleep. You might consider spirits as pure thoughts. They have almost endless possi- bilities. “If you are in a graveyard recording, that does not mean that particular spirit resides in that grave yard. Also if you read the name on the tombstone and try to contact that person, there is no way to prove that is the person that will answer you, as there

are many imposters on the other side of the veil that are more then willing to play tricks on you. In my personal opinion spirits do not hang around grave- yards; however, they will come there if you call them. They have far more important things to do … Just my thoughts.” We agree with Erland with the one caveat: it appears that locations of long-time human occupancy are places for which it is easier for entities to communicate. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Babcock’s Photographic ITC Last quarter, we described how Arthur Soesman of the Netherlands was able to capture faces with a video cam- era and a bottle that is partially filled with water. He ex- amines each frame of the video, seeking phenomenal features. In effect, he is substituting reflection from agitated water for the feedback noise used in Video ITC. The phenomenal features are often more distorted, probably because of the bottle, but they are impressive. Erland Babcock has taken up Soesman’s challenge, only he has substituted a digital camera for the video camera. You can see the brown jug Erland found in the accompanying pic- ture. The results have been impressive and continue to improve ex- each with periment. He told us he is submitting some of his work to an art contest. We have included a good example above. You can see

an arch of reflected light that is not part of the phenome- nal images. The arc is rising from the bottom of the pic- ture and more to your left of center. A round-faced man’s chin is just touching the top of the arc. The dark area above that is the man’s mouth and above that are two dark areas, which are his eyes, look at your right ear. Just to the right of center is a man looking to your left. There is a bright line in the shape of an arc opening to the top of the page above his nose. This is not part of the feature. Just above that arc are his brow line and a well defined left eye. You should be able to make out the man’s mouth, left cheek bone and hair line/temple. At right is a recent experiment, in which we see what looks like an old, tall man in the background with long hair blowing in the wind to your right. His right ear sticks out from his hair more like a mule’s ear. He is looking toward you but down at the girl. Directly under his chin is a translucent dome hat, in which you can see the head and hair of a little girl facing your right. Hair on the left side of her head is blowing past her left cheek. It looks like her bare shoulders are pulled up, as if hunching down against the wind that is

at her back. Just in front of her is possibly a boy wearing the same type of hat. His chin is sloped into his neck and you can see his open mouth just under his nose that is facing up. He may have a dog in front of him looking at the boy. These are easier to see in the color version, so people receiving emailed NewsJournal will see the faces better. We should also note that we have worked with contrast and intensity to make the features clear enough to print. EVP Experimenters as a Community I think of an EVP experiment as building a communica- tion circuit across the veil to the “Other Side” in coopera- tion with my etheric communicators. In effect, a physi- cal/etheric telephone circuit is built for each EVP session. Of course, the recorder represents the telephone set. Then, there is the willingness to communicate. I must make the effort to pick up a recorder and reach out to the other side. Interestingly enough, I think that I am usually dialing up a public phone situated in a busy etheric inter- section, because I have found that there is usually someone who is willing to pick up the phone, but it is dif- ficult to have a specific person answer. (Coincidently, James Hancock used the same analogy in an email the same day that I wrote this article, only he placed the public phone in a bad neighborhood. It has been our experience that

the etheric end of the telephone circuit we build is usually in the more civil side of town.) Following the metaphysical rules of embodiment, I know that the phenomenal voice needs something physi- cal from which it can be formed so I use a noisy recorder or I supply noise—phone line electricity, if you will. The telephone line is formed of an energy that comes from my desire to communicate. This physical/etheric energy is the stuff of which auras and morphic fields are made and is probably what is accumulated in haunted lo- cations. It can also be accumulated by groups of people, and that is why the community of EVP experimenters and researcher is so important, because without this physi- cal/etheric energy, the telephone line could not exist. This is not a quasi religious theory any more than EVP itself is about religion. In recent years, researchers, such as Rupert Sheldrake (www.sheldrake.org) and Dean Radin shown (www.unm.edu/~asnjoe/fieldRNG.html) some form of group energy clearly exists. We are told by our (www.science- frontiers.com/sf125/sf125p12.htm) that this energy is es- sential if there is to be communication across the veil. friends on the other have side This necessary energy is known as a “contact field,” and it is felt that rapport, cooperation and expressed respect amongst experimenters builds the contact field while negativity diminishes it for all of us. We see evidence of this in the wonderful success the Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife has enjoyed. Sarah Estep under- stood this

when she formed the AA-EVP. We continued her tradition to openly share what we know about these phenomena and to encourage communication and mutual support amongst members of the community. Thank you for doing your part as citizens of this community. Tom Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Eviden ce That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Sullivan’s Photographic ITC Mike Sullivan has also taken up the challenge to find phenomenal features in reflected light. Mike’s technique is to photograph a mirror using a flash. In his still evolv- ing technique, Mike has learned to be very careful of what in the room is being reflected in the mirror, so that mundane items will not be mistaken as phenomena. One of the ways he has learned to control this is to saturate the mirror with light so that reflections of things in the room are washed out by the intensity of the flash. In answer to Martha Copeland’s question, “How do you take pictures without the flash showing in the mir- ror?” Mike gave the answer, “These pictures were taken from a distance which keeps the flash from centering on the mirror. I also shoot close up so the flash is in the mir- ror. This will usually produce smaller images around the flash itself. With a larger mirror you should get the same effect. If you decide to try it, just remember to shoot

in very dim light or darkness. I use a small candle which allows me to just barely see parts of the room, just enough to keep me from walking into things. I’m sure you’ll have success if you decide to try it.” You can see that Mike’s technique effectively substitutes the optical chaos of the intense light from the flash for the chaos of the feedback used in Video ITC. Thus, we believe that the principles involved in Video ITC, Soesman’s brown bottle method used by Erland Babcock’s and Mikes saturated mirror method are essentially the same with similar results. The first picture offered here is of one of the mirrors Mike uses, as it sits against a fine specimen of the radios he collects. The second picture is of an apparently phenomenal feature appearing in that same mirror. We have worked with intensity and contrast to make this image clear enough to print. Also, the image tends to have blocks of color caused by image compression, suggesting to us that the quality of Mike’s results will continue to im- prove. What you should see is a man visible from the waist up and facing you. In the color version, it is clear that he has a large red ribbon on his chest where his left shirt pocket would be. You can see a bright area just above the ribbon that is his white shirt defined by his lapel. He appears to have a large mustache and might be wearing

a derby hat. Donations The AA-EVP sincerely thanks these members for their support. Patrons Richard Adams Laurita Chmielewski Garrett Husveth Tsutomu Shimizu Donors Sustaining Members Steven M Beresford Susan Cole James W. DeRuiter Jean Estrade Mary L. Kunde Norman Rosen Anne Smisko Edwina Bentinck Robert Egby A special thanks to Garrett Husveth for his continued and generous support! No Fixed Time-Frame for Spirit Encounters To what extent do spirits return to console loved ones on Earth, and is there a time frame? According to an exten- sive world-wide survey, almost half of people surveyed said they received visitations after the first year, and one in ten reported that more than thirty years had elapsed. This substantially rejects the idea that bereaved people create their own spirit encounters. Noted lecturer, author and bereavement counselor, Di- anne Arcangel, has conducted the five-year “Afterlife En- counter Survey” which, (1) collected data pertaining to the effects, if any, of afterlife encounters, and (2) in what time frame did the visitations occur. The survey drew 3,000 reports from people in twenty different countries and showed that 1,978 visitations were reported by 1,122 par- ticipants. Interestingly, 47% occurred after the first year. As mentioned above, 10% occurred after thirty years. The author writes, “So much for the age-old theory of halluci- nations, especially considering that approximately 25% of participants were bereaved less than one year.” Ms. Arcangel’s book, Afterlife Encounters, is being published this coming winter by Hampton Roads. On her website, www.afterlife-encounters.com, she wrote, “Now

I hope we can educate the public, especially skeptics, be- cause if everyone could become aware of what encounters are - normal, healthy, functional, comforting and loving, then they would be understood and accepted…. I hope we can change world-view about this phenomenon.” Ms. Ar- cangel co-authored Life After Loss: Conquering Grief and Finding Hope with Raymond Moody. Thanks to Robert Egby Parapsychic Journal #20 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 The Implications of Knowing Personal Awareness Survives death? By Richard Rowley With Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and Instrumen- tal TransCommunication (ITC) we are receiving tangible evidence that ghosts or spirits are real. This is telling us that people we have known, our own colleagues, friends and relatives who have passed on, are still alive some- where and are able to communicate with us. Previously, we have had to rely on a mental medium to convey to us information from and about the spirit coming to greet us. A good clairvoyant or clairaudient medium can give us descriptions and factual details that can be checked out. There are quite a number of mediums appearing on televi- sion around the world, proving to millions that spirits and ghosts are real. But now technology can provide us with direct voice and images. We are not hallucinating. Of course, crisis apparitions, phone calls from the dead, hauntings and poltergeist activity, and near-death

experi- ences will continue to add to the evidence of survival. Victor Zammit, an Australian lawyer, has pointed out that we now have enough circumstantial evidence to prove in court the case for life after death. See www.victorzammit.com With this evidence amounting to proof that there is life after death and much more, we must consider the implica- tions of the survival of human personality after death to society at large. What is the general public going to make of the fact that ghosts and spirits are a fact of life and that each one of us has within us a ghost, a soul or spirit, a component which will continue to exist after we have said goodbye to our body? What will it take for our churches and educational institutions to accept this spiritual dimen- sion of existence as a fact? More importantly, how will this information affect reductionist science, which be- lieves that each of us exists only between conception and death? According to this type of reasoning, the sciences provide all the important answers. There is nothing more. We know that ghosts and spirits are real. In time, each of us will also be spirits. Is society, and particularly sci- ence, going to react violently against this information and block it by trying to prove that all mediumship and scien- tific contact with spirit is fraud? Religions will have to agree that each individual person, and life-form, is created, guided, protected and surrounded by spirit energy and

intelligence, quite independent of any formal religion. And from what the spirits report, there is no organized religion on the other side, once the “recep- tion” areas are left behind! It is obvious to those of us who are mediums, have had near death experiences or have reached higher states of consciousness through prayer and meditation, that there is no death to the mind or personal- ity. We are all spiritual beings, and it was Socrates who emphasized that the most important job for us in this world is to look after our soul. This being so, there can be no further reason for advo- cating war, violence, murder and genocide to achieve a political goal. Weapons of mass destruction will be out- lawed, since to inflict death on this scale would be a tragic waste of unfinished lives. There is no real death, since the spirit lives on, but each of us has chosen to be here on earth at this time for a purpose. To cut short that life and opportunity, whether by murder, suicide, acts of terrorism or self-inflicted disease, is a futile act, and takes meaning away from existence. All life is a continuum, of which our present lifetime is a minutely small segment. To help us confirm this, if we are not ourselves naturally mediumis- tic, we can consult a medium or try to reach our loved ones beyond through EVP or ITC. Some of us may have had a near death experience, which will

have brought us into contact with the other side. Prayer and meditation may also take us to meet our loved ones in spirit, and the spontaneous appearance of ghosts and apparitions will give us further evidence of survival. Death-bed visions, sometimes discounted by doctors and nurses as hallucina- tions, are real, and any medium present can feel and see the spirits coming to accompany the person to the other side. When the final moment comes, they can also see the spirit withdraw from the dying body. In the East, and in South America, the genuine priests, swamis, roshis and mystics have their spirit guides and communicate with spirits, just like Western mediums. Perhaps the evidence of EVP and ITC will encourage the Western churches to join with the Spiritualist movement and Psychical Re- search, and open up to spirit communication again. While we must be careful how we deal with negative or evil entities or disruptive ghosts, we need to realize that the vast majority of spirits are beneficent and not pres- ences to fear. They are merely folk like ourselves who have passed on. However, there is always the danger of misuse of spirit contact. When a cult turns towards the black arts and a negative personality takes possession of a whole community or country, as with Jim Jones, Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, the evil energy from the lower spirit dimensions can cause devastating tragedy. Not all the hu- mans who die have benign personalities, and they are

not likely to reform just because they are no longer incarnate. If they have a chance to see our weaknesses, they will try to influence us. So our motives for spirit contact are all important, whether we are mediums, or lay people and scientists using EVP and ITC. The spirits can see the color of our aura. If we are self-seeking, so will be the spirits we attract! If our motives are not of the highest, we may at- tract unwanted mischief and worse. We will be able to live life to its fullest right to the last moment, but when death comes, whether unexpectedly or through disease, we will not fear it. Doctors will no longer try to delay death indefinitely. Some conditions are be- yond repair, and we can continue our work in spirit, if un- finished, or come back for another lifetime in a new body. In the media, ghosts, hauntings Continued Page 12 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Did we Record Marilyn? It can be difficult to conduct a paranormal investigation with a TV Crew recording your every move. Knowing that we would be working with the Twofour production crew on the British series, Dead Famous, at the Cal Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe, we decided to visit the loca- tion beforehand with Janice Oberding to see if we could collect some

EVP. Frank Sinatra loved Lake Tahoe and bought the Cal- Neva Lodge in 1960. He did extensive remodeling and Tom and Lisa standing on the California-Nevada state line in the Cal-Neva Lodge’s Indian Room. Photo by Janice Oberding built the Celebrity Showroom with its outstanding acoustical qualities. The years that Sinatra owned the Lodge brought celebrities and glamour to the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Just a few of Sinatra’s guest were Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and members of the Kennedy family. Trouble arose in 1963 when the McGuire Sisters were appearing in the showroom. Sam Giancana, a so called mob boss who was in Nevada’s Black Book of unwel- come casino guests, visited Phyllis McGurie at the lodge. The ensuing controversy resulted in the revoca- tion of Sinatra’s gaming license in October of 1963. When we arrived at the Cal-Neva Lodge we decided to go first to the showroom that was built by Sinatra. One could feel a difference in the energy of this room and cold spots were felt behind the curtains off to the right of the stage. Interestingly, this is supposedly where Sam Giancana sat in the dark off stage and watched Phyllis McGurie perform. An EVP was recorded in this location that said, “Were just looking for peace.” We were given a tour of Sinatra’s dressing room which is now an office for the banquet staff. The employee that invited us in said that she felt the place to be very

haunted. We were asking her about the upstairs lighting and sound room, as we had heard that the heavy door of- ten shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews setting up lights and sound systems for shows. She told us that she would never ever go up there. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the lady for her assistance. On the re- cording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her voice, is a clearly heard paranor- mal voice saying, “Please don’t come.” However politely said, it seems obvious someone did not want us in the sound and lighting room! Next, we sat around a table in the showroom with Janice Oberding, asking questions and recording. Suddenly, the tablecloth moved for no apparent reason and Lisa actually jumped. She said that she felt someone touch her leg and then decided that she must have imagined it. We spent quite a bit of time looking at the air conditioning and other things that could have cause the cloth to move or the sense of being touched, but could not figure out how to replicate the effect. Several interesting EVP were captured during this experience. The first was, “Be careful of Art” and then immediately after that, “He’s a bachelor.” The sec- ond EVP made us wonder if someone had moved the ta- blecloth and touched Lisa’s leg. When we asked who had moved the cloth, we recorded, “This is our chair.” We went from the showroom

to the cabin that was used by Marilyn Monroe. The cabin is small and it is hard to imagine a star like Marilyn using such a small space. The room now sports pictures of the blond star who died Marilyn Monroe Cabin at the Cal Neva Lodge shortly after a stay in the cabin. At one time it had an un- derground tunnel that led to the showroom so that she could move about without being mobbed. The cabin also has a front deck with a million dollar view of Lake Tahoe. Was it possible to reach Marilyn, we asked? A voice on our tape replied, “That’s true.” Another nameless para- normal voice commented, “We all tried to save her.” Yet another EVP was a male voice saying, “Marilyn.” And then after we call for her, there on the recording is a voice that sounds exactly like Marilyn. It is in that ‘little girl’ voice of hers saying, “Do you want to see a movie?” To us, the voice is the way Marilyn would speak. But as we all know with EVP, it also could have been someone mimicking Marilyn to give us what we wanted. We do not feel that she is earthbound in that cabin. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Moves On Swiss-born psychiatrist and internationally known expert on death and dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,

made her tran- sition to the other side in August, she was 78. She was known for her groundbreaking book On Death and Dying in which she wrote about the five stages of death; denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, and for her pioneering work in hospice care. She often spoke about being helped with her work by “spiritual guides.” She died surrounded by friends and family with children playing in the room. Kubler-Ross who had been paralyzed from a series of strokes is now free from her physical body and will be able to continue her work on the other side. She often said, “Life doesn’t end when you die. It starts.” Her second book written with colleague David Kessler, On Grief and Grieving, is to be released next year. Picture from http://dying.about.com Real Haunting Continued from Page 4 which is the silver box on top of the Emerson VCR/TV combo. We use four cameras with the Samsung. Each camera is on a 60 or 120 ft CAT3 cable that hooks into the back of the silver Samsung monitor. All the cameras have sound and a built-in two way radio. The video and sound from the cameras is constantly being recorded to video tape for the entire length of the investigation. “We record using standard cassette recorders with both internal and external microphones. Al uses a Radio Shack and Panasonic recorder and I use a Panasonic. Because the equipment we have on the table is not portable, we will

record in different areas of the building we are investigat- ing and then analyze the tape on the stationery equipment. The Edirol and Nakamichi devices will facilitate up to four sets of headphones for simultaneous analysis.” (Photos by Garrett Husveth and Jennie Sharp) If You Can’t Reach Us The trailer (ad or preview) for White Noise is now on the Universal web site at www.universalstudios.com. An- other will be playing in Regal theaters beginning this month. The one that is shown in theaters this month shows several AA-EVP members. Both trailers include real EVP. Universal is working on a “How to experiment with EVP” video to be posted on the AA-EVP web site and that should be up by October. We are receiving between 3000 and 5000 hits a day on the web site and this is generating increased correspon- dence. If you try to reach us with a question and we are un- able to respond right away, please understand why! We will do all we can to maintain the standard of support we have in the past. Implications Continued from Page 10 and spirit manifestations will no longer be treated as hor- ror movies in a sensational way and with murky twilight- zone music. Television documentary program hosts will lose their tongue-in-cheek skeptical attitude and treat the subject more fairly. Contact with spirit will become natu- ral and a matter of course, treated not with fear, but with humor, as in the old “Topper” movies. The implication is

that ALL of us have a future existence when our body dies, so there is no need to fear death. If everyone knew this simple truth, and lived by it, there would be no more selfishness in the world, but loving cooperation. Psychology and psychotherapy will change as they take into account the life of the spirit. Freudianism, Skinnerism and Behaviorism will lose their hold on Western thought and Jungian philosophy, meditation and psychic science will take their place. The New Age and Human Potential movements will drop many of the fads and become more sensibly concerned with the development of true intuitive and psychic abilities, which will move us away from ma- terial possessions and acquisitions towards protecting the environment and living more responsibly. With regard to bereavement at the death of a loved one, with the knowledge that the spirit lives on, we will not need to extend our mourning beyond the funeral or memo- rial service. Then there will be a change in the commonly held belief that people only live on in the historical record they have left behind while their person is gone for good, dead and buried once and for all. Paradoxically, the real truth is the reverse of this. The historical record will even- tually decay and finally vanish as dust in the wind while the people who once existed on earth, and that will in- clude all of us, continue to exist in other worlds and reali- ties. We will all outlive

our gravestone. [Our thanks to Richard for taking up our challenge to predict how life might be once everyone accepts that they will survive physical death. Do you have a view as to how things will be? If so, expressing your ideas in an article suitable for publication in the AA-EVP NewsJournal and mail it to us, preferably as a computer file or typed page that we can scan.] Advertising on the Web Site You may have noticed that we have added a few commer- cial logos and search boxes to the AA-EVP web site. There is also a new “EVP Books” page that has links to specific vendors for many now out of print EVP books. The influx of visitors that has come from White Noise has required us to increase the bandwidth for the site, and we believe that the increased cost can be at least partially offset by the revenue gained from people using the links to purchase books, software and equipment for EVP. We think we have succeeded in adding usefulness to the web site. So if you need something, such as a book about EVP or a recorder from eBay, consider using one of the links at aaevp.com. The modest percentage from pur- chases initiated via the links from AA-EVP goes directly to the upkeep of the web site. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 13 AA-EVP

NewsJournal Fall 2004 Background Sound Sources There has been a lot of discussion between members on the use of a foreign language radio broadcast for back- ground noise during recording. Alexander MacRae told us that Gilbert Bonner, a Canadian who lived in England, used three tape-recorders playing French tapes for back- ground sound in the 1970s and that “Raudive used VHF radio and also picked up foreign radio stations such as the then Radio Moscow, but without meaning to.” Using foreign language for a background sound source has been around for quite a while and many researchers have gotten excellent results this way. We have heard some very clear recordings in which it is quite clear that the entities change German, for instance, into English to create EVP messages. However, we have also heard some EVP that we felt was a German (French, Spanish, etc.) word being misunderstood as an English word. Loretta Woodward wrote to the group about one person who had used a German broadcast and shared EVP messages only to have another member who spoke German transcribe the German word for word. He heard no EVP only German. Experimenters must be very cautious and very critical of what they hear when using this method. Cassette Recorders Digital recorders have almost replaced cassette recorders and for some people this is not a good thing. Many people, especially in other countries, do not have computers and do not have the ability to listen to recordings through a computer. We

have also heard from some mem- bers who are not that technical and do not want to use a computer in order to listen back to their recordings. For these people a cassette recorder is still the best device to use and we have been asked what the best cassette re- corder is. Carol Barron-Karajohn still uses a cassette re- corder and buys a Panasonic RQ-2102 Portable Tape Re- corder at Office Max with a counter for under $30.00. This works well for her. As you can see by the picture this tape recorder has the large analog buttons that help when listening back to recordings. Wal-Mart is selling a GE model for under $30 that looks like it would also work. to few people Jutta Liebmann tells us that in Germany have computers and they are also finding it difficult locate non digital recorders. She says that she likes the Sony TCM 939 with cue/review func- tions and a tape counter. In doing a search on the Internet, it seems that this particular recorder is sold overseas, but we were able to find one on Ebay. We have also used an older Sony cassette recorder with the same form factor with success. Defining Resonance Continued from Page 5 Some entities want to communicate with humans just as some humans want to communicate with entities. Try to provide a service for entities and they will try to help you. For example, humans can help the recent dead to under- stand

they are dead and to move on towards the light. Usually, a brief reminder for the confused entity to re- member a loving family member will bring that member to the entity’s side for guidance. Finally, remember that humans are social creatures and generally want to interact with other beings of like inter- ests. Be polite and kind in all your attempted contacts. ¹ All recorded sounds are played back continously (with re- sponse pauses) with endless tape loop cassette. ² Use this evocation with extreme caution. Not only is it illegal to broadcast it falsely, it might make entities mad if used im- properly. All licensed radio/television operators are required to answer this call – on pains of loss of license or even im- prisonment. References:  Butler (2004), Tom & Lisa. “From Our Viewpoint,” Ameri- can Association Electronic Voice Phenomena, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp 1.  Carnegie, Dale. “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” Simon and Schuster Publishers, 1936. 1981 edition.  Ehrhardt (2000), Rolf-Dietmar. “ITC – How to Avoid Un- pleasant Situations,” World ITC website.  Macy (2001), Mark. “Resonance – A Key to ITC Contacts,” EVP & Transcommunication Society.  Macy (2002), Mark. “Frequently Asked Questions,” 15 Feb- ruary 2002, World ITC website.  Standage (1999), Tom. The Victorian Internet – The Remark- able Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s On- line Pioneers, Berkley Book from Walker Publishing Com- pany, New York, New York, 1999. From Our Viewpoint Continued from page 1

On July 4th, we went to our experiment room and placed both a note and a picture of Barbara on the counter. The note explained that we would conduct experiments at 6 p.m. each night in an effort to reach her. That first night, we were just going to mediate and try to tune in to her and let her know what was afoot. But halfway through the mediation, Lisa felt the need to get the recorder and re- cord. We didn’t get Barbara on that recording, but after calling on her, we recorded a man’s voice saying, “Bar- bara Thurman happy … is busy.” The next two nights, we did not receive anything we could say was pertinent to Barbara. On the Wednesday night session, we were trying to find out how long Barbara would be busy. You can hear us say, “We got a man saying, Barbara Thurman happy … is busy.” immediately after this, a voice that we recog- nized as Barbara—only younger—says, “I’m right here,” in that definite kind of voice that she has. Barbara is doing what she said she would and we are sure that she will con- tinue to help many from the other side of life. 1June G. Bletzer, PhD The Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary, New Leaf ,1986 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 14 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 through News about Members  Anabela Cardoso presented

the evidence for survival Instrumental Transcommunication offered (ITC) to the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), in May at the Gwen Tate Memorial Lecture. Henry Burton Tate willed money to the British Society for Psychical Research “for the pursuance of such activities as may lead to the establishment of the theory of survival after death.” Tate stipulated that the Society hold two public lectures each year, to be named the Gwen Tate Memo- rial Lectures and that these lectures be on “the continu- ing existence of consciousness.”  Martha Copeland has been working on a new book that will address her continuing relationship with her daugh- ter Cathy, who is now on the other side, through the use of EVP. The working title is: I'm Still Here. The story is an extremely important one, in that it provides an exam- ple for others showing the possibilities available to them to cope with the loss of a loved one. It will show that we no longer need to say goodbye when a loved one passes out of this physical lifetime. The book will include stories from the “Recording Circle - Bridge to the Afterlife” group of AA-EVP members who record together every other Thursday evening, no matter where they are in the world. It will also provide instructions on how to record EVP. Look for the book this fall. It will be advertised here at aaevp.com and on a special web sight being established by Martha Copeland, and from which you will

be able to order signed copies. The web site address is http://evpcommunications.com/  Garrett Husveth, Al Rauber and their crew are working on a DVD called Listen. It is being filmed in a very haunted warehouse. The General Manager has reported audible phenomena, like the sound of someone running down the upstairs hall when the place is locked and he is the only one there. Both the night crew and the police have seen an old man in uniform ‘floating’ across the floor with a flashlight late at night. In another incident a forklift driver was driving out of the warehouse when a man peered around the skid of boxes that he was carry- ing. He was so frightened, he jumped off the forklift. The indentation from where the forklift crashed into a metal support pole is still there. To see a trailer of the DVD visit www.hauntednewjersey.com/listen1.wmv  Tina Laurent has been asked by Lord Haddington to investigate his mansion, Mellerstain which is located on the Scottish border, near Kelso. She says that, “There is very strong paranormal activity going on.” Tina will be accompanied by medium Derek Ogilvie and two other well-known psychic investigators. MakingTime TV is interested in making a documentary on the investigation that will take place in October. Tina is also working with Derek Ogilvie at Dover Castle for the Living TV series called I’m Famous and I’m Frightened.  Georg Lindström wrote to tell us that the Finnish Spiri- tualistic Association summer seminar was

a huge suc- cess. The main speaker was Hans-Otto König who dem- onstrated ITC, EVP and DRV (Direct Radio Voices). Georg wrote, “He showed us video films of Spirit Peo- ple, who moved and spoke.” König also taught people to record and did experiments during a workshop. Georg finished with, “Hans-Otto’s results during his thirty years of hard work have been wonderful, amaz- ing, great…!!!”  Alexander MacRae, former NASA speech communica- the main methods tions researcher, has written a new book about EVP. Its title is EVP and New Dimensions. The book for covers carrying out an EVP session and then goes beyond that to consider the new dimensions science will have to take onboard to account for EVP. The book will be available either in the traditional printed form or as a download from www.skyelab.co.uk, where more information can be found. Thoughts from Members  Nick Bikkal lives in Tokyo and wondered if the fast pace and noise could make it difficult to get EVP. Ginny Sawyer wrote back. “Nick, today I finally heard from Cathy, my niece, and Janet Manering, my best friend who died suddenly of a heart attack last February. I had changed locations in my house due to my son and his fiancé moving in with me. It seems that every time I change my usual recording area, I have trouble picking them up. Also, when I'm in emotional turmoil, I have trouble receiving an EVP. No matter where you are, you can get

them if you don't give up. I have found out that it is the same way as kids who need money …THEY WILL FIND YOU! Martha and I live in Atlanta and its hectic here, also.”  VTF Board member, Jutta Liebmann, had been invited to the home of a VTF member who had lost her husband two years before. Jutta wrote, “It seemed difficult for the deceased husband to leave a message on tape, but other entities told us about him. On returning home, I made a short EVP recording, asking why it was so diffi- cult to get a message from the member’s husband and one entity replied that there had been too much grief. I have experienced this as well, that it is difficult to get clear messages in a state of mourning.”  Stacy Rawlings noted in the Idea Exchange that, “There have been several documentaries (on EVP) over the years that have included info on the subject, which have not had a profound impact on interest in EVP. The dra- matic presentation of the subject in this movie (White Noise), I believe, will be quite different.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 3, Page 15 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife Group recordings take place every other Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. Information and EVP gotten during these ses- sions are shared on the

AA-EVP message Board, “The Idea Exchange.” If you have not been there yet it is at www.aaevp.com/ideaexchange/. AA-EVP members are in the board with their first and last name and an initial password of: 12evp34. Anyone can join the recording sessions. All you need to do is join your thoughts and intentions with other mem- bers in reaching loved ones on the other side. This is a great way to build a bridge and contact field between members and those working with members from the spirit world. Here is the schedule for this quarter Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 4, Nov. 18, Dec. 2, Dec. 16, and Dec. 30 and if you would like to add a name of a loved one in spirit to the Spiritual Roster please contact Martha Copeland at [email protected]. More on IC Records and Sound Editing Remember that Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber had said that they had gone back to a cassette recorder because they just had no luck with an IC recorder. Garrett wrote in August that he had recorded his first voices ever on an IC recorder after trying over a dozen different recorders. The recorder is an Olympus DW-90. Shellie Hawkins wrote to us that she had purchase a $20 RCA IC recorder at K-Mart and had been very impressed with it. It will record for up to 12 hours and has different microphone setting. She said that there was no model number. It has been pointed out to us that

there is at least one person on Ebay who is selling the Panasonic RR-DR60 for $1000. Do not pay this kind of money for this de- vice. It is not worth it. Other recorders work just as well! John Wright wrote us saying, “I have discovered a sound program called Audacity that will process WAV files and remove noise levels. I have tried it out and it is comparable with Cool Edit Pro that I use myself. So I can recommend it to those who do not have Cool Edit, be- cause Audacity is free! You can download it from: http://audacity.scourceforge.net.” [Cool Edit was pur- chased by Adobe and is now called Audition] Richard Smith (paratexas.com) came across a free sound editor and wrote, “It has a waveform presentation which allows a drag and drop isolation for selecting parts of your signal, an amplify control and a denoiser process.” It is at www.nch.com.au/wavepad/index.html. Idea Exchange One member wrote to us saying, “The Idea Exchange is awesome. It was a brilliant idea. I wish I had joined it sooner.” We hope members will check it out at www.aaevp.com/ideaexchange/. Use the first and last name you gave us and the password is 12evp34. Once in, you can change the password. Tapers Report  Melanie Billings wrote that she had just joined the Re- cording Circle - Bridge to the Afterlife recording group and hoped that it would help her get better recording re- sults. She says that, so far, she has only

gotten one word answers, “I’ve heard what sounds like a man speaking a name in response to my question, ‘Who’s listening?’ and a very low and quiet woman’s voice answering ‘Yes’ to my question ‘Do you have anything to say?’”  Andrea Carr got two very interesting EVP when she went on a hike in August. One EVP said, “You gotta see it, go to the light” and the other was “Prophecy.”  Charli Claypool has been asking her etheric partners to identify themselves. She wrote, “It seems that many of the people speaking to me are ‘locals’ who once lived in villages here on Kent Island. It was settled in 1631.” One EVP that she recorded was, “This is Clay from Easton.” Easton is the next large town near Charli.  Rheta Conley’s father passed in April and she recorded a week later and asked him to come through. The an- swer that she got was, “Your daddy’s at mothers.”  Martha Copeland ask for Cathy or someone else from the “Big Circle” to tell her if they thought the book, I’m Still Here, that she is working on would do well. Martha wrote, “Many voices jumped in and it was difficult to separate them … here are just a few of what I could un- derstand they were saying from the spirit world about the book. The first was, “It’s Cats Mom.” They often refer to Martha as Cat’s Mom. Another was, “We are happy.” Other members listened

and reported also hear- ing, “Of Course” and “It sells.”  Harry Flagel has always had questions about his mother, Thelma’s, passing away in a nursing home in November of 2001. He tried to get her records from the nursing home but was told that they were sealed and not avail- able. When he visited her room this year in Las Vegas he decided to try and record. He wrote that he had been waiting for this message for over two years. The EVP: “Harry … You can check … Thelma.”  Shelle Hawkins felt there was a man and female pres- ence on the second floor of the Hotel Nevadan where the AA-EVP conference was held. She asked what it was like where they were and recorded, “Very heavy.”  Bea Hofman has been trying to record the voice of her daughter, Lauren. In June she recorded her grand- mother’s voice saying, “Hi,’ with another, “Hi,” three seconds later. Bea’s mother agreed that it sound like her mother. Bea wrote, “I can’t wait until I hear my daugh- ter. I know she set me on this path.”  Cheri Kussavage recorded, “Not in your religion … over,” during a prayer/meditation session.  Jutta Liebman had taken her recorder on her holiday to the health resort, Bad Kissingen. When she returned she found a strange EVP on her answering machine. It said, “She has not tape recorder with her.” Continued Page 16 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC

and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 3, Page 16 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2004 Taper’s Report Continued from Page 15 Jutta had asked the entities to come through on her an- swering machine and thinks perhaps this was just a test message.  Siobhan McBride asked about the missing Utah woman, Lori Hacking. She wanted to know her physical where- abouts as the hunt for her was into the tenth day. She re- corded, “Heaven.” Although her husband confessed to the murder after Siobhan recorded this EVP, her body has still not been found.  Karen Mossey’s father was a politician who helped make laws. Karen tells us that he also had a great sense of humor. She says that she feels that AA-EVP mem- bers have been doing a lot to promote the awareness of EVP prior to the release of the movie, White Noise, and that her father is still being the politician on the Other Side and recognizes the effort that everyone has put in. She recorded, “I’m gonna pass a law … to pay you.” We have used an EVP message from Karen’s father which says, “I love you” as a demonstration EVP. The “pass a law” EVP is the exact same voice.  Judy Quillen was at church when the choir started sing- ing, How Great Thou Art. It was the one month anniver- sary of her father’s passing and this song had been her father’s favorite and was the

first song played at his fu- neral. She started grieving but then smelled Jamie’s per- fume. Judy immediately felt a sense that “all was well.” Later when Judy asked Jamie if it had been her she re- corded, “It was.”  Richard Smith shared an EVP from his father who died in 1997. When Rich called on him he recorded, “Richard … is that you?” All of his friends recognize the voice as that of his father.  Rob Smith recorded a very clear one word EVP while in his kitchen. The message was, “Survival.”  Vicki Talbott told the group that Braden often professes his love for Kobi, his dog and shared the EVP, “Love you Kobi” with the group. “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo White short sleeve Fruit of the Loom “T” Shirt with AA- EVP logo embroidered in blue. Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US Dollar only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC learning tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada.

Media Mail First Class $4.00 First book: Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are: Members* Sustaining members $30.00/year $100/year All services for one year (International members see *) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Founding Member renewal $20/year USA $25 USD International People who were members prior to 15 June 2004 The last Founding Member renewal will be April 2005 * If you live outside of the United States of America and do not receive the AA-EVP NewsJournal via email as a PDF file, please add $8 USD to the annual membership dues for postage. Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service? or via email? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of per- sonal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify

that I am eighteen years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the News- Journal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed Date Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 23 Number 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 From our Viewpoint The January NewsJournal was completed nearly a month early in order to make time for a busy media schedule and increased new member activity in December. In fact we considered this “Viewpoint” to be finished, but here we are near the end of December and so much has happened in the last few weeks that we decided that we needed to use the “Viewpoint” as an update. In December, Universal asked us to prepare to be on the Maury Povich show, to be pre-recorded in New York City. When the producer called to talk to us, we found ourselves discussing the wonderful messages that several members have been receiving from their children, now on the other side. You can imagine our excitement when the producer asked if Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey might also be interviewed for a show.

As it turned out, Martha and Karen were instrumental in making the show interesting and what we thing will be a big success. The show airs January 7, the day the White Noise movie is re- leased. Thank you Martha and Karen for “dropping every- thing” to fly to New York and participate. Universal had finally arranged a screening of the movie for us while we were to be in New York. We did not have to sit through it alone, because Martha and her husband, Don, as well as Karen and her friend Maureen Wood, were able to join us before heading to the airport. As we exited everyone said they thought it was a good thriller. We were not sure what to think of the movie, as we were concentrating on what they were showing as EVP and how we would answer question about the movie from reporters. Our next stop was Los Angeles for two days of meetings with the media, and we knew that we would be asked about our reactions to the movie. Although the movie began with a fair representation of EVP, it quickly moved to showing motion Video ITC rather than EVP. Michael Keaton’s character uses a video recorder to re- cord white noise video and audio generated by a computer program. The movie leads one to believe that messing around with this kind of communication is dangerous and life threatening. Even though we had been told the plot, we had hoped for

something a little more uplifting. The movie is very scary but most who have seen it tell us that it is thought provoking. We hope that the public will be able to separate the “scary fiction” from the “reality.” The next morning, we were on a flight to Los Angeles to talk to members of the US media and then the Interna- tional media about EVP and the movie. The meetings were called press junkets and experiencing them was quite a shock for both of us. The first session of the morning was called a radio round table. We were ushered into a room that held a large round table with nine or ten people sitting at it, waiting for our arrival. We were seated in front of at least ten microphones. After being introduced, everyone began asking questions at once, hoping to get their question about EVP answered. Our chaperon with Universal seemed pleased and surprised about the intense interest that this group had shown in EVP. We were later told that all of the people we would meet that day and the next, attended the press junkets every week for whatever was the next movie. Thus, it was something of a surprise for our handlers that they were so enthusiastic with us. Next stop, a room with a couple of high directors chairs, cameras and studio lighting. The first interviewers were allowed fifteen minutes to ask us questions. We remember shacking hands and hearing the names CBS, Access

Hol- lywood, Entertainment Tonight, E! and others. Most In- terviewers were very excited about the movie and very interested in EVP. Somewhere during those first four in- terviews it hit us. They had Michael Keaton in another room doing the same thing. EVP was as big of a celebrity as Michael. We really had not realized what we had agreed to and were in a state of shock at the idea that some of the video being made of us might show up on TV, along with portions of Michael’s interviews. The fifteen minute interviews were followed by over an hour of five minutes sessions—each reporter leaving with a “thank you” to us and a copy of the video. Many of these people told us that they had covered their eyes dur- ing the film or pulled their shirt over there head during parts of the movie. They seemed to love being scarred! Many wanted to know how to record EVP and others said they were too scared to try. With each one, we tried to explain that what the movie showed was more difficult to obtain than straight EVP while also explaining what EVP was and how to record the voices. We also found our- selves reiterating that White Noise was a movie and fan- tasy and that EVP was not at all frightening. As we write this, we think about how we can be made, through the magic of editing, to look like we are saying it is

scary! That afternoon, we were also interviewed by Tracie Austin for her show, Let’s Talk … Paranormal. We had been on her show before and were happy to see that she was being included in the media day. The next day was the same but with members of the In- ternational media. We were able to tell them about groups in their own countries and they were surprised to hear about these groups. During both days, we cannot remem- ber a single person saying that he or she had previously known about EVP, so we were pleased to know that each Continued Page 14 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Voice in Death Same as that in Life Cleusa’s daughter, Edna We have published several articles on the work of Brazil- ian ITC researcher, Sonia Rinaldi. Sonia has been helping people by making phone calls to those on the Other Side since March 2001. Most of these calls are for parents who have lost their children. Because she has been unable to find funding for her research, Sonia must work full-time and is only able to occasionally conduct calls for people. Sonia’s friend, Cleusa, lost her daughter, Edna, during Carnival in 2000 when she was just sixteen years old. Edna was playing in the street and was hit and killed by a car. Sonia had facilitated phone

calls between her friend and Edna several times and each time Cleusa had recog- nized Edna’s voice. On Edna’s birthday in 2004, as a gift, Sonia invited Cleusa to make another phone call to her dear daughter now on the other side. The phone conversation between the two generated seventy-eight replies and nearly all of them were in Edna’s voice. During these conversations, the families call Sonia on the telephone. Sonia is on one telephone set and leaves another extension off the hook for those on the others side to use. She records the conversation directly into her com- puter. As a sound source, she plays three compact disks (CD) with phoneme sounds, which are small segments of human voice that have no meaning by themselves, but from which words are formed. Sonia wrote, “Those pho- neme sounds were placed so that no word in Portuguese may be formed. Playing only ‘sounds,’ it is absolutely impossible to form a full and coherent sentence that is meaningful and clear.” Sonia had Cleusa on the telephone line speaking to Edna. They had been on the line fifteen minutes or more and were about to finish the call. Sonia wrote, “All the time the sound source was playing. So to close the re- cording I thanked the Spirit Friends and said: “E estamos encerrando esta gravação...” (Translation: “And we are finishing this recording...”). Sonia then turned off the three CDs. Sonia continues, “While doing this a fantastic phenomenon happened: the entrance of a

paranormal sen- tence, half modulated on the sound-source and half OVER NO SOUND AT ALL! Edna’s voice says: “Só não en- tendeu irmã, conta com o novo de reclamar!” (Transla- tion: “Only you, sister, didn't perceive; count with a new (phase) due to complaining”). The ‘Só não entendeu irmã’ sentence was modulated over the sound-source while I was turning the CDs off. And the sequence, ‘Conta com o novo de reclamar,’ was recorded when all sounds were completely off. So, we had Edna’s voice speaking clearly over silence. “This paranormal sentence is fully coherent because during this recording both Cleusa and I had mentioned the financial difficulties we are facing to carry on the re- search, so in fact, I have been complaining to my Spirit Friends. In truth I had stopped with ITC research since February and started working with design; illustration of books. I just recorded this phone call for Cleusa because it was her birthday that day and I knew it was the best gift she could receive.” Cleusa had a recording of Edna’s voice when she was alive on an answering machine. Sonia copied it and sent it along with the sentence that she had received from Edna during the recording to Daniele Gulla for comparison. [www.laboratorio.too.it/] Daniele later sent us an excited Email stating that he had compared the voice using FBI pattern recognition software and that he had obtained, “One fantastic result!” The matching voice comparison was ninety-nine percent. The voice of Edna in

life is com- patible with the recorded paranormal voice!” Donations Robert Barney Stacy Huddleston Steven Lindemann Robert Meyer Diane Moseley Karen Mossey Ginny Sawyer Steve Sens Patrons Richard Adams Cathy Amiss and The Big Circle Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland A Special Thanks to Richard Adams for his continued and generous support! Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©2005AA-EVP. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP policy. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educa- tional corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 The Video ITC of Lawrence Dean and Patricia Begley By Lawrence Dean John Lennon Some years before achieving video ITC, Lawrence Dean had received clairaudient and trance communication stating that ex-Beatle, John Lennon, was to make contact with him and via Patricia electronic means. Begley trying A number of Video ITC images had been received that resemble the star, but these were not very clear. However, image captured on the 8th of March 2004 is very in-

dicative of how Lennon looked in the mid 1970s, clean shaven, with long dark hair and wearing glasses. Video ITC image of John Lennon an If you examine the picture shown here, you should be able to make out a pair of eyes that are just under a bright area in the upper-right quarter of the picture. The bright area is his forehead. Just to your left of the man’s right eye, is a nearly horizontal line that extends from just un- der the eye, toward his right ear and into his hair. That line appears to be the arm of a pair of glasses. Even the lens frame can be made out when the original image is viewed in a computer. Voices deemed to be, or alluding to John Lennon, have also manifested on to audio tapes during EVP experiments conducted by Lawrence in Sussex and by Scottish EVP researcher Linda Williamson in Dundee. One such voice was recorded by Lawrence and then analyzed by Linda using computer software. The voice was found by playing the recording backwards. Lawrence is a trance medium as well and recent trance sittings conducted by Lawrence and Patricia have revealed that Lennon is involved with the couple’s ITC, and that he is hoping to establish contact two-way through advanced audio experiments they are now conducting. D. D. Home On the 4th of January 2004, Lawrence and a Patricia video ITC image that resembled the famous Daniel Douglas Home. This picture compared favorably with

other pictures of the medium, his dark curly hair and distinctive moustache being clearly Video ITC image of D. D. Home captured visible. Home, who was tested by various psychical re- searchers including the great physicist, Sir William Crookes, produced numerous forms of physical phenom- ena and became legendary for his feats of levitation. Eleanor Sidgwick A video ITC image in the likeness of Eleanor Sidgwick, the Society one of the past presidents of for Psychical Research, was received by Lawrence and the 22nd Patricia on March 2004. The captured image is similar to an old photograph of Eleanor, which shows her looking Her reading. down, lowered and eyelids angular line can clearly be seen. In this ITC image, her hair is also parted in the middle above her forehead and combed close to her scalp, left and right. Numerous pictures of her while in “life” showed that this was the style she preferred. Video ITC image of Eleanor Sidgwick jaw Eleanor had a great interest in spiritualistic phenomena and was an enthusiastic member of the Society, being greatly involved in its meetings and administration. She died in 1936 [Editors note: You can find real life comparison pictures of ITC pictures at at Lennon Sidgwick and D.D. Home with www.alienandspirit.com/scientists.htm www.alienandspirit.com/lennon.htm] and the Thoughts from Members Sandy Colegrove wrote that the night her husband died, she began receiving all sorts of messages from him, “I had never heard of EVP, so I could not have made any of these things

up. Later, being so confused about the mes- sages left on my answering machine and later on my voice mail, made me curious enough to dig for information. Thanks to the group and to close friends in the group, I was able to learn how to record EVP and place them on the computer. I have received messages from beyond as to when a friend of mine who was seriously ill would die ... and was told the very night he would pass over. He did just as the message said he would…. I live in a small, very rural community and to talk of things like this means I would be classified as being sa- tanic or crazy. Sometimes I feel like I am crazy because I cannot talk about these things to even my closest friends…. I have moved on with my life, but I also live between two worlds. It brings me so much comfort. I feel blessed that my deceased husband loves me so much that he still wants to contact me.” Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Giving up the Ghost! by Michael E. Tymn In his 1929 book, A Curious Life, George Wehner, a trance medium and clairvoyant from Detroit, Michigan, tells of his many mediumistic experiences and other para- normal observations, including the passing of his mother. the counterpart of my “A

misty blue-white form, mother’s, but radiant, like a blue-white diamond’s flame, was slowly rising from her body on the bed,” he wrote. “This form lifted at an angle, the feet rising higher than the head, which remained attached to the physical head. The form now seemed to try to free itself, and after sev- eral tugs, the misty head separated from the body’s head, and the freed form righted itself in the air exactly as a log rights itself after it has been dropped into deep water. For a second, I saw several arms and hands materialize in the air and reach downward to welcome the new-born soul. Then, like a shadow, the spirit-form of my beloved mother glided rapidly upward through a corner of the ceiling.” “Letting go” or “giving up the ghost” is apparently dif- ficult for many people, we are informed by a number of clairvoyants, including Gladys Osborne Leonard, one of the great mediums of the first half of the 20th Century. “A great deal of the apparent difficulty or struggling associ- ated with death is caused by the inability of the etheric to dissociate itself from the physical envelope,” explained Leonard in her 1937 book, The Last Crossing. She de- voted a chapter of the book to ways of helping the dying sever the etheric cord, also referred to as the “silver cord.” to Leonard, drinking plenty of water strengthens the etheric body and enables it to more easily separate itself from the physical body.

On the other hand, food is not necessary. “Even if they will take it, I am con- vinced that the dying do not need ‘nourishment,’ Leonard continued. “To ‘nourish’ the worn-out physical envelope, which the soul is trying its best to shake off, is only to create and prolong an unnecessary struggle between the two bodies. In many cases, it does not even strengthen the physical, because it can no longer make use of solid food, which only clogs the system producing more suffering.” According The administration of drugs also hinders an easy transi- tion from the physical to the etheric body, Leonard added, again stressing the need to give the dying person water, even if only a few drops at a time by means of a syringe. “Water is the one thing that the etheric body can make use of when trying to free itself from the physical at the ap- proach of death of the latter.” Like many other mediums and mystics, Leonard points out that those who lack a spiritual understanding and fear death are more “fixed” in the physical, and thus there is much more of a struggle in the release. “It is, I think, partly a matter of temperament, and of physical and spiri- tual understanding,” she further explained, “but a con- sciousness of the existence of the etheric body, and a re- alization of its powers of dissociation or separate exis- tence would go a long way to producing the phenomenon more easily than

is possible under the present conditions in which human beings are only cognizant of one body, i.e., the physical.” In Letters from Julia, published in 1909, William T. Stead, the respected British writer of that era, recorded the following via automatic writing from a woman named Julia, who first explained that she had exchanged experi- ences with many others on her side of the veil. “With me, the change was perfectly painless,” Julia wrote through Stead’s hand. “I wish that it might be so always with all who are appointed to die. Unfortunately, the moment of transition sometimes seems to be very full of pain and dread. With some it lasts a comparatively long time; I mean the time of quitting the body. With some it is mo- mentary. The envelope opens, the letter is released, and it is over.” Julia likens “death birth” to childbirth, tough for some, relatively simple for others. “The tranquil soul that pre- pares and knows need not feel even a tremor of alarm,” she explained. “The preliminaries of decease are often painful; the actual severance, although sometimes accom- panied by a sense of wrench, is of small account.” Of her own transition in 1891, Julia recalled not realiz- ing that she had died until she found herself standing next to her corpse. She felt quite naked at first, but then found herself clothed. “I do not remember putting on garments. There is just the sense of need, and the need is supplied.” Keeping the

feet warm and a comfortable coolness (not cold or draught) at the head also facilitate, according to Leonard, the withdrawal of the etheric body from the physical. In helping her husband leave the physical body, Leo- nard felt drawn by an unseen force to make upward passes from his feet on past his head with her hands. These passes consisted of placing her hands, palms downwards, a few inches above his feet, and moving them steadily and rhythmically over the legs and body, and straight over his head. “At the finish of each pass, I ‘flipped’ my fingers in a direction away from his body, as if I was throwing off something from my finger-tips,” she went on. “Afterwards I learned that these passes were assisting the etheric body to leave the physical body more easily. It withdraws up- wards through the head.” Leonard cautioned against whispered conversations with the nurse in the presence of the dying person, ex- plaining that while the conscious mind may not be cogni- zant, the unconscious or subjective mind is gradually coming to the surface. This unconscious mind will find itself recording flashes of awareness as to what is happen- ing to the physical body and it will both puzzle and dis- turb him. “At this juncture it is most important that what- ever is being done or said, or even thought in the room, should be directed towards the patient to help him.” In The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rin-

poche discusses Continued page 7 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 The Amazing Photo Album Two New Books on EVP in 2005 As many of you know, Karen Mossey has received several EVP recordings from her father. An experience that she had in August takes the word coincidence to a whole new level. Mary, the mother of Karen’s daughter’s fiancée, was renovating a house. The man that lived there, Ray G., had died a month earlier at the age of ninety-seven. The family had already taken everything that they wanted out of the house but had left some things. Mary had called Karen and asked her to come by to see if there was anything there that she wanted before it went into the trash. Ray had been very religious and there were many sym- bols of Jesus, crosses and pictures of angels. There was also a stack of old photo albums and Karen couldn’t be- lieve that the family had left them to be thrown out. Some of the pictures were almost one hundred years old. Karen had decided that she was going to donate the pictures to the local historical society. Then, as she was glancing through the pictures of Ray, she noticed that he was wear- ing an old Sanders Associates Uniform. Fifty years ago, that was the name of the company that Karen

works for today. It has since changed name and ownership several times. Karen had recognized the old uniform because her father had worn the same one. Martha Copeland’s book I’m Still Here should be avail- able in late January or February. Part of the book is about Martha’s continuing relationship with her daughter Cathy who passed from this world into the next but continues to communicate with her Mother through EVP. One of the first EVP messages that Martha received from Cathy was, “I’m still here.” The book also shares the stories of other Mothers who have lost children, and who have come together through EVP to also continue their relationship with their children now on the other side. We had a chance to read parts of the draft for the book and we feel that it is going to be a page turner. It will make you want to cry and rejoice at the same time. The book is being published through AA-EVP Publishing and part of every sale will go to the nonprofit Association. The book should be out the first quarter of 2005. Keep an eye on the AA-EVP website and Martha’s web site at www.evpcommunications.com for the release date. You can also send an email to Martha at mpcope- [email protected] and ask to be put on an email list to be notified when the book is available. and ITC We know that everyone is also eagerly awaiting the re- lease of Sarah Estep’s new book Roads

to Eternity. In the book, Sarah gives her thoughts on many different proofs of survival from deathbed visions and near death experi- to apparitions and ences possession. But of course EVP are extensively covered. A few are: of at “Recording “Special Home,” “Have Recordings,” Tape Recorder, Will Travel.” The book will also include a CD of EVP exam- ples recorded by Sarah. chapters Voices and the We are told that the book is set to be on sale in January. Galde Press Inc. is publishing the book. We have had the opportunity to re- view the book and were honored to write a short forward for the book. We are sure that if you liked Sarah’s Voices of Eternity, you will love Roads to Eternity. The book can be preordered now at Fate Bookshop PO Box 460, Lake- ville MN 55044 or by calling 1-800-728-2730. Continuing to go through the album, much to her amazement, Karen discovered that the last two pages of the last album contained pictures of Ray’s retirement party. There sitting at the table in two of the pictures was Karen’s father. Karen not only donated the albums to the historical so- ciety but took all of his religious items and donated them to a church. Karen wrote, “I believe my father wanted to introduce me to his friend who had recently arrived on the other side … I think I made my father and his friend, Ray, very happy that these things … were not thrown

into the trash and forgotten.” Dedicated to Pu blic Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Promoting EVP and White Noise Paul Brooks, Michael Keaton, Interviewer, Lisa and Tom In October we had our first meeting with Michael Keaton at a Comic-con convention in Dallas, Texas. We had never been to a Comic-con conference. They are quite large and there is a lot to look at. Many of the attendees were dressed as one of the characters from action movies and comic books. Everything having to do with action movie paraphernalia was for sale, and we noticed many Batman posters in the hands of the lucky one hundred people who were chosen to receive Michael’s autograph. We really had no time to do more than shake Michael’s hand before he stepped aside to talk with his friend and producer of White Noise, Paul Brooks. The two of us, along with Brooks and Keaton, were then led to a room seating about a thousand people who had just seen the two White Noise trailers. The person who interviewed the four of us in front of the crowd was a film critic, and of course, was very interested in asking Michael about all of his movies, leaving scant time for discussion of the movie White Noise. Keaton was great with the crowd and had them laughing and intrigued. The interviewer finally did ask Michael about

White Noise and we were able to answer a couple of questions regarding EVP. The interview revealed that producer Paul Brooks is a real supporter of an approach- ing world mind change regarding the phenomena. From the Comic-con event, it was off to the Dallas air- port where we flew to New York for more EVP parties. We had never been to Manhattan and we must say that we were impressed with all that was there to do in the heart of the city. Most of our time was spent taking care of the Email correspondence being generated from the movie trailers but we did walk to the theater district, Central Park and down 5th Avenue. The weather was good to us and our walk in Central Park was on a sunny day. AA-EVP member Garrett Husveth had been in contact with us and we enjoyed having dinner with him and his wife. All of us know how won- derful it is to be able to sit down with like minded people and ideas and exchange stories. New York City Central Park The New York parties seemed to go very well. They were held at the celebrity popular Regency Hotel on Park Avenue, near the famous Central Park. We passed Larry King using a guest phone in the lobby. Alissa, our new friend and a VP in the Universal Marketing Group, whis- pered in my ear, “Look Larry King! Let’s get him while we have the chance!” This was of

course in reference to him having us on the show to talk about EVP. It was tempting but we behaved ourselves. Michael Keaton in White Noise When asked if he had ever heard of EVP, Michael re- plied that he had not known it was a real phenomenon. When asked if he researched it when he found out that EVP was such a major part of the movie’s plot, he replied that he had not, as he wanted to stay true to his character in the film who knew nothing about EVP. The Butlers looking for EVP We were concerned that the media in New York might be a more difficult crowd then the Hollywood people but they were all very nice and seemed very interested. Again most EVP came at the beginning of the sessions and there was no Class A messages. There were so many people at the party on the second night that we were unable to go to each one and ask who they might like to reach. It simply would have taken too long to listen back to the recording. A couple of people from HBO and the Sci Fi channel in- troduced themselves to us, but other than that, we are un- sure about what companies were represented in the group. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Eviden ce That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 The White Noise

Trailers the AA-EVP In September, in appearing website began theaters at the end of a trailer for the movie, White Noise, which is to be released January 7. That first trailer was a phenomenon in itself. Message boards were talking about the movie and EVP. We did get quite a bit of from correspondence, mostly young adults asking lots of questions. The first two weeks that the trailer ran, the website averaged about 3,000 hits a day, but by the end of the month the hits increased, reach- ing a high of 7,864 visitors on one Monday. The White Noise trailer begins with an image of a voice print and an announcer saying, “What you are about to hear is real. It has not been edited or enhanced.” Various images are flashed in quick succession and real EVP tracks are played. The announcer’s voice is heard again saying, “Electronic Voice Phenomena, EVP, is the process by which the dead, through sound and image, communi- cate with the living, through the static and white noise of modern electronic devices. What we all hoped to be true is in fact possible. Our loved ones can reach us … but if they can come through, who else can come through?” In October, what Universal called an “education fea- turette,” began appearing in theaters. Over ninety percent of this ad came from the June 2004 AA-EVP conference. The nearly three minute featurette begins in the exact same way as the first trailer, by defining

EVP. It then shows, for over two minutes, AA-EVP members and Re- searches talking about EVP and how it can be used to reach loved ones. After this, the announcer’s voice is back saying, “Now a feature film explores the haunting ques- tions raised by Electronic Voice Phenomena.” Scenes from the movie are shown and you see a man talking to Michael Keaton. The man says to the Keaton character, “Mr. Rivers, do you want to hear your wife?” Next is a scene of a woman shouting at Keaton, “It is one thing to contact the dead. It is another thing to meddle and you are meddling!” A series of quick scary images are then shown in succession and end with the announcer saying, “White Noise” and the message, “The Voices of the Dead are all around you,” is shown on the screen. This ad campaign increased the hits to the web site to an average of 5,858. The hits reached a high at 11,248 in one day. The correspondence also increased with most of it still coming from the curious rather than the serious, but we have received correspondence from those who are truly interested in trying to use EVP to reach a loved one. We have had seventy new members join this quarter and some of them are due to these trailers. Quite a few Emails have come from people calling us charlatans or crazy. A youth minister said that we were not talking to the dead but

instead speaking with demons. We have given a few radio interviews, and a question that everyone seems interested in our answering is, “How is this movie going to change life for your organization and for others doing research in this field?” This is a diffi- cult question for any of us to answer. The film portrays EVP as being a way to communicate with the dead, but it also shows EVP as a threat, arguing that when you work with EVP, you open a doorway that can let evil beings in that can harm you. Will the movie bring more people to EVP or scare them off? All of us are waiting to see. Giving up the Ghost! Continued from Page 4 the Tibetan tradition called phowa (pronounced po-wa), meaning the transference of consciousness. Phowa can be performed by the dying person or by anyone attending the dying person. It involves visualization, meditation, and prayer techniques in which the dying person asks or is asked by those attending to surrender his or her soul to God. “Sit quietly with the dying person, and offer a candle or light in front of a picture or statue of Buddha or Christ or the Virgin Mary,” Rinpoche instructs, after detailing three different practices. “Then do the practice for them. You can be doing the practice quietly, and the person need not even know about it; on the other hand, if he or she is open to it, as sometimes dying people are, share

the practice and explain how to do it. According to Rinpoche and Buddhist teaching, there are two things that count at the moment of death: what we have done during our lives, and what state of mind we are in at the moment. When the consciousness leaves the body, it goes through a series of states called bardos. “The problem, however, is that in the bardos, most peo- ple go on grasping at a false sense of self,” Rinpoche con- tinues, “with its ghostly grasping at physical solidity; and this continuation of that illusion, which has been at the root of all suffering in life, exposes them in death to more suffering, especially in the ‘bardo of becoming’.” In The Challenging Light, a 1984 publication, Frances Banks, communicating the hand of Helen through Greaves, states that those making the change from mate- rial to ethereal do not recall any pain in the process. “If they experience terror, it is because they expected it,” ex- plained Banks, an Anglican nun in her earthly life. “The lurid pictures impressed upon the soul-mind by mistaken teachings of hell and torturing agonies become real.” Banks further wrote that her own transition was very simple. She seemed to relapse into nothingness until she awoke refreshed. “The death of the human body should hold no terrors,” Bank offered, “and when this thought is allowed to be taught and understood by the various prac- ticing religions of the world, a big bogey will have been removed in

the onward thinking of the races. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Considering the Family in Home Investigations By Rich Smith As members of the AA-EVP, a group with ever increasing exposure to the public, a critical issue has been brought up involving the increasing popularity and growing numbers of individuals who are offering their services as paranor- mal investigators. There is so much more to it than just identifying and documenting paranormal activity, and in particular, there are inherent dangers to be recognized when working with grief stricken individuals. On the editorial policy page of my website, www.paratexas.com, I take the time to make a clear dis- tinction between what I refer to as “field trips” and “inves- tigations.” If an investigator chooses to be admitted into the privacy of someone’s home, they have just accepted a huge responsibility (and liability, I might add ) and will be expected by the persons involved to professionally deal with the emotions, fear, and confusion that can surround the home and family. This is a serious undertaking that should not be pursued by the novice investigator without available assistance (if necessary) from professionals in the field of family counseling and psychology. Although I am not a psychologist, I have studied psy- chology on my own in depth. It has been very helpful in this field, and I just can’t imagine someone

conducting these types of intrusions into peoples lives without at least someone on staff available to help watch for emotionally charged situations which may require professional assis- tance. I have selected professional psychological associa- tions and individual certified guidance counselors, to which I may refer certain clients regarding emotional is- sues detected during an investigation. Many people who are experiencing genuine paranormal activity may be depressed, afraid, confused and desperate for an explanation. They are vulnerable. And likewise, we can unfortunately come across individuals who are delu- sional and suffering from mental illness. Symptoms of mental illness can vary according to the origin and various stages of the illness, but we need to be ready to deal with this occurrence. It is a guarantee that sooner or later it will happen to all investigators who are active in dealing with the public. My first step of prevention in this area is to inform the individual at first contact that the initial priority will be to visit with them in person and conduct a private interview. I explain that the purpose of this interview is to explore in depth the motivations and needs of the family or individu- als in question. I take this early opportunity to explain to them the implications of paranormal investigations, and discuss the aspects of psychological considerations. I let them know, without pointing a finger at them, that all in- vestigations are given careful consideration in these areas. As a result of this screening process, I

can tell you that more than three-fourths of the interviews I conduct DO NOT result in a subsequent investigation into their lives and homes and into the phenomenon which they may be experiencing. One reason that a decision may be made to not investi- gate could well be a noted mental instability of the person being interviewed. This does not mean that such a person may be mentally ill. An investigator should familiarize Richard Smith analyzing a sound file. themselves with common symptoms of depression, pho- bias, and the grieving process, as well as irrational or ab- normal and delusional behavior. A further confusing com- plication can be that an otherwise normal individual may be thrown off balance by experiencing severe paranormal activity, and be showing considerable stress, but not be ill. A more frequent reason for declining an investigation into someone’s home may be that people just do not real- ize how invasive a paranormal investigation can be. Peo- ple are conditioned to think of ghostly activity in terms of the “Hollywood” versions of the paranormal, and as a re- sult they have not considered that frequently spirits appear in people’s lives because of their own personal indiscre- tions....moral issues, crimes, abuse etc. Electronic Voice Phenomena can frequently be instrumental in uncovering situations of abuse, (physical and sexual), infidelity and other serious family issues in the course of paranormal investigations. The investigator needs to be acutely aware of the potential for extremes of conflict in these areas, as well

as the liabilities that come into play. In one case, the preliminary interview revealed a male apparition was appearing to a couple’s child at night and trying to coerce the child into leaving the house. Further questioning produced information from dreams from other family members, leading to further admissions, etc., and soon it became evident that a deceased male from a prior relationship, and a matter of deceit about fatherhood, be- came a part of this developing picture. Confronting the woman with my suspicion, she admitted the current father was unaware that he was not the real father. (And ... you guessed it...the real father is deceased!) This woman had naively assumed that they simply had a ghost of the “Hol- lywood/TV” variety in the house, and was shocked to find that there were issues extending deep into moral and spiri- tual implications of their own lives. Continued Page 14. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Faces in Moving Water Erland Babcock We have previously reported on Erland Babcock’s use of Arthur Soesman’s, technique for finding phenomenal faces in light reflected from agitated water. Erland’s adap- tation of the technique includes the use of a digital cam- era, rather than video, and a large amber glass jug and colored lights. The results have been both very phenome- nal and very beautiful. Edwina Bentinck became interested in what

Erland was doing and began her own experiments with variations of the Arthur Soesman method. She recently sent us several examples, one of whi ch is included here. We are impressed that Edwina has taken up the chal- lenge so successfully. When several people work with the same technique, their collaboration can produce many advances in what we know about these ph enomena. Arthur Soesman Image captured by Erland Babcock that appears to be a man wearing a clown hat. Erland informed us that he will have an “art show” in the Burlington Town Library beginning January the third, with matted copies of many of his experimental pictures on display. The name of the show is, “A Study in the Re- flection and Refraction of Light in Water that is in Mo- tion” The pictures will also be advertised on the library web site and published in local papers. Edwina Bentinck Image captured by Edwina Bentinck that appears to in- clude two human-like figures. The version on the left is unedited. The one on the right has rectangular areas that have been enhanced to show the features. Image captured by Arthur Soesman. You should see a human head tilted to your right. Arthur has told us that he is still experimenting with the p the technique. His advice to others that might take u challenge is, “Before capture images, take a long walk to clear the mind.” [If you are using video] “…set your web- cam or camera in a

slow shutter-rate that is not higher than 1/50 of a second.” Light seems to have Intelligence Thanks go to Clara Laughlin for sending us an article from the Washington Times. The colu mn was about an apparen t ghost being captured on a courthouse se curity camera. Security personnel first saw the light while look- ing at a surveillance tape recorded earlier. But the next day they saw it live for over an hour. After noticing the light, a security officer, Mr. Price, walked up the stairs and didn’t see anything. But downstairs where a crowd had gathered to watch, the video monitor revealed the strange light moving ahead of the officer, stopping when he stopped and starting when he started. When those watching the video saw Mr. Price walk through the light, Mr. Price said he felt a chill at the exact same time. At that time of the year the stairway is warm and muggy. Of- ficials are still trying to find a scientific explanation for the anomaly. From the Washing Times Aug 8 2004, “Courthouse camera captures a ‘ghost’, Videotape spooks Kent official Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Orb Experiments By Don Watson I’m working with a family that has been photographing orbs, and we’ve been doing experiments with them. The nfidentiality, so I’ll not di family wishes co sclose anything this. that might betray

The orbs first appeared after their son was born follow- ing a difficult pregnancy. The orbs generally appear in the same space he occupies, and usually only when he’s awake. These spaces include his room, cars, restaurants, an airplane, a cruise ship and other people’s homes. One question is whether the orbs are artifacts of digital photography. Evidently they are not. Photos of the orbs have been made with (1) a digital camcorder with Hi8 tape, (2) a borrowed analog camcorder, (3) a digital cam- corder with analog tape, (4) digital still cameras and (5) film still cameras. Most of the observations have been done with the digi- tal camcorder, hand held. The orbs appear in the view- finder and on the tape, but usually aren’t seen with the naked eye. On several occasions, orbs have been photo- graphed near the videographer at the same time he is feel- ing faint brushing movements against his skin. Our next task was to test the “particles” hypothesis, which we did in several ways, including these three: First, particles must be near enough to the camera to be (1) unfocused and (2) large enough to be photographed. Observing several of the orbs during panning the digital camcorder showed that they were several feet from the camera, and that they were about an inch or so in diame- ter. Other orbs disappeared behind objects in the room that were several feet from the camera. Second, particles are expected to move with air currents, not

against the flow of air. We set up a fan at the left of the room that moved air from left to right across the cam- corder’s field of view. During the two-minute test, thirty- six orbs appeared, twenty-five of them moving right to the left against the air current, and eleven of them moving up and down. None moved with the air current. Third, dust particles aren’t expected to “know” whether or not the baby is awake or in the room. They would show up whenever and wherever they exist. These orbs behave as if they “know” when the baby is awake and present. Further, the baby is regularly observed to be interacting with them, and has been photographed looking directly at an orb, which is not visible to the adult observers. Interestingly, the baby was sleeping in another room when the experiment with the fan was performed. This raises the questions, “Are the orbs sentient?” and, “do they want to participate in experiments?” To answer these, the videographer suggested aloud, “I’ll some ques- tions. If you want to say ‘Yes,’ move ac s the view- finder, and if you want to say ‘No,’ stay ou f sight.” He tried several questions, and ap e intelligent re observa- responses. O ask ros t o peared to receiv bviously, we must make many mo tions about this. In addition, we are now starting to use an audio recorder to listen for EVP phenomena. Finally, a medium I know well has

offered one observa- tion: At least one of the orbs appeared to her to be the baby’s grandmother, and she and the baby communicate with one another. Photographic Extras In photography, unexpected people in the frame are re- ferred to as “extras,” especially if they are apparently phe- nomenal. Falice Masi, of the Italian Il Laboratorio (www.laboratorio.too.it) has been collecting examples of phenomenal extras in an effort to establish a sufficiently large database wi th which he might hypothesize about their cause. In the first e in what was xample, a person was found suppose to be a simple picture of a metal serving tray. This form of the phenomena is very much like what Mike Sullivan is now routinely experimenting with, when he takes a flash picture of a mirror. A second media Masi has been examining is extras in movies. In the following example, you can see a face just above the bed roll of the man on the right. The face, cir- cled in red, w as not intended to be in the movie. More and more images are being captured in more and more different ways. We know that our etheric friends will take just about any opportunity to impress their like- ness in our pictures. If you enjoy this form of phenomena, learn to watch out for extras in your pictures and let us know what you find. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual

Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Email from Visitors to the Web Site We have gotten hundreds of Emails from the White Noise Trailers and wanted to share a few of them with you.  “I wanted to share my experience with you guys at the AA-EVP. I have lived in Los Angeles for the past three years, before that I lived in Ohio. While I was in Ohio I used to be an assistant engineer at my friend's recording studio. We noticed one day that on one of the re- a female singing softly in the back- cordings, there was gro the und along with another friend of mine. He was the onl y person singing into the microphone, and I was only girl in the studio at the time. The other occurrence I ., on had was with my band at our practice space in L.A more than one occasion we heard singing while we were playing our music. As eerie as it sounded, it was beauti- ful.” K.K.  “To Whom It May Concern … I am a twenty-five year old single mother from … Ohio. I am contacting you because, I have had some experiences that I would like to share, and perhaps you could help me to understand ... and be less afraid of them. I have had contact with the ones who have passed for many years.... It started when I was eleven or so. A little over

a week ago, for the very first time, I heard something that scared me so badly I fled my home. It was after dark and I was home alone. I had entered my son’s room to check the window to make sure it was closed, due to rain coming. Now, I must explain that my son had won a prize a year or so ago from school for selling items for a fundraiser. It was a ‘parrot light switch cover.’ It was made to go over your light switch, and there was a button on the front … if you pushed it and held it in, you could record a mes- sage onto the cover, and each time the switch was flipped thereafter, the message would play. The one that had been on it, was my son, saying, ‘I love you mommy.... You’re silly.’ “Well, when I went over and flipped the switch to turn on the light, my son’s message was no longer there. In- stead, I first heard footsteps, like you’d hear walking loudly over a hardwood floor. This alarmed me as my apartment is carpeted. Next, there was a voice deep and gravely, garbled with static. I couldn’t understand ex- actly what it was saying but the tone of the message didn’t sound kind. It sounded dark, scary and forebod- ing. It played for several seconds, this voice, talking, and then there were the voices of many others in the ackground, right before the end of the

message. I was b shocked and I didn’t understand who it could be. I played it over and over, trying to figure out who it was and what they were saying. But I knew that it wasn’t me and it wasn’t my son. I never have company, so I knew it had to be something else. I called my mother, I played the message. She put my father, and then my brother on and they all heard it. I decided to take the cover off, and take it to their home so we could listen together. I kept my brother on the phone and went to unscrew the cover. Before I touched it, it began to play over and over while I unscrewed it. As I pulled it off the wall, it stopped and when I tried to make it play again it had erased itself. I felt like something was there with me, around me, and it scared me to death. I grabbed my purse and fled my house, lights still burning, front door unlocked, and I drove to my mothers, and that’s where I stayed. “I must let you know that I have had other experi- ences where things have been seen and heard, that can’t be explained. I’m a firm believer in the afterlife, ghosts, and all that’s in between here, and wherever we go once we’ve died. I’ve grown used to strange things happen- ing, but the events that have taken place over the last couple

of weeks have scared me, scared me so badly that I no longer even want to sleep alone in my own home. “Could you please write me back and let m e know hether you think this is actual, honest to god paranor- w mal activity ... and if it does sound like it, should I be scared?? If you need more information…I’ve had so many experiences with this that I could share just have no one to share with until now.” L.R. This contact began with a rational sounding email ex- pressing reasonable objections about what EVP is, but degenerated into the man calling us terrorists! We had respond ed to his first Email in an attempt to answer the an’s objections. His response was, “… No proof m here.… I see no evidence other then see what you want to see. In fact, if it was visits from the spiritual realm, why not more often? And why only for those who wish to publish it at the expense of others and for their own gains or to satisfy their own feelings of inadequacies? “I was referred to your web page after a friend got en- trapped in your concepts, now admitting there other points of view and proof of your wayward activities. So I also see your page as a dangerous concept and one that can promote fear, your web page even acknowledges this. Thus by definition you are nothing but terrorists. orking in.” “You are selling Snake

Oil for whatever your reasons and benefits are. You have not provided in your emails or web page any evidence that cannot be written off as hoax or mere coincidence considering the media you a re w “Hello, this recording occurred in October 2004 when my mother received this message on her answering ma- chine. Two years ago, she lost her husband, of about thirty years, just before Christmas. She was feeling lonely and blue because her children were out of tow n. he had cleared her answering machine about an hour S before and was surprised to see the light blinking. She thought, ‘That’s strange, I didn’t hear the phone ring.’ If you listen carefully you can hear a mechanical male voice say ‘I am sitting... in front of you…. Can you hear me?’ At some points it’s more of a whisper. Continued Page 12   Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife New Home for the Big Circle Group recordings take place every other Thursday at 8 PM EST. You can join the recording sessions from wherever you are by joining your thoughts and intentions with other members in reaching loved ones on the Other Side. By recording in a group, members are creating a contact field and building a bridge for communication with loved ones now on the Other

Side who are also building a bridge to this side. Recording dates for the next few months are: January 14 nd 28, February 10 and 24, March 10 and 24, and April 7 a and 21. These are the directions that Martha Copeland sends out to those who participate in the group recordings:  Do your prayer of protection  Read the names on the Spiritual Roster out loud  Look at the pictures on the Memorial Web Site Martha usually looks at each picture and asks that the per- son please come through for their love one here in the physical. Any type of recorder can be used and they do not have to be expensive. Speak into the recorder and ask questions while you are recording making sure to be quiet and leave of your time for your loved one to answer back. Think hoto if you have one. loved one perhaps looking at their p ith Record no longer than five minutes. End the session w t the a prayer of thanks and send healing energy throughou universe. Then listen to your recording using headphones. EVP messages recorded during these sessions are shared on the AA-EVP “Idea Exchange” discussion board. you would like to take a look at the messages on the If board, at http://aaevp.com/ideaexchange/ with their first and last name. The password for your first visit is 12evp34. After logging on make sure to set up a new password. members should login A note about

attaching EVP samples: save them as mp3 files, mono, Sample Rate = 11025. Try to reduce the sam- ple to some of your voice and the EVP. This will make it ea sier for others to listen to them. also There is a Big Circle website at http://bigcircle.aaevp.com where your loved ones picture and information can be placed. For more information on recording with the circle or how to include material on the memorial web site, contact Martha Copeland at mpcope- [email protected]. Visitors Email Continued From Page 11 Since then, she has received another message. She was awakened around midnight when the phone rang. She got up but let the machine take it. She didn’t hear anything and went to bed. The next day she started to delete it but realized that it sounded much like the other, with static and all. She replayed it again and again until she could pick out what it said. It said, ‘Happy birthday ... to Gary,’ which is her nephew. It was in fact his birthday. Thanks. I’m looking forward to the movie White Noise.” J.A. Martha Copeland and Lisa Yesse have teamed together to develop a new web site dedicated to the Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife. This site is a subdomain of the AA-EVP web site at http://bigcircle.aaevp.com. The new site includes the same content for the memorial that James Jones had developed, and Martha is planning to grow it from there. There will also be examples of EVP

and stories related to the experiences members are having nicating with their loved ones on the Oth er in commu Side. contact Martha at mpcopeland2001@yah oo.com. You can We wish to thank James Jones for all of the support he has provided in the early days of the Recording Circle. Lisa and Martha, thank you for taking on the challenge of de- veloping and maintaining the new web site. L isa, your w ork is very creative. Talk on the Board  Hi, all. I was cleaning out my office just now and found a bunch of condolences cards from when my son Braden died. I just sat down and started crying. Then I decided to try recording. I got a number of very relevant EVP, including “Braden your mom needs support” and then “Here’s Braden... What’s up (Braden’s voice).” This one came first: “Braden’s not dead Vicki.” Vicki (Editor – The attached “Braden’s not dead” EVP was quite clear.)  Please save this EVP to put on our “Big Circle” web site which should be up soon. This EVP made me cry, but from tears of joy. What would we have done if we had never discovered EVP? I am spoiled by EVP, and even famous mediums like John Edwards, can not replace what EVP has done to prove that our loved ones exist. Martha  Hi, Martha. Thanks for the listen. Well, your miracle child EVP made me cry for the same reasons you out- bove. And I

completely agree with you about lined a how fortunate we are to have EVP to contact our loved ones. I would not want to have to rely on John Edwards or I’d never get to talk to Braden. e Technician from Timestream In the field of ITC, th s said that mediums imprint up to 4/5 of the message ha they get from spirit with their own thought patterns, thus mes in cleanly distorting their output, while only 1/5 co from the spirit world—he maintains the opposite is true of ITC: only 1/5 of any given message from the other side is tainted by the receiver—the rest is not influenced by the recorder(s) and is directly from spirit. They aren’t dead! I’ll definitely save this for the Big Circle posting en I get EVP, they site as I feel that most of the time wh ar e from Big Circle members. Vicki Here is the link to Audacity audio editing software. I have the German version and it works very well. It works like cool edit but with more stuff and is 100% free. http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ Jürgen  Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 13 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 News about Members W e thank all AA-EVP members who work with the media in various ways and help to educate the public about Elec- tr onic Voice Phenomena and Instrumental TransCommu- n ication.

 In November, Martha Copeland was interviewed by Bill Osinski, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bill came by for one of the “Bridge to the Afterlife” group recording sessions and also interviewed Kathy Malone and Judy Quillen. The article was a wonderfully positive and presented testimonials from several mem- bers. You can read the article in the Idea Exchange > Special Events > Member News. of Stories their Ghost  Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber have put up a tape of on one www.hauntednewjersey.com/gs/gs1.wmv. It is about twenty-eight minutes long so don’t try downloading unless you have broadband. The Ghost Stories program playing on Fangoria TV, www.fangoriatv.com, looks to be quite good. Articles about the show have appeared in the Wall Street Journal and many other newspapers. shows The two are also producing a CD in association with What Exit Productions, Inc regarding some of their in- vestigations called Listen. The CD will be available January 2005 at www.hauntednewjersey.com/main.htm  Bryan Kaplan is cofounder of Paranormal Activity In- vestigators located in Kansas City Missouri. In October, the group was approached by the National Geographic Channel regarding an investigation that they had done of the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri. National Geographic is going to use some of the EVP that Bryan recorded in a Ghost special that will air sometime in 2005. download  Alexander MacRae’s book EVP and New Dimensions can now be ordered as a book or an immediate at www.lulu.com/EVP. The book covers from basic

questions, such as what is EVP, how it is done, a wide-ranging discussion of new dimensions. in beliefs This from takes Christianity to Taoism, from Spiritualism to the Kaballah. to After comparing EVP, Near Experiences, Black Death Holes and Worm holes, MacRae goes on to present incredible ideas for the future of EVP and "Designer Bodies." Also availab le is the CD The P a companion to the . The CD includes White Noise, Brown Noise, Sound of EV book Noise, Pink Voice Mixture, Burning Bush, Spiricom, and other noises that can be used as background sound for EVP. There are also some examples of EVP produced by the Alpha Interface System.  In October the Nashua Telegraph interviewed Karen Mossey and then ran a very well done and positive arti- cle on the front page in the Sunday paper. The article ti- tled, “Finding a Bridge to the Afterlife,” was about Karen’s work with EVP. The article was picked up by The International Survivalist Society web site and also the Jeff Rense website. After seeing the article, a meta- physical group has asked Karen to give a lecture on EVP. She will be doing the presentation at the Borders Bookstore in Nashua, NH on Feb. 22. You can read the article in the Idea Exchange > Special Events > Member News.  Mark Macy appeared on the British TV show titled, Jane Goldman Investigates, in November, along with English researchers, Judith Chisholm and Neil Fellowes. Mark said the program

did a credible job of presenting EVP and ITC. Mark was also the guest on Whitley Strieber’s internet radio show, Unknown Country and Beyond.  Janice Oberding has just released her fifth book, Las Vegas Haunted. The book is a visitor’s guide to the ghosts of Las Vegas. It offers readers a look at the su- pernatural side of Vegas, a side its visitors rarely see. The book is available through Janice at http://hauntednevada.com/ or through Amazon.com (re- member help the nonprofit Association by visiting Amazon through the AA-EVP website).  Richard Smith did an interview for The Daily News in October. He said that he usually does not like doing in- terviews but had a good feeling about the reporter. He invited her to his office and as part of the interview process he put her through a meditation and deep breathing preparation. He then handed her a digital re- corder and conducted a three minute EVP session. Within seconds of their first request for spirit contact, they recorded a spirit voice that said, “Speak to me.” Toward the end of the session they recorded another EVP that said, “Thank Richard. You are growing.”  Rob Smith, a member from Australia, wrote an article about EVP that was published in Spheres magazine. Spheres is available throughout Australia and New Zea- land.  Tina Laurent wrote to say that, “Just been speaking to BBC 1, Radio 4, who are doing a piece on EVP, De- cember 20th. They are coming

down to visit me in a week or so AND, at the same time, they are also going to visit Neil Johnson, who lives not too far away, who wrote the screenplay for WHITE NOISE!!!!” Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 14 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 EVP Experiment South Jersey Ghost Research Director, Dave Juliano, re- cently wrote us about a field experiment that his group conducted to test some theories on how EVP are injected onto the recording medium. Are EVP recorded by the mi- crophone or are they imprinted directly onto the recording medium? s own track on the tape. We had th David told us that, “For the two experiments, we brought a mini recording studio set up complete with mul- ti-track recording capability. We placed microphones in various sections of the home and monitored the recorders live with headphones. Each microphone was recorded on it e residents and inves- tigators talk normally and waited to see if the sounds and voices that have been reported and observed here before, would be recorded by the hi-tech equipment. We also wanted to see if the sounds that were being heard real- time by the clients and investigators, would also be re- corded on the tape. We found that all EVP recorded dur- ing these experiments only appeared on one track even though there were multiple microphones in the areas.” The results can

be found at: ww.southjerseyghostresearch.org/cases2/evp2003.html d ww.southjerseyghostresearch.org/EVPexperiment2002 w an w EVP in Home Investigations Continued from Page 8 This investigation clearly could have led to a devastating confrontation between spouses. am cer tain that if the family issues Thus the “official” investigation never happened..... as a result of the interview only, it was decided to recommend counseling for the family, not a paranormal investigation. are resolved, the I m- haunting phenomenon will go awa y. This is very co mon. The investigator must develop , (from study, experi- family guidance ence, and professional association with ntial counselors), their own methods of screening pote cases, before delving into the privacy of a home. I have found that EVP can be ex tremely revealing in some family or home hauntings. Agai n, while usually th e entire “personal” connection of many of these “so called hauntings” may be missed by those family members in- volved, I have found in many cases th ot at at spirits were n all reluctant to bring up details which y would put the guilt party (infidelity, lying, etc.) out in the open, and you, the n the middle of it all! I am not saying investigator, right i paranormal episodes are always directly that haunting and personal aspects of someone’s life. It’s associated with ortant that we watch for that very com- just that it is imp lest we find ourselves “over our heads” mon situation..... in involvement with peoples personal lives and subse- carpet legally to

answer to alle- quently be called on the hich knows little to nothing about gations from a public w what we do. V m iewpoint Continued from Page 1 ember of the media also left with our book. When not participating in the press junket, we were antically trying to take ca re of the AA-EVP email. Tele- fr vision ads had begun giving out the AA-EVP website and we could tell by the increase in email. As we write this, the website is getting between 8,000 and 12,500 hits a day and the TV blitz hasn’t even begun. The Canadian distribution company told us that the Ca- nadian magazine, Elle, has ranked White Noise as one of the top three movies to see. We might have a tiger by the tail here. There are not enough funds for secretarial help and so we have placed a note on the web page that email may not be answered and it does look like it is going to be impos- si swer all of the requests for information. We are concentrating on supporting you, who are already mem- bers, and answering messages from people who have lost loved ones to the Other Side. ble to an The AA-EVP has seen an increase of over seventy members in the past two and one h alf months. We sin- cerely hope that we can handle memberships after the movie is released. EVP and ITC researc hers around the world take these phenomena very

seriously, and we s uspect that many will be upset with us for helping Universal publicize this movie thriller. The movie happened without us, and we believed—do believe—that the best way we could serve the field was to accept the opportun ity offered by Univer- sal and Gold Circle Films to try and s et the record straight. We may all be required to set the record straight for a long time to come, so it is important that each of us learn how to talk about EVP in terms that will help people get past any fear the movie might cause. For instance, how can we answer the accusation that we ar e bringing evil forces into the world by recording EVP? If someone asks you to reach a loved one for them, you would be doing them a favor, my telling them it is important that they learn how to record the voices themselves. If they are afraid, learn how to tell them that EVP is not that scary. If they think you are a crackpot, learn how to explain how well researched EVP is. When they wonder why they do not find phenomenal faces in the TV noise, tell them to begin with EVP and work their way up. Prepare yourself. We are all spokespeople for EVP. Happy New Year e wish each and every one of you, here and on the Other W Side, a joyous and most productive New Year. We give special thanks to

those of you who have sup- ported the AA-EVP through volunteering your time, dona- tions, articles and kind words. We also give a sincere thank you to those of you who teach others about EVP. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 23, Number 4, Page 15 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 R esearcher’s Repor t  Eddie Beloate wrote that he had captured an EVP that no one could figure out what it said. Eddie noticed that it sounded like reverse speech so he reversed it and got a clear EVP saying, “Oh look at this.”  Edwina Bentinck shared two EVP from a couple of her regular visitors, her husband and her special friend, Catherine. Edwina says that when she records, it often sounds like they are having a party and she can hear music in the background. One EVP that she shared said, “You will be safe in our group.”  Martha Copeland was out playing with Cathy’s dog, Doja, and her new little Chihuahua, Shorty, while leav- ing her recorder on in Cathy’s bedroom. She wondered what Cathy thought of the new Chihuahua. When she listened back to her recording she got “He’s a freak, Mom!”  Shelle Hawkins wrote that her Grandmother had been raised in a religion that said that it was wrong to com- municate with the dead. When the Grandmother’s favor- ite sister died, Shelle offered to help clean her

house. family she took a recorder Unknown to the rest of the with her and was able to ask for family members to come through without anyone in the house knowing. Shelle wrote that her Grandmother’s sister, May, came through with a class A EVP saying, “It’s May.” Not only did the Grandmother hear the EVP but she told Shelle that whenever May would walk through her door, she always announced her arrival with, “It’s May.”  Jan Hornbeck wrote, “My nephew recorded this with his mp3 player sitting next to a TV tuned to channel 3. To me it sounds like a chorus of people saying, ‘I can hear you!’ It is completely unfiltered but very clear. This was our first attempt using a digital recorder so we were ex- cited that we got it on our first try.”  Garrett Husveth wrote to us that, while he and Al Rauber were filming for their DVD, Listen, they re- corded some voices on infrared VHS surveillan ce foot- age. While Al was explaining temperature drops, a male voice is heard saying, “Hey, there’s something.” An- other voice comes after Garret commented on how tired he was. It says, “Oh are you?”  Clara Laughlin was shocked when a close friend, Rosemary, whom she had just been with, crossed over unexpectedly. Clara started trying to reach her through EVP. Clara wrote that she eventually answered by stat- ing her name and confirming her continued existence. The EVP message was, “Rosemary,

Rosemary. I’m here with you, Clara.”  Jutta Liebmann wrote that she had mentioned to her spirit friends, during a recording session, that she now had a computer. She received an astonished male voice saying, “She has now a commuter”—they left out the letter ‘p’. A female voice then comments, “She is up to date now.” Another voice continues in a joking manner “A first step to heaven.” Jutta wrote, “It is alw prising to me that they react sometimes so new mundane situations.” ays sur- promptly to  Karen Mossey was participating in the “Big Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife” group recording session and re- corded an EVP saying, “The Big Circle.”  Tia Presley wrote that she has been recording EVP with EVPmaker for a few months. She puts out snacks for her spirit friends and recorded a voice saying, “She put out little gifts.”  Stacy Rawlings wrote that, “Some years back I was on rnet and conversing with a dear friend in Mis- the inte souri who is also an active EVP researcher. We we’re using AOL instant messenger. At this time I had a dial up connection, so any calls that would come through while I was online were immediately forwarded to my voice mail. “We had been working closely for about a year on specific experiments and ha d been having a good deal of success in interacting with his voices and mine, ap- parently each having contact with the same entities from

the other side. We discussed during the conversation, that we would lik e to request contact via the phone sys- tem, particularly a phone call. We spoke for over an hour and when I got off line I checked my messages and found that an EVP had been left on my voice mail.” The EVP actually said two different things that were relevant to them at the same time. In a fast pace, a voice says, “They’re on the Internet,” and in a slower pace, another voice says, “They’ll hear this”. Stacy wrote, “We had both specifically asked them to contact us while we were on the Internet and both of these mes- sages pertain to what is taking place. I really enjoyed this message and felt it was one of their best efforts to accommodate us and all of our requests of them during our work together.”  Vicki Talbott recorded her son Braden’s voice saying, “Mom.” You can then hear Vicki’s voice saying, “Love you,” and Braden replying, “Love you.” Building an Electronic Circuit for EVP? Keep up the good work. The Archive has much research and results information. Wonderful job to the ones putting it together. I use Web T.V., so am limited and no added filters De- noiser, etc., but ha . parts to share perimenting in with anyone doin ultrasonic range. I enjoy building amplifiers, receivers, . converters and antenna tuners in this frequency range ve much E.L.F and V.L.F g same if anyone is

ex Robert Meyer [email protected] By the Way … Mark Macy and Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt are developing an online library of important EVP and n ITC literature. You can download the English translatio of much of Instrumental Transcommunication. Author, Ernst Senkowski is credited for coining the term, ITC. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 23, Number 4, Page 16 AA-EVP NewsJournal Winter 2005 A Way that You Can Help the Nonprofit AA-EVP In the last NewsJournal we mentioned that we had be- come affiliates with several book vendors and also with eBay. If you are going to buy a book or b id on something on eBay, please take the time to go to aaevp.com first and use one of the vendor links. When you do this the Asso- ciation receives from two to five percent from each sale. We have affiliations with Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Abe, Alibris, and eBay. You will find a link for Amazon and eBay on the front page, and the n others appropriately at especially placed www./aaevp.com/evp_books.htm. Look for the Wal-Mart link as a text only link. throughout site, the “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo White short sleeve Fruit of the Loom “T” Shirt with AA- EVP logo embroidered in blue. Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US Dollar only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV

89507, USA et to earn any As of early December, the Association had earned about $50 off of sales. This is small amount but its something! thing through the eBay affiliation. We have y We know that many members do buy things on eBay, so the next time that you do, please link to them through the AA-EVP web site, and in doing so, make a donation to the AA-EVP. If any of you know of other affiliation programs that would be of help to members and are in keeping with our Association goals we would like to hear about them. Ra- dio Shack rejected our affiliate application and did not respond to our letter trying to explain how members often used their products, so if you know the president …. Don’t forget that you can donate directly to the Associa- tion! It’s tax deductible. There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC learning tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you Nevada. in live Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 AA-EVP Mem Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, Members International Members $30.00/year not receiving the NewsJournal

via email Sustaining members $38.00/year $100/year Founding Member renewal $20/year USA $25 USD International You must be 18 years old or ol be disc Al rship Form ussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are: l benefits for one year All benefits for one year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Current members who were members prior to 15 Th der e last Founding Member renewal will be April 2005 to be an AA-EVP member. June 2004 Name: Address: Cross-country List? Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Email Address: Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service? or via email? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION o f $ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realiz e they are private and I agree that e list, other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on th used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of per- i sonal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated f I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years of u age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the res lts of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the a

Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of inform tion it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the News- er Journal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse memb ship to anyone. Signed Date Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com AA-EVP Volume 24 Number 1 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 From our Viewpoint Things are finally beginning to quiet down again, giving us time to get things done before the next great wave of EVP publicity that will be generated from the White Noise DVD, which is due to be released May 17, 2005. The day that the theatrical version of the movie opened, the AA- EVP website received over 88,000 hits in one day. For the month the site had over 800,000 hits. It was breathtaking and we were literally covered up in Email for several weeks. The web site has received visits from people in ninety-two different countries and the count is going up as the movie is released around the world. During the month of January, Universal Studios actually had to mirror the web site by putting most of the pages from aaevp.com on their own servers. We had increased the bandwidth on the web site, which is a measure of how many visitors we could support, to an enormous 200 Gb and still the

site would have crashed during the opening weekend if Uni- versal had not helped. Most people that we heard from, that knew anything about EVP, were very disappointed in the movie. The movie was not Ghost or Sixth Sense. There was no happy ending and it portrays spirit communication and EVP in a very dark and dangerous way. So, for those of you who did not see the movie in the theater, be prepared! Just know that the publicity generated from the movie has made many more people aware of EVP. The week leading up to the movie release, and the week after, many EVP members were doing their share of interviews trying to get the real word, of what EVP is really about, out to the pub- lic. We could not handle many of the requests for inter- views and it was obvious that many in the media wanted to do a story about Electronic Voice Phenomena. In February we turned down a request to do a thirty minute spot on Showtime’s, Penn and Teller Show. The conversation with the producer’s assistant did not last long when we heard that the segment of the show is called “Bull Shit.” But the bottom line is that the producers of Penn and Teller would not have even been calling if not for White Noise. The movie has generated many new members who ob- viously were able to distinguish “Hollywood Scare” from what is real, and now as you will see from

the article, “White Noise DVD to Feature EVP,” the release of the DVD in May is certainly going to reach more people than the theatrical release did. By the way, the theatrical release was a big hit for Uni- versal and Gold Circle Films. It made over twenty-three million dollars opening weekend. The production budget was thirty million and the last time we looked, it had grossed nearly sixty million dollars. Since the DVD re- lease is world-wide, we expect Universal to double that. All of us should anticipate that there will be a new in- crease in interest about EVP when the White Noise DVD is released. As you will read later on, the DVD includes enough information about EVP in the companion material to make it reasonable for you to recommend the DVD to others—as a learning tool and even if they do not want to see the movie. There will also be a new round of requests for inter- views, but this time, we suspect the requests will be more because it will have finally occurred to the reporters that EVP is more than a gimmick dreamed up to sell a movie. Many of you are qualified to at least introduce people to EVP, perhaps as a talk to your local book club. Some people think we get an occasional alien speaking, so per- haps your local UFO club would be interested. There is quite a lot of material on aaevp.com that you are welcome to use.

It is also time to begin looking beyond the shadow of White Noise. The AA-EVP is really about learning to un- derstand EVP and their attendant phenomena: learning to use it to communicate with loved ones and learning how EVP can help us understand reality as a whole. One initiative to increase our understanding is the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, which is being conducted by mem- bers and tracked in the Idea Exchange. The 4Cell project is designed to function as a test bed in which new ideas can be tried and the limits of EVP can be explored. As 4Cell matures with more cells and more experiments on record, we anticipate being able to provide solid scientific evidence of the existence of EVP, and the fact that EVP is proof of personal survival. Further, we expect this proof to be in a form that the scientific community will be able to accept, and therefore, feel obliged to repeat the experi- ments. Each cell consists of four people: a Requester who thinks of a request; a Sender who is given the request and then conveys it to his or her etheric communicators, ask- ing that they send the requested information to the Re- ceiver; a Receiver who conducts an EVP session asking to record the response; and, a Scribe who accepts the EVP, if any, from the Receiver, asks the Requester what the re- quest was and reports the results to the Idea Exchange for peer review. There were two cells

in the first week of experiments. Both 4Cell Voices (Karen Mossey, Andrea Carr, Siobhan McBride and Sue Mousseau) and 4Cell Infinity (Vicki Talbot, Mary Jo Gran, Continued on page 15 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 The ITC Work of Marcello Bacci by Paolo Presi My presentation is concerned with the exceptional In- strumental Transcommunication (ITC) experiences that have taken place in Grosseto, a little town in the centre of Italy, at the laboratory of Marcello Bacci. Bacci can be considered a leading expert on ITC, given his 35 years of exceptional experimental activity. The ITC voices that have been received during these 35 years in Grosseto have by now been heard all over the world. Friedrich Jürgenson, Marina Bacci and Marcello Bacci Marcello Bacci’s first encounter with the paranormal goes back to 1949 when he occasionally participated in mediumistic sittings in London, and his life was indelibly marked by these experiences. His relationship with re- search into the paranormal, which began at that time, de- veloped in the following years into a deep and abiding interest, and early in the 1970s he became involved with the phenomenon of EVP when he learnt of Friedrich Jür- genson’s experiences in Sweden. Bacci was mainly stimu- lated by the fact that a simple tape recorder, i.e. an elec- tromechanical device, is needed for these experiences rather than a human

medium. The imposing phenomena that have occurred in the past 30 years in Grosseto indicate that this persevering investi- gator is always ready to locate new openings in this “wonderful world” - as he defines it - openings with which he is never satisfied due to his abiding wish to ex- plore all possible perspectives. Bacci is a man with wide- ranging creativity. When one knows him well, his person- ality reveals itself to be unconditioned and free, intolerant of any restriction coming from the dogmatic and cultural pressures that seek to dismiss realities that his personal experience has indicated are possible. In his experimental work he has tried and tested various methods and devices, initially using microphone recordings but followed over the years by many other trials with newly developed tech- nical devices. However, for the past 15 years he has been obtaining his contacts through the medium of an old Nor- mende valve radio. His experiments are carried out in the presence of many people, sometimes as many as 70 at a time, and I met him for the first time in 1974 when I attended some of these experiments. At the time he was using the microphone method, and the paranormal voices he was receiving were of average quality for this method. However, when I vis- ited him again in 1978 to attend another microphone ex- periment, the voices were noticeably improved, and had assumed the basic acoustic characteristics present today in his radio voices. The voices

were loud and clear, revealing something like an apparent acoustical vibration that lasted for the whole length of each communication (5 seconds approx.). The singing quality, typical of the speech rhythm present in microphone voices, had practically dis- appeared, and the voices had assumed an “impulsive” speech articulation as if expressed by means of what might be called “energy packages.” The radio voices cur- rently obtained by Bacci show further improvements in sound intensity, in clarity and in the length of communica- tions. The “impulsive” character in the word utterances has become more evident as a consequence of a continu- ous change of phonemes and in the speed of utterances, as if the communicating personalities are continually trying to adapt their extra-temporal conditions to our time flow. Let me now proceed to describe how Bacci’s experi- ments are carried out. Normally he tunes his radio to the short wave band, at a frequency ranging between seven and nine Mhz, in a zone of the waveband free from nor- mal radio transmissions. After a wait of 10 to 20 minutes, the background radio static noise changes. The loud static disappears and a typical acoustic signal, like an approach- ing wind vortex, comes from the loudspeaker, repeated three or four times at short intervals. Silence then follows, at the end of which an entity starts to speak by establish- ing with Bacci, and/or with the people attending the ex- periment, an effective dialogue. The paranormal vocal utterances are not continuous but interspersed

with pauses. They last for varying lengths of time, from a minimum of ten seconds to a maximum of three to four minutes. Some- times the contact ends with the singing of a very evocative and solemn choir. Once the contact is concluded, the nor- mal background static of the radio returns. Continued on page 7 Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©2005AA-EVP. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP policy. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educa- tional corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Signs from Austin The journey of grief associated with the loss of a child started for Mike and Judith O’Neal at 2:45 AM on New Years Day 2002, when the phone call came telling them that there 21 year old son, Austin, had an accident and had been Care Flighted to the hospital. Austin had multiple tears in his brain. Austin is the second child of the O’Neals. They have an older son and a younger

son and daughter. Doctors fought to keep the intracranial pressure down but finally had to put Austin into a pentobarbital coma to bring the pressure into a safe range. After being brought out of the coma the intracranial pressure again rose and Austin was put into a pentobarbital coma a second time, but the swelling had prevented blood flow to the brain, causing irreparable damage. At the end, family and friends gathered in a circle around him and the doctor turned off the ventilator. Judith wrote, “No matter what is said to me, I reference it to something Austin did, said, or liked or didn’t like. Even pressing the info button on the remote control, the date of each movie I correlate to how old Austin was when the movie was made. I really am obsessed with him, as Cassady points out to me all the time, like when I take something Cassady is talking about and turn it around to talking about Austin. Other siblings that have lost a brother or sister have commented that not only did they lose their bother they also lost their parents… “Austin’s experiences with loss of loved ones were los- ing beloved pets, like turtles, lizards, rats. Then while he was in high school he lost friends. One girl was murdered by her boyfriend. Two friends died from auto accidents. One friend named Ricky W. played football with Austin; I found the memorial bulletin as I went through Austin’s belongings. At the memorial,

a recording of Ricky playing Bob Dylan’s Knock, Knock Knocking on Heaven’s Door was played. I had always said that I wanted that song played at my memorial.” The O’Neals had heard of the medium, Laurie Campbell from Dr. Gary Schwartz’s book, The Afterlife Experi- ments and booked a phone reading with her. One of the questions that they had written down for Laurie before the call was, “Is Ricky W. there with you?” They never got to ask this question because Laurie mentioned Ricky by name and said that he was there playing his guitar. Laurie also told them that Austin described Monday morning, January 7 as a time of “unwavering, and courageous love.” Judith believes this to be after his actual time of passing. Another thing that Austin showed Laurie was that relatives on the other side knew that he was coming and he showed her a woman’s hand literally grabbing his hand and pulling him from his body. That first month after Austin’s passing, Judith was in the depths of grief. She would awaken every morning at approximately 2:30 AM. Even after being given some- thing to help her sleep she continued to wake up around 2:30. Then a month after his death, she woke up to a power outage and knew from her clock that it had hap- pened at 2:24 in the morning. She thought this pretty co- incidental that the power outage happened around the same time that she always woke up. She assumed

it was approximately the time of Austin’s accident, a fact she had not yet confirmed. When she obtained a copy of the police report, it listed 2:24 AM as the time of the accident. Judith decided to call the power company and learned that at 2:24 AM a cottonwood tree branch had fallen on a power line at the “Merry Wink” signs along Highway 395 heading north from Carson City to Reno, Nevada. These signs read in sequence “He who drives…half asleep… will soon be buried…six feet deep…Merry Wink Motel” The limited power blackout effected only neighborhoods, where his close friends lived. At a sitting with the mediums, Michael Parry and Marti Baker, Austin validated that this sign was from him by saying, “Of course that was me – who else?” The branches hit the lines between “will soon be buried” and “six feet deep” “an Austin style joke, it seemed to us; a Merry Wink”, Mike (O’Neal) wrote. Judith and Mike have used the services of mediums to contact Austin and have received detailed information on the circumstances of Austin’s passing and details on what they had recently been doing. In preparation for the call with Laurie Campbell, Judith had asked Austin to say anything about his feet, which he used to stick in her lap for a foot massage and about the way that he used to cook the steaks at their Fourth of July barbeques. All through the reading, Laurie said she did not know why he

kept showing her his big feet and she asked if he spent time at the Outback Steakhouse because he showed her “out back” and then someone grilling steaks on the barbeque. A picture of Austin at the left and the spirit drawing of Austin by Marti Baker Judith wrote that the mediums Michael Parry and Marti Baker (spiritart.com) are very gifted, “They are very accu- rate, for us, more than 90% correct.” Michael gives the reading while Marti, wearing headphones with music playing so that she will not hear what Continued on page 4 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Signs from Austin Continued from page 3 Michael is saying, meditates with her spirit guides and then draws a picture of someone now on the other side. Judy’s grandmother, Josephine by Marti Baker No information is given to them and clients are instructed to only confirm if they are correct. On their first visit, Austin came through Michael, and Marti drew his picture. Judith wrote, “Michael started by saying to my daughter, ‘Your brother is here.’” He proceeded to describe the de- tails of Austin’s death, gave his middle name and named Austin’s friends, “whom Austin asked us to contact and tell that he was sorry they had gotten so much heat over the circumstances of his death and that they definitely were not to blame.” In the second

session with Michael and Marti, Austin communicated though Michael while Marti drew a face that Mike (O’Neal) immediately recog- nized as his grandmother, Josephine. February 2005, the anniversary of Austin’s birthday and memorial, Judith had listened to the President talk on tele- vision about how he understood loss of life (Iraqi war) and how families feel over the loss of loved ones. Judith wrote, “I told Mike, that there was no way that the Presi- dent could know that kind of loss without experiencing it himself.’ Mike commented that ‘many of the wounded from the war were coming back with severe head inju- ries.’ Tearfully, I told him that I had been having regrets over the choices we had to make when Austin was in ICU. Mike said he knew. Then he said, ‘You know Austin hears everything you say; he is listening to you now.’ I said, ‘I know.’ Suddenly, the lamp by the birdcage began to blink on and off, twinkle, blink, on, off, blink, blink. This went on for about ninety seconds. I thought the bulb was going to blow. Then it stopped, leaving the lamp on. We have never had problems with that lamp before or since. My tears turned to laughter. Mike and I both knew that Austin had just confirmed that he can hear us.” Did You Know? AA-EVP members represent forty-one states and twenty countries. 73% say that they either record for EVP or plan to. 16% have said that they have a

research and develop- ment background, so we should have at least sixty-five people in the 4Cell EVP Demonstration. Patrons Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland Garrett Husveth Dorothy Moore Ralph Thomas George Wynne Sustaining Members William Andrews Denise Herres Barb Mallon David Saunders Donations Holly Addonizio Gary Arnold Lloyd Bradshaw Sandy Colegrove Angela Di Berardino William Fair Catherine Granett Jeff Haas Gary Kahamoto Gregory Lapkoff Richard Smith Thank you all! Corporate Sponsor We thank Universal Pictures Marketing for their Corporate Donation. Thank You! We would like to thank members who link to Ama- zon.com and eBay from the AA-EVP website for their purchases. The AA-EVP has accrued over $160 in affili- ate fees this quarter! Research on Mirror Gazing Arthur Hastings, from the Institute of Transpersonal Psy- chology, used mirror gazing under conditions of sensory deprivation in bereavement research. The research was designed to explore facilitated contact with deceased friends and relatives and to collect data on the phenomena, experiences and effects on bereavement. The pilot study with five participants resulted in strong experiences and four apparent contacts. The main study used twenty-seven participants who went through a three-stage process. First, they remembered a decease relative or friend. Next, they gazed into a mirror in a darkened room while thinking of that person. And finally, they simply reflected on and dis- cussed the experience. Thirteen participants reported con- tact with the person whom they had been trying to reach. Participants noted a variety of imagery appearing in the mirror. They

also experienced light, sounds, dialogue, body sensations and even smells. Several participants re- ceived very specific messages from the sought person. Statistically significant reductions in bereavement re- sponses were found over the entire group. These included unresolved feelings, guilt, sadness, loss, grief and the need to communicate. Participants reported a significant impact on their lives after the study. From: IONS Noetic Sciences Review, Number 65 “Con- sciousness Beyond Death.” Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Update from the UK By Scole Mediums, Diana and Alan We are pleased to be able to share with you some of our more recent work in the field of ITC imaging. Image of a young woman created using a mirror—left side is reflection of right Since our Scole Group days, Diana and I have been con- tinuing our work in trans-dimensional imaging. As some of you may know, this new work has taken us on quite a different path from those interesting experiments back in ‘96 - ‘97. In those days we relied entirely on ‘spirit’ com- munication for direction, now it is a combination of com- munication and (more recently) allowing our ‘higher minds’ to guide us. Man with beard created using a mirror— left side is reflection of right We have felt for some time that the chances of getting good results are greatly improved if we offer as

many variables as possible within the experimental framework. By this we mean, thinking of the experiments themselves as multi-dimensional and not just a singular attempt to get a singular result. We firmly believe that by supplying a randomized source of material for the ‘other side’ to use, we (and they) stand a far greater chance of success. Hav- ing found a working ‘formula’, we then attempt to get re- peatable results until inspired to change direction. Faces seem to be the most common results up to this time. From the many images we have, around 90% are faces, or parts of faces. Sometimes the images are very small, so we cannot over emphasize the importance of studying in detail when checking the results. Our current experiments mainly take the form of a joint meditative session, where we raise our consciousness and focus together on our objective for that experiment. The equipment is pre-configured and ready to run, allowing us to focus on providing the best energy conditions. We usu- ally have several ‘takes’ during a typical session, again leaving it to what feels right. Refraction and Reflection We have used mirrors in a variety of ways. For example, to reflect a light source back into the point focus of (where we capture the images), to give the subject depth. you Have ever looked through a simple microscope how seen and adjusting the mirror (light source) gives the object greater depth and makes it stand out against its background? This is

similar to what the camera sees during our experiments. Man looking down, apparently with his hand near his face. Within our light experiments, we generate a vast spec- trum of color and light intensities. Some of the light fre- quencies generated are of course beyond our own visible spectrum, so the resulting light contains much more in- formation than we realize. We may include a mirror between the source and the subject or even beyond the focal point, allowing the light to flood back onto the subject. Apart from ordinary mir- rors, we have used convex and concave types to very good effect. We have also experimented with polished metallic disks such as brass (yellow) and copper (red), which have created some of the more striking images. Clarity We are now experimenting with other cameras and video, trying to increase the clarity of the images. Without get- ting too technical, it is the Continued on page 12 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Answering the Critics We advise people who feel that they have encountered a negative entity while recording for EVP that it cannot hurt them unless they let it, and that the best policy is not to engage a negative entity in further communication. It has been shown in many different circumstances, that ignoring negative thought tends to dissipate the energy it needs to survive and do

harm. The movie, White Noise, has stirred up quite a lot of in- terest in EVP, and of course, this increased interest has been seen as a call to arms by people to whom the very thought of personal survival and communicating with dis- carnate people is an affront to their worldview. In our ex- perience, the response from many critics of EVP and re- lated phenomena has not been unlike the utterances left in our recorders by negative entities. And as it turns out, we believe that the best way to deal with these negative comments is not to engage the critics and to recognize that they can only harm us if we let them. In the truest sense, articles, such as that by Robert Mat- thews in the January 24, 2005 Belfast Telegraph, titled, “Voices from beyond the grave? Don’t talk nonsense,” should be seen as a form of propaganda. Such articles are foisted on the public in an effort to maintain a status quo that assures the primacy of the established view of science, which is: reality does not exist beyond that which is defined by science. Typically, articles denouncing unorthodox claims begin with a sarcastic reference to those who believe such “non- sense,” or a personal attack on their character. For in- stance, Matthews’ reference to one of the pioneers of EVP as “shady”: “Others reported having similar experiences, including a shady Latvian psychologist named Konstantin Raudive …” Or, the innuendo implying fraud and decep- tion

in his closing remark: “The psychic in White Noise was right about one thing: EVP isn’t good—but it’s not half as bad as trying to make a fast buck by claiming oth- erwise.” (For the record, the AA-EVP is a nonprofit or- ganization, and as such, its income and expenditures are governed by the IRS.) Another ploy of the propagandist is to cite references that give the article an air of authority, even though the references are either inappropriate or widely proven to be inaccurate. For instance, all of Matthews’ references to radio waves as the cause of EVP exhibit a failure on his part to examine the evidence: “As a senior investigations radio engineer, Ian Astbury is all too familiar with EVP. He says they are more likely to be heard on amateur equipment, through an effect familiar to anyone who has built a ‘crystal radio’…” In fact, a common experiment amongst people new to EVP is to place a turned on, voice activated audio re- corder in a metal can and place the can under ground or in some place devoid of ambient noise. As in the more elaborate tests in scientifically screened rooms, the voices are still recorded. Further, the voices are most always ob- vious communication. They answer questions and com- ment on things the experimenter is doing in complete phrases with logical beginning and end. The voices are generally in a language understood by the experimenter, even if the experimenter is in a country that

does not have broadcast programming in his or her language. This is well documented by researcher, Alexander MacRae. Another popular argument used by those who so right- eously defend their worldview is the natural human ten- dency to find recognizable patterns in what are actually random events, as described by Matthews: “Psychologists quickly recognized EVP - sometimes referred to as ‘Ror- schach audio,’ after the test in which subjects read their own interpretation of inkblot images - as just another ex- ample of the brain’s penchant for making sense even of the patently senseless. Known as pareidolia …” We have no doubt that some EVP are just mundane noise mistaken as voice, but it is common for EVP experimenters to use listening panels, and for examples to be understood by many different people without prompting. Explaining such agreement in the content of an EVP as paridolia is like explaining the curvature of the earth as an illusion. Matthews did make a good point with one argument; however, probably not as he intended. He trotted out yet another authoritative sounding reference with: “Just how powerful the effect could be with sounds was made clear more than 60 years ago by Harvard psychologist BF Skinner, who found that nonsensical sequences of sylla- bles led people to hear ‘words’ bearing no relation at all to the original sounds.” We have a number of computer programs that generate such sequences of sounds, and yes, unless the experimenter is well trained, nonsensical se- quences of

sounds have been mistaken for EVP. However, any close examination of the vast majority of EVP exam- ples available today on the Internet will show that many EVP would stand even the closest scrutiny of a well trained panel of judges. More important to the point is that we are aware of this argument and have identified techni- cal reasons why it does not apply to most EVP examples and actually reinforces the voices as paranormal. “Well trained” brings us to our final point about Mat- thews’ comments. He used the work of Professor Imants Baruss, a psychologist at the University of Western On- tario, Canada, to support Skinner’s work: “… According to Prof Baruss, his experiment confirmed that weird voice-like effects can be picked up using just a radio and a tape-recorder. How they get there, though, he doesn’t know: ‘I would not be surprised if some EVP turns out to be genuinely anomalous - although that is still a long way from evidence of life after death.’” We are familiar with Baruss’ experiment and his “Fail- ure to Replicate” article in a prestigious journal. In an ex- periment designed to detect EVP under scientific condi- tions, Baruss and his team reported that they failed to col- lect EVP, and thus, the techniques used for EVP collec- tion are not able to be replicated. Continued on page 15 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24,

Number 1, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Marcello Bacci Continued from page 2 The whole experiment lasts on each occasion for about forty minutes. The invisible communicating entities affirm that they are Spiritual Beings. Sometimes they say “The Spirit is speaking to you,” and sometimes they begin the commu- nications without giving this indication of identity. uncertainties, your doubts, and your anxieties: dear children, look at me, I am alive here!” With unequivocal clarity, all the communications reveal the presence of autonomous intelligent beings, differing from each other by acoustics, by speech fluency, and last but not least, by the emotional and conceptual content of the communications which characterize each personality. The voices deal with the most varied themes, freely cho- sen by the communicators themselves, since Bacci has no wish to interfere and only occasionally asks some ques- tions. The main theme of the communications concerns the purpose and meaning of the contacts, whose ultimate goal is to help people in their understanding of the “be- yond.” Frequently there are invitations to listeners to “re- awaken,” to undergo an inner change and a conscious modification of (the word “genoseale” is a neologism, derived from the ancient Greek word “gnosis,” i.e. knowledge or research). By this invitation the communicators mean that we should not reduce all our knowledge to rational laws, thus attempting to rationalize phenomena that they tell us “are not of a scientific order but of another order.” structure” “gnoseale Two examples of communications on this theme

(trans- lated from the original Italian, as are all the communica- tions quoted in this paper) are as follows: “Here is the Spirit, he is speaking, Bacci. He is saying something more. This is a new way to conceive a new truth and the true values of life, of our Life. “Here is ‘il Saggio’ [the Wise One] and this is my voice, or better, this is the objective presence of my words. This way is a personal way for bringing to the light wonderful things and for communicating my thought. Listen and let yourself be guided by these words in order to enrich more and more your big treasure born in far away lands. For all of you, it is necessary to re- place the claim to be an elect who already have the Truth with a commitment to search for the Truth, jointly with others, for the benefit of everyone.” Sometimes, in a critical and ironic mood, the entities exhort listeners to overcome the human incapacity to pro- ject ourselves onto a higher plane. For example: “Certain persons here are not driven by faith but by curiosity. Many of you apparently come here searching for a sign. Spend your lives wisely and reflect carefully on these extraordinary events. Dear Bacci, this is a won- derful privilege to be here close to you, in such a dark and intimate living room. It is beautiful of you to give hospitality to the Spirit! To the [bereaved] mothers here who do

not correctly understand what I have been say- ing, life does not finish on Earth when you die, don’t forget this! There will be a new world! Put away your Marcello Bacci with the radios he uses for ITC As already mentioned, Bacci’s early experiments were carried out using the same methodologies as famous ex- perimenters of the time such as Friedrich Jürgenson and Konstantin Raudive but, as made clear, in the past decades the phenomena have considerably improved. Many factors contribute to this improvement. For example, the applica- tion and perseverance of Bacci, the regular and stimulat- ing presence of fellow researchers and close friends like Luciano Capitani, Sergio Giomi and Silvana Pagnotta and of many others who have joined Bacci in his work over the years, building up in the process a harmony that is an essential requisite for the psychological optimization of good teamwork in ITC research. Another decisive factor was the opening up by Bacci of his laboratory to bereaved parents, as the contact such parents have had with their loved ones has brought them much comfort. The combina- tion of these various factors has surely produced an im- provement in Bacci’s mediumship that has resulted in a significant increase in the length and acoustic quality of the communications and also to some associated phenom- ena involving physical effects. That Bacci’s mediumistic abilities play a part in the success of the work is undoubtedly confirmed by the fact that the paranormal contacts happen only when he

is pre- sent. Sometimes, when Bacci is away from laboratory, some of the regular visitors try to establish contacts by working with his radio, but without results. This important detail is highly significant in that it demonstrates Instru- mental Transcommunication needs mediumistic support. Further evidence to prove this hypothesis can be found in two quite significant episodes that happened in the course of Bacci’s experiments. The first one is the perfect conti- nuity of the communicating voice observed even after the removal of some of the vital valves from his radio. The second is the same continuity of voices observed Continued on page 8 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Marcello Bacci Continued from page 7 when the receiving frequency is changed by rotating the tune control knob during the reception of paranormal voices. In both of these instances, the communicating voices are altered in no way. The two episodes provide evidence that once the phenomenon commences, re- adjusting the radio interferes in no way with the detection and demodulation of the communications. Since the beginning of his mediumship, Bacci has al- ways rejected going into the trance state because this would make him a passive instrument. Such a condition is absolutely incompatible with his practical turn of mind, a turn of mind that is directed towards the complete control of the phenomena occurring during the experiments. His research

has always been dedicated to finding tangible and unequivocal proof of the reality of the phenomena - oral communications from the entities alone have never com- pletely satisfied him. For this reason his initiative and de- termination have spurred him on to invent new experi- ments in order to obtain tangible proofs, although these attempts have often resulted in the disapproval of his in- visible partners. However, his continuing wish to demand more and more evidence has generally been met by the entities with patience and understanding, since they rec- ognize they are unable to interfere with his original and unusual approach. In a contact dating back to the early 1990s, his behavior toward himself and the phenomenon were criticized in the following terms by the communica- tors: “Frustrated by the skepticism, obsessed by the night- mares of his experience, he is a hypochondriac and an unhappy man. He is unable to have a normal life. He doesn’t make an effort not to think about it and to con- tinue his daily life. He doesn’t feel the exciting outcomes of the difficult trip toward the great and infinite possi- bilities of human spirituality. Marcello, please answer only this question: of all you wanted from me what didn’t you get? What didn’t you find? What didn’t I give you?” The invisible communicators have always indicated they like the contacts with humans, and it is not out of the question that they themselves may obtain some benefits from them. This is clearly

stated in a communication by the entity known as “Gregorio” (Gregory), a Christian monk who lived in the 6th Century, who in the same communication also kindly invited Bacci to have a posi- tive attitude towards the contacts: “It’s a pleasure for you and for us to be in company for the longest time possible. Marcello, don’t hear me in an ill-disposed frame of mind, as if my thoughts only concerned your person, but properly value my words. Conduct yourselves so that these walls don’t prompt you to question anymore!” The pleasure the communicators derive from the con- tacts is further confirmed, by the following excerpts: “Now I can see you: I am in front of those my very dear friends that are listening to me. All this arouses in myself a feeling of deep joy.” “This half an hour passed together has been a big comfort also for us; all of our friends know your name.” Hundreds of communications have now been received that allow those present to recognize the identity of the communicators. I would like particularly to mention the case of Sergio Giomi, a close friend and collaborator of Marcello Bacci, who worked with him for over twenty years. Sergio Giomi died in January 1992, and on the sec- ond of February of the same year, he manifested himself, with his own voice, through the radio. By doing so he ful- filled a post-mortem pact established with Bacci. The pact stipulated that the first of them who

passed over would make himself known through the radio, thus providing proof of his own survival. Sergio Giomi’s voice was pre- ceded by the voice of another of the spirit entities who said: “Here Sergio introduces his own voice and returns; now Sergio speaks.” This was followed by the music of a beautiful choir, at the end of which Sergio spoke in his own voice, recognized with great emotion by all the friends participating in the experiment: “Here we are in the Light! I explained this to you and you have to face it. Here Life continues. The hills, the green lawns, even there is Life. Here we are all well. You should remember that you spoke to them through the radio. Know that I don’t need anything! The cosmos is ours, our mind is pure. Remember Marcello the difficul- ties of communicating with the Spirit - the good of Love.” About one third of all the contacts are devoted to fam- ily-related messages that provide parents with direct evi- dence of the continuity of life after death. In these per- sonal contacts, children who have passed on to the other dimension are mainly involved, and their communications are an attempt to reassure their parents of their new exis- tential state. These contacts, besides producing an imme- diate emotional impact that is profoundly moving for the recipients, represent the most convincing evidence of the authenticity of the phenomena. Usually another voice pre- cedes that of the child and informs the

parents of the pres- ence of the deceased loved one, but at other times, the child directly manifests and repeatedly pronounces his/her own name and expresses, even if only in a few words, his/her own emotionally charged message. Amazingly, the children’s voices are sometimes modulated with a tone, lilt and inflexion recognized by parents. In addition, the children’s voices are very different from each other: They can be male or female, childish, juvenile or adult as the case may be. Sometimes the sentences are pronounced slowly, as if the speaker has met some difficulty in finding words, while at other times they are fast and expressed without hesitation. Continued on page 9 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Marcello Bacci Continued from page 8 Thanks to the great number of cases now recorded, we can legitimately believe that beyond bodily death, the sur- vivor (“quid”) maintains the ability to express with effec- tiveness and intensity, memories and feelings of affection. As previously stated, the invisible communicators always provide personal messages; and often encourage atten- dance at the sessions by many people so that they can re- lieve suffering. In a communication the entity known as “il Saggio” (the Wise One) affirms this as follows: “In the Centre [Bacci’s laboratory] many persons have been participating, their condition is of intense unhap- piness as a result of the overwhelming

problems arising from their life situations. “il Saggio” is able to deeply understand men and events, and his assignment is to communicate this knowledge to the public.” Paolo Presi with Marcello Bacci (right) The entity called “Gregorio” has also addressed parents with words of deep understanding, reassuring those who are doubtful as follows: “Dear mothers, we have already told you that your loved ones suffer only if you are suffering. A day will come where the mysteries will be disclosed to you, the haze will be dissipated and all of you will be embraced by a clear light. One day you will leave your body where you have found it to reach another order of being.” And now let me conclude by saying that there are many other ways to study the paranormal phenomena that relate to the survival of human personality after death. Many people try to investigate them, driven by motivation in which the content of the messages is the most important thing as they look for contact with their loved one in the other dimension. Others, even though they are conscious of the great importance of what is at stake in this respect, are oriented towards understanding the phenomena in their multiple forms of expression. For this reason they are trying to catalogue all the elements that contribute to give significance and validity to the results arising from the various practical experiments. Those who are familiar with my own work over the past 30 years know very

well the form taken by it. Every day that passes, I become more convinced that I am moving in a fruitful direction. It is my view that, in order to give value and credibility to the facts, we need objective data, and for this reason I consider it indispensable that the phenomena that we wit- ness must be investigated using all the means identified as adequate by current scientific research. For this reason it is the task of researchers to document all the events identi- fied by them as anomalies in terms of the known laws of physics. Only by acting in this way can we hope to suc- cessfully alter the cultural environment in such a way that it is prepared to review paradigms that are currently con- sidered unchangeable by academic science. This is a very slow process, as is always the case with advances in knowledge and in the evolution of thought. To assist this process, my friend, Daniele Gullà, and I started in the year 2000 a preliminary research program (using sophisticated appropriate professional software) designed to analyze the electroacoustical structure of the paranormal communications received by Marcello Bacci from Friedrich Jürgenson, Guglielmo Marconi, Chiara Lenz, and the deceased daughter of our common friend Giuseppe. In addition we have compared these paranormal voices with recordings of the above people made when they were still alive. The results have been really encour- aging and have convinced us we should go on with this to evidence of electroacoustical

work. In addition anomalies in the paranormal voices (anomalies that seem in fact to be a characteristic of ITC voices), the software used for the analyses has revealed a highly significant resemblance between the paranormal voices and those of the people concerned when they were still in this world. In particular the paranormal voice of Chiara Lenzi was found to resemble her voice when alive on 90 per cent of the measurements. I hope that my report on the phenomena happening in the laboratory of Marcello Bacci at Grosseto has provided all of you with some food for thought on the extraordinary events concerned. I am fully conscious that decisive proof of the reality of the afterlife will never be reached since, if God allowed it to be achieved, our free will would inevi- tably be compromised. In addition I have often wondered what kind of proof given to us by a surviving being would provide us with the certainty of his or her real existence in another dimension. After many years of searching my conclusion is that such proof does not exist since, even in the case of exceptional and extraordinary events, our ra- tionality will always try to provide an explanation in terms of the interpretative models dictated by it. Thus, although what we have been experiencing in Grosseto is relatively far from being considered as decisive scientific proof, it nevertheless gives us a great deal of precious circumstan- tial evidence that our own free will may be

prepared to accept as signals from a Spiritual Reality. Thank you Palo Presi for this translation. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 An Excerpt from Martha Copeland’s New Book, I’m Still Here Continuation of Signs from Cathy Yesterday at my Buford Presbyterian Church, in Buford, Georgia, I met a couple whose son had been killed two weeks earlier in an automobile accident. They told me that he was already sending them “signs” from beyond to comfort them. It is so important to pay attention to “signs” that our loved ones send to us from spirit. Just today, while searching through photo albums for pictures to insert in this book, I found a “sign” from Cathy. It was an album she had made for my fiftieth birthday party entitled, “The Way it was.” It contained all the important facts and events from the 1950s, along with photos of me when I was a baby up to my present life. One thing that really struck me in this album was her dedication page. It read: “My dedication goes to my mom, Martha Pierce Cope- land.” Hope is the destination that we seek, Love is the road that leads to hope Courage is the motor that drives us We travel out of darkness into faith -The Book of Counted Sorrow How very strange to be reading these words now. Al- though going

through the old photo albums made me sad, perhaps this is Cathy’s “sign” for me to continue on and have faith in what the future holds. “Tears in Heaven” Today I was riding in the car, listening to the CD of music we had played at Cathy’s funeral. Each song was chosen for a specific story in her life, and each one usually brought tears to my eyes. When Eric Clapton came on singing, “Tears in Heaven,” I remembered the first time I heard it. Cathy was about ten years old, and we were living in Okinawa, Japan, on the military base. Two of the children she often played with were twins, a girl and a boy, Shane and Shannon. One day while Cathy was playing with them, Shane was hanging upside down by his knees from a tree limb, hitting at the girls as they rode by on their bi- cycles. Something caused him to lose his grip, and he fell to the ground. His head hit the curb. Cathy came running home and said, “Mom, I think Shane is dead.” He was taken to the hospital where he died shortly from his inju- ries. The day of Shane’s memorial service, Cathy had picked up her room, making it spotlessly clean. This was unusual for our girl, whose bedroom floor was rarely seen. We went to the service and joined the grieving family and friends of this young boy. The song, “Tears in Heaven,” was too poignant and left

everyone weeping as we said goodbye to Shane. least We had been home from the service a few hours when cars started pulling up in front of our house, and parents let out their children. At thirty children had shown up, and Cathy was at the door greeting her friends. Even Shane’s twin sister Shan- non was there. When I asked what was going on, she informed me, “Mom, I told them that you were going to have a séance and bring Shane back to talk to us.” I was stunned and told her that I was absolutely not going to do that. Cathy: “My little psychic.” Cathy glared at me, grabbed her Ouija board and stormed off to her room, closing the door behind her after the many kids piled inside. While my “little psychic” was in there, I glimpsed Shane in our living room. He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt with cut-off jeans. Cathy later reported that she and her friends had asked some questions of her board, and had gotten some “yes” answers, which helped them believe that they had con- tacted Shane. This must have helped the grieving process for these youngsters, who needed a chance to say goodbye to their little friend. I asked Cathy what Shane had been wearing at the time of his accident. She described his out- fit just as I had seen in my living room. “Would you know my name … if I saw you in heaven?”

As I listen to these plaintive phrases sung by a man who was a grieving parent, I know the answer to the question he poses. I know without a doubt that we will recognize our loved ones when we get to the Other Side. Still, this thought does not stop the tears I have here and now. To Order I’m Still Here Price: $17.95 each when printed in the USA * Number of copies: Subtotal: Georgia State Sales Tax: Shipping and Handling: Total Enclosed: Times $17.95 (Georgia Residence) Please make check to: Martha Copeland First book: Each additional: Media Mail $4.00 $1.00 First Class $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Please include signing and mailing instructions Contact [email protected] if you have questions. Send order to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097 * Book is available for order from European distributors For more information: www.evpcommunications.com Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 White Noise DVD to Feature EVP In January, while we were trying to take care of the huge increase in emails and requests for interviews caused by the release of the movie, White Noise, we were asked by Universal Studio’s Home Entertainment department to help them put together companion material for the DVD. Nowadays, it is important to have extra video, such as the making of the movie or deleted scenes, to

give people a reason to want to buy the DVD. There had been no on-set video recorded during the filming of White Noise and so there would be no “behind the scenes” footage for the home release of the movie. This has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for EVP! Universal has put to- gether an eight minute featurette for the White Noise DVD called “Making Contact: EVP Experts.” Ninety nine per- cent of this footage is from the 2004 AA-EVP conference and features members talking about EVP! There is another short feature called “Recording the Afterlife at Home.” We think this is from an early “How To” we did before the movie was released in theaters. We were told at that time that they wanted us to put the footage on the AA- EVP web site when the movie came out. Then we never heard anything else about it. Also very exciting was Uni- versal’s decision to attempt to film live EVP recording sessions for a third featurette. Mark Andersson, from Universal Home Video depart- ment, contacted us and told us about a meeting that they had with the producer of White Noise, Paul Brooks. He had suggested that some footage for the DVD be shot in a couple of locations showing us recording for the phe- nomenal voices. We explained to Mark the difficulty of getting voices with a bunch of people that we did not know, and who might even be offended by our “talking with

the dead.” We agreed to attempt to do this if they filmed in an area that has been reported to have known paranormal activity and if they found a producer, camera- man and sound-man who were open minded, and better yet, actually curious and interested in the paranormal. The Home Entertainment Department at Universal did not fail us. Kevin Shah, from Herzog Cowen Productions, was asked to produce the piece. Kevin immediately made contact with us, and through all of the recording sessions, we felt that those on the Other Side must have had a hand in his selection. He went out of his way to create situa- tions in which EVP could be obtained. Every crew mem- ber who worked with us was selected by him and they were all great, even excited about working with us. The third week in January, we were off to Los Angeles for a video shoot in the famous, Hollymont Castle, in Beechwood Canyon. Unknown to us, Hollymont was fea- tured in the 1996 one hour special Hauntings Across America on the Learning Channel. We were unaware that the activity reported in the house has included cold spots, ghost lights, poltergeist activity, spontaneous combustion, foul odor and the appearance of a woman’s ghost. The number of people at the house when we arrived was shocking. It was like the word had gotten out about a ghost hunt and attendance was an “A” ticket ride! There Excalibur Nightclub Picture courtesy of Universal Studios Home

Entertainment were several people from the Home Entertainment De- partment; and one of these people was Mark Andersson’s boss, Colleen Benn. She was very interested in communi- cation across the veil and became a welcome friend. The biggest shock for us was in seeing that Paul Brooks, the producer of White Noise was there, along with the direc- tor, Geoffrey Sax. No pressure at getting EVP in this mix … what an understatement! Lucky for us, they let us go to several areas of the house with just the camera and sound people, allowing us to re- cord away from the crowd of people in the living room area. We were able to capture one Class A, a few Class B and many Class C voices during that period. On the sec- ond pass through the house, this time with our inter- viewer, Jim Moret, senior correspondent from Inside Edi- tion, we did not capture much EVP. Jim, by the way, was another great addition to the making of the mini documen- tary. He was open minded, enthusiastic and very good at asking the kind of questions that brought out the best in us. The loudest voice happened right after we had first communicated with the entities in the house that we meant them no harm. As Lisa noted that we were going to move into an upstairs bedroom, a rapid but clear EVP was re- corded saying, “Betty is in there.” When we entered the room, Tom felt that

there was a presence that did not really want us in there. Later when we came back through with the strong camera lights and Jim, the energy had to- tally changed and there was no one from the Other Side willing to talk. A downstairs basement area brought Tom’s comments about long term illness and a death. A woman’s voice was recorded saying, “I comfirm,” and then, “another body.” We were later told that these EVP were meaningful. The next week, Universal flew us to Chicago to visit the Excalibur Nightclub. The Excalibur was an incredible building that housed the Chicago Historical Society be- tween 1896 and 1932. Continued on page 12 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 White Noise DVD Continued from page 11 The building survived the Great Chicago Fire and was purportedly used as a morgue during the nation’s third largest maritime accident, the Eastland disaster which took 840 lives. (See “The Eastland” article, next.) Lisa, Tom and Jim Moret in the Excalibur Lounge Picture courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment We did not research the building or the Eastland disaster before we visited the Excalibur. When we arrived, we were given a quick tour of the building and Lisa immedi- ately felt an area of extreme sadness in a large first floor lounge that was furnished with many small groups of couches and chairs. It

turned out that most of the EVP recorded was captured in this same area. At the time of that recording, Lisa felt that she was communicating with a male presence. She was overcome with what she felt was a sense of being unloved. When she told the man that it did not matter how long he had been dead, that if he would just look for the light, someone would be there to help him across, she mentally heard him tell her emphati- cally “No,” that there would be no one that would help him cross. He also told her that he did not wish to leave. Lisa was overcome with sadness and actually cried during this exchange with the unseen being. The tape gave us quite a shock when we listened to it upon returning home. The first EVP came after we asked, “who was there?” A male voice replied, “I did it.” The words, “My Ship,” were later recorded. When asked why we felt the sadness a strange hollow sound was recorded followed by the words, “Death toll.” In later research on the disaster we learned that people had been trapped in- side the ship and one welder received an award for cutting some of the people out. Had we recorded the sound of people pounding on the hull of the ship? Another EVP had been, “Unseal us.” Of additional interest was the EVP, “No, they’re not” recorded as Lisa was saying that there would be people on

the other side to help the gen- tleman cross over, and an EVP stating, “I will stay,” as Lisa was telling him to look for the light. A couple of the EVP were used in the piece that will be on the DVD. Al- though the EVP from the Excalibur are amazing, all are Class B or C and should only be heard with headphones. The EVP may sound like little more then squeaks to the public but they will be on a fourteen minute segment on the DVD called, “Hearing is Believing: Actual EVP Ses- sions.” Through research we learned that the disaster was ini- tially blamed on the captain and an engineer. A court later ruled that the responsibility was traced to an engineer who neglected to fill the ballast tanks properly. Whoever it is residing in the Excalibur, he is a very sad man filled with guilt over the Eastland Disaster. In reality, the ship was constructed top heavy and the ballasts were flawed in their design and very slow and difficult to work. Look for White Noise – Available on DVD May 17, 2005 from Universal Studios home Entertainment! The Eastland On Saturday, July 24, 1915, the passenger ship, Eastland, was docked in downtown Chicago on the Chicago River, preparing to depart for a Lake Michigan cruise to Michi- gan City, Indiana, for a Western Electric employee picnic. Soon after 2,500 passengers boarded the ship it began to list, first to starboard, then to port while

still moored to the wharf. The Eastland rolled onto its side, spilling passen- gers into the river and trapping others underwater in the interior cabins, mostly women and children. The disaster claimed 840+ lives. This tragedy remains relatively ob- scure in American history, even though it resulted in the largest maritime death toll of any single disaster occurring in the continental United States in the twentieth century. Update from the UK Continued from page 5 resolution of the captured image that governs the quality. If you haven’t captured a particularly clear image to start with, enlarging it (often necessary) only makes it worse not better. We have found that most video cameras ‘off the shelf’ offer a far too low resolution for what we need. Having said that, they certainly have their place and do allow us to capture a ‘stream’ of frames all in one go. As a point of interest, we have captured at 25 frames per sec- ond but get better results at 10 fps. The reasoning behind this, again, is image (frame) quality. We also capture as a stream of individual bitmaps and not frames (more on this perhaps another time). Another factor that governs resolution and image qual- ity is transferring your images into your computer. This requires imaging software and a ‘Capture card’ to be in- stalled. We have found that some of these capture devices can be insufficient in their capture capabilities, so it’s money well spent when buying the best you can.

Some of our best images have been obtained using ordi- nary photographic film. The results, whether transparen- cies or not, can be magnified many times without losing quality, allowing for a very fine image definition. This is due to fact we’re working with the ‘grain’ of a film and not ‘pixels’ as in digital photography. In an ideal world we need the best of both systems, and it is to this end that we are now working toward with new equipment. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 13 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 We are all Connected Dr. Roger Nelson is Director of the IONS-sponsored Global Consciousness Project, an international collabora- tion of scientists, artists, and citizens interested in the ex- traordinary aspects of human consciousness. He also co- ordinates research in the Princeton Engineering Anoma- lies Research (PEAR) laboratory at Princeton University. Using the internet, Dr. Nelson connected 40 Random Event Generators (REG) from all over the world to his laboratory computer at Princeton. REGs use computer technology to generate two numbers – a one and a zero – in a totally random sequence. It is something like an elec- tronic coin flipper. The laws of chance dictate that the generators should churn out an equal number of ones and zeros resulting in a graph with a nearly flat line. Any de- viation from this shows up as a gently rising curve.

The REGs in Dr. Nelson’s lab ran constantly day and night and resulted in a graph on his computer that looked more or less like a flat line. Then on September 6, 1997 the graph on his computer suddenly shot upwards, re- cording a startling shift in the number sequence the ma- chines located around the world started reporting a huge deviation from what was normal. This was the same day that an estimated one billion people from around the world watched the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. Nelson was convinced that the two events were related in some way. Could he have detected a new phenomenon? Could the concentrated emotional outpouring of millions of people be able to influence the output of the REGs? Dr. Nelson gathered scientists from around the world to analyze his findings and the Global Consciousness Project was born. More REGs were added bringing the total to sixty-five. The generators were named Eggs and were located in forty-one countries. The results have been startling, for during the course of the experiment, the Eggs have “sensed” many major world events as they have happened. Some of these have been the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia, the Kursk subma- rine disaster and our own hung election in 2000. The project is known for its greatest enigma; the Sep- tember 11, 2001 tragedy. The shift in the pattern of the numbers actually began four hours before the two planes hit the Twin Towers. Had they detected the event

before the terrorists had even boarded their fateful fights? Was it a freak occurrence? It looks like this was not at all the case, for in the closing weeks of December 2004 the Eggs went wild again. Twenty-four hours later, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered the tsunami that claimed the lives of an estimated quarter of a million people. The research of Dr. John Harwell and Dr. Dean Radin has shown evidence that people can sense the future. Ac- cording to Professor Bierman, other mainstream labs have produced similar results but have not released their find- ings because they are afraid of being ridiculed. He is try- ing to get them to all release their results at the same time. This might help to provide a solid scientific grounding for such strange phenomena as ‘déjà vu’, intuition and a host of other curiosities that we have all experienced. For now Dr Nelson says that “We may be able to pre- dict that a major world event is going to happen. But we won’t know exactly what will happen or where it’s going to happen.” He also says that what his experiments appear to demonstrate is that while we may all operate as indi- viduals, we also appear to share something far, far greater – a global consciousness. “We’re driven by society to separate ourselves from each other … (but) we may be connected together far more intimately than we realize.” From Red Nova News “Can This Black Box

See Into the Future?” http://rednova.com/news/display /?id=126649 published 2/11/2005 Sixth Sense Saved more than Wildlife Many of you are already aware of the amazing lack of animal deaths during the devastating Asian Tsunami dis- aster that killed over 150,000 people. Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami, adding weight to notions that they possess a sixth sense for disasters. The waves washed floodwaters almost two miles inland at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leop- ards. “No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rab- bit,” H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department reported. Also of interest is the fact that there was massive devas- tation in the Nicobar Islands. The inhabitants in these is- lands consist of tribal and non-tribal mainstream popula- tion. Thousands of people are dead and the coastal areas just evaporated. The rescue teams are observing some strange things as they are reaching these remote tribal ar- eas for rescue and relief. While there was massive, unbe- lievable devastation, the primitive tribes were relatively unaffected though most of them lived close by the ocean. A report in the India Daily said that, “According to some of the tribal leaders, earth communicates to them. And this time they could see it coming in their remote viewing periscopes.” The report went on to say, “It seems if this correlation is anything close to correct, we may be gaining in so called

‘modern technologies’ but we are losing in higher grounds of technical expertise, which may encom- pass spiritual science and paranormal technologies.” Recording Circle –Bridge to the Afterlife The group recordings are moving to Friday nights after April 21. Here are the dates for the next quarter: March 10 and 24, April 7 and 21, and then Friday May 6 and 20. Members from all over the country record at the same time, which is 8 PM Eastern - 5 PM Pacific Time and then share their results on the Idea Exchange in the “Results from the Recording Sessions” Forum. Contact Martha Copeland at [email protected] for more in- formation. Also remember to check out http://bigcircle.aaevp.com/ Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 14 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 The Video ITC of Rashelle Hawkins Just as there are many forms of expression in art, there are many ways to study etheric to physical phenomena. In fact, we are frequently amazed to learn of yet a new way to communicate with the Other Side. This is why we al- ways encourage people to try something different. Yes, you may be doing just fine with your recorder, but have you tried going for pictures in optical noise? If not, try looking at just about any example of visual ITC on aaevp.com until you begin to see what we say is there (it is, honest), and then ask yourself what

you are really see- ing. No, not just a man’s face. What do those things mean? In the vernacular, we are pretty sure the face you see in optical noise is that of a “dead man.” Think of it! Shell has taken up the challenge to experiment with Visual ITC. She used the video loopback method to pro- duce the video frame shown here. What is interesting to us is that she used a digital video camera to form the loop. It has been our experience that getting any phenomenal im- ages at all in video loop noise using a digital camera is difficult. There in actually are many faces in the frame, but has Shell highlighted four of the better ones. The clearest is the upper-right corner, and appears to chubby man be looking right at you. He has a smile and may be wearing a mustache. He has dark hair. a Shell also sent us a moving orb which we will add to our database. You can see that it has the characteristic “string of pearls” pattern of light. We are still trying to figure out what these are. Good work Shell! Tom and Lisa Butler: EVP Workshops and Panel Discussion April 23, 2005 – New Living Expo San Francisco, CA. We have agreed to be on a panel discussing Life After Death at the New Living Expo in San Francisco, CA, 5 PM April 23. We will be signing books after the panel discus- sion in the

Book Store. An all day ticket is $15 for admis- sion to all the lectures and workshops. For more informa- tion, see www.newlivingexpo.com/. September 3, 2005 - Lily Dale, New York. Lily Dale has been bringing summer programs to the pub- lic since 1879 and is still going strong. Lily Dale is a community dedicated to the religion of Spiritualism and is situated in a tranquil environment by a lake with a 19th century atmosphere. EVP Workshop, Saturday September. 3, 9:30 AM to 4 PM in the Auditorium. Tuition is $80. There is also an all day gate fee of $10. This gate fee will allow you to go to a 5:30 PM message service and 7 PM healing service on the grounds after the workshop. Call 716.595.8721 or see www.lilydaleassembly.com for in- formation, a catalog or registration. There are accommo- dations available at Lily Dale in historic buildings. September 17, 2005 Truckee Meadows Community College Reno, NV. This all day workshop will be limited to 28 students at the TMCC Meadow Wood Center, 5270 Neil Road, behind Meadow Wood Mall. TMCC is also allowing us to use a small computer lab so that we can assist students in learn- ing how to analyze EVP. The free, open source Audacity audio software will be featured. The workshop is from 8 AM to 4:30 PM Saturday, September 17. Estimated tuition: $125. See www.tmcc.edu/ or call 775.829.9010 for more information. If coming from out of town, and looking for a place to

spend a night, the Super 8 motel at 5851 S. Vir- ginia and the Courtyard by Marriott at 6855 S. Virginia are the closest accommodations to the workshop location. The upscale Atlantis Casino is another option. October 21-23 – Omega Institute Reinbeck, New York. Omega is the nation’s largest, most trusted holistic educa- tion provider. Omega’s lakeside campus is set on 195 acres of rolling hills and woodlands in the Hudson River Valley, just two hours north of New York City. Three Day EVP workshop: Friday October 21 from 7 PM to 10 PM, Saturday October 22 from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sun- day October 23 from 9 AM to Noon. Workshop tuition is $285 (Omega members $260). Room and board costs start at $165. There are daily yoga, tai chi, meditation and movement classes as well as evening entertainment. For information call 800.944.1001 or see www.eomega.org Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 15 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 An Aunt Calls a Year after Her Death Peter Mikkelsen shared an experience that he had. “Back in 1968, my sister and her boyfriend were going to see a movie after having dinner with my parents and myself. Shortly after we had eaten, the phone rang. Our mother went to answer it, and to her amazement, heard the clear and distinct voice of our aunt who had passed on the year before.

She asked to speak with my sister and then the line went completely silent. Mother tried to get some more words from the other end but the line remained silent. “Mother was in shock, and strictly forbid my sister from going anywhere outside the apartment that night. She feared that it was a sign that something fateful was going to happen to my sister. I should mention that mother was a very sensible and level-headed woman, always in good balance, and not given to over-reacting in any way.” Viewpoint Continued from page 1 Rheta Conley and Shellie Hawkins) had success. In 4Cell Voices’ experiment, the request was for the communica- tors to answer the question, “Does it take more of your energy to manifest a Class A EVP? If so please indicate your answer as ‘More energy’ or ‘No difference.’” The answer was clearly heard as, “No difference.” (This, by the way, contradicts one of our theories about etheric to physical communication. It is the same as saying that “raising the vibration” during a séance makes no differ- ence. We suspect that some communicating entities may not be any more informed than some people in the physi- cal … or we have to change our thinking. That is what this is all about.) 4Cell Infinity’s request was, “Can you tell me the name of Jim Robinson’s make-believe sister?” The expected answer was, “Sissy Sally.” The group recorded several messages but selected “Sallys the name,” as the best. So, you can

see that our volunteer experimenters have already provided the proof that EVP is real and the com- municators are listening to us. Such proof should be able to cause interest in the scientific community. In that re- gard, we are seeking a person holding a doctorate degree in an applicable field who is qualified to assist us in this ongoing experiment. Please help us find this person if you can. We can offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to do original research and publish in the major peer review journals. Also, perspective candidates should know that we will not dictate results or protocol. Let the evidence lead! We feel that the 4Cell EVP Demonstration has great po- tential to transmute the negative name recognition for EVP, but recognition nevertheless, from White Noise into positive acceptance by people holding just about any worldview. But we need more volunteers. Please contact us at [email protected] or go to the Technical - Theoretical - Hypothetical section at http://aaevp.com/ideaexchange/ and sign up in the 4Cell forums. You need not be an “ex- pert” EVP experimenter, “just interested” works for us. Spontaneous Paranormal Experiences Rupert Sheldrake has collected over 5000 cases of sponta- neous paranormal experiences. Of these, 280 of them in- volve “After-Death contact.” 35% of these involved see- ing an apparition, 25% heard a voice, 22% sensed the presence of a person, 20% felt that they had been touched and 14% involved smelling something associated with the deceased like a flower or perfume.

Research suggests that 50% of bereaved people have an after-death experience. Dr. Sheldrake has also collect 170 cases of apparitions of pets showing that this is not just a human phenomenon. Comment: We expect that Dr. Sheldrake did not gather statistics about how many people had contact with their loved ones via EVP. From: “Mediumship, survival and Psy- chical Research: A Tribute to Montague Keen,” by Nicola J. Holt, Paranormal Review, October 2004 Issue 32 Answering the Critics Continued from page 6 This is the most devastating sort of defeat for any hy- pothesis: “Failure to replicate.” We commented about his article to the editors of the journal, pointing out that the protocol was flawed, and that in nearly every aspect of his experiment, he managed to violate even the simplest pro- cedures we teach on the Association web site. Most damn- ing was his use of radio static in a scientific test! We do applaud Baruss’ bravery in that he has seemingly left the door open for the possibility of EVP, even though he re- mains one of the more commonly cited “authorities” dis- crediting the validity of EVP. Assuming that Matthews is an intelligent and able re- porter, the only explanation as to why he found it neces- sary to use such a poorly supported arguments and de- meaning innuendo is that he is attempting to defeat a threat to his worldview and these arguments are all that he could find. The article is blatant yellow journalism de-

signed to turn people away from the study of EVP in favor of the reining scientific view that consciousness is the product of evolution. If EVP is real, and if it supports the Survival Hypothesis, then the reductionist view of evolu- tion without intelligence would be baseless. There have been and will be many such articles. In fact, there is a high probability that people who study subjects such as EVP will, sooner or later personally encounter people like Matthews, who will not pass up the opportu- nity to discredit them. Matthews used many of the classic but unfounded arguments, and people who are easily fooled … well, they are easily fooled. As we stated in the beginning, such attacks cannot hurt us unless we let them. The best way to deal with such negative attacks is not to engage the critic. We cannot change their mind unless we are asked. If we try, they may well become more aggressive in the defense of their worldview, so ignore them and perhaps they will go away. The future of EVP depends on honest examination and on hard work, not on the approval of a few fearful critics. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 16 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Recording EVP using Multiple Recorders By Sgt. Eddie Hill Most, who work with EVP recordings, tend to use only one recorder. I use multiple recording devices to

record EVP and I would like to share some of the benefits of us- ing two recorders. While it’s true that most voices captured on multiple re- cording devices at the same time can be explained as mundane, I have found a great many that are genuine EVP. Also, I have found that different recording devices tend to pick up EVP better than others at certain times. For some reason, my Sony will work better on one day, and my Olympus will work better on another. It seems that some entities have a preference. This may be due to the electronics associated with the different brands or weather conditions in the area. I take an Electromagnetic (EM) field reading throughout the area to be investigated while recording with two or more devices. When a high EM field is detected, I state my location on the recording along with the EM reading and note the different electronic devices that are in the area. This is done prior to the initial investigation. Re- cordings can then be analyzed for possible EVP with a laptop computer using sound editing software. This will give you a control to work with later. Once I have a sample to work with, I start the investiga- tion by trying to follow the same footsteps as before, while conducting the investigation. Once my investigation is complete, I compare the recordings that I made with those I made during my first walkthrough. Any duplicate EVP I record can be

analyzed for other causes. I have used this technique before and have been able to find al- ternate reasons for the voices, such as neighbors in the next apartment, stereos turned on in the area, baby moni- tors or just children playing outside. As I walk through the first time, I make sure everything in the area is turned off and that I have no interference. This can take time to accomplish, but it will help to solve some issues that might come up at a later time. I always try to disprove any EVP that I receive. The ones that I can’t disprove are the ones that I consider true EVP. The use of multiple recording devices can be a very ex- citing project, but also entails much more preparation to insure that the recordings are not contaminated by ambient sounds. As a Police Officer for 16 years, I have learned that, during any investigation, all facts must be looked at. It is important to always seek to disprove any evidence collected before tying it into the results of the investiga- tion. Remember that skeptics are watching and always looking for ways to disprove anything we bring to the ta- ble. Think of Skeptics as Defense Attorneys looking to get their client off a charge. The fewer loopholes that are left for them, the less they will be able to shed doubt on all the hard work that we do. Technical Corner • Dr. Ali Fant has just read

the book, Paranormal Voice Observations: Twin Telepath -The Psychic Connection, by Guy Lyon Playfair. She wrote that, “The book has some observations relating to the detection of an etheric presence for initiating an EVP recording. Guy reported that high relative humidity is often found in the pres- ence of paranormal activity. Other EVP literature touches on the presence of a twenty to thirty degree drop in the air temperature in the presence of orbs. Ali urges researchers to place thermometers and small rela- tive Humidity detectors in/near there equipment to see what data can be collected. • Eddie Beloate reports that his group made a tri field de- tector hooked up to a lap top running a Radio Shack program that is used to test circuit boards. The owner of the house being researched asked out loud if an entity could touch the tri field detector and within seconds it spiked. The group then started asking questions, even rephrasing questions. The results were 93% accurate. Eddie wonders if anyone else has tried something like this. He can be reached at [email protected]. • David Mierzwinski performed an experiment to demon- strate how background sounds are manipulated to pro- duce EVP. The control track was the right channel and was a radio broadcast direct without a microphone. The left channel (EVP Track) was the very same broadcast recorded by microphone and included fan noise from David’s computer. (He places the microphone in the computer box.) David recorded the name Roy E. Han-

son on the EVP track. He noted that it was preceded by a snap that is not audible if he lowers the sample rate on the clip to 8000. David wrote, “If you are able to toggle playback channels back and forth or control one speaker at a time it is quite amazing. David can be reached at [email protected]. • Some AA-EVP members have told us that they would like to make devices that might help collect EVP or other forms of these phenomena. Past experience has shown that it is common that a person who is good with the soldering iron is not so good at collecting examples of EVP. At the same time, we know that many people, who are excellent experimenters, should not be allowed near a soldering iron without an escort. We propose that people who can build devices team- ing up with people who easily record the voices. That way, one can build a device and mail it to another who can test it. Try posting your interest to work with some- one in the “Designing Devices and techniques for EVP and ITC” forum of the Idea Exchange. If you try any of the above experiments or have other ideas regarding tests mail us at [email protected] or PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. The Technical - Theoreti- cal – Hypothetical section of the Idea Exchange is also a good place to post your ideas for discussion. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective

Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 17 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Member News • Erland Babcock’s “art show” of his ITC images, held in the Burlington Town Library on January 3,rd was at- tended by several AA-EVP members. A few of his pic- tures are on display at http://aaevp.com/examples/. Er- land has informed us that the images are also available as prints for a modest fee. Contact Erland at [email protected]. • Stefan Bion, of the German VTF, wrote that over 600 press kits, that included information on EVP, were handed out to reporters for the opening of White Noise in Germany. He had been asked to do an interview on the VTF in February and was very positive about the added attention the movie had created for EVP/ITC and the VTF. • Andrea Carr did an interview with Brit Elders on the Shirley MacClain website. She had recorded an EVP of a man saying, “Steven Parker.” Shirley had been mar- ried to a Steven Parker. The interview went very well. • Martha Copeland was featured in several Newspapers over the past few months. We were shocked to see an article in Florida’s The Sun, showing a picture of Mar- rection by the newspaper, she said she thought it better if Lisa was pictured with that big bottle of wine! Martha’s new book I’m Still Here was released in late March and is now available at www.evpcommunications.com. • Sarah Estep’s new book,

Roads to Eternity, is now available through the Fate Bookshop. Call 800.728.2730 to order. She was featured in the article, “Death No More a Casket,” by Ellen Guiley in the December Fate magazine and was also a speaker at FortNite ’05 in Bal- timore March 19 and 20. • Monty Norton kindly responded to a request by Grand Rapids television, WZZM to interview someone about EVP for their “Take Five” program. After the successful interview, he wrote, “The Interview is over!! Am I glad … The cameraman was not only a critic; he was openly hostile and took to questioning me himself on occasion. After the session, he asked me if I know about the Witch of Ebdor. I told him I was familiar with the story. I further said that Saul was punished not for going to the Part of Erland Babcock ITC gallery witch, but for being told not to and going anyway. That seemed to shut him up….” Thanks for helping out Monty! The interview is still showing at www.wzzm13.com, click on “Take Five” and look for the 01/10/05 video clip. • Georg Lindström and Irma Wisen have written the first book in the Finnish language on ITC. The book covers the history and pioneers of is Yhteyksiä EVP/ITC. The into Ajattomuudesta, English like “Communications from the Time- less.” translated something title is • Richard Smith wrote that he had a TV anchor and crew from San Antonio in his office in January for three hours. He

conducted an EVP session in which he cap- tured many EVP. The first one was a female voice say- ing, “Hey … show us your song, Angela.” This matched the anchors name and she was currently re- hearsing for a production in San Antonio in which she sings a song solo. Rich said that, although the article was favorable, he was disappointed that the personal messages were not mentioned. He wrote, “I have found that, in many subtle ways, the media will ‘hold back’ on certain parts of these experiences that they were not ex- pecting…” • Tina Laurent was busy in January doing interviews and TV programs in conjunction with the release of the movie, White Noise, in the UK. She also mentioned her involvement in a group that Robin Foy is trying to put together called The International Scientific Association for Research into Transcendental Objective Phenomena (ISARTOP). Continued page 18 Caption in newspaper article mistakenly identifying Martha and Don Copeland as Tom and Lisa Butler tha and Don Copeland with a caption saying that the people in the picture were Tom and Lisa Butler. How that mistake happened we will never know, but when we asked Martha why she had not asked for a cor- Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 18 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Member News Continued from page 17 They hope to get funding from the United Nations and

the aim is to publish research on everything from EVP/ITC to UFOs and Crop Circles. • Karen Mossey has had at least six different Newspaper articles written about her in the past few months. She has also done several radio and TV shows as well as talks on EVP at places like Borders and for the Boston Theosophical Society. Karen Mossey holding a newspaper article about her • Rob Smith has also gotten media attention for the up coming release of White Noise in Australia. He wrote that he had a “Sunrise” National TV spot in March and an article in New Idea, a National Women’s Magazine. • Linda Williamson of Scotland wrote that her phone had not stopped ringing due to the increased interest in EVP associated with the UK release of the movie, White Noise. She had done several radio and print interviews and even had to turn down a National TV show because of other media commitments. If you have something that you would like to have placed in “Member News” be sure and mail or email it to us at [email protected] Taper’s Report • Gary Andary tried adding a noise mix of heavy rain- storm from outside and 21 MHz radio noise while fo- cusing on a picture of himself with his late father. He was also faintly playing 40s big ban sound in the back- ground and successfully recorded his father’s voice say- ing, “Jan loves it.” The EVP was referring to his step- mom

and either the picture or the song. • Melanie Billings said that she asked, “Grandpa, do you have a cabin up there?” and received answers from two different voices she did not recognize. One said, “He does.” The other voice add, “Me too!” Melanie wrote, “I guess mountain cabins are popular over there!” • Edwina Bentinck’s youngest cat took seriously ill on a Sunday when her vet was closed. Edwina stayed with the cat to comfort her until she could get her to the Vet. She tried recording and got many EVP. Some of them were, “Don’t you worry, we’ll help her,” “She’s not gonna live with this” and “Don’t try to save her.” When Edwina took the cat to the Vet early the next morning, she was told there was little chance of recov- ery and her cat, Elderdown, was euthanized. Edwina said that the EVP comforted her and she was pleased that, “the spirits were so involved with her cat’passing.” • Martha Copeland reports that the Big Circle connection keeps growing. Martha reconnected with a woman, Nancy, who was the mother of a friend of Cathy’s after Nancy saw Martha on the Maury Show. Martha invited her to a Recording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife ses- sion in her home. Nancy had lost her husband, Randy, and hoped to hear from him. Playing back one of the re- cordings, they heard “I am here!” and recognized it as Randy’s voice. • Rheta Conley tried recording when her

father was mak- ing his transition. She wrote, “I knew the spirits were around and I sensed a nun there.” When she later lis- tened to the recording she heard, “This is the last night” This turned out to be true, and she wrote, “I have wished many times that I had listened (sooner) because I left… and he passed while I was gone.” • Melissa Elliott was excited to share an EVP that she recorded that said, “Devin.” She revealed that it was very special to her because her friend, Devin, had been murdered in December at the age of twenty-four. • Denise Forester shared an EVP recording of a young female calling, “Mom.” It is the voice of her daughter, Tara, now on the other side. • Harry Flagle has received several messages from his Mom who crossed over in 2001. He was excited that af- ter hearing nothing from her for two years he has now gotten messages containing her name as well as his and also messages about things that she would only know. • Shell Hawkins sent a fun EVP to the group. She was investigating her Great, Great Grandmother’s house with Siobhan McBride and her Grandma. They were confused by a puddle of water they found as no one has lived in the house for 30 years, there is no electricity or running water and the weather was dry. They were cir- cling the puddle as Shell recorded. In the EVP you her Shell’s

Grandmother saying the water wasn’t from her shoes when a man’s voice (an EVP) comes over her voice laughing and saying “Oh yes, that was me.” After listening to it Shell’s Grandmother said it was the Great, Great Grandfather who was a big prankster. • Denise Herres was very close to her Mother, Juanita, who crossed unexpectedly from what Denise feels was a heart attack. She was trying to record in her mother’s house and was looking for a cassette tape. She found one and checked to see if it was blank. She wrote, “Af- ter a few seconds, I heard ‘Testing...testing...’ (silence) then, ‘Hello, Hello, Hello’ (in my Mother’s lilting voice) ‘testing 1-2-3, testing 1-2-3.’ I then tried to tape with another recorder...nothing. I think that my parents and everyone else up there were having a good chuckle. It was a unnerving.” Continued on page 19 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 1, Page 19 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Taper’s Report Continued from page 18 • Joseph King has worked on the technical side of broad- cast engineering for 25 years and says that he is familiar with various types of interference. He shared an experi- ence that he had in 1987. While driving his car to visit his mother who was in the hospital, (his mother was ill but not expected to die) he heard something very differ- ent from anything he

had ever heard between FM sta- tions. He wrote, “It was so strange at the time, it was not a voice, nor could I call it just noise, it was an audible sound, but a sound that had a very unique signature, something I had never experienced before in my life. But equally, at the time, it gave me an impression that something or someone was trying to contact me. I jok- ingly thought to myself, ‘oops,’ the aliens are coming for me.” When Joe arrived at the hospital, he received the totally unexpected news that his mother had passed over fifteen minutes before. This was the exact time that he had the experience with the radio in his car. • Karen Mossey says that her father seems to always want to comment on her dog, Merlin, whenever she records. She shared a recording in which you hear him say, “The dog’s barking,” then you can hear him whistling. Karen wrote, “He loves to whistle and Merlin loves to bark.” • Tia Marie Presley was trying to find something different to use as a background source, so she tuned her radio to an Opera station and recorded a female voice saying, “Get out of here.” Tia could not figure it out as she has lived there six and a half years. She surmised that the voice might have been talking to her daughter’s friend who thinks EVP is all “fun and games.” • Judy Quillen asked her father, now on

the other side, to be with her as she prepared to have a medical procedure done. She said that she felt calm just as if he were there holding her hand. When she returned home she found a message on her answering machine in her father’s voice saying, “How are ya?” • Vicki Talbott shared a recording that she did around Christmas time. There were several holiday messages including, “Sing,” “Marking New Year’s…yes!” “Hey, Happy New Year” and “We love you.” • Hilary Wood sent a recording with a deep male voice saying, “Nexus,” and a man then whispering, “There is a God.” She didn’t know what “nexus” meant and found when she looked it up that it meant connection; link. This was only Hilary’s third recording since re- ceiving her voice recorder. • John Wilton built a Raudive Box with the help of www.angelfire.com/mi/glohst/page1.html and shared one of the EVP that he has gotten with it. It says, “Hello Johnny, I miss you.” A “Raudive Box” is a device used for EVP in place of a microphone that contains a germanium diode, induc- tor, resistor and antenna. Equipment News • Shell Hawkins is happy with a free version of sound editing software she has found called Wavepad. It is available at www.nch.com. The free version does not have as many features as the newer version but Shell likes it better than Audacity. • We have been asked more times than we can count about sound editing software for Mac

users. While we were working on the “Hearing is Believing: Actual EVP Sessions” feature for the White Noise DVD, we met Rory Ambron, a sound man and a Mac user. Here is his wonderful Email with quite a list! “Here are some audio programs for the Mac: Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ FREE! Bias Inc. at www.bias-inc.com/ Select: Peak four sound editing and select SoundSoap For cleaning up audio A list of more Mac programs can be found at www.hitsquad.com/, and more free to try Mac software is at www.download.com. • We have had the opportunity to compare our Maxell noise cancellation headphones, which we purchased from Wal Mart for under $50, with two different Bose noise cancellation headphones estimated at $300 each. The Maxell proved quieter while both of the Bose had mid to high frequency residue from the cancellation process that reduced their effectiveness. Repeated Sounds in EVP Andrea Carr recently recorded an EVP in which “Steven Parker” was repeated eleven times. She even ended up in an interview on the Shirley MacLaine web site because of Maclaine’s past relationship with a Steven Parker. Andrea mailed a CD of the interview to several people who gave her a high praise for her work. It is uncommon for utterances to be repeated in a re- cording unless part of a larger expression. It is also un- common for repeated wave forms to be identical at identi- cal intervals. Thus, since the recording was made on a digital recorder, we set Andrea’s example

aside in our mind as probably an artifact of the recorder. The first ut- terance, “Steven Parker,” is surely an EVP, but the ten reputations remain a question for us. Now, Martha Copeland has reported that she had left a digital recorder unattended and turned off in her “Spirit Room,” and later found that it had somehow turned on and recorded a series of sounds and words, including three identical wave shapes separated by comments referring to testing something. It is posted in the Idea Exchange in the Metaphysics forum. If you have any such repeated EVP, please take the time to post them in the same forum so that we can see if we can find a pattern. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 1, Page 20 AA-EVP NewsJournal Spring 2005 Humorous Email The name has been changed but this was an actual Email that came along with thousands of others after White Noise opened. “Hi, my name is Brian. I recently saw the movie, White Noise, and I’m more interested in the paranormal than ever. I read a couple of your articles and I would like to try an EVP séance with a tape recorder. Is there any type of recorder needed or one in specific? And I don’t under- stand the fact that you can put your audio file in your computer if you have a tape? Compared to the movie, is the

spirit you’re contacting already dead or will they die soon? And one last question does the spirit stay in the house after you’re done with the séance or do they just leave?” “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo White short sleeve Fruit of the Loom “T” Shirt with AA-EVP logo embroidered in blue. Small, Medium and Large sizes only: $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US Dollar only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA New Membership Rates When the annual membership dues were increased, a grace period of a year or more was given to members who were current as of 15 June 2004. The grace period is now over and new and renewing dues are now the same. “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo Blue short sleeve Fruit of the Loom “T” Shirt with AA- EVP logo embroidered in white. in USA, Extra Large only: $15.00 + $3.00 mailing for International mailing. US Dollar only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA- EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA $9.00 There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC learning tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping.

Include tax if you live in Nevada. Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are: Members International Members $30.00/year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email Sustaining members $38.00/year $100/year All benefits for one year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Name: Address: Cross-country List? You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Email Address: Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service? or via email? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of per- sonal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association

is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the News- Journal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed Date Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA, [email protected], aaevp.com Volume 24 Number 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 From our Viewpoint Since the release of the movie, White Noise, we have re- ceived hundreds of emails to the contact address at http://aaevp.com. While there have been a few complain- ing emails from people who were offended by the movie or the idea of EVP, most have been from people seeking help or more information about EVP. Interestingly, though, we are being asked as much about such peripheral subjects as what they should do with a ghost in the house or if Christians are okay with EVP, as we are asked about how to record for the voices. We always try to see to it that the emails are answered, and in doing so, we realize that all of those questions are appropriate, and in some way apply to EVP and ITC. The wide ranging nature of these phenomena becomes obvious when the many different theories attempting to explain EVP in terms other than the Survival Hypothesis are considered. The two dominant theories are “super psi,” which is based on psychology, and

the physics based “quantum-holographics.” There are other theories but these are the most widely recognized that we are aware of. In quantum-holographics, our etheric communicators are explained as residual energy or echoes of the past. Super psi is the argument that information from the past, or in- formation that a medium could not know, exists as a field of energy—subtle, but very physical—that is somehow accessible using psychic ability. A common denominator of almost all of these theories is that they are based on the viewpoint of a field of study that has almost nothing to do with what we study. Also, since they are based on known physical principles, they all explain what we do in terms of known physical princi- ples. As a result, they do not allow for the existence of a greater reality, the survival of our sentient Self or the in- telligent influence of etheric entities. Carefully examine these theories and you will see what we mean. Super psi and quantum-holographics have become mainstream views of who we are communicating with, yet some of the central assumptions of both of these theories are based on the belief that the information we access is “nonlocal,” meaning that it does not exist in just one place, but is everywhere at once. This is why principles of holography have been enlisted in quantum-holography. The problem is that with EVP there is strong evidence that information is local and is associated with a sentient en- tity, which is able

to provide us with that information as a living memory, rather than some form of residual energy. For instance, we know that an entity sometimes must “come” to us to communicate, and that an entity will say that it must “go on” and will no longer be able to commu- nicate. In fact, we can pretty well prove that we are com- municating with sentient, interactive people, and that what they have to say is based on information that is either lo- cal to them or that they must acquire. All of this is something of a paradox for us. We do not want to spend a lot of time trying to convince anyone about the validity of EVP. Our focus is on the Association and on trying to understand the things our etheric friends might be trying to teach us. But when we do look out at the world to see how EVP is being viewed, we realize that we are looking at comments from people whose expertise is in such fields as biology (where is consciousness), physics (where is “etheric”), psychology (are we delu- sional), electronics (where are the voices formed), com- munications (how are the voices formed), religion (God, survival and demons) and medicine (hospice). There are more, but these should make the point. We actually have a reason to have a valid and supportable opinion about some aspect of all of these fields, yet training in just one of these fields does not qualify a person

to comment on EVP in an authoritative way. So who are we, really? We have opened a topic in the Idea Exchange asking this question. We are toying with the idea that we need to have a better name for those of us who study these phenomena. No, not a better name for EVP or ITC, but a better name for the study of these things. If you have an idea, post it as a reply to the topic in the “Technical, Hypothetical, Theoretical” forum. Right now, we are leaning toward “empirical metaphysics,” but we need more thought on the subject. “Empirical,” mean- ing experimental and “metaphysics,” meaning the study of the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter. A practitioner would be an “empirical metaphysician.” Definition: The study of the nature of reality based on experimental evidence provided by tech- niques of Instrumental TransCommunication. All of this discussion about what we study brings up another important point. Let us say that we “officially” announce to the world the existence of the new field of study known as “empirical metaphysics.” Who could properly call themselves one? Simply being able to record for EVP would not qualify a person. Yes, we know that naming a new field of study is sure to produce universities that will offer doctorates in the field, and once that hap- pens, none of us will be qualified to call ourselves empiri- cal metaphysicians. In the meantime, though, anyone who might say that they

study empirical metaphysics should at least have a firm understanding of the basics characteris- tics of EVP. Continued page 17 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 2 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Communication from Fernando On February 27th long time ITC researcher, Sonia Ri- naldi’s husband, Fernando, crossed to the other side. Sonia had stopped her ITC work for many months to care for Fernando after a difficult surgery. Fernando had pan- creatic cancer which had spread throughout his body. The very morning that Fernando made his transition, Sonia, along with a couple of friends, returned to Sonia’s home to pick up clothing for his burial. While there, they made a recording, requesting news on Fernando’s depar- ture from Sonia’s contact on the other side, Mr. German. Fernando and Sonia Rinaldi English translation: Sonia: Mr. German, I know that you accompanied Fer- nando on his departure. Reply: He will live in peace and be healed. Sonia: Did he arrive well there? Reply: You need to be patient and stay calm. So, only four hours after Fernando’s departure, Sonia had received her first news about him. Sonia wrote that the official religion in Brazil is Ca- tholicism and that it is traditional to ask a priest to say a mass in church seven days after a person’s death. Every- one expected Sonia to call for the mass but since she is a Spiritist, she

decided on something different. Sonia thought that, after seven days, Fernando might be able to hear them and even might be able to speak. So, she called her close friends for a meeting and informed those in the Beyond that they were going to honor Fer- nando and that they expected him to see them speaking to him. At the gathering, Sonia asked everyone to say what they wanted to Fernando while she recorded their tribute to him. Sonia was surprised that there were fifty-six para- normal contacts recorded. Fifty-one of them were in Fer- nando’s proper voice and the others in Mr. German’s voice. Three of Sonia’s guests were clairvoyant and able to “see” the other side. They all said that they saw Fernando sitting down on a bed with a man and woman at his side. In the recording, he said that they were his father and mother. His answers were very loud and clear and Sonia was surprised that he was able to speak so much after only seven days. He explained that he was not able to walk yet. (Fernando had been confined to a wheel chair in physical life.) He also gave advice to those who had spo- ken to him. Sonia included a recording of the session. As she ends the session she says, “One kiss and see you soon,” you can clearly hear Fernando say, “See you.” Sonia wrote to us that, “It makes a big difference to know that life goes on

in a situation like mine and that of thousands of others who have lost a dear one. … The op- portunity to be sure that Fernando is alive, well, not suf- fering anymore and that we will meet in the future, is a relief that allows me to carry on the days without the sad- ness that destroys those who do not know about all of this.” Information about EVP on White Noise DVD There is almost thirty minutes of educational information on EVP on the White Noise DVD. There are three fea- tures. The first titled, Making Contact: EVP Experts mainly shows interviews and footage from the 2003 AA- EVP conference. It is very well done and shows rational people discussing EVP and its implications and uses. The second feature is called, Recording the Afterlife at Home. We were not sure how they would be able to make a short video on this without it being totally confusing but, by also writing out the directions and putting them on the screen, they did a decent job of giving viewers the tools to try EVP on their own. The last piece, Hearing is Believing: Actual EVP Sessions, is footage that they took of us at two haunted locations. We have received quite a few emails from people who liked and really appreciated the bonus features. The bonus features have gone a long way in making EVP a reality that is separate from the Hollywood movie. We hope that all of

you get the time to see these mini documentaries. I think that we can say that having real information about EVP on a major studio’s DVD is quite historic. Best of all, it is available around the world, and by the time the movie release has run its course, virtually everyone in the world who has access to a movie theater, television, internet or radio will know what EVP is. Published by the AA-EVP, PO box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©2005AA-EVP. Find information about the AA-EVP at aaevp.com. Member name and correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP policy. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educa- tional corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 A Message from Freddie Jan and Paul Weber’s son Fredrick loved Basketball and was good at it. Just a freshman in high school, he talked his team into playing basketball in the summer. Five days after completing his final basketball game of the season, Jan and Paul came home to find Freddie on the floor un- conscious. Jan administered CPR

to Freddie while they waited for rescue to arrive, but to no avail; Freddie was gone. Jan had a vision while they were trying to save him, and was shown where Freddie was going. “I saw this beautiful white light surrounded by so many colors for just a second or two and just knew he needed to go home to God. School bus memorializing Freddie The Webers learned that Freddie, only fifteen and a half, had died from, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), also known as athletes heart, which is a rare cause of cardiac death among participants in sports and recrea- tional athletics. HCM affects about one in 200,000 high school athletes per academic year. Jan and Paul did not realize just how much Freddie had helped others change their outlook on life until some of the over 350 people attending his funeral service paid trib- ute to him. Jan wrote, “My family has always believed that there was communication through the veil; I was never brought up with the standards of society. Both my grandmother and my mother gave me the teachings that all you had to do was speak and you would receive an answer, so I brought my children up the same way. Therefore, it was no surprise when Freddie began instant contact.” Three days after he had crossed over, a clock radio that had not played music for years and whose alarm was set to beep, suddenly woke them by playing music. Jan wrote, “The song went

something like this ‘I’ve won, I’ve achieved victory, no more Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and I’ve achieved victory.’ It was an AM station, I called the station but no song had those words.” Before the funeral, Freddie’s cousin, Brenda, was in the bathroom and began to smell grape bubble gum. She called for all the others in the house and they all smelled it too, so much so that Jan even looked under the claw foot tub thinking that Freddie might have stuck some there. Unknown to Jan, was the fact that the last time that Brenda and Freddie had been together, they had a spat over grape bubble gum. He had it, she wanted it and he would not give it to her. She had chased him around the yard trying to get it away from him. They played like this all of the time. Brenda was about to go to the viewing and it was as if Freddie knew that she needed a sign that he was okay and existed apart from his physical body. One of the most difficult calls to make about Freddie’s crossing was to Freddies’s Aunt Claudia. Their son, Chris, had been very close to Freddie. They had just been to their house a few weeks before and Claudia’s family was due to visit them that weekend. Claudia, the author of the mys- tery novel, Dream Tapestry, could not believe that this had happened. On a future call, Jan asked Claudia to dedi- cate her

next book to Freddie. Paul told Jan that this was very presumptuous, but soon, a call came from Claudia saying that she had been visited by Freddie and that he had woken her up by bouncing his basketball. Claudia said that after hearing about Freddie’s death, she felt that she would never write again but that Freddie had come to her and had not left her alone until she had written the dedication for her new book, Dream Tapestry. She had even made Freddie a character in the story. A few weeks after Freddie’s death, his Godfather, Chuck, called and told Jan to watch the John Edward show. While watching, Jan realized that it was possible to talk to Freddie again. She looked into contacting Edward but learned that he was in California and realized that she could not afford it. A rough few months followed with no contact from Freddie. Jan was sick and off work. She was in bed and so depressed that she was even unwilling to get up and go to the bathroom. All four of her dogs were in the room with her when she heard Freddie scream, “Get up!” Jan sat straight up; it was just like Freddie was still in the physi- cal world. All four dogs were also startled and went to a corner of the room where they began circling as if they were around Freddie’s legs. A short time later, Paul was watching a program on TV where a medium

was trying to contact the spirits in a haunted house. Jan was working on her laptop and half listening to the TV, when in her head, she heard Freddie say, “They can’t all be in California!” This was the first time that Freddie had put something in Jan’s head and it sent her on a quest. She learned about the Cassadaga Spiritualist Community, a 110 year old community of spiritually minded people two hours away from their home. The community was also just five miles away from where Freddie played basketball each summer. Continued Page 4 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 4 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 A Message from Freddie Continued From Page 3 The time has come to let me go. I’ll be waiting for you, but this is not the time. I’ll always be listening to your heart. Just know that you’re never alone and you are loved more than words could ever convey. You can feel that. Let that knowledge seep into your soul. You don’t have to see it. And you don’t have to see me to know that I’m just a breath away, listening, if you really need me. Trust God. Trust your angels. Trust your heart. Value our family as much as I do. And know that I love you even more now, more than I Freddie thought was possible. Paul, as well as Freddie’s godparents, went

with Jan to visit Cassadaga on a Saturday when there were mini- readings. Jan received evidential information and learned that her grandmother was taking care of Freddie until they crossed over to be with him. Since that Saturday, Jan has been expanding her mediumistic abilities by taking devel- opment classes. With each class she has taken, a message has come from Freddie. But, then in March, near the An- niversary of his crossing, Jan became very depressed once again. She ignored everyone and just felt sorry for herself. She cried a lot and felt very bitter. Claudia finally left a message on her answering machine saying, “I know your ignoring me; return my call today!” When Jan called she learned that Freddie had been contacting Claudia and had given her a message. The message was in the form of a poem: A Message from Freddie Mommy, One year is enough. It is time to get on with your life... You’ve been told what to do but you’re not doing it. You’re ignoring your purpose. Go out and find it. The time has come to help others who feel like you do. Let them know there is light even in darkness. It may be hard but you can do anything you put your heart into. Show others the love you have shown me. I don’t need proof, I know what love is. You need to show others who are in pain or suffering. There are children who need you, and parents

who need you more. God is with you. And so am I. I have a purpose, too. I have served it on earth, but I still have work to be done here. Please let me do it. Jan writes that they celebrated March 31, the date of his crossing, by going to an amusement park and riding every ride for him. They have decided that they will do this every year, future grand children included. Jan is now tak- ing development classes locally, as well as at Cassadaga. She feels that Freddie has led her to the AA-EVP. She has the support of Paul and her daughter Stephanie along with Freddie’s godparents, Chuck and Carolyn. Carolyn has joined Jan in her development classes and all of them plan to record EVP together. The Weber’s have created a memorial website for Freddie at www.fredrickweber.com. After Death Phone Call from Father Maria Capitelli wrote to us saying, “Five years ago my father passed away, and when we got back from his wake, my brother had a phone call on his answering machine. He played it and it was my father’s voice saying, “Hello,” in a very sad tone. “My father was sixty-six years old when he passed sud- denly from a heart attack … It was no doubt my father who left the message. When we heard my father’s voice, we were excited, shocked and also sad. I think my father called my brother, Sal, because my brother’s life changed with my

father’s death. My brother had to leave a good job to take over my father’s business, a business my brother had gotten out of years before because it was not what he wanted to do. It was a restaurant. “My brother didn’t even get a chance to mourn correctly since, when my father passed, the business was booked with parties and events that had to go on. So while we were at the funeral home, my brother was at the restaurant running the business. It was a sad situation, so that’s why I think, out of the four children my father had, he called my brother, Sal. “My brother and I stayed up all night just playing it over and over. The next day was the burial.” As a footnote we learned that Maria’s brother later sold the business and now has a job that he loves. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 5 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Paranormal Photographic Anomalies By Kathy Conder Serious paranormal researchers and investigators today are very aware of the importance of collecting credible evidence. It is no secret that the field of paranormal re- search is regarded with skepticism by many and especially by scientists who refuse to acknowledge the validity of what they refer to as a “pseudo-science.” In spite of this attitude, many qualified and responsible people continue to attempt to prove what cannot

be measured or quanti- fied. it may be, weed out any photographic results that are questionable. is loose One way of helping those of us who want to interpret our photographic results, to keep a photographic journal. Any type of notebook will do, such as a spiral bound tablet or a leaf binder. Different cameras are capable of producing artifacts with subtle differences that should be noted when interpreting a photograph. To enable this, it is a good idea to maintain examples of various naturally occurring artifacts that were taken by each camera that is used for investiga- tions. I typically use three different cameras so in my notebook, under each category and example, I include one picture from each camera type. Spider web. By Kathy Conder Insect in camera flash. By Kathy Conder It becomes increasingly difficult to produce valid evi- dence and data when there is an ever-increasing number of ghost hunting groups and a lack of standardized re- search methods. Many of these groups are posting photo- graphs of anomalies on their web sites, claiming that they are paranormal in origin. Most of us are aware of the on- going controversy concerning “orbs.” With the ever in- creasing use of digital cameras, the appearance of photo- graphic anomalies has also increased. While some argue that these anomalies can be attributed to camera malfunc- tion, others will vehemently swear that they are all some form of spirit manifestation. After years of personal experience, I have come to the

conclusion that the truth lies somewhere in the middle of both these extremes. For those in the field of paranormal investigation or research, many find that after taking thou- sands of pictures, they get a feel for what is a naturally occurring anomaly and one that is paranormal in nature. For example, we know that when we take photographs in rainy conditions, our pictures will show the raindrops as orbs. For that reason, responsible investigators know not to take pictures when it is raining. The same holds true for other conditions that occur, such as snow, high humidity and fog. Does that mean that a paranormal manifestation cannot occur under these conditions? Of course not, but given our knowledge of false positives, we must disregard evidence collected under these conditions. We all hope for that great paranormal capture on film but we have to learn to look at our results with a critical eye, and as difficult as Breath and snow flakes. By Kathy Conder Below are some examples of conditions under which pho- tographs might be taken. These are conditions that com- monly produce anomalies that may be mistaken as para- normal in nature. These are just basic examples. It is im- portant to remember that you will probably find others to add to this list. The more extensive your notebook of ex- amples is, the broader your base for comparison. This will lead to more reliable results. Remember that each photo- graph taken under these conditions will vary

according to temperature, light, barometric pressure, and other atmos- pheric conditions, so be sure to note each detail of the cur- rent conditions in which the photo is taken. Sometimes, something as simple as the strength of your camera bat- tery may have an impact. If your flash is strong, it will reflect differently than when the battery is low and the flash is not as bright. Your notebook will be a continuing work in progress as you add to it. Continued Page 8 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experi menters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 6 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 White Noise DVD Press Event At the end of April, the people in the Universal Pictures Home Theatre division asked us to host an EVP presenta- tion to around fifty members of the press on May 16th, the day before the release of the White Noise DVD. Of all the things that we have done for Universal, this was by far the most exhausting. The event once again took place at the haunted Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. The day before the presentation, we were able to record in several of the areas within the hotel that paranormal activity had been reported. After that, we were up late into the night going over our recordings, looking for EVP to play at the pres- entation the next evening. We did get some EVP. On Tom’s recorder you can hear me

talking about how lovely the Gable/Lombard Suite is, and immediately after this, Tom recorded an EVP that said, “Take a Picture.” Other EVP recorded prior to the event were, “Its magic,” “Spir- its talking now,” “I’m coming to the party” and “Thank you!” All appropriate for the questions we asked. Lisa Butler Picture courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment The next day began with one-on-one interviews with several online outlets, a live MSN Internet chat, and a TV interview with Telemundo. The press party began at 7 PM with our giving a presen- tation on EVP and then splitting up to take two groups to the Gable/Lombard Suite to conduct an EVP demonstra- tion—one group in the upstairs bedroom and one in the living room. I doubt that I will ever forget doing an invo- cation before recording and seeing boom mikes, lights and at least four cameras in my face when I opened by eyes. In this impossible setting, both Tom and I were able to get some class B EVP. Some of these were a humorous, “I see … dead people,” “I’m talking” and a very interesting response to our asking the question, “Do you know your dead?” The immediate response was, “My life is the ex- ception here.” Tom asked one man who he would like to talk to and the man said, “Carlos, … DioFrankie.” A para- normal male voice saying, “DioFrankie.” immediately follows The event hit the Internet like lighting and we saw at least

twenty online articles about EVP and the DVD, many of them with streaming video of our presentation and EVP demonstration. Our contact at Universal wrote, “We have been receiving calls from reporters saying that they picked up EVP on their own recorders.” Renee, from SciFiSlacker.com says her EVP was particularly loud and clear saying, “Leave Me Alone.” [You can see all of the press release material made available by Universal at www.scifislacker.com/films/white_noise_evp.shtml] An- other reporter recorded, “Hello Tobey.” Tom Butler Picture courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment The articles in general were positive about EVP with only a couple of them having negative things to say like this comment from Zap2it: “Two features … delve at length into the mysterious process of listening to static until your brain convinces itself that it can divine patterns in the ether.” Jim Pappas, The Trades, actually went into some of the history of EVP in his article and wrote this interesting comment: “To date there has been no debunking of EVP, and scientists in other disciplines (physics, for example) have not been able to determine what EVP might really be.” Justene Adamec, Blog Critics wrote, “There’s enough evidence to accept the truth of EVP unless you’re just not willing to accept anything outside of your experience. In The Real White Noise! Chris Gaede wrote, “Believe what you want, that it’s fake, or that these are just radio waves, whatever. The point is that these transmissions have no logical reason to be on these

tapes … The Butlers are by no means flakes, crackpots or scam artists. They are down to earth people who seem to be researching these phe- nomena out of their own spiritual and scientific curiosity, and not for celebrity or financial gain.” Staci Wilson, on horror.about.com wrote, “A lot of hor- ror fans, especially those into ectoplasmic esoterica, will really enjoy the additional release material on the disc—it features a whole lot about the miracle of EVP with the foremost experts in the field, … There is even a demon- stration of how voices are caught on tape…” We were thrilled when we read some reports that en- couraged people to buy the DVD simply for the EVP bo- nus features. One couple wrote that they never watched the bonus material on a DVD but that the clerk at Block- buster told them to be sure and watch the bonus material as he handed them the White Noise DVD. We know that Universal sold over 1.4 million DVD’s in the first week. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 7 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 The Research of Bill and Judy Guggenheim if the Between 1988 and 1995, Guggenheims asked two thousand people, living in the United States and Canada, they had been contacted by a loved one who had died.* The people interviewed represented diverse backgrounds and ranged in age from children to

the elderly. The Guggenheims collected more than thirty-three hundred first- hand of After-Death Communication (ADC). Their book, Hello from Heaven, was based on this research. accounts Based upon this research, the Guggenheims came up with the twelve most frequently reported types of after- death communication. They are: 1. Sensing a Presence: This is the most common form of ADC. It happens when a person has an unmistakable feeling that their loved one is there, even though they cannot be seen or heard. Many people that experience this feel that they are just imagining the event. Sensing a presence is most often reported just days or weeks after a loved one’s death, but has been reported months and even years later. 2. ADC while Asleep: These experiences are much more vivid and real than normal dreams. They are very com- mon and experiencers usually feel that they are having an actual visit from their loved one. These episodes are not fragmented or filled with symbols like typical dreams. 3. Hearing a Voice: People have reported hearing the physical voice of their loved one as if the person was right in the room; however, most communications are reported as telepathic; experiencers hear the voice in their head. 4. Feeling a Touch: The loved one touches the experi- encer with their hand or places their arm around his or her shoulders. Hugs, kisses, pats and caresses have all been reported. 5. Smelling a Fragrance: The smell of a loved one’s per- sonal scent.

For instance, their favorite flower, cologne, after-shave lotion, perfume, bath powder, favorite food or tobacco product. 6. Visual Experiences: A person actually sees their loved one. There are partial visual (example: only head and shoulders are seen) and full visual ADCs. Typically the loved one will express love and appear healed no matter what the cause of death 7. Visions: People report seeing their loved one in a pic- ture in the air. There are usually radiant colors and the vision may be seen by the eyes or in the mind. 8. Twilight Experiences: These occur in the alpha state when experiencers are meditating, praying, falling asleep or just waking up. Any or all of the various types of ADCs may be experienced when in the alpha state. 9. Out-Of-Body ADC: These happen during sleep or a meditative state. Experiencers leave their body and visit their loved one on the level at which they exist. These are often described as more real than physical life, very vivid and beautiful with lots of color and light. 10. Telephone Calls: The phone rings and the call is from a loved one. The voice may seem far away and there is often no disconnect sound when the call is ended. 11. Physical Phenomena: A wide range of physical signs are reported such as lights blinking on and off, radios, televisions, stereos and other mechanical objects be- ing tuned on or off. Pictures, photographs and other items may be moved or turned over. 12.

Symbolic ADC: These are signs that our loved ones still exist. They are often subtle and may be seen as a coincidence. Common signs include butterflies, rain- bows, flowers, birds, animals and inanimate objects such as coins and pictures. One thing that will be very obvious about the above list for AA-EVP members is that EVP is not included. That is because the Guggenheims feel that ADCs are spontaneous occurrences and EVP, along with some other method for after death communication, as you will see in the next ar- ticle, are induced. EVP not being included in the Guggen- heim list does not lessen the importance of the experi- ences on their list. Many of us in the Association have lost a loved one and have experienced an ADC. It is important for us to realize that these are real occurrences and not just our imagination. The Guggenheims state that most, “ADCs are positive and uplifting encounters that reduce grief, provide lasting comfort and hope, and accelerate emotional and spiritual healing. “Not all people are contacted by their deceased loved ones … It seems that fear, anger and prolonged heavy grief can inhibit the possibility of an ADC.” The Guggenheims suggest that a person ask for a sign that their loved one continues to exist. “Pray for the per- son as well as all others affected by the death, including yourself.” They suggest learning how to meditate, espe- cially for those who are currently bereaved or experienc- ing unresolved grief.

“Meditation will enable you to relax and soften any fear or anger you may have. It will reduce your depression, improve your ability to eat and sleep and facilitate your healing process. These deep relaxation ex- ercises will also allow you to unfold your inner, intuitive senses.” * After-Death Communication – Joyous Reunions with De- ceased Loved Ones, by Bill and Judy Guggenheim www.after- death.com Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 8 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Spontaneous Paranormal Experiences Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has collected over 5000 cases of Spontaneous Paranormal Experiences (SPE). Of these, 280 involve after death contact. 35% of these involved seeing an apparition, 25% heard a voice, 22% sensed the presence of a person, 20% felt that they had been touched and 14% involved smelling something associated with the deceased, such as a flower or perfume. Research suggests that 50% of bereaved people have an after-death experi- ence. Dr Sheldrake has also collect 170 cases of appari- tions of pets showing that this is not just a human phe- nomenon. From: “Mediumship, survival and Psychical Research: A Tribute to Montagu,” by Nicola J. Holt, Paranormal Review, October 2004 Issue 32. Dr. Allan Botkin’s ADC Research Dr. Allan Botkin is a Chicago clinical psychologist with fifteen years of experience in treating psychological trauma and grief. He has been conducting experiments with a variation of a relatively new and powerful psychological treatment called

Eye-Movement Desensitiza- tion and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is carried out by directing the client in a simple left-right eye movement for short periods of time. When accompanied by extended contemplation about an emotionally charged memory and counseling, the eye movement has been shown to help dissipate the emotional charge without affecting the memory. By accident, Botkin discovered that one variation of EMDR reliably induced an experience that most patients believe was an authentic spiritual con- tact with the deceased or After-Death Communication (ADC) regardless of their prior belief system. The Guggenheim research proposed that ADCs oc- curred spontaneously in about 20% of the population. [See Guggenheim article page 7] ADC is recognized as an emotionally transforming and healing experience. Near- Death Experiences (NDE) convinces those who go through them that there is a continuation of life after death. ADCs convince survivors that the deceased are still alive after death. Raymond Moody was the first to purposely induce ADC, using a psychomanteum as an induction tool, along with contemplation and counseling. The method involves staring into a mirror in a darken room and is detailed in his book Reunions. Through the use of a psychomanteum, Moody was able to induce ADCs in 50% of highly moti- vated individuals. Moody’s work showed that we do have some control over the production of an After-Death Communication experience. Dr. Botkin rejects the theory that ADCs can only occur spontaneously and says that the ADC experience is, “Ac- tually rather easy to produce. It does

not matter if the loss is traumatic, such as the death of a child or battlefield buddy, or if the death is the more usual variety, such as the death of a grandparent. It does not matter if the death was recent, or if it occurred many decades in the past. It also does not matter what a person’s religious or spiritual beliefs are prior to the experience. It works for people with deep religious convictions and atheists as well. In fact, it appears to work for anyone who is willing and able to participate in the procedure, and individual factors be- yond that seem to be of no consequence.” Botkin claims that ADCs experienced through his method are more elaborate than either the spontaneous ADC or those induced by Dr. Moody’s procedure. They are also more like Near Death Experiences and Botkin argues that ADC and NDEs are essentially the same phe- nomenon experience from a different point of view. Dr. Botkin’s full report on this phenomenon can be read at the Chicago chapter of the Institute for Near-Death Studies: http://chicagoiands.org/Induction_of_ADCs_html He has also written a book explaining the discovery and implementation titled, Induced After-Death Communica- tion: A New Therapy for Healing Grief and Trauma. It will be published by Hampton Roads in September 2005. Dr. Botkin can be contacted through his website at www.induced-adc.com. Photographic Anomalies Continued From Page 5 Weather or Atmospheric Conditions Snow Rain Pollen Dust Pollen Smoke Mirror Rust Rocks Sleet Fog Dust High humidity

Windy conditions Matter Bat Breath Bird Hair – colors of hair Spider web Flying or Jumping Bugs Objects Finger Fence Tree branch Headstone Camera strap It is also important to take the time to maintain camera equipment properly. In the excitement of the moment it is easy to forget to clean your lens or secure your camera strap if you have one. It is the care that is taken in both preparation and review that will lend credibility to your results. With continued technological advances the proof we seek may not be too far away. See Kathy’s web site at: www.encounterspri.com. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 9 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 4Cell EVP Demonstration The 4Cell EVP Demonstration project was covered in the last NewsJournal. 4Cell is an effort by AA-EVP members to use EVP as a tool for studying the many aspects of etheric to physical phenomena. Each Cell consists of four members: a Questioner who thinks of a task for the coop- erating entities; a Sender who asks the entities to perform the task; a Receiver who does not know what the task is, but who tries to record the correct response during an EVP recording session; and, a Scribe who makes the first inter- pretation of the EVP, if any, coordinates a discussion amongst the other Cell members and reports the results in the Idea Exchange. Finally, other

members are asked to post replies to the report, indicating what they hear in the resulting examples. Cell members are asked to rotate positions and to con- duct experiments on a regular schedule. The protocol does not require a specific type of question or method for ob- taining the EVP, except for the controls of who knows what, when, who attempts to record the EVP and who makes the first interpretation of the results. We did not know how well the Cells would do when we began the project. The first two Cell reports made it clear that the communicating entities were happy to participate and that they could do all that we asked. Let us first give you a summary of the results received by the Cells up to now, and then we will discuss the implications of those results and what we see for the future. 4Cell 1 – Voices: Andrea Carr, Siobhan McBride, Karen Mossey and Sue Mousseau (James Jones replaced Sue in experiment four and then the group dissolved): • Experiment 1 question: “Does it take more of your en- ergy to manifest a Class A EVP, and if so, please indi- cate your answer as ‘More energy’ or ‘No difference.’” Class B answer: “No difference.” • Experiment 2 question: “From what level in the After- life are you communicating with us?” Class B answer: “Level six.” • Experiment 3 question: “What can we, as receivers on the physical level, do to help facilitate communication from

you, the transmitters in the spiritual?” Class B+ answer: “Just open up the portal.” • Experiment 4 question: “What is the purpose of our communication with the other side? What is it we're supposed to be doing in order to help them?” There was no appropriate response recorded. • Experiment 5 question: “Can anyone (any dead former human being) on the other side be involved in EVP messaging to us?” Class C answer: Four distinct utter- ances in same file, the second being “Perhaps.” • Experiment 6 question: “Is there a reason that some spirits do not come through for us? Why would that be?” Class B answer: “Stop moving” and “That’s right.” Class B- answer: “Yes … people.” 4Cell 2 –Infinite: Mary Jo Gran, Rheta Conley, Shelly Hawkins and Vicki Talbott: • Experiment 1 question: “Can you tell me the name of Jim Robinson’s make believe sister?” Correct answer: “Sissy Sally.” Class B answer: “Sally’s the name.” (Other ap- propriate answers were also recorded.) • Experiment 2 question: “Who is the artist and what is the name of the painting hanging at the end of the en- trance hallway in Vicki and Pete’s home?” Correct An- swer: “Marc Chagall” and “The Lovers.” Class B an- swer: “Who painted it? … Chagall did.” • Experiment 3 question: “What Did Keith’s Grandpa Hallmark give him, and also, it has been lost can they tell us where it is?” Correct Answer: “Cue stick.” Class C answer: “A cue” and “Christy know right

where it is.” • Experiment 4 question: “What are the names of Jim’s Montessori School Teachers?” Correct Answer: “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” Class B answer: “Vivian.” Class C answer in same file: “Rosmund.” • Experiment 5 question: “What is the most common sign that those in Spirit do to let us know you are near us or that you have been around?” Class C answer: Not clear. • Experiment 6 question: “What was the name of the tav- ern where I (Vicki) met my husband?” Correct answer: “The Waterfront.” Class B answer: “Has a view of the bay.” • Experiment 7 question: “…I would like to hear from my deceased pet, “Toby. … I am hoping that there will be some barking on the tape.” A Class B- EVP saying, “Tob … y” was recorded, as well as a very convincing Class A dog bark. 4Cell 3 –White Noise: Michael Hester, Cheryl Hoes, Bill and Hedi Ambruster and Eric Cole: • Experiment 1 question: “What is my mother-in-law’s maiden name?” The correct answer, “Downing” was recorded but the relevance of the response was not real- ized until well after the report was submitted, and sub- sequently, the EVP was discarded. • Experiment 2 question: “What is the sex of Cheryl Jones’ baby?” There were no EVP recorded. 4Cell 4 –Delta: Erland Babcock, Bryan Kaplan, Richard Shenk and Harry Flagle: • Experiment 1 question: “Assuming there is no time in your world and fre- quency…How can you have a frequency without refer-

ence to time?” Class B answer: “Be technical.” (We could not make out the additional utterances.) that you have vibratory • Experiment 2 question: “How would you describe your world?” Class C+ answer: “Take good care of you.” • Experiment 3 question: “How do you affect the objects in my world?” Class C answer: “It’s hard to see your message.” Continued Page 17 Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 10 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Two Visitors from a World of Somewhere Else By Sarah Estep Previously printed in the April 2005 issue of FATE Magazine www.fatemag.com Sarah Estep founded the AA- EVP in 1982. She is the author of Voices of Eternity (Fawcett Gold Medal, 1988) and Roads to Eternity (Galde Press, 2005). She has researched Electronic Voice for many years. Phenomena My experience with other dimensions goes back to the early age of three or four. Obviously, at that age, I knew nothing about different re- alities, but frequently I would have unusual waking ex- periences, in that everything would look strange when I opened my eyes. All the furniture, the room, the hall were more real. There was added depth to each. I enjoyed this; it gave me a tingly kind of feeling, and after a minute or two, things would revert to normal. Since I thought everyone experi- enced this sort of thing, I never mentioned it. Forty years later in

a book about psychic phenomena, I read a brief reference to it. The author called it “binocular vision,” and said it was as if the person were looking through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars. This is an apt descrip- tion. I know in the field of ophthalmology there is the same term, but that has nothing to do with my experi- ences. Two Strange Men One night when I was about five, these experiences be- came terrifying. Opening my eyes, I saw to my right, two men standing in front of my bedroom dresser, their backs to me. My mother always kept my bedroom door open to the hall, with a light burning, so I could see them clearly. The men looked normal except for the way they were dressed. Both of them had on knee breeches, long-sleeved shirts, and vests, and one had a polka-dotted bandana tied around his head. They seemed unaware of me but they were fascinated with the objects on my dresser, picking up one thing after another and examining it closely. I screamed. My parents both came running in and I sobbingly told them there were two men in my room. They assured me it was my imagination; I’d had a bad dream. In the bright light, I had to admit the men were not there. Giving me a kiss and pat, they returned to bed. Almost immediately, the two men returned. Now they seemed aware of me and came and stood

silently beside my bed, looking down at me. I pretended to be asleep but looked at them through barely opened eyes. After a mo- ment, they went back to the dresser, murmuring softly to each other. A small box of pennies was shaken and once more I screamed. My parents returned, and still crying, I told them the men had come back. I begged them to look in my closet and under my bed, which they did. There was no one there. Continuing to sob, I said I knew they were here somewhere, so my mother said she would sleep with me. As soon as she fell asleep, the men returned. Again, they stood beside me, looking down at my mother and me. Al- though terrified, I pretended to be asleep. Why didn’t I awaken my mother to see these two strangers standing a foot away? I knew she’d not be able to see them. In a few minutes, the men left and went downstairs. I could hear them walking around. One of them began play- ing loud crashing chords on the piano. The other picked up a favorite toy. It was a bird on a stick, and as you whirled it around in the air, it made a whistling sound. Why didn’t I awaken my mother to hear these noises? I knew she would not be able to hear them. Morning came and my parents and I began to dress for the day. While doing this, I heard the

chimes on the front door. Going to my bedroom window, I saw the two men walk down the front steps, turn to the left on the sidewalk and continue walking until they were out of sight. The Men Come Calling My mother and father, hearing the chimes, went to the top of the stairs. Mary, a girl in her 20s, was living with us at the time while going to secretarial school. She slept in another part of the house and was unaware of what had happened during the night. One of Mary’s chores was to get breakfast for us each morning. Mother called down the stairs and asked who was at the door. Mary, who appeared in shock, replied, “When the chimes sounded, I opened the door and there were two of the strangest looking men I’ve even seen, so I slammed the door on them.” Both parents looked at me as if perhaps seeing me for the first time. Nothing further was ever said, but I know now that this was something so far out of their normal reality they didn’t want to examine it further. Unlike the previous experiences with binocular vision, which lasted just a minute or two, this remained for most of the day. Although no “extra” people were seen, every- thing in my house had that added dimension to it. By late afternoon it began fading away, and after a night of un- troubled sleep, I awoke the next morning to my normal world.

Never again did I have such an experience, and my binocular vision happened less frequently and ended com- pletely within a year. Where Did They Come From? I believe the men I saw came from another dimension, a parallel world. Because of the way they were dressed and the fascination they had for the objects on my dresser, Continued Page 15 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 EVP Workshops September 3, 2005 - Lily Dale, New York Lily Dale has been bringing summer programs to the pub- lic since 1879. It is a community dedicated to the religion of Spiritualism and is situated in a tranquil environment by a lake with a 19th century atmosphere. EVP Workshop, Saturday, September 3, 9:30 AM to 4 PM in the Auditorium. Tuition is $80. There is also an all day gate fee of $10. This gate fee will allow you to go to a 5:30 PM message service and 7 PM healing service on the grounds after the workshop. Call 716.595.8721 or see www.lilydaleassembly.com for information, a catalog or registration. There are accommodations available at Lily Dale in historic buildings. September 17, 2005 Truckee Meadows Community College Reno, Nevada Learning to Record EVP & Analysis of EVP sound tracks. Because part of the workshop will be conducted in a computer lab, this all day workshop at the TMCC Meadow Wood

Center, 5270 Neil Road is limited to 28 students. The free, open source Audacity audio software will be featured. The workshop is from 8 AM to 4:30 PM Saturday, September 17. Estimated tuition: $125. See www.tmcc.edu/ or call 775.829.9010 for more informa- tion. If coming from out of town, and looking for a place to spend a night, the Super 8 motel at 5851 S. Virginia and the Courtyard by Marriott at 6855 S. Virginia are the closest accommodations to the workshop location. The upscale Atlantis Casino is another option. October 21-23 – Omega Institute Reinbeck, New York Omega is the nation’s largest, most trusted holistic educa- tion provider. Omega’s lakeside campus is set on 195 acres of rolling hills and woodlands in the Hudson River Valley, just two hours north of New York City. Three Day EVP workshop: Friday, October 21, from 7 PM to 10 PM, Saturday, October 22, from 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday October 23 from 9 AM to Noon. Workshop tuition is $285 (Omega members $260). Room and board costs start at $165. There are daily yoga, tai chi, meditation and movement classes as well as evening entertainment. For information call 800.944.1001 or see www.eomega.org A New Look for the Web Site If you have not been to the AA-EVP web site for a while, you are in for a pleasant surprise. AA-EVP member, Lisa Yesse, has spent much of her free time these past few months redesigning the AA-EVP web site. This

is the first update since 2000. We trust that you will like the more modern and easier to use site. And Lisa, from all of us, thank you for the support. The web site is our single most important tool for reaching the public about EVP and ITC. Patrons Tom and Lisa Butler Martha and Don Copeland Art Counts Garrett Husveth George Wynne Lisa Yesse Sustaining Members Ben Ablon Richard Hatem Ali McMahon Betty and Don Nauratil Ellen Pugh Jan and Paul Weber Donations Donna Cunha Dennis Fassler Robert Fenn Colette Huffman Phil Martin Lynda Noёl Denis Paddock Phyllis Jaquett Richard Smith E. Robbins Richard Ulrich Grey Woodman M.D. Gail Zandel Thank you all! A Special thanks to Lisa Yesse who has become the AA-EVP Web Master and is giving the site a new look. Thanks for Your Referral Fees links from When someone the AA-EVP web site (http://aaevp.com) to Amazon.com to make purchases, a small percentage of that purchase is given to the AA-EVP. Depending on what is purchased, this can add up to a re- spectable amount. For instance, we want to thank the per- son who bought their Adobe Audition software in this fashion because Amazon gave us a referral fee of $15.75 on this one purchase! If you know that you are going to buy something at Amazon, see if you can remember to go to Amazon.com by way of http://aaevp.com and buy using the link to Amazon on each page. In April, the quarterly referral

fee from Amazon to the nonprofit AA-EVP was $164.00. As Tom puts it; this referral fee is paying the web site server costs! Share your Best Ghost Story or Strange Happening We have noticed that many members are also members of regional and local investigative groups. Why not take the time to share your best ghost story with other members in the October NewsJournal in celebration of Halloween. If you have had an experience with the unexplained and are not part of a “ghost” club, we want to hear from you too. Articles should be under 700 words and pictures of the location and/or participants would be appreciated. Contact us with articles or questions at [email protected] or by mail at PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 12 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 The Question of God By Michael E. Tymn As I recently watched a two-hour program titled, The Question of God, on PBS, I sat perplexed. The program, moderated by Dr. Armand Nicholi, a Harvard professor and practicing psychiatrist, featured a theoretical debate between Sigmund Freud, the atheist, and C. S. Lewis, the believer, on the existence of God. After the views of Freud and Lewis were presented by actors portraying the two men, a panel made up of educated believers, agnos- tics, and atheists gave their thoughts. As you might ex- pect, the discussions went around

in circles and ended up at the starting point. My confusion was a result of the fact that Freud, Lewis, and the panel members never got past the issue of whether God exists. They discussed such things as whether order can exist in the universe without a higher intelligence, whether God is a product of the need to believe in some- thing greater, and how there can be a God when there is so much evil in the world. As I see it, the issue should have been whether consciousness survives physical death. If God does exist but consciousness does not go on, what difference does it make if there is a God? Knowing that there is a Higher Intelligence, Creator, Divinity, Cosmic force, God, whatever name we choose to attach to Him, Her, or It, doesn’t in itself help us understand the purpose of our lives or give real meaning to them. The “believers,” including a Buddhist journalist and a Jungian analyst, talked about a “sense of connection” to the Divine and an intuitive feeling that there is something greater, to which a skeptical lawyer expressed my thoughts, “Where does that get you?” Perhaps the viewer was supposed to assume that a belief in God meant a belief in survival of consciousness and, concomitantly, a purpose to life, but the discussions never went that far. It was as if the mere mention of survival or an afterlife was a bit too religious and rudimentary for such educated people. When

the afterlife was alluded to on a couple of occasions, even the “believers” weren’t prepared to discuss the subject. In fact, it appeared that none of the believers had any concept of the afterlife be- yond what is espoused by orthodox religions. The Bud- dhist panel member never really gave her views. It was mentioned that Dr. Nicholi has used the Freud vs. Lewis debate in all of his Harvard classes for more than thirty years. I am not qualified to argue with such an esteemed edu- cator, but it does seem to me that such educators are miss- ing the boat in approaching the question of God and im- mortality of the soul deductively, i.e., finding God before we accept the survival of consciousness. Since God ap- parently is beyond human comprehension, so many people stop there and are left with nothing more than orthodoxy’s humdrum heaven and horrific hell, a scenario that does not invite rational people to believe. Unable to get a han- dle on God, those taking the deductive approach require a large leap of faith, something more and more people are reluctant to do in this scientific and materialistic age. The inductive approach, that of psychical research, makes much more sense. That is, explore and examine the evidence for survival of consciousness in such things as near-death experiences, out-of-body travel, deathbed vi- sions, spirit communication through various types of me- diums, past-life regressions, and other forms of psychical research, then, assuming we are satisfied with

the evi- dence, look for an Intelligence behind it all, even though we can’t comprehend that Intelligence. In the light of evi- dence for survival, the “question of God” really becomes academic. Perhaps that is the problem. Academia often has a hard time dealing with the practical. C. S. Lewis seems to have based his belief in God sim- ply on emotion, including a “longing to believe.” Al- though it wasn’t mentioned in the PBS program, Lewis, as I understand his writing, rejected spirit communication and other psychical research as so much humbug. He would certainly not be my choice as an advocate or de- fender for a belief in the spiritual. I would have selected Sir Oliver Lodge, the esteemed British physicist and edu- cator, as my advocate or defender. Of course, Sir Oliver would have to be brought up to date on research taking place since his death in 1940, although I suspect he is very much aware of it and may even be inspiring much of it. But even Sir Oliver Lodge would not be able to sway the fundamentalists of religion and science – those whose minds are made up and closed to further enlightenment. The absolute proof they require seems neither possible nor desirable. However, the results of credible psychical re- search can significantly influence those who are open minded and truly searching for real meaning and purpose in life. As I see it, the C. S. Lewis approach requires a giant leap of faith

over a darkened chasm, while the Sir Oliver Lodge approach is not much more than a short jump over a babbling brook. Michael E. Tymn is Vice President of the Academy of Relig- ion and Psychical Research (www.lightlink.com/arpr/) and edi- tor of the ARPR Bulletin. Jürgenson Archive Carl Michael von Hausswolff is the chair of the Friedrich Jürgenson foundation. George Wynne informed us that the Jürgenson archive of tapes, photos and documents has been sold to ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany. Carl wrote, “ZKM is a very serious museum for art, media and culture and they will make sure that Jürgenson’s work will be shown and there for researchers to study. For the money they paid I built a house in Chiangmai Thailand called ‘KREV Jürgenson Starhouse’… anybody that comes there can live there—it’s for mediation and so on … see it on the web at www.thelandfoundation.org/?House.Project:starhouse. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 13 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 An Unusually Evidential Orb “I have a Picture that was taken by me, a year ago. I have since, tried to find someone that might tell me what this is. I recently found a magazine editor that took a look at this picture and told me he thought it was hair. I do not agree. My daughter saw something follow me into my computer room that she said looked like this. A few minutes later

I went outside with my digital camera and took this picture. “Thank you for your time — Katie Nichols” [An email] We normally avoid looking at examples from the public, simply because there are so many. However, one, such as the above email, does occasionally catch our attention. As you can see in the above picture, it was taken on a cloudy day and there are no bright spots caused by reflected sunlight. Under the car behind the train engine, is re- flected light from lights wrapped around that palm tree yard decoration. No flash was used, so other than that palm tree, there are no evident sources of light that could cause an orb. Finally, Katie said her hair was tied in a pony tail. That should eliminate the hair explanation. Katie added that she, her husband and daughter have all seen the ghost of a woman in her late teens. In her words, “She came over to our bed (on my side) and I saw a veil over her head. The veil went halfway down her body. When she moved towards the bed, I saw the veil go over me. Then she went up towards the room above us. I looked over at my husband and he was awake. We were both shaken. … The kids have told us this room [above the bed] is haunted. She [the ghost] is interested in the kids and she seems to like the toys in the playroom.” Three segments of the

orb trail are shown above. On the left, you can see dark areas that are probably the trace of the optical noise in the orb itself, made as the orb moved. It is the lines that make us believe the orb is spherical. In the middle, you can see the changes in brightness of the trace, probably caused by either the orb changing speed while the trace was formed or by the orb pulsing in brightness. The orb itself is on the right. Some people hold that an orb that has apparent depth in it texture is evidence of an etheric entity. We do not know. By now in our examination of orb phenomena, we think we can say that the feature is not something like lint, hair or cobweb. If it were one of these, with no flash, they should appear as a darker feature. This appears to be self- illuminated. We do not know if the orb came into the frame or left the frame during the exposure. We believe that the orb is a sphere, and that it moved some distance during the exposure. Beyond that, more data is required. We should close with the observation that we think of ITC as any form of instrument assisted communication across the veil and that includes cameras. We believe that EVP is the most effective tool, but it is clear that these phenomena can be studied together, with one form verify- ing another. However, if we do not maintain

a high stan- dard of proof for orbs, then they will be worthless as evi- dential support for other forms of phenomena. Thus, it is important that people studying orbs as etheric to physical phenomena, educate themselves enough to be able to rule out as many mundane causes of orbs as possible and al- ways leave room for alternative explanations. They Talk to us in Simple Ways “Hi … A friend recently told me about the AA-EVP so I decided to check out your website. It’s very interesting. My sister died in 1994, and I’ve been wanting to contact her for a while now. Today I was sitting in my house, alone, thinking about how I might come about this, when out of no where, the phone fell off the wall. What does this mean? I must admit, it shook me up quite a bit, and now I’m not too sure if I should consider contacting her, What should I do? … Randee.” [An email] We have had a number of emails like this that involved an electronic device turning off or breaking while the person was thinking about using EVP to contact a loved one. For instance, a TV and VCR stopped working while a person was watching the White Noise bonus features and think- ing about trying EVP to reach a loved one. We recently recorded our voice as we asked a reporter to call on someone on the other side. “Can you talk to us,” Tom asked

after the reporter spoke. Immediately after Tom spoke, another reporter’s cell phone rang and then an EVP voice can be heard saying, “yes.” Did the person on the Other Side, whom the reporter was asking for, make the phone ring to say “yes,” or was it just by chance? We do talk over telephones and by itself, the phone ring is meaningful. Was it part of the message? Do not be too quick to dismiss things that seem to be coincidence. We know that our etheric friends will use any available method to communicate with us. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 14 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 “How’d They Do That?” On May 10th and before the DVD press party we partici- pated in as part of the publicity for the release of White Noise DVD, the Hollywood Reporter ran an article enti- tled “How’d they do that?” The article was about how Universal made White Noise a box office success. (The movie had made over 80 million dollars before the release of the DVD). Adam Fogelson, the President of Universal Pictures Marketing, is quoted as saying, ‘Months before the picture’s January release, Universal enlisted the aid of two experts in the field, Tom and Lisa Butler ... One of the first things we asked Tom and Lisa was, would they be willing to conduct a session in front of other people?’ When they

agreed, Universal hosted four EVP parties dur- ing the summer, inviting members of the media to attend, thus fueling a wave of publicity. Through these sessions, Fogelson achieved his first goal: getting EVP into the public consciousness.” New York EVP Party, October 2004 The article goes on to discuss the trailer and television campaign. “If you look at the trailer and the television campaign,” Fogelson notes, “you will find a rather shock- ing amount of the material had nothing to do with the movie but was rather an opportunity to educate people. The first half of our trailer, indeed, is a straightforward presentation for the evidence for EVP.” Fogelson goes on to say that his ad campaign avoided an urban myth about the audience that favors this type of film. The audience was over 50% female not male as one would expect. The article ends with this “When ‘Noise’ made a loud bang at the box office, it was in large part because of the women fascinated by EVP and not only the horror crowd.” The DVD with its three bonus features on EVP seems to be continuing the interest in EVP. Before the release of White Noise, the AA-EVP had more male members than female; however, amongst the memberships that we have seen coming in from those that have seen the bonus fea- tures, woman are outnumbering men four to one. Report from German VTF A letter to the AA-EVP By Jutta Liebmann It is most important and indispensable

that the DVD of White Noise with your explanations will be issued, so that the correct attitude towards EVP can be achieved, i.e. that there is nothing frightening about EVP, but on the con- trary, it is pure help for life and inner development. Now, the congress has been very successful in Fulda. There was 120 attendees with many younger people, as the elder members cannot afford any more to travel due to health conditions and extreme increase of prices due to the EURO introduction here in Germany. The speakers included amongst others: Professor Dr. van Laack, Prof. Ernst Senkowski, Mr. Jacoby (a well- known German researcher of NBE-experiences), Lars Fischinger (about ancient cultures), Professor Hagel from Cologne, who made regular EVP recordings and admitted that the voices are unexplained as per the actual scientific knowledge, and last but not least, the famous British me- dium Elsie Poynton, who held sittings for interested peo- ple during the conference. Jürgen Nett [VTF President] was the moderator of the conference and Stefan Bion recorded the whole confer- ence on DVCD. My mail would become too long if I detail each speech, but Uwe Wagner, my colleague of the Board, will de- scribe all events and speeches in detail in the next issues of the VTF-Post. [German NewsJournal only in German Language – see http://www.vtf.de/] Professor Hagel’s topic was the appearance of the EVP- messages in connection with the rules of random events (coincidence). His hypothesis is quite complicated. He did not say

anything definite about the origin of the EVP mes- sages. Scientists here in Germany are afraid to officially state that life after death is a fact, because they fear the reaction from their materialistic colleagues in the public. Exemptions to this are Professor Ernst Senkowski (re- tired), Professor Dr. van Laack (not retired and author of many books about science and eternal life) and Johannes von Buttlar, astrophysician, and author of many books about time, space and UFOs. Professor Senkowski … [coined “ITC”] presented some long voice examples formerly recorded by the deceased A. Homes in Germany. Then he reported about his own experiences with voice messages and their contents. The Board of the VTF presented the pioneer work of Fidelio Köberle, the founder of the VTF. I learned to re- cord EVP with the help of the Köberles in Düsseldorf at the end of the 70s, where Mr. Köberle was the first in Germany to take the risk of presenting everything about EVP on German TV and was extremely successful. The VTF in the 80s had more than 3,500 members! The Köberles held weekly EVP-recording sessions at their home, where more than 30 visitors participated from the region of Düsseldorf. Now, Mr. Köberle has had his 90th birthday and the Board congratulated him with flowers. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 15 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 ITC Research Grant By the

SPR Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana have been awarded a grant of £8,500 ($15,400) for research into ITC. The grant, funded by Mr. Oliver Knowles and administered by the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in London, is for the study of ITC as it pertains to the vibrational as- pects of paranormal phenomena. As reported by Cardoso and Fontana, “In sum, the pro- posal involves two main initiatives which it is hoped to carry forward concurrently. In one of them, samples of the voices received by Anabela and by up to five other lead- ing researchers (already selected) will be submitted for acoustic analysis by acoustics expert Daniele Gullà and his team at Il Laboratorio in Bologna, Italy, a laboratory that specialises in the technical investigation of paranor- mal phenomena, and to an independent international labo- ratory that will be blind to the paranormal origin of the voices. “The purpose of the analysis will be firstly to identify the acoustic characteristics of the voices in order to study the way in which their acoustic vibrations may differ from those of normal human voices, secondly to study the acoustic differences, if any, between EVP voices and DRV voices [DRV = Direct Radio Voice], and thirdly to study the acoustic differences, if any, between the voices received by different experimenters. In addition, if re- cordings made by communicators when alive are avail- able, we hope to have these acoustically analysed in order to effect comparisons between their human voices and their ITC

voices. “In the second of the initiatives, we intend to obtain readings of the electro-magnetic vibrations in the studios of researchers during successful ITC sessions. This will allow us to ascertain whether or not there is any measur- able variation in these readings when communications are being received. As part of this initiative we also hope to take measurements of geophysical variables in the studios of successful researchers in order to help ascertain if the location in which research is carried out is associated in any way with this success. “The grant is awarded to cover expenses for this work (principally travel and accommodation costs incurred by the investigators, fees for acoustic analyses by the inde- pendent laboratory and cost of equipment used to monitor conditions in the studios of those involved in the re- search), and no payment will be made to Anabela or to David. The results of the research, which is expected to take from one to two years, will be published in due course in this Journal of the Society for Psychical Re- search and elsewhere. Our very warm thanks go to Mr. Oliver Knowles for his generosity in supporting this work, and for his readiness to identify the relevance of ITC to his own research interests.” For all of us in the AA-EVP, we congratulate Anabela and David, as well as Alexander MacRae (next article) for most important breakthroughs in the future history of ITC. SPR Research Grant for Alexander MacRae By Professor David Fontana

As Chairman of the Committee responsible for the award, I am delighted to announce that Alex MacRae has been awarded a research grant of £1,500 [$2,720] by the Soci- ety for Psychical Research. The research will focus upon the reconstruction and testing of the germanium device put together during the Scole investigation (in response to instructions from the spirit communicators) to facilitate the reception of voices by ITC. For comparative and other purposes, the device will be used alongside the Alpha In- terface System developed by Alex and associated with successful EVP results. We wish Alex well with his re- search, and look forward to hearing details of his results in due course. From: ITC News, ITC Journal No 21, March 2005, pub- lished by Anabela Cardosa. http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/ Two Visitors Continued From Page 10 I think their time was different from ours—almost as if it was 200 years behind our own. Somehow they slipped into my reality and were able to interact with it to a certain extent. After much reflection, I feel that I had a foot in another dimension during all of my binocular vision ex- periences. The night the two men came, perhaps I stepped a bit further out. Strangely, my son Bob, now in his 40s, had a very simi- lar experience when he was five. We have a strong psy- chic link between us, and although the instances don’t happen frequently, when they do, they are a wonderment. One evening Bob woke up screaming. Charlie

and I ran to his room. Bob was sitting up in bed crying as hard as only a five-year-old can. “There are animals all over my bed and all over the floor,” he said as he pointed here and there. Charlie told him he was just having a bad dream. “No, No, Dad, I see them. Look, there is an animal! He’s climbing up on my bed.” Bob was terrified. Looking at his eyes, I could tell he did see, so very clearly, what I had seen thirty years ear- lier, except in my case, it had been two men. He was try- ing to push them off his bed. I told Charlie I felt Bob be- lieved he was seeing what he claimed. He had no objec- tion when I suggested we take Bob to bed with us for the rest of the night. After a final sob, Bob calmed down and slept until morning. Do I believe the animals were actually in his room as the men were in mine? It could be. I believe Bob went a step too far, as I had done so very long ago, and entered their dimension for a few minutes. As a result of this and other early experiences, I have always felt that all life, all consciousness, whatever world it exists in, is one. We cannot separate ourselves from each other, even from other worlds. We are all a part of whatever is. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and

ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 16 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Thoughts from Members • Lowell Looger wrote, “From my own research just from the past four weeks, some of these entities obviously prey on our collective fear of ghosts/demons/etc, … that are a part of the human collective archetype … I have passed my initial stage of fear and apprehension. I be- lieve that this subject should be touched on more and enlightened, especially for those new into the field— with the new interest that may or may not be sparked by the recent movie, White Noise.” Lowell says that he was a complete skeptic when he started researching EVP but, “Upon receiving my first results … I have had to do a complete 180. Important in my personal process regarding this phenomenon, was doing as much research as I could, on aaevp.com as well as worlditc.org, and to date, I have managed to purchase seven books on the subject, as well as the outstanding tome from Sarah Estep available for free download in PDF format [on the book page on the AA-EVP web- site]. “Even though I have a relatively short amount of ex- perience with EVP, my results so far are completely conclusive for me. After you hear your own name refer- enced several times, as well as facts about your family that only you would know … It really makes me snicker when I read reviews of

White Noise. It is not my job to convince skeptics—my only response would be to try it the way I did and see what happens.... “I for one am completely convinced that this is an amazing phenomenon. … We owe it to the EVP com- munity to research the PAST goings on as much as pos- sible, and learn all the history about EVP/ITC that we can, educating ourselves as much as possible about all the trials and tribulations the ‘seasoned’ researchers have experienced up to this point.” • Elizabeth Brodofsky wrote to the group wishing every- one a happy Easter. “This is the time for renewal and celebration of life and survival. To me, these holidays remind us that the soul lives, whether on this side or the other. My household is a mixture of Purim baskets with hamentashen, Easter baskets, and Oestra eggs. At one time my twenty-eight year old daughter was married to a 70 something Rabbi/Cantor. We called him Pops.... She was complaining that we were not treating her right and she thought it was because she was Jewish. Pops let her know that there was no more liberal (relig- iously and culturally) house in this country. I like to think that is because we value freedom, especially reli- gious, and know that in order to continue to have our own freedom of belief we must allow and respect the rights of others. That’s how it works and that is the only way it works. I

love holidays, my own and others, so in the mixture of eggs, baskets and bakery treats, I am happy and grateful for a land in which I am allowed. Regional Coordinators We have been receiving more and more requests from members for local “AA-EVP Chapters” that can help the member learn how to work with EVP and related phe- nomena. Since Association members have been scattered so widely across the country and around the world, a local chapter would have been most often just one person. Thus, we have depended on the Cross-country list and Idea Exchange supported by as much information as man- ageable on the web site. Happily, the Association has grown in recent months and it has become more practical to think of having AA- EVP Regional Coordinators. We will have to learn about what this means as we go. For now, the minimum qualifi- cations for Regional Coordinator are, time and patience in helping people learn the fundamentals of recording for EVP. You need not be an expert but we would like you to be recording EVP, know how to transfer audio from your recorder to a computer and clip examples for email. We do not expect you to arrange meetings or anything else formal. You can, of course, but our objective is to arrange for more personalized help for other members. So far we have six Regional Coordinators! • Bill and Heidi Armbruster in Fairview, Pennsylvania ([email protected]) • Martha Copeland in the Atlanta, Georgia area

([email protected]) • Karen Mossey in Hudson, New Hampshire for the New England area ([email protected]) • Alan Miller in Glasgow, KY for the South central Ken- tucky area. ([email protected]). • Vicki Talbott in Bellingham Washington for the North Pacific area ([email protected]) • Jan Hall in Arlington, Texas for the Dallas, Texas area ([email protected]) If you are interested, and feel that you have the time and qualifications, please contact us at [email protected] and let us know. We will list you on the Cross-country list as a Regional Coordinator and include a list in the NewsJour- nal. We understand that many of you have routinely helped others with techniques and hearing the voices. Our thanks to your continued support as we thank our new volunteers. Join in on the Group Recording Sessions. Due to many requests, Martha Copeland moved the Re- cording Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife recording sessions back to every other Thursday evening at 8:00 PM EST. Members all around the world record at this same time and then share their results on the Idea Exchange message board. If you have questions about these group recordings please email Martha at [email protected]. Future recording dates are July 14 and 28, August 11 and 25, September 8 and 22 and October 6 and 20. Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 17 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Anomalies on White Noise Bonus Feature We have received

at least twenty letters from people who reported strange things on the “Hearing is Believing” bo- nus feature of the White Noise DVD. Even more amazing is that they all said that they saw the same thing. These extracts from an email from Don Watson are typical: 1. When Tom and Lisa walk up the stairs inside the Hol- lywood Castle with the guide, the camera shoots toward the banister and we hear them come up and slowly see their heads come into view. Before they appear, a black softball sized SPHERE jumps around on the left side of the screen. It’s in about five frames and playing it a frame at a time is interesting. Orb (white arrow) moved from center frame to left exit in White Noise DVD, “Hearing is Believing.” Universal Films We were able to find this one. It is between 2:39 and 2:40, near the beginning of the third feature. The cam- eraman was not using a light, and there is no evidence that a physical object moved in the scene. It looks like a gray shadow about the size of a softball (above and in insert), and at one point, it is between the camera and the vertical banister support—convincingly not normal. 2. When there is a close up of Lisa in Chicago, behind her upper right (her left) a very large (size of a lampshade) black round sphere travels from right to left across the screen but disappears when it is behind her

head (it is far back which is why it wasn’t noticed). 3. When Tom and Lisa sit alone on the couch trying to get EVP at the place in Chicago, Lisa is very emotional and crying. Tom slowly turns his small camera toward her. Behind them (between them and the back of the couch) a very long purple spirit travels across the screen from right to left between them like a snake. I’m VERY SURPRISED no one picked up on that one. 4Cell EVP Demonstration Continued From Page 9 A successful experiment is one in which an EVP has been recorded that either specifically answers the question or does so in a way that an answer can be reasonably con- strued from the EVP. For instance, in Cell Voices experi- ment 2, “Level six” Even though we do not know if that is a correct answer, it is appropriate. Of the eighteen experiments conducted thus far, eleven or 61% have been successful. The etheric com- municators have had a very large number of possible an- swers from which to choose. For instance, in Cell Infin- ity’s experiment 4, asking for Jim's Montessori School Teachers, the expected answer was given as “Vivian” and “Rosmund” How many first names are there in the west- ern culture? There must be thousands. The odds of a per- son guessing the correct name must be about the same as winning the California Lottery. What are the odds of se- lecting the right name twice in

the same EVP? Guessing eleven appropriate answers out of eighteen at- tempts must be similar in difficulty to winning the Cali- fornia Lottery eleven out of eighteen tries. The results of the experiments would be astounding just because of how much the answers have exceeded what would be expected for guessing. Since we know that the communicators are intelligent, aware people, the gratifying part is not beating the odds, but how cooperative they have been. We wish to thank all of the Cell members for their con- tinued participation in the experiment. We especially thank Shelly Hawkins for moderating the Idea Exchange forum and for helping everyone get through the compli- cated protocol. And yes, a hearty thanks to their etheric partners who have been so willing to help us learn. 4Cell will continue as we begin to look for ways to learn more about our communicators, so there is time for you to join in. See the 4Cell discussion forum for details. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 We have listed over twenty in There is No Death and There are No Dead. The person should also have a fair understanding of what is intended when people say that we survive physical death. This new field of study would be concerned with all as- pects of Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC. If a telephone answering machine message was to be consid- ered as possible evidence of survival, then it would be important to have an understanding of the many different ways

that a telephone circuit can malfunction. For the use of a field meter in detecting a nearby etheric entity, it would be important to have at least an acquaintance with what that reading could be in the mundane world. How we, the people who use and study ITC, view our- selves and how we present our work to the public, has a great deal to do with how the world will eventually view people who study ITC. If we hold our evidence to a high standard, if we present ourselves as people who are knowledgeable in a well organized system of study, then we remove most of the reasons people use to find fault in us. At the same time, we need to hold our co-workers to a high standard. We do them no service by agreeing with what they say is in an EVP example if we do not actually hear the same words. We learn by doing and feedback. If we give someone the idea that an example is better than it really is, and then if that person plays that example to a public forum, then we are all hurt. We would like to hear your thoughts about “empirical metaphysics” as a name for our field of study. Please write and let us know. Tom Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 18 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 News from Members formation on

this conference call 878-455-6678 or go to www.neghostproject.com. • The CNY Paranormal Investigators group that Patti Newall belongs to met to film some recreations of ghost stories at the Landmark Theater in Syracuse. The group dressed up in 1920s attire and donated their time and film-making to help raise funds for the Theater. • Janice Oberding is Co-hosting The Las Vegas Paranor- mal Conference at the Palace Station Hotel/Casino, Oc- tober 2-4 2005. A few of the speakers are Patti Starr, Richard Senate, Dennis Hauck and Jeff Belanger. For more to www.tlvpc.com or call 877-511 5782. information, cost and registration go Left to right: Bob Carr, Karen Mossey, Andrea Carr, Deb- bie Constantino, Mark Constantino, Carol Peterson, Jim Stonier and Mike Sullivan. • In April, a group of AA-EVP members (above) got to- gether to do some field recording at a unique cemetery in Litchfield, NH. The cemetery has no bodies interred in it. It was originally located along a river but a flood washed away all of the bodies so the cemetery was moved. • Garrett Husveth is in the process of setting up remote equipment at two haunted sites. He wrote, “Since drag- ging all of our equipment in and out of the warehouse is such a pain, I am in the process of wiring both buildings with AXIS cameras … which have two-way audio ca- pability. This will allow me to surveil both buildings from home anytime I want to. I’m also going to try to record

EVP through them in light of all the success we’ve had recording voices on cameras over the last fourteen months. Camera voices account for about 80% of all EVP we’re recording currently. “I can control the cameras remotely from home. They pan, tilt, zoom, swivel 340 degrees and record audio. The recording sessions are saved as AVI files on a server in another building. I have one camera installed so far, and the audio is not bad, but I have not tried to record audio over the Internet yet. • Brian Kaplan was featured on the National Geographic channel in a series called, “Is It Real.” Brian’s findings from the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis was featured on a program called, “Ghosts!” • Mark Macy is working with The Monroe Institute to develop a special course incorporating the Monroe techniques with the Luminator. They plan to offer the one-time course in the fall. Contact Mark for more in- formation see http://monroeinstitute.com [email protected]. Also at • The Investigative group that Karen Mossey is in, the New England Ghost Project, was featured in an article in the North Adams Transcript. The group, along with the Masonic Temple, is hosting the Berkshire Paranor- mal Conference July 15 through 17, 2005. For more in- • Rob Smith, Australia, was filmed in his home doing EVP and was featured on the National Today Show to talk about the serious side of EVP prior to the opening of White Noise in Australia. • Linda Williams, Scotland,

spent several days working with a Korean film crew. She told us that they did a great job and were wonderful to work with. She was able to get many EVP messages during the filming. The footage was shown in Korea in April. Researcher’s Report • Bill and Heidi Armbruster were at the cemetery weed- ing around Heidi’s grandparent’s head stones. While there, they sat a recorder on their son’s headstone. When they listened back to the tape, they heard a woman saying, “Harry.” Heidi had a great uncle named Harry and wondered if it was her great grandmother calling out to her son. • Bridgette Berry wrote that, as a child, she would often use a tape recorder and that she often heard soft voices in the background of the tape when no one was present. She said that this never disturbed her. • Kelly Burge says that she is experimenting with a Sony voice activated recorder. She first prays for the release of any negative energy that she my have within herself and then she prays for those who have passed on. She asks God to surround her with light and then asks for communication. Early on, she recorded a voice saying, “Cheer Up.” • Elizabeth Brodofsky recalls a phone call that she re- ceived from Mildred, a friend, who lived in a distant town. She decided to call her back the next day and give her the number of another friend. The husband an- swered the phone,

and when Elizabeth told him that she had forgotten to give Mildred the number of the other friend, he began yelling at her that Mildred had died two weeks earlier. • Jerry Carol tells us that he experimented with EVP in the early 80s with no success. After seeing the bonus footage on White Noise, He went out and bought a Panasonic recorder and captured a voice on his first at- tempt. Continued Page 19 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. Volume 24, Number 2, Page 19 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 Researcher’s Report Continued From Page 18 • Andrea Carr has used a technique called scrying in which visions appear while one stares into a mirror or reflective object, such as a crystal ball. She had not been doing this much and received an EVP message that urged her to, “Look in the Mirror.” • Martha Copeland received a letter from a person asking what kind of dog Dojo was. The lady had read about Dojo in Martha’s book, I’m Still Here. The woman thought she had recorded, “Dojo is a Pug.” Martha had to laugh when she listened to the recording and heard, “Dojo is a punk” this is what Kathy used to say about Dojo! • Vicky Dennison says that they used Wave Pad (free download at http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/) on a re- cording that her daughter made after they could not un- derstand some of the

words of an EVP. It said, “Let go … please.” She wonders if it is in regards to a murder that happened there. • Harry Flagel’s birthday was coming up and he men- tioned this on his recording. He recorded a male voice saying, “Happy Bithday … Harry.” • Linda Genutis often gets the answer to her question on a recording before she asks it. She asked her Dad the name of the street he lived on, but before she asked, the answer came back, “Lake Road,” which was correct. • Shell Hawkins writes that her recordings have improved with her participation in the 4Cell Group. She says that she believes it is because she is keeping the time and place on a schedule. She feels like those on the other side are taking her more seriously and are more often helping her with her recordings. • Garrett Husveth shared a recording in which nothing can be heard on the forward side of the tape, only si- lence, but when it is reversed, there is an EVP. • Danise Koppenhaver was asking about a friend who was hospitalized and who doctors were saying was brain dead. She was startled to not only find an EVP, but also to have words changed on the recording. She asked, “Was it an accident … they say you uhm … are brain dead.” On the recording, one hears Danise say, “Was it an accident…” A woman’s voice faintly says, “Yes” and then Danise’s voice

is heard saying, “Yes … uhm … brain dead.” The “Yes” in Danise’s voice was not spoken by her. • Clair Laughlin got a recording on November 19, 2004 saying, “Harriett: emergency … emergency. Patty dead! ... Patty dead.” (Harriett is Clair’s sister-in-law now on the other side). Clair could not recall a Patty but on November 20, she recorded, “Pat dead ... this is dead Pat … Send no flowers.” Clair received a call from her daughter saying that Cousin Carol’s father, Pat, had died on the 19th. • André Leroux told us that two days after seeing the movie, White Noise, she received a message on her cell phone from her deceased grandmother saying, “André, c'est moi, c'est moi", which means, “André, it’s me, it’s me.” She started experimenting with her computer just two months ago and has received this same message on her computer. • Tom Long wrote that he records EVP during investiga- tions in western PA. He has had success getting EVP on the audio of a Sony camcorder and on a Sony ST-10 digital voice recorder. He clips the recorder to his belt and a microphone to his back. He does not ask questions but “lets the spirits have their say.” • Karen Mossey was doing a recording with member, Mike Sullivan, in front of his memorial door (the door to the room he records in, which has pictures and memorabilia of loved ones on the other side). Mike re- corded Karen’s son, Rob,

saying, “Love you Mom.” • David Mierzwinski is doing some very different ex- periments. While directing the output of his Tesla coil into a medium sized candle flame, and recording with an Olympus recorder, he received the longest message that he has ever captured. It said, “Help the Soul, re- lieve it from hurt, by using network which you will welcome.” • Carol Peterson wrote to the group that she had lost her parents seven years ago and that this is what motivated her to record. “I’m not sure if they’ve come through to me or not, but either way, the past few months have been the start of a very interesting and life-changing journey. I consider every message I’ve received a mira- cle, even the ones from the cranky guy who says he hates me. I've had no strange or scary experiences with this, but I do start out with a protection prayer.” • Richard Shenk shared a forward and reverse message recorded near the mausoleum where his son-in-law is in interred. There was no one around but on the forward recording you hear a woman’s voice say, “I repent” and on the reverse you hear the woman say, “It is too Hot.” • Vicki Talbott recorded her son doing his Darkwing Duck impersonation. It is clearly Braden’s voice saying, “Yeebah.” For those not familiar with Darkwing Duck, he says this when he’s really proud of himself or happy about something. • Linda Woolliscroft wrote that she recorded an

EVP of a man saying her name on her second attempt at re- cording. Since this, she has conducted many recording session. Right before Christmas, she became upset and began crying. She recorded a man saying, “Linda, don’t cry.” She has also recorded the voice of her son now on the other side saying, “Mom, I love you.” • Lorretta Woodward recorded at a friend’s house where a lot of paranormal activity has happened and received, “Please help me,” along with other requests for help. Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 24, Number 2, Page 20 AA-EVP NewsJournal Summer 2005 There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC learning tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? You can order a signed copy at http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a letter with signing instructions to: AA- EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. Media Mail First Class First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo Fruit of the Loom Short sleeve shirts with blue embroidered AA-EVP logo. White: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes logo) Blue: Extra Large $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US Dollar only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to:

AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA (white I’m Still Here Price: $17.95 each when printed in the USA * Georgia state sales tax applies for Georgia residence Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Media Mail First book: Each additional: $4.00 $1.00 First Class $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Please include signing and mailing instructions Contact [email protected] if you have questions. Send order to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097 * Book is available for order from European distributors For more information: www.evpcommunications.com Correction: In the Spring 2005 NewsJournal article, “The ITC Work of Marcello Bacci,” written by Paolo Presi, we failed to mention that the article originated as a lecture presented at the First International Conference on Survival/ITC held in Vigo, Spain, in April 2004. The con- ference was organized by the ITC Journal published by Anabela Cardoso. Have You Changed Address? It is a good idea to make sure we have your current email and physical address. Even if you receive the NewsJour- nal via email, we will mail the NewsJournal to you via postal service, if for some reason, your email address fails. AA-EVP Membership Form Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are: Members International Members $30.00/year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email Sustaining members $38.00/year $100/year All benefits for one year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Name: Address:

Cross-country List? You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Email Address: Include Physical Address? Include Email Address? Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service? or via email? Do you record EVP? Plan to record? Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP? In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of per- sonal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the News- Journal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed Date Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) Published by Tom and Lisa Butler, PO Box 13111, Reno NV 89507, USA,(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0),(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) Volume 24 Number 3 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fall 2005(cid:0)

From our Viewpoint(cid:0) We are pleased to announce that those on the other side(cid:0) wanted the AA-EVP to have a conference in 2006! We(cid:0) hope that you have already seen the brochure on the(cid:0) conference that we have included in this mailing and are as(cid:0) excited as we are! Sometime in late July, I woke up and(cid:0) asked Tom how I had started to work on the AA-EVP(cid:0) conference. He did not know, nor did I. I literally don’t(cid:0) know what possessed me but when I starting thinking about(cid:0) who put the “bee in my bonnet,” things had progressed to(cid:0) a point of no return!(cid:0) It is a little disconcerting sometimes to feel that you are(cid:0) not in total control of things, but then there is an upside to(cid:0) working with Spirit: Things just fall into place. From what(cid:0) we hope will be a wonderful hotel, to contacting speakers(cid:0) who said, “Yes,” it all just sailed along! We are thrilled(cid:0) with the speakers and we hope the members will be too!(cid:0) in experiments, You will see articles on four of the speakers in this(cid:0) NewsJournal. Diana and Alan Bennett will be coming from(cid:0) England to be with us at the conference. We have run(cid:0) articles and printed the pictures of(cid:0) Diana and Alan, the mediums of the(cid:0) Scole past(cid:0) NewsJournals. You will remember(cid:0) they are getting amazing(cid:0) that images, such as the one shown here,(cid:0) by following their Spirit Team’s(cid:0) guidance and shining different(cid:0) colored lights over crystal clusters.(cid:0) In

this NewsJournal, you will learn(cid:0) more about them and their work(cid:0) with the Scole Experiments, which(cid:0) was a five year investigation into life after death. Those(cid:0) who attended the sessions at Scole, came away convinced(cid:0) that discarnate intelligences were making direct contact(cid:0) with them. For more information on these truly amazing(cid:0) experiments read,(cid:0)The Scole Experiment, Scientific(cid:0) Evidence for Life After Death,(cid:0) by Grant and Jane Solomon,(cid:0) (ISBN 0744921056). You can also visit the International(cid:0) Survivalist Society website. Be sure to look at the bottom(cid:0) of the ISS article for related articles.(cid:0) www.survivalafterdeath.org/articles/foy/scole.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) You only have to look on page two of this NewsJournal(cid:0) to see the amazing work of Sonia Rinaldi. Her work has(cid:0) been featured in the NewsJournal many times. Sonia will(cid:0) be traveling from Brazil.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae will be traveling from Scotland to be(cid:0) with us. Alec’s research was extensively mentioned in our(cid:0) book,(cid:0)There is No Death(cid:0). Recently he received two grants(cid:0) strictly for EVP research.(cid:0) We were fortunate to meet Paolo Presi at the 2003 ITC(cid:0) conference in Vigo Spain. Paolo has been researching ITC(cid:0) for over 30 years and has published many articles on the(cid:0) subject during this time. He is one of the Founding(cid:0) Members and on the Board of Directors of “Il(cid:0) Laboratorio.” With Daniele Gullá and Michele Dinicastro,(cid:0) he manages an international program for researching the(cid:0) possible electroacoustical anomalies of the paranormal(cid:0) voices. This investigation uses sophisticated forensic(cid:0) software like that used by the FBI. Paolo will travel from(cid:0) Italy and will also

show and translate for us a documentary(cid:0) on the work of famous Italian researcher, Marcello Bacci.(cid:0) Dr. Gary Schwartz, noted for his research on mediums(cid:0) using double-blind tests, has agreed to present his latest(cid:0) research which takes his work with mediums even further.(cid:0) In a recent interview with Michael Tymn for the ARPR(cid:0) Bulletin, he said, “We are now interested in studying the(cid:0) process. The whole idea of how you establish that the(cid:0) medium is actually receiving communications from a(cid:0) genuine, conscious, decision-making person (spirit) is a(cid:0) very important question and we’re now asking questions as(cid:0) to what the afterlife is like.”(cid:0) Dr. Allan Botkin will share his work on Induced After(cid:0) Death Communication (IADC). Dr. Botkin has discovered(cid:0) that a variation of the relatively new psychological(cid:0) treatment called Eye-Movement Desensitization and(cid:0) Reprocessing (EMDR) produced an ADC more elaborate(cid:0) induced by Dr. Raymond Moody’s(cid:0) than psychomanteum procedure. Botkin says that, with this(cid:0) method, ADC is actually easy to produce and works for(cid:0) anyone who is willing and able to participate in the(cid:0) procedure.(cid:0) those Mark Macy will be bringing the Luminator for those who(cid:0) would like to have their picture taken near this subtle(cid:0) energy device. Pictures taken in the presence of the device(cid:0) sometimes include spirit faces.(cid:0) Sarah Estep, EVP pioneer and founder of the AA-EVP(cid:0) will talk about her experiences with EVP and work with(cid:0) attendees on learning to record EVP. Martha Copeland,(cid:0) cofounder of “The Recording Circle – Bridge to the(cid:0) Afterlife”, will discuss her communication with

her(cid:0) daughter, Cathy, now on the other side. She will instruct(cid:0) participants on how to go about recording the paranormal(cid:0) voices. The Reverend Robert Egby, a clinical(cid:0) hypnotherapist, will also be there to lead us through some(cid:0) guided meditations to help us reach our loved ones on the(cid:0) other side. We also hope to have a couple of blocks of(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 2(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Materialization via Technical Means(cid:0) The Work of Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi continues her exceptional work and has sent(cid:0) us two sets of extraordinary pictures from two different(cid:0) experimental sessions. Sonia’s Panasonic PV DV 400(cid:0) camera has a “mirror” function that she uses.(cid:0) The first picture shows an apparition of a spirit lady.(cid:0) Sonia was conducting a session for a man named(cid:0) Reginaldo(cid:0)who was hoping to see his deceased son, which(cid:0) did happen later, but was very surprised to find frames with(cid:0) this very solid lady in them. The man sitting down is the(cid:0) This frame is also mirrored left-right along a vertical center(cid:0) line. Sonia is standing in front of and beside a TV in which(cid:0) only optical noise is being displayed. You can see her arm has(cid:0) extended out of the scene with her hand back in the scene. The(cid:0) appearance of her hand disappearing into the TV is caused by(cid:0) the mirror effect. The noise, which

is shaped like a head,(cid:0) seems to be obscuring her hand.(cid:0) In another sequence Sonia raised her hand and the image(cid:0) floats over her hand. “This shows that they are able to(cid:0) interact with me.” Sonia feels the most impressive was(cid:0) when she passed her hand over the TV screen and, “the(cid:0) image seems to be frightened with my fingers and makes(cid:0) faces, opens the eyes, etc…”(cid:0) Sonia says that it is incredible that her Spirit Contacts are(cid:0) able to work with her in real time. “This possibly means(cid:0) that they are out of our space-time or they are able to work(cid:0) faster than light.”(cid:0) Again, the frame is mirrored left-right along a vertical center(cid:0) line. These are additional examples of what appears to be an(cid:0) interactive video screen.(cid:0) In this video frame, you can see the man, Reginaldo, who had(cid:0) asked for assistance contacting his wife. The frame is mirrored(cid:0) left-right along a vertical center line. Reginaldo is handing(cid:0) something to Sonia, who is out of the scene.(cid:0) subject of the experiment. The woman that you see(cid:0) standing to the side was not a person in the room and was(cid:0) not seen when the picture was taken. The woman was(cid:0) recognized as Reginaldo’s sister-in-law. The woman seems(cid:0) very solid and real.(cid:0) The next set of images is from a long video in which(cid:0) Sonia selected some frames to send us. Again using the(cid:0) “mirror” selection on her camera, Sonia taped herself with(cid:0) a television set slightly behind her. She

wrote that her head(cid:0) was touching the set. She goes on to say, “What can be(cid:0) observed is that the images come(cid:0)from(cid:0) the TV and come to(cid:0) the front, beside my face. In some frames one can see the(cid:0) shadow of the image over my blouse.” In the first example,(cid:0) (top of column two) Sonia extended her arm over the(cid:0) screen and out of the scene. The impression that her arm(cid:0) vanished is due to the camera mirror, but what is(cid:0) impressive, is how the noise on the screen seemed to(cid:0) interact with her. Part of her hand shows at the top of the(cid:0) image and seems to be obscured by the noise on the(cid:0) screen—further giving the impression that the video(cid:0) feature is projecting from the screen’s surface.(cid:0) Published by the AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA, [email protected]. ©2005AA-EVP. http://aaevp.com. Member name and(cid:0) correspondence may be used in AA-EVP publications unless otherwise noted by the member. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not(cid:0) necessarily reflect AA-EVP policy. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership: $30.00. International not receiving(cid:0) NewsJournal via email: $8.00 USD for postage. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler, Sarah(cid:0) Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 3(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Grandfather’s Voice on Sealed Tape(cid:0) Lorelie McMorrow first became aware of EVP in 1988(cid:0) after discovering that a brand new sealed tape that she had(cid:0) bought only a few

hours earlier had her grandfather’s voice(cid:0) on it. Her grandfather, Archibald McClellan, had crossed(cid:0) over in 1981.(cid:0) Lorie wrote, “On my way home, I had stopped at the(cid:0) cemetery. It was a rather emotional time with family(cid:0) problems and I said to my grandfather, ‘At least I wish I(cid:0) knew if you and Grandma were okay.’(cid:0) ‘(cid:0)Hi, Sweetheart hi!(cid:0)’(cid:0) His voice was easily(cid:0) recognizable by my(cid:0) mother and her sisters,(cid:0) his daughters.”(cid:0) After finding her(cid:0) grandfather’s startling(cid:0) the new(cid:0) voice on sealed tape, Lorie(cid:0) began doing research(cid:0) to try to find anything(cid:0) she could on this type(cid:0) of phenomena. She(cid:0) found Sarah Estep and(cid:0) the AA-EVP.(cid:0) “I think that after he(cid:0) in 1981, he(cid:0) Archie and Margie as they were(cid:0) called by the movie goers who(cid:0) frequented the Falls Theatre(cid:0) passed must have gotten to work(cid:0) to find a way to let our(cid:0) family know that he was alive and well. He continued to do(cid:0) this in later messages that I taped.” Lorie told us that some(cid:0) of these included,(cid:0)“We’re here, Lorie,”(cid:0)“Quite near,”(cid:0)“So(cid:0) happy,”(cid:0)“We’re good now,”(cid:0)“We’re getting along,”(cid:0)“We(cid:0) knew you’d call on us”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“We love you(cid:0).”(cid:0) “Archie” McClellan.(cid:0) One of the last old time movie projectionists(cid:0) “My grandfather was one of the old time movie(cid:0) projectionists. He and my grandmother worked together in(cid:0) movie theaters. Grandpa showed the films and grandma(cid:0) sold popcorn and pop from the 1930s to the 1970s. They(cid:0) worked together every evening, seven days a week, leaving(cid:0) home around 4(cid:0)PM(cid:0) so that Grandpa could get the

films(cid:0) ready and Grandma could start the popcorn popping. They(cid:0) were married 52 years.(cid:0) “Grandpa loved to record his grandchildren’s voices on(cid:0) cassette recorders. He also used one of the old movie(cid:0) cameras to record us and the town in Wisconsin where we(cid:0) lived. These tapes are now in the town’s library.(cid:0) “When Grandma became ill with Parkinson’s disease,(cid:0) Grandpa was devastated and eventually they were forced to(cid:0) retire. Grandpa might have continued to work in the job(cid:0) that he loved, but his love for Grandma was stronger … It(cid:0) was Valentine’s Day in 1977 that they spent their last night(cid:0) together … He held her hand until he had to let go the next(cid:0) morning.(cid:0) “Grandpa’s love for Grandma never diminished during(cid:0) the remainder of his life. He collected stories about life(cid:0) after death, and was comforted by the ‘pennies from(cid:0) heaven,’ that he felt Grandma left for him around the house(cid:0) to let him know that she was alright. He waited for five(cid:0) years to join her.(cid:0) “I guess his knowledge of taping grew in the Spirit(cid:0) World! This is the only recording that I have of this kind;(cid:0) that is, I did nothing to facilitate it. He said three words(cid:0) Lorie said that she had not been recording for awhile, but(cid:0) after seeing the bonus features on the(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0) DVD,(cid:0) she is ready to try an IC recorder. We are glad that she is(cid:0) back and shared this wonderful story of a man interested in(cid:0) life after

death, and determined to let his family know that(cid:0) he and his wife are alive and that we all survive the change(cid:0) called death.(cid:0) A few days after putting the story together and sending it(cid:0) back to Lorie for review, we heard from Sharon Schoenick,(cid:0) Lorie’s mother and also an AA-EVP member. Sharon(cid:0) wrote, “I was on my computer Saturday night … I thought(cid:0) I would again look at your article. I read it through and then(cid:0) looked at the picture of my mother and dad and said to(cid:0) myself, I miss you both so much and I love you both so(cid:0) much. I then clicked to go to my home page, the screen(cid:0) went white and on the right side of the screen were the(cid:0) words,(cid:0)“Always Near,”(cid:0) printed in red. It happened very(cid:0) fast, but I have no doubt that it was my father coming(cid:0) through.(cid:0) 3-Day EVP Workshop with(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) October 21-23, 2005,(cid:0)Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY(cid:0) Omega is the nation’s largest, most trusted holistic education(cid:0) provider. Omega’s lakeside campus is set on 195 acres of(cid:0) rolling hills and woodlands in the Hudson River Valley, just(cid:0) two hours north of New York City. Three-day EVP workshop:(cid:0) Friday, October 21, 7(cid:0)PM(cid:0) to 10(cid:0)PM(cid:0), Saturday, October 22, 9(cid:0)AM(cid:0) to 5(cid:0)PM(cid:0) and Sunday, October 23, 9(cid:0)AM(cid:0) to Noon. Tuition is(cid:0) $285 (Omega members $260). Room and board is $169 for(cid:0) three days and $70 for commuters. There are daily yoga, tai(cid:0) chi, meditation and movement classes, as well as

evening(cid:0) entertainment. Call 800-944-1001, or see(cid:0)www.eomega.org(cid:0).(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 4(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Alan and Diana Bennett(cid:0) the Alan and Diana Bennett(cid:0) were primary(cid:0) mediums involved in the(cid:0) often(cid:0) famous and researched Scole(cid:0) Experiment(cid:0). Alan is a(cid:0) carpenter and Diana has(cid:0) a healing practice. They(cid:0) have experienced(cid:0) paranormal phenomena(cid:0) during their childhoods,(cid:0) including contact with(cid:0) discarnate entities. They(cid:0) became involved in the Scole Experiments after replying to(cid:0) an advertisement for sitters for a physical circle with Robin(cid:0) and Sandra Foy. Previously, the group had experienced(cid:0) limited phenomena, but soon after Alan and Diana joined(cid:0) the circle, the group experienced “energy swirls,” trance(cid:0) communications and apports began to appear.(cid:0) The Scole Group is no longer meeting but Alan and(cid:0) Diana have continued experimenting and have produced(cid:0) impressive visual ITC which we have featured in past(cid:0) NewsJournals.(cid:0) The Bennetts will speak at the June 2006 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference in Atlanta, Georgia.(cid:0) Reflections on “The Scole Experiment”(cid:0) By Alan and Diana Bennett(cid:0) Our interest in Spiritual matters spans many years and goes(cid:0) back long before the Scole Experiment was conceived. For(cid:0) myself (Diana), as a child, I was aware of many things(cid:0) outside of the normal range of those around me. I would see(cid:0) or speak with forms of those that had passed on but this(cid:0) never happened to me in a frightening way, I hasten to add.(cid:0) It was more frightening to be

having these experiences(cid:0) when others were not.(cid:0) Alan also had unexplained experiences as a child. One(cid:0) occurred when he was in his cot, a young couple came and(cid:0) looked at him and smiled. He remembers seeing through(cid:0) them, as if they were formed from tiny specks of light.(cid:0) These images are as fresh today as the time they were(cid:0) experienced, like a sort of spiritual imprint on our minds.(cid:0) Each house we occupied since we married has had(cid:0) interactive energies of various types. Lights would go on(cid:0) and off of their own accord, during the day and night. We(cid:0) were aware of other presences, which were no particular(cid:0) problem really, so we happily co-habited with them.(cid:0) While our children were young, we moved into a(cid:0) particularly active house. We did all sorts of(cid:0) improvements, which may have triggered this off. Even(cid:0) then, Spirit took care not to scare the children and only(cid:0) played with the lights when they were not around. They(cid:0) would be turned on in another room and left on until we(cid:0) turned them off, only to find them on again later! Several(cid:0) occasions they turned the light off when we were in the(cid:0) room, which can be annoying not to mention unnerving.(cid:0) Eventually we found that by asking for the lights to be put(cid:0) back on, they were. One night, we were both levitated in(cid:0) our armchairs but it only happened to us once and was(cid:0) never repeated thankfully, as it was a bit unexpected!(cid:0) lots of

books and going Some years later, we decided to build a new house; a(cid:0) house with no associations. We were tired of active houses.(cid:0) During this phase of our lives, we were exploring(cid:0) mediumship, reading to(cid:0) demonstrations, etc. We decided to meditate regularly and(cid:0) sit together, each giving focus to the other in turn. Our(cid:0) development proceeded at a steady pace alongside our busy(cid:0) lives. On one occasion a light bulb blew and an initial was(cid:0) burnt onto the inside of the glass globe. This happened to(cid:0) be the initial of the communicator at that time. This really(cid:0) intrigued us and we discussed our thoughts regarding(cid:0) studying this kind of phenomena. Soon after this, a loud(cid:0) audible rap was heard coming from the table, as if in(cid:0) answer. This made us investigate physical psychic(cid:0) phenomena as tangible objective proof of the survival of(cid:0) the human spirit. However, the time was not right; our lives(cid:0) were too occupied with other matters.(cid:0) So, we continued to focus on our development. The(cid:0) channeling and communication was getting better as we(cid:0) were now sitting together twice weekly on a regular basis.(cid:0) We found the energy was particularly good when we(cid:0) focused together for a common purpose. Again, the lights(cid:0) would flicker or go out during these sessions or at times(cid:0) bulbs would fly out from their bayonet fittings, and land(cid:0) across the other side of the room, unbroken! After this(cid:0) happened twice we tried hard to see if we could make this(cid:0) happen normally,

but it never did.(cid:0) The energies were becoming more apparent in the room(cid:0) in other ways too. Sometimes it was difficult to see one(cid:0) another, as the swirls of energy became so dense and(cid:0) colorful. One day a really funny apport arrived in our(cid:0) hallway. The previous day, the middle of our toilet roll(cid:0) holder had broken, just a minor inconvenience (pardon the(cid:0) pun) as our nearest hardware shop was over five miles(cid:0) away. The next morning, there in the middle of our hall(cid:0) floor, lay a brand new wooden one, better than the one we(cid:0) had! We were very grateful! It fit perfectly!(cid:0) One day we saw an advertisement for sitters for a(cid:0) physical circle with Robin and Sandra. We telephoned(cid:0) them and arranged to meet later that week. Some members(cid:0) had left the group and we were invited to join the rest, now(cid:0) that the group was being reformed. At that time, we were(cid:0) happy to give energies to help to get some phenomena(cid:0) started and we continued like this for some time, but with(cid:0) only limited results.(cid:0) What none of us knew was that Spirit had destined us for(cid:0) new and exciting work. They created a situation one night(cid:0) when only Alan, Robin and I were present. “Oh well,”(cid:0) said Robin, ever the positive enthusiast, “tonight, anything(cid:0) goes”! On that memorable night, Spirit opened the door to(cid:0) energy work.(cid:0) Continued Page 5(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in

an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 5(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Reflections(cid:0) Continued from Page 4(cid:0) I felt myself going deeper and deeper as if I was stepping(cid:0) back from myself and being engulfed in a soft loving(cid:0) energy. The atmosphere was electric and I remember(cid:0) seeing energy swirls in front of me. I felt physically big and(cid:0) my back and head were erect and aligned. I knew that I was(cid:0) going to be used, and tonight ‘anything goes,’ so I just(cid:0) surrendered to the wonderful feeling and let go. Manu (a(cid:0) spirit helper, I had previously been unaware of) came(cid:0) through and spoke to us. A coin was teleported and he said(cid:0) this was a token of greater things to come. I have no idea(cid:0) how long he was present and it took a while for me to(cid:0) gradually come back to a waking state.(cid:0) Many patient weeks followed and Alan’s development(cid:0) began to flourish. Manu came when it was appropriate as(cid:0) the energy was being shared.(cid:0) this, as Alan had different experiences to mine when going into(cid:0) trance. He described the initial stage as similar to the(cid:0) sensation of falling backwards with eyes closed. He felt(cid:0) perfectly comfortable with there was an(cid:0) overwhelming feeling of love that cocooned him from any(cid:0) anxieties. He can remember floating, flying and swimming(cid:0) all at the same time, and in what he describes as a sea of(cid:0) perfect bliss. Patrick was the first of Alan’s guides to speak(cid:0) and

soon settled in, bringing us information (and humorous(cid:0) comments) on a regular basis. Patrick once described the(cid:0) sensation he experienced when coming through as, “Like(cid:0) swimming through warm custard!”(cid:0) We both agree that these experiences gave us insights(cid:0) into other states of consciousness, where time and space(cid:0) ceases to exit as we know it. Each of us felt different. The(cid:0) whole group’s energy had changed. It seemed somehow(cid:0) lighter working with energy. A trust built up between the(cid:0) communicators and the group. Much of what was said was(cid:0) based on good evidence of survival and this gave a solid(cid:0) foundation, both for us and the other sitters in the group.(cid:0) We were being taught and guided to live our lives in a more(cid:0) spiritual way, and reminded to meditate and always link up(cid:0) at night with the Universal Harmony, which seemed to aid(cid:0) them to link with us in the sleep state.(cid:0) As time went on, the phenomenon continued to develop(cid:0) and the spirit lights began. Glad as Alan and I were to be a(cid:0) part of all this wonderful work, our only disappointment(cid:0) was not seeing these things like the others. Then one day(cid:0) the communicators said that for the next session, we would(cid:0) not be used in deep trance so we could have a different(cid:0) experience. So, when this special time came, we were able(cid:0) to see a limited light display. We will never forget this and(cid:0) could well understand the oh’s and ah’s we heard when we(cid:0)

listened to the recordings of the sessions.(cid:0) thank the International Survivalist Society for(cid:0) We permission to reprint this article.(cid:0) survivalafterdeath.org/articles/bennett/reflections.htm(cid:0) The Mind/Brain Debate(cid:0) in the Age of Science(cid:0) By Victor Zammit(cid:0) The mind/brain debate has been going on for more than(cid:0) twenty centuries. Historically, it is one of the most(cid:0) important debates ever. Plato and Socrates in the classical(cid:0) the Age of(cid:0) age of Greece, and Descartes before Enlightenment in Europe, promoted and accepted the(cid:0) duality of mind and brain.(cid:0) As a psychic investigator, I state in absolute terms that(cid:0) there is overwhelming objective evidence that the physical(cid:0) brain is not the mind. The physical brain dies when the(cid:0) physical body dies, but the mind survives physical death.(cid:0) Today,(cid:0)without(cid:0)any objective evidence, materialists claim(cid:0) that mind and brain are the same thing.(cid:0) My objective evidence for a separate mind is to be found(cid:0) in the twenty-three different areas for the evidence of the(cid:0) afterlife in my book on the Internet. (The web site is at:(cid:0) www.victorzammit.com/book/index.html(cid:0)). The evidence(cid:0) for survival can be used to show the separate existence of(cid:0) the mind and brain before and after physical death. And(cid:0) equally the existence of mind separate from the brain is(cid:0) evidence for life after death.(cid:0) Empirical research—admissible evidence—has shown(cid:0) that whereas the physical brain is destroyed at the moment(cid:0) of death the mind continues to survive. The mind is pure(cid:0) vibrating energy and:(cid:0) • is the element which removes time and space in the(cid:0) afterlife,(cid:0) • conducts ‘thoughts’ faster than the speed

of light,(cid:0) • retains all experiences whether consciously accessed or(cid:0) not,(cid:0) • includes the subtle bodies attached to the main duplicate(cid:0) physical body,(cid:0) • can create ‘substance’ in different dimensions,(cid:0) • includes the aura which is the energy being projected(cid:0) from the body,(cid:0) • is like a television station: it can send and receive(cid:0) vibrations by way of sound and pictures—and feelings,(cid:0) • has the capacity to read other minds—telepathy,(cid:0) • has the capacity to move solid objects and levitate(cid:0) objects and humans,(cid:0) • has the capacity to decrease and increase its body’s(cid:0) vibrations—materializations and dematerializations,(cid:0) • has the capacity to initiate, direct and target positive and(cid:0) negative energy towards inanimate objects and to living(cid:0) things, including human beings,(cid:0) • has the capacity to heal another mind, body and spirit,(cid:0) • can transfer the ‘etheric body’ from one place to another(cid:0) faster than the speed of light,(cid:0) • has no beginning, no end in the afterlife dimensions,(cid:0) • is eternal because it is part of the ‘Universal Cosmic(cid:0) Mind’—or as others see it is as a ‘spark’ of the ‘Divine,(cid:0) has enormous power we on earth have not really envisaged.(cid:0) Continued Page 16(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 6(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) is the that idea the experimenter PK and the Experimenter(cid:0) The latest explanation for EVP that we have been(cid:0) encountering is(cid:0) unknowingly creating EVP on the recording medium and(cid:0) accomplishes

this feat through psychokinesis (PK). Rob(cid:0) Smith sent us an editorial on the movie(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0) that(cid:0) appeared in the(cid:0)Fortean Times(cid:0).(cid:0)The author wrote: “One(cid:0) interesting category of EVP—messages which seem to(cid:0) emanate than(cid:0) discarnate)—is reminiscent of what used to be known as(cid:0) telepathic(cid:0) ‘crisis communications in which the experiencer remotely sees,(cid:0) hears or otherwise perceives, at a distance, a friend or(cid:0) relative undergoing a crisis or death issue.(cid:0) from people still apparitions’: apparently incarnate (rather those “Such messages defy the widespread belief that EVP(cid:0) emanate from the ‘other side,’ suggesting that they may(cid:0) in common with ESP [Extra Sensory(cid:0) have more entities. Some EVP(cid:0) Perception] than discarnate that some kind of(cid:0) [experimenters] have felt ‘experimenter effect’ is at work during their sessions, an(cid:0) idea that might coincide with Jung’s notion of the(cid:0) unconscious itself as capable of creating nonphysical, but(cid:0) nonetheless ‘real’ entities.”(cid:0) too, We asked longtime EVP researcher, Alexander MacRae,(cid:0) what he thought about this idea and he had some interesting(cid:0) things to say. He wrote, “(cid:0)Regarding PK and ESP, I would(cid:0) say that it is obvious that some sort of mental/psychic cause(cid:0) is behind the effect, whatever the mechanism. I do not think(cid:0) that it is under the control of the experimenter, however.”(cid:0) Regarding the “experimenter effect,” Alec mentioned(cid:0) several instances which he feels show that the experimenter(cid:0) is not in control of the EVP phenomena. In Alec’s method(cid:0) the experimenter or operator is actually connected(cid:0) electrically to the system and in fact becomes part of the(cid:0) system. He

notes, “I have seen completely new people get(cid:0) excellent results immediately. For example, one person(cid:0) who is not psychic, never heard of EVP and is a bit wary of(cid:0) things spooky, got,(cid:0)‘That is my body, you are over,’(cid:0) immediately, loud and spooky.”(cid:0) “Again, I was demonstrating for two physicists in a hotel(cid:0) in Glasgow. One, who was also a medium, got good results(cid:0) without actually touching the hand plates, which you are(cid:0) supposed to do. His girlfriend also got good results. The(cid:0) third, Archie MacDonald, B.Sc., put his hands on the(cid:0) boards [hand plates] and immediately received wonderful(cid:0) results. His results were the best of all three people. Then(cid:0) he said, ‘Now what do I have to do to make this thing(cid:0) work?’ The device stopped producing EVP.(cid:0) “Prior to this, I demonstrated to a Dr. Berger and his(cid:0) wife. His wife got splendid results. Dr. Berger, head of the(cid:0) Survival Research Foundation and a lawyer, got nothing. If(cid:0) anyone ought to have been motivated to get results it would(cid:0) have been him.”(cid:0) Another time that Alec had a person not get results was(cid:0) when he was demonstrating to a group at the Palace Hotel(cid:0) in Inverness. “One, a Canadian engineer, decided it was a(cid:0) Palace Hotel in Inverness, Scotland(cid:0) scam. He later told me that he thought I made it talk by(cid:0) tapping the hand plates with my fingers in speech rhythms.(cid:0) So that’s what he did when it came to his turn. Out of(cid:0) twenty people, he was

the only one who didn’t get(cid:0) anything.”(cid:0) Concerning whether or not discarnate entities are(cid:0) involved, Alec told us this story: The young son of a friend(cid:0) of his got into drugs and died tragically in March. The day(cid:0) of the funeral, in the evening, Alec did a recording for the(cid:0) man’s mother, G, and his wife to be, S. Both were too(cid:0) distressed to be there.(cid:0) At one point in the recording, Alec asked, “Did you like(cid:0) the flowers?” and received a voice saying,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) There(cid:0) was a pause and then the word(cid:0)“Helen.”(cid:0) Helen had been at(cid:0) the funeral, and if it had not been for her, the flowers would(cid:0) not have gotten to the gravesite. The next utterance was(cid:0) spoken by two voices simultaneously. Fortunately one was(cid:0) high and one was low so Alec was able to separate them.(cid:0) One was a private message for the young man’s mother and(cid:0) the other said,(cid:0)“Stress … couldn’t handle it”(cid:0) … silence(cid:0) and then,(cid:0)“Say goodbye to St. Mary’s.”(cid:0) Alec found the(cid:0) message touching and wondered if St. Mary’s was the(cid:0) church that he was supposed to be married in.(cid:0) Alec did not share these messages for a while as he(cid:0) wrote, “It was all too tragic.” He visited the mother and(cid:0) wife-to-be weeks later to tell them what he had recorded.(cid:0) He asked if St. Mary’s meant anything to S. “Yes,” she(cid:0) said, “that is where we used to pick up the drugs.”(cid:0) What do you think about the idea that discarnate entities

are(cid:0) not involved and it is the experimenter that somehow(cid:0) places EVP on the recording media? We would like to hear(cid:0) from you. Do you have examples that support either view?(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 7(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) EVP and Our Mind(cid:0) People keep trying to come up with an explanation for EVP(cid:0) that excludes the possibility of life after death. As noted in(cid:0) the previous article, one of the latest explanations for EVP(cid:0) is that the messages are somehow coming from the(cid:0) experimenter’s mind. We have had report after report from(cid:0) members who have gotten EVP regarding things that they(cid:0) did not know about. Many have received messages from(cid:0) people whom they thought were alive; only later to learn(cid:0) that they had transitioned to the other side. Experiments(cid:0) conducted in the 1950s by parapsychologist, Raymond(cid:0) Bayless and psychic, Atilla von Szalay, were designed(cid:0) specifically to address this question.(cid:0) Bayless had wanted to find out if the paranormal(cid:0) messages were coming from von Szalay’s mind. In one(cid:0) experiment, an EVP gave the location of Bayless’ brother(cid:0) who had left town without telling anyone where he was(cid:0) moving. When Bayless asked the name of his grandmother,(cid:0) a name unknown to von Szalay, a voice answered,(cid:0) “Emma,”(cid:0) and was correct. In another recording, von(cid:0) Szalay recognized the voice of a woman he had known(cid:0) years earlier. They later learned that

she had committed(cid:0) suicide only days before her voice was recorded. The two(cid:0) felt that the single most important thing that they had been(cid:0) able to conclude from their research was the fact that the(cid:0) voices were somehow independent of Attila von Szalay’s(cid:0) mind.(cid:0) As a side note, these two researchers should be better(cid:0) known in the history of EVP, as they published their initial(cid:0) findings in a letter of the January 1959 issue of(cid:0)The Journal(cid:0) of the American Society for Psychical Research(cid:0) a few(cid:0) months before Friedrich Jürgenson announced the(cid:0) discovery of the voices in Sweden. As most of you know,(cid:0) Jürgenson is credited with the discovery of the voices.(cid:0) they are very much From EVP/ITC research, we know that a physical person(cid:0) has an etheric self existing in close relationship to the(cid:0) physical body. People are spirit first, and when people are(cid:0) less engaged with their physical body, as in sleep or(cid:0) the etheric(cid:0) meditation, communicators we receive messages from via EVP. So we(cid:0) know that some EVP may come from our thoughts or(cid:0) minds but this is certainly not where all EVP comes from.(cid:0) Have you recorded something that you did not know(cid:0) about until later? Share your story with us by sending it to(cid:0) [email protected].(cid:0) like First Contact(cid:0) Correspondence from J. E., New York(cid:0) I have had a life-long interest in the paranormal. I read(cid:0)A(cid:0) Gift of Prophecy(cid:0)at age 12 and was fascinated and(cid:0) transfixed. I have always had a strong intuitive sense with(cid:0) some precognitive

overtones. In the 1970s, following the(cid:0) news of the suicide of an adolescent buddy, I purchased a(cid:0) cassette recorder and began experimenting with the(cid:0) collection of discarnate voices. I had no success and soon(cid:0) gave up the pursuit. The interest in the possibility of an(cid:0) afterlife lingered, however, and many experiences as a(cid:0) youth convinced me that there was a conduit to realities(cid:0) that were otherwise invisible. I maintain that belief to this(cid:0) day.(cid:0) In December of 2004, I casually scanned a copy of my(cid:0) high school alumnus and noted the name and address of a(cid:0) woman in my graduating class whom I knew only(cid:0) marginally. I recalled the last time my first wife and I had(cid:0) seen her in a tavern watching her husband play in a band.(cid:0) Within a few days, I awoke one morning with her on my(cid:0) mind for no discernable reason. I regularly check my(cid:0) hometown newspaper online. That morning there was an(cid:0) article about an unidentified middle-aged woman who'd(cid:0) been struck down and killed instantly by a hit and run(cid:0) driver on a downtown street. Somehow I knew it was HER(cid:0) and the next day's obituaries confirmed it. Like many(cid:0) people in that community, I felt a great sense of gloom and(cid:0) loss. But what did that loss represent to me, personally? I(cid:0) barely knew the woman and could not understand my(cid:0) melancholy obsession. My wife brought home the DVD(cid:0) version of(cid:0)The Mothman Prophecies,(cid:0) which resonated very(cid:0) close to the feelings I had. At

some point in early summer,(cid:0) I purchased(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0) on a whim. Again, the subjective(cid:0) feel was similar. It was in the special features section that I(cid:0) discovered the research you and your wife were(cid:0) undertaking. I explored and bookmarked your website,(cid:0) followed some links and slowly set about the task of doing(cid:0) a bit of research myself.(cid:0) My father-in-law passed on this spring, and my wife has(cid:0) been preoccupied with cleaning out his house in(cid:0) preparation to sell it. I bought an RCA RP 5011 digital(cid:0) voice recorder and brought it with me to the house. I(cid:0) noticed a bit of whirring interference in spots on playback(cid:0) but no voices. I set it aside and over the summer began(cid:0) recording the sounds of my brewing coffee pot(cid:0) (coffeepotghost.com) on a Panasonic RQ 8000 cassette(cid:0) recorder I’d found in mint condition at a yard sale, with a(cid:0) microphone I obtained at Radio Shack. I replayed the(cid:0) cassettes on my Panasonic SA-AK410 stereo system.(cid:0) Brewing coffee pots make some interesting noises, but(cid:0) once again; no voices were obtained. Last night I picked up(cid:0) the digital note taker and began talking. I asked rather(cid:0) sarcastically: “Hello, dead people. Is there anything you(cid:0) want to say to me?” Immediately on playback came a(cid:0) clipped Class A-B response:(cid:0)“Yes, we do. We’re not dead(cid:0) ... NOT dead people.”(cid:0) I realized I’d spoken rather(cid:0) disrespectfully and apologized. I explained that I’d been(cid:0) trying to make contact for awhile and that tonight was my(cid:0) first success. I’d spoken

out of frustration. Again, the(cid:0) playback response was immediate with 2 or 3 sentences(cid:0) that were not understandable, but nonetheless valid(cid:0) communication. Subsequent attempts have not been(cid:0) fruitful, but I intend to keep trying. I hope that you find my(cid:0) story interesting and that it adds validation to research that(cid:0) is more valuable (in my opinion) than most people realize.(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 8(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Aunt Doris Speaks From Beyond!(cid:0) By Martha Copeland(cid:0) Monday I learned that my Aunt Doris, who, besides my(cid:0) mother, was the only living family member on my mother’s(cid:0) side, had passed at the age of eighty-eight. I had just talked(cid:0) to Doris and she was telling me of plans to go to Bingo and(cid:0) Atlantic City, so the news of her death was a shock. I(cid:0) cannot say that Aunt Doris was one of my favorite aunt’s(cid:0) as she was a bit mean to us when we were growing up. She(cid:0) had this irritating voice that had the same annoying effect(cid:0) as someone scratching chalk on a blackboard.(cid:0) L-R Aunt Frances, Aunt Seable and Aunt Doris now together(cid:0) again on the other side.(cid:0) Aunt Doris had called me after seeing the feature about(cid:0) EVP on the(cid:0)Maury Show(cid:0) that our AA-EVP group was a(cid:0) part of to promote the movie,(cid:0)White Noise.(cid:0) She had never(cid:0) believed in the afterlife (maybe this is one reason she

was(cid:0) so mean), but she wanted to questioning me about the(cid:0) segment on the Maury Show during which I talked about(cid:0) Cathy. I sent her a copy of my book, and even though she(cid:0) was almost blind, she read it by using a magnifying glass.(cid:0) She telephoned me and my mother to tell us how much she(cid:0) enjoyed reading the book. [Martha’s daughter, Cathy, is(cid:0) now on the other side, and Martha’s book,(cid:0)I’m Still Here,(cid:0) is about her continuing relationship with Cathy via EVP.](cid:0) Aunt Doris had such a terrible fear of death, but after(cid:0) reading my book, she was at peace with this life transition.(cid:0) She promised that, when her time came, she was going to(cid:0) come through my recorder.(cid:0) My mother has already heard from Aunt Doris. She was(cid:0) walking around her yard looking at all her beloved(cid:0) animals’ graves and reminiscing about the old days when(cid:0) she heard Doris call her name twice. Mother was not(cid:0) shocked because this has happened each time a family(cid:0) member has crossed over. What surprised her is that Aunt(cid:0) Doris’s voice was not raspy and sounded young again. I(cid:0) had hoped that when Doris decided to contact me through(cid:0) my recorder, she would use that younger voice.(cid:0) And, yes, I did hear from Aunt Doris a couple times after(cid:0) her crossing, but the EVP were not clear enough. Aunt(cid:0) Doris’s voice seemed to be coming through as what would(cid:0) be categorized as between a Class B and Class C EVP. I(cid:0)

could make out what she was saying, but I needed(cid:0) something that my parents’ could understand and know it(cid:0) was Doris. In the first EVP from Doris, I heard her squeak(cid:0) my name sort of like this:(cid:0)“Mar-tthhhaaaa!”(cid:0)The second(cid:0) time was better,(cid:0)“Mar-thhhaa- I’m A-L-I-V-E … with Cat-(cid:0) zzzzz!”(cid:0) I spoke out loud to Aunt Doris (and into my recorder) and(cid:0) asked her if she remembered our conversation before her(cid:0) death. I had explained to Doris how the voices from beyond(cid:0) come through our recorders in different classifications.(cid:0) Class A was the best, Class B is okay and a Class C usually(cid:0) requires a trained ear. I told Doris that she needed to come(cid:0) through loud and clear if she wanted me to share her EVP(cid:0) with my mother.(cid:0) Upon finishing a conversation on the phone with my(cid:0) sister, Donna, I realized that my recorder was on in my(cid:0) bedroom. I do not remember turning this recorder on but(cid:0) this happens to me a lot and I am used to it. Playing back(cid:0) the recorder, I could hear my voice from my office saying,(cid:0) “Good-bye” to my sister and than there it was: Doris’s(cid:0) voice. Aunt Doris came through with a pretty clear EVP(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“I’ve Survived!”(cid:0) I played this EVP for my sister, Ginny. Ginny was(cid:0) shocked and said, “Aunt Doris!” Ginny was disappointed(cid:0) that, when we cross over, we might keep our old voices(cid:0) instead of being more youthful sounding. Aunt Doris came(cid:0) through with her old voice so I would

recognize her.(cid:0) After my conversation with Ginny I called my mother(cid:0) and asked her to listen to this EVP and tell me what she(cid:0) heard. My mother immediately said, “Play again!” and(cid:0) after I did, “That’s Doris’s voice!” Mother called my father(cid:0) to the phone and even with his poor hearing abilities he(cid:0) recognized Doris’s voice. Recording her voice has helped(cid:0) my parents’ so much with facing their own aging process.(cid:0) No Conflict with Religion(cid:0) We receive numerous letters from people asking if work-(cid:0) ing with EVP somehow conflicts with the religious teach-(cid:0) ings. The short answer is usually not, but a good way to(cid:0) answer this question is from a past NewsJournal.(cid:0) in In 1997 Sarah Estep quoted Father Gino Concetti from an(cid:0) interview printed the Vatican newspaper,(cid:0) The(cid:0) Osservatore Romano,(cid:0) saying, “According to the modern(cid:0) catechism, God allows our dear departed persons who live(cid:0) in an ultra-terrestrial dimension, to send messages to guide(cid:0) us in certain difficult moments of our lives. The Church has(cid:0) decided not to forbid any more the dialogue with the(cid:0) deceased with the condition that these contacts are carried(cid:0) out with a serious religious and scientific purpose.”(cid:0) (Printed in the(cid:0)AA-EVP NewsJournal,(cid:0) Volume 16 Number(cid:0) 2, 1997)(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 9(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) A Second Grant for Alexander MacRae(cid:0) Alexander MacRae at his computer analyzing a sound track(cid:0) Alexander MacRae has received

a grant from Bial(cid:0) Foundation to see if there are any time and content links(cid:0) between what the person conducting an EVP session says(cid:0) or asks and the utterances recorded. The project requires(cid:0) four sessions a month over a period of two years and Alec(cid:0) says that it is taking up almost all of his time.(cid:0) Each session is precisely three minutes long with a set of(cid:0) six questions being asked at 30-second intervals. The six(cid:0) questions are predetermined and are the same in each(cid:0) session. They are all different and include, for example,(cid:0) “What is your name?” and “What is the time?”(cid:0) Alec wrote, “I extract the utterances from the recording,(cid:0) then put them in random order and send them to Professor(cid:0) Vorster who determines if each one could be a response to(cid:0) any of the questions, and if so he marks on a chart the(cid:0) number of the question concerned. For example, if the(cid:0) utterance was “late afternoon,” that would be category 2,(cid:0) and so he would put 2 on the chart.(cid:0) “I know when that response was recorded and so I can(cid:0) plot it on a chart as to when it occurred and what type of(cid:0) response it was.”(cid:0) Alec also has a listening panel review the responses and(cid:0) assign categories independent from Professor Vorster. Alec(cid:0) continues, “So, for example Vorster had considered a(cid:0) response to be category 5, but only two people agreed with(cid:0) him, then his categorization would only have a value of 2.(cid:0) It’s

all a bit statistical, and we already know there are(cid:0) responses, but to prove it to the scientific community we(cid:0) have to go through this sort of thing. If there are links(cid:0) between the questions and the answers then these will show(cid:0) up on the three-dimensional chart in the end as mountains(cid:0) and hills.”(cid:0) Alec tells us that the entities are starting to learn the(cid:0) procedure and are giving answers just before or at the same(cid:0) time as the question is asked. On a couple of occasions(cid:0) Alec wrote that they “reversed the situation and asked me(cid:0) the question instead!”(cid:0) From his reports, we believe that some of the lessons we(cid:0) are learning in the 4Cell experiments are being confirmed(cid:0) with Alec’s work. Alec is also encountering some(cid:0) interesting problems that might best be described as “bored(cid:0) entity syndrome.” We will try to report in some detail about(cid:0) this in the next NewsJournal.(cid:0) Grandmother Calls after Death(cid:0) This came after the writer watched the(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0)DVD:(cid:0) My mother died of lymphoma when I was nineteen. I was(cid:0) a long ways away from the home I had lived in all my life,(cid:0) attending college in another state. It was a very difficult(cid:0) experience, though not unique, you know. Her mother, my(cid:0) grandmother, survived her, and for as awful as it was for(cid:0) my father, sister and I, I know that no parent expects or(cid:0) wants to outlive their child. But she did, for nearly ten(cid:0) years. My grandmother was ninety when my

mother, her(cid:0) youngest child, died. I was to attend her 100(cid:0)th(cid:0) birthday(cid:0) party in September 2001. Her health wasn’t great, but her(cid:0) mind was clear as a bell. I know this because I spoke with(cid:0) her on the phone biweekly. She was a very independent(cid:0) woman. Her husband, my grandfather, died when they(cid:0) were in their seventies. She lived in an apartment for(cid:0) seniors, alone for most of my life. Her gift from the family(cid:0) on her ninetieth birthday was a new car. I understand it may(cid:0) seem irresponsible to encourage someone that age to drive,(cid:0) but, honestly, that’s how well and present she was.(cid:0) After my mother died, she became afraid to live on her(cid:0) own, and gave up her apartment and moved in with my aunt(cid:0) and her husband. They were old themselves, and found it(cid:0) difficult to take care of her as parts of her body failed (but(cid:0) never her mind—how strong she must have been to deal(cid:0) with her deteriorating health). About six months before she(cid:0) died, they had to put her in a home.(cid:0) She passed away five days before her hundredth(cid:0) birthday. I honestly believe this was not because her health(cid:0) had failed completely, but because she had asked not to(cid:0) have a party for the occasion and knew her wishes weren’t(cid:0) going to be granted. I also think that, because she knew I(cid:0) was coming (and 9-11 had just happened), she didn’t want(cid:0) the youngest daughter of her youngest (deceased) daughter(cid:0) to fly

home for the party.(cid:0) I flew home for the funeral instead. It was the least tragic(cid:0) funeral I have ever been to in my life. She was the(cid:0) matriarch of our family, and everyone missed her terribly,(cid:0) but we knew she had lived a full life and had (secretly)(cid:0) simply let herself go to spare herself the indignity of being(cid:0) propped up in front of a bonfire cake in a wheelchair with(cid:0) a silly hat on her head.(cid:0) I was not able to visit the home frequently, and I know her(cid:0) choice (and I do believe, even at her great age, she willed(cid:0) herself to death) to die was hard because she knew it would(cid:0) mean she wouldn’t see me again. But over the years, we(cid:0) had come to have very meaningful phone calls, especially(cid:0) Continued Page 13(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 10(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Can Walls Talk?(cid:0) Prince of Wales Inn at Kenfig in Wales, UK.(cid:0) The Prince of Wales Inn at Kenfig in Wales has an(cid:0) interesting past. It was the Guild Hall for the Borough of(cid:0) Kenfig in the 16(cid:0)th(cid:0) century. People began leaving Kenfig(cid:0) when sand from the sea started to cover the town and its(cid:0) fields. By the middle of the 17(cid:0)th(cid:0) century the town was(cid:0) abandoned. The Inn survived because it was on higher(cid:0) ground. In 1940 the charter for the town dated in

1369 was(cid:0) found in a metal box in the wall of the Inn.(cid:0) In the 1980s, an interesting experiment took place at this(cid:0) historic inn. The owner at that time complained that his(cid:0) sleep was being disturbed by the sound of organ music and(cid:0) voices. An electrical engineer, John Marke, and an(cid:0) industrial chemist, Allan Jenkins, got permission to(cid:0) electrify a wall of the Inn while making a recording. “Why(cid:0) would anyone do this?” you ask. Well, in 1972 a theory(cid:0) regarding ghosts, known as “The Stone Tape” theory, was(cid:0) made popular by a BBC TV drama written by Nigel(cid:0) Kneale. The theory was that information of the past could(cid:0) be stored in the fabric of a building. It was said that a ghost(cid:0) could be recorded in the building material of a room or(cid:0) building and would follow a predetermined course of(cid:0) action, such as working at a bench no longer there or(cid:0) crossing the room in a certain location. We have all heard(cid:0) reports of “recorder ghosts.” Such ghosts are always seen(cid:0) performing the same task, such as walking up the stairs,(cid:0) they show no awareness of the living and seem more like(cid:0) some kind of recording.(cid:0) In “The Nature of Ghosts: A Review of the Evidence”(cid:0),(cid:0)*(cid:0) author Paul Lee remarks that, “This explanation [The Stone(cid:0) Tape theory] does have many parallels with ‘real’ ghost-(cid:0) stories … The Treasurer’s House in York (where a worker(cid:0) in the basement saw a legion of Roman soldiers, whose(cid:0) legs were cut

off at the ankles–the current level of the(cid:0) ground is higher), Westminster Abbey (where a priest is(cid:0) seen walking an inch or two above the ground, marking the(cid:0) settling of the ground since he ‘died’) and Bell Lane in(cid:0) Enfield, London (where a phantom stagecoach allegedly(cid:0) rushes along six feet above the ground).”(cid:0) At the Prince of Wales Pub, Jenkins and Marke(cid:0) connected electrodes to a wall of the pub after closing.(cid:0) They fed 20,000 volts across the electrodes, turned on their(cid:0) tape recorders and locked up. The experiment lasted some(cid:0) four hours and the two men reported that they recorded(cid:0) organ music, footsteps, people speaking in old Welsh and(cid:0) a clock ticking when no clock was in the room. They did(cid:0) state that they had recorded a very small amount of sound(cid:0) over their many hours of recording. They theorized that the(cid:0) mysterious recorded were(cid:0) encapsulated within the fabric of the building and that they(cid:0) had disturbed or energized the sites within the structure(cid:0) with the electrical current. Examples of the recordings,(cid:0) along with at(cid:0) www.hauntednewjersey.com/evp/index.html(cid:0). You’ll see a(cid:0) link that says, “Talking Walls,” about halfway down the(cid:0) page. Marke mentions another theory and that is that the(cid:0) walls contained silica and another material; similar(cid:0) substances to those found in recording tape.(cid:0) can be heard explanation, they had sounds that an On the above mentioned recording, Marke states that(cid:0) they had received funding for better equipment and further(cid:0) research. According to Paul Lee’s article, shortly after the(cid:0) 1982 Prince

of Wales experiments, Marke said that BBC(cid:0) “Newsnight” and TV crews from Canada and Japan had(cid:0) filmed the experiments under controlled conditions and(cid:0) gotten surprising results. We can find no evidence of these(cid:0) tests being written up and this chain of research along with(cid:0) Marke and Jenkins simply disappears from sight.(cid:0) Lee also reported that technicians at the BBC described(cid:0) the Prince of Wales Pub sounds as being akin to distortion(cid:0) and feedback, perhaps caused by a large transformer that(cid:0) was required to create the massive voltage that was used in(cid:0) the experiments. Voices are heard in parts of the recording(cid:0) and they go on for quite a while. The electrified wall also(cid:0) had the potential of functioning as an antenna that could, in(cid:0) effect, rebroadcast radio signals to the recorder. We did(cid:0) note that one segment of the examples did have a radio-like(cid:0) quality to the voice. Are these voices EVP or were they(cid:0) radio signals?(cid:0) If you have time to listen to the recording let us know(cid:0) what your opinion of them is. We thank Garrett Husveth(cid:0) for bringing the tapes and this interesting experiment to our(cid:0) attention. Although we would discourage anyone who is(cid:0) not an electrician from doing this, Garrett has said that he(cid:0) is going to attempt doing a recording in a similar fashion.(cid:0) We hope to report his results.(cid:0) Comment(cid:0): David Vee of the UK has recorded men(cid:0) speaking (thought to be an old Latin dialect) while(cid:0) lowering a draw bridge that had been

removed around(cid:0) 1550. In the same building, he also recorded sounds like a(cid:0) very heavy object being slid into place, even though the(cid:0) building was unoccupied and nothing present could have(cid:0) caused such a sound. Perhaps electrification is unnecessary.(cid:0) *(cid:0)Strange Nation(cid:0) “The Nature of Ghosts: A Review of the(cid:0) Evidence,” Paul Lee(cid:0) www.strangenation.com.au(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 11(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Regional Coordinators(cid:0) Technical Advisors(cid:0) We have added some new Regional Coordinators to our list(cid:0) as well as a Technical Advisor. Technical Advisors are(cid:0) very computer and recorder savvy. Our two new Regional(cid:0) Coordinators are(cid:0)Garrett Husveth(cid:0) in Mendham, New(cid:0) Jersey and(cid:0)Heidi Spencer(cid:0) in Paso Robles, CA. Our first(cid:0) volunteer as a Technical Advisor is(cid:0)Darren Thompson(cid:0) in(cid:0) Sammamish, WA.(cid:0) Members now have several different types of resources(cid:0) to go to for help. They can get assistance from members(cid:0) on the Idea Exchange or contact the nearest Regional(cid:0) Coordinator.(cid:0) Regional Coordinators(cid:0) •(cid:0)Bill(cid:0) and(cid:0)Heidi Armbruster(cid:0) in Fairview, Pennsylvania.(cid:0) Email:(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland(cid:0) in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Email:(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Jan Hall(cid:0) Arlington, Texas: the Dallas, Texas area.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Garrett Husveth,(cid:0)Mendham, New Jersey. Email:(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Alan Miller(cid:0)in Glasgow, Kentucky for the South central(cid:0) Kentucky area. Email:(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey(cid:0) in Hudson, New Hampshire. Email:(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Heidi Spencer(cid:0)in Paso Robles, California. Email:(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott(cid:0) in Bellingham Washington for the North(cid:0) Pacific area. Email:(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) Technical Advisor(cid:0) •(cid:0)Darren Thompson(cid:0) in Sammamish Washington. Email:(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) These members all record

EVP and have agreed to help(cid:0) other members in their area with the basics of recording. If(cid:0) you need their physical addresses see the Cross-country list.(cid:0) There are still areas of the country that would be helped(cid:0) by having coordinators. If you record EVP and use the(cid:0) computer to listen to your EVP and would like to help new(cid:0) members learn how to record, please contact us at(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) Duties(cid:0) Regional Coordinators:(cid:0) Are listed in bold on the Cross-(cid:0) country. Members needing help or having questions can(cid:0) find a coordinator nearest them and make contact by mail(cid:0) or email. (Contact us if a street address is not listed and we(cid:0) will have them contact you.) The coordinators will attempt(cid:0) to help as they can, and if necessary, they will assist(cid:0) members in finding the answer elsewhere. Coordinators(cid:0) can do more, but members should not expect local(cid:0) activities arranged by the coordinators.(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Edwina Bentinck(cid:0) Laurita Chmielewski(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) James DeRuiter(cid:0) Beatrice Hofman(cid:0) Dennis Pollard(cid:0) Bruce Tracy(cid:0) Judith Wittlin(cid:0) Thank you all!(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Laurita Chmielewski(cid:0) Deborah Combs(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Technical Advisors:(cid:0) Have experience with the equipment(cid:0) side of recording EVP and working with related software.(cid:0) Will EVP prompt Exhumation?(cid:0) In June, Scott Corrales, of the Institute of Hispanic(cid:0) Ufology, translated an article from Spain. The article(cid:0) concerned a requested exhumation because a deceased(cid:0) woman’s voice was being heard on a cell phone, requesting(cid:0) the removal of a cross that

she had been buried with. Scott(cid:0) wrote, “A family(cid:0)has requested district judge number six of(cid:0) Grenada to issue a court order authorizing the exhumation(cid:0) of their mother, claiming that an Electronic Voice(cid:0) Phenomenon (EVP) recorded on a cell phone indicates that(cid:0) the deceased is requesting the removal of a cross placed(cid:0) over her chest during burial. The judge asked them to(cid:0) consult with a priest.(cid:0) “According to the deceased woman’s daughter, the(cid:0) woman has been contacting them from beyond the grave(cid:0) via cell phone. She explained that she has no idea where her(cid:0) mother’s messages are coming from, adding that when any(cid:0) member of the family records anything on her cell phone,(cid:0) ‘what is played back is my mother’s voice saying come,(cid:0) come, the cross.’ Furthermore, her grandfather and uncle,(cid:0) buried in the same tomb as her mother, are also sending(cid:0) audible messages through family cell phones.(cid:0) “The judge, who met the family members for three(cid:0) minutes and managed to hear the spirit voice recordings,(cid:0) explained that he lacked the competence to rule on such a(cid:0) matter and explained that they should take their claim to(cid:0) either a priest or to the Higher Council on Scientific(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 12(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Visual ITC(cid:0) • Richard Shenk sent us a few photographs that had pretty(cid:0) good likenesses of people’s faces. The pictures are of(cid:0) roadside trees taken by his

granddaughter as his car was(cid:0) traveling at highway speeds. The resulting smear of(cid:0) color and brightness produced the sort of optical noise(cid:0) that we have learned produces phenomenal features.(cid:0) • The features in the photographs are not sufficiently(cid:0) distinct to show here, but we did agree that there were(cid:0) convincing faces in the examples Richard sent. We even(cid:0) found an additional feature for ourselves.(cid:0) A web site visitor sent us an email with a face that looked(cid:0) a lot like one of the characters out of the Broadway play,(cid:0) “Cats.” It was in the optical pattern formed by the(cid:0) “(cid:0)temporal frequency analysis” display in WavePad.(cid:0) Again, the face is not sufficiently distinct to allow(cid:0) printing, but it is definitely there.(cid:0) • Michaela Steiner posted a good example of a face on a(cid:0) turned off television screen. This is a relatively common,(cid:0) but little understood form of visual phenomena in which(cid:0) the face is clearly on the surface of the television screen.(cid:0) As with Michaela’s example, there is almost always a(cid:0) child in the scene.(cid:0) Face on Turned Off TV.(cid:0) Phenomena in which a face is(cid:0) seen on the screen of a turned off(cid:0) TV set. A child is usually in the(cid:0) scene. See enlargement below.(cid:0) Picture by Michaela Steiner(cid:0) On the left side of the(cid:0) picture below, you can see(cid:0) the television set, and if you(cid:0) look closely, an indistinct(cid:0) feature on the right side of(cid:0) the screen. That feature is(cid:0) shown and(cid:0) enlarged enhanced below.(cid:0) • Jonathan Miller posted

a video ITC frame(cid:0)collected(cid:0) using a Sony Digital Handycam, containing an obvious(cid:0) human face formed in the noise. It was not clear enough(cid:0) to show here, but as with one shown in a past issue of the(cid:0) NewsJournal that was collected by Shell Hawkins, it is(cid:0) distinctive because it was taken with a digital camera.(cid:0) Most Video ITC is collected with analog cameras, but(cid:0) since they are gradually disappearing from the market,(cid:0) we think it is important that techniques be developed for(cid:0) using digital cameras. An ideal arrangement would be(cid:0) finding well-formed Video ITC features using a digital(cid:0) camera facing a laptop flat screen display in a video(cid:0) loop. Let us know if any of you succeed in this to the(cid:0) point that the arrangement can be dependable enough for(cid:0) field research.(cid:0) A Study of Feet.(cid:0)The light and dark areas at the right(cid:0) have occurred in other pictures by Nancy Thomas.(cid:0) • Nancy Thomas posted photographs that have interesting(cid:0) light features. We often see orbs, vapors, string of pear(cid:0) orbs and other light features, but it is not common at all(cid:0) to see light constrained as a sharp-edged pattern(cid:0) accompanied by areas of darkness.(cid:0) In the “A Study of Feet” photograph, you can see what(cid:0) appears to be stacked triangles of light with a cotton-ball(cid:0) splotch of darkness just above it. The orb found in the(cid:0) White Noise(cid:0) DVD companion video was also a cotton-(cid:0) ball splotch of darkness.(cid:0) • Dawn Wise has reported finding unexpected faces in the(cid:0) optical

noise in many of her photographs. We have been(cid:0) able to make out a few of them. Dawn’s work reinforces(cid:0) the idea that the phenomenal features are often present,(cid:0) if we pay attention.(cid:0) Dog Returns for a Visit.(cid:0) There is an unknown object in the(cid:0) car seat at the left. Shell’s dog in “life” is in the insert.(cid:0) • Shellie Hawkins posted this photograph of an unknown(cid:0) something in the front seat of her car some time ago, but(cid:0) it was not until she posted a picture of her dog, while in(cid:0) the flesh, that her excitement made sense to us. As you(cid:0) can see by comparing the insert with the object in the(cid:0) seat, it does appear that Shell’s dog came back for a visit.(cid:0) The back of the “extra” seems to extend past the surface(cid:0) of the car seat.(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 13(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Grandmother Calls(cid:0) Continued from Page 9(cid:0) on holidays, and I received one on Thanksgiving of 2001,(cid:0) two months after her death. That is why I’m writing.(cid:0) I was asleep in the early morning when my phone rang. I(cid:0) answered. It was Nanny. I spoke with her for a few(cid:0) moments before I realized and remarked to her that she was(cid:0) dead and how could I be talking to her. (Perhaps I should(cid:0) mention that the phone I spoke to her

on was a very(cid:0) unreliable one? It was cheap and didn’t often work—but it(cid:0) did this day). She told me that she was with my mother and(cid:0) that everything was fine. I should mention that though I(cid:0) missed her, her life was so long that my grief at her death(cid:0) was not overwhelming, not so much that I might have(cid:0) imagined this conversation. We spoke for a while and said(cid:0) our goodbyes. I was half asleep when she called, and when(cid:0) I have related this story to others, they have told me it was(cid:0) a dream.(cid:0) But here’s the thing, I remember the sound of the phone(cid:0) ringing. I remember opening my eyes and looking about(cid:0) the room as I spoke on the phone. I remember all of the(cid:0) specific sensations at the time, and they weren’t dreamlike.(cid:0) I have had many dreamlike sensations and communications(cid:0) with my mother after she died but I chalked it up to grief(cid:0) renderings. This experience was nothing like those. My(cid:0) waking sensations during the conversation were far too(cid:0) specific.(cid:0) I remember hanging up the phone, but after that I’m(cid:0) blank. Perhaps I passed out or perhaps it was a dream. I(cid:0) should mention that I’m not on any drugs now nor was I(cid:0) then. But if it was a dream, it was the most real, tactile(cid:0) dream of my life. I’ve had a lot of vivid dreams in my life,(cid:0) and know them for what they were, but this one has me(cid:0) mystified

and doubting. So my question is, have you heard(cid:0) of anything like this before? Have you heard of anyone(cid:0) getting phone calls from “beyond the grave?” This one I(cid:0) received was the only one, and it was such that I think it(cid:0) was just to make sure that I was OK. I think that my mother(cid:0) was not able to speak to me at the time because she had(cid:0) been dead too long, and had transformed too much to(cid:0) communicate with the living.(cid:0) There was no searching the(cid:0) conversation, though there was a faraway feeling. Even(cid:0) though we were able to talk just as we had for many(cid:0) holidays before, there was a knowing that my grandmother(cid:0) would now be moving far away, to a place I couldn’t reach(cid:0) her anymore. Real or imagined, the call gave me peace.(cid:0) through static in Comment(cid:0): We responded, as we try to for all such emails.(cid:0) In this case, we explained that such phone calls are one way(cid:0) that our loved ones are sometimes able to say a last good-by.(cid:0) We also recommended(cid:0)Phone Calls From The Dead,(cid:0) D.(cid:0) Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless, Prentice-Hall, Inc.,(cid:0) New Jersey, 1979. ISBN 0-13-664334-5. We include the(cid:0) book at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/evp_books.htm(cid:0) Unnoticed Visitor(cid:0) aaevp.com web site visitor, Paul Franklin, sent us a few(cid:0) pictures he took of his new apartment. He sent them(cid:0) because in one he saw two orbs which he thought might be(cid:0) phenomenal. We generally decline to look at orb pictures(cid:0) from the public, but his

description of the photographs was(cid:0) intriguing so we asked him to send them to us. The picture(cid:0) in question is above, and with close inspection, you can see(cid:0) a pair of orbs to match the pair of high windows situated on(cid:0) either side of the fireplace. Paul later agreed that he(cid:0) believed the orbs to be camera flash reflected from the(cid:0) windows.(cid:0) An “Extra” Peeking Around the Corner.(cid:0) The two vertical arrows point to orbs(cid:0) probably caused by camera flash reflecting(cid:0) from the high windows. The horizontal(cid:0) arrow points to an apparent person peeking(cid:0) around the corner at Paul.(cid:0) Picture by Paul Franklin(cid:0).(cid:0) We asked him who that was peeking(cid:0) around the corner.(cid:0) His response was, “I(cid:0) have not figured this out yet. There’s got to(cid:0) be a logical explanation. As I did tell you, I was alone in the(cid:0) room when this was taken, so I don’t think it is a physical(cid:0) person.”(cid:0) New Series Supernatural(cid:0) The AA-EVP is getting web hits from the web page of the(cid:0) new Warner Brothers series,(cid:0)Supernatural.(cid:0) The AA-EVP(cid:0) is listed as the first Supernatural research link. The series(cid:0) is shown on WB Tuesdays at 9pm.(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from Page 1(cid:0) time set aside for members to help those who attend, learn(cid:0) how to download EVP recordings into a computer and then(cid:0) listen to them using some of the basic software tools.(cid:0) Please mark your calendar and join us June 8 through 10,(cid:0) 2006 at the Westin Atlanta Airport. The conference will(cid:0)

run into Saturday night so plan on staying at the hotel that(cid:0) evening and then sightseeing or traveling back home on(cid:0) Sunday. Save your pennies! We hope to meet you there!(cid:0) Lisa and Tom(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 14(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) My EVP Experience(cid:0) Hi, my name is Megan and I’m 21 years old.(cid:0) I would just(cid:0) like to say that I am really a believer in EVP. It’s really neat(cid:0) and every time we listen to our findings I get the(cid:0) goosebumps!!! My grandfather passed away almost ten(cid:0) years ago. After seeing the movie,(cid:0)White Noise,(cid:0) my aunt(cid:0) got the idea to try it. I had no idea what we were doing at(cid:0) the time because I never even heard of the movie till after(cid:0) we did the recordings.(cid:0) My grandmother, aunt, mother and I sat down in the very(cid:0) house where my grandpa died and tried it. I was kinda(cid:0) spooked because we lit a candle and sat in a circle in the(cid:0) kitchen. Then my aunt turned on the voice-activated(cid:0) recorder and began asking questions. The first question she(cid:0) asked was, “Grandpa, give us some sign, a noise or(cid:0) something to let us know that you are okay??” He(cid:0) responded by saying,(cid:0)“How about this,”(cid:0) when we rewound(cid:0) the tape.(cid:0) We could not believe it! It was his voice! Just like you say(cid:0) in the documentary, his voice was

most strong in the(cid:0) beginning, and towards the end, it was like a whisper.(cid:0) [name changed](cid:0) A Suggested Experiment(cid:0) Parapsychologist, Professor Charles Tart, was interviewed(cid:0) by(cid:0)The Psychic Times(cid:0), a new British publication that is(cid:0) already proving itself antagonistic to EVP. In the article,(cid:0) Tart was quoted to argue that EVP is stray radio, and that(cid:0) we who study in this field have not demonstrated the(cid:0) necessary research discipline to produce the kind of(cid:0) credible evidence that he can take to other scientists.(cid:0) www.thepsychictimes.com/articles/tart.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) The diagram is of a shielded recording compartment,(cid:0) EVP from which would answer Tart’s objections. It(cid:0) provides more shielding than a metal can or microwave,(cid:0) but it is not as readily available. We would like to talk to(cid:0) someone who might be able to make one, or who might(cid:0) have one. If possible, we would like to send one to a(cid:0) number of different experimenters in serial fashion, so that(cid:0) many examples can be collected in the compartment.(cid:0) Please let us know at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) if you can help.(cid:0) Prediction Registry(cid:0) Until recent developments in the quality and quantity of(cid:0) EVP, we have felt that EVP was not reliable enough to be(cid:0) used for fact finding. There has also been the problem of(cid:0) clarity. We have had many long EVP brought to us for(cid:0) evaluation, but few have been sufficiently clear for us to(cid:0) agree on the content. If we want the authorities to act on a(cid:0) predictive EVP, the message must be clearly heard by(cid:0) untrained people and

it must make sense.(cid:0) With the success the 4Cell groups have been having, we(cid:0) now see that it is reasonable to use such protocols for fact(cid:0) finding. The key here is reliable communicators. Also,(cid:0) Alexander MacRae has been experiencing a series of(cid:0) volunteer predictive messages, which in retrospect, have(cid:0) proven to be tantalizingly accurate.(cid:0) We have opened a new forum on the Idea Exchange,(cid:0) which Shellie Hawkins and Dawn Wise have agreed to(cid:0) moderate. A procedure is posted in a topic on that forum.(cid:0) We will hold a high standard of evidence, but we are(cid:0) confident that many of you will easily exceed that standard.(cid:0) The 4Cell protocol is our best recommendation for fact(cid:0) finding, but you may do well working as individuals by(cid:0) cultivating an etheric team. Alec also shows the way by(cid:0) conducting sessions(cid:0) scheduled dedicated to collecting predictive EVP.(cid:0) recording regularly We look forward to your contributions to this new AA-(cid:0) EVP feature. We know it will take time to develop, but we(cid:0) are confident that it will become a valuable tool for research.(cid:0) 4Cell EVP Demonstration(cid:0) The 4Cell EVP Demonstration is still alive and well. There(cid:0) are two active Cells:(cid:0) Infinite,(cid:0) with(cid:0)Vicki Talbott, Mary Jo(cid:0) Gran, Rheta Conley and Shellie Hawkins. They have(cid:0) conducted ten experimental rounds, each with very good(cid:0) results.(cid:0)Through The Veil(cid:0) is the second group with Joseph(cid:0) Arcara, Terry Dulin, Georgina Dang, Dawn Wise. This(cid:0) Cell is the newest with three experimental rounds under(cid:0) their belt, with results that are extremely promising.(cid:0) Based

on the results shown in the 4Cell experiments, we(cid:0) are now recommending the protocol to people around the(cid:0) world as a possibly reliable tool for etheric reality research.(cid:0) EVP and ITC research is way past the question of survival.(cid:0) At issue now is how we can further our understanding of(cid:0) the reality in which we exist after the change called death.(cid:0) The 4Cell EVP Demonstration promises to be an important(cid:0) source of those answers.(cid:0) Several Cells have been organized but are currently(cid:0) inactive. Please contact us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or Shellie(cid:0) Hawkins and Vicki Talbott if there is something we can do(cid:0) to help you get back to the experiments. Also contact Shell(cid:0) and Vicki if you wish to participate. We expect to begin(cid:0) suggesting specific questions aimed at data collection as a(cid:0) way to make our point about EVP to specific people.(cid:0) And remember, We will be happy to help if you want to(cid:0) set a Cell up as a private Cell.(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 15(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Recording EVP to a Computer(cid:0) Currently posted at:(cid:0) http:aaevp.com/art_recevptocomputer2.shtml(cid:0) Introduction(cid:0) These instructions apply to a Windows computer.(cid:0) Most EVP experimenters use the computer as a tool for(cid:0) listening to sound tracks and reviewing the EVP session(cid:0) that they have recorded on an audio recorder. Placing your(cid:0) recordings into the computer also allows them to be sent to(cid:0) others for review

via email. This article provides(cid:0) instructions for recording from an audio recorder to a(cid:0) computer using an audio patch cord. If your recorder came(cid:0) with a USB interface or memory stick, follow the(cid:0) instructions that came with your recorder.(cid:0) Connecting the Recorder(cid:0) The computer should have a Line In jack somewhere. It(cid:0) may be on a speaker, but it is probably on the back of your(cid:0) computer.(cid:0) If all you have is a Microphone In jack, then you may(cid:0) need to use an impedance matching cord. The best(cid:0) thing to do is plug in and see if it works. An(cid:0) impedance-matching cord is designed to connect the(cid:0) low resistance (impedance) of the Speaker Out or(cid:0) Earphone Out jack in a recorder to the high resistance(cid:0) of the Line In jack of the computer. Such a cord is(cid:0) available at Radio Shack.(cid:0) You want to connect your audio(cid:0) recorder to the Line In jack of the(cid:0) computer. Ideally you would do(cid:0) this by connecting the Line Out(cid:0) jack of the recorder to Line In jack(cid:0) of the computer. Connecting the(cid:0) recorder Headphone or Speaker(cid:0) Out jack to the Microphone In jack of the computer will(cid:0) usually work. If there is any problem, it will show up as a(cid:0) recording level problem or noise and this will let you know(cid:0) that you need to take your recorder to Radio Shack and ask(cid:0) for help.(cid:0) To complete the circuit from your input jack to the audio(cid:0) recorder program in the computer, go to(cid:0)Start>

Settings>(cid:0) Control Panel(cid:0) and open something like(cid:0)Sounds and Media.(cid:0) You will see a(cid:0)Sound Playback(cid:0) and a(cid:0)Sound Recording(cid:0) Volume(cid:0) button. Click on the(cid:0)Recording(cid:0) button and you will(cid:0) see that you can select Line In or Microphone In volume(cid:0) controls. This selection needs to agree with the input jack(cid:0) you use.(cid:0) Recording the Sound Track(cid:0) In a Windows computer, look under(cid:0)Start> Programs>(cid:0) Accessories> Entertainment(cid:0) and look for a sound recorder(cid:0) program. A list of audio programs is in the Resources(cid:0) section at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). Most audio editing software can be(cid:0) used as an audio recorder.(cid:0) You can usually use the sound recorder that came with(cid:0) the computer, but a decent audio management program(cid:0) named Audacity (for Mac and Linux as well) is available(cid:0) for free at(cid:0)http://audacity.sourceforge.net(cid:0).(cid:0) Audacity, a free, open source audio management program for(cid:0) Windows, Mac and Linux(cid:0) Open the audio management program, and with the audio(cid:0) recorder connected to your computer and the computer(cid:0) configured to connect the correct jack to the audio circuit,(cid:0) you should be able to start the audio recorder to play the(cid:0) sound track, and record the sound into the computer.(cid:0) In the Audacity screen print shown above, you can just(cid:0) make out the recording control buttons on the upper-left(cid:0) corner of the screen. In whatever program you are using,(cid:0) create a new file, and as you press Play in the recorder,(cid:0) click on Record in the audio program. When the sound file(cid:0) has been played, click on Stop in the audio program. You(cid:0) should see a trace

on the screen indicating your sound file.(cid:0) As you can see in the screen print, there should be(cid:0) variations in the trace to agree with your voice and possibly(cid:0) with EVP.(cid:0) Managing Sound Files(cid:0) There are considerations about the best type of file to use(cid:0) for saving sound tracks. We recommend that you store a(cid:0) master copy of your audio files in the standard “Wave”(cid:0) format [In Windows, it is Windows PCM (*.wav)]. The(cid:0) mp3 format produces a much smaller file but is of slightly(cid:0) poorer quality. It is good to use mp3 formatted examples(cid:0) when you send samples via email or to discussion boards(cid:0) to save space.(cid:0) When opening a new file, you will be asked to select(cid:0) sample rate, mono or stereo and size of the sample word.(cid:0) The higher sample rate you use, the more memory the(cid:0) sound track will take. We recommend that you use 11,025(cid:0) KHz. Mono files are half as large as stereo for the same(cid:0) sound track and 16 Bit words are sufficient for EVP.(cid:0) This information is in the Techniques section of(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 16(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) The Mind/Brain Debate(cid:0)Continued from Page 5(cid:0) The mind can be seen as the driver of a motor car and the(cid:0) brain as the car itself. The brain obeys the mind. The mind(cid:0) gives direction and continues to accumulate all the(cid:0) experiences. When

the car rusts and “dies,” the driver’s(cid:0) mind lives on.(cid:0) Not all minds are equal in development. Some minds are(cid:0) more powerful and more developed than others. A superior(cid:0) mind can influence and manipulate inferior, less evolved(cid:0) minds—even from great physical distance. However, even(cid:0) if it takes eons of time, each mind will continue to refine(cid:0) and become stronger and more powerful in the afterlife.(cid:0) Mind - The Ultimate Frontier(cid:0) Scientists have conducted and are conducting critical(cid:0) research into psychic phenomena and the afterlife. Some of(cid:0) the most brilliant and important scientists who ever lived(cid:0) on this earth have used and are using their skills as(cid:0) scientists to show that the afterlife, and hence the mind,(cid:0) exists.(cid:0) Whilst materialists and closed-minded skeptics try to(cid:0) attack or ignore the objective evidence for psychic(cid:0) phenomena and the afterlife, the fact of the matter is that no(cid:0) materialist, no closed-minded skeptic, no scientist, no(cid:0) negatively minded psychologist has ever rebutted the(cid:0) evidence for the afterlife, and for the existence of the mind.(cid:0) Since psychic phenomena such as mediumship, out-of-(cid:0) body experiences, near-death experiences, remote viewing,(cid:0) materializations, proxy sittings, poltergeists, Electronic(cid:0) Voice Phenomena and Instrumental Transcommunication(cid:0) have been and are producing positive results, then it(cid:0) inevitably follows that the same evidence can be used for(cid:0) supporting the separation of the mind and the brain.(cid:0) Those materialist psychologists who have been saying(cid:0) that the mind does not exist have not rebutted the objective(cid:0) and other evidence for psi and the afterlife. They claim that(cid:0) all

psychic/spiritual experiences emanate from the “limbic(cid:0) system” within the brain. (See for example Chapter 18 of(cid:0) my book on near-death experiences).(cid:0) When quality mediumship, such as(cid:0) John Edward’s,(cid:0)is(cid:0) being demonstrated on television, those from the other side(cid:0) sending messages are using their minds and not the brain.(cid:0) Currently, research is being done but initial results from(cid:0) just five shows demonstrate that the information John(cid:0) Edward is obtaining during his television shows,(cid:0)Crossing(cid:0) Over(cid:0), cannot come by chance: conservatively, the(cid:0) mathematical probability is more than 2,000,000 to 1 and(cid:0) if all shows are considered during the one year the(cid:0) mathematical astronomical—(cid:0) significantly more than twenty times the odds stated.(cid:0) Translated, this means it is not possible the information is(cid:0) being obtained by chance. It is the mind which is providing(cid:0) the information.(cid:0) probability will be Since the brains of those who crossed over no longer(cid:0) exist, having been destroyed when they physically died, it(cid:0) follows then, that it is the mind of these individuals which(cid:0) is sending messages to their loved ones on earth.(cid:0) in Similarly it is the mind which is operational when the(cid:0) person’s brain is unconscious or clinically dead and the(cid:0) person has vivid memories of an out-of-body experience or(cid:0) a near-death experience. As(cid:0)Dr. Peter Fenwick ((cid:0)an(cid:0) internationally renowned neuropsychiatrist and a Fellow of(cid:0) the(cid:0)United(cid:0) the Royal College of Psychiatrists Kingdom)(cid:0),(cid:0) Dr. Willem Van Lommel(cid:0) (cardiologist from(cid:0) Holland)(cid:0) and(cid:0)Dr. Kenneth Ring ((cid:0)empiricist in the study(cid:0) of near-death experiences in the(cid:0)United States)(cid:0), pointed(cid:0) out: how can the materialists explain a

person whose brain(cid:0) is ‘flatlining’ on an EEG being able to describe in vivid(cid:0) detail what had been happening in the operating theatre(cid:0) after he was clinically dead? Clearly,(cid:0)Dr. Fenwick(cid:0) and(cid:0) others are stating that, when science is being used to show(cid:0) that the brain is technically dead, it is the mind which is(cid:0) observing and remembering what is going on in the(cid:0) operating theatre and in other nearby rooms. And this is(cid:0) only a(cid:0)fraction(cid:0) of the evidence available by cardiologists(cid:0) and psi researchers.(cid:0) *Victor uses the term, “empirical” in the same way we us(cid:0) it when we suggest the term as the name of a new field of(cid:0) study: “Empirical Metaphysics.” The points he makes in(cid:0) this article echo our point that there is a need for a(cid:0) dedicated field to study ITC. We continue to explore the(cid:0) idea of a dedicated field of research and would like to hear(cid:0) your thoughts on the subject. The name, of course, is open(cid:0) for discussion, as well.(cid:0) A Call for Volunteers(cid:0) We are going to need volunteers to help with running the(cid:0) June 2006 Conference in Atlanta. If you have had(cid:0) experience chairing a conference and coordinating(cid:0) volunteers, please email us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0). We will(cid:0) need volunteers to work the registration table and the(cid:0) AA-EVP book/T-shirt table. Please let us know if you plan(cid:0) to attend and can donate a little of your time to help make(cid:0) the conference a well run event.(cid:0) We are also looking for volunteers to be available

during(cid:0) a couple hour long clinics to help attendees learn how to(cid:0) download recordings onto a computer and to listen to the(cid:0) recording using sound editing software. These sessions(cid:0) most likely will take place in the conference room(cid:0) Thursday and Friday night, after the evening presentation.(cid:0) Volunteers need to be familiar with using a computer for(cid:0) EVP and would also need to have a laptop that they could(cid:0) bring to the conference to work with attendees. We are(cid:0) using the free audio program, Audacity, for workshops. It(cid:0) is a good “common ground” for teaching, but you are(cid:0) welcome to use what you are accustomed to, since one(cid:0) program is usually similar to other programs.(cid:0) We sincerely appreciate your help. Again, the email(cid:0) address to volunteer is(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 17(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Members often work together to figure out EVP on the(cid:0) “Idea Exchange.” Danise (Neesey) Koppenhaver wrote,(cid:0) “Ok, maybe I just need a beer after taping almost non-(cid:0) stop for five days But, I swear I hear something about not(cid:0) having Bud Light?? I can't make out the first part of this(cid:0) clip. I asked for anyone from the Big Circle or my family(cid:0) to try to come through for my question. I then asked if(cid:0) they ate where they are, and if so, what is their favorite?(cid:0) I hear, ‘(cid:0)__ __ __

__ ___ __, there’s no Bud Lite here.’(cid:0) The first part sounds like six syllables. It may not be(cid:0) anything about Bud Lite but it sure brought a good laugh(cid:0) to the beginning of my day!”(cid:0) Karen (Kare) Mossey replied, “Hi Neesey, I hear a(cid:0) female voice answer first with the word(cid:0)‘Yes.’(cid:0) She was(cid:0) perhaps answering your question about whether or not(cid:0) they ate there. And then I hear a male voice answer in the(cid:0) affirmative regarding the beer. I hear him say(cid:0)‘There’s(cid:0) Bud Light here.’(cid:0) That is too funny. I know that would(cid:0) make my son Rob happy. He loved a cold beer while he(cid:0) went fishing. Very neat. Vicki, does that male voice at(cid:0) the end sound like Braden? I thought I recognized his(cid:0) inflection in that(cid:0).(cid:0) Vicky Talbott came back with “Hi, Neesey and all--(cid:0) Ha! I think it just might be Braden. I hear a loud high(cid:0) noise at the beginning, and then I hear something like(cid:0) ‘This is Braden’(cid:0) then(cid:0)‘We need some Bud Lite here.’(cid:0) Kare, you are right, it does sound like his inflection. He(cid:0) wasn't much of a drinker, but if he did drink, it was beer(cid:0) and probably lite at that.(cid:0) Danise replied saying, “You’re right, Vicki and Karen!(cid:0) I hear JUST as you do … A female voice at the VERY(cid:0) beginning saying(cid:0)‘Yes,’(cid:0) then(cid:0)‘this is Brad’n’(cid:0)and then it(cid:0) sounds like two more quick words? (Maybe something(cid:0) like,(cid:0)‘For Julia?’(cid:0)) Next I hear,(cid:0)‘We need some Bud Lite(cid:0) here.’(cid:0) This is too funny! I’ll

have to tell my mom about(cid:0) this, she'll get a kick out of it because just after my dad(cid:0) died, we held a little ceremony with just our immediate(cid:0) family out in the backyard. Each of us wrote something(cid:0) on a small piece of paper (a message to my dad) and tied(cid:0) it to the string of a balloon and released them all at once,(cid:0) except my mom - she tied a CIGARETTE to my dad’s(cid:0) balloon and sent it up telling him, ‘here, honey, I know(cid:0) you must miss this!’ She made the comment that she(cid:0) wondered if they have the same cravings because she(cid:0) couldn't imagine my dad not wanting to smoke anymore.(cid:0) Now I’ll have to tell her not only do they miss an(cid:0) occasional cigarette, but a beer might be in their thoughts(cid:0) every now and then, too!”(cid:0) • Margaret Downey, a new member using the AA-EVP(cid:0) “Idea Exchange” replied to another new member about(cid:0) how she goes about listening to EVP. “(cid:0)I think as you(cid:0) continue to record, the messages will get louder and(cid:0) clearer. Also, your ears will become trained at picking up(cid:0) (EVP) more easily…. what I receive isn’t visible to the(cid:0) eye on the computer screen. It is extremely faint. I go(cid:0) through my recordings 2-3 seconds at a time with the(cid:0) headset volume at the highest setting. Using a headset is(cid:0) super important. I relax my ears around the sound (if that(cid:0) makes sense) and play the same few seconds several(cid:0)

times in a row to see if anything becomes clearer. When(cid:0) it does, I use “amplify” and then “noise reduction” on(cid:0) that segment, and then turn my volume control down to(cid:0) around the mid-range. This seems to help reduce the(cid:0) hissing sound and bring out the voice. Before making(cid:0) any more changes, I try adjusting the volume a little(cid:0) higher or lower. It is interesting how different things can(cid:0) be heard by changing the volume.(cid:0) “I’d also recommend focusing your ears, so to speak,(cid:0) to the higher sounds, and then the lower sounds, or vice(cid:0) versa. I have some clips where there are two or more(cid:0) things said at the same time. Someone here on the boards(cid:0) made a good analogy: it’s like being at a party where a(cid:0) lot of people are talking all at once. Different people(cid:0) become clearer depending on our focus. It takes me a(cid:0) long time just to go through a few minutes of recording.(cid:0) Once I figured out I actually was getting something, faint(cid:0) as it was, I went back to my older files and discovered I’d(cid:0) missed many things.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Steve Sens wrote, “I feel compelled to comment on the(cid:0) earthbound/negative entity thing. It has been my own(cid:0) personal experience that if one is unaware and therefore(cid:0) not knowingly feeding an entity energy, the entity can(cid:0) still have a profound influence on one’s feelings,(cid:0) emotions and actions. Unless one can accurately(cid:0) communicate with an entity, how can one tell its(cid:0) motivations? This is a

place where EVP can help.(cid:0) “I have had dramatic arguments with my partner, to the(cid:0) point of giving it all up because I was sick of constant(cid:0) fighting and conflict. I admit, even though I was sick of(cid:0) it all, I still felt like fighting, I felt like taking the low road(cid:0) and worse.... The remorse never came until the tears were(cid:0) flowing and by then all was done and it was too late for(cid:0) restraint. A friend recommended that we call a person(cid:0) who can see and talk to earthbound spirits. We did. There(cid:0) was in fact an entity that my partner had seen out of the(cid:0) corner of her eye, I had felt physically, and was capable(cid:0) of shaking furniture that I was relaxing in. He didn't like(cid:0) me at all and wanted my partner for himself. When the(cid:0) spirit left our apartment, maybe a week passed, my(cid:0) feelings had a noticeable change. I no longer felt the(cid:0) extreme anger or resentment, and was able to see(cid:0) situations for what they were and act accordingly.(cid:0) “I agree wholeheartedly that by ignoring the entity, it(cid:0) has less energy to work with, but from my own(cid:0) experience, one doesn’t always know that one is feeding(cid:0) it by emotions, actions, thoughts or whatever. I think one(cid:0) needs a thick skin when you know you have a ghost(cid:0) around, especially when physical phenomena like(cid:0) moving objects occurs. Though, this type of pestering(cid:0) seems more the exception than the rule.(cid:0) Continued Page 18(cid:0)

Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 18(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) Continued from Page 17(cid:0) “Also another thought karma can play an interesting(cid:0) role. One can pray for protection but if one’s path is that(cid:0) of actually having to learn the lessons of dealing with(cid:0) negative spirits, just as dealing with negative people,(cid:0) then wishing them away would not help much and(cid:0) neither would ignoring them. When was the last time(cid:0) somebody ignored a criminal and came away unscathed?(cid:0) Their personalities are the same as before death. The(cid:0) average entity may not be able to beat you up but many(cid:0) can take a very draining and emotional toll.(cid:0) “I don’t write this to create drama; one absolutely(cid:0) needs a good positive and upbeat attitude! I feel that fear(cid:0) can be their most effective weapon and our own fear(cid:0) CAN be taken from them, giving us more control. And(cid:0) our supporting spirit team is always with us.”(cid:0) News from Members(cid:0) • Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana are once again(cid:0) sponsoring a conference in behalf of the ITC Journal.(cid:0) The name of the conference is:(cid:0)Current Research into(cid:0) Survival of Physical Death with Special Reference to(cid:0) ITC.(cid:0) It is in Vigo, Spain, April 28-30, 2006. See(cid:0)http://(cid:0) eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/congresotci(cid:0) for details.(cid:0) • Alexander MacRae had an article on EVP published in(cid:0) the July 2005 issue of the(cid:0)MENSA Journal.(cid:0) • Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber are doing

a weekly(cid:0) podcast available at http://hauntednj.libsyn.com. A(cid:0) podcast is an Internet radio show. Theirs will cover the(cid:0) history and protocols of parapsychology, current events(cid:0) in the field of ghost and EVP research and their current(cid:0) and past investigations.(cid:0) • Karen Mossey spoke about EVP at(cid:0) The Berkshire(cid:0) Paranormal Conference in July. She said it was one of the(cid:0) best that she has been to.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith did a guest spot on the radio show,(cid:0)The Big(cid:0) Aussie Breakfast.(cid:0)Rob talked about the EVP segments on(cid:0) the(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0)DVD.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Darren Thompson’s group, WSPIR, held an EVP(cid:0) workshop where they explained the mechanics of(cid:0) extracting EVP from recording devices.(cid:0) • Linda Williamson was contacted by an independent(cid:0) group for a program called,(cid:0)10 Ways to Contact the(cid:0) Dead.(cid:0) Linda completed filming with them and has been(cid:0) told that the program will be shown all over the world.(cid:0) Linda spent a week working on EVP for them and was(cid:0) disappointed with how she was treated by the group(cid:0) called WAG TV.(cid:0) Comment(cid:0): Many production companies treat their talent(cid:0) terribly. We would like to list companies and programs that(cid:0) treat talent poorly so that members can think carefully(cid:0) before working with them. When you work with a(cid:0) production company let us know about your experience.(cid:0) We would like to hear about the good as well as the bad!(cid:0) Validation from the Big Circle(cid:0) In August, Karen Mossey was contacted by two people(cid:0) who have recently had loved ones pass over. One was a(cid:0) friend of a woman whose

son died in January in a(cid:0) skimobile accident. He was sixteen. The other was a young(cid:0) girl who died very recently in an automobile accident. She(cid:0) was eighteen. Karen wrote, “I did a meditation and(cid:0) visualization to see these children in my mind’s eye and(cid:0) reach out to them and then I did a recording to try to ask(cid:0) those in the Big Circle to try and help them.”(cid:0) Karen said the names of the two children and asked those(cid:0) in the Big Circle to see if they could help them. She says,(cid:0) “When I open up to the Big Circle, I allow them to also use(cid:0) my energy to help bring forth messages.” In the recording(cid:0) after Karen speaks, you hear,(cid:0)“The Big Circle,”(cid:0) and then(cid:0) they say,(cid:0)“We will start searching.”(cid:0) Karen went on to say,(cid:0) “Several members, as well as myself, have received EVP(cid:0) from them identifying themselves as the Big Circle. They(cid:0) are, without a doubt, as validated in messages such as this(cid:0) one, willing to help us. I hope this will encourage those of(cid:0) you participating in the Big Circle recording sessions to(cid:0) continue to reach out to them and know that they can and(cid:0) do help and are very much aware of our circumstances and(cid:0) requests.”(cid:0) We can vouch for the above. In one session, we asked the(cid:0) Big Circle if they had met the EVP pioneers, Konstantin(cid:0) Raudive and Friedrich Jürgenson, and received a(cid:0) resounding,(cid:0)“Yes, we have!”(cid:0) They also made it clear who(cid:0) they were

by saying,(cid:0)“The Big Circle(cid:0).(cid:0)”(cid:0) They are very(cid:0) much interested in helping people through EVP.(cid:0) Recording Circle Information and Dates(cid:0) Martha Copeland notes that joining the recording group(cid:0) every other Thursday at 8:00 pm EST can be very difficult(cid:0) for members who reside in different time zones. She has(cid:0) received emails from people who have said that they(cid:0) snored through the designated recording time. Martha(cid:0) writes, “The group energy will be there and if you miss a(cid:0) recording session try to do one when you can. If you(cid:0) receive EVP please share them with the AA-EVP group.(cid:0) You may pick up a voice that belongs to another member’s(cid:0) loved one. Spirit may use someone else in the group as a(cid:0) channel to get their message across to their loved one in the(cid:0) physical world.”(cid:0) If you have questions check the AA-EVP Idea Exchange(cid:0) message board in the topic, “Recording Circle – Bridge to(cid:0) the(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Recording Dates(cid:0): Thursdays, 8(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EST, October 6 and(cid:0) 20, November 3 and 17, December 1, 15 and 29 and(cid:0) January 12 and 26.(cid:0) Correction:(cid:0) In the Summer 2005 NewsJournal we(cid:0) incorrectly attributed a recording done at a friend’s(cid:0) house by Sue Mousseau to Loretta Woodward.(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 19(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) Experimenters Report(cid:0) • Gary Andary, using an Olympus VN-240, recorded at a(cid:0) cemetery near a brand new gravesite and received some(cid:0) messages in

the first thirty seconds of his recording. He(cid:0) asked, “What is your name?” and got(cid:0)“Jake.”(cid:0)And to the(cid:0) question, “How are you?” He received the answer(cid:0) “Good.”(cid:0) He later went back to the grave hoping that the(cid:0) name on the grave would be Jake but the new marker said(cid:0) Fernanado!(cid:0) • Joseph Arcara’s girlfriend died unexpectedly and he had(cid:0) been recording every day with a Sony P210. While(cid:0) recording he stated out loud that he was taking care of her(cid:0) cat and got a very soft EVP saying,(cid:0)“Thank you.”(cid:0) • Anne Beck heard her grandson talking in his room after(cid:0) he had gone to bed. She slid her IC recorder under the(cid:0) door and recorded several things. Anne got a kick out of(cid:0) the message,(cid:0)“Mouses,”(cid:0) and felt it was in reference to(cid:0) her trying to be sneaky.(cid:0) • Melissa Brage was recording and told her grandparents,(cid:0) now on the other side, that she loved and missed them.(cid:0) Melissa wrote, “Right afterwards my Grandma Brage,(cid:0) who passed when I was ten, came on and told me,(cid:0)‘I love(cid:0) you Missy.’(cid:0)”(cid:0) • Domenic Capaldi taped after the London bombings and(cid:0) received a higher then normal amount of voices calling(cid:0) for help. Domenic shared one of the messages with the(cid:0) group that said,(cid:0)“Pray for peace.”(cid:0) • Terry Dulin told her son David that she felt that she had(cid:0) been hearing his voice on her recordings. She asked him(cid:0) if it was in fact his voice and received the EVP,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) • Linda Genutis has been experimenting,

asking questions(cid:0) from the 1(cid:0)st(cid:0) edition of Trivial Pursuit, and has found that(cid:0) more than a few have been answered. She shared a(cid:0) recording where she asked who the first president of the(cid:0) United States was (not a Trivial Pursuit question) and(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0) “George Washington.”(cid:0) • Alexander Grimal shared a recording he had made in(cid:0) front of the Vietnam Memorial. It was the traditional(cid:0) military slang word,(cid:0)“Whoowa!”(cid:0) • Michael Hester shared an EVP received during a South(cid:0) Florida Ghost Team investigation. The voice was(cid:0) actually talking over the investigator and he felt that it(cid:0) says,(cid:0)“We can hear you.”(cid:0) • Eddie Hill posted EVP that had been picked up inside the(cid:0) Gonzales County Court House. As his group was(cid:0) entering the Court Room, they recorded a voice saying,(cid:0) “All Rise.”(cid:0) • Kelly Ismail was recording at the Lynnhaven cemetery.(cid:0) She read the name of a young girl and when she listened(cid:0) back she heard a female voice repeat the last name:(cid:0) “Taylor.”(cid:0) • Phyllis Jacquett wrote to say that after a year of trying,(cid:0) she had finally received a message from companion of(cid:0) many years who had crossed very unexpectedly. The(cid:0) message said,(cid:0)“Help,”(cid:0) followed by a brief pause, and(cid:0) then: “(cid:0)Phyllis.”(cid:0) He pronounced Phyllis’s name in his(cid:0) special way and his daughter, sister, and others all(cid:0) recognize the voice as his.(cid:0) • Jeffrey Judd received his Sony ICD-MX20 in August and(cid:0) immediately tried it out by speaking to his dad and(cid:0) asking him if he could hear him and if he

had Jeff’s dog,(cid:0) Duchess, with him. On playback, he heard,(cid:0)“Hi, Jeff(cid:0)” in(cid:0) the EVP a bark is also heard at the last part of his name.(cid:0) • Joan Kachurik was using an Olympus PC480 and(cid:0) recording in Memorial Park near Pittsburgh. She felt like(cid:0) she heard,(cid:0)“Tom’s …(cid:0) (something)(cid:0)… is there for you,”(cid:0) and asked the group for help with her recording. She said(cid:0) that her husband’s name is Tom and that he had been(cid:0) trying to contact his dad for four months.(cid:0) • Joan’s husband was so excited, he worked on the(cid:0) recording, bringing in the message more clearly. It said,(cid:0) “Hey Tom … proof … your Dad is here for you.”(cid:0) • Danise Koppenhaver shared a recording that she felt was(cid:0) her dad saying,(cid:0)“Neesey, I’ll always be here…”(cid:0)Danise(cid:0) said that only her dad called her Neesey.(cid:0) • Casie Mejia asked her mom, now on the other side, if she(cid:0) could see Casie’s baby boy. She recorded the answer,(cid:0)“I(cid:0) see him”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“Casie, I see him.”(cid:0) • David Mierzwinski has been actively experimenting with(cid:0) a variety of exotic technologies. One of these was(cid:0) modulating an arc light with the thirteen Spiricom tones.(cid:0) If you are interested in talking to David about his(cid:0) experiments log on to the private AA-EVP “Idea(cid:0) Exchange” discussion board and look under “EVP(cid:0) Messages.”(cid:0) • Karen Mossey was all alone in her house. She wrote,(cid:0) “All the kids had left and gone to Old Homes Days, in(cid:0) Hudson. My son, Sean, had been away at Scout camp

for(cid:0) a week and I had brought him home in the morning, Jess(cid:0) and Connor (daughter and grandson) were over and my(cid:0) son Alex and his friend. When they all left, I turned on(cid:0) some Celtic music, lit a candle and brought out my(cid:0) recorder. I said, “Hello Dad, hello Rob, all the kids are(cid:0) home today … Just missing you Rob.” Karen received(cid:0) the clear message,(cid:0)“I miss you.”(cid:0) She said that she could(cid:0) hear it right off the recorder and that “It always gives my(cid:0) heart a lift to hear from him.”(cid:0) • Carol Peterson was recording at a cemetery in southern(cid:0) Maine using a Sony ICD-B17 recorder. She ran two(cid:0) other recorders at the same time and they did not pick up(cid:0) anything. It said,(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0) • Tom Rawlings asked if they create their world by(cid:0) thinking and received the answer,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) • Mike Sullivan was at his father’s gravesite and said into(cid:0) his recorder, “Someone left you a penny.” (Karen(cid:0) Mossey had left the penny). He received a whispered(cid:0) response that he felt could be his dad saying,(cid:0)“Thank(cid:0) you.”(cid:0) Continued Page 20(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the support of EVP and ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 3, Page 20(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Fall 2005(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order

a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com(cid:0) or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) Price: $17.95 each when printed in the USA(cid:0) *(cid:0) Georgia state sales tax applies for Georgia res-(cid:0) idents.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) Please include signing and mailing instructions(cid:0) Contact(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) if you have questions(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 Send order to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555(cid:0) Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097(cid:0) * Book is available for order from European distributors(cid:0) “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International(cid:0) mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or mail(cid:0) to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Experimenters Report(cid:0) Continued from Page 19(cid:0) • Heidi Spencer was trying to contact her friend Tom and(cid:0) was sitting at his rosebush (cremation). Heidi asked if he(cid:0) was happy and received a whispered response saying,(cid:0) “Happy.”(cid:0) • Vicki Talbott was messing around with the hookups on(cid:0) her computer trying to get Adobe Audition to work. She(cid:0) sat down to see

if they had any suggestions for her and(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“Stop fiddling.”(cid:0) AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not(cid:0) receiving the NewsJournal via email(cid:0) $38.00/year Sustaining Members(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00/year $100/year You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:(cid:0) Address:(cid:0) Cross-country List?(cid:0) Include Physical Address?(cid:0) Email Address:(cid:0) Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0) Include Email Address?(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?(cid:0) or via email?(cid:0) Do you record EVP?(cid:0) Plan to record?(cid:0) Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use

of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed(cid:0) Date(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 24 Number 4 Winter 2006(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) In just a few short months, we will be opening the 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The details of the(cid:0) conference are still taking shape, but overall, we know that(cid:0) it will be a most interesting and successful event for the(cid:0) world of EVP and ITC.(cid:0) There have been a few other activities that have kept us(cid:0) busy these past few months. The initial surge of activity(cid:0) caused by the movie,(cid:0)White Noise,(cid:0) has pretty much passed,(cid:0) leaving us time to catch up on the daily chores. For(cid:0) instance, the new look developed for us by Lisa Yessey has(cid:0) been propagated into the rest of the aaevp.com pages, as(cid:0) well as into the Archive at http://archive.aaevp.com. Of the(cid:0) newsletters issued by Sarah Estep, all between Spring 1982(cid:0) and Winter 1991 are in, as are all that we have issued from(cid:0) Spring 2000 to Winter 2005.(cid:0) The AA-EVP can now accept credit cards for all activity,(cid:0) via a secure commercial gateway. This is an

experiment for(cid:0) us, and how much this capability is used will determine(cid:0) whether or not we continue accepting credit cards.(cid:0) We participated in a three day,(cid:0)Dead Famous Live(cid:0) show(cid:0) that was viewed in the UK. Our role was to provide the(cid:0) in-studio EVP expertise. AA-EVP member, Chris Fleming(cid:0) is the co-star of the series.(cid:0) Our contact with(cid:0) Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) invited us to visit the(cid:0) set while we were in LA for the(cid:0)Dead Famous(cid:0) show. We(cid:0) did, and were even able to record a few EVP in one of the(cid:0) sound stages. You may be interested in reading the “Visit(cid:0) to LA” article on page 5.(cid:0) As we write this “Viewpoint,” we are preparing to travel(cid:0) to New York City for a taping session of the(cid:0)Montel(cid:0) Williams Show(cid:0) (www.montelshow.com/) with medium,(cid:0) Sylvia Browne. We traveled to Lake Tahoe to be(cid:0) interviewed and videotaped at the Cal-Neva Lodge. They(cid:0) are focusing on EVP we have recorded there in the past.(cid:0) That material will be trimmed down to a few seconds to(cid:0) back us up as we ask Sylvia who she thinks is speaking in(cid:0) a couple of our examples. For instance,(cid:0)“Wanna see a(cid:0) movie,”(cid:0) recorded in the Marilyn Monroe cabin. Well, at(cid:0) least our expected two or three minutes of air time will be(cid:0) exposure for the AA-EVP and for EVP.(cid:0) Frequently Asked Questions(cid:0) Are the two of you going to do a presentation at the(cid:0) AA-EVP conference?(cid:0)I guess we made a mistake on the(cid:0) conference brochure by only listing ourselves as

“hosts.”(cid:0) You bet we are going to do a presentation! We will be(cid:0) doing something that we call EVP 101 that first Thursday(cid:0) evening. EVP 101 includes the basics of recording. We(cid:0) will also be doing a live recording session with dead(cid:0) people [had to add a little humor] and will go over what(cid:0) we get on an overhead screen so that participants can(cid:0) hopefully learn more about finding and listening to EVP.(cid:0) Why am I not on the Cross-country list?(cid:0) We have(cid:0) members who receive the NewsJournal via postal service(cid:0) write to us and ask why they are not on the cross-country(cid:0) list. The list that is sent out with the NewsJournal is an(cid:0) “Update.”(cid:0)It only lists new members and members who(cid:0) have made changes to their physical or email address.(cid:0) With over 500 members, the Cross-country list is now at(cid:0) six pages. We do occasionally send out the entire list, but(cid:0) with the current size of the NewsJournal, the full list pushes(cid:0) us into a larger envelope and a second stamp. As Sarah has(cid:0) since 1982, we usually only mail updates, which you(cid:0) should keep with the last full list you have received.(cid:0) If you would like a complete cross-country list send us a(cid:0) stamped, self-address envelope and we will send(cid:0)it to you.(cid:0) Better yet, if you can receive it through email, drop us an(cid:0) email and we will send it to you as an attachment.(cid:0) How do items get in the NewsJournal?(cid:0)We need help(cid:0) from members to

gather news and EVP messages for the(cid:0) “Researcher’s Report” and the “News from Members”(cid:0) sections of the Journal. With so many members, it has(cid:0) become impossible for us to read all of the things reported(cid:0) on in the Idea Exchange. Let us know if you record an(cid:0) important EVP and include the information behind the(cid:0) EVP and also attach a file of the EVP. If you give a(cid:0) presentation or are interviewed by the media, let us know.(cid:0) If your group is sponsoring a conference, workshop or(cid:0) other activity in which EVP plays a significant role, let us(cid:0) know and we will try to put it in the Journal.(cid:0) It is sad for us that a member had to tell us that we(cid:0) overlooked someone, and even worse that we had not(cid:0) forgotten … we simply did not know. If you want(cid:0) something shared in the Journal, you need to let us know!(cid:0) One member wrote to ask why her very important EVP(cid:0) from her son had not been written up in “Researcher’s(cid:0) Report.” We had done our best to read everything but(cid:0) somehow missed this important breakthrough for her. She(cid:0) later emailed us, asking about it and it is now in the Journal.(cid:0) Please, please get this sort of information to us at(cid:0) [email protected] or our physical address.(cid:0) We have even thought about a member or members(cid:0) volunteering to help. Volunteers would be responsible to(cid:0) read items in both the Idea Exchange and the Yahoo egroup(cid:0) Continued on Page

13(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint.................................................................................................1(cid:0) Editorial by Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) The Reality of ITC Voices Scientifically Demonstrated...........................................3(cid:0) by Anabela Cardoso, Mario Salvatore Festa, David Fontana and Paolo Presi(cid:0) Joey Speaks from Heaven.........................................................................................4(cid:0) Visit to Los Angeles(cid:0)..................................................................................................5(cid:0) Schwartz Explores Afterlife in the Lab(cid:0)by Michael E. Tymn(cid:0)......................................6(cid:0) 2006 AA-EVP Conference Program.........................................................................7(cid:0) A Good Signal Level for Background Sound............................................................8(cid:0) Listener Comprehension............................................................................................8(cid:0) Martha and the Big Circle.........................................................................................9(cid:0) Recording Circle Information and Dates...................................................................9(cid:0) Ghost Whisperer Episode “Voices”..........................................................................9(cid:0) A Tribute to Erland Babcock(cid:0)...................................................................................10(cid:0) Video ITC of Erland Babcock(cid:0).................................................................................11(cid:0) Audio Perception and EVP Experiment(cid:0)..................................................................12(cid:0) Luminator Picture has an Extra...............................................................................13(cid:0) Alexander MacRae and the Names Project(cid:0).............................................................13(cid:0) A Simple Optical Microphone.................................................................................14(cid:0) by David Mierzwinski(cid:0) Helping with the AA-EVP Conference 2006..........................................................15(cid:0) Another Regional Coordinator................................................................................15(cid:0) MacRae has a Second Article in the SPR Journal...................................................16(cid:0) Thomas Edison’s Afterlife Instrument....................................................................16(cid:0) Researchers Report..................................................................................................18(cid:0) Next Step Research Looking for Experimenters.....................................................19(cid:0) Member News.........................................................................................................19(cid:0) Thoughts from Members.........................................................................................19(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in(cid:0) the field of ITC and to update members about the work being done by others in the field.(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—less with pictures. Articles should be short(cid:0) and to the point as they would be for a newspaper.

Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) web site. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with(cid:0) these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0):(cid:0) The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal is added(cid:0) to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP and is(cid:0) protected by USA copyright law: ©2005AA-EVP. Membership information may be found on the(cid:0) AA-EVP web site at www.aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also(cid:0) a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal(cid:0) quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via(cid:0) email should add $8.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in(cid:0) excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding.(cid:0) Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Richard Adams(cid:0)

Tom & Lisa Butler(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Tina DeGroate(cid:0) Brian Kent(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Sandra Champlain(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Christine Kennedy(cid:0) Kimberly Kennedy(cid:0) Tina Laurent(cid:0) Steve Lindemann(cid:0) Karen Mossey(cid:0) Diane Moseley(cid:0) Ginny Sawyer(cid:0) Thank you all!(cid:0) A special thanks for(cid:0) Richard Adam’s(cid:0) continued support(cid:0) Thanks to Loretta(cid:0) Woodward for(cid:0) proofreading the(cid:0) NewsJournal, Lisa(cid:0) Yesse for her(cid:0) support of the Big(cid:0) Circle web pages,(cid:0) and of course, to(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) for her continuing(cid:0) work with the Big(cid:0) Circle.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 2 Winter 2006(cid:0) The Reality of ITC Voices Scientifically Demonstrated(cid:0) By Anabela Cardoso, Mario Salvatore Festa, David Fontana and Paolo Presi(cid:0) Slightly abridged. The full text of this report can be read at www.terra.es/personal2/986313268/report.htm(cid:0) Marcello Bacci uses the Direct Radio Voice Method(cid:0) (DRV), which is the method that seeks to obtain anomalous(cid:0) communications directly through the loudspeakers of radi-(cid:0) os. Such voices frequently refer to listeners by name,(cid:0) respond to questions put to them and sometimes provide(cid:0) relevant and lengthy items of information. For this pur-(cid:0) pose, he favors a valve [tube] radio tuned to white noise in(cid:0) the short-wave band, rather than solid-state technology.(cid:0) The experiment detailed in this report was a sequel to a(cid:0) number of earlier successful investigations carried out into(cid:0) the voices received by Bacci using this Direct Radio Voice(cid:0) Method. Two of these earlier, carefully controlled investi-(cid:0) gations are of particular relevance to the present experi-(cid:0) ment. In the first of them, conducted in the presence of Dr.(cid:0) Eng. Carlo Trajna, a second

radio was set up beside that(cid:0) used by Bacci, connected to the same power lead, with(cid:0) independent aerial and tuned to the same short-wave fre-(cid:0) quency. While Bacci’s radio was heard to receive the(cid:0) anomalous voice communications, the second radio was(cid:0) found to be receiving only normal white noise.(cid:0) This experiment strongly discounts the possibility that(cid:0) the anomalous voices were fraudulently produced. In the(cid:0) second and equally ground-breaking investigation, Profes-(cid:0) sor Mario Salvatore Festa, professor of Physics and Physi-(cid:0) cal Radio Protection at Naples University, and Radio(cid:0) Technician Franco Santi, removed the FM valve and the(cid:0) AM/SW converter valve from Bacci’s radio during the(cid:0) receipt of anomalous voices. This established that even(cid:0) without these valves (in the absence of which no normal(cid:0) broadcasts can be received in the short wave band), the(cid:0) voices continued unabated. During this experiment, Pro-(cid:0) fessor Festa also measured the intensities respectively of(cid:0) the electric field and of the magnetic field adjacent to the(cid:0) radio with the radio switched off, and both during normal(cid:0) radio transmission and during the period when the voice(cid:0) phenomenon occurred. He found that these fields did not(cid:0) show any variation when the voice phenomenon started(cid:0) and also that the values measured after the valves were(cid:0) removed, but the voices continued, were practically identi-(cid:0) cal to the values measured when the radio was turned off.(cid:0) The demonstration that the voices continued even in the(cid:0) absence of the valves, and that there was no variation in(cid:0) electric or magnetic fields during their reception,

provides(cid:0) further convincing evidence that such voices cannot be(cid:0) accounted for by fraudulent transmissions.(cid:0) The present experiment took place in Marcello Bacci’s(cid:0) laboratory in Grosseto, Italy, … [in attendance] at the(cid:0) session was a total of 37 people.(cid:0) Proceedings commenced at 19.10 hours, with Bacci, the(cid:0) investigators and those elsewhere in the room all in their(cid:0) places. Audio tape recorders (analogue and digital) were(cid:0) switched on in order to record proceedings. Bacci began(cid:0) by turning on his radio and selecting the short wave band.(cid:0) He then, as is his usual practice, began slowly to turn the(cid:0) tuning control, scanning the range from 7 to 9 megahertz.(cid:0) As expected, this produced a range of radio transmissions(cid:0) interspersed with white noise. Bacci explained in Italian(cid:0) that he was “searching for good white noise.” This(cid:0) procedure continued for 15-20 minutes until Bacci(cid:0) pronounced, again in Italian, “I can feel them – they will(cid:0) come.” At this point, he stopped turning the dial, and the(cid:0) white noise was heard to change to a vortex-like sound that(cid:0) could variously be described as wind or the sound of(cid:0) waves. Shortly afterwards, this noise died down (though(cid:0) often it recurred simultaneously with the voices, as if they(cid:0) were in some way “carried” on its sound) and voices(cid:0) became audible from the radio. The first words were in(cid:0) Italian, and these were followed by words in Spanish.(cid:0) Bacci, again in Italian, informed those responsible for the(cid:0) voices that they could, “speak in Portuguese, English or(cid:0) Spanish.” The invisible

communicators then addressed(cid:0) David Fontana and Robin Foy in English and Anabela(cid:0) Cardoso in Spanish.(cid:0) From the left: David Fontana, Paolo Presi. Behind them: Robin(cid:0) Foy and Marcello Bacci. Behind them: Mario Salvatore Festa,(cid:0) Anabela Cardoso and Marina Bacci in Bacci’s lab.(cid:0) In lasted the ensuing session, which in all for(cid:0) approximately one hour, what appeared to be five or six(cid:0) separate voices (one of them possibly female, and the rest(cid:0) male) spoke in English and in Spanish as well as in Italian,(cid:0) some of them with a clarity resembling that of normal(cid:0) voices, others with the sonority that characterizes many(cid:0) ITC voices and that renders them distinct from normal(cid:0) articulation. Also present in the voices were the strange(cid:0) ITC(cid:0) semantics communications (e.g. when addressing Dr. Cardoso, the(cid:0) communicator referred to her visit to Bacci with the words(cid:0) “Anabela is here, you are going to the learning boss”) and(cid:0) the parabolic, wave-like speech rhythms. Sometimes the(cid:0) sound wave carrying(cid:0) that are characteristic of many Continued Page 17(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 3 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Joey Speaks from Heaven(cid:0) February of 2004, Debra Caruso’s son, Joey, was sixteen(cid:0) years old when he and her daughter, Alexa, were in a car(cid:0) accident while on vacation in Mexico. Joey, a junior in high(cid:0) school seemed to come out of the accident in pretty good(cid:0) shape with a dislocated shoulder. It was Debra’s eleven(cid:0) year old daughter, Alexa, who was in critical condition.(cid:0) Joey stayed at Debra’s side all day, as

they would not even(cid:0) let her in to see her daughter.(cid:0) in That evening, the doctors(cid:0) to reset his(cid:0) took Joey shoulder. He was given general(cid:0) anesthesia and died on the(cid:0) from(cid:0) operating to(cid:0) asphyxiation; he choked death.(cid:0) table Alexa did not die and Debra(cid:0) was with her for six weeks in(cid:0) the hospital during her long(cid:0) and slow recovery. Finally she(cid:0) had to tell Alexa that Joey had died. One day in the(cid:0) hospital, Alexa said, “Mom, you told me that Joey died. It(cid:0) can’t be true because he talks to me every day.”(cid:0) In November of 2004, Debra contacted Shana from(cid:0) Winter Steel (http://wintersteel.homestead.com/) to ask her(cid:0) opinion on a picture that she had taken. In the conversation,(cid:0) Shana mentioned that if she talked into a tape recorder, it(cid:0) was possible for someone (a spirit) to answer. Debra told(cid:0) us that, “Of course my first reaction was, ‘No way!’ I tried(cid:0) it by speaking into the sound recorder on my computer and(cid:0) Joey was on my first recording. He and others have been(cid:0) answering my questions since then.”(cid:0) Debbie’s website, www.listentothisforme.com, was(cid:0) created to share the many amazing messages coming from(cid:0) Joey and others through her Sony ICD-ST25 recorder.(cid:0) Here are some of the messages from Joey:(cid:0) Debra: When you die, where do you go?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)Mom, up in Heaven.(cid:0) Debra: Hi Joey, Its Mommy.(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)I’m having a good time. I like it here.(cid:0) Debra: Do you want to say “Hi” to any of your friends?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0) I wanted

to … Hi Eddie , Andrew, Kate(cid:0). (Eddie(cid:0) and Andrew were two of his best friends and Kate was(cid:0) his girlfriend.)(cid:0) Debra’s daughter, Alexa, and her friend do not know(cid:0) anything about the paranormal. They were concerned about(cid:0) something that happened to them and came to Debra. They(cid:0) had been in a friend’s car talking about a dream that one of(cid:0) them had about Joey. Every time Joey’s name was(cid:0) mentioned, the lights in the car would go on. She had to ask(cid:0) him if he was responsible.(cid:0) Debra: Did you put the lights on?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)Did it. I put them.(cid:0) Debra: Hi Joey, are you here?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)I can’t explain it… I’m dead.(cid:0) Debra: Joey, you said that Heaven is permanent. Is(cid:0) everyone with you?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)Yes, Mommy, I love you.(cid:0) Debra: Joey is heaven on earth? Is it right here near us?(cid:0) Joey:(cid:0)Right next to you.(cid:0) In November, Debra started asking for longtime researcher,(cid:0) Erland Babcock, now on the other side, to come through.(cid:0) Debra: Hi Erland, its Debbie.(cid:0) Erland:(cid:0)Hi, thank you Debbie … Debbie … I can only(cid:0) talk to certain people.(cid:0) Debra: Erland Babcock, I want to make sure it’s you. Can(cid:0) you tell me your son’s name?(cid:0) Erland:(cid:0)David(cid:0) [This is correct.](cid:0) Debra has also gotten messages during the Big Circle group(cid:0) recordings.(cid:0) Debra: Hi Joey. Tomorrow is the Big Circle recording(cid:0) night. Are you gonna get everyone together to speak to(cid:0) me?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)We found Rob in heaven.(cid:0) Some of the names that she has recorded when she asks

for(cid:0) names of people from the Big Circle are:(cid:0)Bob, Jonathan,(cid:0) Eva, Lexx, Sue, Sammy, Anthony, Rob, Peter, Joseph,(cid:0) Robbie, Maggie, David, Carol, Frank, Martha, Ruth or(cid:0) Ralph, Ilene and Michael.(cid:0) Debra has gotten many validations for others. She had(cid:0) gone to breakfast with her friend, Patricia, and was telling(cid:0) her about EVP. Patricia asked if she could try and reach her(cid:0) friend, Sue, who died in the 9/11 disaster. The two went out(cid:0) to Debra’s car and used Debra’s recorder.(cid:0) Patricia: Sue, its Patricia. Hi, let me know you’re there.(cid:0) What’s one of your children’s names? What’s one of(cid:0) the boy’s name?(cid:0) Sue:(cid:0)Joseph(cid:0). [Joseph is Sue’s youngest son.](cid:0) There was also a(cid:0)“Hi”(cid:0) right after Patricia said, “Hi.”(cid:0) Debra has an Uncle that was skeptical about EVP. They(cid:0) were talking on the phone and Debra told him to ask (over(cid:0) the phone into her recorder) his mother, Rose, who died(cid:0) two years earlier, something that Debra would not know.(cid:0) Uncle: Rose, what was Toby’s last name?(cid:0) Rose:(cid:0)Connor overhead(cid:0)is what Debra heard. Joe, the(cid:0) uncle, told her the last name was Kahn and that they(cid:0) lived above him for 25 years. Debra listened again and(cid:0) heard the EVP as,(cid:0)Kahn are overhead.(cid:0) Debra was with a friend, Tammi, whose boyfriend was a(cid:0) firefighter who died in 9/11. The two tried to reach him.(cid:0) Tammi: Nicky can you give me a sign?(cid:0) Nicky:(cid:0)Anthony, I love you.(cid:0) [Anthony is Tammi’s son](cid:0) Nicky was like a father to him. Nicky’s body was never(cid:0) recovered and Debra

was very moved by this recording.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 4 Winter 2006(cid:0) Visit to Los Angeles(cid:0) We were asked to go to LA in November to appear on(cid:0)Dead(cid:0) Famous Live,(cid:0) a 3-day TV show produced by TwoFour(cid:0) productions and shown in the UK.(cid:0) the live audience in the UK came up with a couple of(cid:0) interpretations for the EVP, but(cid:0)“Don’t buy my coffin”(cid:0) dominated. As things go, it was not until we were off-(cid:0) camera that we realized that the EVP was actually very(cid:0) profound, as such a comment is a classic way of saying that(cid:0) we should not think that the etheric speaker was dead.(cid:0) Good work, Chris!(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler in front of the indoor fountain at the(cid:0) entrance to the LA Theater, situated at the top of the stairs(cid:0) that are shown at the right.(cid:0) The show was filmed in front of a live audience with(cid:0) several people working as authorities and commenting on(cid:0) what was happening to a hauntings investigation team.(cid:0) Filming was at three different locations over the three days.(cid:0) We were brought in to comment on EVP.(cid:0) The Los Angeles Theater is one of the most beautiful(cid:0) historical movie theatres in the state of California. It was(cid:0) built at a cost of more than $1 million in 1931. It is(cid:0) considered the most lavish and the last of the great movie(cid:0) palaces built in downtown LA. Its central staircase and(cid:0) gold brocaded drapes (Versailles style) recall the glories of(cid:0) the French

Baroque. It opened with the gala premiere of(cid:0) Chaplin’s(cid:0)City Lights(cid:0). Its glorious splendor can still be seen(cid:0) once a year when its portals are opened during the LA(cid:0) Downtown Conservancy’s fund-raising sponsorship of old(cid:0) films in vintage theatres.(cid:0) AA-EVP member, Chris Fleming is the male lead in the(cid:0) program that features Chris and his co-star conducting(cid:0) investigations at famous haunted locations. Chris is a(cid:0) medium and conducts EVP and photography experiments(cid:0) as part of the investigation. In one case, we were asked to(cid:0) comment on an EVP he recorded. It was played over the(cid:0) speakers in the live set we were on, and from which we(cid:0) were able to watch the investigation. We and members of(cid:0) Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) Right before we were to go to LA to work on(cid:0)Dead(cid:0) Famous Live,(cid:0) we had been helping the people at(cid:0)Ghost(cid:0) Whisperer(cid:0)with clearances for EVP examples to play at the(cid:0) opening of the show and to play on their web site. They(cid:0) had picked EVP from Sarah Estep, Karen Mossey and(cid:0) Linda Williamson and had requested some ITC pictures(cid:0) from us.(cid:0) When they learned that we would be in the area, they(cid:0) invited us on a tour of the Universal back lot and the set of(cid:0) Ghost Whisperer,(cid:0) a TouchStone production, featured(cid:0) Friday nights on CBS.(cid:0) The city square featured on every episode of(cid:0)Ghost(cid:0) Whisperer(cid:0) may look familiar. The antique store that(cid:0) Melinda owns is in this square and lots of the action always(cid:0) takes place there. The square is actually on the

back lot of(cid:0) Universal Studios and there is a reason that it looks(cid:0) familiar. It is the same one used in the movie,(cid:0)Back to the(cid:0) Future(cid:0).(cid:0) Continued Page 16(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 5 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Schwartz Explores Afterlife in the Lab(cid:0) By Michael E. Tymn(cid:0) In his 2002 book,(cid:0)The Afterlife Experiments(cid:0), Dr.(cid:0) Gary Schwartz, professor of psychology,(cid:0) medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery at(cid:0) the University offered(cid:0) “breakthrough scientific evidence of life after(cid:0) death” (the subtitle of the book) based on(cid:0) experiments carried out with five prominent(cid:0) mediums in his Human Energy Systems(cid:0) Laboratory.(cid:0) of Arizona, While Schwartz, who received his doctorate(cid:0) from Harvard and taught at Yale before moving(cid:0) to Arizona, came under attack by some scientific(cid:0) fundamentalists for his methods and conclusions, he has(cid:0) not backed away from continuing survival research. “We(cid:0) are not just doing research to get percent hits under(cid:0) different levels of control [as is the focus of the book],” he(cid:0) told me in a recent interview. “We are now interested in(cid:0) studying the process. The whole idea of how you establish(cid:0) that the medium is actually receiving communication from(cid:0) a genuine, conscious, decision-making person (spirit) is a(cid:0) very important question, and we’re now asking questions(cid:0) as to what the afterlife is like. That takes the work(cid:0) substantially further.”(cid:0) Among the mediums studied by Schwartz have been(cid:0) John Edward, who hosted a popular television program,(cid:0) Crossing Over(cid:0), and more recently, Allison Dubois, whose(cid:0) life as a psychic legal investigator is the model

for the now(cid:0) popular television weekly drama,(cid:0)Medium(cid:0).(cid:0) An ongoing set of “discarnate intention” studies is called(cid:0) the “Departed Hypothesized Co-investigator Experiments”(cid:0) or the “double-deceased paradigm.” The idea came to(cid:0) Schwartz not long ago when Janet Mayer, a St. Louis,(cid:0) Missouri housewife, contacted him and claimed to have(cid:0) received communication for him from Susy Smith. It was(cid:0) Smith, a medium and author on psychic subjects before her(cid:0) death in 2002, who introduced Schwartz to mediumship.(cid:0) “She (Mayer) said that Susy was watching over me,”(cid:0) Schwartz explained, “so I asked her if she could ask Susy(cid:0) what happened to me over the next 24 hours and then(cid:0) e-mail the information to me every day, Monday through(cid:0) Friday. The very first night I decided I would watch a(cid:0) movie,(cid:0)Field of Dreams(cid:0), and order Chinese food in, which(cid:0) I almost never do, and the third thing is I watched the(cid:0) movie lying down in bed.”(cid:0) The following day, Schwartz received an e-mail from(cid:0) Mayer saying that Susy showed her something about(cid:0) baseball (the subject of the movie) and saw him eating(cid:0) some sort of unusual foreign food. She also saw him(cid:0) reclining. “Five days a week for a few months, it was as if(cid:0) they had a camera in my house,” Schwartz exclaimed.(cid:0) “This did not prove, of course, that it was Susy. There are(cid:0) other explanations, like remote viewing.”(cid:0) During the personal experiment with Mayer, Schwartz(cid:0) visited a family one weekend. The wife had recently lost a(cid:0) sister and was grieving badly. Schwartz(cid:0)

thought how nice it would be if people like(cid:0) her could have the verification that he had(cid:0) about survival. “The next morning, I’m(cid:0) back in Manhattan and get an e-mail from(cid:0) Janet,” Schwartz continues the story.(cid:0) “Remember, she e-mailed me Monday(cid:0) through Friday, not on weekends, but she(cid:0) explained that she was driving her car(cid:0) Saturday night when Susy shows up in the(cid:0) car and insists she do a reading, saying she(cid:0) has brought along another deceased person.(cid:0) So Janet pulls over and took notes as she received(cid:0) communication from the unknown woman. I looked at the(cid:0) information and realized it might be the sister of the person(cid:0) I had been visiting the prior day.”(cid:0) Schwartz hesitated before calling the living sister he had(cid:0) just visited and went through the information item by item.(cid:0) Especially interesting and veridical was that Mayer was(cid:0) shown an eagle and told that it is very important to the(cid:0) family. As Schwartz would learn from the living sister, the(cid:0) deceased sister collected statues and paintings of eagles(cid:0) and at her memorial service a statue of an eagle was placed(cid:0) where the ashes of the woman would normally have been.(cid:0) “I said, ‘Wow, one deceased person can bring another(cid:0) deceased person to a medium, that’s a great experimental(cid:0) paradigm,’” Schwartz said. “It shows intention on the part(cid:0) of the deceased and very hard to explain by superpsi.”(cid:0) Does he have any generalizations now relative to the(cid:0) afterlife? “There’s only one I feel comfortable about now,(cid:0) even

though we have all the questions,” he responded.(cid:0) “There is a massive amount of data and we are in the throes(cid:0) of analyzing it. What I find most amusing and potentially(cid:0) reassuring is that when we are ‘dead’ it’s easier to(cid:0) ‘multitask’ in the afterlife.(cid:0) “Meaning, to do multiple things at the same time but also(cid:0) to be in ‘multiple places(cid:0)’(cid:0)at the same time as well. The(cid:0) capacity for doing non-local and multi-process activities is(cid:0) just easier than when you are in the physical and located in(cid:0) a very specific place. That’s something that has been(cid:0) universally observed.”(cid:0) In spite of the attacks by closed-minded scientists, the(cid:0) indifference of orthodox religion, and generally inaccurate(cid:0) and unfair coverage by the mainstream media, Schwartz(cid:0) courageously moves on with his research, feeling that it is(cid:0) having some impact on the public. “I think it is ultimately(cid:0) the research mediums … as they become visible and(cid:0) public,” he ended the interview, “who will awaken the(cid:0) public to the science, and then people can go to the science(cid:0) and reach their own conclusions.”(cid:0) Michael Tymn is the editor of the Academy of Religious(cid:0) and Psychical Research (ARPR) Bulletin in which this(cid:0) article was originally published.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 6 Winter 2006(cid:0) Program(cid:0) AA-EVP Conference 2006(cid:0) Atlanta, GA June 8, 9, 10(cid:0) Begin End Event Speaker Duration(cid:0) Thursday June 8---------------------------------------------------------------------------------(cid:0) 5:30 Registration(cid:0) 7:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 7:00 7:15 7:15(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Opening Remarks Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) 9:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EVP 101 and Recording Session Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Friday June

9-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(cid:0) 8:00 Registration(cid:0) 9:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0) 9:00 9:15 10:00 10:15 11:30 1:00 1:45 3:00 3:15 5:00 7:00 9:15(cid:0)AM(cid:0) Welcome Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) 10:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0) My Experience with EVP Sarah Estep(cid:0) 10:15(cid:0)AM(cid:0) 11:30(cid:0)AM(cid:0) Break(cid:0) Phone Calls from Beyond and Paranormal Videos(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) 1:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Lunch(cid:0) 1:45(cid:0)PM(cid:0) The Work of Marcello Bacci Paolo Presi(cid:0) 3:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EVP Research Alexander MacRae(cid:0) 3:15(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 5:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 7:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 8:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Break(cid:0) The Big Circle and How to Record EVP(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Dinner(cid:0) Induced After Death Communication using EMDR(cid:0) Dr. Allan Botkin(cid:0) 8:30 9:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Ask Questions and get Technical AA-EVP Members(cid:0) Support from AA-EVP members(cid:0) Saturday June 10--------------------------------------------------------------------------------(cid:0) 9:00 The Work at Il Laboratorio Paolo Presi(cid:0) 10:15(cid:0)AM(cid:0) 10:15 10:30 11:15 12:00 1:30 3:00 3:15 5:00 7:00 8:30 10:30(cid:0)AM(cid:0) 11:15(cid:0)AM(cid:0) 12:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 1:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 3:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 3:15(cid:0)PM(cid:0) 5:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Break(cid:0) Visual ITC/ 4 cell Experiments Tom Butler(cid:0) Robert Egby(cid:0) Meeting our Loved Ones Lunch(cid:0) The Scole Experiments and our Present work in ITC Diana and(cid:0) Alan Bennett(cid:0) Break(cid:0) ITC History and Pictures with the Luminator(cid:0) Mark Macy(cid:0) 7:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Dinner(cid:0) 8:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Testing Mediums Dr. Gary Schwartz(cid:0) 8:45(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Closing Remarks & Good-Byes Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) This is a tentative schedule. Be sure to bring your equipment if you want help during the technical support(cid:0) sessions. Also remember to reserve your hotel room early because there is a limited number of rooms.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 7 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) A Good Signal Level for Background Sound(cid:0) If you are recording with a music(cid:0) quality recorder or a computer, it may(cid:0) be necessary to add background sound(cid:0)

for EVP voice formation. When doing(cid:0) so, one problem is determining a good(cid:0) signal level for the added sound. If the(cid:0) added sound is too loud, then it is(cid:0) difficult to remove later and your voice(cid:0) might be hidden by the noise. If it is too(cid:0) low, the voices may not form.(cid:0) One technique we use is to record in(cid:0) voice-activated recording mode. Then if(cid:0) the recorder does not turn on “by itself”(cid:0) after we ask our question, we know to(cid:0) check the signal level of the available(cid:0) background sound. We think this is true(cid:0) because the entities can apparently(cid:0) trigger the recording mode, so it may only mean that the(cid:0) entities are not talking if voice-activated recording does not(cid:0) turn on.(cid:0) The best form of background sound is “live” sound(cid:0) caused by something like a fan, AM radio static or crowd(cid:0) babble. Digitally generated sound usually does not have(cid:0) amplitude variations and is not well suited for EVP. As(cid:0) such, we do not recommend commercially available CDs(cid:0) that contain digitally generated noise.(cid:0) Supplied sound should not be loud enough to drown out(cid:0) your voice on the recording. As seen on the computer(cid:0) screen, a good level should be not much more than a faint(cid:0) background sound as you can see in the above picture. In(cid:0) the picture, you can see that there is something of a baseline(cid:0) of noise throughout the recording. What you are seeing is(cid:0) the combination of internally generated noise and ambient(cid:0) noise in a private

home.(cid:0) A second interesting characteristic to notice is that the(cid:0) EVP,(cid:0) “Betty’s in there,”(cid:0) which is a Class A, is much(cid:0) stronger than the background noise from which it is(cid:0) supposed to be formed. Analysis of other examples has(cid:0) confirmed that the voices are formed from available sound(cid:0) energy. The results of other studies suggest that the entities(cid:0) are able to “gather” ambient sound and burst it as short(cid:0) statements.(cid:0) Listener Comprehension(cid:0) Daniele Gullá is a forensic(cid:0) acoustics expert to the Italian(cid:0) Police and the Italian Courts(cid:0) of Justice. He is also doing(cid:0) research work with the Italian(cid:0) Il Laboratorio. He talked(cid:0) about listening abilities in his(cid:0) “Computer-based(cid:0) speech, of Apparently(cid:0) Analysis Paranormal Voices,” at the(cid:0) First International Conference(cid:0) on Survival of Physical Death in Vigo, Spain, hosted by(cid:0) Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana.(cid:0) Gullá said in his talk, “Every person is different as far as(cid:0) listener comprehension skills are concerned. Some people(cid:0) are able to catch small differences in sound nuances and/or(cid:0) to reproduce at will sounds already heard and mentally to(cid:0) compare them with familiar and novel sounds, but most of(cid:0) us are less proficient. When, for example, we study a(cid:0) foreign language, we are inevitably inclined to ‘hear’ the(cid:0) sounds of that language as sounds of our mother tongue.(cid:0) However, after a little practice, we can usually start to(cid:0) correctly compare the new learnt(cid:0) sounds with the familiar ones of our(cid:0) own language; we must exercise our(cid:0) ear to recognize the new sounds. The(cid:0) ability to learn

new sounds could(cid:0) explain the differences in listener(cid:0) comprehension between those who(cid:0) regularly carry out EVP experiments(cid:0) and those who do so only rarely. The(cid:0) former have selectively trained their(cid:0) ears to listen to the unfamiliar sounds(cid:0) involved.”(cid:0) The proceedings of the First International Conference on(cid:0) Current Research into Survival of Physical Death with(cid:0) Special Reference of Instrumental Transcommunication,(cid:0) is(cid:0) available in English by writing Anabela Cardoso at c/(cid:0) Carral 23 A (bajo), 36202 Vigo Pontevedra, Spain. The(cid:0) cost is 12 Euros plus 8 Euros post and packing. This is(cid:0) about $25. Because of banking costs you will need to send(cid:0) Euros, or contact Anabela at the above address or via email(cid:0) at(cid:0)[email protected] to ask how much more money you(cid:0) would have to send to her if you did send a check in dollars.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 8 Winter 2006(cid:0) Martha and the Big Circle(cid:0) Martha Copeland has been writing a very interesting letter(cid:0) on the Idea Exchange before the Big Circle group(cid:0) recording sessions. The letter reports on the EVP received(cid:0) from the last “Big Circle” recording session, gives her(cid:0) thoughts on EVP and things happening in the world plus(cid:0) tips, advice and encouragement on recording. The latest(cid:0) letter was on the “Importance of Validations from the Big(cid:0) Circle.” Martha had this to say about a Big Circle session(cid:0) that took place in September: “Karen Mossey picked up a(cid:0) message from the ‘Big Circle.’ Vicki Talbot heard from her(cid:0) son, Braden, who has proven to be a

very active member of(cid:0) the Big Circle. Several other members reported contact,(cid:0) such as Terry Dublin who recognized her son’s voice while(cid:0) recording beside his grave. This validates that our loved(cid:0) ones in the Spiritual World want to communicate with us.(cid:0) “Some people are skeptical about the existence of the Big(cid:0) Circle, but we have heard the voices from beyond and we(cid:0) do not feel the need to prove anything. We know what we(cid:0) hear, and what we hear is all the evidence we need.(cid:0) “Science has already proven that energy never dies; and(cid:0) if we are energy … the only thing that changes after our(cid:0) physical death … is our energy form. It amazes me how(cid:0) people can take this simple truth and make it into(cid:0) something complicated. Once we realize that our spiritual(cid:0) life is not complex, we can find our individual pathway to(cid:0) enlightenment. By not overanalyzing how or why we are(cid:0) able to communicate using EVP, we can relax and “go with(cid:0) the flow.” Perhaps those who have successfully used EVP(cid:0) to communicate with loved ones in the Spiritual World(cid:0) have learned this simple lesson: To communicate using(cid:0) EVP you just have to B-E-L-I-E-V-E it is possible.(cid:0) “However, don’t get me wrong, ... EVP requires an(cid:0) ability to reach a higher level of spiritual awareness in(cid:0) order to contact our loved ones from beyond. These special(cid:0) communications may test our patience, and may be(cid:0) frustrating at times. However, those who persist may gain(cid:0) the greatest reward

by hearing that familiar voice once(cid:0) more, even if it’s no more than a brief word, or two.”(cid:0) Recording Circle Information and Dates(cid:0) Martha Copeland notes that joining the recording group(cid:0) every other Thursday at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EST can be very difficult(cid:0) for members who reside in different time zones. She wrote,(cid:0) “The group energy will be there and if you miss a recording(cid:0) session try to do one when you can. If you receive EVP(cid:0) please share them with the AA-EVP group. You may(cid:0) record the voice of another member’s loved one. Spirit may(cid:0) use someone else in the group as a channel to get their(cid:0) message across to their loved one in the physical world.”(cid:0) If you have questions, check the AA-EVP Idea Exchange(cid:0) message board in the topic, “Recording Circle – Bridge to(cid:0) the Afterlife” or contact Martha.(cid:0) Recording Dates(cid:0): Thursdays, 8 PM EST, January 12 and(cid:0) 16, February 9 and 23, March 9 and 23, April 6 and 20.(cid:0) The Ghost Whisperer Episode “Voices”(cid:0) We had high hopes for the(cid:0)Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) episode that(cid:0) would feature EVP. After all, each Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) episode that we have watched has always ended with a(cid:0) Kleenex to dab at the tears. It is co-produced by James Van(cid:0) Praagh, a person familiar with and sympathetic toward(cid:0) those in spirit and spirit communications. But this email(cid:0) from Andrea Morese pretty much summed it up.(cid:0) “(cid:0)I have to say that I don’t think the(cid:0)Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) producers did the real EVP folks any favors with

this show.(cid:0) The story, which could have been poignant, was made into(cid:0) a mini-horror flick with Mom chasing down this poor kid(cid:0) to his near destruction. I guess my horror at this(cid:0) misrepresentation of love from the other side clouded my(cid:0) ability to appreciate any messages they were trying to(cid:0) convey. Also, I wish they could have not been so heavy-(cid:0) handed with all the transmissions (between radio and TV).(cid:0) The worst part is that it might mislead some people into(cid:0) thinking that this fun house approach to EVP and ITC(cid:0) (which they lump together) actually works this way.”(cid:0) Other things that members might be ready to talk about:(cid:0) 1 EVP can not make someone sick --not even if they are a(cid:0) medium. The star of the show, Melinda the medium,(cid:0) gets headaches and does not feel well whenever she(cid:0) hears EVP. In fact, we have never heard of such a(cid:0) response. This is pure fiction.(cid:0) 2 “White Noise” is not another word for EVP. It is just(cid:0) descriptive of the background sound sometimes(cid:0) supplied for voice formation. Fan noise is more(cid:0) commonly used.(cid:0) 3 EVP does not just come from earthbound people or(cid:0) people who have not crossed over.(cid:0) 4 It is not that easy to get EVP or visual forms of ITC like(cid:0) the unwanted(cid:0) the many faces on bombardment of EVP that they showed. In reality, EVP(cid:0) was portrayed more like one would expect from the(cid:0) antics of poltergeist phenomena complete with a mixer(cid:0) going off.(cid:0) the

TV and We had hoped to get lots of correspondence and questions(cid:0) about EVP. What we got was an increase of about 300 hits(cid:0) on the web site, which is pretty sad, considering that ads for(cid:0) White Noise(cid:0) brought in 30 to 80 thousand hits a day.(cid:0) However, EVP proved to once again be a good marketing(cid:0) tool. This episode of Ghost Whisperer brought in a season(cid:0) high of 12.8 million viewers. It is obvious with that many(cid:0) viewers and no email that the show did not raise viewer(cid:0) curiosity about EVP.(cid:0) We did receive a couple of emails from people saying(cid:0) that they enjoyed the episode so maybe those of us who(cid:0) know about what EVP is really like, can’t distance(cid:0) ourselves enough from the inaccuracies to enjoy the show.(cid:0) I did not think I would ever say this but this made the(cid:0) depiction of EVP in(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0) look good. At least the(cid:0) star was grieving and trying to reach his wife!(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 9 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) A Tribute to Erland Babcock(cid:0) In October, longtime ITC researcher, Erland Babcock,(cid:0) made a peaceful transition with his wife Mary at his side.(cid:0) Erland had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in May. He(cid:0) went through an operation to remove as much of the tumor(cid:0) as possible, saying that he was not afraid to die on the(cid:0) operating table. He came through this and went on to 6(cid:0) weeks of chemotherapy and radiation only to learn that

the(cid:0) cancer was still there. He participated in the AA-EVP and(cid:0) helped members right up to his transition.(cid:0) Erland and Mary Babcock(cid:0) He once wrote, “To me, personally, EVP and pictures are(cid:0) the result of over 25 years of practice. I have tried so many(cid:0) experiments that I have lost count; everything from tape(cid:0) recorders to lasers. I have written 26 journals of about 300(cid:0) pages.… All I can say is whatever works for you [in EVP(cid:0) and ITC experimentation] stick with it and keep on(cid:0) improving it. I am very fortunate to have a background in(cid:0) electronics and photography. I like to say I cut my teeth on(cid:0) vacuum tubes. I repaired my first radio in 1938 and have(cid:0) been into photography for close to 50 years. I am not an(cid:0) expert in anything. I have enough knowledge to be(cid:0) dangerous.”(cid:0) AA-EVP members Karen Mossey and Mike Sullivan(cid:0) were close friends with Erland and Mary and were able to(cid:0) attend his service. They said that it was a wonderful service(cid:0) and that it was nice to meet the wonderful family that(cid:0) Erland always talked about. (The AA-EVP sent flowers to(cid:0) the funeral from all of the AA-EVP members.)(cid:0) I am afraid space does not allow the many pages written(cid:0) in tribute to Erland but here is a sampling from a few(cid:0) members.(cid:0) Andrea Carr wrote, “I will never forget meeting him for(cid:0) the first time in November of 2003, at the Hills Cemetery.(cid:0) He was always so determined. He

needed double knee(cid:0) replacement surgery at the time but still made it to come up(cid:0) to Hudson, NH at Hills Cemetery. He was kind, warm,(cid:0) generous and extremely intelligent…. The fact I was able(cid:0) to meet him and know him was one of the highest honors.(cid:0) Richard Schenk had this to say, “Even though I never met(cid:0) Erland in person, I felt like he was a close family member,(cid:0) a true friend, the many emails we shared about EVP, ITC,(cid:0) photography.... We were both involved in research, served(cid:0) in the military service and are within a year or so of the(cid:0) same age and have both been married over 55 years.… I(cid:0) have always been amazed at his knowledge and interest in(cid:0) his research projects and so many other things.(cid:0) “We worked on the 4Cell Delta experiment until he(cid:0) became too ill to continue. I will treasure … the interest and(cid:0) guidance he gave me for the rest of my physical life, and(cid:0) when my time comes, I hope to join him on the other side(cid:0) and learn from him and continue the research and(cid:0) development of communication with the physical side. I(cid:0) know he is chomping at the bit to get started! I will miss(cid:0) him so very much, but know his messages will come(cid:0) through with his special “Greetings,” like in his emails.…(cid:0) Almost every email we shared, Erland spoke of Mary and(cid:0) his great love for her.”(cid:0) Rob Smith wrote, “I just wanted noted the admiration(cid:0) and

appreciation I will always have for Erland’s guiding(cid:0) hand in my EVP/ITC development. But more than that; he(cid:0) was an exceptional gifted man of vision with a special(cid:0) discernment and a pioneer and mentor for many of us.(cid:0) Karen Mossey wrote: “(cid:0)Erland was a good man and I will(cid:0) greatly miss him. I began a connection with Erland when(cid:0) I first came to the AA-EVP and this became a wonderful(cid:0) friendship. I truly enjoyed Erland and I learned many(cid:0) things from him. I admired how proud he was of his work(cid:0) and his accomplishments and how he honored his life and(cid:0) the people he knew and how devoted he was to his wife and(cid:0) family. We can all take this lesson from Erland because(cid:0) those are characteristics we all need to appreciate in(cid:0) ourselves. He shared this with all and helped anyone with(cid:0) a desire to learn(cid:0)….(cid:0)Death was no stranger to Erland. He(cid:0) told me he had died twice and come back. These(cid:0) experiences from his early childhood on led him to know(cid:0) there is no death. Death was not a concern to Erland. Life(cid:0) was.(cid:0) “Erland and Mary joined AA-EVP members and friends(cid:0) on field trips to record EVP, lectures, and several of us(cid:0) were able to see his wonderful spirit photography exhibit at(cid:0) the Burlington library. Erland would never miss a chance(cid:0) to help someone with enhancement on a photograph(cid:0)….(cid:0)I(cid:0) am so glad we had so many special times together and(cid:0) Erland took every moment with gratitude.(cid:0)”(cid:0) Every

member that talked about Erland also felt that he(cid:0) would be one who would very likely use EVP to(cid:0) communicate with members and he has not disappointed(cid:0) us. Both Rob Smith and Richard Shenk felt that they had(cid:0) heard from Erland almost immediately, and as you may(cid:0) read, Debra Caruso has also gotten some very good EVP(cid:0) from Erland along with confirmations. See(cid:0)Joey Speaks(cid:0) From Heaven,(cid:0) Page 4(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 10 Winter 2006(cid:0) Video ITC of Erland Babcock(cid:0) It does not take much to become a pioneer in the field of ITC research. All that(cid:0) is needed is years of dedication trying every imaginable combination of(cid:0) technology that might improve transcommunication, a keen understanding of(cid:0) that technology and substantial ability to communicate across the veil. Erland(cid:0) Babcock’s pioneering specialty was visual forms of ITC. Here, we have(cid:0) included a number of his finer examples.(cid:0) Early on, Erland used a video loop and took(cid:0) still pictures of the resulting screen display.(cid:0) This one looks a lot like an aerial(cid:0) photograph of a cut-off meander on a river.(cid:0) Some researchers argue that living things(cid:0) emanate energy at a very high frequency,(cid:0) and that the energy images on film as(cid:0) concentric rings. We see a similar(cid:0) manifestation in many photographic(cid:0) orbs. Here is one of a number of Video(cid:0) ITC stills Erland has captured that(cid:0) contained features suggestive of people(cid:0) surrounded by concentric rings.(cid:0) Erland was fast to embrace(cid:0) new techniques, often to(cid:0) greatly improve on them.(cid:0) Here, he used

the still(cid:0) photograph of agitated water(cid:0) in a colored bottle technique.(cid:0) The chaotic optical energy(cid:0) caused by the agitated water(cid:0) is the medium in which(cid:0) phenomenal features are(cid:0) formed. Here, you see what appears to be two children looking to(cid:0) your right. They are wearing mushroom hats. There is an old man(cid:0) standing over them and facing you, his long hair blowing to the(cid:0) right in the wind which the children seem to have put their backs(cid:0) to. You can also see the curvature of the bottle.(cid:0) Erland even had a public display of his photographs in a local(cid:0) library. You can see more examples of his work at(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/examples/examples_photography9.htm(cid:0) Some of Erland’s early Video ITC stills(cid:0) contained features as well developed as we(cid:0) are seeing these days from people using more(cid:0) modern techniques. Disregarding the cost of(cid:0) the quality video equipment he used, we have(cid:0) seen very few comparable features of this(cid:0) detail collected before the modern camcorder(cid:0) and personal computer. The inset at the right(cid:0) is the same picture but with the background(cid:0) erased for clarity.(cid:0) This is a face found in video feedback(cid:0) noise. You can see the screen pixels.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 11 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Audio Perception and EVP Experiment(cid:0) Susan Penton with Ian Lesniak(cid:0) collaborate on an investigation(cid:0) Several people emailed us asking about an online EVP(cid:0) experiment at http://evp.linc.ox.ac.uk/. The web address(cid:0) looked like it was associated with Oxford University and(cid:0) we became concerned that we had a university that

was(cid:0) trying to prove that EVP was all in our heads.(cid:0) We wrote to longtime EVP researcher, Alexander(cid:0) MacRae, who is in Scotland, and asked(cid:0) him what he knew about it. Alec(cid:0) advised us that the group conducting the(cid:0) experiment was the Association for(cid:0) Scientific of Anomalous(cid:0) Phenomena. He then tracked down the(cid:0) the(cid:0) people who were conducting experiment and asked if we could(cid:0) interview them. Thanks Alec!(cid:0) Study We were able to interview the people(cid:0) responsible for the experiment, Cherill(cid:0) Penton and Stefan Lobuczek(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0)What is the Association for(cid:0) of Anomalous(cid:0) Scientific Phenomena (ASSAP)?(cid:0) Study ASSAP:(cid:0) The ASSAP is a group run(cid:0) solely by volunteers to study and(cid:0) document all aspects of the paranormal(cid:0) and is a registered charity. The founders(cid:0) of ASSAP are Maurice Townsend and Dr Hugh Pincott,(cid:0) both of whom are still very active within the group. (cid:0) ASSAP’s 25th Anniversary will be in 2006. The(cid:0) Association is run by an executive committee and Lionel(cid:0) Fanthorpe is the president.(cid:0) The ASSAP trains investigators in the field of scientific(cid:0) investigating and report writing. Once a person has(cid:0) completed the training and submitted a report or a(cid:0) historical research piece to ASSAP, they become known as(cid:0) an Accredited Investigator (as long as the report was up to(cid:0) the standard, of course).(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0)Are you associated with any Universities?(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) The(cid:0)ASSAP is not directly associated with any(cid:0) university?(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0) Who are Susan (Cherill) Penton and Stefan(cid:0) Lobuczek?(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) We are the founders of Paranormal Awakening,(cid:0) an ASSAP affiliated group. That

means our group(cid:0) conducts investigations to ASSAP standards and submits(cid:0) reports to the ASSAP National Investigation Coordinator(cid:0) for them to be scrutinized and logged for cross reference(cid:0) and future collaboration. For a group to become affiliated(cid:0) it has to have at least two accredited investigators.(cid:0) Our first recorded sound was not voice but the sound of(cid:0) an old-fashioned working windmill! Stefan recorded it in(cid:0) a derelict building that is just an empty shell! We had the(cid:0) sound verified by an expert in windmills, but the scientists(cid:0) in England just passed over it as if it were nothing! The(cid:0) recording at(cid:0) www.paranormalawakening.com it is the opening sound(cid:0) from the homepage.(cid:0) found on P.A. website can be Stefan Lobuczek and I devised the Audio Perception(cid:0) Experiment and ASSAP agreed to host the(cid:0) on-line a(cid:0) as bigger membership than we do. Paranormal(cid:0) Awakening is mostly based in Staffordshire(cid:0) and the West Midlands but we have(cid:0) members in London and the USA.(cid:0) version have they AA-EVP:(cid:0)What is your objective in doing(cid:0) the Audio Perception and EVP experiment?(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) Our objective in this experiment is(cid:0) to try to discover why certain people do not(cid:0) hear EVP in recordings. We were getting a(cid:0) lot of unexplained voices in our(cid:0) investigation recordings and we asked(cid:0) people to tell us what they think the voices(cid:0) were saying. We put the clips on our own(cid:0) website and discovered that some people(cid:0) could not even hear the voices and others(cid:0) interpreted the words differently from each(cid:0) other. I wanted to

know why. So I devised(cid:0) person’s the questionnaire to see if(cid:0) a ethnic(cid:0) background, education or(cid:0) lifestyle affected the way(cid:0) they interpreted the sound.(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0) Where did you(cid:0) get the sound files?(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) The sound files(cid:0) are totally manmade. (cid:0) Stefan gained samples of(cid:0) white, pink and brown(cid:0) noise plus he mixed them(cid:0) to create four different(cid:0) noise levels. The EVP is(cid:0) actually someone speaking(cid:0) into the noise on a(cid:0) computer.(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0) What kind of(cid:0) conclusions can you draw(cid:0) from this experiment?(cid:0) Stefan Lobuczek revisits a site.(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) The conclusions we seek to draw from this(cid:0) experiment will hopefully tell us if all people are capable(cid:0) of hearing EVP, and if not, why not! There is already a(cid:0) trend showing in the paper and CD versions that I can see. (cid:0) I am waiting for the on-line experiment to end and then I(cid:0) can analyze the results. Continued Page 13(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 12 Winter 2006(cid:0) Luminator Picture has an Extra(cid:0) Rachelle Morrison attended the ‘04 AA-EVP conference in(cid:0) Reno, Nevada, and had Mark Macy(cid:0) (right) take her picture after his talk(cid:0) on ITC. The Luminator is a device(cid:0) developed by Patrick Richards to(cid:0) assist human health analysis. The(cid:0) device is thought to modify the(cid:0) environment near it, such that a(cid:0) Polaroid picture of a person standing(cid:0) in the field will show differently(cid:0) the(cid:0) depending on the health of individual. Mark Macy, who will(cid:0) present at the 2006 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference in Atlanta, Georgia,(cid:0) uses the device as a

way to(cid:0) produce phenomenal pictures(cid:0) that often show transfiguration,(cid:0) and in Shell’s case, a genuine(cid:0) “extra.”(cid:0) took little The first picture shows Shell(cid:0) standing in the hall just on the(cid:0) other side of the wall from the(cid:0) Luminator. Mark the(cid:0) Polaroid picture without a tripod,(cid:0) and as you can see, there is(cid:0) camera(cid:0) a apparently that(cid:0) movement. We believe movement may actually provide optical energy for feature(cid:0) formation. However it works, if(cid:0) you look above Shell’s right(cid:0) shoulder (your left in the above(cid:0) picture), you will see what(cid:0) appears to be a “skin and bones”(cid:0) head looking over her shoulder.(cid:0) Shell told us that, other than(cid:0) Mark, she was alone in the hall.(cid:0) Although not visible the(cid:0) enlargement at the right, we were(cid:0) able to identify at least two more(cid:0) well formed but much harder to(cid:0) see faces around Shell’s right shoulder.(cid:0) in Alexander MacRae(cid:0) and the Names Project(cid:0) In early 2006, Alexander MacRae will have another(cid:0) project going. This will be called the “Names Project” and(cid:0) it is being supported by a Euro Fund. Alec plans to collect(cid:0) as many full names as he can through EVP. Then through(cid:0) websites, Alec will try to find people who recognize the(cid:0) names that have been recorded. He will then try to get a(cid:0) recording of the person’s voice while alive. A(cid:0) comparison of the two voices will then be done using(cid:0) special forensic computer equipment from Russia. Alec(cid:0) points out that his project is statistical and that he will(cid:0) need lots

of results. Possibly 900 sessions will be required(cid:0) to get a statistically significant number of final results.(cid:0) In a similar experiment, Sonia Rinaldi has recorded a(cid:0) spirit voice that the Italian researchers at Il Laboratorio(cid:0) were able to analyze against the girl’s voice when alive.(cid:0) Their tests show the likelihood that both set of words were(cid:0) spoken by the same person at 98 to 99%.(cid:0) Audio Perception and EVP Experiment(cid:0) Continued from Page 12(cid:0) We are operating on the assumptions that not everyone(cid:0) can hear certain sounds.(cid:0) AA-EVP:(cid:0) How long will the experiment run and how(cid:0) many sample listeners do you hope to get?(cid:0) ASSAP:(cid:0) The experiment will end at the end of February.(cid:0) As for the sample - I have no idea yet how many people(cid:0) have taken part in the on-line version but I hope we will(cid:0) have over 100 combined total.(cid:0) We were so relieved that Cherill and Stefan were not out(cid:0) to prove that EVP was just people hearing things that(cid:0) were not there that we emailed them and told them that we(cid:0) planned to use information on the experiment in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Cherill was very excited and wrote back(cid:0) telling us that they would extend the experiment(cid:0) originally set to end in January to the end of February in(cid:0) hopes that AA-EVP members would go to the website(cid:0) and take the experiment. The website for the online(cid:0) experiment is Http://evp.linc.ox.ac.uk/(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) and then report to us for the “News from Members” and “Researcher’s Report” sections

of the NewsJournal. Their(cid:0) assistance would be credited in the Journal, possibly as a regular contributing editor. Let us know if you are interested.(cid:0) Continued from Page 1(cid:0) Bottom line: There are just the two of us, so help us! If you have something to share make sure that you send it to us.(cid:0) We are also always looking for quality articles. If you have one, share it with members. We thank you for your help and(cid:0) remind you that the cutoff date for items for the next NewsJournal is March 1(cid:0)st(cid:0).(cid:0) What is the difference between a Donor a Patron, and a Sustaining Member?(cid:0)A Donor gives the Association a gift(cid:0) of any denomination under $100. A Patron donates $100 or more. A Sustaining Member is someone who joins or renews(cid:0) for $100. We cannot thank members enough who do this! And don’t forget, when you are going to buy something on(cid:0) Amazon.com go through the link on the aaevp.com website. The Association gets a small percentage of each purchase.(cid:0) The past quarter the Association got a check for $80. Thank you!(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 13 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) A Simple Optical Microphone(cid:0) By David Mierzwinski(cid:0) For nearly a year, I have been conducting various(cid:0) experiments in an attempt to enhance the chances of clear(cid:0) EVP captures. These experiments have led me down many(cid:0) different paths including the use of electromagnetic fields,(cid:0) Tesla coils, audio resonance in musical instruments, 13(cid:0) tones, etc. In my most recent experiments,

I have begun(cid:0) exploring the properties of light. This has been exciting and(cid:0) has produced some encouraging results. I would like to(cid:0) share a simple project some of you may wish to replicate(cid:0) and experiment with. Even if you do not succeed in getting(cid:0) EVP captures with this device it is still a very interesting(cid:0) “science project” and will provide yourself and others with(cid:0) entertainment and wonder.(cid:0) What this project is about(cid:0) This project explores the unusual properties of light given(cid:0) off by a basic oil lamp. I discovered in my experiments,(cid:0) testing various light sources, that the flame of an oil lamp,(cid:0) when detected by a photodiode and amplified to a high(cid:0) degree, is capable of acting as a carrier to transmit sound.(cid:0) This “sound” is rather noisy by nature, and from what I(cid:0) have observed, can be used, along with our voices, by(cid:0) Spirits. In fact, to optimize this system, it is best to use your(cid:0) own voice to set up the link for maximum clarity and(cid:0) strength. This seems to be the optimum settings for Spirit(cid:0) voices as well.(cid:0) What parts are required(cid:0) Instruments(cid:0) The Burr-Brown division of Texas (www.burr-brown.com) makes the best combination of(cid:0) photodiode and amplifier I have found. This part is the(cid:0) “eye” or receiving end of the optical signal from the oil(cid:0) lamp. This part is all self-contained requiring only a few(cid:0) external connections and a nine-volt battery which will(cid:0) power the device chip for a year or more. I was able to

find(cid:0) this part on eBay, or you can check with a distributor in(cid:0) your area (not Radio Shack). I bought my oil lamp from(cid:0) K-Mart. It is the large size lamp with a wide flat wick(cid:0) (important). The cost was around $7. The other parts and(cid:0) cables can be obtained from your local Radio Shack store.(cid:0) Parts List(cid:0) •(cid:0) Oil lamp with wide flat wick and clear glass chimney(cid:0) •(cid:0) High quality digital recorder or use computer to record(cid:0) (Olympus VPN-240 PC used in my experiments)(cid:0) •(cid:0) Burr-Brown OPT101 single photodiode transimpedance(cid:0) amplifier chip(cid:0) •(cid:0) Nine volt battery to power chip/amp(cid:0) •(cid:0) Cables or project board and socket to mount OPT101(cid:0) •(cid:0) Radio Shack Mini Amplifier 277-1008C (used for set-up(cid:0) only)(cid:0) •(cid:0) ClearVoice Denoiser Software (for post processing fil-(cid:0) tering)(cid:0) Construction(cid:0) Now, this is the part that requires patience; how you decide(cid:0) to construct will depend on your ability. I preferred to use(cid:0) a simple perforated project board and soldered with point-(cid:0) to-point technique. How you make the connections to the(cid:0) chip is really up to you. Keep lead lengths as short as you(cid:0) Continued Page 15(cid:0) At left(cid:0): Oil lamp light source, optical detector/amp(cid:0) mounted on “breadboard” material. Audio(cid:0) recorder connected at “microphone in” with cable(cid:0) equipped with two “alligator clips.” The small(cid:0) white box is the Radio Shack mini amp.(cid:0) Above(cid:0), the component pin diagram for Burr-(cid:0) Brown OPT101 optical detector/amp. The end of(cid:0) the chip with a notch has pins 1 and 8.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4

Page 14 Winter 2006(cid:0) Simple Optical Microphone(cid:0) Continued from Page 14(cid:0) can so you do not pick up stray signals. I think Radio Shack(cid:0) sells wire-wrap and a hand tool for those who do not wish(cid:0) to solder. A socket for the chip is a good idea.(cid:0) Use the component pin above as a guide to make your(cid:0) connections. This diagram shows the chip pin numbers(cid:0) looking from the top (window side), keep this in mind(cid:0) when connecting from the bottom or a socket. Make the(cid:0) following connections:(cid:0) •(cid:0) Tie together or jumper pins 8 and 3, we will then call this(cid:0) (common).(cid:0) •(cid:0) Connect your nine volt battery (Radio Shack sells a(cid:0) pre-made battery connector) Plus or red connects to pin(cid:0) 1; black or minus goes to common.(cid:0) •(cid:0) The only other connection goes to your recorder. I used(cid:0) a pre-made cable from Radio Shack that came with 1/8(cid:0) mono phone plug on one end and a red and a black(cid:0) alligator clamp on the other end.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Connect as follows, microphone positive or “high” to pin(cid:0) 5, microphone minus or “low” to common.(cid:0) Whew, that’s the hard part, are you still reading this?(cid:0) Setup and Test(cid:0) This chip receiver you just constructed is very, very(cid:0) sensitive to light and modulations of light. You can(cid:0) experiment with it in many different ways. Keep in mind it(cid:0) will pick up your ordinary room lights and you will hear the(cid:0) loud 60 Hz component of the light. It will pick up

light(cid:0) from your computer screen and also light from an infrared(cid:0) remote or computer link. For the oil lamp microphone to(cid:0) work properly you must be mindful of these stray sources(cid:0) of light and work in an area where the only source of light(cid:0) will be the oil lamp itself. Also make sure windows are(cid:0) closed and there are no drafts in the room to cause undue(cid:0) vibration to the flame in the lamp.(cid:0) Setup is easier with the use of the Radio Shack mini(cid:0) amplifier. The amplifier is not too sensitive to low(cid:0) frequencies so it has properties of a good filter built right(cid:0) in. Place your receiver (optical chip) at about the same level(cid:0) as the oil lamp flame so the light from the lamp falls on the(cid:0) chip window. Keep the lamp about two feet away from the(cid:0) chip.(cid:0) Connect your output cable to the jack marked “Input” on(cid:0) the mini amp. Turn up the gain about half way on the amp.(cid:0) You will notice if you turn up the flame on the lamp too(cid:0) high you will hear noise and flutter in the mini amp. Speak(cid:0) with a loud voice near the lamp. Adjust the lamp flame for(cid:0) the loudest clearest sound of your voice or an assistant’s(cid:0) voice. You may need to hold the amp near your ear to hear(cid:0) this signal. Find the “sweet spot” by adjusting the distance(cid:0) of the chip to flame and the flame size for best clarity.(cid:0) Recording and Processing(cid:0)

Once you have optimized your setup for best clarity you(cid:0) can try some recordings. Simply plug into your recorder(cid:0) mic input and record. You can try silence or speaking in a(cid:0) loud voice or even playing music. You may notice you will(cid:0) have some of the same challenges as our Spirit friends in(cid:0) having the proper energy to be clearly heard. Speaking in a(cid:0) slow halting cadence seems to work well. Do not be(cid:0) surprised if your words are changed when using this device(cid:0) to record your voice. I suggest a script or another recorder(cid:0) used for control. Due to the noisy nature of this process I(cid:0) recommend post processing of the recording. I found(cid:0) ClearVoice Denoiser used with custom settings to be(cid:0) sufficient. Basically low frequency component(cid:0) introduced by the flame needs to be suppressed so the(cid:0) voices can be more clearly heard. If you get to the point of(cid:0) recording I will be happy to furnish you with the required(cid:0) custom settings that have worked the best for me.(cid:0) the Have Fun!(cid:0) I hope this very simple technique works as well for you as(cid:0) I have observed. Do not be disturbed if your voice winds(cid:0) up sounding like a Spirit voice, it is the nature of this(cid:0) technology. Have fun speaking through the aether and(cid:0) hopefully you will have a breakthrough contact.(cid:0) Please let me know of your results ([email protected]).(cid:0) Helping with the AA-EVP Conference 2006(cid:0) Martha Copeland has agreed to once again be the chairperson for the

conference in Atlanta in 2006. New member(cid:0) Sandra Champlain has offered to be Martha’s right hand in co-coordinating volunteers and helpers. Already, members(cid:0) Carol Peterson, Jim Stonier and Heidi Spencer have volunteered to help. We need members to help on the reservation(cid:0) table and also to help at the AA-EVP book sales table. If you are going to the conference and are willing to help out a(cid:0) little please contact Martha at [email protected].(cid:0) We are planning on having a one-on-one workshop in which members will help other members with the hardware(cid:0) part of EVP. Members will be available to show you how to download EVP and talk to you about sound editing(cid:0) software. If you are good with the technical side of EVP, send us an email ([email protected]) to volunteer to help(cid:0) attendees at the conference.(cid:0) Another Regional Coordinator(cid:0) In the last NewsJournal, we left off the name of Cindy Heinen on the Coordinators list. Cindy lives in Harvard, IL and(cid:0) can be contacted at [email protected].(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 15 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Visit to Los Angeles(cid:0) Continued from Page 5(cid:0) Take another look at the picture of the square. We were(cid:0) shocked to learn that the trees were even fake.(cid:0) We were taken by the house that Melinda and Jim live in.(cid:0) It is just down the street from Wisteria Lane of(cid:0) Desperate(cid:0) Housewives(cid:0) fame. Melinda’s house is used for exterior(cid:0) shots like most of the buildings in the square. The interior(cid:0) shots are all done

on sets built in huge sound stages.(cid:0) The town square in(cid:0)Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) is on Universal’s lot and(cid:0) was used for(cid:0)Back to the Future.(cid:0)Like many of the plants, the(cid:0) large tree on the left is artificial.(cid:0) We recorded for EVP in the set of the interior of the(cid:0) house. It was difficult because we were dodging carpenters(cid:0) building a set for an upcoming episode, but we used two(cid:0) recorders and it really worked to point out the real voices(cid:0) from those of our unseen speakers. The EVP seemed kind(cid:0) of arcane. One said,(cid:0)“Hi, this is Black Bart.”(cid:0) Does this(cid:0) have something to do with the history of the sound stage or(cid:0) is it just a humorous EVP? It was in response to a question(cid:0) asking if the etheric communicators had a message for the(cid:0) production crew. Another EVP said,(cid:0) “Testing the Water,”(cid:0) and seemed to mean nothing until we were told that the(cid:0) episode that they were working on had lots to do with water.(cid:0) Top Unanswered Questions(cid:0) Science(cid:0)magazine’s list of the top one hundred unanswered(cid:0) questions in science reminds us that the paranormal is not(cid:0) the only thing that we do not always understand. The list(cid:0) glaringly shows how little we know about our fundamental(cid:0) reality. Some of the questions listed were: What is the(cid:0) Universe made of? How and where did life on Earth arise?(cid:0) What is the basis for consciousness? How many species are(cid:0) there on Earth? What are the roots of human culture,(cid:0) language and music? Why

do we sleep? Why do we dream?(cid:0) Of course, we can add a few to that list, such as: Why(cid:0) does the orthodox scientific community resist considering(cid:0) the evidence for personal survival, and if there is an etheric(cid:0) aspect of awareness, what is its origin.(cid:0) MacRae has a Second Article in the JSPR(cid:0) The October 2005 issue of the Journal of the Society for(cid:0) Psychical Research included a second article by Alexander(cid:0) MacRae. In this one, Alec details the EVP experiments he(cid:0) conducted in the Institute of Noetic Sciences screen room.(cid:0) Remember that the JSPR is a refereed, peer-review journal(cid:0) and that the article necessarily meets the SPR’s high(cid:0) standard for thoroughness and documentation. Here is the(cid:0) abstract:(cid:0) Report of an Electronic Voice Phenomenon(cid:0) Experiment inside a Double-Screened Room(cid:0) By Alexander MacRae(cid:0) Abstract(cid:0) An Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) experiment is(cid:0) described which took place in a laboratory screened against(cid:0) e.m. radiation and also acoustically isolated. The(cid:0) subsequent treatment of the results through sound-(cid:0) processing is outlined, and the final analysis of the results(cid:0) through the use of a unique multiple-choice system is(cid:0) described. Comparative spectrograms of one EVP(cid:0) utterance and the same thing spoken in normal speech are(cid:0) provided to assess the physical basis of the results. The(cid:0) conclusion is drawn that voices of no natural origin were(cid:0) received in the screened laboratory.(cid:0) Thomas Edison’s Afterlife Instrument(cid:0) Reading many of the EVP histories found around the(cid:0) Internet gives the impression that Thomas Edison invented(cid:0) EVP. In fact, we have found

no support for anything more(cid:0) than a retired Edison speculating about instrumental spirit(cid:0) communication in his journals. This, however, is not the(cid:0) case for the etheric Thomas Edison. Alexander MacRae(cid:0) tells us that the design for the Scole Device was given to(cid:0) the Scole Group when their etheric contact group relayed(cid:0) Edison’s design.(cid:0) We recently received an email from Mark Scammell who(cid:0) told us that, “My great grandfather, Ernest Valentine(cid:0) Scammell, was a spiritualist and an electrician for(cid:0) Marylebone Council, London. Thomas Edison contacted(cid:0) him spiritually and gave him the plans of how to build an(cid:0) instrument to contact the dead. He built this instrument and(cid:0) finished it just after the Second World War. It was passed(cid:0) down to my grandfather, my father and now to me after the(cid:0) recent death of my(cid:0) father.”(cid:0) Alexander MacRae(cid:0) indicated to us that he(cid:0) would be happy to(cid:0) reverse engineer the(cid:0) it,(cid:0) device and along with the Scole(cid:0) Device he is building(cid:0) as part of his SPR(cid:0) grant.(cid:0) test Thomas Edison’s Afterlife Instrument.(cid:0) A speaker is in the lid.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 16 Winter 2006(cid:0) The Reality of ITC Voices(cid:0)Continued from Page 3(cid:0) the voices became distorted, but in spite of these features(cid:0) the meaning of approximately 70 per cent of the vocal(cid:0) utterances were directly clear to those named above, five of(cid:0) whom are fluent in Italian and English, and one of whom(cid:0) (Dr. Cardoso, a senior Portuguese diplomat by profession(cid:0) who lives in Spain most of the time), is

fluent in all the(cid:0) languages used as well as in her mother tongue Portuguese.(cid:0) The voices referred to those present by their first names,(cid:0) and addressed Professor Fontana by both his first and(cid:0) second names (“David Fontana,” perhaps to distinguish(cid:0) him from David Pagnotta, who was present elsewhere in(cid:0) the room), and then added “Ciao David.” Bacci himself(cid:0) was frequently referred to either as “Marcello” or as(cid:0) “Bacci.” All names were given clearly and were easily(cid:0) recognizable. Sometimes, the voices replied to questions(cid:0) in a different language from that used by the questioner and(cid:0) sometimes they even changed languages during the course(cid:0) of their answers. Not all questions were answered and(cid:0) certain of them only after a pause.(cid:0) The most significant incident during the session, and the(cid:0) one that marks this experiment out as of historic(cid:0) importance in the history not only of ITC research but also(cid:0) of psychical research in general, occurred near the end of(cid:0) the session. As mentioned earlier, the finding by Professor(cid:0) Festa and Technician Santi, that removal of two of the(cid:0) valves from the radio did not prevent the receipt of the(cid:0) anomalous voices, provided crucial evidence that the(cid:0) voices were not produced by fraudulent transmissions.(cid:0) However, critics have suggested that even without these(cid:0) two valves, it was still technically possible for the radio to(cid:0) produce sound in other wavebands. Therefore, with the(cid:0) consent of Marcello Bacci, it was decided that in the(cid:0) present experiment all five valves would be removed(cid:0) during the reception of

the anomalous voices. Accordingly,(cid:0) approximately one hour after the commencement of the(cid:0) voices, and while they were still continuing, Radio(cid:0) Technician Franco Santi leaned over the work bench and(cid:0) removed four of the valves, followed after a short pause(cid:0) due to difficulties in handling the hot glass, by the removal(cid:0) of the fifth and last valve. … Despite the absence of the(cid:0) valves, the voices continued with the same volume.(cid:0) When the voices paused, Marcello Bacci, without(cid:0) previous warning and obviously yielding to an impulse,(cid:0) switched off the radio at the set and the light illuminating(cid:0) the glass panel at the front of the set disappeared. After 11(cid:0) seconds of silence (reported timing has been taken from the(cid:0) tape recorded during the experiment) the observers could(cid:0) hear modulated whistles (sounds similar to those of(cid:0) whiplashes) and the usual acoustic signal that precedes(cid:0) Bacci’s reception of paranormal voices which is similar to(cid:0) a vortex of air. The voice of the invisible communicator,(cid:0) interspersed with whistles, recommenced 21 seconds after(cid:0) Bacci had turned the radio off and continued for 23 seconds(cid:0) with the same acoustic quality previously heard, perhaps a(cid:0) little slower but as clear as before. When the speech ended(cid:0) the whistles remained for another 6 seconds while the(cid:0) vortex which was heard at the end of the vocal utterance(cid:0) became weaker and finally disappeared after 12 seconds.(cid:0) However, the contact did not seem to be terminated since(cid:0) another 53 seconds later the vortex could again be heard as(cid:0) well as

a very weak male voice which seemed to arise from(cid:0) it and comment the sentence just uttered by Mario Festa(cid:0) “Siete grandi!” (You are great!). The phenomenon lasted(cid:0) for 2 minutes, 20 seconds after the radio was switched off.(cid:0) During this time, Radio Technician Franco Santi(cid:0) inspected the interior of the radio with his pencil torch, the(cid:0) beam of which was briefly visible through the glass panel.(cid:0) This part of the experiment was unplanned, and occasioned(cid:0) particular surprise on the part of the observers. In all, three(cid:0) parts of the experiment (radio switched on with valves in(cid:0) place, radio switched on with valves removed and radio(cid:0) switched off with valves removed), the voices came out(cid:0) unequivocally from the loudspeaker of the radio, and apart(cid:0) from what may have been a slight loss of quality after the(cid:0) radio was switched off, with the same volume and clarity.(cid:0) The radio was then switched back on for a short period, but(cid:0) no further voices were heard during this time, and the(cid:0) experiment was concluded.(cid:0) In the view of the authors of this report, and of all other(cid:0) knowledgeable observers present, this experiment is of(cid:0) momentous importance in the history of psychical research(cid:0) because the persistence of the voices in the absence of the(cid:0) valves, and during the interval when the radio was switched(cid:0) off, conclusively discounts any possibility either of fraud(cid:0) or of the reception of stray radio transmissions. The(cid:0) experiment was conducted in the presence and with the(cid:0) investigators with many years

of(cid:0) participation of experience of ITC and of other areas of psychical research(cid:0) (together, in the case of Professor Festa, Radio Technician(cid:0) Franco Santi and Aeronautical Engineer Paolo Presi, with(cid:0) experience in radio technology and in addition Paolo Presi(cid:0) is an experienced Short Wave Listener with SWL Licence(cid:0) No. 2330), and this leaves no room for charges of mal(cid:0) observation or of other forms of experimenter error. The(cid:0) results of this experiment, taken together with those yielded(cid:0) by the 2002 experiment ... provide firm evidence of the(cid:0) authenticity of the Bacci voices. -----End-----(cid:0) Paolo Presi will be at the June 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP Conference in Atlanta,(cid:0) Georgia. He will talk about(cid:0) Marcello Bacci and show a video of(cid:0) a Bacci session with mothers(cid:0) contacting their children. He will(cid:0) also bring us up to date on the work(cid:0) being done at Il Laboratorio in Italy(cid:0) (www.laboratorio.too.it). The lab is(cid:0) currently only EVP/ITC(cid:0) research facility in the world that(cid:0) we are aware of. As such, it is a very(cid:0) important part of the ITC community and we are delighted(cid:0) that Paolo Presi has agreed to represent it at the conference.(cid:0) the Volume 24, Number 4 Page 17 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Researchers Report(cid:0) •(cid:0) Heidi and Bill Armbruster asked, “Are you here Mike?”(cid:0) and recorded,(cid:0)“Course I’m here Dad ... Don’t you get(cid:0) it?”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Joseph Arcara asked a dear friend what the weather is(cid:0) like there and received,(cid:0)“Beautiful … You’d have to see(cid:0) it.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Jenanne Bull was listening to a voice mail

when she(cid:0) heard a beep-beep signaling that someone else was(cid:0) calling. She hung up from voice mail and checked for the(cid:0) calling number but none was listed. In fact, there was no(cid:0) record of a call coming in. She again went back into her(cid:0) voice mail and now found a new one marked urgent. The(cid:0) message is quite loud and sounds like it is saying,(cid:0)“Real(cid:0) to me.”(cid:0) Jenanne was at the house where a relative of the(cid:0) family had died from terminal cancer. She wrote, “Her(cid:0) cat jumped up on my lap as I listened to the message and(cid:0) so I wondered right away if it was her.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Sandra Champlain recorded with a friend who was trying(cid:0) to reach her father. The man came through saying her(cid:0) name,(cid:0)“Derdre”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0) He communicated(cid:0) that it was easy to talk and breathe now. Derdre then told(cid:0) Sandra that he had a tracheotomy!(cid:0) •(cid:0) Terry Dulin asked her son, “Is it really you I’m talking(cid:0) to? Does the spirit survive death as an individual?” She(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“Surviving through death … we’ll be together(cid:0) … one to another … with the heart.”(cid:0) Terri felt that he(cid:0) was saying we survive death and will be together again(cid:0) with those we love.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Linda Gregory got an EVP saying,(cid:0)“Cat,”(cid:0) and thought it(cid:0) might be Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy. Martha(cid:0) confirmed it and Linda wrote, “I am thrilled Cat came(cid:0) through to me and hopefully she will help my dad to(cid:0) someday come through.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Christine

Jenkins wrote, “I have been receiving a lot of(cid:0) messages lately referring to(cid:0)‘John.’(cid:0)My husband’s name(cid:0) is John so I have been asking him to let me record with(cid:0) him. He is … still a little nervous about my recording.(cid:0) Yesterday he was talking about his grandmother (who(cid:0) has passed) so I decided to record.” They were both(cid:0) amazed to hear the EVP,(cid:0)“Hi John.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Helen Kolln was recording in a very active old jail. She(cid:0) put her recorder down and you can hear her say, “It’s(cid:0) probably going to record voices.” Her voice is followed(cid:0) by an EVP saying,(cid:0)“Exactly.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Alexander MacRae wrote to us that he had gotten one of(cid:0) the most evidential EVP that he had ever recorded.(cid:0) About a month ago, on a Monday, he recorded,(cid:0)“Norman(cid:0) the Duke is dead.”(cid:0)Alec wrote, “To almost everybody(cid:0) that means nothing. But to anyone over 50 from this(cid:0) village, it is like a coded message, a nickname, full of(cid:0) significance. Next day I saw a funeral notice at our post(cid:0) office regarding someone I knew very well and to whom(cid:0) that message was directly attributable. Unknown to me,(cid:0) he had died on the Sunday. Monday, I got the message.(cid:0) Tuesday, I found out he had died. Wednesday, I was at(cid:0) his funeral. He was a very good friend in my frightening(cid:0) first days at school.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) David Mierzwinski wrote, “I found this to be an(cid:0) interesting coincidence.” We had just emailed David and(cid:0) asked him to write an article about a

recent experiment(cid:0) for the NewJournal (see “A Simple Optical Microphone”(cid:0) on page 14) and include some pictures of the components(cid:0) used. David was doing a recording session while he(cid:0) composed the answer to Tom. He recorded,(cid:0)“Take(cid:0) pictures,”(cid:0) then something that is unclear and then,(cid:0) “Transmit”(cid:0)and then,(cid:0) “Pictures,”(cid:0) again.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Karen Mossey shared an EVP that she thinks is from her(cid:0) father saying,(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0)She wrote, “Love is the(cid:0) strongest emotion for those in the higher levels and my(cid:0) heart is always delighted to hear it from them.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Patti Newall’s ghost hunting group was doing a(cid:0) fundraiser for a local theater. She did not expect to get(cid:0) anything as there were so many people there. They had(cid:0) been discussing the woman who supposedly haunts the(cid:0) theater and someone said that she sounded snobby. Patti(cid:0) asked, “Clarissa, are you snobby?” On playback there is(cid:0) a little voice that whispers,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Ginny Sawyer captured a recording that contained many(cid:0) references to the(cid:0)“Big Circle.”(cid:0) Ginny said she felt she(cid:0) was listening to a conversation that was taking place in(cid:0) the Spiritual World, as they were talking about the Big(cid:0) Circle.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Richard Shenk tried to reach Erland Babcock the day(cid:0) after his transition and ask Erland if he had a message for(cid:0) him. He recorded,(cid:0)“I feel good, Richard.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Rob Smith wrote, “I received an EVP back in June(cid:0) stating that,(cid:0)‘Mr Konstantin’(cid:0)would(cid:0)‘Help me.’(cid:0) Rob sent(cid:0) the voice to Rolf-Dietmar Ehrdardt who confirmed that(cid:0) is was the voice of pioneer EVP researcher, Konstantin(cid:0) Raudive.(cid:0)

•(cid:0) Heidi Spencer has worked very hard in helping a(cid:0) grieving member learn how to record and has also(cid:0) recorded on her own, trying to reach the member’s son.(cid:0) She was thrilled in November when she recorded the(cid:0) son’s name and was able to share it with his mother.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Vicki Talbott shared a recording that she got while(cid:0) participating in the Bridge to the Afterlife (Big Circle)(cid:0) recording session. She wrote, “I rarely answer the phone,(cid:0) and especially when Braden was alive because of all his(cid:0) friends calling. We had a running joke about how he(cid:0) used to try to get me to answer the phone. He would say(cid:0) repeatedly, ‘Pick up the phone, mom (usually long and(cid:0) drawn out), until I was so sick of it that I’d pick up.” The(cid:0) first EVP is Braden saying,(cid:0)“Pick up the phone …(cid:0) mom!”(cid:0) Then a female voice saying in a sing-song voice,(cid:0) “Braden’s on that phone.”(cid:0)Vicki continued, “Then(cid:0) someone else says to remind me that it’s a joke,(cid:0)“Not(cid:0) really.”(cid:0) Continued Page 19(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 18 Winter 2006(cid:0) Next Step Research Looking for(cid:0) Experimenters(cid:0) Amanda Dickerson has contacted us to say that the group(cid:0) she is with, Next Step Research, has embarked on an(cid:0) extended experiment to determine how common it is for an(cid:0) EVP to be caused by the thoughts of living people, rather(cid:0) than by discarnate beings. Amanda said that, “We are(cid:0) hoping to attract a large number of researchers familiar with(cid:0) EVP to participate in

the experiment. All of the details are(cid:0) available at http://nextstepresearch.tripod.com.(cid:0) There are too few people in the world who are able to and(cid:0) willing to make the effort to conduct organized research of(cid:0) EVP and ITC, so we thank the people of Next Step(cid:0) Research for making the effort. As always, we encourage(cid:0) people to contribute to the larger community by making(cid:0) their EVP recording skills available to any form of research(cid:0) that might further our understanding of these phenomena.(cid:0) We will endeavor to keep you posted as to the progress of(cid:0) this experiment.(cid:0) Member News(cid:0) •(cid:0) Andrea Carr is now senior EVP analyst for the(cid:0)Haunted(cid:0) Times(cid:0)magazine.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Martha Copeland did a couple of shows talking about the(cid:0) Big Circle and her communication with her daughter on(cid:0) Magick Mind Radio with Ed Craft.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Garrett Husveth sent us three more episodes of “Ghost(cid:0) Stories.” He wrote, “We just got signed to do 6 more(cid:0) episodes” ... with Fangoria TV. See www.fangoriatv.com.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Karen Mossey did an interview about EVP with her local(cid:0) Boston network CBS Channel 4. It will be aired in(cid:0) February after an episode of(cid:0)Ghost Whisperer.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Rob Smith is making progress with the Australian(cid:0) Association of Instrumental TransCommunication (AA-(cid:0) ITC). He plans to have a web site and is active with(cid:0) various media outlets in his country.(cid:0) Researchers Report(cid:0) Continued from Page 18(cid:0) •(cid:0) Karen Thorne wrote that she had a hostile, angry ghost in(cid:0) the laundry room of her apartment building who was(cid:0) always saying,(cid:0)“Get out!”(cid:0)

She wrote, “We tried doing a(cid:0) cleansing, and for a few days it seemed to work.” But just(cid:0) a few days later she shared a recording that said,(cid:0)“Get out(cid:0) now … I’ll never leave!”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Glenda Turner wrote, “I recorded a voice on my desktop(cid:0) computer using Wavepad and the voice sounds male. I(cid:0) asked the question, ‘What is your name?’ and the voice(cid:0) replied,(cid:0)‘This is Michael.’(cid:0)What is amazing about this is(cid:0) the fact that a friend of mine died suddenly two months(cid:0) before I did the recording and his name was Michael.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Dawn Wise sent us an email on her son’s birthday telling(cid:0) us her son, Andrew Conover, would have been 11 years(cid:0) old. Andrew was just 5 months old when he crossed to(cid:0) spirit. Dawn went to her son’s gravesite and shared the(cid:0) touching EVP she captured saying,(cid:0)“Mommy.”(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) •(cid:0) Jenanne Bull was able to pull an EVP off her cell phone(cid:0) voice mail by using the “hands-free” earphone jack as an(cid:0) “audio out” and connecting the other end of the audio(cid:0) cable into her computer’s microphone jack as the “audio(cid:0) in.” She then used the Windows Sound Recorder to record(cid:0) it as a wav file. This only required the purchase of one(cid:0) audio cable at Radio Shack and she said that she would(cid:0) recommend this procedure to anyone else who gets an(cid:0) EVP on the voice mail of their cell phone.(cid:0) •(cid:0) Cathy Condor posted to the Idea Exchange: “I know that(cid:0) many of

us have had experiences with our dogs and cats(cid:0) sensing spirit. My daughter seems to have a bird that does(cid:0) the same thing. She lives in a renovated old mill and her(cid:0) apartment appears to be shared with a female spirit that(cid:0) has made her presence known to us on many occasions.(cid:0) Since my daughter brought her bird home, she has noticed(cid:0) that at various times, the bird (a cockatiel) will stop(cid:0) playing with her toys and will look upwards and track(cid:0) something across the ceiling. After a few seconds, she(cid:0) loses interest and goes back to her toy. There have also(cid:0) been times when strange activity in the apartment(cid:0) coincides with the bird watching something we can’t see.(cid:0) Has anyone else had experience with an animal that sees(cid:0) spirits, other than a cat or dog?”(cid:0) •(cid:0) Richard Smith, www.paratexas.com, made the(cid:0) observation that, “I usually find that, when the EVP(cid:0) translation is reported to have changed, if I take the source(cid:0) file back to the origin (the sound equipment I used to find(cid:0) it in the first place), it is still much the same and still(cid:0) produces more opinion from others in favor of the(cid:0) original message. Thus, I suspect that electronics(cid:0) specification variances in the replay equipment are a(cid:0) strong influence on this occurrence.(cid:0) “Next, I find that the individual interpretation, (hearing,(cid:0) dialect and accent influence, etc) are another culprit. Then(cid:0) there is an occasional EVP that, for all the world, seems(cid:0) just to have changed and you

are at a loss to explain it …(cid:0) but for me, that’s a tough one because I would prefer to(cid:0) have that same opinion expressed by others to back me(cid:0) up.(cid:0) “I have said many times that if I were a ‘theory’ man, I(cid:0) could easily theorize that the numbers of EVP messages(cid:0) are actually infinite in any location at any time for any(cid:0) person, but very subtle ‘universal law’ guides us to find(cid:0) the one we seek. It seems to me that finding EVP is like(cid:0) peeling layers off an onion, as soon as you are done with(cid:0) one, there is another. That’s why it is sometimes unwise(cid:0) to do too much filtering and tampering.”(cid:0) Thank You All(cid:0) We wish you a Happy New Year! We would like to(cid:0) take a moment to thank all of you for your(cid:0) participation in the Association and interest in EVP.(cid:0) Volume 24, Number 4 Page 19 Winter 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true

story of a parent’s deepest pain--(cid:0) losing a child--and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA,(cid:0) $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order(cid:0) at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) EVP 101 CD(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler lead a workshop covering how to(cid:0) record for EVP and how to analyze the sound track for(cid:0) EVP. The CD they use for the workshop is available for(cid:0) $15.00 each. [Add $1.00 for international mailing.](cid:0) Contents include:(cid:0) EVP examples for learning how to listen to EVP(cid:0) Audacity Audio Program(cid:0) How to record for EVP(cid:0) Order this CD by writing to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA. Make Check to AA-EVP(cid:0) AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not(cid:0) receiving the NewsJournal via email(cid:0) $38.00 per year Sustaining Members(cid:0) All benefits for one

year(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume

24, Number 4 Page 20 Winter 2006(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 25 Number 1 This is the first issue of the AA-EVP’s 25th Year Spring 2006(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) is New Speaker Joins the Conference:(cid:0) We are delighted(cid:0) to announce that(cid:0)Laurie Monroe(cid:0) has agreed to speak at the AA-EVP(cid:0) June conference. Laurie the(cid:0) President and Chief Executive(cid:0) Officer of The Monroe Institute(cid:0) (ITC) (www.monroeinstitute.com).(cid:0) Under her leadership, TMI has(cid:0) in(cid:0) greatly expanded education, the(cid:0) research, promotion of Hemi-Sync(cid:0)®(cid:0) as a tool(cid:0) for expanding human consciousness and enhancing human(cid:0) potential.(cid:0) its efforts and short walk from either the CNN Center MARTA stop on(cid:0) the East/West line or from the Peachtree Center stop on the(cid:0) tours. See(cid:0) North/South www.cnn.com/StudioTour/.(cid:0) line. CNN also gives The Aquarium is across the street from the Olympic(cid:0) Centennial Park, with its many beautiful fountains, which(cid:0) is another place people might like to see. For information(cid:0) on all Atlanta attractions, go to www.atlanta.net. For more(cid:0) information on the Aquarium and to purchase tickets, see(cid:0) www.georgiaaquarium.org. For information on Marta, go(cid:0) to www.itsmarta.com.(cid:0) Throughout her childhood, Laurie witnessed her father’s(cid:0) consciousness-expanding experiences as a part of her every(cid:0) day life. She was one of the early subjects of Mr. Monroe’s(cid:0) “sleep learning” research. Laurie believes that the primary(cid:0) benefit the Hemi-Sync(cid:0)®(cid:0) process brings to humankind is the(cid:0) knowing(cid:0) that we are more than our physical bodies, and(cid:0) that in this(cid:0)knowing(cid:0), our

quality of life will be enriched here(cid:0) and beyond.(cid:0) We believe that the research findings of the Monroe(cid:0) Institute are consistent with the apparent experimental(cid:0) evidence from EVP that the person is an important part of(cid:0) the recording circuit and functions as a medium. One of(cid:0) TMI’s initiatives is the study of EVP, and we are looking(cid:0) forward to hearing about the results of this work.(cid:0) Other Things to do in Atlanta:(cid:0)You may want to stay(cid:0) an extra day or two when you attend the AA-EVP(cid:0) conference in Atlanta. There are things to do and see and(cid:0) the Westin Hotel will give you the same wonderful(cid:0) conference rate for as long as they have rooms available.(cid:0) So make your hotel reservation early by calling(cid:0) 1.888.627.7211 or use the link at aaevp.com!(cid:0) The newest attraction in Atlanta is the Georgia Aquarium(cid:0) which opened last November. It is the largest aquarium in(cid:0) the world and features over 100,000 animals from over 500(cid:0) species in over 8 million gallons of water. The Aquarium(cid:0) site states that, “From two amazing whale sharks, the(cid:0) largest fish on earth, to five striking beluga whales, around(cid:0) every corner you’ll see things here you’ve never seen(cid:0) anywhere before.”(cid:0) The Aquarium is open everyday from 9(cid:0)AM(cid:0) to 6(cid:0)PM(cid:0). The(cid:0) Westin Shuttle can take you to the Atlanta Airport where(cid:0) you can catch MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid(cid:0) Transit Authority) for a ride that will cost only $1.75 each(cid:0) way; aquarium admission is $22.75. The Aquarium is a(cid:0) Photograph from www.georgiaaquarium.org(cid:0)

The Georgia Aquarium(cid:0) Please Help the Association!(cid:0)We need members to help(cid:0) us get information about the conference out to the public.(cid:0) If you have a web site, or are a member of a group with a(cid:0) web site, please mention the AA-EVP 2006 conference(cid:0) “Life After Death: The Evidence(cid:0) With Special(cid:0) Consideration to EVP and ITC” There is a link to the(cid:0) registration form that can be pasted into your web site,(cid:0) located at aaevp.com. If you have a place to hand out(cid:0) brochures on the conference we can email you a brochure(cid:0) that you can copy. A heartfelt thanks for your help.(cid:0) If you are going to the conference please bring your(cid:0) camera if you can, we would love to have several people(cid:0) taking pictures we can us in the July NewsJournal.(cid:0) We need people at the conference who are already(cid:0) recording EVP, to help out those who have questions about(cid:0) recording, software and editing. This workshop will take(cid:0) place on Friday evening at 8:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0).(cid:0) Based on currently paid for attendance fees, the(cid:0) conference will be a net financial loss for the AA-EVP. Of(cid:0) course, we expect more people to sign up, but we are trying(cid:0) to find corporate sponsors for the conference.(cid:0) Continued Page 10(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0)—(cid:0) comments(cid:0)by Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0)............................................................1(cid:0) “Hi, Mom,” My Son........................................................................................................................3(cid:0) White Noise 2.................................................................................................................................3(cid:0) An Interview with Dr. Allan L.

Botkin, IADC Pioneer(cid:0)— by Michael Tymn(cid:0)..................................4(cid:0) Current Research in Italy(cid:0)—(cid:0)b(cid:0)y Paolo Presi(cid:0).....................................................................................5(cid:0) Transfiguration Video from Sonia Rinaldi.....................................................................................6(cid:0) Announcement for Grant................................................................................................................6(cid:0) Big Circle Group Recording Dates.................................................................................................6(cid:0) Reminder to Book Rooms...............................................................................................................6(cid:0) Excerpts from(cid:0)Roads to Eternity(cid:0)— by Sarah Estep(cid:0)..........................................................................7(cid:0) The Swan(cid:0)—(cid:0)by Cindy Sabo..........................................................................................................8(cid:0) Happy Birthday to Erland Babcock................................................................................................9(cid:0) Erland Babcock’s Ham Call Sign...................................................................................................9(cid:0) Past President of the VTF Transitions............................................................................................9(cid:0) ITC Photo Shows Joey and Lenny................................................................................................10(cid:0) Questions That Should be Asked..................................................................................................10(cid:0) Big Circle ITC Experiments(cid:0)— by Lisa Butler(cid:0)...............................................................................11(cid:0) Luminator Picture of Braden.........................................................................................................11(cid:0) Mirror and Aluminum Coated Paper ITC Technique(cid:0) —(cid:0)by Phyllis Delduque(cid:0)...............................13(cid:0) Crowd Babble for Background Sound..........................................................................................15(cid:0) Articles of Knowledge, Not Matters of Faith(cid:0)...............................................................................15(cid:0) HRF Grants Awarded...................................................................................................................16(cid:0) EVP Names Researchers...............................................................................................................16(cid:0) Sequel to(cid:0)What the Bleep(cid:0)..............................................................................................................16(cid:0) Gathering Information with EVP..................................................................................................17(cid:0) AA-EVP Members Visit Tortilla Flats.........................................................................................17(cid:0) Questions for the Directors...........................................................................................................17(cid:0) Thoughts from Members...............................................................................................................18(cid:0) News About Members..................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Researchers Report.......................................................................................................................19(cid:0) Voices from the Dead...................................................................................................................19(cid:0) Pope Benedict XVI Channels John Paul II...................................................................................20(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in(cid:0) the field of ITC and to update members about the work being done by others in the field.(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—less with pictures. Articles should be short(cid:0) and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article

which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) web site. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with(cid:0) these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0):(cid:0) The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the(cid:0) NewsJournal is added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Lisa Yesse(cid:0) Ralph Thomas(cid:0) George Wynne(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Jeff Haas(cid:0) David Saunders(cid:0) Richard Smith(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Holly Addonizio(cid:0) Richard Busse(cid:0) Lloyd Bradshaw(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Denis Paddock(cid:0) Lisa Schumacher(cid:0) Richard Smith(cid:0) Thanks to Loretta(cid:0) Woodward for(cid:0) proofreading the(cid:0) NewsJournal, Lisa(cid:0) Yesse for her(cid:0) support of the Big(cid:0) Circle web pages,(cid:0) and of course, to(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) for her continuing(cid:0) work on the AA-(cid:0) EVP conference.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-(cid:0) EVP and is protected by USA copyright law: ©2005AA-EVP. Membership(cid:0) information may be found on the AA-EVP web site at www.aaevp.com or by writing(cid:0) to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of(cid:0) this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual(cid:0) membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via(cid:0) email should add $8.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a

501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All(cid:0) contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP(cid:0) Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha(cid:0) Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed(cid:0) articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 2 Donations in Memory of(cid:0) In honor of Erland Babcock’s(cid:0) birthday on February 20(cid:0)th(cid:0) Made by Mary Babcock(cid:0) Spring 2006(cid:0) “Hi, Mom,”(cid:0)My Son(cid:0) Shortly after his return home form a modeling job in(cid:0) Europe, Teri Daner introduced her son, Geoff, to Kay(cid:0) Rosaire, a famous animal trainer who provided homes for(cid:0) unwanted lions and tigers. Teri thought it would be a good(cid:0) photo opportunity. Geoff met three of the young tigers(cid:0) during that meeting and fell in love with them. That was a(cid:0) turning point in Geoff’s life and Kay became Geoff’s(cid:0) second Mom while she taught him how to train big cats.(cid:0) would not express how I felt. I called everyone that knew(cid:0) Geoff to have them listen to the recording. I guess it was(cid:0) too much for me to take in as I ended up in the emergency(cid:0) room that day. My husband and my best friend came to the(cid:0) house after hearing me on the phone; they knew something(cid:0) was not right. I had a mental break and did not remember(cid:0) my trip to Florida or the memorial.(cid:0) “I know now that if I had not received the gift of “Hi,(cid:0) Mom” I would

have had an even more difficult time(cid:0) coping. As it is now I am having an extremely difficult(cid:0) time coping. I love my son so much. He was the stars and(cid:0) the moon. I know now that he is in a good place and that(cid:0) one day I will join him there, God willing. I hope this helps(cid:0) those who have lost a loved one.(cid:0) Geoff Daner with G.G., one of the big cats he worked with in the(cid:0) Shiners Circus.(cid:0) Geoff began performing with the Shiners Circus and(cid:0) had two performances on April 14(cid:0)th(cid:0). The tigers in his act(cid:0) performed exceptionally well that day. Teri wrote, “He(cid:0) was extremely close to the cats. They were like his kids.”(cid:0) On April 15(cid:0)th(cid:0), 2005 at 2:10(cid:0)AM,(cid:0) Geoff was killed in a(cid:0) tragic automobile accident. That morning at 2:10(cid:0)AM(cid:0) the(cid:0) tiger, G.G., that Geoff carried on his shoulders during his(cid:0) act, began to cry as if she knew that something had(cid:0) happened to Geoff. Soon all the other cats were crying and(cid:0) they cried all night. They knew that Geoff had passed.(cid:0) On April 21(cid:0)st(cid:0), after the memorial service, Geoff’s Dad,(cid:0) Dave, and Teri were walking through the Tiger and Lion(cid:0) Barn. Teri writes, “Dave was carrying Geoff’s ashes in an(cid:0) urn. I had a small J300 recorder. We were giving the cats(cid:0) closure. I recorded as I stopped at each set of cat cages. I(cid:0) recorded the cats puffering and talking to me. Tigers are(cid:0) very personable if you have been

around them since they(cid:0) were young, and if they know you as a caregiver. After(cid:0) recording the cats on more than one occasion that day, I put(cid:0) the recorder away with some jewelry that my son was(cid:0) wearing the night of the accident. I did not listen to this(cid:0) recording until I returned home to New Jersey.(cid:0) “Geoff was our only child, and we are having a very(cid:0) difficult time. After returning home I was having a bad day(cid:0) and I got out the little recorder and listened to all the cats(cid:0) puffering and roaring. To my amazement, I heard,(cid:0)“Hi,(cid:0) Mom.”(cid:0) It was Geoff my son. I was so excited. Happy(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 3 Geoff Daner with G.G., one of the big cats in The Big Cat(cid:0) Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary in Sarasota, Florida.(cid:0) “Geoff’s tigers are at The Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast(cid:0) Sanctuary in Sarasota, Florida. They are there with many(cid:0) other tigers and lions that Geoff knew and loved. His(cid:0) dream was to help the wild tigers and to make The Big Cat(cid:0) Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary a success and a home for(cid:0) unwanted tigers. The tigers in Geoff’s act were unwanted(cid:0) and given homes at the Habitat by Kay Rosaire.” •(cid:0) White Noise 2(cid:0) Gold Circle Films is moving forward with(cid:0)White Noise 2:(cid:0) The Light,(cid:0) a sequel to the original horror hit. Unfortunately,(cid:0) or for some of you fortunately, the sequel will apparently(cid:0) not deal at all with EVP.(cid:0) White

Noise,(cid:0)produced by Gold Circle and distributed by(cid:0) Universal Pictures, grossed $57 million when it was re-(cid:0) leased in January 2005. In the sequel, scripted by Matt(cid:0) Venne, a man's family is murdered, and he is brought back(cid:0) from the brink of death. The man realizes he has changed(cid:0) and can now identify those among the living who are about(cid:0) to die. When he tries to save people from their fate, he(cid:0) discovers there is a price to pay for interfering with the(cid:0) natural order. The making of(cid:0)White Noise 2(cid:0) was slated to(cid:0) begin the first-quarter of 2006. •(cid:0) Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) An Interview with Dr. Allan L. Botkin, IADC Pioneer(cid:0) by Michael E. Tymn(cid:0) (originally published in the ARPR Bulletin)(cid:0) In(cid:0)Induced AFTER DEATH(cid:0) Communication(cid:0), recently(cid:0) published by Hampton Roads,(cid:0) Allan L. Botkin, Psy.D., a(cid:0) clinical psychologist, tells of a(cid:0) new therapy for healing grief(cid:0) and trauma. The book is filled(cid:0) fascinating(cid:0) with dozens of stories about patients who have(cid:0) seemingly communicated with(cid:0) deceased friends and loved ones(cid:0) by means of the induced after death communication(cid:0) method (IADC), discovered by Botkin while he was(cid:0) working in a Veterans Administration hospital in the(cid:0) Chicago area.(cid:0) Botkin and R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D. explain that IADC is(cid:0) an offshoot of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and(cid:0) Reprocessing) therapy, which was discovered by Dr.(cid:0) Francine Shapiro. While focusing on the therapist’s hand,(cid:0) the patient is asked to move the eyes left or right(cid:0) rhythmically and focus on a disturbing thought, feeling,(cid:0) image, or sensation. In

IADC therapy, people grieving the(cid:0) death of someone or otherwise disturbed by someone’s(cid:0) death, are asked to focus directly on their sadness during(cid:0) eye movements. The typical IADC involves the patient(cid:0) reporting having seen a deceased person and that deceased(cid:0) person having told him or her that everything is OK and not(cid:0) to grieve. In a number of cases, the deceased person relates(cid:0) information previously unknown to the patient. The(cid:0) patients included atheists and skeptics as well as believers(cid:0) and the religious.(cid:0) I recently interviewed Dr. Botkin by e-mail.(cid:0) Dr. Botkin, can you briefly explain how and when you(cid:0) discovered IADC?(cid:0) “I discovered IADC by accident in 1995 while working(cid:0) with psychologically traumatized combat veterans at a VA(cid:0) hospital. Our patients, who served in WWII, Korea,(cid:0) Vietnam and Desert Storm, came to us after reliving the(cid:0) horrors of war in their minds for many years. In 1995, I and(cid:0) my colleagues had been using EMDR for a few years and(cid:0) we had found that we could routinely and rapidly(cid:0) accomplish psychotherapeutic outcomes with EMDR to a(cid:0) degree that we had thought was not possible. In short, we(cid:0) were able to eliminate the reliving component from their(cid:0) memories. I then experimented with a number of variations(cid:0) of EMDR, and I found that a few changes made the(cid:0) standard EMDR technique even more efficient. Once I(cid:0) began incorporating these changes, I was very surprised(cid:0) when about 15% of my patients reported after death(cid:0) communications during the procedure. Since these patients(cid:0) appeared to

resolve their traumatic grief to an even greater(cid:0) degree, I went back through my case notes to find out if I(cid:0) had done something differently when these experiences(cid:0) occurred. I saw that indeed I did do something differently.(cid:0) In the cases in which the experience occurred, I provided(cid:0) an additional set of eye movements without providing any(cid:0) specific instruction to the patient. This additional set of eye(cid:0) movements induced this natural experience. The additional(cid:0) eye movements enhanced what I now call the “receptive(cid:0) mode.”(cid:0) In the book, you state that IADC is not hypnosis. How(cid:0) does it differ from hypnosis?(cid:0) increases the other hand, “It is my belief, along with other professionals who are(cid:0) trained in both hypnosis and EMDR, that the two actually(cid:0) involve very different mental processing. Hypnosis induces(cid:0) the patient into a relaxed and focused state of mind.(cid:0) information(cid:0) EMDR, on processing in the brain. When we dream, our eyes shift(cid:0) back and forth, and that is why dream sleep has been called(cid:0) rapid eye movement, or REM sleep. During REM sleep our(cid:0) brains process information at a more accelerated rate than(cid:0) when we are awake. It has been believed that this increased(cid:0) processing that occurs during sleep causes the eyes to shift(cid:0) in a rhythmic fashion. The discovery of EMDR appears to(cid:0) indicate that if the therapist has the patient move his or her(cid:0) eyes in a similar rhythmic fashion when fully awake, we(cid:0) put the patient’s brain into this higher processing mode.(cid:0) People in a

hypnotic trance are also very susceptible to(cid:0) suggestion, and “false memories” that occur while in a(cid:0) hypnotic trance do not seem to be a problem with EMDR.(cid:0) In fact, as mentioned in the book, false memories can be(cid:0) corrected with EMDR.”(cid:0) Would you mind summarizing one of your most dramatic(cid:0) or successful cases?(cid:0) “The first time I intentionally induced an ADC in therapy,(cid:0) I was working with a man named Gary. He had lost his(cid:0) daughter, Julie, when she was 13 years old. She had been(cid:0) severely oxygen deprived at birth and never developed(cid:0) mental abilities beyond those of a six-month-old child.(cid:0) Gary loved her dearly and included her in as many(cid:0) activities as he could. One evening, Julie suffered a severe(cid:0) heart attack and was rushed to the hospital and placed on(cid:0) life supports. After a few weeks, Julie showed some signs(cid:0) of being able to breathe on her own, so Gary and his wife(cid:0) made the difficult decision to take her off the respirator.(cid:0) Soon after she was taken off, she struggled to breathe, but(cid:0) then died in Gary’s arms. Tears rolled down Gary’s cheeks(cid:0) as he told me his story. I explained my new procedure to(cid:0) him and asked him if he wanted to give it a try. He said he(cid:0) was willing if I thought it might help, but he was convinced(cid:0) it wouldn’t work for him because he was an atheist and(cid:0) didn’t believe in such things. After I took him through the(cid:0) entire procedure,

he closed his eyes.(cid:0) Continued Page 14(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 4 Spring 2006(cid:0) Current Research in Italy(cid:0) Provided by Paolo Presi who is a researcher with the Italian Il Laboratorio(cid:0) (www.laboratorio.too.it/). Paolo Presi will speak at the 2006 AA-EVP conference.(cid:0) The fact that the information re-(cid:0) ceived through ITC is not mere(cid:0) illusions perceived by the human(cid:0) brain would be of great interest if(cid:0) confirmed by adequate research.(cid:0) This is especially true because an(cid:0) important feature of the paranor-(cid:0) mal voices seems to be that they(cid:0) are direct communication with a(cid:0) higher plane of consciousness(cid:0) without the need of mediums.(cid:0) A highly fruitful branch of re-(cid:0) search designed to test this hypothesis is the investigation(cid:0) of the acoustic structure of paranormal voices. A prelimi-(cid:0) nary research activity, initiated in Italy since 2000 by(cid:0) engineers Paolo Presi and Daniele Gullà, has revealed that(cid:0) the electroacoustic structure of paranormal voices exhibits(cid:0) some anomalies in respect to the predictable characteristics(cid:0) of normal human voice. [With appropriate computer soft-(cid:0) ware, EVP voices can be seen to be different from physi-(cid:0) cally voices.(cid:0)Editor(cid:0)](cid:0) This approach to studying these phenomena may remove(cid:0) some of the methodological barriers that, so far, have(cid:0) prevented a general scientific recognition or systematic(cid:0) scientific investigation of paranormal phenomena related to(cid:0) postmortem survival. It is evident that, in view of the(cid:0) important possible contribution of ITC to psychical re-(cid:0) search and the worldwide interest in these phenomena, a(cid:0) properly conducted scientific investigation is urgently re-(cid:0) quired.(cid:0) for relevant confirmation of

The necessity to go deeper into analysis using the most(cid:0) sophisticated professional software available today, and the(cid:0) the anomalous(cid:0) need parameters detected, led to the decision to extend this(cid:0) approach to research to involve several top Italian EVP/(cid:0) ITC experimenters. Such research also requires the(cid:0) expertise of qualified electroacoustical engineers and the(cid:0) confirmation of official laboratories using suitably(cid:0) sophisticated technical means. Such technical means are(cid:0) currently available in the already existing research(cid:0) organization named, “Il Laboratorio,” located in Bologna,(cid:0) Italy and managed by Dr. Enrico Marabini, a Full Member(cid:0) of the Parapsychology Association. [Qualifications for this(cid:0) status in(cid:0) include a doctorate and active work parapsychology.(cid:0)Editor(cid:0)](cid:0) Il Laboratorio includes a Transcommunication Depart-(cid:0) ment, which is dedicated to EVP/ITC research and lead by(cid:0) Paolo Presi. Within the Transcommunication Department,(cid:0) Presi is personally managing a program named, “Sfinge(cid:0) Project.” The objective of this program is the scientific(cid:0) investigation of EVP/ITC phenomena with particular atten-(cid:0) tion to documenting the evidence of a life after life. The(cid:0) methodology used in the Sfinge program is the analysis of(cid:0) the electroacoustic structure of the allegedly paranormal(cid:0) voice patterns that are produced by some skilled Italian(cid:0) EVP/ITC top experimenters under controlled experimental(cid:0) conditions.(cid:0) This step is meant to identify the existence, if any, of(cid:0) anomalous acoustical features. The existence of properly(cid:0) documented acoustic features in the paranormal voices that(cid:0) are inconsistent with normal human speech would strongly(cid:0) support their paranormal source.(cid:0) In addition to the detection of anomalies in the voice(cid:0) examples when the communicator is a discarnate

entity, a(cid:0) comparison between “living” and postmortem voices of the(cid:0) same person can be performed in order to ascertain the(cid:0) same identity. Such investigation is currently performed(cid:0) using several dedicated professional software programs for(cid:0) speech analysis and speaker recognition. Thus far, highly(cid:0) significant cases of high percentage of similarity have been(cid:0) detected. For instance we have seen 95-98% similarity(cid:0) between “living” and postmortem voices.(cid:0) Once such anomalies are localized, identified and prop-(cid:0) erly documented, the second step concerns attempting to(cid:0) reproduce them artificially in the laboratory to determine if(cid:0) they can be thought of as non-falsifiable events, therefore(cid:0) considered to have a high probability of being paranormal.(cid:0) Analysis results are fully documented by the research team(cid:0) and made available to other researchers.(cid:0) Daniele Gullà is the electronic engineer performing all of(cid:0) the instrumental analyses for the Sfinge program. He spe-(cid:0) cializes in electroacoustics and currently collaborates with(cid:0) the experts of the Italian Court of Justice and Police, in(cid:0) forensic analysis in biometrics (audio and video), and with(cid:0) the University of Bologna, Department of Biophysics.(cid:0) All of the results are discussed with, and approved by, the(cid:0) Director of the Research Section, Dr. Michele Dinicastro.(cid:0) The Final Test Report containing the results is then ap-(cid:0) proved and released by the General Manager of Il Labora-(cid:0) torio, Dr. Enrico Marabini.(cid:0) The(cid:0)Transcommunication Department in(cid:0)Il Laboratorio(cid:0) specializes in the analysis of anomalous vocalizations.(cid:0) Other Departments of Il Laboratorio specialize in such(cid:0) areas as paranormal images, mediumship and psychic(cid:0) phenomena, with the support of psychologists(cid:0)for the(cid:0)

investigations. There at(cid:0) www.laboratorio.too.it .(cid:0) information is more Relevant Results(cid:0) Electroacoustic research has revealed that formation of the(cid:0) human voice is a very complex process. The voice is(cid:0) formed of sinusoidal tones from the fundamental frequency(cid:0) of the vocal cords to a range of ascending harmonic fre-(cid:0) quencies that are multiples of the fundamental frequency,(cid:0) and that are of differing amplitude. The intensity, timbre(cid:0) and audibility of each individual voice is determined by the(cid:0) number of harmonic frequencies it(cid:0) Continued page 12(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 5 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Transfiguration Video from Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) Marcelo changing into Ceasar(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi had three couples in her lab, all of whom had lost children. She was filming Marcelo Hippe, who lost a son(cid:0) named André, six years ago. André had appeared two years ago in a previous experiment.(cid:0) Everyone was able to see the changes on Marcelo’s face in real time during the experiment. However, at the end of(cid:0) the video session, everyone realized that the young man’s face that transfigured Marcelo’s features was not that of André.(cid:0) The parents did not recognize the boy and in fact no one present had any idea of who this young boy was. In the audio(cid:0) recording of the session, André confirmed that a friend would appear in his place.(cid:0) Sonia suggested that the mother, Luiza, print the picture out to show to her friends who had also lost young boys, in(cid:0) the hope that someone would recognize the picture. For one

week, there was no news, but then as Luiza was entering her(cid:0) building, she met a neighbor named Alice who had lost her son a few years ago. Luiza asked what the boy had looked(cid:0) like and the mother replied: “My son was beautiful with very special eyes that looked like an eagle.” This was enough(cid:0) for Luiza who immediately asked to see a picture of Julio Ceasar who had died before Luiza had moved into the building.(cid:0) Alice and Luiza were sure that it was Ceasar who had transfigured Marcelo’s face.(cid:0) Sonia wrote, “I am so glad for Alice, who was so surprised. She did not even know that Luiza, her neighbour, was(cid:0) involved in something like this and was astonished to see Julio Ceasar reach out to her in such a surprising way. •(cid:0) Julio Ceasar before his(cid:0) transition(cid:0) Marcelo’s face transfigured(cid:0) with the features of Ceasar(cid:0) Marcelo Hippe(cid:0) Sitting for the camera(cid:0) Announcement for Grant(cid:0) The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund(cid:0) for Research into Life after Death (HRF)(cid:0) The Helene Reeder Fund has announced the availability of(cid:0) grants for small and medium sized scientific research(cid:0) projects concerning the question of Life after Death. Grants(cid:0) will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 7000 maximum.(cid:0) Applications in English, submitted preferably(cid:0)by email to(cid:0) the HRF c/o [email protected] should include:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Detailed description of including objectives of the project(cid:0) the project, the(cid:0) •(cid:0)Methodology, cost budget and timetable(cid:0) •(cid:0)Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals(cid:0) •(cid:0)Qualifications of the applicant(cid:0)

•(cid:0)Plans for reporting progress and results to the HRF(cid:0) •(cid:0)Any other financing than from HRF(cid:0) Applications should be received not later than the 30(cid:0)th(cid:0) of(cid:0) August, 2006. The HRF plans to deal with the applications(cid:0) and to make a decision regarding the grants by the end of(cid:0) November. Applicants will be notified by email after the(cid:0) decision and the grants will be payable during December.(cid:0) For further information, please email the HRF c/o(cid:0) Big Circle Group Recording Dates(cid:0) Every other Thursday at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EST, members come(cid:0) together to record for EVP and then share what they(cid:0) received on the Idea Exchange under the “Recording(cid:0) Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife” topic. Many members(cid:0) can’t record at that exact time but do record as close to the(cid:0) group recording time as possible.(cid:0) Recording dates: Thursdays, 8(cid:0)PM(cid:0) EST, April 6 and 20,(cid:0) May 4 and 18, June 1, 15 and 29, July 13 and 27. •(cid:0) Reminder to Book Rooms(cid:0) Book your room early if you are going to the AA-EVP(cid:0) conference because there are a limited number of rooms.(cid:0) Call the Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel at 888.627.7211 and(cid:0) identify yourself as an attendee of the American(cid:0) Association – EVP.(cid:0) Cost for the rooms at the Westin begins at $89 but that(cid:0) rate will go to $130 after May 17. The cost to attend the(cid:0) conference goes up from $200 to $240 after May 8. Its(cid:0) going to be a once-in-a-lifetime event with wonderful,(cid:0) like-minded people. Don’t miss it. •(cid:0) [email protected] •(cid:0)

Volume 25, Number 1 Page 6 Spring 2006(cid:0) Excerpts from(cid:0)Roads to Eternity(cid:0) By Sarah Estep(cid:0) From Chapter 10 “On our Way: The Journey Continues.”(cid:0) upon(cid:0) individuals, Many learning that the other side(cid:0) appears to communicate with(cid:0) us through tape recorders,(cid:0) computers, telephones, and(cid:0) their(cid:0) televisions, opt for television the(cid:0) set. Skip mundane recorder. They(cid:0) don’t have a computer, and if(cid:0) the telephone rings, they will(cid:0) answer. Meanwhile, they'll(cid:0) go their(cid:0) television, sit down and wait for the great show to begin.(cid:0) turn on and Sadly, they’ll have a long wait. Establishing a road to the(cid:0) other side is hard work, more difficult for some than for(cid:0) others, but none of it comes easily. I described in the(cid:0) previous chapter my own beginning efforts. The fact that I(cid:0) received my first word, “Beauty,” on the sixth day after over(cid:0) twenty hours of work, places me in the fortunate category.(cid:0) Some people work almost daily for six months or more(cid:0) before having their first contact. Others achieve their goal(cid:0) the second or third time they sit down. One never knows(cid:0) whether they’ll be one of the fortunate when starting to tape.(cid:0) It has been suggested that the reason I received my first(cid:0) message in a relatively short time was because the other side(cid:0) telepathically picked up my thought that I was only going(cid:0) to tape for a week. They knew if they were going to speak,(cid:0) they’d have to hurry up and do it or I’d be lost to them(cid:0) forever.(cid:0) Why

should we go the way of the tape recorder instead of(cid:0) jumping into the infinitely more exciting world of(cid:0) television? They have told many of us that the road to them(cid:0) is a tape recorder.(cid:0) There are several important reasons. As I suggested in(cid:0) Chapter 9, the invisibles need to learn about us. They need(cid:0) to become familiar with our energies and vibrations so they(cid:0) can adjust their own energies and vibrations to ours. They(cid:0) need to know our psychological and spiritual make-up. Are(cid:0) we good for the long haul? Why do we want to(cid:0) communicate with them? Is this a passing fancy that will(cid:0) quickly be laid aside before we go on to something else?(cid:0) Are we willing to pay our dues?(cid:0) Through the tape recorder we can learn worlds of(cid:0) information about other dimensions. Yes, it would be(cid:0) exciting to see Aunt Suzy on television, and eventually we(cid:0) might. But even if that happy day comes, she’ll be able to(cid:0) communicate little, if anything, verbally. Two or three(cid:0) individuals have spoken through television but their(cid:0) utterances have been brief. While more and more people(cid:0) around the world are having television contact, it’s still(cid:0) probably less than five percent. Each of those people first(cid:0) had outstanding success with tape recorders…(cid:0) Not everyone accepts that the voices are coming from(cid:0) spirits or any other dimension. They think they originate(cid:0) right here on the earth plane. You will always have(cid:0) skeptics who will never be swayed by any evidence that is(cid:0)

contrary to their ironclad beliefs. They should consider(cid:0) what Sigmund Freud wrote: “If one regards himself as a(cid:0) skeptic, it is well from time to time to be skeptical about(cid:0) one’s skepticism” There is nothing wrong with holding a(cid:0) skeptical attitude, depending on its severity and how it(cid:0) affects your life. I certainly don’t accept everything that(cid:0) comes down the pike. You have to be willing to consider(cid:0) all evidence and then decide what is right, what is truth for(cid:0) you, and go on from there.(cid:0) Why is there skepticism? What reasons do skeptics give(cid:0) for saying it is impossible to have contact with other-world(cid:0) entities? Many don’t believe there is life beyond planet(cid:0) Earth. Some feel if there is life, it would not be able, or(cid:0) have the desire, to speak to us through tape recorders.(cid:0) A number of parapsychologists wish the voices would(cid:0) go away. They are too unscientific, too emotionally laden.(cid:0) Raymond Bayless wrote in a July 1978 magazine about,(cid:0) “The the majority of para-(cid:0) psychologists to give a fair hearing to taped voice(cid:0) phenomena.”(cid:0) incredible refusal of There are those who think atmospheric sounds are the(cid:0) culprits. They feel nothing is ever lost, including all the(cid:0) words we speak. I can’t conceive how the words needed to(cid:0) answer the many questions others and I ask can come(cid:0) whizzing back at the appropriate moment from the Great(cid:0) Beyond.(cid:0) Some skeptics claim there aren’t any voices at all on the(cid:0) tapes. It is only the imagination of the

wonderful story about her experience and(cid:0) we thank her for allowing us to share it.(cid:0) Richard Sabo(cid:0) Rich has been gone now for a little(cid:0) over 2 years (08/08/03). I guess I am(cid:0) very strong willed and will not allow(cid:0) “death” to conquer me. Instead I find(cid:0) myself picking up the many pieces(cid:0) that were left behind. At the time of(cid:0) Rich’s death, Rich and I were having(cid:0) massive reconstruction done to our(cid:0) home. (It was a dream we both shared(cid:0) since we owned this home.) Rich was a mechanical(cid:0) engineer and was able to make a pile of junk transform into(cid:0) a functional work of art. Long story short, he drew up all(cid:0) the drawings to re-make this house. Basically he was able(cid:0) to fit fifty pounds in a ten pound bag, and he guided our(cid:0) contractor, Dan, to do the impossible. I have to say that(cid:0) Rich was the happiest I have ever seen him in the thirty-one(cid:0) years I was married to him. The house was beginning to(cid:0) pull together the week he died, and he was extremely(cid:0) excited about the bathroom downstairs, as it was initially(cid:0) just a powder room. With his design work and Dan’s skill,(cid:0) he fit a shower and a huge sink in there. The toilet was just(cid:0) installed and he yelled upstairs to me to see if I had seen his(cid:0) toilet and he dropped dead. (He was dead before he hit the(cid:0) floor.) The whole ordeal was “awesome!” Being medical,(cid:0) I

did not know much about the world of engineering and(cid:0) just stood there. I really did not know what to do.(cid:0) My motivation was to bring the house back the way Rich(cid:0) and I wanted it, so the construction did not stop. Dan pulled(cid:0) this place together for me as he knew I just wanted to come(cid:0) back home. (I was staying at our shore property, but then(cid:0) moved into my son’s condo as it was closer to my home.)(cid:0) So, I guess making our dream happen for the first three(cid:0) or four months following Rich’s death kept my mind(cid:0) occupied. Was I mad? Yes! Was I making deals? Yes! But(cid:0) then reality struck and I finally got a grip on the mess …(cid:0) and met up with “acceptance.” I did not take meds because(cid:0) I don’t believe in them. I did not seek out counseling other(cid:0) than in the form of prayer. I basically managed this ordeal(cid:0) with myself and God. I had to emotionally support my(cid:0) three children ages 30, 27 and 25 at the time (they had(cid:0) all moved out).(cid:0) Also, while all of this was going on, I was taken for a ride(cid:0) with the cemetery where I first put Rich’s remains. I was(cid:0) told that a new mausoleum was being built and that Rich(cid:0) would be placed in a permanent vault within six months.(cid:0) To make another long story short, I have had to move his(cid:0) body three times since his death. The last move

was last(cid:0) December to an entirely different cemetery. I finally have(cid:0) closure with this; however, there is a pending lawsuit(cid:0) against the first cemetery, which has been on hold, as they(cid:0) are trying to get out of it. So, here I am still playing around(cid:0) with a dead body. GREAT!(cid:0) You really have to look at my situation and say, “WOW”!(cid:0) However, it is one day at a time. Now, have I made any(cid:0) recordings? Yes. Do I think I had any contact? Yes,(cid:0) however, it could just be my imagination. I put the recorder(cid:0) in Rich’s bathroom downstairs and I swear on one(cid:0) recording I heard “Help me.” Again, it could be my(cid:0) imagination. I have not been doing the recordings for a(cid:0) while, as time has not allowed me to do so.(cid:0) I turn the television on in my bedroom at 7:00 while I am(cid:0) getting ready for bed, but it turns off by itself at 8:11. It(cid:0) never did this before. (Way back when, Rich always turned(cid:0) it on.) I even checked to see why this is going on but there(cid:0) is no real explanation. I also have been awakened out of a(cid:0) sound sleep, even though I was not dreaming of anything(cid:0) in particular. When this happens, I look at my alarm clock(cid:0) only to find that it reads 11:18, which would be our(cid:0) wedding anniversary. This has only happened a couple(cid:0) times since his death. Have I dreamt about Rich? No. I do(cid:0) get gut

feelings about checking things out to see if they are(cid:0) okay. For instance, I had an urge to check the ice maker the(cid:0) week before my son’s wedding, and found that the motor(cid:0) was dead. Had I not emptied the tray, I wouldn't have(cid:0) known until the guests arrived. I have no idea if this is a(cid:0) contact from Rich. I would love to believe it is.(cid:0) Richard on his boat(cid:0) Where I stand on religion: I am extremely close to the(cid:0) boss (God) and Jesus, but I do believe that EVP exists. It(cid:0) is proven by Jesus talking with Mary and the Disciples after(cid:0) his Crucifixion.(cid:0) So there you have my story. I guess I am getting through(cid:0) this one day at a time. You have to “suck it up” and(cid:0) continue to live. I also write to Rich every morning. We(cid:0) always had our communication sessions in the AM.(cid:0) Writing to him allows me to still communicate the “stuff”(cid:0) that goes on in planet life. It makes me feel positive to be(cid:0) able to get it out. Even though I realize my letters fall on(cid:0) dead ears. I guess psychologically(cid:0)Continued page 9(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 8 Spring 2006(cid:0) Happy Birthday to Erland Babcock(cid:0) Karen Mossey and Mike Sullivan celebrated Erland(cid:0) Babcock’s birthday, on February 20, by adding Erland’s(cid:0) picture to Mike’s “Door.” Mike has set aside a room for(cid:0) ITC experimenting, and he has placed pictures of ITC(cid:0) pioneers on the entry door. In the picture

shown here, you(cid:0) can see Erland’s wise face to the right of Jürgenson,(cid:0) Raudive, Meek, O’Neil and Mueller.(cid:0) Karen recorded for EVP as part of(cid:0) the ceremony, and reported that she(cid:0) got,(cid:0)“Erland is with me,”(cid:0)“A very(cid:0) good day”(cid:0) and in response to Mike(cid:0) saying, “Goodnight Erland,” they(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“Thanks for being here.”(cid:0) Mike records many phenomenal(cid:0) features in reflected light. Here you(cid:0) see an apparent face reflected from a(cid:0) glass bottle (right) in a picture that he(cid:0) took during the session. You can see(cid:0) the bottle on an old radio, below. •(cid:0) The Swan(cid:0)Continued from page 8(cid:0) it keeps me connected to him and allows me to vent.(cid:0) Hopefully I have not come off as a fruitcake, but this is how(cid:0) I handle being a survivor.(cid:0) Another thing that I call myself is a swan and not a(cid:0) widow. The week before Rich died, a swan was swimming(cid:0) in the lagoon across the way. Rich was working outside(cid:0) and I asked him what was going on with the swan. He(cid:0) came in and we were watching the bird. I took it upon(cid:0) myself to go out and feed him some bread. The bird was(cid:0) huge. He came over and seemed depressed as he only(cid:0) sucked in the bread very slowly. After he had a few pieces(cid:0) he slowly swam away. When I came in I told Rich that I(cid:0) thought the bird was depressed. Rich started to laugh and(cid:0) told me I was being “hormonal.” A few days later, I found(cid:0)

out that the swan had lost its mate. To this day, when I am(cid:0) down at the shore house, and missing Rich, the swan will(cid:0) show up and I go out and feed him. It is almost a magical(cid:0) bond between the two of us. So, I call myself a swan: one(cid:0) love, one mate. For me, a widow is one who is looking for(cid:0) another mate.(cid:0)•(cid:0) Erland Babcock’s Ham Call Sign(cid:0) As we reported in the last NewsJournal, longtime ITC(cid:0) researcher, Erland Babcock, made his transition to the(cid:0) other side October 2006, and since then, several members(cid:0) have reported receiving EVP messages from him. Ali(cid:0) Fant has reported that she has found Erland’s ham(cid:0) operator call sign in her computer. She wrote, “Before(cid:0) Erland passed over, we had talked extensively about an(cid:0) idea of using ham radio weak signal protocols when either(cid:0) he or I transitioned.”(cid:0) January 6, 2006, after reading about Erland’s transition(cid:0) Ali told us that, “… I hurried home preparing to initiate(cid:0) the protocol Erland and I had agreed to. While still in my(cid:0) car, I asked out loud if Erland would go to my computer(cid:0) and leave a message. The time was 11:45(cid:0)PM(cid:0).(cid:0) “I powered up my computer at 12:10(cid:0)AM(cid:0) and did a Right(cid:0) Click, START, Find text:(cid:0)K1GPH(cid:0) anywhere on my hard(cid:0) drive. The machine found thirteen files with Erland’s call(cid:0) sign embedded in them. Nine of the files were last(cid:0) accessed back in August/September 2005. Four of the(cid:0) files (DBX format) showed a last

modified date/time of(cid:0) 1/6/06 11:45(cid:0)PM(cid:0). This occurred when the computer was(cid:0) powered off! I checked the computer clock time against(cid:0) my accurate WWV Time Signal clock. The two clocks(cid:0) were exactly in synch—as they should have been.(cid:0) “I urge other AA-EVP members to do a quick search for(cid:0) Erland's ham call sign on their computers. Erland and I(cid:0) had agreed on ham call signs for communication because(cid:0) they are unique in the world.”(cid:0) We encourage you to conduct a search in your computer(cid:0) for files containing “(cid:0)K1GPH(cid:0).” Erland was proud to be a(cid:0) ham radio operator, and so his call sign, which is like his(cid:0) name in ham radio world, may carry quite a lot of(cid:0) emotion—just the thing to communicate easily across the(cid:0) veil. We also recommend that you “call him in” for a time(cid:0) before the search. Also consider setting up a text file(cid:0) specifically for him to use for communication. •(cid:0) Past President of the VTF Transitions(cid:0) In behalf of the board of the VTF (the German ITC(cid:0) group), Jutta Liebmann informed us that, “It is with great(cid:0) regret that I have to officially inform you of the transition(cid:0) of Mr. Theo Bleitgen. As you certainly know, Mr. Theo(cid:0) Bleitgen had been the elected president prior to Mr.(cid:0) Jürgen Nett [current president] during an extremely(cid:0) difficult and critical conversion period for our association(cid:0) … to push back the deep isolation and standstill of the(cid:0) VTF. He introduced new technical knowledge as well as(cid:0) open mindedness for contacts

abroad. In this connection,(cid:0) he had specially supported my first steps in establishing(cid:0) initial contacts with international EVP associations by(cid:0) means of his valuable advice and steady encouragement.”(cid:0) We regret that Theo will no longer be with the VTF in the(cid:0) physical, but we know that physical death often enables(cid:0) us to do even more from the other side. Our best wishes(cid:0) to Theo Bleitgen and the VTF. •(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 9 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) ITC Photo Shows Joey and Lenny(cid:0) Video ITC picture taken by Kathleen Griffen(cid:0) Lenny(cid:0) When Debra Caruso saw an(cid:0) ITC photo that Kathleen(cid:0) Griffen had posted on the Idea(cid:0) Exchange, she immediately(cid:0) saw the image of her son and(cid:0) his best friend, Lenny. (See the(cid:0) original in Kathleen’s post titled, “These are images(cid:0) recorded back on February 26(cid:0)th(cid:0) during the Big Circle,” in(cid:0) the Video ITC forum.) As you may recall from the last(cid:0) NewsJournal, Debra’s son, Joey, died while they were on(cid:0) vacation in Mexico. The doctors gave Joey anesthesia(cid:0) before setting his shoulder and he died from asphyxiation(cid:0) by choking. He was sixteen years old.(cid:0) Lenny and Joey attended grammar, middle and high(cid:0) school together, and were very good friends. They had(cid:0) been together February 14, 2004, the night before the(cid:0) family left on vacation.(cid:0) Because Debra’s daughter, Alex, was in critical(cid:0) condition she was unable to bring her home from Mexico(cid:0) until April 3. Lenny died tragically on April 4.(cid:0) When Lenny came home from Joey’s funeral, he

told his(cid:0) mother that he liked the casket and would want one like it.(cid:0) He also told his mother that he had three dreams in a row(cid:0) in which Joey had been sitting on stairs waiting for him.(cid:0) Kathleen Griffen is the member who took this photo. She(cid:0) has loved photography all of her life. Her mother used to(cid:0) drive her around when she was ten just so Kathleen could(cid:0) take pictures. She was very close to her sister, Cheryl, and(cid:0) was devastated by her unexpected death when, while caring(cid:0) for her ailing parents, she drowned in their pool. Cheryl(cid:0) was fifty years old and the rock of the family; the big sister(cid:0) who knew how to take care of everything. She had gone to(cid:0) Florida to help with her mother with their ailing father.(cid:0) Kathleen learned about EVP and had recorded voices in(cid:0) a local old settlers burial ground, so after her sister’s(cid:0) transition, she recorded at her sister’s home and at her(cid:0) gravesite. She says that, “having heard these voices(cid:0) actually helped me through the healing process.”(cid:0) Being known as a person with a camera attached to her(cid:0) body at all times, it is not surprising that Kathleen became(cid:0) interested in Video ITC. In this experiment, she had set up(cid:0) a video feedback loop with her television and made a video(cid:0) recording. She then played the video on her television and(cid:0) took still camera shots of some of the screen. •(cid:0) Joey(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) We

would put the sponsor’s name, logo and catch phrase(cid:0) on the back of the program for a $1,000 tax deductible(cid:0) donation. We would also thank them in the July(cid:0) NewsJournal and on the AA-EVP web site. Can you help(cid:0) us find possible corporate sponsors?(cid:0) And last but not least, when you are going to purchase(cid:0) something through Amazon please link to Amazon from(cid:0) the front page of aaevp.com. A small percentage of your(cid:0) purchase goes to the Association.(cid:0) Donation in Memory of:(cid:0) Have you noticed the donation(cid:0) from Mary Babcock that is shown on the second page? We(cid:0) have decided to make the(cid:0)“in memory of”(cid:0) notice a regular(cid:0) feature to commemorate any special occasion related to a(cid:0) loved one. If you would like to do this, simply make a(cid:0) donation to the AA-EVP and tell us who it is in memory of(cid:0) and if there is a special occasion you would like us to list.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Questions That Should be Asked(cid:0) Apart from a few notable exceptions, C. D. Broad was one(cid:0) of the very few professional philosophers of his day to take(cid:0) a serious and active interest in psychical research. He(cid:0) identified three important questions which need to be asked(cid:0) when investigating any claim of a supernormal event.(cid:0) 1. Did the reported event really happen, and is the(cid:0) description of it which the witnesses gave completely(cid:0) accurate?(cid:0) 2. If so, can it be accounted for in terms of the already(cid:0) known laws and properties of matter and

of mind?(cid:0) 3. If it really did happen as reported, and if it cannot be(cid:0) accounted for normally, can we suggest any plausible(cid:0) supernormal explanation of it? And can we test our(cid:0) explanation by further observations or experiments?(cid:0) From: www.survivalafterdeath.org/news.htm(cid:0)•(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 10 Spring 2006(cid:0) Big Circle ITC Experiments(cid:0) By Lisa Butler(cid:0) During our EVP/ITC sessions, we have asked the members(cid:0) of the Big Circle if they would work with us by putting(cid:0) their pictures in our Video ITC experiment. We have(cid:0) recorder messages telling us that it was difficult but that(cid:0) they were going to try. In an experiment in January, we(cid:0) asked for Martha’s daughter, Cathy, to appear. On the(cid:0) second frame of the video experiment, I saw a set of eyes(cid:0) gazing back at me and immediately felt that it was Cathy. I(cid:0) was certain that Martha would think that I had lost it(cid:0) because Cathy is known for not liking to have her picture(cid:0) taken. To our surprise, Martha came back the next day with(cid:0) an email and said that she was sure it was Cathy. She sent(cid:0) back the picture of Cathy that you see below, which is(cid:0) beside the ITC picture of her eyes.(cid:0) Mary Joe Grann’s son, Jim and Video ITC image.(cid:0) the very first frame, and although distorted, it looked like(cid:0) Braden’s friend, Jim. We sent the picture to both Vicki(cid:0) Talbott, Braden’s mom, and Mary Jo Gran, Jim’s mom.(cid:0) Both of them agreed that it was Jim.(cid:0) Jim

and Braden died together March 11, 2001, while(cid:0) kayaking. Braden(cid:0)began leaving messages on Vicki’s(cid:0) answering machine about five months after they passed.(cid:0) Vicki wrote that, “The first message was,(cid:0)‘Whaddup,’(cid:0) and(cid:0) the second was,(cid:0)‘Ehhhhhh...,’(cid:0)a sound he used to make in(cid:0) mock embarrassment, especially when I refused to answer(cid:0) the phone. The third was simply,(cid:0)‘Mom?’(cid:0) as if to ask me if(cid:0) I were listening and the fourth was a rap.(cid:0) “Mary Jo came over to my house and was happy yet sad(cid:0) to hear Braden’s voice but not Jim’s, so we sat down and(cid:0) prayed for Jim to come through. I never answer the phone,(cid:0) so I let the machine pick up when it rang a half hour later,(cid:0) and it was Jim saying,(cid:0)‘I'll come again.’(cid:0)”(cid:0) (cid:0)•(cid:0) Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, and Video ITC image.(cid:0) Primarily, you see the eyes.(cid:0) In the next experiment that we conducted with the Big(cid:0) Circle recording group, we called on Braden and asked him(cid:0) to appear in the Video ITC experiment. A face appeared on(cid:0) Luminator Picture of Braden(cid:0) At our last AA-EVP conference, Vicki Talbott had her picture taken with Mark Macy’s Luminator device. Vicki wrote,(cid:0) “The lighter side (middle) looks like the picture we had of Braden at his memorial service.(cid:0) Mark Macy will be at the June 2006, AA-EVP conference and attendees will be able to have their picture taken with(cid:0) the Luminator. •(cid:0) Vicki Talbott in the hallway of the Cal-Neva Casino Hotel, and in the field of the Luminator. Her son,

Braden, is on the right(cid:0) and appears to be transfiguring Vicki’s features in the middle.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 11 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Current Research in Italy(cid:0)Continued from page 5(cid:0) possesses and by groups of harmonics with sound intensi-(cid:0) ties. These groups are known as formants(cid:0),(cid:0)and they are(cid:0) created as the voice travels from the larynx, through the(cid:0) resonant cavities of the vocal tract and up to the mouth.(cid:0) The acoustic spectrum (i.e. the range of measurable(cid:0) sounds) of the human voice is the most expressive and(cid:0) complex of all animal voices, and unlike many musical(cid:0) instruments, the human voice can also vary its timbre at the(cid:0) larynx and by altering the size and shape of the resonant(cid:0) cavities.(cid:0) Preliminary investigations revealed some frequently re-(cid:0) curring anomalies characterizing the paranormal voices.(cid:0) Such anomalies could be summarized as follows:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Frequent lack of the fundamental frequency or its(cid:0) partial presence with multiple fragmentations.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Frequent lack of the vibration of the vocal cords in(cid:0) the fundamental(cid:0) timbre sounds with or without frequency.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Formantic structure sometimes replaced by an(cid:0) inexplicable noise compressing in the relevant bands(cid:0) and showing a severe modification in a non-sinusoidal(cid:0) trend.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalous increase in the signal strength of the second(cid:0) formant and strengthening of the upper harmonics, poor(cid:0) melodic texture and fragmentation of the spectrum.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalies in the frequencies, with too high values of(cid:0) the fundamental and formants frequencies.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalies in the time/energy distribution in the whole(cid:0) signal structure which would seem to be made of many(cid:0) small

energy-quanta, where it is difficult to separate the(cid:0) different structural elements of the spectrum.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalies in the signal periodicity detected in the(cid:0) autocorrelation analysis.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalous changes in the spectrum density.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalies in the utterance; difficulties to obtain an(cid:0) acoustic chart.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalies in the time flowing with inexplicable(cid:0) slowing down or speeding up of the speech.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Partial or total elision of the consonants.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Harmonic distortions.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anomalous vocal tract configuration or impossibility to(cid:0) simulate its virtual reconstruction based electroacoustic(cid:0) data on voice.(cid:0) An analysis of the acoustic spectrum of the human voice(cid:0) depends upon a precise determination of the electroacoustic(cid:0) parameters that characterize a certain voice. Once these are(cid:0) known, by using dedicated software for voice recognition,(cid:0) a detailed comparison can be made between the paranormal(cid:0) voice and the human voice of the person when alive.(cid:0) In addition, by using special dedicated software, a vir-(cid:0) tual computerized reconstruction of the vocal tract can be(cid:0) made. During the preliminary investigations carried out at(cid:0) Il Laboratorio, a virtual reconstruction of the vocal tract(cid:0) often showed an anomalous configuration with excessive(cid:0) dimensions, showing an abnormal mouth opening or vocal(cid:0) tracts with abnormally small section. This evidence is(cid:0) highly significant, showing that a non-human voice appa-(cid:0) ratus produced such anomalous sounds.(cid:0) The previously described procedure is used to analyze(cid:0) the anomalous vocalizations produced and recorded dur-(cid:0) ing EVP/ITC experimental sessions, and all of the devia-(cid:0) tions found in such anomalous voices are properly(cid:0) documented. In order to guarantee the experimental condi-(cid:0) tions are maintained, regular visits

are made to each exper-(cid:0) imenter location to witness a sessions and to record an(cid:0) entire experiment and then the samples of transcommuni-(cid:0) cations are collected for analysis.(cid:0) As previously mentioned, another branch of investiga-(cid:0) tion in Il Laboratorio is the analyses of the supposed(cid:0) paranormal images. The Image Department, managed by(cid:0) Daniele Gullà, studies such phenomena as unexplainable(cid:0) images of people, things or strange energy shapes which(cid:0) are invisible to the human eye.(cid:0) This department is equipped with sophisticated profes-(cid:0) sional software and tools offering high standards for certi-(cid:0) fying the authenticity of an image as being phenomenal,(cid:0) values, which in some cases are beyond 98% of probabili-(cid:0) ty. At the same time, the software is able to certify, with a(cid:0) high standard of probability, the identity of a person whose(cid:0) image appears in an(cid:0)unexpected way on a picture, on a film(cid:0) or on a video tape.(cid:0) Today we have several cases of face recognition of(cid:0) deceased people available by comparing the face when the(cid:0) person was alive and the face as it appeared in a paranor-(cid:0) mal picture.(cid:0)•(cid:0) More information about the work of Il Laboratorio will be(cid:0) discussed by Paolo Presi at the June AA-EVP conference in(cid:0) Atlanta, GA.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 12 Spring 2006(cid:0) Mirror and Aluminum Coated Paper ITC Technique(cid:0) By Phyllis Delduque(cid:0) For some time now, researchers of ITC images have talked(cid:0) about capturing the phenomenal images using mirrors and(cid:0) aluminum-plated paper. I have resisted accepting those(cid:0) methods, mainly aluminum-plated paper, because

there is(cid:0) a certain difficulty at the moment of researching the(cid:0) paranormal images. We know that we should differentiate(cid:0) a paranormal image from an engraving or any other effect.(cid:0) Also, in photographs using mirrors, we want to pay close(cid:0) attention so as not to allow the inclusion of any local image,(cid:0) images from our room or from ourselves.(cid:0) In this article I intend to show the technical information(cid:0) on how I obtained the ITC images shown here. Please see(cid:0) http://paginas.terra.com.br/educacao/portaltci/, which has(cid:0) more examples of our work for those who want to begin(cid:0) such research.(cid:0) First of all, I have considered that the creator of the video(cid:0) feedback method for ITC images, Klaus Schreiber,(cid:0) sometimes used aluminum plated paper. When I used this(cid:0) method, I discovered that one of the factors for the success(cid:0) of this method is the light. Klaus used several types of(cid:0) lamps, infrared and common(cid:0) household lamps.(cid:0) including ultraviolet, All of the images shown here were recorded directly in(cid:0) the computer, rather than using a feedback loop between a(cid:0) television set and a cassette video recorder. My computer(cid:0) has a video capture card, which is necessary for this(cid:0) technique because I also used an analog, color webcam. For(cid:0) light, I used a 100 watt and a 60 watt incandescent lamp. In(cid:0) some experiments I just used one lamp, leaving the room a(cid:0) little dark.(cid:0) The aluminum-Coated Paper Method(cid:0) Stretch a new sheet of aluminum foil or aluminum covered(cid:0) paper over a flat surface, such as a

drawing board or cutting(cid:0) board, taking care not to bend or wrinkle the aluminum;(cid:0) otherwise there will be engravings in the aluminum that(cid:0) will confuse the results. The result should be a dim mirror.(cid:0) I shine the 60 watt lamp directly at the aluminum surface.(cid:0) I then place the mini camera as close to the surface of the(cid:0) foil as possible (using the zoom) while adjusting the(cid:0) contrast, brightness and color controls in the capture card(cid:0) software to obtain the effect of a tunnel on the computer(cid:0) display. The phenomenal images are captured by watching(cid:0) the display and using the video capture when possible(cid:0) images appear.(cid:0) Using the Mirror(cid:0) This method is similar to the aluminum sheet technique.(cid:0) The only thing that needs to be closely watched is that(cid:0) nothing in the room is reflected into the camera by the(cid:0) mirror. In this method we also use the lights, and in my(cid:0) case, I put the camera at a certain distance (using the zoom)(cid:0) from the mirror. [You will need to experiment to find what(cid:0) is right for you.(cid:0)Editor(cid:0)](cid:0) One of the images shown on our web site is a transimage(cid:0) showing a child’s face that is the “dead” son of our friend,(cid:0) Suely Raimundo. Some time ago, Paulo Roberto Cabral(cid:0) recorded that child’s face and again it came in my visual(cid:0) ITC while I was using the mirror. [See:(cid:0) http://paginas.terra.com.br/educacao/portaltci/(cid:0) transfotoleo.htm](cid:0) Here are examples of my aluminum mirror experiments:(cid:0) This is a masculine face. The brows are quite(cid:0) accentuated,

as are the eyes and nose. He is(cid:0) wearing a beard.(cid:0) We see a human face almost in profile, with the(cid:0) mouth, nose, eyes and forehead accentuated.(cid:0) Male face inside of a landscape. We see the(cid:0) presence of water on the left side and possibly a(cid:0) road and house on the right. •(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 13 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Allan Botkin(cid:0)Continued from page 4(cid:0) When he opened his eyes, he had a look of amazement. He(cid:0) then said, ‘I saw my daughter. She was playing happily in(cid:0) a garden alive with rich and radiant bright colors. She(cid:0) looked healthy and seemed to move around without the(cid:0) physical problems she had when alive. She looked at me(cid:0) and I could feel her love for me.’ We then talked about his(cid:0) experience. Gary was convinced that his daughter was still(cid:0) alive, although in a very different place. Gary’s look of(cid:0) amazement, however, then shifted to a look of sadness, and(cid:0) I asked him what was wrong. He said he still felt sad(cid:0) because he missed her. I administered another set of eye(cid:0) movements and asked him to keep that thought in mind. He(cid:0) then closed his eyes and sat quietly for a few moments.(cid:0) “When Gary opened his eyes, he was smiling. He said, ‘I(cid:0) was in the garden again and I could see Julie looking at me.(cid:0) She said to me, ‘I’m still with you, Daddy.’’ He paused and(cid:0) looked at me. ‘That was really wonderful. You

know, she(cid:0) couldn’t talk when she was alive.’ Gary left the session(cid:0) feeling joyous and reconnected to his daughter. I followed(cid:0) up with Gary a year later over the phone. He continued to(cid:0) feel reconnected to his daughter. He was also convinced(cid:0) that, ‘People don’t really die; they just take on a different(cid:0) form and live in a different place, which is very beautiful.’”(cid:0) Does it work only on patients who are experiencing(cid:0) profound sadness or grief?(cid:0) “The IADC procedure works equally well for people(cid:0) experiencing little or no grief at all. It should be pointed(cid:0) out, however, that although some people report having no(cid:0) lingering grief associated with a death that occurred many(cid:0) years in the past, rather frequently, EMDR ‘pulls up’(cid:0) significant residual sadness the patient was not aware of.”(cid:0) If someone undergoes the therapy with a very skeptical(cid:0) attitude, is there less likelihood of it working?(cid:0) “The answer is ‘no.’ In fact, there is a tendency for the(cid:0) opposite to be true. When I first began using IADC, I was(cid:0) working with patients in a VA hospital who came to see me(cid:0) to work on their traumatic memories, and they were not(cid:0) aware of IADC. When I explained the procedure to them(cid:0) during the course of therapy, a vast majority were very(cid:0) skeptical. Under these conditions, my success rate was(cid:0) 98%. When I retired from the VA and went into private(cid:0) practice, I actually considered offering the guarantee to my(cid:0) clients that they would have an IADC.

I figured I could(cid:0) survive financially by not having 2% of my clients pay for(cid:0) their sessions. I was shocked and dismayed when my(cid:0) success rate among people who came to see me for an(cid:0) IADC, and who were not at all skeptical, dropped to about(cid:0) 70%. I am convinced at this point that people who have(cid:0) strong beliefs about the experience have a more difficult(cid:0) time achieving an ADC because their expectations interfere(cid:0) with the receptive mode. ADCs that occur spontaneously(cid:0) come as a surprise to people at times they are not expecting(cid:0) it. A similar psychological state is necessary for an IADC(cid:0) to occur. Of course, the fact that 70% of people who come(cid:0) to have an IADC still have one, indicates the power of(cid:0) EMDR to assist one in achieving this naturally receptive(cid:0) state.”(cid:0) You state that the IADC experiences are different from(cid:0) dreams, imagination, and fantasies, and that the patients(cid:0) are not hallucinating? In what way are they different?(cid:0) “The most compelling evidence is that all people who have(cid:0) IADCs report them to be very different from all other(cid:0) experiences. Technically, hallucinations are perceptions(cid:0) without corresponding sensory input, which means that(cid:0) hallucinations are all in one’s head and have nothing to do(cid:0) with any reality that exists separate from us. Hallucinations(cid:0) generally have a very negative content, vary considerably(cid:0) in content from person to person, and are thought to be a(cid:0) symptom of a severe psychological disorder. It is clear,(cid:0) however, that IADC content is uniformly

positive, very(cid:0) consistent in content from person to person, and very(cid:0) healing psychologically. Another observation that(cid:0) indicates that IADCs are related to some reality that exists(cid:0) separate from us is that we have some strong evidence that(cid:0) two people who do the IADC procedure at the same time(cid:0) can have the exact same experience. I have called this(cid:0) phenomenon, ‘shared IADCs.’”(cid:0) You further state that you are concerned with the effect,(cid:0) not the cause, so that if the patients are not really in touch(cid:0) with departed friends, relatives or enemies, it doesn’t(cid:0) make any difference as long as there is healing. If(cid:0) patients have doubts or recognize your doubts as to the(cid:0) actual cause, doesn’t that negate the healing to some(cid:0) extent?(cid:0) “Not at all. As a psychologist who is primarily interested in(cid:0) healing people who suffer so profoundly, I have taken the(cid:0) strategy to not engage in arguments about beliefs. Believers(cid:0) and skeptics have been waging this battle for some time. I(cid:0) believe that if I take a side and get placed in one camp, it(cid:0) will be more difficult for me to get help to those who need(cid:0) it. In addition, from a logical point of view, my neutral(cid:0) stance can only affect my patients’ responses to IADC to(cid:0) the degree that it affects their own beliefs about their IADC(cid:0) experiences. But, it is very clear that patients are healed by(cid:0) their IADC experiences regardless of what they believe,(cid:0) both before and after their experience. It just makes

no(cid:0) difference. Although a vast majority of patients believe(cid:0) their IADC was real, even patients who don’t are healed to(cid:0) the same degree. The IADC experiences heals, and it(cid:0) appears that beliefs are completely inconsequential.”(cid:0) Has there been any study as to the long-term effects of the(cid:0) healing? Is it lasting?(cid:0) “So far, all of our data is based on a few thousand clinical(cid:0) observations made by myself and my IADC trained(cid:0) colleagues. To date, all clinical follow-up data indicates(cid:0) that IADC holds up extremely well over time. Of course,(cid:0) scientifically controlled studies(cid:0) Continued Page 15(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 14 Spring 2006(cid:0) Allan Botkin(cid:0)Continued from page 14(cid:0) are needed to verify these clinical observations. Professor(cid:0) Jan Holden and her colleagues at the University of North(cid:0) Texas have begun to investigate these clinical findings in a(cid:0) more rigorous and formal way. It is my hope that other(cid:0) university departments will also contribute to our(cid:0) understanding of IADC.”(cid:0) How has mainstream psychology reacted to your new(cid:0) therapy? Have there been any new developments since(cid:0) you finished the book?(cid:0) extremely “(cid:0)When I first began to make IADC available to the general(cid:0) public and to the professional community, I expected some(cid:0) harsh criticism from professional colleagues. Although this(cid:0) criticism may yet be forthcoming, so far professionals have(cid:0) been supportive. Many EMDR-trained(cid:0) professionals have become interested in formal IADC(cid:0) training because some of their clients spontaneously(cid:0) experienced an ADC during the course of EMDR therapy.(cid:0) Grief therapists and hospice workers, who are very

aware(cid:0) of the healing associated with(cid:0) spontaneous ADCs have also been(cid:0) very supportive. I suppose die-hard(cid:0) skeptics, who are entrenched in(cid:0) their own rigid belief systems, will(cid:0) eventually take a shot at me. When(cid:0) they do, it will be OK, because I am(cid:0) their(cid:0) prepared criticism.(cid:0) “Since the book,(cid:0) interest in IADC has come from a(cid:0) number of people. In addition to(cid:0) the research that is underway at the University of North(cid:0) Texas, perhaps the most significant development is that(cid:0) two movie producers, Patrick Wells and Craig Rice, have(cid:0) begun the process of making the IADC discovery into a(cid:0) documentary film. I also recently had the opportunity to(cid:0) work with my first 9-11 survivor, who experienced a very(cid:0) profound IADC. My primary job at this point is to get help(cid:0) to people who need it, such as combat veterans returning(cid:0) from Iraq and Afghanistan, and survivors of Katrina and(cid:0) Rita. To accomplish that, I need to first make this(cid:0) information available to the largest number of people I can.(cid:0) This interview is one important step in this process.” <>(cid:0) finishing respond to to We are delighted that Dr. Botkin will be a guest speaker at(cid:0) the AA-EVP conference in Atlanta, GA, June 8 -10. He(cid:0) will be with us to share more information on IADC and the(cid:0) effectiveness it has shown for the resolution of grief.(cid:0)•(cid:0) Crowd Babble for Background Sound(cid:0) Some time ago, Sonia Rinaldi sent us a sound file(cid:0) containing Portuguese language crowd babble. We have(cid:0) used it

quite a bit for background noise in EVP with good(cid:0) success, although we do not use it with a digital recorder.(cid:0) Adding any noise necessitates noise removal later on, but(cid:0) if you want to try this sound source, it is available at(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources/resources2.htm/ •(cid:0) Articles of Knowledge,(cid:0) Not Matters of Faith(cid:0) EVP is not about religion and the AA-EVP is not a(cid:0) religious organization. We find ourselves saying that a lot.(cid:0) We also find ourselves explaining what has been learned(cid:0) from these phenomena. The problem is that the things we(cid:0) say that people are learning sound a lot like we are talking(cid:0) about a religion. This is no wonder when such subjects as(cid:0) life reviews and communicating with “dead” loved ones(cid:0) keep coming up.(cid:0) So what if the AA-EVP was a relig … ? No, don’t even(cid:0) go there! What if members of the AA-EVP codified what(cid:0) is being learned into a … well lets call it: “Articles of(cid:0) Agreement.” Based on the evidence, what would we list as(cid:0) things we feel comfortable into our(cid:0) worldview? Here are some of the more obvious “results”(cid:0) that are at least partially supported by the evidence. The(cid:0) parts written in italics are clearly speculative:(cid:0) •(cid:0)There is a greater reality of which the physical universe(cid:0) in accepting is but an aspect.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Everything is energy in some form.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Etheric energy to(cid:0) electromagnetic energy, but is not electromagnetic(cid:0) energy.(cid:0) (apparently) a precursor is lifetime •(cid:0)We are both physical and etheric, in that when our(cid:0) physical is

complete, our physical self(cid:0) eventually returns to the physical world (dust to dust) and(cid:0) our etheric Self, who we really are, continues to exist in(cid:0) a different aspect of reality.(cid:0) •(cid:0)After transition out of a physical lifetime, we are able to(cid:0) move about in the greater reality(cid:0)depending on the(cid:0) degree to which we have learned to understand the(cid:0) operation of that reality.(cid:0) •(cid:0)We retain our personality after transition, and while we(cid:0) do not automatically become enlightened, we do(cid:0) experience a life review during transition and we(cid:0) continue to have experiences and gain in understanding.(cid:0) •(cid:0)As etheric beings, we are able to sense or witness activity(cid:0) in the physical, and to communicate ideas,(cid:0)depending on(cid:0) our understanding of reality(cid:0)and our ability to work with(cid:0) a suitable physical medium.(cid:0) •(cid:0)When we are sleeping or in some way disengaged from(cid:0) our physical body, we are also etheric Self.(cid:0) •(cid:0)As physical people, we are the source of the energy(cid:0) required to enable etheric to physical influences. As(cid:0) such, we are the medium through which communication(cid:0) across the veil occurs.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Energy can be accumulated and behaves as if it “sticks”(cid:0) to the environment. It is this energy which is required for(cid:0) etheric to physical influences. As such, “haunted” places(cid:0) are so because of longtime human occupancy and/or the(cid:0) expression of extreme emotions.(cid:0) •(cid:0)It is possible the(cid:0) to accumulate energy cooperation of a group of people and by dedicating a(cid:0) special place for communication across the veil.(cid:0) through Continued Page 16(cid:0) Spring 2006(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1

Page 15 AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Articles of Knowledge(cid:0) Continued from page 15(cid:0) •(cid:0)Some people in the etheric complete their transition, but(cid:0) then deliberately remain “close” to the physical to guide,(cid:0) help and protect people in the physical, depending on(cid:0) their ability and the receptiveness of the physical person.(cid:0) As such, we can expect that we have people in the etheric(cid:0) who are helping us.(cid:0)They cannot interfere, except as we(cid:0) enable their assistance or “influence” into the physical.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Since we are the source of the energy required for etheric(cid:0) to physical influence, we who are in the physical are also(cid:0) responsible for the nature of those influences. If we fear,(cid:0) then we tend to enable fearful experiences.(cid:0) •(cid:0)We have self-determination and we are the ones who(cid:0) must determine the path we will take in life. As such, all(cid:0) learning(cid:0) experiences are continues beyond the physical lifetime.(cid:0) learning experiences and Even though the AA-EVP addresses very tangible proofs of(cid:0) personal survival and helps people learn to reach loved ones(cid:0) across the veil, interest in the AA-EVP has traditionally(cid:0) been from a few people who are willing to face that scary(cid:0) prospect that long dead Uncle John may not be so dead after(cid:0) all and may even be coming by to say “hi.”(cid:0) Part of our conclusion is that people want to, even need to(cid:0) be inspired. I for one talk in technical terms that are about(cid:0) as inspirational as a stick of wood. Making the AA-EVP a(cid:0) religion would be missing the point

of EVP, but is there a(cid:0) middle ground? The Big Circle shows us that there may be.(cid:0) People must be inspired after hearing some of the Big Circle(cid:0) recording results … if they understood the implications.(cid:0) So the task then is to learn how to communicate the facts(cid:0) in a more inspirational way without straying too far from(cid:0) the evidence. In religion, instead of saying “There is a(cid:0) greater reality,” one might say, “There is a heaven.” Some(cid:0) Spiritualists say that we find ourselves in “different(cid:0) atmospheres and awarenesses,” while some refer to the(cid:0) other side as “Summerland.” Jesus said that there are “many(cid:0) mansions.” What if we learned to say something like,(cid:0) “There is a continuum of existence to be experienced(cid:0) beyond this lifetime”?(cid:0) Implicit in the Articles of Agreement is that there is a(cid:0) purpose for the existence of the greater reality, and therefore(cid:0) a personality with purpose and who cares about the results.(cid:0) That is not directly supported by experimental evidence, but(cid:0) if you are willing to accept the notion that what you will(cid:0) experience after transition has some relationship with what(cid:0) you experienced here, then it is also reasonable to expect(cid:0) that this order is governed by some form of intelligence. It(cid:0) is not necessary to go this far with the Articles, but being(cid:0) inspirational could include the acknowledgment that ours is(cid:0) not a clockwork reality.(cid:0) Taking this one step further, a benefit of religion is that,(cid:0) for better or for worse, it teaches its congregation

how to(cid:0) live in accordance with its tenets. Is it possible for us to let(cid:0) the things we know to be true, things that we can prove,(cid:0) guide us in how we live? Of course, each of us must make(cid:0) the decision as to whether or not we will let this knowledge(cid:0) guide us—or even if we are going to believe these things.(cid:0) But the next time someone asks you what good EVP is, or(cid:0) what you have learned from studying EVP, do not hesitate(cid:0) to tell them that we have articles of knowledge, not matters(cid:0) of faith. Tom(cid:0) HRF Grants Awarded(cid:0) The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life(cid:0) After Death, (HRF) awarded grants for EVP research last(cid:0) December to Paolo Presi and Alexander MacRae. The(cid:0) grants were for EUR 7,000 ($8,360) each for their research(cid:0) project using communications through EVP to investigate(cid:0) the possibility for post-mortem survival.(cid:0) AA-EVP member Edgar Muller was instrumental in(cid:0) convincing the board of the HRF that EVP was most(cid:0) suitable for scientific research. Edgar wrote, “It is possible(cid:0) to create serious protocols for the experiments; both(cid:0) prospective and retrospective experiments can be carried(cid:0) out; it is possible to use external neutral persons and(cid:0) sophisticated software to evaluate the results, and so on.”(cid:0) “The HRF will be awarding these grants each year.(cid:0) Anyone can apply, the only limitation being that the(cid:0) application be filled out in English. [See “Announcement(cid:0) for Grant” on Page 6.](cid:0) “The objective of the fund is to support research

into life(cid:0) after death, so there will be competition between various(cid:0) other fields of research such as NDE, reincarnation,(cid:0) mediums, ITC and others.” •(cid:0) EVP Names Researchers(cid:0) Lisa and I once recorded for EVP in Alcatraz. Our(cid:0) expectations were that we would record EVP from “local”(cid:0) entities and ones who were clearly not local; however, the(cid:0) entire modern history of the island involves tremendous(cid:0) negativity, and we were not sure if our theory would hold(cid:0) up. As if to prove to us that our etheric communicators had(cid:0) followed us there, we recorded many very positive EVP,(cid:0) including one with the name of Italian researcher, Paolo(cid:0) Presi, and Scottish researcher, Alexander MacRae.(cid:0) We posted the EVP example in the Idea Exchange with(cid:0) a poll inviting people to tell us whether or not they heard(cid:0) the two names, and at last check, 60% of listeners did. The(cid:0) example is also in the public pages of aaevp.com.(cid:0) There is not enough information to make anything more(cid:0) of the EVP than to think that the utterance was a(cid:0) demonstration, but as you can see above, we talk a lot(cid:0) about both researchers. One can only marvel. •(cid:0) Sequel to(cid:0)What the Bleep(cid:0) Although the movie,(cid:0)What the Bleep Do We Know!?,(cid:0) was(cid:0) turned down by traditional movie producers and(cid:0) mainstream movie houses, it became a hit through word of(cid:0) mouth at independent film venues. The movie won five(cid:0) independent film awards. The sequel,(cid:0)What the Bleep Do(cid:0) We Know!?: Discovering the Endless Possibilities for(cid:0) Altering Your Everyday

Reality,(cid:0) is due out spring 2006. •(cid:0) Spring 2006(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 16 Gathering Information with EVP(cid:0) We have always maintained that it is up to the individual to(cid:0) learn to use EVP to reach a loved one. Yes, others can(cid:0) sometimes do this for a person, but recording for EVP is(cid:0) pretty easy to learn and the person’s desire to reach a loved(cid:0) one is an important factor for success. The real problem we(cid:0) see is that the person offering to help may have difficulty(cid:0) spending the necessary time to make the contact and gather(cid:0) meaningful messages that the person can hear and(cid:0) understand. These are uncharted waters, and the actions of(cid:0) a few can reflect on all of us. Our concern is seeing(cid:0) someone try to earn money doing EVP for others. Of(cid:0) course, we would rather see people earn money teaching(cid:0) others how to do EVP for themselves.(cid:0) With that said, we have been slowly edging into the use(cid:0) of EVP for information gathering, such as finding lost(cid:0) people. For instance, Rob McConnell of the Canadian, ‘X’(cid:0) Zone Radio Show, sent an email asking “psychics and(cid:0) mediums within the ‘X’ Zone family” to help find their(cid:0) missing producer. We posted the request in the Prediction(cid:0) Registry of the Idea Exchange. Within twenty-four hours,(cid:0) Debra Ann, Margaret Downey and Chris Kennedy had(cid:0) recorded EVP that were appropriate for the circumstances.(cid:0) Of course, we wanted the best for the missing producer,(cid:0) but darn it, he was found

before we could contribute the(cid:0) messages and McConnell simply said he was found and(cid:0) closed the subject to us. We sent McConnell an email with(cid:0) the information we received, but he did not respond. Based(cid:0) on the EVP messages, we suppose it was a little too(cid:0) embarrassing for the family to talk more about the incident,(cid:0) but it brings up a second issue.(cid:0) If you ask for help, it is only ethical to provide feedback(cid:0) when help is offered. That is how we who communicate(cid:0) across the veil learn to improve. If you offer to help, it is(cid:0) only ethical to do so in a way that is sensitive to the(cid:0) victim’s feelings. For instance, if you know of a missing(cid:0) child because of a news report, we highly recommend that(cid:0) you do not go to the family with EVP messages unless(cid:0) asked. Odds are very good that the very idea of EVP will(cid:0) offend their religion, and also, odds are very good that you(cid:0) will have more misleading messages than helpful ones(cid:0) unless you have established a relationship with your(cid:0) communicators. And that brings us to a third concern.(cid:0) We are pretty sure that AA-EVP members can learn how(cid:0) to use EVP to help the public. In fact, AA-EVP member,(cid:0) Liz Rieger, is currently working with police on cases with(cid:0) apparent success. The Idea Exchange offers an excellent(cid:0) tool for people to learn how to use EVP for collecting that(cid:0) kind of information, but we need cases for which

we have(cid:0) involved investigators who can give us feedback as to the(cid:0) meaningfulness of the messages, and perhaps ask specific(cid:0) questions of our etheric communicators. If you know of(cid:0) people in law enforcement who would be willing to support(cid:0) this learning effort by telling us about cases and judging(cid:0) our results, contact us and we will work with them to(cid:0) establish ground rules that would help us and keep us from(cid:0) interfering with their investigation. •(cid:0) AA-EVP Members Visit Tortilla Flats(cid:0) “Starting off the New Year Right” was the theme of a field(cid:0) trip for a group of members to Tortilla Flats in Merrimack,(cid:0) NH.(cid:0) Tortilla Flats was built in the 1700s as a private residence(cid:0) and is now a restaurant. Its original owner, Zachariah, was(cid:0) active in the Underground Railroad and slaves were often(cid:0) hidden in the basement. Zachariah ended his life in the(cid:0) house by hanging himself. No one is really sure why he did(cid:0) this but it is obvious that he felt there was no way out of(cid:0) some situation. He left a wife and two children.(cid:0) L to R: AA-EVP members Karen Mossey, Mike Sullivan,(cid:0) Lisa Yesse, Carol Peterson and Jim Stonier(cid:0) The room that Zachariah hung himself in would have(cid:0) been the first room you entered when going into the(cid:0) original house. The door is the original door and opens to(cid:0) this room now used as a dining room. Some of the books in(cid:0) the original room were found when the place was converted(cid:0) to

a restaurant. The group was able to go into the room,(cid:0) now called the “Hanging Room,” and record for EVP.(cid:0) Karen asked if Zachariah was present and got an EVP(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“I’m here.”(cid:0) She also recorded a,(cid:0)“Help me,”(cid:0) that(cid:0) sounds like Zachariah, as well as a man’s voice saying,(cid:0)“I(cid:0) found those over here”(cid:0) and a women saying,(cid:0)“Oh yes.”(cid:0) There are other ghosts that haunt the restaurant and its(cid:0) notoriety as being haunted has attracted customers. Karen(cid:0) says that the staff is very open in talking about the history(cid:0) of the place and notes that they have good food, as well! •(cid:0) Questions for the Directors(cid:0) We would like to remind you that we cannot always answer(cid:0) questions or comment on things members say in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange. The forum moderators will help as they are able(cid:0) and they have our full support. If you have a specific(cid:0) question about membership, the Association or nonphysi-(cid:0) cal phenomena, please contact us at [email protected] or(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507.(cid:0) This is a good time to ask once again that you let us know(cid:0) at the above address if you have an article or interesting(cid:0) recording results that you would like to share with others in(cid:0) the NewsJournal. •(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 17 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebmann, of the German VTF, tested her new(cid:0) video recorder by watching an old documentary about(cid:0) Friedrich Jürgenson’s life and discoveries. Jutta had not(cid:0) seen this for several years

and realized while watching it(cid:0) that Jürgenson directly heard EVP voices in the(cid:0) loudspeaker of his radio set prior to starting an EVP(cid:0) recording. Jutta wrote, “When he heard the whispering(cid:0) voice of his ‘radio assistant,’ Lena, from the other side,(cid:0) he started his EVP recording and got a lot of EVP(cid:0) messages. I think that he had a similar ability for EVP(cid:0) contacts as that of Marcello Bacci in Italy.” [Remember(cid:0) that Paolo Presi will be showing a video on Bacci’s(cid:0) amazing results at the AA-EVP conference June 8-11 in(cid:0) Atlanta.](cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith wrote, “Skeptics argue that EVP recordings(cid:0) are simply random extraneous radio signals being(cid:0) received, but my personal research over 2 years indicates(cid:0) that EVP are a direct form of articulate ‘real time’(cid:0) communication between discarnate and incarnate beings.(cid:0) I understand EVP as that process through which ‘thought(cid:0) communication’ is received from conscious self-aware(cid:0) entities existing in unseen dimensions and recorded in an(cid:0) audible human speech format! My EVP examples fall(cid:0) into the following criteria of empirical repeatability:(cid:0) 1. “Many statements recorded on my PCs and B16/(cid:0) B100 Sony IC recorders use a personal greeting(cid:0) format (‘Hi Rob’ or ‘Robert’) and most comments(cid:0) are directed to me using my first name. Over 90% of(cid:0) EVP are standalone personal statements, not random(cid:0) snippets of conversation (i.e. partial words or(cid:0) sentences).(cid:0) 2. “Most recordings relate to my current time setting(cid:0) situation. For(cid:0) and existing/previous physical example,. ‘Good evening,’ ‘Good morning’ and ‘Go(cid:0) back to Loughton,’ my birthplace. I recorded(cid:0)

comments in a grocer shop where entities talked(cid:0) about specific products, and one even asked whether(cid:0) he had a ‘bar-code’!(cid:0) 3. “I have received posthumous contact from my(cid:0) mother, grandfather and grandmother that I have(cid:0) confirmed through their vocal style, intonation and(cid:0) specific accent quality (all have London accents).(cid:0) 4. “Most recordings I have received are positive in(cid:0) nature, though some can be emphatic and direct.(cid:0) Subjective assessment of whether comments are(cid:0) necessarily positive or negative is dependent upon(cid:0) the listener’s state of mind, personal defensiveness,(cid:0) and self perception at the time. Discarnates are(cid:0) disembodied energy formatted by human experience(cid:0) and personality, and like incarnates, may feel angry,(cid:0) frustrated, unsociable and even disillusioned in their(cid:0) current state of being or environment. This does not(cid:0) necessarily make them negative or evil individuals,(cid:0) as they simply may be confused or disorientated.(cid:0) 5. “Many messages received from discarnate entities(cid:0) describe a heightened awareness that is related to(cid:0) ‘post-incarnational’ experiences (‘Aunt Binny has(cid:0) risen,’ ‘It’s beautiful.’)(cid:0) 6. “Many EVP are a response to questions asked or(cid:0) comments made are directly pertinent to comments(cid:0) made and questions asked by myself. (‘Good night,(cid:0) everyone receives the reply, ‘Good night Rob!’)(cid:0) 7. “On a majority of recordings, I can demonstrate(cid:0) ‘forward recorded comments’ even when the(cid:0) soundtrack is reversed. (It appears that normal(cid:0) human speech patterns can be manipulated by(cid:0) discarnates offering cognitive communication in(cid:0) both directions.) •(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Garrett Husveth and the Haunted New Jersey web site(cid:0) have done many different and interesting podcasts

that(cid:0) can be downloaded at http://blog.hauntednewjersey.com/(cid:0) Garrett is also experimenting with Direct Radio Voices(cid:0) and you can see his live via webcam at(cid:0) lab www.hauntednewjersey.com/index.html(cid:0) •(cid:0)Brian and Lynn Kent have presented classes on EVP at(cid:0) many different Spiritualist churches and have had(cid:0) success at all of them.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Tina Laurent will be working with the South Wales(cid:0) Paranormal group at Margam Castle on April 1.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey did an interview with CBS Channel 4,(cid:0) Boston, regarding the EVP used in the(cid:0)Ghost Whisperer(cid:0) episode, “Voices.” Real EVP is played during the(cid:0) beginning credits and one of those EVP was Karen’s(cid:0) father saying,(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0) They used a picture of her(cid:0) Dad during the interview.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Gretchen Sheridan runs EVP classes by getting small(cid:0) groups together and going to “proven” places and then(cid:0) doing experiments with different techniques.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana are once again(cid:0) sponsoring a conference in behalf of the ITC Journal. The(cid:0) name of the conference is:(cid:0)Current Research into(cid:0) Survival of Physical Death with Special Reference to(cid:0) ITC.(cid:0) It is in Vigo, Spain, April 28-30, 2006. See http://(cid:0) eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/congresotci for details.(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski continues to experiment with(cid:0) different technologies for EVP. We reported in the last(cid:0) NewsJournal how David set up an optical microphone.(cid:0) We see now that he has had to replace the microchip in(cid:0) his unit, and that the microphone now behaves quite(cid:0) differently. If you build this unit, contact David to see(cid:0) how he has “fine tuned” the unit for best performance. •(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1

Page 18 Spring 2006(cid:0) Researchers Report(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debra Caruso had recorded an EVP from Erland(cid:0) Babcock that said,(cid:0)“Tell them I’m here.”(cid:0) She wrote that,(cid:0) when she went to edit it, “Erland obviously didn’t want(cid:0) me to touch it. My computer kept shutting down and the(cid:0) dials on Acoustica were spinning wildly.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland visited Jamie Quillen’s grave on the(cid:0) anniversary of her transition, February 9. Jamie’s cousin(cid:0) was there and placed an angel on her gravesite. Martha(cid:0) asked him if he would like to do a recording at her grave,(cid:0) and in the recording you will hear him saying, “Hey,(cid:0) Jamie,” but right before he speaks, Jamie says,(cid:0)“Love(cid:0) you.”(cid:0) Martha wrote that, “Judy Quillen, Jamie’s Mom,(cid:0) listened to the recording while at my home last Friday(cid:0) and she confirmed the(cid:0)‘Love you’(cid:0) was Jamie’s voice.(cid:0) Judy said that Jamie always would say, ‘Love you,’(cid:0) while in the physical, instead of ‘I love you.’”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Sandra Champlain was on the phone with her friend,(cid:0) Duncan in Australia. There is a fourteen hour time(cid:0) difference between them. Before Sandra started the(cid:0) recording, they both imagined that they were holding(cid:0) hands and forming a circle of love and energy with his(cid:0) deceased first wife, Joan; his mom, who passed when he(cid:0) was only two years old and Sandra’s grandfather, whom(cid:0) she says she always brings because he’s her “business(cid:0) partner.”(cid:0) Sandra spent an hour going through the recording and(cid:0) then the two talked again. She wrote, “The first voice I(cid:0) heard was,(cid:0)“Hello, Duncan.”(cid:0) I can’t believe

there is no(cid:0) distance on the other side.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Terry Dulin wrote, “I received a recent message from my(cid:0) son…. He’s saying my favorite thing,(cid:0)‘I love you, Mom.’”(cid:0) •(cid:0)William Fair told us that he used to talk to his brother,(cid:0) now on the other side, every day on his ham radio.(cid:0) William has received several short EVP from him.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Linda Gregory was recording using her Olympus(cid:0) vn240pc and asked a family member who had passed if(cid:0) his death was premeditated. She recorded,(cid:0)“Kathy’s dog(cid:0) is here.”(cid:0) It is almost sung in a female voice. Linda says(cid:0) that she gets the singing when she uses a coil light bulb(cid:0) while recording. [A “coil light bulb” is a fluorescent(cid:0) replacement for an incandescent bulb. We believe the(cid:0) ballast (transformer) induces a small current into the(cid:0) recorder, causing additional audio frequency noise that is(cid:0) apparently useful for EVP.(cid:0)Editor(cid:0)](cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkens had tried putting her recorder in a tall(cid:0) glass, a metal box, the microwave and even in the bath(cid:0) tub without water. She next tried putting it in a crystal(cid:0) bowl that she had on her kitchen table. She wrote, “One(cid:0) of the spirits sounds like they find all of my experiments(cid:0) amusing, others just want to run. On the recording, I’m(cid:0) hearing someone giggling and then someone saying,(cid:0)‘Get(cid:0) me outta here!’(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Brian Jenkins captured an EVP that said,(cid:0)“Johnny, deny(cid:0) it,”(cid:0) while investigating a 19(cid:0)th(cid:0) century jail. Brian wrote(cid:0) that, “The ‘Johnny’ is spoken by both a male and a(cid:0) female voice while the ‘deny

it’ is only in the female(cid:0) voice. I was wondering if anyone else has recorded two(cid:0) voices saying the same thing at once before?”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cheryl and Charles Johnson report that they use Sony(cid:0) digital voice recorders and edit with Cool Edit pro. They(cid:0) ask questions and get C, B, and A responses and(cid:0) spontaneous utterances.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Chris Kennedy was going to record but her dogs,(cid:0) “…were tap dancing on the floor,” waiting for her to give(cid:0) them a treat. She went to get them a treat but decided to(cid:0) ask, “Does someone have my pets with them?” She was(cid:0) very happy when she heard,(cid:0)“All of them.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski recorded an EVP message stating,(cid:0) “Check your sump pump.”(cid:0) David wrote, “… I went(cid:0) downstairs and sure enough, water on the floor! A(cid:0) discharge hose had cracked on the sump pump, spraying(cid:0) water and causing minor damage to some family history(cid:0) objects in storage down there. Nice to know someone is(cid:0) keeping a watchful eye on this old place.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey said that, during a Big Circle group(cid:0) recording session, she felt her son very strongly and felt(cid:0) that he was right next to her. She recorded,(cid:0)“This is Rob.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Liz Rieger has been trying to find a missing person via(cid:0) EVP. She wrote that, “The family sent me a personal(cid:0) item to use with my EVP sessions to make my(cid:0) connection stronger. I was recently told,(cid:0)“I’m her uncle.(cid:0) My name is Joe.”(cid:0) Well, it turns out she has a great uncle(cid:0) on the

other side named Joe.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith shared a recording with the group in which(cid:0) two entities say,(cid:0)“Good night, everyone.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Heidi Spencer’s family has had to try and cope with their(cid:0) stepson’s stepson shooting himself. Heidi wrote that the(cid:0) stepson’s stepson might be confusing but that they were(cid:0) both her boys and very close. She asked him to come(cid:0) through for his mom, Julie, and recorded,(cid:0)“Mom.”(cid:0) She(cid:0) wrote that, “The wild thing is that it sounds exactly like(cid:0) him!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott recorded during the Big Circle group(cid:0) recording and got,(cid:0)“The Big Circle,” “The Big Circle’s(cid:0) talking”(cid:0) and(cid:0) “Let Braden talk to his mom.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Leslie Taylor reported that she had gotten a message(cid:0) from her son saying,(cid:0)“I’m learning this.”(cid:0)•(cid:0) Voices from the Dead(cid:0) From the Nevada State Journal, July 6, 1926(cid:0) At 11:15 o’clock Sunday night the voices of four former(cid:0) United States presidents were carried through the air to(cid:0) millions of listeners and three of them, Roosevelt,(cid:0) Woodrow Wilson and Harding, are dead. Mr. Taft is the(cid:0) only one of the four living.(cid:0) Those three voices of the dead, recorded on talking(cid:0) machine cylinders and now heard through the microphone,(cid:0) prove that with the aid of science men can do whatever they(cid:0) can imagine. For 100,000 years men have imagined(cid:0) hearing voices from the dead. Now they actually hear them.(cid:0) (Thanks to Janice Oberding) •(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 19 Spring 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Pope Benedict XVI Channels John Paul II(cid:0) Thanks to George Wynne for sharing these extracts from

a(cid:0) Der Spiegel(cid:0) interview with Pope Benedict XVI, published(cid:0) in October under the above headline.(cid:0) The Pope is reported to have said,(cid:0)“I hear him and I see(cid:0) him speaking, so I can keep up a continuous dialogue with(cid:0) him.... His nearness to me isn’t limited to words and texts,(cid:0) because behind the texts I hear the Pope himself. A man(cid:0) who goes to the Lord doesn’t disappear: I believe that(cid:0) someone who goes to the Lord comes even closer to us.”(cid:0)•(cid:0) “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA,(cid:0) $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order(cid:0) at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping;

include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not(cid:0) receiving the NewsJournal via email(cid:0) $38.00 per year Sustaining Members(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand

my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 1 Page 20 Spring 2006(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 25 Number 2 This is the second issue of the AA-EVP’s 25th Year Summer 2006(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) The Presentations(cid:0) A web page will soon be set up with more detailed(cid:0) information about the presentations. Here is an overview.(cid:0) “EVP 101” is the title of the workshop we teach, and(cid:0) what we presented in a shortened version Thursday night.(cid:0) Should we decide to teach an “Instructor Certification(cid:0) Course,” EVP 101 would be in the core suite of lessons.(cid:0) The Friday morning opening comments were especially(cid:0) important to Tom, because he managed to surprise Lisa(cid:0) with a new HP Palm Pilot, which would replace her often(cid:0) folded yellow paper “Personal Data Assistant.” Tom(cid:0) pointed out in the presentation that the conference would(cid:0) not have taken place were it

not for Lisa’s initiative and(cid:0) hard work. Debbie Caruso was a fellow conspirer in(cid:0) helping Tom surprise Lisa.(cid:0) Sarah Estep presented a brief introduction about her(cid:0) Well okay then! The 2006 AA-EVP conference is now a(cid:0) historical event. We received a number of comments(cid:0) observing that the gathering of speakers and attendees was(cid:0) inspired and represented an important event in the world of(cid:0) EVP/ITC. Of course, we are happy for the compliments,(cid:0) but now it is time to assess the results and look for ways to(cid:0) plan future efforts.(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a nonprofit, educational organization(cid:0) with an emphasis on education. The conference effectively(cid:0) facilitated the Association’s responsibility to teach, but the(cid:0) way it was effective may surprise you. Those of you who(cid:0) were able to attend had a world-class opportunity to learn(cid:0) about ITC research, but the most important benefit of the(cid:0) conference was the collaboration amongst attendees and(cid:0) presenters. Many of you have become highly qualified ITC(cid:0) experimenters, and your personal knowledge about these(cid:0) things is simply not available in the university classroom.(cid:0) It is all about collaboration, and the conference has proven(cid:0) to be a most important venue for collaboration, which we(cid:0) expect will lead to fresh ideas and new progress in the field(cid:0) of ITC for years to come.(cid:0) Thank you!(cid:0) We wish to thank those who volunteered and helped make(cid:0) the conference a success. A special thanks to Carol(cid:0) Peterson and Jim Stonier. Both helped with the big rush of(cid:0) registration on Thursday evening and

Jim helped bring(cid:0) order to technology chaos on the conference room floor.(cid:0) Thank you Vicki Talbott for helping with registration on(cid:0) Saturday.(cid:0) several George Wynne donated Martha Copeland and Ginny Sawyer are responsible for(cid:0) the outstanding conference location. They previewed(cid:0) possible conference sites in 2005. Many attendees(cid:0) commented on how beautiful the rooms and the hotel were.(cid:0) flower(cid:0) arrangements to grace the stage and registration table. He(cid:0) also helped as interpreter for Paolo Presi. Garrett Husveth(cid:0) took Sonia Rinaldi under his wing, making her stay more(cid:0) productive and less stressful. We thank Becky Estep for(cid:0) helping Sarah participate in the conference and she in turn(cid:0) wished to thank Al Rauber for being there for them. We(cid:0) would have no pictures to show you if not for Jim and(cid:0) Becky making sure that we had some.(cid:0) lovely We also want to acknowledge a large donation that came(cid:0) during the first day from Denise Herres. The donation(cid:0) helped the conference break even. Denise simply handed(cid:0) us the check and said it was important that there would be(cid:0) more conferences.(cid:0) Lifetime Achievement Award for Sarah Estep(cid:0) experience with EVP and then some of her best EVP(cid:0) examples were played, ending with a one minute EVP(cid:0) containing music thought to have been originated by(cid:0) Ludwig Beethoven. At the conclusion of the presentation,(cid:0) Sarah was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi described her work with EVP/ITC, in(cid:0) which she uses a computer and a video camera operating in(cid:0) a mirrored mode. We were all

fascinated by the faces she(cid:0) is finding in the optical noise, as they are unlike any we are(cid:0) seeing from other researchers.(cid:0) Continued page 16(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0)—(cid:0) comments(cid:0)by Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0)............................................................1(cid:0) Saying Good-bye to Daddy.............................................................................................................3(cid:0) Members Help Mother Hear from Her Son....................................................................................4(cid:0) No Coincidences.............................................................................................................................4(cid:0) Big Circle Mothers Get Messages..................................................................................................5(cid:0) Plasma Globe Kills Recorder..........................................................................................................5(cid:0) Can EVP Experimenters Assist the Police in Solving Crimes and Missing Person Cases?(cid:0)..........6(cid:0) Prove It(cid:0) Television Program Pilot..................................................................................................8(cid:0) How Should we Start to Explain the Afterlife?..............................................................................9(cid:0) Pictures and A Few Conference Comments............................................................................10-11(cid:0) Practicing Death-The Key to Enjoying Life.................................................................................12(cid:0) Genealogy Web Site Recognizes Faces(cid:0)........................................................................................13(cid:0) A Portal to Another Physical World?...........................................................................................14(cid:0) 4Cell EVP Demonstration.............................................................................................................17(cid:0) Daughter’s Face in Luminator Picture..........................................................................................17(cid:0) News About Members..................................................................................................................18(cid:0) How are we Doing?......................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Researchers Report.......................................................................................................................19(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0)...............................................................................................................19(cid:0) Be in a Listening Panel for Science..............................................................................................19(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in(cid:0) the field of ITC and to update members about the work being done by others in the field.(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—less with pictures. Articles should be short(cid:0) and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized

or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) web site. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with(cid:0) these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0):(cid:0) The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal is added(cid:0) to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP and is(cid:0) protected by USA copyright law: ©2005AA-EVP. Membership information may be found on the(cid:0) AA-EVP web site at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a(cid:0) membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter.(cid:0) Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should(cid:0) add $8.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in(cid:0) excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland, Karen Mossey and Janice Oberding.(cid:0) Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Ben Ablon(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Denise Herres(cid:0) Betty

and Don Nauratil(cid:0) Olivia Newton(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Ben Ablon(cid:0) Art Counts(cid:0) Margaret Downey(cid:0) Robert Egby(cid:0) Richard Hatem(cid:0) Denise Herres(cid:0) Kelly Jenkins-Burge(cid:0) Dorothy Moore(cid:0) Ellen Pugh(cid:0) Heidi Spencer(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Gary Arnold(cid:0) Richard Busse(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Dennis Fassler(cid:0) Robert Fenn(cid:0) Beatrice Hofman(cid:0) Phillip Martin(cid:0) Lynda Noel(cid:0) Ginny Sawyer(cid:0) Steve Sens(cid:0) Lorraine VanBrocklin(cid:0) Grey Woodman(cid:0) Thanks to Loretta(cid:0) Woodward for(cid:0) proofreading the(cid:0) NewsJournal and Lisa(cid:0) Yesse for her support(cid:0) of the Big Circle web(cid:0) pages.(cid:0) Donations in(cid:0) Honor of(cid:0) Sarah Estep and(cid:0) Charles Estep(cid:0) From(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 2 Summer 2006(cid:0) Saying Good-Bye to Daddy(cid:0) In May, 2005, Melissa(cid:0) Baileys father, David(cid:0) “Skip” Walton, was(cid:0) diagnosed with stomach(cid:0) cancer. He was forty-(cid:0) nine years old. The(cid:0) picture of Skip at the left(cid:0) was taken the day he(cid:0) found out about the(cid:0) cancer. Skip is holding(cid:0) his finger up showing(cid:0) that he is number one.(cid:0) Skip Walton saying that he was a(cid:0) fighter and ready for battle(cid:0) Melissa wrote,(cid:0) “(cid:0)My father took it as something that was(cid:0) supposed to happen. He was willing to fight this sickness(cid:0) and be a testament to God’s healing power. You see my(cid:0) father grew up in the church and my grandfather was a(cid:0) preacher, but after some years my father had turned away(cid:0) from his spirituality. I had always been taught by my father(cid:0) that prayer was the key to all even if you’re going through(cid:0) the toughest things in life. Obviously the turning point for(cid:0) prayer in my life was finding out that

my father had(cid:0) stomach cancer.”(cid:0) Skip was told that he had only six months to live and(cid:0) once Melissa learned about the cancer, she along with her(cid:0) husband, decided to move back home to help her mother(cid:0) and be with her father during his last days on this plane.(cid:0) The move back was a blessing for Melissa, as she was not(cid:0) only able to help with her father’s care but was able to talk(cid:0) to him in a way that she felt that she couldn’t do before he(cid:0) became sick.(cid:0) A few weeks before her father’s death the family had a(cid:0) falling out and Melissa and her husband needed to get(cid:0) away. Melissa spoke with her father and asked him to do(cid:0) one thing if she was unable to see him again. She asked her(cid:0) father to visit her in her dreams and let her know that he(cid:0) was all right after he crossed over.(cid:0) The day before Skip passed (February 23, 2006), Melissa(cid:0) received a phone call from her mother asking her to come(cid:0) home. Skip had told Coco, Melissa’s mother, that he had a(cid:0) dream about God and that he had been told: “Be prepared(cid:0) because tomorrow you are coming home.” Melissa said(cid:0) that, no one in the family believed this. Melissa wrote, “I(cid:0) told my mother that I would not be coming home as of yet,(cid:0) that I would not want to be there seeing my father take his(cid:0) last breaths. I felt that something was holding

me where I(cid:0) was and if it was my father’s time, then I would not want(cid:0) to be hit with the images of seeing my father dying. The(cid:0) day passed with my thinking of my father, whom I love so(cid:0) much. I received a call from the house at around 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) and was told that my father had been asking to speak with(cid:0) me. He told me he loves me and I told him that it’s okay for(cid:0) him to go. I knew my father was in pain and that he wanted(cid:0) my approval to move forward. My father had been told that(cid:0) he had only months to live and yet he held on until he knew(cid:0) things were all right with our family.”(cid:0) Melissa spoke to her mother next, and was told that(cid:0) everyone was there; her brothers, sisters, aunt and her(cid:0) mother's brother. The family was waiting for her father's(cid:0) brother and the pastor to come. Melissa told everyone that(cid:0) she loved them and then hung up the phone. It was now(cid:0) 9:30(cid:0)PM(cid:0) and she was in turmoil whether she should go(cid:0) home or not. “My husband asked me if I wanted to leave(cid:0) right then but I told him that I didn’t want to leave New(cid:0) York yet.” At 10:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) she told her husband that she was(cid:0) ready to go home. The two decided to lay down for a few(cid:0) hours before driving to Virginia to be with her father. She(cid:0) wrote, “I truly had a hard

time going to sleep. I finally(cid:0) quieted my thoughts and prayed to God to just keep my(cid:0) father in his safe hands.”(cid:0) While dreaming, Melissa found herself in a room and felt(cid:0) that she was floating. People were holding hands in a half(cid:0) circle and one person was kneeling. “All of a sudden I(cid:0) knew that I was actually standing, looking at this. ... I saw(cid:0) a light opening up like a flower in bloom, in the corner of(cid:0) the room. The colors from this light were so white and(cid:0) bright it was beautiful to look at. I noticed that I was(cid:0) standing behind two people at the foot of the bed. Without(cid:0) looking at their faces, I know they were my father’s(cid:0) parents. All of a sudden I heard my grandmother say,(cid:0) ‘David it’s time to go,’ and then I saw the most amazing(cid:0) thing; I will never forget it. I saw my father rise in spirit out(cid:0) of his old body. He looked like his old self; healthy. He(cid:0) looked at himself in amazement as if astonished that he was(cid:0) no longer sick. He was glowing bright gold and began(cid:0) walking with my grandparents toward the light. He turned(cid:0) and said goodbye to the people praying around him. He(cid:0) then looked at me and said, ‘I am sorry that I will not be(cid:0) here with you.’ He then said, ‘Good-bye,’ smiled and(cid:0) continued walking toward the light. The light closed shut(cid:0) and I saw smoke and woke up.

The pastor called within(cid:0) minutes, saying, ‘Your father has gone home with the(cid:0) Father.’ I was overwhelmed, I saw him enter the light. My(cid:0) father had passed and I was really there with him.”(cid:0) to She Melissa feels that God(cid:0) answered her prayer and(cid:0) allowed her see(cid:0) Skip’s transition to the(cid:0) became(cid:0) light. interested in EVP days(cid:0) after his crossing. She(cid:0) recorded with her(cid:0) mother, sister and niece,(cid:0) Kalaya. They started(cid:0) calling his name as(cid:0) David Walton, Skip and(cid:0) Poppy. Melissa shared(cid:0) the recording with us(cid:0) and you can hear her niece say, “Hi Poppy.” Immediately(cid:0) you hear Skip say,(cid:0)“Hi Kalaya.”(cid:0) Melissa wrote that she(cid:0) “can’t believe he is talking to us so soon. I feel that he is(cid:0) the one pulling me to try and communicate with him.”(cid:0) Skip Walton with his niece, Kalaya(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 3 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Members Help Mother Hear from Her Son(cid:0) Normalyn Armour lost her firstborn son, Alan, in February(cid:0) in an accidental shooting. It was Normalyn who found his(cid:0) body. He was thirty-three at the time of the accident. He(cid:0) had been a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve and(cid:0) Normalyn says he was “talented, athletic, creative, and(cid:0) smart in everything that he did. He was a good listener, and(cid:0) he loved his dogs and hurt when they hurt.” Alan had(cid:0) helped Normalyn during her father’s cancer battle and had(cid:0) helped cheer his brother (who is with Alan now), as he was(cid:0) not well himself. Alan was

a pro mountain bike enthusiast,(cid:0) enjoyed surfing and boogie boarding, painting, drawing(cid:0) and was a great writer.(cid:0) Alan (right) with his two brothers who are also on the other side(cid:0) Normalyn wrote, “When I found him the night of his(cid:0) accident (yes, I know it was an accident because he was(cid:0) ordering another bike and had just registered for another(cid:0) semester), his spirit touched my face ever so gently to turn(cid:0) my head so that I would look down. I was about to climb a(cid:0) ladder to go up in the attic to look for him. He knew I was(cid:0) not good with heights and he kept me from climbing up.(cid:0) “Then one night as I had drifted off to sleep, Alan came(cid:0) to me and said I would be with him soon. I felt his presence(cid:0) the day his headstone was placed. He really liked it. I also(cid:0) felt Alan with me when I drove his truck to the mountains(cid:0) where we used to go when he raced his mountain bike. I felt(cid:0) like he was sitting right next to me, almost as though he(cid:0) were driving the truck. I went up there on his birthday to tie(cid:0) a ribbon around the lift he went on and around the tree.(cid:0) We’ve also had a lot of phone calls with no one there.”(cid:0) Heidi Spencer had talked to Normalyn about Alan and(cid:0) EVP and conducted a recording during a Big Circle(cid:0) recording session. Heidi was thrilled when she heard the(cid:0)

name,(cid:0)“Alan,”(cid:0) and put it on the Idea Exchange asking if(cid:0) other members heard it too. One member even felt that the(cid:0) EVP said Alan Armour. Another EVP was captured that(cid:0) said,(cid:0)“Alan. I’m fine, tell my mom, I love her,”(cid:0) and(cid:0) Normalyn recognized the voice as Alan’s.(cid:0) Margaret Downey also made several recordings trying to(cid:0) contact Alan. She recorded,(cid:0)“I love her”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“I’m with(cid:0) Uncle Denny.”(cid:0) Neither Margaret nor Heidi knew that(cid:0) there was indeed an Uncle Denny who was on the other(cid:0) side!(cid:0) Normalyn does not have a computer set up to listen back(cid:0) to recordings and so Heidi Spencer not only sent her a(cid:0) recorder to try for EVP but offered to listen to the(cid:0) recordings for her. This was successful and many EVP(cid:0) were recorded including,(cid:0)“Hi Mom, Denny’s here”(cid:0)and(cid:0) I’m fine, Mom.”(cid:0)They had been repeatedly asking Alan if(cid:0) he was okay.(cid:0) Normalyn wrote, “All of the messages from Alan sound(cid:0) pretty much like him; especially the first one I received. I(cid:0) feel that Alan knew that his time was up. He’d talk about(cid:0) things at various times and especially after he said he’d(cid:0) seen the white light years ago when he was at officer(cid:0) training. He and some friends were horsing around and he(cid:0) got hit really hard in the chest, knocking him out. I am very(cid:0) grateful to Heidi and other members who have helped. I(cid:0) still have many hard and painful days that I go(cid:0)through. I(cid:0) deeply miss him, and t(cid:0)here have been times when I have(cid:0)

considered giving up. Everyone seems to have moved on in(cid:0) their lives but I still stay frozen in time.”(cid:0) No Coincidences(cid:0) Loretta Woodward shared this with us. “I went to lunch(cid:0) today with my childhood friends. Donna said her van was(cid:0) stolen a couple weeks ago. Someone apparently just drove(cid:0) off in it and parked it in front of someone’s house. The(cid:0) people in the house got tired of looking at it and called the(cid:0) authorities, who notified Donna.(cid:0) “She went to retrieve her van but stopped to talk to the(cid:0) people in the house and let them know she was taking it.(cid:0) The woman turned out to be the mother of a student Donna(cid:0) had had a few years ago. This girl had leukemia and was(cid:0) sick and bald from undergoing treatments. She really(cid:0) touched Donna’s heartstrings and Donna often wondered(cid:0) how, and if, she was doing.(cid:0) “The mother showed Donna pictures of her daughter,(cid:0) now with beautiful long hair. She’s attending college and(cid:0) doing just fine. I guess the universe really wanted Donna to(cid:0) have some closure on this!”(cid:0) Lisa Yesse (left) with Martha(cid:0) Copeland. Lisa is webmaster for the(cid:0) Big Circle.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 4 Summer 2006(cid:0) Big Circle Mothers Get Messages(cid:0) •(cid:0)Just days before the conference, Vicki Talbott forwarded(cid:0) us an email that she had sent to Martha. She wrote, “I(cid:0) thought you might be interested in this. It is unusual for(cid:0) my husband to have a dream like this and certainly to(cid:0) speak

aloud while dreaming, especially with Cathy in it,(cid:0) whom he had not heard about until I told him after his(cid:0) dream. I think the kids are gearing up for the conference.”(cid:0) Vicki wrote, “Martha, you will never believe what(cid:0) happened just now. I was sitting here reading, and my(cid:0) husband was taking a nap after getting up at 4:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0) to(cid:0) go to work. Suddenly, he said, quite matter-of-factly in(cid:0) his sleep, “Shut up, Jim, Braden, and Cathy.” Then he(cid:0) immediately woke up and told me he had had a dream(cid:0) where he was seeing angels and spirits and wondering(cid:0) about their bodies. The kids were telling him that their(cid:0) bodies weren’t extremely different from what they are in(cid:0) life, but Pete was seeing angels with light coming from(cid:0) their eyes, and the boys and Cathy were saying, yes, this(cid:0) happens. I have never discussed Cathy with him!(cid:0) “In his dream, Pete wanted to experience this more(cid:0) without the kids talking, but they kept on, and he(cid:0) suddenly saw the rock with Jim and Braden’s name on it,(cid:0) and without knowing it said, “Shut up Jim, Braden, and(cid:0) Cathy.” He says he not only saw Jim’s and Braden’s(cid:0) names on the rock, but he also saw Cathy’s. I heard him(cid:0) clearly and wondered why he would say that. He has no(cid:0) idea why he said Cathy and saw her name in his dream(cid:0) on the rock, not knowing a Cathy who has passed or one(cid:0) who is(cid:0)living—all(cid:0) he remembers from the

dream is that(cid:0) a Cathy was with Braden and Jim. This is amazing to me.(cid:0) He is not an EVP person, but he lets me do this work and(cid:0) does recognize Jim and Braden when they come through(cid:0) clearly. It was all about angels and spirits and their bodies(cid:0) and the heavens. Pete is still stunned.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland told us about an interesting contact that(cid:0) she feels came from her daughter Cathy. On Friday at the(cid:0) conference Martha found herself very nervous and(cid:0) concerned about the talk that she would give the next(cid:0) day. Out of the blue, Meme Stevens approached her and(cid:0) handed her a small stone saying, “I think that you should(cid:0) have this.” When Martha looked down at it she saw the(cid:0) word courage written on it. She felt that her daughter(cid:0) Cathy had impressed Meme to give her this sign, letting(cid:0) her know that she and others on the other side would be(cid:0) helping her with her presentation.(cid:0) Lisa Huston and her film crew had asked to tape(cid:0) Martha at her home the day after the conference and(cid:0) Meme went with them. Martha has many wind chimes(cid:0) around the house and Meme told Martha that she had(cid:0) been hearing wind chimes in her head. Meme had done(cid:0) an EVP session and played the recording for Martha. The(cid:0) first EVP message said,(cid:0)“Cathy’s here.”(cid:0)after this(cid:0) another EVP said,(cid:0)“Talk to me, Mommy.”(cid:0) Martha was a(cid:0) little confused by the second message as she did not feel(cid:0) that Cathy would

call her Mommy so she is not sure who(cid:0) this second EVP was meant for. The last EVP is in(cid:0) Cathy’s voice saying,(cid:0)“Thank you!”(cid:0) We felt that this(cid:0) was Cathy thanking Martha for doing a presentation on(cid:0) the children and the Big Circle spirit communications at(cid:0) the conference.(cid:0) When Meme went into Cathy’s room, she told Martha(cid:0) she kept seeing pumpkins. The only thing that Martha(cid:0) could think of was that Cathy really loved Halloween,(cid:0) but later that day, Martha understood. She had gone to(cid:0) her sister Ginny’s. Ginny told Martha to look in the yard(cid:0) at the living Christmas tree that they had planted in honor(cid:0) of Cathy this past Christmas. Ginny had planted a(cid:0) pumpkin patch all around the tree with many different(cid:0) kinds of pumpkins.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso had been getting messages from Erland(cid:0) Babcock saying that he wanted to speak at the 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP conference. She told Mark Macy this during(cid:0) her interview. Macy is working with Lisa Huston and her(cid:0) husband on an ITC documentary. With cameras rolling,(cid:0) Mark and Debbie held hands. Debbie wrote that Mark(cid:0) asked something like, “Erland, I would like to know how(cid:0) you’re doing with Hans Heckman and George Meek?”(cid:0) The tape was played back and they could all hear Erland(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“I am with them.”(cid:0) Plasma Globe Kills Recorder(cid:0) By Richard Berry(cid:0) Here is a word of caution about experimenting with strong(cid:0) electromagnetic fields. A few days ago, I recorded by(cid:0) placing a Panasonic RR QR-100 next to a plasma globe.

I(cid:0) was rushed for time and placed the recorder in a drawer in(cid:0) my nightstand. A few days later, I decided to check for any(cid:0) EVP captures, turned on the unit and NOTHING! Well,(cid:0) since I use NiMh rechargeable batteries, I figured they may(cid:0) need to be charged. After(cid:0) the charge, I placed them(cid:0) back into the recorder and(cid:0) still NOTHING! I then(cid:0) placed the batteries in(cid:0) another and(cid:0) NOTHING!(cid:0) recorder I’m now thinking GEE,(cid:0) these batteries sure didn’t(cid:0) last long for what I paid(cid:0) for I’m(cid:0) them. Now thinking oh well, I’ll just(cid:0) put some regular batteries(cid:0) in the Panasonic and listen to the play back! NOTHING!(cid:0) The plasma globe killed the recorder and the NiMh(cid:0) batteries! I know a plasma globe uses a small tesla coil but(cid:0) it wasn’t quite small enough for my recorder. I would have(cid:0) been sick had it been my RR DR-60 I was using!(cid:0) I know most people don’t really care to post the dumb(cid:0) things they do but I think they are also very important, as I(cid:0) don’t want to see another group member repeat the same(cid:0) experiment and also have to give last rights to their recorder.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 5 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Can EVP Experimenters Assist the Police(cid:0) in Solving Capital Crimes and Missing Person Cases?(cid:0) A Personal Memoir from Germany(cid:0) by Fred Klode(cid:0) Translated by George Wynne(cid:0) An active member of our German counterpart association the VTF, and a longtime experimenter with transcommunication(cid:0) techniques, Fred

Klode, has also worked as a free lance columnist and court reporter for the Kölnische Rundschau.(cid:0) During my professional career, I was active as a detective(cid:0) and detective captain ((cid:0)Kriminalkommisar)(cid:0) in the police(cid:0) departments of several major German cities. In their(cid:0) investigations leading to indictment, our police authorities(cid:0) take into account only that which can be supported by(cid:0) irrefutable facts. They therefore ignore almost everything(cid:0) having to do with extrasensory or medial perceptions.(cid:0) In my case, my attitude changed after the death of my(cid:0) wife. I started to read books written by noted mediums such(cid:0) as Sylvia Browne and Arthur Ford. In them I discovered a(cid:0) world that had heretofore been closed to me.(cid:0) Fred Klode(cid:0) the pioneers Motivated by the work of in(cid:0) transcommunication such as Friedrich Jürgenson, Dr.(cid:0) Konstantin Raudive and Leo Schmid, I entered the circle of(cid:0) experimenters and started to attempt contacts myself. A(cid:0) breakthrough came one day: I recognized the authentic(cid:0) voice of my wife who reassured me:(cid:0)“Freddy, I am alive!”(cid:0) I blanched and cried in happiness at the same time. Today,(cid:0) many years later, our voice contact has developed to the(cid:0) point that it has become an integral part of my life.(cid:0) I have never considered the results of my voice research(cid:0) a personal secret, but have disseminated them widely. With(cid:0) countless demonstration cassettes and many talks or phone(cid:0) calls with grieving loved ones, I have passed on the great(cid:0) news of the postmortem survival of personal identity. I have(cid:0) been able to reach

some with this message, others not. But(cid:0) I am not afraid of derision and ridicule. I can live with it(cid:0) easily because experimenters who are dealing in confidence(cid:0) with the voice phenomenon on an almost daily basis know(cid:0) that a new life begins after death.(cid:0) But back to the question posed in the title. From my own(cid:0) experience I can answer with a resolute, “Yes.”(cid:0)Friedrich(cid:0) Jürgenson was the first to pose, albeit reluctantly, the(cid:0) question as to the identity of a murderer in the Rigmor(cid:0) Anderson murder case. Hans Luksch, in Austria, had a(cid:0) similar series of successes. And more recently his(cid:0) compatriot, Ernst Knirschnig, a private experimenter who(cid:0) lives near Vienna, succeeded in clearing up a mysterious(cid:0) murder case, after the local police asked him to try by(cid:0) means of a voice experiment. This constituted a first(cid:0) because the initiative actually came from the police(cid:0) authorities that were dealing with a case where not even(cid:0) the identity of the victim was known. Ernst Knirschnig(cid:0) succeeded splendidly in obtaining a seamless resolution of(cid:0) the case. The murderer was identified and convicted.(cid:0) (Ernst authorized this disclosure. I’ll revert to his(cid:0) experience further on.)(cid:0) It was this convincing confirmation that motivated me(cid:0) to direct my attention to the issue of perpetrators of capital(cid:0) crimes and the discovery of missing persons. There are no(cid:0) book solutions or standard guides on how to proceed in(cid:0) this area. I follow my intuition and dismiss any possible(cid:0) motivation of revenge. I pose the question as to

the(cid:0) identity of the perpetrator only after I have put myself(cid:0) emotionally into the victim’s shoes and sense how much(cid:0) the victim and his or her loved one have suffered. I also(cid:0) confess that I pray for all those involved irrespective of(cid:0) who might have been the guilty party.(cid:0) In a contribution to our VDF Journal under the title(cid:0) Activation of ‘Hereafter’ Detectives(cid:0)I described two(cid:0) murder cases in which I received the absolutely correct(cid:0) identities of the perpetrators plus the exact location of one(cid:0) of the victim’s bodies. Police authorities were able to(cid:0) solve both cases without my offered assistance. However(cid:0) it is worth noting that in the case of the murdered girl, I(cid:0) received the name of the guilty party and the location of(cid:0) the victim’s body just four days after her disappearance. I(cid:0) offered these facts to the police early on in their(cid:0) investigation, as well as the cassette tape for their own(cid:0) evaluation. While it got the attention of the investigating(cid:0) officials, given that the offer was made by one of their(cid:0) colleagues, they decided to ignore it. Had they taken my(cid:0) information seriously, the crime would not only have been(cid:0) solved months earlier, but—I have to note regretfully—a(cid:0) second murder committed by the same criminal would(cid:0) have been averted.(cid:0) A third case involved Nina, a young female police(cid:0) officer who was found dead in her locked apartment seven(cid:0) years ago with gunshot wounds from her service revolver.(cid:0) While there was much circumstantial evidence that(cid:0) indicated an

outside perpetrator,(cid:0) continued page 7(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 6 Summer 2006(cid:0) it were dismissed by one of Can EVP Assist the Police(cid:0) continued from page 6(cid:0) the case was closed after being classified as a suicide(cid:0) triggered by depression over a disappointing love affair.(cid:0) The key to her locked apartment was never found and(cid:0) the(cid:0) questions about investigators with the nonsensical comment that, “she(cid:0) probably swallowed the key.” Unbelievable but true. A year(cid:0) ago, I had the opportunity to study the case file and the(cid:0) video of a television transmission about this puzzling case.(cid:0) After discussions with a former colleague, it became(cid:0) extremely probable that Nina was killed by someone she(cid:0) knew, but no culprit could be charged though several people(cid:0) had been interrogated. I decided to try a recording against(cid:0) the background of the video cassette. I was flabbergasted by(cid:0) the answers that came through from the other side without(cid:0) myself posing a single question. The cardinal question,(cid:0) “Who shot Nina?” was answered unequivocally. Her friend(cid:0) and colleague who had been a suspect was described as(cid:0) innocent. What followed then surprised me no end. The(cid:0) name of the murderer was shouted by several voices. I(cid:0) asked myself, “Didn’t I read that name in the files days(cid:0) ago?” I went through the files and sure enough I saw the(cid:0) name of the neighbor. He had been interviewed by the(cid:0) police investigators at the time, but that was all. What to do(cid:0) now? Offer the tape to her parents,

the police? It reposes in(cid:0) my desk drawer because of reluctance to reopen the case.(cid:0) Missing Persons(cid:0) An automatic writing medium of my acquaintance, and I,(cid:0) received nearly identical information as to the fate of a ten(cid:0) year old Turkish boy who disappeared some time ago. A(cid:0) truck driver had picked up the boy, took him to the(cid:0) Netherlands and introduced him to drugs. Reportedly he is(cid:0) alive, the police received the information, and a further(cid:0) reading produced the correct phone number of the missing(cid:0) boy’s family. A second missing persons case also was(cid:0) solved relatively quickly. Police had searched three months(cid:0) for a missing soldier in Bavaria. It turned out that the twenty(cid:0) year old had drowned in a reservoir that had been described(cid:0) precisely by the medium.(cid:0) Annoying Deceptive Voices(cid:0) Everyone who has experimented with voice phenomena(cid:0) knows that these fibbing and lying voices exist. These reach(cid:0) from known lies to the worst sort of rude comments. No one(cid:0) is safe from them. Once I got a voice that stated:(cid:0)“Not(cid:0) everyone is lying here,”(cid:0)which seems to offer some hope,(cid:0) but on the other hand, implies that lies are tolerated. Are lies(cid:0) just as frequent as true statements, or expressed differently:(cid:0) How can I determine what is true? I revert to Ernst(cid:0) Knirschnig in Austria. He was fooled many times with(cid:0) phony names and addresses. When he asked, “Why,” he(cid:0) was given the message:(cid:0)“Go to church and pray.”(cid:0)He did(cid:0) as he was told, and from then, only true statements

surfaced(cid:0) in his sessions. I have determined that significant statements(cid:0) are preceded by such exclamations as,(cid:0)“Attention!”(cid:0)and(cid:0) “Now!”(cid:0)This is what happened when the location of the(cid:0) body of the murdered girl came through and when the(cid:0) perpetrator was named.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 If you agree with the hypothesis that the deceased keep(cid:0) their own character in the next world and do not instantly(cid:0) turn into better people, we should not be surprised that we(cid:0) may be deceived. In my view the love of truth progresses(cid:0) in tandem with the individual’s progress on the other side.(cid:0) We just don’t know whom we are dealing with and at what(cid:0) level the entity resides. Once, when I asked Dr. Raudive(cid:0) whether I could disseminate the results of our session, I(cid:0) received the answer:(cid:0)“Permission will be given later.”(cid:0)We(cid:0) need to understand that decisions in the Beyond are taken(cid:0) by higher powers and not by new arrivals who have not yet(cid:0) established themselves in their new surroundings(cid:0) Police and the Media(cid:0) As experimenters we are not in competition with the(cid:0) prosecuting authorities. It is their primary duty to solve(cid:0) crimes and to find missing persons. Initially, if a case(cid:0) becomes more complicated than is supposed, the police(cid:0) hypothesize possible motives and sequences of events. We(cid:0) should offer our cooperation only when the public is asked(cid:0) to help. From my own experience I know that extrasensory(cid:0) indications need to be considered worthy of evaluation and(cid:0) review, that they do not belong in a waste basket, even

if(cid:0) they are regarded skeptically. I dare say that our police(cid:0) authorities will achieve new ways of thinking. The media(cid:0) too, regard us critically. They consider voice phenomena(cid:0) as a challenge to common sense, which is why we rarely(cid:0) find factual reports. The tabloids even stoop to slander,(cid:0) knowing that the bulk of their readers are not interested in(cid:0) serious discussion. Sad but true.(cid:0) VTF Internet Forum(cid:0) We have had a dialogue within our VTF egroup with a(cid:0) lively exchange on why one member obtains demonstrable(cid:0) results and another does not. A view has even been(cid:0) presented that information about perpetrators will only be(cid:0) accurate if not disclosed to the police. We often regret that(cid:0) pertinent questions either are not responded to at all or that(cid:0) answers cannot be understood properly. As I said there are(cid:0) no standard instructions, every experimenter is on his own(cid:0) when it comes to these phenomena. I found out that(cid:0) accurate statements may be embedded in what seem at the(cid:0) time like nonsensical comments that are easily dismissed.(cid:0) Patience and perseverance on the part of the experimenter(cid:0) in my view are the only qualities that count. Some of us(cid:0) are closer to the truth than we think possible. It’s like a(cid:0) mosaic in which many pieces must be assembled into a(cid:0) whole.(cid:0) About the Cross-country List(cid:0) The address sharing list is now at three double-sided(cid:0) pages. Since the NewsJournal is now twenty pages, it(cid:0) is most cost effective to send just the updates to the

list,(cid:0) as has been tradition since 1982. Members receiving(cid:0) the NewsJournal via email always receive a full list as(cid:0) a PDF file. If you are receiving the NewsJournal as a(cid:0) hard copy, you can request a PDF list via email, or(cid:0) send a SASE requesting the entire hardcopy list.(cid:0) Page 7 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Prove It(cid:0) Television Program Pilot(cid:0) Other than supporting the membership, our job as directors(cid:0) of the AA-EVP is to find ways to tell the public about the(cid:0) fact of EVP and related phenomena. The aaevp.com web(cid:0) site does a good job of this, and we see more than a(cid:0) thousand unique visitors to the site every day. Thousands(cid:0) of copies of the book we wrote,(cid:0)There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead,(cid:0) have been sold, and of course,(cid:0) thousands of people around the world have seen the bonus(cid:0) features about EVP in the(cid:0)White Noise(cid:0) DVD. Probably the(cid:0) most important way for the word to get out about EVP is(cid:0) via word of mouth, and we know that you, the members,(cid:0) are always ready with an explanation for interested friends(cid:0) and the media.(cid:0) explain the afterlife?” He makes the point that it is(cid:0) important to approach a person at the level of acceptability(cid:0) the person is able to manage, rather than trying to convince(cid:0) them of something that is way past their “boggle point.”(cid:0) Well, we were trying to prove that EVP is proof that we(cid:0) survive physical death. The fact of personal survival is(cid:0)

beyond just about everyone’s boggle point and we should(cid:0) have known better than to even try.(cid:0) If the series is sold, and if we are asked back for the real(cid:0) thing, a condition of our agreement to participate will be(cid:0) that we will attempt to prove that EVP cannot be explained(cid:0) with known physical principles without even discussing(cid:0) the implications. There is very good evidence, both(cid:0) experimentally established using sound scientific protocol,(cid:0) and anecdotal, provided by the hundreds of people around(cid:0) the world who are routinely using EVP to communicate(cid:0) with their loved ones. The evidence we might cite includes:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Alexander MacRae recently recorded EVP in the(cid:0) Institute of Noetic Science’s screen room which excludes(cid:0) broadcast electromagnetic energy, sound and light. This(cid:0) effectively eliminated the possibility that EVP are caused(cid:0) by stray sound, radio, television or light.(cid:0) •(cid:0)MacRae continues to conduct listening panel tests for(cid:0) EVP effectively(cid:0) eliminating the possibility that EVP are the imagination(cid:0) of those who record them.(cid:0) protocols, following stringent AA-EVP Directors, Tom and Lisa Butler on the set of the pilot(cid:0) for(cid:0)Prove It(cid:0) Ah yes, the media. At the time of this writing, we are(cid:0) anticipating four camera crews to be at the June conference(cid:0) in Atlanta. However, the point of this article is a recent(cid:0) experience we had with a production team trying to sell a(cid:0) new television series titled,(cid:0) Prove It.(cid:0) They asked us to(cid:0) represent EVP as the subject of a one-hour pilot which they(cid:0) would use to sell the concept. The format

included a master(cid:0) of ceremonies, two celebrity judges and an audience which(cid:0) acted as the third judge. EVP is almost always shown in the(cid:0) context of ghosts and haunted buildings, so we were(cid:0) excited about the format for(cid:0)Prove It.(cid:0) Except for one(cid:0) problem, the MC and the judges were all comedians, and(cid:0) part of the deal was that they had a lot of fun with the(cid:0) subject. Oh well.(cid:0) We think that we did a good job presenting EVP in the(cid:0) more or less thirty minutes we had (minus the time we had(cid:0) to wait for the jokes). The jokes were not aimed at us, just(cid:0) the usual “oh that’s spooky” sort of jokes. We are pretty(cid:0) serious about these things and it was our hope that a little(cid:0) humor might make our rather serious message more easily(cid:0) considered by the audience. In the end, we convinced one(cid:0) judge and about a third of the audience, so the verdict was(cid:0) that we did not “prove it.”(cid:0) See Siyoh Tomiyama’s article, “How should we start to(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP have characteristics which distinguish them from(cid:0) such sources as telephone and radio cross-talk, or(cid:0) unnoticed conversations amongst others in the locale of(cid:0) the recording. Included in these characteristics are that(cid:0) the utterances are complete thoughts, pertinent to what is(cid:0) occurring at the time of the recording, possibly an answer(cid:0) to a direct question, in the language of the experimenter(cid:0) even when recorded in places in which that language is(cid:0) not spoken, and when a

particular person is thought to be(cid:0) speaking, in that person’s voice and with that person’s(cid:0) characteristic speech.(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP has been studied using advanced forensic speech(cid:0) analysis software and has been shown to be formed of(cid:0) available background sound, often with unusual(cid:0) arrangements of frequencies that would be impossible to(cid:0) form in a biological mouth. This same study indicates(cid:0) that the fundamental frequency of the vocal cords is(cid:0) usually missing.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Using the same software, comparison of a voice in an(cid:0) EVP to the voice of the person thought to be speaking,(cid:0) recorded while that person was living, indicates a better(cid:0) than 95% probability that the two recordings were(cid:0) spoken by the same person.(cid:0) •(cid:0)4Cell EVP Demonstration results show that specific(cid:0) questions can be asked and answered by cooperating(cid:0) communicating entities.(cid:0) That is the main evidence that EVP exists and cannot be(cid:0) explained in terms of physical science.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 8 Summer 2006(cid:0) How Should we Start to Explain the Afterlife?(cid:0) by(cid:0)Siyoh Tomiyama(cid:0) This article might help you if you want to spread your(cid:0) knowledge about the afterlife to the public.(cid:0) Everybody has a personal limit point in their beliefs.(cid:0) Let’s call this point “LPB.” People try with all their might(cid:0) to find the reason to deny a phenomenon which is beyond(cid:0) their LPB. If a phenomenon is around their LPB, they(cid:0) might try to find more facts which support the legitimacy(cid:0) of the phenomenon. People would believe a phenomenon(cid:0) if it is below their LPB, or they might

try to experience it(cid:0) by themselves to check its legitimacy. Yes, people check(cid:0) the legitimacy of the phenomenon only if it is below or(cid:0) around their LPB. No one will think about phenomena(cid:0) beyond their LPB no matter that there are many proofs(cid:0) which support them. That is the problem.(cid:0) I believe the readers of this NewsJournal have a higher(cid:0) level of LPB than average people. But maybe, it will be(cid:0) hard for some of you to believe the existence of persons(cid:0) who can fly. I personally know three persons who claim(cid:0) they can fly, or more precisely, hover. One of them is a(cid:0) good psychic and a close friend of mine.(cid:0) She thought she might be able to fly when she was a(cid:0) child. However it was scary even for her at that age to fly(cid:0) from the top of a cliff. So she started to jump from a tree at(cid:0) first. First from only one meter high. She didn’t fall down.(cid:0) Instead she very slowly landed like she didn’t have any(cid:0) weight. She gradually jumped from higher and higher(cid:0) places. And finally she jumped from a cliff landing on the(cid:0) ground as if she wore a parachute.(cid:0) Do you believe this story? I believe her since she has(cid:0) been my good friend for six years and I know two more(cid:0) trustworthy persons who also claim they have flown. Still(cid:0) I don’t usually tell this kind of story to many people so that(cid:0) people don’t think I am spooky.

Some readers might count(cid:0) me spooky at this point. If you think so, that means your(cid:0) LPB is lower, or in other words, you are still a slave of(cid:0) common sense.(cid:0) The necessary level of LPB to accept EVP is definitely(cid:0) lower than the one required for accepting a human flying.(cid:0) However an educated, good citizen seems to have quite low(cid:0) LPB. I feel even EVP is not a good starting point for the(cid:0) majority of people in the world. We have to raise their LPB(cid:0) before we talk about EVP to them. So, how can we do this?(cid:0) We should start from a comfortable point for the public.(cid:0) My psychic friend gradually raised the height of the(cid:0) jumping place. It was not a practice for the physical body,(cid:0) rather for her mind. She finally jumped from a cliff. Those(cid:0) trials made her LPB higher. This is why she could actually(cid:0) jump from a cliff. But later, her LPB for the flying became(cid:0) lower again since she got to know the facts people basically(cid:0) cannot fly. It is difficult to control one’s LPB level because(cid:0) it is generally controlled by the subconscious.(cid:0) The fact is, we can gradually raise the LPB of others by(cid:0) presenting firm proofs although it can easily go down(cid:0) again. And the more important fact is, people never trust us(cid:0) if we choose a wrong starting point which is already(cid:0) beyond their LPB. Plenty of firm proofs play no roll in this(cid:0) case. Any story related

with the afterlife is beyond one’s(cid:0) LPB for many people. So EVP is definitely not a good(cid:0) starting point for them. We have to choose a different start(cid:0) point if we want to introduce EVP to those who have a(cid:0) lower LPB.(cid:0) While the afterlife story is ridiculous for them, a super(cid:0) power of a living human’s mind seems more acceptable. A(cid:0) spoon-bending might be one possible starting point. You(cid:0) had better have had an experience in bending a spoon if you(cid:0) want to start with this. According to a physicist who I(cid:0) believe resolved some secret of the world, there are two(cid:0) types of human super mind power. To talk with the dead(cid:0) and healing are in the same category while the bending of(cid:0) a spoon is in the other category. So it’s possible you can(cid:0) bend a spoon by yourself even if you have never recorded(cid:0) an EVP message.(cid:0) As for me, I use a compound starting point. The better I(cid:0) play the guitar, the easier I can tell the possibility of our(cid:0) minds. After an almost fifteen-year break, forced by a(cid:0) finger problem, I restarted the guitar practice four-and-a-(cid:0) half years ago, at the age of forty. It was three months after(cid:0) resuming the guitar that I bent a spoon for the first time in(cid:0) my life. Then I thought I would be able to fix my finger(cid:0) problem, since I could manage to deliver my thought to(cid:0) metal. Another changing point happened four months after(cid:0) this.

One of the Monroe Institute’s Hemi-Sync series,(cid:0) “Synchronizing,” made my fingers move faster than ever.(cid:0) So, I can say it is proof that the mind helps me play the(cid:0) guitar better. I registered for two important guitar(cid:0) competitions in Japan this year. And I remained to the final(cid:0) stage of both competitions among twenties and teens(cid:0) although I won no prize. Now it seems I have become a star(cid:0) of middle and senior age in the classical guitar field. I had(cid:0) a full-scale concert at a friend’s home in January after an(cid:0) interval of twenty-one years. I talked about the possibilities(cid:0) of our mind during each piece at the concert. Playing the(cid:0) guitar, this is my starting point in explaining the afterlife.(cid:0) Please always consider how you start to tell your story.(cid:0) The starting point is most important.(cid:0) Photograph by Becky Estep(cid:0) Conference attendees talking to Paolo Presi (center) George(cid:0) Wynne is to Presi’s left.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 9 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) (cid:0) p e t s E y k c e B y b h p a r g o t o h P A Few Conference Comments(cid:0) •(cid:0)“The conference was a SMASHING success.” S. C.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“The conference was life-changing for me, both due to the material(cid:0) itself and the people that I had the opportunity to meet …” L.K.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“Thanks … for hosting such a great conference. We got some great(cid:0) material for our project but more importantly, we learned a great(cid:0) deal about EVP.”

B. F.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“The conference was worth much more than the price of admission.”(cid:0) G.W.(cid:0) Lisa Butler handing Sarah Estep her Lifetime(cid:0) Achievement Award as Tom reads the inscription(cid:0) •(cid:0)“Woooo!! Coming down....” A.M.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“Intriguing and well-organized presentations like those you put(cid:0) together don’t just materialize from thin air (unlike some other(cid:0) things ...)” T.M.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“Of the five Spiritualist/Psychical Research conferences I have(cid:0) attended since 2002, AA-EVP was the most balanced in terms of(cid:0) individuals experiencing actual phenomena and critical analysis of(cid:0) what is happening(cid:0).”(cid:0)W.M.(cid:0) (cid:0) p e t s E y k c e B y b h p a r g o t o h P Jim Stonier, Carol Peterson(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi explaining her technique for Visual ITC(cid:0) Paolo Presi talking about the(cid:0) work of IL Laboratoria. He later(cid:0) provided a translation for a video(cid:0) of Marcello Bacci’s work.(cid:0) (cid:0) p e t s E y k c e B y b h p a r g o t o h P Laurie Monroe describing the(cid:0) work of the Monroe Institute(cid:0) Mark Macy talking about the(cid:0) historical events in ITC and(cid:0) the Luminator(cid:0) Dr. Allan Botkin describing how(cid:0) he discovered Induced After(cid:0) Death Communication and how it(cid:0) has helped others(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 10 Summer 2006(cid:0) Pictures from the 2006 AA-EVP Conference(cid:0) Alexander MacRae telling the attendees how he(cid:0) discovered that his “Mediumship Tester” would(cid:0) record EVP(cid:0) Lisa Huston, attending as an ITC(cid:0) Documentarian, represented one of four(cid:0) video crews present to document the(cid:0) conference. Lisa was a

great help with the(cid:0) audio mixer.(cid:0) (cid:0) p e t s E y k c e B r o f h p a r g o t o h P AA-EVP Founder, Sarah Estep with her daughter, Becky Estep(cid:0) Debra Caruso (left) and Vicki Talbott helped(cid:0) Martha by telling how they learned to communicate(cid:0) with their children(cid:0) Alan and Diana Bennett describing how they have(cid:0) developed a new way of capturing Visual ITC(cid:0) All photographs taken by Jim Stonier unless(cid:0) otherwise noted.(cid:0) Martha Copeland talking about(cid:0) the Big Circle(cid:0) Gary Schwartz describing how he(cid:0) developed his experimental approach(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 11 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Practicing Death-The Key to Enjoying Life(cid:0) by(cid:0)Michael E. Tymn(cid:0) As I approached my 65th birthday and retirement from the(cid:0) work force last year, I was often asked by business associ-(cid:0) ates and friends what I plan to do with all my free time. I’d(cid:0) tell them I intend to “practice death.”(cid:0) I knew my response would draw puzzled expressions and(cid:0) raised eyebrows, but I would throw it out anyway in the(cid:0) hope that the person would ask for clarification. I enjoy(cid:0) talking about death almost as much as I do reading and(cid:0) writing about it.(cid:0) Before you decide I need psychiatric help, let me call on(cid:0) several esteemed people to support my position.(cid:0) The eminent Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, said that it is(cid:0) psychologically beneficial to have death as a goal toward(cid:0) which to strive. Mozart called death the key to unlocking(cid:0)

the door to true happiness. Shakespeare wrote that when we(cid:0) are prepared for death, life is sweeter. The French philoso-(cid:0) pher Michel de Montaigne said that “to practice death is to(cid:0) practice freedom.”(cid:0) Strange ideas to most, but these great men drank deep(cid:0) from the fountain of wisdom and understood life’s greatest(cid:0) paradox—that in embracing death we can live a fuller, more(cid:0) enjoyable, more meaningful life.(cid:0) “Death is indeed a fearful piece of brutality,” Jung of-(cid:0) fered. “There is no sense in pretending otherwise. It is(cid:0) brutal, not only as a physical event but far more so psychi-(cid:0) cally. However, from another point of view, death appears(cid:0) a joyful event. In the light of eternity, it is a wedding, a(cid:0) mysterium conjunctionis. The soul attains, as it were, its(cid:0) missing half. It achieves wholeness.”(cid:0) It’s difficult for most Western materialists, whether they(cid:0) subscribe to a religion or not, to comprehend such sage(cid:0) reasoning. “The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the(cid:0) human mind like nothing else,” wrote anthropologist Ernest(cid:0) Becker in his 1974 Pulitzer prize-winning book,(cid:0)The Denial(cid:0) of Death(cid:0). Becker explained that to free oneself of death(cid:0) anxiety, nearly everyone chooses the path of repression. We(cid:0) bury the idea of death deep in the subconscious and then(cid:0) busy ourselves with our jobs, partake of pleasures, strut in(cid:0) our new clothes, show off our polished cars, hit little white(cid:0) balls into round holes, escape into fictitious stories in books,(cid:0) at the movies and on television, experience vicarious thrills(cid:0) at

sporting events, pursue material wealth, and seek a mun-(cid:0) dane security that we expect to continue indefinitely—all(cid:0) the while oblivious to the fact that in the great scheme of(cid:0) things such activities are exceedingly short-term, and for(cid:0) the most part, meaningless. Becker refers to this “secure”(cid:0) person as the “automatic cultural man.” He is “man con-(cid:0) fined by culture, a slave to it, who imagines that he has an(cid:0) identity if he pays his insurance premiums, that he has(cid:0) control of his life if he guns his sports car or works his(cid:0) electric toothbrush.”(cid:0) Becker’s automatic cultural man is a modern description(cid:0) of Kierkegaard’s “Philistine.” For Kierkegaard, Philistinism(cid:0) was man fully concerned with the trivial. Of course, if we(cid:0) are not completely selfish, we also involve ourselves in(cid:0) loving, caring for and serving others. Those acts seem to(cid:0) at least partially give meaning to our lives and validate our(cid:0) existence, until we ask: If our loved ones are simply(cid:0) marching toward nothingness with us, what’s the point of(cid:0) it all?(cid:0) Eventually, one day, perhaps when it becomes apparent(cid:0) that our days are numbered, those repressed anxieties(cid:0) relating to death begin welling up into the consciousness.(cid:0) We proceed to live our final years under a dark and(cid:0) increasingly foreboding shadow. For the most part, the(cid:0) muddled information provided by orthodox religion offers(cid:0) little relief, little comfort.(cid:0) Becker called repression of death the enemy of mankind.(cid:0) Conversely, the unrepressed life can bring into birth a new(cid:0) way of being. Robert Jay Lifton,

a distinguished professor(cid:0) of psychiatry and psychology, makes the same point,(cid:0) stating that we must “know death” in order to live with(cid:0) free imagination.(cid:0) As I understand it, knowing death is what Montaigne(cid:0) called practising death, a term which seems to have origi-(cid:0) nated with Socrates. As he put it, according to Plato,(cid:0) practicing death is merely pursuing philosophy “in the(cid:0) right way” and learning how “to face death easily.” It can(cid:0) also be referred to as embracing death.(cid:0) The Larger Life(cid:0) As I see it, the key to living the unrepressed life is having(cid:0) a sense of immortality, a firm belief that our earthly life is(cid:0) part of a much larger and eternal life. Lifton points out that(cid:0) there are some who can derive satisfaction out of a biolog-(cid:0) ical sense of immortality, that there will be a “living on”(cid:0) through one’s progeny. There is also the creative mode,(cid:0) whereby one “lives on” through his or her works of art,(cid:0) literature, or science. However, when we begin to ask(cid:0) ourselves to which generation full fruition, to what end the(cid:0) legacy, such views seem pretty foolish and myopic.(cid:0) I think the bottom line is that we must accept the survival(cid:0) of consciousness at death in order to free ourselves from(cid:0) the fetters that bind us to our culture’s negative view of(cid:0) death. Unfortunately, orthodox religion, especially the(cid:0) Judeo-Christian form, has done little to help us understand(cid:0) the survival of consciousness. It tells us that faith alone is(cid:0) all that is

necessary. Yet, all the practicing Jews and(cid:0) Christians that I know—and I know quite a few—seem to(cid:0) fit into Becker’s “automatic cultural man” mold, escaping(cid:0) from death anxiety through the use of repression. Most of(cid:0) them strive to be one with their toys, rather than ONE with(cid:0) the Creator. Death is a monster to be feared.(cid:0) To me, practicing death means moving from either(cid:0) skepticism or blind faith to conviction by continually(cid:0) searching for higher truths, cultivating an awareness of the(cid:0) larger life, and then being able to visualize other realms of(cid:0) existence.(cid:0) continued page 13(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 12 Summer 2006(cid:0) Practicing Death(cid:0) c(cid:0)ontinued from page 12(cid:0) This is done through constant metaphysical study, through(cid:0) testing, analyzing, and discerning both ancient and modern(cid:0) revelation, through meditating, praying, and pondering,(cid:0) through seeking, serving, striving, struggling, surrender-(cid:0) ing, sacrificing, and finally, solving and soaring.(cid:0) In practicing death, one does not live in the past or the(cid:0) future, not even in the present. One lives in eternity, which(cid:0) is the only true way to live in the present as well as to live(cid:0) in the past, present, and future at the same time.(cid:0) Practicing death does not mean locking oneself up and(cid:0) hiding from the rest of the world while pursuing enlighten-(cid:0) ment. It simply means putting priority on searching for(cid:0) Truth so that we can better love and serve our fellow(cid:0) humans in what time we have left. That search might not(cid:0) take any more than an hour a

day, the time many of us(cid:0) spend on physical exercise to assure a particular quality of(cid:0) life. However, that hour a day should gradually allow us to(cid:0) better understand life, to savor it, to harmonize with it, to(cid:0) find inner peace, tranquility and repose, to move closer to(cid:0) being one with the Creator and to make a graceful transi-(cid:0) tion to the world of higher vibration when the time is right.(cid:0) The alternative to practicing death, as I see it, is living out(cid:0) one’s final years by doing not much more than growing(cid:0) gray, griping, groaning, groping, growling, grabbing and(cid:0) grieving—the path followed by Becker’s automatic cul-(cid:0) tural man.(cid:0) “Let us have nothing more in mind than death,” said(cid:0) Montaigne. “At every instant, let us evoke it in our(cid:0) imagination under all aspects. Let us wait for it(cid:0) everywhere.”(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi (left), Alan Bennett, Lisa Butler and(cid:0) Diana Bennett(cid:0) Why would Hurricane Electric send a postcard to famous EVP(cid:0) pioneer Konstantin Raudive? He died in 1974 and most(cid:0) certainly never lived in America. Do you suppose Raudive is(cid:0) trying to say hello?(cid:0) Genealogy Web Site Recognizes Faces(cid:0) A recent email from a web site visitor has brought up some(cid:0) interesting possibilities for visual ITC.(cid:0) Hello. Recently, while playing with a program on(cid:0) myheritage.com, I was having photos of family members(cid:0) scanned to see their facial resemblances against celebrities.(cid:0) The program rates the percentage of the resemblance. In(cid:0) one photo the program picked up a face at the bottom of a(cid:0)

glass that the person was holding in the photo, and(cid:0) indicated that the resemblance was 70%. With the naked(cid:0) eye or just off my computer screen it is difficult to see(cid:0) anything in the photo by simply enlarging it. I did take a(cid:0) PrintScreen of what the program showed me and where it(cid:0) pointed to in the picture. Thanks again, Cynthia Falco(cid:0) The web site is at http://www.myheritage.com/(cid:0) Tom Butler (left), Paolo Presi, Dr. Allan Botkin and(cid:0) Dr. Gary Schwartz(cid:0) Photographs by Becky Estep(cid:0) portion Cropped original picture(cid:0) (lower-left), enlargement(cid:0) of computer(cid:0) targeted (upper-left) and(cid:0) person computer matched(cid:0) to face on glass (upper-(cid:0) right)(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 13 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) A Portal to Another Physical World?(cid:0) It is usual to think of a hauntings situation as a case of(cid:0) discarnate entities causing physical effects, such as(cid:0) unexpected sounds, movement of objects and the(cid:0) occasional apparition. Our working theory is that places are(cid:0) able to be haunted because of the available energy. You(cid:0) might call it the energy of life or auric energy which(cid:0) reportedly human(cid:0) occupancy or the expression of strong emotions. Geology(cid:0) may have something to do with hauntings, as well, but we(cid:0) think that this factor requires a little more research before(cid:0) it is too seriously considered.(cid:0) accumulates long-time during The assumption is that the hauntings are caused by dead(cid:0) people acting up, but what if there are parallel physical(cid:0) worlds? While we say that “dead” people live in the etheric,(cid:0) people living in

other aspects of physical reality are in(cid:0) physical bodies. Some people interpret some phenomena as(cid:0) evidence of alternate physical realities. For instance,(cid:0) hearing unseen people engaged in personal conversation as(cid:0) they walk past you but many feet above your head, cannot(cid:0) be easily explained in terms of trans-etheric phenomena.(cid:0) What would cause an alternative reality? Perhaps a major(cid:0) decision in our time stream is made differently, such as(cid:0) opting for peace rather than going for war, causing a fork(cid:0) in the time stream and two resulting worlds changing under(cid:0) the influence of the different decisions. What would it be(cid:0) like if there was a “rip” in the fabric of physical reality,(cid:0) allowing one time stream to impinge on the other? Perhaps(cid:0) such a rip might form if the different decisions eventually(cid:0) produced very similar results. Of course, this is all(cid:0) speculation, but what if? Such a rip in physical reality(cid:0) would likely allow people of one time stream to become(cid:0) aware of the other. Perhaps people might even be able to(cid:0) travel between time streams.(cid:0) No, we are not thinking about writing a science fiction(cid:0) story. We have received reports of phenomena that do not(cid:0) resemble the usual set of hauntings experiences we expect(cid:0) to see; however, what the person has experienced might be(cid:0) better explained by the presence of a portal between this(cid:0) physical reality and something else that is not necessarily(cid:0) nonphysical. The report came to us as a new example of a(cid:0) face on a turned off

television screen. Unlike the usual(cid:0) example in which there is a child in the scene, and the face(cid:0) is peering into the room, this one seems to be a portrait of(cid:0) a military man formed in the optical noise of the screen(cid:0) surface. We refer to this type of Visual ITC as “Reflective(cid:0) Light ITC” and there are examples on the web site. As it(cid:0) turns out, the optical characteristics of turned off television(cid:0) screens are very good for Reflective Light ITC.(cid:0) We will refer to the experiencer as “Mr. D” to respect his(cid:0) privacy. The first picture is a cropped version of what he(cid:0) sent us, just showing the TV screen. Mr. D was taking a(cid:0) picture of his pet, and the rather large screen was incidental(cid:0) to the picture. As you can see, the feature is formed in the(cid:0) noise from the flash. The second picture is the same, but we(cid:0) have traced important features and did a little “enhancing”(cid:0) in an attempt to make the feature more easily distinguished.(cid:0) Those of you receiving this via an online PDF file will see(cid:0) the color version with a clear hint of a red uniform.(cid:0) As we see the picture, it is of a man sitting on an easy(cid:0) chair or couch with his left hand on the left armrest. Based(cid:0) on his posture, his left leg would be turned nearly against(cid:0) the chair, knee nearly under the arm rest. He is wearing an(cid:0) unbuttoned dark red jacket that has

piping around the(cid:0) buttons and collar. The jacket has a high, stiff collar that is(cid:0) close to the throat. He apparently has short dark hair and is(cid:0) facing to his left side,(cid:0) continued page 15(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 14 Summer 2006(cid:0) A Portal?(cid:0) continued from page 14(cid:0) face slightly lifted as if appealing to God. His left hand(cid:0) either has six fingers that are more serpentine than bony or(cid:0) he has a very large ring on his index finger. He is either(cid:0) holding something like the neck of a guitar in his right hand(cid:0) and close to his chest, or his right hand is there and it has six(cid:0) fingers; however, if fingers, they appear to be bony.(cid:0) The information about the person is really limited so we(cid:0) are guessing a lot. The point is that the feature should not be(cid:0) there, and it is a seemingly heroic figure that is either(cid:0) historic or outside of our line of evolution. He appears as(cid:0) Visual ITC, but we are not sure how it would be(cid:0) communication. That is a usual problem with Visual ITC.(cid:0) Mr. D reports that there was a period of time in which he(cid:0) experienced quite a lot of activity, including orbs that would(cid:0) seem to come out of a wall, move about, even stand still at(cid:0) times and then pass out of sight through a wall again. He(cid:0) sent us a couple of videotaped examples, including one that(cid:0) shows his dog leaving the scene by

leaping from the couch(cid:0) just before an orb swoops down, apparently intent on(cid:0) harassing the dog. The dog obviously sensed the orb and left(cid:0) the scene in advance.(cid:0) Mr. D told us that, “This video happened within a few feet(cid:0) of the TV, and in it, the orbs are moving very fast, but I did(cid:0) see them prior to the video. The third orb in the video was(cid:0) the one that flew up to me and stopped when I was at my PC(cid:0) and did the circles I described (yes you can tell them apart).(cid:0) The other two always seemed to be together every time I(cid:0) had seen them….(cid:0) This orb was photographed standing still (here) and recorded in(cid:0) motion. There are a couple that Mr. D can tell apart.(cid:0) “The orbs I have seen all have common traits. When not(cid:0) moving they look like plasma I guess, they have a definite(cid:0) shape and the inside of the orb has swirling white that looks(cid:0) electrical. They also have a tail of sorts. Some people call it(cid:0) a contrail but it is not, because the “tail” is there when the(cid:0) orb is stationary, it kind of swishes back and forth, and just(cid:0) before an orb takes off at high speed, this tail vibrates back(cid:0) and forth rapidly. You will not see that in the clip because(cid:0) they are moving so fast, but I have a still of a stationary one(cid:0) that is exactly what they look like at rest (Shown here.

We(cid:0) believe the mottled effect of the orb in the picture is an(cid:0) artifact). Again, these can be seen with your eyes, unaided(cid:0) by any nightshot, strobes, infrared, etc.”(cid:0) Mr. D also reported computer text files that have appeared(cid:0) with long strings of characters. “One night very late I was(cid:0) at the PC and a cane came flying into the room I was in(cid:0) (the room with my desk and PC). The cane had been(cid:0) hanging on a door to the basement across the hallway. At(cid:0) the same time that happened, I heard the basement door try(cid:0) to open but snap shut with a loud bang due to a hook and(cid:0) loop latch on the door. I got up from the desk, went to the(cid:0) basement door and saw a bright light radiating through all(cid:0) sides of the door. It was much brighter than the 60 watt(cid:0) light above the basement stairway.(cid:0) “I went into my bedroom, grabbed a phone and a firearm(cid:0) and went back to the basement door, but by then, there was(cid:0) no light whatsoever coming from around the door.(cid:0) Accordingly, coward that I am, I left the house and called(cid:0) the police from the street. Three patrol cars came, the(cid:0) police searched the basement and found nothing down(cid:0) there at all, nor were there any windows broken or opened.(cid:0) Naturally that gave rise to the question as to what was(cid:0) trying to open the door and what caused the bright light.(cid:0) “In any event, I found

the message below on my PC(cid:0) monitor the next evening. As you may know, unless a(cid:0) dictation program is trained to a particular voice many(cid:0) errors occur, for instance, “rye” could be “bye” or “row”(cid:0) perhaps “throw.” However, I found enough cogent parts to(cid:0) reasonably believe there may be a message there(cid:0) pertaining to the prior night, including a mention of the(cid:0) 911 emergency police number (that was seven days before(cid:0) the 9/11 attack).”(cid:0) The programs that started unattended were Microsoft(cid:0) Word (into which the text would appear) and MS Voice(cid:0) Dictation (to establish a connection with the microphone).(cid:0) Here is a portion of the text:(cid:0) “room had run and were run(cid:0) and ran in Rye Rye and I know it ran in ran out of room(cid:0) and were wrong to room right right room where it right(cid:0) said it Rye from ran out room was to Rye Rye will you were(cid:0) right thing and wrong for room and Rye were Rye and(cid:0) were to the room and were running Rye room I room in(cid:0) room … what what are all what room what it and a room(cid:0) written a room in a room room and room wrong and 911(cid:0) room room and 911 room and were room were winging(cid:0) …”(cid:0) Mr. D’s unusual activity has subsided except for the(cid:0) occasional event seemingly designed to let him know that(cid:0) there is still contact. A ghost hunting group has(cid:0) investigated Mr. D’s home, and via our communication(cid:0) with him, we are

convinced that he has the experiences he(cid:0) reports. The orb video and picture are convincing, and the(cid:0) face on the TV screen is extraordinary but of a form which(cid:0) we have seen from other people. Where he lives is not very(cid:0) old and he could find no reports of events that would(cid:0) produce a local ghost or emotional energy. Because of the(cid:0) nature of the events he has reported, we feel that any future(cid:0) investigation should consider the possibility that the(cid:0) events represent trans-time/reality influences, as well as(cid:0) the possibility that they are trans-etheric.(cid:0) Whatever the cause, we will be looking for other reports(cid:0) from other people that might help us understand what(cid:0) seems to be a very different class of phenomena. Our(cid:0) thanks go to Mr. D for allowing us to publish this material.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 15 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0) continued from page 1(cid:0) Laurie Monroe brought the attendees up to date about how(cid:0) The Monroe Institute is learning to apply Hemi-Sync(cid:0) technology to improving human potential. One slide in(cid:0) particular seems to tell The Monroe Institute story: “The(cid:0) Monroe Institute proposes to introduce, at all levels of(cid:0) human endeavor, an ability of mental and spiritual(cid:0) functioning that will constructively change humankind’s(cid:0) direction and destiny.”(cid:0) Paolo Presi presented the work of IL Laboratorio. To our(cid:0) knowledge, this is the only organization in the world that is(cid:0) organized and dedicated to the study of trans-etheric(cid:0) phenomena with the use of clinical/forensic quality tools.(cid:0)

His detailed presentation illustrated how the voices of EVP(cid:0) might sound like the voice of the person while still in the(cid:0) physical, but that the formation of the voice is sometimes(cid:0) impossible to produce with a human voice apparatus. On a(cid:0) similar note, he also described how face recognition(cid:0) software is able to help certify that the face found in(cid:0) transcommunication is the same as the face of the person(cid:0) while in the physical.(cid:0) Paolo Presi later translated the documentary video of(cid:0) Marcello Bacci, the man who continues to conduct two-(cid:0) way, real-time communication with people on the other side(cid:0) with a short wave radio. Bacci even brings family members(cid:0) into his home to speak with their discarnate loved ones.(cid:0) Mark Macy gave us an overview of some of the(cid:0) astounding communications that occurred in Europe during(cid:0) the late part of last decade. This included reports of(cid:0) telephone conversations he has had with Konstantin(cid:0) Raudive after Raudive’s transition. Mark uses a device(cid:0) known as a “Luminator” to take ITC pictures. The device is(cid:0) believed to modify the subtle energy environment near it,(cid:0) and was initially used as an aid for medical diagnoses. Mark(cid:0) has found that he will sometimes find “extras” in Polaroid(cid:0) picture taken of peoples standing in the field.(cid:0) Dr. Allan Botkin’s Induced After Death Communication(cid:0) (IADC) presentation produced a number of points that have(cid:0) to be further investigated. For instance, he told the attendees(cid:0) that he saw evidence that too much grief could block an(cid:0) IADC. He

also said that it seemed very much like an(cid:0) assistant had shared an IADC with the patient. His IADC(cid:0) success rate had been less for patients who knew about the(cid:0) process beforehand, and that he sometimes needed to(cid:0) “sneak up on them” to make the induction. His success rate(cid:0) also seemed to be much greater if he doodled while with the(cid:0) patient. Gary Schwartz told us that many mediums doodled,(cid:0) which suggests an entirely new direction for research.(cid:0) Lisa began our presentation with a number of success(cid:0) stories that we consider to be important role models for the(cid:0) rest of us to follow. The EVP examples will be on the(cid:0) conference web site. Tom followed with the observation(cid:0) that it is time to standardize the way phenomena are(cid:0) described, and suggested “Unique Event” for experiences(cid:0) with none other to compare, “Indeterminate Event” for(cid:0) “true” phenomena that cannot be distinguished from the(cid:0) mundane and “Established Event” for phenomena such as(cid:0) EVP. He also gave an overview of the forms of visual(cid:0) phenomena being reported to the AA-EVP. He finished(cid:0) with a description of the 4Cell EVP Demonstration,(cid:0) explaining how effective a protocol is for EVP research.(cid:0) Documentarians Tim Coleman and Dan Drasin(cid:0) presented drafts of two documentaries they are working on(cid:0) as part of a series titled, “The Survival Project.” The first(cid:0) was dedicated to EVP, and included material showing(cid:0) EVP researchers, including AA-EVP members. The(cid:0) second focused on mediumship and the Scole Project.(cid:0) Scole Mediums and ITC researchers Diana and

Alan(cid:0) Bennett were prominently featured. The drafts were very(cid:0) impressive. As Dan pointed out earlier, after seeing the(cid:0) documentary, people will be convinced that EVP is real.(cid:0) Long-time EVP researcher Alexander MacRae gave the(cid:0) audience an overview of how he became an EVP(cid:0) researcher and how he has evolved his research tools. It(cid:0) was easy to see why his work is so often quoted by us.(cid:0) Diana and Alan Bennett were instrumental in the(cid:0) successes of the Scole Project and have now turned their(cid:0) attention to visual forms of spirit communication with(cid:0) very impressive results, which they shared with attendees.(cid:0) We will try to include an article featuring the Bennett’s(cid:0) work in the next NewsJournal. Their technique is easily(cid:0) replicable in a mechanical sense, but Diana and Alan(cid:0) reminded the attendees how important it is for the person(cid:0) to make contact with the entities via meditation and respect.(cid:0) Martha Copeland presented for the Big Circle and(cid:0) played many EVP examples. She invited Vicki Talbott and(cid:0) Debra Caruso to join her at the podium to describe their(cid:0) success with EVP. The fact that three mothers were able to(cid:0) tell the attendees about continuing their relationships with(cid:0) children now on the other side provides an important role(cid:0) model for all of us. About their talk, William Deluca(cid:0) wrote, “(cid:0)It gave me reassurance that what we are doing is(cid:0) for real and comforts us when we really need it.”(cid:0) The final presentation was made by Dr. Gary Schwartz(cid:0) who described his early work

with survival researcher,(cid:0) Susy Smith, and the events that led to the development of(cid:0) his current research protocols. Gary’s study of(cid:0) mediumship is producing an important, evidence-based(cid:0) map of what might be thought of as “organic” spirit(cid:0) communication, as opposed to the technology-augmented(cid:0) spirit communication practiced in EVP and ITC. His work(cid:0) has produced some of the most substantial evidence of(cid:0) postmortem survival of the personality available today.(cid:0) Those of you who have followed Gary’s work will(cid:0) recognize that the 4Cell EVP Demonstration protocol has(cid:0) been inspired by the protocols he has developed in an(cid:0) effort to answer the critic’s questions.(cid:0) End Note:(cid:0) Now that we have returned and have had an(cid:0) opportunity to consider what we have done, we think it is(cid:0) important the(cid:0) conferenc(cid:0)e—i(cid:0)n person and in spirit. It was a magnificent(cid:0) affair! Thanks also to our friends in Spirit!(cid:0)Tom and Lisa(cid:0) thank all of you who attended to Volume 25, Number 2 Page 16 Summer 2006(cid:0) 4Cell EVP Demonstration(cid:0) Cell Name:(cid:0) CellOctetic(cid:0) Demo 1 Question:(cid:0) “What do you miss about not being in(cid:0) the physical?”(cid:0) are standing in the picture. I expected to get at least the(cid:0) word "Disneyland" and maybe some explanation of the(cid:0) particular site.(cid:0) Questioner:(cid:0)Vicki Talbott(cid:0) Sender:(cid:0)Mary Jo Gran(cid:0) Receiver:(cid:0)Debra Caruso(cid:0) Scribe:(cid:0)Terry Dulin(cid:0) Questioner:(cid:0)Vicki Talbott(cid:0) Sender:(cid:0)Rheta Conley(cid:0) Receiver:(cid:0)Terry Dulin(cid:0) Scribe:(cid:0)Mary Jo Gran(cid:0) Answer:(cid:0)See figure (This is probably a Class C+ as the(cid:0) energy seems to run out near the end.(cid:0) Answer:(cid:0)Amongst others,(cid:0)“It’s Disneyland,”(cid:0)“Three(cid:0) people”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“It’s in the park.”(cid:0) We also have a new Cell

named Revelation, with Carolann(cid:0) Crowley, Shellie Morrison, Kathleen Griffin and Billy(cid:0) Deluca(cid:0).(cid:0)We look forward to the results of their first(cid:0) experiment.(cid:0) 3Cell(cid:0) Using EVP to find missing people has proven to be(cid:0) frustrating because it is necessary to have a lot of(cid:0) confidence in the information before going to the family or(cid:0) authorities. The family of a missing person came to us for(cid:0) help, and Debra Caruso, Chris Kennedy and Margaret(cid:0) Downey have been attempting to help while following a(cid:0) specific protocol spelled out on the Idea Exchange.(cid:0) Because the three had no way to certify their results, they(cid:0) have decided to adopt the 4Cell protocol to a three person(cid:0) protocol, replacing the questioner with the answer to the(cid:0) previous experiment’s question. We hope to report their(cid:0) results in the next NewsJournal.(cid:0) Daughter’s Face in Luminator Picture(cid:0) Beatrice Hofman was excited about the Luminator picture(cid:0) that was taken of her during the conference. She is certain(cid:0) that the picture also contains the face of her daughter(cid:0) Lauren who crossed to the other side on June 24, 2002, at(cid:0) the age of 20.(cid:0) Cell Name:(cid:0) CellOctetic(cid:0) Demo 3 Question:(cid:0) "What were some of your(cid:0) misconceptions about death and/or life on the other side?"(cid:0) Questioner:(cid:0)Terry Dulin(cid:0) Sender:(cid:0)Debra Caruso(cid:0) Receiver:(cid:0)Vicki Talbott(cid:0) Scribe:(cid:0)Mary Jo Gran(cid:0) Answer:(cid:0)Vicki told us that, “Braden (her son) wanted us to(cid:0) know that the answer ‘Regrets’ was a very difficult one for(cid:0) him to give. The order of the EVP that was most important(cid:0) was the following:(cid:0)‘It’s just hard to

answer this,’(cid:0) Followed(cid:0) directly by(cid:0)‘Regrets.’(cid:0) “I think that he and his friends on the other side did not(cid:0) want to hurt their moms or frighten other(cid:0)s—t(cid:0)hey discussed(cid:0) whether Braden could even say it. He knew I could handle(cid:0) it, but others might not be able to. The EVP came as you(cid:0) see it above. As I said, Braden wants us to know that this(cid:0) is an important part of our passing, our life review.”(cid:0) Comment:(cid:0)Near Death Experience researchers appear to(cid:0) be in agreement that we do experience a life review, and(cid:0) that it is from the perspective of those with whom we have(cid:0) interacted during the lifetime. This review can be expected(cid:0) to be emotionally painful, and is probably the foundation(cid:0) on which we build new spiritual understanding. The 4Cell(cid:0) results are amongst the very few we have seen indicating(cid:0) all is not fun and games when we make our transition.(cid:0) Cell Name:(cid:0)Cease2dcease(cid:0) Demo 1 Question:(cid:0)Where was the picture taken that is on(cid:0) my desktop on my computer at work? Can you describe(cid:0) the picture?(cid:0) Expected answer:(cid:0) The picture was taken at Disneyland in(cid:0) front of the last part of the Splash Mountain ride, where the(cid:0) log boat goes over the last hill. Braden and his two friends(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 17 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0) took place during •(cid:0)Diana and Alan Bennett have created a new Scole(cid:0) Experiment website at www.thescoleexperiment.com.(cid:0) Many people are still not familiar(cid:0) with the groundbreaking events(cid:0) that these(cid:0) sittings.

The book,(cid:0)The Scole(cid:0) Experiment,(cid:0) has also been updated(cid:0) to the(cid:0) Bennett’s new ITC work, which(cid:0) includes impressive phenomenal(cid:0) images. The Bennetts refer to this(cid:0) work as “The Norfolk Experiment”(cid:0) and will soon have an additional(cid:0) web site for this work.(cid:0) information on include •(cid:0)Martha Copeland appeared on the Montel Williams show(cid:0) in April and did a fantastic job. The AA-EVP website(cid:0) address was shown and we received around 10,000(cid:0) unique visitors and several new members. Thanks(cid:0) Martha!(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cindy Heinen, of the Southern Wisconsin Paranormal(cid:0) Research Group, is investigating table tipping and her(cid:0) group will use equipment to monitor the environment(cid:0) during these sessions.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber, of Haunted New Jersey,(cid:0) now have done over twenty-eight podcasts that can be(cid:0) downloaded at www.podcast.net/show/88443.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae with Alec Sumic of the Institute of(cid:0) Psychiatry Kings College, discussing EVP(cid:0) •(cid:0)Alexander MacRae attended a Biel Foundation 6(cid:0)th(cid:0) Symposium in which he answered questions on his(cid:0) project: “An Investigation into the Possibility of a(cid:0) Stimulus-Response Causal Relationship in the EVP.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey helped Thomas D’Agostino with(cid:0) information for his book,(cid:0)Haunted New Hampshire,(cid:0) and(cid:0) is mentioned several places in the book. She was also in(cid:0) the Boston(cid:0)Chronicle(cid:0) in April(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cheryl Johnson had an article titled, “Ghosts of Gallup,”(cid:0) published in the March(cid:0)Fate(cid:0) magazine.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith did a thirty-five minute segment on EVP on(cid:0) Ghost Radio in Australia.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott was the faculty sponsor for a young(cid:0) woman’s EVP project. She gave the girl a Sony ICD B26(cid:0) voice recorder as a gift from herself

and Braden. The girl(cid:0) has already received interesting results with the recorder.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Siyoh Tomiyama is writing a column about ITC research(cid:0) in the(cid:0)Journal of Japan Psychic Science(cid:0). Siyoh wrote,(cid:0) “In this series, I’m planning to write everything about my(cid:0) past arguments with several researchers who were(cid:0) against some ITC results. Especially, I put a stress on the(cid:0) Farmer’s story and the legitimacy of the Harsch-(cid:0) Fischbach couple. This argument will help to reveal the(cid:0) secret of the afterlife and the mystery of our mind.”(cid:0) How are we Doing?(cid:0) We do not often publish “attaboy” letters, but Richard(cid:0) Darby offered a critique that we feel reflects the attitude of(cid:0) many who are drawn to the AA-EVP. Richard wrote in the(cid:0) Idea Exchange, “Tom, Shell (Morrison), and Margaret(cid:0) (Downey),(cid:0) “… I’m interested in EVP/ITC because I want to learn,(cid:0) not teach, but I did want to thank you for your thoughtful(cid:0) replies, and, above all, your open-mindedness.(cid:0) “Tom, one reason I was drawn to the AA-EVP was your(cid:0) experimental attitude and freedom from dogma. I’ve done(cid:0) a fair amount of reading in the fields of psychical research(cid:0) and metaphysical/spiritual issues, and do not always find(cid:0) this degree of scientific spirit. A lot of guides to the other(cid:0) realms just “know.”(cid:0) “Well, maybe some mediums really do know all about(cid:0) spirits and the afterlife.... I certainly don’t rule out(cid:0) mediumship as one possible methodology, and am(cid:0) fascinated by accounts of sittings. But the scientific(cid:0) approach using modern technology is also important for(cid:0) non-psychics

like me.(cid:0) “It looks like the AA-EVP is fulfilling the original(cid:0) mission of the Society for Psychical Research as conceived(cid:0) by its founders in 1882, to use science to investigate the(cid:0) paranormal, including survival (a subject which the SPR no(cid:0) longer seems to take seriously except among a few old(cid:0) hands, especially now that Monty Keen has passed over).(cid:0) “It’s hard to strike a balance between openness to(cid:0) evidence and a reasonable skepticism that isn’t too(cid:0) credulous and that doesn’t draw firm conclusions while the(cid:0) picture isn’t fully clear. But to make real progress, it’s(cid:0) worth the effort.”(cid:0) Thanks, Richard. The point that I think keeps us honest(cid:0) is the realization that no one of us is going to turn EVP/ITC(cid:0) into a robust technology available to everyone. It is going(cid:0) to take many of us operating as a cooperating, collaborating(cid:0) team to be successful. We hope that the AA-EVP can play(cid:0) a part in that future, and we know that the members are the(cid:0) AA-EVP.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 18 Summer 2006(cid:0) Researchers Report(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso said, “Tell me something to make me(cid:0) happy for today,” and recorded,(cid:0)“I’m here Ma … I love(cid:0) you, Ma.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland asked the Big Circle spirit group where(cid:0) Cathy was and received a female voice saying,(cid:0)“Cathy is(cid:0) with you,”(cid:0)and then(cid:0) “Mama.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Sandra Champlain has helped many people hear from(cid:0) their loved ones with EVP. A recent email to us was(cid:0) titled, “I Believe,” and read, “I heard(cid:0)my loved one, who(cid:0) has been

dead, call my name and say he missed my sweet(cid:0) face. Sandra Champlain recorded it with me in December(cid:0) of ‘05. I want to start recording myself. I am so glad I(cid:0) finally looked for this web site.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jody Cupp recorded the sound of a big dog barking. Her(cid:0) dog Molly, a beautiful black and white Collie mix, had(cid:0) crossed to the other side in November of 2004. Jody(cid:0) wrote that, “Molly has come back to me a couple of times(cid:0) in dreams and to hear her audibly is very exciting.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Diane DeBartolo asked the spirit people, whom she has(cid:0) recorded in her house, if they were there all the time and(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) She also asked if they could move about(cid:0) and go other places and recorded another breathy,(cid:0)“Yes.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)John Debney wrote to the group, “The most dramatic(cid:0) experience I’ve had was one day noticing that there was(cid:0) an angelic choir present in a piece of music I had(cid:0) composed for(cid:0)The Passion of the Christ.(cid:0)We all noticed(cid:0) it and the interesting part was there was no choir recorded(cid:0) for this piece! It was heard by all after the fact.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey received an Easter message for(cid:0) Debbie Caruso. She recorded,(cid:0)“Hi Mom, It’s Joey.”(cid:0) She(cid:0) also got a message regarding Teri Daner’s son. Margaret(cid:0) wrote, “Yesterday was the anniversary of his crossing so(cid:0) I did a session asking what they were doing on the other(cid:0) side. Someone said,(cid:0)“Geoffrey’s having a really nice(cid:0) time … at a party.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Linda Gregory wrote that

she has recorded some answers(cid:0) to her questions. She uses different methods such as(cid:0) placing a fluorescent light bulb next to the recorder and(cid:0) placing the recorder in the refrigerator when the fan is on.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kathleen Griffin was doing an experiment when it was(cid:0) raining and her cat Sammy was out. She was recording(cid:0) when Sammy started crying to be let in. When she(cid:0) listened back to the tape, she heard voices along with(cid:0) Sammy’s crying saying,(cid:0)“Cat’s stuck in the rain.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkens wrote that she and Debbie Caruso(cid:0) asked Janet, Christine’s sister on the other side, what(cid:0) heaven was like and received the answer,(cid:0)“It’s beautiful.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Chris Kennedy thought she recorded,(cid:0)“Mrs. G …(cid:0) Where’s Jessica?”(cid:0) But then her neighbor heard the(cid:0) recording as,(cid:0)“This is Dean ... Where’s Jessica?”(cid:0)Chris(cid:0) had neighbors named Jessica and Dean. She wrote,(cid:0) “Dean died a few years ago and Jessica remarried and left(cid:0) the house next to us empty.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Julie London was recording during a sitting with a(cid:0) medium. She wrote, “The medium was grappling for a(cid:0) name which she couldn’t get, and on playing-back, I(cid:0) heard my loved one whisper,(cid:0)‘Talking about Leah.’”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Dave Mierzwinski recorded what he felt was a big(cid:0) confirmation from the other side:(cid:0)“Our people and your(cid:0) people are testing … ing … ing.”(cid:0) He wrote, “This is the(cid:0) most significant capture for me to date! I consider this(cid:0) my birthday present.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Uday Mukhopadhyay has been experimenting with(cid:0) projecting his thoughts into a computer. He is using a(cid:0) sound source as background sound

and is simply(cid:0) “projecting” his thoughts into the computer. We have(cid:0) heard of a few instances of this, especially with cassette(cid:0) recorders, and think it is a worthwhile experiment.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott recorded on Karen Mossey’s birthday and(cid:0) asked the Big Circle to say, ”Happy Birthday” to her. She(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“Happy Birthday, Kare.”(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) Siobhan McBride wrote this note to us and we passed it(cid:0) along to Dr. Allan Botkin. “In the mid 90s, I trained in a(cid:0) process called Rapid Eye Therapy. It is very similar to(cid:0) EMDR and(cid:0) ((cid:0)Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)(cid:0). Rapid Eye was started by Renae Johnson,(cid:0) where EMDR originated from Francine Shapiro.(cid:0) “During my training sessions, we were required to work(cid:0) on each other. In one of my sessions when I was ‘the(cid:0) patient,’ my grandfather appeared to me with a message for(cid:0) my second oldest son. (They both had a problem with(cid:0) alcohol abuse). He seemed to be happy and was smiling(cid:0) during the encounter. It was a curiosity to me, since I had(cid:0) never met my grandfather in this life and in all the photos I(cid:0) had seen of him, he had a very stern look on his face.(cid:0) “When I heard Allan Botkin speak of this amazing(cid:0) technique he’d come up with on Coast to Coast, I realized(cid:0) immediately that I had experienced that and that it truly(cid:0) works!!”(cid:0) Allan wrote back, “That certainly sounds like an ADC to(cid:0) me. The deceased smile way more than we do!”(cid:0) Be in a Listening

Panel for Science(cid:0) Alexander MacRae has asked AA-EVP members to help(cid:0) him in his experimentation. As part of the grants he has(cid:0) earned, it is necessary for him to use a listening panel so(cid:0) that he can determine how people hear the phenomenal(cid:0) utterances. Alec is one of the few people in the world who(cid:0) is conducting serious research into EVP. Don’t miss this(cid:0) chance to be part of his research.(cid:0) Volunteer listeners needed(cid:0): you will be sent 16(cid:0) samples a month and will be asked to judge them. It(cid:0) will only take half an hour but your participation as(cid:0) members of the AA-EVP will increase the credibility(cid:0) of EVP with Bial—helping us all.(cid:0) Please contact Alexander MacRae at [email protected] if(cid:0) you are interested in helping.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 19 Summer 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) (cid:0) p e t s E y k c e B y b h p a r g o t o h P “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA,(cid:0) $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order(cid:0) at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Sarah Estep with Al Rauber (left) and Garrett Husveth.(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider

giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not(cid:0) receiving the NewsJournal via email(cid:0) $38.00 per year Sustaining Members(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 18 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___

Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 2 Page 20 Summer 2006(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 25 Number 3 This is the third issue of the AA-EVP’s 25th Year Fall 2006(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) Normalyn Armour had written us asking if it was possible(cid:0) to get an ITC picture of her son, Alan, in our experiments.(cid:0)

Lisa had kept a picture of Alan at her desk after Normalyn(cid:0) made the request and we asked for him to appear during a(cid:0) couple of our experiments but seemed to get nothing(cid:0) pertaining to Alan.(cid:0) A year or so ago, we gave away the spare bed and moved(cid:0) our experiments to what was the spare bedroom. After a(cid:0) few recent video loop experiments in that room with very(cid:0) limited results, Tom returned the TV and camera to the(cid:0) prior location (now an exercise room) to try and see if we(cid:0) could reestablish the video feedback loop. We ran an(cid:0) experiment asking for no one in particular, as we were just(cid:0) hoping to see the abundant faces we usually recorded when(cid:0) in the old room. Sure enough, the faces were back, and(cid:0) while evaluating the results of that experiment, Lisa felt(cid:0) that she recognized one face in particular but she could not(cid:0) put her finger on who it might be. (For those of you doing(cid:0) video loop experiments, besides moving from one room to(cid:0) the adjacent room, the things that changed were the camera(cid:0) and TV were about twelve feet farther from the circuit(cid:0) Normalyn’s son,(cid:0)Alan, and at the left, a Video ITC image that(cid:0) resembles his picture and that was found in response to a(cid:0) request that he appear.(cid:0) breaker box mounted on an outside wall, and the(cid:0) orientation changed from camera facing east back to(cid:0) camera facing north. More experiments are required to see(cid:0) if those changes are

important and we would like to hear(cid:0) from you if you note a similar environmental influence on(cid:0) your experiments.) Early Monday morning, Lisa woke up(cid:0) with the words, “It’s Alan,” in her head, but she was(cid:0) supposed to report for jury duty that morning and was(cid:0) unable to review the video frames from that experiment.(cid:0) (Just a funny aside; if at any time you want to get out of(cid:0) jury duty just list on you questionnaire something about(cid:0) talking to dead people!) Even though she was given an(cid:0) early release, she had totally forgotten about the message(cid:0) that she had received.(cid:0) Amazingly, early Tuesday morning, Lisa once again(cid:0) woke up with the words, “It’s Alan.” This time we didn’t(cid:0) forget and the first business of the day was bringing up the(cid:0) Video ITC image possibly of a medieval man. He has a(cid:0) beard, seems to be wearing a hood and facing to your left.(cid:0) ITC images and finding Alan’s picture, now under some(cid:0) papers on her desk. The eyes of the ITC image looked very(cid:0) much like they were indeed, Alan’s. The picture was very(cid:0) difficult to print in black and white but we tried our best(cid:0) and sent a copy off to Normalyn. We were delighted when(cid:0) she sent a letter back thanking us for the picture of Alan.(cid:0) She wrote, “It does look like him and I do believe that he(cid:0) was trying to get a picture through to me.… You see,(cid:0) August(cid:0)5(cid:0)th(cid:0) was his birthday and his

brother and I took(cid:0) flowers to the cemetery so it makes sense that he was trying(cid:0) to come through August(cid:0)6(cid:0)th(cid:0).(cid:0) Well, the experiment room is … well, it is the experiment(cid:0) room and we needed to make the video loop experiments(cid:0) work in it. At least we had ruled out the possibility that we(cid:0) had a problem with the camera or TV set. We decided to(cid:0) move the equipment back to the experiment room, but to a(cid:0) different location and orientation. This time, the TV set(cid:0) was about five feet farther from the power box than in our(cid:0) earlier, less successful experiments, with the camera in(cid:0) about the same place but facing southeast. We did another(cid:0) meditation, EVP and ITC experiment, and tried to(cid:0) reestablish the video feedback loop. We were relieved that(cid:0) the very first frame after the download showed this man(cid:0) with an unusual beard from perhaps the medieval time(cid:0) period. (It may be that an east-west orientation is less(cid:0) effective in our home for Video ITC).(cid:0)Continued page 11(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint — Comments by Tom and Lisa Butler........................................1(cid:0) A Father’s Love................................................................................................................3(cid:0) The Big Circle Recording Sessions..................................................................................3(cid:0) Crystal Imaging.................................................................................................................4(cid:0) Did Seth 3 Appear in the Bennett’s Crystal Experiment?................................................5(cid:0) ITC at the Parapsychological Association’s 2006 Convention in Stockholm..................5(cid:0) Spontaneous Contact.........................................................................................................6(cid:0) New Ideas in the Treatment of Grief................................................................................7(cid:0) Virgil Nathan Beck...........................................................................................................8(cid:0) Eons.com...........................................................................................................................8(cid:0) AA-EVP Membership Stats..............................................................................................8(cid:0) Dimes from Heaven..........................................................................................................9(cid:0)

Overprocessed Sound Files...............................................................................................9(cid:0) Balloons and Other Signs...............................................................................................10(cid:0) Idea for Listening to EVP...............................................................................................11(cid:0) The ITC of Marcello Bacci.............................................................................................12(cid:0) Members’ Video ITC......................................................................................................13(cid:0) EVP and Geomagnetic Fields: is There a Correlation?..................................................14(cid:0) The Big Circle in Puerto Rico.........................................................................................16(cid:0) Policeman Hears EVP.....................................................................................................16(cid:0) Member Experiences......................................................................................................17(cid:0) Documenting a Haunted Location..................................................................................17(cid:0) News About Members....................................................................................................18(cid:0) The Mail Bag..................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Hearing Voices in Your Head.........................................................................................18(cid:0) Researcher Reports.........................................................................................................19(cid:0) New Book from Mark Macy...........................................................................................19(cid:0) Thoughts from Members................................................................................................19(cid:0) New at aaevp.com...........................................................................................................20(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in(cid:0) the field of ITC and to update members about the work being done by others in the field(cid:0) It is protected by USA copyright law: ©2006AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—less with pictures. Articles should be short(cid:0) and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) web site. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with(cid:0) these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0):(cid:0) The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered

to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal is added(cid:0) to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Jim Bracken(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Beatrice Hofman(cid:0) Stacy Mossor(cid:0) Pam Satkowiak(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Cheri Kussavage(cid:0) Edward Moore(cid:0) Richard Rowley(cid:0) Bruce Tracy(cid:0) Special Thanks(cid:0) to(cid:0) Loretta Woodward(cid:0) for proofreading the(cid:0) Journal and Lisa(cid:0) Yesse for Big Circle(cid:0) web support.(cid:0) We also want to(cid:0) acknowledge the(cid:0) important work that(cid:0) the Idea Exchange(cid:0) Moderators and the(cid:0) Regional(cid:0) Coordinators are(cid:0) doing for AA-EVP.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. Membership(cid:0) information may be found on the AA-EVP web site at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or by writing(cid:0) to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the(cid:0) back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter.(cid:0) Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the(cid:0) NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational(cid:0) corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible(cid:0) in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Sarah Estep,(cid:0) Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed(cid:0) in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 2 Correction(cid:0) In the Summer 2006 article “Members(cid:0) Help Mother Hear from Her Son” on page(cid:0) 4 we have some corrections. Alan’s two(cid:0) brothers are

both still living and it was(cid:0) Alan’s Uncle and Normalyn’s brother(cid:0) who Alan helped cheer.(cid:0) Fall 2006(cid:0) A Father’s Love(cid:0) Jayme Jone’s father,(cid:0) Harold, was a Marine(cid:0) for twenty-two years.(cid:0) Jayme remembers that(cid:0) he always protected(cid:0) her and this sometimes(cid:0) put a strain on her(cid:0) social life. If she was(cid:0) having a fight with a(cid:0) boyfriend and then the(cid:0) boyfriend showed up(cid:0) to see how she was,(cid:0) her dad would throw(cid:0) tools at him. She(cid:0) recalls that there were(cid:0) times dates(cid:0) a would not happen(cid:0) Jayme’s Dad and Mom at the Marine(cid:0) Corp Ball in 1987(cid:0) father(cid:0) because her would scare them off. Jayme recalls, “His favorite thing was(cid:0) the hammer, and he had really good aim. Whenever I went(cid:0) on a date, my dad always invited the boy into the house,(cid:0) saying, ‘Let me show you my gun collection.’”(cid:0) few “I think that after I got married in April, 1993, he felt that(cid:0) I was safe and ... his health got worse…like he gave his(cid:0) body permission to begin his journey toward death. I had(cid:0) the realization that he was letting go eight months prior to(cid:0) his massive stroke and heart attack, so I began to go to my(cid:0) parents’ house every day to have morning coffee with him(cid:0) before going to work.”(cid:0) After the stroke and heart attack, the doctors told Jayme(cid:0) and her mother that Harold would not recover. He had been(cid:0) in a coma for three days and they were considering moving(cid:0) him into the veteran’s

Administration hospital. Jayme had(cid:0) stopped by her Dad’s room before speaking with the(cid:0) doctors. She wrote, “I walked in and began talking to him(cid:0) like I normally would just in time to see him take his last(cid:0) breath … and he was gone. This was a very special(cid:0) moment that I will never forget. It was April 19, 1994.”(cid:0) Just eight months later, Jayme learned that her brain(cid:0) contained a growing cyst and brain tumor. She was given(cid:0) the terrible news that they thought it was malignant. Jayme(cid:0) had to go out of her own state to have the twenty-hour(cid:0) surgery. She wrote that, “During that time… I was having(cid:0) a conversation with my father. We talked about everything(cid:0) that had been happening with me and my family; health(cid:0) problems, everything. When I came out of surgery, I felt(cid:0) that the conversation with my dad had been very vivid and(cid:0) I knew in my heart and soul that it truly happened.” Jayme(cid:0) added that, “Ever since this experience, I have become a(cid:0) stronger person dealing with things that I could not have(cid:0) dealt with in the past. Then six months ago I tried to do(cid:0) EVP after watching(cid:0)White Noise,(cid:0) and on my very first(cid:0) attempt, when I stayed silent for a minute before saying(cid:0) anything came(cid:0) he through and said my(cid:0) name. At first I thought(cid:0) just my(cid:0) it was I(cid:0) imagination the(cid:0) it transferred computer and worked(cid:0) on it. It was him. He(cid:0) said my name and it(cid:0) was

the way he said it.(cid:0) He put more emphasis(cid:0) on the first syllable just(cid:0) like he used when I was(cid:0) younger.”(cid:0) Jayme Jones(cid:0) so to Jayme has less than a year before having her Bachelor’s(cid:0) Degree in teaching and she is a member of the(cid:0) International Honor Society for Educators. “Thanks to my(cid:0) dad, God and the surgeons in Minnesota, ” she told us,(cid:0) “I’m able to live and thrive and make life better, not just(cid:0) for me but for others as well.”(cid:0) The Big Circle Recording Sessions(cid:0) We have received quite a few new members in the last few(cid:0) months, many after seeing Martha Copeland’s appearance(cid:0) on the(cid:0)Montel Show.(cid:0) Because of this, we have been asked(cid:0) questions about the Big Circle and group recording sessions.(cid:0) The “Big Circle” consists of our loved ones in spirit along(cid:0) with their loved ones in the physical world. The realization(cid:0) that this group existed in the spirit world, and was trying to(cid:0) connect to their loved ones here in the physical world,(cid:0) prompted members of the AA-EVP to form a special group(cid:0) called “Big Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife,” or more simply(cid:0) the “Big Circle.” This group is made up of bereaved parents,(cid:0) spouses, siblings, and friends, whose mission is to build a(cid:0) channel, a “Bridge to the Afterlife.” We do this by joining(cid:0) our energies together on alternate Thursdays at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) (Recording dates are listed at the end of this article.) We(cid:0) effectively conduct a worldwide group recording session.(cid:0) Some participants

join together in local groups, or(cid:0) individually from their homes, making a joint effort to(cid:0) record for about five minutes.(cid:0) Originally, the group tried to all record at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) Eastern Standard Time, but this was difficult for members(cid:0) in different time zones. Martha received emails from(cid:0) people saying that they snored through the designated(cid:0) recording time. It was decided that members should try to(cid:0) record at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) on Thursday no matter what time zone(cid:0) they were in. This would make it possible for members(cid:0) overseas to be a part of the recording group. Even if you(cid:0) can’t record exactly at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) on the recording date,(cid:0) record as close to that time and day as you can. Martha(cid:0) writes, “The group energy will be there and if you miss a(cid:0) recording session try to do one when you can. If you(cid:0) receive EVP please share them(cid:0) Continued page 6(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 3 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Crystal Imaging(cid:0) Interdimensional Experiments of Diana and Alan Bennett(cid:0) We have carried the ITC work of Diana and Alan Bennett(cid:0) in the NewsJournal a number of times. Through their(cid:0) presentation at the 2006 AA-EVP conference and through(cid:0) the Updated Edition of(cid:0)The Scole Experiment: Scientific(cid:0) Evidence for Life After Death,(cid:0)we are able to share more of(cid:0) their fantastic results as well as information on their(cid:0) experimental methods.(cid:0) The Bennetts are experimenting with refraction and(cid:0) reflection of light as a means of conditioning optical energy(cid:0) for image formation. As they explained in the updated(cid:0)

version of the postscript of(cid:0)The Scole Experiment,(cid:0) “With(cid:0) our light experiments, we(cid:0) generate a vast spectrum(cid:0) of color and intensities by(cid:0) passing the light source(cid:0) This(cid:0) through crystal. source itself is variable,(cid:0) which, in turn, causes(cid:0) many light(cid:0) different patterns and colors to be(cid:0) formed. Some of the light(cid:0) frequencies generated are(cid:0) of course beyond our own(cid:0) visible spectrum, so the(cid:0) resulting light contains(cid:0) much more information(cid:0) than we realize.(cid:0) “We may include a(cid:0) mirror between the source(cid:0) and the crystal (focus) or beyond the focal point, allowing(cid:0) the light to flood back onto the subject. Apart from(cid:0) ordinary mirrors, we have used convex and concave(cid:0) mirrors to very good effect. We have also experimented(cid:0) with polished metallic disks such as brass (yellow) and(cid:0) copper (red), which have created some of the more striking(cid:0) images.”(cid:0) An image of a person facing you.(cid:0) As you can tell from some of the pictures taken by the(cid:0) Bennetts, they may use water along with a mirror. The(cid:0) camera that they presently use is a Fuji FinePix set on Fine(cid:0) (4048 x 3040 pixels), which produces a computer file of(cid:0) about 12Mb. They focus a concentrated light source onto(cid:0) the side of a crystal and then capture images. The resulting(cid:0) images must be studied in the minutest detail and may have(cid:0) to be magnified as some of the faces can be very small.(cid:0) The examples shown here display the flaws, facets and(cid:0) textures of the(cid:0) the natural quartz crystal used experiment. Keep in mind

that these characteristics of the(cid:0) crystal may help to make the phenomenal features possible,(cid:0) so a perfect crystal may not be desirable.(cid:0) in The apparent scale of the imperfections should give you(cid:0) some sense of how much(cid:0) the photograph has been(cid:0) enlarged to display the(cid:0) phenomenal feature. Also,(cid:0) the great enlargement is(cid:0) supported by very high(cid:0) resolution cameras. While(cid:0) the Bennetts are recording(cid:0) files of 12Mb per picture,(cid:0) a video camera will only(cid:0) produce a file of 0.9Mb(cid:0) which will not support(cid:0) such drastic enlargement.(cid:0) During the conference,(cid:0) the Bennetts strongly(cid:0) suggested that people who(cid:0) plan to work with this(cid:0) should also(cid:0) technique consider spiritual(cid:0) the aspect of the experiment.(cid:0) As world-class mediums,(cid:0) they have learned that(cid:0) contact is often a function(cid:0) of the experimenter’s spiritual attunement.(cid:0) An image of a man. The top of his(cid:0) face is very clear, even showing(cid:0) his hair. He appears to have a(cid:0) beard.(cid:0) The facets of the crystal can be(cid:0) seen although blurred (out of(cid:0) focus). This blurring is sometimes(cid:0) the result of the magnification, as(cid:0) we have to enlarge some of these(cid:0) images quite a lot.(cid:0) At this time, the updated version of the(cid:0)Scole(cid:0) Experiments(cid:0) is not available in the USA and(cid:0)must be(cid:0) purchased via(cid:0)Amazon.co.uk(cid:0). Grant and Jane Solomon are(cid:0) writing a book called the Norfolk Experiment and for(cid:0) updates on their work visit(cid:0)www.thescoleexperiment.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 4 Fall 2006(cid:0) A film camera mounted on a tripod and pointing(cid:0) down at an illuminated crystal.(cid:0) Did Seth 3 Appear in the

Bennetts’ Crystal Experiments?(cid:0) An interesting recent event in the Bennetts’ Experiments is(cid:0) the discovery of a picture that looks like Seth 3. Lisa was(cid:0) working on a project and looking for pictures of some of the(cid:0) ITC pioneers when she discovered a picture sent to(cid:0) researcher Adolf Homes of Seth 3 on the World ITC(cid:0) website ((cid:0)www.worlditc.org(cid:0)). “I immediately recognized(cid:0) that the face was one that I had seen in some of the examples(cid:0) from the Bennitts’ experiments. I found the picture that I(cid:0) had in mind and was amazed by the striking likeness(cid:0) between two of their ITC photos and the photo sent to Adolf(cid:0) over ten years ago.(cid:0) Adolf Homes is no longer on the physical plane and there(cid:0) is little information on the web about Seth 3. Dr. Ernst(cid:0) Senkowski documented much of the research done by(cid:0) Homes and the Bennetts were going to write him to get(cid:0) more information about Seth 3.(cid:0) By looking at previous journals published by Mark Macy,(cid:0) I ran across a couple of references to Seth 3. One of them(cid:0) from the article, “More about the ‘Rainbow People,’” in(cid:0) Contact(cid:0) Issue #96/03 says, “Seth 3, Ishkumar and others are(cid:0) are also ‘technicians’ just like the one you are familiar with.(cid:0) Some of us call them great souls or creators. They live on(cid:0) our plane and yet are really not among us. They can ascend(cid:0) to higher planes and again ‘bend down’ to our level. Their(cid:0) power is almost unlimited and so is

their wisdom and(cid:0) goodness. Their illuminated by(cid:0) understanding and forgiveness. It is impossible to describe(cid:0) the good feeling that overcomes the person who faces them(cid:0) and can speak to them. We seek council with these higher(cid:0) beings to determine the information to send to Earth.”(cid:0) If you have other information on Seth 3 we would love to(cid:0) hear about it.(cid:0) entire being is The two outside ITC pictures were taken by the Bennetts. In them a face peers through occlusions in the crystal. The(cid:0) middle ITC picture was taken by Adolf Homes of Seth 3. Notice the striking resemblance between the faces.(cid:0) ITC at the Parapsychological Association’s 2006 Convention in Stockholm(cid:0) Reported by Edgar Müller(cid:0) [Editor’s Note: A Doctorate is required for membership in(cid:0) the Parapsychological Association ((cid:0)www.parapsych.org(cid:0)), a(cid:0) requirement which effectively isolates those who should be(cid:0) studying ITC from those who do study ITC. Consequently,(cid:0) we feel greatly encouraged by this report.](cid:0) Approximately seventy highly qualified researchers were(cid:0) participating in the convention and nine of the fifty-one(cid:0) papers presented or items on the agenda were about the(cid:0) Survival Hypothesis. This is quite a substantial proportion(cid:0) of the total material, considering the fact that many(cid:0) parapsychologists, at least officially, refuse to accept the(cid:0) possibility of dualism; that is to say that there may be a(cid:0) brain and a mind, integrated in the daily functioning but(cid:0) nevertheless separate components of cognition and that the(cid:0) mind, which is not an identifiable physiological organ, may(cid:0) survive the death of the brain.(cid:0) Instrumental TransCommunication

including(cid:0) voice, was dealt with on three occasions during the(cid:0) (ITC), Convention, once in a negative way and twice quite(cid:0) positively. As far as I know, this is the first time in the long(cid:0) history of parapsychology that ITC was officially discussed(cid:0) at the Convention in this way and that the Survival(cid:0) Hypothesis received so much attention.(cid:0) As we know, parapsychologists have tremendous(cid:0) problems to make their field of research acceptable within(cid:0) psychology and other disciplines in mainstream science. At(cid:0) the same time the issue of survival has a low status within(cid:0) parapsychology. It seems that most parapsychologists(cid:0) endeavor to avoid being connected with the topic, so that(cid:0) their already questionable reputation in mainstream science(cid:0) should not become even worse. At least until recently, most(cid:0) parapsychologists who are engaged in some kind of survival(cid:0) research have dismissed EVP as not being serious and(cid:0) suitable for scientific research.(cid:0) One of the speakers, an impressive professor from an(cid:0) European country, presented(cid:0) Continued Page 15(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 5 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Spontaneous Contact(cid:0) pitch black and I thought the connection would be lost.(cid:0) The TV turned off and on a couple more times and I saw(cid:0) In July, Vicki Talbott had an amazing experience. She(cid:0) told us that she turned her television off to go to sleep, just(cid:0) as she always does. She explained to(cid:0) us that she has Dish TV so the TV is(cid:0) set to channel 3. At about 1:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0) the TV turned on, and when it

did, it(cid:0) was on a snowy channel. Vicki later(cid:0) learned that this was channel 2. She(cid:0) wrote, “I watched in amazement as(cid:0) many faces and people appeared. I(cid:0) thought it was interference, but(cid:0) suddenly the set turned itself off and(cid:0) on again, and then the face of a man(cid:0) who appeared to be in his thirties,(cid:0) still snowy looking but fairly clear,(cid:0) came from the right side of the(cid:0) screen and said in an American(cid:0) accent, ‘You are here to give us some expert advice.’(cid:0) (Ridiculous, I thought.) He was looking right at me, and as(cid:0) he said this, the sound came not only out of the TV speakers(cid:0) but also out of the boombox that was in the room! The boom(cid:0) box was turned off but plugged in. It doesn’t work half the(cid:0) time, so we never use it. I sat there stunned.(cid:0) “When he knew he had my attention, the man in the TV(cid:0) said, ‘Good, now what is it you want us to do?’ I tried to(cid:0) mentally communicate, ‘Communicate with us.’ And then(cid:0) he said, ‘In English, please.’ My God, I was in shock! Still,(cid:0) I managed to say it out loud, ‘Communicate with us!’ Then(cid:0) many faces started appearing, including what I thought(cid:0) were the faces of Braden and Jim.(cid:0) “I didn’t want to go and try to find my camera, as it was(cid:0) Vicki’s son, Braden(cid:0) A video frame from the recording Vicki made of her(cid:0) phenomenal television set.(cid:0) a woman who looked like

she had a ‘flapper’ type hat on(cid:0) from the 1920s. Her voice came through the boombox and(cid:0) TV speakers as well, but I couldn’t understand what she(cid:0) said. The man also said something else that I forgot when(cid:0) it came time to turn on the lights, find my camera, and(cid:0) write it down. The TV turned itself on again and I turned(cid:0) the lights back off, recorded on movie mode, and got what(cid:0) I think is a picture of Braden, among others (no more(cid:0) direct communication in these videos, although the TV(cid:0) turned off and on a couple of times when I was recording).”(cid:0) Vicki went through the frames of the video and found(cid:0) this ITC picture in which her son Braden, now on the other(cid:0) side, appears like he did in an old school photo(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) Big Circle(cid:0) with the Big Circle group on the Idea Exchange (Class B or(cid:0) better so that others can make them out). You may pick up(cid:0) a voice that belongs to another member’s loved one. It has(cid:0) been well documented that our friends in spirit will(cid:0) sometimes use someone else in the group as a channel to get(cid:0) their message across to their loved one in the physical world.(cid:0) Begin your recording session with a prayer of protection(cid:0) and then ask for assistance from the Big Circle Spirit Team(cid:0) to bring your loved one, or the loved one of another AA-(cid:0) EVP member, through. You may want to have a

picture of(cid:0) your loved one close by. You may also want to look at the(cid:0) pictures of AA-EVP members’ loved ones on the Memorial(cid:0) Web Siteat(cid:0)http://bigcircle.aaevp.com/memorials.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) Any type of recorder can be used and it does not have to(cid:0) be expensive. Speak into the recorder and ask questions(cid:0) while you are recording, making sure to leave quiet time for(cid:0) your loved one to answer back. Think of your loved one(cid:0) perhaps looking at their photo if you have one. Record no(cid:0) longer than five minutes. End the session with a prayer of(cid:0) thanks and send healing energy throughout the universe.(cid:0) Then listen to your recording using headphones.(cid:0) EVP messages recorded during these sessions are shared(cid:0) on the AA-EVP Idea Exchange discussion board under the(cid:0) Big Circle topic. If you would like to take a look at the(cid:0) messages on the board, members should login at(cid:0)http://(cid:0) aaevp.com/ideaexchange(cid:0)/ with their first and last name.(cid:0) The password for your first visit is 12evp34. After logging(cid:0) on make sure to set up a new password.(cid:0) A note about attaching EVP samples: save them as mp3(cid:0) files, mono, sample rate = 11025. Try to reduce the sample(cid:0) to some of your voice and the EVP or just the EVP. This(cid:0) will make it easier for others to listen to them.(cid:0) There is also a Big Circle web site on which pictures of(cid:0) your loved one and information can be placed. See at(cid:0) http://bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0). For more information on(cid:0) recording with the circle or how to include

material on the(cid:0) Memorial Web Site, contact Martha Copeland at(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) or Vicki Talbott at(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) October 5, 19 December 14, 28 November 2, 16, 30(cid:0) January 11, 25(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 6 Fall 2006(cid:0) New Ideas in the Treatment of Grief(cid:0) Excerpts from Chapter 4 of(cid:0)Induced After Death Communication(cid:0) by Dr. Allan Botkin(cid:0) Induced After-Death Communication (IADC) is a new(cid:0) therapy for grief and trauma that has helped thousands of(cid:0) people come to terms with their grief by allowing them the(cid:0) experience of communication with their departed loved(cid:0) ones. In Chapter 4 of(cid:0)Induced After Death(cid:0) Communication(cid:0),(cid:0) Dr. Botkin discusses changes(cid:0) in the way grief therapy is being looked at and(cid:0) practiced. This should be of great interest to(cid:0) those using EVP to reach loved ones.(cid:0) replace loved ones and From the book: “…For the greater part of a(cid:0) century, standard grief therapy has insisted that(cid:0) the bereaved must extinguish emotional ties to(cid:0) deceased the(cid:0) attachment to the deceased with other people(cid:0) and interests. Grief therapists now realize,(cid:0) however, that people simply do not separate(cid:0) psychologically from their deceased loved(cid:0) ones. Instead, they continue to think about, feel(cid:0) for, speak to and even ask for advice from(cid:0) them. The new approach to grief therapy now(cid:0) emerging acknowledges this reality and helps patients(cid:0) develop this natural aspect of grieving into(cid:0)a healthy(cid:0) continuing bond with the deceased.(cid:0)[Italics is AA-EVP(cid:0) emphasis](cid:0) “…Most grief counselors agree that it takes people from(cid:0) one to two years to feel sufficiently

reconciled to a loss that(cid:0) they can again find enjoyment in living without their loved(cid:0) one. It takes even longer when the grief is for a deceased(cid:0) child or a spouse of many years, and reminders of the loss(cid:0) can continue to trigger the grief emotions for a lifetime.(cid:0) “…Standard grief therapy since Freud … takes survivors(cid:0) through this sequence:(cid:0) 1. Help survivors accept the reality that the loved ones are(cid:0) dead by having them talk about the circumstances of the(cid:0) death and issues associated with the loss. This assists(cid:0) survivors to get through the initial shock and numbing(cid:0) phase of grief.(cid:0) 2. Help them withdraw emotionally from the deceased by(cid:0) supporting them in expressing and working through the(cid:0) usual feelings associated with the loss: anger, guilt and(cid:0) sadness.(cid:0) 3. Help them adjust to a life without the deceased by(cid:0) learning to live their lives in different ways and develop(cid:0) new relationships.(cid:0) 4. Provide support during more difficult times such as(cid:0) birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.(cid:0) “The goal of standard grief therapy in this conception is to(cid:0) help survivors accept their loss and get on with their lives.(cid:0) The process often requires years of counseling with limited(cid:0) success. Recently, however, a growing number of grief(cid:0) therapists have begun to suggest that patients who(cid:0)maintain(cid:0) their bonds(cid:0) with the deceased often adjust better to their(cid:0) loss. These observations are resulting in a reconsideration(cid:0) of grief and grief therapy.(cid:0) Bonds: published(cid:0) Continuing “In 1996, Dennis Klass, Phyllis Silverman and Steven(cid:0) Nickman New(cid:0) Understandings of

Grief(cid:0),(cid:0)which challenged mainstream(cid:0) thinking about grief. The book’s twenty-(cid:0) two well-respected scholars in the field of(cid:0) grief and loss offer a radical new model for(cid:0) understating and treating grief. Their(cid:0) model therapy(cid:0) grief the exemplified in IADC therapy.(cid:0) presages “The authors explain, ‘…The goal of(cid:0) mainstream grief treatments has been to(cid:0) help survivor’s maximize their autonomy(cid:0) by fully accepting the finality of death and(cid:0) severing their bonds with the deceased.(cid:0) The assumption has been that the survivor(cid:0) will only then be able to establish new(cid:0) the(cid:0) relationships and a deceased…’(cid:0) life without “The authors … cite many clinical(cid:0) observations and research outcomes that challenge these(cid:0) assumptions. They report that survivors who maintain a(cid:0) continuing bond with the deceased appear to be better(cid:0) adjusted psychologically throughout the grieving process.(cid:0) Continuing bonds are fluid, changing and affirming. They(cid:0) assist survivors in dealing with their ongoing issues in life(cid:0) and are integrated into current relationships providing(cid:0) survivors with context and meaning.(cid:0) “These continuing bonds are distinguished, however,(cid:0) from pathological denial in which the survivor’s only(cid:0) connection with the deceased is static, unchanging and(cid:0) stuck in what once was and can never be again. The best(cid:0) criterion is(cid:0) the connection pathological or helpful is the person’s quality of life.(cid:0) “Examples of continuing bonds the authors cite:(cid:0) judging whether for 1. Dreaming of the deceased(cid:0) 2. Talking to the deceased(cid:0) 3. Believing the deceased is watching the survivor(cid:0) 4. Keeping items that belonged to the deceased(cid:0) 5. Visiting the grave(cid:0) 6. Frequently thinking of the

deceased(cid:0) “While some of the authors describe a few continuing(cid:0) bonds that appear to be true after-death communications,(cid:0) on the whole, these scholars chose not to speculate on the(cid:0) ultimate nature of these experiences. Instead, they prefer(cid:0) to collectively label the experiences, ‘inner representations(cid:0) of the deceased.’(cid:0) the deceased, IADC “…Instead of encouraging acceptance of the feelings of(cid:0) disconnection and withdrawal from emotional attachment(cid:0) to therapy actually provides(cid:0) psychological resolution through the profound, life-(cid:0) changing experience of(cid:0)reconnection(cid:0) with the deceased.(cid:0) Their sense of love(cid:0) Continued page 17(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 7 Fall 2006(cid:0) Nathan and I were together for almost(cid:0) twenty-four years. We have three kids:(cid:0) Shad who is twenty-two, Kyle who is(cid:0) seventeen and Chase who is nine. He(cid:0) was my best friend and we did(cid:0) everything the(cid:0) foundation of our house and now that(cid:0) he is gone, it has crumbled. My middle(cid:0) child said it best, “It’s never going to(cid:0) be the same ever again.” Boy do I(cid:0) know that now.(cid:0) together. He was Nathan was diagnosed with cancer(cid:0) two weeks before he died. He was(cid:0) treated for back pain for nearly four(cid:0) years. There was never anything really(cid:0) wrong with his back: he really didn’t(cid:0) start showing any signs until the last(cid:0) three or four months. That’s when he had to go on workers’(cid:0) compensation and for my husband not to work, there had(cid:0) to have been something terribly wrong. I thought that we(cid:0) would grow old together. When he was told that he was(cid:0)

going to die, I’ll never forget that look in his eyes. He was(cid:0) more worried about me than himself. I miss him so much.(cid:0) Our place is empty without him. Nathan was a very good(cid:0) man who never saw a stranger. He was well liked in the(cid:0) community. He passed away on August, 1, 2005.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Virgil Nathan Beck(cid:0) By Terri Beck(cid:0) was on my machine because(cid:0) everybody that I would play the tape(cid:0) for would look at me and say nothing(cid:0) except for one friend who said, “Oh(cid:0) that’s right Nathan passed away at(cid:0) home with you,” and then she ran out(cid:0) of my house. It was shocking, but at(cid:0) the same time, funny.(cid:0) Terri Beck with her husband, Virgil(cid:0) I contacted Christine at CJ EVP(cid:0) Research ((cid:0)www.cjevpresearch.org(cid:0)).(cid:0) She helped me and got me on the right(cid:0) path and that is how I wound up here.(cid:0) The people on the “Idea Exchange”(cid:0) (AA-EVP member message board)(cid:0) always want to help anyone who has a(cid:0) problem with their EVP or questions.(cid:0) They are truly amazing, strong people.(cid:0) I remember the first three or four months after Nathan(cid:0) passed. I couldn’t pay my bills, I couldn’t go to the store, I(cid:0) couldn’t even find my clothes to get dressed. All I felt was(cid:0) numb. But you know, I think that was better than now(cid:0) because there is so much pain after the numbness goes(cid:0) away. Nathan was all I ever knew for twenty-four years.(cid:0) I’m forty-three years old now but

sometimes I feel like I’m(cid:0) a hundred. Terri can be reached at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) I could not accept his death so I went searching. I read(cid:0) books and looked on web sites. I planned to see a psychic(cid:0) because I wanted to know that he was alive and well…. A(cid:0) friend asked me if I had seen the movie(cid:0)White Noise.(cid:0)I(cid:0) didn’t know what she was talking about until she explained(cid:0) the movie and told me that I had better watch out that the(cid:0) bad spirits would get me and she was serious. Ha! I was(cid:0) very interested and had to see the movie. I knew about the(cid:0) tape recordings because when I was young I had a recorder(cid:0) and something talked back to me and I freaked. I erased it(cid:0) and never touched it again.(cid:0) While I was watching the movie I noticed that he was(cid:0) getting messages on his answer machine. I was getting(cid:0) strange messages on my machine! That evening my(cid:0) youngest son and I went to town…. When we got home my(cid:0) machine was flashing. I played the message and it freaked(cid:0) me out. It was a very excited voice almost like yelling at me(cid:0) so I would pay attention and not erase it. This was on(cid:0) February 1, 2006 and I knew it was Nathan. After this I(cid:0) started receiving more messages. He would say things just(cid:0) like when he was alive. One of them says, “(cid:0)Put your Mom(cid:0) on the phone.”(cid:0)Whenever he would call home from work(cid:0)

and the kids would answer that’s all that he would say.(cid:0) I had not received any messages from Nathan for about(cid:0) three weeks and I didn’t like that. I needed to hear from(cid:0) him. I tried recording, asking questions, but I only got one(cid:0) reply and it wasn’t Nathan. A month went by and I started(cid:0) doubting everything. I wanted a second opinion on what(cid:0) Eons.com(cid:0) There is a new social networking web site for Americans(cid:0) aged fifty-plus. Jeff Taylor, founder of Internet job site,(cid:0) Monster.com, launched the new site called Eons.com in(cid:0) July. Eons sports interactive games to build brain strength,(cid:0) news on entertainment and hobbies for older people. The(cid:0) site also contains something more unusual. It has an online(cid:0) obituary database dating back to the 1930s, to which people(cid:0) can add photos and comments. Members can even sign up(cid:0) to receive an alert when someone from a particular area(cid:0) dies or in response to predefined keywords such as a(cid:0) company or school name.(cid:0) Taylor sees online obituaries replacing the traditional(cid:0) that baby(cid:0) in newspapers and feels announcements boomers, the seventy-seven million Americans born(cid:0) between 1946 and 1964, want to have a greater input into(cid:0) their own funerals. So Eons is looking into a do-it-yourself(cid:0) funeral service.(cid:0) AA-EVP Membership Stats(cid:0) The AA-EVP has a current average of five hundred(cid:0) members representing forty-seven states in the USA and(cid:0) twenty-one countries. California has the most members(cid:0) with fifty-four, but the East Coast has the majority. The UK(cid:0) has the most members

outside of the USA with eighteen.(cid:0) Canada has fourteen.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 8 Fall 2006(cid:0) Dimes from Heaven(cid:0) Debra Caruso’s son, Joey, leaves dimes as a(cid:0) sign that he is around. She says that she can(cid:0) clean out her purse only to find a dime at the(cid:0) bottom a short time later. Joey is on the other(cid:0) side but, along with leaving dimes around,(cid:0) communicates with Debbie through EVP.(cid:0) Debbie’s web site, “Listen to this for me; Listen(cid:0) to my son Joey speak to me from Heaven -(cid:0) Others also”(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.listentothisforme.com(cid:0)) contains many of(cid:0) the EVP that she has received from Joey and(cid:0) other people.(cid:0) speak me to At the 2006 AA-EVP conference, Debbie(cid:0) was one of the people interviewed by Lisa(cid:0) Joey Caruso(cid:0) Huston for a documentary on ITC. When(cid:0) Debbie entered Lisa’s hotel room for the(cid:0) interview, she noticed a dime on the floor. She(cid:0) told Lisa that Joey would leave her dimes all the(cid:0) time and asked if she could have it. Lisa told her(cid:0) that of course she could, and before leaving the(cid:0) interview, another dime was subsequently(cid:0) found and kept by Debbie.(cid:0) What Debbie did not know is that when she(cid:0) left, Lisa Huston asked Joey to give her a sign(cid:0) that the dimes had come from him by leaving(cid:0) her one. Lisa found two more dimes on the floor(cid:0) soon after asking Joey for them.(cid:0) Overprocessed Sound Files(cid:0) Over the years, more and more sophisticated programs for(cid:0) managing audio files have become

available. Audacity, for(cid:0) instance, is an excellent, free program that has a growing(cid:0) number of important features helpful for analyzing a sound(cid:0) file for EVP. The only problem is that it has become too(cid:0) tempting to use as many of these new editing tools as(cid:0) possible to try and make an indistinguishable bit of audio(cid:0) into a Class A EVP.(cid:0) As an engineer, I have tried my share of tricks to improve(cid:0) the quality of a sound file, and I am guilty of the occasional(cid:0) overprocessing. It is just too tempting. However, our policy(cid:0) is to do as little as possible to a sound file. We reason that(cid:0) the communicating entities can do better, so it is part of our(cid:0) experimental procedure to ask them to repeat what we think(cid:0) might be important but unintelligible statements. They do(cid:0) not always comply, but it seems reasonable to put the(cid:0) burden for communication on both ends of the circuit.(cid:0) In voice formed by our physical body, the fundamental(cid:0) frequency (F0) produced by our vocal cords form harmonic(cid:0) frequencies (formants known as F1, F2 and so on) on the(cid:0) way out of the mouth. It is the intensity of these frequency(cid:0) groups, and how our mouth modulates them that form our(cid:0) voice. The formants are in predictable groups, and a voice(cid:0) print will show this relative order as clusters of frequency(cid:0) that have more intensity. This is the voice print and(cid:0) examples of speech spoken by a person while in the(cid:0) physical can

sometimes be compared to EVP to determine(cid:0) the likelihood that the speaker is the same person.(cid:0) Research has shown that the voices in EVP are formed(cid:0) out of available audio frequency energy. See “(cid:0)Computer–(cid:0) Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice(cid:0),” Daniele(cid:0) Gullà in the(cid:0)Techniques(cid:0)section of(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). This means(cid:0) that, in some cases, the voice will be formed of odd(cid:0) groupings of sound, rather than the orderly array of(cid:0) biologically initiated formants. When a physically formed(cid:0) voice is filtered, we can expect it to respond in predictable(cid:0) ways, but when an EVP is filtered, it is possible to(cid:0) unknowingly delete frequencies vital for the meaning of(cid:0) the word. As an example, the word “love” has a strong(cid:0) beginning sound that, in an EVP, might be formed by a(cid:0) noise burst initiated in the amplifier by the entity, rather(cid:0) than a biologically formed “L.” If the EVP were passed(cid:0) through a noise filter that reduced the intensity of that noise(cid:0) burst, the word could be changed to sound like “of.” A(cid:0) meaningful but poorly heard EVP would be changed to(cid:0) well-heard nonsense.(cid:0) A second hazard of overprocessing sound files is that it(cid:0) is possible to amplify a sound file many, many times with(cid:0) a press of the mouse button. Hand-held audio recorders(cid:0) have a “floating ground” which does not very effectively(cid:0) exclude external electrical signals such as a nearby radio(cid:0) station. When they are being handled, the experimenter can(cid:0) function as an antenna to further exacerbate the problem.(cid:0) Finally, the connection between a

computer and the(cid:0) recorder makes the recorder even more of an antenna. The(cid:0) zero-signal or quiet state of the recorder while in the record(cid:0) mode will, in normal circumstances, show as no sound(cid:0) being recorded, or at worst, a small background sound. But(cid:0) if this zero level signal is amplified a great deal, all sorts of(cid:0) modulation can be discovered, and it often sounds a little(cid:0) like EVP. In fact, it is probably a composite of all of the(cid:0) local radio broadcasts in town.(cid:0) There are other hazards, most too exotic to be concerned(cid:0) with, but the bottom line is that it is possible to change the(cid:0) meaning of a phenomenal utterance by using too much(cid:0) filtering, sound reduction and/or amplification. This is(cid:0) especially evident when many tools are used, such as noise(cid:0) reduction, filter, normalize and amplify. Even changing the(cid:0) sequence of how these tools are applied can change the(cid:0) outcome.(cid:0) As policy in the AA-EVP, it is recommended that no(cid:0) more than ten or twenty decibels of amplification and only(cid:0) passive filtering of frequencies above about 3,000 Hz be(cid:0) used if the EVP is to be shared with others or used in(cid:0) research. An alternative policy is to provide the original(cid:0) EVP as a raw file, followed by about a half second of(cid:0) silence, and then the same example as it has been modified.(cid:0) In this case, there is(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 9 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Balloons and Other Signs(cid:0) by Martha

Copeland(cid:0) I was walking Cathy’s dog, Doja, and strolling my little(cid:0) Chihuahua, Shorty, in an umbrella stroller (Shorty needs(cid:0) surgery on his hind legs). I then noticed something shiny(cid:0) out of the corner of my eye, across the street, in the woods.(cid:0) A light breeze picked up, and suddenly a shiny object(cid:0) swirled out of the woods across the road and orbited around(cid:0) guilty for not being able to express my sorrow through my(cid:0) tears. A good comparison for someone who cannot(cid:0) imagine this state of being would be that of a “walking(cid:0) zombie,” experiencing a feeling of detachment from the(cid:0) real world.(cid:0) This day was sunny and warm with bright blue skies,(cid:0) checkered with large, white puffy clouds. I knew that(cid:0) Muffin’s days were numbered because she was failing fast(cid:0) due to her age. Muffin was deaf, blind and she could not(cid:0) walk anymore, but the thought of having her put to sleep(cid:0) was unbearable. We had experienced so much death in(cid:0) such a short period of time that I envisioned my home as a(cid:0) “death house,” sort of like John Belushi’s version of the(cid:0) “Death Float” in the movie(cid:0)Animal House(cid:0). Our house had(cid:0) become such a quiet and sad place, instead of the once(cid:0) active and noisy home filled with Cathy’s friends. I was(cid:0) missing the ‘aliveness’ of the small things, such as the cell(cid:0) phones that would go off in various tones providing each(cid:0) person with a sense of having their own identity.(cid:0) Doja, Shorty, Martha, and

Sarah Jane(cid:0) us. Doja and Shorty started to bark when it rose up directly(cid:0) in front of our path, stopping us in our tracks. At that(cid:0) moment, I realized that the object was the remains of a(cid:0) heart-shaped balloon I had released from our deck on(cid:0) Valentine's Day for Cathy. The balloon danced in front of(cid:0) us, displaying the words that were written on the front(cid:0) saying “I Love You.” A small white butterfly appeared and(cid:0) joined in by circling the damaged balloon. After speaking(cid:0) out loud saying, “I love you Cathy, and thank you!”, the(cid:0) balloon proceeded to go back in the direction it had come(cid:0) from, until it reached the w(cid:0)oods where it lay flat and still(cid:0) as before.(cid:0) While meeting with some of the mothers for lunch (who(cid:0) had previously attended my group recording sessions until(cid:0) they moved away), I relayed my balloon experience to(cid:0) them. Each mother had a similar balloon story that had a(cid:0) significant meaning they could relate to as being a sign(cid:0) from their child in Heaven.(cid:0) I remember another story (not involving balloons) that(cid:0) happened in January 2002, right after Cathy’s death. It(cid:0) happened while I was walking Doja and strolling our(cid:0) longhaired miniature (overweight) dachshund, Muffin.(cid:0) Cathy’s death was still so new to me, and I felt as if(cid:0) everything in the world was foggy. The reality of Cathy’s(cid:0) death had not yet sunken in. Grief counselors refer to this(cid:0) time (right after a loss of a loved one) as being

in the first(cid:0) stage of the grieving process, and you are in a state of(cid:0) shock. Many of you can relate to this horrible time(cid:0) of not(cid:0) being able to feel anything either mentally or physically,(cid:0) and you are numb to your surroundings. I even found it(cid:0) difficult to cry, and this added to my stress because I felt(cid:0) Muffin, Cathy and ShiShi(cid:0) We had just lost my husband Don’s mother, Jessie, in(cid:0) August, when my beloved dog, ShiShi, died in November,(cid:0) just three weeks before Cathy’s passing in December 2001.(cid:0) Our cat Precious had escaped from the house, and was hit(cid:0) and killed by a car on our street. Hence I wanted to hold on(cid:0) to Muffin, because of the history that connected her to(cid:0) Cathy. We purchased Muffin while Cathy was in(cid:0) elementary school, and Cathy had nicknamed her(cid:0) Ladybug. We had left Muffin with my parents for the three(cid:0) years while we lived in Japan, but she was given back to us(cid:0) when we returned. Cathy was so silly over Muffin that she(cid:0) had a tiny ladybug tattooed on her stomach, to represent(cid:0) never being separated from her special dog again.(cid:0) It was during this walk that I first noticed a little yellow(cid:0) butterfly that seemed to circle us as we walked down the(cid:0) road. A shiny blue dragonfly soon accompanied the(cid:0) butterfly. While watching these two little creatures in awe,(cid:0) I couldn’t help but wonder why it was possible that they(cid:0) could be out so early

in January. All of a sudden, rays of(cid:0) sunlight engulfed me, providing me with the most peaceful(cid:0) feeling since Cathy’s death.(cid:0) Continued page 16(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 10 Fall 2006(cid:0) over many years ago and they had never met. Mary Beth(cid:0) also told us that she had received a message from a medium(cid:0) at a Spiritualist church who had asked her who Franklin(cid:0) was (this was her father’s middle name). The medium told(cid:0) her that Franklin was saying that he was sorry that he had(cid:0) not been part of her life. We were honored that the picture(cid:0) was so meaningful to Mary Beth and we also felt that the(cid:0) positive result was also due to the wonderful positive(cid:0) energy of our meditation group(cid:0). Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) We have been so inspired by the amazing results of(cid:0) Diane and Alan Bennett, and their results from reflecting(cid:0) light off of crystals, that we had been wanting to also try(cid:0) experimenting in this way. Diana and Alan had been kind(cid:0) enough to provide a couple of diagrams of their(cid:0) experimental setups, and we now had a higher resolution(cid:0) camera, so set up an area in the ITC room to run a couple(cid:0) of crystal experiments. After arranging the camera, lights(cid:0) and crystal in a configuration we felt would work, we did(cid:0) our normal meditation and then took a few pictures. We(cid:0) actually recorded some interesting results on our first(cid:0) attempts. The fourth experiment brought several more(cid:0)

faces along with this interesting three-dimensional face.(cid:0) We were very pleased with the open mouth, as the mouth(cid:0) is often obscured in many of our pictures.(cid:0) Mary Beth’s father on right and possibly an ITC image of him(cid:0) on left.(cid:0) Idea for Listening to EVP(cid:0) It is very difficult to open a sound file and listen to the(cid:0) whole message a few times to understand what is said.(cid:0) There are just too many uncertainties in, say a Class C EVP(cid:0) for the average person to be able to grasp the message all(cid:0) at once. A technique we use is to select small portions of(cid:0) the sound track and then to put the audio program in “Loop(cid:0) Mode” and listen to it until words can be understood--or(cid:0) until it is clear that words will not present themselves. It is(cid:0) best to select more than one syllable, but not more than a(cid:0) couple of words.(cid:0) .(cid:0) In a Class C example, the words that come to mind are(cid:0) not necessarily what is spoken. They are just what our mind(cid:0) thinks is close, so be open for alternative interpretations. A(cid:0) good way to check what is possible is to look for sound(cid:0) combinations for a hint to what is said. For instance, we(cid:0) heard a “wau” sound right below the letter “A” in the above(cid:0) example offered by Margaret Downey on page 23 of the(cid:0) “Amanda” topic in the Idea Exchange. The “wau” sound(cid:0) seemed to be followed by “ter,” so we have

reason to think(cid:0) the word is “water” rather than “slaughter.”(cid:0) Possible face of a man found in light reflected from(cid:0) crystals following the method developed by the Bennetts.(cid:0) Our next success with the crystal experiments was quite(cid:0) a surprise. We meet with a small group every Sunday(cid:0) morning for an hour of meditation. After our meditation,(cid:0) one of the members, Mary Beth, handed Lisa a picture of(cid:0) her parents and ask us to keep a lookout for them in our(cid:0) experiments. Lisa asked her to write the names of her(cid:0) parents on the back of the picture and then put it on her(cid:0) desk when we returned home. That afternoon we did(cid:0) another meditation on our own and conducted a few EVP(cid:0) experiments to test various settings on the two recorders(cid:0) we would be using at a video session for a shoot with the(cid:0) Sci Fi channel. We also worked with reflecting light off a(cid:0) couple of different crystals. When we looked at the results,(cid:0) the image of a man was clearly seen on the very first(cid:0) picture. The resemblance between the ITC picture and(cid:0) Mary Beth’s dad was noted with surprise. It was like he had(cid:0) heard her and stopped by during our experiment to make(cid:0) sure she got an ITC picture of him.(cid:0) Mary Beth felt that it was her father. We were so(cid:0) surprised with his answering her request so quickly that we(cid:0) wondered if he had been a powerful medium or something,(cid:0) but she explained that

she had never known her father. He(cid:0) had left her mother before she was born. He had crossed(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 11 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The ITC of Marcello Bacci(cid:0) Paolo Presi(cid:0) presented the ITC work of Marcello Bacci at(cid:0) the 2006 AA-EVP conference.(cid:0)Pressi’s presentation(cid:0) is now(cid:0) in the “Articles” section of the(cid:0) AA-EVP web site, but for those(cid:0) of you who were not at the(cid:0) conference or who do not have(cid:0) access to the Internet, here are the(cid:0) highlights.(cid:0) Presi began his presentation by(cid:0) introducing Bacci: “After more(cid:0) than thirty-five years of dedicated(cid:0) study of ITC, Marcello Bacci can(cid:0) be considered a leading expert in(cid:0) the field due to this exceptionally(cid:0) long record of experimentation(cid:0) with the voices. The remarkable(cid:0) phenomena that have occurred in the past decades in(cid:0) Grosseto, Italy, indicate that this persevering experimenter(cid:0) is always prepared to locate new openings to communicate(cid:0) with the beyond.”(cid:0) Paolo Presi(cid:0) The “remarkable phenomena” Presi is referring to(cid:0) centers mainly around real-time, two-way communication(cid:0) with the other side via an old Nordmende tube, short-wave(cid:0) radio. The radio is visible in the photograph of Bacci.(cid:0) Bacci routinely invites people to join him in the(cid:0) communication sessions. It it common during these(cid:0) sessions for there to be conversations between parents and(cid:0) discarnate children. These are sometimes accompanied by(cid:0) meaningful apports, such as a sea shell when a child known(cid:0) to love the sea is speaking.(cid:0) Another remarkable phenomena associated with Bacci is(cid:0) that experiments have been conducted in which

the station(cid:0) is changed without interrupting the communication and the(cid:0) radio’s tubes have been removed, also without interrupting(cid:0) the voice. In one experiment, Bacci himself pulled the plug(cid:0) for the radio after the tubes had been removed and the voice(cid:0) continued for several minutes. This last experiment lead(cid:0) some experimenters to theorize that, as Paolo said in his(cid:0) article: “From my point of view, the above peculiarities(cid:0) provide evidence that, once the phenomenon commences,(cid:0) the radio ceases to function as a normal radio receiver. The(cid:0) radio appears to become a device, psychically supported,(cid:0) through which the paranormal voices can be heard.” He(cid:0) concluded his thoughts on this subject by saying, “It is my(cid:0) personal opinion the phenomenon should be(cid:0) considered as an interactive process among a ‘Mind(cid:0) System.’”(cid:0) that Presi notes that, “The invisible communicators affirm(cid:0) that they are Spiritual Beings. Sometimes they have assert-(cid:0) ed,(cid:0)‘The Spirit is speaking to you,’(cid:0) without giving any(cid:0) indication of their identity. With unequivocal precision all(cid:0) the communications reveal the presence of autonomous(cid:0) intelligent beings, differing from each other by the voice(cid:0) characteristics(cid:0) and by the emotional and conceptual content(cid:0) that characterize each communicating personality.”(cid:0) As we have said, the communication sessions are usually(cid:0) attended by people who have loved ones on the other side.(cid:0) Presi notes that, “Particular care is given to the messages(cid:0) that provide parents with direct evidence of the continuity(cid:0) of life after death of their deceased children. The entity(cid:0) called ‘Gregorio’ often addresses parents with warm words(cid:0) of deep

understanding, giving reassurance to those who are(cid:0) still doubtful, as in the following example:(cid:0) “Dear mothers, we have already told you that your(cid:0) loved ones suffer only if you are suffering. A day will(cid:0) come where the mysteries will be disclosed to you, the(cid:0) haze will be dissipated and all of you will be embraced(cid:0) by a clear light. One day you’ll leave your body where(cid:0) you found it, to reach another order of being.”(cid:0) Marcello Bacci standing in front of electronic(cid:0) equipment. The Nordmende is the large radio(cid:0) with a wood cabinet.(cid:0) Presi observed, “It is astonishing how the children’s(cid:0) voices are sometimes modulated with(cid:0)timbre(cid:0), lilt and in-(cid:0) flexion recognized by the parents. They can be male or(cid:0) female, childish, juvenile or adult depending upon the(cid:0) circumstance.... To overcome the distrust and incredulity of(cid:0) participants who are attending an experiment for the first(cid:0) time, the voices adopt an effective, direct method: they(cid:0) address such people by their own, personal name. The(cid:0) impact is immediate; those who listen to their name coming(cid:0) from the radio are astonished, literally captivated.”(cid:0) Presi explains in the report that information about the(cid:0) other side is sometimes given: “From an unknown commu-(cid:0) nicator who introduced himself as(cid:0)“a citizen of heaven”(cid:0) came a significant message on the subject of death:(cid:0) “Fear to die? I don’t believe that death deserves so(cid:0) much! Here is Life after death. Death has been beat(cid:0) and this hope is not an illusion, your life must be(cid:0) transformed. There is another dimension,

another Life.(cid:0) Remember, the Spirit will transform your mortal body(cid:0) into a spiritual body. Have you understood? This is(cid:0) inconceivable for(cid:0) Continued 16(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 12 Fall 2006(cid:0) Members’ Video ITC(cid:0) It is encouraging to see members take up the challenge to(cid:0) work with visual ITC. In video loop experiments, it has(cid:0) proven especially difficult for us to establish a suitable loop(cid:0) using a digital video camera. This is an important issue(cid:0) because analog cameras are rapidly being phased off of the(cid:0) market—even the used market. So, we are delighted to see(cid:0) that two experimenters are recording impressive features(cid:0) using digital equipment.(cid:0) Kathleen Griffin(cid:0) has posted a few very good examples in(cid:0) the Idea Exchange. We featured one in the Spring 2006(cid:0) issue of the NewsJournal. Kathleen uses a Sony Super 8(cid:0) camcorder about three feet from a twenty-seven inch(cid:0) television set with the camcorder tilted at ninety degrees.(cid:0) The camera output is connected to a DVD recorder, and the(cid:0) output of that is connected to a TV set. The camera is(cid:0) zoomed in to a point where the video begins to oscillate(cid:0) between light and dark areas. Blues, white, blacks and(cid:0) sometimes “great” colors appear.(cid:0) Once a session is recorded on tape, Kathleen transfers it(cid:0) to the computer using a DVD Express Box via USB. The(cid:0) transferred video is then analyzed frame by frame with(cid:0) Ulead Studio 7 software. She told us that, “I go through it(cid:0) frame by frame and if I find something I

feel is an image of(cid:0) interest I have the option of capturing an image with the(cid:0) software to JPEG and store it in a library of files from that(cid:0) recording.”(cid:0) Daniel Reddig(cid:0) has been aggressively experimenting with(cid:0) the video feedback technique of energy modification. He is(cid:0) using a Sony DCR-TRV38 mini-digital video camcorder,(cid:0) and has succeeded in establishing a video loop with a(cid:0) variety of CRT [cathode ray tube] television sets. The(cid:0) camera is set approximately three feet from and centered on(cid:0) the television screen. He prefers recording onto a memory(cid:0) stick instead of videotape because, as he wrote, “We get a(cid:0) cleaner feedback loop with different(cid:0) characteristics than recording to video(cid:0) [tape]. There is also more color.(cid:0) However, in memory stick mode, only(cid:0) about ten frames a second are taken, as(cid:0) opposed to the usual thirty for standard(cid:0) video. Using a memory stick also(cid:0) the(cid:0) produces computer.”(cid:0) smaller files for Daniel gave a good description of(cid:0) how he conducts an experiment: “At(cid:0) first, you can see the TV within the TV.(cid:0) The camera is adjusted here to be(cid:0) pointed at the center of the TV screen.(cid:0) Any misalignment will become more(cid:0) obvious the more you zoom in. I use(cid:0) about fifty percent zoom. As you zoom(cid:0) in farther, you will see a white blob that(cid:0) ends up covering most of the screen. It may be slightly to(cid:0) one side. Zoom in a little further. Now you may see either(cid:0) predominantly green or red pixels zooming by at a faster(cid:0)

speed. We take pictures in this area also, but they seem(cid:0) harder to get. Zoom in a little farther, and it may turn to a(cid:0) bluish color, and instead of flashing in all directions from(cid:0) the center, the whole screen may appear to ‘hold’ with(cid:0) different patterns that bounce around. Here is where we(cid:0) find the most pictures in our case. Occasionally, this point(cid:0) of focus will provide pictures “holding” in the exact same(cid:0) spot that will be covered and uncovered by pixels as you(cid:0) watch frame by frame. Zoom in too far, and you will get a(cid:0) solid white, green, or red screen, which is not good for ITC.”(cid:0) Your experience may be a little different, because(cid:0) different combinations of equipment will produce different(cid:0) results. For instance, we have not been able to achieve the(cid:0) “hold” stability of the feedback loop and still have a light-(cid:0) dark pattern as Daniel describes.(cid:0) We have found that changing the orientation of the(cid:0) camera/TV set combination with reference to north might(cid:0) produce different results. Also, different video cables may(cid:0) change the results, and we have never established the(cid:0) desired video loop using an S-Video link between the(cid:0) camera and TV set.(cid:0) Daniel uses a strobe light [Compact Luma Strobe](cid:0) bought from(cid:0)Spencers Gifts(cid:0) for $20. It is not available at(cid:0) this time from the online store, so we recommend that you(cid:0) look for something around twenty-five watts, with(cid:0) adjustable strobe rate and interchangeable lens covers.(cid:0) Daniel noted that, “Other video ITC researchers have

made(cid:0) a note of the usefulness of an external light source. Pictures(cid:0) can be received without it; however, in cases where a(cid:0) sufficient feedback loop is hard to obtain, a flashing light(cid:0) can help induce a feedback loop. Also with some TV sets,(cid:0) you can control the speed of the feedback loop by adjusting(cid:0) the speed of the strobe. For now, all I can say is that it has(cid:0) helped a little bit in some cases. When used with the(cid:0) fifty-two-inch TV, the amount of light produced by this(cid:0) little strobe was not quite enough to(cid:0) jump-start the feedback loop.”(cid:0) As for capture of the video into a(cid:0) computer, and “grabbing” individual(cid:0) video frames as still pictures, Daniel(cid:0) said that, “The only video player(cid:0) [software] we use is Media Player(cid:0) Classic version 6.4.9, as it is the only(cid:0) one with high enough quality we have(cid:0) come across. [This is a free download(cid:0) available at(cid:0)www.download.com(cid:0)] For(cid:0) some reason, all of the other players(cid:0) don’t come out clean, but have(cid:0) interlaced lines across them. You can(cid:0) forward frame by frame with cursor(cid:0) keys, you can even zoom or move the(cid:0) picture around with number pad keys.(cid:0) Video ITC image collected by(cid:0) Daniel Reddig(cid:0) “Simply download, extract the file,(cid:0) go to where you extracted it, click on ‘mplayerc.exe’ and(cid:0) open your video file. You may want to create a shortcut to(cid:0) the program on your desktop.(cid:0) Continued page 14(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 13 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) EVP and Geomagnetic Fields:

is There a Correlation?(cid:0) By Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen and Chris Carter(cid:0) Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group(cid:0)www.SWPRG.com(cid:0) The AA-EVP is very interested in any research carried out(cid:0) on EVP and has recently added a(cid:0)Research(cid:0)section to the(cid:0) AA-EVP web site. The first article is a contribution by(cid:0) Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen and Chris Carter.(cid:0) After discussing the group’s work with David, we(cid:0) believe the introduction to this report will set the tone for(cid:0) future research they will conduct. From the Introduction:(cid:0) “Those who believe EVP to be real think that the voices of(cid:0) the dead are being recorded while those who do not believe(cid:0) in the paranormal nature of these phenomena claim that(cid:0) they are nothing more than stray radio waves or auditory(cid:0) pareidolia(cid:0) or(cid:0)apophenia(cid:0). It is a proven fact that the human(cid:0) mind can create meaning out of insignificant sound and(cid:0) random noise. Those who support the paranormal nature of(cid:0) this phenomena claim that the voices are interactive and(cid:0) can be identified as someone who has died. The question(cid:0) then is how do the deceased manifest their voices on the(cid:0) recording equipment?”(cid:0) And later, “The ghost hunting community overall(cid:0) believes that times of increased solar activity are ideal for(cid:0) ghost hunting. It is thought that, with enough energy in the(cid:0) air from charged ions and an energized electromagnetic(cid:0) field, manifestations, including EVP, are more plentiful.(cid:0) “There is little or no formal analysis that increased(cid:0) geomagnetic activity leads to an increase in the frequency(cid:0) and clarity of EVP. This study is

an attempt to determine if(cid:0) there is a correlation between geomagnetic activity and the(cid:0) quantity of EVP.”(cid:0) The full report is in the new(cid:0)Research(cid:0) section of the(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) web site, but we will say here that, using their(cid:0) records for the number of EVP collected versus the(cid:0) historical geomagnetic environment as reported by the(cid:0) National Oceanic and Atmosphere Association (NOAA),(cid:0) they have concluded that there was no apparent correlation(cid:0) showing that changes in geomagnetic conditions results in(cid:0) changes in the quantity of recorded EVP.(cid:0) We wish to thank this team for having the presence of(cid:0) mind to conduct this kind of formal research. We will(cid:0) endeavor to publish other such reports, as they become(cid:0) available. Meanwhile, remember that it is okay to believe(cid:0) in something, but it is even better to have evidence.(cid:0) Illustration of sun (left) and magnetic field around earth(cid:0) taken from the(cid:0)Solar Heliospheric(cid:0) web site(cid:0) Members’ Video ITC(cid:0) Continued from page 13(cid:0) To view frame-by-frame, simply pause the playback and(cid:0) then use the right arrow button to step forward or left to go(cid:0) back. Hold the button down to go faster.(cid:0) “Use the Alt and Enter keys together for full-screen(cid:0) display and the Nine key [with numlock] to zoom in. More(cid:0) keyboard shortcuts can be found in View > Options >(cid:0) Player > Keys.(cid:0) “There can be as many as fifty faces in a frame—most(cid:0) undeveloped. Just like when we try to post our best EVP(cid:0) examples, I try to pick the ones people can see, and

filter(cid:0) out the rest. Also, most of the pictures [I post in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange] have been enlarged. The average size face is(cid:0) only about a half-inch [at seventy-two pixels per inch]!”(cid:0) The “grabbed” individual video frames can be examined(cid:0) in a photograph editor. We use Photoshop Elements, which(cid:0) is a middle-priced program, but it may be worth it to look(cid:0) for a good freeware program on the Internet. Erland(cid:0) Babcock did wonders with the program that came with his(cid:0) digital camera. Be sure to have rotate, crop, color select and(cid:0) enhance, contrast and save as tools. You will find nearly as(cid:0) many features in each of the ninety-degree rotations as in(cid:0) the “normal” view, so take your time looking at all angles.(cid:0) Also, try stepping back from the screen now and then. A(cid:0) different perspective sometimes points out different(cid:0) features.(cid:0) Keep the original frame [picture] as a high resolution(cid:0) image, but use “Save as” to keep cropped or copied(cid:0) versions of the original containing possibly phenomenal(cid:0) features at seventy-two pixels per inch for sharing on the(cid:0) Internet. File size limits for the Idea Exchange are 250Kb(cid:0) and images cannot be larger than 650 pixels per inch on a(cid:0) side.(cid:0) As a final observation, Daniel noted that, “Most likely, a(cid:0) large portion of the pictures received may not be specific(cid:0) attempts of the person in the picture to communicate with(cid:0) us. At least, I feel this is true in my case.”(cid:0) The picture with this article on page 13 was

recorded by(cid:0) Daniel Reddig using the technique described here.(cid:0) We encourage other members to experiment with visual(cid:0) forms of these phenomena. As a rule of thumb, any form of(cid:0) visually complex energy is apt to produce a phenomenal(cid:0) face or two. Remember that you do not have to use(cid:0) expensive equipment. Using a simple camera to(cid:0) photograph light reflected from moving water or from the(cid:0) surface of a turned off television set can produce faces. We(cid:0) look forward to seeing your examples posted in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 14 Fall 2006(cid:0) Continued From Page 5(cid:0) Parapsychological(cid:0) a well prepared paper on the aspects of the survival(cid:0) hypothesis and commented briefly on all the known(cid:0) indications that survival may be possible, such as NDE,(cid:0) OBE, birthmarks on children claiming reincarnation,(cid:0) apparitions, mediums and at(cid:0) the end of the list there were(cid:0) the magical words ITC.(cid:0) However he did not comment(cid:0) on ITC, and instead hesitated,(cid:0) shook his head and finally(cid:0) said, “Others may talk about(cid:0) it,” as if he did not want to be(cid:0) contaminated by this field.(cid:0) Some of the papers on the(cid:0) Survival Hypothesis were very(cid:0) balanced. That is to say that(cid:0) the speakers presented all pros(cid:0) and cons in an open minded(cid:0) way, keeping the door open(cid:0) that there may be a survival. Admittedly it was underlined(cid:0) that we probably never can get scientifically acceptable(cid:0) evidence that there is an existence after the death of the(cid:0) body.(cid:0) Edgar Müller(cid:0) One delegate said that he

definitely was not a survivalist(cid:0) and it would be difficult to convince him that some(cid:0) functions of cognition and personality could exist after the(cid:0) death of the brain; however, he said he had participated in(cid:0) an experiment about which he said, “Could you believe it,(cid:0) there were voices coming out from a radio….” So he gave(cid:0) a brief but correct description of the Bacci experiment that(cid:0) occurred in December, 2004. It was obvious that he had(cid:0) been shaken by this experience and was now more open to(cid:0) the survival hypothesis.(cid:0) One important paper presented by a professor from the(cid:0) United States included a kind of summary of the topic and(cid:0) he opened his speech by telling a personal experience(cid:0) regarding EVP. He was in Mexico visiting some colleagues(cid:0) when a young girl was murdered. Apparently a friend of(cid:0) one of his colleagues was doing EVP research and(cid:0) succeeded in getting several utterances from the murdered(cid:0) girl. This professor listened to the tape and was quite(cid:0) impressed; he took a copy of the tape back to the United(cid:0) States and decided to present it at the Convention. Thus a(cid:0) session was played back for the whole convention via all(cid:0) the loudspeakers. The quality was very good.(cid:0) the Board of I am glad to notice the change of my colleagues’ attitudes(cid:0) the Swedish Association of(cid:0) in Parapsychological Research. There are some who still(cid:0) think that all talk about ITC is rubbish but others have now(cid:0) stopped joking about me and ITC and

take the topic more(cid:0) seriously. Thus my old mentor in this field, Dr. Nils-Olof(cid:0) Jacobson and myself, can now work in a friendlier and(cid:0) more understanding atmosphere for EVP in Sweden.(cid:0) One of the papers and comments from several(cid:0) participants were very critical to psychic mediums. My(cid:0) personal experiences are unfortunately not encouraging(cid:0) either. I have several times tried to get some advice from(cid:0) mediums concerning how to proceed with ITC research to(cid:0) get better results, but without any reasonable answer.(cid:0) Hasselbacken Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden where the(cid:0) Parapsychological Association conference was held.(cid:0) Finally, an observation from the convention. As you(cid:0) know it is customary to give each speaker a polite applause(cid:0) when the paper is finished. Normally these applauses have(cid:0) duration of three to four seconds. After the first and(cid:0) admittedly the best paper on the Survival Hypothesis, there(cid:0) was applause like in a theatre; long and intensive. Of(cid:0) the(cid:0) course subconsciousness of the delegates…(cid:0) spontaneously, maybe it came from Edgar Müller is one of the administrators for(cid:0)the(cid:0) Helene Reeder(cid:0) Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death, (HRF) which(cid:0) has awarded two ITC research grants.(cid:0) Overprocessing Files(cid:0) Continued from page 9(cid:0) probably no reason to limit the processing, except it is a(cid:0) consideration to tell the listener what processing has been(cid:0) applied. If the recording is only for personal use, then of(cid:0) course there are no limits, but be sure to understand the(cid:0) the utterance(cid:0) hazards of self-deception by making something it may not be. For instance, it

is very unlikely(cid:0) that you can trust an utterance that has been “recovered”(cid:0) from a sound file that displays as a nearly flat line.(cid:0) One point to consider here is that we recommend(cid:0) converting the example to mp3 for posting on the Internet(cid:0) or emailing, but we do not recommend processing an mp3(cid:0) sound file in any way. Well, perhaps a little amplification.(cid:0) So, save, process and store your files as(cid:0)Windows PCM(cid:0) (*.wav)(cid:0) files or whatever is equivalent for your operating(cid:0) system, and convert a copy to mp3 for distribution. Also,(cid:0) we have had some difficulty with *.wav to mp3 conversion(cid:0) at very low sample rates, say 8,000, so listen to the(cid:0) resulting file before distribution.(cid:0) As a final note, other than as a demonstration that it is(cid:0) possible, we feel that EVP found on the reverse of a sound(cid:0) file may be more problematic than useful. There are too(cid:0) many sound combinations in normal speech that, when(cid:0) played backwords, make other normal words. As a rule of(cid:0) thumb, we feel that unless the utterance is a Class B+ or(cid:0) Class A that is clearly an appropriate response to a question(cid:0) or comment about the circumstance, it is best to disregard(cid:0) reversed examples. As always in trans-etheric phenomena,(cid:0) the content of the message should be a guide as to whether(cid:0) the message is ... well, is trans-etheric. Tom(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 15 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Big Circle in Puerto Rico(cid:0) Martha Copeland had a(cid:0) very interesting

experience(cid:0) during a recent vacation to(cid:0) the Island of Vieques.(cid:0) There is a bar to which the(cid:0) locals go to watch the(cid:0) sunset. Martha and her(cid:0) husband, Don, decided to(cid:0) go there one evening and(cid:0) were amazed to find that(cid:0) someone had used their(cid:0) finger to write the words, “Big Circle,” in the accumulated(cid:0) dirt on one of the windows.(cid:0) Restaurant on Vieques.(cid:0) The ITC of Marcello Bacci(cid:0) Continued from 12(cid:0) the human being! Human beings are not eternal but(cid:0) much more than eternal! Your body will become Spirit,(cid:0) not similar but the same being; about this we cannot(cid:0) say anything more”(cid:0) Paolo Presi concluded with, “Many times the communi-(cid:0) cators invite the people attending the experiment to over-(cid:0) come their doubts(cid:0)by making a full immersion in the(cid:0) mystery. To this regard I believe that the following com-(cid:0) munication, coming from an Entity, recognized by his(cid:0) nickname ‘The Wise,’ is addressed to researchers like(cid:0) myself who are trying to rationalize the voice phenomenon(cid:0) or, in a broader sense, the spiritual experience.(cid:0) “His message was:(cid:0) Martha asked the(cid:0) employees about it(cid:0) but no one had a(cid:0) clue as to who(cid:0) wrote it or when.(cid:0) The words also had(cid:0) particular(cid:0) no meaning the(cid:0) people she talked(cid:0) to. The bartender(cid:0) said that it could(cid:0) have been there a(cid:0) long time as no one(cid:0) ever cleans the outside windows.(cid:0) to “Big Circle” drawn in the dust of(cid:0) a window.(cid:0) Policeman Hears EVP(cid:0) An Edmondon Alberta, Canada veteran policeman is con-(cid:0) vinced that the voice

of murder victim, Rachel Quinney,(cid:0) was picked up on an audio recording as she spoke from(cid:0) beyond the grave. “I saw it. I heard it. I believe,” said(cid:0) Const. Wayne Fermaniuk, who accompanied psychic and(cid:0) spiritual medium Alan Hatfield, from Pictou Landing First(cid:0) Nation in Nova Scotia to the spot where Quinney’s body(cid:0) was discovered. Along with the voices of Fermaniuk and(cid:0) Quinney’s mother and sister, who were all present,(cid:0) Rachel’s voice could be heard on the tape’s playback, said(cid:0) Hatfield. “It was clear and came in between other dia-(cid:0) logue,” he said. “Rachel came on, and her grandmom and(cid:0) granddad, who are Delia’s mom and dad, they came on,(cid:0) too. I heard the clips that the mother (Delia) said were her(cid:0) daughter talking. It kind of sounds like it’s in the back-(cid:0) ground, and you have to turn it up a bit, but it's there.”(cid:0) the recorded audio of Neither Hatfield nor Fermaniuk would reveal what they(cid:0) heard Rachel say on the(cid:0) it could(cid:0) approximately hour-long jeopardize the police investigation into her unsolved death.(cid:0) From July 5, 2006 “Cop hears murdered prostitute speak,”(cid:0)By(cid:0) Eliza Barlow(cid:0)Edmonton Sun(cid:0)http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/(cid:0) WeirdNews/(cid:0) session, saying ‘The problem is not to define the mystery but let the(cid:0) mystery penetrate us through the eyes of Faith. It’s(cid:0) quite important the availability of the mind and heart(cid:0) and in particular it’s essential to ask the Spirit for the(cid:0) hospitality of heart.’(cid:0) “The sentence reveals an interconnection that goes be-(cid:0) yond the physical plane and introduces us to an

indissolu-(cid:0) ble network of relationships that go beyond time. Delving(cid:0) deeper into the meaning of the message, it is possible to(cid:0) derive the real meaning: only by opening the mind and the(cid:0) heart is it possible to allow the mystery to penetrate us. By(cid:0) ‘availability of the mind,’ we might understand ‘silencing(cid:0) of the mind’ or a faithful attitude, rather than strict rational-(cid:0) ity. By ‘availability of the heart’ we might understand(cid:0) ‘silencing of any egoism.’(cid:0) “Since 1985 I have defined this special mind attitude as(cid:0) ‘Inner Attentive Disposition,’ which is, I am sure, an abso-(cid:0) lute prerequisite for establishing contacts with other planes(cid:0) of consciousness. From my point of view, this is the deter-(cid:0) mining factor in opening the hidden channel that connects(cid:0) our physical plane to the higher planes of consciousness(cid:0) where one day we will, I believe, again meet all of our(cid:0) loved ones.”(cid:0) Balloons and Other Signs(cid:0)Continued from page 10(cid:0) I knew that somehow these little creatures had been sent for(cid:0) a reason, and I was not to question why.(cid:0) It is the small things that we miss in life when the death(cid:0) of a loved one occurs, and it is the small things that we(cid:0) learn to look for that will help lift our spirits to enable us to(cid:0) continue on in our daily routines. Our body, mind, spirit,(cid:0) and God seem to coordinate ways in helping us in our(cid:0) individual journeys for healing grief.(cid:0) [Editor’s note: Sarah Jane has made her transition to the

other(cid:0) side. We had the honor of meeting her at Martha’s house while(cid:0) we were in Atlanta for the conference, and we can say that Sarah(cid:0) Jane is truly a unique cat.](cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 16 Fall 2006(cid:0) Member Experiences(cid:0) •(cid:0)Long time member, Lloyd Bradshaw, has been into spirit(cid:0) photography for most of his life. He has also loved(cid:0) several Yorkshire Terrier dogs who have gone to Spirit(cid:0) but still often visit him and his present Yorkies. This past(cid:0) July, a friend stopped by with her granddaughter to visit.(cid:0) The little girl was running though the house saying out(cid:0) loud, “Doggie, doggie!” Lloyd says as he was dishing(cid:0) up the ice cream, the friend was saying to the(cid:0) granddaughter, “What is this? What’s going on in here?”(cid:0) just as the child started with “There’s more of ‘em!(cid:0) Where’d they go?”(cid:0) Lloyd says that, “I immediately showed her a picture(cid:0) of a spirit Yorkie just to get it all straight. For her it was(cid:0) too much. She grabbed the kid and her car keys and(cid:0) headed out my door. A little while later she called me up(cid:0) and apologized. She said, “I can’t deal with stuff like that(cid:0) and how do you manage to?” I told her I’m ‘with it’(cid:0) twenty four hours a day. It’s what I do.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Chris Fleming(cid:0) of the TV show(cid:0)Dead Famous(cid:0),(cid:0) told us of(cid:0) an interesting encounter he had via his television set in(cid:0) his bedroom. He said that it crackles and pops for

about(cid:0) a minute after he turns it off. “This always happens,” he(cid:0) told us. “It is dead quit in the room except for this crackle(cid:0) noise and it always grabs our attention, as when this first(cid:0) occurred we wondered what the sound was, but over time(cid:0) we got used to it.(cid:0) “What was bizarre this particular night is, about a(cid:0) minute after the TV was shut off, a child’s voice(cid:0) emanated from the location of the set. It was only a few(cid:0) words and it sounded just like you would expect from a(cid:0) clear Class A EVP, but we could both hear it in real time(cid:0) as if someone was in the room. It had that rhyme and(cid:0) distant affect you would sometimes get with an EVP.(cid:0) My girlfriend grabbed me and we both said, ‘what was(cid:0) that?’ I turned to her and said, ‘what did you hear,’ and(cid:0) she said, ‘It sounded like a child.’ … 20-30 seconds later(cid:0) a male voice then bellowed out clear and similar in the(cid:0) fashion of a Class A EVP. It sounded as if it was coming(cid:0) from a great distance, but the audio was heard in the(cid:0) room, once again from the location of the TV. I sat up,(cid:0) while she screamed and grabbed my arm holding me(cid:0) back. ‘They’re communicating,’ I said.”(cid:0) Treatment of Grief(cid:0) Continued from page 7(cid:0) and unbroken connection is renewed by an uplifting(cid:0) experience that gives them the feeling of a different but(cid:0) satisfying and permanent new

relationship with the(cid:0) deceased. They rebuild meaning through the new(cid:0) relationship, and they continue their bond knowing their(cid:0) loved one is OK and imminent.(cid:0) “The experience of reconnection heals.”(cid:0) Raymond Moody has this to say about the book: “Dr. Allan(cid:0) Botkin’s ((cid:0)Induced After-Death Communication)(cid:0) probes the(cid:0) profound therapeutic and spiritual implications of apparent(cid:0) contact with departed loved ones. This book is a must-read(cid:0) for all serious students of death and dying.(cid:0) Documenting a Haunted Location(cid:0) From our communication with LeAnna Reardon of Ogden,(cid:0) Utah, we can see that she is one who is interested in “good(cid:0) science” when it comes to the research of things etheric.(cid:0) She also believes in personal commitment to both her(cid:0) community and the paranormal. This can be seen in the(cid:0) pages of(cid:0)www.exchangebuilding.com(cid:0). Even though the(cid:0) Exchange Building is a definite “fixer-upper,” LeAnna(cid:0) purchased the building and is rapidly turning it into a new(cid:0) asset for the city of Ogden.(cid:0) Exchange Building in Ogden, Utah(cid:0) You should know that the building appears to be haunted,(cid:0) and LeAnna has hosted a number of investigations to help(cid:0) determine the “who,” “what” and “why” of the local etheric(cid:0) inhabitants. This then, brings us to the point of this article.(cid:0) We were very impressed with LeAnna’s sense of(cid:0) organization displayed in the methodic way in which she is(cid:0) documenting haunting activity in the building.(cid:0) If you visit(cid:0)www.hauntedbymemories.com/blueprints/(cid:0) main.html(cid:0), you will see that LeAnna has included a floor(cid:0) plan of the building, which she has marked with colored(cid:0) numbers indicating the

kind of phenomena that has been(cid:0) experienced in each room. For instance, blue is for an EVP(cid:0) recording and green is for photographic phenomena. She(cid:0) has also included a table containing room number, type of(cid:0) event and who had the experience or the name of the(cid:0) investigating organization with links.(cid:0) In some of the cases, the links take you to web pages on(cid:0) the investigating team’s web site containing the examples.(cid:0) We were especially interested in one such example(cid:0) recorded by the Ghost Investigators Society (GIS). We are(cid:0) referring to example seven under “Mental Hospital.” (The(cid:0) example is very long for an EVP and takes a while to load(cid:0) as a Quick Time player.) It sounds like a child saying(cid:0) something like “Help me, I can’t breath, and an adult(cid:0) saying something and then the sound of someone walking(cid:0) in knee-deep water. See(cid:0)www.ghostpix.com/march5evp/(cid:0) evpg17.html(cid:0). The recording sounds as if it were made in a(cid:0) basement vault, echo and all. We have heard a similar one(cid:0) from David Vee in the UK that has similar voices and then(cid:0) the sound of a drawbridge being lowered can be heard. The(cid:0) bridge was removed hundreds of years ago. Both may be(cid:0) “echoes of the past” EVP rather than the voice of a sentient(cid:0) entity.(cid:0) We think LeAnna’s documentation of the investigation(cid:0) of her building is very helpful to all of us. Perhaps(cid:0) something similar to her approach could become standard(cid:0) in the field of hauntings investigation.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 17 Fall

2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Fitzgerald hosts the Dead Science podcast at(cid:0) www.deadscience.libsyn.com(cid:0). In August he did a show(cid:0) on EVP and interviewed fellow AA-EVP member,(cid:0) Margaret Downey(cid:0) •(cid:0)Harry Flagle received the 2006(cid:0) Primetime Creative Arts EMMY(cid:0) Engineering Award for inventing(cid:0) and holding the patent on the(cid:0) “Quad-Split Screen,” which has(cid:0) been used in the production of(cid:0) motion picture and television(cid:0) shows from the 1960s forward.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jeff Hahn is also doing podcasts(cid:0) on EVP and told us that he is(cid:0) trying to help people learn how to do EVP for(cid:0) themselves. See ((cid:0)http://evppodcast.libsyn.com(cid:0))(cid:0) Harry Flagle and Emmy(cid:0) •(cid:0)Georg Lindström of Finland, wrote that he had(cid:0) participated in a seminar offered by Hans-Otto König in(cid:0) Germany. Georg said that, during both days, Hans-Otto(cid:0) conducted Direct Radio Voices (DRV) experiments with(cid:0) wonderful results in which “loud and clear male and(cid:0) female voices came through his huge device.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Al Rauber and Garrett Husveth told us about their 31(cid:0)st(cid:0) podcast ((cid:0)www.hauntednewjersey.com(cid:0)) in which they(cid:0) discussed Al's investigation of the Lizzy Borden House(cid:0) and played EVP that Al recorded while there.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith was excited that after trying for three years,(cid:0) he finally got a spot regarding EVP on Australian(cid:0) National TV. However, he was disappointed after seeing(cid:0) the program and said, “My segment was hijacked by the(cid:0) skeptics and I was manipulated to look like the village(cid:0) idiot.” The program was seen by a million people and(cid:0) Rob hoped that some people would at(cid:0) least do more research on EVP.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Thorne

has a new book called,(cid:0) Giving Up the Ghost: The Walk-in,(cid:0) based on actual paranormal events(cid:0) including numerous EVP that she has(cid:0) recorded. Karen writes that, “While(cid:0) the storyline is fiction, the majority of(cid:0) the paranormal events in the book(cid:0) have happened to me(cid:0) personally or people I know … I will(cid:0) also be releasing a CD of the EVP recordings as a(cid:0) companion to the book sometime in the near future.(cid:0) Currently both print and download copies of the book are(cid:0) available exclusively at(cid:0)www.lulu.com/soulworks(cid:0) as an(cid:0) advance release.(cid:0) either •(cid:0)Jake Wheat was involved with the Sci-Fi Channel(cid:0) documentary “Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills(cid:0) Sanatorium.” Jake is the EVP analyst for The Louisville(cid:0) Ghost Hunters Society ((cid:0)www.louisvilleghs.com(cid:0)) and(cid:0) says the documentary was soon to be released on DVD.(cid:0) The Mail Bag(cid:0) We receive lots of correspondence but some letters just(cid:0) really make us feel that it is all worthwhile. Here is one that(cid:0) came from a new member via the Idea Exchange.(cid:0) “…Lastly, I would like to thank you Tom and your wife,(cid:0) Lisa, for well, for being who you are and for trying to bring(cid:0) to the public the truth about EVP. I watched the movie,(cid:0) White Noise,(cid:0) when it first came out, and to be frank, it(cid:0) disturbed me on a spiritual level thinking about the not so(cid:0) nice characters that can be found here on our plane of(cid:0) existence as well as where we evolve to. But somewhere(cid:0) around five or six weeks ago, my life

partner made a trip to(cid:0) the used book store and bought the movie for me.…(cid:0) “I had never really talked to her about the movie(cid:0) disturbing me, ... very seldom does anything disturb me.(cid:0) When I put the DVD in, I went to the specials that are on(cid:0) all the DVDs now. I like to watch the bloopers and the(cid:0) making of the movie, etc. Anyway, I watched the part with(cid:0) you and Lisa. I watched it again. And then I watched(cid:0)White(cid:0) Noise(cid:0) and was not disturbed anymore and just enjoyed the(cid:0) movie. You and Lisa were so peaceful and calming, and(cid:0) explaining about the basics of EVP that I was very glad that(cid:0) my partner had brought the DVD home. It is what made me(cid:0) decide to find the AA-EVP and join and start trying to(cid:0) communicate with, well at least my brother so far. I want(cid:0) to thank the both of you again for what you said and believe(cid:0) and showed on that DVD. It was fantastic.”(cid:0) Hearing Voices in Your Head(cid:0) People who hear voices are thought to need the help of a(cid:0) psychiatrist and are often given a diagnosis of paranoid(cid:0) schizophrenia. Dr Mark Hayward, at the University of(cid:0) Surrey in the UK, is studying whether or not some “voices”(cid:0) may have a positive impact on the hearer.(cid:0)To test this, a(cid:0) study of clinical patients is to be measured against other(cid:0) ‘voice hearers’ who neither seek nor need treatment. Some(cid:0) sixty existing patients drawn from National

Health Service(cid:0) lists in Southern England are being invited to answer(cid:0) questions about their unseen voices, which traditionally(cid:0) have always been considered to be negative. Their answers(cid:0) will be compared to non-clinical hearers who find their(cid:0) voices to be a positive benefit in their lives. Dr. Hayward(cid:0) states, “So much of our understanding is biased towards(cid:0) patients who are distressed and we can only guess about the(cid:0) characteristics of positive relationships with voices. We(cid:0) don’t want to guess. We want to know.”(cid:0) From:(cid:0)Psychic World(cid:0) April 2006(cid:0) [Editor’s Note: “hearing voices” as intended here refers to(cid:0) the mental hearing of people talking with discernable(cid:0) words. It is common for the mind to seek order in random(cid:0) signals, causing people to almost hear a distant(cid:0) conversation, maybe even a hint of music, in the noise from(cid:0) a fan or air conditioner motor. This “almost” hearing voices(cid:0) is sometimes referred to as(cid:0)Pareidolia(cid:0) and is not the subject(cid:0) of this article.](cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 18 Fall 2006(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Janet Arone writes that she records at various locations(cid:0) thought to be haunted and has had pretty good success(cid:0) getting EVP with her Panasonic RR-US380.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Regina Antonucci wrote that a cemetery in Hudson, NH(cid:0) yielded her first EVP of a little girl’s voice saying,(cid:0) “Follow me,”(cid:0) in a sing-song voice.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso shared an interesting EVP(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“We’re(cid:0) fishing below the brook.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland was at the hospital before her father’s(cid:0) surgery and recorded,(cid:0)“The Big Circle.”(cid:0) It is very clearly(cid:0) her daughter Cathy’s voice.(cid:0)

•(cid:0)Jody Cupp tried to contact her grandfather who passed in(cid:0) January. She wrote that she got an EVP saying,(cid:0) “Goodbye Darling, we’ll pray for you,”(cid:0)but that it did(cid:0) not sound like him.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Terri Daner recorded,(cid:0)“Jasmine,”(cid:0) which is the name of(cid:0) a member’s daughter now on the other side.(cid:0) •(cid:0)John Debney got an EVP with a wonderful message(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“Lets get it Mom, you please love life again.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey has a spirit lady who is interacting(cid:0) with Margaret’s dog, Kindred. In one recording you can(cid:0) hear Kindred barking at something outside. Just before(cid:0) she barks, there is a female voice saying,(cid:0)“Kindred, what(cid:0) was that?”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kathleen Griffin said that the group had been discussing(cid:0) birds, dogs and animal noises help form words and she(cid:0) remembered a recording that she had done in front of her(cid:0) sister, Cheryl’s, grave that had birds singing loudly. She(cid:0) listened to the recording again and within the bird sounds(cid:0) hears,(cid:0)“Cheryl…sing(cid:0).”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Linda Gregory tried recording on her day off. It had been(cid:0) raining for two days and she said, “Anybody want to(cid:0) speak today, it’s raining here,” and recorded a male voice(cid:0) saying,(cid:0) “Yep, it’s raining over here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cheri Kussavage writes that she is using an Olympus(cid:0) DW-90 digital voice recorder and that EVP comes(cid:0) through just about everywhere.(cid:0) New Book from Mark Macy(cid:0) In his new book,(cid:0)Spirit Faces(cid:0),(cid:0) Mark(cid:0) Macy explores the phenomena of spirit(cid:0) faces found in Polaroid photographs(cid:0) taken of people while they stood near the(cid:0) device he uses called a “Luminator.” The(cid:0) Luminator is

in the shape of a waist-high(cid:0) black column that is thought to create a(cid:0) field of energy in its vicinity making it(cid:0) possible for subtle energy features to be(cid:0) photographed. The device was designed for heath(cid:0) diagnosis but Mark has discovered that he can sometimes(cid:0) find the faces of discarnate loved ones superimposed over(cid:0) the face of the person being photographed.(cid:0) Spirit Faces also includes much of Marks maturing(cid:0) philosophy about the afterlife and conveys many of the(cid:0) more spiritual messages received during the Timestream(cid:0) communications.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 •(cid:0)New member, Rae Ann LaPierre’s son Chad, made his(cid:0) transition on June 10 of this year. Since his death, Rae(cid:0) Ann has had strange things happen with her telephone.(cid:0) She will receive a call but the phone won’t ring. The(cid:0) calling party hears a man answer and then hang up. One(cid:0) person that this has happened to was Rae Ann’s ex-(cid:0) husband and Chad’s father. She told him that he must(cid:0) have dialed the wrong number but he was using the(cid:0) number that had been in his speed dial for three years.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebmann wrote that she had read an article about(cid:0) the intelligence of animals, and although she had not(cid:0) asked a question regarding this, she received the EVP(cid:0) message,(cid:0)“Intelligenz haben Tiere”(cid:0) (animals are(cid:0) intelligent as well). Jutta says that her spirit friends know(cid:0) exactly what she reads and her way of thinking and she(cid:0) this(cid:0) added confirmation about animals.(cid:0) that she was very happy to receive •(cid:0)Tracie Mazlo

told us that she has been recording EVP for(cid:0) eight years. She wrote, “I use different approaches using(cid:0) a standard micro cassette recorder. I find just being(cid:0) myself, asking random location questions and normal(cid:0) chit chat work for me very well.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kim Richardson asked if anyone from the Big Circle was(cid:0) with her and recorded(cid:0)“Gary and Jay Wood ((cid:0)or(cid:0)would).”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Richard Shenk recorded during the Thursday evening(cid:0) session at the AA-EVP conference in June and got,(cid:0)“Its(cid:0) Erland, Dick.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott got a great message during the Big Circle(cid:0) recording session that said,(cid:0)“Mom, we’re thankful here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Leslie Taylor recorded,(cid:0)“It’s Geoff.”(cid:0) This is the name of(cid:0) Terri Daner’s son and she said it also sounded like him.(cid:0) [Tell us the name and model of recorder you have had(cid:0) enough success with for EVP that you would recommend(cid:0) it to a friend. We will start a subject on this in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange. You can also email us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Our objective is to begin identifying EVP audio(cid:0) recorders which we can recommend to the public.](cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) Regina Antonucci wrote, “I am a technical illustrator (I(cid:0) draw hardware for tech manuals). I am a skeptic and I(cid:0) believe people will usually believe in what they want to(cid:0) rather than take the time necessary to uncover all the facts.(cid:0) This having been said, I am also a believer in EVP as being(cid:0) unexplained phenomena because I actually went out and(cid:0) took the time to find out for myself what this was all about.(cid:0) And

what I discovered has surprised me. I am unable to(cid:0) explain the phenomena as being some type of radio(cid:0) emissions or a matrixing trick of the mind either of which(cid:0) is what I honestly thought it probably would be.(cid:0) Look for a topic in the Idea Exchange in the(cid:0)Designing(cid:0) Devices and Techniques(cid:0) in which a segment of audio(cid:0) noise from a Panasonic RR-DR60 will be posted. Try(cid:0) using the sound as background noise in a quality(cid:0) recorder to see if the sound helps record EVP.(cid:0) Page 19 Fall 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) New at aaevp.com(cid:0) We continue to add content to the AA-EVP web site(cid:0) which we think will be helpful to people trying to learn(cid:0) about EVP. Here are some of the major changes:(cid:0) •(cid:0)A(cid:0)Research(cid:0) section has been added.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lisa has addded the(cid:0)ParaNews(cid:0)section, which included(cid:0) past news reports about research and events pertinent to(cid:0) etheric studies.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Several new articles in the(cid:0)Articles(cid:0)section.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The(cid:0)Techniques(cid:0)section has been rewritten.(cid:0) •(cid:0)There is a good summary of the conference in the(cid:0)News(cid:0) / Updates(cid:0) section.(cid:0) “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA,(cid:0) $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order(cid:0) at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving

a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com(cid:0) or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 First book: $4.00 Each additional: $1.00 Media Mail(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not(cid:0) receiving the NewsJournal via email(cid:0) $38.00 per year Sustaining Members(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you

have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 3 Page 20 Fall 2006(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 25 Number 4 This is the fourth issue of the AA-EVP’s 25th Year Winter 2007(cid:0) From our Viewpoint:(cid:0)A Visit to the Monroe Institute(cid:0) In October, we attended a week-long program at the(cid:0) Monroe Institute in Faber, VA. Robert Monroe achieved(cid:0) world-wide recognition

as a ground-breaking visionary and(cid:0) explorer of human consciousness. His research led to the(cid:0) discovery that specific sound patterns have beneficial(cid:0) effects on our capabilities. For example, certain(cid:0) combinations of frequencies enhance alertness while others(cid:0) induce sleep and others can evoke expanded states of(cid:0) consciousness.(cid:0) The program we chose to attend is called(cid:0)Guidelines(cid:0). The(cid:0) theme of(cid:0)Guidelines(cid:0)is to assist participants in learning(cid:0) methods by which communication can be established with(cid:0) different intelligences. From their program summary,(cid:0) “Whatever you call such intelligence (e.g., Total Self, Inner(cid:0) Self Helper, Guide, Non-Physical Friend, Universal(cid:0) Consciousness, etc.), it can be any constructive source that(cid:0) has an overview beyond your normal, daily physical(cid:0) perception.(cid:0) Our class was held at Robert’s Mountain Retreat which(cid:0) was Robert and Nancy Monroe’s home while they were(cid:0) here on earth. An annex has been built close to the house(cid:0) which houses nice rooms for participants, complete with(cid:0) private baths and a wonderful view of the rolling hills of(cid:0) the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each student is assigned what(cid:0) they call a “check unit.” This not only serves as a bed but(cid:0) students spend many hours a day in them listening to(cid:0) Hemi-Sync exercises.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa in front of the cabin in which Robert wrote(cid:0) some of his books.(cid:0) Assisted by a broad base of specialists, Monroe patented(cid:0) this audio technology that is named “Hemi-Sync®.”(cid:0)Hemi-(cid:0) Sync is an audio guidance technology that works quite(cid:0) simply by sending different sounds (tones) to each ear(cid:0) through stereo headphones. The two hemispheres of the(cid:0) brain

then act in unison to “hear” a third signal—the(cid:0) difference between the two tones. This is not an actual(cid:0) sound, but an electrical signal that can only be perceived(cid:0) within the brain by both brain hemispheres working(cid:0) together.(cid:0) Over the years, the Institute has developed(cid:0) individual Hemi-Sync products for specific applications(cid:0) such as stress management, meditation, focused attention,(cid:0) sleep enhancement and pain management, to name a few.(cid:0) We attended the Institute’s beginning program called(cid:0) Gateway Voyage(cid:0) in the late 80s when Robert Monroe, the(cid:0) founder, was still in the physical. Robert’s daughter,(cid:0) Laurie, now continues in his footsteps and spoke at the(cid:0) AA-EVP conference this past June in Atlanta, Georgia.(cid:0) Meeting Laurie inspired us to take one of the many(cid:0) graduate programs that are available at the Institute.(cid:0) Monitoring equipment in the Hemi-Sync lab(cid:0) One of the highlights of(cid:0)Guidelines(cid:0)is a private session(cid:0) in the Hemi-Sync lab which features biofeedback(cid:0) monitoring and custom tailored sound frequencies. The(cid:0) lab is an isolation chamber within the Monroe Institute's(cid:0) Research Laboratory. A booth in the lab contains a salt-(cid:0) water bed heated to body temperature, headphones for(cid:0) Hemi-Sync, and biofeedback systems. It is designed to(cid:0) eliminate any outside interference and is lined on all sides(cid:0) with copper sheeting. It is spacious, comfortable and very(cid:0) quiet.(cid:0) Both of us had profound experiences during the course.(cid:0) We both felt that we had experiences with guides and also(cid:0) what we call our “higher selves.” It took us about a week(cid:0) to return to our bodies after we

returned home!(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From our Viewpoint: A Visit to the Monroe Institute(cid:0).................................................1(cid:0) Gabriel(cid:0) by Mary Rivera(cid:0).....................................................................................................3(cid:0) Visiting Hans Otto König - Two Excellent ITC Experiment(cid:0)s(cid:0) By Dr. Anabela Cardoso, Professor David Fontana and Professor Ernst Senkowski(cid:0)................4(cid:0) Transfiguration Images(cid:0)..................................................................................................7(cid:0) Hearing with Templates(cid:0)by Alexander MacRae(cid:0)................................................................8(cid:0) ASPSI Conference,(cid:0)What the Bleep Do We Know About Life After Death?(cid:0)................9(cid:0) The “God Spot” is a Myth(cid:0)..............................................................................................9(cid:0) Mother’s Voice on Video Tapes(cid:0)...................................................................................10(cid:0) ITC Experiments using Light Reflected from Water(cid:0)................................................11(cid:0) Updating EVP in Wikipedia(cid:0)........................................................................................13(cid:0) Frequently Asked Question(cid:0)..........................................................................................14(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation(cid:0).........................................................................................15(cid:0) An Opportunity to Learn(cid:0).............................................................................................15(cid:0) Using EVP to find a Missing Person(cid:0)...........................................................................16(cid:0) Common Ground for Communication(cid:0).......................................................................17(cid:0) Sci-Fi Investigates(cid:0).........................................................................................................17(cid:0) More Information on Seth 3(cid:0)........................................................................................18(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0)....................................................................................................18(cid:0) AA-EVP in(cid:0)Fate(cid:0) Magazine(cid:0)...........................................................................................18(cid:0) Pets in Paradise(cid:0).............................................................................................................18(cid:0) Rainbow Bridge(cid:0).............................................................................................................18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0).......................................................................................................19(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0)..........................................................................................19(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0)..............................................................................................19(cid:0) Donate to the AA-EVP Every Time You Use Amazon or eBay(cid:0)................................20(cid:0) Patrons(cid:0) Richard Adams(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Laurita Chmielewski(cid:0) Jeffrey Hahn(cid:0) James Kromwall(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in(cid:0) the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2007AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—less with pictures. Articles should be short(cid:0) and to the point as

they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) web site. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with(cid:0) these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0)Submission Deadline and Publishing(cid:0) Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article(cid:0) submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first of the month preceding the publishing date.(cid:0) A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. Membership(cid:0) information may be found on the AA-EVP web site at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or by writing to the AA-EVP at the(cid:0) above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows(cid:0) membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the(cid:0) NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in(cid:0) excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions(cid:0) expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Donations(cid:0) Laurita Chmielewski(cid:0) Chris Kennedy(cid:0) Steven Lindemann(cid:0) Robert Meyer(cid:0)

Diane Moseley(cid:0) Rick Robertson(cid:0) Dennis Smith(cid:0) Richard Smith(cid:0) Special Thanks(cid:0) We want to(cid:0) acknowledge the(cid:0) important work that(cid:0) the Idea Exchange(cid:0) Moderators and the(cid:0) Regional(cid:0) Coordinators are(cid:0) doing for the AA-(cid:0) EVP.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler,(cid:0) archive.aaevp.com(cid:0): Jim Stonier and Carol Peterson(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Lisa Yesse and Jim Stonier.(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 2(cid:0) Gabriel(cid:0) by Mary Rivera(cid:0) Gabriel Rivera is my(cid:0) son. He was sixteen(cid:0) years old when(cid:0) tragedy struck. He(cid:0) took his own life by(cid:0) shooting himself with(cid:0) a handgun that was(cid:0) my own. He had been(cid:0) taught to respect that(cid:0) gun, clean it and shoot(cid:0) it. He had never(cid:0) before touched it but(cid:0) he always knew it’s(cid:0) location in the house.(cid:0) Gabriel was every(cid:0) mother’s dream. He(cid:0) was one of the most(cid:0) caring(cid:0) and polite young men I have ever known. His friends used to tell him(cid:0) he was “too polite” and the young ladies told him he was(cid:0) simply “too nice.” I didn’t know a person could be too(cid:0) polite or too nice. It always seemed like he was just one step(cid:0) ahead of others. He told me once when he was twelve years(cid:0) old that he felt and somehow knew that he would not live a(cid:0) long life. He was always there to help others out by reaching(cid:0) out to those less fortunate than himself and giving to others(cid:0) in a way that made one just stand there and say “wow.”(cid:0) Gabriel(cid:0) Gabriel had established a large circle of friends

and we(cid:0) always had a house full at any given time. That warmed my(cid:0) heart to see them all together. Life seemed so rich and full(cid:0) of love.(cid:0) Gabriel had grown up in San Antonio and that’s all he(cid:0) could remember. I am from California and hadn’t lived at(cid:0) home for many years. My heart was yearning to go back to(cid:0) my home. I asked Gabriel if he would be willing to move(cid:0) there with me for his last two years at home. He wanted to(cid:0) be a photographer and was ready to enter college courses for(cid:0) the same. We were homeschoolers and so he was well ahead(cid:0) of himself and had only one book left to complete his senior(cid:0) year. Gabriel agreed that the move to California was fine(cid:0) and we proceeded to leave San Antonio.(cid:0) We arrived in California in February of this year (2006).(cid:0) One evening, after the boxes had all been delivered to the(cid:0) new house, Gabriel and I stood together looking at the view(cid:0) out of the living room window. As I stood next to him I got(cid:0) the most horrible feeling, like I wanted to run and run and(cid:0) never stop. I felt a gripping fear come over me and I said to(cid:0) Gabriel. “I’m so afraid all of a sudden ... I feel very sick to(cid:0) my stomach.” He smiled gently and assured me that it was(cid:0) just stress of the move. Little did I know that I was actually(cid:0) feeling the same

fear I would feel the day he turned up(cid:0) missing. The house in San Antonio just didn't want to sell.(cid:0) I kept feeling that it was a sign that we should return there(cid:0) instead of stay. How many times have I regretted not paying(cid:0) attention to those early warnings?(cid:0) I had gone down for lunch with some family friends. I(cid:0) left the house at 11:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0) and woke Gabriel up before(cid:0) leaving. He had been up late the night before and so was(cid:0) sleeping late that morning. I sat down on the bed beside(cid:0) him and kissed his cheek, shook his arm and told him I was(cid:0) leaving. He quietly acknowledged me and I left. Little did(cid:0) I know that would be the last time I would ever look upon(cid:0) my son alive. The night before I had a feeling that I should(cid:0) not go to lunch that day and again I disregarded it as plans(cid:0) had already solidified.(cid:0) When I returned from lunch it was about 5:00(cid:0)PM.(cid:0) We(cid:0) had stayed out longer than I thought and I passed his room(cid:0) door to see a note on it. It said, “I’m going to take a long(cid:0) nap,” and I simply passed by and went to my room. I was(cid:0) trying to be quiet and I always respected his privacy and(cid:0) so I didn’t attempt to go into his room. I changed clothes,(cid:0) did some light cleaning and sat down to watch some(cid:0) television. About three hours later, at 8:00(cid:0)PM(cid:0) I was(cid:0)

startled by the appearance of my own gun as a “picture”(cid:0) before my eyes. I jumped up from the couch in a panic and(cid:0) ran to where I keep the gun. It was gone!(cid:0) I knew at that moment that something terrible had(cid:0) happened. I knew that my son had taken the gun to hurt(cid:0) himself. I frantically banged on his bedroom door which I(cid:0) was soon to realize had been locked all that time. I was(cid:0) Photograph taken by Gabriel(cid:0) screaming his name. I grabbed a key and jimmied the door(cid:0) open. He was not in the room. I knew then that he was(cid:0) gone. I just didn’t know where he was, or if he was(cid:0) somewhere half alive. The police wouldn’t look for him(cid:0) for at least forty-eight hours. It was a night I would never(cid:0) forget. The following morning, at 5:00(cid:0)AM(cid:0), I contacted the(cid:0) sheriff’s department and asked for the search and rescue(cid:0) team.(cid:0) They brought helicopters and several men to search the(cid:0) hills. They found him behind my home in a small canyon(cid:0) with a gunshot wound to the head. My whole life ended(cid:0) that day.(cid:0) Continued Page 12(cid:0) Page 3 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Visiting Hans Otto König - Two Excellent ITC Experiments(cid:0) By Dr. Anabela Cardoso, Professor David Fontana and Professor Ernst Senkowski(cid:0) Introduction(cid:0) In the year 1974, Hans Otto König, now 66, a professional(cid:0) electroacoustics technician living in Mönchengladbach, by(cid:0) chance found himself listening to a discussion broadcast by(cid:0) ZdF (the second German

TV Channel) in which Friedrich(cid:0) Jürgenson from Sweden, the pioneer of EVP, tried in vain(cid:0) to convince the well-known German parapsychologist(cid:0) Prof. Hans Bender and other critical scientists and journa-(cid:0) lists of the reality of extraordinary voices captured on his(cid:0) audio-tapes and apparently originating from the deceased.(cid:0) König’s interest was aroused, and he resolved to start his(cid:0) own experiments in an(cid:0) attempt to demonstrate that(cid:0) the anomalous voices came(cid:0) from the unconscious of the(cid:0) experimenter rather than(cid:0) from the deceased. Instead,(cid:0) he received the singing(cid:0) voice of his late mother(cid:0) who addressed him and his(cid:0) father by name and asked(cid:0) whether or not they could(cid:0) hear the(cid:0) her. During following weeks, König(cid:0) was forced to the conclusion that the voices did indeed(cid:0) come from the so-called dead. He started his EVP(cid:0) experimentation using as background support noise a radio(cid:0) station transmitting in a foreign language, and although he(cid:0) obtained his positive results almost immediately, initially(cid:0) they were of very poor quality, consisting mostly of(cid:0) whispers and sighs rather than vocalizations.(cid:0) Hans Otto Konig(cid:0) From the ITC Journal web site(cid:0).(cid:0) Subsequently he changed his background noise from(cid:0) foreign language broadcasts to ultra-sounds, since this is an(cid:0) area of acoustics which he understands, and has used his(cid:0) professional expertise and psychic faculties to improve the(cid:0) quantity and quality of the contacts with the beyond—now(cid:0) known as Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC—by(cid:0) inventing and continuously modifying electronic devices(cid:0) specially developed for the purpose. Initially, he applied(cid:0) combined frequency-modulated mechanical ultrasonics(cid:0) transmitted and received by

transducers in his laboratory.(cid:0) He then found that electromagnetic oscillations in the(cid:0) frequency range around 50 kHz produced the same results.(cid:0) Later he added a multifrequency infrared transmitter-(cid:0) receiver system, which demodulates infrared and(cid:0) modulates it again to a UHF vibration-oscillation from 10(cid:0) m down to a 1 m wavelength, with a frequency of 30 MHz(cid:0) to 300 MHz. Currently he is working with a complex(cid:0) device based on quartz-crystals irradiated with ultraviolet(cid:0) light which he calls HRS (Hyper-Raum-System or(cid:0) Hyperspace System).(cid:0) tells us that he goes into deep meditation for thirty minutes(cid:0) every day and while doing so can “see” (as a kind of(cid:0) psychic perception) his communicators as diffuse physical(cid:0) shapes, and in(cid:0) photographing them using the Klaus Schreiber closed loop(cid:0) method. His explanation the success of his(cid:0) experimentation is the key word “resonance,” which he(cid:0) says includes electromagnetic resonance.(cid:0) that he has also been successful for to dialogue with The voices that now come through his loudspeaker are of(cid:0) a different, often excellent, quality, and he is sometimes(cid:0) able them. The contents of(cid:0) communications and the nature of the communicators(cid:0) themselves vary dependent upon the context. Deceased(cid:0) humans may answer the requests of their bereaved relatives(cid:0) and friends for comfort, while at other times, technical(cid:0) advice is given to König, and nameless cosmic entities,(cid:0) apparently outside our space-time, provide philosophical(cid:0) observations. The outcome of an experiment is never(cid:0) predictable, and may produce no results at all depending on(cid:0) mental-spiritual and other (unknown) conditions. König(cid:0) feels that audio

results seem to improve in the presence of(cid:0) a harmonious audience, and the same is true for his work(cid:0) on transimages, which in one instance have already been(cid:0) obtained accompanied by the voice of the deceased person,(cid:0) whose identity was later discovered “by chance.”(cid:0) The Two Experiments(cid:0) The two experiments that are the subject of this Report(cid:0) were held respectively on September 10(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 11(cid:0)th(cid:0), 2005, in(cid:0) two afternoon sessions held in a room at the Hotel(cid:0) Kaiserhof, in the German town of Wesel. Dr. Anabela(cid:0) Cardoso attended, accompanied in the unavoidable absence(cid:0) of Professor David Fontana by Mr. Carlos Fernández, the(cid:0) Technical Editor of the ITC Journal and an electronics(cid:0) technician with long experience of ITC data. Also(cid:0) accompanying Dr. Cardoso was Professor Ernst(cid:0) Senkowski, one of the foremost experts on ITC, who has(cid:0) known König well for many years, and who was(cid:0) responsible for helping to arrange Dr. Cardoso’s visit. The(cid:0) others present included visitors from Finland and some(cid:0) sixty of the regular observers of König’s previous(cid:0) experiments, together with a few individuals who were(cid:0) attending for the first time. König completely eschews(cid:0) publicity and avoids working with journalists and the(cid:0) media because of the negative experiences he has had with(cid:0) such groups in the past. All the communications were in(cid:0) German, which is the native language of König and of(cid:0) Professor Senkowski and in which Dr. Cardoso has some(cid:0) facility.(cid:0) First Experiment, September 10th 2005.(cid:0) König opened proceedings with an introductory talk that(cid:0) included recordings of voices

received during earlier(cid:0) experiments.(cid:0) Continued page 5(cid:0) König tells us that he builds his various IC devices(cid:0) according to his own thoughts and the information he(cid:0) receives in dreams from the communicators. He further(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 4(cid:0) Two ITC Experiments(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) After a short meditation he then activated one of the older(cid:0) systems developed by him many years ago, which has(cid:0) misleadingly been called a “generator” but which in fact(cid:0) should be considered as a device open to the influx of(cid:0) information from hidden ranges of consciousness. This(cid:0) infrared/ultrasound device operates in a frequency range(cid:0) from 30 kHz to 70 kHz. The device, which looks like a(cid:0) rectangular metallic box, was built by König himself and(cid:0) the frequencies are mixed in its interior while an aerial(cid:0) placed on top of the generator transmits the signal to a(cid:0) receiver in the same band. An amplifier is connected to a(cid:0) mixing table and to the loudspeakers. König’s microphone(cid:0) and recording apparatus are also connected to the mixing(cid:0) table. When the voices started, silence was suddenly trans-(cid:0) formed into a beat, and the voices seemed to speak much(cid:0) above the beat. The communications that resulted lasted(cid:0) some two minutes and consisted of a nearly continuous(cid:0) dialogue between König and several voices.(cid:0) The communications began with the habitual opening(cid:0) words.(cid:0)“Contact field closed”(cid:0) (i.e. closed to intruding(cid:0) entities), and finished with,(cid:0)“Contact end.”(cid:0) In all, there(cid:0) were fifteen exchanges. In Exchange Number 2, the(cid:0) “answer” did not directly refer to

the question asked by(cid:0) König. In Number 5, the voice asked for a technical(cid:0) modification of the equipment being used. In Numbers 9(cid:0) and 14 respectively, two names of earlier acquaintances of(cid:0) König, “Hubert” and “Helmut,” were given, the latter(cid:0) communicator spontaneously referring to König’s sick(cid:0) wife, Margaret.(cid:0) Most of the voices were clear and could be heard above(cid:0) the permanent noise level from the equipment. In(cid:0) consequence the comprehensibility level was around(cid:0) eighty-five to ninety per cent for all those present during(cid:0) live listening, and one hundred per cent on replay. The(cid:0) voices were of excellent quality, but somehow did not(cid:0) possess the same degree of what Dr. Cardoso describes as(cid:0) the “inner clarity of an angelical prototype” that in her view(cid:0) was overpowering in the voices that came through during(cid:0) the experiment of the following day. Professor Senkowski(cid:0) expressed himself unable to always decide whether a voice(cid:0) sounded more male or more female.(cid:0) An interesting observation concerns the varying speed of(cid:0) the utterances. For example, Exchange Number 12 was(cid:0) spoken very quickly, and here and in other cases, one had(cid:0) the impression that when the contact is nearing its end(cid:0) because of shortness of “energy,” the speech is accelerated.(cid:0) Another observation concerns the time lapse between the(cid:0) questions of the experimenter and the responses from the(cid:0) communicators. These lapses were generally in the range(cid:0) of a few seconds, but in Number 12, the voice broke in(cid:0) before König had completed his question, so that the two(cid:0) voices momentarily

overlapped.(cid:0) To some extent, the speech of the communicators(cid:0) possessed its own character and style, both of which are(cid:0) difficult to describe. Often the speech sounded not(cid:0) “normal” or not “human-like.” Grammar was not always(cid:0) correct. The contents sometimes were metaphorical and not(cid:0) easily interpreted, especially when the speaker seemed to(cid:0) be a “remote,” non-human being. An example is Number(cid:0) 2, when subsequent to König asking who and where the(cid:0) “speaker” is, the answer,(cid:0)“Ultraschall ist das Bild”(cid:0) is(cid:0) given, (translated as, “Ultrasonics is the image”). This(cid:0) answer could be understood as meaning that the voice, as(cid:0) mediated by the electromagnetic oscillations in the range(cid:0) of 30 to 70 kHz, is an “image” of the speaker, who remains(cid:0) unnamed. Alternatively the speaker may be identifying his(cid:0) (mental) “position,” as in or near the equipment being used.(cid:0) But these alternatives must remain more or less speculative.(cid:0) Second Experiment, September 11th 2005(cid:0) This experiment was carried out with the HRS system that(cid:0) consists of a large quartz-crystal and ten smaller ones, all(cid:0) of them irradiated by ultraviolet light of different(cid:0) wavelengths. As in the first experiment, we started with a(cid:0) short meditation, after which the device was switched on.(cid:0) After some fifteen minutes, the first voice came through,(cid:0) and a dialogue developed with nineteen exchanges taking(cid:0) place lasting seven minutes and fifty-three seconds.(cid:0) The background noise, according to König, actually(cid:0) produced from the “other side,” was quite different from(cid:0) that heard from the so-called generator in Experiment One.(cid:0) It consisted of a nearly

periodic bird-like high-pitched(cid:0) twittering or chirping, mixed with slow roaring like a storm(cid:0) and waves on a seashore. Most voices were absolutely clear(cid:0) and immediately understood, provided they were not too(cid:0) fast. König spoke his questions in a meditative state,(cid:0) speaking slowly, and the voices answered in their chosen(cid:0) manner.(cid:0) Most responses were given immediately, although a few(cid:0) were delayed up to twelve seconds, Most of the voices(cid:0) seemed to come from one single entity, who sounded to be(cid:0) female, and they possessed a special modulation, similar to(cid:0) singing. Most of them sounded rather “neutral” or(cid:0) “detached” with the possible exception of Exchange(cid:0) Number 10, where the voice seemed to express some(cid:0) underlying contempt for the stupidity of Christian beliefs,(cid:0) describing them as “unreasonable superstition.” In Number(cid:0) 8 were the words, “I stem from the realm of stars,”(cid:0) delivered in an elevated poetic style. The German words(cid:0) used by the entity,(cid:0) “lch stamme,”(cid:0) can be translated simply(cid:0) as, “I come,” or more tellingly as,(cid:0)“(cid:0)I(cid:0)am descended.”(cid:0) The dialogue seemed to be presided over by a highly(cid:0) intelligent source that treated adult humans like children,(cid:0) with some compassion or even regret. For example(cid:0) Number 15, when we were told that, “But it is probably too(cid:0) difficult for you to comprehend this.” (“This” being their(cid:0) magnificent, super-terrestrial world). However, one should(cid:0) take into consideration the difficulties pertaining to the(cid:0) adaptation process of the different structures of human and(cid:0) the entities’ consciousness in contact through these(cid:0) communications. In the rather long pause between Number(cid:0)

18 and the end of the contact, dull beats similar to(cid:0) drumming appeared as additional signals, although their(cid:0) meaning remained unclear.(cid:0) Continued page 6(cid:0) Page 5 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Two ITC Experiments(cid:0) Continued from page 5(cid:0) The live comprehensibility level was around one hundred(cid:0) per cent for all those present.(cid:0) Related Matters(cid:0) A diagram of the devices used by Hans-Otto König is(cid:0) appended. (Editor: Because of the extent of the transcript,(cid:0) the transcripts of the communications received during the(cid:0) above mentioned experiments and respective(cid:0) translations provide by Dr. Ernst Senkowski are available(cid:0) on the AA-EVP website at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/articles.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) Please send us a SASE if you require a hard copy.)(cid:0) the she from receives the content of issues(cid:0)—(cid:0)namely on During the two days spent in Wesel, Dr. Cardoso had the(cid:0) opportunity to exchange views with Hans-Otto König on a(cid:0) number of the(cid:0) the group of(cid:0) communications communicators calling themselves Rio do Tempo(cid:0) (Timestream) and recorded by Dr. Cardoso, and of the(cid:0) communications received by Hans-Otto König. Among the(cid:0) many interesting similarities there is, for instance, the fact(cid:0) that König’s communicators very rarely speak in the sin-(cid:0) gular and almost always in the plural, referring to(cid:0) themselves as(cid:0)“We,”(cid:0) just as do the communicators from Rio(cid:0) do Tempo. They also speak of “meditating (in their world),”(cid:0) as do the voices from Rio do Tempo. Furthermore, König’s(cid:0) the communicators and and Rio do Tempo communicators tell us that, in the third(cid:0) level of the next world, deceased animals and deceased(cid:0) humans are together again,

and that at this level,(cid:0) communication with animals and plants is also possible.(cid:0) Another aspect of the similarities regards the interchange(cid:0) of energies between the(cid:0) experimenters. Hans Otto König said on September 10,(cid:0) 2005, prior to the experiment of that day, that the entities(cid:0) who speak with him “can as well charge, or even(cid:0) overcharge, him before a contact, and at other times he(cid:0) feels devoid of energy after a contact.” From her side on(cid:0) September 2, 2005, Dr. Cardoso wrote in her contacts log(cid:0) the following: “… when I am in the studio I seem to lose(cid:0) track of time. I wouldn’t know if I have been in for fifteen(cid:0) minutes or for over one hour. Also, those days when I feel(cid:0) particularly energetic, and upon the(cid:0) communicators, stay inside for a period of time, I feel(cid:0) emptied out and tired when I go out of the studio. On the(cid:0) other hand, the days when I feel very tired and go into the(cid:0) studio, upon going out I feel recovered and the tiredness(cid:0) has disappeared. It(cid:0)is as if there is an interchange of(cid:0) energies with the(cid:0) communicators from Rio do Tempo, who refer to(cid:0) themselves(cid:0) the communicators.” As with request of Continued page 7(cid:0) Diagram of the devices used by Hans Otto König on September 11(cid:0) Previously published in the ITC Journal No. 24, December 2005(cid:0) 10 UV LEDs UV-C – 100-280 Nanometer(cid:0) 1. 2. 10 Small Quartz Crystals(cid:0) 3. 10 Phototransistors(cid:0) 4. Stochastic Generator(cid:0) 5. FM Output From

Stochastic Generator(cid:0) 5A Oscillogram – Line 5(cid:0) 5B Frequency – Spectrum 48 – 68 KHz Line 5(cid:0) 6. FM Demodulator(cid:0) 7. Preamplifier(cid:0) 8. 4 UV LEDs Special Frequencies(cid:0) 9. Big Quartz Crystal(cid:0) 10. Demodulator(cid:0) 11. Low Frequency Amplifier(cid:0) 12. Audio Signal to Mixer(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 6(cid:0) Transfiguration Images(cid:0) Two ITC Experiments(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) as speaking from a “station,” König’s communicators say(cid:0) the group who organizes their contacts is known as(cid:0) “ZentraIe.”(cid:0) Conclusion(cid:0) Our conclusion is that we witnessed two fascinating(cid:0) experiments that are the outcome of thirty years of engaged(cid:0) and devoted work by Hans-Otto König, who works without(cid:0) support and who has often been fiercely attacked by what(cid:0) Professor Senkowski calls envious or even ill-intentioned(cid:0) people. Hopefully, at some point in the future, Hans Otto(cid:0) König will be considered one of the most prominent(cid:0) pioneers of ITC, and his wish to prove the reality of life(cid:0) after death will perhaps be fulfilled by a less materialistic(cid:0) science. Meanwhile, we remain thankful for the opportunity(cid:0) to observe the work of this man, and wish him the(cid:0) continuation of success in the laborious developmental path(cid:0) that he has chosen to follow.(cid:0) Editorial Note(cid:0) As emphasized in earlier issues of the Journal this(cid:0) research work has been made possible by the(cid:0) generosity of Mr. Oliver Knowles, a great supporter(cid:0) and benefactor of psychical investigation...(cid:0) Originally published in the ITC Journal No. 24, December 2005,(cid:0) http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/journal.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) The ITC Journal is published in Spain three times a year by(cid:0)

Anabela Cardoso and David Fontana. The 92 page journal(cid:0) contains articles in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.(cid:0) Annual Subscription:(cid:0) 25 euros (30 USD) plus postage costs.(cid:0) Postage costs:(cid:0) Spain: 5 euros(cid:0) European Union: 10 euros(cid:0) Rest of the world: 20 euros(cid:0)(25 USD)(cid:0) Subscription Form(cid:0) Name:(cid:0) Address:(cid:0) City:(cid:0) State:(cid:0) Zip:(cid:0) Country:(cid:0) Tel:(cid:0) E-mail:(cid:0) Please Indicate:(cid:0) PayPal.com or Banker draft to Cadernos de TCI.(cid:0) Personal checks cannot be used.(cid:0) Mail to:(cid:0)ITC Journal,(cid:0)C/Carral 23 A Bajo , 36202 - Vigo,(cid:0) Pontevedra, España(cid:0) Email:(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) Or(cid:0)register on line(cid:0) using PayPal at:(cid:0) http://eureka.ya.com/cadernostci/journal.htm(cid:0) Past issues(cid:0)of the ITC Journal can be acquired at the cost price(cid:0) of 5 Euros or six USD each (postage charges included).(cid:0) We have reported on Brazilian ITC researcher, Sonia(cid:0) Rinaldi’s work in previous issues. As you can see here, she(cid:0) continues to evolve her technique.(cid:0) Recently Sonia had a visit from a couple of friends,(cid:0) Rosânglea and Oscar, from the state of Santa Caterina(cid:0) which is some two hours far from São Paulo by plane.(cid:0) They lost their son, Otavio, in a boat or raft accident. They(cid:0) own a hotel in the mountains beside a river and Otavio(cid:0) died while practicing coming down the river. He struck a(cid:0) rock and broke his neck. Months after this, Rosânglea(cid:0) contacted Sonia who did a phone recording with(cid:0) wonderful results.(cid:0) The top pictures are of Oscar, age fifty-four, and the(cid:0) bottom pictures are from his son Otavio’s passport at age(cid:0) nineteen. In the video, (three images shown in the middle)(cid:0) Sonia holds up a white transparent

cloth with some silver(cid:0) points. Sonia feels the cloth helps the transfiguration take(cid:0) place.(cid:0) Sonia also sent a couple of audios. Sonia was with(cid:0) Rosânglea watching the video of Oscar when she(cid:0) recognized Otavio’s picture. She started crying and(cid:0) shouting, “It is him … It is him … Otavio, my son....” The(cid:0) young boy replies in an EVP,(cid:0)“Marvellous.”(cid:0)In another,(cid:0) the mother says, “Soon we will be back to talk” and(cid:0) Octavio replies,(cid:0)“Just for a short moment.”(cid:0) And in a final(cid:0) message he says,(cid:0)“I will embrace you!”(cid:0) Page 7 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Hearing with Templates(cid:0) An Email from Alexander MacRae(cid:0) I have currently been writing(cid:0) something I titled, “Hearing(cid:0) with Templates” … For some(cid:0) years now I have tried to deal(cid:0) only with the best obtainable(cid:0) EVP samples, disposing of the(cid:0) rest. I am aware that funny(cid:0) things can happen and I have(cid:0) attributed these to the very(cid:0) important subject of cueing(cid:0) errors. Working on the Bial(cid:0) Foundation project has forced(cid:0) me to take account of ALL(cid:0) samples recorded, the good,(cid:0) the bad and the downright appalling.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae(cid:0) speaking at the 2006(cid:0) AA-EVP conference(cid:0) I was rather concerned lately to find that some of the(cid:0) samples I had selected seem to have changed completely(cid:0) while I was working on them. Taking a few days to do(cid:0) something else and then coming back to them, I found I(cid:0) was reporting some of them as something other than the(cid:0) original. Was this a matter of a time effect or a processing(cid:0)

effect or what?(cid:0) Some weeks ago I had sent out two of my local group to(cid:0) a couple of sites to do some recording and then taught one(cid:0) of them a little bit about analysis using Cool Edit Pro (now(cid:0) known as Adobe Audition). The other, Helen, a very(cid:0) perceptive person, asked almost immediately how it was(cid:0) that you could hear one thing at one time but then you could(cid:0) hear something quite different at another time—convinced(cid:0) then that the second version was the correct one. I(cid:0) mentioned cueing and tried to make it all seem quite(cid:0) normal. Earlier than all that, Edgar Müller had remarked in(cid:0) an email that different noise reduction levels could alter the(cid:0) meaning of what one heard. I did some experiments to(cid:0) investigate this point using normal voice and good EVP,(cid:0) which I will later refer to as “A-type” EVP.(cid:0) My article on hearing with templates makes the point that(cid:0) what we hear is not necessarily the same as what we are(cid:0) listening to. And then the point is made that templates are(cid:0) used in all recognition processes, whether recognizing(cid:0) phonemes (elements of words); or patterns of phonemes(cid:0) which are words; or patterns of words which are phrases.(cid:0) What you actually “hear” is the template. You can also(cid:0) hear all the other noises that are part of what you are(cid:0) listening to, but what you actually “hear” is the template(cid:0) that best fits the sound pattern.(cid:0) If you listen to a sequence of phonemes that

you have(cid:0) never heard before, for instance, “Gelarumipalat,” which is(cid:0) not a word in the languages that you understand, which(cid:0) does not have Latin, Greek or Germanic roots, what you(cid:0) will hear is a sequence of phonemes, pure and simple. If(cid:0) you listen to a recognized sequence of phonemes such as(cid:0) “angry,” you hear a word. And if you listen to a sequence(cid:0) of known words in a recognised sequence such as, “I am so(cid:0) angry!” what you “hear” is a meaning.(cid:0) What you listen to and what you hear can be different(cid:0) things.(cid:0) There has to be a distinction, therefore, between EVP that(cid:0) is so good it is close to normal speech in good listening(cid:0) conditions, we will call that A-type EVP; and EVP that is(cid:0) not that good, we will call that B-type EVP. They are both(cid:0) EVP but they have different behavioural characteristics.(cid:0) With B-type EVP,(cid:0) •(cid:0)different people may hear different things;(cid:0) •(cid:0)what is heard using headphones may be different from(cid:0) what is heard using a speaker;(cid:0) •(cid:0)what is heard when one is told what it is, may be(cid:0) different from what one heard(cid:0)before(cid:0) being told what it(cid:0) is; and,(cid:0) •(cid:0)what one hears at one time may be different from what(cid:0) one hears at another time.(cid:0) To the general public this PROVES that EVP is NOT real.(cid:0) Therefore one should not expose the general public to(cid:0) B-type EVP.(cid:0) Remember that normal hearing is(cid:0)also(cid:0) dependent on(cid:0) template-based pattern recognition.(cid:0) The received wisdom over the years was that EVP

is(cid:0) deficient in the relative energy level of consonants as(cid:0) compared with vowels, and as consonants are the main(cid:0) carriers of intelligibility, so EVP is less comprehensible. I(cid:0) went along with this explanation unexamined myself and(cid:0) even repeated it.(cid:0) The world experts in this are in the Department of(cid:0) Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London(cid:0) (UCL). The UCL people have been looking into the speech(cid:0) of people suffering from deafness or some neural/motor(cid:0) deficiency. This speech has consonants that are low or(cid:0) missing, thus reducing its intelligibility. Just like EVP one(cid:0) would suppose.(cid:0) Let us make up an example. Suppose we have a stroke(cid:0) victim saying, “How are you(cid:0)now(cid:0)?” They might say,(cid:0) “OOOAAOW ... AAARGH ... EEE-UUU .... NNN N ...(cid:0) ...AAAAOOOOW....” Almost entirely vowel sounds, and(cid:0) very slowly. Where muscular dexterity is required as in the(cid:0) rapid transition from “n” to “ow” in “now” then there is a(cid:0) delay. However, this is not what EVP sounds like. The(cid:0) problem may not be the consonant/vowel energy ratio.(cid:0) The UCL people have looked into cueing as an important(cid:0) factor in intelligibility, and they developed a method of(cid:0) manual cue enhancement in a recording. They tried this and(cid:0) indeed it improved intelligibility. However, automatic cue(cid:0) enhancement did not work.(cid:0) Cues are taken as the regions of transition; the region(cid:0) where one vowel changes into another or into a consonant(cid:0) or the impulse and blank period on which consonant(cid:0) sounds are based.(cid:0) Continued page 9(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 8(cid:0) Hearing

with Templates(cid:0) Continued from page 8(cid:0) The reason for this is that the significance of a set of(cid:0) consecutive sounds depends on the sequencing, on the(cid:0) timing and so relative position in time. Cue is very(cid:0) important.(cid:0) Here we should also note that the term “phoneme” is not(cid:0) entirely accurate. For example, when each is isolated out,(cid:0) the “a” at the beginning of the word “attack” sounds quite(cid:0) different from the “a” in the middle of the word. To(cid:0) describe this feature the word “phoneme” is replaced by the(cid:0) word “allophone;” that is, a phoneme taking into account(cid:0) its phonetic environment.(cid:0) Timing is crucially important, and just as you can have(cid:0) people who have trouble with the spatial sequencing of a(cid:0) written word, who are “dyslexic,” so also there seems to be(cid:0) a tendency for some to be “dyslexic” in terms of time(cid:0) sequences. Remember that in an audible communication(cid:0) system,(cid:0)the listener(cid:0) is also part of that system.(cid:0) For some time, my opinion was that EVP was perhaps(cid:0) cue-deficient. My thinking now is that Type-B EVP has an(cid:0) over-supply(cid:0) of cues, and that due to the relative uncertainty(cid:0) or randomness involved in the EVP process, fortuitous(cid:0) transitions appear which can be taken as false cues,(cid:0) enabling more than one interpretation to be found.(cid:0) Where more than one interpretation is found this does not(cid:0) mean that a correct interpretation does not exist. Although(cid:0) if two interpretations exist then(cid:0) both(cid:0) must be wrong is(cid:0) normal thinking. But that is not necessarily the

case.(cid:0) All sequence-significant hearing is template-based but(cid:0) some patterns are so uncertain that more than one template(cid:0) can seem to fit.(cid:0) [Note that this explanation is not providing a reason to think that(cid:0) “B-type” EVP change in any way. Editor](cid:0) Thank You(cid:0) Alec MacRae wishes to thank everyone who(cid:0) participated in his listening panels. The statistics will(cid:0) be written up in a paper as soon as he gets a chance.(cid:0) We want to add our thanks to the AA-EVP members(cid:0) who represented the Association so well.(cid:0) ASPSI Conference, “What the Bleep Do We Know About Life After Death?”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Can Living a Long, Healthy, Moral and Spiritual Life(cid:0) Help Pave the Way to a Blissful Afterlife?(cid:0) By Donald(cid:0) Morse.(cid:0) •(cid:0)A Century of Research on After-Death Communication(cid:0) by Sylvia Hart Wright.(cid:0) Contracts with the University are still being negotiated, but(cid:0) the approximate cost for the conference before May 1 is(cid:0) $240 for non-members and $180 for members (less for(cid:0) Patron members). Cost for three nights and nine meals in a(cid:0) new dormitory facility on campus is expected to be $220(cid:0) single, $175 double. Dormitory rooms have two single(cid:0) beds in each room and share a bathroom with a shower and(cid:0) toilet with one other room. Each room has a washbasin(cid:0) with a mirror.(cid:0) Information on membership to the ASPSI can be found(cid:0) at(cid:0)www.lightlink.com/arpr/(cid:0). Complete information on the(cid:0) conference should be on the ASPSI web site by February.(cid:0) Or contact Boyce Batey, ASPSI, PO Box 614, Bloomfield,(cid:0) CT 06002-0614, Tel 860.242.4593.(cid:0) The Academy

of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc.(cid:0) (ASPSI) will be holding their conference with the above(cid:0) title June 1-4, 2007 at DeSales University in Center Valley(cid:0) near Allentown, PA. We are presenting and the keynote(cid:0) speaker is(cid:0)Dr. Raymond Moody(cid:0), who will also lead a(cid:0) workshop. A few of the twenty-two presentations are:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Children’s Near-Death Experiences: Startling New(cid:0) Findings(cid:0)by P.M.H. Atwater.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Life After Death: Beliefs of ASPSI Members(cid:0) by Boyce(cid:0) Batey.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Let There Be Light! The Scientific Bleep on the(cid:0) Afterlife(cid:0) by James E. Beichler.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Tests for Ideal Communicators to Strengthen Survival(cid:0) Evidence(cid:0) by Arthur Berger.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Electronic Voice Phenomena as Evidence for Life After(cid:0) Death(cid:0) by Tom and Lisa Butler.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Love Lives On: Learning From the Extraordinary(cid:0) Encounters of the Bereaved(cid:0) by Louis LaGrand.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Out-of-Body Experience: The Definitive After-Life(cid:0) Research Tool for the 21(cid:0)st(cid:0) Century(cid:0) by David Lindsay(cid:0) The “God Spot” is a Myth(cid:0) According to a new study detailed in(cid:0)Neuroscience Letters,(cid:0) the human brain does not contain a single “God Spot”(cid:0) responsible for mystical and religious experiences. This is(cid:0) contrary to claims that have come from skeptics and(cid:0) atheists.(cid:0)Instead, the sense of union with God or something(cid:0) greater than the self often described by those who have(cid:0) undergone such experiences, involves the recruitment and(cid:0) activation of a variety of brain regions normally implicated(cid:0) in different functions such as self-consciousness, emotion(cid:0) and body representation.(cid:0) From:(cid:0)LiveScience www.livescience.com/(cid:0) Page 9 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Mother’s Voice on Video Tapes(cid:0) Cat Perks went back over family videos after Debra Caruso(cid:0) mentioned that it was possible

to find EVP on the audio of(cid:0) video recordings. After carefully listened to the audio of(cid:0) one video she was surprised to discover the voice of her(cid:0) mother. She soon realized that her mom had been leaving(cid:0) messages on the family videos all along.(cid:0) Grandmother (left), Grandfather, two unidentified relatives(cid:0) (center woman and man at right) and Cat Perks’ mother.(cid:0) Cat’s mom crossed over when Cat was quite young. She(cid:0) wrote, “My mum was my world and when she died a part(cid:0) of me died with her. I was fifteen years old and she was(cid:0) thirty-six.”(cid:0) The first message that Cat found from her mother,(cid:0) Pamela, was on a video in which she had used her Canon(cid:0) A95 to film her daughter, Katrin, in her baby bouncer this(cid:0) past April. That first message was not clear but she heard(cid:0) her name(cid:0)“Catherine”(cid:0)and(cid:0)“Never forget me.”(cid:0)Cat says(cid:0) that she felt both sad and happy as hearing her mother’s(cid:0) voice brought back many memories both good and bad.(cid:0) She remembered feeling angry that her mother was not(cid:0) there for her in her teenage years. She remembered being(cid:0) angry at God because she had not gotten to say goodbye to(cid:0) her mother who passed quite suddenly. She was even given(cid:0) different stories about how her mother died from(cid:0) grandparents but Cat remembers that she was beautiful and(cid:0) made some bad choices with men, but says that, “She was(cid:0) a loving mum who tried her best, had a beautiful singer’s(cid:0) voice, was very musically talented and

could do lovely(cid:0) paintings. She was always the life of any party.”(cid:0) In one of Cat’s earliest recordings, she taped,(cid:0)“Dear(cid:0) Pamela”(cid:0)(or(cid:0)“Hear Pamela”(cid:0)) and on another, her mother(cid:0) can be heard saying,(cid:0)“If ever you need me.”(cid:0)On a video(cid:0) that Cat’s husband took of her two girls, Ebe and Katrin,(cid:0) you can hear her saying,(cid:0)“William will ring you first.”(cid:0) William is Cat’s big brother who died at the age of three.(cid:0) Cat says that she went to a psychic in 2004 and that(cid:0) through the psychic her mother asked for forgiveness. It(cid:0) was at that time that she let go of her anger and forgave her(cid:0) mother for everything. In one EVP message received via(cid:0) the audio of the video, her mother said,(cid:0)“Message for(cid:0) Catherine … asking if she is happy.”(cid:0) Cat wrote, “The audios are very clear … and it sounds(cid:0) like my mum.” Cat’s husband was sitting six feet away(cid:0) from her while she played one of them and was also able to(cid:0) hear her mother’s voice.(cid:0) Her mother has left messages on her cell phone as well.(cid:0) One asks,(cid:0)“Are you OK?”(cid:0) another left on her husband’s(cid:0) dad’s phone says,(cid:0)“Be happy, stay happy.”(cid:0) She has also(cid:0) gotten messages that her mother is at her oldest daughter’s(cid:0) flat a lot and keeps an eye on her.(cid:0) The most amazing confirmation of this communication(cid:0) between mother and daughter came this past November.(cid:0) Cat was on the phone with her oldest daughter and felt that(cid:0) she was hearing her mother’s voice trying to

break through(cid:0) so she did several recordings when she got off the phone.(cid:0) What she heard on those recordings was quite a shock. On(cid:0) the first her mother said,(cid:0)“Catherine waiting at hospital...(cid:0) Was seeing granddad.”(cid:0) She immediately did another(cid:0) recording to ask her mother if her granddad had crossed(cid:0) over and recorded,(cid:0)“Yes, he crossed over too.”(cid:0) Then she(cid:0) gave me a message from my grandfather saying(cid:0)“I’m(cid:0) sorry.”(cid:0) Cat had been out of touch with her family due to an(cid:0) argument and was shocked to learn after calling a cousin(cid:0) that her grandfather had crossed over in early 2006. Cat(cid:0) feels that these EVP were very evidential because she did(cid:0) not know about her grandfather’s passing. She also feels(cid:0) that the other side does not know the time/month difference(cid:0) because of her mother saying she was waiting at the(cid:0) hospital when it had been months since the death of her(cid:0) grandfather.(cid:0) EVP Voice Recognized(cid:0) Alexander MacRae used to have a couple of boarders; a(cid:0) young man and his single parent mom. In march of 2004,(cid:0) the young man, James, overdosed in Portsmouth, England(cid:0) and crossed over.(cid:0) Alec conducted EVP sessions in an attempt to contact(cid:0) James and did record some blurred “druggy-type” speech.(cid:0) In one message, James said,(cid:0)“Say goodbye to St. Mary’s.”(cid:0) Since James had talked about getting married to his(cid:0) partner, Alec wondered if that was the church that they had(cid:0) picked to be married in. He asked the partner and after a(cid:0) pause she said, “St. Mary’s … that

is where we used to pick(cid:0) up the drugs.”(cid:0) In a further development on this story, Alec wrote, “Lady(cid:0) Helen, who has done some sessions and was mentioned by(cid:0) name in James’s last messages, was given a CD with her(cid:0) sessions on it, and I decided to throw in the James excerpts,(cid:0) unattributed as an afterthought. Late one night a year later,(cid:0) two of her kids were listening to her CD and were surprised(cid:0) to hear the voice on there of a former pal of theirs, James.”(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 10(cid:0) ITC experiments using Light Reflected from Water(cid:0) As Margaret Downey explains her experimental set-up, “I(cid:0) have a Canon PowerShot A75 Digital camera. It allows me(cid:0) to do thirty seconds of video at a time. I leave it on the(cid:0) highest resolution (640 x 480 pixels). For effects, I use the(cid:0) function button to set the camera to shoot in sepia (a(cid:0) brownish tone), tungsten (which makes it blue), and black(cid:0) and white. I also do a session using just normal settings.(cid:0) A Corning pot half filled with water set in an empty metal pot.(cid:0) “The experiments are done on my stove and the setup is(cid:0) very basic. The light in the stove hood is used as the light(cid:0) source. Then depending on my whim, I will use a black pot(cid:0) filled about half way with water or a translucent, amber(cid:0) colored Vision CorningWare pot half filled with water(cid:0) which I set either directly on the stove top

or I suspend in(cid:0) the empty black pot. (editor: Margaret has joked that her(cid:0) really should be called(cid:0) Vision CorningWare pot Visionware!)(cid:0) “I hold the video camera in my right hand and wiggle my(cid:0) left fingers in the water while I record the ripples. I get(cid:0) better results if I use my fingers rather than using a spoon(cid:0) or other object to stir the water. I first look through the(cid:0) viewfinder screen, to make sure I’m holding the camera at(cid:0) an angle where it catches the light reflection in the water.(cid:0) This position is not quite directly over it, but from above(cid:0) and at a slight angle. At the same time, I respectfully(cid:0) request for any people or animals in spirit who would like(cid:0) to show themselves, to please do so.(cid:0) “Once in a while, I’ll place a crystal or a crystal ball in(cid:0) the water. And sometimes I ask my hubby to shine red and(cid:0) blue lights in the water.(cid:0) “After filming, I remove the compact memory card from(cid:0) the camera and place it into my computer. The file is(cid:0) transferred into a software program on my Mac called(cid:0) iMovie, which allows me to look at the video one frame at(cid:0) a time. When I see something in a frame, I’m able to save(cid:0) that single frame as a jpg file. And from that jpg, I crop out(cid:0) the image(s) I wish to keep. I keep both the unedited full(cid:0) frame along with my edited/cropped version. Once in a(cid:0)

while, I keep the entire video, but most of the time I dump(cid:0) it in order to help save hard drive space.”(cid:0) In one experiment, Margaret asked for her grandparents(cid:0) and received this ITC picture of a bearded man she feels is(cid:0) her Great Great Grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Main Sr.(cid:0) He was a physician and Baptist minister who crossed in(cid:0) 1913. Today, he and his grandson, Lewis (Margaret’s(cid:0) ITC picture and picture of Margaret’s Great Great Grandfather,(cid:0) Benjamin Franklin Main Sr. who crossed in 1913(cid:0) grandfather who crossed in 1993), help her in making(cid:0) connections to other people.(cid:0) Steve is a friend of(cid:0) Margaret’s friend, Linda,(cid:0) who likes to “pop in” to(cid:0) Margaret’s EVP sessions(cid:0) to call Linda’s name.(cid:0) Linda had asked her to call(cid:0) on him and this is the(cid:0) image that showed up.(cid:0) Linda said that there is(cid:0) enough of a resemblance(cid:0) that she feels he was doing(cid:0) what he could to show(cid:0) himself to her.(cid:0) also Steve(cid:0) Margaret has(cid:0) captured a picture of a face(cid:0) that she feels is her Indian guide, Walking Sun, who she(cid:0) had asked to come through during an experiment. Margaret(cid:0) had a reading from a Shaman who told her, “Margaret’s(cid:0) heart hears the drum beat of Mother Earth and her spirit(cid:0) finds the stairway to Father Sky.” She told Margaret that if(cid:0) she asked for her guide, Walking Sun, he would come.(cid:0) Margaret says, “One of the Shaman’s comments in my(cid:0) reading was that people with “dove medicine” can see(cid:0) between the

worlds and the(cid:0) veil between earth and the(cid:0) spirit world is thin for them.(cid:0) talked about being(cid:0) She clairaudient and hearing(cid:0) spirit/sensing vibrations. It(cid:0) was so fun to be able to tell(cid:0) her after the reading about(cid:0) EVP/ITC!”(cid:0) some Margaret feels that she has(cid:0) gotten excellent(cid:0) readings from people on the(cid:0) Internet and through eBay. If(cid:0) you are interested in more information on this email(cid:0) Margaret at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Walking Sun(cid:0) Page 11 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Gabriel(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) The investigators were combing the house like a swarm(cid:0) of ants. It all seems such a blur to me now. One of the(cid:0) detectives brought a website to my attention. This website(cid:0) is called “ASH,” or better known as alt.suicide.holiday(cid:0) (For the web site see(cid:0)http://ashbusstop.org/ash.html(cid:0)). As(cid:0) we navigated through this site I was horrified at what I saw.(cid:0) ASH exists by claiming to be “pro-choice.” They SAY they(cid:0) don’t advocate suicide but that they support anyone’s right(cid:0) to feel that they want to die.(cid:0) Many young children are posting their desires to kill(cid:0) themselves along with the methods that they choose to use.(cid:0) Then they actually request others to join them! They get(cid:0) into groups as they chat and the ring of children share their(cid:0) desires to die. They set dates to carry out(cid:0) their deaths which are known at the site(cid:0) as “catching the bus.” Each person(cid:0) checks on the other to see if they(cid:0) actually went through with the suicide(cid:0) and what method they used to complete(cid:0) it.

Then they follow through with their(cid:0) own, etc. If a person does NOT go(cid:0) through with the plan, they are ridiculed(cid:0) as being at the site for “attention” only(cid:0) and treated as a coward.(cid:0) We, who love the children, parents,(cid:0) siblings, are known as “happy smilies”(cid:0) and are not to be given any signs(cid:0) whatsoever as to their intent to kill(cid:0) themselves. Nor are they to show signs(cid:0) of depression to us. They are to keep us(cid:0) in the dark right up to the end. They are(cid:0) also told to leave a confusing note to the(cid:0) family to keep us guessing.(cid:0) Gabriel was a very strong and intelligent young man. We(cid:0) had discussed the evils of the world and the pitfalls of the(cid:0) Internet hundreds of times. I never once thought in all my(cid:0) wildest dreams that he would succumb to such a(cid:0) brainwashing. Yet it happened. His suicide note said “I(cid:0) love you AOL.” This would be the search engine he used(cid:0) to log on to ASH and get instructions on HOW to kill(cid:0) himself and WHERE to shoot himself so that he would be(cid:0) sure to not remain alive.(cid:0) Ash also lists all methods used for killing yourself … and(cid:0) will instruct you on how to complete suicide. I remember(cid:0) reading one young girl’s pleas. She stated that she didn’t(cid:0) have a gun and was afraid to use a rope, “So what should(cid:0) she do?” she asked. The reply was “jump.” I kid you not.(cid:0) After Gabriel left

me, I begged to see him just one more(cid:0) time. I was granted that wish one evening when he(cid:0) appeared to me in the flesh. I held on so tight and then(cid:0) pulled away to see his face. He looked so radiant and so(cid:0) healthy. I asked him, “Why, Why?” He then looked at me(cid:0) with a look of pain and said, “I don’t know.” He slowly(cid:0) turned into light and faded away.(cid:0) One morning shortly after his death I turned on the(cid:0) computer. When the screen came up it was showing a “car(cid:0) racing game.” I sat and stared at this strange game going on(cid:0) right in front of me. It was the racing game that he was(cid:0) playing the night before he took his life. He had asked me(cid:0) to come and watch him race. When I finally realized that it(cid:0) was the same game it slowly faded from the screen and the(cid:0) usual sign on screen came up.(cid:0) I am prone to horrible crying fits; Two in particular(cid:0) where I simply hit the floor and curled up into a fetal(cid:0) position. When it became uncontrollable, my fire alarm(cid:0) went off. This happened twice and has not happened since.(cid:0) Gabriel’s cell phone was out of minutes and the battery(cid:0) was extremely low. We had shelved it as we were going to(cid:0) get him a new phone. When my daughter arrived home a(cid:0) day after Gabriel had taken his life, she was going through(cid:0) his phone contacts. We were

shocked to(cid:0) find that the last phone call made from(cid:0) his phone, was made the day AFTER he(cid:0) went missing and was found dead. That(cid:0) phone call was made from his cell phone(cid:0) to my home phone at 11:40(cid:0)AM(cid:0), which(cid:0) was physically impossible. He was(cid:0) already dead and not a soul had touched(cid:0) his phone.(cid:0) Gabriel used to get upset with me(cid:0) when I would plug my phone into the(cid:0) charger and then forget about it. He(cid:0) would scold me saying that the battery(cid:0) would wear down. One day I had(cid:0) plugged the phone in to charge, and the(cid:0) following morning, I awoke to hear my(cid:0) cell phone ringing and ringing although(cid:0) I wasn’t even close to it. I kept(cid:0) wondering where it was and how it could be ringing. I was(cid:0) hearing it plain as day, when to my surprise, I remembered(cid:0) that it was plugged in to charge the night before. It was(cid:0) never ringing; it was only Gabriel telling me that I needed(cid:0) to unplug it from the wall.(cid:0) I lost Gabriel’s four year old Yorkie, just two days ago,(cid:0) to a sickness that came on with Gabriel’s death. Gabriel has(cid:0) only been gone for three months now and his dog just went(cid:0) downhill since then. I am guessing that they wanted to be(cid:0) together and know that they finally are.(cid:0) I have been recording EVP for only three months now(cid:0) but have already had great results. My first recordings were(cid:0) onto a hand held microcassette recorder.

My first encounter(cid:0) was the 6(cid:0)th(cid:0) of October when I asked Gabriel if he was(cid:0) happy now. His response was,(cid:0)“happy,”(cid:0) and it just made(cid:0) me jump for joy!(cid:0) From then on I have been recording onto a dual cassette(cid:0) deck and using an amplifier. I then recently downloaded(cid:0) WavePad and have moved to the computer for recording. I(cid:0) still use the dual deck and have bought cords to playback(cid:0) through the computer; however, I am alone and cannot(cid:0) figure out which port will support the play back. Gabe(cid:0) always said I was “technically challenged.” I miss him so(cid:0) much when it comes to hooking all things up.(cid:0) Continued(cid:0) Gabriel the photographer(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 12(cid:0) Gabriel(cid:0) Continued from page 12(cid:0) I asked him how he liked a bracelet that I had engraved(cid:0) with his name and dates. His reply to me was,(cid:0)“lovely!”(cid:0) I have asked countless times “why” he did this. His(cid:0) response to me was,(cid:0)“I didn’t do it.”(cid:0) I then asked him if he(cid:0) could think of a word that we might use to identify him(cid:0) when I record. His response was,(cid:0)“Ever present.”(cid:0) That was(cid:0) very comforting to me.(cid:0) Gabriel is gone from my view but never too far from me.(cid:0) He changes the fonts around when my daughter and I(cid:0) instant message each other and he plays little tricks with(cid:0) our computers when we are on them. It is such a comfort to(cid:0) me to hear from him. It has helped me with the grieving(cid:0) process

to know that he is near and that I can actually hear(cid:0) him speak.(cid:0) Just before he died I was quite clearly beginning to hear(cid:0) in my ears at night. I was becoming(cid:0) whispering “clairaudient.” I hear him talk to me now and I keep a(cid:0) journal of things he has told me. He and others have come(cid:0) to me to be heard. It is awesome to hear them.(cid:0) I speak now to all the parents of teens on the Internet.(cid:0) Please keep a close eye on your children, even if you feel(cid:0) that you have nothing to worry about. I am a victim of these(cid:0) horrific suicide encouraging sites. Look into them and(cid:0) become familiar with the many sites that are out there. Do(cid:0) not fall prey to this most tragic of life’s disasters.(cid:0) Life will never be the same for me but knowing that I can(cid:0) reach my son through EVP sustains me daily. It is all I have(cid:0) left to live for. Blessings to all of you, I’m pleased to meet(cid:0) you and I am happy to be a part of the wonderful world of(cid:0) EVP. Mary Rivera, mother of Gabriel, 11/13/89 to 9/04/06,(cid:0) My Guiding Light. Email:(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) Updating EVP in Wikipedia(cid:0) It cannot be said enough that how we see ourselves is not(cid:0) how we are seen by others. Most of you have probably seen(cid:0) the entry for EVP in Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.(cid:0) The entry is in a state of change now, but it is

still written(cid:0) with terms like “proponent,” “alleged” and “skeptic”(cid:0) telling the reader in subtle ways that EVP and those who(cid:0) believe in it are on the outside of rational society looking(cid:0) in. See(cid:0)http://en.wikipedia.org(cid:0) (Spell out EVP in search)(cid:0) Since Wikipedia is a community project, the process for(cid:0) making a change is complex and must be negotiated with(cid:0) many potential gatekeepers. People register(cid:0) to be contributors and some of these have(cid:0) become part of the inner circle of trusted(cid:0) editors. Each Wikipedia entry has a page(cid:0) containing a discussion about the entry,(cid:0) and on the one for EVP, you will see that(cid:0) those who have been contributing are(cid:0) the first(cid:0) pretty conservative. One of comments says it all:(cid:0)“I really don’t know(cid:0) what to do with this article. It is about(cid:0) spirit voices in audio recordings and it(cid:0) takes itself very seriously. I’m not sure if it(cid:0) should be deleted, noted as factual(cid:0) malarkey, or rewritten to say how this ridiculous thing is(cid:0) believed by some people. I’m leaning toward deletion since(cid:0) I haven’t a clue how to make this a factual article.”(cid:0) Knowing that it would be a major battle to change the(cid:0) entry, I have ignored it for a long time, but a recent(cid:0) reminder from Margaret Downey spurred me to action. I(cid:0) registered, and then posted a request for help from someone(cid:0) who knows how to edit Wikipedia. One person agreed, and,(cid:0) silly me to think that my subject matter expertise mattered,(cid:0) I drafted a proposed change, being very

careful to keep it(cid:0) as fact-based and neutral as I could. See my version at(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/articles/articles_about_evp11.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) My version has been completely ignored, so now we are(cid:0) in the process of negotiating how the new version will look.(cid:0) I have to give the Wikipedia editors credit in that they had(cid:0) already marked the entry for review because it was biased,(cid:0) but current negotiations show me that the new version may(cid:0) be just as bad. One comment that alerted me to this was to(cid:0) the effect that a single source of evidence is not sufficient(cid:0) reference. The same person also questioned my ability to(cid:0) be neutral because of my affiliation with Spiritualism and(cid:0) because(cid:0)“… a belief in EVP is inextricably tied to your(cid:0) approach, and so may influence any studies and(cid:0) conclusions.”(cid:0) In effect, the gatekeeper is changing the(cid:0) rules of evidence to avoid having to admit that something(cid:0) is well supported by evidence. For instance, now I am told(cid:0) that Alexander MacRae’s article in the peer(cid:0) reviewed Journal of the Society for(cid:0) Psychical Research is not valid research(cid:0) because the JSPR is not a mainstream(cid:0) science journal. The reference can be used,(cid:0) but terms like “claims” must be included to(cid:0) show that it is only a claim and not valid(cid:0) science. At the same time both MacRae’s(cid:0) article in the JSPR and anything I say as a(cid:0) subject matter expert are given the same(cid:0) the skeptical(cid:0) weight as an entry dictionary. Under such circumstances,(cid:0) nothing we can do to study EVP

will be(cid:0) accepted as sufficiently scientific by the rules of Wikipedia.(cid:0) We feel that Wikipedia is an important service to the(cid:0) community and we do not want to detract from that.(cid:0) However, an Internet search for EVP quickly turns up the(cid:0) Wikipedia page for EVP, and well intended or not, the(cid:0) resulting misinformation is harmful to our field of study.(cid:0) We will report again when there is some resolution, but it(cid:0) may be that it will be up to all of us to counter this form of(cid:0) misinformation about EVP and other phenomena.(cid:0) in One thing you can do is monitor yourself to make sure all(cid:0) you say about any of these etheric to physical phenomena(cid:0) in public forums is substantiated by fact. If you become a(cid:0) Wikipedia editor, use your real name, rather than hiding(cid:0) behind a screen name as the others do. Above all, keep an(cid:0) even mind. The example you set will be noticed by others.(cid:0) Tom(cid:0) Page 13 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Frequently Asked Question(cid:0) Question:(cid:0) I live alone and I find recording for EVP to be(cid:0) rather frightening. Do you have any suggestions?(cid:0) Answer:(cid:0)Your concern is understandable. I think it would(cid:0) be a concern for me if I lived alone, and I have been around(cid:0) spirit communication for years. But here is the bottom line.(cid:0) Your fear is not really your fear. It is(cid:0) fear your body consciousness feels(cid:0) and the fear that you have been taught(cid:0) by our culture.(cid:0) instincts related First, our body

has an independent(cid:0) awareness. That awareness is where(cid:0) we get our to(cid:0) survival, such as fight or flight. As(cid:0) civilized folk, we are taught to keep(cid:0) those natural responses in check, but(cid:0) there are a few other responses our(cid:0) society does not bother to address.(cid:0) Our body is afraid of the unknown,(cid:0) probably because the unknown might(cid:0) kill it.(cid:0) You are not your body. You are just(cid:0) along for the ride of this lifetime. One(cid:0) of the goals in seeking spiritual(cid:0) maturity is understanding this, and(cid:0) behaving accordingly. things(cid:0) spiritual, self-awareness is not body-(cid:0) awareness. It is awareness of your(cid:0) etheric Self that is separate from your(cid:0) body consciousness. Still, you have(cid:0) to be good to your body because it is the vessel you have(cid:0) for this lifetime.(cid:0) In When you have a reflexive thought, learn to stop and(cid:0) consider where it has come from. You can easily recognize(cid:0) some of your body’s thoughts, such as, “I don't like that(cid:0) guy,” or “Boy that smells good,” but thoughts like, “What(cid:0) was that? It sounded scary” or “I feel terrible” are a little(cid:0) harder to spot as coming from your body. It is important(cid:0) that you pay attention when your physical body is telling(cid:0) you something, but it is also important that you are able to(cid:0) override your body's urges. So, recognize that one major(cid:0) source of the fear response for you is probably your body.(cid:0) Talk to it and reassure it that you will take care of it and that(cid:0)

it has nothing to fear. Talking helps.(cid:0) respond The fear we are taught by our culture is much more(cid:0) difficult to deal with, probably because it goes into our(cid:0) worldview which determines how we to(cid:0) experiences, what we expect and what we will believe. The(cid:0) good news is that your worldview is also a measure of your(cid:0) spiritual maturity, so it is worth knowing what is in it and(cid:0) how to keep it in line. If you do not meditate then at least(cid:0) learn mindful contemplation, and start thinking about(cid:0) where you have learned what to expect from the unknown.(cid:0) If you have religious training, you have probably learned a(cid:0) host of fears about things like death and their being nothing(cid:0) after we die to the fear of being judged and punished if you(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 are still alive on the other side after all. Then there is the(cid:0) fear of having some guy with a chain saw run out of the(cid:0) closet to cut you into a bunch of painful little pieces(cid:0) without actually putting you out of your misery. You need(cid:0) to contemplate that one a lot because our media illustrates(cid:0) all of those really scary reasons for(cid:0) why we should be afraid of the dark.(cid:0) I loved swimming in the rivers and(cid:0) lakes around my home when I was a(cid:0) kid. I did until I saw the move,(cid:0) Creature of the Black Lagoon.(cid:0) It was(cid:0) years after that before I was willing(cid:0) to swim in

the wild. I allowed myself(cid:0) to buy into these fearful thoughts and(cid:0) even paid the movie industry to help(cid:0) me do it.(cid:0) We enjoy being scared. The movie(cid:0) industry has learned this and the(cid:0) scarier a movie is the more money it(cid:0) makes. We just need to separate(cid:0) fantasy from our true everyday(cid:0) reality. Having a good imagination(cid:0) is good but it is something that we(cid:0) can’t let overtake us.(cid:0) As it turns out, people are the(cid:0) means by which etheric influences(cid:0) are propagated into the physical.(cid:0) This is just a theory, but it is a good(cid:0) interpretation of the evidence. At(cid:0) least it works to behave as if it is true. Even more important(cid:0) is that people’s worldview has a lot to do with what is(cid:0) allowed into the physical. The effect is that if you expect a(cid:0) fearful experience, you will tend to have a fearful(cid:0) experience, so the right attitude is that you are in charge,(cid:0) and that you are not going to put up with any nonsense. We(cid:0) have no reliable reports of a researcher being harmed by a(cid:0) communicating entity. Not one.(cid:0) Yes, the entities are often around us. In fact, Lisa and I(cid:0) are pretty convinced that everyone has a few people on the(cid:0) other side who come along for the lifetime and who help(cid:0) out as they can, so we probably should behave as if they are(cid:0) there, thank them and seek their counsel. And if you are(cid:0) worried about privacy we don’t

think that you need to be.(cid:0) All the information that we have gotten from those on the(cid:0) other side is that they do respect our privacy and only come(cid:0) when asked or needed. Another thing to keep in mind is(cid:0) that most other people think they are alone and may not(cid:0) respond well to someone who thinks otherwise. Remember(cid:0) they tried to lock up that fellow in the movie who had an(cid:0) invisible rabbit as a friend!(cid:0) Above all else, keep an even mind and know why you(cid:0) believe what you do. You are responsible for what is in(cid:0) your worldview and the things in your life, so as I always(cid:0) like to say, “Believe what you will, but know what you(cid:0) believe.” Tom(cid:0) What would you do if you saw this(cid:0) walking toward you?(cid:0) Cell phone photograph by Kevin Lloyd(cid:0) Page 14(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) It is easy to be excited about Hemi-Sync. First,(cid:0) meditating is an ability more easily said than done. The(cid:0) idea is to clear the brain of chatter and to achieve what(cid:0) Robert Monroe referred to as “Mind awake, body asleep.”(cid:0) The Hemi-Sync audio exercises easily lead you to that state(cid:0) of awareness, and help you remember the feeling of being(cid:0) there, making it easier to “go there” on your own. There is(cid:0) lessons available with(cid:0) a everything from music lightly laced with relaxing tones to(cid:0) intensive home courses designed to help you develop your(cid:0) human potential.(cid:0) large catalogue of audio successful recording

sessions. The same thing can be said(cid:0) of mental mediumship. We also know that mental(cid:0) mediumship is a developed ability, and that learning to(cid:0) focus attention on the task at hand is an important part of(cid:0) that training. It is for this reason that we feel that Hemi-(cid:0) Sync may be a way to improved success with recording for(cid:0) EVP by helping a person learn to more easily reach a(cid:0) meditative state of mind.(cid:0) You many want to visit(cid:0)www.monroeinstitute.com(cid:0) and(cid:0) take a look at the many Hemi-Sync items. You can also(cid:0) call them at 1.800.541.2488 to ask for a catalog.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) Feeling a touch(cid:0),(cid:0)lights going off and on, seeing butterflies,(cid:0) hearing a voice, these are just a few of the kinds of signs(cid:0) the living talk about having received from the dead. These(cid:0) stories are often shared cautiously for fear of being called(cid:0) delusional with grief by a skeptical listener. Even in grief(cid:0) support groups, this type of story may be discouraged, say(cid:0) Phran and Bob Ginsberg, whose daughter, Bailey, died in(cid:0) 2002. Unable to discuss the ways that their children were(cid:0) contacting them, a “second meeting” was often held in the(cid:0) parking lot after the grief support meeting was over.(cid:0) Phran stated, “The knowledge that our kids were still(cid:0) with us gave us the hope we so desperately needed just to(cid:0) survive each day.” Phran and Bob began “Afterlife(cid:0) Discussion Groups” in their home state of New York in(cid:0) 2003. There are now groups

in eight states and they hope(cid:0) to have one in every state within a couple of years. All that(cid:0) is needed is ten to twenty people in drivable distance of(cid:0) each other and a facilitator. In 2004, the Ginsbergs(cid:0) incorporated the nonprofit(cid:0)Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) to(cid:0) coordinate the groups and support research into survival of(cid:0) consciousness. see(cid:0) more www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0) or write to Forever(cid:0) Family, 222 Atlantic Avenue, Oceanside, New York 11572.(cid:0) information For An Opportunity to Learn(cid:0) We will be speaking at the International Spiritualist(cid:0) Federation Fraternal Week held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel(cid:0) in Rochester, New York September 8 through September(cid:0) 15, 2007. Attendees take classes in two different modalities(cid:0) during the week. They are able to pick from mental(cid:0) mediumship, physical mediumship, healing or trance and(cid:0) no prior training is necessary. The classes are taught by top(cid:0) notch instructors from around the world. The week is also(cid:0) filled with presentations from world renowned speakers on(cid:0) various metaphysical and religious topics. Cost for the(cid:0) week includes food and lodging and runs $855 double/twin(cid:0) room and $1085 single room. For more information go to(cid:0) www.theisf.com/(cid:0). A $50 deposit is required to secure(cid:0) attendance and space is limited and usually fills up six(cid:0) months prior to the event (could be even earlier). Our(cid:0) presentation on EVP is set for Tuesday, Sept. 11. We hope(cid:0) to meet a few of you there!(cid:0) A very large crystal rises from the ceiling above the(cid:0) booth in the Lab(cid:0) An interesting side note to all of

this is the story that(cid:0) came from one of our facilitators, Patricia Peters. During(cid:0) her first program at the Institute nearly nine years ago, she(cid:0) called home to check the messages on her answering(cid:0) machine. Patricia’s mom had died a year earlier but there(cid:0) on her answering machine was the voice of her mother(cid:0) saying(cid:0)“Patty .. Pat,(cid:0) Pat … ty.”(cid:0) Patricia(cid:0) says that it was the(cid:0) voice her mother had(cid:0) toward the end of her(cid:0) was(cid:0) life. She paralyzed with(cid:0) Parkinson’s for about(cid:0) a year and this voice(cid:0) was her paralyzed(cid:0) slow struggling(cid:0) voice. Patricia said(cid:0) the message(cid:0) that shocked and(cid:0) threw her into a new(cid:0) paradigm shift; one(cid:0) that she was not(cid:0) expecting but one for(cid:0) which she was very(cid:0) grateful.(cid:0) The pyramid-shaped building housing(cid:0) the lab. Note the large crystal at its top.(cid:0) Picture courtesy Matt Riell(cid:0) her Application to EVP(cid:0) EVP research seems to indicate that the person conducting(cid:0) the recording session plays an important part in the(cid:0) communicating entity’s ability to initiate an EVP. We(cid:0) know that enthusiasm and strong desire seem to go with(cid:0) Page 15 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Using EVP to find a Missing Person(cid:0) The 4Cell EVP Demonstration has made it clear that(cid:0) specific information can be requested from the etheric(cid:0) communicators. However, the question that often comes up(cid:0) is whether or not EVP can be used to request information(cid:0) that would help solve a crime or locate a missing person.(cid:0) Our response has always been designed to discourage(cid:0) people from trying

to inject themselves into official(cid:0) investigations with EVP examples, not because we knew it(cid:0) could not be done, but because we wanted to be mindful(cid:0) that EVP is still not a very reliable information gathering(cid:0) tool and because we have nightmares about having a(cid:0) grossly inaccurate EVP complained about by the victim’s(cid:0) family on the six-o’clock news.(cid:0) With that said, the Idea Exchange does offer a safe place(cid:0) for experimenters to seek ways to make EVP a useful tool.(cid:0) This was probably first explored by David Mierzwinski,(cid:0) who posted a request for help finding two missing(cid:0) Milwaukee boys. There were 133 replies to his initial post,(cid:0) many included EVP. The boys were finally found in a(cid:0) lagoon, and looking at a review of the EVP posted by the(cid:0) participants, I see many references to water. It seems clear(cid:0) that the entities were telling us that the boys were dead. The(cid:0) problem is that messages such as,(cid:0)“Look on the river”(cid:0) recorded by Margaret Downey or(cid:0)“Gravel at water level”(cid:0) recorded by David, might make sense in retrospect, but as(cid:0) leads, the messages are difficult to put to work. Of course,(cid:0) David was using the lost boys as a learning tool, and there(cid:0) was no danger of anyone offering such “evidence” to the(cid:0) grieving families or the authorities. Thanks David and(cid:0) those who participated. It was an important exercise.(cid:0) A little after David began his thread, the family of a(cid:0) missing pregnant lady named Amanda Jones contacted us(cid:0) via the web site, and

asked for help finding her. With their(cid:0) promise to give us feedback, we opened a new thread by(cid:0) first posting a protocol that would be followed. Debra(cid:0) Caruso, Chris Kennedy and Margaret Downey have been(cid:0) participating and have recorded a number of interesting(cid:0) messages. However, thus far, none have been confirmed as(cid:0) meaningful by the family.(cid:0) Interestingly, some of the messages recorded for the(cid:0) missing boys seem more applicable to the Amanda case.(cid:0) For instance, the family asked if we have recorded anything(cid:0) to do with a well, because a couple of mediums think she(cid:0) is in a well. As it turns out, Margaret recorded(cid:0)“They’re in(cid:0) the well,”(cid:0) for the lost boys thread. Since she was working(cid:0) on two cases, is it possible that the messages were being(cid:0) confused?(cid:0) Another interesting twist to this is that after we agreed to(cid:0) ask AA-EVP members to help, we learned that one(cid:0) member had already been working on the case via the(cid:0) authorities. Her mode of information gathering appears to(cid:0) be primarily mediumistic, and the information is never in(cid:0) the form of an EVP that others can hear. We should make(cid:0) it very clear that we have a great deal of respect for(cid:0) effective mental mediums, and understand that information(cid:0) received via mediumship may ultimately be the best(cid:0) approach to information gathering. At the same time, EVP(cid:0) is objective evidence that others can hear. The protocol we(cid:0) established includes the requirement that at least two(cid:0) people, other than the one who recorded the

EVP, must(cid:0) agree about what is said in the utterance before we would(cid:0) take the information to the authorities or family. Even then,(cid:0) the EVP must be sufficiently understandable for the family(cid:0) and/or the authorities to have a reasonable chance to(cid:0) understand the message.(cid:0) Our observations thus far are that simply asking people(cid:0) to seek information that can be of use has not been(cid:0) effective. Participants have gathered a lot of information,(cid:0) but it has been bits and pieces that do not tell enough of a(cid:0) story to be useful. There is also the problem of messages(cid:0) that seem informative, but that do not tell us which case(cid:0) they are concerned with. It also seems that the entities are(cid:0) not overly concerned with revenge or justice and they(cid:0) think in conceptual rather than concrete terms.(cid:0) Debbie, Chris and Margaret have experimented with a(cid:0) three person version of the 4Cell EVP Demonstration(cid:0) protocol to see if imposed discipline of a protocol will help.(cid:0) We hope to offer better results in a future NewsJournal. In(cid:0) the meantime, we remain confident that EVP can be(cid:0) developed into a useful tool for information gathering. The(cid:0) trick appears to be finding the right protocol.(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 16(cid:0) Common Ground for Communication(cid:0) A common question about the ability to communicate(cid:0) across the veil with loved ones is, “Why is it so hard to(cid:0) receive useful information from the communicators?”(cid:0) Sci-Fi Investigates(cid:0) in the etheric, and Whether or not it is technically correct, a

good model for(cid:0) explaining any form of mediumship is that it is mind-to-(cid:0) mind communication then a(cid:0) transformation of the information into the physical via the(cid:0) physical person, and then “embodiment” of the information(cid:0) by that person as an EVP or a spoken message. So, if the(cid:0) physical person does not have a particular concept in his or(cid:0) her head, then there is no vocabulary for the etheric(cid:0) communicator to use to relay that information. There are(cid:0) two constraining problems. The etheric entity must have(cid:0) access to the concept and the medium must have the(cid:0) necessary vocabulary of language and images to embody(cid:0) the concept into the physical.(cid:0) We are all latent mediums, and one possible explanation(cid:0) for the wide range of ability in recording EVP is the(cid:0) individual’s ability to manage comprehension, attention(cid:0) and intention. In other words, how much of that latent(cid:0) ability have we developed, either deliberately or(cid:0) spontaneously? Thus in EVP, our development and the(cid:0) limits of the technology we use are the dominant factors for(cid:0) our transcommunication. Then there is the same set of(cid:0) constraints posed by our etheric communicators. So in the(cid:0) end, what is communicated may be a subset of those two(cid:0) sets.(cid:0) In the color diagram here, think of yourself as the blue(cid:0) circle (B), which represents the extent of your image/(cid:0) language vocabulary, and your etheric communicator as(cid:0) the green circle (G). If the above hypothesis is correct, the(cid:0) only information that can be conveyed in EVP that you(cid:0) record, would

be represented by the overlapping area “C”(cid:0) and the white center.(cid:0) If a person is bringing a message into the physical for(cid:0) another person, then the only information that the(cid:0) experimenter would be able to bring for the other person(cid:0) (R) would be represented by the white area in the diagram.(cid:0) There are many variables in EVP that determine how(cid:0) well we are able to communicate. Consider this model, and(cid:0) think of other influences that might limit or enhance your(cid:0) ability. Once identified they are sometimes easily managed.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler on the(cid:0)Sci-Fi Investigates(cid:0) set(cid:0) The Sci Fi channel series,(cid:0)Sci Fi Investigates(cid:0),(cid:0) did a show(cid:0) on the Afterlife in early November in which we appeared(cid:0) for a few minutes. Sarah Estep’s EVP,(cid:0)“I was seeing the(cid:0) war,”(cid:0) was played during many of the intros. We recorded(cid:0) several EVP while working with two of the investigative(cid:0) team. One EVP which gave the name,(cid:0)“Robinson”(cid:0) was(cid:0) played on the show. “Robinson” is the last name of Mary(cid:0) Jo Gran’s son, Jim. The EVP was not in Jim’s voice but we(cid:0) found this interesting as Jim is very active in the Big Circle(cid:0) and has appeared in one of our ITC experiments. We had(cid:0) also repeatedly asked the Big Circle for their assistance(cid:0) during the filming.(cid:0) The Afterlife show featured an investigation done by a(cid:0) New York paranormal group, Dianne Arcangel, author and(cid:0) president of the Forever Family Foundation, working with(cid:0) investigators in the “Oracle,” which is like Moody’s(cid:0) Psychomantium and Mark Macy taking

pictures of(cid:0) investigators in the presence of the Luminator.(cid:0) New London Ledge Lighthouse(cid:0) show recording Karen Mossey was seen on(cid:0) a by Comcast(cid:0) television called,(cid:0)American(cid:0) Builder.(cid:0) She was with the(cid:0) New England Ghost Project(cid:0) doing an investigation at(cid:0) the New London Ledge(cid:0) Lighthouse(cid:0)in Connecticut(cid:0).(cid:0) Karen collected a clear(cid:0) EVP saying,(cid:0) “Help me … I’m cold.”(cid:0) Karen wrote, “A couple and(cid:0) their young daughter drowned in a sailboat accident near(cid:0) the light house and some people say the young girl was(cid:0) pulled onto the lighthouse and vanished, others say the(cid:0) couple was pulled up and then vanished the next day.”(cid:0) Another investigative team reported that they saw an(cid:0) apparition on the staircase leading to the lighthouse.(cid:0) Interestingly this is the exact spot where Karen recorded(cid:0) the EVP.(cid:0) Page 17 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) More Information on Seth 3(cid:0) As shown in the last NewsJournal,(cid:0) Diana and Alan Bennett captured(cid:0) a picture in an ITC experiment that(cid:0) looks exactly like the being, Seth(cid:0) 3. Seth 3 sent pictures and(cid:0) deceased(cid:0) communicated with researcher Adolf Homes in the(cid:0) 1990s. We had asked members for(cid:0) any information they could find on(cid:0) Seth 3. Jutta Liebmann, of the(cid:0) German VTF, wrote to us to say,(cid:0) “The information from the book,(cid:0) Instrumental Transkommunikation(cid:0) by Prof. Senkowski, is as follows: Transcommunication(cid:0) contacts received by the deceased Adolf Homes in the 90s.(cid:0) Seth 3 had contacted Mr. Homes via direct radio voices …(cid:0) the so called electroacoustic voices, via telephone, radio,(cid:0) loudspeakers, etc. Seth 3 comments on the

definition of(cid:0) metamorphosis as it applies to transformation as follows:(cid:0) ‘However, a new way of existence has been planned for(cid:0) mankind. Man will go through a metamorphosis. In the end(cid:0) of this transformation man will be able to remember their(cid:0) own reincarnations [former lives]. You will seek this(cid:0) process. The situation of mankind/man needs much new(cid:0) information about the other higher levels of alien realities.’”(cid:0) ITC picture of Seth 3 by(cid:0) the Bennetts(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland and her daughter, Cathy, now on the(cid:0) other side are mentioned in Jeffrey Wands new book,(cid:0) Another Door Opens.(cid:0)Jeffrey also mentions Martha’s(cid:0) book,(cid:0)I’m Still Here(cid:0) and the AA-EVP. Thanks Martha.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey found a Panasonic RR-DR60 for sale(cid:0) on eBay for around $500. The text for the item read:(cid:0) “(cid:0)This recorder was made famous by the American(cid:0) Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon and by(cid:0) paranormal researcher Lou Gentile with the million(cid:0) dollar paranormal challenge. It was even featured in the(cid:0) book,(cid:0)There is No Death and There are No Dead(cid:0).”(cid:0)(We(cid:0) have seen DR60s on eBay for as much as $1000, making(cid:0) us feel a little guilty that we even mentioned them in our(cid:0) book.)(cid:0) Margaret went on to say that, “Last month,(cid:0) someone had a ‘Buy it now’ for $29 plus $10 shipping on(cid:0) a RR-DR60 and I nabbed it for a total of $39.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott appeared on the Montel Williams show(cid:0) with Sylvia Browne in September. She shared some of(cid:0) the communications from her son and Big Circle member(cid:0) Braden. The

show was rerun again in December.(cid:0) •(cid:0)James Waddingham wrote that he is attempting to(cid:0) duplicate Theodor Rudolph’s goniometer circuit(cid:0) described on pages 356-361 in Konstantin Raudive’s(cid:0) book,(cid:0)Breakthrough,(cid:0)and asked if there was anyone else(cid:0) who had constructed the goniometer circuit? James is at(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) AA-EVP in(cid:0)Fate(cid:0) Magazine(cid:0) Rosemary Ellen Guiley, author, speaker and consulting(cid:0) editor of(cid:0)Fate(cid:0) Magazine(cid:0), attended the 2006 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference in Atlanta. Rosemary wrote an article on the(cid:0) conference and some of the speakers including Sonia(cid:0) Rinaldi and Mark Macy. It appeared in the December issue(cid:0) of(cid:0)Fate(cid:0). Rosemary, thank you for the excellent article(cid:0).(cid:0) Pets in Paradise(cid:0) An article with the same title by Maureen Hutfless, which(cid:0) appeared in the(cid:0)Lincoln Journal Star,(cid:0) was an interesting(cid:0) look at how various religions view our spending an afterlife(cid:0) with our pets. The Roman Catholic Church was quoted as(cid:0) saying, “We don’t believe that animals have immortal(cid:0) souls and therefore they can’t share in eternal life. They(cid:0) won’t be in heaven.” Both Judaism and Islamic belief had(cid:0) differing reasons but gave no hope of a reunion with our(cid:0) beloved pet friends in the after-life.(cid:0) Lucky for us, the author interviewed a Lakota medicine(cid:0) person and spiritual leader, Joe Bad Moccasin. He told of(cid:0) an experience that he had when he nearly died. He saw in(cid:0) the next world not only his deceased relatives, but also all(cid:0) the dogs and a cat he had raised, as well as birds flying. “I(cid:0) came to the conclusion that anything that has life, like the(cid:0) animals …

they too have a place to go in the spirit world. I(cid:0) believe Tunkasila (Grandfather/God) gave all these four-(cid:0) legged animals, the feathered fowl, the fish that swim … he(cid:0) gave us all a spirit.”(cid:0) Rainbow Bridge(cid:0) Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.(cid:0) When an animal dies that has been especially close to(cid:0) someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are(cid:0) meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can(cid:0) run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and(cid:0) sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.(cid:0) All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to(cid:0) health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are(cid:0) made whole and strong again, just as we remember them(cid:0) in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are(cid:0) happy and content, except for one small thing; they each(cid:0) miss someone very special to them, who had to be left(cid:0) behind.(cid:0) They all run and play together, but the day comes when(cid:0) one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright(cid:0) eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins(cid:0) to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs(cid:0) carrying him faster and faster.(cid:0) You have been spotted, and when you and your special(cid:0) friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion,(cid:0) never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your(cid:0) face; your hands again caress the beloved

head, and you(cid:0) look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long(cid:0) gone from your life but never absent from your heart.(cid:0) Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together(cid:0) Author unknown ... (thanks Martha and Rachel)(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso attended a workshop at the Omega(cid:0) Institute given by(cid:0)James Van Praagh. James even agreed(cid:0) to record with her but when it was time, Debbie said the(cid:0) room was just too noisy. She did bring some people back(cid:0) to her room to try and reach loved ones through EVP.(cid:0) One woman had not seen her father since she was three(cid:0) years old. When they listened back to the recording they(cid:0) heard a man speaking Spanish right before Debbie spoke.(cid:0) This was exciting because the woman’s father only spoke(cid:0) Spanish. All the rest of the EVP were in English.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Sandra Champlain wrote that she has gotten wonderful(cid:0) results. She says that she may have only gotten a few(cid:0) Class A examples but that she has recorded with many(cid:0) people and that they all hear messages 100% of the time.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland recorded after the scheduled Big Circle(cid:0) recording session but said the group energy was still(cid:0) there. She wrote, “We have had some members lose(cid:0) loved ones and I was asking the Big Circle if the new(cid:0) arrivals were happy over there? The response was,(cid:0)“Yes,(cid:0) we’re happy.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Dan Christianson disconnected the phone line and used(cid:0) the answering machine to record and captured,(cid:0)“John.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Carolann Crowley

wrote that she records mostly on her(cid:0) computer. She wrote, “I have had many successes; I keep(cid:0) a written journal of them also.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)John Debney tried recording with his Memorex IC(cid:0) recorder. John asked, “Can you tell your mom I love(cid:0) you? Can you Ashley?” He recorded Ashley saying,(cid:0)“I(cid:0) love you, Mom.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey got some EVP for a member after her(cid:0) mother crossed. Margaret’s favorite was one where she(cid:0) heard both a male and female voice saying,(cid:0)“We love(cid:0) you, we’re together.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkins recorded during the group Big Circle(cid:0) session and captured,(cid:0)“It’s Jim from the Big Circle …(cid:0) Chris.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cat Perks did a recording using her mobile phone and(cid:0) got,(cid:0)“It’s Cathy.”(cid:0) Martha Copeland wrote that she felt it(cid:0) was her mother-in-law, Kathy Amis.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebmann asked during a session, “What about my(cid:0) dogs? How are they?” When she played the tape back she(cid:0) heard several dogs barking and recorded a spirit saying,(cid:0) “This is the group of dogs.”(cid:0) Jutta wrote, “However in(cid:0) the last weeks there were only a few messages of Class(cid:0) ‘B’ and Class ‘C.’” This reminds us all to not become(cid:0) discouraged when we don’t always get exceptional(cid:0) results as Jutta has been recording for over a decade.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rick Robertson asked, “How old are children’s spirits(cid:0) when they die?” and recorded the answer,(cid:0)“They’re old(cid:0) Rick.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott sometimes records the voice of Tara with(cid:0) her son Braden. Tara is the daughter of member, Denise(cid:0) Forrester. When Braden first met Tara and wanted to(cid:0) introduce her, Vicki

was doing a recording, realized that(cid:0) she was late for class and abruptly shut off the recorder.(cid:0) On playback, Vicki heard at the very end of the recording(cid:0) Braden saying,(cid:0)“Mom, meet Tara…oops, never mind!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Leslie Taylor records near fluorescent lights and has(cid:0) captured her son’s voice saying,(cid:0)“Mom, I’m alive!”(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Don’t forget to join other members and try recording on(cid:0) every other Thursday. Upcoming recording dates are Jan.(cid:0) 11 and 25, Feb. 8 and 22, Mar. 8 and 22 and April 5 and 19.(cid:0) See(cid:0)http://bigcircle.aaevp.com/circlesessions.htm(cid:0) for more(cid:0) information and/or email:(cid:0) Martha Copeland ((cid:0)[email protected](cid:0)),(cid:0) Karen Mossey((cid:0)[email protected](cid:0)) or(cid:0) Vicki Talbott ((cid:0)[email protected](cid:0)).(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) • Julie Carter wrote that she recently had a telephone(cid:0) reading in which the medium gave her a message from(cid:0) her father that might have been a reference to EVP. “The(cid:0) medium said that my father jokingly called me a ‘witch’:(cid:0) ‘He says you have some device you use ... a scrying(cid:0) device ... he is aware of that ... you are pretty good at it’(cid:0) or words to that effect. I cannot think of any other(cid:0) method or device I use, I do not use cards or a pendulum(cid:0) of any sort, mirrors or crystals.”(cid:0) radar, the word, • Jutta Liebmann wrote that she had found an interesting(cid:0) definition of in(cid:0) Instrumental(cid:0) Transkommunikation(cid:0) by Prof. Senkowski. “The word,(cid:0) radar, is often used by the entities in EVP. The definition(cid:0) for radar can also be interpreted as time-adjustment-(cid:0) device or alternatively as a so-called human

antenna, i.e.(cid:0) people are open-minded towards spiritual matters and(cid:0) towards new ways of world view and thinking.”(cid:0) Thanks to each and every one of you for your(cid:0) support of the AA-EVP. Happy New Year(cid:0) • Debra Ann noted that, “It seems to me that ‘they’ adapt(cid:0) to whatever my methods are (for EVP). I’m afraid that if(cid:0) I change the speed to listen they might change their speed(cid:0) of speaking. I try to make each recording the same length(cid:0) of time. I feel that if I make longer recordings they might(cid:0) just take longer to talk.”(cid:0) Page 19 Winter 2007(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Donate to the AA-EVP Every Time You(cid:0) Use Amazon or eBay(cid:0) If you are looking for a specific item or know that you are(cid:0) going to purchase something through Amazon or eBay,(cid:0) please access them through the buttons on the home page of(cid:0) the AA-EVP ((cid:0)http://aaevp.com(cid:0)). When you do this, a small(cid:0) portion of your purchase price goes to the AA-EVP. In the(cid:0) last six months, the money coming in through these(cid:0) affiliates has decreased. It’s simple and most of us do(cid:0) purchase items from these two vendors, so remember to go(cid:0) through the AA-EVP. Thank You!(cid:0) “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo(cid:0) Fruit of the Loom short sleeve(cid:0) shirts with blue embroidered AA-(cid:0) EVP logo.(cid:0) White:(cid:0) Small, Medium, Large(cid:0) and Extra Large sizes (blue logo)(cid:0) Blue:(cid:0) Extra Large (white logo)(cid:0) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA,(cid:0) $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only(cid:0).(cid:0)Order(cid:0) at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or mail to:

AA-EVP, PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) http://book.aaevp.com(cid:0) or by sending a(cid:0) letter with signing instructions to:(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live(cid:0) in Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are:(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0)$38.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional)(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______

Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0)_____(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that(cid:0) other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that(cid:0) the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume 25, Number 4 Page 20 Winter 2007(cid:0) American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NewsJournal Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 26 Number 1 Spring 2007 From our Viewpoint In February, we received an EVP that said, “Heaven”

and another that stated, “We’re in Heaven.” Just a week before, we had gotten an EVP that said, “We know Heaven.” We realized that there had been other EVP mentioning Heaven in the past few months. We also knew that Debbie Caruso’s son Joey had used this term to tell her where he was. But why were they telling us this? We don’t believe in a place where God sits enthroned among his angels. Personally, we never use this word to describe where our loved ones go when they cross over. To us, this word has inaccurate religious connotations that include its opposite, “Hell.” So why were they making a point to tell us this? When we mentioned the Heaven messages to Martha, she gasped and said that she has also been getting Heaven messages. We would bet that the word, “Heaven,” has probably come up in other member’s EVP during this time. There was now cross-correspondence on Heaven messages and we knew that this was important to our friends on the other side. The Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary defines Heaven as, “A word used loosely to mean ‘entire etheric world.’” All of the sudden it hit us! Both Vicky and Martha had appeared with Sylvia Browne on the Montel Williams Show, and to our horror, Sylvia had said that we were holding our loved ones back by doing EVP. The EVP messages were confirming that loved ones speaking to us through EVP were indeed on the “other side” and not

stuck. Giving the message, “We’re in Heaven” left no doubt that we were in no way holding them back and showed that both sides were working toward EVP communication. On our next experiment, the first message before we even announced ourselves was, “Listen to Cathy.” Next we were thanking all who helped and recorded, “It’s that Circle,” in a voice that Lisa felt sounded very much like Martha’s daughter, Cathy. We then asked if we were holding loved ones back by asking them to communicate with us via EVP and got “That’s bogus.” Cathy, by the way, often used the word, “bogus,” when she was in the physical. Just because a medium is famous does not mean that they know everything. I enjoyed reading what Hollister Rand had on her website, “To help you know if a psychic/medium that a psychic/medium cannot answer all of your questions about your life. It is not the nature of the Universe for us to know everything. We are here to LEARN! So beware of ANYONE who has all the answers!” is honest (ethical), realize us Bob Crimmins, wrote to January, in mentioning a book that he was working on. He was asking for members to share their mystical experiences and help him complete the last chapter. The book has fifty chapters and each asks a different question like, “What happens when you die?” Picture of Sarah Estep taken by Ludwig Schonheid in Tarrytown, NY in the 1980s Within weeks of Bob’s communication, we

received a letter from Sarah Estep’s daughter, Becky. (For those new to EVP, Sarah founded the AA-EVP in 1982.) Our mouths dropped open when Becky mentioned that she had found a survey that Sarah had done. She wrote, “I also found a survey that Mom had done years ago, where she contacted various people from Who’s Who in America, asking if they’d ever had a paranormal experience. She got about fifty responses. She was going to publish the results in a book…. Somehow she never wrote the book, but the survey is pretty fascinating to read.” Needless to say we put Becky and Bob in touch with each other and Becky is helping Sarah do a preface for chapter fifty, which is titled, “Have You Ever Had a Mystical Experience?” in Bob’s book, Life is in Session, Are You Present? Can Animals Communicate From The Beyond? The answer is an empathic YES! This NewsJournal is carrying reports of communication that have come from dogs, cats, horses and tigers. It did not start out as a journal highlighting so many animal communications but as usually happens, one thing leads to another. It started with Margaret Downey receiving ITC pictures of some of the big cats that Geoff Daner trained and then Margaret started receiving pictures of horses. Next we came across Carol Peterson’s tribute to her beloved cat Zack and Vicki Talbott’s receiving some EVP messages containing Zack’s distinctive meow. NewsJournals have a way of taking on a life of their

own so we were not surprised when, within weeks of the above happenings, members Darren Williams and Alexandra Anderson wrote, Continued page 5 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. AA-EVP NewsJournal Contents From our Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................1 Gloria Keeps a Promise.....................................................................................................................3 Contacting our Loved Ones on the Other Side by Martha Copeland.............................................5 EVP Presentations.............................................................................................................................5 Donation Request...............................................................................................................................5 EVP Listening Experiment...............................................................................................................6 Help with Best Practices....................................................................................................................6 Fox by Darren Williams......................................................................................................................7 Zack by Carol Peterson.......................................................................................................................8 Big Circle Recording Dates...............................................................................................................8 Hearing EVP.......................................................................................................................................9 Tempo Change can Change EVP Meaning.....................................................................................9 4Cell EVP Demonstration Update....................................................................................................9 Recording EVP Using a Telephone................................................................................................10 Correction: ITC Journal Address..................................................................................................10 Signs from Geoff..............................................................................................................................11 New Face Recognition Program.....................................................................................................12 ITC Face Closely Matches Original...............................................................................................12 Have You had a Mystical Experience?..........................................................................................12 An Interview Phran and Robert Gingsberg, Founders of The Forever Family Foundation................................13 A Loving Overview by Laurie Monroe............................................................................................14 Grants for Research into Life after Death.....................................................................................14 Experimental Recording Techniques Using a Phototransistor by D. Mierzwinski.....................16 News from Members........................................................................................................................18 Thoughts from Members.................................................................................................................18 Researcher Reports..........................................................................................................................19 Reporting Your EVP Messages......................................................................................................19 Reporting News................................................................................................................................19 Donate to the AA-EVP Every Time You Use Amazon or eBay...................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2007AA-EVP Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures.

Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive. Subscription: The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP: The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views

and policy. Web Masters: aaevp.com: Tom Butler, archive.aaevp.com: Jim Stonier and Carol Peterson bigcircle.aaevp.com: Lisa Yesse and Jim Stonier. Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Volume 26, Number 1 Page 2 Patrons Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland Carol Peterson Ralph Thomas George Wynne Sustaining Members Robert Davis Robert Egby Jeff Haas David and Olive Saunders Jerald Shelton Donations Holly Addonizio Kirk Baily Lloyd Bradshaw Joeine Caffero Andrew Laird Cheryl and Chuck Johnson Special Thanks We wish to thank all of you who are supporting the Association with your hard work. Your help is making it possible for us to increase the services offered by the AA-EVP. Gloria Keeps a Promise Bob Crimmin’s wife Gloria worked in oils and charcoal and Bob recalls that it was always fun getting a card from her because it was always handmade. “She was extremely creative in a lot of ways including carpentry,” Bob told us. “She helped build our deck; Levi’s, saws, drills and all. Our deck is the size of a small restaurant. We got carried away. “I will guarantee that if you had met her you would be friends, as that’s the kind of woman she was. I met Gloria when she was sixteen years old and we were joined from the hip from that time on, forty-four years. If there is such a thing as soulmates, we were. “Gloria’s nickname was, ‘Tea,’ because she was a collector of teapots, saucers, etc. Our house looks like a gift shop, and she gave

tea parties for her friends on our deck. She also liked to go to those tea houses with friends and dress up with gloves, fancy hat and all. “We were big on hiking and were out there every weekend. She would always get a rock in her shoe and then lean on me to keep her balance while she got the rock out. It was almost automatic, we would go hiking; she would get a rock in her shoe. She always did, I never did. It was an inside joke and I would tease her about it. “She was 59 years old. She died from inflammatory breast cancer. Who even knew it existed? Two years ago she made her transition, just like her life, with grace. She was lying on the table in the emergency room, turned her head slightly and looked at her family standing there ten feet away, struggled a bit to slightly raise her hand to give us a thumbs up, closed her eyes and was gone. Greeting card drawn by Gloria “I didn’t go to her funeral. I didn’t look at her picture in the newspaper. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, probably would have had a heart attack. My kids handled the whole thing. Instead, I went to our favorite hiking place. As I was walking along the trail, crying my heart out, apologizing to her for not being able to be at her funeral, guess what? I got a rock in my shoe

… first time ever. Is that subtle? Yes it is, but if folks don’t understand how to pay attention to subtleties they will never experience the joy of contact from their loved one. Things will happen, but folks will just miss them. “You even said in your last newsletter that things happen, maybe a light will flicker. That happened to me as well but I wasn’t thinking about it until you mentioned it … The light over my computer would flicker. At first I thought it It was a light bulb so I changed still it. would flicker from time to time. Then I thought it could be the on-off switch in the wall so I replaced that. The light still flickered. Since I had read … about flickering lights I asked Gloria to stop making the light flicker to see if it might be her involved in this; the light hasn’t flickered since. Gloria was great for joking around, evidently she’s still doing it. Gloria and Bob “Ten days after she passed, the phone calls started coming. At first I just thought it was someone dialing the wrong number and didn’t think much of it. But more came; many more. Then one day I was talking to one of Gloria’s best friends … and for some reason mentioned what was going on. She matter-of-factly said to me, ‘Oh, that’s just Gloria calling you, she’s calling me too!!’ She was getting phone calls as well. They started exactly at the

same time. Not as many as me, but quite a few. Then she explained that she had friends who had lost a close friend or family member who experienced the same thing. The phone calls started and were constant, five to ten a day, then after a period of time, maybe a month, they slowed down a little to two or three a day. After six months they slowed down even more and then finally they stopped. “Now the only time one happens is if I’m sitting here, especially at night when I’m feeling REALLY BLUE, the phone will ring. I pick it up and there it is, I say “hello” but no one answers, no sound of hanging up on the other side, so I just say to her that I love her and hang up the phone. One day, I got my hands on a book called, Phone Calls from the Dead, by D. Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless. It outlines the whole thing just like it happened to us. Evidently it’s been happening for as long as seventy-five years.” [The book is out of print but is available used. See the link at http://aaevp.com/resources/evp_books.htm] Bob has even gotten two of these phone calls on a phone that was unplugged from the wall. To reiterate; the phone rang with the same type of call but was not even plugged into the wall! He has a total of forty of her calls recorded on cassette. He received more but

didn’t start recording them at first because he didn’t know what they were. He says that some have no talking that he can hear, but no sound of anyone hanging up. He told us, “Something is there, but what I don’t know, others have sound but I can’t quite make it out.” Bob wanted to see if there was a way to listen to these records and we advised him that if he did not Continued page 4 Page 3 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Gloria Keeps a Promise have sound editing software to download them to his computer using the free cross-platform sound editor, called “Audacity” at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/, to see if he could hear anything. Continued from page 3 Gloria and Bob had promised to get in touch with whoever was left behind and Gloria certainly kept her promise in many ways, but to Bob, none were as dramatic as the following. A month after Gloria passed, Bob recalls walking onto the large patio that it had taken Flowers on greeting card drawn by Gloria them over two years to build. “I stopped and thought to myself, ‘Why should I care about the patio anymore? I’m not even going to wrap the plastic around the outside of it in the winter to keep the rain out. What for? I won’t enjoy it anymore now that she’s gone.’ “I walked toward my car and passed Gloria’s flower garden. I stopped and thought to myself, ‘What am I going to do with

the flower garden? It’s an awful lot of work to keep up. Maybe I’ll just take it out and extend the length of the driveway and put more blacktop in its place.’” A few days later, one of Gloria’s good friends called and asked to use some of Gloria’s teapots and teacups for a party. Bob agreed with a warning that they needed to be very careful with them. After hanging up the phone, he thought it over and decided to call the friend back and tell her that she could use his house for the party. About three days later, Bob’s daughter called and said she was coming over to talk to him about something that had happened. When she arrived, she looked stressed and said, “Dad, I don’t know how to say this, but Mom talked to me yesterday morning.” She told Bob that it wasn’t a dream, it was at that time when you first wake up in the morning and you’re not quite awake yet. She was so shaken by the experience that she did not even go to work that day. When Bob asked what Gloria had said, his daughter told him, “It didn’t make any sense … she said she wanted me to tell you to take care of the patio and protect it from the rain because she worked too hard on it to let anything happen to it, and to take care of her flower garden and not be thinking about putting

more blacktop out there. There was enough blacktop already in the driveway. And lastly she said to tell you to keep those women out of her house!” Bob wrote, “If I didn’t believe in life after death, with that experience, I certainly do now. I will never again need any other proof in my life! There isn’t any way to get around that story. I’m sure she realized I needed something so in your face … so she made it so obvious, otherwise I wouldn’t make it long without her. Now I can at least, if nothing else, be here for my kids and wait my turn.” Eight months after Gloria’s transition, the stress finally caught up with Bob and he had a heart attack. But Bob feels Gloria didn’t want him on the other side because, “out of the blue,” his daughter took off work to come see him; she had never done this. Bob told us, “She walked into the house to find me having a heart attack, and had she not done that, out of the blue, been there at that EXACT minute, the doctor said seven minutes later I would’ve been gone…. How’s that? ... Out of the blue….” is the process Gloria and Bob started in the book, Life You Session, Are Present? Of course, Gloria didn’t live to help Bob complete it but he is in of completing it now. They interviewed people all over the country asking them all the same fifty questions

life. Each chapter in the book is a separate question. Bob says, “To say the least I got some of the most interesting answers from folks on questions such as: Gloria (left) with her sister, Jeannie about 1. What is God? 2. What do you think happens after you die? 3. If you could ask of the wisest creature in the universe one question what would it be? 4. What is absolute truth? “I have finally put the finishing touches on the book, all except Chapter Fifty which is titled, ‘Have you Ever had a Mystical Experience?’ This is where we could use some help from your many members across the country and the world. We would like them to share their mystical experiences to put in the book. They can email their experience to [email protected] or mail their information to: Bob Crimmins 7248 Hedge Avenue Sacramento, CA 95829 If you participate, you need to send your story to Bob by June 2007. They also need you to include your age, where you were born and your occupation. This is how they list people in the book. Bob told us that, “We don’t use people’s names and this has allowed people to be totally open. We have received incredible answers to our fifty questions.” Bob has also promised to let us know when the book will be published and we will let members know. Volume 26, Number 1 Page 4 Contacting our Loved Ones on the Other Side: Exercises and

Techniques by Martha Copeland Emotions can affect communications across the veil. It is important to remain in a positive mood and stay relaxed when trying to contact loved ones. Below are some exercises that will help raise your vibration before recording sessions. They align your Body, Mind, and Spirit, and you may want to practice these before attempting to reach your loved ones in the beyond. (cid:143) Play a song that reminds you of your loved one. (cid:143) Light a candle; notice the different colors of the flame. (cid:143) Close your eyes and see the flame in your mind’s eye. Breathe in the light of the candle, releasing any negativity; relax. (cid:143) Visualize the warmth of the glowing light. Feel the light entering your body as you become lighter, and lighter. Relax even more. (cid:143) Know that the light is now forming a beam, much like that of a laser light, flowing from your third eye. (cid:143) Notice that at the end of the laser light you see the form of a person. (cid:143) As the person approaches closer into the light you can see it is your loved one. Feel your form rising, flowing towards theirs and hugging them. (cid:143) Pay attention to every detail about your loved one. Is your loved one smiling? What type of clothes, shoes? What color are they? How does the clothing feel? What is it made of? Just observe the moment. (cid:143) Focus on words forming in the beam of light. Send these

words in thought forms to your loved one. Say how much you love and miss your loved one. Ask how you should communicate. Wait for an answer. (cid:143) Enjoy the moment; feel the love that surrounds you both. (cid:143) When you are ready, hug your loved one, and say that you will be back soon. You may want to repeat the visual portion of this exercise daily while in bed, before going to sleep and upon awakening. Your focus is the key to opening the door to the other side. EVP Presentations Just a reminder that we will be giving EVP/ITC presentations at: (cid:143) The Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc. at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA, June 1-4. Raymond Moody, P.M.H. Atwater, Donald Morse and Sylvia Hart Wright are just a few of the other speakers. See www.lightlink.com/arpr/ or call Boyce Batey at 860.242.4593 for more information. (cid:143) International Spiritualist Federation (ISF) convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rochester, NY, Sept 8 -15. This is a week of learning, with classes on mediumship and healing (no classes on EVP, just a presentation). For more information see www.theisf.com. Continued from page 1 Viewpoint at first almost tentatively, about the communication that they felt was coming from their dog, Fox. They were concerned that we might tell them that they were delusional from grief over the loss of their most treasured friend and companion. We assured them that this type of communication had been experienced by others and

ultimately it was the evidential EVP messages coming from Fox that convinced them of their veracity. Medium Holister Rand says, “Just as people are spiritually progressing, so too are animals. What especially amazes me is that sometimes I don’t realize at first that I’m talking with a pet because he or she seems so much like a person.” In a past 4Cell experiment, the questioner asked for the name of her dog, now on the other side. She also expressed the desire to hear his bark. The expected answer was, “Toby,” and the Receiver recorded “Tob … y.” Later, a dog’s bark was clearly heard. We remember an email that we received from Patti Newell. She wrote, “Two years ago at Lily Dale, one of the mediums was trying to give me a greeting from a departed loved one but she was struggling with it. She kept saying that the energy was very enthusiastic but there was something odd about it that she didn’t understand and finally she said that she got the name “Sandy” from my father’s side of the family. I laughed out loud and explained that I could understand why the energy felt odd, as Sandy was my father’s favorite dog. She laughed and said that would explain why she wanted to wriggle her backside every time she said ‘enthusiastic’!” Donation Request The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and research association that needs your support in order to tax grow. Your charitable contributions are fully deductible.

Would you like to see the Association offer grants for EVP/ITC research? An even bigger dream for the future would be for the Association to have a building with a computer lab where people could come to learn how to record and process EVP and/or just get together. The movie, White Noise, brought in lots of donations and purchases of the book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, from which all proceeds go to the AA-EVP. This brought the Association to a position of almost being able to issue grants for research. But more funds are needed, and in the last year, book purchases and donations have tapered off. What now comes into the Association is enough to take care of expenses. The Association needs people who can afford it to make a commitment of a monthly or annual cash gift. Please consider the AA-EVP in your will or giving the Association funds via a Trust Fund, Endowment, Charitable Annuity, Retained Life Estate, Living Trust, Life Insurance Gift or Retirement Plan Gift. In this way you’ll be a part of knowledge gained through research grants and the AA-EVP legacy to the future of EVP/ITC. Page 5 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal EVP Listening Experiment One problems Pareidolia is one of the explanations for EVP offered by the skeptical community. It means mistaking an ordinary thing as being phenomenal. Their point is that the recordings we call EVP are probably not words at all, only sounds mistaken for words.

of in the countering this argument is that the words in EVP are too often very hard to hear and are spoken in odd ways. Any EVP phrase can be difficult to understand, as can normal speech heard in noisy conditions. The problem then, is not just to show that the words of EVP are real messages. We also need to find a way to make the point that the listener must accept some responsibility to learn how to listen to EVP. It is, after all, an acquired skill. To answer the claim of pareidolia, we set up an experiment in the Research section of the ATransC website. It contained five unnamed examples and website visitors were asked to write down what they heard for each. They were also asked to tell us if they had studied EVP, and if so, did they believe EVP was phenomenal or mundane. Additional questions were if they were skeptical, a trained scientist or had a non-science degree. After one hundred “qualified” responses, the experiment was stopped because of the time required for processing the results and because we were being overrun by people determined to defeat the experiment. Judging by the computer address, some were coming back a second time, saying they had studied EVP and believed it to be phenomenal and then typing random characters in the response field. By “qualified” we mean that the respondent actually wrote a response for at least one example, and the response was something other than

random characters. To determine whether or not EVP can be shown to be true words, rather than imagined patterns in otherwise random noise, we counted the number of words in all five examples. In the “Shut up Vicki, just shut up,” recorded by Vicki Talbott, we counted “shut up” as one word because it is heard that way in normal speech. We then counted how many of the words known to be in each example were included in each response. The highest percentage of correct words for each example was: 42% for the “Shut up” example, 19% for “We keep looking for peace” recorded by Lisa, 43% for “Where’s Mom” recorded by Martha Copeland, 35% for “Hi, Mom” recorded by Teri Daner and 15% for “Thanks, thanks for the money” recorded by Vicki Talbott. Respondents correctly identified 609 of the possible 1900 words or 32%. People who said they had studied EVP and believed it to be phenomenal scored 34% correct with thirty-six respondents. Only eight people said they had studied EVP and believed it to be mundane, but this group was able to get 43% of the words correct. Twenty-eight skeptics actually tried and did pretty well with 24% correct interpretations. Eleven scholastically-trained scientists scored an accuracy of 32% and eight scholastically-trained people who were not scientists scored an average of 32% correct. Nine their respondents did not background, but together averaged 25% correct. indicate This is just one experiment, and with only 100 samples, it is rather small.

It was fully blind, in that there were no clues as to what the examples said. If EVP is just noise, then none, certainly not more than a few percent of the words, should be understood. However, the results indicate that some EVP examples are understood without prompting, and that the ability to understand an EVP is improved with training. All five examples are amongst the best we have heard and a large percentage of people we play them for under controlled conditions agree that they are very clear. So, one important message of this experiment for all of us is that what we think is very clear, is not necessarily clear to the average person. We would be happy to sponsor other such website experiments. It is necessary that you design your experiment, analyze the data and write a report, but we would be happy to help you set it up. Help With Best Practices The Best Practices initiative is being sponsored by the AA-EVP with the intention of establishing widely accepted recommendations for how to work with various aspects of EVP/ITC. For instance, there might be a best practice for using two recorders in field situations. Another might be not to attempt to find EVP in straight-line waveforms. For this initiative to work, people and organizations from all areas of etheric studies must participate. We are seeking volunteers to help set up the initial committees and begin developing the practices. The model we are using is that used

to develop “open” communications protocols, for which organizations “volunteer” members to represent their interest. That is how the Internet was developed. Draft Best Practices will sometimes require research to validate assumptions and those requirements will be turned into a request for research and a request for funding. We believe that targeted research will more easily attract contributors. A third section of the initiative will be an online peer- reviewed journal for publishing research results. Currently, no scientific body is willing to seriously support this research, so it is up to all of us to establish our own journal. You can see that a lot of work needs to be done. Volunteers need not be AA-EVP members, so see http://etheric-studies.aaevp.com for more details. Tell a Volume 26, Number 1 Page 6 Fox by Darren Williams Recently, our little dog, Fox, passed away from cancer. We were absolutely devastated, since we had an unusually strong bond with him. To us, he was a beloved family member of ten years whom we rescued from the SPCA. We’d heard about EVP many times before, although frankly, I was always somewhat skeptical about it. Let me say we’re both very level-headed people, with a strong interest in science and technology, but open-minded enough to accept that the paranormal is worth rational investigation. But we’re also very aware of the possibility of self-deception, particularly in highly emotive issues such as the passing of a loved one. It was in this frame of mind that we decided

to put EVP to the test. Having read about some research that seems to show pets using human-language phrases telepathically and this showing up on an EVP, we decided to try to speak to him directly. Frankly I felt a bit uncomfortable doing it, and I guess we both worried that our grief was affecting our judgment. But try would have been to not hypocritical, since we’d had many experiences with Fox while he was alive that seemed to show a telepathic link, as well as the fact that he could understand an amazing array of phrases. I have to say we were not prepared for the response we’ve gotten. While some EVP are faint, others came through quite clearly, but most tellingly, they were direct responses to direct questions. In some cases there seems to be responses from what I guess you’d call “guardians” of Fox, and others—and at this point I know it’s difficult to believe—directly from Fox himself. I realize that, to many, it’s absurd that Fox could “speak” to us. Of course we don’t believe it’s literal speech, but some kind of psionic interaction. But then, many human beings are very arrogant about their place and role in the animal kingdom. To be a bit more specific about the results: (cid:143) In one case on a recording, Alex talks about Fox being neutered—a requirement of the SPCA before releasing him to us. In it, she says, “... and I hope that wasn’t too bad for you.”

When we replayed the recording, instead of the word “bad” you hear “Terrible.” It sounds like her voice being manipulated, because it becomes that of a young male voice, it goes up an octave. We believe that when he was neutered he was roughly treated; he had cuts and nicks all over him. This voice is startlingly clear and it sounds “superimposed”…. (cid:143) Where we think it’s Fox, phrases or words we used to say to him, and to which he would react and even act upon (to the amazement of friends), like “That’s terrible, Fox” (said playfully), “Not your fault” etc., appear on the EVP. It seems to be a young male voice, perhaps like a child, as you would expect it to be. (cid:143) We’ve also picked up his very specific bark! ... In one case, it sounds very much like Alex’s mobile phone ring tone, a recording we made of his bark. This EVP took place while Alex was at work. I called her on her mobile to tell her about it and since her work is quite a few kilometers away, I don’t think the mike picked it up! Perhaps this ringtone was “used” somehow? (cid:143) In quite a few cases, a voice seems to talk over ours – we’ve often heard the word “Foxy” (we often called him that) on the recording as we’re speaking. I’m fully aware that skeptics can easily dismiss this all as a fake or self-delusion. For some people, sadly, the

attitude seems to be, “I wouldn’t believe this even if it were true.” Recently Alex was doing an EVP where she mentioned the fact that I buried Fox in his favorite place in our garden. On playback you hear a clear whisper that says “Candles.” Since Fox passed on, we’ve been putting candles around his grave at night, the including floating candles birdbath, so it’s kind of a “fairy light” effect. We think that’s a reference to our nightly tribute. What it also is, for us, is the first direct evidence that Fox can see us as well as hear us. in Fox In another experiment Alex apologized for the way that Fox had been treated with his previous family ending with “I don’t know who they were…” Straight after her comments a young voice says very clearly “The Millers” [Editor: name changed]. Disbelieving, we looked up the surname … and found that there was a Miller family living just up the road and a block away from the animal sanctuary where Fox was taken … with more research we learned that the family left just prior to the time that Fox was found wandering on the street near the animal sanctuary. This has been a life-changing experience. It’s not only enabled us to add further profound meaning to Fox’s life and death, but our fear of our own mortality has vastly receded … Imagine the amount of comfort it would bring the bereaved of the larger world population, if

only people could open their minds and put aside preconceptions. For Alex and me, it’s even influenced our language, to speak of departed loved ones in the past tense no longer really makes sense; they haven’t vanished into oblivion. Alex’s sister lives in Scotland. She’s far away and we don’t get to speak as often as we’d like, but nobody thinks she’s ceased to exist. This is how we now also think of Fox, Page 7 Continued page 15 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Zack by Carol Peterson determined that he had an aggressive form of oral cancer. The allopathic treatments of invasive surgery followed by chemotherapy just didn’t seem the right thing to do (and were typically not that successful in prolonging either the quality or length of life). Determined to make Zack as comfortable as possible through his transition, we brought him to a holistic veterinary center where he tolerated treatments of acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and other holistic medications. He even put up with the syringe feedings. As the illness progressed, Lilly was his frequent companion and I would often find them curled up on the bed together. No one could say that animals don’t love each other after seeing her take care of him. In late October, Zack had enough and we had to let him go. He was over fifteen years old. It was a very difficult decision, but a humane one. We are comforted in a quiet house now by the knowledge that Zack is healthy

again on the other side. Zack sleeping on a heat register Vicki graciously agreed to help us find out how Zack is doing and recorded two EVP that mention him and include a very unique meow, much as Zack sounded. The first was “Zack, now eat this, there you are … Meow” and “He’s from the animal pick up … Meow.” It’s nice to know that Zack has found friends in the Big Circle. Big Circle Recording Dates Just a reminder on the group recording dates. Join other members who are recording on these dates and then share your recordings on the Member’s Idea Exchange under the Big Circle, “Results from Recording Sessions,” forum. The upcoming recording dates are April 5 and 19, May 3, 17, and 31, June 14 and 28, and July 12 and 26. For more information contact: Martha Copeland ([email protected]), Karen Mossey ([email protected]), or Vicki Talbott ([email protected]). Zack I was introduced to Zack in November of 1995. My friend Susan, who lived downstairs at the time, had come to tell me earlier that she knew of a retired show cat that needed a home. Was I interested in adopting him? I didn’t think so, as I had two young cats, Simon and Lilly, at the time and wasn’t really interested in a third … but what harm would it do to just go and see him? After all, he was a Bengal and that sounded very exotic. So off we went to meet him. They say

you only make one first impression, and Zack made a very powerful one. He confidently strode into the room, meowing loudly (bellowing, one might say) and came right over to us. He inspected us thoroughly, and then sat with us so that we could pet him. He came home with me that night, and I was to learn that his routine of announcing his arrival into a room, inspecting whoever was there, and then demanding his due attention would often be repeated. Simon and Lilly didn't much care for this new cat upon his arrival at my home, and wouldn’t let him sleep on the bed that first night. However, over time they learned to live with each other and with the other animals that would later come into my home. Zack was clearly an “alpha” cat (although most cats do tend to think of themselves that way) and nothing would stop him from what he wanted, whether it was a piece of chicken on your plate or a spot on a warm lap. He was the first one to greet me when I came home from work with his trademark “mmrreowwfff” and inspected any visitors appropriately. He loved warm spots and in the winter would sleep on the radiator covers or under the blankets on the bed with me. A very social cat, he looked after houseguests as well. For example, when Vicki Talbott stayed with us for a few days last summer, he made sure to sleep with

her so she wouldn’t be lonely and missing her cat. He also was one of the few indoor cats I know who didn’t mind car rides and going to new places. He was a huge hit as a subject for a “Reiki for Animals” workshop last spring. Over this past summer, I noticed Zack starting to slow down and he started looking too thin. I brought him in for his yearly checkup, and after a barrage of tests, it was Volume 26, Number 1 Page 8 Hearing EVP Several members have worked with Dan Drasin and Tim Coleman on a documentary dealing with EVP/ITC. We had mentioned to Dan our frustration with people expecting EVP to sound like normal speech, even though they are told it is paranormal. Dan wrote back: “In our experience it’s not that they want it to be normal ... it’s that they just can’t hear the words. Hearing EVP samples over and over again at your leisure in a quiet environment is worlds apart from hearing them for the first time, as they go by quickly, on a TV loudspeaker, in the midst of one’s very first exposure to a wholly new field of information of which one may be skeptical in the first place. “I’ve been able to process a number of samples to reduce noise and improve them tremendously in terms of intelligibility ... but even then, they’re problematic. Part of the problem seems to be that certain frequencies, on which the ear

bases certain aspects of intelligibility, are completely missing so they can’t just be boosted…. “Also, in many cases when you really listen to certain EVP samples, you can hear that they consist partly of ‘hints’ rather than actual words. Enough for the brain to fill in the rest ... under ideal conditions ... but when, say, you slow them down to try and hear them more clearly, they fall apart completely. Obviously those on the other side are using to communicate, but what works for someone who knew the deceased person’s voice intimately won’t always work for a stranger under these far-less-than-ideal conditions.” economical means possible the most Tempo Change can Change EVP Meaning You may recall that we included an article by Alexander MacRae in the last issue titled, Hearing with Templates. In it, he explained that, “…the point is made that templates are used in all recognition processes, whether recognizing phonemes (elements of words); or patterns of phonemes which are words; or patterns of words which are phrases.” We asked MacRae whether or not changes in the the sound faster or slower—could tempo—making influence how the sound is interpreted as words. He responded, “Yes, the parts of speech which contain the most intelligibility are the consonants and the main feature of a consonant is timing, which has to be pretty precise. So, yes, you can get apparent shifts in meaning due simply to time distortion.” Changing the speed of an EVP to make it more easily understood sometimes

makes sense, but if you hear one thing at one speed, and something else at another, then you may have gone too far. We recommend that speed changes not be used to discover what is said, as opposed to small to help others with untrained ears better changes understand the utterance. If you do change the speed of an EVP in an effort to discover what is said, once you think you know what is said, find that meaning in the unedited version. If you cannot, then you may be fooling yourself and should probably discard the example. 4Cell EVP Demonstration Update The 4Cell group, Cease2Decease, is the only one operating today. Members are Vicki Talbott, Rheta Conley, Terry Dullin and Mary Jo Gran. In Experiment 5, the question was, “What do you do for fun?” [No specific answer expected.] As Scribe, Vicki said that several appropriate EVP were recorded but, “I am posting ‘Playing with Chihuahuas’ for a couple of reasons. First, when we heard it, we thought it was a strangely specific answer. Shortly thereafter, I realized why they would say that. One student from a country where eating dogs is not uncommon, started a running joke in our international ESL grammar class about eating and being eaten by Chihuahuas. Soon all the students were making up sentences based on the topic … I think our communicators knew this was going to happen and are joking about playing with the Chihuahuas my students have eaten in their writings.

By the way, they are all dog lovers, and one of them even has a Chihuahua, so this was and is all in fun.” This is considered a direct hit. In Experiment 6, the Scribe said that, “Mary Jo’s sister, Sheila, recently crossed over. Sheila has been very vocal since her passing and Mary Jo wished to direct a question specifically to her. The question was ‘What was the nickname Mary Jo’s sister, Sheila, gave her after she got her Harley?’” The expected answer was “Tilt,” because Sheila always leaned to the side while riding her Harley. The answer recorded and posted on the Idea Exchange is “Leans to one side,” which is considered a direct hit. There are a couple of points that can be drawn from these results. “Playing with Chihuahuas” is an excellent response when you know the story of Vicki’s grammar class. It also tells us that the entities have access to that sort of information, perhaps from Vicki’s mind or because one of the communicators is watching the class. We should never doubt that our communicators have a sense of humor. “Leans to one side” describes the conceptual meaning of “Tilt.” As in a previous message, “Has a view of the bay” for the expected answer, “Waterfront,” it reinforces our belief that concepts are more easily conveyed across the veil than are concrete terms. We thought nicknames would be easily conveyed and Vicki assured us that they did record “Tilt” several times. We have not

made a new tally, but at this time, around 68% of the 4Cell experiments have produced a direct or arguably close hit, making the protocol a way to achieve decisive evidence that there is a communicator somewhere who is able to convey information unknown to the Receiver. We know of no other experiments of this kind that have repeatedly produced tangible evidence about EVP under double-blind conditions. We thank the members of Cease2Decease for their work. We see this as valuable research and encourage others to organize into four-person groups to conduct experiments following the 4Cell protocol. It is easy, often produces astounding results, helps one learn to record and best of all the entities say they like the structure. For more information see: http://aaevp.com/research.htm. Page 9 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Recording EVP Using a Telephone Debbie Caruso has been learning to use a telephone and computer for recording EVP. The results have been very promising. She has always been one of our braver members who is willing to try new ideas and record for others. Recording for others is a challenge because it takes quite a lot of time and most people need to learn how to hear examples that are not always Class A. Caller Caller Caller in course, The elements of Debbie’s this setup are shown a diagram. Of computer is used, and a recording program such as Audacity or Audition. She is to using HyperTerminal control the modem for phone connections. It comes with Microsoft Windows

(Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications). She uses a telephone set connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she could use a headset equipped with individual jacks that connect to the Headphone Out and Microphone In jacks of the computer. (Search “Computer Headset” at Radioshack.com.) Telephone System If modem and control software are not available, Radio Shack sells a “Recorder Control” for $27 that Debbie has used with success. See model number is 43-228. This unit connects to the telephone jack and plugs into the computer’s Line In or Microphone In jack. Debbie arranges with a person or persons with whom she will record to call her, and with the computer connected to the line, she is able to speak with the callers and record the conversation. Once the connection is established, the recording session is conducted as if she is in the same room with the other person and using a standard audio recorder. It is also possible to have a second telephone receiver off hook and near a fan or some other sound source. A telephone line is designed to provide enough feedback from the microphone to the speaker to give the sense of a “live” circuit. This is a byproduct of the conversion from two-wire between the home and the central office and four-wire between central offices. It is known that a little feedback in the EVP circuit sometimes helps for EVP. Sonia Rinaldi uses a similar setup for recording and has been very successful

in making contact with loved ones for families. However, there is little public information about her methods, so Debbie is taking the old “trial and error” approach. It seems to be working, though. Martha Copeland wrote, “Debbie has been experimenting on her own, and I happen to be one of her guinea pigs! On our first experiment we picked up my daughter, Cathy’s voice saying, “Keep trying.” Participants in group sessions call into (now out of service) ConFreeCall.com, an online conference service. The group first discusses what they want to ask, and then Debbie begins the recording process. Four or five questions are asked during a one-minute, forty-second recording session. Some of the participants record at the same time. While everyone is still on the line, Debbie plays back her recording so that all can hear what may have been recorded. Others who have recorded also review their recordings during the call so that the results can be shared before the session is ended. Debbie’s House Computer Teleco Jack Modem Headset Mic Out In Teleco Jack Debbie talks on telephone or computer As Debbie explained, “The conference calls are a great way for a lot of people to record together. When recording for the Big Circle (BC), we all call in at 8 PM, ask “Who’s here from the then wait BC?” approximately one-minute, forty-seconds in silence. We play it back, see if anyone and answered and that helps us decide our next question. “Other than the BC, there are

no set schedules. People will want to record and we’ll just meet in the Conference Room at a time convenient for all. It’s just an easy way to record with a lot of people. What I would like to concentrate on now is people meeting to record for one specific person. I would love for many family members to be in the room to contact one special person.” Because of the possibility of overwhelming Debbie with requests, please contact her via a personal message in the Idea Exchange. She wants to help as many people as she can but please understand that she may not have time to meet all requests. We encourage others to try the computer/telephone technique. Also, the conference room approach to group recording offers some interesting possibilities. Let us know if any of you have successes to report. Examples of Debbie’s work may be listened to in the Examples section of atransc.org Correction ITC Journal Address The ITC Journal published by Anabela Cardoso is mailed from Spain three times a year and costs $30 plus $25 postage. Most articles are translated into English. We published an old web and email address in the last AA-EVP NewsJournal. For info on subscribing please go to www.itcjournal.org/ or email [email protected]. Volume 26, Number 1 Page 10 Signs from Geoff We introduced members to Teri Daner’s son, Geoff, in the Spring 2006 NewsJournal. Geoff was a big cat trainer and had given up a career in modeling to work with

animals. Geoff had a successful opening show with the Shiners Circus in Los Angeles before the evening in which he instantly made his transition to the other side in a tragic car accident. After the memorial, Teri carried Geoff’s ashes in an urn through the cat barn to give the cats closure. She was also recording. Teri said that she just wanted to get the sound of the big cats and was shocked when she later listened back to the recording and heard Geoff’s voice saying, “Hi Mom,” in a class “A” EVP. This was the first of many EVP that Teri recorded from her son. In March of last year, Margaret Downey recorded a voice saying, “Gi Gi loves me.” She posted it on the Idea Exchange in the Big Circle area, where names that are recorded but not recognized during Big Circle recording sessions are placed. It is hoped that another member will recognize the name and person. Teri listened to Margaret’s EVP and realized that the message was “G. G. loves me.” G. G. was one of the Tigers that Geoff worked with. In fact G. G. is the tiger that Geoff would carry during his show. In November, right before Thanksgiving, Margaret conducted a visual ITC experiment using water, and asked Geoff if he could come through along with some of the big cats that G.G., the Green-Eyed Princiss were now also on the other side. Geoff’s picture did come through along with several images that

looked like big cats. Right after Geoff died, Teri was given a horse named Anne to help her through her grief. Teri says that Anne was a godsend who kept her busy and sane after the loss of her only child. Then in October of 2006, Anne broke her leg and had to be euthanized. This was extremely difficult for Teri and so to try and help, Margaret asked Geoff to help Anne come through in an ITC experiment and recorded several images that looked like a horse. (See picture on page 12.) Geoff carrying G.G. The Dreams Teri has had many dreams that she feels have come from Geoff. She recalls praying one time for Geoff to come to her in a dream. She was sleeping in the den near Geoff’s table of memories. His cell phone is one of the things on this table. At 5:10 AM, his cell phone started ringing. This is the exact time that Teri had received the phone call that Geoff had been in the tragic accident. The phone had been disconnected for over six months. Next, Teri got her journal and started writing down what she had been dreaming. In her dream, she is in a wood-framed house with a wooden porch. It is surrounded by fields. It is the middle of the night and people are sleeping. Someone comes knocking at the door. Teri jumps up and is disoriented. She hears a man saying something. She says that she doesn’t know

who he is and starts barricading the door with furniture. She is afraid; she looks for a weapon and gets a stick from the corner of the room. She peeks out the window. There is a man with a little boy and a horse. Teri writes, “He tells me that he will come back when I know the truth; that I would check on something, verify something about his story, about what he told me when he was on the other side of the door!” Raja and Geoff Geoff and Margaret Downey’s ITC image resembling Geoff Geoff had a son who died at four months and would have been about four years old at the time of the dream. Also the day before the dream, Teri had been talking to her horse, Anne, telling her that she wished Geoff had met her and that they could have gone riding together, but they never had that opportunity. Later that night Teri was talking to a friend, telling her about the dream and Geoff’s phone rang again. For Teri this was a major confirmation that the signs were coming from Geoff. In January, Teri agreed to tell the story of her ongoing communication with her son on the Maury Show. Margaret Downey was also to share her communication with Geoff. (You may remember that Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey Continued page 12 invited Page 11 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Continued from page 11 Signs from Geoff had been on a paranormal segment

of Maury in 2004 and the Maury producers had done an excellent job of presenting the story of their communication with their children now on the other side.) Two ITC images collected by Margaret Downey when she asked Teri’s horse, Anne (right), to appear At the last minute, Margaret was unable to make the trip to New York. We had been helping the Maury producers with getting material for the show and they asked if we would come and present Margaret’s material (ITC and EVP). We were able to do this and felt that the show went well. They taped Teri telling her story, showed many wonderful images of Geoff, and played some of the EVP that Teri has received from Geoff including, “Hello, Mom,” “I’m fine” and “It’s Geoff.” Margaret’s EVP and ITC of Geoff and her grandfather were very well received. You could hear the audience’s excitement over the images. We also thank Karen Mossey and Melissa Walton for allowing the show to play EVP that they have received from their fathers. As we were finishing this article and putting the final touches on the NewsJournal, we learned that Debbie Shepard and Debbie Caruso were going to record a segment for the Maury Show on March 7. The recording session went well and we will report on this in the next issue this July. Debbie and Debbie, thanks for agreeing to share your experiences on the Maury Show. New Face Recognition Program The Swedish start-up company, Polar Rose,

plans to release the first version of a new face recognition computer program early in 2007. It will begin as a free plug-in for your browser, and as a free tool for other software developers. With it, you will be able to mark a person in a photograph and tell the program who the person is. The information is shared with Polar Rose’s computer, and in this way, people will train the computer so that you will be able to conduct an Internet search for other pictures of the same person. We expect there will be privacy features. This capability will also work for other pictures in your computer, and we wonder if it will work for faces in ITC. ITC faces are far from photographs, but in the spirit of always being open for new tools, we would love to see members put this new tool to the test. You can find more information about Polar Rose at www.polarrose.com/. Please let us know how you do. ITC Face Closely Matches Original In the last NewsJournal, we reported about how Margaret Downey conducts visual ITC experiments using moving water for optical energy. The article can be read in the Techniques section of ATransC.org. Daniele Gullà, with the Italian ITC lab, Il Laboratorio (biopsicocibernetica.org), read the article and decided to see if his forensic-quality face recognition software would help compare Margaret’s ITC image with a photograph of her great great grandfather while he was in the physical. Gullà wrote: “I have

processed the human face as a 3D model and rotated it to superimpose over the ITC face. I have compared the repere [reference] points (only 5: eyes, lips, nasal and subnasal) in the human face and ITC face. The final result is that the difference in the two images is inferior to [less than] 5%. They are very similar!” Margaret’s great great grandfather Benjamin Franklin Main Sr. (upper-left), the ITC image (lower-left) and the two images superimposed by Gullà (right). Composite prepared by Gullà. Have You Had a Mystical Experience? Have you had a mystical experience that you would like to share with others? If so, author Bob Crimmins needs your help to complete his book, Life is in Session, Are You Present? The book has fifty chapters. Each chapter asks a different question such as, “What is God?” and “What happens when you die?” People from all over the country sent in their answers to these questions. But there is one chapter that is not finished and Bob wants to hear from AA-EVP members about one of your mystical experiences. at [email protected] or snail mail to Bob Crimmins, 7248 Hedge Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95829. All stories must be submitted by June 2007. Bob will not use your name but does need your age, where you were born and your occupation. email your experience to Bob You can Volume 26, Number 1 Page 12 An Interview Phran and Robert Gingsberg, Founders of The Forever Family Foundation. [Editor: The Forever Family

Foundation organization to the AA-EVP and we encourage its support.] is a kindred What prompted Foundation? the formation of Forever Family In the early morning hours of September 1, 2002, my wife Phran woke me up with a distressed and ashen look on her face, telling me that “something horrible is going to happen today.” That evening, despite us taking reasonable precautions during the day, our son and daughter were in a car accident. Both sustained massive injuries; my fifteen- year-old daughter Bailey did not survive. As we tried to navigate our daily existence after her passing, we continued to receive communications from Bailey; these took the form of telepathic messages, visions, dream visits, and energy-related phenomena. At the same time, we sought out help by joining a local bereavement support group for parents who lost children. We found that every time the subject of survival of consciousness was brought up, or an afterlife, such discussion was frowned upon and inhibited. The organization tended to try to help by focusing solely on methods of dealing with grief. We thought that to be odd, as even then we recognized that a belief that our child survives in some form is quite possibly the most effective form of grief therapy. We found ourselves joining other parents in the parking lot after the meetings were over, exchanging experiences, information, and ideas. Thus, the foundation was born in an attempt to both educate the public and help those in grief. Can you tell us

about your various boards within the organization? Why four boards and how do they work? investigated evidence Since we are a science-based foundation, it was imperative to have a Scientific Advisory Board. This board is made up of medical doctors, scientists and researchers that study consciousness. All have that suggests our minds can act independently of our brains, making the survival hypothesis very likely. We also recognized that qualified mediums, those that can provide evidence of survival through communication with the “other side,” would be one of our main resources in this exploration. Thus, we formed a Medium Advisory Board to offer us guidance in this pursuit. This board is made up of extremely qualified mediums who share an interest in research. In addition, because our mission statement includes education, the need for an Academic Advisory Board became apparent to help us realize these goals. Last but not least, our Auxiliary Board is perhaps the most important. This is made up of those no longer in the physical. Information is gleaned from this board for guidance and advice. We believe that this sets a new paradigm for the decision-making process, one that is vital for all of us living in a multi-dimensional universe. Do you recommend a meeting plan for the Afterlife Discussion Groups? If so, what are some of the subjects talked about during these meetings? The Afterlife Discussion Groups are the backbone of our organization. These are small groups that are open and safe environments for discussion about

all matters relating to separation of mind and body as well as survival. They are free of charge and operate throughout the United States, with new groups formed as enrollment dictates. Facilitators of these groups are selected, trained, and presented with an operational handbook lists all procedures and guidelines. Although each group tends to develop specific interests, typical topics include near-death experiences, death-bed visions, communications in the form of signs, mediumship, reincarnation, EVP, telepathy, intuition, remote viewing, dreams, etc. that If one of our members wanted to start a local group, how would he or she do this? Do you offer training for group leaders? be should directed email collect Inquiries by to a [email protected]. We geographical database of people who are interested in joining groups. After there are a sufficient number of people interested in one area (minimum of ten), we direct our attention to selecting and training a facilitator. Thus, we welcome all those who are interested in joining groups, as well as facilitating. Facilitators are usually asked to help find new members, as well as seeking out meeting places such as local libraries as venues for the meetings. Why did you decide to certify mediums and how do you go about this? Mediums, by the nature of their work, deal mostly with people who are in grief and very vulnerable. Unfortunately, there are many people who cannot do what they claim and prey on this segment of the population. This not only does great harm to those

who have suffered the loss of a loved one, but works to destroy the credibility of those mediums that can truly do the work. In an effort to protect the public, we developed a program where mediums wishing to participate can demonstrate their proficiency in spirit communication under controlled conditions. In these sessions, participating mediums are asked to do four fifteen-minute readings for four different sitters. Page 13 Continued page 15 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal A Loving Overview by Laurie Monroe growth. With growth there is wisdom, and in that wisdom, there is the “knowing” rather than the belief. This is another part of our mission: to turn beliefs into “knowns.” The ultimate journey's imprint is within your spirit, your soul, and in that journey you will remember, you will KNOW. Laurie Monroe [Editor’s Note: Laurie Monroe passed gently from the physical in her sleep early on the morning of December 18, 2006. Laurie had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Laurie, the daughter of the late Robert Monroe, was the President and CEO of the Monroe Institute. We were very lucky to have her speak at the 2006 AA-EVP conference.] As I walked through the woods, the mountains surrounded me and comforted me with their strength. The earth invited me to sit for a while and to listen to the gentle winds swirling through the statuesque trees whose branches reached out to me with an understanding hug. As I sat there in awe of this magnificent creation, thoughts

of change entered my mind. Through all of time, change is omnipresent and it is the basic element of universal law. Through transition of any kind, there exists a constant-- change. One cannot ignore or deny change, for change is instrumental in our ever-evolving pattern of growth and self-discovery. With this acceptance, a new awareness of self takes place and we are able to look at ourselves with a Different Overview, one of total love; hence infinite possibilities. We are truly more than physical matter and can perceive that which is greater than physical reality as we know it. In the process of acceptance, one begins to remember small parts of the Whole that we are a part of--the eminence of One. To know that there is no separation, there are no limitations, and nothing is by chance is to know inner peace. To illustrate this, experience your innermost thoughts while listening to the silence; for it is in the silence that we will truly know the oneness that we are. To accept the truth of this oneness is to know that we are a magnificent expression of Love, which is life's energy. In this state of being, Love, we are receptive to that which we already have. We are able to demonstrate the totality that we are through our clarity of self by creating change that manifests our “knowing” to others. Through inspiration we are able to effectively model our spiritual journey, which in turn will serve to support

others in their journey of self-discovery. For those of us who have attained this “knowing,” it is our responsibility to be it, demonstrate it, or plain and simple, just do it. Through this transition, we recognize that a part of the universal plan is to facilitate and collectively raise the consciousness level of the planet. We have been given the tools to effectively create our own personal change. Our answers lie within ourselves, for we are the architects of our own life pattern. Through the exploration and expansion of human consciousness, we serve and support others whose spiritual journey is aligned with our own. Our mission is to create a global web necessary to facilitate this positive change in humankind. Change brings Volume 26, Number 1 Page 14 As I walked away from my quiet place in the woods, I had a sense of feeling complete and one with all that surrounds me. It was a peaceful feeling of knowing that my direction and path are just as they should be, and I look forward to celebrating the treasures of this life experience. As all is unfolding, the tribute becomes clear, and together we celebrate life to its fullest potential. [Laurie will be greatly missed but we know that she will continue her work from where she now is. F. Holmes (Skip) Atwater is now the acting President and Executive Director for the Monroe Institute and Dr. Albert Dahlberg has been appointed as Chairman of the Board. For information on

Monroe classes, see monroeinstitute.com] Grants for Research into Life after Death The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death (HRF), awarded in December 2006, grants for two research projects as follows: into possible unexpected Mrs. Sonia Rinaldi at the International Instrumental Transcommunication Research Institute in Brazil for “An intelligent investigation disturbance in the visual and audio range” receives EUR 5000. Mr. Christian Gaden Jensen and Prof. Etzel Cardena for a project, “To investigate various aspects of psychic practitioners in Scandinavia” receive EUR 2000. The HRF was grounded in 2004, thanks to Swedish doctor Helene Reeder. When Helene Reeder transitioned in 2002, she made the Swedish Society for Parapsychological Research her main heir, with a wish that the amount should be used for research into life after death. Consequently the HRF favors research projects with a clear focus on this topic. The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death (HRF) awarded 2005 grants for EVP researchers Paolo Presi and Alexander MacRae, EUR 7000 each, for their respective research projects using communications through EVP to investigate the possibility of post-mortem survival. to plans, According the HRF, c/o [email protected], will publish an announcement for grants in the range of EUR 500-7000 each for research into life after death the first of this year. This announcement will be sent to researchers, journals, institutions and other addressees involved in the topic. address Stockholm, January 2007, The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund. [Signed] Edgar Müller An Interview Continued from page 13

Each reading is both video and audio recorded. Each sitter is pre-instructed on specific evidence-scoring procedures. Composite scores are compiled and those mediums exceeding our minimum requirements are granted certification. We do not endorse any specific mediums, but are simply acknowledging that under independent and controlled conditions, these mediums have demonstrated the ability to bring through spirit communication without the use of deception or fraud. You have been conducting group experiments. Why did you decide to do this and what kind of results have you received? consciousness research, to the professional audience. We have invited ten world- renowned presenters from various disciplines of research, joined by mediums Robert Brown and Hollister Rand. talks about near-death experiences, There will be and psi phenomena, reincarnation, mediumship encounters, afterlife psychomanteum research, ghosts and apparitions, and quantum physics. Speakers will also include Dean Radin, PhD, Fred Alan Wolf, PhD, Bruce Greyson, MD, Jim Tucker, MD, Gary Schwartz, PhD, Loyd Auerbach, MS, Arthur Hastings, PhD, and Dianne Arcangel, MS. This should be an enlightening experience for the general public; information about this event will soon be posted on our website. in and that same name research Since our free membership continues to grow, we have a tremendous audience includes many who are experimentation. We interested periodically announce these interactive projects in our free quarterly newsletter, Signs of Life, on our radio program by the website and foreverfamilyfoundation.org. One of our more successful attempts involved remote viewing, where a viewer located three thousand miles away was

able to draw several images identical to the drawings I made during the experiment. We were inspired by the AA-EVP in attempting our next experiment involving EVP, intention, and discarnate communication. The results of these experiments are always published and announced, and we welcome suggestions for future experiments. our on Forever Family Foundation has been invited to speak at medium Robert Brown’s June conference in Eastbourne, England. Can you tell us a little about what someone can expect if they attend? around the world to demonstrate Robert Brown, who is on the foundation’s Medium Advisory Board, holds such a “retreat” every year. We find it quite interesting, as he invites many of the best mediums from spirit communication and facilitate workshops during an entire week. Foundation chairperson of the board, Dr. Gary Schwartz, will also attend this year, offering a scientific perspective on the phenomenon of mediumship. It’s an opportunity to observe and learn from the many different including styles and disciplines of mediumship, transmediumship, from international presenters, and many find it quite healing. The conference will also give the foundation an opportunity to gain more European exposure and participation. the variety of There is also an event planned in San Francisco, CA in January, 2008; can you tell us more about it? This is the largest and most exciting undertaking for the foundation to date. This will be a two-day conference held on 1/19 & 1/20, 2008 at the Cowell Theater in the Fort Mason Center. This will be

a grand attempt to raise awareness about survival research to the general public. Heretofore, most seminars of this nature have been tailored Page 15 What are your hopes for the future of Forever Family Foundation? We plan to continue in our never-ending attempts to bring information to the forefront about survival, keeping in mind the primary goals of funding research and helping those who have lost loved ones by providing this information and research. Of course, as a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 corporation that provides most of our services for free, we will need to start focusing on additional ways to raise funds, as we now rely on a few sponsored events and individual donations. As the AA-EVP is very much aware, there are precious few of these organizations with common goals. Just as the various disciplines of survival science need to start coordinating their efforts toward a common goal, it is imperative that organizations such as ours coordinate our efforts for the greater good. Fox Continued from page 7 Tara (Alex’s previous dog) and Marion (Alex’s mom) - loved ones who are merely parted from us, and one day, when our work here is done, the parting will end. As the poet says, “Death, thou too shalt die....” For Fox, not even his physical death could break his bond with us. And that thought is very moving and elevating - and it’s made us different - hopefully better - people than before. Good Times with Fox In South Africa, as you

might guess, snow is extremely rare. This picture was taken on a trip down to Cape Town, during a freak snow fall. We stopped at the side of the road to have an impromptu snowball fight. Fox had never seen snow in his life, but ever the adventurer, he dashed fearlessly forward, only to sink into a drift up to his neck. He wasn’t too perturbed though, and I think we had to change our underwear, we laughed so hard! Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Experimental Recording Techniques Using a Phototransistor by D. Mierzwinski This article presents an experimental approach for making EVP recordings. Its purpose is instructional and to help promote an understanding of vibrational energy and how we may better perceive it. I’m going to share with you a few simple techniques for recording lightwave vibrational energy. This is energy which is beyond what we may see and hear every day. A good example is a common household light bulb. You see the light and can feel the heat produced by it; however, you cannot hear that the bulb is being modulated by the 60 Hz line current. You may be surprised at the amount of “sound” that is silent to us, some manmade and some perhaps not. Completed phototransistor adapter The technique involves use of a single, widely available electronic component called a phototransistor. This is not the same as a diode which was used by early EVP researchers. The phototransistor I recommend is available at any Radio

Shack store or available from them online. The part number is 276-145. My tests have shown that the device is responsive to infrared, visible and ultraviolet light. All of these frequencies of light mentioned are well above radio broadcast, cell and microwave transmission frequencies. Solder the phototransistor to the phone plug follows: The as phototransistor has a flat edge on its case, this is the collector mark. The remaining lead is called the emitter; Connect (solder) the collector to the short pin of the phone plug; and, the emitter connects to the long pin of the phone plug. The photo shows the completed assembly ready for use. the the into completed adapter Plug assembly external microphone jack of your portable digital recorder and start exploring. Try recording various light or even heat sources; you can unplug the adapter at any time and make a verbal notation of the source. Plug it back in and continue. You will hear different sounds when you record various sources like candles, light bulbs, computer monitor screens, TV sets, remote controls or a fireplace. Audio recorder with detector mounted in microphone jack For example, a quartz-tube space heater at full power (glowing) will produce a very pure thermal white noise. Place the recorder in your car and drive around. You may be surprised at what you can hear in the filtered sunshine as the levels of light change as you drive. If you have a crystal or mineral collection you may try recording reflections or

direct light shined through a crystal (sunshine, LED flashlight or a laser pointer works well). Would you like to hear your own voice through the Homemade “Photophone” front (left) with Mylar covering and back view You can make a simple plug-in phototransistor adapter for your digital recorder. All popular digital recorders I am aware of use internal electret microphones. With these recorders you can use the external microphone jack. The recorder will provide the small voltage the phototransistor requires to operate at the external microphone jack. The 1/8” phone plug common to most recorders is Radio Shack part number 274-286. vibration of light? Here is a simple device you can make for a number of interesting experiments. It is based on A.G. Bell’s Photophone invented around 1880. For my model, I used some reflective, shiny, very thin, gift wrapping plastic (like a Mylar or Saran plastic). I taped this film very tightly (like a drum) over the front of an old eight-inch diameter audio loudspeaker. Continued page 17 Volume 26, Number 1 Page 16 Phototransistor Continued from page 16 Hold the completed Photophone so sunlight reflected from the surface of the shiny, flexible mirror shines on the phototransistor. Now speak closely and loudly to the Recording vibrations of reflected light using the Photophone surface of the Photophone. On playback you should hear your own voice. The quality will depend on how well your voice vibrates the surface of the Photophone. For more controlled experiments, you can connect the loudspeaker to

a stereo or amplifier and play different sounds through it to vibrate the film. Just place the speaker so that sunlight reflects from the surface to the phototransistor. Try using music, Spiricom tones, babble or even white noise, as an example. Recording candlelight vibrations in ultrasonic atmosphere Another technique is to provide external vibration to a light source and record the result. Pictured is a small tea candle placed in the well of an ultrasonic cleaner. The candle is in a small amount of water, lit and the cleaner turned on in a darkened room. The recorder is held clear of the cleaner and pointed at the candle which flickers at a very high rate in this atmosphere. You may wish to build a phototransistor cable that can be used with your home computer sound card for recording. The Radio Shack part number of the cable to use is 42- 2434. The six-foot cable has a molded 1/8” plug on one end Completed six-foot cable for home computer use and tinned leads on the other end, ready to connect the phototransistor. The connections are as follows: inner conductor of cable connects to phototransistor collector (flat edge), outer (shield) connects to emitter. An interesting experiment that has yielded good results has been the optical microphone. The optical microphone is a commonly available oil lamp. The only oil lamp style that has worked so far has been a lamp with a three-fourths inch wide wick. The wick that comes with these lamps

is cotton and works well. I have begun tests with other wick materials as of this writing. I attach the phototransistor and cable assembly to the lamp with a thick rubber band. A reflector is required to be placed behind the phototransistor. A white 3 x 5-file card is excellent for this purpose. This simple reflector greatly increases the gain of the microphone. If your sound card allows audio monitoring, you can experiment with the flame level for best reproduction of your voice. A high flame level can overload the phototransistor. Start with a low flame and ratchet it up slowly. Speak into the chimney of the lamp or across its top if you are sensitive to the exhaust fumes. Use an ultra-pure liquid paraffin lamp fuel for lowest odor. Oil lamp with paper reflector Have fun exploring the under-researched areas of light energy vibrations with these unique recording techniques. Page 17 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal News from Members (cid:143) Carolann Crowley worked with a production company doing a series about haunting in people’s homes called Paranormal U that will air on the A&E network. Teri Daner (left) Maury Povich and Lisa Butler (cid:143) In January, the Maury Povich talk show did a one-hour paranormal segment. The lead story was Geoff Daner’s communication with his mother, Teri. The show featured the ITC picture Margaret Downey received from Geoff and EVP from members Teri Daner, Margaret Downey, Karen Mossey and Melissa Walton. Members Debbie Caruso and Debbie Shepard were taping an

episode of the Maury show on March 7. We sincerely thank everyone for helping and sharing their recordings and experiences with EVP. AA-EVP website hits more than doubled the day that Teri was featured on the show. (cid:143) New member Neil Fellows was interviewed in April 2004 for the “Most Haunted” television series. Neil says that although the money would have been handy at the time, he feels that it was good for him personally that it did not happen. He says that many of these types of programs “have done a great deal of damage to the cause of serious paranormal research.” Neil’s website is www.neilfellowes.co.uk. (cid:143) Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber now have 45 radio shows that can be listened to on their Haunted New Jersey website www.hauntednewjersey.com. They are also hosting a Cape May paranormal weekend this May. (cid:143) Guy Jackson was a speaker at the first ever “Ghost Fest 2006” on board the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. His presentation was titled, “The History of EVP.” (cid:143) Andrew Laird is the founder and director of The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group (www.triprg.com/). Andrew has extended an open invitation to all AA-EVP members to accompany his group in the field as they continue their investigations and research work in the New England area and beyond. Simply go to their website and submit an observer application stating that you are a member of the AA-EVP. (cid:143) Lourdes and Bill Metz run the Paranormal Awareness Society in South

Florida. They are conducting monthly investigations at Coral Castle and hold regular training meetings with members. Lourdes documents her EVP experiments, and encourages other PAS members to experiment and share the results at their meetings. www.freewebs.com/paranormalawarenesssociety/ (cid:143) Cat Perks wrote that the UK EVP group is in full swing. www.thecircleukevpgroup.com/ (cid:143) Sonia Rinaldi has a new website at www.ipati.org with some of her research reports already translated into English. Sonia writes, “I am preparing a new publication with some impressive video cases and we are translating all into English.” (cid:143) Christine Rodriguez writes, “I am a psychologist and director of East Coast Haunting Organization (ECHO). Techniques include analog and digital recordings. Each gets something different.” (cid:143) Debra Shapiro has joined a paranormal group, The Spirits of St. Petersburg, and is specializing in EVP capture. She wrote, “My group … is currently setting not only a ‘Big Circle’ experiment but will also be processing several ‘cold case’ files using both technical and psychic implementations.” (cid:143) Karen Thorne has been asked to do a segment on EVP for the new show “Harmony TV” that will air on cable Channel 58 in Denver, CO. Karen wrote, “My emphasis naturally will be dispelling the myths about EVP and presenting the truth to better educate the public, and I will definitely be mentioning the AA-EVP as an excellent resource where people can go for more information” Thoughts from Members You will remember that the last NewsJournal carried the story of Mary Rivera’s son, Gabriel, who

committed suicide. Mary later learned that he had been influenced by an Internet site that teaches how to commit suicide. Mary wrote, “…I am a trained remote viewer as is my only other living child (my daughter). In remote viewing, if it is an event governed by “fate” then you will not be able to “view” it ahead of time. There is an entity that guards or protects the line that will not allow the event to be viewed. You may get factors of the event such as my daughter did. She did a session in which she was forewarned that she would be making a swift plane trip on a moment’s notice but was not shown where or for what reason. Then all of a sudden, it happened, and she had to quickly come to California from Texas. We had done one other target like that in which three of Gabriel’s close friends were killed in a car wreck just a year before Gabe left us. We saw three caskets and a vehicle but we were not allowed to see “who” it was—only if you can see the event and the people, can it be avoided.… remote viewing…. has changed my life in so many ways.” Volume 26, Number 1 Page 18 Researcher Reports (cid:143) Lloyd Bradshaw recorded the message, “Drug dealer near you.” A few days later he noticed several boys being friendly with the neighbor’s bushes at all hours. He mentioned this to his neighbor who found

rock cocaine hidden in one of his shrubs. The police are now patrolling in unmarked cars. (cid:143) Dena Collins sat in a group recording with us. She asked for her grandmother, Madeline Collins. After this, an EVP was recorded saying, “Oh, my goodness.” Interestingly, Dena had a reading with a medium a year earlier who brought her grandmother through and said that she was saying “Oh, my goodness.” (cid:143) Debra Ann Caruso tried her hand at the moving water technique for visual phenomena and photographed this likeness of Queen Nefertiti. Debra’s ITC picture and right, a 3,500 year old clay bust of the queen displayed in Berlin's Egyptian Museum (cid:143) Margaret Downey did an EVP/ITC experiment during the Big Circle recording session. Teri Daner had emailed her telling her that her friend’s horse had given birth to a premature colt which she named Geoff's G.G. in honor of Teri’s son. Sadly, the colt did not survive. Margaret received an ITC image that she felt resembled the colt. She also got a confirmation via an EVP message that said “G.G. is coming through for Teri.” (not to be confused with Geoff’s tiger G.G.). Picture of G.G. and Margaret’s ITC picture (cid:143) Clara Laughlin loves and reads lots of books on prophecy. She wrote about an EVP message that was funny. The EVP message said, “Edgar Cayce gets a divorce.” She wrote, “That’s my spirit team having fun with me because I like to read that crazy prophecy. So they made it

up!” (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann wrote that when she was recording very late at night, a female voice was recorded singing, “Sage gute Nacht” (translated “I am saying goodnight”). Jutta feels that for protection, the entities do not want us to record when our energy is low. Jutta wrote, “Wonderful, I am very happy to receive such extraordinary messages from the spirit world even if I am experiencing live-EVP for more than twenty years now.” (cid:143) Alexander MacRae wrote, “For some time I have said, and I believe that others have too, that occasionally there are signs of production going on [Editor: the other side seems to be using equipment to reach us]. Tonight, what I get … ‘Beep ... All is forgiven. The rest is for you’ ... Cut’” MacRae has written about a previous EVP in which he observed the usual background noise disappearing from the waveform display, followed shortly afterward by a female voice saying, “Now!” and then a male voice saying “Leslie, this is it. David.” This was followed by the female voice, “Finish!” The noise returned after that. (cid:143) David Mierzwinski captured a nice EVP message, “You copy. We love you!” (cid:143) Richard Shenk recorded on friend Erland Babcock’s (now on the other side) birthday. He received several messages. One confirmation was “Erland, yes it’s me” but “Erland is healthy” made Richard reach for the tissue box. Erland had cancer and this is a wonderful confirmation that we return to health on the other side. (cid:143)

Vicki Talbott recorded an interesting EVP that said “Mom, who will raise the children? It’s Tara.” Vicki later learned that Tara’s mom, Denise Forester, goes to the Ukraine to help in the orphanages and had just returned from a trip like this. Vicki wrote, “I was astounded because Denise had just emailed me upon her return about all the children, especially the ones who were a bit older, that were not being adopted.” Reporting your EVP messages If we failed to report on an interesting EVP message that you received, let us know by sending an account of your experience to us at [email protected]. Reporting News If you have a news item that you would like to report, please submit it to [email protected] by June 1 to have it appear in the July NewsJournal. Page 19 Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Fidelio Köberle May 12, 1915 - January 24,2007 On January 24, 2007, the founder and former long-term president of the German EVP organization, the VTF, Fidelio Köberle, died unexpectedly of cardiac failure. His dedication and work in behalf of the VTF and EVP research will remain unforgotten. “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo Fruit of the Loom short sleeve shirts with blue embroidered AA- EVP logo. White: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes (blue logo) Blue: Extra Large (white logo) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA There is

No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? learning You can order a signed copy at aaevp.com or a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar- loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097 Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, a cross-country list, discussion board and document archive access. Annual dues are: Members International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email: $38.00 per year Sustaining Members Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal All benefits for one year $30.00 per year $100 per year You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional)___________________ Cross-country List?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the

newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____ In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others through these lists, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am eighteen years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 26, Number 1 Page 20 American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NewsJournal Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 26 Number 2 Summer 2007 From our Viewpoint In early June, the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc. (ASPSI) Conducted its 32nd annual conference at DeSales University

in Center Valley, PA, aspsi.org. The theme of the conference was, “What the Bleep do We Know about Life after Death.” DeSales University (All photographs in this article were taken by Lisa Yesse.) This is the first ASPSI conference that we have attended and we were surprised by the range of subject matter addressing survival. The presentations were amazingly diverse covering everything from the idea that leading a healthy, moral life here helps pave the way to a blissful afterlife, to Sufi thought on death dreams and the afterlife. Topics sprinkled along the way included near-death experiences in ancient Greek philosophy, children’s near- death states, reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, visitations by the deceased, after-death communication and of course our presentation on EVP/ITC. the afterlife from The AA-EVP approaches the perspective of empirical evidence based on “hands-on” experimentation. Lisa began by presenting EVP examples that not only represented contact with loved ones, but also educated the audience in what is known about the characteristics of EVP. Both spontaneous and requested examples were shared. Next, Tom began his presentation with an Tom and Lisa Butler answering explanation the questions. Survival Hypothesis as it is understood by us, based on the study of Instrumental TransCommunication. Various examples of visual ITC of were also presented. Current grants for research into the field of EVP/ITC like that of Alexander MacRae were described. Both presentations covered the Big Circle Spirit 4Cell EVP Team, Demonstrations the Listening Experiment. and the to was The response the very presentation positive.

I (Lisa) was able to sit on the side and watch the audience as Tom presented his part. People were on the edge of their seats and I watched as people took pictures of the PowerPoint slides as Tom talked about them. Raymond Moody Raymond Moody, who was the keynote speaker, discussed ancient Greek philosophers’ views on near-death experiences and other phenomena related to the prospect of life after death. Greek philosophers were the first to apply reason in attempts at answering the question of life after death and their work continues to influence today’s research. The Reverend Karen Herrick discussed a spirituality group of seven women that met for twenty months, and how the members developed together through spiritual spiritual experience, language and personal growth. Karen talked about the need for a “new profession” of therapy that is beyond the of profession medicine (karenherrick.com). As she explained, “It has been my experience that people who have experiences spiritual often tell me that neither doctors nor ministers have been able to help them understand these experiences. Karen is a new breed of therapist and has shared her clinical expertise for the past twenty-two years in her private practice by lecturing throughout Karen Herrick Continued page 22 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. AA-EVP NewsJournal Contents From our Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................1 Life is but a Dream............................................................................................................................3 A Report about Experimental Results by Alexander MacRae........................................................4 Research Grants Available by Edgar Müller....................................................................................5

One EVP, Two Different Records and Times ................................................................................6 Sonia is Building ITC Devices..........................................................................................................6 The Survival Hypothesis...................................................................................................................7 Amazing Confirmation..................................................................................................................... 9 4Cell EVP Demonstration - Update.................................................................................................9 Cattails from Heaven by Martha Copeland.....................................................................................10 Mommy by Joanne O’Neil................................................................................................................12 Etheric Studies Update....................................................................................................................12 Refraction and Reflection of Light through Crystals...................................................................13 Seth 3.................................................................................................................................................13 The Sony ICD-B26...........................................................................................................................14 Thoughts on Visual ITC by Keith Clark.........................................................................................14 Wife’s Face Appears on Crypt’s Marble.......................................................................................15 Downey ITC Method Replicated....................................................................................................16 Childhood Influences that Heighten Psychic Powers...................................................................16 Experimentation with Inverted Channel Nullification by Zoë J. Robinson................................17 “Dismissed” Again...........................................................................................................................18 Closer than you Think! by David Sircom.......................................................................................19 Thoughts on Live EVP and DC6 Software by Chris Wilson.........................................................20 Looking for Research Partners......................................................................................................20 Luminator Picture...........................................................................................................................21 Premonitions Registry.....................................................................................................................21 News About Members.....................................................................................................................22 Energy Ball.......................................................................................................................................22 Researcher Reports.........................................................................................................................23 Thoughts from Members................................................................................................................23 Big Circle Recording Dates.............................................................................................................23 An Opportunity to Learn................................................................................................................24 This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2007AA-EVP Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with these phenomena

and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first of the month preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive. Subscription: The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP: The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy. Web Masters: aaevp.com: Tom Butler archive.aaevp.com: Jim Stonier and Carol Peterson bigcircle.aaevp.com: Lisa Yesse and Jim Stonier Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Volume 26, Number 2 Page 2 Patrons Ben Ablon Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland Art Counts Richard Hatem Dorothy Moore Betty and Don Nauratil Lisa Yesse Sustaining Members Ben Ablon Regina Antonucci John

Debney Margaret Downey Dorothy Moore Patrick & Julia Murphy Richard Hatem Ellen Pugh Heidi Spencer Dr. Renae Withers Donations Regina Antonucci Donna Cunha Robert E. Fenn Phyllis Jaquett Phil Martin Lorelei McMorrow Olivia Newton Lynda Noёl Eugene Streicher Bruce Tracy Lorraine VanBrocklin Robert Wilson Special Thanks We wish to thank all of you who are supporting the Association with your hard work. Your help is making it possible for us to increase the services offered by the AA-EVP. Life is but a Dream it changed Debbie Sheppard recalls that about three years ago, every now and then she would look at a clock, cable box, microwave, stove, cell phone ... anything digital and see 11:11. Then the 1111 grew more frequent and daily. As the frequency progressed just digital equipment to out-of-the-home experiences. Because of all of the 1111 prompts, Debbie went for a reading with a medium at Cassadaga, a Spiritualist camp a short distance from where she lives. She was told that there was nothing to fear, that a man would come into her life and it would be a match from heaven. The number 1111 would be highly significant in their lives. Debbie wrote, “I thought, ‘Yeah, yeah. OK, that’s very generic.’ from “As of the summer of 2005, I had been divorced for twenty-two years. I had a lot of dates, boyfriends and two long-term relationships but never any relationship that I wanted to commit to. In addition, I had a great corporate health care career

and the boys were my focus. Two played football, my oldest with a National Honors Graduate scholarship with a full ride to the University of Alabama. I was busy. Men were fun but no one really captured my heart and I lived very, very much ‘in the world.’ I was successful and if it didn’t say Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Porsche or Corvette I couldn’t be bothered. If I was going to be taken out to dinner to Olive Garden, I wasn’t interested ... take me to Europe and I’ll go. Yes, I was very much a spoiled Italian princess. “In the summer of 2005…. an Italian friend of mine from Toronto told me about an Italian singles web site and that I should check it out. I really wasn’t interested, but the allure of only Italians captured me, so I went on to take a peek. Well, you actually had to have a profile posted to look. I placed a very tough personal ad on that web site. I think a lot of men were afraid to contact me … I justified my tough profile by knowing who I am, what I want and what type of men I blend best with and also I needed only the very strong to send me emails, as I have issues with my oldest son … who is ill.... Most men would not be interested in a relationship with a woman that has a twenty-seven year-old hanging around all the time. So, I

knew that this Italian web site would just be for fun. “A week or so after I joined, I received an email from ‘Tinman’ and he committed the first sin: NO PICTURE!!! ‘Tinman’ wrote that he was from Connecticut and moved to Florida a year ago and that he has been single for over thirty years and he was very clear on what his desires were for a woman in his life…. He wrote how much he related to what I had written about strong Italian ties, holiday traditions, family, etc. I wrote back and told him that I would not communicate with him in any way without a picture. He wrote back that he was new to computers, had just purchased a digital camera but didn’t know how to use it, and would I consider talking to him anyway. Well now I thought he was a complete moron and told him so in my reply email. He wrote back again and I HAD MY FINGER ON THE DELETE BUTTON. My hands started to sweat and I walked away from the computer. I replied to his email a day later and gave him my phone number. He called right away.” Joe Stella with Trooper Debbie told us that the two talked on the phone and then agreed to meet for lunch. Lunch lasted six hours and she was shocked that she even invited this total stranger, Joe Stella, to her house for coffee. She introduced him to Trooper, the boxer

that she had rescued six months before. He told her that he had always wanted a dog and in particular a boxer but could not have one where he lived. Joey took ownership of Trooper and for the first time in her life, Debbie was happy. As she told us, “Joey was everything opposite of every man that entered into my life for my entire adult life. Joey had none of what they had but Joey had EVERYTHING, everything that was important and everything that I loved. Joey didn’t have children and he took on my three grown sons as his own. The guys immediately formed relationships. Joey loved my parents and our friends all blended in well. “One night as I was sleeping, I felt someone looking at me. I woke up and there was Joey, leaning up on his arm looking at me. He said, ‘I love you, I love Trooper, I love this, you are my love, I think we should get married. You sleep on it and give me your answer in the morning.’ He rolled over and started snoring. I sat up in bed in shock. ‘Sleep on it’? I was up most of the night. I couldn’t sleep. “We became engaged on 11-24-2006…. After Joey crossed over, as I was going through his desk, I found an email that he sent to the online dating site that was dated 11-14-2005. It said, ‘Please cancel my subscription effective 11-14-05, as I have found the love

of my life.’” Joey’s favorite song was Life is but a Dream and this was the theme of their wedding, which was to be a huge destination wedding for their family and friends. Page 3 Continued page 11 Summer 2007 but precognitive? Or had they just learned what was going to happen? Later, it looked as though it was just an experimenter effect. Two more things were happening. The number of responses was growing rapidly, month on month, but the number of in-context responses was decreasing. The responses were more becoming meaningless. But then, as the months went by, it was noticed that, though the responses had ceased to relate to the questions asked, they were actually relating to each other. Here is a made-up example: AA-EVP NewsJournal A Report about Experimental Results by Alexander MacRae In 2004, I applied for a research grant to the Bial Foundation to investigate whether or not EVP utterances could be related to the EVP questions asked by experimenter. Also on the team were Dr. Charl Vorster, a professor of clinical psychology, Jane Boyce and her team of listeners in England and a larger number of listeners in the US. Alexander MacRae I wanted to make it as exact and formal as a physics experiment, but problems showed up even before we had properly started. I had devised a list of six standard questions which were asked one at a thirty-second intervals between asking one question and the next. This was done in a

standard formal way, with good, quite loud voice projection. One of the questions was, “What is your name?” So I’d ask: time, with Question (loudly spoken): What-is-your-name? The reply surprised me. It sounded like the street-wise NYC cat in the cartoon series, Top Cat. Response: “Who wansta know?” Another time when I asked the same question, I got the same type of response. Question (loudly spoken): What-is-your-name? Response: “Stop shoving’ me around” What on earth was going on? Eventually I realized that the questions must have sounded like an interrogation, like a questioning authority. “My golly,” I thought, “these are sentient entities. They are sensitive to what I say, or at least, to the way that I say it.” So the question was modified to, “Would you mind telling me your name?” and the intentionality was toned down, so it just sounded kind and interested and casual. And, the results were good. There were four sessions in March 2005 and a good percentage of the responses were in context and in the right thirty-second time-frame. Already the point was proven! But in April we began to lose some of the response categories. There were no in-context responses to some of the questions. Were they losing interest in those questions? Even stranger, however, was the fact that there were one or two in-context responses that occurred BEFORE the questions were asked. In May, there were some more anticipatory responses. In fact you could see the trend growing from late March until

early May. More and more answers came before the question was asked. So were the entities not just sentient Volume 26, Number 2 Page 4 1st voice: I’ll never see John again. 2nd voice: You never liked him anyway. 3rd voice: You can talk, loser. 4th voice: Stop your noise. Give me peace. Trying to make sense of this required a great deal of analysis, and I will try to compress this, in what follows. The present understanding is that a part of the brain called the phonological loop is involved. Centuries ago, without the knowledge that we have nowadays about the Swedish scientist Emmanuel neural networks, Swedenborg, wrote the speech of spirits was characterized by being rapid and rhythmic. (Spiritual Diary by Emanuel Swedenborg), and early EVP research, too, typified EVP as being speeded up and rhythmic. that My own first research showed that, based on many examples from other people, the length of an EVP utterance was typically less than two seconds. This observation was corroborated in Europe by Ernst Senkowski and Carlo Trajna. Continued page 5 Experimental Results Continued from page 4 Coincidentally, it so happens that the size of the working memory in the part of the brain called the phonological loop is around two seconds. The above diagram is based on the Introduction to Experimental Psychology course at McMaster University, Canada. Notice the use of the terms “inner ear” and “inner voice.” The recognition of sound patterns goes way back on the evolutionary tree and

is crucial to survival. You’d better recognize a lion’s roar, and quickly, if you don’t want to end up as its lunch. Recognition had to be exact and it had to be fast. And this is still true of the sound-pattern recognition system that we call speech. The recognition process occurs through rapid recycling of the speech pattern through the phonological loop. As the memory storage to do this is only two seconds long, the empty spaces between words are “a waste of space,” and so these intervals are compressed to a standard shortness; “formatted,” to borrow a computer word. This means that the “inner speech” has a regular beat which is staccato or rhythmic. And it is shortened in time; “speeded up” is the usual term used. In other words, there is a 100% correspondence between “inner speech” and EVP. The implication is that for EVP, you still need an actual person around. The way that Swedenborg put it, hundreds of years ago: “Human speech passes in through the ear, by an external way, by means of the air; but the speech of spirits does not enter through the ear, nor by means of the air; but by an internal way, into the same organs of the head or brain. Consequently the hearing is the same.” (Arcana Coelestia (Paragraph 1635) by Emanuel Swedenborg) “…it is spiritual ideas which constitute their speech. When these inflow into man’s memory they excite words corresponding to the ideas and the like, which man

has in his memory.” (Spiritual Diary (Para 2138) by Emanuel Swedenborg) So you could say that EVP, like mediumship, needs a participating person to work. You could it call it Electronic Mediumship (EM). How inner speech gets from the brain to the EVP equipment is a remaining puzzle, but one that MacRae’s research workstation. Richard Cairns is seated at the left and Gillian Morris is at the right. we are looking into. I would like to ask for the help of any readers who have got EVP of someone they know. If you have got EVP and you know who it is from, would you please contact me at [email protected] , and put Swedish Project in the subject line. Once again, thanks to all who participated in the Bial Project, it has led to a big advance in our understanding of EVP. The Isle of Skye, Scotland, where Alexander MacRae’s research facility is located. Picture from www.isleofskye.com Research Grants Available The Helene Reeder Fund is pleased to announce the availability of grants for small- and medium-sized scientific research projects concerning the question of life after death. Grants will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 7000 maximum. Research into life after death, should constitute the main objective of the project. Applications in English, to be submitted preferably by email to the HRF c/o [email protected] The application should include: (cid:143) A detailed description of the project, including the objectives of the project; (cid:143) methodology; (cid:143) cost budget; (cid:143) timetable;

(cid:143) plans to publish the results in some scientific journals; (cid:143) curriculum vitae (résumé) of the applicant; (cid:143) how the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result; and, (cid:143) any other financing than from HRF. Applications should be received no later than the 30th of August, 2007. It is the intention of the HRF to deal with the applications and to make decisions regarding the grants by the end of November. Applicants will be notified by email after the decision and the grants will be payable during December. For further information, please apply to the above email address. From Stockholm, April 2007, The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death, HRF. Submitted by Edgar E Müller Page 5 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal One EVP, Two Different Records and Times The proposed Best Practice we chose to use as a model for the Etheric Studies Initiative is concerned with using a second recorder to help eliminate false positives for EVP. The idea is that we have no good evidence that the identical utterance has been recorded at the same instant by more than one recorder. Well, now we have an example of essentially the same utterance recorded by two different people, but about a half-second apart. Mark Waldenberger, Director of the Coulee Region Paranormal Investigation Society, brought the examples to our attention. As he explained it, he and two other investigators were alone in the basement of a home, and multiple recorders were

in operation at the same time. On playback, they found what sounded like almost the exact same utterance recorded at almost the exact same time on two different recorders. Mark sent the examples to us and we carefully examined them. If they were as he said, then they would be our first good example of simultaneous EVP and it would force us to reevaluate the rule of thumb recommendation that, unless the utterances are compellingly EVP, simultaneous sounds should be set aside awaiting further data. This recommendation is designed to help avoid false positives. As it turns out, the utterance is essentially the same but moment in more than one recording circuit, we have come to consider it a “best practice” to discard any such events as probable ambient sounds. Of the multitude of EVP recorded without producing simultaneous duplicates, we feel that there is no sense in risking a false positive by thinking that any one example is an exception unless you are specifically studying simultaneous events. Sonia is Building ITC Devices Because of the funding Sonia has received through grants, she has been able to build two devices specifically for ITC research. The first device is for audio and seems to have considerably improved the audio. The 2nd new device is a reflective plate used with TV noise. Sonia attached the results from the first trial of the device. Sonia explained that, “A friend of mine, Silvio, stayed behind the plate. Notice that I recorded with the image

not mirrored. Observe that Silvio’s face changes.... Now notice that Silvio’s jaw is square format and now look to his deceased father’s picture; his jaw is point-format. “All the technical description will be in the new eBook we are building. The next time we use the TV-noise plate possibly better images will appear.” Sonia has a new web site, www.ipati.org that has both English and Spanish sections. Compare two recordings with essentially the same message but made a half second apart. with slightly different wave forms, probably due to the different recorder characteristics. To us, it sounds like a male saying “Leave me.” Mark had a different interpretation, but the examples are at the above web site, so you can see for yourself. As you can see in the screen shot of the merged version, Mark can be heard saying, “The tape recorder …,” about a half-second later in the bottom version. It appears that the entity spoke to two of the people present one after the other, saying the same thing but at different times. We would be interested in other examples that seem to deviate from the norm. As for sounds recorded at the same The “reflective plate” is shown bottom-left. Silvio (top-left), sits in front of the video camera (not visible, but to the left). A TV set is in front of him, screen facing the ceiling. A plate of window glass is tilted up so that the camera records Silvio’s face and snow reflected from the

TV screen. Silvo’s father (right) and possible transfiguration as seen by the video camera (lower right). Volume 26, Number 2 Page 6 The Survival Hypothesis [The following article is part of the presentation given by Tom Butler at the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies 2007 conference.] The study of life after death is described by the Survival Hypothesis, which is intended to order the evidence into a cosmology and resulting predictions which can be experimentally tested. By examining the accumulating evidence, it is becoming clear that the Hypothesis is largely testable, and that it is substantially proven by the existing evidence. What remains is the need for more research to better evaluate the available evidence and to explore the implications of the Hypothesis. Since my field is Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) which includes Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), I will focus on the objective data these phenomena provide. When examined along with data from other forms of trans- etheric influences, ITC can tell us a great deal about the nature of reality. As you read this hypothesis, you will see that we consider ITC as a set of energy-dependent phenomena. Energy repeatedly appears as a limiting factor, and so, the hypothesis is defined from that perspective. The term, “etheric” is used in this document to describe all that is not physical. Property: There is a greater reality of which the physical universe is an aspect. (cid:143) Etheric energy appears to be governed by rules that are responsive to the influence of

intent. A fundamental notion of metaphysics is that we create reality. The process for that creation is turning attention to an imagined result with the intention that it will be so. Thus, the ability to create is a function of the person’s ability to imagine, hold attention and express intention. According to the Hypothesis, energy is more responsive to intention in the etheric than it is in the physical. (cid:143) Physical energy is a differentiated form of etheric energy. Virtually all of the evidence indicates that the personality of a person (referred to here as “Self”) is native to etheric reality, and is only in the physical as a visitor. Also, there is a difference in character between the energy forming Self and energy forming the physical body. Consequently, the Hypothesis postulates that energy here is derived from energy there. (cid:143) There is an interface between the physical and etheric that requires a change in energy to cross. The relationship of an ocean to the atmosphere is a good illustration for this point. There is a substantial change in the characteristic of the environment as one moves from the air (etheric) into water (physical). Also, for a person (Self) to inhabit the water for an extended time, it is necessary to be in a dive suit (the physical body). (cid:143) Spatial relationships in the etheric may be more akin to fractal geometry than to Cartesian space. The notions of “up-down,” “finer-coarser,” are useful for conversation but not accurate for describing

spatial relationships in etheric reality. The better view might be movement by changing perspective or attitude.(11) Consequently, linear measuring devices may be useless for mapping etheric space. Instead, worldview and ability to manage energy to determine location may need to be considered. (cid:143) The character of the energy forming reality appears to change over a continuum as: Physical (cid:143) Physical energy: Electromagnetic energy; electricity. (cid:143) Subtle energy: Vitality; auric; biofield; contact field. The intent is to describe the subtle energy required for physical manifestations of etheric influences. The Hypothesis holds that the influence must be supported by energy the physical. is compatible with Experimental evidence supports the existence of this energy,(1) but it is unclear as to how it relates to the assumed physical-to-etheric interface. that Etheric (cid:143) Near-locale: Residual energy hauntings; apparently stuck entities; out-of-body experiencers. (cid:143) A range of “heavens” or venues for experience: Consider the model of quantum levels in physics, in which each quantum is distinguished by a naturally stable but energetically different state. The physical universe would be our local quantum level and there would be another stable level with different energy characteristics. We know that the ITC communicators see themselves in a place of local heavens, which are dependent on the expectations of the newly-transitioned person. Rather than levels, something like fractal attractors may be more correct.(11) (cid:143) Inaccessible for etheric-to-physical influence: Some people never make contact via mediumship or ITC. Also, there are accounts of a person having to “go on,” and soon

thereafter no longer making contact.(2) Property: The person is the channel through which etheric-to-physical influences are enabled. (cid:143) Worldview tends to filter experiences. ITC contacts tend to be consistent with the expectations of the experiencer. A characteristic of EVP is that they are in a language the experimenter or an interested observer understands.(3 ,page 204) A concern for the safety of “spirit contact” can sometimes produce fearful results, confirming the reason for that concern.(3, page 95) (cid:143) Influences are energy-limited and the ability of the person to “gather” the energy is a factor for what is experienced by whom. The ability to manage subtle energy can be developed but some people naturally excel at it. In Spiritualism, a physical medium is thought to “gather” ectoplasmic energy from sitters to form a voice box for direct-voice phenomena.(4) (cid:143) Energy appears to “stick” and remain over time. Thus, experiences may be influenced by environment. A physical medium sometimes sits in a cabinet to contain the energy. The indication is that haunted locations are haunted because the energy required for the haunting activity is available due to long-time Continued page 8 Page 7 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Survival Hypothesis Continued from page 7 human occupancy and/or the expression of extreme emotions. We have recorded EVP in supposedly haunted places that were clearly initiated by our usual etheric contacts.(5) Also, psychometry depends on residual, subtle energy. (cid:143) Physical time and distance do not influence results. In the 4Cell EVP Demonstration(6) the Communicating Entity

is required to receive a request from the Sender in one part of the world, and deliver the message to the Receiver in another part of the world. This is done without apparent time or distance constraints. Property: Etheric-to-physical influences are initiated by intelligence outside of the experiencer. (cid:143) The Self has an etheric aspect, which is its “true” nature. This, and the existence of an etheric aspect of reality, are the fundamental concepts of the Hypothesis. A Self is born into the physical and returns to the etheric when the physical body dies. In this hypothesis, the “arrow of creation” points from the etheric to the physical.(12) The etheric communicators in EVP and mediumship usually do not have a physical body, and therefore depend on to enable etheric-to-physical in people influences. the flesh (cid:143) Self’s point of view shifts from the physical body to its etheric aspect when the physical body dies, or during sleep. A change in point of view is probably the best way to describe death.(11) There have been successful experiments in which EVP have clearly been initiated by a sleeping person, which offers further evidence that Self is independent of the physical body, except for the purpose of being in the physical.(7) (cid:143) The “survived” Self is able to remain energetically close to the physical for a time, but eventually moves to an aspect of reality energetically “out of range” for contact. This is probably a corollary of the concept above concerning the different characteristics

of energy. (cid:143) Axiom: An entity must be energetically in agreement with the aspect of reality it will inhabit. It is not clear how “agreement” is achieved, but it apparently depends on Self’s ability to manage energy, and that seems to be a function of how well Self understands the natural processes controlling that energy. o Discarnate entities cannot exist in the physical or independently cause an influence in the physical. o Cooperation of an incarnate Self is required for trans-etheric influence. Lessons Learned (cid:143) Groups of entities work together to influence the physical. The Big Circle is a group of friends and family members now on the other side who help people with EVP, grief and presumably daily living.(8, page 107) Channeled entities often describe themselves as a group entity. We have learned to behave as if a group of unseen friends are helping us. The EVP, “Big Circle,” recorded by Martha Copeland illustrates the reason for this. In it, her daughter Cathy is clearly heard saying “Big Circle” just as Martha asks for help with her father’s operation.(9) (cid:143) No evidence of anything “demonic,” but plenty of people behaving badly. We sometimes find Self with an evil state of mind, but there is no evidence of anything like a demon. Rather than concluding there is demonic activity, look at whether or not an experiencer has the expectation of evil and is capable of a psychosomatic response. People “allow” energy with characteristics that fulfill their expectations to come to

them via etheric-to-physical influences. (cid:143) It is apparently possible to be “stuck” in the near locale for such reasons as fear of judgment, religious training or expectations. What we do and think matters, and can determine how we do on the other side. For instance, the belief that suicide is a sin appears to be a local custom, but fear of judgment because the person committed suicide is sometimes the reason for an earthbound entity. It is important to teach people what to realistically expect upon transition. (cid:143) There is a life review from the perspective of those we influence. The EVP, “Review our lives,”(10) was in answer to the 4Cell EVP Demonstration(6) question, “What happens to us when we die?” Near-Death experiencers also report a life review. The evidence seems to suggest that the life review is our judgment, and that we are the judges. References 1. Radin, Dean, Entangled Minds, 2006, Pocket Books, New York, ISBN-13:978-1-4165-1677-4. 2. Monroe Institute, The Explorer Series Audio Tapes, Tape 6, “Miranon: Levels and Planes of Existence”, Monroe Insti- tute. 3. Butler, Tom and Lisa, There is No Death and There are No Dead, 2004, AA-EVP Publishing, ISBN-0-9727493-0-6. 4. Flint, Leslie, leslieflint.com, 09 October 2010 5. Butler, Tom and Lisa, EVP example: Paolo Presi, Alexan- der MacRae, 2004, atransc.org/examples, 10 October 2010. 6. Butler, Tom and Lisa, 4Cell EVP Demonstration, 2006, AA- EVP, atransc.org/journal, 10 October 2010. 7. Butler, Tom and Lisa, “Recording The Thoughts of The Liv- ing?” ATransC NewsJournal, Spring 2001,

River Falls is on the border of Minnesota so I was able to obtain Minneapolis and Duluth newspapers and investigate the story further the next morning. The tornado occurred while they probably were asleep and literally blew their mobile home about a half mile down the road. “I then taped again and devoted most of the session to Ernest McGuire. I explained to him what I had learned about his situation prior to his passing. I then expressed my sympathies and told him not to be afraid, that he’s okay now and that he should go into the light. I then asked if he had any message, and upon playback found that I had received the reply, ‘You helped me.’ I was very happy to hear that Mr. McGuire had accepted his passing and found peace.” 4Cell EVP Demonstration - Update 4cell Cease2Dcease with Terry Dulin, Mary Jo Gran, Vicki Talbott and Rheta Conley, has reported their seventh experiment. The question posed by Terry was, “What is the name of Terry’s oldest grandchild?” The expected response was, “Brittany.” The EVP recorded by Vicky as the Receiver was, “Brittany.” I (Tom) was able to hear the EVP with little difficulty, and I would have to consider it a correct answer. Vicki told us that she used a Panasonic RR-DR60 and a Sony ICD-B26 for the recording session. She indicated that she made several recordings using each recorder and the result came on the Sony. Vicki said, “When I use the B26,

I usually get good EVP with little to no editing needed. In this case, the EVP was straight off the recorder.” We would like to see someone pick up the 4Cell protocol to conduct a series of well-documented experiments aimed at using EVP as a way of learning about something else, such as near-death experiences. This is an opportunity for someone to establish themselves as an important researcher in a new field of study. Being a pioneer has its disadvantages, but the possible benefits are great, if the researcher is able to design a well-considered experiment. An example of what we have in mind is coordinating remote viewing experiments with 4Cell sessions to determine whether or not the communicating entity can supplement the results produced by the remote viewer. In another example, determining if the communicators can identify a target concealed from the researcher, such as a photograph hidden in an envelope by an unassociated volunteer. See Writer's guide for articles suitable for a literature review at atransc.org/research. Please feel free to use us as advisors if you do decide to design a formal experiment and make a publishable report. Good work Cease2Dcease! Page 9 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Cattails from Heaven by Martha Copeland Microsoft Clip Art "Go outside, sit down on some grass or dirt ... take a deep breath, filling up with the gift of air. Soon, you will feel your connection to wholeness, and you will know peace." --Barbara DeAngelis When my sister Ginny and I

were in elementary school, my older sister Donna used to come up with creative ideas to get Ginny and I to do her chores for her. One example was that if I cleaned her room she would let me play with one of her Barbie dolls for fifteen minutes. Something we still laugh about today is when Donna made up a story about a magical toy pile she had discovered in our nearby woods. Donna was a pre-teen and in between being a child and a teenager, but this awkward age does have some benefits because Donna always had plenty of money she earned from babysitting jobs. Donna would use some of her money to purchase small toys and she would tease Ginny and me that they came from that “magical toy pile.” Donna used to display these toys to convince us into doing her chores by promising to provide us with “hints” as to the location of this magical toy pile. After every hint earned and followed, Ginny and I would come home disappointed and empty handed. Imagine, if we could find this toy pile we would be the most popular kids on the block, and everyone would envy us. Yes, we would be the kings of the hill of the toy pile. Sadly, as time rolled on and we grew wiser, Ginny and I realized that there was no magical toy pile, and that we had been played the fool by our own sister. Many children today do

not have the advantage of having forest or large wooded areas as safe playgrounds like we did back then. I now reside in Lawrenceville, Georgia, where congressmen must have passed laws restricting having any trees left standing with the exception of those being in private yards, and public parks. I drive down the highway by my house that once was lined with flowering dogwoods and redbud trees. The trees are gone now, replaced by strip mall after strip mall…. Ginny and I would endlessly search, looking for that toy pile, but those woods covered a lot of territory for two little girls. I recall one experience when school was closed because of snow that our search for the toy pile could have turned out poorly for me. My mother would dress us up in so many layers of clothing, with boots and gloves, none of which ever fit me, and I could barely move much less even bend my knees to sit down…. Ginny had run ahead of me (because her clothes fit better) as I wobbled after her towards the woods. There was a small pond that had iced over and I thought it would be great fun to slide across it. I was having a ball and I didn’t care if Ginny discovered the toy pile first even claiming it as her own, until I heard the ice beneath my feet crack. Within seconds I felt my body fall through the ice and into the pond which was

deeper than I had anticipated. I screamed for Ginny but she didn’t respond, and for the first time in my life, I felt real fear. It wasn’t just the emotion of fear but rampages of different horrible emotions bottled up in me that I had never experienced before, nor know words to express them. To make matters worse, these strange emotions were coupled with the feeling of helplessness. This is the first time I had thought of my own death and what consequences it would bring to my family. Oh, how mad my mother would be at me if I drowned, and to think that now Ginny would get the twin bed we shared all to herself. The icy water had made me numb and I decided to surrender to being pulled into the dark pit of the unknown. Just then the wind blew hard and a handful of dead, dry cattails swooped down close enough for my hands to grab hold of them, helping to pull me to safety. Recalling that incident, there was no way I could have accomplished pulling myself out of that pond by myself. Someone was looking out for me because it felt as if some mystical force lifted me from that pond…. After my daughter, Cathy’s death, I had that same awful feeling as when I was a little girl falling into that pond. Once again, I found myself grabbing for cattails and anything to keep me afloat from falling into that deep dark

pit of helplessness. Strangely enough, it was my daughter Cathy who must have heard my call for help from above, as I was slipping away into that pond from my overwhelming grief. While I was struggling to hold on, Cathy blew down a cattail from Heaven so I would have something to pull myself out from first terrible place. Starting with Cathy’s that communication to her cousin, Rachel, through EVP, I have found my cattail of hope. Acknowledging the existence of EVP, I was determined to discover more about these unique after-death communications. My second cattail which gave me strength was when I became a member of the AA-EVP. It was after communicating with other members that I realized I was not alone on my quest to use EVP to contact my daughter. Other members had lost loved ones and they were compassionate and supportive in helping me use EVP as a way to establish communications to Cathy. EVP and the AA-EVP group are two cattails that have provided me with my greatest source of strength and hope in helping me through this horrific ordeal. Because of my work with the AA-EVP and my book, I’m Still Here, I am in contact with many people who are newly bereaved. Continued page 15 Volume 26, Number 2 Page 10 Life is but a Dream Continued from page 3 They wanted the wedding on a Saturday in mid-October to mid-November. The only Saturday available was November 11 (11-11). In May, Joey went

to help his mother move into a different senior complex in Connecticut. He decided to drive so that he would have a car to help with the move. Before he insisted on buying the wedding rings even though Debbie kept telling him there was no hurry, as the wedding was six months away. They chose matching bands, and the evening before he left, they took them out of the dresser and tried them on. going, Joey and his friend left for Connecticut on Tuesday. Debbie told us, “We spoke through his ride and I could not sleep until I knew he was at his destination in Connecticut, which was twenty hours later. The guys did what they had to do on Wednesday after just having a few hours sleep. On Thursday, Joey’s friend went to see his family while Joey spent the day completing what had to be done for his mom and then went out to dinner with friends. “I spoke to him Thursday evening and he was very tired. The guys planned to leave Connecticut the next day, but Joey never woke up from his night’s sleep. He was found dead! “A knock came on the door to our home and it was the police. My Joey was not coming home to me. I screamed and screamed! I ran out into the middle of the street screaming. All of our neighbors ran to me and called my sons ... how my boys cried. They jumped into their cars

and came to me. My mother was screaming, ‘Why God? Take me; bring him back to her. I have cancer. Please let me die so Joe can live. Don’t do this to my daughter.’ “Guilt! I was overcome with guilt. Why didn’t I go with him? Why didn’t I insist that I go? He didn’t have to die. If I was in bed with him, I would have heard him in distress. I hated God. In my book I state, ‘you heartless God, why bring this precious gift to me and then take it away?’ I wrote, ‘I HATE sympathy cards, please do not send me any more mass cards. I hate God; do not tell me that God has a path for us and go to God to ask him to heal your heart. Go to God!!! Why he ripped my heart out.’ I was inconsolable. My parents are very old-fashioned Italians and my mother had saints and candles and rosary beads and I HATED everyone. “I stayed in my house all summer long. I had chest pains and I cried every day…. I spent nights on the computer searching every web site I could find about religion, death and dying. On a web site from a church in Argentina, I learned of Father Francois Brune and his recordings of the dead. There was a to a web site called link listentothisforme.com…. I listened to this mother, who spoke like I did but stronger, talk to her son Joey.

I listened and listened to all the kids, I saw the picture of Lenny Ingrassia…. I sat at the computer and cried. I thought, ‘you selfish woman. Here is a mother who lost her son. You don’t know what pain is.’ “I put listentothisforme into my favorites. The next day, my cousin from Staten Island, NY, my home town, called me to check on me. I told her about the web site and the horrible story of four teenage boys from the same high school who had all died. I said, ‘Doreen, they have to be New York kids because I can tell by the way the mother Debbie talks to her son.’ My cousin Doreen said, ‘Debbie that’s Joey Caruso and Lenny Ingrassia; it has to be. These boys are known all over Staten Island. They all died the same year’…. She started to cry at the coincidence of it because her daughter Jenna has a prayer group in her Catholic high school for all of the boys that died that year. We thought that it was amazing that through a web site in Argentina, I found a web site of a woman from Staten Island where I grew up and that my cousin knew the stories and heartache for all these boys. “That evening, I was back on listentothisforme and found the link to the AA-EVP. And that night, I became a member of the AA-EVP. The next day I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cassette recorder.

I followed the instructions about the prayer of protection. I lit my candle and had my picture of Joey with me. I recorded and recorded and heard nothing. I joined in on the Big Circle and recorded on Thursday nights. I received nothing. I studied the AA-EVP web site to learn techniques and I listened to everyone’s posts. I was starting to understand the words in between the scratchy sounds. But I recorded nothing. “Feeling sad and left out, I sent an email to the administrators to ask for help…. I received an email back from the AA-EVP telling me about a woman in New York named Debbie that might be able to help. I immediately jumped at it and within a short time received an email and a phone call from Debra Ann. We connected immediately as we are both New Yorkers, both Italian and both of us had lost Joeys…. When I found out more about Debbie and her son through our phone conversation, I was screaming about listentothisforme and I told her that I had been listening to her and her son and others for over a month. When I told Debbie about my cousin and that her daughter Jenna holds a prayer group for the boys, Debbie was in shock. “How is this all possible? Really, think about it. I stumble onto listentothisforme from a priest’s web site in Argentina and through listentothisforme I find the AA- EVP, and because I am not hearing, anything a

woman, a total stranger who doesn’t know me and certainly doesn’t know that I am Italian from New York because my last name is an American name from my ex-husband ... so why did this stranger lady connect me to Debra Ann, who is Debbie Caruso? “Debbie and I … started recording for Joe Stella right away. We recorded over the phone and Debbie emailed the EVP to me. Debbie did not know the name of our dog. Continued page 21 Page 11 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Mommy by Joanne O’NeiIl Over the three-and-one-half years since our son Nicky passed, we have had sittings with many wonderful and talented mediums. Just like finding a doc- tor, you need to feel comfortable with the person who is facilitating communication with your loved one. You need to have faith and to be open to any and all messages. Our experiences have been both fruitful and very comforting. One such sitting was with Maureen Han- cock. Maureen is from Bridgewater, Mas- sachusetts. My sister Julie got her name from a friend. From the very first meeting, Maureen seemed to really connect with Nick. But it was my fourth session with her that resulted in a connection that no one expected. On my way to the session, I stopped at CVS and bought a tape to record the session. I also brought my own tape recorder this time, because at the previous session, Maureen had a microcas- sette recorder and I wanted regular-sized tapes.

The session opened with the usual strong messages from Nick, commenting about things that were happening and giving his input and opinions, and also letting me know what he’d been doing. Then, Maureen asked me if I had heard Nick’s voice. I responded that I thought I had. Then she said, “Well, he’s telling me that you will hear him soon and it will be unmistakable.” When the session ended, I left uplifted with a knowing that my son is indeed still in- volved with his family and friends. When I got home, our son Chris wanted to listen to the tape. He took it into Nick’s room and closed the door. A while later, he came running out of the room very excited and asked us to listen to the tape. On the recording, right after Maureen says that I will hear Nick, was a clear and unmistak- able voice saying, “Mommy.” We were stunned, elated, and wonderfully comforted all at the same time. In addition, we realized that this was another example of irrefutable proof that our loved ones not only live on, but continue to speak to us and love us. Nick Editor’s Note about Mommy Originally published in Signs of Life by Forever Family Foundation (www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org) as Hello Mom, A Dazzle Shot, by Joanne O’Neill show host, has written an inspiring book about the family’s continued rela- tionship with Nicky titled, 41 Signs of Hope www.newriverpress.com. Nicholas O’Neill made his transition in The Station night- club

fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. At eighteen, he was the youngest victim. Nick, a song writer, singer, musi- cian, comedian and all around entertainer, had been invited to hang out with the Great White band the day of the show that ended in one hundred deaths. In the ensuing months and years since his crossing, his parents have been amazed by the many messages that have come from him. Many of these events center on the number forty-one, a number of great significance in Nicky’s life. Dave Kane, Nicky’s father, who is a well known radio personality and talk- When we formatted this story Lisa felt compelled to send it to Margaret Downey. Margaret read the story and emailed back an EVP that she had re- corded on January 3, 2006 that says “Jo’s Nick’s mommy.” When Margaret experimented that night, she called on Nick and got another EVP saying, “Mom, it’s Nicky.” Since then Margaret has gotten yet another EVP saying, “Nick O'Neill is talking.” We were able to hear these messages but Nick’s parents Joanne and Dave were not able to make them out. Etheric Studies Update The Etheric Studies initiative, which is being sponsored by the AA-EVP, is taking shape. A discussion board has been added, and is set up as separate divisions to support: Publications: An online journal intended to include research articles. The objective is to permit the public to watch as subject matter specialists discuss individual articles in a “peer review” process. Best

Practices: Similar to the Journal section, this section will permit the public to watch discussions concerning proposed best practices, as recommended recording techniques and sound track analysis. such Research: This section permits the public, and prospective researchers, to view documented research requirements. This section will also be used to ask for corporate and individual donations to fund targeted research projects. The initiative is still in its infancy, and it is going to take support from the public to help it mature. The AA-EVP is required by the Internal Revenue Service to be publicly funded to remain a nonprofit organization. We can extend that status to the initiative so long as the public is involved. So consider joining in, and remember to let your friends know. They do not have to be an AA-EVP member and they do not have to be experts in things paranormal. What we need now are people willing to do the work. Volume 26, Number 2 Page 12 Refraction and Reflection of Light through Crystals ITC Experiments of Diana and Alan Bennett As we have reported in previous issues of the NewsJournal, the Bennetts are experimenting with refraction and reflection of light as a means of conditioning optical energy for image formation. They focus a concentrated light source onto the side of a crystal and then capture images in the reflected light. The resulting photographs must be studied in the minutest detail and may have to be magnified, as some of the faces can be very

small. They may include a mirror behind the crystal, allowing the light to flood back onto the subject. They may focus on or into the crystal. Apart from ordinary mirrors, the Bennetts have gotten good results with convex and concave mirrors and have also experimented with polished metallic disks, such as brass (yellow) and copper (red), which have created some of their more striking images. They also sometimes partially submerge the crystal in water. (See illustration below). They are using a Fuji FinePix camera set on Fine (4048 x 3040) which gives an image of about 12MB. The two examples below show how three-dimensional their phenomenal faces are. It is the high resolution camera that gives the detail in the faces. Drawing by the Bennetts showing typical position of camera in relationship to the crystal and light source. Seth 3 In the Fall 2006 NewsJournal, we ran an ITC picture of Seth 3, taken by Diana and Alan Bennett during experiments, where they were reflecting light off of a crystal. We knew that Seth 3 had communicated in the past with ITC researcher Adolf Homes and that Ernst Senkowski was very knowledgeable about Homes’ ITC work. The Bennetts wrote to Ernst Senkowski asking if he could provide more information on Seth 3 and have received this reply: “The Seth 3 picture of Homes appeared On March 30, 1991. Between 1989 and 1992, about twelve messages were received from Seth 3. Some were through the automatic writing of Mr. Homes and

some via his electronic devices. A short overview about Homes’ Seth 3 has been published in our journal TransKommunikation (Vol. IV, No 1, 1999, p 17)” Rather early, 09.03.1989, a “higher” entity Seth (spontaneously) manifested via radio. During May of the same year, five contacts followed from Seth 3, a being from the fourth plane. (The “fourth plane” might be understood as the first region “above” the astral). Seth 3, together with Thomas Becket and others, was characterized as a leader of the Centrale. Seth 3 was declared not to be identical with the Seth of Jane Roberts. On the computer monitor screen, Seth 3 asked, “How many proofs/evidence are we to deliver?”, by this referring to the skepticism of the experimenters. In connection with the structure of Seth 3, there was a hint of gnosis (cognition/awareness and love). Just like Thomas, Seth 3 appeared as a sender of several longer automatically written messages. In 1991, a connection could be recognized between the Technicians from Luxembourg. In December 1992, Homes succeeded in provoking a radio-contact with Seth 3… In Feb. 1993, Caroline Homes (deceased mother of the experimenter) declared, “Seth 3 works in a trans-group Seth.” If this is a reliable statement we might suppose that Seth 3 is part of an “oversoul” Seth. Example of visual ITC by the Bennetts. See a man’s face on the left. You are looking at a close-up of a quartz crystal facet. Example of visual ITC by the Bennetts. There is a woman’s

face peering out of the crystal. Page 13 Summer 2007 The Sony ICD-B26 We often have people ask us the big question, “What recorder should I buy to catch EVP?” We always hesitate to answer because two things happen: by the time we mention a specific recorder, the manufacturer is no longer making it but is already making another version of the product; and, when we have mentioned a recorder in the past, the price went from $60 to $600. However, we do know that some recorders do seem to work better and we have come across another one that we feel members should know about. Vicki Talbott has been using the Sony ICD- B26 almost exclusively for a year and we have been impressed with the many Class “A” recordings that she has gotten with the recorder. Vicki feels that the B26 is such a great recorder that she now rarely uses her Panasonic DR60. (We mentioned that we used the Panasonic DR60 in the book, There is No Death and There are No Dead. This ultimately resulted in the no longer manufactured DR60 price climbing to hundreds of dollars and people were paying that price for it.) Vicky has compared the B26 to the Sony B7, B16, and B17 but says nothing even compares with the B26 for quality and quantity of EVP. Sony ICD-B26 ICD-B26. On the very first test run after I asked, “Can you use this recorder to leave EVP messages,” we got a “Yes,

we can!” The very day that we did these tests we noticed that John Debney had posted a couple of class “A” EVP that he had gotten on the Sony ICD- B26 on the Idea Exchange member message board. He said to the group, “Well these are pretty amazing.... About twelve minutes into a long session this group of voices came through. These are strong examples. Very little editing has been done: slight amplification and band-pass filter. They pretty much came in this way. No TV, no other babble or ambient noise was used. I was alone in a quiet house.” The first example he posted gives an interesting message saying, “Few of us choose to speak.” John was excited about the results that he was getting with the recorder. We asked him to tell us about his thoughts on the recorder and more about the settings and way he used it. He told us that he did not use the recorder in voice-activation mode and that he tended to do longer recordings and the EVP he had posted had come from a recording of fifteen minutes. He went on to say, “I’m a nut with recorders. I try to buy one of everything I can find. I agree about the B26 as opposed to the B7. Whereas the B7 is a better recorder, the B26 seems to create more white noise. Also, the B26 has a very sensitive (loud) mic that seems to pick up more of the frequencies

involved with EVP formation.” The Sony ICD-B26 is another recorder that is no longer manufactured. However it can be purchased on eBay or through Amazon for around $50 with shipping—before word gets out and the price goes up! (Remember to use the link to Amazon from the AA-EVP web site front page. A small amount of your purchase goes to the Association.) Thoughts on Visual ITC by Keith Clark I have become aware of several things about ITC: (cid:143) Evidence that spirit is all around us, and has been present in photographs and video since their invention. (cid:143) Spirit photography just ITC researchers, but can be found everywhere in nature in any environment. is not exclusive to (cid:143) Water, fire, smoke and any other uncontained energy can, and is, constantly influenced by those in spirit. (cid:143) In an experimental environment these things can be used as tools to communicate with spirit. (cid:143) All that spirit needs is a “palette” to show their presence, whether it be mirrors, reflection of light, or an arrangement of colors and contrast of light . Over the next few years, I will endeavor to bring forth evidence of the above ideas in my work. [Editor: Keith demonstrated his point with the photograph at the right. >>>>] Vicki Talbott at her computer. When asked about the settings that she uses on her recorder, Vicki says she uses it with the voice activation feature on, in LP (long play) and with high mic sensitivity. Vicki wrote, “Some

have said it takes those on the other side a while to get comfortable with a new recorder, but with me, that was not the case with the ICD-B26.” Vicki tells us that as far as editing goes she usually doesn’t do anything to a recording. She wrote, “At times I deamplify my voice and amplify the EVP, and denoise with Clear Voice Denoiser (www.speechpro.com) on low standard…. I am a minimalist by nature. I told Braden I don’t know how to use filters, edit, etc. so if he and his friends are going to come through, they had better make it good!” We ran some tests on both the Sony ICD-B7, which several members use and seem happy with, and the Sony Volume 26, Number 2 Page 14 Wife’s Face Appears on Crypt’s Marble Howard Taylor and the face on the crypt’s marble surface. A month after the death of his wife, Howard Taylor be- lieved that he could see her face on the marble wall of the mausoleum. He didn’t want to tell many people at first because he felt they would think that he was nuts. The image is fairly easy to make out. See the large black upside-down arch—that’s the mouth. The rest of the face fills in from there—nostrils, hair, even Virginia’s droopy right eye. Dean Bruce, a family service counselor at the cemetery, is quoted as saying, “It’s not just any face. It looks like his wife.” Howard says that he told Virginia that

he loved her fifty-million times a day. She was eighty-four when she died and Howard buried her in an evening gown and her bedroom slippers so her feet wouldn’t get cold. “She just wanted to let me see her and to let me know she appreciates me coming. It’s hard to live without her.” From: Times Dispatch, “On crypt’s marble, husband sees the face of his late wife,” by Paige Akin, www.timesdispatch.com. Photograph taken by Keith Clark of flames above a burn barrel. Notice the face-like features in the rectangles. Cattails from Heaven Continued from page 10 These people are looking for cattails to cling to during the early stages of their grieving work. I have found that the same methods I have developed as my cattails for healing my grief works for others as well. Below is an exercise that I created that uses your memory and your imagination and is very powerful. I call this cattail exercise, “Playing it Backwards and Forwards.” Before any spiritual work and meditation, I always advise a “Prayer of Protection.” This prayer is not just to protect you from “evil spirits,” but it is to raise your vibrational rate to a higher level. Make sure you are wearing comfortable clothing, you are relaxed and in a quiet area without fear of unnecessary noises. You may want to play soothing relaxation music, but keep the volume low. During this meditation you may want to try to record for EVP. Once you are ready, please

follow the steps below for the cattail meditation called: Playing it Backwards and Forwards 1. You are using your memory and going “Backwards.” Remember the last happy time you were with your loved one before they transitioned. Take it a step further by using all your five senses to really be there in that window of time with your loved one. Smell them; touch their hair, face, and clothing. What were they wearing, where were you, what time was it, what time of the year was it and what were you talking about? Did you kiss them? What did that taste like? Remember every detail vividly - BE THERE! Repeat this exercise for one week. My personal experience using this exercise is that I have more success if I practice it before going to sleep at night, and just before getting out of my bed in the morning. Any other time I have a problem concentrating and controlling my thoughts. You will need to experiment on what is the best approach for you to follow because everyone is different. 2. You will use your imagination and go Forward after you have completed the “Backward” exercise for one week. After performing the “Backward” exercise, use your imagination and visualize your loved one in a meadow, a beach, or some place that you may have visited. Once again, you will be utilizing your five senses during your “Forward” exercise. In my exercise I remember my grandfather’s orchard but I use my imagination

to add a beach close by with the sound of the surf and seagulls. The reason I do this is because Cathy loved the ocean and my grandfather’s orchard is easy for me to imagine. This is your special place in time to share with your loved one, and you can do whatever you wish. There are times we may need to hold on to cattails in our lives, but someday we will realize it is time to let them go. This concludes the “Play it Forward” and “Play it backward” meditation. I hope sharing my personal meditation with you will help you create that special place within your heart for your loved one. Page 15 Summer 2007 Downey ITC Method Replicated DV 182 video-still-web cam Margaret Downey sent us one of the cameras that she uses to take reflected in pictures water. The camera is an inexpensive DV 182 mini video digital camera, webcam, still camera that costs about $30 but because most of these cameras are overseas the shipping can run around $40. As with most webcams, the camera has a very poor resolution. Here are the important specifications: (cid:143) 3.1 Mega Pixels Software Resolution (cid:143) Still Resolution ranges from 2048 x 1536 to 800 x 600 (cid:143) In video mode, resolution is 320 x 240 pixels (cid:143) Digital zoom: 4X (cid:143) Display: Color TFT 1.5 inch LCD (cid:143) The camera does not use video tape, only a removable SD/MMC memory card. (cid:143) Output is either USB or

AV As you may recall, Margaret places a 2.5 liter Vision CorningWare pot, which is half filled with water, in an empty black pot on her stove top, and turns on the light in Vision CorningWare in a black pot. Two faces looking to your left. Possible pioneer man on left and possible Native American on right. her stove hood as a source of light. She then wiggles her fin- gers in the water to make it move while aiming the camera with the other hand, at an angle where it catches the light reflection in the water. We happen Man facing to front but with head tilted a little down. Distorted so that chin is too small. to have a replica of Margaret’s Vision CorningWare pot and were able to duplicate her experiments. On our first try we captured several interesting faces as shown at the left. (www.ITCdeadpeople.com) Margaret received an email and picture from Lisa Whitney. Lisa told Margaret that she had seen Margaret’s and used her website technique. She said that her beloved dog Sasha had come through for her (below). You will notice that there is also a cat slightly behind and above to the right of Sasha’s ITC image (the circle crosses the cat’s nose). She said she recently had a reading from a psychic who connected with her dog but told her there was a cat trying to push its way to the front. Then it showed up in this session! ITC image at

left resembling Lisa Whitney’s dog (right) that is now on the other side. A cat is at 2 o’clock on the circle. For detailed information on the Downey method go to the ATransC website and see “ITC Experiments using Light Reflected from Water” in the Techniques section of atransc.org Childhood Influences that Heighten Psychic Powers In an article with the same title published in The Journal of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, researcher Sylvia Hart Wright found that psychic ability does run in families and that intensely sensitive people usually have family histories of psychic ability and/or strong belief in the reality of psi. She found that a history of multiple births also had a positive association with heightened psychic capability. Wright states that, “mounting evidence also suggests that intensely psychic adults are particularly likely to have suffered severe trauma in their first 10-12 years. In general, women tend to be more psychic than men…. In the special case of after-death communication, people with limited psychic gifts may nonetheless sense the presence of departed loved ones with whom they have an especially strong bond. From: The Journal of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Vol. 29, Number 4, October 2006, pg 183. Volume 26, Number 2 Page 16 Experimentation with Inverted Channel Nullification By Zoë J. Robinson, May 2007 When I agreed to write this report back in January, I was hopeful of being able to include a success story or two regarding EVP. As it turns out, I seem to have followed

in the footsteps of so many investigators who have sought to find evidence of EVP but have gone away empty-handed. Nevertheless, I believe the ideas behind Inverted Channel Nullification (or ICN for short) are still worthy of experimentation and it is on this basis that I have written this report. What is Inverted Channel Nullification? Put simply, ICN is a method of recording the same sound twice and using one recording to filter noise from the other. A mono microphone is used to input a signal to a stereo sound card in a computer and the two channels on the sound card each produce a copy of the recording. In theory these copies will be identical, although with the majority of sound cards there will be a minor variance due to slight differences in the components used to build the sound card itself. These variants are minor, and in the experiments I made, they only show up if you amplify the signal so much you’ve distorted the original recording enough to make it unusable. In essence, the recordings are identical for the purposes of all but the most stringent of investigators. Why is this useful? When two recordings are made of exactly the same sounds they should, in theory, contain the exact same data. It should therefore be possible to invert one of these recordings, making it the exact opposite sound wave to what it was originally, and then superimpose this first recording over the second recording. If the two

sound waves are identical, and they should be, the result will be a perfectly flat sound wave because all data in the recording will disappear. In EVP investigation, it is sometimes the case that two or more people can record at the same time in the same room and receive different results. Of course these recordings won’t be made under the exact same circumstances as not only will the positions of the recording devices be different but the input and recording mechanisms used will be different, even if the same model of device is used; as all devices are different. sound card are acting as two separate recorders, after all. So there’s an advantage to the ICN process already: you’re doubling your recording sessions with minimal effort. This isn’t the only potential advantage, however. With two copies of the same recording you can use one to filter the background noise from the other. EVP investigation is notorious for noisy recordings and with this method you can rid yourself of that, leaving only sounds that appear on one recording but not the other. Of course, you’re still left with the task of listening to the original recordings in case there’s something important that appears on both, since if that’s the case ICN will remove it! How to perform Inverted Channel Nullification To perform ICN yourself, all you will need is a computer with a stereo sound card and a microphone input jack, a standard mono microphone and audio manipulation software to

perform the inversion and channel mixing. Illustration 1: A simple recording showing two identical copies of the same input. Once you have your equipment set up, make a sample recording in stereo, when your computer is “listening” to the microphone, and you’ll get a recording that shows two copies of the same recording, one on each channel. If your recording is short enough or you’ve zoomed in far enough, it should be relatively easy to spot any areas where one channel’s recording differs from the other, but if they seem to be exactly the same, that’s fine too—any differences will be clear after the next part is done. ICN With the possible variables are reduced significantly: for both recordings, the input device and its location are identical and the recording process is identical also. The only variable is in the components inside the sound card but, as described earlier, these may be as close to identical as possible. In effect, you’re using the same device to make two separate recordings. This means you should have two copies of the same thing but, as we’ve already mentioned, in EVP recording the same thing twice doesn’t always give you the same results. An EVP can appear on one recording and not the other and with ICN this is no different—the two channels of the Illustration 2: A sample sound wave following ICN processing. The original sound is shown in the top channel while the result of ICN is in the bottom channel.

Select one of your channels and use your software to “invert” the waveform. Continued page 18 Page 17 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Channel Nullification Continued from page 17 How to do this will depend on the software you’re using but the effect should be achievable in most, if not all, editing software. [Invert is in the Effects Menu of Audacity.] It is worth noting that the waveform will not look or sound any different after the inversion but the next part won’t work unless the sample is inverted. Once you have one channel inverted you can proceed in one of two ways. Either the two channels can be averaged together or the contents of the inverted channel can be copied on top of the contents of the other channel. The first process will produce one mono file while the second process will produce a stereo file where one channel is a copy of the original and the other is the resultant ICN sound wave. Which you choose to use is personal preference. Advantages for EVP study The ICN process has the potential to allow for quick and simple removal of all background noise from recordings. The benefit for EVP study is a clear: recording where an EVP is present on one channel but not another; the EVP is quickly cleaned up and therefore made easier to understand. Since a recording of all the original sound wave, besides the EVP, is being used as a filter, the effect of processing on

the EVP itself is negligible. In the example created for Illustration 3, I was unable to discern any audible difference in the “EVP” created for the example and the original recording used to create it. By inverting one channel of the recording used to create the “EVP” and copying the result of the ICN filter on top of it, the result was a flat sound wave with no apparent difference in quality. In summary, I believe the technique as presented here is a simple and effective tool for the study of EVP. Given the demonstrable advantages to filtering over other methods Illustration 3a: A second voice recording has been added to one channel of our sample recording, to create an example EVP. This illustration shows the original “EVP” recording. Illustration 3b: Shows how the recording has been cleaned using ICN, to leave only the “EVP” on the top channel. and the relative ease of including this technique into any computer-based EVP study, I believe the technique would benefit many people in their work. The only downside to the ICN technique is that, if an EVP is present on both channels, the ICN technique will filter it out but this flaw is countered by continuing to listen to sound files in the manner to which we have all become accustomed, then filter as necessary in a more conventional way. ICN is therefore an addition to the other tools at our disposal, not a replacement for them. [Editor’s Note: We think this

technique has great possibilities, but there is one concern. The words of EVP are formed of the very noise being removed. It does appear that the power of the signal and time relationships are rearranged to form the words. Also, there may be a small “seed” signal that is not part of the ambient sound, so we think this technique may diminish the volume of an EVP, but the words should survive. We have published this article because we feel that “field tests” of this technique would help us learn if it is a viable technique. Assuming the technique does help, we are also looking for setup instructions for using it in Audacity and Audition, so please let us know your results if you try ICN. By the way, you can also record into a stereo audio recorder and then transfer the file into a computer for ICN analysis.] “Dismissed” Again George Wynne posted a message to the group concerning that was particularly “dismissive” about an article consciousness research. He wrote: “The lead article by Prof. Steven Pinker (who teaches psychology at Harvard University), in the January 29 issue of TIME Magazine, which claims a readership of nineteen million, is devoted to “The Mystery of Consciousness.” He dismisses out of hand in a single offensive paragraph, reproduced below, the possibility that consciousness could be located outside of the brain. I find it shocking that a reputable scientist can allow himself to make such a didactic statement that simply ignores a

great deal of evidence to the contrary.” From that article: “...When the physiological activity of the brain ceases, as far as anyone can tell the person’s consciousness goes out of existence. Attempts to contact the souls of the dead (a pursuit of serious scientists a century ago) turned out only cheap magic tricks, and near- death experiences are not the eyewitness reports of a soul parting company from the body but symptoms of oxygen starvation in the eyes and brain. In September, a team of Swiss neuroscientists’ reported that they could turn out-of- body experiences on and off by stimulating the part of the brain in which vision and bodily sensations converge.” The neuroscientists report Pinker referred to ignores the research of Dr. Sam Parnia, who published a study showing that ten percent of patients who were clinically dead, and then later resuscitated, reported memories while their bodies were lifeless. If the brain is the biological host for consciousness, there would be a correlation between experience and brain activity, but that does not mean that the activity originates in the brain. Volume 26, Number 2 Page 18 Closer than you Think! by David Sircom A few years after my official initiation into Electronic Voice Phenomena, I found myself recording at least two times a day, every day and with some limited success. One night in my office, I decided to ask if the spirits or entities that were answering me on a regular basis were, in fact, present with me

in the room or was I in contact with another location altogether. So I asked, “Where are you?” On playback came the almost immediate response as a soft whisper, “Closer, than you think!” By the way, two stones away from Ann’s grandmother’s stone is the grave of a young boy named “Herbie.” There’s one more thing I’d like to mention that has bothered me for years. Doing EVP work at cemeteries, you tend to get a lot of the same replies over and over. For instance, “Who are you?” “Go away” or “I’m cold.” Now with all the really ancient graves on Cape Cod, and many go back to the late 1600s, only once have I received “Who art thou?” Why wouldn’t there be more of the old English? Every EVP, with the exception of this one, uses common vernacular. Could it be that we do move on after some time? These experiences, as well as dozens since, have led me to the conclusion that spirits, ghosts, entities, or whatever you choose to call them, are everywhere. I don’t believe we Dennis Cemetery Early on, my wife used to go with me to the cemeteries. Neither of us really knew what we were doing. It was all trial and error. Somehow, I found my way to Tom and Lisa Butler at the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (atransc.org), who not only inspired me but were always there to answer questions and offer advice. Anyway, my wife, Ann, and I

headed out one evening to the Dennis Cemetery right on Route 6A [Yarmouth Port, MA on Cape Cod]. We’d been there the night before and as Ann’s grandmother is buried there, she was asking, “Can anyone help me find my grandmother’s stone?” “Is anyone here?” and “What is your name?” On playback, you could clearly hear a child saying “Grandma.” So, this night, on our return trip, Ann was asking, “We’re trying to reach the little girl who’s helping me find my grandmother’s stone. What is your name?” Again, back to the house and on playback is a ticked off little voice that says, “I’m not a little girl!” Okay, next night we go back and after an apology is offered, Ann asks, “We’d like to hear from the little boy who’s helping me find my grandmother’s stone. What is your name?” On playback, we hear a very polite but stern adult male voice which states, “The child is not at liberty to divulge his name.” So now we know: 1. There exists some type of structured organization, which includes within itself a guardian or overseer type of arrangement. Does this exist for the protection of the children or could it possibly extend to everyone? 2. This organization is obviously constructed of rules and one of them involves not giving out names. Again, just children? Ann Sircom at the Dennis Cemetery are ever really alone. They are in our houses, in our places of work and probably even our cars!

If you want to go ghost hunting, you won’t have to travel very far. While an evening visit to the cemetery does add something to the whole experience, you can be just as successful in a school yard or your backyard. But I recommend the graveyard, especially for the beginner, and to help you along, there is a terrific website on Cape Cod cemeteries and stones at www.capecodgravestones.com. You’ll find a listing of all the cemeteries as well as interesting facts like: (cid:143) Twenty-nine thousand names with gravestone inscription details (cid:143) Less than twenty 17th-century gravestones, about 3,700 18th century gravestones and over 24,000 19th-century gravestones are included for the fifteen towns of Barnstable County. More gravestone records after 1860 up to 1900 are being added as an ongoing project. Page 19 Continued page 21 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Thoughts on Live EVP and DC6 Software by Chris Wilson Screen print of the DC6 window a microphone sessions. What Several years ago, I was monitoring over speakers with in another room. A man’s voice faintly said, “Do you want to speak to Chris?” and louder, a young man said, “Hello Chris, this is Chris … yeah!” The man then said, “You need to speak up. Do you want to try again?” Then the conversation faded out. That thinking and started me live experimenting with EVP I needed was software that would do the filtering live. Searching the Internet, I found a company named Enhanced Audio, with a computer program called

DC4, which is now DC6 (Diamond Cut Six). DC6 is an audio editing program just like the ones we use for EVP (Audacity, Audition, GoldWave), except it has a neat feature called “Live Multi-Filter.” With this feature, audio coming into the computer can be filtered live and the result heard with a short delay of a second or so. A typical setup for EVP would be a microphone into the Microphone In jack of the computer with DC6 Live filtering what comes from the microphone and the output playing on the headphones connected to the computer’s Headphone Out. DC6 is available as a free demo from the Enhanced Audio website (www.enhancedaudio.com/dc_six.htm). It won’t stop after a month or so and has a sixty-second limit on the file size it will process. This is not a problem for EVP clips. File saving there are workarounds. For instance, the Live Multi-Filter output that you’re monitoring will save as a wav file (up to sixty-seconds). [A DC6 license is $159 online or $199 for a CD.] To configure a personal computer so that the input sound is directed to DC6, open the SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES program in the Control Panel, select the AUDIO tab and click on the SOUND PLAYBACK VOLUME button. Select all of the MUTE check boxes except WAVE and PLAYBACK. Click on the SOUND RECORDING VOLUME button the MICROPHONE check box. is disabled but select and After downloading the file from Enhanced Audio, installation is simple: Just keep clicking

OK. To get started, install a microphone at the MICROPHONE IN jack and set the Windows RECORD and PLAYBACK boxes as described above. Use either a headset or speakers. Open DC6 and select the LIVE MULTI-FILTER and click the PRESET tab, find LIVE CONTINUOUS NOISE FILTER, click it and it will appear in the MULTI- FILTER window. Then click LIVE PREVIEW. If all is well, you’ll hear your voice after a short delay. To record, click LOG OUTPUT. Remember that the trial version of DC6 will only record for just less than 60 seconds. Each time you make a live recording you’ll have to exit the LIVE window and open it again. With the full DC6 version of course that’s not necessary. Keep the master volume down until you are familiar with the routine. You don’t want any acoustic shocks when using headphones. The simplest use of DC6 is as live denoise. The default filter settings are not optimum for what we do. The main thing is to get the software working and get used to it. There are several of us using it and results are being posted on the forum, so ask there for help. The hope is that live conversation with our spirit friends will be forthcoming. [Editor: As Chris said, there is a problem with playing the output into a speaker in the same environment as the microphone. This may cause audio feedback noise. The average headset is little better than speakers, but we have found

that earbuds of the kind that are held in the ear channel with a suction cup-shaped rubber fitting are not very sensitive to outside sounds. Even better might be the noise-suppression variety. We are currently using an inexpensive set by Philips we purchased at Wal-Mart. Something to try might be to set Audacity in your PC to "WAVE Out Mix" in the pull-down menu at the upper right of the screen. That should allow you to record what is coming from DC6. You should still be able to hear the output with your headset.] Looking for Research Partners Dee Vyeda posted a request for research partners in the Idea Exchange: “I’ve been doing EVP/ITC research for about the last twenty-five years. I’m currently forming a new research group in the Kansas City area and looking for like-minded individuals who would like to join. My main focus is on research but I also do investigations. I would like to partner up with an experienced researcher but I also enjoy working with those new to these phenomena. If interested, please contact me for more information at [email protected].” Volume 26, Number 2 Page 20 Closer Than You Think Continued from page 19 (cid:143) Note that only about 2,600 of the previously-recorded 3,700 18th-century gravestones existed as of 2000. About 1,000 18th-century gravestones were lost in the hundred years between 1900 and 2000. Society If you are truly interested in giving EVP a try, go to the New our website, England of Paranormal Investigators

at www.nespi.net, click on Investigations, then click on EVP Recording Basics to find more detailed instructions for recording. You will also find that many paranormal investigators, including NESPI, say a little prayer for protection upon entering and departing the cemetery. Even if you’re not very religious it, can’t hurt. David Sircom Luminator Picture in Margaret Lublin photographed in the Luminator field. Margaret Lublin sent a picture of herself with the Luminator, taken in June 2006 at the AA-EVP conference in Atlanta by Mark Macy. Margaret wrote that there are three people the picture, “Going from the top of my head to below my face are three people. I believe that the first person is Pat. However, she doesn’t show up very well on the copy. In the original photo you can see some of her gray hair … As you go down my face you can see a pair of skewed round-framed glasses. This I believe is my father, Louis. Mark Macy had me take my glasses off before he took the pictures, and besides, mine have oval frames. The third person appears to be my step-mother, Joan. Below the glasses there is another face. The eyes are closed and there is no hair whatsoever on the face. No head hair and no eyebrow hair. She underwent both surgery and chemo for malignant brain tumors.” You can learn more about Mark Macy’s work with the Luminator in his new book, Spirit Faces. Details are at http://spiritfaces.com/. Life is but a

Dream Continued from page 11 When I asked Joey to tell her, we received “Troopa.” The dog’s name is Trooper. Debbie and I recorded a lot as the time got closer to 11-11, my wedding date. “Debbie is selfless and I can never repay her for what she did for me the day before and on my wedding day. Her daughter Alexa was in a dance competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey those two days and Debbie took the time from her busy schedule to record with me. That’s when Debbie asked, ‘who’s getting married Saturday?’ and we received, ‘Joe Stella.’ Debbie asked Joey, ‘What’s the name of your wedding song,’ and we received, ‘Our life would have been a dream.’ Ninety-nine percent of all the EVP from my Joey is validation EVP. It’s amazing! “I am no longer angry at God. Through the books written by the members of the AA-EVP, I now understand that our souls are on the physical plane for a predetermined period of time. I now understand that there is no death, there are no dead and that crossing over is just a transfer of spirit. I now understand that there is a heaven and that our loved ones are happy and peaceful. I now know that they are with us and want to communicate with us. I now know that, although we can’t see them (yet) or feel them (yet), we still have a connection to them. “The AA-EVP has allowed me to find

God again, to believe in heaven, to believe in life after death and to know—really, really know in my heart—that there is nothing to be afraid of when we take our last breath on this earth. Rather, expect the wonderful journey to a forever of happiness, family, friends and beauty. Whether or not I record audible EVP, I will continue to work with EVP, to learn and to open a grieving heart to it. “I know that, with all the brilliant minds combined with the passion of the AA-EVP members, we will be able to better communicate with our loved ones and help many, many broken hearts that will come into our paths in this life. To my AA-EVP family, thank you.” Debbie Premonitions Registry The Parapsychology Foundation’s Psychic Explorer Club invites you to send in your premonition to be registered. All submissions are archived alphabetically by the last name of the person who submitted the premonition. The Foundation will make no attempt to validate or assess the success of the premonitions received. Upon request by the registrant, the the Foundation will forward experiencer’s original email as it was enrolled in the registry, with the date and time of receipt noted. You don’t have to be a member of the Parapsychology Foundation to email premonition, register [email protected], or write Parapsychology Foundation, PO Box 1562, New York, NY, 10021. the complete text of simply your Page 21 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal News About Members (cid:143) Debbie Caruso was on Magick Mind

Radio on June 14. The show was archived so you can listen to it at any time. www.magickmind.net/cms (cid:143) Peter Haviland, of Lone Star Spirits, is working with Paras Hub and their paranormal Internet radio show, which airs 7-9 PM EST Tuesday and Thursday. (www.lonestarspirit.org and www.parahub.org) Viewpoint Continued from page 1 the United States. She is a board member of the ASPSI and also a member of the AA-EVP. We both resonated with the positive, channeled communication that Betsy Jo Miller, author of The Wisdom of the Gods has received. The death of her son a few months before her divorce left her totally disillusioned with he that formed (cid:143) Bryan Kaplan specializes in EVP with the Paranormal Activity Investigators; a Kansas City-based non-profit (www.ghost- organization investigators.com). An article written by him about using EVP in haunting investigations will be published in the Northwest Missouri State University Alumni Magazine in July. The magazine is mailed to all living alumni of the University. [Editors: -The Dead don’t need to get it via mail!] (cid:143) Finnish member Georg Lindström wrote that he visited Lizz Werneroth in Sweden. Werneroth has been working with EVP/DRV (Direct Radio Voices) since 1968 and was a very close friend and workmate to Friedrich Jürgenson. Georg wrote, “During those days, we did recordings and listened to her old two-way conversations with the Spirit People.” (cid:143) Karen Mossey has formed her own paranormal research team called the East Coast Transcommunication Organization. The new website is www.ectoweb.com. Karen has

been asked to speak at the annual Monster Mash in Watertown, MA in October. Energy Ball This picture was taken by Linda Gray around 6:00 AM on a summer day. She recalls, “I was drinking coffee, trying to wake up. I thought the morning was very pretty. I am not a morning person, but for some reason I needed to be up then. I got my camera out and took a picture.” Linda did not see the object when she took the picture. Linda said that this is the only time that she has captured a picture of a mist. But she likes to call it an energy ball because it’s in a ball and not floating around like a mist. She wrote, “I guess I should call it an apparition; you can clearly see this man’s head.” Tom Butler speaking with P.M.H. Atwater, Rev. Michael Cocks and another attendee. life. While “playing around” with channeling, an entity claiming to be her son came through. This ultimately led to the revitalizing of her life and the writing of her book. Her presentation talked about our connection to everything and how we have created our world. Betsy spoke to our need to use our emotional intelligence to “feel” our connectedness and responsibility to all else so that we can stop our unconscious creating of negativity in our life. P.M.H. Atwater’s presentation was fresh and her enthusiasm for her research in near-death states is still there after all these years. She is

an international authority on near-death states and the author of ten books. Her presentation focused on her research into children’s near- death experiences and their aftereffects. Other great speakers at the conference included Donald Morse, Karin Nemri, Charles Don Keyes, Steven Hoyer, the Reverend Daniel Kivel, Sylvia Hart Wright, the Rever- end Lawson Smith, Kevin Kovelant, Jeanetta Dunlap, David Lindsay, James Beichler and Boyce Batey who is the Executive Secretary of the ASPSI and who did a wonderful job of chairing the conference. Proceedings for the confer- ence will be published by the end of July. In addition, each presentation was recorded on cassette. Both can be pur- chased on the ASPSI website (aspsi.org) for a nominal fee or by mail at ASPSI, PO Box 614, Bloomfield, CT 06002- 0614. Volume 26, Number 2 Page 22 Researcher Reports (cid:143) Debbie Caruso wrote that she had explained EVP to Father Paddock who is now Monsignor Paddock of her son Joey’s high school. He asked to hear her recordings and record with her. On the recording he says who he is and then asks to hear from Joey saying that he wants to know that Joey is okay. Joey responds, “I’m okay” and the Monsignor was able to hear him. (cid:143) Martha Copeland and her sister, Ginny Sawyer, recorded with new member Laurie Bean and got an EVP saying “Samantha,” which is the name of Laurie’s daughter. (cid:143) Margaret Downey often gets messages from Teri Daner’s son Geoff. Teri asked Margaret to

ask Geoff about Elvis as Teri had a mad crush on Elvis as a young woman. On the anniversary of Geoff’s crossing, Margaret recorded, “Tonight, Geoff met Elvis.” (cid:143) Mark and Amy Kosinski shared this with members: “EVP is absolutely amazing … Our purpose around experimenting with EVP originated with the family having experiences in and around our home. We were a bit skeptical at first but when we heard the results we were both sitting with our jaws hanging open. As we read more about EVP, we decided to attempt to contact my wife’s dear uncle. He passed about two years ago. He was a grandfather figure to our children, a foster father to my wife and probably the best friend I have ever had. He is very missed and very loved.” Mark attached an EVP that was their first contact with him, “Hello, Big Guy.” Mark explained that the uncle was a very large man (about 6’6” and 280 lbs), and his nickname was Big Guy. (cid:143) Lianne Mettam said that she received a voice mail from her friend, Champ. Before the voice mail, one of her daughter’s toys kept playing music. Lianne went to shut it off but found that it was already off! She then received a couple of voice mail messages that were all static and then a message that she felt sounded like her friend. She played it for her mom and her mom hears, “Hullo, heleloo, I love you.” Lianne hears the last

part as “and you” instead of “I love you.” (cid:143) Lorie McMorrow has recorded the “Meow! Meow!” of her beloved Siamese cat. She wrote that the meow is distinctive and not easily mistaken, “It’s the same as the one that used to wake me at 4:30 in the morning, wanting to be fed!” (cid:143) Michael Shultz wrote that he had recorded a few EVP messages. He has two different types of recorders; a high-end model and an inexpensive one. He says that so far, the EVP that he has received have been with the less-expensive recorder. (cid:143) Sandra Smith lives in a historic village in New Mexico and has recently conducted several EVP sessions with results intriguing enough to spur her curiosity and desire to experiment further. She is using a Olympus DM-1. (cid:143) Vicki Talbott asked during a recording, “Who’s here?” and received, “Everybody,” and then a couple of names, one of them being “Sean.” A friend’s daughter’s ex- boyfriend had made his transition and the friend had asked Vicki to ask for him. On the same recording Vicki says, “Big Circle night” and an EVP follows saying “Big Circle night … Yes.” (cid:143) Stephanie Tomasi is a nurse and mother of three girls. Her oldest daughter was struck by a speeding car and was in a coma for a month. When she came out and was able to speak, she told her mother that she went to heaven. Stephanie has always wanted to make contact with loved ones

who have crossed over and has recorded EVP. Her first was that of a man saying, “Hi, Stephanie. I am here.” (cid:143) Lorraine VanBrocklin wrote, “I get many clear messages and enjoy this very much.” (cid:143) Dee Vyeda writes, “I do regular EVP sessions nearly every week and have had fabulous results recording on an IBM laptop, which has a great sound card installed, and using an external microphone. The noise created by the laptop fan provides the right amount of sound.” (cid:143) Phyllis Jaquett told us that she recorded the voice of her husband when he transitioned sixteen years ago, and the voice of a friend when he died three years ago. Thoughts from Members Regina Antonucci wrote, “I became interested in how linguistics and phonetics may tie in with EVP. As an experiment, I thought to ask ‘them’ to repeat a word which begins with a voiceless consonant and ends with a voiceless stop. I thought to do this as I considered that ‘they’ may have a very limited ability to make their larynges heard in this world but may have a better ability to make sounds heard by manipulating the air or ether around them. It was a thought and so I proceeded and actually was successful the first time in getting them to repeat ‘SHAPE.’ It is a Class A quality recording as well, of which I am very proud. Unfortunately, and this is the rub in the study of the paranormal, the erratic nature of

response or should I say non-response may easily diminish any such glaring proof. In other words, as I attempted to repeat the experiment with other similar voiceless words I was not successful. However, it is true, I’ve only had limited time experimenting and so will try again at some point. I have collected hundreds of other EVP in about a year’s time—Class A and Class B—and even retained the Class C examples. I have utilized a Faraday cage and because of this, I know for a fact EVP are not stray radio waves … I also know this is not pareidolia I am experiencing either, as I am aware that my mind can and has created such nonsense when I am overtired. But that is very simple and the skeptic’s biggest argument, I think. Big Circle Recording Dates Don’t forget to record with the group every other Thursday and then share your EVP messages on the Big Circle area of the Idea Exchange. Recording dates are: July 12 & 26, August 9 & 23, September 6 & 20 and October 4 & 18 Page 23 Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal An Opportunity to Learn The International Spiritualist Federation is hosting their Fraternal Week Convention, September 8–15, in Rochester, New York at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Attendees will be offered fifteen hours of development classes in trance, mental mediumship, physical mediumship or spiritual healing. Lectures and seminars during the week include: Electronic Voice Phenomena, Remote Viewing, Trance Presentation in mediumship will take

place each evening and there are two sessions each day to receive spiritual healing. We will be presenting Electronic Voice Phenomena and hope to see you there! For information see www.theisf.com topics. Demonstrations and other There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? learning You can order a signed copy at aaevp.com or a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 “T” Shirts with Embroidered AA-EVP Logo Fruit of the Loom short sleeve shirts with blue embroidered AA- EVP logo. White: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large sizes (blue logo) Blue: Extra Large (white logo) $15.00 + $3.00 mailing in USA, $9.00 for International mailing. US dollars only. Order at aaevp.com or mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar- loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097 Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book:

Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email: $40.00 per year Sustaining Members Subtract $5 per additional year for multiple years (1 Year Membership = $30, 2 Years = $55, 3 Years = $75) Please specify the number of years you are joining.: __________ All benefits for one year $30.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. Annual dues are: You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional)___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____ In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one years of age or

older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 26, Number 2 Page 24 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NewsJournal Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 26 Number 3 Fall 2007 From our Viewpoint It has been an interesting and varied few months since we wrote this column for the Summer NewsJournal. For that issue, we described what we hoped would be the beginning of some exciting new directions. IONS in the hills south of Petaluma, California In July we attended a Monroe Institute program called Lifeline at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) in Northern California. We found both the 200 acre IONS retreat center and the Guidelines program to be beyond our expectations. Lifeline’s primary focus is on service— service to those here in the physical and service to those who have made their transition to the other side. Participants become knowledgeable about Hemi-Sync® Focus™ levels 23 through 27. Focus 23 is an area in which certain souls, for a variety of reasons, may become earthbound and fail to complete their transitions from

physical life. Lifeline participants are guided in how to make contact with such souls and assist them in moving to Focus 27, what Bob Monroe described in Ultimate Journey as the Park, Reception Center, or Way Station. Upon arrival in Focus 27, they are met by loved ones and guides who assist them. View from IONS of valley near We both enjoyed the Petaluma time spent in Focus 27 and found the Hemi-Sync frequencies helped us to easily make contact with our own friends and loved ones now on the other side. Some of the other Focus levels worked with in this program are Focus 22, where humans still in the physical have partial consciousness, such as deliria, coma or drug induced conditions, Focus 23, inhabited by humans who have recently exited their physical existence and have not adapted to this change, and Focus levels 24 through 25, which are comprised of a vast area of belief systems. We mentioned exciting new directions and this program may have turned into one. Early on, during a refresher of the Focus levels leading to Focus 22, we were doing a session in Focus 15, which by the way is a great level to use for creating what you want in reality, when Tom was given the idea of how Hemi-Sync could be turned into a tool to help people with receiving EVP. As it would happen, Karen Viar was one of our facilitators for the program. Karen, unknown to us, is a

member of the Board of Directors with the Monroe Institute. The day before the end of the program, we sat down and discussed with Karen the idea of Hemi-Sync frequencies facilitating recording EVP. It was a real thrill when Karen agreed that this sounded like an interesting avenue to explore. She put us in contact with Skip Atwater, president of Monroe, who was also interested in our proposal. We are now working on a protocol if Hemi-Sync can be used to benefit EVP reception. This may take the time, as Monroe Institute has recently experienced a change in leadership after the transition of Laurie Monroe. See story on page 12. The Butlers at IONS to see In September, we participated in the International Spiritualist Association weeklong gathering in Rochester, New York. The week was a series of classes and workshops on various methods of contacting loved ones and guides on the other side. Classes were given on everything from mental and physical mediumship to shamanic journeying and spirit communication through art. We each gave a forty-five minute presentation and played several examples of the wonderful EVP communication coming to members from their loved ones in spirit, as well as giving an overview of how to record for EVP. The basics of various visual ITC methods were displayed along with examples for the different techniques. The amazing results from the 4Cell Demonstrations were also covered. The presentation was well received and we received many positive comments. We sincerely thank AA-EVP members

who are always more than willing to share their wonderful results. Continued page 22 Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State. AA-EVP NewsJournal Contents From our Viewpoint........................................................................................................................1 Our Portion of the Bridge by Mark and Amy Kosinski.................................................................3 The Study of Survival.....................................................................................................................5 Death Does Not Discriminate by Martha Copeland.......................................................................7 Beyond a Humdrum Heaven and Horrific Hell by Michael Tymn..............................................9 Mouser by Lorelei McMorrow.......................................................................................................10 Members Prefer These Digital Voice Recorders........................................................................11 An Exciting New Project for the AA-EVP..................................................................................12 What Do We Know about Spirituality Groups? .......................................................................13 Can Recording EVP Trigger OBEs? by Melissa Gates..............................................................14 Another Amazing Confirmation..................................................................................................15 Common Mistakes in Identifying Paranormal Phenomena thanks to www.triprg.com...........16 Thoughts from Members..............................................................................................................18 Using Spectrograms for the Reception of ITC Images by Keith Clark.....................................19 A New Look for the Big Circle.....................................................................................................20 New Transfiguration Cases by Sonia Rinaldi..............................................................................21 Member News................................................................................................................................21 Documentary about IADC............................................................................................................22 Immortality a poem by John LoVecchio.......................................................................................22 Consciousness and Afterlife Conference.....................................................................................22 Researcher Reports.......................................................................................................................23 Big Circle Recording Dates..........................................................................................................23 Supporting the Work of the AA-EVP.........................................................................................24 This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2007AA-EVP Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper.

Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the 15th of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive. Subscription: The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP. Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $8.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP: The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy. Web Masters: aaevp.com: Tom Butler archive.aaevp.com: Jim Stonier and

Carol Peterson bigcircle.aaevp.com: Lisa Yesse and Jim Stonier Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Volume 26, Number 3 Page 2 Patrons Edwina Bentinck Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland Lorraine Van Brocklin George Wynne Sustaining Members Edwina Bentinck Kelly Burge Debra Caruso Martha Copeland Mark J. Tominac Donations Jean Estrade Herb Michelson Ginny Sawyer John VanBuren Special Thanks We wish to thank all of you who are supporting the Association with your hard work. Your help is making it possible for us to increase the services offered by the AA- EVP. Our Portion of the Bridge by Mark and Amy Kosinski We were first introduced to EVP during the spring of 2007. In March 2007, our thirteen-year-old was at her computer late one night and heard something fall behind her. When she turned to look, she saw a shadow figure quickly moving toward her. The incident scared our daughter, causing her to run to our bedroom and awaken us. The day after, my wife Amy and I had a conversation about the incident and I learned that she had also seen shadow figures in our home, and on two occasions, a full-body apparition of a woman. Amy began researching on the Internet to see if she could find an explanation we could offer our daughter. She found a paranormal group in our area and we started working with them. The group explained electromagnetic frequency meters, EVP and photographic evidence as ways to document activity. They seemed very interested in the activity

in our home and made numerous visits. Our questions that we needed answers to seemed at the time to be reasonable; who are the spirit individuals and why are they there? As time progressed it became more obvious to us that the spirits were benevolent and meant no harm. Mark (left), Amy, Beverly, Don. The children in order of age: Vivian (top-left), Elizabeth and Don- na (not in picture, our niece Erica). Vacation photo taken March, 2004. We began experimenting on our own using equipment we borrowed from the group. On our third attempt at recording using an RCA digital voice recorder, our entire family took turns introducing themselves and asking questions. To our surprise we heard four names in response to my question, “What are your names?” One portion of our experiments involved taking photographs inside and outside our home. We were becoming very disappointed with this particular paranormal group’s lack of knowledge and lack of respect toward the spirits in our home, and decided to do our own research. We had collected about sixteen audio clips containing EVP and it was obvious to us that we were communicating with individuals across the veil. We learned about The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) and became very interested in attempting to communicate with loved ones that had passed. While using the borrowed RCA digital voice recorder, we asked to hear from Amy’s Uncle Don (her foster parent) who passed in August 2005. Our children referred to him as

“Big Guy.” After a few requests to hear from him we received a response, “Hello … Big Guy.” Our excitement grew as we listened to the clip several times with our children. Don was very much a grandfather to our children, one of the closest friends I have ever had, and during a very turbulent time in my wife’s childhood, a father to her (Amy lived with Bev and Don during this time in her life). It brought tears to all our eyes, hearing those three words. This message gave us reassurance and comfort. Until then, my wife explained to our children that Don was with us in spirit and that he would always be around us. This message gave the children the evidence to substantiate my wife’s beliefs. We downloaded Sarah Estep’s book, Voices of Eternity, which Amy read in its entirety and I read the portions that satisfied my interest. After reading information about the Big Circle and understanding first hand how comforting and reassuring it is to hear from a loved one, we contacted Martha Copeland by email and inquired about membership in the AA-EVP. The number of photographs and audio clips containing EVP were steadily increasing. To help us stay organized, document our experiences, assist us in our research, and help educate our children and the public, we created a website (www.genfam.info). A portion of our site is closed to the public so as not to exploit our children or disrespect our contacts from across the

veil. Our website throughout this period of time evolved into what it is today; a catalog of our EVP, photographs and a place where we have written articles to document what we have learned and experienced to help educate the public. We feel it is very important to share information and educate the public about life after death, the comfort and healing that is there for us and above all the respect and dignity we owe ourselves and our loved ones across the veil. We purchased an Olympus WS-300M digital voice recorder from eBay to replace the borrowed RCA. The recorder is very compact, the USB connection is built into it, it is very easy to use, the firmware on it is easily updated and the quality of the resulting files is astounding. It uses one AAA battery in the battery compartment (shown on the right side of the picture as the “L”-shaped object). Our first recording with it was discouraging—no responses. After several more attempts and changing the settings on the recorder we started getting responses. We found that setting the recorder on the lowest quality setting, setting the input to conference mode and using a very sensitive external microphone caused consistent results. Page 3 Continued page 4 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Olympus WS-300M digital voice recorder Our Portion of the Bridge Continued from page 3 We record almost daily at around 8:00 p.m. and have continued to receive responses from Amy’s Uncle Don. We’re also gathering a long

list of names of other relatives and friends which is posted on our website. Amy’s second cousin, who passed about twenty years ago, responded one evening when we asked Uncle Don if he had any other family members with him. The response, “Hello ... Billy Grey,” was very clear when we played back the recording. Billy died in his mid-thirties. His adopted mother, Vivian Grey, is still alive. Billy sent us the message, “Tell her I love her,” to deliver to his mother. Uncle Don is also accompanied by his and my wife’s Aunt’s spaniel, Tandy, who was given to Bev and Don as a wedding present by Vivian and Walter Grey. In one recording, our seven-year-old asked Don if Tandy was there with him. In the recording, right after the question my daughter asked, we heard a bark. Later in the same recording, Don asked, “Can you hear Tandy?” and another bark. I have received responses from my grandfather whom I dearly love, including, “Herbert walk here to talk to Mark,” along with responses from friends of Uncle Don and Aunt Bev. It seems that Don is gathering relatives and friends to communicate with us. As excited as we are to hear from our own loved ones, we are dedicated to learn as much as we can about our friends across the veil and share the responses we get. Our friends are very willing to teach us and at times express some humor while doing so. Many recordings have

nothing, but when we do get responses it is as exciting as our first. To be successful with EVP, or any other mode of communication across the veil, patience and persistence are definitely required. Don’t give up! When we record, we start by first thinking of who we want to speak with and questions we have for them. We start the recorder, wait several seconds in silence then say the date, time, who is present and where we are. We take turns asking questions; after each question we wait in silence for up to one minute. Our recordings vary in length from ten minutes to our longest which was sixteen minutes. When we get ready to close the recording session we always express our appreciation for the effort and thank our friends and relatives from across the veil for participating. We feel this is very important and verbalizes the respect and dignity we want to relay. After stopping the recorder, we immediately download the audio file to our notebook. We use Adobe Audition 2.0 to analyze the files. We start by listening to the entire file through headphones. In most cases the responses are faint whispers and require headphones to hear them. As we are going through the file, listening, we place markers where we believe we hear responses to allow us to go back through and easily find them. Our process and belief is that less editing is better, as filtering algorithms can and do sometimes change what you

hear and understand. As we go back through the audio file and identify responses and interpret them, we copy the clip to a separate file, naming the resulting file with the date and time of the recording followed by an underscore and the response. For our website, we save the clips as mp3 files as they are smaller, and although a “lossy” format, tend to produce good results. We also keep a journal, adding an entry for each file and every response we receive. We’ve found the journal to be extremely valuable. The format we choose to use for the entries starts with the date and time of the recording, the recording took place, who was present and the original file name of the source file. From that point we add the clips, each with the starting time in minutes and seconds, the ending time, who asked the question and the response we received. We use the bound composition books as our journals. location where the We have a few favorite clips that are not from relatives that we would like to share. We have two separate clips from different recordings on different days involving the telephone. The first; the phone rang while we were recording. When we played the recording back we heard “Hello.” Then the phone rang. In the second clip, in between the rings from the phone we heard a female voice, “Hello, I’m here” then a male voice “No you’re not.” Amy’s Uncle Don is being

helped by others across the veil to locate other members of our family. We were given the information from another response: “It’s a pleasure to help Big Don.” We’ve also received messages from Frank Lang, who was a close friend of Uncle Don and Aunt Bev. Aunt Bev’s grandmother, Eva Marsh has also responded to us: “It’s Nana,” then a male voice saying, “Why didn’t you say Shippee?” Shippee was her maiden name. We are blessed to be in contact with Don and to have heard from so many relatives and non-relatives. We continue to record almost daily and have added a family section to our website to include a picture of the relative, a small paragraph about them and all the clips containing responses from them. Our dedication and effort in understanding, learning and sharing about our communication with individuals from across the veil grows stronger each day. Life itself is rewarding, but our experience with EVP has fulfilled us and greatly enhanced our family’s spiritual beliefs. We can say without any doubt; yes, there is eternal life and the more open one’s mind is to that belief, the more fulfilled and whole we can become. We also have a very strong belief that together, we all are a very important part of building the bridge of communication from this world and across the veil. It is that communication that heals the sorrow, provides hope and distills the fear surrounding death. We appreciate the contributions and effort of AA-

EVP and are very proud to be part of its membership. Volume 26, Number 3 Page 4 The Study of Survival [The following article is part of the presentation given by Tom Butler at the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc. 2007 Conference.] the moment of physical death Survival research is made difficult by the fact that everything after is traditionally the purview of religious teachers. There are hardly any terms to discuss the concepts that are not laden with religious connotations. Even people who have studied survival for many years tend to find it too easy to slip into a to use terminology in this essay that avoids religious ownership, but a problem with this is that I am also using terms which you may not be familiar with. It is not a good idea to coin new terms, but it is important that survival researchers avoid terms commonly used in religion. religious perspective. I have attempted Because Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) can be initiated in the laboratory following strict protocols, it is possible to quantify such parameters as quantity and quality of events, nature of responses and the experimenter effect. Everything you need to learn how to work with these phenomena the AA-EVP website at (www.aaevp.com). is A major mistake made by people new to these phenomena is to assume that EVP examples are like regular audio recordings or pictures. They are formed in unusual ways and it is not realistic to just listen to an EVP

or glance at a picture and expect to see what is there. Also, this research has the potential of being offensive to people. As predicted by the Survival Hypothesis, the experimenter effect is a factor and researchers should monitor the “acceptance” level participants have for these subjects. Be willing to discard examples of phenomena if they do not conform to expected characteristics. This is not to say that you should discard experimental data, but if an EVP is only understood with extreme amplification or filtering, then it may be advisable to classify it as “indeterminate.” We would rather see a researcher fail to replicate our experiments than to present misleading results. The 4Cell EVP Demonstration: These experiments are being conducted by AA-EVP members. In this protocol, a Questioner thinks of a question and sends it to the Sender, via email. In some way, the Sender asks the Etheric Communicators to give the correct answer to the Receiver, and then notifies the Receiver via email that a question has been “sent,” but not what the question was. The Receiver conducts an EVP recording session, asking for the answer. If an EVP is recorded, it is sent via email to the Scribe who, without knowing the question, determines what the EVP examples say, if possible. The Scribe then emails the answers, along with an opinion of what is said, to the other members of the Cell, and together they decide what they can agree on and what will be reported. Lessons learned

in implementing the protocol include the need to have a Receiver who can reasonably expect to record an EVP, and that the etheric entities like the discipline. We think this may be because the need to adhere to a protocol brings a level of focus that is not normally available, and it is that focus which helps gather the energy necessary for EVP formation. Qu estion er sends a que stion to the Se nder E theric Contact sends answer to Re ceiver Scribe makes first de ter mination and posts results S ender sends the question to ether ic contact Receiver records for EVP and sends result to S cribe Fifteen of twenty-three experiments (65%) produced meaningful results. For instance, Cell Infinite asked, “What is the name of the tavern where I met my husband?” the expected answer was, “The Waterfront.” The answer given by the entity was “Has a view of the bay.” In the Survival Hypothesis, “Etheric energy appears to be governed by rules that are responsive to the influence of intent.” Intent tends to be expressed in conceptual terms and Self-to-Self communication appears to be conceptual. This response may give us evidence this is true. In a different experiment conducted by Cell Infinite, the question was: “What is the name of Jim Robinson’s imaginary friend?” and the expected answer was “Sissy Sally.” The answer given by the cooperating entity was, “Sally’s the name.” It is possible to use the 4Cell protocol to learn about the etheric

world. For instance, in another Cell Infinite experiment, the question was, “What do we experience when we die?” The answer given by the entities was, “Review our lives.” There was a break in protocol, as the Sender recorded for the group at the request of the Receiver who had failed to record an EVP and did not want the group to go without a result. So the Receiver in this case knew what the question was. I am using this example here because it is a very good Class A example and because it confirms what near-death researchers are finding. Cell Octetic asked the question, “What were some of your misconceptions about death and/or life on the other side?” The answer was “Regrets” and “You’re alive.” In the “Regrets” EVP, the communicating entity is Vicki Talbott’s son, Braden. Before the answer was heard, Vicki as the Receiver heard what seemed like a discussion in the recording as the entities may have debated telling her this answer. We believe Braden considered this a warning of a painful experience that some of us might face during our transition, and that “Regrets” is a reference to a life review. Continued page 6 Page 5 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Study of Survival Continued from page 5 EVP Listening Experiment: “Pareidolia is a type of illusion or misperception involving a vague or obscure stimulus being perceived as something clear and distinct.” From the Skeptic’s Dictionary. The skeptic community discounts EVP/ITC as undue meaning given

to ordinary noise by delusional people; however, if this is the case, it should not be possible to have a group of strangers agree on what is said in an EVP. To test this theory an online, listening test was conducted. The experiment included five unlabeled, Class A EVP examples and a text field in which participants were asked to write what they heard. Background information was also asked. The number of correctly recognized words was counted with no allowance responses. for “almost Respondents correctly heard an average of 32% of the words. A few correctly identified all of the words in all five examples. right” Participants were asked to indicate if they had studied EVP, if they believed EVP were phenomenal, if they were skeptics and if they had scholastic training. Participants indicating that they were skeptical who actually tried the experiment averaged about 24% of the words while people who had studied EVP and thought it may be phenomenal averaged 34%. This is consistent with the AA-EVP guideline that the ability to understand EVP improves with experience. shows an impossibly contorted mouth. The voice in EVP is formed by noise manipulation rather than biologically. As the Italian researchers describe the analysis, there is a “thickening” of the background sound to form the words. This is why ambient noise is apparently Voice graph of an EVP. Vertical scale = frequency; horizontal = time. Dark area at bottom is voice box frequency (F0) and dark areas above are Formant 1,

2 and so on. In a biologically spoken phrase, the horizontal lines outlining the top of F0 would be continuous, but are often missing or fractured in EVP. Voice graph and illustrations above are courtesy of Il Laboratorio. necessary for EVP recording sessions. Inexpensive digital voice recorders have been successful for EVP because they produce internal noise. People are culturally conditioned to find meaningful words in sound based on certain cues as to frequency arrangements and timing. While EVP sounds human to a trained experimenter, the novel arrangements of frequency and timing can make understanding EVP difficult. An to stop interesting observation about the experiment is that we began to receive more and more blank responses or responses clearly designed to bias the experiment by submitting random characters. In some cases, we recognized IP addresses of people who first submitted a response with the “Skeptic” box checked, but then associated with subsequent submissions indicating that the person was a the “believer.” We finally had experiment at 100 “valid” entries because we were being overwhelmed with malicious replies. Even so, we counted all entries in which it appeared the participant at least tried, even if it was for only one example. EVP Voice Analysis Researchers at the Italian Il Laboratorio have used forensic-quality software to analyze EVP voice samples and to compare them with “live” recordings of to be the person speaking. Comparison of ante- and post- mortem recordings made by Brazilian, Sonia Rinaldi, were within 98% the same. thought A

relaxed mouth A mouth making normal voice sound The software illustrates the shape of the mouth required to speak a given sound. Notice in the illustrations above, that the EVP model The required shape of the mouth to speak a word in an EVP Volume 26, Number 3 Page 6 Eliminating the Radio Frequency Explanation Alexander MacRae of Scotland successfully recorded EVP in the Institute of Noetic Science’s sound-, light- and radio-frequency- isolated chamber. A report was published in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. The article also explained how MacRae used a listening panel to help establish that the recorded utterances were words that could be agreed on under blind conditions by a majority of judges. Similar experiments have been conducted by other researchers. For instance, Bill Weisensale used a grounded metal drum to isolate an AM radio and a recorder. He found EVP in the recorded AM static. Group Telephone Recordings Debra Caruso is conducting recording sessions in which she helps people contact loved ones via EVP. An Internet conference call service is used to form a group for a session. Participants are able to call on specific people with some measure of success. A recent development in this technique appears to be two-way conversation, Continued page 12 Death Does Not Discriminate by Martha Copeland Have you ever pondered about your own mortality? How or when do you think you might meet your destiny? As morbid as this may sound, we are all destined to join

the great abyss called death. Death does not give us the benefit of having a choice or an alternative option; death is mandatory. Death does not discriminate and none of us can escape our eventual fate. Three weeks after my daughter Cathy’s death, I made an appointment to have a reading with a local medium, hoping he could provide me with answers to why this terrible thing happened to our family. If she could just give a message that I could recognize as being from Cathy, then perhaps this pain inside my heart would ease. Understandable at that time, I felt I could not visualize my future without Cathy being a part of it. Cathy in her car Grief is an emotion that is extremely difficult to explain to those who have not had to go through the trauma of a loss. This could be why statements meant to comfort the aggrieved, such as “You need to move on,” or “Your loved one is with the angels,” often have the opposite effect. These well-meaning statements seem to hit a raw nerve for those who are grieving. People’s intentions are for the good, but because grief is such a complex emotion, it is difficult for “outsiders” to understand. Deep grief is something a person must experience on a personal level to be able to relate to and be more sensitive to. There are several stages of the grieving process. The first stage occurs just after the death of a loved one,

leaving you in a deep state of shock and disbelief. You are physically and emotionally drained, and it is unlike any other emotion you have ever experienced. Recalling those first days, weeks and months of my grieving process, I felt my world had turned upside down and my life was a constant nightmare. When I was able to sleep, I hoped that when I woke, it was all just a bad dream and Cathy was not gone. Once the realization of the passing of a loved one sinks in, there seems to be a heavy fog that surrounds you that clouds your thoughts. It is unbelievable that such an awful thing could happen to you. The clothes hanging in the closet belonging to that person will never be worn by them again. There will always be an empty spot for every holiday and family event. The second stage of grief is when you start to really miss that person. You have accepted that the loved one is gone, but you just miss everything about them. There are several other stages of the grieving process, and I really don’t think they ever truly end. Each person’s path towards healing their grief is unique, and there are no guidelines or rules to follow. Choose the path that will help you heal. Your loved one is happy, and through my after-death communications with Cathy, I know that this is true. When I asked Cathy if she wished to be back in the physical

world, I get a big “No.” When I have asked Cathy if she is happy in her new life, I get a big “Yes.” We are the victims of our own grief and despair. If only we could focus more on the fact that someday we will all be back with our loved ones again. Time is just a physical artifact, and each individual’s clock is ticking. Despite how distraught the death of a loved one makes us feel, we are at the same time in a healing mode. Many sad memories of our death experiences are put on the “back burner” of our conscious mind until we are strong enough to handle these thoughts. Even today, I have to rely on my sisters, Ginny and Donna, to help me remember parts of Cathy’s funeral. Our body protects us by surrounding our mind with a cocoon of protection. One of my grief counselors told me that losing a child could be compared to having brain injury. Recovery from brain injury is a long and slow process; brain injuries can be unpredictable, and some patients may never fully recover. That horrific Virginia Tech massacre has made us remember how fragile life is, and we again question our own mortality. You may have thought, “What if one of those victims had been my loved one, or me?” There is a significant probability that in our society, another Virginia Tech-style massacre on an even greater scale will occur. The questions yet to be

answered are: How, where, when, and why? Death does not discriminate, this is our destiny. My brother-in-law Vaughan was watching the news coverage of the massacre at my house last week. The incident must have made old Vaughan start thinking, because he asked me about the medium’s prediction of my own passing. He asked, “Hey … Martha, aren’t you supposed to die soon? What are you gonna do when the time comes and you don’t die?” Believe me, Vaughan’s concern for me was not related entirely to my welfare, but more to the fact that I feed him while my sister Donna is traveling for business. I started thinking about the reading, and counting the years since Cathy’s passing. Let’s see … Cathy has been gone since December 23, 2001, and if the medium was right, then seven years would be in the year 2008. Well, I better get ready just in case she’s right, and start preparing. Continued page 8 Page 7 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Cathy (left) with Martha Continued from page 7 Death Maybe I will start by cleaning out my closets and drawers. I better get back into the habit of attending church and being nice to people (this might be too hard). Yes sir … if my time comes, I want to make sure I get to walk through “Heaven’s gate” and be reunited with my Cathy. Do they have wine in Heaven? Jesus drank wine … so perhaps there will be wine in Heaven.

That would be nice. We all know that mediums and psychics are not always right, but this medium gave me two predictions, of which one has come true. Below is my account from what I can recall from my reading in the early part of January 2002. Just before starting our session, I asked if I could record the reading. The medium laughed and told me that I was welcome to try, but none of her clients have ever had success in recording her readings. The medium was right on that one, because my recorder only picked up our farewell words. Oddly, my recorder worked fine once the reading had finished. My Account from my January 2002 Reading: I make it a practice not to volunteer information to the medium when I have a reading. My perspective is that if they are truly gifted and in contact with the other side, they should be able to figure it out. Sitting with this medium and watching the clock ticking away, I realized that the session was just about at the end. What the medium communicated so far seemed like very general information and on unimportant aspects of my life, leaving me feeling very discouraged. Nope … nothing about what I was going through, or even that my Cathy was hovering around us while the medium was supposedly tuning to the other side. Finally, with the conclusion of our session nearing, I felt compelled to tell her that I wanted to hear

from my daughter to spare myself from any more details of my love life, and what my spiritual purpose in life was supposed to be. The medium’s face twitched and her mannerisms frightened me. My initial thought was to bolt towards the door before her head started to spin around on her neck. Hurriedly, I gathering my belongings but the medium sprang from her seat, blocking my exit. Her eyes grew large and rolled back inside her head. It was terrifying, but it got worse when her body violently shook, then finally it was over; she was now in a trance-like state. How do you decipher whether or not this was some Emmy-award- winning act or the real deal? Still stunned, I sat back down in my chair, clutching my purse and belongings over my chest in case protection was needed. The medium spoke in a raspy voice, “Your daughter has joined us.” My thoughts were, Great! Thanks Cat! Just like when she was in her physical life, Cathy was always late for everything, and now my session was about to end. With her eyes now tightly closed, the medium continued speaking: “Wait a minute, what are you saying?” (I imagine at this time she was communicating with Cathy.) “Yes, yes, your daughter is telling me that you will be writing a book .... Your daughter is very insistent about this fact, you will do this, it is important.” The medium’s chin dropped down towards her chest, but her eyes

remained closed. “Your daughter is pulling away from us now, but before she is gone, is there anything else you would like to ask?” I was in such awe the medium’s from watching performance that I couldn’t think of anything, but I blurted out, “Yes, could you tell me how long I have to live join Cathy?” The before medium’s voice crackled coughing out the words, “Seven years, yes, yes, your daughter is showing me the number seven. Seven, seven, seven,” she repeated. “This must mean that you have seven years after your daughter’s death before you cross to be with her.” After the session I kept thinking that seven years seemed like an eternity, but how time flies. One prediction that has come true: I have written my book, I’m Still Here. This would never have happened without the encouragement from Tom and Lisa Butler, directors of the AA-EVP, who are also my publishers. Through the medium, I was able to validate the continued existence of Cathy. Cathy since has provided many after-death confirmations from beyond that she has survived physical death. I am convinced now more than ever, just as the title of the Butlers’ book describes, There is No Death and There Are No Dead. I can The year 2008 is just around the corner, but I really have not dwelt much on that prediction of my upcoming passing. Still, I cannot help thinking, What if the medium’s prediction turned out to be true? There would be

nothing I can do about it anyway. Don’t you think it would be nice if we could receive advance notice about our upcoming passing? None of us is safe from this fate, and inside each of us there is a clock ticking. I do not dread my death anymore, because I am looking forward to new challenges and joining Cathy. We should each prepare. Many have made their funeral arrangements to take care of their physical remains. If we are a combination of physical and spiritual beings, then what are you doing to prepare for your spiritual crossing? As my brother-in-law Vaughan asked, “What are you gonna do when the time comes [2008] and you don’t die?” Well ... I will have to wait for the year 2009. Then I can respond: “I’m Still Here.” Volume 26, Number 3 Page 8 Beyond a Humdrum Heaven and Horrific Hell by Michael Tymn Although I had seen the ABC TV 20/20 special, “Heaven. Where Is It? How Do We Get There?” when it aired a year or so ago, I forgot how bad it was and ended up watching the rerun on December 22. I had a very difficult time enduring the interviews with various religious leaders, especially the evangelical, whatever his name was, and I would have changed channels were it not for the fact that I knew there would be a few near-death experiencers offering testimony. I could not remember what they had to say and was a little curious.

I also forgot that the 20/20 people presented a biased view of the NDE by allowing a debunker to say that the near-death experience is nothing more than the imaginings of a dying brain, while not offering the testimony of one of many credible scientific researchers prepared to counter such a statement. Unfortunately, the NDErs came at the end and so I struggled through the preceding hour and forty minutes of the two-hour program. Had I had been a skeptic beforehand, I would no longer be a skeptic. I would be a total disbeliever. The religious leaders, including the evangelical, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, an Islamic scholar, and the Dalai Lama offered no enlightenment. They simply gave their versions of what ancient books and tradition had to say about a dichotomous afterlife, i.e., the old humdrum heaven and horrific hell stuff. Host and interviewer Barbara Walters approached the whole subject with the assumption that 1) there is a “heaven” and a “hell,” as taught by orthodoxy, or 2) there is “nothingness,” as the closed-minded debunkers would have us believe. This premise was consistent with the beliefs of all, except perhaps for the Dalai Lama, who made no attempt to expound on Buddhist beliefs concerning a multi-dimensional afterlife, and the “all-knowing” woman who heads up the American atheist organization. One was left to conclude from the testimony of the religious leaders that we end our earthly lives being labeled as either “righteous” or “wicked”—no in-between - and our environment

is then either positive or negative—heaven or hell. In the blissful state of heaven, we should find, according to some religions, souls who led selfish and hateful lives but who repented on their deathbeds along with other wicked souls who “found” their Savior just before dying and suddenly became righteous. Among the tormented, we should expect to find souls who led righteous lives for most of their years but who transgressed just before dying. It is difficult to reconcile much of this with the loving, forgiving and just God they see as governing that afterlife. Indeed, their God often appears cruel, capricious, vindictive, jealous, and wrathful. The “religious” respond to such a charge by saying that God's ways are beyond our comprehension, and we should not attempt to apply our own standards of justice to something we are incapable of understanding. What a co-out! All of those so-called leaders, except possibly for the Dalai Lama, are clearly locked into ancient beliefs because they accept translations that suggest revelation ended with whatever old book or books they subscribe to. Any revelation since those books were closed is rejected as fraudulent or inspired by the devil. They disregard the fact that their books have many parables, many metaphors, many similes, many allegories, and so many translations, interpretations, and elucidations of ancient writings that the subject matter lends itself to a semantical maze or nightmare. If my sources are correct, the word nephesh is used 754 times in the Hebrew Bible, but it

takes on thirty different meanings, ranging from “soul” and “the dead” to “fish” and “dogs,” while the Greek word aion is found in the New Testament 108 times and is given ten different meanings, including “forever,” “ages,” “occasionally,” and “never.” What we read in the English Bible as “everlasting punishment” meant “age-long pruning” in the original Greek. The modern English versions translate the Old Testament as saying “the dead know nothing” and that we should not be communicating with the “dead.” However, the original Hebrew word referred to the “spiritually dead,” meaning low-level or earthbound spirits. If the dead know nothing and we shouldn't be talking with them, why or how can we “test the spirits, as to whether they are of God,” as we are instructed in 1 John 4:1? Why should anyone bother to “discern” what the spirits have to say, as we are counseled in 1 Corinthians 12:10, if they know nothing and we shouldn't even be communicating with them? Didn't Jesus say that he had much more to say (teach) but the people of the time could not bear (understand) it? (John 16:12-15) Are we to assume that the people of today are as uneducated and incapable of understanding as those living 2,000 years ago? Could it be that the religious leaders feel threatened when established dogma and doctrine are upset by new teachings? Ancient revelation—that giving rise to orthodox religions—appears to have come from the same sources as modern revelation. That is, it came through

mediums of one kind or another, even though those mediums, whether clairvoyants, trance types, direct-voice types, automatic writers, or even near-death experiencers, might have been called prophets, seers, saints, or even saviors (or were translated as such). What the ancients called an “angel of the Lord” might now be referred to as a “spirit guide.” Where it is written that “his eyes were opened and he saw a vision,” might be translated today as saying the person was a clairvoyant. The method by which Moses received the Ten Commandments might today be called “direct writing” or “automatic writing.” If they were to open their minds to more recent revelation, after “testing” it and “discerning” it, orthodox leaders might rethink their humdrum heaven and horrific hell. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the physician who created Sherlock Holmes, said, the revelations coming through spiraling mediumship during the late 19th and early 20th century abolish the idea of an immediate grotesque Page 9 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Mouser by Lorelei McMorrow Mouser Mouser, my Blue Point Siamese, was about thirteen years old when he became sick with kidney problems in March of 1991. I had adopted him at an animal shelter in River Falls, WI when he was five years old. He had apparently been abused and the entire first year I had him, he came out from under the bed only at about 3:00 a.m. every night to use the litter box, eat and drink something. He was afraid of people, especially

if a person raised his or her hand or took out a broom. One night when I was getting ready for bed he not only ventured out, but jumped up on the bed. It might have taken a year to win his trust, but that was the beginning of a long and affectionate relationship. Mouser “adopted me,” (anyone who has had a cat knows that you never own them, but they choose who to love!) We developed a very close bond, and Mouser followed me everywhere, sat on my lap, curled up on my back, laid on my desk when I’d be working, and of course slept with me every night, with his head on my pillow and covered up with blankets. Yes, he was spoiled!! March 12, 1991, I became ill with a virus that affected my heart. A few days later, Mouser became sick with acute kidney failure. He passed on March 29. This was a very difficult time for me and it took me more than two years to recover from my physical illness, which had started out to be what doctors thought was a case of the flu, but became much more serious. I was devastated to not only become so ill, but to lose my beloved Siamese at the same time. In September of 1992, I first asked about Mouser when I was taping, and continued to receive occasional messages and “Meows” through August of 1993. I recorded thirty- two “Meows,” during this time, and

yes, it was the same “Meow” that used to wake me up at 4:30 a.m. And anyone who’s ever had a Siamese, knows how vocal and distinct a voice they have! I decided to talk to Mouser one day when taping. So I said, “Love you Mouser,” and upon playback heard, “Meow” followed by a male voice whispering, “He loves you.” Another time I asked if my grandpa (who frequently came through) and Mouser were here? I received the replies: “Coming,” “Lorie” and “He's with you.” Here are some other replies to my questions in taping sessions over the next several months: (cid:143) “Is Mouser there?” “Meow,” and then a male voice, “He is so well.” (cid:143) “Would anyone like to leave a message?” "Meow,” male voice, “Mouser” (cid:143) “Are there any other animals here?” “Seek all,” “Love (cid:143) “If there are any other animals that would like to speak, I welcome you and love you.” “Tell them that” followed by a chirping sound. (cid:143) “Is Mouser here?” “Here” (whispered voice) (cid:143) “Is Mouser there? Love you honey.” “Honey, come over" (Male, whisper), followed by a female voice saying, “Bring him.” Then several “Meows!” During another taping session, I again asked, “Is Mouser the following replies: “Meow” here? and received (Mouser), then another “Meow” that sounded like a kitten. Then another “Meow” that was Mouser, followed by a male voice saying, “Here’s your cat … He is here … He loves you.” In 1997, I was living in South Dakota,

where I met my husband, Chris. At the time, I was at his house and alone in a room where I was sitting on the floor in front of a stereo looking through some old records. Suddenly, I felt a cat brush up against my back and automatically reached back to pet who, I thought for a moment was Rosie, Chris’ cat. But all I felt was thin air, and then remembered that I had put Rosie outside earlier. I even went to check, and yes she was still out in the yard. I knew it must be Mouser saying hello! He’s even visited here in New Mexico. I was out in our yard one day, and heard that Siamese “Meow, Meow,” as if there were a cat only a few feet away. I looked everywhere, and then realized Mouser had again paid me a special visit! It truly is a comfort to know that our beloved pets are well and happy on the other side and waiting for the day we join them. By the way, we still have Rosie, Chris’ cat. But I think she will make the transition soon. She’s at least eighteen years old, but could be older. Our Chinese vet looked into her eyes one day and said, “This cat’s ancient!” She also has suffered from kidney and thyroid disease for the last couple of years and is very, very thin ... But she certainly has a strong spirit, constantly demanding attention or food! We

also have another cat and two of the cutest dogs.... Rosie’s Passing [Editor: In June, Lorie told us that Rosie has made her transition.] Rosie returned to spirit last Wednesday morning. She was eighteen years old, had chronic kidney failure and hyper- thyroidism. I declined medical treatment for her consider- ing her age and side effects, believing quality of life to be more important than its length. Instead, I gave her homeo- pathic and herbal remedies which worked very well for many months. She was never in pain or distress, and even on her last day, though she was considerably weaker, she went outside and visited all her favorite places in the yard, shared a favorite meal of Chinese noodles and pork with my husband, Chris, tapping his arm as she often did for more, then enjoyed drinking from our tabletop fountain. Continued page 11 them well” Volume 26, Number 3 Page 10 Members Prefer These Digital Voice Recorders 0 2 1 - N V s u p m y l O m 0 0 3 S W s u p m y l O 7 - B D C I y n o S 0 4 2 - N V s u p m y l O 6 2 - B D C I y n o S - 0 6 3 S U R R c i n o s a n a P (Thanks to Margaret Downey for working on the Idea Exchange to get members to

respond with information regarding the recorders that have been successful for them.) (cid:143) Amy and Mark Kosinski use an Olympus WS-300M and say that they are getting excellent results using it on the lowest quality setting, in conference mode, while using a very sensitive external mike. (cid:143) Lianne Mettam thinks her trusty Panasonic RR-US395 works wonderfully and says that she started to receive messages on it right away. (cid:143) Margaret Downey likes her Panasonic US360 and wondered if it was similar to the US395 that Lianne is having good luck with. Unlike Amy, she has had no luck with the Olympus WS-330M and wonders why the same make/model can work for one member and not another. (cid:143) Harry Flagle says that he has captured many good EVP on the Sony ICD-B26 and the Sony B-7 but has also gotten lots of good EVP on the Radio Shack 125 and Olympus VN-2100. (cid:143) Vicki Talbott likes her Sony B26 but says that she also likes her Olympus DW90 although she needs to use some kind of background noise with it. (cid:143) Leslie Taylor says that she gets good results with two Panasonic recorders: the US360 and the QR160. She wrote, “I have used them in the car with some good results, but mostly at home without any planned background noise.” She feels that a fluorescent light nearby while she records helps her with getting EVP. (cid:143) Dan Christianson says his top recorder is the Olympus VN-120. He wrote, “It has good

sound quality playback and I’ve caught almost all of my EVP with this recorder. (cid:143) Michael Shultz says he has two recorders; an expensive one and an RCA model RP5011 that he got for $30 at Wal-Mart. He has only gotten results with the RCA. (cid:143) John Debney says that he collects recorders. He summarized his thoughts on several of the recorders: “Sony B7: O.K. Slight white noise ... Decent results Sony B26: High noise threshold. Much material evident within the noise. Must do noise reduction and filtering on certain frequencies. Good results with a Sony ICD ST 25: Excellent fidelity ... Low noise ... Easy to filter.... When EVP is present, it is of excellent quality.” (cid:143) Melissa Gates says that she gets the best results with her IC recorder, which is a Panasonic US360. tough (cid:143) Joe Giaquinto likes the Olympus VN480-PC. He says it is simple to use and upload the WAV files to the PC. (cid:143) Dave Mierzwinski uses three different recorders for his sessions and says that each is unique in its operating characteristics. Dave writes, “The Olympus VN-240 PC is a consistent EVP performer with excellent reproduction in all environments.” He also says that it is, survived recorder “one bombardments of all kinds of electrical and plasma fields in my experiments.” Dave also uses the Voice 2000 DA-200 and says that it does not have very good voice reproduction, but “The EVP performance is okay and consistent ... a keeper.” The third recorder is

the Voice 2000 DA-300. Dave says that it is an unusual recorder and that, “The performance as a voice recorder is dismal to insane. For EVP you are in for one wild ride. I like this recorder, it is unpredictable and fun.” that has little Mouser Continued from page 10 At about 1:30 a.m., I found her looking out the patio door. I put her in her bed and brought her into our bedroom. We checked her frequently and she’d little greet us with a weak “Meow.” At 5:00 a.m., I found her breathing to be rapid and shallow. I put my hand on her side and sat with her until she stopped breathing, peacefully passing at about 5:30 a.m.. Rosie I really miss her. She was very smart and animated and always with us. But I am so grateful that her transition was so peaceful. She was awake and aware, but seemed to accept this next step in her life’s journey. I had spent the last few days reassuring her that we would be fine and that she could go when she was ready. I know loved ones on the other side were waiting to take care of her. Isn’t this the way it should be for people and animals? Sometimes I think we try too hard to extend our earthly lives with drugs and technology, sacrificing quality of life, including time with loved ones. And of course AA-EVP helps to reassure us of our continuing journey. I asked

Mouser to help Rosie adjust and to be good to her. You know how cats can be! Page 11 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal The Study of Survival Continued from page 6 but clarity of words remains a problem. If you review the www.1800heaven.com website, keep in mind the problems in hearing EVP. I can make out a large percentage of the examples there, but few are what we would consider Class A (easily heard and understood without prompting). The Big Circle It is currently necessary to have cooperating etheric entities if reliable laboratory research is to be conducted. A person new to EVP will usually be able to find someone on the other side willing to talk to them, but most experimenters develop a number of etheric communicators who frequently cooperate to help in EVP experiments. A group of discarnate family members have joined together on the other side, first to find ways to offer reassurance and solace to grieving friends and family still in the physical, and later, to help with research to improve ITC technology. The group began forming around Karen Mossey and Martha Copeland who were communicating in an AA-EVP discussion forum. Karen’s son, Rob, and Martha’s daughter, Cathy, were apparently working together on the other side to help with EVP formation. The combination of physical and etheric family members was named “The Big Circle” by Cathy in an EVP. Today, the Big Circle is still growing and its etheric members seem to be taking an increasingly

active role in the lives of family members, friends and other AA-EVP members’ lives. See http://bigcircle.aaevp.com. Summary The AA-EVP is but one of many groups finding ways to improve transcommunication. Collectively, the field is rapidly evolving, bringing promise that EVP/ITC research will soon come of age as a true field of science. A person recently said that science cannot study things of spirit, yet we know that anything that can be quantified and caused to occur on request, can be studied. Look for real breakthroughs in the near future as more well-educated innovators take up the challenge to develop enabling technology capable of giving the average person a way to communicate with loved ones on the other side. An Exciting New Project for the AA-EVP The Monroe method involves binaural beats caused by a difference in tones in a stereo headset to entrain the mind and “move” consciousness from a waking state to a deep meditative state. This is an excellent tool for training the mind to quickly return to a meditative state without the tones. In addition to using this technique for meditation, The Monroe Institute (TMI) (http://monroeinstitute.com) has used electroencephalograph (EEG) technology to map the brain functioning of successful mental channels (mediums) and has succeeded in developing a set of frequencies that helps the “average” person to reach a state of consciousness similar to that reached by the channels. These tones are referred to as Inner-Self Helper or ISH. In behalf of the AA-EVP, we are working with

TMI to develop an audio program intended to enhance the average person’s success in recording EVP. An important part of the development process will be finding a way to determine whether or not a TMI program containing ISH frequencies will actually help for EVP. Here is the planned protocol: (cid:143) Ten audio CDs with the ISH frequencies and ten without will be developed by the Institute with narration designed to facilitate the experiment. (Narration will include instructions to become sufficiently alert to conduct a short recording session and then return to meditation. (cid:143) Ten identical digital voice recorders will be delivered to ten volunteers who represent a wide range of ability. Audio CDs marked only as “CD A” and “CD B,” a set of written instructions and a notepad will also be provided. (cid:143) The volunteers will be asked to conduct ten EVP sessions with each CD, so that CD A is used every other trial for twenty trials, total. A list of questions will be provided. They will also be asked to analyze the recordings for EVP. (cid:143) When the process is completed, the recorders, CDs, notes and digital copies of the recording will be returned to the AA-EVP, and after all is analyzed, a panel of AA-EVP members will function as judges to determine whether or not the ISH frequencies helped. (cid:143) A report will be prepared for a peer-reviewed journal. Of course, if there is no difference, the project will stop. If there is, and it follows

the ISH CD, then TMI will include it as a product so that everyone can buy one as they wish. Even if the ISH frequencies do not help for EVP, we will learn important lessons about a person’s relationship with the formation of EVP. Contact us if you are interested in participating in the trials. You will need to be conversant with a computer audio program and have time to conduct twenty, forty-five minute sessions within about two months. Each session will include narration for three, two- minute EVP recordings that will require another thirty to forty minutes for analysis of the sound files. With reporting and preparation of data, you should expect to spend at least an hour and a half a session. It is important that a range of abilities are represented, so you do not need to be an “expert” with EVP, but we would like you to have a fair sense of how to find and hear them. Volume 26, Number 3 Page 12 What Do We Know about Spirituality Groups? Reverend Karen E. Herrick, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Children of Alcoholics, Inc., in Red Bank, NJ, spoke recently at a conference we attended about a spirituality group she led as part of her internship program for her PhD in Spiritual Psychology. This is an overview of that work. (2007 ASPSI Conference, www.lightlink.com/arpr/) Herrick’s group was to be together for twelve weeks but lasted two years. At the end of her study,

Herrick found that 50% of the group members communicated with someone who had died and 25% had an experience of near-death or life after death. Eighty-eight percent saw or sensed angels or guiding spirits (a recent Gallup poll reports that 72% of the population in the United States believe in angels) and 88% sensed God’s energy or presence. The group members who reported communicating with someone who had died, reported ten out of the twelve types of After-Death Communication (ADC) as reported in the book, Hello from Heaven (1995) by Bill and Judy Guggenheim. The ten types were: (cid:143) Sensing a presence (cid:143) ADC experiences while asleep (cid:143) Hearing a voice (cid:143) Smelling a fragrance (cid:143) Visual experience (cid:143) Out-of-body communication (cid:143) Telephone calls with no disconnect at end (cid:143) Physical phenomena such as a light blinking on and off. (cid:143) Symbolic “signs” such as butterflies, rainbows, flowers, birds, etc. The group believed that, while they were having these unique, personally meaningful experiences, they could believe that these meaningful experiences were also being experienced by someone else, at the same time, in another part of the world, which is called The 100th Monkey Theory. They also believed that this type of morphic field could lead to worldwide change and unity. In this way, the potential of spiritual experiences will be lifted to critical mass and a consensus will be formed. Carl Jung stated this would take six-hundred years. Karen is continuing to run spirituality groups at her center and explains

that the people who are interested in such groups are “quest” oriented. They are open-minded about spiritual matters and don’t expect to find simple answers to complex spiritual and moral issues (Batson & Ventis, 1982)… In the early 1990s, 5,000 psychotic and religious experiences were studied and analyzed for features of both psychopathology and spirituality. One of the findings was that the way an experience is treated by others influences how the subject deals with it. This is why it is important to train therapists in spirituality and Spiritual Experiences (SE) (Shorto, 1999). Herrick did just this with educational work in the survey she conducted for her thesis, where she demonstrated that through an educational experience a person could be taught to recognize SEs. Some types of spiritual experiences that were discussed in her workshop were: (cid:143) Mystical experiences (cid:143) Kundalini awakenings (cid:143) Communication with the dead (cid:143) Near-death experiences (cid:143) Awakening of intuitive abilities (cid:143) Emergence of past-life memories (cid:143) Shamanic initiatory crisis (cid:143) Communication with spirit guides (cid:143) Channeling (cid:143) Encounters with UFOs (cid:143) Possession states (cid:143) Synchronistic experiences instability, a sense of Normal and expected reactions to these experiences are anger, depression, interpersonal difficulties, difficulty reconciling the experience with previous lifestyle, fear of mental isolation, difficulty communicating the meaning and impact of the experience and discovering that previous life roles no longer carry the same significance. For these reasons also, it is important that therapists be trained in spirituality and spiritual experiences. Karen’s study was based on

a total of 104 responses received from a sample of 133 attendees (78% net return) of educational workshops on SEs and psychotherapy. The study showed that there was an increase in learning about SEs by the mental health professionals and that they are recognizing these experiences in their clients. There was also a statistically significant increase in identification of near-death experiences by the professionals in their clients (16% at the time, and 25% one year later—a 9% statistically significant increase). Eighty-seven percent of the attendees of these workshops stated that their personal SE had affected their life in a positive way. It was also indicated that attendees need further training in the area of recognizing the differences between spiritual and psychotic experiences. Most of the attendees of her educational workshops were impressed by William James, who is sometimes called “the father of American Psychology.” He was introduced to the study of other states of consciousness by the French in the 1880s, and then he helped to begin the Psychical Research Society in New England in the 1890s. He and his colleagues studied people who were having mystical and/or spiritual experiences at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General. This was actually an era of medical psychology that was in advance of today. This era disappeared with the advent of Freud and psychoanalysis. William James and colleagues studied the techniques of “mental healers” to work with these clients. Some of the techniques studied were crystal gazing, Page 13 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal

Spirituality Groups Continued from page 13 Herrick is quick to point out that William James defined psychology as “The description and explanation of states of consciousness and such” (1890, Vol. 1, p. 1). Today’s usual description of psychology is, “The study of mind and behaviors of people.” (Note: There’s only one state of consciousness in today’s usual description. Our normal waking state.) In 1892, William James and colleagues presented a report entitled “Census of Hallucinations” at the International Congress. Six countries; England, France, Germany, Russia, Brazil and the USA attended and each group’s findings confirmed the others’ work. All concluded that “death-day apparitions occurred in startling numbers.” In other words, they stated that a ghost appearing after the person dies is a proven fact (Blum (2006), pgs 182-183). Karen became interested in SEs after she had one and then clients who had also experienced them began to arrive in her office. She told us during our interview that she had personal feelings of panic when she was going to become thirty. These feelings were about becoming “old” and the positive affirmation that she shouted to herself just before her thirtieth birthday was, “I’m always going to be thirty!” She stated that Jesus Christ died at thirty-three and it seems as if in the after-death communications, when people see their relatives and loved ones, that they are “around thirty.” From all of this, Karen believes that our soul stays at approximately thirty years of age and that is why, even though

we’re constantly getting older, we really don’t “feel” that much older inside of ourselves. Rev. Karen E. Herrick, LCSW, LMSW, CADC, has shared her clinical expertise for the past twenty plus years in her private practice by lecturing throughout the on dysfunctional homes, grief, loss and dissociation. Karen will complete her PhD this year. United States Rev. Karen E. Herrick, LCSW, LMSW, CADC PO Box 8640, Red Bank, NJ 07701 Ph: 732-530-8513 Email: [email protected] www.adult-child.com Bibliography Batson, C. D., Ventis, W. L. (1982). The Religious Experience: A Social-Psychological Perspective. NY: Oxford University Press. Blum, D. (2006). Ghost Hunters, Wm. James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after Death. (pp 182-183) NY: The Penguin Press. Frazier, K. E. (Ed.). (1991). The Hundredth Monkey: and other Paradigms of the Paranormal. NY: Prometheus Books. Gallup, G., Jr. & Jones, T. (2000). The Next American Spirituality, Finding God in the Twenty-First Century. CO: Victor, Cook Communications. Guggenheim, B. & Guggenheim, J. (1995). Hello from Heaven. NY: Bantam. James, W. (1950). The Principles of Psychology, Vol 1. NY: Dover Publications Inc. (Original work published 1890). Rowland, S. (2005). Jung as a Writer. (pp 142). NY: Routledge. Shorto, R. (1999). Saints and Madmen. NY: Henry Holt and Company. Van Biema, D. (2004, August 16). Roll Over Martin Luther, Time, p. 53 Can Recording EVP Trigger OBEs by Melissa Gates As long as I can remember, I have been able to have both lucid dreams and prophetic dreams. Just a few years ago, I discovered

that the way I dream is outside what most people would consider normal, and while it was “neat” to realize that I have a special little talent, I never took much interest in that kind of phenomenon. My feelings soon changed once I stumbled upon EVP and ITC. I began experimenting with EVP a few years ago and instantly became hooked. I found it was almost impossible to not to tell almost everyone that crossed my path about it. After recording the voice of my deceased grandmother, I went straight to my family to share my findings (bad idea). Instead of the excitement and interest I was expecting, my family was terrified, and begged me to stop experimenting. I stopped recording for almost a year. One day while shopping, I saw an IC recorder for sale. I couldn’t help myself, and I bought the device. Like a little kid who just got a new toy, I ran home to try it out. The first recording I got with my IC recorder was a female whisper that said, “Welcome back, Missy.” Again, I was hooked, and there was nothing that could stop my desire to study and experiment with EVP and also ITC. However, I didn’t just receive an EVP that night. Following getting my first EVP after a year of not recording, I began having what I now strongly believe to be out-of-body experiences. The events began the first night of my return to EVP and it has changed my

life radically. Due to the two incidents coinciding on the same day, it has led me to believe that the two experiences are connected. It is always the same sequence of events most every night. I have just laid down in my bed, and have not yet fallen asleep. An anxious feeling comes over me and I start to feel a presence in my room. Complete paralysis takes over my entire body and I find I cannot move, scream, blink or make any physical movement no matter how much I try. At this point, I am extremely terrified. After a few seconds of lying in my bed, paralyzed, feeling the presence in my room, I am then pulled down my bed by an unseen force. Continued page 15 Volume 26, Number 3 Page 14 Can EVP Trigger OBEs Continued from page 14 I know I am not dreaming as I am intensely aware of my surroundings and I was never asleep to begin with. I can even feel and hear my bed sheets sliding down the bed as my body is pulled. The fear becomes almost unbearable, and I somehow manage to get past some kind of mental blockage and move one of my limbs. Once I recover my ability to control my body I “snap out,” of the experience. This occurrence is now almost a daily one in my life, but I have learned to deal with it. It seems that with every experience, it gets more aggressive in

the number of occurrences per night and there are new developments with every experience. One night, the experience happened over and over until the next morning. Lately, I have been moving completely off the bed and onto the floor. One of my more recent experiences has given me more insight into what is happening. It started happening just like it always does. However, this time, whilst being pulled almost completely off my bed, and also while both feeling and hearing my “body” move, I could see my legs lying in the same position as when I first lay down on my bed. I then tried to pick up my phone, which was lying next to me on the nightstand. I repeatedly failed at attempting to pick up my phone, so I placed my eye on the phone to see the time. The light on my phone lit up as soon as I looked at the screen. I saw the time on the phone. After a few seconds, I gained control over my legs and made a movement. When I snapped out of my state, I was still lying in the same position as when I had originally lain down in bed, and when I looked at the clock, it was the same time I saw on my cell phone during the occurrence. Seeing my body lying still on my bed, while “I” was moving independent of it has only made the experience more confusing. I had done some research on

the Internet and picked up a book on dreaming and sleep-related phenomena. After reading about astral projection and Out of Body Experiences (OBEs), I found that my experiences closely parallel those that others have described. The things I experience nightly are almost identical to the standard- described OBE. It was very comforting to finally have a name to go with the experience, and to know that there are others who go through the same thing. I believe that my work with EVP has enhanced some kind of ability within me, and has also raised my awareness of another reality as well as maybe another reality being aware of me. Melissa Gates Another Amazing Confirmation In July, an event occurred that shows EVP can be predictive. This event also seems to point toward the fact that EVP is not coming from our minds, as Margaret Downey would not have known anything about the information received. In July, William (Billy) Deluca expressed concern on the AA-EVP Idea Exchange, about an uncle who was missing. Margaret Downey conducted a recording session and asked if Billy’s uncle was still in the physical. She recorded the EVP, “Yes, resting.” A couple of seconds after this a second EVP is heard, which Margaret interpreted as saying, “Resting right now, at a friend’s house.” Billy wrote back: “Margaret, just wanted to let you know I spoke to my uncle today and he said he had been in the hospital and was now staying at a friend’s house

in Brooklyn. Get this, he said he was resting. He had to get back to work and he just needed to rest another day or two because he had a rough time … Do you know or have the name of the person that came through on your recording.... Amazing! You were right on the money!” Margaret feels that the person sending this EVP is an entity named Frank. When Margaret was working on another missing-person case she asked for a connection to someone who wanted to help with this kind of thing and Frank started working with her. She does not know who Frank is but he has been helping her for a year and her grandfather who is in spirit told her that she could trust him. Interestingly, the week that Frank first came through, Margaret thought that perhaps she had misunderstood the messages, or that she might have imagined what she was hearing. Just when those doubts entered her mind, her father, Lew, received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as Frank. Even though Lew told Frank he had the wrong number, Frank continued a short and friendly conversation. It struck Lew as odd that, after being told he had the wrong number, the man continued with any conversation at all, which is what caused him to tell Margaret about the phone call. Margaret’s father is very supportive of her EVP/ITC work, so she told him about the recent recordings from a man named

Frank on the other side, and the doubts she’d been having. With this, she concluded the strange phone call to her father, and the fact that he’d even bothered to tell her about it must be some kind of sign. Shortly after that, more doubt crept back into Margaret’s mind. One afternoon, while she was reflecting on the conversation with her father about his odd call from the man named Frank, her telephone rang. Much to her surprise, on the other end was someone asking to speak to Frank! Two wrong phone calls on two different numbers— one from Frank, and one asking for Frank—in the same week. Margaret could only wonder what the odds were of that happening and felt sure that it was a sign. Something else interesting happened. Just after I asked Margaret to tell us a little more about the phone calls, once again, a bit of doubt about her connection Continued page 17 Page 15 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Common Mistakes in Identifying Paranormal Phenomena We thank member Andrew Laird and The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group for sharing this article with us. The full article along with other information can be seen at www.triprg.com In their years in the field, there is hardly a single paranormal investigator that will not eventually come across a piece of evidence that will cause him or her to take a pause in the validation process and question. For the overanxious, biased or egotistically arrogant individual, herein lies the

pitfall of seeing what one wishes to see, not necessarily what is really being depicted in a photograph or video. For the experienced serious investigator, their dedication to this science will cause them to open their notebooks from previous evidence reviews to see if they can find any previous evidence that can be used to corroborate their present target. They will call upon other investigators for their input based on their knowledge and experience and share theories. They will even send the evidence to a third impartial party, an expert in the particular field in which the evidence falls, before eventually coming to a decision based on that entire research process as to whether their evidence being reviewed is real or not in regard to the paranormal. The following is based on the hope that all proper investigation protocol has been observed while the photographic and videotape evidence was being collected. It by no means covers all the questions that will arise, but it does cover the most common problems encountered. The most common culprits that sometimes fool even the best are dust, air-bound moisture, insects and night creatures, especially bats. The rule of thumb is, if the object in the picture is reflecting light, it is what is called an organic, naturally caused phenomenon such as what was just described. If light passes through the object or it appears the object is absorbing light, it becomes suspect as being paranormal and the process moves forward. Here, a night-time shot

taken during an investigation of a cemetery reveals some common orbs. It also shows that there was insect activity that night, giving the illusion of an “orb shower.” Notice the differences in appearance and density of the two objects. In this example, there is a possible orb, but there is so much organic contamination that it must be discounted. In the picture, we can see good examples of what dust, animal hair and dander (human as well as pet), parasites (fleas, mites) and other organic contamination will appear as on film or digital photographs. A great shot of a ghost light or even a spirit? Unfortunately not. It is the nemesis of night photographers everywhere; the bat. Note the telltale “eye streaks” and the purple blurred shape of its flapping wings. The blur below it is a rare photograph of an insect’s demise after impact with the bat. As people travel through grassy areas they kick up a lot of insects, keeping a group of these mostly undetected night flyers well fed and busy. The purple shading is caused from the flash reflecting off the millions of fine hairs lining the underneath of their wings. This is what allows them to fly so silently. Moisture on our lens can account for a lot of the “phenomena” we think we’ve captured on film, video and digital. It can be caused from going from one area to another where the temperature is different. This causes moisture to form on surfaces and glass

is a big attractant. The rule of always letting your equipment acclimate when going from one area to another applies here. Continued page 17 Volume 26, Number 3 Page 16 Common Mistakes Continued from page 16 Along with the advances of technology in our field instruments comes the inherent problems these new technologies bring with them. Here we have two good examples of the infra-red from night-shot cameras and our CCTV cameras never ceasing then disappoint us when reviewing case photographs. The infra- red from many alarm systems will also cause this effect as well, only on a much smaller scale. to amaze and This is why smoking is not allowed in the vicinity of any investigations! Even smoke ejected from the lungs after the fact can cause havoc in creating false positives. It’s a hazard even the best of investigators face ... seeing what they want to see, not what is really there. This photograph was taken as part of our the investigation of Governor Sprague Mansion in Cranston, RI during 2004. At first glance, it would seem to show a figure looking over the former investigator-in-training’s shoulder (his face blurred purposely to protect his identity). In fact, we too believed it to be just that until further scrutiny revealed the anomaly to be the reflection of a light sconce on a nearby wall enhanced by a camera’s flash. A re- creation of the event caused the same exact effect. The “nylon vortex” (camera strap), fingers near the camera’s

aperture and loose flying long hair have caused more hearts to stir and more arguments than most any other culprit in this gallery. Again, only close attention to proper protocol can prevent this. Your own breath can sometimes be your own worst enemy while crypt kicking on a cold night or investigating somewhere where heat is not an option. The best way to avoid seeing this “cloud” in your photos is to hold your breath before snapping your picture or rolling the video camera. If not, at least make a note in your investigator’s log for that night that you could see your breath. A small note like this will save you a lot of frustration later on when you see this cloud appear on your photographs. Evidence Meetings This is an essential part of the evidence verification process. It is where friendships, personal relationships and alliances must be put aside. At a typical evidence review meeting, members of The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group do exactly this, as all evidence is pulled apart, dissected, reviewed and then pulled apart again through sometimes intense debate, not argument, regardless of whoever might have collected or submitted that evidence. The decision of this review can only be one of the following: Confirmed: The criteria or opinions used to determine paranormal activity have been met. Non-paranormal: Alternative explanations can be used to explain the depicted phenomena. Inconclusive: The criteria or opinions used to determine paranormal activity have been met; however, enough reasonable doubt

exists among the group to require further debate and or examination. Amazing Confirmation Continued from page 15 with Frank had crept into her mind. Before she had a chance to write anything, she got another “sign.” Her husband, Robert, stopped at a small home improvement store where a mutual friend of theirs also shops. He left a message with the cashier, “Tell Fred that Margaret and Robert said ‘hi.’” That afternoon, Fred stopped in the store and was given the message, “Frank and Margaret said ‘hi.’” Fred saw Robert on his way home from the store and relayed that he’d gotten his message, but the clerk had called him Frank. When her husband told her what had happened, Margaret knew right away this was just another way for the entity, Frank, to make his presence known to her. Page 17 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Humdrum Heaven Continued from page 9 Rather, we come to understand that the “afterlife” is made up of a number of spheres, levels, dimensions, or planes, however they might be labeled, through which we gradually rise until reaching Oneness—a state, which, we are told, is beyond human comprehension. We also are told that we retain our individuality in this Oneness. Contrary to what orthodoxy says, the new revelation tells us that we are not suddenly transformed into angelic beings or demonic spirits. One spirit messenger known as Imperator, who communicated through the Rev. William Stainton Moses, explained it this way: “As the soul lives in the

earth life, so does it go to the spirit life. Its tastes, its predilections, its habits, its antipathies, they are with it still…. The soul that on earth has been low in taste and impure in habit does not change its nature by passing from the earth sphere any more than the soul that has been truthful, pure, and progressive becomes base and bad by death. Wonderful that you do not recognize this truth!” Moses, an Anglican minister, was among the Church clergy of the late 19th century who condemned mediumship and thought it was the work of the devil. Intent on exposing fraud among mediums of the day, he discovered that he was a medium when he fell into a trance and Imperator and other spirits began speaking through him. He wondered if he was being controlled by the devil, but he “tested” and “discerned” and realized that the messages, many of which were new to him and inconsistent with his beliefs, were consistent with a loving spirit, not a demonic one. (“By their fruits, ye shall know them.”) Alvin Mattson, a Lutheran minister who made his transition to the spirit world in 1970, is said to have communicated with his daughter, Ruth Mattson Taylor, through the British medium Margaret Flavell Tweddell. He, too, reported various planes of existence. “From this point we can progress to higher planes - to higher levels of consciousness. By ‘higher' planes I do not mean spatially higher but rather those planes which have

a finer vibration.” Mattson went on to say that many of the religious denominations continue to practice the rites of their respective churches on the lower or intermediate planes, where he made his abode, but that he had been permitted to visit higher planes “where there is a unity of God-praise, not a segregation of this praise of God.” Thus, as we read elsewhere, the Baptist may remain a Baptist, the Catholic a Catholic, the atheist an atheist, after death, each still convinced that his or her belief is the correct one. Mattson further communicated: “Those on earth who are bigoted or intolerant or self-absorbed find coming here to be a very painful and disturbing experience because they continue to think in their bigoted, intolerant, and self- cented way.” In John 14:2, Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many mansions (abodes). If it were not so I would have told you.” The usual orthodox Christian interpretation of that is that Jesus was referring only to heaven. Modern revelation suggests that Jesus was referring to the whole spectrum of the afterlife, from what is termed hell on “up” (in vibration) through different realms or planes until we reach the Godhead, or true heaven. This is mostly consistent with the Buddhist view holding many realms or dimensions until reaching Nirvana or true heaven. Modern revelation further suggests that hell is the “earthbound” condition, when people do not realize they are dead or flounder about half conscious and half unconscious of their

new environment. It is a “fire of the mind,” but it is not eternal. All can advance, although many flounder in the lower levels for many years of earth time. In summary, whatever names we choose to attach to the various levels, the afterlife emerges as an evolution of the spirit through higher and higher planes of vibration until the Godhead is reached. That afterlife is not governed by a cruel, capricious, vindictive, wrathful intelligence—One who would offer a horrific hell or humdrum heaven. It is a plan of attainment and attunement, of gradual spiritual growth, of movement from the darkness into light, from ignorance to truth. Michael Tymn is editor of The Searchlight, of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc. publication. an Academy Michael Tymn Thoughts from Members (cid:143) Mark Kosinski wrote, “Our thoughts regarding educating our children are pretty simple. Most of us grow up being fearful of death and not understanding what is happening. When someone close to us dies, children have a difficult time processing the event and even more difficulty comprehending an afterlife. EVP has been wonderful from that perspective, especially with the activity in our home. We’ve taught them using EVP to understand that when we die, we do go somewhere and we have others around us so we don’t become lonely. Fortunately for us, the spirit individuals in our home were very child- friendly and very open to helping us with that. That in itself could turn into a book.... Thank you for the

AA- EVP!! As you can tell from the article, we struggled finding the right resource to help us. AA-EVP is the right resource in many ways. We very much appreciate and applaud your efforts and the membership. Our journey has just begun and we’re getting a lot of help, both from the AA-EVP and our spirit friends.” [See Mark and Amy’s article on page 3] Volume 26, Number 3 Page 18 Using Spectrograms for the Reception of ITC Images by Keith Clark Audio is the most prevalent medium through which the majority of ITC experimenters experience communication with the other side. As technology pushes us ever forward and previously unattainable ideas suddenly come within our grasp, we are presented to with more opportunities explore and develop new means of communication with spirit. The use of spectrograms to receive ITC images through sound can be an inventive tool through which we can further develop our relationship with those on the other side. Man facing you. Chin at middle of picture. Direct Radio Voice (DRV) experiments have been a staple of my experimental work for over a year and a half. Frequently I browse the web and read everything I can on the subject of radio in an attempt to understand how it works and how it can be applied to new experimentation. While researching on the web one day, I stumbled across the creative use of spectrograms by a musician. This person had taken an image of himself and converted it

into a sound file that could be translated back into a picture with the appropriate software. He had inserted his picture in audio form at the end of one of his compilations, similar to the way other musicians add hidden tracks to their recordings. It was a new concept to me; something I had never heard of. I was familiar with the use of spectrum analyzers in the field of communications to analyze and troubleshoot various signals, but the thought of having an individual’s image converted into audio seemed very interesting. The thought crossed my mind: “If spirit can influence the energy and audio frequencies which comprise EVP, can they also produce images using sound?” A spectrogram is the representation of audio frequencies in a visual graph. Spectrogram software displays both the audio frequencies and volume intensity as it changes across a specified period of time. During my initial experiments, I sampled various low-cost software programs and reviewed them for their accuracy, functionality, and ease of use. The software I settled on, and use to demonstrate this new area of by Visualization Software. It is fairly easy to use, doesn’t require extensive knowledge of audio spectrum analysis, and is available as a ten-day trial. When choosing a color scheme for the graph display, I prefer the choice of blue as it seems to provide the best contrast for observation. (www.visualizationsoftware.com/ $29.95) experimentation, Spectrogram called is The first several experiments with the spectrogram software produced inconclusive results. Having an interest in

DRV, part of my regular routine is to monitor the signal emanating from two radios located in a shed in the back yard. These radios provided the audio source for use with the preliminary trials of the spectrogram software. After experiencing nothing of mention, the concept of images through sound was moved to the back burner and retained as a future area of interest. It was not until a month later that I was re-inspired to investigate spectrograms further. Interesting results were received after the third day of consistent monitoring, resulting in the following picture. Face looking at you (small yellow rectangle). The rectangle is also inserted enlarged. attributes of The positive experimenting with spectrograms include the following: Provided that basic instruction is given for the setup and use of spectrogram software as a tool for ITC experimentation, an accessible alternative to more difficult methods of image reception from spirit is created. While most methods of experimenting with ITC communication require playback of recorded audio or video, the viewing of images using spectrograms can be observed and captured in real time. As a result, the level of effort and technical ability is minimal in comparison with the tedious work of sifting through recorded material. Given the right circumstances, it is also highly feasible that spectrograms may provide an avenue for real-time audio and visual communications to take place simultaneously. Another advantage of spectrograms (and other forms of visual ITC as well) is the bonding and advancement of a researcher’s personal

relationship with spirit. As consistency is established during experiments by researchers, the repetition of the pictures of specific individuals may provide answers as to the identity and spirit personalities with whom intention of communication is taking place. Continued page 20 the Page 19 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Image in spectrogram from sound of “jaw harp.” Spectrograms ITC Continued from page 19 the the playback Editing, noise reduction, and other tools which are commonly used to improve the clarity of recorded audio samples, are unnecessary when taking snapshots of spectrograms. Hypothetically, the editing of audio samples used to produce spectrograms will only serve to remove the audio frequencies and volume which comprise the total makeup of in an altered or image, resulting compromised image. Experimentation will show that speed of a changing the spectrogram sample can result appearance of images which seem to have been created for a different period of time than that of the program’s settings in place during the observation. Similar to the characteristic of EVP sounding faster than the rate of normal human speech, evidence will show that spirit may also have difficulty conforming to a single specific period of time when sending an image using this method. in the imagination of The variety of audio sources that can be used in experiments with spectrograms is as limitless as the experimenter. Since the origin of the signal is audio in nature, many of the experimental ideas used in EVP research can be applied to spectrograms. In the

example on this page, the audio source was the musical sound of a “jaw” harp being played into a microphone. Instruments that vibrate and cover a broader frequency spectrum are more likely to yield better results than those that emit a single, non-resonating tone. It is important to note that one disadvantage of this particular spectrogram program is that there is a fluctuation in how the software displays the audio data that it receives. During tests, a loop of a spectrogram image was repeatedly played, but was never represented exactly the same on the graph. It is estimated that the composition of the picture has a tendency to fluctuate plus or minus ten percent. This obstacle could probably be overcome by obtaining a better grade software program capable of finer resolution and accuracy such as those used for speech analysis. As with any other method of working with ITC, the tendency to recognize patterns in various shapes and forms is always prevalent. Researchers wishing to experiment in this area should make an attempt to only to collect pictures of obvious formation and recognition. As a common rule, editing of audio files and the resulting spectrogram should be avoided. If possible, keep the original audio files in accompaniment with the spectrogram samples that are represented as communication with spirit. If this is done, duplication and exhibition of experimental results will prove to be more conclusive. On August 1st, a new signal appeared on the radios that I monitor. The tone that

came through sounded modulated, and it met the following conditions for my personal consideration as attempted spirit communication: It came through both radios simultaneously, and it appeared on the majority of the spectrum covered by my shortwave radio. I began to feel that spirit had initiated a new project—one in which they were developing new ways of projecting their images. This work is still in progress. Researchers attempting to establish direct radio voice contact will find this technique especially helpful. It has the potential to enable them not only to hear spirits attempts to improve contact over radio, but also possibly to see who they are working with in spirit. It is also logical to conclude that the relationship between DRV contacts and spectrograms through radio may be directly proportiona; as one improves, so will the other. The idea of spirit being able to overcome the limitations present in voice- radio contact by transmitting a modulated signal through the same audio feed to generate images has yet to be seen. People interested in receiving images through spectrograms can find a brief tutorial which will describe how to duplicate the experiments mentioned in this article. The tutorial and additional samples can be found at the AA-EVP Idea Exchange and www.ITCBridge.com. [Editor: All examples in this article have been “enhanced” by us to improve visibility and printability. This includes changes in contrast and the use of Dodge and Burn tools.] A New Look for the Big Circle We are happy to announce

that Big Circle web master Lisa Yesse has coordinated with Martha Copeland to develop a whole new look for the Big Circle web pages of the AA- EVP website. Assuming all things go as planned, by the time you receive this NewsJournal, the new pages should be open for your access. It is fortunate for the AA-EVP that Lisa is so talented in creating web pages that are both easy to use and pleasant to look at. We are also very happy that Martha has continued to accept a leadership role for the Big Circle portion of the AA-EVP. Without her attention and gracious concern for website visitors, the Association would not be able to provide all of the services it does today. A huge “thank you” goes to Lisa and Martha. Volume 26, Number 3 Page 20 New Transfiguration Cases by Sonia Rinaldi [Editor’s Note: The example images are video frames from experiments in which something is used to increase the optical noise between the person and the video camera. This noise may facilitate transfiguration.] During these twenty years that I’ve been researching about Instrumental TransCommunication, we’ve developed some new techniques, such as using the telephone to make contact with the other side (until then, the telephone had been used only to receive calls), recording voices and images simultaneously and to receive images of deceased people. We will show now a recent case. It’s quite surprising that these phenomena happen in real time; that is, “they” create the images

during the recording of the video and you can see the animations, creations and modifications on the computer screen while everything is being recorded. Rafael’s Case A few weeks ago, a boy named Rafael was brought by his grandmother Maria to our Lab. The boy had lost his father a few months earlier. His father was a policeman who was murdered during a conflict with thieves. The objective of this meeting was to make contact with him. During the session, we registered over twenty-one voice transcontacts and some deceased apparitions. Rafael’s “normal” features are shown above for comparison. Notice that the boy has relatively light skin, and of course, has an eleven-year-old boy’s face. We sat Rafael in front of the video camera, hoping that his face would transfigure into his deceased father, Ivanildo’s, face. Not only did the policeman appear, but other faces of known and unknown people also appeared. Here, we show some of these faces, that seem to have different features from Rafael. Rafael sometimes appeared as a fifteen- or sixteen-year- old black boy (above-left); other times, he appeared as a blond and pale boy (middle), or as a five-year-old boy (right). A few girls even appeared. One of the transfigurations was a girl who reminded us of Lara, a little girl who died of eye cancer at the age of five. Her departure happened six years ago but she would be eleven in our measure of time. Curiously, in Spiritism it is said that children in

the other side grow up. Could the picture be Lara’s? Lara is shown at the top of this composite (above) when alive at the age of five. Rafael is shown below with his features transfigured into a girl who looks like Lara. Laura’s mother, Inês Gadelha, promptly recognized the daughter due the large forehead … Being Lara or not, the picture is very different from Rafael himself. Member News (cid:143) Kathy Conder will be giving an EVP workshop at the Allegan Paranormal Conference at the historic Griswold Auditorium in Allegan, Michigan on October 26 and 27. see www.michiganparanormalencounters.com/ (cid:143) Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber reported that their first Haunted New Jersey Paranormal Weekend Conference sold out the Victorian era Hotel Macomber in Cape May, NJ. They also recorded their 50th Haunted New Jersey podcast in August. To hear this and all their shows go to http://hauntednj.libsyn.com/. Garrett has been doing a lot of lecturing in New Jersey and New York on ghosts, survival and EVP. He wrote, “I have a nice gig going with Barnes & Noble and Borders here in New Jersey for lectures in their stores.” (cid:143) Lance Reed was a guest on Spiritrealm, a paranormal podcast, in July. If you have news that you would like to see in the to Tom and Lisa at NewsJournal, [email protected]. Submissions need to be in by November 15 for the next Journal. send it Page 21 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Documentary about IADC (from www.induced-adc.com/) A documentary about induced after-death

communication is now being developed. You can see the trailer for the documentary at this link: www.healingafterthewar.org/ For those dying of grief, there is now a cure. Induced After Death Communication (IADC) is a revolu- tionary new therapy that has already healed over 3,000 individuals who for too long have suffered in silence from the loss of loved ones, the shock of military combat or the inconsolable grief associated with abuse, accidents, and other trauma. IADC has been practiced in secre- cy by a small circle of clinical re- With the searchers, until now. continuing news about the devastat- ing effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on our society, it is now time to bring this controversial therapy to everyone’s attention. AFTER THE WAR, a documenta- ry based on the book, Induced After-Death Communica- tion: A New Therapy for Healing Grief and Trauma, by Dr. Allan L. Botkin, will show the world how IADC can heal deep emotional wounds, offering millions of tormented sufferers a treatment option. If you feel helpless about managing your own pain, are frustrated in caring for a loved one with PTSD, or want to contribute to the healing of America after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, consider joining us in this effort. For this film, and its startling message to reach everyone who needs it, we need something just as amazing—your support. Thank you. Immortality by John P LoVecchio There is no death There is a plan far greater than the plan you

know There is a landscape broader than the one you see There is a haven where storm tossed souls may go You call it death... me, Immortality You call it death ... this seeming endless sleep I call it birth ... the soul at last set free It is hampered not by time or space, you weep Why weep at death? It’s Immortality Farewell, Dear Voyageur, it will not be long Your work is done, now peace rest with thee Your kindly thoughts and deeds, they still live on This is not death - It’s Immortality Farewell, Dear Voyageur, the river winds and turns The cadence of your song comes near to me And now you know the thing that all men will learn There is no death - just Immortality Consciousness and Afterlife Conference The Forever Family Foundation is sponsoring a conference titled “Investigations of Consciousness and The Unseen World Proof of an Afterlife?” over two days in San Francisco, California, January 19-20, 2008. Although EVP/ITC is not on the agenda there are many interesting speakers. Cost for advance tickets is $225 for members (membership is free). For more information or to purchase admission call 631.425.7707 or visit: www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org. Continued from page 1 Viewpoint You continue to help the public that knows what EVP is, to become aware of advancements and that EVP is much more than tiny little meaningless voices. Also, the ITC now collected through the use of moving water is stretching people’s minds about ways to

interact with those in spirit. Another interesting development that may help more people learn about EVP contacts being made by members is a YouTube project. For several months we have been putting our heads together with Martha Copeland, discussing the possibility of a five-to-seven-minute video on the Big Circle spirit team and the mothers who are receiving communication from their loved ones. We were very excited when Martha asked Lisa Winther-Huston, Paradoor Productions LLC, if she would do it and she agreed to put something together for the AA-EVP for a nominal fee. The Butlers presenting at the ISF conference Lisa used some footage taken at the 2006 AA-EVP conference that was done for a soon-to-be completed documentary that she is working on with Mark Macy, along with footage and stills supplied by several members. We know that those in spirit have worked alongside Lisa in putting this short documentary together and we know that Lisa has given much more of her time on the project than the nonprofit ever could have paid her. We are blessed to be so lucky. The piece should be finished and up on http://youtube.com before the end of the year. Look for it with a search for “AA-EVP” or “Big Circle.” Volume 26, Number 3 Page 22 Researcher Reports (cid:143) New member Darleen Addis lost her daughter and son- in-law September 26, 2006, when they were hit head on by a repeat DUI offender. Darleen wrote, “I’ve been devastated and look to different things

to show me they are happy.” She has gotten some voices and also knocking noises that she feels are her son-in-law. (cid:143) Debbie Caruso recorded while using the online telephone service, Skype, to call her cell phone. She asked her friend Denise where she was the day after she crossed over. She received the answer, “Heaven.” (cid:143) Martha Copeland was recording and heard the voice of her Aunt Doris saying “Martha, I got your dog with me.” Martha knows it was her aunt because of her distinctive gravelly voice. Martha also feels that she is talking about her dog Shishi (above). (cid:143) William Deluca wrote that he had purchased a Sony ICD-B26 and did a one-minute session, recording several EVP in the same day. He said he heard one EVP as, “I see you” and that he also recorded the name “Linda.” He had recorded with a friend named Linda earlier that day. (cid:143) Margaret Downey recorded with her friend Linda. She wrote, “I did my usual spiel at the end, saying that I was closing and if there were any messages to say them quickly. Steve left a message saying, “Love you, Linda.” Not as clear as I would have liked but clear enough that my girlfriend could understand them!” (cid:143) Linda Gray shared a recording with the group that she had made: “Tell Linda it’s her dad.” Her father crossed over last year. Linda told others on the message board that it did not sound like him and

so she was confused. Vicki Talbott replied that, depending on the recorder, they sometimes don’t sound like they did in life. frame (cid:143) Kathleen Griffin wrote, “This image is from a Big Circle ITC session. I have been going through my films and taking digital photographs as they play. Instead of the typical way I would usually view them, going by frame, I wanted to see what it would capture if I let it just run and just kept snapping it away. produced a layering of images in one photograph … I had been asking during these clips … for them to show me what the Big Circle looked like and could they show me an image. think I My jaw dropped when I saw this one in the upper left-hand corner of one of the images. I reversed it into a negative and this is what it looked like to me. It looks like there is a figure of a woman reaching up to a child who looks like he/she is standing on something higher. It looks like a mother greeting her child and others observing. This actually looks like a snapshot into the Big Circle to me.” (cid:143) Cheri Kussavage writes, “I’ve noticed that, whenever I record while listening to music in a meditative state, I receive EVP replies like, “Beautiful” and “That was nice.” It seems music is enjoyed in both realms. (cid:143) Karen Mossey wrote that August 12th was the seventh anniversary of her son Rob’s

passing. Several family members did a special tribute to him at the cemetery where he is buried. Karen wrote, “We took pictures … and did a few recordings. We were so amazed to hear Rob come through with a big “Hey” in his exact voice and just so like his personality. [Editor: Rob says this right before Karen says, “Hi, Rob.”] What a wonderful lift for my heart to have received this very special message and for Rob to let us know he was right there with us (cid:143) Lance Reed asked if anyone from the Big Circle wanted to say their name and recorded, “It’s Paul.” Lance did not know a Paul and said he hoped that someone would recognize this person. (cid:143) Vicki Talbott says that she was chastising her fat cat for going toward the food of her other little one after he had eaten all of his own. This happened while she had her recorder on. She wrote, “I say, “Ru-Ru,” (Rudy, well his formal name is Rude Boy) and Braden says, “Hey Mom, he’s getting fat!” (cid:143) Charlene Vignola just recently joined the group. She wrote that she had tried recording for a few days without success. She wrote, “On the third night I misplaced my recorder. At approximately my taping time, an antique armoire that had a glass cover in it made a loud noise and the glass split from top to bottom. It was in excellent condition. The following night a secure picture

came crashing off the wall. All this occurred in the vicinity of the taping. Coincidence?” (cid:143) Dee Vyeda shared an EVP with the group in which she asked if they were in the room with her or just had a sense when she was recording. The EVP says, “We watch you.” Big Circle Recording Dates Don’t forget the every other Thursday group recording where we work with loved ones in the Big Circle Spirit Team. Many of us have recorded the words, “Big Circle.” Don’t hesitate to ask this group for help recording. The members of the Big Circle are very interested in helping people with EVP. Group recording dates are October 4 &18, November 1, 15 & 29, December 13 & 27 and January 11 & 25. Page 23 Fall 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Support the Work of the AA-EVP The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization and donations are tax exempt. The AA-EVP is dedicated to supporting the use of EVP/ITC for contacting loved ones and research intended to improve this communication. Donations enable the Association to fund targeted research and find ways to better support the community. Consider making a donation in the form of a bequest, charitable trust, securities or real estate. You can contact us for more information via email at [email protected] or postal service at: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 An explanation of how these financial tools work at http://aaevp.com/donate.htm. Remember, you can specify that your donation be used to support research,

public education and/or family outreach. As the Christmas shopping season approaches, remember to use the Supporting Vendor links at http://aaevp.com. The AA-EVP is in an “affiliate” program and receives a small percentage of each transaction initiated when a person goes to the vendor pages via the links. We thank all of you for your continued support. There is No Death and There are No Dead The book is receiving praise as an important EVP/ITC tool. Why not consider giving a signed copy as a gift to yourself or a friend? learning You can order a signed copy at aaevp.com or a letter with signing instructions to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in Nevada. First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar- loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097 Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email: $40.00 per year Sustaining Members Subtract $5 per additional year for multiple years (1 Year Membership =

$30, 2 Years = $55, 3 Years = $80) Please specify the number of years you are joining: __________ All benefits for one year $30.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____ In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature

such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 26, Number 3 Page 24 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 26 Number 4 Winter 2008(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) has many faces. To(cid:0) people who believe in the infallibility of science, it is proof(cid:0) that some misguided people are willing to believe in the(cid:0) impossible as if it were real. To some religions, it is(cid:0) communication with demons. To some open-minded scien-(cid:0) tists, it is a curiosity that must be avoided because studying(cid:0) such “impossibilities” could ruin their careers. To ghost(cid:0) hunters, it is an effective tool for investigating haunted(cid:0) locations. To people grieving for the loss of a loved one, it(cid:0) is a way to continue their relationship even across the veil.(cid:0) To the AA-EVP, EVP is a little bit of all of these. We try(cid:0) to understand why some are determined that EVP is scien-(cid:0) tifically impossible, and acknowledge the belief that it is(cid:0) offensive to some religions. We try to make the Associa-(cid:0) tion a safe place for scientific investigation by maintaining(cid:0) a rational and level-headed persona on the website and in(cid:0) the literature. We enjoy the occasional hauntings investiga-(cid:0) tion ourselves, and recognize that many contributions to(cid:0) our understanding of these phenomena are coming from

the(cid:0) field. But probably the most important features of the(cid:0) Association are its support of research and people grieving(cid:0) the loss of a loved one.(cid:0) A recent initiative designed to support bereavement that(cid:0) we are especially proud of is the video we recently posted(cid:0) on(cid:0)youtube.com/aaevp(cid:0). Lisa Huston attended the Atlanta(cid:0) AA-EVP conference and interviewed several of the(cid:0) members for the documentary she has been working on.(cid:0) We talked with Martha Copeland about the footage that(cid:0) was taken at the 2006 conference and how wonderful it(cid:0) would be if one of the documentarins who had filmed there(cid:0) would consider making a five-minute video for YouTube.(cid:0) We wanted it to focus on the mothers who are receiving(cid:0) EVP communication from their children who now are on(cid:0) the other side. We can’t thank Martha Copeland enough for(cid:0) pursuing this idea and approaching Lisa Huston with it.(cid:0) Lisa Huston did the work for a very small sum, and in truth,(cid:0) donated most of the time required to put the YouTube piece(cid:0) together. The result is a professional testimonial on how(cid:0) EVP can be used to make it possible to continue our(cid:0) relationship with loved ones who have crossed over. As of(cid:0) this writing, the videos (Part 1 and Part 2 to fit on(cid:0) YouTube) are being viewed more than a hundred times a(cid:0) day, making them a resounding success. Also, many emails(cid:0) have been received from people who have been touched by(cid:0) the videos. If you would like a copy of the video, please(cid:0)

see the order form on page 20.(cid:0) Thanksgiving and Christmas are especially difficult for(cid:0) those of us who have family members who are no longer(cid:0) with us in the physical. It is especially hard for those who(cid:0) have lost their partner or a child to put on a good face(cid:0) during this time of year. Most would just like it to get over(cid:0) as quickly as possible. Because of this we were especially(cid:0) pleased with the timing of the YouTube video and that its(cid:0) reminder that our loved ones can reach out to us could be(cid:0) viewed during the holiday season.(cid:0) We hope that all of you made it through the holidays and(cid:0) that you enjoyed them with friends and family. A special(cid:0) thanks goes to the many members who help and support(cid:0) others who are grieving. The letters that come from those(cid:0) who have been helped through difficult times always talk(cid:0) about how much member support has helped them. It is(cid:0) wonderful to see the enormous effect that comes from(cid:0) recording the voice of a loved one and many times these(cid:0) recordings will come from another member.(cid:0) We thank those who have shared their stories with(cid:0) members in the NewsJournal this year. For many of you,(cid:0) we know how painful it was to put your story together. By(cid:0) doing so, you bring hope and encouragement to many. If(cid:0) you have a story you would like to share in the New Year,(cid:0) please write to us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0). Without your shar-(cid:0)

ing, the NewsJournal would not be what it is.(cid:0) A heartfelt thanks goes to those who donate their time to(cid:0) the website, to proofreading, to the Idea Exchange message(cid:0) board and to doing articles. We thank people for sharing(cid:0) their innovative ideas and research. With your sharing, we(cid:0) all learn and grow. To those who have so generously(cid:0) donated money to keep the Association running we are(cid:0) very grateful. We could not do it without all of you and we(cid:0) ask the universe to bless your gifts and return them to you(cid:0) a hundredfold.(cid:0) Most importantly we thank those in the Big Circle group(cid:0) who are no longer on earth but who wish to continue to(cid:0) communicate with us here and who have helped so many(cid:0) through their EVP messages. We look forward to an(cid:0) exciting New Year and send you, all of our friends in the(cid:0) here and hereafter, our wishes for a New Year filled with(cid:0) further breakthroughs in communicating across the veil.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0)........................................................................................................................1(cid:0) Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds(cid:0)...........................................................................................3(cid:0) Consciousness and Afterlife Conference(cid:0).......................................................................................4(cid:0) Path of Least Resistance?(cid:0)by Bob Ginsberg...................................................................................4(cid:0) Lance Reed’s ITC(cid:0)............................................................................................................................5(cid:0) Some Ideas About the Way ITC Works(cid:0)by Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt.............................................6(cid:0) Sonia Works with New Russian Software(cid:0).....................................................................................8(cid:0) Hemi-Sync Trials Update(cid:0)...............................................................................................................8(cid:0) The Golden Child(cid:0)by Toby Richard................................................................................................9(cid:0) Online Listening Experiment Results(cid:0).........................................................................................10(cid:0) Sony ICD-B16 is a Half-sized B26(cid:0)...............................................................................................10(cid:0) Colors with Crayons: A Meditation

for Healing(cid:0)by Martha Copeland......................................11(cid:0) Forensics Certification(cid:0)..................................................................................................................12(cid:0) Brother Appears in Photo(cid:0).............................................................................................................13(cid:0) Using Voice Recognition Software for ITC(cid:0).................................................................................13(cid:0) Janet Lyons(cid:0)....................................................................................................................................13(cid:0) Some Interesting Statistics(cid:0)............................................................................................................13(cid:0) The Skeptical Quagmire(cid:0) by Miles Edward Allen.........................................................................14(cid:0) Coining the Term, “ITC”(cid:0).............................................................................................................17(cid:0) Cemetery Photo(cid:0).............................................................................................................................17(cid:0) Kindred(cid:0)..........................................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Cat ITC Image(cid:0)...............................................................................................................................18(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0)...................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0)..........................................................................................................18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0).......................................................................................................................19(cid:0) YouTube Video is Available on CD(cid:0).............................................................................................20(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events(cid:0) in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2008AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0)Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be(cid:0) short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working(cid:0) with these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of(cid:0) January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date,(cid:0) the NewsJournal may be added to the

AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0)The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP.(cid:0) Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or by writing to the(cid:0) AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal.(cid:0) Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International(cid:0) members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions(cid:0) in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) (Directors), Sarah Estep, Sandy Pfortmiller, Martha Copeland and Janice Oberding. Opinions(cid:0) expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Lisa Yesse and Jim Stonier(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Idea Exchange: Martha Copeland and Margaret Downey(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 2(cid:0) Winter 2008(cid:0) Benefactor(cid:0) Richard Adams(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Kerry Gage(cid:0) Beatrice Hofman(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Kira Connally(cid:0) Neil Kiernan(cid:0) Gary Nixon(cid:0) Bruce Tracy(cid:0) Special Thanks(cid:0) We wish to thank all of(cid:0) you who are supporting(cid:0) the Association with(cid:0) your hard work.(cid:0) Happy New(cid:0) Year!(cid:0) Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds(cid:0) Darleen Addis thought that she had(cid:0) heard the voices of her daughter, Jenny,(cid:0) and son-in-law, Brandon, for the last(cid:0) time on September 26, 2006 as they left(cid:0) home on their motorcycle. They died a(cid:0) few hours later when a pickup crossed(cid:0) into their lane

and hit them head-on.(cid:0) Brandon had worked with Darleen at(cid:0) the Brass Pro Shop. Darleen said that he(cid:0) had a lot of talents and seemed to have(cid:0) the same interests as her daughter, so she(cid:0) introduced them and soon they were(cid:0) seeing each other every day. Jenny,(cid:0) eighteen, was a dancer and sketch artist.(cid:0) Brandon, twenty-one, played the guitar(cid:0) and often wrote songs. “He sang, and she(cid:0) couldn’t,” Darleen recalls. “She danced,(cid:0) and he couldn’t. What one was thinking(cid:0) the other knew the answer to.”(cid:0) the opposite of the way that it should(cid:0) have fallen.(cid:0) There were many other signs.(cid:0) Darleen had gotten Jenny a little bell(cid:0) when she had her wisdom teeth taken(cid:0) out and on more than one occasion the(cid:0) family heard that little bell ringing.(cid:0) Joshua(cid:0)had a box of mints on his(cid:0) dresser and it flew off to the floor(cid:0) when he entered his room. Jenny’s(cid:0) embroidery was in her end table and(cid:0) Darleen moved show a(cid:0) it photographer but when she went to(cid:0) show it to the man, it was gone.(cid:0) Darleen later found it back in her end(cid:0) table. Brandon’s watch appeared out(cid:0) of nowhere and it was the watch that(cid:0) Darleen had seen on him the day they(cid:0) rode off on the motorcycle.(cid:0) to Jenny and Brandon on their wedding day(cid:0) Just before Jenny’s graduation,(cid:0) Brandon proposed to her on a family(cid:0) vacation. Brandon’s mother recalls him rehearsing before(cid:0) he left and told us that, “He really loved her, and she really(cid:0) loved him.

I wish everybody could have a love like they(cid:0) had.”(cid:0) They were married on July 30, 2006. They exchanged(cid:0) rings and promised to spend their lives together as their(cid:0) favorite song, “Everything” by the band Lifehouse, played.(cid:0) After a honeymoon in Bermuda they moved in with(cid:0) Darleen, her husband Wayne and son(cid:0)Joshua(cid:0). Jenny(cid:0) enrolled at the Community College and was studying(cid:0) criminal justice while Brandon kept working and was(cid:0) considering going back to college. Darleen says that they(cid:0) wanted children and that she looked forward to being a(cid:0) grandmother.(cid:0) The two had been married a little less than two months(cid:0) when a habitual traffic offender with no license, a history of(cid:0) drug use and three convictions for driving under the(cid:0) influence (DUI) in the past year, ran them down. He was(cid:0) still on probation for his first DUI and was addicted to(cid:0) prescription and other drugs that were not prescribed to him.(cid:0) He passed out after hitting Jenny and Brandon.(cid:0) Darleen keeps their room just the way they left it the day(cid:0) of the crash. The wedding dress hangs in the closet and the(cid:0) wedding bouquet is above the dresser mirror. The couple’s(cid:0) car still sits in the driveway, the “Just Married” sign in the(cid:0) rearview mirror.(cid:0) Darleen says that her husband was a skeptic but soon after(cid:0) the funeral, things started happening that totally made him(cid:0) a believer. The first thing that Darleen remembers(cid:0) happening was the dogs barking at the door and then(cid:0) jumping up like they were

jumping on Jenny and Brandon.(cid:0) One alarm clock would go off when it wasn’t wound up and(cid:0) the other, an electric model, went off at 2 a.m. with just(cid:0) white noise when it was not set to go off. Jenny’s picture fell(cid:0) down when Darleen was in deep thought of her and it fell(cid:0) Six or seven weeks after the couples(cid:0) tragic death, Darleen recorded an EVP(cid:0) that says,(cid:0)“What’s up?”(cid:0) She knew it was Brandon.(cid:0)When(cid:0) Brandon would answer his phone he would always do so(cid:0) by saying “What’s up?”(cid:0) Soon after joining the(cid:0) past(cid:0) this AA-EVP Darleen(cid:0) September, was on the member(cid:0) message board and was(cid:0) listening to some of the(cid:0) examples that members(cid:0) had posted. She came(cid:0) across one from Debbie(cid:0) Caruso which said(cid:0) “Ma, Ma - You should(cid:0) know … I miss you.”(cid:0) She recognized Jenny’s(cid:0) voice immediately and(cid:0) the group:(cid:0) wrote “This morning I am still(cid:0) sitting here in shock. I(cid:0) do believe that is my(cid:0) little girl on that EVP!(cid:0) The voice and the way(cid:0) ‘miss’ is said sound exactly like her! I have played it for(cid:0) anyone and everyone who knew my daughter and knew(cid:0) her voice. They all know it was her. That was captured(cid:0) before I joined the group but I have wanted to for many(cid:0) months. This Wednesday we are facing the one-year mark(cid:0) of the crash. It has been a nightmare. I am so thankful and(cid:0) grateful to all, and Debbie, thank you so much for allowing(cid:0) me to hear my

daughter. I know that Jenny and Brandon(cid:0) have met up with those trying to communicate with us(cid:0) because they believed as much as I believe.”(cid:0) Jenny and Brandon on their(cid:0) wedding day(cid:0) to Continued page 4(cid:0) Page 3 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Jenny and Brandon(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) In October, Darleen shared the story of Jenny and(cid:0) Brandon’s communication from across the veil on the(cid:0) Maury Show. The show astonished Darleen by having(cid:0) Debbie as a surprise guest. They had not met in person. On(cid:0) the show, Debbie shared another wonderful EVP from(cid:0) Brandon saying,(cid:0)“I feel the Big Circle. I feel welcome.”(cid:0) Darleen on the Maury Show with surprise(cid:0) guest,(cid:0)Debra Caruso(cid:0) While at the show, Darleen was to receive a reading from(cid:0) Jeffrey Wands. She turned her recorder on to document the(cid:0) reading and discovered an EVP before the reading began(cid:0) that says,(cid:0) “I’m Brandon.”(cid:0)During the reading, Jeffery said(cid:0) that Jenny was drawing a “Big Circle” around everyone.(cid:0) We often forget that these tragedies are even more(cid:0) horrendous for those that are left here on earth. Darleen’s(cid:0) family, along with Brandon’s family, has also suffered(cid:0) through the trial of the man who took the physical lives of(cid:0) this young couple. Darleen admits that she wakes up in(cid:0) pain and goes to bed in pain. The stress has been almost(cid:0) unbearable at times but she says that EVP has given her(cid:0) hope, “It is a way of communicating with Jenny and(cid:0) Brandon and a way of knowing that we are

still ‘together.’”(cid:0) Excerpts in this article came from(cid:0)The Knoxville News-Sentinel(cid:0) article, “All That Remains, Families of young couple killed in senseless(cid:0) tragedy left with grief and questions” by Matt Lakin, October 15, 2006.(cid:0) Consciousness and Afterlife Conference(cid:0) The Forever Family Foundation is sponsoring a conference(cid:0) titled “(cid:0)Investigations of Consciousness and The Unseen(cid:0) World Proof of an Afterlife?(cid:0)” over two days in San(cid:0) Francisco, California, January 19-20, 2008. Although(cid:0) EVP/ITC is not on the agenda there are many interesting(cid:0) speakers. Cost for an advance ticket is $225 for members(cid:0) (membership is free). For more information or to purchase(cid:0) admission, call 631.425.7707 or visit:(cid:0) www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0) We will attend, so if you plan to go, please find us and(cid:0) Path of Least Resistance?(cid:0) by Bob Ginsberg, Co-founder Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) It is fair to say that scientists have compiled sufficient(cid:0) evidence to conclude that phenomena such as telepathy,(cid:0) ESP and remote viewing are indeed “real.” In addition to(cid:0) proving that some of us have the ability to use these(cid:0) disciplines of consciousness, there is also sufficient data(cid:0) showing that these practices defy our present notion of time(cid:0) and space. People can intuit events before they actually(cid:0) occur and can send their minds or consciousness across the(cid:0) globe to view targets.(cid:0) It is also fair to say that we have a sufficient amount of(cid:0) data indicating that our consciousness survives our(cid:0) physical death. Reports from individuals who survived a(cid:0) near-death experience, witnesses to the death-bed visions(cid:0) of dying patients, laboratory data from mediumship(cid:0) studies,

investigations of reincarnation accounts(cid:0)—(cid:0)all(cid:0) provide compelling evidence we do survive in some form.(cid:0) Yet, the past century of research has yielded little or no(cid:0) information as to how all of these phenomena work.(cid:0) Although there have been many theories presented, we(cid:0) have come no closer to discovering the answer to the(cid:0) process of such communications.... Of course, finding the(cid:0) mechanism that allows these phenomena would propel us(cid:0) into a new paradigm of consciousness and our cosmic(cid:0) relationship. Life as we knew it would be forever changed.(cid:0) As I continue to read, learn, and talk to some of today’s(cid:0) best researchers and scientists, my radar is always up with(cid:0) regard to discovering such a common denominator. I can’t(cid:0) help but think that the processes all have a similar pattern;(cid:0) the information and discarnate entities are always there,(cid:0) waiting for conduits to open in the dimensions separated by(cid:0) fields that represent our physical barrier.(cid:0) When we think of near-death experiences and death-bed(cid:0) visions, for instance, many assume that during our physical(cid:0) death our consciousness or soul travels to this other(cid:0) dimension. Instead, I posit that this other dimension(cid:0) surrounds and envelops us, seeking a pathway to get(cid:0) through. During these death states, our physical brain is set(cid:0) aside and those on the other side find the opening to bring(cid:0) other worlds to us. The barrier is permeated and the(cid:0) surrounding field of information or spirit always seeks the(cid:0) path of least resistance. During mediumship and meditative(cid:0) states, similar barrier weaknesses are detected

and taken(cid:0) advantage of as we provide the openings by discarding our(cid:0) conscious interpretation. Similarly, during precognitive(cid:0) episodes, surrounding information finds its way through(cid:0) the opening, very often during meditative or dreams states.(cid:0) During the phenomenon of telepathy, information is(cid:0) allowed to flow from sender to receiver through a similar(cid:0) process; thought transmission which requires lowering of(cid:0) resistance on the part of the receiver.(cid:0) Once we are able to isolate and induce these resistance-(cid:0) lowering states at will, whole new worlds will make(cid:0) themselves known. Perhaps this is the ultimate mission of(cid:0) mankind in this physical existence.(cid:0) say hello!(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 4(cid:0) Lance Reed’s ITC(cid:0) 5. A firewire cable is connected from the camera to a laptop.(cid:0) 6. The camera is aimed towards the TV screen slightly off(cid:0) center. Lance then gently zooms in until he gets a white(cid:0) pulsating light in the center of the screen. He uses the TV(cid:0) controls to adjust the contrast to max, the brightness to(cid:0) one quarter, color set on half and sharpness on half.(cid:0) (These setting are only a “rule of thumb” as differing(cid:0) equipment vary in settings.)(cid:0) 7. Lance records straight onto the hard drive of his laptop,(cid:0) bypassing the video camera. This is a direct line to(cid:0) further rule out external sources and to obtain a good-(cid:0) quality recording, as nothing is lost by conversion in the(cid:0) camera. He records for three minutes and uses Adobe(cid:0) Premiere Pro to analyze the captured footage.(cid:0) 8.(cid:0)Lance has tried to save

the frame via software but finds(cid:0) the pictures to be very compressed and hard to make out.(cid:0) So he learned to use a Vivikai 12.0 Mega max to take(cid:0) photos of the interesting frames. The high resolution(cid:0) digital camera tends to break down the blurriness and(cid:0) hold the true picture.(cid:0) 9.(cid:0)He processes the resulting photographs with Adobe(cid:0) Photoshop CS3 and crops them to 150 pixel width.(cid:0) Video loop setup to record directly into the computer(cid:0) Lance (far right) and his images in the video loop(cid:0) Continued page 17(cid:0) Winter 2008(cid:0) Page 5 ITC image thought to be Lance’s father(cid:0) Lance Reed was doing a video feedback session and(cid:0) instantly thought of his father, Geoffry Reed, when the(cid:0) above ITC picture came through. Lance feels that the(cid:0) features in the picture are similar to that of his father in his(cid:0) younger years. Lance’s mother and father transitioned just(cid:0) three weeks apart, and during that time, his father told him(cid:0) to keep the TV signals open, as his mother would try to(cid:0) communicate. Lance ran a few sessions in his parents’ now(cid:0) empty house and then this image came through. The picture(cid:0) of his father was taken during his later years.(cid:0) This past July, Lance was invited to appear on(cid:0)Spirit TV(cid:0) to talk about his ITC research using the video feedback(cid:0) technique known as the “Schreiber Method.” Since then, he(cid:0) has been invited to other paranormal events to give demon-(cid:0) strations of his ITC method. He has done this in front of

as(cid:0) many as fifty attendees with good results.(cid:0) A few of the images that Lance received during an event(cid:0) at the 500 year old Pack Horse Inn are shown at the end of(cid:0) this article on page 17.(cid:0) Lance wrote, “The people who(cid:0) came through that night appear to be from the 16(cid:0)th(cid:0) or 17(cid:0)th(cid:0) century. There is a picture of a person with one tooth(cid:0) protruding, which a few people noticed straight off.(cid:0) “I like to say that all my sessions are conducted in the(cid:0) best way possible, landline, cell phones, radios, TVs, etc.,(cid:0) are all turned off while the video loop is running. I do(cid:0) this to rule out as much radio-frequency contamination as(cid:0) possible. I also don’t accept pictures I find after casually(cid:0) viewing a frame for more than a few seconds, otherwise I(cid:0) feel we are then dealing with pareidolia (finding meaning(cid:0) in meaningless noise). If they don’t catch my eye on first(cid:0) viewing, there is no contact on that particular frame, that’s(cid:0) my motto”(cid:0) Here is a checklist of how Lance sets up his video loop:(cid:0) 1. The video camera (Samsung Mini DV digital Cam(cid:0) Model # VP-dD71W with times 34 optical zoom) is(cid:0) connected to the TV “Video In” using a quality audio/(cid:0) visual cable. This bypasses the TV tuner to rule out an(cid:0) external source.(cid:0) 2. The channel is set to AV1 or AV2(cid:0) 3. The video camera is placed two meters (about 6.5 feet)(cid:0) from the TV set.(cid:0) 4. All electronic equipment

is turned off to rule out external(cid:0) sources.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Some Ideas About the Way ITC Works(cid:0) by Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt(cid:0) Edited from the original at(cid:0)www.worlditc.org/f_04_rodiehr_some_ideas.htm(cid:0) Photo by(cid:0)Christian Guthier(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.efekt.net(cid:0))(cid:0) After studying ITC phenomena since 1986, I have come to(cid:0) the following conclusions about it (let me start with some(cid:0) facts): Since EVP was first discovered by Jürgenson, it has(cid:0) not become much louder, nor much clearer, nor of signifi-(cid:0) cantly longer duration. Even in the beginning, some people(cid:0) could get loud and clear voices from beyond. These people(cid:0) did not use amplifiers, infrared or ultraviolet light or other(cid:0) additional equipment, but only a(cid:0) recorder and microphone. Quality(cid:0) and duration of voices varied very(cid:0) much from person to person and(cid:0) from time to time. People who(cid:0) were seriously interested in the(cid:0) phenomenon and continued to(cid:0) experiment, very often got tips(cid:0) from beyond on how to modify(cid:0) their equipment or themselves (by(cid:0) meditation) or even the room’s(cid:0) interior...(cid:0) To my knowledge, people who(cid:0) experimented successfully (who(cid:0) got really good voices from(cid:0) beyond) but who were unknown to each other, did not(cid:0) develop identical equipment. In most cases, each contactee(cid:0) had his own devices. When a person or a group of people(cid:0) had “developed” a system or set of components which(cid:0) worked well, others started to copy that arrangement in(cid:0) order to get more frequent and better EVP. However, most(cid:0) of the results showed that individuals using the copied(cid:0) devices could not improve their EVP. I know that as a(cid:0) matter of fact.(cid:0)

Consider the computer contacts. You can see that it(cid:0) obviously requires more than just hardware and software to(cid:0) get in contact with the beings beyond. Otherwise mankind(cid:0) would have thousands and even millions of contacting(cid:0) people in cities all over the world. There are millions of(cid:0) computers with the same software. It is easy to buy iden-(cid:0) tical computers with identical software. That is not the way(cid:0) to increase the number of contacts. The situation with(cid:0) reference to the contacts by telephone is even more extreme(cid:0) compared to that with computers. There are so many tele-(cid:0) phones and telephone responders all over the world. Why(cid:0) do we not have many more telephone contacts?(cid:0) It requires more than just equipment to get in contact(cid:0) with beings beyond! It takes the right individual. If you(cid:0) study reports from successfully working contacters, you(cid:0) will find that all have mediumistic capabilities or are a(cid:0) medium—although they may not know or want to admit it.(cid:0) After all my research I came to the following conclusion:(cid:0) Resonance determines whether we can get in(cid:0) contact with the beings beyond, and, even more, it(cid:0) is a decisive factor as to whether the beings beyond(cid:0) are able and willing to get in contact with us.(cid:0) Let me please explain what I mean. At the end of this(cid:0) explanation I hope to show why ITC phenomena take(cid:0) place, why they change in duration and in quality, and of(cid:0) course, why they end.(cid:0) Most of us know from school what resonance

is. I would(cid:0) like to broaden that explanation: We call that condition that(cid:0) touches us somehow—when something causes us(cid:0) vibrate—“resonance.” How can I(cid:0) be touched? Of course, through the(cid:0) means of my five senses. But there(cid:0) is something else: even thoughts(cid:0) (from myself) and perceptions (my(cid:0) own or expressed by others) can(cid:0) touch me, can let me vibrate.(cid:0) You need at least two systems to(cid:0) produce resonance. Both systems(cid:0) should be able to be touched by(cid:0) something or someone in order to(cid:0) go into vibration. For resonance(cid:0) the vibrations should match. Let us(cid:0) take a look at the two systems that(cid:0) we are concerned with, and see(cid:0) how they could get into resonance. There is one system(cid:0) which is in this world, and that system consists of the(cid:0) human being in his or her environment, and there is another(cid:0) system beyond our world.(cid:0) What determines how the system on earth is structured?(cid:0) Let us look at its components:(cid:0) •(cid:0)The person, with the body and thoughts (hopes, wishes,(cid:0) fears, motivations, perceptions, attitudes, difficulties and(cid:0) so on).(cid:0) •(cid:0)The technical equipment used by that person or group of(cid:0) persons.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The environment, the furnished rooms.(cid:0) All those components together result in a certain “energy(cid:0) field.” As you know, human components are not stable, in(cid:0) fact they change often (too often) very quickly. Such(cid:0) changes can be caused by the person concerned, or they can(cid:0) just “happen.” In either case, in my opinion, what is the(cid:0) most important component—the energy field—changes(cid:0) too often. Only training

can minimize that effect. Let me(cid:0) say it again: in my opinion the human component is the(cid:0) largest part of and has the greatest influence on that mixture(cid:0) of energetic components. Of course the environment, and(cid:0) the equipment used, play their part too. We know that the(cid:0) person will be influenced by the environment. The person(cid:0) creates the environment. That small example shows that all(cid:0) components depend on each other—which makes the situ-(cid:0) ation even more difficult.(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 6(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) The Way ITC Works(cid:0) What does the system beyond consist of?(cid:0) Most contacts will be made to “persons” who recently died.(cid:0) We assume that “dead people” are not more intelligent or(cid:0) wiser than they were on earth. If we want to get in contact(cid:0) with beings that are relatively higher or finer in vibration(cid:0) (ethereal beings), then they have to transform their energy(cid:0) to a lower level so that they can get in contact with us using(cid:0) other beings of lower or denser vibration.(cid:0) The result is:(cid:0) When we want to get in contact with beings beyond, we(cid:0) have to get in resonance with them and they have to get in(cid:0) resonance with us. That contact can take place when the(cid:0) resonance-matching occurs by having similar energy fields(cid:0) or “energetic structures,” through similar interests, for(cid:0) example.(cid:0) We have heard that beings in the beyond often have(cid:0) problems getting through to the experimenter on earth.(cid:0) Beings that are not so “close”

to earth anymore (because of(cid:0) the change in consciousness) will have problems getting in(cid:0) contact with people on earth because they have an energy(cid:0) field that cannot get in resonance with us. One can compare(cid:0) it in the following way: you cannot receive the messages(cid:0) transmitted in FM (the being beyond) with a radio AM(cid:0) receiver (the human on earth). Both waves (stages of(cid:0) consciousness) exist but there is no resonance possible.(cid:0) If a person is frightened, then the person attracts beings(cid:0) from beyond that are happy to scare him or her. For(cid:0) example, such beings may be working with suppression(cid:0) and threats and not with love and hope. The degree of(cid:0) development that a contacter on earth has (and that would(cid:0) include wisdom, knowledge, education, attitude, etc.)(cid:0) determines the type of being that is contacted....(cid:0) Contact with beings beyond can only take place when(cid:0) there is an identical or similar energy field on both sides. If(cid:0) some or many people join a group that is working success-(cid:0) fully, the energy field will be changed. That change can(cid:0) strengthen or weaken the energy field of the group(cid:0) depending on the energetic structure of the people joining.(cid:0) In the worst case, the result can be that no contact is(cid:0) possible to that known group of beings in the beyond, or it(cid:0) may happen that the newly expanded group on earth gets in(cid:0) contact with unknown beings.(cid:0) I conclude:To copy the equipment of other people(cid:0) seldom makes sense because of the resonant

condition.(cid:0) The human part of the defined energetic field is much(cid:0) more important than the other parts (knowing that(cid:0) all components depend on each other).(cid:0) Individuals who are seriously interested in EVP/ITC(cid:0) should develop mentally and spiritually. Changes and(cid:0) improvements of the other components of the ener-(cid:0) getic field (equipment and environment) will be(cid:0) suggested by the beings beyond.(cid:0) We should not forget that EVP/ITC involves two partners.(cid:0) We all know from our own experiences that contacts(cid:0) between us and other dimensions are possible. EVP/ITC(cid:0) offers the opportunity to reach people on earth that are not(cid:0) yet interested in that type of knowledge. If there is interest(cid:0) in scientifically confirming the communication among(cid:0) dimensions of reality, here is a possible way:(cid:0) We have to look for a medium or a person that is at least(cid:0) mediumistic and that is emotionally and materially inde-(cid:0) pendent. This means that person should be unaffected by(cid:0) whether the experiences are successful or not. If that person(cid:0) needs public recognition or demands money, or needs to be(cid:0) sponsored (that means more money than is needed to cover(cid:0) the expenses—not living expenses), then it is not the right(cid:0) person. There is always the possibility that such a person(cid:0) could influence a lack of results due to money and/or image(cid:0) problems. That person should be interested in confirming(cid:0) EVP/ITC. All people involved should use a prepared list of(cid:0) questions.(cid:0) Opinion leaders in some countries should be encouraged(cid:0) to ask questions. Leaders of EVP/ITC groups are, for(cid:0) example,

opinion leaders.... All people involved should(cid:0) have no ego problems, should have to mention their moti-(cid:0) vation and have to prove it if requested. It does not matter(cid:0) whose ideas will be realized and who raised an idea.(cid:0) Perhaps it is possible to define a working basis which can(cid:0) be used by almost all of us.(cid:0) Researchers who really like to make scientific investiga-(cid:0) tions into ITC should have to meet certain requirements:(cid:0) •(cid:0)They should know where they stand. What is their(cid:0) opinion about ITC and TransCommunication in general?(cid:0) What is their motivation? The mentioned workgroups(cid:0) with the questions raised can be a help.(cid:0) •(cid:0)They must know what they want. It is not enough to say(cid:0) that one likes to do and to know everything. It has to go(cid:0) step by step because there is also a change in thinking(cid:0) involved.(cid:0) People must be willing to spend time and effort.(cid:0) •(cid:0)We can do all that alone in our free time, and then there(cid:0) is still more to consider before working efficiently and(cid:0) well together:(cid:0) •(cid:0)People must be willing to share their knowledge with(cid:0) others without restrictions. They should cooperate in(cid:0) order to avoid double-work. The fact that in one part of(cid:0) the world "new and exciting" results are achieved with(cid:0) "new discovered" methods while in other parts of the(cid:0) world those phenomena have been well known for 16(cid:0) years indicates that more cooperation would be desirable.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The goals are important and not the individual or the(cid:0) group involved....(cid:0) •(cid:0)Competition among

researchers to get the best voices, to(cid:0) get the best pictures more often than other groups is(cid:0) counterproductive in our field, because that behavior(cid:0) leads to all the bad situations ITC researchers have been(cid:0) dealing with for years. If there is no trust, no belief in the(cid:0) work of others, then we will not be very successful.(cid:0) Page 7 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Sonia Works with New Russian Software(cid:0) ITC researcher Sonia Rinaldi recently had a couple come(cid:0) into her lab that had lost their son, Felipe. He was eighteen(cid:0) and died in a motorbike accident two years ago. They are(cid:0) farmers in Campo, Brazil and had to travel by plane to(cid:0) reach Sonia in São Paulo. Sonia conducted experiments(cid:0) with them, getting both video and audio examples.(cid:0) Sonia recorded many transfigurations with the mother(cid:0) Verônica and her daughter Mariana, as well.(cid:0) Sonia told us, “This is Mariana on the left. She seems to be(cid:0) transfigured into a boy—maybe her deceased brother Felipe.”(cid:0) Sonia told us, “Verônica is on the left and she seems to be(cid:0) transfigured into her deceased father.”(cid:0) In audio, Sonia received eighty-three replies from Felipe,(cid:0) many with evidential identifications. The voices were very(cid:0) clear in many of the samples and the parents had recordings(cid:0) of Felipe’s voice when in the physical. Sonia sent some(cid:0) samples to a group in Russia who said they had developed(cid:0) software for comparing and identifying voices. The(cid:0) software is called VoiceNET. The manager of the sales(cid:0) department had offered their services

to Sonia at no charge(cid:0) so that she could evaluate the software.(cid:0) Sonia sent the samples and simply asked them to verify(cid:0) if the speaker in both blocks of samples was the same(cid:0) person or someone else. She did not give the team any(cid:0) background information or tell them that some of the(cid:0) examples were paranormal.(cid:0) Matvey Zhokhov, from the Speech Technology Center,(cid:0) wrote to Sonia: “…The results for your examples that were(cid:0) obtained with our system, VoiceNET, are the following:(cid:0) The sample, “Voice_Felipe.wav,” original speech signal(cid:0) was included into the database first, along with the other(cid:0) fourteen samples. We then added Felipe_test.wav into the(cid:0) system and compared “Felipe_test.wav” to fifteen others.(cid:0) After the identification process, the system put the(cid:0) Voice_Felipe.wav on the first place, meaning that it is most(cid:0) probably the same speaker as Felipe_test.wav(cid:0) For identification, the system uses two methods: formant(cid:0) and pitch curves analysis … All the other ones (examples)(cid:0) … have bad percentages, meaning that they do not belong(cid:0) to the Felipe_test.wav speaker.”(cid:0) In another email Zhokhov wrote, “The results that I sent(cid:0) you are excellent. They show that the samples belong to a(cid:0) single speaker and the others do not.”(cid:0) Sonia was excited that this could be her fourth officially(cid:0) authenticated case.(cid:0)She feels that more needs to be known(cid:0) about this new Russian software, which by the way costs(cid:0) $18,000 to purchase.(cid:0) Sonia has had two examples studied(cid:0) at the Universidade De São Paulo, in Brazil, which were(cid:0) confirmed to be the same person

along with one case(cid:0) confirmed by(cid:0)Il Laboratorio in Italy.(cid:0) [Editor: For more information on the software see(cid:0) www.speechpro.com/eng/products/expert-systems/(cid:0) voicenet/(cid:0).(cid:0) The software was designed to “eavesdrop” in public(cid:0) places to determine if someone speaking there might be on(cid:0) a list of people being sought by authorities. One of the(cid:0) questions that must be answered is how this approach to(cid:0) voice comparison equates to the tools used by(cid:0)Il(cid:0) Laboratorio and the Brazilian university.](cid:0) Hemi-Sync Trials Update(cid:0) You may remember that we announced plans in the last(cid:0) NewsJournal to conduct field trials designed to tell us(cid:0) whether or not Hemi-Sync(cid:0)®(cid:0) can be used to improve a(cid:0) person’s ability to record EVP. As of this writing, the(cid:0) AA-EVP has become a professional member of The(cid:0) Monroe Institute (TMI), and has submitted both a formal(cid:0) research proposal and a proposed script for the audio CD.(cid:0) TMI staff is working on merging the required elements of(cid:0) our proposed narration with stock narration. Using as much(cid:0) previously recorded material as possible will save time and(cid:0) cost of narration.(cid:0) Twelve people have volunteered to participate. We plan(cid:0) to use ten, and will attempt to include members with ability(cid:0) that is fairly representative of the community. We do not(cid:0) have a timeline for when the CD will be available, as TMI(cid:0) is also undergoing organizational/administrative changes(cid:0) due to the transition of Laurie Monroe. An email address(cid:0) list has been made and the volunteers will be kept up to date.(cid:0) Since the decision to test Hemi-Sync was made, we have(cid:0)

been in contact with other people who have used the(cid:0) Monroe material for various purposes and it is exciting to(cid:0) speculate about how the technology might be applied for(cid:0) other work. For instance, could a person use it with an mp3(cid:0) player improve clairvoyant sensitivity during a(cid:0) hauntings investigation? Let us know your thoughts.(cid:0) to Volume 26, Number 4 Page 8(cid:0) The Golden Child(cid:0) by Toby Richard(cid:0) I actually predicted Tyler’s birth. I remember pointing to(cid:0) my mom’s belly and telling her there was a baby. My(cid:0) mother didn’t know she was pregnant until she went into(cid:0) labor. She thought all the symptoms she was having were(cid:0) menopause, since she was in her forties. Tyler was born in(cid:0) 1966, three months premature and weighed two pounds.(cid:0) The doctors said if he lived, he would be the strongest and(cid:0) biggest child. He was. I always called him “The Golden(cid:0) Child.”(cid:0) In his twenties, he(cid:0) had testicular cancer.(cid:0) When he finally told(cid:0) me and I got him to the(cid:0) doctor, he had waited(cid:0) way too long and it had(cid:0) spread through his(cid:0) body and bloodstream.(cid:0) It was in his lungs,(cid:0) chest and abdomen. He(cid:0) went through chemo,(cid:0) the very strongest that(cid:0) they had at the time. I(cid:0) didn’t think he would(cid:0) make it ... he did. “The(cid:0) Golden Child!”(cid:0) Tyler and Toby when Tyler had cancer(cid:0) My parents were alcoholics who owned a bar. My(cid:0) mother especially was verbally abusive. Oh, like you can’t(cid:0) imagine … So I tried to be the

protector of Tyler. It was(cid:0) always me and him against the world. Parents drunk and at(cid:0) the bar, I always took care of little brother. When Tyler was(cid:0) eleven and I was sixteen, Daddy died. The very hardest(cid:0) thing for me was to tell that little boy our dad died. After(cid:0) that, my mom really went into an alcoholic depression/(cid:0) anger thing and gave up parenting. I became Tyler’s(cid:0) parent. I even went to his school for parent-teacher confer-(cid:0) ences.(cid:0) Tyler was different; I will not try to make him what he(cid:0) was not. He did not care about things or money. So he(cid:0) didn’t like to keep a steady job. We had many fights over(cid:0) that! He would and did give up his last dollar if someone(cid:0) needed it. He never worried about where he would get the(cid:0) next dollar. He lived in a camper on family-owned property(cid:0) down a stone lane in the woods; very primitive. He would(cid:0) befriend anyone, and I do mean anyone. He liked the(cid:0) “underdogs” in this world and he never judged people. At(cid:0) his funeral, it was strange to see the people. We had bikers(cid:0) wearing their leather, standing next to his military friends(cid:0) in their uniforms, standing next to business owners in suits(cid:0) and ties. That was Tyler. I saw those “big bad bikers”(cid:0) openly weeping over his casket. (Tyler wasn’t a biker.)(cid:0) There were people Tyler called friend that most people(cid:0) would cross the street to avoid. Everyone who knew him(cid:0)

loved him and I am not making that up. He had no enemies.(cid:0) The sheriff told me that when investigating his murder, in(cid:0) all the investigations he had done, he never before had a(cid:0) victim about whom no one had a bad thing to say.(cid:0) Tyler was easily the funniest person I have ever known.(cid:0) Tyler, on his premature birth: “They cut off womb (room)(cid:0) service and cancelled my subscription to fetus monthly.”(cid:0) He was one of those people who always had a smile. He(cid:0) was very smart and almost had a photographic memory. He(cid:0) loved to read and knew everything to do with history. I(cid:0) could ask him a question about almost anything and he had(cid:0) the answer. He loved music and wrote poems. I have many(cid:0) notebooks full of his poems. It was his way of getting his(cid:0) feelings out. It wasn’t until after he died and I started to(cid:0) read his words that I found out what a tortured soul he(cid:0) really was. He only wanted someone to love him, but had(cid:0) a way of picking the wrong women.(cid:0) He started dating a woman with a bad reputation. He(cid:0) knew that I wouldn’t be happy about her and had been(cid:0) avoiding me for a couple of weeks. During those two(cid:0) weeks, I had been trying to find him; he had been a no(cid:0) show at his bar job. I started to have migraines that put me(cid:0) in bed and then thoughts or visions of him dead with

a(cid:0) bullet in him. We had a huge fight. Thankfully, we were(cid:0) back to normal a couple of days later … those last two days(cid:0) of his life.(cid:0) In May 2004, at the age of thirty-seven, Tyler was shot(cid:0) to death by an acquaintance who felt(cid:0) that the woman Tyler had started(cid:0) seeing was his. In his confession to(cid:0) the sheriff, it says that the killer asked(cid:0) to see Tyler’s gun. Tyler gave it to(cid:0) him and that is when he turned on(cid:0) Tyler and things got ugly. The sher-(cid:0) iff's recording of his confession says(cid:0) that Tyler said, “I’m sorry, I’m(cid:0) sorry” and then the guy shot him.(cid:0) Tyler says, “Ouch, you shot me” and(cid:0) the guy takes off and leaves my(cid:0) brother to bleed to death.(cid:0) Tyler(cid:0) I have never been so devastated; I couldn’t function. I am(cid:0) the one that always kept things together in my family. This(cid:0) almost destroyed me. I was angry at God; at everyone. I(cid:0) had panic attacks, I could no longer drive a car and I stayed(cid:0) in bed and cried. Newspapers were calling for interviews(cid:0) and television news crews were in my driveway. I couldn’t(cid:0) deal with all of it. I couldn’t pray; there were no words, so(cid:0) I just said “God help me.” That’s all I could get out. I(cid:0) couldn’t sleep; I had all these images of Tyler’s last(cid:0) minutes. My husband forced me into seeing a counselor. I(cid:0) didn’t want to go, but it was something I needed

and I am(cid:0) so glad I did.(cid:0) I attended every pretrial hearing alone. When I finally(cid:0) got to see the man who killed my brother, I wanted to hurt(cid:0) him. I would dream of ways to hurt him and his family. I(cid:0) wanted them to feel as much pain as I did. Hate, I never(cid:0) knew what hate was. People use that word so casually. I(cid:0) know hate, I never knew I was capable of feeling so much(cid:0) rage. I had to be put on a lot of medication throughout that(cid:0) time.(cid:0) Continued page 10(cid:0) Page 9 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Golden Child(cid:0) Continued from page 9(cid:0) The trial went on for about a week. The jury was out less(cid:0) than a day. They found him guilty of reckless homicide and(cid:0) other charges and gave him ten years in prison plus three(cid:0) because of the firearm. No possibility of early release so he(cid:0) will not be out until 2017. I found out they won an appeal(cid:0) a few days before Christmas last year. We went back into(cid:0) court and I went back on medication. He lost, but I can’t(cid:0) say I am done as the family will try again.(cid:0) How did I get through this? I am still working through it.(cid:0) You never get over the loss; the pain is with me every day.(cid:0) My faith is what gets me through. I believe we all have(cid:0) lessons to learn and somehow there is a lesson in all this for(cid:0)

me, for the greater good. I don’t understand why it(cid:0) happened, but I also don’t know the “big picture.” If I(cid:0) would not have had the love and support from my husband,(cid:0) I probably would not be alive. I started a journal in which(cid:0) I write letters to Tyler and write of my pain and anger. I(cid:0) write down memories of him, I write down all the ways he(cid:0) still shows me he is around. I pray a lot. I may not(cid:0) understand why, but I pray that I will accept. I pray for the(cid:0) murderer and his family. I(cid:0) pray that he will be safe in(cid:0) prison and then I ask that(cid:0) someday I will really mean(cid:0) what I pray. I know that if(cid:0) Tyler would have lived, he(cid:0) would have already forgiven(cid:0) him. I know that this is(cid:0) something I needed to do.(cid:0) The anger that I feel doesn’t(cid:0) hurt him, it is only hurting(cid:0) me.(cid:0) Tyler and Toby(cid:0) I had been trying for so(cid:0) long to get Tyler to talk to(cid:0) me. Little did I know that he had been talking to me all(cid:0) along. It wasn’t until Tom Butler emailed me and told me(cid:0) the importance of listening to the recording through my PC.(cid:0) I had been yelling and complaining for Tyler to talk to me(cid:0) and was sitting in the truck he owned with the windows up.(cid:0) It sounds as if he is almost yelling. He says(cid:0)“Toby, can you(cid:0) hear me NOW?”(cid:0) This was recorded

with my cheap little(cid:0) Olympus digital VN-3100 with no external microphone(cid:0) and no noise.(cid:0) Tyler shows me every day that he is still with me; that our(cid:0) relationship didn’t end with death, it is just different. I have(cid:0) had so many signs and the EVP are a small part of the ways(cid:0) he shows me. He always knew he would die young and(cid:0) before me. He used to say he would haunt me every day of(cid:0) my life. He comes around with all the signs, but there is a(cid:0) whole new meaning to “haunt” for me. His death haunts me(cid:0) every day. Many people do EVP for some sort of proof of(cid:0) life after death. I never needed that proof. I already know(cid:0) the Spirit lives on. I need the EVP from him because I need(cid:0) to have that contact with him. I think he knows ... he knew(cid:0) me better than anyone.(cid:0) Online Listening Experiment Results(cid:0) Two online listening experiments have been conducted(cid:0) using(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) as a platform. The objective was to(cid:0) determine whether or not EVP can be correctly understood(cid:0) by the average person. Because we know that people must(cid:0) undergo a learning process to be “fluent” with EVP, we(cid:0) also wanted to collect information that might help us learn(cid:0) a little about the participants, so as to compare results with(cid:0) education, and(cid:0) predisposition to accept things paranormal.(cid:0) experience with EVP previous A formal report has been written and is currently in the(cid:0) Best Practices Development pages so that

we can ask for(cid:0) “peer” review before we attempt to submit it to a scientific(cid:0) journal. Your participation in that review would be greatly(cid:0) appreciated, since how well it is written will reflect on all(cid:0) of us.(cid:0) The report is over fourteen pages, so to summarize it(cid:0) here, the percentage of correctly identified words (%Rw)(cid:0) for the two trials combined is 34.3%(cid:0), making it clear that at(cid:0) least the examples used in this exercise are composed of(cid:0) sometimes intelligible words, and therefore, are not(cid:0) figments of an experimenter’s imagination.(cid:0) In an effort to measure the influence that experience(cid:0) listening to EVP examples has on the percent of correctly(cid:0) identified words, we used the poll tool in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange to ask how easily members heard the same(cid:0) examples. With nine participants, the result was a number(cid:0) based on a scale of 0.0 to 6.0. We converted that to an(cid:0) estimated %Rw of 74.4% combined average. The(cid:0) difference between the website participants and members(cid:0) is a healthy 40.2%. Although the comparison is only(cid:0) approximate because of the different ways people were(cid:0) surveyed, the difference in %Rw suggests a measurable(cid:0) factor for the difference “learning” to listen to EVP makes.(cid:0) for(cid:0) improvements in how to conduct such online listening(cid:0) tests, should anyone wish to run a new trial. The(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) website is available if you wish.(cid:0) protocols will documented Suggested be What we think is safe to conclude from these trials is that(cid:0) the words in EVP are real, and that it is

necessary to learn(cid:0) how to listen to EVP much as learning a new language.(cid:0) Sony ICD-B16 is a(cid:0) Half-sized B26(cid:0) We are told by Gary Nixon and Debbie(cid:0) Caruso that the ICD-B16 is the same(cid:0) recorder as the ICD-B26, but with half the(cid:0) memory and a slightly less powerful audio(cid:0) amplifier. In fact, the instruction manual(cid:0) for both recorders is the same one, with(cid:0) the model indicated as ICD-B16/26. The(cid:0) B26s are very hard to find right now, but(cid:0) there are a number of B16s to be found via(cid:0) Amazon and eBay. Gary was able to buy(cid:0) one for $25 from Amazon.(cid:0) Sony ICD-B26(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 10(cid:0) Colors with Crayons: A Meditation for Healing(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0) “Dedicated to my dear friend: George Wynne” ... Martha(cid:0) There are different levels of friendships that we acquire(cid:0) over our lifetime which range from being referred to as(cid:0) good friends (whose company you enjoy), family friends(cid:0) (friends by birth or marriage), dear friends, close friends(cid:0) and friends with whom you are mere acquaintances. I have(cid:0) friends that I love as much as family members, and the(cid:0) terminology I apply to these special friendships are, “my(cid:0) Soul Friends.”(cid:0) apart from the others. You will notice that the colors(cid:0) belonging to the first seven crayons correspond to the(cid:0) seven spiritual centers that mystics refer to as our(cid:0) “chakras.” Color is energy and our physical body is(cid:0) composed of an energy field. If we use the energy vibration(cid:0) of color to distract from

our pain, we can improve and(cid:0) balance our physical and emotional state even if it is only(cid:0) for the duration of the meditation.(cid:0) 2. Settle into a comfortable and quiet place with the(cid:0) crayons laid out on a table in front of you while keeping the(cid:0) black crayon separate from the others. The container (with(cid:0) the lid off but beside the container) is across form where(cid:0) you are sitting and apart from the crayons.(cid:0) 3. Sit up with your spine straight and legs and arms(cid:0) uncrossed. Closing your eyes and taking three long and(cid:0) deep breaths, ask your body to be still and to relax. Visu-(cid:0) ally, go through your body releasing any negativity or(cid:0) discomfort that you may be feeling.(cid:0) You will want to engage your brain as much as possible(cid:0) to prevent it from wandering during the meditation by(cid:0) focusing on the sensations of smell, touch, sight, hearing(cid:0) and taste. With these physical sensations, we can ease pain(cid:0) by calming both our mind and body.(cid:0) 4. Pick up the red crayon and examine the deep red color(cid:0) and texture. Closing your eyes, think about all the things(cid:0) that contain the color red. For instance, the wide variety of(cid:0) red flowers that Mother Nature offers, perhaps a favorite(cid:0) red garment in your possession, a red apple or a shiny red(cid:0) fire engine. To make the exercise easy, pick a red apple and(cid:0) utilize all five senses by using the apple as an example.(cid:0) Notice the dark shiny skin with

the different shades of red(cid:0) while smelling the apple. Does the outer skin feel cool to(cid:0) your touch? Taste the apple. How does it taste? What(cid:0) sound do you hear when you bite into an apple and while(cid:0) chewing it in your mouth?(cid:0) 5. Keeping your eyes closed while visual-(cid:0) izing the apple will help improve your(cid:0) concentration and lessen distractions. Try(cid:0) focusing the impressions you receive(cid:0) from the apple towards your third eye. In(cid:0) your “mind’s eye” (third eye; the point(cid:0) between your eyebrows), see a red mist(cid:0) rising from Mother Earth and forming a(cid:0) circular, swirling motion around your feet. Each time you(cid:0) inhale, the red mist will rise, forming a red ray of light(cid:0) engulfing your physical body until it has reached the top of(cid:0) your head. Exhale … long and slowly … while visualizing(cid:0) the red mist floating down towards your feet and repeat this(cid:0) procedure with all the other crayons (except for the black(cid:0) crayon). Once you have accomplished this task, take a(cid:0) minute to compose yourself and relax your breathing.(cid:0) Page 11 Continued page 12(cid:0) Winter 2008(cid:0) George Wynne in Santa Lucia(cid:0) Recently, I received an email from one of my Soul(cid:0) Friends, George Wynne, informing me that he has a very(cid:0) virulent and fast moving form of pancreatic cancer. My(cid:0) first thought was, “Oh my, I hope he doesn’t have to(cid:0) suffer” (or be in pain). I started writing this meditation with(cid:0) George in mind, hoping that by reading this, it might help(cid:0)

him through the terrible ordeal he had to go through before(cid:0) reaching the other side. Unfortunately, today I received an(cid:0) email from George’s son, Philip, informing me that George(cid:0) passed away this weekend, and that George had died(cid:0) peacefully, without pain. Although, I was saddened by the(cid:0) news, I know that George is not in pain and he has joined(cid:0) his beloved wife, Maya.(cid:0) Many of us have experienced pain, whether it be through(cid:0) grief or through mental or physical ailments, but what if we(cid:0) used “mind over matter” to escape our pain? One way to(cid:0) accomplish this would be by taking a mental vacation from(cid:0) what is happening in the “now” of our life by the use of(cid:0) meditation.(cid:0) Colors with Crayons: A Meditation for Healing(cid:0) This “Colors with Crayons” meditation is to help ease or(cid:0) rid ourselves from pain related to physical, emotional or(cid:0) mental conditions. The meditation requires a small box of(cid:0) children’s crayons containing red, orange, yellow, green,(cid:0) blue, indigo, violet and black crayons, and a container with(cid:0) a lid.(cid:0) Please follow the instructions below:(cid:0) 1. Remove the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and(cid:0) violet crayons from the box and place them on a table in(cid:0) front of you. Next, line the crayons up in a row in exactly(cid:0) the above order. Now, take out the black crayon and lay it(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Colors with Crayons(cid:0) Continued from page 11(cid:0) 6. After you have worked with each crayon, pick up the(cid:0) black crayon and visualize

something you dislike that is(cid:0) black. It could be a hearse, or the grim reaper, or a big(cid:0) black scary monster. Imagine anything that represents(cid:0) something negative or bad. Take seven long, deep(cid:0) inhalations of a beautiful white bright light and visualize(cid:0) the light entering every part of your body. You may want(cid:0) to visualize thousands of glittering sparkles in the white(cid:0) light that represent the healing energy you are releasing(cid:0) into your physical body. Exhale with your mouth open(cid:0) while visualizing white glimmering lights squeezing the(cid:0) black dots up through your body to your mouth. Inhale(cid:0) deeply and exhale with all your force, removing the tiny(cid:0) black dots of light through your mouth.(cid:0) 7. Now, visualize the black dots of light forming into a(cid:0) long dark cloud flowing inside the empty container that has(cid:0) been placed across from you. These terrible little black(cid:0) dots of light are the evil little culprits causing your emo-(cid:0) tional, mental or physical pain. To prevent these culprits(cid:0) from being released into the universe to cause trouble for(cid:0) some poor undeserving soul, ask your Higher Self for help.(cid:0) Once you have communicated and feel you have connected(cid:0) to your Higher Self, ask your Higher Self to help you get(cid:0) rid of the ugly black dots by providing a positive outcome.(cid:0) Visualize disposing the black dots from inside you by(cid:0) blowing them from your mouth into the container (located(cid:0) across from where you are sitting). Continue doing this(cid:0) task until you are completely free of

any black dots and(cid:0) you can visualize the container being full.(cid:0) George Wynne with Martha(cid:0) 8. Take a deep breath and slowly open your eyes and place(cid:0) the black crayon inside the container with the black dots.(cid:0) Next you need to quickly and tightly close the lid to the(cid:0) container, disposing of it outside, away from your posses-(cid:0) sion. You may want to throw the (now heavy) container in(cid:0) an outside trash container or bury it in your yard.(cid:0) 9. Once this task has been completed, sit in a relaxed(cid:0) position and thank your Higher Self for the miracle of(cid:0) healing power from above. Notice any subtle changes in(cid:0) your body and notice that you are free from any negativity(cid:0) and pain. You may begin to feel lighter, happier, and more(cid:0) peaceful without the fear of any physical, mental, or emo-(cid:0) tional discomfort.(cid:0) Embrace this special moment that you have created by(cid:0) rewarding yourself in some small manner. You may decide(cid:0) to watch a favorite television show, or eat that last piece of(cid:0) candy or by having a glass of your favorite liquid “spirit,”(cid:0) or by just remaining “still.” “Thoughts are things,” and(cid:0) each of us has the ability to master control over our life.(cid:0) You are a miracle and you have the capability to create(cid:0) miracles.(cid:0) [Editor: George left a “secret word” with Martha, which he(cid:0) promised to give to us via EVP. We have shared the word(cid:0) with a “neutral party” and invite all of you to watch

for it(cid:0) in your routine EVP recording sessions. Please let Martha(cid:0) know if you have reason to think you made contact; post it(cid:0) in the Idea Exchange or let us know. The utterance will(cid:0) have to be at least a Class B example, so if you get a Class(cid:0) C that sounds like George, tell him he has to do better.](cid:0) Forensics Certification(cid:0) Garrett Husveth, a digital forensics examiner, has been(cid:0) working with an audio/video forensic examiner this year,(cid:0) analyzing digital state and federal body wire recordings for(cid:0) voice identification. Garrett says that this is a new area for(cid:0) both the audio and computer forensic field. Garrett is(cid:0) training to become a certified audio and video forensic(cid:0) expert. The process will take him over two years.(cid:0) Garrett wrote, “(cid:0)I am spending the first week of Dec. with(cid:0) two Russian audio forensic software developers from St.(cid:0) Petersburg. They are trained in audio forensics, physics,(cid:0) and linguistics. The examiners are teaching me to use(cid:0) Russian software named ‘Edit Tracker’, ‘SIS’, and ‘Sound(cid:0) Cleaner’ and I am teaching them how to use American data(cid:0) forensic software.(cid:0) “Almost all of the audio forensic software of value is(cid:0) coming out of Russia these days. The reason for this is(cid:0) simple. The Russians are way more advanced than the(cid:0) USA or Western Europe in voice/speech analysis. This is(cid:0) because they were unencumbered by laws during the(cid:0) Communist era and bugged everything and everyone they(cid:0) wished, therefore they made huge advances in the edit/(cid:0) speech analysis and

voice ID.(cid:0) “The Russian software companies are owned mostly by(cid:0) ex-KGB who were left with no jobs when the Communist(cid:0) government collapsed, literally overnight. I know the(cid:0) Russian analysis software is always VERY expensive. The(cid:0) programs I bought were over $6,000, but I need it as part(cid:0) of my certification process.”(cid:0) We received a fun note from Garrett the first week of(cid:0) December. He wrote, “I am with the Russians now and(cid:0) they are listening to my EVP. They are analyzing it with(cid:0) their software and are blown away. The voices do not meet(cid:0) ‘living’ speech patterns but they admit they are human(cid:0) voices. One member has said that under Soviet rule her(cid:0) police department was contacted by a foreign government(cid:0) (she won’t say who) to analyze ‘voices of the dead.’ She(cid:0) knows about EVP!”(cid:0) Garrett plans on traveling to St. Petersburg this winter to(cid:0) conduct further analysis.(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 12(cid:0) Brother Appears in Photo(cid:0) Light on post enlarged and John(cid:0) The porch of old house.(cid:0) Look at the light shining(cid:0) on the wood post.(cid:0) Last Memorial Day, Deborah(cid:0) Preece was visiting with friend,(cid:0) Barbara, who lives in a very old(cid:0) bungalow in Akron, Ohio.(cid:0) Deborah’s brother, John, had(cid:0) lived in the house with Barbara in the 70s. John crossed to(cid:0) the other side in May of 1993 before his 40(cid:0)th(cid:0) birthday.(cid:0) When Deborah first arrived, she took some pictures of(cid:0) the home that she had known for over thirty years. This(cid:0) picture was taken of the

front porch of the house.(cid:0) Three months later, Deborah was looking over the photos(cid:0) again and noticed a face on the post of the front porch. She(cid:0) wrote, “I asked my husband who he thought it was and he(cid:0) said, ‘Well, it’s John.’” She then sent it to Barbara and was(cid:0) on the phone with her when she pulled up the picture.(cid:0) Barbara was very excited and also immediately recognized(cid:0) it as John. Interestingly, the real-life picture of John was(cid:0) taken by Barbara as he posed for her on this very same(cid:0) porch when he lived there many years before.(cid:0) Using Voice Recognition Software for ITC(cid:0) The following message is from a website visitor:(cid:0) I had an experience with the software, Dragon(cid:0) Naturally Speaking by Nuance Software [$99 US(cid:0) funds. See(cid:0)http://www.nuance.com/(cid:0)].(cid:0) Due to my carpal tunnel syndrome I’ve had to start(cid:0) dictating reports, etc. for work using that software.(cid:0) One Sunday, I decided to dictate my journal rather than(cid:0) typing. When I read the journal, every so often there(cid:0) was a word that was way out of sync with what I was(cid:0) saying. When I pulled each of those words out of the(cid:0) journal they were a personal warning about an(cid:0) upcoming situation with an individual I didn’t know(cid:0) very well. Would this be considered EVP? Has(cid:0) anyone else had this experience? Thanks and keep up(cid:0) the good work. L.C.(cid:0) Unexpected text in voice-recognition software has been(cid:0) described to us before, and it seems to be a possible(cid:0) candidate for

research. There are other voice-recognition(cid:0) programs, for instance some versions of Microsoft Word(cid:0) come with voice recognition under the “Speech” item in(cid:0) the “Tools” menu. We would be interested in hearing from(cid:0) others who have had experience with this form of(cid:0) phenomena.(cid:0) Janet Lyons(cid:0) Christine Jenkins was attempting to get some ITC pictures(cid:0) from the other side using a video feedback loop. Christine(cid:0) says that she really didn’t have any idea what she was(cid:0) doing but had read about it in the AA-EVP Idea Exchange(cid:0) and decided to try. While setting up the feedback loop, she(cid:0) noticed how quiet the TV was and that it did not have a(cid:0) static sound like some years ago when the static was(cid:0) deafening. Then she noticed that there were sounds and(cid:0) they actually sounded like sentences. Her recorder was(cid:0) sitting right there and she decided to turn it on to see if she(cid:0) would pick up some EVP. During this experiment she had(cid:0) been asking for a sign from her sister that she was okay.(cid:0) Christine’s sister Janet crossed over in 2005 after a long(cid:0) battle with cancer.(cid:0) Christine reviewed the video from her experiment and(cid:0) could find nothing. She then played back the audio from(cid:0) her recorder, a Sony ICD B26, and heard voices. The one(cid:0) that stood out most clearly(cid:0) was, “(cid:0)I love you but I have to(cid:0) goodbye.”(cid:0) Christine(cid:0) say wrote, “The ‘goodbye’ was(cid:0) very clear and is what caught(cid:0) attention. Sometimes,(cid:0) my when you record and hear the(cid:0) messages

back, you just(cid:0)know(cid:0) it is a certain person. I’m sure(cid:0) that you have experienced this(cid:0) feeling. Well, after listening to(cid:0) this particular recording, I just(cid:0) knew it was a message from(cid:0) Janet.(cid:0) Janet Lyons(cid:0) “(cid:0)About a month prior to this, I was speaking with a(cid:0) psychic medium and telling her that I wasn’t getting my(cid:0) sister via EVP and that it was getting frustrating because I(cid:0) was receiving messages from others but not from her. She(cid:0) told me that Janet didn’t like using this form of(cid:0) communication because she didn’t like the way her voice(cid:0) sounded on the recordings. I had to chuckle when I heard(cid:0) this because that was(cid:0)so(cid:0)Janet. She wouldn’t even leave a(cid:0) message on my answering machine, and then when she(cid:0) would say to me, ‘Oh, I called you the other night,’ I would(cid:0) say to her, ‘Well, why didn’t you leave me a message?’ Her(cid:0) excuse would be that she didn’t like the sound of her voice(cid:0) on recorders.(cid:0) “I feel her around me … always, and I have chosen to(cid:0) communicate with her through a medium because of her(cid:0) ‘voice phobia’ and she has assured me that she is proud of(cid:0) me with all I am doing in this research. So even if I don’t(cid:0) receive another message from her on my recorder she is(cid:0) with me and cheering me on.”(cid:0) Some Interesting Statistics(cid:0) The AA-EVP website averages over 45,000 visitors a(cid:0) month. In November the website received 44,041 visitors(cid:0) and 163,152 page views.(cid:0) Page

13 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Skeptical Quagmire(cid:0) by Miles Edward Allen(cid:0) Personally I prefer to consider the word of the scientific man who is sacrificing(cid:0) his time, his health and his reputation in the effort to solve a persistent(cid:0) mystery, than the snap judgment of a professional conjurer. ... Hamlin Garland(cid:0) I’ve never been comfortable knowing only one side of a(cid:0) story. I insist that my beliefs about an afterlife be based on(cid:0) the best evidence and take into account all the evidence and(cid:0) all the reasonable arguments both for and against that(cid:0) belief. That is why the concept for(cid:0)The Survival Files(cid:0) always included a section in which I would present the(cid:0) other side of the issues as objectively and clearly as I could.(cid:0) In pursuit of that goal, I sought the views of the skeptical,(cid:0) the unbeliever, and the agnostic. Much to my dismay, I(cid:0) have found very little worth quoting.(cid:0) To be sure, there are a few deceitful people ready to(cid:0) relieve you of your purse by faking contact with the spirit(cid:0) world. Some of these villains are so adept at snooping and(cid:0) cold reading and sleight of hand (and foot) that they can(cid:0) fool many of the people much of the time. Thus, in this(cid:0) treacherous world, it is wise to be skeptical. But there are(cid:0) significant differences between being skeptical and being a(cid:0) “professional skeptic” or what I have come to call an(cid:0) “überskeptic” (a term I define as an outspoken proponent(cid:0) of skepticism, whose

livelihood, power base, and/or social(cid:0) status depends on bolstering the illusion that all psychic(cid:0) phenomena are bogus).(cid:0) Being skeptical means being aware of the possibility of(cid:0) fraud and coincidence; being an überskeptic means(cid:0) automatically rejecting all possibilities except fraud and(cid:0) coincidence. Being skeptical means remaining open to all(cid:0) possibilities until one is proven to be correct; being an(cid:0) überskeptic means being closed to any psychic(cid:0) explanation, no matter how strong the evidence or how(cid:0) preposterous the other possibilities. Most critically, being(cid:0) skeptical means giving all sides of an issue a fair hearing;(cid:0) being an überskeptic apparently imparts a willingness to(cid:0) mislead others as to the existence and nature of psychic(cid:0) phenomena.(cid:0) There are a plethora of überskeptics in this world. Many(cid:0) are philosophers, some are scientists, and a surprising(cid:0) number are magicians (or, at least, amateur magicians).(cid:0) Several are such skilled communicators that their influence(cid:0) is widespread. It is very likely that readers of this document(cid:0) have been influenced by the works of these professional(cid:0) naysayers, and so I feel I have a duty to expose their(cid:0) devious methods.(cid:0) The approach most often and enthusiastically followed to(cid:0) obscure evidence for Survival is to attack the character of(cid:0) either the witness or the researchers who present such(cid:0) claims. Of course, if a witness has been known to fabricate(cid:0) experiences or the researcher is known to have falsified(cid:0) data, then it is legitimate to take such dishonesties into(cid:0) consideration when evaluating their claims. Even when(cid:0) there is no hint of past or

present fraud, however,(cid:0) überskeptics often resort to besmirching the people(cid:0) involved. The stronger and more convincing the evidence,(cid:0) the more the skeptics try to focus attention on irrelevancies(cid:0) such as personality.(cid:0) Although popular with some in the media—because it(cid:0) makes a good story—I find such name-calling to be(cid:0) divisive and detrimental to the process of understanding(cid:0) and communicating the truth about heaven. Therefore, I(cid:0) shall refrain from using the names of those super skeptical(cid:0) philosophers, scientists, and magicians here. The reader(cid:0) needs to be on the lookout for the tactics I describe herein(cid:0) no matter from whom they originate. And the entrenched(cid:0) überskeptics will know who I am talking about anyway.(cid:0) Ad Hominem(cid:0) Since we have already described the focus-on-the-person-(cid:0) not-the-facts approach, I’ll start with a few actual examples.(cid:0) A classic instance of what I call The MacLaine Maneuver(cid:0) (named in honor of dear Shirley, who has been the subject(cid:0) of more skeptics’ attempts at humor than any other person)(cid:0) is provided by a idea of(cid:0) reincarnation. This maneuver involves belittling an idea by(cid:0) poking fun at its proponents. A common way to do that is(cid:0) to suggest that Shirley MacLaine has been in some way(cid:0) associated with them. In attempting to denigrate the past-(cid:0) life regressionist, Dr. Helen Wambach, this critic refers to(cid:0) her as “a star of the tabloids and one of the ‘authorities’ to(cid:0) whom Shirley MacLaine appeals for a scientific(cid:0) underpinning of her investigation.”(cid:0) long-time critic of the Dr. Wambach has done considerable research on people(cid:0)

who, under hypnosis, seem to remember past lives. This is(cid:0) similar to the work of the Drs. Goldberg, Netherton,(cid:0) Newton, and many other regression therapists. What really(cid:0) draws this critic’s scorn, however, is Wambach’s and(cid:0) Goldberg’s experiments with progressive hypnosis. He(cid:0) begins his commentary with: “In recent years, past-life(cid:0) regressionists have extended their activities to explorations(cid:0) of future lives.” (In fact, the only thing recent is his(cid:0) awareness of the subject; hypnotic progressions have been(cid:0) going on at least since 1910.) He then lampoons the idea,(cid:0) calling Dr. Goldberg a “comedian” of “stupendous talent”(cid:0) and making the MacLaine reference to Dr. Wambach. All(cid:0) this without the slightest mention of any of the mountains(cid:0) of evidence that Goldberg and Wambach have compiled.(cid:0) Another popular way to imply that people are whackos is(cid:0) to put their names in the same sentence as a reference to(cid:0) UFOs. For instance, when a critic wished to call Dr. Gary(cid:0) Schwartz’ character into question—without, of course,(cid:0) risking a libel suit—he wrote: “It might be a warning sign(cid:0) to us that Schwartz was educated at Harvard, which also(cid:0) gave us Dr. John Mack, the man who apparently has never(cid:0) met anyone who hasn’t been abducted by space aliens.”(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 14(cid:0) The Skeptical Quagmire(cid:0)Continued from page 14(cid:0) (The fact that several other überskeptics have also attended(cid:0) Harvard is, naturally, not mentioned.)(cid:0) Or, observe the not-so-subtle linking in the following(cid:0) comment by another überskeptic: “Unless carefully(cid:0) controlled studies and standards are applied,

people can(cid:0) deceive themselves and others into believing that almost(cid:0) anything is true and real—from past-life regression and(cid:0) extraterrestrial abductions to satanic infestations and near-(cid:0) death experiences.” Apparently the writer hopes that his(cid:0) readers will be so alienated by aliens or distracted by the(cid:0) devil that they will forget about those cases that have been(cid:0) subject to careful controls.(cid:0) Guilt by Association(cid:0) Here is a quote from a popular skeptical magazine. The(cid:0) author’s statements are technically true—his implications(cid:0) are not.(cid:0) “The Society for Psychical Research was founded in(cid:0) 1882 … These researchers examined reports of apparitions(cid:0) and ghostly hauntings.… Many famous mediums such as(cid:0) Eusapia Palladino (in Italy) and Leonora Piper (in Boston)(cid:0) were tested under controlled conditions in an effort to(cid:0) determine whether they possessed extraordinary powers.(cid:0) “Palladino was especially elusive, and the scientific(cid:0) community was split as to whether she was fraudulent….(cid:0) Palladino was also tested in the United States at Harvard by(cid:0) Hugo Muensterberg (1909) and at Columbia University(cid:0) (1910) by a team of scientists; and in both cases the(cid:0) physical levitation of the table behind her and the feeling(cid:0) of being pinched by her spirit control (called John King)(cid:0) was found to be caused by her adroit ability to stretch her(cid:0) leg in contortions and to pinch sitters with her toes, or(cid:0) levitate a small table behind her. This was detected by(cid:0) having a man dressed in black crawl under the table and see(cid:0) her at work.” [Emphasis added.](cid:0) The final sentence of the first paragraph

quoted is correct(cid:0) — both Palladino and Piper were famous and they were(cid:0) both tested. The next paragraph, detailing some of the tests(cid:0) that Palladino failed, is also accurate—some legitimate(cid:0) questions were raised concerning Palladino’s physical(cid:0) effects. But—and this is a huge BUT—Leonora Piper was(cid:0) never, ever accused of cheating by any of those who(cid:0) studied her first hand. As detailed in numerous books and(cid:0) articles, Piper was scrutinized, examined, and analyzed by(cid:0) the most hard-nosed skeptics and the most experienced(cid:0) investigators for decade after decade. One of these(cid:0) skeptical investigators, Professor Richard Hodgson, of(cid:0) in(cid:0) Cambridge University, had been a key player “exposing” Eusapia Palladino and had announced his(cid:0) intention to do likewise to Piper. Not only did he find(cid:0) absolutely no evidence of fraud, but, after ten years of(cid:0) careful study, Hodgson publicly admitted that he had been(cid:0) wrong and that, in his own words, “I have no hesitation in(cid:0) affirming with the most absolute assurance that the ‘spirit’(cid:0) hypothesis is justified by its fruits.” He was joined in his(cid:0) endorsement of an afterlife by two other highly respected(cid:0) skeptics who investigated Piper; Professor James Hyslop(cid:0) of Columbia and Professor William James of Harvard.(cid:0) The material quoted above demonstrates a favored(cid:0) technique that scientism’s true believers use to deal with(cid:0) evidence that contradicts their creed—i.e., guilt by(cid:0) association. Since the article’s author could say nothing(cid:0) directly against Piper, he introduces her in the same breath(cid:0) as Palladino, hoping that his readers will absorb the(cid:0) unstated but implied idea

that both have been discredited.(cid:0) He even says that Palladino “was especially elusive, and(cid:0) the scientific community was split as to whether she was(cid:0) fraudulent,” thereby encouraging his readers to infer that,(cid:0) in contrast, Piper was easily exposed and scientists were(cid:0) unanimous in their claims of fraud. (Also, he talks about(cid:0) Palladino pulling tricks in dark rooms, but he fails to(cid:0) mention that Piper worked in rooms that were fully(cid:0) illuminated.)(cid:0) But the author is not done making unwarranted(cid:0) associations: “Late in his career the famous magician(cid:0) Houdini (1874-1926) exposed several bogus mediums. By(cid:0) the 1920s the spiritualist movement was thoroughly(cid:0) discredited, because when the controls were tightened, the(cid:0) effect disappeared.” [Emphasis added.](cid:0) immediately after In truth, the Spiritualist movement was not discredited(cid:0) during the 1920s; two of the world’s best known mediums,(cid:0) Briton Eileen Garrett and American Arthur Ford, were at(cid:0) the height of their careers during the 1930s. Thus, we have(cid:0) here, at best, an opinion stated as a fact. Placing such an(cid:0) irrelevant)(cid:0) opinion statement about Houdini, is clearly an attempt to get the(cid:0) reader to falsely assume that Houdini was largely(cid:0) responsible for the exposure of mediums. The final phrase,(cid:0) though—“when the controls were tightened, the effect(cid:0) disappeared”—is simply not true in all cases. With Piper(cid:0) and with others, the controls were tightened and re-(cid:0) tightened to the extreme and the effects just kept on(cid:0) coming.(cid:0) true (but the Amazing Omission(cid:0) Some debunkers seem quite adept at making relevant facts(cid:0) disappear. Consider, for example, this performance

taken(cid:0) from one überskeptic’s on-line newsletter.(cid:0) The critic begins a segment by offering “a few excerpts,(cid:0) with my comments, about a recent news article …” This(cid:0) article is about Allison Dubois, the psychic who was the(cid:0) model for the TV show(cid:0)Medium(cid:0). He does not give the name(cid:0) of the newspaper, nor the author, nor any citation that(cid:0) might encourage his readers to look at the entire article. He(cid:0) offers a critique of a couple of the minor examples of(cid:0) Dubois’ paranormal insights as described in the article. He(cid:0) then dismisses the article and changes the subject.(cid:0) I must say that this critic did precisely what he said he(cid:0) would do—he offered his comments on a few excerpts.(cid:0) And his criticisms have some merit, although his sarcasm(cid:0) is a bit over the top. The trouble lies in what he did not(cid:0) offer. The newspaper article from which his excerpts were(cid:0) taken is the very same article that tells the story of Phran(cid:0) Ginsberg,(cid:0) Continued page 16(cid:0) Page 15 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Skeptical Quagmire(cid:0)Continued from page 15(cid:0) whose teenage daughter, Bailey, died in a car crash in 2002.(cid:0) Let’s take a look at the rest of the story.(cid:0) Dr. Schwartz had set up a telephone connection between(cid:0) Ginsberg, in New York, and Dubois, in Arizona. Neither(cid:0) party knew the other, and Ginsberg was not allowed to(cid:0) speak. Thus, the possibility of prior investigation by the(cid:0) medium was ruled out and educated guesses based on(cid:0) feedback (i.e., cold reading) were impossible.(cid:0)

The article continues: The first thing Dubois said was(cid:0) that she saw a photo of her daughter hugging her sister at a(cid:0) party. At that moment, Ginsberg was looking at a photo of(cid:0) the scene. “Then she told me Bailey wished me ‘Happy(cid:0) Valentine’s Day.’ And that didn’t make sense, because it(cid:0) was October,” [Ginsberg] said. But later that day, she took(cid:0) the photo from its frame, and on the back Bailey had(cid:0) written ‘Valentine’s Day Dance.’ …Dubois also had(cid:0) described the accident and Bailey’s fatal head injury.(cid:0) Describing Bailey’s head injury is particularly striking(cid:0) for a reading without feedback, but that could be attributed(cid:0) to mental telepathy. The truly evidential piece, of course, is(cid:0) the reference to information known to no living person—(cid:0) the link between the picture and Valentine’s Day.(cid:0) Whether or not this one account is sufficient proof of life(cid:0) after death is a matter for debate, but when überskeptics(cid:0) bring up only irrelevancies while failing to discuss the(cid:0) really impressive evidence, they do their followers a grave(cid:0) disservice.(cid:0) False Consensus(cid:0) This is claiming that most people agree with your position(cid:0) without offering any evidence thereof. Consider, for(cid:0) example, the statement: “Reincarnation may be defined as(cid:0) the view that human beings do not, as most of us assume,(cid:0) live only once.” This phrase, taken from a series of articles(cid:0) on reincarnation, is both prejudicial and false. The majority(cid:0) of earth’s inhabitants believe in some form of reincarnation(cid:0) and the writer cites no survey of his readership to

determine(cid:0) their beliefs in the matter.(cid:0) Pretended Ignorance(cid:0) This requires blatantly ignoring all existing evidence in(cid:0) favor of something you reject or against something you(cid:0) embrace. Pointing out that another dimension is not(cid:0) necessary reincarnation, one(cid:0) professional skeptic wrote that it does not depend on “a(cid:0) mysterious realm whose location cannot be specified and(cid:0) which has never been seen or otherwise observed by(cid:0) anybody.” In truth, there is ample testimony from people(cid:0) and spirits who have experienced these realms.(cid:0) some views of for Arguments Not Evidence(cid:0) In philosophy and mathematics one can prove something(cid:0) by argument alone, but in the real world, proof requires(cid:0) evidence. A thousand lengthy expositions as to why(cid:0) something cannot be are no match for a single citation of(cid:0) that something occurring. Überskeptics often drone on for(cid:0) page after page citing this argument and that argument, all(cid:0) the while refusing to seriously consider any evidence. This(cid:0) is reminiscent of the ancient arguments for the earth being(cid:0) the center of the universe, or the more recent “scientific(cid:0) proofs” that stones cannot fall from the sky.(cid:0) Incomprehensible Equals Impossible(cid:0) According to many critics, the most important argument(cid:0) against survival after death is the “body-mind dependence”(cid:0) argument. Many thousands of words have been devoted to(cid:0) various aspects of this argument, but the überskeptics could(cid:0) save us all a lot of eyestrain by condensing their polemics(cid:0) into one simple sentence, to wit: “I don’t understand how(cid:0) it could work, therefore it cannot be.”(cid:0) If only they would follow Dr. Jung’s

lead when that(cid:0) famous psychiatrist stated: “I shall not commit the(cid:0) fashionable stupidity of regarding everything I cannot(cid:0) explain as a fraud.”(cid:0) The idea that “inexplicable equals impossible” is echoed(cid:0) throughout the writings and speeches of überskeptics. Time(cid:0) and again the believer is asked to explain how the mind can(cid:0) survive the death of the brain, or where heaven is located,(cid:0) or why an elderly person’s spirit might appear as a younger(cid:0) version of himself, and so on. The answer to all such(cid:0) questions must be “No one knows for sure.” But if you are(cid:0) ever faced with such a challenge, you might add that no one(cid:0) knows why electricity works. And no one has ever seen a(cid:0) memory trace in the brain. And, to get down to the real(cid:0) nitty-gritty, no one knows how action at a distance is(cid:0) possible, either. In short, the reality of something is not(cid:0) dependent on our being able to understand it.(cid:0) God save us from the arrogance of scientists, the(cid:0) the smugness of(cid:0) condescension of magicians, and philosophers!(cid:0) Miles Edward Allen is the author of(cid:0)The Survival Files: The(cid:0) Most Convincing Evidence Yet Compiled for the Survival of(cid:0) Your Soul,(cid:0)and several other books on diverse topics. His two(cid:0) websites dealing with life after death are(cid:0) www.TheSurvivalFiles.com(cid:0) and(cid:0)www.SurvivalTop40.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Notes for(cid:0)The Skeptical Quagmire(cid:0) 1. Garland, Hamlin,(cid:0)Forty Years of Psychic Research,(cid:0) MacMillan Co., 1937, p. 146.(cid:0) 2. Hodgson studied Piper almost continuously from 1887 until(cid:0) his death in 1905.(cid:0) 3. Hodgson, Richard, “A Further Record of Observations

of(cid:0) Certain Phenomena of Trance,”(cid:0)Proceedings of the Society(cid:0) for Psychical Research,(cid:0) 1897-8, vol. XIII, pp.284-582.(cid:0) 4. Written by Carla McClain and headed “Varied readings on(cid:0) Arizona psychic,” the article appeared in the(cid:0)Arizona Daily(cid:0) Star(cid:0)on 17 January 2005.(cid:0) 5. Bob Ginsberg, Phran’s husband, points out in correspondence(cid:0) with the author that the actual sequence of events was(cid:0) somewhat different than the newspaper article relates (for(cid:0) instance, the statement about the photo was not the first thing(cid:0) Dubois said and Phran did not take the picture from the frame(cid:0) until the next day). Nevertheless, these variations do not(cid:0) affect the strength of the evidence.(cid:0) 6. Carl Gustave Jung, Speech to the SPR, 1919(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 16(cid:0) Coining the Term, “ITC”(cid:0) Recently Tom asked Ernst Senkowski about the date that(cid:0) he coined the term, “ITC.” We felt members might enjoy(cid:0) reading his response.(cid:0) “(cid:0)It is not possible to give an exact date of my coining the(cid:0) term ‘ITC.’ It was sort of a process that started during the(cid:0) early 1980s when I looked for a suitable description of my(cid:0) EVP work. As a long-time radio ham operator, I used (only(cid:0) for myself!) the German neologism(cid:0)transfunk(cid:0)with(cid:0)trans(cid:0) (for beyond) as opposed to(cid:0)CIS(cid:0)(our side), and(cid:0)funk(cid:0)for(cid:0) ‘radio’ or ‘wireless.’ As far as I remember, I found the(cid:0) word(cid:0)‘Transfunk’(cid:0) on my tapes.(cid:0) “Some time later, I considered this too special so I intro-(cid:0) duced the more general term(cid:0)transcommunikation(cid:0),(cid:0) adding(cid:0)instrumentell(cid:0)to discern it from the pure medium-(cid:0) istic activities. This happened during the later 1980s so that(cid:0)

I could use it in the first edition of my book(cid:0)Instrumentelle(cid:0) Transkommunikation(cid:0) that appeared in 1989.(cid:0) “I should like to add a few remarks: In the eighties it was(cid:0) not so clear as it seems to be now. Apparently the electronic(cid:0) devices are of secondary importance—the main component(cid:0) of ITC is psychic—without a possibility to separate the(cid:0) ‘mind’ or ‘spirit’ of the terrestrial operator from that of an(cid:0) entity in the beyond. The best way out seems to consider(cid:0) ITC as a psychic activity from both sides.(cid:0) “There is another problem I have difficulty to under-(cid:0) stand. EVP/ITC in your country seems to be different from(cid:0) ITC, but in my understanding ITC is a superordinate(cid:0) concept comprising all sorts of electronic means and forms(cid:0) of contents (voices, images, computer texts). It may be that(cid:0) for many people the voices are easier to accept, and the(cid:0) other forms ‘far out,’ but basically there is no difference.”(cid:0) Ernst’s book is available in English at(cid:0)www.worlditc.org/(cid:0) c_07_senki_00_content.htm(cid:0) and was introduced onto the(cid:0) web by Ernst’s friend,(cid:0)Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt(cid:0), with the(cid:0) hope that it would reach a bigger audience.(cid:0) Cemetery Photo(cid:0) Christine Jenkins was walking around with her husband(cid:0) and son in a cemetery in Salado, Texas. The cemetery dates(cid:0) back to the early 1800s and they were placing flowers on(cid:0) certain grave stones that seemed to be old and neglected.(cid:0) Christine’s son Braydon stopped at a gravestone and said(cid:0) “I want to give this lady a flower.” Christine wrote, “(cid:0)A little(cid:0) insight about my son;

he is twelve and has Cerebral Palsy(cid:0) so for him to pick up that this was the gravestone of a(cid:0) woman was amazing to us. Also the woman’s name was(cid:0) Emily which is the name of Braydon’s puppy, kind of a(cid:0) neat coincidence.”(cid:0) The person is at the center of the circle. A(cid:0) person who makes a phenomenal appear-(cid:0) ance in a photograph is referred to as an extra.(cid:0) Christine started snapping a series of pictures and said(cid:0) out loud, “Braydon wants to give you this flower.” On her(cid:0) recording she found a voice saying(cid:0) “Okay.”(cid:0) And in the(cid:0) pictures she found this interesting photo. She wrote, “What(cid:0) my hubby and I are seeing in this photo is a woman(cid:0) walking, she is wearing a vest and what looks like high(cid:0) boots with her pants tucked in. I can say without a doubt(cid:0) that no one was in the cemetery with us.”(cid:0) Lance Reed’s ITC(cid:0) Continued from page 5(cid:0) Weeks after taking the ITC picture to the left, it occurred(cid:0) to Lance to look for images of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He(cid:0) wrote, “Don’t ask me why because I have never seen the(cid:0) man before. I knew that he was involved … with(cid:0) investigating the paranormal.”(cid:0) Picture of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is(cid:0) from December 1914 New York Times(cid:0) Lance’s website is at(cid:0)www.lanceitc.com/(cid:0) Three examples of Lance’s technique(cid:0) Page 17 Winter 2008(cid:0) Kindred(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Cat ITC Image(cid:0) Margaret Downey got a great ITC image of a cat during(cid:0) one

of her sessions in which she photographs moving water(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.ITCdeadpeople.com(cid:0)). Martha Copeland feels it is(cid:0) her cat Sarah Jane who made her transition last year.(cid:0) Kindred(cid:0) When Margaret Downey took her dog, Kindred, to the vet(cid:0) for a routine checkup, she learned that Kindred’s kidneys(cid:0) were functioning at only 25% of normal. The vet guessed(cid:0) Kindred would live, at most, only a few months. That was(cid:0) back in February 2005. Through lots of love and care,(cid:0) which has included daily subcutaneous fluids, Kindred’s(cid:0) continued survival has surprised everyone. She’s been(cid:0) nicknamed the “Miracle Dog” by the staff of the vet’s office.(cid:0) Recently, a blood test brought an urgent call from the vet(cid:0) who asked Margaret to bring Kindred in immediately. The(cid:0) tests looked bad and the plan was to give Kindred fluids(cid:0) intravenously for three days. Since Margaret has been(cid:0) working so hard to keep her dog alive, she has prepared(cid:0) herself for the worst, but even so, she was not ready to lose(cid:0) Kindred. She wrote to us, “(cid:0)I decided to ask some questions(cid:0) about Kindred in an EVP session. I wanted to know if I(cid:0) should give the IV fluids, and was told,(cid:0)“It’s helping.”(cid:0) And(cid:0) I wanted to know who was going to take care of Kindred(cid:0) when she made her transition. Clearly I’m putting the(cid:0) proverbial cart before the horse, as I’m hearing the attached(cid:0) reply as,(cid:0)“Not this week. We can help her.”(cid:0)… I thought it(cid:0) was pretty clear so wanted to share with you. It put

a smile(cid:0) on my face.”(cid:0) Kindred and Kizmyt(cid:0) We wanted to share another picture with you and that is(cid:0) of Margaret’s pet cat, Kizmyt. Margaret lovingly calls her(cid:0) “Nurse Kizmyt.” As you can see from the picture Kizmyt(cid:0) always comforts Kindred when she is receiving her subcu-(cid:0) taneous fluids.(cid:0) Sarah Jane(cid:0) and Margaret’s ITC image that looks like her(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Mark and Debbie Constantino did presentations on EVP(cid:0) at the Virginia City Ghost Conference in November and(cid:0) at the Queen Mary Long Beach Conference in December.(cid:0) They will be at the Las Vegas Paranormal Conference in(cid:0) January and the Tombstone Ghost Conference in(cid:0) February. See(cid:0)www.spirits-speak.com(cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland was a guest on Pamela Edmunds’ talk(cid:0) radio show,(cid:0)Bridge between Two Worlds.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey was a guest on both the Dave Kane(cid:0) radio show and Christine Jenkins live radio show. You(cid:0) at(cid:0) can www.blogtalkradio.com/CJEVP(cid:0).(cid:0) to Christine’s archived listen show •(cid:0)Garrett Husveth did twenty-three lectures on the(cid:0) paranormal in October. Garrett sold twenty copies of the(cid:0) AA-EVP book,(cid:0)There is No Death and There are No(cid:0) Dead,(cid:0) getting information out to more people on EVP.(cid:0) He also donated money from the book sales back to the(cid:0) Association! Thank you, Garrett!(cid:0) See(cid:0)www.hauntednewjersey.com(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rob Smith wrote that after two years it is finally a(cid:0) reality–the first Australian website dedicated to EVP/ITC(cid:0) research and awareness! See(cid:0)http://evp-itc-australia.org/(cid:0) to take a look at Rob’s new website.(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle on these(cid:0) dates: January 11 and 25, February 8 and

22, March 7 and(cid:0) 21 and April 4 and 18. Then go to the Big Circle area on(cid:0) the AA-EVP message board, the Idea Exchange, at(cid:0) www.aaevp.com/ideaexchange/(cid:0) and share what you(cid:0) recorded. Many members have gotten recordings that are(cid:0) meant for other members. By recording together we build(cid:0) the energy!(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Randy Baker shared his first EVP. It was captured at the(cid:0) Rose Hill cemetery near Antioch, California. Randy(cid:0) wrote, “(cid:0)My wife and I were chatting, and I guess that(cid:0) bothered the spirit, as she says,(cid:0)“I want be less noise.”(cid:0) Clearly it is an older woman with a bit of an accent. It(cid:0) was captured with an RCA digital recorder. We were all(cid:0) alone, and the nearest town is several miles away.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cindy Blake runs the Michigan Ghost Watchers and says(cid:0) that her group uses several methods for capturing EVP(cid:0) but they find that they get more by sitting down with a(cid:0) recorder and talking to the spirits than by just turning one(cid:0) on and walking away.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lloyd Bradshaw, Jr. recalls a recording from a couple of(cid:0) years ago when he asked, “Where’s heaven?” He(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0) “We’re in heaven.”(cid:0)Recently he asked “Is(cid:0) heaven here?” and got a reply in his mother’s voice(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“That’s right.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Chris Cook was at a local cemetery in Cape Sable Island,(cid:0) Nova Scotia and asked if there were any spirits present(cid:0) that could hear his voice. The EVP message that came(cid:0) after his question was,(cid:0)“Gone up into heaven.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie

Caruso’s son Joey would have been twenty years(cid:0) old on 9/11/07. That day she recorded him saying,(cid:0)“Ma(cid:0) - I love you.”(cid:0)Debbie wrote, “His message gave me the(cid:0) strength to get through that day!(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey got this interesting ITC picture of a(cid:0) cat. She also recently recorded Karen Mossey’s son Rob(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“Rob.”(cid:0) Karen wrote to Margaret saying that it(cid:0) sounded just like how Rob would say his name.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkins wrote, “(cid:0)…(cid:0)my son is very sensitive to(cid:0) spirit. I was speaking with him one day about spirits and(cid:0) heaven and he had tons of questions (of course). So I(cid:0) decided to turn on my recording while we were talking to(cid:0) see if anyone would chime in, because I find this method(cid:0) works well. He was telling me that he in fact has five(cid:0) angels. He even gave me their names. During this(cid:0) recording session you hear my son say ‘The Angels(cid:0) almost like he sees them, and then all of a sudden this(cid:0) loud voice comes through saying(cid:0)‘Hey lil guy.’(cid:0) This was(cid:0) a very strange recording because to me it sounded exactly(cid:0) like his father, who at the time of the recording was over(cid:0) two-thousand miles away. Needless to say I had to get on(cid:0) the phone and make sure he hadn’t transitioned without(cid:0) us knowing. It was that clear!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Neil Kiernan recorded EVP after he asked his father to(cid:0) leave a message for his atheist brother, Donald. He got(cid:0) his father’s voice saying,(cid:0) “Tell Don I love him ...

not(cid:0) that it will help.”(cid:0) Neil wrote, “The only person who(cid:0) called Donald ‘Don’ was my father. He was right;(cid:0) Donald believes we just picked up a stray telephone call.(cid:0) My brother Paul was watching Donald as I played the(cid:0) EVP for him. He said Donald looked shocked. Everyone(cid:0) else in my family now admits something supernatural is(cid:0) happening. Donald is the last holdout, which is strange(cid:0) because he fears death so much.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)John Kurkis had his recorder on as he was walking along(cid:0) an area of graves at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in(cid:0) Mount Royal, New Jersey. He was not asking any(cid:0) questions and recorded a child saying,(cid:0)“Goodbye,(cid:0) Grandpa.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Clara Laughlin wrote to us saying that longtime member,(cid:0) Anne Smisko, had made her transition in August. She(cid:0) recorded during the funeral and received,(cid:0)“She’s OK,”(cid:0) “Clara, she’s still asleep ... Mike … Elsie.”(cid:0) Mike is(cid:0) Anne’s husband and Elsie is a sister-in-law. Clara did get(cid:0) a direct message from Anne just a few days later.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Madeline Pettengill was very excited about a recording(cid:0) that she got the day after Thanksgiving. It was,(cid:0)“Mom’s(cid:0) wishes.”(cid:0)Madeline wrote that she had captured it in her(cid:0) bedroom and that it was the clearest EVP that she has(cid:0) gotten so far. She thought her mom was giving her a(cid:0) belated blessing.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lance Reed shared an EVP and wrote, “You hear me(cid:0) talking, then a lady tries to come in right at the beginning(cid:0) of the recording. Then at the end, when I say ‘may peace(cid:0)

be with you,’ you hear the same voice saying,(cid:0)“And(cid:0) you!”(cid:0) It was recorded at 3am with only me in the room.(cid:0) Kind of cute, I thought.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Sara Rubin is trying to record EVP but wrote that they(cid:0) had gotten a very clear phone call, answered by two(cid:0) family members (on extensions) at the same time, right(cid:0) after their daughter made her transition. After Sara’s(cid:0) husband said “Hello,” Sara writes that, “Chiya’s voice(cid:0) said loud and enthusiastic,(cid:0)‘Dad,’(cid:0) and then the line went(cid:0) dead. Sara wonders why these direct spontaneous(cid:0) unexpected phone calls are so clear and unmistakable,(cid:0) compared to EVP which are much more obscure.(cid:0) the third(cid:0) investigation of a private residence and recorded(cid:0)“I’m(cid:0) right beside you.”(cid:0) The voice sounds like that of a little(cid:0) girl. The homeowner reported that the voice sounds like(cid:0) one that she has heard in the house before.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debra Shapiro was recording during •(cid:0)David Sircom sent in a couple of recordings that his(cid:0) group got at Alumni Hall at Springfield College. They(cid:0) asked if the spirit could make the light flash if he wanted(cid:0) them to and recorded,(cid:0)“I think I’m bored with you.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott’s friend Dorothy recently lost her battle(cid:0) with cancer and is now communicating with Vicki from(cid:0) the other side. During a recording session, Vicki asked if(cid:0) Dorothy was there. First a male voice answers,(cid:0)“She’s(cid:0) just fine … she’s here.”(cid:0) Then Vicki hears Dorothy(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“They have classes!”(cid:0) Vicki wrote “That would(cid:0) be so interesting if the Big Circle held classes for those(cid:0) who

wish to learn how to communicate!(cid:0) •(cid:0)Leslie Taylor had given up looking for a particular grave(cid:0) and found an EVP at the end of her recording that said,(cid:0) “Too much trouble.”(cid:0) Page 19 Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) YouTube Video is Available on CD(cid:0) The(cid:0)Big Circle YouTube video(cid:0) is available on a CD as a one-part file. We know(cid:0) that some of you do not have access to the Internet and would like to view this(cid:0) fourteen minute minidocumentary. We also know that some of you would like to(cid:0) show this to a friend, and having it on a CD would make that easier to do.(cid:0) The CDs are $12.50 each (US funds) including mailing. You can order online at:(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources/books_order.htm(cid:0) or by writing to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) or a letter with signing(cid:0) instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway,

Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year(cid:0) International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0)$40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0)_____(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree(cid:0) that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one(cid:0) years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC

experiments that I might conduct, and(cid:0) that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as(cid:0) the NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Volume 26, Number 4 Page 20(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 27 Number 1 Spring 2008(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) By now most of you know that AA-EVP founder Sarah(cid:0) Estep has made her transition to the other side. The moving(cid:0) eulogy given by Becky Estep is included on page 3 of the(cid:0) NewsJournal, but here we want to express our heartfelt(cid:0) appreciation for the leadership Sarah has given to this field(cid:0) of study. She began the Association at a time in which there(cid:0) were few such groups in the world, and stood nearly alone(cid:0) at the very fringe of the fringe world of paranormal research.(cid:0) Of course, Sarah’s family is grieving over the loss of a(cid:0) loved one. Many who will read this have experienced such(cid:0) pain, and know that even with the certainty that our loved(cid:0) ones are just fine and always close, the loss of their more(cid:0) familiar physical presence can weigh heavy on daily life.(cid:0) We are keeping Sarah and her family in our prayers.(cid:0) Research:(cid:0) We are sincerely grateful to

Becky Estep who(cid:0) donated enough to the AA-EVP in her mother’s name for a(cid:0) research fund to be established. It is called the(cid:0)Sarah Estep(cid:0) Research Fund(cid:0) (SERF). The whole family requested that(cid:0) donations be made to the AA-EVP in lieu of flowers, and(cid:0) that has added more than $1,200 to the fund. To all of you(cid:0) who contributed, we promise that the fund will be put to(cid:0) good use to further our understanding of EVP/ITC.(cid:0) Details of how the fund will be managed are being added(cid:0) to aaevp.com as they are developed. Edgar Müller has(cid:0) agreed to be an advisor. He helps with the Helene Reeder(cid:0) Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death. [See(cid:0) “Grants” in Research at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0)] We are also looking(cid:0) for academically trained scientists with experience with(cid:0) protocol development and results reporting to be part of our(cid:0) Science Advisory Board. Please let us know if you are(cid:0) interested or know of someone who might be.(cid:0) Our vision is to have a set of research targets which we(cid:0) will define with “Request for Research Proposals.” We will(cid:0) consider unsolicited proposals. A well-considered protocol(cid:0) is important, and we expect a final report that will be(cid:0) reviewed by people with subject matter experience. Grants(cid:0) will necessarily be small at first, but we hope to attract(cid:0) additional funding so that the funding of EVP/ITC re-(cid:0) search in Sarah’s name can continue into the future.(cid:0) Listening experiment:(cid:0)A third trial to determine how well(cid:0) people can hear EVP is underway at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). Please(cid:0) consider

participating. The previous two experiments are(cid:0) reported in(cid:0)Best Practices Development(cid:0), which is accessi-(cid:0) ble via the Etheric Studies tab. Look in the list of articles.(cid:0) We are seeking more data on how well experience affects(cid:0) ability to understand EVP.(cid:0) Hemi-Sync Experiment:(cid:0)After a couple of false starts in(cid:0) arranging for the Monroe Hemi-Sync CDs, we think a(cid:0) workable set will soon arrive and we will be able to go(cid:0) forward with the experiment.(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation Conference:(cid:0) We attended(cid:0) the January San Francisco conference. The science-minded(cid:0) directors of the foundation, Phran and Robert Ginsberg,(cid:0) assembled an impressive list of speakers, which included(cid:0) research scientists from several parts of paranormal re-(cid:0) search. Most interesting for us was Dean Radin who gave(cid:0) a very good summary of the state of the art of psi research,(cid:0) Bruce Greyson who talked about the near-death experience(cid:0) research being conducted by his staff at the University of(cid:0) Virginia, Dianne Arcangel who is Forever Family’s Presi-(cid:0) dent, speaking about Afterlife Encounters and Gary(cid:0) Schwartz who spoke about his work with mediumship. See(cid:0) picture on page 18.(cid:0) A thank you from the Estep family:(cid:0)Becky Estep wrote,(cid:0) “I, along with my sister and brother, are deeply grateful and(cid:0) comforted by the thoughts and prayers that were sent out(cid:0) on Mom’s behalf. We also greatly appreciate the donations(cid:0) to the AA-EVP that were offered in our mother’s honor.(cid:0) Thank you so much for your expressions of love and(cid:0) admiration for Mom. She will be profoundly missed but(cid:0) her inner light shines

on forever.”(cid:0) for the Windbridge For the first grant, Mark Boccuzzi, co-founder and Direc-(cid:0) tor of Operations Institute(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.windbridge.org/contact.htm(cid:0)), has agreed to conduct(cid:0) a study of the radio sweep technique for EVP. The objec-(cid:0) tive will be to have an independent look at whether or not(cid:0) the EVP produced by this technique is due to the radio(cid:0) sweep (opportunistic) or to voice formation in the amplifier(cid:0) section (transform) using radio sweep noise as background(cid:0) noise. He will also be looking for ways to identify and(cid:0) avoid false positives which we will test with member trials.(cid:0) After Sarah Estep’s funeral: Tom Butler (left), Becky, Cindy and(cid:0) Robert Estep, Lisa Butler. Robert is holding Sarah’s dog, Lovy.(cid:0) We are looking for a volunteer to help Lisa(cid:0) Yesse as co-webmaster for the(cid:0)Big Circle(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0)..................................................................................................................1(cid:0) Becky Estep’s Eulogy for her Mother Sarah Estep(cid:0) by Becky Estep......................................3(cid:0) Patrick(cid:0)by Lanell Monahan........................................................................................................4(cid:0) Real-Time, Two-Way EVP?(cid:0)......................................................................................................5(cid:0) Meditation for Spring and Renewed Growth(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0)........................................6(cid:0) Listening Test(cid:0).............................................................................................................................6(cid:0) To Sweep or Not To Sweep?(cid:0)by Margaret Downey..................................................................7(cid:0) A Brief Discussion about the Safety of Communicating with the Other(cid:0)Side(cid:0)......................8(cid:0) EVP Confirmed in Investigation(cid:0)..............................................................................................9(cid:0) Message from Parents(cid:0) by Jutta Liebmann.................................................................................9(cid:0) Image of Pope Paul(cid:0)....................................................................................................................9(cid:0) In Memory of Sarah Estep, an ITC Pioneer(cid:0)..........................................................................10(cid:0) Believing in Life After Death(cid:0) by Linda Woolliscroft(cid:0)..............................................................11(cid:0) Pareidolia(cid:0)..................................................................................................................................11(cid:0) Communicating with Animals(cid:0)................................................................................................12(cid:0) Frequency Sweep: Cautionary Notes from Alexander MacRae(cid:0)..........................................14(cid:0) Another Radio Sweep Note(cid:0).....................................................................................................14(cid:0) Lizzie Borden House(cid:0)................................................................................................................14(cid:0)

Managing Intrusive Communicators(cid:0).....................................................................................15(cid:0) The Monroe Way(cid:0).....................................................................................................................16(cid:0) When Science is used to Debunk(cid:0)............................................................................................17(cid:0) Sonia Contacts Sarah(cid:0)...............................................................................................................18(cid:0) A Memento for Members(cid:0)........................................................................................................18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0)..................................................................................................................19(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0).............................................................................................................19(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0).....................................................................................................19(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and(cid:0) events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2008AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0) Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts(cid:0) of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in(cid:0) the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles(cid:0) should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to(cid:0) four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be(cid:0) placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are(cid:0) reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments about your(cid:0) observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno,(cid:0) NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by(cid:0) the first of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the(cid:0) publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP.(cid:0) Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0)

or by writing to(cid:0) the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this(cid:0) NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00.(cid:0) International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for(cid:0) postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions(cid:0) in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and(cid:0) Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP(cid:0) views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Lisa Yesse(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle(cid:0): Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange(cid:0): Margaret Downey(cid:0) We are looking for a volunteer to help Lisa Yesse as co-webmaster for the Big Circle(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 2(cid:0) Spring 2008(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Established the(cid:0) Sarah Estep Research Fund(cid:0) Benefactor(cid:0) Richard Adams(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Ralph J. Thomas(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Kirk Bailey(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Andrew Laird(cid:0) Carol Peterson(cid:0) Donations in Memory(cid:0) of Sarah Estep(cid:0) [All will go to the Sarah Estep(cid:0) Research Fund](cid:0) Andrea Aguilar(cid:0) Lloyd Bradshaw(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Morley H. Cook(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) Joanne Feldman(cid:0) Robert E. Fenn(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Carol Karajohn(cid:0) Paul Kiernan(cid:0) Cheri Kussavage(cid:0) James Jones(cid:0) Olivia Newton(cid:0) NSA Civilian Welfare Fund(cid:0) Carol Peterson(cid:0) Al Rauber(cid:0) Tobin Richard(cid:0) Tony Santo(cid:0) Richard Shenk(cid:0) Paul Sitar(cid:0) Dale Sizemore(cid:0) Jim Stonier(cid:0) David Tallia(cid:0) Michael Turner(cid:0) Lorraine Van Brocklin(cid:0) Lisa Yesse(cid:0) Kristine Zeronda(cid:0)

Becky Estep’s Eulogy for her Mother Sarah Estep(cid:0) by Becky Estep and read at Sarah’s funeral(cid:0) Picture of Sarah Estep taken by Ludwig(cid:0) Schonheid in Tarrytown, NY in the 1980s(cid:0) I want to thank each of you for being here today. At this(cid:0) moment, there are people scattered throughout the world,(cid:0) in this country and abroad, who wanted to be here and(cid:0) would have been, if circumstances had(cid:0) permitted it. I extend my heartfelt appre-(cid:0) ciation to those individuals as well, be-(cid:0) cause I know their love and prayers are(cid:0) also being sent to my mother. In partic-(cid:0) ular, I want to acknowledge a very spe-(cid:0) cial woman, Clara Laughlin. My mother(cid:0) and I are eternally thankful for her(cid:0) steadfast friendship and devotion, down(cid:0) through the years. Clara was an honor(cid:0) and a timeless gift to my mother.(cid:0) My mom, as some of you know, was(cid:0) a researcher in the field of life after(cid:0) death. In particular, she was focused on(cid:0) the area of Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) otherwise known as EVP. She was a(cid:0) pioneer in this field, and spent years(cid:0) educating the public about it. My(cid:0) mother traveled extensively: to New(cid:0) York, Florida, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana(cid:0) and Georgia; she journeyed to the pyra-(cid:0) mids, temples, and deserts of Egypt; to(cid:0) caves in England; to the coliseums of Rome; to Switzer-(cid:0) land, Luxembourg, and to the mountains of Brazil. Every-(cid:0) where she traveled, my mother shared her conviction with(cid:0) those she met: the conviction that we do, indeed, survive(cid:0) death

and that we ascend into a magnificent eternity. Mom(cid:0) had a way of leaving a part of herself wherever she went(cid:0) and in doing so, she forever became more of who she truly(cid:0) is. My mother was, first and foremost, a seeker and a(cid:0) pilgrim. In her sojourn through life, she brought comfort(cid:0) and hope to countless people.(cid:0) But this seeker and pilgrim was also “my mom,” and I’d(cid:0) like to share a little of who that person was.(cid:0) In earlier years, my mother had been a social worker for(cid:0) a children’s aid society, a first grade teacher, a camp(cid:0) director and a writer. When I was a child, Mom showed me(cid:0) my first rainbow. She got me through scarlet fever, chicken(cid:0) pox, the mumps, strep throat and a broken foot. Even long(cid:0) after I had grown into adulthood, she still fussed at me(cid:0) when I wouldn’t wear a hat in cold weather or forgot to put(cid:0) on my seatbelt.(cid:0) Mom shared her jelly beans with me when we went to the(cid:0) movies and I shared my popcorn (no extra salt). She(cid:0) walked with me through the forests of Camp Woodlands(cid:0) where we crossed Friendship Bridge together. She taught(cid:0) me how to play the slot machines at Dover Downs in(cid:0) Delaware, and we sometimes watched the Leonids meteor(cid:0) shower in November and looked for eclipses of the moon.(cid:0) Mom always kept an eye out for my brother’s favorite(cid:0) candy bars and made sure he got the Ocean City, New(cid:0) Jersey

newspaper that she was a long-time subscriber of.(cid:0) She gave rose petals, lilacs, fresh yellow tomatoes and(cid:0) wind chimes to my sister. When her grandchildren were(cid:0) younger, she took them clothes shopping at the beginning(cid:0) of the school year, and she relished each(cid:0) and every visit from them. She always(cid:0) made sure my father got the comics(cid:0) from the Sunday paper. My mom al-(cid:0) ways treated us to lunch on Mother’s(cid:0) Day—it was one of her ways of saying(cid:0) “thank you for being in this world”.(cid:0) Mom loved scary movies and James(cid:0) Bond movies. She could both love and(cid:0) hate the Baltimore Orioles baseball(cid:0) team, all within the space of a single(cid:0) inning. She volunteered at the local(cid:0) church garage sale, collected donations(cid:0) for the National Kidney Foundation, the(cid:0) American Cancer Society and charities(cid:0) that help blind people. She helped sup-(cid:0) port the Christian Appalachian Project(cid:0) and various American Indian reserva-(cid:0) tions. Mom would help a neighbor if she(cid:0) could.(cid:0) Mom loved the ocean, licorice, books,(cid:0) all the dogs she’s ever owned, robins in(cid:0) spring, video games, wind chimes, lime popsicles, spare-(cid:0) ribs, spaghetti, a good bowl of chili, (with beans), pecan(cid:0) pie, kites and balloons. She could laugh until she had tears(cid:0) in her eyes, over the silliest and smallest of things. She(cid:0) helped point the way to the Temple of Abydos in Egypt;(cid:0) my arrival there turned out to be one of the best things that(cid:0) ever happened to me.(cid:0) Mom comprehended joy and anguish; she understood(cid:0) guilt

and regret; she knew the healing power of solitude;(cid:0) she had her disappointments and triumphs. My mother(cid:0) possessed all the noble majesties and dark frailties of the(cid:0) human spirit, which are inherent in us all. And finally, my(cid:0) mother always had one foot in this world and one foot in(cid:0) the next, and sought to build a bridge between the two. This(cid:0) is my mother ... all of this and so much more ... the kind of(cid:0) person who weeps when dragons die.(cid:0) One of Mother’s acquaintances, Anabela Cardoso, was(cid:0) once told by her friend and colleague in spirit, Carlos de(cid:0) Almeida, that:(cid:0)“Horizons far from you do not finish in the(cid:0) world but enter a sacred Universe.”(cid:0) I know my mother(cid:0) believed this and it was one of the lights that she lived by.(cid:0) In closing, I’d like to say to my mom that it’s one of my(cid:0) eternal hopes and prayers that you are always and forever(cid:0) sanctified by the best that love has to offer. May you be(cid:0) everlastingly blessed with abundant laughter, redeemed by(cid:0) Truth, and consecrated by a joyful sense of wonder. At the(cid:0) threshold of the door of forever, there’s a welcome home(cid:0) sign for all souls. I know you’ll leave a candle burning for(cid:0) us in the window of Heaven.(cid:0) Page 3 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Patrick(cid:0) by Lanell Monahan(cid:0) caring person that I have ever met and the love of my life.(cid:0) He showed me unconditional true love and was my angel.(cid:0) He

could be difficult and obnoxious, but that was a small(cid:0) part of who he was.(cid:0) On April 2, 2003, Patrick had the first of four strokes(cid:0) over a two-year period. He wasn’t a candidate for a stroke(cid:0) because his blood pressure was perfect even during a stroke(cid:0) and his cholesterol was low. Patrick had an aneurism in the(cid:0) basal portion of his brain that caused the strokes and it was(cid:0) later learned that it was a rare inherited condition. It was(cid:0) difficult for Patrick to eat and speak and it became more(cid:0) and more difficult for him to prevent the pneumonia that(cid:0) comes from the effect of a stroke.(cid:0) He had always been so active and outgoing but was now(cid:0) confined to the house. Sports had never been his passion(cid:0) but there he was settling for watching sports at home. He(cid:0) couldn’t ride in a car because he would get car sick, talking(cid:0) was a struggle and he even had difficulty eating without(cid:0) choking. The antibiotics used for his pneumonia were(cid:0) becoming ineffective. It just wasn’t enough quality of life(cid:0) for him and for these reasons, Patrick asked that I please let(cid:0) him go. A hard decision to come to, but the final gift of love(cid:0) I could show him. He didn’t want to go to the hospital(cid:0) anymore and wanted to be at home when he passed. At his(cid:0) request, Patrick refused going to the hospital with the next(cid:0) bout of pneumonia. His physicians supported him and(cid:0) helped to

make him comfortable during this time.(cid:0) When the first stroke occurred, Patrick could care for(cid:0) himself, but after the second one six months later, he(cid:0) needed someone to be with him around the clock, so I(cid:0) retired along with him. It was a gift to spend those four(cid:0) years with him and one that I don’t regret at all. We were(cid:0) never apart, even when we went to the hospital. I slept next(cid:0) to him, fed him, bathed him, changed the sheets and made(cid:0) sure he was receiving the best care that he could get. It was(cid:0) my gift to him for he’d given me so much.(cid:0) The day that he died, three of our four daughters, along(cid:0) with family and friends, were with him when he passed.(cid:0) Irish music and the King’s basketball game were on for him(cid:0) and we talked to him till he took his last breath. He died(cid:0) with his family near him the way he wanted to go, at home.(cid:0) He died at exactly 11:19 a.m., the month and day of his(cid:0) birth.(cid:0) Pat was ready to leave and his faith in God made it easier(cid:0) for him. He believed in life after death and promised me(cid:0) that he would get a message to me from the other side. I had(cid:0) gone to see John Edward and enjoyed his show. And then(cid:0) looking around the Internet a few weeks after Patrick had(cid:0) passed, I saw the AA-EVP site. I found it interesting and(cid:0) decided to

listen to some of the examples. When I listened(cid:0) to one of the examples that had been recorded by Vicki(cid:0) Talbott,(cid:0)“Good luck then … bye,”(cid:0) I was shocked! It was(cid:0) Patrick’s voice! It was definitely him!!! I had family and(cid:0) friends listen to the voice without telling(cid:0) Continued page 5(cid:0) Patrick Monahan.(cid:0) Patrick is second generation Irish American and was born(cid:0) November 19, 1941. He was raised in an Irish-Catholic(cid:0) home by two loving parents. He has a brother that is seven(cid:0) years younger, but they still managed to have a great(cid:0) relationship as adults. Patrick was a golden child, full of(cid:0) life and the need to care about others. He was class(cid:0) president and voted most likely to succeed and he did.(cid:0) Meeting a classmate at a reunion, he told me that Pat was(cid:0) an upperclassman but he would stop and say hello to(cid:0) everyone. He treated everyone equal.(cid:0) Patrick had a degree in labor relations and spent his(cid:0) thirty-nine year career as a civil engineer for the State of(cid:0) California, Caltrans. He was a strong union activist who(cid:0) believed in standing up for what was best for our tax dollars(cid:0) and employee rights. He became the president of(cid:0) California’s largest employee organization, CSEA and was(cid:0) on the board for their affiliation, SEIU. He was also(cid:0) involved with Professional Engineers in California(cid:0) Government and was the section president for Sacramento.(cid:0) Patrick was on numerous state committees and worked(cid:0) closely with several of the state’s governors, senators and(cid:0) members of

the assembly. At work, he was a union steward(cid:0) helping both the state and employees resolve problems.(cid:0) His goal was to stand up for those who couldn’t and he(cid:0) was successful in accomplishing this. He could rally people(cid:0) into taking a stand and believe in themselves, and he did(cid:0) this often. Patrick was the kind of person that, once you met(cid:0) him, you had to like him. If you didn’t he’d make you like(cid:0) him. He just had a personality that you couldn’t resist. He(cid:0) had no enemies; just friends. He was always able to(cid:0) differentiate between friendship and work relationships(cid:0) and overcome differences. He was grateful for all he had(cid:0) and never needed more.(cid:0) We, combined, have four daughters, and seven(cid:0) grandchildren and they all loved him and miss him terribly.(cid:0) He was always there for them no matter what the problem(cid:0) might be. For me he was my best friend, the most loving(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 4(cid:0) Patrick(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) them who it was and they would all say, “That’s Patrick.”(cid:0) It was his tone and quality of voice and it was something(cid:0) he would say often. I asked the AA-EVP to speak to Vicki(cid:0) and learned that the EVP was recorded after he had died. I(cid:0) have received one more message from him through Vicki(cid:0) and having a name like Lanell it’s not hard to recognize it’s(cid:0) him speaking to me. He says,(cid:0)“I love you, Patrick,”(cid:0)and(cid:0) then(cid:0)“Lanell.”(cid:0) It’s faint, but the tone of

his voice is still(cid:0) there.(cid:0) Lanell with Patrick(cid:0) I have had one other experience from Patrick that proves(cid:0) there is life after death. Patrick always bought me jewelry(cid:0) for my birthday. Patrick passed just a few weeks before my(cid:0) birthday. I asked him, through prayer, to please send me a(cid:0) sign that he still loved me. I asked him to send me(cid:0) shamrock on a card, or flowers that were green. I wanted to(cid:0) find one of these lying in the house, something that wasn’t(cid:0) there before, something that I would know was a sign from(cid:0) him. Then I said jokingly, “You could send me some(cid:0) jewelry with a shamrock on it.” Then I thought that’s(cid:0) asking an awful lot from a guy who’s now in another(cid:0) dimension. But it wasn’t!!!! My girlfriend came down for(cid:0) my birthday and said, “I have something for you that(cid:0) you’re going to think I’m crazy for buying. But, when I saw(cid:0) it, I was drawn in to the store to buy it for you, and if you(cid:0) don’t like it I’ll send it back.” When I opened it, I cried(cid:0) tears of happiness. It was a Black Hills gold shamrock. I(cid:0) had not told her or anyone else about my prayer. This was(cid:0) a sign from above that came from my Patrick.(cid:0) It’s still hard living without him and I miss him every(cid:0) day, but letting him go his way was the right way. And in(cid:0) exchange, he has let me know that

he still loves me and is(cid:0) near. I’m a true believer of EVP and that the other side does(cid:0) come through for us. I still have to continue living life, but(cid:0) it’s easier knowing he’s okay and that I will see him again,(cid:0) and maybe hear from him every now and then.(cid:0) Real-Time, Two-Way EVP?(cid:0) Real-time, two-way EVP is not technically impossible.(cid:0) Margaret Downey has a topic in the Idea Exchange in(cid:0) which she has been collecting names of digital voice re-(cid:0) corders that allow monitoring of what is being recorded.(cid:0) All you need is a headset or speaker in the headset jack.(cid:0) (Here are a few of the models:(cid:0)Olympus DS-30, WS-100,(cid:0) WS-210 and WS-300m; Panasonic RR-US360; Sony ICD-(cid:0) MX20, ICD-P520 and ICD-ST25. (See article: EVP Re-(cid:0) cording and Review Techniques > Recording Devices and(cid:0) Techniques >(cid:0)Compilation of monitoring-capable record-(cid:0) ers(cid:0)) The problem is that the EVP are often hard to under-(cid:0) stand and actual communication is nearly impossible. The(cid:0) “Golden Grail” of EVP is a clean enough circuit to make(cid:0) the words easily understood.(cid:0) Real-time EVP requires patience and the ability to record(cid:0) EVP. It can be tedious, but we think first success will lead(cid:0) to improvements in communication. Paula Davis is an(cid:0) AA-EVP member who is attempting to conduct real-time(cid:0) contact. Her approach is to listen to what is being recorded(cid:0) with her headset, and to repeat what she thinks is said,(cid:0) followed with a “is that right” of some kind as an error(cid:0) check. She might also

ask the entities to count to three if(cid:0) she has heard them correctly. You can hear examples of her(cid:0) work at(cid:0)www.gamblinbug.com/evp/(cid:0). Some are hard to hear(cid:0) and some are rather different from what we are accustomed(cid:0) to hearing, but others such as “1,2,3” are convincing.(cid:0) Another member who has worked with real-time EVP is(cid:0) Debra Caruso. She uses a computer program by Diamond(cid:0) Cut Productions ((cid:0)www.diamondcut.com(cid:0)) called DC6 Live.(cid:0) As Chris Wilson explained the software, “DC6 is an audio(cid:0) editing program just like the ones we use for EVP(cid:0) (Audacity, Audition, GoldWave), except it has a neat fea-(cid:0) ture called ‘Live Multi-Filter.’ With this feature, audio(cid:0) coming into the computer can be filtered live and the result(cid:0) heard with a short delay of a second or so. A typical setup(cid:0) for EVP would be a microphone into the Microphone In(cid:0) jack of the computer with DC6 Live filtering what comes(cid:0) from the microphone and the output playing on the head-(cid:0) phones connected to the computer’s Headphone Out.” You(cid:0) can hear a few interesting examples recorded by Debbie at(cid:0) www.1800heaven.com/liveevp.htm(cid:0).(cid:0) Let us know if you try this approach and tell us about(cid:0) your technique. We would be looking for techniques that(cid:0) others can reproduce. Also please make the relationship(cid:0) between when the question was asked and when it was(cid:0) answered clear for the rest of us. Because of the potential(cid:0) for long sessions, please share results with “dead” time(cid:0) removed as mp3 files, but tell us that you have made these(cid:0)

edits.(cid:0) Affiliate Program(cid:0) Don’t forget to use the link on the front page of(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) when you shop at Amazon.com or(cid:0) eBay.com. The AA-EVP receives a small com-(cid:0) mission for purchases made via the web page.(cid:0) Page 5 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Meditation for Spring and Renewed Growth(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0) less stressful by spending time in nature. When we com-(cid:0) bine nature (or Mother Earth) with the practice of medita-(cid:0) tion, we experience becoming incrementally more attuned,(cid:0) grounded, feel more alive, and are better equipped for the(cid:0) trials of our daily challenges.(cid:0) Below are the steps for: Meditation for Spring and Re-(cid:0) newed Growth.(cid:0) In this meditation you will start out as a bulb that has(cid:0) endured winter buried just under the earth’s surface, and(cid:0) through the miracle of nature, you will grow into a beauti-(cid:0) ful flower.(cid:0) 1.(cid:0) Sit quietly with your spine (back) straight, legs and(cid:0) arms uncrossed and relaxed.(cid:0) 2.(cid:0) Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths. Feel(cid:0) the tension leaving your body with each breath.(cid:0) 3.(cid:0) Feel the warmth of the earth wrapped around you and(cid:0) visualize yourself in the form of a bulb beneath the(cid:0) ground.(cid:0) 4.(cid:0) Feeling the sun’s warmth and the spring rain showers(cid:0) refreshing you, begin to grow secretly underground,(cid:0) through the warm ground. The germinating of the plant(cid:0) is (your body) giving you life.(cid:0) 5.(cid:0) Absorbing the rays from the sun helps to nourish by(cid:0) revitalizing our fresh, new growth as we begin to(cid:0) sprout through the warm

soil.(cid:0) 6.(cid:0) The manifestation of a tender green stalk appears and(cid:0) in a few days it will bare a fragrance bud.(cid:0) 7.(cid:0) There is evidence of new growth once the bud starts(cid:0) blooming into a brightly colored flower, full of vitality(cid:0) and vigor.(cid:0) 8.(cid:0) The display and brilliance of the beautiful fragrance(cid:0) blossom radiates and you experience the renewal of(cid:0) springtime growth.(cid:0) 9.(cid:0) Be immersed in the experience by feeling the warm(cid:0) glow inside your body. Take a few deep, slow breaths,(cid:0) and return to consciousness. Your eyes remain closed(cid:0) as you stand up and stretch towards the sunlight (like a(cid:0) beautiful flower).(cid:0) 10.(cid:0)Open your eyes and experience your new growth and(cid:0) allow the “aliveness” from the vitality of spring to be(cid:0) with you during your daily life.(cid:0) We are part of nature and nature is part of us. Spring is our(cid:0) time for revival along with the rest of nature. By weather-(cid:0) ing our personal winters there is always hope of new(cid:0) growth in the spring of our lives.(cid:0) Listening Test(cid:0) How well do you hear voice in noise? Take the test at Posit(cid:0) Science’s Brain Fitness: ( http://bfc.positscience.com/eval/(cid:0) snr.php ). The first time you listen to the test is probably the(cid:0) most accurate. After taking the test, consider taking the test(cid:0) accessible via the aaevp.com front page under “Changes on(cid:0) this website.”(cid:0) Springtime in Britain by Jody Miller jodymillerphoto.com(cid:0) www.flickr.com/photos/jodymiller/492559390/(cid:0) Although many people enjoy the winter season, I do not. I(cid:0) find the cold, the snow, and the

lack of flowers depressing.(cid:0) I do not ski, I am fearful to drive on ice/snow, and my days(cid:0) of playing in the snow to make a snowman or to go sled-(cid:0) ding are far behind me. While I do see the beauty of a fresh(cid:0) snowfall, I also wish that the next day’s warmth makes(cid:0) quick work of the mess.(cid:0) Every spring, I breathe a sigh of relief that I made it(cid:0) through another winter. While examining the meditation(cid:0) memorial garden my sister Ginny and I planted after my(cid:0) daughter Cathy’s death, I noticed that the wilted branches(cid:0) of plants that I was afraid would not survive the cold winter(cid:0) weather are sprouting new growth and are fully alive.(cid:0) Winter changing into spring can be compared to a renew-(cid:0) ing of our own lives. Winter, as a great parallel to our lives,(cid:0) can bring difficult, stressful times and we may feel lost or(cid:0) dead inside. For some of us however, seeing new growth in(cid:0) our gardens in the early spring invigorates our spirit and(cid:0) offers us a rekindling of hope. We are all part of nature and(cid:0) nature is a part of us: there is a time to grow, a time to wilt,(cid:0) a time to die, a time to be dormant, and a time for renewed(cid:0) growth. Everything in nature and life flows in a cycle, or as(cid:0) I like to describe, a “Big Circle.”(cid:0) Spring has sprung and it is time for preparing the ground(cid:0) for new growth

and clearing out the old and dead under-(cid:0) growth from the previous year. Neglecting this effort does(cid:0) not prohibit the new growth but it does both slow and(cid:0) weaken the growth.(cid:0) Spring is a time for new thoughts, new plans and new(cid:0) hopes. It is a time to let our souls be reborn and renewed,(cid:0) leading into another season in our life cycle.(cid:0) Nature has a way of waking up our potentials for spiritual(cid:0) growth and it is essential for healing our bodies, emotions,(cid:0) minds and spirit. Sometimes, when we feel disconnected(cid:0) in our daily lives due to the negative outside forces, we are(cid:0) able to reconnect to our inner strengths, making our lives(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 6(cid:0) To Sweep or Not To Sweep?(cid:0) by Margaret Downey(cid:0) At an emotional level, I became convinced almost imme-(cid:0) diately there was something valid about the sweep. How-(cid:0) ever, my scientific mind needed to make sure I wasn’t(cid:0) deluding myself. I tried to think of everything mundane(cid:0) that could explain my results. Having not much luck, I(cid:0) decided to use several observed characteristics of the com-(cid:0) munication to determine if any supported the notion of(cid:0) intent rather than coincidence. It wasn’t long before I felt I(cid:0) had a list of strong indicators that the odds of the spoken(cid:0) words and phrases being a result of a fortuitous spin of the(cid:0) dial would be astronomical.(cid:0) High on my list are those examples in which:(cid:0) •(cid:0)The spoken phrase is directly relevant to my

preceding(cid:0) question or comment. In some cases it is immediate, just(cid:0) as it would be in normal conversation.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The duration of the response spans at least one full cycle(cid:0) of the back/forth sweep, sometimes several.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The words are spoken in a single tone of voice.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The intonation and cadence are suggestive of that which(cid:0) is considered normal human speech pattern.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The validation by a loved one recognizing the voice and(cid:0) words. Though subjective, I find it persuasive.(cid:0) More recently, I began to experiment with automated radio(cid:0) sweep rather than manual, thereby removing myself as a(cid:0) factor in the sweep rate. This technique differs slightly in(cid:0) that the radio scan will move only in one direction and then(cid:0) reset back to the beginning (rather than back and forth).(cid:0) The results continue to be remarkable.(cid:0) I would encourage those who have, to date, been closed(cid:0) to the possibility of this being a legitimate means of com-(cid:0) munication to reconsider your position. Do a little experi-(cid:0) menting for yourself, possibly using the above criteria as a(cid:0) guideline in helping you to determine whether or not there(cid:0) might be something to all this.(cid:0) You can start by doing a manual sweep. If you are still(cid:0) interested after trying this method, you can make an invest-(cid:0) ment (as little as $30) in an automated unit. Here are some(cid:0) hints to get started:(cid:0) Turn on your radio to AM(cid:0) or FM, depending on your(cid:0) reception. I’ve had good re-(cid:0) sults using either band. Start(cid:0) your recorder.

I record into(cid:0) my computer using Audac-(cid:0) ity and the built-in mic.(cid:0) Quickly move the dial from(cid:0) one end to another so only fragments of each channel(cid:0) currently broadcasting are heard coming through the(cid:0) speaker(s). Be mindful of the volume. You want it to be not(cid:0) too loud nor too soft.(cid:0) I’ve noticed this technique works best with radios which(cid:0) allow for quickly moving through the channels. My favor-(cid:0) ite handheld radio is the Duracell KP028. The dial is small(cid:0) and easily moves through all the stations. I think that’s key,(cid:0) that there not be long gaps(cid:0) Continued page 12(cid:0) Margaret Downey in her ITC lab(cid:0) There’s been a lot of recent controversy in the world of(cid:0) EVP concerning a technique called “radio sweep.” In the(cid:0) past, I spent a lot of time exploring the use of various(cid:0) background sounds. I would try basically anything I could(cid:0) think of, which eventually led me to explore Portuguese(cid:0) crowd babble. I had good results with it, so naturally, when(cid:0) all the buzz about radio sweep hit the mainstream last year,(cid:0) I knew I had to experiment with this technique as well.(cid:0) At first I was very cautious, sharing the same concerns as(cid:0) many people with a background in traditional EVP work,(cid:0) the most obvious being the potential for false positives.(cid:0) Admittedly, radio sweep does involve the formation of(cid:0) words and phrases in which the possibility exists they(cid:0) could have come from radio stations at the time the session(cid:0) was conducted, especially if

the rate of sweep is too slow.(cid:0) With this in mind, I set off to discover for myself whether(cid:0) or not I would receive responses that had the appearance of(cid:0) intentional communication. At the time, I used a DuraPro(cid:0) emergency flashlight/radio combo unit; the type you crank(cid:0) the handle to charge. I used the thumb dial on it to move(cid:0) from one end of the broadcast spectrum to the other and(cid:0) back again, at a rate of approximately 1.5 seconds for one(cid:0) complete scan in either direction. I found this speed to be(cid:0) satisfactory, in that it was fast enough so that only snippets(cid:0) of words from each station could be heard and nothing(cid:0) made sense to my ears while I listened.(cid:0) I embarked on the next step of my experimentation with(cid:0) a mix of what might be best described as optimistic skepti-(cid:0) cism. I knew EVP to be real, well-researched and to some(cid:0) degree explainable. On the other hand, I needed compel-(cid:0) ling evidence before I could buy into all the claims of radio(cid:0) sweep being a valid method of receiving communication.(cid:0) I started by asking my most trusted communicators to(cid:0) come through and speak. I felt if the same etheric people(cid:0) who used EVP to reach me in the past could also come(cid:0) through using the sweep, it would go a long way in sway-(cid:0) ing my opinion toward the validity of the technique. To my(cid:0) surprise, I did indeed hear from both family and friends on(cid:0) the

other side. But even more remarkable, I received com-(cid:0) munication from others’ loved ones, some of which were(cid:0) confirmed as sounding “just like” the departed person did(cid:0) when they were here in the physical!(cid:0) Page 7 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) A Brief Discussion about the Safety of Communicating with the Other(cid:0)Side(cid:0) Previously published as(cid:0)From Our Viewpoint,(cid:0)Spring 2003 AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Attitude is everything. Attitude is an expression of our(cid:0) worldview, and it is our worldview that we use as a mold(cid:0) to build our personal reality.(cid:0) We have had a number of people ask us about the dan-(cid:0) gers in seeking to communicate with our friends on the(cid:0) other side. Some have expressed great concern that they(cid:0) might leave themselves open for attack from angry entities(cid:0) or that they might inadvertently invite a disruptive force(cid:0) into their home. The words, “demon” and “low levels”(cid:0) have come up more than once. We think a better term might(cid:0) simply be “less spiritually evolved entities,” as this is what(cid:0) they are. However, “low level” seems to be the term that is(cid:0) most used and understood.(cid:0) Harold Sherman, in an article written for Psychic Ob-(cid:0) server & Chimes, recounted a friend’s distressing experi-(cid:0) ence in trying to reach his wife and running into what he(cid:0) called “low grade discarnates.” When the man lost his(cid:0) temper and told them to go away, it only seemed to increase(cid:0) their interference. Sherman listened to some of the record-(cid:0) ings and called it pure drivel.(cid:0) Sherman came to the

conclusion that the mental attitude(cid:0) of the experimenter played an important part in what was(cid:0) recorded. He wrote, “It is as though low-grade intelligences(cid:0) come in on the emotionally disturbed ‘wave length’ of the(cid:0) operator. Unless the mind is prepared through prayer or a(cid:0) spiritually motivated meditative period, one is apt to invite(cid:0) the wrong kind of communicants.”(cid:0) Some researchers, who have occasion to address the(cid:0) public about these phenomena, will include a strong warn-(cid:0) ing that there are potential dangers and that the prospective(cid:0) EVP and ITC experimenter should use caution. Others(cid:0) seem to wonder what all of the fuss is about because they(cid:0) have never had a problem.(cid:0) In the Summer 1988 AA-EVP NewsJournal, Sarah Estep(cid:0) ran a brief review of the CETL newsletter written by Jules(cid:0) and Maggie Harsch-Fischbach in Luxembourg. The couple(cid:0) believed that experimenters could attract positive as well as(cid:0) negative contacts. They quoted a comment made by pio-(cid:0) neer researcher Dr. Konstantin Raudive. Raudive said,(cid:0) “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t(cid:0) cope with the realities of life.”(cid:0) We believe that working with EVP and ITC is fundamen-(cid:0) tally safe. It is difficult to find a single example in which an(cid:0) individual has been harmed because of their communica-(cid:0) tion across the veil. Yes, people have occasionally been(cid:0) “bothered.” It is known that the time we spend carefully(cid:0) listening too hard to hear EVP examples seems to enhance(cid:0) our clairvoyant and clairaudient senses. To many people,(cid:0) this is exciting and something they

want. To others, it can(cid:0) be disturbing. This enhanced sensing has been reported to(cid:0) fade if one takes a break from EVP or other development(cid:0) work.(cid:0) In the heyday of Spiritualism, people sat in groups trying(cid:0) to communicate with the other side. One of the important(cid:0) benefits of these groups was that they provided a safe place(cid:0) for mediums to develop. When people were working on,(cid:0) say for instance trance development, they could feel open(cid:0) and safe, in that they had an experienced medium to assist(cid:0) them if they should run into some sort of trouble. By the(cid:0) way, many(cid:0)Spiritualist churches(cid:0) still have development(cid:0) groups and classes and we would recommend these or any(cid:0) other good development groups or classes to EVP/ITC(cid:0) experimenters.(cid:0) Many EVP experimenters work alone and do not have(cid:0) the benefit of a group of more experienced EVP research-(cid:0) ers. We wish that everyone who experimented with EVP(cid:0) had a strong metaphysical or spiritual background, because(cid:0) it is important to have some basic knowledge about the(cid:0) other side and its workings. Since the experimenter is part(cid:0) of the bridge between those on the other side and the EVP(cid:0) or ITC equipment, it is important for the experimenter to(cid:0) have a strong sense of self, accompanied by a positive(cid:0) attitude and spiritual outlook on life.(cid:0) In the(cid:0)Fall 1989 newsletter(cid:0), Sarah Estep wrote,(cid:0) “Obviously, no one starts taping, automatic writing or(cid:0) playing with the Ouija board, thinking they will become(cid:0) possessed or obsessed. But it can happen. As I

wrote on(cid:0) Page 196 of(cid:0)Voices of Eternity,(cid:0) “The difficulty is in ascer-(cid:0) taining who is susceptible… I am not trying to frighten(cid:0) people who are thinking about beginning to tape… Work-(cid:0) ing in the field can bring some of the most rewarding,(cid:0) enriching experiences of your life. It would be amiss of me,(cid:0) however, not to caution you about the darker side of psi.(cid:0) Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything(cid:0) that comes through. You have your liars on the other side,(cid:0) as you have here. The more they realize they are getting(cid:0) you upset, the more they will continue. Human nature(cid:0) being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are(cid:0) there, when in fact there is nothing. The important thing(cid:0) though is, if a person believes a message is on tape, that(cid:0) person will respond to it for better or worse.(cid:0) “If you, at anytime, think you are in contact with low(cid:0) level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control(cid:0) at all times. Anyone can sit down to tape. It takes much(cid:0) more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away.”(cid:0) Negative thoughts, such as fear or hate, are powerful(cid:0) forms of energy, and this energy can accumulate and do(cid:0) harm. It is as if this negative energy is an anti-particle that(cid:0) neutralizes positive energy and dissipates it from our use.(cid:0) We also believe that negative energy is not as sustainable(cid:0) as is positive energy because it is not consistent with the(cid:0) fundamentally positive

nature of reality. Thus, as entities(cid:0) gain in spiritual maturity, they become less able to sustain(cid:0) fear or hate.(cid:0) We advise people who are fearful of the unknown or who(cid:0) might have trouble keeping the voices in perspective, to(cid:0) pass on EVP. Our concern is that a person’s fear might tend(cid:0) to be amplified by(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 8(cid:0) Message from Parents(cid:0) by Jutta Liebmann(cid:0) I have received a very clear and impressive message from(cid:0) my parents confirming for the first time since their passing,(cid:0) in 1979 and 1982, that they are okay. In the EVP, they(cid:0) thanked me for sharing information about EVP with them(cid:0) prior to their passing. I received the following message(cid:0) from them in German: “Unserer Tochter viel Neues zu(cid:0) verdanken.” This translates into English:(cid:0)“We owe our(cid:0) daughter innovative/new knowledge.”(cid:0) My parents knew about the work of EVP prior to their(cid:0) “death.” They watched some TV shows with Friedrich(cid:0) Jürgenson and my mother was even present during my(cid:0) EVP recordings between 1978 and 1981. She was, howev-(cid:0) er, afraid of the “dead.” She recognized the voice of my(cid:0) father on one of my tapes after his passing and was very(cid:0) shocked about it. At that time, she had many financial(cid:0) difficulties and was not in the position to study EVP, but(cid:0) had read some articles in newspapers about the subject.(cid:0) After the passing of my parents, I had understood, ac-(cid:0) cording to the contents of EVP messages that I received,(cid:0) that

their conversion from the physical world to the spiri-(cid:0) tual world was not so(cid:0) easy for them in the(cid:0) beginning. This usu-(cid:0) ally applies to sudden(cid:0) death. Nevertheless,(cid:0) the above-mentioned(cid:0) message confirms that(cid:0) my parents have now(cid:0) found out about the(cid:0) truth of EVP and have(cid:0) adapted themselves to(cid:0) the (unknown) condi-(cid:0) tions of life in the spir-(cid:0) itual dimensions.(cid:0) Jutta’s parents(cid:0) From:(cid:0)The Daily Ma(cid:0)il,(cid:0)“Is this Pope John Paul II waving from(cid:0) beyond the grave? Vatican TV director says ‘yes’,” by Nick Pisa, 15(cid:0) October 2007. Picture is from(cid:0)www.dailymail.co.uk(cid:0).(cid:0) EVP Confirmed in Investigation(cid:0) Video frame of(cid:0)The Maury Show(cid:0) showing Debbie(cid:0) Caruso in foreground followed by Jeffrey Wands(cid:0) during investigation of the studio(cid:0) Debbie Caruso and her Haunting Evidence paranormal(cid:0) team worked with Jeffrey Wands in a segment for the(cid:0) Maury show in which they did an investigation of the(cid:0) Maury production offices and studio. The building which(cid:0) houses the offices and studio is nearly 100 years old. While(cid:0) the group was locked in the studio with the show’s produc-(cid:0) ers, Jeffrey received communication from a man who said(cid:0) that he had jumped off the building. He also got the name,(cid:0) “Moore,” and said that the man had been in the financial(cid:0) field or stock market. At this same time, Debbie recorded(cid:0) Video frame of(cid:0)The Maury Show(cid:0) showing old newspaper(cid:0) headline about person Wands and Caruso picked up(cid:0) an EVP saying,(cid:0)“I fell off and died.”(cid:0)In addition, Maury(cid:0) Show producers found a newspaper article from 1921(cid:0) stating that a man named Moore

had jumped from the(cid:0) building and died. Debbie recorded many EVP but one that(cid:0) caught everyone’s attention said,(cid:0)“Meredith.”(cid:0) Meredith is(cid:0) a production assistant that was there during the taping.(cid:0) Image of Pope Paul(cid:0) Gregorz Lukasik was attending a service at Beskid Zy-(cid:0) wiecki near John Paul’s birthplace on the second anniver-(cid:0) sary of his death. A bonfire was lit during the service and(cid:0) Gregorz took pictures. Later, he looked at the pictures and(cid:0) discovered this figure in the fire. “I showed them to my(cid:0) brother and sister and they, like me, were convinced the(cid:0) flames had formed the image of Pope John Paul II. I was so(cid:0) happy with the picture that I showed it to our local bishop(cid:0) who said that Pope John Paul had made many pilgrimages(cid:0) during his life and he was still making them in death.”(cid:0) Jarek Cielecki, a friend of John Paul II, is convinced the(cid:0) picture shows the former pontiff. In October the picture(cid:0) was continuously broadcast on Italian TV and also posted(cid:0) on religious websites, some of which crashed as thousands(cid:0) logged on to see the figure formed by the flames.(cid:0) Page 9 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) In Memory of Sarah Estep, an ITC Pioneer(cid:0) touch with her work. She felt that EVP could be the most(cid:0) tangible evidence of survival yet and decided to conduct(cid:0) experiments to see if this was true. She used her husband(cid:0) Charlie’s old reel-to-reel tape recorder and committed to(cid:0) trying to record for at least a week.

At every session, she(cid:0) asked the same question, “Is anybody there?” but after five(cid:0) days, she had not recorded an answer. Out of boredom, on(cid:0) the sixth day she tried a different question, “What is your(cid:0) world like?” she asked. On playback of the tape, she heard(cid:0) a clear voice answer her question with the word,(cid:0) “Beauty.”(cid:0)Contact had been made.(cid:0) Sarah founded the American Association of Electronic(cid:0) Voice Phenomena in 1982 and began publishing a quar-(cid:0) terly newsletter. Membership in the Association grew(cid:0) from twenty to several hundred people in twenty-seven(cid:0) states and twelve countries. There was no Internet and(cid:0) Sarah was the glue that allowed researchers to gain knowl-(cid:0) edge about the work that others were doing. She held three(cid:0) national conferences and helped countless people learn(cid:0) about the voices and how to record them. For eighteen(cid:0) years, Sarah led the AA-EVP and then in the year 2000,(cid:0) she decided to retire and asked us (Tom and Lisa Butler)(cid:0) to take the Association over.(cid:0) In 1981, Harold Sherman asked Sarah to write about(cid:0) EVP for his book(cid:0)The Dead Are Alive(cid:0) and her work(cid:0) became Chapter 4. When Harold had to discontinue his(cid:0) ESP Research Associates Foundation due to health con-(cid:0) cerns, he showed his faith in Sarah(cid:0) by giving Foundation members a(cid:0) membership in the AA-EVP.(cid:0) Sarah has written two books on(cid:0) her own.(cid:0)Voices of Eternity(cid:0) was(cid:0) published in 1988 and is now out of(cid:0) print but is a free PDF download at(cid:0) the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com(cid:0) (Books

tab). Her most recent book,(cid:0) Roads To Eternity,(cid:0)is available(cid:0) through Galde Press via the same(cid:0) web page.(cid:0) In 1996, the Dr. A. Hedri Founda-(cid:0) tion for Exopsychology ((cid:0)the study(cid:0) of the behavior of alien beings(cid:0)) and(cid:0) Epipsychology ((cid:0)study of post-death(cid:0) mental states(cid:0)) awarded Sarah the(cid:0) first prize for epipsychology in rec-(cid:0) ognition of her accomplishments.(cid:0) She shared the prize that year with(cid:0) another famous researcher, George(cid:0) Meek of Spiricom fame.(cid:0) Mary Babcock (left), Sarah with Becky sitting,(cid:0) Erland Babcock (right) at the 2004 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference(cid:0) To provide a tool with which people could specify the(cid:0) quality of their EVP samples, Sarah popularized a classifi-(cid:0) cation system originated by Konstantin Raudive using(cid:0) “Class A” as the highest quality example, “Class B” as a(cid:0) good quality example and “Class C” as the poorest and(cid:0) most typical recorded samples.(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) Sarah Estep sitting in her experiment room(cid:0) American paranormal researcher Sarah Wilson Estep made(cid:0) her transition to the other side due to kidney failure on(cid:0) January 3, 2008. She was the premier pioneer researcher in(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) in the United States(cid:0) and was considered one of the world’s leading experts in the(cid:0) field.(cid:0) Sarah became a believer that death was the end of life at(cid:0) the tender age of seven. After the death of her grandmother,(cid:0) her grandfather married a woman who was the director of a(cid:0) funeral home. A couple times a year, Sarah’s family visited(cid:0) her grandparents in the funeral home where they lived. She(cid:0) was deeply

distressed by the grieving(cid:0) families that came to view their loved(cid:0) ones, and when no one was around,(cid:0) she frequently sneaked into the view-(cid:0) ing areas to look at the bodies. This(cid:0) traumatic experience was to shape(cid:0) Sarah’s life and create a thirst for(cid:0) knowledge that death was not the end(cid:0) of life. She dove into every nonfic-(cid:0) tion book that she could get her hands(cid:0) on, especially those dealing with(cid:0) paranormal topics. She found hope in(cid:0) the Seth books by Jane Roberts, as(cid:0) their words conveyed the premise(cid:0) that we were more than our physical(cid:0) bodies and that our lives continue(cid:0) after the death of the physical body.(cid:0) During a visit to the library in 1976,(cid:0) Sarah came across(cid:0)The Handbook of(cid:0) Psi Discoveries(cid:0) by Sheila Ostrander(cid:0) and Lynn Schroeder. The book in-(cid:0) cluded two chapters on EVP and(cid:0) talked about the work of pioneer researchers Konstantin(cid:0) Raudive and Friedrich Jürgenson. It also mentioned the(cid:0) Americans Harold Sherman and Walter and Mary Jo Up-(cid:0) hoff, who would later become Sarah’s good friends.(cid:0) The Handbook of Psi Discoveries(cid:0) changed Sarah’s life(cid:0) and also the lives of the thousands of people she would later(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 10(cid:0) Believing in Life After Death(cid:0) by Linda Woolliscroft(cid:0) On November 27, 2007,(cid:0) the date of my 60(cid:0)th(cid:0) birth-(cid:0) day, I decided to plan a(cid:0) celebration party which(cid:0) would fall the day before(cid:0) on the 26(cid:0)th(cid:0). My son Mi-(cid:0) chael, who passed on at the(cid:0) age of twenty-five, told me(cid:0) through EVP that

he would(cid:0) be with me on that occa-(cid:0) sion. He also made a com-(cid:0) ment saying,(cid:0)“Mom is(cid:0) happy.”(cid:0) Michael(cid:0)Woolliscroft(cid:0) We were always very(cid:0) close, like friends. Michael(cid:0) was born with the heredi-(cid:0) tary blood disorder, hemophilia. Now as if that wasn’t(cid:0) enough, he was given infected blood products which he(cid:0) lived with from the age of seventeen until it caused his(cid:0) passing eight years later on May 26, 1995, one week before(cid:0) his 26(cid:0)th(cid:0) birthday. It was so hard for him but he coped so(cid:0) well, I’m proud to say.(cid:0) It was difficult getting Michael into school, but I worked(cid:0) at a local school and the new headmistress heard about our(cid:0) problem and said that she would take him. So, in the(cid:0) beginning I was there if he needed. As he grew older and(cid:0) changed schools, he was able to cope on his own, and of(cid:0) course, all of the teachers were aware of his condition. He(cid:0) lived his life as normal as possible; some people not even(cid:0) knowing that he had a(cid:0) problem. He loved(cid:0) sports, especially foot-(cid:0) ball. He supported his(cid:0) team, the West Brom-(cid:0) wich Albion, all his life.(cid:0) He was even let out of(cid:0) hospital at times so that(cid:0) he could watch his team(cid:0) play. He wouldn’t give(cid:0) in until they said okay.(cid:0) From a very young(cid:0) age, I have believed in(cid:0) life after death. My dad(cid:0) passed away when I(cid:0) was four months old.(cid:0) When I was eight, I(cid:0) awoke from my sleep to(cid:0) see

a stranger standing there. This stranger (a man) was(cid:0) dressed in a smart suit, his hair was slicked back and he had(cid:0) a kind face. After a few moments, he disappeared. I didn’t(cid:0) realize that this stranger had in fact been my dad. This was(cid:0) clarified later when I was shown his photo. This planted a(cid:0) seed in my mind which, over the years, has slowly grown.(cid:0) Linda(cid:0)Woolliscroft(cid:0) In 1991, after losing my mom, I became more involved(cid:0) in spiritual matters and started attending the Spiritualist(cid:0) church.(cid:0)It was after I lost Michael that I became more(cid:0) involved in development classes to develop my senses. It(cid:0) was three years ago that I read a story in a magazine all(cid:0) about EVP and I thought to myself, “I’m going to have a(cid:0) go at this.” I went on a day trip to Glastonbury where my(cid:0) friend and I went into a book shop with many spiritual(cid:0) books. I hadn’t told my friend about my thoughts on EVP.(cid:0) As we entered the shop my friend went one way and I(cid:0) another. In my mind I thought, “I wish I could find a book(cid:0) on EVP.” In the next second my friend walked over and(cid:0) placed a book in my hand, the book was(cid:0)Contact The Other(cid:0) Side(cid:0),(cid:0) by Konstantinos.(cid:0) My friend said it sounded interesting. When I read the(cid:0) back of the book, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It(cid:0) explained different methods for recording EVP. My friend(cid:0) said the book hadn’t been

on the shelf, it had been left on(cid:0) the side. I read the entire book(cid:0)first. Then on my second(cid:0) recording, I heard a man’s voice saying(cid:0)“Linda.”(cid:0)I was so(cid:0) excited; I think I phoned all the people I knew to tell them.(cid:0) I have had many voices since; some Class A and lots of(cid:0) Class B and C. It didn’t take Michael too long to speak. I(cid:0) asked him what it is like where he was and I recorded one(cid:0) word: “(cid:0)Heaven.”(cid:0) I’ve had many(cid:0)“I love you”(cid:0)messages(cid:0) and have recorded(cid:0)“Mom, Happy Birthday”(cid:0) on my birth-(cid:0) day. I always record on special occasions, birthdays, anni-(cid:0) versaries and I always get a reply. They are not always loud(cid:0) but with the help of the computer, I can hear what is being(cid:0) said. My ear has become more tuned, but saying that, I give(cid:0) up on some examples. I’ve tried many experiments but(cid:0) sometimes I get the best voices just recording in the silence.(cid:0) [Linda lives in Wolverhampton in the UK and has a website at(cid:0) www.evpcontact.com(cid:0)](cid:0) Pareidolia(cid:0) Skeptics most often say that EVP is caused by pareidolia.(cid:0) The definition of pareidolia is interpreting random sounds(cid:0) as voices or inappropriately assigning meaning to noises.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae selected ten EVP examples from his(cid:0) experiments in the Institute of Noetic Science’s room in(cid:0) Petaluma, CA that is screened from radio signals. He(cid:0)sent(cid:0) them to a group of people with five possible interpretations(cid:0) (multiple-choice test) suggested for each one.(cid:0) He included an 11(cid:0)th(cid:0) example which was just

white noise(cid:0) the size of a typical EVP and provided five suggested(cid:0) interpretations. Alec writes, “It took a long time to get(cid:0) replies from the seven expert listeners. They all apologized(cid:0) and said such things as, ‘Maybe it’s just that I’m getting(cid:0) old, Alec, but I cant hear anything.’(cid:0)None of them(cid:0) was(cid:0) fooled into believing a white noise clip of the standard size(cid:0) was anything but what it was—noise! So much for(cid:0) pareidolia.”(cid:0) Page 11 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Communicating with Animals(cid:0) Darren Williams con-(cid:0) tinues to hear from his(cid:0) dog, Fox. Darren’s(cid:0) partner, Alex, had a(cid:0) lucid dream in which(cid:0) Fox came running out(cid:0) of the darkness and(cid:0) there was a joyous re-(cid:0) union between the(cid:0) two. Subsequent EVP(cid:0) confirmed that it was(cid:0) really Fox and not just(cid:0) a construct of Alex’s(cid:0) subconscious. Because of this, Darren purchased the book(cid:0) by the famous lucid dream researcher, Stephen LaBerge.(cid:0) During a recording session, Darren talked to Fox in a(cid:0) conversational way, and when he was talking about dream-(cid:0) ing, he recorded a young voice which he has come to know(cid:0) as Fox saying,(cid:0)“I’m reading your book with you.”(cid:0) Fox on the left with Scarlett(cid:0) Darren wrote, “The message I could give to the people(cid:0) who lost their pet is that it’s a parting, not an end when(cid:0) someone we love dies. And it seems that something amaz-(cid:0) ing happened to Fox when his physical body died—his(cid:0) consciousness, no longer bound by limitations of a canine(cid:0) brain, seems to have expanded

to the point where human(cid:0) speech is possible for him. I think the departed communi-(cid:0) cate in a way that’s comfortable for us. From what Fox has(cid:0) told me, it was Tara, Alex’s dog who passed away several(cid:0) years ago, who taught Fox how to ‘speak’ to us.(cid:0) “If we expect only to hear ‘woof woof!’ or ‘meow!’ from(cid:0) our departed animal friends, then I think that’s all we’ll(cid:0) hear. But Alex and I were always nutty enough to think that(cid:0) Fox could understand more than most people are prepared(cid:0) to believe. And for us at least, this has turned out to be true(cid:0) from a certain perspective. But I’ve had to accept that for(cid:0) most people, this is too much to ask for them to believe:(cid:0) ‘Your dead dog speaks to you? Get real—get therapy!’(cid:0) “From EVP communication, we deduced that this life-(cid:0) time is indeed very important. But it appears to only be a(cid:0) prologue for what follows in the life beyond—a life where(cid:0) all our loved ones await. For our own part, our EVP com-(cid:0) munication has become an integral part of our lives. To us(cid:0) it’s as natural now as speaking to friends on the phone.(cid:0) We’ve heard so much, so many comforting and astonishing(cid:0) things that, for us at least, challenge many preconceptions(cid:0) about the afterlife. Once I asked Marion, Alex’s departed(cid:0) mother, if there was any great revelation when she left this(cid:0) world for the next. The response was,(cid:0) ‘Just loving.’”(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) shared

her response to a person grieving over(cid:0) the loss of a pet. Sonia wrote that when she first read about(cid:0) Dr. Anabela Cardoso(cid:0)’s contact with her beloved dogs, she(cid:0) couldn’t believe it and feels that few people would accept(cid:0) such an idea. Sonia ran her own experiments and says that(cid:0) she was “Fully surprised to hear clear contacts of beloved(cid:0) dogs speaking to their owners from the other side.” Sonia(cid:0) goes on to say that a good friend lost his parrot. The parrot(cid:0) had lived with the man for twenty-two years and the friend(cid:0) was so upset that Sonia risked trying to make contact with(cid:0) the parrot. She was astonished to receive forty replies.(cid:0) Sonia wrote, “I think that, in the future, experiments may(cid:0) change the view of humans about animals. Yes, apparently(cid:0) they are able to think and to express.”(cid:0) Sweep or Not to Sweep(cid:0) Continued from page 7(cid:0) between the stations or that it takes so long to move from(cid:0) station to station that multiple words can be heard from(cid:0) each broadcast (some more expensive stereo units seem to(cid:0) be like this). Also, it seems to not work well when there is(cid:0) a lot of static between stations. So if need be, switch from(cid:0) AM to FM.(cid:0) While you are moving the dial back and forth, talk as you(cid:0) would if you were having a conversation with someone in(cid:0) the room with you; only speak a little more slowly. Wait a(cid:0) short time between each question or comment.

Somewhere(cid:0) between ten and fifteen seconds seems to be good, but you(cid:0) could wait as long as thirty seconds.(cid:0) When reviewing the session, listen for a voice that stands(cid:0) out from the rest of the radio sweep, and also for the(cid:0) words/phrases to be relevant. Sometimes the voice will be(cid:0) choppy, as if formed from the snippets of broadcasts. Other(cid:0) times, the voice will float above the sweep sound. Listen(cid:0) first to an entire segment, starting with your voice and(cid:0) ending just before you speak again. Then go back and listen(cid:0) to that segment a few seconds at a time. Less clear re-(cid:0) sponses can easily be missed during the first pass.(cid:0) I have a tendency to discard almost all single words(cid:0) because they could have been from an actual broadcast, but(cid:0) when I hear a phrase that is longer, I know it could not have(cid:0) come from a single broadcasting station because I’m(cid:0) sweeping the channels too quickly for more than one sylla-(cid:0) ble to be picked up by the microphone.(cid:0) Please, have patience if you try this. Even if you are an(cid:0) experienced researcher, it takes practice to learn to hear the(cid:0) responses, just as it does to become accustomed to listening(cid:0) for and hearing EVP. Someone recently sent me the record-(cid:0) ing of her sweep session, and commented it wasn’t working(cid:0) at all for her. I was able to isolate and return to her multiple(cid:0) phrases that, once individualized, she was able to hear and(cid:0) understand.(cid:0) I

have no explanations as to how this technique works,(cid:0) but it definitely produces interesting results that I (and(cid:0) many other radio sweep experimenters) believe are worthy(cid:0) of formal research and investigation.(cid:0) [Editor: Radio sweep involves technology that has not been(cid:0) examined as closely as has the “Plain Old Recorder” (POR)(cid:0) technique. We recommend that people first learn to record(cid:0) EVP using a recorder with background noise, and try other(cid:0) technologies only after becoming experienced with how(cid:0) you record EVP.](cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 12(cid:0) Sarah Estep(cid:0) Continued from page 10(cid:0) Although more has been learned about how we hear EVP(cid:0) and why it can be difficult for the untrained ear to hear(cid:0) them, this grading system is in use to this day.(cid:0) George Wynne (left) Martha Copeland, Sarah Estep,(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) All of us working with EVP owe Sarah so much for her(cid:0) bravery in being amongst the first in our field. She recorded(cid:0) thousands of voices, published seventy-two newsletters(cid:0) and authored one of the foremost books on the voice(cid:0) phenomenon. In 2006, the Association that she founded(cid:0) presented her with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the(cid:0) Atlanta, Georgia AA-EVP conference.(cid:0) People have been writing to the Association with their(cid:0) condolences and memories of this great woman. Here are(cid:0) just a few of the comments:(cid:0) “(cid:0)Her enthusiasm and passion for voice phenomena(cid:0) inspired me to continue seeking ways to communicate(cid:0) with those departed. She was clearly one of my main(cid:0) motivators as she has been for many.”

J.S.(cid:0) “I did not know Sarah personally, but I feel like I did(cid:0) through her work and through the legacy that she left(cid:0) behind. She definitely made the EVP field what it is(cid:0) today and I am so grateful for her loving efforts.” W.R.(cid:0) “She never failed to acknowledge a letter or bit of info(cid:0) I would send her. At a time when EVP was still relatively(cid:0) unheard of, it was comfort to receive Sarah’s handwritten(cid:0) notes and have her publish my and others’ communica-(cid:0) tions with the other side in her newsletter.” L.M(cid:0) “My abiding memory of Sarah was the broad smile on(cid:0) her face when she opened her door to me on my first visit(cid:0) to her home in Maryland. It was 1983 and I had just read(cid:0) about her experiments in capturing the voices of dead(cid:0) people on recording tape…. For four hours, I sat en-(cid:0) tranced. Sarah not only gave me a purpose in life but(cid:0) changed it forever. I don’t ever remember seeing Sarah(cid:0) unless she was happy and smiling.” T.L.(cid:0) “(cid:0)It is not the USA that owes to Sarah, but the world.(cid:0) Presently what we do, our research is not correctly(cid:0) evaluated, but in the future, it will be. When Survival has(cid:0) been scientifically proven and humanity jumps a new(cid:0) step forward in development, ITC pioneers will be(cid:0) remembered as heroes. And there will be our(cid:0)“Sweet(cid:0) Sarah(cid:0),” as I used to call her. I am sure that she will go on(cid:0) working for the

AA-EVP from wherever she is ... not(cid:0) only for the benefit of this important association but for(cid:0) something bigger: Mankind.” S.R.(cid:0) “(cid:0)I love this lady for the way she let us have our family(cid:0) back even for just a short time here on Earth until we(cid:0) meet them again on the other side.” L.N.(cid:0) “Sarah’s book was my first foray into the world of(cid:0) communication with spirit, an event which would change(cid:0) my life. In a big way, Sarah is largely responsible for my(cid:0) current awareness of spirit.” K.M.(cid:0) “I credit Sarah Estep with opening the door to this new(cid:0) world for me. I’ve thought of her every day since hearing(cid:0) of her illness and especially tonight since learning of her(cid:0) passing. I believe she will continue her work from the(cid:0) other side and guide those of us here who share her(cid:0) commitment to the study of EVP.” R.H.(cid:0) [We thank all who have written to us about Sarah. Your com-(cid:0) ments have been forwarded to the family.](cid:0) Sarah’s daughter, Becky Estep, made a contribution to the(cid:0) AA-EVP in Sarah’s name, and asked that others donate to(cid:0) the AA-EVP instead of sending flowers. These donations(cid:0) have enabled us to establish the(cid:0)Sarah Estep Research(cid:0) Fund(cid:0), which will be used to promote and support research(cid:0) toward an empirical understanding of these phenomena.(cid:0) Researchers need not be AA-EVP members, but they will(cid:0) be required to follow agreed-upon protocols and produce a(cid:0) final report for peer review. Details of this initiative are(cid:0) available via(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).

You can honor Sarah and con-(cid:0) tinue her legacy by donating to the research fund.(cid:0) Sarah Estep with her daughter, Becky Estep(cid:0) Our field is still very young, and there are people in many(cid:0) parts of the world who have braved the contempt of(cid:0) mainstream science to seek the truth about ITC. We honor(cid:0) their contributions, and especially Sarah for her bravery in(cid:0) giving people who had unexpected encounters with ITC a(cid:0) forum to be heard and where they could compare(cid:0) experiences free of the ridicule waiting for them in more(cid:0) public forums.(cid:0) Page 13 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Frequency Sweep(cid:0) A Cautionary Note from(cid:0)Alexander MacRae(cid:0) Many members are experiment-(cid:0) ing with getting messages(cid:0) through what is called “radio(cid:0) sweep.” Alexander MacRae re-(cid:0) minded us that this method is(cid:0) not new. He wrote, “Now the(cid:0) frequency sweep, as I call it.(cid:0) The method of Hans Koenig(cid:0) (editor: in the mid 1980s) used(cid:0) two ultrasonic sound channels,(cid:0) swept in frequency in opposite(cid:0) directions. It made so much(cid:0) sense and the results were amazing! But why did they not(cid:0) continue? Koenig now uses a completely different method.(cid:0) “The next thing was the availability of an electronic(cid:0) ‘chirp’ machine. And this became the vogue until someone(cid:0) trashed it. The chirp is a swept frequency waveform, with(cid:0) a rich signal content and often used in surveillance work.(cid:0) That would be about 1987, at a guess.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae(cid:0) “Around 1992, a guy called Robert Kesselring, who had(cid:0) worked with Meek and Koenig, told me that

the ultrasonic(cid:0) aspect of Koenig’s method was just a cover and that it(cid:0) actually operated by EM [as an electromagnetic device]. I(cid:0) don’t know what happened to Kesselring. He was doing an(cid:0) MSc at A&M which sort of interfaced to EVP.(cid:0) “Like EVPmaker, the swept receiver method is capable(cid:0) of producing EVP, but it is also even more capable of(cid:0) producing false results. Some years ago, I did a series of(cid:0) experiments with EVPmaker.... What EVPmaker does is(cid:0) take a few seconds of speech, chop it into little pieces(cid:0) called phonemes and then randomize these phonemes. If(cid:0) you are lucky, you will find EVP.(cid:0) “What some people do, frustrated at not getting very(cid:0) much, is they make the slices wider, so then what you are(cid:0) getting are actually sizeable little chunks of the sentence.(cid:0) Actual words are still there. In that case you(cid:0)seem(cid:0)to be(cid:0) getting more EVP, but what you are getting is simply a(cid:0) rearranged sentence. For example, from a John Wayne(cid:0) Western, the original, “The Hell you will…”, (“The Hay-(cid:0) ull you wee-ill”), could come out as, “(cid:0)I will woo you still(cid:0).”(cid:0) “This is even more likely to happen with the swept(cid:0) frequency method, as it has to be reasonably slow in order(cid:0) to get any audio at all. You can, theoretically, get EVP, but(cid:0) what you are more likely to get is just bits of a sentence.(cid:0) “We are risking looking like clowns. But worse, it is(cid:0) reported, that for this, some people are paying $500 an(cid:0)

hour. Bad news! This is the route to getting banned, and(cid:0) there are plenty who will be happy to help it happen.”(cid:0) Another Radio Sweep Note(cid:0) Ernst Senkowski wrote that “Wolfgang Dreiss successfully(cid:0) gained paranormal voices by continuously changing the(cid:0) radio receiver’s frequency from one end of the band to the(cid:0) opposite end. So this method is known since 1977.”(cid:0) Lizzie Borden House(cid:0) Lizzie Borden House by Natalie Smothers(cid:0) www.flickr.com/photos/wholelottanothing/688966782/(cid:0) Al Rauber(cid:0) was sent to revisit the Lizzie Borden House in(cid:0) the filming of(cid:0)Monster Quest(cid:0) for the History Channel in(cid:0) February. Al recorded in the house with the Ghost Stories(cid:0) crew several years ago. He captured many EVP and several(cid:0) of them were relevant to the infamous murders that took(cid:0) place in the house.(cid:0) Al wrote: “(cid:0)One of the voices says,(cid:0)‘Church has 'em.’(cid:0) I(cid:0) was asking about information regarding the murders. It was(cid:0) like the voice was directing us to the most unlikely of(cid:0) places. We came to find out that there was a letter recently(cid:0) discovered in which a Catholic priest from the Cathedral(cid:0) right across the street had written about a strange encounter(cid:0) with Lizzie. On her deathbed, she called for the priest who(cid:0) I guess was an old friend. Lizzie was not a Catholic. In the(cid:0) letter, the priest claims that Lizzie confessed to the mur-(cid:0) ders. I have a copy of the letter in my possession. Best(cid:0) quote in the letter from Father Cassidy about Lizzie: ‘She(cid:0) is nutty as a fruitcake, but guilty as hell.’(cid:0)

“Another voice urged Andrew, Lizzie’s dead father, to(cid:0) come through. He never did. When we asked, “Lizzie are(cid:0) you here?” we got a faint,(cid:0)‘I’m here.’(cid:0) “Not only did we get EVP evidence, but we captured(cid:0) some physical stuff on camera during an EVP session. The(cid:0) producer had the guts to direct a question to Abby [Lizzie’s(cid:0) hated stepmother] while in Lizzie’s room.(cid:0) Within seconds,(cid:0) there was a loud bang caused by a mirror which jumped. It(cid:0) was in a locked cabinet behind glass panes. This was all(cid:0) captured by our surveillance camera in the room and can be(cid:0) seen in the show. There is no(cid:0) way this mirror could move. We(cid:0) checked it.(cid:0) “I pounded on the wall behind(cid:0) the cabinet and we checked the(cid:0) mirror. It could not have moved.(cid:0) But it did ... loudly.(cid:0) It was like(cid:0) Lizzie was so enraged that she(cid:0) somehow worked up an energy(cid:0) charge and let loose to let every-(cid:0) one know this question was in-(cid:0) appropriate.”(cid:0) Lizzie Borden Portrait by(cid:0) Shyrynn www.flickr.com/(cid:0) photos/shyspics/2051521516/(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 14(cid:0) Safety of Communicating(cid:0)Continued from page 8(cid:0) a close encounter with an entity. The entity could be per-(cid:0) fectly friendly, but because of fear and because the encoun-(cid:0) ter is so fleeting, a fearful person might see the encounter(cid:0) as a reason to be more fearful.(cid:0) Experimenters are responsible for creating a positive(cid:0) contact field for the other side. This includes expectations.(cid:0) You are responsible for your own life, and who and what(cid:0) you

let into your environment and consciousness. Protect(cid:0) your personal environment and maintain a field of positive(cid:0) energy around your home and all that you do. (cid:0) We want to make sure that people do not feel that some-(cid:0) thing is wrong with them if they do encounter one of these(cid:0) less spiritually educated entities. Many researchers have(cid:0) had this happen. If you are one of them, you are not alone.(cid:0) Discarnate entities are attracted to people in the flesh who(cid:0) seem to be supportive of them in some way; someone who(cid:0) might be sympathetic about their plight. So, if you have(cid:0) attracted an angry entity, you are not necessarily an angry(cid:0) person. For example, if the angry entity is afraid to go on(cid:0) because of some dastardly deed committed in a past life-(cid:0) time, and you are knowledgeable about why the entity(cid:0) should not be afraid, then it may very well be attracted to(cid:0) you as a potential source of guidance.(cid:0) It has been made clear, via just about all of the forms of(cid:0) transcommunication, that entities in spirit are always with(cid:0) us. They may be in our home at any time, whether we sense(cid:0) them or not. A group we have communicated with, the(cid:0) Imperator Group, has told us that they do not watch us, and(cid:0) that they only come to us when we call on them or when we(cid:0) need help. We are certain that this group is not earthbound.(cid:0) It may be that earthbound entities do watch

us. With that(cid:0) said, we believe that EVP researchers can request privacy(cid:0) and can tell earthbound entities to go away if they are being(cid:0) bothersome. An entity certainly does not have to be in your(cid:0) home to initiate EVP.(cid:0) It is common for an EVP experimenter to ask for help(cid:0) from the other side to improve communications. To our(cid:0) friends on the other side, this is probably equivalent to(cid:0) asking them into our house for a visit. If you are seeking(cid:0) phenomena—and you are if you work with EVP—then we(cid:0) would think that you would greet these visitations as a new(cid:0) form of communication. What a wonderful proof!(cid:0) These entities are people. In time, they could be you.(cid:0) How would you like to be treated? They deserve to be(cid:0) treated with respect. If you are not living in a haunted house(cid:0) and if you find that you have entities in your home, odds(cid:0) are this is because you have called them in some way, or(cid:0) they have a need to communicate with you. After all, many(cid:0) of us have come to EVP out of a need to communicate with(cid:0) one of them. Can you imagine how frustrating it might be(cid:0) if entities in your house believe you can help them commu-(cid:0) nicate with a loved one (perhaps with you) and all you do(cid:0) is request that they leave? You have the right to tell them(cid:0) to go, but you have the opportunity to greet them and find(cid:0) a way to

communicate.(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Managing Intrusive Communicators(cid:0) Christopher Hayes recently began a topic in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange titled “(cid:0)Foul Responses(cid:0)”: “I have … consistently(cid:0) gotten responses that are quite lewd and filled with bad(cid:0) the board have an(cid:0) language.… Does anyone on intervention strategy(cid:0) that helps get more positive EVP?”(cid:0) Moderator Margaret Downey suggested the article about(cid:0) safety that is at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) and republished in this issue on(cid:0) page 8. Since this is one of the more abstract issues EVP(cid:0) experimenters must deal with, I (Tom) made a few(cid:0) observations about what we have learned over the years: If(cid:0) they have made you angry, then they have the energy they(cid:0) need from you. This is one of those, “Don’t think of a pink(cid:0) elephant” situations. When we say that you need to ignore(cid:0) them, what we really mean is that you (or an interested(cid:0) observer) are the conduit through which these messages are(cid:0) passed into the physical. That takes energy of the kind(cid:0) more properly thought of as biofield or auric energy.(cid:0) It also takes a physical “body” to hold the information. If(cid:0) I try to tell you about a new form of vehicle that you have(cid:0) no familiarity with, I must begin with “it is like” so that you(cid:0) can put form to the idea I am trying to convey. Trans-(cid:0) etheric messages are no different. There has to be a word(cid:0) or image to “hold” the information and give it existence in(cid:0) the physical. If you attach undesirable

meaning to those(cid:0) words, then it is too easy to see the use of those words as(cid:0) undesirable.(cid:0) So here, “ignore” means to really not think of that pink(cid:0) elephant. Try changing your perspective from “This is(cid:0) irritating” or “That is a lewd message” to “That is a funny(cid:0) thing to say.” Words are just words until we assign(cid:0) significance to them. You see it all the time when kids play.(cid:0) They will often insult each other in ways that, if the same(cid:0) words were used in polite company, they would be(cid:0) ostracized for being antisocial.(cid:0) Christopher wrote back, “Your perspective makes sense to(cid:0) me. As an aside, I am a professor of clinical psychology(cid:0) and only recently got into EVP after my father died.(cid:0) Initially, I got several heartwarming messages from him(cid:0) (using a digital recorder and background static). Then, all(cid:0) of a sudden I started receiving an overwhelming number of(cid:0) lewd messages. I did exactly what you are talking about, I(cid:0) not only assigned the messages power and meaning over(cid:0) me, but got quite angry. Since receiving the feedback from(cid:0) the board, the messages have vanished! They had been(cid:0) going on for over two weeks unabated. I believe that my(cid:0) fear played a role in all this, and I began wondering why(cid:0) the other side was attacking me. This experience has taught(cid:0) me an invaluable lesson: EVP work requires one to be(cid:0) prepared to do self-assessments, and not to take it all so(cid:0) seriously (I loved your idea

“recognize” these levels, and thereby, more(cid:0) quickly return to their associated states of mind.(cid:0) We have attended three, one week classes and have even(cid:0) met Robert. As is reported at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/news.html(cid:0),(cid:0) his daughter, Laurie Monroe, spoke at the 2006 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference. Our experience with the Monroe training pro-(cid:0) grams is that they are a powerful tool for self-development,(cid:0) and are potentially important for people wishing to develop(cid:0) their mediumship abilities.(cid:0) The Monroe experiment mentioned in the Viewpoint will(cid:0) test this belief with a series of EVP recording sessions with(cid:0) and without a special set of frequencies.(cid:0) The Technology(cid:0) Robert Monroe discovered that the two hemispheres of the(cid:0) brain will synchronize with the beat-frequency between(cid:0) two audio signals. Using representative numbers, a 1000(cid:0) Hz tone in one side of a stereo headset and a 1010 Hz tone(cid:0) in the other will result in a response to the 10 Hz difference(cid:0) between the two tones. This is “Hemi-Sync.(cid:0)®(cid:0)” Further, if(cid:0) the difference between the tones is reduced, say to 5 Hz,(cid:0) then the brain will follow. This is the “Frequency-follow-(cid:0) ing Response.”(cid:0) The levels of awareness in electroencephalograph bio-(cid:0) feedback training for meditation are described as:(cid:0) Beta(cid:0) (13-40 Hz): Awake and alert(cid:0) Alpha(cid:0) (7-12 Hz): Deeply relaxed; meditative(cid:0) Theta(cid:0) (4 -7 Hz): Between deep meditation and sleep.(cid:0) Delta(cid:0) (0-4 Hz): Sleep(cid:0) Biofeedback is used to teach a person to recognize a deep(cid:0) meditative state, and in the future, to quickly “go there”(cid:0) without feedback aids. In the Monroe system, binaural-(cid:0) beats (Hemi-Sync(cid:0)®(cid:0))(cid:0)are used

to teach the person(cid:0) the same response. In fact, you just relax and listen(cid:0) to the program as the hardly heard frequencies(cid:0) slowly move you into deeper and deeper levels of(cid:0) awareness. Even if you are disturbed, say by a(cid:0) passing car, the frequencies will quickly “pull”(cid:0) you back.(cid:0) Robert referred to the first level, Focus(cid:0)TM(cid:0)10, as(cid:0) the state of awareness in which the body is asleep(cid:0) and the mind is awake. Focus 10 is the beginning place for(cid:0) most of the programs. We believe it is correct to say that,(cid:0) in terms of biofeedback, this would be roughly equivalent(cid:0) to the “Alpha Level.”(cid:0) The Institute has scanned the brains of people reported by(cid:0) others to be very successful trance-channels and did find a(cid:0) discernable difference from people who did not trance. A(cid:0) set of frequencies were developed from these EEG maps(cid:0) and were used to develop binaural-beats for audio pro-(cid:0) grams designed to help the listener sense the presence of(cid:0) other intelligences. These are referred to as “Inner Self-(cid:0) Helper” or ISH frequencies and brain mapping of(cid:0) “ordinary” people, while they were under the influence of(cid:0) the frequencies, showed that they were measurably effec-(cid:0) tive in inducing trance-like conditions.(cid:0) The Cosmology(cid:0) There are many cosmologies describing how reality is(cid:0) arranged, and if you need a reference point, then it may(cid:0) work to say that Focus 1 is our waking state—body and(cid:0) mind awake, so that would be the physical. As the focus of(cid:0) attention is changed further and further

away from the(cid:0) physical, there is a transition point at Focus 21. So Focus 1(cid:0) through 21 is Locale 1. Focus 22 through 27 is Local 2, and(cid:0) beyond that would be Locale 3. In the more commonly held(cid:0) cosmology, Locale 2 would probably be thought of as the(cid:0) Astral Plane (level of existence), but one should not be too(cid:0) determined to relate the Monroe way with others. The(cid:0) Monroe way is based on direct experience that can be(cid:0) generally replicated in controlled conditions, so it is best to(cid:0) look for perceptual similarities amongst the cosmologies.(cid:0) Here then, are the more important focus levels as de-(cid:0) scribed in the Monroe literature:(cid:0) Focus 10:(cid:0) The first stage in separation of mind-conscious-(cid:0) ness from physical reality. “Mind awake/body asleep” is a(cid:0) deeply relaxed state in which awareness of physical sen-(cid:0) sory input is reduced, yet the mind is alert and attentive to(cid:0) experience. This gives birth to awareness that you exist(cid:0) with or without the physical body.(cid:0) Focus 12:(cid:0) A state of expanded awareness in which you can(cid:0) become more conscious of inner resources and guidance; a(cid:0) powerful and empowering state which readily lends itself(cid:0) to many diverse applications(cid:0) Continued page 17(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 16(cid:0) When Science is used to Debunk(cid:0) We are looking for ways to encourage research by academ-(cid:0) ically trained scientists. Our assumption is that this will(cid:0) eventually happen, and when it does, the study of EVP will(cid:0) become a mainstream science. So imagine how disconcert-(cid:0)

ing it was for us to read Professor Imants Barušs’ first(cid:0) article about EVP in the Fall, 2001 issue of the(cid:0)Journal of(cid:0) Scientific Exploration(cid:0) titled “Failure to Replicate Elec-(cid:0) tronic Voice Phenomena.”(cid:0) In that article Barušs claimed to have attempted to re-(cid:0) search EVP but found hardly anything in the scientific(cid:0) literature to give him direction. This is understandable(cid:0) because the scientific community did not then and will not(cid:0) now get near EVP; however, there were numerous websites(cid:0) with ample information about how to work with EVP,(cid:0) including(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) In his protocol, Barušs made the amateur mistake of(cid:0) recording some sixty hours of audio for EVP. He used(cid:0) students to conduct the experiments and to listen to the(cid:0) sound files. Since it takes us an average of thirty minutes to(cid:0) study a three minute recording, he would have needed at(cid:0) least six hundred hours for analysis if he really wanted to(cid:0) find EVP. He did report finding a few unexpected utteranc-(cid:0) es, but felt that he did not find EVP “in the strong sense.”(cid:0) One of our members visited Barušs and found him to be(cid:0) unreceptive to learning more about EVP. So it is difficult(cid:0) not to conclude that Barušs was simply using token re-(cid:0) search to debunk EVP. The article can be read at(cid:0) www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v15n3a3.php(cid:0).(cid:0) Well, okay, so we tried to ignore Barušs, assuming that(cid:0) he was finished with us. Then in the Spring 2007 issue of(cid:0) the(cid:0)Journal of Scientific Exploration,(cid:0) we discovered “An(cid:0) Experimental Test of Instrumental Transcommunication,”(cid:0) by

Imants Barušs. He was back! This time, he succeeded in(cid:0) making himself and the journal look pretty foolish.(cid:0) In the new article, Barušs reported making thirty-six(cid:0) hours, nineteen minutes of audio recordings. That is an(cid:0) astounding 2,179 recorded minutes, which would take us(cid:0) an average of 363 hours to properly review for EVP. Of(cid:0) course he failed to record what we would consider EVP. He(cid:0) also used a couple of different forms of computer-gener-(cid:0) ated random text, EVPMaker and a mental medium. The(cid:0) medium was responsible for starting and stopping the(cid:0) processes and reporting when she “heard or sensed some-(cid:0) thing” which was to be verified by the recordings.(cid:0) Influencing computer process to produce phenomenal(cid:0) messages would normally be considered an advanced form(cid:0) of ITC which we would discourage a person new to the(cid:0) subject from trying. We think working with a medium is a(cid:0) good idea, but expecting a person to function as a medium(cid:0) (right brain) while operating equipment (left brain) is a(cid:0) poor approach. In fact, Barušs made procedural errors that(cid:0) would normally lead us to question even his positive re-(cid:0) sults. For instance, EVPMaker is a program that may(cid:0) produce EVP, but the danger of false positives is such that(cid:0) we discourage its use until the person has learned to record(cid:0) and recognize “real” EVP using an audio recorder.(cid:0) Barušs made this observation in the analysis section of(cid:0) the report: “However, both the medium and myself were(cid:0) concerned that due caution be observed with ITC research,(cid:0)

in that it could not only be dangerous for beings in other(cid:0) dimensions to try to influence electronic equipment but(cid:0) also for any living participants engaged in such studies.”(cid:0) We spend a great deal of time trying to explain that the(cid:0) entities initiate many of the contacts, have never com-(cid:0) plained about discomfort in doing so and that no physical(cid:0) person has been harmed by working with EVP. There(cid:0) simply is no evidence for Barušs’ statement and it is irre-(cid:0) sponsible to make such speculation under the cover of(cid:0) academic authority.(cid:0) We desperately need qualified scientists to become in-(cid:0) volved in ITC research. But when a professor of psychol-(cid:0) ogy takes up the challenge without adequate training, and(cid:0) in effect, uses his position of authority to debunk ITC, we(cid:0) believe it might be best if we look to ourselves for scientific(cid:0) validation. Adding insult to injury, Barušs’ research was(cid:0) funded by the New Science Fund of the Community Foun-(cid:0) dation of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA. It was also peer(cid:0) reviewed, although we doubt that the Journal had access to(cid:0) people qualified as peers for an article about ITC.(cid:0) The Monroe Way(cid:0) Continued from page 16(cid:0) Focus 15:(cid:0) A state of “no time” in which you explore(cid:0) beyond the constraints of time and place. Opportunities are(cid:0) abundant for establishing communication with larger as-(cid:0) pects of self.(cid:0) Focus 18:(cid:0) S(cid:0)elf-love, self-trust, and non-judgmental accep-(cid:0) tance(cid:0) Focus 21:(cid:0) Like deep (delta) sleep, but with a significant(cid:0) difference. You are fully “awake” and

conscious, directing(cid:0) the action, as you explore more deeply your personal self(cid:0) and the far reaches of other realities.(cid:0) Focus 22:(cid:0)Where humans still in the physical can have(cid:0) partial consciousness, remembered as dreams, deliriums,(cid:0) and patterns induced through chemicals(cid:0) Focus 23(cid:0): Inhabited by humans who have recently exited(cid:0) physical existence and have not adapted to such change(cid:0) Focus 24, 25 and 26:(cid:0)The Belief System territories where(cid:0) those who have exited the physical are residing in a partic-(cid:0) ular belief system(cid:0) Focus 27:(cid:0)The Reception Center, Way Station, or Park,(cid:0) designed to ease the trauma and shock of the transition out(cid:0) of physical reality.(cid:0) Some levels are more “interesting” to one or another of us.(cid:0) Tom really likes working at Focus 15. Also, how the levels(cid:0) are visualized is very personal. He gets a lot of insights(cid:0) from people in spirit coming to talk to him in Focus 15 (no(cid:0) time) but others have described it as nothingness. Some(cid:0) people say that in Focus 15, they have learned to imagine(cid:0) themselves moving from a center, along spokes of a wheel(cid:0) to the circumference where they are able to go forward or(cid:0) back in time. Lisa likes to use Focus 15 to visualize what(cid:0) she would like to manifest and feels that Focus 27, The(cid:0) Reception Center, is the easiest focus level to use to meet(cid:0) with loved ones and friends now on the other side.(cid:0) Page 17 Spring 2008(cid:0) Sonia Contacts Sarah(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I knew it.”(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) In late February, Brazilian ITC(cid:0)

researcher and long-time friend(cid:0) of Sarah Estep,(cid:0)Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0),(cid:0) asked her contact in spirit, Mr.(cid:0) German, if it was possible to(cid:0) contact Sarah. Sonia received(cid:0) about ten replies from him.(cid:0) First, just as she started to re-(cid:0) cord, an EVP was received that(cid:0) shows he knew she wanted(cid:0) news on Sarah:(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi (left) with(cid:0) Sarah Estep(cid:0) Mr. German:(cid:0)“Cê pergunta pela Sarah!”(cid:0) Translated:(cid:0)“You ask for Sarah.”(cid:0) Then he says that she rested after she left her physical(cid:0) body and is now recovered:(cid:0) Mr. German(cid:0): “Desperta do passagem!”(cid:0) Translation:(cid:0)“(she) woke up from the transition.”(cid:0) Then Mr. German tells Sonia that Sarah is there and will(cid:0) speak and also calls her in Portuguese,(cid:0)“A divine sister.”(cid:0) After Mr. German closes, the voice of an older lady comes(cid:0) through in Portuguese saying,(cid:0)“She will speak.”(cid:0) And then(cid:0) “I will get the telephone.”(cid:0) Sonia wonders if this was a(cid:0) person escorting Sarah or is it possible that this was already(cid:0) Sarah and she could speak to Sonia in Portuguese. Sonia(cid:0) says that she really has no idea. The messages then began(cid:0) coming in English and Sonia sent them to us to verify. We(cid:0) were amazed, especially at the first three messages, be-(cid:0) cause we were able to recognize the voice of Sarah! We(cid:0) have posted the first 3 messages on the website at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) (Look in the “Changes” box)(cid:0).(cid:0) Here are some of the messages that came through:(cid:0) Sonia: “Hi Sarah...”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I hear.”(cid:0)(or, “I am here.”)(cid:0) Sonia: “Are you hearing me?”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“You talk to me.”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I am

here on the phone.”(cid:0) Sonia: “(Imagine) how glad they will be to listen to you”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I phoned to you!”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I beg you hear my baby.”(cid:0) (or, “my Becky”?)(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“I am here, Sonia.”(cid:0) Sonia: “Are you with Charlie?”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“Confirm, I thank you.”(cid:0) Sonia: “thanks for cooperating…”(cid:0) Sonia: “What would you like to say to Becky?”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“My girl !”(cid:0) Sonia: “How are things there?”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“You hear a voice singing, thank you.”(cid:0) Sonia: “Bye…”(cid:0) Sarah:(cid:0)“Now good-bye.”(cid:0) [Editors Note: Members Debbie Caruso, Margaret(cid:0) Downey, Gail Gregory, Neil Kiernan, Dave Mierzwinski,(cid:0) Christine Jenkins, Richard Shenk and Vicki Talbott have(cid:0) also received messages when they have asked for Sarah.](cid:0) Update: Becky Estep has listened to Sonia’s recordings(cid:0) and told us that “ I hear my mother’s voice in some of(cid:0) the messages.”(cid:0) A Memento for Members(cid:0) The Estep family gave the Association all of the reel-to-(cid:0) reel tapes Sarah first used to record for EVP. They are(cid:0) available to members for a small donation. United States(cid:0) members can make a $15 donation which includes the(cid:0) $4.60 cost of mailing. Canadian members and members in(cid:0) Mexico add an additional $4.00 for mail or $19 total and(cid:0) members everywhere else add an additional $6.00 for mail(cid:0) or $21.00(cid:0) Sarah’s log of what was on the tapes was not found, but(cid:0) each tape is numbered and has notes inside in Sarah’s(cid:0) handwriting with the date, time and counter number for the(cid:0) tape. There are no notes as to what is actually on the tape!(cid:0) If you would like one

of Sarah’s reel-to-reel tapes, just(cid:0) send a check to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507(cid:0) with a note explaining your order. You can order at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) via the “Book” tab, using credit card or PayPal.(cid:0) Panel discussion during the Forever Family Conference mentioned in the Viewpoint. From the left: Gary Schwartz, PhD,(cid:0) Arthur Hastings, PhD, Dianne Arcangel, MS, Bruce Greyson, MD, Fred Alan Wolf, PhD, Loyd Auerbach, MS.(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Darleen Addis(cid:0) wrote that she is thrilled. Since she found(cid:0) a Sony B26 recorder on eBay, she has gotten something(cid:0) almost every recording! She shared a recent recording of(cid:0) her daughter Jenny saying,(cid:0)“Mommy.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski(cid:0)experiments with various techniques.(cid:0) On one experiment he recorded in his basement he got(cid:0),(cid:0) “He’s basically contacting/connecting us from his(cid:0) basement.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lloyd Bradshaw Jr. wrote that he has asked the same(cid:0) question over and over during recording sessions. The(cid:0) question is, “Do you miss your physical body, ever?” He(cid:0) has always gotten negative responses which include:(cid:0) “No,” “Never again”(cid:0)and even a(cid:0)“Could’ve done with-(cid:0) out it!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Stephanie Casey’s friend Timmy passed over in his sleep(cid:0) and it has been very difficult for her. She has been getting(cid:0) some communication through EVP with him. Recently(cid:0) she posted an EVP on the board simply asking, “Do you(cid:0) hear anything?” Both Margaret Downey and Debbie(cid:0) Caruso heard the EVP saying,(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0)Stephanie(cid:0) was so excited that others could corroborate what she(cid:0) thought she heard. She had gone to visit Timmy’s graves-(cid:0) ite when

it was recorded.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland sent us an EVP from AA-EVP member(cid:0) now on the other side, George Wynne, saying,(cid:0)“This is(cid:0) George Wynne.”(cid:0) George left a secret code and Martha(cid:0) remarked that she has still not been able to get that.(cid:0) •(cid:0)John D was doing a session using what he calls his(cid:0) “static” method. John turns a radio to the extreme left of(cid:0) the dial. He listens for a bit to make sure he is just hearing(cid:0) static and that there are no snippets of radio transmission.(cid:0) John thinks that those on the other side might be trying to(cid:0) transmit to us using the radio frequencies and so has been(cid:0) doing experiments in this fashion. He heard the name of(cid:0) his wife and shared a message saying, “(cid:0)I had a very good(cid:0) time with your children.”(cid:0)John feels that this is a lady(cid:0) that took care of their children when they were young.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey has wanted to hear from her African(cid:0) Grey parrot named Spirit. Spirit had quite a vocabulary(cid:0) and Margaret has tried to get him to come through for a(cid:0) couple of years. Margaret asked who was with her during(cid:0) a recording. After several names were mentioned, and(cid:0) right at the very last of the list, a voice chimed in and said(cid:0) “Spirit.”(cid:0) Margaret says the voice sounded just like him.(cid:0) Next Margaret called directly on Spirit and said, “Such a(cid:0) good bird.” The EVP that followed said,(cid:0)“It’s Spirit.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Linda Gregory, wrote, “I joined AA-EVP after I saw

the(cid:0) movie(cid:0)White Noise.(cid:0) My brother-in-law had passed and I(cid:0) was so desperate to ease my hubby’s pain, that I tried it.(cid:0) I got his brother on the first try, saying,(cid:0)“Help Cobby.”(cid:0) It(cid:0) was just a whisper. That was the nickname he had given(cid:0) my hubby. He was the only one who called him that and(cid:0) it was his own voice. That day changed not only my life(cid:0) and beliefs, but my whole family’s. My son took a little(cid:0) longer to believe. But he now knows it is possible to hear(cid:0) our loved ones speak from the beyond.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Marie Inglee wrote, “What ‘sold’ me on EVP was when(cid:0) I recorded my father’s voice eleven years after his pass-(cid:0) ing.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Olivia Newton was recording while she was out walking(cid:0) her dog. She tripped over a bamboo root, laughed and(cid:0) said, “Bamboo.” Immediately after that, a gruff sounding(cid:0) male voice said,(cid:0)“Bamboo”(cid:0) in an EVP.(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Schmincke wrote that during(cid:0)a radio sweep ses-(cid:0) sion, Teresa Swick, who often has her name spoken(cid:0) during their recording sessions, asked her son Timmy(cid:0) who was saying her name? They didn’t get Timmy but(cid:0) heard,(cid:0)“Cathy”(cid:0) and then(cid:0)“Cat.”(cid:0) Martha Copeland lis-(cid:0) tened and wrote, “In your very first EVP, I hear a male(cid:0) voice saying,(cid:0)“It’s Cathy”(cid:0)… This is followed by(cid:0) Cathy’s voice saying, (it’s very faint)(cid:0)“Cat.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott heard from her good friend a week after she(cid:0) crossed over. Her first words were,(cid:0)“It’s Dorothy. How’s(cid:0) John?”(cid:0) John is her husband.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Susan Waters’ daughter Jenn crossed over on January 16,(cid:0)

2006. Susan wrote, “I was asking her if she would speak(cid:0) to me.” She recorded,(cid:0)“I’m right here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Melissa Walton-Bailey’s dad transitioned two years ago.(cid:0) His birthday was December 30(cid:0)th(cid:0) and Melissa, along with(cid:0) her mother, sister Vicky and niece Kalaya, did a record-(cid:0) ing and wished him “Happy Birthday.” You can hear him(cid:0) say(cid:0)“Thanks.”(cid:0)Melissa wrote, “He sounded so happy(cid:0) that we did not forget.(cid:0) News About Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Chris Cook has a Canadian website focused on EVP. He(cid:0) says that there are no Canadian resources for EVP. Check(cid:0) his site out at(cid:0)www.caevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Teri Daner’s son Geoff, now on the other side, is featured(cid:0) on the documentary(cid:0) Circus Rosaire.(cid:0) The Rosaire family(cid:0) has entertained audiences for nine generations with their(cid:0) legendary animal acts. The Rosaires dearly loved Geoff.(cid:0) You can go to(cid:0) http://progressiveproductions.com/(cid:0) viewer.php?id=93(cid:0) to see the trailer. We carried an article(cid:0) about Geoff in the Spring 2006 NewsJournal.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The annual VTF conference will be held in Fulda Ger-(cid:0) many May 23, 24 and 25. For information see(cid:0) www.vtf.de/termine_e.shtml(cid:0).(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle on or close(cid:0) to these dates: April 3, 17; May 1, 15, 29; June 12, 26 and(cid:0) July 10 and 24. Then go to the Big Circle area on the(cid:0) AA-EVP message board, Idea Exchange, at(cid:0) www.aaevp.com/ideaexchange/(cid:0) and share what you(cid:0) recorded. Many members have gotten recordings that are(cid:0) meant for other members so please share your recordings(cid:0) with the group!(cid:0) the Page 19 Spring 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) YouTube Video is

Available on CD(cid:0) The Big Circle YouTube video is available on a CD as a one-part file. We know(cid:0) that some of you do not have access to the Internet and would like to view this(cid:0) fourteen minute minidocumentary. We also know that some of you would like to(cid:0) show this to a friend, and having it on a CD would make that easier to do.(cid:0) The CDs are $12.50 each (U.S. funds) including mailing. You can order online at:(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources/books_order.htm(cid:0) or by writing to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) or a letter with signing(cid:0) instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership

Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0)$40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Subtract $5 per(cid:0)additional(cid:0)year for multiple years (1 Year Membership = $30, 2 Years = $55, 3 Years = $80)(cid:0) Please specify the number of years you are joining: __________(cid:0) All benefits for one year(cid:0) $30.00 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) $100 per year Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $(cid:0)_____(cid:0) to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree(cid:0) that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one(cid:0) years of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable

for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and(cid:0) that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as(cid:0) the NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 1 Page 20(cid:0) Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 27 Number 2 Summer 2008(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) A Dream Come True: EVP Research(cid:0). In April, the(cid:0) AA-EVP(cid:0) received communication from a couple who are(cid:0) very involved and interested in interdimensional communi-(cid:0) cation. They expressed interest in funding research into the(cid:0) possibility of two-way communication through EVP.(cid:0)Be-(cid:0) cause the Association is committed to the scientific explo-(cid:0) ration of EVP, we invited The(cid:0)Windbridge Institute(cid:0) for(cid:0) Applied Research in Human Potential (Windbridge) to(cid:0) submit a research proposal regarding the controlled exami-(cid:0) nation of EVP.(cid:0) Windbridge is an independent research organization in-(cid:0) vestigating what our bodies, minds and spirits are capable(cid:0) of and how that information can best serve all living things.(cid:0) At this time, the primary research focus at Windbridge is(cid:0) the survival of consciousness (life after death).(cid:0) Windbridge(cid:0)investigators(cid:0)Julie Beischel, PhD, and Mark(cid:0) Boccuzzi combined have almost fifteen years of experience(cid:0) in afterlife research and have published several peer-re-(cid:0) viewed articles on this topic. In addition, the research(cid:0) protocols used

at Windbridge are reviewed by an extensive(cid:0) and experienced scientific advisory board.(cid:0) The proposal submitted by Windbridge titled,(cid:0)Real-time(cid:0) EVP Conversations: A Pilot Study,(cid:0) was accepted by the(cid:0) donors and by the AA-EVP. The study officially began on(cid:0) June 2(cid:0)nd(cid:0) and will take place over the next year.(cid:0) The study will use state-of-the-art technologies and(cid:0) methods to examine reported real-time, trans-etheric com-(cid:0) munication. The proposed methods maximize experimen-(cid:0) tal controls while ensuring an optimal environment in(cid:0) which the phenomenon can be documented.(cid:0) The results(cid:0) will be prepared for publication by Windbridge and will(cid:0) provide guidance for future studies intended to determine(cid:0) the feasibility of real-time, two-way trans-etheric commu-(cid:0) nication.(cid:0) The dream of the Association to begin funding research(cid:0) became feasible in January with the Becky Estep donation(cid:0) to create the Sarah Estep Research Fund. It was then sup-(cid:0) ported by members, and now with this further donation, it(cid:0) is a reality! This is something that has been desperately(cid:0) needed and we cannot thank our donors enough for their(cid:0) support and belief in the importance of research.(cid:0) This first project for the research fund to study real-time(cid:0) conversations in EVP is a major step forward for all of us(cid:0) who are interested in these phenomena. It is the first project(cid:0) funded through donations to the AA-EVP and it is being(cid:0) conducted by academically trained scientists. It is also a(cid:0) little nerve-racking because the results will be published(cid:0) whether or not they are positive from our point of view.(cid:0) Future phases of research

will depend on the outcomes of(cid:0) preceding phases, so if this initial study does not show the(cid:0) occurrence of two-way conversation to the satisfaction of(cid:0) the researchers, there may not be more phases. If there are,(cid:0) then the current plan is to develop a standard test platform(cid:0) and protocol to have others replicate the work.(cid:0) Learning about transcommunication and how it works is(cid:0) something that only involved people can do, so we in the(cid:0) ITC community are the ones who must produce the knowl-(cid:0) edge base. We are also the ones who are in the best position(cid:0) to develop and test techniques and devices. Mainstream(cid:0) science will never accept research conducted by people(cid:0) who have or may have a vested interest in the outcome of(cid:0) that research. Virtually all of us who are in organizations(cid:0) involved with the paranormal are in that category, so in(cid:0) fact, we cannot research ourselves. We need unaffiliated(cid:0) scientists to introduce our field to mainstream science.(cid:0) Most of us in this field work as volunteers willingly(cid:0) giving our time to do all we can to further understanding of(cid:0) these phenomena. For instance, no one in the AA-EVP(cid:0) receives a salary or is reimbursed for things they do for the(cid:0) Association. All of the funds donated thus far for the(cid:0) research fund have or will go toward research. What we(cid:0) need to remember is that one of the huge reasons main-(cid:0) stream science has not studied EVP is that there has been(cid:0) no funding to do

so. Scientists are not part of the commu-(cid:0) nity they study. They cannot be part of the community they(cid:0) study and still be seen as unbiased. If we as a community(cid:0) want to have what we see as true be recognized by the(cid:0) mainstream population, then mainstream science needs to(cid:0) be enticed into taking a look and that can only happen with(cid:0) sufficient funding.(cid:0) A study that has been discussed that we personally would(cid:0) like to see funded is whether or not hearing the voice of a(cid:0) loved one speaking to us through EVP actually helps re-(cid:0) lieve grief of the loss of a loved one. This study can be(cid:0) conducted without certifying the existence of “dead people(cid:0) talking.” Simple questionnaires could be used before and(cid:0) after a person meets with a proxy practitioner and receives(cid:0) a meaningful message from a loved one. We know that a(cid:0) study like this would definitely show that EVP not only(cid:0) helps alleviate grief but helps a person to realize that their(cid:0) loved one is alright and that their relationship with their(cid:0) loved one is not over. What is wonderful about a study like(cid:0) this being published is that is shows(cid:0)why(cid:0)EVP is important(cid:0) and does not have to prove that it is real.(cid:0) Evaluation of new EVP technologies (see the Changing(cid:0) World of EVP on page 12), following a protocol that would(cid:0) identify sources of artifacts(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in

an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0).................................................................................................................1(cid:0) Ryan Klein(cid:0)by Tim Klein...........................................................................................................3(cid:0) ITC and its Role in Survival Research(cid:0)by Professor David Fontana.......................................4(cid:0) 2009 AA-EVP Conference/Workshop(cid:0)......................................................................................5(cid:0) Barefoot in the Summer(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0)..........................................................................6(cid:0) Member Benefits: The Idea Exchange(cid:0).....................................................................................7(cid:0) Bial Foundation 7(cid:0)th(cid:0) Symposium(cid:0)...............................................................................................9(cid:0) The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death(cid:0).............................9(cid:0) Excerpt from an Interview with Paolo Presi(cid:0).........................................................................10(cid:0) FFF One Day Conference(cid:0)........................................................................................................10(cid:0) AA-EVP Certified Proxy Practitioner(cid:0)...................................................................................11(cid:0) The Changing World of EVP(cid:0)..................................................................................................12(cid:0) My Grandpa(cid:0) by Tania Chavez.................................................................................................13(cid:0) Tiger and Pippy(cid:0) by Susan Iannicca..........................................................................................14(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0).....................................................................................................15(cid:0) Return to the Lizzie Borden House(cid:0) by Al Rauber..................................................................16(cid:0) Research Verifies EVP(cid:0)............................................................................................................17(cid:0) EVP Gives Info on Plane Crash(cid:0)..............................................................................................17(cid:0) Visual ITC Examples(cid:0)...............................................................................................................17(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0)..................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0).........................................................................................................19(cid:0) News from Members(cid:0)................................................................................................................19(cid:0) Hearing Voices in your Head(cid:0)..................................................................................................19(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and(cid:0) events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2008AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0) Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts(cid:0) of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in(cid:0) the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles(cid:0) should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to(cid:0) four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be(cid:0) placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are(cid:0) reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments

about your(cid:0) observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno,(cid:0) NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by(cid:0) the first of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the(cid:0) publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP.(cid:0) Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or by writing to(cid:0) the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this(cid:0) NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00.(cid:0) International members(cid:0)not(cid:0)receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for(cid:0) postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions(cid:0) in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and(cid:0) Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP(cid:0) views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Lisa Yesse and Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner(cid:0) archive.aaevp.com(cid:0): Vacant(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 2(cid:0) Spring 2008(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Anonymous(cid:0) April Research Donor(cid:0) Benefactor(cid:0) Richard Adams(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Art Counts(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Tim Klein(cid:0) Joanna Nagy

- In Loving(cid:0) Memory of(cid:0) Catherine Donna Amiss(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Kirk Bailey(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Regina Antonucci(cid:0) Edwina Bentinck(cid:0) Keith Clark(cid:0) Donna Cunha(cid:0) Joanne Feldman(cid:0) Georg Lindström(cid:0) Phil Martin(cid:0) Diane Moseley(cid:0) Lynda Noël(cid:0) Ellen Pugh(cid:0) Tim Rae(cid:0) Ginny Sawyer(cid:0) Heidi Spencer(cid:0) Eugene Streicher(cid:0) Robert Wilson(cid:0) SERF(cid:0) Lorelei McMorrow(cid:0) Bill Weber(cid:0) Ryan was born June 7, 1982 in(cid:0) Sioux City, Iowa. His mother Kym(cid:0) and I grew up in a small town near(cid:0) there. In 1983, we moved to Lo-(cid:0) gan, Utah where his two younger(cid:0) brothers were born; Nolan in 1984(cid:0) and Jared in 1987. Ryan was a very(cid:0) intelligent boy. By the age of two,(cid:0) he talked fluently and he loved to(cid:0) have books read to him. We were(cid:0) astounded one day when he read(cid:0) the books to us, almost word for(cid:0) word. Somehow he could look at(cid:0) the pictures on the pages and know(cid:0) what the words were. It was quite(cid:0) amazing to us and to everyone else(cid:0) who witnessed it.(cid:0) In 1987, we moved to Omaha,(cid:0) Nebraska. Until this time, Ryan was pretty outgoing and(cid:0) talkative but we started to notice a subtle change in his(cid:0) personality. He seemed to become shy and felt less com-(cid:0) fortable around other people. That’s a trait he surely got(cid:0) from me. While in Omaha, he played soccer and also(cid:0) started playing baseball which quickly became his favorite(cid:0) sport. He lived and breathed baseball and started collecting(cid:0) baseball cards and became close friends with a couple of(cid:0) the neighbor boys.(cid:0) In 1991, we

moved to Wichita, Kansas and Ryan was sad(cid:0) to say goodbye to his friends. We enrolled him in the(cid:0) Catholic school in Wichita. We were concerned about him(cid:0) fitting in because he was shy. I would ask him how school(cid:0) was that day and he would say “good” and I would ask him(cid:0) if he had any friends at school and he would say “yea.”(cid:0) Two months after he had been there, my wife went to the(cid:0) school at lunch and saw all of the kids out on the play-(cid:0) ground and then saw Ryan standing by himself watching(cid:0) the other kids play. It broke our hearts to know that he spent(cid:0) his recess alone and didn’t have any friends.(cid:0) He played baseball that summer and got on the same(cid:0) team as some of the neighbor kids, so he started to interact(cid:0) more and seemed happy. In 1992 we moved to Liberty,(cid:0) Missouri (a suburb of Kansas City) and once again he had(cid:0) to leave the few friends he had behind. Fortunately, it was(cid:0) the beginning of summer and we got him on a baseball(cid:0) team with many of the kids who would be going to the(cid:0) same school as him in the fall. He had a great summer and(cid:0) fit in well at the school that fall.(cid:0) Baseball became his passion and if he wasn’t playing(cid:0) baseball he was working on his card collection. His favorite(cid:0) team was always the Chicago White Sox. Ryan played(cid:0) more and more baseball

each year and he was looking(cid:0) forward to playing on the high school team. The summer(cid:0) before his freshman year, he played on a pretty competitive(cid:0) team because he wanted to get better to get ready for(cid:0) tryouts the following spring. Unfortunately, the team was(cid:0) made up of kids who had played together for quite a few(cid:0) Ryan Klein(cid:0) by Tim Klein(cid:0) years and Ryan didn’t really fit in(cid:0) or get much playing time.(cid:0) Ryan Klein(cid:0) He played baseball in the fall(cid:0) and got a lot of playing time and(cid:0) also worked out all winter getting(cid:0) ready for freshman tryouts. I went(cid:0) to one of the first tryouts to watch(cid:0) him as many of the dads did and(cid:0) my heart sank when I realized that(cid:0) the coaches of his summer team(cid:0) knew the coach of the freshman(cid:0) team. Their kids got picked and(cid:0) Ryan was cut on the last day of(cid:0) tryouts. I’ll never forget walking(cid:0) into his bedroom when I got home(cid:0) from work that day and seeing him(cid:0) laying on the bed, still with his(cid:0) baseball clothes on, crying. That(cid:0) day he was no longer my little boy, but a young man who(cid:0) had experienced a major disappointment in his life; one(cid:0) that would mold him and make him the wonderful person(cid:0) he became.(cid:0) Ryan graduated from high school in 2000 and went to(cid:0) William Jewell his freshman year and then switched to(cid:0) UMKC. He wanted to be an engineer but felt his job(cid:0) chances were better with

a business degree so that’s what(cid:0) he studied. During this time of his life, he made new friends(cid:0) who were all different sizes and shapes and colors. They(cid:0) weren’t necessarily the popular kids, but they were impor-(cid:0) tant to Ryan and he surrounded himself with those kinds of(cid:0) friends. In Ryan’s eyes, they were all equal. If you asked(cid:0) any of them who they considered their best friend, they(cid:0) would each say Ryan.(cid:0) In the summer of 2004, we purchased a small home so(cid:0) that the boys could live together while going to college.(cid:0) Nolan and Ryan moved into the house together that sum-(cid:0) mer and Ryan introduced him to alcohol, partying with(cid:0) friends and having fun. Nothing bad, just good, clean fun!(cid:0) His friends called him “Ryno” and soon that became his(cid:0) nickname(cid:0).(cid:0) That fall, Kym and I got divorced. The boys were disap-(cid:0) pointed as expected. Ryan called it stupid. After a while,(cid:0) they realized we were both happier and they seemed to(cid:0) accept it more, especially because we remained friends.(cid:0) The following spring, Jared graduated from high school(cid:0) and moved in with his brothers. Ryan was never happier.(cid:0) He had his brothers living together and the friends he(cid:0) enjoyed partying with were always around. He was so full(cid:0) of life, laughing all the time, playing jokes on people,(cid:0) living life to the extreme. Their house was party central,(cid:0) there was always something going on there and Ryan was(cid:0) the King. Everyone loved Ryno! He was always planning(cid:0)

the next party; the next event. He loved having women(cid:0) around and would get his friends to bring them over.(cid:0) Continued page 8(cid:0) Page 3 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) ITC and its Role in Survival Research(cid:0) by Professor David Fontana(cid:0) Öresund bridge by(cid:0)Elisabeth GAJ,(cid:0)www.flickr.com/photos/(cid:0) [Editor: This is an excerpt from a longer article originally pub-(cid:0) lished in the ITC Journal ((cid:0)www.itcjournal.org(cid:0)). The article de-(cid:0) scribes the benefits of ITC and why there is a struggle for the(cid:0) acceptance of ITC as valid phenomena. The article in it’s entirety(cid:0) can be read on aaevp.com or you can send a stamped envelope to(cid:0) us at PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 and we will mail you a(cid:0) copy.](cid:0) ITC and its Role in Survival Research(cid:0) I can never remember a time in my life when I was not(cid:0) interested in the question whether or not we survive physi-(cid:0) cal death… When I grew older(cid:0) and discovered psychical re-(cid:0) search, I found that indeed a(cid:0) very great deal of evidence had(cid:0) accumulated, and once I became(cid:0) involved in this research, I was(cid:0) fortunate to be able to come(cid:0) across similar evidence for my-(cid:0) self.(cid:0) Much of this evidence, both(cid:0) from the literature and from my(cid:0) personal experience, is summa-(cid:0) rized in my most recent book,(cid:0)Is(cid:0) There an Afterlife?(cid:0) Which(cid:0) brings me on to a further ques-(cid:0) tion, why isn’t this evidence(cid:0) more widely known and accepted? Let us take ITC as our(cid:0) example. The evidence for ITC has been growing steadily(cid:0) since Jürgenson’s

pioneering work over half a century ago.(cid:0) As evidence, it has three unprecedented advantages which(cid:0) we can look at in turn.(cid:0) The First Advantage of ITC(cid:0) ITC evidence is evidence that anyone can try to obtain for(cid:0) oneself, directly and in the privacy of one’s own home. The(cid:0) equipment involved is easy to obtain and relatively(cid:0) cheap—a tape recorder, a microphone and a source of(cid:0) white noise—for convenience usually a radio tuned be-(cid:0) tween two stations. A computer is also necessary if one(cid:0) prefers to record onto the hard disc instead of onto tape.(cid:0) One can work at one’s own speed and in one’s own time,(cid:0) devoting as little as a few minutes once or twice a week to(cid:0) the work. There is no need for a medium or for any previ-(cid:0) ous experience. The only personal qualities that are needed(cid:0) are patience, commitment (it may be weeks or months or(cid:0) even longer before the first results are obtained) and an(cid:0) open mind. Working with one or two like-minded friends(cid:0) or family members helps to maintain interest and may(cid:0) produce quicker results, but this is by no means essential.(cid:0) Many people get on very well on their own.(cid:0) The Second Advantage of ITC(cid:0) The second advantage of ITC is that, as the communica-(cid:0) tions come through electronic media rather than through(cid:0) the mind of a medium, they are unlikely to be influenced in(cid:0) any way by human thought. It is true that some critics(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 4(cid:0)

suggest that psycho-kinesis (PK) from the living—the(cid:0) supposed ability of the mind to affect matter directly—may(cid:0) be responsible for impressing the communications on tape(cid:0) or onto the radio waves, but we have no evidence that PK(cid:0) can produce anything approaching the extensive messages(cid:0) that have been received by ITC researchers. In addition,(cid:0) some of these messages contain material that was unknown(cid:0) to the researcher at the time, rendering it doubly unlikely(cid:0) that the latter was in any way responsible for the phenome-(cid:0) na. Thus the belief that the human mind is not responsible(cid:0) for ITC communications seems(cid:0) well founded. In addition, since(cid:0) it is clear that electronic media(cid:0) can hardly obtain material tele-(cid:0) pathically from the researcher(cid:0) or clairvoyantly from the envi-(cid:0) ronment in the way that the me-(cid:0) dium can, it is fair to say that(cid:0) ITC effectively disposes of the(cid:0) SuperESP (or SuperPSI) hy-(cid:0) pothesis; the idea that all surviv-(cid:0) come(cid:0) al-related messages psychically (albeit unconscious-(cid:0) ly) from the living rather than(cid:0) from the deceased.(cid:0) The Third Advantage of ITC(cid:0) The third unprecedented advantage of ITC is that, when(cid:0) results are obtained, a permanent record of them is created.(cid:0) Psychical researchers have long sought for what are called(cid:0) PPOs (Permanent Paranormal Objects); objects that are(cid:0) obtained paranormally and that remain in existence as good(cid:0) evidence for anyone to see and examine. ITC presents us(cid:0) with just such objects in the form of recorded communica-(cid:0) tions apparently from the deceased. Of course, it has to be(cid:0) provable that these

recordings(cid:0)are(cid:0)paranormal if they are to(cid:0) qualify as PPOs. Anyone who is sufficiently dishonest or(cid:0) foolish can fake voices on tape or through the radio and(cid:0) claim they were obtained paranormally. It has to be demon-(cid:0) strated beyond doubt that the recorded voices cannot be(cid:0) explained by normal means. There are two methods for(cid:0) doing this, the first of which applies only to the Direct(cid:0) Radio Voice (DRV) and the second of which applies both(cid:0) to DRV and to EVP.(cid:0) In the first method, the voices are either received under(cid:0) conditions that rule out any possibility of fraud (the exper-(cid:0) imenter receiving the voices knows fraud is not involved,(cid:0) but it is not easy to convince a skeptical scientist of this!),(cid:0) and in the second method, the voices themselves are acous-(cid:0) tically analyzed to see if they show characteristics that(cid:0) differ significantly from the human voice and that cannot(cid:0) be imitated correctly by faking. Neither of these methods is(cid:0) particularly easy to implement. To achieve the first, one(cid:0) needs to have independent(cid:0) Continued page 5(cid:0) Survival Research(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) witnesses who ideally provide their own equipment (tape(cid:0) recorder, tapes, radio, microphone, etc.) and have full(cid:0) control of it throughout. Furthermore, the possibility that(cid:0) transmitting devices are hidden nearby for the purposes of(cid:0) faking voices needs be ruled out by holding the experi-(cid:0) ments in a neutral venue, which raises a problem in that(cid:0) successful ITC results appear to depend upon a special(cid:0) relationship between the communicators, the experimenter,(cid:0) the

equipment and the location, and moving to a neutral(cid:0) venue may thus disrupt this special rela-(cid:0) tionship and prevent good results. Conse-(cid:0) quently, a better procedure is to use one of(cid:0) the highly sophisticated devices currently(cid:0) available that tests for the presence of(cid:0) spurious radio signals while the ITC ex-(cid:0) periment is taking place (although even(cid:0) here, it is important that such tests are(cid:0) carried out and recorded by the indepen-(cid:0) dent witnesses). If financial concerns rule(cid:0) out the possibility of obtaining such de-(cid:0) vices, an alternative way of guarding(cid:0) against spurious radio transmissions is to(cid:0) provide two radios, both tuned to the same(cid:0) frequency, on the grounds that if commu-(cid:0) nications are received through one radio(cid:0) and not through the other then this sup-(cid:0) ports the claim that no such transmissions(cid:0) are being received. As a further precaution(cid:0) both radios can be tuned to frequencies forbidden by law to(cid:0) amateur radio operators (see(cid:0)ITC Journal(cid:0) Number 23,(cid:0) pages 38 to 56, and(cid:0)ITC Journal(cid:0)Number 25, pages 68 to(cid:0) 69 for details of these frequencies). Again independent(cid:0) witnesses would need to be present to confirm everything(cid:0) is done correctly.(cid:0) Failure to provide all these elaborate and expensive pre-(cid:0) cautions allows hardened skeptics to claim triumphantly(cid:0) that they have discovered how the “trick” is done. The(cid:0) absurdity of such a claim is all too obvious, but hardened(cid:0) sceptics are far more interested in discrediting ITC than in(cid:0) absurdity. The difficulty involved in providing these pre-(cid:0) cautions means it is virtually impossible for most

people to(cid:0) set up sceptic-proof experiments. In consequence, and(cid:0) rightly, they are far more interested in convincing them-(cid:0) selves than in convincing skeptics. Nevertheless, such(cid:0) experiments are vital and will be set up in due course; the(cid:0) expertise exists, it is only the funding that is lacking. In the(cid:0) meanwhile, all those working on ITC can use the simple(cid:0) experiment that I have tried in two of Anabela Cardoso’s(cid:0) DRV recording sessions, i.e. to ask the communicators to(cid:0) repeat phrases after me. Anabela had no idea on the first(cid:0) occasions that I had even thought up such an experiment,(cid:0) so our successful results ruled out any possibility of subter-(cid:0) fuge. Obviously, an independent witness should ideally(cid:0) again be involved, and an experiment of this kind can even(cid:0) be tried with the tape recorder (EVP) method. When using(cid:0) this method the request for repetition should come from the(cid:0) independent witness and at an unspecified time, and the(cid:0) tape should then remain under his or her control until it is(cid:0) rewound and played back. Hopefully an ITC voice will be(cid:0) heard repeating the words concerned.(cid:0) The second of the two methods for demonstrating be-(cid:0) yond doubt that recorded ITC voices cannot be explained(cid:0) by normal means, the acoustic analysis of the ITC voices,(cid:0) looks much simpler at first sight, and has the added advan-(cid:0) tage that it can be used both with DRV recordings and EVP(cid:0) recordings. A further, and particularly important advan-(cid:0) tage, is that the analysis can be carried out

and confirmed(cid:0) any number of times by skeptics them-(cid:0) selves (assuming they have the expertise(cid:0) and the appropriate software). Again(cid:0) however, there are problems, the most(cid:0) important of which is that the equipment(cid:0) required to carry out the analysis is expen-(cid:0) sive and highly specialized, and can only(cid:0) be operated by an expert and appropri-(cid:0) ately qualified acoustic engineer. Anabela(cid:0) and I are currently conducting research of(cid:0) this kind as part of the Oliver Knowles(cid:0) Research Project with the help of acous-(cid:0) tics expert Daniele Gullà (see Gullà’s(cid:0) paper in the(cid:0)Proceedings of the First In-(cid:0) ternational Conference on Survival/ ITC(cid:0) for details of the acoustic analyses used),(cid:0) and hope to be able to publish results(cid:0) soon, but the need for professional soft-(cid:0) ware and for the involvement of a suitably(cid:0) qualified acoustic expert means that it is(cid:0) not the kind of work accessible to most people.(cid:0) References(cid:0) 1. Fontana, D. (2004). Survival research: opposition and(cid:0) future developments.(cid:0)Journal of the Society for Psychi-(cid:0) cal Research(cid:0)68.4 (877), 193-209.(cid:0) 2. Fontana, D. (2005).(cid:0)Is There an Afterlife?(cid:0) Alresford:(cid:0) John Hunt.(cid:0) 3. MacDougall, W. (1928).(cid:0)Body and Mind(cid:0). London:(cid:0) Methuen (7th edn.).(cid:0) 4. Radin, D. (1997).(cid:0)The Conscious Universe(cid:0). San Francis-(cid:0) co: Harper Edge(cid:0) 2009 AA-EVP Conference/Workshops(cid:0) We are in the process of negotiating meeting and hotel(cid:0) space near the airport in Los Angeles, California for a(cid:0) weekend conference the summer of 2009. The theme of the(cid:0) conference will be “How to Do It” with many successful(cid:0) experimenters showing you their methods of recording for(cid:0) EVP and

ITC. Each presenter will also do a live session so(cid:0) that you will learn “How to do it”! Dates will be announced(cid:0) in the October NewsJournal and at(cid:0)aaevp.com/news.html(cid:0) this If someone out there would like to help the Association(cid:0) sponsor at(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0). Costs are high and we would like to try to(cid:0) keep the costs down so that more people can attend and(cid:0) learn.(cid:0) conference, please contact us Radiance by(cid:0)Geoff Coleman,(cid:0) www.flickr.com(cid:0) Page 5 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Barefoot in the Summer(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0) proaching, since the pleasure offered by the ice cream truck(cid:0) rarely lasted more than five minutes but the joys of being(cid:0) the entire(cid:0) lasted protective Maybe I am being prejudiced against the other three sea-(cid:0) sons, but I believe that summer offers the simplest and(cid:0) most profound range of pleasur-(cid:0) able sensory experiences to con-(cid:0) nect and meditate with nature. A(cid:0) key ingredient is the emancipa-(cid:0) tion of our bodies from layers of(cid:0) heavy, clothing.(cid:0) Though functional for cold tem-(cid:0) peratures, summer promotes a(cid:0) sense of physical freedom much(cid:0) like our spirit must feel when it(cid:0) is finally free to soar through the(cid:0) heavens without the weight of a(cid:0) physical body holding it back.(cid:0) Extra body (and sometimes psy-(cid:0) chological) weight seems to dis-(cid:0) appear just by the process of(cid:0) storing those heavy winter garments away and re-discover-(cid:0) ing the palette of lighter, comfortable clothes summer’s(cid:0) warmer temperatures enables.(cid:0) Except for cold season family holidays like Thanksgiv-(cid:0) ing and Christmas, replacing the winter’s annual flu

season(cid:0) with a new “fever,” sometimes called “summer fever”(cid:0) seems to evoke nostalgia and pleasurable memories unlike(cid:0) any other season throughout the year.(cid:0) I recall my first special childhood memory of being able(cid:0) to go barefooted in the summer. At last, how wonderful that(cid:0) my feet were finally free of those smelly cotton socks and(cid:0) shoes that never seemed to fit my feet just right. The feeling(cid:0) of fresh cut grass under my feet provided such a new and(cid:0) wonderful sensory experience that it is a vivid memory(cid:0) over forty years later.(cid:0) Sadly, many children today have never experienced the(cid:0) freedom of going barefooted and thus feel, first hand, some(cid:0) of the simple joys Mother Nature can offer. Fortunately, I(cid:0) grew up in a period before safety experts discovered the(cid:0) financial and political value of influencing parental habits.(cid:0) Today, it seems that nearly all toys pose a health risk,(cid:0) riding a bicycle without a helmet is actually illegal in many(cid:0) states, baby strollers now resemble mini Humvees, and the(cid:0) news and media are continually bombarding parents with(cid:0) new discoveries that could have killed or injured us. It is a(cid:0) wonder we survived at all!!(cid:0) Some memories of my being barefooted were not fond.(cid:0) Like everything else in life, there were learning, painful(cid:0) experiences such as stepping on Mr. Bumble Bee or some(cid:0) sharp object … Ouch! These experiences convinced me to(cid:0) be careful but it did not lessen my desire and joy for going(cid:0) barefooted outside.(cid:0) As each school year

ended, the true official start of(cid:0) summer was announced when my mother’s voice would(cid:0) say, “You can take off your shoes and go barefooted(cid:0) outside now.” These words made by heart beat faster than(cid:0) hearing the bell ring when the ice cream truck was ap-(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 6(cid:0) barefooted summer.(cid:0) With the summer months(cid:0) here, commit to letting the child(cid:0) inside you take control and go(cid:0) barefooted outside. If friends or(cid:0) family (or even strangers) are(cid:0) aghast and respond with nega-(cid:0) tive comments or undeserving(cid:0) criticism while you are engag-(cid:0) ing in this “juvenile” activity,(cid:0) here are some scientific facts(cid:0) that will help prove that you(cid:0) really have not lost all of your(cid:0) marbles:(cid:0) Barefoot by Tristan Clements,(cid:0)www.flickr.com(cid:0) •(cid:0)Recent research by the California Institute of Human(cid:0) Sciences has concluded that, by connecting to the earth,(cid:0) it is possible to promote many positive health changes(cid:0) due to a discovery of a thin layer of free electrons on the(cid:0) earth’s surface.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Taking your shoes off and going barefoot outside con-(cid:0) nects our bodies to the earth and restores the natural(cid:0) electron balance within our bodies as well as connecting(cid:0) us to the earth rhythms that set many of our biological(cid:0) clocks. (Maybe this could slow down the aging process(cid:0) and save a lot of money on all those antiaging products(cid:0) and plastic surgery procedures? Maybe it will just pro-(cid:0) mote better health so we can fully enjoy all the years we(cid:0) have on this earth.)(cid:0) •(cid:0)Many medical studies support

claims that going barefoot(cid:0) is physically healthy and that footwear, in many cases, is(cid:0) detrimental to foot health. (see website below)(cid:0) •(cid:0)Other medical benefits from direct contact with the earth(cid:0) that were discovered include rapid reduction of pain and(cid:0) inflammation; relief from sleep disorders; and calming of(cid:0) a variety of stress-related health problems.(cid:0) We are energy and electrical beings and our bodies are(cid:0) regulated by finely-tuned electrical fields. By insulating(cid:0) ourselves from the earth by man made structures, or shoes,(cid:0) electrical imbalances may occur. It is by reconnecting(cid:0) ourselves to Mother Earth by simply going barefooted(cid:0) outside for a few minutes a day that we may heal and(cid:0) restore ourselves the natural way. There is a lot more to(cid:0) Mother Earth than the ongoing “Green Revolution” that(cid:0) has recently become a popular media topic.(cid:0) Air, water and food are essential elements for our surviv-(cid:0) al. By exploration of our connection to Mother Earth, we(cid:0) improve our awareness of the fragile balance that must be(cid:0) negotiated between people and nature. Even the insignifi-(cid:0) cant act of going barefooted outside helps keep us attuned(cid:0) in maintaining that balance.(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Member Benefits: The Idea Exchange(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal has traditionally been the(cid:0) primary benefit of membership in the Association. During(cid:0) the time Sarah Estep led the Association, the six page(cid:0) newsletter and Member Registry were the only member(cid:0) benefits. Since the directors assumed leadership in 2000,(cid:0) the newsletter has been expanded into an average twenty-(cid:0) page NewsJournal crammed with as many

current event,(cid:0) personal story and instructional articles as can fit on the(cid:0) pages.(cid:0) An archive of past newsletters has been established and(cid:0) includes some fifty percent of the past issues. (There is a(cid:0) need for someone with the computer skills and time to be(cid:0) the webmaster for that department, should one of you feel(cid:0) like learning a new skill.)(cid:0) The AA-EVP now has a website that averages more than(cid:0) 61,000 unique visitors and nearly 200,000 page views each(cid:0) month. According to Yahoo, there are more than 7,300(cid:0) links to the site. Many website visitors have commented(cid:0) about the usefulness of the site, saying that it is one of the(cid:0) most professional and informative of its kind. The FAQ(cid:0) section includes numerous responses to website visitor(cid:0) questions, the research section is beginning to grow and(cid:0) now there is a “(cid:0)Certified Proxy Practitioner(cid:0)” section.(cid:0) Other important developments have been the Sarah Estep(cid:0) Research Fund and the various research initiatives such as(cid:0) the(cid:0)4Cell EVP Demonstration(cid:0), online listening trials and(cid:0) the(cid:0)Hemi-Sync trials(cid:0) currently underway. Perhaps for the(cid:0) first time, a doctorate who is clinically trained in applied(cid:0) research has received a grant to study real-time EVP(cid:0) conversations. With your support, this is a first of many(cid:0) research projects to come.(cid:0) The benefit that needs to be highlighted is the Idea(cid:0) Exchange, which is a private discussion board that offers a(cid:0) safe place to talk about transcommunication, share(cid:0) examples and ask for help. The Butlers are unable to tend(cid:0) to the operation of the Association

and still give members(cid:0) the time they deserve, so they depend on volunteers and(cid:0) members helping members. The Member Registry shows a(cid:0) number of people who have volunteered to help individuals(cid:0) and members are encouraged to take advantage of that(cid:0) service. The Idea Exchange is important because many(cid:0) people might respond with different ideas, and when(cid:0) possible, the Butlers pitch in as well.(cid:0) A big benefit of the board is that posts often remain(cid:0) available for many months. It can take a lot of time to(cid:0) provide an in-depth answer to a technical or “how to”(cid:0) question, and knowing the response will be read by many(cid:0) people, the Butlers may spend hours answering a question.(cid:0) As a member, you have unique access to that information.(cid:0) If you really want to learn about this subject, then it is(cid:0) important that you make the effort to use the Idea(cid:0) Exchange for all it has to offer. In April, there were only(cid:0) 19,761 visits, with 1,264 posts, but there were 111,720(cid:0) page views. From that, you can see that many more people(cid:0) are just reading what is there and not asking questions. The(cid:0) Moderators, especially Margaret Downey, are eager to(cid:0) help, so take advantage of the offer.(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) and whether or not they can be overcome is another direc-(cid:0) tion for research. This is a consumer protection initiative(cid:0) that is badly needed.(cid:0) Another area for research that needs to be done by(cid:0) experts in linguistics is to study how

we learn to hear EVP.(cid:0) Why is it that an experienced person can understand all of(cid:0) a Class A example and the average person can only under-(cid:0) stand on average, a third of the words? How can we teach(cid:0) people this new language?(cid:0) In reality, none of these studies can be conducted for less(cid:0) than an average of $15,000 each. It may be that universities(cid:0) will require much more because of the overhead incurred(cid:0) by on-campus research. People who believe in loved ones(cid:0) talking across the veil are the ones who are needed to(cid:0) support this work. The AA-EVP is now in the position of(cid:0) managing such research but it is not going to happen(cid:0) without help.(cid:0) Because of the rapid changes and great improvements in(cid:0) transcommunication, this is a most important time to help(cid:0) bring our frontier science into the mainstream.(cid:0) Update on Other Research(cid:0) Hemi-Sync Trials(cid:0) We are happy to announce that the experiment to see if(cid:0) using Hemi-Sync (binaural synchronization induced medi-(cid:0) tative state) can enhance the quality and quantity (QQ) of(cid:0) EVP has begun. An explanation of what Hemi-Sync(cid:0)®(cid:0) is(cid:0) and how it works was in the Spring 2008 NewsJournal and(cid:0) is now in the Articles section of(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). Ten AA-EVP(cid:0) members have received a kit including instructions, a digi-(cid:0) tal voice recorder, A and B sound files and a notepad. One(cid:0) sound file contains Hemi-Sync designed to help meditation(cid:0) and the other has an additional set of frequencies designed(cid:0) to help trance mediumship. Each file will

be used ten times(cid:0) resulting in sixty one-minute EVP recording sessions. If a(cid:0) meaningful improvement in QQ is detected, the Monroe(cid:0) Institute may offer a product based on the trials intended to(cid:0) help people improve their transcommunication ability.(cid:0) EVP Hearing Trials(cid:0) The third(cid:0)online EVP hearing trials(cid:0) have been closed with(cid:0) two hundred participants. The previous two showed that(cid:0) the average website visitor correctly heard thirty-four per-(cid:0) cent of the words in eleven EVP examples. Data reduction(cid:0) has not been completed. We hope to be able to do this soon(cid:0) and give a full report in the next issue.(cid:0) Certification(cid:0) We would like to highlight the fact that we have finally(cid:0) decided that it is time to recognize the efforts of a few(cid:0) members in helping others contact loved ones via EVP.(cid:0) You will see in the Certification article on page 11 that we(cid:0) have named four members and have established a set of(cid:0) guidelines that will be used to identify others for certifica-(cid:0) tion. If you are interested, a good place to begin studying(cid:0) what we expect is the articles we have published in past(cid:0) NewsJournals. To those we have certified, thanks for all of(cid:0) your help!(cid:0) Page 7 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Ryan Klein(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) Ryan was to graduate from UMKC in December and was(cid:0) then going to work full-time for the company I was working(cid:0) for. On Friday evening, July 22(cid:0)nd(cid:0), a couple of his friends(cid:0) picked him up to go meet some other friends

down on the(cid:0) Plaza (an area with bars and clubs). Around 1:30 am, Ryan(cid:0) and one of the friends were ready to come home but the guy(cid:0) who drove to the Plaza (JR) wanted to stay longer so he(cid:0) gave Ryan the keys to his vehicle and asked him to drive it(cid:0) back to Ryan’s house. Ryan drove and another friend, BJ(cid:0) went with him. On the way home, he missed a curve on the(cid:0) highway, the vehicle rolled several times and both Ryan and(cid:0) BJ were thrown from the vehicle and were killed. He was(cid:0) twenty-three years old.(cid:0) Tim and Ryan in the garage that Ryan did 90% of the work on(cid:0) and was very proud of(cid:0) The week before he was killed, I couldn’t stop worrying(cid:0) about him. I went over to the house and told him to be very(cid:0) careful because I was worried about him. I remember stand-(cid:0) ing at the bottom of the steps when I broke down and cried.(cid:0) I hugged him and told him to be really careful and he said(cid:0) “I will, Dad” and then he started to cry. It was the most(cid:0) touching moment I had ever had with him, yet I couldn’t(cid:0) shake the fear that something was going to happen.(cid:0) I was headed to the lake for the weekend, and on the way,(cid:0) I had a vision in my head that I was at Ryan’s funeral. I(cid:0) remember I felt goose bumps on my arm when I had that(cid:0)

vision. That night, I woke up startled from a dream. In the(cid:0) dream, I saw a blue vehicle that had crashed and was in the(cid:0) ditch. It was a little after two in the morning. I didn’t think(cid:0) anything about it at the time but figured I dreamt that(cid:0) because I had been worrying about Ryan so much. I fell(cid:0) back to sleep. A little after three, I got the call and found(cid:0) out that Ryan had been in an accident and was dead. I had(cid:0) assumed that Ryan was driving his black pickup. When I(cid:0) returned to Kansas City from the lake, I got the details of(cid:0) what had happened and found that he was driving JR’s(cid:0) blue SUV, the same color vehicle I saw in my dream.(cid:0) Editor:(cid:0)Tim had several conversations with Ryan about(cid:0) his belief in life after death and had told him that, if he(cid:0) died, he would find a way to contact Ryan so that he knew(cid:0) Tim was OK. Of course it was a parent’s worst nightmare;(cid:0) it was Ryan who went to the other side before Tim did.(cid:0) But perhaps Tim’s promise to Ryan is the reason that Ryan(cid:0) has made it such a point to let his father know that he is(cid:0) alright. Tim has received many confirmations from Ryan.(cid:0) There have been many signs and also evidential messages(cid:0) through mediums.(cid:0) When Tim joined the Association, he wrote to us saying,(cid:0) “(cid:0)Since Ryan’s death I have had many unusual messages(cid:0) on my

telephone answering machine at home and on my(cid:0) office phone voicemail system. The messages are very(cid:0) similar; a garbled voice, hollow sounding, kind of elec-(cid:0) tronic sounding. I was not able to decipher them although(cid:0) I have saved several of them. On one occasion, I asked our(cid:0) company phone person to find out where one of the calls(cid:0) originated. They were not able to find any calls coming in(cid:0) at the time I got the message. I have been researching(cid:0) life-after-death material since he died, and most recently(cid:0) began reading about EVP. I am currently reading your(cid:0) book,(cid:0)There is No Death(cid:0). I find it fascinating and after(cid:0) reading about EVP, I am certain that the telephone mes-(cid:0) sages I received were from my son.”(cid:0) After reading Tim’s message we were certain that Ryan(cid:0) had already met the members of the Big Circle Spirit(cid:0) Team. The calls reminded us of Vicki Talbott’s son(cid:0) Braden who also left answering machine messages.(cid:0) Braden has become a major communicator(cid:0) from the Big(cid:0) Circle. We introduced Tim to both Vicki and Margaret(cid:0) Downey, as they both have had success in recording EVP(cid:0) messages from loved ones for other people. Both did get(cid:0) EVP messages.(cid:0) Margaret made a contact using the radio sweep method(cid:0) that was amazing. Here is the transcript:(cid:0) Margaret: Hey, Ryan. Your dad Tim would like to hear(cid:0) from you. Can you use this radio to leave any messages(cid:0) for him?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Hey, Dad!(cid:0) Margaret:(cid:0)Hey, Dad?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)I’m okay.(cid:0) Margaret: Ryan, can you say your

name?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Ryan(cid:0) Margaret: Ryan, oooh that was really clear. Good job!(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Thanks(cid:0) Continued page 9(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 8(cid:0) Ryan Klein(cid:0) Continued from page 8(cid:0) Margaret: How about, can you say your dad’s name now(cid:0)?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Dad(cid:0) Margaret: I heard you say “Dad.” I guess that would be his(cid:0) name, to you. Awesome. You’re doing good, Ryan. Do you(cid:0) have anything else you’d like to say? I’m going to listen in(cid:0) a minute and make sure I didn’t miss anything.(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)It’s me.(cid:0) Margaret: It’s you. I hear you. I heard you say “It’s me.”(cid:0) Ryan, are you with everybody in the Big Circle(cid:0)?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Feels great.(cid:0) Margaret: Feels great? Everybody’s pretty cool, huh?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Pretty girls.(cid:0) Margaret:(cid:0)Can you tell me some of the people that you’re(cid:0) with from the Big Circle?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Braden.(cid:0) Margaret: Braden? Of course. :-)(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Cathy. We like him.(cid:0)(Female voice)(cid:0) (Editor: Martha Copeland verified this to be her daughter(cid:0) Cathy’s voice.)(cid:0) Margaret: Anybody else?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)David.(cid:0) Margaret: And David?(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)Rob(cid:0) Margaret:(cid:0)I thought I heard you say “Rob” too. Okay, I’m(cid:0) going to turn the radio off so if you have anything left to(cid:0) say, please do it now. Thanks a lot Ryan. You’re doing(cid:0) awesome.(cid:0) EVP:(cid:0)I’m finished.(cid:0) (You can listen to this example at aaevp.com.)(cid:0) After listening, Tim(cid:0) wrote, “I just listened(cid:0) to the mp3 file. That(cid:0) was definitely Ryan. I(cid:0) am overwhelmed.(cid:0) I am attaching a pic-(cid:0) ture of Ryan. If you(cid:0) look close, it appears(cid:0) he is crying. It was a(cid:0) week before he died(cid:0) in the accident.

I had(cid:0) gone to see him be-(cid:0) cause I was so wor-(cid:0) ried something was(cid:0) going to happen to(cid:0) him, like a premoni-(cid:0) tion or something. I(cid:0) couldn’t let go of it. I(cid:0) cried as I hugged him and I told him to be really careful.(cid:0) Then he cried and said, “I will, Dad.” That picture was(cid:0) taken a few minutes later. The shirt he wore in the picture(cid:0) was the same shirt he was wearing when he died.(cid:0) Ryan shortly before his transition(cid:0) Bial Foundation 7(cid:0)th(cid:0) Symposium(cid:0) Alexander MacRae’s presentation at the Bial Foundation’s(cid:0) 7(cid:0)th(cid:0) Symposium was “Experiments to Determine if there is(cid:0) Any Correlation between Questions and Answers in EVP.”(cid:0) Alec received a grant from Bial in 2005 and completed the(cid:0) project last year.(cid:0)[Picture is of Alec at a previous symposium.](cid:0) The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for(cid:0) Research into Life after Death(cid:0) 2008 announcement for grants(cid:0) The Helene Reeder Fund (HRF) is pleased to announce the(cid:0) availability of grants for small and medium-sized scientific(cid:0) research projects concerning the question of life after death.(cid:0) Grants will be awarded in the range of 500 to 7000 EUR(cid:0) maximum. The topic, “Research into Life after Death,”(cid:0) should constitute the main objective of the project.(cid:0) Applications should be submitted in English, and should(cid:0) be submitted, preferably(cid:0)by email, to the HRF in care of(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0). Applications should include:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Detailed description of the project, including the(cid:0) objectives of the project(cid:0) •(cid:0)Methodology(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cost budget(cid:0) •(cid:0)Timetable(cid:0) •(cid:0)Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals(cid:0) •(cid:0)Curriculum

vitae (experience biography) of the applicant(cid:0) •(cid:0)How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about(cid:0) progress and result(cid:0) •(cid:0)Any financing other than from HRF(cid:0) Applications should be received not later than August 30,(cid:0) 2008. It is the intention of the HRF to make decision(cid:0) regarding the grants by the end of November. Applicants(cid:0) will be notified by email after a decision and the grants will(cid:0) be payable during December. For further information,(cid:0) please apply to the above e-mail address.(cid:0) Stockholm, May 2008(cid:0) Edgar E. Müller(cid:0) Page 9 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Excerpts from an Interview with Paolo Presi(cid:0) by Anabela Cardoso(cid:0) [These are just two questions posed to Paolo Presi in an article(cid:0) titled “The Pioneers Revisited: An Interview with Paolo Presi,”(cid:0) by Anabela Cardoso, published in the April 2007(cid:0)ITC Journal,(cid:0) for which Anabela is the editor. For information about subscrib-(cid:0) ing to the ITC Journal:(cid:0)www.itcjournal.org(cid:0). You can also email(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) or write to ITC Journal C/Carral(cid:0) 23A Bajo, 36202 – Vigo – Pontevedra – Spain. The ITC Journal(cid:0) is published 3 times a year with most articles in English. Cost is(cid:0) $30 plus $25 postage for those in the US. The full interview is(cid:0) available at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) in the Articles section. You can also send(cid:0) a self-addressed stamped envelope to the AA-EVP for a copy.](cid:0) Anabela:(cid:0) What is your opinion of the developments that(cid:0) have taken place in the field of ITC research since those(cid:0) days? (1970s)(cid:0) Paolo:(cid:0) This is a very interesting question. Frequently I ask(cid:0) myself

what is the cause of the new developments that have(cid:0) taken place in Instrumental Transcommunication in the(cid:0) past three decades. In other words, why did such(cid:0) developments occur? Firstly it must be said that where the(cid:0) experiments have been carried out in accordance with(cid:0) certain physical models (as for example in the experiments(cid:0) with the Spiricom by George Meek and William O’Neil),(cid:0) sooner or later results have occurred consistent with these(cid:0) models. Secondly, it is well known that although many(cid:0) voices may be obtained by a dedicated researcher through(cid:0) a particular technical device, the same device fails to(cid:0) produce results for another experimenter. My conclusion is(cid:0) that the phenomenon is able to adapt itself to the psychic(cid:0) model preferred by the experimenter. This does not mean(cid:0) that the voices come from our unconscious, but that our(cid:0) minds are able to formulate a mental intention to(cid:0) communicate that conforms to the particular psychic model(cid:0) that we happen to hold. I think that this mental intention(cid:0) forms the “bridge” that the communicators have mentioned(cid:0) on several occasions. This bridge allows us to contact other(cid:0) planes of consciousness.(cid:0) Anabela:(cid:0) If we continue to analyze the massive spread of(cid:0) ITC communications, we can rightly assume that there are(cid:0) at present many thousands of people who, in the quiet of(cid:0) their homes, experiment and perhaps obtain significant(cid:0) the communicators(cid:0) results. This was predicted by themselves many years ago, and it seems to me to be(cid:0) perhaps one of the best ways to establish the reality

of the(cid:0) phenomena, in opposition to the attitude of the scientific(cid:0) community at large (there are naturally a very few(cid:0) honorable exceptions among scientists) that continues to(cid:0) ignore them. I would appreciate your comments on these(cid:0) two approaches: from one side the great interest of(cid:0) common people, and from the other the disdain of science(cid:0) toward the so far sole phenomenon in the field of survival(cid:0) research that is objective and repeatable and can be(cid:0) scientifically analyzed within the framework of the(cid:0) scientific method.(cid:0) Paolo:(cid:0)As I said before, all the experiments carried out in(cid:0) the quiet of the experimenters’ homes are very useful since(cid:0) they can yield significant results and precious material for(cid:0) research. On the other hand, an intensive investigation by(cid:0) means of scientific methodologies and techniques is, today,(cid:0) absolutely indispensable. I can understand the behavior of(cid:0) today’s scientist on this issue because every paranormal(cid:0) event contradicts one or more of the well-established(cid:0) paradigms of science. In line with Thomas Kuhn’s thought,(cid:0) only by using scientific language and by demonstrating(cid:0) events that are presently considered anomalies will we alert(cid:0) the scientific community to the importance of this kind of(cid:0) research, and only then will a revision of the paradigms,(cid:0) currently considered immutable by science, take place.(cid:0) FFF One Day Conference(cid:0) Sponsored by the AA-EVP(cid:0) The Woodlands(cid:0) A one day conference on November 8, 2008 titled, “The(cid:0) Synchronized Universe—Exploring Communication with(cid:0) The Dead from Electronic Devices to Mediumship,” will(cid:0) be held at The Woodlands, 1 Southwoods Road,(cid:0) Woodbury NY (Long

Island) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The(cid:0) Woodlands is a beautiful old mansion and the employees(cid:0) have said that there are quite a few departed spirits that(cid:0) frequent the place. The morning session will be co-hosted(cid:0) by the Forever Family Foundation (FFF) and the AA-EVP.(cid:0) For the morning session, we will make a presentation about(cid:0) EVP and ITC, and will be joined by Dr. Claude Swanson,(cid:0) author of(cid:0)The Synchronized Universe(cid:0). The afternoon will(cid:0) be filled with a sit-down gourmet luncheon and fundraiser(cid:0) for the Forever Family Foundation, with readings from(cid:0) guest mediums.(cid:0) Pre-registration for the event is $125 until August 1(cid:0)st(cid:0) for(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation members (membership is(cid:0) free). The cost after August 1(cid:0)st(cid:0) is $150 for members and(cid:0) $175 for non-members. Event cost includes luncheon with(cid:0) mediums. For out-of-town guests, a rate of $149 per night(cid:0) has been negotiated with the Huntington Hilton. To(cid:0) purchase seats, and for additional information, go to the(cid:0) FFF website at(cid:0)foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0).(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 10(cid:0) AA-EVP Certified Proxy Practitioner(cid:0) The AA-EVP is now offering a certification to members(cid:0) (practitioners) who have demonstrated the ability and will-(cid:0) ingness to attempt contact with loved ones in behalf of(cid:0) others (sitter). Qualifications for certification are:(cid:0) be EVP and might be appropriate. Since the practitioner(cid:0) does not know personal details, the sitter must determine(cid:0) whether or not the results are meaningful(cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Long-time demonstration of ability to record EVP(cid:0) •(cid:0)Demonstrated willingness to help people seeking help in(cid:0) making trans-contact via EVP(cid:0) •(cid:0)At least four successful contacts

via EVP in behalf of(cid:0) sitters which have resulted in a letter of testimonial(cid:0) indicating that the sitter correctly heard the EVP and(cid:0) expressed thanks to the practitioner(cid:0) •(cid:0)In addition, two successful contacts for sitters referred to(cid:0) the practitioner via the AA-EVP(cid:0) •(cid:0)Demonstrated understanding of the characteristics of(cid:0) EVP and ability to distinguish false positive results(cid:0) •(cid:0)Demonstrated history of reporting in a way that helps an(cid:0) inexperienced sitter have a realistic understanding of(cid:0) what is said in an EVP.(cid:0) “Long-time” as determined by the directors on a case-(cid:0) by-case basis. “Realistic” means that an experienced(cid:0) listening panel should hear what is being reported.(cid:0) This is the only certification currently offered by the AA-(cid:0) EVP. There is no cost for certification, but it is limited to(cid:0) AA-EVP members and is only for the duration of member-(cid:0) ship in the Association. Members who are certified are(cid:0) asked to provide pro bono service to the Association by(cid:0) accepting occasional referrals. Certified members will be(cid:0) listed at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/resources/certification.htm(cid:0), with(cid:0) a link to their website or with contact information. An alias(cid:0) may be used to protect the person's privacy.(cid:0) Certified members are encouraged (but not required) to(cid:0) provide this service to the general public. As such, poten-(cid:0) tial sitters should expect to pay a reasonable fee for the(cid:0) time, effort and especially the skill provided by the practi-(cid:0) tioner. In turn, the sitter should expect a reasonable number(cid:0) of attempts to make contact with the loved one. If success-(cid:0) ful, the sitter should be able to

understand the EVP with(cid:0) some guidance and if practical, should receive a copy of the(cid:0) EVP. The AA-EVP does not define a “reasonable fee.”(cid:0) The AA-EVP has done this to help the public find ethical(cid:0) practitioners who have demonstrated ability; however the(cid:0) Association makes no guarantees, receives no referral fees(cid:0) and is not responsible for the actions of a certified practitio-(cid:0) ner.(cid:0) What the sitter can expect(cid:0) T(cid:0)he person who asks for help making contact with EVP(cid:0) is known as the sitter. Anyone who wishes to make contact(cid:0) with a particular person in the etheric is welcome to seek(cid:0) assistance from one of the listed practitioners. The sitter is(cid:0) invited to make contact and ask whether or not the person(cid:0) is able to take time to help. The practitioner will ask the(cid:0) sitter to provide information such as name, relationship and(cid:0) other information the practitioner thinks may help make(cid:0) contact. The practitioner will report any results that might(cid:0) Certified Proxy Practitioners(cid:0) Debra Ann Caruso(cid:0) Debbie has proven herself willing to(cid:0) try new ideas and different technolo-(cid:0) gies in an effort to improve transcom-(cid:0) munication. Her early efforts are(cid:0) documented at(cid:0) www.listentothisforme.com/(cid:0).(cid:0) great More recently, she has used the tele-(cid:0) phone for both individual and group recording sessions(cid:0) at(cid:0) with www.1800heaven.com/(cid:0). Her success in contacting loved(cid:0) ones for others has been featured on the Maury Show as is(cid:0) documented on her(cid:0)YouTube(cid:0) site(cid:0).(cid:0) success. This documented is Martha Copeland(cid:0) With her daughter Cathy who is on the(cid:0) other side, Martha is one

of the found-(cid:0) ers of the Big Circle. This community(cid:0) of loved ones on both sides of the veil(cid:0) is an important source of support for(cid:0) people who have lost loved ones. It’s(cid:0) beginnings are described in Martha's(cid:0) book,(cid:0)I’m Still Here.(cid:0) Martha has been an active member of the AA-EVP for(cid:0) many years, and she has had success on a number of(cid:0) occasions in reaching loved ones for other people. You can(cid:0) reach her at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Margaret Downey(cid:0) Margaret has established herself as an(cid:0) effective trans-communicator. She has(cid:0) multiple contacts on the other side that(cid:0) have been helping her with two-way,(cid:0) real-time communication. She has on(cid:0) many occasions shown her willingness(cid:0) and ability to make contact in behalf of(cid:0) a person seeking to reach a loved one. Her work with visual(cid:0) forms of ITC is documented at(cid:0)www.itcdeadpeople.com(cid:0) and a demonstration of her visual work is on her YouTube(cid:0) page. You can reach Margaret at(cid:0)www.downeyitc.com(cid:0) or(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Vicki Talbott(cid:0) Vicki was an early member of the Big(cid:0) Circle and her son, Braden, is a fre-(cid:0) quent communicator. In fact, he has(cid:0) been very active in the 4Cell EVP(cid:0) Demonstration experiments. She has(cid:0) been keenly interested in expanding(cid:0) our understanding of EVP and in sup-(cid:0) porting people in their effort to reach loved ones. Vicki is(cid:0) at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Page 11 Summer 2008(cid:0) Castles and Dreams by Nina Bradica,(cid:0) www.flickr.com(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Changing World of EVP(cid:0) When we assumed leadership of the AA-EVP in 2000, the(cid:0) cassette recorder was standard equipment. It was known(cid:0)

that sound was required for voice formation, and every-(cid:0) thing imaginable was being tried to find a sound source that(cid:0) worked best. Some brave experimenters went in the direc-(cid:0) tion of what is known now as(cid:0) radio sweep or in Europe as(cid:0) “swept radio.”(cid:0) A mainstream science that we are working with real phenom-(cid:0) ena that need to be studied. We have not reached that(cid:0) milestone and scientists warn us that we will not with live(cid:0) radio broadcast or fragmented human speech for voice(cid:0) formation. Matters have become worse in this area because(cid:0) “boxes” promising to produce as-(cid:0) tounding EVP have been prolifer-(cid:0) ating. These boxes basically(cid:0) sweep radio and their users sel-(cid:0) dom understand the nature of(cid:0) EVP, leaving them likely to misat-(cid:0) tribute naturally occurring sounds.(cid:0) recent development that(cid:0) seems to answer the concerns with(cid:0) radio sweep and EVPMaker is the(cid:0) introduction of speech synthesis(cid:0) as a “raw” sound source for EVP(cid:0) formation. People are beginning(cid:0) to experiment with a computer(cid:0) microchip that was designed for(cid:0) voice synthesis in robotics called(cid:0)SpeakJet(cid:0). Stefan Bion(cid:0) provided a file on his website containing just(cid:0)allophones(cid:0) (fragments of speech) spoken in a male voice, to be used as(cid:0) a raw file by EVPMaker. This is the use of bits of human(cid:0) voice smaller than a syllable, instead of the usual recorded(cid:0) speech. In application, with the exception of some naturally(cid:0) occurring words, if the EVPMaker/allophone combination(cid:0) produced meaningful utterances, then the words would be(cid:0) phenomenal. A recent example shared with us from re-(cid:0)

searcher Margaret Downey has her asking, “Can you say(cid:0) Tom Butler?’” which is immediately followed by,(cid:0)“Tom(cid:0) Butler,”(cid:0)as words formed from bits of sound in EVPMak-(cid:0) er--asked, answered and heard in real-time.(cid:0) The use of synthesized allophones needs more study, as(cid:0) it seems that there are some words that form naturally. This(cid:0) is a little like the idea of a monkey pounding on a typewrit-(cid:0) er. Sooner or later, the monkey will type words, but they(cid:0) are unlikely to be meaningfully arranged. The few natu-(cid:0) rally occurring words should be manageable, and from our(cid:0) viewpoint, the use of allophones makes it possible to scien-(cid:0) tifically study these technologies and may lead to more(cid:0) important breakthroughs.(cid:0) As is described on page 8 and 9, real-time, two-way(cid:0) conversations seem to be occurring using several different(cid:0) technologies including radio sweep, EVPMaker, standard(cid:0) recorder method and synthesizer output that is controlled(cid:0) by changing environmental conditions. Granted, there are(cid:0) a lot of, “Did I hear you say?” kind of exchanges and much(cid:0) needs to be improved. There is also the problem of under-(cid:0) standing how the new technologies work. Developers of(cid:0) these new devices often put them on the market as “buyers(cid:0) beware, for entertainment only” products. The questions of(cid:0) the way artifacts can form, what naturally occurring words(cid:0) result with what setting and whether or not we are assign-(cid:0) ing meaning where there is none, have not been addressed.(cid:0) This is truly a frontier science.(cid:0) Around the beginning of this(cid:0) century, Panasonic introduced a(cid:0) digital

voice recorder and it be-(cid:0) came legend that customers were(cid:0) returning them because there were(cid:0) voices that(cid:0) should not have been there. The(cid:0) Panasonic RR-DR60 changed the(cid:0) world of EVP almost overnight,(cid:0) and today, digital voice recorders(cid:0) are the standard for EVP.(cid:0) the recordings in There were concerns about ra-(cid:0) dio sweep. When one “sweeps” the dial on a radio, it is(cid:0) possible to pick up whole words. And skeptics claim that(cid:0) those using this technique are simply rearranging words(cid:0) picked up from various radio stations to produce serendip-(cid:0) itous but mundane phrases. In one of our trials using one of(cid:0) the new “boxes” that automatically sweeps the radio, we(cid:0) found that the device dwelled on a strong local station and(cid:0) actually picked up three consecutive words from that sta-(cid:0) tion during a sweep. This is not to say that everything(cid:0) received from this method has an ordinary explanation,(cid:0) only that one needs to use discernment and not be the type(cid:0) that jumps to the conclusion that all things are phenomenal.(cid:0) Stefan Bion of the German ITC group,(cid:0)VTF(cid:0), developed(cid:0) a computer program called(cid:0)EVPMaker(cid:0) and many people(cid:0) began using it for EVP. It is a free program that works in a(cid:0) Windows computer. With EVPMaker, a sound file contain-(cid:0) ing human speech, such as recorded from talk radio, is(cid:0) “chopped” into very short segments and then randomly(cid:0) reassembles the bits into a sound file as if someone is(cid:0) blindly pulling bits of sound, one at a time, out of a bucket.(cid:0)

The software has options on how large the operator makes(cid:0) the samples that will then be rearranged and it is possible(cid:0) that whole syllables can sometimes be heard if the bits are(cid:0) too long, and once again, critics say that the experimenter(cid:0) is attributing words and phrases to paranormal causes when(cid:0) they are actually naturally occurring.(cid:0) Our policy for EVP technology has been that radio sweep(cid:0) and EVPMaker had too many false results, and we encour-(cid:0) aged people new to EVP to first learn how to collect EVP(cid:0) using a simple recorder, possibly with the addition of(cid:0) background noise for word formation from something like(cid:0) a fan. Once people have learned what the EVP they record(cid:0) sound like, and have a sense of what is and is not EVP, then(cid:0) they are encouraged to try novel technologies.(cid:0) There is also a problem with public perception. An im-(cid:0) portant milestone for our field will be the recognition by(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 12(cid:0) My Grandpa(cid:0) by Tania Chavez(cid:0) no so he said nothing, but looked at me pleadingly. I(cid:0) promised to return in the morning, and it was the last time(cid:0) I saw him lucid. He died three days after my wedding.(cid:0) Recently, I decided to go to the Ghost Whisperer website(cid:0) to watch a webisode of “The Other Side.” I got caught up(cid:0) in the site and started reading about contacting loved ones(cid:0) who have passed. I immediately thought of my grandpa and(cid:0) decided to try and asked him

to come to me in a dream. I(cid:0) did this about two nights before he came. In the dream, I(cid:0) was in a building with bright fluorescent lights and large(cid:0) windows with someone else (I don’t know who). A car(cid:0) drove up and a man came inside. It was my grandpa! He(cid:0) said a silly little poem about animals or flowers, smiled and(cid:0) said it again. He smiled again and left. The other person(cid:0) said, “Oh, how sweet,” and I said, “No, you don’t(cid:0) understand! He’s dead!” At that point, I remembered what(cid:0) I had asked for and ran outside calling for him, but the man(cid:0) who got out of the car just didn’t look exactly like him,(cid:0) although he was smiling; I got scared and woke up. I knew(cid:0) instantly it was him (as did my cat who was waiting for me(cid:0) to awaken).(cid:0) I continued to go to that website as it was all I had to go(cid:0) on. There were some EVP which I found interesting and(cid:0) touching. In another area, they had a list of EVP but some(cid:0) were at this other site called AA-EVP. I planned to visit(cid:0) that site as well, but in the meantime, I asked Grandpa to(cid:0) please come back in another dream which he did a few days(cid:0) later. I saw a black keyboard and words were being typed(cid:0) out. First was “Destiny,” second was “Braydon” (or(cid:0) Braden) and third was “Love.” Once more, I woke up(cid:0) immediately and knew it

was Grandpa. During the dream,(cid:0) I thought of Destiny as the child in my class by that name(cid:0) but had no idea about Braydon. Love, I knew meant(cid:0) Grandpa loves me. The only Braydon I remembered was a(cid:0) local newspaper editor, but I could see no connection and(cid:0) decided to wait.(cid:0) The next evening after work, I went to the AA-EVP site(cid:0) and decided to watch the YouTube video first. Imagine my(cid:0) surprise when I saw Vicki Talbott talking about the EVP(cid:0) she has received from her son, Braden. I was excited and(cid:0) wanted to hear more EVP so I continued to look at the site(cid:0) and there it was … Braden all over the place! That was(cid:0) when I knew what I was supposed to do! I had to research(cid:0) this EVP stuff and Braden was the clue to my destiny!(cid:0) I combed the AA-EVP site and went to lots of links from(cid:0) there. I found Christine Jenkins’ website and was drawn to(cid:0) it so I wrote her. (www.cjevpresearch.org) It turns out that(cid:0) Christine has a son named Braydon, too! So here I am. I(cid:0) have had a Class C EVP confirming that it is my Grandpa(cid:0) Pacheco talking to me. I’m hooked(cid:0)!(cid:0) Manuel Pacheco(cid:0) My grandpa Manuel Pacheco was a very spiritual man. He(cid:0) touched so many people with his gentle, loving kindness.(cid:0) He was an inspiration for many people.(cid:0) When I was fifteen, my grandpa had a heart attack that(cid:0) resulted in triple bypass surgery. My extended

family and(cid:0) I went to visit him in the hospital in Albuquerque, New(cid:0) Mexico. They always give us a big room in the hospital(cid:0) because there are so many of us. A man came by the day(cid:0) after the surgery from Las Vegas, New Mexico, which is(cid:0) about two and a half hours away. He came because he had(cid:0) seen my grandfather praying at the church in Las Vegas at(cid:0) the time he was in heart surgery! He was awed and just(cid:0) wanted to confirm to himself what he had seen. No other(cid:0) member of my family seems to remember this incident.(cid:0) Years later, my grandpa fell resulting in a subdural(cid:0) hematoma. He had brain surgery and was in rehab for quite(cid:0) a while. While in the hospital, he told me privately that he(cid:0) had received a message for me from God. I was prepared(cid:0) to hear the message but Grandpa said he couldn’t give it to(cid:0) me yet. God had asked him to save it until the time was(cid:0) right and that was not the moment.(cid:0) A year later, after Grandpa had recovered and was home,(cid:0) he had a spirit visitation. Shortly after, he told everyone to(cid:0) let him go if he should go downhill again. I saw him four(cid:0) days before my wedding and he was as excited as any of us(cid:0) about it. That night, he became very ill and went to the(cid:0) hospital. I went to visit him late the next evening, but(cid:0) frankly, he had

been sick so much of my life that I didn’t(cid:0) think it would be the last round. He was awake and lucid(cid:0) but intubated so he could not speak. When he saw me he(cid:0) looked so pleading, as though he desperately wanted to tell(cid:0) me something. He was sweet and sympathetic to my nine-(cid:0) year-old son but switched his attention to me again as soon(cid:0) as he could. I knew what he wanted to do.(cid:0) My uncle is a doctor at that hospital and was at(cid:0) Grandpa’s bedside. He asked if my grandpa wanted to tell(cid:0) me something, and when Grandpa nodded, he asked if he(cid:0) wanted to be extubated, which would mean that he might(cid:0) be choosing to die. It was too difficult to say either yes or(cid:0) It was nice to put this down in writing. In doing so, I(cid:0) realized that the nonsense ditty may have been a song he(cid:0) taught all his grandchildren when we were tiny; I was four.(cid:0) That was a revelation and I am finding that I am having a(cid:0) whole bunch of those lately, revelations, I mean(cid:0).(cid:0) Page 13 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Tiger and Pippy(cid:0) by Susan Iannicca(cid:0) kitten I first discovered Tiger as(cid:0) a starved, skeletal seven-(cid:0) week-old that(cid:0) someone had left in a box(cid:0) outside a local pet shop.(cid:0) He was, as I remember(cid:0) exclaiming, “nothing but(cid:0) skin and bones,” and(cid:0) weighed seven(cid:0) only ounces. I immediately in-(cid:0) sisted on adopting him(cid:0) though the shopkeeper(cid:0) was reluctant, saying he(cid:0)

was too unhealthy. Yet(cid:0) he bloomed with good(cid:0) care, and I called him my(cid:0) “miracle baby” since it(cid:0) seemed like a miracle(cid:0) that he even survived.(cid:0) someone could abandon such a wonderful creature. He was(cid:0) in pretty bad shape, and had several wounds in various(cid:0) stages of healing; probably from animal attacks (we have(cid:0) coyote and raccoons in the area). He had been declawed, so(cid:0) was defenseless against predators. The vet estimated his(cid:0) age at three years, which was to the month how long it had(cid:0) been since Tiger had died.(cid:0) Pippy was so stoic. Not only had he faced starvation and(cid:0) animal attacks during his time in the wild, but he had(cid:0) become infected with toxoplasmosis which had damaged(cid:0) and scarred the iris muscles of his eyes, leaving his pupils(cid:0) fixed and dilated. He couldn’t stand the bright light. But(cid:0) despite all the unpleasant treatments and trips to the vet, he(cid:0) never complained. He willingly sat for me while I adminis-(cid:0) tered the treatments though I(cid:0) knew he didn’t like it. And he(cid:0) willingly went into the carrier(cid:0) for the vet trips though I(cid:0) knew he didn’t want to.(cid:0) Tiger(cid:0) Tiger lived a seemingly(cid:0) healthy life for the next(cid:0) eight years … until 2003(cid:0) when he developed kid-(cid:0) ney failure, which is con-(cid:0) sidered fatal. Devastated, I did everything in my power to(cid:0) save him from the inevitable, culminating in a kidney(cid:0) transplant; the “cure,” or so I thought. But then the unthink-(cid:0) able happened. Biopsies taken during the

surgery showed(cid:0) an undetected lymphoma, and the immunosuppressant(cid:0) drugs he needed to prevent organ rejection allowed the(cid:0) cancer to bloom. He died only ten days after the surgery.(cid:0) I sank into a deep depression, as one by one my pets(cid:0) began to die. Following Tiger, I lost three beloved dogs;(cid:0) two from cancer and one from heart failure. All had been(cid:0) rescued from horribly abusive situations, including one we(cid:0) had found so mutilated he needed over one hundred stitch-(cid:0) es. I did not have two of them for very long and they were(cid:0) experiencing love and security for the first time. They(cid:0) deserved so much more but never got the chance. By the(cid:0) time it was over, I had lost four pets in six months.(cid:0) Three years later, by the summer of 2006, I was undergo-(cid:0) ing a personal crisis and was in a situation which I needed(cid:0) to leave but hadn’t the strength. I asked Tiger, who I prayed(cid:0) to often, for a strong sign to direct my decision. Right after(cid:0) that Pippy appeared, a straggly skeleton of a cat who(cid:0) closely resembled Tiger. I could not have received a stron-(cid:0) ger sign, for I could not keep Pippy if I stayed, and I refused(cid:0) to abandon him. I called all the local shelters, police depart-(cid:0) ments and combed the newspaper ads, but no one had(cid:0) reported a lost cat fitting his description. I secretly hoped(cid:0) no one would, since I had fallen in love with him and(cid:0) considered

him my “gift from Tiger.” He gave me the(cid:0) strength to do what I needed to do.(cid:0) Pippy was the perfect cat; sweet, gentle, loving, playful,(cid:0) affectionate and very well behaved. I often wondered how(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 14(cid:0) Last June, on Sunday, I(cid:0) spent a good portion of the(cid:0) day with him, cuddling and(cid:0) telling him how much I loved(cid:0) him forever, that he would(cid:0) always be safe and that I(cid:0) would always protect him.(cid:0) Later in the afternoon we de-(cid:0) cided to take a drive to Chau-(cid:0) tauqua, New York. It was(cid:0) already late in the day and we(cid:0) were in a hurry. We returned(cid:0) home that evening, and when(cid:0) my husband opened the front(cid:0) door, I heard him say, “Oh(cid:0) my God”, then, “Don’t come in!”(cid:0) Pippy(cid:0) In a few moments he came out and told me what had(cid:0) happened. In our haste to leave, we had forgotten to secure(cid:0) the gate and Brownie, a dog that we had “adopted” from a(cid:0) sanctuary, had gotten through and killed Pippy. There was(cid:0) a lot of blood and he made me stay outside until he cleaned(cid:0) everything up. It was totally surreal.(cid:0) I had realized soon after Brownie arrived that she was(cid:0) cat-aggressive; however, the sanctuary refused to take her(cid:0) back so we had to keep her since she would surely be(cid:0) euthanized if taken to the pound. I thought the cats were(cid:0) safe since we kept the dogs gated when we were not at(cid:0) home. Except

for that time. I was devastated … consumed(cid:0) with grief, anguish and guilt as I thought of my broken(cid:0) promise to protect him made only hours before.(cid:0) It broke my heart that Pippy was such a gentle soul and(cid:0) to be the victim of such brutal violence. He would not even(cid:0) kill a bird or other small creature that occasionally slipped(cid:0) into our enclosed patio. It broke my heart that Pippy was(cid:0) such a gentle soul and to be the victim of such brutal(cid:0) violence.(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Tiger and Pippy(cid:0) Continued from page 14(cid:0) He would not even kill a bird or other small creature that(cid:0) occasionally slipped into our enclosed patio. I never knew(cid:0) a cat like that. I wanted to euthanize Brownie but my(cid:0) husband would not allow it. So now I am forced to care for(cid:0) the dog that murdered my sweet little boy. And to think I(cid:0) took her in because I felt sorry for her. Over and over I(cid:0) thought, why hadn’t I just let the pound euthanize her?(cid:0) I searched for a way to contact Pippy, not even sure if an(cid:0) afterlife existed. I tried mediums, and even had some(cid:0) Pippy(cid:0) after-death communications. On many occasions I felt him(cid:0) jump on my lap and knead my legs. On one occasion, I(cid:0) even saw him disappear under the kitchen table (he was(cid:0) practically under my feet so I got a good look). And it was(cid:0) obvious by the other animals’ behavior that they sensed

his(cid:0) presence as well. But the problem was that it was all(cid:0) subjective, and I would end up talking myself right out of(cid:0) it and attributing it all to my imagination or “wishful(cid:0) thinking.” In the end it did little to convince me of Pippy’s(cid:0) survival or even of the existence of an afterlife. Then I(cid:0) stumbled upon EVP and gave it a try.(cid:0) I began recording in earnest in January, 2008. At first I(cid:0) received mostly whispers, but on the very first recording(cid:0) was a clear little kitty-like voice that said(cid:0)“Pippy.”(cid:0) Then(cid:0) one day, I asked if Pippy’s death was part of a plan or just(cid:0) an accident, and a clear voice loudly whispered,(cid:0)“Part of(cid:0) the plan(cid:0).”(cid:0) I was stunned and shocked. Though I had asked(cid:0) the question, I did not expect to get such a message, and it(cid:0) forced me to reevaluate everything, for if there truly is a(cid:0) plan to all this … well then maybe it was not(cid:0)all(cid:0) my fault.(cid:0) Maybe it was destined to be?(cid:0) I remember on that fateful day as I was getting ready to(cid:0) leave on our trip, a wave of sadness for Pippy came over(cid:0) me, and I did not know why and told myself, “What’s(cid:0) wrong with you? You’re acting like he died!” and brushed(cid:0) off the feeling. If it is true that linear time does not exist(cid:0) outside our realm, then perhaps I had caught a momentary(cid:0) glimpse of what was about to be.(cid:0) The other odd thing is

that looking back, I always had a(cid:0) vague feeling that I would not be allowed to keep him for(cid:0) long. I had always assumed it was because he was too good(cid:0) to be true, but maybe it was because of something else that(cid:0) I subconsciously sensed?(cid:0) The other really profound message I received, when I(cid:0) asked Pippy if he and I would be reunited after I transi-(cid:0) tioned, was,(cid:0)“You don’t die.”(cid:0) I was glad to see the article in the last issue about animal(cid:0) communication, because it reflects and validates my own(cid:0) experience. [Spring 2008 AA-EVP NewsJournal] I always(cid:0) asked Pippy questions that require a verbal response and(cid:0) that is what I have received. He has sent me many affirma-(cid:0) tive answers to my questions, such as(cid:0)“I’m happy.”(cid:0) Occa-(cid:0) sionally I do hear a meow amidst the voices as well, as if(cid:0) he is announcing his presence.(cid:0) I do believe, as the article said, that animals can think and(cid:0) communicate. Timestream communicators tell us that ani-(cid:0) mals (and plants) collaborate on ITC projects and experi-(cid:0) ence spiritual development just as humans do. If this is true(cid:0) then Pippy must be a very advanced soul. I feel that he is(cid:0) responsible for two “miracles” that occurred in my life, one(cid:0) while he was alive and one after his death. Both were(cid:0) life-transforming events that I had previously considered(cid:0) impossible. Perhaps he chose to come here for just a little(cid:0) while, to help a troubled soul. I have some evidence of that(cid:0)

from messages received through mediums, containing in-(cid:0) formation they could not have known and did not under-(cid:0) stand. Two of the messages concerned the “miracles” I(cid:0) mentioned about which the mediums did not know.(cid:0) I still don’t know what the plan is, and have not been(cid:0) given an answer when I asked. I guess there are some(cid:0) things I am not supposed to know, and should be content(cid:0) knowing that there(cid:0)is(cid:0) a plan to the seeming “chaos” of life.(cid:0) Barefoot in the Summer(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) Now that you have learned some of the benefits of going(cid:0) barefoot, you can offer a sane and logical explanation in the(cid:0) event that someone may question your behavior when(cid:0) removing your shoes and socks. Their questions will likely(cid:0) bring a smile to your face.(cid:0) This summer, release your inner child by finding a grassy(cid:0) area and go barefooted. Free your feet of confining, hot,(cid:0) sweaty shoes. Open your feet to the air and sunshine.(cid:0) Wiggle your toes and feel the various textures and temper-(cid:0) atures of surfaces as you walk. Close your eyes and feel the(cid:0) silky moist grass beneath your feet. Take several deep(cid:0) breaths during this process to release your stress and feel(cid:0) the variety of positive changes in your body. This is one of(cid:0) life’s most simple pleasures and is part of what it means to(cid:0) be human.(cid:0) Summer is a relaxing, rejuvenating season. It is a time for(cid:0) vacations, gardening, numerous outside activities, and for(cid:0) going barefoot. For

additional information, there is a dedi-(cid:0) cated barefoot organization called the “Society for Bare-(cid:0) foot Living” that you can find online at:(cid:0) www.barefooters.org(cid:0). Their motto is, “Set your feet free(cid:0) and your mind will follow.” Have a beautiful summer.(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle on or close(cid:0) to July 10 and 24, August 7, and 21, September 4 and 18(cid:0) and October 2, 16 and 30. Then go to the Big Circle area of(cid:0) the Idea Exchange and share what you recorded. Many(cid:0) members have gotten recordings that are meant for other(cid:0) members so share your recordings with the group!(cid:0) Page 15 Summer 2008(cid:0) Al Rauber and Garrett Husveth(cid:0) were contacted by producer Hae-(cid:0) won Yom, from KPI/Lightworks(cid:0) TV, about filming a show on the(cid:0) paranormal for the History Chan-(cid:0) nel series,(cid:0)MonsterQuest.(cid:0) Garrett(cid:0) could not participate due to other(cid:0) program obligations but Al agreed(cid:0) to do it. The first place he thought(cid:0) of was the Lizzie Borden House in(cid:0) Fall River,(cid:0)Massachusetts(cid:0), since(cid:0) he had participated in a segment(cid:0) from the Lizzie House for the(cid:0) Ghost Stories(cid:0) program.(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Return to the Lizzie Borden House(cid:0) by Al Rauber(cid:0) later the response came through,(cid:0) “I’m burning.”(cid:0) The current Lizzie(cid:0) home owner, Lee Ann Wilbur,(cid:0) later explained that, “It’s my un-(cid:0) derstanding that Michael was(cid:0) smoking in bed at his parents’(cid:0) home and fell asleep. He burned to(cid:0) death in the fire.”(cid:0) Lizzie Borden House(cid:0) Al and Garrett’s Haunted New Jersey team use EVP(cid:0) extensively

when working on hauntings cases. Over the(cid:0) years, they have been very successful at capturing what(cid:0) they believe to be the actual haunting entities on tape.(cid:0) Al was joined in the investigation by long time AA-EVP(cid:0) member Debbie Caruso and video expert David Manganel-(cid:0) li. Together, they conducted three separate recording ses-(cid:0) sions. The first was during a walkthrough of the house. The(cid:0) second was from Lizzie’s bedroom with Debbie on the(cid:0) phone recording from her house in Staten Island, New(cid:0) York to see if relevant EVP could be recorded without(cid:0) being at the site. The final session was from a third-floor(cid:0) room that is apparently an active room for haunting events(cid:0) in the house. Each session was successful in capturing(cid:0) voices. During the walkthrough, two different voices were(cid:0) captured in the basement of the house. Both came from the(cid:0) same recording segment. The first voice, which seems to(cid:0) be female, says,(cid:0)“I hid it,”(cid:0) followed three seconds later(cid:0) with another voice remarking,(cid:0)“They all see it.”(cid:0) One of the particulars of the Lizzie Borden case is that(cid:0) the definitive murder weapon was never found. In fact,(cid:0) over the years, at least four axes were found at various(cid:0) spots on the property. Could this EVP be referring to the(cid:0) hiding of the murder weapon? Another reference to hiding(cid:0) appears a short time later in the upstairs Morse Room(cid:0) where the body of Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby, was found.(cid:0) This time, a woman’s voice clearly said,(cid:0)“I’m hiding here.”(cid:0) Continuing with the walk through, the

first of three(cid:0) voices were caught in what is called the Chimney Room;(cid:0) named as such because the house’s chimney comes(cid:0) through the room. Once just attic storage space, for the past(cid:0) ten years the area has been used first to house the caretaker(cid:0) named Michael and later to rent out to the public. Al and(cid:0) David were told that physical phenomena were not uncom-(cid:0) mon in the room, and that Michael the caretaker was(cid:0) thought to be responsible. In addressing Michael, Al asked(cid:0) if he would be kind enough to give some information about(cid:0) himself. A quick clear response of(cid:0)“Sure”(cid:0) was found on(cid:0) listening to the recording.(cid:0) During a later recording session in the Chimney Room,(cid:0) Al asked, “Michael, why are you still here?” Four seconds(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 16(cid:0) The second recording session(cid:0) was an experiment in which, for(cid:0) control purposes, everyone who(cid:0) was in the house at the time was(cid:0) gathered into Lizzie’s bedroom.(cid:0) Two video cameras were running(cid:0) and Al’s digital recorder, a Sony P520, was placed in the(cid:0) middle of Lizzie’s bed. Debbie was contacted via tele-(cid:0) phone and a dual recording session was attempted. Debbie(cid:0) asked a question on her end and Al repeated the question(cid:0) in the bedroom.(cid:0) The room was the scene of physical phenomena during(cid:0) Al’s previous visit. At that time, an antique mirror in a(cid:0) locked hutch actually moved during a recording session.(cid:0) This was captured on two(cid:0) video cameras, and try as(cid:0) they might, the phenomena(cid:0) could

not be duplicated.(cid:0) In response to the question(cid:0) about who moved the mirror,(cid:0) “Asa”(cid:0)was recorded. Dedi-(cid:0) cated paranormal researchers(cid:0) are always searching for ver-(cid:0) ification of information be-(cid:0) cause the data is nothing(cid:0) without backup research.(cid:0) Here we have a definite hit as(cid:0) far as a confirmed EVP. And(cid:0) it got better. Shortly after this(cid:0) voice, another entity is found(cid:0) on the recording saying,(cid:0)“I(cid:0) am him. I am Asa.”(cid:0) Further(cid:0) investigation found that Asa Gifford had rented the house(cid:0) from Lizzie and her sister Emma for a period of two years.(cid:0) Asa Gifford was also found in local censuses.(cid:0) Al pointing moved on its own(cid:0) to mirror that(cid:0) Debbie Caruso also recorded some interesting EVP.(cid:0) During a test recording right before making the phone call,(cid:0) she recorded(cid:0)“Lizzy A. Borden.”(cid:0)When they had finished(cid:0) Debbie said “Thank you, Lizzy,” and received(cid:0) “I have to(cid:0) speak, don’t go.”(cid:0) Many people question the value of EVP in haunting(cid:0) investigations, but for Al Rauber, there is no substitute. In(cid:0) fact, Al feels EVP can be used like a psychic or medium(cid:0) with investigators getting information such as that gotten(cid:0) for The History Channel during this investigation.(cid:0) (The above-mentioned show aired on June 11, 2008 on the(cid:0) History Channel’s MonsterQuest)(cid:0) Research Verifies EVP(cid:0) Neil Kierman and his brother were recording at Moss(cid:0) Landing Cemetery when Neil noticed that four people had(cid:0) died the same day, August 23, 1975. There were two(cid:0) women, Irma Guerrero and Rosalie Martinez, along with(cid:0) their children Marty and Karen. Neil asked

Irma how they(cid:0) had died and recorded,(cid:0)“Over the railroad.”(cid:0) Neil found at the Watsonville library that the four had(cid:0) been hit by a Southern Pacific train on that date. Neil said(cid:0) he really had not expected this kind of verification and that(cid:0) his hands were shaking when he found it.(cid:0) Visual ITC Examples(cid:0) Visual forms of transcommunication are being studied by(cid:0) many AA-EVP members. Human faces, animals and even(cid:0) scenes are sometimes found in reflected light or video(cid:0) loops. This form of ITC is less well studied than EVP and(cid:0) we can only speculate as to who we are seeing and why. In(cid:0) some instances, the feature has been recognized as a loved(cid:0) one, making it clear that some are communication.(cid:0) from Photograph of light(cid:0) reflected a(cid:0) quartz crystal. Possi-(cid:0) ble man facing to right(cid:0) and a little down.(cid:0) Photograph of light reflected from a(cid:0) quartz crystal. Possible cloaked person(cid:0) in the center and person with a child(cid:0) sitting at lower-right.(cid:0) Photograph of light re-(cid:0) flected from moving(cid:0) water taken by Marga-(cid:0) ret Downey. Her fin-(cid:0) gernail is visible lower(cid:0) left.(cid:0) The face of a man found in a video(cid:0) frame from a video loop ITC ses-(cid:0) sion. Captured by Lance Reed.(cid:0) EVP Gives Info on Plane Crash(cid:0) A Russian news story claimed that a scientist received an(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena message two days after two(cid:0) planes crashed in Russia. While the Federal Security(cid:0) Service was still clearing the accident and trying to figure(cid:0) out what happened, the scientist received

an EVP that said,(cid:0) “That was a terrorist.” The story went on to say that the(cid:0) EVP was a sensation and was replayed on Saint Petersburg(cid:0) Radio. The information was officially confirmed several(cid:0) days later.(cid:0) From:(cid:0)http://newsfromrussia.com/science/mysteries/19-02-(cid:0) 2008/104119-nether_world-0(cid:0) Two photographs of light reflected from moving water taken by(cid:0) Linda Gregory. The feature at left appears to be a woman’s head(cid:0) and torso facing to your right. The second image appears from(cid:0) the nose up and is facing you. The rest is obscured by a ripple.(cid:0) Page 17 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) If you record an EVP that you would like to share here,(cid:0) please email us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kelly Burge wrote on the Idea Exchange “ on 10/1/07 I(cid:0) lost my sweet husband, Ronald Burge. He was killed in(cid:0) front of our home. A truck hit and ran over him on his(cid:0) motorcycle. I’m still wandering in circles. I’ve never(cid:0) been able to contact any of my family; however, I have(cid:0) had many, many EVP. Right now my three children and(cid:0) I are praying for one from our Ronald. We had just(cid:0) moved to our dream home. He was bringing his(cid:0) motorcycle home when a truck ran over him.” Several(cid:0) weeks later she wrote, “I finally have something I would(cid:0) like to share and get a bit of help editing. Let me begin(cid:0) by saying we had the oddest thing happen today right(cid:0) before I did this recording. We have these horrible(cid:0) bathroom doors that, if you are not careful,

will lock you(cid:0) out. Well, we got locked out. We could not get the door(cid:0) open from last night till today. Well, actually ‘we’ did not(cid:0) get the door open. I came upstairs and walked past the(cid:0) locked, closed bathroom door with my daughter(cid:0) following me. We sat in my bathroom having a crying(cid:0) time over Ron, and when we walked out, the door was(cid:0) wide open with the lights on. I grabbed my recorder and(cid:0) this is what I got.” Members listened to the recording and(cid:0) most agreed that it sounded like(cid:0)“Yes, I’m here,”(cid:0)and(cid:0) maybe,(cid:0) “This is my new voice.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland said she thought she was hearing(cid:0) talking in the noise of her dog Shorty’s snoring. One may(cid:0) remember that Martha’s daughter Cathy used to talk(cid:0) through her cat Sarah Jane. Well, Sarah Jane is now with(cid:0) Cathy on the other side and Cathy is now making words(cid:0) in Shorty’s snoring. Sounds crazy but Martha sent us the(cid:0) recording and you hear,(cid:0)“Mama”(cid:0)and then(cid:0) “I need you”(cid:0) several times. As if to make sure we didn’t think Martha(cid:0) crazy, toward the end of the recording there is a,(cid:0)“Hi,(cid:0) Lisa.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Carolann Crowley wrote that, while recuperating at home(cid:0) in bed, she had lots of time to record and speak to friends(cid:0) on her computer. One of them was a psychic who lives in(cid:0) England. Carolann had gotten a lot of names during a(cid:0) recording session and mentioned this to her. She asked(cid:0) what the names were and Carolann told her

that she had(cid:0) gotten(cid:0)“Kenneth,” “John,” “William,” “Alfred”(cid:0)and(cid:0) “Sarah.”(cid:0) All of the names meant something to her but(cid:0) later, she learned that she had a famous family member,(cid:0) William John Wills who was one of the very first(cid:0) explorers to cover Australia in the 1800s.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso wrote, “It was Lenny’s 4(cid:0)th(cid:0) anniversary in(cid:0) Heaven.” You can hear Debbie on the recording ask him(cid:0) to talk really loud so his mom could hear him and then(cid:0) you hear,(cid:0)“Hello, Ma.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Teri Daner recorded an EVP saying,(cid:0)“It’s Jasmine.”(cid:0) Jasmine’s mom used to be an AA-EVP member and Teri(cid:0) forwarded the EVP to her.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey has been getting some communication(cid:0) from a fellow named Arthur who says that he is a(cid:0) technician. She had heard him say,(cid:0)“The portals are(cid:0) open,”(cid:0)and asked him what a portal was. She recorded,(cid:0) “They open and you humans talk for the interview(cid:0) portals.”(cid:0) She next asked, “The portal is used for what?”(cid:0) and recorded,(cid:0)“Help you enter our air.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey wrote, “My research partner and I went to(cid:0) one of our favorite cemeteries where I captured one of(cid:0) my most fascinating longest EVP back in 2001 on April(cid:0) 12th. So every year we go back on April 12(cid:0)th(cid:0)” On this(cid:0) visit Karen recorded,(cid:0)“You’re hearing the dead.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkins did some recordings on her show when(cid:0) Martha Copeland was a guest and it was Big Circle(cid:0) recording night. On the first recording that they did at the(cid:0) beginning of the show Christine got,(cid:0)“How are you my(cid:0) Martha?”(cid:0)www.cjevpresearch.org(cid:0) •(cid:0)Susan Iannicca

wrote that she has asked Cathy to help(cid:0) take care of all the pets (all five of them) and she said she(cid:0) heard the reply,(cid:0)“Yes”!(cid:0) Susan wrote, “I have also heard(cid:0) messages like,(cid:0)‘Cathy’s bringing Pippy,’ ‘Hi Sue, it’s(cid:0) Cathy’(cid:0) and others. I also asked Saint Francis to watch(cid:0) over her and guide her in her work.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kathy Narvaez lost her mom in April 2004 and her dad(cid:0) in July 2005. Kathy posted a recording on the board in(cid:0) which she heard a voice but could not make it out.(cid:0) Margaret wrote back that she heard,(cid:0)“Hellooo.”(cid:0) Kathy(cid:0) wrote back, “Wow, I heard the(cid:0)‘Hello’(cid:0) too! I definitely(cid:0) need headphones and some more education on how to do(cid:0) this.” Vicki Talbott was next to help out and ran the(cid:0) recording through Clear Voice Denoiser. She told Kathy(cid:0) that, “I hear(cid:0)‘Love much’(cid:0) or maybe(cid:0)‘Love bunch.’”(cid:0) Kathy came back with, “Thank you, Vicki. It does sound(cid:0) like(cid:0) “Love much.”(cid:0) It must be my dad, as that’s who I was(cid:0) asking to hear from.”(cid:0) •(cid:0) “Have a good day,(cid:0) baby.”(cid:0)He also said,(cid:0)“We’re all up here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christopher Scott recorded an EVP about getting to the(cid:0) doctor and then found out that his mother had a heart(cid:0) attack. Chris’ mother has been battling Alzheimer’s for(cid:0) thirteen years. He wrote, “It appears to be finally her(cid:0) time. I think, and pray, it is her time to go tomorrow. This(cid:0) association and the messages you post from spirits have(cid:0) given me great strength in getting through this. I prayed(cid:0) to

the spirits that talk to me to help her through this. I am(cid:0) going to try to reach her as best I can.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott wrote, “Paula Elcox and I decided to(cid:0) collaborate with our Big Circle friends and ask for her(cid:0) mom and dad to come through and say ‘hi.’ Their names(cid:0) are Lillian and Paul.” Vicki used the Sony ICD B26.(cid:0) “First you can hear the end of my asking for Lillian and(cid:0) Paul and then you hear a woman saying,(cid:0)‘It’s Lillian.(cid:0) That’s my name. It’s me,’(cid:0)and then a male voice saying(cid:0) ‘Missed you.’”(cid:0) Continued page 19(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) Continued from page 18(cid:0) Paula wrote back, “I was excited as Mum sounds when I(cid:0) heard this recording, WOW! Since I was not getting(cid:0) anything from Mum, I asked Vicki to listen out for my(cid:0) parents on Big Circle recording night. I was talking to my(cid:0) parents all day, and I asked Braden (all day) if he could(cid:0) help them come through....Vicki, thank you so much and(cid:0) a big thank you to Braden and all our friends in the Big(cid:0) Circle!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Tanjla Vasquez wrote, “I use a Sony digital recorder that(cid:0) has a PC link. I use WavePad software to listen to the(cid:0) recordings. I record primarily in my home office and my(cid:0) work office, but I have recorded in my car with good(cid:0) results also. My friend’s dog was missing last fall and I(cid:0) took my recorder to search for her. We

received the(cid:0) comforting statement that(cid:0)“She is not out here; thin”(cid:0) when we were talking about a possible sighting and how(cid:0) the dog was very dirty and thin. My friend’s dog was(cid:0) recovered a month later—a lady had picked her up and(cid:0) decided to have her checked for a microchip. The reunion(cid:0) was overwhelming!”(cid:0) Thoughts from Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Regina Antonucci wrote, “When the code of EVP is(cid:0) finally cracked, a new age of understanding will be(cid:0) ushered in for the entire world.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Stefan Bion wrote that, “The manual radio sweep method(cid:0) isn’t new at all, I remember some VTF members using it(cid:0) for years. Peter Stein from Denmark has been the first(cid:0) one (in the VTF) who had automated this technique by(cid:0) adding a sweep generator to the tuning part of AM radio(cid:0) receivers in the late 1980s. Contrary to the ‘boxes’ of(cid:0) today, he swept the dial (electronically) over only a few(cid:0) (3-5)(cid:0)adjacent broadcast stations at a relatively high rate(cid:0) ((cid:0)~~5 Hz) in order to get short fragments which sounded(cid:0) rather choppy and rhythmic.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)You remember Lorelei McMorrow whose wonderful(cid:0) article about her communication with her beloved cats,(cid:0) Mouser and Rosie ran in the Fall 2007 NewsJournal. She(cid:0) recently wrote that her sister is manager of an animal(cid:0) rescue sanctuary in Pacific Grove, California and that she(cid:0) was considering adopting a blind Seal Point Siamese(cid:0) there by the name of Bocelli. She ended her letter with(cid:0) words for all of us to remember, “It’s an emotional(cid:0) investment … but I’ve found

that with happiness comes(cid:0) sorrow and vice versa, and I guess that’s all just called(cid:0) life! Better to experience the wonders of love and(cid:0) happiness and accept to never(cid:0) experience either.” The Animal Friends Rescue project(cid:0) looks like a wonderful organization. Take a look at:(cid:0) www.animalfriendsrescue.org/aboutAFRP.html(cid:0).(cid:0) the sorrow, then •(cid:0)Martha Copeland received this nice note from a person(cid:0) that she helped: “Meeting you and learning about EVP is(cid:0) probably the most profound thing I have experienced in(cid:0) my life thus far. Not only have you proven to me that life(cid:0) after death does exist, but you have shown both of my(cid:0) parents that EVP is indeed real. My younger sister, who(cid:0) was a hardcore skeptic, is now questioning her(cid:0) skepticism. This will undoubtedly bring our divided(cid:0) family back together and that in itself is remarkable!”(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Daniel Darrow, co-founder of New England Apparition(cid:0) Research, was featured in an article on ghost hunters in(cid:0) The Newport Daily News.(cid:0)The article followed Daniel’s(cid:0) level headed approach and love of high-tech equipment.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christine Jenkins had Martha Copeland on her radio(cid:0) show on May 15(cid:0)th(cid:0), which was a Big Circle recording(cid:0) night. They did a one-minute recording session along(cid:0) with people listening to the program. Margaret Downey(cid:0) was the guest on May 22(cid:0)nd(cid:0), talking about her success with(cid:0) the radio sweep method. The show is every Thursday at(cid:0) 9 p.m. EST. See(cid:0)www.blogtalkradio.com/CJEVP(cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Sonia Rinaldi was featured in a three-page article in(cid:0)UFO(cid:0) Magazine.(cid:0) Many of her ITC pictures were used in the(cid:0) article and

one of her pictures graced the cover! The(cid:0) article issue 144, Vol. 23, No. 3. See(cid:0) is www.ufomag.com(cid:0).(cid:0) in •(cid:0)Al Rauber and Debbie Caruso were featured on the(cid:0) History Channel’s series(cid:0)MonsterQuest(cid:0)in June. The(cid:0) series is often repeated so watch for it in the listings.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott and Karen Mossey were guests on(cid:0) Phantom Kaps radio show. A link to listen to the show is(cid:0) at(cid:0)http://kaps.mypodcast.com/index.html(cid:0). Karen wrote(cid:0) that they captured an EVP while on the air and said, “I(cid:0) am thinking it might have been Braden and Rob knowing(cid:0) Vicki and I were on and being the jokesters they are.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Don Zanghi did a workshop titled, “Electronic(cid:0) Communication with the Spirit World,” at the 1(cid:0)st(cid:0) annual(cid:0) Cassadaga Spiritual and Paranormal Weekend(cid:0) Experience in February.(cid:0) Hearing Voices in Your Head(cid:0) People who hear voices are thought to need the help of a(cid:0) psychiatrist and are often given a diagnosis of paranoid(cid:0) schizophrenia. Dr. Mark Hayward, at the University of(cid:0) Surrey in the UK, is studying whether or not some “voices”(cid:0) may have a positive impact on the hearer.(cid:0)To test this, a(cid:0) study of clinical patients is to be measured against other(cid:0) “voice hearers” who neither seek nor need treatment. Some(cid:0) sixty existing patients drawn from National Health Service(cid:0) lists in southern England are being invited to answer(cid:0) questions about their unseen voices, which traditionally(cid:0) have always been considered to be negative. Their answers(cid:0) will be compared to non-clinical hearers who find their(cid:0) voices to be a positive benefit in their lives.

Dr. Hayward(cid:0) states, “So much of our understanding is biased towards(cid:0) patients who are distressed and we can only guess about the(cid:0) characteristics of positive relationships with voices. We(cid:0) don’t want to guess. We want to know.”(cid:0) From: University of Surrey,(cid:0)http://portal.surrey.ac.uk(cid:0) Page 19 Summer 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) YouTube Video is Available on CD(cid:0) The Big Circle(cid:0)YouTub(cid:0)e video is available on a CD as a one-part file. We know(cid:0) that some of you do not have access to the Internet and would like to view this(cid:0) fourteen minute minidocumentary. We also know that some of you would like to(cid:0) show this to a friend, and having it on a CD would make that easier to do.(cid:0) The CDs are $12.50 each (U.S. funds) including mailing. You can order online at:(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources/books_order.htm(cid:0) or by writing to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) or a letter with signing(cid:0) instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing

instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year All benefits for one year(cid:0) not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0) $40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.(cid:0) You may specify that your donation is used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:(cid:0)__________(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree(cid:0) that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial

purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the(cid:0) Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 2 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Page 20(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 27 Number 3 Fall 2008(cid:0) From our Viewpoint(cid:0) Conferences(cid:0) AA-EVP 2009 Conference(cid:0): We are very excited about the(cid:0) AA-EVP Conference July 11 – 12, 2009 at the Westin Los(cid:0) Angeles Airport Hotel. Presenters will focus on techniques(cid:0) for EVP/ITC and we have many successful experimenters(cid:0) demonstrating their methods in “live” formats. Various(cid:0) EVP recording techniques will be shown along with anal-(cid:0) ysis of the results. There will be ITC workshops showing(cid:0) the video-loop, moving-water and crystal-reflection meth-(cid:0) ods. The forensic analysis of EVP will also be presented.(cid:0) We are offering members an amazing conference price(cid:0) for “early bird’ registration before January 1(cid:0)st(cid:0). The “early(cid:0) bird’ price of $150 for this 2-day educational conference is(cid:0) almost half of what the

cost will be at the door. A registra-(cid:0) tion form is included in this mailing, or go to(cid:0)aaevp.com/(cid:0) resources.html(cid:0) to register. There is also information on(cid:0) booking your room at the 4-star Westin for $115 per night.(cid:0) This will be a ground-breaking conference featuring(cid:0) state-of-the-art techniques to get you excited and moti-(cid:0) vated. We look forward to seeing you there.(cid:0) Something new for this conference is that we are seeking(cid:0) sponsors to offset expenses. A “Sponsors’ Page” at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) is possible and/or a “Sponsors’ Table.” Please(cid:0) contact us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) if you can help.(cid:0) FFF One-Day Conference:(cid:0) The Forever Family Founda-(cid:0) tion is holding a one-day conference on November 8, 2008(cid:0) titled, “The Synchronized Universe: Exploring Communi-(cid:0) cation with The Dead from Electronic Devices to Medium-(cid:0) ship,” at The Woodlands, 1 Southwoods Road, Woodbury,(cid:0) NY (Long Island) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.(cid:0) The Woodlands is a beautiful old mansion and the(cid:0) employees have said that there are quite a few departed(cid:0) spirits that frequent the place. The morning session will be(cid:0) co-hosted by the FFF and the AA-EVP. The guest speakers(cid:0) for the morning session will include Dr. Claude Swanson(cid:0) author of(cid:0)The Synchronized Universe: Exploring Commu-(cid:0) nication with the Dead, From Electronic Devices to Medi-(cid:0) umship(cid:0), (see the article on page 7). We will be doing a(cid:0) presentation and ‘how to record’ workshop on EVP.(cid:0) The afternoon will include a luncheon/fundraiser for the(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation as a sit-down meal with dem-(cid:0) onstrations from several well-known mediums. Visit(cid:0) www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0) for

more information or(cid:0) see the flyer included in this mailing.(cid:0) Research(cid:0) Hemi-Sync Trials:(cid:0) Participants are returning the(cid:0)Hemi-(cid:0) Sync(cid:0) kits. Ten AA-EVP members have been participating(cid:0) in the experiment to see if listening to binaural synchroni-(cid:0) zation frequencies during EVP recording sessions will(cid:0) help. We expect to begin analysis of results next month.(cid:0) Real-time EVP Communication:(cid:0)The(cid:0)Windbridge Insti-(cid:0) tute(cid:0) has completed Phase 1 of the research study. This is the(cid:0) initial work of conducting a literature search, equipment(cid:0) definition and testing. We are greatly encouraged by the(cid:0) professionalism and attention to detail that Julie and Mark(cid:0) have demonstrated in the execution of this first(cid:0)Sarah Estep(cid:0) Research Fund(cid:0) (SERF) project.(cid:0) The next phase is data collection and this should begin(cid:0) shortly. Phase 3 is data analysis and Phase 4 is documenta-(cid:0) tion, which is to be followed with a report submission to a(cid:0) peer-reviewed journal. Results will be reported whether or(cid:0) not they indicate the presence of phenomena. If the results(cid:0) are positive, then subsequent projects are anticipated.(cid:0) Online Listening Trials:(cid:0)The third online listening test has(cid:0) been completed and a(cid:0)combined report(cid:0) has been written.(cid:0) The question is how well website visitors are able to cor-(cid:0) rectly identify words in EVP. The report can be accessed(cid:0) via the Research section of(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). The trials included(cid:0) 17 examples, 510 participants, 9,002 possible words, 2,271(cid:0) words correctly recognized, with an overall 25.2% cor-(cid:0) rectly recognized words.(cid:0) An improved protocol has been developed based on(cid:0) lessons learned. Some of the data substantiates the hypoth-(cid:0) esis that hearing EVP

is a learned ability, but more study is(cid:0) required. The next step is to attempt publishing in a peer-(cid:0) reviewed journal. Meanwhile, your comments and sugges-(cid:0) tions will be greatly appreciated.(cid:0) Documenting Past Studies:(cid:0) Skeptics sometimes accuse(cid:0) researchers of selectively reporting experimental results.(cid:0) For instance, the first two listening trials showed an(cid:0) average of 30% word identification but the third trial pulled(cid:0) that down to 25%, which seems to cast a bad light on EVP.(cid:0) If we were selectively reporting results, we would not(cid:0) report it, but our policy is to report everything. Remember(cid:0) that 25% word recognition means there is something there(cid:0) and shows that EVP is not imagined.(cid:0) Previous studies that we think should be reported on(cid:0) include using EVP to find a missing person and the(cid:0)4Cell(cid:0) EVP Demonstration(cid:0). Let us know if you wish to participate(cid:0) in this effort and/or if you have additional information.(cid:0) Research Initiatives by Other Groups:(cid:0)Other groups are(cid:0) also conducting research. Their work is important and it(cid:0) would help our growing research community to be able to(cid:0) access their results. If you have friends who have con-(cid:0) ducted what you consider credible research/study into the(cid:0) nature of these phenomena, consider inviting them to con-(cid:0) tact us to discuss cooperation amongst our organizations.(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to Provide Objective Evidence That We Survive Death in an Individual Conscious State.(cid:0) Fall 2008(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Anonymous(cid:0) EVP Research Patron(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Ben Ablon(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Lorraine Van Brocklin(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Ben

Ablon(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Martha Copeland(cid:0) John Debney(cid:0) Chris Fleming(cid:0) Richard Hatem(cid:0) Peter James Haviland(cid:0) Dr. Howard Reed(cid:0) Mark J. Tominac(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) James De Ruiter(cid:0) Jean Estrade(cid:0) Robert Fenn(cid:0) Deborah Preece(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0).................................................................................................................1(cid:0) The Testimony of Marie-Hélène, Bénédicte’s Mother(cid:0) as told to Anabela Cardoso...............3(cid:0) Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.(cid:0) by(cid:0)Daniele Gullà(cid:0)..........................................................................................................................3(cid:0) Bequest(cid:0)........................................................................................................................................5(cid:0) Help the AA-EVP When You Shop(cid:0)..........................................................................................5(cid:0) Can Science Unlock the Secrets of the Non-Physical World?(cid:0)by Robert Ginsberg(cid:0) ..............6(cid:0) The Synchronized Universe(cid:0)by Dr. Claude Swanson...............................................................7(cid:0) Pain and Confirmation of Survival(cid:0)by Margaret Downey.......................................................8(cid:0) The Paranormal Puck(cid:0)...............................................................................................................9(cid:0) EVP Analysis(cid:0)by Alexander MacRae(cid:0).....................................................................................10(cid:0) Don’t Let Go(cid:0).............................................................................................................................11(cid:0) Where Have All the Apparitions Gone?(cid:0)................................................................................11(cid:0) Group Recording in Atlanta(cid:0)...................................................................................................12(cid:0) Etheric Studies Community Search Tool(cid:0)..............................................................................12(cid:0) Current Status of Mediumship Research at The Windbridge Institute(cid:0) by Julie Beischel, PhD...............................................................................................................12(cid:0) Eastern State Penitentiary(cid:0)......................................................................................................14(cid:0) The Fallacy of Paranormal Democratic Science(cid:0)by Dave Wood(cid:0)..........................................15(cid:0) Forensic Expert’s Opinion(cid:0)......................................................................................................15(cid:0) Why Has There Not Been More Study of the Paranormal?(cid:0)................................................16(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0).....................................................................................................17(cid:0) Contribute Experiences to a New Book(cid:0).................................................................................17(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0)..................................................................................................................18(cid:0) Travel Trend Alert(cid:0)...................................................................................................................19(cid:0) White Noise(cid:0) T-Shirts and Ball Caps(cid:0).......................................................................................19(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) ..............................................................................................................19(cid:0) This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events(cid:0) in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2008AA-EVP(cid:0) Article Contributions:(cid:0) Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts(cid:0) of ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in(cid:0) the NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles(cid:0) should be short

and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to(cid:0) four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be(cid:0) placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are(cid:0) reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief comments about your(cid:0) observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno,(cid:0) NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first(cid:0) of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by(cid:0) the first of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the(cid:0) publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a benefit of membership in the AA-EVP.(cid:0) Membership information may be found on the AA-EVP website at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or by writing to(cid:0) the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this(cid:0) NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00.(cid:0) International members(cid:0)not(cid:0)receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for(cid:0) postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) The AA-EVP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions(cid:0) in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and(cid:0) Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP(cid:0) views and policy.(cid:0)

Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Lisa Yesse and Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 2(cid:0) Comparing an ITC Image with a Photograph of Bénédicte(cid:0) The Testimony of Marie-Hélène,(cid:0) Bénédicte’s Mother(cid:0) As told to Anabela Cardoso(cid:0) What I am going to tell you happened in Brittany on the 9(cid:0)th(cid:0) of July 2004, when we were on holiday. It was after dinner(cid:0) and I had just put a piece of aluminum foil on a plate of(cid:0) cheese to cover it. I know … It’s very prosaic and my mind(cid:0) was far from any experiment but this is what happened.(cid:0) As I was sitting at the table chatting with my mother and(cid:0) my husband—I still can’t believe it—I looked at the re-(cid:0) cently covered cheese plate and my daughter’s face was(cid:0) printed on that foil just in front of us. I then started to take(cid:0) photos of this very amazing event which seemed truly(cid:0) incredible to me. While I was taking the photographs with(cid:0) my Minolta Dimage XT my mother became nervous and(cid:0) thought it was silly that I photographed a plate and asked(cid:0) me why I was doing it. I got up and went near her to show(cid:0) her my small camera screen without telling her anything.(cid:0) She immediately recognized the face of her granddaughter(cid:0) and asked me where I had got it. I told her it was on the(cid:0) aluminium paper; she then got up and

came to where I was,(cid:0) sat on my chair and without me telling her the place she(cid:0) immediately spotted this little face. Then the same thing(cid:0) happened with my husband. And my husband—who is not(cid:0) a good observer—exclaimed: “It’s incredible; I can see(cid:0) Bénédicte’s face!” and he burst into tears.(cid:0) I took the photos because I was afraid to see the image(cid:0) disappear. But the truth is that the little face remained on(cid:0) the same spot of the aluminium foil until the 14(cid:0)th(cid:0) of July(cid:0) and in the meantime I took photos with another camera, a(cid:0) Nikon F-401. The Nikon was less convenient to photo-(cid:0) graph the little face because it does not zoom and I wanted(cid:0) to show the photos to other people....(cid:0) On the 14th of July we had to return because our holidays(cid:0) were over and I had to hand back the plate which was not(cid:0) mine, it belonged to the house we were renting and so I(cid:0) unwrapped the aluminum foil. To this day I regret not(cid:0) having brought that plate with me for I think I could still(cid:0) have my daughter’s face imprinted on the aluminum foil!(cid:0) It was really silly of me not having brought the plate home.(cid:0) Many people, friends who saw the photos later on, had the(cid:0) same opinion: they could see Bénédicte’s face on them.(cid:0) Marie-Hélène Bienaimé, France(cid:0) Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an(cid:0) Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.*(cid:0) by(cid:0)Daniele Gullà(cid:0) Interdisciplinary Laboratory(cid:0) for Biopsychocybernetics Research(cid:0) The Case Under Investigation(cid:0)

The investigation consists of attempts to explore the au-(cid:0) thenticity of an alleged ITC image unexpectedly obtained(cid:0) when a plate covered with aluminum foil was photo-(cid:0) graphed. In the photograph, the creases in the foil were(cid:0) apparently seen to have spontaneously taken on the visual(cid:0) configuration of the face of a deceased girl. The girl’s(cid:0) identity was immediately claimed to be recognized by her(cid:0) mother (who took the photograph) and by other relatives(cid:0) present at the time.(cid:0) Description of the Case(cid:0) The anomalous photograph that is at the center of the case(cid:0) initially came to the attention of Dr. Anabela Cardoso, who(cid:0) then arranged for it to be sent to me for analysis. It was(cid:0) shown to Dr. Cardoso by the lady responsible for taking it(cid:0) and whom Dr. Cardoso and I met while attending the(cid:0) International Conference of Infinitude held in Paris in(cid:0) 2007. Having inspected the photograph, Dr. Cardoso con-(cid:0) sidered it of sufficient interest to be sent to me, together(cid:0) with photographs taken during the lifetime of the deceased(cid:0) daughter whose image it appeared to be. These photo-(cid:0) graphs would enable me to carry out a possible verification(cid:0) of any similarities in physiognomic characteristics between(cid:0) the alleged ITC image on the tinfoil and the images of the(cid:0) girl shown in the photographs taken during her lifetime.(cid:0) Figure 1. Image with the “extra” appeared through the(cid:0) deformation of the aluminum foil. The purported face to be(cid:0) recognized has been encircled by a yellow mark.(cid:0) Technical Steps in Making

the Anthropometric Com-(cid:0) parison:(cid:0)The ITC image and one of the lifetime pictures of(cid:0) Bénédicte were normalized in terms of pixels and contrast,(cid:0) and subsequently, metric and morphologic measurements(cid:0) were taken of the two images. The two images were then(cid:0) superimposed one on the other so that the appropriate mark(cid:0) points (‘repère’ points) coincided.(cid:0) Continued page 4(cid:0) *(cid:0) I.P.V.S. : Acronym devised by IL Laboratorio which stands for(cid:0) “Interazione Psi-Visiva di tipo Strumentale” (Psi-Visual Interac-(cid:0) tion of Instrumental type, more commonly known as ITC image).(cid:0) Learn more about IL Laboratorio at(cid:0)www.laboratorio.too.it(cid:0) Page 3 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Image Analysis(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) Morphologic Test of Pattern Recognition with Neural(cid:0) Networks:(cid:0)The test of(cid:0) morphologic compatibil-(cid:0) ity was performed with(cid:0) the Neural Networks(cid:0) program utilized by the(cid:0) intelligence(cid:0) American services (FBI) known as(cid:0) Image(cid:0) the Universal Recognition program.(cid:0) test(cid:0) This morphologic takes into consideration(cid:0) the whole of the cranial(cid:0) structure of the human(cid:0) the(cid:0) head, elaborating contours of the “structural cage” and does not focus on the(cid:0) distances of single repère points. Instead it analyzes in a(cid:0) more general way the shape of the various parts of the(cid:0) the(cid:0) cranium. The ONE_TO_MANY mode that compares the ITC image with(cid:0) 3,000 other images contained in the database of the Univer-(cid:0) sal Image Recognition program. This database is composed(cid:0) of masculine and feminine somatic types of faces, all of(cid:0) European origin and aged between 10 and 70 years.(cid:0) Figure 2. Detail of the supposed(cid:0) ITC face enlarged and rotated(cid:0) through approximately 30 degrees(cid:0) test

was performed using Figure 3. Four images of Bénédicte, the deceased French girl(cid:0) visually recognized by her mother as the subject of the ITC(cid:0) image in the aluminum foil, taken during her lifetime(cid:0) The final data is the result of a miscellaneous comparison(cid:0) of 3,000 x 3,000 or more precisely 9,000,000 comparative(cid:0) tests. In the final result visible on the screen in Figure 7,(cid:0) seven similar images were found but only one reaches the(cid:0) maximum score which surpasses the threshold of FAR(cid:0) (False Acceptance) and FRR (False Recognition Rate),(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 4(cid:0) which the program sets(cid:0) respectively at percent-(cid:0) age values 0, 1% and 0,(cid:0) 03%. This image was one(cid:0) of Bénédicte’s lifetime(cid:0) photographs. That image(cid:0) reached the highest score(cid:0) and it was therefore iden-(cid:0) tified as the face most(cid:0) similar to the ITC image(cid:0) with a rate of 98.97%.(cid:0) Figure 4. This image shows the(cid:0) result of the superimposition of the(cid:0) lifetime image of Bénédicte’s face(cid:0) with the presumed ITC face. The(cid:0) similarity of the somatic traits is(cid:0) clearly noticeable.(cid:0) It is possible to read on(cid:0) the central report of the(cid:0) computer screen printout(cid:0) in Figure 7 that besides(cid:0) the choice of the anoma-(cid:0) lous ITC image proper(cid:0) (which was also added to(cid:0) the database of the program), which is identical to the(cid:0) image for which a comparison was required because it is(cid:0) the same image, and therefore attained the highest score of(cid:0) 192000000 (file denominated “Photo David et Bénédicte-(cid:0) 1r.jpg”), the second most similar image

with a score of(cid:0) 59136000 is Bénédicte’s lifetime photograph (file denomi-(cid:0) nated “Photo David et Bénédicte-2.jpg”) shown on the(cid:0) right side of the computer print-out. This image, which(cid:0) gave a percentage similarity rating of 98.7% was therefore(cid:0) identified as the face most similar to the ITC image (The(cid:0) Italian Courts of Justice accept a reading of 95% when(cid:0) establishing cases of human identity).(cid:0) Figure 5. The same operation was then carried out using(cid:0) another image of Bénédicte superimposed on the ITC picture(cid:0) with alignment of the repère points with morphing technique.(cid:0) The similarity of the faces and the apparent coincidence of the(cid:0) points are again noticeable.(cid:0) Conclusions(cid:0) The technological applications used in the comparative(cid:0) analysis have revealed several points of similarity. The(cid:0) morphologic comparison done with Neural Networks on a(cid:0) sampling of 3,000 faces shows that a high percentage of(cid:0) compatibility between the ITC image and the photograph(cid:0) taken during the young girl’s life exists. However, it should(cid:0) be borne in mind that(cid:0) Continued page 5(cid:0) Image Analysis(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) Figure 6. In this analysis the distance relationships between the(cid:0) repère points of the two images were measured. Although the(cid:0) relationships are noticeably constant, with values in the region(cid:0) of number 1, there are percentage value changes that indicate(cid:0) the presence of some spatial deformations in the tinfoil of the(cid:0) ITC image that prevent definitive conclusions, from the metric(cid:0) point of view, as to whether or not the two images share the(cid:0) same identity.(cid:0) the alleged ITC image

taken by the mother under the(cid:0) circumstances and with the exposure value (i.e. the time the(cid:0) shutter remained open during the shutter click) concerned,(cid:0) produced a particular effect of light/shadow on the reflec-(cid:0) tive surface (i.e. the aluminum foil) that does not allow us(cid:0) to highlight identification marks capable of allowing an(cid:0) evaluation sufficiently sensitive to yield total compatibility(cid:0) with an image taken during the subject's lifetime. Further-(cid:0) more, it should be emphasized that my analysis is limited(cid:0) to measurements made on optical information whose au-(cid:0) thenticity and origin cannot be accurately determined.(cid:0) Figure 7. Morphologic comparison between the ITC image and(cid:0) 3,000 faces performed with neural networks. Bénédicte’s(cid:0) lifetime image was recognized as the most similar to the(cid:0) anomalous image with a percentage of 98.97%.(cid:0) Unfortunately it was not possible to achieve an accurate(cid:0) comparison of the metric relationship between the repère(cid:0) points because, although a very marked similarity was(cid:0) found, the image containing the “extra” presents spatial(cid:0) deformations which are obviously due to the particular(cid:0) conditions of the creased aluminum foil on which the(cid:0) image was imprinted. Consequently it was not possible to(cid:0) obtain precise anthropometric data from the image. Proper(cid:0) measurements could only be taken from Bénédicte’s(cid:0) lifetime pictures. The missing instrumental confirmation of(cid:0) the metric methodology does not, however, diminish the(cid:0) probability of a definite identification, even though we(cid:0) have to deal with comparisons between two images that(cid:0) differ from each other as to the material on which they are(cid:0) imposed. It would have been different

if we had analyzed(cid:0) two homogeneous photographs and had found instrumental(cid:0) discrepancies with one of the two methods used.(cid:0) Nevertheless, the morphologic analysis (which is more(cid:0) representative by virtue of its analysis of the images(cid:0) through the(cid:0) probabilistic comparison between the ITC image and the(cid:0) population of 3,000 faces in the database render the(cid:0) hypothesis of compatibility of the two faces valid.(cid:0) the simulation of human vision) and Translated from the Italian original by Dr. Anabela Cardoso and(cid:0) originally published in No. 31 of the(cid:0)ITC Journal(cid:0)which is(cid:0) published 3 times a year. For subscription information, write to(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) This article, along with a bibliography can be accessed via(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/research.htm(cid:0) Bequest(cid:0) We thank Victor Zammit for running this in his weekly(cid:0) report ((cid:0)www.victorzammit.com(cid:0)):(cid:0) BEQUEST(cid:0)- Why not leave a bequest in your will to a(cid:0) reputable paranormal investigation research group to pro-(cid:0) mote empirical research into the afterlife. Funding could(cid:0) accelerate the understanding by millions around the world(cid:0) that there is an afterlife. There were those in the past who(cid:0) asked me for suggestions where to direct a bequest. Ac-(cid:0) cordingly, I have a few on the list—depending on which(cid:0) aspect of the paranormal is preferred. The first research(cid:0) group, which also has charity status, is the American Asso-(cid:0) ciation of Electronic Voice Phenomena, managed by Tom(cid:0) and Lisa Butler. I have known these researchers for a(cid:0) number of years and highly recommend the AA-EVP as an(cid:0) organization actively involved in meaningful afterlife re-(cid:0) search which is spreading the light on a

global level.(cid:0) Help the AA-EVP When You Shop(cid:0) If you shop Just a reminder as we approach(cid:0) Christmas. at(cid:0) Amazon.com or on eBay consider(cid:0) going to those websites via the links(cid:0) on the front page of the AA-EVP(cid:0) website ((cid:0)www.aaevp.com(cid:0)). The As-(cid:0) sociation is part of these vendors’(cid:0) affiliate programs, which means that(cid:0) it receives a small commission for(cid:0) each purchase made via the links.(cid:0) Thank you for remembering the Association. It all helps!(cid:0) Page 5 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Can Science Unlock the Secrets of the Non-Physical World?(cid:0) by Robert Ginsberg, Vice-President, Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) Mystic Mood by Giuseppe Toscano, www.flicker.com(cid:0) Virtually all who have suffered the loss of a loved one(cid:0) struggle with a myriad of emotions as they attempt to(cid:0) navigate their “new” physical lives. To various degrees, the(cid:0) ebb and flow of sadness, guilt, horror, fear, depression, etc.(cid:0) can wreak havoc as one attempts to seek meaning in their(cid:0) loss and in their lives. However, if you asked those in grief(cid:0) to describe the one overriding reason for their suffering, I(cid:0) suspect that most would answer, “The finality of death.”(cid:0) We have been raised in a society that makes us believe that(cid:0) there is an answer, explanation or remedy for everything, a(cid:0) world where nothing is impossible. Yet, death now(cid:0) presents a situation that appears to(cid:0) have no solution, and we cannot(cid:0) fathom the reality of not seeing or(cid:0) hearing from our loved ones again.(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation, a(cid:0) global not-for-profit organization,(cid:0) was founded based upon

the tenet(cid:0) that a belief in, or evidence of, an(cid:0) afterlife is immensely helpful to(cid:0) those in grief. It’s taken quite a(cid:0) while, but today many mental(cid:0) health professionals have come to(cid:0) the realization that a belief that our(cid:0) our(cid:0) consciousness physical death is perhaps the most effective form of grief(cid:0) therapy. Such progressive therapists have integrated this(cid:0) into their practices, and encourage their patients to(cid:0) maintain a relationship with their deceased loved ones.(cid:0) This the more “mainstream”(cid:0) professionals who still counsel their patients to disassociate(cid:0) from the deceased and find ways to cope with their loss.(cid:0) remains heresy survives to that people utilized People have certainly contemplated life after death for(cid:0) thousands of years. The ancient Greek civilization utilized(cid:0) “psychomanteums,” sensory-deprived chambers with(cid:0) reflecting pools to see and(cid:0) communicate with the dead. Mystics and shamans have(cid:0) always exhibited the ability to enter meditative states to(cid:0) seek and receive ancestral wisdom. I always found it(cid:0) interesting how ancient civilizations from different parts of(cid:0) the world, with no visible means of transportation or(cid:0) communication, all drew similar or the same afterlife(cid:0) depictions in their cave paintings. The question of survival(cid:0) is by no means a modern query.(cid:0) Many of the world’s most eminent and well credentialed(cid:0) scientists, medical doctors, psychologists and inventors(cid:0) took up the cause of proving survival in the mid-to-late(cid:0) nineteenth century. People such as William James, F.W(cid:0) Myers, William Crookes, Oliver Lodge, and Charles(cid:0) Richet, to name a few, risked their entire careers by their(cid:0) steadfast of mediumship.

Despite(cid:0) uncovering a preponderance of fraud among the mediums(cid:0) of the day, their extensive bodies of evidence gleaned from(cid:0) work with a few superstar mediums led them to the(cid:0) investigations conclusion that these communications could not be(cid:0) explained by any scientific principles known to mainstream(cid:0) science. However, they could not discount the possibility(cid:0) of a storehouse of information from which data could be(cid:0) extracted by people who could somehow “tap in.” Nor(cid:0) could they eliminate the possibility of an “etheric body”(cid:0) that surrounded our physical bodies, another form of(cid:0) energy that could store information. Thus, they never(cid:0) achieved their ultimate goal of uncovering proof of an(cid:0) afterlife.(cid:0) Today, although there are still scientists doing(cid:0) mediumship research, they have(cid:0) come no closer to the illusive proof(cid:0) than their esteemed colleagues of(cid:0) yesteryear. Even worse, their(cid:0) research still faces the same disdain(cid:0) from their peers who remain closed(cid:0) minded to the conclusions that the(cid:0) evidence suggests. We also now(cid:0) have a substantial body of evidence(cid:0) experiencers,(cid:0) from which has been enabled by modern(cid:0) technology that allows us to bring(cid:0) people back from the dead. The(cid:0) extreme sensory experiences that(cid:0) come at time when heart and brain functions are non-(cid:0) existent would seem to be hard to refute.(cid:0) near-death I believe that EVP offers a unique opportunity not only(cid:0) to those seeking to maintain a relationship with their loved(cid:0) ones, but represents the “shining star” of future survival(cid:0) research. Whereas mediumship requires an interpretation(cid:0) of information by the medium, and we rely upon

the near-(cid:0) death experiencer to share the details of their non-physical(cid:0) experience, EVP offers tangible empirical evidence that(cid:0) can be gleaned by using our own physical senses.(cid:0) the discarnate and The most convincing evidence occurs when there is an(cid:0) the sitter/(cid:0) interaction between experimenter. For example, in mediumship, when a(cid:0) discarnate personality comes through, and direct questions(cid:0) are answered, it is hard to chalk this up to information(cid:0) retrieval. How does a storehouse of information show(cid:0) emotion and interact to queries? EVP research has(cid:0) apparently shown some of the same interaction. Questions(cid:0) are asked and answered, with the evidence documented in(cid:0) media for all to hear. Interpretation, except for deciphering(cid:0) the actual words if not clear, is not needed on the part of the(cid:0) experimenter.(cid:0) Of special consideration is the increased frequency of(cid:0) reports of EVP when a recorded session with a medium is(cid:0) played back. Several of the mediums certified by Forever(cid:0) Family Foundation have independently verified this(cid:0) phenomenon, adding that they, themselves, did not hear the(cid:0) recorded phrase during the sitting.(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 6(cid:0) The Synchronized Universe(cid:0) by Dr. Claude Swanson(cid:0) (This article was published at:(cid:0)synchronizeduniverse.com(cid:0). Dr.(cid:0) Swanson will be speaking at the Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) conference in Woodbury, NY (Long Island) on November 8,(cid:0) 2008. We are also guest speakers and the afternoon of the 8(cid:0)th(cid:0) will(cid:0) be a sit-down gourmet luncheon and fundraiser for the Forever(cid:0) Family with readings from guest mediums. For information go to(cid:0) foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0))(cid:0) A new scientific

revolution is quietly(cid:0) underway. Laboratories around the(cid:0) world have proven that many kinds of(cid:0) paranormal phenomena are real. It(cid:0) represents a new kind of force, one(cid:0) that is able to travel forward and(cid:0) backward in time, a force that does(cid:0) not weaken with distance. It is a force(cid:0) unlike anything conventional science has ever seen.(cid:0) Dr. Claude Swanson(cid:0) The Synchronized Universe(cid:0) summarizes this evidence(cid:0) for many kinds of paranormal phenomena. In many cases(cid:0) these strange forces have been demonstrated under rigor-(cid:0) ous scientific statistics, with odds of millions or even(cid:0) billions to one against chance. This evidence is presented(cid:0) in a “user friendly” way, with a minimum of jargon, and(cid:0) with over 140 photographs, figures and sketches.(cid:0) The author, an MIT- and Princeton-educated physicist,(cid:0) Dr. Claude Swanson, has put together the “best evidence”(cid:0) showing that our present scientific paradigm is broken. He(cid:0) describes scientifically controlled remote viewing and ESP(cid:0) experiments, demonstrations of long-range healing, psy-(cid:0) chokinesis (mind over matter), scientifically controlled(cid:0) experiments in levitation, teleportation and out-of-body(cid:0) phenomena (OBE).(cid:0) These are just a few of the areas where new research is(cid:0) defying the old beliefs of conventional science. It points(cid:0) the way to a new, expanded science which, instead of(cid:0) denying the role of consciousness and spirit, begins to(cid:0) integrate these forces into a larger, more highly evolved(cid:0) and integrated worldview. The truly “unified field theory”(cid:0) must explain and understand both science and conscious-(cid:0) ness. In doing so, it begins to heal the ancient rift between(cid:0) science and spirituality. And

in the last chapter of the book,(cid:0) he proposes some ways to modify and expand present(cid:0) science to begin to achieve these goals.(cid:0) Some of the best proven paranormal phenomena are(cid:0) those of ESP, remote viewing, psychokinesis, and some(cid:0) group consciousness experiments. There are also rigorous(cid:0) experiments showing that energy healing has real benefit,(cid:0) although as with all the paranormal forces, our science(cid:0) does not understand the nature of the force. Evidence is(cid:0) also described for astral or out-of-body travel, the near-(cid:0) death experience, levitation and teleportation. Certain(cid:0) gifted individuals have been able to master these forces and(cid:0) produce them at will. They are known as “adepts” and are(cid:0) also discussed in the book. In modern times a tradition still(cid:0) exists of the yogi, India’s “spiritual superman,” who(cid:0) evokes some of these powers. The tradition and methods of(cid:0) training and development of these abilities is also described.(cid:0) The last chapter of the book presents a new model of(cid:0) physics which may be able to explain some of these strange(cid:0) and mysterious phenomena. Present day physics has no(cid:0) hope of explaining the paranormal, which is one reason it(cid:0) consistently denies or ridicules scientific evidence for these(cid:0) forces. We propose that a deeper theory is needed, one(cid:0) which goes beneath the quantum realm to a more funda-(cid:0) mental picture of the universe. This leads to the idea that(cid:0) every particle in the universe is con-(cid:0) nected to every other particle, that(cid:0) nanosecond to nanosecond they inter-(cid:0) act and are coupled across the

vast(cid:0) distances of space.(cid:0) This leads to the central idea that we(cid:0) are living in a “synchronized uni-(cid:0) verse,” one layer of which we see and(cid:0) interact with and are synchronized(cid:0) with. This means every particle, every atom that we see as(cid:0) “real” is synchronized with the other atoms and particles in(cid:0) what we call the “real” universe.(cid:0)Other universes, with a(cid:0) different synchronization, can coexist with our own and yet(cid:0) they can pass right through each other.(cid:0)The model explains(cid:0) in a very natural way the strange time and space effects of(cid:0) psychic phenomena. It explains how objects pass through(cid:0) walls in teleportation and astral travel. It begins to offer a(cid:0) way to understand how the soul, the center of human(cid:0) consciousness, can exist in a permanent form, surviving(cid:0) human death. It offers a useful beginning to a deeper(cid:0) understanding of the universe and of ourselves.(cid:0) See(cid:0)www.synchronizeduniverse.com(cid:0) to purchase the book.(cid:0) Secrets(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) What we need today is collaboration—we need “Team(cid:0) Science.” We need to design research to incorporate all of(cid:0) the various phenomena. I look forward to future research(cid:0) that combines mediumship and EVP. I believe that we will(cid:0) one day discover the same mechanism that allows all(cid:0) nonlocal consciousness; whether it is telepathy, remote(cid:0) viewing, EVP, mediumship, deathbed visions, healing, etc.(cid:0) To that end, I am thrilled that the AA-EVP will be(cid:0) joining Forever Family Foundation as a sponsor of our(cid:0) November conference in New York, and that Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Butler will be presenting at

this venue.(cid:0) The many foundation-certified mediums who will be(cid:0) participating in the day’s events, combined with the venue(cid:0) being a historic mansion, should make for some interesting(cid:0) experiments during the day.(cid:0) For those seeking more information about the one-day(cid:0) conference:(cid:0) The Synchronized Universe: Exploring(cid:0) Communication with the Dead, From Electronic Devices(cid:0) to Mediumship(cid:0), visit(cid:0)www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0).(cid:0) Those in attendance will be treated to presentations by the(cid:0) Butlers and Dr. Claude Swanson, followed by a gourmet(cid:0) luncheon during which demonstrations of mediumship will(cid:0) be conducted by foundation-certified mediums.(cid:0) Page 7 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Pain and Confirmation of Survival(cid:0) by Margaret Downey(cid:0) When people ask me, “What is the AA-EVP?” I usually(cid:0) respond by explaining that we help people learn to record(cid:0) for and recognize EVP. But many of us know, the Associ-(cid:0) ation is much more. We truly are a supportive community;(cid:0) kinda like a second family. The Idea Exchange is not only(cid:0) a place to share our research. It is also a place to share our(cid:0) hearts, be they happy or sad.(cid:0) On June 11(cid:0)th(cid:0) I made my way to the board in order to share(cid:0) both my sorrow and the comforting EVP messages I(cid:0) received. It was a sad day for our family. My son and his(cid:0) girlfriend had found out in the past week that she was two(cid:0) months pregnant. We were all so excited about the baby,(cid:0) but June 11, she had a miscarriage.(cid:0) Of course, after seeing my son and his girlfriend, I went(cid:0) straight home and

got out my Duracell KP028 to conduct a(cid:0) radio-sweep EVP session to ask about the baby. The first(cid:0) one is rather graphic, and I hope not to upset anyone by it.(cid:0) It was just so real and important at that moment, I thought(cid:0) it beautiful to hear them speaking amongst themselves(cid:0) about what happened.(cid:0)“Hi, Grandpa. Margaret’s baby is(cid:0) dead. Hazel’s looking at him.”(cid:0) The third part was the least clear to me, but Hazel is my(cid:0) granddaughter who also never made her way into the(cid:0) physical world. I don’t know why they called him my baby(cid:0) instead of my grandchild, or why they referred to him as(cid:0) being dead, because according to the next clip, he’s just(cid:0) fine. I told them I needed a clear message and this is what(cid:0) was said:(cid:0)“Listen, we hear something. The Big Circle. The(cid:0) Big Circle. We’ve got the baby.”(cid:0) I also recorded one more(cid:0) sweet one that said,(cid:0)“Margaret, we love him.”(cid:0) quickly and had let me know over that weekend that she(cid:0) was done fighting, so I made the difficult decision to let her(cid:0) go.(cid:0) As she was making her transition, which was very quick(cid:0) and peaceful, I asked my grandfather to come for her. After(cid:0) I got home, despite my tears, I did a recording to ask if he(cid:0) got her. I recorded my grandfather saying,(cid:0)“Kindred met(cid:0) me.”(cid:0)There were other wonderful messages about her,(cid:0) including what sounds like a reference to(cid:0)“The Pet(cid:0) Circle”(cid:0)—of all things—perhaps the animal version of the(cid:0) Big Circle?(cid:0) A

couple days ago, I got one of those “do it now” feelings(cid:0) in regard to doing a water reflection session. Of course, I(cid:0) was hoping to see my Kindred girl. As I was flipping(cid:0) through the frames from the session, I got to the one shown(cid:0) here, and instantly felt she was looking right at me, and I(cid:0) was reminded of a few close-up pictures I took of her.(cid:0) She’d get really close to my face while I was lying on the(cid:0) couch, and stare at me until I noticed her. In this picture, I(cid:0) was trying to capture the essence of what I would see when(cid:0) I would open my eyes. I hope you are able to see the subtle(cid:0) color difference between her dark brown fur and the black(cid:0) background in the ITC image. It’s definitely the shape of(cid:0) her head, and those big brown eyes ... looking right at me(cid:0) once again.(cid:0) A few days after this, I did some experiments using the(cid:0) Paranormal Puck [See next page] and was amazed by the(cid:0) results. I wanted more confirmation about who Kindred(cid:0) was with and recorded,(cid:0)“Dylan, Grandma.”(cid:0) This is my(cid:0) grandson and my grandmother. A few seconds after this(cid:0) I was so thankful to have gotten these wonderful mes-(cid:0) sages and to able to share them on the board. Little did I(cid:0) know that just two weeks later, I would lose my cherished(cid:0) canine companion and once again be pouring my heart out.(cid:0) I was absolutely devastated. My

dog, Kindred, turned ten(cid:0) in April. She was diagnosed with kidney disease in Feb-(cid:0) ruary 2005, and given a prognosis of living between one(cid:0) week and three months. Instead we had made it forty(cid:0) months!(cid:0) Sadly, when we went for a new blood test, we learned(cid:0) that there had been no improvement. (I had her hospital-(cid:0) ized the previous week to try to turn things around. Hospi-(cid:0) talization had worked twice before.) She was declining(cid:0) came,(cid:0)“Pet that you love.”(cid:0) I find it totally amazing that the(cid:0) Puck would spit out not only Dylan’s name, but Grandma(cid:0) as well. Though I already knew them to be together, it’s(cid:0) still mind-boggling to me to hear this from the Puck.”(cid:0) My EVP and ITC work has been an important part of the(cid:0) healing process for me, but having the support of all the(cid:0) beautiful souls on the Idea Exchange makes it even more(cid:0) so. The next time someone asks me about the AA-EVP, I(cid:0) just might have to come up with a better explanation!(cid:0) Margaret will be giving workshops on both the radio-sweep(cid:0) technique and the moving water ITC technique at the 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP conferences. See the registration form to get a great(cid:0) pre-registration price!(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 8(cid:0) The Paranormal Puck(cid:0) Bill Chappell, owner of Digital Dowsing, develops tech-(cid:0) nology devices for hauntings investigation. One such de-(cid:0) vice known as the Paranormal Puck depends on an(cid:0) approach that, to our knowledge, has not been previously(cid:0) used. ((cid:0)www.digitaldowsing.com(cid:0)) As can be

seen in the(cid:0) picture, its name comes from its shape as a 2.5 inch square,(cid:0) 1.0 inch think, black box that connects to a computer via a(cid:0) USB cable. The Puck itself is just a set of sensors with the(cid:0) speech-synthesis computer chip. The real work is accom-(cid:0) plished by a supplied computer program designed to be(cid:0) hosted by a Microsoft Windows computer.(cid:0) Design(cid:0) Hauntings investigators speculate(cid:0) whether or not nonphysical influ-(cid:0) ences are accompanied by changes(cid:0) in temperature, the ambient elec-(cid:0) tromagnetic field or possibly the(cid:0) electrical condition of the atmo-(cid:0) sphere. The Puck was designed to(cid:0) allow investigators to detect and(cid:0) record these changes and possibly(cid:0) correlate them with reported phe-(cid:0) nomena.(cid:0) Of interest to EVP researchers is that environmental(cid:0) changes can be used to stimulate a built-in speech synthesis(cid:0) capability so that, if intelligible phrases are produced by the(cid:0) Puck, they will be the result of these environmental(cid:0) changes and may be evidence of phenomena. That means a(cid:0) novel way to produce EVP.(cid:0) The Puck has nine sensors: left and right voltage and(cid:0) frequency, six Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) sensors and(cid:0) one temperature. The outputs of the sensors are selected as(cid:0) voltage, frequency or EMF. With these, variations in the(cid:0) energy characteristic in the environment are sensed to(cid:0) change the operation of a speech-synthesis microchip.(cid:0) A 2,000-word library is available for selection in the(cid:0) Speech mode. In the Phonemes mode, energy variations are(cid:0) used to select fragments of words. These fragments are(cid:0) referred to as phonemes or allophones,

and when heard in(cid:0) random order, sound as if the machine has a serious stutter.(cid:0) According to the manual, the unit is designed to collect(cid:0) data and to enable the operator to relate changes in the(cid:0) environment with possible speech output. The software(cid:0) also allows the operator to use detected changes to trigger(cid:0) a device, such as a webcam or an alarm. Think of this as a(cid:0) trip-wire to catch a ghost with a camera.(cid:0) Keith Clark posted an interesting review of the Puck in(cid:0) the Idea Exchange and noted a concern about the relation-(cid:0) ship between the degree of change in energy and word or(cid:0) phoneme selection. His observations and questioning of the(cid:0) Puck’s functionality is exactly the kind of critical thinking(cid:0) we like to see for such new technology.(cid:0) This is a good place to give you Bill’s perspective. In a(cid:0) message to us, he wrote, “I started all this as a joke. Don’t(cid:0) get me wrong. I have a strong belief in the afterlife but(cid:0) talking to them was just not one of them. On my site I even(cid:0) explain that the whole idea was a joke! I was asked/(cid:0) challenged to build a device similar to a Frank’s Box. I(cid:0) thought ‘Hey, why not?’ The joke was on me. Everything(cid:0) I thought I understood has been rocked to the core over the(cid:0) last eighteen months. However, I’m still very wary of(cid:0) saying what this really is.(cid:0) “I understand the electronics, software and firmware, but(cid:0) I can’t

wrap my head around what I have seen. Now I’m(cid:0) the first to say it’s mostly gibberish. Then those moments(cid:0) occur that make my heart stop. Still, I can’t grasp the actual(cid:0) mechanisms in place. How can something understand firm-(cid:0) ware in a handheld device and(cid:0) control it? How can it/they figure(cid:0) out code hardware and all the tim-(cid:0) ing issues to make any of these(cid:0) possible? So I always tell people(cid:0) that I don’t understand how these(cid:0) types of events occur….”(cid:0) We agree that much of what(cid:0) comes out of the Puck is gibberish.(cid:0) It is probably equivalent to trans-(cid:0) form EVP that is not able to be(cid:0) understood. We also agree that(cid:0) how it works needs to be better(cid:0) understood by the practitioner. How the software is written(cid:0) and how the synthesizer is triggered is one part of the(cid:0) question, but this is a unique way of transcommunication(cid:0) and we do not have enough experience with it to under-(cid:0) stand how normal operation might appear phenomenal.(cid:0) Voice Synthesis(cid:0) Three techniques for EVP are being used today. Transform(cid:0) EVP is the formation of voice from noise in a recording(cid:0) device. We know a lot about this technique and there has(cid:0) been little progress beyond the breakthrough introduction(cid:0) of digital voice recorders. Radio sweep and EVPMaker(cid:0) using live voice represent a second technique. This is the(cid:0) “just in time” formation of messages from available sound(cid:0) fragments, but because of the use of live voice, they are not(cid:0) able to be

considered for serious research.(cid:0) The third technique is the use of speech synthesis. Real-(cid:0) time conversations have been demonstrated with both(cid:0) EVPMaker and the Paranormal Puck. The exciting thing is(cid:0) that, if meaningful comments are found when using just(cid:0) phonemes as the raw source, then it is reasonable to argue(cid:0) that some form of intelligence has caused the voice.(cid:0) We cannot recommend the use of the Puck for personal(cid:0) transcommunication until more study has been conducted.(cid:0) Assuming Bill continues to make the device, it is reason-(cid:0) ably priced and we strongly encourage technology-savvy(cid:0) practitioners to work with it to help us have a better idea of(cid:0) what it can do. Speech synthesis is probably not satisfac-(cid:0) tory for communication with loved ones because it lacks(cid:0) the recognizable voice and personality of transform EVP,(cid:0) but as a platform for the study of trans-etheric phenomena,(cid:0) it promises to open many new doors.(cid:0) Page 9 Continued page 17(cid:0) Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) EVP Analysis by Alexander MacRae(cid:0) Alexander MacRae met with an associate at the Travelodge(cid:0) in Glastonbury, England who wanted to reach a particular(cid:0) person. What happened can be a lesson to all of us that(cid:0) what we might think as trivial might be very important.(cid:0) One series of EVP recorded during that session said,(cid:0) “(cid:0)Merlin, the office of the Apothecary, Hallelujah High(cid:0) Street Band, Bless the waters … bless the money.”(cid:0) Alec(cid:0) wrote that, “In Glastonbury, reputedly ancient Avalon,(cid:0) there is a place called Chalice Gardens which is reputedly(cid:0) the repository

of the Holy Grail. It has mineral springs(cid:0) which you can partake of and pools where people have(cid:0) thrown coins. There are powerful forces around…. I had(cid:0) even visited the Apothecary’s office.(cid:0) “I wanted to ignore the Hallelujah High Street Band as it(cid:0) was obviously trivia, amusing, but trivia. No place in(cid:0) serious research and might reflect adversely on my work.(cid:0) But if one is to be honest, one has to include everything,(cid:0) even if it causes embarrassment. So, reluctantly, I included(cid:0) it, but did not analyze it properly.”(cid:0) After Alec sent the results, the associate wrote back:(cid:0) “There is still a lot for me to learn in this, so let me ask the(cid:0) questions outright…. Is it feasible that the uttering(cid:0) ‘Hallelujah High Street’ could have a meaning very much(cid:0) in line with what we were expecting? The word ‘Band’(cid:0) would not fit all that well, but we could perhaps come up(cid:0) with a replacement word that would sound similar and fit(cid:0) better, such as ‘(cid:0)Ben(cid:0).’ If you think this is a track to follow,(cid:0) Hallelujah(cid:0)was an expression our particular person often(cid:0) used; 222 ‘(cid:0)High Street(cid:0)’ was the address where much of her(cid:0) work was done, and the address was used such as in ‘let’s(cid:0) meet in(cid:0)High Street(cid:0)....’(cid:0)The place where the person speak-(cid:0) ing, and whose presence we had invoked, did all her tre-(cid:0) mendous teaching work was a place called ‘(cid:0)Ben(cid:0)Lomond.’(cid:0) Isn't this getting fascinating?”(cid:0) After Alec re-listened to the EVP, he wrote, “I was led by(cid:0) content

into thinking it should be(cid:0)band(cid:0)…. I am now 80%(cid:0) confident about it being(cid:0)Ben(cid:0).”(cid:0) So much for trivia, Alec is right; when recording for(cid:0) someone we should include everything!(cid:0) Waveform Analysis(cid:0) Alec conducted some interesting analysis of another EVP(cid:0) that he recorded that day. It said,(cid:0)“That’s all recorded.”(cid:0)He(cid:0) explained to us that, “(cid:0)In Figure 1, the upper trace is me(cid:0) saying, ‘That’s all recorded,’ in an effort to match the EVP,(cid:0) which is shown with the lower trace. Measuring the Inter-(cid:0) Segment Interval (ISI) shows that, for the lower trace, ISI(cid:0) is uniform at 20.4 milliseconds (ms), thus the staccato(cid:0) rhythm.(cid:0) Figure 2(cid:0) “In the upper trace, there is no uniform interval. The(cid:0) longest is 20 ms and the rest are much less or not measur-(cid:0) able, as one segment tends to slip into the next. However,(cid:0) to aid comprehension, the EVP trace was stretched, here it(cid:0) is at the actual length recorded—much shorter—and the(cid:0) ISIs are actually around 4.4 ms. (Note: in this specific(cid:0) system the frequencies are unaffected). Thus (you hear) the(cid:0) rhythmic staccato effect, first spoken of by Swedenborg.(cid:0) As you can see in Figure 2, it is much faster. Finishing in(cid:0) 1.44 seconds as compared to 2 seconds in the previous(cid:0) picture.(cid:0) Continued page 11(cid:0) Figure 1(cid:0) Figure 3(cid:0) The spectral intensity of the EVP (violet or forefront) and the(cid:0) normally spoken phrase (blue or background)(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 10(cid:0) EVP Analysis(cid:0) Continued from page 10(cid:0) Figure 4(cid:0) “In Figure 4, the EVP spectral display

indicates a peak at(cid:0) 126.5 Hz, as calculated by the computer and shown in the(cid:0) top left lower window. This corresponds to the glottal(cid:0) pulse’s averaged repetition rate and is characteristic of that(cid:0) speaker.(cid:0) Figure 5(cid:0) “Figure 5 shows the spectral response of the normally(cid:0) spoken phrase. The lower peak represents the glottal pulse(cid:0) and the higher one its second harmonic. As can be seen, top(cid:0) left bottom window, the lower peak is at 102.2 Hz.(cid:0) “The more rapid speech using the same words, and the(cid:0) uniformity of the ISI would tend to confirm that the(cid:0) example is indeed EVP. And the difference in glottal pulse(cid:0) rates, plus the difference in timbre, the normally spoken(cid:0) phrase has a prominent second harmonic, whereas the EVP(cid:0) doesn’t show this, which further confirms EVP.”(cid:0) Alexander is probably the most prolific researcher in our field.(cid:0) He has a growing bibliography of article in peer-reviewed(cid:0) journals and has received many research grants. He will be(cid:0) conducting a workshop on voice analysis at the 2009 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference in Los Angeles July 11(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 12(cid:0)th(cid:0). See the brochure(cid:0) accompanying this NewsJournal and keep an eye on(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources.html(cid:0).(cid:0) Don’t Let Go(cid:0) John Shrimpton wrote that he took a few people, including(cid:0) one of his investigators, out to a rural cemetery in a very(cid:0) small town called Elk City, Nebraska, for an overnight(cid:0) investigation on March 20, 2008. “While we were there,(cid:0) my investigator thought he noticed movement at one(cid:0) border of the cemetery and we both walked over

to the area.(cid:0) I didn’t see or hear anything unusual but on playing back(cid:0) the audio from that time, we got a really interesting EVP(cid:0) that said,(cid:0)‘Don’t let go.’(cid:0) “The odd thing is that the investigator that witnessed the(cid:0) movement is a soldier and Iraq war veteran. In late 2007,(cid:0) he was on a mission flying a Blackhawk helicopter. His(cid:0) best friend since childhood was also on board. Their(cid:0) chopper was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and the(cid:0) helicopter crashed. His friend was fatally wounded in the(cid:0) crash.(cid:0) “When I played this EVP for him he began crying and(cid:0) told me that ‘Don’t let go’ was one of the last things that he(cid:0) had said to his friend while he was alive (holding his hand(cid:0) until medics could arrive). He also stated that the voice(cid:0) sounded very much like his friend. I thought this was(cid:0) interesting and perhaps what was recorded wasn’t attached(cid:0) to the cemetery, but attached to him instead?”(cid:0) Where Have All the Apparitions Gone?(cid:0) An educational project by the Association for the Scientific(cid:0) Study of Anomalous Phenomena sought to investigate and(cid:0) research all known haunting reports in the borough of(cid:0) Swindon, England. One hundred and forty-five accounts(cid:0) were found but only half of these were included in the(cid:0) “census report.” The other half lacked the quality of detail(cid:0) needed for useful analysis. Reports from the last thirty to(cid:0) forty years showed that 82% of the reported hauntings(cid:0) involved at least one sighting of an apparition and more(cid:0)

than half also involved some sort of movement (seen or(cid:0) unseen) of inanimate objects as well as auditory(cid:0) phenomena and unusual “sensations.”(cid:0) Twenty-four of the reports included events that happened(cid:0) in the last ten years, either as part of a longer-term(cid:0) “haunting” or as a new event. Of those hauntings taking(cid:0) place in the last decade, only one-third included the(cid:0) sighting of an apparition. This stands in stark contrast to the(cid:0) 82% sighted from older surveys. Surprisingly, even the(cid:0) hauntings that were a continuation of long-running cases(cid:0) primarily marked by apparitions prior to the last decade(cid:0) were now found to be largely apparition-free.(cid:0) Another interesting finding looked at that old idea that(cid:0) hauntings take place at night. This theory was inconsistent(cid:0) with the findings in the study which showed the most(cid:0) common time for haunting events to occur was in the(cid:0) afternoon. In fact, over two-thirds of the events in this(cid:0) survey happen in the afternoon.(cid:0) From:(cid:0)The Paranormal Review(cid:0),(cid:0) April 2008, Issue 46, “Where(cid:0) Have All the Apparitions Gone? Conclusions of a Census of(cid:0) Hauntings” by David Wood(cid:0) Page 11 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Group Recording in Atlanta(cid:0) In July, Martha Copeland(cid:0)had a group over for a recording(cid:0) session. Twelve people attended and six of them were(cid:0) AA-EVP members. Martha wrote, “Tony Golembiewski,(cid:0) who is a fairly new AA-EVP member, set everything up(cid:0) and we had a ‘Greet and Meet’ meeting here at my house.(cid:0) Phil Akin and Jerry Bennett were present as well as Ginny(cid:0) (Martha’s sister), Laurie Bean

and Kim Maddox.(cid:0) “We did a recording(cid:0) and Laurie heard her(cid:0) daughter, Sam, come(cid:0) through several times and(cid:0) even once through an-(cid:0) other person’s recording.(cid:0) Karen, of(cid:0) Laurie’s who used to be a(cid:0) nonbeliever, was in the(cid:0) group. The voice of her(cid:0) son, Tom, who was killed(cid:0) in an automobile accident(cid:0) twenty-one years ago,(cid:0) also came through.(cid:0) friend a Samantha Bean(cid:0) “Joyce, whose son committed suicide, heard him singing(cid:0) in her recording. Joyce said that is what he would do in his(cid:0) physical life; sing to her.(cid:0) “Laurie’s daughter, Sam (or Samantha) came to me in a(cid:0) dream the night before, and told me to tell her mom to turn(cid:0) on the radio at home and dance. I told Laurie about the(cid:0) dream and she laughed and said that is what she and Sam(cid:0) used to do.”(cid:0) Martha was really impressed with everyone and said that(cid:0) everyone was highly intelligent and very interesting. She(cid:0) wrote that Phil was into visual ITC and that she hopes to(cid:0) learn from him how he uses his webcam to capture images.(cid:0) The group is going to try meeting monthly. Martha wrote,(cid:0) “It would be wonderful if other members would try to get(cid:0) together into groups. There seems to be a greater success(cid:0) rate, and more energy in a group recording session.”(cid:0) Martha Copeland will be conducting a “how to record” workshop(cid:0) at the(cid:0)2009 AA-EVP conference in Los Angeles, July 11(cid:0)th(cid:0) and(cid:0) 12(cid:0)th(cid:0). See the brochure accompanying this NewsJournal and keep(cid:0) an eye on(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/resources.html(cid:0).(cid:0) Etheric

Studies Community Search Tool(cid:0) The AA-EVP maintains three “Links” pages at aaevp.com.(cid:0) One for member’s links, one for organizations similar to(cid:0) the AA-EVP around the world and one for websites that(cid:0) are important to our field of study but that are not directly(cid:0) related to ITC.(cid:0) At the bottom of the(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) front page and on the(cid:0) main(cid:0)Links(cid:0) page is a search tool titled:(cid:0)Search AA-EVP(cid:0) and Member Websites for Examples, Information and(cid:0) Resources.(cid:0) There are currently over sixty websites in the(cid:0) Google search tool. If you are looking for information(cid:0) about EVP, ITC and Etheric Studies, save yourself some(cid:0) time and search for it using this tool.(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Current Status of Mediumship Research at(cid:0) The Windbridge Institute(cid:0) by Julie Beischel, PhD(cid:0) Although the issues of survival of consciousness (life after(cid:0) death) and mediumship were fundamental during the in-(cid:0) ception and development of parapsychology as a science,(cid:0) research interests soon shifted toward psychic abilities(cid:0) including telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition and(cid:0) investigations of mediums became few and far between.(cid:0) Several authors have also noted that historical mediumship(cid:0) research lacked the proper research design, statistical pow-(cid:0) er, and elimination of potential sources of error for current(cid:0) researchers to value even “positive” studies. Furthermore,(cid:0) historical mediumship research often involved trance me-(cid:0) diums who entered a sleep-like state involving amnesia(cid:0) during their readings; modern, American participants,(cid:0) however, most often practice mental mediumship involv-(cid:0) ing a focused and waking state of consciousness.(cid:0) The continued evaluation of the phenomenon of anoma-(cid:0) lous information reception (AIR)

by mediums and research(cid:0) addressing the survival of consciousness hypothesis are(cid:0) important for many reasons, including those that are aca-(cid:0) demically important as well as those that are socially rele-(cid:0) vant. First, an understanding of the mediumship process(cid:0) may aid in determining which mechanisms may be at work(cid:0) during the cognitive processing of non-local, non-sensory(cid:0) information. In addition, survival and mediumship studies(cid:0) provide unique evidence for an issue central to conscious-(cid:0) ness science: the mind/(cid:0) consciousness and the brain. That is, is consciousness (a) a(cid:0) product of the brain as theorized by materialist neuroscien-(cid:0) tists or is consciousness (b) mediated, transmitted, trans-(cid:0) formed, guided, or arbitrated by the brain as hypothesized(cid:0) by such scientists as Max Plank and William James?(cid:0) relationship between the On a socially applicable front, this research is important(cid:0) beyond just addressing the public’s growing interest in(cid:0) mediumship and the survival of consciousness. First,(cid:0) mediums may be able to perform socially useful tasks like(cid:0) finding missing persons or contributing to criminal investi-(cid:0) gations, but in order for society to sensibly utilize the(cid:0) information mediums provide, the process by which it is(cid:0) acquired needs to be better understood. In addition, the(cid:0) information mediums provide may contain wisdom or(cid:0) knowledge that could benefit scientific, technological, and/(cid:0) or social progress. Furthermore, scientific evidence for life(cid:0) after death could revolutionize health care by alleviating(cid:0) the anxiety felt by hospice patients and their families and(cid:0) changing the way allopathic physicians view death.(cid:0) Finally, mediumship readings may be helpful in grief coun-(cid:0) seling

and recovery. For these academic and socially(cid:0) relevant reasons, it is important to continue investigating(cid:0) the information mediums report as well as the mediumship(cid:0) process itself. As with the study of any natural phenom-(cid:0) enon, bringing mediumship into the regulated environment(cid:0) of the laboratory allows for the controlled and repeated(cid:0) examination of AIR by mediums.(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) Page 12(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler (left) with Julie Beischel and(cid:0) Mark Boccuzzi (right)(cid:0) Mediumship Research(cid:0) Continued from page 12(cid:0) Ideally, laboratory-based mediumship research should in-(cid:0) clude two equally important factors: a research environ-(cid:0) ment that optimizes the mediumship process for both the(cid:0) medium and the hypothesized discarnate in order to in-(cid:0) crease the probability of capturing the phenomenon, if it(cid:0) exists, in a laboratory setting, and research methods that(cid:0) maximize the experimental blind-(cid:0) ing of the medium, the rater, and(cid:0) the experimenter in order to elimi-(cid:0) nate all conventional explanations(cid:0) for the reported information and its(cid:0) accuracy and specificity.(cid:0) Together, these two factors opti-(cid:0) mize the possibility of achieving(cid:0) positive results while also control-(cid:0) ling for experimental artifacts.(cid:0) There are two major medium-(cid:0) ship research fronts in progress at(cid:0) The Windbridge Institute:(cid:0)proof-(cid:0) focused(cid:0) studies aiming to gather additional evidence about(cid:0) mediums’ reported communication with the deceased (i.e.,(cid:0) anomalous information reception), and(cid:0)process-focused(cid:0) studies that investigate the mediums’ experiences of that(cid:0) communication. Both directions contribute to our under-(cid:0) standing of the information that mediums report and to our(cid:0) ability to use the information appropriately as a society.(cid:0) On the proof-focused side, the studies

are designed sim-(cid:0) ply to further test the primary hypothesis of mediumship(cid:0) research: Skilled mediums can report accurate and specific(cid:0) information about the deceased loved ones (termed discar-(cid:0) nates) of living people (termed sitters) even without any(cid:0) prior knowledge about the sitters or the discarnates and in(cid:0) the complete absence of any sensory feedback.(cid:0) that paper, In January of 2007, a study I performed while still with(cid:0) the University of Arizona was published in the peer-re-(cid:0) viewed journal(cid:0) Explore: The Journal of Science and Heal-(cid:0) ing(cid:0). In titled “Anomalous Information(cid:0) Reception by Research Mediums Demonstrated Using a(cid:0) Novel Triple-Blind Protocol,” we put forth this conclusion:(cid:0) “The present findings provide evidence for anomalous(cid:0) information reception but do not directly address what(cid:0) parapsychological mechanisms are involved in that recep-(cid:0) tion.” In other words, the mediums were reporting accurate(cid:0) and specific information that they could not have received(cid:0) by any normal means or through deception, but where the(cid:0) information was coming from, we couldn’t say.(cid:0) Back in 1896, Harvard Professor and American Society(cid:0) for Psychical Research (ASPR) co-founder William James(cid:0) (often called the father of American or modern psycholo-(cid:0) gy) came to a similar conclusion regarding his study of(cid:0) trance medium Mrs. Leonora Piper:(cid:0) In the trances of this medium, I cannot resist the convic-(cid:0) tion that knowledge appears which she has never gained by(cid:0) the ordinary waking use of her eyes and ears and wits.(cid:0) What the source of this knowledge may be I know not, and(cid:0) have not the glimmer of

an explanatory suggestion to make,(cid:0) but from admitting the fact of such evidence I can see no(cid:0) escape.(cid:0)[Address by the president.(cid:0)Proceedings of the(cid:0) Society for Psychical Research(cid:0), 12, 2-10.](cid:0) And while far more eloquent, Professor James came to(cid:0) basically the same conclusion about one trance medium(cid:0) that we did regarding a group of mental mediums over 100(cid:0) years later. Clearly, further modern research is needed.(cid:0) Most scientists would agree that we cannot accept the(cid:0) findings from a study as real until(cid:0) that study has been replicated and(cid:0) the same results found. And some,(cid:0) if not most, scientists would argue(cid:0) that the replication needs to take(cid:0) place in a laboratory separate from(cid:0) the one that published the first(cid:0) study before we can view the find-(cid:0) ings as real rather than as just a(cid:0) fluke.(cid:0) At Windbridge, we are currently(cid:0) seeking support for a replication of(cid:0) the published AIR study (that is,(cid:0) the AIRII). We have collected(cid:0) about half of the data to date. Once a second positive(cid:0) peer-reviewed study is published, we hope the phenome-(cid:0) non of anomalous information reception by mediums will(cid:0) begin to be taken seriously by more conventional scientists.(cid:0) The data collected to date (from over a century of medi-(cid:0) umship research) cannot distinguish between three main(cid:0) explanations:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Survival of Consciousness — there is life after death and(cid:0) some recognizable part of our consciousness goes on to(cid:0) live beyond the body and talk to mediums;(cid:0) •(cid:0)Super-Psi — the medium retrieves the information using(cid:0) clairvoyance, precognition, and/or telepathy with

the(cid:0) living (collectively called “psi”); and,(cid:0) •(cid:0)Psychic Reservoir — all information since the beginning(cid:0) of time is stored somehow and somewhere in the uni-(cid:0) verse and mediums are accessing that cosmic store rather(cid:0) than communicating with the deceased.(cid:0) However(cid:0), a medium’s experience of communication with(cid:0) the deceased is reportedly much different than her experi-(cid:0) ence with psi. It is the difference between dead people and(cid:0) dead information. But that concept is only anecdotal at this(cid:0) point. We now need to study it in the controlled environ-(cid:0) ment of the laboratory.(cid:0) That brings us to the second arm of the current Wind-(cid:0) bridge research: process-focused studies about the medi-(cid:0) ums’ experiences.(cid:0) The study of how things are experienced by the experi-(cid:0) encer is called phenomenology. For our current phenome-(cid:0) nology studies with mediums, I have been working with(cid:0) Windbridge Adjunct Research Fellow Adam Rock, PhD.(cid:0) For the first study (Phenomenology I), Dr. Rock qualita-(cid:0) tively analyzed research mediums’ answers to the question-(cid:0) naire item “Describe in as much detail as possible your(cid:0) experiences while communicating with the deceased.” Our(cid:0) peer-reviewed paper detailing the results of that study was(cid:0) recently published in the(cid:0)Journal of Scientific Exploration(cid:0) [22(2): 179-192].(cid:0) Continued page 17(cid:0) Page 13 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Eastern State Penitentiary(cid:0) He hadn’t even had time to put the camera in night-shot(cid:0) mode. the video at(cid:0) the apparition watch www.thehauntingevidence.com/easternstatepennitentiary.htm(cid:0).(cid:0)](cid:0) [(cid:0)To see This summer Debbie Caruso, along with her investigation(cid:0) team(cid:0)The Haunting Evidence Messengers(cid:0) (T.H.E.M.), ap-(cid:0) peared with medium Jeffery Wands on a

segment of the(cid:0) Maury Show(cid:0). The group was taken to Eastern State Peni-(cid:0) tentiary in Philadelphia, PA for the program.(cid:0) From(cid:0)www.easternstate.org(cid:0): “Opened in 1829 as part of a(cid:0) controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates(cid:0) through ‘confinement in solitude with labor,’ Eastern State(cid:0) Penitentiary quickly became one of the most expensive and(cid:0) most copied buildings in the young United States. It is(cid:0) estimated that more than 300 prisons worldwide are based(cid:0) on the Penitentiary’s wagon-wheel, or ‘radial’ floor plan.(cid:0) “Some of America’s most notorious criminals were held(cid:0) in the Penitentiary’s vaulted, sky-lit cells, including bank(cid:0) robbers Willie Sutton and Al Capone. The inmates were(cid:0) not allowed to communicate with each other or meet for(cid:0) any purpose, not even for religious services. Ministers(cid:0) sermonized to the inmates while walking through the pris-(cid:0) on, their voices echoing through the cellblocks. The in-(cid:0) mates were not allowed to sing, whistle, have visitors, see(cid:0) a newspaper or hear from any source about the outside(cid:0) world. They were allowed in their exercise yards, which(cid:0) were attached to their eight-by-twelve-foot cells, just one(cid:0) hour per day. At Eastern State, you went into your cell and(cid:0) you stayed there. You saw no one except a guard, and you(cid:0) spoke to no one.(cid:0) “After 142 years of consecutive use, the penitentiary was(cid:0) completely abandoned in 1971, and now stands a lost world(cid:0) of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers.”(cid:0) Debbie and the group were sent to the prison to spend the(cid:0) night. Immediately upon entering the prison,

Chris Scher-(cid:0) illo captured an apparition on his Sony Handicam DCR 92.(cid:0) When they went to Death Row, Jeffrey Wands began(cid:0) sensing information from some of the inmates. He said that(cid:0) he was sensing a man named Frank who was a rapist.(cid:0) Debbie spoke into her recorder and asked for a name of(cid:0) someone who was there. She recorded,(cid:0)“It’s Frank the(cid:0) rapist.”(cid:0)After Jeffrey said he had someone named Robert(cid:0) Johnson, Debbie asked for him and requested that he tell(cid:0) her something so that she would know it was him. She(cid:0) recorded,(cid:0)“It’s me. Robert Johnson.”(cid:0)When Debbie asked(cid:0) Al Capone to give his nickname she recorded(cid:0)“Scar Face.”(cid:0) Possible ITC image of Capone as shown on the Maury Show(cid:0) Debbie wrote, “(cid:0)We sat in a circle on the floor of the(cid:0) prison and Jeffrey started a séance. I used my HDR-SR1(cid:0) video camera and Panasonic TC15L1 plasma screen TV to(cid:0) create a feedback loop for ITC pictures. As soon as we got(cid:0) involved calling spirits, the screen started going crazy and(cid:0) as soon as we broke the circle the screen went back to(cid:0) normal; it was very noticeable.” They did capture a picture(cid:0) of what they feel to be Al Capone (above).(cid:0) Also from(cid:0)www.easternstate.org(cid:0): “Al, Chicago’s most(cid:0) famous mob boss, spent eight months at Eastern State in(cid:0) 1929-1930. Arrested for carrying a concealed, deadly(cid:0) weapon, this was Capone’s first prison sentence. His time(cid:0) in Eastern was spent in luxury compared to the other(cid:0) inmates; Capone had oriental rugs, a cabinet radio, free(cid:0) time,

and access to the deputy warden’s phone. An article(cid:0) in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, August 20, 1929, de-(cid:0) scribes Capone’s cell: ‘The whole room was suffused in the(cid:0) glow of a desk lamp which stood on a polished desk.... On(cid:0) the once-grim walls of the penal chamber hung tasteful(cid:0) paintings, and the strains of a waltz were being emitted by(cid:0) a powerful cabinet radio receiver of handsome design and(cid:0) fine finish...’(cid:0)The restored cell, with its oriental rugs(cid:0) and fine furnishings, is a popular stop for many visi-(cid:0) tors.(cid:0)”(cid:0) After seeing the video, Jutta Liebman of the German(cid:0) VTF(cid:0) wrote, “The whole TV-presentation was very success-(cid:0) ful during the Maury Show and consequently many new(cid:0) people will be convinced of the reality of EVP.”(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 14(cid:0) The Fallacy of Paranormal Democratic Science(cid:0) by(cid:0)Dave Wood(cid:0) Original text published by Paranormal Site Investigators,(cid:0)www.p-s-i.org.uk(cid:0) PSI looks into “democratic paranormal science,” and whether(cid:0) this is one of the greatest barriers holding back psychical research(cid:0) As we have written here before, the tragedy of psychical(cid:0) research is that, whilst other fields of study have come on(cid:0) in leaps and bounds over the last hundred or so years, the(cid:0) field of paranormal study has hardly advanced at all.(cid:0) Reading deeply into our subject and learning from our(cid:0) predecessors might be less fun than ghost hunting and(cid:0) making it all up ourselves, but are we really going to(cid:0) achieve anything?(cid:0) For a long time we could blame this on poor methods and(cid:0) poor funding:

fewer people doing research, hence fewer(cid:0) outlets for the research. But recent years have seen the field(cid:0) of parapsychology raising its method game, and thousands(cid:0) upon thousands of part-time paranormal investigators(cid:0) flooding the field.(cid:0) The advancement of science can be likened to building a(cid:0) house. Firm foundations are laid, and every new discovery,(cid:0) no matter how small, builds upon what we already know.(cid:0) With thousands of researchers all knowing the increasing(cid:0) foundations, and adding to them, psychical research could(cid:0) advance like never before.(cid:0) So what’s the problem? Paranormal research today(cid:0) seems to be built on the shakiest of foundations. No matter(cid:0) how much we like to think otherwise, so much in the(cid:0) paranormal investigation field is built on what we see in the(cid:0) media, rather than what we read in academic books and(cid:0) journals.(cid:0) Research is further hampered by a seeming “democracy”(cid:0) of thought. Everyone assumes that no-one else knows(cid:0) anything; therefore people feel that every thought, no mat-(cid:0) ter how unscientific, is equal to every other thought. We(cid:0) seem to base our knowledge on pub-style discussions of(cid:0) opinion and rather dubious hunches. After all, if no one(cid:0) knows better than anyone else, then my guess is as good as(cid:0) anyone else’s, right?(cid:0) So rather than researchers assiduously reading the trials(cid:0) and tribulations of those who have come and gone before–(cid:0) learning and building–we all start from nowhere and, if the(cid:0) experience of the last ten years is anything to go by, get(cid:0) precisely nowhere, either.(cid:0) The field of paranormal

research is weighed down by the(cid:0) fool’s gold of misattributed experience, topped up with(cid:0) pseudoscience, and no collaboration seems to be based on(cid:0) the sharing of knowledge and research.(cid:0) All the while educational charities like the Society for(cid:0) Psychical Research ((cid:0)www.spr.ac.uk(cid:0)) and the Association(cid:0) for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.assap.org(cid:0)) have accumulated the wisdom and re-(cid:0) search of ages, but few people seem to bother with them.(cid:0) After all, any one person’s random(cid:0) thoughts are just as valid as the accumu-(cid:0) lated scientific discovers of decades?(cid:0) Dave is currently Co-coordinator of PSI and(cid:0) Chairman of the National Association for the(cid:0) Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena.(cid:0) Forensic Expert’s Opinion(cid:0) This interesting message came in on member Keith Clark’s(cid:0) discussion board at(cid:0)www.itcbridge.com(cid:0). To quote:(cid:0) “I have been a forensic audio and video expert for a(cid:0) number of years. I am certified and have investigated and(cid:0) also testified in cases ranging from narcotics to homicide,(cid:0) some of which were high-profile cases such as the Sarah(cid:0) Johnson double homicide and the case of missing(cid:0) American Natalie Holloway for the Dr. Phil Show on ABC.(cid:0) “I have been asked on occasion to help with EVP(cid:0) recordings. Some of these are quite remarkable. I have(cid:0) worked on several that are truly intriguing. One of these(cid:0) was a case in Clinton, MA, USA. This case was featured on(cid:0) the series(cid:0)Ghost Hunters(cid:0) ... I will never forget the day I(cid:0) started my analysis of the recordings. I put the tape into my(cid:0) JVC system and instantly

the lights started to flicker and(cid:0) dim. I didn't think too much of it until I started discovering(cid:0) voices on the recording. That is when all the electrical(cid:0) systems at the lab went out completely. It was a little(cid:0) unnerving as it happened at a very interesting section of the(cid:0) audio.(cid:0) “One of the aspects of working a case like this is that as(cid:0) an expert I have to base my findings on facts. This is(cid:0) interesting as the forensic community at large regards this(cid:0) type of work as frivolous or as not worthy of mention(cid:0) publicly. I am not so sure that it can be that easily(cid:0) overlooked IMHO.(cid:0) “One case I worked was a taped reading from a(cid:0) renowned psychic here in Maine. There were several(cid:0) women present at this gathering and as they always did,(cid:0) they taped the session to help remember the medium's(cid:0) statements.(cid:0) “There was a woman whose son was recently killed in an(cid:0) accident at home. This woman was asking questions and as(cid:0) she was speaking you could hear a male voice saying(cid:0) “Ma,”(cid:0)“Mom Help,”(cid:0)“Ma,”(cid:0) etc... This went on for over(cid:0) three minutes. It was random and was not related to(cid:0) equipment malfunction or other mitigating factors. It was(cid:0) clearly a male and clearly a human voice but it was not in(cid:0) the normal frequency range of the others present that day.(cid:0) “Quite intriguing and still makes the hair on the back of(cid:0) my neck stand up when I listen to it. I think

that the(cid:0) scientific community needs to take this research a bit more(cid:0) seriously as I believe there are plenty of legitimate(cid:0) examples out there.”(cid:0) Dave Wood(cid:0) Page 15 Signed,(cid:0)Arlo E. West(cid:0) Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Why Has There Not Been More Study of the Paranormal?(cid:0) A 2005 Gallup survey shows that just about three in four(cid:0) Americans believe in the paranormal. So the question that(cid:0) needs to be asked is, “Why has there not been more study(cid:0) of the paranormal?” The scientific community is largely(cid:0) funded with public money. For instance, in July(cid:0) 2008, the US Government agreed on additional(cid:0) current-year science funding. The DOE Office(cid:0) of Science, NASA and National Science Foun-(cid:0) dation each received $62.5 million, much of(cid:0) which is earmarked for education.(cid:0)1(cid:0) Tuition fees(cid:0) do not cover the cost of universities and public(cid:0) funding is required. This means that science(cid:0) degrees are subsidized by the public.(cid:0) The National Science Foundation (NSF) is a(cid:0) department of the Federal Government, funded(cid:0) by the public and supposedly in the service of the public.(cid:0) Yet according to the NSF in the 2006 annual Science and(cid:0) Technology report, “A recent study of 20 years of survey(cid:0) data collected by NSF concluded that ‘many Americans(cid:0) accept pseudoscientific beliefs,’ such as astrology, lucky(cid:0) numbers, the existence of unidentified flying objects(cid:0) (UFOs), extrasensory perception (ESP), and magnetic(cid:0) therapy (Losh et al. 2003). Such beliefs indicate a lack of(cid:0) understanding of how science works and how evidence is(cid:0) investigated and subsequently determined to be either valid(cid:0)

or not.”(cid:0)2(cid:0) “Losh et al” is a reference to an article in the(cid:0)Skeptical(cid:0) Inquirer(cid:0). A further comment about “pseudoscientific(cid:0) beliefs” is based on a reference from the Committee for the(cid:0) Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal(cid:0) (CSICOPS) now known as the(cid:0)Committee for Skeptical(cid:0) Inquiry(cid:0) (CSI), which states: “According to one group(cid:0) studying such phenomena, pseudoscientific topics include(cid:0) yogi flying, therapeutic touch, astrology, fire walking,(cid:0) voodoo magical thinking, alternative medicine, chan-(cid:0) neling, psychic hotlines and detectives, near-death experi-(cid:0) ences, unidentified flying objects and alien abductions, the(cid:0) Bermuda Triangle, homeopathy, faith healing, and reincar-(cid:0) nation.” The celebrity skeptic, James Randi, is one of the(cid:0) founders and it is the publisher of the(cid:0)Skeptical Inquirer(cid:0).(cid:0) So the answer to the question is that the organizations we(cid:0) are paying to help us understand and live with nature are(cid:0) the same ones that think we are uneducated and misguided.(cid:0) Well, it is actually worse than that. The publicly funded(cid:0) organizations such as universities and the NSF are also(cid:0) very much aligned with the skeptical community which is(cid:0) determined to protect the intellectually naive masses (that(cid:0) is three in four Americans) from belief in anything that is(cid:0) not specifically supported by mainstream science. Their(cid:0) assumption is that, “if it is not accounted for in mainstream(cid:0) science, it is impossible and therefore cannot be.” The(cid:0) skeptical community has little or no research supporting(cid:0) their view of frontier subjects such as EVP and medium-(cid:0) ship, so the net result is that they win their point by being(cid:0) the

dominant group and discrediting research that does(cid:0) support the subject. In a very real sense, social pressure(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 brought by the skeptics to potential research donors and(cid:0) scientists has and continues to prevent research that might(cid:0) prove or disprove our hypotheses. That is simply stopping(cid:0) progress to preserve the status quo.(cid:0) One technique used to discredit a subject such(cid:0) as psi functioning is to put it in the same group(cid:0) as belief in a flat earth and the moon landing(cid:0) conspiracy theories. If one must be seen as(cid:0) unlikely, then all must be equally unlikely. But(cid:0) there is another factor involved in the success of(cid:0) the skeptical community. Many of the concepts(cid:0) involved in psychic ability (psi functioning)(cid:0) and survival are shared by religions. This leads(cid:0) to people thinking of such concepts as ghosts in(cid:0) religious terms such as demons and possession,(cid:0) rather than in terms of what is empirically supported. In(cid:0) this issue,(cid:0)The Fallacy of Paranormal Democratic Science,(cid:0) by David Wood (pg 15), explores the idea that some people(cid:0) assume knowledge of a subject by ignoring those who are(cid:0) possibly more experienced. The real answer to the question(cid:0) might be that we are not very clear about what we believe.(cid:0) Psi studies are fairly well represented by parapsy-(cid:0) chology. It is true that parapsychologists are shunned by(cid:0) mainstream science, but they at least have a culture of(cid:0) collaboration and peer-reviewed journals. There are even(cid:0) doctoral programs in some universities. Parapsychology(cid:0) claims to study survival, but other

than reincarnation, near-(cid:0) death and out-of-body experiences, that community shuns(cid:0) etheric studies as much as mainstream science shuns them.(cid:0) The skeptical community will only change its mind about(cid:0) survival of personality if mainstream science begins to(cid:0) openly study the evidence and conclude that the evidence(cid:0) indicates a real effect, rather than our delusion. Mainstream(cid:0) science will not study our subject if we do not present it in(cid:0) a rational manner. Making research funds available for(cid:0) projects conducted with good science is one way that we(cid:0) can attract mainstream science, but the most important(cid:0) thing we can do is to develop a community in which(cid:0) evidence-based reports are held in high regard, and collab-(cid:0) oration amongst researchers is seen as a natural part of(cid:0) learning. It is important that we learn how to talk about our(cid:0) subject so that we can accurately report our experiences(cid:0) and research results. Peer review will only be possible(cid:0) when we learn to respect knowledge. If we do not develop(cid:0) the culture of a scientific community, there is little hope(cid:0) that we will gain the respect of mainstream science.(cid:0) You are a member of this community and in a very real(cid:0) sense, you control if or when our field will attract serious(cid:0) research. Learn all you can; avoid “assuming knowledge.”(cid:0) 1. American Institute of Physics,(cid:0)Success: President Signs Bill(cid:0) Providing Additional Science Funding,(cid:0)www.aip.org/fyi/(cid:0) 2008/072.html(cid:0) 2. National Science Foundation,(cid:0)Science and Engineering Indi-(cid:0) cator 2006(cid:0), “Chapter 7: Science and Technology: Public(cid:0) Attitudes and Understanding,”(cid:0)www.nsf.gov/statistics/(cid:0) seind06/c7/c7s2.htm(cid:0) Page 16(cid:0) The Paranormal

Puck(cid:0) Continued from page 9(cid:0) Paranormal Puck resting beside a laptop computer. It connects(cid:0) via a USB cable. The control panel is visible on the screen.(cid:0) EVPMaker uses a random number process for phoneme(cid:0) selection, and we know random processes provide a(cid:0) historically effective psi detection technique. The use of(cid:0) changes in environmental energy to stimulate a speech(cid:0) synthesis process presents many unknowns, but has been(cid:0) demonstrated as an effective psi detection technique by(cid:0) such psi functioning researchers as Dean Radin. Based on(cid:0) the limited experience with that technology, the next step(cid:0) is probably to move Puck functionality into computer(cid:0) software and develop a control panel which allows(cid:0) management of environmental detection and recording.(cid:0) Conclusion(cid:0) Bill(cid:0)Chappell has given us the first real innovation in this(cid:0) field in recent times. We cannot recommend the Puck for(cid:0) general use until more study is done to understand how the(cid:0) Puck works and why. Technology-savvy people need to(cid:0) study its design, speech synthesis and the supporting tech-(cid:0) nology to help us better understand the capabilities. The(cid:0) one problem with all EVP technologies is learning how to(cid:0) avoid mistaking normally produced sounds from paranor-(cid:0) mally produced messages. The community has little expe-(cid:0) rience with this very new technology; however, we are(cid:0) confident that in the coming months, environmentally stim-(cid:0) ulated voice synthesis will prove to be an important ap-(cid:0) proach to transcommunication.(cid:0) We hope to demonstrate the Puck at the 2009 conference.(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle on

or close(cid:0) to October 2, 16 and 30, November 13 and 27, and(cid:0) December 11 and 25. Then go to the Big Circle area of the(cid:0) Idea Exchange and share what you recorded. Many(cid:0) members have recorded messages intended for other(cid:0) members so share your recordings with the group! Our(cid:0) recording dates actually fall on Thanksgiving and(cid:0) Christmas this year.(cid:0) Contribute Experiences to a New Book(cid:0) Have you been contacted by a deceased loved one? Were(cid:0) you given information that you were later able to validate?(cid:0) Josie Varga’s latest book,(cid:0)Visits from Heaven(cid:0), will feature(cid:0) a collection of After Death Communication (ADC) ac-(cid:0) counts. Contributors will include authors, mediums, speak-(cid:0) ers, bereaved parents, psychotherapists and more. If you(cid:0) have a story to share or have any questions, please contact(cid:0) the author via email at [email protected] or visit her(cid:0) website at www.josievarga.com.(cid:0) Mediumship Research(cid:0) Continued from page 13(cid:0) We found that the mediums most often reported experi-(cid:0) encing the deceased in multiple ways including seeing and(cid:0) hearing the deceased, smelling fragrances associated with(cid:0) the deceased’s physical life, feeling ailments or causes of(cid:0) death, and changes in the mediums’ emotional feelings.(cid:0) In the second phase of that study, mediums filled out an(cid:0) instrument called the Phenomenology of Consciousness(cid:0) Inventory (PCI) that quantitatively measured their experi-(cid:0) ences. Dr. Rock and I recently submitted a paper detailing(cid:0) the results of that study for publication in the(cid:0)Australian(cid:0) Journal of Parapsychology(cid:0). Briefly, we found that medi-(cid:0) ums’ states of consciousness are statistically different dur-(cid:0) ing communication with

the deceased than their normal(cid:0) (i.e., non-AIR) states of consciousness.(cid:0) For the Phenomenology III and IV studies, we hope to(cid:0) both qualitatively and quantitatively analyze mediums’(cid:0) experiences during communication with the deceased as(cid:0) compared to their experiences while performing psychic(cid:0) telepathy readings for the living. This data should begin to(cid:0) differentiate between the hypotheses suggesting the source(cid:0) of mediums’ information and thus address the issue of(cid:0) survival of consciousness.(cid:0) Julie Beischel, PhD, is the Co-Founder and Director of(cid:0) Research at The Windbridge Institute.(cid:0)www.windbridge.org(cid:0) Dr. Beischel received her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxi-(cid:0) cology with a minor in Microbiology and Immunology from(cid:0) the University of Arizona. She was the first ever recipient(cid:0) of the William James Post-doctoral Fellowship in Medium-(cid:0) ship and Survival Research at the University of Arizona(cid:0) where she served as Co-Director of the(cid:0)VERITAS Research(cid:0) Program(cid:0). She is currently a member of the(cid:0)Parapsycholog-(cid:0) ical Association(cid:0), a member of the scientific advisory(cid:0) boards of the(cid:0)Rhine Research Center(cid:0) and the(cid:0)Forever(cid:0) Family Foundation(cid:0), and an(cid:0)Institute of Noetic Sciences(cid:0) (IONS)(cid:0)Shift-In-Action(cid:0) Luminary. Her academic training(cid:0) allows her to design and apply traditional research meth-(cid:0) ods to investigating more unconventional topics of study(cid:0) including the survival of consciousness and other parapsy-(cid:0) chological phenomena. In June of 2008, Dr. Beischel and(cid:0) Windbridge Co-Founder Mark Boccuzzi began a pilot(cid:0) study supported by AA-EVP investigating real-time EVP(cid:0) conversations. More information and full copies of pub-(cid:0) lished articles are available at(cid:0)www.windbridge.org(cid:0).(cid:0) Julie will present results of the Real-Time EVP Conversation(cid:0) study funded at the 2009 AA-EVP conference.(cid:0) Page 17

Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) If you record an EVP that you would like to share here(cid:0) please email us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Teri Daner recorded several messages during a Thursday(cid:0) evening group Big Circle session. One of the messages(cid:0) said,(cid:0)“I’m in heaven, not in Jersey.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Paula Elcox wrote that her sisters and brother got to-(cid:0) gether to toast their dad’s birthday. Paula left the recorder(cid:0) on while they were taking some pictures. On the record-(cid:0) ing you hear her commenting that the picture is nice and(cid:0) her husband agreeing then an EVP says,(cid:0) “It’s nice.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kim Fred(cid:0) wrote that they were having terrible weather(cid:0) with lightning and tornadoes. She was staying up to(cid:0) watch the weather when the phone rang at 2:30 a.m. She(cid:0) immediately thought it must be some sort of terrible news(cid:0) for someone to be calling so late. She answered with(cid:0) great trepidation to find no sound whatsoever. She hung(cid:0) up and then found that the phone was not even working.(cid:0) Before she could return to her chair the phone rang again(cid:0) and again there was nothing there. Out loud she said,(cid:0) “Stop it, you’re freaking me out a little.” The phone did(cid:0) not ring again but she got her recorder and asked “Okay,(cid:0) who wants to talk?” She recorded two things. First her(cid:0) niece’s name,(cid:0)“Candi,”(cid:0) and then(cid:0) “Bad storm, there(cid:0) now.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Yvonne Whybra thanked Linda Gray for recording an(cid:0) EVP for her writing, “You caught an EVP ... [that] said(cid:0) …(cid:0)“Help my daughter I love her

so much”(cid:0) I had been(cid:0) trying to record and asking her to come to one of the(cid:0) AA-EVP members. I believe she did. She also came(cid:0) again two more times to another two members. I just(cid:0) want you to know theses captures have changed my life.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Cheryl and Chuck Johnson write, “We use Sony digital(cid:0) recorders, ask questions with pauses between and get(cid:0) very good EVP.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Neil Kiernan recorded at the grave of a family named(cid:0) Petersen. At the end of the recording a voice said,(cid:0)“We’re(cid:0) from Texas.”(cid:0) The next day Neil went back and asked(cid:0) what town in Texas. He recorded a female saying,(cid:0)“The(cid:0) town of Dorchester.”(cid:0) Neil wrote, “Dorchester didn’t(cid:0) sound like a typical Texas-sounding name but I Googled(cid:0) it and sure enough in North-Eastern Texas there is a very(cid:0) small town named Dorchester. (This turned out to be a(cid:0) very interesting thread on the AA-EVP message board in(cid:0) which member Deborah Preece gathered some interest-(cid:0) ing information on the family through(cid:0)Ancestry.com(cid:0) .)(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebman of the German(cid:0)VTF(cid:0)wrote, “In the last(cid:0) weeks I have tried to record EVP for a friend, who had(cid:0) asked me to mention during a next EVP recording ses-(cid:0) sion, her problem about a law case at court, which she(cid:0) had applied for getting back the house of her deceased(cid:0) parents. The only clear voices that I have captured in this(cid:0) connection said:(cid:0)“Life is permanent learning”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“We(cid:0) will give support”(cid:0)(translated from German.)(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski is attempting to build his own ver-(cid:0) sion of an

auto-tuning (hands off) radio which is the key(cid:0) element of the popular “box” system (radio sweep). In(cid:0) order to make the unit easily reproducible he decided to(cid:0) go with a radio kit and then modify the circuit to his(cid:0) specific needs. He did and one of the first messages(cid:0) recorded with his new setup was,(cid:0) “Don’t be frustrated,(cid:0) talk to Bubbie.”(cid:0)David wrote: “Bubbie is the code name(cid:0) of an old pal of mine from 35 years ago. We lost contact(cid:0) with each other and I found out he had crossed over in(cid:0) October 2004. He has become an important contact in(cid:0) connection with my work.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christopher Scott posted an example in the Prediction(cid:0) Registry of the Idea Exchange. The consensus amongst(cid:0) other members was that it said:(cid:0)“(cid:0)He speaks. Get her to(cid:0) the doctor, Chris.”(cid:0) Chris wrote, “The reason I submitted(cid:0) this to the Prediction Registry was that it predicted my(cid:0) mother’s heart attack. A week later, she died.” (Chris, our(cid:0) thoughts are with you.)(cid:0) •(cid:0)Stephen Siciliano said in the Idea Exchange that, “I(cid:0) actually had an entity (my aunt) give me some inside(cid:0) family information that was kept from me. In turn I found(cid:0) out that the information was valid. It was awesome.…(cid:0) The information she gave me was very important, and I(cid:0) would have been hurt had I not received it. I talk to her(cid:0) every day through EVP communication.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Tanjla Vasquez wrote, “One evening I was in my home(cid:0) office playing and talking to my dogs, Toby and

Baxter(cid:0) (Bichon Frises). I had just commented on something to(cid:0) do with Toby. When I played back my recording, a(cid:0) woman with a strong New York accent is saying,(cid:0) “Baxter, you’re a good dawg.”(cid:0) It seems to echo out of(cid:0) the background but it is very clear to me … a couple of(cid:0) my friends think it might be(cid:0)“Baxter you're a good boy.”(cid:0) You can also hear my dogs panting in this recording.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Thomas Weinmann said that he tried recording for a few(cid:0) months after his father crossed over. At first, he just(cid:0) wasn’t sure of what he was hearing but then he recorded(cid:0) a very clear voice saying,(cid:0)“Guess who?”(cid:0)Tom wrote, “It(cid:0) was like the person was right in the room with me. But to(cid:0) this day, I cannot be sure if that was my dad. I repeatedly(cid:0) asked for ‘guess who’ to identify himself but he never(cid:0) did.”(cid:0) Tom had been recording this past May and wishing his(cid:0) mother Happy Mother’s Day, hoping to get communica-(cid:0) tion from her. He never got a chance to listen to that(cid:0) recording. It, along with all of his other EVP recordings,(cid:0) were lost in a fire that started in the house next door but(cid:0) also caught his house on fire and destroyed it.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott wrote that the(cid:0)Hemi-Sync(cid:0) experiments(cid:0) were a productive experience for her. “I got one of the(cid:0) most interesting answers to a question that I think I’ve(cid:0) ever gotten. They were trying to get creative with the(cid:0) simple questions

I was asking! I asked what was on the(cid:0) shirt I was wearing. It’s a red Victoria’s Secret night(cid:0) shirt, with the brand name embroidered across the chest(cid:0) in the same color. I asked for the brand name, too.(cid:0) Continued page 19(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Page 18(cid:0) Researchers Report(cid:0) Continued from page 18(cid:0) Their response?(cid:0)‘It burns across her chest. That would(cid:0) be poetic. You can’t say we’re not smart.’(cid:0)It was clear(cid:0) and all at once. Can you believe that—hilarious—a refer-(cid:0) ence to scarlet letters and my name (Victoria’s Secret)(cid:0) burning across my chest as well as the red of the t-shirt(cid:0) linked to the red of fire burning. ;)(cid:0) I am also now listening to my Hemi-Sync CDs more(cid:0) that focus on the other side. I believe I have been having(cid:0) more profound experiences as a result.(cid:0) Travel Trend Alert: Ghost Hunting Breaks(cid:0) From the UK comes this news: The demand for scary(cid:0) haunted hotel holidays is growing at a rapid rate!(cid:0) Paranormal breaks specialist Haunting Breaks has added(cid:0) three new haunted venues to its portfolio to meet a surge in(cid:0) interest in its ghost hunting weekends, thanks to the(cid:0) continued success of television programs such as Living(cid:0) TV’s(cid:0)Most Haunted,(cid:0) ITV’s(cid:0)Supernatural(cid:0)and the Zone(cid:0) Reality’s(cid:0)Ghost Hunt(cid:0) and(cid:0) Psychic Private Eyes.(cid:0) “These TV(cid:0) shows have made psychics and the paranormal accessible,”(cid:0) said Carol Bowen, director of Haunting Breaks. “People(cid:0) are now more knowledgeable in this area and as a result(cid:0) keener to experience ghost hunting themselves.(cid:0) Bowen says that there are

generally two types of guests:(cid:0) the serious ghost hunter and the experience seeker keen to(cid:0) try something new and exciting. “Both get really excited(cid:0) when things start happening,” says Bowen. “Dimmed(cid:0) lights and the history of the castle or hotel is often enough(cid:0) to get visitors spooked regardless of whether they believe(cid:0) in the paranormal or not and, for many, the thought of(cid:0) something scary is almost as good as the real thing.”(cid:0) White Noise(cid:0) T-Shirts and Ball Caps(cid:0) These were given to the press to publicize the movie(cid:0)White(cid:0) Noise(cid:0) and Universal Studios gave some to the AA-EVP.(cid:0) We have eight T-shirts (size large only) and eight(cid:0) adjustable caps that we are making available for a donation(cid:0) of $19 for a shirt and $15 for a ball cap. This includes the(cid:0) cost of Priority Shipping. Both are dark blue with white(cid:0) lettering. International members should add $5 (all US(cid:0) funds) for mailing. You can order at(cid:0)aaevp.com in the(cid:0) Resources section(cid:0) or via postal service at PO Box 13111,(cid:0) Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) If you would like to have something you are doing featured(cid:0) here please email the information to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) six(cid:0) weeks prior to the next NewsJournal release date.(cid:0) •(cid:0)We reported on Bob Crimmins’ book,(cid:0) Life is in Session, Are You Present?(cid:0) in(cid:0) 2007. Bob’s late wife Gloria was(cid:0) instrumental in helping Bob with the(cid:0) book. Bob interviewed people all over(cid:0) the country asking them the same fifty(cid:0) questions about life. Each chapter in(cid:0) the book covers a

separate question(cid:0) like, “What is God?” or “What do you(cid:0) think happens after you die?” It was so thick that Bob and(cid:0) his son decided to print it as a two-part book. Part one(cid:0) includes questions one to twenty-five and is now(cid:0) available at(cid:0)http://lifeisinsession.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Bob donates his time in training injured soldiers(cid:0) coming back from Iraq without hands or arms in how to(cid:0) use the Dragon Naturally Speaking software. Bob wrote,(cid:0) “Since I donate the software and training to the soldiers,(cid:0) any sales of my book will bring in more money I hope so(cid:0) I can buy more software to train more soldiers.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)A new book,(cid:0)Ghosts of Central Jersey:(cid:0) Historic Haunts of the Somerset Hills,(cid:0) by Gordon T. Ward was just released(cid:0) and is available at Amazon. The book(cid:0) was edited by Association members(cid:0) Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey did an overnight(cid:0) investigation of Alcatraz and the(cid:0) Presidio while in California in April.(cid:0) You can visit her website at(cid:0)http://ectoweb.com(cid:0) to see a(cid:0) write up of the investigation and listen to EVP she and(cid:0) fellow researchers captured.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The(cid:0)Daily Record(cid:0) ran a good article on Garrett Husveth(cid:0) title, Audio Researcher Aims to Get Ghostly Voices on(cid:0) Tape. (See(cid:0)www.dailyrecord.com(cid:0))(cid:0) •(cid:0)Al Rauber(cid:0)just put together a fifty-three slide, eighteen(cid:0) voice (EVP) lecture titled, “The Lizzie Borden Tapes - A(cid:0) Paranormal Case Study.” Al wrote, “Basically, it’s an(cid:0) account of the two TV shows I did from the location and(cid:0) all of the info (some great, some not so great) I was able(cid:0) to

take out of the investigations. Also, a theory on who(cid:0) may have been the murderer.” A write-up that Al has(cid:0) done on the case will be in(cid:0)The Hatchet(cid:0)which is a Lizzie(cid:0) magazine. The website,(cid:0)lizzieandrewborden.com(cid:0), is(cid:0) setting up a section just for Al and the EVP from his(cid:0) investigations, Al says that it is the top Lizzie site out(cid:0) there.(cid:0) •(cid:0)In honor of the new movie,(cid:0)The X-Files: I Want to(cid:0) Believe(cid:0), Amanda Beals did an article for(cid:0)MainStreet.com(cid:0) which included an interview with AA-EVP member Rich(cid:0) Smith. In it, Beals gives readers an idea of the costs(cid:0) involved in ghost hunting. The article also provided a(cid:0) link to the AA-EVP. See it at(cid:0)http://mainstreet.com/x-(cid:0) files-opened-paranormal-price-guide(cid:0).(cid:0) Page 19 Fall 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) YouTube Video is Available on CD(cid:0) The(cid:0)Big Circle YouTube(cid:0) video is available on a CD as a one-part file. We know(cid:0) that some of you do not have access to the Internet and would like to view this(cid:0) fourteen minute minidocumentary. We also know that some of you would like to(cid:0) show this to a friend, and having it on a CD would make that easier to do.(cid:0) The CDs are $12.50 each (U.S. funds) including mailing. You can order online at:(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/resources/books_order.htm(cid:0) or by writing to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) important EVP/ITC tool.(cid:0) Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can

order a signed copy at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) or a letter with signing(cid:0) instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to: www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year All benefits for one year(cid:0) not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0) $40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.(cid:0) You may specify that your donation is used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:(cid:0)__________(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to

receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Do you have research/development background that may apply to EVP?____(cid:0) By indicating that I want to share my name and address with others on the Member Registry, I realize they are private and I agree(cid:0) that other names on the list will not be given to anyone who is not on the list, used for commercial purposes or the furtherance of(cid:0) personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am twenty-one years(cid:0) of age or older. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the(cid:0) Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the(cid:0) NewsJournal. Officers of the AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 27, Number 3 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Page 20(cid:0) American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena NewsJournal Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere Volume 27 Number 4 Winter 2009 From Our Viewpoint AA-EVP 2009 Conference As we announced last quarter, the AA-EVP will host a conference next July, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. We are often asked to provide a way for people to see how various techniques for ITC are

applied, so this conference is all about demonstrating techniques. Of course the con- ference is also an important opportunity to meet like-mind- ed people and to practice your networking skills. The economy tanked right after the contract was signed with the Westin LAX hotel. The Association is chartered to teach, and we see the conference as an important part of that mission, so making a profit for the AA-EVP is not the highest priority, but the Association needs to break even to be able to have a future conference. In the past, we have tried advertising in a number of publications but with no evident results. You can help us by helping to get the word out. The most effective tool for getting the word out has been word-of-mouth amongst members and their interested friends. Many of you have websites and you can help by creating a link to the conference. We have made a link banner that can be used on your website. It takes the visitor to the conference web page at aaevp.com. We have also put a link on that page to the PDF file containing the brochure. Please feel free to distribute any of this material as you see the opportunity. AA-EVP 2009 LAX Conference: EVP and ITC Techniques That Get Results July 11 and 12 Because of the economy we will continue to offer the pre-registration fee of $150 for members and $200 for non-members. After June 10, registration is $200 for mem- bers and

$250 for non-members. Please contact us if you have questions or suggestions about how we can get the word out. In advance, we thank you for your help! New Use License As a nonprofit organization, our policy is to encourage people to use AA-EVP material and share it with others as long as the Association or specific authors are credited. A recent evaluation of how we represent this open policy to the public has made it clear that the customary use of a copyright notification [©] served to prevent wide use of the material, effectively defeating our purpose. A new tool on the Internet is at creativecommons.org. That organization supports a use licence that helps to protect ownership of material while allowing it to be distributed and even modi- fied. We are adopting this license in place of the copyright notice as the general license for aaevp.com. Articles and examples that are not included under this license will be marked individually. We encourage you to consider using the Creative Commons license for your work, as well. The license reads What this means is that the material can be copied, remixed and redistributed so long as credit is given to the originator, no financial gain is derived from its use and this license is attached to all versions. Grant Writer The study of trans-etheric phenomena is evolving from “does it exist?” to “how does it work and how can we use it?” The problem is that most of the world still

thinks it is a matter of faith. The commonly held viewpoint is “I believe there is a heaven” rather than “I have seen evidence that I can trust to be true.” Information about our field that is available to the public ranges from television programs such as Ghost Whisperer, which is clearly fantasy, to the many hauntings investigation reality programs that are equally difficult to take seriously. Our task then, is to show that we who study these phenomena do so based on good science and logical thought. This is especially true when speaking to people whom we hope might fund research. administrators. The The AA-EVP is looking for someone who is able to write, help write or advise us how to write applications for grants to be used to fund research under the management of SERF to write corporate/technical-style documents is very important, but so is experience working with funding organizations. To be honest, we are not experienced in this area, and we are amazed that such organizations as the New Science Fund of the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley, San Jose, California fund research. How does a person find these resources? ability Should you volunteer to help us, you will be challenged to help potential funding organizations see these phenome- na as something that can be seriously studied, rather than matters of faith. You will also need to show that the AA- EVP is able to administer research funds. In fact, it is arguable that this organization is

one of the few in the world that is able to orchestrate this kind of research. Please contact us if you have experience in this area and Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to provide objective evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state. Winter 2009 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Mark Tominac Sustaining Members Annette Carissimi Andy Coppock Pixi Bow-Dern Kelly Burge Timothy McLaughlin Melissa Walton-Bailey Yvonne Whybra Supporters Diane Moseley AA-EVP NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.......................................................................................................................1 Lance Alverson by Susie Alverson..................................................................................................3 EVP Recorded Without Microphone by Sonia Rindali ...............................................................5 Some of My Grieving Clients, Like the Character in The Sixth Sense, Talk to Dead People by Rev Karen E Herrick, PhD ..................................................................6 In Pursuit of Proof by Miles Edward Allen ....................................................................................7 Braden’s Birthday Celebration .....................................................................................................8 The Next Step...................................................................................................................................8 Propriety House...............................................................................................................................8 Sarah Estep Research Fund Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 9 Hemi-Sync Study ....................................................................................................................... 9 Forever Family Conference ........................................................................................................10 Debunking NDE Explanations......................................................................................................12 The Atlanta Big Circle Group by Tony Golembiewski ...............................................................12 Digital Video ITC Keeps Getting Better ....................................................................................13 Big Circle Recording Dates .........................................................................................................14 Russian EVP...................................................................................................................................14 Upgrade for EVPmaker ..............................................................................................................14 The Communication Bridge by Christine Jenkins .......................................................................15 Australian Discussion Board ........................................................................................................15 Train Victim's Cell Phone Kept Calling Loved Ones After He Died .......................................16 Streaming Video ITC ....................................................................................................................16 Jonathan ........................................................................................................................................17 News From Members ....................................................................................................................17 Researcher Reports .......................................................................................................................18 Applying Science to Investigations .............................................................................................18 This NewsJournal is published by the AA-EVP to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC.

aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The AA-EVP: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy. Web Masters: aaevp.com: Tom Butler bigcircle.aaevp.com: Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Martha Copeland Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Volume 27, Number 4 Page 2 Lance Alverson by Susie Alverson I am the mother of a son, Lance Alverson, who passed in an auto accident in February 2006. I live in Spring, TX and I am the mother of three sons total. I have been married 36 years. It is my hope that my story will help heal others who are grieving and will assure them that their loved ones are right there with them, just as Lance is with us. Our loved ones in spirit are only a thought away. They still love us. They know we love them. They want us to heal and be happy again. They love to be remembered and to be talked to and they still maintain their basic personalities. Our son is

safe with God and is right where he is supposed to be, as he tells us in his own words. Lance continues to creatively let us know he is around and each new day is a blessing and something to look forward to. My “Pennies from Heaven” Right after Lance died in his automobile accident, my sister told me about the “pennies from heaven” phenomenon experienced by some people who have lost loved ones (supposedly told by Ann Landers years ago). Also, there is an old song called, Pennies from Heaven. The phenomenon is explained as such: Supposedly when someone dies, as a sign to the remaining loved ones that all is well with the one who has passed, pennies are found in unusual places that are somehow associated with the one who has passed. Collection of “pennies from heaven” When my sister told me about this, she had just been to the accident site and had found a penny in the very spot where Lance’s car had landed on its side and where Lance had bled so much. I didn’t think much about the “pennies” story, but I enjoyed it and appreciated my sister trying to give me something to look forward to, so I saved that penny. Long story short; I found about fifteen additional pennies since then, in the same area of ground, even as Lance Alverson recently as last Saturday. The first penny I found was at the accident site two days after Lance’s passing. That

penny was nice to find, but I still wasn’t convinced that this was anything special, other than I had found something that had once belonged to my boy, which I treasured greatly. Shortly after Lance’s death, I looked at a clear glass on top of the refrigerator. Wondering how it got there, I pulled it down and it was full of pennies. I suppose it had been there for years, but I had never been interested in why it was there until that particular day. The most amazing “penny incident” happened right before Lance’s friends came over one night. Two nights after the accident, I was sadly looking at his canvas chair in the back yard (that he always sat in when his friends came over) and there sat a lone penny in the seat of his chair. I couldn’t believe it. No one put that penny in the chair. In fact, I hadn’t even told anyone about the “pennies from heaven” at that time, and my sister had not been to my home since the accident. That was the most special penny of all the ones I found. I continue to find pennies in surprising places. They continue to make me smile and feel close to Lance. I continue to hear from many who have lost loved ones, of supernatural type occurrences. We all try to find logical explanations for strange occurrences, but we have no choice but to believe when the explanations defy reasoning. Dreams are fascinating—sometimes healing,

sometimes disquieting, as our minds work full time to resolve our issues and especially the death of a child, in my case. I firmly believe what I continue to read and hear from others, that our loved ones who have crossed over are able to literally visit us in our sleep, since our subconscious is more receptive to visits than our wakeful mind. The way one can recognize the difference between a dream and a visit is that generally the visit has no complicated theme. It is just short and sweet, has a different feel about it, but most importantly, it is a face-to-face contact with our loved one that leaves one feeling euphoric for days. I believe also that God gives us healing dreams. For weeks after Lance’s death, I was unable to dream about him at all, which I have read is very common immediately following the death of a loved one. The night after Lance’s death, the nightmares began with an explosion of one right after another. They were so horrendous that I had to finally seek treatment and was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Thankfully, the nightmares are now few and far between, but the dreams of Lance as a little boy are still frequent and very hard to recover from. There is much therapy in writing dreams out. [Editor: Here are just a few of the many that Susie has recorded on Lance’s memorial site.] Page 3 Continued page 4 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal

Lance Alverson Continued from page 3 5/20/06: Last night, I had the best dream about Lance so far. He was wearing a red plaid, flannel shirt and was sitting in a chair, leaning back. His hair was its usual curly, beautiful black. His demeanor was peaceful and happy. I was sitting on his lap. He was telling me he was okay and I asked him if he loved me and he said, “I love you” and he hugged me. This dream is the first one to give me peace. Susie and Lance 12/28/06: This entry is not a dream, but actually happened. A medium told me on 12/26/06 that Lance had told her he was going to come to me just as I was falling asleep and hug me. He explained to her what it would feel like, which was a slight vibration, similar to a massage chair. I thought the idea was fabulous but I absolutely did NOT believe that could happen, so I forgot about it. Well, on this date, just exactly as Lance had said, as I was about to fall asleep, I felt a vibration throughout my entire body and it lasted about one minute. If it had not happened to me, I would never have believed this possible. I was totally awake when it happened and I looked around the room, afraid to move for fear it would stop. (The hugs continue with Susie as well as other family members!) 2/4/07: I dreamed that a

girl named Mary sat by me in a restaurant and she gave me the following message, “You are to remember only the good memories and not the bad.” I also heard the Bible scripture, “I thank God for every memory of thee.” That dream felt more like a visitation, and sure enough, weeks later a medium told me that Lance told her he had brought a girl named Mary to me in a visitation/dream and that he sent her to deliver the message for me to remember only the good things about his life. I Volume 27, Number 4 Page 4 remember this as the highlight of all my dreams, since I was made aware for the first time of the power and influence our loved ones still have over us, in order to help with our healing. 1/9/08: I dreamed Lance was ill with Leukemia and we knew he was going to die, so we brought him home from the hospital. He had a really good attitude about it. We put him in bed as soon as we got him home. I asked him if he wanted me to try to heal him and he was okay with that, but then I realized that it would do no good because I didn’t even know I had healing capabilities until after his passing. Then I realized how fortunate we were that his passing was quick and that we did not have to watch him suffer for months with an incurable

disease. In other words, it could have been worse. 3/23/08: Last night, I dreamed that Lance was shipped to us in a funny shaped cage and he was about seven years old. He looked just like himself and sounded just like he did at that age. He was cramped in the small cage, but we were able to take him out and put him into a white van. The only problem is that he would never be able to leave the van if he stayed here with us. Once inside the van he was grown. I didn’t see him inside the van but I stood outside the van and called his name. He answered in the exact way he did at the time of his death. I knew at that moment it was best for him, to send him back from where he came since he would not be free living inside that van. He was willing to live in the van, but it was I who decided to send him back for his own good.... [Editor: Stories are from Susie’s website at www.lance-alverson.virtual-memorials.com. Please visit it to learn more about the “Pennies from Heaven,” her dreams, the other signs that have come from Lance and her continued com- munication with her son.] As you know, not everyone is ready to hear the extraordinary things I have to share. Fear is the culprit, of course. I understand fear. It took me nearly three years to get to this point and

to lose the fear of recording EVP. I was so afraid I would hear a voice shouting, “This is Satan and you’re mine” or something silly like that. As you know, the only references most of us have for EVP are Hollywood and horribly scary EVP from the Internet. Even some of my newer psychic friends have warned against it, so I really had to search deep within myself and ask for guidance before proceeding. I now know, after recording Lance saying “Mom” five times now that this is my new path and I’m hooked! I am using an Olympus digital voice recorder, VN-3100PC. Lance was a licensed recording engineer, composer and guitarist, so he has the knowledge and desire to guide me from the other side. Now that I have a child in spirit, I am open to any signs that my son may give in order to let us know he is still with us. I try to remain skeptical about any unusual happenings but neither do I want to exclude any possibilities of contact made by my son…. Perhaps my need to explore this topic is because I want to believe that my child has not disappeared from our lives. Continued page 12 EVP Recorded Without Microphone by Sonia Rindali, Institute for Advanced Research in Transcommunication Instrumental (IPAT) At the sunset of this year of 2008, I decided to turn around my life by trying acceptance in the restricted and highly demanding academic world. Background Fernando, Sonia’s

husband, transitioned in 2005 and is today one of her most frequent speakers from the Other Side. The laptop is a HP Pavillion with no built-in microphone-- just a port to connect an exter- nal microphone. Sonia Rinaldi Transcomunication needs the support of science, but scientists rarely show interest in paranormal phenomena due to fear of compromising their careers. Those who have the courage to do it choose various branches of research that unfortunately do not focus specif- ically in transcommunication. Therefore, we lack strong allies in our field. Although facing up to mastership and doctorate may not be easy, it is something that our friends from the Other Side see as a current necessity. As a good “soldier,” I don’t argue with the “Command.” During this hectic phase of studies and exams, a new phenomenon surprisingly came up, which I describe to you here. With affection, Sonia Rinaldi It is clear that all transcommunicators, by means of both old or new techniques, use equipment with microphones to record audio. ...the use of a microphone (preferably of good quality) has been a basic requirement. Hence our surprise at the chance occurrence [of recording EVP without a microphone]. Below is the account of the facts. Microphone with built-in preamp used during the recording. It was a gift from F. Malkoff. It happened during a routine recording in which I was asking the advise of Fernando, my deceased husband, about the Mastership’s admission test. Five seconds after I switched the microphone from

ON to OFF, and stopped the Adobe Audition program in which I was recording, I heard that Fernando kept talking, although in a muffed tone (no microphone to count with): “I’m there at your side!!!” (In Portuguese: “To aí do seu lado!!!”) I was very puzzled by this. A few days later, I decided to test the possibility of recording without a microphone. Evidence that the computer had no microphone, is that during the entire time I was speaking, and the microphone was off or unplugged, my voice was not recorded. The responses corroborate that these were trans-contacts. This suggests they were testing something new to them. The entire recording’s sequence of approximately three Fernando minutes of conversation are described below. There were sixteen coherent and intelligent responses, which discard the possibility of “chance” happenings. Technical procedure and results As usual, I recorded using two mixed male voices, both simultaneously, as background noise played into the room. This procedure is the same we teach in our workshops. Since I intended to test if it was possible for the Communicators to talk without using the microphone, I started with the microphone on for comparison. Such process (taught also in our book, Recording Voices) generates high, clean and clear voices. That is what happened with the three initial answers: Record # Microphone Recording 1 2 3 Connected - Turned On Connected - Turned On Sonia: “Hi Fernando, good afternoon, are you there?” EVP: “He is here!” Sonia: “Is Mr. German there?” EVP:

“He’s here!” Connected - Turned On EVP: “Confirm, I say, I came here!” With the microphone connected and turned on, the voices spoke in high volume, clear and clean. Without interrupting the recording, I kept talking and placed the microphone in the off position, which means, disconnected: Record # Microphone Recording 4 5 6 7 8 Page 5 Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off EVP: “I’m with you, friends, it is me!” EVP: “I prove I am with her!” EVP: “I had shown!” EVP: “I yell!” EVP: “I am going to record for you!” Continued page 11 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Some of My Grieving Clients, Like the Character in The Sixth Sense, Talk to Dead People by Rev Karen E Herrick, PhD Introduction Some of my clients have said to me: (cid:143) “Although I have always been very open to the idea of life after death, since my experience, there is no doubt” (cid:143) “Enjoy life and love. In the end of life, we are reunited with our family.” (cid:143) “I know we are ‘attached’ and ‘in communication with’ others whether or not they are physically present to us.” Many therapists and helping professionals do not know that William James, the Father of American Psychology, and his colleagues wrote a report in 1894 for psychologists who might be studying the phenomenon of hallucination. The experience of seeing ghosts or one’s loved ones after they die

was called a “sane hallucination.” The purpose of this report was to examine the evidence for telepathy which was described as “Thoughts and feelings in one mind, conveyed somehow otherwise than through the recognized channels of sense and knowing it is conveyed “across a considerable distance of space” (Sidgwick et al, 1894, p. 26). Hallucinations The dying or dead person usually appeared in familiar clothing, a cold shudder was reported to precede or accom- pany the sane hallucination and “cases of recognized appa- ritions occurring within twelve hours of the death, the death being unknown to the percipient at the time” suggests “that there is no discontinuity at death” (Sidgwick et al, 1894, pp. 398 & 401). “A large proportion of these hallucinations occurred in bed, many soon after waking, sometimes ap- parently caused by a dream” (Sidgwick et al, 1894, p. 397). Spirituality or having a spiritual experience, such as seeing one’s dead loved one, can be described as simply experiencing the spirit of your loved one, which is proof there is a component in a human being that is not physical. in Kelsey (2007, p. 74), he explains “that the Soul starts as the particle of energy, derived from God, which organizes the different parts of an atom.” As the Soul “gains experi- ence ... it grows larger.” This is what is generally known as “an old soul.” This spirit is called an apparition or ghost, studied by James and his colleagues in the late 1800s. An Archetypal

Model of a Ghost One archetype or original model of a ghost could be Jesus Christ who appeared with the traits from Greek and Roman literature as an embodied ghost that appears once or for a brief time after the death of the subject and performs bodily functions such as speaking and eating, displays pre-mortem wounds, is associated with an empty tomb and vanishes suddenly without leaving any physical trace. If the Bible had used the word “ghost” in the telling of the stories of Christ, perhaps Christians would be more comfortable with this phenomenon. Some older Bibles do use the term “giv- ing up the ghost” or “to give up the ghost.” In the March 2005 issue of The Christian Parapsycholo- gist, it was stated, “Spirits and ghosts have been reported since the beginning of documented history. The most com- Volume 27, Number 4 Page 6 mon are in dream states.... Ghosts appear to have an inten- tion and a motivational basis. Some motives for return, from a collection of cases from 1880-1900, in order of priority, are: (cid:143) Life cut short (cid:143) Unfinished business (cid:143) To give proof of survival (cid:143) Loneliness Client Stories Client stories about communication with their loved ones have been collected through PhD survey research, in indi- vidual and group therapy sessions and in spirituality groups. These spirituality groups are now run in order to aid clients in understanding these types of spiritual experi- ences, to aid in their grief work and to help

them further connect with their loved ones who have passed over. Central to my work is the concept of Pretergression, which emanates from my studies with Dr. Raymond Moody. Pretergression gives a purpose to the paranormal or spiritual experience which aids in the client’s mental illness. Whatever spiritual experience you have depends on your prior, ordinary concept of knowledge. Basically, what rituals, religious and/or spiritual beliefs you have from your family of origin make up your belief system? Then a new truth will come to you with your spiritual experience. A good example of this is a client who described a meditation she had, after Christmas where she “saw” The Three Kings and they bowed to-her. She stated this was-a- phenomenal feeling-having The Three Kings appear during her meditative state and that she was filled with so much energy that she felt “they” had come to tell her that she was worthy of esteem and they were bowing to the divine inside of her. (Her family-of-origin issue had been one of depres- sion because, for one reason, she had been born with the statement from her family that “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.”) The Three Kings has now replaced this family- of-origin saying in her mind and this spiritual experience is meaningful to her because she was raised Catholic and has a prior positive concept of The Three Kings. Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr. would call this an example of Pretergression, which is extremely helpful, I have found, as I

use it in the field of psychology. “Pretergression amuses and bemuses us, with glacial force; it thrusts new truths up above a landscape of old knowledge. Over the centuries, that is, the vocabulary of the alluringly unknown preter- gresses new truth out of old knowledge. And that justifies the paranormal (or the spiritual) as a source of new knowledge” (Moody, 1999, p. 125). Dr. Herrick specializes in Spiritual Psy- chology. She is the author of the book You’re Not Finished Yet. Her website and blog on spiritual experiences is at www.karenherrick.com. Rev. Karen E. Herrick, PhD In Pursuit of Proof by Miles Edward Allen The other evening when I was being interviewed on Forev- er Family Foundation’s Signs of Life radio show, Bob Ginsberg asked me what sort of test or experiment it would take to provide absolute proof of an afterlife. I wasn’t expecting that question, so all I could think of to say was that I thought the cases already on the books were proof enough. Here is what I wish that I had said. It is true that a large body of evidence exists for the survival of the personality after the demise of the physical body (see, for example, www.TheSurvivalFiles.com for details). This evidence is sufficiently strong to convince most open-minded seekers. But there is a big difference between “convincing” and “proof.” When discussing proof, one must always deal with the issue of science and the idea of scientific proof. In very simple terms, science is

the practice of a process called “the scientific method.” Essentially, this method consists of observation to gather facts, then devising an idea (hypoth- esis) as to how these facts came about. Next, the scientist reasons that if this idea is true, then certain other facts ought to be observable. To use an example from my high- school science class, people used to believe that maggots formed spontaneously in meat that was exposed to air. A scientifically minded person observed that flies always seemed to be around the meat before this happened. He had the idea (hypothesis) that the flies were laying their eggs in the meat and that if no flies could reach the meat, then no maggots would appear. So he devised a test (experimental method) by placing some fresh meat in a glass bowl with a fine mesh screen on top to allow air in but keep the flies out. Then he observed that no maggots formed in the meat. Thus his hypothesis was supported. Note that this is not the same as proof. In fact, “proof” is not a concept that science is comfortable with. When an idea (hypothesis) has been tested over and over and the results continue to support it, then it graduates from idea school and becomes a “theory.” But no theory is immune to revision if more facts are observed and better hypotheses are developed. In short, proof is a concept that is used in mathematics and in philosophy but not in science.

There really is no such thing as “scientific proof.” So what’s the problem then? Why do so many scientists seem to shut their eyes and refuse to see all the convincing evidence for life after death? The answer is not that there is no evidence. The evidence is, indeed, overwhelming. The problem is that there is no scientifically acceptable hypoth- esis. That is, no one has come up with a testable idea of how the process of surviving death works. Okay, so that’s where science comes into, and goes out of the picture. I say “goes out” because even if a reasonable hypothesis was developed, it couldn’t be tested. Why? Because for an experiment to be valid, all outside influenc- es must be controlled, and the actions of spirits, ghosts, deceased souls, and what-have-you, are beyond our con- trol. There is simply no way we can design an experiment that is immune to the influence of spirits. Thus, scientists face the catch-22 that if what they are testing for is true, their tests are not valid! As an illustration of this conundrum, think of a research- er who tests a medium by arranging sittings with strangers and recording how many correct pieces of information the medium can obtain from the deceased friends and relatives of the sitters. Then the researcher compares this score with that of other people (the “control” group) who either just guess about the sitters or are trained at eliciting information via “cold reading.” Trouble is, the

researcher cannot con- trol the spirits in either test. On the one hand, there is no way to guarantee that the sitter actually has any deceased acquaintances who cares enough to get in touch. On the other hand, there is no way to prohibit spirits from lending assistance to those making what they think are guesses. If the medium knocks and there’s no one there, while the control group is astrally inspired, then the results of the test will be critically skewed and no one will be the wiser. So, there is no such animal as “scientific proof.” Not now; not ever. Those who seek proof must turn to another cultural institution: our legal system. Using the legal ap- proach, to ask for proof is to ask to be convinced “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Imagine that you are a member of a jury in a criminal case. The fate of the accused hangs on your belief in his guilt or innocence. Do you say “guilty” and take the risk of condemning a possibly innocent man to a lifetime of im- prisonment, or do you say “not guilty” and take the risk of releasing a dangerous criminal to prey once more on soci- ety? Consider how certain you would have to be before you could comfortably make such a decision. This is the sort of “proof” we seek. Since everyone is biased one way or another, how much evidence is required to meet this criterion will vary from person to person.

Thus, proof is relative, not absolute. I started out as a skeptical materialist, but the facts I have learned have changed my thinking. I am now convinced “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the human personality can survive the change we call “death.” I also understand that everyone is not yet so convinced.… I’m working on it. Miles Edward Allen is the author of The Survival Files: The Most Convincing Evidence Yet Compiled For The Survival Of Your Soul and he is the site keeper for www.SurvivalTop40.com and www.thesurvivalfiles.com. Page 7 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Braden’s Birthday Celebration Braden with his mother, Vicki On September 17th, Vicki Talbott wrote on the AA-EVP message board, The Idea Exchange, that it was her son Braden Talott Lindholdt’s birthday. She wrote, “I would appreciate it if anyone hears from him, to let me know. When I asked who would be at his party, he said ‘Everyone.’ If you hear from them partying away, let me know, OK? Happy birthday, Braden, love you. Mom” Several members put Birthday wishes up on the board to Braden and then the party got started. Kerry Gage wrote: “Hey Vicki, I did a radio sweep and this is what I got. I hear, “Braden keeps the faith.” I hope you can hear it! Next, Karen Mossey wrote, “I did a recording for Braden’s 28th Birthday to see if I could get a message for his Mom…. You hear me say, ‘Happy Birthday Braden!’ And then you hear Braden say,

‘It’s my Birthday!’ It really sounds like Braden as I have heard him in Vicki’s recordings. I am sure Vicki will be so happy. Braden is a very strong communicator and I am so happy to have had him come through on his Birthday.” David Mierzwinski chimed in, “I just came across this thread and I did get mention of a birthday in a session on the 17th. I was just testing a new method and it’s nowhere near my birth date.” The recording says, ‘Thanks, Happy Birthday.’” Margaret Downey said she recorded several comments from Braden, and amongst the more noteworthy were, “Happy Birthday Mom” and “Famous!’ Vicki wrote, “Margaret, wow, that is fantastic! I can hear it all as you do and some of it even sounds like Braden and even Jim saying Braden’s name. Ha-ha! That is so funny about them saying famous. I remember a medium once saying that Braden was a star on the other side, playing with famous musicians like Bob Marley. I laughed my head off at that one, but who knows. She was a darn good medium, and he was a darn good lyricist and musician.… I can not thank … everyone enough. I have been in a slump lately as all of us go through at times and coming right at Braden’s birthday was pretty depressing. But you all came through for me and Braden. You sure find out who your friends are—all of you who wish us well, especially who

wish Braden well. I really appreciate it more than I can express. Thanks so much. This is so fun. I’m going to go back and listen a few more times!” The Next Step Gwen Randall-Young author of Growing into Soul: The Next Step in Human Evolution wrote, “What we see using our ordinary perception is a small fraction of what is actually there. The same may be true of our perception of reality. Perhaps one day the technology will exist that allows us to perceive all the other levels. I believe the technology already exists; we just do not know how to use it. That technology is our own consciousness. It is possible to expand our consciousness beyond three-dimensional reality. “I also believe that the souls of the departed are very much with us. They are with us in the same way as when they were alive, but separated from us geographically. The veil is very thin and very close to us. We can access the other side, but only in those moments when we let go of our own hold on the ‘here and now.’ We could even go so far as to say there is no separation, no ‘other side,’ except that which is created by our own limited consciousness”. From: Common Ground, “Life after Life,” by Gwen Randall- Young http://commonground.ca Proprietay House Proprietay House Robert Meyer has had success recording EVP at a 300 Year old New Jersey Governor’s House. He has gotten the voice of a

young child and says that others have also done this. Ghosts have been seen by volunteer staff. Proprietay House is located at 149 Kearney Avenue, Perth Amboy, NJ 08861. It was the residence of the Royal Governor William Franklin, son of Ben Franklin. The building is open to visitors every Wednesday. On a visit during Halloween Robert took a picture of a dogs face in the wood grain floor. It is quite good but too dark for us to print. For information on the Proprietay House see www.proprietaryhouse.org. Their email Volume 27, Number 4 Page 8 Sarah Estep Research Fund Research Questions The Sarah Estep Research Fund (SERF) was established to conduct a coordinated approach to targeted research that promotes a culture of cooperation and collaboration in this field. By “targeted,” we mean research projects that are directed at specific questions that, when taken as a collec- tive, help clarify the nature of these phenomena. A project begins with a research proposal that demon- strates the applicant’s understanding of “good science,” the ability of the applicant to perform good science, and most important, a research question that will clearly advance this field of study. Here is a group of related research questions designed to test assumptions in the working hypothesis about how EVP are formed. All of these concern typical EVP (not synthesized voice or formed from live voice). Audio Analysis Question: Are EVP energy limited? It is thought that short utterances are louder than long ones, and that very

long messages are formed by combining short ones with brief pauses. The average energy in each segment is thought to be about the same. Is this true? Question: Does the frequency and power spectrum of EVP depend the frequency and power spectrum of supplied noise? Research has indicated that EVP are a “thickening” of available background noise. Is this true? Question: Are EVP formed in a single component such as a transistor, or across a circuit, such as an amplifier? If so, which component? With multiple recording processes, an utterance has been shown to occur in only one. Question: What is the source of energy for EVP? As is shown in the above waveform, the normal amplitude of background noise is much lower than where EVP are formed, yet EVP are thought to be formed out of the background noise. Logically, energy must be added or saved in some way and then burst. These and other research questions are further explained in the Research section of aaevp.com. Please consider submit- ting a proposal. Please note that the AA-EVP will use proposals to seek research funding. Hemi-Sync Study The AA-EVP has conducted a study to determine whether or not the use of binaural synchronization can improve a person’s ability to record for EVP. Two audio CDs were used by each participant. One included a set of frequencies developed by The Monroe Institute (TMI) designed to facilitate meditation. The other was the same but included additional frequencies derived from analysis of a

function- ing trance-channel. (This technology is referred to as “He- mi-Sync” by TMI.) Here is a summary of the results: The short report is that the study did not produce evi- dence that use of binaural synchronization improves Qual- ity and Quantity (QQ) of EVP. Ten people participated in the study. All used the same type of recorder, but background sound, where they record- ed and when was optional. Six kits were returned complet- ed and two returned blank. As of this writing, two were not returned. An eleventh participant withdrew before begin- ning because they found the tones irritating. No obvious trend was evident after the resulting QQ of EVP was assessed and the opinions of the participants were considered. It was felt by some that they did better using their own recorder and using their more usual techniques. Most liked Hemi-Sync as an aid for meditation, although some found it too difficult to remain sufficiently alert to record during the allotted times. Conclusion Hemi-Sync is very effective in facilitating meditation. This experiment was inspired by the personal experience that it also facilitates mental mediumship. Not knowing what makes an effective EVP practitioner, it seemed reasonable to test whether or not what worked for mental mediumship would work for EVP, which is thought to involve essential- ly the same process. The results of this trial must be considered inconclusive. An improvement in QQ was not evident, which is the necessary measure; however, the experiment itself was not conducted in

a manner that allows reasonable assessment of the technology. Please see the “Recommendations” Sincere thanks to the volunteer practitioners: Vicki Talbott, Richard Shenk, Keith Clark, Leslie Taylor, Billy Deluca and Teri Daner for their hard work to complete the experiment. We learned much that will guide us on to new efforts. Recommendations The experiment should be conducted in controlled condi- tions in which participants can be monitored, and the re- sults can be more formally reported. The sound files lacked an induction process that might help a person have a better sense of the process and more effectively set listening levels. The record begin and end sounds were often missed. Participants should also be familiarized with Hemi-Sync for a time before beginning the series of experiments. It is our belief that binaural synchronization may be an effective tool for improving QQ, but it is clear that more qualified researchers need to be involved. Page 9 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Forever Family Conference audience. At the time, we may not have been sure about the exact words but we understand that the audience was able to hear that something was there. After the conference, Debbie was able to listen to what was on her recorder more closely and heard: Rhoda: “Hi George. How are you?” EVP: “Good” EVP: “Always together. Near you.” EVP: “We both love you” EVP: “Thank you Deb” Debbie: “Thank you George” EVP: “Love you” Debbie: “Say thank you” Rhoda: “Thank you” EVP: “Bye” At the time of

the conference we were unable to make out anything quickly from our recording but after listening to it later, we heard: (At the beginning of the tape before I speak.) EVP: “Some Employee’s upset” Lisa: “Can you hear my voice?” EVP: “Yes” Lisa: “Is there a Spirit here who will talk to us?” EVP: “Pick up Debby Silva” Debbie Asks about a Spirit team who might help us. EVP: “Kevin” Debbie Caruso The conference was held at a beautiful old mansion called The Woodlands. Employees feel that quite a few departed spirits frequent the place. We will never know if the “Some Employee’s upset” was a comment about a present day employee or something that happened in the past. Attendees at the afternoon luncheon were treated to a demonstration of mediumship by Suzane Northrop. After that, their tables were visited by the many mediums who donated their time to raise funds for the FFF. Claude Swanson, Pfran and Bob Ginsberg, Lisa and Tom Butler The November 8th Forever Family Foundation (FFF) con- ference held in Long Island, New York was a wonderful experience. The event was not only well attended but was extremely well organized. Phran and Robert Ginsberg, who are the directors of the FFF, and their many helpers, are to be congratulated on an outstanding event. Dr. Claude Swanson, author of The Synchronized Universe, explained his model of reality designed to explain how we experience reality, and how we exist in one of many versions of reality. According

to his model, which version we experience depends on which aspect of reality we are in agreement with … or synchronized with. It is an interesting but complex theory and we recommend that you read his book if you are interested in metaphysical cosmologies. We presented some of the outstanding EVP evidence received by AA-EVP members and how they demonstrate important characteristics of EVP. Different ways in which the phenomena have occurred like residual energy EVP and music were demonstrated, along with the many techniques used to receive ITC images. This was followed by a quick “how to record” session and live demonstration. We are thankful that Debbie Caruso was in attendance. She conducted a live recording session with a member of the audience named Rhoda, whose husband George is now on the other side. Debbie was able to pick up the message: “Always’s together. Near you,” and play it for the Suzane Northrop (left), Cathy Towle, Rebecca Anne LoCicero, Lynn LeClere, Janet Mayer, Laura Lynne Jackson, Angelina Diana, Doreen Molloy, Bobbi Allison, and Kim the Happy Medium Volume 27, Number 4 Page 10 EVP Without Microphone Continued from page 5 My voice was not recorded when recording with the microphone connected but turned off, but what was record- ed referenced the fact that Fernando remained in contact with me. “I’m with you” is an ordinary expression. Not satisfied in testing the microphone just turned off, I had the idea of disconnecting it totally. I took the plug out of

the microphone jack and kept talking. My voice keeps not being registered, but even with a slight lost in quality, Fernando kept confirming that he was still in contact. It’s curious that once more they refer to the equipment they use and call it a “phone.” Record # Microphone Recording 9 10 Unplugged EVP: “Phone only to friend” Unplugged EVP: “I can talk!” There was slightly more deterioration of voice quality with the microphone unplugged. I next reconnected the microphone cable to the audio input, but maintained it in the “off” position. Record # Microphone Recording 11 Connected - Turned Off EVP: “I am confirming” I consider the next of this trans-contact the most important of all the recording. The microphone was connected but turned off as Fernando began to speak. I turned on the microphone when he said (in Portuguese): “We did a test” (“FI”(zemos um teste)). Exactly on the “fi,” was the moment in which I switched the microphone on. Record # Microphone Recording 12a 12b Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned On EVP: “Through time I’m there - ” EVP: “ - we did a test!” The importance of this recording is the fact that it demonstrates that the spiritual friends were in contact with me at all times, with or without the microphone. Fernando started to say the phrase with the microphone off and finished with it on. This means that he said the phrase independently of the microphone being on or not. Record #

Microphone Recording 13 14 15 Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off Connected - Turned Off EVP: “Can see you!” EVP: “I can: This is a contact!” EVP: “I’m going one channel down!” Technical Point of View This subject is of paramount importance, because it helps is to understand how the communicators put their answers on our equipment. We asked a number of our technical volunteers to explain how these recordings without microphone, with microphone off and microphone unplugged, could have occurred. The friends/volunteers who collaborated with opinions and information were Alexandre Borges and Santa Isabel (Bahia, Brazil), Reinaldo and Nativo Oliveira (São Paulo, Brazil), Jacques Arongaus (Canadá), Claudinha and José Luiz Bet (Paraná, Brazil), who wrote this summary. to determine whether Bill Weisensale conducted a study (www.aaevp.com) designed the phenomena of paranormal voices are of acoustic or electromagnetic nature (or neither). Colleague and trans-communicator Alexandre Borges noted that these phenomena have occurred without the normal input through a microphone during sessions done by Italian Marcello Bacci (See Bulletin 21: “In Italy: An Unpublished Event Breaks A Hypothesis.” www.ipati.org/boletins/boletins5-en.htm), and are also mentioned in the first books about ITC by Dr. Konstantin Raudive.... therefore, we are not innovating. The difference is that we now have more control over both recording and analyzing EVP due to the present advances in technology. Where the Recordings Occur In our book, Espírito: o Desafio da comprovaçã (Ed. Elevação (sold out)), we mention broad studies, which lead to the conclusion that the voice phenomena

are neither acoustic nor electromagnetic. We describe the reasons and gave audio samples in the CD that came with the book. Our colleague José Luiz explains: “Since a computer is digital equipment, it only manipulates audio as a digital signal. … One talks, and the microphone captures. The captured sound is analog. It enters the sound card via microphone where it is transformed into digital. Only after this change is a computer able to handle it.… The audio must be analog to be broadcast by the speakers because they can only reproduce the sounds in this manner.… if you want to hear the sound from the computer, … a D/A (digital-to-analog converter) converts the digital sound back to analog. This means that the only two points in the computer that we have analog audio are the input and output of the sound card. In Sonia’s recording, there were analog sounds (in the environment), that is, her voice detected by the microphone plus the background noise generated within the computer itself (formatted by Adobe Audition) and sound exiting from the laptop. Personal Interpretation It is possible manipulation of audio by the Communicators occurs directly in the sound card, or their manipulation may also occur while the audio is still in analog form, that is, before its conversion into digital form. Another possibility is that somehow the communicators are able to manipulate the bytes of digital audio. Continued page 12 Winter 2009 Page 11 AA-EVP NewsJournal EVP Without Mic Continued from page

11 The voices were recorded with the microphone turned off, but still connected to the computer, although there was noticeable deterioration of the quality of the trans-contacts. In this, there is a detail that I deem important: the micro- phone used by Sonia is the amplified type. The importance is that when a common microphone is turned off, … any sound that is present is directed to ground, and nothing will enter the sound card…. However, the microphone had a built-in pre-amplifier that has an audio electronic circuit.… [Turning off the microphone may only stop the power and may not short the signal to ground.] It would be convenient to execute recording tests with a common microphone to evaluate the results. The Communicators may have used something at the microphone, and it is also possible that they had acted the entire time directly in the sound card. Only the latter would explain the recording with the un- plugged microphone. Finally, to better understand how our Communicators manipulate the sound, it is important to at least understand how the audio works within the computer. It is my under- standing, given recent experiments mentioned in this bulle- tin, almost all audio happened as direct interference in the sound card within the computer. I welcome the opinion of other technicians and engineers, because we will only have better conditions to help our Communicators by gaining better understanding of the process. [Editor: Sonia is expected to speak at the 2009 AA-EVP conference in Los

Angeles, California. She will provide a demonstration of her technique for EVP. She teaches this technique to others, who are in turn, successful with EVP. Since she lives in Brazil, this is a rare opportunity for you to learn first hand her approach to recording EVP.] Debunking NDE Explanations One explanation offered to explain Near-Death Experienc- es (NDE) is that medications given to dying persons cause the experience. However comparative studies show that patients who receive medications report fewer NDEs than do those who receive no medication. Another explanation for the NDE is hypoxia, which is decreased oxygen or anoxia, which is a complete lack of oxygen before death. However anoxia and hypoxia produce frightening halluci- nations and lead to agitation quite unlike the peaceful near-death expe- rience. In addition studies of persons near death have shown that those who have NDEs do not have lower oxygen levels than those who do not have them. From: Shift No 17, “The Mystical Impact of Near-Death Experiences,” by Bruce Greyson, Institute of Noetic Sciences. Dr. Bruce Greyson The Atlanta Big Circle Group by Tony Golembiewski [Editor: this is probably the first formal development group with an emphasis on the Big Circle to form out of the common interest of AA-EVP members. Consider forming a group. The Member Registry is intended to help locate nearby members. It is not a requirement that you have AA-EVP members only.] The Atlanta EVP interest group began on July 20th as a meet-and-greet for local AA-EVP members

and other peo- ple in the community interested in EVP and ITC. It was hosted by Martha Copeland at her home. Twelve people attended, including several of the mothers from Martha’s Big Circle group. It was a big success. The company was great and conversations lively. The culmination of the evening was a group Big Circle session where the participants tried to make contact with lost loved ones using digital voice recorders. A number of people got meaningful messages and interesting results. A proposal was made that we keep up the momentum and make this a regular thing. It was decided, considering the diverse nature of the group, to expand the focus to include more than group EVP sessions. It also made sense to give it direction. It was not enough to just confirm the reality of the EVP phenomena; [it was decided that] we should seek to understand how these things were possible and work on ways to improve the technology. August The August meeting was also well attended. In addition to a group session, there was also a demonstration of video ITC by Phil and an EVP box by Jim. Jim’s box was purchased from Radio Shack. It produced feed- back noise by scanning the AM radio band. He had samples of fascinating communications he had captured. Looking down on a man looking who is looking up (middle) and a man with a black hat (bottom.) Phil’s setup involved a webcam attached to a laptop computer. Later the

results were viewed for spirit images using software that allowed for frame-by-frame analysis. An experiment was done during the group EVP session. Phil did a parallel ITC recording and the results were compared with the results from a target DVR. The results were interesting but inconclusive. Lance Alverson Continued from page 4 Some say “I must let go.” To that I say, “No thank you, not now, not ever”. I will keep my child as close to me as possible, at all times. I talk to him, I visit his accident site and play the guitar and sing for him there, I pray for him and I feel him with me at times. God and I hold Lance close. I will continue mothering him until I join him in spirit, at which time (or perhaps before) he can tell me to “back off” if he so wishes. I have no other choice. I simply can’t stop being Lance’s mother. He is part of my very soul. Volume 27, Number 4 Page 12 Digital Video ITC Keeps Getting Better Lance Reed Lance has posted more video loop ITC examples in the AA-EVP Idea Exchange. He used a Samsung 32 inch TV set that has a cathode ray tube, rather than a liquid crystal or plasma display, and Samsung VP-D371W Mini DV digital cam with X34 optical zoom. As a reminder, in this technique, the video camera is pointed at the TV screen and the output of the cam- era is connected

to the input of the TV set, so that the camera can “see” what it has just re- corded in a con- tinuous loop that sometimes looks as if one is falling into infinity. A human face Lance said in a post to the Idea Exchange that, “I feel the video loop has a lot to do with the way the pictures come out, because of its very fast and blurry nature. I feel they could be distorting the actual picture. “However I do believe that if the signal is strong on the night of a session, the pictures can come through pretty clear with less distortion. I like to call these Class A pic- tures (Like with EVP), but unfortunately these Class A pictures only come through every so many months apart. “I feel maybe time delay on the other side of transition could be a factor in this. I believe there is no time and space on their side, so by transmitting a picture it could not reach us till next month (just a thought). “I also believe with this method, physical mediumship could play a part. I am no medium, but I get better results when my mood is high. Full-frame human face “I get a lot of pictures that could be translated into faces, but I put most of these down to pareidolia. This, we must be aware of while running the loop. There are a lot of possible misinformed pictures (or video noise) that can

be taken as communication, so my theory is, if I don’t see a picture with first glance, there is no communication within that video frame, only video noise and lots of pareidolia (assigning meaning where there is none).” [Editor: Lance will conduct a demonstration of video loop ITC at the 2009 AA-EVP conference in Los Angeles.] Philip Akin Phil has posted impressive video loop ITC examples in the Idea Exchange. The fact that he is using a webcam and laptop, making it an all-digital portable setup impressed us. He told us that: “I started actively recording for EVP in May of 2006. Early this year, I purchased a 24-bit PCM audio recorder for my EVP experiments. While reviewing the audio files made with the new recorder using Adobe Audition’s spectrogram view, I noticed some peculiar anomalies. I noted what appeared to be faces embedded in the spikes of the audio signals. These were not just patterns of noise that vaguely resembled faces; these were quite detailed and well formed little faces that showed up in the spectrogram view. They would appear in some sections of the audio and not in others, so were not a consistent phe- nomenon. “After receiving these images for a while, I joined the AA-EVP in an effort to meet others and to find out more about the faces in the noise. I was placed in contact with Keith Clark whom I was happy to find out had also been experimenting and receiving im- ages using

spectrogram software. “After seeing video ITC images posted by other researchers in the AA-EVP Video ITC forum and also on Keith’s website ITCBridge.com, I began to won- der what would happen if I inten- tionally tried to receive images with Video ITC. At the time I couldn’t afford a camcorder so I started experimenting with sever- al inexpensive webcams. After doing some more research on we- bcams on the internet, I found the Philips SPC900NC webcam to have some potential as an experimental camera. This is mainly because the full automatic mode can be turned off and adjust the settings manually. A person from chest up “In July of this year, I started actively recording with the SPC900 and continue to use it for all of my Video ITC experiments. I initially experimented a great deal with adjusting the camera settings in an effort to provide the right texture and color balance for the features to form in. Currently, the images seem to be steadily improving as more recordings are made. It’s been both a humbling and exciting experience to see so many differ- ent faces and figures appearing in the images received so far.” Phil told us that he positions the camera about five inches from the computer screen. Here are the set- tings he is currently using: Laptop Computer Dell Latitude D820 15.4” WUXGA LCD Screen Laptop Screen Settings: Screen Resolution: 1600x1200 Color Quality: Highest: 32-bit Page 13 A person from chest up Continued page 14 Winter 2009

AA-EVP NewsJournal ITC Getting Better Continued from page 13 Philip Akin (Continued) Webcam Philips SPC 900NC Color Webcam Tripod: Joby Gorillapod Webcam Settings: Distance from Laptop Screen: 5 inch (12.7cm) Flickerless Image: Off Digital Zoom: On Digital Zoom Level: 1.2 Picture Enhancer: On Picture Enhancer Level: 60% Trimension demo mode: Off Full Automatic Philips SPC 900C Webcam |Control: Unchecked Frame Rate: 30fps Auto Exposure: On Auto White: On Brightness: 40% Contrast: 43% Gamma: 25% Saturation: 27% Black & White: Off Backlight Compensation: Off Mirror: Off Laptop with webcam mounted above keyboard Big Circle Recording Dates Please think about recording with the Big Circle on or close to January 8 and 22, February 5 and 19, March 5 and 19, and April 5. Then go to the Big Circle area of the Idea Exchange and share what you have recorded. Many mem- bers have recorded messages intended for other members, so share your recordings with the group! Our recording dates actually fell on Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2008. Russian EVP A Russian news story claimed that a scientist received a EVP message two days after two planes crashed in Russia. While the Federal Security Service was still clearing the accident and trying to figure out what happened, the scientist received a message that said, “That was a terrorist.” The story went on to say that the EVP was a sensation and was replayed on Saint Petersburg Radio. The information was officially confirmed several days later. From: http://newsfromrussia.com/science/mysteries/19-02- 2008/104119-nether_world-0 Upgrade for EVPmaker

Stefan Bion has released a new version of his program, EVPmaker. The program is designed to “chop” an audio file into very small segments, and then using a random process, rearrange those segments as a new sound file. In effect, a “raw” sound file, such as a recording of broadcast radio or recorded speech is broken into fragments too short to be understood as words, put in a bucket, briskly stirred and the segments selected one at a time to be pasted into a new sound stream. The result is a staccato output as if the program has a serious stutter. The recent enhancements of EVPmaker are described in detail at www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index_e.htm. In short, these are: (cid:143) Auto-cut function: In a normal speech signal, the volume is changing continuously in the rhythm of the speech. With this function, the loaded WAV signal can be automatically provided with cutting marks at the positions of the volume minima. The idea behind this is that for the random-controlled playback this will result in a more natural speech rhythm than it would be possible with cutting marks set at arbitrary positions or at equal distances. Perhaps this will make it easier for the assumed “EVP partners” to form their intended messages. (cid:143) The ability to use a hardware random bit generator: Although EVPmaker functions well with software- generated pseudo random numbers, it might be advantageous to use “true” random numbers. Perhaps it’s possible for the “EVP entities” to influence these true random numbers more

easily than the deterministic pseudo random numbers (which in my opinion are actually unchangeable). EVPmaker already offered an option to use the soundcard input as a random source. From version 2.4 on it’s also possible to use an external the hardware random bit generator connected computer’s parallel printer port. The HW-RBG is described at www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/random-bit- generator/index_e.htm to (cid:143) A new “live audio source” feature: Instead of a previously loaded WAV file, the signal of an audio source (such as a radio etc.) connected to the sound card input can also be “chopped” in real time. For this, the signal is being recorded continuously into a storage area of predefined and simultaneously played back random-controlled. Since the recording this buffer storage constantly overwrites the previous recording, the sound of the chopped material will change all the time. (e.g. 10 seconds), length into Stefan Bion is the developer of EVP- Maker. For the German Association for Transcommunication Research (VTF), he is also the editor of the VTF-Post and www.vtf.de webmaster. Volume 27, Number 4 Page 14 The Communication Bridge by Christine Jenkins I am the founder of CJ EVP Research and I started my website (www.cjevpresearch.org) over three years ago after the passing of my sister. The reason for this was that I conducted research on line about Life after Death and stumbled across the Big Circle website hosted for the AA-EVP by Martha Copeland. I was amazed at the possibility of actually being able to communicate with our loved ones after

they pass. After speaking with Martha quite a few times via email and recording my first EVP that was a message for Martha from Cathy saying, “Doja is a punk,” I was hooked. There was no way I could have known that this was how Cathy (Martha’s daughter that passed in 2001) referred to her dog Doja. It truly was an eye-opening experience and I am thankful to Martha and Cathy for showing me that this is in fact a wonderful way to communicate with our loved ones on the other side. About two years after starting my website, I started a forum where members that had lost loved ones could come and be amongst friends and know that they were not alone. I had worked with Debbie Caruso quite a few times doing recording session via the phone and conference room. This was a wonderful experience and one I thoroughly enjoyed. To hear those messages coming through… no words can describe. (See www.1800heaven.com/ ) I also loved the idea of the Big Circle and how they would actually get together with others and record at a certain day and time. This was when I decided to do something like this for members on my forum, but of course, there was no way we could all get together psychi- cally considering we come from all across the USA and UK, so I decided to incorporate the phone recording and the Big Circle idea in one. We began conducting weekly recording

session via con- ference room every Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. CST. The group is called “The Communication Bridge.” This has been such a positive experience for me and others. The messages we have received have been incredible and very validating. Members have asked questions like, “What was the nickname you used to call Grandma,” to which we heard the correct answer on playback even though the rest of us did not know the correct answer. You can find many conference rooms on the internet. The one that I am using now is called Basement Ventures (www.thebasementventures.com). It is completely free and easy to use. After registration, a telephone number is issued that guests can call to enter the room. (This is not a toll- free number.) The administrator has all of the tools needed to maintain order, see who is in the room and assure that the group has privacy. The EVP session can be recorded with a stand-alone recorder or with a computer that is connected to the circuit. In that way, all of the participants can listen to the playback of the session while still in the conference room. I use the device shown here to attach to my cordless phone and then into my digital recorder. Once everyone at the conference has had a chance to ask three questions of their loved ones and we have listened to the recordings, I save all of the clips separately and if there is a valid answer to their

questions, I post them on my forum in an area designated for the Communication Bridge sessions. An important thing that we do is have a photo of all our loved ones. I have a page with all their photos on it that is emailed out to all who will be participating and we have this open while we are doing our session. I find this to be a very important key when it comes to recording for loved ones. It helps everyone at the session to focus their energy on that person. It is very important (in my opinion) to use some form of protection during these sessions, asking for the white light etc. Another important thing to remember when there are so many participating is to be in a positive mood when entering the conference. If you’ve had a bad day, it’s best to skip that week so as not it affect the outcome for others. Wireless Phone Recording Controller, This has truly been an amazing journey and without the help of people like Tom & Lisa Butler, Debbie Caruso, Martha Copeland, Vicki Talbott, Karen Mossey, and of course, Margaret Downey and many more that I have not mentioned but appreciate just as much, this would not be possible for me. I am thankful for all they have taught me over the years and of course for showing me that our loved ones do in fact go on and are with us always, and giving me the opportuni- ty

to bring this message to others that otherwise may not realize just how close we are to Heaven. Website: www.cjevpresearch.org New Australian EVP/ITC Forum AA-EVP members Ingrid Irwin Rob Smith and Dale Hewey have informed us of a new discussion board for Australia. This new forum is an online community for individuals that are interested in all aspects of EVP and ITC research and development. They welcome all participants from the beginner or enthusiast to the seasoned researcher. It is good to see more dedicated groups in other countries. We encourage the support of this new board by AA-EVP members. See: www.austevp.com/ Page 15 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Train Victim's Cell Phone Kept Calling Loved Ones After He Died On September 12, 2008, Metrolink Train #111 crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, California. The Metrolink commuter train had a red signal light but failed to stop. Charles Peck had flown into Los Angeles from his home in Salt Lake City that morning for a job inter- view. Charles had gone through some rough times in recent years, including a divorce, but things were looking up. Charles, 49, had fallen in love again, with longtime friend Andrea Katz of Westlake Village. He had asked her to marry him but she said that they would have to wait until they were at least living in the same state. Peck had been trying for six months to find a job and do just that. He hoped that this job

interview would be the one that made their dream of being together a reality. Charles Peck Charles had taken the Metrolink train for the hour and thirty-minute ride from bustling Union Station to quiet little Moorpark, where Andrea was to meet him. Andrea was driving to the station in Moorpark to pick him up when she heard a news report on the radio of a commuter train crash in Chatsworth. It said that there were some deaths and her heart sank as she knew Charles was on the train. Andrea rushed to the scene of the train wreck. Charles’ family, his parents and siblings who also live in the Los Angeles area, joined her at the crash site. As Firefighters worked to rescue survivors, Charles’ cell phone kept call- ing family members. The first call went to his son in Utah, and as Andrea told KTLA news: “[His son said]...my dad just called me and I [Andrea] said, what did he say? Is he okay? Where is he? [His son said] He didn’t say anything, the phone rang and it said dad.” As firefighters worked to rescue survivors, family mem- bers said Charles’ cell phone kept calling his son, his brother, his stepmother, his sister and his fiancée. But when they answered all they heard was static. And when family members called back, the calls went straight to voice mail. In all, family members say they received about thirty-five calls from his cell phone through the night. Katz said, “We

were yelling in the phone, hang in there baby. We’re gonna get you out. You’re gonna be okay.” Although there was no trace of Charles at the crash site, nor at any hospitals, the calls gave the family hope, they meant he might be alive somewhere on the train. At one in the morning, Saturday, after most of the rescue effort had ceased for the night, a search team dug frantically into the wreckage, using Charles’ cellphone signal as a guide. They found him at four in the morning. He was dead. Katz said that the phone calls helped the family get through the night. “The intellectual side of my brain thinks gee, it was a computer malfunction and then the emotional side of my brain feels that it was just Chuck letting us know that he knew we were scared for him.” Investigators say they may never know how the calls were made because Charles’ phone was never found. They also say his body showed no sign that he lived even for a short time after the crash. From: KTLA News, September 17, 2008; From the Los Ange- les Times: September 17, 2008 Kate Linthicum; Picture from KTLA Streaming Video ITC Keith Clark is now hosting a live stream of audio/video twenty-four hours a day. This stream has a live chatroom and is giving participants the opportunity to work towards establishing a radio bridge with spirit, while viewing and participating in live ITC experiments and demonstrations. The streaming video

(live video) is a spectrograph display of live voice. Keith is experimenting with it as a form of visual ITC and has found convincing human faces in the display. The goal is to establish real- time television-like communica- tion with spirit. One of the key areas will be the demonstration of capturing spirit images using sound and live spectrograph software. For more information, please visit the Live Feed section of the ITC Bridge forum. Example of a feature from a spectrograph. board Keith’s at www.bestpsychicnetwork.info/group/itcbridgeradiocollaboratio at streaming nproject, www.ustream.tv/channel/itc-bridge-radio-project. source video and the is is Volume 27, Number 4 Page 16 Jonathan Anne Carissimi was close to her nephew, Jonathan Patrick Deni- son who had just turned nineteen on March 17, St. Patricks Day. He died on April 5, 2008. Anne’s Mother raised Patrick and asked Anne if she would try to record his voice. Ann bought a recorder and did a recording ses- sion in Jonathan’s room. She wrote, “I had the sense that he was hiding. So I asked, “Jonathan could you be hiding in here? Please talk now.’ His reply was, ‘How’d you notice.’ The voice sounds like his voice and many friends and relatives all agree that it’s Jonathan! Jonathan Patrick Denison “Every since then, I have been recording EVP. I have an excellent success rate of about 80%. I have been recording for many members of my community, friends, family and business owners. When I get EVP messages on my record- ing, I make them

a CD. Many times they know the person or we can trace them back thru public records and historical society records.” “I have been recording in my own home for about four months… My resident sprit is Harold Hess and his five year old daughter, Jessica. He has told me that they died from the flu, but they are not dead. I asked him why I can’t see him and he just says, ‘I don’t know, why you can’t see us.’ I have learned many things about Harold and his family over the past four months. He is a very friendly person. He is very compassionate to my feelings and prob- lems. How’s that for a friend?” News From Members Jutta Lebman of the German VTF wrote: “I have reread the small book about EVP, Meine Gespräche mit Verstorbenen (My Talks with the Dead), that was published by Joachim Steudel in 1990. He is a private EVP researcher from the former communist republic ‘DDR’ (East Germany) and he stated therein that he had EVP contacts even in the eighties, from 1982-1990, with remarkable replies from the entities to his special questions, for instance about health problems and messages from old school friends. “His daughter was an acoustic expert in the former East German Republic and his family living in East-Berlin was fully open-minded towards spiritual matters. He stated that his wife was able to establish horoscopes. Furthermore, he reported about some friends in Poland and in the German city of

Leipzig at the time of the old government there, with whom he had exchanged his EVP results and they even had carried out EVP sessions there. This is very surprising that he was able to do this at that ‘sinister’ period there. “Moreover, he had contacted the renowned Humboldt- University of East-Berlin at that time prior to the re- unification of the two German countries, to technically analyze his special EVP voice examples and they had submitted to him their evaluations on a scientific basis. Furthermore, the books by Friedrich Jürgenson and Dr. Konstantin Raudive and other classic esoteric books were well known to his family. I wonder how they managed to get these ‘forbidden’ books at that time, as these countries belonged to the former Soviet East Block and had been totally separated from nearly all influences from the Western culture.” AA-EVP Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP. You may specify that your donation is used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older

to be an AA-EVP member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved on?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Page 17 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal Researcher Reports (cid:143) Cindy Blake directs the Michigan Ghost Watchers and reports they have been able to capture several Class A EVP using techniques suggested at aaevp.com. (cid:143) Edwina Bentinck did an EVP recording to get informa- tion on the murder of Brianna Denison. She shared it with us many months ago. After the murderer was identified, Edwina

went back over the recording and realized that she had two really big hits. She had recorded, “Jim did it”—James Biela has been arrested for the crime. She also received, “Works at the university”—Biela was working on construction at the university near where Brianna was abducted. (cid:143) Suzanne Burt wrote that she is with the Michigan Ghost Watchers and that she asks specific questions regarding the location and history of a site using a digital recorder and has recorded many Class A EVP. (cid:143) Martha Copeland asked, “BC (Big Circle), please speak into my recorder” during one of the virtual BC recording sessions, and received, “Love, you,” “Phil” and then “Dawn.” She hopes someone recognizes Phil and Dawn. (cid:143) Debbie Caruso was recording with a lady who had lost her husband twenty-three years ago. She was telling the husband that they could hear him and to speak into the recorder and recorded: “That’s a miracle. I miss you!” (cid:143) Teri Daner was trying to make out one of her recordings. She wrote, “I thought I heard ‘Grandpa is here. How do you know me,’ then I started to think, this is wonderful, Geoff loved his Grandpa Daner, they loved to go fishing, and he passed when Geoff was fourteen. I wonder if it is actually, ‘Grandpa is here. He is with me!’” (cid:143) Margaret Downey was doing a session with a friend in October when she recorded, “Hello, this is Jim.” She posted it on the board hoping that it

was Braden’s friend, Mary Jo Gran’s son, Jim. Mary Jo later confirmed it was Jim by writing, “Wow, that’s great. I have been missing my son so much it hurts. Thanks so much for posting this it makes me feel better…” (cid:143) Linda Gray shared an EVP that says, “I’m not on earth.” She feels it is the voice of a spirit guide who protects her. (cid:143) Neil Kiernan was recording at the grave of a fellow named Marich, Neil said into the recorder “Mayrich,” and recorded the EVP “Marich,” after his voice. Neil said, “My mispronouncing names has come in handy. This is about my tenth capture where they correct me.” (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann told us she uses a Hannover microphone directly connected to her recorder and that her recorder is connected to her world receiver radio. Using Chinese and Arabic radio transmission for background noise, she recorded (translation from German to English) “Speak- ing [is] evidence [of] survival.” She also recorded “Now Fidelio [Köberle] already sending many greetings.” Köberle was VTF president for a long time. He sent EVP greetings to members at a recent VTF meeting. (cid:143) David Mierzwinski was doing an experiment by tying his recorder to a string and swinging it over his head. He recorded, “Use the Planetoid.” (cid:143) Karen Mossey conducted a special recording session on her son Rob’s Birthday, October 23RD His birthday hap- pened to fall on a Big Circle recording night. Karen wrote, “It was his 31ST birthday. It’s been

eight years but these days are always so hard, as so many of you know. Anyway, although not perfectly clear I hear him say “Happy Birthday!” It made me smile!” (cid:143) Christopher Scott asked members on the board to listen to a radio sweep recording. He felt that it sounded like his technician Patrick was in trouble. Margaret Downey listened to it and wrote, “Wow, Chris. Maybe I’m imag- ining this. I’m hearing “Patrick’s with Margaret’s hus- band.” … My husband had a heart attack on Thursday. I brought him home last night. He will have to take five medications daily for the next two-to-five years, but otherwise he’s doing great, thankfully.… It makes sense that they’d get this message out to you, since you and I share the same techs and I haven’t been recording.” Vicki Talbott heard the same thing that Margaret heard. (cid:143) Thomas Sebastian wrote that he uses white noise or scrambled foreign speech and has had good success with every session. (cid:143) Vicki Talbott asked for the Big Circle and recorded “Cathy, she protects us,” and “I know Braden. He’s my friend.” (cid:143) Leslie Taylor recorded, “This is Joe.” She wrote that it sounded just like her son. Applying Science to Investigations Under the guidance of David Schumacher and Cindy Hein- en, the Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group has been conducting research in conjunction with haunt- ings investigations. The Anomalous Research Department is comprised of a small group of SWPRG members that: (cid:143) Conduct research

which uses environmental energy to control speech synthesis. This approach to EVP has been demonstrated to work in a real-time conversation mode. See: www.digitaldowsing.com. Margaret Downey - Assorted Radio Sweep Techniques and Water Reflection ITC Margaret is a Certified Practitioner and has made many media appearances. She has been highly successful capturing visual ITC images of loved ones for others, using light reflected from moving water. See: www.ITCdeadpeople.com and www.downeyitc.com. Garrett Husveth - The Forensic Analysis of EVP Garrett is a court-approved expert Forensic Examiner dealing with computers and other digital media. He is also in the pro- cess of becoming a certified Audio and Video Forensic Examiner. He is currently applying the latest technologies to ghost, poltergeist, Survival and Electronic Voice Phenomena research See: www.hauntednewjersey.com . Alexander MacRae (Scotland) – Analyzing EVP Alexander worked for NASA with speech and hearing technology on manned spacecraft. Author of EVP and New Dimen- sions, Alec has successfully captured EVP in a emf and acoustically screened room. He is amongst a very few ITC research- ers to receive grant money for EVP/ITC research, and has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals. Lance Reed (United Kingdom) – Receiving ITC pictures using the Video Loop Method Lance has been highly successful in using digital equipment to capture video loop ITC using the Klaus Schreiber method. He is also one of the first to show that this can be done in the field, and will demonstrate how it is done. See: www.lanceitc.com. Sonia Rinaldi

(Brazil) – My Method of Getting EVP from Loved Ones In 1980, Sonia founded an ITC group in Brazil and has written 8 books on the subject of EVP/ITC. She has won 3 internation- al prizes for pioneer inventions such as the use of telephone to make contacts and new techniques in videos. Sonia has 3 cases in which Paranormal voices have been authenticated to be the same as the person when they were alive. See: www.ipati.org. Vicki Talbott – Recording EVP through Traditional Means Vicki is a Certified Practitioner and was an early member of the Big Circle with her son, Braden. Braden is a frequent commu- nicator active in the 4Cell experiments. She has made a number of media appearances. And Tom and Lisa Butler – Receiving ITC from Light Reflected off Crystals The Butlers are Directors of the AA-EVP and have worked with a number of techniques for visual ITC. Light reflected from crystals has produced features that have, on occasion, been recognized by loved ones. See www.aaevp.com Julie Beischel, Phd and Mark Boccuzzi, Windbridge Institute – Update on EVP Research Study Funded by the AA- EVP Windbridge Institute is the recipient of the first Sarah Estep Research Fund grant to study real-time EVP conversations. They will report on the results of this first study. See www.windbridge.org. Michael Parry and Marti Baker, Mediums - Demonstrating both Messages and Spirit Drawings Michael is able to deliver an accurate message from across the veil, while Marti is drawing people,

often recognizable as the person understood to be speaking from the other side. See: www.spiritart.com. Page 19 Winter 2009 AA-EVP NewsJournal 2009 Conference About the Conference Top researchers from around the world will show you their special techniques in obtaining and processing the phenomena of EVP/ITC. This is a “How To” conference with workshops for anyone looking for their first communication or those looking to improve their present results. See live EVP/ITC sessions - come meet like-minded people and get motivated! Conference Housing Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel 5400 West Century Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90045 1-800-937-8461 (310) 216-5858 A block of rooms has been reserved for this conference. Room rate before June 11, 2009: $115 single or double (+15% sales tax) Add an additional $10 per person for 3rd or 4th person. There is a 48 hour cancellation policy. Parking: $12 per day self-park, $26 valet Call the above number and identify yourself as attending the AA-EVP conference. Or, you can register at: www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/ res?id=0808143854&key=4A9A3 2009 Conference Registration Fees Member Non-member Advanced Registration January 1 to June 10, 2009 $150 $200 Registration after June 10 and at the door If seats are still available $230 $270 We are sorry but advance reservations are not refundable Conference Calculator Number of attendees:_____ If you are not a member of the AA-EVP and wish to join Annual Dues General Membership Sustaining Membership International member not receiving NewsJournal via email $30 $100 $40 Use the membership form on the back of NewsJournal or

go to http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm Annual Membership Dues Donation to help AA-EVP (Tax Deductible in USA) $______ $______ $______ There is a link from www.aaevp.com Total Registration Amount Register early because there are a limited number of rooms. Use the form below to pay with check or go to http://aaevp.com/resources/aa-evp_conference.htm to use Paypal.com Registration Form Name:_______________________________________________ Address:_____________________________________________ Payment Total Registration Amount: $ Form of Payment: City:________________________ State: ______ ZIP: ________ ______ Check or money order in US funds to the AA-EVP. Country: ____________________________________________ Credit Card (type): Phone: (___)_______________ Evening: (___)______________ Email: ______________________________________________ The AA-EVP does not sell, share or exchange member or attendee personal information. You may also use the online form at http://aaevp.com/resources/aa-evp_conference.htm Account #: Exp. Date: Security Code: Signature: Volume 27, Number 4 Page 20 American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 28 Number 1 Spring 2009(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0) The conference scheduled for June has(cid:0) been cancelled. This issue was written(cid:0) before the decision to cancel was made.(cid:0) The AA-EVP is fast approaching. We heard on the news(cid:0) today that some airlines are lowering their summer fares by(cid:0) 50% from last year. The hotel has free shuttle service from(cid:0) the airport and they have given us a rate of $115 per night(cid:0) on their wonderful rooms. The Hotel has great food, but if(cid:0) you need to save money on meals, there is a Del Taco(cid:0) directly across the street with a Denny’s less than

a block(cid:0) away. There is a Starbucks in the lobby of the hotel for you(cid:0) Starbucks addicts – yes, Debbie Caruso, we are talking to(cid:0) you! We invite you to take a break from the social, political(cid:0) and economic tension that is so much a part of our lives(cid:0) these days, to journey with us into the world of spirit. You(cid:0) will see first hand that(cid:0) there is more to life than(cid:0) the material world.(cid:0) Martha Copeland has(cid:0) presented at our last two(cid:0) AA-EVP conferences. With the help of her daughter Cathy(cid:0) and the Big Circle Spirit Team, she will show attendees(cid:0) how we can continue to communicate with our loved ones(cid:0) now on the other side. Martha’s communication with Cathy(cid:0) is proof that death is not the end as scientists seem to think.(cid:0) Let her show you how she goes about recording for EVP.(cid:0) Martha has also recently begun meeting with a group in(cid:0) Atlanta that gets together to not only record EVP but also(cid:0) to record for phenomenal pictures. She will offer important(cid:0) tips about starting a group in your community.(cid:0) Phil Akin is a participant in the Atlanta group and has(cid:0) been very successful in recording phenomenal features(cid:0) using a video loop. He was kind enough to step in to(cid:0) demonstrate how to use a video loop for visual ITC in place(cid:0) of Lance Reed, who cannot attend due to issues at home.(cid:0) One of the surprises of the conference comes with a(cid:0) presentation by Garrett Husveth.

He is a(cid:0)court-approved(cid:0) forensic examiner working with digital media and has had(cid:0) a long-time interest in EVP. His presentation is on the use(cid:0) of the latest forensic software with EVP and his mentor,(cid:0) Tom Owen, has agreed to present with him. Mr. Owen is(cid:0) the person who authenticates for the government whether(cid:0) the voice on a tape is really the voice of(cid:0)Osama bin Laden!(cid:0) Vicki Talbott has been communicating with her son(cid:0) Braden who actually began their relationship after his death(cid:0) by leaving messages on her answering machine. Braden(cid:0) likes working with EVP and has worked with his mother to(cid:0) conduct research in the 4Cell EVP demonstrations. Vicki(cid:0) is able to record meaningful EVP with several types of(cid:0) digital recorders. She will share her knowledge with you(cid:0) and help you to succeed in conducting your own recordings.(cid:0) Bill Chappell is the owner of Digital Dowsing and devel-(cid:0) oper of techniques using changes in environmental energy(cid:0) to control a speech synthesis process for voice formation.(cid:0) We have had articles in the NewsJournal about the Para-(cid:0) normal Puck, which is one of his products. He has prom-(cid:0) ised to give us an update of important research he has been(cid:0) conducting as part of his product development, along with(cid:0) providing a live demonstration using the Puck. Bill is(cid:0) taking a new approach to EVP research that we think you(cid:0) will find interesting.(cid:0) Margaret Downey is one of the people we turn to when(cid:0) someone needs help with EVP. She has shown that she

can(cid:0) record evidential messages with just about any type of(cid:0) technology. Margaret is using the radio sweep method to(cid:0) bring through messages(cid:0) from loved ones and has(cid:0) also gotten some amazing(cid:0) results with synthesized(cid:0) voice technology. She is(cid:0) often able to hear what those on the other side are saying(cid:0) during a recording session. She has also produced very(cid:0) evidential photographs of deceased people using light re-(cid:0) flected from moving water. She will be sharing all of this(cid:0) with us!(cid:0) You may know the name, Chris Fleming. He was a(cid:0) co-host on the TV series(cid:0)Dead Famous(cid:0) and gets great EVP(cid:0) even on a crowded TV set. He will be giving a live demon-(cid:0) stration and sharing his tips with you on how to record. He(cid:0) will also be giving advice to those of you wishing to work(cid:0) with the media and be on television.(cid:0) Cindy Heinen and David Schumacher have agreed to(cid:0) discuss how their organization, Southern Wisconsin Para-(cid:0) normal Research Group, applies science in their field in-(cid:0) vestigations. We have been impressed with their respect for(cid:0) the scientific method, and have previously published one of(cid:0) their research articles. Cindy is also on the SERF advisory(cid:0) board. Their report is on an important subject because the(cid:0) credibility of your evidence has a great deal to do with the(cid:0) way that you collected it.(cid:0) While the AA-EVP has been working to become a world-(cid:0) class research organization, Alexander MacRae has been(cid:0) diligently acquiring research grants and publishing impor-(cid:0) tant results for

years. He is hands down, the English-speak-(cid:0) ing world’s most effective researcher in our field and the(cid:0) one we turn to with questions about how people hear and(cid:0) understand EVP. He will provide a demonstration on how(cid:0) to properly process sound files for EVP.(cid:0) Long-time members have been able to watch Debbie(cid:0) Caruso develop into a very able practitioner – one of our(cid:0) four certified practitioners – and an effective spokesperson(cid:0) for our field.(cid:0) Continued page 18(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to provide objective evidence that we survive death in an individual conscious state.(cid:0) Winter 2009(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Anonymous(cid:0) EVP Research(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Lloyd Bradshaw(cid:0) Ralph Thomas(cid:0) Sustaining(cid:0) Members(cid:0) Susan Iannicca(cid:0) Christopher Scott(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Robert Crimmins(cid:0) Lorelie McMorrow(cid:0) Kathleen Stein(cid:0) Geoffrey Tilga(cid:0) Yvonne Whybra(cid:0) Lisa Yesse(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Contents(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0)..............................................................................................................................1(cid:0) Message from Kevin(cid:0)...............................................................................................................................3(cid:0) Amazing Mediumship Demonstration at the 2009 AA-EVP Conference(cid:0).........................................4(cid:0) The Importance of Soundscape Recordings for Field Investigations(cid:0)by Cindy Heinen(cid:0)...................5(cid:0) Why EVP is Plural(cid:0).................................................................................................................................6(cid:0) Communicating with Cathy(cid:0) by Martha Copeland.................................................................................7(cid:0) Chris Fleming(cid:0).........................................................................................................................................8(cid:0) The Video-loop ITC of Phil Akin(cid:0)..........................................................................................................8(cid:0) Forensic Analysis Presentation at the AA-EVP Conference(cid:0)..............................................................8(cid:0) Remembering the Beginning(cid:0) by Vicki Talbott......................................................................................9(cid:0) Alexander MacRae to Speak at the AA-EVP 2009 Conference(cid:0).........................................................9(cid:0) Jerome(cid:0)...................................................................................................................................................10(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0)..................................................................................................................10(cid:0) Debbie Caruso’s(cid:0) Hearing Heaven(cid:0) by Muffett Jones...........................................................................11(cid:0) What is Synthesized Speech?(cid:0)...............................................................................................................12(cid:0) Testimonial for Vicki Talbott(cid:0)..............................................................................................................12(cid:0) Things to Do in Los Angeles(cid:0)................................................................................................................13(cid:0) Limits of a Digital Recorder(cid:0)................................................................................................................14(cid:0) Voice-to-text Software(cid:0)..........................................................................................................................14(cid:0) Research Volunteers Needed(cid:0)...............................................................................................................15(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation PSA(cid:0)........................................................................................................15(cid:0) An Incredible Personal Proof(cid:0) by Sonia Rinaldi..................................................................................16(cid:0) Information on the(cid:0)“Kevin”(cid:0)

NewsJournal will eventually be added to the online Archive, and selected articles appear at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found(cid:0) at(cid:0)aaevp.com/membership.htm(cid:0) or by writing to the AA-EVP. A membership form is at the back of this(cid:0) NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00.(cid:0) International members(cid:0)not(cid:0)receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of(cid:0) membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors),(cid:0) Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions(cid:0) expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Page 2(cid:0) Messages from Kevin(cid:0) We sent out a call to members to help and several imme-(cid:0) diately responded. Debbie Caruso set up a time with Lorie(cid:0) for the two of them to do a telephone recording session.(cid:0) The two did a recording and it went well. When they asked(cid:0) if he would give a message to his mom they received,(cid:0)“Hi(cid:0) Mom,” “I’m perfect” “Love you” “I’m happy” and also(cid:0) “Lorie, I love you.”(cid:0) Margaret Downey also did a(cid:0) recording asking for Kevin and(cid:0) Lorie wrote, “I just listened to(cid:0) the recordings from Margaret.(cid:0) The first is faint, but on the sec-(cid:0) ond one, after she asks

if he can(cid:0) talk to me, I can hear him say,(cid:0) “Yeah.”(cid:0) It’s just the way he(cid:0) would say it and the tone of his(cid:0) voice. I also hear(cid:0)“Cheers”(cid:0) and(cid:0) “Kevin.”(cid:0) My husband who never(cid:0) can seem to hear EVP also hears(cid:0) it. I played it for mom and my(cid:0) sister-in-law over the phone and(cid:0) they also hear it.”(cid:0) Kevin(cid:0) Kevin was even able to leave a message on Lorie’s(cid:0) answering machine. The funeral home had left a message(cid:0) regarding an urn that she had asked about. Right after the(cid:0) message, Lorie reported a strange metallic sound, a buzz-(cid:0) ing noise and then a faint voice saying(cid:0)“Love you.”(cid:0) Lorie’s sister Kim has gotten evidential messages in(cid:0) dreams. She told Lorie about a dream in which she was at(cid:0) his house which she accurately described though she has(cid:0) never been there. She also correctly described other events(cid:0) that had taken place in the house since Kevin’s death. Kim(cid:0) then said that she had gotten a message for Lorie and didn’t(cid:0) know what it meant. Kim said that she was sitting on the(cid:0) ceramic tile on the floor and Kevin sat down next to her. He(cid:0) had tubing, like the kind that is used in the hospital for air.(cid:0) He put it to his mouth, and then said, “Lorie made the right(cid:0) choice.” He said his passing was very peaceful.(cid:0) Kevin with his sister, Lorelei McMorrow(cid:0) This validation was a godsend for Lorie; she wrote, “I(cid:0) was sitting on the floor next

to Kevin trying to revive him(cid:0) when the paramedics arrived. They said they could intubate(cid:0) him, that is put a tube down his throat and try to get his(cid:0) vitals going again,(cid:0) Continued page 4(cid:0) Kevin on his motorcycle(cid:0) In December, we received an email from Lorelei McMor-(cid:0) row asking for help from members in getting messages(cid:0) from her brother Kevin. She was so emotional, she felt(cid:0) unable to tape and yet desperately wanted confirmation for(cid:0) her and her family that Kevin had made it across okay.(cid:0) Lorie wrote, “(cid:0)My younger brother Kevin began feeling(cid:0) ill in June. In July, we had to call paramedics twice when(cid:0) he collapsed from internal bleeding due to a large gastric(cid:0) ulcer. In early October, he was diagnosed with an inopera-(cid:0) ble malignant tumor. I took him to a doctor that practices(cid:0) alternative methods and had a treatment that could cure(cid:0) him. But he needed to get off pain medication that he was(cid:0) taking first and was supposed to meet with an oncologist(cid:0) yesterday to see about radiation to shrink the tumor.(cid:0) “Kevin came over every day to visit with Mom and Dad(cid:0) and myself. Dad was at his house yesterday morning help-(cid:0) ing him in his yard. When he didn't show for his 1:00(cid:0) appointment, the cancer institute called me. Mom was(cid:0) worried since he wasn't answering his phone, and hadn't(cid:0) come over yet, so dad and I went to check on him. I found(cid:0) him lying on the floor next to his

bed. His ulcer had(cid:0) suddenly begun to bleed. I tried to find a pulse and to(cid:0) resuscitate him. I held him and pleaded with him not to go,(cid:0) but finally realized that he already had. When the paramed-(cid:0) ics arrived, they said it had probably been an hour, but still(cid:0) asked if they should attempt anything. I had to make the(cid:0) decision that I thought Kevin would have wanted. He had(cid:0) had a lot of pain, was facing overwhelming medical debt,(cid:0) and I think he was too tired to fight anymore.(cid:0) “Kevin and our grandpa, Archibald McClellan, were(cid:0) very close when he was growing up. I know that Grandpa(cid:0) was there to meet him. I’m hoping that in time, he can help(cid:0) Kevin to send a message that he’s alright now. It would(cid:0) help Mom and Dad greatly. [A story appeared in the Fall(cid:0) 2005 AA-EVP NewsJournal about him. He was able to(cid:0) project his voice onto a blank cassette tape that Lorie had(cid:0) without her even recording](cid:0) “It’s been so hard, trying to help him recover, being so(cid:0) hopeful and then to lose him suddenly yesterday. He was(cid:0) only forty-six years old.”(cid:0) Page 3 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Messages From Kevin(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) but they thought he’d been gone for about an hour. I looked(cid:0) into his eyes, and knew he was gone and wouldn’t have(cid:0) wanted that. He did look peaceful. Yet, it was an agonizing(cid:0) decision to have to make, and a small part of

me wondered,(cid:0) what if? Kevin’s telling Kim in this dream that it was the(cid:0) right decision, was such a comfort! Kim hadn’t known(cid:0) anything about that either.”(cid:0) We have mentioned just a few of the many experiences(cid:0) the family has had in receiving signs and messages of(cid:0) Kevin’s survival and love. But even the picture the realtor(cid:0) took of Kevin’s house for an MLS listing is very different(cid:0) from most listings you see. Kevin had his own tile business(cid:0) and a friend had helped him build his house.(cid:0) Kevin’s house taken by a realtor after his transition. There are(cid:0) several noticeable face-like features in the picture but the one in(cid:0) the window seems very clear. See Inset at left.(cid:0) The picture shows interesting sun flares and Lorie wrote,(cid:0) “(cid:0)Whether it’s an orb or the sun reflected, it served the(cid:0) purpose of drawing our attention to the window … Mom(cid:0) and I see the straps of a tank-top type shirt, like Kev often(cid:0) wore. Also, do you see any letters, an “S,” “O” or “X”? I(cid:0) see an X on the bottom part. Mom thinks he is wearing a(cid:0) shirt that we have a picture of him in. It says “Chicago(cid:0) White Sox” on it, and under that there’s an “SOX,” but(cid:0) vertical. I also think there may be more than one face.”(cid:0) Lorie told us that, “Kevin was well-liked by everyone. I(cid:0) don’t think he had an enemy in the world. He was one of(cid:0) those rare individuals who, by

their easy-going nature,(cid:0) never found reason to be angry with anyone. He was very(cid:0) modest and unassuming, and had a great Irish sense of(cid:0) humor. He could always find the humor in any situation.(cid:0) Growing up, I don’t remember him ever getting mad,(cid:0) teasing me, or complaining.”(cid:0) Lorie has been able to record on her own and has gotten(cid:0) many personal confirmations from Kevin. In one record-(cid:0) ing, she got(cid:0) “It’s me,”(cid:0)“Let family know”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“Annie.”(cid:0) Annie is her Mom and Dad’s dog, whom Kevin cared(cid:0) deeply for. Annie had seemed very mournful and the fam-(cid:0) ily had been taking extra effort in throwing balls to her like(cid:0) Kevin had done every single day that he came to visit his(cid:0) parents.(cid:0) Lorie says that when her mom and dad went on trips,(cid:0) Kevin would stay at their house and watch Annie. “For a(cid:0) long time, the light over their dining room table has come(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 on at night, especially when talking about Grandpa or when(cid:0) Mom has especially been missing him or Grandma. Dad(cid:0) has done everything he could to ‘fix’ the light, including(cid:0) checking the wiring, but finally gave up. When Kev was(cid:0) staying at their house, I’d go over during the day to take(cid:0) Annie out while he was working. I’d always joke with him(cid:0) about leaving the light and the fan on. He insisted he(cid:0) always turned it off, but it would be on again the next day(cid:0) when I went over. Since Kevin has

passed, the fan came on(cid:0) once by itself. I told mom he did that so we’d know it was(cid:0) him, not Grandpa! The other night the light came on about(cid:0) 2:00 in the morning. Kev always sat at the dining room(cid:0) table under that light when he came over to visit.(cid:0) “He had told me a couple months ago that he wasn’t(cid:0) afraid to die. Mom said he had told her once when she kept(cid:0) telling him, that he was going to be fine, that she shouldn’t(cid:0) worry either way, because hadn’t she always taught us kids(cid:0) when growing up, to believe in an afterlife? I think she(cid:0) didn’t know what to say to that at the time. As much as she(cid:0) believed life continues on the other side, she certainly(cid:0) didn’t want Kevin to go there yet! When I think of it, Kevin(cid:0) had to have a lot of faith and a strong belief to accept his(cid:0) passing in the way that he did and he looked very peaceful(cid:0) when I found him that last day.”(cid:0) .(cid:0) Amazing Mediumship Demonstration at(cid:0) the 2009 AA-EVP Conference(cid:0) identity of Michael and Marti Parry(cid:0) are an evidential medi-(cid:0) umship team with a set(cid:0) of amazing talents. Mi-(cid:0) chael, a British medium,(cid:0) is able to provide de-(cid:0) tailed information such(cid:0) as names, dates, occupa-(cid:0) tions and personal traits(cid:0) that leave no doubt as to(cid:0) loved(cid:0) the ones coming through.(cid:0) Marti is a mediumistic(cid:0) artist who draws recog-(cid:0) nizable portraits of the(cid:0) loved one

while Michael(cid:0) is receiving messages(cid:0) from them. She is able to(cid:0) do this without ever hav-(cid:0) ing been given a descrip-(cid:0) tion or having seen them(cid:0) personally or through(cid:0) pictures.(cid:0) We are fortunate to have Michael and Marti give a(cid:0) two-hour group demonstration at the conference. Michael(cid:0) and Marti will also be available for personal readings(cid:0) during the conference at a special discounted price of $100(cid:0) for 1/2 hour and $180 for a full hour. To secure your(cid:0) appointment, call Marti at 310-539-5646 with prepayment.(cid:0) Page 4(cid:0) The Importance of Soundscape Recordings for Field Investigations(cid:0) by Cindy Heinen(cid:0) Conducting an EVP session seems simple enough. You(cid:0) start recording, ask some questions and later listen to your(cid:0) recording. The simplicity, affordability and seeming abun-(cid:0) dance of evidence collected using this method is likely why(cid:0) it is so popular within ghost hunting groups and often(cid:0) offered up as the sole evidence of a haunting. Throughout(cid:0) the years, I have conducted EVP sessions in a wide variety(cid:0) of venues and have found that, in many instances what was(cid:0) initially thought to be a recorded paranormal sound or(cid:0) voices, turned out to be something very normal. There are(cid:0) many things that can cause false positive EVP to be col-(cid:0) lected during a field investigation. In the(cid:0)Southern Wis-(cid:0) consin Paranormal Research Grou(cid:0)p(cid:0) (SWPRG), we(cid:0) continue to fine-tune our EVP protocol in an attempt to(cid:0) create a controlled environment and reduce the occurrence(cid:0) of false positive EVP.(cid:0) The most recent addition to our EVP protocol is

a tech-(cid:0) nique I call “soundscape recordings.” Simply put, sound-(cid:0) scape recordings are done solely to collect a recording of(cid:0) the ambient noise and sound of a location. While many(cid:0) ghost hunting groups take a variety of baseline readings at(cid:0) an investigation site, I suspect it occurs to few groups to(cid:0) take the same care in understanding the acoustic nature of(cid:0) the buildings or in rooms where they plan to conduct EVP(cid:0) sessions.(cid:0) Several years ago the SWPRG did a winter investigation(cid:0) of a restaurant. Hearing voices and unusual sounds was a(cid:0) concern of the client. We did a number of EVP sessions at(cid:0) this location accompanied by soundscape recordings. Dur-(cid:0) ing the EVP analysis of one of the lower-end digital record-(cid:0) ers, we found we had captured a sound that sounded like an(cid:0) appropriate, single word response to a question that had(cid:0) just been asked. I played the recording for the clients and(cid:0) they all interpreted the sound as a voice. But on comparing(cid:0) this recording to backup recordings and the soundscape(cid:0) recording it was determined that this word was merely the(cid:0) poorly recorded sound of a snow plow dropping its plow in(cid:0) the parking lot outside the back of the restaurant. In addi-(cid:0) tion to clarifying this recording, the soundscape recording(cid:0) indicated how well sound traveled through this multilevel(cid:0) building. These dedicated recordings picked up outdoor(cid:0) noise, the sounds of people talking and moving floors(cid:0) above and below as well as the sound of compressors in the(cid:0) basement

and water running. When just concentrating on(cid:0) the ambient sound of this building, I was surprised at just(cid:0) how noisy a silent vigil could be.(cid:0) The use of soundscape recordings in field locations has(cid:0) supported my thought that normally occurring sound can(cid:0) easily be misinterpreted as EVP. This is not to say that EVP(cid:0) cannot be captured on investigations. I just suggest that,(cid:0) because of their diversity of location, field investigations(cid:0) offer challenges to the capture and verification of EVP(cid:0) recordings. There are several reasons why having a sound-(cid:0) scape recording can help overcome some of these chal-(cid:0) lenges and be beneficial when reviewing data after an(cid:0) investigation.(cid:0) When we hear sounds in our daily life, we do not deter-(cid:0) mine what these sounds are based just on our hearing, but(cid:0) rather, we also rely on visual and tactual (vibrational) cues.(cid:0) When we lack these cues we concentrate more on the sound(cid:0) and possibly putting more meaning into a mundane sound(cid:0) than it warrants. Unless one makes a concerted effort to(cid:0) encode every detail of an investigation to memory, the(cid:0) other stimuli from the location are easily forgotten. Being(cid:0) psychologically hardwired to fill in the blanks left by this(cid:0) incomplete picture, it is completely human to fill in these(cid:0) blanks with partial or sometimes wrong information. While(cid:0) still not complete, a soundscape can be another tool one can(cid:0) use to get a better overall view of what is normal, sound(cid:0) wise, for a location. This gives the natural, audio backdrop(cid:0)

for the location from which one can start to listen for EVP.(cid:0) This simple technique can help answer important ques-(cid:0) tions about a location such as: what are the normal sounds(cid:0) at this location; how does sound carry throughout the room;(cid:0) how does sound travel from one room to another or from(cid:0) one building to another; does outside noise leak into the(cid:0) location; and, how do these normal sounds record onto a(cid:0) particular recorder?(cid:0) Today the majority of ghost hunting groups use con-(cid:0) sumer grade, portable digital recorders for EVP. While(cid:0) these recorders are affordable and portable, they are not(cid:0) designed to produce high-fidelity recordings. Issues in A/D(cid:0) compression-limited sampling, bit rates and circuitry of(cid:0) new and old digital recorders make for generally noisy and(cid:0) sometimes frequency-compromised recordings. It has been(cid:0) speculated that it is the noisiness or chaos in these recorders(cid:0) that make them superior for EVP recordings. Whether one(cid:0) accepts this idea or not, it is important that investigators are(cid:0) familiar with the recording and replay ability of their par-(cid:0) ticular recorder and how it will record in the room where(cid:0) they plan to do EVP sessions.(cid:0) As mentioned above, a soundscape recording can reveal(cid:0) how sound can carry throughout a building. Sound is(cid:0) pressure waves that travel in three dimensions from the(cid:0) source of the sound. The ear converts these pressure waves(cid:0) to electrical impulses and sends them to our brains where(cid:0) they are interpreted as sound. We often think of sounds as(cid:0) traveling through air but

sound can also travel as vibra-(cid:0) tional waves in solids and liquids. Most interesting is that(cid:0) sound can start out traveling in the air, transfer to a solid(cid:0) becoming what is called a structure-borne sound and then(cid:0) become an airborne sound again.(cid:0) Sound can also travel faster through solids and liquids(cid:0) than through air or gas. The density of a substance directly(cid:0) effects how fast sound travels in it. Sometimes an old(cid:0) Western movie will show a guide or tracker listening to the(cid:0) railroad track to detect the low vibration of an oncoming(cid:0) train. The sound waves of the train travel quicker through(cid:0) the densely packed molecules of the iron and steel of a(cid:0) railroad tie than through the air.(cid:0) Page 5 Continued page 6(cid:0) Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Soundscape Recordings(cid:0) Continued from page 5(cid:0) Think of the dense materials that can make up a building -(cid:0) wood studs and joists, stone, steel, concrete and brick. All(cid:0) of these building materials have the ability to conduct(cid:0) vibrational waves that can be transformed into airborne(cid:0) sound in a different location in the building.(cid:0) Reflection and refraction of sound waves can also affect(cid:0) how sound reaches our ear or microphones. While proba-(cid:0) bly not of great concern if recordings are done in a con-(cid:0) trolled lab setting, in field recordings these should be(cid:0) considered. In field work, EVP sessions can be done in a(cid:0) wide variety of locations, from duplexes to vast vacant(cid:0) penitentiaries and hospitals, lighthouses on the water to(cid:0) outdoor

locations such as burial mounds and cemeteries.(cid:0) Taking into account how sound can be affected in each of(cid:0) these unique locations is important when making sound-(cid:0) scape recordings of these locations.(cid:0) We are all familiar with sound reflection. Sound waves(cid:0) reflect off a surface and can cause, depending on the size(cid:0) of the room or building, a reverberation or an echo. A(cid:0) reverberation would most likely happen in a small room(cid:0) where the reflected sound reaches the ear quickly but(cid:0) causing the sound to be prolonged. Echo would happen in(cid:0) a larger location where the reflected sound will take longer(cid:0) to reach your ear and be heard as a second sound. I have(cid:0) listened to many suspected EVP that were captured during(cid:0) uncontrolled sessions, recorded in cavernous location such(cid:0) as prisons and asylums. The echo in these recordings is(cid:0) very apparent and it is hard to say if the claimed EVP is(cid:0) authentic or just layers of reflected sound that was easily(cid:0) ignored and then forgotten when the recording was made.(cid:0) Refraction is the bending of sound waves when they(cid:0) enter a medium and pass to another medium or when the(cid:0) medium the wave is passing through experiences varying(cid:0) properties like temperature changes. The speed of sound is(cid:0) not a constant and depends on the type of medium and(cid:0) temperature of the medium it is traveling through. I grew(cid:0) up in a farming community and my family’s house was(cid:0) located between the crop fields of several dairy farms. I(cid:0) couldn’t

see the other farms but in the early morning and at(cid:0) dusk I could easily hear not only the sounds of cows(cid:0) waiting to be milked but also the clear voice of the farmers.(cid:0) If you have been on a lake in the early morning, you may(cid:0) have experienced this refraction phenomenon. The air over(cid:0) the lake will be kept cool by the coldness of the morning(cid:0) water but as the sun begins to heat the air just above the(cid:0) water, a thermal inversion is created. The warmer air al-(cid:0) lows the speed of sound to be faster in the warmer air and(cid:0) some sound waves are bent back towards the ground. This(cid:0) creates a natural amplification of a faint sound and some-(cid:0) one talking far away can seem to be speaking into one’s ear.(cid:0) Knowing that these natural sound phenomena exist helps(cid:0) us sift through the audio landscape of a location. A sound-(cid:0) scape recording done in an acoustically live location should(cid:0) be scrutinized for potential reflected sounds. Sound refrac-(cid:0) tion, on the other hand, can typically be thought of as an(cid:0) outdoor audio event. Many individuals and paranormal(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 groups do outdoor EVP sessions and, while sound refrac-(cid:0) tion might not be a huge issue, it is a natural occurrence that(cid:0) should be kept in mind.(cid:0) Care in equipment choices, recording protocols, and EVP(cid:0) analysis is of great importance when looking to supply(cid:0) evidence. The responsibility to the clients is to supply them(cid:0) with evidence

that has been checked for accuracy and is(cid:0) able to stand up to rigorous scrutiny. Applying the scien-(cid:0) tific method to EVP research helps achieve these goals but(cid:0) the data one collects following this method can be limited(cid:0) because the results cannot be based on just a belief that a(cid:0) recorded sound is an EVP. Soundscape recording, while(cid:0) adding yet another step to what can be time-consuming(cid:0) analysis, is an important tool that can support evidence and(cid:0) make it all that more convincing and intriguing not only to(cid:0) the client but to the science community.(cid:0) Cindy Heinen is an EVP Specialist for the(cid:0) Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research(cid:0) Group (SWPRG). She uses a systematic,(cid:0) science-based approach to Electronic(cid:0) Voice Phenomena (EVP), and has con-(cid:0) ducted research projects for the SWPRG(cid:0) Anomalous Research Department. She has(cid:0) co-authored a number of research papers(cid:0) and is an advisor for the AA-EVP research(cid:0) program.(cid:0) See(cid:0)www.paranormalresearchgroup.com(cid:0) Cindy Heinen(cid:0) Cindy Heinen and David Schumacher will be pre-(cid:0) senters at the AA-EVP 2009 Conference.(cid:0) Why EVP Is Plural(cid:0) It is common to find Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)(cid:0) written as EVPs, EVP’s or EVPes. As should be expected,(cid:0) Wikipedia editors have decided it is “phenomenon” which(cid:0) is singular, but the first usage in the article is “phenomena”(cid:0) which is plural. So what is correct?(cid:0) When Sarah founded the AA-EVP in May 1982, she(cid:0) named it with the plural as “American Association of(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena or (AA-EVP).” In truth, we(cid:0) did not talk with her about the plural vs.

singular decision(cid:0) because we knew her choice was correct. However, there(cid:0) does seem to be some confusion, so let us explain our logic.(cid:0) EVP is the presence of anomalous, intelligible speech(cid:0) recorded in, or produced by, electronic devices, and for(cid:0) which no currently understood physical explanations can(cid:0) account. This is a slightly updated definition intended to(cid:0) accommodate real-time techniques. Most commonly, EVP(cid:0) are formed by changing available sound into voice, but(cid:0) they are also formed by intelligent and possibly paranormal(cid:0) control of speech synthesis processes, and by random(cid:0) selection of speech fragments. These are three very(cid:0) different means of producing EVP, and involve different(cid:0) phenomena—thus the plural form.(cid:0) It is correct to say “EVP are” rather than “EVP is.” When(cid:0) people speak of EVP as a field of study or practice, it is(cid:0) correct to say “EVP is.” In the future, when you are about(cid:0) to write “EVPs,” remind yourself that it is simply “EVP.”(cid:0) Page 6(cid:0) Communicating with Cathy(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0) (Excerpts from the book(cid:0)I’m Still Here(cid:0))(cid:0) my niece, Rachel, was anxious to see the note for herself,(cid:0) so she dropped by. She recalled that Cathy had written the(cid:0) note a while back, but she had placed it inside a notebook.(cid:0) To this day I don’t know why Cathy’s door was open on(cid:0) that day and the note left on the floor. It remains a mystery!(cid:0) At the same time, this note seemed to answer an ongoing(cid:0) question. “What if I go to the Other Side,” I’d wonder,(cid:0)

“only to find that Cathy has already gone to another level?(cid:0) What would become of our mother and daughter relation-(cid:0) ship that I treasured?” Receiving this note was reassurance(cid:0) that our relationship of love would continue.(cid:0) Cathy’s ability to interact with animals has shown up in(cid:0) a variety of ways. One day I was snapping green beans for(cid:0) Thanksgiving dinner the next day. Donna dropped by to(cid:0) ask if I wanted to go shopping. It doesn’t take much to twist(cid:0) my arm in that direction, so I dropped the task and we took(cid:0) off for the mall. I left the bowl of green beans on the sofa(cid:0) in the den. I forgot that Cathy’s dog, Doja, was in the(cid:0) house, too.(cid:0) When I returned home, my den was covered with(cid:0) chewed-up green beans. This ornery dog had also decided(cid:0) to transplant some of my houseplants—without consider-(cid:0) ation of finding a new pot for them! Also, the fresh flowers(cid:0) on the table got added to the mess. Then I noticed that my(cid:0) voice-activated recorder had been left running on the(cid:0) kitchen table. I flipped it off, and once I recovered from the(cid:0) shock of the mess, I de-(cid:0) cided to listen to it. There(cid:0) was Cathy’s voice, sharply(cid:0) saying,(cid:0)“Doja, NO!”(cid:0) (This(cid:0) EVP can be heard by going(cid:0) to the www.aaevp.com(cid:0) website.) I wonder if this(cid:0) kept him from doing any(cid:0) further damage!(cid:0) Cathy arrives with a smile(cid:0) Some have written to ask(cid:0) why I use EVP to contact(cid:0) my Cathy. I

tell them EVP is a tool for love. Communicat-(cid:0) ing the love we have to others, whether they’re here with(cid:0) us or on the Other Side, is a way of identifying and honor-(cid:0) ing the aspect of spirit which fills us all.(cid:0) I have received some critical comments that our group,(cid:0) Recording Circle—Bridge to the Afterlife, has evolved(cid:0) into a “support group” rather than a purely intellectual(cid:0) investigative group. Is that a bad thing? Our group, which(cid:0) did indeed begin as a support group for grieving mothers,(cid:0) does engage in investigation (see the upcoming section on(cid:0) research methodology), but the basic purpose of our group(cid:0) is(cid:0) to alleviate pain, both our own and what might be(cid:0) experienced by our loved ones who have passed over.(cid:0) George Anderson says, “There are two kinds of skeptics:(cid:0) those who say, ‘I don’t know’ and those who say, ‘I don’t(cid:0) want to know.’” EVP exists for the first group. George also(cid:0) says in(cid:0)Walking in the Garden of Souls(cid:0) that he doesn’t(cid:0) really care who makes fun of him.(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Spring 2009(cid:0) Page 7 Cathy with (left to right) Pookie, Winnie, Penny, Muffin, Shishi(cid:0) Several weeks ago my sister Ginny and I were doing a(cid:0) recording session. While I was out of the room, she picked(cid:0) up my Cathy’s voice saying,(cid:0)“Mama, I have Muffin.”(cid:0) This(cid:0) was followed by the sound of a dog. Muffin was her dog of(cid:0) seventeen years, who died shortly after Cathy.(cid:0) Yesterday October 7, 2002, I was on the

computer and(cid:0) received another message from Cathy saying,(cid:0)“I can’t find(cid:0) Fluffy.”(cid:0) Fluffy was a cat we had about fifteen years ago.(cid:0) We were being transferred overseas, and we planned to(cid:0) take him with us. However, I accidentally hit Fluffy with(cid:0) the car just before our departure date, so he was unable to(cid:0) make the long journey. We left him with a loving family(cid:0) and tearfully said goodbye. Fortunately, Fluffy survived,(cid:0) recovered and lived an active life.(cid:0) Many of my medita-(cid:0) tions and dreams are(cid:0) with Cathy. Often we are(cid:0) walking in a meadow(cid:0) surrounded by our many(cid:0) pets. Some are ones(cid:0) we’ve had as a family;(cid:0) some I had loved as a(cid:0) child. Not realizing it un-(cid:0) til after her last message,(cid:0) it suddenly dawned on(cid:0) me that I had never seen(cid:0) Fluffy those(cid:0) during dreams and meditations.(cid:0) When I tried to save the recording which said Cathy(cid:0) couldn’t find Fluffy, the computer crashed. I thought I had(cid:0) lost it. Disappointed and sad, I decided to get out of the(cid:0) house for a couple of hours.(cid:0) The Copeland Family(cid:0) Upon returning, I noticed Cathy’s bedroom door ajar.(cid:0) This was unusual; this door is always closed. Entering her(cid:0) room, I noticed a piece of paper on the floor in front of the(cid:0) doorway. A note in Cathy’s handwriting read, “I smile(cid:0) because I love U, I love U because U care (then a picture(cid:0) of a smiley face) U care to make me happy, & always be(cid:0) there!” This piece of

paper seemed to be Cathy’s way of(cid:0) reassuring me that she would always be with me.(cid:0) Checking around with family members and friends of(cid:0) Cathy, I found that no one else had been in my house. Later(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Chris Fleming(cid:0) For three years, Chris was a host of(cid:0) the popular TV show(cid:0)Dead Fa-(cid:0) mous(cid:0), where he joined his co-host(cid:0) Gail Porter in searching for celeb-(cid:0) rity ghosts across the United(cid:0) States, not only at grave sites, but(cid:0) also in some of the most reportedly(cid:0) haunted locations in the U.S. Chris(cid:0) has captured thousands of EVP,(cid:0) unexplainable photos and video(cid:0) footage that he believes can prove(cid:0) Chris Fleming(cid:0) the existence of ghosts.(cid:0)Visit Chris’ Website(cid:0) We have watched Chris get class “A” EVP during the(cid:0) chaos of filming a TV show. He continues to collaborate(cid:0) with various ghost hunters and paranormal investigators,(cid:0) studying the unknown and researching new forms of com-(cid:0) munications with the other side.(cid:0)Chris will be doing a(cid:0) workshop at the AA-EVP conference in LA and will(cid:0) share his techniques for getting great recordings.(cid:0) The Video-loop ITC of Phil Akin(cid:0) In our opinion, visual forms of trans-communication are(cid:0) amongst the most important forms of evidence that we(cid:0) survive physical death. A repeatable experiment that often(cid:0) produces such evidence is conducted by using a video(cid:0) camera-video monitor loop to gener-(cid:0) ate the necessary visual noise for im-(cid:0) age formation. The problem is that(cid:0) analog video has historically been the(cid:0) most effective, but analog equipment(cid:0) is fast becoming unavailable as digital(cid:0)

equipment takes over.(cid:0) Phil Akin has been using digital(cid:0) equipment to produce video-loop im-(cid:0) ages with impressive success. From(cid:0) what we have seen, Phil has demonstrated that it can be(cid:0) done and will be at the conference to show you how.(cid:0) Phil Akin(cid:0) Here are a few recent examples of his work. We have(cid:0) exaggerated the contrast so that they will print. Remember(cid:0) that they are “paranormally” formed and the original im-(cid:0) ages tend to be a little fuzzy. They are also best viewed via(cid:0) a computer monitor, so we will post them on the website.(cid:0) Phil’s conference workshop will focus on how to record(cid:0) for visual ITC using the video-loop method.(cid:0) Face of a woman(cid:0) Face of a man(cid:0) Man with fur hat(cid:0) Forensic Voice Analysis Presentation at(cid:0) AA-EVP Conference(cid:0) Garrett Husveth (left) and Tom Owen(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) is a court-approved forensic examiner(cid:0) dealing with digital media. With a background in forensics,(cid:0) software development and computer systems design and(cid:0) security, he is currently applying the latest technologies to(cid:0) field research of hauntings phenomena.(cid:0) Garrett first began investigating paranormal phenomena(cid:0) in the late 1980s and became interested in Electronic Voice(cid:0) Phenomena along with stringent scientific approaches to(cid:0) psychical research. He has been featured in print(cid:0) throughout New Jersey and has either appeared on, or(cid:0) consulted for TV shows dealing with the paranormal,(cid:0) including The History Channel’s(cid:0)Haunted History(cid:0) series,(cid:0) The Travel Channel, and FOX Networks as well as various(cid:0) independently produced documentaries and local NJ(cid:0) television stations.(cid:0) Garrett will provide a

presentation on forensic voice(cid:0) analysis at the AA-EVP conference with his instructor Tom(cid:0) Owen.(cid:0)This technology offers a means by which living and(cid:0) deceased voice samples can be compared to show if they(cid:0) came from the same person.(cid:0) To give you a sense of(cid:0)Tom Owen(cid:0)’s background, we(cid:0) include here the opening statement from an interview from(cid:0) The Forensic Examiner(cid:0) conducted by Heather Barbre(cid:0) Blades titled, “(cid:0)Tom Owen voice identification & forensic(cid:0) audio & video analysis(cid:0)”:(cid:0) “Tom Owen, CHS-III, is a member of ACFEI's Executive(cid:0) Advisory Board for the American Board for Certification(cid:0) in Homeland Security and the Chair of the American Board(cid:0) of Recorded Evidence. In this interview he discusses the(cid:0) process of voice identification and audio and video(cid:0) analysis. He describes the role of his profession in the(cid:0) Homeland Security front, and discusses his participation in(cid:0) a variety of cases, including his involvement analyzing the(cid:0) Osama bin Laden tapes. The interview concludes with his(cid:0) thoughts on how audio and video analysis can be(cid:0) effectively used to combat terrorism.”(cid:0) Showing that the the same person is speaking before and(cid:0) after transition is a powerful form of evidence that we(cid:0) survive after physical death. Forensic tools have been used(cid:0) in Brazil and Italy, and now Garrett is bringing the same(cid:0) ability to the USA.(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Page 8(cid:0) Remembering the Beginning(cid:0) by Vicki Talbott(cid:0) Young Braden with Vicki(cid:0) My son Braden and his friend Jim died(cid:0) March 11, 2001, during a kayak outing on(cid:0) Puget Sound. While the kayaks were

dis-(cid:0) covered the next morning, the boys’ bod-(cid:0) ies were never found. Braden and Jim(cid:0) were best friends and both were twenty(cid:0) years old. Both had an interest in the after-(cid:0) life and various aspects of spirit communi-(cid:0) cation, including spirit photography and(cid:0) EVP(cid:0).(cid:0) About five months after Braden died, I(cid:0) came home to a message on my answering(cid:0) machine. It came just after the person had hung up and said(cid:0) “Whaddup?(cid:0)” I listened to it many times, thinking it(cid:0) sounded so much like Braden, but I deleted it in the end. I(cid:0) thought maybe it was some sort of phone interference and(cid:0) I was going nuts. Then a couple of weeks after that, I got(cid:0) another message that said,(cid:0)“Ehhhhhhhh,”(cid:0) which is the(cid:0) sound Braden would make, with his mouth in a sideways(cid:0) triangle, when he was showing mock embarrassment. I(cid:0) thought at the time that those were normally the first and(cid:0) last things he said to me on the answering machine when(cid:0) he would try to reach me, but again I deleted it!(cid:0) And I knew about EVP! Braden and I had tried to get(cid:0) voices on tape before he passed. Finally, I took heed when(cid:0) he sent the message,(cid:0)“Mom?”(cid:0) as if to say aren’t you(cid:0) listening to me? I saved that one and a(cid:0)short rap segment(cid:0) which followed. He was a musician, after all, so there was(cid:0) no mistaking it was him.(cid:0) When Mary Jo, Jim’s mom, came over and listened to the(cid:0) EVP from Braden, she and

I thought if we prayed, maybe(cid:0) Jim would come through. So we did so, aloud, and Mary Jo(cid:0) asked Braden to help Jim. The phone rang not more than a(cid:0) half hour later. We were talking of other things, so I didn’t(cid:0) answer it. Suddenly, we heard Jim’s voice saying(cid:0)“(Mom)(cid:0) I’ll come again.”(cid:0) In early 2004, I felt drawn to the AA-EVP.(cid:0) I had visited the website many times in years(cid:0) prior, but never felt the need to join until(cid:0) then. Surprisingly, Braden and Cathy,(cid:0) Martha’s daughter, seemed to have a hand in(cid:0) several mothers finding and joining the(cid:0) group. I had read about Rob and Cathy, the(cid:0) children of Karen and Martha, and thought(cid:0) it highly likely that Braden knew them. Af-(cid:0) ter introducing myself to the group, some-(cid:0) one remembered that before I had joined and(cid:0) during one of the Bridge to the Afterlife sessions (now Big(cid:0) Circle recording sessions held virtually every other Thurs-(cid:0) day, with results shared on the Idea Exchange [the AA-(cid:0) EVP member message board]), someone came through on(cid:0) an EVP saying,(cid:0)“It’s Brad-n.”(cid:0) We were all excited to feel confirmation in the form of(cid:0) the EVP before I had even joined! This seemed to illustrate(cid:0) Braden’s presence in the group on the Other Side, which I(cid:0) had sensed. Since then, Braden and Jim have come through(cid:0) many times, often with Cathy and other members of The(cid:0) Big Circle, but sometimes by themselves, just stopping by(cid:0) to say(cid:0)“love you.”(cid:0) Braden and Cathy have come through

in(cid:0) moments of hilarity, with Braden asking Cathy to help him(cid:0) sing, starting with Cathy heralding Braden’s presence with(cid:0) “Braden’s here,”(cid:0) and Braden saying(cid:0)“Hi!”(cid:0) Then conver-(cid:0) sation between Cathy and Braden will ensue….(cid:0) I can tell you that we are forever grateful for communica-(cid:0) tion from the boys and from everyone else in The Big(cid:0) Circle. We look forward to EVP helping others from both(cid:0) sides in their adjustment process after suffering the difficult(cid:0) physical separation from loved ones.(cid:0) Vicki will be doing a live recording and sharing her(cid:0) techniques with you at the AA-EVP conference in July.(cid:0) Alexander MacRae to Speak at the AA-EVP 2009 Conference(cid:0) Alexander MacRae is one of the most prolific(cid:0) researchers in this field and has received several(cid:0) grants to do EVP research. Here is an abstract(cid:0) from an article of his published in the peer-re-(cid:0) viewed(cid:0)Journal of the Society for Psychical Re-(cid:0) search(cid:0).(cid:0) There is also a good article about his work(cid:0) in the Summer, 2007(cid:0)NewsJournal.(cid:0) (Also at(cid:0) aaevp.com/research(cid:0))(cid:0) Alexander MacRae(cid:0) A Means of Producing The Electronic Voice(cid:0) Phenomenon Based on Electro-Dermal Activity(cid:0) by Alexander MacRae, January 2004(cid:0) Abstract:(cid:0)This paper concerns a device that produces(cid:0) anomalous speech products similar in many respects to the(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomenon (although it was not in-(cid:0) tended to function in this way), and its purpose is to de-(cid:0) scribe the characteristic behavior of this device and its(cid:0) products, and to consider possible alternative explanations.(cid:0) For example, could what is happening simply be a(cid:0) case of stray pick-up —

either electromagnetic or(cid:0) acoustic? To answer that question, experiments(cid:0) were carried out with the equipment relocated in(cid:0) an environment where communication in Spanish(cid:0) rather than in English was normal. Another possi-(cid:0) ble alternative is considered: that these voices(cid:0) exist only in the mind, like an “audible Rorschach(cid:0) Test” interpretation. An objective process for as-(cid:0) sessing the most probable meaning of the informa-(cid:0) tion contained in an anomalous speech product is outlined,(cid:0) with the conclusion that such products are real and have(cid:0) characteristics of communication.(cid:0) Alec worked for NASA with speech and hearing technol-(cid:0) ogy on manned spacecraft. He will be doing a presentation(cid:0) on how to analyze EVP sound files at the July conference(cid:0) in Los Angeles.(cid:0) Page 9 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Jerome(cid:0) picture she carried. The same voice that told her to record(cid:0) told her to show the picture to Denise.(cid:0) Margaret nervously approached Denise during the lunch(cid:0) break. ITC is difficult to explain quickly and usually way(cid:0) over the top of most people’s “boggle” point. Somehow she(cid:0) did it, and when Denise saw the picture, she immediately(cid:0) said it was Jerome. She was positive and she told Margaret(cid:0) that she would send her a picture of Jerome as a child when(cid:0) she returned home.(cid:0) When Margaret arrived home that evening, she noticed(cid:0) that her husband had emptied his pocket change on the(cid:0) dining table. She looked at it and there was a 1977 penny.(cid:0) Margaret picked it up so she could mail it to Denise. Next,(cid:0) she

listened to her recording. There were several EVP and(cid:0) it seemed that Jerome was commenting to his mother when(cid:0) she was silent during her talk. Two of the messages(cid:0) received were,(cid:0)“I hope you can hear me talking,”(cid:0)and(cid:0) “Mom, I’m here.”(cid:0) Baby picture of Jerome (left) and ITC image by Margaret, taken(cid:0) by photographing light reflected from moving water(cid:0) If one were to believe in coincidences, this had certainly(cid:0) been a series of pretty big ones, but even Margaret was(cid:0) startled when Denise sent the baby picture of Jerome.(cid:0) Margaret shared the two pictures with a person doing a(cid:0) documentary on ITC and he sent it to the lab in Italy, Il(cid:0) Laboratorio, for comparison. Paolo Presi later responded(cid:0) with the English translation of Daniele Gullà’s analysis of(cid:0) Jerome’s photo and ITC picture. He wrote, “(cid:0)In spite of the(cid:0) poor quality and some facial morphological features(cid:0) hidden in the unknown face, the ITC results are compatible(cid:0) with the known face. In particular, some facial generic(cid:0) morphological resemblances (height of forehead, distance(cid:0) between eyes) are found. The resemblance of the right ear(cid:0) of ITC face with the one of known face is remarkable. The(cid:0) morphological ear feature is normally considered, for(cid:0) identification of a person, of equivalent value as that of(cid:0) fingerprints…”(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle on or close(cid:0) to April 9 and 23, May 7 and 21, June 11 and 25, and July(cid:0) 9 and 23. Then go to the Big Circle area

of the Idea(cid:0) Exchange and share what you recorded. Many members(cid:0) have recorded messages intended for other members so(cid:0) share your recordings with the group!(cid:0) Denise with Jerome(cid:0) Denise Snyder-Papier wrote: “My son, Jerome, was killed(cid:0) by a hit-and-run driver on September 17, 2003. It has been(cid:0) my goal to remain in communication with Jerome and learn(cid:0) as much as possible about the world he lives in.(cid:0) Throughout the past five years, Jerome has clearly made(cid:0) himself known in many ways and I always feel so blessed(cid:0) to receive his contacts.(cid:0) “Jerome’s birthday is May 20, 1977. The past three years(cid:0) I have been diligently searching for a 1977 penny. I asked(cid:0) my husband to keep his eye out for one as well.(cid:0) “On August 16, 2008 I held a seminar on grief, launching(cid:0) my book,(cid:0)The Answer Lies Within — A Journey Through(cid:0) Loss(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.theanswerlieswithin.com(cid:0)). The day before the(cid:0) seminar, I asked my son, Denny, to keep his eye out for a(cid:0) 1977 penny. He looked in his change bucket and the first(cid:0) penny he picked up was a 1977! I asked him to bring it to(cid:0) the seminar as I felt it was a sign from Jerome. While on(cid:0) the drive to the seminar, he told his girlfriend he forgot to(cid:0) bring the penny. She had some change in her car and the(cid:0) first penny she picked up was a 1977!”(cid:0) The seminar that Denise was participating in with other(cid:0) speakers had been put together to help others discover

how(cid:0) they could effectively confront personal challenges and(cid:0) transcend any situation with hope and courage. AA-EVP(cid:0) member, Margaret Downey, happened to be an attendee at(cid:0) the seminar and heard Denise speak.(cid:0) During her presentation, Margaret heard a voice in her(cid:0) ear telling her to record. She had completely forgotten that(cid:0) she had brought her Sony B26 recorder with her, but now(cid:0) she quickly pulled it out, clicked record and whispered into(cid:0) the recorder that those wishing to speak would have three(cid:0) minutes. Denise was still speaking during this time. At the(cid:0) end of the time, Margaret turned the recorder off and put it(cid:0) back in her pocket.(cid:0) A little later, Denise mentioned during her presentation(cid:0) that she visits her son’s grave and that the visits help her.(cid:0) She said she found it interesting that, when she was at the(cid:0) grave site, she usually thought of Jerome as a child; her(cid:0) baby. Margaret immediately thought of an ITC picture(cid:0) from one of her water experiments, that she had been(cid:0) carrying a copy of on her phone. She had always felt that(cid:0) she would one day run into the mother of the child whose(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Page 10(cid:0) Debbie Caruso’s(cid:0)Hearing Heaven(cid:0) by Muffet Jones(cid:0) In 2004,(cid:0)Debbie Caruso(cid:0) lost her son Joey in a car accident(cid:0) while on vacation in Cancun, Mexico. Unable to accept her(cid:0) son’s death, Debbie began a journey that has led her to(cid:0) become a very successful EVP researcher in the U.S. An(cid:0) AA-EVP Certified Practitioner(cid:0), Debbie

has helped many(cid:0) others who have also lost loved ones receive messages and(cid:0) reconnect with them on the other(cid:0) side. Debbie recounts her story(cid:0) in her new book, the working(cid:0) title of which is(cid:0)Hearing Heaven(cid:0).(cid:0) The book is currently in produc-(cid:0) tion and expected to be available(cid:0) later this year.(cid:0) Debbie with Joey(cid:0) In her new book, Debbie tells(cid:0) not only the very sad circum-(cid:0) stances of her own loss, but how(cid:0) she finally came to record her(cid:0) first EVP messages from Joey,(cid:0) who came through loud and clear(cid:0) in his very first message to his(cid:0) mother, and continues to send(cid:0) her confirmations and amazing(cid:0) messages of hope and love. Deb-(cid:0) bie found that she was able to serve as a conduit for(cid:0) messages from others who had passed on and began to be(cid:0) contacted by people who longed to hear from their own(cid:0) loved ones. Either in personal meetings or often through(cid:0) telephone sessions, Debbie put mothers in touch with chil-(cid:0) dren who had passed, wives and husbands with spouses,(cid:0) fiancées with lost loves and many others, with great results.(cid:0) These poignant and inspiring stories are told in Debbie’s(cid:0) own distinctive style.(cid:0) Debbie has been featured on the(cid:0)Maury Povich(cid:0) television(cid:0) show and on the History Channel’s(cid:0)Monsterquest(cid:0) series,(cid:0) teaming with empathic medium Jeffrey Wands and her(cid:0) own East Coast paranormal research group,(cid:0)T.H.E.M.(cid:0) One of the most amazing stories Debbie tells is that of(cid:0) Lenny Ingrassia, a young man who had gone to Monsignor(cid:0) Farrell High School with her son, Joey,

and who was also(cid:0) killed in a car accident only weeks after Joey’s passing.(cid:0) While they had not been close friends on Earth, it became(cid:0) apparent that they had found each other in Heaven. From(cid:0) Debbie:(cid:0) A few days after Lenny’s funeral,(cid:0) Louise (Lenny’s mother) went to a(cid:0) psychic for the first time. She felt it(cid:0) was the only chance she had to(cid:0) contact her son. When Louise told(cid:0) me about the psychic, I said, “We(cid:0) have to find a good one.” This was(cid:0) the beginning of our long search(cid:0) for answers about our sons’(cid:0) deaths, and our renewed hope that(cid:0) we would still be able to communicate with them(cid:0) Lenny Ingrassia(cid:0) wherever they were. This search took us to one psychic(cid:0) of national reputation, John Edwards.(cid:0) We attended several of his taping sessions and we(cid:0) weren’t always singled out for attention. But when we(cid:0) were, it was amazing. He told Louise, word for word,(cid:0) something that Lenny had said to her the night before(cid:0) his accident. It was nothing of importance, but some-(cid:0) thing very specific and something only Louise and her(cid:0) son knew.(cid:0) In the weeks that followed, Louise and I saw a(cid:0) number of psychics, including John Edwards on other(cid:0) occasions. When we were “read,” the message was(cid:0) always the same. Louise describes it like this, “(cid:0)They(cid:0) would go to me, ‘Who’s Joe? Who is he with who’s a(cid:0) J?’ And the opposite happened with her (Debbie).(cid:0) ‘Who is he with that’s an L? What kid is

he with(cid:0) holding a football?’ My son was a football player.(cid:0) Every psychic said something similar...(cid:0) When I began working with EVP, I told Louise about(cid:0) it. She was skeptical at first, but when I began to get(cid:0) messages from Len, she finally agreed to listen. Len(cid:0) spoke to his mother and she knew at once it was him.(cid:0) Lenny often comes through when I speak to Joey.(cid:0) Louise believes they are together and this gives her a(cid:0) measure of comfort. The boys weren’t close friends in(cid:0) this life, but somehow their souls have found a bond we(cid:0) weren’t aware of there.(cid:0) Another amazing experience brought Debbie together with(cid:0) Darleen, a mother whose daughter and son-in-law had been(cid:0) killed in a motorcycle accident. Darleen was just beginning(cid:0) to explore the AA-EVP website in a search for answers, but(cid:0) she didn’t expect to find a message from her daughter(cid:0) coming to her from a complete stranger! From Debbie:(cid:0) In 2006, I had gotten a recording of what sounded like(cid:0) a little girl. It was basically a child’s voice saying,(cid:0) “Momma, you should know that I miss you.”(cid:0) Unlike(cid:0) many EVP, this one had a very distinctive vocal qual-(cid:0) ity and the message was quite distinct. I didn’t recog-(cid:0) nize the voice and I didn’t know of any little girls who(cid:0) had recently passed, so I posted it on the website(cid:0) asking if anyone might find the voice familiar. Very(cid:0) soon after that, I heard from Darleen who said it was(cid:0) almost

certainly her daughter, Jenny. She said that(cid:0) when she heard the voice on the website the hair went(cid:0) up on her arms and she started crying. She said to(cid:0) herself, “I’m crazy or something, but that is my daugh-(cid:0) ter!” She played it for her brother who gasped, “I(cid:0) can’t believe it – that’s her!” Darleen said the mes-(cid:0) sages have made believers out of her family who were(cid:0) definitely skeptics to begin with. She told me Jenny’s(cid:0) story and again, it’s one of a mother’s love and loss,(cid:0) and search for answers beyond what we know.(cid:0) See the article about Jenny and Brandon in the Winter 2008(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal or at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Page 11 Continued page 13(cid:0) Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) What is Synthesized Speech?(cid:0) Stefan Bion developed(cid:0)EVPmaker(cid:0) as a Windows PC com-(cid:0) puter program. In the program, an audio file of recorded(cid:0) speech is supplied by the practitioner as the input sound(cid:0) file. EVPmaker loads the input file into a buffer and then(cid:0) uses a random process to select segments of the file to form(cid:0) a new sound file. How long the segments are and how fast(cid:0) they are “stacked” into the output file depends on settings(cid:0) managed by the practitioner in a control panel. The output(cid:0) is a staccato series of speech fragments as if the computer(cid:0) has developed a serious stutter. Anomalous words are(cid:0) found in the output and are thought to be caused by the(cid:0) influence of the communicating entity on the random pro-(cid:0) cess which

selects the fragments of the input file.(cid:0) We have previously discouraged use of EVPmaker for(cid:0) people new to EVP because it used recorded human speech(cid:0) (live voice) as an input file and there is a considerable(cid:0) potential to mistake normally occurring sounds as phenom-(cid:0) enal (false positives). Stefan recently introduced an allo-(cid:0) phone file and now Margaret Downey has a phoneme file,(cid:0) both of which can be used in place of live speech as the(cid:0) input file.(cid:0) A phoneme is the smallest distinctive segment of speech,(cid:0) such as “p” or “i.” Allophones are variations of how pho-(cid:0) nemes are heard, so that “I” may be heard as “I,” “iee” or(cid:0) “eei.”(cid:0) We are really excited about EVPmaker with allophones(cid:0) or phonemes because the output will either be a fortuitous(cid:0) word, but usually nonsensical, or it will be communication.(cid:0) For instance, I might ask, “Who is with me today?” If(cid:0) amongst the staccato output of speech fragments I hear(cid:0) “Frank,” I have a fair idea that it is a response. However, if(cid:0) I hear “house,” I am probably hearing a fortuitously formed(cid:0) word that should be ignored.(cid:0) An important point to remember is that the words are not(cid:0) spoken. They are simulated words. We have the same(cid:0) problem with plain old (traditional) EVP made by trans-(cid:0) forming background sound into speech, except traditional(cid:0) EVP has other information, such as inflection and gender,(cid:0) that helps us understand what is said. The bottom line is(cid:0) that, when you hear synthesized speech recordings, look(cid:0)

for simulated words. For instance, “Tom” might be said as(cid:0) “om” or “dom.” We still need to be careful about assigning(cid:0) meaning to sounds that is not intended, but at least there is(cid:0) a much higher possibility that clear and appropriate sounds(cid:0) are phenomenal communication.(cid:0) There are operational issues with this technology that(cid:0) need to be worked out. Margaret Downey sometimes turns(cid:0) down the EVPmaker output while she talks to avoid having(cid:0) the staccato sound garble her questions, or amplifies the(cid:0) response portions of the file. Finding the right combination(cid:0) of sample rate and length may be a problem, as well.(cid:0) Speech synthesis appears to be effective for information(cid:0) gathering and research. One very important reason being(cid:0) that the mainstream scientists will not consider anything(cid:0) using live voice. Speech synthesis controlled by random(cid:0) processes works and may be our new frontier.(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Testimonial for Vicki Talbott(cid:0) In a letter to the AA-EVP, G.K. wrote: “I have been sub-(cid:0) scribing to the AA-EVP newsletter for about three years(cid:0) now and I am enjoying it very much. I was following the(cid:0) progress made by people using EVP to connect with loved(cid:0) ones. I told myself that I would like to try this method for(cid:0) connecting with the other(cid:0) side some day.(cid:0) “My brother took his(cid:0) own life this summer and(cid:0) I was very distressed in(cid:0) needing to know that ‘he(cid:0) had made it’ and was(cid:0) ‘safe’ and ‘with our fam-(cid:0) ily and friends on the(cid:0) other side.’ I decided

to(cid:0) seek the help of EVP. I(cid:0) remembered that you had(cid:0) recently posted Certified(cid:0) Proxy Practitioners on(cid:0) your website so I went(cid:0) there seeking someone(cid:0) who might be able to help(cid:0) me….(cid:0) G.K.’S brother, Greg(cid:0) “I chose Vicki and I’m(cid:0) glad I did. She was warm,(cid:0) caring, compassionate, and sensitive to my emotional(cid:0) needs all throughout the process. She also tried her best to(cid:0) be as scientific and exact in the recording, editing, and(cid:0) translation process as possible so we could get a true and(cid:0) correct reading from my brother. I was very impressed with(cid:0) the final CDs I was given - one was data for my computer(cid:0) and the other was for playing on my stereo. It was clear(cid:0) and, although it is difficult to hear my brother’s voice as we(cid:0) knew him, I feel the messages Vicki was able to record(cid:0) were often very much like what my brother would say in(cid:0) response to the questions I had her ask him.(cid:0) “I was also impressed and moved by the surprising(cid:0) additional recording my brother left on her telephone an-(cid:0) swering machine the day she was finalizing the CD for me.(cid:0) He said,(cid:0)‘It’s Greg.’(cid:0) and I felt sure he was letting me know(cid:0) that it was really him on the other recordings Vicki had(cid:0) made to uplift me and my family.(cid:0) “I am thankful for Vicki and the work she so willingly(cid:0) gave from her heart. The clarity, exactness and methods(cid:0) she used were top notch.(cid:0) “Thanks for posting

the Certified Proxy Practitioners on(cid:0) your website. I hope more people will find the EVP experi-(cid:0) ence to be helpful. It was encouraging to know my brother(cid:0) made it, is safe and that he is with family and friends in(cid:0) Heaven. Sincerely, G. K.”(cid:0) The AA-EVP has certified four members as Proxy Prac-(cid:0) titioners. They are Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey,(cid:0) Debbie Caruso and Vicki Talbott. More information is(cid:0) available at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) in the Resources section.(cid:0) Page 12(cid:0) Hearing Heaven(cid:0) Continued from page 11(cid:0) Darleen (left) with Jenny and Brandon(cid:0) Debbie has teamed up with a talented group of paranormal(cid:0) investigators named(cid:0)The Haunting Evidence Messengers(cid:0) (T.H.E.M)(cid:0).(cid:0)The(cid:0)Maury Povich(cid:0) show sent Debbie and the(cid:0) group, along with empathic medium Jeffrey Wands, to(cid:0) Philadelphia’s historic prison, Eastern State Penitentiary,(cid:0) where such colorful and notorious prisoners as Al Capone(cid:0) were once incarcerated. Debbie describes the investigation(cid:0) as a true adventure in a very dark place:(cid:0) When I first caught sight of the prison as we drove up,(cid:0) I could easily believe in all the stories I had heard. We(cid:0) arrived after dark, but the crenellated top of the(cid:0) building was lit up with floodlights making it look for(cid:0) all the world like a ruined castle from a fairy tale. The(cid:0) enormous walls towered over our heads and were(cid:0) made of thick, gray weathered stone. The building(cid:0) seemed to fill several city blocks and I shivered when(cid:0) I thought about how cold it must be inside. To imagine(cid:0) the prisoners on a cold March night in the

1800’s(cid:0) being doused with water and hung from those same(cid:0) walls truly was horrifying.(cid:0) The group was quiet as we got out of our car and(cid:0) tipped our heads back to look at the top of the walls.(cid:0) Surely, we all felt that this place must contain the(cid:0) spiritual residue of those who had suffered here, and(cid:0) who had also brought the suffering of those they had(cid:0) victimized with them. But whether we would be able to(cid:0) gather any concrete evidence on tape of anything(cid:0) paranormal was the question on everyone’s mind….(cid:0) If you’re going to investigate a prison, your first(cid:0) stop should surely be Death Row and that was where(cid:0) our guides headed. When we moved into the cellblock(cid:0) where men had waited to die, Jeffrey became aware(cid:0) immediately of a figure standing with us. I turned on(cid:0) my digital recorder and asked for the figure to identify(cid:0) itself. We waited a few seconds for a reply and then(cid:0) played back the recording. There, very clearly, we(cid:0) heard a raspy voice say,(cid:0)“Frank the Rapist.”(cid:0) I have to(cid:0) say, I almost lost it. The voice was so clear and Jeffrey(cid:0) had known he was there with us. I have to say I(cid:0) shrieked a little and hurried on down the corridor….(cid:0) We set up our equipment for ITC, or video,(cid:0) recording in the notorious Cell Block 12 where some(cid:0) of the most infamous criminals had been housed.(cid:0) Jeffrey again felt a presence with us and I began to(cid:0) record. “What

crime did you commit? Why are you(cid:0) here?” When we played it back we got what sounded(cid:0) like(cid:0)“Cat burglar.”(cid:0)I’m not sure why a cat burglar(cid:0) would be with the worst of the worst in Cell Block 12,(cid:0) but there’s no reason to believe that spirits are tied to(cid:0) one spot. Our cat burglar may have been drawn to us(cid:0) from somewhere else in the prison entirely…(cid:0) Debbie’s book also contains a short history of EVP and a(cid:0) chapter on the techniques and equipment currently used in(cid:0) research by others, along with some insights into her own(cid:0) methods. It is a very accessible introduction for anyone(cid:0) interested in beginning their own EVP investigations.(cid:0) Debbie is proud to be one of four AA-EVP Certified(cid:0) Practitioners. She has been successful recording for others(cid:0) via conference calls and the Internet. More about Debbie(cid:0) and updates on her upcoming book can be found on her(cid:0) website:(cid:0)www.listentothisforme.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Debbie has shown that she is successful doing live(cid:0) recordings and did a live recording with us for the audience(cid:0) at the FFF conference this past November. She will again(cid:0) do a live recording session at the AA-EVP conference in(cid:0) July along with demonstrating how to set up a conference(cid:0) call EVP session so that attendees can learn how they can(cid:0) also set up group recordings. Debbie has been successful at(cid:0) showing others how to record so that they can get messages(cid:0) from their loved ones on their own.(cid:0) Things to Do in Los Angeles(cid:0) There are so many(cid:0)

things to see and do(cid:0) while you are in Los(cid:0) Angeles. If you wish(cid:0) to extend your stay(cid:0) to enjoy the sights,(cid:0) the hotel will extend(cid:0) the conference rate(cid:0) for your room a few(cid:0) days before and af-(cid:0) ter the conference. Just call the(cid:0)Westin Los Angeles Airport(cid:0) Hotel at 1.800.937.8461.(cid:0) Just a few of the things to do include: Beverly Hills,(cid:0) California beaches, Disneyland, Hollywood, Knotts Berry(cid:0) Farm, Movie Star Homes Tour, Six Flags Magic Mt., and(cid:0) Universal Studios, Some tour companies pick up from(cid:0) LAX Airport or the airport hotels. See:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Starline Tours 1-800-959-3131(cid:0) www.starlinetours.com/los-angeles-tours.asp(cid:0) •(cid:0)Los Angeles City Tours at 888-653-6051(cid:0) www.losangelestours.us/tours/tourType.cfm?ttid2=2816(cid:0) •(cid:0)LA City Tours(cid:0)http://lacitytours.com/Layovers.asp(cid:0) 1-888-800-7878(cid:0) Page 13 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Limits of a Digital Recorder(cid:0) Audio recorders impose limits on what is being recorded(cid:0) that can have an influence on how possible EVP are under-(cid:0) stood. Analog and music-quality digital recorders are usu-(cid:0) ally able to record everything in the audible range;(cid:0) however, digital voice recorders will usually only record(cid:0) between 200 Hz and 6,000 Hz. By comparison, a telephone(cid:0) line is designed to support up to 4,000 Hz.(cid:0) We find most of our EVP between 200 Hz and 3,200 Hz.(cid:0) However, this is assuming that broad-spectrum (white(cid:0) noise) background sound is available for voice formation.(cid:0) If sound is supplied to a music-quality recorder at say, 200(cid:0) to 1,000 Hz, and a second source is supplied at 6,000 to(cid:0) 7,000 Hz, it is possible that two simultaneous but different(cid:0) utterances might be recorded—one in each frequency(cid:0) range.

If a digital note taker is used, then the higher-fre-(cid:0) quency utterance would not be recorded.(cid:0) As an example of digital recorder capability, the(cid:0)Olym-(cid:0) pus vn4100pc(cid:0)specifications show a sample rate of 12.0(cid:0) kHz for standard play that will record between 300 and(cid:0) 7,200 Hz. But for long play, the recorder will only record(cid:0) up to 3,100 Hz.(cid:0) What this means is that the recorder is incapable of(cid:0) processing any audio signal outside of these frequencies. If(cid:0) you have been taught that EVP are always ultrasonic, you(cid:0) can see that your digital recorder limits makes the theory(cid:0) untenable.(cid:0) Voice-Activated Recording Mode(cid:0) We have tested voice-activated recording against real-time(cid:0) and found a couple of disadvantages:(cid:0) •(cid:0)We sometimes have a sort of stutter-sounding noise if(cid:0) background noise is close to the turn-on threshold. This(cid:0) is sometimes used for great but odd sounding EVP.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Another disadvantage is that it is sometimes difficult to(cid:0) know when the utterance came in relationship to the(cid:0) questions or events. We use the policy of only associat-(cid:0) ing utterances with our comments that occur just before(cid:0) or after, but before the next comment. In this way, we(cid:0) have a sense of when the EVP was formed.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Some recorders clip the leading syllable in voice-acti-(cid:0) vated mode, possibly changing the intended meaning of(cid:0) the utterance.(cid:0) The advantage of voice-activated recording is that our least(cid:0) available resource is time, and it allows us to record(cid:0) without accumulating a lot of recordings to analyze. That(cid:0) trumps all of the disadvantages.(cid:0) Radio Frequency

Interference(cid:0) If the recorded file is transferred to a computer via a digital(cid:0) cable, then there should be little danger of radio frequency(cid:0) (RF) contamination, but if it is played into a computer via(cid:0) an audio cable, then it must be converted to analog and is(cid:0) very subject to RF contamination. If the resulting sound file(cid:0) is amplified very much, the RF signal might be mistaken as(cid:0) EVP.(cid:0) Voice-to-Text Software(cid:0) We reported an instance of unexpected text in the Winter,(cid:0) 2008 NewsJournal. Although voice-to-text features are in(cid:0) Microsoft Word and Windows Vista, to name two, Dragon(cid:0) Naturally Speaking by Nuance Software [$99 US funds.(cid:0) See(cid:0)www.nuance.com(cid:0)] seems to be the most common(cid:0) source for unexpected text.(cid:0) A recent message from RM indicated that his mother had(cid:0) been thinking about a friend who was “suffering from(cid:0) terrible migraines….” He said that she was reading mate-(cid:0) rial on the Internet about how to become less sensitive(cid:0) emotionally and taking notes that she might relay to her(cid:0) friend. She stepped away from the computer to look for a(cid:0) set of positive affirmation cards, and when she returned,(cid:0) the speech recognition program had been turned on and(cid:0) there was a paragraph of text.(cid:0) RM’s mother explained: “Dragon Naturally Speaking(cid:0) loads up in the bottom-right taskbar, but it has to be manu-(cid:0) ally clicked on in order to load up properly, and the micro-(cid:0) phone must be directly spoken into in order to pick up(cid:0) speech. Even if the Dragon program had picked up nothing(cid:0) but

random ‘gobbledy-gook’, that in itself would be re-(cid:0) markable having come from a quiet room. That it had(cid:0) written a whole paragraph pertinent to what I was thinking(cid:0) about was quite amazing!(cid:0) “It may not make much sense to other people, but it(cid:0) made perfect sense in regard to this particular person, who(cid:0) happens to be a professor of philosophy.” This is the mes-(cid:0) sage (cut and pasted):(cid:0) “And the will admit that he wouldn't listen in on(cid:0) the inhuman' and with an incoming call, narrative(cid:0) and wound heals and pain giving of interventions(cid:0) in the thinking year he and he is, it thinking. Caus-(cid:0) ing is not the expected is the reality and legend that(cid:0) come on and on linking in gardening. All in all(cid:0) things constant garden”(cid:0) Since the introduction of the use of an allophone(cid:0) (fragments of speech) file for(cid:0)EVPmaker(cid:0) and the use of(cid:0) changes in environmental energy to control a speech syn-(cid:0) thesis program as demonstrated by Bill Chappell in his(cid:0) Paranormal Puck ((cid:0)www.digitaldowsing.com/puck.htm(cid:0)),(cid:0) the possibility of clinical research of EVP has become(cid:0) feasible.(cid:0) Programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking are just the(cid:0) inverse of speech synthesis, in that voice is translated into(cid:0) text. It appears that whatever initiates EVP might also be(cid:0) able to initiate text by using a speech recognition program.(cid:0) Is it possible that we can establish real-time Electronic Text(cid:0) Phenomena conversations?(cid:0) Design requirements for an open source digital EVP plat-(cid:0) form are being developed at(cid:0)http://ethericstudies.org/(cid:0) journal-esbp(cid:0). Your assistance and suggestions for the doc-(cid:0)

ument are welcome.(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Page 14(cid:0) Cathy(cid:0) Continued from page 7(cid:0) What he will never tolerate, however, is “attacks against(cid:0) the bereaved for their spiritual beliefs.” He continues, “I(cid:0) have never seen someone lose their capacity to reason or(cid:0) make qualified judgments because they lost a loved one.(cid:0) Being bereaved does not make someone stupid, just be-(cid:0) reaved.” I stand behind my choices with a similar fierceness.(cid:0) For most in our recording group, our interest in EVP(cid:0) comes from some life-changing experience. The resulting(cid:0) challenge is mental, emotional and spiritual. There are(cid:0) groups all over the world who are dedicated to research,(cid:0) some of whom watch and collect(cid:0) data from our group. We have been(cid:0) fortunate to find that both types of(cid:0) groups, those dedicated to love and(cid:0) healing, as well as those dedicated to(cid:0) research, can be mutually support-(cid:0) ive. Although it may appear that we(cid:0) have different goals, we are all mak-(cid:0) ing advances that previously were(cid:0) not possible, regardless of how we(cid:0) use this tool for love.(cid:0) Cathy, Christmas 2000(cid:0) I have noticed that there are times(cid:0) when my capacity to reach Cathy is better than others.(cid:0) When I travel, for example, it usually takes a week or two(cid:0) after I return before I can get reliable EVP again. This is(cid:0) also true when I have house guests or if I’m particularly(cid:0) busy with the tasks of life. At one point I noticed that I had(cid:0) not felt Cathy’s presence as close as usual.

The EVP I was(cid:0) getting sounded faint and distant. I began wondering if(cid:0) Cathy had moved on to another level in the spirit world,(cid:0) one which was less accessible to me. Did she have to adjust(cid:0) to her new location and a different vibration rate before(cid:0) contacting me again?(cid:0) About this time my sister Donna asked me if I remem-(cid:0) bered the Dennis Quaid movie(cid:0)Frequency(cid:0). We had seen it(cid:0) together a few years ago. Its hero was a young man who(cid:0) managed to contact his deceased father (Quaid) by means(cid:0) of a ham radio. I had forgotten most of the story line, but(cid:0) my new interest in EVP prompted me to rent the movie(cid:0) again.(cid:0) Viewing(cid:0)Frequency(cid:0) the second time, I found many sym-(cid:0) bols relating to my spiritual relationship with Cathy. The(cid:0) most important message occurred when the son was having(cid:0) a particularly difficult time. He walked into his office and(cid:0) noticed a strange mark on the wooden desk where the ham(cid:0) radio sat. As he looked closer, he realized that the mark was(cid:0) a message burnt into the wood, “I’m still here.”(cid:0) This was the exact phrase I first heard Cathy say on(cid:0) Rachel’s computer. Seeing the message there in the movie(cid:0) made my eyes tear up immediately. At that moment, I felt(cid:0) that Cathy, sensing my sadness and the distance from her(cid:0) that I’d been feeling, had somehow planted the idea for this(cid:0) movie in Donna’s head. Perhaps this was the only way(cid:0) Cathy could get through to

me that she really was “still(cid:0) here,” still with me. I realized that perhaps she had been(cid:0) trying to reach me through our established communication(cid:0) paths, but that I had been too busy keeping up with my(cid:0) activities for her to be able to reach me. Maybe I needed to(cid:0) adjust my frequency to again allow communication to flow.(cid:0) I sometimes notice that when I surround myself with too(cid:0) much “busy-ness” in my life, I build a wall that blocks(cid:0) contact, both with Cathy on the Other Side and with those(cid:0) I love here. Once I realize this, I try to remind myself that(cid:0) all those I love are “still here,” regardless of the frenetic(cid:0) pace that might block them out. That realization usually(cid:0) stops me dead in my tracks. I take a deep breath, open my(cid:0) heart, adjust my own frequency, and say to myself, or(cid:0) anyone who’s around to hear, “I’m still here.”(cid:0) Martha will be at the L.A. conference and will do a live(cid:0) recording session along with sharing her techniques(cid:0) with you on how to record.(cid:0) Research Volunteers Needed(cid:0) As part of the research study that is being(cid:0) funded by the The Sarah Estep Research(cid:0) Fund, the Windbridge Institute is looking(cid:0) for research volunteers. To learn how you(cid:0) can sign up to part of the study, please visit(cid:0) the website at(cid:0)www.windbridge.org/study.html(cid:0) for more(cid:0) information. When asked for your Participant Code please(cid:0) enter “AAEVP.”(cid:0) Forever Family Foundation PSA(cid:0) A professional producer has developed a Mother’s Day(cid:0) Public

Service Announcement (PSA) for the Forever Fam-(cid:0) ily Foundation ((cid:0)foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0)). The AA-(cid:0) EVP is mentioned and Karen(cid:0) Mossey’s “I love you” and Teri(cid:0) Daner’s “Hi Mom” are used. The(cid:0) text of the PSA is provided below,(cid:0) at(cid:0) and www.aaevp.com/news.html(cid:0). We have a quality copy of the(cid:0) sound file if you have a local radio station who will use it.(cid:0) hear you can it The voices you are about to hear are of deceased loved ones(cid:0) recorded by the American Association of Electronic Voice(cid:0) Phenomena:(cid:0)“Hi Mom,” “I love you.”(cid:0)There are many ways(cid:0) to say “I love you” this Mother’s Day. A messaged from a(cid:0) deceased loved one is the most precious of all.(cid:0) Brought to you by the Forever Family Foundation, a(cid:0) nonprofit supporting research into life after death. Visit us(cid:0) on foreverfamilyfoundation.org. That's(cid:0) foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0) the web at Produced by L&R Productions Inc. ((cid:0)www.landrproductions.com(cid:0))(cid:0) AA-EVP Member Registry(cid:0) The Member Registry is a voluntary list of member’s(cid:0) names, city, state, zip code and email address. It is intended(cid:0) to help people locate others in their area for possible group(cid:0) activities. However, we have asked whether or not people(cid:0) have used the list and there has only been one answer.(cid:0) Please tell us if you have used it in the past year. If there is(cid:0) not sufficient response, the list will be discontinued.(cid:0) Page 15 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) An Incredible Personal Proof(cid:0) by Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) I wish to share a very special experi-(cid:0) that I had regarding my(cid:0) ence master’s degree. I

decided to face(cid:0) the test for my master’s at the uni-(cid:0) versity but for a hundred reasons, I(cid:0) was not secure that I would succeed.(cid:0) I had been away from the university(cid:0) for more than thirty years, and now(cid:0) in my fifties, I felt it was not as easy(cid:0) to learn. But since the beginning, my(cid:0) spirit friends, mainly Fernando,(cid:0) tried to encourage me and build up(cid:0) my confidence. Fernando continually suggested to me that(cid:0) I would succeed.(cid:0) Sonia Rinaldi(cid:0) About 1 month ago I took the three tests to get my(cid:0) master’s degree, and twenty days ago, I asked Fernando(cid:0) about the test and he replied via EVP,(cid:0)“I will make a party!(cid:0) In other words he was telling me that we would have a(cid:0) celebration and that I would be successful in obtaining my(cid:0) master’s degree! (cid:0) To my surprise, the university called that same week but(cid:0) it did not sound positive for me, as they wanted to speak to(cid:0) me in person. Why would they want to speak to me???(cid:0) It was bad news. A theologian called me and said that my(cid:0) tests were very good but that my thesis on ITC could not be(cid:0) accepted, as ITC was not acceptable as “Sciences of Reli-(cid:0) gion.” I was so upset with his ridiculous argument that I(cid:0) gave up and said, “Look, I don’t have time to waste in my(cid:0) life … if I cannot do the thesis that I want, then I thank you,(cid:0) but I am leaving….”

So, I was very upset for having lost(cid:0) months of my life studying for nothing and also, Fernando(cid:0) had been wrong!(cid:0) Then, ten days ago on the university website, the names(cid:0) appeared of those who had been approved. I knew that I(cid:0) should not look as I already knew that I was “out.” They(cid:0) would not accept my thesis and I had refused to change it.(cid:0) But with a sad heart I went ahead and looked at the list, and(cid:0) to my shock, my name was there! I couldn’t believe my(cid:0) eyes!(cid:0) I took some documents to the university to make sure that(cid:0) they had not made a mistake. And now I had another(cid:0) worry: if I was truly accepted, I did not know how I was(cid:0) going to pay. I had been told that there were no scholar-(cid:0) ships for first year students. I thought about my car and(cid:0) realized that its total value might be enough to pay for one(cid:0) year of school. I was wondering if in fact I should really(cid:0) even begin this course of study.(cid:0) So… all the time I was thinking that if Fernando knew(cid:0) that (unexpectedly) I would be approved … he should(cid:0) invent a way to pay my account as I could figure out no(cid:0) way to do so.(cid:0) Fernando, Sonia’s(cid:0) husband, transitioned in(cid:0) 2005 and is today one of(cid:0) her most frequent(cid:0) speakers from the Other(cid:0) Side.(cid:0) See Sonia’s website at(cid:0) http://www.ipati.org/(cid:0) Fernando(cid:0) didn’t offer scholarships for the first year so

why would I(cid:0) receive one? I asked and was told that it was because I had(cid:0) received the highest score among the tests!(cid:0) So, not only was I approved but also I received the(cid:0) scholarship! Fernando had been right all along! And you(cid:0) can imagine the celebration that took place! To me this(cid:0) proves that our spirit friends can see a bit of the future!(cid:0) Information on “Kevin” EVP Recorded at(cid:0) Forever Family Conference(cid:0) In February, we received an email from Bob and Phran(cid:0) Ginsburg, Founders of the Forever Family Foundation(cid:0) (FFF),(cid:0)www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0), regarding an(cid:0) EVP recorded at their 2008 conference in November in(cid:0) Long Island, New York. Debbie Caruso had joined us to(cid:0) conduct an EVP live recording. On Lisa’s recorder, you(cid:0) can hear Debbie asking if there was a spirit team that might(cid:0) help us. Immediately after this, there is an EVP saying,(cid:0) “Kevin,”(cid:0) which we reported to the Ginsburgs.(cid:0) The Ginsburgs forwarded this email from a conference(cid:0) attendee:(cid:0) “Dear Robert, I just read the newsletter from For-(cid:0) ever Family Foundation and have information that(cid:0) might help you from the conference at the mansion(cid:0) which I attended in November. Kevin is my son(cid:0) who passed over to the other side on March 2, 2003(cid:0) at the age of forty-three and I know he was with me(cid:0) at the conference. I have had several visitations(cid:0) from him, mostly through light. Doreen Mallory(cid:0) [An FFF-certified medium] came to my table(cid:0) [during the lunch after the conference] and she was(cid:0) wonderful and

gave me information about Kevin.(cid:0) Kevin was a wonderful and kind person with a heart(cid:0) of gold… I was overwhelmed by the mention of his(cid:0) name in the newsletter. I know he was there at the(cid:0) mansion.” SE(cid:0) So, last week when I was delivering my documents, the(cid:0) secretary called me into a room and told me that I had been(cid:0) awarded a scholarship for two years! Imagine my face. I(cid:0) was dumbfounded. I couldn’t understand. I knew they(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Page 16(cid:0) An Observant Communicator(cid:0) by Richard Smith(cid:0) I will leave you with a rather serious, but quite true story of(cid:0) how an EVP message actually saved me from blindness(cid:0) this year!! About a year ago, I was visiting the gravesite of(cid:0) my father, and as usual, I had a digital recorder running at(cid:0) the time. It was only a 2-3 minute clip and there were only(cid:0) a few brief EVP picked up, but one stood out with a(cid:0) startling ring(cid:0):(cid:0)“He’s going blind!”(cid:0)was the brief quip that(cid:0) seemed to be a “ghost to ghost” conversation.(cid:0) Upon hearing this later at home, I was at first reluctant to(cid:0) think that the comment was about me, but on the other(cid:0) hand, it had been two years for me since my last eye exam.(cid:0) So after fretting a week over this, I just went ahead and(cid:0) made the appointment.(cid:0) On my appointment date, the doctor told me I had some(cid:0) significant damage to the macular area of both eyes, and(cid:0)

although there was no immediate danger, it was explained(cid:0) to me that this condition can worsen overnight and turn into(cid:0) a serious threat of blindness. The doctor wanted me to(cid:0) return every six weeks for close follow ups.(cid:0) Ten days later, I awoke in the morning with a huge(cid:0) opaque circle blocking my central vision in my right eye. I(cid:0) hurried to the VA hospital, and my doctor told me I had(cid:0) hemorrhaged between the macula and retinal area below it,(cid:0) forming a dangerous pressure from trapped pools of blood.(cid:0) Now here’s the interesting part; the doctor said that as(cid:0) little as two years ago the result of this was certain blind-(cid:0) ness, but now my VA hospital was involved in the studies(cid:0) and trials of a new treatment for this. A cancer-killing(cid:0) chemo drug is injected into the eyeball and causes the(cid:0) capillaries to dry up. Sometimes a steroid drug is given as(cid:0) well, thus requiring two individual injections.(cid:0) After nearly a year of monthly injections, and three(cid:0) reoccurrences of hemorrhages, I am still fighting the condi-(cid:0) tion, but thanks to the ghostly “heads up”(cid:0)and the VA(cid:0) studies program, I still have my eyesight. I have also had(cid:0) surgery once on that eye to install an ocular implant lens.(cid:0) Prognosis is guarded, although the doctors say if we can(cid:0) fight this for another year or so, there is a good chance the(cid:0) condition will subside and my sight will survive.(cid:0) In my private classes on EVP, I teach my

students the(cid:0) technique of “passive” EVP sessions. In these sessions we(cid:0) speak amongst each other to generate interest by our com-(cid:0) municators in specific topics (we know they are listening),(cid:0) but refrain from directing conversation to them so they then(cid:0) talk to each other instead of talking to us. And herein lies(cid:0) the opportunity to catch a little “inside information” that(cid:0) may not have been forthcoming in any direct form as they(cid:0) will occasionally talk amongst themselves.(cid:0) With his wife, Mary, Richard(cid:0) and directs(cid:0) founded Smith Paratexas.(cid:0) See(cid:0)http://paratexas.com(cid:0) Regarding the seeming reluctance of some EVP voices to(cid:0) give meaningful content to their messages, I have(cid:0) considered many possibilities, including the theory that our(cid:0) communicators are instructed and supervised so as to not(cid:0) contradict spiritual laws, such as free will. For example, I(cid:0) have an excellent EVP taken during the recording of a(cid:0) father who died young and left child and wife. His ashes are(cid:0) being kept in the house and the family has not dealt(cid:0) properly with their grief. As a result, the family seems to be(cid:0) keeping the father about the house somewhat for their own(cid:0) selfish comfort.(cid:0) At their home, the deceased father spoke often during the(cid:0) EVP session, his voice recognizable by the family, and he(cid:0) called the daughter by her daddy’s pet nickname which(cid:0) only the father had done in real life. Apparently our efforts(cid:0) to assist the family in letting go were being watched by(cid:0) what we could only explain as guides. We recorded a

very(cid:0) authoritative voice of a man who seemed to be supervising(cid:0) this session as he once exclaimed to the persistent father,(cid:0) “(cid:0)You have your limitations, Jerry.”(cid:0) The father’s name(cid:0) was indeed Jerry, and it seemed that the guide was intent(cid:0) on making sure the father did not exceed some unknown(cid:0) limitations of spiritual law in this communication session.(cid:0) Toward the end of the session, we picked up a very clear(cid:0) female EVP saying(cid:0)“Thank you!”(cid:0) This session was very(cid:0) convincing to us as an example of evidence of an organized(cid:0) indication of purpose and structure of the afterlife realm.(cid:0) Editor: There have been occasional reports of contact via EVP(cid:0) which seemed to be monitored by authority figures. Are there(cid:0) rules controlling what can be told to us? Please send us a letter if(cid:0) you have a similar story.(cid:0) AA-EVP Conference Volunteers(cid:0) If you are going to be at the AA-EVP Conference in L.A.(cid:0) and would like to help out we need a few helpers. We need(cid:0) people to take pictures of attendees and presenters for the(cid:0) NewsJournal during the conference. We also need one or(cid:0) two people to help with registration of attendees on(cid:0) Saturday morning at 8a.m. before the conference begins at(cid:0) 9a.m.(cid:0) If you are good with a video camera and would like to(cid:0) help out, we would also like to hear from you. We may(cid:0) need someone to use a video camera to project close-ups of(cid:0) what presenters are doing on the overhead display during(cid:0) presentations. How we

are going to go about this is still(cid:0) being discussed, so if you have ideas on filming workshops(cid:0) so that the audience can see exactly what a presenter is(cid:0) doing, we would like to hear from you.(cid:0) If you have set up A/V equipment for conferences with(cid:0) laptops and video projectors and will be attending we(cid:0) would also like to know who you are.(cid:0) Richard Smith(cid:0) Page 17 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0)Continued from page 1(cid:0) Debbie has formed her own paranormal investigation team(cid:0) and has appeared on many(cid:0)Maury Show(cid:0) episodes with(cid:0) medium Jeffrey Wands. Her EVP messages often(cid:0) collaborate the information that Jeffrey is bringing in. She(cid:0) has helped many people connect with their deceased love(cid:0) ones and often records EVP in groups while on the(cid:0) telephone. Debbie will be demonstrating her techniques in(cid:0) recording and showing others how they can do group(cid:0) recordings via the telephone.(cid:0) Dr. Julie Beischel and Mark Boccuzzi, founders of(cid:0) Windbridge Institute, will provide an update on a research(cid:0) study funded by the AA-EVP concerning real-time EVP(cid:0) conversations. The study is currently in the data-analysis(cid:0) phase and a preliminary report should be ready in time for(cid:0) the conference. We would like you to know that this is a(cid:0) very important beginning for AA-EVP research.(cid:0) The AA-EVP is all about techniques, research and(cid:0) evidence, but the Big Circle is really the “so what” of EVP.(cid:0) It is the contact with loved ones that seems to be the most(cid:0) important, and while EVP is probably the

most objective(cid:0) evidence, we think you will agree that Marti and Michael(cid:0) Parry are amongst the most evidential mediums. They will(cid:0) provide a two-hour demonstration of their mediumship for(cid:0) attendees on Saturday evening. They are also offering(cid:0) private sessions at a discount for conference attendees – see(cid:0) page 4.(cid:0) Many people have expressed interest in getting spirit(cid:0) pictures from reflecting light off of crystals. We will be(cid:0) demonstrating how you can go about doing this yourself as(cid:0) this is one of the simplest techniques for visual ITC which(cid:0) you can expect to replicate at home.(cid:0) One of the biggest things that we hear is that people want(cid:0) help and would like to have time with those who are getting(cid:0) results. We have set aside time at the conference for(cid:0) presenters to help attendees with listening to their sound(cid:0) files or just answering your questions. If you want help(cid:0) listening to your sound files you are going to need to bring(cid:0) a laptop loaded with a sound manager file such as Audacity(cid:0) and your examples!(cid:0) We have also provided time for presenters to share the(cid:0) results from their live demonstrations. We all know that it(cid:0) can take time to go through EVP and ITC recordings. This(cid:0) conference period will allow our presenters time to go over(cid:0) their demonstrations and share results with attendees that(cid:0) they may not have had time to do during their regular(cid:0) presentation.(cid:0) We wanted this conference to not just be people talking(cid:0) about EVP/ITC but about doing

EVP/ITC. Come let our(cid:0) phenomenal presenters help those of you learning about(cid:0) EVP for the first time and inspire those already getting(cid:0) results to new heights. Death does not need to end our(cid:0) relationships with our loved ones and this conference is(cid:0) going to be full of people who are proving that this is true!(cid:0) We look forward to seeing you in Los Angeles. As you(cid:0) can see in the article on page 13, there are a lot of things to(cid:0) do before or after the conference. Tom and Lisa(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 News From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Members Garrett Husveth and Al Rauber advise us that(cid:0) their(cid:0)Haunted New Jersey(cid:0) Podcast 72, featuring member(cid:0) Debbie Caruso and psychic Jeffrey Wands, is available(cid:0) for direct download at:(cid:0) http://media.libsyn.com/media/hauntednj/(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey continues to do regular presentations on(cid:0) EVP in the New England area. In March she spoke at a(cid:0) Borders Book store in Nashua N.H. To see where she(cid:0) will be next go to(cid:0)www.ectoweb.com(cid:0).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott and Christine Jenkins were on the KAPS(cid:0) Paranormal CBS talk radio program. We checked our(cid:0) website stats and saw quite a jump in visits that coincided(cid:0) with their appearance. Thanks, Vicki and Christine!(cid:0) •(cid:0)Keith Clark purchased a Paranormal Puck to see whether(cid:0) or not he liked working with it for collecting EVP. When(cid:0) Gary Nixon began studying hardware solutions for EVP,(cid:0) Keith loaned him the Puck. Since then, we are happy to(cid:0) say that Keith has donated the device to the AA-EVP for(cid:0) research and/or historical preservation.(cid:0)

•(cid:0)Michael Tymn’s new book,(cid:0)The Articu-(cid:0) late Dead(cid:0),(cid:0) has been published by Galde(cid:0) Press (ISBN-10: 193194248X). Michael is(cid:0) the editor of the(cid:0)Academy of Spirituality(cid:0) and Paranormal Studies(cid:0)’(cid:0)The Searchligh(cid:0)t(cid:0) newsletter, and is well known for his mod-(cid:0) ern interviews of pioneers in the Spiritual-(cid:0) ist movement.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Annette Childs’s new book,(cid:0)Halfway(cid:0) Across the River,(cid:0) is a compilation of(cid:0) fascinating stories that detail her nearly(cid:0) twenty years of work with the dying. From(cid:0) deathbed visions, to messages sent from(cid:0) beyond the veil, these true accounts are(cid:0) meant to bring peace to the dying, hope to(cid:0) the grieving and food for thought to the(cid:0) rest of us. Purchase it at(cid:0) www.onecandle.net/books.html(cid:0) Text Message Communications(cid:0) [We received this email regarding text message communication.](cid:0) “I have received a number of very clear text messages(cid:0) from the other side but they switch around the dates and(cid:0) things it seems. I actually watched as if my loved one was(cid:0) practicing typing and have received a number of clear(cid:0) sentences as well. It comes in only in certain places on my(cid:0) phone and it is usually under the old contact information I(cid:0) saved for my loved one. Sometimes the messages stay for(cid:0) days and months and sometimes the phone goes out and the(cid:0) messages are gone. I haven’t heard anyone else discuss this(cid:0) except that electronic communication is a common one.(cid:0) Are you or do you know anyone who is exploring this(cid:0) avenue?(cid:0) Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Rhonda Burton posted a recording that had a voice she(cid:0) felt sounded like

a young woman saying,(cid:0)“Stop it”(cid:0) and(cid:0) then another one saying(cid:0)“Sue Anne.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland shared a recording and explained,(cid:0) “You will hear Cathy’s voice saying,(cid:0)‘We’re all in the(cid:0) BC – Circle’(cid:0) And then a roster of names follow:(cid:0)‘Cathy,(cid:0) Donnie, Todd(twice), Charles’(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso was using the Sony MX-20 and asked(cid:0) “Who’s here from the Big Circle,” and recorded(cid:0) “Joseph, Ma.”(cid:0) She tried recording again a little later and(cid:0) got,(cid:0)“Ma, hi Mom, I love you, Ma.”(cid:0) [Joseph is Debbie’s(cid:0) son on the other side and is a frequent communicator.](cid:0) •(cid:0)Teri Daner posted a recording and asked what others(cid:0) heard. Vicki Talbott said that she heard(cid:0)“I’m (or Hi)(cid:0) Kevin”(cid:0) then(cid:0)“Glad to talk”(cid:0) … then(cid:0)“Geoff.”(cid:0) Teri wrote(cid:0) back, “It’s amazing, because I haven’t recorded in(cid:0) awhile, but (decided to) after I read the posting by Lisa(cid:0) about Kevin crossing over. [Geoff is Teri’s son who is on(cid:0) the other side.](cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey did a recording on a Big Circle group(cid:0) recording date using EVPmaker with phonemes. She got(cid:0) several things including,(cid:0)“Hi, Martha. Love you, … Pet(cid:0) your kitty,” “Pete, Eric, … I’m happy,”(cid:0)and(cid:0)“They can(cid:0) hear us.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)William Fair writes that he has some success with a(cid:0) Panasonic RR-DR60 but should record more regularly.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Harry Flagle writes, “I was employed at CBS studio(cid:0) center for over thirty years as a sound-video design(cid:0) engineer. I received an Emmy in 2006 for my patent on(cid:0) the ‘Quad-Split.’ This invention allows one to view four(cid:0) (4) video signals on a single monitor and is used the(cid:0) world over.(cid:0)

I recently presented to the AA-EVP Idea Exchange a(cid:0) method of reducing noise in an EVP message using phase(cid:0) cancellation and delay. [Editor: See(cid:0)Experimentation(cid:0) with Inverted Channel Nullification,(cid:0) by Zoë J. Robinson(cid:0) on(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0), for some background on this concept. An(cid:0) important addition to the nullification technique is(cid:0) Harry’s suggestion that one channel be delayed slightly.(cid:0) We will attempt to include an article about this in the next(cid:0) issue.](cid:0) I enjoy going to remote locations for EVP and ghost(cid:0) hunting. I am currently experimenting with ultrasound(cid:0) techniques as a possible two-way communication be-(cid:0) tween the spirit world and the living. I have a prototype(cid:0) in Delaware for evaluation.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Goldman wrote that he gets EVP messages mainly(cid:0) playing back recorded phone calls on a RCA RP 358 and(cid:0) a Radio Shack Micro-45 micro recorder with the mic(cid:0) switch set on high.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Neil Kieirnan shared a recording made at the grave of(cid:0) Charley Parkhurst at the Pioneer Cemetery in Watson-(cid:0) ville, California. Charley was a stagecoach driver in the(cid:0) 1850s and ‘60s. She lived most of her life as a man and(cid:0) it wasn’t until her death that they realized Charley was a(cid:0) woman. Neil wrote, “Immediately after I speak I hear,(cid:0) ‘Purpose ... calling Charley.’(cid:0) It’s a women’s very high-(cid:0) pitched voice.” Neil also shared other information that he(cid:0) had found on Charley saying that he (she) rarely spoke(cid:0) but when he did it was in an odd high pitched voice.(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski said that he decided to, “fire up the(cid:0)

optical-flame microphone and play the synthesizer(cid:0) through it. The optical microphone creates its own white(cid:0) noise and has a tendency for spirit to alter speech and(cid:0) music played through it, so I thought it might be worth(cid:0) the effort to try. In this first example … (I hear)(cid:0) ‘I fill(cid:0) your hearts with Spirit, I feel so happy now.(cid:0)’(cid:0) Let me(cid:0) know what you hear if anything.” (Members on the board(cid:0) loved the music but had some difficulty hearing the(cid:0) words.)(cid:0) •(cid:0)Carl Norgard writes that he records alone and with a team(cid:0) and that “some recordings can be heard at(cid:0)Paranormal(cid:0) Research & Investigative Studies Midwest’s website(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.doyouseedeadpeople.org(cid:0)).(cid:0) •(cid:0)Barry Pirro recorded(cid:0)“You can hide, can’t you?”(cid:0) at his(cid:0) favorite cemetery.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christopher Scott wrote, “Lately I have had the feeling(cid:0) that I need to be more organized in my life so that I could(cid:0) dedicate a fixed amount of time to EVP research. From(cid:0) reading about other, more skilled researchers, I can see(cid:0) that they often do things like leave their equipment up for(cid:0) long periods of time to let the spirits work with it. In my(cid:0) situation, I don’t have a place where I can do that. I have(cid:0) to set up the equipment and take it down before and after(cid:0) each session. I was talking to the spirits about that and(cid:0) how I planned to be more organized and dedicate more(cid:0) time. I made the comment that they often communicate(cid:0) the most to those who live alone, have a space to

be(cid:0) alone, or are husband and wife teams. Their response(cid:0) was,(cid:0)‘Go to your office.’(cid:0)This is interesting because they(cid:0) often make positive comments about my office. I think(cid:0) they like it here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Allison Sniffin posted an EVP from a Big Circle record-(cid:0) ing session with the group. Her mother’s cat was with her(cid:0) on the bed while she was recording in her mother’s(cid:0) bedroom. She wrote, “The cat sat up quickly like she’d(cid:0) been called and stared with eyes wide and black at a place(cid:0) in front of the window. My mother’s voice is heard at the(cid:0) end of the clip saying,(cid:0)‘I’m near you.’(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott is amazed by the Olympus DS30 recorder.(cid:0) She wrote, “It is very sensitive and quiet, so if you speak,(cid:0) do so softly! After only a very few thirty-second record-(cid:0) ings, I have gotten at least one clear voice in each record-(cid:0) ing. Here is one from this morning: a female; quiet room;(cid:0) no one else around; and, I did not speak. It sounds to me(cid:0) like,(cid:0)‘You have sight.’(cid:0)”(cid:0) Vicki has told us that she’s considering a new 4Cell(cid:0) EVP group, and added that, “Braden wants it.” [Previous(cid:0) 4Cell experiments averaged 68% accuracy in EVP re-(cid:0) sponses. See the article at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).](cid:0) •(cid:0)Yvonne Wybra used the radio sweep method to do a(cid:0) recording and received(cid:0)“The Big Circle.”(cid:0) Page 19 Spring 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Light Reflected from Crystals(cid:0) We will be demonstrating(cid:0) how to get ITC by reflect-(cid:0) ing light off of a crystal at(cid:0) the AA-EVP Conference(cid:0)

July 11(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 12(cid:0)th(cid:0) in Los(cid:0) Angeles. This type of ITC(cid:0) is really a simple process(cid:0) that we think others might(cid:0) be interested in trying.(cid:0) Possible man’s face in light(cid:0) reflected from crystal(cid:0) Man’s face in crystal compared to who was being asked for(cid:0) There is No Death and(cid:0) There are No Dead(cid:0) The book is receiving praise as an(cid:0) tool.(cid:0) important EVP/ITC Why not consider giving a signed(cid:0) copy as a gift to yourself or a friend?(cid:0) learning You can order a signed copy at(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0) or send a letter with(cid:0) signing instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) A, Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugar-(cid:0) loaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA(cid:0) 30097(cid:0) Or go to:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year All benefits for one year(cid:0) not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0) $40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) In addition to my annual

dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.(cid:0) You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:(cid:0)__________(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____(cid:0) I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the(cid:0) list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I(cid:0) violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results(cid:0) of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it(cid:0) publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The AA-EVP reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 1 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Page 20(cid:0) American

Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 28 Number 2 Summer 2009(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0) 2009 AA-EVP Conference(cid:0) The decision to cancel the 2009 AA-EVP conference was(cid:0) difficult for us. As a teaching and research organization,(cid:0) conferences are effective ways for the AA-EVP to offer(cid:0) members direct access to “how to” information provided(cid:0) by practitioners who have shown exceptional ability. We(cid:0) wish to thank all of the speakers for volunteering to provide(cid:0) their services. It was an extraordinary act of community(cid:0) support for you to have agreed to share your knowledge.(cid:0) Mother’s Day Public Service Announcement(cid:0) A volunteer produced a Public Service Announcement(cid:0) (PSA) for the Forever Family Foundation (FFF). It was(cid:0) intended to be aired by radio stations before Mother’s Day.(cid:0) The EVP(cid:0)“Hi, Mom”(cid:0) recorded by Teri Daner and(cid:0)“I love(cid:0) you”(cid:0) recorded by Karen Mossey were played at the begin-(cid:0) ning with credit to the AA-EVP and then: “There are many(cid:0) ways to say ‘I love you’ this Mother’s Day. A messag from(cid:0) a deceased loved one is the most precious of all.” This was(cid:0) followed with FFF(cid:0) ((cid:0)foreverfamilyfoundation.org(cid:0)). We do not know how many(cid:0) radio stations used the PSA, but traffic to(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) in-(cid:0) creased 48% the day after Mother’s Day. You can hear the(cid:0) PSA at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0).(cid:0) information about the Imagine the implications of having EVP examples broad-(cid:0) cast on commercial radio. What must the average listener(cid:0) think? Perhaps even more important is the fact

that another(cid:0) organization thought of and made the PSA as part of its(cid:0) mission. The AA-EVP is a very unique organization in-(cid:0) volved with a decidedly frontier subject. One of our more(cid:0) important functions is the support of people learning to use(cid:0) EVP to contact loved ones. This is important because the(cid:0) contact can potentially help grieving people understand(cid:0) that their loved one is still with them, “alive” and well on(cid:0) the “Other Side.” The Forever Family Foundation’s charter(cid:0) is also to help people understand this, making them an(cid:0) important companion organization to the AA-EVP.(cid:0) New Tools for Developing A Common Culture(cid:0) Historians will surely look back at this time as the first(cid:0) evidence that the studies of survival of personality and(cid:0) instrument-aided trans-etheric communication are begin-(cid:0) ning to show signs of maturing into a mainstream subject.(cid:0) Hauntings investigation groups are in nearly every major(cid:0) community and many are following well-considered proto-(cid:0) cols that help assure the gathering of meaningful evidence.(cid:0) These groups are often as much social as they are investi-(cid:0) gative, but they provide an important introduction to the(cid:0) study of trans-etheric phenomena.(cid:0) Traditional authorities are being challenged by new orga-(cid:0) nizational models such as the ones used by the FFF and the(cid:0) AA-EVP. For instance, virtually every important article(cid:0) has been made available to the public at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0), and(cid:0) there are a growing number of research reports in the online(cid:0) Etheric Studies Journal(cid:0) ((cid:0)ethericstudies.org(cid:0)), which is an(cid:0) AA-EVP sponsored initiative intended to promote collabo-(cid:0) ration amongst researchers in

this field. Contrast that with(cid:0) traditional, members’ only research libraries.(cid:0) Collaboration amongst people interested in learning(cid:0) about and conducting research is a hallmark of a mature(cid:0) field of study. In practice, the study of things phenomenal(cid:0) is not likely to make much progress or be taken seriously(cid:0) by mainstream groups until there is more evidence of(cid:0) cooperation amongst people in our field. Part of this(cid:0) “evidence of a maturing field” we see is the growing(cid:0) number of groups dedicated to critical thought and re-(cid:0) search. In this issue of the NewsJournal, we have an article(cid:0) about how directors of the(cid:0)Australasian EVP/ITC Research(cid:0) and Development Forum(cid:0) have changed their model from a(cid:0) general public discussion board to one focused on research(cid:0) and empirically supported comments. The board is still(cid:0) publicly viewable, but the information on it should now be(cid:0) supported by the rules of evidence, rather than opinion.(cid:0) One of the more important developments in online col-(cid:0) laboration tools is the wiki. “Wiki” is said to be a Hawaiian(cid:0) word for “fast.”(cid:0)MediaWiki.org(cid:0) supports an open source(cid:0) program that anyone can install on a website. The Etheric(cid:0) Studies Journal is a wiki, and of course, you are probably(cid:0) familiar with Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that has(cid:0) been written by individuals as a community collaboration.(cid:0) A really important feature of a wiki is that a group of(cid:0) people can eventually develop an important knowledge(cid:0) base that can serve the community.(cid:0) Continued page 16(cid:0) Founded in 1982 by Sarah Estep to provide objective evidence

to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns,(cid:0) serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the AA-EVP(cid:0) website. Announcements of member activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working(cid:0) with these phenomena and brief comments about your observations. Email submission to(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of(cid:0) January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP by the first(cid:0) of the second month of the quarter preceding the publishing date. A year from the publishing date,(cid:0) the NewsJournal may be added to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be(cid:0) found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address.(cid:0) There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership(cid:0) renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members(cid:0)not(cid:0)receiving the(cid:0) NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of(cid:0) membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors),(cid:0) Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding.(cid:0) Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0)

bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle(cid:0): Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange(cid:0): Margaret Downey(cid:0) Summer 2009(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) and(cid:0) Anonymous(cid:0) EVP Research Patron(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Ben Anlon(cid:0) Regina Antonucci(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Art Counts(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Ben Ablon(cid:0) Amy Burns(cid:0) Margaret Downey(cid:0) Lorelie McMorrow(cid:0) Heidi Spencer(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Salena Anderson(cid:0) Karen Ashdown(cid:0) Charles Chezayah(cid:0) Brian Colbert(cid:0) Dennis Fassler(cid:0) Robert Fenn(cid:0) Gayle Ihlenfeld(cid:0) Maria Laney(cid:0) Phil Martin(cid:0) Robert Meyer(cid:0) Mary Carole Milligan(cid:0) April Newsome(cid:0) Lynda Noël(cid:0) Eugene Streicher(cid:0) Yvonne Whybra(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 2(cid:0) Eric Stein(cid:0) by Kathleen Stein(cid:0) It is not unusual to be comforted by words from a loved one(cid:0) during moments of sadness or grief. What is unusual,(cid:0) though, is to have those comforting words spoken by the(cid:0) very person for whom you are grieving. This happened to(cid:0) me.(cid:0) My twenty-year-old son Eric was killed in a traffic(cid:0) accident in October 2007. He was riding his motorcycle on(cid:0) his way to work when a car exited a restaurant parking lot(cid:0) directly in front of him. The police said he had been going(cid:0) only thirty miles per hour—but he had no chance to stop.(cid:0) He died in the street still wearing braces on his teeth.(cid:0) (Thinking of those braces still makes me cry.)(cid:0) Eric as a boy(cid:0) I had heard of EVP and began to read everything I could(cid:0) find about it. It was Martha Copeland’s book(cid:0)I’m Still Here(cid:0),(cid:0) that made me decide to try it myself. I purchased an(cid:0) Olympus VN-4100PC and

some headphones and started(cid:0) talking to the young people from the Big Circle to ask for(cid:0) their help in contacting my son. I specifically asked for(cid:0) help from Braden. I felt a special affinity for him because(cid:0) he and his mom, Vicki, were also from the Pacific(cid:0) Northwest—and Braden had been the same age as Eric.(cid:0) At first, I did not hear anything except my own dreary(cid:0) ramblings and obnoxious snoring. I learned to do shorter(cid:0) sessions, and to not fall asleep with the recorder on. My(cid:0) first clear response happened early on Saturday, December(cid:0) 15, 2007. I had just awakened and decided again to ask the(cid:0) Big Circle for help in reaching Eric. Later, after I got up to(cid:0) make coffee, I listened to the recording in the living room.(cid:0) In the middle of my recording I heard something loud,(cid:0) clear, and weird. I knew it had to be Braden (Vickie said he(cid:0) was a jokester). The voice that I heard said,(cid:0)“My face,(cid:0) Oh!”(cid:0) I had no idea what it meant, but I was thrilled.(cid:0) Later, I handed the headphones to my twenty-one-year-(cid:0) old daughter, Laura. As she listened, I could tell by the look(cid:0) on her face that she had heard the mysterious message. I(cid:0) said, “but it doesn’t make any sense!” Laura answered “Oh(cid:0) yes it does!”(cid:0) Laura explained that she had borrowed two of a(cid:0) neighbor’s new puppies late the previous night and had(cid:0) kept them with her downstairs in Eric’s room. She had been(cid:0) playing

with the puppies (one named Aiden) when a puppy(cid:0) scratched her cheek. She said, “Oh, my face!” We are sure(cid:0) that it was not Laura’s voice on the recording. She claims(cid:0) to have said “Oh, my face!” not “My face, Oh!” And the(cid:0) voice did not sound anything like hers. A similar incident(cid:0) happened a few months later when I recorded what(cid:0) sounded like(cid:0)“Hi Moppet!”(cid:0) Later, I learned that Laura(cid:0) sometimes called our newly-adopted puppy Aiden by the(cid:0) term “Muppet.”(cid:0) On December 28(cid:0)th(cid:0) or 29(cid:0)th(cid:0) 2007, I had been trying to talk(cid:0) with Eric. I had told Eric that he was “cool.” On the(cid:0) play-back, I hear that same teasing voice say(cid:0)“Heh! Eric’s(cid:0) cool!”(cid:0)It made me laugh.(cid:0) But it was a recording that came between(cid:0) “My Face,(cid:0) Oh!”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“Heh! Eric’s cool!”(cid:0)that I most want to share(cid:0) with all of you in the hopes that it gives you some hope and(cid:0) comfort. It was Sunday afternoon, December 23(cid:0)rd(cid:0), 2007.(cid:0) No one but me was at home. I was in Eric’s room dreading(cid:0) Christmas and feeling very sorry for myself. I talked to Eric(cid:0) as I walked around touching things in his room. I said(cid:0) something like “I guess with the gloomy mood I’m in, it’s(cid:0) good that I’m alone.” On playback—right after my(cid:0) comment about being alone—I hear a quiet, but clear voice(cid:0) say the most wonderful phrase I will ever hear:(cid:0)“You are(cid:0) not alone.”(cid:0)This voice was unlike the other recordings that(cid:0) I think were Braden. It was quieter and more

monotone—I(cid:0) knew it was Eric.(cid:0) Eric on his motorcycle(cid:0) On Saturday May 31(cid:0)st(cid:0), four days before what would have(cid:0) been Eric’s 21(cid:0)st(cid:0) birthday, I recorded another message that(cid:0) is very special to me. His sisters and some of Eric’s friends(cid:0) were planning a get-together in his honor. I asked Eric what(cid:0) he wanted me to do for his birthday. The response I(cid:0) recorded was,(cid:0)“Try not to cry.”(cid:0) I have recorded other messages from Eric, and some that(cid:0) I think are from some of the young people of the Big Circle.(cid:0) I also played a(cid:0) Continued page 4(cid:0) Page 3 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) Eric Stein(cid:0) game with another member of the AA-EVP who wanted to(cid:0) see if our contacts on the other side could help us get the(cid:0) right answers concerning objects in the member’s office.(cid:0) We did pretty well. I can send Lisa a list of the clearest(cid:0) messages showing the dates they were recorded. I would be(cid:0) happy to share the clips also, but getting them onto the(cid:0) computer is a slow and plodding ordeal for me.(cid:0) Lately, though, I have not received any clear messages. I(cid:0) have a new Olympus VN-5200PC so I will try again. For(cid:0) the past few weeks I have been busy with home repairs and(cid:0) other distractions. This makes me wonder about all the(cid:0) variables that affect EVP. We need some physical device,(cid:0) (recorder, radio etc.), as well as the talents, energy and(cid:0) intentions of the entities sending and

receiving. Who(cid:0) knows what other factors might be involved?(cid:0) This is my thought: It is my own personality and aversion(cid:0) to learning computer skills that cause me to put off manag-(cid:0) ing and sharing my recording clips. I hate the whole pro-(cid:0) cess, need someone to help me,(cid:0) and am glad when the darn clip(cid:0) is transferred and sent. Per-(cid:0) haps, on the other side as well,(cid:0) not all entities have the same(cid:0) interest and proclivity to be(cid:0) able to do what is necessary to(cid:0) easily contact us through EVP.(cid:0) Maybe they have a learning(cid:0) curve. Maybe some of them are(cid:0) just plain klutzy at it. They(cid:0) could be doing other things that(cid:0) we just don’t “get” yet. I like(cid:0) the idea that they keep their own personalities and quirks(cid:0) and don’t just merge into a cosmic “Borg.” And I am(cid:0) guessing they probably hear us much more easily than we(cid:0) hear them. They’ve had more practice at it. Someone else(cid:0) recently gave me reason to believe that communication(cid:0) from the other side might require considerable effort.(cid:0)“It’s(cid:0) not easy,”(cid:0)Eric said in a message recorded January 19, 2008.(cid:0) Eric’s death was a horrible personal loss. I will never(cid:0) entirely stop grieving. And of course, as any parent would,(cid:0) I have anecdotes to show how he was special and unique:(cid:0) •(cid:0)When he was three, a neighbor traded-in a silver pickup(cid:0) truck for a new silver pickup truck. They looked exactly(cid:0) the same to me. Eric walked up and said, “You got a

new(cid:0) truck!”(cid:0) Eric(cid:0) •(cid:0)Eric always had trouble sleeping at night. When he was(cid:0) four, he wandered into my bedroom and asked “Am I(cid:0) going to die someday?”(cid:0) •(cid:0)He disliked high school, but would put intense effort into(cid:0) something that grabbed his interest. He read, and wrote(cid:0) an essay on,(cid:0)Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance(cid:0) (a complex philosophical book), and refused to even look(cid:0) at a study guide for it.(cid:0) •(cid:0)He would sit at the computer for hours using music(cid:0) software to record and modify musical pieces with his(cid:0) guitar. (He did not get that skill from me.)(cid:0) •(cid:0)He thought farting was hilarious.(cid:0) •(cid:0)He punched a hole in his bedroom wall in a moment of(cid:0) teenage angst. (That hole was what I had been touching(cid:0) when I recorded the(cid:0)“You are not alone”(cid:0) message.)(cid:0) He was unique, just as we all are. I wish he could have(cid:0) used his tickets to the Van Halen concert that played three(cid:0) weeks after the accident; I wish I had been able to see him(cid:0) in a suit. He would have been a kind, strong, handsome(cid:0) man with straight teeth.(cid:0) That’s what happened and how I feel about it. But one(cid:0) last thing; I don’t want anyone to feel discouraged for not(cid:0) yet having what they might consider personal success with(cid:0) EVP recording. It is the knowledge that it is possible that is(cid:0) so wonderful for all of us. There is so much more to learn.(cid:0) You are not alone. Try not to cry. We

are(cid:0)all(cid:0) cool!(cid:0) Making Contact with a Loved One(cid:0) Should you feel that something is wrong if your loved one(cid:0) does not communicate with you after transition? After all,(cid:0) we often report about how others have made contact. It(cid:0) may seem that the natural process is for a person to make(cid:0) their transition and then quickly turn their attention to(cid:0) loved ones still in the physical to offer a reassuring message.(cid:0) In fact, while many people do hear from their loved ones(cid:0) we make it a point to always remind people, who write to(cid:0) us about using EVP for contacting a loved one, that there(cid:0) are no guarantees of contact. We also add that there must(cid:0) be hundreds of very good reasons for this and none say(cid:0) anything bad about the person or people still in the physical.(cid:0) It is still a mystery as to how or why contact may occur,(cid:0) but one point is very clear. It is not easy. People in the(cid:0) physical must take the time to learn how to record for EVP(cid:0) and we see evidence that it is an ability our loved ones must(cid:0) also learn.(cid:0) Of course, there are many forms of spontaneous contact(cid:0) which is initiated from the other side. In their book,(cid:0)Hello(cid:0) From Heaven(cid:0), Judith and Bill Guggenheim documented(cid:0) twelve types of “spontaneous” After Death Communica-(cid:0) tion (ADC): sensing a presence, hearing a voice, feeling a(cid:0) touch, smelling a fragrance, visual experiences, visions,(cid:0) twilight experiences, ADC experiences while asleep, out-(cid:0) of-body ADCs, telephone

calls, physical phenomena and(cid:0) symbolic ADCs. ((cid:0)www.after-death.com(cid:0)).(cid:0) For instance, Lisa began working with EVP, at least in(cid:0) part because her father was an engineer and she hoped that(cid:0) he would be drawn to use it to make contact. She has made(cid:0) contact with her grandmother who would have thought she(cid:0) was certain to go to hell for talking to demons (she has been(cid:0) very helpful from the other side), and her mother who was(cid:0) not at all technical. Lisa did make contact with her father(cid:0) via lucid dreams, but never with EVP.(cid:0) We know from messages that we should expect a period(cid:0) of orientation after our transition to the other side, followed(cid:0) by a continuation of our journey, apparently to a new venue(cid:0) for learning. This “going on” may not occur for a while,(cid:0) but it may also happen right away.(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 4(cid:0) Technique for Capturing Images on Foil Using the Tunnel Effect and a Webcam(cid:0) by Phyllis Delduque(cid:0) There are several techniques used in my development of(cid:0) the phenomenal images, including television and direct(cid:0) from the computer using a webcam. Most of the time, I use(cid:0) the tunnel effect, even when I use light reflected from foil.(cid:0) makes a very beautiful effect and it is easier for our friends(cid:0) from the Beyond to appear in the recordings. What matters(cid:0) is to provide the largest area in which the images will form.(cid:0) Relationship of webcam to light reflected from foil(cid:0) Webcam setup:(cid:0)I put

the foil (aluminum foil but any shiny(cid:0) surface will work) on a clipboard and place it inside a blue(cid:0) transparent plastic bag. The bag provides a silver or graph-(cid:0) ite color to the resulting images but other colors can be(cid:0) used. As is illustrated above, a bright light is shined onto(cid:0) the foil and the webcam is positioned so that the light(cid:0) reflected from the foil is part of the scene. The resulting(cid:0) “tunnel” of bright light is generally too bright to form(cid:0) images but the regions around the margins of the bright(cid:0) light often produce phenomenal features.(cid:0) The room should be relatively dark with no unexpected(cid:0) bright lights from the room shining into the webcam lens.(cid:0) This will help to control the regions in which features form.(cid:0) Face of a friend who transitioned in 1998(cid:0) Looking for features:(cid:0) My typical recording session is(cid:0) around two minutes long. After capturing the video, I save(cid:0) the file and open it with a video editor program which(cid:0) allows me to look at the frames one at a time. This part is(cid:0) more complicated because it requires patience and close(cid:0) attention. With a recording time of two minutes, I have(cid:0) over four hundred video frames which are individual pic-(cid:0) tures that need to be examined.(cid:0) [Editor: When using the webcam in video mode, a very(cid:0) long session may produce more frames than it is reasonable(cid:0) to examine. However, it is possible to use the webcam in(cid:0) “still image” mode as a standard camera.

In the same way,(cid:0) a still camera or a video camera can be substituted.](cid:0) Computer setup:(cid:0)The webcam should come with a com-(cid:0) puter program which allows control of the various features(cid:0) such as contrast and focus. Open the program’s capture(cid:0) window and adjust the contrast and brightness of the scene(cid:0) being captured by the webcam to produce the greatest(cid:0) amount of gray region(cid:0) between the very dark(cid:0) and the very light zones.(cid:0) Adjust the camera to(cid:0) be slightly out of focus to(cid:0) help make the gray area(cid:0) around the light tunnel a(cid:0) little more chaotic for(cid:0) images. Remember that(cid:0) the images are formed in(cid:0) the areas that have(cid:0) “interesting” textures of(cid:0) light and dark.(cid:0) Possible image of an alien(cid:0) Experiment with the(cid:0) Landscape as a volcanic island. A female head can be(cid:0) seen in the cloud from the eruption.(cid:0) Phyllis Delduque, of Brazil, has been(cid:0) an Instrumental Transcommunication(cid:0) researcher since 1985.(cid:0) light brightness and position relative to the camera. Addi-(cid:0) tional lights can be added as long as you can control how(cid:0) the reflected light is detected by the webcam. It is also(cid:0) effective to add color. I sometimes hold a crystal in front of(cid:0) the light so as to cast a rainbow of color onto the foil. This(cid:0) She has a blog with examples at(cid:0) www.transcomunicaoinstrumental.blogspot.com(cid:0) Phyllis Delduque(cid:0) Page 5 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Living with Dying(cid:0) by Dr. Annette Childs(cid:0) Although this is a newsletter devoted to “talking with the(cid:0) dead,” Tom and Lisa Butler have asked me

to write a few(cid:0) words on the subject that truly precedes this notion …(cid:0) talking with the dying.(cid:0) For nearly twenty years now, I have devoted the bulk of(cid:0) my therapy practice to working with(cid:0) those who are terminally ill. I have(cid:0) had the great honor of walking(cid:0) beside many as they leave this(cid:0) world, and it has often allowed me(cid:0) to stand in that doorway of light and(cid:0) observe.(cid:0) Doorway(cid:0) Photographed by PeKai,(cid:0) www.flickr.com/photos/(cid:0) If you have a friend or loved one(cid:0) who is nearing life’s end, and you(cid:0) would like to open a conversation(cid:0) with them about the end of life,(cid:0) below are a few words of wisdom I(cid:0) often share with families of my(cid:0) clientele.(cid:0) Death is a natural event that will find us all(cid:0) Once we can quell our fear and accept this simple fact, it(cid:0) can truly begin to transform the way we live. If you want(cid:0) to pursue a conversation with one who is dying, learn what(cid:0) you can about the process beforehand. This is not so that(cid:0) you can deliver your “findings” to the dying. Instead, what(cid:0) this will do is to instill a sense of peace in you that the(cid:0) dying one will sense. When you pursue information on(cid:0) death and dying, you will be surprised to find that the(cid:0) information available is both thought provoking and very(cid:0) comforting. It will transform how you feel about death, and(cid:0) therefore change the quality of companionship you can(cid:0) offer to the dying.(cid:0) Follow, do

not lead(cid:0) This is by far the most important phrase that I use with the(cid:0) families of the dying. Many times caregivers complain that(cid:0) their loved one is “in denial” because they do not want to(cid:0) talk about death. This is a terrible judgment for us to make(cid:0) upon another. There is not a right and wrong way to die(cid:0).(cid:0) Like every other natural event that we face as individuals,(cid:0) we will die in our own way, and if we want to discuss it, we(cid:0) will do so in our own time. As a loved one/caregiver to one(cid:0) who is dying, your job is to hold a posture of openness to(cid:0) that person. Through your actions and your peaceful state(cid:0) of mind, you can non-verbally let them know that you are(cid:0) a safe receptacle for conversations about truth. Using “I”(cid:0) statements shows them you are open to the conversation(cid:0) without broaching it directly. An appropriate “I” statement(cid:0) might be something like this:(cid:0)“I spend a lot of time thinking(cid:0) about you, and what this must be like for you. It has made(cid:0) me think about some things in my own life that I never(cid:0) would have thought about before….”(cid:0) This is like offering(cid:0) a golden thread to the dying one…. If they want to pursue(cid:0) a conversation that is based in reality and shared emotion,(cid:0) this statement is a beautiful way to set the stage.(cid:0) Death is a process, not a moment(cid:0) This is a concept that has been borne out

by both medical(cid:0) science and quantum physics. On the quantum physics(cid:0) side, at the molecular level death is “alive” and happening(cid:0) to us all the time. Someone who is going to live to be eighty(cid:0) years old, at the molecular level is half dead by the age of(cid:0) forty! Of course we don’t have the eyes to see this, but at(cid:0) the subatomic level(cid:0)it is reality(cid:0). This theory can account(cid:0) for the many instances of “Nearing-Death Awareness”(cid:0) (NDA) that happen as we approach the end of our lives.(cid:0) NDA is a phenomenon that occurs where the dying begin(cid:0) to exist in the next world before they leave this one. It(cid:0) includes death bed visions, out-of-body experiences, and(cid:0) other mystical phenomena prevalent at the end of life.(cid:0) At the level of medical science, death is a surprisingly(cid:0) well orchestrated event that plays out quite similarly for(cid:0) each of us. Just as the body of a woman who is nine months(cid:0) pregnant begins to respond chemically to that impending(cid:0) birth, our physical bodies embrace the dying process. The(cid:0) physical milestones to death are predictable, sequential and(cid:0) very likely produce an array of “comfort chemicals” that(cid:0) alleviate any suffering that we on the outside might(cid:0) perceive. Those who have returned from “death’s(cid:0) doorstep” often describe a euphoric experience that does(cid:0) not at all match what their physical process may have(cid:0) looked like to observers. This is important to remember: we(cid:0) cannot judge suffering through our own eyes…. And just(cid:0) as a woman in

labor will writhe and grimace, and show(cid:0) distress, the dying often do the same. Even so, at the late(cid:0) stages of the dying process it is thought that these motions(cid:0) are just the orchestrations of a dying physical vehicle, and(cid:0) that our essence or “spirit” is already un-tethered from that(cid:0) vehicle, but not yet fully to the other side.(cid:0) Below is an excerpt from my book(cid:0)Halfway Across the(cid:0) River(cid:0) that illustrates this point very well:(cid:0) Bottle it up(cid:0) Dorothy was in her late seventies when(cid:0) the dreaded diagnosis came, ALS or(cid:0) Lou Gehrig’s Disease. She had been(cid:0) treated for an array of other things for(cid:0) the actual(cid:0) several months before diagnosis was made. When I met her,(cid:0) she was all of seventy-five pounds; a(cid:0) toothless imp who scarcely poked her(cid:0) head out from beneath the covers.(cid:0) Both the admitting nurse and I fell in(cid:0) love with Dorothy the day we signed(cid:0) her onto the hospice organization we worked for. Although(cid:0) she was suffering, she still had a twinkle in her eye which(cid:0) hinted at the wisecracking bubbly persona she had once(cid:0) embodied. Her disease process was devastating:(cid:0) completely bed bound and, unable to swallow anything but(cid:0) water, she was essentially starving to death in front of her(cid:0) loved ones.(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 6(cid:0) Living with Dying(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) I arrived at Dorothy’s for my weekly visit, surprised at(cid:0) how much weaker she had grown in the past days. Her(cid:0) husband, Jerry, looked drawn

and tired so I urged him to go(cid:0) outside for a walk while I relieved his bedside vigil.(cid:0) My attention immediately fell upon my laboring friend.(cid:0) She looked up at me with eyes as large as saucers, and(cid:0) motioned for a sip of water from a nearby glass. I fumbled(cid:0) at getting the water into her mouth, and I laughed aloud at(cid:0) my inept bedside skills. She smiled weakly and let me(cid:0) know her appreciation through her eyes. She tried to swal-(cid:0) low the water, but struggled.(cid:0) Most of the liquid dribbled back out of her mouth, but(cid:0) enough went down her throat to cause her to choke. Her(cid:0) weak, almost inaudible, cough defied the severity of what(cid:0) was happening. She could not regain her breath and visibly(cid:0) began to suffer from lack of oxygen. I was panic stricken.(cid:0) Knowing that Dorothy had requested that 911 never be(cid:0) called for her in an emergency, I rolled her onto her side,(cid:0) and hit her on the back while fumbling for the phone to call(cid:0) in help from the hospice team. In the meantime, she had(cid:0) ceased struggling, and her skin took on a ghostly shade, her(cid:0) lips starting to blue around the edges. I was certain that she(cid:0) was dying in my presence and suffering greatly as she did(cid:0) so.(cid:0) Dorothy regained her breath right about this time. As she(cid:0) took in a shallow yet sustaining breath, her eyes began to(cid:0) dart around the room. The same sparkle I had so

loved(cid:0) about her originally was there, and a serene expression(cid:0) radiated from her still pale face. As I began to stammer out(cid:0) an apology for failing to help her when she was choking,(cid:0) her face spread into a slow grin. Although toothless and(cid:0) weak beyond measure, Dorothy turned to me with a voice(cid:0) that was somehow both frail and commanding. The words(cid:0) she spoke burrowed deep within me, “If I could bottle up(cid:0) the joy that I just touched, I would give it to you to take(cid:0) home to your babies and they would have joy to last them(cid:0) the rest of their days.”(cid:0) Slowly and with great care Dorothy began to recount(cid:0) watching her struggling form from above it, seeing dozens(cid:0) of angels in the room. She was absolutely effervescent with(cid:0) the immense joy the experience had contained. She stated(cid:0) simply that she had come back to her body because her(cid:0) husband wanted to be at her side when she died. Her return(cid:0) was one last act of love she carried out for him.(cid:0) When Jerry returned, all looked the same as when he had(cid:0) left. There was no sense in explaining the events that had(cid:0) transpired. When I left Dorothy’s home that day, we shared(cid:0) one long soulful glance with one another. Words were(cid:0) inadequate. I could see the peace in her eyes and she could(cid:0) see the gratitude in mine. Dorothy died quietly that night in(cid:0) her sleep, held not only in the arms of her husband,

but I(cid:0) was certain, in the arms of the angels as well.(cid:0) Learn about death by choice, not by crisis(cid:0) Although this article, in its essence, is about learning to talk(cid:0) with the dying, what it is truly about is beginning that inner(cid:0) dialogue with ourselves. If we perceive death as “over there(cid:0) where our dying loved one is,” we are missing the point.(cid:0) Learning to let death into our lives, and our willingness to(cid:0) learn what death teaches, infinitely increases our ability to(cid:0) live more peaceful, enlightened and transformative lives.(cid:0) Take the opportunity to learn about death in your living….(cid:0) I promise you that the more you know about the dying(cid:0) process, the more you will see that death is not something(cid:0) to live around, but to live fully “with.”(cid:0) Annette Childs holds a Ph.D. in psychology(cid:0) and maintains a private practice assisting(cid:0) individuals and families to grow through(cid:0) painful transitions. She is the author of(cid:0)Will(cid:0) You Dance?(cid:0) (Wandering Feather Press,(cid:0) 2002) and(cid:0)Halfway Across the River; Mes-(cid:0) sages of Hope the Other Side(cid:0) from (Wandering Feather Press, 2007), available(cid:0) at(cid:0)www.onecandle.net(cid:0) and(cid:0)Amazon.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Making Contact(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) We do not know what determines this. All we know is that(cid:0) our loved ones sometimes report being fine, getting used to(cid:0) being whole again if they were ill or handicapped and then(cid:0) they indicate that they must “go on.” There is no informa-(cid:0) tion about what determines how long a person remains(cid:0) “close” to the physical, but contact via EVP stops

after that.(cid:0) When a person “goes on,” we think they enter into a new(cid:0) learning situation like, or much like being born into the(cid:0) physical. When Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many(cid:0) mansions….” (John 14:2), it may be that he was referring(cid:0) to these alternative venues. Reincarnation may be a valid(cid:0) concept, and if so, could someone reincarnate into a venue(cid:0) that is an alternative to the physical?(cid:0) There seems to be a difference between teachers and(cid:0) loved ones when it comes to communicating across the veil(cid:0) and how they do so. EVP appear to be relatively local(cid:0) phenomena, meaning the messages seem to be from loved(cid:0) ones who have crossed over in recent times. They are(cid:0) usually “Hello, I am fine, I love you,” kinds of messages.(cid:0) The practitioner is thought to be the conduit through which(cid:0) the message is brought into the physical.(cid:0) Messages received via trance mediums appear to be more(cid:0) like lessons in spirituality. While EVP are generally just a(cid:0) few words, trance-mediumship messages are usually much(cid:0) longer, and they are thought to be possible because the(cid:0) personality of the medium temporarily “steps aside” so that(cid:0) the personality of the teacher is able to assume control of(cid:0) the body. In this kind of contact, the teacher is apparently(cid:0) able to move more freely amongst the venues of learning(cid:0) than are our loved ones who are students.(cid:0) The lesson to us is that contact via EVP after physical(cid:0) death is not assured and the reasons

have nothing to do(cid:0) with how good anyone is or how enlightened they are. In(cid:0) fact, there is some evidence that a very spiritually ad-(cid:0) vanced person may skip orientation and go directly to(cid:0) their next experience. It is important that we understand(cid:0) that our loved ones are near in many ways, but we should(cid:0) also celebrate their continuation in other venues.(cid:0) Page 7 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Formation of EVP(cid:0) Historically, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) have(cid:0) been thought of as unexpected voices found in recording(cid:0) media. The primary technique for recording EVP has been(cid:0) with an audio recorder and the voice is thought to be(cid:0) formed of available audio energy (background noise).(cid:0) Recent developments have made it practical to work with(cid:0) real-time, two-way EVP. With this development, an ex-(cid:0) panded definition is required. As one has not gained wide(cid:0) acceptance, the following should be considered a draft(cid:0) definition:(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are anoma-(cid:0) lous, intelligible speech produced in electronic(cid:0) devices. They may be heard as a real-time output(cid:0) but are more generally heard on review of a subse-(cid:0) quent recording. No currently understood physical(cid:0) processes account for the existence of EVP.(cid:0) EVP formation(cid:0) EVP can be collected under circumstances which preclude(cid:0) the possibility of such mundane sources as radio frequency(cid:0) contamination, unnoticed background conversations, con-(cid:0) tamination from previously recorded speech and mundane(cid:0) sounds mistaken as voice. People around the world have(cid:0) demonstrated this fact since before Friedrich Jürgenson(cid:0) made his famous EVP recordings fifty years ago June

12,(cid:0) 1959. The important point is that much is known about(cid:0) formation(cid:0) ordinary EVP which allows practitioners(cid:0) to recognize what is and is(cid:0) not phenomenal.(cid:0) E(cid:0)VP Formed by(cid:0) Transform(cid:0)ing No(cid:0)ise(cid:0) EVP Communicator(cid:0) Noise(cid:0) Transform EVP(cid:0) As shown in Figure 1, the(cid:0) phenomenal utterance is(cid:0) formed in the recording de-(cid:0) vice. Current theory is that(cid:0) noise is used for voice for-(cid:0) mation and the dominant(cid:0) physical process is thought(cid:0) to be the amplification of a(cid:0) weak telekinetic signal by(cid:0) the action of stochastic reso-(cid:0) nance on the broad-spectrum audio-frequency noise. The(cid:0) “frequencies” available in the sound stream at any moment(cid:0) will determine the richness of the resulting voice and no(cid:0) new audio energy is produced.(cid:0) In Transform EVP, the(cid:0) message is impressed into an(cid:0) available audio signal in the(cid:0) electronic device. No voice(cid:0) is detectable at the physical(cid:0) input.(cid:0) There is no evidence that the psi processes involved in(cid:0) the trans-etheric communication produce additional physi-(cid:0) cal processes. Once the information is in the physical, it is(cid:0) completely subject to physical principles. Keep in mind(cid:0) that stochastic resonance was not documented as a process(cid:0) prior to 1981. The fact that a physical process needed to(cid:0) explain some aspect of EVP has not yet been defined does(cid:0) not mean that a paranormal solution must be used. It is(cid:0) important to this essay to note that the preponderance of(cid:0) evidence indicates the requirement of physical processes.(cid:0) There is no need to say that a phenomenal event(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 “somehow” occurs or is

caused by by divine intervention.(cid:0) The characteristics associated with traditionally formed(cid:0) (transform) EVP that are part of the theoretical model used(cid:0) by the AA-EVP include:(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP are not acoustical phenomena, meaning that they(cid:0) are formed in the recording mechanism, and can be(cid:0) collected with an acoustically isolated recorder.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The voice is formed by transforming audio-frequency(cid:0) energy available in an electronic circuit into an approxi-(cid:0) mation of human speech.(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP are energy limited, meaning that their formation is(cid:0) in short packets of a few words so that shorter packets(cid:0) tend to have greater volume, longer packets tend to have(cid:0) less volume and very long utterances are seen as several(cid:0) concatenated packets with brief pauses between each one.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Any audio-frequency energy is apt to be transformed into(cid:0) voice as EVP.(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP formation occurs in analog circuits, and once digi-(cid:0) tized, tends to be stable.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The utterances are formed by selecting available audio-(cid:0) frequency energy. Audio-frequency energy is not created(cid:0) for this purpose by the etheric communicator and may be(cid:0) in the form of relatively random noise, fragments of(cid:0) voice or synthesized voice.(cid:0) Because of the many years of study by practitioners around(cid:0) the world, much is known about EVP recorded by tradi-(cid:0) tional means. Small details of the characteristics listed here(cid:0) may be arguable but there is little doubt that this form of(cid:0) EVP occurs in audio recorders in a predictable way.(cid:0) EVP formed by random selection(cid:0) Stefan Bion has developed a computer program named(cid:0) EVPmaker which has been shown to produce

EVP based(cid:0) on random selection of segments of a sound file(cid:0) ((cid:0)www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker(cid:0)). The input audio file may(cid:0) be recorded “live voice” but the program is able to use(cid:0) synthesized human voice fragments known as allophones(cid:0) and/or the smaller phonemes.(cid:0) Precedence for psi influence of random processes has(cid:0) been established by the parapsychological community. For(cid:0) instance, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research(cid:0) (PEAR) Lab reported a small but significant effect in psi(cid:0) studies. Depending on presets made by the practitioner, the(cid:0) randomly selected segments of input file are typically too(cid:0) short to contain recognizable speech, especially when us-(cid:0) ing synthesized speech. Once selected by the random pro-(cid:0) cess, the segments of sound are combined with others to(cid:0) produce the desired words. As such, EVP formation is(cid:0) thought to be controlled by control of the random process.(cid:0) Audio output for EVPmaker is a staccato sound as if the(cid:0) system has developed a severe stutter. Recorded speech is(cid:0) considered “live voice” and is inherently suspect as a sound(cid:0) source formation; however, when using(cid:0) synthesized voice fragments,(cid:0) Continued page 9(cid:0) for EVP Page 8(cid:0) The Formation of EVP(cid:0)Continued from page 8(cid:0) the input file can be controlled to minimize pre-existing(cid:0) recognizable words. As such, words in the output should be(cid:0) clearly random or they are phenomenal.(cid:0) Raw(cid:0) Sound(cid:0) File(cid:0) EVPmaker(cid:0) Audio Data Buffer(cid:0) Random(cid:0) Selection(cid:0) Proces(cid:0)s(cid:0) New(cid:0)Sound File(cid:0) EVP: Control(cid:0) Rand(cid:0)om Selection(cid:0) Recorded audio is stored in a data buffer. A(cid:0) random process selects audio fragments(cid:0) from the buffer, depending on user-(cid:0) controlled presets of

sample length. The(cid:0) selected fragments are concatenated into a(cid:0) new sound stream. EVP is found in the new(cid:0) sound file and is thought to be a product of(cid:0) the random process.(cid:0) EVP formed by speech synthesis(cid:0) A recent development in the study of EVP is the introduc-(cid:0) tion of speech synthesis technology. Bill Chappell has(cid:0) shown that it may be possible to produce meaningful utter-(cid:0) ances by detecting changes in the environment to control a(cid:0) speech synthesis process ((cid:0)www.digitaldowsing.com(cid:0)). The(cid:0) working assumption is that the communicating entity will(cid:0) change the environment to cause synthesis of the intended(cid:0) words. More research is needed, but the implication is that(cid:0) detection of presumably easily influenced chaotic pro-(cid:0) cesses such as room temperature and electrical charge can(cid:0) be used to initiate EVP formation by controlling a speech(cid:0) synthesis process. A second possibility is that the commu-(cid:0) nicating entity is able to directly influence the speech(cid:0) synthesis circuit; however, more research must be con-(cid:0) ducted to determine this.(cid:0) Chappell’s Paranormal Puck is programmed with words(cid:0) (speech mode), and a library of English-language pho-(cid:0) nemes (phoneme mode). Phonemes are the smallest seg-(cid:0) ment of human speech, and when appropriately combined(cid:0) in an audio file, will produce meaningful speech.(cid:0) An important point to consider in the analysis of environ-(cid:0) mentally controlled speech synthesis for EVP formation is(cid:0) that the only physical process necessary to explain ob-(cid:0) served results is a change in ambient energy detected by the(cid:0) device. The library of words or speech fragments is present(cid:0)

in the designed capabilities of the technology.(cid:0) Physical processes in EVP formation(cid:0) Substantial research and field observation has shown that(cid:0) the processes involved in trans-etheric phenomena are(cid:0) probably knowable. Physical processes such as propaga-(cid:0) tion of sound or light are measurable and their understand-(cid:0) ing can be applied to devices and other processes. In the(cid:0) same way, the processes governing subtle energy and the(cid:0) behavior of personalities after transition are knowable and(cid:0) able to be applied in technological solutions. A few of the(cid:0) assumptions used in this study of how EVP are formed are:(cid:0) Speech Synthesis EVP(cid:0) Environmental(cid:0) Inputs(cid:0) Optionally(cid:0),(cid:0) A(cid:0) Random Proc(cid:0)ess(cid:0) Speech Synthesis(cid:0) Circuit (or(cid:0)P(cid:0)rogram)(cid:0) Word(cid:0)and(cid:0) Phoneme(cid:0) Library(cid:0) EVP: Control(cid:0) Random Selection(cid:0) EVP: Control(cid:0) Environmental(cid:0) Energy(cid:0) Sensors detect changes in environmental energy(cid:0) and use that information to control a speech(cid:0) synthesis process--either programmatic or chip-(cid:0) set. A random process could be used.(cid:0) Preprogrammed words and/or phonemes are(cid:0) used to produce new sound stream.(cid:0) •(cid:0)EVP are formed via the influence of subtle energy on(cid:0) physical processes according to knowable principles.(cid:0) With this assumption, the explanation for a phenomenal(cid:0) event that it “somehow” occurred cannot be used for(cid:0) research. The “somehow” should be quickly replaced by(cid:0) an established or modified theory.(cid:0) •(cid:0)There is consistency in how subtle energy influences are(cid:0) able to affect physical processes. For instance, both vi-(cid:0) sual forms such as images found in video feedback noise(cid:0) and EVP formed from background noise appear to de-(cid:0) pend on something like stochastic resonance.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The influence of physical processes by

subtle energy is(cid:0) energy limited and the most energy-efficient processes(cid:0) should be considered first. This also means the physical(cid:0) energy required for phenomena can be accounted for.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Available physical processes can be initiated by an(cid:0) etheric influence to cause observable phenomena, but(cid:0) matter and energy are not seen to be created. A physical(cid:0) person might be convinced to do something in support of(cid:0) phenomena. An important implication of this assumption(cid:0) is that physical energy and objects may be transformed(cid:0) but they are not created to form phenomena. For instance,(cid:0) if sound is not present, it cannot be transformed into the(cid:0) words of EVP. The required sound will not be created but(cid:0) a physical process may be initiated which in turn causes(cid:0) sound for voice formation.(cid:0) The observed characteristics of EVP suggest how they are(cid:0) (typically) formed, and by extension, how they (usually)(cid:0) are not formed. The average person can use this informa-(cid:0) tion to evaluate examples to help determine if they are(cid:0) mundane or paranormal. It also means that a deviation to(cid:0) the “rule of thumb” should be considered rare and the(cid:0) example should be held in reserve by practitioner and(cid:0) researchers alike until more data is available.(cid:0) Page 9 Continued page 14(cid:0) Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Thoughts: A Force that Creates and Destroys Worlds(cid:0) by Anabela Cardoso (AC) and Carlos Fernández (CF) translated from the Spanish text by Anabela Cardoso(cid:0) Previously published in the ITC Journal,(cid:0)www.itcjournal.org/(cid:0) How the Communications Began and What Can be(cid:0) Learned from Them(cid:0) Electroacoustics technician

Hans Otto König (HK) is one(cid:0) of the most important investigators in the world in the area(cid:0) of Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC), a discipline(cid:0) that studies the purported contacts with the Beyond through(cid:0) technical means. His knowl-(cid:0) edge of electronics and more(cid:0) than 30 years of experimenta-(cid:0) tion have allowed him to ob-(cid:0) tain direct voices through(cid:0) communicators(cid:0) his which speak directly with him with(cid:0) incredible clarity through elec-(cid:0) tronic devices that he himself(cid:0) builds. On one memorable and(cid:0) widely publicized occasion,(cid:0) while he was appearing on a(cid:0) Luxembourg television program, König actually carried(cid:0) out(cid:0)an experiment in front of the cameras using one of these(cid:0) devices (an ultrasounds generator) and received communi-(cid:0) cations from the Beyond such as(cid:0)“They can hear me(cid:0) believe I have the right frequency”(cid:0)and(cid:0)“Otto König(cid:0) communicates with the dead through the radio.”(cid:0) Hans Otto König(cid:0) In this interview that he very kindly gave to us (AC and(cid:0) CF) this German man of firm convictions and of a tranquil(cid:0) disposition speaks of his contact experiences and puts(cid:0) forward his points of view about the phenomena.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)How did you(cid:0)start(cid:0)your experimentation in ITC?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) I have been studying ITC for over 30 years. At the(cid:0) beginning I was skeptical in this area and many years went(cid:0) by before I was convinced that I could communicate with(cid:0) people who were in a more spiritual world. In fact I did not(cid:0) care much if they were deceased people or not.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)Are your communicators people you knew when(cid:0) they were alive?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) Not always

but some of them do introduce themselves(cid:0) as people I knew. In 1977, my mother passed away. This(cid:0) was not a trigger factor for I got into this research as a result(cid:0) of my curiosity, and my mother knew I was working in(cid:0) ITC. She was an opera singer who had a very particular,(cid:0) very developed voice and she told me,(cid:0)“(cid:0)If(cid:0)I go into the(cid:0) other world I shall always contact you through the chant.”(cid:0) To this date, I have thirty manifestations of chants with(cid:0) my mother singing. One of these chants contains the words,(cid:0) “Hans Otto König.”(cid:0) At the time my father was still alive.(cid:0) He was a very skeptical person, a physicist who always(cid:0) doubted. However, he followed the principle that it is(cid:0) always better to search for an explanation than to have no(cid:0) explanation. My father witnessed the reception of these(cid:0) transmessages and was very surprised when his wife ad-(cid:0) dressed him. I had started calling my friends in the Beyond(cid:0) but I was not addressing my mother at the time. However,(cid:0) a female communicator addressed me with:(cid:0) “Do you hear(cid:0) me, Otto?”(cid:0) and I replied “Here is Hans Otto” and then she(cid:0) said(cid:0)“Do you hear me, Joseph König?”(cid:0) which is my(cid:0) father’s name.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)In over thirty years of contacts, I suppose there(cid:0) have been many messages that you consider important.(cid:0) Which ones would you single out?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) There are two basic messages that I consider most(cid:0) important. The first one is,(cid:0)“Everything you can imagine”(cid:0) and the second

one is(cid:0)“Each one is responsible for his/her(cid:0) actions.”(cid:0) We received these contacts through a generator(cid:0) and infrared equipment, which were the technical means(cid:0) we were using to obtain the contacts.(cid:0) “Everything you can(cid:0) imagine”(cid:0) came in reply to a question put by my wife who(cid:0) asked, “How should we imagine the other world in the(cid:0) Beyond?” The answer was,(cid:0)“Everything you can imag-(cid:0) ine.”(cid:0) We asked the same question on several occasions and the(cid:0) reply was always the same. The answer,(cid:0)“Each one is(cid:0) responsible for his/her actions,”(cid:0) was received at a confer-(cid:0) ence in Basel through a system with several oscillators that(cid:0) generate different frequencies.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)What is the meaning that we can derive from(cid:0)these(cid:0) two messages?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) They are separate messages which were communi-(cid:0) cated at two different times. If we compare them and if we(cid:0) place one after the other we shall realize that one depends(cid:0) upon the other. Each of us is responsible for what we can(cid:0) imagine, and because everything we can imagine becomes(cid:0) reality we have responsibility for this reality. We under-(cid:0) stand from the two messages that the power of our thoughts(cid:0) and the power of love are the greatest forces in both worlds.(cid:0) The power of thoughts is a very powerful energy. It creates(cid:0) great things but at the same time it can become destructive.(cid:0) Thoughts create worlds but they can also destroy worlds.(cid:0) Therefore, we should be very careful if we suppose that(cid:0) these thoughts only work at a material level for they also(cid:0)

have a spiritual impact. This means that thoughts not only(cid:0) contribute to the construction of our world, they also con-(cid:0) tribute to building other worlds mainly after physical death.(cid:0) I mean that when we pass into the Beyond, these messages(cid:0) apply.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)You mean that our thoughts influence the Beyond?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) Many people do not realize the effect that their(cid:0) thoughts might have upon other people who are in the(cid:0) Beyond. All and each one of these thoughts has an effect(cid:0) upon the beings who are on the other side. Furthermore, the(cid:0) effect of a thought reflects again upon the person who had(cid:0) that thought. Thoughts are in themselves vibrations that in(cid:0) different people provoke resonances of a different kind.(cid:0) Continued page 11(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 10(cid:0) Thoughts(cid:0) Continued from page 10(cid:0) Resonances manifest not only at a physical level but also(cid:0) in the context of vibrations.(cid:0) Complex Technology(cid:0) Hans Otto König explains that he got into ITC by pure(cid:0) curiosity and describes his first experiments. As happens(cid:0) with many other investigators, he started experimenting(cid:0) using a radio station tuned to a foreign language as back-(cid:0) ground noise for the recordings. However, his technical(cid:0) background pushed him towards the construction of elec-(cid:0) tronic inventions in an attempt to better the psychophonic(cid:0) contact. Thus initially by the use of frequency oscillators(cid:0) and later with infrared and ultrasonic systems, he was able(cid:0) to capture the voices of purportedly deceased people who(cid:0) spoke to him directly from a loudspeaker and with whom(cid:0)

he was able to maintain a dialogue, His latest design is a(cid:0) system based upon ultraviolet light and quartz crystals(cid:0) through which he gets important results(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0) How do you build the systems through which you(cid:0) receive your communications?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) Usually I see them in my dreams as if I visualized the(cid:0) diagrams of the systems that I will build later on. The(cid:0) majority of the devices I have developed, I devised after(cid:0) waking from my dreams. We can say that inspiration(cid:0) comes in the aftermath of my sleep.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0) What role do(cid:0)crystals(cid:0)play in your work?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) The communicators have told me that the crystals are(cid:0) the key to the connection. Some crystals can reinforce this(cid:0) type of communication or reinforce the power of thoughts.(cid:0) Through a system I elaborated, I have studied the capacity(cid:0) of crystals to transmit thoughts and to transmit hyperener-(cid:0) getic fields that cross over. The crystal is just a thought(cid:0) communicator that works in both directions. From one side(cid:0) we emit thoughts and from the other we receive energies(cid:0) from a superior state or level.(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0) Can you achieve(cid:0)a(cid:0)contact with the Beyond at any(cid:0) time you want to(cid:0)do so?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0) If we believe we command the contact with the(cid:0) Beyond, we are making a mistake. The communicators say(cid:0) we create the contact and they choose the people with(cid:0) whom they want to make contact. The voices say “We(cid:0) make the contact.”(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)What in your opinion is the factor that plays the(cid:0) most important role in

the contacts?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0)I believe the most important thing is the resonance, or(cid:0) affinity, that is generated between the investigator and the(cid:0) communicators. The invisible side of life is fundamental in(cid:0) this process. Thought has a fundamental role in this pro-(cid:0) cess because “thought is a force that creates and destroys(cid:0) worlds.” The universe is a closed unit where nothing is(cid:0) lost; all our thoughts are vibrations that can be tuned into(cid:0) by other beings through a resonance process. I consider the(cid:0) development of ethical thought—or personal development(cid:0) to say the same thing in a different way—to be of funda-(cid:0) mental importance. When I once asked my communicators(cid:0) how I could contribute more efficiently from my side to(cid:0) helping and improving the contacts they replied,(cid:0)“Loosen(cid:0) your feet from the Earth.”(cid:0) AC/CF:(cid:0)What are your plans for the future?(cid:0) HK:(cid:0)I have no specific plans for the future because the(cid:0) development of the communication process depends, as I(cid:0) have said, essentially upon the communicators. Therefore(cid:0) I cannot know the answer to your question in advance.(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) Diagram of a crystal device used by Hans Otto König(cid:0) Previously published in the ITC Journal No. 24, December 2005 and in the January 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Page 11 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Sammy(cid:0) by Sammy’s Mum(cid:0) and always showed me his love.(cid:0) Years later, when I approached the end of my studies, I(cid:0) wrote my thesis entirely dedicated to Sammy. Without him(cid:0) I would have been desperate. I was proud to show him that(cid:0) I

would get my university degree, thanks to him. Through(cid:0) all the difficult times, we succeeded together. Together we(cid:0) crossed the limits and were both saved. Together, we were(cid:0) stronger. Sammy was my angel.(cid:0) The years went by and Sammy was getting older. He was(cid:0) ill again and this time the vets said he had bone cancer in(cid:0) the mouth. The results of the laboratory analyses were(cid:0) horrible and they told me that Sammy would rapidly die.(cid:0) His teeth were falling out and there was lots of infection.(cid:0) Antibiotics didn’t seem to help. He had been operated on(cid:0) many times, but luckily Sammy still had a good appetite(cid:0) and was eating mixed food I prepared for him. It turned out(cid:0) not to be cancer but Sammy was never cured of the(cid:0) infection. We stabilized him for eighteen months, thanks to(cid:0) antibiotics and painkillers.(cid:0) At that time we moved to get away from the violence of(cid:0) my parents. We needed peace. He became blind. We took(cid:0) a flat and I think Sammy was really happy with this. Each(cid:0) time the weather was pretty, we went into my parents’(cid:0) garden. Sammy needed it. Of course, I had to work, so I(cid:0) took a job that let me return home each day during the(cid:0) lunch. I was very sad to see him ill and old.(cid:0) I wanted to prepare for what would happen next. That’s(cid:0) why I read a lot of books and visited websites about what(cid:0) happens after death. Testimonies that I discovered

about(cid:0) near-death experience and information from mediums gave(cid:0) me hope of a good future. I even read that mediums(cid:0) sometimes see dead animals waiting for the return of their(cid:0) human. But I needed to be sure of this because I was so(cid:0) terrified by the idea that I would have to let him go alone.(cid:0) Who would take care of him over there? So many people(cid:0) consider rabbits as meat and as a stupid animal. I prayed(cid:0) that my dead grandmum would come to take care of him(cid:0) when the time came. I visited a medium with Sammy(cid:0) trying to contact my grandmum. The medium gave me(cid:0) some pieces of evidence that she was in touch with my(cid:0) grandmum. She promised me that when Sammy died that(cid:0) she could contact him.(cid:0) I now felt a bit reassured but I was still collecting all the(cid:0) books I could find about testimonies on the life of animals(cid:0) in the beyond. I very often asked Sammy to try, if possible,(cid:0) to stay in contact with me. I told him that I would go to see(cid:0) the medium to talk with him and I feel sure that he(cid:0) understood me. He would give me kisses, meaning “yes, I(cid:0) promise you I will try.”(cid:0) After we had moved, Sammy was spending even more(cid:0) hours on my chest, when I was sitting on the sofa. Often,(cid:0) Sammy even fell asleep in this position. He gave me a lots(cid:0) of kisses (he would lick my face for

long periods). Sammy(cid:0) was under medication and now also had problems with his(cid:0) liver...(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) “Silly Wabbit”(cid:0) Photographed by Jeff Clow,(cid:0)www.flickr.com/photos/jeffclow/(cid:0) The name of my pet is Sammy and he is a rabbit. Sammy(cid:0) entered into my life in September 1998. I saw him in a(cid:0) market and was very attracted to him, even if I didn’t know(cid:0) anything about rabbits. I returned home with him. That’s(cid:0) how the story began.(cid:0) Sammy was very shy and afraid but soon he was having(cid:0) fun, walking under my pullover and on my bed and playing(cid:0) on the sofa with my sister’s young guinea-pig. I built some(cid:0) toys for him like tunnels and bought him a lot of different(cid:0) kinds of food to make him happy. My parents had a garden(cid:0) that he loved to be in; jumping and running on the grass.(cid:0) We were spending a lot of time together and soon we(cid:0) became close friends. At this time I was a nineteen-year-(cid:0) old university student. My only sadness was that my(cid:0) parents forbade me to take Sammy in my bedroom at night.(cid:0) So each evening just before going to sleep Sammy was(cid:0) returning to his cage in the living room.(cid:0) Sammy had illnesses, and at the age of three, he had a(cid:0) serious case of pneumonia. We (my dad also loved him)(cid:0) went to see a lot of veterinarians but their knowledge of(cid:0) rabbits was not sufficient and they gave him medication(cid:0) that was not effective. So I searched

for other vets because(cid:0) I refused to let him go, especially at such a young age.(cid:0) Finally, we found a veterinarian who prescribed the correct(cid:0) medication and a couple of weeks later Sammy was better!(cid:0) After that illness Sammy slept on my bed.(cid:0) Sammy continued to have other serious health problems(cid:0) and they were always difficult to cure. Vets told me that he(cid:0) would probably die and so I prayed for a cure. I continued(cid:0) to pray but also spent hours searching for a cure on the(cid:0) Internet and we continued to search for the right(cid:0) veterinarian, nothing else mattered.(cid:0) Sammy has also helped me a lot. I had serious difficulties(cid:0) at home with depression and problems with my parents;(cid:0) violence between them and suicide attempts by my mum.(cid:0) My sister was gone and I stayed to avoid a tragedy but I(cid:0) needed help and I needed to be loved. Sammy was the one(cid:0) who gave me that. Each time that I cried Sammy came and(cid:0) stayed with me for hours licking the tears off my face. It(cid:0) was amazing. He did this many times. He never ignored me(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 12(cid:0) Sammy(cid:0) Continued from page 12(cid:0) What we couldn’t avoid anymore finally happened in(cid:0) June 2006. Sammy was almost eight years old. I was so sad(cid:0) and empty. But at the same time, I was feeling “Now, you(cid:0) don’t suffer anymore and you will never be ill anymore”.(cid:0) I wanted to visit the medium but she

couldn’t receive me(cid:0) for two months, so I was praying for Sammy, thinking of(cid:0) him, and sending him mental messages. On the day of the(cid:0) funeral for his body, in a cemetery for animals, I suddenly(cid:0) had an idea; a sudden and fixed idea. I remember that I saw(cid:0) a program on TV, years before, where people were saying(cid:0) that they had received messages from their dead daughter(cid:0) through a tape recorder.(cid:0) In all my series of books, I had read nothing regarding(cid:0) this. But well, I had the idea and I had a small tape recorder(cid:0) (used during my studies) and I immediately had to try. I(cid:0) took a new tape and put the machine on “record.” I(cid:0) remember that on TV they said that noise was necessary,(cid:0) so I switched on the TV, at a very low volume. I left the(cid:0) recorder turned on for forty-five minutes.(cid:0) When I listened to the tape, at around thirty-five minutes,(cid:0) a young voice said,(cid:0)“(cid:0)We are beginning. I have talked to(cid:0) Cece(cid:0).” I was amazed! It was a gentle voice; the kind of a(cid:0) young boy or girl. I listened again and again. Cece was the(cid:0) name of the cat I had adopted a couple of weeks before. I(cid:0) did it, in agreement with Sammy, so that I would be helped(cid:0) to accept his departure.(cid:0) You can not imagine(cid:0) how I was feeling after(cid:0) this message. It was the(cid:0) same as if Sammy was in(cid:0) my arms just kissing me!(cid:0) My family

and even the(cid:0) veterinarian listened to(cid:0) the recording and were(cid:0) all amazed and couldn’t(cid:0) explain it.(cid:0) together a(cid:0) We put hypothesis to explain(cid:0) what had happened. We(cid:0) surmised that maybe it was a ghost who just wanted to let(cid:0) me think that he was Sammy. But why? And the words that(cid:0) were said were so totally unexpected and at the same time(cid:0) so accurate!(cid:0) Photographed by(cid:0)Unaerica,(cid:0) www.flickr.com/photos/unaerica/(cid:0) “(cid:0)Isn’t She Lovely”(cid:0) Of course, I retried recording days after this and often(cid:0) received messages. Sammy called me(cid:0)“Mum”(cid:0) and there(cid:0) was no doubt that Sammy was communicating with me via(cid:0) the recorder. He is okay and not alone and has told me that(cid:0) he loves me.(cid:0) That’s how the messages from Sammy from the beyond(cid:0) have begun. Since that time, Sammy is still not too far from(cid:0) me and protects me and my animals, but this is another big(cid:0) chapter to tell.(cid:0) It is so wonderful to know that our love and relationship(cid:0) continues. Those who are crying for the death of their(cid:0) animal should know this so that they suffer less.(cid:0) Thoughts(cid:0) Continued from page 11(cid:0) Contacts in Public(cid:0) The great majority of the experimental sessions carried out(cid:0) by this German engineer occur in the presence of an audi-(cid:0) ence of many people. We had the opportunity to witness(cid:0) one of those experimental sessions in the German town of(cid:0) Wesel at the time of this interview. The session took place(cid:0) in a hotel room closed to the general public. König set out(cid:0)

all his electronic equipment, which on this occasion con-(cid:0) sisted of his ultrasounds device and a new device built with(cid:0) quartz crystals irradiated with ultraviolet light.(cid:0) During the first experiment, and after a meditation ses-(cid:0) sion in which all those present in the room—around sixty(cid:0) people in all—took part, we all began to hear a buzzing(cid:0) sound in the otherwise silent room. After a few minutes,(cid:0) during which König asked his communicators to establish(cid:0) the contact, this background noise changed slightly and(cid:0) voices started coming from the loudspeakers placed in the(cid:0) room. Up to three different voices were heard for approxi-(cid:0) mately ten minutes, replying in German to the questions(cid:0) put to them by König.(cid:0) The next day and again following a meditation session,(cid:0) König set out his quartz crystals and ultraviolet light equip-(cid:0) ment. As soon as he turned on the device, a strange sound(cid:0) could be heard through the speakers as if a wind constantly(cid:0) changing in frequency was blowing. Then the background(cid:0) noise changed and the voices responded in German to(cid:0) König’s questions for fifteen minutes. His communicators(cid:0) spoke slowly as if they spoke from a vast space (see ITC(cid:0) Journal 24 and 25 for more details)(cid:0) König Inventions(cid:0) Here is a more detailed description of some of the most(cid:0) important of the complex devices developed by König in(cid:0) response to guidance from his communicators.(cid:0) Field Generator:(cid:0) This is an oscillator that generates a(cid:0) wide range of frequencies between 2, 5 and 1,700 kHz that(cid:0) can be

used as an acoustic carrier during a microphone(cid:0) recording. The model König has built generates rectangular(cid:0) waves irradiated by an ultrasounds transducer and electro-(cid:0) magnetic waves.(cid:0) Ultrasounds Generator:(cid:0) This device uses a group of(cid:0) frequencies that are mixed and modulated and then trans-(cid:0) mitted via a radio-frequency carrier of 20 kHz, 29 kHz and(cid:0) 32 kHz. These signals are then mixed, and by means of(cid:0) them, a carrier very rich in harmonics in the range of(cid:0) ultrasounds is obtained.(cid:0) Infrared:(cid:0) This gadget emits a signal modulated through(cid:0) an infrared emitter and receiver that is then mixed with(cid:0) the microphone signal.(cid:0) Crystals:(cid:0) These consist of a dozen quartz tips that are ir-(cid:0) radiated with ultraviolet light of different frequencies. The(cid:0) communicators “select” one of these frequencies, and by(cid:0) means of light-emitting diodes, a large crystal is irradiated(cid:0) with the UV light selected by the communicators. The(cid:0) light of the large crystal is collected by a phototransistor(cid:0) that transforms it again into an electric signal.(cid:0) Page 13 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Formation of EVP(cid:0)Continued from page 9(cid:0) Sounds mistaken as EVP(cid:0) Understanding common ways that ordinary sounds are(cid:0) mistaken as EVP provides a way of better understanding(cid:0) how the phenomenal voices are formed. As a reminder, the(cid:0) three types of EVP described above are well-established as(cid:0) trans-communication and there is little doubt of their au-(cid:0) thenticity as paranormal phenomena. The ways that ordi-(cid:0) nary events might be mistaken as phenomena are provided(cid:0) here as a way of helping practitioners avoid common(cid:0)

“human nature” pitfalls.(cid:0) Hearing what is expected(cid:0) EVP practitioners listen very closely to sound files in an(cid:0) attempt to find meaningful sounds. This is because the(cid:0) audio signal normally thought of as just background noise(cid:0) is considered a likely place to find a paranormal message.(cid:0) However, audio files thought to be needed for voice forma-(cid:0) tion are usually very noisy and meaning is potentially(cid:0) everywhere. It is common for a distant but ordinary conver-(cid:0) sation to be detected by a recorder and then be reported as(cid:0) phenomenal. When a practitioner is expecting a meaning-(cid:0) ful sound, the next sound is sometimes given that meaning(cid:0) no matter what intelligence the sound actually carries.(cid:0) Typical sources of sound mistaken as EVP include:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Ordinary variations in background sound mistaken as(cid:0) voice: For instance a burst of static is sometimes heard as(cid:0) an angry voice.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Stray radio signals mistaken as EVP: Hand-held, battery-(cid:0) powered recorders are excellent antenna for radio recep-(cid:0) tion and the electronics are capable of making stray AM(cid:0) signals understandable.(cid:0) •(cid:0)“Morphed” foreign-language sound source: Naturally(cid:0) occurring foreign-language words are sometimes re-(cid:0) ported as having been “morphed” into EVP but then are(cid:0) recognized by a person who speaks the foreign language(cid:0) as not being EVP at all.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Reversing a sound track: Some words sound like other(cid:0) words when heard in the reverse.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Ordinary sound changed with an audio editor to simulate(cid:0) EVP: Changing the tempo of a sound file can change its(cid:0) intended meaning. Since voices of EVP are usually(cid:0) formed out

of the background noise, filtering the noise(cid:0) can sometimes change how the words are heard. Exces-(cid:0) sive amplification can make detected radio audible.(cid:0) Ways EVP might be misreported(cid:0) There is some evidence that a sound file might be altered(cid:0) while it is in an analog form, but sound files are thought to(cid:0) be stable once they have been digitized. As such, many(cid:0) people can hear the same digitized sound file and should(cid:0) hear the same sounds. If there is an anomalous utterance in(cid:0) the sound file, then it will be the same each time. This is an(cid:0) important characteristic of EVP if online listening tests are(cid:0) to be trusted to produce meaningful data.(cid:0) With that said, it is common to see a doubtful EVP(cid:0) example shared on the Internet with a surprising number of(cid:0) people saying they hear it as the practitioner reported. In(cid:0) subsequent tests, it is possible that even the person who(cid:0) reported the example will not be able to understand the(cid:0) utterance. Assuming the practitioner and listeners did hear(cid:0) the example as reported even though the words were not(cid:0) actually present, what would explain the confusion?(cid:0) The most common problems include:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Suggesting what should be heard: Especially when the(cid:0) example is of marginal quality, the listener is easily(cid:0) guided to hear what is expected by how the example is(cid:0) reported even though the words may not be present.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Fabricating a “likely story”: The practitioner has asked a(cid:0) question and expects the next sound to contain the an-(cid:0)

swer. Whatever the next sound “sounds like” is taken as(cid:0) part of the answer even though it may not make logical(cid:0) sense. To make it sound correct, the practitioner applies(cid:0) meaning to subsequent sounds to tell a story that pro-(cid:0) vides a plausible answer to the question.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Setting listener expectation in “real-time” dialogue:(cid:0) Two-way conversations via EVP are very difficult, and(cid:0) while shown to be possible, the process can also be(cid:0) misleading. It is reasonable for the practitioner to ask the(cid:0) entity to repeat a word by saying something like, “Did I(cid:0) hear you say ‘Tom?’” However, in doing so, the listener(cid:0) is preconditioned to hear “Tom,” even though the word(cid:0) may not be present.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Selectively relating utterances to questions: The usual(cid:0) recommendation is that the words of an EVP just before(cid:0) or just after the practitioner’s question can appropriately(cid:0) be applied to the question. As such, asking a question and(cid:0) selecting a word out of a string of possible utterances(cid:0) would be considered selective reporting.(cid:0) Conclusion(cid:0) This is a rapidly evolving field of study. People once(cid:0) assumed that we will never know how spiritual things(cid:0) work, but today, we have come to realize that we can know(cid:0) how trans-etheric phenomena manifest; we can quantify(cid:0) them and we can build devices based on our understanding(cid:0) to apply them in our lives.(cid:0) Subtle-energy phenomena such as EVP are subject to the(cid:0) very conceptual influence of the etheric aspect of reality,(cid:0) but at the same time, they are subject to the constraints

of(cid:0) physical processes. Their study requires close attention to(cid:0) how people process information. It is not safe to say that an(cid:0) example is EVP unless the human factor is considered(cid:0) alongside the physical processes. At the same time, this(cid:0) study requires an understanding of the physical processes(cid:0) that might be involved.(cid:0) This is a complex subject and the average practitioner(cid:0) cannot be expected to be an “expert” in this field without(cid:0) considerable study. Recording EVP is probably a craft, and(cid:0) any good craftsperson knows to depend on the foundation(cid:0) of knowledge made available from previous experience(cid:0) and the science that has come before. Our field has little(cid:0) science, but quite a lot of experience. It is for practitioners(cid:0) to take it on themselves to become familiar with the best(cid:0) practices.(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 14(cid:0) Five Classic EVP Experiments You Can Conduct(cid:0) This year marks fifty years since Friedrich Jürgenson first(cid:0) recorded EVP. From that beginning, a growing number of(cid:0) experimenters around the world have evolved a substantial(cid:0) foundation of understanding about what the phenomenal(cid:0) voices are and are not. Many of the experiments used in this(cid:0) study are simple, revealing and easily conducted at home(cid:0) with little preparation. All are for the most common form(cid:0) of EVP which is formed by transforming noise into voice.(cid:0) 1. Recording EVP without a microphone:(cid:0) A microphone(cid:0) is primarily needed to make a record of your voice and to(cid:0) introduce the noise necessary for voice formation into the(cid:0) recorder. If your recorder

produces enough internal noise,(cid:0) you can conduct a normal recording session, but first plug(cid:0) an audio cable into the microphone jack. The microphone(cid:0) jack is designed to disconnect the internal microphone(cid:0) when something is plugged in, so any plug will do. The(cid:0) cable might act as an antenna to bring radio into the record-(cid:0) er, so it would be best if the plug had no wire attached to it.(cid:0) Assuming you record EVP with a bypassed microphone,(cid:0) this experiment shows that the voice in EVP is not an(cid:0) acoustical phenomena. That is, the voice is not heard in the(cid:0) air but is caused inside of the recorder.(cid:0) 2. Excluding radio signals:(cid:0) Find a metal container that is(cid:0) big enough to hold a digital voice recorder and a portable(cid:0) radio. (Candy sometimes comes in a tin container with a(cid:0) tight-fitting tin lid.) Find a little larger metal container that(cid:0) will hold the first one so that you can wrap the first one(cid:0) with sound-deadening material like foam rubber or cloth.(cid:0) Turn on the radio and tune it to a strong station. Also turn(cid:0) on the recorder and set it to record mode. Place both in the(cid:0) first container, wrap that and place it in the second so that(cid:0) no metal of the smaller one touches the larger one. Now(cid:0) place all of this in a quiet place. If you want to be really(cid:0) sure that you are excluding radio signals, connect a metal(cid:0) strap (power cord material works) from the outer

container(cid:0) to a water faucet that is plumbed with metal touching earth(cid:0) or a metal stake going into the ground.(cid:0) Illustration of RF shielding recommended by Dr. Charles Tart(cid:0) The radio should only produce static when in the metal(cid:0) container, showing that it is not able to detect radio signals.(cid:0) If it cannot, neither can the recorder. The radio also pro-(cid:0) vides noise for the recorder to use for voice formation,(cid:0) although it may do fine without added noise. You may need(cid:0) to try a couple of times to get the right noise level. Assum-(cid:0) ing that you record EVP, you will show that EVP are not(cid:0) produced by stray radio signals. You will also show that(cid:0) they are not “in the air as an acoustical phenomena.”(cid:0) More information about this experiment is at:(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/articles.htm(cid:0) in the article, “Eliminating Radio(cid:0) Frequency Contamination for EVP” by Bill Weisensale.(cid:0) 3. Simultaneous but different EVP at different frequen-(cid:0) cies:(cid:0) Select two sources of sound. One should be relatively(cid:0) low frequency, such as that produced by a common fan(cid:0) used for cooling a room. The second might be the higher(cid:0) frequency of trickling water. Conduct an EVP session(cid:0) while using both of these sound sources at the same time.(cid:0) You may need to work with the sound levels to get the right(cid:0) combination so that, when you record EVP in both fre-(cid:0) quency ranges, you will be able to at least tell they are(cid:0) present as separate utterances.(cid:0) In the spectral view of an

audio editing program, you(cid:0) should be able to see a concentration of audio energy for(cid:0) the fan and a higher-frequency concentration for the water.(cid:0) If you are successful, you should look for EVP in each—(cid:0) possibly at the same time. For instance, you might hear a(cid:0) natural sounding voice in the fan noise and an elfin sound-(cid:0) ing voice in the trickling of water sound. These would be(cid:0) different words spoken at the same time.(cid:0) This experiment shows that EVP are formed by trans-(cid:0) forming available audio-frequency energy into the voice.(cid:0) What the voice sounds like is a function of the available(cid:0) sound, but is also modified to resemble the voice of the(cid:0) person speaking—a simulation of the natural voice.(cid:0) 4. EVP in only one channel or recorder at a time:(cid:0) Use a(cid:0) stereo recorder or two mono recorders. Connect a single(cid:0) microphone to a mono splitter cable and then connect that(cid:0) cable to the microphone jack of each recorder or the two(cid:0) channels of a stereo recorder. Conduct a recording session(cid:0) using the microphone to introduce noise and make a record(cid:0) of your comments. The same ordinary sound, such as you(cid:0) speaking, should be recorded in each channel at the same(cid:0) time.(cid:0) If you are successful in recording EVP, individual utter-(cid:0) ances will be on only one channel of the stereo recorder or(cid:0) one of the two mono recorders. Many recorders can be used(cid:0) at one time in this way with the individual EVP occurring(cid:0) in only one recorder.

This experiment demonstrates that(cid:0) EVP are caused in the recorder, and possibly in only one(cid:0) component of the recorder.(cid:0) [Please note: A rule of thumb is that any identical sound(cid:0) that is found to be recorded at the same moment in more(cid:0) than one recording circuit should be rejected as probably(cid:0) not being EVP. The example may be direct voice, which is(cid:0) phenomenal, but current understanding is that it will prob-(cid:0) ably not be EVP.](cid:0) Page 15 Continued page 19(cid:0) Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) New Direction for the Australasian EVP/ITC Research Forum(cid:0) by Ingrid Irwin, Rob Smith and Jeff King(cid:0) The Australasian EVP/ITC Research and Development(cid:0) Forum has been operating as(cid:0)an “open(cid:0)style” board(cid:0) in an(cid:0) endeavour to raise awareness to EVP/ITC in Australia,(cid:0) New Zealand and worldwide(cid:0).(cid:0)Its(cid:0)aim is to serve as a(cid:0) research and development board with the(cid:0)primary mission(cid:0) to serve the greater good of EVP/ITC’s future. However, as(cid:0) time has progressed, we have encountered various prob-(cid:0) lems with the board and have recently addressed the(cid:0) forum’s direction and focus.(cid:0) A common problem for many forums, whether EVP/ITC(cid:0) orientated or not, is the lack of member participation. This(cid:0) inevitably leads to a limited database of active contributing(cid:0) members and effectively reduces the necessary data input(cid:0) required for valid research to take place.(cid:0) Another problem we noticed is that a number of posts(cid:0) submitted were simply opinion-based, and not factually(cid:0) based in their content. This meant that there was no under-(cid:0) lying basis or integrity for authentic research as opinion-(cid:0) based

ideas maintained by an individual’s deep-seated(cid:0) belief systems were simply being expressed and influenc-(cid:0) ing new individuals to the forum.(cid:0) We considered the long-term effect to be detrimental to(cid:0) EVP/ITC’s reputation and advancement. The threat of a(cid:0) tainted concept of EVP/ITC was becoming apparent, grad-(cid:0) ually clouding the empirical focus of professional, knowl-(cid:0) edgeable individuals whose work may end up being(cid:0) overlooked, ignored or discarded, adding to the possibility(cid:0) that proper technical advancement or insights would sim-(cid:0) ply be ignored by mainstream science.(cid:0) The practice of opinion-based findings is very prevalent(cid:0) in the whole paranormal arena and individuals who con-(cid:0) duct valid research can become discouraged by a lack of a(cid:0) supportive “community of integrity” in which to continue(cid:0) their work. Recognition of this has led us to two models for(cid:0) the direction of the Australasian forum.(cid:0) One was to continue as a standard open forum and(cid:0) continue with the opinion-orientated ideas and(cid:0)theories.(cid:0) This would mean that the forum would be open to all, but(cid:0) the likelihood of any valid research being conducted would(cid:0) be slim at best. This type of board would be popular, but(cid:0) we felt we would not achieve the appropriate outcome for(cid:0) EVP/ITC research. However, we would remain popular in(cid:0) the mainstream paranormal community.(cid:0) The second option was to completely move away from a(cid:0) mainstream forum structure and re-create a forum that(cid:0) would be exclusive and research devoted. This option(cid:0) meant that we would have strict rules and guidelines for the(cid:0) capturing and submission of audio

files (TACS), and we(cid:0) would have a board dedicated to valid research and the(cid:0) advancement towards understanding EVP/ITC.(cid:0) After much discussion, we have decided on option two,(cid:0) and we have recently gone through a complete overhaul of(cid:0) the Australasian board to move toward developing the(cid:0) forum as a research board. Radical changes have been(cid:0) initiated, and although our membership may be limited, our(cid:0) aim is now one of “quality not quantity.” Our primary(cid:0) focus is now realigned towards displaying peer-assessed,(cid:0) factual evidence-based information and recordings.(cid:0) Many of the above directional changes may seem ex-(cid:0) treme, but as directors of the board, we all agree that we(cid:0) need to take strong measures to assure high-quality content(cid:0) and provide an atmosphere that will support peer-reviewed(cid:0) submissions. The Australasian ITC Research Forum is now(cid:0) an “invitation only” site and anyone who can demonstrate(cid:0) the expertise and background to participate in the Austral-(cid:0) asian Forum email(cid:0) [email protected](cid:0)with their expression of interest. The(cid:0) public is invited to visit the forum at(cid:0) http://austevp.com(cid:0) to(cid:0) learn about the latest understanding in EVP/ITC. Be sure to(cid:0) leave a personal notation in the forum’s guest book.(cid:0) requested formally to is Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) Wikisynergy.com(cid:0) is a new online tool in which people(cid:0) involved in frontier subjects can publish information about(cid:0) their group, their area of interest and related subjects. For(cid:0) instance, someone from the FFF might create an article(cid:0) about the organization and go on to create an article titled(cid:0) “Continuing a Relationship with a Loved One.”

Subse-(cid:0) quent articles might be called for, such as “Protocol for(cid:0) Certifying Mediums” and “Recording for EVP During a(cid:0) Setting with a Medium.” Other people can be expected to(cid:0) contribute to these articles as the community works to-(cid:0) gether to make the articles as useful as possible. Most(cid:0) importantly, rule number one of Wikisynergy is that what-(cid:0) ever is written, it must be supported by good references.(cid:0) Opinion must be supported by fact, making the wiki a(cid:0) potentially important source of information for many fron-(cid:0) tier subjects. These subjects are mostly ignored, or even(cid:0) worse, actively maligned by mainstream critics, so it is up(cid:0) to us.(cid:0) The Future is Developing Now(cid:0) It is no longer correct to say that our field of study has no(cid:0) theory designed to explain the phenomena we work with.(cid:0) Such a theory is prerequisite for mainstream to take us(cid:0) seriously. The Survival Hypothesis ((cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0)) explains(cid:0) the conceptual theory. What seems to be lacking is general(cid:0) agreement amongst members of our community. The(cid:0) “evidence of a maturing field” must include collaboration(cid:0) in turning the Survival Hypothesis according to the AA-(cid:0) EVP into a consensus theory as evidenced by many wikis,(cid:0) forums and research articles made public by many mem-(cid:0) bers of our community. Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 16(cid:0) The AA-EVP Atlanta “Big Circle”(cid:0) March 2009 Report(cid:0) by Martha Copeland(cid:0) The March meeting of the Atlanta Big Circle group took(cid:0) place at my home on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.(cid:0)

Two mothers from the original start of the Big Circle(cid:0) meetings attended: Judy Quillen and JoAnne Winsor. We(cid:0) had a total of twelve people present and three were first(cid:0) time attendees.(cid:0) Jamie Butler, who channels spirit guides and recently(cid:0) completed a television pilot for(cid:0)Beyond Intuition,(cid:0) was(cid:0) present at the meeting. If you would like to know more(cid:0) about Jamie’s work you may go to her web page located at:(cid:0) www.withloveandlight.com.(cid:0) Phil Akin, who will be conducting a workshop on ITC at(cid:0) our April meeting, spoke briefly about what he would be(cid:0) presenting.(cid:0) After the introductions, we proceeded to form a circle(cid:0) with a white candle in the center by holding hands and(cid:0) reciting our “Prayer of Protection.”(cid:0) Marco Pardi, an internationally renowned scientist in(cid:0) Near-Death Experiences (NDE) research, was our guest(cid:0) speaker. He has worked with Raymond Moody and the late(cid:0) Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. Marco is retired from the Center of(cid:0) Disease Control and now works as a professor at several(cid:0) universities along with his continuation of NDE research.(cid:0) He was very interesting and he was able to communicate(cid:0) on a level that the average person could understand.(cid:0) Marco shared a quote he tells his students at the start of(cid:0) each new class: “Never believe anything that I say.” He(cid:0) said that he doesn’t believe in anything because once you(cid:0) label something by saying that you “believe” it as a true(cid:0) and validated fact, you no longer question it. Belief sets up(cid:0) boundaries and it should be replaced by investigation. By(cid:0)

not limiting ourselves to boundaries, we stay open-minded(cid:0) and not judgmental. Marco further explained that science(cid:0) is a poorly used word in relating to NDEs.(cid:0) When referring to the afterlife, Marco explained that we(cid:0) have the tendency to use words that separate us from that(cid:0) reality. Two examples are: the “physical world” vs. the(cid:0) “spiritual world,” and the “other side.” By separating or(cid:0) putting things in categories, we are saying that we are not(cid:0) a part of that reality.(cid:0) As customary, we closed our meeting by forming a(cid:0) circle, holding hands and sending prayers out to those who(cid:0) needed a healing.(cid:0) We did not conduct an EVP recording session during the(cid:0) meeting but my sister, Ginny, left her recorder beside(cid:0) Cathy’s urn in my living room after all the guests had left.(cid:0) Ginny’s recording was long and seemed to contain many(cid:0) excited voices saying,(cid:0)“I love you.”(cid:0) It was comforting to(cid:0) know that our loved ones (from beyond) in the spiritual(cid:0) group called, “The Big Circle” may have been present(cid:0) during our meeting.(cid:0) [Editor: Although the Atlanta Big Circle meetings are not an(cid:0) “official” AA-EVP activity, we believe they represent an impor-(cid:0) tant model for others to come together in their communities to(cid:0) help one another develop contact with loved ones.](cid:0) Kizmyt(cid:0) By Margaret Downey(cid:0) My poor little kitty, Kizmyt, had to have extensive surgery.(cid:0) All went well and he is now so much better. During this(cid:0) difficult time, I know Cathy was here helping us. Two days(cid:0) after the surgery,

as I went to get the cat food, a ladybug(cid:0) landed on a seat in the dining area. Instinctively I said,(cid:0) “Hello, Cathy” and gently scooped up my visitor, took her(cid:0) outside and set her on a lily in our front yard, thanking her(cid:0) for dropping in.(cid:0) The next day, as I was setting Kizmyt on the pad near the(cid:0) window so he could try to relax, another ladybug (or the(cid:0) same one?) landed right next to him! That’s when it(cid:0) dawned on me that Cathy was watching over Kizmyt and(cid:0) sending me a sign to let me know. Again, I gently scooped(cid:0) the ladybug up and set(cid:0) her free outdoors, this(cid:0) time in the backyard.(cid:0) I’ve lived here over(cid:0) twenty years, and off the(cid:0) top of my head, I can’t(cid:0) recall finding a ladybug(cid:0) in our home, let alone(cid:0) two in one week.(cid:0) I decided to do a(cid:0) sweep(cid:0) radio manual session to ask about Kizmyt and Cathy. I didn’t hear(cid:0) Cathy’s voice, but I heard others referring to her:(cid:0) Kizmyt(cid:0) I said: “Can you make any comments about Kizmyt?”(cid:0) Response:(cid:0)“Love the kitty cat.”(cid:0) I said: “Cathy, is that you that’s been sending the(cid:0) ladybugs into my house?”(cid:0) Response: “(cid:0)She did.”(cid:0) I said: “Cathy, I know you helped my kitty. I want to(cid:0) thank you.”(cid:0) Response: “(cid:0)Kizmyt is filthy”(cid:0) (This was so true! He had a catheter in. I had to keep(cid:0) putting Vaseline all over his hind quarters to keep him(cid:0) from getting “urine scald,” so he was

kind of smelly and(cid:0) dirty—but still here, so no complaints from me. )(cid:0) I said: “Do you want to say something to your mom(cid:0) tonight?”(cid:0) Response:(cid:0)“We’re talking ... go find Cathy.”(cid:0) (That second part wasn’t too clear but I heard it real-(cid:0) time.)(cid:0) I said: “Yes, please, go find Cathy. Cathy are you(cid:0) there?”(cid:0) Response:(cid:0)“We'll find her.”(cid:0) I said: “You’re gonna find her? Thank you.”(cid:0) Response:(cid:0)“Thank you.”(cid:0) I said: “Is she there yet? Okay, maybe she’s busy. Tell(cid:0) her I said thank you for helping my kitty.”(cid:0) Response:(cid:0)“Cathy said you should talk.”(cid:0) Page 17 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Annette Childs was teaching a class about the afterlife(cid:0) when they received some really great, unexpected EVP.(cid:0) She wrote, “None of the group had even heard of EVP let(cid:0) alone experienced it. It was an introductory class so these(cid:0) were not seasoned seekers in afterlife matters. There was(cid:0) a couple who had come because their only child had died.(cid:0) He was two years old and they are utterly devastated with(cid:0) this loss. They were unemployed with very few resources(cid:0) to find their way through their grief. I had invited them(cid:0) to attend the class at no charge, as a way to give them(cid:0) some exposure to the reality of an afterlife. So I was(cid:0) trying to speak slowly and explain things in very simple(cid:0) terms. (The dad understands some English, and speaks(cid:0) and reads a bit too, the mom … nothing). I was hoping(cid:0) they could ‘get it’ but the

language was a huge obstacle.(cid:0) “I had just finished talking about EVP and playing(cid:0) some of the samples from the AA-EVP member clips. I(cid:0) took a five-minute break and the father immediately(cid:0) approached a friend and explained that he had managed(cid:0) to read page sixty-three in my book,(cid:0)Halfway Across the(cid:0) River(cid:0), and did he think that their son would be able to do(cid:0) something like the apport mentioned there. Just as he(cid:0) asked the question the speakers that were hooked up to(cid:0) my laptop began to crackle loudly and a very loud, very(cid:0) clear female voice announced(cid:0)“We’re working on it”(cid:0) ….(cid:0) Needless to say when I got back from the bathroom the(cid:0) whole room was in an uproar and the couple looked like(cid:0) they had been touched by the hand of God!! It was just a(cid:0) beautiful moment for them, and for all!(cid:0) •(cid:0)Martha Copeland shared a recording made during the Big(cid:0) Circle recording time. She said that many energies were(cid:0) coming through but about 3/4 into the recording, she(cid:0) heard a female voice saying,(cid:0)“Heather.”(cid:0)Yvonne(cid:0) Whybra sent back a note saying,(cid:0) “(cid:0)Thank you so much(cid:0) Martha. I heard(cid:0)‘Heather’(cid:0) the first time I listened to the(cid:0) clip. I also hear(cid:0)‘We're here.’(cid:0) You have no idea how(cid:0) much hearing her name means to me. Can’t wait to tell(cid:0) my ex-husband. I am sure he will be equally excited”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Margaret Downey wrote the group, “Wow! They must(cid:0) like this little Sony SRF-M37V unit. I’m not too fond of(cid:0) how much static there is,

but I can’t complain about the(cid:0) results. Right off the bat, I heard the name ‘Steve’ when(cid:0) I asked if anyone was there (that’s a friend of mine who(cid:0) likes to pop in.) They told me it was working when I(cid:0) asked. And then I heard,(cid:0)‘Vicki, turn the net on,’(cid:0)so I(cid:0) asked if Braden was there. Then I asked if they could tell(cid:0) me some names and got,(cid:0)‘Marci, this is Vic and Robert.’(cid:0) Normally, Karen’s son refers to himself as ‘Rob’ so I(cid:0) asked, ‘Who is Robert?’ and am hearing,(cid:0)‘I’m friends(cid:0) with Braden, Ca-thy.’(cid:0)No doubt, it’s some of the BC(cid:0) group coming through. Gotta love it!!”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Joanne Feldman wrote that she had gotten an EVP(cid:0) message on her analog answering machine unexpectedly(cid:0) and it came on her late father’s birthday.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lorie McMorrow wrote, “I read on the last page of the(cid:0) NewsJournal under Researcher Reports that Teri Daner(cid:0) had received the message,(cid:0)‘I’m (or Hi) Kevin,’(cid:0) then(cid:0) ‘Glad to talk,’(cid:0) then(cid:0)‘Geoff.’(cid:0) She said she recorded after(cid:0) hearing about Kevin crossing over. I think this is indeed(cid:0) Kevin, and that he went to Teri, perhaps assisted by her(cid:0) son Geoff on the other side.(cid:0) “Mom’s birthday is April 8, four months to the day(cid:0) Kev left. Hearing these messages has meant a lot to her.(cid:0) She also listened to the EVP Mother’s Day message(cid:0) made by the Forever Family Foundation. How(cid:0) comforting to the many bereaved mothers out there to(cid:0) hear those words,(cid:0)‘Hi, Mom,(cid:0)’ and(cid:0)‘I Love You.’(cid:0) They(cid:0) speak for the many

sons and daughters on the other side(cid:0) who’d like to say those words to their own mothers.(cid:0) Thanks for posting it on the(cid:0)AA-EVP site(cid:0).”(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski reported on an experiment using his(cid:0) Olympus recorder. The experiment was to make a(cid:0) telephone call from the computer to a cell phone,(cid:0) recording into the computer whatever the cell phone(cid:0) picked up, then rub a slightly abrasive surface over the(cid:0) microphone. He did a variation of this same procedure(cid:0) using a cell phone as a microphone and recording to the(cid:0) computer with a VOIP connection (Yahoo). The(cid:0) computer was recording at high quality (44 khz). During(cid:0) the recording, he used 100-mesh Graco paint filter to(cid:0) scratch across the cell phone microphone. He wrote,(cid:0) “This looks like a very fine mesh metal screen (cylinder).(cid:0) The voices come out very fast and are easily heard on(cid:0) playback.” He slowed the recording down 5% to get:(cid:0) “Without your activity we’re out! Lawrence Allen”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Mossey sent in two messages to the group. She(cid:0) wrote, “Even though they are not perfectly clear, I hear(cid:0) ‘Big Circle’(cid:0) in one clip. I hear the whole message as(cid:0) ‘Her(cid:0) Big Circle is delightful.’(cid:0) … Only my cat Misty was on(cid:0) the bed. And in the second EVP I hear a woman’s voice(cid:0) say(cid:0)‘Misty’(cid:0) and then a male says,(cid:0)‘That’s Karen’s cat.’(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christopher Scott says that he is a business executive(cid:0) who became interested in EVP from reading articles on(cid:0) worlditc.org(cid:0). He writes, “I think I was drawn to EVP for(cid:0) a

good reason and am happy it happened. I have worked(cid:0) with classic EVP, radio sweep,(cid:0)Paranormal Puck(cid:0), video(cid:0) ITC,(cid:0)EVPmaker(cid:0), and Direct Radio Voice. I have received(cid:0) good responses on all approaches except for the(cid:0) Paranormal Puck.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Allison Sniffin said that she made a mini-concert of(cid:0) piano music from the 30s for her deceased mom, which(cid:0) she played and recorded in her apartment. About ten(cid:0) minutes into it, she picked up an EVP when she asked,(cid:0) “Do you know this song, Mom?” An EVP followed that(cid:0) she felt said(cid:0)“Have we got ... power?”(cid:0) Other members(cid:0) heard it differently and Barry Pirro wrote that he heard(cid:0) “Honey, I love you,”(cid:0) and Allison also heard it.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott shared an EVP with the group. She had(cid:0) been with Mary Jo and they were just chatting. On the(cid:0) recording, you can hear Mary Jo before and after the(cid:0) EVP. In between that, you hear Braden saying(cid:0)“Hi,(cid:0) Mom,”(cid:0) with an interesting inflection.(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Page 18(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Debbie Caruso was shown on a rerun of the Maury show(cid:0) that also featured new recordings. The AA-EVP had(cid:0) several members join after seeing the show. Thanks(cid:0) Debbie!(cid:0) •(cid:0)Member Annette Childs’ book has just won its fourth(cid:0) literary award. The book,(cid:0)Halfway Across the River,(cid:0) is a(cid:0) compilation of fascinating stories,(cid:0) from deathbed visions, to messages(cid:0) sent from beyond the veil. The book(cid:0) is available at Annette’s website:(cid:0) www.onecandle.net/books.html(cid:0)or at(cid:0) Amazon.com(cid:0) •(cid:0)Al Rauber did a lecture titled “The(cid:0) Lizzie Tapes-a Paranormal Case(cid:0) Study” on May 31(cid:0)st(cid:0)

at the Polaris(cid:0) North Theater in New York. The pre-(cid:0) sentation was an in-depth look at two different paranor-(cid:0) mal investigations of the Lizzie Borden House in Fall(cid:0) River, MA. Both investigations had(cid:0) been filmed for TV shows.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Dave Sircom’s new book,(cid:0) Closer Than(cid:0) You Think,(cid:0) is now available. We think(cid:0) you will find it an interesting read,(cid:0) especially if you conduct hauntings(cid:0) investigations or like to record for(cid:0) EVP in the field. The book is available(cid:0) at(cid:0)Amazon.com(cid:0).(cid:0) Thoughts From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lorelei McMorrow wrote, “Kevin and I thank you …. I(cid:0) hope that my sustaining membership will help further the(cid:0) invaluable work of the AA-EVP. To know that the lives(cid:0) of our loved ones continue on the other side, not only(cid:0) enables those of us left behind here to continue to live,(cid:0) but also empowers us to realize a higher purpose and to(cid:0) even smile and possibly enjoy life once again.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Karen Ashdown wrote, “This is really just to relay a(cid:0) lovely coincidence that happened to me recently. I was(cid:0) reading Martha Copeland’s article about her daughter(cid:0) Cathy in the latest issue of the NewsJournal, whilst(cid:0) sitting in a crowded cafe in Melbourne. Just seconds after(cid:0) I read Martha’s well-known comment of ‘I’m still here,’(cid:0) a gentleman sitting at a table quite some way away (and(cid:0) over the talking of other patrons), talking to his wife in a(cid:0) general conversation, uttered the phrase ‘I’m still here’(cid:0) very loudly and very clearly. Probably a coincidence but(cid:0) it felt like a lovely

one.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Regina Antonucci wrote to say that, “In my opinion, your(cid:0) hard work and effort has certainly helped make EVP(cid:0) more acceptable as being a legitimate phenomena of(cid:0) nature worthy of scientific research.”(cid:0) Have You Received Messages from(cid:0) Sarah Estep?(cid:0) If you are one of the people who have gotten EVP mes-(cid:0) sages or other signs from Sarah Estep, you can help us.(cid:0) Sarah’s daughter, Becky, would like to hear from you. She(cid:0) would like written transcripts of any messages that you feel(cid:0) may have come from Sarah. Becky does not have a com-(cid:0) puter so she needs you to write out (or print off from your(cid:0) computer) any messages that you have received and mail(cid:0) them to her. Send the information to Becky Estep, 2570(cid:0) Riva Road Unit 22c, Annapolis, MD 21401-7420. Becky(cid:0) sincerely thanks you for doing this!(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle group on,(cid:0) or close to July 9 and 23, August 6 and 20, September 3 and(cid:0) 17, and October 1, 15, and 29. Then go to the Big Circle(cid:0) area of the Idea Exchange and share what you record with(cid:0) other members. In the past, members have recorded mes-(cid:0) sages intended for other members and this has really been(cid:0) a blessing – so join in!(cid:0) EVP Experiments(cid:0) Continued from page 15(cid:0) 5. Using a listening panel:(cid:0) Okay, you have recorded an(cid:0) EVP, but when you play it for others, they do not hear it as(cid:0) words or as

the same words you think are there. However,(cid:0) they do hear it if you tell them what they will hear and then(cid:0) play it for them many times. As an experiment, use one of(cid:0) your easily understood (Class A) examples or one from(cid:0) someone else that has not been heard by your friends. Play(cid:0) the example for a friend without offering a hint as to what(cid:0) you think is said in the EVP. Play it many times if neces-(cid:0) sary. Then tell your friend what you think the EVP says and(cid:0) play it several times. Compare the results.(cid:0) A currently held assumption is that hearing EVP is a little(cid:0) like learning a new language. EVP are made of simulated(cid:0) words and each experimenter records a slightly different(cid:0) simulation. You should be able to show that your friends(cid:0) “correctly” hear EVP better if they are told what to hear.(cid:0) They should also get better at hearing the words without(cid:0) prompting, and over time, as they hear more examples.(cid:0) Page 19 Summer 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Thank You(cid:0) •(cid:0)To all of those who had agreed to do presentations at the(cid:0) AA-EVP conference: Your willingness to help others(cid:0) learn about EVP speaks more than words, a heartfelt(cid:0) thank you.(cid:0) •(cid:0)To all of you who sent notes of encouragement to us in(cid:0) response the 2009 AA-EVP(cid:0) conference was cancelled. They were needed and meant(cid:0) the world to us.(cid:0) to notification that •(cid:0)To Karen Ashdown for sending us a mint condition copy(cid:0) of(cid:0)Voices From The Tapes(cid:0)

by Peter Bander.(cid:0) •(cid:0)To all of you who support the Association through(cid:0) service, research and money. We could not do it without(cid:0) you!(cid:0) AA-EVP Advisory Panel(cid:0) As most of you know, the AA-EVP was founded in 1982(cid:0) by Sarah Estep. She was the director until 2000, when she(cid:0) asked us to assume leadership. As with Sarah, we have(cid:0) directed the Association with more of a “Mom and Pop”(cid:0) leadership style then a corporate one. In more structured(cid:0) organizations, it is common to see a board of directors and(cid:0) a list of technical advisors. We do have a fine board, which(cid:0) is listed on page 2.(cid:0) In the past few years, we have attempted to attract people(cid:0) in our field who have established their credentials as even-(cid:0) minded and wise in the study of things paranormal. As(cid:0) such, we consider the following people to be valued(cid:0) advisors for how this organization is operated today and(cid:0) the direction it will take in the future: Martin Harris, Cindy(cid:0) Heinen, Garrett Husveth and Edgar Müller.(cid:0) There is No Death and There are No Dead(cid:0) This was written to help teach about(cid:0) EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy(cid:0) at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or send a letter with(cid:0) signing instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV(cid:0) 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing

journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf(cid:0) Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097.(cid:0) Or:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year All benefits for one year(cid:0) not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0) $40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.(cid:0) You may specify that your donation is used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:(cid:0)__________(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved on?____(cid:0) I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the(cid:0) list or use the list for commercial purposes or to

further a personal causes. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I(cid:0) violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results(cid:0) of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it(cid:0) publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The AA-EVP reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 2 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Page 20(cid:0) American Association(cid:0) Electronic Voice Phenomena(cid:0) NewsJournal(cid:0) Dedicated to Public Education about EVP and ITC and the Support of EVP/ITC Experimenters Everywhere(cid:0) Volume 28 Number 3 Fall 2009(cid:0) From Our Viewpoint(cid:0) Feedback from members is always important because it(cid:0) helps us understand how well we are doing our job. Our(cid:0) members represent four very different, but we think(cid:0) equally important, areas of interests.(cid:0) The largest group is people who have lost a loved one(cid:0) and seek to find a way to assure themselves the loved one(cid:0) is okay on the other side. For them, the science of EVP is(cid:0) not nearly as important as the ability to make contact with(cid:0) a loved one.(cid:0) Some members are simply interested in what we are(cid:0) doing. In effect, they are subscribing to the NewsJournal as(cid:0) they would to any other special-interest publication. We(cid:0) always try to keep these members in mind

by including(cid:0) news about the state of the art in our field.(cid:0) A third group is composed of people who actively study(cid:0) EVP in an effort to find ways to improve the technology.(cid:0) They try just about every imaginable approach, and in the(cid:0) process, give us important understanding of what works(cid:0) and what does not. This is an important point: science(cid:0) cannot happen without skilled practitioners. Skilled practi-(cid:0) tioners only come from practice, practice, practice.(cid:0) The last and smallest group are the scientists. EVP is a(cid:0) frontier subject, and as such, there are no scientists who(cid:0) have been trained in an academically accredited institution(cid:0) to study EVP. So when we say “scientists,” we mean(cid:0) people who are approaching the study of EVP from an(cid:0) academic viewpoint, but with training in other subjects(cid:0) such as the humanities and the physical sciences.(cid:0) If you have been with us very many years, you will know(cid:0) that we have attempted to support all four groups. We try(cid:0) to word the website in a way that science-minded visitors(cid:0) will feel they are dealing with rational people, and at the(cid:0) same time, we try to include articles in the NewsJournal(cid:0) that give hope and inspiration to people interested only in(cid:0) contacting a loved one.(cid:0) The Sarah Estep Research Fund is our first serious effort(cid:0) to begin initiating research. Meanwhile, we have estab-(cid:0) lished the Etheric Studies website ((cid:0)ethericstudies.org(cid:0)) in an(cid:0) effort to foster a culture of cooperation amongst involved(cid:0) organizations and a habit of critical thinking,

in place of the(cid:0) faith-based explanations so prevalent in our field today.(cid:0) Interestingly, the members who have given us the most(cid:0) feedback have been people trying to contact a loved one. It(cid:0) seems that, whenever we begin to question how well we are(cid:0) leading the AA-EVP, we hear from someone telling us that(cid:0) EVP has helped them and how important the contact is to(cid:0) them.(cid:0) We recently received a very good letter from one of our(cid:0) more academically trained members, commenting on the(cid:0) contrast between anecdotal articles about making contact(cid:0) with loved ones and the more technical ones we include in(cid:0) the NewsJournal. To quote in regards to this dichotomy,(cid:0) “Both constituencies are valid and have a right to be served(cid:0) by the organization, but mixing them together in the same(cid:0) publication not only does not facilitate acceptance of EVP(cid:0) investigations by mainstream science but decidedly works(cid:0) against it.”(cid:0) We have given these comments considerable thought.(cid:0) This field needs the support of academically trained re-(cid:0) searchers, but we also know that mainstream funding orga-(cid:0) nizations are not going to fund our research. It is the person(cid:0) seeking to contact a loved one who has the most to gain by(cid:0) improved techniques for EVP and they are the ones who(cid:0) are funding this research.(cid:0) It is also true that EVP cannot be studied using tech-(cid:0) niques of mainstream science. As we have seen in parapsy-(cid:0) chology, trying to act as if things etheric can be measured(cid:0) as if they were physical

simply does not produce the kind(cid:0) of evidence the mainstream public is looking for. We have(cid:0) learned that EVP must be studied from the perspective of(cid:0) studying how a subjective influence causes an objective(cid:0) effect. The objective (physical) part of EVP can be studied(cid:0) using mainstream science, but the results will be meaning-(cid:0) less if the subjective (etheric) part is not considered.(cid:0) In fact, we feel the AA-EVP NewsJournal reflects that(cid:0) need to consider both parts. Separating them, perhaps with(cid:0) two publications, would also separate people seeking con-(cid:0) tact with a loved one from people who simply want to study(cid:0) the involved processes. Both interest groups need the other(cid:0) to complete the picture.(cid:0) A Technical Article(cid:0) The(cid:0)Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influ-(cid:0) ences(cid:0) article in this issue is an effort to develop a model for(cid:0) how the phenomenal voices might be formed. It is com-(cid:0) plex, and may require a lot of contemplation before it(cid:0) makes sense. To keep it brief, we have left a lot of the detail(cid:0) out, so that will be in a more robust version on the website(cid:0) after we have received a few comments.(cid:0) The assumption of the article is that EVP are the result of(cid:0) a subjective influence producing an objective effect. We(cid:0) know that the entity works with subjective, etheric, concep-(cid:0) tual energy, and here in the physical, we have to work with(cid:0) concrete things. We assume that a physical process is(cid:0) involved and that we can understand what that is. Our(cid:0) thought

Articles that explain techniques, help people understand the concepts of(cid:0) ITC and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered for publication in the(cid:0) NewsJournal. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be(cid:0) short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up(cid:0) to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article(cid:0) which can be placed on the AA-EVP website. Announcements of member(cid:0) activities are welcome, as are reports of successes working with these phenomena and brief(cid:0) comments about your observations. Email submission to(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0) or mail to AA-EVP, PO(cid:0) Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA.(cid:0) Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates(cid:0): The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of(cid:0) January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the AA-EVP 45 days(cid:0) preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added(cid:0) to the AA-EVP Document Archive.(cid:0) Subscription:(cid:0) The AA-EVP NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be(cid:0) found on the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com or by writing to the AA-EVP at the above address.(cid:0) There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership(cid:0) renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members(cid:0)not(cid:0)receiving the(cid:0) NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage.(cid:0) The AA-EVP:(cid:0) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of(cid:0) membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. AA-EVP Board:

Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors),(cid:0) Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding.(cid:0) Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect AA-EVP views and policy.(cid:0) Web Masters:(cid:0) aaevp.com(cid:0): Tom Butler(cid:0) bigcircle.aaevp.com(cid:0): Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner(cid:0) Volunteers:(cid:0) NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward(cid:0) Big Circle: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey(cid:0) Advisory Panel:(cid:0) Martin Harris(cid:0) Cindy Heinen(cid:0) Garrett Husveth(cid:0) Ingrid Irwin(cid:0) Edgar Müller(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 2(cid:0) Fall 2009(cid:0) Patron(cid:0) Becky Estep(cid:0) Anonymous(cid:0) EVP Research Patron(cid:0) Donors(cid:0) Edwina Bentinck(cid:0) Tom and Lisa Butler(cid:0) Tim Klein(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) Helene Arts(cid:0) Kelly Burge(cid:0) Debra Caruso(cid:0) Dale Hewey(cid:0) Tim Klein(cid:0) Don and Betty Nauratil(cid:0) Howard Reed(cid:0) Mark Tominac(cid:0) Supporters(cid:0) Kelly Burge(cid:0) Stephanie Davisson(cid:0) Jean Estrade(cid:0) Cindy Heinen(cid:0) Chris Kussavage(cid:0) Ginny Sawyer(cid:0) Stephen Siciliano(cid:0) Christopher Stephens(cid:0) Jim Stonier(cid:0) Jayne Thompson(cid:0) Scott Whybra(cid:0) The Felix Physical Séance Circle(cid:0) by K.M.(cid:0) [Editor: this material has been extracted from(cid:0)http://felixcircle.blogspot.com(cid:0).](cid:0) In the year 2005, several people founded an experimental(cid:0) circle for séance room phenomena, physical mediumship(cid:0) and spirit communication near Frankfurt, Germany. The(cid:0) group was inspired by the work of R. Foy, K. Batcheldor,(cid:0) J. Neihardt and supported through the findings of S. Braude(cid:0) and R. Pilkington a.m.o. researchers and experimenters; the(cid:0) circle was, from the beginning, prepared for a long-term(cid:0) project. After months of resultless experimenting, the first(cid:0) weird occurrences began taking place...(cid:0) At the end of 2008, one of our trance-personalities,(cid:0) “Rafael Gutmann,” announced there would be a change to(cid:0) a higher-leveled personality. This entity first came through(cid:0) under very unnerving circumstances. The trance induction(cid:0)

had changed and was accompanied by heavy hyperventilat-(cid:0) ing and the entrancing ten minutes were very exhausting(cid:0) for all present. Later the entity explained that energy assim-(cid:0) ilation was the problem. Moreover, the new entity did not(cid:0) want to reveal its name and worked under a pseudonym at(cid:0) the beginning. At this time it only could speak in a very(cid:0) difficult, but interesting manner. It sounded like a radio that(cid:0) loses its signal; the pitch of the voice seemed to increase(cid:0) and decrease in a way, while it was permanently changing(cid:0) its audibility. During this it alternated between fast(cid:0) speeches in a high-pitched voice with changes to a slower,(cid:0) very deep grumbling voice which was nearly inaudible.(cid:0) This was very interesting to observe.(cid:0) Rafael had already told us that the flamboyant pseudo-(cid:0) nym “Imperator” was disguising an influential German(cid:0) scientist who wanted to work with us but did not want to(cid:0) reveal his identity until it was clear that a transferring of(cid:0) information through the entranced sitter, the medium, was(cid:0) possible. Later we learned that Imperator chose this name,(cid:0) because some of his scholars called him that unofficially.(cid:0) Imperator changed the whole process of sitting that we(cid:0) had used for over four years. He urged us to discuss certain(cid:0) spiritual issues and inspired us with new meditations and(cid:0) visualizations. Moreover he wanted us to reflect on the(cid:0) possibilities of ITC and psychic photography and its possi-(cid:0) bilities and boundaries.(cid:0) He introduced us to a planetary energy used by spirit(cid:0) helpers

and instructed us in meditations to communicate(cid:0) with that energy. At the same time, we applied advice given(cid:0) by Robin Foy and the Scole entities. The trance contents(cid:0) seemed to interact and somehow replenish with these.(cid:0) Then, what many already were expecting; Imperator(cid:0) identified himself as the deceased German icon of parapsy-(cid:0) chology, Professor Hans Bender. He gave us many details(cid:0) from his life, mentioning names, dates, and things that he(cid:0) had done, as well as things that he had ignored during his(cid:0) earth time. He also told us of experiments he was once part(cid:0) of in the nineties regarding the issue that he was passionate(cid:0) about; ITC and EVP. He had been involved in working(cid:0) with Friedrich Jürgenson, Klaus Schreiber, Ernst Senkows-(cid:0) ki, and V. Delavre along with many others. Hans Bender(cid:0) (1907-1991) was in fact part of ITC experiments from both(cid:0) “sides.” He was involved in the nineties when German and(cid:0) Luxembourgian researchers were contacted by him. During(cid:0) these transcommunications, he called himself “Spook-(cid:0) Bender” like he did when he was communicating through(cid:0) our entranced sitter.(cid:0) First picture cropped and enhanced for clarity(cid:0) Bender instructed our group at the beginning of June to(cid:0) begin to try our first experiments. We were urged to gather(cid:0) the no-longer-produced Polaroid 600 model and sufficient(cid:0) film. After much effort and many Euros later we had(cid:0) several Polaroid cameras from different production years(cid:0) as well as fresh film.(cid:0) After this, we sat ready to take pictures and realized that(cid:0) the preparation process seemed

to be taking longer than(cid:0) expected. A mirror was requested—large enough to focus(cid:0) onto it and positioned in such a way as to have a sufficient(cid:0) visible area that reflected the area above the séance table.(cid:0) This area had been mentioned many times in the months(cid:0) beforeas the area where new phenomena should appear!(cid:0) We sat Tuesday the 21(cid:0)st(cid:0) of July with nine out of eleven(cid:0) sitters. We waited to see if Hans Bender wanted to process(cid:0) what he had been planning. For the first ninety minutes,(cid:0) Hans Bender came through quickly and well balanced for(cid:0) the medium, now perfectly assimilated. He greeted those(cid:0) back from holiday, he thanked the others who organized(cid:0) the needed objects and announced that after an enquiry at(cid:0) “the Chemists” (a word signifying a group of spirit helpers(cid:0) he mentioned for the first time), he was instructed to inform(cid:0) us that it was possible to take one photo as long as his(cid:0) instructions were absolutely thoroughly followed.(cid:0) We were instructed to:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Choose one sitter besides the circle leader and wake the(cid:0) medium up so that there were three of us involved.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Prepare absolute total darkness; if any light touched the(cid:0) outside transported photo, the Chemists’ work would be(cid:0) destroyed.(cid:0) Continued page 4(cid:0) Page 3 Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Felix Circle(cid:0) Continued from page 3(cid:0) •(cid:0)Place the mirror on the séance table in a position where(cid:0) it would reflect the area above the table.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Have the medium open the Polaroid camera, so that a(cid:0) green

light illuminated the whole photographing process.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Position the chosen sitter beside the photographer who(cid:0) was to take the photograph and to immediately put it into(cid:0) the wooden box and hand it to the Circle Leader, Dr. P.J.,(cid:0) who should not let loose of the box until the end of the(cid:0) séance at around 11 p.m. At that time, he would be(cid:0) allowed to open the box to see if the experiment had been(cid:0) successful!(cid:0) So after these instructions, Hans Bender withdrew from the(cid:0) medium and the medium woke up. We were eager to see if(cid:0) it was really possible to get some results. We turned the(cid:0) lights on to organize everything that was requested. We(cid:0) then switched the lights off again and began to talk freely(cid:0) knowing, that the moment the sitter opens the camera (the(cid:0) Polaroid 600 has to be swung-open to be able to take a(cid:0) picture) and the green light appears on it, seconds later the(cid:0) photo will be taken. And so it went! (Although the photog-(cid:0) rapher forgot to close the swung open part after the photo(cid:0) was transported outside and taken by the person with the(cid:0) box, we achieved the first exciting result, especially if we(cid:0) compare it with the two control photos we shot soon after(cid:0) the discovery. (See the picture on the previous page.)(cid:0) Although we can not definitely state what it is, we abso-(cid:0) lutely know that it is not a reflection of anything in the(cid:0) room. We sit in a completely

wood-paneled room, and a(cid:0) reflection would have shown maybe the diagonal wooden(cid:0) ceiling panels but nothing else.(cid:0) The moment the picture was taken, two sitters had inter-(cid:0) esting visual sensations. One of them saw a gray whirly sea(cid:0) out of an unknown substance directly above the mirror,(cid:0) while the other saw, for several seconds, an old man’s face(cid:0) with gray hair and a thin long nose; probably Hans Bender,(cid:0) although she had never seen him before. Both of these(cid:0) women very seldom(cid:0)see(cid:0) anything in the darkened room and(cid:0) never things that aren’t objectively there!(cid:0) What this first picture showed was a mystery to us but we(cid:0) felt that it was similar to the results of other groups and(cid:0) experimenters in psychic photography. Maybe it shows an(cid:0) underwater scene, or a cave scene. Some people see faces,(cid:0) others do not. Is it a work of art or a photo of something(cid:0) natural? Even if we never learn what it is, we are very lucky(cid:0) and highly proud and thankful for being able to show what(cid:0) commitment and disciplined work can bring forward.(cid:0) On August 11, 2009, the group came together again to(cid:0) see what the spirit control team was planning and if further(cid:0) photos could be achieved. Much earlier than normal, the(cid:0) channeling sitter announced he recognized the energy ma-(cid:0) trix of the entity, Hans Bender, the deceased icon of Ger-(cid:0) man Parapsychology.... He began to give very thorough(cid:0) descriptions of what steps we needed to execute in order to(cid:0) receive

a successful outcome. First he greeted the ten sitters(cid:0) who were present and thanked them for being part of the(cid:0) experiments.(cid:0) He explained that in fact, the channeling sitter has no(cid:0) bigger part in the production of the psychic photos and(cid:0) other phenomena than any other attending circle member.(cid:0) The necessity to give highly detailed channeled instruc-(cid:0) tions was the only reason why the sitter’s channeling ef-(cid:0) forts were essential. He explained that it is the trance per(cid:0) se, that opens the access to deeper realms of reality, where(cid:0) it is possible to influence the dimensional matrixes that(cid:0) create the physical realm and enable us to produce physical(cid:0) phenomena. This deeper level is a spiritual level, because(cid:0) the highly complex physical reality is nothing but a mental,(cid:0) a spiritual concept that interacts with our consciousness to(cid:0) create the illusion we live in as long as we are burdened(cid:0) with our physical body. This is why spiritual entities are(cid:0) free of the limitations of time and space....(cid:0) We were told that there were two loving spirits standing(cid:0) very near to the circle. Hans Bender then went on to reveal(cid:0) the conduct for today’s experiments. This time, four photos(cid:0) were planned by the Chemists. He told us that maybe the(cid:0) spirits who were close would be able to display themselves(cid:0) somehow in the photographs.(cid:0) Next, we were instructed for over twenty minutes on how(cid:0) to achieve positive results:(cid:0) •(cid:0)Three sitters had to be involved: one photo taker; one(cid:0) who immediately takes the

exposed film and stores it into(cid:0) a wooden box; and, one sitter that guards the box with all(cid:0) photos in it until we are told it is okay to look into it.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The photo taker had fifteen minutes, after all preparations(cid:0) were done (placing the mirror on the table, choosing the(cid:0) Polaroid and having the box ready) and the light was(cid:0) extinguished again, to choose when to take the shots …(cid:0) and give them to the adjoining sitter.(cid:0) •(cid:0)The photo taker was to open the camera to illuminate the(cid:0) shooting process with the green control light. After ev-(cid:0) erybody saw the photo transported to the outside, the(cid:0) camera had to be closed immediately, avoiding the green(cid:0) light destroying the Chemists preparations.(cid:0) Unfortunately, closing of the camera, the reopening(cid:0) took several seconds to get the green light back on, and(cid:0) only fourteen seconds were allowed. This put us under(cid:0) considerable time pressure that led to the fact that two of(cid:0) four times the photo taker forgot to close the camera(cid:0) before handing the photo to the adjoining sitter with the(cid:0) wooden box. This may be what caused two photos to(cid:0) have no results.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Finally, after all photos were stored in the box, it had to(cid:0) be handed to the circle leader, who was to hold the box(cid:0) for exactly thirty-seven minutes in front of his stomach,(cid:0) between the navel and the lap area. We have no idea why,(cid:0) but the spirit entities had their reasons and we followed(cid:0) their directions.(cid:0) Exactly

thirty-seven minutes after the last photo was taken,(cid:0) we left the séance room and lit the bright white light in the(cid:0) corridor to check the outcome. Continued page 5(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 4(cid:0) The Felix Circle(cid:0) Continued from page 4(cid:0) ent densities to bring objects successfully through! I want(cid:0) to say sorry, but you can be sure it is only water. To be(cid:0) exact: 1.0 liters of crystal clear blue, pure water. Is every-(cid:0) body okay again?” The spirit or trance-entity Prof. Hans(cid:0) Bender asked smirking. The sitters, who were sitting in(cid:0) their wet trousers, answered, “Yes, no problem, Hans! We(cid:0) will be dried again soon!”(cid:0) Soon everything was in order again and that evening,(cid:0) Hans Bender came through with an unmistakable presence(cid:0) and charisma that astonished us. For the first time he was(cid:0) so well assimilated with the medium’s body that for nearly(cid:0) an hour we were allowed to ask questions. These were(cid:0) answered with wisdom and humor and we all were deeply(cid:0) impressed.(cid:0) Polaroid photograph showing two faces(cid:0) Above is one of the four photos taken during that session.(cid:0) We have not discovered who the two figures are. We do not(cid:0) even know if these figures are the spirit entities allegedly(cid:0) standing near the sitters’ circle as was mentioned by Hans(cid:0) Bender. On the other hand, the pictures are basically much(cid:0) too cloudy to identify someone without a shadow of a(cid:0) doubt. Nevertheless three sitters, a mother and her two(cid:0) daughters, felt that they might have

an idea who the figures(cid:0) are and they are researching by checking old family pho-(cid:0) tos…. When we discover more, we will let you know.(cid:0) The group met again on August 27(cid:0)th(cid:0). The group began as(cid:0) usual with a greeting, a prayer and two hypnotic visualiza-(cid:0) tions; all done to optimize the conditions of the group and(cid:0) the surroundings. This was followed by what the group(cid:0) calls “free speech.” Sitters chat, sing and laugh with no(cid:0) restrictions whatsoever on their communication attempts(cid:0) (except for the basic behavior rules, naturally). This phase(cid:0) helps to relax the sitters’ concentrations on personal issues(cid:0) and give subconscious impulses more room!(cid:0) The medium announced that Hans Bender would defi-(cid:0) nitely speak that evening, but at that point, it seemed Hans(cid:0) Bender was unsatisfied somehow and we were requested(cid:0) by the sitter, who at this point was already receiving con-(cid:0) tent from the spirit energy matrix of Bender, to speak with(cid:0) one another or to sing with the music.(cid:0) Then, SPLASH! With a loud splash, like a water balloon,(cid:0) a huge mass of water came down from above the center of(cid:0) the séance table, splattered in all directions and drowned(cid:0) everything, mainly the sitters’ laps and trousers.(cid:0) “I hope you will forgive us. You unwillingly became part(cid:0) of an experiment by the Chemists who were testing differ-(cid:0) Water can be seen on mirror and table(cid:0) In the last part of the sitting, Hans Bender was very(cid:0) pragmatic and giving instructions before vanishing. He(cid:0) offered us a

new experiment in psychic photography, but(cid:0) explained that there were certain energetic issues that(cid:0) would cause a failure this time. He recommended that we(cid:0) wait until the following week to work with the psychic(cid:0) photography.(cid:0) [Editor: We have to end with the August 27(cid:0)th(cid:0) sitting due to our(cid:0) print deadline. We look forward to the continued experiments of(cid:0) the Felix Circle and will update you next quarter on their results.(cid:0) We thank them for their hard work and for sharing their results(cid:0) with our members. Please see(cid:0)http://felixcircle.blogspot.com/(cid:0) for(cid:0) current information on the group.](cid:0) Media Watch(cid:0) Lisa Butler has been writing a monthly “Media Watch”(cid:0) column for the(cid:0)National Spiritualist Summit(cid:0) magazine(cid:0) since August, 2001. The column contains items in the news(cid:0) that demonstrate the scientific support for paranormal(cid:0) phenomena and survival. All of the columns through 2008(cid:0) are available at(cid:0)http://renospiritualistchurch.org/(cid:0).(cid:0) Page 5 Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) No Need to “Let Go” of Loved Ones after Death(cid:0) by Michael Tymn(cid:0) Previously published in(cid:0)The Searchlight,(cid:0)June 2009(cid:0) There is a school of thought among psychologists and grief(cid:0) counselors that the aggrieved person should find closure by(cid:0) “letting go” and getting on with his or her life. Nothing is(cid:0) more wrong, Dr. Louis LaGrand believes. We should be(cid:0) saying(cid:0)hello(cid:0) to our deceased loved ones, not(cid:0)goodbye.(cid:0) “Of all the misconceptions associated(cid:0) with the grief process, none is more(cid:0) damaging than the idea that mourners(cid:0) must let go of the deceased and find(cid:0) closure,” LaGrand, a semi-retired pro-(cid:0) fessor, opines. He agrees, however, that(cid:0) you can hold

on “too tightly” to the past(cid:0) and that this can prevent the mourner(cid:0) from rebuilding his or her life in the(cid:0) present. He distinguishes between(cid:0) “love” and “attachment,” pointing out(cid:0) that love is being fully committed to the(cid:0) welfare of the departed, while attach-(cid:0) ment is being more concerned with(cid:0) one’s own needs. “In short, mourners(cid:0) should establish a new relationship with(cid:0) the deceased and(cid:0)reinvest in life(cid:0) at the(cid:0) same time,” he offers.(cid:0) Dr. Louis LaGrand(cid:0) The author of eight books and numerous articles,(cid:0) LaGrand, who lives in Florida, is known world-wide for his(cid:0) research on the Extraordinary Experiences (EEs) of the(cid:0) bereaved, otherwise known as After-Death Communica-(cid:0) tion or ADC. EEs, LaGrand stresses, are not messages(cid:0) coming through mediums or psychics. Rather they involve(cid:0) such phenomena as seeing apparitions, hearing the de-(cid:0) ceased person, having a scent of the deceased person,(cid:0) intuitively feeling the person’s presence, sometimes even(cid:0) feeling a touch, receiving meaningful symbols and signs,(cid:0) and having vivid dreams about the deceased loved one.(cid:0) With advanced degrees from Columbia University, the(cid:0) University of Notre Dame and Florida State University,(cid:0) LaGrand is a distinguished service professor emeritus at(cid:0) State University of New York, as well as a certified grief(cid:0) counselor. He gives workshops on grief support and stress(cid:0) reduction in schools, hospices, and health agencies around(cid:0) the United States and abroad. Recently, I had the opportu-(cid:0) nity to sit down with him and discuss his years of work(cid:0) with the bereaved and his study of EEs.(cid:0) “The scientific method

does not lend itself well to exam-(cid:0) ining spontaneous events or intuitive faculties,” LaGrand(cid:0) says, “and so these things must necessarily fall under the(cid:0) umbrella of the paranormal, but they should not be brushed(cid:0) aside and ignored because they do not meet scientific(cid:0) criteria, as they bring about healing and expanded con-(cid:0) sciousness for mourners and give meaning to life.”(cid:0) As LaGrand sees it, the hope generated by EEs and other(cid:0) forms of after-death communication, including medium-(cid:0) ship and near-death experiences, is the most unappreciated(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 6(cid:0) virtue in coping with loss and change, especially the death(cid:0) of a loved one.(cid:0) To deal with grief, LaGrand recommends keeping a(cid:0) journal, noting synchronicities and asking yourself what(cid:0) the message is, reading some of the powerful evidence of(cid:0) the spirit world, starting a daily spiritual(cid:0) practice, whether meditating, writing,(cid:0) chanting, or simply taking time out to(cid:0) talk with our loved ones in spirit.(cid:0) “Without a doubt,” he responds when(cid:0) asked if believers are more open to ac-(cid:0) cepting the death of a loved one than(cid:0) non-believers. “They believe the be-(cid:0) loved is in a better place, out of pain, and(cid:0) most comforting, that there will be a(cid:0) reunion one day. There will always be a(cid:0) relationship and death cannot take it(cid:0) away. This also implies that they are still(cid:0) loved and have an advocate on the other(cid:0) side.”(cid:0) LaGrand’s interest in dying and death(cid:0) began some 40 years ago when he at-(cid:0) tended a conference on human ecology(cid:0)

along with several of his fellow educators. On the drive(cid:0) home from the conference, the subject of dying and death(cid:0) was brought up by one of his colleagues. “I realized then(cid:0) how little I knew about the topic and decided I needed a(cid:0) crash course on the subject,” he recalls. “The next semes-(cid:0) ter, I included a short mini-course on the topic in the(cid:0) Human Ecology course and the students loved it. Within(cid:0) the space of a year I was able to get approval for the first(cid:0) full semester course on dying and death to be taught at the(cid:0) college. Of course, this meant I had to do a lot of study and(cid:0) preparation which brought me to joining the Association(cid:0) for Death Education and Counseling. There I learned much(cid:0) over the years from colleagues I befriended.”(cid:0) As for dealing with the dying, especially in hospice(cid:0) work, it would be ideal if all the terminally-ill had the(cid:0) knowledge and conviction of the Spiritualist and LaGrand(cid:0) would be happy if his books, including(cid:0)Love Lives On(cid:0) and(cid:0) After Death Communication: Final Farewells(cid:0), were more(cid:0) widely available to hospice patients, but the reality is that(cid:0) few hospice administrators and volunteers are prepared to(cid:0) discuss such things. “Hospice philosophy does not push(cid:0) knowledge about an afterlife on its patients,” LaGrand(cid:0) explains. “This does not mean that the topic does not come(cid:0) up. Hospice personnel allow the dying person to take the(cid:0) lead in this regard. Some dying people want to talk about(cid:0) it. Others

do not.”(cid:0) As with hospitals, hospices can differ significantly when(cid:0) it comes to discussing the afterlife, depending on who is in(cid:0) the leadership positions and who is in the trenches,(cid:0) LaGrand points out. “Officially, administrators seem to(cid:0) want to be(cid:0) Continued page 7(cid:0) Kevin’s Messages(cid:0) Kevin had cancer and no insurance and it was devastating(cid:0) for his family. Thanks to Lorie you can now see Kevin’s(cid:0) story on President Obama’s Healthcare Stories page(cid:0) ((cid:0)http://stories.barackobama.com/healthcare/stories/165508(cid:0))(cid:0) The Spring 2009 NewsJournal in-(cid:0) cluded an article about Lorelei(cid:0) McMorrow’s brother, Kevin, who(cid:0) transitioned in December. Lorie(cid:0) was devastated. She was too dev-(cid:0) astated to record, so she asked for(cid:0) help. Here is an interesting time-(cid:0) line of what happened next.(cid:0) December 8:(cid:0) Kevin crosses.(cid:0) December 9:(cid:0) Lorie sends an(cid:0) email telling us about Kevin’s(cid:0) crossing and asks for help. We(cid:0) posted her request on the Idea(cid:0) Exchange asking members to try to reach him.(cid:0) Kevin(cid:0) December 11:(cid:0) Debbie Caruso received the first message(cid:0) that sounds like,(cid:0)“Lorie, get on the phone. I’m in heaven.”(cid:0) December 12:(cid:0) Teri Daner recorded,(cid:0)“I’m (or Hi) Kevin,(cid:0) Glad to talk. Geoff.”(cid:0) December 13:(cid:0) Margaret Downey asked Kevin if he can(cid:0) talk to Lorie. She recorded(cid:0)“Yeah,”(cid:0) and(cid:0)“Hey Lorie,(cid:0) Cheers, It’s Kevin!”(cid:0) Lorie told us, “It’s interesting how Kevin went to a person(cid:0) on each side of the country and in the middle. Maybe it was(cid:0) his way of showing us what he can do now. He wanted to(cid:0) travel!”(cid:0) December 13:(cid:0) Lorie emailed a picture of herself and Kevin(cid:0) to a

friend, but in her “Sent” folder the subject line had(cid:0) been changed from “Pic of Kevin & Lorie” to “Picture of(cid:0) Fire at Organ Mountain.” When Lorie checked the date of(cid:0) the fire she found that it occurred on June 14(cid:0)th(cid:0), the same(cid:0) day that Kevin wrote the family a letter, “If I am to pass…”(cid:0) December 16:(cid:0) Debbie Caruso and Lorie conducted a(cid:0) recording session over the phone and received several more(cid:0) messages. Debbie says his energy feels very strong.(cid:0) December 17:(cid:0) Kim, Lorie’s sister, has a dream in which(cid:0) Kevin visits her and shows her his house and that he is(cid:0) seeing everything that is happening....(cid:0) Lorie wrote: “In a little over a week’s time Kevin managed(cid:0) to get messages of his survival through to family members(cid:0) and strangers alike! I’ve since received several EVP from(cid:0) him. A few are,(cid:0)“With you, Kevin.”(cid:0)“Kevin, love you.”(cid:0) and(cid:0) “Lorie, I love it!”(cid:0) “It’s just so wonderful! It would have been so much more(cid:0) difficult to bear his loss without the EVP It amazes me how(cid:0) quickly Kevin obviously adjusted on the other side. I know(cid:0) time is measured differently there (if at all!), but if I were(cid:0) to use earthly time, I would say that on December 9(cid:0)th(cid:0),(cid:0) Kevin was reuniting with loved ones. On the 10(cid:0)th(cid:0) they were(cid:0) no doubt trying to get him to rest up and take some time to(cid:0) do whatever healing he may need. But I can hear him now(cid:0) saying, “I’m fine! Don’t need to

rest or go to any hospital!”(cid:0) and “I have to let Mom and Dad know I’m alright. And(cid:0) Lorie’s waiting to hear...”(cid:0) No Need to “Let Go”(cid:0) Continued from page 6(cid:0) politically correct and not say it is policy to discuss the(cid:0) hereafter,” he adds. “Without a doubt many people want to(cid:0) talk about what’s next. One of the important skills of the(cid:0) caregiver is to determine when an opening for discussion(cid:0) presents itself.” But many caregivers are schooled in ortho-(cid:0) dox religion and therefore not prepared to discuss the(cid:0) subject in a meaningful way. And, of course, there is also(cid:0) the problem of the pastors who serve the hospices and the(cid:0) dying patients. “There are some denominations in orthodox(cid:0) religion who believe the devil is behind much of the com-(cid:0) munication that is claimed by mourners,” LaGrand says,(cid:0) shaking his head. “However, Catholics, Episcopalians, and(cid:0) some others are open to the possibility by way of the(cid:0) Doctrine of the Communion of Saints. When I deal with a(cid:0) conflict, as I did once with a Baptist minister, I let the(cid:0) person do all the talking and make no attempt to change his(cid:0) views. Why? Because both sides hold extremely strong(cid:0) views and I believe it is a waste of time to try to change the(cid:0) other.”(cid:0) LaGrand has observed a wide range of attitudes among(cid:0) the dying. “Some are very accepting of their deaths and are(cid:0) more concerned about how their loved ones will get along,”(cid:0) he muses. “Others have

some fear of the unknown. Still(cid:0) others will deny their deaths right up to the end. This can(cid:0) be very disturbing to family members. Yet, denial of one’s(cid:0) death may be the only coping mechanism a person pos-(cid:0) sesses and can employ, and we have to be very careful(cid:0) about taking that away by trying to get the individual to(cid:0) understand that death is near. It would only greatly add to(cid:0) the anxiety.”(cid:0) While most dying people want close family and friends(cid:0) around for a while, at some point they tend to go within and(cid:0) seek peace, LaGrand ends the interview. “The last words of(cid:0) my father, whom I saw take his last breath, to his sister,(cid:0) who was trying to keep him engaged with life was, ‘Please(cid:0) leave me alone.’ He died shortly after. He was a believer(cid:0) and was ready to go.”(cid:0) Dr. LaGrand’s website is at:(cid:0) www.extraordinarygriefexperiences.com(cid:0) Michael Tymn is editor of(cid:0)The Searchlight,(cid:0) an Academy of Spirituality and Paranor-(cid:0) mal Studies, Inc. publication.(cid:0) www.aspsi.org(cid:0) Page 7 Michael Tymn(cid:0) Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Apparitions, Orbs, Ultraviolet and Infrared Photography(cid:0) by Rick Moran(cid:0) Originally published in the May-June 2009 issue of(cid:0)FATE(cid:0) magazine ((cid:0)www.fatemag.com(cid:0))(cid:0) but in general you can’t see past the sun’s rays bouncing(cid:0) off the surface of the water. If you put on a pair of sun(cid:0) glasses with UV protective coating, you look past the glare(cid:0) of the sun to see the fish below. If you place a UV filter in(cid:0) front of the camera lens, it

eliminates the dust reflection,(cid:0) allowing the image of the subject to be captured, free of(cid:0) orbs.(cid:0) Other Sources of Orbs(cid:0) Orbs are not only caused by dust. The same anomaly can(cid:0) be produce by other things hanging in the air, and even by(cid:0) the speed of the camera lens at its focal length or f-stop(cid:0) setting. (cid:0) I tell my team of paranormal investigators to take notes,(cid:0) not just of the time and place they shoot a photo, but of the(cid:0) atmospheric conditions, whether they are inside or out in a(cid:0) field. They routinely carry small, personal “weather sta-(cid:0) tions” that they hang from their work vests. If and when(cid:0) you capture that amorphous orange cloud moving toward(cid:0) you late at night, the resulting photo is bound to undergo(cid:0) outside scrutiny. Skeptics will scream it is atmospheric in(cid:0) nature; fog, swamp gas and the like. But if you are carrying(cid:0) a portable weather device you have a minute by minute(cid:0) digital memory of the temperature, humidity, barometric(cid:0) pressure, dew point, wind direction and speed plus a host(cid:0) of other readings.(cid:0) Have an image of a ghost taken at 2:13 a.m. in the middle(cid:0) of nowhere? You can plug your weather station into your(cid:0) computer and respond to skeptics in a completely scientific(cid:0) manner. The readout will tell you if that orange blob could(cid:0) possibly be weather-related, as well as give you proof that(cid:0) it was moving against the wind when photographed. (cid:0) Two-Shot Rule (cid:0) If you still have an

orb, more investigation is needed. (cid:0) Remembering the biggest problem is stray reflected light,(cid:0) you can now understand the rule of most good paranormal(cid:0) investigators: take two shots forward and one shot behind(cid:0) you. Compare the first and second shot. Now look for(cid:0) other reflective objects.(cid:0) We had a photo of a man with an orb on his chest that(cid:0) almost made it into our collection of real paranormal(cid:0) anomalies. We used the two shot rule and found the anom-(cid:0) aly was identical in both, though one was not as bright as(cid:0) the other. After enlarging that portion of the image, we(cid:0) found that our orb was actually a small metal lapel pin from(cid:0) a fraternal organization that the subject always wore. At a(cid:0) distance and with a direct light source, it looked just like a(cid:0) classic orb.(cid:0) If you still have an image that shows an orb, check the(cid:0) lens itself; is it clean? The smallest smudge can cause out-(cid:0) of-focus reflective light. If the distortion is on all of your(cid:0) photos in the same general area of the frame, it might be(cid:0) dirt that is actually in the camera.(cid:0) Continued page 9(cid:0) Orbs in a dusty basement of a Baltimore church(cid:0) One of the most maligned examples of reported paranor-(cid:0) mal evidence has been the orb. These round balls of light(cid:0) hovering in ghost hunters’ photos have gone from proof of(cid:0) unexplained phenomenon to dusty reflections in a rela-(cid:0) tively short period of time. In the process some

interesting(cid:0) evidence may have been tossed out like the proverbial baby(cid:0) with the bath water.(cid:0) The conclusion that orbs are just reflective dust has been(cid:0) greatly overstated. Like UFO sightings, orbs are ninety(cid:0) percent misidentification, but ten percent unexplained or(cid:0) paranormal in nature.(cid:0) Understanding the Problem(cid:0) Before you can defend the notion that some orbs are evi-(cid:0) dence in support of ghostly activity, you must understand(cid:0) what the majority of orbs really are and how they got onto(cid:0) the photographic film or digital memory.(cid:0) When you take a picture and the resulting photo shows(cid:0) glowing red eyes in your subject, it is not a sign of demonic(cid:0) possession. The flash firing in a low-light situation catches(cid:0) the eye by surprise, with the iris fully dilated, thus allowing(cid:0) the back of the eyeball to reflect back as red due to the(cid:0) blood vessels found there. There is also a logical explana-(cid:0) tion for most orbs and it has to do with the camera lens.(cid:0) I don’t see that many orbs on my photos and the reason(cid:0) is simple: I shoot with a fairly expensive digital camera,(cid:0) with a good lens and the standard UV filter! The filter is(cid:0) there to protect the lens, not to eliminate orbs, but the end(cid:0) result is the same. If you add that filter, you will eliminate(cid:0) ninety-nine percent of the causes of orbs.(cid:0) Inexpensive cameras usually have plastic lenses, rather(cid:0) than glass, and this can be the biggest drawback. Many(cid:0) cameras also have a built

in flash, which may or may not(cid:0) be automatic. By design this light source is in a direct line(cid:0) to the lens for reflected illumination from the target object.(cid:0) Dust particles can be highly reflective. When the flash(cid:0) fires, the reflected surface (the dust) returns to the lens as(cid:0) an optical illusion, an out-of-focus object that is brightly(cid:0) illuminated. (cid:0) Ultraviolet filters act like a pair of UV treated sun(cid:0) glasses. If you look into a lake trying to see fish with your(cid:0) naked eye, you might see some outline of their movement,(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 8(cid:0) Orbs(cid:0) Continued from page 8(cid:0) If you still have a questionable photo, pass it around to(cid:0) other investigators for their opinions. Be ready to play the(cid:0) devil’s advocate and defend the photo. To be really(cid:0) sure, take your photo to the local college and ask the(cid:0) photography professor to give an opinion. This person may(cid:0) not know anything about orbs, but he or she certainly(cid:0) spends a lot more time around cameras than you, so listen(cid:0) carefully. (cid:0) If all else fails, you can try to enlist the help of more(cid:0) prestigious organizations, like the Rochester Institute of(cid:0) Technology’s photo imaging department or even Kodak.(cid:0) But don’t expect a quick response.(cid:0) Ghost Photograph: Then and Now(cid:0) Now that we talked about how to eliminate orbs, let’s talk(cid:0) a little about how to improve your chances of actually(cid:0) capturing a real apparition’s photo. (cid:0) Ghost photography has been around for a long

time, the(cid:0) Gray Lady of Raynham Hall for instance is a perfect(cid:0) example. Recreating that photo today would be almost(cid:0) impossible. It was not taken with an Instamatic, it took two(cid:0) photographers, a weighty 8” x 10” camera, large wet plates,(cid:0) a very long exposure cycle and darkroom processing using(cid:0) what we now call the “inspection method” where you(cid:0) watch the image come up before your eyes to be sure it is(cid:0) properly processed.(cid:0) While others may disagree, I think the key to such photos(cid:0) is in the length of the exposure and the slow plate speed.(cid:0) While lugging an 8” x 10” bellows camera is not conducive(cid:0) to paranormal field investigations, there is a relatively(cid:0) simple method that has produced good results. (cid:0) Infrared (IR) photography has been around for 100 years(cid:0) and was used by paranormal investigators in the mid-20(cid:0)th(cid:0) century. The spectrum of light that we can capture on film(cid:0) is very broad. For most applications, we only want a slice(cid:0) of that spectrum, roughly between 350 and 700 nm. In(cid:0) digital cameras, this spectrum is further limited to 400 to(cid:0) 700 nm, to give the casual camera owner a more robust(cid:0) color image. In that situation, the manufacturer has also(cid:0) blocked most of the infrared (IR) spectrum as well, by(cid:0) adding an internal filter plate. This becomes the first obsta-(cid:0) cle in the search of those illusive apparition images.(cid:0) While it is possible to take your digital camera apart to(cid:0) remove that filter panel, I would

not advise going down(cid:0) that treacherous path. It is possible to send your camera out(cid:0) to be altered, for a price. But unless you can add a filter to(cid:0) the end of your lens, that will not work either. Some of the(cid:0) less expensive digitals today simply are not equipped to(cid:0) take an external filter.(cid:0) Big-League Photography(cid:0) If you have a camera that takes a standard-size lens filter,(cid:0) and doesn’t have an internal IR-blocking filter, you are(cid:0) ready to go ghost hunting with the pros. There are any(cid:0) number of groups across the country that limit their field(cid:0) trips to this form of paranormal investigating, and several(cid:0) have some inspirational photos to show what can be ac-(cid:0) complished with the right equipment. You do not have to(cid:0) take apart your camera to accomplish this feat, although the(cid:0) alternatives are sometimes problematic.(cid:0) You actually have three alternatives: 1) You can buy a(cid:0) camera that will take the external IR filter on the lens and(cid:0) send it out to remove that offending IR blocking shade; 2)(cid:0) You can look for a camera that was produced before some-(cid:0) one got the smart idea of adding that pesky filter; or 3) You(cid:0) can buy a new camera that is already suited for this purpose.(cid:0) Purchasing a new camera that can take the necessary lens(cid:0) filter and then having it altered to remove the blocker is(cid:0) possible, but a bit costly. That new camera is going to cost(cid:0) you about $250 and the alterations another

$200. Choice(cid:0) three, buying a new camera that is designed to perform(cid:0) both IR and normal photography is also expensive, about(cid:0) $1500 for the bare bones system, $6000 for a full kit.(cid:0) Option three involves finding a well stocked photo re-(cid:0) tailer who will order a brand new Fuji S-3 Pro 123, UVR(cid:0) forensics camera for you. If your budget can afford it, this(cid:0) is the camera of choice, the one the real CSI guys use and(cid:0) built to cover the entire IR spectrum.(cid:0) Otherwise, this leaves choice number two. Start shopping(cid:0) eBay and local pawn shops for an(cid:0)Olympus C-2020-Z(cid:0). In(cid:0) the digital world, this camera is old, but it is built like a(cid:0) rock and was designed without that annoying IR blocker. (cid:0) With this camera you can shoot IR immediately without(cid:0) making any alterations. Just slap on a good grade R-72 IR(cid:0) red-black filter (you will need an adaptor, the Olympus(cid:0) takes a 41mm lens, but the standard size for the filter is(cid:0) 52mm–both for IR and UV), set the camera to the smallest(cid:0) f-stop and shoot.(cid:0) With any camera, a tripod is necessary in low light(cid:0) situations. The Olympus already has a wireless remote(cid:0) control, which is great. If you want to shoot a normal(cid:0) photo, just take off the IR filter, put on the UV and shoot. (cid:0) This camera is not big on pixel size, at 2.3 megapixels,(cid:0) good for most prints, but not if you intend to print your(cid:0) ghost photos poster size. (cid:0)

The Olympus is the choice of most paranormal photogra-(cid:0) phers, but the camera is no longer being manufactured, so(cid:0) you will have to find a good used one. Because of its recent(cid:0) success in photographing anomalous images and good(cid:0) press, the cost of this camera is in flux. A year ago they(cid:0) were selling for under $100; it is now being offered on(cid:0) eBay for $140 and the price is expected to continue to rise(cid:0) as more folks learn this camera’s secrets.(cid:0) The payoff for the use of infrared is worth the effort, no(cid:0) matter what decision you might make; the IR trend is now(cid:0) adding many new ghost images.(cid:0) Success with Infrared(cid:0) My first IR photo was taken in the 1980s with a 35mm SLR(cid:0) and Kodak IR film. The place was a small country inn,(cid:0) once a stop on a stage route in New England. The team at(cid:0) that time would go from room to room, one taking two(cid:0) photos at each set-up while a second team member would(cid:0) keep a log of where, when and who was in the image. Back(cid:0) in the darkroom, the film was developed “by inspection”(cid:0) and kept in one long strip.(cid:0) Page 9 Continued page 16(cid:0) Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Scientific Fallacy:(cid:0)Ruminations on Psi Research and Reviews(cid:0) by Miles Edward Allen(cid:0) “Evidence in science is always a matter of degree ….(cid:0) Both critics and proponents need to learn to think of(cid:0) adjudication in science as more like that found in the(cid:0)

law courts, imperfect and with varying degrees of(cid:0) proof and evidence.”(cid:0) — Marcello Truzzi “On Pseudo-Skepticism,” the(cid:0) Zetetic Scholar,(cid:0) #12-13, 1987.(cid:0) Carl Sagan, whom I greatly admired as a concerned and(cid:0) public-spirited astronomer, once asked: “How is it, that(cid:0) channelers never give us verifiable information otherwise(cid:0) unavailable?”(cid:0)1(cid:0) Alexander, who revealed his tomb’s location precisely(cid:0) enough for an archeological team to dig it up. Based on the(cid:0) history of the scientific community’s reaction to phenom-(cid:0) ena that do not fit in their world view, we can be sure that(cid:0) such a series of events would change the minds of very few(cid:0) scientists, and of no professional skeptics. Instead of(cid:0) “Wow, channeling is a real phenomenon!” we would have(cid:0) a chorus of lettered men and women claiming:(cid:0) (1) that the location of the tomb must have been in some(cid:0) document seen by the channeler, or(cid:0) (2) that the channeler actually ‘saw’ the tomb clairvoy-(cid:0) antly, or(cid:0) (3) that the channeler precognitively saw the future dis-(cid:0) covery of the tomb, or(cid:0) (4) that the location of the tomb was pulled from the(cid:0) “collective unconscious,” or(cid:0) (5) that Sagan and the channeler are frauds who made up(cid:0) the story after the tomb was discovered.(cid:0) If you think this last option too outlandish, you don’t know(cid:0) how fast scientists can turn on a brother, no matter how(cid:0) well respected. Had he endorsed the channeler, the es-(cid:0) teemed professor would have been ostracized faster than(cid:0) you can say “Crackpot Carl.” And how might Sagan have(cid:0) reacted

to the tomb’s discovery? A strong clue is in his next(cid:0) paragraph, in which he says: “If some good evidence for(cid:0) life after death was announced, I’d be eager to examine it;(cid:0) but it would have to be real scientific data, not mere anec-(cid:0) dote.”(cid:0) Whenever scientists demand that psychic evidence be(cid:0) “scientific,” they mean that it must come from replicable(cid:0) experiments, perfectly designed and perfectly controlled.(cid:0) Of course, they are well aware that no experiment of any(cid:0) kind has ever been “perfect” and so they will always have(cid:0) a way of discrediting evidence that doesn’t fit their view of(cid:0) things. And even if it were “good” evidence based on “real(cid:0) scientific data,” Sagan does not suggest that he would(cid:0) accept it, only that he would “examine it.”(cid:0) Scientists also know that psychic phenomena in general,(cid:0) and spirit communication in particular, do not lend them-(cid:0) selves well to repeatable laboratory experimentation. For(cid:0) example, the main reason that Alexander hasn’t revealed(cid:0) the location of his tomb is probably that he has better things(cid:0) to do than try to communicate with skeptical scientists.(cid:0) Not only does Sagan require this scientific evidence, he(cid:0) goes further and rules out the acceptance of “mere anec-(cid:0) dote.” Now, an “anecdote” is a brief account of an interest-(cid:0) ing incident; therefore, Sagan is setting up a dichotomy:(cid:0) either evidence is “real scientific data” or it must be treated(cid:0) as just another story or fable. Note that this leaves no room(cid:0) for testimony. No matter how many nor

how prestigious(cid:0) the witnesses to the interesting incident, no matter what(cid:0) oath is taken under what penalty, all testimony is relegated(cid:0) to folklore unless the incident can be repeated in a labora-(cid:0) tory or seen through a scope.(cid:0) Continued page 11(cid:0) Arizona Falls(cid:0) Photograph by saa61, www.flickr.com/photos/memoryandreality(cid:0) Other than the biased way in which Sagan’s question is(cid:0) phrased (i.e. the assumption that they don’t give such(cid:0) information), there are several difficulties here. The main(cid:0) one, as you should realize by now, is that channelers have(cid:0) provided information unknown to anyone living at the(cid:0) time, yet subsequently verified. Garland’s buried crosses,(cid:0) the Cayce oil-of-smoke incident, and the Millboro under-(cid:0) ground railroad are a few that come to mind immediately.(cid:0) But besides revealing his ignorance of psychic phenomena,(cid:0) Sagan’s comments demonstrate several common problems(cid:0) with the so-called “scientific” approach.(cid:0) On first hearing it, the concept of “verifiable information(cid:0) otherwise unavailable” sounds reasonable enough, but a(cid:0) closer examination reveals an extremely tough, if not im-(cid:0) possible, criterion. “Information otherwise unavailable”(cid:0) would have to be information proven not to exist in any(cid:0) person’s mind or in any library or any other place in the(cid:0) world! And since, as skeptics are so fond of pointing out,(cid:0) “it is impossible to prove a negative,” this proof is unattain-(cid:0) able. No matter how hard one tried, one could never be sure(cid:0) that the information was not available somewhere. As if(cid:0) this wasn’t obstacle enough, Sagan also wants the informa-(cid:0) tion to be “verifiable.” Just how, do you

suppose, is it(cid:0) possible to verify information that doesn’t exist?(cid:0) Let’s look at one of the examples he offers in elaborating(cid:0) his query. “Why does Alexander the Great never tell us(cid:0) about the exact location of his tomb?” Suppose that a(cid:0) psychic did meet with Professor Sagan and channeled(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 10(cid:0) The Scientific Fallacy(cid:0) Continued from page 10(cid:0) As another example of how scientists tend to handle unwel-(cid:0) come data, let’s look at the reaction to Schwartz’s publica-(cid:0) tion of(cid:0)The Afterlife Experiments.(cid:0) Reacting to Schwartz(cid:0) In my view, Schwartz’ results are proof, beyond any rea-(cid:0) sonable doubt, of life after death. Thus it was with great(cid:0) anticipation that I read the reviews of this book by promi-(cid:0) nent skeptics. What I found was about what I expected:(cid:0) condemnation of Schwartz’ statistics, castigation of his(cid:0) control groups and some nasty, but not quite libelous,(cid:0) insinuations about the people involved. What I did not find(cid:0) also lived up to my expectations. That is, there was no(cid:0) addressing of the evidence presented in the book other than(cid:0) a few quick references to “coincidence,” let alone any(cid:0) suggestion of alternative explanations for the outcomes. To(cid:0) my mind, Schwartz’ work is important, not for his flawless(cid:0) application of pristine scientific method (which is patently(cid:0) impossible) but for the presence of unimpeachable wit-(cid:0) nesses (not to mention the independently produced video-(cid:0) tapes).(cid:0) Such reviews, and similar diatribes against other positive(cid:0) psychical research, lead me to believe that these zealots of(cid:0) scientism have

agreed to approach psychic phenomena in(cid:0) the following manner: If you can imagine any possible way(cid:0) that the results could be arrived at via researcher error or(cid:0) via duplicitous or fraudulent means, assume such to be the(cid:0) case. If no such possibilities occur to you, then repel all(cid:0) interested parties by enveloping the case within a dense and(cid:0) malodorous smokescreen of statistical quibbling.(cid:0) Another problem facing Schwartz (and likely, all sincere(cid:0) investigators) is the existence of some basic incompatibili-(cid:0) ties between scientific methodologies and his subject mat-(cid:0) ter. For example, after several of the readings by the(cid:0) psychics, lists of possible statements were shown to stu-(cid:0) dents acting as a control group, who attempted to guess(cid:0) which statements might apply to the sitter. In normal scien-(cid:0) tific research, control groups are gatherings of people who(cid:0) are not involved with or affected by the object of investiga-(cid:0) tion. For instance, if the study concerns the effects of a(cid:0) certain pill, the control group would consist of folks who(cid:0) have never taken the pill. But in researching psychical(cid:0) abilities, the attributes being studied cannot be assumed to(cid:0) be limited to the test group. If any personality survives(cid:0) death, it is very likely (although not absolutely certain) that(cid:0) every personality survives death. If anyone can receive(cid:0) messages from discarnate beings, then it is highly probable(cid:0) that everyone can receive messages from discarnate beings,(cid:0) to some extent or another. Such universal potentials make(cid:0) it impossible to isolate a control group from the phenomena(cid:0) being

studied. All that Schwartz accomplished by creating(cid:0) control groups of this sort was to give skeptics another(cid:0) opportunity for irrelevant criticism.(cid:0) The same problem applies to the idea (mentioned by(cid:0) Schwartz and endorsed by at least one reviewer) of com-(cid:0) paring the psychic’s performance to that of a “cold-reader”(cid:0) (someone practiced in making educated guesses based on(cid:0) the sitter’s responses and body language). If the cold-(cid:0) reader’s great grandad were to take that moment to make(cid:0) his presence known and give a little unsought help, truly(cid:0) astounding “guesses” could be made that weren’t guesses(cid:0) at all. This would totally distort the outcome of the test and(cid:0) no one would be the wiser.(cid:0) Double Treat(cid:0) Photographed by Cresk, www.flickr.com/photos/cresk/(cid:0) The Keene Example(cid:0) Consider, for example, an incident related in the confes-(cid:0) sions of Lamar Keene.(cid:0)2(cid:0) No skeptic has ever doubted(cid:0) Keene’s claim that he achieved wealth and fame as a trance(cid:0) medium through the use of trickery and fraud. His life was(cid:0) turned completely around, Keene testifies, when he met a(cid:0) woman named Florence Hutchinson who became an inspi-(cid:0) rational mother figure to him. This woman had traveled(cid:0) from Oklahoma to obtain a reading from Keene at the(cid:0) spiritualist enclave of... But she had not made a reservation(cid:0) so, Keene says, “my first inclination was to tell her to get(cid:0) lost … But she really was a kindly and appealing lady,” so(cid:0) he allowed her to take the place of her friend who did have(cid:0) an appointment for the next day.(cid:0)

Now, Keene claims that there is a network of fraudulent(cid:0) mediums around the country who maintain and share files(cid:0) of information on their sitters, and that the files kept at(cid:0) ...were some of the most extensive anywhere. But, when he(cid:0) went to consult these files, he says, “I found myself sty-(cid:0) mied. Florence Hutchinson had never been to ... before and(cid:0) there was nothing on her in the files. However, since she(cid:0) looked like such an agreeable sort,” Keene decided he(cid:0) could get away with doing a cold reading. This he did, and(cid:0) things were going fine until Florence requested his help in(cid:0) finding a legal document that had been missing since her(cid:0) husband’s death. At first she asked if the document had(cid:0) been taken by a certain cousin of whom she was suspicious.(cid:0) It would have been easy for Keene to say yes and end the(cid:0) inquiry right there, but instead, for reasons unknown to(cid:0) him, he said: “Oh no.” Whereupon Florence (speaking to(cid:0) whom she thinks is her departed husband) asks: “Well(cid:0) darling, where is it?”(cid:0) “There was no way of ducking the question except by(cid:0) pretending to lose trance and to suddenly wake up,” Keene(cid:0) writes, but: “Then I said the first thing that came into my(cid:0) head, which was: ‘You have a metal file cabinet at home,(cid:0) the portable one, and it has a false top in it. There is a key(cid:0) to the false top in the bottom under some papers.(cid:0) Page 11 Continued page

12(cid:0) Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) The Scientific Fallacy(cid:0) Continued from page 11(cid:0) The document is in that false top.’” Keene thought that this(cid:0) sounded stupid but, at least it got rid of the woman—but(cid:0) not for long. As you have probably guessed by now, Flor-(cid:0) ence rushed home to Oklahoma and found the missing(cid:0) document just where Keene said it would be.(cid:0) Florence’s mention of the cousin was exactly the kind of(cid:0) clue Keene was searching for in his cold reading, so what(cid:0) prompted him to reject that solution? As for the rest, Keene(cid:0) thinks it was an “incredibly lucky” guess. Actually, though,(cid:0) it was a series of four statements: (1) that Florence had a(cid:0) portable metal file at home, (2) that the file had a false top,(cid:0) (3) that the key to that top was beneath the papers, and (4)(cid:0) that the missing document was in the false top. Dismissing(cid:0) those four statements plus the rejection of the cousin’s(cid:0) involvement as luck is, indeed, not credible.(cid:0) Remember, also, that this incident proved to be the key(cid:0) to Keene’s reformation from fraudulent medium to honest(cid:0) citizen. Thus, we are asked to believe that this once-in-a-(cid:0) lifetime series of lucky guesses just happened to occur(cid:0) when the person who could inspire Keene’s turnaround just(cid:0) happened to unexpectedly take a friend’s place in his(cid:0) séance room. I, for one, reject such a long line of coinci-(cid:0) dences as preposterous. It is far more reasonable to con-(cid:0) clude that Keene had a real

psychic experience when he(cid:0) most needed one, especially in light of all the other evi-(cid:0) dence in favor of spirit contact. [Note that Keene was(cid:0) hardly the first to lead distraught widows to secret compart-(cid:0) ments holding important papers. As far back as the mid(cid:0) 1700s, the great scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg(cid:0) was reported to do the same.(cid:0)3(cid:0)](cid:0) If spirits can interfere with a cold reading by an admit-(cid:0) tedly phony medium, they can certainly influence “wild(cid:0) guesses” made by folks in experimental control groups and(cid:0) in every other walk of life.(cid:0) Counting Blanks(cid:0) To return to Schwartz’ work for a moment, I’d like to point(cid:0) out that the good professor weakens his own case by being(cid:0) far too conservative in scoring the data from psychic read-(cid:0) ings. For example, Schwartz tells of a session(cid:0)4(cid:0) in which the(cid:0) medium simply drew a blank, receiving no information(cid:0) about the sitter. Logic and fairness would demand that this(cid:0) session be thrown out of the study. Clearly, it is unreason-(cid:0) able to expect there to be a willing spirit hanging around to(cid:0) talk about every sitter every time. But Schwartz counted(cid:0) the sitting as one in which the medium’s accuracy was(cid:0) scored at zero percent—just as if the medium had made a(cid:0) series of statements without any hits. Averaging this zero(cid:0) score in with the medium’s other scores would seriously(cid:0) lower the medium’s overall rating. I do not see a justifica-(cid:0) tion for this approach, unless Schwartz was assuming that(cid:0) the work

of pulling information from “the great beyond”(cid:0) was being done solely by the medium and did not depend(cid:0) upon the cooperation of a dearly departed. (If such a bias(cid:0) existed, his results are doubly impressive, for if there’s one(cid:0) thing that’s certain it is that you can’t rely on dead people.)(cid:0) Detectives Needed(cid:0) Overall, the trouble science has with psi arises from trying(cid:0) to quantify information that is essentially qualitative. Of(cid:0) what value are counts of hits and misses on irrelevant trivia(cid:0) such as pet’s initials or whether the diseased organ was a(cid:0) gall bladder or a spleen? Clearly, numbers do lie, or, at(cid:0) least, they are subject to biased interpretations. Statistics(cid:0) are designed to smooth over anomalous results; what we(cid:0) need is to focus on the anomalies. All the bar charts and(cid:0) derivatives in the world are not as convincing as a single(cid:0) revelation of unique character attested to by unimpeachable(cid:0) witnesses. To help dig up such evidence, I propose that(cid:0) scientists equip their teams not with statisticians, nor with(cid:0) cold-readers, nor magicians, but with good old-fashioned(cid:0) detectives.(cid:0) As an example of what I mean, let’s consider this case(cid:0) related by Dr. Thelma Moss, in her book(cid:0)The Probability(cid:0) of the Impossible.(cid:0)5(cid:0) Dr. Moss tells of an investigation that(cid:0) was prompted by a homeowner’s complaint that four dif-(cid:0) ferent guests, on four separate occasions, had reported(cid:0) seeing a man walking about the house—a man who wasn’t(cid:0) there. The homeowner, himself, had never seen this “ghost.”(cid:0) Charming Commotion(cid:0) Photograph by Cresk,

www.flickriver.com/photos/cresk/(cid:0) According to Moss, she endeavored to be “scientific”(cid:0) about the investigation by having each of the witnesses(cid:0) interviewed separately and the interviews tape recorded.(cid:0) From these, she learned that each witness reported seeing a(cid:0) man in dark pants and a white shirt (one witness included(cid:0) a suit jacket) walking in and around the house — one(cid:0) witness saw the apparition by a bedroom door, one by the(cid:0) swimming pool, and two saw it walking into the dining(cid:0) room. Next, Moss arranged for six psychics and six(cid:0) “nonpsychics” to be given an individual tour of the house,(cid:0) after which they marked on maps any places where they(cid:0) sensed a ghost. Dr. Moss does not include the entire study(cid:0) in her book, but she does make note of “the sophisticated(cid:0) statistical analysis” made of the data. I can just imagine the(cid:0) skeptics tearing that sophisticated analysis to shreds—and,(cid:0) of course, never mentioning the astounding facts buried(cid:0) beneath.(cid:0) Continued page 13(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 12(cid:0) The Scientific Fallacy(cid:0) Continued from page 12(cid:0) A good detective, searching for proof “beyond reasonable(cid:0) doubt,” would pursue this case quite differently .... When(cid:0) all the interviews and background checks are done, if he(cid:0) has uncovered no evidence of false testimony, our detec-(cid:0) tive has little choice but to declare the facts valid as report-(cid:0) ed. In other words, it can be concluded beyond a reasonable(cid:0) doubt that the witnesses actually saw the figure of a man in(cid:0) dark pants and white shirt walking about

the house....(cid:0) Assuming that all the interrogations and investigations(cid:0) had been properly done with no adverse results, the “case(cid:0) of the four visitors” could have been one of the most(cid:0) evidential ever reported. Nothing is ever absolutely, one(cid:0) hundred percent certain, but it would have been evidential(cid:0) enough to deserve the label “solid proof” that ghosts exist.(cid:0) The Role of Science(cid:0) As for the continuation of life after death, it seems clear(cid:0) that experts will never reach a consensus on a statistically(cid:0) sound, scientifically replicable, proof. Not only can statis-(cid:0) tics always be distorted, but some experimental factors,(cid:0) such as the involvement of discarnate entities, can never be(cid:0) controlled. In my opinion, this does not matter, for the(cid:0) cases presented in(cid:0)Read Before Dying(cid:0) are more than suffi-(cid:0) cient to establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt in any(cid:0) court of logical and objective minds.(cid:0) All this should not be construed to mean that I am some(cid:0) sort of psychic Luddite seeking a return to the days of table(cid:0) tipping in darkened parlors—not without an infrared(cid:0) camera anyway. EMF meters, voice analyzers, EEG(cid:0) machines, and other such technological advances have a(cid:0) definite place in psi research. And science has a valid role(cid:0) in determining the characteristics and factors at play in(cid:0) various phenomena. But, scientists need to stop wasting(cid:0) time and resources on attempts to prove the already proven(cid:0) existence of psychic phenomena and concentrate more on(cid:0) determining how it works.(cid:0) Notes(cid:0) 1.(cid:0) The Demon-Haunted World,(cid:0) 1995.(cid:0) 2. Keene, chapter 8.(cid:0) 3.

Berger, p. 7.(cid:0) 4. Schwartz, p. 187.(cid:0) 5. Moss, p. 323.(cid:0) Some text in the “Counting Blanks” section has been edited(cid:0) to make the article fit in the available space. The entire(cid:0) article is at:(cid:0) http://thesurvivalfiles.com/(cid:0) Documents/doc_SF.pdf(cid:0).(cid:0) Miles Edward Allen is the author of(cid:0)The(cid:0) Survival Files: The Most Convincing(cid:0) Evidence Yet Compiled for the Survival of(cid:0) Your Soul,(cid:0) and several other books on(cid:0) diverse topics. His website is at:(cid:0) http://thesurvivalfiles.com(cid:0) Miles Edward Allen(cid:0) What is “In the Literature”?(cid:0) We recently received a comment that there is no literature(cid:0) about how to detect the presence of EVP. This raised a few(cid:0) interesting questions and suggested a need that is probably(cid:0) common to all frontier subjects.(cid:0) We have published a pretty good report in the online(cid:0) Journal(cid:0)that includes pertinent information about using an(cid:0) online listening panel in the study of hearing and under-(cid:0) standing EVP. Alexander MacRae has had articles pub-(cid:0) lished in the January 2004 and October 2005(cid:0)Journal of the(cid:0) Society for Psychical Research(cid:0) that showed the use of a(cid:0) listening panel to establish the presence of anomalous(cid:0) voices. There is at least one article discussing computer(cid:0) analysis of EVP at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0). There are probably similar(cid:0) reports in other countries, but the point that was made clear(cid:0) by this comment is that none of these are “in the literature.”(cid:0) So, if not these articles, what is “in the literature”? As a(cid:0) rule, the “literature” is thought of as that which is produced(cid:0) by academically trained researchers and published in a(cid:0) peer-reviewed journal.

Here “academic” means work done(cid:0) by a doctorate-level, clinically trained researcher. EVP is a(cid:0) frontier subject and there are virtually no academically(cid:0) trained researchers in this field (based on that definition).(cid:0) Yet, there is good research that has been conducted and for(cid:0) a literature review prior to developing a research protocol,(cid:0) it would help to study the non-academic material.(cid:0) The problem is that it is difficult to find any such re-(cid:0) search that is reported in a way that can be used. The sad(cid:0) fact is that few of us in this field have been trained in(cid:0) writing a useful report. If one is written, what peer-re-(cid:0) viewed publication will print it? Where would it be ar-(cid:0) chived for future access as being “in the literature”?(cid:0) We have developed an article describing what a web(cid:0) page should have to pass as a source of “in the literature”(cid:0) articles. We have also begun a list of web pages that should(cid:0) be considered “in the literature” archives for EVP/ITC. A(cid:0) link to these pages is at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/research.htm(cid:0). We(cid:0) will also maintain a Google search tool exclusively for(cid:0) qualified pages. There is no membership requirement to(cid:0) participate.(cid:0) In general, an “in the literature” web page must contain(cid:0) articles or links to articles that comply with the standards(cid:0) of good science report writing. A writer’s guide is also(cid:0) provided and researchers are encouraged to emulate the(cid:0) best scientific standard possible. It is our intention that the(cid:0) list will be hosted on many sites and will

grow to include(cid:0) both a solid foundation of reports about good science in(cid:0) EVP/ITC and develop into a role model for others who(cid:0) wish to take up this study.(cid:0) Librarian(cid:0) As a community service, it would be good if someone was(cid:0) able to assume the role of librarian of “in the literature”(cid:0) sources. Let us know if you are interested in taking on the(cid:0) task. We can host the material on(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0), but to be(cid:0) effective, it would require that someone develops a reason-(cid:0) able writer’s guide and helps to keep track of where useful,(cid:0) well written reports are so they can be included in the list.(cid:0) Page 13 Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influences(cid:0) In the article,(cid:0)The Formation of EVP(cid:0) (Summer 2009),(cid:0) three techniques for the formation of Electronic Voice(cid:0) Phenomena (EVP) were discussed: Transform, EVPmaker(cid:0) and speech synthesis stimulated with detection of changes(cid:0) in environmental energy. This article provides an informed(cid:0) speculation as to the physical processes that might be(cid:0) involved in voice formation using these techniques.(cid:0) Scope(cid:0) Trans-etheric influences sometimes share characteristics.(cid:0) For instance, EVP and visual forms of the phenomena(cid:0) appear to depend on the same physical processes, while(cid:0) apports(cid:0) seem to depend on other processes. Moving, inter-(cid:0) active orbs seem to use even different processes. Under-(cid:0) the(cid:0) standing manifestation of such phenomena may help the under-(cid:0) standing of what is occurring on the other side of the veil.(cid:0) The following theory is specific to EVP but may be appli-(cid:0) cable to other

phenomena, depending on future research.(cid:0) the physical processes involved in outside of the influence of the attractor would tend to be(cid:0) unstable and the object would be expected to “leave orbit.”(cid:0) B(cid:0) A(cid:0) C(cid:0) Figure(cid:0)1c(cid:0) Figure 1(cid:0)a(cid:0) Figure(cid:0)1b(cid:0) An observer may see the path inscribed by an object orbiting(cid:0) another object as a single path (Figure 1a); however in cha-(cid:0) otic systems like the orbit of a planet around the sun, there are(cid:0) actually small deviations in the orbit from cycle to cycle(cid:0) (Figure 1b). In this discussion, paths A, B and C represent(cid:0) different stable states for the orbiting object (Figure 1c).(cid:0) Theory(cid:0) In EVP, the voice is seen to be formed from available(cid:0) audio-frequency energy.(cid:0)1(cid:0) In simple terms, this is just noise;(cid:0) however, some noise works better and most experimental(cid:0) recording devices are really noise conditioners intended to(cid:0) improve the Quantity and Quality (QQ) of the recorded(cid:0) utterances. The most optimum noise appears to be broad-(cid:0) spectrum audio containing many voice-frequencies and(cid:0) providing numerous optional stable states.(cid:0) Figure 2a(cid:0) Potential(cid:0) A(cid:0) B(cid:0) C(cid:0) Potential Wells:(cid:0) Figure 2 illustrates the concept of(cid:0)poten-(cid:0) tial well(cid:0)s. The horizontal axis indicates possible states of a(cid:0) system and the vertical axis represents the energy required(cid:0) to change states (potential). The wavy line indicates the(cid:0) relative potential required to change states. This can be(cid:0) referred to as a series of potential wells, for which locations(cid:0) A, B and C represent troughs. The small circle represents(cid:0) the selected state and the illustration indicates that it

re-(cid:0) quires more energy to move out of a trough, but once in the(cid:0) next trough, the selection is once again(cid:0) relatively stable. This illustrates the con-(cid:0) cept of optional stable states.(cid:0) Figure 2b(cid:0) Decrease(cid:0)d(cid:0) Potential Well(cid:0) Possible States(cid:0) Figure 2 shows energy wells A, B and C representing stable states amongst all(cid:0) possible states (horizontal axis). The energy required to move from between(cid:0) states is represented by the vertical axis. In this theory, the influence of intention(cid:0) decreases the “depth” of the potential well making it easier to select states.(cid:0) Stable States:(cid:0) Figure 1 illustrates a chaotic system; in this(cid:0) case, an object orbiting a planet. It has been noted that a(cid:0) system tends to be more stable when it is not restricted to a(cid:0) single state. For instance, it has been reported that, “the(cid:0) rhythms of a healthy heart are chaotic.”(cid:0)2(cid:0)By “numerous(cid:0) stable states,” a system such as the orbiting object in Figure(cid:0) 1 is intended. The object is able to occupy different orbital(cid:0) paths and remain in a stable orbit. The three paths illus-(cid:0) trated in Figure 1c are stable and tend toward the orbit(cid:0) illustrated in Figure 1a. In terms of chaos theory, the(cid:0) “norm” of the orbits would represent the “attractor” toward(cid:0) which all stable variations of the orbit are drawn. An orbit(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 14(cid:0) Intention Decreases Potential Well:(cid:0) Fig-(cid:0) ure 2b is the same as 2a, except that the(cid:0) potential energy required to change states(cid:0) decreases toward potential well B,

making(cid:0) it easier to select relative to A and C.(cid:0) According to this theory, the influence of(cid:0) intention(cid:0) as expressed by a personality is(cid:0) able to reduce the amount of energy re-(cid:0) quired to change the state of a system,(cid:0) thereby causing the system to assume a(cid:0) desired state. The concept is thought to(cid:0) apply to physical energy in general, and(cid:0) should not be specific just to ITC. A com-(cid:0) mon physical factor is(cid:0)permittivity(cid:0) (symbolized by the(cid:0) Greek letter epsilon), which is a measure of how easily an(cid:0) electric field affects a material; however, other possibilities(cid:0) should be considered, for instance a literal interpretation of(cid:0) an attractor in chaos theory may be more appropriate.(cid:0) Figure 3 is a spectral display of an EVP. The horizontal(cid:0) axis is time increasing to the right and the vertical axis is(cid:0) frequency increasing toward the top. The bright horizontal(cid:0) bands are caused by the anomalous voice and represent(cid:0) increased energy associated with emulated formants. Here,(cid:0) it is important to understand that the voice is not formed by(cid:0) a physical organism.(cid:0) Continued page 15(cid:0) Trans-etheric Influences(cid:0) Continued from page 14(cid:0) Formants(cid:0)are frequency groups formed in the mouth based(cid:0) on sounds generated by the vocal cords. Their relationship,(cid:0) intensity and duration collectively produce a voice. In(cid:0) EVP, available frequencies appear to be selected and given(cid:0) more power to emulate voice. The vertical black line in(cid:0) Figure 3: Spectral view of an EVP. The dark bands represent(cid:0) increased power density; vertical scale is frequency, horizon-(cid:0) tal scale

is increasing time to right. Horizontal bands repre-(cid:0) sent emulation of formants beginning at 350 Hz.(cid:0) Figure 3 represents a “time slice.” The emulated voice is(cid:0) created moment-by-moment. Figure 4 shows a segment of(cid:0) the spectrogram in Figure 3 taken to the left of the black(cid:0) line and up to about 1,000 Hz and rotated 90 degrees. The(cid:0) line below it illustrates increases in energy associated with(cid:0) the emulated formants as encountered along time-slice(cid:0) A-A’. In this theory, this sample represents many such(cid:0) samples over time to produce the phenomenal voice.(cid:0) A(cid:0) Power(cid:0) A(cid:0)’(cid:0) 350 450 550 650 750(cid:0) 850 Hz(cid:0) Figure 4: Excerpt from Figure 3 taken left of the vertical(cid:0) black line and stretched. Relative power density is illustrated(cid:0) by loops centered on approximate center frequency for each(cid:0) emulated formant as found along the moment in time indi-(cid:0) cated by the time-slice along line A-A’.(cid:0) Stochastic Resonance:(cid:0) A weak signal can be amplified by(cid:0) higher amplitude noise via the process known as(cid:0)stochastic(cid:0) resonance(cid:0). A common characteristic for both visual and(cid:0) audio forms of ITC is the presence of noise and the forma-(cid:0) tion of audio or visual features in the noise. In the video-(cid:0) loop technique, order naturally emerges in the optical noise(cid:0) as small areas of about the same intensity. It is in these(cid:0) areas of order that features are sometimes found. The(cid:0) indication is that information is being impressed on these(cid:0) small perturbations acting as “seed energy” which evolve(cid:0) into the areas of order. In audio-loops,

the signal tends to(cid:0) “go to” saturation too quickly to permit the natural emer-(cid:0) gence of order to be recognized.(cid:0) [(cid:0)Technical Reference(cid:0)](cid:0) Hypothesis:(cid:0) A trans-etheric influence is initiated by an(cid:0) etheric personality as a subtle-energy expression of inten-(cid:0) tion that acts on physical processes to select required en-(cid:0) ergy states to form a desired effect.(cid:0) Applicability:(cid:0) To determine applicability of this hypothe-(cid:0) sis, it is important to remember that there is necessarily an(cid:0) etheric-to-physical interface; that something like intention(cid:0) represents the etheric form of the influence and some(cid:0) fundamental physical characteristic must be the physical(cid:0) form of the influence. As with the audio signal represented(cid:0) in Figure 4, the influence must be considered as a moment-(cid:0) to-moment application of influence to produce a general(cid:0) result. An economical solution requiring a minimum(cid:0) amount of energy should be expected.(cid:0) In EVP, it is speculated that a specific component in an(cid:0) electronic circuit is used to inject the information. The(cid:0) component is most likely one with an active region, such as(cid:0) a transistor junction or the inter-element region of a vac-(cid:0) uum tube. It is also likely that a plasma field is more(cid:0) susceptible to influence; something common to both tran-(cid:0) sistors and vacuum tubes.(cid:0) This hypothesis may apply to all forms of trans-etheric(cid:0) influence. Clearly visual and audio forms of ITC involve(cid:0) transformation of energy into anomalous features. Less(cid:0) obvious is whether or not this hypothesis applies to(cid:0)psi(cid:0) functioning(cid:0). The question must be asked and tested as to if(cid:0) the action of

intention can be seen to change the energetic(cid:0) environment of portions of the brain to intelligently pro-(cid:0) duce information. Likewise, can audible phenomena such(cid:0) as(cid:0)direct voice(cid:0) be caused in this way? Can gravity be so(cid:0) influenced as to cause levitation?(cid:0) Testing The Hypothesis:(cid:0) The key to this hypothesis is(cid:0) ease of selecting energy states. In EVP, using naturally(cid:0) occurring noise such as that produced by a fan should(cid:0) produce higher QQ of EVP than using noise generated by(cid:0) a technology that produces many frequencies of similar(cid:0) amplitude. Ideally, the noise will have multiple instances(cid:0) of each frequency of different amplitudes so that the most(cid:0) useful one can be selected. This can be tested.(cid:0) Optical energy would be best for visual phenomena if it(cid:0) is very chaotic. In EVP formed via random processes, such(cid:0) as seen in EVPmaker,(cid:0)3(cid:0) the random process that has the(cid:0) most chaotic distribution of signal noise should be the most(cid:0) effective for EVP.(cid:0) Unstable circumstances should be expected in haunting(cid:0) phenomena. Changes in noise or environmental energy are(cid:0) likely “carriers” for trans-etheric influences in much the(cid:0) same way that chaotic noise appears best for EVP.(cid:0) [Edit: A more complete version of this article will be posted at(cid:0) aaevp.com/research.htm(cid:0).](cid:0) References(cid:0) 1(cid:0)Gullà, Daniele,(cid:0)Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Para-(cid:0) AA-EVP,(cid:0) http://aaevp.com/articles/(cid:0) normal articles_about_evp10.htm(cid:0), Reviewed 22 August 2009.(cid:0) Voice, 2 May, Robert, The Chaotic Rhythms of Life,(cid:0) http://(cid:0) Re-(cid:0) www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/rhythm.html(cid:0), viewed 22 August 2009.(cid:0) 3(cid:0)Bion, Stephan, EVPmaker,(cid:0) http://www.stefanbion.de/(cid:0) evpmaker/index_e.htm(cid:0), Reviewed 22 August 2009.(cid:0) Page 15 Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) New Book about

Adolf Homes(cid:0) Jutta Liebmann of the(cid:0)German VTF(cid:0) has told us about a new(cid:0) book titled,(cid:0)Mit dem Jenseits auf Du und Du - Ein Tag im(cid:0) Leben des Adolf Homes.(cid:0) It is written by Adolf Homes’(cid:0) friend, Hans-Gerhard Kundler and provides insight into(cid:0) how Homes received his extraordinary contacts via com-(cid:0) puter, television, radio and telephone. Kundler, now(cid:0) eighty-seven, describes it all from his personal view during(cid:0) his frequent visits to Homes in Rivenich. He introduces(cid:0) Homes and his family as well the extraordinary contacts,(cid:0) which Homes received during many years.(cid:0) As Jutta explained, “Prior to Adolf Homes’ death in(cid:0) October 1997, he recommended to his wife and daughter(cid:0) that they should not aim to receive such contacts as he had(cid:0) received during all the years, in order to avoid negative(cid:0) effects on their health (This would suggest that his contacts(cid:0) as a medium had unfavorable effects on his health).(cid:0) “The CD included with Kundler’s book has fifty-one(cid:0) examples of contacts made by Homes. After listening to(cid:0) some of these examples, I noticed that the voices sound(cid:0) totally different compared with our usual EVP. The para-(cid:0) normal speeches by his contact partners from the other(cid:0) side, such as Thomas Beckett and Dr. Raudive, are very(cid:0) long and the voices often speak slowly, except for the(cid:0) contacts with his deceased mother whose voice sounds(cid:0) similar to the usual EVP messages. Homes’ mother died(cid:0) when he was an infant and his father did not return from the(cid:0) war, therefore he was an orphan.(cid:0)

“To enable these contacts, he used two old tube radios, a(cid:0) black and white TV and a very old Commodore computer(cid:0) for the written messages, which were shown on the monitor(cid:0) of his computer. These messages via computer came(cid:0) through without any space between the words and sentenc-(cid:0) es. The contents of most of his messages were very aca-(cid:0) demic and sophisticated, and sometimes Homes was(cid:0) unable to understand the contents. Therefore, he came into(cid:0) contact with Professor Ernst Senkowski, who had been a(cid:0) guest during these contacts. Questions were written into the(cid:0) computer, and sometimes the next day, the questions were(cid:0) answered in the computer by the entities.”(cid:0) Jutta sent us a further comment, “On consultation with(cid:0) Jürgen Nett, Christian Hilpert and other experienced VTF(cid:0) colleagues, and others such as Mr. Ehrhardt and Mr. For-(cid:0) noff who are also very serious and very experienced EVP(cid:0) researchers, I have come to the conclusion that the former(cid:0) EVP contacts received by Homes are authentic.(cid:0) “As I have learned from the book, Mr. Homes was very(cid:0) modest and not skilled at all with technology; therefore, he(cid:0) would not have been able to play tricks in this connection.(cid:0) My personal view is that Homes had the same extraordi-(cid:0) nary mediumistic abilities as Marcello Bacci in Italy has(cid:0) today. The clear reception of two-way direct-voice EVP is(cid:0) an advanced development in transcommunication, but it is(cid:0) possible as the direct voice contacts in Luxembourg and(cid:0) others have proven.”(cid:0) The book is currently only available in

German.(cid:0) Continued from page 9(cid:0) Orbs(cid:0) (Never cut film, the critics will tear you apart if the film is(cid:0) not in one continuous run.)(cid:0) To my surprise there was one image on the last roll(cid:0) exposed. In what was then a living room, you could see two(cid:0) team members seated in the background, but in the fore-(cid:0) ground stood the figure of a man. Hat, boots and a long coat(cid:0) were evident, although the apparition itself was totally(cid:0) black and devoid of features. He was leaning on a rocking(cid:0) chair, but slightly transparent. Through some rough calcu-(cid:0) lations we determined that he stood about six feet four(cid:0) inches tall.(cid:0) Similar IR photos are now showing up on the Internet. (cid:0) Even a few of the popular TV shows are now featuring the(cid:0) use of IR photography. On the battlefield of Gettysburg,(cid:0) one photographer has captured many images of ghostly(cid:0) soldiers, not visible to the naked eye.(cid:0) While I do not expect that this will be the turning point(cid:0) in our search for proof of the survival of the human spirit(cid:0) after death, it does go a long way to raise new questions(cid:0) about our world. As we dispel some common mistakes in(cid:0) photography like misidentified orbs, we are introducing(cid:0) more exciting ways to capture otherworldly images.(cid:0) The FLIR System(cid:0).(cid:0) No discussion of ghost hunting photography would be(cid:0) complete without acknowledging the most sought after(cid:0) camera of the century, the(cid:0)FLIR thermal imaging system(cid:0).(cid:0) This system displays heat signatures in real time

that can(cid:0) be recorded. I do not know a single paranormal investiga-(cid:0) tor who does not want one of these systems, but most are(cid:0) unwilling to pay thousands of dollars to indulge their desire.(cid:0) The FLIR is a complicated device that has been used by(cid:0) police agencies and fire departments for years to find the(cid:0) heat signatures of victims or perpetrators in non-visible(cid:0) terrain. These agencies have regular training programs for(cid:0) the operators. Could it be used to capture ghosts, maybe? (cid:0) It will certainly capture the images of anomalies that could(cid:0) be ghostly.(cid:0) Standing alone, no images I have seen are proof positive(cid:0) of a spirit in your midst. Like a K-2 meter, tri-field meter,(cid:0) IR thermometer or any camera image, they add to the list(cid:0) of possible proofs, but can’t stand alone as the one single(cid:0) piece of evidence to prove a ghostly presence.(cid:0) If you are looking for yet another avenue to explore that(cid:0) is relatively inexpensive in the ghost hunting field, my(cid:0) choice would be the properly equipped IR digital camera.(cid:0) It will not replace your notebook as the most important(cid:0) piece of equipment in your bag of tricks, but it certainly(cid:0) will yield some interesting evidence.(cid:0) Rick Moran is a retired journalist with more(cid:0) than thirty-five years experience in the para-(cid:0) normal field. He is currently the Coordinator(cid:0) the Association for the Study of Unexplained(cid:0) Phenomenon (ASUP) a nonprofit research(cid:0) and educational corporation, now based in(cid:0) Texas. Their website is(cid:0)www.asup-inc.org(cid:0) Rick Moran(cid:0) Volume 28, Number

3 Page 16(cid:0) Viewpoint(cid:0) Continued from page 1(cid:0) Research(cid:0) As of this writing, the(cid:0)Real-time EVP Conversations: A(cid:0) Pilot Study(cid:0) project being conducted by Windbridge Insti-(cid:0) tute is in the data analysis phase. The project, funded by a(cid:0) member of the AA-EVP, began in June, 2008. We had(cid:0) projected a finish to this phase for May, 2009, but as we(cid:0) understand, there have been delays in completing the lis-(cid:0) tening panel. After the data analysis is complete, a final(cid:0) phase is scheduled to allow Windbridge to write a report(cid:0) and find a publisher.(cid:0) We continue to examine possible research projects. One(cid:0) project that we would like to see funded is “Does EVP help(cid:0) a person through the grief of losing a loved one?” We(cid:0) believe that the answer to this question is a resounding yes(cid:0) and we believe that this research project could be funded(cid:0) for under $10,000. Having this type of study published in a(cid:0) peer review journal would be one of the most positive(cid:0) things that we could do for EVP. This type of study is not(cid:0) addressing that old conundrum, is it real or not, instead we(cid:0) think that it would show what we all know; EVP helps(cid:0) people! If you want to fund this study or if there is another(cid:0) project that interests you and you want to fund its study(cid:0) please contact us at(cid:0)[email protected](cid:0).(cid:0) Rhonda Burton’s Visual ITC(cid:0) Rhonda Burton posted an example of her visual ITC taken(cid:0) by video recording light re-(cid:0) flected from moving

water.(cid:0) She wrote that she recorded(cid:0) a three minute session but(cid:0) that her next effort will be(cid:0) just thirty seconds. Remem-(cid:0) ber that it is necessary to(cid:0) review every video frame,(cid:0) which are recorded at the(cid:0) rate of around thirty frames(cid:0) per second. The example(cid:0) provided here shows what(cid:0) appears to be a phenomenal(cid:0) face in the lower-left quadrant. There is a bubble in the(cid:0) lower-right and the tip of the crystal is in the upper-right.(cid:0) Face in moving water(cid:0) Big Circle Recording Dates(cid:0) Please think about recording with the Big Circle group on(cid:0) or close to October 1(cid:0)st(cid:0), 15(cid:0)th(cid:0), and 29(cid:0)th(cid:0), November 12(cid:0)th(cid:0) and(cid:0) 26(cid:0)th(cid:0), December 10(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 24(cid:0)th(cid:0) and January 7(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 21(cid:0)st(cid:0). Then(cid:0) go to the Big Circle area of the Idea Exchange and share(cid:0) what you record with other members. In the past, members(cid:0) have recorded messages intended for other members and(cid:0) this has really been a blessing. So join in! This year’s(cid:0) recording dates fall on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve,(cid:0) perfect times to celebrate with loved ones here and on the(cid:0) other side!(cid:0) See the article explaining how to record with the(cid:0)Big Circle(cid:0) News From Members(cid:0) •(cid:0)Kathy Conder wrote that Michigan Paranormal Encoun-(cid:0) ters is hosting its 3(cid:0)rd(cid:0) annual Allegan Paranormal Confer-(cid:0) ence at the historic Griswold Auditorium in Allegan,(cid:0) Michigan on October 16(cid:0)th(cid:0) and 17(cid:0)th(cid:0). For more details(cid:0) including ticket purchase and vendor information go to(cid:0) http://strewnpapers.com/_clients/mpe/conf2009.html(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebmann wrote us in late June that the annual VTF(cid:0) conference in Fulda was very successful.

More members(cid:0) than ever attended and they had two excellent scientists(cid:0) as presenters. Dr. Van Laack spoke about NDE experi-(cid:0) ences and Illobrand von Ludwiger spoke about the mul-(cid:0) tidimensional thesis of Burkhard Heim.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Vicki Talbott(cid:0) wrote that she was on Bruce Halliday’s(cid:0) show and had plugged the AA-EVP as much as she(cid:0) could. Thanks Vicki and also to all of you other members(cid:0) who do this when you do media appearances. Your help(cid:0) spreading the word is appreciated.(cid:0) Thoughts and Comments(cid:0) •(cid:0)From Regina Antonucci: IMO your hard work and ef-(cid:0) forts have certainly helped make EVP more acceptable as(cid:0) being a legitimate phenomenon of nature worthy of sci-(cid:0) entific research.(cid:0) •(cid:0)From Jutta Liebmann: I have just listened to the AA-EVP(cid:0) sample DVD-presentation no. 2 on your website and I am(cid:0) moved by the evidence given there for survival. Especial-(cid:0) ly, the wonderful young people of the Big Circle, the(cid:0) messages from Braden, Cathy and the others have im-(cid:0) pressed me. I would like to report about it to my(cid:0)VTF(cid:0) colleagues, as we too have many members who have(cid:0) “lost” children and relatives. What a comfort this is!(cid:0) Precognitive EVP?(cid:0) One of the more interesting characteristics of EVP is that a(cid:0) response to a question might come before the question is(cid:0) asked. Vicki Talbott recently posted an example in the Idea(cid:0) Exchange that illustrates this. As she wrote: “I hear(cid:0)‘That’s(cid:0) (or it’s)(cid:0)the month of May,’(cid:0) before I ask ‘What month is(cid:0) my birthday?’” She explained that, “I was at my

sister-in(cid:0) law’s this past July in Chicago (and recorded) late at night.(cid:0) I felt I had to whisper or those in the house would think I(cid:0) had lost my mind and was talking to myself.”(cid:0) The example has been added to the web page with(cid:0) Vicki’s EVP examples at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/examples/(cid:0) examples_voice10.htm(cid:0). It is a Class B, but perhaps with(cid:0) headsets you will be able to make it out.(cid:0) We theorize that EVP is caused as a mind-to-mind com-(cid:0) munication between the communicating entity and the(cid:0) practitioner (or an interested observer). If this is the case,(cid:0) then it is reasonable to assume Vicki had thought about(cid:0) what she was going to ask just before actually asking the(cid:0) question. As such, the entity would have been communicat-(cid:0) ing in a regular way by simply responding to what it was(cid:0) being asked.(cid:0) Page 17 Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Big Circle Members’ EVP Recognize(cid:0)d(cid:0) Margaret Downey shared an EVP on the AA-EVP message(cid:0) board. She said that she had immediately thought of Karen(cid:0) Mossey’s son, Rob, the moment she heard the EVP saying,(cid:0) “This is Rob.”(cid:0) She wrote, “This message came through(cid:0) while doing a radio sweep session with someone on Sun-(cid:0) day. One second before Rob spoke, the person I was sitting(cid:0) with got a message from his uncle saying,(cid:0)“I am Ernest”(cid:0) (the uncle’s name). I had been talking about the Big Circle(cid:0) and how amazing and help-(cid:0) ful all the kids are. Hearing(cid:0) Rob right after the uncle(cid:0) saying his name made me(cid:0)

think that Rob might have(cid:0) helped Ernest leave a mes-(cid:0) sage.”(cid:0) Robert Benjamin Browning(cid:0) Karen Mossey replied,(cid:0) “This has made me so(cid:0) happy and it is so signifi-(cid:0) cant. I so needed to hear(cid:0) from him and I believe be-(cid:0) cause I am under so much stress now with moving, that(cid:0) Rob chose to come through to you [knowing] you would(cid:0) bring it through for me. Along with this goes a special(cid:0) story. For nine years since Rob made his transition, his(cid:0) “Specialized” bike that he rode everywhere has been in my(cid:0) garage. He loved that bike almost as much as he loved to(cid:0) fish. He got in the best of shape riding it everywhere and he(cid:0) had put a lot into it with special shocks and gadgets….(cid:0) “This past Saturday, as I was unloading things at the(cid:0) town landfill, I saw a man going through the metal bin(cid:0) pulling out old bikes. He had his father with him and his(cid:0) kids in the truck. I looked at him and said ‘Are you looking(cid:0) for a bike?’ ‘Those are all broken.’ He said, ‘My wife, kids(cid:0) and I like to ride on the trails. I can’t afford any other(cid:0) recreation because I lost my job and I am looking to find a(cid:0) bike so I can go riding with my family.’ For nine years,(cid:0) Rob’s awesome bike has sat unused and I looked at it every(cid:0) day. Something came over me as I looked at this young(cid:0) man and I

said, ‘I have a bike. It is a very nice bike, a(cid:0) “Specialized.” Here is my cell number if you would like to(cid:0) look at it. I live in Hudson and I am moving.’ He said thank(cid:0) you so much and I did not hear back from him until(cid:0) yesterday. (Yes, the same day you got this message). He(cid:0) said he also lived in Hudson and was living with his parents(cid:0) and he would like very much to come and look at the bike.(cid:0) I had been thinking about it, and whether after nine years,(cid:0) Rob approved of me letting his bike go.(cid:0) “When the man arrived, he brought his father and his(cid:0) little daughter and when he saw the bike he almost cried(cid:0) and said, ‘this is so wonderful. I can’t wait to show it to my(cid:0) friend at church who cycles too.’ He said he wished he(cid:0) could give me money but he had no job and was living with(cid:0) his parents and could not even afford $10 and I said to him(cid:0) all I ask is that he use it the way my son loved to use it and(cid:0) pray for me that I survive this stressful move. He said ‘Are(cid:0) you sure your son is okay with me having it?’ I told him(cid:0) that Rob no longer needs it where he lives and would be(cid:0) honored to again have it used. That is all I said.(cid:0) “His little daughter and I pumped up the tires and

he took(cid:0) it for a ride. He came back and gave me a hug and said,(cid:0) ‘How can I ever thank you, Karen? It is such a wonderful(cid:0) bike,’ and I said, ‘Ride it and enjoy it with your family.’ He(cid:0) said, ‘Perhaps you will see me riding it in Nashua.’ As he(cid:0) left, his little daughter turned to me and said, ‘Thank you(cid:0) ... you are so beautiful.’(cid:0) “I think my Rob spoke through her little lips and was(cid:0) telling me that my soul has now evolved to even a more(cid:0) beautiful spiritual level and that all the gifts Rob gave to me(cid:0) in his life by sharing it with me, I could now have the(cid:0) opportunity to give something back.... I cried for awhile(cid:0) after they left and knew that Rob approved and was happy(cid:0) and I think he knew he had to send a message through one(cid:0) of my good friends to let me know that. He chose you(cid:0) Margaret. So with all my heart I thank you.”(cid:0) Martha Copeland even chimed in with, “… That voice(cid:0) sounds just like Rob’s physical voice! Karen and I shared(cid:0) videos of Cathy and Rob during her visit with me several(cid:0) years ago. It was from hearing Rob’s voice on Karen’s(cid:0) videos that I feel qualified in being able to recognize his(cid:0) voice on recordings. Great recording, Margaret.”(cid:0) EVP Recordings in Concert(cid:0) We received a request from Jesse Guessford: “(cid:0)Hello, I am(cid:0) creating a music composition entitled(cid:0)Grieving Point.(cid:0) I(cid:0) would

love to utilize actual EVP within the work. I am(cid:0) looking for an organization or an individual that would be(cid:0) willing to allow me to use their recordings within this(cid:0) composition.” We put the word out to members and several(cid:0) of them gave permission for Jesse to use their EVP.(cid:0) In August, the members who had shared their EVP re-(cid:0) ceived another email from Jesse that read, “I am writing(cid:0) you to invite you to the premiere of(cid:0)The Grieving Point(cid:0) by(cid:0) the music and dance company, MMT In Concert. I have(cid:0) attached a formal invitation to this email.(cid:0) “The work utilizes several of the EVP recordings that(cid:0) you so graciously donated. If you are unable to attend, I(cid:0) would love for you to hear how those recordings were used.(cid:0) You can the piece at my website:(cid:0) www.jesseguessford.com/mmt(cid:0). The recordings are the fo-(cid:0) cus of the sections labeled as Interludes.”(cid:0) listen to From Guessford’s biography: “Most people would clas-(cid:0) sify Jesse Guessford as an experimental composer, his(cid:0) family, however, thinks he should write horror movie(cid:0) soundtracks. Over the years he has softened; occasionally(cid:0) a chord may appear that is not fully dissonant.... He usually(cid:0) can be found composing for electronics, but then again he(cid:0) also composes for solo instruments and chamber groups, so(cid:0) it all depends on what is on the program.... he does have a(cid:0) doctorate in composition, which lends a hint of credibility(cid:0) to some of his crazy ideas.”(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Page 18(cid:0) Researcher Reports(cid:0) •(cid:0)Regina Antonucci

says that when she is able to find time(cid:0) to continue EVP research she is able to record anomalous(cid:0) voices on a continuous basis at almost any location.(cid:0) Regina has been recording for seven years.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Amy Burns(cid:0)wrote a message to the AA-EVP Idea Ex-(cid:0) change saying that her husband’s grandmother died two(cid:0) weeks earlier on their 25(cid:0)th(cid:0) wedding anniversary. She was(cid:0) ninety-eight years old. Amy wrote, “I recorded this EVP(cid:0) yesterday at her grave. It was a windy day and my(cid:0) husband had just said “hello” to her and then he said(cid:0) “hello” to his grandfather, who passed away in 1972. I(cid:0) hear her saying(cid:0)“I’m talking to him,”(cid:0) Please feel free to(cid:0) edit and any help you can give is appreciated.” Christo-(cid:0) pher Scott worked with the recording and sent a note(cid:0) back saying, “I’m so sorry for your loss. I have attached(cid:0) my edit. In it I hear:(cid:0)“I’m talking to grandpa.”(cid:0)I used(cid:0) Audacity’s noise removal filter, then a high pass filter set(cid:0) to cut off at 7000 Hz, then I amplified it.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Suzanne Burt wrote, “Your site has taught me a lot about(cid:0) techniques and how to analyze audio. I have recorded(cid:0) many Class A EVP using a digital recorder.” Suzanne(cid:0) says that she does not ask questions when she records but(cid:0) she does get answers.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Domenic Capaldi(cid:0)shared an EVP that that says,(cid:0)“Jack(cid:0) Ruby,”(cid:0) and wrote, “Out of curiosity I downloaded a clip(cid:0) from YouTube of Jack Ruby speaking but due to the poor(cid:0) quality recording it was hard

to make any comparison.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Annette Childs says that she continues to experiment(cid:0) with EVP. “We got a very good sample of my husband’s(cid:0) grandfather saying his name(cid:0)“Grandpop”(cid:0) and it is in his(cid:0) own distinct voice. This is the first instance where we(cid:0) have captured a humanoid voice. Before this, they have(cid:0) been more robotic or electronic sounding.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Linda Gray was taking a video of her dog barking at a(cid:0) crab and recorded an unexpected voice saying,(cid:0) “Duchess.”(cid:0) Linda commented that, “The ghost thinks(cid:0) my puppy is her dog, Duchess.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Jutta Liebmann wrote that she recorded at her hotel room(cid:0) during her stay for the VTF conference. She received a(cid:0) clear message stating(cid:0)“Scientists there, Köberle”(cid:0) Jutta(cid:0) feels that Mr. Köberle, the former VTF-president, was(cid:0) pleased that there were scientists participating in the(cid:0) conference and wanted to let the group know this.(cid:0) •(cid:0)Richard Lovelace shared an EVP that was recorded dur-(cid:0) ing an investigation. His wife was telling another person(cid:0) about what had happened to the woman who had lived in(cid:0) the house. The EVP says,(cid:0)“and she died.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)David Mierzwinski(cid:0)shared some EVP from an experi-(cid:0) ment. He wrote, “I have a TV tuned to the cable Spanish(cid:0) speaking channel. This TV is turned up loud. I position(cid:0) the cell phone half way between myself and the TV in the(cid:0) next room. It’s important to have distance between the(cid:0) TV sound and cell phone. I simply record the VOIP call(cid:0) on my computer. The process is strange because you can(cid:0) sense that what

you are hearing on the call does not(cid:0) match the sound coming from the TV in the next room. I(cid:0) had called on the ‘loud talkers’ from London and John(cid:0) Lennon’s people.… I got a garbled message that John(cid:0) Lennon was in Canada at a concert, and then this!:(cid:0) ‘What’s he look like on the phone ... Please?’(cid:0)”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Deborah Preece visited an old cemetery in Mt. Dora,(cid:0) Florida and reported that she got two long recordings(cid:0) with voices as she walked and spoke at some of the(cid:0) grave-stones. A powerful thunderstorm began as she was(cid:0) leaving the cemetery, but she had to stop at the pet store.(cid:0) “I parked the car and announced I would leave my Sony(cid:0) recorder on (it is voice activated) in the car while I ran(cid:0) through the rain to the pet store. The rainstorm absolutely(cid:0) gave texture to many voices ... and then I heard one(cid:0) saying:(cid:0)“I’m so sorry … Deborah.”(cid:0)Due to some addi-(cid:0) tional comments, and I must say, the voice, I believe this(cid:0) to be my little brother, John, who crossed over in 1993.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Lance Reed was recording in a graveyard and asked,(cid:0) “whoever is with me, please come forward and speak.”(cid:0) A young boy’s voice replied,(cid:0)“Matthew.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Christopher Scott(cid:0)wrote, “While visiting my friend, Mi-(cid:0) chael, I got my first chance to serve as a proxy practitio-(cid:0) ner. We recorded to make contact or get news of his wife,(cid:0) Patti. We each used a recorder and recorded in silence,(cid:0) then we used FM radio

sweep. I was able to receive one(cid:0) message,(cid:0)“I love you, sweetheart,”(cid:0) that I believe was(cid:0) from Patti. I was also able to introduce Michael to the Big(cid:0) Circle. We did get a couple of messages from Cathy, so(cid:0) I am reasonably assured that the Big Circle is helping(cid:0) Michael. Michael is now recording on his own and I am(cid:0) helping him analyze his recordings. Since I am not re-(cid:0) cording much right now, he is also getting messages for(cid:0) me.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Richard Smith did some sessions asking about Dooms-(cid:0) day in the year 2012. One question was: “Will the Earth(cid:0) experience cataclysmic events on or about Dec 21,(cid:0) 2012?” He got two replies. The first was:(cid:0)“Angels shout,(cid:0) bring out parity!”(cid:0) (Note: parity means equality). The(cid:0) second was(cid:0)“Every human makes a difference!”(cid:0) Rich(cid:0) says, “It sounds more like spirits are suggesting that our(cid:0) actions can change the outcome ... certainly not the first(cid:0) time we have seen this type of spiritual encouragement.”(cid:0) To to(cid:0) see more on Rich’s www.paratexas.com/2012.htm(cid:0) experiment go •(cid:0)Pamela Teters wrote to Becky Estep that, while doing a(cid:0) recording, she noted that Sarah Estep had recorded(cid:0) Beethoven and how she loved(cid:0) Beethoven. She recorded(cid:0)“He’s(cid:0) here.”(cid:0) •(cid:0)Keith Clark(cid:0) posted a series of im-(cid:0) ages found in the optical noise gen-(cid:0) erated by a spectral view of an(cid:0) audio signal. In this technique, the(cid:0) noise is used to produce faces in(cid:0) much the same way that video loop(cid:0) noise is used. The square is around(cid:0) what appears to be a male

head.(cid:0) Page 19 Face in spectrogram(cid:0) Fall 2009(cid:0) AA-EVP NewsJournal(cid:0) Memorial Bench for Sarah Estep(cid:0) A Note from Becky Estep(cid:0) My sister bought a “memorial bench” on the Ocean City,(cid:0) NJ boardwalk in Mom’s honor. Cindy had a plaque made(cid:0) to put on the bench which says: “In loving and living(cid:0) memory - Sarah Wilson Estep.” My sister, brother, and I(cid:0) plan on making a one day trip there in a month or two to(cid:0) see the bench and take pictures of it.(cid:0) If you find yourself on the boardwalk of Ocean City,(cid:0) please keep a look out for the bench. It’s across the board-(cid:0) walk from the music pier, where there are several other(cid:0) rows of benches. If you’re facing the cluster of benches(cid:0) where Mom’s bench is, you will see an ice cream place on(cid:0) the right. A little ways down on the left, there is a small(cid:0) store called (of all things) “Heaven’s Grocery Store.”(cid:0) There are memorial benches all up and down the(cid:0) boardwalk—they’ve been there for years and they all have(cid:0) their own special plaques on them.(cid:0) Mom loved the music pier; we used to sit there and watch(cid:0) the ocean. There were only six benches left that were(cid:0) available to the public to purchase, so we were really lucky(cid:0) to be able to get one for my mother.(cid:0) Help Us via Amazon and eBay(cid:0) Don’t forget when you are doing your Christmas shop-(cid:0) ping, or for that matter any shopping, when you use the(cid:0)

buttons on the front page of(cid:0)www.aaevp.com(cid:0) to link to(cid:0) Amazon and eBay, they give back a percentage to the(cid:0) AA-EVP. It all helps! Thank you!(cid:0) There is No Death and There are No Dead(cid:0) This was written to help teach about(cid:0) EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy(cid:0) at(cid:0)aaevp.com(cid:0) or send a letter with(cid:0) signing instructions to:(cid:0) AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV(cid:0) 89507, USA.(cid:0) The book is $18 plus shipping. Include tax if you live in(cid:0) Nevada.(cid:0) First book: Each additional: Priority(cid:0) International(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) I’m Still Here(cid:0) T(cid:0)he true story of a parent’s deepest pain–(cid:0) losing a child–and the healing journey of(cid:0) that child’s contact through EVP(cid:0) Send order and signing instructions to:(cid:0) Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf(cid:0) Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097.(cid:0) Or:(cid:0)www.evpcommunications.com(cid:0) $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA.(cid:0) Please make check to: Martha Copeland(cid:0) Shipping and Handling(cid:0) Priority(cid:0) $6.00 $2.00 International(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) $10.00(cid:0) First book: Each additional: AA-EVP Membership Form(cid:0) You can also use the online form at(cid:0)http://aaevp.com/online_membership_form.htm(cid:0) Members(cid:0) International Members(cid:0) $30.00 per year All benefits for one year(cid:0) not receiving the NewsJournal via email:(cid:0) $40.00 per year(cid:0) Sustaining Members(cid:0) $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal(cid:0) In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the AA-EVP.(cid:0) You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:(cid:0)__________(cid:0) Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional

Member Registry, discussion board and archive access.(cid:0) You must be 21 years old or older to be an AA-EVP member.(cid:0) Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________(cid:0) Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number(cid:0) (Optional):(cid:0)___________________(cid:0) Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______(cid:0) Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________(cid:0) or(cid:0) via email?___________________(cid:0) Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____(cid:0) I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the(cid:0) list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I(cid:0) violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the AA-EVP is not liable for the results(cid:0) of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it(cid:0) publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The AA-EVP reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone.(cid:0) Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________(cid:0) Volume 28, Number 3 Mail to: AA-EVP, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA(cid:0) Page 20(cid:0) Viewpoint Winter 2010, Volume 28 Number 4 had The first thing you should notice about this issue of the NewsJournal is a new name and banner. The winds of change for the Association been blowing for a while and a personal trip to

Sydney this fall led to what we hope will be new beginnings which will allow the Asso- to interest and ciation reach more people. When we assumed lead- ership of the AA-EVP in 2000, we were careful not to make drastic changes. Founder Sarah Estep had been a fine leader and we wanted to preserve what she had started. Also, the AA-EVP had name recog- nition and we didn’t. Snow in Butlers’ back yard As we developed the AA-EVP website, we set out to present EVP in a level- headed style that would be welcoming to scientists and critical thinkers, as well as people seeking to contact loved ones. The website brought EVP to the attention of thou- sands more people. The Association has grown and so have we. The news- letter became the NewsJournal and went from Sarah’s newsletter of six pages to one of twenty. It started to show our interest in all forms of communication with the other side and not strictly EVP. The Journal was also going out to many different countries and wasn’t an American jour- nal. As these changes have taken place, we have increas- ingly become frustrated with the narrowness of the name. So now in the 28th year of the Association, we are making official the changes that have been showing for some time. We have been, and will always be, focused on the study of survival of personality with an emphasis on the human side of science. We have always been

an interna- tional organization and so “American” will be removed from our name. Secondly, objective communication across the veil comes in many forms, not just through EVP and ITC. We are interested in many types of well-documented evidence involving physical mediumship, apparitions, ap- ports, and of course, EVP and ITC. We are calling this transcommunication and the organization is now named the Association TransCommunication. The motto of the Association TransCommunication, also known as ATransC, is “Objective Evidence of Survival.” The logo is a Möbius strip twisted into an infinity sign. A Möbius strip is formed by twisting a strip of material a half-turn and joining the ends. By tracing a path around the loop two times, both sides of the strip will be followed. Thus, the symbol is that both sides are really one and that one continues forever. Our standard will be objective forms of these phenome- na. By “objective” we mean, “based on observable phe- nomena; presented factually.” Mental mediumship can be considered objective if the information is evidential or if there is cross-correspondence. We want the material the Association shares to continue to be based on fact not faith. You may have noticed that there is not a lot said about spirituality in the AA-EVP. That is intentional, as we have attempted to make the Association a friendly place for scientists. We also wanted to avoid turning EVP/ITC into part of the New Age movement. However, sad as it is, few scientists have shown any interest. While

we are not actually giving up on science, we are giving up on proofs, and while we will cooperate with scientists, the Association will support research that is more subjective and that uses techniques more applicable to the subject. This may seem like a minor change, but it is huge because it will allow us to focus a lot more on the “so what” of this study. What if you know you will continue to exist after your physical body dies? What happens to your worldview when you realize that your personality is immortal? Well, if you only know that, then you may decide that this lifetime is not a big deal and check out to the next if things are going bad for you. But if you understand that this life is a progres- sion to the next, and that your growth here makes a differ- ence there, then you might reconsider checking out and even become excited about what you are learning here. We call this “spirituality,” but not in a religious sense. We mean informed objectivity in the way the ancient wisdoms taught the transmutation of the lead of a young soul to the gold of a mature and fully realized teacher. Continued page 13 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.......................................................................................................................1 David Thompson and The Circle of the Silver Cord Séance.......................................................3 Konstantin Raudive Speaks............................................................................................................6 ITC Contacts with Animals? by Anabela Cardoso.........................................................................7 Some Interesting Side Notes on Materialization and Konstantin Raudive................................9 The Mystery of Ectoplasm - Part

I by Michael Tymn...................................................................9 Moldwin’s Criteria........................................................................................................................11 Believing When One Cannot See..................................................................................................12 Dealing With Grief by Doreen Molloy..........................................................................................12 The Socrates Circle........................................................................................................................20 Man Convinced of the Afterlife through EVP Contact with His Wife Victor Zammit.............20 A Few Forms of Objective Evidence for Transcommunication................................................21 Researchers Report........................................................................................................................22 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................23 Thoughts From Members.............................................................................................................23 Russian EVP...................................................................................................................................23 The Ring..........................................................................................................................................23 Sarah Estep Memorial Bench.......................................................................................................24 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about

your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Winter 2010 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Andrea Hughes Kim Sheridan SERF Michal Ostafin Supporters Carol Crowley Deborah Combs Andrea Hughes James Jones Diane Moseley Susan Verhoeven Editors: Proofreader: Big Circle: Webmaster: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Rhonda Burton Tom Butler Volume 28, Number 4 Tom and Lisa Butler Page 2 David Thompson and The Circle of the Silver Cord Séance A Report on the September 25, 2009 Séance by Lisa Butler Over the years, we have heard about a materialization medium named David Thompson. He

was conducting demonstration séances in the UK and seemed to be the real deal. Montague Keen, member of the Council of the Soci- ety for Psychical Research for fifty-five years and secretary of its Survival Research Committee, investigated a David Thompson séance prior to his own passing in 2004. Keen’s professional report was positive, indicating that he felt the phenomena experienced during the séance were genuine. See the report on silvercordcircle.com. You may remember that Montague Keen also investigated the Scole Group with positive results. Experiencing a séance like this was on the top of our wish list but always seemed out of reach. Often, by the time we looked up from our work and learned that Thompson would be giving demonstrations, the seats were already booked. This is what happened for several events in the UK in 2007, and the same thing happened when we learned that David had moved to Australia and was demonstrating in Queensland. The Sydney Opera House cloaked in the unprecedented Septem- ber 23, 2009 dust storm In the summer of 2009 a dear friend put us in contact with David’s circle leader, and through emails, we were told that there might be an event in Perth that October which we could attend. We readily agreed that we would go any- where in order to experience a materialization séance. A few weeks later, another email came, inviting us to attend a David Thompson guest séance in Sydney. Chris, the circle leader and his wife, Rosheen,

David’s manager, were very kind and wrote that they try to accommodate people who are willing to travel. To say that we were thrilled is an understatement. Of course it was quite a shock when we found that our travel time would include fourteen hours in the air from San Francisco to Sydney! Our first two days in Sydney were spent getting over jet lag and seeing a few of the sights. One of the sights we got to experience was what we thought at first was a beautiful red sunrise in fog at Circular Quay. That was until we read the note slipped under our door, warning us not to open any windows or doors because we were experiencing an un- heard of dust storm! Chris and Rosheen asked us to have dinner with some of the members of the Circle of the Silver Cord Thursday evening. That was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Chris, Rosheen, David Thompson and his partner, Christine Morgan, who is one of Australia’s top mental mediums. We learned that they are all educated, hard working people—an important point since they did not attempt to make money for the guest séance. Friday night was the big night. Everyone gathered at six that evening and Chris began with a short talk on material- ization séances using ectoplasm and the risks to the medi- um. If ectoplasm is exposed to light, or in some way interfered with by a sitter, it will rapidly retract back

into the medium, causing internal and external injuries that could cause death or greatly shorten the life of the medium. David has scars to prove this very real hazard. We needed no further explanation as to why the séance would be conducted in a totally dark room. We had been told to leave jewelry at home. Nothing was to be allowed into the séance room. Shoes were removed, then everyone was searched by David and Rosheen and a metal detector was used to assure there were no forgotten or hidden articles amongst the sitters. The séance room contained a small cabinet made with black cloth over a wood frame. The seventeen sitters were seated in a horseshoe with the cabinet where David sat at the open end of the horseshoe. A piece of plywood was placed in the middle of the floor so that we might be able to hear the sound of feet. This was raised so that everyone was certain that there was nothing hidden under it. Two people were picked to inspect everything in the room and to observe David being bound to his chair. Tom was one of the people picked to do this. Chris, Rosheen, Chris- tine, Silvana, Sarah and David Thomson (all Circle of the Silver Cord members) were indepen- dently searched and scanned with the metal detector. The room was thoroughly searched and then the medium’s arms and legs were bound to the chair with nylon straps, which were in turn, secured with

the kind of cable wraps sometimes used by the police as temporary handcuffs. David was gagged and the gag was secured with a cable wrap. David’s cardigan sweater was secured with cable wraps in each button hole. The only way to release the wraps was to cut them off—a noisy process. The lights were turned off and a red light was turned on. The door was secured and chairs added with sitters in front of the door. Continued page 4 David bound for a séance Page 3 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal David Thompson Séance Continued from page 3 The red light was turned off and we were asked to sing with the music—loud and with enthusiasm. Singing is a way of building the energy, and more enthusiasm means more energy. We had only finished three songs when we heard the sound of the Velcro holding the curtains in the front of the cabinet being ripped away. Chris switched the music off and asked for everyone to hold hands. David’s friend and guide, William, had come into the room. He asked who was there and was introduced all around. He had previously met most of the attendees who are Australians, and exchanged little pleasantries with many of them. William then turned his attention to me and asked my name. “Lisa,” I answered, and he asked if he could touch me. He touched my toe first and said, “There you can feel my feet” and then touched my face and asked

me what I felt. I responded that I felt his hand. “Is it not real as real can be?” he asked. I told him that it was very warm and very real, to which he responded, “As you can see there is no death.” (At the time I wondered if he knew it was the title of our book.) Next he asked to touch Tom, and after he had done this he said to Tom, “As you can see, there was no fumbling to find your face, was there?” Tom agreed. William then asked him if he felt he was brought this distance merely to observe and Tom replied that he hoped not. William then said that there was someone from the Spirit realm who wanted to speak to Tom and his “dear lady.” William asked if there were any questions and a sitter asked if the people on his side kept up with our technology. William responded, “My dear friend, I do not,” and every- one laughed. The person then asked if their technology was above ours and William explained that technology was not a necessity within their dimension. “Why do you need electricity with perpetual light? Why would you need con- veyances to get from one place to another when you can do that with your mind and your thoughts?” Next he was asked how many spirit people had come to witness the séance. William replied that, in his understand- ing, it would be in the range of

one thousand individuals. “Séances such as this between the two dimensions attract a lot of attention within our world, as you can imagine.” William then took his leave, telling us that he needed to go so that others could come through. It is difficult to explain but there is a noise that is heard when the ectoplasm is used for materialization, the circle leader knows this, and when the sound is heard asks for everyone to hold hands and welcomes whoever is trying to come through. We could tell the next individual was having difficulty talking but Tom said he knew immediately that it was Konstantin Raudive. We were both in shock and we understood why people who receive phone calls from their deceased loved ones say that the enormity of the moment does not sink in until after it is over. Please see the article “Konstantin Raudive Speaks” in this issue for a transcript of this historic conversation. Raudive spoke to us for seven minutes! It is a comfort to know that our pioneers are still interested in we who are learning to communicate via technology. After Raudive left, a doctor came through and experi- enced members of the circle welcomed him as an old friend. He crossed the room and proceeded to put his hands on a woman to administer spiritual healing. The woman had been fighting a serious illness. We were again told that we could stop holding hands and the music, It’s a Wonderful World, was

played. To me it sounded like there was another, very distinctive voice singing with us. When the music stopped, Chris asked us to hold hands and we heard the distinctive voice of Louie Armstrong. He is a frequent visitor to the Circle of the Silver Cord séances. He asked Chris to get a harmonica they keep in a container and he played a song for us and we could hear him dancing with the music. After Louie Armstrong withdrew, a child-like voice an- nounced Timmy’s presence. This boisterous personality is a frequent visitor to the circle and manipulates the ecto- plasm that enables many of the strong physical effects. He asked for a trumpet and there followed a rousing Irish jig while we were treated to seeing the trumpet fly around the room, often coming within inches of our faces. The trumpet was a light-weight cone of heavy paper about a foot long with a luminous band on the wide end so that its motion was easily visible. Sitters were shouting with excitement through the entire experience and the energy level was very high. There would have been many collisions had a physi- cal person attempt such a demonstration. Timmy is very funny and spent time joking with the sitters, making everyone laugh. He asked Chris for his luminous plaque, and with his fingers on it, he circled the room showing his small fingers silhouetted in the light from the plaque. Quentin Crisp Anonymous photographer from Quen- tin Crisp Archive

crisperanto.org The next visitor told us his name was Russel Flexer and Tom Newman, the American who came from Florida, spoke with him. It turned out that Dr. Flexer is the founder of the church Tom now leads. After the group sang along with Abba’s The Dancing Queen, Quentin Crisp joined the circle with much banter and jokes. He asked one sitter if he could touch her. She agreed and told everyone that he had very soft hands. Quentin quipped that he was not exactly a workman, which brought a huge laugh. He said that he was not exactly the type of person to get his hands dirty. Continued page 5 Volume 28, Number 4 Page 4 David Thompson Séance Continued from page 4 Quentin stopped in front of me and asked who I was and where I came from. When I told him the United States, he said that he lived in New York before he passed. (Side note: We were not aware of who Quentin Crisp was until after the séance. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, which to his defiant exhibitionism and brought attention longstanding refusal to remain in the closet. Every icon has something totally distinctive about their look that no other icon has. Marlon Brando had his leather jacket, and with Quentin, it was his fedoras and many scarves. The Quentin Crisp archives at quentincrisp.com, is dedicated to promot- ing his philosophy of individuality,

self-acceptance, and tolerance.) Quentin asked if he could touch me and his hand felt warm, soft, normal; just like a person who is alive not dead! When you are touched, it is immediate, directly on your cheek or where they intend to touch you. No fumbling or misses. Try that in a pitch-black room. Quentin asked, “And who do we have over here?” Chris the circle leader said, “Her husband may be jealous, Tom is over here.” Quentin asked to touch Tom. There was much laughter when Quentin said “Ohhhhh, he has one of those beards.” He went on to greet and touch just about everyone in the circle. His wonderful sense of humor really increased the energy. He remembered people in the circle from other séances and even asked one of them to convey greetings to acquaintances that he hadn’t seen for a while. He then said that he could not stay all night and that he needed to go. Everyone was saying their goodbyes when he asked, “Well Mr. Butler, or should I say Tom. How is your brain, trying to assimilate what is taking place?” Tom replied that he had suspended thinking and was just listen- ing. Quentin then said, “How about you Lisa, or should I say Alisa.” His use of my legal name surprised me. He went on to say that it is such a pretty name, “and yet you call yourself Lisa.” I tried to explain that I use “Lisa” because “Alisa” is so

often mispronounced and he quipped back that he could pronounce it. I had to agree that he did so, perfectly. He asked about how my brain was doing with the séance and if it had been worth the five-year wait. I said it was and that I hoped it would not be another five-years, to which he assured me that it would not. This exchange was very evidential because I did not feel anyone there knew my legal name, and if they had some- how learned my name, they would likely have mispro- nounced it. The remark about the five year wait to see David was also evidential, as I had told all members of the circle that I had been trying for three years. When I later researched the timing, I realized that at the time of the séance it had actually been a little over five years. Addi- tionally, Quentin’s prediction we would not have to wait another five years came true. The group did another sitting in Florida in early November and we were able to sit in. Timmy came in again and asked that the red light be turned on so that those who secured David could check the cabinet to see that he was there and bound as they had left him. Tom also checked to see that David was still secured. The light was turned off again and Tim asked whether he should partially materialize or fully materialize. He was encouraged to do what

he needed with the energy. Timmy said that he needed a bit more ectoplasm, and urged us to hold on. There was a gurgling sound and the suddenly loud sound of childish laughter, along with a loud thud that startled us all. Tim asked Tom Newman to step forward in the dark. He did this and told us that David had been levitated out of the cabinet and that he was still bound to the chair. Tim asked Newman to feel the gag while Tim talked. Tom verified that David was gagged and not talking while Tim was talking. Tom Newman returned to his seat while music was David Thompson in front of a cabinet before being bound for a séance played to help David come out of trance. When Chris communicated with David that it was okay, the red light was turned on and we saw that David was ten feet in front of the cabinet, still gagged and bound. His sweater was reversed and the wraps were still in place! All cable wraps needed to be cut before he could be removed from the chair. The whole experience was beyond words. Members of the Association know that EVP and ITC are beyond many people’s boggle point. This is way beyond that! Tom and I did not go to the séance with skeptical minds but we do believe that we are a couple of very critical thinkers. We stayed awake until two a.m. that morning talking and trying to

wrap our brains around what we had experienced. We finally had to say it was what those who spoke to us during the séance said it was; so called “dead people” talking, walking, interacting with us and touching us. We went to Australia believing in life after death but this séance was life-changing. What an incredible gift to be lucky enough to have the experience. We, like hundreds of others, thank the Circle of the Silver Cord and David Thompson for this important work. Page 5 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Konstantin Raudive Speaks Konstantin Raudive Partial Transcript of Konstantin Raudive at the Circle of the Silver Cord Guest Séance, Sept. 25 2009, Sydney, Australia Chris (Circle Leader): Can we all hold hands please? Welcome. Konstantin Raudive (KR): Can you hear me? Circle Members: Yes we can. KR: I have a little bit of difficulty talking. Chris: That’s okay, we can hear you clearly. KR: My name is Raudive, Konstantin Raudive. Circle Members: Konstantin Raudive, welcome KR: You understand me? You do hear me? I’m coming through clearly, am I? Circle Members: Yes, you are. Yes! KR: I want to speak to Butlers. I want to speak to Butlers. Butlers: Yes, yes, we’re here. KR: You hear me? Butlers: Yes. KR: I cannot feel your vibration very strongly. Butlers: We’re very glad to hear from you, very glad. KR: You know who I am? Butlers: Oh yes, absolutely. KR: Yes, I am over in the Spirit Realm. KR: Can she

not hear? (Lisa was overwhelmed and had difficulty hearing that last remark. Others in the circle jumped in to let him know he was being heard. We were later told that this is very diffi- cult for them and the communication could have ended abruptly if Raudive thought he was not getting through.) Circle Member: She can. Someone says, “He’s over in the spirit realm.” Butlers: Yes, yes. Lisa: Are people over there still working to contact us through technology? KR: Yes, Schreiber; Schreiber is there, too. (Visual ITC pioneer, Klaus Schreiber) Tom: Okay. KR: And we, I wish to talk to you in regards to communi- cation. Butlers: Good, good. Tom: We’re here to serve on that. KR: Listen to me. You have much difficulty in the past, yes? Butlers: Yes. KR: I will tell you how you may do it. (Konstantin Raudive gives us some directions on shielding a microphone. He thinks that this will greatly help communication. After we are able to test the concept, we will publish his full conversation along with any re- sults that we get.) After finishing the di- rections, he continued: KR: Schreiber, is quite often with your work, you know Schreiber? Butlers: Yes. KR: He works with me much, much. He works with you as I do. Lisa: We are so honored. Tom: Do you see on your side, us on this side doing any good and making any progress overall? I know that we are not going to solve everything,

but are we making progress from your view? KR: One little step is much to help the communication, one little step makes a lot of difference to many people. Only takes one little step. Tom: Alright. Lisa: Can we do this experiment that you are talking about? Can we do this work in a new group that seems to be coming together or should we do this on our own? KR: You may do it with others; it will be helpful to you. Lisa: Very good. KR: It has taken much for me to speak to you. Lisa: Thank you so much. KR: Listen to what I tell you. You listen carefully to what I tell you and you will have much success. Lisa: Thank you. KR: I now must go. Group: Thank you. You can listen to the recording of this transcript at http://atransc.org/circle/silvercord_circle_raudive.htm As of the end of December we have assembled most of the parts for the device which has been fairly expensive. We have also learned that others have tried similar approaches with little success. Because of cost and safety issues, we want to work with this a little before releasing what he says along with our results in the next NewsJournal. If you listen to the recording, note that Raudive pronounces his name with a strong “Raa.” In “life,” he pronounced his name with a strong “Rau.” The other material in the contact seem to support his authenticity, so naturally, we will be looking for

ways to understand the reason for this differ- ence. Volume 28, Number 4 Page 6 ITC Contacts with Animals? by Anabela Cardoso * Since 1998, I have received several DRV communications from a little voice that identifies itself as Ni- sha’s, one of my beloved deceased Doberman dogs. Anabela Cardoso Publisher, ITC Journal In 2001, I published in issue 5 of the ITC Journal “La historia de Tuly” (pp. 77- 80) by Maryvonne and Yvon Dray about an ITC con- tact with their daughter Karine’s deceased dog, Tuly. Like Nisha, Tuly is reported to have spoken with a human voice and to have said in French “Moi, j’comprends tout” (Me, I understand everything). The Drays, who are originally French, have also recorded sounds of horses, birds and cats. I myself, while recording a long DRV communication from Rio do Tempo Station, in March 1999, captured a beautiful bird singing and imme- diately asked the communicators if they had a little bird with them. Their immediate reply was, also, “Sim” (Yes). The moving story of Darren and Alex Williams’ commu- nications with their beloved dog Fox was recently pub- lished in issues 29 and 30 of the ITC Journal and this was followed by Sonia Rinaldi’s paper “Contatos de Animais – Irrealidade ou uma Possibilidade?” published in issue 31 of the Journal (pp. 38–46). This story is about ITC contacts with Claudio Brasil’s deceased parrot, Lorinho, realized through the mediation of Sonia Rinaldi. Before publication of the article, I heard some

of the audio files containing the communications that are the basis for it, and I can testify that I could easily understand most of the speech transcrip- tions that Sonia had sent me, together with the audio clips, pronounced in what sounded like a parrot’s voice speaking in Portuguese. Communications with animals seem to date from the very beginning of ITC contacts, and perhaps Klaus Schreiber was the first to report on them. In his case, the striking EVP recording of a voice that identified itself as belonging to his deceased crow, Jakob.2 In my editorial “Love Stories,” in No. 29 of the ITC Journal, I have described some facts of my life associated with the love for my beautiful dog Surya–to whom I owe, above and beyond many other things, the opening of the door to transcendence–and how I feel about these contacts. Nevertheless, the fact that we are publishing in this current issue of the Journal the translation into English of Sonia’s paper and Claudio Brasil’s analysis, made me return to a subject that I consider of great importance. ... In this scope, the most pertinent remark that comes to my mind is the following – why do we marvel at these apparent contacts with the animals we loved or, as a matter of fact, with any animals? The reply to this question is not an easy one. Is it because they are realized through electronic means, and animals in our world cannot manipulate elec- tronic devices? Or

is it simply because those we call ani- mals can communicate at all? The third and most absurd consideration would be based upon the disbelief that ani- mals survive physical death. I will try to think aloud, so to speak, with my readers about these propositions, all of which are in my view, absurd. We cannot imagine that the communication be- tween this world and the next dimension of life is based upon the manipulation of electronic devices (which, in our opinion, animals would not comprehend). That would be a very naïve and bizarre idea. I am not affirming that there are no devices in the next world that mediate in ITC contacts, because the communicators have stated on sever- al occasions that they do use some form of devices.1,3,4,6 Those devices, which at any rate must be very different from our technological means, on their own could not certainly accomplish a contact between dimensions, as our devices, on their own, cannot achieve any contacts from our side, either. This point has also been stressed by the communicators. “The technique does not replace the power of thought,” as the high entity ABX Juno is reported to have said at Peter and Gisela Härting’s home,6 and as we can easily confirm through our knowledge of the history of I have friends by Patrícia Nuñez flickr.com/photos/patricianunez the subject. In reality in this world, electronic devices are indispensable for ITC contacts, but they are not their basis. ... it would be equally untrue

and very naïve to attribute the success of the communications to the psychic capacities of the experimenter. Undoubtedly, the process seems to be one of synergy between communicators, experimenter and devices, also involving factors unknown to us. But above all it seems to be exclusively directed by the communica- tors, although perhaps not dependent on them only. Refer- ences to “permission to speak” are a constant in almost every experimenter’s practice, especially in DRV commu- nications. Maybe love, an intense desire to communicate and a lot of work are from their side, as much as they are from ours, factors that facilitate the contact together with the neces- sary permission to speak. Continued page 8 Page 7 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contacts with Animals? Continued from page 7 Moreover, it seems apparent that the more advanced con- tacts of DRV, computer texts, etc. need not only the super- vision but also the help of high entities in order to render them possible. As to whom those high entities might be is a pure speculative exercise that should be avoided, because obviously we are not in a position to find out anything else other than what those higher beings themselves have told us (Reference 4 and 8 among others). The remark about the possibility as to whether animals can communicate is not very relevant because anybody with a superficial contact with animals will easily acknowl- edge the fact that animals can and do communicate, but most of the time it

is their human friends or companions who cannot understand them. In the May 2008 issue of Mensa magazine, there was an article that speculated about the possibilities that more advanced, subtle technologies may offer effective communication between humans and other animals in the not-so-distant future. Mensa also said that it remains to be seen if the accomplishment of such a possibility will increase animal exploitation by humans, or if it will make humans realize the existence of similar feelings and emotions of their fellow animals, and there- fore make them more compassionate toward them.... Friends by Ferran Pestana flickr.com/photos/ferranp The third objection is regarding animals’ survival of physical death. It is still commonplace to see references in the parapsychological literature, and elsewhere, to the “sur- vival of human spirit or human mind,” or to the "spiritual nature of man,” etc. We should, I think, start by acknowl- edging that the “spiritual nature of man” has practically destroyed the planet and made it uninhabitable for his own and all other species! If we do so, we cannot, of course, take such statements seriously. Religions, very especially monotheist religions ... are greatly responsible for this anthropomorphic, narrow view of the world that has mold- ed human thought and human mental patterns so prejudi- cially, throughout the centuries. ... Friedrich Jürgenson considered that the extraordinary capacities that the communicators seem to possess are also the result of the particular, most advanced conditions of their world3. Interestingly, Rio do Tempo communicators confirmed this point

when I once asked if their extraordi- nary capabilities ... were the result of the death process or if they pertained to their world and, therefore, were availa- ble to everybody. They said that the latter proposition was true. It seems that little Tuly’s sentence “Moi, j’comprends tout” avails this hypothesis, and reflects an expansion of consciousness. I believe that full consciousness–be it of little Tuly or of a highly developed human–is always there inside each one of us but our world, our senses, and our mental patterns confine it. Going back to our issue of why would we marvel at animal ITC and not at human ones ... human arrogance, an attitude that is chiefly based upon the human mental con- structs of superior and inferior, also plays a part in it. If we consider animals as “inferior we will be surprised that they even survive death and certainly that they could communi- cate from another dimension. However, if we ponder on the concepts of superior and inferior, we have to realize that they are also erroneous. In Nature, and Nature is all there is, there is no inferior or superior. In Nature everything is different and complementary but never superior or inferior. If not, how could it be that the beings we humans consider to be inferior, such as plants, bacteria, micro-organisms and minerals are the foundation proper of life? How can they be inferior if, without them, life is not possible for any “superior” being? Completeness, achieved

through the active contribution of different but complementary parts, is one of the basic laws of Nature, and one which, in itself, invalidates the concepts of inferior and superior. At the very beginning of systematic ITC communica- tions, Dr. Konstantin Raudive recorded a voice that said “Kant does not have any importance here”5 while Rio do Tempo has said: “Aqui no Rio do Tempo somos todos iguais” (Here in Rio do Tempo we are all equal). On one particular occasion, after one of Nisha’s communications, when the communicators had also told me “We are in contact with Nisha and she wants to speak with you” (translation), I asked them if animals in their world had the autonomy to want to speak with me, and they replied with: “It is more or less so.” On another occasion I consulted the communicators on how animals progressed in their world; they answered with “They also try to know more.” Expansion of consciousness seems to be a purpose of life in any form and in any stage. My dear deceased friend Pierre Théry, ... reported on a recognizably authentic tele- phone conversation from Konstantin Raudive in the next world to a French lady, Mme. Aline Piget, during which he said: “I would like you to know, dear Aline, that the object of an earthly life is not just the goodness. The object is to be conscious…”. (Théry, 2000). Hence, it seems that the expansion of consciousness will attain a notable develop- ment in the

next world but it should definitely start in our world. Let us work for it. References: Please see: atransc.org/articles/articles_animals_cardoso_contact.htm * Previously published in the August 2008 ITC Journal: www.itcjournal.org/ Volume 28, Number 4 Page 8 Some Interesting Side Notes on Materialization and Konstantin Raudive One of the questions that we were interested in was exactly how Raudive and others spoke to us during the Sept. 26, 2009 séance. William, David’s friend and guide, explained it to Montague Keen back in 2003 in this way: “I could describe it to you now that I myself am partly materialized. The ectoplasm is exuded from the medium’s body by various orifices and is molded around the young man’s voice box to create a larynx effect, but of course I myself am speaking to you with my own voice: placing myself within the ectoplasm exuded from the medium’s body by means of coating the etheric body of the ectoplasm, you understand?” [Yes] “And I am then able to speak. There is at some point during the séance when the materialization of form is not taking place and it is merely that of independent direct voice. You understand?” [Yes] “But I myself partly materialize.” the communication We knew that Raudive was involved that came with through the Harsh-Fischbachs and others in the 1980s and 1990s, and that he had made phone calls to various researchers in the 1990s, but what about séances? Upon our return to the USA, Lisa hap- pened to read Robin Foy’s

book In Pur- suit of Physical Mediumship and found this mention of Raudive: “Early in December 1977, through John’s trance, Dr Dunn had more to say on the subject of the Brother- hood. ‘You may recall that I mentioned the Brotherhood. Well, at the same time, when I did so, I had the distinct impression that you were thinking of some esoteric figures, dressed in raiment rather like the Ku Klux Klan of Ameri- ca, or some phantom figures in flowing white robes. “‘I can assure you that this Brotherhood is nothing like that. In fact, the Brotherhood of which I speak is composed of people—scientists mostly—who were involved in this Spiritualism before their passing over to the spirit world, and they are currently working on a revival of real Spiritu- alism if you like. “‘Sir William Crookes is a member, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, too. There’s W T Stead, there’s Miles and Gurney. Lots of people like that, and this is the Broth- erhood. They are trying to bring back physical phenomena again, and they are also in contact with Konstantin Raudive. “‘In fact, these are the two things which they are current- ly working on. They are interested in Raudive—we call it “Raudive,” in regard of this being an accepted term for it on this side, and they are very concerned that you recognize how important it is for this group to progress, now that you have drawn these people to you. “‘This brotherhood is

not, as I have said, some esoteric clan, but these are very determined and anxious people— anxious in the sense that they are so incensed with the mediocrity that in many cases passes for mediumship these days—and they wish to bring something of repute back to the movement in which they were involved, because as you know, their names have been somewhat tarnished in the past, and indeed, presently, too.’ “I (Robin Foy) was urged by Dr Dunn to continue my experiments with EVP in addition to my circle work, and was told that I would be assisted by my spirit friend Elmer Browne and indeed, Konstantin Raudive, in this work.” We wrote to Robin asking if he knew if Konstantin had ever materialized or come through using direct voice in a séance. He had not heard of Raudive coming through in another séance but had heard Raudive speaking through the radio of Marcelo Bacci when he sat in one of his sessions. We would like to hear from you if you know about Raudive communicating during séances. It seems clear that he is active in behalf of all of us who work in this field. The Mystery of Ectoplasm - Part I by Michael Tymn* How can anything so repulsive and so repugnant in appearance be real? And how can there possibly be any spiritual connection with it? No doubt this is the first reaction of intelligent, rational people who come across old photos in books about paranormal phenomena

of a substance referred to as ectoplasm. The photos usually show a seemingly thick foamy or slimy substance—sometimes like vomitus, other times like shaving soap, and still at other times more like cheesecloth—flowing from one of the orifices of a so-called “medium” in an entranced state - from the nostrils, mouth, ears, and even the pores. Some of the photos show what are claimed to be materialized human forms—occasionally just a face or an arm— forming within the ectoplasm. looking If we are to believe the debunkers and skeptics, ectoplasm is nothing more than cheesecloth stuffed into one or more of the cavities of the body and then extruded at an opportune time, the sole purpose being to dupe those present. However, it is difficult to believe that some of the most eminent men of science who observed it, examined it, tested it and proclaimed it real, could have been fooled over and over again, especially under laboratory conditions. It stretches the imagination to believe that, as much “cheesecloth,” as seen in many of the photographs, could be stored in an orifice of the body, especially the ears and pores, and so dramatically extruded, then to have human forms shaped from it or within it, and then, in some cases, to have those human forms emerging from the ectoplasm and carry on conversations with those present, sometimes about personal matters known only to the sitter. Equally puzzling is why numerous alleged charlatans would dream up something so seemingly ridiculous and

revolting. Couldn’t they come up with a trick a bit more realistic and believable? If it all began with one trickster, why were so many other charlatans impressed by something so bizarre? Continued page 10 Page 9 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Mystery of Ectoplasm Continued from page 9 “It is a whitish substance that creeps as if alive, with damp, cold, protoplasmic extensions that are transformed under the eyes of the experimenters into a hand, fingers, a head, or even into an entire figure,” explained Dr. Charles Richet. Winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in (1850-1935) was a Medicine, Richet physiologist, bacteriologist, chemist, pathologist, psychologist, aviation pioneer, poet, novelist, editor, author, and psychical researcher. After receiving his M.D. in 1869 and his Ph.D. in 1878, he served as professor of physiology at the medical school of the University of Paris for thirty-eight years. It was Richet who gave the name ectoplasm to what had previously been referred to as od, psychic force, and teleplasm. When Sir William Crookes, the esteemed British chemist, first reported on it in connection with the mediumship of Florence Cook, Richet was among the many scientists who scoffed and thought that perhaps Crookes, a pioneer in X-ray technology, had “lost it.” “I avow with shame that I was among the willfully blind,” Richet wrote in dedicating his 1923 book, Thirty Years of Psychical Research, to Crookes, commending him for his courage and insight. “This ectoplasmic formation at the expense of the physiological organism of the

medium is now beyond all dispute,” Richet stated. “It is prodigiously strange, prodigiously unusual, and it would seem so unlikely as to be incredible; but we must give in to the facts... Yes, it is absurd; but no matter—it is true.” Richet saw it as some sort of exterior (“ecto” meaning exterior) protoplasm. In his book, Richet referred to the ectoplasm produced by the medium, Marthe Béraud, as “gelatinous projections,” explaining that “a kind of liquid or pasty jelly emerges from the mouth or the breast of Marthe which organizes itself by degrees, acquiring the shape of a face or limb. “Under very good conditions of visibility, I have seen this paste spread on my knee, and slowly take form so as to show the rudiment of the radius, the cubitus, or metacarpal bone whose increasing pressure I could feel on my knee,” Richet wrote. Richet further observed that the materializations are usually gradual, beginning with a rudimentary shape and then complete forms and human faces only appearing later on. “At first these formations are often very imperfect. Sometimes they show no relief, looking more like flat images than bodies, so that in spite of oneself, one is inclined to imagine some fraud, since what appears seems to be the materialization of a semblance, and not of a being. But in some cases the materialization is perfect. At the Villa Carmen, I saw a fully organized form rise from the floor. At first it was only a white, opaque spot

like a handkerchief lying on the ground before the curtain, then this handkerchief quickly assumed the form of a human head level with the floor, and a few moments later it rose up in a straight line and became a small man enveloped in a kind of white burnous, who took two or three halting steps in front of the curtain and then sank to the floor and disappeared as if through a trap door. But there was no trap door.” While skeptics find much humor in some of the flat, paper-like materializations, Richet had no difficulty with them. “The fact of the appearance of flat images rather than of forms in relief is no evidence of trickery,” he wrote. “It is imagined, quite mistakenly, that a materialization must be analogous to a human body and must be three-dimensional. This is not so. There is nothing to prove that the process of materialization is other than a development of a completed form after a first stage of coarse and rudimentary the cloudy formed under lineaments substance.” Richet referenced one sitting in which a communicating spirit said that he could not materialize because he could not remember what he looked like when alive. At a later sitting, this same spirit materialized in body but without a face. In effect, the success of the materialization appears to depend upon the ability of the particular spirit to visualize his old self and somehow project that thought-image into the ectoplasm. Apparently, the ability to

do this varies as much with spirits as does artistic ability among humans. Richet also observed somewhat similar phenomena with Eusapia Palladino, the controversial Italian medium, although never a full-body materialization. She most often produced ectoplasmic arms. He referred to it as a kind of supplementary arm that came from Palladino’s body. “Once I saw a long, stiff rod proceed from her side,” he explained, “which after great extension had a hand at its extremity—a living hand warm and jointed, absolutely like a human hand.” Replying to skeptics, Richet said that we have no warrant to deny a phenomenon because we do not know its laws. “If that were the case we should have to close all scientific books.” While the “veil-like” or “cheesecloth” form is often seen in photographs taken in infrared or phosphorescent light, ectoplasm apparently comes in many forms, including gaseous, liquid, or fibrous. It can assume different colors from soft white to gray and black. It can move slowly but disappear in a flash. It can be stiff or pliable. It can be invisible, seen only by clairvoyants, or seen by all present. Continued page 11 Volume 28, Number 4 Page 10 The Mystery of Ectoplasm Continued from page 10 The inconsistent nature of ectoplasm is just one of many aspects of it that defies scientific scrutiny and gives fuel to the attacks by debunkers. Adding to this is the fact that darkness is usually required. This is because the ectoplasm is said to be sensitive

to light rays, and exposure to light can result in serious injury to the medium, who must reabsorb the ectoplasm at the conclusion of the séance before the lights are turned on. Further complicating the observation is the fact that a materialization “cabinet” is usually required. This cabinet is often nothing more than a corner of the room curtained off for the medium to sit within. It further protects the medium from light rays but is said to also be necessary to concentrate the ectoplasm and permit the spirits a certain privacy in their attempts to take shape. Of course, the debunkers see the cabinet as nothing more than a “dressing room” which permits the “fraudulent” medium to quickly change costumes and emerge from the cabinet as a spirit entity. To advance such a debunking theory is to assume that men like Richet, Crookes, Professor Gustave Geley, Baron (Dr.) von Schrenck Notzing, and a dozen or more other distinguished scientists were duped over and over again under controlled conditions. Only the most arrogant and closed-minded person would dare challenge the observations of these respected scientists without doing any kind of investigation of his or her own. Nevertheless many did. And mainstream science continues to ignore what could be the most important scientific subject in the physical realm. * Previously published by Tymn on his blog at metgat.gaia.com/blog/ Michael Tymn is editor of The Searchlight, an Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Stud- ies, Inc. publication. aspsi.org Viewpoint Continued from page 1

The Association needed some “new” motivation and we found it in an unexpected, personal trip to Australia where what most people would consider a miracle happened. EVP pioneer Konstantin Raudive spoke to us for seven minutes through the physical mediumship of David Thompson. [See the article page 3] One person asked us, “You weren’t scared?” Perhaps that is the point. Members of the Association already know that the “dead” are not dead and that speaking to them is not a miracle. We all have made important progression in this lifetime. These are our loved ones and our friends who come to us any way they can. The séance in Australia was a “biggy” as far as life experiences go. It was nice to have our flame of inspiration and motivation relit so that we can try to do that for others. Tom and Lisa Moldwin’s Criteria In a recent Skeptical Inquirer article, “Why SETI is Science and UFOlogy is Not: A Space Science Perspective on Boundaries” (Volume 28, No. 6, November/December 2004, p. 40-42), Mark Moldwin (Associate Professor of Space Physics in the Earth and Space Sciences Department and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, the University of California, Los Angeles) argues that SETI (the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence) is science and UFOlogy is not. Moldwin’s Demarcation Criteria One of the goals of science education, writes Moldwin: “…is to provide critical thinking skills that are necessary to distinguish fact from fallacy, legitimacy from fraud, and science from pseudoscience.” However:

“To the discom- fort of many,” says Moldwin, the line between science and pseudoscience “can be fuzzy. Like the old saying about pornography, rational thinkers like to believe they know pseudoscience when they see it.” Moldwin quickly dismisses the thought that “Science follows the scientific method … whereas pseudoscience does not,” noting that “This is clearly not the case … since many pseudoscientific claims are routinely put to the scien- tific method test, and debates rage on the results of studies that purport pseudoscientific claims published in the scien- tific literature….” If science is not defined by the scientific method, then how are we to distinguish between science and pseudosci- ence? Moldwin suggests: “two characteristics of science that can be used to make that distinction.” The first charac- teristic concerns the community of scientists, and the sec- ond characteristic concerns what Moldwin calls the “essence of science,” namely “the constant testing of any scientific idea against reality.” According to Moldwin, the willingness of scientists to practice as part of the community of science means: “…having the appropriate educational credentials, under- going peer review of proposed scientific ideas, discussing ideas at scientific meetings and conferences and presenting results for peer review in respected journals;” it means not avoiding “a critical assessment of their ideas” or “the constant testing of scientific ideas compared to previous understanding and observations.” It is this testing against reality, or “reality therapy,” that Moldwin says defines the “essence of science.” =============================== From: A measure of what is

science and what is pseudoscience by at S. Williams www.arn.org/docs/williams/pw_setivsufology.htm MPhil) (MA, Peter [Editor: As a science, the parapsychological community has earned some credibility but is not fully accepted by the main- stream. Even so, transcommunication has been of little interest to the parapsychologists’ community. While it is most concerned with human potential, we are concerned with survival of person- ality. As it stands, we do not meet this criteria, but we have the capability to do so if we can learn to work together.] Page 11 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Believing When One Cannot See We expected the harsh reaction we received when we began speaking publicly about EVP. Of course, we have expected a strong reaction from some people when we began speaking about physical phenomena circles. But nothing prepared us for where some of the remarks would come from. A person who studies EVP sent us an email announcing that “It seems fake to me.” He went on to say that “I believe there is a trap door or something like it. Notice that he’s behind the curtain for no real reason other than to shield eyes from whatever he’s doing. He may be an escape artist. He may have an associate sneak in from the floor or wall etc. If he hid a small speaker in the wall outlet it could sound like this. He literally could have someone in another room speaking into a wireless mic and then it can be projected thru the

hidden speaker.” This person also expressed a common complaint about pictures of ectoplasm: “The ectoplasm is most likely cotton gauze or some such item that he hides somewhere on his body. In the old days, they would hide it in their mouth then let it dribble out of their mouths....” The one thing we ask of you is to inform yourself before judging. Physical phenomena in a dark room is not as accessible to research as is EVP, but there are very specific reasons darkness is important. The main one is that light interferes with ectoplasm, the form of bioenergy thought to be used by materialization mediums. As explained by Tom Harrison,* “The structure of ectoplasm may be seriously affected and even destroyed, by being confronted by white light. Its structure is unable to overcome the effects of the light - not dissimilar to the inability to develop or print photographs in white light. The chemical reactions cause the breakdown of the components in both cases.” David Thompson has been harmed by this energy, and has expressed a concern on several occasions that he did not wish to be further harmed while demonstrating the phenomena. Even so, he does occasionally work in red light, and there are red-light photographs of him working with this ectoplasm, as shown here. Also see a video at the Silver Cord website (www.silvercordcircle.com). Keep in mind that this form of phenomena has been carefully studied since the 1800s, and good scientists have verified its authenticity.

The séance we attended was the first conducted in a building they had just moved into. We inspected every inch of the room in good light and every- thing that came into the room. There was an old CD player, an MP3 audio recorder and a lamp with a red light. That was all of the technology in the room. The regular circle members did everything they could to assure us that the room was secure, there were no hidden devices or compartments; no way for an accomplice to enter the room unnoticed, or to break away from the circle without being noticed. Tom watched Rosheen strap David in, and inspected the results. He then helped search the last of the circle members. It took more than ten minutes to secure David because it was rather complex work to thread the plastic wraps through the gag knot, sweater buttons and four strap fasteners. Each of probably ten plastic wraps were then cut at the locking mechanism, a process that caused a sharp “snap” at each cut. David Thompson with ectoplasm emanating from his gagged mouth. Photographed in red light Unless David was able to release himself from his hand constraints, there was no way he was the person moving about the room, talking and touching people. His hands were secure before and after, and there was no evidence of the kind of skin chafing he would have from releasing himself—if it was possible. The gag was tied tight and cable

wrapped in place. He could hardly breathe, let alone project his voice into the room. The circle leader always requested that sitters hold hands during materializations. This assures the sitters that no one is moving about the room, and is a precaution to protect David from unexpected interference with the movement of ectoplasm. There were eighteen people in the room; elbow- to-elbow. Chris and Rosheen sat at the end of the “horse- shoe” of chairs and nearest the cabinet. Lisa sat beside Rosheen and Tom sat beside Chris. Both Chris and Rosheen spoke often during the séance. It would have been obvious if someone stepped out of the circle. It is well-documented that ectoplasm is accumulated in some way by an enclosure. That is what the cabinet is used for. However, the cabinet is a flimsy affair and affords no hiding place for tools, people or trap doors. The entities do not necessarily fully materialize. It is more efficient for them to work with a voice box and maybe a materialized hand. While pictures of ectoplasm make it look like sheets of cloth, we are told that it is actually an undulating sheet that is alive and even sparkles. It extrudes from orifices of the medium’s body and is then used by an entity to drape itself to become a physical form. Thus, William might appear to be a cloth draped over the invisible man’s head alone--perhaps with a partially materialized hand nearby. We will attempt to bring you photographs

a medium too soon after someone dies. Most of us need a little time to move through the initial phases of grief and be able to at least get back into the normality of daily activities. When you are in a state of intense grief, your ability to focus is clearly affected; this makes it much more difficult to concentrate on whatever information the medium might be sharing with you. It’s usually best to wait at least a couple of months after losing a loved one before having a mediumistic session. Try to remember that most mediums would like nothing more than to help ease your grief by providing you with some evidence that our con- sciousness survives physical death. But you have to be open enough to receive it. One of the most important things to understand is that grief is a normal and natural response to a loss of any kind. There are many different kinds of losses; although we seem to experience a different kind of “finality” with death, making it feel even more painful, more numbing, and at times, we will even experience conflicting emotions. We are usually ill-prepared to deal with grief, because most of us have learned incorrect (or inappropriate) ways of re- sponding to loss events, instead of taking specific actions that could help us to heal. As a result, we find that there is very little in our society that teaches us how to manage grief. I spend a great deal of

time reconnecting people with their loved ones in the afterlife, but over the years, I have also been able to see that there was a need for further healing in the clients who came to see me. As a result, I wanted to find another way to help those who were experi- encing various responses to grief. My quest led me to the local bookstore, where I found exactly what I was looking for. The first book I picked up looked very interesting. It was The Grief Recovery Handbook by John James and Russell Friedman, and once I began to read it, it didn’t take me very long to realize that The Grief Recovery® Program was really different. I knew that I had to become certified in their program. And although the handbook can provide the reader with information, the workshop is where one finds the necessary skills to recover; this is where the real work takes place and recovery begins. Through my training with The Grief Recovery Institute of California, I will share a few tidbits from the handbook with you ... followed by my own insights on how to manage grief. One of the biggest mistakes people make when dealing with grief is thinking they can deal with it intellectually. But grief is about a broken heart, not a broken brain. All efforts to heal the heart with the head fail because the head is the wrong tool for the job. As they say in the handbook, “It’s

like trying to paint with a hammer—it only makes a mess.” However, there are some things we can do, actions we can take, that could help us to cope with what we are feeling and at the same time, help us get on the road to recovery. The first observation might be to understand what grief really is in order to better deal with it. Grief is about incompletion; it is the result of many different kinds of loss events, most of which are usually life-changing. At the same time, it is one of the most misunderstood experiences, both for the griever and for the people around them. The death of a loved one produces emotions that can be de- scribed as the feeling of reaching out for someone who has always been there, only to find that when we need them one more time, they are no longer there. To compound the problem, it is also very common to hear people say insensitive things to grievers. In most cases, they don’t mean to be insensitive; they simply lack the skills and knowledge of what is appropriate or inappro- priate to say. Most of us also grow up believing in many different “myths,” thinking that they are in fact truths because they have been handed down, generation after generation. But those common myths are often the very things that keep us from healing. From The Grief Recovery Handbook, here are the six things we have all been taught. Every single

one of them is incorrect: 1. Don’t feel bad. Children are constantly told not to feel bad. We always tell our children, “Don’t cry,” which is another way of saying, “Don’t feel the way you feel.” It continues well into adulthood; you might have heard others comment about a breakup in a relationship and say, “Don’t feel bad. There’s lots of other fish in the sea.” This brings us to the next myth. 2. Replace the loss. How many of us lost a pal when we were children, only to be told by our parents, “We’ll get you a new dog on the weekend.” Continued page 14 Winter 2010 Page 13 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dealing With Grief Continued from page 13 (As if this is going to make us forget our beloved old dog that we are missing terribly.) You cannot replace the loss of a relationship; you can have a new relation- ship or a different relationship, but there is no way to replace the original loss. 3. Grieve alone. Have you ever noticed how we are expect- ed to be alone when we grieve? You’ll hear things like, “Don’t disturb your mother; she just needs a little time to be alone.” or “He just needs a little space.” Yet isolation is the worst thing in the world for a griever! 4. Just give it time. This myth is probably the most com- mon. Everyone is familiar with the famous cliché, “Time heals all wounds.” But the reality of

it is that time doesn’t heal any wounds, whether they’re physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Only by taking appropri- ate action can one create healing. 5. Be strong for others. This is one of the most confusing things we learn because we do not feel strong when we’re grieving; we feel lousy. But we will hear things like, “You have to be strong for your mother.” and clichés like, “You need to keep a stiff upper lip.” This myth forces people to suppress and stifle the emotions they are natural- ly feeling, making them feel even worse. 6. Keep busy. The bottom line To My Broken Heart by Sis- moon flickr.com/photos/howling-at- is that no matter how busy you keep, at the end of the day you will still have an empty place in your heart when you have experienced a deep loss. “Busy-ness” does not repair emotional pain. These are just a few of the things that grievers will learn to “forget” if they decide to participate in The Grief Recov- ery® Workshop. However, there are ways to complete our losses, and continue to remember the person if the loss is through death, so that we can move past the pain from the loss events and once again move on with our lives. But for the people who have not had the benefit of a program such as this, those six myths are powerful ones; and because they usually begin in childhood, they silently creep into our adult years and

the cycle perpetuates. I personally believe that the handbook should be taught in all schools; this type of education (or re-education) would greatly benefit us as a society. To sum it up, the power in Grief Recovery is a result of taking new actions. It is an effective program which has the ability to help you to create a new future. If you would like further information about the program, the handbook or a workshop near you, you can contact The Grief Recovery Institute at [USA] 518-907-9600 or [Cana- da] 519-586-8825 or via the Internet at www.grief- recovery.com which provides all the details of the program. If you have lost someone during the past year, there are a few things you should consider doing differently. By taking certain actions in how you speak and what you do, the cumulative effect has the ability to make a real differ- ence in the way you will feel. When someone we love dies, our lives will change in the blink of an eye. When that happens, we need to design our day differently and take some new actions that will help us to get through it. The first thing to do is to be honest with others about how you really feel. Be authentic. How you speak to people is extremely important to your own healing. If someone asks you, “How are you feeling,” tell them. Don’t say, “I’m fine” when you are anything but fine. Don’t worry if it makes them feel

a little bit uncomfortable (after all, they may not know the best way to respond), because that should never stop you from being honest. We sometimes have this notion of feeling “We must do what’s expected of us,” but it is unrealistic for anyone to expect a griever to be anything but sad and going through a vast array of emotions. Another common response for grievers is to feel anger; after all, someone you love very much is no longer there. In other words, “They left you.” Again, this can generate a variety of emotional responses, many of which are also connected to working on issues of forgiveness. So you need to share all of your feelings with the people you are closest to, honestly and openly. The way you speak to yourself is equally important. Remember that the conversation you have with yourself will reinforce your emotional feelings, and ultimately, the outcome of your day. “Outward conversation” almost al- ways includes speaking to your loved one, telling them how much you love them and miss them. It also very often includes speaking to a Divine Source (whatever the God of your understanding may be) and asking that your loved one is in Divine Light and is protected. This would be consid- ered a form of prayer. Again, this type of outward conver- sation is a normal and natural response to grief. However it is the “inward conversation” that we forget to have that will assist us in our own

healing. The inward conversation is what we are saying to our- selves about what we feel; and we all know that the pain associated with grief does not feel good. But we can create a shift by changing that conversation through affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements about the present mo- ment. They are assertions that are declared to be true and they have the ability to create something called Affirmative Healing. Affirmations (sometimes referred to as truth words) are statements said by the conscious mind, but they are aimed at the subconscious mind in order to bring those words of truth into being. They can be designed for any aspect of one’s life, such as healing, harmony, health and abundance. Just try to keep the statements short. First, find a quiet, peaceful place at home where you can sit or lie down and take some deep cleansing breaths; make sure you are physically Continued page 15 Volume 28, Number 4 Page 14 Dealing With Grief Continued from page 14 comfortable and as relaxed as possible. Here are a few examples of affirmations that might be said by grievers, but you can also design some of your own: (cid:143) I feel at peace in the knowledge that our bonds of love continue forever. (cid:143) I wake each morning feeling energized and refreshed. (cid:143) I am in harmony with the universe and all things are in balance. (cid:143) My spirit is a part of Divine Consciousness through which we are all connected.

(cid:143) With each breath I take, I inhale the healing energy of the Earth and of Divine Power. If you decide to create some affirmations of your own, just remember to keep them positive and in the present tense. Never start with: I wish ... I want ... I need ... (That’s future tense). Instead, start with things like: I am ... I feel ... I do. Keeping them in the present tense. Say your affirmations at least once a day and believe that you can manifest self- healing. It is the greatest gift you could ever give yourself. are You might also con- sider changing your rou- all tine. We creatures of habit, but when we experience a loss, some of those hab- its can often trigger a specific response in us, especially if our routine used to include someone who is no longer there. For instance, if the year- ly ritual is to gather at Grandma’s house every Thanksgiving, but you have lost someone close to you since the last family gathering, don’t stay home alone, but think about going out for dinner instead. Or perhaps some- one else can host. By doing this, you may be able to lessen the reminders that can result in feeling additional pain. You will still feel sad because that’s a normal and natural reaction to loss, but hopefully, you will not feel as para- lyzed by pain. So don’t stay alone, but change the family tradition slightly. Wing of an Angel

by Sismoon flickr.com/photos/howling-at-the-moon with each other, everyone’s memories continue to grow. All too often the last memory we have of someone is of them lying in a casket. Do you think they would want that? Or do you think they would prefer that we remember them with affection and laughter? Another way to channel some of the pain you might be feeling would be to take an action that will honor your loved one in a specific way. Some possibilities might be to donate time or some type of service in your loved one’s name. Or if you’re feeling up to it, you might consider helping another family who has experienced a loss similar to yours. And if you are computer savvy, think about putting up a website to honor your loved one; it can include photos and stories and will most likely invite others to contribute to the site as well. This is a great way to keep someone’s memory alive! I recently did a mediumistic session for a family of five siblings. They were a close-knit and caring group and they shared with me a very unique way of keeping their mom’s memory alive. After their mom passed away, they bought five sets of beautiful wind chimes, one for each of them. Then they had five special cups made to be hung from each of the chimes; each containing a little bit of their mom’s ashes. Now, whenever the air moves and the chimes gently sing, they said

it’s as if their mom is speaking to them. What a wonderful and loving gift, and quite creative, I might add. Please try to remember that even by making any of the simple changes suggested here, you will still be grieving because grief is the normal and natural response to loss. But hopefully, by taking some new actions, it will help to ease your pain slightly. We all know that there is no “magic pill” to get us through the grief process, but we can do certain things to help us cope better and promote self- healing. And always remember that just because you choose to move on with life, none of the above suggestions or actions will ever make you forget your loved one; nothing could ever do that. Bonds of love are forever, and crossing over does not diminish that connection in any way. May you be blessed with Peace, Healing, Love and Light. There is another way to consider celebrating, especially if you do it differently and in a far more meaningful way. Here’s what I mean.... I have always told my family that when I die, I don’t want them to mourn my death; I would much rather know that they are “celebrating my life.” What a wonderful way to honor someone! Perhaps you could come together as a family, but instead of bringing gifts to share, bring memories that you can share. Ask everyone around the dinner table to recount a story about your loved

one; the only catch is that it has to be a happy story, or better yet, a funny one. Those stories could provide you with a new foundation for memories, and by sharing them Doreen Molley Doreen Molloy, author of Proof Positive - Metaphysical Wis- dom, was Lab Certified through the University of Arizona as a research medium and is also a Grief Recovery Specialist. She is available for private readings, by appointment only, in person or by phone, as well as for e- readings and family sessions. 201-325-9103, doreen-at-do- reenmolloy-dot-com, www.doreenmolloy.com Page 15 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Socrates Circle In July or August of last year, before even going to Austra- lia to sit with the Circle of the Silver Cord and David Thompson, we were getting urgings to sit with a group for physical phenomena. As things often happen with us we got directions in our dreams to use the experiment room. The room had been packed up when we had new carpet installed and so this was a possibility. video frames to find phenome- nal features, allowing us to con- duct more experiments. Here are a few examples of our beginning attempts. We plan to begin working with the Raudive de- vice after Thanksgiving. We purchased A Basic Guide to the Development of Physical Psychic Phe- nomena using Energy (robinsphysicalphenomena .webs.com). This is a sixty- page booklet downloaded as a PDF file, which costs 10 euro (about $19). It can be paid for via Paypal.

The booklet was published by Science The Foundation the Scole experiments to help other groups develop their circle based on the very success- ful Scole Group. Dog or fox facing to your right. Contrast is enhanced for clarity. Spiritual during We quickly found the perfect table and chairs and got together the material necessary to completely darken the room, a task that can be quite a challenge. There should be absolutely no light coming into the room, making it neces- sary to even use material over the door. An inexpensive CD player was found and Tom cut the internal light so that it would not be illu- minated. Part of the process is to “build the energy” in the room and this is done by singing as a group. The challenge is to find music that we all enjoyed. The Scole Group used classical mu- sic as a background. We have been sitting two months, and at this point, we are all singing along to 1960s music: oldies like the Beatles. for about Man facing your left. Contrast is enhanced for clarity. It is interesting that we all totally enjoy sitting in the dark. We can’t definitely say that any of our items have levitated or moved yet. We have felt very cold air, breezes, and what we think might be touches. But one warning before you decide to start a group: most groups sit for years before getting physical phenomena of any kind. And the other advice that we

would give is that you make sure that all sitters are dedicated and get along very well. In November, right before Thanksgiving, we decided to try a video loop experiment (Klaus Schreiber method) immediately after finishing our sitting. One of our sitters, Jannet, has the time and enjoys examining the resulting Smiling man looking at your right ear. Man looking down facing your left. May have a hat with visor. Man looking to your left. Man Convinced of the Afterlife through EVP Contact with His Wife A letter from a reader published in Victor Zammit’s August 14, 2009 Friday Afterlife Report Just some thoughts, as briefly as possible, on how I became convinced of the existence of the afterlife. I shall be seven- ty-four in July 2009; my parents were Catholics as most of the French. I was not going often to the church when young, doubting very soon that what the priests were teaching was the truth. Then, having succeeded in becom- ing a doctor in veterinary medicine and a microbiologist whose professor was the most materialistic minded one, Jacques Monod, author of the scientifico-philosophical book Hazard and Necessity, Nobel prize of medicine the year I was in his class, I was not prepared at accepting easily the idea of the afterlife. However, the subject interested me very much. I read books on the main religions hoping to find answers to my search of truth, but nothing convincing seemed to come out of it. A long thinking over the

years led me to the simple conclusion that God must exist but that was all we could know. After being married during forty-four years, my dear American wife from Los Angeles died from lung cancer. We have worked hard together during all those years to contribute to developing solutions for one of our two sons who is mentally disabled, contributing to create and man- age specialized structures for him and other teenagers and adults. This long term daily adversity drove us so close to each other that immediately after she passed in my arms I felt strangely that she was still present in another way. Continued page 19 Volume 28, Number 4 Page 16 A Few Forms of Objective Evidence for Transcommunication Do you ever have the sense that you are being watched by unseen eyes? One of the more shocking forms of transcom- munication is evidence of people peering into our world. To be sure, a photograph is not evidential by itself. There are many ways that a picture can look paranormal but be just an artifact--a picture ruined by a smear of stray light, someone moving at the wrong moment or a shaky camera. With that said, there are the occasional snapshots that are difficult to explain. Like the examples on this page, they could be faked by a determined artist, but since they are not alone in their class, we like to collect them to see if a pattern will emerge. We are not saying they are

absolutely evidential, only that they need to be considered as part of the body of evidence that tells us we are not alone. The common characteristic for the examples shown here is that they show someone looking into the room. In the first example, website visitor Paul Franklin sent us a few pictures he took of his new apartment. He sent them be- cause in one, he saw two orbs which he thought might be phenomenal. We generally decline to look at orb pictures from the public, but his description of the photographs was intriguing so we asked him to send them to us. The picture in question is below, and with close inspection, you can see a pair of orbs to match the pair of high windows situated on either side of the fireplace. Paul later agreed that the orbs are probably camera flash reflected from the windows. programming on-screen at the time. Typical in these is the missing lower-part of the face. Yes, that is what might be seen with a partially painted raster-scan, but we see similar missing low parts of the face with other forms of ITC. From Joe Collins. “This photo is of my brother. Pic- ture was taken with a regular 35mm camera around 1994-1995.” Some people simply have more phenomena occur around them and past member, Shell Morrison, would have to be considered a “phenomena magnet.” The photograph taken by her shown here was one of her attempts to photograph orbs. You see

part of a two- pane window with white frame, the right side is partially open. There is a small wind chime in the right pane, and at the bot- tom, the face of a small girl, standing in the dark outside and peering into the room. Little girl looking in. Photo- graphed by Shell Morrison. As we remember the details, the girl would have to be about two feet tall. You can see in the picture that she is a toddler. Shell did not see her at the time and has not seen her since. An “Extra” Peeking Around the Corner. The vertical arrow points to an orb probably caused by camera flash reflecting from a high window. The horizontal arrow (right) points to an apparent person peeking at Paul from around the corner (inset). Picture by Paul Franklin We asked Paul who that was peeking around the corner. His response was that he had not noticed. He later ex- plained that, “I have not figured this out yet. There’s got to be a logical explanation. As I did tell you, I was alone in the room when this was taken, so I don’t think it is a physical person.” The second example is actually part of a class of evi- dence that shows people peering into the room from a turned off television set. There is always a child in the picture, and we always have assurances that there was no Observations Our first assumption is that intelligent intention

is required to impress etheric information, such as a picture or voice, into the physical. Thus, we consider all such influences to be a form of communication. Our second assumption is that we will find patterns in this communication which can tell us a little about what is happening in terms of physical processes and the interaction with people. Objective phe- nomena can be studied. When you encounter the unexpected, such as shown here, try to remember to write down the circumstances as you remember them and share the example with us. We would like to gather a collection of such reports. Some of the clearest will be used on the website, so be sure to tell us if they are offered under copyright or Creative Commons license. Page 17 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Researcher’s Reports (cid:143) Debra Caruso said, “Tell me my name” and recorded “Debra” with her new Sony ICD-UX70. (cid:143) Martha Copeland shared a recording from a Big Circle recording session. “I hear my Aunt Doris saying, “Doris needs to talk.” My Aunt Doris contacted me a couple years ago before her crossing to tell me that she planned to come back through my recorders when she crossed over. Three weeks after her death, she did come through my recorder saying, “I survived.” The message from Doris is followed by Cathy’s voice calling for her dog “Doja” who is still with me in the physical. Cathy then said, “This is Cathy.” (cid:143) Margaret Downey made a

Big Circle recording. She wrote, “First I asked if Cathy would like to leave any messages because I knew Martha wouldn’t have a chance to record tonight.” She recorded “Mom, Dad” Then she asked if there were any other Big Circle messages and got loud and clear, “It’s Braden. What’s up?” (cid:143) Cheri Kussavage sent us a picture of “Max” the Crystal Skull. Max, with the help of his caretaker, JoAnn Parks, made a visit to Nevada City, CA this past summer. Cheri spent some private time examining and photographing the skull. Cheri wrote, “I’m sharing the photograph with you because Edwina Bentinck saw some in- teresting images when this pic- ture was reduced to 5-6% in Adobe Photoshop. She noticed a man’s face superimposed inside the skull. Usually, we compare notes on images we see when photos are blown-up in size, not reduced! I also see the face when the image was reduced to thumb-nail size, but not at full size. (cid:143) Lorelei McMorrow was able to record in her brother Kevin’s (now on the other side) house before it was sold. She wrote, “I’m glad I was finally able to go over there and tape. These messages bring comfort and Mom, Dad and Chris could hear them too, without headphones. Even Chris, and Dad who are both skeptical, listened and didn’t say a word! I think their rational minds and con- crete thinking just had no explanation! (cid:143) David Mierzwinski wrote, “I finally found a frequency- selective level

meter ... These were used years ago for testing telephone equipment.... In this first test, I used a function generator to modulate and light an LED. A photomultiplier tube is used like a microphone would be (picking up the light pulses). The output of the photomul- tiplier tube is fed directly to the level meter and acts as a filter. I then rocked the control on the function generator, changing its frequency. What this sounds like at the speaker is somewhat like a radio sweep. A radio sweep with no voice applied to the carrier, just a whistle as each harmonic is crossed. This type of heterodyne noise could be a good source sound for voice formations. I thought I could hear some words live, so I started the recorder. On playback it appears it took about ten seconds for the ‘techs’ to figure out the entire setup. This was the first capture and you can hear them testing: ‘You’re breaking up! We’re still trying to test secret method.’” (cid:143) John Nelson wrote, “Several male members of our team were performing an EVP session, and a feedback event occurred. There was no obvious reason for the feedback on the digital voice recorder. It was like it was playing and recording at the same time. When the recording was played back, there was a female voice very clearly saying “How about we do stuff?” The location is at a very old cemetery that is having a large amount of EVP and

visual events occurring on every visit. The EVP we are getting are all different voices, some are not speaking English.” (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann says that she is using the test version of PC-aided audio filtering software (Goldwave version 5.55) to improve the acoustic quality of some of her EVP examples. She wrote, “Up to now, only some examples were a little improved. It is very difficult to do filtering; especially when I usually record EVP with radio back- ground in foreign languages such as Chinese, Russian SW-stations. However, one example (original voice of my deceased mother!!!) was really improved.” The clear message is (translated from German): “I have duties here as well.” (cid:143) Christopher Scott wrote, “I have been saving a coffee can to use as a Faraday cage. Until I build the cage, I decided to have a little fun with it. I noticed that the bottom of the can is pretty thin, making it a good surface to bounce sound off of like a drum. In this clip, I was in my kitchen. The coffee can was upside down over the recorder, which was placed on the granite counter. I was alone in the apartment and the room was silent. I was asking for messages from my grandfather, Edgar Scott, and record- ed “Edgar.” In another experiment he peddled a bike on a trainer holding the recorder next to the spokes and got “Your mother is with you.” (cid:143) Vicki Talbott wrote, “I sometimes ask Braden what word

I am thinking of. This time I was looking at the word ‘Muffin(s)’ on a package. I say, ‘What word,’ and I hear ‘Muffin, Mom, I like the word “purple.”’ So funny because usually my word is ‘purple.’ I’m sure he doesn’t like the fact that they were gluten free.” (cid:143) Leslie Taylor tries not to talk too much during recording sessions, but was quiet a little too long and recorded “Say something.” (cid:143) Briah West shared EVP that she had recorded using EVPmaker and the allophone file for the first time. She recorded “It Helps Speak With You,”and “Ask Lucy.” (cid:143) Yvonne Whybra wrote that she asked the question, “What is heaven like?” She was using EVPmaker. She reported, “I’m hearing ‘I’m here, I’m free.’” Volume 28, Number 4 Page 18 Big Circle Recording Dates Members continue to have good success recording on Big Circle nights and then sharing their EVP on the board with others. Please join in on January 7 and 21, February 4 and 18, March 4 and 18 and April 1,15 and 29. Thoughts From Members (cid:143) Becky Estep wrote, “I saw EVP featured briefly on the ‘Is It Real?’ show on the National Geographic channel. The EVP was part of a ‘ghost phenomena’ investigation. EVP didn’t get much respect; it was pretty much de- bunked. Overall, National Geographic did a poor presen- tation of paraphenomena in general and at times, seemed to poke fun at hauntings and the investigations of them. It ticked me

off. The ‘Amazing Randi’ was on there too.” (cid:143) Keith Clark wrote, “I was utterly thrilled to hear of your experience with materialization medium David Thomp- son and the ensuing conversation with Raudive. I have long awaited a ‘mixture’ of the working together of people in both fields, whether it be passing of informa- tion or the advancement of ITC through information given in physical mediumship circles. I’m just writing to say thank you for your work.” Russian EVP A Russian news story in Pravda claimed that a scientist received an Electronic Voice Phenomena message two days after two planes crashed in Russia. While the Federal Security Service was still clearing the accident and trying to figure out what happened, the scientist received an EVP that said, “That was a terrorist.” The story went on to say that the EVP was a sensation and was replayed on Saint Petersburg Radio. The information was officially con- firmed several days later. The Ring Barbara Fortner, Clara Laughlin’s daughter, sent us this interesting pic- ture. A friend of hers from work shared it with her. She wrote, “Her friend purchased this ring from an estate sale to give as an engagement ring to his girlfriend. After taking a picture of it, he was amazed and totally freaked out when he saw the picture… It doesn't appear to be pho- toshopped, but then again, I wouldn't really know.” Ring as we received it—top and “photoshopped” for clarity—bottom. Convinced of the Afterlife Continued from page

16 Using a few weeks after, a method close to Ouija I began to get probable contacts. My first question was to ask my wife to identify herself. As an answer, I thought I could get either nothing making sense, or some fantasy of my sub- conscious mind or her first name Isabelle which would be marvelous. The answer has been none of those three possi- bilities. It has been “Carmen” which is her second name, which we never used, followed by “Willie” which is a nickname given to her by one of her brothers when she was a little girl, and that we never used either. Isabelle had chosen an answer so totally different from what I expected that it was highly unlikely to have come from my own subconscious mind. It was so unbelievable for me that it took weeks before I realized that this could be considered as a very probable evidence of her having an afterlife. Compared to what I used to think of an afterlife before, it was so enormous a surprise that I needed to be convinced again and again. That’s what similar significant messages did, always in English. I finally admitted the truth: Isabelle was alive somewhere and she was able to communicate some words. But the best convincing evidence had still to come. In one of your Friday reports you mentioned Rob Smith performing EVP. I read the available details of how Rob was operating, and before the end of that Friday,

I bought the necessary equipment, a small digital magnetophone connectable to my PC. And to my greatest surprise, right from the first trial, I registered Isabelle’s voice, in French that time, saying “Bonjour” (hello) “Jacques” (name of our disabled child, as if to say “I keep being concerned by our son’s health and hope you can take good care of him”) “Enfin” (at last, in Isabelle’s typical tone of voice) “Je T’ Aime Sweetie” (I love you Sweetie). The doubt wasn’t possible anymore; it was a registered evidence of my Isabelle’s afterlife… So I am now totally convinced of the afterlife. I thank the Providence that guided me towards your Friday Reports, and consequently to Rob Smith’s experiments and author- ized me to communicate with Isabelle, though I miss her a lot. * Please note names have been changed to protect privacy. Victor and Wendy Zammit who have been researching the objec- tive, scientific evidence for the af- terlife for almost 20 years. See Victor website, Zammit’s victorzammit.com, to sign up for the Friday Afterlife report via email. Victor Zammit Page 19 Winter 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sarah Estep Memorial Bench There is No Death and There are No Dead This was written to help teach about EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy at atransc.org or send a letter with sign- ing instructions to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m

Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097. Or: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book: Each additional: The Estep kids, Robert, Cindy and Becky (right) standing behind Sarah’s bench. In the last NewsJournal we mentioned that Sarah’s daugh- ter, Cindy, had bought a memorial bench on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. Becky Estep sent us some pictures of it and we wanted to share them with you. The plaque on the bench says, “In loving and living memory – Sarah Wilson Estep.” Standing behind the bench are Sarah’s children: Robert, Cindy and Becky. The bench is located across the boardwalk from the music pier which Sarah loved. Becky wrote that they used to sit and watch the ocean from this location. Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be

used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 28, Number 4 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Spring 2010, Volume 29 Number 1 Learning to talk about a subject is learning to un- derstand that subject. Changing the focus of the association to

in- clude all forms of objec- tive phenomena has made it necessary for us that to explain what means and why studying phenomena in develop- ment circles will help us understand how the phe- nomena of ITC are formed. A viable surviv- al hypothesis must ad- forms of dress trans-etheric influence, and as it turns out, the model designed to de- scribe the formation of EVP may also apply to trance mediumship. That is a big deal if true, be- cause it would mean that we should look for similar etheric, mental and physical processes. If we can find ways of improving one, perhaps that will help improve other forms of transcommunication. Spring Clouds over the Desert all Your response to the organization’s change has been very encouraging. After a little more than twenty-seven years as the AA-EVP, it has been unnerving to change so much so fast. As a publicly supported organization, it is amazing how many places the name had to be changed. The website is approaching 500 pages now and each one had to be reviewed and often rewritten. We hope you will like the new look. Changing the name has dropped us much lower in some of the search tools, so it is also important to have you update your links to us. Regretfully, some of the pages you often refer people to are now “somewhere else.” The fastest way to find things is to use the new and im- proved search tool. If you have

a website concerned with transcommunication, and we know about it, it should be in the “Search Transcommunication Sites” search tool. There are several new sections in the site. We will be adding articles about spirituality and metaphysical con- cepts in the Theory section. It already includes a very good glossary of terms. The Journal section has research reports and related articles. We are developing a way to have interactive pages associated with research reports, so that selected subject-matter specialists can help us vet new articles--online for all to see. The Best Practices section contains what we hope are state-of-the-art recommenda- tions for how to work with these phenomena. These articles will also have review pages. The Circles section is going to be slow to develop a personality. It is intended to include progress reports from development circles. This issue has two articles from the Felix Circle and they will eventually be included there. A development circle is a small group of people who regular- ly meet to develop mediumship ability and establish rou- tine communication across the veil. In effect, circles are laboratories for the study of transcommunication. The Big Circle will be featured but groups that meet together to study phenomena, rather than develop personal ability are not expected to be included at this time. Speaking of the Big Circle, we anticipate a complete remodel of that section of the website. Details need to be worked out, but our hope is to have a more easily main- tained and

used memorial section and more articles about Big Circle successes. It is common for us to see comments in discussion boards and blogs like “I love that website” or “You can find everything you need at that website,” in reference to the ATransC website. We want the website to show what the real experts in the field are doing and thinking. For that, we need input and guidance, so please do not hesitate to send us a message letting us know about advancements that you have discovered in the field. Research remains an important part of our mission, and you will see in this issue that ATransC is sponsoring two new studies. You are also invited to help Alexander Mac- Rae’s new project in the article on page 16. This Viewpoint would not be complete without a men- tion of Debbie Caruso’s transition (See The Amazing Debbie Caruso on page 3). Based on good research, we have every reason to know that Debbie is just fine on the other side, but knowing she survives does not make up for not having her so active in the physical. We keep her loved ones who are still in the physical in our prayers and extend our prayers to all of you who knew and worked with her. It is rare that a person is able to have such a profound effect on so many. Tom and Lisa Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint......................................................................................................................1 The Amazing Debbie Caruso.........................................................................................................3 The Raudive Device........................................................................................................................5 Felix

Circle: Witness Report.........................................................................................................7 The Riddle of the Mystery Glyphs Solved After Fourteen Years..............................................8 Shirlie.............................................................................................................................................10 Managing Examples of Phenomena............................................................................................12 Information Gathering Using EVPmaker..................................................................................14 What is Transcommunication?...................................................................................................14 Visual ITC Perception Study.......................................................................................................15 A Call for EVP Examples............................................................................................................16 Sunday...........................................................................................................................................16 Big Circle Recording Dates.........................................................................................................16 Pronunciation of Raudive’s Name..............................................................................................17 Thoughts from Members.............................................................................................................18 Socrates Circle ITC......................................................................................................................18 David Thompson Materialization Medium Séance...................................................................18 Researcher Reports......................................................................................................................19 Objective Evidence of Survival...................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline

and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty- five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. Association TransCommunication is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contribu- tions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Web Masters: atransc.org: Tom Butler bigcircle.atransc.org: Camille Creepingbear-Wagoner Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Martha Copeland Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Advisory Panel: Cindy Heinen, Garrett Husveth, Ingrid Irwin and Edgar Müller ATransC is one of the few organizations dedicated to the systematic study of survival to help peoples understand death, dying and what to expect after transition. All staff is volunteer but research and facilities are costly. If understanding the other side is important to you, please consider putting ATransC in your will: atransc.org/donate.htm Volume 29, Number 1 Page 2 Spring 2010 Patron

Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Richard Adams Phil Akin Tom and Lisa Butler Martha Copeland Peter English Ralph Thomas Sustaining Members Richard Hatem Andrew Laird Lorraine Van Brocklin Supporters Domenic Capaldi Annette Childs William Fair Denise Fubini Gail Manner Cyiambhrle Lleggett Jackie Love Scott and Yvonne Whybra Lisa Yesse The Amazing Debbie Caruso by Lisa Butler We first heard from Debra Caruso in the fall of 2006. She wrote to us to tell us about contact with her son, Joey. He was sixteen in February of 2004 when he and her daughter, Alexa, were in a car acci- dent while on vacation in Mexico. Joey, a junior in high school, seemed to come out of the accident in pretty good shape with only a dislocated shoulder. It was eleven-year-old Alexa who was in criti- cal condition. Joey stayed at Debra’s side all day, as they would not even let her in to see her daughter. That evening, the doctors took Joey in to reset his shoulder. He was given general anesthesia and died on the operating table from asphyxiation; he choked to death. Debbie wanted to share with us the amazing messages that she was getting from Joey through EVP, and soon became one of the moms in the Big Circle. She went on to help many people reach their loved ones through EVP, and was one of the people certified as a practitioner to do recording for others. She was a tireless and compassionate person who wanted

to show everyone including her priest the truth that we survive death. Debbie was beautiful but very shy. We finally did get her to talk with the people at the Maury Show about some of her amazing successes reaching loved ones. Once the Mau- ry people saw the glowing light that came from Debbie, they wanted to involve her in several projects and featured her in many shows. She became good friends with several people who worked for the show and with the show’s resident medium, Jeffrey Wands. The second week of January, we learned that Debbie Caruso was in the hospital and that it looked very grave for her. We were all so shocked! By Friday, a priest had been called in, but the next day, the doctors figured out that she had a deadly type of pneumonia and began treating her with antibiotics. She was still with us through the weekend. On Sunday, I had a dream that I could not fully bring back, but I woke up with the feeling that Debbie would not be staying here on earth. I passed the dream off as just my worry when I heard that the antibiotics were working and that she was improving . There were a bunch of us praying. A few days later I was talking with Martha Copeland on the phone and she told me that she had also had a dream over the weekend. In the dream, she was in what appeared to be a

hospital room that had a glowing luminosity. Deb- bie and her son Joey were standing in the room. They were both smiling. Debbie told Martha to look at how much Joey had grown and how much taller he was. She told Martha to tell everyone that she was happy and did not want to come back. Martha started to argue with her that she must come back when Martha’s daughter Cathy stuck her head around the door to the room and said, “Hi, Mom.” Martha told us that the minute she focused her attention on Cathy, there was a loud noise (like coming back into her body) and she was awake. Vicki Talbott recorded several EVP messages while Debbie was in the hospi- tal. When Vicki asked her son Braden how Debbie was doing, she recorded, “She’s all right.” When she asked if there were doctors on the other side help- ing she recorded, “We won’t get any doctors yet, Mom.” In the hospital, Debbie seemed to be improving. They had gotten her off the respirator and she was able to communi- cate a little. They took some fluid from around her lungs and there seemed to be continued improvement. But the next day, Debbie’s heart beat was irregular and they put her back on the respirator. Things just went down hill, and on Friday evening January 22nd, she joined her son Joey in the place that the two called Heaven. After all was said and done, we learned that

they had tested the fluid that had been removed from around her heart and learned that Debbie had stage 4 cancer. So Deb- bie was sick, did not know it, and in her weakened state, had gotten a deadly form of pneumonia. When I went to my computer on Jan 23, I at first did not notice the blinking light on the answering machine that was from Margaret Downey. She had read a posting from Jeffrey Wands on Facebook saying “I am very sorry to pass on the news that our dear and beautiful friend, Debbie, passed away just after 10:30 p.m. Friday night.” Margaret had been up all night crying. She also recorded for EVP, and when she asked if Debbie was there, someone said, “She’s in the Big Circle.” Margaret repeated what she heard, and then recorded, “It’s me, and Joseph!” (This voice sounds like Debbie; a very happy and excited Deb- bie.) Right after that, a male voice said, “Debbie’s not dead.” The next day Christine Jenkins sent us an email saying, “My son gave me a message today, I have always been told that my son is very intuitive. I’m not sure if it is because he has cerebral palsy that this disability may heighten this ... I’m not sure but who knows. “Today he asked to speak to my husband John in private; he told John that he had a message from Debbie. John told him that he should tell me about it so he

did. “He told me that Debbie came to him and told him to tell me not to be sad because she was happy where she was. He then asked me if I still used the radio. I found this strange because he doesn’t know anything about my experiments when it comes to radio sweep, etc. Continued page 4 Spring 2010 Page 3 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Debbie Caruso Continued from page 3 He said that Debbie told him that she has a radio up in Heaven and she is able to hear us through it if we speak to her. He said they have their own station. He said that she wanted me to use the radio to communicate with her. Needless to say I took this message to heart considering he knows nothing about that and there is no way he could just come up with it. “Debbie helped me out numer- ous times with my family and other people that had contacted me about communicating via phone with their loved ones. I could always turn to her for sup- port and a helping hand. I feel Debbie will continue to help us all from the other side.” Debbie’s Aunt Ginger was wonderful during all of this. She called daily with updates on Debbie and was so grateful for all of the members’ prayers. She wrote, “There were so many peo- ple at the funeral, most of her friends I didn’t know, but Jeffrey Wands and Theresa were there and

I heard the people from the Maury Show also attended. Alexa was unbelievable. She was composed, spoke to the guests and had planned everything: … a white casket with a gold angel at each corner, her mother’s clothes, the cards, the mass and the hymns (Amazing Grace, Ave Maria and others). Alexa spoke at the mass, and read a poem she wrote for her mother that ended with, ‘Always my mother. Always my best friend.’ She is her mother’s daughter! Debbie acted in the same fashion at the time of her son’s funeral; of course, Alexa didn’t know because she was still hospitalized in Miami…. “Debbie’s book should be finished soon. Her co-writer, I believe her name is Muffet, posted on Debbie’s Facebook page and said she was going to finish the book. “My husband used to joke and said he would only believe if his mom answered a certain question that no one else would know the answer.... Debbie recorded the right an- swer from my mother-in-law. Lisa, I will never forget the look on my husband’s face.... “Did I tell you Jeffrey Wands reported that, at 3 a.m. the morning after Debbie crossed, his wife woke him and said there was someone in the house? Jeffrey went into the living room, and the radio that had been off went on by itself and the tuner was changing station to station!!!! Theresa told me that Debbie worked with Jeffrey recording from the radio moving from station to station.” Vicki

Talbott wrote, “My heart goes out to Debbie’s family and loved ones at this time. I will remember her many contributions to the field, her always trying new ways of receiving communication with those from the other side, and her strong communication with Joey, Braden, and the other members of the Big Circle. She also worked very hard to help others contact their loved ones, and with great success. Finally, I will always think of her in her Facebook picture on that really fast boat with flames coming out the back, her hair flying out in all directions and a huge smile on her face. God speed, Debbie and carry on the work!” Gary Nixon wrote, “This really, really hurts and is a huge shock! Wow ... Debbie and I have collaborated over the years, especially the last, where I would send her EVP detection gizmos and she would test them with the ‘regu- lars’ that always seemed to be around her. I was her Geek, and, she, my Geekette, so named because of the arsenal of EVP gear she had collected.” Loretta Woodward said, “I e-mailed Debbie a couple times. She was always very gracious and thorough in her answers. Her clear, pleasant voice just seemed to entice excellent responses out of the spirits. She polished the world up and made it a little shinier place to be. Now I’m sure her Heaven is happier because she is there.” Tom Butler wrote, “I often thought of Debra Ann as

a psychic warrior. She was very soft spoken, even timid in some ways, yet she was willing to try just about anything involving transcommunication. She referred to the other side as ‘Heaven,’ and did not much like her contacts to sound too human because it was a little unnerving for her. Yet, we saw her evolve from a so-so practitioner to one of the best in just a few years—a role model for the rest of us who wonder if we will ever do better. studying other “If EVP is really an effective tool forms of for transcommunication, then research- ers must depend on having practitio- ners who are sufficiently reliable to be able to test the validity of an idea or technique. Gary Nixon spoke of his relationship with her earlier. He sent us a recent recording she made to test one of his ideas. In it, you can hear the characteristic sound of Debbie’s voice ‘Merry Christmas,’ soon followed by a child’s voice answering with ‘Mer- ry Christmas.’” (The example will be on Debbie’s audio example page at atransc.org) saying When I started to work on this article I thought about one of the last pictures that Debbie had sent me. It was a lovely picture of Debbie standing beside Alexa at her sweet sixteen party. Continued page 17 Volume 29, Number 1 Page 4 The Raudive Device In the last NewsJournal, we reported that Konstantin Rau- dive spoke to us via David Thompson at a Circle of

the Silver Cord séance in Australia. David is an internationally known materialization medium, and has enabled many evidential contacts from the other side via his mediumship and the support of the circle. During the contact, Konstan- tin Raudive (KR) said to us: KR: I wish to talk to you about communication. Butlers: Good, good, we’re here to serve on that. KR: Listen to me. You have much difficulty in the past, yes? Butlers: Yes. KR: I will tell you how you may do it. Raudive proceeded to describe a hardware solution for EVP, but we withheld his instructions from what we publi- cally reported because the solution involves hardware that is both costly and potentially dangerous. We did not want the Association to be seen as recommending untested tech- nology, so for the past few months, we have been slowly assembling and testing what Raudive suggested. This is the report of what we have learned. First, here is the missing part of the transcript: KR: …I think this…. Oh what’s the name? (he is trying to think of a word) You know this lighting in the ceil- ing? A strip lighting. Tom: Yes. Chris: (Circle Leader): Fluorescent lighting. KR: Yes that is it. You understand how this is done? Tom: Yes. KR: You take … uuuu … within the vacuum … a … this is very hard. Tom: The plasma. KR: Yes, yes…wait a minute … I find it hard …You place in vacuum microphone. Tom: Okay. KR: The vacuum

exists of a vibrational shield from earth vibration. It draws into it … the voice of the spirit, you understand me? Tom: I can visualize this; yes. KR: It is not necessary to be round, it can be square. But you create microphone in vacuum state and you will see with much success. Tom: The envelope for the vacuum; is it important? KR: Yes of course it does not need to have any sub- stance other than air you see. No need for any chemi- cals. Tom: Okay KR: It must be free of chemicals. Tom: And we could have a glass or metal shield around the vacuum. KR: Yes, of course, of course. Lisa: And the microphone is to be hooked to … ? KR: It is to be hooked to a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Lisa: A reel-to-reel? KR: Yes it is much better. Lisa: Alright KR: Less technology; less to break. Lisa: We have Sarah Estep’s reel-to-reel tape recorder. KR: Yes, you must use that. Lisa: Alright. KR: She helped out much. Lisa: She certainly has. KR: Very much yes, yes. The rest of the contact is in the last NewsJournal and in the Circle’s section of the website. The objective, then, was to conduct EVP sessions with a microphone in a vacuum. We had given away our reel-to- reel recorder years ago, but it happens that Becky Estep had given the Association Sarah Estep’s recorder. It is interest- ing that Raudive said “Less technology; less to break”

in reference to using a reel recorder. In his day, that would have been true; however, in our time, a wireless micro- phone to a laptop via Bluetooth is simple. Also, most microphones have cavities in them containing air that expands in a vacuum—possibly enough to cause damage. After a crash-course in vacuum technology, we learned that the usual glass chambers are considered hazardous, and proper use includes safety glasses and a protective enclosure or screen. Chambers fail by collapsing in upon themselves because the vacuum “pulls,” rather than “push- es.” This could cause flying shards of chamber wall. We found a really good plastic chamber in Australia. It used an O-ring seal and came equipped with a vacuum gauge, valve and electrical terminals. After wiring the money, we were informed that the vendor’s insurance would not cover overseas sales. We ended up losing money on that transac- tion and several week’s time. The chamber we did purchase is a platform with a rubber seal on which a clear plastic jar rests. Once the vacuum is initiated, the suction tends to press the jar against the seal for an air-tight fit. However, the platform did not have a gauge or electrical feed, so our next challenge was to find the material and assemble the works into a system. It turns out that standard quarter-inch barbed fittings worked well, and a small water shut-off valve did hold the vacuum. With a simple hole drilled in the plastic base and good glue

to hold a sacrificial audio cable, we had a usable feed-through for the microphone. We drilled a small hole in the diaphragm of an old microphone so that it would “breathe” rather than burst. By making sure there is slack in the audio cable connecting the microphone to the chamber base, and suspending it with a rubber band, it is possible to isolate the microphone from most of the physical vibration. Continued page 6 Page 5 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The vacuum pump (right) with plastic jar adapted as a filter and vacuum chamber (middle) with suspended microphone The Raudive Device Continued from page 5 The real challenge has been the vacuum pump. Air con- ditioning technicians use a vacuum pump to clear moisture out of tubing. The pumps are inexpensive but use oil to seal the mechanism. They spew a very fine oil vapor into the room, which can be very unhealthy and is not so good for fabric. We found an excellent two-stage dry pump on eBay, but even though it was supposed to be refurbished, it developed only a poor vacuum. It turned out to be corroded inside and the seals were damaged. There was a thirty day warranty, but since we did not actually set it up until after that time, we end- ed up with a worthless pump. In the end, we made a secondary filter for one of the oil-based pumps so that it could be used indoors. We managed about 93.4% vacuum.

That last 6.6% would be costly. From my study, the 93.4% should be adequate for “proof of concept.” By that, I mean that there should be a notable difference in EVP with and without vacuum in this system if the concept is viable. The material used for this project will be listed on the website. EVP has been recorded thus far but testing has just begun. Other people have reported trying a microphone in a vacuum chamber with little improvement in EVP. What has been tried thus far is a good test of the concept, but different microphone/recorder combinations still need to be tried. Because of the cost and our current results, a hardware-intensive technique such as this is not something we would suggest for any but the most technical oriented experimenters. So the real question concerns why Raudive told us to use a vacuum. We believe that it was Konstantin Raudive speaking to us. Reading the full transcript, it is clear that he was unaccustomed to materialization and speaking through ectoplasm. He struggled to speak and to find the right words. He made his transition in 1974, a time before personal computers were common and the dominant audio recorders depended on magnetic media. His telling us to hook the microphone to a reel-to-reel recorder was in fact very evidential. As you will see, it is felt that the medium and the sitter influence the communication. But who of us would today even think about a reel-to-reel recorder! There are

two models commonly used for mediumship. In mental mediumship it is felt that there is a mind-to-mind exchange of information between the communicating enti- ty and the etheric aspect of the medium, a translation of that information via the medium’s worldview of images and experiences and expression of that translation into the physical. This circuit applies to most subjective forms of trans-etheric communication. As you will see from the email on page 17 from Chris Hood, circle leader for the Silver Cord circle, the medi- um and sitters also influ- ence the ectoplasm. We pronounce Raudive’s name with a strong “aa” as in “raw” and a silent “u” and the “ive” at the end pro- nounced as “evaa” so that phonetically, it sounds like Raadevaa. He pronounces his name as “aou” as in “rout.” He also pronounces the end with a strong “I” sound. In the séance, he pro- nounced his name as we do. Raudive struggled to find the right words. A fluores- cent light is commonly re- ferred to as a “strip light” but so is a strip of light bulbs or LED lights. However when he was offered “fluo- rescent lighting,” he agreed to it, but he then spoke of a vacuum. A fluorescent light is actually a gas-filled tube in which the gas is ionized to produce plasma. Plasma is sometimes referred to as the fourth state of matter as in solid, liquid, gas and plasma. So it is not correct to think of a fluorescent

light in terms of a vacuum, which is why I suggested “plasma.” Current research indicates that traditional EVP, the kind Raudive would necessarily be referring to, is formed out of available sound energy. Sound in the environment depends on some form of material to propagate the mechanical energy, but a vacuum is by definition the absence of mate- rial. Radio waves, light, magnetism will all pass through a plastic or glass vacuum chamber, but not sound. We conducted EVP sessions with and without the vacu- um without getting communication. Other than a little ground hum, the old Teac is a very high quality recorder and would normally require some added noise to produce EVP. Sarah routinely used a shortwave radio tuned to the frequency that pilots use and a microphone equipped with a parabolic reflector. Both devices supplied background noise which compensated for the Teac’s quiet circuit. The bottom line is that we have not recorded any com- munication with this arrangement. It can sometimes take development groups years to produce physical phenomena. Is it possible that they on the other side need to work with the device for a while before it works? We recently re- ceived guidance to try different components and placement of the equipment in the house to avoid possible electrical interference. This highlights the need to try everything that might apply. Continued page 11 Volume 29, Number 1 Page 6 Felix Circle: Witness Report Witness report about the December 15, 2009 séance written by Karin

and Walter Schnittger, published at felixcircle.blogspot.com Quite loud raps and taps were heard by the sitters several times. While some sitters felt the usual coldness around their knees, others felt a draft over their face. After about an hour, the activities focused on the plaque. These phenomena were highly interesting, and various shapes were seen on the plaque throughout the séance. I saw many images appearing on the plaque of which I would like to describe three, the ones I saw with clear features, as shown below: fan structure, mountain range and wrist with pointing finger and thumb. The phenome- non with fingers and different shapes happened several times during the séance. Twice we saw the plaque slowly rotate approximately ninety degrees. It might be interesting to mention that Hans Bender worked in close cooperation with the so-called chemists. On one particular occasion we heard a low-voiced conver- sation between Hans Bender and the chemists, obviously to discuss the next steps. At one point of the séance, Hans Bender asked the circle leader to hold the trumpet with the wide opening close to the ceiling, at the same time asking the sitters to jointly count from three to one, three to zero, and last, ten to zero, a procedure which seemed to be new to the group sitters. Arriving at the zero of the last counting, a noise like the dropping of an object was heard by some sitters. It was assumed by the circle leader that this was the

materializa- tion of an apport which was confirmed by Hans Bender later on, stating that the apport includes a message from some spirit person for Karin and Walter Schnittger. As reported by Karin Schnittger: Mountain range (left); Fan structure (middle); Wrist with pointing finger and thumb (right) Close to the end of the séance, Hans Bender mentioned: “If the information I have available here is correct, there is a greeting from a deceased friend of Walter and Karin here somewhere in the room.” After turning the light on in the séance room, we saw that there were three wax-ball type apports on the floor; one pretty large and two smaller ones. As we later learned, after the opening of the wax balls, two of them had a connection to us. The small one contained a strip of paper with pretty clear handwriting in a foreign language. It was identified later in the evening that it was a message in connection with Red Cloud. The large apport shows a stamp from Poland with a picture of Nikolaus Kopernikus and in addition, a small key and a 9 mm steel ball. It is now work in progress to solve the riddle; Continued page 9 Page 7 Spring 2010 The “Copernicus” apport from the 15 December 2009 séance: a 1973 stamp from Poland, a steel ball and a miniature key. Unknown to the Felix Group was that the Schnittgers were traveling in 2009 on Copernicus traces in Poland and Germany. After a warm

welcome by all group members, we, along with a lady from Australia, were guided down to the séance room, which was equipped with the familiar traditional English cabinet. Objects such as a trumpet, a drum, a bell, a plaque and a wind chime hanging from the ceiling were in the room. We were seated near the “point of action.” After the circle leader gave us instructions for a successful séance, the medium slowly entered a deep trance. … After the medium entered the trance state the spirit communicator, Hans Bender, welcomed the group and the guests. He told Walter and me that “I have the feeling that somebody is approaching so close that it will be possible to provide a direct message to you. It is a deceased scientist, but I cannot yet recognize who it is. I perceive that he feels attracted to you and that he is only present this evening because of you. As far as he will be able to make himself recognizable, the progress of the evening will show this.” Throughout the séance, Hans Bender gave instructions to the circle leader to change the position of the drum and trumpet and to dim or increase the brightness of the plaque (an approximately eighteen centimeter square, wooden phosphorescent plaque), and other devices. He asked the sitters several times to hold hands to strengthen the energy for the physical phenomena. Music and singing was also requested. He announced the building of energy clouds, which were recognized by

some sitters throughout the duration of the séance. Hans Bender told us that the energy field was initiated and would build up slowly now. The first phenomenon we experienced was the sound of the wind chime which we repeatedly heard throughout the séance. After that, tapping noises were heard originating from different spots at the ceiling, and they sometimes even followed the rhythm of the music. The trumpet went into the air several times. It came quite close to Walter’s face and even slightly touched the circle leader’s forehead. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Riddle of the Mystery Glyphs Solved After Fourteen Years Scole film glyphs’ origin finally identified by Walter Schnittger, published at felixcircle.blogspot.com Introduction The Scole work in the years 1995 until 1998 included several photographic experiments with unopened film. The outcome of these experiments was absolutely fascinating. There are several publications available on the Scole in this homepage—claudius-portal.de—with title: Felix Cir- cle Dec.15, 09 on website) With this apport in hand the motivation was high enough to spend hours on the Internet and finally we found it. The glyphs are identified with those on a wooden Easter Island tablet, the so-called Small Santiago Tablet. sittings in total such as: (cid:143) SPR Proceedings, Vol- ume 58 - Part 220, No- vember 1999 (cid:143) Montague Keen, Arthur Ellison, David Fontana: The Scole Report (cid:143) Grant and Jane Solomon: The Scole Experiment, 1999/2006 (cid:143) Robin Foy: Witnessing the Impossible, 2008 These publications describe all details of the film experi- ments including

our signed witness reports, so that there is no necessity to repeat it here. I just want to again make a clear statement: We, myself and my wife Karin are 100% convinced of the genuineness of the thirty Scole sittings we participated in. Figure 1: Text under top film strip: Plate 6: These strange images, with clearly discernible though rambling German phrases, originated from Polachrome film bought and controlled throughout by the Schnittgers after it was placed by them in a locked box held in Walter Schnittger's hand and developed the same evening after a sitting attended by Dr. Schoer on 22nd November 1996 (Chapter VI and Appendix D). Bottom strips are enlargements of the top strip: left and right. In particular, the following film showing glyphs and some German words “Wie der Staub” etc. was controlled by me in such a way that there was no doubt left at all: it was bought by us in a normal photo shop in Norwich, it has always been in our hands, before, during and after the sitting and it was in addition secretly marked by myself. There was no way to manipulate something and the result of the experiment was again magnificent. Dr. Hans Schaer participated in this experiment and Hans, too, carefully observed everything. Island culture. Tablets are rare now. Religious prohibition has resulted in the destruction of almost all tablets, an awful loss for the Easter homepage, rongorongo.org, that allowed us to find the glyphs. A big compliment to

the operators of this site, it is a comprehen- sive coverage of all Easter Island glyphs and tablets and their background. We have used a few of their pictures to show the tablet-to-Scole film comparison. It was the Film “Wie der Staub” with Glyphs The figure 1 shows the film in total length with words, symbols, glyphs and a lot of lines connected to them. On the right side you find the German words: “Wie der Staub in ... Wind” translated in English: “Like the Dust in ... Wind.” In the middle part are two symbols and in the left part two blocks of glyphs, in total fifty-eight glyphs. In 1996-97, we spent quite some time in libraries and on the Internet but we did not find the glyphs. We then gave it up. Now thirteen years later, it was a wax-ball apport in the Dec.15, 2009 Felix Circle sitting that showed signs on a small piece of paper similar to the Scole Film Glyphs that triggered off a new attempt in search. (See separate report Figure 2: Second section of glyphs It is important to mention that the glyphs on the film are in handwriting, a fact that made it a challenge to find the origin. Several glyphs are simplified as if they were “writ- ten” in a hurry. Continued page 9 Volume 29, Number 1 Page 8 Felix Circle Continued from page 7 Message in clay ball apport: “Red Cloud is my name.” Mes- sage in the Sioux/Oglala

sub-dialect “Lakota.” The Felix Group’s connection to the Harrowgate Rainbow Circle, whose main spirit guide is Red Cloud, may be behind this message. we believe it has a symbolic meaning. This apport was a big surprise for us. Almost exactly five years ago, Nikolaus Kopernikus surprisingly contacted us in one of our regular trance sittings with the Claudius Congregation. This sum- mer we visited the most important places of his life. The second apport connected to us was announced by Hans Bender as a greeting from a friend of ours. The apport shows on a small piece of paper a signature and some Rongo Rongo type signs (Easter Island language). Interest- ingly, the signs on the apport are identical to those received with the Scole film work about thirteen years ago where we participated. At that time we received two double lines with in total about fifty-five Rongo Rongo type signs that we were unable to decipher. Now we have some of them again and we will again try to get the meaning. Burnt paper piece with six Rongo Rongo-like glyphs and the signature of Dr. Vladimir Delavre. It was a big joy for us when we finally identified [the signature] as that of Dr. Vladimir Delavre. He passed over in 2007. In addition to his profession as a medical doctor, he is well known because of his very interesting work in trance…. We had conversations with Vladimir during his lifetime and a communication with him in February 2009 during

a Claudius Congregation sitting at our place where he asked us to pass on a message to his wife. We are very thankful to the Felix Circle team that we could participate in this séance and we send greetings the spirit world, which keeps us busy with their riddles. Delavre’s signature, taken from his publication “Transkommunikation” to Karin and Walter Schnittger have been interested in spiri- tual matters and philosophy for twenty-five years. Among many others they participated in the Scole sittings many times. Their homepage: www.claudius-portal.de provides information received through half-trance dialogues with the Claudius Congregation. Riddle of the Glyphs Continued from page 8 In the following section, the Scole film glyphs are com- pared to the Easter Island glyphs. Some remarks how to read the comparison: The numbers below the glyphs are the distance of the glyph to the start of the line in millimeters. For example a number 107 means that this glyph is located 107mm behind the start of the line. The Scole film numbers correspond to the millimeters of the original tablet. The glyph in the middle of the film is an Easter Island glyph, too. According to the official Easter Island glyph denomination as to Barthel’s it has the number 31. Figure 3: Picture of what is known as The Small Santiago Tablet. Shaded areas compared to the Scole film. From: rongorongo.org Figure 4: Original tablet glyphs versus Scole film glyphs (1996) right glyph block-upper line. Note that the film was rotated 180 degrees

to agree with the Easter Island glyphs. Final Remark To get something rare like the Easter Island glyphs in handwriting on a Scole film is already very extraordinary. There is still the question why just these glyphs have been chosen. So far we do not have an answer to this. But we very much appreciate the effort undertaken to open up human minds for things that normally are considered as impossible. Biographies Karin and Walter Schnittger have been interested in spiri- tual matters and philosophy for twenty-five years. Among many others, they participated in the Scole sittings many times. Their homepage: www.claudius-portal.de has start- ed to provide information received through half-trance dialogues with the Claudius Congregation. Page 9 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Shirlie by Allison Sniffin static. Later analysis revealed, “I was with her in the hospital.” I began to search for people who had received phone calls from deceased loved ones and found AA-EVP. Fol- lowing directions given on the website, I attempted to reach Mom, but knowing nothing about audio software, I grew discouraged. However, nine months later, Mom was to leave another clear message on her home answering ma- chine: “Pick up! You must be getting sleepy,” and at this point I decided I’d better get serious about trying to reach her. I joined the AA-EVP and immersed myself in audio technology and recording techniques. Enthused by unusual stories on the AA-EVP website and in Tom and Lisa’s book, I began hearing my mother’s voice in

radiators, in the gurgle of a coffee maker and in the grease of a frying pan ... and I would run for my IC recorder. From the frying pan I have a recording of my mother saying: “I miss you, honey. Love the apartment! You’re cooking zucchini.” (I was dicing cucumbers for a salad.) “I’m right here. I wanna call you but I can’t”. When I first started recording, I usually set the recorder on ST mode with VOX ON and relied on the recorder’s internal speakers. In this way I captured my mother’s speech inflection and accent. One of my most impressive EVP recorded this way is a Class A audio clip of my mother whispering to the cat, “Peaches, I need you.” Allison with Shirlie and the fish More recently, I have been attaching a dynamic micro- phone to my IC recorder and recording in ST or LP mode with VOX ON. I get more frequent and louder responses this way, but the sounds are hard to decipher. Recordings made this way may deliver an immediate burst of loud energy or I may wait in silence for five minutes before I begin to hear a swirling static gaining in energy, surging and receding. Sometimes I get crackles and pops, or a burst of noise that overloads the speaker and disappears. I hear speech patterns within these noises; occasionally decipher- able words will emerge from them—which for me confirm that they are attempts at communication. I also wonder if

they are technical experiments from the other side. Continued page 11 My mom Shirlie was (is) a vivacious, loquacious lady with a big smile and big sense of humor. She was a radiant person who lived radiantly. She attracted people and had a way of making them feel respected by the way she listened. She won the hearts of children, animals and adults, includ- ing every medical professional who ever met her. My brother and I were crazy about her, and during the gift of her last five years, she became my best friend and confi- dant. She said we were like two bodies with one heart. Shirlie crossed over at the age of seventy-seven on Feb- ruary 27, 2008. She had been hospitalized intermittently for seven years. She was a fighter, a “crusader” to put it in her own terms (“crusader” is an EVP received on the anniver- sary of her death). None of us expected her to die when she did; she’d beaten the odds so many times. The day she died was high drama with doctors rushing here and there, Code Blue alarms, and for me a mixture of despondence and detached disbelief. My mother couldn’t be dying! It was more like we were making a movie about her death, in which she had the starring role. The week that followed Mom’s death was a blur. Exactly one week after her death, to the hour, a tornado bore down on her house! I dove for the interior

hallway, noting that the cat who is normally terrified of inclement weather was peaceful. (Later weather records were to show there never had been a tornado. The “tornado” was to be the first of many paranormal incidents.) The next day I returned to Brooklyn where I was living at the time and found two strange messages on my answer- ing machine interspersed with condolences from friends. They were from Mom: “Miss you,” “Call me.” Impossi- ble! Could my mother still be able to call me? I remem- bered that years ago, my friend Irving had left me a telephone message on the day of his funeral. “Mom,” I shouted, “if we can really communicate this way, can you call me back?!” Later that evening a garbled call came in; a cross between breathing and whistling, with speech in the Volume 29, Number 1 Page 10 Shirlie Continued from page 10 I’ve received fascinating communications from other entities, including spirits who seem disposed to facilitate communication. Numerous times, I’ve recorded things like, “Contact”, “We’re in” or “We can help you.” One evening when I had been trying to reach my mother by phone (by calling my cell phone and leaving the line open), my brother called, and during our conversation, a deep male voice intruded with, “She’ll call at nine.” I thought I was hallucinating! Fortunately I have the recording to prove I was not. On another occasion, when I was thanking all the spirits who watch over me, I recorded

a male voice saying clearly in a British accent, “I love your soul.” Unusual phone calls continue to come to my mother’s home in Virginia. They’re usually cell phone calls not intended for anyone in my family, or fragments of telemar- keter calls, but imbedded in their static is often a message for me or perhaps for ATransC members. Recently I re- ceived, “Vicki, gimme a call,” “Allison, I did know her” and “Debra, you have look ahead.” I do get and hear my mother more strongly in her home. However once last summer in upstate New York, thinking about her strongly, I perceived the daylight around me glowing in a way I’d never seen; felt the IC recorder shake in my hand with a life of its own, as it took down a kind of morse code; and had a live telephone conversation with my mom (difficult to decipher) when I called her home phone. I sense my mother is near when she “glows” the light in the room—the lamp I am near seems to increase in intensi- ty and take on a rose-gold color. This happened last week at the doctor’s office when the doctor stepped out of the room for a moment and I was talking to Mom. Sometimes the computer next to my bed will turn on and off in the middle of the night. I have also noticed “strange” things in Mom’s house: the kitchen cabinet doors open when my back is turned and small

objects disappear and reappear. Last week, Mom’s friend Diane’s lost cell phone materialized in the passenger seat of Mom’s car when I was driving it. (Big sense of humor, like I said: the materialized cell phone is surely Mom’s most outstanding feat to date!) In New Jersey where I now live, the outdoor floodlight has turned on unexpectedly in the daytime and the lamp next to my writing desk has pulsed on and off in rhythm. One night last July when I was having a fitful night of sleep in my mom’s house, I hallucinated the bark of one of the dogs we grew up with and heard Mom say “Allison” into my ear. That same night, I had a lucid dream that the phone was ringing. “I called to tell you I’m moving,” I heard my mother’s voice say. When I asked her to where, she said, “The place where I am moving to is with you.” Since my lucid dream, EVP from Mom has not been as clear. It’s as though she’s trying to cover a longer distance, fighting more obstacles to get through. But she still glows the lights, apports objects and makes me laugh. I also wanted to share part of a reading that I received from Kristof Bathory in June 2009: “… I am in communi- cation with your mother, Shirlie…. First of all, I just want to say what a pleasure it is meeting your mother, she is such a lovely bright lively mischievous

funny spirit to work with and she’s already given me a number of chuckles. So, the first thing to know is that she is quite wide awake on the other side, which is often right beside us. Not all spirits are awake after they pass; my brother didn’t awaken and speak for about fifteen years so you are lucky that your mother can be in communication so easily. “She is still getting used to ways in which to make contact and in answer to your questions regarding whether she is communicating with you via electronic devices, she did not so much say ‘yes’ as she threw her arms overhead (in her spirit form) and shouted hallelujah! So it’s impor- tant to her, very important, that this connection has been made, is working and you are now both aware of it, as the closing of the circle makes the communication between the two of you easier. …she is learning methods of communi- cating and is quite proud of her accomplishment. She is gleeful. Says, she wants to stay in touch with you, and that, ‘I am finding my voice.’ Also, you are never to fear any- thing negative coming thru in this communication as Shirl- ie was, and is, such a child of light, that darkness cannot intimidate her light.” January 24, 2010 The Raudive Device Continued from page 6 The plasma version of the device should be tried before giving up on the suggestion. Discharge terminals could be glued into

the chamber base, and once the vacuum system is in place, it should be possible to fill the evacuated chamber with an appropriate gas such as neon from a local neon sign shop. A power supply would be needed and there are many good ideas for one on the Internet. It turns out that working with plasma is something of a hobby for some people. The challenge would be in managing noise from electrical discharge. An alternative to adapting a vacuum chamber for plasma might be to adapt a fluorescent light. The objective would be to sense meaningful variations in the electrical environ- ment inside the fluorescent tube. One approach to this might be to use a phototransistor to monitor the light intensity of the fluorescent lamp. Because what we see is secondary emission, monitoring a plasma globe might be more direct. The objective here is to determine if plasma is an active part of the trans-etheric communication. If the communicator is able to influence the plasma more easily than, say the electrical field of a transistor junction, then such influence should be detectible as a change in bright- ness of the ionized gas. Now that we have a sense of what is involved, we feel comfortable encouraging qualified technicians to test Rau- dive’s suggestion. We will attempt to test the plasma idea, but much of our time is taken with day-to-day operations of the Association, so it may be some time. Of course, we would love to receive reports

about what others have learned by trying these ideas. Page 11 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Managing Examples of Phenomena Probably the most common question a person new to transcommunication is concerned with is how to share their examples and how to manage their recordings. We will discuss some of the more important considerations here. The Techniques section of atransc.org also includes a num- ber of useful articles about working with examples. because a folder full of examples from many people who have used this system will show all of Joe Smith examples in a block, sorted by year. The location and words in the EVP should be next. Underlines and dashes instead of spaces is an Internet convention. How to prepare audio files for sharing will be discussed below. As magnetic media has been replaced by digital media, it has become more practical to store both pictures and audio recordings in a computer. The main concerns for this in- clude: (cid:143) Storage of the original or a high-quality record. (cid:143) Development and storage of an edited version suitable for printing and /or sharing. (cid:143) Cataloguing examples for future access. (cid:143) Editing of examples to make them more understand- able. Storage The average person can probably expect to store just about all of their work in one computer. The caution here is that computers can fail without notice. From our experience, backup hard drives also fail without notice. A good tactic to protect your examples is to occasionally back up

your files on a CD or the higher capacity DVD. Some online storage services, such as DropBox.com offer up to two gigabytes of free storage. A small applica- tion is downloaded to your computer, which sets up a special folder. Files that are kept in that folder are automat- ically synchronized with the online image. Storage is en- crypted, safe and accessible to you from any computer. Naming Convention It is easy to accumulate so many files that it can be difficult to find a particular file. One way to manage many files is to use a standard system for naming files. The date is probably the best reference. Second best would be subject and last best would be location or person. A good approach would be a hierarchical system of folders such as My Documents > EVP Examples > Old Haunted House > 10 January 2010. The 10 January 2010 folder would contain all of the activity from the 10 January investigation. The example might be labeled as Old Haunted House Living Room. (Always identify where you were when the example was collected and try to keep that information in the name.) The computer will sort the files so that all of the Old Haunted House files will be sorted by what comes after, such as where it was collected. An alternative is to put the number of the session in front of the name. The objective is to take advantage of the way the computer manages files to

help you sort them. If you are sharing files with others, then consider notify- ing people that you wish to protect your ownership by using the file name as: (c)Joe_Smith 2010-ohh_10Jan_I_see_you.mp3. The copy- right symbol followed by your name and the year is helpful the copyright symbol in Audacity Editing Files—General Considerations For sound, Audacity is a very good open source (free) audio management program from SourceForge.net. There is an article explaining the initial setup for that program in the Techniques section of atransc.org. There are a number of free programs for editing pictures and videos. Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 is a popular program available for under $100. These are powerful programs that allow one to do pretty spectacular things to media, but keep in mind that examples of transcommunication are phenomenal and often formed in ways that are not expected by the designers of these tools. For instance, transform EVP is formed out of the very noise the noise reduction tool is designed to remove. Edited examples also draw additional suspicion of manipu- lation to make the mundane seem paranormal. In every case, it is best to do as little editing as possible. Editing Audio Files In audio, the first task is to capture the sound file into the computer. Newer recorders with a USB port make it possi- ble to simply “slide” the file from the recorder folder to where you will store it. For older and analog recorders, it is necessary to connect the Headset or Line

Out jack to the computer’s Line In or Microphone jack, set the computer to interface that jack using the audio control panel, and use the audio editing program as a recorder. Once in and saved to the storage folder, treatment for all files is about the same. It takes us about thirty minutes to review a three-to-five minute recording. We use the Class A, B and C grading system: A Class A can be heard and understood over speakers without prompting; Continued page 13 Volume 29, Number 1 Page 12 Managing Examples Continued from page 12 a Class B needs headphones and probably prompting; and, a Class C is very difficult to hear and understand even with prompting. We look for all of these when we are seeking information, but we usually do not save the Class C. If you are looking for only Class A and B examples, then it may be reasonable to simply play the file while listening for louder utterances. What you save is a personal decision that should be made early on in your work with EVP, but saving a file that does not include an EVP makes little sense. You may eventually collect thousands of files. Also, you will probably get better at capturing quality EVP, and your early recordings may be mostly irrelevant. When considered from the con- text of the number of people recording EVP, the phenome- nal utterances are actually very common. Unless you are conducting research, and by this we

mean carefully docu- mented sessions following exacting protocols with the intention to publish your results, then it is a good idea to discard all but the best Class A and Class B examples. The question that needs to be asked is “What use is an utterance that conveys no usable information”? An EVP saying “Hi” is interesting, but there are many such exam- ples. Unless it is clearly from a loved one, and therefore has sentimental value, it may be best to at least consider the example for deletion as better ones come along. Assuming you are making relatively short recordings of just a few minutes, label the raw file that you intend to keep and then save it as an edit file. In that file, clip what is important, including your words if appropriate to give context and save that as the name of the example. It is best to edit the file in its raw format, such as wav. Then save the edited version for sharing as an mp3. Amplifying is the most common edit. Ten decibels is okay, but use all of the editing tools conservatively. The filters are effective for removing gross noise such as ground hum, but not so effective for removing noise around the EVP because the voice is usually formed out of that noise. The most effective tool for making an EVP more easily heard is noise reduction. In Audacity, select a section of the waveform that does not seem to have voice,

and in menu item Effect > Noise Removal, click on the Get Profile button. Then, select all of the waveform and open the Noise Removal tool again and click on Remove Noise. You may want to try different positions of the slider for the best result. This tool will sometimes cause a ringing artifact. Whatever you do to modify a sound file, once you have decided what is said in the EVP, restore the file to its original condition and see if you can find the same words. If not, the edits may have changed the intended meaning of the utterance and the prudent thing to do would be to discard the recording. A second safeguard is the use of a listening panel. Recruit a few friends or use the Idea Ex- change to ask people to listen to your example. If at least a few do not hear it as you do, then be very cautious about Noise reduction tool in Audacity making very much of what is said. It is important to take care not to mistake the mundane as paranormal. Editing Visual Files It is possible to find examples of visual phenomena in photographs. An advantage of working with a high resolu- tion still camera is that detail can be preserved and small features can be enlarged for examination. While video is fine for recording time-based events, its lower resolution makes detailed examination difficult. Even so, most visual evidence is finally presented as a still photograph. Photographic

evidence should be saved in its raw form and edited as a copy. Presenting photographic evidence is often difficult. On the Internet, lower resolutions are usual- ly required for online display, and substantial contrast control is usually necessary for display in printed media. While editing may be the only way a picture can be shared, it is important that the observer understands how it has been altered. We routinely crop images and increase con- trast and brightness to account for the printing process, but doing this always raises the question of credibility. The current best practice is to notify the viewer that the example has been edited and offer the original on request. Continued page 16 A frame from the recording of a video loop. The left version is as “grabbed.” Contrast and sharpness has been increased and some of the clutter manually removed in the right version. We see a girl looking to the right, two small dogs at the lower left, a dog at upper-right and perhaps a rabbit lower-right. Page 13 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Information Gathering Using EVPmaker Over two years ago, and with the help of a substantial donation from a member, the Association funded a pilot study concerning whether or not it is possible to conduct a real-time conversation via EVPmaker using allophones. The report for that study is being readied for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. That is one study, but the subject is so important that we think follow-on research should

be conducted. So while we wait for the Windbridge report, it will be helpful to ask the same question in another way. Cindy Heinen has agreed to manage a study in which the question will be asked: Using just EVPmaker with allo- phones as the input file, is it possible to ask etheric commu- nicators to provide information about a predetermined target? Here is Cindy’s introduction for the study: In line with Association TransCommunication’s focus on objection evidence for survival, a new series of trials will be started this spring. These trials will utilize EVPmaker with allophones, and with the help of the membership and other interested participants, the potential of this type of communication will be explored. The required technology for the study is the EVPmaker program devel- oped and provided at no charge by Stefan Bion, using the allophones file also provided by Stefan as an input file. It will be used in an attempt to capture words or phrases that correspond to pre-chosen target objects. Results from this year-long trial would show if EVPmaker with allophones can be used to acquire specific information. Each month, a target object will be left undisturbed in a set location. Participants for these trials will ask that their etheric communicators identify the target object via EVPmaker. The element that makes this experiment capable of producing good evidential data is that partic- ipants will not know what the target object is. This will only be known by the two project managers and

the target object holder. Participants who believe they have received an answer to the target object inquiry will send an email indicating what they believe is said, along with the attached EVP- maker file, to the project managers for each month of the trials. The project managers will collect these files for distribution to a listening panel. The listening panel, which is also blind to what the target object is, will review the files and determine if they also hear an answer to the target object question. They will submit their responses to the project manager who will compare the results to what the target object for that month is and tally the positive results for each month. Although the protocol for this experiment is rigorous, the experiment is also being designed for ease of use. With this in mind the managers of the project are refining the protocol and instruction in hopes that experienced EVPmaker practitioners, and also individuals new to EVPmaker communication, will want to participate in this important research. Cindy is a long time member of the Association and is a member of the ATransC Advisory Panel. She has participated in several published EVP research projects. Cindy has already assembled a listening panel and has selected the necessary “targets” to be identified by participants. Visit the Examples section of atransc.org to listen to the synthe- sized voice examples provided by Margaret Downey. We have just added examples recorded by Vicki Talbott. Cindy Heinen Virtually all of the

criticisms posed by the skeptical community are addressed in this study, including the ques- tion of stray radio signal, noise mistaken as voice, unno- ticed conversations in the environment and nonsensical phrases. As you can see, this promises to be an exciting and important study. (This study is sponsored by the Sarah Estep Research Foundation) You do not have to be an ATransC member to participate in these trials, so please invite everyone you know who uses EVPmaker to join in. Access to details for the protocol and trial updates will be maintained on atransc.org in the Research section. EVPmaker is an easy to use, free computer program written by Stefan Bion and available on his website. He also provides an excellent set of instructions and a down- loadable file containing the allophones you are asked to use in at: is His www.stefanbion.de/evpmaker/speakjet/index_e.htm website trials. the The trials are expected to begin in the next few weeks, so download the program and start brushing up on its use. Be sure to review the EVPmaker conversation recorded by Margaret and Vicki at atransc.org. There is also a brief explanation of her technique. A special email address is being set up to receive exam- ples; in the meantime, please feel free to contact us directly with your questions. You may also reach Chris and Cindy on the Idea Exchange. What is Transcommunication? Ernst Senkowski coined the term, Instrumental TransCom- munication or ITC, as a name for communication across the veil by all

forms of technology. ITC includes EVP, but also includes visual forms as well as text. “Transcommunication” means communication across a divide of some form and depends on the context for mean- ing. It could be used as trans-border communication, for instance. Of course, we use it to mean communication between the etheric or nonphysical aspect of reality and the physical. Here is the important point: it is seen as a two- way exchange of ideas. Continued page 17 Volume 29, Number 1 Page 14 Visual ITC Perception Study ATransC has started an online study to address the ques- tion: “Is the face I see in the ITC picture my imagination or is it really a face?” The approach is to show unlabeled examples to website visitors and provide a text field for them to state what they see. This approach has provided important information for EVP and we think having input from the public will also provide a better sense of how visual forms of ITC are perceived. Audio Phenomena In a previous study with audio phenomena, Class A exam- ples were used and what experienced practitioners agreed they said was considered the “right answer.” The examples were only marked as “Example” with a unique number so participants had no way of knowing what they were thought to say. A blank text field was provided for each example so that participants could type in what they heard. Three trials were conducted with a total of seventeen exam- ples containing a

total of sixty-two words. An example that was just a poorly verbalized “live” voice was used and produced an average 32.9% correct word recognition. A radio-sweep example was also included and produced av- erage correct word recognition of 2.5%. 512 people partic- ipated making a total of 9,002 possible correctly recognized words. 2,721 words were correctly reported or 25.2% overall correct word recognition (%Rw). The report for this study is in the Journal section of the ATransC website. It includes a discussion of some of the factors thought to affect how EVP are heard. The main point to be learned from the study is that EVP are com- posed of real words that can be experienced in an expected way. It shows that at least some EVP are not just imagined to be real words. In many examples, the circumstances of their recording makes the words in the example meaning- ful, and therefore, certifiable as communication. The fact that, on average, only 25% of the words were correctly reported provides some support for the idea that EVP are not formed with the cues people are taught to expect in order to find meaning in noise. In effect, EVP is something of a learned language. The results are also in line with what one might expect for a casual listener since visitors probably do not often use headsets or work very hard to understand inherently poorly “spoken” words. At the very least, the study can be used to dispel the popular

skeptical claim that EVP have meaning because of pareidolia, which is the skeptical psychologist’s way of saying that we imagine meaning where there is none. Visual Phenomena Visual forms of ITC occur as meaningful shapes where there should be only random visual noise. In this issue of the NewsJournal, “Researcher Reports” and the article, “Sunday” include examples of visual ITC collected using light reflected from moving water and found in light formed with a video feedback loop. Each technology has a different problem or advantage and none produces photographic-quality images, so as with EVP, the challenge is to find the best technology or tech- nique. We have been using the video feedback loop in the visual ITC sessions we conduct at the end of the Socrates Circle sittings. Examples of what we are collecting are in the “Socrates Circle ITC” article in this issue. Please use the text box below to describe what you see in these pictures. All are the same image: Unedited at left, enhanced contrast (middle) and grayscale. (Example 5 from online study.) The online study will include examples from the Socrates Circle that have not been circulated, which is important for a “blind” study. You will see in the example shown here that the “raw” image is shown alongside an enhanced version in which mostly contrast has been changed to make the image more evident and a grayscale version that might help the viewer make out detail. We think the three ver- sions will help keep

the person from “locking on” to a part of the image rather than considering the entire example. This form of these phenomena is very “holographic” in nature and viewing perspective is important. Stepping back to see the image at a different scale also helps and certainly it is better in color. The technique is explained in the Techniques section of the website. In essence, an analog camera is connected to the input of an analog television set so that the camera “sees” what it has just seen. The resulting loop produces a stream of chaotic optical noise in which small regions of order naturally emerge to produce splotches of color and light and dark which rush from the center to the edge of the screen like warp drive in a movie spaceship. The features form in the medium intensity patches of light and it is harder to produce such patches using digital equipment. Please consider dropping by atransc.org to tell us what you see in the examples. A link to the study is on the front page. Feel free to invite your friends and post information about the study on discussion boards. We gather partici- pant’s IP numbers with the form and screen for repeated reports. In effect, we only use one submission from each computer. Page 15 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Managing Examples Continued from page 13 General Current understanding shows that audio and visual exam- ples of these phenomena are best thought of as simulations of the

physical thing. For instance, words in EVP are spoken “like” a physical person speaks them but not exact- ly the same. Cues in spoken words we are trained from childhood to look for in order for us to distinguish words from noise, are often missing, making even the best EVP more like a new language that takes experience to learn. Visual forms have similar differences that may require getting used to before proper perception. There are also cultural and worldview reasons why a person may not experience the examples as expected. There is a psychological response to unexpected informa- tion referred to as inattentional blindness. We believe there is a similar response that might be called incredulity blind- ness. Too often, we have shown a very clear example to people only to have them say that they just see smudges of color, or hear noise. You should not assume that people you show your exam- ples to will see or hear them as you do. To avoid that lack of communication turning into accusations that you are delusional, be careful to explain what you are showing and how it was altered if any. Make sure they understand that you are showing them something that is “like” the real thing. Also, take advantage of the Idea Exchange to learn how others see or hear your examples. These phenomena are real enough; it is up to us to learn how to communicate that reality to others. A Call for EVP Examples Alexander

MacRae has asked for help collecting at least 200 good EVP examples for a research project. He did not want to divulge exactly how they will be used to preserve the “blind” quality of the study, but in the past, he has used listening panels to demonstrate that recognizable informa- tion is present in what are thought to be EVP examples. He has had studies published in the Society for Psychical Research. He wants only up to seven of the very best from each person to avoid having the study about one experimenter. He also needs to have EVP recorded in the usual way so radio-sweep examples would not be acceptable because of the live voice problem. EVPmaker using live voice as an input would not be acceptable. Since he has used a few ATransC members as listeners in the past, please avoid discussing your examples on the board, but it is okay if you have previously posted them. It would also be good to have a friend listen to the examples to help you be sure they are of pretty good quality. This kind of study is very important for our field and your support will be appreciated. Send the files with your interpretation of what is said to [email protected]. Be sure to tell him you are with the ATransC. Sunday A couple who are friends with several Association mem- bers experienced the transition of their dog named Sunday, at the beginning of the year. Sunday had been their

beloved companion for many years and they were devastated by the loss. Members Margaret Downey and Vicki Talbott immedi- ately understood how they felt. They have both had a very close and cherished dog recently cross over, and so they went to work to contact Sunday. Vicki asked her son Braden, who is on the other side, “Braden, how’s Sunday?” and got the message “She likes us in Heaven.” She next asked, “Braden, is Sunday part of the Big Circle now?” and received “She’s all around the playground,” followed by, “He’s noooot (drawn out) kid- ding.” Margaret tried for ITC pictures using her water technique (itcdeadpeople.com). She asked for Sunday to appear and told us that she had never seen an animal try to come through so hard. Margaret actually received about seven ITC pictures that look like Sunday. The couple wrote that they were heartbroken at the loss of their dog, and so touched by the work of Margaret and Vicki. They could hear the EVP and said that the images that Margaret sent definitely resembled their dog and that all of this has given them great comfort. They wrote, “We can’t express how grateful we are for Margaret and Vicki’s efforts on our behalf. While nothing can fill the void when someone loses a loved one, a selfless act of kindness by a friend can do wonders.” Big Circle Recording Dates Record on Big Circle night and then share your messages on the ATransC message board, the Idea

Exchange. Up- coming recording dates are: April 1, 15 and 29 May 13 and 27 June 10 and 24 July 8 and 22. You don’t have to record on those dates to share messages that you feel are coming from those on the other side who are in the Big Circle. Often, members get messages that help other members, so share what you get at atransc.org/ideaexchange/ Volume 29, Number 1 Page 16 Debbie Caruso Continued from page 4 I could not find it anywhere on my computer. I wrote to her Aunt Ginger for a copy and then starting looking through every email from Debbie for the last two years. I found the email, but what a shock! There were pictures of Alexa and her friends but the picture of Debbie and Alexa was now a picture with Alexa cut out. This was just impossible. I had never seen this picture and I could tell by the other pictures of Alexa and the bit of dress that you can see in the photo that it was the picture that I had seen of the two of them. Tom remembers the picture and will vouch for me. I decid- ed that Debbie did not want Alexa’s picture in the News- Journal and wrote to Aunt Ginger, telling her not to look for the picture anymore and I told her about this strange occurrence. She wrote back, “Maybe Debbie is trying to protect her. About a week ago, I tried to send

Alexa a private message on Facebook (twice, which I always do and the messages always go through), about a private matter, thinking to myself would Debbie want me to tell her this, and both times the messages would not go through ... sooooo I took the hint. lol” Martha emailed us to say, “Another thing happened about Debbie. When I was driving to meet Ginny at my dad’s old place, I felt Debbie around me and I asked her, ‘Debbie, how are you doing?’ Her voice was inside my head and she was giggling and replied, ‘Fine, but I’m really getting a kick out of everyone trying to reach me on their recorders!’ Ginny and I met for lunch before going to Dad’s old condo and the first thing Ginny said was, ‘I’ve been trying to get Debbie on my recorder.’” Lorelei McMorrow wrote, “I remember when Debbie and I were phone taping shortly after Kevin passed. (Deb- bie did this for so many members who had lost loved ones!) Debbie was so happy to be getting the messages that we were. She said, ‘Lisa is going to be so excited! This is really great for ATransC and the Big Circle!’ “I was sad for myself [when I heard the news] because I had hoped to meet this lovely lady one day. I’ve enjoyed her website (closed now). It seems one’s passing brings tremendous grief (on this side) and overwhelming happi- ness and contentment to that person and loved ones

on the other side. I guess to really be able to go on with one’s life after loss is to stop dwelling on what was and to envision their beautiful new lives. I’m glad too that Debbie didn’t have to suffer any more than she did. And I have a feeling that her wonderful spirit is going to continue to help us to communicate with the other side. Funny, as I was writing that sentence the phone started ringing. The answering machine picked it up but no one left a message....” Christine Jenkins wrote, “I remember a session that Debbie and I did together using the telephone. Debbie always wanted to know what Heaven was like ... she was determined to get an answer! In this recording, Debbie asked ‘What’s Heaven like?’ The response sounds like ‘It’s beautiful.’ I believe it just got a little more beautiful up there now that Debbie is there.” Pronunciation of Raudive’s Name When we received the communication from Raudive last September in the Circle of the Silver Cord (COSC) (silvercordcircle.com), we immediately noticed that he pronounced his name differently from the way we have heard it pronounced at various places on the web. We mentioned this in the article about the communication, stating that we did not know why he pronounced it differ- ently. After the Journal went out, Chris Hood, circle leader of the Circle of the Silver Cord, wrote to us to say: “I feel that maybe the reason for the apparent

change in pronunciation of Raudive by himself, was due to the essence of David’s influence still present in his ectoplasm that is utilized by those communicating. Although he is in a deep trance, an element of his individuality remains within the ectoplasm, and this can be impressed upon those communicating, causing a ‘corruption’ of what is being said, or indeed how it is said. All sitters present (COSC members included) can influence what is said, or how, just by their own thoughts, emotions and state of mind, as the combined energy of all present is harnessed to allow communication to take place. “This is why we have to be guarded as to who can sit, what their current state of health is, the motive behind wanting to sit and their level of excitement and expectation. All of these factors and more, have an impact on the communication and its effectiveness. As we know, thoughts possess energy, and these can influence the com- munication, phenomena, etc. “I hope this may help with understanding the complexi- ties surrounding ectoplasm and its use in communication.” This did help us understand because the way that Rau- dive pronounced his name is the way that we learned to pronounce it through Sarah Estep. However, after receiv- ing the communication and listening to some of his other communication, we came to know that we have been mis- pronouncing his name! Transcommunication? Continued from page 14 The model we use is based on the Survival Hypothesis and

holds that trans-etheric influences are enabled by a physical person, but initiated by a person in the etheric. These are considered deliberate acts. All forms of EVP are obviously a form of transcommu- nication because we think they are deliberately caused in our equipment. A hauntings event, such as an apparition, is a trans-etheric influence and is thought to be enabled by a physical person but caused by a discarnate one. Thus, many hauntings events are considered transcommunication and objective evidence of the existence of the etheric commu- nicator. The focus of the Association TransCommunication is on objective evidence of transcommunication that shows the existence of survived personality. Page 17 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Thoughts From Members (cid:143) Becky Estep wrote to say: “I saw ‘The Haunted’ last night on Animal Planet (not to be confused with ‘The Haunting’ on Discovery Channel). ‘The Haunted’ fea- tures paranormal investigations of purported haunted locations, but with an emphasis on how the animals/pets at the location are affected. Last night’s show was of a house in Waldorf, MD of all places. The ‘Ghost Buster’ investigation group used something called a ‘Ghost Box.’ It looked like a somewhat modified transistor radio and the voices seemed to indicate what a radio sweep might sound like. I had a hard time hearing the EVP messages that came through but three predictions were made by an entity through EVP and all three predictions came true.” (cid:143) JoAnne Feldman wrote: “I wanted to let you know that

I really liked the new changes with the NewsJournal. I am very excited about physical mediumship circles. Like you, I got to sit for the November 13th David Thompson séance in Florida. I did not get touched but could hear footsteps and William’s breathing when he spoke with a sitter a few seats from me. I find that getting evidence from a séance like this one is very powerful. I was on cloud nine for a few weeks afterwards. Now I find that my left brain, the Doubter, is making its comeback and trying to talk me out of it. It’s not doing a good job, as it can’t come up with any credible arguments [against the phenomena]. That is great progress for me.” (cid:143) Georg Lindström wrote to say: “Thanks a lot for the Winter 2010 NewsJournal. How interesting it was to read about physical phenomena. I have some years ago told you about my own experiences when sitting as a guest sitter in physical home circles in England. I have been very privileged to have had fourteen sittings with Stewart Alexander, Colin Fry and The Scole Group. “During the sittings with Stewart, they were allowed to use red light for short times, when the spirit people gave the permission to do so, and in one of the sittings in which the red light was used, the most remarkable phe- nomenon happened for me. My father’s hand material- ized in front of my eyes! I was able to see

a lot of ectoplasm streaming round the central table and rising on the top of it. When in quite a short time I saw the white substance becoming more solid, and after that, I could see fingers growing out of the hand one by one, just less than a meter from my face… Then the hand touched me gently. “I have been a Circle leader for thirty-one years. First we started as a mental circle sitting for absent healing and after a one-week residential physical class at Stansted in 1993, we started to sit as a physical circle…. We started to work with EVP during our sittings in October 1996…. “We didn’t have Finnish books about physical medi- umship and its phenomena so I wrote a book about that in 1996 and a book about ITC in 2005, together with Irma Weisen.” Socrates Circle ITC Here are video loop examples from the past few meetings of the Socrates Circle. All are collected using an analog video camera and television set. As always, we are trying to find the best combination of light, focus and distance to give the clearest features, so you will notice quite a range in textures. We hope that by sharing these examples with you, you will decide to try for yourself. It is an easy way to collect trans-etheric phenomena that will challenge your imagination and the closed minds of your skeptical friends. At left is a woman from her waist up. She appears to have

her hands on her hips and is facing toward your left ear. In her hair, above her left eye is the face at the right. If you look closely, you will see many other partially formed faces. It is common for major features to be partially obstructed by small- er features as if every bit of useful energy must be used. At left is an ITC image of a man that we think looks a lot like Arthur Conan Doyle David Thompson Materialization Séances in Florida in June 2010 The Circle of the Silver Cord, and Materialization me- dium David Thompson (silvercordcircle.com), will be giving demonstrations at the Shrine of the Master Church in Sarasota, Florida this June 17 - 26 (shrineofthemaster.com). There are four materializa- tion séances as well as workshops with David and other workshops with renown mental medium Christine Mor- gan. For information and registration forms call the Shrine of the Master at 941-953-6620. Volume 29, Number 1 Page 18 Researcher Reports (cid:143) Phil Akin shared this video feedback ITC image from a video feedback loop session. He posted several very good images on the Idea Exchange. (cid:143) Susie Alverson decided to ask her son Lance who is on the other side if he had met the Big Circle children and if he had met Braden. Vicki had told her she felt that her son Braden and Lance had already hooked up. Susie said Vicki was right saying, “Can you imagine my excitement when I got an

answer to my question of, ‘Lance do you know Braden from the Big Circle?’ to which I heard, ‘Its Braden.’ Miraculous stuff!” Susie also wrote to Chris Scott saying, “Thank you again for your dedication to all of us who aren’t computer goo roos! Without your help, this post would not have been possible.” (cid:143) Rhonda Burton shared a picture of an eagle’s head that she got in a water video session. In one of her sessions recorded on Big Circle recording night she got “Kate,” and another EVP that said “That’s Rhonda.” (cid:143) Margaret Downey also recorded on the Big Circle recording night after Debbie’s transition. Before she could even finish saying, “It’s Big Circle night,” she recorded “Cat.” Other messages were, “Friends … Rain … Shelly,” and “Call Melanie phone I’m alive” Margaret also heard “Debbie.” She asked “Debbie is that you?” and recorded “It’s me.” (cid:143) Niall Egan wrote, “I have been reading and listening with interest to all the messages coming from Debbie Caruso. I of course did not know her, but I was aware of her and had looked in on her website a number of times. I was saddened to learn of her passing. Last week … I also attempted to communicate with her, and having heard a message that could have been from her or about her, I later asked, ‘Was that Debbie Caruso I heard today?’ On listening back, before I spoke at all, I heard the words, very faintly, ‘This is

Debbie.’ This is recorded directly into Audacity, with background radio slightly set off an AM foreign language station.” (cid:143) Debbie Helms wrote, “Margaret Downey has recorded my mom for me twice. I so appreciate it. Words can’t express but I’m sure she knows! Thanks Margaret!” (cid:143) Christine Jenkins recorded on the first Big Circle date after Debbie Caruso’s transition and recorded, “Guess who’s talking” in a voice that sounded like Debbie. She also recorded, “I can see … the Big Circle” and “Hi Christine … Big Circle.” (cid:143) Lorelie McMorrow wrote that she did a recording and asked for her brother, Kevin, and Grandpa to be there. She wrote that, “Then somewhat hesitantly, I asked for Debbie. I told her that I knew a lot of people were probably trying to contact her, so if she was busy, that was okay. The first voice I heard upon playback was someone saying, ‘Let me do it.’ Then a voice clearly said, ‘Kevin.’ It’s easily heard without headphones. I played it for Mom and she heard it right away. Immediately after that a voice whispers, ‘Grandpa, tell it to the lady too.’ Then a female voice says, ‘Jewelry.’ (I read in Debbie’s obituary that she was a jeweler.) Right after that, a male voice says, ‘Know it’s them.’ I also told Debbie that I was sad she passed, but happy she’s with Joey again. When I played the tape back, a female voice said, ‘I can hear it’ and ‘Thank you’.” (cid:143)

David Mierzwinski wrote, “After reading about ‘cross- over talk’ I decided to try my own experiment using my Yahoo OOMA phone. My idea ... is to generate just enough background noise to trigger the vocoders in the voip (voice over IP) phone network and record the re- sults. For a noise trigger I used an RS hack radio set to FM. The output of this radio’s earphone is connected to the microphone input on my computer phone (Yahoo). I set the radio to just trigger the vocoder and let it sweep. I record the results off the earpiece of my OOMA phone via an inductive microphone pickup designed for record- ing phone calls. The recording had a slight hum so this was filtered out. “I’m getting tons of what I call ‘chatter.’ An announce- ment mentioned my friend by name who passed in 2004 followed by my code name (Informer). … My friend was very smart when it came to math and science. He was also into music and studied it. The message is in code so I have to figure out exactly what he is thinking. He mentions ‘first note.’ I am a dummy when it comes to musical composition, to me ‘DO’ is the first note.” (cid:143) Vicki Talbott recorded an EVP that said “Gerrick stopped working.” She said that Braden was trying to give her facts that would validate it was him. Vicki wrote, “Gerrick is his cousin’s husband, whom he knew well, and indeed, he lost

his job recently.” (cid:143) Briah West shared some ITC pictures made with the moving water technique. This was a first attempt! She also shared a recording of her mother saying, “I can speak to you!” She commented on how very important the recording was to her and how she had cried tears of joy when she heard it the day before her mother’s transi- tion thirteen years ago. (cid:143) Yvonne Whybra was asking for Matt and got three mes- sages with both “Matt” and “Matthew” in them. Page 19 Spring 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Objective Evidence of Survival Under the name of the organization, we have added the phrase, “Objective Evidence of Survival.” EVP is objective evidence of survival, as are some forms of mediumship and most hauntings events. However, not all forms of phenom- ena are objective evidence of survival of personality, so how do we tell which is which? “Survival” is of course, survival of our personality after our physical body is no longer able to sustain us in the physical. We think that we can prove that personality continues in this way, so we say there is evidence indicat- ing continued existence of our loved ones which can be measured, saved in a database, shared with others and studied in an objective manner. There is a lot of “evidence” for this, but we focus on the objective form because it can be replicated and the extent to which the experiencer influ- ences the result can be identified.

Subjective evidence is what we receive from dreams and mental mediumship. We are not saying that these are not valid, only that we cannot really study them. That is more the domain of parapsychology while objective evidence tends to be more the domain of physics. It may be more correct to say that we are in the field of survival studies because we focus on survival of personality rather than the study of personality. To determine if a form of phenomena is appropriate for this Association, consider first if the evidence can be seen, measured or in some way quantified without depending on a person. If it depends on the telling of a person, then we may consider it as part of the larger event, but we cannot include it as proof of survival. There is No Death and There are No Dead This was written to help teach about EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy at atransc.org or send a letter with sign- ing instructions to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus mail costs Mail Cost First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097. Or: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus mail cost; include tax if you live in GA. Please make

check to: Martha Copeland Mail Cost First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for

the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 29, Number 1 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Summer 2010, Volume 29 Number 2 Grand Teton National Park Photograph by Tom and Lisa Butler Viewpoint EVP can be tried with reasonable expectation of recording the voice of someone on the other side by anyone with an audio recorder. The same can be said for most forms of visual ITC, so it is reasonable to say that instrumental forms of transcommunication are accessible to nearly any- one willing to make a small effort. Mental mediumship is also pretty easy, although like ITC, the old adage, “the higher, the fewer” does apply. We are apparently born with these abilities, but like athletes, some of us are just natural- ly more able than others. The phenomena of the séance room are quite another story. We think ITC requires a lot of subtle energy and the ability to manage such energy may be one of the factors determining a person’s success. Phenomena of the séance room require a whole lot more subtle energy. That is thought to be why a circle of several people is required and why the ability to manage such a large amount

of the energy is so rare. We do not have the statistics, but it is apparent there are many circles in the world but only a few are producing meaningful phenomena. It is common for a group to meet on a regular basis for several years before meaningful transcommunication oc- curs. That means that usually four or more people are able to get along well enough to gather week after week with no apparent reward. This form of phenomena is very difficult to produce, yet it is likely a necessary piece of the puzzle to be understood before transcommunication is finally understood. To speak bluntly, if we are to understand the survival of our personality, séance phenomena must be systematically studied using modern technology just as ITC is being studied today. The Association was changed from AA-EVP to ATransC in recognition of this reality. For the past six months, we have sat in a development circle we know as the “Socrates Circle”. You have seen some of the visual ITC that has come from that circle. Our objective is to eventually estab- lish communication with our friends on the other side so that we can explore such phenomena as direct voice, ap- ports, levitation and materialization. We know of no way to effectively study these phenomena without producing them under controlled conditions and that is what we intend. As part of this effort, we have traveled to Australia to meet David Thompson and sit with the Circle of the Silver

Cord. We have been invited to sit with Kai Muegge and the Felix Circle in Frankfurt, Germany and with Stewart Alex- ander at Cober Hill in the UK. As Robin Foy has noted, communicating entities in development circles are learning more about communication and continue to learn and make advancements in that communication which necessitates our trying to understand and keep up with these advance- ment from our side. We feel extremely fortunate to be invited to sit with these groups and are very excited about doing so. The travel is both costly and time consuming, and it makes keeping up with daily operations of the Association a little complicat- ed. Even so, we feel very honored and look forward to reporting our findings. With the support of our friends on the other side we eventually hope to report great things coming from the Socrates Circle. As an aside, it is probably important to note that your membership dues and research donations are not being used for this study (the trips), as it would quickly deplete the organization’s reserves. We are funding this study, but of course, we are always thankful for moral and financial support from you. The Big Circle The web pages for the Big Circle are now based on the open source Content Management System (CMS) known as Joomla. It is enabling us to provide a more dynamic service including the new Contact Registry. Christine Jen- kins, Karen Mossey and Vicki Talbott have volunteered to be in

the Contact Registry Committee. Members who are in the Member Registry (address sharing list) can “spon- sor” loved ones in the Contact Registry. Each participating member would have a page on which a picture of one or more loved ones will be posted along with biographical information sufficient for others to possibly match an EVP with a person in the Registry. A person with a contact from the other side would use Continued page 14 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................................1 Stefano Makes Contact Using Skype.............................................................................................3 Felix Circle Photographs Ectoplasm in Red Light.......................................................................4 Not Tangoed - But Felixed!!............................................................................................................5 Computer Speech Phenomena: Multitrack Method of Recording EVP.....................................7 The Wisdom of Grief.......................................................................................................................9 TransCom Research Platform......................................................................................................10 Synthesized Voice EVP by Vicki Talbott.....................................................................................11 Maury Show Dedicated to Debbie Caruso..................................................................................11 Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones.......................................................12 Holographic ITC............................................................................................................................13 Electronic Communication...........................................................................................................15 News From Members.....................................................................................................................17 Researcher Reports........................................................................................................................18 Thoughts From Members.............................................................................................................19 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................19 How Your Membership Dues are Used.......................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are

considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. Association TransCommunication is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contribu- tions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Web Masters: atransc.org

and bigcircle.atransc.org: Tom Butler Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Martha Copeland Contact Registry: Christine Jenkins, Karen Mossey and Vicki Talbott Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Research: Cindy Heinen, EVPMaker-Allophone Study Project Manager Advisory Panel: Cindy Heinen, Garrett Husveth, Ingrid Irwin and Edgar Müller ATransC is one of the few organizations dedicated to the systematic study of survival to help people understand death, dying and what to expect after transition. All staff is volunteer but research and facilities are costly. If understanding the other side is important to you, please consider putting ATransC in your will: See atransc.org/donate.htm Volume 29, Number 2 Page 2 Summer 2010 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Art Counts Yvonne Whybra Sustaining Members Margaret Downey Don and Betty Nauratil Christopher Scott Yvonne Whybra Supporters Donna Allbritten-Cun- ha Martha Copeland Dennis Fassler Robert Fenn Gayle Ihlenfeld Dorothy Lee Phil Martin Lorelei McMorrow Linda Noel Ellen T. Pugh Eugene Streicher Robert L. Wilson Stefano Makes Contact Using Skype Sonia to believe that something didn’t work as expected and that there might have been interference by English- speaking spirits. There were more then sixty messages recorded during that session. Here are a few: Sonia: “Stefano, você esta me ouvindo?” (“Stefano, do you hear me?”) Answer: “Yes, yes! I’m close!” (Original answer in Eng- lish) Comments from the mother: the voice in this recording is exactly his. (Note of Translator: dialogues are translated from Portuguese, except where noted.) Sonia: “Pode falar mais alto?”

(“Can you speak louder?”) Stefano mixes Italian and Portuguese: “c'e o pai!” (He is saying, “Father is here!”–to inform that his father was by his side) Stefano continues to answer in the manner the family used at home, mixing Portuguese, English, and Italian: Sonia: “Vamos ver se ele fala português?” (“Let’s see if he speaks Portuguese?”) Stefano responds: “Repito!!!” (“I repeat!” with an American accent). Cristina was deeply moved when she heard the recordings because the voice was that of Stefano’s including his usual accent, and he also made the exact same error in using certain Portuguese verbs. To Sonia’s surprise, Cristina revealed that Stefano lived in Brazil until he was three years old, and his Portuguese (the least used language at home) had an American accent. This was mixed with some words in Italian, which was the language that the family used to communicate, because the father was Italian. Cristina was absolutely mystified when listening to the recordings that Sonia had done in Brazil, because the language mixture that she heard in the answers was so evidential. Sonia tells us, “Cristina’s son was born in Brazil and left the country in early childhood. Since she didn’t mention this fact, I assumed that, as a Brazilian, he would answer in Portuguese during the recording. He died in a motorcycle accident, while returning home late at night. A pedestrian crossed in front of him. Both died. “Cristina believes that the pedestrian was not distracted, instead, he was playing a dangerous game

called ‘chicken’ when someone runs ahead of oncoming traffic as ‘chick- ens’ do. “The game was not confirmed by the pedestrian friends (obviously). Worse, the pedestrian’s family sued her, de- manding compensation for the pedestrian’s death. Poor Cristina, if losing her son was not enough, she had to face a huge debit of around $120,000. During this emotional rollercoaster she asked for my help, and we obtained the recordings”. Other family members communicated as well. One mes- sage was “Volto por Sergio!” (“I return for Sergio!”) Cristina explained: Continued page 8 Page 3 Summer 2010 Stefano and Cristina Sonia Rinaldi reports that, quite awhile back, they received messages from their guides to record using Skype. At the time, she had not even heard of Skype but later learned that it was an Internet program for making telephone calls around the world at a very low cost. They followed their guides’ advice and installed Skype along with PrettyMay, another compatible program, so that they could do some tests recording conversations. Sonia told us, “It was perfect! These programs enabled three-way calls, so we could bring together grieving per- sons, their departed loved ones, and us. This newly found possibility replaced the previous process, when we used the telephone to speak, and to record with the other side. We use a background noise (made up of sounds that were fully mixed until the content becomes unrecognizable as a se- quence of disconnected phonetics), which our communica- tor friends can reorganize to compose

their answers.” Sonia’s translator, Cristina, is a Brazilian who lives in the USA. She was going through a very difficult time because of her son’s death and was anxious to confirm that her son Stefano was doing well in his new life. Stefano died at age 26 in a motorcycle accident, on 23 December, 2007. Such sudden departures are hard to bear, and although Cristina knew the Spiritist Doctrine,* her energies were badly de- pleted. Knowing this would truly bring solace to her heart, she asked Sonia to help her contact her son and both agreed that they would try to contact him through Skype. Cristina was on Skype in the USA, and Sonia in Brazil was trying to connect them with Stefano in a three-way conversation. Once the recordings ended, Sonia sent them all to an anxious Cristina. Sonia was feeling a little disap- pointed because Cristina had told her that Stefano was a Brazilian, born in Rio de Janeiro, and Sonia expected the recordings to be in Portuguese. Instead, Stefano’s messag- es were in a mix of Portuguese and English, which led Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Felix Circle Photographs Ectoplasm in Red Light Based on a report at felixcircle.blogspot.com shows an ectoplasmic limb opening one curtain side. The sitters were able to watch the actions of the ectoplasmic limb in red light. Sitters were able to see into the gap of the curtains that the large ectoplas- mic claw was opening from inside the cabi- net. There was a

large mass of a whitish sub- stance seemingly orig- inating from the head area of the medium. The mass was parting near the medi- um’s chest area and developing two arms. One arm was building into the claw of ectoplasmic pseudopodia while the other vanished into the darkness of the cabinet. Red light picture of ectoplasmic limb parting a curtain. Grayscale for clarity A Second March Sitting In March, the Felix Group invited some important academ- ic colleagues to attend a materialization séance. The guests attending were author and biologist Dr. MNahm, Professor Stephen Braude head of the Philosophy department at the University of Maryland and Chairman of the Society for Scientific Exploration, Prof. Peter Mulacz chairman of several scientific organizations and a prominent German doctor who asked to stay anonymous. Excerpts from an independent witness report by Dr. MNahm of Freiberg Germany are provided here. See the full report at felixcircle.blogspot.com. In March, well known UK medium Jackie Wright and parapsychologists from the US and Austria, were invited to be guest sitters with the Felix Group. This turned out to be a momentous sitting for the group and many felt it might well be one of the most important since 2009. The Felix Circle spirit control Professor Hans Bender requested that several precautions be taken. This is not usually done within the group because the members of the circle are certain that there is no fraud and because they feel controls might diminish the phenomena. Perhaps because of the

guest sitters, Hans Bender wanted to prove beyond all doubt the genuineness of the ectoplasmic phenomena through a double control of the medium. The medium was searched and nothing was found hidden on his body. From the blog: “We want to remind the reader that we experiment exclusively for our personal and spiri- tual growth as well as for the community of spiritual seekers worldwide. We are trying to develop phenomena previously demonstrated by hundreds and thousands of mediums around the globe, so we do not see it as our assignment to prove some- thing to people who could have long since been per- suaded by the existing da- ta.” Control of the medium request- ed by Hans Bender Prior to beginning this circle, the medium had not previously served as a me- dium. He had visited a trance workshop a few years earlier and developed a new trance induction system based on meditation, post hypnotic orders and holotropic breathing techniques that eventually enabled him to bring through more and more influential and powerful trance personalities. During the sitting large masses of ectoplasm were mor- phing approximately two meters away from the medium and above a luminous plate. Amongst the resulting features visible to the sitters were a large male hand with moving fingers and other living features. A witness drawing of the hand and other forms that were seen morphing in front of the plaque is shown below. The climax of the evening was the display of ectoplasm in

red light. The group was allowed to take a picture which Drawing of features formed by ectoplasm over a luminous plate Ectoplasmic limb extending from medium’s mouth “The medium made a lot of groaning and gargling sounds. Red light was switched on from counts 5-1 in sequences counting from 15 to 0. We counted about 4-5 sequences. The last 3 times the cabinet opened and a whitish mass on the body of the medium was clearly visible. Continued page 19 Volume 29, Number 2 Page 4 Not Tangoed* - But Felixed!! Independent Witness Report by Robin & Sandra Foy (former Scole-Group) Sitting on May 20, 2010 This week has been a remarkable one for Sandra and me. After receiving an invitation to sit with the Felix Circle at Hanau in Germany, we flew into Frankfurt-Hahn Airport on Wednesday 19th May.… Thursday May 20th we arrived for the sitting proper. I did not know at the time, but Kai Muegge—to me an excellent friend and spiritual brother for over eighteen months—has since chosen to reveal that he is himself the physical medium for the Felix Group. This comes as no surprise, since Kai’s dedication to genuine psychic research, and physical mediumship in particular, is very obvious to every- one who knows him. His commitment to the Felix Circle is almost legendary!! It may come as a sur- for however, prise, members to know exact- ly how much effort Kai puts into each sitting. For instance, he had spent no less than

three hours in intense medita- tion that afternoon to prepare himself for the sitting. Consequently, when he joined us and the rest of the sitters, he was not quite 100% with us; in readiness for entering a deep trance state. Just before we entered the séance room, I was invited by Jochen to inspect the cellar; to search both it and Kai to satisfy myself that there was no possibility of intentional fraud during the sitting. I am happy to report that everything was as it should be. The ceiling was wood- lined, and some distance away from the cabinet, a small wind chime hung from the ceiling. There was a large section of hardboard on the floor in front of the cabinet, which made a considerable noise when walked upon. Ev- eryone present would have known immediately therefore if the medium had at any point left the cabinet. Séance room; orange “tent” is the cabinet. Some distance away from the cabinet, a bongo-style drum sat on the floor. On top of this sat a luminous plaque on a small tray, plus three luminous ping-pong balls and a white handkerchief with luminous tabs at its four corners. The chairs were all simple wooden chairs placed in a horseshoe shape around the cabinet. This evening, there were to be twelve sitters plus Kai as the medium… The sitters were escorted to their designated chairs. To the right of the cabinet sat Hermann, with Steffi to the left of the medium. These

two sitters were to act as the medi- um’s guardians during the séance. The circle leader, Jochen, sat next to Steffi, with Sandra on his left. His job was to act on the instructions of the spirit of Professor Hans Bender, who is the chief communicator and “master of ceremonies” of the spirit team during sittings, when he speaks through the entranced Kai. Un- der Jochen’s chair was the music player, so that Jochen could con- trol the music as necessary. When we were finally settled into our chairs, the lights were extinguished and an opening statement of intent (opening prayer) was said. Kai has devel- oped a method of holotropic breathing that helps him to enter a full-trance state relative- ly quickly and, as the background music played, the medi- um could be heard breathing rapidly and loudly as he began to enter the full-trance state. For someone new to this subject, this process sounds rather painful to say the least, but it is all part of the pattern and dedicated preparation. Professor Hans Bender Some ten minutes into the sitting, after the medium had become quiet apart from an occasional gasp, Hans Bender introduced himself and welcomed all the sitters and guests. Shortly afterwards, the wind chimes hanging on the ceiling some eight feet in front of the cabinet began to ring, very lightly and softly to begin with, but quickly gathering volume and momentum as everybody heard this early phenomenon. The circle leader was then asked to

take the wind chimes down, which he did. Jochen asked if it would be possible for the overseas guests to receive an apport. Hans Bender explained that he did not think it would be possible to achieve that and to complete the ectoplasmic experiments that they wanted to show us, as there was not much likelihood that sufficient energy would be available. I was asked to click my fingers once and did so. Immedi- ately, an answering click sounded on the floor or ceiling. I clicked my fingers twice and immediately received another two clicks at once; same again with three clicks answered by three more. Sandra repeated this experiment when re- quested with the same result; this happened again when other sitters followed suit. Early on, there was a spirit light which appeared to light up a section of the ceiling. Shortly after this, another small and bright light (reminiscent of Scole) could be seen mov- ing rapidly all over the cellar. This briefly touched some of the sitters. A third type of spirit light followed. This was slightly larger and very bright; but could only be seen from the front as it was hooded. It reminded us very much of a similar type of spirit light we had experienced in the “Scolehole” which, at the time, had been dubbed “Sandra’s Tube” by our own spirit team. The light here in the Felix Group traveled slowly around the room so that everybody had the chance to see it. Hovering

in the air, it came close to our faces so that we could see it clearly and study it. Some of us were touched softly on the hands or face by this light. Continued page 6 Page 5 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Felixed Not Tangoed Continued from page 5 After Hermann and Steffi’s checking that the cabinet curtains were fully closed to protect Kai, Jochen was asked to turn on his hand-held torch to activate the luminous plaque (which had previously been face down) and to turn it over so that the face side was showing (on top of the drum). On this, he placed the rolled-up handkerchief before once again turning off the torch. Shortly afterwards, we were able to see two or three longish but narrow fingers move over the handkerchief and move it slightly in a diagonal direction. Then against the plaque we saw what appeared to be a small (childlike) hand moving over the plaque from the direction of Sandra. This was followed by a larger, mature and complete hand moving over the plaque from the same direction. Not long afterwards, I was touched across both my knees by what I believed to be a stick-like object, and twice on my right shoulder by what felt like a hand that was not quite dense enough at this point to be totally solid. that Hans Bender told us (through Kai) there were two spirit people pres- ent as guests. One of these was for Sandra and

me; the other for one of the circle members. He told us that he would be able to name the spirit visitors soon. Almost as soon as H.B. stopped talking, there was a metallic “clang” as an apported ob- ject (sounding like a coin) fell on the floor between Sandra and me. Hans Bend- er said that it was for us from a “Winston” who was present. Apparently, this object had been brought back from India by one of Winston’s secretaries. An old Indian Coin for Wealth apported and Luck was through the agency of Win- ston Churchill as stated by the control Hans Bender. What was not known by anyone who was present, apart from Sandra and me, was that prior to the sitting, we had mentally asked for some communication from one of our own spirit guides and helpers. Winston (Winston Churchill) was one of the spirit presences that we had mentally requested as he has been around us for so many years now. For us, this was wonderful evidence of the genuine nature of the amazing Felix Circle. A second apport fell on the floor close to Steffi, and she had a personal communication from Hans Bender in con- nection with this. We were asked not to pick up the apports until the sitting was over. When we first saw the two objects, they both came from India. Steffi’s apport was a piece of jewelry and ours, from Winston, looked like a coin or medallion. On the

front were depicted two (possibly Hindu) Indian gods with, on the reverse, two symbols representing Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Weren’t we lucky!! We were also told by Hans Bender that another spirit person was present, and that her name was Lola Montez, who had apparently been one of the spirit controls of Rudi Schneider, a famous physical medium from the past. Next came some trumpet phenomena, as we all held hands and loudly encouraged the trumpet to rise. It slowly levitated, and moved widely around the room for some time; “nodding” occasionally to acknowledge the presence of one or other of the sitters. When asked for a “kiss,” the trumpet obliged. In my case it moved slowly and gently right across my mouth. Others had the same experience. At one point, the trumpet entered the cabinet; the first time it had done so during the many sittings of the Felix Circle. A second apport; a piece of jewelry brought to a sitter from her mother When the trumpet’s meanderings had finished, the three luminous balls in the tray on top of the drum moved around; falling one by one onto the floor and rolling around. They were replaced and the same thing happened again to everybody’s amusement. Finally, Hans Bender stated that the spirit team was ready to show us some ectoplasm; we were asked to count back- wards (and aloud) from twenty to zero. When we reached zero, we were to take a deep breath,

and simultaneously, the red light was to be illuminated. As this happened, the cabinet curtains were opened. The medium could clearly be seen with a brilliant white solid rod of ectoplasm coming from his mouth; held with both his hands. This extended to around knee level. It was about three feet long at this stage and perhaps some four inches in diameter. After a few seconds, the curtains closed again, the red light was switched off and the counting immediately began once more from twenty backwards to zero; another deep breath as the red light came on and the cabinet curtains were opened. This time, the ectoplasm reached right down from the medium’s mouth to the floor. An amazing dis- play! Once again, brilliant white in color despite the fact that the light illuminating the cabinet was red. The curtains closed themselves this time, and the red light was switched off. The counting started again; this time from just fifteen backwards to zero. On the stroke of zero the red light was illuminated again and the cabinet curtains were opened. In just a few short seconds, every trace of the ectoplasm had gone. The sitting was at an end after almost two-and-a-half hours. Jochen remained behind to help Kai recover from his trance, whilst the rest of us quietly filed out of the cellar to enjoy some after-sitting refreshments, discuss the sitting and examine the two exot- ic apports, which Jochen photographed. Continued page 14 Volume 29, Number 2 Page

6 Computer Speech Phenomena: Multitrack Method of Recording EVP by Artem V. Miheev, Ph.D and Vadim K. Svitnev, Ph.D Introduction. The study of electronic voice phenomena (EVP) began in the 20th century fifty years ago with Friedrich Jürgenson. In general, existing methods of EVP recordings can be divided into three classes: microphone technique (Jürgenson); radio methods (Jürgenson, Rau- dive, Franz Seidl, Marcello Bacci, etc.); and, recording by use of special devices (George Meek, Hans Otto Koenig , Jules and Maggie Harsh-Fischbach, etc.) Unfortunately, the microphone and radio methods are often very limited. Special devices are difficult for most users and very depen- dent on the human factor (the operator). In our opinion, the aim of research should be to find a compromise between the serviceability and availability of the methods. One of these variants, and the subject of this article, was developed by our group in 2008. The Multitrack Method EVP recording in this version requires: 1. Computer with Windows XP, sound card with built-in mono mix and record monitor function 2. Audio management program such as Adobe Audition 3. Microphone (if necessary) connected to the mic input Preparation: An input file of voice sounds should be prepared using foreign language. Any recording with a mixture of four or five foreign radio stations, carefully checked for recognizable words, is suitable. [A Portuguese- language crowd babbles file is available in the techniques section of atransc.org.] Save the input file as an mp3 format in your computer in a place suitable for

rapid access. In the Control Panel, find the menu item Sounds and Audio Devices and choose the Internal Sound Card Mixer option. This may be labeled “Mono Mix” or “What You Hear.” [Editor’s Note: on my Windows XP computer, Audio tab > Sound Recording > Volume > Wave Out Mix.] The volume of internal mixer must be set to minimum, common volume control and Microphone volume input to the maximum. Connect electret microphone (with its own power sup- ply) to Microphone In of the computer. This microphone is used for asking questions and it also provides low-level noise to the computer which, as we found, is necessary for the emergence of the effect. If the signal level is insuffi- cient, it is necessary to use a portable microphone amplifier. Procedure of recording: The input mp3 file is played using Windows Media Player. It’s necessary to adjust the volume of Windows Media Player (in our experiments it was set at 15-20 percent). You should also adjust the volume of internal sound card mixer. Roughly, the volume of the input file should be such that, during recording, it has about ¼ of maximum visual amplitude (the amplitude of the signal, at which it ceases to rise and goes to the limit). To provide the other side the necessary variety of pho- nemes, vary the start point for playing the input file. Open the audio management program. Using Adobe Audition as an example, to set up for mono multitrack recording with realtime overlay,

switch to mulitrack view (F12). In Menu item Options > Settings > Multitrack tab > Default: Track Record > select Mono and 16-Bit. In menu item Options > select Sample Accurate Sync. Choose for yourself the length of the recording session. of recording is around thir- We have found the best time ty seconds. Press the red but- ton on the left side of the first track to select that track for recording and start record- at the bottom-left. After ing by clicking on the button starting the recording of the first track, ask your question into the microphone. To give the other side time to respond, the length of the question should not be more than ten seconds. After giving the other side time to respond, press the stop button at around thirty seconds. To record the second track, press the key on the first track to deselect it and press the red button in front of the second track to select it. Then press the record button again. If you did everything correctly, you should see that the signal on the second track is overlaid in real time by the already recorded signal on the first track. Length of recording on the second track should be about the same as for the first. Press the stop button; go to the third track and so on. This procedure is be repeated four times. After four-stage over- laying of the re-recorded speech signal, amplitude becomes maximal. The result should look

something like this: Note 1. If you want to choose the number of tracks, other than four, you must select a different initial volume for the input file: more tracks means less beginning volume. Note 2. We strongly recommend you to disable your speak- ers (headphones) until the end of recording. Note 3: Be sure to note your question and where it is on the timeline. The EVP will be located on the fourth track. Possible explanations: The most naïve explanation of how this experimentally proven method works is that the sub- conscious “catches” some fragments of speech, and gives them a meaningful interpretation. Continued page 8 Page 7 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Multitrack EVP Continued from page 7 It is impossible not to recognize that this really happens sometimes, especially if the person wants to hear hidden meaning in each fragment of recording. However, as fol- lows from results of hundreds of experiments, this explana- tion cannot be universal and persuasive because the answer clearly stands out in the waveform, which can be filtered and consistently identified by experimenters. Also, the number of responses received depends on the state and mood of the operator. In certain conditions there are no responses. So, let us consider other explanations: (cid:143) Influence on the microphone signal by entities from the “other side,” which is chosen in such a way as to enhance or suppress individual phonemes during re- cording “stochastic” phonemic material (cid:143) Similar effect on the sound card (cid:143) Manipulation

error in the sampling (digitization) of the analog signal on the sound card, the accumulation of errors during successive re-recordings through the in- ternal sound card mixer Influence on the PC processor during signal processing as that introduced by using the Noise Reduction tool (cid:143) We draw a parallel here with the video-loop method of Klaus Schreiber, who sought the manifestation of paranor- mal images through successive iterations of the video display.1 Comparison with EVPmaker2 Similar to EVPmaker, quasi-random verbal factor [for instance crowd babble used as an input file] is used as the raw material for the formation of the responses. The differ- ence is that the formation of the signal is not discrete, but continuous. Moreover, in our method, emergence of quite distinguishable separate EVP takes place. These EVP are quite characteristic and suitable for filtering. Advantages of the method: 1. Independence from the local broadcasting and interfer- ence in it, unlike using psychophone and radio methods 2. Exclusion of the argument of “random radio broadcasts” 3. High frequency and quality of the responses 4. Widespread availability of the method and its perfor- mance (distinct meaningful answers come in almost every session) The disadvantages of the method are: 1. Possibility of subjective interpretation of what we heard 2. If the EVP is superimposed on the live speech with similar characteristics; the difficulty of filtration of the desired signal 3. Difficulty of the method for experimenters who are not familiar with the applicable software Parallels: The phenomenon of EVP

in a computer without any external microphone signal was also opened by Brazil- ian researcher Sonia Rinaldi.3 References 1 Hildegard Schaefer, Bridge between the Terrestrial and Be- yond, worlditc.org/c_04_s_bridge_content.htm 2 EVPmaker, stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index.htm 3 IPATI Bulletin ¹ 23, www.ipati.org The Authors Artem V. Miheev, Ph.D., assoc. prof, head of Russian Associa- tion for Instrumental Transcommunication (RAIT), Vadim K. Svitnev, Ph.D., hydroacoustician St. Petersburg, Russian Federation www.rait.airclima.ru/ Addendum Chris Scott provided this variation on the technique using Audacity: 1. Open Rinaldi’s crowd babble file in Audacity 1.3.11 beta. 2. In the recording option: Select Overdub, deselect Soft- ware Playthrough. 3. Use the record button to record new track with question 4. Patch the headphone jack to the mic jack. 5. If using an internal mic, switch the recording device to Line-In from Internal Mic. 6. If using external Mic, recording device should already be on Line-In. Press Record 4 times to record the four additive tracks Contact Using Skype Continued from page 3 “This message confirms that it was my father who re- corded, because Sergio is my brother who died of cancer in 1998. When my father said that he returns in the name of his son, it means that they are in contact, which makes me happy, because my brother mistakenly believed that he had not been the son he should had been” Another interesting evidential note reported by Cristina is that her other son, Roberto, (living) has psychic abilities, and had called her two months before the record- ing

was made. He told her that Stefano (who made his transition months before) appeared to him during a night patrol in the Iraqi desert, and said with a happy expression: “I will talk with Mom very soon, and I will do it in English!” Obviously, neither Roberto nor Cristina fully understood what he meant exactly. But a little after this, Stefano did exactly what he had promised! Christina’s father Extracted from an article at ipati.org/boletins/boletins6-en.htm * The Spiritist Doctrine is comprised of five books that were written and published by Allan Kardec. It teaches “To be born, to die, to be reborn again and to always progress, that is the Law.” See explorespiritism.com Volume 29, Number 2 Page 8 The Wisdom of Grief by Annette Childs, Ph.D. As a psychologist who has spent nearly twenty years work- ing with those at the end of life, I have spent time with hundreds of bereaved families as they make their way upon the hard path from grief to healing. Although grief, when it is our own, is always unique and personal, in a larger sense there is also a deeply symbolic and archetypal quality to the ways that grief moves through us, and in turn, the ways we move through grief. When we blanket ourselves in the knowledge of the afterlife; when we buoy our beliefs with the remark- able findings that the afterlife sciences now afford us, it does help to quell the sharp edge of grief. It does not however,

take our grief away. Like a pregnant woman who must labor to give birth, when we lose a loved one, we too must labor through the phases of our loss. Grief is something that must burrow through us in a very visceral way regardless of our level of wisdom. I share these thoughts because I have worked with many very evolved, wise and conscious beings who, when they lose a loved one, are a bit taken back by their level of grief. Grief is a natural and necessary reaction to loss, and should never be seen as a weakness or a sign of spiritual frailty. Knowledge of the reality of an afterlife has a tremendous effect on our overall ability to move on from our loss and re-invest in our living. Knowledge of an afterlife however, does not give us a “free pass” through grief. With this in mind, I offer the following words about the journey through grief. Read it, share it and tuck it away for later. For although we may hold wisdom’s hand today, chances are at some point along the journey, grief will find us and we will have no choice but to move through its lessons. The Journey “Personal transformation” is the name I sometimes give to the hard work of grief that so many of my clientele are going through when I meet them. When I first say it, they look at me like I just kicked them in the belly. But I hold

my ground and I say it again. “You are in the process of personal transformation.” Granted, grief is not the joyful, expansive magical transformation that we all dream about, but it is a transformation all the same. Your transformation begins on the day you drop to your knees. Death, when it enters our world, always hits hard; like a steam-powered locomotive. As the dust settles and we wipe our eyes to survey the damage, it is usually utter devastation. With that devastation, comes silence. The kind of silence that takes us straight into the belly of darkness. There is wisdom in that darkness, and like the caterpillar that has died to the soupy mess of its cocoon, we soon learn that that there is life in that darkness. Indeed, if you stay in the belly of darkness long enough, it becomes a womb. In depth psychology there is a name for that which will bring us into our own greatness, it is called the “Hero’s Journey.” It is the journey of a lifetime. It announces itself in many different ways. For some it wears the mask of a cancer diagnosis, while for another it appears as alcohol dependence. For some, the journey begins on the day they bury someone they cherish, and for another the journey begins with the word “divorce.” The stories are all unique, but the process of transformation has an eerily familiar path for all. And although this journey is called the Hero’s Journey, the hero is

what we become, we start the journey as the fool. There is no better metaphor for transformation than the story of the hero. Like all great stories throughout time, this story has a beginning, a middle and an end. May the Blessing of the Light be Upon You Photographed by Gerhard Mössner, flickr.com The Beginning The Call: When it is time for us to expand beyond the borders of our neatly ordered life, Destiny sends out the call. The call will bring us into our greatness in time but first it will bring us to our knees. The call is the life event that strips us bare. Every mask we ever hid behind will suddenly be taken from us and we will come face to face with the truth. When the call comes, the only choice we really have is how we choose to receive it. There is an old saying: “The fates lead those who will. Those who won’t, they drag.” So it is with the call. We can gather our strength and step boldly into the storm or we can fight the inevitable, like a child fighting sleep. Refusing the call does not alter our path, it simply leaves the fates no choice but to drag us toward that place we would not willingly go. Page 9 Continued page 10 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Continued from page 9 The Wisdom of Grief The Middle Once our call comes in, regardless of whether we have answered it gracefully

or have been dragged forward by fate, it is then that we begin the part of the journey known as the initiation. This is where we are swallowed whole by our experience.... It is the darkest place we will ever know and it is silent except for the voice of truth.... Like an ocean wave that is relentless, truth will wash over us time and time again until at last we are no longer that which we used to be. It is here that we will lose the trappings of our own illusions. It is here that the tethers of our past will be cut free. Although we will rage against this darkness, cursing its presence in our life, this darkness, it is a womb. Like an infant who gestates, gains nourishment and grows the parts of itself that will someday carry it out into the world, it is in this darkness that we we too will grow into our own greatness. Indeed it is here, in the reflection offered by this deep ... that we will finally see our own reflection, and it will be brand new. It is here that we will meet our demons and our dragons. It is here that we will transform them. This time in the darkness is an incubation, it is the time when we grow our soul strong. When the inner work is complete we will stand up once again. And on legs unsure like those of a newborn colt, we will

rise up into our own healing. As we move away from the darkness that held us, we carry the treasure of wisdom within us. The Ending: The Return: We emerge from the darkness transformed, carrying hard-earned wisdom within us. We began as the fool, and we emerge as the hero. As the hero, we carry truth with us everywhere we go. As the hero, it is our duty to let bits and pieces of wisdom trail behind us so that others might be tempted to follow in our steps… [You may be grieving] ... But somewhere deep within you, there is a hero who can walk through this storm, and in time, emerge on higher ground. The price of love is grief. Grief makes us crawl, but in time it teaches us to soar. Follow grief’s pathway, for it is the only way through. The Journey always begins with the call. If you are very quiet right now you may be very surprised at what you hear. © Annette Childs, Ph.D. This essay is based loosely on the concepts contained in Dr. Childs multi-award winning book, Will You Dance?, The Wandering Feather Press, 2007. Article previ- ously published by Forever Family Foun- dation (foreverfamilyfoundation.org). Annette holds a Ph.D. in psychology and maintains a private practice assisting indi- viduals and families to grow through pain- ful transitions. She has extensively studied the near-death experience and other mysti- cal phenomena and is the author of Will You Dance?, Halfway Across the River

and Lit From Within. Please visit: onecandle.net. TransCom Research Platform Real-time, two-way transcommunication has been shown to be possible and it is a useful way of asking questions of those on the other side and receiving answers. Examples produced by Margaret Downey and Vicki Talbott are on ATransC.org. The EVPmaker with allophones study managed by Cindy Heinen began in May. This study will show whether or not this digital technology can be reliably used for information gathering. (There is information about this study at ATransC.org and everyone is asked to join the effort.) As you can see, we are beginning to focus on this approach, and we are doing so because it promises an effective tool for communication with the other side that offers all of the possibilities of the digital environment without potential stray radio and noise mistaken as voice. If the EVPmaker with allophones study produces mean- ingful results, ATransC will sponsor the development of a digital research platform intended to provide a freely avail- able standardized tool for research that should eventually evolve into an effective tool for personal transcommunica- tion. We know random processes are subject to telekinetic influence. This has been established in psi functioning research by the parapsychological community. We see a random process as the psi detector in EVPmaker and other speech synthesis-based EVP. What may be new to you is that the Global Consciousness study conducted by Prince- ton measured changes in randomness to determine changes in “ambient consciousness”. In essence, a

group of people meditating or a community with common thought tends to reduce the randomness of local random processes. The TransCom Research Platform will include detection of randomness. Any time a computer hosting the free program is con- nected to the Internet, a message would be sent to a server reporting the “randomness” of the same processes used for EVP. The server would provide a publicly accessible view of changes in randomness (whatever that is shown to really mean) wherever there is a TransCom platform. Psi influence Internet Storage Control Algorithm Speech Generator Microphone Recorder Speaker Random Processes We are developing a design requirements document for the TransCom Research Platform in the Journal section of ATransC.org. Open source projects are usually made possible by a community of volunteer programmers, never- theless there will be server costs and costly formal studies of the program should be conducted. Your input and help is invited. If this is of interest and you can help fund or develop at [email protected] and we will make arrange- ments for your participation. project, contact please the us Volume 29, Number 2 Page 10 Synthesized Voice EVP by Vicki Talbott Vicki Talbott recently posted some very impressive results of EVPmaker sessions using an input file containing only phonemes. We are including a discussion of them here to give you a sense of why we feel this technology can be used for information gathering. You can listen to them in the Examples section of ATransC.org. In Example 1, Vicki

posted on the Idea Exchange, “You can hear me whisper ‘...Is Braden there?’” Braden is her son who transitioned as a youth and is now her very active communica- tor on the other side. She contin- ued, “I then hear the EVP: ‘Let me see; I’ll go out, I’ll ask.’ I had the EVPM settings on from 80 ms to 120 ms and z-cross, with the random Internet source under ‘Extras’ set on the default random mode that crops up when you click on it. Speed control was set on 100% and I had it on play continuously.” Vicki Talbott This is a good example of the fact that EVP, and especial- ly synthesized voice EVP, are “simulated” words. The words are made of available sounds and they are also made in a most energy-saving way. Thus, we might hear “Om” for “Tom” or “I’ll go aw” where a best-guess translation would be “I’ll go out.” If simulated words and energy conservation are reasonable hypotheses, then context would be a reasonable measure for word recognition. “I’ll go out” is reasonable for the rest of the response in the context of the question. (Also “aw” is a lot closer to “out” than it is to something like “dear.”) Approximated words are a challenge for grading synthe- sized voice EVP. Since the “noise” used for input is made of word fragments, it is reasonable to expect fortuitously formed words and some may even seem appropriate even though they are not actually EVP.

Learning to listen to the cadence of the response can be a challenge as well because the output can be very rapid-fire. Some practitioners will ask the question and then turn on EVPmaker or try any technique that allows them to listen around the staccato output. It is also important to limit how long after a question an utterance can be considered an answer. We recommend not more than about fifteen sec- onds, but we hope to discover the most optimum practice during this study. In Example 2, Vicki posted, “This is amazing to me. My husband always jokes around with people he meets and he calls himself ‘Sebastian’ by way of introduction. His name is Peter. In this EVP, you can hear me say, ‘Who’s there?’ and then the EVP: ‘Sebastian-- don’t say “Peter.”’ They were commenting on what Peter does! I am stunned at this one!” We occasionally get hints about life on the other side. In Example 1, the entity (in synthesized voice, male or fe- male, young or old may not be as easily understood as with transform EVP) as if it was in a “place” and needed to “go” outside of that place to “ask” other people. We speculate this is an objective expression of the probably subjective world the communicator lives in ... But we are not sure. Taken literally, the communicator seemed to operate in an environment much as we would here. Example 3 suggests a relationship amongst people in the etheric. Vicki

asked if her son, Braden, was there. (He generally is and is one of the most regular communicators we know.) Someone responded that he was not by saying “Not here,” but then said “I do know him,” and by saying, “If you accept that,” seemed to offer to speak with Vicki as a friend of Braden. Example 4 is an interesting one which indicates that they are aware of our activities. Vicki posted on the Idea Ex- change, “Here’s a very weird one! I had just finished watching a current episode of All My Children today on my computer. Brooke is back in town, overseeing Tempo Mag- azine. Big deal, huh? Well I recorded for a very short time with the phonemes and EVPMaker. Suddenly I hear ‘Brooke’ followed closely by ‘Tempo.’ I was so surprised that they would comment on this that you can hear it in my voice as I say ‘Brooke and Tempo?!’ Didn’t think they were interested in the soaps.” Maury Show Dedicated to Debbie Caruso At the end of a Maury Show on May 13, a picture of Debra Caruso with typed overlay saying “In memory of Debra Caruso 1960-2010” was shown while Maury addressed the audience saying, “Finally, I want to take a moment to remember a very special member of the Maury family who recently passed. Now, Debra Caruso, sadly, died. Lost her battle with ovarian cancer earlier this year. Now, Debra was a paranormal researcher who appeared on our show several times,

and will be sorely missed. And our thoughts and prayers are with her family. And so today, we dedicate this show to her memory. Thanks for joining us everyone. Until next time.” Page 11 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones by Cindy Heinen, Project Manager An Introductory Note from the Directors This is a very important study that will help establish a foundation of understanding which will eventually lead to its study by mainstream science. It will also function as a proof of concept for the Transcom Digital Platform. Your participation is needed for its success. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions. Tom and Lisa Butler Introduction This project is intended to determine whether or not infor- mation not known to a practitioner can be requested and received using EVPmaker with allophones for the input file. As a “blind study,” resulting data will be considered objective evidence in the study of this form of Instrumental Transcommunication. Overview The study utilizes the computer program developed by Stefan Bion known as EVPmaker. The file containing SpeakJet allophones, which was prepared by Bion, is to be used as the input file to capture words or phrases that correspond to pre-chosen target objects. Each month, a new target object will be left undisturbed in a set location. Target objects will be common objects that could fit on a bookshelf and could be decorative or functional in nature. The element that makes this experi- ment capable

of producing good evidential data is that participants will not know what the target object is. This will only be known by the project managers and the target object holder. Participants who believe they have received a likely answer to the target object inquiry will send their EVPmak- er files and an email indication what they believe is being said to the project managers for each month of the trial. The project managers will screen these files by comparing what the participant indicates they have heard to what the target object actually is. Files that are relevant to the month’s target objects will be sent to the listening panel. The listening panel, which is also blind to what the target object is, will review the files and determine if they also hear an answer to the target object question. They will submit their responses to the project manager who will compare the results to the target object for that month. The results for each month of the trial will be tallied and posted on the ATransC website. and Required Equipment Participants are asked to use the most current version of at: EVPmaker stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index_e.htm. The web page has download links, setup instructions and examples. There are also excellent examples in the Examples section of ATransC.org. allophone found files the Participants will be allowed to record their EVPmaker sessions for this trial using computers, analog recorders or digital recorders. The use of an external microphone will be needed for computer recordings but

may be used at the discretion of the experimenter for digital and analog re- corders. If you are new to EVP recording please read about recording for EVP at atransc.org/techniques.htm Experimental Protocol 1. It is not necessary to be an ATransC member. 2. Names and emails of participants will remain confi- dential, but with their permission, the names of suc- cessful participants can be posted on the website. 3. The target objects will be changed on the first of each month. 4. There is no limit on the number of submissions and participants are encouraged to participate every month. 5. The most current edition of EVPmaker will be used for this experiment. 6. The sound source for this trial must be the allophones file offered on Stefan Bion’s website. 7. The participant may ask what the target object is before beginning the recording session or during it. The pref- erence is the participant’s. 8. The participant will ask for the target object to be identified by saying something like: “My spirit friends, please assist me with this experiment by identifying an object that is being held by Margaret in California. It is on the middle shelf, on the right hand side of the wall unit at her house.” 9. Record the session using the recording method with which you are most comfortable. 10. Review your recorded session and note if you hear a likely response to your request. 11. Session files cannot be altered in any way. They must be

as you recorded them. 12. If you feel you have a response, save that part of the session as a WAV file. Your voice asking the question and the response should be in the submitted file. 13. Label the file as: EVPM-(Your name or initials)-Date the session was recorded (yyyymmdd) Example: EVPM-CH-20100515 14. Send an email titled “EVPmaker Study” with the at- tached file to [email protected]. In the subject line message, report what you hear the target object being called. 15. Only participants with correct entries will be contacted after the next target is in place. What the target object was and the data report for each month will be posted after that month has passed and a new target object is in place at atransc.org/research/evpmaker_study.htm. Equipment for Recording the EVPmaker Sessions Thank you in advance to everyone who will be participat- Volume 29, Number 2 Page 12 Holographic ITC by Tom Butler Abstract: A hypothesis is proposed for why multiple face- like features are often found in individual frames of record- ed video-loop noise. Introduction: In the video-loop technique for visual ITC, a video camera is pointed toward a video monitor and the output of the camera is connected to the input of the monitor so that the camera “sees” what it has just recorded. A person might expect the resulting optical noise to look like the “snow” seen on an unassigned TV channel; howev- er, in at least some configurations of equipment, the result- ing noise has the

appearance of patches of light of different brightness rushing toward the viewer from the center of the screen. Some of these will have color if a color camera and TV are used. An example is at atransc.org/techniques.htm. Our working hypothesis is that the patches of brightness in the loop video are areas of relative order that naturally form in chaotic noise because of a process known as sto- chastic resonance. In that process, a small irregularity in the uniformity of “baseline” energy can be amplified, and in video-loop ITC, those emergent splotches are often shaped like people. log equipment. For this reason, we recommend that anyone wishing to replicate this work should use at least an analog camera, and preferably an analog monitor. We use a Canon 8mm ES2000 analog camcorder with a Sony KV20TS32, 20 inch Trinitron color TV. We like using color because the resulting features often seem to have true color such as with skin tones. See the website for technical notes. The key to recording video ITC is in establishing a display with a good balance of bright and dark areas. The loop tends to be a cycle from all black, through medium bright patches of color, to an all white and back again. The video is at about thirty frames a second, and a cycle from dark back to dark takes several seconds. We record for ten to fifteen seconds and may find thirty to fifty frames from that recording that need examining. The bright

area in the center is the face of a woman. In the color version of this, you can make out red lipstick. A man’s face covers the right half of her face. He is looking toward your right. Nearly all of the medium-density areas around the two faces are other, less well-formed faces. (We apologize to those receiving the printed Journal as ITC pictures do not print well.) Examination of individual frames sometimes shows an astounding number of face-like shapes and some of them are sufficiently detailed to be arguably be real faces. The example here will be in the theory section of the website, and we would be happy to email it to you for closer examination. There are also examples of this in the Butler Galleries of the website. Recording ITC: The Techniques section of atransc.org explains how to record for these phenomena. Some people have had success with digital equipment, but we have not seen the detail exhibited by examples collected using ana- Illustration of how the video camera is aimed at the TV. A single video frame is also shown. A number of faces are visible in the original file. For a moving loop example, see: atransc.org/techniques/recording_visual_itc.htm Who is in the video: You can see that there is no physical input to the system other than electricity and ambient light. It can be argued that there is no physical reason for faces to be in the noise, other than the occasional fortuitous formation that might resemble

a face. Certainly, there should not be faces with clearly identifiable red lips and eyes with pupils. Continued page Page 13 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Holographic ITC Continued from page 13 Phenomenal faces are found in many different techniques, but all seem to depend on the transformation of visual energy. Moving water, light reflected from crystals, even audio spectrograms have produced features. Most visual ITC features are of strangers, but there are a few that have been recognized. For instance, a moving water feature taken by Margaret Downey has been favorably compared to a photograph of her long-transitioned great, great grand- father using forensic software. That was reported in the Spring 2007 NewsJournal. There are differences in clarity and detail amongst the different forms of visual ITC, but the common factor ap- pears to be broad-spectrum optical noise and an active analog process such as an amplification circuit. This is the common factor for audio ITC as well. Based on the ATransC Survival Hypothesis, we specu- late that the features are formed by the amplification of a weak psi signal from the practitioner, or an interested observer, by the action of stochastic resonance on the optical-frequency noise. We speculate this is a mind-to- mind exchange of information between the etheric person- ality of the practitioner and the communicating etheric entity. This occurs in the etheric as a nonphysical process. Felixed Not Tangoed Continued from page 6 It just remains for me to personally thank the members of the Muegge

family; the members of the Felix Circle, and last but not least, Kai himself; the newly self-declared physical medium, for their love and hospitality whilst we were in Hanau. This invitation to the Felix Circle sitting and our experiences there will remain with us forever as fond memories of a wonderful and dedicated research group’s valuable work in the field of Spiritual Science. Bless you all, Robin and Sandra * Popularized in the mid-1990s by television commercials for soft drink Tango, a British equivalent of Fanta. The original commercials featured an obese man painted orange who would tap Tango drinkers on the shoulders as they sipped the beverage. As they turned around in surprise he would slap them in the face simultaneously with both hands then disappear. The narrator would then proclaimed “You know when you’ve been tangoed!” The commercial was such a success that they continued with a host of other characters, including a Napoleon-like figure with a wobbly orange hand who would wobble it in people’s faces before the catch phrase. These commercials helped make Tango Europe’s number one orange soda during the 1990s. The term “tangoed” is now used to mean shocked or insulted. From: urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tangoed While looking at this picture of the 2004 conference speakers, your attention is on Sarah Estep. For the moment, the others in the photo would make less of an impression in your mind’s eye. The information is then transformed into the physical aspect of reality by way of the person’s etheric

personality- to-physical body entanglement, and expressed into the physical as a psi signal that represents the person’s impres- sion of what was experienced in the etheric. The observed effect of one or two well-formed faces in visual ITC is due to the practitioner’s attention on a specific etheric entity. However, there are apparently many other entities present which the practitioner is only partially aware of. These background personalities are therefore only poorly formed in the resulting ITC. The group picture above is an attempt to show how we might be aware of everyone in the group, but our attention is momentarily on one person at a time. In this case, Sarah Estep is clearly imaged, and the other people are only vaguely noticed. Of course, all of this is hypothetical, but so many poorly formed faces present in virtually every suitable region of optical noise, along with a few well-formed faces, argues that we are the channel for the information and where our attention is determines what is communicated. This may hint at a way to improve ITC techniques. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 the search tool to match key words and the Member Regis- try to contact the associated member. This will help make the Big Circle a more dynamic community for connecting people on both sides of the veil. This is a new capability and the committee is still catch- ing up, so please be patient. You can learn what will be needed from you and how to

contact the committee at bigcircle.atransc.org/contact_registry. Research The Gathering Information Using EVPmaker with Al- lophones study is underway and we need your participa- tion. Keep in mind that we have opened participation to the world, so tell your fiends. The front page of ATransC.org has a link to the study. This is a very important one in that it gives us a third reference point for this technique and possibly establishes the feasibility of a new research tool. Your participation is critical to the outcome. Some of you will remember the 4Cell EVP Demonstra- tion study from a few years ago. The protocol proved to be effective for information gathering. The various groups averaged better than sixty percent correct answers. We are happy to report there is a new cell operating named the 4Repeaters composed of Vicki Talbott, Jayne Thompson and Debra Shapiro. A fourth person had to drop out so they are looking for a new member. As of this writing, they have conducted two cycles of the protocol and both have pro- duced correct results. You can see the results in Section 8 of the Idea Exchange. Good work! Tom and Lisa Volume 29, Number 2 Page 14 Electronic Communication by Raymond Bayless Abstract: Various historical and contemporary meth- ods, techniques, devices and amplifying instruments for communicating electronically with the dead are described. The taped voice phenomena, both non- acoustical EVP (Electromagnetic Voice Phenomena) and the acoustical, are described and seen as represent- ing voices of the dead. The

ability to receive such recordings is dependent upon the experimenter’s psy- chical ability. Since the inception of electronic communication devices such as the telegraph, wireless telegraphy, radio and tape recording, periodic reports have surfaced describing exper- iments and experiences featuring paranormal voices con- sidered to represent communications from the dead. As new electronic advances capable of communication in one form or another come into being, paranormal phenomena can be expected to accompany their usage. Historical Experimentation One of the first experimenters to receive apparent paranor- mal communications was London’s David Wilson who constructed a device utilizing a galvanometer to convey messages by means of Morse code. He claimed positive results for his experiments conducted in 1915-1916. One message, for example, read “Great difficulty; await mes- sage, five days, six evenings.” Wilson claimed that a friend in Paris constructed a similar device and both received identical messages on March 19, 1916. After reporting his results in Light, Wilson disappeared from the psychic scene and nothing more was heard from him. Another early English experimenter, F .R. Helton, placed a telephone in a box and connected it to an amplifying device. He too reported success and described his experi- ments in three papers, in Light and in a small booklet published in 1921. Other forms of communicating devices were constructed by him, but eventually his experiments also were forgotten The California author Francis Grierson claimed that he had created a psychic telephone and de- scribed it in a privately printed book of

which there is no record. I do not take his claims seriously. He was a flam- boyant character—a remarkable pianist who performed in concert throughout the world and acted as a physical medi- um under the name of Jesse Shepard. Years ago, I received a letter from the famed English researcher, Zoe Richmond, who mentioned a communica- tion device she had constructed in the 1920s. The plans had been received mediumistically but the instrument was not successful. She told me also that she and her husband received a momentary paranormal singing voice via their gramophone. As is fairly well known, Thomas Edison was interested in the psychical realm and received good results with the controversial medium Bert Reese. Hereward Carrington wrote that in spite of certain practices, Reese possessed genuine paranormal abilities. Edison was interested in in- strumental communication with the dead and verified in 1920 that he was engaged in experimentation to this end. He left no notes or clues about his approach and even though a repre- blueprint supposedly senting his instrument surfaced in 1941, there is apparently no reason to think it other than a fake. The device was con- structed but did not work. Raymond Bayless Edison favored the survival concept and wrote in The People, October 29, 1926: “My researches tend strongly to support the view of life after death, and I am even inclined to support the view that communication is possible.” As the years passed, various types of instruments were tested. Dr. J.

L. Matta began experimentation in 1904 and reported positive results. Among his many constructions, some primarily electronic in nature, one used an electro- scope connected to an ionization chamber; others utilized various electrical components. Years later, the psychical researcher Hereward Carrington duplicated some of Mat- ta’s experimental work with negative results, but admitted in Laboratory Investigations into Psychic Phenomena that “Possible telekinesis, when mediums were present” might have produced paranormal results.1 The May/June, 1930 edition of the Review Metapsy- chique contained Dr. M. Rutot’s paper describing an appa- ratus consisting primarily of a dry cell battery, an electrical bell and two glass prisms. A small, light metal triangle was designed to contact a bare wire causing the bell to ring. Rutot reasoned that an aiding spirit caused a “field of energy” to activate the device, sending messages by ring- ing the bell. Rutot claimed success, but here again, psycho- kinesis may have taken place. As the years passed, attempt after attempt was made to manage instrumental communication with the dead, but in spite of certain exceptions, little consistent success seems to have been received. When considering successful results at this point, I am neither implying actual communication with the dead nor the play of personal psychokinesis. My view does change later, however. Even such exotic devices for communication as those utilizing varying bioelectrical potentials at certain points on the Venus’ Flytrap plant, vastly amplified to receive intel- ligent signals, have been constructed by Julius Weinberger. He has received successful results

which have been de- scribed in a report in 1961; he also gave data to Dr. J.B. Rhine for evaluation in 1969. Mr. Weinberger reaffirmed his conviction that success had been reached in a letter Continued page 16 Page 15 Summer 2010 of the Idea Exchange. Good work! Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Electronic Communication Continued from pg 15 dated October 31, 1977 and said, “The Venus’ fly-trap method really works...” Not only have attempts with electronic devices been made, but methods utilizing amplifying instruments have been put into practice many times. Perhaps the best known experiments of this type were those conducted by Hamlin Garland, and described by him in his book, The Mystery of the Buried Crosses.2 Mr. Garland became interested in a collection of curious Indian artifacts including a great number of crosses found by presumed paranormal means by the Parents. Later, he wished to verify the origin of the artifacts and conducted a series of experiments with a medium, Mrs. Sophia Wil- liams. Garland seated Williams in one room with a micro- phone and in another room placed a loudspeaker for the reception of the medium’s tiny “voice.” This voice, diffi- cult to hear ordinarily, was amplified so the experimenter and others were able to hear it. In my opinion, although her “voice” was not of paranormal origin, she was capable of receiving impressive veridical information. Eventually, using information received by both amplified and non- amplified means, Garland was able to find sixteen Indian artifacts, some under satisfactorily

controlled conditions. I was able independently to verify the existence of such crosses. Ceil Smith, the editor of the long gone Hollywood Citizen News, was an amateur archeologist who indepen- dently found about six similar crosses in Southern Califor- nia. He was not aware of the mystery of the crosses and was surprised to find that others had been found—and by such unusual methods. He and I duplicated the long range amplifier/loud speak- er system and worked with Mrs. Williams extensively. We did receive paranormal results, though far less than did Garland. During our years of friendship with her, we were present on several occasions when she displayed paranor- mal abilities. This procedure using the addition of electron- ic augmentation does not, however, comprise true electronic “communication.” The Tape-Recorded Voice Phenomenon In 1956, Attila von Szalay discovered the tape-recorded voice phenomenon and I joined him immediately in exper- imentation that lasted into the early 1970s. Great success was obtained and my first announcement of this discovery and early tests were published in the Journal of the Ameri- can Society of Psychical Research, January, 1959. Three months after my announcement, Sweden’s Friedrich Jürgenson announced his discovery of the taped voice phenomenon and experimentation soon began throughout the world. In spite of rising interest, the phe- nomenon was carefully ignored or denigrated by various societies for psychical research and by most parapsycholo- gists. Unfortunately, this attitude continues even today. The low-amplitude, tape-recorded voice effect consists primarily of two main types: voices generated

by actual though minute sound waves, the acoustical types; and non-acoustical voices apparently produced by an unknown electromagnetic process. In both cases, high amplification is necessary. In March, 1973, I performed a series of experiments with Attila von Szalay to isolate acoustical voices and was able to verify successfully their existence. Mr. von Szalay has also reported the reception of non-acoustical voices (“Jür- genson” or “Raudive” voices) without the use of a micro- phone setup. The non-acoustical or EVP (electromagnetic voice phe- nomenon as Richard Shear- gold terms it) truly fulfills the true electronic concept of communication. No sounds are involved; whether of low- amplitude or not, the recep- tion of the voices is purely by electronic means. Friedrich Jürgenson The “Jürgenson/Raudive” type of voices belongs in the EVP category, and furnishes examples of typical spiritistic communications: appropriate names, references to an after death world, etc. In the case of voices received by Mr. William Welch, a prominent American investigator, re- markable examples were recorded which were non-acous- tical even though a microphonic system was used. Mr. Welch has written, “I received voices on tape when the portion of tape on which the voices appeared did not go through the recording head.”3 Mr. Welch and I worked together making numerous tapings, all of which presented paranormal voices. The most outstanding non-acoustical voice that he received spoke in German and was incredibly loud. Various systems have been used for receiving voice phenomena including the diode method, the radio method, the auto-transmission

method, etc., all of which are non- acoustical types. I believe, however, that the loudest voices have been received by the microphonic/acoustical system. The dream of instrumental communication has been par- tially realized with the low-amplitude, tape-recorded voice phenomenon, but the amount of words received are few and the “transmission” spotty. It was widely believed that all people who tried for taped voices could receive them, but from the beginning of our (von Szalay/Bayless) exper- iments, I have insisted that the ability to receive such voices is dependent upon personal psychical ability and varies from individual to individual. I believe that many investigators have abandoned the earlier misconception. [Editor’s Note: Current understanding is that both acoustical and non-acoustical forms of EVP are actually non-acoustical. The voice appears to be formed out of available noise, which can be supplied by a microphone. Whether or not ability to record EVP is a psychical one is still under study, but the model used to Volume 29, Number 2 Page 16 Electronic Communication Continued from pg 16 Paranormal Telephone Communication D.Scott Rogo and I present a dramatic “new” phenomenon in our book, Telephone Calls from the Dead. This work describes various types of telephonic communications and their characteristics. This phenomenon consists of paranor- mal telephonic effects and is made up of two main types; calls representing the dead and in lesser number, calls representing the living. A brief discussion of the phenome- non follows. A number of people have received telephone calls offer- ing

voices representing dead relatives, friends and others. Such voices are frequently identical in tone to those when the “callers” were living. Pet names, identifying phrases, forms of speech, veridical information, etc., are given on occasion. Interestingly, the voices show a general reluc- tance to say that they represent the dead even though this fact is easily determined. Other characteristics have come to light, including a tendency to avoid actual names, the frequent occurrence on appropriate days, anniversaries, day of death, etc. Another inter- esting characteristic is that when the receiver of such a call is not aware that the “caller” is dead, the communication may extend in length. Examples exist presenting multiple witnesses, successive calls, etc. In my opinion, these abnormal telephone calls offer splendid evidence for surviving spirits and I personally attribute many if not most to that source. “Voices of the living” occur in lesser number and constitute a curious puzzle. Usually, a telephone call will be made and one speaks normally to an apparent living person but later it is discovered that the person who answered was provably not present. I personal- ly experienced a call of this type. At this time I do not think that any adequate theory for this form of the telephone phenomenon can be advanced and refuse to engage in speculation. [Editor’s Note: Current evidence is that the thoughts of living people can sometimes be recorded as EVP. This would be pre- dicted by the ATransC Survival Hypothesis.] Other varieties of abnormal

telephone calls exist, some quite “exotic”, but they occur very infrequently. The field of paranormal telephonic communication is extremely complex and becomes more so as research continues. Paranormal communications have been rarely reported with telephone answering devices. I know of two which are worthy of the most serious consideration, but unfortunately in each case permission has not been granted to present the evidence. The voice in one case is remarkably clear and perfectly tonal. The recipient states that the voice’s tonal characteristics are identical to the voice of the person when living. In this case the time element is unparalleled in that the “communicator” died forty years previously. Television voices of an abnormal nature have occasion- ally been reported as well as those heard over the radio. I have personally heard a television example. Only one word, a significant one, was heard during a quiet moment in the middle of a TV skit. New possible developments for the reception of voice phenomena are now under consideration and with the development of new electronic communication instru- ments, more advanced results might well take place. First published in the Journal of the Academy of Religion and Psychical Research, Vol. 3, No. 1 January, 1980. [Now the Journal of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies] From: ITC Journal, no.33, December 2008; itcjournal.org References 1 Carrington, Hereward. Laboratory Investigations into Psy- chic Phenomena, The David McKay Company. N. D., Pg 147 2 Garland, Hamlin, The Mystery of the Buried Crosses, E.P. 1939. Dutton archive.org/details/mysteryoftheburi010950mbp Company, York,

New and 3 Welch, William. Talks with the Dead, Pinnacle Books, New York, 1975, Pages 150-51. 4 Photograph of Raymond Bayless courtesy Marjorie Bayless News From Members (cid:143) Jutta Liebmann reports that the VTF conference held May 27-30 in Fulda was a great success. She wrote, “There were reports on Transcommunication from sever- al guest speakers. In the evening Carola Zimmermann did some EVP recordings using her computer and new members were amazed with the results. Many received convincing evidence through personal messages from their deceased loved ones.” (cid:143) Witnessing the Impossible by Robin Foy traces every session of the Scole Experimental Group over the years, from its founda- tion and the beginning of The Scole Experiment in 1993 to its very sudden and unexpected end- ing in November 1998. In all, it follows over 1,000 continuous hours of mediumship and objec- tive physical phenomena. The book represents the only true and complete eyewitness account of this unique and pioneering experiment, which pushed the boundaries of psychic research further than ever before at that time, consequently changing the face of physical mediumship and its resulting phenomena for all time. You can purchase the book at scoleexperiment.com Page 17 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Researcher Reports (cid:143) Susie Alverson wrote, “I was in big grieving mode today and recorded, hoping to capture an EVP from Lance. I did.” In the first one Susie asked, “Why do I miss you so much today?” And records Lance saying “We love you.” Later on

in the recording she said, “There’s Dad, I’m turning this off,” and recorded Lance once again saying, “We love you.” (cid:143) Rhonda Burton wrote that she had recorded with an Olympus DS30 using a fan as background noise. She recorded “Mom?” When she removed too much of the fan noise, the voice totally disappeared. Considering the voice was loud, it really surprised her. (cid:143) Teri Daner’s son Geoff died in a trag- ic auto accident April 15, 2005. On the anniversary this year she tried to re- cord EVP without success. But later that day, she was on Facebook commu- nicating with anoth- er ATransC member, Christine Jenkins, about Geoff’s passing and how difficult it was for her. She shared with Christine some of the signs she has received from Geoff. Terri wrote that an odd thing happened when she opened Christine’s first message back to her. Teri’s computer said verbally, right after she opened it, “Message from Geoff.” Teri wrote, “I about fell over, then I cried. This has never happened!” Geoff (cid:143) Margaret Downey did a wa- ter ITC session in March for someone and got this inter- esting figure. The person did not recognize the figure. Margaret wrote that she felt the man had dark hair and a thick, possibly graying mus- tache. She wrote, “He seems to be mid thirty-fortyish ... though I have no idea why I say that. Certainly could be fifty-something, but I’m thinking not twenties or six- ties. I did an EVP

session asking who he is and got the response, ‘He might be Don.’” Margaret does not know a Don. If anyone recognizes this man please email Margaret using the Member Registry. Man’s head. Image taken with light reflecting from moving water. (cid:143) Debbie Helms wrote, “I asked my Dad if he could see me. I believe he says, ‘I can see you, Debbie.’” (cid:143) Lorie McMorrow did a recording on Mother’s Day. She wrote, “When I asked Kevin if he had any message for Mom, I got, ‘Hi, love you.’ Then I asked if he wanted to say anything to Dad and heard, ‘He’ll agree.’ I think Kev’s humor might be coming through again. Dad has always been very agreeable, preferring to avoid conflict and Mom chastises him for being too passive. She prefers to speak her mind. Another indication that the connection wasn’t as easy to make yesterday is when I asked Kevin if he had a message for anyone else. I heard the reply as if he were shouting from a distance trying to make himself heard, ‘Kevin,’ a pause, then ‘Jeff, Kevin.’ I think he just wanted our brother Jeff to know he’s still around. I decided to ask for some help and asked Sarah Estep and Debbie Caruso if they could help Kev come through better. I got back a calm sounding female voice saying, ‘We love you.’ I didn’t tape anymore thinking that was nice, and perhaps that was someone’s way of telling me to

try another time when the connection may be better. (cid:143) David Mierzwinski wrote, “I’ve been working in the basement with an unmodified DA-200 recorder with various background noise patterns. I’ve had some luck using an old Pioneer spring reverb unit fed to an ampli- fied speaker. Tonight I got a name (Jason Talionis) and a message that said they are trying to reach me. ‘Hi David, I’m trying to reach you.’” (cid:143) Christopher Scott shared, “I recorded with my DS-40 while washing dishes in the kitchen. It was early in the morning (6:30 am) and I was alone in the house. I got one good example of transform EVP.” He recorded “I’ve got your number. I’m your mother.” Chris explained, “Be- fore I recorded this message, I was remarking that I had been in a negative mood over the last few days. This is the exact phrase my mother would have said to me when she called me out on something like being in a negative mood during the holidays.” (cid:143) Allison Sniffen wrote “I went to Virginia again this week and another message came in while I was in Mom’s house. It seems to say, ‘Dolly Parton had (or made) a vehi- cle that color.’ I’d fallen in love with an unusual shiny bronze dress suit at Macy’s earlier that day, that’s all I can think the voice might be referring to.” Allison later did some research on Dolly’s car and found it was indeed the same color as

the suit she had been looking at. Picture from starcarstn.com/DollyPartonC (cid:143) Vicki Talbott shared a recording she got with Adobe Audition and a slight waterfall background. She says, “Braden’s name in French class was ‘Raoul.’ We used to laugh so hard at that, Continued page 19 Volume 29, Number 2 Page 18 Researcher Reports Continued from page 18 and exaggerate the pronunciation and our facial expres- sions when we said it. I’m still laughing as I type this.” She recorded “Raoul.” “That’s so funny.” (cid:143) Jayne Thompson followed a suggestion from Margaret Downey and asked for a tech during a recording session. Listening back, she felt that she heard the name “David” twice. When David Mierzwinski listened he also heard the name Edward. Margaret Downey’s tech is David who sometimes “assigns” other techs to help, so she recorded and asked “David, was that you working with Jayne tonight?” She recorded, “Edwards got the spot.” (cid:143) Briah West wrote, “It’s been ages since I used my DVR (Olympus VN5200) at home, I was thinking of selling it but now I think it’s a keeper.” She recorded what she thought said “I’ll get him … Bazil” and several other things. She commented, “It is funny. I used to always ask them to say Bazil (my Chihuahua who died last Oct.) and now they mention him all the time.” (cid:143) Yvonne Whybra wrote, “It has been a roller coaster ride since my ex was told they found cancer. I used EVPmak- er and

got “There are eight here” or “Prepare there are eight here”. My ex has lost eight family members in the last twelve years. His parents are both gone, his twin sisters met with an untimely death. One sister died of AIDS and the other was going to visit her when she along with her husband and two teenagers were killed. His brother died of a fatal disease also.... I asked them to watch over him and I got validation that the eight of them are with him. Not sure which one I am hearing.” Thoughts From Members (cid:143) Allison Sniffin wrote that, while going through her mom’s effects, she found an excerpt from a poem by John Donne (16th century) written in two calendars dating from her first brush with death in 2001. She feels like her mom has proven Donne right! “DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty … One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more: death, thou shalt die.” (cid:143) Becky Estep: In the Fall 2009 Journal we ran a small piece titled “EVP Recordings in Concert.” Jesse Guess- ford, a composer, had asked for members to share their EVP and with them had created a composition called Grieving Point. Becky Estep wrote that this article re- minded her of something. She wrote, “About two weeks before Mom passed away, while in the hospital, she told me that she had a ‘vision’ of a man who was on a

stage. He was a conductor but there were no musicians around. The stage was empty and so was the auditorium he appeared to be in. Mom was in an upper balcony, watch- ing the man on the stage. I think he was waving a baton around, acting like he was conducting the orchestra. The man asked Mom several times to join him on the stage but Mom said she wasn’t ready to join him.” Felix Circle Continued from page 4 The first time a white substance seemed to hang out of the medium’s mouth, ending in a hand-like shape that lay on the chest of the medium. “The second time this substance seemed considerably elongated. It reached down to the floor, the hand lying flat on the floor … The last time the hand rested on the medi- um’s left shoulder . To some sitters, it appeared larger than before…. The connection to the medium’s mouth was not existent, but the whitish mass seemed to be behind the hand extending towards the nape of the medium. After the cur- tain closed, the medium awoke from the trance and we ended the séance … To conclude with my personal estima- tion: It is my general impression that the observed large- scale phenomena were genuine and that the circle members are trustworthy persons.” Big Circle Recording Dates Record on or near Big Circle night and then share your messages on the ATransC message board, the Idea Ex- change. Upcoming recording dates are:

July 8 and 22 August 5 and 19 September 2, 16 and 30 October 14 and 28 You don’t have to record on just those dates. The Big Circle Spirit team is there to help recorders at any time. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get in the Idea Exchange. If you have forgotten your password just click the link under the login to take care of it. Contact Registry As noted in the Viewpoint, members are now able to sponsor loved ones on the other side in a registry designed to help match messages with loved ones. Our volunteer team of Christine Jenkins, Karen Mossey and Vicki Talbott will help ATransC members who are in the Member Reg- istry (address sharing list) to “sponsor” loved ones. The idea is that you can use the search tool at the bottom of each web page to see if you can match up any name or distin- guishing information you record with people mentioned on the website—especially in the Contact Registry. (For those of you who wish to participate in the Registry, please be patient with us. Use the contact information provided at bigcircle.atransc.org/contact_registry/ to let us know you wish to participate and to learn what is required of you, but then give the committee time to catch up. In advance, thanks for your patience.) Correction The photograph titled Friends on page 8 of the Winter NewsJournal (28-4) was incorrectly credited. It was

taken by by Ferran Pestaña at flickr.com/photos/ferranp Page 19 Summer 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal How Your Membership Dues are Used Your membership has made the atransc.org website possible, and has enabled ATransC to conduct important research into the nature of transcommunication phenomena. It has also provided the means with which we are able to publish the Association TransCommunication NewsJournal which contains important articles about people’s experiences and ad- vances in understanding in these phenomena. Because of the work of members and your support, we have evolved a view of what the survival of our personality means and how transcommunication occurs that is so different from mainstream thought that we now refer to the hypothesis we work with as the ATransC Survival Hypothesis. This would not have happened without member support. There are several studies going on and we would like to do more. If you have ideas about areas of research or about experiments that could be done that would help the greater EVP/ITC/TransC community understand transcommunication better, please let us know. If you can help fund research we need you! We (the Directors) have been participating in a weekly development circle we call the Socrates Circle. Our objective is to develop physical phenomena of the nature produced by the Scole Group. We have been invited to sit in on the Circle of the Silver Cord (David Thompson), the Felix Circle, as well as a rarely held Stewart Alexander. We think members will be interested in reading about our experiences

in these circles and we also hope that the experience will help our circle develop. (We attend these circles using our own personal funds.) The Socrates Circle will also soon be working with an updated Raudive device. We feel that knowing that we survive death is very important! We are one of the few organizations/nonprofits even doing this kind of work. Please help support the Association through your donations and gifts. There is No Death and There are No Dead to help This was written teach about EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy at atransc.org or send a letter with signing in- structions to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus mail costs Priority Mail Cost International First book: Each additional: $6.00 $2.00 $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The pain of losing a child and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: Mar- tha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf Park- way, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097. Or: www.evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus mail cost; include GA tax. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Mail Cost First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues,

I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 29, Number 2 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Fall 2010,

Volume 29 Number 3 We chose the skyline of Frankfurt, Germany for this issue’s cover picture because the Felix Experimental Group lives in a suburb of the city, but also because it illustrates human- kind’s determination to move on after great hardship. Some eighty-five percent of the city had been destroyed during the war, yet today, it has become Germany’s financial capital and is a beautiful place to visit. Materialization Mediumship There are two articles in this issue about materialization phenomena. We were fortunate to be invited to sit with the Felix Experimental Group in Germany. From them, we have learned much more about how phenomena are formed. way, if we are imagining voices in noise, then EVP is a question for psychologists (para-psychologists). If we are not, then EVP is a question for physicists and psycholo- gists. As we can see in the online Phantom Voices test (page 16), some reported “EVP” are clearly imagined, and from other studies, we know others are factual. The same can be said of visual forms of ITC. Thus, EVP is a question for all three disciplines. A frequent theme in this work is that informed opinions about these phenomena in general and survival in particu- lar, must be based on both mainstream thought and the possibility of nonphysical factors. Frankfurt, Germany: Home of the Felix Experimental Group We also sat with Hoyt Robinette who is more correctly known as a pre- cipitation medium. He is able to facilitate the para- normal formation

of pic- tures. While Hoyt works in a very different way than what one normally expects for materializa- tion, we see important similarities. Perhaps even more interesting is that Hoyt’s work has similari- ties with ITC, making it more likely they are paranormal. We will be traveling to the UK to attend a Stewart Alexander séance in October. He is retired now and occa- sionally demonstrates to invited sitters. We are excited to attend and know that we will be learning even more. Survival Research It seems as if we live in a different world. Parapsycholo- gists quibble over the significance of p values for psi function studies that depend on fractions of a percent to be significant, yet those same statistical analysis techniques will automatically reject rare Class A EVP as falling out- side of the norm. The preponderance of articles about mediumship and survival are historical, and none ... Seri- ously, none of the authors have a passing understanding of ITC. For virtually the entire field of parapsychology, what we study as factual experiences are considered mental aberrations What is wrong with this picture? Our study of materialization mediumship is showing that it is impossible to properly evaluate a reported phenome- non from only the perspective of psychology. Put another Idea Exchange Recent activity on the Idea Exchange has been in- structional for us. You can probably tell from this NewsJournal that we lean toward the technical and always try to maintain a critical view so as not

to tell you more than we ac- tually know. Your under- standing this is important to your ability to trust in our reporting. The discus- sion board is intended to give people a way to share exam- ples. Because we cannot provide one-on-one support to members, the board is also a tool for members to help one another learn more about working with these phenomena. Of course, it is also a place for friends to be together, but it really is not intended to be a social forum. When someone makes a statement that is probably not supported by the evidence, we feel that others might think it is correct if that view is not at least discussed. The same can be said of examples that are probably not phenomenal. Our comments may be uncomfortable for the person who posted the example or comment, but one of the most important things all of us must learn if we are ever to make this a mainstream field of study is that ideas must be vetted. That is, we must be willing to have others ask us why we think what we do and have good reasons for our response. Information Gathering Using EVPmaker The study to see if EVPmaker with allophones can be used to name a secret target is still underway. Cindy Heinen is managing the study Continued page 13 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.......................................................................................................................1 Ronald Burge....................................................................................................................................3 A Visit to the Felix Experimental Group.......................................................................................4 Martha’s Message from George

Wynne........................................................................................7 Rhonda Burton’s Moving Water ITC............................................................................................8 4Cell Groups Report........................................................................................................................8 Announcement for Grant 2010.......................................................................................................8 Elisabeth is Still a Healer................................................................................................................9 Sitting with Hoyt Robinette..........................................................................................................10 Synchronicities...............................................................................................................................13 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................13 Rhine Research Center Needs Radio-Sweep EVP......................................................................14 Konstantin Raudive Update..........................................................................................................14 EVPmaker Study Targets.............................................................................................................14 Visual ITC Perception Study........................................................................................................15 Phantom Voices..............................................................................................................................16 Radio Ghost Mystery at Former RAF Station............................................................................17 Researchers’ Reports.....................................................................................................................18 News From Members.....................................................................................................................19 Thoughts From Members.............................................................................................................19 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline

and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Web Masters: Tom Butler Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Advisory Panel: Cindy Heinen Edgar Müller ATransC is one of the few organizations dedicated to the systematic study of survival to help people understand death, dying and what to expect after transition. All staff is volunteer but research and facilities are costly. If understanding the other side is important to you, please consider putting ATransC in your will: See atransc.org/donate.htm Volume 29, Number 3 Page 2 Fall 2010 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Yvonne Whybra Sustaining Members

Kelly Jenkins Burge Cindy Heinen Howard Reed Heidi Spencer Mark Tominac Supporters Martha Copeland Mark Dunsavage Gabriela Escobar Cheri Kussavage Jean Estrade Russell Keeler Neil Kiernan Robert Meyer Ginny Sawyer Jayne Thompson Ronald Burge by Kelly Burge like an inside warning that something horrible had hap- pened. I knew this feeling because I had it one time before. I just went into a panic and of course seeing my state the kids panicked, too. I ran out the front door and saw that there was an accident that had just happened. He was hit by a truck on his motorcycle in front of our farm. Killed instantly. There were already officers there (we are 2 acres from the road). I knew.....I told them it was my husband and to let me go to him and they told me, no that it was a man from Chesterfield and I just screamed. He had not had his license changed yet. My lowest point ever as a parent, because I just forgot I had children and just wanted to get to him. They wouldn’t let me pass. My children had to see me on my hands and knees trying to crawl to their father who was laying dead in the road... I saw him on the second night after his death as clear as I would see anyone standing next to me. He didn’t speak but I knew he needed me to follow. I did just that and we ended up in the

middle of the horse pasture. People from inside the house started yelling at me, and at that moment, he turned to white light and went straight up towards the sky in a straight beam of light. People tell me I was asleep; I’m 100% sure I was wide awake. I remember every detail. The Pasture of Light The house has horrible bathroom doors that will lock you out. Well, we got locked out. We could not get the door open. I came upstairs and walked past the locked, closed bathroom door with my daughter following me. We sat in my bathroom having a crying time over Ron, and when we walked out, the door was wide open with the lights on. I grabbed my recorder and got “Yes, I’m here,” and what sounds like “This is my new voice.” One other thing we dealt with a lot were lights flickering and bulbs going out within a week or so after replacing them. It stopped after about the first year or so and it all makes perfect sense as he was a manufacturer’s rep for commercial lighting. Lighting and electrical work was his day to day life! Continued page 7 Page 3 Fall 2010 My husband, Ronald Burge, was killed instantly in a mo- torcycle accident. This is long story. I tell it a lot and for some reason I feel comforted when I do tell it. I guess it’s because as long as I can tell it, somewhere inside of

me I can realize that it did happen. For the longest time I couldn’t get a grip on that. It was if he knew. The night before he died we were all in the car coming home from a church play the kids had been in. I don’t know how we got to talking about it but all of a sudden he came out with “If I died tomorrow, I know where I am going so I don’t worry about things like that.” I remember feeling so at peace with what he had said because for so long Ronald had struggled with alcoholism and he had overcome it. He always feared his addiction would take him straight to hell. He overcame his depen- dence, though, in the year before he was killed. Life was good. Better than ever. Anyway, we had purchased our farmhouse in Montpelier and were moving in. It was our dream home. He had wanted to bring his motorcycle home. I hated that motorcy- cle. It was my fear... yet I had to go into town near his office the next day (the day after the church play) and I offered him a ride into work so he could bring it home. I told him “at least I would know when to worry.” If he had it home I would know when he was on it... So he took me up on the offer. I had my doctor’s appointment and then while looking at some books he

called me and invited me to lunch. It was the last time I saw him alive. I can’t ride past that Friendly’s without seeing him standing there in his black T-shirt and faded jeans and those work boots. He looked so wonderful to me. Next... I went home and the kids and I were sitting around when I got this feeling of a punch in the gut. It was Association TransCommunication NewsJournal A Visit to the Felix Experimental Group by Tom and Lisa Butler In August, we had the wonderful opportunity to fly to Frankfurt, Germany to sit with the Felix Experimental Group. The physical medium of the group, Kai Muegge, lives in a lovely old farmhouse in the picturesque suburb of Hanau. The séances are conducted in a World War II bomb shelter, which is the basement of Kai’s house. We were greeted by Kai’s mother, Elke, who guided us up several flights of stairs to her liv- ing area which had commanding a view of a lush back yard. One and two at a time, the circle members gathered at the dining room table in preparation for the séance. They all spoke good Eng- lish and each took time to make us feel welcome. Elke and leader Dr. circle Jochen Soederling, a cardiologist, and member Alex, gave us information on the background of the group showing us many of the exciting apports that the group has received. Kai briefly came in and greeted us but then went back

to the intense meditation that he does before each séance. Séance room At the appointed time, Jochen led us to the basement where we were able to examine the small space where the séance was to be held. The space is about ten by fifteen feet with wood paneling and a large piece of plywood on the floor. A small wind chime is hung from the wood-paneled ceiling just above a bongo drum sitting on the floor. The chairs are arranged in a U-shape which is open toward where the medium sits. The medium’s chair is in a cabinet made of a curtain hung from the ceiling in the fashion of a free-standing shower stall. Closed during the séance, it is shown here with the opening pulled back as it is when the ectoplasm is revealed in the other pictures. At the right, in the above picture, there is a lamp with a shade that covers the red light. This light is covered with a black cloth during the séance to shield the red light from the camera. There is also a camera on a tripod at the end of the room opposite from the cabinet and behind the sitters. The eight circle members and three additional guest sitters were directed to their chairs. We sat next to each other two seats from the cabinet, on the side with the red light. Circle leader Jochen sat next to me, translating the German communication from the group’s main spirit con- tact,

Hans Bender. After Kai was seated and the cabinet closed, the lights were turned off and an opening prayer was said. There followed many minutes of Kai’s deep breathing as back- ground music played. We already knew that Kai had learned Holotropic Breathing, which helps him enter into a deep trance, otherwise we might have been concerned about his welfare, as his breathing was loud, rapid and gasping. As the breathing quieted, Jochen excitedly whispered to me, “Hans is coming.” Soon a voice came from the cabinet introducing itself as Hans Bender, who is a well-known German parapsychologist often referred to as “Spook Bender” because of his dedication to the study of survival. Hans made some opening remarks and welcomed us and the other guest sitters personally. What a thrill it was to hear one of the most important figures in the history of paranormal research say your name! Unfortunately the recording of the séance failed and it is difficult to remem- ber all that was said. Oh, just to have had a recording of him saying “Tom and Leeeza”! Hans has said in the past that there are five afterlife chemists who are responsible for the ectoplasmic structures that are used in various experiments throughout the séance. Hans has called this type of séance an “ideoplastic materi- alization séance.” [Ideoplastic is a term coined by Max Vor- worm but used here in the sense intended by the German parapsychology icon Dr. Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing as: Everything that can be

remembered, also things the medium has read or observed or is interested in, all these memories can find a materializing reflection in the force field. (among others: Phe- nomena of Materialization, Munich 1925)] Illustration of luminous plate with simulation of hand responding to mental request to show an “OK” sign (A). Same plate illustrating relative size of other simulated hands that we saw (B). Soon there was the sound of the wind chime from the ceiling quickly followed by raps on the ceiling. They sounded for all the world like a herd of gerbils scampering across the ceiling. The sound seemed to come from the direction of the cabinet toward the wind chime. Suddenly, the raps were being made on the wood panel directly behind our heads. Many excited shouts and exclamations followed as peo- ple were being touched. Tom said that he had been touched on his stomach and his head, and later described it as being touched by a soft cloth. Jochen pointed out to me that several people Continued page 5 Volume 29, Number 3 Page 4 Felix Experimental Group Continued from page 4 were being touched at one time on opposite sides of the circle. This would have been impossible for any one person to accomplish. There was no sound on the wood floor panel, and at the same time Hans was speaking (through the medium) from within the cabinet. I let out an involuntary squeal as something that felt like a feather actually tickled my

sandaled foot, between my little toe and next toe, before dashing up my chin. I was amazed at the precision of this feat which happened very quickly. As it became quiet again, we were reminded to keep our feet under our chairs so as not to interfere with the struc- tures. Hans requested that Jochen remove a six inch square luminous plate and place it on the bongo drum which was on the wood floor directly in front of Tom and me. Soon we could see the shape of a hand move over the plate from the side closest to us. The plate was occluded by the hand, first by just a few poorly formed fingers, but at one point, a thumb was also visible. The hand moved back and forth on and off the plate. Then we saw the hand structure coming over the plate from the other direction. The hand- shaped structure actually turned the plate about forty-five degrees before once again appearing on the side of the plate nearest us. After showing us a few fingers belonging to a large hand, a child-sized hand shaped in an “OK” sign briefly moved to the center of the plate. Little did I realize that Tom had been making an “OK” sign with his right hand on his leg and mentally asking that the structure do this!. It did! Red light photograph of ectoplasmic veil issuing from the mouth of the medium and stretched across his hands, knees and feet.

Our next treat was the handkerchief experiment. We had been shown the handkerchief with the luminous tabs before the lights were turned off. For the experiment, Jochen stood up close to his chair and held the handkerchief out. All of a sudden it was flying around the circle! I was asked to stand up, staying very close to my chair, and hold the handkerchief out. I was told to let it go the minute I felt something. I stood holding the handkerchief out, and was twice asked by Hans from the cabinet if I felt anything. I was starting to panic that my energy was not correct for the experiment when I felt a tug and off the little cloth flew. It came right back rushing up to within inches of my chest! Red light photograph of ectoplasmic sheet col- lapsed on the floor next to medium’s shoe and a hand that is showing above the collapsed ectoplasm seemingly coming from under the chair seat. Hans spoke to us in English about the structures we had been seeing. We also collaborated with Kai and Jochen after returning home to make sure we correctly report the concept. Kai explained that, from our point of view, the “rigid energy field” fills the experimental area as a three- dimensional field. This field enables the compaction of energy/matter. This happens by interlacing the nonphysical with the physical aspects of reality, which are normally considered two independent realms. Kai explained that most of the physical

interactions during the séance are made possible by this. A “thought form” is a collection of related ideas, images and memories and can be thought of as a gestalt “thought ball.” Everyone has a worldview, which is really a collec- tion of thought forms characterizing our beliefs and under- standing of our world. Bender said the thought forms from the sitters, as well as from many entities in the etheric, begin to develop in this field in more and more complex and perfect, denser stages. The forms may be based on what we want to see appear because we have read about them or because we are per- suaded they might appear. They all originate from our virtual world of visualized thoughts as mental projections. They may also originate as projections of thoughts of those in the etheric. “Those who are the closest to us in the non-physical,” Hans Bender said in the séance, “will use this opportunity to express themselves. So if sitters are longing to hear from a deceased loved one and then feel a touch, Continued page 6 Page 5 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Felix Experimental Group Continued from page 5 they can be sure the touch is actually coming from that beloved person.” Kai explained that how complete and well-formed the structure is depends on how well the thought forms are developed in our mind. While they may clearly reflect the intention of the sitters, more often, they seem to be interwo- ven with the

sitter’s subconscious hopes and expectations. If these are conflicted, the resulting structure might be poorly or oddly formed in a similar way. Jochen was asked to prepare the trumpet and a sitter handed him one that had been on the floor behind the circle. The cabinet was closed and Jochen was able to use a bright flashlight to “charge” the luminescent tape as he had earlier “charged” the luminescent plate. He put the trumpet on the floor, large end down, in the middle of the room. Moments later, we were able to see the trumpet fall over and away from the cabinet. Bender asked Jochen to move it closer to the cabinet where the energy field was stronger, and this time, the trumpet fell small end toward the cabinet. It moved about on the floor in a jerky, uncertain fashion evidently as they worked to gain control of it. Moments later, the trumpet shot into the air and demonstrated a bewildering flight of control that would be impossible of a physical person in that dark room. The sitters laughed and loudly chanted to add power to its flight. After the trumpet had been returned to the back of the room, some of the sitters pointed out a light in front of the bottom of the cabinet. This light moved on the floor by our feet. Shortly after this a bright, penny-sized, biolumines- cent, blue-green light could be seen flying around the circle. It came within inches of my face and

I was amazed at its brightness. The circle leader whispered to us that Hans was saying we needed to raise the energy to keep the light going. Everyone in the circle began shouting what sounded to us like “Fly, fly,” and we started chanting this. The light reappeared and the sitters laughed with excite- ment as it came close to them. Later Tom told me that he had opened his palm and mentally asked the light to land on his hand and it did! He said that he did not feel the light itself, but did feel a firm structure holding the light as it briefly touched his hand between his thumb and index finger. When we later asked about the light, Jochen told us that he had concluded that the light was part of a materialized structure. He said it looked like it was embedded into a funnel like structure. However over the past few sittings, the appearance had changed, he no longer saw the sur- rounding structure and could only see the pure light. Tom reported that when it touched him, it felt firm and smooth, neither hot nor cold and about two centimeters square. Hans was asked if we would be able to take pictures with the red light. He answered that he would let us know in a few minutes. We were very excited when he came back with a yes! We were told that Hans would tap the floor three times with Kai’s foot when

he was ready for the pictures to be taken. At that time, the group would count to ten. At “ten,” the red light was turned on while the curtains were opened by the sitters on either side of the cabinet and Jochen took pictures for a count of five. The red light was between the cabinet and me, and when the curtains were opened, I could only see the bottom half of the cabinet. What I thought I saw was the light on shimmering cabinet curtains. In other words, I thought the curtains were not even opened on that first shot. Later and after looking at the picture Jochen took, I realized that I was seeing a wall of shimmering ectoplasm rather than the curtains. Tom saw that it was coming out of the medium’s mouth and said that it looked wet, very shiny and very white even in the red light. Ectoplasmic hand coming out of pile of ectoplasm on the floor. (Enlarged inset) The next time the curtains were opened after a ten-count, I could see a mass of ectoplasm on the floor next to the medium’s sneaker. The last view was a real shock because there in the middle of the pile of ectoplasm was a funny looking simulation of a hand. Tom even saw it move, as if pulsing to grow larger! The séance ended after the pictures were taken and we all returned to the top-floor dining room table to excitedly discuss what we had

experienced. Most of that is a blur because both of us were in something of a daze from what we had just witnessed. Thoughts Tom said that, both with the “OK” sign and the moving light, he mentally asked Hans Bender and the etheric chem- ists to respond to a specific request and they did. His experiment was unknown to anyone else in the room and with the dark conditions no one would have been able to even see the OK sign on his leg. The structures behaved as if they were under intelligent control by grabbing handker- chiefs out of people’s hands and performing other feats. But this intelligent control was not human; its fast and precise movements, often within inches of a sitter’s face, were beyond any human’s capability. All of this in total darkness. Continued page 14 Volume 29, Number 3 Page 6 Martha’s Message from George Wynne Ronald Burge Continued from page 3 Ronald was also a strong believer. He would talk to me endlessly about my father’s presence at work. Especially when Ronald would go to clean the office building. He would go on and on about my dad being there. My dad worked in and owned that building for many years. Some of the other EVP that I have gotten from him have been him saying, “Hello” and one of him saying, “I love you.” Another is him saying, “I’m sorry”. I’m sorry has come a few times as the motorcycle was a huge

arguing point with us and I blamed myself for his death and still do at times because I offered to take him to bring it home that day. I believe he is comforting me. I’ve gotten text messages. They are from his phone (he never was a texter) and they all say that they have expired so I see nothing. We also get blank voice mails from his telephone number. I have never deactivated his phone. I’m always waiting for another text. Ron and daughter Janie I spent a lot of time at the cemetery at night and took pictures and it was from those that Margaret found Ronald in them. I had shared pictures of him before he died and it was a clear match. I, in my state of craziness (which still may be present; ugh!) did not back up my things except for the texts and lost it all on a PC. I have no idea why it never occurred to me to save it in more than one place but it just didn’t. I haven’t gotten anything in a while. I think some- times the grief is so heavy that I just sort of can’t see the forest for the trees. I still have voice mails he left before he died though, and I cherish them! The children, my eldest is Aubrey Ann, son Wesley and youngest is Janie, are doing better, so back to our farm we are going. [Editor: After the accident they moved

away.] They are really happy about it and I have mixed emotions. I am hoping, though, that I get a connection back. I’m blocked when it comes to him and I don’t know why? He was just 44. Sometimes it seems like it’s been forever and sometime it feels like it happened yesterday. My daughter Aubrey has his footprint on the floor of her room at the farm and she guards it! It’s managed to stay exactly the same for all this time. I just keep praying every night to regain my connection. As of today, it’s been 2 years, 9 months, 6 days since I lost him. I know he is near, I just can’t feel it. Page 7 Fall 2010 Martha Copeland with George Wynne Many members will remember George Wynne who was very active within the Association. He used EVP to try to reach his wife Maya who made her transition in 2001. Maya was the love of George’s life and remained so even though they were separated by her transition. In 2007 George emailed some of us that he had learned he had pancreatic cancer. He made his transition just a week later. As a very close friend with Martha Copeland, his last email to her read, “I just want you to let me be there to help you when things get too difficult for you to handle. Remember our key word.” Martha wrote, “George sent me several EVP after his transition saying, ‘Martha, this is

George, George Wynne’. I knew it was George’s voice coming through and I understood what he was saying. Just before he was diag- nosed with a rapid spreading cancer we had agreed upon using a secret code if one of us should ever make our transition. George did come through with that key word, during several of my recording sessions, and I could hear him. Maybe by being privy in knowing the secret code word beforehand helped me to hear it.” The password was not class “A” and so was never released. In July, Martha was preparing for an EVP session. She asked her daughter Cathy and the Big Circle spirit team to help: “I did not even have George on my mind because I had given up on him.” The EVP that Martha recorded is very clear and it is in George’s distinctive voice, there is no doubt that it is George, saying “George Wynne … I can be of help.” Martha was not only shocked, she was more than a little frustrated with getting this Class A EVP from George two years, nine months after his transition. Why are EVP like this so few and far between? Why does one person come with messages right away and anoth- er communicate with a shockingly clear EVP, a one in a million EVP, two-and-a-half years later. Are they doing other things over there or are the differences in time some- thing that we just don’t understand? If you are trying

to reach your loved one, don’t give up. George has helped us by showing us once again how little we understand about how things work. The EVP is in the Articles section of the ATransC website. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Rhonda Burton’s Moving Water ITC Rhonda Burton recently reported in the Idea Exchange that: “I recently visited a beautiful old movie theater and cap- tured this image. It looks like a face starts forming bottom right, then rolls upward.” On closer inspection, it was clear that there were numerous faces in the water. Looking down at a large bowl of water. A face can be clearly seen at about the 4 o’clock position of the circle. This is a good example of how visual ITC images can show up anywhere the light is suitable for image formation. This might be considered a spontaneous version of the water ITC images produced by other members using the moving water technique to generate optical noise. It should be noted that the faces are not necessarily associated with “local” ghosts and could be initiated by people anywhere in the etheric. Just some of the faces in Rhonda’s picture. Top-left: a face at the 4 o’clock position; top-right: a possible hound at the 7 o’clock position; bottom-left: possibly a woman’s face with maybe a child and pet; and, bottom-right: a man wearing a cap. The lapel of his coat is visible and there is a man standing in the background. 4Cell Groups Report An interesting report

from the 4Repeaters 4Cell group was posted in the Idea Exchange. Questioner Jayne Thompson asked: “Spirit, when asked to answer the question, please state the make and color of the vehicle that I currently own and drive.” The expected response was Toyota, green. Dan De Paula was the Sender, and Debra Shapiro was the Receiver. Debra recorded “Green Toyota” followed by “That is the answer.” The utterance in the sound file is very difficult to make out. The wave form was almost flat, but voice modulation was able to be detected in the raw file. With just amplifica- tion and some careful listening, the words are pretty clearly there. An individual asking for specific information via EVP has not proven successful in studies conducted via the Idea Exchange. However, groups of three or four people work- ing together and following a specific protocol appears to be a reliable technique for information gathering, possibly because of the increased focus required when cooperating as a team. If several 4Cells become available, it may be possible to conduct a formal study of this. So consider establishing your own group and establishing a track record of successes so that you can participate in such a study. Announcement for Grant 2010 The Helene Reeder Fund is pleased to announce the avail- ability of grants for small- and medium-sized scientific research projects concerning the issue of life after death. Grants will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 5000 maximum (about $678 to $6,776

USD as of 22 March 2010). The topic Research into Life after Death should constitute the main objective of the project. Applications are to be submitted by email to the HRF c/o [email protected] Your applications should be in English and include: · Detailed description of the project, including the objec- tives of the project · Methodology · Cost budget · Timetable · Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals · Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the applicant · How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result · Any other financing than from HRF Applications should be received not later than the 30th of October, 2010. It is the intention of the HRF to evaluate the applications and to make decisions regarding the grants before the end of December. Applicants will be notified by email after that and the grants will be payable during De- cember. Stockholm, March 2010 Edgar E. Müller Volume 29, Number 3 Page 8 Elisabeth is Still a Healer by Jane Katra, Ph.D. (Originally published in the March 2010 ASPSI Searchlight ) In early July of 2007, I received an email from a woman named Devorah in Switzerland, asking me if I would do a phone healing session with her. She had read about my healing work in a book entitled Limitless Mind, written by my former partner, physicist and psychic researcher Rus- sell Targ. Russell had written that book in the months following the death of his daughter, physician

Elisabeth Targ. He dedicated the book to his daughter Elisabeth, including in it much about Elisa- beth’s life, healing work and re- search, as well as his loving memories of her beauty, brilliance and psychic abilities. I did a phone healing interaction with Devorah who told me that she was only thirty-eight years old, and that she had asthma and difficulty breathing. I was thinking that she was casually wondering what phone healing was all about, as it is quite an unusual and irrational process, even for me. Jane Katra, Ph.D. After our session, I knew that her experience was not nearly as deep and powerful as others had experienced. So, we scheduled a second session for the next day for 9:30 in the morning my time, as her time was many hours ahead. After about twenty minutes had elapsed in our second session together, I had become deeply immersed in the state of “being in the light” that occurs to me during healing interactions. From the depths of my expansive state, I was shocked to hear coming from inside me the distinctive voice of the deceased Dr. Elisabeth Targ, who, by the time of her death, had become my very close friend. Since Elisabeth’s death in 2002, I had sometimes sensed her presence and advice and assistance during some of my healing sessions, but this unusual sense had not occurred to me for nearly a year. But right then, as I was talking by phone to Devorah, I also

began to feel Elisabeth’s intense loving signature vibrations envelop me in radiating heat and overwhelming bliss. Such pulsating communication from Elisabeth al- ways pleasantly surprises me. Of course, I’m never abso- lutely certain that these vibrations are due to my deceased physician friend’s continued existence. What makes the communications seem to come so compellingly from her is that I am always so surprised to hear her distinctive voice start up inside my head giving me definite instructions about what I should say or do, in her particular style of voice inflection and with her dry sense of humor. Now, with Devorah on the phone, I was startled when Elisabeth insisted that I relay a message to the young woman. Elisabeth insisted that I tell the woman that she should not be afraid of dying, and that death itself is not painful. She told me to tell Devorah that she would soon be free of her body, and that she would not be alone when it happened, as Elisabeth would be with her. I wondered if I were imagining Elisabeth’s vibrating presence, or making up the idea that she was giving me directions. I prefer not to share with others these inner communications or possible hallucinations that I some- times think I receive from dead spirits. I myself don’t know why or how or if they really happen. I really did not want to mention to Devorah any of these notions coming from the ostensible Elisabeth. “After all, Devorah is young,”

I thought to myself, “and all this stuff about death has nothing to do with her concerns. She just called me out of curiosity.” But Elisabeth was ada- mant in her characteristic way. She insisted, “Tell her now, Jane! Tell her what I told you to tell her.” Elisabeth Targ, M.D. I began to consider just how I might broach the delicate subject to this young woman that I sensed the presence of my deceased soul-daughter, a physician who had told me be- fore she died that she was not finished with being a healer. But before I had a chance to utter anything, Devorah exclaimed with surprise that she thought she sensed the presence of Elisabeth Targ, the daughter of Russell Targ about whom she had read, standing beside her as she lay in bed. It took me a few seconds to recover from my shock. Then I nonchalantly told her that I also sensed Elisabeth’s pres- ence. She asked with surprise, “You do?” And I assured her, “Yes, I do.” “Do you see her?” Devorah asked. “No,” I said, “I hear her and I feel her vibing me up.” I was so relieved to be off the hook, now that Devorah had brought up this subject! I tentatively forged ahead and related Elisabeth’s message to her, thinking that the content was hypothetical and for her benefit sometime far off in the future. I hadn’t thought the woman was close to dying. So much for my intuition. (“Remember never

to make as- sumptions, Jane.”) I casually asked Devorah to tell me again what her health condition was, and it was then that she told me that her pain had been very bad in the past days, and that she was very, very weak, and that she could barely get a breath. (“Why couldn’t I have at least heard that?”) Then she really shocked me by saying that she thought she might die, that very night, and that she really hoped to die and be out of pain soon, but she was afraid. She told me that her life had been very short, and that she was surprised to be dying so soon and so young. Just then, she yelped, “Oh!” “What? What’s wrong?!” I yelled. I thought she might be dying right then! Devorah exclaimed that a book from a bookcase on the far side of her bedroom had moved itself forward right off the shelf in clear sight and had fallen to the floor, Continued page 13 Page 9 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sitting with Hoyt Robinette by Tom and Lisa Butler Precipitation medium Hoyt Robinette was invited by the Spiritualist church in Reno to speak and demonstrate his mediumship. We attended the Sunday service and what he refers to as “card” and “silk” sittings. A precipitation medium is one who is able to work with etheric helpers to produce physical objects. The result is often pictures as shown in this article. Psychometry is the sensing of

information from the subtle energy associated with objects. Hoyt uses psychometry to sense what is written on folded pieces of paper, which is referred to as blindfold billet reading. As we entered the church, we were each handed a piece of paper and told to write down the first and last name of anyone, now on the other side, that we wanted to hear from and to also ask one question. After a brief introduction about his work, Hoyt put tape over his eyes and then put on a blindfold. He then picked up the stack of papers contain- ing the names and questions, and for each person, spoke the names on the paper. After a brief pause, he also spoke the answer to the question as provided by his guides. Members of the congregation were generally pleased with the resulting answers and impressed at Hoyt’s ability to recite the names. He blindfolds himself, however, and it was difficult for us to be sure that he could not see through the small space between his nose and the blindfold. A brief search of the Internet will show that it is this con- cern that is most often ex- pressed by others who have sat with him. Lisa’s Card I had written Konstantin Raudive’s name on my pa- per and Tom had written his father’s name and the names of transitioned ATransC members Erland Babcock and Debbie Caruso. These names were read back to us when Hoyt held our pieces of

paper. Because he was giving us the names as they were written and the answers to our questions were pretty gener- al, we felt unsure about his being able to see and did not feel the demonstration of psychometry was evidential. However, there was a little thing that happened regarding the name Babcock. Hoyt had given the name of Tom’s father as written on the paper, and then he said he was confused after saying Erland Babcock. He said something about being confused with fathers. Tom’s stepfather was Max Babcock but he had not written his name on the paper. It appeared Hoyt sensed Max in association with Tom and was apparently uncertain how Erland Babcock and Max Babcock related to Tom. That did seem evidential. Card Sitting The next evening we attended the card sitting. Let me first say that Tom and I helped prepared the room for the sit- ting and that Hoyt had not seen the room prior to that evening. The room was the basement of the Buddhist church. Before the sitting, Hoyt Tom’s card handed a new, still sealed pack of plain white, three-by-five inch cards to someone in the front row of seats. The seal was broken and we were all shown that the cards were blank before they were handed back to Hoyt. Hoyt had brought a roughly ten-inch diameter and eight-inch high straw basket with a tight-fitting straw lid. It was full of all sorts of colored pens, many quite nice as

used for artwork, crayons and ordinary pencils. He dumped the contents on the table and showed everyone the empty basket. Next, he proceeded to fill the basket with alternate layers of cards and various pens before putting on the lid. The lights were on and we were able to see all of his movements. We had written names and a question on paper at the beginning of the event, and once again, Hoyt proceeded with blindfold billet reading. The basket was on the table by him but he did not touch it for about an hour and until finishing the billets. He then removed the lid and began pulling out cards with unique pictures on one side and names written on the other. The writing and artwork on each card was formed from the pen, pencils and crayons that were in the basket. My card had the name Konstantin Raudive (misspelled with “-iva”) and other names that I did not recognize. Tom’s card had the names of his father, Debbie Caruso and Erland Babcock, all of which were on his Sunday billet. Konstantin’s name had also been on my Sunday billet. Our cards are shown here. We do not recognize the little girl on my card or the man on Tom’s, although there is a family resemblance with Tom’s card. Continued page 11 Volume 29, Number 3 Page 10 Hoyt Robinette Continued from page 10 Hoyt reads billets for each of the events and we suspect that doing so may

help him “entrain” himself to facilitate the influence of his etheric helpers. In effect, he may be entrancing himself by the process of billet reading. Both the cards and the silks “develop” while he is reading. The rest of it is just a mystery. Hoyt wore a short-sleeved shirt and there was no place to hide already developed cards. The light was good and we had full visibility of the basket at all times. The basket was examined, is small, flexible, and did not have a fake bottom or sides. within inches of the silks and watched as he picked them up. The silks that we had examined were the ones that he handed out. There was no possibility that he could have switched them with another set. He went to each person and gave them a silk to be placed on top of the colored paper, after which he sat down in the dark and gave brief mediumistic messages to some of the sitters. Lisa’s Silk Silk Sitting The “silk” sitting was the next night and we made a point of sitting next to Hoyt and as close to the table holding his paraphernalia as possible. Clearly visible was a stack of “silks” which appeared to be six-inch squares of white cotton cloth previously hemmed by Hoyt himself. He for- got his inks, and had to return to the nearby hotel to get them. While he was away, we were all free to inspect everything. Tom has worked with

photography in past jobs, and after smelling, examining in good light and looking for textural differences in the cloth, decided that he knew of no way that Hoyt could have previously exposed the cloth to pictures. Hoyt had also given us pieces of colored paper. These were just normal paper of various colors. Hoyt returned with a dozen or so small bottles of colored ink as one might use for ink pads. He removed the lids and left them on the table near the stack of silks. These, he announced, were the source of ink that would be used for the images on the silks just as the pens and crayons in the basket were used as the source of color for the cards. We sat in a circle of about twenty-four sitters with the table as part of the circle, and once again, Hoyt read blindfold billets for about an hour. He then asked all of us to hold a piece of colored paper on our knees with our fingertips. The lights were turned off and Hoyt approached the table with the silks, using a red flashlight. We were Tom’s Silk After about fifteen minutes, Hoyt came to each of us with a red light so that we could see what was on our silk. We noted the faces on our silks were already fully developed as he approached with his flashlight, and did not require the light to form. We also noted that he was probably more excited

than we were to see what was there. We were asked to roll up the silk in the colored paper and keep it rolled up for at least twelve hours while it continued to develop. Each silk had several faces that looked very much as if they had been printed using a copy stand to project colored pictures from magazines and newspapers. There were several peo- ple we felt that we recognized but I will highlight the main ones here. On Tom’s piece of cloth is a picture that we feel is Klaus Schreiber! What a shock, especially since his name had not been given to Hoyt. A much younger Rev. Barbara Thurman was also on his silk. She was/is one of our mentors. In fact she proofread our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, and asked for changes that made the book better. We are forever grateful for her work. Again her name had not been mentioned at any time. Possibly Dennis Hopper We were surprised to see the face of Dennis Hopper on my silk. He transitioned May 29. Hoyt was traveling to Reno at the time and the silk sitting took place June 1. Neither of us have a special connection with Hopper that we know of. Continued page 12 Page 11 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Hoyt Robinette Continued from page 11 Possibly Barbara Thurman on silk (left); Barbara (right) Another face appears on both silks and we were surprised to find

a possible match when looking for a picture of Klaus. It was received by the Harsch-Fischbach couple, we think in 1988. It is captioned “Ill. 4: ‘Marie at the equip- ment’” and is said to show the scientist Mme. Marie Curie (rejuvenated) in her laboratory in the “Beyond.” We have included some faces that we did not recognize and won- dered if they might be recognized by members. Possibly Klaus Schreiber on silk (left); Klaus on right Possibly Marie Curie (Lisa’s silk left-Tom’s silk middle); re- juvenated Marie Curie as shown at worldITC.org Understanding Our Experience As I noted above, a search of the Internet will show many negative comments about Hoyt Robinette’s work. In fact, we were advised not to invite him by friends who should know. At the same time, other friends reported enjoying his sessions. As it turns out, he provided an entertaining fundraiser for the church, and everyone had something to take home that was interesting and caused us to think. Tom and I have been in- volved with the study of vari- ous forms of phenomena most of our lives and we have re- cently begun an in-depth study of physical mediumship. Hoyt is one of the most open, likable people we have encountered in this study. He was truly excited to see what appeared on the cards and silks, and showed absolutely none of the sort of protectiveness of the things he used for his phenomena one would expect from someone who had something

to hide. We took every opportunity to examine his work, and while these were by no means controlled experiments, there was little opportunity for him to use trickery. Yes, he may have seen the billets under the cover over his eyes, but the billets had very little to do with the precipitation phenomena. Another criticism that we have heard is that he keeps the billets, and has on file, the names that sitters write down. Again, even if this is the case, we do not see how it is relevant to the precipitation phenomena on the silks as none of the names of people that we recognize on our silks were given to him. We do not know how the pictures were formed. After quite a lot of sub- sequent research, we are unable to find a physical mechanism. While the silk pictures look very photographic, they are also pictures that would be difficult to find. Even if he knew who was going to be in his sessions, there was simply no way for him to find appropriate pictures, somehow imprint them with some unknown slow-develop- ing chemicals on the cloth and have them in the correct order for distribution to the right person in the circle. We should note that we sat in a random way in the circle and Tom pretty much shuffled the stack of silks while Hoyt was fetching the ink. Hoyt had no time to do anything but make sure he could find them in

the dark. In transcommunication, the common factors for both visual and audio ITC are a source of physical energy which is subjected to a chaotic process that can be influenced by the etheric com- municator to produce an intended form. We have learned that more or less ran- dom regions of order naturally emerge in chaotic processes. In ITC, that emer- gent order becomes the voice of EVP or the image of visual ITC. One of the characteristics of that intended order is the presence of secondary features. Continued page 19 Possibly Jim Henson Volume 29, Number 3 Page 12 Elisabeth is Still a Healer Continued from page 9 though the woman herself had not moved, and there was no one else in the house. “Do you think Elisabeth did it?” she asked. “Yes,” I said. We both felt that Elisabeth had moved the book, but I knew it was important to find out about its title and con- tents. Devorah said that she was unable to get out of bed, but that when someone next came into the room, she would ask the person to retrieve the book. I then told Devorah that I loved her, for I knew now that it was likely that I might not talk to her again. The next morning immediately upon awakening, I opened my email, and was relieved to find a letter from Devorah. She reported that the book was titled, Healing Childhood Trauma. In the years before her death, Elisabeth Targ

had specialized as a psychiatrist in working with women who had been sexually abused as children. At her memorial service, some of her clients had spoken about how dedicated and skillful Elisabeth had been at helping them to heal. I emailed back to Devorah asking, “What does the book say?” Some hours later she responded by email, “It’s about love, and forgiveness, so you can move on with your life.” I emailed back, “Yes; that’s Elisabeth’s message. It’s all about loving.” And I again told her that I loved her, and that I wished her Godspeed if I did not hear from her again. The next morning I opened my email to find a short note from Devorah, written many hours before, shortly after our last communication. She said that she was quite weak and tired, and that this would be her last communication to me. She said she sensed Elisabeth’s presence beside her, and that she felt comforted and at ease. I never heard from Devorah again. Jane Katra’s website is www.janekatra.org and you can reach her at [email protected]. Previously published in the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies, Inc. (ASPSI) Searchlight, aspsi.org Big Circle Recording Dates Record on or near Big Circle night and then share your messages on the ATransC message board, the Idea Ex- change. Upcoming recording dates are: October 14 and 28 November 11 and 25 December 9 and 23 January 6 and 20 You don’t have to record on just those dates. The Big

Circle spirit team is there to help recorders at anytime. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get in the Idea Exchange. If you have forgotten your password just click the link under the login to take care of it. Synchronicities A friend, Steve Crow, put together the last of the digitally scanned copies of Sarah Estep’s AA-EVP Newsletters for the archive on the ATransC website. He had just completed Vol 17 Number 2 and wrote, “This one was an easy one. But it was full of personal synchronicities. Sarah mentions a conference held in “Haunted Decatur, IL.” Decatur is where I lived for twenty years. It is where I was married… Both of my children were born there. Before I got married I lived on Water Street in a very haunted building. It was built as a speakeasy during prohi- bition. All of the rooms in my upstairs apartment connected to each other through walk-in closets, and the closets all locked from the inside; great for hiding or escaping during raids. The most unusual thing about this building was that at night you could hear muffled voices talking and the sound of pool balls clicking together. When I lived there, there were no pool tables in the building. When I got married, our first apartment was on Packard Street. My step-daughter, Christina, who was four at the time and terrified of clowns, kept claiming to see a clown that no one

else could. One day Christina was standing in front of the bathroom door and let out a terrified scream. My wife and I were both standing where we could see Christina, but not into the bathroom. As she screamed, a roll of toilet paper flew out of the bathroom, as if someone had thrown it at her. The roll narrowly missed her head. Mary and I both witnessed this. I rushed into the bathroom, and there was nothing there. Mary was standing right next to me and declared that we were moving that day, and we did. The last synchronicity with this issue was that the date mentioned for the next deadline is my birthday. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 and reports that participation is slowly increasing. There have been no “hits” thus far, but we remain hopeful. At stake is validation of a technique for EVP capture that can be used for research because virtually all of the variables except for the psi influence can be controlled. A secret target object is being used to assure that accurate information is gathered and that the EVP is not just a random event. If the technology can be shown to be effec- tive for information gathering, then it may eventually be developed as a reliable tool to help locate missing people. To our knowledge, EVP recorded with a plain old recorder (transform EVP) has not been effectively applied to reli- able information gathering. Yet, we know it is possible. Perhaps you

can be the one to show us how to do this by discovering the name of the secret object . Tom and Lisa Page 13 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Felix Experimental Group Continued from page 6 On many occasions, phenomena were occurring in various parts of the room at a very rapid pace while all of us held hands and Hans spoke from the cabinet. For any of what we experienced to be theatrically produced as if in a dark-room magic show, a third party would necessarily have been secreted into the room without sound and as quickly ex- tracted from the room afterwards. There was no way that this could have happened. There was not one doubt in my mind that the events we witnessed were of paranormal origin. The Felix Experimental Group is producing important trans-etheric phenomena that can be seen. The séance takes place in the dark but the various phenomena are illuminat- ed. This is very important as most criticism about material- ization séances is that they are held in total darkness. We are told that the phenomena happen through the use of ectoplasm but I believe a large majority of people do not even believe in this substance called ectoplasm. The Felix Group is repeatedly photographing ectoplasm and they have been able to do this in front of scientists. They are producing objective evidence from which we can learn. Tom and I would like to thank the Felix Experimental Group for their warm hospitality

and also their sincere desire to understand what is taking place and share this knowledge with others. What they are able to demonstrate expanded my mind with the knowledge that the impossible is possible, and I’m sure Hans Bender has much more in store for us to learn through this exceptional group. Kai told us early on in our email communication with him that Hans Bender has told them that, worldwide, the vibrational state of spiritual awareness has increased. He said that this vibrational state encloses the earth and all entities and that the way to spiritual enlightenment has become a little bit shorter. Hans says that more physical wonders will occur in the upcoming years and especially the readiness of high-leveled scientists to apply the spiritu- al to science. Rhine Research Center Needs Radio-Sweep EVP With support funding from Association TransCommunica- tion the Rhine Research Center in Durham, NC is conduct- ing a study of how people interpret Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). For this research, the Rhine Center needs several recordings of EVP that were recorded using “radio-sweep” technology and invites members of ATran- sC to submit audio files for possible use in this research. In the study, 90 listeners will complete background question- naires and then interpret several EVP. The purpose of the study is to understand why different people sometimes interpret EVP messages differently. To be usable, the audio file should be an mp3 file that contains what the investigator believes is an anomalous or ethereal voice.

The audio file should be trimmed to include several seconds of radio-sweep sounds both before and after the apparent voice (but otherwise the file should be as short as possible). In addition, either (a) the investigator’s question or comment that immediately preceded the anom- alous voice should be included on the recording or (b) the investigator should indicate in an email what the preceding question or comment was. Furthermore, the investigator should report in the email what he or she believes the EVP says. The EVP samples that are submitted will remain the property of the investigators who submit them and will not be played for others except for purposes of the research study. Furthermore, the identity of investigators and the content of the EVP will remain confidential. If you are interested in providing samples of EVP for this research, please submit (via e-mail) no more than two samples of EVP that were recorded using radio-sweep techniques at [email protected] by November 15, 2010. Rhine re- searchers will select a sample of the submitted recordings for use in the study. When the study is complete, the results will be published in the ATransC NewsJournal. the Rhine Research Center to Konstantin Raudive Update During our last sitting with the Circle of the Silver Cord, David Thompson once again brought through Konstantin Raudive. He told us that he continues to try to communi- cate in every way possible. “I will never give up,” he said about his efforts to prove survival via transcommunication.

He asked us to tell everyone that he is going to try to pass on a code phrase and wants everyone who can, to record on October 27, 2010 at 10 pm. He was not specific as to time zone, so we think it would work best if you recorded at 10 pm your time. Look for him in other forms of phenomena as well. Please send your possible Raudive contacts to [email protected] or post them in the Idea Exchange along with permission to share them with others. We will announce results in the next NewsJournal. Volume 29, Number 3 Page 14 EVPmaker Study Targets These are the target objects for the first four months of the EVP- maker with allophones informa- tion gathering study. Visual ITC Perception Study We announced the Visual Perception Study last spring. Video ITC images were used which were created in chaotic noise generated via a video camera looped with a TV set. In this technique, very chaotic optical energy is produced which has no obvious external input other than the ambient light of the room. In principle, there should only be noise but it is common to find faces that we consider paranormal. Seven images collected by the Socrates Circle were shown to website visitors. A text box was provided for each of the seven examples in which participants were asked to indicate what they saw. The average correct recognition for the seven examples is 61%; 26% reported seeing the sec- ondary images. Three

judges helped evaluate the results, but we found Rhonda Burton’s grading of the results the most consistent, and in the end, used her report as the standard for this study. Volunteer judging panels are very important for these studies and we extend a special thanks to Rhonda. Here are the examples and what we think can be seen: Example 1: This is the head of a dog facing toward you and to your left. You can see his eyes and snout. A little of the neck is visible and just a hint of ears. The animal appears to be very alert and appears to have short hair. See example dog below. 81% correct recognition Example 2: This is the head of a person facing to your left and looking down a little. His/her left eye is in the middle of the picture and seems to be slanted like an Asian and the nose-brow line seems very strong. He/she appears to be wear- ing some kind of cloak or ceremonial garb. The person seems to have dark hair put up in some kind of formal ar- rangement or he/she may be wearing a hat of some kind. The overall impres- sion is of an oriental warrior or nobility. 28% correct recognition Example 3: This is the head of a person facing to your left and visible from the chest up. It is not clear if this is a male or female, but my guess is male. The blue area is his

coat and it seems he might be wear- ing a white coat and shirt with a bow tie. He may have some- thing like an animal in his left (your right) hand. He appears to have a dark beard and dark hair. 75% correct recognition Example 4: The head of a man facing to your right and tilted slightly down. You see him from the chest up, but his pointed chin almost touches the bottom of the frame. He has prominent cheeks and is smiling so that he seems to have a large but evil laugh. His chin, nose, cheeks and temples are bright areas. It would seem he has no teeth to fill out his face. 56% correct recognition Example 5: This is the head of a man facing to your right and tilted slightly down and to the right. The nose is prominent as a long bright line right of middle. The bright section at top appears to be top-illuminated hair. Like the nose, the right (your left) cheek is brighter as is the side of what looks like a full beard as if the same light source is shining on those areas. The man has a long face and seems to be more like a biblical character than like a businessman. 73% correct recognition Example 6: This is a person visible from the chest up. It may be a wom- an or a man. Since he seems to have a dark shadow of a beard, I will

say he is a man. He is facing to your left. The green areas seem to mark the lapel of a reddish coat. He has long black hair that appears to be combed around some kind of hat. The hat seems like a too small derby, which is why he may be a clown. 36% correct recognition Example 7: This is a head facing to your left. It is a profile from the neck up. The person may be a boy or boy- ish girl with short hair and appears to be wearing a dark shirt with a white collar like a sweater over a “T” shirt. The hair and face seem to be illumi- nated from your left and top. 81% correct recognition Making sure other people can share your experience is the first step toward establishing the presence of objective phenomena. As with the EVP recognition study, this study does show that the features are not imaginary, and are sufficiently objective to be experienced by others. Paranormally formed features using other techniques, such as light reflected from moving water, such as those shown in the Rhonda Burton’s Moving Water ITC article (page 8) are thought to be formed in a very similar way and should inherit this validation, as well. Page 15 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Phantom Voices One of the more common reports received from ATransC website visitors is voices or music for which they are unable to find the source or record what they hear.

In most reports, the sounds are reported as a distant conversation or the sound of a radio program that can “almost” be made out, but no specific words or songs can be identified. The mind will naturally seek order in chaotic stimuli. The order is apparently based on what is in the person’s memo- ry, so the almost heard sounds have a familiar feel for the experiencer. As it happens, the phantom voices are often associated with a person who is distracted by activities that permit the person’s mind to wander. They may also be experienced at the beginning and end of sleep time. There are a number of mental characteristics described in the psychological literature that touch on this experience but hypnagogia seems to be a key concept. It is defined as: Hypnagogic or hypnogogic: Inducing sleep; soporific; drowsiness preceding sleep; relating to the images or hallucinations sometimes experienced in this state. According to Gurstelle and Oliveira,1 “...daytime parahyp- nagogia (DPH) is more likely to occur when one is tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity....” There are also a number of types of auditory illusions that have been identified. A good article about these is “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain)” by Rich Pell.2 One such illusion is described as: The phantom words illusion - which is simply the same two words being repeated over and over but time displaced between the left and right channel. This dem- onstrates how

easy it is to hear words and phrases that are not there, and even hear them change, as the brain attempts to make sense of the aural ambiguity. Pretty interesting effect! (Go to the website to listen.) Passive Concentration Perhaps a better term for hypnagogia would be “passive concentration” because the person has focused attention, but not with concentrated awareness. This distraction from the inner chatter of the brain leaves the mind open for unnoticed inputs. In principle, the hypnagogic state of mind is ideal for our etheric communicators to penetrate our otherwise too busy mind. Passive concentration is a spontaneous version of mindful meditation which is a deliberately cultivated tech- nique for communing with one’s inner senses and is an important technique for mental transcommunication. The important point is that we must recognize the part these natural tendencies play in our perception of phenomena. Pareidolia and Apophenia These are terms used to describe the mind’s natural tenden- cy to identify patterns where there are none. While the skeptics love to use these terms to explain away reports of paranormal experiences, the reality is that many such re- ports are the result of our need to find order in chaos. The result is too often hearing voices in noise or seeing faces in clouds. It is because of this reality that one cannot give a sweeping denial that these effects exist. Perceptual Order The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization also provide possible explanations for the natural human tendency to find

order in chaos. They include: The Law of Proximity: Stimulus elements that are close together tend to be perceived as a group. The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli tend to be grouped; this tendency can even dominate grouping due to proximity. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures. The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped as to minimize change or discontinuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical boarders tend to be perceived as coherent figures. The Law Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. Clairaudience Clairvoyance or “clear seeing” has become a catch-all term for the ability to sense information in subtle energy. Ac- cording to the ATransC Survival Hypothesis, our etheric personality is constantly in communication with other per- sonalities. If we learn to pay attention, and depending on our inclinations, we experience this information as words or pictures or just a sense. It is possible that a person might hear voices in a sound track containing only noise, but it would necessarily be via clairaudience if they are “real.” In the study of EVP, the voices are either there or they are not. If they are there, then others should be able to experi- ence them. They are objective, meaning they have physical form. Voices heard in a sound file via clairaudience in a sound track are not objective and they are not EVP. Under- standing this point is central to the study

of how we experi- ence transcommunication. Hearing Test The importance of this question came to light when a member was confused about people reporting hearing more than could be in an example. With our agreement, she posted a file containing only computer generated noise as a “please listen to this” example. Experienced listeners reported hearing only noise, but interestingly, some mem- bers reported hearing many words. They did not agree amongst themselves as to what was said, however. How we hear EVP is a very important question that is central to our understanding of both the nature of our existence and the nature of reality. In a very real sense, we are the detectors of the greater reality. How we detect it tells us a lot about the greater reality much as studying how radar works tells us a lot about the images painted on the radar screen. Continued page 20 Volume 29, Number 3 Page 16 Radio Ghost Mystery at Former RAF Station scary. I thought someone was playing a prank on us but I heard it myself last Saturday. It plays Glenn Miller, and that’s what ev- eryone has heard. It is very faint and you have to put your ear to it, but that’s what it’s playing. All the experts say it should be im- possible.” A 70-year-old radio at a Scottish heritage center has been picking up vintage broadcasts featuring Winston Churchill and the music of Glenn Miller. The Pye valve wireless at Montrose Air Station,

a heritage center that tells the sto- ry of the men and women who served there, has no power and is not connected to any source of electricity. The aerodrome has been a source of paranormal sightings and sounds for almost a century, with reports of ghostly figures, eerie footsteps and door handles turning, but the mysterious wire- less broadcasts have had even the most skeptical staff at the station searching for a rational explanation. Radio mystery: The Pye wireless with Marie Paton whose father owned it The wireless broadcasts join a long list of mysteries at the air station, where the heritage center is in the original headquarters building. Visitors have reported strange “energies” around the air- field, phantom footsteps, doors opening and shutting, the sound of aircraft engines, shadowy figures walking in and out of rooms and even the sighting of a pilot in full flying kit. The vintage radio set is kept in a re-creation of a 1940s room. Several people have heard Second World War era broadcasts including the big band sound of the Glenn Miller orchestra and speeches by Winston Churchill. The broadcasts come on at random and can last for up to half an hour. Technicians who examined it removed the back, but found “nothing but cobwebs and spiders.” Bob Sutherland, a trustee of the air station heritage center and its treasurer, said: “I have heard it playing Glenn Miller and recognized the song as “At Last.” The volume was very low but the

music was quite identifiable.” Graham Phillip, another volunteer, has heard what he was sure was Winston Churchill and others, including center curator Dan Paton and his wife, have heard it. “I was a wireless operator with the RAF and know a bit about them. We have also had our resident radio expert, Ewan Cameron, look at it. If we had a powerful transmitter in the area the radio might pick up something, but we don’t. It is an old Pye radio which would probably explode if it was switched on.” Mr. Phillip said: “We have all heard the footsteps and seen door handles turn but the wireless is something new and unexplainable. It’s not just one of us who’s heard it - most of us here have. We are talking about highly educated, reliable people. My wife Aileen was with me when we heard the Glenn Miller Orchestra last weekend. She’s a physicist and not predisposed to believing in things like this but no-one has an explanation. If there was a transmit- ter nearby you’d think it might pick up Radio One or something, but I know what we heard. It went on for half an hour on and off. But the aerial is out anyway. We’ve had the back off and the technicians said there was nothing but cobwebs and spiders.” Volunteer Marie Paton, 67, whose father Jack Stoneman bought the wireless secondhand in 1962, said: “It’s a bit The most notorious were the sightings of Lieutenant Desmond Arthur

of the Royal Flying Corps who was killed when his biplane crashed. He is said to have haunted the area until honor was satisfied in 1917, when a government inquiry concluded that he had not been killed by his own foolhardiness but because of poor repairs to his plane. Peter Davis, 65, the heritage center’s secretary, added: “It is most odd and we cannot understand it. The station has a very abnormal presence. Several paranormal groups have been in to investigate various things, but the wireless has everyone including our radio technicians stumped.” The air station was established in 1913 by the Royal Flying Corps as Britain’s first operational military airfield From news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/181127-radio-ghost-mystery- at-former-raf-station and several other places. Shopping via ATransC Don’t forget to use the links to eBay and Amazon.com on the front page of atransc.org for your holiday shopping. The Association receives a small return on every purchase made via the links which nearly pays for the cost of the website. Thanks! A special thanks to Loretta Woodward for proof- reading the NewsJournal every quarter. We also wish to thank Margaret for her untiring efforts on the Idea Exchange. Page 17 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Susie Alverson wrote, “The spirits that record for me at the spa (where I give massages) had already told me that they have gone into the Light; however I repeated it again, just in case there were any stragglers present. The spirits may be a little irritated that I

keep repeating myself each time.” Susie talking to the spirits: “I hope you’re all in the Light like you said you were the other day; that you’ve all crossed. If you haven’t, you need to. You need to go into the Light. If anyone is in here who has not crossed, go into the Light. That’s where you belong. Then you can come back and visit here even bigger and better.” Spirit’s response:“We know” and twice, “Susie, we love you.” Ÿ Rhonda Burton was visiting a museum that she visits regularly. Employees have said they feel fearful when they walk up the stairs. A psychic has said that it is a portal. Rhonda recorded what she felt were two voices; one male and one female. She wrote, “The female says at the beginning, ‘I can,’ the male says, ‘come and go.’” Ÿ Margaret Downey wrote, “Had such an amazing EVP day with Lisa Huston on Sunday (They were doing a video and EVP session for a possible TV project). A man brought his two children who were maybe nine and twelve. When the younger one was five or six, she was sitting on her grandfather’s lap when he died. Can you imagine? They wanted to hear from their grandpa. I gave them my usual spiel about how I can’t guarantee anything, even if we don’t hear from someone that doesn’t mean they aren’t OK, etc. Well, this grandfather came through loud and clear. One of his best messages was, “I

love them both. Keagan and K.” The little girl is Kayleigh, but he always called her K. There were other messages too. All three were over the moon! When they left, Lisa, Bob (the editor) and I did a private session for ourselves and Bob’s parents called out, “The Big Circle!” I swear, those have become the most magical words to me. The three of us got the biggest kick out of hearing that. They were just letting us know they’re all together and helping.” Ÿ Linda Gray recorded an EVP that she felt said “Has she gone to the light? Yes she has.” The EVP had a singing quality and others on the board heard it the same way. James Hancock recorded an EVP that said, “Bob talks to Heaven.” Jutta Liebmann wrote, “In my EVP recordings, I have often been surprised that the communicators from the other side know my day-to-day activities and even the books I read. They are very well informed about the actual life circumstances and state of mind of the experi- menters. Here are some recent EVP messages, which I had received: “The spirits do like these contacts,” “Lis- ten to the message. They are good,” “Via this bridge we give you advice in a secure way,” and “You have only a few good friends (on earth), but we bring you spiritual help.” Ÿ Lorie McMorrow’s beloved dog, Pardy, is ill and expect- ed to make his transition soon. Lorie wrote, “I still keep

getting EVP on my answering machine. Last night Mom called and it went to message. When I played it back, right after Mom says, “Lorie, are you there?” a voice clearly says, “Pard.” That is Pardy’s real name, and come to think of it, Kevin always called him Pard! Hope this is his way of letting me know he’s watching, and waiting for him! The other week Mom had also left a message and when I played it back, there was a loud barking that sounded like a big dog. Mom thinks its Chiefie, the German shepherd she had when growing up. He was always very protective of her. I seem to get most of these EVP when Mom calls, especially when I’m home alone and in the evening. David Mierzwinski wrote, “I haven’t tried this method for awhile. The TV in the next room is set to the 24hr all Spanish broadcast station. The recorder is a Radio Shack cassette analog recorder with an external, amplified mi- crophone; it records very clear. I had asked for the ‘Loud Talkers from London.’ They seem to come though when I ask for them.” He recorded, “Hi David. London’s on with a Spanish shout!” Ÿ Mark Pierce wrote that whenever he records in his barn he gets obscenities. He wrote, “The obscenities have all come from one location, and have occurred with radio- sweep EVP (Ghostposse modified radio) and regular stand alone (no white noise) recordings. They have occurred both during day

and night sessions. My wife was concerned there could be a problem, but I have never worried about it. My philosophy is that an obscene ghost is a person who couldn’t even die right, so how can they hurt me. After three wars and forty years in the army, it takes a lot more than some cussing on a recorder to bother me. So far, they have been unable to move any of the objects that I asked them to move (I set up an area with small items in my EVP recording location). “The fun thing is that I have gotten whatever it is to respond by knocking consistently and to respond with or without EVPmaker or radio-sweep, regardless of wheth- er it is day or night. I am now asking specific questions like “what year is it?” and “what is your name?” to see what their answers will be. I am trying to establish its level of awareness and whether it is rooted in the time it died or is it aware of the passage of time. I have gotten responses but nothing I can decipher to a specific year. [Editor: Mark has been a prolific experimenter with EVP- maker for the Gathering Information with EVPmaker using Allophones study.] Ÿ Allison Sniffin shared a recording of her mom saying “I’m here.” She was recording using radio-sweep and also recorded “I told her” in a man’s voice after she told her mom, “You have to shout over the noise.”

Continued page 19 Volume 29, Number 3 Page 18 Researcher’s Report Continued from page 18 Ÿ Jayne Thompson has been using EVPmaker with crowd babble and finding ordinary EVP in the background, rather than in the chopped babble. She explained, “I play the babble file through EVPmaker as MAKE EVP and output it to my computer speakers. It is then detected by the computer’s microphone and recorded by Audition on the same computer.” Calling on EVP pioneers, she asked Konstantin Raudive to say “Tom Butler” and recorded his name spoken in a voice very much as Raudive sound- ed in a David Thompson séance investigators are exploring the site and actually, there have been some good EVP messages on the programs when they’re done with digital recorders Ÿ Edgar Müller wrote, “I have experienced that it is diffi- cult to get people involved in continuous experiments with ITC. This spring I gave three lectures on EVP; there were lots of people who were very interested. I got many intelligent questions, but when it comes to follow up, and regular work with EVP, the results are not encouraging. Maybe this is a contemporary phenomenon; people are so involved in everyday life activities, that there is no room or energy left for other things.” News from Members Anabela Cardoso’s new book Elec- tronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension was published by O Books in the US, UK and Australia. From the publisher: “Dr. Cardoso, a senior dip- lomat, describes the astounding expe-

riences that transformed her life since she started ITC research in 1997. She presents extracts of conversations with her deceased loved ones and other personalities who insisted that they live in another world. The level of agreement between communications received by the author and concepts, even words, record- ed by other experimenters from Jürgenson and Raudive to contemporary operators, constitutes compelling evi- dence of the reality of the next world that awaits us all.” As communicators from Timestream told Cardoso: “The dead pass through here; you pass through here!” See o-books.com/book/detail/847/ Ÿ Karen Mossey has a new book Spooky Creepy New England. It details her experiences on ghost investigations through old colonial homes and haunt- ed locations in historic New England. She shares many of the EVP that she has recorded during these investiga- tions. The book is available at Amazon.com. Thoughts from Members Ÿ Becky Estep wrote about a The Haunted show in which the Ovilus was used saying, “The voices were extremely poor quality, in my opinion, and it made me feel bad to see it because I thought anyone watching the show would think the voices from the Ovilus were representa- tive of EVP in general. Granted, I’ve never been able to hear EVP as well as others; still, I thought the Ovilus didn’t do justice to the better results that EVPers have gotten over the years. The “ghost box” (used on another program) was only slightly better. The Haunted always presents EVP at some point in

their shows, when the Hoyt Robinette Continued from page 12 The cards had at least one primary feature but some exhibited the charac- teristic secondary features of ITC. For- mation of the features on Hoyt’s cards and silks appeared to be consistent with ITC in that he provided the phys- ical energy (ink and crayons) and the resulting canvas on which to express the intended order. What remains for us is to study his phenomena to possi- bly understand the nature of what we would predict to be a chaotic process that lends itself to psi influence. Is Hoyt producing a subtle energy field in the room while he is engrossed with billet reading? Could we use instruments to detect this? Possibly Helena Blavatsky Most of the doubt about the billets would go away if let Hoyt would someone inspect the blindfold; at least put the mask on and maybe even if he used a better mask. It would also be a good idea to have someone randomly picked from the sitters during his ses- sion to inspect the basket, silks and such. Possibly Swejen Salter (left); Swejen from worlditc.org We continue to look for photographic processes that could be used for the silks, but rather than rejecting Hoyt’s phenomena as impossible, it may be important to study his work more carefully. The Reverend Hoyt Z. Robinette is an ordained Spiritualist minister. His abilities include trum- pet mediumship, clairvoyance, blindfold billets, spirit cards, spirit pictures on silk and direct voice.

His dedication to demonstrating these phenomena has introduced many people to the realization that life continues after “so called death.” Page 19 Fall 2010 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Phantom Voices Continued from page 16 We asked website visitors to help us study this question by participating in a simple online listening experiment. They were asked to tell us if they heard voices in either a file with just brown noise or one containing recorder noise with randomly spaced pulses of noise suggestive of the usual cadence of speech. Most of this article was on the web page and what was in the files was clearly stated. Results The study is still open, but at this time, about half of the respondents indicate that they hear voices in the noise. Because of the similarities of how they are formed, the same can probably be said of visual forms of ITC. This is seen in the Visual Perception study reported on page 15. This is a distressing result for researchers because it com- plicates the study of ITC. New strategies must be developed for standardizing examples, and listening or viewing panels should be pre-qualified to determine their relationship to what is developing as a norm for perception. Finally, it is not enough to argue that these phenomena are real and the skeptics are wrong. Sometimes the skeptics are right and we are, indeed, deluded. In fact, the developing norm is about 50% delusional, 50% true perception. Where do you fall? References 1. Gurstelle

EB, de Oliveira JL., Daytime parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep, William Paterson University, Wayne, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619 2. Pell, Rich, Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain), eetimes.com There is No Death and There are No Dead This was written to help teach about EVP/ITC. You can order a signed copy at atransc.org or send a letter with sign- ing instructions to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The book is $18 plus shipping First book: Each additional: Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 I’m Still Here The true story of a parent’s deepest pain– losing a child–and the healing journey of that child’s contact through EVP Send order and signing instructions to: Martha Copeland, #191, 6555, Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 307, Duluth, GA 30097. Or evpcommunications.com $17.95 plus shipping; include tax if you live in GA. Please make check to: Martha Copeland Shipping and Handling Priority $6.00 $2.00 International $10.00 $10.00 First book: Each additional: Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education

of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry and discussion board . You must be twenty-one years old. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 29, Number 3 Page 20 Viewpoint Winter 2011, Volume 29 Number 4 Have you noticed that this is issue 29-4 of the ATransC NewsJournal? With the next issue, we will begin our thirtieth year as an organization serving the ITC community! Books and eBooks The book we wrote for the Association, There is No Death and There are No Dead, is now available as an eBook

for Amazon’s Kindle and in the open source ePub format supported in Apple’s iPad. Our next project is to make all of the past newsletters and NewsJournals available as a set of probably four paperback books and also as eBooks. Of course, all of the proceeds from the books go to ATransC operation and to research. Please be sure to use the link at the bottom of atransc.org when ordering from Amazon. Konstantin kept his word! As you may remember Dr. Konstantin Raudive spoke to us in June during a David Thompson séance and asked us to request that people record on October 27. He also gave us a code phrase. As you will see on page 10, several people heard from him and he did get the code phrase through to one researcher. He also spoke to us during the Stewart Alexander séance (see page 8). This was so unexpected! Dr. Raudive has now come through via two different physical mediums! Radio-sweep study As we announced in the last NewsJournal, with support funding from ATransC, the Rhine Research Center in Durham, NC is conducting a study of how people interpret Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) produced by the radio-sweep technique. They have collected many good examples, but wish to have a few more for a good sampling. They also want more practitioners represented, so if you have not submitted an example, or have but think you have a better one, send your material to [email protected]. We expect to cut off

submissions at the end of January. Stewart Alexander There are a couple of articles about our visit with material- ization medium, Stewart Alexander. It is as if the entire journey was an encounter with the paranormal and we look forward to sharing it with you. Each circle we have sat with has taught us more about these phenomena. There are so many people in the world who are quick to discount those things which they have no real understanding of. So, we hope that the articles we have written regarding sitting in physical séances will help educate a wider audience. Many View from our room in York, England. The sense of solitude was enhanced by the fall leaves moving about in the night breeze. It is not just the over two-thousand-year old York but much of England that looks as if it is out of a Dickens novel. of them are even being republished in other journals, giving a wider public an ITC perspective on physical phenomena. Perhaps what this is all about One of the speakers at the “Stewart Alexander and Friends” conference was Dr. Annette Childs, who has become well known for her studies of grief and bereavement associated with transition. In a way, she echoed an underlying feeling at the conference and this issue of the NewsJournal. Annette and Stewart became friends when she helped him with the grief of his sister’s unexpected transition. You will see in her article on page 9, “Got Grief?” that even

those of us who have a well-founded understanding in survival are still subject to the intense grief of loss. Annette spoke about how traumatic brushes with death do not necessarily include pain and trauma. We think this is an important subject and Lisa made a point to access her research references for the “Traumatic Transitions” article on page 16. We think it is an important read for anyone who fears death because they fear pain. There is perhaps more about death and dying in this issue, which all kind of runs together with our continuing commu- nication with those on the other side. Death is better thought of as transition, and while we need to live life informed about our eventual transition, we also need to stand by those of us who might be experiencing Continued page 10 Page 1 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Charlie...........................................................................................................................................3 The Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference at Cober Hill...............................................4 Stewart Alexander Séance...........................................................................................................5 Konstantin Synchronicity............................................................................................................8 Tribute...........................................................................................................................................8 Got Grief?.....................................................................................................................................9 Konstantin Raudive Made Contact! ........................................................................................10 Kevin Calls His Mother.............................................................................................................10 Big Circle Recording Dates.......................................................................................................10 The Significance of Signs...........................................................................................................11 Idea Exchange Upgrade.............................................................................................................11 I Love You Earthmen................................................................................................................12 Skepticism: The New Religion..................................................................................................14 Gathering Information Using EVPmaker with Allophones Study: A Six Month Report...15 Traumatic Transitions...............................................................................................................16 Top Five Regrets of the Dying...................................................................................................17 Debbie Caruso: Confirmation Through Art............................................................................18 Thoughts from Members...........................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports.................................................................................................................19 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2011ATransC This work

is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International

members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association TransCommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Atransc.org Web Masters: Tom Butler Proof Reading: Idea Exchange Moderators Big Circle: Discussion Board: Margaret Downey NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Rhonda Burton and Martha Copeland Volume 29, Number 4 Page 2 Winter 2011 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Tim Klein Jayne Thompson Mark J. Tominac Sustaining Members Rhonda Burton Toby Richard Supporters Suzanne Alverson Michael Chapman Donna Cunha Niall Egan Steven Lindemann Michal Ostafin Jerusha Lederman Lorelei McMorrow Diane Moseley Sandra Pfortmiller Toby Richard Dale Sizemore Allison Sniffin Charlie by Ramona & Sal Agricola In October of 2007, our beautiful 18-year-old son Charlie’s sweet soul left the physical plane. It was a Friday evening and the four of us had come together for what was to be our last dinner together as a family. I remember it was raining. Our older son Michael had just left to see a friend’s new condo. Charlie got up from the table, thanked us for dinner—he had started doing that a lot in those last few weeks—and made plans to meet a friend. It was about 7 p.m. when

he put his jacket on and walked out the door. Charlie didn’t drive. He had a car, took driving courses but would not go for his license. I later found out that he told a friend “Things go by too fast when you drive.” He preferred to walk; he enjoyed the interaction it brought. He was a different kind of kid. He listened to folk music like Woody Guthrie, Ledbetter; he loved Donovan, Johnny Cash, Irish Ballads. He had a very peaceful, calm nature. I always called him a modern-day hippie! His dad and I were napping when the door bell rang, it was about 8:30 p.m. and we were a bit startled when we answered the door. Two Nassau County Police detectives were at our door. I saw their faces; I knew they came about my Charlie.... I fell to the floor screaming. I could hear them saying, “We are sorry to inform you … there was an accident. A van jumped the curb … hit your son Charles. He was walking on the sidewalk. He did not make it; it was instant. … You need to get a family member here to be with you.” My husband was being held back, he wanted to go to our Charlie. Our world collapsed.... Our house was filled with people in no time, they came from everywhere. I ran from them to be alone clutching my baby’s high school graduation picture. Michael was called home and his friends came to be

with him. When the house emptied that night, the three of us lay in Charlie’s bed together to be close to him. The wake was a blur. For three days there were two lines formed outside the funeral home and more than 1,000 people came to pay their respects. The church was overflowing and his friends spoke of the friend that they loved so much. When we left the church, his friend pointed out a rainbow that was over the cross on the steeple. I knew it was Charlie. I have a picture of that rainbow. Our town closed the streets, stopped the parkway traffic and gave us a police escort to the cemetery. Charlie was everyone’s boy and it was a tragedy that touched our whole community. In the limo on the way to the cemetery I said to him, “You came into this world like a little prince and you are leaving this world like a great king.” For about six months we were completely in shock. We hardly took any phone calls and did not leave the house. I gave up on religion and cursed God every day, saying how much I despised him for his betrayal of Charlie and us. My only prayer was to please protect my children. How could I ever trust anything again? I cried all day and all through the night. In my sleep my husband said I would cry and reach out for Charlie. I still cry every day for my

son. It was at this time Charlie started to make himself known to us in his spirit form and thus began our journey into spirituality. We felt compelled to “hear” from him and we went to mediums we found through the Forever Family Foundation. He always came through, he is so strong. He has given us many, many assurances that he is always with us but we wanted more. I had read about David Thompson many times in Victor Zammit’s newslet- ter and was intrigued by the phenome- non of physical mediumship. One day I received an email that David and Chris- tine Morgan were going to be in Sarasota, FL in June. This was an opportunity I was not going to miss! We flew to Florida and had a wonderful, evidential reading with Christine. She was very kind and gentle and I knew that Charlie would feel comfortable and trust her. We believe that there has to be a connection between the medium and the spirit, there must be trust and integrity to have a true evidential reading. Christine and Charlie quickly became friends. He played his guitar for her and she sang a verse of a song he had written. It was an emotional reading for us but we knew our baby was there and he was happy. The next night was the séance with David Thompson; an amazing opportunity. We were hopeful that Charlie would materialize but such things are never certain. We all gathered and had

to be cleared with metal detectors to enter the séance room. We were seated and I was chosen, with one other person, to inspect David’s bindings and all of the apparatus used during the séance. Neither of us found anything suspicious. David was tied to a chair, gagged and put into a booth made of plywood. It was a happy experi- ence; we sang songs and there was joking going on. It is important to emit only positive energy to help bring the spirits through. It wasn’t anything like the scary séances that one might see on TV. The room is very dark and cool because of the ectoplasm. We held hands most of the time. It is required that you do not move or reach out during the séance because it could be dangerous for the medium. In no time spirits began to appear, as David’s guide William came first then Walt Disney, Louis Armstrong, a young spirit named Timmy and many more that were not familiar to us. It was upbeat and the spirits were friendly and even playful, taking a woman’s glasses and giving them to a man on the other side of the room. They moved Trumpets around the room and gave the Pastor a gift. Continued page 16 Page 3 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference at Cober Hill Cober Hill Conference Center near Scarborough Cober Hill is a conference center developed around an old estate near Scarborough, on the

north-east coast of England. In October, we attended the Stewart Alexander and Friends conference there. Having developed for more than forty years, Stewart is one of the world’s foremost physical medi- ums. Our objective was to sit with him in one of his rare public séances, but we soon discovered that the conference was no less important. The fact that the conference was organized and managed by volunteers who have come to know and love Stewart is testimo- ny to the respect he has earned. More than once we heard some- one describe the group as a close family. There were ninety people in attendance and we heard not one cross word or criticism … only friendly faces and very good conversation. Amongst the attendees were academics, practicing mediums and generally well-informed people. The first thing we noticed about Cober Hill is that it is a long way from home. We landed in Manchester and took a train to York to spend the night. The next morning we continued on the train to Scarborough and then took a taxi to the conference center. The train system is excellent and permitted us to avoid renting a car … they drive on the wrong side of the road, you know. As we passed the Blacksmiths Arms pub on our way to Cober Hill, the taxi driver told us that the Queen had recently eaten there. It turns out that it is part of the Duchy of Lancaster’s estate, which is the Queen’s

property. The weekend conference included talks, workshops and an evening séance. We don’t eat beef, lamb or pork and figured we would have to survive on fish and chips. As it turned out, the food was excellent and varied and they always offered vegetarian choices. Being October, we also assumed it would be cold and rainy, but the weather was very pleasant and the trees were all in their most beautiful autumn colors. becoming all one can be; but, few of us want to speak about the act of dying. Annette is the author of Halfway Across the River, which details much of what she has learned (see onecandle.net). She spoke twice at the conference. The first talk was focused on deathbed accounts and how im- portant it is to talk about the coming experience based on knowledge and not fear or myth. Her second talk focused more on sudden transition in which the person has not prepared. The message we took away from that talk is that there really is no pain at the moment of transition. An- nette has learned that we appar- ently disassociate from our body at the moment of trauma. She told us that sudden, violent events are only traumatic when we survive, because the pain eventually must come back. Bradley Harris gave a talk about his father, well-known materialization medium, Alec Harris, who made his transi- tion in 1974. As Saturday Night Press, Ann and Tom Harrison published a book about him titled, Alec

Harris- The full story of his remarkable physical mediumship by Louie Harris. Conference attendees were shaken by news of the transi- tion of highly respected parapsychologist, David Fontana and Tom Harrison’s transition three days later, on October 23rd (see paranormalreview.com). Tom is the son of Minnie Harrison who was an important materialization medium. Tom and Ann were scheduled to give a talk about the Saturday Night Club which is the name given to the circle that supported Minnie. Instead of canceling the talk, Ann gave it herself, and later hosted a party which she said Tom would have wanted to celebrate his life. Stewart with conference organizer, June Winchester Violet Eccles gave a talk about her path of development in mediumship and later taught a workshop about maintaining the mediumistic link. We attended the work- shop and came away with a few new tech- Dr. Annette Childs counseled Stewart concerning his grief over his sister’s unexpected transition and they have become good friends. She has devoted her career to understanding the end-of-life experience and has important understanding of this which she shared at the conference. If you think about this for a moment, you may understand how rare it is for someone to talk about the actual transition experience. Spiritualists speak of survival and communication across the veil; people interested in human potential speak of Volume 29, Number 4 Page 4 niques which we will share with our circle. Of course, the highlight of the conference was the Saturday evening

séance with Stewart. The sequence of events during the séance was much like the one we describe on the next page. The short description is “amazing!” The conference was one of the most interesting and enjoyable that we have attended. Being with a community of like-minded people for a weekend is something we all should experience every once in a while; as we all know, we are a rather different bunch! to raise the energy in the room. Walter began by saying that he was merely a human being and that there was nothing angelic about him. He told us he discovered that after death, he lived on in a very real world. A world that in many ways was very phys- ical. He said, “Your world to you is a world of reality but I tell you that your world is temporary. Our world is the world of ultimate reality.” He said that his world was very similar to ours, that it was a very substantial world; a Stewart Alexander Séance by Lisa Butler In October, we traveled to the Cober Hill conference center to attend a Stewart Alexander and Friends con- ference, and were fortunate to be invited to stay for a small private sitting. Stewart began developing in a home circle in 1967 and his physi- cal mediumship began show- ing itself in 1982. He is now retired and seldom conducts public sittings. The sitters before the séance: Ray is taking the picture. His wife, June is

at left; Brian K. behind his wife, Julie; Tom standing behind Lisa; Carol behind Annette; Stewart standing behind Annette’s husband, Brian who is behind Sascha, who sits to your left of his wife, Susanne and Ann at the right. Thirteen of us gathered downstairs at circle leader Ray Lister’s home in Hull, England. The sitting began with Ray strapping Stewart’s arms to a chair with thick cable wraps that assured he could not be released without a cutting tool. He sat in a cabinet made of a frame with cloth sides. Luminous tabs were placed on his knees and on the curtain rod, permitting us to see where his knees were at all times as well as whether or not the curtain was open. Stewart sat with the curtain open for the majority of the séance. The sitters sat close together in a circle so that the sitter on each side of Stewart could hold his hand. The room was small and most of us had our backs to the wall. There was a round table sitting in front of Stewart. It was about eighteen inches in diameter and about two feet tall. Two trumpets sat on it with additional cable wraps and a pair of drum sticks. Ray said a prayer and a lovely piece of music was played while Stewart went into trance. It was only a few minutes before we heard the first voice come through Stewart. It was White Feather, Stewart’s North American Indian guide. He

is the first and last to speak in every séance. He greeted everyone and said, “…for a while we shall endeavor to remove the barrier between our two worlds so that once again, within this place of infinite love, we may converse together. We may once again be together as one united whole.” He told us that he spoke few words because there was so much to be done, and then he was gone. Christopher was the next to come though. He is very likeable and fun. He is responsible for relaxing the atmo- sphere and soon had everyone laughing. He told us he was there to entertain us as everything was being made ready. Walter Stinson was the next to come through. Walter is a Canadian by birth and was the brother of the famous Boston physical medium from the 1920s and 30s known to the world as Margery. Stewart told us before the séance that Walter is largely responsible for creating the physical phenomena and is in control of experimentation and further development within the home circle. He is also quite a ladies’ man with a good sense of humor. He uses laughter world of fellowship and infinite beauty. He spoke to Ann Harrison to say that he had been with her husband Tom who passed just the week before. He told her that it had been an honor to simply sit and talk with him. Walter asked if there was a lady present who had not sat

at his side before and I replied that I had not. He asked my name and invited me to sit beside him. Since the room was completely dark except for the glowing tabs, a red light was turned on so that I could see to change seats with Ray’s wife June, to sit beside Stewart. He explained that for them to work in a physical manner in our world, it was important to hear our voices and that it was the sound that was important. He then spoke to me directly, asking me how long I had been involved in seeking answers about sur- vival. I told him forty years, and he replied that was quite a long time and that in just another sixty years, I would have been involved as long as he had. Everyone laughed. Tom and Ann Harrison Walter told me they were extracting living energy, ectoplasm, from Stewart, and then instructed me to “Reach out very gently with your left hand and take Stewart’s hand.” He said he wanted me to know the reality of what was about to take place and added, “I do it because I want you to be able to share your experience with others. There are so few in your world who understand this reality of survival, of communication, particularly of that on a phys- ical level.” He asked me to gently place my right hand on top of my left, tightly hold Stewart’s hand and not to let go

under any circumstance. Continued page 6 Page 5 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Stewart Alexander Stewart Alexander Séance Continued from page 5 Walter then asked me to slowly move my right hand up Stewart’s arm until I felt the strap binding him to the chair. When I confirmed that I felt the strap, he said that they were going to try to take Stewart’s arm through the strap, and all of a sudden, Stewart raised his arm with my hand still in his hand. At the same time, there was a noise that sounded as if the strap broke. I was asked to feel the arm of the chair. The strap was still on the chair and not broken! Walter requested that the red light be turned on so that all could see, as I pulled on the strap to show every- one that it was still on the chair. Walter said that, in ignorance, many would believe that such a demonstration was simply a miracle but that it was nothing of the sort. It was a demonstration of what could be achieved when people gather together in love. Tom began to ask if Walter moved Stewart’s arm but Walter interrupted by saying “You want to know if it was the strap or the arm that was dematerialized.” Tom agreed and Walter told us that on some occasions it was the strap, and on others, the arm. To Tom, he added, “You want to know what determines what we choose

to do.” Again, Tom agreed and was told by Walter that his question would be answered “in a moment.” Walter asked me to again place my right hand on my left and tell everyone that I had not let go of Stewart’s hand. I assured everyone that I had Stewart’s hand in mine the whole time. Walter asked me to once again gently move my hand up Stewart’s arm. I did and dis- covered that the strap was back on his arm! Walter said, “Stop, press on the strap. Do you want it?” I eagerly said, “Yes!” and was startled as Stewart’s arm again lifted away from the chair, but this time, with the strap still on his arm. Again, the strap made a snapping sound and I was told to take the strap, and when I did, Stewart’s arm fell back to the arm rest with my left hand still on it and my right hand holding the cable wrap! Cable wrap used to strap Stewart to the chair Stewart’s hand was on the chair unsecured, but we heard a tapping, rattling sound on the table and Ray told us that it was from one of the cable wraps that we had seen laying there. Then we heard the sound of the strap being tightened on Stewart’s arm and I was asked to verify that he was once again secured to the chair. He was! Walter then said to me, “Know that there is a gentleman here for you.

Later, Freda would like to speak to you again.” The light was turned on so that I could return to my seat and the demonstration was repeated for another guest. Walter asked us to sing, and in a short time, one of the trumpets began flying about the room, and eventually began touching sitters. Tom was to my left and was touched on his chest and then the trumpet touched his left shoulder and gently moved over his head to his other shoulder, continuing to touch him as it did. It moved to my left shoulder and ever so gently across my cheek, the top of my head, my right cheek and shoul- der in a slow motion that felt like a caress. It moved on to touch others and there were many sounds of de- lighted sitters as it performed impos- sible maneuvers in the darkness. As evidence of how much the circle has developed, Stewart had been “awak- ened” during this and had been com- menting on the trumpet’s movement. A strange “woof, woof” sound came from the trumpet. Ann Harrison was sitting to my right and said that it was Sunrise, Minnie’s gatekeeper and protector. (Ann’s husband, Tom Harrison is author of Life After Death - Living Proof which is about his mother Minnie Harrison who was a famous physical medium.) The trumpet stopped in front of Ann and moved in a circle, first one way and then the other. This was Sunrise’s signal to the Harrison’s

home circle that he was present. Ann asked out loud if it was Sunrise and the trumpet moved up and down like someone nodding their head “Yes”! ATransC member, Dr. Annette Childs sat with us in the circle. She said something about being speechless about the movement of the trumpet, to which the trumpet also nodded “Yes,” and then to everyone’s delight, actually moved as if it were laughing. The trumpet tapped on the table and danced on the floor. Another trumpet joined in, and while one tapped on the table, the other moved about on the floor. We heard a new sound and Ray explained that a voice box was forming between Stewart and Carol. We were told that Dr. Barnett usually uses a voice box, which is formed from ectoplasm and used to produce his audible voice. (Dr. Franklin Barnett is a 19th-century Scottish physician who worked with American trumpet medium George Valentine) Barnett’s voice finally became audible and he told us that he was speaking through a device that they have created. He told us that it takes a great deal of energy to accomplish this and that often, when he is finally able to vibrate our atmosphere with his thoughts, there is little energy left for the communication. He said that he is responsible for this method of communication and that slowly it was progress- ing, and that in the future, they hoped to have other souls use the voice box to communicate. Before he left,

he told us that it was his intention to materialize into solid form to be with us later in the séance. Continued page 7 Volume 29, Number 4 Page 6 Stewart Alexander Séance Continued from page 6 Freda Johnson was next to visit the circle. She normally introduces loved ones who wish to communicate with sitters and communicates messages from them if they are having difficulty in getting their messages across via Stewart who is in deep trance. Speaking through Stewart, she asked me to sit beside her. The red light was switched on and I once again traded places with June. Once I was seated, Freda announced, “I have a gentleman here who so wants to speak to you. In a moment, I am going to step aside so he can come and speak for himself.” Freda said that it was extremely difficult for them to do this and that the man would need to hear my voice. She asked to take my hand and I could hear someone struggling to speak through Stewart. The hand I was holding was shaking as I heard “Is that you?” I responded that it was me and the voice said “Dad” I said that I had wanted to communicate with him for a long time, that he was the engineer and I just knew he would figure it out. My interest in communication started with my father’s transition. I began recording for EVP because he was an engineer and I thought EVP

would be right up his alley, but I have never received an EVP from him. Of course I did not think to ask about this when he was coming through Stewart. It was overwhelming and a wonder that I will never forget. I told him how much I loved him. He told me how much he loved me. It was very emotional for us both. As evidence of who he was, he told me twice that he could walk just fine now. My dad had congestive heart failure which made his feet so big that he could not walk. He also said, “Mother is with me.” He always called her “Mother” and not “Mom.” This message was very healing for my sister when I told her about the séance. She had been concerned that our mother might be stuck because she had terrible dementia when she crossed. Other loved ones came through for people. For in- stance, Stewart’s sister Gaynor came through while Annette Childs was sitting beside him. Since Annette had been instru- mental in helping Stewart cope with Gaynor’s transition, it was a very special reunion. Stewart and Gaynor Freda told Ann Harrison that even though he had only crossed over the week before, Tom was already making himself at home. Freda told Ann that one day she would tell her about the wonderful welcome Tom received. Ann and Tom were members of Stewart’s circle. Walter returned and asked that everyone return to their seats and away from

the table. The table had a translucent top with a red light underneath it, so that we could see what was happening on its surface without harm to Stewart. Walter then invited Brian K. to sit at the table across from him. Soon a blob of ectoplasm could be seen on the illuminated table top. It slowly formed into a large hand which Walter said was his. It knocked on the table and Brian said that it was a big hand. Next, Walter asked Brian to place his right hand on the table with his palm downwards. We could see that the hand moved toward Brian’s hand and he announced that it was holding his hand and that it felt like a human hand. Many of us were called to the table after that. I sat on Stewart’s right and Annette sat on his left. We were all asked to put our hands on the table and stretch out our fingers so that they touched the adjacent hand. Walter told us that they were removing Stewart from his bindings so that we could tell others that Stewart’s hands were controlled. Once again, we heard the sound of Steward being removed from his ties. Annette and I were told to hold Stewart’s fingers on the table and Walter asked Ray, who he affectionately calls Raymondo, to switch on the light so that all could see everyone’s hands, especially Stewart’s. The dark shape of a large hand suddenly came from the direction

of Stewart and knocked sharply on the table! We were then asked to remove our hands from the table and hold hands. The table began to move, even levitating on its own. It touched my knee, and judging by the comments of the others sitting around the table, it was touching them as well. As this was happening, we noticed that someone new was trying to speak through Stewart. It is the practice of the regular circle members to speak encouraging words and to provide the added energy of their voices. Over our encour- aging words, we heard a hesitant “Con…” and “Constan… and then we heard “Konstantin.” He repeated his name and then was gone. Walter came back and said that this contact (Konstantin) was unexpected and that, “The gentleman says he has fulfilled his promise. There are great advancements that will be made in the near future.” Walter asked if we understood that and we said that we did. Walter continued to say, “He will continue to do his finest. That is all that he can do.” To say that we were blown away by this would be an understatement! [Editor: See the Konstantin Synchron- icity sidebar, on page 8.] After we returned to our seats, we were told that Dr. Barnett would try to come through and that we should sing to build the energy. One of the women near Stewart announced that she felt hands touch her head and Carol on the other side of Stewart

also said that she was being touched on her head. Dr. Barnett spoke, saying that he and another person had partially materialized in the room. For a short time, there were two materialized people at once in the room! Then Sascha, who sat close to the cabinet, announced that he felt hands touching his head. We heard Dr. Barnett tell him to continue his work. Next we touched Tom’s head, and then taking Tom’s left hand with his two hands said, “God bless you, I am so pleased to make your acquaintance. Continue with your work. You are known in my world.” Dr. Barnett moved next to Ann Harrison and then to Annette Childs before returning to the cabinet. Continued page 8 Page 7 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Stewart Alexander Séance Continued from page 7 Dr. Branett talked for a while about the spirit team’s work with Stewart and told us about things that they want to accomplish in the New Year, after which he spoke a blessing for us and was gone. Walter returned to say a few words before ending the séance; “We that know the truth about survival … we have a shared duty and that is to convey to all mankind this wondrous truth and this is something that we can do together, my world and your world. We can reach out together so that we may help the bereaved so that we may quell the anguish of separation. We can work together as a

united whole. Understand that whenever you do what White Feather calls ‘The work of the spirit,’ you will not find us absent. Whenever you send out a call, we shall be there with you. You may not see us, sense us or hear us but be assured that we will be there to help, to inspire, to guide you in whatever way that we can. We are aware of you all as individuals. We are aware of your work so know this: that we are always with you. Together we can accomplish so very much.” Walter closed by telling us it was a privilege to be able to communicate with us from his world to ours. He told us that he hoped we took, “Inspiration to continue on. You are not alone. Good night to you all.” This was a very touching and special experience. We can only say that we felt immensely blessed to have had this experience. We did feel that the two worlds had been joined for those two hours, and yes, we did return home inspired! We sincerely thank Stewart and his circle for their many, many years of dedication and we also thank the Spirit Team that has given of their time to make this experience possible. Stewart has just released his autobi- ographical book, An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium. The book is an exception- ally well-written account of what it is like to be a physical medium and what it

means to act as a channel between this world and the next. The at is Amzon.com. (please use link at atranscom.org ) available book Konstantin Synchronicity As you know, Dr. Konstantin Raudive spoke to us during a David Thompson Circle of the Silver Cord séance in Sarasota, Florida. He told us to record for EVP on October 27 at 10 pm and gave us a code phrase. We thought it interesting that one of the words in the phrase was the name of a beloved cat, now on the other side! I am not sure which of us asked a question at that séance, and the séance recording was so distorted it could not be made out, but the answer that Konstantin gave was, “You and Childs do it.” ATransC member Keith Clark was sitting between us, and everyone assumed that Raudive meant to say “Clark” and not Childs. However we thought this very interesting as we were already scheduled to attend a conference in October and friend, Dr. Annette Childs was to be a speaker at the conference. We even told Annette about this strange comment when we returned from Florida. But since she was traveling the evening before us and we would be on the plane on the 27th, it would be impossible for us to record together. In October we spent all of the 27th on a plane going from San Francisco to London Heathrow, and then to Manchester. At the Manchester airport we carried our luggage

to the train station to continue on to York for the night. The first stop for the train was Man- chester Piccadilly. As people boarded the train, Tom leaned toward me and whispered, “Is that Annette?” There, sitting down directly across from us was Annette and her husband Brian. They had flown in and spent the night at a hotel in downtown Man- chester. There are trains every thirty minutes going to York and there were six cars on the train with at least ten rows of seats in each car. It is simply unimaginable that Annette and her husband would end up sitting down directly across from us. Put this together with Konstantin’s original message and then his coming through in the séance with Annette and me seated on either side of Stewart and well … what can one say about such a synchronicity? Tribute We pay tribute to two people who were friends and who were very important to the field of survival research. They passed within a week of each other in October. David Fontana, author of Is There an Afterlife?, made his transition October 20 and Tom Harrison, author of Life After Death - Living Proof, made his transition October 23. We know that they will continue their work from the other side but they are greatly missed by friends, loved ones and the people who learned from them. Please see paranormalreview.com for a wonderful tribute. Volume 29, Number 4 Page 8 Tom Harrison David Fontana

Got Grief? by Annette Childs, PhD As a therapist who has spent nearly twenty years specializ- ing in grief and bereavement issues, I have often seen both the beauty and the burden that is part of the path for those who personally experience the reality of life after death. You do not need to be a scholar to see the beauty of it: Those who have had some type of afterlife encounter with a deceased loved one can usually use that experience to blanket themselves against grief’s very hard edges. I use the term “blan- ket” very purposely. A blanket can keep you from shivering when it is cold, but it has no effect on the cold itself. In a sense when it’s cold, we are in it … and have to do our best to use our resources to get through it. Such is the nature of grief. If you are reading this article, it is probably due to some level of knowledge or experience with afterlife phenomena. Maybe this is knowledge you have long held, or maybe it has been your grief that broke you open and made you stretch your perceptions to find what else there may be. Either way, if you have experienced afterlife phenomena, you have been inoculated with a truth that forever courses through your being. What a gift this is … but there are times—maybe just moments or hours—but there are times where the blanket of knowing wears thin and you still feel

the cold grip of grief. Because I am an author and researcher, I travel extensive- ly speaking to audiences well versed in afterlife phenomena. I have come to see that there is a true burden that goes unnoticed among the well-informed grieving. One’s knowl- edge of the afterlife is like a lifeboat that one hops into when the ship goes down. Thank God for that lifeboat! But let’s be realistic; being in a lifeboat on a stormy sea is still a pretty precarious and difficult thing. That stormy sea is grief, and regardless of how much we know about the “next place,” we must travel its expanse until we are once again in a safe harbor. That is the journey of grief. In grief literature there is a type of grief known as “disenfranchised grief.” This is a term used to describe the forgotten grievers of our society. Losses such as miscar- riage, pet death, or deaths due to senility or very old age often denote this category of “disenfranchised grievers” in professional literature. A disenfranchised griever is some- one whose grief goes unnoticed, or is minimized, because those around them discount their grief based on their incorrect perceptions that this loss should not cause the griever much pain. I would like to add a new category to the list of disenfran- chised grievers: Those who have an irrefutable knowledge of the reality of life after death. In the professional arena these are mediums, healers, researchers; those who have dedicated

their lives to investigating, reporting, teaching and bridging the gap between life and death. In the lay public, these are people who have a well-known and substan- tiated belief in the afterlife that they have shared with those around them. I have had enough of this unique type of griever come through my therapy doors to know that some of the most enlightened among us suffer the consequences of their own wisdom when it comes to grief: They often minimize their own grief because there seems to be an unspoken perception that afterlife knowledge should erad- icate symptoms of grief. I have seen this too many times over the course of my career not to have a strong opinion about it. Survival knowledge and griev- ing are simply two different things. Yes, survival knowledge blankets our pain, but it does not change the nature of the cold night of grief that awaits us after the loss of someone we love. Grief has many components about which the general public is unaware. Although I do not have the space in this short article to detail these components, there are very well-defined mental, physical, psychological, spiritual and biological (physical) components to normal grief. Knowledge, no matter how strong it is, does not prevent an organic process that must be moved through. I can perhaps most succinctly convey the concept through the use of metaphor. In my work as a grief therapist, I see what I do as comparable to the function of

a physical therapist who works with patients to help them regain flexibility after being long immobilized by a cast. The death of their loved one, and the loss of that physical relationship, is akin to cutting off a cast that held their life just so, for a very long time. After the “cast” is gone, there is a period of time where I help the grieving to bend and flex the rigid parts of their thoughts and emotions ever so slightly; not enough to cause injury, but just enough to push them past the place that they were yesterday. When resistance arises I use education and compassion to allow the tense and clenched places to loosen a bit. It is then a gradual and sometimes laborious process to learn a new way of moving. The “moving” denotes the journey away from the loss and toward a life without the physical presence Continued page 20 Page 9 Winter 2011 Angel of Grief ©Stefano Pizzetti, flickr.com/people/spizzetti/ Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Konstantin Raudive Made Contact! As we reported in the last NewsJournal, EVP pioneer Konstantin Raudive told us during a David Thompson séance that he would try to communicate via transcommu- nication. He asked us to tell everyone to record on October 27, 2010 at 10 p.m. We were 32,000 feet above Ely, Nevada at 10 p.m., on our way to England. Since we were crossing time zones, we picked Florida time because that was where we were for the séance. Unfortunately, we were

close to the engines and all our recorder picked up was their noise. We received no reports via the website contact tool. However many members emailed us to report that they recorded Konstantin’s name. Jutta Liebmann of the German VTF reported “...just in the beginning of the recording a high female singing voice announces ‘Kommt Raudive’ and then a male voice similar to Raudive’s lifetime voice says ‘Raudive ... kommt Raudive....’, the messages are in the German language.” “Kommt” translates to English as “come.” The promised code phrase was “Light 22” and we are happy to report that member Jayne Thompson succeeded using EVPmaker and crowd babble. The “light” is clearly discernable, but the “22” is a little more difficult to hear. Nevertheless, we will have the recording on the website. Kevin Calls His Mother by Lorie McMorrow Mom mentioned that my brother-in-law Gene still misses Kevin a lot. I told her about a dream with Gene in it I had last June. In it, Kevin said that he’d been trying to tell Gene that he’s okay, but that he doesn’t hear him. Later that afternoon, Mom said she was feeling sad about problems with some family members, and was especially missing Kevin. She said to him, “Wish I could hear your voice again.” At 7:00 that evening Mom called me. I heard the phone ring once but couldn’t answer since I was brushing my teeth. Mom called again a few minutes later and sounded surprised. She said she had

just called me and some guy answered and said “Hel- lo.” She said, “Who is this?” Then she heard, “Kevin.” She heard soft static in the background and then felt a vastness like his voice was coming from space. Also, when I had talked to Mom this afternoon, I had told her about another dream that I had a few days after the one with Gene. In the dream, Kevin and I were talking on the phone. I remember hearing his voice and was very surprised. I said, “Kevin, is that you?” He said, “Yeah, it’s me.” I was amazed that I could hear his voice and it sounded just the same as always. He said we could talk anytime, that “It’s really not that hard.” Well, I’ve been asking Kevin for a long time to try to get a message to Mom where she could hear his voice, that she really needed that. Looks like he’s been working on it! Margaret Downey conducted a light reflected from moving water ITC experiment October 15, and as can be seen in the resulting image (left), there is a resemblance to Konstantin Raudive (right), especially the nose. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 that most important crisis and look forward to the continued relationship with our loved ones who have found their new home on the other side. We close another year and begin a new one much like our transition to the other side. We have been honored to have your support

and interest throughout this past year and look forward to our continued journey this coming year. We wish you health, happiness, success, and prosperity in the New Year. And we end this issue with the last words we heard from Konstantin Raudive, “There are great advancements that will be made in the near future!” Tom and Lisa Big Circle Recording Dates We want to focus on publishing more Big Circle-oriented articles on the website. To help maintain the focus in the Idea Exchange, Rhonda Burton has agreed to moderate the Big Circle forums. Thank you Rhonda. Participation in the Big Circle is easy, and for many has been very rewarding. Simply record for EVP on or near Big Circle night and then share your messages on the ATransC Idea Exchange. Use the session to reach out to loved ones and ask the Big Circle for help. There is a good article about the Big Circle in the Circles section of the website. Upcom- ing recording dates are: January 6 and 20, February 3 and 17 March 3, 17 and 31, April 14 and 28 Our friends on the other side are there to help recorders at anytime. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get in the Idea Exchange. Volume 29, Number 4 Page 10 The Significance of Signs by Margaret Downey Last February, I received an email from Susie Falco telling me about a “sign” she received from her son, Bo.

Susie had been speaking with Dave Kane and the two of them had been sharing stories about how their children have continued to get messages to them after they transitioned. Dave had mentioned to Susie about two EVP I recorded from his son Nicky saying, “Hi Mom, it’s Nicky” and “Mom and Dad, this is Nick.” She wrote, “It just blew me away”[to learn of EVP]. Susie then shared the following story with me about the mysterious phone call she’d gotten from her son, Bo, shortly after his death. “We have been getting amazing signs, which are too much to get into, but I would like to share his ‘voice’ sign with you. One day, my cell phone rang, and the number was from another state. When I answered it, I heard my son’s voice, like it was underwater and with some static. It said ‘Hi, hello?!’ I asked who it was and it disconnected. When I called the number back, the number was full of static and said that the number was no longer in service. I then researched and found that the number was of an auto body shop in Bethesda, Maryland and it has been out of service and boarded up for years. “I know it was Bo, and I even knew it before I answered. I can’t explain it, other than the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt kind of sick at the sound. “I just wanted to let you

know of another parent who believes the fact that my son contacted me in this manner [via EVP] after passing. It really is important for me to know that my son is somewhere, communicating with us and that our love is as strong as ever.” I was touched to read about her experience and wrote back to let her know I’m always telling people to keep on the lookout for signs because they come in so many different ways, and I believe each and every one of them is a gift, no matter what form it takes. I couldn’t help but think of our dear Debbie Caruso as I wrote those words to Susie. I remembered Debbie talking about getting messages from her son, Joey. My heart was still aching over Debbie’s recent unexpected transition in January but I found myself smiling in that moment, recalling her comment about how, to others, certain things might seem like nothing important, but to her they were signs. I began to wonder if perhaps the timing of that email was a sign of its own! A week later, I conducted an EVP session with the intention of trying to hear from Debbie. I wasn’t thinking of Bo at the time, but he came through instead. He said, “It’s Bo, I’m talking to Mom” along with several other things. I believe Debbie, knowing how important it would be for Susie to hear from her son, helped make this happen. I sent all the audio

files to Susie and got a reply that not only did it sound like her son, but her daughter and skeptical husband could hear him too. Susie shared the EVP with a local medium who also confirmed it was Bo. Fast forward to August 20th, which happened to be the 30th anniversary of a beloved mentor’s tragic death. I opened my email to find the following story from Susie, whom I’d not corre- sponded with in months: “Hi! It’s me, Susie. You probably don’t remember me, but hopefully you may! My son, Bo, sent an EVP to you last February, and it was amazing!! You were so smart and sweet to send it to me, verifying his voice!! It is so special to be able to hear him! I can never thank you enough. “Here is the weird part. My friend, who is a medium, called me yesterday and said that one of the messages that he had sent you, “Hey, Mom, it’s me Bo” in a singsong voice appeared on her iPod!! It is on my computer, and nowhere else (I do not own an iPod). She doesn’t even use iTunes. It is quite a mystery! Of course, we know that somehow he did that, so she could listen, and then tell me! I just wanted to share that with you!” Now I know, as Debbie noted, many people will say all these things and other examples like them have mundane explanations or are just coincidences and can’t be

“scientif- ically” proven. But for those of us who feel our loved ones with us in these moments, and believe they are doing what they can to provide assurances of their survival beyond the physical as well as their continued presence in our lives, these are without question … signs. I read a wonderful quote by Carl G. Jung this week and think it relevant here, “Science is the tool of the Western mind and with it more doors can be opened than with bare hands. It is part and parcel of our knowledge and obscures our insight only when it holds that the understanding given by it is the only kind there is.” Idea Exchange Upgrade The discussion board will be upgraded sometime in the first week of 2011. The old one was a good beginning but it had become very out of date. The new one offers many new features which we will gradually roll out as we organize members to be moderators. An announcement will be sent out. Be sure to drop by and say “hello.” It will be at http://atransc.org/forum/ Page 11 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal I Love You Earthmen Original version by Richard Smith and Laura J. Bartel at paratexas.com/ILoveYouEarthmen.htm This is a report on EVP sessions using allophones generated with Speakjet. Using this technique, contact was made with an unusual entity named Julius, representing himself as a member of a group who wishes to communicate with “Earthmen.” Many people are now conduct- ing

EVP experiments with the allophones produced with Speak- jet. This report includes informa- tion on how we have adapted this technique. We are not suggesting that you change your current method, but merely that you may find something about our tech- nique that is helpful to you. In the conversations with Julius we found that it seemed to be impor- tant to him that we were consistent in method. He frequently would complain when the session did not go well for him and his group. wish to communicate in a meaningful dialogue, please speak to us. It is important that you give us your name so that we may be able to better identify you in the future.” In this study, we used three different methods of record- ing. In all recordings we used the EVPmaker software developed by Stefan Bion and the allophone file which is freely available at stefanbion.de/evpmaker/index_e. htm. Because the staccato output can mask your words, in this protocol, we turn off the EVP- maker output while asking ques- tions. The output is on for ten seconds to allow the entity to respond. [Editor’s note: keeping a standard duration for responses is a good idea because the number of EVP per question can be used as a measure to help assess the effectiveness of a technique or setting.] Paratexas recording studio Although some still prefer the more human-sounding voices common to the traditional white noise-sourced communication, we have found nonetheless that using synthesized voice, with adherence

to certain protocols, can bring forth an extraordinary type of “other dimension” EVP communication. Understanding the robot-sounding mono- tones of the synthesized speech may take some effort, but you will find that just a little time and practice is all that is necessary to adapt to the characteristics of these voices. These protocols are easy to apply, and could increase the overall effectiveness of the session, bringing you a compel- ling verbal exchange with a new dimension of entities. An operational note: We feel it is important to remember that our own minds may at times attempt to influence our perception of the EVP voices we are hearing. For that reason, we always present our recordings to as many other individuals as possible for their opinion on interpretation of the messages. If we have problems in the area of agreeing on the wording of our session messages, we may withdraw that particular sample for further study or discard it entirely. In EVP studies as described in this article, it is important to maintain a stable protocol. Any changes in protocol during the study become a part of the protocol of the experiment and should be so noted for the next session. Also, what you use to review a sound file may result in changes to the audio structure and thusly affect its interpre- tation. Recording technique We suggest that you begin every session with an opening prayer or statement of your intention for only benevolent contacts. For example: “We seek

communication with spirits who have passed from their lives on Earth or who may be entities of another existence or dimension. Any entities who EVPmaker loads the allophone file into a buffer and randomly selects parts of that buffer to form a new sound stream for the output. It is believed that the EVP is “insert- ed” into the physical by influencing the random process. Other sound files can be used, but the allophones help you avoid mistaking ordinary speech for EVP. Detailed instructions for EVPmaker setup and routing signals in a Windows computer are provided in the article at paratexas.com/ILoveYouEarthmen.htm. Method 1 (okay): After your opening prayer, turn on a voice recorder, ask a question and then play the audio output from EVPmaker with the computer’s speakers. Let it play for 10 seconds and then turn off the speakers (or pause EVPmaker), ask a second question and turn the speakers on again for another ten seconds. The final recording is transferred to the computer for waveform display and review in an audio management program. Method 2 (better): A second technique is to use a computer microphone to record directly into the computer instead of using an external recorder. Any good audio management program will work and both the EVPmaker output and microphone input can be directed to the audio recorder. Recording with the computer produces a cleaner audio file. Make a new file and begin recording as you ask your first question. As in Method 1, record for ten

seconds and then pause EVPmaker while you ask your next question. Begin EVPmaker for another ten seconds, repeating this process for the duration of the session. In the end, you should have a sound file containing your questions with no EVPmaker in the background, and ten seconds of EVPmaker output after each question. See atransc.org for the open-sourced Audition audio management program setup information. Continued page 13 Volume 29, Number 4 Page 12 I Love You Earthmen Continued from page 12 Method 3 (best): No microphone or external input is used in this method. As in Method 2, set EVPmaker as an input to your audio management program. Set up a new audio file, and with EVPmaker paused, begin recording as you speak your questions into the room. Then run EVPmaker for ten seconds, pause it to ask your next question, restart EVPmaker for ten seconds and so on for the duration of the session. An option is to record your questions with the external voice recorder, and later, add that sound file back into the internally recorded file. We thought all we would hear on playback was EVPmak- er output, but to our astonishment, we were presented with an entirely new version of dialogue from our communica- tors. We soon realized that there was an estimated 85% to 90% change in all the allophones and the translation was clear and concise in comparison to the other two methods. Important Note: This technique has been developed in a computer running

Windows Professional XP, which allows us to monitor on the computer speakers what the system is recording. Unfortunately, Vista and Windows Seven will not allow this. So far we have no patch or remedy. We will note on the ATransC Idea Exchange if we come up with a solution. Fine tuning the communication process We at paratexas.com have begun testing a process of using audible cues to prompt the communicator’s replies. During the session, we use a sound generator (free downloads are available on the Internet) to introduce a 500 Hz beep before each question, a 1000 Hz beep indicating the beginning of the ten second EVP record interval and two 1000 Hz beeps at the end of the ten second interval. This seems to keep the session moving and helps keep the topics relevant since the more casual and random communicators don’t seem to catch on well to this kind of prompting. Julius Group EVP, however, may show with time a better performance with this type of organization. At first we prefaced our sessions with an explanation of the tone cues, but we no longer do that. We simply apply the tones and see what happens. Closing comment Julius asked for more experts to join in this communication, that’s why we are bringing this to the ATransC group (you’re the experts!). We’d love to see some of the ATransC members get in touch with Julius’s group or perhaps have an encounter with similar entities! It’s a good idea to

practice your technique before asking for participation from Julius or other similar contacts. He has shown us that he will comment if we get sloppy on our procedure! TIP: Write your questions before the session, make them brief as possible and be careful about questions on personal issues. The entity is likely to direct you to “rely on your faith.” It’s probably more important HOW you phrase this kind of question. It may be better to first develop a trusting exchange with the group while becoming familiar with universal and spiritual law so your intent won’t be construed as self-serving. Beginning setup for EVPmaker: So far we are using only randomized allophones and cues, and are varying settings as little as possible. Segments are set between 20-50 milliseconds (ms) low, and 100-150 ms high. Take care to avoid changes during any particular EVP session as it is not known to what extent your contactee may be relying on the stability of methods used. We feel that changes to settings here should be done in small increments and we intend to continue experimenting with varying settings. Overlap, Z Cross and X Fade may have the effect of smoothing over syllables for regular speech patterns. We prefer an unaffected interval between syllables for our EVP samples as it is important to allow the contactee a clear opportunity between syllables for more precise diction. EVPmaker has quite a few options and appears to be capable of recording, providing a file system, and many

other extras for the experimenter who is not using other software for processing. At this time we are not indulging in a testing of the EVPmaker software per se, but are simply using the functions which suit our needs for the time. Configuring Windows XP for recording: Stereo Mix capability: This may also be called “Wave Out Mix. It inables you to monitor the audio when you are recording from an external source, which is important when working with EVP. Open the Control Panel and select Sound and Audio Devices. Select the Audio tab and click on the Volume button in Sound Recording. Make sure Wave Out Mix is selected. Later versions of Windows have problems with this, but it is possible to right-click on the Sound Control Panel and select Show Deactivated Devices. There may be a Mix item there, and if so, activate it. Otherwise, find out what kind of audio board your computer has and see if there is a driver available on the manufacturer’s website. Richard and Mary Smith are found- ers of Paranormal Investigations of Texas (paratexas.com) located in Alvin, TX. They began working in earnest with EVP in 1997 and have aggressively pursued EVP studies in the field and on the Internet since then. Laura J. Bartel is an ATransC member and currently an associate EVP researcher with Richard Smith at the Paratexas.com audio studio in Alvin, Texas. She holds a bachelor of science degree in polymer chemistry and is working toward a in

masters in forensic psychology. [Editor’s note: This article is extracted from the original version at paratexas.com/ILoveYouEarthmen.htm. There are many sound files there containing very interesting comments by the Julius Group. Two examples are at atransc.org/techniques.htm, along with the detailed instructions. One example is Julius clearly saying “I love you Earthman.” The second is an example of how the tones are used as cues.] Page 13 Winter 2011 Audition audio management program setup information. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Skepticism: The New Religion by Roy Stemman, paranormalreview.com, Oct 3, 2010 Those of us who have received evidence that convinces us we will continue to exist, in some form, beyond death know that it can be a life-changing discovery. And most of us feel that this world–humanity as a whole–would be a better place if more people had knowledge of the evidence for survival after death and the opportunity to explore the evidence and the implications for themselves. So it is hardly surprising that so many comments on my blog (Paranormalreview.com) in recent weeks have ex- pressed dismay over the decision by the Spiritualists’ National Union [whose headquarters is at the Arthur Findlay College, Stansted, Essex, pictured] to shut down Psychic News, a newspaper dedicated to promoting that evidence globally for almost eighty years. Though its readership has been declining in recent years, it has been responsible for introducing many people to the scientific evidence for an afterlife as well as Spiritualism’s philosophy. Its demise has left a gaping void and it is tremendously

frustrating that those responsible for the decision are not answering questions about the real reasons for closing it, or their failure to come up with a rescue plan. Contrast this lack of communication from Spiritualism’s largest UK organization with the activities of the skeptics– people who are on a mission to dismiss all evidence for paranormal phenomena and belief in an afterlife. They are growing in numbers. Indeed, it seems to me at times as if skepticism has become a new religion. Their meetings take place at top venues around the world and their speakers’ skeptical assertions are lapped up with zealous enthusiasm by the delegates. They even have their own Messiah–James Randi–a bearded prophet of rationalism whose appearance on stage at these events is usually greeted with a reception akin to worship. In the October news and updates email from the James Randi Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, “social critic and magician” Randi says: “For those of you who have supported the JREF since our inception in 1996, and even for those folks who are new to our coterie, there are a plenitude of reasons to be delighted. “For instance, the JREF plans in the short term to enter the realm of digital publishing with skeptical titles poised for release on the iPad and iPhone, Kindle, and other digital schemes. We are increasing our video content on Volume 29, Number 4 randi.org. “We have also launched a new grants for educators program and our regional workshops are a reality

with St Louis, Chicago and Louisville already on record as the first of many such planned skeptical assemblages. We also recently awarded four new academic scholarships.” The JREF is not alone. Another non-profit organization, the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), publishers of Skeptical Inquirer announced two days ago that it wants to recruit a full-time communications director to handle press relations and publicity. Experience in public relations and/or journalism is required, of course, and applicants must be “familiar with the organization’s mission and demonstrate a commitment to humanism and skepticism.” Salary will be based on experience. The CSI is an associate of the Center for Inquiry (CFI) which was established in 1991 and has expanded rapidly since then, moving into a new 20,000 sq foot headquarters in Amherst, New York (pictured), in 1995, to which it added a 15,600 sq ft research wing five years ago. With its mission “to oppose and supplant the mythological narratives of the past and the dogmas of the present” it has had considerable success in placing skeptics on national TV and radio programs. “Literally hundreds of guests have been placed on thousands of programs,” says its website. “This includes all of the major networks – CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, PBS – and virtually all of the cable companies – CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, C SPAN – as well as National Public Radio, AP Radio, etc.” The CFI maintains a Council for Media Integrity and “a rapid-response network to try to monitor programming and fight for

balance in the media.” So, what’s the difference between the SNU and the skeptical organizations–apart from the blindingly obvious fact that they champion very different philosophies? It’s clearly all about communication: telling the world what you are doing and even appointing professional people to do so on your behalf. Whilst the skeptics are busy coming up with titles that can be read on iPads and Kindles, the SNU has killed off Spiritualism’s only independent, weekly newspaper and fired its staff. For the record, I know that the SNU and its churches, ministers, mediums and healers do a tremendous amount of good in presenting evidence for spirit communication and promoting spirit-inspired philosophy. But it needs to be shouting that information from the rooftops. It has to explore ways of publicizing its activities (and those of similar organizations) through every avenue available. The SNU website assures us that it “promotes knowledge of the religion, Continued page 15 Page 14 Gathering Information Using EVPmaker with Allophones Study: A Six Month Report submitted by Cindy Heinen, Study Manager The study is half way through in November. Since May, a new target item has been put in place on the first of every month in hopes that this target would be positively identified in EVP recording using EVPmaker and allophones. Ÿ May: We had 3 participants and 4 submissions. Ÿ June: We had 2 participant and 3 submissions. Ÿ July: We had 4 participants and 15 submissions. Ÿ August: We had 2 participants and 154

submissions. Ÿ September: We had 3 participants and 116 submissions. Ÿ October: We had 3 participants and 72 submissions. As you can see, submissions have increased. Participation appears low but I do not know how many people are attempting to do the experiment but are not recording anything they consider worth submit- ting to the trial. Also, submissions indicate that only ATransC members are participating. Early in the study, I announced the study in several different avenues outside of ATransC, includ- ing presenting the study at a conference, post- ing a blog about the study and basically talking it up among other like-minded communities on the Internet. These attempts have always seemed to generate a bit of enthusiasm but I just have not experienced any follow through by those who have expressed interest. The protocol for the experiment is quite stringent, and for a submission to be considered positive, it must be heard without prompting as the participant heard it, by two members of a three-person listening panel. While we have had a few “close calls” by adhering to the written protocol, we have not yet received a positive hit. I noticed an interesting trend while reviewing all the responses that have so far been cataloged for the study. Of the 364 submissions that have been received, twenty-nine seem to speak directly to the experiment. Most of these indicated difficulty in doing the experiment with comments like “I can’t tell you” or “Can’t look.” While these comments only make up

eight percent of the submissions it still stands out to me as something of interest. Of interest is that we began receiving positive hits in September for the target that was to be put in place in October: a holy book. Those who follow the reports on the experiment in the Idea Exchange know that I in particular had high hopes for this target and was looking forward to it being put in place in October. Margaret Downey, who is the only other person besides me who knows what the targets are to be, is the one who finds and places the actual target. She chose a holy book whose message had great meaning to her. I found it intriguing that we would get multiple hits for the October target in September, some of which passed the listening panel test. These audio files sent to us in September were: “red book”; “green book”; “Bible”; “book is the key”; “scripture”; “a certified orange book(let)”; and, “popular book”. Some of these, especially “scriptures,” “Bible” and “book is the key”, might be considered references to a holy book. In October, we only got one hit for book and that was “phone book”. This is especially interesting because, as was brought to my attention, the word “book” is one of the words that can be heard repeatedly in EVPmaker with allophones. We caught the “book” several times in addition to references to holy books seven times in September but only one reference to a

book as a phone book in October. Jayne Thompson also received two interesting recordings in September. One was “copper metal” and the other was “It’s a penny.” The target for September was a pair of scissors but Jayne brought her recording to Margaret’s attention and Margaret in turn told her that there were indeed pennies on the middle shelf of a bureau that was in a different room from the target object. Who knows, maybe our friends did not read my protocol. It appears that we are not receiving positive target identification, probably because of too few participants. Nevertheless, you can see there are other outcomes in the experiment that may give us insight into the nature of EVP communication. I encourage all those who are interested in this trial to participate. Some of the participants who have only submit- ted once have submitted some remarkable and illuminating samples, even if they did not get the target correct. I am grateful to those who are trying. Continued from page 14 Skepticism: philosophy and science of Spiritualism” and that it “unites Spiritualists throughout the world and supports 340 Spiri- tualist societies and churches.” It also holds over 1,500 meetings a week across the UK–far more, I’m sure, than the rapidly-expanding skeptics groups in the US and Europe. That’s all well and good, but in the battle for minds it seems to me that the skeptics have the upper hand right now. Their skepticism is even influencing the treatment of spiritual and

paranormal stories by the supposedly objective media, due to a concerted campaign on their part. As a result, many newspaper and magazine articles I read now refer to Spiritualism in the past tense–as a religion that thrived in the 19th and 20th centuries, but is now virtually dead and buried. We know that’s not true. But closing down Spiritualism's unique weekly record will simply reinforce that view around the globe. It’s time for the SNU and all Spiritualist organi- zations to speak up! [Editor: The skeptical organizations also have a substantial influence on how universities are funded and how the government grants your money for research. See Why Has There Not Been More Study of the Paranormal? at atransc.org/research.htm.] Page 15 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Traumatic Transitions on an older Buick has three shields on it and he could almost count the ribs going across the shields themselves. He saw the little band of stars with little ribs on them. He could see through the slat in the grille and see the ribs of the radiator. In another traumatic experience, a Marine pilot described his 15,000-foot free fall into the Pacific. He was falling and working with a chute that would not open and all of a sudden he was 15 to 20 feet away from his body. He could see his flight suit and helmet in detail and was surprised to see he was not wearing the boots he usually wore. Pan American World Airways flight 110 was

turned into a burning inferno during a terrorist attack in 1972. A flight attendant reported that she crawled onto the only two seats not burning. She was incredible happy and filled with joy. She saw herself lying there in her uniform through the smoke and wondered why she wasn’t moving but she said that she really didn’t care because she was so happy. All of a sudden a passenger screamed, “Open the window. Help me!” She thought “I need to help that lady,” and abruptly returned to her body. Sabom’s study included forty-nine patients who survived a serious, life-threatening accident. Eighty-four percent of the patients experienced no pain at the time of the injury, yet eighty-seven percent experienced moderate to severe pain minutes to hours later. All injured participants endorsed the statement “I felt surprisingly little or no pain immedi- ately at the time of my injury.” What this is pointing out to us is that a loved one who died in an accident would not feel any pain. They would go from an ADE to a near-death experience. Pain is only felt when we continue to be in the physical by surviving the near-death experience. This may also be comforting to those of us who say, “I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of the pain.” It seems that with acute sudden death there is none! Charlie Continued from page 3 Then the big moment came when William told us that Charlie was there and he was happy. He

said that Charlie was a bright light in the afterlife and that his purpose is to console and help children cross over without fear. The spirit guide, Timmy, brought Charlie through to us. It was a joyous moment; he spoke to us about the love we share and he asked his dad to promise him that he would not avenge his passing. He kissed my forehead and gently held my face in his hands. We feel that it was a wonderful experience and it is the closest we will come to feeling our son’s presence again in this lifetime. [Editor: Learn more about the Forever Family Foundation at foreverfamilyfoundation.org. Ÿ David Thompson is at silvercordcircle.com and atransc.org/circle/david_thompson_seance1.htm. Ÿ See christinemorgan.com.au for information about Christine Morgan.] Rising Lotus, Setting Sun ©Elizabeth, flickr.com/photos/eburton/3308496701/ When a loved one dies it can be even more painful if it happens in a traumatic way such as a car accident. We not only suffer from the shock that comes with a sudden loss but we also worry that our loved one suffered. In the article, “The Acute Dying Experience,” Spring 2008 Journal of Near-death Studies, Dr. Michael Sabom reported research showing that: “… paradoxically the more terrifying and traumatic an accident may appear, the more peaceful and painless it may actually be experienced.” Most studies about the dying process are concerned with people who have a chronic illness such as cancer. These studies have found that despite our medical advances fear, pain, fatigue, depression, loneliness, isolation,

anxiety, insomnia and other unpleasant symptoms accompanied the dying experience. In contrast to the uncomfortable days of the chronic dying process, sudden, traumatic death happens in a matter of seconds or minutes and is reported to be pleasant. Sabom writes that there are two main components in an Acute Dying Experience (ADE): psychological dissociation and heightened arousal. Dissociation at the time that a traumatic event is occurring is defined as peritraumatic dissociation which may have an altered time sense, with time being experienced as slowing down or rapidly accelerating. According to Sabom, “It appears to be an adaptive response that promotes survival by holding paralyzing emotions in abeyance, increasing mental alertness and blocking dis- abling pain.” Sabom’s study is based on reports from people who survived a traumatic, life-threatening experience. With such experiences can be profound feelings of unreality that the event is occurring or that the individual is the victim of the event. The person may experience depersonalization or feel that they are out of their body. For instance: During the two seconds prior to a head-on collision with an oncoming Buick, one man perceived incredible visual detail. He wrote that it seemed like an eternity and that he remembered studying the hood of the Buick. The emblem Volume 29, Number 4 Page 16 For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks

of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learned never to underestimate some- one’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each ex- perienced a variety of emotions: as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually accep- tance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though; every one of them. When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy rela- tionship from your life. Either way, you win. 4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friend- ships the time and effort that they their deserved. Everyone misses ©Maggie-me, flickr.com/photos/maggie-me/ 1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it. 2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s compan- ionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportuni- ties, ones more suited to your new lifestyle. 3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result,

they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitter- ness and resentment they carried as a result. friends when they are dying. It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friend- ships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships. 5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called “comfort” of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to themselves, that they were content, when deep within they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their lives again. When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let

go and smile again, long before you are dying. Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness. Bronnie Ware is a writer, singer/songwriter, songwriting teacher and speaker from Austra- lia. To read more of her articles and learn about her other work, please visit Inspiration and Chai at inspirationandchai.com Page 17 Winter 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Debbie Caruso: Confirmation Through Art Susie Alverson’s son Lance is on the other side. She communicates with him through EVP, a medium named Georgia and through dreams. She told us that several years ago Lance had given her a message via Georgia that her mediumship work would involve art. She had not under- stood this until an idea came to her to do spirit drawings for people who had lost children. She wrote, “The way this will work is that I will channel the requested spirits and ask them to come through me in order to write and/or draw for their loved ones. My eyes will stay closed the entire time, so that I don’t influence the drawings or writings.... I just purchased a large number of felt-tipped markers and special crayons from which I will let the spirit choose. From the time the session begins until it ends, spirit will be conducting the entire drawing or writing…. What I would like to do prior to having the spirit make the drawing, is to have the one requesting the drawing ask the spirit to draw or

write something specific without telling me. As you know, this will validate the drawing that much more.” Susie went on to show us a couple simple line drawings that she had done previously in this way and then she offered to do one of these for Tom and me. She wrote, “Just tell the spirits something you would like them to include in the drawing or what colors you would like them to use, etc., without telling me and we can see if that happens.” I printed out her email and turned around from my desk to talk about it with Tom. We brainstormed for about a minute and quickly scribbled in one corner of her email information that we wanted Debbie Caruso to bring through. We wrote, “Debbie Caruso,” “Debra Ann,” “11 11,” “purple,” “black” and “Big O” to represent the Big Circle spirit group. We then attached it to a hook on the side of my desk and sent out a mental request that Debbie participate and try to bring through what we had requested in a drawing with Susie. I also tried to connect to Debbie during a meditation and again requested that she look at the list and try to show us that she was involved with the drawing that Susie would do. As it turned out, the paper with the request remained on my desk for several weeks. Susie had some sort of bug, and then when she got to us with the information, we

were about to board a plane for the Stew- art Alexander conference in England. When we returned and were finally able to look at the drawing, I was shocked to see what Susie had sent us. I had written down “Debbie Caruso” and “Debra Ann” (she used Debra Ann in the ATransC message board). The drawing is signed “Debra C” which combined both ways I had written her name. There were two places that the lines were parallel similar to the two number elevens that we had scribbled down. The drawing was mainly in black. Susie wrote, “The fact is amazing that I had over fifty different colors for Debra to choose from and she only chose black, gray and purple.” And for our Big Circle request, each corner has a circle and then there is the bigger circle toward the middle of the drawing. Susie would like to help members of the ATransC who have lost children reconnect with their child via the child’s artwork as channeled through her. If you are interested, Susie accepts love offerings to help cover her costs. Susie wrote, “All that is required from the parent, just prior to the channeling, is a request to the child in spirit as to what the parent would like to have their child draw, without revealing the request to me.” She suggests the parent write the request down on paper and speak their request out loud (to their child) several times prior to the channeling. Susie will

simply close her eyes and allow the child in spirit to send energy through her in order to draw and/or write for their parent. There are no guarantees that the child will draw the request. Our children continue to have a minds of their own and will draw what they please, though Susie believes most children will try to fulfill the parents’ request for validation purposes. Thoughts from Members Becky Estep wrote, “I had to smile when I read the feature “Synchronicities” about Steve Crow scanning the last of my mom’s AA-EVP newsletters for the archive on the ATransC website, and how Steve experienced several synchronistic incidents while completing the scanning project. If possible, could you thank him publicly in a future NewsJournal on behalf of my sister, my brother and myself? We are so grateful that he spent the time and effort doing this. My mother was fascinated by the phenomena of synchronicity. She told me more than once over the years that it was her favorite kind of paranormal experience. Mom always made a point of telling my family when she had a synchronistic event. It happened multiple times over the course of her life. Volume 29, Number 4 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Susie Alverson wrote, “One of my young massage/healing clients (FC) just passed from brain cancer. He came to me for healing and massages several times … before passing. During our sessions, FC asked me many questions about my son Lance (who passed in 2006)

and about life on the other side and what I had learned from Lance, via various mediums. I feel our conversations about life on the other side were very beneficial to him and he acknowledged that the healing work gave him great emotional strength. I tried recording him last night and I asked that only FC or Lance come through on the recording. My exact words were, “I don’t want any spirits, other than FC or Lance to record, please. Thank you.” (Lance has requested previ- ously, via a medium, that while recording EVP, for me to be specific as to who I want to hear from since there are many spirits around and many who will ‘jump in’ if they are not told to keep quiet). Anyway, I clearly hear a, ‘Thank you’ response. I believe this is from FC but not sure since I gave Lance permission to jump in too, in case FC is unable to record just yet. It doesn’t matter to me who it is. I just love getting the response!” Ÿ Rhonda Burton wrote, “My daughter, Jen, passed away October 14th, 2007. If you hear from her, please let me know. I recorded tonight and believe this EVP, “Hey Momma” is from her. I was holding my Olympus 4100 and Callie, Jen’s cat, was sitting in my lap, purring.” Ÿ Margaret Downey did a Big Circle recording Thanksgiv- ing Day. She wrote, “Some of this I heard real-time. I love that my dog Kindred

is mentioned so often in my sessions and that she is part of the BC.” In her recording she got “Debbie”; she could hear it and said “Debbie are you there?” She then got “It worked” and “Debra Ann” in a male voice. Margaret asked if Debbie had any messages and told her that we all missed her. She recorded “That’s good” and then “Hi, Patrick.” Patrick is a tech that works with Margaret. Next she got “Kindred”; she was able to hear it and said “Hi, Kindred. Mama loves the pupper” and got “This dog loves you.” She asked for Debbie again and recorded “It’s Debbie.” Several people said it also sounded like Debbie! Ÿ Kenda DeMorse said that “Despite repeated requests, my husband’s father seemed to ignore our pleas suggesting he speak on our recording ... a session analysis revealed a young girl’s voice. She sounded like she was sitting next to me, yet my daughters were sound asleep.” She record- ed, “Don’t move, please.” Kenda said that “We’d been talking seriously about moving to Victoria, B.C. At the time, I thought she was probably the spirit of a girl in the house not wanting us to relocate.” Months later, Kenda was awoken by something un- known. She wrote, “All of a sudden my daughter was standing in front of me, holding her arms out to me as to give me a gift. I heard her say ‘Hi, Mother.’ The voice was the same as the ‘Don’t move

please’ EVP.” Later, Kenda found an EVP saying “You’re talking to your father-in-law,” and when she listened to the “Don’t move” EVP once more she heard a man’s voice saying “Don’t shock your mother!” Ÿ Linda Gray asked for those in the Big Circle and recorded “Joshua.” Ÿ Jerusha Lederman said that she was inspired to join the association and felt a connection with Debra Ann. She wrote, “Though a scientist by day and naturally skeptical, I have always been a sensitive who has trusted in my impressions. The name ‘Debra Ann’ jumped out at me and I felt her spirit was around and urging me to experi- ment with recording for the first time, offering to lend her assistance.” She recorded “Big Circle” and “Thank you.” Ÿ Lorie McMorrow wrote, “Last night, Chris called to tell me that he would be late coming home from work. I wasn’t able to answer the phone because I was soaking Pardy’s foot (he tore a claw and his toe was swollen), so the answering machine picked it up. When I played the message back, Chris is saying, ‘Are you there?’ and right after that I hear a male voice say, ‘No!’ Guess someone must have seen I couldn’t answer and decided to do so for me! I played it for Chris when he got home. He said he hears the voice, but insists it must be a problem with the answering machine. Oh well, nice to know helpful spirits are around. Maybe

it was Pardy’s guardian angel!” Ÿ David Mierzwinski wrote, “I couldn’t let John Lennon’s 70th Birthday pass without a special session attempt. In this session I combined a couple techniques that have worked in the past. I recorded through a VIOP/Cellphone link for one. Second is the unique background of a record I made a few years back of segments of a John Lennon interview. I know the contents of that record backwards and forwards. Another element is a local radio traffic control station with a robot voice that broadcasts 24-7 traffic conditions. By combining all these elements at once I got some interesting captures on my computer which did the recording. I recorded ‘Do our talking with Dave’s speaking technique. It is different’” Ÿ Mark Pierce recorded a nice “Hi, Mark.” Ÿ Jayne Thompson recorded on Thanksgiving Day using Sonia Rinaldi babble in EVPmak- er for forty seconds. She asked if anyone had a message and re- corded “I have a message for Becky.” She then asked what the message was and recorded “I love you.” Ÿ Briah West did a moving-water session and captured several pic- tures of dogs. Ÿ Yvonne Whybra had been really missing her dog. She did a re- cording and asked if he was in heaven and recorded, “He’s there, Yvonne.” Page 19 Winter 2011 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Continued from page 9 Got Grief of their loved one. When I work with someone with an ardent knowing of the afterlife, it is like

a physical therapist working with a well-toned, healthy limb. When I work with a griever with no such knowledge, the “rehabbing” process is like working with an arthritic and rigid limb. The going is much slower and more painful. Like the metaphorical physical therapist, my grief work with clients is simply to work with this newly un-casted life and to gently knead and bend the rigid places until some semblance of flexibility returns. No matter what our belief or knowledge base of the afterlife may be, grief is like that newly un-casted limb; and we have to work our way back to mobility. If you at some point feel the need to hide your grief because it seems to run counter to your afterlife knowledge … think again. Give yourself the gift of your grief. In doing so you are simply allowing yourself to stretch and flex the rigid places in your life that emerge because you are journeying forward without the physical presence of your loved one. And when a friend, colleague or acquaintance who has an ardent belief in the afterlife experiences a loss, take the time to acknowledge their grief, and offer your time and support. It may have a far-reaching effect. I will close by simply stating this: Regardless of what one’s afterlife knowledge may be, grief is grief. The universality of the experience of grief can perhaps be best summed up by the statement once made by Edwin Shneidman, founder of the Suicide Prevention Center

in Los Angeles. He says, “Grief is the ransom you pay for love.” Indeed, whether one is a world- renowned afterlife researcher or simply the bereft neighbor of one gone too soon, this bandit of grief finds its way into the most carefully locked fortresses among us. May we be gentle and farseeing with one another and as individuals allow grief its rightful passage when it is our ransom to pay. © Annette Childs, 2010 Annette holds a Ph.D. in psychology and maintains a private practice assisting individuals and families to grow through painful transitions. She has extensively studied the near-death experience and other mystical phenomena and is the author of Will You Dance?, Halfway Across the River and Lit From Within. Please visit: onecandle.net. . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____

to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 29, Number 4 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Spring 2011, Volume 30 Number 1 Maui Sunset The

new board for the Idea Exchange is slowly coming to life. We are excited about the new features. For instance, members can create a folder in the gallery and add pictures of loved ones with notes describing their lives. We are waiting for an upgrade that is supposed to improve display of the gallery and add a “Recent” button for new posts. Sheep-Goat Effect Public opinion surveys consistently show that the majority of people believe in some form of survival after physical death. Most people are not aware of what our paranormal com- munity takes for granted, so how we speak about our interests has a lot to do with how we are seen by the rest of the world. There is also evidence that how we think of these phenomena has a lot to do with how we experience them. In 1942, Professor Gertrude Schmeidler identified a correlation between people scoring high on a “belief in the paranormal” survey with their psi functioning scores. Conversely, a poor “belief” score correlated with a lower than chance psi function score. She referred to this as the “sheep-goat effect” with “believers” the sheep. This study has been replicated many times since and the terms, “sheep” and “goat” are well-institutionalized in parapsychology. This and other human traits such as “incredulity blind- ness” suggests that how we think of our world has a lot to do with how we experience it. The etheric-physical interac- tion offers far more opportunities if we are open to

them than if we are not. Conversely, how we relate to what we do experience is important in how we are able to incorporate the effects of this interaction into our lives. In short, we are all more empowered by knowing that there is a greater reality. Words are Things 19th century Scottish poet, George Byron told us: “But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.” Have you ever thought being call a sheep is a good thing? I do not mind being called “an old goat” because it is likely intended in good humor. Being called “a bunch of sheep” sounds pretty demeaning. We do not know what it was like back in 1942, but today, we might have expected Schmei- dler to use a more complimentary term for what we consider to be the good guys. We would have preferred it to be called the “explorer- villager effect.” Consid- ering that people who are sufficiently open-minded to study these phenomena are, in every sense of the word, explorers. At the same time, it is in villag- ers’ best interest to have the world orderly. This is the mainstream view which we seem to be disturbing by suggesting the world is not flat after all. The Medium is the Message While words have power, perception is everything. In 1962, Marshall McLuhan told us that: “The medium is the message.” This is to say

that how the message is presented– style, media and tone–becomes part of the message and how it is perceived. Our skeptical detractors know this very well. There is a well-organized effort in the skeptical community to create names for us and then to institutionalize them. An Internet search for “pseudoscience” will produce page after page of skeptical websites discussing the evils of pseudoscience with Wikipedia up first. Sadly, many of the sites are university related. There are other terms, such as pareidolia (finding meaning that is not there) and quack (fraudulent medical practitioner). Some of these terms are coined by psychologists to name a personality trait and then adopted by the skeptical com- munity. The effect is that a name is coined for something that is to be branded as bad and then made official by careful placement in the literature–usually in academic media. It is simply name calling, but mainstream society has the “bully pulpit” and the paranormal community is increasingly seen as a threat to society. Continued page 7 Page 1 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................................1 Jennifer.............................................................................................................................................3 ITC Experiments of Leon Stam and Hans Kennis.......................................................................4 An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory..........................8 Medium of the Felix Experimental Group Slightly Injured at Public Séance........................ 10 Rapping Analyzed..........................................................................................................................11 JOTTS.............................................................................................................................................13 Text Messages from the Dead.......................................................................................................14 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................15 Jenny...............................................................................................................................................16 The Afterlife Investigations...........................................................................................................17 Commodore 64...............................................................................................................................17 Book Review: Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension........................................18 The Experimenter Effect...............................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Report......................................................................................................................19 Book Review: New Science of the

Paranormal...........................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2011ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The ATransC NewsJournal is the primary member benefit. Membership information may be found

on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association TransCommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Margaret Downey, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Atransc.org Web Master: Proof Reading: Idea Exchange Moderators Big Circle: Discussion Board: Margaret Downey Rhonda Burton Tom Butler NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Lloyd Bradshaw Sandra Champlain Dorothy Lee Sustaining Members Richard Hatem Supporters Martha Copeland Dr. Annette Childs Teri Daner William Fair Robert Meyer David Sircom Allison Sniffin Jim Stonier Lisa Yesse Volume 30, Number 1 Page 2 Jennifer by Rhonda Burton us, was gone. No twenty phone calls a day, no trips to the mall and no waiting in parking lots for her to get off work. Everything stopped and we had to learn how to live a new life. During all of this pain, I never took any medication; I wanted to feel the pain and learn how to overcome it, which I did. I still have my “Jen” days, but I know that will always be a part of my life

now. I’ve been involved with paranormal investigating for seven years and Jen would travel with me. She never went on the investigations, just wanted to ride along. I was always protecting her and there was no way I was going to put her in a bad situation. But we had a great time. I loved photography and videography but never really got involved in EVP work till four years ago. I was at my favorite place, the sanatorium and a little girl said “Hi” to me and that’s what started it. I’ve gotten her a dozen times, even here at home and she has a sweet little voice always saying “Hi.” I was Googling EVP, when I came across the ATransC and I was hooked. I never asked for Jen. I wanted her to come to me. If she was all right and wanted to contact me, I was ready. I didn’t want to try to make contact and get an EVP that was distressful sounding from her. So all of the “Moms” I kept getting, I assumed was from the other Big Circle children, until April of last year. I got a “Mom” that was so clear and definitely Jen’s voice. Her sister, Heather, agreed and other family members did also. So I’ve started asking for Jen and have gotten several “Moms” and other responses. One of the “Moms” was actually at the sanatorium, and I had asked “Can you say my name?” Another “Mom” was said, in Jen’s

voice. Cowgirl Jen Jennifer (Jen) was born June 26, 1978; I had her two months early and she was just three pounds. She had intestinal blockage, so they had to do emergency surgery and they didn’t expect her to live. She suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. She was a fighter, though, all of her life, struggling to be normal. Jen didn’t start walking until she was two years old and she didn’t start kindergarten until she was seven. She graduated from high school, going through all resource classes. We made her independent, even though we had to drive her everywhere, but she had her own checking account, washed her clothes and she felt independent, which was important. It took seven times, but she got her driver’s license, which she never used except for an I.D. My husband and I drove her to two jobs every day. She loved working with children and she was an aide with the public schools here. The things she couldn’t do herself she lived through her brother and sister. Attended all of their baseball, softball, basketball and cheerleading competitions and always supported them. When her sister, Heather, got involved with modeling, she always traveled with me to Miami and New York City to either help move her into her apartments or just visit. Jen actually died twelve hours after we got back from a trip to Miami. She was connected to me every day of her life. Two months before she

died, I felt a horrible feeling and checked on her in her room, which is beside my office. It was 8:00 p.m. and Jen was quiet; I opened her door and she was lying on her stomach, facing her window. When I saw her, my heart stopped and it was one of the most horrible feelings I ever had. I yelled “Jen” and she popped her head up and said, “What?” I just stammered and ask her if she was going to bed. I found her the exact same way on October 14th, 2007. She had died in her sleep, no known cause. She died on her brother’s birthday. I always teased Jen about taking care of us when we were old and that we were taking care of her now. She always had so much energy and was always on the go, but the last few years, she was slowing down and aging more. The doctor had told Paul that there was no way of knowing the long term effects of everything that happened to her. I think Jen knew something because the last year before she died, she kept telling me, “Mom, you know I’m blessed, don’t you?” I would always say “Yes,” not really understanding why she kept telling me that. Now I know. The horrible feeling I had that night did nothing to prepare me for the day I found her. Our Jen, who was always with Rhonda (left) with daughter, Jen Page 3 Continued page

14 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal ITC Experiments of Leon Stam and Hans Kennis male and female voices with clear, consistent and logical messages that react to the situation and experimenter. At first they are only partly audible and appear to be “efforts” to transform these noises into human voices. You can hear male or female voices, but your ear has to be trained to understand them because they have different characteristics compared to real human voices. Sometimes they are very fast and you have to reduce the speed to 80%. In 2008, Leon and I conducted a series of very interesting parapsychological experiments in which EVP/DNG and ITC photography complemented each other by way of simultaneously visible and audible messages. Trans-Images These experiments started initially with a photo taken by Leon of the ditch water beside his house. In oil film on the water, we saw what looked like a child’s drawing of a horse-riding knight, but did not give it much attention. The next day, I recorded an EVP voice that said in Dutch: “Hij is een Franse ridder. De koning, hij draagt een wapen, ga dat onderzoeken, later begrijpen!” (“It is a French knight. The king, he is wearing a coat of arms, go and find out, you will understand later!”) Puzzled by this strange EVP information, I took a closer look at the “illustration” in the water and was utterly surprised to detect a coat of arms, a knight with a crown (“the king”) and another

knight in the water with a “fleur de lis” (symbolical for French knights). At first we thought it was pure coincidence. In December 2008, Leon Stam started a series of water bowl experiments by taking photos at intervals of four-to- five seconds with his Olympus E-520 Digital SLR, 10 megapixel camera mounted on a tripod. He made whirling movements in a glass bowl filled with water with a white plastic stick. He used artificial backlight and took the pictures in the evening. At the time, he was not in a specific mood, but only had a strong wish for some kind of contact. After several photos with only visible whirling water, he noticed changes in the pictures on the camera (and not in the water itself). Patches of fog and foggy clouds were discernable. To his amazement, a little man blowing on some kind of bagpipe became visible. This man was clearly visible and dressed like a medieval jester. Continued page 5 Leon Stam’s Introduction My name is Leon Stam. I live in The Netherlands and have been experimenting with EVP since the early eighties. I’ve done a lot of reading/studying on a wide range of paranor- mal phenomena and subjects. In 2003 I purchased my first digital photo camera and soon I discovered all kinds of alleged anomalous “extras” in my pictures; very distinct faces and figures and lots of what appear to be “visual messages” in water. I shoot pictures freely in nature, as well as in more

or less controlled conditions such as a bowl of water with artificial backlight. I have also experimented with things like video ITC. These images appear under all circumstances and in a variety of forms and quite often they seem to contain messages from an unknown origin. Hans Kennis’ Introduction My name is Hans Kennis. I studied psychology and parapsychology at Utrecht State University in the Nether- lands. I have been experimenting with EVP since 1973, at first with tape recorders and later with digital audio. In 1975, I translated the two books of Konstantin Raudive into Dutch and added my own research in a book: Paranormale Stemmen (Paranormal Voices). In 2004 I met ITC experimenter Leon Stam and together we conducted several EVP experiments. Apart from EVP voices, Leon obtained a lot of anomalous extras in his digital photos. Since 2008 he started with new ITC “water bowl” experiments, which in close combination with our simulta- neous EVP recordings, produced stunning evidence of survival and reincarnation. I myself can absolutely vouch for the experimental ITC results of Leon Stam. His reliabil- ity and integrity are beyond question. My EVP results were much improved in 2005 when I discovered a new recording method: Digital Noise Gener- ating (DNG). The distinct advantage of this method is that you can get longer communications and much more infor- mation than with older EVP recording methods that mostly produce only short phrases or just a few words. This DNG method is partly based on stochastic

resonance. In short it consists of making soft scratching noise sounds in the close vicinity of a microphone, comparable with “writing” movements. In a simple form, this can be per- formed with a pencil with iron point on a resonance box, preferably of syn- thetic material. These generated sounds are dig- itally amplified by 20dB and the background noise reduced with a noise reduction tool. After filtering, the remaining sounds are ini- scratching tially only noises, but after a while, they are transformed as ITC experiments by Leon Stam (1). Whirling water in a water bowl (2) is photographed every several seconds. After a while a kind of fog appears and then clear paranormal ITC pictures become visible. Volume 30, Number 1 Page 4 ITC Experiments Continued from page 4 The next photos showed episodes of some kind of medieval jousting tournament. Knights on jousting horses were clearly visible, battle scenes and also some written messages in medieval handwriting began to appear. In one of those writings the word “Aragon” was visible. After some research, I became aware of the fact that the coat of arms of Aragon and the heraldic banners of this 14th century Spanish royal family exactly matched all the visible details on these trans-images. Specific names were given [in the EVP/DNG] that we had never heard of before. Some of those names were Juan d’Aragon, Yolanthe de Bar and Charles de Valois. “salade” or “chapel de fer à bavière” that was in use in the period

1380-1480. By using my new EVP/DNG method we got a lot of information about reincarnation and specifically our per- sonal former lives, partly in the 14th century. Names were given that were totally unknown to us. After historical research I found out that those names belonged to person- alities with exactly the same character, handwriting and in some cases, when historical portraits were available, also good resemblances. Now apparently the EVP messages were accompanied and reinforced by visible proof of that information as some kind of meaningful proof of identity. To the right (3X) some kind of medieval jester, blowing a bagpipe can be seen (2-5). He seems to announce a tournament or joust, that is apparent in the next pictures (8-14). Historical research revealed that jesters in medieval times did announce the beginnings of such tournaments (see 6, 7). The whole series of these paranormal tournament pictures of Leon Stam can be seen at our website: evp-experiments.nl chapter (hoofdstuk) 9B. Were these ITC images some kind of “thoughtographic” impressions as allegedly had been observed in the past by professor Jule Eisenbud with Ted Serios, professor Walter Uphoff with Masuaki Kiyota, Dr. Berthold Schwarz with Stella Lansing and professor Tomokichi Fukurai with I. Nagao and C. Mifume? Or could they purely be explained as independent proof of survival? Continued page 6 These messages cul- minated in spontane- ous communication with a person who called himself Robert de Bar. He mentioned that he had lived in the 14th century and had

fought in this particu- tournament on lar Leon’s photos. When I asked him where he had lived, where he was buried and his age at time of death, he answered that he had been buried in the chapel of his castle at Bar le Duc and that he was 69 when he died. Because I had never heard this name before, I did some research on his name and found out that all his information was correct. This knight apparently lived in France in the period 1342-1411. During his life he appeared to have been the father-in-law of King Juan d’Aragon (the knight whose coat of arms was visible on the first water photo). Now, none of this information was known to us at that time of the ITC photos and only afterwards it became clear to us that some kind of meaningful ITC proof of identity had been delivered in a visible and audible way. For instance, Robert de Bar men- tioned that his horse had stumbled during the tournament and that he had several wounds. Only after this EVP message, we discovered on one of the water photos to our amazement a wounded knight who showed a bleeding hand. His visible helmet was a French The next ITC photos show several jousting horses, knights and battle scenes (8-14). Recognizable are some medieval helmets (12, 13, 14). One knight shows his wounded and bleeding hand (14). Page 5 Spring 2011 ITC Experiments Continued from page 5 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal

For me, this most inter- esting parapsychologi- of sequence cal combined clearly audible EVP/DNG mes- sages and Leon’s clearly visible trans-im- ages provided apparent proof of survival after death. It seems that the “whirling generated effect” of sound or light particles can become perhaps quantum phys- ically “entangled” with some other dimension of parallel existence, that we are just slowly beginning to understand. Leon Stam and Hans Kennis Some kind of medieval queen (15, 16) with typical headwear and crown of the 14th century. There is a stunning resemblance with the statue of a queen in the German cathedral of Naumburg (17). Photo 18 shows a lady with long gray or blond hair and medieval (?) hair ornaments. First of all, Leon and I had no previous information whatsoever about those people who were mentioned or shown when the ITC phenomena were recorded. And secondly I had never been really convinced of the possibility that our human thoughts could be digitally or analogous projected on tape, photo or computer. After nearly 40 years of EVP research I am absolutely sure that these EVP voices belong to totally independent entities and have no bearing with my own subconscious mind. But I do believe that there is some catalytic relation- ship with EVP in the way that you can induce or evoke them purely by interest in the phenomenon. The same seems to happen with ITC trans-images. It is striking that Ted Serios did get a lot of paranormal pictures of people

that he did not recognize at all. He never could exactly match the “targets” that professor Eisenbud gave him. Even with the famous “Neanderthaler” picture he made a drawing in advance that was totally different to the obtained “thoughtographic” result, which was an exact copy of a painting in a Chicago museum. If Serios had been endowed with a strong photographic memory, he surely would have made an exact corresponding drawing. Those trans-images could be better understood by com- paring them to clairvoyant impressions of certain events or moments in time, unknown to them. Talented clairvoyants or psychics also often experience a series of mental “picture frames”. On several occasions, Serios got clear clairvoyant impressions, for instance of Eisenbud’s ranch from a moment in time in the past. The same form of “psychic impressions” seems to occur with other gifted ITC experimenters as Masuaki Kiyota, John Myers, Stella Lansing, Madge Donahue, Sinesio Darnell, Seymour Locks, Henry Silanov, Joseph Veilleux, Andrew von Salza and Margaret Downey. They do not recognize the obtained ITC pictures at first sight and they had no initial thoughts about them, only a keen interest in the occurring strange events. This is also evident in the water bowl experiments of Leon Stam: he did not recognize the pictures he got and only afterwards, with historical research and corresponding EVP messages, he became aware of their meaning. Volume 30, Number 1 Page 6 In this water bowl photo by Leon Stam, two horses are visible with several jousting

lances with red stripes (1, 2, 4). Also, a knight showing his bleeding hand (3). His helmet is typical of the period 1380-1480 (see inset). It seems that red striped jousting horsecloth is ripped off and flies through the air. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 The National Science Foundation has identified pseudosci- ence as an important threat to society’s understanding of science and technology. Its reference for that is an article published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. It is clear that our community is losing ground in our effort to be recognized as a legitimate field of study. Yes, there is a certain faith-based dislike of anything not mainstream, but in many ways, they are right. We do have people who mistake ordinary things as paranormal. We do have people inappropriately claiming to be conducting science. We do use terms that sound a lot like matters of faith. This is not intentional as the skeptics would have the world believe, but rather, it is the result of inexperience and lack of leadership. It is academic suicide to openly study things paranormal for any reason other than to understand our delusion. The result is that our community is left with little or no guidance as there are no universities, few organizations and even fewer academically trained people working in this field. Certainly we are not able to replace the academic institutes but we can offer a perspective from experience. In the coming issues of the NewsJournal, we will offer essays

addressing important issues facing our community. One of our goals is to develop articles specifically for the Internet to compete with the skeptical web pages. For instance, one of the first essays will be on pseudoscience. When you search pseudoscience there are no articles on the subject that tell our side of the story–at least none the first few pages of a search. If we can write an article that is visited enough and linked to by enough other websites, it is reasonable to expect it to rank at least number two. These articles should not be just from our viewpoint. We want to know your views and thoughts. Please feel free to send us emails, use the website “Contact” tool or post comments in the Idea Exchange. Share your views about what we as a community can do to better represent ourselves to the world. Energy Healing On page 8 you will find an article titled “An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory.” We are not sure if we have run an article on healing before but we think that you will find it interesting. This study was conducted with three nurses trained in Therapeutic Touch, and what you will quickly realize is that this type of healing runs up against many of the same issues we face with EVP/ITC. The positive results found in this and other healing studies cause problems with scientific understand- ing because there is no “scientific explanation” for them.

If the results are accepted then we must also accept that something is wrong with the way that we presently look at reality. Our world’s view of how things work is not valid. As Charman states, “In fact, we know our understanding is incomplete because it cannot account for the existence of individual consciousness.” In the new book (see back cover) A New Science of the Paranormal, Lawrence LeShan, proposes another reality he calls Clairvoyant Reality. He suggests that this is where psi phenomena and healing occur. Have we got your interest? We thought so. The next issue of the ATransC NewsJournal should have a review of The Energy Cure by Dr. William Bengston. From the cover of the book: With The Energy Cure, Dr. William Bengston presents astonishing evidence that challenges us to totally rethink what we believe about our ability to heal. Drawing on his scientific research, incredible results, and mind- bending questions, Bengston invites us to follow him along his 35-year investigation into the mystery of hands-on healing and to discover a technique that may activate your healing abilities. Part memoir and part instruction, this provocative book explores: Bengston’s paradigm-shifting experimental results and why they seem so difficult for some medical practitioners to accept - Image cycling, a unique preparation method for a hands-on-healing treatment - Why traditional Western medicine isn't always best, the value of skepticism, the strengths of energy medicine, and more. Healers are taught to focus attention on the sitter with the intention that

healing energy will pass from the etheric, through the healer and to the sitter. Healers often have difficulty “getting out of the way,” and self-doubt can hamper his or her effectiveness. Dr. Bengston learned from his teacher to “cycle” images representing successful completion of goals. He recommends twenty goals and that the healer learn to visualize something representing success- ful completion of these goals as if rapidly scanning a film loop. We speculate that “cycling” helps distract the healer from doubts and may be more effective in helping the healer to “get out of the way.” Bengston explains that the visualiza- tion also helps achieve the goal, so there are additional benefits. Look for more on this as we learn more ourselves. In the meantime, we urge you to learn a little about energy healing. Spirit of PN Now that we are interested in the study of all forms of trans-etheric influence, it is reasonable to announce that the now defunct Psychic News has been reincarnated as the Spirit of PN. You can read about it and all of the issues at spiritofpn.wordpress.com. There was an interesting debate in February about reincarnation. The March debate is about physical mediumship. That issue also has an essay by us titled, “I’m afraid of dying.” Rhine Research Center The Rhine Research Center has received enough radio- sweep examples to begin a study being sponsored by the ATransC. More details will be provided in the next News- Journal, but for now, we can say

that the qualifications of the scientists who are participating in the study should assure Continued page 15 Page 7 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory by Robert A. Charman (Published in Society for Psychical Research Paranormal Review, No 55 p 3-7, July 2010) [all references are at atransc.org] There are, therefore, no valid reasons to dismiss these findings when informed that the “radiation agent” under test was not the application of a known physical agent but the application of directed subjective intention across space by three registered nurses who had been trained in the healing technique known as Therapeutic Touch (TT). The Experiment In 2008 Gronowicz et al. reported on an experiment demonstrating the positive effects of a form of radiation on human cells. This experiment was completely unlike the usual studies performed at the Departments of Surgery and Orthopaedics at the Connecticut Health Center, and the results challenge scientific assumptions as to how the world works. The two-year-long study consisted of growing separate cultures of bone cells (osteo- blasts), tendon cells (teno- cytes), and fibroblasts (cells that synthesize the soft tissue matrix under the skin and are essential to wound healing) and plating out each type of cell into three experimental cultures. One culture was to receive radiation, one to act as the untreated control, and the other to receive sham-radiation. The question the experiment was designed to answer was whether those cells exposed to the radiation would

be stimulated to proliferate more quickly during the experimental period than those in the control and sham radiated cultures. The plates were brought out of the incubator, ring clamped onto 15-inch-high stands mounted on the laboratory bench top, exposed, or not, to ten minutes of radiation on separate days over two weeks and returned to the incubator. Standard laboratory assays were performed at the end of the first week and second week to assess the rate of cell proliferation. This experimental procedure was repeated many times over many samples. Results The findings were clear cut. When compared, the prolifer- ation rates for cells in cultures exposed to radiation were consistently and significantly greater than those in the control cultures and those exposed to sham radiation. The rates for the latter two groups were almost indistinguishable. Two exposures per week over two weeks were enough to stimulate a significant degree of proliferation, and increas- ing the frequency of exposure in some groups to four or five per week for two weeks increased cell proliferation to maximum response. Discussion The findings of this study from a reputable institution with a proven research record in investigating cellular reactions would be accepted without question if the cells had been irradiated by, say, infrared or red light, as absorption of such frequencies is known to increase the rate of cell metabolism and consequent cell proliferation. The study would be taken as providing further confirmation of many earlier laboratory studies and clinical trials on wound healing

to that effect. There are, therefore, no valid reasons to dismiss these findings when informed that the ‘radiation agent’ under test was not the application of a known physical agent but the application of directed subjective intention across space by three registered nurses who had been trained in the healing technique known as Therapeutic Touch (TT). In this study, the practitioners first “centered” their minds into a healing mindset, held their hands four inches away from each culture plate on its 15-inch stand and directed positive intention for the good health of the cells in each culture for ten minutes per session. The sham healers, consisting of technicians from other depart- ments, were taught to perform the same movements, but were not informed of the purpose of the experiment and had no knowledge of TT. They had to count backwards from 1000 during each ten-minute-long session to prevent any directed thought. Follow-up studies are now in progress to determine which of the key cellular reactions involved in cell proliferation seem most responsive to TT. In their discussion, the authors refer to previous studies investigating cellular responses to directed healing intention. One study (Kiang et al., 2005) found increases in intracellular calcium ion concentrations, known to stimulate cell metabolic rates when exposed to ‘bioenergy induction’. A study using Reiki practitioners found increased survival and growth of heat-shocked bacterial cultures compared to controls (Rubik et al., 2006). Yu et al. (2003) found that cultures of PC3, a human prostate cancer cell line,

showed a significantly decreased growth rate during 48 hours of sustained healing intention by a Buddhist Zen Master, compared to controls. In a review of studies assessing the effect of the application of “external qi” on cancer cell cultures derived from breast, liver, lung, and bone marrow, Chen (2004) found significant inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Such findings imply that directed healing intention, under various belief systems including “bioenergies” or “external qi”, can have a mea- surable effect on cells and somehow stimulate healthy cells that would be involved in bodily repair and inhibit abnormal cancer cell activity. In sum, this study provides strong confirmation of objec- tive, measurable effects reported from many previous laboratory studies that have employed directed subjective intention on living systems. For example, those performed on mouse skin wound healing (Grad et al., 1961), salt- stressed seed germination (Grad, 1964), bacterial growth (Nash, 1984), plant growth (Sakani, 1989), salt-stressed seed germination and plant growth (Scofield & Hodges, 1991) and enzyme reaction rates (Smith, 1972), are partic- ularly well known. Taking these seven experiments alone, if the agent being tested had been a recognized growth factor or enzyme reaction accelerator, Continued page 9 Volume 30, Number 1 Page 8 Relative influence on bio- field by person with no train- ing or intention to heal Unusual Radiation Continued from page 8 the findings would have been accepted without question. (For critical reviews of the laboratory and clinical trial research literature, see Jonas and Crawford [2003] and Benor [2001].)

Clinical Implications The positive findings from these laboratory studies lend strong support for Dossey’s (2000) argument that as healing intention has been shown to accelerate the rate of tissue healing, doctors should be trained to give healing from intake at accident and emergency wards onwards, in addition to giving orthodox medical care. If the concept of including healing intention in medical care was adopted, healers could become valuable members of NHS staff on economic grounds alone. These studies support the claim that directed healing intention is a therapeutic agent in its own right. This hypothesis could be tested by monitoring physiological changes in unconscious patients receiving healing compared to controls. These findings also imply that well-documented case histo- ries and clinical trials demonstrating marked symptom relief and, in some cases, unexpect- edly rapid tissue healing and/or apparent remission of the disease process itself after receiving healing, cannot be dismissed as attributable to placebo response only (see Jonas and Crawford [2003], Benor [2001] and Harvey [1983] for extended discussions of this). According to this hypothesis, when a patient attends a healer, any clinical improvement that would not otherwise have been expected may result from a combined, beneficial synergy of the direct effect of healing intention together with a placebo response. Regarding the latter, healers have noted repeatedly that outright sceptics who profess no belief in “faith healing” have responded well to it, much against their expectations (Manning, 1995). The Problem for Science The positive outcome of these laboratory studies places us

in an acute dilemma, because in our present scientific understanding of how the world works we can offer no explanation for such an apparent cause and effect. In the view of orthodox science such findings cannot be due to any hypothesized effect of subjective intention, whether as “channellers” of “healing energy” or as generators of “bioenergy” or “external qi” energy, because the former belief can have no external effect, and evidence offered for the existence of the latter is hotly disputed because it is considered impossible in principle. Seto’s (1992) findings of a low-frequency magnetic field being emitted from the hands of healers during the healing mindset, but which is otherwise absent, needs replication. From the scientific viewpoint the most likely explanation must be that an undetected physical agent has been present in each case. The physical sciences in general, and the neurosciences in particular, reject subjective intention as a causal agent of external effect for a very good reason. No such agent has ever been detected and no physiological mechanism for producing such an effect has been found. The eyes, for example, contain no mechanism by which they can project rays towards a target. The bioelectrical energies generated by brain activity, which are measured in microwatts at best, are so feeble that the very faint electromagnetic field permeating through the skull requires highly sensitive equipment for its detection. The outside world, as constructed by the visual and other brain processes that generate our visual experience, is an internal mental

construct that is good enough to allow us to move about in, and bodily act upon, this perceived world. But that world, itself, has no “awareness” of our visual experiencing of it, and its observable behavior indicates that it remains indifferent to our awareness. Screaming with frustration at some DIY disaster or a valuable smashed vase does not psychically energize these physical compo- nents to re-assemble at our will. If we could do this then stone walls would not a prison make and the external world would become a chaotic conflict zone of competing inten- tions. But, agreeing that this is so does not solve our dilemma. If, through gritted skeptical teeth, the findings of these laboratory studies are accepted as valid, then we have to accept that our present worldview of how things work, including ourselves, is incomplete. In fact, we know our understanding is incom- plete because it cannot account for the existence of individual consciousness. Neurophysiology, based firmly upon the known physical properties of physics and chemistry, is a self-contained explanatory model that provides a remarkably complete account of how the physical brain works right down to the level of quantum chemistry – but it finds no trace of consciousness. The various branches of psychology provide insights into how our conscious and subconscious processes work, from abstract thought to social interactions and raw emotions, but it finds no trace of synaptic activity. Neither model needs to include reference to the other because neither predicates the other. Through

recent advances in neuroimaging, the crossover discipline of neuropsychology can say with increasing confidence that a mental activity of “A” depends upon normal functioning of brain area(s) “B”, Continued page 12 Intended healing, by person trained in Therapeutic Touch Intended healing by person with no training in energy Page 9 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Medium of the Felix Experimental Group Slightly Injured at Public Séance by Kai Muegge Those familiar with physical mediumship have surely read about the dangers of working with ectoplasm for physical mediums. Within the history of physical mediumship, there are quite a few instances that seem to support the claims of these alleged dangers. Elizabeth D’Esperance, Alec Harris, Helen Duncan and others were injured by sitters who overstepped the internationally applied regulations during a séance. The after-effects of the harm done depended on the degree in which the mediumistic process was interrupted, from an actual shock to unconsciousness and dark bruises. However these immediate effects may not have shown the internal damage done to a medium. First ectoplasm display of the evening: an autonomously moving hand, that “looks around” and then waves to the sitters! Some of the mediums who have had a materialized form disturbed by a sitter needed years to reestablish their abilities. Some suffered from depression, suicidal tenden- cies and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Deaths have occurred in the gravest episodes, when skeptical parties among sitters tried to seize and grab materialized forms. Helen Duncan was dead six weeks after such an attack,

and there have likely been more such deaths. When I was arriving in early December 2010 in Koblenz, Germany to demonstrate physical mediumship in front of members of a group interested in life after death, none of us were expecting the interesting teaching episode the evening would have in store for us! We sat together for an hour before the séance to make our introductions and connections. This is important to build a positive and powerful group dynamic, and the resulting energy is used later on as a living “battery” supporting physical phenomena in the séance room. Before the séance started all dangers and “do’s and don’ts” were discussed. This particular group has always been very motivated and eager to experience, and sittings there have always been a huge success. Oftentimes phenomena that came in contact with the sitters—touches, independent lights, the trumpets and so forth—had such an emotional impact that states of pure and uplifting ecstasy were induced at these sittings! This was also the case that evening! After approximately an hour the main control “Hans Bender” wanted to let sitters hold a hanky that had more than a dozen small illuminated tape pieces attached to it, into the force field (the energy space formed by the sitters’ circle of which the cabinet is a part). Again and again the sitters wanted to observe and experience how the hanky became lively, freeing itself from the hand of a sitter and then floating independently through the room, under the ceiling,

outside of the circle, softly into sitters’ faces and so on. These flights of the handkerchief always end when it suddenly falls to the ground, like a leaf in fall, coming to rest somewhere lying on the séance room floor. Suddenly, without listening to what the main spirit control wanted from her, an inexperienced lady-sitter grabbed for the hanky without permission. In that very moment, some- thing slapped me (the medium) in the face. I nearly came out of trance. Immediately the “Hans Bender” entity began with countermeasures and exercised “verbal suggestions” to reinstall the trance condition and to keep up my hypnosis- like sleep state! At that moment, I was only aware that something had happened disturbing the trance. The “slap” on my face was recognized by me, but felt very “far away”! And then, already losing consciousness again by following “Hans Bender’s” hypnotic suggestions, I slightly felt something running down my nose and upper lip. I managed to wipe my mouth area with my hand and slipped away. The séance went on, as if nothing had happened and only Entranced medium holds his hand in the down-flowing stream of ectoplasm the sitters who were used to the modus operandi between medium and trance personality recognized something had happened at all. More than ninety minutes later both circle leaders were helping me to regain consciousness and to come out of the cabinet. Continued page 11 Volume 30, Number 1 Page 10 Felix Group Continued from page 10 Sitters had

already left the room and were loudly discuss- ing the evening in the adjacent room. I was accompanied by the circle leaders into the bathroom where they checked to see how badly I had been injured by what had happened. Several blood stains were already dried but still visible. We documented, with photography, what looked as if I had bled from the nose. My upper lip and mouth corners also had dried bloodstains and it looked as though I may have also been bleeding from my mouth. afraid of starting to work with ectoplasm. The phenomena are mind-boggling to the extreme and a mediumship like mine is absolutely possible for a healthy young or middle- aged person. But we are reminded to be careful and have been able to document that there is a consequence for putting hands or feet into the force field area when we have been instructed not to do so. I am not affected whatsoever by this episode, thanks to the deep trance state and “Hans Bender” who immediately reacted and covered me by guiding me back into deep sleep. See felixcircle.blogspot.com/ Rapping Analyzed Paranormal rappings have been described for many hun- dreds of years. New research from Dr Barrie Colvin B.Sc., Ph.D., has shown that there is a difference between a paranormal rap and a normal human made one. Dr Colvin says “Ever since my personal involvement in the investiga- tion of a rapping poltergeist at Andover, Hampshire, in which it was absolutely clear that

no normal explanation could account for the observed phenomena, I wondered whether the recorded raps were in any way different to those produced by normal methods. It is now clear that they are indeed different”. Dr Colvin has analyzed recordings of alleged poltergeist knocking obtained from around the world over a 40-year period. The two types of rap sound rather similar but they are actually acoustically different, although the effect is only made apparent when the recordings of raps are submitted to detailed analysis. Attempts to replicate the paranomal pattern in ordinary ways have so far been unsuccessful. One might ask how the paranormal sound is generated. There is evidence which points to the sound arising from within the structure of a material rather than from the surface of it, as would be the case with a normally-produced rapping sound. From: The Acoustic Properties of Unexplained Rapping Sounds. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research [2010], Vol. 73.2, Number 899, pp. 65-93. Over an hour after the accident only dried blood stains from a nose bleed are visible. The medium had never before had a “normal” nose-bleed. We did not want to disturb the sitters’ happiness with the sitting and did not want to make the sitter who had caused the incident feel guilty. Although it was clear to us that in the future we would emphasize to the sitters the “do’s, don’ts and dangers” for the medium. As the serving medium of the evening, I am lucky that I

was deeply entranced when the accident happened. I am in no way emotionally concerned, nor traumatized, even though it was a very eye-opening episode for me. It is known that work with ectoplasm exposes the medium to danger. When we started to work with ectoplasm, the spirit control at that time, “Imperator,” assured us, that mediumistic work with ectoplasm is actually no longer highly dangerous for the medium. He claimed that, after half a century, certain entities in control of ectoplasmic phenomena were more sophisticated in handling the ethereal substance and that there was no longer a danger of grave injuries. And after this episode, they still claimed this. We weren’t able to find any injured area on my body that could have caused the bleeding. “Hans Bender” explained that the sitter broke an ectoplasmic membrane, which caused its retreat and a short bleeding episode from the nose. He apologized for the accident, but reassured us that there was no grave danger for me. Furthermore, he stressed again how important it is to let only prepared sitters come in contact with ectoplasmic force fields! I wanted to tell this story here not wanting anybody to be Page 11 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Unusual Radiation Continued from page 9 and if brain area(s) “B” are injured then the mental activity “A” will be impaired. Neuropsychology finds brain function and mental function inseparable, but the bioelectrochemical processes of neurophysiology remain obstinately physical and continue operating when consciousness is absent. Neuropsychology provides

ever more accurate evidence of brain-mind correlation without explanation. Is There a Possible Solution? LeShan (1974; 1976; 2009) argues strongly that if we accept the anecdotal, clinical, and laboratory-based evidence for the existence of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis and healing, in other words the operation of a psi faculty, then we need to model a reality in which such a faculty exists and such events can occur. He has proposed that there are at least two realities. One is our everyday reality, based upon living in a physical world of space and time, separate bodies, mass, motion, gravity, action and reaction, etc., where cause and effect rules. In the explana- tory framework of this reality, including the wider Einstein- ian world of spacetime relativity and the speed of light as the limiting factor in the transfer of information, conscious- ness remains inexplicable and psi phenomena impossible. This reality, therefore, cannot be the only reality. Based upon experiences described by healers, mediums and mystics, LeShan posits another reality which he has termed “Clairvoyant Reality.” This reality is experienced in an altered state of consciousness in which everyday separateness disappears into an experience of “oneness” with what was previously “the other.” It is in this reality that psi phenomena, such as telepathy and healing, occur. Even in everyday life, our consciousness may occasionally slip into this clairvoyant reality of oneness, especially when absorbed in something, whether meditation, music, a view, creating a piece of art, devising a scientific experiment, or during intellectual

inquiry when a “Eureka” moment of understanding occurs. Clairvoyant reality, however, takes consciousness as a given, which still leaves its existence in an apparently physical universe unexplained. Many have now turned to the counter-intuitive properties of the quantum world for explanation (Penrose, 1996; Nadeau & Kafatos, 2001; Radin, 2006). This world does not include the concept of cause and effect but statistical probabilities that “X” or “Y” might occur. Particles can be in two places at once and exhibit properties of both particles and waves according to what the detector is designed to detect. Entangled particles remain in immediate contact, even if traveling away from each other at the speed of light towards either end of the universe. If the spin of one is reversed, then so is the spin of the other at the same instant. Distance, time, and the speed of light are not relevant factors in their relationship. Space is not an empty vacuum but full of restless quantum energy. In experiments collapsing the sum of unknowable quantum possibilities contained in what has been termed the probability wave, wavefunction super- position, or state vector, into a recognizable something in our world, the outcome depends upon what the detector is designed to detect, usually with properties of particles or waves. It has been proposed that the quantum world is the source of our conscious being because the hypothesized function of the brain is to act as a form of quantum detector that determines the collapse of the state

vector into the qualia of conscious experience. A quantum property the other detectors are not designed to detect so it has remained unsuspected. In this hypothesis, the matter-versus-mind argument is invalid because the mode of detection is the key. Psi in its various manifestations is a latent mental function derived from this source, which, like all abilities, some people can utilize more easily and effectively than others. If we accept LeShan’s argument, to enter into a mental state of clairvoy- ant reality may be the precondition that enables directed intentionality to exert a measurable effect on, for example, enzyme reaction rates, seed germination, plant growth, cellular proliferation and improved tissue healing, because it is acting where psi intention and these metabolic processes operate at quantum level. At present this is just speculation, but maybe it is pointing in the right direction for future exploration. Whatever the answer, the psi effect of directed intention as demonstrated by this particular experiment exists. To deny this because we cannot account for it is just as illogical as to deny the existence of our own conscious experiencing because we cannot, as yet, provide a satisfactory account for it. These two major anomalies in our present understand- ing of the world are here to stay. One day they will be anomalies no more as a change of understanding takes them into the mainstream. Robert Charman is a retired physi- cal therapy lecturer whose specialities were neuro-rehabilitation and bio- physics The former gave him an enduring

interest in the mind/brain problem and the latter an interest in the role of the currents and fields generated by cells and tissues. He was founder/chair of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Energy Medicine (ACPEM), and is Chair of the Confederation of Healing Organisations, both UK organizations. He was editor of Complementary Therapies for Physical Therapists (2000); has published a review of EEG and fMRI evidence communication for direct brainmind-to-brainmind (J.Soc.Psych.Res download www.spr.ac.uk), and articles reviewing evidence for telepathy, remote viewing, psycho- kinesis, healing intention on living systems, and the mind/brain relationship. On the latter his position is that correlation should not be confused with explanation. [Editor: This article is published here in full but without its accompanying list of references. The article with the references is also at atransc.org/psi/unusual_energy.htm.] Volume 30, Number 1 Page 12 JOTTS by Lisa Butler often but they are always written off as absent-mindedness. But the day that I found a living room throw pillow in our bathtub could not be explained as absent-mindness as in, “I somehow took the pillow to the tub to take a nap without realizing it.” I think not and it is as if the universe said, “Lets see you rationalize this one.” Nearly a year later, we were hosting a meditation class. We shut our cats in another room so they won’t jump on someone’s lap while they are meditating. We usually go through two exercises and while members were discussing their experience during the first excersise, one

of our dear cats started making a ruckus. I pulled the throw pillow from behind my head and placed it next to my recliner as I got up to go calm Uriel. A few calming words had worked in the past to settle her down. When I returned, I reached for my throw pillow to find it not there. The pillow was found a month later when the loveseat across the room from where I was sitting was pulled out to clean. Barrington gives some interesting examples. One is of a woman whose reading glasses vanished from their dedicated place to be later found by chance hanging on the branch of a tree in her garden. Another is in regard to a small white, plastic travel alarm that was packed for a return journey home. When it was unpacked it was not the same clock but an inferior one that did not even work. A few days later the clock owner, a lady who lived by herself, found her own clock on the floor in the middle of her entrance hall where she had been walking in and out for several days. Then there is a couple, who are members of the SPR, who drove to the country to take a walk. Once getting to their destination they put on their hiking boots and placed their shoes side by side inside the tailgate of the car. When they returned, his shoes were there and hers were gone. The next day

when the gentleman went into the garage, he found her shoes on the hood of the car. They of course could not have made the journey home there. In his essay, “The Transhumanation Hypothesis,” Michael Thalbourne wrote,3 “...On Wednesday September 4, 2002, I was waiting for the bus, having put my multitrip ticket into one of my coat pockets. The bus arrived and I got on, but had to get off at the next stop because my ticket was nowhere to be found! I thought at first that I had dropped it, but I had not. Feeling around inside the coat I felt something the correct size but next to the pocket on the inside of the lining. You will say there was a hole in my pocket. There was no such thing. I checked thoroughly and found no means of entry into the lining, so I took it home and reluctantly used scissors to cut open the part of the lining nearest the card. And there it was! So back to the bus stop a half an hour later! It might be worth mentioning that at the time I was putting some additions into my second- edition Glossary, and teleportation of matter through matter was one of the entries. Page 13 Continued page 14 Spring 2011 Space time by Fingers Scintilla, flickr.com/photos/fingersscintilla/ In 2004, I read an article in the Paranormal Review (a publication of the Society for Psychical Research [SPR]) by Nicola Holt that I found quite interesting.1

Holt’s article was about jottles. Have you ever heard of this? If not, I bet that you have experienced it but have also discounted it as absent mindedness. A jottle is described as a general term for discontinuties with time and space. A jottle has become known as a JOTT or “Just One of Those Things,” because episodes in which things disappear or turn up in the wrong place are usually written off rather than examined. Could one of parapsychology’s most bizarre, least understood, and least researched phenomena also be among the most common?2 In “Broken Threads in the Fabric of Physical Reality”3 Mary Rose Barrington writes, “In serious language JOTT is a spatial discontinuity, and put like that it is a major anomaly, because there shouldn’t be any spatial discontinu- ities…” Holt describes six variants of jott that have been identified: Walkabout: The basic jottle, where an object disap- pears from a known location and reappears in a new location. Comeback: An object disappears and later reappears in the same place. Flyaway: The object disappears and never comes back. Turn-up: An object appears in a location where it couldn’t have been before. Windfall: An object appears that has never been seen before. Trade-in: An object disappears, and is replaced with a similar object. We have “Walkabouts” and “Comebacks” happen fairly Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Text Messages from the Dead Callum Cooper notes in the Paranormal Review that with the introduction of mobile phones and text messaging, there have been more

reports of text messages from the dead. A poltergeist in a well-documented case used family members’ phones to send text messages to other family members even when all of them had turned their phone off. All the family members presented their phones to researchers to prove that they were not responsible for the texts. Family members even received a text from a phone in which the battery and SIM card had been removed! Three months after his wife’s death, a British widower, Frank, received a missed call on his phone without the phone having rung. The call was from his home phone yet there was no one in the house when the call was made. When he entered the house he could smell the perfume and cigarettes that he associated with his wife. The daughter, who no longer lived at home, claimed to have received strange text messages with no number attached. The messages contained words and phrases that the mother would have used. From: Text Messages From The Dead. The Society for Psychical Research’s Paranormal Review, January 2010 Issue 53. Jennifer Continued from page 3 Continued from page 13 Jotts In addition, next evening there was a TV science program about (physical) teleportation (a program which I knew on the Wednesday was coming up). My friend James Basil reports (December 6, 2002, personal communication) on a similar experience with a pocketful of money, one coin ‘falling’ through to his shoe though the pocket turned out to have no holes.”

We had an interesting experience just a week before reading the above article by Thalbourne. We had been in the store and paid for a bag of items with a credit card. We were walking to the car when I heard what seemed like a coin being literally thrown at me. I turned and asked Tom, “What was that?” Tom informed me that a quarter had hit the sack from somewhere and bounced in front of him. He had no change in his hand and no holes in his pocket. If the quarter had been in the bag or stuck to the bottom it would have fallen and not have been thrown. Chalk it up to just one of those things. Jotts happen in otherwise normal circumstances and Holt points out that “It is essential in all cases an there be that clear exceptionally perception and recollection of where the object had been before, and/or that an object had not been in a place before. Good cases are subject to usual quality criteria that strengthen the ‘evidence,’ such as the presence of second witnesses, reliable witnesses, immediate recording and reporting, .. and seeking to rule out normal explanations.” Cedric Thual - thual.com particular Thalbourne says, “The solid fabric in which we appear to find ourselves is very convincing, and we are meant to be convinced by it. And if we are careless enough to allow a stitch to drop, it is our duty to put things right as best we

can—and sometimes, fortunately for psychical researchers, our repair job goes slightly wrong.” We would love to hear about your JOTT experiences. Email them to us at [email protected] or send them to PO Box 13111 Reno, NV 89507. References 1. Holt, Dr. Nicola. Jottles. Paranormal Review, April 2004. spr.ac.uk. 2. Barrington, Mary Rose. “Broken Threads In the Fabric of Physical Reality.” Paranormal Review, October 2009. 3. Thalbourne, Dr. Michael A. “The Transhumanation Hypothesis.” psychognosis.net. 4. See also: Darby, Rick. Jottles reflight.blogspot.com/2010/06/jottles.html Christmas is always hard and I had been wanting to recognize Jen in some way. I was going to make a stamp for Christmas cards and couldn’t decide if I wanted to use angel wings or a halo. I had drawn both, with a “J” in the middle. I received a “Mommy, I’m an angel,” EVP the very same weekend I was working on it. A week later I was at a Christmas store, and right in front of me was the beautiful angel wings. I made the “J” in pink, her favorite color and attached it to the wings. They’re in my office now, till next Christmas. So Jen was helping me decide on what to use for her decoration. I’m still giving Jen her choice of whether she wants to communicate with me and so I wait for those precious “Mom” EVP and hope that our spiritual bond becomes stronger. Volume 30, Number 1 Page 14 Big Circle Recording Dates We previously announced a special section of atransc.org

was being set up for the Big Circle. Instead, and to assure more stability, we have elected to focus on publishing Big Circle-oriented articles in the Articles section of the website. Rhonda Burton has agreed to moderate the Big Circle forums in the Idea Exchange. This new focus will help us continue the tradition. Thanks you, Rhonda. The new Idea Exchange discussion board has a photo gallery which is potentially an important tool for sharing picture stories about loved ones for the Big Circle. Rhonda has added one for Jennifer, which is our feature story on page 3 of this issue. Members are invited to start a folder in that section and share a few pictures of loved ones. Viewpoint Continued from page 7 the highest standards will be maintained. We want to thank those of you who have submitted examples. It should be an interesting study. Research: Gathering Information Using EVPmaker with Allophones Project manager Cindy Heinen reported that there were three possible “hits” for December: “Her radio,” “The answer ... Radio” and “Transistor.” Knowing what to listen for, these were correctly heard by the project manager but the listening panel did not report hearing the words. Remember that the listening panel does not know the target, where the expected “hit” is in the sound file or the words they should be listening for. The “Her radio” example recorded by Jayne Thompson can be heard on atransc.org. The December target was a windup transistor radio/flashlight. In January, four people

submitted a total of fifty-two files that met the protocol. The target was a pair of sun- glasses. Cindy reported that there were no submissions that matched sunglasses or glasses. Cindy noted that twelve submissions named people. It cannot be confirmed that the names are meant to identify any of these specific people, but several names were of people who participated in the trial, two names were of people who are close to Cindy, and one identified a spirit helper by name. There were four that suggested difficulty with the tasks: Ÿ Finally this frequency hard for people Ÿ There are people here who hide the message. Ÿ I really can’t help. Ÿ Can’t focus. The December EVP, “Her radio,” was not found while following the established protocol. It does provide a sense that information gather- ing in this way is possi- ble but strict adherence to the protocol is essen- tial for credibility of the study. Speculating about the results outside of the study, it seems clear that conversations are relatively easy but accessing specific information that is not already known to the practitioner is much more difficult. Perhaps the task is to design better ways of asking the question. January Target Thanks to all who are participating. Your effort is impor- tant to the success of this study. Page 15 Tom and Lisa Spring 2011 Participation in the Big Circle is easy, and for many, has been very rewarding. Simply record for EVP on or near Big Circle

night and then share your messages on the ATransC message board, the Idea Exchange. The idea is to use that session to reach out to loved ones and it is a good idea to call on the Big Circle as part of your session. There is a good article about the Big Circle in the Circles section of the website. Upcoming recording dates are: April 14 and 28, May 12 and 26 June 9 and 23, July 7 and 21 The Big Circle spirit team is there to help recorders at anytime. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get in the Idea Exchange. The Möbius strip folded into an infinity sign may be an excellent symbol for the Big Circle. As we use it for the Association TransCommunication logo, it symbolizes that “both sides are really one and that one continues forever.” The Big Circle represents the continuing relationship of loved ones on both sides of the veil. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Jenny by Ron Gilkes Some of those who have attended Colin Fry’s séances (Colin is now a well known UK television host) may remember hearing the voice of a young girl called Jenny. Jenny, my daughter, first spoke at a Bath seminar. She was very tearful and saddened about passing to spirit by her own hand. I cannot even begin to describe how, when I recog- nized Jenny’s voice saying, “Hello Daddy: I am sorry Daddy,” that I was able

to compose myself. I can only presume it was strength given to me by others. Jenny Since then, Jenny has com- municated several times during séances and I have converted a barn at my home (near Banbury) and called it Jenny’s Sanctuary. Afternoons of clairvoyance have been held and circles have been started there. At the first séance, Jenny communicated and spoke for nearly ten minutes. She also wrote a note for me and held my hand briefly. When she spoke with George Cranley (Past President of the Noah’s Ark Society), he suggested that when she felt able to, she could try walking across and giving me a kiss. This brings me to September 1999; by that time I had suffered the loss of my father and problems with Jenny’s mother. Moreover, the sanctuary, where so much good work had been accomplished, was virtually demolished when a runaway army truck ran into it. This event turned out to be a blessing, as the insurance has allowed me to construct a new sanctuary which is far better than the previous one. Chris, a friend of mine, contacted me to suggest a sitting with Colin Fry. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and traveled with Chris to Colin’s Spirit Lodge [no longer open] On arriving there, we were shown to our seats and were then advised regarding séance room procedure by Paul. After a short prayer by the dozen or so people there, the proceedings began. Many of those who were present

received commu- nications from friends and rel- atives. During the séance, one of Colin’s guides named Dolly began to speak to us and was just about to introduce another communicator when Jenny, vir- tually pushing her way through, made herself known. Dolly spoke to her saying, “Well come along dear, you’ve done this before,” and I could hear Jenny’s voice saying, albeit softly, “Daddy.” I knew it was her. However when I replied, I did not say anything that would diminish the evidential Jenny value of the communication. Jenny commented on my concern about her mother but added that I should not worry. She continued to speak, giving an unmistakable evidential quality to her communication. She also referred to her grandfather saying that he was fine although he had been very confused when he first passed over. She recalled the occasion when she met him and he was cheered up by this. Jenny then made reference to her nanny and asked that her love be passed on to her. During this communication she informed me that she now had a new pony. She added that she also had Jenny, the one I had bought for her some years earlier. She then mentioned how she was teaching her grandfather to ride! Jenny commented on the building work which had begun in respect to the new sanctuary and said how she looked forward to its completion. She told me that one of the builders was very interested in the subject and when

I asked her to which of the builders she was referring, she told me it was the young one who has “a lovely sense of humor.” At this point, the proceedings came to the most wonderful part for me. Jenny said, “Daddy, if you sit very still, can I come and give you a kiss”? I replied that I would do as she had asked. We then heard her making her way across the room; as she did this, there was a loud noise as she knocked the microphone (or part of her ectoplasmic self draped across it). I could hear her moving towards me and was wondering if my glasses would get in her way, I asked whether she wanted me to remove them, but she said no and clasped my fingers and pulled my hand up. I could clearly feel her mouth against my hand and everyone heard her kiss. Jenny’s Sanctuary At this point she said, “I love you, Daddy.” After making her way back across the séance room she said, “Daddy, when it’s (the sanctuary building) all finished, will you put a rainbow in the window?” I said that I would and she concluded her visit by saying “Good-bye Daddy.” I said “good-bye” to her and she left after saying that her grand- father might speak to me on the next occasion. [Editor: Much to Ron’s delight, in July 2002 at a séance held in Jenny’s Sanctuary, both Jenny and her grandfather came through to communicate

that they were both together and enjoying their time in the spirit world. Jenny has also written little notes for Ron. All these were written by Jenny's materialized form after she had passed over. Continued page 17 Volume 30, Number 1 Page 16 Jenny All within the séance room several yards away from the medium and witnessed by thirty or more sitters. Continued from page 16 Notes written by Jenny Jenny’s sanctuary is still hosting events. See jennyssanctuary.org.uk. The website also has articles that Ron has written hoping to help others who have lost a child.] The Afterlife Investigations DVD by Tim Coleman Available at theafterlifeinvestigations.com Narrated by Britain’s leading investigative journalist, Donal MacIntyre, this award-winning film presents the most compel- ling scientific evidence for life after death ever presented in any documentary. It includes never-before-seen material of The Scole Experiment, the work of Marcello Bacci, Elec- tronic Voice Phenomena and the mediumship of Allison Dubois. Having sat in circles with physical mediums producing astounding visual phenomena, we understand how difficult it is to bring this information to the public. If you want to have a reason to believe there is a greater reality and that communication across the veil is possible, then we strongly recommend that you purchase this video, set aside a special night with lots of popcorn and invite your friends over to share the moment your world- view changes forever. Commodore 64 Steve Crow is our friend who converted and proofread the last of Sarah Estep’s

newsletters which are not yet in the ATransC archive. Shortly after beginning the project, he wrote us to say: “I’m enjoying doing this. It’s fascinating reading. Don’t know if I ever told you the story, but twenty-five years ago, back when I was married, my wife was getting messages on her computer. This was back when the Commodore 64 was high-tech home computing. The messages claimed to come from “fairies.” They said that there was a portal in our basement to their world that allowed them to come through into ours. I stayed up many a night trying to catch one of her brothers sneaking into the house to play a trick on her. I was very puzzled. I could hear the computer keys clicking, but no one was there. My son Michael was a newborn and his cradle was next to the computer. One night I could again hear the keys typing. Michael began fussing and then I heard a “shoo, shoo, shoo” as if someone or something was trying to comfort him. The next morning, once again, a message had been left on the computer for Mary. I had never heard of anyone else getting computer messages before. You can imagine how excited I got. The messages stopped when we moved from the house, which was when we split. I can’t say whether or not she continued to receive them. It’s been twenty-five years, so I don’t remember everything clearly. A lot of it was like the EVP

messages (parts just didn’t make sense) mostly they were stating that they wanted to make contact, but that she would need to be open to it, and invite them to do so. They also said that part of their function was to protect her…” Commodore 64 (picture from oldcomputers.net) [Editor: The computers produced in the time of the Com- modore 64 have been associated with quite a lot of phenom- ena. For instance, Ken Webster’s book, The Vertical Plane, tells about the many experiences Ken and Debbie Oakes had in their home in Dodleston, England for two years with Tomas Harden who lived in the 16th century. A number of Harden’s messages came through a computer in Old Eng- lish. There were disturbances within the small cottage, which once was Harden’s home.] Page 17 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Book Review Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension by Michael Tymn If you are one of those people, as I once was, who thinks that listening for electronic voices, purportedly coming from the “dead,” is like looking for faces or figures in the clouds, this book and the accompanying CD with some of those voices, may prompt you to rethink it all. communicators talking among themselves, as when they discussed how best to answer her question. There was much that was not clear, however, and it became apparent to Cardoso that there are many obstacles to inter-dimensional communication which are difficult to overcome. While many such voices are clearly muffled, muddled,

garbled, and otherwise indistinct, the author reports receiving a number that were loud and clear. And they were often more than simple utterances. Some of them involved philosophi- cal discussions, and one dialogue between the author and a spirit communicator lasted two- and-a-half hours. “It was against all I understood of reality, and certainly against all known laws of science that I could not only hear such voices, but that they appeared to actually come and dialogue with me from another dimension, which I supposed was the next world,” author Anabela Cardoso writes. Dr. Cardoso, who speaks six languages, is a highly respected diplomat, having served as consul general for Portugal in a number of countries, including the United States and France, and as Portuguese chargé d’affaires in Japan and India. The foreword to her book is written by Professor David Fontana, former president of the Society for Psychical Research in London. In fact, Fontana was called in to witness some of the phenomena. “Firstly, I have no doubt about the reality of the voices received, and secondly, I am confident that these voices are not suscepti- ble to normal explanation,” Fontana offers, adding that acoustic analysis of the voices indicates that they lack characteristics present in the human voice, supporting the view that they are not manmade. Cardoso devotes the first 46 pages of this 236-page book to explaining the methodology and history of Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) and its variations, including Electronic Voice Phenomena, (EVP), Direct Radio Voices (DRV)

and Voices on Tape (VOT). She then tells how she became interested in the subject and of her initial experi- ments, beginning in 1997. She recalls having heard of ITC before her experiments but didn’t take it seriously as she assumed that anything as important as contact with the deceased would be big news around the world. Still, she was puzzled by the fact that some respected scientists, theologians, engineers, technicians, and academicians were reporting contact with “other dimensions” or the “dead.” She tells of contact from her deceased grandmother, father, and brother, and then from an entity calling himself Carlos de Almeida, a seemingly knowledgeable and expe- rienced communicator who was able to answer many questions for her before he told her he would be advancing to a higher realm and thus unable to further communicate with her again. At times, Cardoso could hear the spirit The purpose of it all? “Besides the obvious purpose of informing us that life does not finish with physical death, one of the main goals of the most comprehensive ITC communication appears to be an attempt to contribute to the expansion of human consciousness by convey- ing to us information of high ethical content which breaks with conventional human values,” Cardoso answers. Now that she has been involved in the field for a dozen years, Cardoso laments the fact that mainstream science has been so stubborn and closed-minded. “Unfortunately, any high profile technician or scientist will, in general, not only refuse to examine

the evidence but also refuse to supervise the reception at origin of the voices to be analyzed...,” she writes, adding that the materialistic worldview prejudices them against even considering the various ITC phenomena. She points out that even the majority of parapsychologists know little or nothing about the subject. “Moreover, they also do not know that they do not know, and this is an even bigger problem,” she adds. Yes, it is mind boggling and will probably exceed the boggle threshold of a large percentage of readers, but there are many other credible people reporting similar contacts and so it is extremely difficult for the open-minded person to write it all off as just so much bunk. For the truly open-minded person, Dr. Cardoso offers a very interesting, informative, intriguing, and inspirational read. The Experimenter Effect Dr. Caroline Watt at the Koestler Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh looked at the effect an experi- menter’s belief had on experiments and participants. Fake experimenters were recruited and divided into two groups based on their belief in the paranormal and psi. After training, the new experimenters were asked to carry out the same psi task with a number of novice participants. There was a strong difference in results. With disbelievers as investigators there was no suggestion of psi in the experi- mental results, however with believers there was very strong positive result. The expectations of the participants were broadly similar, as they had no idea if the person they were working

with was a believer or not. From: Paranormal Review, Issue 52, Society for Psychical Research, spr.ac.uk. Volume 30, Number 1 Page 18 Researcher’s Report · Susie Alverson wrote in the Idea Exchange that she needed help deciding if what she had recorded was a spirit reply or if it sounded to others like her breath. She wrote, “It’s easier to analyze in Audacity, where you can see the wave forms. I’m not an expert on visually critiquing EVP so I’m not sure about this one. However I’m leaning toward this being a legitimate EVP for the following reason: On the file you will hear me say, 1. ‘Lance, just uh...’; 2. Then my exhale; 3. Then what sounds like ‘Hi ya’; and 4. Then my inhale for the next word. I know that inhales and exhales can mimic what we believe to be spirit, so I’m curious to get other opinions on this one.” Yvonne wrote that she felt she could hear “Hi ya,” Margaret Downey wrote, “I'm sort of thinking it sounds like a response, Susie. But I also agree, breath can be mistaken for EVP. Though I suppose, in some cases, it’s entirely possible for a breath to help facilitate the forma- tion of an EVP, based on the reasoning that they can use things like fan, water, etc. So, why not breath?” · Lloyd Bradshaw wrote that he was taken to the hospital by ambulance with congestive heart failure. He says that, during the ambulance and hospital

time, he felt that he was being watched by those in spirit. He was put on a therapy/recovery program at home with what he calls a group of “gentle drill sergeants.” When he got home he got his recorder and asked if they knew his situation. He received a dual-tone man and woman chorus saying, “Glad you’re better.” He recog- nized the woman’s voice as a woman he would have married if his family had not interfered. He wrote, “She’s still got me in her sights. When I pass over she’s going to get me. I sure hope so!” · Rhonda Burton wrote, “I had a very interesting EVP captured last night. It was at a friend of mine’s rental home that had several women murdered in it. It was really not ‘haunted.’ She just wanted me to conduct an EVP session, because one of the women murdered was her friend. I was talking to them and said I knew that the women had been murdered in the house and that one lived. A female spirit then said, ‘The one that lived, what happened?’ The murders were of three nurses who were friends living in the house. She wanted to know what happened to her friend. It was a very touching EVP for me. I will be going back to finish that conversation.” · Teri Daner recently transferred EVP that has come from her son Geoff to her iPhone. There was a long one that had something in it and

she always wondered what it meant. She wrote, “Geoff said with others coming thru a jingle. ‘I love school, don’t you get it! Bye, Bye. The summer is over, astalawaga … Jeannine have hope … I love you. Bark.’ Geoff was ADHD, so saying he loved school is a hoot. Jeannine was Geoff’s girlfriend and the bark was I believe my girlfriend’s dog that passed, and I had asked him to let me know if Tank, a Doberman was with him. I had not understood the ‘Astala luego’ but looked on the Internet. In Spanish it means ‘See you later, until we meet again.’” · Margaret Downey asked Debbie Caruso if she wanted to say hello to anyone and recorded “Say hello to Chris- tine.” She was very excited and sent us another EVP that Christine Jenkins had recorded that says, “Here’s Chris- tine.” Both are in Debbie Caruso’s voice! Margaret also did a recording for a member who has been trying to record her son Chris who made his transi- tion in May of 2010. Margaret recorded, “OK, Mom. I can do it” and “This is Chris.” Chris’s mom, Anita, wrote back that after “I can do it,” she heard Chris say his full name, “Christopher Hobbs.” We could hear that as well. · Allison Sniffin conducted a recording using Skype and wrote that what she recorded really sounded like her mom! She said, “Hi, Mom.” and recorded “Hi, honey.” She says it’s the cheerful voice she remembers so

well. · Jerusha Lederman recorded a voice that said, “Hi, Yvonne.” Member Yvonne Whybra appreciated finding out that Jerusha had gotten someone saying her name but did not recognize the voice. · Pamela Teters said that they hear from family members all the time and shared an EVP they recorded in her living room. The EVP says “Don” in a very distinctive woman’s voice. Pamela wrote, “It’s Don’s mother saying his name.” · Jayne Thompson called on Hans Bender and asked him to name Robin Foy’s new book. She recorded “Witness- ing the Impossible” which is correct. Jayne also shared this picture of a woman she got by photographing moving water. The image was filmed on 7/22/10 using the video function on a Canon PowerShot A570 IS digital camera. She wrote, “I fill an orange-ish colored Visionware glass pot 3/4 full with water and place that in a black frying pan. I use the fan light above my stove for illumination and video the water’s movement as I move my finger in it and verbally request that spirits show themselves by creating images in the water.” [Editor: See ITC Experiments Using Light Reflected from Water in the Winter 2007 ATransC NewsJournal or at: atransc.org/techniques/techniques_downey_itc.htm] · Yvonne Whybra recorded using a small heater that also is a fan. She used an Olymbus VN 3100. She recorded “Hold me.” She wrote, “Kind of made me feel sad that someone on the other side wants to be held like he misses the physical.”

Page 19 Spring 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Book Review: A New Science of the Paranormal Books Lawrence LeShan has been working in psychical research for more than fifty years. With so much experience, you would be correct to expect that he has developed a view of the field that is considerably more informed than the view held by the casual observer. A New Science of the Paranor- mal is written in a “this is what I have learned” tone that provides important lessons for all of us who seek to better understand our world. We were especially interested in his viewpoint about redefining what is appropriate science for the study of things paranormal. LeShan makes a distinction between psychical research (field study of spontaneous events) and parapsy- chology (laboratory study of events under controlled envi- ronment of the laboratory). This echoes our experience that the neuropsychological community conducts important human potential research but that it has not been effective in the study of actual human experiences. On page 4 LeShan notes, “The scientific study of paranor- mal phenomena ... is in complete disarray,” and then attempts to address why this is so. One of the suggestions he offers is the idea that different principles of physics might apply in different realms or viewpoints. For instance, applying Newtonian principles to the study of light may not make sense. In the same way, does it make sense to apply mainstream physical principles to the study of subtle energy? This book is one

of those rare looks into the heart of our struggle to turn what we sense is true into a well-established basis of empirical understanding. . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand

the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give any of the information to anyone who is not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 30, Number 1 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Summer 2011, Volume 30 Number 2 The NewsJournal is available to members as a paper copy via postal service or as a PDF file via email. For members receiving the NewsJournal via postal service, this is the first full color issue. We hope you like it. Because many of the paranor- mal pictures are difficult to make out in grayscale, we have always recommended the PDF (emailed) version of the News- Journal. We include many active Internet links so that the PDF version can be used for further study, and we are okay with people forwarding it to friends and family. The cost of color printing has come down a

lot, but with that said, it is important to note that color printing costs are about four times higher. We are hoping that it is worth the increased cost for the better look. As the office and mail- room crew that writes most of the material, does the layout and stuffs the envelopes, we take a lot of pride in the quarterly NewsJournal and it is important to us that you see the best results. We want you to be proud of the organization you support and anything that can help to present the organization in a professional and positive light helps that and has the potential of encouraging new members. As a publicly supported organization, annual membership dues are intended to cover the cost of its operation. No one is paid for the work, so all of your dues goes toward the operation of the Association. The increased costs will cause a short- fall in operating costs, but it is our hope that will be offset by an increase in membership. The ATransC Point of View The community of people interested in the paranormal is evolving. One of the points we think needs to be made is that ATransC has a unique point of view. With a survey of the different viewpoints represented by different organiza- tions that support this community, you can see that the ATransC is amongst the few focusing on survival of personality and transcommunication. These are the points of view we think are representative of

this field of study: Human psychology: Usually parapsychology; specifically an academic approach with emphasis on a physical-world perspective; on research; collaboration but guided by community norm. emphasis Emergent science: Emphasis on academic approach; deliber- ate openness to new ideas; open to concepts of nonphysical and survived personality if they can be explained from mainstream science. Human potential: Usually aca- demic; open to nonphysical explanations; focus on personal growth and the human condi- tion; supports research; educa- tion by opinion setters. Social paranormal: Desire for scientific approach; for many, often first experience in paranormal; strong community; emphasis on nonphysical and survived personality; no formal collaboration; education by emergent cultural norm. Metaphysical: Study/research of phenomena related to trans-etheric influence; desire for scientific approach; community emphasizing educational and application of principles; specifically open to nonphysical and survived personality. This is from the ATransC perspective and should not be seen as saying anything negative about the other points of view ; each has an important role to fill. The objective is to bring into focus the kind of support ATransC provides this community. It is our belief that, by understanding the differences, you can better decide what you would like to have in the organization you support. There are two very effective steps you can take to further this work if you think this study is important. The most important is for you to become an activist and learn to talk about what you know to be true. Consider taking up more organized study

and consider ways of sharing what you learn with others. Continued page 8 View from the Socrates Circle Summer 2011 Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Margaret Downey Robert Fenn Lora Stock James Wolfe Supporters Richard Boesch Donna Cunha Laura Echevarria Dennis Fassler Joanne Feldman Gayle Ihlenfeld Phil Martin Lorelei McMorrow Lynda Noël Ellen Pugh Eugene Streicher Yvonne Whybra Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint....................................................................................................................1 Big Circle List of Names..............................................................................................................4 History and Background of the SORRAT Group.....................................................................5 The Fishharp.................................................................................................................................6 It Is All About Intentionality.......................................................................................................7 The Imperator Group..................................................................................................................8 Protocol for the SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment............................................................8 Felix Experimental Group: Faces in Ectoplasm and Visiting Pet...........................................9 Bilateral Stimulation and Afterlife Connections.....................................................................10 Announcement for Grant 2011.................................................................................................12 Q&A: Is My Mother Earthbound?...........................................................................................13 Report on JOTTS.......................................................................................................................13 The Risen.....................................................................................................................................14 News About Members................................................................................................................16 A Report of an Experiment with The Yellow Cloud Circle...................................................16 I was a Skeptic............................................................................................................................17 The Transition of Garrett Husveth...........................................................................................18 Tom Butler: Essayist!.................................................................................................................18 Researcher Reports....................................................................................................................19 Book Review: The Energy Cure...............................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others

can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy.

Web Masters: atransc.org: Tom Butler Volunteers: NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey Volume 30, Number 2 Page 2 My Brother Shane by Greg Treas I was born in a small town in the mountains of Pennsylvania, the oldest of three children. My brother Jerry came three years after me and my sister Merrilee two years later. Life for me was pretty tough growing up. There were quite a few older boys in my neighborhood who bullied me on a regular basis. Eventually I had to learn to fight back, and for years I was involved in many fights. I never started any, but I had to stand my ground. I did not have a lot of friends and the few I had would not stick up for me. My brother Jerry was too young to keep up with me and my friends and I regret I did not include him. I was trying hard to keep the friends I did have and neglected my brother Jerry. My sister was the typical brat and spy, eager to relay anything I might be doing to my parents. Being the oldest child I took most of the punishment that was dealt out, much to the amusement of my little sister. When I was in fifth grade our parents pulled us out of public school and put us in a private school. This situation did not work well for me. I rarely saw my friends from the public

school, and did not fit in with the group at the new school. I spent a lot of time in the hills by myself. Nature was my sanctuary. My father was a hard-working man and a good provider, but did not know how to be a father. He had grown up during the depression and had sixteen brothers and sisters. Potato soup with some bacon was a big meal. He told me the best Christmas he had was when he got two pair of sox, some pencils and an orange. His father was an engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad and was away a lot. My father told me later in life, crying, how sorry he was for not being a very good father. He also told me that his father never once ever hugged him or told him he loved him. I felt sorry hearing that and finally understood. We hugged and cried and our relationship was healed. My mother on the other hand, came from a very loving family. She was very open and easy to talk to and was always there for me as much as she could be. Because of my strained relationship I had with my father, I joined the army as soon as I turned eighteen. In hindsight it was a very good thing for me. It helped me grow up and learn that I was capable of doing much more than I had thought. During my third year in the army I met my

future wife Sherrl. It was love at first sight and we married ten months later. Sherrl had four brothers and sisters, and was third in the line up. She had a little brother ten years younger named Shane. They had grown up with a raging drunk for a father. They suffered every kind of abuse imaginable. When we married we decided to have Shane come live with us and get him out of that environment. Shane was nine years old and very shy and quiet. In time I gained his confidence and he became a son to me. We did Shane everything together. We had become pretty close, and our friendship grew stronger. During the first year Shane had given me the nickname Mr. Jones. I think it started as a joke, but it stuck. He only used it when we were alone. As time went by we grew very close. We spent untold hours talking into the night. This was a healing process for both of us. Nothing was out of bounds; we poured our souls out to each other, sharing our hopes, fears, and dreams. We lived in eastern Idaho, and anytime I was not working we were on an adventure. We had thousands of adventures over the years. Camping, fishing, hiking, and exploring everything we could think of. I have so many fond memories and funny stories I could proba- bly write a book. As Shane grew into his teens, he was no longer my son. He

had become the brother I never had and my best friend. During this time the nickname he had given me, Mr. Jones, had become just Jones. But he still only used it when we were alone. Shane had an obsession with caves, and we found many in our adventures in the deserts and mountains. About the time Shane was in his mid teens he started to spend time with a few friends he made. We still spent most of our time together though. But after a while I started to notice small changes, I knew he was being influenced by some of his friends whom I didn’t care much for. I talked to him several times, but he tried to avoid the subject. By the time Shane was sixteen, he developing the typical teenage attitudes. I didn’t press him much. I knew he was growing up and trying to find his own way in life. We gradually spent less time together and I had found out he was drinking and using drugs. I confronted him about it and our conversation had developed into our first full-blown fight. It was a turning point in our relationship. His mother had divorced his father and moved about two blocks from us and he moved in with her. He still spent most of his time at our house when he wasn’t with his friends, but slept at his mother’s. His behavior and attitude were changing fast and I knew he had a substance abuse

problem. He started to pull away, trying to hide it, but we knew what was going on. It made me very sad to see my little brother going down the same path his father did. I never thought that would happen after all the abuse they suffered, and he despised his father and rarely had contact with him. In 1998 I moved to a town twenty miles away for a job. Our friendship had become distant but we were still close, even though we were not spending much time together. But every time we did meet, we would hug, kiss each other’s necks and say, “I love you, Bro.” In 2005 I moved to Boise, Idaho, about 300 miles away. We still got together on holidays and special occasions, but only three or four times a year. Continued page 4 Page 3 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal My Brother Shane Each time I saw Shane I could see the pain in his eyes growing. In the year 2010 we got together several times. Continued from page 3 August 2010 I picked Shane up and brought him to Boise to visit for a couple days. It was a tough visit. He began to tell me many things he had done and some very bad experiences he had. He told me about the pain of his addictions and the physical pain he had incurred over the years. It was the first time in many years he had opened up to me like

that. I tried to encourage him and offer what help I could. It hurt to see my little brother in such pain. We talked all day and late into the night. When I took him home, we hugged and kissed each other’s necks like we always have. But this time he held me tight for a long time. He said “I love you, Bro,” and I said “I love you, too,” but still held tight. I could feel the pain and love very strong, and he said “No, I want you to understand, I really love you, Bro. Don’t ever forget that.” When he finally let go we both had tears in our eyes. It was a long drive home. My heart was heavy and I cried off and on all the way home. Little did I realize that would be the last time I saw my brother Shane. In the early evening on the nineteenth of December, Shane had been drinking heavy. He had just come home from a bad fight he had with his father. That evening in his pain and despair, Shane took his life. I was devastated. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever had to bear. There was no holiday get together that year. My heart was shattered. I had lost a son, brother, and best friend all at once. I became deeply depressed and began to isolate myself. On February second, 2011 I was at my bottom. I was grieving a

lot that day, and cried most of it. I was sad and mad at my brother for what he had done to himself and the family. That night I had taken a sleeping pill to try to rest. I found my recorder in the drawer and for some reason picked it up. I turned it on, got in bed and began to talk out loud to Shane. I told him I was mad at him and how sad I was and eventually fell asleep. The next day I was making my bed and found the recorder. I could barely remember using it, and set it on my desk. Later that day I decided to listen to what I had said to him. I only spoke for about four minutes when I fell asleep and could only hear my breathing. I was just getting ready to turn it off when I heard a faint sound. I turned up the volume and thought I could hear a voice. I plugged in my headset and listened again and heard the words “Jones, Jones, can you hear me? I’m so so sorry for what I did.” I was not expecting that! I threw off the headset, jumped back from my desk in shock and tried to wrap my mind around what I had just heard. After I collected myself I listened to more of the recording, and in between my breaths I heard many messages from my brother. He apologized many times but told

me he was okay and would be watching out for me. I began to sob heavily, not from pain but because I had found my brother whom I thought I had lost forever and he was telling me he was okay!!! I have since done more recordings and heard many more messages of hope and peace. I know my brother Shane is at peace now and is watching over me till the day when we can embrace again. I am honored to share this story with those of you who have lost a loved one. Take heart, they are not gone. They are with you always waiting for the day when you will be reunited again! Blessings and Peace to All, Greg Treas Big Circle List of Names In honor of David Sun Circle by Uberschnap, flickr.com/uberschnap/ The Big Circle is a spirit group that tries to communicate with us and includes our loved ones now on the other side. The bond we all share makes us stronger and helps us communicate during the Big Circle recording sessions and during our individual recording sessions. A list of names has been created in the blog area of the Association’s Idea Exchange message board. Members can have the names of their friends and loved ones, now on the other side, added to this list. The list will be updated regularly. By listing the names, we believe everyone will be more focused and get more positive results. To ask Rhonda Burton to have

your loved one’s name added to the list, click on the Blog tab and reply to the Big Circle List of Names blog. You can also send Rhonda a personal message on the Idea Exchange or via email at [email protected]. Recording dates We have been told many times by our communicators on the other side to ask for help from the Big Circle as part of your daily meditation. Here are the recording dates: July 7 and 21, August 4 and 18 September 1, 15 and 29, October 13 and 27 The Big Circle team is there to help recorders at any time. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get with other members in the Idea Exchange. Volume 30, Number 2 Page 4 History and Background of the SORRAT Group by I. Grattan-Guinness The days of large-scale physical phenomena, which so enthralled our Victorian and Edwardian predecessors, seem now a long way away, to the extent that reported cases are treated with suspicion even by those who are generally sympathetic to psychical research. An interesting and long-term case is the group called “SORRAT,” which was founded by John G. Neihardt (1882–1973), who made his career as a poet and literary critic after initial training in physics (Richards, 1973). Aware of such phenomena from his own youth, he worked quietly throughout his life until he felt ready to form this group in 1961 at his home at Skyrim Farm near Columbia, Missouri.

“SORRAT” is his acronym for “Society for Research in Rapport and Teleki- nesis,” in that order; for central to his philosophy was that rapport is the key to telekinetic processes, an essential cause for the effects that take place. This has remained a key feature for the group. When sittings were held, very large-scale phenomena soon occurred: apparently heavy furniture rose and fell, entire rooms shook, and tables went walkabout into the farmyard. In his career, Neihardt had taught at the Univer- sity of Missouri at Columbia; so the news spread there soon, and derision and persecution came back rapidly. From an early date, therefore, SORRAT has kept much to itself, while welcoming serious newcomers. The most substantial account to date is the book on the group by John Thomas Richards (born 1937), a teacher of English with an engi- neering background (Richards, 1982); since Neihardt’s death he has coordinated much of the work of the group, maintaining the (informal) membership list and correspond- ing with members and others, and holding sittings in his own home in Rolla, about 100 miles from Columbia. These usually take place in the “Isolation Room,” about 5 feet by 10 feet, located in the basement. External appraisal has been rare. Hansen and Broughton (1991) found evidence of tampering with a pack of playing cards, while Wiseman and others (1992) decided, on statistical grounds, against a test involving the reading of a sealed pack. In a book on religious belief, the American sociologist James McClenon

included SORRAT in a chapter on small sitter groups, but was rather agnostic about the probity of the events experienced, mainly because of his principal concern with belief structures rather than the events (McClenon 1994, Ch. 14). Berthold E. Schwarz (1994) drew more positive conclusions from his experi- ments on linking rings. Schwarz’s experiments were carried out in collaboration with Edward Cox, an associate of J. B. Rhine. Neihardt launched SORRAT experiments about 1966, in part with the encouragement of Rhine, who also suggested a new means of staging experiments: a glass container set on a wooden or metal base with a securely lockable lid, in which artifacts were placed and any phenomena observed without interference. Cox built the first such frame, which was known as a “Cox box”; since then the more informative name “Minilab” has been attached to it, and it has been used elsewhere in psychical research. After moving to Rolla in 1978, Cox carried out over many years a wide range of experiments, such as rings linking and unlinking, balloons inflating, metal bending, and methods of alerting a film camera to the start of a phenomenon. Many of these experiments were carried out in the Isolation Room, using a lab built with another SORRAT member and local resident, Steve Calvin… Picture of the levitation of a box camera in the locked Minilab From “Real Communication? Report on a SORRAT Letter- Writing Experiment,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 13, No. 2, scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_13_2_grattan.pdf See: Sorrat: A History of

the Neihardt Psychokinesis Experi- ments, 1961-1981 by John Thomas Richards, available on Amazon. [Editor: The letter-writing experiments started in 1981. See Protocol on page 8.] References Hansen, G. P. & Broughton, R. S. (1991). Card-sorting with SORRAT. Artifex, 9, 19. McClenon, J. (1994). Wondrous Events: Foundations of Religious Belief. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Richards, J. T. (1973). Luminous Sanity: Literary Criticism written by John G. Neihardt. Cape Girardeau (MO): Concord. Richards, J. T. (1982). SORRAT. A History of the Neihardt Psychokenesis Experiments. Metuchen (NJ) and London: The Scarecrow Press. Schwarz, B. E. (1994). Presumed paranormal linkage of rings. International Journal of Psychosomatics, 42, 95 Wiseman, R., Beloff, J. and Morris, R. L. (1992). Testing the ESP claims of SORRAT. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 58, 363. Page 5 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Fishharp The article about the the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT) on page five provides a good introduction to this very interesting group. There is more information in the Examples section of atransc.org. As known as direct writing. This is done by their scribe John King. A camera triggered by a motion sensor was used for the photograph here. The white arrow points to the indepen- dently moving pen inside a locked Minilab box. After questions are answered, the entities place them in stamped, self-addressed envelopes and they are apported out of the lab into the US postal service. The drawing of the castle and the Fishharp were produced in

this way and sent to us. Lisa was told that she had a past life with the Fishharp Clan. It is very interesting that the castle of this clan was configured with various intention-directing aids. The Imperator entities refer to maze walkers who used a maze (bottom chamber of the castle) to help focus their intention, reportedly as an aid for teleportation. The middle chamber contained a second maze of sorts and an organ-like device designed to send “voice thoughts.” The antenna for the organ was the Fishharp above the castle. The Fishharp Clan was known as a healing clan and the Fishharp was one of their healing devices, In principle, it needs to be “charged” to be effective and works as a form of intentionality amplifier. The Imperator entities drew us a picture of how to make one and SORRAT member, Dr. Terrald Brooks, made one for us, see page 7. It is a brass frame shaped like a fish with copper spokes and an obsidian “eye” which can be moved between the spokes. See the close-up photograph for construction detail. As we understand its use, the practitioner must clearly visualize a desired outcome with the focused intention to make it happen while adjusting the position of the “eye.” We have found with the Fishharp and other such devices that we have a sense of the correct configuration almost as if muscle memory has assumed control of our movement. If you are familiar with radionic devices, there is a

similar effect when using the stick plate (see copenlabs.com). Irish castle drawn by the Imperator Group. In the 1400s, this was home to the Fishharp Clan. SORRAT members, we found information about the Fish- harp Clan and their castle to be very interesting. In the letter-writing study, the etheric Imperator Group is able to use a pen to write and draw on paper with what is The thought organ appears to be a form of radionic device in that it appears the communicator first walks the star pattern on the floor adjacent to the organ, and then adjusts the organ. Continued page 7 Direct writing in the SORRAT lab: arrow points to pen Fishharp as drawn by the Imperator Group Volume 30, Number 2 Page 6 It Is All About Intentionality by Tom Butler In times past, the ability to function as an energy healer or physical medium was described as an ability to manage the subtle energy. Spiritualists have long known that this subtle energy can be accumulated and tends to remain for a while. We came to see that hauntings events were more frequent in places that have had long-time human occupancy or in which strong emotions were expressed. Putting two and two together, we decided that the hauntings events were more likely because there was more energy available to facilitate trans-etheric influences. We saw the same effect with developing EVP practitioners, and we now recommend that a person set aside a special place for meditation and transcommunication

so that the energy can accumulate. Like mediums, some EVP practitioners are just naturally more effective than others. The ability to manage the energy seemed to be the most obvious reason and recent research with Random Event Generators (REG) seems to confirm this. You are probably familiar with the Global Conscious- ness Project (see noosphere.princeton.edu). The study detected a decisive change in randomness of the output of an REG array just before the 9-11 attack on New York and the Pentagon. It has become routine for researchers to use REGs to detect the effects of meditation and other psi processes on ambient subtle energy. At the same time, researchers have been developing effective protocols for the study of energy healing. You will hear a lot more about this rapidly evolving field of study in future issues of this NewsJournal. The research often shows decisive changes in the well-being of organisms in response to the practitioner’s intention to heal. For our discussion, the study of energy healing is also the study of the effect of intentionality on subtle energy. Intentionality We now know that there is a field of energy existent throughout known reality which is responsive to the influ- ence of intention. It is being referred to as the biofield because it appears to be the product (or the enabler) of life. When a person senses the thought of others, influences physical objects with thought or mentally tries to send energy to another person, he or she is what parapsycholo-

gists call “psi functioning.” In practice, all of these psi abilities are the expression of intention which is transmitted as a change in the biofield. Your intention to love or hate someone is immediately delivered to them wherever they are in the world as a change in the field of subtle energy which we all share. The energy cannot be shielded against as one might shield from radio signals, and time and distance does not seem to be a factor in its influence. Focused intention appears to be the deciding factor. Focus of attention is really what Spiritualists teach in energy healing and in mediumship. In metaphysical terms, the process of creation is turning attention to an imagined result with the intention that it will be so. It is useful to think that the biofield provides the sub- stance from which objects of reality are created, so the two things that you can control are the ability to clearly imagine your objective and focus your intention to make imagination real. Managing Intention Most of us have pretty vivid imaginations which are difficult to control. Traditional meditation is all about learning to control that imagination. When someone tells us not to think of a pink elephant, for most of us, the very next thing we do is think of one. Most of what we are taught in the various forms of energy healing is the clear visualization of good health. Mental mediumship is all about learning to set aside our internal

visualizing so that we can sense the impressions coming from our etheric communicators. It is all about learning to control our imaginations. Continued page 12 Fishharp Continued from page 6 We think the sequence is to first entrain intention to clearly imagine a desired effect, and then, like the stick plate of a radionics device, adjust the organ until there is a muscle memory-like sense of “right.” What remains is the impression of the message or expression of intention being “sent” via the fishharp antenna. Close up of Fishharp obsidian “eye” and spokes This explanation has a lot of “sense,” and “impression” descriptions. So we are speculating but we continue to seek verifica- tion and better understanding. At this point, we depend on the existent research including REG studies and the study of energy healing to guide us. Fishharp with obsidian “eye” made by SORRAT, Dr. Terrald Brooks Page 7 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Imperator Group The entities participating in the Letter-Writing Experiment are from a group who call themselves the Imperator Group. As far as we have been able to discern, they have been formed since before the turn of this century. In his 1883 book, Spirit Teachings, Reverend Stainton Moses reported receiving communication via automatic writing from the rector of this group. (The book is available at archive.org). The communication was mostly concerned with letting people know that life continues after death. Leslie Flint of England received direct voice communication from the Imperator but the recordings

are not very clear. As shown here, the organizational chart of the Imperator Group was drawn via direct writing. We were told by the McClenons that ten more members were added to the group since 1982 making a total of forty-seven. Many years have passed since we got that information so we are sure that there are now even more people involved on the other side. Different individuals hold positions at different times. For instance Elisha held the position of Imperator in 1981 and Stainton Moses now has the position. Rector, along with John King, often signs the letters. Several of ours were signed by T.A.E who is reported to be Thomas Alva Edison. Many others have responded to questions coming from people including Dr. John Neihardt, Black Elk, W.B. Yeats, Charles Dai, Samuel Clemens, H.G. Wells, and more recently William Edward Cox and Bert Schwarz. Other SORRAT members have also reported that sometimes personal friends and family members also say “hello.” All of the letters are done with the aid of John King who is the group’s scribe. John King is mentioned throughout history as the guide to many mediums. He was the spirit control for Eusapia Palladino and there is much written about his involvement with Madame Blavatsky. Protocol for the SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment To participate in the SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment, send a question to the entities on a sheet of paper, leaving room for the answer. On your question sheet, always put your name, address, date and

page number. John King, who is the etheric scribe, writes with large letters so allow a lot of room for an answer below your question. You can add a sheet of paper if you think the answer might take more space. Be sure to number extra pages and have your name and address on each. Send a self-addressed stamped enve- lope (one per page) to: Dr. and Mrs. J. T. Richards and Ivan 309 West Ninth Street Rolla, Missouri 65401 Be sure to include a friendly note of introduction to Tom Richards, his wife Elaine and their son Ivan. When your envelope and its contents are returned to you, make two photocopies of both the contents and the envelope and send one set to: Dr. Jim McClenon 216 Robert Street Chesapeake, Virginia 30341 And the other to Dr. Richards at the above address. Jim is writing a book, The Entity Papers: Letter from the Minilab. You will most like receive an answer to someone else’s question in your envelope. You need to send this answer directly to them immediately, making a copy for yourself if you would like. So you send the original and a copy of the envelope to that person along with a friendly note to build rapport. Someone will have received your letter and will be sending it along to you. It is in this way that the entities build rapport and the energy necessary for success- ful future experiments. The 1982 organization chart of the Imperator

Group Viewpoint Continued from page 1 We will help in that regard. In many cases, ATransC provides the only means of publishing frontier subject material. Interestingly, because of our public outreach via the NewsJournal and the website, we probably reach many more people than just about any other organization in this field. The second step is to financially support the work. ATransC has a whole list of research projects just waiting for funding. There is much that can be done, but it takes involved members to make it happen. With the increased cost of producing the NewsJournal comes an even greater need for your financial support. Tom and Lisa Volume 30, Number 2 Page 8 Felix Experimental Group: Faces in Ectoplasm and Visiting Pet During a séance in March, the Felix Experimental Group’s main control, Hans Bender,* explained the different states of ectoplasm development. He claims that ectoplasm always arrives in a certain aggregate state that is then changed into other states. mother. These photographs were taken with a relatively long exposure time of 1.5 to 2 seconds and the medium unavoid- ably moved a little. Even so, some features are clearly obvious and presentable here. Below is a composite of a photograph showing the free-standing ectoplasm with a face near the top, and an enlargement of the part containing the face. Bender says that the dark and humid human mouth is the area where they can bring in large quantities of a thin and spider web-like ectoplasmic fabric that

can be used by them for different purposes. For example, the ectoplasmic appearance of Hans Bender’s hand routinely waves to the sitters at the end of each séance. Another example is the veil-like substance that is able to climb freely onto the medium’s body to build something like a cocoon around him. The aggregate states of this “veil” can be compacted to build columns of ectoplasm that stand on the floor in front of the medium to form the bodily features of full materializations. The photograph at right shows such a free- standing column of ectoplasm which rises from the floor in front of the medium’s chair. After the mass of ectoplasm with the faces welled out of the medium’s mouth it dissolved and “fell” (?) onto the mediums breast, where it again was observable for many seconds. The changing in appearance, respectively the compaction of the matter called ectoplasm seems to be crucial for the different appearances of the substance. In the last weeks of March, the etheric chemists working with the group have been trying to compact the ectoplasmic matter so dense, that another unique aggregate state could be achieved. In this state the ectoplasm is turned into a glowing red mass that dances in bright red light in front of the cabinet, controlled by the Chemists. They claimed to have turned the ecto- plasmic substance into glowing pure Free-standing ectoplasmic column building up, photographed a few minutes before faces were showing in the substance The sitters were

shown that a certain state of the ectoplasm could be used to exhibit other human features like faces. A thick mass of white was showing first the profile a female Indian face, obviously larger than normal, and shortly after, a smaller face, both in midst of the ectoplasmic mass. This had been witnessed weeks before but was not photographed. There was another presentation of faces in the March séance. Three faces became visible and one of them was immediately recognized by a female sitter as her grand- vital energy. (See photograph below) Visiting Pet The Felix Experimental Group had an exciting, heart- warming experience in April when they were visited by a dog in the séance room. In the presence of several sitters, including a member of the Society for Psychical Research, the deceased dog of the medium “Frieda” was giving signs of survival in the séance room. The group places a luminous, roughly six-inch square plaque on the floor in the middle of the circle. The plaque is usually used by the etheric Continued page 18 Thicker column of ectoplasm with faces. Right is an enlargement of the face. Picture of vital energy Page 9 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Bilateral Stimulation and Afterlife Connections by R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D. (Previously published in the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies’ Searchlight. ) Bilateral stimulation alternately stimulates the left and right sides of the body, resulting in alternating stimulation of the left and right sides of the brain. This bilateral

stimulation causes the person to reprocess memories and patterns of thinking that are disturbing, reducing or eliminating their negative impact on the experiencer. The most common method of bilateral stimulation is through eye movements, used today in a variety of proce- dures: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR),1 Rapid-Eye Technology (RET),2 Eye-Movement Technique (EMT),3 Eye Movement Integra- tion Therapy (EMIT),4 Eye Move- ment Therapy,5 and NLP Eye Movement,6 among others. In these eye-movement bilateral stimulation techniques, the psycho- therapist has the client focus on a disturbing thought and the images that accompany it. She then has the client move his eyes to the left and right, rhythmically. The client con- tinues thinking of the disturbing thought or image and closes his eyes. In a few seconds or minutes, he opens his eyes and describes what came to him in thoughts, images, sensations, or other impres- sions. The psychotherapist tells the client to focus on whatever it was that came up and guides the client through another set of eye move- ments. She leads the client through many of these sets of eye move- ments with new focuses each time based on what the client just expe- rienced. The client’s level of disturbance when thinking of the traumatic thought and accompanying images gradually decreases. The bilateral stimulation has caused the client to reprocess the traumatic thought or image. Bilateral stimulation seems to disrupt the structures of habitual thinking and memories that span the right brain (which processes overall impressions, creativity, intuition,

and random or non-sequential activity), left brain (which processes details, facts, concrete reality, and sequential operations), and limbic system (which processes memory and emotion). The rational, decision-making pre-frontal cortex area of the brain functions weakly when these disturbing memories are accessed, showing that the person isn’t viewing them objectively and rationally. He continues to re-experience them in the left brain, right brain, and limbic system as he experienced them at the time of the trauma. He is “stuck.” It seems that receiving bilateral stimulation while the person is thinking of the disturbing thought or image disrupts the thought and memory pattern in the left brain, right brain, and limbic system so the person “reprocesses” the thought and accompanying images. After a period of eye-movement bilateral stimulation, negative emotions from traumatic thoughts and images diminish in intensity, and at times are replaced by more rational thoughts and images. The limbic system becomes less involved and the pre-frontal cortex shows more activity. Eye-move- ment bilateral stimulation is now used to alleviate anxiety, fears, nightmares, dysfunctional life pat- terns, and the traumas connected with combat and with sexual, phys- ical, and emotional abuse. In the mid-1990s, some unusual occurrences began in the offices of psychotherapists using this method. Laurel Parnell, Ph.D., wrote about a client she called Momi, who was terrified of flying because her best friend, Claudine, had been killed in a plane crash in 1974. Dr. Parnell went through the normal eye-move- ment bilateral stimulation proce- dure to help Momi reprocess

her irrational feelings about flying. After one set of eye movements, Momi closed her eyes and when she opened them, she said that she heard the deceased Claudine speak- ing. Claudine told her, It’s only awful fighting it—that was terrifying. The actual BANG was not awful. And after that it was slightly disorienting—as a spirit—but the worst part of the whole thing was those fearful minutes fighting what was so. What was so awful was confusion and unknow- ingness. We all were terrified, and we were screaming. We all were very afraid and that was hell.7 Dr. Parnell explained, “There’s something about what she said. The other side was fine. . . . Claudine, who’s on the other side, is coming over from the other side . . .” The message had profound effects on Momi’s view of life, death, and flying. That was Dr. Parnell’s goal for the session, so she didn’t explore the apparent afterlife connec- tion further. In her psychotherapy using eye-movement bilateral stimulation, she apparently doesn’t intentionally encourage such afterlife connections. Continued page 11 Volume 30, Number 2 Page 10 Afterlife Connections Continued from page 10 Another psychotherapist whose clients had similar expe- riences while he used eye-movement bilateral stimulation did pursue using the method to facilitate afterlife connec- tions. Allan Botkin, Psy.D., a psychotherapist at a V.A. hospital in the Chicago area trained in the EMDR procedure, had been using eye-movement bilateral stimulation with his combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disor- der for some

time. He was surprised one day in 1995 when a combat veteran sitting in his office having a normal eye-movement bilateral stimulation session described expe- riencing a mental conversation with the deceased woman for whom he was grieving. The experience dramatically reduced the combat veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder. The client was certain he had had an actual conversation with the woman. In the next weeks, other clients described similar experiences. Dr. Botkin determined that his use of eye-movement bilateral stimulation with his suggestion that clients be open to anything that would happen resulted in the experience. He named the procedure induced after-death communica- tion, or IADCTM. Today, over four dozen psychotherapists worldwide are using the technique. The method is strictly limited for use by state-licensed psychotherapists who have been trained in only one of the eye-movement procedures: EMDR. Dr. Botkin reports that around 70 percent of people having an IADCTM procedure sense any form of connection with the deceased, and around 75 percent of those experiences involve only seeing a smiling face or sensing that everything is OK.8 Thus, only 17.5 percent of the experiencers experi- ence messages from the deceased. The IADCTM experience itself normally lasts only 5 to 20 seconds, but may extend to 10 or 15 minutes or longer. The sessions are confined to the normal hour or hour-and-a-half psychotherapy period. They may continue over two or three sessions on different days.9 Concerning whether they originate in the client’s imagi- nation or in an actual afterlife connection,

Dr. Botkin writes, “IADCsTM must either be spiritual experiences or subjective hallucinations generated solely by our mind/brain or inner representation of the deceased that have no relationship to any world that exists separate from us. I believe that if there is an afterlife, then IADCsTM are true spiritual experiences. “He continues later, “. . . although the information provided in this book is very suggestive, it does not in any way constitute proof of an afterlife.” In 2009, a certified EMDR psychotherapist from Wash- ington State named Rochelle Wright received training from Dr. Botkin in the IADCTM method. She had great success in using it with her clients. She soon discovered, however, that while afterlife connections can result from the eye- movement bilateral stimulation, a new procedure must be used to make the afterlife connections more consistently successful, with fuller connections and messages from the deceased. The procedure she developed holds in common with the IADCTM method only the facts that it focuses on the deceased and has eye-movement bilateral stimulation as one component. Other than those two commonalities, the two methods are quite different. She called the new method Guided Afterlife Connections. The first difference is that the Guided Afterlife Connec- tions are grounded in the conviction that they are connec- tions with people living on the next plane of life. They are sacred experiences. Another difference is in the names of the procedures. The name “induced after-death communication” uses the term “induced,” which isn’t descriptive of what happens.

It suggests that the facilitator “causes” the experience, rather like a physician inducing labor in a pregnant woman to hasten birth. In the bilateral stimulation procedures, the facilitator only helps the experiencer come into a state of mind that allows those on the other side of life to unfold the afterlife connection in ways neither the experiencer nor the facilitator could predict. “Afterlife connection” is a more accurate description of what happens. Guided Afterlife Connections also use audio bilateral stimulation along with the eye movements. Throughout the session, the experiencer listens to meditation music playing through earphones, with the volume alternating between the left and right ears to provide bilateral stimulation. Then, during the session, the facilitator adds episodes of the eye-movement bilateral stimulation. Another difference is the IADCsTM procedure is limited to two hour-and-a-half sessions, interrupting the continuity of any connection that occurs during a session. The Guided Afterlife Connections sessions normally start at 10 a.m. and continue into the afternoon, for as long as required. They may last four or five hours. The facilitator and experiencer usually do not stop the procedure; they allow the loved ones on the other side of life to determine when to stop. There is always a clear ending that they signal. Also, during the session, there is no discussion or judg- ment about what the experiencer describes. After a set of eye movements, the experiencer closes her eyes. When she feels she has processed the image she was focusing on, she opens

them and describes what she experienced without judgment or comment by the facilitator. That becomes the focus for the next set of eye movements. This procedure of staying with whatever the experiencer describes continues through the entire session. The result of these differences between the IADCsTM and Guided Afterlife Connections procedures is that to date nearly 100 percent of the Guided Afterlife Connections have been successful, compared with only 70 percent of IADC- sTM. While only 17.5 percent of IADCsTM experiencers have some message from the deceased, nearly all of the Guided Afterlife Connections experiencers receive insightful, life- changing messages, often accompanied by seeing the deceased and sometimes hugging and even kissing. Page 11 Continued page 12 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Afterlife Connections Continued from page 11 While IADCsTM last only five seconds to 10 or 15 minutes, communications with the deceased in Guided Afterlife Connections often continue for hours. This dramatic progress in refining the use of bilateral stimulation in afterlife connections over the short period of a few years suggests that the use of bilateral stimulation to facilitate afterlife connections will continue to become more successful as it is further modified and refined. Rochelle Wright plans to train state-licensed psychotherapists who are not EMDR trained to use the method. I am working to develop a variation that can be used by professionals who are not psychotherapists, such as clergy, hospice adminis- trators, and healthcare providers. References 1. Shapiro, F. and Forrest, M. (2004). EMDR: The Breakthrough “Eye

Movement” Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma. Basic Books. 2. Johnson, R. (1996). Reclaim Your Light. Raintreepress. 3. Freidberg, F. and McKay, M. (2001). Do-It-Yourself Eye Movement Techniques for Emotional Healing. New Harbin- ger. 4. Beaulieu, D. (2003). Eye Movement Integration Therapy: The Comprehensive Clinical Guide. Crown House. 5. Veselak, C. Workshop at The Denver School of Hypnother- apy. (March 2009). 6. O’Connor, J. and Seymour, J. (1990). Introducing Neuro- Linguistic Programming. Mandala [Harper-Collins]. 7. Parnell, L. (1998). Transforming Trauma: EMDR: The Revolutionary New Therapy for Freeing the Mind, Clearing the Body, and Opening the Heart. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, p. 248. 8. Botkin, A., with Hogan, R. (2005). Induced After-Death Communication: A New Therapy for Grief and Trauma. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads, p. 46. 9. Botkin with Hogan, 2005, p. 46. R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D., a writer and trainer of writers with thir- ty-eight years experience. He is director of the Center for Spiritual Understanding and on the boards of the Academy of Spiritual and Paranormal Studies and Association for Evaluation and Communica- tion of Evidence for Survival. See: youreternalself.com Intentionality Continued from page 7 Intention is much the same, in that we might think we want something but there may be numerous unconscious reasons why we do not. This is a common complaint of healers. Some people will say they want to be healed, but they have also become comfortable with their ailment and the social support it might bring. If there is an underlying

concern that the person might not be able to live indepen- dently, being healed might pose unexpected risk and the healing is rejected as a subconscious act by the sitter. It is easy to say that you forgive a transgression, but too common to harbor unconscious anger. Psi functioning is a product of all of our intentionality. If we only think we want something, we are not as likely to create it as we are if we want it with all of our personality. The article about the Fishharp on page six provides one way to manage intention. It appears that, through history, people have learned to use devices and tricks to guide thoughts away from distractions. Just as one might train for the use of a memory aid, it is possible to train the mind to respond in a certain way when a particular path is followed or a specific object is handled. We would like to hear from you as to what you find helpful for entraining your intention. Announcement for Grant 2011 The HRMF for Research into Life After Death by Edgar E. Müller Stockholm, April 2011: The Helene Reeder Fund is pleased to announce the availability of grants for small and medium- sized scientific research projects concerning the issue of life after death. Grants will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 5000 maximum ($730 – $7,300). The topic, Research into Life after Death, should be the main objective of the project. Applications in

English to be submitted by email to the HRF c/o [email protected] should include: Ÿ Detailed description of the project, including the objec- tives of the project Ÿ Methodology Ÿ Cost budget Ÿ Timetable Ÿ Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals, Ÿ CV (Curriculum Vitae) of the applicant Ÿ How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result Ÿ Any other financing than from HRF Applications should be received by 30th of October, 2011. It is the intention of the HRF to evaluate the applications and to make decisions regarding the grants before the end of December. Applicants will be notified by email after the decision and the grants will be payable during December. For further information, please apply to the above email Volume 30, Number 2 address. Page 12 Q&A: Is My Mother Earthbound? Question: We had hauntings investigators conduct an investigation on our home and they feel that I have summoned my mother from her resting place [with EVP] by asking her to come through and now she can’t get back. Reply: There are two viewpoints about the nature of these phenom- ena. One is the faith-based view which includes the assump- tion that demonic forces exist and that people can become “stuck” in physical places. You indicated that the investiga- tive team included a sensitive and based their report on her findings. You were concerned about the unexplained activ- ity in your home, and certainly if the sensitive assumed a

ghost, that is what she would sense. The second viewpoint is that understanding must be based on objective evidence. We have learned to require corrob- orating evidence to support any evidence that has a human influence. You indicated that the investigators also used EVP, and that they reported EVP that you only heard as noise, and claimed it supported what the medium said. We have conducted studies that clearly show people can hear voices in noise that are not there. From our experience, they are probably going to hear voices that agree with their expectations such as a cry for help in a cemetery or a threatening voice in a dark room. EVP can help validate what a medium senses, but only if they are of sufficient quality to be easily understood. From the fifty years since EVP was first documented, we have no record of anyone being held back because of transcommunication, either with instruments or via medi- umship and prayer. Such a thing may not be possible. Recently transitioned people might become stuck or “earth- bound” because they are afraid to “go on.” There are also reasons a person might want to stay “close” to a loved one or a favorite place but self-determination seems to be a pretty firm rule. With that said, we can “call” a loved one to come energetically close to us by expressing the desire for contact, but it is their choice to respond and stay. Robert Monroe once asked one of his

etheric communi- cators what he should do when he sensed the presence of an unseen entity. His communicator replied that he should stop and greet it like an old friend, and then go on with his daily activity. The point is to accept that what you sense may be real, but should be seen as a gift and not threatening. Your smudging your house to make the intruder go away may be more like slamming the door on your visiting mother. Many EVP practitioners have reported a sense of their home being haunted and most find this a good thing. We are always near our etheric friends. It is reasonable to argue that you have loved ones, devic entities like nature spirits and people who try to guide and teach, communicating with you day and night. If you could not filter conscious aware- ness of these contacts, you would have difficulty living the life here that you need to live. Seeking any kind of contact tends to defeat some of that filter. Your mother may be energetically near you as you attempt to communicate with her. The same could be said when you remember her in your prayers. We know of no way you can force her to be near you, but if you are concerned, think of her in your mind and tell her that you want her to be where she needs to be. A most profound message from the other side via EVP was an angelic woman’s

voice saying “Release and remember.” Report on JOTTS Each moment is a doorway to time travel....By Maggie-me, flickr.com/photos/maggie-me/ Allison Sniffin read the story on JOTTS (discontinuities with time and space) in the last NewsJournal and wanted to report on some of her experiences. 1. Winter, 2010: I was putting shelves up in my mom's house. At one point a nail dropped in the middle of the floor and when I turned to look for it, it was gone. I gave up searching and went to get another nail. That’s when the lost nail reappeared in the middle of the floor. A medium asked my mother about it and commented to me, “she reacted like a mischievous imp and laughed in a playful sort of way.” 2. Spring, 2010: The woman who looks after my mother's house lost her cell phone. A month later it appeared in the passenger seat of Mom's car, during an afternoon when I was driving the car and talking aloud to my mom, visiting several of her favorite old haunts. 3. April, 2011: I uncorked a bottle of wine in Mom's house and promptly lost the cork. I tore up the kitchen looking for it. Days later, when the bottle was finished and I was preparing to leave Mom's house, the cork reappeared, laying in the drawer next to the corkscrew. When I asked a medium friend about it he said, “[Your mom’s] reaction to the wine cork incident is quite mischievous, as if while saying

‘not me!’ she does so while giggling with a playfully knowing smile.” Last night my medium friend did an imitation of my mother's reaction. It looked just like her! He commented that he finds my mother easy to get because her expressions are so “theatrical.” Page 13 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Risen by August Goforth The one word that best describes the nearly indescribable process of our book’s emergence into the earthly world would be “orchestrated.” Imagine an orchestra: a large, organized structure that contains many individuals from many backgrounds, talents and education, striving to act as one, synchronizing to produce an intricately scripted work of love and inspiration that is both complete and imperfect; finished but not over; the same yet different with each listening. Over fifteen hundred individual intelligences of various ranges of intelligence, status, self-awareness, and time-spans have been coming together for years, even before Tim and I were born, waiting for the right conditions and people to align at the precise time to manifest the book, The Risen – Dialogues of Love, Grief, & Survival: 21st Century Reports from the After- life Through Contemplative, Intuitive, & Physical Mediumship. All the countless experiences that have shaped Tim’s life and mine, including the moment we met and realized we loved one another; our personal endeavors, triumphs and setbacks; Tim’s illness and transition, even our ancestral lines; everything contrib- uted to achieving those conditions that enabled this book to be. All this and so much more orchestrated

by Spirit. We are but two of the innumerable instru- ments of this exquisite spiritual orchestration. We have been watched over, loved, guided, nudged, encouraged, exasperated, restrained, protected and even tickled by spirit guides to prepare us for the closing chapter of our lives known as “The Earthly Days of Tim and August.” I was not, however, prepared for the next chapter, which I call “Tim Rises.” Apparently Tim already knew it, which accounts for the cat-that-got-the-canary look I knew so well but never thought I’d see again. Yet I did see it again, one quiet evening while I was typing away on my computer. In the book I share about this momentous event: It happened suddenly and vibrantly, like a silent firecracker. One moment I was typing away, oblivi- ous to anything other than my own thoughts, and then something, a movement perhaps, caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I automatically turned my head to glance in the direction of the bed, which was just to my right and only a few feet from me. And there was Tim, sitting on the bed, a huge grin on his face, his legs crossed at the ankles and hands calmly folded in his lap! Startled out of my wits, I screamed. Who wouldn’t? Books crashed to the floor as I sprang to my feet. In that same instant, he was gone. No “POP” or fading away. He was just sud- denly not there. But his appearance was

long enough to turn my world completely inside out, and set in motion an adventure I never could have conceived on my own, and one that is far from over. The spirit orchestra had sent a very charming prince to awaken me and get the story moving to the next level. As it was meant to, the experience catalyzed sleeping abilities within me that had been lying in wait for that very moment. I “came to” and began remembering childhood events that involved Risen spirit people actively involved in my conscious presence. I had already been having conscious numinous events in my life for many years since I was a teenager: intense, out-of-body experiences, lucid astral wanderings, fairy thievery, spirit apports, voices and lights in the darkness, and something I came to call “the gong,” all of which inspired me to explore, learn, comprehend and record. Now, with the memories awakened by Tim’s return, everything began to come together, and to make enough sense to realize that all those things I more or less had been treating as “typical” were adding up to the atypical actuality that I was some type of spirit medium. But where had Tim been in the time he had “died” almost five years before his re-entry into my world? When Tim had learned that he had contracted HIV, he ended our relation- ship abruptly without explanation, and severed all ties with our friends before joining an ashram in the hills to isolate. Within two short

years, his HIV progressed to AIDS. He became too ill to stay there, and was taken to his parents’ home. He became deaf and blind. Ever the vain aristocrat, he was ashamed to let me see his wasted body, and so we reunited over the phone. After another year of grim strug- gling, Tim transitioned on a Christmas Eve. He later shared some details: I spent a great deal of time in bed during my final days of illness on the earth. There were many spirit healers who revitalized my own spirit energy, explaining what to expect as my earth life neared its natural conclusion. It felt like I was trying to get a stubborn zipper on a coat unstuck … … I have no memory of the actual moment when that happened. Instead of coming in and out of drugged awareness on the earth, I was coming in and out of a deep sleep state on the Risen Side. Tim was taken to a Risen recovery and healing center: It was as if curtains in the room were gradually opening up a little bit at a time, letting in more and more light. When I came to, I felt totally clear- headed, rested and whole, as if I’d slept a million years and Continued page 15 Timothy Gray Volume 30, Number 2 Page 14 The Risen Continued from page 14 I could see and hear perfectly. My cat, Bigfoot, was resting beside me and gazing serenely out into the

space before him. I followed his gaze and saw that an ocean was before us; the most beautiful light-filled ocean of every color of blue I’d ever seen and not seen. The waves rolling in on the surf sounded as shimmering chords of perfectly harmonious music. Now that Tim and I could communicate intimately and directly, mind-to-mind – what might be called “interpene- trating mental-heart-speak” – our relationship reignited. I had to struggle with many things, including that this “new Tim” was not the one that still haunted my memories. “I’m not there anymore,” he’d repeat many times, “I’m here.” With work, I’ve come to experience what this means, to my great joy. Tim shared that his physical appearance to me had been orchestrated by a very large “team” of people in spirit, which we call “The Risen.” They had been waiting to begin the phase where we could help them with certain experi- ments, designed to activate particular events to explore how our two dimensions or “geographies,” as we say, might be brought closer together. Our love energized the achievement of some astounding things, as we were instructed in sophis- ticated Risen psychospiritual systems, sciences, and other arts to accomplish Tim’s physical manifestation directly into my arms, and even once in broad daylight on a subway train. Several messages he left for me on my answering machine were deemed great successes, in spite of my disappointment of not hearing him “live” (no pun intended!). Some years had passed since

his transition to a Risen geography. It was during the last day of my stay at The Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia, not long after 9/11, that Tim came to me during one of the many “altered conscious- ness sessions” I had been undergoing all week. “How would you like to help us write a book?” he asked in innocent tones. “What kind of book?” “Oh, you know, all the tons of stuff you’ve been docu- menting about your experiences and our work with the Risen for so many years now… it would be interesting and we’d get to write something together.” (Tim had been a writer and editor when on the earth.) And in my Monroe-blissed stupor, I succumbed to a prince’s charming ways with a simple “yes” with no further questions or real understanding of what I’d gotten myself into. I also promptly forgot all about it until about a month later when I was taking a much-needed run through the woods near my home on an Indian summer’s afternoon. Tim appeared to me out of the shadows of the forest, and as we often did, teased each other a bit at first, and then he asked again. “Anyway, what about our book? Still want to do it?” “As long as you’re doing it with me, then yes, I do. It’s an intriguing idea, but remind me, why are we doing it?” “It’s time.” “It’s time? I thought you didn’t have ‘time’ there? Typical. You spirit people can

be so enigmatic.” “We can be enigmatic, but never typical, Aug. You know we don’t waste words. I’m talking about ‘time’ in terms of the present. That’s all we ever have; the present. And hey, you’re a spirit person, too, you know.” “Ok, Tim, I should know better than to try to ask for too many details at once, much less debate with you. So where do we begin?” “Well, August, that’s a subject pretty much left alone for now. I’d say we’ve already begun, wouldn’t you?” And then he was gone, and as the Risen often go, without drama, sparks, bells or whistles – usually. Gone, but not away; far, but not forever. There, but not here. I sighed, a mixture of serenity tinged with an unfathomable sadness, knowing that it would be some “time” before I could finally and at last be there, as a Risen One, fully sharing life once again with the one I want to love forever. Almost eight years later, the book became a manifested reality. Many of the primary differences between the Risen and non-Risen are psychological, or more precisely, psy- chospiritual in nature. Our book could be seen as a kind of “psycho-spiritual-logical” primer and guide that introduces non-terrestrial, Risen thought systems and behavioral concepts about how much more a human spirit being is and can be. It carefully brings attention to and focuses on those mental and emotional aspects that are interfering with being psychologically free enough to dispense with the

fear of death, to enable spiritual connections with previously hidden or unsensed realities, and to even communicate with other aware, alive, conscious beings in those realities. Because The Risen is not “Mediumship 101” or “Afterlife for Dummies,” it is not unexpected that in this “Age of Instant Gratification” many readers may not have or even want the experience or skills necessary to endure the mystification, perplexity and even anxiety this challenging book may stimulate. Yet these are actually positive effects, and direct evidence of how the Universe mysteriously stimulates us to creatively move from inert spiritual couch potatoes to someplace else wholly different. However you decide to travel, Tim and I wish you well on your journey, and want you to rest in the knowing that you are never alone. The Risen Dialogues of Love, Grief, & Survival: 21st Century Reports from the Afterlife Through Contemplative, Intuitive, & Physical Mediumship by August Goforth and Timothy Gray therisenbooks.com 2009, Tempest in a Teapot Books, ISBN-10: 9780578031316 Page 15 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal News About Members Ÿ Both Margaret Downey and David Schmincke were on the “My Ghost Story” television program in the past few months. Margaret’s episode showed many of her ITC pictures using her moving water technique. In particular Picture of Denise Snyder’s son Jerome (left) and ITC by Margaret using light reflected from moving water. they highlighted the picture that Margaret got of Denise Snyder’s son Jerome. They interviewed both Margaret and Denise and even show a session

with the two of them recording for EVP . They also played several of Marga- at ret’s EVP. You youtube.com/ITCdeadpeople. See more of Margaret’s work at itcdeadpeople.com. We also had an article about Jerome in the Spring 2009 NewsJournal. It is on the website in the Circles section. segment can see the Ÿ Dave Schmincke’s episode was about a house his group, Pasadena Paranormal Society, investigated in 2008 where a woman kept feeling something crawl on her bed. The producers have contacted Dave’s group looking for additional stories for their next installment. If anyone is interested in having their story considered, email Dave at [email protected]. His group was on the first segment of episode thirteen, titled “Spooky Sleep.” Ÿ Michael Tymn’s new book, The Afterlife Revealed, sets forth some of the most credible messages from the spirits rela- tive to the nature of their world. Instead of a heaven-hell dichotomy, we are told that there are many levels, or as Jesus is quoted, “many mansions,” and that we cross over to the “other side” based on what might be called a “moral specific gravity.” We discover a Divine plan – one of attainment and attunement, of gradual spiritual growth, of evolution of spirit through progressively higher planes. We see how we are really souls occupying bodies rather than bodies housing souls and how our souls are progressing in finding their way back to Oneness with the Creator through the challenges, the adversities, the trials and tribulations offered us in a

particular lifetime. The book is available at amazon via front page of atransc.org. Michael is the vice-president of the Academy of Spiri- tuality and Paranormal Studies, Inc., and editor of the Academy’s quarterly magazine, The Searchlight. A Report of an Experiment with The Yellow Cloud Circle by August Goforth [Editor: The Yellow Cloud Circle of Eternal Illumination is based out of Montcabriol France (montcabirol.com). They are a physical phenomena circle with the principle sitters being physical medium Tom Morris and his partner healing medium Kevin Lawrenson. In April and May, they demonstrated in New York City. August was able to attend the first and last séances and had thought of an experiment to conduct with colleague Melvin Morse if the entities working with the Yellow Cloud Circle agreed. This is what took place in the second sitting.] Halfway through the sitting, I shared with John Sloane* that some colleagues of mine and I had devised an experiment where they were presently sitting in open readiness in a prepared space in their home in another U.S. state (Dr. Melvin Morse and Pauline Morse). I did not identify them by name or location, but merely asked if John could somehow make himself evidentially known to them. John replied that he would be most happy to try…. He then proposed that, within a time frame of the next ten minutes, he would try to cause some rapping noises, “at least three of them” and maybe “a few other things” at the location of

our mystery sitters. It was noted that the time was approxi- mately 7:45pm. After the sitting was over and I was back in the car on my way home, I texted Melvin: “Just finished. Anything happen @ 7:45pm … noises?” In less than thirty seconds, he texted back: “Banging and rapping sounds. Breezes, whistling. Shuffling. Two bangs or thuds that we thought were people hitting the house… felt the Risen’s presence throughout, older men old fash- ioned suits.” I responded: “During séance I mentioned our sitting and asked spirit to send signs. They said they would try for window of 10 minutes and would rap at least three times on our walls and try to make other noises.” Melvin’s next and final text for the night: “Direct contact so loud we had a discussion, the whole rapping phenomena as we had thought table rapping etc. was thing of the past. Two loud bangs on exterior walls of house by room we were in, but could have been more, we were not prepared for it. Let’s talk tomorrow we are exhausted, Pauline frazzled.” Rapturous success! Clearly, the Morse’s had not expected what had happened, and needed some time to wrap their minds around it, so we will let the matter rest for now at this point. For a full report on the sitting from August see therisenbooks.com/Documents/Yellow%20Cloud_NYC_M ay_2011.pdf *John Campbell Sloan (1869–1931) of Scotland was a remarkable direct-voice spirit medium. He was investigated and written about in great detail by the

psychic researcher, writer and historian, Arthur Findlay. Volume 30, Number 2 Page 16 I Was a Skeptic by Chris My dad, Jerry, died last month and since then we have had numerous and very powerful contacts. Some of the experi- ences can be dismissed by a skeptic but others have no explanation. A month ago, I believed that when you died, that’s it. That’s what my dad believed as well so I’m sure he’s thrilled to know that there is more than just life. The first contact was the night he died. My mom and I left the hospital and were up late drinking some wine and talking. At exactly 3:30 a.m., the TV just turned off on its own as if to say, “Cut the crap, you’ve got a long day tomorrow.” This could be a normal resetting of the TV, who knows? A few days later, we were out to dinner and my mom was writing a bunch of meaningless letters on a coaster. We asked if she was okay, and she said she was fine, but she was kind of in her own world. She seemed sad and we just figured what she was doing was meaningful to her. Later that night, I received a call from my mom at 3:30 a.m. saying that my car alarm was going off at her house (I could hear it in the background of the phone). I had left my car there and was borrowing my dad’s car since my

registration had expired. I only live five minutes away and was going to come over to turn it off (she didn’t have any keys) but it went off on its own so we got off the phone. Ten minutes later, the same thing happened. She asked me what I did when this happened and I told her that it had never happened before. I was exhausted so when it stopped, I was relieved but told her to call me if it happened again. Ten minutes later, she called, so I got in the car and drove over. By the time I got there, it had stopped. I started the car and drove it ten feet just to reset the locks and all. The weird thing is that the car was not even locked so the alarm should never have been disabled. It’s also important to say that she lives on a very quiet, crime-free cul-de-sac in the suburbs. I went home and had left her with the clicker to turn the alarm off just in case it happened again. Sure enough, right when I got back in bed (4:30 a.m.?), she calls again and says that the clicker was not helping. She also said the lights turned on by themselves. I was incredibly annoyed and frustrated figuring that after the horrible last few days, now I have a malfunctioning car that is going to annoy every neighbor. She then said it stopped. Once again, it goes off and she calls.

My wife offered to go over and switch out cars. She drove my dad’s car there and was going to take my car back so that if it happened in my neighborhood, we could then take it to a shopping center so it would stop bothering people and we could just let it go off as much as it wanted and deal with it the next day. She Jerry returned and the car alarm never went off again. The next morning at breakfast, my mom asked me to tell the story to family who were in town. I told it as far as I knew, to the point above. My mom then stated that after my wife left, the alarm then started happening with my dad’s car! It happened a couple hours after the first alarm and also in the morning. Numer- ous neighbors came out in the morning wondering if it was their car and even more stated they heard the alarms when we saw them at the wake, so we didn’t imagine it. Perhaps equally as shocking was the fact that my mom informed us that the night before at dinner, she was writing the letters “hinysmpcm” on the napkin. They were the first letters in the phrase, “Honey, I need you so much, please contact me.” I find it important to state that I am normal in most every way. I was raised in a healthy household with loving parents. I’m married and have two children of

my own. I’ve had the same job for eight years and have a master’s degree in psychology. Additionally, I am a Certified Brain Injury Specialist so I know all about brain and cognitive functions and how the brain can interpret information incorrectly. I also have no drug or mental health issues. Before this occurred, I was a complete skeptic. I wanted to believe and in my dad’s final moments, I spoke to him about death and eternal life but to be honest, I was just trying to comfort him. I really didn’t think anything happened after we died. After all, I’m a psychologist and this can’t be explained scientifically. My mom is perhaps even more normal than I am with a master’s degree in teaching and a life most typical in every way. Before this happened, I would even dismiss a story like the one I have just shared. I’d figure that there is something that the person did not account for. They must have overlooked some detail. Additionally, since I know a lot about the brain, I know it is capable of believing what it wants to believe. But even with the Scientific Method of Doubt, I can’t figure out this one. I live in Virginia; no earthquakes. Maybe it was a burglar or kid playing in the neighborhood; but he would have had to have been invisible and very persistent (doing this from 3:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.). They are two different types and makes of car so

there was no common malfunction. Maybe both cars need work but neither have done it again. Since then, we’ve had a ton of other contacts. There were fire alarms on both floors of the house the morning of the funeral. The kids were screaming and the dog was trying to go through the wooden blinds. (This is definitely not a dog who will be written up for alerting its owner that the house is on fire: he will be the first one out the door.) Page 17 Continued page 18 Summer 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Felix Circle Continued from page 9 Continued from page 17 I Was a Skeptic Mom asked him not to do any more things that were loud and scary. After this the lights flickered everywhere in the house for a few days. The phone alarms would go off at significant times and specific days that were important. The phone alarms were never set. We have had some other more psychological stuff like compulsions to look in odd places for something that only he knew where it was and sure enough, it would be there. I can’t figure any of this stuff out and have simply stopped questioning it. communicators to show the shape of a hand by momentarily occluding the luminous surface. Instead, a small paw unexpectedly became visible. After that, the etheric dog did her typical demand-behavior, frequently touching a knee of the sitter with her paw as if wanting a treat. Her tail was

wagging enthusiastically and touched the lower legs of many sitters. Finally she could be smelled and the main control announced her actual presence! The sitters were totally overwhelmed by this heart-warming event and so was the medium, Kai, after he was brought back at the end of the séance. He wants everyone to know that our beloved pets survive and can visit us in the séance room! * Hans Bender is a deceased professor who was involved with parapsychology at the University of Freiburg. Tom Butler: Essayist! Many of you know that Tom is something of a closet activist. Trying to represent things paranormal as an editor in Wikipe- dia has made him that way. You might become an activist as well if you examine the way main- stream society is being taught to think about our work. Tom has written a series of essays for the Internet intended to tell our side of the story about who we are. If there are enough links to the essays, they will move to or near the top of the search results for such titles as Pseudoscience and Skeptic. You can help this happen by referencing the essays in your writing. Tell friends, and if you have a website or blog, include a link to one or all of them. The picture here can be used with an embedded link. He has the essays on his personal website at ethericstudies.org/culture.htm. As the icon indicates, the essays are written to represent most frontier

subjects. The idea is to build a better bridge of understanding between we who study frontier subjects and the mainstream community. Jerry and Sandy with the grand kids My dad died fairly young and unexpectedly. He didn’t want to leave my mom and was not ready to die. It has been incredibly comforting to know that he is still around in some fashion. It must be important for him to let my mom know he is okay. I hear that some spirits are better than others at this kind of stuff. I don’t know if it makes a difference but my dad was insanely sensitive (despite a tough military exterior), very caring and very stubborn and determined. Maybe that helps with contact? I don’t pretend to have all the answers. The Transition of Garrett Husveth We are sorry to announce that long- time member, Garrett Husveth, made his transition in April 2011. He had been dedicated to systematic haunt- ings investigation and was an impor- tant ATransC supporter. The Fall 2004 ATransC NewsJour- nal included the article, “Real Haunt- ing Investigations Being Filmed,” which provides a sense of the professionalism Garrett brought to hauntings investigation. He was also training for forensic voice analysis certification, a tool that has consid- erable potential value for EVP study. As Margaret Downey noted, he is probably hanging out with Debbie Caruso so look for him in your EVP. Volume 30, Number 2 Page 18 Researcher Reports Ÿ Susie Alverson wrote, “I was transcribing an

old medium session from 2008 and clearly heard my middle son’s name spoken in an EVP as the medium was speaking. The medium was telling me how Lance (was telling her) he had given me and my older son, Seth, some of the same dreams in which he and Seth were together. At the time of the reading, I replied, ‘Not that I know of’ because I had forgotten the dream I had had a few nights earlier of Seth picking Lance up along the roadside in the country. I recorded it the night I had it because it felt different. “When I responded to the medium with, ‘Not that I know of,’ Lance responded to the medium with, ‘Yes you do remember. Go look in your book. You wrote it down.’ He was exactly right. After the session I made a beeline for my journal and there it was; the dream Lance had said that I had recorded. I also called Seth to see if he could remember any dreams of him and Lance together and he described the same dream I had recorded in my journal.” Ÿ Rhonda Burton wrote, “I’m somewhat recovered from the horrible weather here in Little Rock. My poor car was badly damaged by hail the size of golf balls. The funnel cloud went right over us and later touched down, causing death and destruction. We’re going to have another round tonight, not real excited about that! “This afternoon, I was checking out my

emails and my Yorkie puppy was being very cute, but annoying, biting my fingers as I typed. I was laughing at him and had the feeling to start recording, which I did. I used no back- ground noise. I believe I’m hearing, ‘Mommy, I love you’ (recorded using my Olympus 4100).” [Editors: Our thoughts and prayers go to everyone who has been affected by these terrible storms this year.] Ÿ Margaret Downey did a recording for the Big Circle and got “It’s Rob.” Rob is Karen Mossey’s son. She also got “Joe Moster,” who is a friend’s dad who recently passed, and a man’s voice saying “We have Debbie.” Then, “Just wait.” Margaret says maybe this meant Debbie wasn't ready. And then another man said, “Debbie, start talk- ing!” But Debbie didn’t come through (“Debbie” is Debbie Caruso, a member now on the other side.) David Mierzwinski was experimenting using a cell phone to call his computer and recording the computer’s receive side of the call. He was also rubbing a mesh paint filter against the cell phone antenna. He wrote “First I hear a voice saying ‘Go ahead,’ like a coach and then the name ‘Go ahead ... Jim Overman.’ This is a very clear EVP. Ÿ Jutta Liebmann wrote to us to say, “In the course of one of my EVP experiments, I usually received from time to time some convincing EVP-messages replying to my questions, but in most cases, the voices are unfortunately rather faint. However, I

would like to share one important EVP-message with you. A voice called out to me in German: ‘Die Seele schützen’! (Translated: Protect your soul!). I guess that this warning message probably refers to the stressful conditions at my workplace, where a lot of restructuring procedures are still going on, that are not quite positive for me. The entities on the other side knew about my situation, although I did not directly ask them for advice during this relevant EVP experiment.” Ÿ Lorie McMorrow did some recording in her mom’s house. She wrote, “I went into the kitchen and noticing my brother Kevin’s picture that Mom has displayed, decided to ask if he wanted to say anything about our sister Kim who’s coming to visit at the end of May. When I played the recording back I discovered that a split second before I had asked that question he had already said, ‘Tell Sister hi!’ I then asked if he wanted to say anything to Mom and heard, ‘Hey Mom, it’s Kevin. Love you!’ “I also picked up a man’s voice saying, ‘Frank.’ Then someone says ‘Why Frank?’ When my neighbor Frank passed the day after Christmas, I remember at his funeral the priest said several times, ‘Why Frank?’ then ‘Why not Frank?’ Trying to make the point that there’s a time for each of us. Maybe Frank was making reference to that.” Ÿ Mark Pierce wrote, “I have been conducting EVP sessions in a barn behind my house for about

a year. I sometimes ask them to knock twice if there is someone present. The interesting thing about this example of knocking is that I got a response immediately after the question and another a bit later in what sounds like a different location. We have gone to the use of recorders in each of the two main rooms. We sit in the main room, and ask questions and listen to both recorders to see what we get. If I get something on one, I check the other to see if I pick it up on both. I have had to rule out several really interesting EVP because I picked them up on both machines.” Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “On the recent anniversary of my mother’s transition … I noticed that my cellphone was flashing a red and yellow, ‘Messaging Center’ message. I pressed something on the phone--I don’t remember what, maybe, ‘OK,’ and an electronic voice prompted me to speak the name of the person I was trying to call. ‘Might as well try my mom,’ I though, so I said, ‘Shirlie’ into the phone (my mother's name is still in my list of contacts) but instead of calling Shirlie the satellite called ‘Allison’ at an old number.” Ÿ Jayne Thompson was recording and asked her father if he remembered going to the pond and what did they do there. She recorded “Skip stones,” which is correct. She also asked what they did Sundays and recorded “Read comics” which

is also correct. She asked about her dog Pepper and recorded “Pepper, feed Pepper.” She asked if Pepper was there could he bark and she recorded a dog bark. Ÿ Gregory Treas conducted an EVP session asking for people in the Big Circle. He got “Jennifer” who is Rhonda Burton’s daughter. Rhonda had an article about Jen in the last NewsJournal. He also got the name “Lily” who is an aunt of Yvonne Whybra. Page 19 Summer 2011 Book Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Book Review: The Energy Cure Unraveling the Mystery of Hands-On Healing by William Bengston, Ph.D. Sociology How does thought travel from here to there? Researchers speculate there is a subtle energy that may not be influenced by distance or time. This subtle energy is thought to be influenced by intentionality, and the only way it can be measured appears to be by studying its effects. So while the beneficial effects of energy healing are studied, researchers are simultaneously studying the nature of this subtle energy. William Bengston has written an entertaining account about how he met a person who was a natural energy healer. He describes how he learned the healing craft and how he was able to develop protocols for studying healing in controlled conditions. Bengston has proven the effectiveness of his energy healing technique in ten controlled animal experiments conducted in five university laboratories by producing cures of transplanted mammary cancer and sarcomas in experimental mice. Yes, documented full cures of deadly forms of cancer. With

our training in several forms of energy healing, we can recognize the reasonableness of Dr. Bengston’s technique, research protocols and many of the conclusions he has drawn. In fact, we are deeply impressed with his objectivity, and yes, with his talent. One of the most important differences we see between commonly accepted healing protocols such as therapeutic touch or Reiki and Bengston’s technique is what he calls “cycling.” In cycling, the practitioner develops a list of some twenty goals with clear imagery depicting successful attainment. For instance, we might include receiving the funding needed for a major study of transcommunication and visualize attainment of the goal by seeing us celebrate publication of a successful research report. The practitioner learns to rapidly cycle through these objectives while intending to heal – either local or distant. While the usual method is to concentrate on the healing, this method takes the healer’s mind (and doubts) out of the process. We would like to see many people read this book, work with the technique for a time and report back to ATransC in the Idea Exchange. There is no doubt energy healing can be effective. There is no doubt that we can all benefit by learning to be healers. Sounds True Publishing, 2010, ISBN-10: 9781591799115, soundstrue.com. See also: bengstonresearch.com . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C

s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use it for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age.

I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 30, Number 2 Page 20 Viewpoint Fall 2011, Volume 30 Number 3 Windbridge EVPmaker Study As many of you may remember, ATransC contracted with the Windbridge Research Institute to conduct a study about the possibility of using EVPmaker with allophones for real-time transcommunication. That was June, 2008. At last, the final report has been published! Windbridge had refused to let us talk about the study in public out of concern that information made public could somehow compromise the study. It has been a very frustrating three years. A final report was delivered to us over a year ago, but again, until the study was published we were asked not to discuss it. The study published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration is negative for EVP. We feel that there were a lot of problems with the study and we address these concerns on page 10. It is a little long, but we think it is important that members understand the obstacles posed by looking to academically trained scientists to study our work. England and Switzerland As reported in the Winter

2011 NewsJournal, we attended the Stewart Alexander and Friends conference at the Cober Hill con- ference center near Scarborough, England, October of last year. This year, we have been given the opportunity to speak at the conference about ATransC and our current understanding about transcommunication. Two other members of the Stewart Alexander Socrates Circle (our development circle) will accompany us so that they can attend the public demonstration provided by Stewart during the conference. This is an important opportunity for our circle members to learn from a true veteran in the field. As reported in the Fall 2010 NewsJournal, we also sat with the Felix Experimental Group in Ger- many. The group will be demon- strating while we are in Europe, at Basler Psi-Verein, Switzerland (www.bpv.ch). Their medium, Kai Muegge, has made arrangements for us to also sit with them. Kai Muegge, Felix Experimental Group Besides experiencing amazing phenomena and learning more about physical mediumship, it is our hope the experi- ence will help our group begin experiencing more phenom- ena. Naturally, we will report the trip to you, as well as progress in our circle as things develop. Idea Exchange The discussion board was recently upgraded to a more modern and manageable one which includes a photo gallery, chat room and blog tools. As we learned after the purchase, there was no “Recent Posts” tool, making it difficult for people to know where to look for new posts. That has finally been fixed and the board really is ready

for your use. The board is closed to the public so that members may discuss ideas in private. ATransC is an all volunteer organization and we depend on members helping members in the Idea Exchange or through private communication. Your participation in the board is a way that you can help us and others. The board is an effective tool for managing group experiments. One has just begun in the technical forum titled Asking the Other Side. We are trying to gather information about the other side that will give us a better sense of how our communicators see their world. Participants are asked to submit Class A or B transform EVP (ordinary recorder and possible noise background) that can be easily under- stood by the average person without coaching. Any member can participate and the example does not need to be new. We look forward to your participation in this project. The meaning of phenomena we study Perhaps we spend so much time seeking proof of these phenomena that we miss the main purpose for our study. There is an old saying in metaphysics that, “Our lot is to learn, but having learned, our lot is to teach.” Yes, we are always learning, but sooner or later, there will be opportu- nities for each of us to mentor others. That time will certainly come, but will you be ready? The first question we must ask ourselves is whether or not we understand the meaning of all that we have

learned. Information is of little use without comprehension, but even with comprehension, there remains that nagging question: “So what?” So you believe in your immortality and you have internalized that belief as personal knowledge. So what does that imply? The answer to “So what” is what you will be called on to communicate to those you might mentor. Continued page 18 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Pardy----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Sitting with the Bill Meadows Circle--------------------------------------------------------------------4 Communicators of the Meadows Circle----------------------------------------------------------------5 What Happens When You Die?--------------------------------------------------------------------------6 There is No Death-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now? ------------------------------------------------10 Debbie Caruso’s Son Joey-------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Trance Entrainment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 Electronic Voice Phenomena is Affected by Solar Weather--------------------------------------14 Faces in Reflected Light----------------------------------------------------------------------------------16 Shop Online Via ATransC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------16 Visual ITC in Glass----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17 An Exciting Experience----------------------------------------------------------------------------------17 Big Circle Recording Dates------------------------------------------------------------------------------18 Researchers’ Reports-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19 News From Members-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to

the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Board: Tom and Lisa Butler (Directors), Martha Copeland, Margaret Downey, Debra Caruso, Sandy Pfortmiller and Janice Oberding. Opinions expressed in contributed articles do not necessarily reflect ATransC views and policy. Volunteers: NewsJournal Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler NewsJournal Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Idea Exchange: Margaret Downey atransc.org

Webmaster: Tom Butler Fall 2011 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Edward Blasco Martha Copeland Inge Crosson Deborah Estep Cindy Heinen Don and Betty Nauratil Mark Tominac Supporters Jean Estrade Mark Pierce Volume 30, Number 3 Page 2 Pardy by Lorie McMorrow The next morning when I told Mom about the dream, she said that she had been feeling so bad the night before about my having just lost Callie and now especially going through this with Pardy; being so close to him. So she asked Kevin if he could come to me in a dream that night to reassure me, or if he couldn’t that he should send Grandpa or Great Grandma who loved animals. But I think he did even better, he sent Rosie and Callie! I think he wanted me to see how healthy they are now and to know that they’re all waiting for Pardy. August 1, 2011: Pardy crossed over this morning. At 4:00 a.m. he began having some problems. I sat with him and rubbed his ears and kept my hand on his back. He seemed peaceful, so I asked Kevin to sit with him while I went out in the kitchen to feed Toshi. I’ve been trying to be strong and keep my emotions good for Pardy, but I just started crying and went over to Kevin’s picture and asked him if he’d come get him now. It was so hard seeing him like that.

I then got a little spray bottle so I could spray a little water in his mouth to keep it moist and went to sit with him again. But when I went back in the bedroom, he had gone. I think Pardy with Callie Kevin must have taken him right after I asked. I’m so happy that he’s in spirit now and can see clearly, run and walk, has Kevin, Grandpa, Rosie, Callie everyone there to greet him! But at the same time I can’t stop crying as I wash his bedding, put away his eye-drops and all his other things. I see him walking around the house and yard. Oh, it’ll just take time. He’s the sweetest, gentlest soul I’ve ever known, always there for me and he taught me so much about unconditional love. I know he and Kev will be the first to greet me when I cross over. I’ll just miss holding him and having him around in the meanwhile. I know though that with Kev’s help, his sweet little spirit will find a way to give me a glimpse of his continuing life. Page 3 Continued page 16 Fall 2011 Pardy July 27, 2011: I woke up at about 3:30 this morning since Pardy was moving around trying to get up out of his bed. He’s very weak and in his final days. When I went back to sleep sometime later I had a very vivid dream. I was at home and noticed water on

the floor. I thought that it must be another leak. (Last week I had two broken sprinkler lines in the yard and the City of Las Cruces water main in front of the house also developed a leak, not to mention Pardy’s emergency trip to the vet for an eye injury, the fire alarm in the house going off and the front door handle falling off!) In Oriental medicine the water element is associated with the kidneys and I was wondering if someone was trying to warn me about Pardy’s chronic kidney failure. Then, a couple days ago he progressed to end stage. In the dream after seeing the water, I heard a “Meow,” which I instantly recognized as being Callie, my cat who passed a couple of weeks ago. I then saw her come walking across the living room to where I was standing by the kitchen. She looked so vibrant and healthy! She meowed again and I knew she wanted to be fed which she often had been demanding about. I went to tell my husband Chris, saying, “You’re not going to believe this, but Callie is here.” He then saw her too. After he left, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and when I looked, I couldn’t believe it, here was Rosie Kitty walking towards me. She looked like a big cat and very healthy too, like she used to look before she got sick with kidney failure the last couple years

of her life, and became very thin. She passed four years ago. Rosie, who rarely ever meowed, just sat down and looked at me as if to say, “I’m here too, don’t forget about me!” I picked her up and hugged her saying, “Rosie, I haven’t seen you for so long!” I called Chris to come see her and then woke up. I could still feel myself hugging her, her silky fur and how solid she was! Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sitting with the Bill Meadows Circle by Lisa Butler In June, we had an opportunity to sit with the Bill Meadows Circle–twice. They are an English group who have recently demonstrated at Jenny’s Sanctuary near London (jennyssanctuary.org.uk/) and at Basler PSI in Basel, Switzerland (bpv.ch/eng/speakers.html). They sit at other locations but because they have no website you only hear about many sittings through word of mouth. drumsticks. They had illuminated tips which could be seen flashing in the dark as the sticks were used to play a small drum as well as the table, floor and each other. During the first séance, we were treated to the arrival of two small children. They did not say much but with a red light turned on a few feet in front the cabinet, they both pushed their hands against the inside of the curtain so that two independent forms could clearly be seen by the sitters. Within seconds after each demonstration, one of the people speaking through Bill said “Check the medium,”

and circle leader, Colleen, turned on a red light and asked a sitter to approach the curtain. A single piece of cloth covered the front of the cabinet, so it was necessary for the sitter to lean down and lift the bottom of the curtain. When the curtain was lifted by the sitter, each of us could clearly see Bill in trance still firmly secured to his chair. During both séances and with the red light on, a very human looking hand appeared, coming from the cabinet at the bottom of the curtain. Several people were asked to come forward and shake the hand. Both Tom and I were called up. The hand looked and felt very warm and human. The reality of this right hand was almost too much for Tom and I and we felt it looked a lot like Bill’s hand albeit missing the ring he wears. After shaking the hand, the curtain was once more raised to show Bill in trance and still secured to his chair. Many others have witnessed the hand and have given various descriptions. One friend said that, when he shook the hand, it was much younger and bigger then Bill’s. A respected and critical thinking person who recently sat with Bill reported the hand that appeared from the cabinet had an acute deformity to several of the fingers very unlike Bill’s hand. And again within seconds of people being called up to shake the hand, the medium was checked and still

bound. At the last séance we were asked to stand close to the curtain to be touched by Marie and the two young children. Two small hands touched my lower legs and when they let go the curtain wrapped around me and I received a very human embrace from Marie. I distinctively felt the arms and then even a pat from a warm body. Even more mind blowing was that, after all of this, I realized my face had not been obstructed by the curtain. After every sitter had gotten a hug the medium was checked and still secured. Continued page 5 We had heard positive reports about the physical mediumship of Bill Meadows from the Felix Experimental Group, and so he was our primary reason for traveling to France this summer. The trip was well worth the time because we were impressed and touched by our experi- ence during the sittings, as well as delighted to have the opportunity to personally chat with Bill Meadows, his wife Colleen who is the circle leader and circle member, Chris. They are all extremely nice people. Prior to both sittings, two Bill Meadows in the cabinet people were invited to help with strapping Bill’s arms and legs to a chair. Cloth bindings were secured around Bill’s limbs and to the chair with Velcro. Nylon cable ties were also threaded through loops on the cloth and used to secure limb and cloth binding to the chair. Cable ties are the binding of choice

for many mediums because they are disposable and can only be removed with wire cutters. If Bill had escaped his bindings at any point during the séance, we would have heard the loud noise that is made when Velcro comes apart. Tom was one of those picked for the the first sitting to strap Bill in and check that there was nothing hidden in the cabinet. He was also chosen as one of the people to check numerous times that the medium was still strapped to his chair during the second séance. There was no recording done of the séances and so I will try to give the highlights as I remember them. All the lights were turned out and we were in total darkness. Marie was the first communicator to come through. She is very funny and soon had us all laughing, and thereby, raising the energy in the room. We were next treated to a concert of sorts. This was performed by a communicator named Ralph. Ralph, we were told, was ill most of his life and died in his late teens. He loved music in life and now puts on quite a show for sitters. A harmonica, drum, drumsticks, and illuminated trumpets had all been placed on a small table quite a distance from the cabinet. Ralph used those to treat the sitters to rousing harmonica music and animated playing of the Volume 30, Number 3 Page 4 Communicators of the Meadows Circle by Colleen Meadows Sadiq:

He was a Persian and a Christian. We were told that he lived over 1,000 years ago. He lived at the court and was an adviser to the royal family of that time. He first commu- nicated with us after only a few weeks of sitting in circle by spelling out messages using a table. He is now the leader of the Spirit team and our “gatekeeper.” He finally spoke in direct voice in Feb 1998. He seldom speaks during a demonstration but he is always with us making sure that everyone is safe and no malicious influence can get through during our meetings. Jonathan: Our first direct voice contact about six months after we sat. His voice was heard coming from the centre of the room while everyone was sitting round a table. He said he was lost and was helped and advised by our circle to find his way to the other side. He came back the following week to thank us for our help and has stayed with us. He gave us a lot of information about his life on earth, some of which we could check. He was a Londoner who died as the result of a burglary at his home in which he was hit over the head. He was quite pleased to be able to tell us that the burglars were caught and punished. He had a lot of different jobs in his lifetime and, coincidentally, one of them was running a fruit and

vegetable stall in Covent Garden in the late 1950s, early 1960. During this period, I worked in an office near Covent Garden and passed Jonathan working on his fruit and vegetable stall every morning. He was for a long time our main communicator and gave us guidance on how the circle should be run. Father James: He spoke for the first time about three years after our circle started. He was an Irish man who became a Franciscan monk. He lived about 100 years ago and most of the latter part of his life was spent in a monastery in the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus. It was a multi-denomina- tional monastery and I believe is still there and can be visited. He said he has always been with Bill and was just waiting for him to find the right circle in order to work with him. He took over Jonathan’s job and now gives us advice and guidance while Jonathan’s role has become less serious. Ralph: A young Dutch boy who was ill for most of his life. We have not been told exactly what was wrong with him but it seems that it was something that caused muscle spasms, and when he shows his hand, it is as if it is in spasm and his fingers are bent and twisted. He died in his late teens. He loved music and is the one who plays the harmonica and drums so beautifully for us. He often plays folk songs learned

when he was a child. Marie: Was a nine or ten-year-old Polish Jew who died in a concentration camp just outside Krakow. She doesn’t speak often about her short life but we believe her family was fairly poor farmers. She seems to have taken over now as our main communicator, controlling everything in her inimitable way. She has always been cheeky and causes much laughter all the time but we notice her almost becoming more mature as time goes on. Anna and Sarah: Were with Marie in the concentration camp. They were about the same age as Marie and all three of them died together. They have stayed together and call themselves sisters although they were not related as we know it but they are truly “sisters in spirit.” Star and Sky: Babies who passed to Spirit before they were born. They are not related as far as we know. Since they hadn’t been christened we were asked to give them names. We chose Star and Sky and they seem happy with this. They have only recently started talking but they seem more trusting than the other members of our team. Bill Meadows Circle Continued from page 4 One of the demon- strations that settled Tom’s skeptical mind was when the two chil- dren lifted the curtain by standing on either side of Bill. As Tom has seen movement of objects behave in other séances, the curtain moved in hesitant jerks at first, as if the chil- dren were working

hard to gain control of the needed energy to move the cloth. After a few abortive attempts, the curtain lifted as if two very small people were standing, near the sides of the cabinet now, and lifting the curtain so that all of the sitters could clearly see Bill in the red light, still bound and in trance. Tom was certain there were no devices which would have permitted Bill to both lift the curtain in that manner and remain in his chair. Bill and Colleen Meadows We wrote to Colleen and asked more about their commu- nicators. We think that you will find her email back to us interesting. One of their main communicators came into the circle lost and seeking help after passing. The group helped him across and he then came back later to work in their circle! We hope to sit with this wonderful group again in the future. Some of the phenomena were so different it would be nice to experience it again with a clearer head, as on this occasion, we were pretty much blown away. We thank the Bill Meadows Circle for two amazing evenings! Page 5 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal What Happens When You Die? by Danny Penman light on the question of whether there is life after death? Over the past few years, scientists have begun studying such phenomena and have concluded that the dying may indeed be visited by the spirits of their deceased loved ones. Dr. Peter Fenwick,

a neuropsychiatrist at King’s College London, who leads the research team investigating the phenomena, says: “One possible interpretation of the data is that there really is life after death whilst another would be that something paranormal, such as ESP, is behind them. “Deathbed phenomena come in three forms. The dying can receive visits from dead loved ones or they may have visions of lights and other worlds. They may also experience strange coincidences such as receiving a visit from a relative they did not know had died. “Those around them may also experience inexplicable events such as clocks stopping or strange lights appearing around the patient. Others have seen a translucent shape leave the body at the time of death. “You don’t need a religion or a belief system to ‘believe’ in these phenomena. You just have to look at the data and make up your own mind,” says Dr. Fenwick. It’s easy to dismiss cases like that of Peter Holland. Skeptics argue that they result from a heady cocktail of faulty memories, powerful painkillers and the desire to believe in an afterlife at an intolerably stressful time. Lewis Wolpert, Emeritus Professor of Biology at Univer- sity College London, denounces such phenomena as delu- sions. “Such stories are the result of hallucinations, wishful thinking or coincidence,” he says. “There is no evidence for God or life after death. I have no doubt that it must be reassuring for those who believe in these things. On the whole, religious people do

tend to be happier. I would love to be religious and think that there was a heaven but it simply doesn’t exist.” Although skeptics can reasonably challenge many death- bed phenomena, there remains a hard core that simply cannot be explained by conventional means. It is these that Professor Fenwick’s team is studying intently. And strange as it may seem, Peter Holland’s case is far from unique. Linda Jacobs’ experience is typical. Her father was terminally ill in a Manchester hospital. His mother-in-law had died unexpectedly and the family decided to spare him the unhappy news. As the family gathered round his bedside for what they believed was his last night, he became increasingly alert. “He kept saying ‘move out of that smoke,’” says Linda. “He then began smiling and laughing as though he was meeting with people we could not see. He then turned and looked at my mother and said ‘your mum is here! What on earth is she doing here?’” Moments later he died - with a smile on his face. Linda is adamant that her father did not know that his mother-in-law was dead. The whole family had agreed not to tell him. Continued page 7 Sunrise by Kathryn McEwen-Smith flickr.com/photos/katmary/ Former intensive care nurse Dr. Penny Sartori was barely halfway through her night shift when the patient was apparently visited by the spirit of his dead sister. Through the maze of equipment keeping Peter Holland alive, Dr. Sartori could see him slowly regaining conscious- ness

and becoming increasingly alert. Peter then began staring intently at a ghostly figure at the foot of his bed – a figure only he could see – and then started talking to it. “He suddenly regained his energy,” says Dr. Sartori. “He seemed to be having a conversation with someone we could not see. After a while, a beautiful peaceful smile crossed his face and he relaxed completely. “When his family arrived he told them that he’d been visited by his sister in the night and that they’d had a long chat. The strange thing was, his sister had died the week before and nobody had dared tell him because they thought the shock might kill him. There was absolutely no way he could have known about his sister’s death.” It was in that moment, says Dr. Sartori, that she realized Peter was going to die, no matter how much medical attention he received. “When a patient says that they have been visited by a dead loved one, you know that their time has come. It’s com- monly accepted by nurses and we see it quite a lot. Nurses tell each other that ‘he’s just had a visit’ so he’ll be off soon.” Indeed, shortly afterwards, 75-year-old Peter Holland did die at Morriston Hospital in Swansea. Such “deathbed phenomena,” of the type experienced by Mr. Holland are surprisingly common. According to recent research at King’s College London, around ten percent of the terminally ill or their loved ones report some

kind of mysterious inexplicable event that hints at an afterlife. Patients may report visits from deceased loved ones or perhaps catch a brief glimpse of a heavenly realm. Whilst they are undoubtedly comforting for the dying and their loved ones, do such deathbed phenomena really shed Volume 30, Number 3 Page 6 What Happens … Continued from page 6 If this is the case - and there’s no reason to doubt her honesty – what can account for such mysterious events? Whilst many would choose to dismiss such stories, Linda is convinced that it provides evidence for an afterlife. Although visions of a heavenly realm cannot be indepen- dently verified, other equally strange phenomena are reported by relatives as their loved one dies. “Clocks can stop,” says Dr. Fenwick. “One lady told me that all of the clocks in her house stopped working at the time of her husband’s death. They started again a week later.” Although one timepiece stopping at the exact moment of death can safely be dismissed as coincidence, can you so discard several failing at the same time - and in the same house? And how can you account for them all restarting at the same time seven days later? themselves It’s not just timepieces that seem to be affected by the death of a loved one. Anecdotal evidence suggests that mobile phones, video recorders, and TVs can all mysteriously cease to function only to resurrect shortly after. Devices particularly loved and cared for by the

deceased are particularly likely to malfunction at the moment of their death. It’s not just man-made devices that suffer. Pets can mysteriously fall ill or even die. Translucent amorphous shapes can occasionally be seen leaving the body. An acquaintance of Professor Fenwick’s, a GP from New Zealand, went to the aid of a golfer who had just had a heart attack. “As he was going to help, he saw what he described as a white form which seemed to rise and separate from the body,” he says. shape she couldn’t help but notice “a flame licking the top of the wall against the ceiling.” “I saw a plume of smoke rising, like the vapor from a snuffed-out candle,” she says. “It was being thrown off by a single blade of phosphorous light and was indescribably beautiful. It seemed to express perfect love and peace. “I eventually switched on the room light. The mysterious light vanished and the room was the same as always on a November morning, cold and cheerless, with no sound of breathing from Dad’s bed. His body was still warm.” Dr. Fenwick hopes his research will help us come to terms with the process of dying and of death. He plans to produce a textbook for doctors and nurses caring for the terminally ill. It will be the 21st century equivalent of the Ars Moriendi, the fifteenth century classic on the “art of dying,” which described how best to prepare for death. “Death is not a frightening

process,” said Dr. Fenwick. “In fact, it seems to be well-catered for.” Dr. Fenwick has become convinced that deathbed phe- nomena serve to prepare us spiritually for death. It’s a process that can take several days and gathers increasing pace as the hours pass. So what exactly happens in the final hours of life? A common thread runs through many of Dr. Fenwick’s case studies and he has now been able to build up a tentative picture of what he believes happens. Often the first thing you experi- ence is the realization that there are friendly spirits in the room who arrive with the express purpose of carrying you to another realm. As you become more aware of their presence, fear turns to happiness and eventually bliss. Light at the End: Near-Death Experi- ence by Chuck Wendig flickr.com/photos/terribleminds/ And just as the dying are visited by deceased loved ones, the recently departed seem capable of visiting the living within moments of their deaths. The case of Kate Batchelor, a sheep farmer in the western isles of Scotland, has puzzled researchers for many years. Her brother was ill in hospital but was expected to live. When he died a friend was dispatched to tell her the awful news. When they reached the farmhouse they were greeted by Kate. “I know why you’ve come,” she said. “I heard him calling me. He was saying ‘Kate, Kate’ as he passed over.” The time of death noted by Kate was exactly the same as

that recorded by the hospital. Mysterious lights appearing at the time of death have been reported by onlookers. It may sound like a Hollywood cliché but shards of light bursting out from the chest of a loved one at the moment of death have genuinely been seen. Diane Smyth, from Harlow in Essex, recalls the time she sat with her elderly father as he died. As she awoke in a darkened room, she noticed something strange hovering above her father. As her eyes focused on the mysterious These spirits will often sit for hours comforting you as your body progressively shuts down and dies. It is only when you are happy, relaxed and resigned to your fate that the process of reviewing your life begins – including all of its failings – so that you can begin resolving all of your conflicts. Resolving conflicts with friends and loved ones is particularly important. Tying up all of life’s loose ends appears to be central to a good death. It would appear that when this process is complete then death quickly follows. It’s almost as if in the final moment of peace, the body finally offers up the ghost. Presumably what happens next is something akin to a near-death experience. This, you may recall, occurs when a person dies, often from a cardiac arrest, and their soul appears to leave their body and travel towards heaven through a long dark tunnel. Those who have returned from such a journey report a world

full of peace and plenty, love and respect, and of infinite knowledge and wisdom. Page 7 Continued page 17 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal There is No Death by Terir Daniel Danny The way we perceive death is a choice. When my ten-year-old son Danny was diagnosed with a degenerative illness that would end his life sometime within the next ten years, we began a sacred, transcendent journey that led us through disability, death and beyond. A large piece of this process involved my helping him to understand life and death in a way that would give meaning to his life and help him face his death without fear. As his illness progressed, he lost the ability to speak, and by age twelve, was unable to talk in full sentences. We were never able to have an “adult” discussion about death, so I had to feel my way intuitively through his perceptions, emo- tions and life experience in the hope of discovering whatever beliefs and images he held about the end of physical life. Like most American children, the only information Danny had about death came from television, movies and video games. Although he couldn’t verbalize this, I imagined that he thought of death as a violent, angry, terrifying event. He’d never known anybody who’d died, not even a pet. His grandparents were alive and well, and although some of the elders in our family had died, they were virtual strangers to him. Once, when Danny was about six years

old, he told me that when people die they go to “Ghost City,” a magical place “where kids can drive cars and go to school to learn about fun stuff.” When Danny began facing his own death, I wondered if this precious image was still in his mind. Thankfully, our family legacy was not a religious one, so we were free from visions of everlasting torture in hell or a heaven filled exclusively with saved Christians. Danny’s mind was completely open, which gave me a rare opportu- nity to fill it with beautiful, peaceful images, free of fear and judgment. During the last years of Danny’s life, I searched libraries and websites for material on positive, non-judgmental traditions and mythologies about death, and was particularly drawn to Buddhist and Native American stories. I read these stories to Danny, and imparted to him a vision of death and the afterlife that resonated with my own heart, incorporating my personal belief in reincarnation, the essence of our spirits and the possibility of communication between dimensions. As I wrote in my previous book, A Swan in Heaven, “At night I lay by his side singing to him and telling him that I would be okay on earth without him and would see him very soon. I told him that in the spirit realms he could have any kind of body he wanted, and he could visit me anytime, and neither of us would be lonely because our souls would still be together. I

explained how there was no such thing as linear time on the other side, and that people can be in more than one place at the same time. I told him everything I knew, everything I’d learned in my metaphysical studies, hoping he’d understand and wouldn’t be afraid of dying.” Religious doctrine, litera- ture, sacred hymns and ageless folk songs impart nightmarish imagery of a “cold, lonesome grave,” the “icy hand of death” and “the dreary regions of the dead.” Add images of turning to dust, being eaten by worms and a 50/50 chance of an eter- nity in hell, and the fear of death is securely seated in the minds of many children by the age of six. Even the blissful images of death keep us from a mean- ingful understanding of the sacred transition from physical to non-physical existence. Sitting next to Jesus on a throne or floating on a cloud playing a harp for eternity doesn’t explain or justify our purpose on Earth, and offers us a stagnant, rather pointless afterlife. This leaves us with three basic ideas about death. 1. Judgment - We’ll go to a good place or a bad place depending on our behavior. 2. Separation - We’ll be away from loved ones, where we can’t be contacted. 3. Permanence- We’re gone forever, and all life experience stops. An innate fear of death is at the root of all neurosis. The ego’s terror of extinction is the driving force behind extreme behaviors that are

designed to establish dominance and control, such as violence, war, abuse, corruption and bigotry. This is not only true for individuals; it’s true for families, governments, religions, corporations and nations. The ego cries out, “What will become of ME?” and acts from an instinctive fear of disappearance and loss of identity. One could think of this as a survival instinct, but it begs the question ... what, exactly, is trying to survive? I talked with a woman recently whose teenage daughter was dying from a rare disease. She said to me unapologeti- cally, “I like my separateness. I don’t want to merge into the void. I don’t want to relinquish my individual identity.” That’s the voice of the human ego talking. It’s the personality wanting to survive, to be recognized and to be in control. The soul knows that it can’t disappear, but the ego -- the personality -- lives in fear of annihilation. Continued page 9 Volume 30, Number 3 Page 8 There is No Death Continued from page 8 On the soul level we are eternal; we are parts of the whole, like a blob of mercury from which pieces can pull away but are always magnetically drawn back to their source. Our souls have individual paths, histories and intentions that are acted out when we break off from the source into separate bodies during our incarnations. Our bodies are the “experi- ential” aspects of that source, but we are never actually separate, and always return to Source

via dreams, visions, meditation or death. Because we live in a multi-dimensional reality, we don’t disappear after death, but continue to resonate on a higher frequency. Embracing this view can help us release fear-based notions of punish- ment rather than correction, judgment rather than support, and an eternity of idleness rather than limitless opportunity for growth. This view also gives us a new way of understanding and processing grief. I know a man whose son died in a train collision at age sixteen. The boy was a talented actor and compassionate animal activist. The father laments that his son died before he could fulfill his potential in these areas, and sees his son’s death as the tragic “waste” of a life that could have contributed so much to the world. But our existence can never be wasted if the work of our souls continues after death. It’s as if we worked for a company and got transferred to a branch office in a new city, doing the same work in a different location. This young man’s love of art and animals, along with the gifts, lessons and growth tools he provided to his loved ones, continues now in another form, and his life is far from over. The guidance, love and energy he radiates from the other side provides boundless gifts of awareness and expansion for his loved ones on earth as well as members of his soul family in the non-physical. We’ve all heard the cliché, “nobody’s ever come

back from death to tell us about it, so there’s no proof that the soul lives on.” But that’s not true. Countless people have had near-death experiences and communication with departed loved ones, and there are hundreds of books on the subject … there’s actually more proof in favor of a world beyond the body than against it. I began receiving “interdimensional” messages from my son less than an hour after his death. These dialogs continue to this day, and they guide the work I’m now doing as an author and spiritual teacher. I’m certain that the conversa- tions Danny and I had about death during the last years of his life are what made this possible. We looked at death a certain way and it became our reality. The way we perceive death is a choice. If we believe in hell and judgment, we will carry that belief to our deaths and to the deaths of our loved ones, and the death experience will be filled with stress and fear. If we believe that death is the continuation of a rich, expansive journey, then the experience can be understood and enlightening for everyone involved… In David Staume’s marvelous book, The Atheist After- life, he explains the energetic changes that occur when we go from physical to non-physical existence. He asks us to imagine that we are in a car that has just lost control and is sailing off the edge of a cliff. Using a basic rule of physics

that “any energy unable to express itself in its current form will transition into another form,” the energy of the car hurling toward the ground will, upon impact, be transformed into fire, heat, debris, dust and sound; other forms of energy. Meanwhile, assuming you die in this crash, your non-physical self (your soul, essence, consciousness, mind, spirit, life force, astral body or whatever you choose to call it) will follow the same law of physics and will not disappear, but will transform. Staume says: “If the relation- ship between your body and your con- sciousness is the same as that between the car and the energy of movement, your consciousness wouldn’t be extinguished either; it would behave like every other energy in the universe; it would obey the law of conservation of energy and it would transition.” [The law of conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains con- stant. A consequence of this law is that energy cannot be created or destroyed. The only thing that can happen with energy in an isolated system is that it can change form, that is to say for instance kinetic energy can become thermal energy.] An analogy even an atheist could love, assuming said atheist believes that there is a consciousness separate from the body. But when we start to question where the con- sciousness actually goes, the going gets tough, because this is where theology comes in and drives everybody to their respective corners.

The problem with talking about an afterlife is that most people see it as exclusively enmeshed with religion, and this causes instant contention. There are two reasons why the idea of life after death is always tied to religion: because all religious doctrines talk about an afterlife, and because the only information we ever get about an afterlife is within the context of religion. It’s hopelessly tied up in circular reasoning; a perpetual myth-making machine. The idea of a non-religious afterlife would do wonders for helping humanity lose its fear of death, but as long as the idea is only understood in a fear-based religious context, it will continue to frighten us. If the soul is eternal and we live over and over again in different bodies, locations, cultures and environments Continued page 18 Page 9 Fall 2011 Danny with Terri Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now? by Tom Butler Stefan Bion developed a computer program named EVP- maker which uses a random process to select and combine segments of a sound file to produce a new output file. EVP are thought to be produced by the manipulation of the random process. To make the program more controllable for research, Stefan recently provided a sound file contain- ing seventy-two allophones generated with the SpeakJet™ chip-set developed for robotics. Allophones are small segments of speech, which when combined, can produce “spoken” words. The output from EVPmaker is a steady stream of allophones, which when intentionally selected by

the communicating entity, produce EVP messages. In 2008, Margaret Downey demonstrated real-time con- versations using EVPmaker with allophones. An example is at atransc.org/examples.htm. Other practitioners reported similarly meaningful communications using the same technology, giving reason to think the time was right to closely examine real-time communication. Thanks to a $10,000 donation to the Sarah Estep Research Fund from a member and a second donation from Becky Estep in memory of her mother and founder of the Associ- ation, Sarah Estep, ATransC contracted with Windbridge Research Institute to conduct a study. The assumption was that a report from impartial researchers would be more credible than if ATransC members conducted the study. The research question agreed to by ATransC was: Can the EVPmaker software using the SpeakJet allo- phones data set produce real-time answers to questions that are posed by an operator under controlled condi- tions that eliminate conventional explanations for the results? The project began June 2008 and the resulting report was published in the Summer 2011 Journal of Scientific Explo- ration.* (Article is here) However, the final report to ATransC was delivered October 2009, and from the follow- ing comments from the report, it became evident that it was being reported as another “failure to replicate” article: Taking all of these analyses into account, this study did not find evidence that the EVPmaker software using the SpeakJet allophones data set can produce real-time answers to questions posed by an operator under controlled conditions that eliminate conventional expla- nations for the

results. And: The data in this study tend to suggest that the interpre- tation of EVPmaker conversations is a subjective process, the content of which is meaningful primarily (and perhaps solely) to the operator. Examining the Windbridge Study The study took just over three years from start to published report and cost ATransC about $12,000 including overhead. The ATransC objective was to have independent researchers evaluate the technology and help determine the best protocol for replicating the quality of existing examples. The study consisted of four phases: literature search, data collection, data analysis and final report. A single practitioner was used to produce ten sessions containing EVP with transcripts indicating what was heard. Data analysis consisted of allophone frequency analysis, listening panel, message grading as used for mediumship studies and speech recog- nition software. Data collection It was possible for the practitioner to conduct the EVP sessions at home because of a computer that was configured to provide much the same controls as could be applied in a laboratory. One practitioner was used. The practitioner could do as many sessions as needed and was tasked with selecting and submitting what was heard as the top ten sessions. Besides the recorded sessions and the data file from EVPmaker indicating the sequence of allophones, the practitioner also provided a written script of what was heard as EVP in each session. As agreed to by ATransC, there were no constraints on what the practitioner asked the etheric communicators to evoke an EVP. The

study produced examples which the listening panel agreed on, but the one with the most agreement was discarded as a statistical “outlier” with the comment: One of the 10 samples—Session 6 (“I’m here for you”)—fell just under the “hit” threshold with a mean of 2.99 (± 0.12). However, it was determined that this value is a statistical outlier1 and its removal from the data set should be considered. If the scores given to Session 6 are removed from the analysis, the resulting updated mean for the remaining nine samples falls from 1.15 (± 0.05) to 0.86 (± 0.05). This shows that the perceptions of the listening panel received an average score less than what was deemed a “slight match” to the operator’s perception. 1. Convention dictates that values three times the interquartile range above or below the mean be considered outliers. It is important to note that Class A EVP are, by definition, “outliers.” Lessons learned: 1.) Open-ended questions make it very difficult to use the “reasonableness” criterion. 2.) Based on an ATransC advisor’s comments, it is essential to use more than one practitioner. 3.) The data-collection methodology used by Windbridge is an excellent approach to establishing research controls for unattended EVP sessions. Data Analysis Frequency Analysis The frequency of occurrence of allophones in the control sessions was compared with the practitioner sessions because (from the final report): Continued page 11 Volume 30, Number 3 Page 10 EVPmaker Continued from page 10 It was hypothesized that if communication involving English

words was present in the Active Sessions, certain allophones might be present more or less often than in the Control Sessions. Not knowing what might come of it, we concurred that this was an interesting test. However, we cautioned several times that the words in EVP produced by EVPmaker are often formed in novel ways. As shown below, the researchers also noted this in the Speech Recognition part of the study. If words in the sessions are heard by people even though they may only be phonically similar to the spoken word, it is unlikely that a change in distribution of allophones between control and practitioner sessions would be detectible. A second factor is that there may be only a few intended words and many naturally occurring words in a session. For the very many allophones generated in a session (1,675 for a three-minute session), would a Class A utterance even show up in such an analysis? Lessons learned: Without more study of this technique, it is very difficult to know if the right assumptions have been made by the researchers. From our assessment, it appears to be unreasonable to say that frequency analysis is a realistic technique for detecting the presence of anomalous influence on the selection of allophones. Listening Panel An online listening panel was selected and presented ten sound clips from control sessions and ten from the practi- tioner sessions. An important point in this test was that the examples used from the practitioner sessions were ten

of those EVP reported as being heard real time. One of the questions asked was whether or not the listener heard words in the samples. An average 73% answered “Yes” for the practitioner sessions and 63% answered “Yes” for the control sessions. Roughly half heard words in each of the twenty examples they were asked to judge. The grading system the researchers used has potential for future research, especially the way they graded what listeners reported hearing. However, one word responses were counted, including such words “I,” “yes” and “for.” EVPmaker output includes numerous naturally occurring sounds resembling common one-syllable words. This is apparently the case with the control sessions, resulting in both groups having a similar number of reported words. Lessons learned: Listening panels do work, but one protocol does not fit all forms of EVP. Word-like sounds naturally occur in EVPmaker output, making it necessary to use grading rules which will ignore one-syllable words. EVP is considered communication, and a second consider- ation is the reasonableness of a response. For instance, a stand-alone word like “oracle” should be ignored unless the practitioner has specifically asked questions for which it is appropriate. One cannot say the word is present if a listening panel does not agree, Continued page 12 Debbie Caruso’s Son Joey David Mierzwinski had conducted experiments using a cell phone to call his computer and then record the call while rubbing a mesh paint filter against the extended antenna on the cell phone. He received some loud

clear responses that referred to vibration, shaking and what sounded like random thoughts that he says were not his own. Margaret Downey became interested in the technique and spent an entire afternoon exploring the use of the filter that Dave had used. She made several recordings of the noise to be used as the input file for EVPmaker. No radio or voice of any kind was used in the formation of this source file. Sending the output from EVPmaker to the computer speak- ers, she used various recording tools to record for EVP. She wrote, “These were gotten while using my home phone to call my Google voice number, which rings my cell phone, and my cell phone was patched into my computer so Audacity could record the phone call. Then I turned EVPmaker on and put my home phone next to the speaker. “I often ask for Big Circle people. Here’s some of what I got this afternoon. These clips are raw. No alterations of any kind. ‘I’m Debbie’s son. This is Joey.’ ‘Debbie’s son, Joey’s, learning with us.’ Debbi Caruso “Next, I used an app on my iPhone called Listen Up. It filters real-time and makes your phone kinda like one of those amplifying earpieces to help people hear the TV better. My phone was still connected to my computer at this time and I’m still using the Graco [paint] filter rubbing file as the the for in EVPmaker source background, but this time, no phone call. I

just used my phone’s mic to record into the computer. This was the first thing that was said as I tried this method: ‘We are waiting, Margaret Downey.’ “For the last EVP example, I used the that precleaned radio-sweep file Jayne and I co-created as the input to EVPmaker. I asked for someone to say ‘The Big Circle’ and hear the response as, ‘The circle is big. Good evening.’” Joey Remember to Donate to Association TransCommunication for your end-of-year contributions to help on your taxes! Send checks to ATransC at PO Box 13111 Reno, NV 89507 or donate online via PayPal at http://atransc.org/donate.htm Page 11 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVPmaker Continued from page 11 but since short words are sometimes spontaneously formed by EVPmaker, care must be taken not to include them in the analysis. A methodology would need to be established for determining which is the case. Judging Content of Reported EVP As they do for messages in mediumship, the researchers scored the reported EVP with what the practitioner asked or said and reported that: Of the 124 responses, roughly one-third (31%, 38) received a score of 0 [No fit]. Similarly, another third (34%, 42) received a score of 3 [Obvious fit]. The remaining third of the responses (35%) received median scores of 1 [Fit with minimal interpretation] (20) or 2 [Fit with more than minimal interpretation] (24). The overall mean was 1.56 ± 0.11, a score at the middle of the scoring range, and the higher end

of the 95% confidence interval fell below 1.8. Based on the distribution of these scores, it was con- cluded that responses perceived by the operator did not consistently contain information that logically matched her questions. Of course, there remains the fact that nearly a third of the responses did agree with the practitioner. The conclusions arrived at by the researchers beg the question, “How can a 31% agreement be discarded when one is speaking of something that is not supposed to exist?” Lessons learned: Content judging appears to be a good way to establish a numerical value to the objectivity of a reported utterance. That is essentially what analysis of results from a listening panel is supposed to provide. The rules of “convincingly objective,” however, should be based on reasonable consensus. Speech Recognition Program The researchers “trained” a speech recognition program to understand phrases spoken with the SpeakJet allophones. They then attempted to use that program to find the reported EVP phrases. From the report: The computer program was trained to find words in allophones “properly” arranged to form those words. It is difficult to “hear” what this sounds like by reading the phonetic sounds above. They were heard by the practitioner and many of the listening panel as “I’m here for you,” This is an example of how allophones might be arranged to approximate the intended words. Words that would be understood by a human but not found by the program. Speech recognition programs have been tried for EVP

many times, but to our knowledge, with no meaningful success. We made this clear to the researchers, but they insisted they could make it work. Trying to keep an open mind, we agreed. In fact, they did not make it work and we believe this part of the analysis should have been discarded as a bad idea. Lessons learned: At this time, speech recognition is not a realistic tool for EVP formed with EVPmaker. It may be useful for transform EVP since forensic voice analysis has been successfully used to compare “living” and discarnate voices. Discussion The Journal of Scientific Exploration* is a peer-reviewed publication which has published two other “failure to replicate EVP” -type articles. Based on this and our attempts to communicate with the society, we do not count it as a friend of EVP/ITC. We have no visibility as to who the “peers” were and our assumption is that they are peers in science but not peers in ITC. In truth, being amongst the very few organizations friendly to the concepts of survival and transcommunication, we expected to have to publish the final report in the ATransC NewsJournal. This is the first point we need to make. Peer review is not vetting. It is academ- ics agreeing that the paper is academically sound, while vetting by subject matter specialists would have pointed out that many of the assumptions and pro- cedures were inappropriate for the subject. The basic “The idea that you don’t show anybody, including your

colleagues, results until they are peer-reviewed is something new in sci- ence. And it’s brought about because of media attention. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” It is evident from this comparison that these 10 phrases that the operator heard during the real-time EVPmaker Active Sessions were not present in the EVPmaker output at those times in the sessions. However, similar vowel sounds were often found in the output. For example, when the operator heard the phrase “you are here,” the allophones being “spoken” by EVPmaker actually “said” something like “ooch k hoe are teer.” Similarly, when the operator heard “I’m here for you,” EVPmaker was “saying” “I oo we’re kk door you.” Here is the example which was discarded as an outlier. Reported phrase: I’m here for you. Allophones from EVPmaker: \OHIY \UW \WW \IYRR \KO \EK \DO \OWRR \IYUW Associated phonetic sounds: (“I oo we’re kk door yoo”) Volume 30, Number 3 Richard A. Miller in an interview by Michael D. Lemonick, Global warm- ing “I stick to the Sci- ence,” Scientific American, June 2011. scientific method is observation lead- ing to hypothesis which predicts outcomes that can be tested to further refine the hypothesis. This is important and appropriate to the study of transcommunication. How- ever, many of the tools of mainstream science are not appropriate for this study. Most glaring is the statistical discard of an example because it was understood too much more often than the others. The listening panel and judging content procedures

are essentially the same. As is clear in judging content, they are subjective considerations of objective phenomena. Being subjective, Continued page 13 Page 12 EVPmaker Continued from page 12 it is necessary to constrain the results to plausible commu- nication. This was done in judging content but counting one and two-syllable words as “Yes” for presence of words only serves to provide fodder for statistical analysis. In fact, the presence of EVP was noted, making the conclusion that EVP were not present unfounded. From the report: Thus, consensus among participants during the listening panel did not rule out pareidolia (finding patterns in sound that are not there) as a possible explanation for the perceived presence of ITC in the Active Sessions. And Based on the distribution of these scores, it was con- cluded that responses perceived by the operator did not consistently contain information that logically matched the questions. The researchers had been advised that previous attempts to use speech recognition have failed. Most EVP are formed in novel ways, which is especially true of EVPmaker. In fact, this is the common problem of frequency analysis of allophones and the speech recognition attempt made by the researchers. Both were interesting ideas which after seeing they did not detect phenomena known to be present, should have been abandoned. The report should have looked more like “We tried this but it did not work,” rather than, “We did this and it showed that phenomena were not present.” Lessons learned Here is the

research question used in the published report: Can the presence of ITC be objectively detected in real-time ITC sessions recorded by an experienced EVPmaker operator in which the operator claims successful contact with an external entity has occurred? There was a shift in emphasis from the original question (at the beginning of this article) which highlights the break- down in communication between Windbridge and ATransC. It is ATransC policy to promote open, candid collaboration and to make research results available to the average person. That was one of our requirements. ATransC is a nonprofit organization and funding this study had the potential of attracting more donations to enable future studies. Instead, the researchers refused to allow us to discuss the study until the final report was published—three years later. The unavoidable conclusion is that research about tech- niques and human factors, such as protocols for listening panels, should be conducted by subject-matter specialists, and that work should be vetted by subject-matter specialists. Attempting to force-fit methodologies of mainstream sci- ence has not added to the understanding of these phenom- ena, except to show what does not work. There is a class division between academically trained but uninformed scientists and informed but generally poorly trained subject- matter specialist which impairs collaboration. This makes it necessary to conduct this work with the resources of the paranormal community. Conclusion about EVPmaker Despite the conclusions arrived at by Windbridge that EVP thought to be produced by EVPmaker are probably imagi- nary, there remain important

examples of EVP from that technology which are very objective. So what is reasonable guidance for members? There can be no doubt; EVPmaker should not be recommended to people who are new to EVP. The difficult to follow output too easily leads people to find meaning where none was intended. An example recorded in another study, “Her radio,” illustrates the complexities faced by researchers. Close examination of “radio” shows that it is actually a transform EVP—one formed by morphing noise to produce a clear expression. So in fact, that EVP is not a demonstration of EVPmaker’s capability. It could have been recorded with an ordinary audio recorder using background noise. The ATransC recommendation will be that EVPmaker should be considered a specialty tool to be used by people already accustomed to recording EVP using a recorder with possible background noise (transform EVP). EVP from EVPmaker should be examined to determine whether or not it is actually transform EVP. * Journal of Scientific Exploration, scientificexploration.org You can access windbridge.org/papers/BoccuzziBeischel2011JSE25ITC.pdf report on Windbridge's website: the Trance Entrainment by Tom Butler The entrainment exercises offered by the Monroe Institute are designed around focuses or levels (See The Monroe Way at atransc.org/articles.htm) where Focus 10 is: “The first stage in separation of mind-consciousness from physical reality.” A similar process appears to be active in the way mediums enter the necessary levels of awareness to produce phenomena. For instance, Hoyt Robinette demonstrates blind readings of what is written on paper just before producing phenomena. (atransc.org/circles.htm)

Physical mediums tend to follow essentially the same pattern of introducing a series of etheric speakers, each with a unique specialty such as gatekeeper, moving objects and reunions. In some cases, the communicating entity wakes up the medium to experience the phenomena along with the sitters. The medium is alert right away, and afterwards, the medium quickly returns to deep trance. This is a relatively short cycle of wakening and return to trance, yet when brought back at the end of the session, the medium takes many moments to shake off the grogginess of trance. There appears to be a relationship between the procession of etheric visitors and the medium’s depth of trance. In the same way, Robinette’s routine may be a form of entrainment used to induce the needed state of awareness. This is an important point which may help explain why mediums are so bound by routine. We would be interested in hearing from you about similar examples of possible entrainment. Page 13 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Electronic Voice Phenomena is Affected by Solar Weather by Tom Ginther Recently, I returned to recording Electronic Voice Phenom- ena (EVP). After some initial good results in which I heard clear voices played back through headphones, the results became inconsistent. My technique had not changed and I was recording about the same time everyday. I also settled on one digital recorder that seemed to give me the best quality sound. I had read somewhere that terrestrial and space weather may

have an effect on EVP recording. If there is a way of predicting if EVP will be poor beforehand or after the fact, I would know that it was not the fault of me or the “talkers” if I recorded poor EVP; but maybe some- thing in the environment. Twenty-eight recording sessions averaging five minutes and thirty seconds in length were conducted between November 11, 2007 and December 25, 2007. They were all conducted within an hour of 4 p.m. in twelve different locations in rural Halifax County, Virginia. I frequently walk two dogs for about an hour and a half when I get off work, hence the consistent time. There are a number of abandoned farmhouses on my walk that I have been “haunting” for the last few years, so much so that I am now on a first-name basis with some of the non-physical inhabitants. My method was as follows: I recorded in one of the locations using an Olympus digital recorder while asking questions intended to solicit a response such as questions about objects left in the buildings, what they were used for, who made them and how’s it going. I downloaded the recordings via USB port into the WavePad (nch.com.au) program for listening. Maybe I am over-analytical but it takes me at least thirty minutes to fully listen to five minutes of recording. Each EVP is graded with the Class A, B or C system supported by the Association TransCommunication and added to an Excel spread

sheet. Basically, a Class A can be heard without headphones and people can generally agree on its content, a Class B requires headphones to distinguish and not everyone will agree on the message and a Class C requires headphones, may require amplification and filtering and will not be heard by everyone. The temperature, humidity and barometric pressure for each day from a weather website were recorded and entered into the spreadsheet. Data for solar flares, solar wind speed and proton density were also added. The spreadsheet was then sorted, first by total number of EVP for each date, second, by number of Class B EVP and then by the number of Class A EVP. After sorting, it became clear that solar flares do affect EVP quantity and quality. As you can see in the table, the first nine ranked had totals of six to eleven EVP, and more Class B with flares at the minimum in the A-0 range. The bottom nine only had zero to two EVP each, and flares from A-0 up to A-8 on through to B-4. Solar flares are rated from A-0 to B, C, M, and X-8; with the X class capable of satellite damage and electric grid blackouts. Also noted was that top fourteen had an average solar wind proton density of 1.59 as compared to the bottom with an average of 2.25. Continued page 15 Date/Number Where 12-4-07#58 12-23-07#5 12-21-07#3 11-11-07#43 12/28/07#6 11-27-07#55 11-23-07#47 12-21-07#4 11-27-07#53 12-13-07#64 12-14-07#65 11-23-07#45 12-30-07#7 12-13-07#63 11-27-07#52 11-11-07#42

12-19-07#2 12-19-07#1 12-11-07#62 11-27-07#51 12-6-07#59 11-23-07#46 11-11-07#44 12-11-07#61 12/6/07#60 treestand bighouse packhouse bighouse treestand 1sthouse outbuilding outbuilding bighouse lasthouse2 treestand lasthouse1 livingroom lasthouse1 oldhouseporch lightpole C'sGate 1st house bighouse iceboxbarn lightpole bighouse lightpole 1sthouse firsthouse Minutes 7:20 5:56 5:03 9:17 6:03 5:48 4:54 5:43 5:23 4:30 6:08 7:32 6:20 6:57 6:14 6:30 5:17 1:44 6:24 3:49 6:04 5:27 2:05 5:38 1:38 #EVPS 11 10 10 10 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 A 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B 5 5 5 5 4 1 4 3 2 1 1 3 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 C 6 4 5 5 4 3 2 3 4 4 5 2 3 3 4 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 Temp. 42 61 46 56 50 54 48 46 54 71 62 48 70 71 54 56 53 53 72 54 37 48 56 72 37 Humidity 32% 75% 63% 44% 77% 45% 29% 63% 45% 60% 39% 29% 60% 60% 45% 44% 47% 47% 60% 45% 38% 29% 44% 60% 38% Bar. 29.84 29.93 30.22 30.27 29.72 30.23 30.23 30.22 30.23 29.93 30.14 30.23 30.08 29.93 30.23 30.27 30.11 30.11 29.79 30.23 30.31 30.23 30.27 29.79 30.31 Flares A-1 A-0 A-0 A-0 A-0 A-0

A-0 A-0 A-0 C-3 C-1 A-0 C-1 C-3 A-0 A-0 B-4 B-4 B-3 A-0 A-8 A-0 A-0 B-3 A-8 Solar Wind 319 430 610 369 393.5 441 568 610 441 517 496 568 324.7 517 441 369 567.1 567.1 577 441 333 568 369 577 333 Protons CM3 5.1 0.7 0.9 3 1 0.9 1.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.9 5.1 0.9 0.9 3 1 1 3.6 0.9 2.4 1.9 3 3.6 2.4 Volume 30, Number 3 Page 14 EVP and Solar Weather Continued from page 14 The density and wind speed vary throughout the day as it buffets the Earth’s magnetic shield, and that may explain some of the EVP in the middle of the data with flares in the C class. Other than that, the temperature, barometric pres- sure, and humidity were pretty close between the top and bottom half. Examples of my work Recently, I attended an eight-week class at the Rhine Research Center titled “World of the Paranormal.” One of the guest speakers was Diane Corcoran, president of the Tombstone with possible apparition (arrow) International Association for Near-Death Studies, who talked about her work. She was accompanied by a woman who talked about her near-death experience. If I remember correctly, she had been clinically dead for twenty minutes during heart surgery. This got me to thinking about all of the EVP I have collected over the years and just what it means to be human and to have “crossed over.” I have collected some very strange

EVP and a lot of it from the Traynham Grove Cemetery and the surrounding area which is about a fifteen-minute walk from my home. It dates back to the mid-1800s. The majority of the 100 or so graves are just marked by rocks and are very sunken. There was a school and church nearby but they are long gone, leaving this cemetery secluded and unvisited; well back in the woods and off of a gravel road. I have also taken a number of pictures of “dead” people from there. Based on my EVP and pictures, some people seem to know they are “dead.” Some seem to be stuck in the time they lived and appear to be in a kind of denial. Some seem to be hiding from something; maybe not wanting to go wherever it is they are supposed to go. I recently asked the spirits near a rock foundation, which was all that remained of someone’s home, what they did for fun. The answer came back “People dead,” as if to say, “What? Are you serious?” I asked at an old house, “What do you do all day?” and the answer was “Take long walks.” In a neighbor’s outbuilding, I recorded, “Be quiet. Hide.” as if I was an intruder in their home. It did appear that this building was something else in the past. I have asked what type of crops they grew and recorded replies as if in the present tense. I have heard “Help us”

or “Help me” at least a dozen times. One day I asked, “Do you disagree that it is 2008?” The answer I recorded was: “That is not right! It’s not 2008.” As I was leaving, I said, “I guess I have bothered you enough” and someone responded, “No problem.” Then someone said, “Bye, Thomas.” I have taken some interesting pictures from the area, as well. I once commented that, “I have taken pictures in the past, once a group of ten or so looking back at me.” On playback, I heard: “Looking back; looking back at you.” From the site of a mill, of which only the rock foundation remains, I asked if anyone wants to say “Hello,” and someone responded “Hello.” I asked, “When did you die?” and recorded, “Died in 1915. I fall down.” I complained about the ticks crawling on me and someone told me to “Just pull them off.” There are daffodils growing near one home that is now just a fireplace, chimney, and a few foundation rocks. I asked about the flowers and a woman’s voice told me in an EVP, “I planted them.” Then a man’s voice cuts in to say, “No talking!” There were a lot of liquor bottles lying about so I asked who the drinker was. Someone said, “They are lying!” I had a dog with me and he suddenly looked to the left. At that time I recorded “I told you, get back in the house.” Another voice said, “We’re

all up” This always sounded like an alcoholic bully controlling his family even in the afterlife ... and they are still there. I have about eight sessions from there, all similar with a controlling drunk trying to stop everyone else from talking and there are five or six people still there. He has cursed me more than once, told me not to come back again and once said he would kill me. I have many more examples to share and am capturing more each time I record. Maybe with enough EVP, one day I will figure out what this whole afterlife thing is about … as long as the dead keep talking. Tom Ginther lives in rural Halifax County, Virginia. He has been a field investigator for MUFON since the nine- ties and a field worker for Nancy Tal- bott’s crop circle research group, BLT. He is also a member of the Rhine Research Center and conducts paranor- mal investigations with his own group, South Side Paranormal, and assists other Virginia groups. Page 15 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Faces in Reflected Light Moving water visual ITC depends on recording light reflected from moving water. The chaotic movement of the water produces much the same form of optical noise that is found in video-loop ITC. The technique is explained at atransc.org/techniques.htm. Just as in video-loop ITC, features are typically at least partially obscured by optical noise, but there is much more distortion in moving water ITC. As in all forms

of transcom- munication, features are representations or simulations of the intended image. While there may be sufficient agree- ment with the person’s face being represented in the ITC to identify the person, the features are not exact representations. These images were taken by the Socrates Circle. Top-left is what appears to be a hand (right) maybe two hands holding what appears to be a skull (brown area). Take time to let your eyes find the pattern. Is that a laughing man in white behind the skull? Top-right is what appears to be a man wearing an old-style middle-eastern crown. Perhaps his left hand is to his mouth. Bottom-left appears to be a man looking to your left and wearing a hat. Our impression is that he is some kind of Egyptian royalty from the time of the Pharaohs. Last (bottom- right) appears to be a man dressed as if living in Siberia. Pardy Continued from page 3 In the book, The Risen, Timothy and August Goforth say that the first ones to greet us when we pass over are our pets. Won’t that be wonderful! After Timothy passed from AIDS he woke up in a place for recovery and laying on the bed next to him was his beloved cat who had passed previously. I’m so glad that he and the “Risen” group in spirit have shared this with us in this very insightful book. [Editor: Just 2 days after Pardy’s crossing Lorie conducted a recording session for EVP.] After

asking Pardy if he was there I heard a low bark. I then asked Kevin, Grandpa and Great-Grandma if they had Pardy and recorded, “Hi, we love you.” Then there was something kind of strange. It sounded like, “Ruff, ruff, ruff, loves you.” Like barking ending with the words “loves you.” I asked again about Pardy, and right before I did, I heard the words, “Pards here!” Kevin always called him Pard. That was actually his name to begin with, and later we got to calling him Pardy. A little bit after that someone says, “Seven days off.” So maybe he needs a full week of rest? Like I said, that would be so like Pardy!! I ended with thanking Kevin, Grandpa, Great-Grandma and anyone else who came through and recorded after that, “We heard you, love you, love you.” [Editor: Later that week] I did a recording session this morning to see if I could get more messages about Pardy. I got the feeling I should be patient and give him time, but of course I had to try! I began by asking Kevin and Grandpa to help bring through a message about Pardy. I recorded, “Kevin helping,” and “Love him,” which sounded like Grandpa’s voice. I didn’t get much else until towards the end of the session I asked the Big Circle, Debbie and Sarah for help. Right after I said that, I heard, “He loves his home.” I then thanked everyone for coming and immedi- ately heard

a very calm female voice say, “They come.” This is class A and easily heard without headphones. I was very happy to hear, “He loves his home,” and am especially grateful for the combined energies that brought this through! I think the female voice may be Debbie. I was thinking of her. [Editor: Lorie has gotten many more encourag- ing messages about Pardy and has also recorded Pardy’s bark.] Shop Online Via ATransC Don’t forget to help us by using the eBay and Amazon links on the front page of each section of the ATransC website for your online Christmas shopping. The link is low in the right column. A small percentage of your purchase is donated to the Association. Advertising: You will also see advertisements on the website for the first time. We have over 400 pages of information on the site and our thought is that members have been supporting the organization and it is time for website visitors to support the website. Volume 30, Number 3 Page 16 Visual ITC in Glass Sue Cole was taking pictures of a blown-glass bowl shaped like a swan and noticed that one of the pictures had a face in reflected light. She found a picture of the man who made the bowl, and as you can see here, there is a resemblance. She sent the picture to us, and as we examined the face, we noticed other faces. What she had was an excellent example of a face formed by

a fortuitous arrangement of reflected light and visual ITC faces formed in the usual chaos into order manner we see in video-loop ITC. What Happens … Continued from page 7 This is all well and good but what happens if you should meet a sudden unexpected death? Obviously no one knows the answer, so perhaps it’s best to heed Dr. Fenwick’s advice: “You should be ready to die at a moment’s notice. Those with a clear conscience die well. Those who are angry or frustrated have a much more difficult death.” If you have experienced a deathbed phenomenon, please contact Professor Fenwick with your information at [email protected]. Some names in this article are changed to preserve medical confidentiality. Glass bowl with red arrow pointing to the face The possible face in reflected light is on the right side. There were many other faces, such as the two pointed at with red arrows, which may be examples of visual ITC. Master glass artist Archimede Seguso; from Fabrizio Veronesi Danny Penman’s new book Mindfulness: An Eight Week Program For Finding Peace in a Frantic World will be out in late October. It is published by Rodale. (franticworld.com) An Exciting Experience by Elly Fithian [Elly Fithian has participated for many years in the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT) letter-writing experiment mentioned in the Summer 2011 NewsJournal. She also meets with a development group in Colorado.] I want to share with you a most exciting thing that happened in association with

a friend who died last week. He was the husband of one of the women in our group, and participated in our discussions of spiritual matters…. He had been in bad shape for years, but suddenly dropped dead at his house. A few days later, I felt him around me, so I let him write something by automatic writing. He wanted to let us all know he was okay and to share this with the group. His wife came to our [next] meeting and I showed her the messages. He had said he might be able to write some more at the meeting, so I was provided with a pen and paper. As I started to write the date he took over and did it for me. He was getting the hang of the process, and was writing in large rather sloppy cursive. We asked him questions, which I wrote down on the paper. One of the women asked what it was like to die. He said, “It was easy! You should try it sometime (ha ha). You WILL, of course, but not right away.” As he was writing, one of the other women noticed a little tapping noise…. I stopped writing, but the noise continued. It seemed to be coming from inside the table. We all got excited, realizing that our friend was doing the tapping! There was a flurry of taps followed by just a few, and then a bunch more. I think the group energy made it

possible for him to do this, as I have never had this happen by myself. The tapping continued as we asked more questions, and congratulated him on being able to make the sounds. He was still tapping away when we left. It was good to be able to introduce the group to this, as they seem to be more involved in spiritual development practices and abstract questions about life and the universe….” Page 17 Fall 2011 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal There is No Death Continued from page 9 specifically chosen to help our souls grow, then life actually means something. If we are allowed endless “do-overs” and endless time for correction (rather than a one-and-only final punishment or reward), and if we’re not graded on perfor- mance, then perhaps our primal fear of death wouldn’t be so pervasive and we could stop living our lives like nervous kids getting ready to take their college entrance exams. If the clock isn’t ticking and we’re not being watched and judged, maybe we wouldn’t be so panicked about competing with each other, being right, clinging to people, possessions and ideas, forcing our will onto others and fighting desper- ately for a secure foothold on earth and in Heaven. Most of us have experienced dreams, visions and impres- sions that feel as if we’ve been contacted by loved ones on the other side. Many of us have experienced flashes of thought, sounds, verbal phrases, kinetic events, music or scents that we felt were sent by

some sort of “higher” force, be it departed loved ones, angels or guides. And although the majority of people believe in an afterlife and in angels, most don’t believe that contact is possible, and they dismiss these experiences as coincidences, oddities or freak events. But if we trust these experiences, if we trust what feels true, we can be led to a whole new way of seeing our world, including the world beyond the physical. What’s the point of spiritual work -- seeking, praying, meditating and study- ing -- if not to help ourselves find peace? We are just as able to choose a theology of fear as a theology of love, and in doing so, we can begin to see that in death there is no disappearance and no loss of identity. And in seeing that, a great peace, grace and acceptance can come into our lives, changing the way we live and die. Terri’s new book, Embracing Death: A New Look at Grief, Gratitude and God, examines cultural myths about the afterlife and offers a path to alternative perceptions via meditation, visualization and after- death communication. Learn more about Terri at AfterlifeAwareness.com Big Circle Recording Dates Recording dates We have been told many times by our communicators on the other side to ask for help from the Big Circle as part of your daily meditation. Here are the recording dates: October 13 and 27, November 10 and 24 December 8 and 22, January 5 and 19 The Big

Circle team is there to help at any time. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get with other members in the Idea Exchange. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 You may have noticed that, with the change in name of the association and push for more objectivity has come more frequent mention of things metaphysical. As the reality of these phenomena becomes better established, we see that there are profound implications which must be considered. Probably the most important is that each of us will continue to live and have experiences long after this lifetime. This understanding follows the acceptance that our communica- tors are often our survived loved ones. We will join them in good time. What will we bring with us? Another One of the more interesting EVP to come from the 4Cell studies was from Vicki Talbott’s son who responded to the question, “What was your surprise when you transitioned?” with “Regrets.” This was understood as Braden trying to say that he had a life review and it was not all fun. There have been other such warnings that what we do matters beyond this lifetime. I hold it true that thoughts are things; They’re endowed with bodies and breath and wings; And that we send them forth to fill The world with good results, or ill. That which we call our secret thought Speeds forth to earth’s remotest spot, Leaving its blessings or its woes Like tracks behind

it as it goes. We build our future thought by thought, For good or ill, yet know it not. Yet, so the universe was wrought. Thought is another name for fate; Choose, then, thy destiny and wait, For love brings love and hate brings hate. – Henry Van Dyke important consideration is the idea that thoughts are things. Much of the study today in para- psychology is showing intention that behind thought the seems to guide the behavior of that field of subtle energy which appears to permeate all of reality. This can be objectively detected as the effect of intention- ality on living organ- isms–both via contact and at a distance, and on the effect on random processes such as the formation of EVP. the Expectations have been shown to have a profound effect on what is experienced. For instance, a person who is fearful of the unknown will more frequently record fearful EVP than will a person who is comfortable with the unknown. Interestingly, current research tends to support the idea of trans-etheric influences as a factor in our lives. Using different terms, it can be argued that people on the other side are actively helping people in the physical have experiences and understand their meaning. If this is so, then it is appropriate for us to proactively give permission by seeking this help. Yes, prayer might help. All of this points to the need to consider the implications of what is being discovered about transcommunication. We will

attempt to bring you information about these implica- tions; not in the religious sense, but in the sense of what is currently understood. In every case, we would like to hear from you. What do you think? Is it important to talk about the practical “So what” of etheric studies? Would you rather we did not? Tom and Lisa Volume 30, Number 3 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Susie Alverson asked her son Lance to give her the name of his brothers. She recorded “Luke” which is the name of her oldest son. She heard this in real time but it was much clearer on playback. Rhonda Burton closed her session by saying “I love you, bye-bye” and recorded a sweet little voice saying “She loves me.” In another session she recorded in silence using her Olympus 4100. She wrote, “This sweet voice was captured at the very beginning at two seconds, right after my voice saying ‘Hi Momma.’ You will hear another female say, “That’s my girl,” possibly one of her grandmothers. I believe this is my Jen, choosing to speak to me as a young child.” Ÿ James Goodman was doing an investigation with a team. Someone said, “Did you know Michael J. Fox may be doing these soon?” An EVP is captured immediately following this that says, “Joke.” It is a child’s voice and it is interesting that she recognized that they were joking. Ÿ Paul Kelly shared an EVP that was recorded at Union Cemetery. He

wrote that he and Lori were conducting a simple daytime walk-through investigation of the ceme- tery. It was about 1:30 or 2:00 pm. At one point, they had separated with Lorie about 30 yards away using a digital recorder. She was quiet, not asking any questions. Unbeknownst to Lori, the recorder captured the clear, unmistakeable voice of a young child (boy?) saying “John ... I’ll miss Andrew!” You can clearly hear the lament in his voice. Paul wrote, “Very strange that it really sounds as if he is speaking directly into the recorder. Perhaps he was attempting to pass on a message to a loved one who was still living or was talking to another deceased relative? Or perhaps he was not even aware of our presence at the time and Lori just happened to be at the right place at the right time? Who knows.” Ÿ Lorie McMorrow wrote, “Mom called me this morning and the answering machine had already picked up by the time I answered. When I played it back I heard Mom saying, ‘Lorie, are you there, Lorie?’ Right after the second ‘Lorie,’ a man’s voice, which sounded like it might be Kevin, calmly says, ‘You fell off the chair.’ It’s easily heard. So I called Mom back and asked her if she fell off a chair recently. She was surprised, but said well not for a while. About a year ago she said she fell off her swivel chair that she uses at her computer

desk. But last night she almost fell off it again! She also said that Dad was working on it as we were speaking, tightening a bolt on it. She asked how I knew. I said, ‘I got a tip from the other side!’ I think it’s just their way of letting us know that they can see us and are aware of what we’re doing.” Ÿ Jutta Liebman wrote that prior to the VTF conference in Fulda, she made a short EVP recording, explaining to her spirit friends that she preferred to drive to the conference. She wrote, “After the evaluation of this recording I heard a prompt, clear woman’s voice saying “Verwende nicht das Auto” (Do not use the car!). Some seconds later, I distinguished a fainter male voice saying: “h\Hoher Schaden ...” (A lot of damages). As I have experienced in the course of my long-term EVP contacts, I know that my spirit friends always tell the truth in important matters, I accepted their warning and went by train to Fulda. The female voice sending this warning message could be the voice of my deceased mother. During the conference I presented this EVP-warning message to Christian and Carola who understood it at once.” Mark Pierce has been conducting EVP sessions in a barn behind his house for about a year. He shared a recording in which he asks for those in spirit to knock twice if someone was present. You immediately here a fast “Knock, knock.” Ÿ Christopher

Scott wrote, “I was experimenting using airband radio as background noise. I tuned into a strong airport homing beacon at 127.69 MHz. The beacon sounds like a series of stronger beeps over a tone. The beacon is pretty hard to listen to, so I applied noise reduction to this clip to make it easier to listen to. In this clip, you can hear me say, ‘Constructive messages, I would like to receive them.’ The response I hear is ‘Wait for your friends.’ This is funny because earlier in the session I had referred to the spirits as my friends.” Ÿ Allison Sniffin posted several clips where they said her name. They are all live radio sweeps (hand-held radio, manually), recorded into Audacity. She wrote, “I’ve started the daunting process of organizing my files in such a way that I can compare voices with the idea of recognizing personalities. I’ve been finding out that some of the radio voices have also left phone messages. Their voices are identifiable as well when I’ve used the rela- tively new technique (for me) of Graco filter in EVPM. If a spirit person's voice can be identified across the different techniques/mediums, I’m thinking it would be tranform EVP in all cases. The last file begins with my mother’s voice telling the techies that I had texted her. True, I had texted her at her old cell phone number. The number is defunct; I just did it for fun.” Jayne Thompson asked if anyone was there

from the Big Circle. She recorded a clear “Good evening”. She requested that anyone who spoke use the voice they had when they had a physical body. She got the answer “I don’t have a physical body.” On another night she recorded “This is Margie.” Margie is Yvonne Whybra’s mother. Yvonne wrote back to Jayne, “I don’t have the words to thank you. The name “Margie” sounded the way she pronounced it when she was in the physical. It brought tears to my eyes; good tears.” Yvonne had listed her mother, Margie, on the Big Circle list of names that Rhonda Burton keeps. It was hoped that listing the names here would help members look out for certain names in their recordings. If you want listed you can email Rhonda at a [email protected]. Continued page 20 loved one Page 19 Fall 2011 Book Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Researchers Reports Continued from page 19 Ÿ Gregory Treas wrote, “Last night I went to a large old cemetery here in Boise, Idaho to do a recording. I was sitting under a tree very relaxed asking questions and about three minutes into the recording, I had an amazing experience. I felt a strong presence and was surrounded by a light, white mist. My heart started to beat faster and my speech got quicker. Reviewing later I can hear my sister’s name, ‘Merrilee,’ between when I announced that I felt a presence and before I asked them to identify themselves. After that, you will hear

a brief distant siren, then the rest of the recording. Regardless of the EVP, the experience was truly amazing, and different from anything I have experienced before. What a thrill”! Ÿ Briah West shared a recording that she made using water. She wrote, “To my ears the voice is quite clear, it sounds like ‘I can hear you talking’ or ‘I can hear me talking’ or something close to that. This voice reminds me of my mother’s voice which I hear often when I record. News From Members Ÿ Becky Estep wrote, “I was channel surfing last night and saw a program called Ghost Adventures. I’ve seen bits and pieces of their other shows. They used a recording device that gets ‘live voices.’ In other words, you can hear the EVP voice while it’s being spoken in ‘real time.’ I was amazed that they got some clear messages – not all of them were – but some were pretty good. “My sister is in the process of getting Mom’s Season of Being copyrighted. It’s the last thing Mom wrote, about two years before she passed on. It’s a collection of essays about life in general, along with some observations of little day-to-day things.” Ÿ The Biography’s My Ghost Story ran a very positive piece on Lisa Winther Huston and Margaret Downey’s work connecting loved ones via EVP. Margaret records for messages and Lisa videotapes the session. Margaret recorded several messages for siblings Renee, Kelley and Dana from their parents who

were killed by a drunk driver. You can see the segment at youtube.com/evpsessions. Direct comments are made to the children and it is wonderful to see EVP shown in a positive manner rather than a scary one. . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Member Registry?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___

Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Page 20 Volume 30, Number 3 From Our Viewpoint Winter 2012, Volume 30 Number 4 We were married nearly the same month and year that Sarah Estep began this organization. Marriage joined our paths of discovery, and as we have come to understand, it also joined our paths with Sarah Estep and what is now the Associ- ation TransCommunication. As we have heralded in past issues of the NewsJournal, this is the 120th issue of the NewsJournal, marking thirty years of service to the paranormal commu- nity. Of course, it is you, the members who have made this possible, so thank you for the support! The Stewart Alexander

and Friends Conference As you may remember from our report in the Winter 2011 NewsJournal, we were very impressed by the other attend- ees. The “friends” from all over England, Scotland, main- land Europe, the USA and even Australia represented a spontaneous expression of support for one of the world’s leading physical mediums. This year, we presented ITC and the work of ATransC members to the conference and conducted a workshop on recording EVP and phenomenal images formed in light reflected from moving water. We made PowerPoint presentations so that the audience could see the phenomenal images and hear the EVP examples. We expected that to go well; however, we were not prepared for the response Lisa received for the EVP recordings and stories. She had taken personal stories from past NewsJournals that included Class A EVP. For instance, one was from Teri Daner’s son, Geoff, who can be heard saying “Hi mom.” (See atransc.org/circles.htm). After the presentation, she received numerous comments about how emotional the EVP were; some attendees were even tearful, saying the examples were the best they had heard. This is why we do this work. We know that many of you have loved ones on the other side whom you know are still alive and well, only in different “atmospheres and aware- nesses.” That is something you share with many of the conference attendees; however, most of you are also accustomed to continuing your relationship with your loved one from an objective point of view while

the conference attendees are more accustomed to contact via a medium or through meditation. Having the objective contact shown by EVP or visual ITC when it is of such high quality really hits home with people. It is such amazing proof of survival! Lew Sutton is a frequent contributing author to the Psychic News, and the Society for Psychical Research, Paranormal Review. He was in charge of the audio and visual equipment for the conference. It was a pleasant surprise for us to meet Lew because his writing has always been scholarly, fair and balanced. Naturally, we were interested in his reaction to our presentation. To our delight, he said that the EVP examples we presented were amongst the clearest he had heard. Of course, that praise belongs to members who have provided the examples and the loved ones who have left this evidence through their own voices and pictures! ITC Workshop As part of our time promoting EVP for Universal’s movie, White Noise, we conducted numerous EVP demonstrations for reports. While we did record EVP, the process of explaining, recording, searching the recording for EVP and trying to make it so that our audience could hear the too often Class B and Class C utterances took a lot of the fun out of EVP and was a lot of work. Nevertheless, wanting to help out, we reluctantly agreed to conduct a workshop at Cober Hill. Yes we got a lot of Class C EVP, but you have no idea

how happy we were to record a Class B- that our class could understand. It was, “This is heaven. Hi!” Other EVP were: “I thank you,” at the end of the record- ing, “We try do it” before we said that people in the room were interested, “Art,” “Rutherford” and “It’s Joe” after we asked for names and “Thank you for speaking” just before we closed; all Class B. After lunch, we conducted an impromptu workshop on recording moving water visual ITC. The technique is very simple. Put water in a container that has a dark back- ground. Make sure there is a good overhead light. Make a video recording of the light reflected from the water’s surface while stirring the water. The video is then exam- ined one frame at a time, looking for faces. We had attendees move the water while we videotaped. Since we were improvising, we ended up using two large mixing bowls, one sitting in the with bright red paper between them. Continued page 17 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................1 Harrison Connections...................................................................................................................3 The Silver Fox Circle.....................................................................................................................5 Night Darlin’.................................................................................................................................7 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................7 Dance with Death!........................................................................................................................8 Another Amazing Sitting with Stewart Alexander.....................................................................10 Share Your Transcommunication Experiences..........................................................................11 SpeakJet Allophones Experiment with Five Simultaneous Recordings....................................14 Spirit Art.....................................................................................................................................18 German TV Show on EVP...........................................................................................................18 Steve Jobs...................................................................................................................................18 ATransC NewsJournal for Tablets ???........................................................................................18 Researcher’s Reports..................................................................................................................19 Happy New Year! .......................................................................................................................19 Just One of Those Things............................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events

in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit.

Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Tom and Lisa Butler Volume 30, Number 4 Page 2 Winter 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Sandra Champlain Lorelei McMorrow Giorgio Piacenza Michael Schuyler Christopher Scott Supporters Denise Fubini Steven Lindemann Michal Ostafin Evelyn Rake Geoffrey Tilga Harrison Connections by Ann Harrison Many of you may not have heard of Tom Harrison. Tom was well known for speaking about his mother’s medium- ship and the physical circle she served during the 1940s and 50s. They had almost every conceivable type of physical phenomena from apports and writings to trumpet voices and full, solid materializations. He was passionate about telling everyone what he had witnessed and passing on the knowledge that “There is no death.” He didn’t just believe it, he KNEW it, having spoken with over 1500 materialized people in the 8-to-10 years they had the circle—all known and rec- ognized in red light—or known

by someone visiting the circle on that occasion. He was a good speaker but more, an outstanding com- municator, enthusing many to start their own circles or continue working in the hope of contact and giving comfort to those who were grieving. In 1988, he wrote his booklet Visits by Our Friends from the Other Side and then, having turned seventy years of age, he received requests from all over the country to tell them of his experiences. Driving many miles (he loved to be able to do so), with the energy of a man much younger than his years, he illustrated his talks with slides of the photographs they had taken in the circle and was able to reach many people with his important experiences. Tom had a very special way of connecting with people. was during the Sunday morning service at the Acacia Centre for Spiritual Awareness, which belongs to Robert and Barbara McLernon, in Southeast Spain. When I told Robert of his passing, he said to me “He’ll be back! Perhaps not tomorrow but he will.” During the service, Tom made himself recognizable to Robert by way of a medium’s “spirit greeting.” The medium said that Tom had brought his mother whom he recognized by the description. The medium finished with “And an Agnes has ‘just popped in.’” The phrase was always used by Tom’s she entranced his mother to tell them something. Although the medium knew Tom slightly, she did not link it with him because

Robert had kept Tom’s transition secret until after the service. aunt when And so it was that I got a very excited phone call that Sunday afternoon, “He’s been through!” But that wasn’t his first connection. A week before he even had his fatal fall, he was preparing to go and had been making contact on a soul level with Annemarie. She had met Tom in the early 1990s at a Noah’s Ark Society seminar on physical mediumship. She was very new to it but somehow Tom and she made “connections.” He became a father figure to her and from that first meeting she had great respect for him. It was a surprise to her that he made himself known to her in an altered state of consciousness. It had happened only once before; eleven years previously with her father at his transition. Tom & Ann Harrison, May 2008 (Their 10th Anniversary) He cared about people. All across the world, there are people who say their lives have been changed by his work and his caring. But in October 2010, one of the very few people left in our world who really knew about and had years of experience in physical mediumship, earned his “promotion” and took his leave of us following a fall. The inevita- ble had happened. Now alone, I expected that coming home to Spain where we lived was going to be hard, but I hadn’t bargained for what he would be up to. It was a

time for Tom to sit back and enjoy a well-earned rest and recover his strength, but rest was not for him. Just seventeen hours after he had departed this world, he was BACK! It She wrote: “At 2 a.m. on the Friday morning, eight days before Tom’s tran- sition, I woke; I could not get back to sleep; felt agitated, disorientated. I went downstairs for a cup of tea. I was impressed to link in. I was not aware it was Tom until I had linked in. I knew his health had deteriorated, but this was different. I became aware of his distinct energy and was impressed to link, mind to mind. “He was not sure where he was and needed help. I suggested he look around and see where he was. Continued page 4 Winter 2012 Tom’s Aunt Agg, his mother’s sister, materialized in ectoplasm in 1948 with Tom’s father sitting left. The medium, Tom’s mother, is behind the black curtain. Page 3 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Harrison Connections Continued from page 3 When he got his bearings he thanked me and was gone. I then went back to bed. “Over the next four days, I was woken at 2 a.m. by the same feeling but less disorientated. When I got up for a drink of tea, Tom was there, communicating mind to mind, each time stronger than before. He asked for help in the ‘preparation side of things.’ “By Tuesday, I was aware of what he had intimated and

he made me aware that he was waiting and wanted help. At 2 a.m. on Friday, the day before his passing, he woke me again. This time I met him in an all-white room; the atmosphere was calm and relaxed. He said this was a waiting area. There were two doors, one at each end of this submarine-shaped pod* with benches either side. I felt I had astral traveled with him. He asked me to keep linking in with him as he was ‘just waiting.’ He was calm; not distressed in any way. It seemed important to him that he was making preparations. “All day Saturday I was aware of him. He was nervous and apprehensive but ready to go. By 6.30 p.m., I was aware that the final struggle was over. The Saturday Night Club circle in 1948. Tom (back left) tall, dark haired and in this photo the mark on his face. Tom’s mother seated center. “Sunday morning I was again wakened but it was differ- ent. He was so alive and exuberant; so radiant, ‘I am in a hurry, wake up, come with me.’ He took me to a theatre which was all gold and red with ‘boxes’ on either side. He told me to transform into a ‘blue bird’ and hide at the top of an ornate column and watch from above. Tom was very smart in a tuxedo. On the stage were people. He was being presented with an award for all his work in

Spiritualism. It was phenomenal. He was stunned, overjoyed and quite bemused. He looked at me and said ‘Tell them when you go to Cober’ (The Stewart Alexander conference). Gilly Tom’s next connection was with Gilly, whom Tom had advised the previous year, “to be patient above all and to let Spirit guide her as to the correct path.” He also sug- gested she acquire an aluminum trumpet. During the Cober Hill seminar in 2010, Gilly chose to work in the mediumship workshop. Tom was there as soon as she closed her eyes to tune in. ONE WEEK after passing! Not seeing him as his ninety- year-old self she was familiar with, she did not recognize him but he drew so close that he transferred his physical condi- tion at passing to her—hot, comatose, unable to move, making her feel quite ill. She heard “It’s Tom.” She received seventeen definite pieces of information all particularly accurate. Notably that almost his first words to Gilly were “aluminum” and “trumpet.” Tom as Gilly saw him and how he has told me (through Steve) that he now looks How did he look? Like the picture I used for the talk the following day and which, at the time of the workshops, I was studying. Gilly said he mentioned a mark or mole on his face. I couldn’t place this but the photo had indeed a mark on his forehead. We had never noticed this before. Had he been in the room with me earlier?

Michael Ten days later, on Tuesday, November 9, Tom made himself known to Michael Bagan, a taxi-driving medium in London who had met Tom once the previous April. Michael woke from a vision-dream of Tom with vivid recall of the infor- mation he had been given. He rang Susan Farrow, editor of Psychic News and gave her the details. He saw Tom in his 40s, tall and slim; fit and well. Micky questioned if it was a dream because Tom was standing beside his bed holding a mug of tea (something he did for me every morning). He was wearing a suit and kept pointing to his tie which seemed black and an unusual shape; very narrow with a square cropped end. Sue wrote in the Spirit of PN: “Michael couldn’t under- stand why Tom kept pointing to the tie he was wearing. Puzzled, Michael set off for work. A few hours later, his mobile rang. It was another taxi driver who knew he sometimes went to church and wore a suit. A package had been left in his cab and he wondered if the tie it contained might be of any use to Michael. Continued page 12 *This room had also been shown to Kate before I received Annemarie’s account. Volume 30, Number 4 Page 4 Silver Fox Circle: left to right in the back row: Fay, Jenny and Margaret; front row: Anna, Joan and Val The Silver Fox Circle by Lisa Butler While we were in England, we

had the wonderful opportu- nity of visiting the Silver Fox Circle in Newcastle on Hallow- een night. We were fortunate to be introduced to the group, as this home circle is not yet demonstrating publicly. Good friends, and fellow Socrates Circle members, Jannet Caywood and Steve Atkins were with us. The circle began in Novem- ber 2007 as friends sitting together in harmony. Sponta- neous physical phenomena had already been apparent around Fay Wright, the medium, for a number of years, and so they started as a cabinet circle. From the very beginning, small knocks were audible in the room during the séances. We were in for a great time and some amazing phenom- ena along with the most amazing feeling of harmony and love from both members of the circle and their spirit team. Fay Wright graciously picked us up from the train station and brought us to her home. Our first surprise was that the group was all female. If you read books about circles, you will find that it is tradi- tional to “balance the energy” by having an equal number of male and female sitters. That has been difficult for our circle and so we were delighted to see a group of women developing and getting physical phenomena! We sat and talked with Fay and her husband as we waited for the rest of the circle members to arrive. After everyone had arrived, as part of the preparation, they nearly covered the dinner table with toys

that would be used during the séance. Each toy had glow-in-the-dark tabs strategically placed so that sitters would be able to see the toy’s movement in the completely dark room. Circle members held them up to the light to “charge” the glow tabs. They were then placed in a plastic roll-around file cabinet, which was placed in the small séance room where Jenny, the circle leader, could reach it. Some of the larger items were placed behind a black curtain which was situated behind Jenny. We were invited into the room and were seated between regular members of the circle. I was seated next to Jenny and Fay was seated in a closet with a black curtain drawn across the front. Jenny said an opening prayer and then there was silence for about a minute. No music was played and you could hear Fay breathing in the cabinet. Just that quickly, a male voice came from the cabinet saying, “Good evening friends and welcome to our visitors.” This was the voice of Silver Fox, the group’s main guide and gatekeeper. (A gatekeeper protects the medium and decides who is allowed to come into the circle via her mediumship.) Everyone greeted Silver Fox and then the music was turned on for us to sing a few songs. One member said that the trumpet was making noise and then we all saw it moving. About the same time, a child’s voice was heard coming from the cabinet. It was Michael, a child

in spirit who played a major part in the séance that evening. He greeted each of us who were visiting. I was asked to hold my two hands flat, palms up so that they were next to Jenny’s hands. The two trumpets, one inside the other, were laid across our four hands. The trumpets felt quite heavy and I asked if one wouldn’t fall out of the other. I was told they might but that the children would do with them as they wished. During all of the preparation, Michael could be heard humming noncha- lantly in the cabinet. The trumpets lifted off my hand and Jenny told us that they are balancing only on her finger, and then they made a crashing noise on the floor. Michael announced from the cabinet that he would like “a go at lifting them up.” I said again that they are heavy together like that. Again the trumpets were placed on my hands, but this time, with the wide end resting on my arm. Jenny asked us to sing again, and as we did, I actually felt the trumpets lift off my arm and hands. It was up in the air with only two of my fingers in contact! That little contact could not possibly have been holding the trumpets steady! It is a very interesting sensation to feel levitation like that. The trumpets actually lifted on and off of my fingers, as if tapping my fingers, and then amid a bunch of

“Wows” from the other sitters, they lifted from my hands to Jenny’s. I should point out that, with everything that happened during the séance, the sitters encouraged and praised Michael with great enthusiasm. We understood that this was to keep the energy up so as to enable more commu- nication. The singing was another means of bringing energy to the circle. Next, Michael asked for an airplane and he wanted to play with Tom. In the dark, we heard the circle leader digging in the file cabinet to find the airplane. She gave it to Tom and told him to hold it flat in his hands while asking Michael to move the plane Continued page 6 Page 5 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Silver Fox Circle Continued from page 5 left or right or to produce “turbulence” which was was to be answered with Michael shaking the plane. Tom asked for turbulence. He later explained that he felt the plane shake with a slight vibration. About then, a strong, clear male voice could be heard from the cabinet instructing us to say “left” and “right” as a way to “warm them up.” It was the voice of spirit team member, Dr. Brown. Tom announced to the sitters that he could feel the plane tilting left and then right, and then completely lift off his hand. Michael next asked to play with Steve, and Jenny asked him to stand and hold one hand out in front of him. The circle

member next to him was also asked to stand with one of her hands held out near Steve’s. The plane was placed on both of their hands and then Steve asked Michael to make the plane make a big turn left. Steve told the sitters that he felt it go totally off his left hand and then he felt it go the other way. A new voice came from the cabinet; that of a little girl named Melly who asked that the hoops be given to Jannet and Margaret. Jannet and Margaret were asked to stand and hold their hands flat with the hoops resting on their upturned palms. They were told to encourage the girls to move the hoops one and then the other. Each hoop had many very bright glow tabs. Margaret’s hoop was immedi- ately seen moving as if it were a swing, and then we saw it move in a figure eight pattern. Jannet was then asked to ask Susie to move her hoop; Susie, another child communicator, is said to be a bit shyer than Melly. Jannet’s hoop finally began moving and she excitedly exclaimed, “Look at that!” The hoops began moving in unison, and we could tell that the girls were having kind of little battle with the hoops, trying to hit each other amid our shouts of encouragement. Michael’s voice interrupted to say that he thought it should be his turn now in a true children’s sort of way. He asked for the

pole to be brought out, which resulted in one of the sitters searching around behind her in the “toy box.” After a minute or so, we heard Michael giggling from the cabinet and we were told by the regular sitters that he loved to have people searching around for something when it was not there. Michael then asked Anna to hold “the flower.” The flower was one of those yellow yard toys that spins in the wind. It was about a foot across and had glow tabs on each petal which were numbered like a clock. We could see the glow tabs being covered, one by one, as requested by the circle members. “Cover nine,” they shouted, and then “Now! Cover eleven!” They also enjoyed covering the tabs in a clockwise or in the reverse order. We watched in amaze- ment. The flower was so large there was no way that someone could hold it and also cover the tabs. Tom was sitting next to Anna, who was holding the flower, and when I asked him about this possibility he said, “Absolutely no way.” All of the phenomena were evidential but this to us seemed one of the most evidential. While we were singing “Rockin’ Rollin’ Ridin’” with the flower demonstration, we could hear a female child’s voice singing. We all became quiet as Susie treated us to a solo performance with her sweet child voice. Next, Michael asked for a football and Jenny found it in the toy box.

I was asked to hold my hands flat next to Jenny’s and a little lower. On the recording of the séance, you can hear me gasp as the football not only comes into my hands but rolls up to my elbows. I later learned this is called a “hug.” I moved the football back onto my hands and held my hands next to Joan who was on my left. I felt the football levitate off of my hands and then heard Joan say they are hugging her with the ball. The ball, like the other toys, had glow tabs and I could see them literally hugging Joan with the ball. In this way, the ball moved around the circle to Jannet who told Michael how excited she was to be about to have the football placed in her hands. She, too, was greeted with the ball rolling up her arms for a hug. Jannet told Michael how much fun that was and that “She never gets to do this at home!” We all are really having a great time! Dr. Brown spoke next. (The voices are so very different from each other.) He said that he believed they wanted to “fish fight.” Jannet handed the ball back to Jenny and then Michael’s voice was heard saying, “Can you put the car on there as well?” Jenny found the two fish toys and the car toys and put them on the drumhead she held as a stage for the “fight.” We

could clearly make them out by their luminous tabs. With a little encouragement from the sitters, one fish began to move, seeming to take aim at the other fish. There was a “battle” and one fish knocked the other off before going after the car. The crazy movements were just amaz- ing. It looked like the car was hanging off the edge of the drum when the fish finally gave it a real shot, knocking it noisily to the floor. This was very evidential and there was no way that these movements could have been made by a human. Michael next asked for a hula-hoop and the football, and said that he wanted to play with Tom again. Tom was asked to stand in the center of the circle and hold the hula-hoop. After a moment, the ball was levitated off Jenny’s hands through the hoop and onto the floor. Then Michael asked to do it again, only with me holding the ball. It took him a little longer, but after a moment or two, I was actually able to feel the ball levitate off my hands and then see it fly through the hoop. Continued page 17 Volume 30, Number 4 Page 6 Night Darlin’ by Betty Douglas Fred and I met in 1952, at Butlin’s Holiday Camp in Ayrshire, Scotland. I was with my friends and he was with his friends. I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, Fred lived in Sunderland, England. Everyone thought it was a holiday romance

but we were married in 1954. I moved to Sunderland to start our married life. We have six chil- dren, eighteen grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Our 52 years together wasn’t always a bed of roses but we stuck to it through thick and thin. Around 1970, Fred got involved in Spiritualism. He was a healer and became the Vice President of Grange Terrace Spiritualist Church. He conducted services there and was booked to conduct services in other churches, as well. Betty and Fred He also gave messages to family and friends. One of them was to our youngest daughter, who was having difficulty becoming pregnant. Fred kept telling her she would have a son even though she had ten years of fertility treatment resulting in two ectopic pregnancies and three miscar- riages. She had almost given up when she had her lovely son by in vitro fertilization in 1997. Fred took to bed with emphysema shortly after our prophesied grandson was born. He was housebound for seven years before he passed away, at home with his family around him, in 2004. On November 11, 2004, I returned home from a friend’s house. She is disabled and five friends and I visit her every Thursday. Even when Fred was alive and homebound, he wanted me to go. (November 11 is also Remembrance Day. Fred always watched the remembrance service on the television and wore his poppy with pride.) When I returned, I noticed a message on my answering machine and

hit the button to pick it up. There, after the timestamp voice was Fred saying “Night Darlin’.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! It was too late to call the family so I had to wait until the next morning to let them know. The recording came six months after his passing. All our friends and family who have heard the recording were amazed, shocked, a local expression “gobsmacked,” but all agreed that it was definitely Fred’s voice on the phone. Lots of things have happened in the seven years he has been gone. I know he is there while I do my healing (not all the time). I am a Spiritualist Healer In my church. I got my certificate of recognition in 1995. Lights are always flickering at times when we are talking or thinking about him. My daughter has smelled his pipe and aftershave lotion. Last Christmas Eve, my grandson came with his two young children, and of course, I wanted my camera out to take their photos (my friends call me Miss Snappy). On Christmas morning I was to go to my son’s home for Christmas breakfast and dinner. Well, I looked all over for my camera before my son came for me and I couldn’t find it anywhere, so when I came home I looked again and it was still nowhere to be found. Fred and the youngest grandson, the boy that he predicted his daughter would have I have the family at my house

every Boxing Day (day after Christmas Day). I asked all the younger grandchildren to find my camera, as I knew it was in the house somewhere. No one could find it. But, about seven in the evening, one of my grandsons picked it up from the coffee table where we were all sitting and said “Is this it?” Well everyone was shocked. I believe it happened to let our grandchildren know that he’s watching over them. Later that day, going over photographs that were taken throughout the day, there are pictures with that same coffee table in the background and the camera is not on it! Big Circle Recording Dates Recording dates We have been told many times by our communicators on the other side to ask for help from the Big Circle as part of your daily meditation. Here are the recording dates: January 5 and 19, February 2 and 16 March 1, 15 and 29, April 12 and 26 The Big Circle team is there to help at any time. Often members get messages that help other members so be sure to share what you get with other members in the Idea Exchange. Page 7 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dance with Death! by Holly Riley There is a very important question worth your attention. Honestly answered, it will nudge your heart to beat with passion and remind you that YOU have something to offer nobody else can offer! Your quirks, your essence and your way of seeing

and being are perfectly unique. Consider one thread in the fabric called life. One tiny strand provides strength and function to the effectiveness of the whole. The thread doesn’t have to be the most beautiful or in any specific location of the cloth to be of great value. It merely needs to be itself. You, just like the thread, bring integrity to the overall creation of humanity by simply being YOU, you are crucial to US! By boldly and this question, honestly answering without comparing, you invite divine intelligence to hear you, guide you and support you in becoming who you’re meant to be. For best results, contem- plate the question with your heart, not your mind, and let your response bubble up with passion from your most authen- tic self! Ready? Feel it for a minute and let it speak to your soul. “How do you want to spend your precious time on earth?” It could all end tomorrow. I wished I had answered this question long before my fourth week in the hospital, but it was too late. I was dying. Suddenly I became aware of the smaller part of me, she was called, Holly. I saw her lying in the hospital bed below, no longer me, at least not all of me. I was bigger, more inclusive. While passing through the portals of my human- ness and merging with the larger part of myself, everything changed. The compassion I felt for the withered form below filled my

presence with a sea of appreciation that is wordless. I experienced honor and love in a way I had never fathomed possible. As I floated into the arms of grace I realized I had always been much more than a container or a personality. I finally understood what I had longed to know my entire existence. As I united with the awareness that held me, painful conclusions I’d cemented into my journey as Holly became vividly clear. I saw the solidity of old thoughts, beliefs and non-forgiveness clustered together as though alive and having a life of their own in my human form. These feelings had taken up residence in my flesh and bones and called themselves my name. I fully understood how I got sick! I poisoned myself by swallowing and hanging onto pain and resentment. Sadness, smothered in blame had collected throughout my body and become the decision maker of my life. I’d lost all ability to truly receive or give love; too afraid of pain. As I grasped how criticism moved out from my existence like ripples in a pond, I longed to take it all back. As though being summoned, my atten- tion shifted to the vastness embracing me. Gently my heart opened while I absorbed the pure, accepting and non- judgmental essence. I let it soak in, mesmerized by the sensation of allow- ing. I floated. Suddenly aware I didn’t have any pain from the Crohn’s disease that had plagued me for so long, grati-

tude flooded my senses. I was free. My tortured body no longer hurt. I felt certain that the love enveloping me was there for all existence, holding every living thing from the beginning into for- ever. I’d just missed it; too busy being miserable. Somehow I understood that the divine holding me had worn many faces and had been called by many names. I was sure it answered to all of them; the sacred IS the background of every reality, patiently waiting for us to invite it into our lives. It all made sense. I snuggled into peace and comfort. I felt the stream of existence as thoughts flowed through me. They weren’t my thoughts. They were like water is to a fish, everywhere, available, and they were alive! I could coalesce with any idea floating by and call it truth. Hmmm, my attachment to a thought was like a paintbrush drawing the next feeling I stepped into. Amazed, I explored. The intelligence surrounding me helped me comprehend what my choices had been and where they led. In awe, I realized how powerful human consciousness is. We have access to this river of Source energy and our intentions act as the conduit from the invisible into the visible. As I observed, I received what felt like a cascade of uncondi- tional love. It washed away the emptiness and fear I had always identified as me. I became a sensation of trust and honor for all choices, for all beings, for

every path. Pro- found compassion filled my senses; it remains with me to this day. I became a pool of openness, connected to everyone and everything, and understood there was nothing to defend or protect ever again. Acceptance filled my heart like an old friend I had missed terribly. All realities could exist simultaneously, without judgment of what was right or wrong or who was better. Everything was alright, it always had been. Continued page 9 Heaven’s Door by Jarluce Portela Postigo flickr.com/photos/jarlucephotography Volume 30, Number 4 Page 8 Rebirth by Cornelia Kopp flickr.com/photos/alicepopkorn/ Dance with Death! Continued from page 8 I bathed in this peaceful awareness, pondering the hum that was vibrating in and through me. I experienced the forgiveness of me, of all life. Slowly more of my past rolled out before me. A myriad of realities, ideas and concepts I had considered worth fighting for became surreal. There were unkind moments filled with self-righteousness, professing rules and opinions I had labeled as “truth” and cleverly pushed onto others. I saw my hunger for control and how I punished those who disagreed with me by ignoring or criticizing them in secret. While, in pretense, I smiled to their faces. I saw how afraid I was of being alone and how my deception attracted people who treated me just as I had treated others. I never let anyone in. Nobody knew me. By tucking away my true feelings I never connected with the fabric of life. I wished for

another chance to contribute. I was present and still, somehow receiving an under- standing of the turmoil and fear adopted by humanity. It was strange. Angst was thought to be a normal part of life, almost necessary, and so real. But, I could see it wasn’t what was most real. I knew it was important for me to comprehend what I was being made aware of, the illusion we’re immersed in and how we accept it wholeheartedly. I saw the fallacy of our conclusions and wished every human could know with certainty that WE DO MATTER! Our individual energy affects everyone! We are powerful beyond anything we’ve imagined with our thoughts and intentions and we never stop existing. Notions of failing at being human, or hurting someone else without realizing we’re hurting ourselves, seemed totally insane. Everything we flow out flows back. Clearly the best way to offer peace to the world is to be peaceful inside. I had a pristine impression of how we’re all in this together, every living thing. If there is a tiny rip in the fabric, even a few threads, the integrity of the whole cloth is affected. If one suffers, on some level we all do. If one feels the joy of authenticity, it touches us all. Being happy is a huge gift to the world. It all begs the question, “What do you want?” I knew life could be incredibly different than how I had lived it, that I could be kinder and

contribute by taking responsibility for what I felt and shared with others. I could learn to sincerely be me instead of swallowing any spoon- fed ideas of whom or what I “should” do. A wave of understanding washed through me declaring “YES!” Sud- denly I realized the process unfolding both individually and collectively within each of us. Every choice and incident invites forward motion to assist us in evolving into who we’re meant to be. The path of reaching for dreams requires perseverance; to become the thread we’re meant to be in the fabric of life takes commitment. As humans, the heartache, loss, the holding on and the letting go constantly nudge us toward trusting that there is a sacred- ness connecting us and there is purpose and meaning to our lives. Divine intelligence waits for our invitation so it can remind us. I felt compas- sion for all existence as I grasped that even though some human lives are short and unfairly filled with pain and some even brutally taken, it is how we all agreed to grow our souls. Once I understood, every- thing became curiously still. My mind emptied into the presence that held me and the hum of my surroundings amplified. A question slowly entered my awareness. It seemed to come from outside but somehow I sensed it from the inside too. The words I felt were, “Do you want to stay or go?” I say felt because it wasn’t like a sentence of sounds. The

words had a vibration, a reality they painted into my beingness with their occurrence. I had a choice to make. I lingered in uncertainty for what seemed a very long time, unsure which world I wanted to exist in. I was intensely alert, contemplating, wanting to feel an answer from my heart. The stillness was filled with a calm trust. Then my two young children appeared before me and my decision was clear. The second I knew I was going back, the sacred that held me also knew and responded with a breath of love that covered my entire being. Even as I turned my attention toward my crumpled up body and realized what lie ahead, I was unafraid. I knew who I was. I knew how to love and allow life to love me. There wasn’t a shred of fear in me, I could let go of the suffering I had held onto as Holly. I knew what to do. It was a reunion of much heart; me with my broken body. I felt the collection of pain and anguish inside and strangely sensed the density and despair as separate from the real me, the larger me. It was good to know the difference. It was as though the resentments residing in my body were unruly children I had given birth to long ago and then blamed their origin on something outside of me. To own the fact that I was the one that kept them there gave me

the power to finally release them. Continued page 17 Page 9 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Another Amazing Sitting with Stewart Alexander by Lisa Butler As we reported in the Winter 2011 issue of the ATransC NewsJournal, Tom and I were able to sit with Stewart Alexander when we attended the Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference in England last year. This is a report of our return visit to Stewart and Friends this October, during which we were fortunate to experience two sittings with Stewart. The first was a public séance that was attended by around ninety people sitting in concentric rows around an area of open floor in front of the cabinet. We went with two other members of the Socrates Circle, Jannet Caywood and Steve Atkins. The four of us were lucky to be seated in the first circle closest to Stewart. Stewart Alexander did that! So his voice and glow tabs floated by. Just amazing! Reunions In Stewart’s home circle a few days later, it was the reunions with loved ones that were amazing. In fact, some of the demonstra- tions of the phenomena did not take place just so loved ones could get through. Frieda is responsible for guiding the reunions and she took some time when she first spoke to us through Stewart to tell us that she was trying to sort out who is who and who has come for who. She said, “If you could see what I see, you would say ‘How-

ever does she do it?’” She introduces herself as Frieda Johnson and says that she Matter-through-matter For public demonstrations, Stewart’s arms are secured to his chair with thick cable ties. During the séance, Stewart’s main guide, Walter, demonstrated matter-through-matter while Stewart was in deep trance. If you recall, one of the sitters is asked to come up and sit with Walter with their hands on Stewart’s arm. Walter is able to move Stewart’s arm through his cable tie leaving the cable tie! A red light is turned on for the sitters to witness the tie still around the arm of the chair and Stewart’s arm in the air with the sitter’s hands still holding his arm. The light is turned off and Walter returns Stewart’s arm to the chair with the tie once again around his arm. The sitter is asked to find and hold onto the tie. When this has been done, Stewart’s arm is lifted into the air, but with the tie still around his arm. The sitter is told to hold onto the tie and Stewart’s arm suddenly drops from under the sitter’s hands. The sitter is left still holding the cable tie! There were also amazing reunions with loved ones and an amazing demonstration of levitation as two séance trumpets with luminous tabs flew about the circle, way above people’s heads. For us, the highlight of this evening was when the spirit team brought Stewart out of the cabinet while still tied to his chair. He

has glow tabs on his knees during séances and we saw the tabs slowly float past us at eye level. It was quite a large circle and friends Jannet and Steve were sitting at the end of the circle while we were close to the cabinet. Jannet and Steve said they were able to see, by way of the tabs, Stewart and the chair tilt before turning around to head back toward the cabinet. In such a large group of people, to see that kind of phenomena was exceptional! While the chair was moving, Stewart was awake and complaining about how he hated it when they is talking directly through Stewart, not independently. There were several reunions but we are only describing the ones that were for our little group. In this séance, my father spoke to me using terms that he would use. I also recognized his voice. Frieda stepped aside and he came through saying he wanted to speak to his girl; his daughter Lisa. I knew immediately that it was my father and said, “Hi, Dad.” He said he was trying so hard and I told him he was doing well. We told each other that we loved each other. He said, “You were always my girl.” That is really quite evidential because we were very close and I even went rock hunting with him as a teen just to be with him. He told me that he intended to break through on a recording (for EVP).

He also said, “Tom, look out for her.” And Tom answered, “Yes, yes.” He then said, “If only you could know what is happening. There are so many working with you.” We said, “Thank you” and told him that we needed it. He said that he was very sorry that he could not do better. I told him that he was always the greatest and that he took care of me (my mother suffered from mental illness). He responded that he did his best. He also told me how proud of me he was, and again, that he loved me and then he said, “I can’t hold on” and was gone. Just amazing! As many of you know, I got into EVP because of my father’s transition and because he was an electrical engineer. Somehow I thought EVP might be a way for him to communicate but he never did. Now here he is speaking through a medium. Something I would have never ever imagined that he would do! I seriously doubt he knew about physical mediumship in his lifetime and if he had, he would have dismissed it. Isn’t it wonderful to realize that we continue to learn and grow when we get over there? He was a spiritual man and often helped others who needed help. Continued page 11 Volume 30, Number 4 Page 10 Stewart Alexander But mediumship would have not been something he would have been interested in. Continued from page 10 Then Konstatin Raudive came

through, just saying his name but he nearly knocked Stewart out of trance. He came through saying his last name twice (pronounced correctly) only to have me say it back to him pronouncing it incorrectly! I said “Konstantin?” and after he affirmed this, Tom said “Welcome.” Stewart began coughing and June, Raymond’s wife who is to the right of Stewart, announced that Stewart is back again. Raymond (the circle leader) explained that, when he starts choking like that, “they” bring him out of trance to protect him and clear his airway. Stewart quickly returned to trance. Last year, I returned home with a cable tie that had been secured around Stew- art’s arm. The next voice coming through Stewart said “Dave” or “David.” June responded, “I have a Dave here. Does anyone know a Dave”? David asked to speak to Steve and Steve answered, “Thank you, it’s good to hear your voice.” David said, “Well, you never expected.” Steve laughed and said “No.” David asked how everything was and Steve answered, “Good; very, very good. It’s so good to hear you.” David said, “So you never thought I’d be able to do this.” Everyone laughed and Steve said, “It’s amazing!” David said, “I … please forgive me … not able to stay but wanted you to know that I’m here,” and he was gone. Steve wrote, “To hear his voice was the affirmation that convinced me that life continues after death. There was no doubt that it was his voice.

David had that enthusiastic voice and way of talking. No one attending the séance had any knowledge of David and the tragedy that occurred fifteen years earlier.” Steve added that he himself had not thought of David for a few years. Near the end of the séance, Dr. Barnett materialized and touched several people. He touched Jannet on the head and hands and then he held my hand firmly while shaking it. He said, “We know that there are many in your world interested in this type of phenomena who wonder why we are unable to show ourselves within light. I must point out that the energy is extremely, extremely, extremely light sensitive and that if light were to be introduced it would immediately return to the medium with grave conse- quences. We must also protect the sitters because the team is also taking energy from you.” When Walter ended the séance, he said, “These people are important to take this truth out into the world. We can not do it on our own but we can do it together.” When you get discouraged with the work that you are doing in spreading the word that we don’t die, know that you have help from our world!” Stewart Alexander’s autobiographical book, An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium is avail- able from Saturday Night Press Publica- tions at snppbooks.com and also through Amazon.com. Steve explained that he and David were friends. They worked ski patrol and were firemen

together. Steve knew David as a young man with an enthusiasm for life and the desire to do all things well. One night fifteen years ago, Steve, David and a group of friends headed off to swing from a bridge by a pair of ropes; a sort of giant rope swing. It was something they had done many times together; one rope being tied to a specific spot at each end of the bridge. The ropes had been checked and Steve stood harnessed, ready to take the first jump. A teasing argument ensued between Steve and David as to who should have the honor of the evening’s first jump, Steve believing he was entitled because it was his gear; David insisting it was his right since his birthday was only a few days away. David won! He was harnessed and tied to the ropes. He stood at the edge of the bridge, jumped headfirst and backwards into the darkness. The friends heard a “plink” sound then silence. Steve knew the “plink” to be the sound of the metal on David’s harness hitting rock below. David was instantly killed. Share Your Transcommunication Experiences Have you recorded an after-transition message from a loved one? Did you find an unexpected face in a photo- graph or video recording? Have there been unexplainable occurrences which you have documented well? Hearing about your personal experience may well help others who have suffered the loss of a loved one or who may be afraid of things

that “go bump in the night.” We are looking for personal accounts of communication across the veil. Contact with a loved one is of special interest, especially if it provides evidence of survival. Please tell us your story. You can send us an email at [email protected], write us at PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507 or use the online contact form accessible from the bottom of every atransc.org web page. Include contact information. All rights remain with you but your story may be used in the ATransC NewsJournal and may possibly be included on this website. Page 11 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Harrison Connections Continued from page 4 “I asked him what color it was,” said Michael “and when he said ‘black’ I was stunned.” They arranged to meet so that Michael could have the tie. Opening the package, he was more stunned when he saw that the tie was not only black, but very narrow and square at the bottom. Michael told me, “I couldn't believe it.” On Tuesday, November 16, Tom made his first attempt to speak through Stewart Alexander at the home circle. This was an evening chosen by the spirit team because Chris Eldon Lee, the BBC Radio 4 producer who made the program about Tom’s Christmas Party Circle recording, was present and knew Tom’s voice well. Tom had a real struggle to get his words through but finally he managed to say “Me. Tom” and having gained control had a short conversation with everyone.

From the transcript: Chris E Lee: We had a great celebration for you.** Tom: Aye, I know. Wonderful, … wonderful. Lindsey: Are you enjoying yourself over there? Tom: Wonderful, … wonderful. June: Ahh, that’s wonderful, Tom. Tom: Tell … Ann … just had to come … I just had to come. June: You just had to come. Chris E Lee: You did indeed … What kept you? Tom: If I could have come sooner…. June: You would. Tom: Yes. ... Ann, my love. J: We will give Ann your love. Tom: Thank you for being here, Chris … Chris. Chris E Lee: Tom, it’s wonderful to hear your voice, and don’t forget that if it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t be here at all. Tom: Yes, (speaking much more rapidly now) but what ... what is important now, is that you are here and everything I said about it, it is all that and more. J: All that and more. Tom: God bless. Tom has a particularly good connection with Stewart and the circle. Having met Stewart at the first Noah’s Ark Society meeting in 1991, by 1993 he would occasionally sit in the circle and later both of us became members of the Home Circle. He is now a member of the circle in the spirit world, and he is speaking almost weekly to improve his technique. As he said through Stewart in mid June: Tom: Only wish that I could speak better than I am able to

do at present but it will come.… I thought that I would soon understand how to do this but it is far more difficult than even I could imagine it would be. Even so his voice sounds as it did on earth; unmistakable in phrasing and accent. Eric On November 25, our friend Eric sent an email: “Last night, I couldn’t get to sleep so I used Tom’s protection prayer before opening my mind to friendly spirits. Nothing. Then I was aware of an urge to recite Tom’s favorite joke. I did. “Immediately, I saw Tom in my mind’s eye, laughing and saying ‘yer daft beggar’ and ‘Thanks, Son,’ as he always called me. “Then all my spirit friends began popping in and Tom insisted that I introduce them to him. “Suddenly, I was aware of Julia, my colleague’s wife who died nine months ago, saying that I hadn’t introduced her to Tom. I called to Tom, introduced them and they seemed to have a long chat and were smiling. “I was exhausted at the end of it and I still couldn’t get to sleep and am writing this at 2 a.m.” Kate Just before Christmas, I was able to contact a friend who had not given me her new address near Blackpool. She replied: “I know you will believe me when I say that around November 5, our circle began to pick up the name “Tom” and I could see him smiling. I said Tom is either very ill

or he may have passed. Now we have proof that he has ‘gone home.’” She now is very aware of him when she meditates. She stresses that she hears his voice “just as I remember with that slight accent.” Tom interrupts the emails she is writing to pass on messages to me. Our connection with Kate goes back to 1995 when she came to Tom’s talk in Rotherham, Yorkshire and we sat with her circle regularly until we moved to Spain. Also Over the following ten months, he turned up in Washing- ton State, USA; Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; South Wales; Isle of Wight; North Yorkshire and Hereford, Eng- land; with three mediums at the Acacia Centre’s Sunday services; our home circle as well as in Portugal where I was staying with friends. I learned also that friends had received messages from him through mediums in churches in Devon, Norfolk and Jarrow (Newcastle). This is on top of being at the Hull circle each week. In Norfolk, Alf was aware of Tom giving healing to me, even to the logo on his pullover which I recognized as that of our local Spanish hospital. Continued page 13 ** Reference to the celebration party we had held for him at the end of the Cober Hill seminar, for which Chris had driven over 150 miles to be there. Volume 30, Number 4 Page 12 Harrison Connections Continued from page 12 In June, Anabela Cardoso in Vigo, Spain told me he had left

a Portuguese-language message on her Direct Radio Voice recordings “Sou o Tom” (I am Tom). She sent it to many Portuguese-speaking people to verify it before telling me. Her account is in ITC Journal No. 41. When Anabela told me, I sent out the thought, “Have you really had a go at this?” Two weeks later I asked Tom about it at Stewart’s: Ann: Have you been experimenting? (Thinking of the recording) Tom: Hahahaha (very breathily) June: He’s laughing. Tom: You know the answer to that, Ann. Only give me time, give me time. It is so strange even for me, so strange. The next week, in our home circle in Spain, Barbara clairaudiently heard: “I can do more than boil an egg now!” This was my answer! If I left him for a day all he would make for his lunch was soft-boiled eggs. “Only connect! Only connect!” One afternoon in July, this phrase was running through my head. Two days later I received an email from Kate. She wrote: “I heard him say, ‘Ann book, Ann book.’ The next day, back it came again: ‘Ann book, Ann book’ and ‘Harrison Connections.’ Later that day, I went on the computer and oh my, the second line of your e-mail was ‘there may be a book in it!’” I replied: “Harrison Communications that’s a great title.” As she replied to me she again sensed Tom saying “No not ‘communications’ … Harrison Connections.” Intercontinental connections An email from Kate on August

7 told me: “I sense he is having a bit of fun. He has done something … learned to fly and has got his pilot’s wings.” Four days later, a phone call from Violet in Melbourne, Australia told me of a table sitting she had with part of her circle. It spelled out “Tom.” To which the sitters asked, “Brother?” The reply was, “No! … Harrison.” The table shot all over the room and up to the ceiling. She asked if she should tell me about it and the table movement confirmed “Yes” and “Tell Ann I’ve connected!” The following evening Kate’s circle sat in North West England and time and again Kate heard “Table tilting,” “Doing table tilting” and “Lifting table.” She kept dismissing it as they do not do table tilting, but, she said, it must have been Tom confirming that he was the “pilot” flying the table. This demonstrates the links – connections – he is forming to confirm what he has been up to. Advance Knowledge In August, David Thompson and Christine Morgan from Australia came to the Acacia Centre for a week of demon- strations and workshops. On introducing myself, Christine told me of a waking vision she had some weeks before. A man had shown himself, then shown her a book pointing at the name, Tom Harrison. He said, “I will speak to you again.” She had not met him before. After the Monday séance, she told me that in fact he had said,

“The next time you will hear me speak will be in a séance.” (But she hadn’t wanted to pre-empt the séance). On Monday evening, Tom materialized (in the dark), came to me and spoke with me. He then moved away across the room to speak to Robert and Robin Foy, both of whom knew him well and recognized his distinctive voice. On Thursday evening, they gave a demonstration of mental mediumship and finally Christine brought Tom through. The evidence was very good: small personal, humorous details no one knew. In September, in Hull, England, he materialized, took my hand and then tried to speak but it was too much. I heard his familiar emotional, “Oh, oh, oh” but he could not continue. After a few moments he reformed and we told him not to try to move, just speak. He told me that he was settled now but misses me and that he is often with me. So one year on, and with the three connections at the October seminar this year, Tom has made connections to twenty-six different people in the year! In November, the physical medium Scott Milligan came to the Acacia Centre for two days of work- shops and a séance and Tom took the opportunity of connecting three times in the two days through three different trance mediums. Tom’s book Michael Bagan said, “In that ‘connection’ a year ago, he plans to come through many, many mediums, but not necessarily while Ann is sitting with them.

She will be told about them in phone calls.” (emails!) Tom’s connections are worldwide, and as the good communicator he was, he is trying everything to make sure we know and that we can tell everyone “We live on” and “What we do matters.” I await the next months with anticipation as to what he will do next. As he has said: Please, give my love, my regards, to everyone who knows me. Tell them all.. they haven’t seen anything yet. Harrison, Tom, Life After Death: Living Proof by Tom Harrison is available from Saturday Night Press publication, snppbooks.com, ISBN 978-0955705014, The Christmas Party Sitting, 1954 CD and books and CDs about Stewart Alexander’s mediumship are also available from Satur- day Night Press Publications at snppbooks.com Page 13 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal SpeakJet Allophones Experiment with Five Simultaneous Recordings by Edgar Müller Recording devices The EVPmaker output was directed to the computer speakers so that multiple peripheral recorders could be used. These included: Ÿ Olympus WS-321M digital USB recorder, f=22 kHz, 16 Introduction Spring 2011, a series of experiments were carried out with Sweden’s most known medium, an Englishman named Terry Evans. He is well know from Swedish television and his group séances which are booked months ahead. Terry had been told many years ago to become a successful medium, and today, has regular spiritual contacts with a guardian entity called ”Ascala.” EVP is thought to depend on mental ability of the experimenter, and also on the communicator’s willingness

and ability to influence the physical world. If this is true, what would be the effect of having a successful medium with no EVP experience participate in the experi- ment? A group of researchers, including three professors, three Ph.Ds. and four other highly qualified people, have the objective of gathering scientific informa- tion about Terry Evans’ mediumistic abilities. As part of that larger project, this experiment focuses on mediumistic influence on EVP. Last year, a psychometry experiment was conducted. EEG and EVP recordings are also planned for a time that the medium is in contact with his guardian entity. Research Questions Four objectives were determined for this experiment: 1. Will the presence of a successful medium lead to 2. more and better EVP? Is it possible to solicit information from the medi- um’s guardian entity which will improve communi- cation via EVP and which might explain how EVP is sent to us from another dimension? 3. Which recording system is most suitable for EVP? 4. Is EVP an acoustical or an electronic event? Protocol for the experiment EVPmaker,1 a computer program specifically designed to produce EVP, was used as the technology for EVP forma- tion. A file of 72 allophones generated by the SpeakJet chip2 set was used. Settings for the program included: Ÿ Three sessions: allophones with segments* 50-90 msec, Z-cross Ÿ One session: allophone cue list and allophones with segments alternating Ÿ One session: Serbian language, 50-90 msec Z-cross as a comparison to allophone file bit, built in

mic Ÿ Marantz PMD 661, pro field recorder, f= 48 kHz, 16 bit, built in mic Ÿ Sony TCM 9000 semi-pro analogue cassette recorder, Sony external elec- tret mic Ÿ Sony Hi-Fi cassette recorder and ampli- fier, external dynamic mic with pre- amplifier In addition to the four acoustical record- ings, digital reference files were created by using the RECORD function of EVP- maker. Such files have their origin in the sound card and the signals are conse- quently only electronic, in contrast with the sounds from the speakers which depend on the alteration of the sound pressure in the air. EVPmaker Procedure The sessions were conducted with the medium at a remote location. The medium telephoned at prearranged times, after he had meditated 10-15 minutes and felt he had reached an altered state of mind and had contact with his guardian entity. The EVPmaker output was played via the laptop speakers at about 60 A-weighted decibels (dBA).** The medium asked an average of ten pre-established questions which could be heard from the loudspeaker of the telephone. During the questions the output level of the computer was reduced to below 50 dBA. After each question, 40-60 seconds were allowed for the etheric communicator to answer. Both the questions and the output from the laptop were recorded. In the beginning, the questions were simple such as “Do we have contact?” “Please tell your name” and “Can you give us any advice?” Later, the questions became more complicated, as the medium said

that he had been given advice by his guardian entity what to ask. For instance, “Is the purpose of this experiment to demonstrate my abilities to the scientists, please answer yes or no?” Altogether five sessions plus one initial test session were carried out. Continued page 15 *The reason for using segments was to avoid EVP like “I love you,” where “I” and “you” are complete, individual allophones. ** dBA: the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear. Volume 30, Number 4 Page 14 EVPmaker Experiment Continued from page 14 Hardware and software Computer HP Compaq nc 8430, Fujitsu E 8430, Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 were used, all configured with Windows XP and SP 3. Sound files Ÿ Recording: WAV files were created in GoldWave 5.58, for the analogue recordings: f=48 kHz and 24 bit. Ÿ Listening: GoldWave and Acoustica 3.20 were used, Ÿ Sennheiser earphones Ÿ In some special cases: SIL International’s Speech Ana- lyzer 3.0.1 was used for phonetic analysis Ÿ EM field measuring instrument for the range 5 Hz-to- 100 kHz; during the sessions no significant deviations from the normal background level were observed. Evaluation Every session was separately listened to twice by my wife, who for many years has participated in my EVP research, and by me. Additionally, files containing seemingly inter- esting EVP were listened to one more time. Finally, my wife and I listened to selected files together in order to make the comparison between the five recordings. The

best ten EVP plus two false EVP files were sent to a listening panel consisting of seven researchers qualified in various disciplines but with no experiences of EVP whatso- ever. Including false EVP in this context was suggested by Alec MacRae. Result of the listening panel phase of this study will be reported separately. Five sessions using five recording devices were planned; however, due to problems during the experiment, five recordings had to be disregarded, resulting in an actual number of twenty files available for evaluation. The average duration of the files is just over ten minutes. Every file was automatically slowed to 60%, resulting in approx- imately sixteen-minute-long recordings. Considerations This report is based upon the evaluation of seventeen recordings which appear to show a striking similarity regarding many aspects of the noted EVP. Although EVPmaker is technically an excellent tool, it has several properties that make evaluation of the recordings very difficult. First, listening to the continuous, monoto- nous, staccato sounds is very tiring and demands concen- tration from the experimenter. Also, EVPmaker generates many EVP-like combinations of allophones or segments. To eliminate the risk of pareidolia, considerable effort was made during the listening process to identify what appeared to be genuine EVP as opposed to subjective interpretation of poor EVP and word-like cocktails of allophone segments. The mind’s ability to understand poorly articulated words, a phenomenon known as “perceptual restoration” in phonetics and in cognitive psychology, is a dangerous pitfall in EVP research. In many cases, my

wife and I heard quite different words at the same place on the file. As such, this report is based only on those EVP which each of us separately understood twice and which we agreed on during the final corroboration. The fact that we heard different words does not mean that those words are just random combinations of voice segments. It could also mean the words were EVP that were not of sufficient quality for scientific scrutiny. Several EVP were very clear indeed; clearer than the transform EVP we previously experienced using. This may be the positive side of using EVPmaker with allophones. Conclusions Research Question 1 Did we receive more or better EVP thanks to the participa- tion of the medium? The result is not conclusive. The amount of EVP was higher than our previous experiences; moreover many more English words were noted, including some really clear ones. One of the several characteristic features of EVP is that they are in most cases in the native language of the experimenter and therefore the occurrence of so many EVP in English could be ascribed to the medium whose first language is English. The role of the English allophones is however not sufficiently understood. The fact is, the 5th session with Serbian as a raw file generated only a few English words. Can the English allophone segments facili- tate the creation of English words much more than seg- ments of Serbian? It appears to be a reasonable thought. On the other

side, a complicating factor was the occur- rence of several EVP in Hungarian, which is my native language; although I have lived in Sweden over fifty years and seldom use Hungarian. The questions arises whether we had contact with more than one communicator or if the communicators addressed both of us in our native languages. Two different types of EVP were apparently recorded. When listening, the amplitude of the waveform was adjusted to approximately 75% of the screen height. Before and after the medium asked his questions, the output of the EVPmaker was faded out and then faded in. There were also some seconds of silence before he asked his questions and between his words. During these periods the wave- form had an amplitude of only about 10%, and at those places, several EVP were noted. Interestingly, these words had a completely different prosody and another voice than what is typical for the EVPmaker. Obviously it can be considered that transform EVP were created and heard when the EVPmaker signal with the high amplitude did not drown these weak signals out. Page 15 Continued page 16 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVPmaker Experiment Continued from page 15 Research Question 2 Is it possible to solicit information from the medium’s guardian entity? No straightforward answers were pro- vided. In a couple of cases when the medium concluded his questions with a “please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” a rather weak word was heard. They could have been “yes” but they were of

Class D, implying there was great uncertainty as to what was said. Some EVP could be hints, advice or coded messages; among the best EVP were: “monostart,” “air- port,” “boggy,” “atlas,” “institute isky” and “office.” The most common and class A EVP, repeated maybe twenty-five times in several recordings was a one syllable word in Hungarian meaning the number five in English. One can wonder what this tangible message means, why did the communicators send the number five so many times? Research Question 3 A comparison of the four recorders did not result in anything unexpected about their quality and ability for EVP research, when used with EVPmaker. Subjectively, the Olympus WS 321 offered the most pleasant sound, while the Marantz PMD 661 had a slight “corridor-like”sound. The Sony 9000 had some noise as expected, but noise reduction was not necessary and finally the analogue HiFi recorder’s sound was somewhat “prickly” or “thorny,” probably due to the presence of too much high frequency in the segments. These differences were negligible. Objectively, the evaluation was not influenced by the type of recorder used when listening to good or middle- good EVP, but in several cases different allophones could be heard in a word when listening to Class C or even poorer EVP. The waveforms on the screen were quite similar but not at all identical. Zooming ten to twelve times horizon- tally disclosed the differences which is understandable due to the different techniques applied. Research Question 4 A most interesting observation

was that the EVP, both those with a typical EVPmaker sound character and trans- form EVP having a quite different voice and prosody, were present in all five recordings. Consequently, the influence of the communicators upon our physical world in order to create voices that we can understand, was an electronic event; at least in this series of experiments. In the case of the typical EVPmaker voices, the change of the RNG output must have been the source of EVP. Where the transform EVP were generated is not clear, time did not allow a detailed analysis of all the possible sources in the analogue and digital circuits. This evaluation for Question 4 is based on the compari- son of fifty-one EVP in three sessions, mostly Class B, plus some A and C, each of them approximately 2.5 seconds; approximately 120 seconds altogether. Since the total recorded material is about 320 minutes, these 120 seconds constitute only 0.6% of the total recorded material. There- fore, the statement that all EVP were present in all five recordings cannot be regarded as a universal rule for the receipt of EVP. There may be not observed, poor quality EVP or other sounds in only one of the recordings as a result of an acoustic event. A complete comparison of the five recordings, second by second using sheer listening as a method, would be an insurmountable assignment. It is not unusual in parapsychological research that an experiment leads to several new questions, which also applies

to this experiment. Unfortunately, the lack of resources for EVP research, both time and money is a most serious hindrance to obtaining needed answers. Observations Something quite dramatic occurred during the third ses- sion. One member of the listening panel, a young lady named Marie who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology, was present as an interested but passive observer. She had no previous experience with EVP. She was sitting about two meters diagonally from me. I glanced at her just after the medium said “I am opened up and connected” and I had started EVPmaker, and observed that she was hyperventi- lating. Her face was distorted and I saw her stomach moving in and out in heavy convulsions. Frightened, I told the medium, “Sorry, we must stop. Something is really wrong with Marie. I must call 911 immediately.” But she waved her hand and said in a very weak voice: “Edgar, I’m all right; no danger. Things like this happened to me before. I can manage it.” She continued, “It feels that something comes into my body and my consciousness.” Obviously, she had entered an involuntary change in her mental state; a kind of trance. Later, she relaxed but was rather tired for some time. Marie is a sensitive and kind person who left her aca- demic carrier for a spiritual world. Today, she is a teacher in meditation and consciousness. Was she influenced by the medium’s spiritual contact or something that we cannot understand? Being an engineer with an

“I trust what I can measure” philosophy, it is beyond my logical explana- tions but I have to accept it as a most real event. [Editor: expect a follow on report with listening panel results.] References 1. EVPmaker, by Stefan Bion, tonbandstimmen.de 2. Magnevation, speechchips.com Edgar Müller holds degrees in electronic engineering, economics and law. As secretary of the Swedish Parapsychological Association he is very active; author of many reports and papers for the Swedish SPA Journal, and also designer of scientific experiments in psychom- etry. Edgar Müller Volume 30, Number 4 Page 16 Dance with Death! Continued from page 9 Blaming someone else for my pain or sorrow meant I had to wait for something outside of me to fix things so I could feel better. Pain needed to be experienced to be set free. In order to do that, I needed to look these old feelings in the eye and allow them, instead of wasting my life resisting them. Ironically, being willing to feel and own them was the only path to freedom from them. My life began that day. I learned how to forgive and live unafraid of loss. I healed. I now trust the process of life … and death. Letting go of pain is a decision that must be made, more than once. Just as opening to receive the love surrounding us is a choice that needs to be spoken and practiced often. Enjoy your time here, be the glorious strand in the fabric of

if they wanted to make sure that we knew they were moving the ball and that there was no human involvement. The ball flew off of the drumhead and through the hoop. We were told that they liked to finish with a flourish and that Tommy was going to swing the hula-hoops that Tom was holding while Michael and Tommy used the trumpet to knock the football through the hoop, and then they would throw the trumpets through the hoop. They did this to everyone’s amazement and as we all cheered. Michael then said he was finished and we all expressed our great gratitude for a true night of great fun and play. Each one in spirit who had been involved in the evening came to say goodbye, ending with Silver Fox. What a wonderful evening. We had not expected a lot because we had been told it was a new circle. We came away with our hearts touched by those wonderful people and their spirit team, and amazed at the level of phenom- ena that the group is producing. They were able to show us that what we think is real is very limited, and that there is so much more to our world than 99% of the population knows. We thank them for trusting us enough to allow us into their circle and hope that we will sit with them again. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 The red turned out to be a poor substitute for the black

we usually use and there were only a few usable examples. Even so, we were delighted to have something to show the students. The first example is a part of the unedited video frame in which we found a man’s head. The second example is the head, edited for appearance. The third appears to be a woman with an afro hairdo. It is also edited for appearance. We have found it very difficult in the past to get EVP with a group. This experience made us realize that it really depends on the group! This was a group of inter- opened-minded people ested in learning how to commu- nicate via EVP, not just curious reporters. Right away on the recording there was a loud para- normal voice that everyone could Page 17 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Spirit Art Mediums John Brett and Bryan Gibson were amongst the present- ers at the 2010 Stewart Alexander and Friends conference at Cober Hill, England. They are unique in that they work as a team as if both mediums are able to sense the communicating person. John begins a reading by drawing the communicating person’s face on a transparent sheet while it is projected on a screen for the audience to watch. He introduces the person with a brief description and then concentrates on the drawing while Bryan begins filling in details. Bryan Gibson John Brett It is Bryan who asks if anyone in the audience recognizes the person. Almost like an auctioneer,

he offers more detail as individuals in the audience claim the person, but then decide it is not theirs as more details are given. Finally one person remains and Bryan begins a detailed reading which, judging by the sitter, is remarkably accurate. Spirit drawing of Iain Wright by John Brett The drawing is of Iain Wright who very tragically transi- tioned at the tender age of 15, and who communicated with his aunt during a sitting in May 1997, just a few weeks after his transition. She provided the photo for comparison, and the story was subsequently published in the Psychic News. [Spirit Zone (spirit-zone.co.uk)]. ATransC NewsJournal for Tablets ??? We are considering offering this NewsJournal for reading on mobile devices. We would sell individual copies for around $10, but members would receive a free download. Our objective would be to use the “stumble upon” factor to introduce ITC to new people. Past NewsJournals could be bundled, as well. We would like your input. Would reading the NewsJour- nal on a mobile device be of interest to you? German TV Show on EVP by Jutta Liebmann I would like to give you a brief report about a TV presenta- tion in German cable TV about Electronic Voice Phenomena that was aired October 27, 2011. The TV presenter intro- duced voice examples which had been received some twenty years ago in Vienna by the Austrian EVP researcher, Ernst Knirschnig. He had recorded messages and facts about a murder case in Vienna

which had occurred at that time. The police contacted him to record for EVP to try and get information on the murder and he received four relevant messages, which he reported to them. At that time the police had not solved the murder case. However, after the police solved the murder case and the murderer had been arrested, all four EVP answers received by Mr.Knirschig were shown to be correct! One of the police officers, to whom Mr. Knirschnig had told his EVP results some twenty years ago, confirmed the contents of the EVP messages during the program. The announcer introduced the relevant EVP examples (EVP in Austrian dialect) and nearly no one in the studio audience understood what was said. I understood some of these messages due to my trained ear. In addition, the announcer gave the tape to a forensic voice-analysis expert, who is employed by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, for further examination. The expert came to the conclusion that there were nearly no messages as received by Mr. Knirschnig at all! However, he admitted that he had never before been involved in EVP research. It was so disappointing! I had the impression that the announcer and his crew wanted to declare that EVP was not real. I guess that newcomers and the untrained audi- ence would agree with that conclusion. This is the usual way journalists are influencing and manipulating the public here in Germany. Members of the VTF [German version of ATransC] had been treated

in a similar way some years ago on another program. For that reason, the VTF has officially decided for the time being to renounce participation in TV programs. I recommend to these journalists to conduct their own EVP experiments. Then they could handle this topic in a fair and correct manner. Steve Jobs At a memorial service for her brother, Mona Simpson recalled his love of beauty and his family, and his final moments. Right before his transition, he looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve’s final words were: “OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.” Volume 30, Number 4 Page 18 Researcher’s Reports by Lisa Butler Ÿ Rhonda Burton posted in the Idea Exchange to say, “I was at one of my favorite locations, Pinnacle Mountain State Park, taking photographs and doing EVP sessions, when I captured this sweet voice. I had just said, “I’m leaving now” and was walking to my car. At the beginning is what sounds like a faint female voice saying “Don’t go away.” Then you can hear her say “No.” This is a remote location and no other people were around at the time. Ÿ Teri Daner’s giant Malamute, Kotabear, had been ill for weeks and was about to make his tran- sition. He was 12 years old. Teri picked up a recorder and asked for help saying, “Geoff or anyone there, if you can

come thru, please do. Kota is going to be crossing over soon. I miss him, take care of him. I am not going to say anything more.” Ÿ You can hear Kota’s heavy breathing and then an EVP saying, “O.K.” There is more panting and heavy breath- ing and then EVP, “Geoff” and “Love him.” Ÿ [Geoff, Teri’s son, was a big cat trainer before his transition. He has been an active communicator. Ÿ See “’Hi Mom,’ My Son” at atransc.org/circle/survival_geoff.htm] Ÿ Domenic Capaldi wrote, “This is a recording that Alison Kirkbride recently captured. She requested a response in Morse code. A voice replies, “I would hesitate” followed by what sounds like a message in code. As both Alison and I do not have knowledge of Morse code, we would welcome the opinion of any member who does on the content of the response. Ÿ David Mierzwinski answered back that he didn’t under- stand Morse code either but that he did understand how it works. He wrote, “The letters were sent at a very high rate of speed. I slowed the file, trying to hear the pattern of dots (short) and dashes (long). I could pick out five of the six. I am unsure of the third. The original file is first followed by my translation using an on-line Morse translator. U A B X D is what it might be. On the recording you can hear the dots and dashes that Alison got along with what it would sound

like in Morse code. Ÿ Lorie McMorrow wrote, “First, I heard someone say, “We love Daisy.” Daisy is a sweet dog Toshi visits with when we’re out walking. Then a female voice said, “Toshi fine.” Toshi has been recovering from a gastro- intestinal disorder. Coming so soon after losing Pardy and Callie, I’ve been doing a lot of worrying! I also heard, “Through, Grandpa.” Ÿ James Goodman said that he was getting EVP from someone claiming to be his grandfather. He asked, “Which grandfather?” and recorded “Grandpa John.” Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “I tried to reach my family by placing an IC recorder (VOR OFF) inside a small, open cardboard box (to absorb some of the hard frequen- cies) and placed that inside a closed plastic icebox. Next to the recorder, I placed my cell phone with the speaker on. From my computer, I played a file of my mother’s voice mixed with Graco filter through EVP- maker. I then called my cell phone from the land line, turned the landline phone speaker on and placed the landline receiver 1.5 feet from my laptop’s speakers.” She recorded. “Honey, we both hear you.” Ÿ Pamela Teters got a picture of her brother, Albert Bart Jr., by photographing light reflecting from moving water. Using her recorder, she also asked if he would like to give a message to his wife and daughter and recorded, “Hi.” Ÿ Gregory Treas has been getting EVP from his brother and says that he doesn’t hear from

him as much. He wrote, “I’m sure he is busy with his own agenda. But it sure makes my heart happy when I do. The recording was done using my Olympus DP-10 recorder with the microphone sensitivity switched to low and noise cancellation on. It was recorded late at night with no background noise.” The EVP was “I miss you.” Ÿ Yvonne Whybra was asking for anyone from the Big Circle and recorded “Richard, I’m here” Maybe someone might know him. Happy New Year! We thank all of you for your interest in communicating with the Association the other side and supporting Transcommunication! Without you we would not be here! Our “thank you” to you for your support comes from our hearts. It is a lot of work sometimes, but it is a message that we love sharing. If you can, we need your donations to support the outreach and research. And, don’t forget to go through the ATransC website at atransc.org when you make purchases on Amazon or Ebay - the buttons to get to those sites are on the lower right of the front page. We need your stories of contact with the other side. When contact is made it needs to be shared so that we can all learn. Without this, there would be no NewsJournal! Email them to us at [email protected]. Last but not least, consider including the Association TransCommunication in your will. There is information for this at atransc.org/donate.htm. Page 19 Winter 2012 Association TransCommunication

NewsJournal Just One of Those Things by Margaret Downey Books This happened a few years back but I still think of it from time to time and it always amazes me. My mother’s gentleman friend of sixteen years, Gene, made his transition back in 1999. She and I (along with hospice) took care of him until the end and it really brought another level of closeness among us. At the time, he lived on the same street as my husband and I, but several blocks north of us. I never paid much attention to what his address was or committed it to memory. I just knew his house was the very last one on the block, on the corner by the elementary school. Here’s what happened that makes me think, “Hmmm......” One day, out of the blue, my mom and I started talking about Gene while we were driving in the car. We were reminiscing, saying what a good man he was, how we missed him, how long it’s been and all that kind of jazz. It really left me wishing I could once again give him a big hug and tell him how appreciated he was. Well, the next day, the mailman mis-delivered a piece of mail to our house. I had no idea who the people named on it were and I didn’t recognize the address, but since it was on our same street, I decided to get in the car and drive it to the proper address.

As I drove along, watching the house numbers, I realized it was going to be near Gene’s house. As it turns out, it wasn’t near Gene’s house, it was Gene’s house! I couldn’t wait to tell my mom about the coincidence that our previous day’s conversation had been followed by a letter for the new owners of Gene’s house being delivered to us. AND, normally, I simply would have written “delivered to wrong address” and stuck it back in our mailbox for pickup the next day… In our hearts, my mom and I both believe this was a sign from Gene letting us know he’s still around. [Margaret is a long-time member. You can learn more about her work at itcdeadpeople.com] . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work

and programs of the ATransC. Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list, use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of experiments that I conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 30, Number 4 Page 20 Viewpoint Spring 2012, Volume 31 Number 1 wrap around our fingers gave us reason to believe other things that happened in the dark. There was no way an adult person could simulate that tiny hand. A reason to believe It seems

that at least once a week, we run across a new study indicating that our body-mind connection has more influence on what we experience and how we react than any of us have suspected. While our etheric personality may be a wise old soul, our physical pres- ence is a creature of culture if it is not balanced by con- siderable discernment. An increasingly important focus for the ATransC is how the phenomena people experi- ence are influenced by cultural conditioning. While the trans-etheric influence may be demonstrably real, the experiencer is thought to be the conduit by which it becomes physical and that means it is translated by the experiencer’s worldview. All of this is leading us to understand that people have difficulty comprehending new experiences. Witnessing a paranormal event does not automatically lead to belief in the phenomena. Tom is a good example. Lisa was alone in believing in EVP in the Butler home until Tom heard the very clear EVP, “Release and remember” recorded by Lisa. That gave Tom reason to believe in the reality of EVP, contrary to every- thing he had been taught as an engineer. Based on that experience, he became more open to the study of all forms of transcommunication. We have sat in many darkroom séances in which we witnessed indications of materialization, but it was not until we saw the glow tabs on Stewart Alexander’s knees float by at eye level that we were without doubt that his chair was levitated

out of the cabinet. David Thompson recently demonstrated his mediumship for our local Spiritualist church. Young Timothy, the child in David’s etheric circle responsible for physical manifesta- tion, circled the room in the total darkness, and without fumbling, wrapped his little materialized fingers around the fingers of sitters. Feeling his very little, warm fingers It is our practice to main- tain an attitude of sus- pended judgment while witnessing phenomena–nei- ther believing without good reason nor rejecting without facts. This all of frequently approach has rewarded us. As leaders of the ATransC, it is important to bring you a rational view of these phenomena. the Mendocino Cypress The Lemoreaux Brothers We have recently been contacted by Joan Lemoreaux. Her husband Michael and his brother Joe were early research- ers in the field of EVP. (We will be running some of the information from the research by the Lemoreaux brothers in the next issue.) Joan wrote us asking about someone to help her transcribe notes, reformat recordings and pre- serve the research done by the brothers. This same problem has been repeated over and over as we know of no organization that has the money or resources to pre- serve the past research of our EVP pioneers. If you have any suggestions on this problem please contact us. eBook NewsJournal Beginning with issue 30-3, the ATransC NewsJournal is now available as an eBook in both ePub and Kindle formats. A free sample is available on Atransc.org. They are $7.95 each and

will be discounted after a year. The price may seem high, but considering the rarity of information on this subject and the cost of other research material, we think the price is about right. These are free to members but we do not yet have a way to automatically distribute eBooks, so we will be happy to send you a copy on request. Tom and Lisa Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................................................................................1 Bobby.................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Morse Code Messages in EVP Recordings.........................................................................................................................................4 The Morse Team................................................................................................................................................................................6 Dying Words: Steve Jobs Wasn’t the Only One................................................................................................................................8 Ectoplasm Photographed in White Light..........................................................................................................................................9 The Transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra ...................................................................................................................11 Transcommunication Via Telephone..............................................................................................................................................12 Big Circle Recording Dates...............................................................................................................................................................13 Rosemary Smith...............................................................................................................................................................................13 From a Website Visitor....................................................................................................................................................................13 Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones.............................................................................................................14 Speaking With One Voice................................................................................................................................................................18 The Engineering Imperative............................................................................................................................................................19 Precognition.....................................................................................................................................................................................19 News from Members.......................................................................................................................................................................20 Skype Call to Debbie Caruso............................................................................................................................................................20 ITC Using Digital Camera and TV Screen.........................................................................................................................................20 Researchers’ Reports.......................................................................................................................................................................21 Spring 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Lloyd Bradshaw Hans Heinmenberg Supporters Domenic Capaldi Diane D. Moseley David Schmincke David Sircom Stephen Smith Kathy Stiles This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain.

Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annu- al membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication:

is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Tom and Lisa Butler Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31 Number 1 Page 2 Bobby by Michael Hauser My older brother was in bad health with severe diabetes. As his condition worsened, he lost half his foot, lost his vision, then lost the use of his kidneys. He knew of my interest in the paranormal and of my many trips to Gettys- burg, PA, ghost hunting. We often talked of what my wife and I experienced and he would also talk about strange things that had happened to him while living alone in the house my father built. Both our father and mother are deceased. Trying to liven his spirits, I would joke with him about if he died, I would try to get an EVP from him. I did this weeks before he died, not knowing of course, that he would die soon. He knew I was just trying to make him laugh and that I wasn’t really serious. stopped and then I started receiving voice messages on my cell phone … as many as seven at a time! It was the same voice as the messages on the answering machine. The messages would often include events that had happened to the family that day; things that only we could know.

I replied back to the number that sent me the messages, and it turned out to be my son’s phone. He totally denied anything to do with it and I know for a fact that he could not alter his voice to sound like that. Also, he knew nothing about some of the details in the messages. I went further, I went online and checked his cell phone activity; the calls that he had placed and times they were placed. There were no calls to my phone at the time the voice mails were sent! Bobby Hauser On Friday, November 23, 2009, he stopped breathing for an unknown length of time, but was resuscitated by EMTs. He spent a week in the hospital, with numerous brain scans done, checking for activity. There was none. The doctor said usually within three days, if there was no brain function, it would be very doubtful if there ever would be. It was decided to wait a week to see if there was any change, and if not, he would be taken off the life support machines. On Friday, a week later, there was no change in his condition and so the machines were removed. At approximately 3:15 p.m. the doctor announced he was gone. When my family and I got back home that evening there were several messages on our answering machine. One was from my aunt, who had to leave the hospital early. The other was a total shock; one that sent

cold chills down my back. It simply said, “Mike, Freddie. Help me!” My name is Mike, my younger brother is Fred (we called him Fred- die). There were an additional ten messages over a one month period. The messages contained personal information that only the immediate family knew. The answering machine had caller ID and it listed these calls as an unknown caller with no number. I notified the phone company and asked them about someone making these calls. They told us that the caller ID would at least register a telephone number, if not a caller’s name. I asked for the records of the calls but learned that they were only available with a court order. Fifty-one of the voice mails were sent from early January through about mid-March. Over the next few months, others were sent that were not as easily understood. The last voice messages are somewhat gar- bled. The last four or so, that started in about June, came from my wife’s cell phone. Again, she swore that she had nothing to do with it and showed me that she had not sent any messages to me at the time of the voice mails. This was upsetting and she changed phones and got a new number. I then started receiving messages from her new phone and number! More messages came in August 2011. As with most messages, they dealt with current events and past events. He worked at a quarry for thirty-eight years and a lot

of his remarks were about this. He also had a love for ultralight aviation and often spoke of this. But some messages had strange references that made little sense. He often referred to things that happened in the past but would change events. For instance, he said something about the houses being there when both were demolished after the property was sold. He asked where his wardrobe and TV were (they were in the house when it was destroyed). This made me wonder if there are alternative realities in the afterlife. One thing that was very disturbing which he mentioned in more than one voice mail, was that he did not get his pills while in the nursing home. He was on multiple medi- cations for his health issues. This was in his most recent voice mail as well. My wife and kids witnessed these messages. They were In early January 2010, the answering machine messages around when the messages Continued page 7 Page 3 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Morse Code Messages in EVP Recordings by Lisa Butler In the last NewsJournal we mentioned recordings being done by Alison Kirkbride with the help of Domenic Capaldi; they had recorded and asked for responses in Morse code. They thought that they had received something but were unsure as they do not understand Morse code. Enter ATransC member, Eric Cole, who has a love of both EVP and Morse code. Eric wrote, “Fortunately the Morse is VERY easy for me to

read. The code is as follows (these are some of the first coded messages):” File: DE AA8 “This is the call sign: AA8. The word DE means ‘this is’ in Morse, so: ‘This is AA8’.” File: KA “KA is used to alert the receiver to the start of a transmis- sion. Sometimes a series of V’s is used. This is basically used to wake the receiving station up to be ready to take the message.” File: I would hesitate “I hear the [EVP] voice ‘I would hesitate,’ then ... sounds like a badly sent CQ. CQ in Morse means ‘Seek you.’ Radio hams send like this: CQ, CQ, CQ, DE G4VZZ when putting out a general call to talk to anyone who is on listening. This means: (CQ) ‘seek you,’ (DE) ‘this is,’ (call sign) ‘G4VZZ’.” File: Mr. Edison “I hear: UNRC GB VNRC GB VN. This could be a station in beacon mode or the end of a transmission between two stations on the High Frequency (HF) band (0-30 Mhz). GB usually means ‘goodbye’ in Morse. These are possibly United Nations Resident Coordinator and Vietnam Red Cross call signs. Of course, other organizations may use these call signs. I believe it’s RF breakthrough or an HF transmission.” These Morse files captured by Alison were sent to Eric were after a request made by a member of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research. Eric wrote back, “All I can say is, ‘Oh my God!’ If this is genuine, we have

a class AAA+ EVP Morse recording. This is VERY clear it says. “A Hello World” This is very slow Morse and easy to read. The reason it is Class AAA+ is that unlike voice EVP there is no question of what is being said. It is what it is.” Regarding the next file sent to him, Eric wrote, “No way ... I’m in shock. It says, ‘Eric.’ Class A, clear as a bell. Just so you know that it really does say ‘Eric,’ it’s an easy one to decode. Each tone in that recording is preceded by two clicks and then the Morse letter tones. Here is the transla- tion; you should be able to follow it yourself: “A short tone is a dot: ‘(cid:143).’ A single dot is the letter ‘E.’ “A long tone is a dash: ‘—.’ A single dash is an ‘R.’ “Two dots, ‘(cid:143) (cid:143),’ is the letter ‘I.’ “Two dashes, ‘— —,’ is a ‘C’.” “To say I’m excited right now is an understatement. When you ask, ‘Is this possible?’ it sounds to me like the voice EVP says ‘Yes it is.’ We have a new mode of transmission, [let’s call it] MEVP for Morse EVP! I wonder if it is a radio ham on the other side. If so he/she would have had a call sign. Maybe Alison could ask if they have a call sign.” Alison did as requested and Eric responded, “I listened is This D4CFX. to the first file and got

the call a sign technician/radio ham with the Morse call sign D4CFX. Now here’s the interesting part. I listened to the first file ONLY and got the call sign D4CFX which is in a legitimate format and is German. I then searched for D4CFX in Google and found a technical document dated 15th Sept 1934 by R. Wigand D4CFX. Now bearing in mind that, at this point, this is all I know. I only have ‘R’ as the first initial from the document. I then listened to your file number two where you ask for his name. The Morse reply was ‘Wigand Rolf.’ My friend Peter Willoughby (G4VQQ), who is also a licensed radio ham and Morse operator, has listened to all the files and agrees exactly with my Morse transcription. He is an outsider to EVP so the poor guy is in shock.” Rolf Wigand Eric researched Rolf Wigand, D4CFX and found that he was a prominent radio amateur in Germany. He traveled to the US in pre-war time and wrote many articles and comprehensive papers. What happened to him is unknown as he disappeared in 1944. Some pointed their fingers to the Gestapo but Eric was unable to find out what hap- pened to Wigand during his final days. Alison sent along some more files for Eric to look at. In the recording session, Alison asked, “Can you tell me if there is anyone there capable of communicating in Morse, could you name them and perhaps give me

their call sign?” Eric translated the Morse as, “Nora Baker, Nurse.” Eric wrote, “So I think to myself, ‘Great, Rolf has got a nurse with him.’ So I put ‘Nora Baker, Nurse’ in Google and my jaw drops. It’s a code name and a call sign. [See: bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/inayat_khan_noor.shtml ] Continued page 5 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 4 Morse Code Continued from page 4 Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan/Nora Baker, usually known as Noor Inayat Khan was of Indian Sufi origin. She was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, and the first female radio operator to be sent into occupied France to aid the French Resis- tance. Code name - Nora Baker - Call sign - Nurse. Amazing stuff!” There is a great documentary on YouTube about her: youtube.com/watch?v=yvUXrvOhxPM. Eric decoded the file in which Alison asked Rolf Wigand “Is there anything that you want the world to know about you?” The response in Morse was “Not a spy.” Eric wrote, “This is class A plus. These are the most exciting for me because I am an ex-spy and ex-Royal Air Force. Basically I did the same job but thankfully in peacetime. Noor is a British hero and I feel privileged to have made contact.” Alison asked, “Can you tell me Noor Inayat Khan From BBC History, bbc.co.uk what is the relationship between yourself (Rolf) and Nora?” Morse response “Friend” “How and where did Nora Baker die?” The response was, “Dachau Raped Shot.” And,

“How and when did you (Rolf) die?” The response was, “Gestapo Heydrich.” Eric commented that all answers were very clear and easy to read, as usual. He wrote, “The answers are amazing, and of course sad. I have attached the spectrum samples so you can see the Morse.” [See below] In later sessions, Alison asked, “Was Nora Baker your friend when you were alive on earth, or did you actually meet in the afterlife?” The Morse answer was “In heauen” Eric wrote “He has mis-tapped the ‘V’ as a ‘U.’ This is very easy to do as you can miss a dot. ‘U’ and ‘V’ are very similar. Like this... V = (cid:143) (cid:143) (cid:143) — U = (cid:143) (cid:143) — “It’s obvious he means the word ‘heaven.’” Alison asked Nora if she had any messages for family or for them. A voice came back saying, “God Ali, they shot him.” And then a Morse saying, “There is no death.” Ali is a nickname for Alison although she prefers Al or Alison. Alison also asked her if there was anything else that she would like them to know about her. The Morse message came back, “I have blue blood.” With research they found, “Noor Inayat Khan, the daughter of an Indian-born father and an American mother, was born in Moscow, the capital city of Imperial Russia, on New Year’s Day, 1914. It was fitting that Noor should have been born within steps of the Kremlin, a building that had been

built for the royal tsars of Russia. Her great-great-great-grandfather was the Royal Tipu Sultan, called the Tiger of Mysore, a Muslim ruler who had fought bravely for his lands and people.” The question was asked, “Technicians, can I again speak to Noor Khan? Noor can you please tell me, have you learned anything since your human death?” The Morse answer came back, “Liberté is mine.” When doing research, the group found “In the early hours of the morning, 13 September 1944, four women were executed by a shot to the head. Their bodies were immediately burned in the crematorium. An anonymous Dutch prisoner emerging in 1958 contended that Noor Inayat Khan was cruelly beaten by a high-ranking SS officer named Wilhelm Ruppert before being shot down from behind. Her last word was “Liberté.” When Alison asked “Is there anyone else, either living in human form or now passed into spirit, that you are aware of that may have worked at the same RAF base, the same as Eric, the RAF base that you mentioned yesterday?” (The base mentioned was Finningley.) The Morse answer was “Leslie Morris PBX OPS. Here not blind.” By going to the Finningley website they came across this note: “Sad to inform you of the death last year of Les Morris. Les was a PBX operator at Finningley until his retirement in 1979. He was 89 years old and although blind since his 30s he had over 30 years of service with the RAF both at RAF

Doncaster and Finningley.” In another session, Alison asked, “Is it possible that you could pass on a message for either Peter (Eric’s friend who has also verified the Morse messages) or Eric from any of their loved ones in spirit?” The Morse response was, “Peter Dads Watch” and “Eric, Jas thanks you.” Continued page 7 Spectrum: Dachau Raped Shot Spectrum: Gestapo Heydrich Page 5 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Morse Team by Alison Kirkbride I have had an interest in the paranormal for many years, though to be honest I was always a little skeptical. I had a few strange things happen to me. For example, my father passed away twenty-five years ago and I decided to ask him to give me three signs that he was aware of me and was able to make contact. Amazingly, he gave me the proof I asked for. I do not believe that this was a coincidence, as this all happened on the same day. This peaked my interest and led me to try EVP. I purchased a digital recorder (an Olympus) and started to make recordings. Unfortunately I have no technical knowledge what- soever and had to resort to just listening to my recordings through headphones. I could hear on some of them that I had captured some- thing, but I did not know that sound packages were available to down- load them. Looking for assistance, I joined the U.K. EVP forum and I contacted Domenic Capaldi for help with my

files. He recommended Adobe Audition but I found the program too difficult to understand. I then found Wavepad, which I downloaded, and to my surprise, I found it very easy to use. I have stayed with this ever since. Around this time, Domenic sent me a Sony B300 recorder to try (he is one of the nicest, most generous people I have ever met, both with his time, encouragement and sending me new equipment to try). I started to use the Sony and have never looked back. I would never use anything else now. I have only been recording for two years while Domenic has over thirty plus years of experience. We now work together as a team and our results have been amazing. I work with animals for a living and part of my job involves caring for customers’ pets whilst they are away. I have been very fortunate in that some of them live in homes that were built in the 1700s. I have taken advantage of that and have done recordings in their properties (with their permission). It was during one of these sessions that I received my first communication from a communicator technician who called himself Mr. Gondalatai. Over the last two years, he has given us advice that has been invaluable. We were made aware by a group of technicians, led by Mr. Gondalatai, that the “energies” do have equipment over there which facilitates contact; for example, what they call a “Telefo” machine that allows

them to see and hear us. I cannot begin to understand how this works or what it entails, as I have to trust what they tell me. There are some subjects they will not elaborate on but one of the questions I did ask, which I am sure many researchers also ask, is how to improve the quality of communication between us. This is when we were advised to use a background sound, preferably a language to enable them to manipulate it to form a voice. I then decided to experiment with different languages to see which one would work the best. I wanted to choose something which sounded nothing like English, therefore making it harder for skeptics to say that my work was just me mistaking words that sounded like English. To further mix it up, I then reversed the voice files, so when listening to them, there was nothing that could be mistaken for English. After much experimentation I settled upon Russian or Croatian. These seem to work the best. To find Russian or Croatian speeches, I just look on the Internet and Google for Russian speech You- Tube. I find anything that is entirely one of these foreign languages. I play the video while recording. I then download the recording onto Wavepad, reverse it and finally title it as a background file. I never record for longer than a minute each time, as it is too tiring and time consuming to go through files that last for

several minutes. I ask my question first then turn on the foreign-language file for them to manipulate their responses. Around this time, our technicians advised us that they would give us the use of a portal which is run by technicians and scientists. Again, I was very skeptical but the results speak for themselves, I trust implicitly what they tell me and advise me to do. We have had contact from who we believe to be Raudive, Tesla, John Logie Baird, Florence Nightingale and even Steve Jobs—this was the day after he passed. The Steve Jobs file was posted by Alexander MacRae via Skye-Lab: youtube.com/user/PARATECHNOLOGY. I have sent Alec several of my files; he is another well-respected researcher and I value his opinion and it is nice to get feedback from others. We have been told many things about the process and one of the main ones is what they call energy compatibility. They have indicated that Domenic and I have energies that work very well together. Continued page 7 Alison and Kitler Volume 31 Number 1 Page 6 The Morse Team Continued from page 6 I do not understand how it works, but when I do my recordings, Domenic’s energy is somehow utilised to strengthen the link, even though I am in England and he is in Scotland. We have noticed that he feels very tired after each recording session. Domenic Capaldi During our experiments, we have asked for Morse code. We started out getting just small snippets which

never made any sense, as neither Domenic nor I have any understanding of Morse. Recently we were contacted by Eric Cole who showed an interest in our files. It was then that we started to receive longer Morse messages, often accompanied by voice EVP that answers or comments on my questions. Eric has been invaluable in translating our responses. Being a radio ham with many years, he is now a valuable part of our “Morse Team.” Eric Cole I honestly believe that people come into our lives for a reason, Domenic for his encouragement and energy and Eric for his understanding of Morse and willingness to help. When I look back at what we have achieved over the last two years, I am amazed. I can hardly believe some of the results myself. All I do know is that we feel extremely grateful to our communicators and scientists and hope that our work continues to progress into the future. Morse Code Continued from page 5 There was also an EVP, “What EZZ said was to love for Lou.” Eric commented, “This is good evidence as Peter had bought his dad a watch that he wore till the day he died even having links removed as he grew thinner from illness. JAS is the name of my cat that I nursed for six months until she died of cancer. EZZ is my nickname. Lou is a young family member.” Alison ask Rolf what it was like where he was and the

EVP message in Morse came back, “Peace and beauty.” Eric has sent these files to other friends, who are also ex-British Intelligence and know Morse code. He simply numbered the files 1 to 10. The friend decoded them 100%. So there are three people who decoded the messages exactly the same. [Editor: This communication is ongoing and there are many messages that are not included here. For more information you can email the team at: Alison at [email protected] Eric at [email protected] Dominic at [email protected]. Bobby Continued from page 3 were received, and played back. We often sat together and listened to the voice mails on the day they were received. The voice on the answering machine, and the voice mails were the same; however, the voice was not exactly the same as his during his life. His style was the same and my wife picked out certain ways he would say things in the messages that were exactly as he would have said them in life. I must say I was disappointed when the date he died came and went without any additional voice mails. I had really expected one. The same thing happen on his birth- day, December 20th, there were no messages from him. But then in late February, I received three new voice mails in the late night/early morning. These are the first messages since last August. It is the same voice with the same basic comments. He seems to be reminding me that he did not

get his pills while at the nursing home. He also relates to some events he mentioned or that occurred before his death. Once again, I'm puzzled as to why. Also, I am curious as to the strange noises that occur during the conversation on every voice mail. They consist of pops and clicks and sometimes a buzzing sound is heard. This is more often towards the end of the conversation. To the best of my knowledge, I have checked every possibility to see if there was a source or someone that would do this maliciously but nothing has been discovered. For all rights and reasons, I have total faith that this was my brother communicating with me, from beyond. There is no other explanation! Page 7 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dying Words: Steve Jobs Wasn’t the Only One by Michael Tymn From Above by Larry C.Crawford flickr.com/photos/the_patriot/ At the October 16 memorial service for Apple founder Steve Jobs, Mona Simpson, his sister, delivered a eulogy in which she told of her brother’s final words: “Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!” The initial reports did not include the exclamation points, but one might infer them. While “believers” see Jobs’ dying words as some indica- tion that Jobs was seeing through the veil separating the earth realm from a spiritual realm, the skeptics shrug it off as a reaction to pain or the ramblings of a dying man. However, such dying words are not unprecedented. Thomas Edison is said to have

uttered, “It’s very beautiful over there” just before taking his last breath. “Joy!” were the very last words of English author and philanthropist Hannah More, who died in 1833. “Victory! Eternal Victory!” were the dying words of Eunice Cobb. “O glory! O glory! O glory!” were the parting words of Susan C. Kirland of Burr Oak, Michigan before she passed on April 3, 1864. “It is beautiful,” were the dying words of the famous English poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In his 1926 book, Deathbed Visions, Sir William Barrett, a professor of physics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin, reported on a case told to him by his wife, an obstetric surgeon. A dying woman who had just given birth commented that the room was getting darker and darker. “Suddenly, she looked eagerly toward one part of the room, a radiant smile illuminating her whole countenance,” Lady (Dr.) Barrett recalled. “Oh, lovely, lovely,” the dying woman said. Lady Barrett asked her to what she was referring. “What I see,” the dying woman replied. “Lovely brightness; wonderful things.” “Earth recedes – Heaven opens before me,” Dwight L. Moody told his sons minutes before he died. “I’m in the midst of glory!” When one son asked Moody if he had been dreaming, Moody replied, “No, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful! It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here! God is calling me and I must go.” May Wilcox of

Marengo, Illinois died at the age of 21. Just before she gave up the ghost, she threw up her arms and exclaimed, “Oh! Do you hear the music?” As 10-year-old Lillian Lee lay dying, she told her father that there were crowds of children waiting for her and were calling her by a new name, although she could not remember what it was. As she breathed her last, she whispered, “Yes, yes, I come, I come!” In her book, They Walked Among Us, Louie Harris recalled the passing of her father. He whispered to his wife that it was time for him to leave and apologized for not being able to bid farewell to their son who was serving in the British Army in France. “Father was quiet for some time,” Harris wrote. “His eyes were closed. Then, quite unexpectedly, he sat up unaided, his eyes open, his face radiant. He stretched out his arms and joyfully exclaimed: ‘George! Austin!’ These were the names of his ‘dead’ brothers. A beautiful smile trans- formed his thin face. With a deep sigh of satisfaction he lay back on his pillow and passed peacefully to the spirit world.” Just before Eleanor Herrick died of cancer in 1964, Arline Sexauer, her daughter, entered her hospi- tal room. The patient in the bed next to Eleanor told Arline that her mother had been talking to someone named Margaret all morning. Arline explained that Margaret was her mother’s sister who had died many years before. Just

before Eleanor passed, she took her daughter’s hand and said, “Oh, Arline, it’s so strange here. I’m in a ‘never-never’ land. I’m halfway between two worlds. Ma and Pa are here and I can see them, but I can’t see you any more.” Dr. W. T. O’Hara reported the case of a dying 10-year-old girl on a ship of which he was the medical officer. As he sat next to the girl, O’Hara sensed a presence in the room but was unable to see it. As he checked the girl’s pulse and determined that her heart was still beating, the room grew brighter and seemed to gather in waves of blue and white and gold over the child’s body. The girl looked up and murmured, “Oh, look! How beautiful!” at which time O’Hara saw a misty, luminous globe over her head. The girl then cried out, “Oh Mamma … I see … the way … and it is all bright and shining.” Then the light rose rapidly and disappeared at the ceiling, at which time the girl died. When the captain entered the cabin, he told O’Hara that he and four other officers, who came with him, had seen a ball of blue fire right over their heads in the smoking room. They observed it float to the door and turn toward the cabin occupied by O’Hara and the young girl. An associated Press story by Tim Stonesifer told of a Hanover, Pennsylvania couple, Nancy and Richard Trim- mer, who

had died within twelve hours of each other after sixty-one years of marriage. Richard was in the hospital when Nancy died in her sleep at home, at 12:25 a.m. Later that morning, family members Continued page 22 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 8 Ectoplasm Photographed in White Light by Kai Muegge Kai Muegge I am a 43-year-old medium who has been working for eight years within the “Felix Experimental Group” in Germany. I have only recently revealed myself as the physical medium of the group. Since my childhood, I have been deeply interested in altered states of consciousness, and at the age of eleven, I became involved in physical interaction with realms in the beyond. It was then that I experienced my first ongoing poltergeist disturbance which was happening to a school friend’s family. For some reason, I felt a strange connection to this occurrence. When I was fifteen, I sat for the first time in a physical circle that was made up of mostly school comrades. They sometimes could, but mostly could not, cope with what was going on! During my studies at Frankfurt’s University of Applied Sciences I found interested allies who were able to intel- lectually and emotionally carry the burden of witnessing things that were unexplained. During that time I started to consult victims of unwanted intrusions, victims of polter- geist disturbances and certain possessive states of mind. During my life, I have put together several different sitter groups. Today, I find myself working in the

tradition of German “Spiritists” from the heyday of Spiritualism and especially in the tradition of the Schneider Brothers; mainly Rudi Schneider, who is part of the spirit team I work with. Rudi is mainly responsible for the experimental approach during my somnambulistic sessions and the séances given for friends and truly interested people. I originally applied shamanistic trance techniques, as Rudi did. For three years I’ve used a certain rhythmical breathing technique that was originally used for inducing different altered states of consciousness. It is called the “holotropic breathing technique” by the very much-honored pioneer of altered consciousness exploration, Stanislav Grof. I feel that holotropic breathing strengthens the main aspects of the inner dissociation process I go through when going into trance. To reach full unconsciousness during the trance I combine it with visualizing, deep meditation techniques and deeply installed post-hypnotic orders. This work has brought me close to a group of “spirit scientists” who call their group pretty simply: the “Chemists.” During the séance, I am fully dissociated from my regular mental state of mind and so I refer to that person as the medium. We sit during séances in the so-called four-limb- control (two people hold both the left and right arms and legs of the medium). The moderator of the “Chemists,” “Professor Hans Bender,” speaks through the medium while footsteps are heard at a distance from the medium and objects are also taken and moved at a distance from him. Strange hand formations appear on an “illuminated

plaque,” which is a well-known item at physical séances. Small animals that are alive materialize and they are recognized. These are usually pets of someone who is present. Tremendous raps and strange wiping sounds start to occur in the ceiling and walls of the room while spon- taneous, localized winds occur and little lights whiz around the room. People have been given messages from deceased friends and relatives on handwritten messages that are sent, sealed in paranormally “apported” wax balls with amazing synchronistic occurrences. Objects suddenly appear in the room or at the medium’s body; apported or materialized from ectoplasm. Also during séances the spirit scientists allow a large volume of ectoplasm to appear that can be witnessed by the sitters in red light. It seems to be autonomous in movement and consists of strange spider web-like sticky fibers that hold the whole structure together, giving it the look of cotton candy, or sometimes, veil-like fabric or foggy residues. The Chemists claim the substance is a creational binding material. They claim ectoplasm to be the substance that holds the “vital” secret; the evolutionary code. The histories of its mind-boggling features prove it: Develop- ment of objects and people out of it, because it includes the code of it all. And the spirit scientists are able to trigger it, and then everything is literally able to happen! We have many photographs of the substance and have been allowed to show its complete arrival through the medium’s body approximately every second or

third séance. Its disappear- ance was once captured in a photograph but it s disappear- ance is not shown during séances. “Inter-dimensionally triggered and based events cannot be easily understood by species originating in a one-dimen- sional world.” This is the simple logic behind, and the reason for, darkness causing so much suspicion. Our mental system is built in a way that fills in the blanks with things it cannot understand and that are not wanted. But this is not mine to argue, mine is to sit for all who want to commune with these higher organized principles. I regularly do meditate for the Chemists. And since December 2011, they have revealed more of the “fabric” of ectoplasm. Its existence and peculiarities of movement have been shown to people who come to séances. Ectoplasm in daylight During a meditation on January 24, I fell asleep with an unusually strong visual dreaming Page 9 Continued page 10 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Ectoplasm in White Light Continued from 9 sequence of a séance in which ectoplasm was produced from the medium’s mouth. What happened when I awoke, I wrote about over one or two days to interested parties worldwide, among them many leading parapsychological experts, pioneers of the scene, artists and other allies. The following is the first report that was originally intended to be a very personal and honest description of what had happened. After a beautiful weekend with my fiancée, I managed, like no time before, to unleash telekinetic

power onto a Ouija board planchette and secondly onto a pencil. Then something extremely weird happened in my flat, Tuesday, the 24th of January 2012. For several weeks during my preparative meditations, I received interesting information from the spirit world, primarily from the team around “Professor Hans Bender,” my main trance control. The message came that there was a new phase of ectoplasmic display about to begin. The team wanted to generate especially visible, large volumes of ectoplasmic substance and demonstrate its qualities of movement. This new phase would enable sitters to better observe the substance and definitely validate that it is neither a manufactured veil-material, nor cotton, silk or whatever! My receiving of information during meditation is a bit like dreaming of things, dependant on different deeply induced self-hypnotic states. These sessions occur several times a week. The room that I have created for meditation is especially designed to receive information from the spirit controls responsible for the way the séances are con- Pictures 1 and 2: These were taken in the dimly lit room within five seconds of each other (16:53:59 and 16:54:04). I was raising my right arm to shoulder level and the ectoplas- mic substance opened like a bird’s wing between my chest and arm. ducted. These session often describe, for example, new settings that later will be transferred into realization. On the 24th of January 2012, such a meditative attempt had led me into a heavy, nearly lucid dream-like state. In it, I dreamt a

certain séance episode: I was shown people approaching the cabinet with the purpose of observing the presented ectoplasmic substance. The ability to see was helped with the bright light coming from a torch held by my fiancée. These things always happened weeks later. When I woke up for the first time from the meditation I was quite disoriented. As it has happened several times after séances, I was not immediately able to return to full consciousness. I am not able to avoid a dream-like state overtaking my cognition when this happens, and I am caught somewhere between being awake and asleep. Regarding this state after séances, we have learned the easiest way is to just let me sleep. Within fifteen minutes, every- thing is okay! I awoke in a very som- nambular state. Even though I saw the ecto- plasm covering my right arm and parts of my chest, and even though I reached for the iPhone lying beside me to make the photographs, I felt somehow uninvolved; still caught somewhere between the different planes of consciousness. Feeling emotionally detached I took three photographs without thinking about what I was looking at under such special conditions. I was obviously not fully awake! Picture 4: First opening of mouth in front of mirror At that time the substance was extremely voluminous and cloudy and I remember I was holding my right arm away from my body to spread the substance: I photo- graphed two times (Pictures 1 and 2), when I

observed a rough human form coming more and more forward within the substance. I remember I observed some kind of swirl- ing-like activity involved while the human form became clearer. About ten minutes later, I awoke for a second time. This time I was immediately aware of what was going on. The iPhone had fallen onto the floor from where I quickly grabbed it for a second time. I rose from the sofa in the half-darkened room and entered the adjacent floor, where I turned the white light on: Two large mirrors revealed immediately the cloudy-like appearance had nearly com- pletely gone and that the mass was hanging in fact from my mouth downwards. Close to the mirror I opened my mouth and with the reflection from the ceiling light I took two more photo- graphs. I stuck my tongue out to enable a good view into my mouth. In Picture 3, I stretched my tongue out and it became clearly visible that Continued page 11 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 10 Ectoplasm in White Light Continued from 10 the silk-like substance was actually developing directly from my mouth’s mucosa. During the fifty-nine seconds that the photographs were taken, the substance melted away like bathing-foam, so that in the last picture only the central “veins” were visible. Picture 5: Second view of opening of mouth Picture 7: The cloudy parts of substance had vanished away, when the mouth’s mucosa connection was detached as well The ectoplasm was covered by a

dew-like humidity; even the last “cloud-like” areas. The humidity was visibly reflected on its surface. Some areas seemed to be more “wet” than others, when I shot the last photograph. Picture 6: First of the tongue photographs The connection to my mouth’s mucosa was suddenly palpably detached and the last residue quickly vanished away. All was gone. No traces were left or visible on my T-shirt. Like many times before, I again tasted the evidence of albumin. As it has happened after séances several times before, I suddenly felt a kind of sadness and fragility. I wasn’t sobbing but I had extremely weak knees and felt a huge exhaustion. When I telephoned the circle leader, it felt as if I was in a state of shock after an accident or something. But I recovered relatively quickly. Following the “Chemists” we can await comparable display-attempts in the future during séances. I am totally aware that the publishing of this all will stir quite a range of different reactions. But whatever happens, I want to thank you for your ongoing interest in my development and your support! (Read the FEG blog) The Transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra Yvonne’s obituary In Loving Memory of Yvonne Cynthia Cohen Davis Whybra, "Yucca," Nov. 20, 1954 - Feb. 27, 2012 RA resident of Castro Valley, she passed away at age 57 surrounded by family and friends at Eden Medical Center. Yvonne was a native of New York. She is best known for her infectious personality,

New York accent, sense of humor, big heart and her way of making you feel like family. She enjoyed spending time with her loved ones and animals, shopping at Walmart, watching movies and being a mother. Her smile, laughter and spirit for life will be forever missed by those that love her. Yvonne leaves behind her husband Scott Whybra, first husband and lifelong friend Malone Davis, son Jermaine Davis, step-daughter Jennifer Whybra, god daughter Sara Sue, and Darla Jean who was like a daughter to her and many close friends …. Published in Inside Bay Area on March 2, 2012 [Editor: Yvonne was an active ATransC member and practitioner. She was close to many in the organization and her enthusiasm and participation will be missed on this side. We wish her well on her new journey and are happy that she will be free of the physical body that was giving her so many problems. We hope to hear from her and wish her well with whatever she decides to do.] Page 11 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Transcommunication Via Telephone by Tom Butler Transcommunication via telephones has been around for years. In their ground- breaking 1995 book, Hello From Heaven, Bill and Judy Guggenheim (after- death.com) identified twelve of the more common types of After Death Communication (ADC). One was tele- phone calls, about which they wrote: “These ADCs may occur during sleep or when you are wide awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and if you answer

it, your loved one will give you a short mes- sage. Two-way conversations are possible. His or her voice will usually be clear but may seem far away. If you are awake, you will probably not hear a disconnect sound or a dial tone when the call is completed.” Shortly after an appearance on the Montel Williams Show, we were contacted by one of the show’s staff asking for an opinion about a cell phone message a viewer had submitted. As we were told, the woman was sleeping in one room and her husband, John, was sleeping in another. We were also told that he was snoring rather loudly. “John” The first part of the recording is a confusing sound similar to the sound of quickly turning a radio dial between a strong station and noise. During that sequence, a woman’s voice can be heard to say “speak,” something about and “Johnny,” several unintelligible words, all intersticed with bursts of noise and short intervals of relative quiet. The last of these sounds are shown in part (1) of the waveform to the right. As if the intelligence con- trolling the signal finally found the right frequency, there is a strong burst of noise (2) which tapers off to relative silence and a woman’s voice says “Johnny” (3). This is followed by the same voice singing “Johnny, I’ve got Johnny in my ear, in my ear, in my ear.” (4-8) After this you hear the telephone company announcement that the message

is complete. Even though we provided a detailed analysis of the recording, the Montel Williams staff did not respond to our questions and we do not know who made the recording. It is a very interesting example and we would like to know more about it. The complete recording can be heard at atransc.org/examples/telephone_calls.htm. We are inter- ested in receiving other examples. We are going over the many examples received by Michael Hauser from his brother Bobby (please see the article on page 3) and that of another website visitor. Several of these seem to have many of the same charac- teristics as the Montel Williams example. We have seen the characteristics in others’ examples as well, leading us to speculate that the study of these messages might shed light on a form of paranormal communication that may not be transcommunication in the usual sense of “dead people talking.” Characteristics As the Guggenheims described telephone call ADCs, the voice typically sounds “far away.” Other characteristics include: Ÿ The circuit often sounds hollow as if there is a little echo, but echo that is unstable as if blown by the wind. Ÿ There is often a “tuning in” or “breaking in” of the signal. As in wave shape (2) in the figure, this “tuning in” is heard as a gradual suppression of noise and momentary emergence of a coherent signal. Ÿ Both in the Montel Williams example and in the one sent by the website visitor, speakers often seem to be

speaking near the limit of their vocal range as if trying to project their voice to be heard. Ÿ The message is not always personal or even meaningful to the receiver. As with the Montel Williams example, the message is more like the subconscious musing of a sleeping wife. Ÿ In the calls referred to in the article on Bobby (page 3) received by the Michael Hauser family, the calls came first on an answering machine and then showed up as coming from various family members’ cell phones without any physical record of them coming from those phones. Ÿ In other examples that we have received, there are no telltale telephone circuit sounds. The calling number may be shown but the calling telephone is turned off or broken, again leaving no evidence the call was made by that device. Alison Kirkbride (page 6) reported recording a mayday call from the Estonia that was more like recording echoes of the past rather than what we think of as traditional EVP. Alison speculates that she has accessed some form of discontinuity in time, Continued page 13 Part of the soundtrack showing the last of the initial tries (1), apparent “tuning in” (2), and then clearly spoken “John” (3), “Johnny” (4), “I’ve got Johnny” (5), “In my ear” (6), “In my ear” (7), “In my ear” (8), followed by the recorded announcement for the end of the recording (9). Volume 31 Number 1 Page 12 Contact Via Telephone Continued from page 12 much

as Ken Webster described in his book, The Vertical Plane. In that book, he reported a spontaneous series of messages in 1984 from a person living in the past, and later, a person living in the future–all via his low-tech computer. Are some of the telephone calls evidence of a slip in time, rather than messages from people on the other side? If some of the messages are via slips in time or even slips in space, are trans-etheric messages (EVP and the telephone calls from loved ones) made possible by the same technol- ogy? Some EVP are clearly communications from transi- tioned loved ones, but some are also from people still in the physical. This is one of the reasons we speculate in the Unfinished Hypothesis (atransc.org/theory.htm) that our personality is always in the etheric–whether we are still in the physical or transitioned to the other side. If this is true, then all phenomena involving subtle energy are probably a trans- etheric influence. Considering this, then do all of the messages Alison is recording–slips in time and normal EVP– involve the same technology? It is interesting to speculate about these phenomena, but there is considerable work that needs to be done before we can speculate with any authority. More tele- phone call examples need to be studied and it would be nice to receive more examples of messages that seem to be from the past or from time slips. On her part, Alison has agreed to work with scientists

to better understand the nature of her communication but that would need funding and qualified scientists to carry out the work. And as always, what our members are interested in studying does not even come close to what mainstream science is inter- ested in studying. The issue of money continues to be our biggest problem with research. Let us know if you have other examples or ideas that might further our understanding of these phenomena. The website article will also ask for input and you can use that as a reference. Big Circle Recording Dates We have been told many times by our communicators on the other side to ask for help from the Big Circle as part of your daily meditation. Here are the recording dates: April 12 and 26, May 10 and 24 June 7 and 21 and July 5 and 19 The Big Circle team is there to help at any time. Often members get messages that help other members, so be sure to share what you get with other members in the Idea Exchange at http://atransc.org/forum/ Rosemary Smith by Michael Chiodo My mom passed away on Oct 29, 2011 at 8:55a.m. I was left a voice mail from the nurse at the nursing home at 9:16 a.m. asking me to call her back. At the very end of the message, my mom’s voice can be heard saying “Michael” before the phone was hung up. It was an amazing experience that I still can’t believe hap- pened.

The amazing part is that the voice is hers and is very clear. I had my brothers listen to the voice mail this past Saturday (11/12/11) before her funeral and they confirmed that it was her voice and it really shook them up when they heard it. I talked to the nurse at the nursing center who was with my mother when she passed away and asked her where she was when she made the call to me. She said she called from the nurses’ station which was about four rooms from where my mother had passed away. My mother’s soul must have followed her and knew the nurse was calling me to inform me of her passing. My mother had been in the nursing center for about two years after my step dad had passed away. She was suffering from dementia and had returned from a Tulsa hospital just the day before after suffering from acute pneumonia. My mother was 78. She had been very involved with her church had lived a good life. I was her first born and always made sure she was doing all right at the nursing center in Tulsa. I live in Texas, and couldn’t be there when she passed. I think she was con- fused in those first twenty minutes after her death and was calling out to me. She could have wanted to let me know that life continues after the death of the physical body, and she will be there when

my time in this world ends. I’m very proud of this experience. I was upset that I couldn’t be there at her last breath and help her leave this world the way that she was there for me when I came into this world. I now have inner peace with myself after hearing her voice one last time. From a Website Visitor Hello ATransC team :) I just wanted to say thank you for hosting this amazing website where fellow paranormal members can come and read your research. You are doing a lot of great things to further both paranormal and scientific communities. I really admire your true scientific approach. Page 13 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones A Yearlong Trial by Cindy Heinen Abstract This twelve-month trial was designed to determine whether or not information not known to a participant could be requested and received via Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) using EVPmaker with allophones. A target object was left undisturbed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Participants were asked to use only EVPmaker with allophones to produce a sound file containing the information identifying the target. To qualify submissions, the project manager screened them for reasonableness. Those possibly containing usable information were submitted to a listening panel of people who were familiar with EVP but who did not know the identity of the target. If a majority of the listening panel heard information as reported by the

participant, the submission was considered a valid submission. Submissions were rejected if a majority did not hear what the participant heard. Valid submissions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. This trial did not produce positive responses based on the study’s protocol. However, the abundance of non-protocol EVP captured in the study might suggest EVPmaker is not suited for the type of communication this study was designed to capture. Also, participant knowledge of the target might have to be reexamined as several targets were identified either before the target was placed or after when the participant knew what the target was. Future studies may wish to look at these non-protocol results when designing a follow-up study. Introduction Background sound is often used as sound energy during the recording of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). This sound may be ambient noise in the environment or sound purposely added to the recording environment such as the hiss of a radio tuned off station, flowing water or the sound of a fan. These imported sounds are said to supply the sound energy entities need to form voices. While these sound sources can result in EVP, some practitioners proposed that the sounds or frequencies of the human voice would be optimal for the communicating entities to use to generate a voice. Different methods of experimentation using human vocalizations have been tried including foreign language recordings, some of which were edited and clipped to produce random bits of

vocal- izations with no discernible words or syllables. Radio- sweep has also been tried. This involves rapidly changing the tuning dial of a radio to produce pieces of speech. In the late 1980s, Stefan Bion developed a computer program that he likened to a sound grinder. The software program, called EVPmaker,1 uses a random process to select segments of a buffer in which a raw, audio input file has been loaded. The resulting output file is a stream of randomly arranged short sound segments from the input file. EVP are thought to be formed via manipulation of the random selection process. In 2008 Stefan Bion offered a file containing seventy-two allophones generated by SpeakJet™ 2 that could be used as the input audio file for EVPmaker. The output of these randomized allophones from EVPmaker, while robotic sounding, were used successfully by some researchers to obtain what they felt were meaningful and relevant com- munications. Because of the standardization provided by using EVP- maker with the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, the program was a good choice to use in a controlled study of EVP. All participants, individuals who attempted to record EVP communication for the study, would be using Speak- Jet™ Allophones2 as the sound source for EVPmaker. Protocol The study was designed to ask each communicating entity to perform a task that would indicate understanding and cooperation. This task was to view a specific object that was set out at a specific location. The communicating entity was then

instructed to tell the participant what that object was through the participant’s copy of EVPmaker with allophones. Study question: Can the identity of a target object be recorded in the EVPmaker output file which is of sufficient quality that a listening panel is able to agree on its content? The Protocol: 1. A target object unknown to participants was placed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Sufficient information about the location to uniquely identify it in the world was an- nounced. 2. Participants, who responded to the public an- nouncement, conducted EVPmaker sessions using the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, but oth- erwise using any EVPmaker setting. They asked that the target be identified in the output file. There was no limit on the number of attempts. 3. Knowing only that the target was an object, partici- pants listened to the output files and determined if a response had been recorded. Continued page 15 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 14 Gathering Information Continued from page 14 Whether or not it was a likely response concerning the target object was up to the judgment of the participant. 4. Audio files the participant determined could include names of the target were sent to the project manager. 5. The project manager compared what the participant heard to the target. If the project manager agreed that the target was indicated in the file, it was sent to a listening panel. 6. Not knowing the target object,

the listening panel individually reviewed the file and noted what if any- thing was said in the file. That information was sent to the project manager. If a majority of the panel heard information as reported by the participant, the submission was considered a valid submission; if not, it was rejected. Valid submis- sions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. 7. Trial personnel The people who made up the study team were the project manager, the target keeper, three listening-panel member, two alternate listening-panel members and the partici- pants. Ÿ The project manager developed the trial protocol, oversaw the project, communicated with the target keeper, listening-panel members and the partici- pants, analyzed the data and wrote the monthly and final reports. Ÿ The target keeper was in charge of putting a new target into place every month. Ÿ The listening-panel members would review any au- dio files sent to them by the project manager. Ÿ The alternate listening-panel members would be enlisted to review audio files if one of the original three listening-panel members could not participate. Ÿ Participants were anyone who wanted to take part in this trial and could follow the study’s protocol. Targets The target for each month was taken from a list that had been prepared prior to the start of the yearlong study. The target objects for the year were only known to the project manager and target keeper. The target keeper would find objects that

she felt fit the predetermined list of targets. She would then submit a picture and a brief explanation of the object to the project manager. On the first of the month she would place only this object on a specific shelf on a shelving unit in her home. The object would remain there undisturbed for the entire month. This target object would be taken away and replaced with the next month’s target on the first of the following month. The following list shows what was requested and what the target keeper put into place for each month. A synopsis of her comments concerning the targets has also been included. May: An abalone dragonfly pin designed by her husband. June: One of the target keeper’s recorders. July: Pink roses in an engraved black vase with “4546 B INDIA” on the underside of the vase. August: A blue teacup with painted flowers on it. “JAPAN” was stamped on the bottom of the teacup. September: Zephyr scissors with “CLAUSS NO 78 USA” on one blade. They had blue handles with white paint and black gunk on them. The target keeper noted that she has had them for twenty-five years and thinks of them as “our work scissors.” October: I Am That, by Sri Nisarga- datta Maharaj. It is not a “holy book” in the traditional sense, but the teach- ings within are certainly considered to be sacred by many. November: Candle made for the target keeper by her son while in elementary school.

It has layers of blue, yellow, red and orange wax poured into a baby food jar. December: The target keeper’s favor- ite radio-sweep radio, a Duracell KP028 crank flashlight/radio, also referred to as a “3-in-1.” January: A child’s pair of BluBlocker sunglasses that belonged to the target keeper’s son when he was little. The word “Taiwan” is printed in white on the inner right arm. February: A peacock feather given as a cat toy by the pet store. March: A red, flexible bracelet with the words, “Stronger Now.” The bracelet was bought from two girls who started ARCHFoundation.com. April: A hammer with very faded print on both sides. One side reads “Dia- mond Island” and the other reads “Burro Cigars.” The pictures of the targets (right) and what the project manager was told about them suggested that other target words could be applied to a target. Continued page 16 Page 15 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Gathering Information Continued from page 15 Responses that were considered acceptable for this study had to be words or phrases that contained a word that could be used to identify the object. For example, in March the target object was a bracelet. The bracelet itself was a red, flexible bracelet of the type often used as a charity fundraiser. The best word for the target would be bracelet, but band or wristband would also be acceptable. Words that would be considered adjectives for the bracelet like red or flexible would be noted but not

considered a positive response. Participants Participants for this trial were required to use only EVP- maker with the SpeakJet™ allophone file provided on Stefan Bion’s EVPmaker website. They were allowed to record their sessions using recording equipment of their choice. Files thought to contain information about the target were to be emailed to the project manager, along with text of what the participant believed was said. Inclu- sion of the practitioner’s voice was considered a valuable plus. Altering the audio file through filtering or noise reduction was not allowed. listening-panel members did not know what the target objects were and did not talk to anyone about their analyses. After reviewing the audio files, listening-panel members sent their interpretation of the files to the project manager. The project manager then compared the listening panel’s interpretations with that of the participants who sent the files. If two out of three of the listening-panel members heard something phonetically similar to what the participants heard, the submission would be considered a positive response. Results In the twelve months of the trial, 648 audio files were submitted. In August, two submissions matched the target object, and in December, three submissions were a match. These submissions were sent to the listening panel but none met the protocol which stated that the target the participant heard must also be heard by at least two out of three of the listening-panel members to be considered a positive response. Month/Year Target Object Participants Submissions Valid Submissions Passed Listening Panel

0 0 0 2 0 0 In Oct 7 In Sept. (3 From Sept. passed listening panel) 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 4 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 2 1 2.58 4 3 15 15 116 72 86 63 59 33 19 24 64 Participants did not know what target objects were other than that they could fit on a stan- dard-size wall unit shelf. They also knew the general location of the shelf that held the object. This was at the target keeper’s home in California on the middle shelf on the right-hand side of the wall unit. After a recording session, each participant was to analyze and interpret their recordings while listening for a reply to the question: “What is the target object on the target keep- er’s shelf?” If they heard something they felt might be the target, they would submit an email stating what they heard along with the audio attachment to the project manager. May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 Aug 2010 Sept 2010 Abalone dragon fly Audio recorder Flowers in a vase Tea cup Scissors Oct 2010 A holy book Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Candle Radio-sweep radio Sunglasses EVP from EVPmaker is considered an oppor- tunistic form,3 meaning the message is formed from available sound segments in the buffer. But output may also be used as noise for transform EVP 3 which are

voices formed from background noise. Participants could submit either type of EVP for this study. If the partici- pant’s interpretation of their submission identified that month’s target object, the project manager would send the files to the listening panel. Feb 2011 Peacock feather March 2011 Bracelet Hammer April 2011 Listening Panel A listening panel was organized to review any files that might contain words that indicated the target for that month. It consisted of three primary and two standby individuals who had been enlisted before the study. The Volume 31 Number 1 Page 16 Non-protocol observations Although not what this trial was designed to find, some interesting things did surface during the year of the trial: Ÿ There were seven possibly positive responses that were recorded in September but that appeared to refer to the October target object which was a holy book. Continued page 17 Gathering Information Continued from page 16 This book has a black and orange cover and the back of the book is orange. In September, the project manager received seven submissions from three par- ticipants that indicated a book. They were: “red book,” “green book,” “bible,” “Book is the key,” “scripture,” “a certified orange book(let)” and “popular book.” The listening panel reviewed all the files and out of the seven, three were identified. They were: Book is the key. Certified orange book Popular book While these could not be counted as positive responses for the trial, the project manager felt the results should be noted

for a number of reasons. First, up to this point in the study, this was the first time that a specific word, “book,” was repeated frequently and was submitted by several participants. Second, some of the references to the target, while not validated by the listening panel, did seem to point towards a holy or spiritual book. Finally, the project managers and the target keeper both knew what the target was. But in addition to this, both had a connection to the target being prepared for October. The target keeper placed a book she felt connected to because of the book’s wisdom. The project manager, when developing the target list, felt that a holy book would be the one target that would receive the most positive results. She was anticipating the October placement of the book throughout Sep- tember. While one cannot rule out coincidence for these results, could the knowledge of what the target was and the intentions of the project manager and the target keeper have played a part in the results? Ÿ Group intentions and how they affect the outcome of an event is being studied by scientists. The Institute of Noetic Sciences’, “The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple Blind Replication”4 results suggested that ice crystals formed from water exposed to distant intentions were more aesthetically pleasing than ice crystals formed from water from a control group. And the majority of Lynne McTaggart’s intention experiments5 have suggested that intention can affect plants

and human project outcomes. EVP and participants’ intentions might also lend them- selves to some interesting studies. Ÿ As documented in the chart, three submissions were accepted by the project manager for the December target, which was a radio favored by the target keeper for radio-sweep. These submissions were “Her radio,” “The answer … radio,” and “Transistor.” The project manager accepted “transistor” because small, hand- held radios were often in the past referred to as “tran- sistors.” Knowing what to listen for, the project manager could identify these responses but the listen- ing panel, who did not know what to listen for, did not hear what the participants reported hearing. The question arises that, if the listening panel knew what the participants heard, could they have picked it out of the audio file? How much does confirmation bias affect the analy- sis of skilled listeners? There were instances after the month's target was revealed that participants re- viewed audio they recorded during the month of that target and subsequently reported to the the project manager that they found audio that matched the tar- get. The effect of knowledge about the target during the recording process needs to be explored and possi- bly reconsidered. Ÿ Another common result was the recording of what participants felt were communicating-entity com- ments. Most of these comments were normal EVP- maker random selection EVP. Most were quite clear and many commented on the communicating entity’s ability or lack of ability to be able to help

with the trial. Also on a monthly basis, there were submissions that were comments directed, by name, to the participant or to the project manager. Some submissions were negative in nature and a few did not make any sense. While several participants submitted these “comment EVP” the majority were submitted by one participant. Listening panel challenges Throughout the trial, the listening panel was sent audio files to listen to and analyze. None of the listening-panel members knew what the targets were. Often, what the listening panel reported hearing was not phonetically close to what the participant heard. They also seldom agreed with one another as to what the same audio file was saying, if they heard anything at all. This may indicate the chal- lenges one faces when trying to understand and analyze very short audio clips from EVPmaker using allophones. The clipped, robotic sound of the short audio files, along with having no word cues, may make it difficult for listeners to find any recognizable words. It might prove useful to submit longer audio files to the listening panel so they could hear the participant’s voice asking the question, then have the communicating entity’s reply. However, this has its own sets of challenges as the communicating entity did not always come in after the question was asked. The entity responses and comments could come in anytime during the recording sessions. Words created through EVPmaker, while having proper vowel sounds, may have dropped consonants, for example, the word “hammer” might

be heard as “ammer.”6 Since EVPmaker voices seem to create modified words it might be useful to train the listening panel to be able to identify these “new words.” Continued page 18 Page 17 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Acknowledgment The author wishes to express her appreciation and thanks to Tom Butler for his guidance during the course of this trial and assistance in the preparation of this paper. Also the author wishes to express her gratitude to the individ- uals who assisted in this trial including the persons who took on the positions of target keeper, listening-panel members and all those who were participants in the study. Gathering Information Continued from page 17 Number of participant challenges Several things need to be noted that may have had an effect on the results. While 648 submissions were sent to this study, the number of participants was low. There were never more than four participants per month and often there were only two or three. Also, from August 2010 until the end of the study, the bulk of the submissions were from only one individual. So while the sample size was respect- able, the number of participants was small. Having a greater number of participants could likely have changed the results. The reason few people participated may have been because trying to find an unknown target in a sea of vocalization fragments is a difficult task. Another point to note is the rigidity of the trial’s protocol itself. It is often

apparent in the recording of EVP that what works for one person does not necessarily work for others. Also, successful techniques have been known to sometimes show a decline in productivity for no apparent reason.7 All these points should be addressed in the development of follow-up experiments. Conclusion Based on the files submitted by a small number of partici- pants, the results indicate that gathering specific informa- tion (a target) that was unknown to the participants was not accomplished using EVPmaker with allophones and following the protocol for this study. Although not a part of this study, it does appear that “comment EVP” that identified the target was frequently recorded. These results suggest that following this trial’s protocol, EVP could be recorded using EVPmaker with allophones but specific informational EVP was infrequent. The reason for this remains unknown. The “holy book” results in September might offer a nudge towards what else might be needed to obtain information- gathering communication. An experiment could be designed to compare the number of targets identified between participants who know what the target is and those who do not. A similar study could be done to compare the results of participants who spend time having focused intentions towards a target and those who don’t. The development of such intention experiments would need to take more into account than the technical aspects of EVP communication. It also would have to explore if consciousness; intent and attitude play a part in EVP communications. Finally, knowing what to

listen for and how to interpret the speech coming through EVPmaker might need to be addressed. A tutorial for participants and listening-panel members on the communicating entity’s unique formation of speech in EVPmaker might change the outcome of any future EVPmaker experiments. Volume 31 Number 1 Page 18 References 1.Bion, Stephan. EVPmaker. tonbandstimmen.de 2.SpeakJet,™ speakjet.com, Magnevation LLC. 3.Butler, Tom. “Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives,” atransc.org/journal.htm, 2010. 4.Radin, Dean, Nancy Lund, Masaru Emoto, and Takashige Kizu. "The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Forma- tion: A Triple Blind Replication" Petaluma, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 481–493, 2008. deanradin.com/papers/emotoIIproof.pdf 5.McTaggart, Lynne. The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World, Free Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0743276957, ISBN-13: 978-0743276955. theintentionexperiment.com 6.Butler, Tom. “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?”atransc.org/journal.htm, 2011 7.Butler, Tom and Lisa Butler. There is No Death and There Are No Dead. Reno: AA-EVP Publishing, 2004, atransc.org/resources/books.htm Speaking with One Voice You have demonstrated your commitment to the study of transcommunication through your ATransC membership. In turn, we commit more than eighty hours a week to supporting the Association. The NewsJournal is now printed in color. This costs four times as much, but knowing that issues are often shared amongst friends, we feel it is worth the additional cost to get the word out to more people. In recent months, we have made an effort to make the Association website more accessible to the public to attract

more people who might share your commitment. That is also why we are taking the additional step of making the NewsJournal available in eBook format. Every so often, a website visitor discovers your examples, articles and personal stories and joins the Association to learn even more. It is important that more of us speak with one voice. As ATransC members, you are emissaries spreading news about continued life and communication across the veil to your friends. But there is more you can do. Increase the power of your voice by asking your friends to join the ATransC and making a special contribution to support outreach and research. If you believe greater understanding of these phenomena is important, help make that possible with your financial support. Tom and Lisa Butler The Engineering Imperative At least in fields of study concerned with the physical sciences, there is a hierarchy of skill in which scientists expand knowledge, engineers apply knowledge and tech- nicians implement plans. This is a generalization, but one which is of practical importance to this discussion. In a particular subject or skill set, neither a scientist nor an engineer can be expected to have the practical expertise held by a journeyman technician. In frontier subjects, technician-level skills might be equivalent to practitioners. In frontier subjects, practitioners are often the most knowledgeable about the subject, even though they may not be prepared to assess the paranormality of examples. For the most part, an engineer holding a Bachelor of Science degree has

been trained in the same subjects as has a person holding a doctorate. Doctorate programs are generally more detailed and include training in many task-related skills such as research design and critical thinking. Engineering curriculums are designed to intro- duce the physical concepts necessary to understand involved principles with emphasis on application. From personal experience, this means that an electronics engi- neer should be able to identify known physical principles that might be involved in the example. Point of view helps determine education Of course there are many life circumstances that help to determine how far a person progresses in college, how- ever; experience has shown that there is a substantial difference in point of view between people who choose to be an engineer and those who go on to earn a doctorate. Doctorates are trained to depend on precedence and guidance of existent theory while engineers are obliged to account for observed circumstances without regard to their theoretical nature. Put in terms important to the study of frontier subjects, mainstream scientists are taught that everything must be defined or at least predicted by existing theory. If an observed incident is not covered by known principles, it must either be an illusion or fraud. This point of view is demonstrated over and over again in the struggle for “truth” between Skeptics and experiencers in frontier subjects with Skeptics saying, “It is impossible and there- fore cannot be.” This is difficult to characterize without over generalizing. The point is that people

with an engineer’s point of view do not have the luxury of discounting phenomenal events just because they do not comply with known science. In this sense, there is something of an “engineering impera- tive” to account for the objective influences as well as the human factors constituting the environment of a design. If people experience it, then it must become a factor. In response to this imperative, the engineer’s approach to the study of frontier subjects can be expected to begin with the development of a hypothesis based on the assumption that the phenomena exist. In a practical sense, doctorates are not allowed to make that assumption. It is critical that people working on either side of the discussion remember that this difference in point of view is a huge hindrance to meaningful communication. In the spirit of Thomas Harris, who told us in his book, I’m OK-You’re OK that real communication between two people could only occur if both are in an “OK” place in life, communication can only occur if both sides agree that phenomena have occurred. TB From the essay, “Point of View” by Tom Butler, Ethericstudies.org Precognition In early 2011, a paper was published in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study by Daryl Bem of Cornell University was titled, “Feeling the Future: experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect.” (In ordinary language, the title means experimental evidence for precognition). Participants saw two curtains side-by-side on the com- puter

screen. They were told that a picture would be behind one of the screens. They were told to click on the screen that had the picture. After they made their selection the selected curtain opened and revealed a picture or a blank screen. The probability that a participant would correctly select the location of a picture by chance was 50% but the actual positive score was 53.1% What participants did not know was the computer did not select the picture to be shown or determine its left/right position until after they had already made their decision. So this procedure actually tested a participant’s ability to anticipate a future event, a test of precognition. John Poynton points out that “Bem’s results claim that effect can come before cause…. A reversal of cause and response indicates that consciousness, information gath- ering, can operate without the mediation of the physical sense or the passage of clock time. This transgresses the ruling dogma of materialism, that causality can only be credited to physical matter in clock time, and that con- sciousness—if it exists at all—is a product solely of this physical reality. Bem’s results are a direct challenge to materialistic authority, and if followed through, they suggest that consciousness is primary. In fact, it is simply the most direct feature of experience; all else is inference, including the material world.” The article reminded us of how we very often get the answer to our EVP question right before we ask it and may answer

our question of how this takes place. From: “Precognition and The Daryl Bem Furore” by John Poynton, The Paranormal Review, July 2011, Issue 59, pg 29 Page 19 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal News from Members Ÿ Margaret Downey was on the Beyond the Realm radio show (para-x.com) with Steve Tackett February 28th. Ÿ Elaine Kuzmeskus has a new book coming out in June titled, The Art of Mediumship. About the book: “The evidence for life after death is over- whelming, and scientists have vali- dated after-life communication. In The Art of Mediumship, discover what really goes on in a séance. Find out how mediums receive their in- formation from the Other Side. Learn how to develop clairsentience, clairaudience and clairvoyance through dreams, meditation and a Spiritu- alist circle. Read about today’s ghost hunters who rely on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and psychic pho- tography as means of communication to solve myster- ies. Learn how they capture spirit photos and voices.” Elaine is the author of several other books. The book is available on Amazon.com Ÿ Michael Tymn’s new book, Tran- scending the Titanic: Beyond Death's Door, came out in March. As the title suggests, the book is an attempt to explore the more transcendental as- pects of the Titanic story-- those sug- gesting a non-mechanistic universe. The subjects include premonitions, apparitions, out-of-body experienc- es, telepathic communication among the living, and after-death communication; many related to the Titanic passengers. Tymn is the author of several other books. The book is

available on Amazon.com Ÿ Al Rauber was the guest of Dan Sturges and Larry the Psi Show on February 27th. Hewitt of thepsishow.com/radio-show/ Skype Call to Debbie Caruso Margaret Downey tried an experiment in which she used her phone to call her computer, wanting to reach Debbie Caruso. She has two different Skype accounts. She used software called Softwave (about $30) to record the Skype call on her computer. During the call she rubbed a metal, graco paint sprayer filter for a sound source. Margaret: Debbie? Debbie: “Hello ... can you hear me?” Margaret: You can hear me? (Mar- garet heard her real-time) Debbie: “I can hear you.” Margaret: I can hear you too. (again, real-time) Debbie: “Can you hear me? Hello.” Margaret: Debbie? Debbie: “Yeah.” Margaret: Joey? Debbie: “It’s me and Joe.” Joey(?): “Margaret Downey” (Margaret is pretty sure it was Joey speaking.) Margaret Downey Margaret: I’m gonna listen. Debbie Caruso Debbie (Joey?): “OK, I'll stop. Bye.” (spoken VERY fast) Margaret wrote, “I can record both audio and video on Skype. It records each end of the Skype audio on two different channels. I open the file it creates in Audacity to work with it. I did also try video feedback loop one time; holding my iPhone toward the laptop computer to create the loop) and it does have some possibilities but I need to try it again. Got some very vague and dark images that made me think it’s worth trying at least a few more times.” Margaret

says the software add-on works flawlessly. See shop.skype.com/apps/Call-recording-audio-video/ ITC Using Digital Camera and TV Screen Jutta Liebmann shared four photos with us that had “extras.” She wrote, “My idea was to use a relaxation DVD titled Elements for producing “visual white noise” for the entities and I asked the entities (in thought) to manifest during this experi- ment. I have taken the photos at random from the screen of my flat-screen-TV while I played the DVD. It shows only views of nature such as landscapes, flowing water of rivers, ponds, waterfalls and kaleidoscopic patterns. I took pictures with my digital camera at random from the TV-screen. There are no persons and no animals shown on the DVD. The first picture seems to show a figure looking directly into the camera and the second is a front view of another human-shape photographed from the kaleidoscopic-like patterns of the DVD. The third photo seems to show a little boy above the white stripe of light and the fourth picture seems to show a figure in the center dressed like a person of former centuries. However, the fourth photo has not much contrast. [Editor: ITC pictures are always difficult to print and we were only able to get enough contrast on the first example - we thought others might like to try this simple method and see what kind of results they get.] Volume 31 Number 1 Page 20 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Martin Burns wrote, “You might be interested in know- ing I

decided to buy a digital recorder, headphones and download Audacity to try EVP. Not knowing the first thing about it, other than what I read on your site, I tried a few sessions, and believe I got what I believe to be EVP. One was very good and the other was emotional because I asked who was in my house and I received an answer from who I believe may have been a loved one who passed about ten years earlier. Anyway, I did revise my EVP page somewhat (openmindedskeptic.net). If anything makes me a believer it will be EVP and I do plan on doing a bit of research myself. It’s really fascinating stuff … Ÿ James Goodman says that he has been trying something different. He displays pictures on his computer monitor and gets EVP responses to questions asked about the pictures. One of the pictures he displayed was of winter and he asked, “What season is it in this picture?” He recorded “Winter scene.” Ÿ Allison Kirkbride shared three EVP files recorded using Croatian language as background noise. She wrote, “I hear ‘Alison’ mentioned in all three.” They were “Alison, hope you built this,” “Alison, know where you’re work- ing” and “Alison, only the source can name us.” Ÿ Cheri Kussavage, wrote “I was awakened the other night to someone calling my name. Then the voice said, ‘... it’s Uncle Manny.’ I don’t have an Uncle Manny, so I thought it was just the tail end of

a dream. But in the morning, I realized who it was. I had a Facebook friend, ‘Manny,’ who passed away in June. His profile page is still up, so I occasionally send him posts. I still send him notes like, ‘Hope you are having fun on the other-side’ and ‘In the blink-of-an-eye, we’ll see each other soon!’ I guess he read my posts, because I have a strong intui- tive feeling that he was trying to communicate with me. I also think he used ‘uncle,’ as a term of endearment. Maybe he’ll stop by again for a chat. I hope so!” Ÿ David Mierzwinski wrote, “I have been experimenting with my (now old) Cool Edit software. I have never seen the need to update since 2004. I found that by listening to almost any noise file in Electro Voice setting I can hear a few voices live. Some are loud at times. I asked for names for testing and actually got a few. ‘Richard Vicky’was one of the clearer complete names. It’s right at the start. Towards the end of the clip I hear the word ‘Facebook.’ I Google the name and sure enough the first hit is a Facebook page with the same name. Ÿ Mark Pierce wrote, “I had turned on the PX (Digital Dowsing product) to do a battery check. I then went in the living room with my wife. We were listening to channel 928 on our TV…. The PX started going off and after five

minutes or so, I turned off the recorder and listened to the file to see what was said. I picked up several interesting EVP. They were not from the PX, but were voices talking over the music and and it seems following our conversation. We were talking about knit- ting socks (which my wife had just finished) and the usual stuff old retired people talk about. For the record my wife’s name is Julie and she is a redhead. “The first one appears to be a conversation between two people. The others seem to be listening in to my wife and me talking. The interesting thing is that we weren’t trying to pick up EVP or talk to anyone, I was simply recording the PX to see what it was saying. The EVP messages were ‘I made a mistake.’ ‘Born a redhead.’ ‘Julie’ and ‘Feet are warm.’ Mark said he tries the PX occasionally but has not had much luck with it. [Editor: The PX is made by DigitalDowsing.com; an essentially an environmental energy stimulated-speech synthesizer.] Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “My cellphone occasionally ‘speaks’ to me, usually from my pocket or handbag; it prompts me to say the name of the person I am trying to reach. I learned there is a way to trigger this by simultaneously pressing two buttons on the phone’s sides. It could be, the prompt is inadvertently triggered in my handbag. (Of course, I prefer to think the calls are etherically generated!) “In November, I

received such a prompt. I told the phone to call ‘Allison’ which is on my list of contacts to ring my mother. When her machine answered, I said, ‘Hello, Mom,’ waited for a few seconds, heard nothing and hung up. Immediately, the phone prompted me again. I was in a hurry so I terminated the call without answering. Now I wish I’d answered. Last week in my mother’s house, I analyzed the message. There is a response after my ‘Hello, Mom’ which is pretty unintel- ligible. Listening to it over and over, I began to hear the quality of a tape played in reverse. So I reversed it in Audacity, and clearly hear a male voice asking, ‘Mrs. Sniffin, do you want me to call her back?” Ÿ Yvonne Whybra wrote, “I was asking for my mom using my Ghost Box and got my mom talking about her aprons. She always wore an apron while cooking. She had her two favorites. I kept them in a small plastic bag for memories. I believe I am hearing my mom saying something about me loving the aprons, which I do. Blew me away! I was so happy that she was able to make contact like that.” Yvonne also recorded “Debbie” and everyone feels it is our dear friend of the Big Circle Debbie Caruso. [Editor: Please see “The transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra” on page 11. We are sure that Debbie Caruso was there to welcome her home.] Page 21 Spring

2012 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dying Words Continued from page 8 went to the hospital to inform Richard of her passing. They noticed that the clock in his hospital room was stuck at 12:25. As one family member tried to give him ice with a spoon, Richard looked toward the ceiling and whispered, “Pull me up.” He repeated, “Please pull me up.” After which, there was a pause and he said, “Hold me tighter now,” a moment or so before he expired. The skeptic would say that they were all hallucinating. That may be so, but a hallucination is simply something not detected by the five senses. It doesn’t mean it is not real. In his 2010 book, Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms, David Kessler collected several dozen recent deathbed visions and utterances from various health-care workers, including physicians, nurses, and hospice volunteers. One social worker in hospice services reported that a patient named Maria who hadn’t said a word during the previous week suddenly became alert and began speaking in Czech, her native language. Maria’s daughters were present but didn’t understand what she was saying and beckoned their aunt, Maria’s sister. When Aunt Anna arrived, she explained that Maria was talking to people in their family who had died and was saying that she could also see them. A doctor told of listening to his dying brother carry on a conversation with their deceased grandparents. “As a doctor, it’s very easy to dismiss this sort of thing until you

see it firsthand,” he is quoted. “Could my brother’s vision have been a dream state? Was it a result of oxygen deprivation? A side effect of the medications? All were possible, but for my mother and me, none of those options felt right. It felt profound. Real. Neither one of us wanted to interfere, so we just observed.” Author Kessler, himself a hospice volunteer, concludes the book with an interesting observa- tion. “…I do know that the dying don’t say. ‘Here comes nothing. I now see nothing.’ And health-care professionals don’t report that the dying speak of entering a ‘nothingness.’ I’m going to believe the words of the dying over the beliefs and doubts of the living who haven’t lost a loved one or worked in a hospital or hospice setting.” Michael Tymn’s books, The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die and Transcending the Titanic: Beyond Death’s Door, are published by White Crow Books and are available from Amazon and all good online book stores. See Michael’s blog at whitecrowbooks.com/michaeltymn/ Members International Members Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online membership form $30.00 per year All benefits for one year m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o

o b s s e c c A not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the Member Registry or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 31 Number 1 Page 22 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno,

NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Summer 2012, Volume 31 Number 2 The Moon Imagine the wonder the moon must have held for our ancestors. For many, even an understanding of the clockwork mechanism of orbital dynamics cannot diminish the wonder evoked by moonrise of a full moon. In the Hermetic Traditions of the Tarot, “The Moon” (Key 18) represents conscious living. As the moon reflects light of the sun, so do seekers after truth express the source, depending on their progression. Seeing the Tarot as an illustra- tion of the cycle of life: the seeker’s urge to learn (Key 4 - “The Emperor”) acts on a growing perception of the principles governing the oper- ation of reality (Key 11 - “Justice”) to begin the conscious path toward self-determination (Key 18). The concept is that we are governed by the primitive body consciousness until we have sufficient understanding to consciously direct our spiritual evolution. attained White crow In the page 10 essay, “On Being a Good Witness,” Tom talks about “white crows”: those encounters with the paranormal that cannot be dismissed as imagination or identity. White mistaken crows are necessarily per- sonal experiences. They may be a shared encounter but whether or not they are or should be convincing depends on how well informed wit- nesses are and how well they can set aside unconscious social conditioning. An important white crow for us occurred during a recent David Thompson séance. The entity responsible for man- aging energy required for phenomena during the

séance, Timothy, had just finished demonstrating how small his hands were by showing each sitter a small, six-inch-square luminous plaque partially covered by one of his tiny hands. We had seen this before but the impact of what should be an important demonstration of phe- nomena had been lost because the poorly lit plaque is so difficult to focus on. This séance was different. Timothy sat aside the plaque and went around the circle to touch each sitter’s hands. We were all holding hands as a way of assuring that none of us were moving about the room. Timothy came to each of us, and without hesitation or fumbling, grasped our fingers with his tiny hands. As Tom described it, “His hand was very small. I felt his short fingers wrap around one of my fingers on each hand. The distance between his knuckles could not have been more than three-eighths of an inch. His hands were warm and soft, like a child’s. There is no way anyone in that room could have faked such small hands or moved about in the completely dark room with such confidence.” For us, that demonstration put everything else in per- spective. All of Timothy’s actions; swinging a trumpet, playing with drumsticks and touching us, were from the physical perspective of a small child with tiny hands. Consid- ering the need for the demon- stration to be in complete darkness, that one white crow put the remaining forms of evidence into perspective, allowing us

to accept the reality of that small boy’s materialization. This poses an interesting question for sitters. Pretty much everything in David's séance's is designed to remove doubt while convincing the sitter that we survive beyond transition. Continued page 20 May 5, 2012 moonrise; closest to the earth for the year Summer 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Richard Hatem Ellen Pugh Sustaining Members Betty and Don Nauratil Supporters Martha Copeland Donna Cunha Jean Estrade Dennis Fassler Michael Hauser Phillip Martin Dale Sizemore Eugene Streicher Harold Watson Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................1 Early EVP Work: The Lamoreaux Brothers...................................................................................3 My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance...............................................................6 Announcement for Grant 2012....................................................................................................7 After Death Communication Research........................................................................................7 Dreams: Direct Connections to Those in Spirit............................................................................8 Keith Johnson...............................................................................................................................9 On Being a Good Witness...........................................................................................................10 When Mainstream Media Investigates the Phenomena That We Study..................................12 My Two-Week EVP Experiment.................................................................................................15 Sharing Experiences...................................................................................................................18 Big Circle Recording Dates.........................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2012ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing

authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC

Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31, Number 2 Page 2 Early EVP Work: The Lamoreaux Brothers by Joan Lamoreaux Brothers Joe and Michael Lamoreaux are both obsessive types, who tend to eventually tire of a subject and move on to something else. They were involved in the study of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) for maybe five or six years in the 1970s, and espe- cially concentrated on it for the first year. Michael was doing graduate work at the time, and with the help of some of his professors, managed to get credit for his efforts. He was therefore able to devote nearly all of his time to this. Although Joe was working, he spent nearly all of his free time doing the work. After several years, they were finally satisfied that they had asked all of the questions they had, and received enough information to draw satisfactory conclusions. They then moved on to other areas of esoteric and paranormal study. The brothers’ interest in EVP originally began after Michael read Raudive’s book, Breakthrough. (Raudive, Konstantine—Breakthrough, New York: Taplinger, 1971) He tried a few experiments with inconclusive results. He came home from college, and Joe mentioned needing a project. Michael asked if he was interested in contacting the spirit world, which Joe was decidedly not interested in, until he learned it was by technological means. That got his attention. A few days

after returning to school, Michael received a call from Joe, very excited about a tape he played for him, in which several voices were heard speaking rapidly and excitedly, saying things like “Hello Joe!” “Can you hear me?” “One man hears you.” “Listen.” “Can you really hear me at all?” “We’re here to talk.” This was one of the loudest and clearest recordings they ever produced. Trained “ears” Because Joe had been a decoder in the Air Force, he found he could apply the same techniques to distinguishing the voices. He taught the technique to Michael, who after much practice was able to distinguish them well himself. This began an interesting journey wherein both brothers experimented from different areas of the state, and were able to compare results. Sometimes they would record together, or in the presence of other interested individuals. Their process was to begin with an introduction, then ask a question. They would then take a great deal of time listening to and transcribing the replies before moving on to the next question. Invariably, many voices responded. They would often say contradictory things, talk among themselves or make simple bids for attention. It became evident, and was even explained to the brothers by the voices, that this was a group process. Occasionally, certain voices would come in than louder and clearer others. The brothers initially made an effort to transcribe everything they heard but eventually concentrated more on the voices who answered their questions, as many of the

replies were not relevant and seemed directed more toward having the attention turned to them. The brothers concluded, with affirmation from the voices, that the beings were receiving a type of energy from the concen- tration it took to hear them. At the same time, it was quite draining to the brothers. Listening was a tedious process. Who were the communicators? They did not initially accept that what they heard were necessarily voices from the dead and opined many theo- ries. They were also not entirely convinced that the persons represented were who they said they were, and suspected that they were presented as representations to appease them. They did find that if they were insistent enough, they could contact anyone they desired to speak to, though not necessarily immediately. There was often a process or search that had to be performed. Naturally, they did experiments to ascertain the accuracy of the individual identities . Because others were interested in the process, but could not clearly hear the messages themselves, this was often done by asking questions of a personal nature which the brothers did not know the details of. Often this would be in the form of nicknames used in life by the person contacted. The results were satisfactory enough to convince the questioners, as well as the brothers themselves. Michael’s most notable confir- mation came when a perfect stranger showed up at his door, having heard of his work. He believed he was having contact with his deceased

wife, but sought confirmation. Armed only with her name, Michael established contact, then asked for the proof the man requested. She replied, “Tell him ‘a blue sweater.’” The man burst into tears. She had been knitting him a blue sweater when she died. Page 3 Continued page 4 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 3 On another occasion, Michael was asked for assistance by the police, who were desperately trying to locate a missing woman, who would later be associated with the Ted Bundy murders. Although the results were sparing, the voices did say that she had been taken north across the river. As several rivers were possible, he pushed for details. A loud, creepy voice hissed out the word “Yakima!” pronounced “yah-kee-ma.” This was clearly audible to the officers, who about jumped out of their skins. Later the woman’s body was found northwest, across the Yakima River. It became evident that they were indeed speaking to the deceased, although questions remained as to what degree individuality is retained. They were told some interesting things. Once they were told “There are not as many people as you think.” Also “We have many bodies; they float around us like a dream.” When questioning Edgar Cayce about reincarnation, he said that it was true, but not as we understand it. He described it as “a simultaneous directing of personality conditions.” Levels of existence They received descriptions of a multi-planed existence, with varying frequencies or vibrations. Our own plane

is joined with these. One question Michael has never fully resolved relates to this description being similar to the Mormon concept of afterlife. Since they were raised in a Mormon home, they wonder if this influenced their per- ceptions. There were indications from the voices that one’s religious upbringing could influence the communications. Things were explained in terms they could best understand. Although they presented names to these levels or areas, they also said, sometimes with annoyance, that they did not use words or names, but were translating into concepts the brothers could understand. Therefore, other descrip- tions or words may not exactly match these findings. One of Michael’s English professors, now a noted author in his field, researched word roots as they applied to these names, and found them to be applicable to areas described. There seems to be something of an evolutionary process in moving through these levels, which is pursued at the individual’s own pace and comfort level. There is a kind of lock-up area of limited “movement,” called Nilow, which is directed at reformation rather than punishment. This has the least freedom, and is not generally an entry point following death. The voices, while displaying varying degrees of knowl- edge and comprehension, might complain about their current conditions, and/or the residents of adjacent areas. Some were perfectly content. Others were content but aspired to greater “movement” associated with higher tiers. In other words, you had all permutations of human nature represented. Cheery, grouchy, wise, opinionated, argumentative,

authoritative ... you name it. The communication process is transmitted from specific areas. The Moozla, who described their area as Deenah, were the original group contacted. After a while, the Moolit, from Ree, gained the technology also, and would sometimes compete with the Moozla. Everybody wanted the attention. Moozla would often complain about or praise the Moolits, usually a mixed bag all in one reply. There are always many voices chattering in reply, or talking among themselves. Some have a lot to say of relevance, others are just talking. Rules The one conclusion both brothers feel strongly about is that this communication process is an activity that is tolerated but not widespread. They felt that they were a little group of weirdos talking to another little group of weirdos. There were many references to rules they must follow. Sometimes they would gain permission for frowned-upon activities, usually from Montayloo, which seemed to be a more evolved level beyond Deenah. Materialization is one of those activities. Ghosts and poltergeists are somewhat naughty unless invited by the person here on earth. Michael had a female stalker, quite a determined individual who was obsessed with him. She frightened him a few times with surprise materializations which he did not find comfortable or welcome. She was something of a rebel, who could easily make her presence known. She was warned many times by the voices to knock it off. At one point they said she was “risking Nilow” with her behavior. I believe Michael

said she even ended up in Nilow at some point. Nilow is not hell, but it is confined and restrictive, compared to the preferred “movement” so often described. It is called a “hospital” by those who are not there and a “prison” by those who are. Freedom of movement So there is a concept of relative freedom. Ree was the level above Nilow, which was often described as a hospital or healing area that is more physical. Ree and Deenah actually seemed almost parallel, but were often competing or critical of one another. The voices described how one may avoid Ree and go straight to Deenah as a starting point after death, implying a greater degree of evolution. Often, Moozla would go to Ree for a time for healing or restorative purposes. They praised the healing abilities of the Moolit (even if they did complain about them from time to time). As to the nature of their maladies, one can only surmise it is in the nature of confusion. The communicators Certain individuals were readily accessible, and provided reliable and detailed answers. They were not necessarily louder than other voices. Continued page 5 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 4 Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 4 There was always a lot of variance in volume and clarity. However, those folks known to them became recognizable in their vocal qualities and inflections, so the brothers would target their remarks in the listening process. Some of these folks were people known to them

in life. Others were requested by recommendations of people they knew. Others were unknown to anyone in life, but would identify themselves by name. Although this is only my observation from reviewing the transcripts, it appears that those known to them in life often described themselves as Moozla or Moolit. Other summoned individuals often described themselves as Montaylooins, who resided in the area of Montayloo, beyond Deehah. Montaylooins had a certain amount of control over the rules to be followed. They also seemed to have a greater degree of wisdom. Many of the people sought for having had wisdom or knowledge on earth resided in Montayloo. This area was described as having levels within itself that are progressed through at an individual pace. They had to travel somehow to Deenah in order to communicate. There would often be a certain delay in retrieving them for the process of communicating. Many came with reluctance, or could only stay for a short time. Communication technology In sharing with an EVP group in the UK, I found that one commonality encountered is the reference to lenses being used by the other side to produce audible results. There were also descriptions of telescreens, which the Moozla stated were used to facilitate their own visualization of us. They also described a device called a Domnit, which they used for various things, primarily materialization or a kind of crossing over, going “through the curtain.” They eventually gave the brothers a detailed description of a Domnit for

construction. This device, intended as a visual aid, produced some interesting results. It was diffi- cult to interpret the instructions and to construct properly, and they had some unlikely assistance along the way. But they finally achieved the approval of their instructors in the construction of the device. However, this was built toward the end of their initial research, so they did not do lengthy experiments with it. The lenses were frequently referred to. Sometimes a reference would be made to the darker lens being more effective. Once, someone turned a lens around to induce volume, followed by some exceptionally loud remarks. Among them was “Turn it down!” A great deal of objection was raised towards this. The lens got turned back around, and the volume went down again. Michael felt that they had the means to moderate the volume, but were some- what restrained to keep the volume low, forcing the listener to really concentrate on the response. Just one of the rules they seemed constrained to follow. The moon was also referred to as being facilitative of this communication process somehow. There were no real specifics about lunar position that seemed relevant to this side. There were several references to this being a process involving light; though not in a framework we could under- stand. The brothers theorize that ambient noise and/or light waves are being manipulated at their end to produce sound at ours. Originally they thought that their results were related to the magnetic tapes they

used, but now feel that any other avenue of sound can be utilized. They did numerous experiments with different diodes, micro- phones, radio and TV. Michael never felt that the changes made much difference, except for in the first message received after the change. It would often be improved, then revert back to the same volume. Joe was a proponent of certain diodes. As to the methodology used today, from recent examples they do not feel that there has been much improvement in the reception. There seem to be advantages in modern filtering methods. However, with certain notable excep- tions in volume and vocal clarity, which were always popping up in their work also, the recordings remain challenging to discern. I think it’s still a rule: don’t make this too easy. There were many references to warning them about something. However, there were also admonitions among them that we are not to be warned of anything. There is something of a non-interference policy. When pressed for specifics about the warnings, they would simply say that they wanted them to be prepared for when they got to Ree or Denah. The afterlife would not be what we expect, and there is a period of adjustment. Predictive EVP On occasion, certain specific warnings were given. Some made no sense at the time, but seen in retrospect years later, were quite significant. Other immediate ones were acted upon, so the alternative could not be known. One day they were insistent that Michael not

ride his motorcy- cle, so he didn’t. Most memorable was the response when Michael asked when the end of the world would come. The voices all chimed in in agreement upon the year 2001. It’s very unusual for them to agree. Michael later asked for confir- mation of the end date of 2001. He was told “It won’t be as bad as we thought.” This is interesting now in light of 9/11. It also gives credence to their ability to view future possibilities, which may be amendable. Changed percep- tions of outcomes may be due either to their ability to view them, or to ongoing events. Continued page 13 Page 5 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance by Patti Chick life was about to My change with new under- standing. I was to sit in a materialization séance with David Thompson. David first explained what to expect in the séance and the precautions that would be in place. He and partner, leader, circle Christine Morgan also explained the reasons we to be searched were before the séance. As they explained, ectoplasm is used for the spirits to materialize and this can be dangerous for David if someone tries to touch a materialized being or if a light, like a flashlight, is turned on during a spirit materializing. Patti’s father Seborn Caldwell David told us where to sit; I was told that this is to balance the energy of the circle. We waited while

the sitters were searched by two people that I knew did not know David. David put on his sweater, it was buttoned up and then zip tied closed. After he sat in his chair in the cabinet he was bound, secured with zip ties and gagged. The lights were turned off and the door was locked. A music CD was played and we were instructed to sing to the music until Christine instructed us to stop. When William made his presence known to Christine, we were told to hold hands and not let go until told to do so. You could hear William walking around the room as he welcomed us and encouraged us to ask questions. You could hear his boots on the floor! His accent was old British (Victorian) but easy to understand. Many people asked questions, and after answering each sitter, William placed his hand or hands on their head and asked them what they felt like. I have muscular dystrophy and asked about optic neuritis and if it would interfere with my seeing with my mind’s eye. William told me that this would not interfere with my psychic sight but also said that he would send Dr. Theobald Slavinski to look at me. William then came over to me and placed his hand on my head. It was very large and warm. I could feel his boot next to my toe and could tell it was a boot with a very stiff leather sole. After William

retreated into the cabinet, Dr. Slavinski materialized and asked where Patti was. I spoke and he approached and asked if I had glasses on and which eye. I told him I had taken them off and it was my right eye. He took my head into his hands and tilted my head back. His hands were smaller than William’s. He then asked if I would open my eye for him. I could feel him looking inside my eye and felt him tilt my head to see. He then told me that what he was going to do might hurt. He rubbed the area next to my eye, between my eye and my hairline and then made a pulling motion with his fingers like he was dislodging something. Then he bent my head forward to exam my neck and I could feel him touching my neck. He tilted my head up to his face to look. He rubbed the top of my head on the side and made the same fast pulling motion, again like he was dislodging something. He told me that I would have a headache but not to be concerned and that he was sorry if he hurt me. I thanked him very much. I could also feel his boots against my feet; hard leather soled. Timmy then came in, playing with his toys. He first used the trumpet. We were told that he formed a rod out of ectoplasm and used it to maneuver the trumpet. It

zoomed around the room and touched many people on their heads or parts of their bodies. He then had quite a bit of fun rapping on things with drumsticks. He rapped people with them and even stuck them in both of one person’s ears; in the total darkness and without hurting them. Next, he held his hand over a lumi- nous plate in front of each sitter so that they could see his very small hand. Most people felt his touch, with these very small fingers. He explained he is 9 3/4 years old and passed in 1904. Patti’s father as a young man The next person to come through was the father of one of the sit- ters. He went to her and she asked if he was her natural father or stepfa- ther. He told her he was her natural father who passed when she was four. He asked if she had her mom’s jewelry box. The sitter said that her mother had several. He wanted her to have the jewelry box that he had given her mother. He also wanted her to have the medals that he received after WW2 and was quite insistent that she get them. He then dematerialized with a slurping sound as the ectoplasm returned to the booth. (After the séance, the sitter men- tioned how she would not have wanted to hear from her stepfather as he had been abusive.) We next heard a male voice coming out of the cabinet who

asked for Patti. I knew immediately that it was my father. I told him to follow my voice. He took my head in his hands and kissed Continued page 7 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 6 Continued from page 6 Amazing Experience my cheek and put his cheek next to mine. I could feel his whiskers! My father had a very heavy beard, and if he went out at night, he would shave again. He thanked me for caring for him and told me how much he loved me. He also told me how proud he was of me and said that he is always near me and will try to help in a circle that I sit in. Again, he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him and what a great father he was. I then heard him back up and then heard the slurp of returning ectoplasm. I was crying with happy tears. His appearance took me back to when I was a small child sitting and rocking on his lap before bedtime. I again felt that unconditional love that only a parent can give. I didn't want it to ever end. David Thompson and Christine Morgan Louie Armstrong and Quentin Crisp also made appear- ances. To be honest: I don't remember too much after my dad appeared. At the end, William reappeared and explained that our time was up. We all thanked him for coming and being with us. We were then told

to sing while David returned to consciousness, and after a few minutes, I heard a very soft noise coming from the opposite side of the room. The door was then opened slightly, and in the light from the hallway, we could see David sitting in his chair, bound and gagged at the opposite side of room from the cabinet. His sweater was on backwards, still zip tied. I slept so well that night. I knew my dad was there and I was safe. His birthday was the next day, February 21. After Death Communication Research The After Death Communication Research Foundation has extensive information and resources regarding after death communication (ADC), bereavement, grief, and life after death. The website is part of a triad of websites that is designed to collect information on all aspects of consciousness. The main website is nderf.org where the focus is on studies of near-death experiences (NDE). The other website oberf.org studies all other aspects of consciousness that are not an NDE or ADC. The founders of the founda- tion are Jody Long and Dr. Jeff Long who is the author of the bestseller Evidence of the Afterlife. When asked about having dreams of a “dead” loved The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death Announcement for Grant 2012 Stockholm, April 2012: The Helene Reeder Fund (HRF) is pleased to announce the availability of grants for small and medium-sized scientific research projects concerning the issue of life after death. Grants will be

awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 5000 maximum ($730 – $7,300). The topic, Research into Life after Death, should be the main objective of the project. Applications in English are to be submitted by email to the HRF c/o [email protected] and should include a detailed description of the project, including: Objectives of the project Methodology Cost budget Timetable Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals CV (Curriculum Vitae) of the applicant How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result Any other financing other than from HRF Applications should be received by the 15th of October, 2012. It is the intention of the HRF to evaluate the applica- tions and to make decisions regarding the grants before the end of December. Applicants will be notified by email after the decision and the grants will be payable during December. For further information, please apply to the above email address. The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death, HRF. Edgar E. Müller one and if they were evidential, Jody Long answered, “I, personally, think that being in an altered state of consciousness (the dream) makes it easier for loved ones who have passed to communicate with us on earth. Far from being non-evidential, I would argue to the contrary. The way that we process our reality is that before our subconscious will alert our conscious mind, the input must pass a threshold test. If it is important then the sub-

conscious will allow the input to move into our rational or conscious level of mind. In the dream state, this threshold may well be less since we do not have the waking overload of input from the five senses. Therefore, communication that may normally be able to occur in a dream or drowsy state, would reach us easier than in the waking state of consciousness.” Page 7 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dreams: Direct Connections to Those in Spirit by Rita Dwyer Dreaming by h.koppdelaney flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/2319262604/ When I left you, darling, you thought I was gone from you forever, or at least until you also passed over. But I was never so near to you as after I had, what you called, died. W. T. Stead Researchers, for years now, have been exploring body- mind-spirit connections and while most of us are aware of these studies, we seldom seri- ously consider them as acting outside of ourselves in unison with others here, no longer on this planet, and the All. We go to the gym and watch our diets, use various medications, cos- metics and appliances to improve our health and appear- ance; we seek to improve our minds by attending schools and universities to enlarge our knowledge and hone profes- sional skills; but do we pay adequate attention to that part of us which is spirit? Charles Tart’s book, Body Mind Spirit: Exploring the Parapsychology of Spirituality, does a superb job of explaining why we sometimes neglect what is

perhaps the most important aspect of our being. He writes of “scientism” which discounts that which cannot be measured according to our current scientific paradigms, and thus, tosses out those surprising extraordinary experi- ences which have been recounted across time and cultures; experiences which many of us have had, yet cannot adequately explain to others. Dr. Tart’s latest book, The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal is Bringing Science and Spirit Together, pits his outstanding reputation in consciousness research against scientism and those who discount or diminish the importance of the spiritual. What does this have to do with dreams and the studies which Forever Family Foundation (FFF) supports through their research, publications and conferences? FFF mediums do a spectac- ular job of making contact with those in spirit, in which they act as intermediaries bringing back messages by soul-to- soul contact with the departed, and then relating that information to the third party who is soothed by the contact, showing there are no boundaries to love shared and presence felt, even beyond physical death. Dr. Tart explains how dreams are a direct contact between souls in the earthly dimension and the place some call the afterlife. Suzane Northrop, at last year’s FFF annual conference in Connecticut, affirmed her belief that dreams are the truest form of communication with those in spirit in the afterlife, a life in spirit that is vital and active without the encum- brance of a physical body. Through the several decades in which

I have facilitated an ongoing dream support group and been actively involved as a Founding Life Member in the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) I have heard or read countless dreams which incorporated persons no longer on this physical plane. They are usually spontaneous dreams, and may be triggered by a birthday, anniversary, holiday, chance meeting or experience which evokes a memory. Just a thought may be the catalyst needed to link soul-to-soul, or spirit-to-spirit. Terminology is less important to me than results. And thought does have form, albeit unseen until manifested. Yet a major question remains: Are these dreams OF or WITH the person in spirit? OF dreams reflect psychological issues, such as sorrow, blame and shame, unfinished business, loneliness, etc., and come in service of wholeness and healing, once the dream message is understood and acted upon, or a satisfactory resolution is achieved. WITH dreams are quite different and appear to be real contacts with the person in spirit, and these bring profound belief in the continued existence of this dear one who wishes to be with us. How to achieve WITH dreams? These can be spontane- ous, as easy as receiving a phone call in your own home, wherever that may be, from the one living in the afterlife, wherever that is. They can also be sought through a process called dream incubation. In this case, there is a deliberate attempt to make a connection in much the same way as we plan anything.

Beginner’s method Ÿ Begin to recall and record your dreams as frequently as you can. Science has proven that everyone dreams every night, so when a person says, “I never dream,” this is not true. We all dream; we just don’t remember unless we make an effort. Doing this brings valuable information on all levels of being. Ÿ Say before bedtime, “I know I will dream tonight and I wish to remember and record my dreams.” Keep a pen or pad or dream diary at hand to record your dreams. Record the date and any day activities or concerns before going to sleep. Continued page 17 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 8 Keith Johnson by Kim Johnson Keith and Bella his pet bronze turkey In 1991, my husband, Keith had a Near-Death Experience (NDE). He was told to “return through terrible pain and go back and save your people.” We did not know what that meant, but we spent our lives trying to find out. About eight months later in Atlantic City, I was playing a quarter slot machine when I noticed a female security guard staring at me with intensity. I moved and she quietly moved along with me. I was so uncomfortable that I began to cash out. She approached me and asked if she could talk. Keith who had been a couple of aisles away joined me. She told us about her own NDE during a coma event two years prior in which she was shown my

face and given my first name and told to go back and “find Kim.” Both Keith and I were shocked speechless by this event. Hearing about someone else’s near-death experience refortified Keith’s resolve in carrying out his purpose. In the summer of 2003 I heard a male voice say to me, while awake, “Move from here now, a big wave is coming. Everyone will drown.” With much hesitation, I told Keith. I flat out expected he’d put me in a rubber room some- where. But, he shrugged and said, “OK. We’ll sell the house and move.” And, so we did. We moved to Lucedale, Mississippi, Onto “higher ground.” In 2005, our former house in Biloxi, Mississippi was broken into two chunks by an approximately forty-foot whitewater-speed tidal wave/surge in that section of Biloxi’s old “Point Cadet” peninsula. This was during Katrina. Half of the house impaled itself into the 100-year- old Methodist Church across the street. In that part of the city, corpses were left where they washed up ... for weeks; humans as well as animals. Survivors were few. There were not even any songbirds left. Utter silence. While the nation remained riveted on the horrors taking place in New Orleans, tiny Biloxi had been wiped off the map. Last year, June of 2011, my beloved husband was acci- dentally killed by a doctor while I sat in the chair next to the table. Currently, I remain a “broken teacup” in spite of the fact that Keith has reached

out to me several times from “across the veil.” These bizarre and wonderful com- munications have given me joy, but the joy remains short-lived. I wish otherwise. On August, 27, 2011, Keith appeared to me in a lucid dream. He looked strong, vital and YOUNGER. And, I said to him, “Keith, you are DEAD!” And, with a burst of his old personality which appeared to be completely intact, he replied to me, “Kim, I am NOT dead.” He was getting a little snippy and irritated with me because I wasn’t listening to him. I repeated, “No, Keith you are DEAD.” And he, once again, looked directly into my eyes and said, “I am NOT dead.” He walked away from me, and in the wake of his foot- steps, I observed on the ground small pools of urine. This puzzled me and I researched it. My very best theory is this: the urine is territorial and intended to provide “protection” for me. On December 1, 2011, I was awak- ened at 3:35 a.m. with the words “I’ll be ready!” being repeated to me over and over again, along with a melody that seemed familiar, but I couldn’t readily place it. By this time, I had just begun to experience the very oddest vibrations while sleeping at night. Not scary, but comforting. I bolted out of bed, and got the coffee pot perking, wondering about the words and the melody. It hit me in a “eureka” moment and, I said to myself,

“really? This song; Keith, Really?” The song was the theme from the television program Bay Watch. But when I looked it up I was amazed by the words: Some people stand in the darkness Afraid to step into the light Some people need to help somebody When the edge of surrender’s in sight. Don’t you worry! It’s gonna be alright ‘cause I’m always ready, I won’t let you out of my sight. I’ll be ready (I’ll be ready) Never you fear (no don’t you fear) I’ll be ready Forever and always I’m always here. In us we all have the power But sometimes it’s so hard to see. My last contact was on January 1, 2012. I had an “aware- ness” with it. I was in a strange environment ... a motel room; I was putting on makeup using a mirror as I was going to a wedding. I wore a peach-colored cocktail dress. A black cat walked by me, wearing a colorful ruff, and stopped and stared into my eyes, followed by a Jamaican maid, with towels. Continued page 14 Page 9 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal On Being a Good Witness by Tom Butler A very well-established scientific community helps us understand everyday experiences. In academia, a vast international library system helps researchers develop a consensus understanding of nature which leaves little doubt about how we should think of our ordinary experi- ences. However, when it comes to transcommunication and psi functioning–phenomena not recognized by the mainstream as

either possible or real–there is virtually no academic or scientific community to guide us. There are also few people in our community able to help us under- stand these phenomena. What we allow into our belief systems is pretty much up to the individual. Organizations like Association TransCommunication help by reporting what others are saying. As ATransC directors, interfacing with so many people in this frontier field has helped us develop something of a consensus opinion of how to relate to many of these phenomena. This viewpoint has become our guide for the NewsJournal and the web- site. In this way, ATransC and similar organizations help develop a shared, informed point of view which would normally be developed for us by mainstream science. It is important that people in our community feel free to ask questions. Perhaps our most effective defense against delusion is discernment through critical thinking, and that is accomplished by the free exchange of ideas. This is not to say that one opinion is as good as another. Reality behaves according to principles which are knowable. In fact, an opinion must remain a personal opinion if it is not supported by empirical evidence. In this regard, it is important that people do not believe something is paranormal that is not. This has been a real problem in our community, as artifacts of technology have been widely seen as “evidence” but later understood for the mundane artifacts they really are. One form of photo- graphic orbs comes to

mind as a good example. A case study If we were to write a case study to illustrate this point, it could be based on recent comments about darkroom séances. With our first report of a darkroom séance, we noted that a person who was knowledgeable about EVP sent us an email announcing that “It seems fake to me.” He went on to say, “I believe there is a trap door or something like it. Notice that he’s behind the curtain for no real reason other than to shield eyes from whatever he’s doing. He may be an escape artist. He may have an associate sneak in from the floor or wall, etc. If he hid a small speaker in the wall outlet it could sound like this. He literally could have someone in another room speaking into a wireless mic and then it can be projected through the hidden speaker.” This person also expressed a common complaint about pictures of ectoplasm: “The ectoplasm is most likely cotton gauze or some such item that he hides somewhere on his body. In the old days, they would hide it in their mouths then let it dribble out....” We recently received a similar email from a person who experienced a darkroom séance, and there is a most disturbing blog of a similar nature posted by a person in England. In both cases, the person is quite knowledgeable about some forms of these phenomena but appears to lack understanding of materialization mediumship. Most

impor- tant, though, is the potential damage their comments may have on the community. We have given this considerable thought. Given that questioning experiences is important, how does one do so without seeming to be negative? The answer may be in the initial assumptions people have when they formulate their questions. We see three basic viewpoints: the “proof” is faked, the “proof” is real and what we refer to as “sus- pended judgment.” Assumption of trickery It is easy to assume an instance of phenomena is faked by saying, “There must be…” [assumption it’s faked] rather than “How could that be?” [open-minded]. Offered expla- nations about how something could have been faked are seldom supported by how the explanation could realisti- cally explain the evidence. The “There must have been a trap door” explanation is a good example. It ignored our report that we had thoroughly examined the room and that the circle had just moved into the rented house. The trap door explanation may sound reasonable. For people who assume trickery, it may even seem right. Once the trap door explanation is accepted, then all of the remaining “proofs” are easily ignored as more of the same trickery. We saw this assumption of trickery in that English blog take on a life of its own as people claiming to be Spiritual- ists went into something of a feeding frenzy as they found all sorts of “trap door” explanations for a well-known physical medium's work. Assumption of fact Assuming the

validity of phenomena without question is equally damaging. Not knowing why a person believes something is true too easily leads to the appearance of faith-based systems of belief. The mainstream community will not take our frontier field of study seriously so long as vocal members of our community claim obviously mundane events as paranormal. One of the most important factors keeping this commu- nity from maturing into the mainstream is the indiscrimi- nate belief in “evidence” that Continued page 11 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 10 On Being a Good Witness Continued from 10 is not actually evidential. It has prevented us from devel- oping a common, credible point of view and assures that mainstream society will continue to accept the pseu- doskeptic’s view that we are delusional. Suspended judgment As an engineer, I have been trained to examine the dynam- ics of a system to determine the forces influencing its operation. If I miss one of the forces, I fail to understand the system. I am also trained to understand that there are few definite answers. While I must go forth with the assumption that I understand a system, it would be irre- sponsible of me not to include safeguards in the design intended to prevent unintended consequences of the design. There are no absolutes, only current viewpoints. The attitude I attempt to maintain when I witness phenomena is one of suspended judgment. This to me is the middle way in which experiences can be taken at face value,

uncontaminated by assumptions based on belief rather than evidence. My first experience with darkroom séances was a sitting with David Thompson. Lisa and I tried very hard to write the Winter 2010 NewsJournal report of that experience in terms of what happened without too much examination because we had so little background knowledge. Since that sitting, we have sat with David several more times and with other circles. We have also conducted a great deal of study and have spoken with many experts in the field. Today, we understand that most of the phenomena that are given a “trap door” type explanation can be explained by more realistic hypotheses. For instance, one complaint from the English blog was that the order of events in the medium's séances is always the same. Of course, we have noted this, but we have also noted that virtually all of the mediums we have sat with have a similar order. I asked Stewart Alexander about this and he indicated that he did not know about his actions while in trance, but that he needed everything to be exactly the same leading up to his entering into trance. A new hypothesis we are developing is that the familiar order of events in a séance helps to entrain the medium’s mind, leading the medium to ever deeper levels of trance. In a different form, as reported in the Fall 2010 NewsJour- nal, Hoyt Robinette appears to use a long billet reading session (saying what is sensed

in closed envelopes) to help him produce the astounding precipitation phenomena for which he is known. The sameness is not a proof the medium is in too much control. It is probably a necessary mechanism that makes the phenomena possible. It took us many experiences and much study to see that. White crows Philosopher William James told us: “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you must not seek to show that no crows are; it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white.” that It is not necessary to believe all that you experience. Instead, ask yourself if there is a single aspect of an experience is convincingly paranor- mal. If so, then, based on your background understanding about things paranormal and how others have responded the experience, you prob- ably have reason to say that there may be truth in the experience. Say to yourself “I am not necessarily convinced about most aspects of this experience, but that one aspect is very convincing so I will keep the whole experience in my ‘wait and see folder’ as I seek better understanding.” A “white crow”: The white area between Kai Muegge’s shoes is ecto- plasm which has been formed into the likeness of a hand in the bright area, center-top. We witnessed the “hand” move independently of its surroundings. to The “white crow” may take a while to show up. This is why suspended judgment is so appropriate. For instance, some

darkroom mediums finish séances with their chairs moved from the cabinet to the open floor of the room. The theory is that the entities use this to safely dissipate the accumulated energy, and of course, to provide something of an exclamation point to the demonstration. Moving the chair and the rearranging of the medium’s clothes has been difficult for me to put into evidential perspective. However, at the end of the demonstration Stewart Alexander provided during the 2011 Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference, several of us witnessed the glow tabs on Stewart’s knees pass by at eye level, less than a foot from our faces. He had been partially awakened for the experience and complained something to the effect, “I really do not like this part.” Later, with the lights on, we discovered Stewart’s undershirt lying on the floor. That was a “white crow” for me. While I have no theory as to how the chair is levitated and clothing is removed or reversed, I have pretty much exhausted my knowledge of possible mundane explanations. Sure, it is strange behavior and yes, I cannot do it, but strange or beyond my capability does not automatically lead to the assumption of trickery. The etiquette of doubt Suspended judgment does not mean not asking questions, but here are a few considerations: Ÿ Some skeptics will only accept an admission of fraud as the “right answer” to their questions. Be careful to keep an open mind about answers to your questions. Page 11

Continued page 17 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal When Mainstream Media Investigates the Phenomena That We Study From the Forever Family Foundation Editor’s Desk by Robert Ginsberg Eight Flying Doves by to H. Kopp-Delaney flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/6068181763/ I recently watched an ABC prime time television show which focused on the near-death experience. I am always interested when the mainstream media “investigates” any of the phenomena that we study. I was especially intrigued by this epi- sode, as the host of the show, Bob Woodruff, had a near-death experi- ence of his own after being injured from a near-fatal explosion that occurred while he was on assign- ment in Iraq. As usually is the case, the show producers and writers once again missed the mark. They approached the topic by incorrectly assuming that the afterlife is exclusively a religious concept. The interviewees included experiencers who were either pastors or individuals with deep religious convictions, thereby making it “acceptable” for main- stream network TV. In a feeble attempt at balanced reporting, they also interviewed an “atheist minister.” Even the contention that near-death experiences were simply dreams or hallucinations had to be presented from someone who “didn’t believe in God.” Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg was interviewed, but only from the perspective of patients who were religious vs. non-reli- gious. The only voice of reason came at the end of the episode from Dr. Sam Parnia who pointed out that one can’t dream if they have no brain activity. Why is it that so many can

think of an afterlife only in religious terms? I understand that images of pearly gates, harps, angels and an all-knowing deity with a long beard have been ingrained into our psyches since ancient times. I also grasp the fact that religions most likely began as an attempt to stem the fears of death that paralyzed the flocks. However, after thousands of years, has religion succeeded in alleviating our fears of death’s finality, or has it fostered personal exploration? Does the prospect of a judge meeting you after death and condemning you to an eternal hell or an eternity in a nebulous purgatory soothe your fears in any way? Similarly, does the sought after existence of sitting forever on clouds in white robes offer everlasting hope? The evidence shows that near-death experiencers, as they translate the ineffable to language, interpret their experiences based upon their cultural, societal and reli- gious beliefs and influences. As such, the reports of seeing various gods and religious figures are perfectly understand- able. But what about all of the other experiences that are commonly reported by those who are non-religious? Leaving one’s body and having veridical experiences have little to do with religion, as do seeing loved ones already deceased, life reviews, a sense of peace, receiving messages telepath- ically and extremely sensory experi- ences at a time when the body is clinically dead. It is clear that the majority of near death experiencers return with a new clarity and purpose in their lives, accompanied by

the elimina- tion of the fear of dying. In this respect, whether the interpretation is deemed to be mystical, spiritual or religious is not the issue. The real significance is the new knowledge and evidence that we do, in fact, survive our physical deaths. Other dimensions are part of the life con- tinuum, and they don’t require a religious pass to transition from one to the other. Perhaps this is why many have noticed that some of today’s physicists are starting to sound “spiritual.” Their theories of unseen energy fields, quantum entanglements and parallel universes seem to fit neatly alongside basic spiri- tual concepts. The point is, the suggestion that we are all inter-connected is indeed the ultimate spiritual concept but it should not necessarily be interpreted as part of any specific religious grouping. Many feel more comfortable by putting things into neat and explainable categories. It’s the same reason that we tend to label anything that cannot be explained by reductionist reasoning as “paranormal.” I am not arguing that having religious convictions is something to be avoided. All religions were originally based in the same philosophies of love, light and compassion. It wasn’t until the segmentation of people with different rules, dogma and gods took hold that we ran into trouble. How we continue to destroy each other because “my god is better than your god” never ceases to both amaze and anger me. Many people do not see any difference between religion and spirituality. When I examine both,

it seems to me that spirituality is far more individual and fosters personal exploration without rules. I believe that the near-death experience is truly a spiri- tual rather than a religious experience. In my opinion, the fact that experiencers individually report seeing Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Krishna and a host of other deities, prophets and angels points to the fact that they are all interpretations of the same indescribable light and universal source. Continued page 17 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 12 Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 5 The question was asked and answered both times way back in the 1970s. One of the predictive warnings received involved a tragic event that later occurred to Michael’s son, wherein he was going to “join” them, but they would try to intercede. He did later come close to losing his life under very odd circumstances, but managed to survive and recover by rather miraculous means. The warning preceded the event by several years, and made no sense at the time. More cosmology Other areas were also described, although the nature of them became increasingly vague. Beyond Montayloo lay Piloncentric, home of the Sentra. Music was frequently spoken of as coming from Piloncentric, and presumably other arts as well. Ultrareena was a level higher than Ree and beyond all these there was Metanah. Little information was gleaned about these areas. They seemed far from the sources of the communications, and difficult if not impos- sible to describe. Advancement seemed to involve effort, and

an increasing capacity for “movement.” The voices made frequent references to work they were engaged in. The nature of the work seemed to involve healing and facilitation of communications between the parts of the whole. It could not be described in terms we would comprehend. Many of the voices were singsong or mechanical in nature. Some had very distinct and individual characteris- tics of human speech. This is still evident in modern recordings. There seemed to be neither rhyme nor reason to the varying patterns and volumes of speech. Some may be loudmouths with little to say, others may be soft spoken educators. Conclusions The brothers feel that there are few researchers who have delved into this as deeply as they did, carefully analyzing all responses, instead of focusing only on the easiest to hear. As you know, the listening is a tedious, time consum- ing and draining process. This is why they are largely satisfied that they have pursued it as far as they care to. They were satisfied with the proof of the phenomenon early on, and set out to glean as much information as possible. The desire to obtain proof alone still seems to be a focal point for many involved in the process today. Certain individuals do have the ability to hear the voices better than others. Michael gave a demonstration to a group of honors students once, and a friend of one tagged along. He was a young basketball player who had a remark- able

ability to clearly distinguish the voices, even hearing them without benefit of headphones. Michael tried repeat- edly to engage him in the listening process, but he made it clear that he had no interest. One problem with paranormal research is that one tends to become so involved in one’s area of study that they risk disrupting the ability to communicate in the here and now. Several of the voices, including Albert Einstein, expressed doubt that this activity was beneficial to those living life here on earth. It is important to be here now, and maintain your filters. However, it seemed to be the consensus that there is some benefit to knowing about these phenomena, as long as it is not taken to the point of distraction. They did want the word to be spread. Early EVP researchers, Ael, Joe, Mary Jo and Walter Uphoff They also stated that they communicate with us directly and through dreams, although we often overlook the validity of these communications. They have the proven ability to view our lives in present time when invited, but may not be paying attention if we are not thinking of them in some manner. One interesting comparison with UK researchers I’ve found, in attempting to transpose transcripts of the 1990s ET contacts, was a reference to seven scientists. They describe being united in seven dimensions, which they have awareness of. This information came from the pur- ported ExtraTerrestrials (ETs); however the UK researchers found this reference in their typical

communications related to the voices assumed to be of the deceased. The ETs supposedly communicated with the assistance of the Moozla. I think it is something well worth considering, due to the distinct similarity. Further considerations by Joan Lamoreaux I have only given a brief summary of the opening tran- scripts. There are many more to be gone through. It’s a shame that we don’t have the resources to invest in compiling, transcribing and analyzing notes already in existence from diverse sources. This is the mundane aspect of science that must be funded somehow to accomplish. Creative minds conduct EVP research. They are not inclined to plow through the difficulty of transcription to a new format after the original process. Page 13 Continued page 14 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Joan and Michael Lamoreaux Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 13 I’ve been in contact with a few serious researchers here and in the UK, and have made some important compari- sons, valuable especially by the variation in time and distance between captures by complete strangers. This is where the most important information lies. But EVP researchers are also some- what guarded about their work. It rep- resents a lot of time and effort on their parts, and considerable expense for many today who seek to upgrade their equipment. One problem I see in this field, as with every other paranormal field, is that the advocate runs the risk of developing a tunnel vision about the nature of the phenomenon, when

in fact this may not turn out to represent exactly what they expect. This is a dimensional phenome- non that has broad-reaching implica- tions and applications. There are many solid indications of the survival of consciousness. But what the nature of that consciousness is remains remote now. I do know that many times the Moozla wanted to warn Michael, the term they used, about what to expect when he arrived at their level. One researcher friend likens the voices to hecklers, tricksters and truth tellers. I think it is wise to caution listeners that while we are obviously dealing with intelli- gent communication, which appears to be human con- sciousness at some level, we may not be dealing exclusively with our own intelligence. (By the same token, we may only be dealing with our own consciousness; always something to be considered.) There are indications that this process may be used for communications with other intelligences beyond our own. No matter what the source, not every- thing spoken is necessarily gospel or wise, and one should always trust one’s own judgment on matters of living life here on earth. Another caution is in names and labels, which we are told are not used there, and may be translated according to the individual. It is interesting to note that EVP communica- tions come in languages and even accents appropriate to the listener. A translation process has been alluded to. But preconceived notions about structure and processes may be utilized to describe an

environment that we have no reference for. Therefore the names that I have given you may or may not find other references. I am interested in all similarities, such as the descriptions found in UK research of lenses and screens being employed to facilitate the process, and the interesting reference to The Seven Scientists. In comparing other notes with people, we have agreed the voices are psychic, able to read minds, have predictive abilities, and can, on occasion and with practice, be able to be heard audibly during the session. This can go even further by making themselves audible when uninvited as well. One should always approach this field in full control of one’s filters, and stay grounded. They have also been known to materialize in different manners of light and shadow. The voices of people still living have been captured on occasion also, including a researcher with a distinctive voice. This again opens a door to a much larger picture of possibilities. I would also caution people not to get too drawn into that area to the exclu- sion of fully appreciating this experience in the flesh. This is unique in itself and should be savored. The rest will come. Perhaps the biggest lesson the broth- ers learned was that they could not know with certainty exactly what causes these phenomena. As Michael says, it could be plants talking for all we know. Whatever the implications, they are vast no matter how you approach them, and demonstrate some sort

of connectedness that should be reassuring to us when we fear that we are all alone. [You can contact Joan at [email protected]] Keith Johnson Continued from page 9 She smiled and said, “You are nice people.” I wondered what she meant by “people.” I was the only one there. Someone began to knock on the door. I walked over and in came my husband, Keith. He said, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” and “I’ve been SO worried about you.” He seemed a little tired ... as if he had, indeed, been traveling and looking for me everywhere. Keith said, “Why is the TV playing so loudly?” and, “Tell Dr. Chapman (his doctor’s name was close to this) that there was something wrong with my back.” He spun around for me and pointed to an area just below his left shoulder blade. He also said, “I couldn’t breathe, but now I can!” He embraced me, and the feeling of joy and euphoria cannot be properly explained except this way: it was much like the movie “Cocoon” in which the alien woman tele- pathically sent love and affection to the human young man. He soon became embraced in this energy that caused his knees to buckle. It was just like that! The love was so intense I thought I was going to absolutely explode from it. I felt as if my belly would explode from the pure joy and love. And then I awakened. My very odd vibrations continue, and, I

patiently await more messages; any more contacts. One thing I am certain of: the personality remains the same in the Hereafter. And, the bonds of love are never severed. Thank you for listening to me. Kim Volume 31, Number 2 Page 14 My Two-Week EVP Experiment by Patrick Keller Patrick Keller analyzing a sound file Inspired by Sarah Estep’s Voices from Eternity, on March 13, 2012 I began con- ducting a two-week experi- ment of daily EVP sessions in my home. I was able to chron- icle the whole experiment at my blog, BigSeance.com. I wasn’t a stranger to EVP and the paranormal before this journey. Outside of being a paranormal investigator, I had conducted EVP sessions in my home, but never so formally and consistently. I also never had much success. Because my home is only 3.5 years old, and I have been the only owner, I knew my house was not haunted. That wasn’t the point, anyway. I was hopeful that like Sarah and other serious EVP researchers, I would eventually record voices, whether they be earthbound spirits, spirits from the other side, or even entities from other universes. In the last several years I had become more and more fascinated by the topic of spirit communication and EVP; I was ready to communicate. What did my EVP sessions look like? Most of the time, I recorded in the afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. I wanted to be as consistent as possible. There were a few days,

especially toward the end, where I had to adjust my schedule out of necessity. On those occasions I ended up recording later in the evening. Most sessions were around 12 to 22 minutes long. I conducted almost every one of my sessions in my second floor office. (Visit my blog for a list of the equipment, programs and audio used in most sessions.) Audio recorders For every session, I used a Tascam DR-07 Digital Audio Recorder with Tascam TM-ST1 Stereo Microphone. Begin- ning with the second session, I used a Sony ICD PX-820 Digital Audio Recorder. Before each session Before each session I always ground and center myself at the very least. Most of the time I meditated beforehand, and on a few occasions, I recorded those meditations. The session itself Each session was different, but followed the same basic format. I began each recording session in silence (no background noise sources, other than a nearby ceiling fan used on a few occasions as an experiment). There were a few additional sessions that I recorded to take advantage of different activity in my sur- roundings, such as a thunder- storm, running shower and construction. 1. After starting a recording, I allowed several seconds of si- lence. 2. I asked for assistance from my guides and anyone pres- ent. 3. During most sessions I spe- cifically requested the pres- ence of Sarah Estep. For some of the sessions I also requested the presence of Cathy (Martha Cope- land’s daughter), or anyone

else from the Big Circle. 4. Then I asked questions such as, “Is there anyone present with me?” and “Can you tell me your name?” 5. After several minutes I played small portions of mu- sical selections while continuing my questions. I then played noise in the background (pink, white and/or brown) and continued with my questions. I eventually started EVPmaker while continuing with questions. 7. 6. 8. Later, usually in silence, I asked for general sugges- tions or advice in making the experiment more suc- cessful. 9. At this point, for some sessions, I asked if there was any way they could make a noise or move an object 10. For some sessions, I asked entities to say words, 11. such as “beautiful” or “EVP.” I asked for any last messages before the session ended. 12. Before ending each session, I thanked those present for their energy, presence and assistance, and en- couraged them to return and invite others in the coming days. Reviewing audio For audio review and editing, I used Audacity. Every attempt was made to initially listen to each session from each device without enhancing the file. Audio from the Tascam tends to play back at a much softer volume; therefore I amplified most of those files before reviewing. The journey The experiment began with lots of enthusiasm and I was very hopeful, but when day after day of recording no voices got me down, my blog readers were there to encourage me. I also turned

to Continued page 16 Page 15 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Two-Week Experiment Continued from page 15 Sarah Estep and her book for encouragement. Finally, on Day Six, March 18th, I recorded three possible one-syllable, very soft vocal responses. Incidentally, Sarah captured her first EVP, “beautiful,” on her sixth day of recording. I had this fact in my mind the whole day. Two of my responses were captured in both recorders. They are not at all impressive. I cannot in confidence say that these are truly EVP, and if they are, they are most likely lower than Class C. It was also on March 18th that I decided to record with the shower running. It was several minutes after my official recording for that day. My partner had just gotten in the shower. I recorded for about a minute and a half and spoke quietly into the recorder because I did not want him to know that I was recording. When I mentioned it later in the evening he said he never heard me and didn’t know. After asking, “Is there anyone present with me? Can you speak?” I got what could be a true EVP saying what sounds like “you speaking?” My partner (who is a 100% skeptic) did not remember speaking to me or saying anything from the shower and claims it is not his voice. I know it was not my own voice because I was wearing headsets and heard it while it was happening. On Day

Eight, March 20th, I recorded one of only two EVP that I have captured while pink noise was playing in the background. It seems to be an entire phrase or two. Enhancing it only makes it sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. On Day Nine, March 21st, I asked “Does more volume help?” (I again had pink noise playing in the background). Seconds later came the response of “yes.” On Day Ten, March 22nd, I was using EVPmaker while asking the question, “How many of you are present with me today?” I do not claim to have any expertise with EVPmaker; however, I seem to have recorded a very pronounced “two” that I also heard in my headsets while recording. With it being only one-syllable, I’m not confident using it as evidence, other than the fact it is an interesting sounding “response.” I’ve noticed that when listening to the EVPmaker, it is easy to hear many of the one-syllable numbers, even without asking a question. It wasn’t until Day Thirteen, March 25th, that I recorded anything of interest again, and it was probably the most interesting session out of the entire two-week experiment. Like the Fox sisters I’d read so much about, I ended up having an entire conversation through a series of pro- nounced knocks and taps. It was incredibly exciting and I posted almost the whole twenty-two minutes of transcript on my blog (“My Visit From a Rapper!”) with several audio clips. In addition to all the knocking, I

captured a voice saying “no” after I asked “Is there something I can help you with?” This was with pink noise in the background. (I’ve had several visits from this rapper since.) After all of the conversation the day before, I had high hopes for my last official recording session of the experi- ment. Unfortunately, it was uneventful. What I learned I must be honest and say I struggled with putting this section of my report into words. Once again, my blog readers, several of them who research EVP themselves, including author, Randall Keller (no relation), came to my rescue. It is clear that what I learned has been a lesson on persistence and patience. During the experiment and immediately after, I was honestly disappointed with the results, but I’ve continued to record at least two or three times a week, including an occasional overnight sleep recording. I’ve apparently earned someone’s trust, because I’m excited to report that I haven’t been disappointed with my last several sessions. The voices have also gotten clearer. How do I know that it was the same rapper who had noisily returned on several occasions? I recently asked, and I got the answer “Yes it is.” I also captured an interest- ing communicator who may have asked the question, “Is this really death?” I gained some new skills with some finely tuned senses that will truly help me out in my paranormal investigations. I also gained a new time-con- suming addiction. Therefore, I have to

learn how to use time wisely, since I can’t very well quit my day job just to research. My journey has only just begun, and I just know there are zillions of voices (not a proven statistic) just waiting to be heard, and perhaps persistently and patiently learning how to communicate with us from their end as well. The experience of this journey and sharing it with the world has allowed me to learn from some great mentors and some new friends. Many of you have experience and expertise and I welcome your suggestions and advice as well. Along with being an educator, Patrick Keller is the founder of the Missouri Spirit Seekers (MOSS), a group of paranormal investigators based in both O’Fallon and Lexington, MO since 2010. You can learn more about MOSS at mospiritseekers.com. Also see Keller’s blog, The Big Séance, at BigSeance.com. You can download Sarah Estep’s book at no cost at atransc.org/resources/books.htm Volume 31, Number 2 Page 16 On Being a Good Witness Continued from 11 Ÿ Make sure you understand the claim and are knowl- edgeable about the phenomenon. For instance, the claim may be presented as EVP, but if it is historically correct and uncharacteristic for EVP, it may involve a space-time slip or some other unexpected form of com- munication. In that case, it should be evaluated as something other than EVP. Ÿ Do you know enough about the demonstration, the phenomenon and the person to be an informed judge? It is likely

you are not well enough informed to arrive at a definitive conclusion. Ÿ Resist making demands of the person. In this field, the person is likely demonstrating as a service to humanity and a good faith, best effort should be assumed. Ÿ Unless you are an infallible expert in the subject, if you doubt a demonstration of phenomena and find it diffi- cult to maintain an attitude of suspended judgment, then it is best to walk away in silence. Unintended consequences Like super athletes, people able to demonstrate extraordi- nary physical phenomena are probably born with the ability. Even so, it takes education and practice in order to be ready to demonstrate to the public. Just imagine the mental and physical fortitude required by the likes of David Thompson, Kai Muegge and Stewart Alexander who dem- onstrate phenomena that has been deemed impossible by the academic community. All of the mediums we know seem to have a spiritual imperative to demonstrate the survival of personality beyond so called death. Not many people are willing to give up their personal lives in this way while usually not being compensated for expenses. The attack by that English blogger became personal and was more debunking than an effort to understand. The blogger is responsible for what is on his website, so I must assume he supported the many naively negative comments from like-minded website visitors. If I were the medium, my response would have been to stop demonstrating. Personal attacks of this nature

discourage people from being open to the chance to witness at least one white crow. That is one of the best reasons I can offer you for being an activist. Being a good witness also means encour- aging your fellow witnesses to keep an open mind. There is way too much that is not known about these phenom- ena. Don’t allow people to ruin it for the rest of us simply because they assume they have more knowledge on the subject than they actually have. Assume good faith as the larger community seeks to better understand the phenom- ena. Dreams Continued from page 8 A voice-activated recorder may also be used, but it is wise to transcribe these dreams, since rereading your dreams over time helps you to establish your personal patterns and triggers. Record anything you remember, even if only a dream fragment or emotion. Ÿ Write a prayer or affirmation to the person you are wishing to come to visit you, and read or say this before sleep. Put a note or picture under your pillow. Feel love surrounding you in a warm embrace. Ÿ Ask that your dreams include only the best and highest contacts or information, and if you believe in angels, ask yours to watch over you as you sleep and dream, and to act as guides for those you seek. Ÿ It is also helpful to truly establish your own body-mind- spirit connections through meditation or other spiritual practices. I like to begin my

sleep requests with the words, “Spirit, Soul, Psyche Align,” putting myself in an altered state in which my body is at rest, and my mind reaching a state of consciousness that harmonizes my soul and spirit. This is especially good medicine in troubled times. Rita Dwyer is an officer of Dreamworker, IASD Past President (1992-93), Executive Officer (1994-1999), Certified Pastoral Coun- selor. See: dreamtalk.hypermart.net/member/files/rita_dwyer.html Media Investigates Continued from page 12 Atheists, as participants in this universe, move to other dimensions along with everyone else. Perhaps the way in which we live our physical lives and the way we treat others is far more important than who or what we believe in. That is the message we can all take from those who have returned from clinical death—judgment is self-inflicted and we will most likely have an easier adjustment to the afterlife if we live by our hearts instead of our egos. Robert Ginsberg along with his wife Phran are the found- ers of the Forever Family Foundation which originally published this article in Signs of Life, Fall 2011 Vol 8 Issue 3. Signs of Life is their free quarterly journal. See foreverfamilyfoundation.org Page 17 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sharing Experiences Messages from members and website visitors Ÿ My son-in-law was dying in hospital with acute myeloid leukemia. He was thirty-six years old. He and my daugh- ter had two girls aged nine and ten at that time. I was in the next room in the hospital with my granddaughters

who were asleep in recliner chairs in the day room of the ward because it was in the middle of the night. I was just sitting down beside one of the girls when I suddenly heard my son-in-law’s voice; clear and with his Yorkshire accent saying, “Di, look after them.” At the same moment, my granddaughter sat bolt upright, gave me a peck on the cheek, then laid back down, sleeping. I realized it was my son-in-law who kissed me through her and said to myself, “He’s gone.” I got up from the chair about to go into the room he was in when my daughter and my husband, who had been with him, came into the room we were in, crying. I asked my granddaughter if she remembered kissing me a few minutes earlier and she did not. I knew it was him, but had to ask. This message from him was so clear and I recognized his voice. I will always be grateful he gave me this message. D. G. Ÿ I've been doing EVP work for five years now. My father passed away on February 28th and I decided to try to reach him about a week after he passed. I managed to get some very good EVP from him, naming me and my mother and letting us know he was very keen for us to pick up his ashes from the mortuary. Prior to Dad’s passing, we noticed a distinct uptick in the appearance of shadows

and light anomalies in our home. The night before Dad passed, we counted twenty- Big Circle Recording Dates Loved ones on both sides of the veil who cooperate to communicate and help one another are known as the “Big Circle.” The name came about when members of the ATransC realized their loved ones were trying to communicate with them via EVP. In some instances, loved ones in the etheric even guided people to the Association. This “bridge to the afterlife” is maintained when people join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. local time to communicate via EVP. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. Here are the recording dates: July 5 and 19, August 2, 16 and 30, September 13 and 27 and October 11 and 25 plus shadows and transparent movements while sitting in the family den. Within a few days after he passed, we began to notice a distinctly male shadow appearing in the living room, kitchen and around the den. The day after he passed, I awoke to hearing his voice. My mother said that she dreamed of Dad hugging her and kissing her. She woke up to that experience and it continued while she was awake. She was immensely comforted by this experience. The story continues. We are actively documenting the occurrences

and will keep up with recording to see what EVP we get from Dad and other family members. J. A. Ÿ Mom passed away on November 19, 2011. I just received the second phone call in the span of a few weeks. Hoax? Perhaps. The first call seemed to have a man’s voice. The second call at 10:00 this evening appeared to be a woman’s voice. I couldn’t understand what was being said either time and told the caller to dial 911 if they were in trouble. This time though, after uttering a variety of unintelligible phrases, I thought the caller mentioned my name. That’s when I decided to go online and research the topic, “phone calls from the dead.” D. Y. Ÿ My Uncle Larry died in May; since then he has communi- cated by leaving messages we can’t understand on my aunt’s cell phone. Right after he died, there were love songs left on her machine. It usually happens when we go away, such as to the beach. He has also called my cell. The caller ID would say Larry B. when his name is not even in my contact list. P. F. Members have learned that the Big Circle team is there to help at any time. As an example, in a recording made by Martha Copeland while she was praying for help for her father who was in surgery, her daughter, Cathy, can be heard saying “Big Circle.” We know this was a reminder that Mar-

tha–all of us, really–should call on the Big Circle in times of need. The recording is at atransc.org/circle/about_the_big_circle.htm We encourage you to share your results in the Big Circle forum of the Idea Exchange. Be especially sure to post any names you record. Members sometimes record messages that are specifically intended for another member. Rhonda Burton has volunteered to monitor the Big Circle and is maintaining a blog that contains members’ names and their loved ones on the other side. There is a good chance that someone will record an EVP from one of those loved ones. That is how the Big Circle works. Volume 31, Number 2 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Rhonda Burton wrote,”My daughter, Heather, was home from NYC this past weekend and she said we should record during the full moon, she actually came and got me saying we need to record right now. So we did a forty-minute session, which I never do, using an Olympus 4100, DS30 and my HP PC with an external mic. First half of the session was no background noise, second half was using an FM scanner. We heard real time, Heather’s name being spoken by a male during the FM scan. She recorded, “What’s up, Heather?” It was very special recording with my daughter (which I never get to do) because we have such wonderful energy together. I’m hoping my other daughter, Jen, who passed away in 2007, stopped in to say hello. I will keep you posted and

keeping my fingers crossed! Ÿ During a Big Circle recording session Lisa Butler asked, “Tell us who is with us?” and recorded, “Not us, we’re dead.” (We got a good laugh.) Ÿ Margaret Downey posted an ITC example saying, “I am so inspired by the beauty of this connection.... I did one light-reflected-from-moving-water sessions of my because I felt like an unknown someone in spirit was asking me to. Well, “asking” in a rather demanding yet playful sort of way. Upon review of the video, I saw images of both animals and people. When I saw this dog, I felt sure he was meant for someone but didn’t know who. The moment after I had that feeling, I heard a man’s voice in my head say, “Send it to Karen.” Karen Anderson is a wonderful animal communicator with whom I’d had a remarkable session two years ago. I hadn’t talked with her since then but I went with the flow and sent the image of the dog with an explanation of what had happened (figured being a psychic-medium herself, she’d understand). I got a reply back from Karen the next morning, putting all the pieces together. It turns out that this image is of a dog named Maximus and his human mama, JoAnn, was supposed to have a session with Karen on the 1st, but Karen had to postpone it until the 2nd ... and the 2nd was the one year anniversary of Maximus making his transition. I guess he

wanted to make double-sure that he got through to let JoAnn know he is okay. I didn’t know JoAnn at the time but Karen forwarded the ITC image to her and JoAnn then contacted me to share these images of her boy with me. WOW! Spirit works in such amazing ways! It never ceases to astound me!” Ÿ Alison Kirkbride recorded on a Big Circle group recording date and got several responses. One of them was “I’m here, missing ya” and another was “Drew was there, do you know me.” Kathy Stiles’ son on the other side is Drew. She wrote, “Thank you so much, Alison. I’ve only had a quick listen, the first one of the “Drew” batch is a different sounding voice than what we usually hear—no accent. It gave me the same feeling I used to get from Drew when he gave me this one particular smile; as if every thing was right with my world (others have described it as “a hug from your best friend”). He had this way of making everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world and there was no place he’d rather be than there with you, I can’t tell you how many people I have heard that from since he crossed, I didn’t know most of them but as a mother it was nice to hear.” David Mierzwinski shared a long message that he captured saying, “Tape something … I’d like you to capture the dead

people.” Ÿ Karen Mossey shared an EVP and video that she captured from an investigation. An EVP saying “Hello” appeared only on her QR80 recorder. They were also video record- ing at the same time. The EVP is so clear that you want to question whether it is an EVP or not, but it was validated as there was no EVP on the video. Ÿ David Schmincke noted that, “I have missed posting and reviewing everyone’s successes and pray everyone is well. Here was a surprise I received when using our mini-box at a recent investigation. As usual we allow the box to run idle for a period of time prior to beginning the questions. I was surprised to hear my name, as I had not as of yet officially introduced myself at the site. This was recorded in a local funeral home. The recording says “David Schmincke.” Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “Keith’s ITC Bridge Stream (itcbridge.com) has metamorphosed recently, but just before the current version of the audio stream a day ago I captured commentary in what sounds like my mother’s voice. She recorded “They heard you, somebody helped you.” On another occasion using the audio stream Allison recorded “Hello, Debbie.” Debbie Caruso is a dedicated member now on the other side. Ÿ Pamela Teters asked her brother Al Bart if he would give her a message for his daughter Brenda and his wife Donna. She recorded, “Hi.” Page 19 Summer 2012 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Viewpoint Continued from

page 1 Even so, like the illuminated plaque for us, the meaning is often obscured by the confusion of darkness and unfamiliar activity. Again, it is an individual decision, but at some point the sitter must decide that one or two white crows provide sufficient reason to accept that the demonstration is as it is presented: proof that we survive transition. Big Circle In the twelve years we have led the Association, hosting the formation of the Big Circle ranks amongst our most important accomplishments. Way back when we had only an email sharing group, a few mothers of transitioned children began to notice that their EVP seemed to be indicating that their children knew one another on the other side and were cooperating in an effort to tell their parents they were okay. Big Circle co-founder, Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy, on the other side, named the group of both physical and etheric loved ones. There is more about the Big Circle in the article, “Big Circle Recording Dates” on page 18. The Big Circle has proven to be an effective aid for grieving “survivors” and remains an important part of the organization which centers around the Idea Exchange. Rhonda Burton is the monitor for the Big Circle in the Idea Exchange. She posts reminders of the next group recording session and will update the list of loved ones looking for contact in the Big Circle blog. A recent development is the expanded use of what we refer to as

“live voice” for background sound. People are using pre-recorded foreign-language sound files. As with other forms of noise, the entities will sometimes transform the natural cadence and voice frequency of the sound files into their message. The results being reported to the Idea Exchange are pretty exciting! Anyone can be in the Big Circle. All you need do is record every other Thursday to seek contact with a loved one on the other side. We are taught by Cathy and others to call on the Big Circle for help and to know they are always near. It is important to post the results to the rest of the group in the Idea Exchange. Sometimes, a message recorded by one member will be intended for another, so while a message may not make sense to you, it could to another member. This is a powerful tool we can all benefit from, but only if we work together. Consider joining us by bringing your intention to communicate with those in the Big Circle every other Thursday, and be sure to visit the Big Circle are of the Idea Exchange to see what members are recording. Tom and Lisa . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r

s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct,

and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Volume 31, Number 2 Page 20 Viewpoint Fall 2012, Volume 31 Number 3 One of three Orca pods exhibiting greeting behavior during a sort of pow wow between pods near the San Juan Islands. Interspecies Transcommunication We just had to share a couple of pictures from our interac- tion with whales this year. There is little doubt that whales are intelligent. Just as we seek contact with whales, we find that some have seemed to seek contact with us. In the top picture there are 11 Orca fins but another less clear picture showed 19 fins lined up! It was amazing! The second picture shows a gray whale baby that let us scratch him repeatedly like he/she was our pet. Mother gray whale brings baby to tourists; to be pet? We are pretty sure that many of you are like us and believe that it is not only possible to communicate with those on the other side but also with other species here and from the other side. What it is Like on the Other Side? A member recently asked about literature describing what it is like on the other side. The question made us realize that, while articles on the website and in the NewsJournal address various aspects of the other side,

none specifically state what the best guess is as to what a person can expect to find upon arrival. In general, most EVP messages about the other side are short and simple and are usually not long and descriptive about the other side and its workings. They often state that the person who has made their transition is happy and that where they are now is very beautiful. There have been a few cases where more information has come through EVP/ITC such as with the work of the Lamoreaux brothers (see the article in last month’s Journal) or information that came through to the Harsch-Fischbachs of Luxembourg in the 1980s and 90s. There are literally hundreds of channeled reports about the nature of the other side. Some of these are the foundation of religions. Virtually all of them were subject to “coloring” by the channel (medium or spiritual teacher), which to some unknown degree may have modified the original message from the etheric communicator. ITC might be described as “technology augmented medi- umship. And if this is the case, then this suggests that even EVP messages may be colored to some extent by the EVP practitioner. However, the difference between mental mediumship and ITC is in how the information is reported. While the product of mental mediumship is the spoken word, there is a tangible record in ITC which may be examined by others. Association TransCommunication Website The Association website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day. The frequent emails

from visitors thanking the Association for the vast amount of quality information and articles on the site indicates that the website is appreci- ated. We want to remind members that it is your support, research, sharing of personal experiences and membership dues that make this information available to all these people. Without you, and those who have gone before you, it would not have been possible. You may not realize the good that your small membership fee and donations do for others who want to learn more about their loved ones. Thanks to your support, more people are able to know their loved ones now on the other side survive and that there is a possibility that they may even be able to bridge the veil and communicate with them. You help the Association spread the word that death is only a change to another state of reality and not the end for our loved ones or ourselves. Continued page 6 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint.........................................................................................................................................1 Linda.................................................................................................................................................3 More Evidential and Intriguing Results from the Morse Team.......................................................4 Background: George Meek and Bill O’Neil......................................................................................4 EVP Using VoIP and Telephones .....................................................................................................5 The Wilderness of Grief...................................................................................................................7 Brilliant Physical Mediumship of Kai Muegge: Sitting With the Felix Circle...................................8 Phantom Voices...............................................................................................................................9 Sonia Rinaldi’s Trans Images..........................................................................................................10 Morse Code Update.......................................................................................................................10 Big Circle Recording Dates.............................................................................................................10 Arthur Conan Doyle........................................................................................................................11 Emails from the Other Side............................................................................................................11 Telephone Calls from the Dead.....................................................................................................12 Q & A on the Idea Exchange..........................................................................................................15 Are Ghosts Discarnate People?......................................................................................................15 The ASPSI is Now the ASCSI...........................................................................................................15 We Don’t Die..................................................................................................................................16 Physical

Phenomena: Two Methods of Production......................................................................17 Using Random Number Generators...............................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports.....................................................................................................................19 “For True Scientists, the Ultimate Authority is Experience, not Theory”.....................................19 Big Circle Results............................................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of transcommunication. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: the Creative Commons license might not apply to work by guest authors. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent ATransC policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 400 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or pre- sented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on atransc.org. Announcements of mem- ber activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCom- munication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. Tom and Lisa Butler Fall 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Mark

Leary Sustaining Members Cindy Heinen Tom Lorton Joy Skyberg Mark Tominac Supporters Martha Copeland Paola & Merlin Hoffpauir Ellen Pugh Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association two months preceding the publishing date. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Contributions are tax deductible in the USA. The ATransC is a volunteer organization: no one receives financial compensation including the ATransC Directors,Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers: Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31, Number 3 Page 2 Linda by Normand Picard © My wife, my twin flame, Linda passed away in October 2010. I just haven’t had it in me yet to try to record a communication from her although I have had very signifi- cant messages and signs directly from her. Life does continue on the spirit side. I can affirm that. There is something special that has happened two years in a row. This past Valentine’s Day had another similar occurrence. The morning of February 14 was very busy and hectic.

I was waiting for someone from the carpet store to come over and measure some rooms for new carpeting. Then I received a few phone calls; one after another. That doesn’t usually happen. Also, my son came by with a problem that needed to be quickly solved. Soon, my head was spinning and I needed a break so I had some lunch with the TV on for background noise. I felt like I wasn’t accom- plishing anything. That was fine, but still, it was Valentine’s Day; a day Linda and I treasured more than other days, save perhaps our anni- versaries and birthdays. Because of those Val- Heart-shaped trinket entine’s Day memories, I wanted to keep my mind busy so I went to the cellar to go through one of my boxes of excess stuff. After about a minute of looking, I picked up another heart; a little treasure that is so special to me. I have no explanation as how the heart got into that Normand and Linda: wedding day storage box, but there it was. I had to stop and ponder over some very special memories. Whether Linda placed these hearts so that I could find them, I can’t say. I will say that these experiences are wonderful and I hope they never stop. Page 3 Fall 2012 Normand and Linda Linda passed to the other side in a rather short time. Yes, she was ill for some years, yet we lived life one day at a time.

I could see her condition deteriorate but when she suddenly became critical, I hadn’t seen it coming. We were really in love, and as much as we could, we really enjoyed life together. Both of us are spiritually minded in belief and in practice. So naturally, we promised each other that whichever one of us passed first would contact the surviving one if it was possible and show that there is a spiritual life after physical death. This is what happened on Valentine’s Day in 2011. Since I am retired it has become a part of my routine to spend some time at the local senior center. As you may recall, we had an inordinate amount of snow during the winter of 2011. On this Valentine’s Day, I went to the senior center for lunch as usual. It was a bright, sunny day, the snow was melting well and there were small puddles of water throughout the parking lot. As I stepped from the parking lot to the curb at the entrance of the building, something caught my attention in the water below my feet. I backed up a step, bent down and retrieved a rock in the shape of a heart. Heart-shaped rock Linda had a real love of stones, all kinds of stones. Wherever we went, Linda would seem to focus on the ground and find something that attracted her attention. She always brought something home. It’s still one of my great memories; her little personal adventures that

we shared. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal More Evidential and Intriguing Results from the Morse Team In the Spring 2012 NewsJournal, we ran an article about a group of researchers receiving Morse code EVP. Alison Kirkbride does the recording with the help of Domenic Capaldi while Eric Cole deciphers the code. Kathy is the newest member of the team. On June 28, the group recorded a Morse EVP that translated to “N3AZQ Hello Alison Portal Group.” After a little research it was learned that William O’Neil was a radio ham operator and this was his call sign. On August 2nd, another message was received that said “George here, do we have contact?” On August 3, Alison made a recording and asked who the George was who had sent the Morse the day before. She recorded ‘G.W. Meek, signal weak, a rhyme, Kathleen 69.’” Alison wrote, “This had relevance in that Kathy had previously asked me to try to get a number that was significant for her son which only she and he would know. I did try several voice recordings but did not get the number, though there were other personal things that indicated it was her son. The fact that the number turned up at the end of the Morse recording was very interesting.” In a later recording, Alison wrote that she “asked if there was anyone who wished to communicate in Morse. The response came, ‘Beware of Dave the deal is sour. I am with Spaz. So happy. Love yu

Mom.’ On hearing the translation of the Morse, Kathy said someone named Dave wanted to hunt on her land (Yuk! My personal opinion). She said that she had gotten a bad feeling about him. “The ‘I am with Spaz’ relates to her son’s dog. They were constant companions in life. Its real name was Taz; but teenage boys being what they are, her son tended to call him Spaz—with affection I am sure! lol The rest of the team were unaware of these facts until Kathy explained it to us. “In addition, there was a voice EVP directly after I spoke, which seemed to say ‘I’m Mike’s mother, do you watch us?’ This made sense to Kathy, as her favorite aunt who passed is indeed her cousin Mike’s mother.” Background George Meek and Bill O’Neil George Meek opened a laboratory to conduct research into the phenomena of EVP in 1971. Meek, a retired engineer, had been interested in survival after bodily death for many years. The idea for building a device to speak to the so-called dead was given to him by a discarnate scientist during a séance. The scientist told Meek that he would provide instructions for building the device . Meek wanted to achieve two-way communication with the other side and became convinced that sophisticated equipment needed to be developed if communication was to improve. In 1977, Meek was introduced to Bill O’Neil, a gifted medium and electronics engineer. O’Neil’s spirit commu- nicator called himself “Doc Nick” and

said he was a former radio ham radio operator. Doc Nick told O’Neil that the development team should try using certain audio frequen- cies instead of the white noise that was being used by most researchers and provided technical information for building the communication device. He told the researchers that it would provide thousands of sensitive frequencies that the other side would be able to use for communication. A series of devices were made. Soon, a Dr. George Jeffries Müller made contact with O’Neil. He materi- alized in O’Neil’s living room and said that he had come to join the team in their work on the device. In October of 1977, Dr. Müller’s first words were recorded on the device now called “Spiricom.” Müller gave the team considerable personal information about himself. He told them that he died in 1967, had been a college professor, gave them his social secu- rity number and advised them where to find his death certificate. All of the information was verified as correct. George Meek Meek held a press conference April 6, 1982, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He told those who attended, “An elementary start has been made toward the eventual per- fection of an electromagnetic-etheric communications system which will someday permit those living on earth to have telephone-like conversations with persons very much alive in higher levels of consciousness.” Bill O’Neil Tapes of the conversations between O’Neil and Müller were made available to the public at the press conference.

They ranged from mundane discussions on food to techni- cal advice on how to build experimental video equipment. Müller’s voice is fascinating, as it sounds much like a robot in a science fiction movie. The “robotic” sound was an artifact of the suite of audio frequencies that were used. Meek had hoped to present the device to the media at the press conference, and by doing so, reach a large public audience. However, a large section of the media refused to attend. In the end, the conference made little impact and Spiricom went largely unreported. In addition, Müller eventually told Bill O’Neil that he needed to move on and the two-way conversations via Spiricom ceased. One of the limitations of Spiricom was that it seemed to depend on O’Neil. Meek had others try the device, one being AA-EVP founder, Sarah Estep. The fantastic results achieved by O’Neil were never repeated. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 4 EVP Using VoIP and Telephones by Tom Butler Recording for EVP using the telephone system has always offered tantalizing possibilities. In recent years, cell phones and answering machines have produced very good but usually spontaneous EVP. Now, we see more people using the Internet for planned EVP sessions. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that makes it possible for a person to use a computer to call another computer via the Internet or even call a landline telephone via the Internet. The most commonly used service has been Skype.com, but others are

coming along, including Google Voice (google.com/voice). This article describes some of the more successful tech- niques being reported to us by members and associates. Sonia Rinaldi Brazilian researcher, Sonia Rinaldi, is a veteran transcom- munication researcher. With members of the organization she coordinates, IPATI (translation from Portuguese: Insti- tute for Advanced Research in Instrumental Transcommu- nication), she has been diligently seeking ways to improve both visual and audible communication across the veil. We have included a number of articles on her work over the years which may be accessed in the Idea Exchange archive. EVP recording arrangement used by Sonia Rinaldi IPATI has been a leader in developing new techniques for EVP using the telephone system and Skype. A major part of Sonia’s work involves reunions and she has pro- duced some very convincing results using these techniques. We asked Sonia to elaborate on her current setup. Here is her answer with the help of Sonia’s translator, Cristina, Description of technique This is the configuration of equipment used by Sonia Rinaldi for her recent work with reunions. In the laboratory: a speakerphone is placed beside a laptop configured to record via a microphone. The client, who is anywhere in the world, calls that phone via a computer using Skype (voice only). The telephone is answered by the practitioner (Sonia in her reports) who initiates the recording session in the computer, sets the telephone to speakerphone mode and leaves the room. The practitioner then goes to a second room in the

same building and picks up an extension phone located near a television. As a sound source, the television is tuned to an English or German-language news channel (any language other than the practitioner’s native language). Via the telephone, the client speaks to his or her loved one on the other side while the practitioner listens to make sure that the client asks questions while leaving a thirty- second pause for the etheric communicator’s response. In this technique, the voice from the television, as the background sound, appears to be transformed to produce answers from the loved one. While the background sound is in one language, the resulting utterance is in Portuguese. Preparation The client is instructed to prepare questions before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil via Skype. From client Christina, “Before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil, I prepared questions to maximize the communication with my son Stefano. I also decided at the last minute to call from my bedroom, the quietest place in the house.” After the call is connected: “All of a sudden Stefano validates his presence by saying that I was in my room, something I had not mentioned because it was a last minute decision. I could clearly hear my parents and husband as well, which gives me the hope that I will rejoin my loved ones sometime in the future. “Another communication that amazed me was his sug- gestion that I contact a friend and girlfriend of his: Lina. “I contacted Lina the next day and

she told me that it was an amazing ‘coincidence’ that I called. She had been thinking of Stefano and had decided to call me the same day to take me out for lunch. We had lunch together and she surprised me with a gift: a heart-shaped silver locket and chain bearing the words on both side: ‘Stefano, ever loved, never forgotten.’” Debbie Caruso As reported in the Spring 2007 ATransC NewsJournal, “Recording EVP Using a Telephone,” before her transition, Debbie Caruso had been using a landline telephone and computer for recording EVP. The elements of her setup are shown in the following diagram. A recording program such as Audacity or Audition was used in the computer. (Use Phone and Modem in the Control Panel to control the modem in Windows 7.) A telephone was connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she sometimes used a headset that connects to the computer. Continued page 6 Page 5 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVP Using VoIP Continued from page 5 An example of what Debbie was recording is in the article, “Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds” at atransc.org/circle/survival_jenny-brandon.htm EVP recording arrangement used by Debbie Caruso Margaret Downey Margaret Downey uses an Apple computer and iPhone to conduct VoIP sessions. With two Skype accounts, she calls one with the phone and the other with her computer. Both are in the same room but about eight feet apart. A sound source plays into the room near the cell phone. During the call,

Margaret’s voice from the cell phone plays out of the computer speakers. A feedback loop is formed because the phone picks up Margaret’s voice, the background sounds and the output of the speaker. So, if the phone is too close to the computer speakers, there will be a loud “feedback” noise. Part of the task is to find the best location for everything so that there is a little feed- back, but not enough to cause the loud noise. EVP recording arrangement used by Margaret Downey When the call is answered with her computer, Margaret starts an app named Call Record (ecamm.com). (A similar Windows app is PrettyMay Call Recorder: prettymay.net.) An interesting observation about Margaret’s setup is that the call recorder displays both sides of the conversation so that the caller’s voice is strong on the receive side but also slightly delayed. The send side also has the caller’s voice but much weaker. More Techniques? How do you configure your equipment? Let us know either via the Idea Exchange or via email. Your method does not need to use the telephone or VoIP systems. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 How You Can Continue to Help You can continue to keep the Association going and help spread the word by going to the front page of the Associ- ation’s website (http://atransc.org/) when you buy some- thing from Amazon or Ebay. The links are now low on the right-hand column of the front page. Christmas is coming, and when you make

a purchase through the Association website, a small percentage comes back to the ATransC. So don’t forget us when you do your shopping. And as always, we sincerely thank you for any extra donations that you can give to this cause, your dollars are tax deductible. ATransC Archive We are excited to announce that members can now access all past NewsJournals on the Idea Exchange Archive. Members can download issues 1-1 through 10-1 by Sarah Estep and issues 19–2 to current by us as PDF files. Sarah’s issues 10-2 through 19-1 have not been converted. Also available are the first three of fourteen issues of Spirit Voices published by Bill Weisensale before his transition. Combined Journals in Searchable PDF Files Members can download individual Journals for free but we now have combined versions of all past NewsJournals in searchable PDF files. This will allow members to be able to search all issues for certain references or key words. That means, with this issue, you can search all 50 issues we have produced in one file! We are charging a small fee for this service and all of the proceeds will be used for research and outreach. As long as you are a member, you will be able to update the combined version as new issues are added for no additional charge. Research The Rhine Research Institute radio-sweep perception study that ATransC funded is near completion and we expect to have a report in the next issue. Member and lead scientist

on the project, Dr. Mark Leary, will provide a three-part article which will detail his prior study of how people hear EVP, the results of the the new study and a discussion of human perception pertaining to transcommunication. New research questions are being developed. One con- cerns studying the energy profile of EVP waveforms in an effort to determine were the energy comes from. Another is to test if communicating entities see into the physical via the practitioner’s mind. Most of the easy research has been conducted. Further research requires highly qualified researchers and much more funding. Your membership dues fund daily operation but your donations pay for research furthering understand- ing of these phenomena. Please consider becoming more Tom and Lisa active in the ATransC. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 6 The Wilderness of Grief by Annette Childs, Ph.D. © Sometimes it’s hard not to wince as I take messages off my office voice mail. It’s not terribly uncommon for these messages to be punctuated with sobs as the caller tries to succinctly let me know why they have dialed my number. Last week, after a bereft mother haltingly tried to tell me that she was calling because her son had died, she ended her message with this phrase: “Someone told me you might be able to help me find him.” There is never a time when these kinds of words from the grieving do not make my world grow completely and utterly silent as I am trans- ported

along with my caller into the wilderness of grief. Envisioning grief as a wild terrain for which you are not prepared is quite appropriate. Trapped in the rugged wilder- ness without supplies, several coping strategies would be immediately configured. First, how do you begin to move OUT of the wilderness? There would be no smooth and pre- dictable pathway out, so if you were used to driving, biking or to your casually walking chosen destination, those means of forward movement would no longer serve you. When you became hungry or thirsty you could not raid the pantry or order from a local café to satiate yourself. In order to move through the wilderness, you would likely need to learn some new techniques, perhaps how to rappel down the face of a rock or how to safely navigate a deep and swiftly moving river. You might have to scale a tree, collect rainwater and perhaps even eat a small creature in order to survive. As the saying goes, desperate times require desperate measures. So let’s revisit the phrase, “Someone told me you might be able to help me find him.” In my world, this is not such an extraordinary request. It is not all that different than someone asking a wilderness survivalist, “Can you give me some pointers on how to survive in the wild?” And of course, the answer is, “YES!” I grant you, there is no giant neon hand pointing to a sign that says, “YOUR LOVED ONE IS

HERE,” but there IS a vast amount of forward movement one can make in moving through the wilderness of grief. A large part of my work with the grieving does entail helping them to locate their now deceased loved one in their world. I use the concept of Continuing Bonds to help my clients do this. This process can run the gamut from helping them identify a simple psychological or symbolic sense of their loved one, all the way to exploring the after-life sciences and learning what science and experi- ence indicate regarding the possibility of the continuation of life after death. Without fail my clientele are always absolutely amazed at the vast amount of credible informa- tion and scientific explorations that support the grieving who seek to understand what may occur beyond death’s door. Continuing Bonds (CB’s) occur on a continuum and it is my job to help the grieving find the place on that contin- uum where they are comfortable. Sometimes I use the analogy of a swimming pool to help people find their comfort zone. The shallow end of the Continuing Bonds pool is where we will find grievers who find solace in symbolic or their implied bonds deceased loved one. A typical example of this type of bond would be someone who has planted a tree in memory of their loved one. The tree becomes a sort of living place- holder for the deceased loved one’s presence. Another example of this type of CB would be

a scholarship that is set up in a loved one’s name, to support a student that embodies some of the deceased’s ideals. to This is a dynamic ‘living’ representation of their loved one that holds a spot in time. These types of CB’s have great healing power, and as time moves forward, they tend to bring a lovely sense of season and forward movement to the healing process. For example, I worked with one family that had planted a rose bush in memoriam to their deceased father. The first year it bloomed, the roses had great significance to the children and they were fiercely protective of each bloom. They saw the blooms as direct expressions of their father. As the years passed they grew better able to enjoy the roses in a more relaxed way, often cutting the blooms and sharing them with friends. When the oldest daughter got married many years later, the aisle she walked down to meet her waiting groom was scattered with the dried rose petals from her father’s rose bush, a beautiful and powerful symbol of her father walking her down the aisle. Some grievers want to move beyond a symbolic or implied relationship with their deceased loved ones. Because of their need to locate their loved one’s presence beyond the physical life, this desire often brings them into the realm of the after-life sciences. Continued page 13 Page 7 Fall 2012 The Easiest Way To Understand The Universe Is Through Wilderness! by Amritash Choube,

flickr.com/photos/amritash_99 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Brilliant Physical Mediumship of Kai Muegge: Sitting With the Felix Circle by Victor Zammit © One of the highlights of our recent trip to Europe was the opportunity to sit as a guest in the home circle of the Felix Experimental Group in Hanau, near Frankfurt Germany. We were most impressed by the dedication of the sitters who have been sitting weekly now since 2005. For the last three years, the gifted physical medium, Kai Muegge, has been following the method of mediumship used by physical medium Rudi Schneider to induce trance by using very fast holotropic breathing. in life a After the medium was in trance and the lights turned off, we heard the voice of Hans famous Bender, German parapsychologist who was in charge of the proceed- ings from the spirit dimension. His voice was accompanied by loud knocks around the room. We started to witness bright blue spirit lights the size of golf balls moving around in the séance room and around the twelve sitters. They seemed to be responsive to the energy of the sitters. One came very close me and stayed at a distance of about 10 cms for quite a while. Next we saw a spirit hand illumi- nated by a luminous it moved, plaque; turned and made sure it was seen as a perfect solid human hand. Hans Bender Throughout the sitting, the medium Kai Muegge was tightly controlled by two sitters who had their hands on his arms

and knees. During the sessions the sitters held hands and a red light was frequently turned on to show everyone that Kai was still in the cabinet. Kai Muegge with his wife, Julia A most impressive sight was the abundance of ectoplasm (a whitish, smoky substance which was emitted from Kai’s mouth) which accumulated directly in front of him and which was shown in red light. After a short time, the ectoplasm was shown again in red light, this time draped over Kai’s head and body. It would be sheer nonsense to describe the ectoplasm as a piece of cloth. It was clearly a living moving substance with a unique structure. During the séance, a former colleague of mine who died in 1995; the legendary, radical, some even called him “revolutionary,” Rev. Ted Noffs of the famous Wayside Chapel, came through giving us great validation that he is who he claimed to be. In my younger student days the Rev. Ted Noffs and I organized a number of highly successful public protests, mainly against the French nuclear testing in the Pacific where much beauty and life were permanently destroyed. The Rev. Ted Noffs’ radical social innovations such as anti-drug campaigning, the social justice programs and “doing good for humanity” programs were recognized by Prince Charles of the Royal Family, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and New South Wales Premier Neville Wran Q.C. His work was also recognized by some leading Christians from the United States. The Reverend Ted Noffs One

of the things that influenced me the most was Ted’s insistence that we should not allow religions to stand as a barrier between people. He taught: “I am a Catholic. I am a Protestant. I am a Jew. I am a Hindu, I am Muslim, a Sikh, a Buddhist ... I am part of the religions past, present and future, because I am a human being and nothing is alien to me....”. He was tried for “heresy” by the Christian establishment in Sydney but found not guilty. His work is continued in Sydney by his children and grandchildren in the Ted Noffs Foundation. Hans Bender from the afterlife acted as the medium for Ted Noffs and told us that he had come to say how much he supported the work we were doing through the Friday Afterlife Report and the website victorzammit.com. (This was not a surprise to me because Ted Noffs had previously contacted me, something that was not known to the Felix Circle). Hans Bender also said that the small apport (pictured left- actual size) representing different religions that materialized through the medium’s ectoplasm was a gift from Rev. Ted Noffs. Apport represent- ing different reli- gions was a gift for Zammit from Rev Ted Noffs. Then Hans Bender told us that a young man who had committed suicide in 2009 had also come to make himself known and asked whether I could feel him standing in front of me touching my leg. Continued page 12 Volume 31,

Number 3 Page 8 Phantom Voices By Tom Butler The evidence is very clear that there are examples of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) that contain clearly understood messages. EVP are empirically demonstrated phenomena. Yet, a commonly heard complaint is that websites concerned with the paranormal often have exam- ples of EVP that sound like simple noise. Website visitors have used the contact tool to announce that they are receiving astoundingly long and important EVP, which on close examination, have proven to only contain noise. Yet, others have provided excellent, clearly heard examples. So what is the difference? What leads one person to hear messages where there is only noise while others do not? The prevalence of this “phantom voices” phenomenon is increasingly evident as more people become involved in EVP. The resulting confusion is seen as an obstacle to useful collaboration amongst practitioners and certainly must warn off potential researchers. Listening Test To develop more understanding of the problem of phantom voices, the ATransC conducted an online listening study using two sound files. One contained simple brown noise (emphasis on voice-frequencies) and the other contained broad-spectrum noise modulated with audio pulses that simulate the cadence of speech. It was clearly stated that neither example contained voice. Possible explanations about what might cause a person to hear phantom voices were included above the hearing test and what was in the files was clearly stated. Results Of the 111 submissions, 15.3% (17) reported hearing voices in the brown noise file and 27.8%

(33) reported hearing voices in the modulated file. That means that 39% (43) reported voice in one or both of the files. File 1: Brown noise Participants were also asked if they had a history of hearing voices not heard by others. Thirty-six percent (40) of the respondents said that they did. Most indicated they were likely in a hypnogogic state of awareness. Interestingly, many respondents reported hearing music or musical tones. While hearing music might be an associ- ated characteristic of the phantom voices phenomenon, the question has not been addressed here. Analysis This was an informal study in the sense that there were no controls. Although respondents were asked how the samples were listened to, it is mostly unknown if the samples were heard under optimum conditions. It is also reasonable to ask if respondents would be candid about hearing voices they were told were not present. There is probably a natural selection of respondents which biases the results away from “hearing voices” reports. The website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day and receiving only 111 responses to the study over more than a year suggests that many who might have read the discussion prior to listening to the sound files, and subse- quently heard voices, chose not to respond. For the purpose of future study, it is hypothesized that at least 43% might hear voices in sound files which are not present. Theory The phantom voices phenomenon appears to have a number of possible causes ranging

from mental illness to the natural human tendency to make sense of ambiguous stimuli. Mental illness does not appear to be a factor for EVP; however, in the most extreme examples, there does appear to be a complex of common behaviors which may imply a situational fixation on hearing voices. This is addressed below in “Listener Fatigue.” Hypnagogia File 2: Noise with occasional pulse of noise There are a number of mental characteristics described in the psychological literature that touch on this experience, but hypnagogia seems to be a key concept. It is defined as: Inducing sleep; soporific [sleepiness]; drowsiness preceding sleep; relating to the images or hallucinations sometimes experienced in this state. According to Gurstelle and de Oliveira,1 “...daytime parahypnagogia (DPH) is more likely to occur when one is tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity....” The mind will naturally seek order in chaotic stimuli (see “Perceptual Order” below). The order is apparently based on what is in the person’s memory, so the almost-heard sounds have a familiar feel for the experiencer. A common report received by the ATransC is hearing voices or music for which the source cannot be found Page 9 Continued page 14 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sonia Rinaldi’s Trans Images Sonia Rinaldi continues her work helping people commu- nicate with the other side. Her are some of her ITC images using a Fresnel lens. Marlene pictured with the Fresnel lens Marlene’s father An image as seen on the lens.

It is thought that his might be Marlene’s father Marli pictured with an ITC image that appeared on the Fresnel lens Morse Code Update A researcher from the Scottish Society for Psychical Research, Innes Smith, visited Alison Kirkbride last June. He sat with her while she conducted a number of EVP sessions. Domenic Capaldi was also present to video record the sessions. (sspr.co.uk) We have only a preliminary report, but as expected, Smith was unsure about the paranormality of the EVP examples, saying “… the spoken word messages - to me - will always present a problem in interpretation.” Many EVP were recorded by both Alison and Domenic and Alison produce an impressing dog bark EVP on request. Untrained listeners commonly have difficulty hearing EVP. This is the fear we all have about “being investigated.” Alison understands this and it is to her credit that she was willing to share the session results as part of the “research.” Alison succeeded in recording Morse code during the observed sessions and that produced a very different response from Smith. He told us that, “What is inexplicable (by current physics) is intelligible Morse code messages appearing on a background noise where there were none before.” He seemed genuinely excited about the Morse code. Innes Smith has asked to attend more EVP sessions later this year. He has devised experiments targeted at clarifying the apparent paranormality of the Morse EVP. Alison and the Morse Team expect to cooperate with his research. We will keep

you informed as to the progress. Big Circle Recording Dates Loved ones on both sides of the veil who cooperate to communicate and help one another are known as the “Big Circle.” In some instances, loved ones in the etheric have even guided people to the Association. This “bridge to the afterlife” is maintained when people join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 PM local time to communicate via EVP. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. Here are the recording dates: October 11 and 25, November 8 and 22, December 6 and 20 and January 3, 17 and 31 See: atransc.org/circle/about_the_big_circle.htm We encourage you to share your results in the Big Circle forum of the Idea Exchange. Be especially sure to post any names you record. Members sometimes record messages that are specifically intended for another member. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 10 Arthur Conan Doyle by Lisa Butler In February of this year, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle material- ized in a David Thompson séance and spoke to Tom and me. He also sent greetings from Konstantin Raudive. I asked him about an ITC picture that we had gotten after a Socrates Circle sitting that we thought might be him. He immediately advised us that the ITC picture was indeed him. During a June 7 Big

Circle recording, I asked about Sir Arthur and we received an EVP saying “Promise to contact.” During the next Big Circle session, two weeks later, Tom again asked for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and we recorded, “Sir Arthur already helping” On the left is an ITC image collected by the Socrates Group. It is thought to be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unknown to us at the time of these recordings, Margaret Downey had a sitting with mediums Mike and Marti Perry on June 4. The first person that Mike said was coming through was Arthur Conan Doyle and Margaret told them she felt it was for Tom and Lisa! The Scole Experiments In 1993, four psychic research- ers and observers embarked on a series of experiments in the Norfolk village of Scole, Eng- land. For five years, more than five hundred experiments were carried out. During some of the experi- ments, objects materialized, lights danced and solid beings appeared. Luminous spheres also flew around the room in an apparently intelligent manner. Images were received on thirty- five millimeter film that was still in lightproof containers. One of these pictures was of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Scole Group photograph of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These experiments were repeated in the United States, Ireland and Spain. In the United States, scientists from NASA, the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the University of Stanford also took part. You can learn more about The Scole Experiment at thescoleexperiment.com Interesting Fact: James Webster, a professional

magician, with forty years of experience investigating paranormal phenomena, came to the following conclusion about the Scole experiments: “I was unable to discover any sign of fraud, and it seems to me that fraud couldn’t have been possible, both because of the type of phenomena observed and by the conditions in which they came about.” More on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle became interested in the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) (spr.ac.uk), which was established in 1882 to scientifically investigate paranormal phenom- ena. However, he found himself at odds with the SPR’s objectivity. He felt he didn’t need laboratory experiments to prove what he knew to be true. Arthur Conan Doyle became a spiritualist after holding séances with his wife Jean to get in touch with members of their family killed in the First World War. He told the world that he was communicating with the spirits of the dead, after which, he began writing books on spiritualism and addressing vast audiences around the world on the subject of communication with the so called dead. He also clashed with Harry Houdini, the illusionist, who argued that all spiritualists’ “tricks” could be replicated by a competent magician. A few days before his death in 1930, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, “The reader will judge that I have had many adven- tures. The greatest and most glorious of all awaits me now.” Emails from the Other Side Karen Mossey shared a link to a story done by BBC’s Matt Danzico. Jack

Froese died In June 2011, and in November, several of his friends received emails from his account. His family says that no one knew his password to even get into the account. The emails were about small personal things that only the receiver would have known. In one email Jack tells his friend to clean his attic. One of their last times together had been in that very attic discussing what it could be made into if cleaned up. See the video at: bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17348635 Karen wrote that she found the video amazing and believ- able. She thinks that, with the advancement of smart phones and with most of our younger population using them, we will be seeing an increase of communication from the other side from those who use them! Page 11 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Telephone Calls from the Dead A book review based on the one in Silent Voices (silentvoices.org.uk/#/book-reviews-2012/4560170991)© is Seeing a ghost in a well-known haunted fairly location common experience, and I’m sure many of us could relate to this phenomenon, or have spoken to someone who claims to have seen a ghost or had a psychic experience. But hearing of someone having a telephone call from the dead?! This is cer- tainly a rare paranormal occur- rence. Cal Cooper has conducted an entirely new study into these bizarre experiences and presents the findings in this fan- tastic new book. Cooper states that he thinks of this book as a revised edition of the original

1979 book, Phone Calls from the Dead by D. Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless. This book appeals to all audiences and makes no assumption that the reader is familiar with the science of parapsychology. This is because the introduction gives a compact explanation of the field and its history and how Cooper became involved in paranormal research. A chapter is devoted to the lives and work of Rogo and Bayless and how they came to be good friends and col- leagues in psychical research. They meet through their EVP research which Bayless started with the psychic medium Attila von Szalay in the 1950s. In the book, Cooper addresses issues involved in research and the methods which should be considered and applied for the investigation of spontaneous cases of paranormal experiences. Several categories of paranormal telephone calls are highlighted and many case examples are given. Cooper then discusses the statistics involved and the frequency of call types. Possible explanations are then offered in chapters on the psychology of the phone calls and also paranormal theories for the calls. The cases discussed in this book are certainly captivating. There are accounts of telephone calls from people known to be dead and calls from people thought to be still in the physical, but who were found to be dead at the time of the call. Some paranormal calls are from the living; calls they insist they never made! There are calls where messages of warnings or future events are discussed before the events

take place. These events are truly amazing, and appear to have changed many people’s lives in the process. It also seems that paranormal communication has advanced into text messages and emails supposedly from the dead. Such possibilities are considered. The final chapter offers a peer review of telephone phenomena and the research that Cooper has carried out, with contributors from the field of parapsychology such as John L. Randall (posthumously), Dr. John Palmer (reviving his role from the original book) and Dr. Jim Beichler. Cooper has been thorough in his studies of the phone-call phenomenon and presents a detailed look at these rare paranormal experiences. This diligence was also appreci- ated by Dr. Elizabeth McAdams, president of the Interna- tional Foundation for Survival Research, who provides a wonderful forward for the book. The thoughts of others and myself are that Cooper has truly done the late researchers, Rogo and Bayless, justice in furthering their research efforts and picking up from where they left off. Cal Cooper is pursuing doctoral research in psychology and parapsychology at the University of Northampton. He is a member of the Society for Psychical Research and of the Parapsychological Association. The Felix Circle Continued from page 8 I could. He told us that the young man said his name was Erik and he had come to thank me for the assistance the reports gave to his mother after his death and to many other bereaved parents. At first I had no idea who he was but

then Wendy remembered “Channeling Erik,” channelingerik.com, the blog of Dr Elisa Medhurst whose son has been communicating with her through medium Jamie Butler. We got in touch with Elisa who asked Erik for confirma- tion. According to the medium Jamie Butler: “Erik said it was him. He was telling me they were all in a room and he showed himself to the medium man and wanted to touch his hair. Said he had messy hair like him. Erik said that these were the things he has been up to. He wants to spread the word that his world is real. There really should not be any more grief here on Earth. Please Mom, tell him to pub- lish.” It is truly wonderful to see that genuine physical medi- umship is alive and thriving in Germany today in a circle that truly demonstrates deep interest in the past traditions of European mediumship and understanding of the importance of group energy. We will hear more from this circle in the future. Erik Volume 31, Number 3 Page 12 Wilderness of Grief Continued from page 7 (Some will scoff at this notion, but those who scoff have certainly never arrived at that moment in their lives where they simply do not think they can go on for another moment without some sense that their deceased loved one continues on in some form.) It is for this group of grievers that I have created my Reaching the Other Side: Grief and Healing Seminar. This

is a unique program that combines Continuing Bonds grief-therapy with education on the after-life sciences. The intended outcome of these seminars is to help the bereaved to create a continuing bond, assist them to recognize the many forms that an after-death communica- tion can take, and to support a direct experience of their continuing bond with their loved one. These three things combined offer the most potent medicine I know of to combat the wilderness of grief. As the harsh edges of grief are softened with education, a space is made for a continuing bond with their loved one. Sometimes during these seminars, families receive a direct experience of an after-death communication through me. Although I do not make these communications the focus of my work, sometimes, when working with the grieving, I will begin to get words and images from their deceased loved ones. There is nothing even remotely dramatic about this at all when it occurs, in fact you would be surprised at how “ordinary” it is when it happens. These types of After-Death Communication (ADC) are nothing more than mental “calling cards” from their loved ones that I have the sensitivity to discern. I will use an example here that actually occurred today, on the day I am writing this article. Earlier this morning, I worked with a grieving family seeking an indicator that their loved one still continued on after death. When I asked their loved one for a message, the image of something I called

a “coat of arms” flashed into my mind. I drew the image to the best of my meager artistic ability. As I handed the image over, there was immediate recognition and you could feel the heaviness of loss lighten into a sense of wonder, connection and gratitude. I had depicted a family heirloom given to the bereaved by the deceased; an object that was very significant and meaning- ful. When the family returned home from our appoint- ment, they e-mailed me a photo of the object and gave me permission to share it here, along with the original drawing I gave them. Their willingness to share is precisely why I call my company “One Candle.” Now their story becomes yet one more candle on a dark pathway … and one light at a time, my goal is to dispel the fear of death and bring light to the journey through grief. Although the small example of an ADC I have given in this article defies logic, proves nothing and creates more questions than it answers, it gets us moving out of the wilderness of grief by focusing on a farther horizon. An after-death communication is not a destination; it is more like a road sign on a long journey. ADC’s themselves are not where the grieving want their focus to stay. As healing as that moment of connection is, our work is to build the healing out from that point. Researchers estimate that up to sixty percent of the bereaved

experience some type of ADC. Yet an ADC in itself does not always lead to a healing outcome. Those who have a strong ADC, but cannot construct a sense of meaning around the experience, may actually find the experience more disruptive than healing. Exploring the deeper meaning of continuing bonds and ADC’s can help the bereaved to locate their loved one after loss, but finding a way to construct meaning around the experience is the foundation for healing. These things combined are what carry the griever out of the wilderness of grief … not necessarily the after-death communication itself. If you have experienced a loss and you are in the wilder- ness of grief, remember that support and education are two of the things that you can use to begin to prepare your world for an ADC. As the saying goes, “build it and they will come”; read, stretch, grow, seek. Build a container for the possibility—and the universe will respond by filling the darkness with light. Annette Childs holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a Nevada State Licensed Therapist. She is a diplomat of the American Psycho- therapy Association, and a Fellow in Thanatology, Grief and Bereavement. She is the author of three award-winning books and speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics related to personal growth and transi- tion. You can find her books at onecandle.net/books.html Page 13 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Phantom Voices Continued from page 9 or recorded. In most reports, the

sounds are described as a distant conversation or the sound of a radio program that can “almost” be made out, but no specific words or songs can be identified. As it happens, the phantom voices are often associated with a person who is distracted by activi- ties that permit the person’s mind to wander. They may also be experienced at the beginning and end of sleep time. Experiencers often resist mundane explanations, and insist they are experiencing something paranormal. Audio Illusion There are also a number of types of auditory illusions that have been identified. A good article about these is “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain)” by Rich Pell.2 One such illusion is described as “The phantom words illusion,” which is simply the same two words being repeated over and over but time displaced between the left and right channel. This demonstrates how easy it is to hear words and phrases that are not there, and even hear them change, as the brain attempts to make sense of the aural ambiguity. This is a pretty interesting effect! Passive Concentration Perhaps a better term for hypnagogia would be “passive concentration” because the person has focused attention, but not with concentrated awareness. This distraction from the inner chatter of the brain leaves the mind open for unnoticed inputs. In principle, the hypnagogic state of mind is ideal for our etheric communicators to commune with our otherwise too busy mind. Passive concentration is a spontaneous version of mindful meditation

which is a deliberately cultivated technique for communing with one’s inner senses and is an important technique for mediumship. The important point is that we must recognize the part these natural tendencies play in our perception of phenomena. Apophenia and Pareidolia Apophenia is a term used in psychology for the mind’s natural tendency to identify patterns where none exist. Pareidolia is a subset of apophenia which applies to finding meaning in sound or images that does not exist. Skeptics love to use these terms to explain away reports of paranor- mal experiences. When applied to all reports with no examination of the evidence, these terms are, in effect, psychobabble used to explain why people reporting para- normal experiences are imagining things. The term, “apo- phenia” does not apply to simple cases of misidentification such as a balloon being identified as a UFO or a fellow investigator’s reflection being mistaken as a ghost in a mirror. It applies to the result of the mind’s need to find order in chaos. When presented with information the mind is unable to identify or make sense of, its natural reaction is to offer up the next best fit. If the person is intent on finding voices in noise, the mind will probably offer a likely word or two. Some reports of the paranormal may be instances of apophenia. The study of things paranormal often involves poorly formed images and hard to understand sound files which must be carefully studied. A person who is unfamiliar

with the concept of mediumship, and who does not know it is possible to sense subtle energy, may be inclined to express a natural fear of the dark as a “sense of a nearby evil entity.” Such responses to unfamiliar experiences are not evidence of a psychological flaw, but are natural human attempts to relate to circumstances. The “antidote” is education. Perceptual Order In Gestalt psychology, the whole is seen as being different than the sum of its parts. In this, the observer might find understanding where there is little or no substantiating information. The Gestalt laws of perceptual organization3 also provide possible explanations for the natural human tendency to find order in chaos. They include: The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli or elements that are close together tend to be grouped. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures. The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped so as to minimize change or discontinuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical borders tend to be perceived as coherent figures. The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. Clairaudience Clairvoyance or “clear seeing” has become a catchall term for the ability to sense information in subtle energy. This may be in the form of voices, images, smells or a general “knowing.” It is possible that a person might hear voices in a sound track containing only noise, via clairaudience, if none are physically present. However, in

the study of EVP, the voices are either physically there or they are not. If they are there, then others should be able to experience them. They are objective, meaning they have physical form. Understanding this point is central to the study of how transcommunication is experienced. Listener Fatigue EVP practitioners spend a lot of time listening to often noisy audio recordings. The expected EVP are usually mostly hidden by the noise and one must listen very carefully to distinguish them. Once isolated, the paranormal utterances are usually Class C, meaning they are not very easily understood. This makes it necessary for the practitioner to concentrate and listen to the sound segment many times. This situation is a formula for noise to be mistaken as anticipated EVP. Continued page 15 Volume 31, Number 3 Page 14 Phantom Voices Continued from page 14 Discussion The first documentation of EVP was in 1959 and the phenomenon remains poorly understood today. Funda- mentally, the examples are just sound tracks usually containing a lot of noise and a few, often poorly formed words. With proper training, usually gained by trial and error with feedback from friends or from other ATransC members on the Idea Exchange, the practitioner learns to recognize the difference between actual voices trans- formed out of background noise and imagined messages. However, in cases in which this learning has not occurred, practitioners have been known to find meaning which does not exist in the noise. For all of the reasons one

might propose to explain this, the most available means of avoiding problems with phantom voices is education. This study should provide a sense of how common it is for individuals to mistake mundane information as some- thing paranormal. The phantom voices effect is not unique to EVP, but can be seen in virtually all forms of transcom- munication including visual ITC and mediumship. While this report addresses what has been called here, “phantom voices,” the larger phenomenon might be referred to as a form of hyper lucidity as the experiencer’s mind goes to extremes in an attempt to assign meaning. References 1. Gurstelle EB, de Oliveira JL., Daytime parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep, William Pa- terson University, Wayne, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619, Reviewed 5-3-2012 2. Pell, Rich, Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain), eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/audio-designline- blog/4033473/Audio-illusions-that-will-fool-your-ear-and-brain-, Reviewed 5-3-2012 3. “Gestalt principles,” Scholarpedia, scholarpedia.org/article/Gestalt_principles, Reviewed 5-3-2012 4. “ATransC Survival Hypothesis,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/theory/survival_hypothesis.htm, Reviewed 5-3-2012 Q & A on the Idea Exchange The ATransC Idea Exchange is intended to provide a safe place for members to ask questions, express opinions, share experiences and learn how to work with all forms of transcommunication. It is important to know that the board is closed to the public to protect your privacy. Tom and Lisa Butler monitor the board virtually every day and make it their business to try and find answers to your questions. If you are seeking better understanding of these phenomena, then please drop by

and let us know what is on your mind. Are Ghosts Discarnate People? According to a 2009 CBS news poll, 48% of Americans say they believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations. Seventy-eight percent believe in life after death. This large number of “believers” should be encouraging to those of us who study things paranormal, but unfortu- nately, there is more. A report on the Gallup website indicates that 32% of people surveyed say they believe “ghosts or spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations,” (ghosts or spontaneous after-death communication), while only 21% believe that “That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died” (mediumship). Most polls we have reviewed show that, while people believe in ghosts, many do not make the connection between ghosts and survived personalities. This is even more evident when people’s fear of hauntings situations is considered. In an apparent hauntings situation, a person who is experienced with transcommunication might stop to sense whether or not it is a loved one while the average ghost hunter will reach for the smudging stick to clear the house. (To most ATransC members, that is a lot like slamming the door on a loved one.) Gallup polls are also showing a distressing trend: while 32% believed in ghosts in 2005, 38% were believers in 2001 (a 6% decrease). Similarly, 28% of people believed in mediumship in 2001 compared to 21% in 2005 (a

7% decrease). There is a general trend of growing disbelief in the phenomena associated with transcommunication which seems to indicate the skeptical community’s cam- paign to discredit all things paranormal is beginning to work. As a footnote, 55% of respondents believed in “psychic or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body” in 2005, 1% more than in 2001. From: CBS News, “Poll: Majority Believe In Ghosts” by Sean Alfano, February 11, 2009, cbsnews.com, and Gallup, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal” by David W. Moore, June 16, 2005, gallup.com The ASPSI is now the ASCSI The Academy of Spirituality and Paranor- mal Studies has changed their name to the Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc. (ASCSI). The Academy was founded in 1972 as the academic affiliate of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. They publish two scholarly quarterlies, The Journal for Spiritual and Con- sciousness Studies and a newsletter, The Searchlight. Both deal with religion, psychical research and related topics. Please visit the Academy’s website at ascsi.org. Page 15 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal We Don’t Die by Sandra Champlain © “We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance.” Dwight L. Moody, evangelist and publisher, b. 1837 Saturday, October 22, 2005 - Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY Heavy raindrops fall on the roof of my cabin, tucked amongst the trees behind the retreat center. The air is cold and damp, my hair and clothes are wet from the walk in

the rain and the only warmth is coming from a small heater in the corner of my room. I put on my pajamas and crawl under the covers. The roommate that the retreat center has assigned to me is still out to dinner with her friends. I question if I am completely crazy. I clearly feel that I have been led on a path to figure out if life after death is real. The cab driver who brought me here could not believe that there was such a class as I was now taking. I told him I was taking a course called Electronic Voice Phenomena. The course promised that it was possible to hear messages from our deceased friends and family by using recording devices. Although the cab driver thought I was a little weird, he gave me his email address and made me promise to tell him what happened. I want it to be real on one hand, but on another hand, I think the idea is insane. Is it possible that our deceased loved ones are still nearby and that they talk to us by putting their voices on a recorder? The course instructors, Tom and Lisa Butler, have been doing these recordings for seventeen years. Why would people waste their time if this wasn’t possible? I put all of those thoughts out of my mind and pull out my Sony digital recorder, which had been recommended by people effective at getting EVP. I am always a

good student who does her homework and I want to get this recording done before my roommate comes back. When we met yesterday, I lied to her and told her that I was in a writers’ workshop, as I didn’t want her to know that I was really trying to communicate with the dead. I didn’t even tell my family what I was doing this weekend. Only the cab driver knows the real reason I am at the retreat center. Cuddled under the covers, holding my recorder, I close my eyes and try to imagine myself sitting in the center of a high-energy field, as our energy is supposedly used by the other side to put these voices on the recorder. I imagine my grandmother, grandfather, aunt and uncle standing around the foot of my bed and press the record button. I begin to talk. “All right my dear friends, I’m going to do one more recording. Try to speak as loud as you can. If I am supposed to help people to believe in life after death, I have to hear you, so please try to talk loud. I will be quiet for about a minute and then I’ll say goodnight and I won’t bug you anymore.” (Earlier in the day I had been talking to the same four imaginary people, unsuccessful at hearing any voices.) I stop talking to allow the recording of the raindrops on the roof of the cabin. The dead must manipulate white noise so

I figured the sound of the rain might be okay. I wait and after about a minute I say, “Goodnight” to my imaginary or invisible friends and press the stop button. I put on my earphones, press the rewind button and begin to listen. Not expecting this time to be any different from the other attempts that I have made to listen to the deceased, I press the play button on my digital voice recorder. Convinced that I will hear nothing, I wait and listen. Then, I hear something. A sharp chill runs through my body and my skin is covered with goose bumps. I press rewind to hear it again and again and again. My mind is in a state of shock because I should not be hearing the words that I am hearing; I should only be hearing raindrops. Loud and clear I hear a man saying, “Goodnight, Sandra,” in what sounds like a computer-generated voice. Then, two faint women’s voices say, “Goodnight, goodnight,” fol- lowed by another male voice saying, “Goodnight.” I am suddenly stunned and afraid. I don’t know what to think, and feel sick to my stomach. What I am experiencing is unreal, like nothing I could have ever imagined. Are these people really here with me? Are people always with me? I become upset with myself for even coming to this retreat center. I find myself wanting to talk to someone human, but it is too late at night and there is no one

around. I replay the recording over and over and over. Finally, I am mentally exhausted, and just before I fall asleep, I have visions of my grandparents and aunt and uncle hovering over me. “Are you really here” I think to myself and go to bed very certain that my life will never be the same again. I want to apologize … for not sharing this information … sooner. You might have thought that I should have shouted from the rooftops that, “I, Sandra Champlain, have proved there is life after death.” You may have told me back in 2005 that I had enough credible evidence, between the EVP and the other studies I had done, to make a profound difference in the lives of people that had lost someone close to them. However, my own fear of being called crazy, weird, being laughed at or people not wanting to be involved with me, stopped me from sharing this informa- tion … until now. Continued page 18 Volume 31, Number 3 Page 16 Physical Phenomena: Two Methods of Production by Robin Foy © Not everybody is aware that physical mediumship now takes place in two totally different ways. The traditional view within the Spiritualist Movement is that physical phenomena can only be presented by spirit helpers using the controversial substance known as “ectoplasm.” This method has been used by physical mediums and their guides and helpers since 1848. Generally, it involves a physical medium who is usually in deep trance

throughout the proceedings. The medium usually sits in a “cabinet” to concentrate energy (this is typically an enclosure just large enough to hold a sitting person). Most physical mediums operate in total darkness or in dim red light. The ectoplasm is exuded from the physical medium’s body (from any or all of the body’s natural orifices) and can be molded by the spirit guides and helpers to form a solid materialization of a spirit person, which can often be positively identified by friends and relatives of the spirit person. For the manipulation and levitation of objects such as a trumpet (a megaphone like object used for amplifica- tion of direct-voice communication from spirit) in the séance room, an ectoplasmic rod with a pseudopod for gripping is used by the spirit people. In every case, the ectoplasm remains connected by an umbilical cord-like structure to the medium whilst phenomena take place. It is this ectoplasmic connection which makes it physically dangerous for the medium. If a sitter does something silly, like switching on an electric light in the middle of a séance, the ectoplasm shoots back into the body of the medium at an alarmingly fast rate; causing, at the best, burns to the medium’s body, and at the worst, internal damage that has on occasion, led directly to the death or serious injury of the medium. Such was the case with Helen Duncan and Alec Harris, both famous materialization mediums. Conse- quently, in all sittings where physical mediumship is con-

ducted through an ectoplasmic-based system, careful precautions have to be observed for the safety of the medium. The ectoplasmic-based physical medium often takes many years to develop their mediumship fully. The second and more modern method of producing physical phenomena is by way of an energy-based proce- dure. This form of physical phenomena was largely pio- neered by the spirit team working with the Scole Experimental Group in the 1990s. There may be one or more mediums in a group where this method is being used. They may not necessarily be in deep trance; sometimes, the members of the group are not aware of who the medium or mediums might be! The spiritual energies of all the group members are blended and involved in the energy-based process. Whilst groups of this sort should start out in total darkness, the spirit team working with a particular group often brings its own spirit-lighting fairly soon in the development of the phenomena to provide adequate illumination. The energy that is used by the spirit team is a blend of three different types of energy which, when mixed together, provides one creative energy, which can then be used by the spirit team or individual spirit persons in a physical way to demonstrate the phenomena which are produced. These three forms of energy are: 1. Spiritual energy taken from all the sitters in the group. 2. Spirit energy brought by the spirit team from the spirit world, especially for the purposes of their producing the

“creative energy” needed at a particular sitting. 3. Columns or “pillars” of natural earth energy which exist in certain geographical locations around the world. Groups sitting for physical phenomena can attract one of these columns of energy to them for the work, or even create a new column in the place where they sit. There are a number of advantages to working in this new way with energy, although I should point out that neither method of working is better than, or superior to, the other. These advantages include: a) Phenomena can develop quicker in the energy way, sometimes in months rather than in years. b) There is absolutely no danger whatsoever to mediums or sitters if somebody does something stupid during an energy-based sitting. The phenomena will simply stop, c) The energy-based method is more versatile in that more types of phenomena can be developed in this way. At Scole, we counted around 180 different types of phe- nomena that were developed during the five-year history of the Scole Experimental Group. These are the basic facts of the two methods for producing physical phenomena…. From: Physical Mediumship International robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com Robin Foy was the founder of the Noah’s Ark Society in 1990. In 1992, he was co-founder of the Scole Experimental Group and, later, of the New Spiritual Science Foundation. The group demonstrated physical phenomena to the public and to scientific investigators who were senior members of the Society for Psychical Research. Robin has authored two books: In Pursuit of

Physical Medium- ship (Janus Publishing Co Ltd) and Witnessing the Impossible. (Torcal Publications 2008) which is the only complete record of every sitting of the Scole Experimental Group. Both books are currently available via scoleexperiment.com. Also see the pamphlet How to Develop Energy-Based Physical Phenomena at robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com Page 17 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal We Don’t Die Continued from page 16 In my book, We don’t Die: A Skeptic’s Discovery of Life After Death, I talk about the deaths of my grandmother, then my father, then my dear cat, Ozzie, who we had to euthanize just weeks after my dad died. My grief during that time was the most painful thing I have ever experi- enced. It opened my eyes to a suffering that I could not have previously imagined…. There are some very specific things I hope that you get by the time you are done reading, We Don’t Die: A Skeptic’s Discovery of Life After Death. Of course, I will give you every bit of supporting facts, figures and information, so that this information is real to you: · You survive physical death. Your body disappears but you will still exist. · Your friends and relatives that have died are still around and you can connect with them. · You will feel that you are not alone, ever. You have love around you even if you cannot see it. · You will understand grief, what it is, why we must feel it and how to lessen your pain.

· You will experience remote viewing, an extrasensory perception technique that may leave you speechless. This experience will leave you believing that you are much more than the physical body you know yourself to be. · You will no longer fear death and know that death is a natural progression to something better. · You will no longer fear life and realize that you can accomplish incredible results for yourself. · You will have a new relationship with fear, have better relationships and be able to achieve your dreams realizing that you can never fail. · There is more to life than meets the eye, and there is more to you than you know. A hypnotherapist, medium, remote viewer, speaker, dowser and recorder of EVP, Sandra is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others to make a difference. Sandra is unstoppable, and aims to teach people to live courageous lives, go after their dreams, have loving relationships and know that they can never really die. For a copy of Sandra’s book see: wedontdie.sharepoint.com/Pages/YourEndorsementNeed ed.aspx Using Random Number Generators In the article “Random Event Generators Predict the Future,” Daniel Lew says that for years, “Random number generators have been running all over the world, electron- ically flipping 200 coins each second, with the intention of measuring a global consciousness. Scientists of the Global Consciousness Project (GCP) … are using [Random Event Generators (REG)] to test whether a human consciousness extends a field around the earth which can change the

results of random events. They claim that when an impor- tant event occurs, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the Indian Ocean tsunami, the random event generators start to display patterns that should not exist in truly random sequences. (noosphere.princeton.edu) “Not only does the GCP detect spikes of less-than-ran- dom activity around some important events, but according to the project it actually predicts them, too. In the afore- mentioned 9/11 attack, there was a bizarre spike of non-random activity four hours before the attacks. As for the Indian Ocean tsunami, analysts say that the REGs detected it 24 hours in advance. ‘We may be able to predict that a major world event is going to happen,’ says Roger Nelson, the project leader. ‘But we won’t know exactly what will happen or where it’s going to happen.’” From: Damn Interesting, damninteresting.com/random-event- generators-predict-the-future/ Members using REGs Cindy Heinen reported that she has been using an REG while working with the Society for Anomalous Studies. She took many samples during a recent investigation at an old mansion but the REG showed nothing of significance. However, when something funny happened and everyone started laughing, the REG went way above the threshold lines. She also noted that, when two people started talking about sad events, there was a small movement toward recording outside of the threshold. Cindy also reported that they had been utilizing some energy work sessions in conjunction with EVP sessions, but so far there has been no improvement in EVP. They

have gotten some interesting visual and real-time audio phe- nomena. One was a light source that came from a person’s forehead and shot to the ceiling. The Butlers operate a Psyleron REG-1 with an Acer One laptop. While a session was running, they showed the device to David Thompson, the physical medium. While his attention was focused on the display, it registered far above the normal range envelope. It dropped back down when he was distracted talking to them. This occurred two times in a row. If you are working with an REG, or are just interested, a forum on REGs has been set up in the Idea Exchange. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Margaret Downey wrote, “This last week was the 32nd anniversary of a suicide that deeply affected me and has a profound impact on my life. I decided to do a recording for myself (manual AM radio sweep as background, recording into Audacity on my computer) and ask if my friend and mentor “Bones” was there. He came through right away saying, “Hello” and “I’m Bones.” This is very similar to his voice as I remember it. I also got what I consider to be a sign. I’ve not seen a post from the TV show Bones in my Facebook feed for eons. But when I logged into FB after having spent the morning crying and talking to my therapist about this event that haunts me, there this image was near the top

of my news feed. That alone was pretty impressive to me. BUT there’s more ... looking at the numbers, they are all significant. Now, I’ll admit, I might be reading more into this than was intentionally there; however, I can’t help but think of these also being confirmation of a sign. 11 million FB fans: Bones had worked at our mutual employer for 11 years. 13,127 likes: The first number is backward but his birthday is 31-Dec (and I’m 7, July). 311 comments: March 11 is the birthday of both my grandfather and my treasured friend who was there with me the day Bones killed himself. In the recording I thanked Bones for the sign and heard his reply as “You’re not broken.” This is extremely significant, as I was so upset the night before I couldn’t sleep. At 4:30 in the morning, I typed a poem into my phone using the notes application. One of the lines in the poem reads, “I am broken, shattered.” And indeed, that is exactly how I am feeling. It is aston- ishing that after decades, the grief can still knock me to my knees (and then some!). Ÿ David Mierzwinski says that some of the backgrounds make it harder for him to hear because he has loud ringing in both ears all the time. He was using Cool Edit Pro software with no microphone and was experiment- ing with a Japanese-language file that he had made using multiple voices uttering nouns. He switched

to the Japanese file unannounced and wrote, “They quickly picked up on the new pattern.” He recorded, “Dave is unpredictable.” Ÿ Jutta Liebmann reports that she is using a bath radio with an extended FM frequency band. For background noise, she presses the tuning button manually in short intervals. During a recent experiment, she received direct replies for her spirit team. She was able to reply during the EVP session. She documented her EVP on a CD and played it to some of her colleagues during the VTF conference in Fulda. Germany. She wrote, “They heard the replies very clearly. For instance, I heard a name and asked the entity whether he knows Dr. Raudive in the spirit world and I have received the answer “Yes, we know him.” Jutta added, “In Fulda, I have done some EVP experi- ments in a small group in the evening with this radio and the participants received EVP replies. One lady got a clear reply from her deceased father! However, this method of EVP recording cannot be recommended for beginners! It is intended for experienced practitioners only.” Alison Sniffin used Skype in trying to reach her mother and recorded “Alison.” She also said “Mom, can you use my voice?” and recorded “I’m trying.” She also wrote, “We have a new Teflon frying pan and I am forbidden to use a metal spatula in it. The pan is so slippery I can’t seem to cleanly flip an egg unless I use a metal spatula.

This morning I used two plastic spatulae to flip the egg. I was silently “flipped off” about it when I heard the sound of a little bell and looked up to see our metal spatula, which was hanging on the wall between two other utensils, swinging back and forth. The other utensils were not moving. Ÿ Tim Woolworth wrote that he has recorded his name, both first and last, every time his ghost box is on and that he has reached specific people on the other side that he has been asked to find by loved ones. He feels that there is much more to radio-sweep than anyone can fathom and that it is his goal to conduct ghost box research with like-minded, educated, levelheaded people. “For True Scientists, the Ultimate Authority is Experience, not Theory” This wonderful quote comes from near-death researcher Bruce Greyson who goes on to say, “Some may think that Near-Death Experiencers (NDErs) must be religious to start with, and their experiences could be their imagination. However, there are NDErs who weren’t religious before their NDEs, and Greyson has found that one of the aftereffects of NDEs is a lowered religiosity. Inter- estingly, NDErs also generally have an increased spirituality after their NDEs. Another thing that Greyson has found in his research is that, contrary to what most would expect, NDErs are more inclined to use logical thought after their NDEs than before their NDEs. Dr. Bruce Greyson Bruce Greyson, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry at

the Univer- sity of Virginia. He is co-author of Irreducible Mind (2007) and co-editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences (2009). From: The Epoch Times, Near-Death Experiences: 30 Years of-Research–Part-2, theepochtimes.com Page 19 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Big Circle Results Boo We encourage people to try to record on Big Circle Recording night, which is every other Thursday. (See page 10) Even recording close to that date, asking for the Big Circle members on the other side, and then sharing the results on the message board, can be a real help to people on both sides of the veil. Here are just a few things that have come through during the past few months: Margaret Downey recorded “Bring us in, Let us talk, Debbie,” “What’s up Mom?” and “It’s Cathy.” The first voice sounds like transitioned member Debbie Caruso and Margaret feels the second voice is Debbie’s son Joey who is also on the other side. The third EVP is from Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy who helped found the Big Circle recording team and is still helping people with their recording. Margaret also recorded “Yvonne and Debra.” We think this is referring to Debbie and member Yvonne Wybra, who crossed over earlier this year. Margaret also recorded “This is Henry, this call’s amazing” and “John” but she is not sure who was speaking or who the message is for. Ÿ Alison Kirkbride recorded “Talk to Donna” and “Let me hear Sue Carrol” during a Big Circle recording session. Alison

did not recognize these names. Ÿ When Lisa and Tom Butler asked about their friend Mary who had recently transitioned, they recorded “I know she went on over to the spirit land.” When asking about the Big Circle they recorded “We keep up the cause” and “We are a team.” When just asking for any messages for loved ones here, they recorded, “I miss (word can’t understand) I’m her son.” . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email

Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 20 Viewpoint Wishing You a Happy and Healthy New Year Winter 2013, Volume 31 Number 4 The Winter ATransC NewsJournal has become a tradition of our holidays for twelve years now. Usually beginning in October, articles for the NewsJournal are selected and drafted to fit. The pages need to be formatted for twenty pages and the whole issue must be proofread–usually four times! Then it must be sent to the printer, stamped (for those receiving it via snail mail), taken to the post office

and emailed to those receiving it via email. This process is always done during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, and during this time, we always think of our members and our shared interest in spirit com- munication and survival with great fondness. We know firsthand how many members are missing their loved ones and even dear pets during this time of year. All of our per- sonal mentors are now on the other side, and in just this past few months we have lost two close friends. One of our friends and sitter in the Socrates Circle, Steve, just had his 22 year-old son cross over from a tragic fall off a roof. It has been a sad couple of months even when we know that death is not the end of life. In 1970, 77 percent of Americans said they knew the reality of the afterlife. In 2000, this number had increased to 82 percent. There are many studies that show after- death communication is very common. One study showed 50 percent of widowers reported visions of their departed spouses and another reported an even larger number. In 1988, Bill and Judy Guggenheim started the ADC Project (after-death.com) in which 3,300 people were interviewed who had experienced an after-death commu- nication. The accounts of those experiences would con- vince anyone with an open mind that our loved ones are alive and well after their transition. They are just not in a physical form and exist somewhere that

we don’t quite understand. People often don’t talk about their after-death commu- nication experiences for fear of not being believed, or even worse, being called delusional. This is especially true of physicians and psychotherapists who often hear about these experiences and yet don’t feel comfortable talking about them. But when given a safe place to talk, they don’t just tell the stories that come from their patients, but their own per- sonal stories as well, of things that are beyond scientific understand- ing. Dr. Charles Tart has personally seen this and set up The Archives of Scientists’ Transcendent Experi- ences for just this purpose. (issc- taste.org) The October 2012 Newsweek featured a cover story by the neu- rosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander. He endured a seven-day coma after bacterial meningitis attacked his brain. Contrary to the assumptions of medical science, Alexander says that he was fully con- scious during this period—but conscious of another place. A successful neurosurgeon who has taught at Harvard Medical School and other universities, Alexander says that he spent his life dismissing claims of out-of-body experi- ences and refuting such talk with scientific logic until he himself had this near-death experience. He says that, during the time that he was in a coma, he saw heaven and knows the afterlife exists. Raymond Moody wrote, “Dr. Eben Alexander’s near- death experience is the most astounding I have heard of in more than four decades of studying this phenomenon.” Moody says that “the circumstances of [Alexander’s] illness and his

impeccable credentials make it very hard to formu- late a mundane explanation for his case.” Dr. Alexander is sharing his experience in his new book, Proof of Heaven. That his story made the cover of Newsweek with a headline reading “Heaven is Real: A Doctor’s Experience of the Afterlife,” is very positive for our beliefs. Continued page 15 Wisdom Seeds of Light by H. Koppdelaney flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/3551548997 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................................1 Thinking of You.............................................................................................................................3 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................3 IPATI Listening Panel....................................................................................................................4 The Resolution of Grief by Guided Afterlife Connections...........................................................6 Types of Phone Calls from the Dead............................................................................................8 A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP........................................................................9 Media Watch..............................................................................................................................10 Do Famous “Dead” People Communicate?...............................................................................13 JOTTs Update..............................................................................................................................16 Silver Fox Circle - Update...........................................................................................................17 The Collective.............................................................................................................................18 Notice to All Who Accept the Afterlife......................................................................................18 The ASPSI is now the ASCSI........................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 Book Report: Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation..................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain

tech- niques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 425 words— fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are wel- come. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler

Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31, Number 4 Page 2 Winter 2013 Patron Richard Adams Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Mark Leary Sustaining Members Sandra Champlain Supporters Rhonda Burton Audrey Cooke Mila Fullen Alan Hetherington Steven Lindemann Robert Meyer Michal Ostafin Geoffrey Tilga Thinking of You by Allison Sniffin Shirley holding Meeny I feel very blessed to earn my living in music, the thing I trained for. I play several instruments and sing, and I travel. Before each “job” I check to be sure I don't forget any accessory like mouthpiece for the French horn or organ shoes for the organ. In the case of involving electronic instruments, I start my inventory way in advance because the long: accessory cables, speakers, extension cords, adapters, etc. list can be jobs This summer I gave a show in upstate New York. The inventory included a small plastic unit which screws onto a micro- phone stand. When I returned to New Jersey the day after the show, I carefully placed the plastic unit—a specialized piece of equipment—in a drawer with speaker cables. I wouldn’t need it for a long time, but at least I’d know where to find it. Two days later, I played organ for a wedding. I wore shoes designed for playing the organ pedals. After the wedding, I returned the shoes to the bottom of my closet. Months passed and in the fall, I began inventory for a

new show that would involve electronic instruments and accessories. I opened the drawer where I’d put the plastic unit but now it wasn’t there. I looked in some other “logical” places; scratched my head. “It will turn up even- tually,” I thought, but I couldn’t take the chance of not finding it (the show was next week). I ordered a new plastic unit; the show with the new unit took place; and afterward, I firmly taped the unit to the speaker and set it at the top of my closet. A couple of days later my schedule showed an organ rehearsal in the evening. I placed my organ shoes on a chair hours before my commute so I’d remember them; when it was time to leave. I carried them with me in a plastic bag. A new ATransC NewsJournal had just come with an article showing telephone diagrams and during my com- mute, I hunkered down with it. I imagined contacting Sonia Rinaldi: what questions would I ask my mom, Shirley, through Sonia? Not questions about small things (Did you make the spatula move the other day?). They should be sufficiently open-ended (What metaphor would you use to describe your life now vs. your life with us? What would you like to tell me or Bill [her son]?) Because, if my dreams lately were any indication, spirit prefers parables. I pondered, really, how close is Mom and family? I despair when I think they’ve moved on to greater things. But

maybe they’re also right beside me. I wished there could be a sign. As soon as I arrived at my rehearsal, I plucked my organ shoes out of the plastic bag. As I started to put them on, I saw that the thing which by now I’d all but forgotten about—the plastic unit—was nestled inside one of the shoes. It had to be the old plastic unit, since the new one was taped to the speaker at the top of my closet. I knew it was Mom! When I became a young adult and moved away from home I’d visit my parents a couple of times a year. At the end of my visits Mom and I would play a hide- and-seek game with each other. Near the end of each visit, one of us would hide a small object (usually the same object over a period of months) in a suitcase, or under a pillow, or in a shoe—somewhere where one of us would sooner or later find it and think of the other. A week later (as I write this), the new plastic unit is still taped to the speaker at the top of my closet. The old unit is now in the drawer, stowed safely along with the speaker cables. I won’t need it for a long time, but at least I know where to find it. Big Circle Recording Dates Loved ones on both sides of the veil who cooperate to communicate and help one another

are known as the “Big Circle.” In some instances, loved ones in the etheric have even guided people to the Association. This “bridge to the afterlife” is maintained when people join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 PM local time to communicate via EVP. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. Here are the recording dates: January 3, 17 and 31, February 14 and 28, March 14 and 28 and April 11 and 25 See: atransc.org/circle/about_the_big_circle.htm You can send your results to Tom and Lisa at [email protected] , but we also encourage you to share your results in the Big Circle forum on the Idea Exchange at http://atransc.org/forum/. Be sure to post any names you record. Members sometimes record messages that are specifically intended for another member. Page 3 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal IPATI Listening Team by Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil Some people still think that Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) transcontacts are difficult to hear, hard to under- stand voices. This is not always true; at least not with the techniques that have been developed by the volunteers of IPATI (translation from Portuguese: Institute for Advanced Research in Instrumental Transcommunication). These techniques produce a large number of voices of great quality in a single recording. We know this, because long ago we created a support group we

affectionately call the “Team of the Eared.” This name emerged, of course, because their job is to evaluate our recordings. Since IPATI is a research institute, it is necessary to do more than simply record for EVP and listen to the results. On the contrary, information is everything and everything must be studied. Only by evaluating the results can we gain an understanding of these communications and possibly find a way to improve them. The Listening Team A team of fifty-three members has been formed out of the more than six hundred volunteer members of IPATI. It is captained by Marlene Bernardo who has the invaluable support of Rita Seiler who is responsible for assembling the evaluation worksheets and Reinaldo Brito who is responsi- ble for compiling all the data into graphs. This great team of collaborators is a mix of people with all types of hearing, from those who have acute hearing to those who have difficulty hearing. They also have different equipment such as different sound cards or headphones. This mixture of ability and equipment allows us to obtain a more accurate estimate of the quality of our recordings. Cláudia’s Story etheric], which we call Mr. German. Both had learned to record for EVP using Skype, a technique we developed in IPATI and used when sessions need to be conducted at a distance. With this, Cláudia asked about the possibility of becoming pregnant and had as an answer: - “No momento, deixar” (translation: “At the moment, leave”). Knowing

the way our German friend speaks, it became clear that Cláudia’s attempts to become pregnant would not work. After having no success for a year, Cláudia conducted another EVP session through our station to ask the same question. Mr. German’s response was, “Em Breve” (trans- lation: “Soon”). Some months passed and Cláudia was undecided whether to undergo an in vitro fertilization treatment to conceive. That’s when she made one more recording and Mr. German said: “Vai ser mãe... mas precisar esforço” (translation: “Will be a mother ... but will require effort”). With this answer, Cláudia did not hesitate to initiate the treatment and became pregnant on the first try. This report is based on the recordings made in January, 2011 - when she was preparing for the birth of her child; due at the end of the month. Cláudia made transcontact at that time because she wanted to have the support of our trusted friends for the delivery. The answers from the session recorded via SKYPE were surprising. Listening Team Analysis of EVP The first table is from a worksheet prepared by Reinaldo, which was assembled by Rita and conveyed to the team to be used in the evaluation of EVP examples by Marlene. The table includes what is thought to be said by the etheric communicator and how the team member classified the sample. The two columns at the right indicate when the response was recorded in relationship to the question: “A” indicates the response came before the question

“D” indicates the response came after the question The messages are concerned with Cláudia and the birth of her child, Lorenzo. Mr. Orator is one of the “Broadcasting Station.” Original text is in Portuguese. The complete report and translation to English is provided by Sonia at: ipati.org/boletins/ingles/nv/bol27/ptbr27_en.html. Cláudia Cláudia Moretto, friend and IPATI volunteer, was thirty-six when she decided it was time to have a baby. That was, more or less, three years ago. She arranged to make an EVP recording with her friend, Nilzinha, so that she could be guided by the head of the “Broadcasting Station” [in the Volume 31, Number 4 Page 4 Marlene Bernardo Reinaldo Brito Rita Seiler Continued page 5 IPATI Listening Team Continued from page 4 Case: Cláudia Item Content 1 5 6 Question: Mr. Orator, does Lorenzo have the consciousness of an adult or is it that of a child? EVP: “Tanto religioso” (Translation: Very religious) Commentary: We find it curious that Mr. Orator responded in this way, but in fact, the concept voiced by Cláudia is essentially concerned with spirit ... (other religions disagree with this view of consciousness). She was curious about the process of conscience formation during pregnancy. Somehow, Mr. Orator found it very "religious." EVP: “Estará sentada e dá ponto.” (Translation: Will be sitting and receive stitches) Commentary: Interestingly, immediately after the delivery, which was normal, Cláudia was able to sit and get Lorenzo to breast feed. She did require stitches but it was all very calm. EVP: “Vai

apressada!!!” (Translation: Go hasty!!!) Commentary: This was also curious. This record was made via Skype, with Cláudia speaking from Itatiba and Sonia recording in São Paulo. While Sonia heard her, she noticed Cláudia was speaking very fast, so she told her: -“Cláudia, speak slowly!” and Mr. German hearing that filed this endorsement! Quality When A+ A B C A D 10 5 2 0 1 2 3 7 5 6 5 4 2 10 Question: Lorenzo is my brother, isn’t he Mr. German? Is he reincarnat- 3 5 7 2 1 ing? EVP: “Tenho recado, é.” (Translation: I have message, yeah.) Commentary: Her brother, João, died due to complications from a disease and now will come to be Lorenzo. He will require commitment– in other words, she has to be careful. 17 Question: When we talk to him... 2 6 7 2 1 EVP: “Escuta bem lá.” (Translation: Listen fine there.) Commentary: She asked if the baby listens when she talks to him. And this is confirmed, he listens well from inside her belly. EVP: “Abraço, com amor, em grávida.” (Translation: Hugs, with love, in pregnant.) Commentary: He likes her a lot! These words are a very loving gesture! 20 Selected entries from a listening team worksheet 3 5 3 6 In this case, seventeen members of the team voted to classify the examples as about 31.5% of A+ quality, 26.6% of A quality, 25.3% of B quality and 16.6% of C quality. An amazing phenomenon in transcommunication is that

a high percentage of the answers come before the question. So, besides the quality of the examples, the team also considered the time the answers came in the recordings in relationship to the question. For the recording made by Cláu- dia, Rita considered the position of the responses and Reinaldo produced the chart. The chart summarizes some- thing important: Of the twenty- three samples, six paranormal answers came before the ques- tions, nine came after and eight of them appeared related to the situation but not the questions. In other words, they are data or comments that Mr. German wanted to make on his own. Graphics for Cláudia’s Case The audio samples are classified as: A+ = Very clearly understood audio A = Audio of average clarity B = Reasonably clear audio C = Poor audibility Recording Quality Quality: Total: Percent: A+ 123 31.5 A 104 26.6 B 99 25.3 C 65 16.6 Number of Examples: 391 Conference: OK Quantity Stored: 23 Position of the Answers Before 6 Total: After Between 9 39.13 8 34.78 Percent: 26.09 Number of Examples: 23 Discussion These studies are repeated for each recording session. They provide valuable information that helps to develop a clearer impression of these phenomena. Continued page 18 Page 5 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Resolution of Grief by Guided Afterlife Connections by R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D. © Rochelle Wright, originator of the Guided Afterlife Connec- tions method Jordan and Neimeyer’s review of studies measuring the effectiveness of grief counseling

concluded, “. . . perhaps the central finding of these reviews is that grief counseling does not appear to be very effective, most probably because many of the people who received it would do just as well (and perhaps in some cases better) without it.”1 Five years later, in 2008, Neimeyer presented the results of his continued research into the effectiveness of grief counseling in a paper with Joseph Currier at the Association for Death Education and Counseling annual conference, with a similar conclusion: grief counseling has only a slightly helpful effect, and the effect is sus- tained for only a short time after the inter- vention ends.2 A study of the effectiveness of physicians in helping people suffering grief came to the same conclusion. Physicians were taught to use a method of bereavement counseling named PBC (Primary Bereavement Care). Evaluation of the effects of the counseling on their grieving patients found that this physician intervention method “does not improve the intensity of significantly bereavement measured by GEI (Grief Experience Inven- tory) and TRIG (Texas Revised Inventory of Grief).”3 Grief is persistent, defying interventions by counselors or physicians to help the grieving person. However, positive effects have resulted from encounters grieving people have with their loved ones after the passing. In a study reported in OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, researchers examined subjects’ accounts of post-death encounters and their positive effects on the bereaved. Their findings were that, “The encounters pro- foundly affected the participants’ beliefs in an afterlife and

attitudes toward life and death, and had a significant effect on their grief. Finally, post-death encounters had a healing effect on the participants by contributing to a sense of connectedness with the deceased. We conclude that health care professionals and counselors should be educated about post-death encounters so that the bereaved can share their experiences in a supportive and understanding atmosphere.”4 The authors of that study were referring to spontaneous after-death contacts, such as encounters in dreams. How- ever, psychotherapists today have developed protocols that help their clients have afterlife connections with their deceased loved ones at will during psychotherapy sessions. In 1995, Allan Botkin developed a protocol for intentionally engendering these connections that he named Induced After-Death Communication (IADCTM). He used a method of stimulating the right and left sides of the brain called bilateral stimulation. The bilateral stimulation method he used is named EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). In EMDR, the psychotherapist has the client move his or her eyes left and right repeatedly while focusing on a distressing memory. Dr. Botkin added the instruction to “be open to whatever happens.” The result was the sense of an afterlife connection in 70% of the sessions, lasting 5 seconds to 15 minutes. He described the connections as most often a smiling face or sense of the presence of the deceased. Dr. Botkin has observed that the encounters consistently have a positive effect on the client’s grief. In 2010, Rochelle Wright learned Dr. Bot- kin’s protocol and redesigned it,

creating a new method of helping clients have afterlife connections with the deceased that she named Guided Afterlife Connections. Wright uses the eye movements, but adds auditory bilateral stimulation by playing music or sounds through a headset that alternate in volume between the left and right ears. In addition, her enhanced method focuses on allowing those in the afterlife to guide the experience, does not interrupt the unfolding process to redirect the client to focuses other than those being brought to the client naturally, and places no time limits on the duration of the experience. The Guided Afterlife Connections method has resulted in afterlife connections in 100% of the sessions in which it has been used to date. The connections may last for an hour or more and usually consist of active encoun- ters with the deceased, such as receiving messages, … walking together, hugging and even kissing. The clients report that their grief dramatically diminishes or is extin- guished by the connections, and their lives are changed. Knowing that this form of grief therapy has such a dramatic effect on the clients’ grief, we wanted to evaluate formally the degree to which the clients’ grief is diminished by the Guided Afterlife Connections experience. As a result, a study was performed using the Subjective Units of Distress scale (SUDS) commonly employed in EMDR psy- chotherapy to evaluate how disturbing a memory is for the client. The study used 45 subjects who participated in Guided Afterlife Connections procedures with Rochelle Wright,

M.S., originator of the Guided Afterlife Connections procedure. It compared SUDS scale ratings at the beginning of the Guided Afterlife Connections procedure with SUDS scale ratings of the same memories during or after the procedure. This report describes the methods used in the study and results. Continued page 7 Volume 31, Number 4 Page 6 Continued from page 6 Resolution of Grief Sample Used … For this study, only memories with pre-session ratings of 8 or higher were included in the sample. The result was 189 memories among the 45 clients. All of the sessions were facilitated by Rochelle Wright. All of the afterlife connections happened in one session. The median time was four hours. Longer sessions usually involved some psychotherapy work along with the Guided Afterlife Con- nection. Methodology [Please see endnote] … The SUDS instrument [a 10-point scale commonly used in EMDR psychotherapy ] is useful in providing a scale on which clients can assign their own evaluations of the disturbance using their own criteria for each number. The SUDS scale has great value in giving the client a method of expressing the subjective level of disturbance that cannot easily be expressed in words. At the outset of the Guided Afterlife Connections proce- dure, the client puts on a barely playing headset audible sounds or music that alternate in volume between the left and right ears to provide audio bilateral stimu- lation. The psychotherapist then asks to describe the person for whom they are grieving, focusing especially on

the death and period after the death.… This open-ended description of the memories may take an hour or more…. the client Afterlife Connection has had on the clients’ grief. Results [Please see endnote] … Degree of Disturbance During or at the End of the Session When the same memories were evaluated during or at the end of the session, the SUDS ratings had reduced dramat- ically…. Magnitude of the Reduction in Disturbance If the ratings that were over 10 are reduced to 10, the average pre-session SUDS rating for all of the memories was 9.91 on the 10-point scale. After the Guided Afterlife Connections procedure, the average mid-session and post-session SUDS rating for all of the memories was 1.42. The average reduction between the pre-session SUDS ratings and the mid- and post-session ratings was 8.5 points on the 10-point scale.… Anecdotal Comments All of the participants made spontaneous comments about their state of mind after the sessions. These comments are indications of the reduction in grief and impact on the cli- ents’ lives of the Guided After- life Connection. A sample of the comments follows: “It doesn’t seem to matter anymore.” “Before, it seemed like his thing was the worst thing in the world. Now it feels like seeing him so joyous and at peace has lifted a weight off of me.” “I feel peaceful. I feel calm.” “I’m feeling peaceful. I’m On the Edge of the Universe by Aurelia M. Perez flickr.com/photos/aurelia-m-perez/7102270133/ The psychotherapist then explains the SUDS scale

to the client and goes through the entire list of memories, repeat- ing the words the client used to describe each memory, asking the client to rate how disturbing the memory is on the 0 to 10 SUDS scale.… These we call pre-session SUDS ratings…. At the end of the session, the psychotherapist assesses the level of disturbance for those memories that were rated highest on the SUDS scale at the beginning of the session. The result is a record of the pre-session SUDS scale ratings for the memories, mid-session ratings for some of the memories, and post-session ratings for all of the most disturbing memories. For this study, the pre-session SUDS scale ratings were compared with the mid-session and post-session ratings to determine the magnitude of the reduction in the client’s assessments of how much the memories disturbed him or her. That, then, is an indication of the effect the Guided happy.” “I feel light as a feather.” “I feel kind of like laughing. I feel very light hearted.” “The Guided Afterlife Connection took the pain of it away. When I think of him, it doesn’t really bother me anymore.” “I’m in a state of bliss. Thank you.” "I feel calm and relaxed. I felt her saying the words. I felt her presence like when I’m dreaming." “This was the most profound experience of my life.” “It literally, literally changed my memory.” “The memory doesn’t register. It doesn’t even register.” “I see the sun and can feel the breezes

once more. I have a knowing my new leaves will dance and give nutrients to my new roots. Thank you.” Continued page 17 Page 7 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Types of Phone Calls From the Dead by Cal Cooper [This is an excerpt from a paper Cal Cooper wrote for the Journal of Research Into the Paranormal, Volume 44, November 2010.] Apart from the work of Rogo and Bayless (1979), very little academic research on phone calls from the dead can be found either in journals or parapsychology text books. The occurrence of EVP itself was not reported until 1959 when Swedish film maker Friedrich Jürgenson (Bender, 1972, p. 65) claimed he had successfully recorded voices of the dead (Rogo and Bayless, 1979). The fact that EVP was not noticed in parapsychology until this time could have a number of explanations; the subject matter itself can be approached from many angles such as psychology, physics or as a genuine paranormal phenom- enon. However, the events them- selves fall into the parapsychological category of “survival of human per- sonality” after death, which was classically discussed by Myers (1903). Therefore we should consider phone calls from the dead as an aspect of parapsychology even though the phenomenon itself is exceedingly rare compared to everything else that is covered in the field. The work by Rogo and Bayless (1979) on phone calls from the dead found that these fell into different categories according to conversation length and detail within it. The four

main call types in Rogo and Bayless’s the (1979) involvement of a supposedly dead caller and the fifth (unusual) type involved living. These are described as follows: research implied the Type 1 Simple Calls These are the most common reported phone calls from the dead. The dead caller says only a few words and is unre- sponsive to any questions asked. At this point the caller may say nothing at all and the line will go dead without any sound of the caller hanging up the phone or being cut off. Type 2 Prolonged Calls These calls are rarer than Type 1. They last for some time and involve a conversation like any other telephone call. The recipient does not realize, until after the call, that the caller was in fact dead at the time. Due to the recipient of the call not knowing the caller is dead, this somehow seems to allow the conversation to last longer. Type 1 cases of Volume 31, Number 4 Page 8 simple calls show that the shock of knowing the caller is dead somehow leaves the conversation short or the dead caller unresponsive. Type 3 Answer Calls These are cases where a living person makes a call to someone they do not realize is dead and yet they get an answer. These calls are usually prolonged. Type 4 Apparent Calls Most cases of phone calls from the dead involve a dead person calling a living person. The receiver of the call may or

may not know that the caller is dead. Thus it may create a prolonged phone call or simple call. This is simply a possible mixture of Type 1 and Type 2 calls. Type 5 Intention Calls These are calls in which we intend to call someone with a specific conver- sation in mind. However, for some reason we choose to postpone the call until a later time. You then receive a call from the person you intended to call. They refer to you calling earlier and discussing with them the topic you were going to discuss, or they call you answering your message to call them about that topic. Essentially they received the message from someone with your voice, who carried out your intended conversation which you never made, although you had the intention to do so. These are very much like apparitions of living people, but in this case involving phone conversations. This type of call was even experienced by D. Scott Rogo: ‘‘It was 4 o’clock on a bright Thursday afternoon, and I was lying on my living room couch thinking about making a phone call to a psychologist I knew at the U.C.L.A. Neurop- sychiatric Institute. Although I intended to make the call, I never did. About six that evening though, I got the shock of my life when a call came in from the Institute and from the office of the very psychologist I had thought about calling. The call was from her research assistant saying

that he was ‘answering my message’. When I asked what in blazes he was talking about, he told me at 4pm a call had come in to them from me. The caller had left my name, and had asked the call be returned!’’ Call Home by Chiaralily flickr.com/photos/chiaralily/5273432866/ A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP Mark Leary, Ph.D. Anyone who has listened to even a few EVP recordings knows how difficult they are to interpret. Listeners often disagree, sometimes strongly, regarding what a particular EVP seems to say, which raises questions about the validity of each person’s interpretation. Yet, the usefulness of EVP depends on the degree to which investigators can trust one another’s interpretations of the EVP that they record. Although a great deal has been written about the possible mechanisms that produce EVP and the types of equipment that are most effective in recording them, EVP enthusiasts have devoted far less attention to problems associated with interpreting the sounds that are recorded. After observing repeated disagreements among investi- gators (and rarely feeling that the interpretations of EVP on paranormal television shows match what I hear), I undertook a study to examine how serious the problem really is. The study that I conducted had two main goals: to document the degree to which investigators agree or disagree on their interpretations of EVP and to create a means of identifying which interpretation of a particular EVP is most likely to be “correct.” The Study To obtain a set of

EVP for analysis, I contacted a number of paranormal investigators who had conducted systematic investigations at the Ferry Plantation House in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I received over 250 EVP, from which I chose 94 that were among the clearest in terms of having obvious vocal char- acteristics. These recordings came from eleven investiga- tors who recorded them across seven different investigations. In general, investigators seemed to submit what they viewed as particularly good EVP, all of them recorded without a background noise source. Ferry Plantation House virginiabeachhistory.org I then recruited 24 individuals (10 men, 14 women) with paranormal investigation experience to listen to and inter- pret the 94 audio clips. The raters ranged in age from 29 to 62, with an average age of 46. All but two of them currently belonged to active paranormal investigation groups. The raters were sent a CD with the audio clips, along with a form for interpreting the EVP and a background informa- tion questionnaire. Raters listened to each EVP as many times as needed, wrote down each word that they heard (putting an asterisk for any words they could not under- stand), indicated any emotion that they detected in the voice, and rated their confidence that their interpretation of the EVP was correct. The background questionnaire asked about raters’ age and sex, their interests and beliefs in the paranormal, and included a brief measure of basic personality dimensions (such as extraversion, emotional stability and agreeableness). Determining Agreement Although we can never know for

sure what an EVP “really” says, my analysis of raters’ interpretations was based on the assumption that a particular interpretation of an EVP that is made independently by several people is more likely to be “correct” than an interpretation that is made by only a few individuals. For example, if seven out of ten people who listen to an EVP hear exactly the same words, two other individuals hear a different set of words and the remaining person hears something else entirely, the inter- pretation on which the seven people agreed would be more likely to reflect the actual sounds than the other individuals’ idiosyncratic interpretations. Thus, to begin, I determined a “consensus interpretation” for each EVP by counting the number of times that raters reported hearing various words. For example, whatever first word was heard by the most raters became the first word of the consensus interpretation. Whatever second word was heard by most raters was the second word of the consensus interpretation, and so on. In this way, I came up with the most common (or consensus) interpretation for each EVP. With the consensus interpretation in hand, I then calcu- lated the percentage of raters who agreed with the con- sensus interpretation. This number could range from 0% (no two raters reported hearing the same thing) to 100% (all raters agreed with the consensus interpretation) and is an index of the degree to which raters independently agreed in their interpretations of each EVP. Of the 94 EVP, the

one with the highest agreement (“What’s going on?”) was listed by 83% of the raters. That is, 83% of the raters listed the consensus interpretation for this EVP. However, the overall agreement for the entire set of EVP was much lower. Across all 94 EVP, average agree- ment with the consensus interpretation was only 21%. In other words, only about 1 out of 5 raters gave an interpre- tation that agreed with the most common (and, presum- ably most “accurate”) interpretation. When analyzed at the level of particular words rather than the entire EVP, average agreement was 35%. Raters agreed with the most common interpretation of each specific word on about 1 out of every 3 words on average. Continued page 12 Page 9 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Media Watch by Lisa Butler The Reality of the Afterlife Craig Hogan has created a website called After Death Communication Guides (adcguides.com). The site is devoted to providing information about the afterlife and spiritual growth, focusing especially on the recorded descriptions of the afterlife given by people who are now living there, conveyed through direct-voice mediums. Hogan writes, “The afterlife is as real as this life. Volumes of research data, verified accounts of experiences, and recordings of people from the afterlife are available today. The mass of evidence testifies that the afterlife is a reality. However, in spite of the vast array of evidence, Western culture still lives in ignorance about what happens after a person dies. The truth was obscured

first by the church that dominated Western culture , then by materialism that took hold of Western thought. Both suppressed evidence about the afterlife because it ran counter to their doctrines. They derided or persecuted anyone who spoke of the life after this life. They continue to do so today. “As a result, Western culture has lived in a dark age of ignorance about the afterlife. Today, that is changing. Television and the Internet have allowed humankind to learn about the evidence for the afterlife and the nature of the realm that everyone enters after leaving the earthly plane. The result is the renaissance of spiritual realization we are now just beginning to experience. It’s an exciting time to be alive.” Many Children Hear Voices Reuters Health recently reported on a study that found one in ten, seven and eight-year-old children heard voices that “weren’t there.” The team found that the voices were not generally troublesome or disruptive to the children’s thinking and had a limited impact on their daily lives. Up to sixteen percent of mentally healthy children and teenagers may hear voices, researchers note in the British Journal of Psychiatry. They add that hearing voices can signal heightened risk of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders in later life, but the “great majority” of young people who have these experiences never become men- tally ill. The researchers looked at 3,870 primary schoolchildren from Groningen in the Netherlands. All were asked whether they heard “one or more voices that only

you and no one else could hear” in the past year. Nine percent answered, “yes.” Only fifteen percent of these said the voices caused them serious suffering, and nineteen percent said they interfered with their thinking. Boys and girls were equally likely to report hearing voices, but girls were more likely to report suffering and anxiety because of the voices. While past studies have linked complications in the womb, or during early infancy with the likelihood of hearing voices, Bartels-Velthuis and her team found no such relationship. The researcher said she and her col- leagues had expected that hearing voices would be more common among urban children than among their rural peers, but to their surprise, the contrary was the case. “We have no explanation for this finding,” she said. From: "Many children 'hear voices'; most aren't bothered," Reuters Health, 01/2512010. The Experimenter Effect Research done by Dr. Caroline Watt at the Koestler Para- psychology Unit at Edinburgh University looked at the effect an experimenter’s belief had on experiments and participants. Fake experimenters were recruited and divided into one of two groups based on their belief in the paranormal and psi. After training, the new experimenters were asked to carry out the same psi task with a number of novice participants. There was a strong difference in results. With disbelievers as investigators there was no suggestion of psi in the experimental results, however with believers there was very strong positive result. The expec- tations of the participants were broadly similar,

as they had been given little information on experimenters; in particu- lar, they had no idea if the person they were working with was a believer or not. (PSI: Psychic phenomena are associated with an undefined force known by the term “psi”) From: Paranormal Review, Issue 52, Society for Psychical Research, spr.ac.uk. Messages When Bonnie McEneaney’s husband, Eamon, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, she thought she had lost him forever. And then something unex- pected happened. She began to have experiences that convinced her that her husband, in spirit, was sending signs, indeed messages, that he was present and watching over his family. The experience has shaken her to the core and reassured her that her husband is still with her. Bonnie was quite skeptical of the spiritual world but after talking to a number of other families and friends of loved ones lost on 9/11, she realized she was not alone. Numer- ous others connected to the tragedy described their own premonitions, signs, dreams, visitations and communica- tions through mediums. Bonnie began recording their stories and shares them in Messages with her own heartfelt message of comfort and hope for all those who are search- ing for their own deeper connections, proving that love and relationships can continue after death. Publisher: William Morrow, 2010, ISBN-13: 978-0061974076 Continued page 11 Volume 31, Number 4 Page 10 Continued from page 10 Media Watch Improving Your Extra Sensory Perception It is now possible to improve your Extrfa Sensory

Percep- tion (ESP) skills by using your iPhone. The iPhone ESP trainer was originally developed under a NASA program by Russell Targ at Stanford Research Institute. According to ESPresearch.com, “We have found that people are able to improve their ESP scores by using a machine like this, and get in touch with the part of themselves that is psychic.… It can enhance your life in many surprising ways.” Users report that the game is simple, but addictive. The player attempts to predict which of four colored squares the application has chosen. A right answer causes the device to vibrate and provide positive feedback. In a year-long NASA program with 145 subjects, many people significantly improved their scores. The ESP Trainer is available at iTunes store. Education Counters Fear of Dying A study conducted by Claudia Fabiana Siracusa of the University of Granada, Spain indicates that people with a university degree fear death less than those at a lower literacy level. Fear of death is more common among women than men, which affects their children’s perception of death. In fact, 76% of children who report fear of death fear death due to their mothers avoiding the topic. Addi- tionally, more of these children fear early death and adopt unsuitable approaches when it comes to dealing with death. This study revealed the need for a change in mentality within families and at school regarding death and the end of life. The reason is that an appropriate approach to death is key to

children’s health and personality. Other conclu- sions were that children—to a higher or lower degree— have had experiences related to death, that they believe in life after death and that they are concerned about it. Additionally, it is more common among girls to believe in life after death than among boys. In the light of the results obtained, researchers consider it essential to provide death education “as a way to value life, and an instrument to end with the misguided and unreal idea transmitted by the media….” From: eurekalert.org A Good Death Dr. Peter Fenwick, the president of the Scientific and Medical Network (SMN), says that the medical profession is not handling death very well and considers it as a failure. Fifty percent of complaints to the National Health Service hospitals in the UK center are on how they handle deaths, including not allowing patients to die naturally. Dr. Fenwick stresses the desirability of having a “good death,” which he describes as a time of reconciliation and serenity. He has co-authored a booklet, End-Of-Life Experiences, A Guide For Carers Of The Dying, with Sue Brayne in associa- tion with Southampton University to help provide spiritual support at the end of life. The book is available onine at: horizonresearch.org/Uploads/END_OF_LIFE_BROCHURE. pdf From: Conference Report: “Beyond the Brain VIII: Self and Death - What Survives?” by Lew Sutton, SPR Paranormal Review January 2010, Issue 53 TASTE Dr. Charles Tart reports that over the years he has had hundreds of fellow scientists from all

sorts of fields quietly come up to him at meetings to tell him about their unusual experiences apparently going beyond everyday reality and challenging their concepts of what the world is. Because of this Dr. Tart created The Archives of Scientists’ Transcen- dent Experiences (TASTE), an online journal devoted to transcendent experiences that scientists have reported. It lets scientists express these experiences in a safe space, collects and shares them to debunk the stereotype that “real” scientists don’t have “spiritual” or “mystical” or “psychic” experiences, and builds a database of these experiences for future research. You can read about their experiences at issc-taste.org/arc/dbo.cgi?set=arc&ss=1. End of Life Experiences (ELE) Survey An ELE survey conducted by Dr. Peter Fenwick found that 90% of those working in hospices and hospitals had heard of patients’ visions of departed loved ones gathering as if to help their transition. Dr. Fenwick says that these visions were quite distinct from ordinary hallucinations which were vague and incoherent. Deathbed coincidences such as knowing that someone has died were experienced by 40% of respondents. Reports of clocks stopping were also common. There were reports of alarms going off at the time of death. Dr. Fenwick reports that the traditional accounts of seeing light or mist leaving the body at the time of death were rare, although caregivers described the near death time as a “spiritual time.” From: Conference Report: “Beyond the Brain VIII: Self and Death - What Survives?” by Lew Sutton, SPR Paranormal Review, January 2010, Issue 53

The Scientific and Medical Network was started in Britain (scimednet.org) by scientists who felt the materialist view was limiting science. Their mission is to “explore and expand the frontiers of science, medicine and spirituality” There aims are: “To provide a safe forum for the critical and open-minded discussion of ideas that go beyond conventional paradigms in science, medicine and philoso- phy, to integrate intuitive insights with rational analysis in our investigations, to encourage a respect for Earth and community which emphasizes a spiritual and holistic approach and to challenge the adequacy of ‘scientific materialism’ as an exclusive basis for knowledge and values.” Page 11 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVP Interpretation Continued from page 9 Some of the EVP not only had 0% agreement, but the various interpretations sometimes differed wildly. For example, one EVP that had no agreement on any words across raters was interpreted as saying, among other things: “Deep inside there’s a pickup;” “Keep those hidden Mr. Gel;” “He comes out here;” “Go outside and just lean on it;” “Get it tight, got to stretch it;” “Don’t try to persuade them;” “Get us out Mr. Kant;” and “I need the guns out if this is what you’ll do.” These various interpretations do not even contain similar phonemes. Incidentally, the percentage of agreement with the consensual interpretation can be used as a way of assessing the clarity of an EVP. Historically, investigators have classi- fied EVP as Class A, B, or C depending on how easily listeners can

hear a message. But calculating the percent- age of people who independently agree with the most common interpretation is a more precise and unambiguous indicator of the quality and clarity of an EVP than classifying it into one of three categories. Every EVP would have a score from 0 (no consensus; this EVP cannot be inter- preted) to 100 (complete consensus; this EVP is so clear that everyone hears exactly the same thing). Emotional Content Raters indicated whether they detected any emotion in the voice. The majority of the EVP (63.5%) had no discernible emotional tone. However, raters indicated that some EVP expressed sadness (9.7%), anger or irritability (8.2%), urgency (7.7%), or happiness (6.3%). Setting aside the fact that most of the EVP had no emotional tone, when an emotion was detected, on average only 12.7% of the raters agreed that a particular emotion, such as anger or sadness, was present. Thus, raters showed even less agreement in detecting emotion than in interpreting the content of the EVP. Interestingly, raters’ tendency to hear emotions in the EVP was related to their own personalities. For example, raters who scored higher on the measure of extraversion reported “happiness” in the voices more frequently, raters who scored higher on the measure of agreeableness reported hearing both more “happiness” and more “anger,” and those who scored higher on emotional stabil- ity heard more “happiness” expressed. Raters’ interpreta- tions of emotional tone sometimes reflected their own personalities as much as the actual features of the

EVP. Rater Confidence For each EVP, raters indicated how confident they were that their interpretation was correct on a 4-point scale (where 1 = not at all, 2 = a little, 3 = moderately, and 4 = very confident). Across all EVP, raters’ confidence averaged between “a little” and “moderately” confident (average confidence was 2.5 on the 4-point scale). To see if raters who were more confident of their interpretations were more likely to hear what other raters heard (the consensus interpretation), I correlated raters’ confidence judgments with the number of their interpretations that agreed with the group’s consensus interpretation. The correlation was rather weak, indicating that being confident that one’s interpretation is correct does not usually reflect that other people will hear the same thing. Differences among Raters I calculated an index of personal agreement that tells us how good each rater was at hearing the most common interpretation. Individual raters agreed with the group consensus between 17% and 35% of the time, with an average of 22%. That is, the “best” rater agreed with the group consensus interpretations on 35% of the EVP, and the “worst” rater agreed on 17% of the EVP. When ana- lyzed at the level of the word rather than the entire EVP, the percent of raters who agreed with the group consensus varied from 31% to 51%, with an average of 38% of the words. So, if we play the average EVP to a large group of people, the average person will agree

with the consensus interpretation of the entire EVP 22% of the time but agree with 38% of the words. I analyzed whether any of the characteristics of the raters mattered in their agreement with the consensus interpre- tation. Although we might expect that experience with EVP might be related to interpretation ability, the degree to which raters agreed with the consensus interpretation was not related to the number of EVP that they had personally recorded, their years of involvement in paranormal inves- tigations, the number or content of paranormal television shows they watched, basic personality dimensions, their age, or the nature of their beliefs in the paranormal. The only variable that was significantly related to agreement with the consensus interpretation was gender. Women’s interpretations agreed with the consensus interpretation 4% more often than men’s interpretations (24% vs. 20%). I’m not sure what to make of this finding. Most raters’ interpretations were meaningful phrases, but some gave phonetic interpretations even if they did not make semantic sense. For example, on one EVP for which there was no consensus, some raters gave meaning- ful interpretations (such as “Hey we sung in the chorus” or “That is so great, Cory”), whereas other raters wrote down what they heard even though it didn’t make sense (such as “Hack me some green course” and “Hey peace and grin Coreys”). Investigators should consider whether imposing meaning on an EVP may lead them to “hear” words that help the phrase make sense but that might be incorrect.

The raters also differed in their willingness to leave blanks. Raters were told to use an asterisk when they couldn’t interpret a particular word. Some raters used asterisks regularly, Continued page 15 Volume 31, Number 4 Page 12 Do Famous “Dead” People Communicate? by Michael Tymn I believe in spirits and spirit communication through mediums. What I struggle with, however, is communication purportedly coming from famous people or more current celebrities of one kind or another. I am highly skeptical when the spirit communicator claims to be Jesus, St. Michael, Socrates, Plato, St. Augustine or some other historical figure held in high regard by many. Then again, I wonder if I am being too hasty in dismissing such communicators. Why wouldn’t they communicate? If the unknowns of the spirit world can communicate, why shouldn’t those well-known in their earth lives come through now and then as well? If we are to believe that Jesus was concerned with the welfare of humankind when alive, why wouldn’t he still be concerned and continue with his teachings? Of course, the religious skeptic would say that if Jesus wanted to communicate he would certainly be able to do a much better job and be more convincing than he has been in those cases in which he has supposedly communicated in recent years. But the student of medi- umship comes to understand that inter-dimensional com- munication has many obstacles and that the obstacles for superior spirits are greater than those facing lower spirits. If the

seemingly credible spirits can be believed, the superior spirits have a much more difficult time communi- cating than those at lower levels because they are existing at such a high rate of vibration relative to the earth vibration. These superior spirits, we are told, have to use spirits at lower levels of vibration to relay their messages to humans and these messages are sometimes distorted in the process, especially when they are filtered through the medium’s mind. During the early 1850s, Victor Hugo, the renowned French author, was supposedly receiv- ing messages from Socrates, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Martin Luther, Galileo and others. One communicating spirit identified “itself” to Hugo as “Death,” another as “Angel of Light” and still another as the “Shadow of the Sepulcher.” It was the “Shadow” who first communicated by means of table raps after Léopoldine, Hugo’s deceased daughter, came through, informing Hugo and the others sitting in a circle with the medium that “death is the balloon that takes the soul to heaven,” “infinity is an emptiness packed full” and “use your body to search out your soul.” Initially, Hugo was very skeptical, wondering if the table acted through their thoughts. Victor Hugo Although he soon came to believe that spirits of the dead were communicating, he then wondered if these were devious spirits posing as wise men, as religious leaders claimed, especially when what they had to say conflicted with established dogma and doctrine. But Hugo apparently had also heard that the “essence” of advanced

souls can come down through lower spirits and that “group souls” can take on a fictitious identity for want of a specific identity. Whatever the explanation, Hugo was intrigued, impressed and inspired by much of what the superior spirits had to say. During the 1870s, William Stainton Moses, an Anglican priest, was said to be controlled by a band of 49 spirits under the direction of a spirit called Imperator. Some of Imperator’s subordi- nates had names like Rector, Mentor, and Doctor. Apparently, Imperator was too far advanced and had to relay messages through some of the 49 who were closer in vibration to the earth vibration. Imperator was When asked about his name and the other strange names in his band of 49 spirits, replied: he “These names are but convenient symbols for influences brought to bear upon you. In some cases the influence is not centralized; it is impersonal, as you would say. William Stainton Moses In many cases, the messages given you are not the product of any one mind, but are the collective influence of a number. Many who have been concerned with you are but the vehicles to you of a yet higher influence which is obliged to reach you in that way. We deliberate, we consult and in many instances you receive the impression of our united thought.” Allan Kardec, the pioneering French researcher, purport- edly received messages from John the Evangelist, St. Augustine, St. Vincent De Paul, St. Louis, “The Spirit of Truth,”

Socrates, Plato, Fénélon, Franklin and Swedenborg. They answered questions on every conceivable subject, including God, pantheism, universal space, biblical accounts of creation, reincarnation, relationships beyond the grave, possession, the fate of children beyond the grave, spirit influence, war, capital punishment, slavery, dreams, free will, suicide and fear of death, to name just some. Page 13 Continued page 14 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Famous “Dead” People Continued from page 13 A few years before Hugo and Kardec began their investi- gations of mediumship, John Edmonds, Chief Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, and George T. Dexter, a New York physician, received numerous profound mes- sages from Swedenborg, the brilliant 18th century scientist, and Lord Francis Bacon, the 17th century British philoso- pher. As Kardec came to under- stand, superior spirits, while preserving their individuality, have no need to be identified with their teachings delivered while on earth, but because humans seem to need an iden- tity in order to fix their ideas, superior spirits who identify with the teachings of the famous personage and belong to the same “family” or “collective whole” may take that famous name to appease us, as it is the teaching, not the signature, that is important. Allan Kardec “In proportion as spirits are purified and elevated in the hierarchy, the distinctive characters of their personalities are, in some sort, obliterated in the uniformity of perfec- tion, and yet they do not the less preserve their individu- ality: this is the case with the

superior and pure spirits,” Kardec related what he had come to understand. “In this condition, the name they had on earth, in one of their thousand ephemeral corporeal existences, is quite an insignificant thing. Let us remark again that spirits are attracted to each other by the similarity of their qualities, and that they thus form sympathetic groups or families … but as names are necessary to us to fix our ideas, they can take that of any known personage whose nature is best identified with their own…. It thus follows that if a person’s guardian angel gives his name as St. Peter, for instance, there is no actual proof that it is the apostle of that name; it may be he, or it may be an entirely unknown spirit belonging to the family of spirits of which St. Peter makes a part; it also follows that under whatever name the guardian angel is invoked, he comes to the call that is made because he is attracted by the thought and the name is indifferent to him.” Kardec asked if taking the name of a famous person would not be fraud. “It would be fraud on the part of a bad spirit who might want to deceive,” came the answer, “but when it is for good, God permits it to be so among spirits of the same order, because there is among them a solidar- ity and similarity of thought.” Kardec had earlier been warned that inferior spirits frequently borrow

respectable names in order to give credence to their words. Moreover, some spirits report themselves as fictional characters. “There is always a crowd of spirits ready to speak for anything,” Kardec wrote, mentioning that one day a person took a fancy to invoke Tartufe, a fictitious character from a French play. Tartufe came immediately and talked of Orgon, of Elmire, of Damis, and of Valire, other fictitious characters in the play. “As to himself, he counterfeited the hypocrite with as much art as if Tartufe had been a real personage. Afterward, he said he was the spirit of an actor who had played that character.” The superior spirits, Kardec was informed, “have a language always worthy, noble, elevated, with not the least tincture of triviality. They say everything with simplicity and modesty, never boast, never make a parade of their knowledge or their position among others. That of the inferior or ordinary spirit has always some reflex human passion; every expression that savors of vulgarity, self- sufficiency, arrogance, boasting, acrimony, is a character- istic indication of inferiority or of treachery if the spirit presents himself under a respected and venerated name.” Kardec asked why inferior spirits were permitted to interfere in the first place. Couldn’t God or the superior spirits prevent it? “God permits it to be so to make trial of your perseverance and your judgment, and to teach you to distinguish truth from error; if you do not, it is that you are not sufficiently elevated, and still

need the lessons of experience,” came the reply. Robert Hare, a distinguished professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the pioneers of psychical research, began his investiga- tions assuming that he would debunk mediums, but after several months of investigation he became a believer and began recording messages from spirits. He asked them what the various mediumship phenomena were all about and was told that they were “a deliberate effort on the part of the inhabitants of the higher spheres to break through the partition which has interfered with the attainment, by mortals, of a correct idea of their destiny after death.” To carry out this intention, he was told, a delegation of advanced spirits has been appointed. He was further informed that lower spirits were allowed to take part in the undertaking because they were better able to make mechanical movements and loud rappings than those on the higher realms. Robert Hare Imperator told Stainton Moses that they (the superior spirits) overestimated their ability to communicate. “It is true that Benjamin Franklin did discover means of commu- nication by raps, and that he was greatly aided by Sweden- borg in awakening Continued page 16 Volume 31, Number 4 Page 14 Continued from page 12 EVP Interpretation but others did not use them at all. Given that we can assume that no rater was perfectly confident of every word, those who interpreted words they didn’t understand probably made more misleading interpretations than those who admitted that

they didn’t understand certain words. Conclusions and Recommendations The results of this study suggest that investigators should be less confidence in their interpretations of EVP than they typically are. On average, the most common interpretation of each EVP was shared by only 22% of other people. And, of course, all interpretations other than the most common, consensual one had even less agreement. In fact, most of the raters’ interpretations were not given by any other listener! Furthermore, raters were not particularly good at judging the correctness of their interpretations. Thus, having the sense that “I’m sure this is what it says” does not indicate that other people will agree with one’s inter- pretation (or that it is actually correct). These results lead me to offer four recommendations for 2. the responsible interpretation of EVP: 1. In light of the fact that any particular investigator’s interpretation of an EVP is not likely to be shared by other people and that people’s interpretations are biased by what they expect to hear, investigators should never interpret an EVP for other people without playing it for them several times and soliciting their independent interpretations. If the interpretation of a specific EVP is particularly important (such as when it is being interpreted for grieving family members), investigators should use a scaled-down version of the procedure used in this study. Have at least 10 people independently listen to the EVP and determine the consensus interpretation, if any. Then report an interpretation of the EVP to others

only if a majority of listeners agrees on that interpretation. In some cases, it may be helpful to report more than one potential interpretation, along with the percentage of people who agreed with each one. Providing listeners with such data is a more honest and responsible way to share EVP than to offer a particular interpretation that might, in fact, be idiosyn- cratic. Investigators should be willing to refrain from interpret- ing ambiguous EVP. Providing a questionable interpre- tation as if it is certain is misleading, if not sometimes dishonest. Just because an EVP cannot be interpreted does not mean it is not a useful piece of evidence, so investigators should not interpret EVP that are unclear. 4. Paranormal investigation groups and EVP practitioners should have formal guidelines for the interpretation of EVP that minimize the likelihood that they will offer 3. interpretations of EVP—whether to other group mem- bers, clients, or outsiders—that are expressed with greater confidence than the objective evidence war- rants. Investigators should exercise greater care in sharing their interpretations of EVP, and procedures should be in place to ensure that clients, other investi- gators and the public are not inadvertently misled regarding interpretations of an EVP. With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motiva- tion, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people's concerns with their social relationship between personality and behavior.

He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” images, and the Editor: This is the first of three articles by Mark resulting from his study of EVP. The Spring issue of the ATransC NewsJournal will include his second article titled “A Study of Radio Sweep EVP.” For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article “EVP Online Listening Trials” in the ATransC online Journal at atransc.org/journal/online_listening_trials.htm Viewpoint Continued from page 1 There does seem to be hope that more people can speak more freely about their experiences and communication with their loved ones. But those of us who believe in spirit communication through electronic devices are still consid- ered on the fringe of the fringe. As most of you have come to learn, we are a dedicated, special bunch; few in number but determined that the fact of personal survival will become commonly accepted. All we can say is that we count ourselves as lucky; lucky to have the knowledge that we do survive death, that we can communicate with our loved ones through EVP and ITC and lucky to know people like you. May you be blessed in the coming year with messages and signs from your loved ones letting you know that death is not the end. UPDATE! We have just learned that Steve’s son Alex has been able to get through via

text message. This first weekend of December, Steve’s ex-wife had some old text messages from Alex show up on her phone. When she tried to save them they were gone. Then Steve’s 19-year-old daughter received two texts from Alex the next day. They were dated the day after Alex’s transition. One said “Miss you, Sister.” The other one said “Love you.” and used a nickname that only he would call her. Steve disconnected Alex’s phone several weeks ago. Yeah! Tom and Lisa Page 15 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal JOTTs Update by Lisa Butler “Thinking of You” by Allison Sniffin on page 3 is about a missing part for her musical equipment that just suddenly reappeared. That kind of experience is called a JOTT or “Just One of Those Things.” We have received two more interesting stories about personal experiences with JOTTS. One person told us a story about her brother. He had been wearing his father’s ring since his father’s transition. He was driving to work with his hand out of the window when the ring fell off. Naturally, he was really upset and felt sick about losing it; however, several days later he was climbing into bed when he spotted the ring sitting on his bed. spatial discontinuity, and put like that, it is a major anomaly because there shouldn’t be any spatial discontinuities…” Nicola Holt describes six variants of jottle that have been identified3: 1. Walkabout:“The basic jottle, where an object disap- pears from a known location

and reappears in a new location. 2. Comeback: “An object disappears and later reap- pears in the same place.” 3. Flyaway: “The object disappears and never comes back.” 4. Turn-up: “An object appears in a location where it couldn’t have been before.” 5. Windfall: “An object appears that has never been seen before.” 6. Trade-In: “An object disappears, and is replaced with a similar object.” References 1. “The Transhumanation Hypothesis” by Michael A. Thal- bourne psychognosis.net/cgi- bin/default.pl?page=viewdoc&doc=thalb1&group=3 Jottles reflight.blogspot.com/2010/06/jottles.html 2. 3. Paranormal Review April 2004 4. Broken Threads In the Fabric of Physical Reality by Mary Rose Barrington, Paranormal Review, October 2009. Famous “Dead” People Continued from page 14 interest among spirits in the subject,” Imperator commu- nicated. “At the time of the discovery it was believed that all denizens of both worlds would be brought into ready communion. But, both on account of the obstinate igno- rance of man, and of the extent to which the privilege was abused by spirits who assumed well-known names and personated them and so deceived men, that privilege has been greatly narrowed.” Those who wonder why the mediumship of old was so much more dynamic and offered so much more wisdom than that of today may want to ponder Imperator’s words. Michael Tymn’s books, The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die and Transcending the Titanic: Beyond Death’s Door, are published by White Crow Books and are available from Amazon and all good online book stores. See Michael’s blog at whitecrowbooks.com/michaeltymn/ One Ring

by SuziJane flickr.com/photos/suzijane/6401439/ The other story is from a man who told us about his wife losing a gold ring. She was certain that it had been in her jewelry box, but it was nowhere to be found. They searched the house before being forced to give up and declare it lost. About a year later, the ring turned up once again in the jewelry box but it was badly bent, as if Uri Geller had gotten ahold of it. As a reminder, here is a little information on the story we ran about a year ago. In 2004, I read an article in the Paranormal Review (a publication of the Society for Psychical Research) by Nicola Holt that I found quite interesting.3 Holt’s article was about jottles. A jottle is described as a general term for discontinuities with time and space. A jottle has become known as a JOTT or “Just One of Those Things,” because episodes in which things disappear or turn up in the wrong place are usually written off rather than examined. Could one of parapsy- chology’s most bizarre, least understood and least researched phenomena also be among the most common?2 In Broken Threads In the Fabric of Physical Reality,4 Mary Rose Barrington writes, “In serious language, JOTT is a Volume 31, Number 4 Page 16 Silver Fox Circle - Update In the Winter 2012 ATransC NewsJournal, we ran an article about our wonderful October 2011 visit with the Silver Fox Circle and cabinet medium Fay

Wright in Newcastle, England. To remind you, the Silver Fox Circle’s communi- cators are mostly children. The séance room is full of toys with which the children “train” to develop their skills. Silver Fox Circle, left to right in the back row: Fay, Jenny and Margaret; front row: Anna, Joan and Val Fay recently wrote us with an update and we want to report that their spirit team is working on materialization. Fay said that the spirit people have worked very hard and are now taking solid form in the cabinet. They have succeeded in materializing outside the cabinet a few times, which is great progress. Fay wrote, “Joan lost her daughter a few weeks ago and she was asked to come to the curtain on the cabinet with her back against the curtain. She felt a solid form lean fully into her.” She was told that it was her daughter! Another member, Anna, lost her dad in October, and in a recent sitting only twenty-five days from his passing, he firmly took her by the arm and placed his hand into hers. She said it was a large hand that was very solid and real. Fay said that they all cried buckets talking about it. She also reported that Michael, one of their special spirit children, has managed to pass matter through matter by placing a pea inside a balloon that Val was holding near the curtain. Fay’s email continued, “They are doing what they said they would be

doing, using the ectoplasm close to the cabinet. Michael has told us he now can form his fingers in ectoplasm and has been showing us in some great ways his newfound ‘magic’ as he calls it; he’s so funny. He had two of the girls holding the bottom of the curtain tonight as he then proceeded to pull the curtain from their grasp! Heaven knows what he will come up with next. “We are all thrilled, of course, and I’m finding it a bit mind blowing. It’s so true when they say even when it’s quiet they are working away as we have had a few weeks with nothing then away they go again and it’s so exciting and makes you feel so humble at the same time.” Resolution of Grief Continued from page 7 “For all you’ve done: Blessings to you for creating sacred space for me to connect with my mother! It is a gift I will be forever grateful for receiving.” “Rochelle, I have become a powerful and self-assured woman.” Conclusions The Guided Afterlife Connections procedure dramatically reduces the disturbance of memories that initially were very upsetting. The SUDS ratings decreased from a pre- session average score of 8.5 or 10.71 (depending on the scores assigned to ratings above 10) to a mid- and post- session average rating of 1.42. All of the Guided Afterlife Connections in the study resulted in connections in one session. It is clear that the Guided Afterlife Connections procedure has a dramatic

effect on grief with virtually all clients, regardless of the level of grief at the beginning of the session. Since evaluations of conventional grief therapy show it has little or no effect on clients’ grief, the highly effective Guided Afterlife Connections procedure should be used as the standard treatment for people suffering from bereave- ment over the passing of a loved one. Endnotes This article is a condensed version of the original at newsletter.guidedafterlifeconnections.com/SUDS_Article.htm 1.Jordan, J.& Neimeyer, R. (2003). “Does grief counseling work?” Death Studies, 27, 765-786. 2.Currier, J., & Neimeyer, R. (2008). “The Effectiveness of Psy- chotherapeutic Interventions for the Bereaved: A Compre- hensive Quantitative Review.” Presented at the 30th annual Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) Con- ference in Montreal, Canada, April 30-May 3, 2008. 3.Garcia-Garcia J., Landa Patralanda V., Grandes Odriozola G., Mauriz Etxabe A., Andollo Hervas I. (2005). “A Randomized Controlled Bereavement Intervention Study in Primary Care: Preliminary Results.” Presented at the 7th International Con- ference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society, Kings College, London, July 12-15, 2005. 4.Nowatzki, N., & Kalischuk, R. (2009). “Post-Death Encounters: Grieving, Mourning, and Healing.” OMEGA Journal of Death and Dying, 59(2), 91-111. R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D., a writer and trainer of writers with thirty-eight years’ experi- ence. He is director of the Center for Spiritual Understanding and on the boards of the Academy of Spiritual and Paranormal Studies and Association for Evaluation and Communication of Evi- dence for Survival. See: youreternalself.com Page 17 Winter 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal

The Collective ATransC is sponsoring a new forum intended to permit subject-matter specialists to produce educational articles for the public. Best practices, such as “Using a control recorder for EVP” in the Best Practices section of ATransC.org, will be featured, but all subjects will be addressed as editors are available to develop articles. Best practices are based on a consensus of collaborating subject-matter specialists. They are not rules and should evolve with new understanding. The idea is to help people avoid making the same old beginner mistakes. It is impor- tant to note that practices belong to the community. The Collective is at ATransC.org/bp/. Editors must be an ATransC member; however, reciprocal rights are offered to active members of other organizations. Experience has shown that the commitment of membership signals a person who is truly interested in these phenomena. It is ATransC members who have made the over 400 pages on ATransC.org possible. Thanks to you, hundreds of people visit the website every day, so this new project will give members yet another way to help the public. Take a look at the forum and let us know if you are interested in participating. Keeping in mind the member- ship requirement, we are inviting people from around the larger community to participate. If you know of anyone who has experience in ITC, mediumship, hauntings inves- tigations and psi functioning, and is the kind of person who will work with others to develop a document, then please feel free to tell

them about the project. Notice to All Who Accept the Afterlife from Victor Zammit There are a number of television and radio interviewers using the word “believers” for those who accept the afterlife. Tell these interviewers, the journalists and radio interviewers and those others who are still yet uninformed about using the correct terminology that we are NOT believers! We ACCEPT the afterlife evidence. There is a huge difference between “believing” and “accepting the evidence.” Beliefs do NOT amount to proof of anything and any belief could be wrong, because anything “subjec- tive” is subject to complete invalidation. But accepting the repeatable evidence for the afterlife has NEVER been rebutted by any genius-materialist-closed-minded skeptic, or anybody else. So keep it in mind always: we ACCEPT the EVIDENCE; we do NOT just “believe” because we have irrefutable proof for the afterlife. By labeling you a “believer” the interviewer or the skeptic is putting you in a weak position, is lowering your status to equal you with those who “believe” in fantasies. From: Victor Zammit, October 12th 2012 Friday Afterlife Report, victorzammit.com/week6bless/ IPATI Listening Team Continued from page 5 For example, we learned that the frequency of responses before the question appears to be too high. How can this be? It might be statistically acceptable if there were just a few responses prior to questions, but here we see that almost half came before. At the very least, this information will reinforce the understanding that the responses are more than just chance.

It is through these studies, which are only possible thanks to the cooperation of many volunteers, that we can improve our work. Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi is the founder and coordinator of IPATI and is one of the world’s most progressive ITC researchers. The IPATI website is at ipati.org. [Editor’s Note: The IPATI listening team is the most sophisticated application of a listening panel we are aware of. Listening panels are currently the most reliable tool for assessing the content of the messages in EVP. Individual listeners may mistake the normal as paranormal, but if several people agree on the content of an example without prior knowledge of one another's work and what the practitioner felt was said, then researchers have reason to accept the objectivity of the utterance. Much remains to be understood about the way people hear and understand mostly indeterminate voices (Class B and C). We agree that the IPATI listening team approach has the potential of increasing our understanding.] The ASPSI is now the ASCSI The Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies has changed their name to the Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc. (ASCSI). The Academy was founded in 1972 as the academic affiliate of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. They publish two scholarly quarter- lies, The Journal for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies and a newsletter, The Searchlight. Both deal with religion, psychical research and related topics. Please visit the Academy’s website at ascsi.org. Volume 31, Number 4 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Please remember to

send your EVP/ITC results and experiences to Lisa at [email protected] Tom and Lisa Butler: We recorded several EVP during Big Circle recording sessions over the past few months. Tom recorded a clear “Big Circle” on his recorder after we asked for those from the Big Circle. We also recorded the names “Kathy,” “Karen” and “Melvin.” A dear best friend recently transitioned and we attended her memorial in Phoenix, after which Lisa recorded her voice saying “Lisa” as well as a few words with her Minnesota accent. Lisa has heard from her each recording session since. Our friend seems to be improving in her ability to get through. Ken Chris wrote “My dear wife, whom I am still deeply in love with, passed to spirit last year, with cancer. Since then I have been communicating with her by EVP using a digital voice recorder. I am now receiving some good Class A voices from her but still a lot of Class B Cs I am using Audacity, but probably not as efficient as I should be.” Phyllis Delduque has updated her website with new video-loop ITC images. Here is one of them: Her web address is transcomunicacaotci.yolasite.com/ Margaret Downey wrote that she recorded several names that she did not recognize on Big Circle night. They were all recorded via manual AM radio-sweep as background. Some of the EVP she recorded are “Somebody mentioned the Big Circle,” “Hey Tommy, I’m talking,” “It’s Chris and Skye” and “Hey Day it’s Jim.” After she

asked her friend’s son to say something for his mom, she recorded, “Hey Mom it’s me, you hear me?” Ernesto H wrote: “I just wanted to inform you that I’m having great EVP communication with my loved one. Some great EVP in which I recognize his voice (I’m using EVP- maker). He told me about my birthday, Christmas and New Year. He tells me what I’m doing. He even told me “Pico, I’m looking at you!” He called me Pico; that was the nickname he gave me. Well, two actually; Pico and Puko, LOL. When he talks to me via EVP he calls me by both names and messages are always bilingual (English and Spanish), which is typical in Miami. Here is my birthday EVP: “I asked: ‘Estas conmigo papi?’ (Are you with me, Papi?) “He responded: ‘Si!’ (Yes) “I asked: ‘Que dia es hoy?’ (What day is today?) “He responded: ‘Your Birthday.’ “I said: ‘I love you!’ “He responded: ‘I Love you too!’” Alison Kirkbride wrote that they had gone to Woolsthorpe Manor, the home of Sir Isaac Newton. She wrote, “We were told that a large black cat has taken up residence in the house which is now owned by the National Trust. The cat is called Cocoa and is allowed to roam freely around the house. He even sleeps on the beds, especially the one which belonged to Isaac Newton. “We had our digital recorders turned on whilst we were walking around the house, including in the

bedroom where the cat was lying on the bed. When I reviewed the record- ings I was amused to find: “You should be off of here” (probably someone admonishing the cat). Intrigued, I researched to see if Newton did own a cat and found that apparently, yes. Newton did love cats and is in fact credited for inventing the cat flap! No wonder Cocoa has settled down there, and how brilliant that the National Trust allows him to stay and even lets him sleep on the beds!” Tom Lorton shared EVP captured utilizing radio-sweep, switching between AM and FM while using a Panasonic RR-DR60 to record. He wrote, “They seemed to be waiting for the radio to be turned on. I have one EVP that said, ‘Play it.’ Last week, I had one say, ‘He doesn’t know how to tune it,’ followed by, ‘That’s better,’ as it scanned. Some are aware of how I was using the radio.” Jutta Liebman wrote: “I have received good results with a Spiritbox P-SB7. In some experiments I received prompt, very clear answers to my questions from the entities. However, this device is not suitable for beginners with Instrumental TransCommunication. Stefan Bion is actually trying to build a new device on the basis of the Skype- recording method. He has already spent about 500 EUR for components. A VTF member, who is medium, has given him some hints for the new device. Up to now, I have not received any further news about his

progress.” Allison Sniffen reported that she was at her mother’s house when the phone rang. She posted in the Idea Exchnage, “I was right next to it. I didn’t have my IC recorder ready so it was fortunate the call went to the answering machine. The number on the caller ID was unfamiliar.” In the recording she posted, she said she hears a distorted version of her mother’s voice saying “home,” a man saying “This is perfect,” followed with her mom saying “Allison” and a different voice saying “I love you.” On another recording, “It’s your mom,” was recorded during a hang up on the answering machine.” Page 19 Winter 2013 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Book Review Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation By Rupert Sheldrake It is not known what causes a cell to differentiate into specific parts of a body such as skin, bone and muscle. Rupert Sheldrake argues in his “Hypothesis of Formative Causation” that cell division is guided by “morphic fields” that maintain an image of how the cells have always divided to produce the required parts of the body. In his theory, there are morphic fields for everything. For instance, skin cell morphic fields are directed by an organizing morphic field for the whole body to produce the right kind of cell in the right place. “Morphic” means having a particular form, and a morphic field is formed based on existing forms. They are sometimes described as representing nature’s habits; however, an important aspect

of morphic fields is that new behavior learned by one organism can influence morphic fields of the same kind no matter where they are. For instance, a difficult formulation of a crystal which is developed in one location has been seen to result in a much easier formulation of the same crystal in other locations. In fact, a way of studying the hypothesis is to look for ways that previously difficult processes have inexplicably become easier. The hypothesis applies to thought forms and processes, as well. For instance, as communicators on both sides of the veil get better at working with transcommunication, it should become easier for further transcommunication. Morphic fields evolve as the organism adopts new behavior, but the interesting part of this hypothesis is that some form of consciousness is responsible for the changes that eventually result in changes to the field. This is an important point for people studying transcommunication, because according to the Hypothesis of Formative Causation, the same factors involved in working with things paranormal are involved in evolution. This book is an easy-to-read explanation of a very important concept for the study of transcommunication. While it is written mostly from the perspective of cell formation, Sheldrake does address how the fields might also apply to such conceptual things as social behavior and even inanimate objects. It is highly recommended for people who like studying metaphysics. (Be sure to use the Amazon link at ATransC.org.) ISBN-13: 978-1-59477-317-4, Park Street Press, 2009 Association TransCommunication Membership Form

You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm $30.00 per year All benefits for one year Members International Members . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I certify that I am twenty-one years of age or older. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages

due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the ATransC reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 31, Number 4 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Spring 2013, Volume 32 Number 1 Two end-of-life views: abrupt and final or continuation to new “atmospheres and awarenesses.” Which do you accept? Left Microsoft; right wybnormal's, flickr.com/photos/lightandimages/ Mindful Living, Mindful Transition Few people are happy about the inevitable end of their life. Death is often a forced change for everyone involved; however, while it is a fearful thing for most, some have learned to embrace it as a natural event that leads to new adventures. Some of our most cherished mentors are Spiritualists who understood this. We have had the honor of knowing them at the time of their transition and were deeply impressed, as their final lesson for us from the physical side of life was the importance of a mindful transition. After many years studying transcommunication, we have come to think of death as a transition during which we move on to other experiences and continued opportunities for personal growth. This transition is both inevitable and necessary to assure continued progression. Those of you who have been with us for a while likely think the same way. This understanding is not a matter of faith but is based on the objective evidence of ITC, and yes,

the “revealed” knowledge of mediumship and personal communion with friends and loved ones on the other side; a consensus of observation, research results and consistent descriptions from those who have gone before. “Friends and loved ones on the other side” is a phrase we share with Spiritualism. In fact, there are many parallels between Spiritualism and the study of transcommunica- tion. If you take time to read the Declaration of Principles at nsac.org/principles.php, you will see that the system of belief is all about transcommunication and personal responsibility. It translates as learning to live in accordance with the governing principles of nature. You might think of this as mindful living, which is fundamentally in agreement with our insisting on objective evidence. The message we would like to share with you is that our mentors were long-time Spiritualists in this lifetime and that understanding the science, philosophy and religion of continuous life well prepared them for the trials of transi- tion. They lived mindfully and carried that understanding with them on to their next adventure. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, author of On death and Dying, helped society begin to think in terms of “mindful dying.” In her later years, she began to trans- late her academic study of how people dealt with their transi- tion into the study of what happens after transition. She is an example of the natural link between life and an afterlife that many researchers have made. interest Through your in transcommunication, it is likely you have already made

that link. If you still question, then by all means open a discussion in the Idea Exchange so that we can, as a collective, discuss how we feel about the subject. It is likely that others have similar questions. The more you know about your future transition, the better you will be able to help your loved ones overcome their fear of death. ATransC Hosting Kai Muegge Séances Deep-trance physical mediums are perhaps the clearest channel for transcommunica- tion most of us will ever meet. Sitting in a séance with one is an important way of experienc- ing what is really a thinning of the veil. We are happy to announce that the ATransC is hosting the only person we know who is demonstrating ectoplasm in red light. See the article about Kai Muegge on page 10 and the séance registration form on the back page. Julia and Kai Muegge Tom and Lisa Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint......................................................................................................................................1 Christine........................................................................................................................................3 Love Goes On Forever...................................................................................................................4 The Norfolk Group........................................................................................................................5 Why Fear Death?..........................................................................................................................8 A Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP.........................9 Ectoplasm With Embedded Faces...............................................................................................10 T.G. Hamilton: Ectoplasm with Miniature Faces.........................................................................12 Do You Hear What I Hear? A Second Study of EVP Interpretation.............................................14 Big Circle Recording Dates..........................................................................................................16 Using Live Voice Input Files.........................................................................................................16 The Visual ITC of Phyllis Delduque..............................................................................................17 Stephan A. Schwartz - Remote Viewing......................................................................................17 Clara Laughlin..............................................................................................................................18 Examples of Transform EVP: Input and Output Files..................................................................18 News About Members................................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 Kai Muegge Physical Séance Registration Form..........................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the

Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2013ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 425 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document

Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Proofreader: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler The ATransC attempts to assure the veracity of material presented in this publication; however, understanding of these phenomena continues to change and the reader should practice discernment here as with all information about these phenomena. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 2 Spring 2013 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous SERF Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Richard Adams Sustaining Members Lloyd Bradshaw Jr. Giorgio Cabrera Lily Mafela Stephen Smith Supporters Lloyd Bradshaw Jr. Cheri Kussavage Lily Mafela Diane Moseley David Sircom Allison Sniffin Lisa Yesse Sarah Estep Research Fund Giorgio Cabrera Our lovely daughter, Sarah Jane, passed to spirit with a very rare form of kidney disease at the age of five. Chris- tine’s and my world fell apart. We lived in London then and started going to the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain in Belgrave Square to services and sittings, of course, with people

like Doris Stokes. Looking back, it was there that we met the right people; at the right time. We met and became very friendly with Bert Billinghurst. As a result of that meeting, Chris and I were invited to sit with Leslie Flint, the independent direct voice medium! Many people came through, including, on several occasions, our lovely daughter Sarah Jane. We started our own physical circle in 1975. Christine devel- oped into a wonderful trance medium, and over the last twelve to thirteen years, the Spirit Team developed some wonderful phenomena. Christine was and is a wonderful spiritual person, I was very fortunate to meet her when I did! We were both still in grammar school, in those days; she was twelve and I was fifteen! We were together for 54 years. I miss her physical presence so much. Christine had a major operation for bowel cancer in 2009; she was in intensive care for three days, and then of course, there was many months of chemotherapy. She got the report that she was all clear! But it was back in 2011, and spread everywhere in a very short space of time. I can’t put into words how awful it was. She was so overly sedated. She never opened her eyes again or spoke to me. I was devastated; still am. I was with her day and night for six days, speaking to her all the time, telling her how much I loved her. It was only after I

told her that I didn't want her to go through any more that she let go. When she did, Christine opened her eyes wide and smiled at someone in the corner of the room. She has since told me, it was her mother and our daughter that came for her. There was no time to make an agreement! Christine passed on the 13th of August, 2011. Shortly after Christine’s transition, I began recording for EVP in an attempt to make contact with her. I think it was about the second week in September when I first heard anything. She was answering some of the things I was saying. One of the first messages I could make out was after I said to her, “I am still very much in love with you, Sweetheart.” She replied on the recorder saying, “I love you, my love.” It was more or less her voice, but it was the Christine by Ken W. J. Hartley way she said it, her personality and mannerisms that made me sure. I know her very well after fifty-four years together! Still, I know that not many other people would have heard it. I can honestly say that my love is still with me. When I told her that I was going to the Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference at Cober Hill in April, Christine told me in a recording, “I will be with you.” Me being me, I would like every one to be aware of this great

truth, but alas, most people either don't want to know, or they think I am ready for the lunatic asylum. I know that it would help many other people in my position to know for sure their loved one is still very much alive and well and still loves them. Ken and Christine Christine is getting stronger and clearer, and saying more all the time. I can now hear some of the things she says direct from the recorder using the earphones and with amplification. On one recording, I had a bad toothache and she said, "Go to the dentist." Christine lets me know she is around in other ways. She regularly puts her fingers through my hair, which I can now feel fairly solidly. I feel that she has made the telephone ring several times, but there has not yet been a voice on the line. The lamp flickers near where I sit in the lounge. She has also turned all the lights out, then on again, over the dining table. One morning while I was still half-asleep, Christine sat on the bed with her arm round me and speaking to me. Sarah was with her as well! But by the time I woke up properly it was over. It seems to me that a good time for them to make contact is when I’m not quite fully conscious. But by the time I realize what’s actually happening, it’s over. Of course there are always raps and bangs about.

It is pitch black inside of my cabinet. One night I was sitting in the cabinet, when in front of me, I heard quite loudly, “It’s me.” It was her personality and voice and that’s what she always said when she phoned me. Christine has been speaking longer sentences. In Novem- ber, I was speaking to her about an old plum tree I was cutting down for our next door neighbor and she said quite clearly, “When are you going to be able to do it?” I understood, as the weather has been bad and I hadn’t been well. Page 3 Continued page 12 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Love Goes On Forever © by Annette Childs, Ph.D Annette with Moose Being a grief and bereavement counselor offers me no protection at all from sorrow’s torrent when life brings loss to my door. Every good tool in my bereavement counselor bag of tricks is rendered null and void when I lose one that I love and my heart seemingly breaks into a million tiny pieces. Such was recently the case with the loss of our furry four- legged family member, Moose. Moose was a standard poodle that came into our home when he was eight weeks old; on my oldest son’s birthday. He left us this past December on the same day my daughter marked her twentieth birthday; such a full circle of life with us in every way. Although I am never capable of escaping the grip of grief,

living with foresight and knowl- edge certainly seems to change its landscape in my life. By offering a short narrative of the last year of Moose’s life, perhaps I can illustrate why it is my deep belief that knowledge and wisdom are the things that will take us through the dark times in our lives that will inevitably come. Because Moose was such a large breed dog, as he approached the age of ten, I knew that his life expectancy was drawing to a close. On a daily basis, I began talking earnestly with him about this. Laugh at me or not, but I spent many an hour with this old dog’s head in my lap telling him that his body was getting to a place where it was not going to be real happy carrying his soul around much longer. I explained once, if I explained a hundred times, that it was my wish for him that he live as well as he could, for as long as he could, and then when it was time for him to move on, we would part ways as gently as we could for both of us. This heartfelt conversation came from painful past history. As a lifelong animal lover I have reached that “worst day” in a pet owner’s life many times. When I look back on these experiences some of them make me wince. There were times in my more youthful, short- sighted days when I extended the lives of

my furry com- panions not because it was for their best good but instead because I could not yet bear to let them go, nor did I clearly trust the horizon that awaited them. Out of all the dogs I have owned, Moose has been the alpha dog of my heart. I wanted our ending to be as perfect as our owner/pet love affair had been, so I started the prep work with plenty of time. Over the preceding year, I gently but continually melded small reminders of Moose’s pending mortality into our life with him. When my husband would groan at Moose’s 5 a.m. wake up nudge for a walk, I would whisper, “Take him with a smile, he’s in the twilight of his days.” To our little five-year-old son, I began talking about Moose’s angel body that lived under his fur and would someday let that fur drop away so it could move into the light and be free to run and jump like a puppy. And to Moose, on a daily basis I affirmed to him what a wonderful life compan- ion he had been and how much joy he had brought to every one of us. In late November of 2012, a friend who frequented our home every few weeks arrived for her visit. As Moose padded to the door for his usual meet and greet with her, she looked up at me and said “My God, he has lost so much weight!!” My heart skipped

a beat. “Are you sure?” I asked. She was certain. I took her words as gospel truth as I knew from experience when you’re “in it” you often “can’t see it.” Yes, I could have hauled him off to the vet for tests, but regardless of outcome of those tests, the fact remained that he was a ten-year-old, eighty-five pound dog. He was in the last few laps of his earthly existence no matter what. Instead of letting my need for a desired outcome dictate my decisions, I stepped back and let Moose lead the way. For the next three weeks I watched him carefully for any signs of discomfort or illness. Nothing. Life went on seem- ingly as usual for Moose. He ate, drank, played and lived the same joy-filled life he always had. My quiet conversa- tions with him increased; as did my heartfelt reminders to the rest of our family that we needed to love our big guy like there may be no tomorrow. On a Sunday night in early December, we had a birthday party for my daughter. Twenty-five friends and family filled our home with love and laughter that night. Moose loved occasions like this and he basked in lots of extra attention from those who did not get to see him regularly. He also prospered from the many generous hands that were quietly reaching below the dinner table with warm morsels of food to share with him. Just as the party was drawing to

a close the first sign of trouble showed itself, and Moose was up several times that night vomiting. The next morning was no better. He did not seem to be in pain at all, Continued page 13 Volume 32, Number 1 Page 4 The Norfolk Group From 1993 until 1998, Robin and Sandra Foy as circle leaders, and Diana and Alan Bennett as deep-trance medi- ums, sat in a circle to develop physical phenomena in Scole, Norfolk England. The “Scole Group,” as the circle became known, went on to produce some of the most astounding physical phenomena in modern times. At the 2006 ATransC Conference, Alan and Diana Bennett describing crystal photography The group established contact with a “spirit team” consisting of a number of discarnate scientists. “The purported discarnate contacts had facilitated the manifes- tation of spirit lights, moved furniture, created apports (objects appearing from no known source and by no known means), displayed shadowy figures described as angelic forms, and produced films, allegedly employing a novel form of energy not involving the traditional ectoplasmic extrusions…”1 The phenomenal success of the group resulted in the book, The Scole Experiment, by Grant and Jane Solomon.2 After the circle disbanded, the Bennetts began exploring their interests in psychic phenomena and healing. They felt they owed much to those in the higher realms and knew in their hearts that they would continue to experiment in one way or another. Alan wrote, “I have always seen in my mind’s eye, a phoenix rising

from the ashes with renewed vigor to live through another cycle. Diana has always had that wonderful gift of ‘far sight’ and receiving guidance in her dreams, so it was no surprise when she told me that she had ‘seen’ the two of us working together again. She was told how we should take the first step in the form of a shared experience. We followed her vision of a simple experiment using a crystal, with the two of us linked together mentally and shared a journey of exploration. “We were guided to do this new work in full light. After so much criticism in the past regarding physical phenom- ena obtained in total darkness, we decided that we would only continue to work as mediums in full light. This has proven not to be prohibitive in anyway whatsoever, as we have achieved very encouraging results. “These experiments are primarily attempts to see into, and capture, visions of other dimensions of existence. To be more precise, these visions are more like frozen images or pictures of different moments in time as we look into these dimensions.” The Bennetts have conducted many experiments, pro- gressing and building on what they have learned. Alan told us, “It seems that the possibilities are endless, as we modify and introduce other equipment into the experiments. The experiments are based on the idea that there are dimen- sions not only beyond our own but within them as well. By using a combination of electronic and

photographic equip- ment coupled to image enhancement computer software (for magnification purposes only), we have been fortunate enough to obtain fleeting glimpses into these ‘other’ dimensions during our experimental sessions. The experi- ments also require focused visualization by the two of us to create a central focal point for the experiment.” Diana wrote, “The images pictured here were obtained with the use of an ordinary non-digital camera and a good lens. Continued page 6 Arrangement of video camera (lower-left), still camera stand (top), light (right) and crystal on mirror (on table). A schematic of the arrangement is included. Page 5 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Continued from page 5 The Norfolk Group The process requires us to strategically place crystals, according to instructions given by spirit. (This varies with each experiment.) Light is focused over the crystal area, some through mirrors, colored filters and/or reflective surfaces. We intuitively know when it is the optimum time to take the picture. When the pictures are developed, they are digitized, enlarged and then examined using Photo- shop. As you can see, the images and colors are fascinating. Sometimes the images take up most of the frame some- times only a small part.”3 Examples the The examples shown here first are amongst recorded by the Bennetts using the “light reflected from crystals” method for visual ITC. Since they are collected with a high quality camera, the result- ing images are very high resolution. By comparison, examples of visual ITC col- lected using the video-loop

method are relatively low resolution because of the limits of the camera and monitor. Note in Example 3 that the face appears to be peering out of the crystal matrix as a three-dimensional feature. There is a second face above and behind the man’s face. 1: Woman—by the Bennetts who have been given the name of this helper on the other side Note also that the optical texture of the parts of the crystal that support the phenomenal features are mid- tone: light-dark, even-rough. This is a characteristic shared by video-loop, moving water and crystal techniques. Phe- nomenal features are also found in mid-tone light density areas found in photographs. in video Mediumship The voices of EVP and images found loop noise appear to be formed as a coop- erative effort between the etheric communicator and practitioner. This is a form of mediumship and appears to depend on background noise that can be changed into the intended image or sound. Based on this and research concerning psychokinesis as a form of psi function, we speculate that this is the effect of 2: Old man - the Bennetts intentionality on chaotic energy. The Bennetts have estab- lished themselves as world-class mediums and their work with visual ITC demonstrates that their abilities extend to ITC. This gives us an important reference point for further understanding of how EVP/ITC works and how to improve communication. Naturally, we are excited to learn that they have returned to this line of research. Replication Beyond theoretical

support, an important test for any new technique is whether or not it can be replicated by others. Examples 4 shows an image taken by the Butlers with a similar arrangement of equipment. A friend, Mary Beth, gave us a picture of her parents asking that we watch for her father, whom she did not know. That afternoon, we meditated and made a few EVP recordings to test various settings on the two recorders we would be using at a video session for the Sci Fi channel. We also worked with the light from crystals reflected method for visual ITC. When we looked at the resulting photographs, the image of a man was clearly seen on the very first frame. The resemblance between the ITC picture and Mary Beth’s dad was clear. It was as if he had heard her and stopped by during our experiment to say, “Hello.” 3: Head of man within the crystal matrix. You can see a woman peering over the man’s head. The white lines and spots are flaws in the crystal. - by the Bennetts Margaret Downey has also successfully replicated this technique. You can see some of her latest results in Researchers’ Reports on page 19. Continued page 7 4: Mary Beth’s father compared to an ITC image possibly of him; light reflected from crystal. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 6 The Norfolk Group Continued from page 6 The Norfolk Group Extracted from “Meeting and Experimental Session - 17 December 2012” The formation

of the Norfolk Group is detailed in the 2006 Edition of The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death.2 It is comprised of Alan and Diana Bennett (the Scole mediums), and Grant and Jane Solomon (The Scole Experiment authors). Alan and Diana provide the energies and conditions required to make contact with the communicators. Grant and Jane record the events and collect the evidence and other material for the forthcoming book, The Norfolk Experiment: Beyond The Scole Experi- ment. In the face of the often very negative and, sometimes very hostile, criticism leveled at The Scole Experiment after its cessation at the end of November 1998, Alan and Diana sought guidance from the communicators on the best way to move forward so that future experiments could be set up in such a way that significant results would again be achieved while reducing potential criticism. During The Scole Experiment, some of the communica- tors said they had lived as humans on Earth, died, survived bodily death and were now existing in a “spirit” world or realm from which they were communicating. The Norfolk Experiment will continue to seek evidence of communica- tion with these beings. However, some of the communica- tors during The Scole Experiment said that they were from “other dimensions of existence” and, as such, had never had a life on Earth. They were not deceased humans whose spirit had survived death, they were from “elsewhere” and were attempting to find ways to show those in our dimen-

sion that they exist. The Norfolk Experiment will take this into consideration in the hope of further communication from these inter-dimensional beings. The Norfolk Group will consider three major areas of criticism during their experimental sessions: 1. Darkness: There is an honestly and genuinely-held perception, amongst many open- and fair-minded scien- tists and lay people, that dark conditions are somehow intrinsically and inherently suspect. Because of this, all Norfolk Experiments have been, and will be, conducted in full light conditions. 2. Magic Tricks: Minimum or no physical contact with equipment by the medium(s) [or other catalyst(s)] is an integral part of the protocol. 3. Repeatability: Mainstream science is based on repeat- ability but investigations in the paranormal field to date have generally concluded that this is hard to achieve as there are necessarily a great many uncontrollable variables involved in actually achieving any sort of result. The simple setup of the experiment is potentially repeat- able. It might be expressed as: crystal on the table + certified fraud-free photographic equipment + medium(s) [or other catalyst(s)] present or remote = repeatability. At the very least, this setup displays the intention to produce fraud-free, repeatable results, and should confirm the integrity of the participants for any fair-minded observer, even if no significant or convincing results are subsequently achieved. Resolutions Organization The group is now ready to begin the regular experiments and has set up a “Resolutions Organization”4 which will form the umbrella body for the activities related to this experiment, including research,

equipment, travel, dona- tions and liaison with people and groups. If significant results worthy of scientific and philosophical scrutiny are again achieved, the intention is that people with suitable qualifications and/or experience will be invited to observe and take part. Subject to the results and the way things progress, we may be seeking contributions from others to support the investigation, experiments and the new book. If you would like to make contact, either as an individual or as a representative of an organization, please email Resolutions Research at [email protected]. Two Facebook Pages have been established to provide historical and current information and allow interested parties to comment and contribute to the ongoing conver- sation about The Scole Experiment and The Norfolk Exper- iment in the familiar Facebook networking format: facebook.com/thescoleexperiment for a historical perspec- tive and facebook.com/beyondthescoleexperiment for current results. References 1. Keen, Montague, “The Scole Investigation: A Study in Criti- cal Analysis of Paranormal Physical Phenomena,” Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 167–182, 2001 2. Solomon, Grant and Jane, The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death, Campion Books, ISBN-13: 978-0954633844, (2006), thescoleexperiment.com, Reviewed January 2013 (expected to be made available as an eBook in 2013.) 3. Quotes from the Bennets are extracted from Winter 2002 The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin and were published in the Spring 2003 ATransC NewsJournal. 4. youtube.com/user/ResolutionsResearch [Editor: Having known the Bennetts for a few years now, and having followed their work–even replicating some of it to a small extent–we are

very happy to learn that they have returned to the service of our community for which they are so uniquely qualified. ATransC members are encouraged to support their work. Perhaps as important, we recommend that anyone wishing to experience visual ITC first hand should conduct their own light-reflected-from-crystals experiments. We are available on the Idea Exchange to answer questions.] Page 7 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Why Fear Death? © by Julia Assante Death is the most ordinary of life’s occurrences. It happens all the time, every nanosecond, all across the globe. So why are we so afraid of it? The truth is our society thrives on the fear of death. Most of today’s institutions not only produce it, they exploit it. Our government keeps us in perpetual vigilance against life threats — an anti-Western nation, a failing economy, terrorist attacks. The defense department’s kill-or-be-killed policy, which extends to gun control, not only pro- duces fear but causes it more death than forestalls. Science warns us of all kinds of coming global devasta- tions. And because it claims that competing to the primary instinct, it too endorses a kill-or-be- killed rationale. Educa- tion marks human history by wars and instances of mass death, fostering sci- ence’s take on human- kind as murderously competitive. Religions teach that humans are innately flawed. Since we believe it, we fear eternal damnation or suffering in a next reincarnation. These fears inflict incal- culable damage on human potential. survive is The medical industry’s absorption with

disease; its view of death as an enemy and the body as a time bomb, has eroded our trust in our inherent capacity to heal and has turned death into the ultimate failure. The health and beauty industry amasses billions by selling ways to fight aging and death. Even worse, the news and entertainment industry daily reaches into our homes and hearts with a steady feed of the most gruesome fatalities. If a cutthroat survival instinct were true, if humanity really were flawed and our universe really unsafe, none of us would have survived. A basic truth underlying all spiritual messages is: you create your own reality. Because we believe so strongly in an unsafe world, we create an unsafe world. Fear of death has crushed our inborn audacity to live up to our own ideals and has turned the natural act of dying into a nightmare. When people lose the fear of death, whether through near-death experiences, meditation, divine revelation or communicating with the afterlife, they simultaneously rediscover their authentic selves. That rediscovery unleashes enhanced intellectual, psychic and creative abilities. It also deepens the sense of life purpose. The desire to compete cannot survive in such a psychological climate. These people have no doubt that the universe is benign. They also know that death is deliverance into a realm of ineffable love and dazzling possibilities. You can rid yourself of this fear by learning about the miraculous side of dying, the orchestrated phenomena that occur around the deathbed to

prepare for passage and really about what happens afterward. Research based on tes- timonies from genuine afterlife encounters and near-death experi- ences, than rather based on tradition or doctrine, is already on the shelves and on the Internet. A composite of these accounts por- trays death as a glori- ous homecoming and the afterlife as an arena of profound understanding, com- passion and mind- bending grandeur. Just reading about it can change forever the way we live and the way we die. Exploring the afterlife is guaranteed to amaze you. To liberate yourself more directly, try fast-forwarding to your own death. Lie down, relax and imagine yourself in your own deathbed scene. As much as possible, mentally enter your future body. What are you dying from? Are you feeling pain? Who is there by you? Are you at home or in a hospital environment? What is the emotional atmo- sphere like? Do you feel fear or peace? Anxiety or wonder? Where do you imagine yourself going? Are late relatives or friends coming to escort you? If you are willing to go further, imagine yourself leaving your body, say some- where from the top of your head. What happens afterward? Sometimes people doing this simple exercise see vivid pictures of the life to come. Others even have life reviews. At the very least, this exercise will show you where fear has been holding you back. The good thing about fast- forwarding is that you can change anything you experi- enced that

you found disturbing. You can, for instance, work on healing whatever illness you see yourself dying from, or change beliefs that kept you from fulfilling your potential. Any brush with immortality will transform fear into revelation. Continued page 13 Matanzas Inlet January Sunset, by James Watkins, flickr.com Volume 32, Number 1 Page 8 A Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP by Anabela Cardoso Republished from NeuroQuantology | September 2012 | Volume 10 | Issue 3 | Page 492-514 Abstract A relatively novel acoustic phenomenon has inundated the Internet and specialized literature. Several Associations, some of them with an important number of members, have formed around it in many countries. In the Anglo-Saxon world the phenomenon is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) and is usually assumed as electronically mediated communication from or with the deceased. The first tests aimed at verifying the reality of these claims were carried out in Sweden and in Germany, in 1964 and 1970, under the direction of Professor Hans Bender from Freiburg University (Bender, 1970; 1972; 2011). The present report describes in detail the tests designed to record the alleg- edly anomalous electronic voices, or EVP, under controlled acoustic conditions. Series of experiments were carried out in Vigo, Spain throughout a period of two years under conditions controlled to the highest degree achievable. Several operators were involved in the many tests con- ducted in Acoustic Laboratories and professional recording studios equipped with very high levels of acoustic shielding. The protocols and procedures

followed in the experiments, as well as the results obtained, are herewith described. Several extra voices were recorded during the many experiments performed for which no normal explanation was found. Conclusions The reality of the apparently anomalous electronic voices was confirmed in acoustically controlled environments with different operators. With the exception of the June 17, 2008 radio voices, none of the voices or whispers described in the present report were heard live during the tests. Extra voices, originating from undetectable sources, were identified in the following situations: 1. Under controlled speech and controlled acoustic envi- ronment - AC as sole operator at the Metropolis and at the University of Vigo; Iñaki at the University of Vigo and at the Metropolis. 2. Under controlled acoustic environment and uncon- trolled speech - AC, Portuguese operators and partici- pants (PN and Francisco) at the Metropolis; AC, IH and UH at University of Vigo; the same and Iñaki at the Metropolis. 3. Under uncontrolled speech and uncontrolled acoustic environment - AC and the Portuguese operators out- side the Acoustics chamber of the Superior School of Engineering; AC and Iñaki at the same place. The voices seemed to benefit from the presence of noise in the environment (particularly human speech and metal- lic clicks). The very few voices recorded without any explicit noise had quite lower amplitude than the voices registered with a background of explicit noise. The amplitude of the voices seems to be related to the level of background environmental noise extant in

the room when the voices appear recorded. Probably to other variables, too but those remain undefined and need further research. The voices were louder, clearer, more abundant and flowing when uncontrolled direct human speech by two or more people prevailed, independently of an acoustically controlled or uncontrolled environment. Above all, they seemed to benefit from a situation where the operators’ frame of mind was lively and energetic, and perhaps also from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. On the other hand, they seemed to be negatively affected if the opera- tors were focused on the experiment. The voices seemed to benefit from a slightly chaotic situation - AC, Portuguese operators, PN and Francisco at the Metropolis; AC, IH, UH and Sound Technician ML at the Laboratory of Acoustics. The voices did not seem to be significantly more abundant when an artificial basis of human speech was used (Psychophone* and EVPmaker) as acoustic background source. Methods, the psychophone and the EVPmaker software methods proved to be highly unreliable, not because they are particularly bad acoustic backgrounds for the produc- tion of the voices but because they are undoubtedly a source of uncertainty and ambiguity in the analysis of the results. They can very easily originate pareidolia and/or projection of meaning based upon expectation. Very particularly with the EVPmaker software, it is easy to find “results” in recording-sessions where they do not exist. In addition, an erroneous interpretation of the content of possibly anomalous utterances found in the recording is very likely. Most

of the EVP “results,” published in the Internet, fall into one of these categories. The equipment and location of the experiments did not seem to weigh on the formation of the voices but the highly sensitive microphone Bruel & Kjaer used at some of the University experiments appeared to capture more voices than the other microphones. The content of all the voices recorded in the tests, with the possible exception of “altus”, were pertinent to the situation and/or to the operator(s). From the results of the present research, this author fully corroborates Professor Alex Schneider, the Swiss physicist from St. Gallen who closely followed, Continued page 11 Page 9 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Ectoplasm With Embedded Faces A report on progress of the Felix Experimental Group of the medium’s knees. It looks like it is sniffing or going to overtake a small piece of ectoplasm that seems to be floating freely. There have been a number of reports about the Felix Experimental Group in this NewsJournal. The group is providing perhaps the most important modern-day exam- ples of phenomena that are thought by most people to have only occurred during the heydays of Spiritualism. In fact, without modern-day examples of ectoplasm that can be studied by modern-day scientists, Skeptics have been successful in making the claim that it never really existed. In 2010 we sat with the circle, and in red light witnessed ectoplasm coming from the body of medium, Kai Muegge. The ectoplasm independently moved as a roughly

formed, waving hand! (See the Fall 2010 ATransC NewsJournal.) In this issue, we report on the circle’s recent progress. 1: Ectoplasm extruding from medium’s nose The first picture shows ectoplasm extruding from Kai’s nose. He is sitting in a curtained-off enclosure (a cabinet) and the picture was taken in red light. His face is extended out from the cabinet and is wrapped by the dark curtain. The ectoplasm can be seen falling toward the ground, and then abruptly bending upward toward the ceiling. (The large mass of light on the floor is not ectoplasm but the reflection of red light from the floor. The bright mass at the left is red light reflecting from an audio player.) 2: Ectoplasm flowing like water In Picture 2, the ecto- plasm looks like liquid as it seems to flow from the cabinet towards the sit- ters. At the end, a small hand appears. In Picture 3, a trunk-like formation can be seen coming from inside the cabinet at about the level Volume 32, Number 1 4: Ectoplasm extruding from medium’s mouth Picture 4 shows Kai’s head sticking through the slit between the curtains on the front of the cabinet. A thick mass of ectoplasm is extruding from his mouth with strange projections reaching back and vanishing into the cabinet. 5: Ectoplasm is pulled apart to reveal small faces In Picture 5, a sitter is holding the curtain back to show Kai in the cabinet. A towel is on his knee. His hands can

be seen pulling the mass of ectoplasm apart to reveal faces in the resulting gaps. Picture 6 is an enlarged black and white version of the part of the ectoplasm in Picture 5 that is being pulled apart. Picture 6 has also been enhanced a little for contrast to help make the faces evident. 3: Trunk-like formation Continued page 11 Page 10 Embedded Faces Continued from page 10 6: B&W Close up of faces in Picture 5 Picture 7 shows a comparison of the bottom face in picture 6 and the person one of the sitters at the séance identified as a loved one. 7: Bottom face in 6 compared to person recognized by sitter While the presence of the faces is highly improbable by normal standards, there is a historical precedence for them. For instance, Glen Hamilton produced many photo- graphs of ectoplasm under controlled conditions and using multiple cameras in white light. A number of the photo- graphs included faces in ectoplasm. (See page 12) This is an important point, as the photographic evidence of ectoplasmic phenomena from the early years of Spiritu- alism has been generally discounted as fake. The existence of a modern-day medium capable of producing similar phenomena provides important verification for those past examples, even as it gives modern day scientists fresh examples to study. A common characteristic of ITC is the presence of chaotic energy which is brought to some “intended order” to produce the phenomena. This is true of both audio forms

of ITC (EVP) and visual as seen in light reflected from moving water or emergent areas of order in video-loop noise. A common characteristic in the “faces in ectoplasm” phenomena is the apparent sunken area in the ectoplasmic mass, in which the faces are formed. Ectoplasm can be looked at as a chaotic mass of energy, in which case, the phenomenal faces can be considered the product of intended order impressed on that chaotic mass. This is hypothetical, but if true, then it would extend the “chaos into order” principle of ITC and psi functioning associated with intentionality research. Anomalous EVP studied and replicated some of Raudive’s work, when he declares in his Appendix to Breakthrough: Continued from page 9 “Other investigators choose the moment when a transmitter starts to beam out the carrier wave just before beginning to transmit a programme or else they select a slow-speaking lecture programme in which the pauses between groups of words are so consider- able that call signs can be interspersed. A carrier appears to be necessary, or, at any rate, desirable... a number of voices sound as though they were consti- tuted from the homogeneous noises spectrum by some physically unexplained process of selection” (ibid, pp.340-341). Moreover, in view of the results, a pertinent question is to find out if there are parallels between the allegedly anom- alous electronic voice phenomena and so-called paranor- mal events of a different nature. Apparently, one of the distinctive characteristics of paranormal events is their occurrence

in situations when they cannot be easily con- trolled. Professor Hans Bender is quoted as saying (trans- lation): “If we tentatively admit the still questionable factuality of ‘spooks’, then [the attempt] to keep hold of it by photographing, filming or by recording acoustical phenomena will have to face the difficulty that the phenomena apparently elude a critical grasp. The impression almost suggests that the intelligent forces mock the observer and produce a phenomenon just there where one cannot get hold of it” (Bender, 1979). * Editor: A psychophone compares well as an early form of radio-sweep. Anabela Cardoso has published the ITC Journal (itcjournal.org) since March, 2000 and is on the 43rd issue. She is amongst the few ITC practitioners in the world able to communi- cate using Direct Radio Voice (DRV). Since 1998, she has communicated with an etheric communication station which identifies itself as Timestream. Page 11 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal T.G. Hamilton: Ectoplasm with Miniature Faces by Walter Meyer zu Erpen [Editor: Through his longtime studies of the phenomena of Canadian Spiritualism, Walter has become an expert in the research of T.G. Hamilton. It is important to understand that similar phenomena reported by the Felix Experimental Group on page 11 is a replication in principle of the work of previous, dedicated circles.] May 1, 1929, using a remote control apparatus, Dr. Hamilton took this photograph of the fourth ectoplasm bearing a miniature likeness of Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the group’s spirit controls. The medium

was Mary Ann Marshall. UMA, MSS14, PC12, Group IV, photo 18e Here’s some background re the miniature ectoplasmic faces photographed by T.G. Hamilton, including the last paragraph specific to the May 1st, 1929 photo: Between 1928 and 1934, Dr. Thomas Glendenning Ham- ilton of Winnipeg, Manitoba, photographed ectoplasmic manifestations in his home séance room on fifty different occasions. More than 300 photographic images exist taken from different angles with eleven cameras and three flash apparatus installed opposite the wooden cabinet in which the primary mediums Mary Ann Marshall and Susan Mar- shall sat. As with other groups sitting for physical phenom- ena, it was recognized that the ectoplasm resulted from many members of the group contributing to the energy required for the manifestation. On eleven evenings, the ectoplasm photographed in Winnipeg contained miniature faces that were recognized as likenesses of deceased individuals. The miniature faces provide compelling evidence suggesting attempts by sur- viving spirit beings to communicate with the living. Among the other ectoplasm photographed, many of the early ones were amorphous and others attempted to replicate physical structures such as hands and a ship with sails. One ectoplasmic photograph contains a startling likeness of Sir Oliver Lodge, suggesting communication from the living, a form of ideograph, given that Lodge was at the time of the manifestation very much among the living, asleep in his bed in England. This proves just how little we know about the mechanism by which these mysterious structures are created. Having studied the T.G. Hamilton

psychical research experiments for more than 20 years, I believe that the ectoplasm photographed within the Hamilton group between 1928 and 1934 were genuine, without any trick- ery or fraud on the part of the mediums. The Hamilton research is arguably the best documented example world- wide of séance room psychical research experiments from the period of the 1920s and 1930s. My conviction about the bona fides of Dr. Hamilton and his group is strong. If the Hamilton ectoplasm were proven fraudulent (as stated, I do not believe that to be the case), then I would have to conclude that there is no such thing as genuine ectoplasm. From among the miniature faces in the Winnipeg ecto- plasm, there is one that I found particularly compelling from the first time I viewed an original copy print at the University of Manitoba Archives. Taken on May 1st, 1929, it is the fourth photograph of what was identified as a likeness of the London Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892). When I look at this photo, I am struck by the three-dimensional nature of the facial image and its almost translucent nature on the right cheek of the medium Mary Ann Marshall (1880-1963). The group rec- ognized it as the fourth in a series of attempts on different evenings by Spurgeon to make his image visible. Christine Continued from page 3 Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Spirit could speak like that all the time! We can only hope that time will come.

As Christine has said on more than one occasion, everything is possible! I want to say, “Never give up”! You have to find your own way of recording EVP. What I believe is that it is the love between two souls that is the key to open the door between the two dimensions to allow the communication. At least that is the way it is for my love, Christine and me. I also read most, if not all the things on the ATransC web- site. It has been very helpful. I use an Olympus digital voice recorder on No. 3 setting. I know it may sound silly, but the best way for me to record messages from Chris is to put the recorder in my glass case, close it, and put my hand on top of it. Trial and error, that’s what’s best for the communication! Volume 32, Number 1 Page 12 Continued from page 4 Love Goes On Forever but clearly was not himself. I brought him to the vet and left him there for tests. That afternoon just as I was finishing up with my last client, our vet called with the grave news. Moose had a baseball-sized tumor on one lobe of his liver. It was too large to fully see on ultrasound but it was clearly extensive in size. Because he had lost ten pounds since his last appointment six months earlier, it was likely that the tumor had spread and was stealing his calories for

its growth. I packed up my briefcase and headed for the vet’s. My heart ached in my chest, but I was strangely calm; feeling like Moose and I had reached that narrowing in the road that we been had knew coming. For months I had been telling him to “live as long as you can, as well as you can, and when you have done that, if I need to I will see you through to a gentle end.” He had clearly kept his end of the bargain. Now it was up to me to keep mine. I arrived into the quiet dim lit room and there was my guy. Greeting me the same way he had for the past ten years; tail wagging and kisses galore. We were left alone for a bit and as he quieted and nudged his way onto my lap as usual I just held him and said what I had been saying for months. I cannot tell you how the familiarity of the words soothed me. We had been talking about and getting ready for this moment for a while. As our time together ticked down, I took Moose’s big head in my hands and said these words to him. “When you get there, make the lights in our house blink so we know. You’ll be pure energy so it will be easy to do. We will watch for you.” As that old body leaned into me for the last time, I pushed my

love up against it just as hard. I imagined two waves of love crashing against one another and erupting into a pure white light that would go on forever. I arrived home with red puffy eyes to my husband and three kids who all looked the exact same way. I told them about my request of Moose and asked everyone to watch for a flickering light in our home. Dinner passed and no flickers. Homework got done, and bed time approached and nothing. I was unruffled. I knew this part of the game all too well and over my many years of working with the dying, I had seen time and again how energy can pass through energy and create an observable blip as a sign. At 8:30 p.m. my twenty-one-year-old son walked into the room with a wide smile on his face. The words he spoke next explained why. A few minutes before this, he walked into his bedroom, and when he turned on the light switch all three light bulbs in the fixture had blown out simultane- ously. As he spoke these words, in my mind’s eye, just as before, I saw two waves traveling at epic speed toward one another, but this time one wave was in this world and the other in the next. Those waves crashed together hard, exploding into the pure white light of love. A light fixture in our home may have gone dark that night, but the light it left our family

with is one we will carry for the rest of our lives. It reminded us that Moose’s fur suit was gone, but the guy we loved goes on forever. Indeed, love goes on forever. Continued from page 8 Why Fear Death? You can connect with your immortal self through medita- tion, deep relaxation, self-hypnotism or lucid dreaming. Help for working with these techniques is readily available. Then again, you can meet immortality face-to-face through an afterlife encounter. Communicating with people on the other side is an exceptionally common experience. And it can easily be learned. It requires only heartfelt desire and honest emotion. Without realizing it, we are all in commu- nication with the afterlife anyway, in our thoughts, in our prayers and in our dreams. But since we have been taught that after-death communication is pure fantasy or the work of the devil, we dismiss instances when those immortals are indeed trying to reach us. The impact of an afterlife encounter never diminishes. It stands as a turning point from fear and uncertainty to awe and profound conviction that life never ends. Death is not the problem with our world. Fear is. Julia Assante, PhD is the author of The Last Frontier: Exploring the Afterlife and Transforming Our Fear of Death. She is an established social historian of the ancient Near East and has been an active profes- sional intuitive and medium for over three decades. Visit her online at juliaassante.com. This essay is based on the book, The

Last Frontier, by Julia Assante. Published with permission of New World Library, newworldlibrary.com Page 13 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Do You Hear What I Hear? A Second Study of EVP Interpretation by Mark Leary, Ph.D. In the previous issue of the NewsJournal (Winter 2013), I described a research study that examined the problem of EVP interpretation. As all EVP enthusiasts know, people often disagree over how particular EVP should be inter- preted, and we were interested in documenting how serious the problem really is. In that study, 24 investigators each interpreted a large set of EVP, and the most common or “consensus” interpretation of each EVP was deter- mined. Then, the individual investi- gators’ interpretations of the EVP were compared to the consensus interpretations to see how well they agreed. The results showed that, on average, only 21% of the investiga- tors’ interpretations of particular words agreed with the consensus interpretation. To put this finding in perspective, imagine that your family doctor arrived at the same diagnosis as most other doctors on only 1 out of 5 of their diagnoses. Such a low rate of agreement would obviously raise serious issues about medical diagnoses, and similar issues must be addressed about EVP interpretations. In this article, I describe a second study that was conducted to answer additional questions about EVP interpretation. This study, which was partly funded by a grant from the Association TransCommunication to the Rhine Research Center, exam- ined EVP that were recorded using radio-sweep technol- ogy.

Radio-sweep technology, often known as "ghost boxes" or "spirit boxes,” involves rapidly changing the tuning of a radio receiver to produce a stream of noise that is composed of bits of sound from the stations that are being scanned. Advocates of this technique believe that communicating entities use the snippets of sound to produce words. Many investigators suggest that EVP that are recorded with radio sweep are more distinct than those recorded without background noise. However, critics note that the noise source itself sometimes contains words or other sounds that might be interpreted as intelligent communication. In any case, we were interested in whether the low rate of agreement found in the earlier study of EVP that were recorded without a sound source is also found with radio-sweep EVP. A second goal of the study was to examine how people’s interpretations of EVP are affected by knowing what other people heard. EVP enthusiasts know that people’s inter- pretations of EVP can be influenced by what other people say they hear. For that reason, some investigators do not share their personal interpretations until others have listened and come to their own, independent conclusions. But exactly how much are listeners’ interpretations biased when they know what other people think an EVP says? And does this biasing effect depend on whose interpreta- tion is known? Often, listeners tend to give the interpretation offered by the investigator who recorded the EVP special attention, possibly because listeners assume that the original investigator has listened carefully

many times before render- ing an interpretation and is aware of the conditions under which it was recorded. If so, listeners may be particularly affected by knowing the interpretation of the person who recorded the EVP. To examine the biasing effects of knowing other peo- ple’s interpretations, we had people listen to EVP after learning what others thought they said and had other people interpret EVP without knowing others’ interpretations. The Study To obtain a set of EVP for the study, an announcement was posted on the ATransC website and published in the NewsJournal asking investigators to submit radio-sweep EVP that the investigator believed contained an anomalous or ethereal voice. We also asked the submitting investiga- tors to indicate what they thought the EVP said. Nineteen EVP were submitted, of which we selected 12 audio clips for the study. If an investigator’s statement or question preceded the clip, it was removed so that each clip contained only the EVP with a few seconds of radio- sweep noise before and after when possible. These 12 EVP varied in length from a one-syllable word to eight words (containing 11 syllables). Before we started the study, a pair of experienced paranormal investigators provided their independent interpretations of each EVP. We used these interpretations to see whether people’s interpretations agreed more with the original investigators’ interpretations than the “second- ary interpretations” provided by these other investigators. Continued page 15 This is a Minibox by Paranormal Systems, Inc. (2007). It is basically a radio equipped

with a tuner that automatically sweeps the dial. The sweep is continuous and the rate is variable. See the ATransC endnote. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 14 EVP Interpretation Continued from page 14 The original investigators’ interpretations of the 12 EVP contained a total of 55 syllables and 46 words. The second- ary interpretations by the other investigators contained 63 syllables and 53 words. The original and secondary inter- pretations not only contained different numbers of sylla- bles and words, but the secondary interpretations agreed with the investigators’ interpretations on only 4 words (8.7%). Ninety adults were recruited to participate in the study. The participants were 23 men and 61 women who ranged in age from 18 to 81 (average age was 46.5). Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore supervised the data collection, which occurred in a laboratory at either the Rhine Research Center or the University of West Georgia. After each participant completed a background question- naire, he or she was randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. These experimental conditions differed in whether participants received an interpretation of each EVP before listening to it. Participants in the no-interpretation condition simply wrote down their inter- pretations on a form that we provided, one EVP per page. Participants in a second condition saw the investigator’s interpretation of the EVP at the top of each page of the form before interpreting the EVP. Participants in a third condition saw the secondary interpretation (made by the other two investigators) at the top of each

page. By having participants listen to the EVP under three different condi- tions (no interpretation, investigator’s interpretation, or secondary interpretation), we could examine the degree to which knowing others’ interpretations affected what participants reported they heard. Participants listened to each of the 12 EVP clips through headphones in a quiet research room and wrote down their interpretations. Participants listened to each EVP as many times as needed to decide what the words might be. Agreement with the Investigator’s and Secondary Interpretations In deciding whether particular syllables and words in the participant’s interpretation matched the syllables and words in the investigator’s and secondary interpretation, we leaned in the direction of leniency. For example, singular and plural forms of a word were counted as a match (Richard/Richards), contractions were counted as a match with their constituent words (“don’t” and “do not” were counted as a match), and homonyms were counted as a match (weight/wait, their/there, hire/higher). Also, a particular word did not have to appear in the same position in the participant’s interpretation as in the investigator’s or secondary interpretation. For example, “book” would be counted as a match in “now take the book away” and “he should write the book today” even though book is the fourth syllable of the first phrase and the fifth syllable of the second. The primary question was how many of the words in the investigators’ and secondary interpretations participants heard. Did participants hear the same things as the investigators? The answer depends on whether partici-

pants saw an interpretation of an EVP before they inter- preted it. When participants did not see any interpretation before listening to the EVP, they agreed with the investigator’s interpretation on only about 6% of the words (and 10% of the syllables) and with the secondary interpretations on about 8% of the words (10% of the syllables). More discouragingly, among participants who did not learn any interpretations before hearing the EVP, only one partici- pant interpreted an EVP precisely in the same way as the investigator who submitted it. That is, out of 360 interpretations in the no-interpretation condition of the study (30 participants × 12 EVP), only one perfectly matched what the investigator reported. This is obviously a rather low level of agreement. Of course, agreement differed across the 12 EVP. On the EVP with the greatest agreement, only one participant failed to match at least one word in the investigator’s interpretation. But on the EVP with the least agreement, not a single participant agreed with the investigator’s interpretation! Agreement also differed across participants. In the absence of knowing the interpretation, the “worst” partic- ipant agreed with only 2% of the investigators’ words, and the “best” participant agreed with 14% of the words. Knowing the investigators’ or secondary interpretations improved agreement markedly. Participants who had seen the investigators’ interpretations reported an average of 23% of the words and 23% of the syllables in those interpretations. After seeing the secondary interpreta- tions, participants’ interpretations matched 27% of the words and

25% of the syllables in those interpretations. Thus, knowing how other people interpreted an EVP strongly influenced what participants said they heard. Implications Although the results of this study say nothing whatsoever about the nature of EVP, they raise questions about the degree to which we can trust interpretations of most EVP. I imagine that some investigators will find these results exceptionally discouraging. Most EVP enthusiasts are quite aware that people’s interpretations of particular EVP often disagree, sometimes wildly, but the extent of the problem may be more sobering than many imagine. Other investigators may object that the situation is not as dire as the data suggest. For example, some may object that most of the participants in this study were not expe- rienced with recording or interpreting EVP and, thus, the data may say little about the Continued page 16 Page 15 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Continued from page 15 EVP Interpretation quality of EVP interpretations by experienced investigators. Yet, as noted, the two experienced investigators who provided the secondary interpretations agreed with the investigators’ interpretations on only 11.5% of the words. And the fact that participants who were trying to identify the words in the recordings under controlled circumstances heard only about 6% of the same words as the investigators should give us pause. In many instances, these disagreements have no practical implications. If investigators on a paranormal investigation of a public location don’t agree on their interpretation of a particular EVP, often no harm is done.

However, in cases where other people have a stake in the interpretation—as when grieving parents believe that an EVP is the voice of a deceased child—then interpretations matter a great deal. Like the earlier study, this experiment suggests that inves- tigators should be more cautious in interpreting EVP for other people when the interpretations matter. With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motivation, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people's concerns with their social images, and the relationship between personality and behav- ior. He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” Editor: This is the second of three articles by Mark resulting from his study of EVP. The Summer issue of the ATransC NewsJournal will include his third article concerning the perception of EVP. For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article “EVP Online Listening Trials” in the ATransC online Journal at atransc.org/journal/online_listening_trials.htm “Radio-sweep” is a generic name for EVP thought to be formed using sound produced by sweeping a radio dial. In principle, it produces a form of EVP referred to as “opportunistic EVP.” Please review “Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives” (atransc.org/journal/false_positives.htm) and Radio-Sweep: A Case Study (atransc.org/journal/radiosweep_study.htm). Also see the article on page 9: “A

Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP.” Big Circle Recording Dates People join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. local time to contact loved ones via EVP. April 11 and 25, May 9 and 23, June 6 and 20 and July 4 and 18 You can send your results to Tom and Lisa at [email protected] , but we also encourage you to share your results in the Idea Exchange. Be sure to post any names you record. Using Live Voice Input Files Several members in the Idea Exchange have been using recordings of foreign language as background sound for EVP sessions. What we refer to as “live voice” is not understandable to our English-trained ears so there seemed to be little danger of mistaking the input speech for EVP. Well, … that is the theory. We used the same foreign-language input file for the Big Circle recording sessions over six months. This gave us ample opportunity to test the technique. What we found has been a real eye-opener. Both of us recorded and nearly every utterance one of us identified as an EVP could be found on the other person’s recording and the original sound file. Each session, we played the foreign-language sound with a Sony ICD-B26 and recorded with a pair of Panasonic RR-DR60s placed about two feet away from the Sony. The only other sound in the meditation room we used is the normal, ambient sounds one would expect from a closed room

with no forced air movement. Lisa typically turns off the Sony while we ask a question and then turns it back on while we seek a reply. DR60s are always in VOX mode. The input file includes both male and female voice, making it easy for us to locate segments to compare. Because we did identify a few utterances in the input file that sounded a lot like English, we began comparing the two output sound files to see if any suspected EVP were in both. As it turned out, the majority were. The current best practice for field recording is to use two recorders and discard anything found in both recording processes. (See: Atransc.org/bp/Collective) This is a good practice because it is well established that EVP occurs in one analog segment so that two recorders will not “nor- mally” record the same EVP. EVP does occur as a transformation of the foreign language into English words, but based on our study, naturally occurring sounds in the foreign language are too often mistaken as English. This is enough of a problem to warrant recommending that, when using live voice, two recorders should be used and both output files examined to assure suspected EVP are only in one of the files. This recommendation applies to all forms of live voice including recording with EVPmaker, radio-sweep, and of course, foreign language speech. The opportunistic pres- ence of English sounding words does not automatically mean transcommunication. This is especially true of short utterances,

for instance, “yes” and “help.” The best practice for using a control recorder will be updated in the Collective forum and a new one for live voice will be started. These practices are considered “living documents,” and will evolve as we learn. You are invited to help us develop these and similar articles. Your view- point is important and may help many others as a practice. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 16 The Visual ITC of Phyllis Delduque We have reported on Phyllis’ work with visual ITC on a number of occasions. She is an excellent instrumental medium, and because of her high degree of confidence in producing phenomena, she has been able to produce a number of important innovative techniques. Phyllis is in the upper-left frame. Upper-center, she is holding the plastic film in front of her. Upper-right, she has moved closer to the camera. The ITC feature begins to emerge in the upper-right frame through the bottom frames, left-to-right. For the example shown here, Phyllis used a video camera on a tripod. She adjusted the camera to produce a high- contrast image and held a thick, transparent sheet of material between herself and the camera. (Take care to situate the camera to minimize glare in the resulting video.) Phyllis sat in front of the camera as the subject and held the plastic between herself and the camera lens while she recorded for about two seconds. She told us to always look straight into the camera lens during the

session and record for around two seconds per session. The only movement we will want is perhaps to move closer and farther away from the lens, always with the plastic in front of you. Use a video manager program to review the resulting video. Since she publishes on the Internet with WordPress, Phyllis uses the "Smart Video Plus” plugin for WordPress. Grab the individual frames that appear to have some “extra” interest. Only one phenomenal feature was found amongst the more than 400 frames from this session. There are similar- ities between Phyllis and the the ITC image of the young lady, but there are no physical artifacts that would cause her features to be thus rotated and the neck covering removed. Phyllis told us that the face seemed to form out of her face in the video. The upper-right frame shows the begin- ning of the emergence sequence and the lower three represent the rest of the sequence. See: transcomunicacaotci.yolasite.com and transcomunicaoinstrumental.blogspot.com.br for more examples. [Editor: The plastic appears to be something like thick Mylar plastic film. Holding that in front of you (notice Phyllis’ out- stretched arms) will not keep it perfectly flat. It is natural for ambient light to be reflected in an uneven pattern, and for there to be some movement in that reflected light. The reflected light (optical noise) is evident in the top-center and top-right frames. In effect, this is a novel way of producing optical noise which is useful for ITC formation. The

sitter’s involvement–holding the plastic, concentrating on the camera and a likely desire to make contact will all contribute to the intentionality to communicate. As usual, we are interested in hearing in the Idea Exchange from others who might try this easy-to-use technique.] Stephan A. Schwartz - Remote Viewing Stephan A. Schwartz is part of the small group that founded modern remote viewing research, and is the principal researcher studying the use of remote viewing in archae- ology. Using remote viewing he discovered Cleopatra’s Palace, Marc Antony’s Timonium, ruins of the Lighthouse of Pharos, and sunken ships along the California coast and in the Baha- mas. Schwartz also uses remote viewing to examine the future and is inter- ested in other experimental study including research into creativity, meditation, therapeutic and intent/healing. He has produced and written a number of television docu- mentaries, and has written four books. His website, stephanaschwartz.com, contains an extensive bibliography on remote viewing as well as details of his experiments with applied remote viewing. Schwartz offers a four-CD set titled Through Time and Space: The Remote Viewing CD Set. According to the website, “These experiential CDs utilize laboratory-proven Remote Viewing techniques to take you on voyages through time and space. They let you experience your own inner resources in ways that can profoundly affect your sense of what is possible….” The Remote Viewing CD has the most comprehensive explanation of what remote viewing is, as well as the most techniques for using it in various settings. Larger

Members Only Area A big change for ATransC.org: Selected pages will require membership to be viewed. You will be updated by email but if you encounter a sign in screen, use the same name and beginning password used for the Idea Exchange. Page 17 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVP Researcher Clara Laughlin Celebration of Life Clara Laughlin Longtime member Clara Laughlin made her transition on January 9th, just days after celebrating her 88th birthday. Her daughter Barbara Fortner wrote, “My mother lived what I would call a normal childhood, growing up in Columbus, Ohio and Knoxville, Tennessee. At seventeen, she left home and joined the Civil Service heading to Europe. She worked in personnel as well as the hospital morgue meeting all sorts of people from every direction. She met my father, the love of her life, in Frankfurt, Germany, and from there, they lived what I call a very glamorous life even though surrounded by war. They traveled the world several times, lived not only in France and Germany but Japan as well. My father relied on my mother as a true partner. She was an amazing wife, mother and as she would like to call it: researcher. When my father passed in 1981, we were devastated. She already believed in life-after-death and was a member of the Spiritualist Church when she found out about Sarah Estep and EVP. The taping began, voices started coming through and she never looked back.” If you have read “There is No

Death” written by Tom and me, you will know that Clara and her EVP messages were mentioned many times in the book. Clara was a dedicated member of the American Association Electronic Voice Phenomena and a good friend of its founder, Sarah Estep. The first voice Clara recorded was a simple, “Hello.” But contact had been made and both her husband and a Dr. William Callie became consistent transcommunicators. Important early messages that she received from husband Tom were; “Nothing has changed,” “It isn’t over yet” and “I continue to live, this is the truth.” We are comforted that she is now happily with husband Tom. We are also sure that Sarah Estep was there to greet her along with other friends and charter members of the AA-EVP. Her daughter Barbara wrote, “I’m so glad that Momma is right where she wants to be surrounded by all of her loved-ones!” News About Members Michael Tymn has a new book out titled Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the After- life. The book reveals how pro- foundly evidential Mrs. Piper's mediumship was. Michael says that he believes that the scientific research done with Mrs. Piper can help some people move from blind faith in life after death to true faith. And he hopes the book can move a few open-minded people who have no faith at all to at least consider the possibility that there is a much larger life than this one. The book is available at Amazon in paperback

or Kindle editions. Also see Michael’s blog at whitecrowbooks.com/michaeltymn Ann Harrison is Production Editor of the ITC Journal itcjournal.org. She is also the dedicated worker behind Saturday Night Press Pub- lications (SNPP). Saturday Night Press has released many books of interest to our readers such as Life After Death: Living Proof, Stewart Alexander, An Extraordinary Journey and Alec Harris: The full story of his remarkable physical mediumship. Ann wrote that her latest reprint, No Time to Die, is a wonderful story about a man, who through helping Jews in Holland, finished up in a concentration camp, survived the Death March at the end of the war and went on to be a good spiritual healer in the UK. For information on this and other SNPP books see snppbooks.com Examples of Transform EVP: Input and Output Files We are seeking examples of transform EVP that can be compared to the input file. The ideal examples would be one that several people correctly hear and understand, from a session in which two recorders were used. The example should be accompanied by the same segment in a second recording either made at the same time or from the input or source file for background noise. See: atransc.org/research/compare_transform.htm for more information. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Please remember to send your EVP/ITC results and experiences to Lisa at [email protected] Because of low participation on the ATransC Idea Exchange, we are including more results received via the website. These items are identified

with just the person’s first name or initials although some members also do not wish to share their full name. We can not vouch for information coming through the website. Shannon Adams told us that, “My son Adam and baby Tyler were killed by another vehicle speeding 85-miles-an-hour on a 25-mile-an-hour curve. Both were killed instantly.” Shannon says that she has received hundreds of clear EVP since their transitions. Four dogs: Light-reflected-from-crystal ITC by Margaret Downey, 2013©, ITCdeadpeople.com Margaret Downey conducted a crystal photography session using her iPhone with an Olloclip 3-in-1 lens purchased from Amazon.com. She wrote, “I was using a citrine quartz crystal. I saw these four dogs as I was going through the crystal photos.” Ernesto H wrote that he has gotten many clear messages from his loved one, Rudy. He wrote, “There’s got to be an afterlife after all. On Christmas Day, I asked Rudy what day it was and the EVP message in his voice said ‘Christmas.’ I asked him what the cartoon on the Christmas gift I gave him was and he responded, ‘Snoopy!’ I made a recording at exactly midnight on New Years and said, ‘Happy New Year, Pito’ (that was the nickname I called him). You can hear him say ‘Happy Happy New Year’” Sharon Ginnever told us that she believes her son Kyle guided her to the Association. She wrote, “It’s so exciting to be able to discuss my EVP with people who believe! I’ve quickly learned not to discuss my

messages with family and friends. I thought everyone would be as excited about the messages as my husband and I are, but that’s not the case.” Kyle died in a freak accident when he was away at college and Sharon is hoping to improve her contact with him. She also wants to know about any messages members may have gotten from anyone named Kyle. Jutta Liebmann has been able to identify a regular spirit communicator. His name is withheld at this time, as he has family on this side and only crossed over about ten years ago. She received a message that said, “We thank you very much for contacting us,” and then this man’s first and last name was spoken very clearly. Next came the message “There is a bridge.” Jutta has been able to verify with him information she found on the Internet. She has also verified that he knows EVP experimenter Franz Seidl from Vienna, Austria. This man was a technology innovator and an ardent ham operator. Jutta is very excited about this communication and wishes that she could be more open about it. She is using the Spirit Box P-SB7 Margareth sent us a message that she is from Brazil and has studied EVP since 2007: “I managed to contact a possible communication station called Radio Time.” Allison Sniffin wrote, “Several new messages were on my mom’s answering machine this week. Four of them may be EVP calls. They were left between December 28 (my last

visit to her house) and January 28 … Caller ID registered a relatively high number of calls placed from “Unknown Caller” this time there were 4 out of 9 calls. Other messages were from a computer company I use and from telemarketers. I hear something like voice in these short messages, slightly nasal. A month after Mom died and I had been on tour in England, I returned to my apartment to find some twenty- five clicks/hang-ups on my answering machine. I dismissed them (wrong numbers, I thought) and deleted the mes- sages. In the months before Mom died, I’d started to get these types of messages too, and during my phone conver- sations from the apartment in Brooklyn, I was starting to hear cab drivers—or so I thought they were—breaking through on the line. In retrospect I wonder if a wall between realms was coming down. Now I don’t delete anything, even if I don’t understand it or if it’s very short” Paula wrote to us that she paints in watercolors. She shared an experience regarding a paranormal image that appeared on a piece of paper that she was using for color testing. She said, “All of a sudden I saw the image of a man, in black and white, holding a book. The image was differ- ent–it didn’t look like the paint, it looked like a real black and white image of a man. I had been studying Arthur Ford’s book, Nothing so Strange, and I thought about

him.” Page 19 Spring 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Kai Muegge Physical Séance Reservation and Payment Form Association TransCommunication is sponsoring a demon- stration of physical mediumship by Kai Muegge of the Felix Experimental Group, Germany. Kai is an internationally known physical medium and perhaps the only living medium publicly demonstrating ectoplasm and ectoplas- mic forms in lighted conditions. (See “Ectoplasm With Embedded Faces” on page 10.) This is a rare opportunity for people to experi- ence one of the most difficult forms of mediumship and proof that we are more than our physical bodies. There will be three séances conducted in Reno, Nevada: Wednesday, August 21, Friday August 23 and Sunday August 25. (The August 23 session is expected to be booked as this NewsJournal is published. Email us to find out.) All séances begin at 6:30 p.m. and may continue until after 11:00 p.m. The séance room is just a short drive from downtown Reno. You will be responsible for your transpor- tation, food and lodging. Attendance is $150 due at the time of registration. There are only twenty seats left, so do not delay! Please send a check made out to ATransC with this form and a copy of your photo ID to ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. A schedule of available seating will be maintained by Tom and Lisa Butler. They will coordinate with you after receiv- ing this form. (You may white out any identifying numbers on your ID, if you wish.) No refunds

unless your seat can be filled. Admission may only be transferred with approval of Tom and Lisa Butler. Interview An important concern is the medium’s safety and that of other sitters, so you will be asked to receive a telephone call from the Butlers, during which they will ask a few questions to gain a sense of your experience with these phenomena and how open you are to new experiences. The ATransC must vouch for you to Kai, so please indicate with your signature below, your agree- ment to this and that you understand the need to maintain an open mind and a positive attitude during the séance. A photo ID will be required for admission the evening of the séance. Ectoplasm is known to be potentially harmful to the medium and even to sitters if it is unexpected disrupted. Séances are conducted in total darkness with occasional short periods in which a red light is turned on for demonstration. Sitters are asked to sit in a small, totally dark room, close to other sitters for possibly two hours. Please let us know if this is a problem for you. Further Information We have sat with Kai twice now. Our report of the first séance was in the Fall 2010 (29-3) ATransC NewsJournal. You can download that issue from the Idea Exchange Archive. That report, as well as one by Ken Sahari is also under the Physical Phenomena tab of Atransc.org. Ectoplasmic hand near Kai’s shoe Indicate in numerical order

your session preferences Séance Registration Form Wednesday August 21 Friday August 23 Sunday August 25 (Please provide this form for each member of your party.) Name Address City, State & Zip Code Email Address Phone Number Agreement The ATransC must vouch for you to Kai, so please indicate with your signature below, your agreement to a phone interview and that you understand the need to maintain an open mind and a positive attitude during the séance. Signed Date Please send your check for $150.00 made out to ATransC and a copy of your photo ID with this form to ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. Volume 32, Number 1 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Summer 2013, Volume 32 Number 2 Lest We Forget From the Technology, Entertainment and Design organiza- tion (TED) website: “The goal of the foundation is to foster the spread of great ideas. It aims to provide a platform for the world's smartest thinkers, greatest visionaries and most-inspiring teachers, so that millions of people can gain a better understanding of the biggest issues faced by the world, and a desire to help create a better future. Core to this goal is a belief that there is no greater force for changing the world than a powerful idea.” (ted.com). To accomplish this goal, TED sponsors conferences at which “…the world's smartest think- ers, greatest visionaries and most-inspiring teachers…” are invited to speak. Videos of the talks are widely distributed

via the Internet and have been viewed by more than a billion people. No one can fault TED’s high ideals, yet some of the most important scientists in psi phenomena research have been outright banned from participation in public events spon- sored by TED. In one very public flap, Rupert Sheldrake and Graham Hancock had actually made presentations at a TED sponsored event, but the video of their talks was later removed from the TED website when two of TED’s “science advisors,” atheists Jerry Coyne and PZ Myers, complained. There is no avoiding the conclusion that TED’s policy is suppression of ideas concerned with psi phenomena. In fact, suppression of frontier ideas is very common. If you have read the writings of parapsychologists, main- stream scientists who have “stumbled” into psi and survival research and citizen scientists like us, you will have noted that, sooner or later, each has written about skeptics. The skeptics have had huge success in convincing mainstream society, especially scientists and government officials, about the evils of what they have branded “pseudosci- ence,” which for us is anything associated with psi func- tioning and survival of consciousness. Informing the Public You are the public. However, you probably have taken one step further in your progression than the average person by opening your mind to the possibility of the etheric, psi and survival. Think of how important it was to you that first time you came across information indicating that perhaps there was life after death. Or

that there were more possibil- ities to the afterlife then hell- fire and brimstone or a boring heaven with harps and golden streets. Do you remember when you found that there was actual science behind the belief in extra sensory perception (ESP) or precognition? Informa- tion is everything and there is an organized effort in our society to suppress the kind of information that may have helped you open your eyes to the fact of a greater reality. There was a note in the last issue of this NewsJournal that we were going to reserve portions of the website for members . Since then, we have set aside many articles with a public introduction and a “Read More” link to a page accessible only to members. The reason for the members’ area was to improve member benefits, but in doing so, we have realized that we were actually doing the skeptics’ work for them. After reading about TED’s censorship, we realized that, while a members only area might help increase membership, it also defeated the purpose of the website. So if you have wondered what happened to the members’ area, we opened it to the public. It is better that more people have the opportunity to learn about those things mainstream society seems to fear. We serve over 800 visitors a day. Perhaps a few people will find that bit of information that opens their mind to the possibility of a greater reality. Of course, the Idea Exchange remains a

members’ only area and a good place to seek information. Our answers to your questions there may help many other members. Tom and Lisa Lake Tahoe by Pam Ponsart, etsy.com/shop/pamsfabphotos Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................................1 Margaret.......................................................................................................................................3 Self-guided Afterlife Connections................................................................................................4 The Energy Profile of Transform EVP...........................................................................................6 Big Circle Recording Dates.........................................................................................................11 Stewart Alexander’s Home Circle: A Visitor’s Point of View.....................................................12 Dreams.......................................................................................................................................12 Life After Death: Why the Growing Interest?............................................................................13 Research Grants.........................................................................................................................14 Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenomena.................................................15 An Audio Anticipation Test........................................................................................................17 Thoughts From Members...........................................................................................................18 Annette Childs............................................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 Forever Family Foundation Conference.....................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 425 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief

which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announce- ments of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunica- tion, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Associa- tion forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler are welcome. submission Email Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Proofreader: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler The ATransC attempts to assure the veracity of material presented in this publication; however, understanding of these phenomena continues to change and the reader should practice discernment here as with all information about these phenomena. Volume 32, Number 2 Page 2 Summer 2013 Patron

Richard Adams Tim Klein Becky Estep Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Tim Klein Margaret Downey Kim Duncan Harold Watson Supporters Donna Cunha Phil Martin Felipe Stoker Sarah Estep Research Fund Giorgio Cabrera Anonymous SERF Donor Margaret by Tricia Reed Margaret and Alvin My ex-mother-in-law, Margaret, passed this morning in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I grew up. She was ninety, with Alzheimer’s, barely coherent; drugged.... She is one of the closest persons to me with whom I have experienced a passing. I started dating her son when I was fif- teen, and she was/is a very dear mother to me. We have had little contact in the past many years since she has had Alzheimer’s, and although she and I stayed close through my divorce in 1985, the rest of her family is not fond of me. It’s really irrelevant that I have not seen her in so many years. In my heart she is my mother, and she is the grandmother of my older daughter. Margaret had deteriorated even more over these past few months, so I have been picturing her and visiting with her in my mind to send her healing. My niece in Cincinnati told my daughter that, as Margaret had become less coherent, there had been times that she called my daughter and me by name, and has had conver- sations with us as if we were there. Margaret really was a devoted mother and grandmother with five kids, eight grandkids and three great-grandkids. She was

very interested and involved as she could be in all of our lives. She was intelli- gent and worldly-wise but lived from her heart. She was ready with advice but respectful and not pushy. She loved to have us in her home to cook for and nurture. My daughter April’s favorite memories are sleepovers at Grandma’s house with the cousins. Margaret lived for her family, always patient, always kind. She so loved all her babies. She and her husband drove five hours the day my daughter was born; couldn’t wait to see and hold her. Margaret with April It was one of her greatest heartaches in life the way her family treated my daughter and me. She was/is such a kind, loving and caring woman; always. So when I heard she had passed this morning, I was so happy for her to be free. I looked up at the brilliant white clouds and imagined her spirit playing in the sky. I live nestled in the hills, and every day nature presents a most beautiful scene as I am outside tending animals. I have been playing with being still and blending energy with nature, exchanging gratitude, soaking up the beauty and asking for help. This evening, it was extra spectacular outside with the mist weaving in and out of the hills. I went in to get my camera to take pictures of it. Along with this I was thinking of Marga- ret, getting quiet and feeling the well of gratitude I

have for her, appreciating the love and kindness that she brought to the world, asking for her to come visit me and picturing her especially enjoying my daughter as a baby. It turned out that it was too dark to see the mist in the hills, the pictures are very fuzzy in that respect but something else came through. I believe it was a sign from Margaret; a type of communication. I took three pictures in quick succes- sion. The first and third just show the fuzzy hills (third not shown). But the middle picture is amazing. There is a white overshadow ... I don’t care what anybody else sees. I see an outline of the Madonna holding the baby Jesus - like Margaret is a mother to me, and my picture of her loving my baby girl. I feel like reality is suspended. I looked again and again at the photo. Maybe because it is the holiday season I was thinking Mary and baby Jesus, but now I am seeing it as me and my baby April. I have always had long hair. Maybe this was a picture that Margaret held dear in her heart. Contrast enhanced for clarity Page 3 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Self-guided Afterlife Connections by R. Craig Hogan, Ph.D. [Editor: The Self-guided Afterlife Connections procedure was developed by the Center for Spiritual Understanding. It is designed to teach a person to enter a state of awareness shown to enable communication with loved ones on

the other side. The technique involves the use of an audio program which guides the person into the desired self-hypnotic state which can be returned to at will without further aid of the training material.] Background of the Procedure Since 1995, people have been experiencing their own mental afterlife connections by having psychotherapists guide them into a state of mind in which the connections occur. The psychotherapists are using two pro- cedures: After-Death Communication1 and Guided Afterlife Connections.2 The psychotherapist helps the experiencer enter a special state of mind in which he or she is open to the afterlife connection. The success rate for the Induced After-Death Communications procedure is around 70%,3 while the success rate for the Guided Afterlife Con- nections procedure is 95% 4or more. Both procedures use a psychotherapy method called bilateral stimulation. Induced I co-authored books with the origina- tors of the two psychotherapy methods. With my understanding of how people enter the state of mind in which the afterlife connections occur, I resolved to develop a procedure that would allow people to have afterlife connections with loved ones without the aid of a facilitator, medium or psychotherapist. Unfortunately, the two procedures used by the psychother- apists are not suitable for self-guided connections because the psychotherapy method on which they are based (bilateral stimulation) affects the mind in such a way that repressed traumatic memories or unresolved psychological issues can surface, causing acute psychological difficulties for the experiencer. A state-licensed psychotherapist must be present to help

the person deal with any emerging traumatic memories. As a result, it might be dangerous to teach people how to use bilateral stimulation to bring themselves into the state of mind that allows the afterlife connection to occur. They might uncover traumatic mem- ories they are unable to deal with. However, I believed that it should be possible to help grieving people come into the state of mind produced by the two psychotherapy procedures using methods that would not open up traumatic memories. Based on my knowledge of the two procedures the psychotherapists are using, I realized that the experiencer must learn to enter a Volume 32, Number 2 Page 4 relaxed, open state of mind that allows the loved one to take control and make the connection. With my back- ground as a certified hypnotist, I surmised that a self- guided hypnotic trance should enable the experiencer to relax into allowing an afterlife connection. However, some training in how to allow natural unfoldment without interrupting or constraining the unfolding connection would be necessary. People normally manipulate and direct their mental experiences. They must learn how to relax into being an observer, without controlling the experience. The Self-guided Afterlife Connec- tions Procedure The result was development of the Self- guided Afterlife Connections procedure, which in its current form, is a free training program that is part of an ongoing research program. It is designed to help any grieving person have a connection with loved ones living in the afterlife without

the aid of a medium, facilitator or psychotherapist. The training results in the person being able to enter the state of mind at will, using a self-hypnosis tech- nique. If you choose to participant, you will be asked to go through all seven training stages, in the order in which they are presented, to learn the skills. You will be given a user name and password for each stage. That means you must complete Stage 1 to get the user name and password for Stage 2; then complete Stage 2 to get the user name and password for Stage 3; and, so on. When you finish Stage 7, you will receive a user name and password that will work for all of the stages so you can go through any stage as often as you wish. The procedure: 1. Log onto the website containing the link to the proce- dure at selfguided.spiritualunderstanding.org. 2. The procedure begins with two preliminary stages containing reading material about afterlife connec- tions. 3. When you are ready to go on to the third stage, you will be asked to put on a set of headphones to listen to the recordings of the procedure stages. The record- ings have spoken instructions and barely audible background music. This stage of the procedure is intended to train you to allow free, uninhibited un- foldment of whatever comes during the experience. You will learn to suspend control and relax as a pas- sive observer. Continued page 5 Rising on

Vilano Beach by James Watkins, flickr.com Continued from page 4 Self-guided 4. The fourth stage takes you into a hypnotic trance during which you are instructed to go to a place of great beauty filled with love. In that place of great beauty filled with love, there is a bright light that is the portal to the afterlife. You will be asked to step into the light and find your loved one there. You will be instructed to ask questions and wait patiently for responses to unfold. A period of twenty-five minutes of music follows with no further guidance so whatev- er unfolds can come naturally. If you have a connec- tion, you will be asked to go on to Stage 6. 5. If you did not have a connection in Stage 4, then performing the activities in Stage 5 will help you bet- ter understand and allow natural unfoldment. In this stage, you will be led into a hypnotic state and guided to begin a dialogue with your loved one, whether you believe the loved one is involved or not. If you are inhibiting the connection by controlling the experi- ence or by having high expectations that cannot be fulfilled, this stage will help you to relax into having a conversation that unfolds naturally. You will continue the dialogue, speaking or asking questions and allow- ing responses to unfold. A period of twenty-five min- utes of music follows to allow whatever unfolds to come naturally. 6. In Stage 6,

you are provided with background music, and asked to take yourself into a hypnotic trance using a short self-hypnosis script. By this stage, you will have learned to allow natural unfoldment of the messages without interrupting them and how to enter the hyp- notic trance through self-hypnosis. The only aid you will have is the meditation music. 7. Finally, in Stage 7, you are asked to take yourself into the hypnotic state with no music and no guidance. The purpose is to help you learn how to have a connection with your loved one at will, anytime. Results of the First Study of the Guided Afterlife Connections Procedure A study was performed to determine how many people are able to experience afterlife connections using the proce- dure. The study began on August 23, 2012, and continued until November 30, 2012. When the Center for Spiritual Understanding sent e-mail announcements that a self- guided afterlife connection procedure would be available for research subjects to use, thirty people signed up to go through the procedure. An additional fifteen people signed up during period of time the research was going on. Participants logged onto the web page containing the procedure and went through the seven stages of training and connection procedures on their own. They submitted journals describing their experiences after each stage. Of the twenty-two who completed the Stage 3 training session and at least one of the Stage 4 through 7 induction sessions, nineteen had afterlife connections, or 86%. Five participants

completed all seven of the stages and continued to have additional sessions. To date, one partic- ipant who continued to engage in connections has had over sixty connections. Example Excerpts from Participant Journals Example excerpts from participant journals follow. As part of the research design, participants agreed to allow excerpts from their journals to be included in reports such as this, with names omitted or changed. ~ Participant Journal Excerpt ~ Prior to this exercise, thoughts of my husband mostly brought me sadness. I did this exercise twice. The first time was a trial run, and I ended the exercise at the count of five. The second time, I found it to be so wonderful that I continued the exercise for an extra fifteen minutes, enjoy- ing the soothing guitar music. This was truly the first time that I found my sacred, quiet, love-filled place. I had been looking for this during prior meditations, but it all came together for me just now. I found the room in my parents' house where my husband, his mother and my parents and sons would gather for holidays, to be the warm, love-filled room where my loved ones who had passed were gath- ered. I hugged each one and smiled a lot. Then I opened the screen door and sat on the concrete steps with my husband, holding his hand and putting it up to my face. He did not say anything, and no one else did. I did all the talking, but

I felt a tremendous love and warmth. This was extremely healing, simply because thoughts of my husband now can make me smile and I can go there on my own now. It is truly bizarre that I could not do this before without breaking down. Now I can spend time with him, his mother and my father, while feeling love instead of the sadness I feel at their physical loss. ~ Participant Journal Excerpt ~ When I went through into the white light, it was blank for a while as I decided what image or setting I was going to create. I thought about the loving place I had just come from and invited my grandma for a quiet beer, but I didn’t need to worry as the garden scene from the previous session unfolded in front of me and there was my gran, looking in her late 30s; looking radiant. The garden was mainly an impression of one, but was very vibrant with lots of colors and Gran was picking big bunches of flowers and then she placed them gently on the ground and invited me to sit on the grass with her. I got a deep sense of the spaciousness of “over there”; the vastness, the feeling that it’s more real than here. I could see why people who cross over just want to get on with things as that is the more real aspect to their life. Page 5 Continued page 11 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal

The Energy Profile of Transform EVP by Tom Butler One of the first questions we faced in 2000 as new directors of the AA-EVP concerned how the paranormal voices of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are formed. Since any serious study of any phenomenon requires a theory describing the means of its formation, one of our first acts was to draft a theory for EVP formation. Early efforts to model EVP were confused by the different technologies being used to produce the phenomenal voices. Stefan Bion1 developed EVPmaker which depends on the psi influence on a random process to select prere- corded voice fragments to produce EVP. Frank Sumpton2 introduced radio-sweep, which depends on bits of fortu- itously occurring radio broadcast sounds to produce EVP. More recently, Bill Chappell3 developed devices for EVP that depend on environmental energy changes to select words or voice fragments to produce EVP. Ordinary audio recorders have been used since the discovery of EVP in 1959, and EVP examples produced by them are an often studied form of EVP. Listening panels consistently rate audio recorder EVP higher than those collected with other technologies.4 Since the examples collected with a recorder have been shown to be formed out of available background noise, they are referred to by ATransC as “transform EVP.” At the turn of the century, Alexander MacRae,5 Paolo Presi6 and Daniele Gullà7 were amongst the few people conducting studies of EVP using scientific methodology. Based on that early work, it was possible to compile a

list of common characteristics exhibited by EVP which is still used today.8 Functional Areas of a Recorder It may be useful to first have a picture of the functional areas of an audio recorder. In Figure 1, the left triangle represents the input amplifier for a typical digital voice recorder. Because the sound received from the environ- ment is necessarily analog, the input stage is also analog. The diagram equally applies to a computer being used as a recorder with microphone and speakers. Figure 2 shows the basic parts of all analog stages. Note the feedback loop used as a gain control. This circuit is designed to promote stability and signal quality. It often involves threshold limits that, like the squelch control for CB radio, is capable of introducing instability in the signal flow if not correctly designed. The Analog-to-Digital conversion process (A/D) is shown in Figure 3. Note in Figure 1 that the input amplifier is connected directly to the A/D stage, and that the output of the A/D is digital in the form of “binary words” which represent the amplitude of the signal and when in time that amplitude was measured. principle that information about a sine wave can be digi- tally stored and the wave can be later reproduced with only two samples. Voice is in the 5 Hz to 4 kHz range which can be reproduced with a sample rate of 8 kHz. This design approach also means that recorders can only record what can be

sampled. A digital voice recorder such as a Panasonic RR-DR60 with a sample rate of 8 Khz will only record up to 4 Khz sound. Music-quality recorders should have a sample rate of at least 44.4 Khz and record up to 22 Khz. In practical terms, the average digital recorder is incapable of recording audio that is outside of normal hearing. Note also in Figure 3 that the digital words representing each sample are pulses rather than an analog wave. Each “word” has start and stop pulses which allows the internal computer program to know where the word belongs in the sound stream. Any other digital word, say from a cell phone, cannot be confused with words in the recording device. What this means is that stray radio waves cannot be detected in the digital stage. It is possible for AM radio to be detected by the input amplifier and included in the conversion to digital; however. Continued page 7 Design of these components is usually based on the Volume 32, Number 2 Page 6 Transform EVP Continued from page 6 Active, Nonlinear Regions: A typical electronic circuit consists of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors. Of these, only transistors are used to amplify a signal; they are nonlinear devices, meaning that there may be a gain between the input and the output. The important point is that the region between the input and output where gain occurs is an energetically active region, meaning there is a dynamic change in

energy and not just the storage or loss of energy. This region may be where the telekinetic psi influence is able to produce changes in ambient noise to produce the voices of EVP. The presence of active regions is important because all of the theories for how EVP are formed depend on a nonlinear, active region. It is also important because the physical processes in these active regions are near quantum scale, which is the level of granularity that is possibly required for detection of psi influences. Single Point of EVP Injection: Evidence indicates that transform EVP are formed in a single channel of a recorder. For instance, when using a stereo recorder, the EVP will be found on only one side. When using many recorders at the same time, say in a group setting, the EVP will be found on only one of the recorders. This suggests that the informa- tion is “injected” into the circuit at a specific place … possibly in one of the potentially dozens of transistors in the typical input stage of a recorder. Transform EVP Characteristics Common characteristics of transform EVP provide insight about the nature of their formation: EVP Forms in Analog Circuits: As a general rule, once an EVP sound file is placed in digital memory, it is faithfully reproduced each time it is played. This indicates that EVP formation probably occurs somewhere between the input and the A/D conversion as shown in Figure 1. Ambient Noise: Evidence indicates that the voice

in EVP is formed from available audio-frequency sound. For instance, it is possible to produce layered EVP composed of elf-like voices formed from the high frequency sound of trickling water and more human sounding voices from the lower-frequency sound of a common household fan. Microphone Not Required: A microphone is not required if the recorder has sufficient internal noise; however, one is useful for introducing additional noise and making a record of the practitioner’s actions. Most Useful Sound for EVP Formation: Broad-spectrum audio-frequency sound with many transients (spikes or short pulses) appears to be more effective for voice formation than a steady-state signal with little change in amplitude, phase or frequency. See Figure 4. Cultural Influence of Content: There appears to be a cultural influence on EVP that is related to the practitio- ner’s beliefs or those of an interested observer. In view of this, there appears to be a similarity between coloring of mediumistic messages and EVP; both may share a common process. EVP are Objective: Blind listening panel tests average 20% to 25% correct understanding of multiple-syllables exam- ples. Questions of illusion, delusion, deception and the ordinary being mistaken as paranormal have been addressed and discarded under controlled conditions. EVP are Interactive: A question can be asked with the expectation of recording an answer which is appropriate for the circumstance. An important practical application of EVP is the potential to establish meaningful, continuing communication with a transitioned loved one. In such admittedly rare instances, gender, age and the

nature of unexpected information in the EVP can be agreed to by uninformed witnesses. EVP Are Intended Communication: Both the etheric com- municator and the practitioner’s attention is on the recorder during a session, and more specifically, on the microphone or “input” of the recorder. This understanding is reinforced by the fact that EVP are formed in one channel and possibly in one component. Transform EVP Hypothesis This hypothesis is based on the Trans-survival Hypothesis, which is further explained in the Cosmology Series of essays. These articles are available for review in the theory section of ATransC.org. Please contact us if you are unable to access the material online. (It is important to keep in mind that this is a proposed model designed to explain how EVP are formed. It requires vetting that can only come from you. Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions.) EVP are conceptual influences which produce objective effects. Any theory explaining their formation must neces- sarily address both the conceptual (etheric space) of the communication and the objective (physical space). With this in mind, the hypothesis is presented here in three parts: Morphic Field The term “morphic field” is suggested by the concept of “morphogenesis”; “-morphic” is a suffix meaning “having a specified shape or form.” “Fields” in this context are conceptualized as subtle energy regions of reality which organize the formation of objects of reality including life forms, physical objects and ideas; thought forms. A morphic field9 is a subtle energy field that

defines and causes the organization of component parts of an object into a unit. In biology, it is theorized that this is the guiding principle determining how cells form, each according to its unique purpose. For this to be possible, morphic fields must contain the rules Continued page 8 Page 7 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Figure 4 A: Poor background sound for EVP; B: Useful background sound for EVP; C: Amplitude of useful background sound compared to amplitude of an EVP. Transform EVP Continued from page 7 determining which of many possible outcomes will be expressed by biochemical processes for a specific life form but which are common to all living organisms. This selec- tion of possible outcomes may be comparable to the selection of audio characteristics for voice formation. Morphic fields are etheric rather than physical, and as such, represent the necessary interface between the etheric communica- tors and the physical recorder for EVP formation. Since they bring order to processes, they are the expression of the person’s inten- tion for the process to unfold. The fields also represent habit- ual behavior or collective memory of what they represent. In the context of EVP, this memory would tend to assure that the most common expression of something is the easiest. While the momentum of habit is the dominating influence, research indicates10 the expression of intention can and does change the field. In that way, the field “learns,” and once learned, if the result is successful, the influence of

the new “habit” is universally expressed in every instance of the field. In the same way, as EVP becomes easier in one location, it should become easier everywhere. Stochastic Amplification As objects of etheric space, morphic fields require a physical process to have a physical effect. Stochastic resonance11 is a physical process by which a weak signal is amplified in a nonlinear system when a large noise back- ground signal is applied. Since a common factor in many forms of trans-etheric influence is the presence of noise, it is speculated that a weak telekinetic influence (the signal) is made stronger via stochastic amplification. In electronic circuits, the active regions of tubes and transistors provide the necessary nonlinear condition for amplification. In this theory, a morphic field is thought to represent the weak psi signal, but rather than the signal containing explicit information such as “Hello,” it would contain influences on the stochastic process favoring the selection of audio-frequency energy required to say, “Hello.” Adaptive Materialization Some amount of order naturally occurs in noise, which results in a “bunchiness” in reality where one would expect an even distribution. This appears to be true at all scales Volume 32, Number 2 Page 8 and is likely due to small variations being amplified via stochastic resonance. EVP formation appears to be affected by this uneven distribution; the optimum back- ground noise for EVP has been shown to be broad-spec- trum audio-frequency sound punctuated by short spikes or sharp perturbations in the noise. The

words are formed out of the sound but the spikes appear to be useful to initiate the process. See Figure 4. the nature of EVP, it is evident that trans-etheric influences are ener- gy-limited phenomena. This natu- rally leads to the question of where the energy comes from in the first place. considering Especially Apports are an important class of objective phenomena. They are physical objects “found” in one part of the physical and trans- ported location, to another usually as a sign or gift. A commu- nicating entity is credited with control of the process, which in essence, is the dematerialization of a physical object, movement of the resulting conceptual informa- tion in etheric space and the materialization of the object in a new location. Apportation is spontaneous and seemingly impossible to study clinically, so little is known about possible ways it may manifest. However, there is evidence that the basic process is common to Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC). Some examples of paranormally produced photo- graphs of “the other side” resemble physical locations enough to bring accusations of fraud. Some examples of visual ITC look very much as if they are based on available photographs. In EVP, there are examples that appear to have been taken directly from existing sound files. A fundamental concept in the Trans-survival Hypothesis is that a physical person is necessary to provide the conduit through which an etheric influence is made physical. That would argue that the actual words in EVP, as physical objects, must

either already be in the physical or be formed via the practitioner–probably as a psi influence. From the perspective of energy efficiency, it may be more reasonable to hypothesize a form of “adaptive materialization” as the mechanism bringing the words to the EVP formation process. In that view, it might be simplest to find the required word somewhere in the physical and apport it to the transform process. This would seem to be the only way to produce an EVP containing information the practitioner or an interested observer does not already know. Continued page 9 Transform EVP Continued from page 8 This possibility provides a compelling reason for people to suspend judgment when faced with “obvious fraud” in things paranormal. A Study To Determine the Energy Profile of EVP Because EVP is probably the most available for study of these phenomena, the ATransC has embarked on a research project to determine the energy profile of output file waveforms containing EVP. The objective is to compare the input signals to determine if there is a difference in energy profile, and if so, what may have caused it and where it was caused. This is the first of a series of studies intended to test the Transform EVP Hypothesis described in this article. To begin, if a change in energy profile can be noted in many examples using sound scientific methodology, then it should be possible to use that foundation of understanding to develop further experiments. The expected result of this study

is to establish the paranormality of EVP based on sound evidence, or to provide the necessary understanding to explain in normal terms how the voices are formed. Who Can Participate: Anyone able to follow the protocol is welcome to participate. The Idea Exchange is available for questions and answers, and as always, we are available for questions via email. This first phase will also include a search for confident research practitioners.14 Protocol: All submissions should be sent to the ATransC. Two sound files should be submitted for each EVP example. One containing the EVP, and if possible, the practitioner’s voice. The second should be made with a second recorder and contain the ambient noise from which the EVP was formed. A sharp noise or the practitioner’s voice should mark the beginning of both files. Both files should be less than a minute in duration and should be able to be compared by synchronizing them on left and right channels of a display. (It would help if this comparison file was also submitted.) on physical processes. A second important common factor is efficiency, as transcommunication is clearly no trivial matter. It is gov- erned by the influence of intention, whether in support as belief, acceptance and willingness to learn, or in opposition as fear, doubt, denial or ideology. Understanding these influences is central to the under- standing of EVP. All indications are that EVP are messages from our discarnate loved ones, but it is not necessary to depend on indications. With

predictions based on a well- considered hypothesis and tested with carefully designed experiments, it should be possible to establish not only whether or not EVP are paranormal, but also how they are formed. Since examples of EVP can be collected more or less on demand by confident practitioners, they provide perhaps the most important tool in the etheric studies arsenal for understanding the true nature of our etheric personality, our survival beyond physical “death” and our continued life in the greater reality. References 1. Bion, Stephan - EVPmaker, tonbandstimmen.de/evpmaker/index_e.htm 2. Sumpton, Frank - “The ‘Box,’” Spirits say the darnedest things, pine-tree-lady.proboards.com/thread/9. 3. Chappell, Bill - Digital Dowsing, digitaldowsing.com 4. Butler, Tom, “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?,” ATransC Journal, atransc.org; Heinen, Cindy, “Information Gathering Using EVPmaker With Allophone,” ATransC NewsJournal, atransc.org; Leary, Mark, “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP,” ATransC NewsJournal, atransc.org 5. MacRae, Alexander - “A Report about Experimental Results,” ATransC NewsJournal, atransc.org 6. Presi, Paolo, “Italian Research in ITC,” ATransC NewsJournal, atransc.org 7. Daniele Gullà, “Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice,” ATransC NewsJournal, atransc.org 8. Butler, Tom, “Characteristic Test for EVP,” ATransC Best Practices, atransc.org 9. Sheldrake, Rupert, “Morphic Resonance and Morphic Before submission, examples should be screened by a Fields: An Introduction,” sheldrake.org blind listening panel to help assure they are objective.12 Once sufficient examples have been received, a research facility will be asked to conduct the energy profile study. Examples will be screened by the research facility for usefulness in the study. Practitioners

might consider using their initial submissions as an interview for participation in further study. Please review the Best Practice for Research Practitioner.13 Conclusion The most important common factor in transcommunica- tion is the expression of intended order in otherwise chaotic systems. This order is hypothesized to be accom- plished by way of the ordering influence of morphic fields 10. Sheldrake, Rupert, “An experimental test of the hypothesis of formative causation,” Rivista di Biologia - Biology Forum 86, sheldrake.org 11. Mark McDonnell Mark and Abbott, Derek, "What Is Stochastic Resonance?" Plos Computational Biology, 2009, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2660436/ 12. “Best Practice: EVP Listening Panel,” The Collective, atransc.org/bp/EVP_Listening_Panel 13. “Best Practices: Research Practitioner,” The Collective, atransc.org/bp/Research_Practitioner Page 9 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal On Instrumentally Monitoring Séances by Kai Muegge [Editor: A sitter asked if it would be okay to record a séance using a passive infrared camera. Kai’s response is applicable to any situation in which a person has been invited to sit with a circle.] chair. This check is especially important when really strange phenomena are taking place a good distance away from the cabinet. Still from an infrared video showing the full levitation of the séance table during a test séance for Prof. Stephen Braude. Braude had also witnessed these full levitations the days before in good red light. The table can be seen in the middle. It is well over a foot in the air. Dear Mr. AB, I am a forty-four-year-old pedagogue and journalist by profession who has been organizing

successful phe- nomenological develop- ment circles since I was fifteen. Even with the Felix Experimental Group (FEG) founded in 2004, I was orig- inally extremely reluctant to accept and to reveal that the obvious effects in our experimental settings were mainly due to my presence. different are There reasons for this reluctance, some personal; some sociocul- tural. I did not want to be the focus of discussion because I am extremely humble and follow Buddhist traditions never to place myself above others. To reveal I was the center of things would change that dramatically. That is why in the first years we didn’t reveal my name and only spoke of “the circle-medium.” When Dr. J. Soederling became the FEG’s circle leader six years ago, we created experimental protocols that include fraud-proof methods capable of leading us through the darkness phases of our spirit-team’s [dark room] ses- sions in a way that satisfied a sitter’s need to understand what was happening. Dr. Soederling is an expert in near- death studies and is associated with one of the most, if not the most sophisticated research facility in Germany. The new protocols were especially important for me because I was secured and looked after during my uncon- scious deep trance. My trances are induced by a shaman- istic breathing routine and a certain, deeply anchored hypnotic trigger. Controlling the Medium The cabinet-séance setting is mainly built of two phases: darkness and red light. During the darkness phase, a person sitting on either side

of the medium holds an arm and a leg to assure the medium’s position at all times. The moderating spirit entity for the FEG (called spirit control), is the late Professor Hans Bender of Germany who was himself a parapsychologist. He is extremely vigilant to have the medium under strictest control during the ses- sions and lets both controlling sitters check and recheck their control to assure the medium doesn't move from his Volume 32, Number 2 Page 10 Investigators We have worked with a number of scientific inves- tigators such as Dr. Michael Nahm who is an expert in near-death phenomena and paranormal biological phenomena, Professor Peter Mulacz, Dr. Hans Professor Schaer and Stephen Dr. Braude has sat with us several sessions under dif- ferent conditions. He was lucky to witness unques- tionable paranormal effects which occurred near his body and levitations of objects in good red light and which were filmed with an infrared camera. Braude. Engineer Barry Colvin is in a paraphysics research unit of the Society For Psychical Research. He confirmed that our paranormal raps had the same strange signature as several others from proven cases of Recurrent Spontaneous Psy- chokinesis (RSPK) and some more...! [See Media Watch N0. 97 atransc.org/media_watch.htm or “Rapping Analyzed” in the Spring 2011 ATransC NewsJournal.] Working in the Dark The Felix Experimental Group consists of eleven sitters, eight of whom are founding members. In the more than eight years of sitting, we have learned to apply the condi- tions that seem

to support the paranormal trigger. We have learned that the occult experience is deeply entangled with the presence of darkness. Even the meaning of occult, “coming from darkness,” describe this underlying concept. It is an archetype and the strong connection between “the ether” and darkness we find in all the motifs from “the wild horde” riding the nightly horizon to the witching hour, twelve of midnight. It is the succubi/incubi that take our breaths at night; the poltergeists that “go bump in the night”; down to the fear of darkness every human has, especially children. It repre- sents the human experience of the archetype with the paranormal. Consider the elusiveness of paranormal disturbances and the field research artifact of “the failing recording equip- ment.” (The FEG had that multiple times.) In RSPK research, it is as if the physical Continued page 11 Monitoring Séances Continued from page 10 phenomena want to avoid documentation. Dr. Lucadou’s model* led us to the conclusion that it is maybe not the darkness itself that is necessary but the blurring of the observational perspective! Several quantum physics-re- lated results, such as the observer phenomenon, may correlate with this as well. *[“Predictions of The Model of Pragmatic Information About RSPK” by Dr. Lucadou, parapsych.org/papers/09.pdf] We naturally want to have phenomena in our sessions; however, it is necessary to be mindful of the many factors affecting the phenomena I mentioned above. The psyche of the medium is complicated yet it must be settled in order for him

to erect the paranormal field. This is made more difficult by the presence of unfamiliar observational equip- ment. We wonder about researchers who want to come with an infrared camera without first sitting with us, even though its destructive influence on the field is well known. Your desire to understand these phenomena is not in question but the obviously higher organizing and control- ling principles behind what we are doing–the entities we are working with–have sent us on a different mission! They want to lead us on a tranformative journey on which they may reveal knowledge from a higher perspective! At least at this time, we cannot allow disturbances like an infrared camera in the séances. The first step for an investigator should be to become a sitter first and become acquainted with the medium and the protocol for the séance. Members of the FEG continue to work with leading scientists outside of demonstration séances to find ways of illuminating the involved processes. Kai F. Muegge is also the editor of the Felix Experimental Group’s blog at felixcircle.blogspot.com . There, you will find a wealth of information about histor- ical and contemporary mediumship. Big Circle Recording Dates People join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. local time to contact loved ones via EVP. July 4 and 18, August 1, 15 and 29 September 12 and 26 and October 10 and 24 You can send your results to Tom and Lisa at [email protected] , but we also encourage you

to share your results in the Idea Exchange. Be sure to post any names you record. Self-guided Continued from page 5 I asked Gran if she had reincarnated yet and how it worked. I got the impression of a yellow daisy. Within that image I unpacked the information which translated to... “Each petal is a life experience, yet it’s still part of the whole flower. That is how I can communicate with her, while she has incarnated again.” She also showed me how she sends energy to her two daughters who are still alive who very much need some good energy. She almost waves sparkles of energy across their consciousness while they’re asleep. This is also to help them remember faster when they do eventually cross over. ~ Participant Journal Excerpt ~ I saw my father, my brother and my son as a group together. I then asked if I can first just talk to Andre. George, my brother replied that they understand. I started having a conversation with Andre regarding very painful circumstances surrounding his death. Especially the last four months. I asked him if he would still have been here with me, if I used another approach. If I didn't fight for his life, but just been loving and supportive and not anxious and desperate and in the process just added to his desola- tion. He replied that if that did not happen, something else would have. That we had an arrangement to play these roles in each

other’s lives. That he is learning and exploring with me. He reminded me that he chose me and again he said: "Always remember, I chose YOU!" I asked him, Would things have been different if I used another approach? He commented that he would have manipulated it anyway and it would have been no use. References 1. Botkin, A., with Hogan, R. C. (2005). Induced After-Death Communication: A New Therapy for Grief and Trauma. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads. 2. Wright, R., and Hogan, R.C. (2011). Guided Afterlife Connections: They Come to Change Lives. Normal, IL: Greater Reality Publications. 3. Botkin with Hogan, 2005. 4. Wright and Hogan, 2011. Links The full report: selfguided.spiritualunderstanding.org/Self- guidedAfterlifeConnections.pdf The procedure: selfguided.spiritualunderstanding.org Center for Spiritual Understanding, spiritualunderstanding.org R. Craig Hogan Ph.D.; a writer and trainer of writers with thirty-eight years experience. He is director of the Center for Spiritual Under- standing and on the boards of the Academy of Spiritual and Paranormal Studies and Associa- tion for Evaluation and Communication of Evidence for Survival. Page 11 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Stewart Alexander’s Home Circle: A Visitor’s Point of View by Kim Moore-Cullen I am fortunate in that in recent years this was my fourth visit to the Stewart Alexander Guest Circle. I am so pleased that it is once again open to the public, albeit monthly. [Editor’s note: the circle meets in the UK.] made their presence felt as well as heard. I for one wish to thank all those dedicated mediums and circle

members who sit regularly year in and year out to develop and work on behalf of the world of spirit. 1) Method of attaching medium with tie; 2) Marian holds Stewart’s hand; 3) Both hands fly up in the air Not many people get the opportunity to have first-hand experience of physical mediumship. That is why home circles which are open to the public are not only a great education for those in the spiritual move- ment, they are also an essential part of both the development of this form of mediumship and the provision of evidence to the wider public. The evening went well after Stewart’s circle leader Ray Lister extended a warm welcome to the ten guest sitters and opened the sitting with a short prayer. The event lasted about two hours and in that time, there was a lot of evidence provided by the guide Freda, and the loved one’s that she assists in coming forward. I had a personal message from my grandmother who spoke with emotion about issues regarding my mother which only those close to me are aware of. This was followed by a communication from Heather Hatton (whom I knew from working at the Arthur Findlay College, years ago). She specifically asked me to deliver a message to Eric,* her husband. Marian, a friend of mine, found that the whole experi- ence moved her to tears; a retired lady, her adored father communicated lovingly saying it had been a really long time. He

had sadly passed away when she was just 26 years old. This emotional reunion was completed by a visit from her mum with some excellent evidence. Marian was also invited to be part of the “matter through matter” experiment whereby Stewart’s arm was released from the cable tie whilst she was holding his hand and she was given the tie as a memento, whilst those from spirit retied the arm to the chair with a new tie. She also enjoyed the table experiment where Walter Stinson’s materialized hand appeared on the table: visitors called forward to participate had their hands touching each other including contact with the medium’s hands. Other phenomena included trumpets moving around the room, one being used as a voice box for another sitter’s wife to come through, the bell lifting from the table and being rung, raps with the drumsticks, table levitation and the voice of another guide who was a doctor. The emotion in the room was palpable as loved ones Volume 32, Number 2 Page 12 Finally, after traveling home I contacting Eric Hatton. He was so pleased to have had Heather’s message which he said was very relevant to events in his life at this moment. * Eric Hatton is one of the most respected and highly valued elderly Spiritualists in England Stewart Alexander’s autobiographical book, An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium is avail- able from Saturday Night Press Publica- tions at snppbooks.com and also through Amazon.com Illustrations from Experiences

of Trance, Physical Mediumship and Asso- ciated Phenomena with Stewart Alex- ander Circle: Part 3 by Katie Halliwell at Amazon.com Dreams by Richard Johnsen I have had dreams that were very comforting following the passing of two of my beloved dogs. When my first dog passed, I had a vivid dream in which my pit bull terrier Baccala was in a veterinarian’s office on the examining table and the doctor was reassuring me that my dog was alright. A second dream also involving Baccala. In it, I saw her sitting on a living room chair in my father’s house. I later told my father that I saw Baccala sitting in a particular chair but that the chair was in a different location. I pointed to a space on the living room floor. My father told me the chair had been in that very spot but had been moved. I also had a reassuring dream after my redbone coon- hound passed. I had a dream in which I saw Bud looking splendidly healthy in his prime, standing by a rail fence with green grass growing everywhere. It looked like he was on a beautiful farm. I got the impression that the rail fence was a boundary that I will cross someday to be with him. That’s the extent of my dreams, but they were very comforting and I felt that someone was helping my dogs communicate their well-being to me. Life After Death: Why the Growing Interest? by Elisa Medhus, M.D.

When I lost my twenty-year-old son to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, I plunged into a vacuum devoid of any belief system that would answer what would be the most important question of my life. Where is my son? As a physician with a strong science background raised by two atheists, I found it difficult to know where to start my search. I didn’t even know whether there was anything to search for. So, I did what I do best. I turned to science. I devoured hundreds of books and accounts by quantum and theoretical physicists and near-death expe- riencers. I reviewed controlled, double-blind experiments con- ducted on mediums and explored scientific studies on the survival of consciousness after death. My journey is still ongoing, but along the way, I became aware of the fact that I’m not alone in my exploration into the existence of life after death. In fact, I’m riding a surging wave of a growing fascination about what happens after you take that last breath, and that wave is swelling to tsunami-like proportions as nearly seventy-eight million baby boomers grapple with their own mortality. Why now? Haven’t people always wondered what happens when the lights go out for the last time? Haven’t they always been afraid enough to ponder the question, or have they had their heads in the sand for the last several centuries? Sure they have, but only in a closeted fashion. After all, most of us are afraid to die. The

thought of disappearing from all existence or being yanked away from our loved ones isn’t exactly a warm and fuzzy one. And yes, most of us are curious. However, we might casually wonder what happens after the person sitting next to us dies, but we don’t often dwell on the thought of our own death. Then there are the paranormal experiences. Those who have them often contemplate the existence of life after death. And you’d be surprised how many people have had them. It’s nothing new. Near-Death Experiences (NDE), visits from deceased loved ones or deathbed visions are commonplace, but until recently these were all hush-hush. No one wants to be ridiculed or labeled “mentally unfit.” If only they knew that tens of thousands have experienced similar occurrences. In fact, estimates from the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation (nderf.org) suggest at least fifteen million adults have had NDEs. Multiple polls find that twenty percent of the population has had com- munications with those who have passed away, and a PEW Research poll conducted in December 2009 found that 18 percent of people report to having seen or having been in the presence of a ghost.1 So, what’s changed? Several things. For one, we’ve seen a declining membership in and impact of the more dogmatic, inflexible religious denomina- tions whose job is to tell us that some sort of Divine Being will sweep up our souls and sort us like nickels and dimes into either some sort of idyllic para- dise or

eternal hellfire. Secondly, quantum science has begun to steal the show from material science (sorry, Sir Isaac), teaching us that we no longer have to rely on our five senses to hypothesize and eventually define a truth. Just because we can’t see, feel, hear, taste or smell something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. As quantum physics comes into its own, studies into the existence of alternate dimensions and consciousness sur- vival after death result in breakthroughs. Not a month goes by that new discoveries aren’t becoming breaking news stories: The fact that we may be able to see other dimen- sions besides our own.2 The hypothesis that the microtu- bules in our cells’ mitochondria are the origin of consciousness.3 The idea that our souls maybe be com- prised of tiny subatomic particles known as “neutrinos.”4 Last and most important, technology. The tie that binds us all. Now, the Internet helps us create micro-communi- ties where we can share those “paranormal” experiences in a safe, anonymous place free from scorn. The number of websites dealing with life after death has skyrocketed in recent years as have the number of movies and televi- sion shows dealing with the afterlife and all things super- natural. Suddenly, the taboo becomes a more comfortable “well, maybe I’m not so crazy after all” thing. In fact, thanks to this public “outing” of deathbed visions, NDEs, and after-death communications, even physicians have become emboldened enough to share the “paranormal” events they’ve seen throughout their careers during the

dying process of their patients. Beforehand, they would have feared the ridicule of their peers, who were probably sharing the same secrets. Continued page 14 Rainbow by Stephen Coburn, Microsoft Clipart Page 13 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Life After Death Continued from page 13 Once this discussion about the afterlife became comfortable, spiritual celebrities like Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsh and Gary Zukav assumed a bigger stage and a large following. As the breakthroughs in quantum physics were made public through the Internet, television and other venues, the physicists, themselves, became popularized and many, such as Michio Kaku, have become overnight celebrities as well. The wave continues to swell. For those of you who still need to see it to believe it, Dr. Thomas Campbell, Ph.D., theoretical physicist and author of My Big TOE (Theory of Everything),5 explains it like this (and I’m paraphrasing, here): We are like our intestinal bacteria. For all we know, the bread that comes down to us is manna from Heaven. We know nothing of the sowing of the seeds, the irrigation, the crop rotation, the fertilization and pest control, the harvesting, the production of bread and its transportation to market. Furthermore, we have no concept of the global economics of wheat, the rise and fall of its price in the commodities market, etc. But it still affects us, the bacteria. That said, there is much out there that we cannot perceive with our senses that exists and affects us all. Other dimensions, including

the one my son Erik is in, may be one such thing. But the course of a big ship changes its direction very slowly, and as Schopenhauer said, “Truth goes through three phases: First it is ridiculed. Next it is scorned. Then it is taken as self-evident.” Is there sufficient proof for immortality and the existence of the afterlife? No, not one-hundred percent. And for me, there will never be until I’m there. But that’s okay. Being an open-minded skeptic is healthy. It’s the closed-minded skeptic that keeps humanity at a standstill. If they had their way, we’d still think the Earth was flat and at the center of our solar system. I’m still one of the intestinal bacteria learning about the global economics of wheat, but in the remedial class. In the end, it’s all about a mix of science and faith. How much of each is up to you. Either way, you’re destined to ride the wave. If you’d like to accompany me in my adventure-laden (and sometimes pothole-riddled) journey through death, the survival of consciousness and the nature of the afterlife, please join me at channelingerik.com. We’ll continue to search for answers, and we’ll probably discover more questions along the way. Please also follow my twitter feed, @drmedhus References 1. pewresearch.org/daily-number/boo/ 2. 3. nonlocal.com/hbar/hameroffnote.html 4. http://fqxi.org/data/essay-contest- sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070203103355.htm files/Nochur_The_Secret_Life_and.pdf Dr. Elisa Medhus is a veteran physician who built and operated a successful private medical practice in Houston, Texas for 13 years. Her busy practice served thousands of families.

She is also the mother of five children ages 15 through 26, some of whom have special challenges like Tourette’s Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorder, learning dif- ferences and Obsessive Compulsive Dis- order. Over the last several years, Dr. Medhus began to notice that children, including her own, seem more influenced by their peers and the pop culture than by their parents. Seeing the negative effect this has on families, children, schools and communities, she embarked on a lengthy interview process to try to determine the cause of this destructive phenomenon. Research Grants The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death, HRF The Helene Reeder Fund is pleased to announce the availability of grants for small and medium sized scientific research projects concerning the issue of Life after Death. Grants will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 5000 maximum. ($650 to $6,500 US Funds) Research into life after death should constitute the main objective of the project. Submit applications in English by email to the HRF, [email protected] Applications should include: Ÿ Detailed description of the project, including the objectives of the project Ÿ Methodology Ÿ Cost budget Ÿ Timetable Ÿ Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals Ÿ CV of the applicant Ÿ How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result Ÿ Any other financing than from HRF Applications should be received not later than October 20, 2013. It is the intention of the HRF to evaluate

the applica- tions and to make a decision regarding the grants before the end of December. Applicants will be notified by email after the decision and the grants will be payable during December. Send questions to the above email address. Issued from Stockholm, April 2013 Edgar E. Müller [Editor: The ATransC will be happy to assist members wishing to submit an application.] 5. wiki.my-big-toe.com Volume 32, Number 2 Page 14 Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenomena by Mark Leary, Ph.D. In the past two issues of the NewsJournal (Winter and Spring 2013), I described two research studies that exam- ined the problem of EVP interpretation. The first study looked at experienced investigators’ interpretations of nearly 100 EVP, and the second one examined lay people’s interpretations of EVP that were recorded using “radio- sweep” techniques. Although no experienced EVP enthu- siast will be surprised that listeners disagreed in their interpretations of the various EVP, many will find the exceptionally low level of agreement troubling. In the first study, only 21% of the listeners agreed on the most common interpretation on average, and many of the EVP showed no agreement across listeners whatsoever. Agreement was even worse in Study 2. When people listened to EVP without knowing what the investigators who recorded them thought the EVP said, they agreed with only 6% of the words that the investigators heard. And, only 1 out of 360 interpretations perfectly matched the investigator’s interpretation. These findings are particularly troubling when we consider that the

investigators presum- ably submitted these particular EVP because they thought that the sound clips were among the best they had recorded. All EVP investigators know that particular EVP are often interpreted in different ways by different people, yet they often act as if they know what a sound clip actually says. The low rate of agreement in interpretations of EVP is obviously a concern for those who are interested in EVP, so in this article, I will tackle the thorny question of how EVP enthusiasts should deal with this issue. Why Should We Care? In many cases, whether an investigator’s interpretation of a particular EVP is “correct” may not matter very much. Those who record EVP as a personal hobby or do paranor- mal investigations for mere enjoyment don’t harm anyone when they confidently claim to hear something that most other people would not interpret similarly and that, in fact, might not actually be there. But, in other cases, EVP interpretations have conse- quences. Most notably, when EVP are presented as the words of a deceased loved one, the messages they suppos- edly contain can affect people deeply. Simply believing that the words come from a loved one is sometimes reassuring to people, and if the message is positive, it can create great relief. But what about when the words seem to convey a dark or troubled message? How sure should an investigator be about the source and content of a message before delivering it to a deceased person’s loved

ones? Similarly, homeowners who believe that their property is haunted sometimes invite paranormal investigators to examine the house, and such investigations often yield EVP. When should an investigator feel confident enough to relay a purported EVP message to the homeowners? Even when the specific content of an EVP doesn’t matter much, confidently claiming to know what a particular clip says nonetheless seems dishonest and carries the risk of undermining an investigator’s credibility when other people do not hear the same thing. (Paranormal television shows are particularly bad about this, providing interpre- tations of EVP that are often inconsistent with what viewers themselves hear.) What Should We Do? As much as investigators would like all of their EVP record- ings to be crystal clear to everyone, they very rarely are. Rather than sweeping this problem under the rug and pretending that EVP are clearer and less ambiguous than they really are, investigators need to address the issue head-on. Below I offer seven recommendations for improv- ing the quality of EVP interpretations. 1. Don’t Be So Certain. The resounding conclusion from our two studies is that investigators should not be as certain of their interpretations as they often are. Inves- tigators sometimes feel that they have special insight into the EVP they record, but in our two studies, only a very small percentage of listeners agreed with the interpretations given by the people who recorded them. Furthermore, given the low rate of agreement and the tendency for people to overestimate the likelihood

that they are correct, investigators should express their interpretations in a cautious, tentative manner that conveys that their interpretation might not be right. Too often, we hear people assert “This EVP says…” when a far more honest and defensible claim would be “I think I hear…” or “To me, it seems to sound like….” 2. Don’t Share an Interpretation Until Others Listen. All EVP enthusiasts know that people’s interpretations of EVP are sometimes affected by what they think other people hear. In fact, it is often difficult not to hear what someone else said they heard. In our second study (NewsJournal, Spring 2013), we found that agreement with the individual words in an EVP jumped from 6% to 23% when listeners were told what the recording inves- tigator thought the EVP said. The implication is clear: If we want to increase our chances of finding the best interpretation of an EVP, we must allow people to come to their own conclusions before hearing what other people think. 3. Offer Alternative Interpretations. When listeners suggest different interpretations of an EVP, any inter- pretation that is independently offered by multiple people must be taken seriously. If the interpretation is being shared Continued page 16 Page 15 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Interpretation of EVP Continued from page 15 with a client – such as a grieving family or the owner of a property that has been investigated – all of the most common alternative interpretations should be pre- sented. It’s okay to

admit not knowing for certain what an EVP says and to offer several possibilities. 4. Calculate an Index of Agreement. Every EVP enthusiast has had the experience of confidently arriving at an interpretation of a particular EVP only to find that no one else agreed with him or her. They have also had the experience of having another investigator claim “This is a Class A EVP” (which, by definition, would be inter- preted similarly by everyone) when, in fact, no one else hears the same thing. Since we all assume that our own interpretations are reasonably correct (or, at least better than other people’s interpretations), the only way to find out whether our interpretation is plausible is to have several people – 10 at the minimum – independently listen to the EVP and privately record their interpretation. In this way, an investigator can see the percentage of listeners who agree with his or her interpretation (as well as possibly identify a better interpretation that more people agree with). But how much agreement should we require before claiming than an EVP says this or that? Each investigator must decide for him- or herself when to share interpre- tations with others, but let’s consider an analogy to put the problem in perspective. Imagine that your doctor detects symptoms that might or might not indicate that you have a serious illness. How sure would you like the doctor to be before he or she shares a specific diagnosis with you? And if the

doctor conferred with other doc- tors, what percentage of other doctors would you want to agree with his diagnosis of your condition before he reported that you have a particular disease? More to the point, would you trust a doctor who said “I think that you have Disease X, but only about 20% of other doctors agree with me?” That’s roughly the average percentage of agreement that we found in our first study. Among behavioral researchers (such as research psychologists), the minimum agreement that is consid- ered acceptable before data can be used is 70%. That is, if two independent researchers count, rate or interpret some aspect of people’s behavior, they must agree at least 70% of the time in their ratings or interpretations for the ratings to be reliable enough to use. That figure strikes me as a reasonable criterion. Investigators should not assert that an EVP conveys a particular message unless at least 70% of listeners independently agree. 5. Interpret EVP Word-by-Word and Encourage Partial Interpretations. As would be expected, the results of our two studies showed that listeners agree on individ- ual words more often than they agree on entire EVP. This suggests that EVP should be interpreted word-by- word (if not syllable-by-syllable), with listeners indicat- ing uninterpretable syllables by an asterisk. In our first, study we had the impression that listeners who inter- preted every word sometimes “heard” words that helped a phrase make sense. Listeners should not try to make sense of the entire phrase

but rather should simply write down each word that can be interpreted and ignore those that are unclear. Having a group of people give partial interpretations of only the clearest syllables may collectively provide a good interpretation. Although this idea remains to be tested, I suspect that a group of people who each deciphered only the words (or syllables) that are clearest to them will generate a better interpretation of an EVP than any given person. 6. Challenge Others’ Interpretations (Gently). Many inves- tigators hesitate to question others’ interpretations when they disagree with them. Most of us do not want to provoke disagreement and conflict, particularly when we know that some people can become rather ego- involved in their interpretations. In addition, knowing how unclear most EVP are, many investigators may disagree with another interpretation yet have little confidence in their own interpretation of a particular sound clip. Yet, failing to indicate when one does not hear another person’s interpretation may give an impression of implicit agreement, leading an investiga- tor to be more confident of his or her interpretation than is warranted. When challenging an interpretation, the approach should never be “You’re wrong, and I’m right,” because, on average, one’s own interpretation is no more likely to be correct than anyone else’s. Rather, the message should simply be “I’m not sure that I hear that. To me, it sounds more like ….” When such disagreements arise, as they inevitably will, the automatic and default recourse should be to get

more independent interpre- tations, with no effort to pressure people into hearing any particular thing. The goal should be to find the best translation – not to prove that you are right. 7. Leave Ambiguous EVP Uninterpreted. It’s okay to say “I have no idea what this EVP says.” Particularly when an analysis of agreement across several people shows little or no agreement (as occurred on many of the EVP we used in our studies), the most honest conclusion is that the EVP is uninterpretable. In some cases of unin- terpretable EVP, the vocal characteristics may be so pronounced that an investigator will nonetheless con- clude that the sound clip is a bona fide EVP, but that it is simply not possible to decipher it (just as one can hear voices through the wall of a hotel room but not under- stand what they are saying). Continued page 17 Volume 32, Number 2 Page 16 Interpretation of EVP Continued from page 16 However, in many cases, the failure to arrive at an interpretation that others independently agree with should lead an investigator to reconsider whether the sound clip is an EVP. Conclusions Low agreement in EVP interpretations is the elephant in the room among those who are interested in EVP. All investigators know that low agreement is a problem, but they hate to confront it because it casts a pall on the entire enterprise of recording and interpreting EVP. Yet, failing to confront the issue simply creates more difficulties. Consis-

tently acknowledging the agreement problem and encour- aging investigators to be honest and cautious in how they assert their interpretations is an important first step. And following recommendations such as those offered here will help to restrain us from claiming more than we actually know. With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motivation, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people's concerns with their social images, and the relationship between personality and behav- ior. He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” [Editor: This is the last of three articles by Mark resulting from his study of EVP. For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article “EVP Online Listening Trials” in the ATransC online Journal (atransc.org/journal.htm) If you are interested in helping to improve how EVP are interpreted and reported, please consider helping to develop a best Practice for Listening Panels in the Collective. You can review the draft at atransc.org/bp/EVP_Listening_Panel] An Audio Anticipation Test Dr. Rupert Sheldrake offers an online experiment to see if you can predict what you will hear before you hear it. In each trial, you will be presented with an audio clip selected at random. Before you hear it, you will be presented with a

list of four possibilities: a skylark singing, a speech by George W. Bush, the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” and a cat purring. You guess which audio clip you are about to hear. After you have made your selection and pressed the Submit button, you will hear the sound sample for about twenty seconds. After each eight-trial test, you are told your score. Please help sheldrake.org/experiments/precogrd/ support Dr. Sheldrake’s work at The Collective Do you have a hard time finding reference articles that say what you want? Do you wish you could just write the article you are looking for and put it up on the Internet as a reference? We spend a lot of time answering questions from members and website visitors. Some of the questions can be quite complicated and many of the articles on ATransC.org originated from our need to refer people for more information. The problem is that we are the ones who wrote the articles. It would be good to have someone else’s opinion. Perhaps you would like to pitch in to develop articles that are about subjects you would like to use as a reference. Wikipedia was supposed to be a repository of articles like that, but the skeptical community took over and it never happened for paranormal subjects. The answer is to set up our own wiki. As was previously reported, the ATransC is sponsoring a new forum intended to permit members to produce educational articles for the public. Best practices, such as “Using a

control recorder” and “Listening panels” will be featured, but other subjects will be addressed as editors are available to develop them. Best practices are based on a consensus of people working together. They are not rules and should evolve with new understanding. The idea is to help people avoid making the same old beginner mistakes. It is important to note that practices belong to the community. Other categories currently available for new articles include: General Articles Best Practices Cosmology EVP Ethics Good To Know Guidelines‏ ITC‏ in General Spirituality Visual ITC Take a look at the forum at ATransC.org/bp/ and let us know if you are interested in participating. You need not be an expert. The Collective will work together to assure they are right for the time. Page 17 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Thoughts From Members Georg Lindström wrote from Finland, “Hi, Tom and Lisa. Thanks a lot for the NewsJournal and especially the inter- esting story on the Felix Experimental Group, with several pictures. I have seen ectoplasm before, once in Stewart Alexander's home circle, when my father’s hand material- ized in front of my eyes and then gently touched me. In Colin Fry’s home circle, I saw a materialized face of a small boy. It was very close and I saw it clearly as he used a luminous plaque under his face. I’ve enclosed some pic- tures of materializations.” Gordon Higginson at Stansted Hall Helen Duncan’s guide Materialization of Tom Harrison’s grandfather at their home circle.

if you believe Book Review A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife by Wendy and Victor Zammit People do not like to talk about death and dying. It has become a fearful thing promising obliteration in science or some unlikely heaven if you listen to religious leaders. Mainstream science does not study death ... well, because we are dead; what's the sense? Ortho- dox religions offer only faith-based promises. If this pretty much sums up your understanding of your end-of-life expectations, then you really need to read this book. There is substantial evidence that your personality, who you really are, is temporarily associated with your physical body to experience this lifetime. This evidence indicates that, when your body can no longer support your person- ality in this lifetime, you will transition to what Spiritualists refer to as "Different atmospheres and awarenesses." Upon your transition, you will be able to continue learning through experience, and given the right condi- tions, communicate with loved ones remaining on this side of the veil. Granted, trans-communication is not easy and not everyone is able to have the experience, but the evidence is very clear: you will survive in a greater reality and you will be able to remain aware of the physical. Researchers refer to this as the Survival Hypothesis. Wendy and Victor are students of the Survival Hypothe- sis. Victor is trained as a pragmatic lawyer, and well understands the difference between evidence and wishful thinking. They have packed 32 chapters of

evidence, a 25-page bibliography and an index into one book. The book includes chapters on all of the major phenomena associ- ated with continuous life, providing a historical perspective and current research. Becoming familiar with all of the evidence in this book will help you understand your immortality and give you an excellent, fact-based view of what to expect when you transition. Perhaps more important, it will give you reason to feel that your recently transitioned loved one is okay and likely off on a new adventure. I have several book cases full of survival-related books, but if I had to select one for my pocket library, it would be "A Lawyer Presents the Evidence for the Afterlife". I highly recommend it as a reference and a text book for further study. It would also make an excellent workshop study book. Tom and Lisa The book is available at amazon.com. Volume 32, Number 2 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Martin Burns wrote, “I captured this in my living room with a cat carrying on in the background. It seems it may have irritated my friendly ghost. To me it sounds like “Put that cat … make it stop.” I can’t quite make out the middle part. Sharon Ginnever wrote, “I recorded my son telling me he loves me. It was recorded on my Olympus digital recorder with water as a background noise.” Margaret Downey: After finding a face in the spectrograph where the messages appearred for another member, Margaret went back

through her EVP messages and began looking at the spectralayer where the EVP appeared. [Editor: Most audio management programs, including Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net), offer a choice between the usual waveform view that shows amplitude over time, and spectrograph view that shows frequency over time.] Margaret wrote, “I found the upper-left image in a clip of Rob (Karen Mossey’s son) in which he says his name. The bottom-left image is from an experiment I did where I asked if someone could say their name and show themselves at the same time. The response is “Bob” and that image corresponds with the place in the clip where he says his name. A couple other faces were from an EVP clip with my friend’s parents. This software is newly developed in terms of editing frequencies and it’s not free, though they offer a fifteen day trial. (Starts at $375) For simple viewing there are applications like Spectrogram that should be freeware if you Google for them. I have to give full credit to Keith Clark for the idea on looking for the images. He first did it with the Spectrogram software back in 2006, I think? I actually got this software for a totally different purpose but when I saw the face there, I thought I should perhaps go looking specifically for them. I did have to use the zoom tool to locate them. For example, where there was the “Bob” (or in another case, someone shouted “Stop!”) in that spot on the timeline,

I zoomed in and then looked up and down the frequency range in that area of the timeline. Honestly, I’m not sure I could find them again if I had to, as I’m just now begging to learn how to use this software. It will be another two months before there is even training material for it, so I keep watching the one-hour webinar debuting its features. I’ve been trying to pick up what I can from that. This is the link to this specific software. sonycreativesoftware.com/spectralayerspro Jutta Liebman said that because of the political situation in North Korea (this was in early April when the situation was at its worst) she asked during a recording session whether there would be a forthcoming war with North Korea. She wrote, “Just after I ended my question, a male voice directly and explicitly replied “Nein.” I heard this reply even during the relevant EVP recording. This proves that the entities deemed this question very important.” Allison Sniffin shared in the Idea Exchange: “I recorded a portion of yesterday’s dress rehearsal in the UCLA Freud Theater and now I have discovered on the recording a female voice (yep, sounds like Mom) whispering what sounds like, “I’m near you, can you see me?” or “I’m hearing you, can you see me?” Margaret Downey responded, “I love how your mom is always around and finds ways of communicating with you. Allison replied, “You know Margaret, just yesterday I was on the crosstown bus thinking that

Mom finds ways to communicate with me daily. I was also thinking that she/they/my spirit family really likes when I play music. At that time, a man was sitting directly across from me on the bus. Seeing my violin, he handed me a business card and invited me to join a group of professional instrumentalists who improvise once a month. They need a violinist. I had prayed for other venues to perform that were suited for me. Did my spirit family hear my thoughts”? Ava Jewell wrote that she had just downloaded There is No Death and There Are No Dead to her Kindle. She says that she has always felt an aversion to ghost boxes, but since she was been doing a lot of recording, she tried EVPmaker with allophones and got what she considered good sentences including a response when she asked them to say, “A for apple.” She wrote, “I have a few of the recordings of sentences but didn’t keep the ones with my voice asking questions. I am going to keep good, proper records of everything I do from now on.” [Editor: don’t we all wish we did this!] Page 19 Summer 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal In Search of The Afterlife Experiencing, Communicating & Connecting to Another World Forever Family Foundation's 7th Original Afterlife Conference Saturday November 9, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. to Sunday November 10, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. Double Tree by Hilton Golf Resort San Diego, 14455 Penasquitos Drive, San Diego, CA 92129-1603

Special hotel rates: $105. 1-858-672-9100. Identify yourself as being a part of the Forever Family Foundation group. See foreverfamilyfoundation.org for details This conference is designed for general audiences for the purpose of learning about the evidence of an Afterlife. During this special weekend, attendees will be treated to cutting edge presentations and evidence that we survive our physical deaths. Attendees will be given opportunities to question the experts during panel discussion segments. Presenters* Loyd Auerbach, MS Eben Alexander III, MD Stephen E. Braude, PhD Jeffrey Tarrant, PhD Tom & Lisa Butler Janet Mayer Registration** Early Bird Members Only: $ 295 (Ends July 31) Members Only: $ 345 Early Bird Non-Members: $ 350 (Ends July 31) Non-Members: $ 395 Includes ALL conference presentations and LUNCH on both days. Mail checks to: Forever Family Foundation 222 Atlantic Avenue Oceanside, NY 11572 Contact: Phran Ginsberg: 631-425-7707 Forever Family Foundation, Inc. [email protected] Don’t get shut out of the Friday night banquet fundraiser this year with Forever Family Foundation Certified Medium Kim Russo,star of "The Haunting Of . . ." as seen on TV’s BIO Network. This is an opportunity to meet conference presenters and enjoy an elegant dinner featuring Kim Russo as the keynote speaker demonstrating spirit communication. (Event time: 6:30 PM 10:00 PM - Friday, November 8, 2013) $100 Members ONLY, $150 Non-Members Take a Seat at the LIVE Broadcast of Signs Of Life Radio: We broadcast the show LIVE each year from the conference venue. A limited number of seats are open

to conference attendees wishing to be a part of the radio show on Thursday, November 7 at 5 PM in the Cypress Room at the Double Tree by Hilton Golf Resort San Diego. This event is FREE! Medium Monday: A limited-seating breakfast meeting on Monday, November 11th from 8:30 AM to 12 Noon. Whether you are simply curious about the process of mediumship, are a practicing medium or aspiring to be one, you will find good food, great information, and new insights during a special morning under the direction of Forever Family Foundation Certified Mediums. $30 Conference Attendees $65 General Admission *Experience Spirit Communication delivered by certified mediums Laura Lynne Jackson and Angelina Diana **At the Door pricing, if seating still available, will be higher. Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm $30.00 per year All benefits for one year Members International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, discussion board and NewsJournal archive. In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ I certify that I am twenty-one years

of age or older. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the ATransC reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 32, Number 2 Page 20 Viewpoint Fall 2013, Volume 32 Number 3 Kai and Julia Muegge Visit The ATransC sponsored internationally known physical medium, Kai Muegge, and his wife, Julia, for three séances in Reno, Nevada. The visit would not have been possible were it not for the help members provided to prepare the séance room, making the sitters welcome and seeing to it that Kai and Julia had their needs met. We especially want to thank member Jannet Caywood for letting Kai and Julia use her home for a week. Steve Atkin, who lives across the street from Jannet, has set up his garage as a dark space for séances; no small feat in support of the Association. A special thanks goes to Richard and Connie Adams, who are long-time supporters of the Association and helped make Kai’s visit possible. Phenomena All three séances included the demonstration of raps, touches by small “spirit” hands and luminous lights dancing around the room. Kai’s control, Hans Bender, explained that the lights were healing and that

the sitters should visualize themselves receiving healing energy. Bender explained that he was developing an etheric field from energy supplied by Kai, his spirit helpers, the sitter and their spirit helpers. It centered around the “table” in the middle of the “experimental area.” (See illustration on Page 5.) We were told that it was necessary for the support of phenomena and that we would know it was ready when the toy musical instruments laying on the table moved in rhythm with the music. The instruments did finally begin moving and Julia was asked to “charge” luminous tabs of an object which was then levitated into the air and then moved around the room, sometimes touching the sitters. After that, the sitters were treated to the most astound- ing phenomenon as Kai, under the control of Bender, produced copious amounts of ectoplasm which Julia illu- minated with a red light. In one demonstration, Kai let the ectoplasm pile onto the floor between his feet. From that mass rose a spindly arm and hand that moved of its own accord. Bender joked that he was waving at us. Probably the most important demonstration was near the end when the red light was turned on to reveal miniature faces embedded in the white ectoplasm. Some were almost of photographic quality (pic- tures were not allowed until the last séance and then those did not come out well). We think we recognized one of our mentors! Rational Mind After the three séances, Kai and

Julia sat with the Socrates Circle around a table. The table levitated completely off of the ground three times! Each of us, fingertips only; pinkies-touching-thumbs around the table, toes-touching- toes under the table. Glow tabs on the table evenly lifting into the air–once nearly above our heads–only to come crashing down after a few seconds. (Note to self, keep feet under chair when table crashes back to the floor!) Kai has been studied extensively by Dr. Stephen Braude who will be publishing a report on Kai in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. From what we understand, the article is a positive one and will be in the January issue. We owe Kai great thanks for being willing to work with the scientific community, and because of this, we gave seats to the séances to two other scientists during his visit. One of the the questions that has been asked about Kai’s work is if it can be proved that it is Hans Bender and not just Kai’s subconscious speaking during the séances. There was proof that it was actually Professor Bender during the first séance when he recognized a colleague that he worked with in his physical life, a fact of which Kai was unaware. Another surprising proof for us was when we went back to our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, to review what we had reported Continued page 18 Some things just matter more than others. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................................1 ATransC Hosts

Kai and Julia Muegge for Three Amazing Séances..............................................3 Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances....................................................................................4 Big Circle Recording Dates...........................................................................................................6 Breath Photography.....................................................................................................................7 Rany: Animals Heal and Reincarnate...........................................................................................9 Relationship Between Physical Phenomena and EVP in Séances with a Physical Circle..........11 Why Bad Science is like Bad Religion.........................................................................................12 Death Cafe..................................................................................................................................13 ATransC Trans-survival Hypothesis............................................................................................14 Eternea.......................................................................................................................................15 A Strange Portrait.......................................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 Erased-voice EVP?......................................................................................................................19 David Thompson in Reno...........................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 425 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments

about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Associa- tion forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Proofreader: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler The ATransC attempts to assure the veracity of material presented in this publication; however, understanding of these phenomena continues to change and the reader should practice discernment here as with all information about these phenomena. Volume 32, Number 3 Page 2 Fall 2013 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous SERF Donor Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Linda Noël Felipe Stoker Sustaining Members Giorgio Cabrera Sandra Champlain Christopher Scott ATransC Hosts Kai and Julia Muegge for

Three Amazing Séances by Lisa Butler We have gotten many letters of thanks from the few lucky souls who were able to sit in a séance with Kai and Julia Muegge of the Felix Experimental Group in August. It was an unforgettable week. Several said the séances were on the top of their list of most important lifetime events. The very first séance started with something very eviden- tial. Stanley Krippner was in attendance. Tom and I did not know anything about him other than that he was brought as a guest by our friends Richard and Connie Adams. Kai’s control Hans Bender cer- tainly knew him and greeted him as a fellow colleague at the beginning of the séance. Unknown to Kai, the two had worked together as parapsychologists. Kai and Julia Mügge Felix séances are filled with laughter and energy from the beginning. Every sitter is touched, often several sitters are touched at the same time. The room is a riot of shouts of joy from this contact which can feel like a feather being run across an arm or the caress on the cheek, arm, or leg by an invisible hand or fingers. Phenomena in the Reno séances followed similar pat- terns, but with a few important exceptions. In one , Hans asked Julia to visualize luminosity from the luminous plaque coming into the cabinet as if on a highway. Julia and I were then asked to gently pull the curtains back. There, as we sat in

total darkness, was luminous ectoplasm issuing from Kai’s mouth and spread across his legs. It was brilliant and so very bright. It was difficult for the brain to perceive that it was self-illuminating. It brightly glistened and seemed like a view of a thousand stars. In another séance, Hans ask Julia if she trusted him. When she agreed that she absolutely did, she was asked to turn her flashlight from “red light” to “white light.” Any of you who have read about ectoplasm know that it is a given that it’s taboo to shine white light on ectoplasm. We were asked to open the curtains of the cabinet and Julia shined the white light on a large mass of ectoplasm coming from Kai for what seemed like thirty seconds. Faces were shown in the ectoplasm at every séance. We recognized one of our mentors and good friends, Catherine Stewart. The lighting conditions were difficult and several displays of faces were unfortunately not recognized. Pho- tographs were only allowed on the last night and you can imagine the difficulty of finding the camera taking pictures in nearly total darkness. Only a few came out … sort of. Ectoplasm at Kai’s feet. An arm-like form complete with a rudimentary hand rose from the mass. We watched as a floating smear of ectoplasm moved in a snakelike mass in front of Kai. There were times the ectoplasm was in a pile at his feet. At one point you could see a hand form

in the ectoplasm, at which time, Hans exclaimed “Do you see me waving?” Debby Constantino’s father who appeared in the ectoplasm “like a photograph,” as she put it. On the last night, a face was shown and Hans asked all the female sitters to stand up and come forward to have a closer look. Sitter Debbie Constantino recognized her father. Debbie told us, “The things we witnessed were life changing for us. We doubt NONE of it!!” Debbie explained, “There was a point in the sitting that Hans said someone’s dad was coming through. He asked all the women to break the chain and come toward Kai. Hans/Kai stretched the ectoplasm open and displayed what looked to me like a photograph. I was about a foot away and saw it was my dad. It took my breath away. Later, Hans confirmed it was my dad. Continued page 6 Page 3 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances Transcript of portions of the séances pertaining to metaphysical concepts Hans Bender Spoken by Hans Bender via the mediumship of Kai Muegge of the Felix Experimental Group: [An observation by a sitter: Hans appears to follow a path from knocks and touches, lights, levitation of objects, production of shapes visible over a luminous plaque, the production of ecto- plasm, and finally, faces in ectoplasm. Not all of these milestones are met every time, but it seems clear that there is a progression of complexity and level of difficulty for

Hans and the Chemists. (The Chemists are a group of entities that support Hans and who make the phenomena happen.) Hans talks about erecting a field in which sitters and medium cooperate with the Chemists to enable physical phenomena. He speaks of psychic struc- tures which are tenuous at first, but which become more substantial as the field strengthens. Interspersed with Hans’ comments transcribed below are demonstrations of physical phenomena which are in some part visible and/or audible.] Kai Muegge Session 2, 23 August 2013 When we talk about the spiritual land, it is important to know that there is not an afterlife existence. There is the space in which consciousness core fields are projecting onto different physical levels of existences. That means there is not an afterlife in the sense of a comparable existence to yours. There are a myriad of possibilities. You will enter a stage that is totally indescribable in human terms and by human imagination. There is survival, and the “afterlife” as you are calling it, is not a place. The afterlife is a space you go into, at least for a short time. It is first, above the timeline. Second, it is a space where on a certain plane, and only for a certain time, all of us become one. From then on, the free spirit will be projected into new universes. That is why it is so important to expand your feeling of responsibility not only towards your natural environment. Not only onto your

own realm, because on that projec- tional path toward your physical existence, the conscious- ness field has produced uncountable effigies of you. Every thought, every action, every being produces multidimen- sional effigies of you on that projectional path towards your momentary existence. This has to do with the question of why entities who have left the earth plane come back, and [the fact that] they don’t come back alone. They come back in a union of entities that are positive toward humankind. Positive in the first place because we come with our own interests. The ruthless behavior of humankind is not only affecting your own nature and your own existence down to a point. I don’t need to expand that. You all know how late it is. This ruthless behavior, that exploitative behavior of every resource in nature, exploitative behavior even towards your own kind not only destroys your values and your environment, it affects these parallel levels and dimensions that are connected with you as well. On some of them, this history of humankind has created real monsters; negative potentials, huge potentials with which you are connected; which will continue to affect you. I don’t want to make you frightened. Every one of you is watching the news, and every one of you may ask yourself from time to time how could that happen? Why were we not able to control that? Because, these huge potentials grow and grow, and yes, continue to affect the dimensional planes they are

connected to. That is why I want to say that it is especially important that you consider your responsibility; that you comprehend that you are able to create reality. Your consciousness was not given to you to be encased within your physical body. Your consciousness reaches far out into the physical and onto the multidimensional [planes]. You can create and you can change and it is so important that you do because it is not only you who are affected. It is us as well. That is what is coming toward you as an afterlife. [It is] only an intermediate stage from which a free spirit roams into the depths of the cosmos to swallow the knowledge of galaxies within seconds and carry on, on your creational path toward what we all call the Creator. Kai Muegge Session 3, 25 August 2013 We will erect now something which is hard to explain in the terminology of the three dimensional land. It is some- thing like a mesh-like force field. It will extend into the room to reach opposite sides of the room and up to the ceiling. From this mesh-like force field, compacted units (we think endoplasmic structures) can act independently into the room. Ladies and gentlemen, you all have come with a com- pany. None of you have come alone. Those you admire; there are those you do not even think of that came with you and that will be given the opportunity on behalf of that force field

to regain a certain form of physicality; a substi- tuted form of physicality for a certain time so that each of you will experience caresses and touches. This does not happen without a purpose. That means each of you will be touched purposefully by someone out of the planes of spiritual energy that you carry around with you, at least to a certain degree. Continued page 5 Volume 32, Number 3 Page 4 Hans Bender Continued from page 4 And so, ladies and gentlemen, you will feed that force field with the physiological energy of your biological system. We are correlating the psychological, the psychical and the spiritual with the material, but because the spiri- tual, the consciousness and the emotional is involved, your psychology is not efficient. That is why we want you to emanate positive mental energy by singing with the music, and yes, by participating over the course of the evening. Yes, when the force field starts to extend, the objects will be affected the moment the force field reaches the little focus table. The moment the objects are affected in rhythm to the music, then the grade of controllability is reached and we can proceed into the evening. Later in the séance: Ladies and gentlemen, during our demonstrations, we are always talking about gifts; that precious gift we all have been given. This gift which transports you; this gift that transports us and that has the ability to transport us farther than you might think. This

consciousness is now encased in your body. This consciousness can be projected. To be specific, you all are projections of consciousness. Consciousness is the core field of everything. There is no reality without conscious- ness. You are all projections of consciousness on a certain physical plane. Your consciousness projects onto other planes as well. You are not aware of this at the moment. But let me tell you, your consciousness is not engaged in your body. Even on your plane. Your consciousness can reach far out beyond your body’s borderline. Always be aware of this. Later: “I” (Hans Bender) come into physical union [with Kai Muegge] to explain that the spiritual realm is not an afterlife land. It is not a land of the deceased. It is a land of the living. We talked about that before but I want to talk about that again today because I know that we have certain of you here that work or are part of associations, churches or societies … When we came towards you in the midst of the eigh- teenth century, we wanted to give you the knowledge about bodily survival to expand your mind, to enable you to step backwards to see the bigger picture. Consciousness was not given to you to walk alongside your flesh after years of living on the physical plane. No, the gift of con- sciousness was given to you to play a responsible part in the huge creational plan; the huge creational path on which

every step would lead you closer towards what you would call “Creator.” Unfortunately, those of you who could explore the spiritual realm, this unbelievable realm of all sorts of life, are misled because the institutions, the educators make the spiritual land into a survival camp, so to speak. Spiritu- alism is survivalism today. In reality, mediumistic efforts are only evaluated via communication from brother, mother, aunt or uncle talking to those who are left behind. Now let me tell you something. We know how much it can hurt to lose someone. When I was on your plane, I also lost some- one. I know how that can feel but the point is that it cannot interfere with the creational plan and that is a part of our existence like our birth. Don’t waste what was given to you by staying with the grief. Don’t waste your time. Because, do you know what the greatest pain of those who have transferred to the spiritual realms is? The greatest pain is seeing you in an unfinished grieving pro- cess; to see you not realizing that you are part of a bigger plan. The pain becomes unbearable when we consider that those who have transferred [transitioned], step onto a plane on which they feel immediately reunited with you. You can’t feel it, but it is actually the case because that which you call the spiritual realm is the location from which your existence is projected into the physical world. When a relative or

a friend is gone and arrives on that plane, he becomes reunited with you, and you become reunited with him. You cannot always feel it in your physical shell. Sometimes you smell something or you see something and you feel that the one you have lost is actually very, very close to you. The plane on which we exist lies above the timeline that organizes your lives in the physical. It tells you when to wake up and when to go to bed. When to eat and when to go to work. We live above that timeline. We live in a state of constant and eternal clarity, but what happens is that, those who have transferred to that plane should be projected into new existences of life, but can be bound [by your grief]. Love is a strong bond and can hold back [those who have transitioned]. You can hold back your loved ones. You can hold them back from development when you don’t finish processing your grief. Take a step back and see the whole picture. Conscious- ness was not given to you to die away with your body after seventy or eighty years. Consciousness is the ultimate vehicle that transports you through the dimensions and enables you as a free spirit to enter the depths of the cosmos and to gain Continued page 6 Page 5 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Hans Bender Continued from page 5 the knowledge of universes within seconds, so don’t hold back. Don’t

let your love hold back your loved ones. Make your love let your loved ones go on. This is my message. Later: We are sometimes asked what makes a good medium and usually we like to answer two things. First, what is usually expected? It is what everyone wants; getting knowledge from a higher-organized plane of existence; maybe the plane you call the afterlife or the spiritual plane. The problem that a higher-organized reality, and a parallel- organized physical plane can’t be described with the terminology of your plane. That is why we on these other organized planes cannot directly communicate with you. We must grade down [our energy] to do that. Then we can communicate with you. That means every idea you have about the prefield, every image you make for the prefield, even the image of an afterlife; these are earthly images! These are earthly ideas. They follow the laws of your psychical structure. So, you are hindering yourself from receiving higher information by projecting such ideas within your mediumistic world. You will only receive what you project. This can happen when you project these physical ideas where you want to get higher-organized information. So, get rid of those ideas and open yourself freely and be ready to receive what valuable information might come from these planes and don’t follow institutionalized dogma as long as you want to evolve personally. If you want to be part of an institutionalized church, yes then follow their dogma. If you want

to evolve, then open your mind. Forget everything that was told to you. Make yourself empty. Make yourself a vessel so that whatever might come from there will be of value. So, get rid of all these earthly ideas. They cannot fit a higher-organized plane of existence. They can never be described in earthly terms. The second thing we like to answer is [to say] what the medium is actually learning when he encounters the cornucopia of creation that is in the different lands of existence. He becomes humble, humble towards creation, humble towards every creature of creation. When people ask me what shall I be, a Spiritualist or a Buddhist, we tell him it makes no matter if you are a Spiritualist or a Buddhist. Just be a good man. Just be a good person. Don’t be involved in politics or these different belief systems. Only gain true compassion between men. Make yourself a free spirit with true compassion because the true compassion gives you the key of happiness on the plane you are living on. True compassion; just be a good man. This is my message. Later: Volume 32, Number 3 Page 6 Ladies and gentlemen, I want to remind you that you are in possession of the creational tool that can transport you far beyond your mind’s ability. Don’t waste your time seeking for things that were taken from you by a natural occurrence. No, that makes no sense. Honor what you have been given. Honor your

existence because you yourself will become creationists. The consciousness field I was talking about will gather information from all its sources. Con- sciousness is not one-dimensional. No, it is the spring; it is the source that feeds many, many rivers. It collects infor- mation from all these paths it has created, and once the time is right, the information density will have become so dense that from the spiritual, things will shift into the physical and then a new world will be born on your behalf. With this, I want to say goodnight. Of course that raises many questions. I will send you into the night, dear friends. Every one of you will become new creational hosts when the consciousness field has been compacted to a certain degree of density; information compacted so dense that it shifts itself into the physical. A creation will occur then. Every woman and every man is a universe. Good night ladies and gentlemen. Three Séances Continued from page 3 He passed in 1992 from complications of a stroke. The picture that Hans showed us is almost exactly the pose of the picture I am giving you. His eye bulged from the effects of the stroke that he had. It was taken the day our daugh- ters were baptized and was hanging on my mom’s wall. I believe he was showing me that he was with our smallest twin Sienna who we lost shortly before his death.” Another special thing about the séances was that

Hans spoke in English. Other FEG séances we have attended have had to be translated. And so it was such a gift to listen to Kai’s control speak in English! He told us that he had never learned English during his earth life and was using Kai’s vocabulary, but he did an excellent job. Not only was he easily understood but he provided thought provoking information that touched all of us. We share his words in the article “Hans Bender’s Messages” on page 4. For those of you who may not know, Hans Bender was an iconic parapsychologist who also happens to be known in the history of EVP/ITC. Among other things he is the one who declared ITC experienced by Klaus Schreiber to be real. Big Circle Recording Dates People join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. local time to contact loved ones via EVP. April 11 and 25, May 9 and 23, June 6 and 20 and July 4 and 18 You can send your results to Tom and Lisa at [email protected], but we also encourage you to share your results in the Idea Exchange. Breath Photography by Christopher J. Abbott Opening My Mind I’ve been agnostic most of my adult life and one of the biggest skeptics regarding psychic phenomena, survival after death and the spirit world. I looked to science for answers. For me, the influence a scientist had on me was life changing. When he opened up about his beliefs in favor of

psychic phenomena, it challenged me to review my own belief systems, which I did. This for me was the beginning of an awakening. The left image is breath vapor photographed against the night sky. The vapor is gray-white in color, but as with rainbows, color is produced by light from the camera flash reflecting off of the water droplets. At right is the same image but enhanced by Christine Dennett (kesara.org). time, Back in 2006, I went through a deep depres- sion and was so down I wondered what life was all for. All I could think about was dying; being out of my misery. During I this watched a television program titled “The Nature of Things” with David Suzuki, whom I have always respected and admired. He told a personal story about a psychic phenomenon event that happened within his family. Suzuki said that, one day in the early hours of the morning, his wife awoke abruptly, sitting up in bed, crying and shouting out uncontrollably that her mother had just died. They lived in Vancouver, Canada and her mother lived in Japan. He tried to calm her down and told her it was probably only a bad dream, and that the first thing in the morning, they would call Japan to make sure everything was okay. That morning before they had a chance to call Japan, the phone rang and it was a message from a relative stating that David’s mother-in-law had passed away a few hours earlier.

During this show, Suzuki continued to express some of his beliefs regarding psychic phenomena which took me for a loop. I was shocked with the things I was hearing this renowned scientist say. My first reaction was, “How can such an intelligent man believe in such crap?” For the next few days, I couldn’t get this story out of my head. A few evenings later, I was switching through the television channels but not finding anything interesting to watch. Then I stumbled upon this one show called Psychic Investigators and decided to watch and see what TRASH they were talking about. I was actually amazed that there was so much evidence supporting some of the events presented. It made me ask myself, “How can this be real?” I have always thought I was opened-minded, but after observing my attitude I found this wasn’t the case at all. I hadn’t been willing to listen or have anything to do with psychic phenomena or spirituality at all. I started to see how closed-minded I really was and this sparked a change within me. I had to review this new arising subject more openly and for the next few months this nightly show became an obsession which has led to other things. What I later realized was that life wanted me to drop all my limiting beliefs so that I may learn new, more expanded ones. So in the many people world today look to science for the answers, especially within our western

world. It is a very powerful control- ling factor influencing our belief systems and the way we think. If we can get through to the scientific community with our new experi- ments—new evidence of the spirit world and survival after death and our new ways of communicating with spirit— then maybe great changes can occur. This would be a paradigm change which would raise our consciousness as a species and help our evolution take a giant leap. Learning to Work with Spirit My breath photography began one night back in November of 2010. On that particular night, I was photographing the night sky for orbs in a park close to where I lived. I heard a very clear internal voice say: “Photograph your breath.” I was taken aback by the interruption of my thoughts and the clarity of this voice but recognized it as my guidance or higher-self speaking to me. In the past, I had similar occurrences in which this voice would speak to me. Of course I was happy to oblige and started to do as sug- gested. I began to breath out slowly into the cool night air and photograph my breath. With each click of the shutter release button, I would look at the display on my camera to see what I had captured. I was quite surprised and excited with what I was seeing. The infrared light from the camera seems to be able to pick up images of spirit beings within my breath which

are not visible to the naked eye. I became fascinated with this new method of connecting with spirit. For the next year, I committed to photographing in this way nearly every night. It took a lot of patience and persistence but the passion was there. I would actually look forward to every shoot not knowing what might show up next. I began documenting everything which I thought might be relevant, especially the specific conditions that may contribute to the quality Continued page 8 Page 7 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Breath Photography Continued from page 7 and style of the images in my breath, both environmentally and emotionally. For example, I recorded the date, time, temperature, humidity, wind speed, moon phases, my mood and vibrational frequency at the time of the shoot. The Breath Technique The wind speed and tem- perature seem to be signif- icant factors. When the wind is calm, the results of picking up clearer images are usually much better. I found that I was able to photograph my breath, skyward. My breath being close to the camera lens reflects the light of the flash and shows the breath quite clearly while leaving the open night sky in the background black. I have used five different cameras and have taken thousands of photos, some nights up to four hundred. I'm not the only one having this phenomenon occurring in my photos. I have befriended a few people on Facebook from different parts of the world who are

now using this breath photography technique as well and are picking up similar images within their photos. Some are more open to admitting that it may be their breath that is being manip- ulated by spirit. Breath is one of the simplest things in life for most of us. We take it for granted, yet it’s such a sacred and powerful gift from our Creator. Continued page 15 even on certain evenings and early morn- ings during summer as long as the tem- perature dropped below 17° Celsius (63° Fahrenheit). The texture of my breath shows up quite often looking like a silky fabric with hints of blue, orange and pink color mixed with white. I’m picking up black, brown and darker colors as well. Some nights, the color range is quite amazing. I do know that there is a broad range of information coming through. There have been so many themes presented over the past few years within my breath photos: human, animal, otherworldly beings and angelic beings; some strange looking critters as well. I get beautiful art, some with animated characters, showing humor. Sometimes there are scenes of events being played out. And yes, there are many personal messages from my guidance too, which have helped me tremendously on my journey. Over the past two years or so since photographing my breath, perfect or near-perfect representations of the spirit forms are very rare. Most involved varying degrees of imperfection, many of the images show only a small portion

of the being that is trying to materialize. It is usually the face and then quite often the eyes, mouth and nose may not be in perfect alignment. Images sometimes show up in my day- light breath photos as well, but the breath is easier to see when shot in the dark. I like using a dark background for contrast- ing the white and sometimes colored breath. To achieve this I shoot directly Volume 32, Number 3 Page 8 Rany: Animals Heal and Reincarnate by Sonia Rinaldi It is January, 2013 and one month ago my puppy Ranny, a mix of Pinscher with mongrel, was affected by an uncom- mon genetic disease: Progressive Retinal Atrophy or maybe even the acute related disease called SARDs. I was in shock because she was healthy and sud- denly she lost her sight in a short period of time. This was a bitter pill to swallow. Comment: Here is one of the two fascinating points of this recording. For this answer I understood that “to see” does not depend on the (physical) eyes. As stated by Allan Kardec (when he speaks about clairvoyants), they can see through their “souls” (as the expres- sion used by him). I understand that Kardec refers to the spirit or con- sciousness. There have been many exams, as I consulted three ophthalmologists looking for any chance to get a dif- ferent diagnosis. I just needed a thread of hope; anything that I could grab onto. It is very painful

to accept that her life has changed into eternal night. It is heartbreaking for me to see her lost and stunned. On one of these days of anguish, crying a lot, I made a recording. All of this hurts me so much. I love my small friend of four legs who has been a daily presence in my life for the last eight years. From this concept rises important questions, such as if blind people can also be able to see through “clairvoy- ance.” I notice that Rany, in spite of the fact that her exams show her vision is close to zero, never bumps into objects, doors or people. Is it possible that she is seeing through the eyes of her spirit? Sonia: “It’s painful for me to speak… but she can’t see . Look she is here!” Voice: “She wants to hear.” (The following is translated to English by Sonia) Sonia: “Friends...” Voice: “We will help.” Sonia: “Mr. German...” Voice: “Confirmed” Sonia: “... today Rany is going to have an exam...” Sonia: “There exists a small hope...” Voice: “I’m aware ... I will help.” Voice: “Darling ... tell me.” Sonia: “(She) only wants my lap...” Voice: “I understand...” Sonia: “I always trusted you...” Voice: “Change and trust” Comment: Lately I’ve manifested a bit of distrust, that’s why he asks me to change. [Editor: Mr. German is Sonia’s long-time communicator on the other side.] Sonia: “(I had lots of expenses) my economies...” Voice: “Here is the proof.” Comment: In

fact I have received support so that without it, the situation will be very difficult. It’s a proof of our friend´s support. Sonia: “Mr. German, I feel very bad due to Rany’s disease … you know the enormous affection that I have for her, don´t you?” Voice: “Go ahead! She lives … (your) darling sees, yes, through clairvoyance.” Rany Comment: It was an exciting moment because I was recording with the door half open, but Rany pushed with her small leg and entered to the room.... it was when I saw her and said “look she is here!” Voice: “It’s still too early.” Sonia: “There’s a small chance that we still can help … ” Voice: “I will see her eyes!” Comment: I note that the dialog with the other side is accurate – since they confirm that they know that what I am speaking about is correct. Voice: “From here (the eyes) look good.” Comment: Interesting confirmation that the eyes of the spirit are perfect. That means that as per their (the speak- ers’) point of view Rany’s eyes are okay. Sonia: “And you brought Safira...” Voice: “Something is happening, we show to you, friend, you will enjoy.” Comment: Here, we are approaching another amazing part of the recording that I need to explain. About six months ago, during a torrential raining, a dog appeared at my door. To make the story short, I adopted her. I gave her the name of Safira; a mongrel, but the most docile

dog that I’ve ever seen. In that moment of the recording I remembered that a vet told me some days before that, when a dog (of a group or of a house) becomes disabled, the others instinc- tively protect him. This gave me the idea to ask my communicators to orient Safira to guide Rany. Sonia: “Please guide and orient Safira!” Page 9 Continued page 10 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Rany Continued from page 9 Voice: “I confirm the dialog (between both dogs).” Comment: Impressive that the speakers state that indeed Safira will be the “dog guide” for the little one. Sonia: “But please help Rany ...” Voice: “We invest in lives from below (Earth).” Safira Interest- Comment: ingly the speakers refer to us as “living from below,” so possibly they make a distinction between deceased people and living people on or around Earth. The indication of “below” indicates the Earth, which implies that they are spatially above. Sonia: “Do you want me to assist/help people?” Voice: “It is important to make a selection of the live ones.” Comment: They ask me to select the people that I will help (make recordings for consolation). Curiously they mixed words in Portuguese and Spanish (as used to happen in the pioneer Jürgenson´s recordings). Voice: “You still will have many wars.” Comment: Maybe this is a cliché for them, meaning “you still have a long life ahead,” or many things to be done. Sonia: “I was so sad when I saw her...”

Sonia: “Friends...” Voice: “An airship will come” Comment: Again a mix of words in Portuguese and Spanish in the same sentence. Important: the sound source I was using was fully German language, more precisely the Deutch Welle channel. Obviously no Portuguese or Spanish words were pronounced. Voice: “We brought back, Dálama, for her (Rany)…” Comment: This is the most significant and impressive part of this recording. I was not thinking of my deceased dog named Dálama, which is a very uncommon name! I haven’t thought of her for years, since she died ten years earlier. She was a black German shepherd and had died due to age. With that surprising answer, I thought how Safira appeared here. Is that possible that Safira is the reincarnation of Dálama? Coincidentally, both are black and docile, but I never associated one with the other. That that implies months ago, our com- municators already knew what would occur with Rany. I was surprised with such demonstration of how much they know of our intimate life. I never mentioned Dálama´s name in any recording, how could they know about her? Sonia: “I need Rany so much...” Dálama Voice: “Won’t recover” Voice: “In Alpha will function.” Comment: This was what I didn’t want to hear. In spite of that, the negative (the word “Não”) is not very clear. The impression is that they say in Portuguese “Não vai concer- tar” – but sometimes the same audio seems to sound without the “não” – that is: -“Vai

concertar”! In such case, it means that she will be healed. Anyway, as they promised to help, I will not give up at all. Ordinary vet-medicine says that this disease cannot be healed, though with their help things may change. So I made an appointment with an acupuncture vet. I am also trying a treatment with an American vet that assists animals remotely. She is said to be highly competent, so I will try her treatment too. Sonia: “Please try to request for help...” Voice: “I will connect you up there” Comment: With this I perceived that the deceased com- municator would ask for support of higher entities, maybe extraterrestrials, since in the sequence they mention an “airship”/UFO in the next dialog. Comment: Aplha has been mentioned with extreme fre- quency, and seems to refer to a spiritual city. Could be a remarkable coincidence that in 1986, I wrote a book (automatic writing) named Mission Alpha 1 (Clarim Editor) that describes the exchange between the (spirit) beings of that city and us. Voice: “If (person) is good, we help.” Sonia: “Thank you friends... Comment: Here, I understand that they help the people who they consider deserve their help. Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi is the founder and coordinator of IPATI and is one of the world’s most progressive ITC researchers. The IPATI website is at ipati.org. Volume 32, Number 3 Page 10 Relationship Between Physical Phenomena and Electronic Voice Phenomena in Séances with a Physical Circle by Rachel Browning (This is

a digested version. The full report may be read at evp-voices.info/evp-voices_research_report_EVP.html ) Introduction The following article documents the spontaneous record- ing of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) in an experimen- tal physical séance circle. It is a personal attempt to investigate and understand the nature of the voices. The initial focus was to determine the source and validity of voices obtained on digital recorders during séances and to investigate their concurrence with sitters’ reports of visual phenomena. As yet, it has not been possible to determine a source that would explain or replicate the phenomena. The Furzey Hill Physical Circle was formed to explore the validity of physical séance phenomena. From 2005 to 2008, members changed intermittently and the reported phe- nomena varied from sitting to sitting. Whilst very occasion- ally, a partial materialization was reported, more common phenomena such as fleeting lights and noises were reported with regularity. In May 2008, I was gifted an Olympus VN2100 Voice Recorder. I sat alone and made a recording of 38 minutes; it has some of the clearest voices captured so far. The most startling are two elderly women; one has a distinctly upper class English accent,v1 the other has a regional London accent.v2 Expecting the recorded voices to be an isolated occurrence, I took the recorder into the next sitting. Not only were there multiple voices present, possibly the same elderly lady could be heard.v3 Some group members were very concerned that a study of the voices would de-focus the group from

our original goal of developing physical phenomena. A fixed study period from August 2009 to March 2010 was agreed after which we would return to our original focus of sittings. The Séance Circle and Reported Phenomena The group regularly consists of three members including me, who acts as the medium. Members are not religious but the group sits as a Spiritualist circle; however, there are three important departures from the traditional phys- ical séance; the use of continuous red light, no use of music or singing and I do not enter a state of trance. There is one source of light in the room, an overhead fluorescent globe with a 60-watt red bulb. This is controlled by a dimmer switch, which is out of the reach of sitters and the medium. In one corner of the room, there is a black- curtained cabinet. In sittings, the curtains have an aperture at the front of approximately two feet, allowing the sitters a clear view of the medium. Blackout blinds are placed at the window and cover the recessed doorway, successfully eliminating all daylight. It was agreed that the first three sittings would be held in blackout conditions to encourage the development of phenomena. The first phenomenon to be reported in the circle was a dull white/yellow light approximately two inches in diam- eter, emanating from a wall to the left of the séance cabinet – this was visible for approximately fifteen minutes. Moderate red light up to 20 watts does not

appear to inhibit the generation of physical phenomena. Lights are still seen, both static and moving. They have been described as tiny pinks of color to brilliant flashes of lightning. At 60 watts, knocking, unexplained noises and EVP capture are reported but no visible phenomena. We attributed our observations to low lighting; however, coincidental EVP have confirmed many reports of lights and noises. Figure 1: The séance room Partial materializations were reported in five isolated sittings over the period of nine years. Transfiguration was the most common type of phenomenon commented on in EVP. An example was the voice of gentleman with a North East English accent, who said “We’re not impressed with that,” as a circle member observes many faces transfigur- ing in rapid succession.v4 Audible phenomena can be most perplexing; the sound of a heavy horse walking on cobble- stones was centered in the middle of the room. Again, this phenomenon was never repeated. Voices have been heard in the séance room by all present but never clearly enough to understand their speech. Whistles are occasionally heard in the room, at other times they can be heard on the recording without our awareness at the time.v5 All guests sitting with us whilst a recording was made were able to identify voices on the recordings not heard in the séance room. EVP Communicators’ The communicator’s motivation to make contact and talk appears to be either out of curiosity to find out if they can be heard or to make

a comment on an aspect of the sitting. Continued page 16 Page 11 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Why Bad Science is like Bad Religion by Dr. Rupert Sheldrake In both religion and science, some people are dishonest, exploitative, incompetent and exhibit other human failings. My concern here is with the bigger picture. I have been a scientist for more than forty years, having studied at Cambridge and Harvard. I researched and taught at Cambridge University, was a research fellow of the Royal Society, and have more than eighty publications in peer- reviewed journals. I am strongly pro-sci- ence. But I am more and more convinced that the spirit of free inquiry is being repressed within the scientific community by a fear-based conformity. Institutional science is being crippled by dogmas and taboos. Increasingly expensive research is yielding diminishing returns. Bad religion is arrogant, self-righteous, dogmatic and intolerant. And so is bad science. But unlike religious fundamental- ists, scientific fundamentalists do not realize that their opinions are based on faith. They think they know the truth. They believe that science has already solved the fundamental questions. The details still need working out, but in principle the answers are known. Science at its best is an open-minded method of inquiry, not a belief system. But the “scientific worldview,” based on the materialist philosophy, is enormously prestigious because science has been so successful. Its achievements touch all our lives through technologies like computers, jet planes, cell phones, the Internet and modern medicine. Our

intellectual world has been transformed through an immense expansion of scientific knowledge, down into the most microscopic particles of matter and out into the vastness of space, with hundreds of billions of galaxies in an ever-expanding universe. Science has been successful because it has been open to new discoveries. By contrast, committed materialists have made science into a kind of religion. They believe that there is no reality but material or physical reality. Consciousness is a by-product of the physical activity of the brain. Matter is unconscious. Nature is mechanical. Evolution is purpose- less. God exists only as an idea in human minds, and hence in human heads. These materialist beliefs are often taken for granted by scientists, not because they have thought about them critically, but because they haven’t. To deviate from them is heresy, and heresy harms careers. Since the 19th century, materialists have promised that science will eventually explain everything in terms of physics and chemistry. Science will prove that living organ- isms are complex machines, nature is purposeless and minds are nothing but brain activity. Believers are sus- tained by the implicit faith that scientific discoveries will justify their beliefs. The philosopher of science Karl Popper called this stance “promissory materialism” because it depends on issuing promissory notes for discoveries not yet made. Many promises have been issued, but few redeemed. Materialism is now facing a credibility crunch unimaginable in the 20th century. As I show in my new book, Science Set Free, unexpected problems are

disrupting the sciences from within. Many scientists prefer to think that these problems will eventually be solved by more research along established including myself, think that they are symptoms of a deeper malaise. Science is being held back by centuries-old assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. lines, but some, Despite the confident claim in the late 20th century that genes and molecular biology would soon explain the nature of life, the problems of biological development remain unsolved. No one knows how plants and animals develop from fertilized eggs. Many details have been discovered, hundreds of genomes have been sequenced but there is still no proof that life and minds can be explained by physics and chemistry alone. The technical triumph of the Human Genome Project led to big surprises. There are far fewer human genes than anticipated, a mere 23,000 instead of 100,000. Sea urchins have about 26,000 and rice plants 38,000. Attempts to predict characteristics such as height have shown that genes account for only about 5 percent of the variation from person to person, instead of the 80 percent expected. Unbounded confidence has given way to the “missing heritability problem.” Meanwhile, investors in genomics and biotechnology have lost many billions of dollars. A recent report by the Harvard Business School on the biotechnology industry revealed that “only a tiny fraction of companies had ever made a profit” and showed how promises of breakthroughs have failed over and over again. Despite the brilliant technical achievements of neurosci- ence, like

brain scanning, there is still no proof that consciousness is merely brain activity. Leading journals such as Behavioural and Brain Sciences and the Journal of Consciousness Studies publish many articles that reveal deep problems with the materialist doctrine. The philoso- pher David Chalmers has called the very existence of subjective experience the “hard problem.” It is hard because it defies explanation in terms of mechanisms. Continued page 13 Volume 32, Number 3 Page 12 Death Cafe Winfried Veil Fotography, flickr.com/photos/winfried-veil; win- fried-veil.de A Death Cafe sounds like a pretty bad place doesn’t it? It certainly wouldn’t be anyplace that most people would think they wanted to go, but its actually a good idea that is way past it’s time. At Death Cafes people come together to discuss the least talked about and most taboo topic in our culture, “death.” The objective of Death Cafes is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” Jon Underwood founded Death Cafe in 2011 based on the work of Swiss sociologist Bernard Crettaz. Bernard offered “Café Mortels” in Switzerland and France that provided a place for people to meet informally to discuss ideas. Jon read of this in a newspaper article in November 2010. He was already developing a project to get people talking about death and immediately knew that Bernard’s vision clicked with his. In the United States, Death Cafes have spread quickly and more than 100 meetings have been held since its

first inception. Lizzy Miles, who organized that first meeting in Columbus, Ohio, says discussion topics have included euthanasia, grief, the bestselling book Proof of Heaven and do not resuscitate orders. Around 1,000 people have so far attended a Death Cafe across England, Wales, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Italy. The events have invariably been very special and feedback has been fantastic. Underwood has established Death Cafe as a “social franchise.” “This means that anyone with the skills and experience can host one if they sign up to our principles. These are that Death Cafes are always offered: Ÿ On a not-for-profit basis (though to be sustainable we try to cover expenses through donations and fundraising) Ÿ With no intention of leading participants towards any particular conclusion, product or course of ac- tion Ÿ In an accessible, respectful and confidential space, free of discrimination. We encourage hosts to let their communities know a Death Cafe does not constitute a bereavement support or grief counseling setting, especially not for people who have experienced a very recent and/or traumatic loss or death. This is partly in an effort to sustain Death Cafes as comfort- able, relaxed and openly exploratory spaces, as well as to respect continuity of existing bereavement resources.” A guide was produced about how to run your own Death Cafe. It is available at deathcafe.com. More about Proof of Heaven at lifebeyonddeath.net Bad Science Continued from page 12 Even if we understand how eyes and brains respond to red light, the

experience of redness is not accounted for. In physics, too, the problems are multiplying. Since the beginning of the 21st century, it has become apparent that known kinds of matter and energy make up only about four percent of the universe. The rest consists of “dark matter” and “dark energy.” The nature of ninety-six percent of physical reality is literally obscure. Contemporary theoretical physics is dominated by super- string and M theories, with ten and eleven dimensions respectively, which remain untestable. The multiverse theory, which asserts that there are trillions of universes besides our own, is popular among cosmologists in the absence of any experimental evidence. These are interest- ing speculations, but they are not hard science. They are a shaky foundation for the materialist claim that everything can be explained in terms of physics. Good science, like good religion, is a journey of discovery, a quest. It builds on traditions from the past. But it is most effective when it recognizes how much we do not know; when it is not arrogant but humble. Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D., is a biologist and author of Science Set Free. He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge University, where he was Director of Studies in cell biology, and was Principal Plant Physiologist at the Interna- tional Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in Hydera- bad, India. From 2005-2010 he was Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project, funded by Trinity College, Cambridge. His web site is www.sheldrake.org. Sheldrake has proposed the Hypothesis of

Formative Causation, a concept concerning a mechanism for the effect of intentionality that has been influential in the development of the Trans-survival Hypothesis. Page 13 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal ATransC Trans-survival Hypothesis by Tom Butler Do you believe in survival? Are you sure you understand what “survival” means as the term is used in the context of transcommunication? We talk about survival all of the time, but on close examination, we see that not everyone thinks of it in the same way. For instance, the majority of mainstream society accepts the idea that some aspect of them will continue after they die. Mainstream academia, represented by universities and most scien- tists, thinks of survival in terms of the question whether or not mind is the product of brain or exists independent of brain. The mainstream hardly ever gets far enough into the question to worry about the implications of mind inde- pendent of the brain. Spiritualists mostly accept the fact of sur- vival, but it is common to hear Spiritualists and Spiritualist-minded people to speaking of communicating with loved ones in spirit while speaking of themselves as if they were not also “in spirit.” In fact, the majority of concepts associated with mediumship and energy healing are nicely explained with the Super-Psi Hypothesis. Education is an important part of the ATransC mission, so it seems important to provide a well-considered theory about sur- vival. We begin by describing the competition. About Hypotheses The idea of research is to study

the subject and see where the evidence leads. With enough data, it is possible to develop a hypothesis which orders that evidence into a sort of roadmap describing what is being studied. Researchers should then be able to say that the hypothesis predicts certain things, and then test the subject to see if the predictions are true. An important benefit of well-written hypotheses is that they can be used to explain what has been learned so that others can test the predictions. When that is true, the larger community of researchers should be able to say the hypothesis makes sense, it needs further work or the fact of the subject has not been established. The Major Theories At this time, there are three contending theories or hypoth- eses describing the relationship of people, the physical world and the greater reality. Of course, one simply contends that there is only the physical world and that mind is the product of brain; death means cessation of mind. We can call that the Physical World Hypothesis and it is supported by mainstream academia. The second theory contends that the Physical World Hypothesis is largely correct, except that there is an overlying field of subtle energy which connects everything. It is independent of space and time. Most importantly, a subtle energy aspect of everything is represented in the field, including thought and memory. When a person dies, the body dies and mind continues as a memory. This is the Super-Psi Hypothesis which is supported

by the majority of parapsy- chologists but rejected by mainstream aca- demia. it The third theory is that the Super-Psi is largely correct, except that mind existed before the body and continues to exists after bodily death. The overlying subtle energy field is actually part of a greater, nonphysical reality of which the physical aspect of reality is a subset. Further, that discarnate mind is able to communicate with the minds of still physi- cal people. This is the Survival Hypothesis, which is mostly supported by Spiritualists and some parapsychologists. Certainly is rejected by mainstream academia. Trans-survival Hypothesis Because most views of the Survival Hypothesis are only concerned with survived memory, we have named the ATransC version the Trans- survival Hypothesis to avoid confusion. It is described in detail in the Theory section of ATransC.org. Care has been taken not to coin a lot of new terms, but some of the word usage might be a little unfamiliar. Also, there are a number of concepts which may be new to you. Those have been explained, but you will have to do some work if you want to understand the hypothe- sis. Be sure to read the supporting essays and do use the extensive Glossary of Terms. The Trans-survival Hypothesis is really a theory about the nature of reality. Reality is a pretty big place and certainly is not simple. Even if you do not agree with the hypothesis, you are sure to come away a lot more knowledgeable about what

is known, what is conjecture and where you fit into the scheme of things. Test the hypothesis, and let us know what you think. It is a draft and will certainly evolve as more is understood. The important point is that it is a beginning place, a “straw man” which we are asking you to help evolve. Volume 32, Number 3 Page 14 Eternea Near-death experiencer, and author of Proof of Heaven, Eben Alexander, says Eternea is the convergence of science and spir- ituality. It is the name of the new foundation that he has set up. The foundation’s goal is to help create a better future for Earth and its inhabitants by promoting an understanding of seven pos- tulates concerning the nature of reality, predicated on evidence from contemporary research in science and medicine. This research suggests that some core aspect of consciousness exists beyond the brain, survives bodily death and continues eternally. The seven postulates are: 1. Some core aspect of consciousness extends beyond the brain and its processes, transcending physical form and existing independently of it; 2. This core aspect of consciousness or inner essence is eternal in nature, unbounded by space, time and matter, able to manifest in other forms throughout the infinite spectrum of eternal existence; 3. All things in the cosmos are interconnected at the quantum level, influencing each other non-locally and instantaneously, implying that all things are one in the grand web of creation; 4. The organizing principle of the cosmos and the

over- arching purpose of evolution is unconditional love; 5. There is a profound creative intelligence underlying the universe from which all things originate and to which all things return; In an interconnected universe an intricate matrix of cause-effect relationships exists, suggesting that what we do to others we do to ourselves, which means that we reap what we sow; and 6. 7. The good of the one and the good of the many are symbiotic, affirming the ancient wisdom that we can be only as strong as our weakest link. Eternea sponsors research and education about Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) and Non-Local Con- sciousness (NLC). In order to improve the quality of life, Eternea undertakes practical projects in social action and community outreach as well as convergence initiatives to foster cooperation between science and spirituality. Eternea also offers tools and resources to facilitate a direct interactive experiential connection with STEs and NLC through various induction techniques and strategies. In addition, Eternea provides free comprehensive Internet resources and tools for the general public and the scientific community, as well as offering additional resources for members. See eternea.org Breath Photography Continued from page 8 I have no fear of experiencing or witnessing phenomena which break the laws of our physical world. I have come to learn fear is what holds us back from accomplishing great things in our lives. I think it’s up to each one of us though, to be mindful when trying to make contact with the paranormal and use

common sense. Each night before I go on a shoot, I say a prayer and set the intention of bringing through information for the highest good of all. Just recently, in April of this year (2013), I contacted Christine Dennett, a sketch artist from Los Angeles whose reputation as a “psychic artist” is now widely known and whose work is simply amazing! I asked her to help me with my illustrations. Christine’s website is at kesara.org. I describe to her or send her outlines of what I see in my photos, along with a copy of the original. She then medi- tates on the photo and enhances the original copy. With expertise in Photoshop editing, she is able to adjust the lighting contrast within the photo so that under-exposed and over-exposed areas can be adjusted separately and maintained. Christine is able to “tune in” to the images as she works with them, bringing out the rich detail of the imagery that otherwise might be missed. She has amazing results in making the hidden visible to the naked eye. In most instances, she sees the same image as I do, although she is able to show much more detail. That said, there are times when we don't see the same thing at all. These photos are only for your viewing pleasure. Please do not copy or use any of them without permission. Shown side by side, you will see my original photo on the left, and then Christine’s artistically enhanced version

on the right. There are many of us who have experienced so many miracles that defy the laws of science. We really have to be more open-minded about all that's going on and try experimenting with different sources. Please try photo- graphing them for yourself and see what you discover. Let’s have fun with our photography and be adventurous … let’s make new discoveries. You can see more of Chris’ work at breath-photography.com [Editor: Chris’ breath images appear to be formed in much the same way that images in light reflected from moving water or video-loops are formed. The breath vapor is chaotic visible “noise” that is known to be able to be influenced by intentional- ity. In this view, his technique is consistent with other techniques, and represents a very accessible, novel approach to ITC. You can trust the shape and coloration of his originals that are suggestive of flesh and faces as being the product of intended order.] Page 15 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal the time of recording. EVP in Séances Continued from page 11 They do not report being directed to make contact but do on occasion refuse to speak if they are reprimanded by another communicator. Received EVP clips do not provide evidence that communicators have a depth of knowledge on the mechanics of how they send messages but they are fully aware that they can be heard on our recording devices. Regular members have received no communication from families or friends. Personal messages to

members are purely centered on the phenomena within the circle. Some communicators express an ability to follow a member away from the group but have no function other than to observe their actions. They express little interest in assisting with our development but are enter- tained by our endless fascina- tion with them. At no point has the circle received regular mes- sages from a group of communi- cators that perform as guides to facilitate development. Regular communicators have distinct accents and often repeat the same phrase, almost a vocal calling card. Many are willing to give their name, but when asked for personal information that would satisfy us of their identity, it is not forthcoming. We rarely capture messages telling us how or why the communicator died or a matter pertaining to their death, it does not seem important to them. At odds with this are EVP from field recordings, where EVP is more likely to make reference to death and dying. Séance Recordings Up to four laptops were used to analyze each recording; all are standard unmodified machines, each running Audac- ity 1.3 beta (Unicode), which is an open source sound editing platform. Four digital recorders are used; two Olympus VN2100, a Sony ICD-B600 and an Olympus LS10. External microphones were not used. After the sitting, data is immediately transferred from all devices to Audacity in real time. Direct file transfers were only possible from the Olympus LS10; these had fewer voices versus the same recording transferred via

a cable. Once clipped, isolated EVP are played as soon as possible to those who attended the sitting; it is important that reviewers have a fresh memory of the discussions held in the séance. Depending on our understanding, EVP clips are then graded into three categories; A: clear and easily understood by most listeners, B: understandable with repeated playing or earphones and C: difficult to under- stand speech or a noise not heard in the séance room at The ability to obtain EVP on four digital audio recorders and on three laptops illustrates the phenomenon is not an inherent or idiosyncratic anomaly to one device. When used together, both Olympus VN2100s were capable of picking up the same voice, at varying levels. Only two voice clips were captured on the Olympus LS10 at the same time as a VN2100; although audible, they were Grade C clips and not easily understood. I prefer not to artificially modulate isolated EVP, so it is necessary to learn the patterns of stress, pitch and inflection before attempting to interpret each message. There are examples of very clear but meaningless EVP in our archive, these are excellent in training your ear for analysis but purposeless in their content.v6 EVP comments can be seem- ingly random, nonsensical and grammatically incorrect. Single words are often spoken in isola- tion and it is rare that we capture more than a short sen- tence. Foreign clips are captured infrequently; those that could be interpreted have had meaning to the

group. Without doubt, the most puzzling EVP are those of members’ voices, speaking phrases and sentences that we are certain were not spoken by us. This type of EVP is nearly always clear, although characteristi- cally incorrect in comparison to their normal vocal profile and use of language.v7 We discussed in the circle how our voices could be manipulated; we were surprised to hear the reply, “Then I change the waves.”v8 EVP comments hint that existing sound waves in the environment are morphed to convey the message of the sender. For some recordings in 2009, the in-between station noise from a short wave radio set at 5 MHz was tested as a carrier wave for voices. These sittings were outside of the specified study period and its use did not increase the capture of the voices, it was therefore discontinued. The Study There were a total of twenty-one sittings within the study period. Recordings were reviewed and a tally was made of how many direct responses or irrelevant comments were isolated. From the results, it appears that relatively few direct responses were captured in any one sitting, but if considered overall, eleven percent of the total number of EVP clips were of interest. It should be noted that a number of these clips were grade C and therefore an unpracticed ear may well arrive at a less impressive figure. As well as looking at the amount of direct responses, I was keen to establish if EVP could be captured on

more than one device at a time. Continued page 17 Volume 32, Number 3 Page 16 EVP in Séances Continued from page 16 In the sittings where two recorders were used, there are examples of the same EVP present on both recordings. Whilst these clips are significant there are relatively few; further duplicated recordings are taking place to try to replicate the results. Whilst the study provided a focus for critical listening; it did not address my subjective interpretation of the EVP. I wanted more certainty that the clips I translated would be commonly understood by a wider English speaking audi- ence and I was concerned that my interpretations would lead to selective reporting and bias. I chose to perform an online listening survey to compare my interpretation of EVP versus a test subject. Participants were directed to the two-part survey through the group website. Before beginning the survey participants were asked to declare if they believed in the possibility of afterlife com- munication, if they were a non-believer or if they were undecided. In part one, they were asked to interpret a mix of a series of 8 Grade A, B and C clips from the archive. In part two, they were provided with a translation of the same 8 clips and asked if they agreed with our interpretations. It was tempting to present only class A voices, those that are most easily understood, however, I considered that a range of clips requiring varying levels of auditory acuity would

provide a more realistic appraisal of interpretative skill. All groups were more inclined to attempt a translation if they did not agree with the provided interpretation. In part one, no group or individual was able to interpret the clips which had an unusual speed - yet I had found translations easy. The remaining clips were more like everyday speech; test subjects found them easier to understand. I consider the survey to have been personally helpful even if the outcome was somewhat predictable. I cannot assume to provide an agreed interpretation for all voice clips but am confident that the translations I provide for grade A clips are likely to be agreed with by other listeners. Direct Response Examples The first recording took place in May, 2008. By December, 2008, EVP clips with direct relevance to the circle were building. I consider a direct response or comment to be a voice other than ours that answers a question, makes a remark concerning the action of a group member or a valid observation of something taking place within the room. I was keen to understand how much awareness the EVP senders had of our environment. I have provided the transcripts of three clips that I think illustrate well the communicators’ ability to both hear and see what is happening in the séance room: Clip 1. My voice: “Down there,” EVP: “Big flash.” A circle members says, “I saw a big white flash.” v9 Clip 2. A circle members says, “Great big flash

on your head.” EVP: “That bastard saw me!” v10 (See Figure 2) Clip 3. My voice: “There’s a group of chaps and all standing there talking.” EVP: “Is anybody saying they “Great big flash on your head” “That bastard saw me.” Figure 2: Audacity waveform of clip v10 think of us?” v11 Conclusion The ability to capture a voice on more than one device at the same time may indicate that the EVP is a recorded transmission of a physical sound wave and not a mechan- ical or electrical fault inherent to a recording device. This does not in itself provide evidence of an incorporeal source but it does suppose a source of physical generation. It also leads to the unanswerable question; how would an ether- ical intelligence commute thought to a sound wave that is able to be recorded at the same pitch and volume as human speech but that is not heard in the environment at the time of recording? It would be logical having only read the study results to conclude that EVP does not provide evidence of post mortem communication. However, had you taken part in a sitting, witnessed the recording and were satisfied that no deception took place, then on playback were able to hear an anomalous voice in reply to yours, it would be logical to explore all alternative explanations, regardless of how unlikely they were. We are fortunate in continuing to experience and report physical phenomena and EVP in our sittings; the study

and recordings will continue. Voice References Clips v1 – v11 can be heard at: evp-voices.info/evp- voices_report_EVP.html The full report may be read at: evp-voices.info/evp-voices_research_report_EVP.html Should you have any questions or if you would like to discuss the study, I can be contacted at the following address rachel@evp- voices.info or through the website: evp-voices.info/contact [Editor: EVP will “normally” occur in only one recording process at a time. An exception is if the noise output device has an analog stage. In that case, it is possible the EVP could be formed there and recorded by more than one recorder. With this exception, the one process-one EVP characteristic is so dependable that it is used in the Control Recorder for EVP Best Practice: atransc.org/bp/Control_recorder_for_EVP.] Page 17 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal A Strange Portrait By Michael Tymn Retired from full-time college and university teaching of cultural anthropology and sociology, Paul Biscop, Ph.D. now has more time to focus on his duties as resident medium at the Two Worlds Spiritualist Centre in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Marianne Biscop told me an intriguing story about a portrait he drew in pencil and pastel chalk in 1960, when he was 17. “It was a portrait from my own mind, and not from a photo or a live model,” he explained. “I did not know why I seemed compelled to do this portrait – it was an unusual experience – nor did I know who she was.” Feeling a strong connection to the picture, Biscop called her “Marianne,”

after a Harry Belafonte song of the times. Years later, in 1969, when Biscop was exploring medium- ship, he sat with a Montreal medium named George Harris. None of the deceased relatives mentioned by the medium registered with Biscop, nor did it make any sense to him when Harris said that the name Andrew was held dear to his mother’s heart. Over the years, Biscop sat with other mediums, a number of them informing him that he had a sister in spirit, which Biscop denied. When he was 43, however, Biscop was informed by his parents that he had been adopted at age five months. That prompted him to begin a search for his biological roots. Working with Parent Finders Canada and with his own spirit connections, Biscop identified his birth mother and found the executor of her estate. From her, he found out that he had an older sister named “Mari- anne,” who had died when just a week old, and that his mother’s father was named Andrew. Marianne would have Paul Biscop’s mother been about twenty at the time Biscop drew her portrait and that age is about what she appears to be in the portrait. Many spirit messages suggest that those who die young continue to grow and develop in the spirit world. “If you were to look at the photos of my birth mother and her husband, you would see a striking resemblance to the young woman in my portrait, as you would see the strong

resemblance of my own to my mother,” Biscop continued. “So I did indeed have a very important connec- tion to both the name of Andrew, and to an unknown sister, whose name was Marianne.” Michael Tymn is author of The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die (whitecrowbooks.com) His latest book, Resurrecting Leonora Piper: How Science Discovered the Afterlife is on Amazon and other online book stores. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 about what came through the radio of ITC researcher Adolf Holmes from Bender in 1994. Bender had said, “Your system of reality is one of countless others. All are happen- ing at the same time. The ‘frequency’ of our own reality is so short that it cannot be perceived by you. It is far outside the range of electromagnetic wavelengths and has nothing to do with it anymore. Do not visualize that we exist about you such as in ‘Heaven.’ The concepts ‘above’ and ‘below’ are products of your mind. The soul does not swing upwards, it exists in the center and orients itself in every direction. Things which you create with your mind are always part of your post mortal life whether they seem real or not. This is also true of your religion. You shall always find what you created in your mind such as a benevolent God or an evil devil. Therefore, concentrate on the depth of your consciousness and on what you consider positive and good.” One would have to say this message is

from the same personality, only coming through a different medium (no pun intended) nearly twenty years later. See the transcripts of Hans Bender’s words during the Reno séances on pages 4-6. It is interesting to note the evolution in terminology from 1994 to 2013. Terms like “frequency” then have been replaced with ones like “field” today. Both clearly intend the same concept. Tom has been developing a cosmology that addresses this which evolves from the Trans-survival Hypotheses. You can review it via atransc.org/theory.htm. It has developed out of our understanding of transcommu- nication and he is delighted that it seems to agree with Bender’s message. Tom and Lisa Volume 32, Number 3 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Margaret Downey wrote, “This week I was chatting with my friend, Gloria, and she mentioned her mom who crossed in 2009. I asked for her mom’s name (Norma) and said I’d be sure to keep my ears and eyes on the lookout for her mom in my EVP/ITC sessions. Then I went to Gloria’s photo album on Facebook and saw the pictures of her mom. Right away, I thought one of the photos looked very similar to an image I received last February. And when I checked the date on the file name, it happened to be Gloria’s daughter’s birthday. So, Norma popped into my crystal photography session that was done on her granddaughter’s birthday!! It never ceases to amaze me how those in spirit will seemingly facilitate making connections after they’ve come through.

Here’s the comparison image. The ITC image is turned a bit to the right of the frame and looking slightly upward, but I’m thinking WOWIE! The nose is a little bit shorter and wider at this angle, but the mouth, chin, eyes and face shapes are a very close match. And the hair in the ITC image is definitely a match for the photo, in my opinion. Thank you, Norma, for coming through and helping your daughter and me make the discovery that you’d come through for her. Lisa L. wrote, “I recently lost my dad in April, this year. We were close and I was devastated, especially as I had let him down. I was feeling low and I didn’t know what to believe in anymore and my faith was fading. I have never seen a medium, however I’m in the process of seeking one. I have a recorder on my Ipad, out of curiosity I left it on and went to bed. The next day I put headphones on and listened back. I heard quite a few things, my name (Lisa, where’s Lisa?). I was skeptical so I tried for a few nights and my name is said nearly every night. One day, I was just listening to a few recordings that I had previously made and hit the rewind button. I heard very clearly and loudly someone say Alfie. This is my dad’s name. At least five people can confirm this and it’s not hard to miss.

What I don’t understand is that it isn’t my dad’s voice who said Alfie, it was a young voice, also the person who says “Lisa” is a woman’s voice. None of the voices sound familiar. Christopher Scott wrote, “I’m a technology practice leader from Chicago who has been experimenting with TransCom- munication since 2008. I work with EVP using various methods including water, noise, phone loops, direct radio and radio sweep. M. S. wrote, “I am a member of a physical mediumship circle. We have recorded numerous EVP. With our spirit team, we are at present developing direct voice phenom- ena. We have on recordings whistles and “voice sounds” of their attempts to communicate. I am a developing mental medium and have twice used EVP recordings which seem to have linked in with my readings. I have an EVP from a sitting with physical circle saying a name. I had done a reading for the mother of the young man with the same name who passed to spirit. I also have experimented with skotography [spirit writing] and during an experiment a picture developed of a woman, which I do believe is my great grandmother. (I never met my great grandmother.) Erased-voice EVP? Dear Tom and Lisa, We want to share a story that we think you will find interesting. My wife, Joanne, and I were attempting to collect EVP from our son Nicky, who passed in 2003. We already have a couple of really impressive EVP from him but we

wanted to try to get a new one. We purchased a digital recorder and sat in Nicky’s room. We would start the recorder, ask questions and wait for a reply. We did this for two nights with no results. On the third night, as we began to record, I was chiding Nicky a bit, sort of a mock reprimand for not giving us the results we expected. I told him that I knew he was with us and that I wanted him to show us what he could do. Well, he showed us. When we played back the record- ing my voice was completely gone! We could hear everything else. We could still hear the room sounds, my wife and I moving in our chairs, the air in the room, but, not me. My voice and only my voice had been removed. Our clever, funny, prank-loving, son had shown what he could do alright. He had invented a new kind of EVP - “ERASED VOICE PHENOMENON”!...lol Blessings, Dave and Joanne O’Neill Kane [The Summer 2007 issue of the ATransC NewsJournal (26-2, page 11) included an article about Nick. Dave wrote a book inspired by contacts from Nick, 41 Signs of Hope, newriverpress.com.] Page 19 Fall 2013 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal David Thompson Séances Reno, Nevada, USA January 28 - February 1 Sponsored by the Spiritualist Society of Reno Internationally known materialization medium, David Thompson, will demonstrate physical mediumship in three séances: Tuesday, January 28: $150 Thursday, January 30: $150 Saturday, February

1: $150 David Thompson of the Circle of the Silver Cord, is a materialization medium who is well-known for his ability to reunite sitters with discarnate loved ones. Internationally known medium, Christine Morgan, is David’s circle leader. Together, they are dedicated to demonstrating that people are more than their physical body, and that they continue after transition. David Thompson and Christine Morgan See: David Thompson and The Circle of the Silver Cord Séance, atransc.org/circle/david_thompson_seance1.htm, Winter 2010 ATransC NewsJournal Viewpoint: David Thompson, atransc.org/circle/thompson_seance_viewpoint.htm, Summer 2012 ATransC NewsJournal My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance, atransc.org/circle/david_thompson_seance2.htm, Summer 2012 ATransC NewsJournal See: David Thompson’s website: circleofthesilvercord.net/ Make checks out to: Spiritualist Society of Reno And mail to the Society President: Jannet Caywood 675 Crickett Avenue Reno, NV 89509 To check availability, please call 775-786-0183 More information and a registration form are at spiritualistsocietyofreno.org/activities/david_thompson.htm Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm $30.00 per year All benefits for one year Members International Members not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, discussion board and NewsJournal archive. In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Do you wish to

receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ I certify that I am twenty-one years of age or older. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is also not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. Officers of the ATransC reserve the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Volume 32, Number 3 Page 20 Viewpoint Winter 2014, Volume 32 Number 4 Scientific panel: (left to right) Jeffrey Tarrant, Ph.D., Loyd Auerbach, M.S., Tom and Lisa Butler, Diane Hennacy Powell, MD and Stephen Braude, Ph.D. Forever Family Foundation 2013 Conference Bob and Phran Ginsberg’s daughter, Bailey, made her untimely transition in 2002. Phran told us, “The knowledge that she was still with us gave us the hope we so desper- ately needed just to survive each day,” and with that understanding, they started the Forever Family Foundation (FFF) in 2004. Since then, they have expanded the non- profit, volunteer organization to provide a host of services including conferences, discussion groups, a radio program and newsletter. Mem- bership is free; how- ever, the organization lives on donations and the hard work of a few volunteers, so your support would help this important organi- zation continue into the future. Forever Family is dedicated to supporting people who have lost loved

ones. The organization maintains an excellent certification program for mental mediums, making it possible for people to be sure that they are working with a reputable medium. We were invited to speak at their 7th Annual Afterlife Conference in San Diego in November. It was a fantastic mixture of amazingly gifted mental mediums and the latest scientific evidence proving survival. Well-known researcher of the paranormal and foundation president, Loyd Auerbach, opened the conference, and later gave a very interesting talk on apparitions. His broad background in paranormal research, and especially in hauntings investigation, gives him an important perspective on the nature of this phenomenon. ever felt that there was trickery in Kai’s séances, Braude can provide excellent assurance that the phenomena are real. Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell has conducted extensive research into psi functioning and brain activity. She spoke about her research into people with autism and how they experience reality. The information was riveting and we realized how they are much more high-functioning than most think. We believe that she is working toward a book that will be both extremely interesting and very needed. Photo: Kathleen Murray During a holotropic breathing workshop, medium Janet Mayer began speaking in a foreign language. After years of searching, she learned that the lan- guage was that of an indigenous people living in a tropical rain forest in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. Janet found a man working at the Smithsonian Institute who was able to translate her words. She learned that she

was speaking prayers, chants, prophesies and prognostica- tions of the Yanomami people who believe their fate is tied to the fate of the environ- ment. Dr. Jeffrey Tarrant gave a talk about his research mapping Janet’s brain while she is channeling the Yanomami language and other languages (spoken by more than one person). Jeffrey put a helmet equipped with electrodes on Janet’s head and gave us a real-time demonstration of the changes in her brain activity during her normal speech and then when she was speaking the foreign language. He pointed out how the region of the brain associated with compassion, empathy and loss of ego became very active Dr. Stephen Braude has been conducting intensive research into the physical medium- ship of Kai Mügge under controlled conditions. You have seen reports in this NewsJournal about Kai and we will be hosting him again in July, 2014 (see back page). If anyone Bob and Phran Ginsberg, Forever Family Foundation Directors; Photo: Kathleen Murray when Janet began channeling. Of course, we talked about transcommunication. Lisa played a number of Class A EVP Continued page 17 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint...................................................................................................................................1 Ray..............................................................................................................................................3 Evidential ITC from Sonia Rinaldi...............................................................................................4 The Yuwipi Ceremony................................................................................................................5 Why Darkness in Séances?.........................................................................................................6 Spreading the Light....................................................................................................................6 A Strange and Perplexing Characteristic of Our Extended Community....................................7 Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via a Sound-Psi Interaction........................................8 Is This the Week That Organized Skepticism Imploded?........................................................10 Aggie.........................................................................................................................................11 Friedrich Jürgenson - His Life and Work..................................................................................14 Paranormal Unity and What It Means To Me.........................................................................16 A Poem on

Sarah’s Desk...........................................................................................................16 News from Members...............................................................................................................18 Relative of Konstantin Raudive................................................................................................18 Reports from the Field.............................................................................................................19 Kai Mügge Physical Séance......................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 425 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email sub- mission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be

delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Winter 2014 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous SERF Donor Supporters Tony Doss Denise Fubini Merlin Hoffpauir Robert L. Meyer Steven Lindemann Diane Moseley Michal Ostafin Mike Stevenson Jennifer Wallens Stan Wroblewski Editors: Proofreader: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler The ATransC attempts to assure the veracity of material presented in this publication; however, understanding of these phenomena continues to change and the reader should practice discernment here as with all information about these phenomena. Sustaining Members Cindy Heinen Flordeliz Manayan Raymond Scott Smith Jr. Volume 32, Number 4 Page 2 Ray by Norma St. Michel My husband, Ray, passed on September 11, 2011 while we were on a cruise. He was 67. The autopsy said he had an aneurysm. He had been bitten by a black widow spider

three days prior to our cruise. The doctors think that the spider bite contrib- uted to the aneurysm burst- ing, but they said he probably already had the aneurysm. He went while we were taking a nap. I woke up because he was making a weird noise. I turned the lights on and saw and heard him dying. Ray Our life was wonderful. We have three children and four grandchildren and Ray was extremely close to them. We never talked much about afterlife. I was taught that you just die and possibly go to heaven. We were married forty-one wonderful years. We have all been devastated. We started reading books and seeing mediums. When we saw James Van Praagh, he called on us and gave us a quick reading. We even saw Theresa Caputo who asked who is the woman who lost her husband to a brain aneurysm? I yelled out “me,” but she was so far away and said she would come back to me. She never did and that hurt a lot. He blows him kisses and he has seen him near the light fixture in his room. My son felt his presence and tried to capture a picture in his hallway. After snapping the picture, his camera on his phone went out with a grey screen and he had to take out the batteries and reboot. When he turned it back on, his father’s apparition appeared and our dog is below him next to him. The picture

is grainy, but it is very evident that it is Ray. We have captured videos and pictures of orbs, and when my granddaughter asked her grandfather to come to her, an orb flew into her side. We caught that on film. My daughter asked her dad to show the hummingbird that we believe is from his influence, and just then, it flew out of a bush and quickly flew into my daughter’s face and then turned back and went back into the bush. We decided to try and get an EVP. My daughter, Tami, went into Ray’s bedroom and closed the door and talked to him. She asked him to talk. When she came out, she played the recording, and after five minutes and fifteen seconds, my daughter was going to turn it off when that is when we can hear him say “Hi” and a few seconds later, “I love you.” We think he also said “Tami” at the end but it was cut off when my daughter stopped the recorder. In the photograph with the dog, you can see an appari- tion of Ray kneeling next to Tami who has the dog in her lap. His head is leaning on her arm and you can see his back as “see thru” and his hand is on her left upper chest. You can even see his fingers and his hand. So so many more things. It would take hours to tell you everything, but now I know that my

husband feels the need, as I also have the need, to communicate to us. It’s such a wonderful thing! These documented items are proof of the afterlife! Ray with granddaughters left to right: Cassidy, Brianna and Christina We have had many signs from day one. My grandson, who is three now, sometimes talks to Ray and they com- municate. He will all of a sudden tell us that Papa is here and we ask him to tell us where and he sometimes says in his mirror in his bedroom that is a full-length closet mirror. Tami with the dog. The light area beginning with the dog’s left ear as a circular arc toward the lower-left corner of the picture is thought to be Ray. The other parts of the apparition are not well defined in this reproduction. As it is, the arch has been slightly enhanced to assure visibility in the printed version. Page 3 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Evidential ITC from Sonia Rinaldi by Lisa Butler [The back-story to these examples is that in August, Craig Hogan asked us to speak at the Academy for Spiritual and Conscious- ness Studies, Inc. (ASCSI) 39th Annual Con- ference in Scottsdale, AZ, July 10-13, 2014. We were disappointed that we had a con- flict on those dates and recommended he email Sonia Rinaldi. Sonia agreed and will be speaking at the conference this sum- mer.] In November, Sonia conducted a recording and asked about Craig. She wrote Craig, “I talked to

the coordinator of the transmission station on the other side, whom I call Mr. German, in spite of the fact that he later con- firmed that he is Dr. Konstantin Raudive. I first asked him if he knew you, and before I could ask if he would help us in Phoenix, he said: ‘I just want to see.’ This means that there is nothing concluded yet; it will depend on many variants. In the same recording session, he made very curious comments about things I had not mentioned. First, he said that you have a great consideration and respect for me and then went on to say (what I considered the most important): ‘He will see his father!’ He finished by saying: ‘With his father he has written!’ “Does this make sense to you? I wonder if, in fact, your father is deceased. If he is, then I understand that your father will appear in a tran- simage. Mr. German suggests that your father helps you in your writing. Is this correct? Well, the audio is abso- lutely clear, I just don’t know if it makes sense.” [Note: All EVP were received in Portuguese with Sonia translating to English.] Craig replied to Sonia, “Hi Sonia, thanks so much for asking Konstantin Raudive about me. “Yes, he’s right. I have great respect for you. Yes, my father is in spirit. My mother and my father are involved in my work and I know they inspire me as I write. I do

hope we can see my father. If anything comes that you believe might Sonia’s camera setup for Skype be him, send it along to me. I’ll let you know. The recording is very clear.” Sonia continued, “A few days later, trying a new set of experiments, I decided to record a video to check if our spirit friends could access us remotely. My friend Nilza called from her house via Skype so that we could see each other on the screen. “I recorded her for some five minutes and about twenty-five transfigurations occurred, with men, women and children. I selected several transimages and sent to Craig to analyze. He promptly returned, commenting that one of them, in fact, could be of his mom. Nilza who was in front of the camera Craig’s parents “We have observed that the deceased loved ones always appear younger than the age when they died. Note the change in hair to match the change in facial features.” Here is a link to the Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc. and more information about the 39th Annual ASCSI Conference to be held this July 10-13, 2014 in Scotts- dale, Arizona: ascsi.org/conference/index.html The theme for the conference is: “New Developments in Afterlife Communica- tion: There are more ways to connect than people realize!” Sonia Rinaldi’s website is: ipati.org/index_en.html Craig Hogan’s website is: youreternalself.com/drhogan2.htm One of the transimages of Nilza shows strong changes in relation to Nilza´s face and appears to be Craig’s mother. Volume 32, Number

4 Page 4 The Yuwipi Ceremony by Kai Mügge Gift of the Sacred Pipe I feel extremely lucky that I was allowed to attend a Yuwipi ceremony with other sitters in the presence of the Lakota Nation and its wise and mighty shaman and ceremonial master Warfield Moose. I want to humbly share with you what happened during this old traditional rite of the Lakota, the prayer ceremony “Yuwipi”! Warfield urged us not to go online and lose the value of what was happening by sharing it with people who will react with disbelief and mis- trust, but I know I have my friends around here who already know what is possible to a certain extent! So outside there may be people who will comment with malice that, as a medium myself, I am trying to describe something independently, but I wasn’t the only one witnessing this - and all the other attendees saw and heard and felt the same! The parallels to western hemisphere (physical) medium- ship were for me strikingly obvious - what we are doing in physical séances, the Lakota do in slightly other forms in front of a totally different cultural background. At the beginning, I was invited to enter the sacred space with four other people to do a Chinoopa prayer. Warfield, who was the shaman, held an Indian pipe and asked the elders to chant with us. The sacred space was a huge buffalo fur on the ground. A buffalo skull was at the

top and there were flower pots with little flags of symbolic colors. Other Lakota symbols were set in every cardinal direction. All of the prayer ties were positioned around the buffalo fur and several ritual- istic percussive instruments were inside that space, as well. I had my hand on Warfield’s right and a lady beside me had her hand on his left when the drums set in for the first time and the light was switched off! Behind and above the shaman, lights suddenly started to flicker. It is hard to describe. They were little flashing points cascading down- wards. Later we saw them in greater detail. Where the lights were flashing, there was no space for anyone to stand, the sitters sat in awe witnessing this first manifestation! While this was occurring, Warfield sat beside me, praying, and the drummers were drumming increasingly faster. Warfield’s chanting became more and more adjuratory and we presented the pipe we all held over and over towards the four cardinal directions and towards the heaven and the earth! After a few minutes, everything ceased and the lights were switched on to begin the main part; the “yuwippi” (means “enwrapping”) ceremony! Rogue Guirey Simpson, askart.com For this, the shaman was tightly rolled into a huge holy blanket; even his head was covered. Then his hands were tightly tied on his back with a rope by independent sitters. His feet were also tightly tied and the rope was even tied around his neck! Then he

was laid onto the buffalo fur! For a last time, Warfield’s helper drew a little bit more cloth towards his head to make his breathing easier inside of the tight cocoon he was in. And with all of the sitters sitting on the ground, the lights were switched off. (Parallels with a séance: blanket as cabinet, roping as medium control, darkness!) Immediately after the lights were switched off, a huge instrument that was lying directly in front of me started to move and I heard it was taken into the air as if someone was standing right in front of me! The drum beat began at that moment, and during the entire four-hour session, both drummers were drumming and singing; they did not leave their place once! The instrument in front of me rattled above my head and I heard Warfield gasp in his cocoon where he lay on the fur. Then this huge rattle started to give off traces of light. It was as if a fine glowing mist was rattled off the instru- ment and according to its quick movement the mist also cascaded away in waveforms from the rattle - hard to describe...! The people then were urged to pray and one after the other did so. The drumming carried on but more gently now to let people speak. Accompanying their words screaming pipes were heard, flashes of white light appeared all over the room and the huge rattle made out of buffalo skin carried on to

emit the illuminated mist over 4 hours! Later, it seemed as if the rattle might have multiplied and everywhere in the room flashes and cascading illuminated mist was seen from one end to the other! I frequently heard Warfield on ground level gasping. Continued page 6 Page 5 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Yuwipi Ceremony Continued from page 5 Hands appeared and gave people rattles to join in. A shaking rattle gently circuled my head two times and tapped me on the shoulder. Then the Lakota spirits talked to me and thanked me and announced that they’ll do something with me to enhance my spiritual work! People with different diseases or handicaps were then asked to stand up and the cascading lights illuminated them fully; they stood glowing in the darkness! After all the ceremonies were being done, and the people had received medicine from the spirits through Warfield, the lights were switched on and the independent sitters that had placed Warfield in the ropes checked everything and untied him. Warfield came out of the cocoon...! For the last time he then called sitters onto the sacred space and wanted them to hold his hands. They sat very close and the blanket was put over them like a tipi. Lights were switched off and the drumming and chanting began again! I learned that the song they sang was about the prayer ties that every sitter had tied to fabric before and laid around the large buffalo fur. Warfield requested

a lady sitter yell out the words “prayer ties” three times! The lights went on again and to our surprise, the several meters of prayer ties around the fur had vanished and had appeared in the midst of the intimate sitters space between Warfield and the three sitters he had with him on the fur! They all confirmed that they had his hands tightly in theirs and so this was another mystery of the evening facilitated by the spirits of the Lakota elders! Then the pipe was lit and the last prayers were sent to heaven as holy smoke! The ceremony went on for four hours! My report couldn’t convey, at all, the holiness and dignity of the ceremony. It’s an integrative/ healing/ powerful and astounding experience! Warfield Moose and his Yuwipi Ceremony is one of the, if not the greatest spiritual experience that I have ever had in my life! I give thanks to Warfield, his ceremonial helpers and the Lakota elders that came in spirit to reunite and redeem us! Kai Mügge Why Darkness in Séances? It may not be the light that is the problem in séances but the increased focus it brings for the sitters. To paraphrase how Hans Bender explained via medium Kai Mügge, the sitters and their etheric friends also contribute energy and control to the "matrix." When the light is on and the sitters are focused on what they see, lucidity between their conscious and etheric personality is diminished, effectively reducing the channel.

Kai told us he agrees with Walter von Lucadou in "Predictions of the Model of Pragmatic Infor- mation about RSPK" (archived.parapsych.org/papers/09.pdf). It is an interesting read. The second factor, and where the danger for the medium seems to come in, is how the energy reacts to surprise. It may be mostly the medium's surprised response, but if the sitters are part of the circuit, then the surprise of the "collective channel" (medium and all of the sitters) proba- bly contributes to the rapid withdrawal of the energy. We saw Hans Bender allow the use of white light to illuminate the ectoplasm for a moment as long as it was not shined in the medium's eyes. Shining bright light in the eyes of a person in trance will quickly bring the person out of trance. Spreading the Light by Victor Zammit We are all in a position to pass on the word about the afterlife, without coming across as being overzealous. When it is appropriate, just a subtle hint here and there to some friend or acquaintance will go a long way to giving the most important gift you can ever give anyone, knowl- edge that we are all eternal souls. Many people turn away from any hope of life after death and reunion with their loved ones when they reject the absurdity of religious beliefs about an eternity of either eternal punishment or eternal boredom. They are not aware that there is a more modern alternative based on the evidence

of systematic investigation. So many people could be spared years of unnecessary fear about their own transition which should be the most joyous experience to crown a life well lived. They could be spared years of despair and suffering when they believe that their loved ones are lost to them forever. And they could be spared from the horrible realization at the end of their lives that they could have done so much more if only they had known the rules of the game of life. We are informed from the afterlife dimension that if you just help one person to see the light, you will have justified your existence on planet earth! (Silver Birch). Again, without exaggerating, helping someone turn to the light is the greatest gift you can give to another human being. Volume 32, Number 4 Page 6 A Strange and Perplexing Characteristic of Our Extended Community by Tom Butler Dr. Ferdinando Bersani reported on the work of the Bologna Center for Parapsy- chological Studies (CSP) at the 2013 Parapsychological Association confer- ence in Italy.1 In part, he reported that “At the beginning of the seventies, the Raudive Voices phenomenon (or ‘metaphonia’) attracted the CSP’s atten- tion, since it became popular in Italy and many people, mainly composed by persons who had lost sons or very loved relatives, wrote books and/or publicized their experi- ence. A group of the CSP, including myself, deeply investi- gated the phenomenon, trying to obtain anomalous voices with different techniques and to

simulate them in different ways; after about a decade of observations and experi- ments, the most peculiar conclusion was that the phenom- enon could be explained in terms of psycho-acoustic illusions, a sort of acoustic ‘Rorshach inkblots.’ Concerning this, Paolo Presi wrote:2 “At the beginning of the ‘80s, the research [in Italy] came to a halt due to the argumentation backed up by Professor Ferdinando Bersani, a physicist of CSP. He exploited the weak aspect of the phenomenon, namely the acoustic ambiguity of the ‘voices.’ He claimed that if any ordinary acoustic event is artificially fragmented and cadenced, it could be interpreted in a linguistic manner if the perceiver is expected to receive a message. “At the time, I was able to defend the authenticity of the phenomenon with a simple counter-demonstration. Based on the mechanism that regulates human perception, I showed how all acoustic perception is influenced by the attentive condition of the listener to hear. In particular, I pointed out that, with a specific degree of attention (selec- tive attention), even loud acoustic stimuli could go unper- ceived at consciousness level. “I therefore concluded that what Professor F. Bersani claimed did not undermine the objective reality of the ‘voices,’ but that he only exploited the weakest aspect of the phenomenon. The fact that the ‘voices’ are not easily understandable may, de facto, lead to interpretative mis- takes. The psychoacoustic decoding is a perfectly normal process and it does not only involve perception of the ‘voices,’ but the whole

perceptive system of human com- munication.” It is clear that the CSP, specifically Bersani, decided in the 1980s that EVP are just noise mistaken as voice; illusion. The report: “Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via a Sound-Psi Interaction” on page 8 demonstrates the level of expertise brought by Il Laboratorio to the study of transcommunication. The study of transcommunication involves two commu- nities of interest: parapsychology who are focused on psi phenomena and human nature, and “paranormalists” (for lack of a better term) who are focused on phenomena related to survival of personality beyond physical death. With a few important exceptions such as the work conducted by Dr. Mark Leary,3 the parapsychological community has consistently pro- duced “Failure to Replicate” reports.4 At the same time, mostly nonacademic researchers have been reporting studies demonstrating the objectivity of these phenomena such as the Il Laboratorio report on page 8. This is a strange and perplexing characteristic of our extended community which forces the question: “why does one part of the community consistently find these phenom- ena illusion while another finds them objective?” It has been our observation that research using inexperienced people as practitioners, conducted by people who are trained in psychology rather than technology and who are largely uninformed about the current understanding of the phenomena consistently produce “failure-to-replicate” results. Collaboration would fix that but it is not possible, considering the academic wall between lay people and trained researchers. It is not that paranormalists are untrained or too eager to validate

their experiences as paranormal. Yes, some- times that is certainly the case, but there are important studies being conducted by well-educated people who are bent on conducting documented, controlled research. Most paranormalists today have moved on from proving the objectivity of these phenomena to seeking answers as to their nature. The work of paranormalists is hampered by reports such as the one by Bersani to the PA. It is further hampered by the inability to address those reports in open dialogue, primarily because of their academic status. Meanwhile, the parapsychological community consistently lets such reports by probably unqualified psychologists go without challenge. As we have proposed on many occasions, the solution is not to wait for the parapsychological community to catch up. It is for our community to participate in forums specif- ically intended for collaboration through presentation of reports and ideas, and that permit open discussion. Here are a few discussion boards you might consider: Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology (JEEP): This new organization is an online, international journal that caters to both the academic community and society at large. The organization is dedicated to the exploration of exceptional experiences, such as survival after death, out-of-body experiences, extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, poltergeists, mediumship, and hauntings. Page 7 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal "SFINGE" PROJECT Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via a Sound-Psi Interaction P. Presi, D. Gullà, G. Gagliardi, G. Lenzi; 2006 [Digested by ATransC. The complete report is available on request from ATransC.] Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi (left), Eng.

Paolo Presi, Eng. Daniele Gullà Abstract The research team of Il Laboratorio from Bologna, Italy conducted a two-year long study of well-known Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) operator, Mrs. Lida Russo of Livorno, Italy. The microphone recording method with a commercial recorder with built-in microphone was used by the operator and professional digital devices were used to monitor the sessions. However, only a few anom- alous voices of poor acoustic quality were found upon review of Mrs. Russo’s audio tape. Contrary the expected, the most interest- ing voices in terms of quan- tity and quality were recorded on the digital devices operated by Daniele Gullà. to State-of-the art software commonly used for forensic analysis was used for analy- ses of the resulting voices. This new approach to EVP research was introduced to the world by the researchers of Il Laboratorio and has revealed many structural electroa- coustical features that prove the authenticity of these acoustic events, which now can legitimately be classified as linguistic events. Introduction The so-called “paranormal voices or Electronic Voice Phenomena ” have been studied for more than forty years and consist of recorded sounds and/or sounds directly audible through the experimentation equipment. These events can manifest spontaneously or as coherent answers to the questions of the researcher. Research Aim. This Il Laboratorio study of the anomalous voices is called “Progetto Sfinge” ( English: “Sphinx Project”). In order to understand the reason for this name it is necessary to recall the symbolic meaning attributed to the Sphinx as

an unresolved mystery. The application of innovative methods of research, and availability of the latest information technologies, has made it possible to investigate the phenomenon through many different perspectives incon- ceivable until recent years. Progetto Sfinge’s principal aim is to document differ- ences in the phonic structure of the anomalous voices as compared with human voices. Where possible, the degree of similarity between a voice attributed to a dead person and the voice when the person was alive was compared. The project’s accomplishment has been possible thanks to a generous contribution of the Swedish Foundation Helene Reeder Memorial Fund. 3. Research Setting. There are many opinions about the nature of the phenom- enon. For some, the voices lack objectivity and are the consequences of psychoa- coustic illusions (psycholin- guistics). Others, mostly those who had direct experi- ence of the phenomenon, say they are strong evidence of survival. The perception of acoustic signals as human language, and their subsequent inter- pretation, is the most critical moment in the understand- ing of speech. The first con- sequence of this psychic process is the possible interpretation of the signals in many different ways or, as those who study psycholinguistics define them, events of “interpretative plurality.” Many are the factors that contribute to this critical situation such as the ambiguity and fragmentation of the acoustic events or when the listener has a poor understanding of the language. Even in normal listening conditions, the danger of psy- cholinguistic illusion is ever-present in the interpretation of

voice. This problem is further stressed by listening to ambiguous sounds when there is the wish to “receive” messages from the other side; perhaps when the listener is under emotional stress due to the loss of a loved one (wishful thinking). Thanks to developing professional competence and the availability of advanced information technologies, after decades of discussions in favor and against this phenome- non, we decided to undertake interdisciplinary research. This research had the purpose of documenting the exis- tence of the anomalous voices and identifying the charac- teristics that make them different from human speech. For the first time, the new technology has made it possible to examine the acoustic structure of the anomalous voices to clearly define their characteristics and semantic content. This phenomenon can no longer be considered an independent occurrence. It must be placed into a Phenom- enal System1 grouping “all realities, concrete or abstract, which constitute Continued page 9 Volume 32, Number 4 Page 8 Analysis of EVP Continued from 8 the background of that event; in other words the elements or the parts (the variables) of physic, biological or psycho- logical nature that are integral part of the event itself.”1 For this reason, our research also investigated the role and personality of the person who recorded the voices. The operator is, in fact, an important part of the experi- ment, and in the final analysis, of the phenomenon. The psychological and psychophysiological analysis of the operator was conducted by specialists in order to identify

possible correlations with the resulting anomalous voices. The experimentation was to have been accomplished through the technique of microphone recording, usually as adopted by the operator. The voices obtained with her recorder were to have constituted the collected data and the object of instrumental analysis. At the same time, a high quality digital recorder operated by Daniele Gullà was intended to provide a reference recording for comparison. Two experimental cycles were conducted, the first in 2005 and the second in 2006. Mrs Lida Ceccherini from Livorno, widow of Mr Russo, was chosen as the operator. Most operators in this field prefer to experiment on their own and maintain a kind of reserve while displaying distrust towards the scientific researches who impose boring protocols and careful checks to guarantee the absence of possible cheats. However, with exceptional helpfulness and enthusiasm, Mrs. Russo accepted the invitation to be the operator. To Mrs. Russo goes the gratitude of the Il Laboratorio research team for her great helpfulness, patience and above all, for her exquisite kindness. 4. Research team. Paolo Presi (Project Manager, Supervisor) Daniele Gullà (Forensic Audio-Video Consultant) Giorgio Gagliardi (Surgeon, Psychophysiologist and Psycho- therapist) Giuseppe Lenzi (Researcher, session reports) 5. Experimentation. During the experiments, Mrs. Russo was very anxious to know if Mr. Gullà recorded the voices on his own equip- ment rather than worrying if the voices had recorded on her recorder. In fact, the advanced equipment we used recorded clearer and more definite voices in comparison with the same result

obtained through Mrs. Russo’s com- mercial tape recorder with built-in microphone. The higher sensitivity of our equipment allowed also the recording of low volume voices without any confirmation of them in Russo’s tape. This fact highlighted an interesting aspect of the phenom- enon which gives great importance to the equipment and to the role of the operator in the context of recording the voices. One of the causes of this occurrence was surely the low quality of the recorder used by Mrs Russo; however, the main factor affecting the results may have been Mrs. Russo’s attitude during the experiments. She had great expectation for the success of the experiments possibly because the positive results would have given a greater significance and credibility to her experiments. For this reason, I believe her focus on our equipment instead of her own can be considered a very relevant element, which demonstrates the existence of possible psychical projec- tions toward our equipment instead of her own tape recorder. Examination of Mrs. Russo by the psychophysiologist appeared to negatively influenced her psyche, the people constituting the research group and Mrs. Russo’s assistant. In other words, it influenced the whole psychic complex involved in the experimental sessions. 6. Listening survey results and their interpretation. An unequivocal interpreta- tion of the results was the main requirement guiding the choice of the samples for analysis. People skilled in lis- tening to EVP provided a first auditory test. After establish- ing an interpretation of what was said in the

examples, an instrumental check was con- ducted. Analysis tools simulate vocal cavity required to produce the recorded sound. Analysis of EVP sometimes called for abnormal shape of vocal The electroacoustic analy- ses of nine samples displayed the presence of considerable structural anomalies even in those samples that came very close to human voice. These anomalies revealed some spectral components and articulations with noticeable deviations from human standards. In many cases, we found relevant disagreement between the graphic representa- tions generated by the software and the uttered sounds. This can be understood as a possible weak influence of over-glottal resonators or as a partial or total lack of the internal speech-organs (e.g. larynx, velum palatinum, etc). In other cases, the software wasn’t able to virtually recon- struct the vocal tract at all. There are several remarkable anomalies noticed in the fundamental frequency F0 in the examples, such as fre- quent absence, fragmentation and anomalous values. Very relevant are the cases of absent fundamental frequency and the presence of inexplicable formants. The formants are frequency bands containing groups of harmonics of the fundamental frequency. They are produced in the vocal tract from the fundamental frequency. The presence of formants is inexplicable if there is no fundamental fre- quency. Psychoacoustics teaches us that the brain has limited ability to reconstruct the fundamental frequency from the upper harmonics. Continued page 12 Page 9 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Is This the Week that Organized Skepticism Imploded? Posted by Greg 11 Aug 2013 on The

Daily Grail For many years on this site I’ve critiqued the demagogic tendencies of a number of the ‘leaders’ of the modern skeptical movement (see the bottom of this post for some links). I’ve often faced resistance (and sometimes hostility) from card-carrying skeptics for pointing out the foibles of these so-called champions of science, and the dangers of having such people as figureheads of a movement dedi- cated to truth and reason - but I had no inkling that in the space of just a few short years the reputations of a number of them would begin coming undone at their own hands. The first tremors began, perhaps, two years ago with the ‘Elevatorgate’ scandal within skepticism, in which Richard Dawkins outed his ‘drunk uncle’ persona to those within skepticism by entering a controversial argu- ment he didn’t need to engage in, and making comments that were always going to set off a firestorm. Just a few months later, the previously Teflon-coated James ‘The Amazing’ Randi was caught at the center of his own scandal when his partner of more than two decades, Jose Alvarez, was caught and pleaded guilty to identity theft, after overstaying his visa in the 1980s. Though many felt sympathy for both Randi and his partner’s dilemma, there were also questions over how much Randi knew or was involved in the crime - a not-particularly-good look for the much celebrated champion of truth and honesty. Randi’s credibility devolved further earlier this year when Will Storr’s book

The Heretics brought Randi’s Social Darwinist-like philosophies into the spotlight, as well as Randi’s own confession that he sometimes lies to win his arguments. A few months later, prominent skeptical voice Brian Dunning (of the popular Skeptoid podcast) pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud for his part in a scheme to ‘hack’ eBay’s affiliate marketing program which netted millions of dollars for the group. This week, Richard Dawkins once again put his foot in it with a provocative tweet about the lack of Nobel Prizes in the Islamic world (if you want to understand why it was a stupid tweet, swap ‘Islam’ for ‘women’ in the tweet and his later ‘reflections’ on the matter). This time, it seems that Dawkins may have put the final straw on the camel’s back: Owen Jones wrote that Dawkins could no longer “be left to represent atheists”; Martin Robbins wrote that atheism “will leave Dawkins behind”; Tom Chivers asked him “to please be quiet”; and Nesrine Malik said Dawkins himself was as irrational “as an Islamic extremist.” There’s a fair feeling of chickens coming home to roost in these incidents, but this week flocks of previously hidden fowl seem to have emerged from every dark shadow in the world of skepticism. Some two years on from the ‘Eleva- torgate’ incident, skeptical speaker and writer Karen Stolznow used her blog at Scientific American to note that she herself was a victim of sexual harassment by “a predator” within the skepti- cal movement. This

individ- ual, a well-known media commentator and editor of one of skepticism’s flagship publications was subse- quently named by P.Z. Myers on his blog (after what Myers said was a flood of corrobo- rating emails). A former JREF employee then spoke out about continuous unethical behaviour at Randi’s founda- tion. Then another blogger named yet another high-end skeptic/atheist and well-credentialed scientist of acting improperly, before withdrawing his name (though again that hasn’t stopped P.Z. Myers). And if all that wasn’t enough, at the end of the week P.Z. Myers followed up with testimony from someone he knows regarding what the victim describes as her ‘rape’ by one of the most prominent of all skeptics during a skeptical conference (a blog post that has generated some 3000 comments now). Whether each of the accusations is valid or not, and whether the naming of certain individuals is proper, is not part of my argument here. But what has become clear is that the former figureheads of the skeptical movement finally now have a (long-awaited) skepticism being applied to their own actions and pronouncements, and a number of them are being revealed for the pretenders they are. I’d like to think that this is the end of skeptical demagoguery, and the beginning of a new, more intelligent, self-critiquing skeptical movement - though perhaps it’s more just a fragmentation, as Myers and Randi and others now just seem to have their own righteous armies fighting some- what of an internal civil war in skepticism.

I’m still hoping for the former though, as intelligent skepticism is a much- needed element of modern discourse, but something that has been very rare indeed to this point. See the article at dailygrail.com/Skepticism/2013/8/Is-the- Week-Organized-Skepticism-Imploded for further reading. Volume 32, Number 4 Page 10 Aggie by Christopher J. Abbott I enjoyed Sonia’s article on Rany because it struck home with me and my beloved dog (Whippet) Aggie. [by Sonia Rinaldi in issue 32-3] Aggie departed back in 2007 but has been helping me on my journey from the other side ever since. She shows up in many of my breath photos. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in January of 2011. Aggie and an ET showed up in one of my breath photos just before the diagnoses; showing me that something was wrong. The ET was pointing to an Orb with a hole in it. (the ET points to an orb, to me, indicated urgency) I showed my thirteen-year-old son a blow up of one of the orbs with a hole in it. He said something amazing that helped me understand the message Aggie and the Et were showing me. He said “Wow that looks like a cell that is being eaten up by cancer.” He was studying about cells and cancer in biology . I felt completely healthy but went to get a physical and a prostate examination the next day. The doctor found a lump on my prostate and when the biopsy report came back it showed

that the lump was malignant. There are other personal messages Aggie brings to my attention as well. She was very psychic while on this Earth plain. Maybe that is helping her to communicate with me now. It is amazing, what can happen once we drop our limiting belief systems and open up to seeing things in a different way. More of Chris’ work at breath-photography.com Image enhancement by Christine Dennett (kesara.org) [Editor: Chris’ breath images appear to be formed in much the same way that images in light reflected from moving water or video-loops are formed. The breath vapor is chaotic visible “noise” that is known to be able to be influ- enced by intentionality. In this view, his tech- nique is consistent with other techniques, and represents a very accessible, novel approach to ITC. You can trust the shape and coloration of his originals that are suggestive of flesh and faces as being the product of intended order.] Page 11 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal This sonogram provides a good visualization of the formants (red) and the fundamental frequency F0 (blue). The dark bands represent frequency groups that are found in the vocalization. Sonograms provide a means of analyzing how sound is arranged to form speech. Analysis of EVP Continued from 9 Spectrograms make it possible to examine the important function of noise in anomalous voice formation. Although noise is always thought to negatively influence voice formation, analysis of over nine examples showed it has a function. In the

absence of the fundamental frequency and in the presence of formants, we noticed how their struc- tures can be shaped as a localized noise thicken- ing with an impulsive and not harmonic trend. (In human voice, the for- mants are sinusoidal like fre- fundamental the quency which generates them) Of great interest is, as shown in the spectro- grams, such anomalously shaped formants are located in the same frequency ranges of vowels. Their frequency bands can often be shifted toward a higher frequency range while maintaining their ratio. Many researchers in this phenomenon (Carlo Trajna, Ernst Sen- kowski, Paolo Presi) agree with the hypothesis that the voices could be generated by a process exploiting the background sounds. This hypothesis finds some objective evidence in how the acoustic signal has been shown to sometimes degrade before the formation of the voice and then return during its utterance. As proposed by Carlo Trajna,2 the voices are formed, not with additional or absorbed energy, but simply by exploiting the energy coming from background noise (impulsive or not) at the time of recording. This hypothesis would also be confirmed by the changes of Shimmer3 value, which increases in proximity of back- ground noise degradation while Jitter4 value remains constant. This finding means noise modulation is mainly in amplitude and limited in frequency. This feature has been noticed by the physician Alfredo Ferraro, famous scholar of borderline phenomena and practiced radio amateur.5 The Jitter values were altered over all the nine samples analyzed. In the

case of human voice, an anomalous value for jitter generally indicates pathology in the speech-or- gans. In this case, this could indicate acoustic events originated by anomalous speech-organs. The fact that a low-frequency sound from 1 to 30 Hz was recorded, combined with the voice and frequent saturation of the microphone and detector-amplifier with extremely low frequencies (ELF), suggests further research concerning possible correlation with electric activity of the brain. Related to this is a strong, ELF field detected by Gullà during deep meditative process by a group of volunteers. If confirmed by further experimentations, this could open new researching into the interaction between psi and instruments. A psychological and psychophysiological assessment is provided by Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi and colleagues [in the full report]. However, it appears that no significant finding was traceable to the voices production process. Mrs. Russo is an emotional person with a high social com- munication attitude. Her manners are open and sincere and she has always shown a strong desire to share her expe- riences of contacts with the other dimension. She showed a strong worry and sometimes some anxiety about success in receiving the voices. This worry was stronger in our regards rather than her own recordings. She has a strong faith in the survival of human personality after death and is not conditioned by any religious faith. Surely this strong belief helps the formation of this phenomenon. The different ways through which the voices can mani- fest appears to depend on the sensitivity6

of the operator, and where applicable, on the psychic support of the experimentation group. The existence of psychic support of others is confirmed in the psychotemporal model proposed since 1992 by Carlo Trajna.7 Particularly, the presence of deeply interiorized conceptual models com- bined with expectations that seem reasonable to the operator to activate some unknown psychic channel. Everyone appears to have this ability to some extent. It could be improved in time by individuals, particularly when a motivated operator regularly practices this kind of experimentation. This quality seems to be supported by a strong inner belief on the possibility to communicate with other levels of consciousness. Since 1985, I called this particular psychological attitude “Inner Attentive Disposi- tion.” The experimental data obtained from “Progetto Sfinge” provides a biopsychocybernetic interpretation of the phe- nomenon. In other words, the final effects involve a complex interaction in a mind system. This indicates one or more minds can communicate within the limits of the psychic model of the process held in the operator’s belief system. Such a psychic model would be able to produce physic effects through special action, defined as psychoki- netic effect or PK Effect8 in the parapsychological literature. The fact that different operators obtain voices with differ- ent acoustic features, Continued page 13 Volume 32, Number 4 Page 12 Analysis of EVP Continued from 12 even if they use the same equipment and the same method, appears to be a direct consequence of the differ- ent psychic models held by each

operator. These different psychic situations would produce different physical effects depending on the model and how it is conceived. 7. Conclusions From the electroacoustic analyses performed on the audio samples recorded under controlled conditions, we extracted the acoustic parameters distinguishing a vocal signal. These elements allowed us to identify the phonemes constituting the words we decoded linguistically. By examining their structures and their anomalies, we were able to assert with documented evidence, that these events exhibit phonetic features associated with the voices. These voices have evident and absolutely original features and are structured and characterized by parameters which deviate from the typical human standards. periods of F0. 5. Alfredo Ferraro – Parapsicologia e…Spiritismo, Età dell’Acquario, Torino, 2004, p. 185. 6. Sensitivity: term used to indicate the faculties of an individ- ual which allow extrasensorial perceptions (ESP) and psy- chokinesis phenomena (PK) called by Biopsychocybernetics “Psi Interaction Phenomena.” 7. Carlo M. Trajna – Il modello psicotemporale, Istituto 8. Gnosis, Napoli, 1992. John Beloff hypothesized that psychokinesis could not be a force, energy or physical process, but rather a strange result of a direct connection between our mind, the uni- verse and everything in it. He proposed that this action does not need to be a kind of super energy localized in our mind or body but may be a thing happening in certain cir- cumstances still to be identified; an idea or mental inten- tion which is able to automatically force a physical system to express that idea or intention. To

summarize, it would be a final event without the need of further process to make the results intelligible (Presidential Report presented in 1975 to the Society for Physical Research of London). [Editor: The formation of transform EVP (voice formed from noise in a recording device) is a fundamental charac- teristic of ITC. Understanding how EVP are believed to be formed provides guidance in how to use EVP for commu- nication. This study clearly indicates the importance of practitioner (operator) attention and intention and the availability of suitable audio-frequency energy (noise). See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP (atransc.org/research.htm) Other studies have indicated that choice of recording device is not as important as the kind of noise available for voice formation, but as a general rule, higher quality recorders (little internal noise) are more dependent on external noise. See: Selecting an Audio Recorder (atransc.org/techniques.htm) As demonstrated with forensic-quality tools, the unusual formation of the voice in EVP, which are clearly understood by experienced listeners, causes difficulty for people who are not experienced with EVP. This fact has been demon- in the article: EVP Online Listening Trials strated (atransc.org/journal.htm). Also: Hearing with Templates (atransc.org/theory.htm) Also read the companion article, “A Strange and Perplexing Characteristic of Our Extended Community” on page 7] Sonogram showing the degradation of the acoustic signal (background noise and/or environmental acoustics) before the formation of the word “Chiara” and appearance of a very low-frequency noise in conjunction with its formation. The presence of formantic bands, with localized noise strengthening,

confers to the voice an acoustic structure close, but not identical, to the human one. The anomalies found where the voices were recorded allow us to affirm the existence of an atypical process of formation which is still today scientifically unknown despite their objective nature. References 1. Definition introduced by Dr. Enrico Marabini in La Biopsico- cibernetica - una branca delle scienze dell’uomo - La Man- dragora, Imola, 2007. 2. Carlo M. Traina – Ignoto chiama uomo, Salani, Firenze, 1980. 3. Shimmer: value defining the amplitude fluctuation of a vocal signal based on an average of measurements over 5 periods of F0. Jitter: value defining the frequency fluctuation of a vocal signal based on an average of measurements over 5 4. Page 13 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Friedrich Jürgenson - His Life and Work by Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Director of The Friedrich Jürgenson Foundation Friedrich Jürgenson was born in Odessa on February 8th, 1903. His mother was Swedish and his father was of Danish descent, practicing as a physician in Odessa where the family had moved from Estonia. After living through World War One and the Russian Revolution as a child, Jürgenson trained as a painter at the Art Academy and as a singer and musician at the Odessa Conservatory, where he was a contemporary of the con- certo pianist Svjatoslav Richter. In 1925 the family was allowed to move back to Estonia where Friedrich continued his training as a singer and painter and shortly afterwards he moved

to Berlin for more studies. Here his tutor was the bass-singer Tito Scipa. Scipa, a Jew, fled to Palestine in 1932 and Jürgenson accompanied him, staying for 6 years. During this period while still studying he made a living as a singer and painter and some forecast a successful career in opera for him. In 1938 Jürgenson left Palestine for Milan for more studying and performances. In 1943 when he went to visit his parents, the colder climate caused him serious health problems and his voice was partly damaged, so he decided to give up his professional opera career to concentrate entirely on painting. He was a realist painter, mostly doing portraits, landscapes and still life. Driven out by war in that year he moved to Sweden. Located in Stockholm, he married and became a Swedish citizen. Here he also learned his tenth language. During the following years he painted portraits of wealthy Swedes and motifs from Stockholm. In 1949 he visited Pompeii in Italy and to get more access to the buried city he showed some of his work to the Vatican and a few days later he received a proposal: the Vatican recognized his talents and asked him to catalogue their archaeological works buried beneath the Holy City. He returned the following year and for four months sat in this damp underworld, painted and con- tracted pneumonia. The Vatican medics cured him and when Pope Pius XII saw the results of his work he asked Jürgenson to paint

a portrait of him. In all, Jürgenson produced four portraits of The Pope. Now he had full access to Pompeii as well and he returned there many times to paint. In 1957 Jürgenson bought a tape-recorder to record his own singing and he started to notice at this time some quite strange phenomena; inexplicable fade-ins and fade- outs on the tapes; abstract visions and telepathic mes- sages. Jürgenson understood that these events were produced by his highly developed aural and visual senses caused by his artistic prowess. In the following year Jürgenson had his first major exhibition amidst the ruins of Pom- peii. Back in Stockholm his telepathic contacts continued: “I sat by the table, clearly awake and relaxed. I sensed that soon something was going to happen. Following an inner pleasurable calmness, long sentences in English appeared in my consciousness. I did not per- ceive these sentences acoustically but they formed themselves as long phonetic sentences and after a closer study I couldn’t conceive the words as correct English but in a disfigured almost alphabetical way - completely deformed. I did not hear a voice, a sound nor a whisper. It was all soundless.” Later he also recalled that in the spring of 1959 he “got a message about a ‘Central Investigation Station In Space’, from where they conducted profound observations of Mankind” and “My friends spoke about certain electro- magnetic screens or radars, that were frequently transmit- ting, day and night, in thousands to our three dimensional life

levels and like living beings had a mission as mental messengers. Undoubtedly one could see these radars as half-living robots that, remote controlled, had the ability like an oversensitive television or radio to correctly register and transmit all our conscious and unconscious impulses, feelings and thoughts.” Jürgenson knew that these fantas- tic facts really belonged in a Science Fiction world but he carried on hoping to capture these messages on tape. On June 12, 1959, Jürgenson, and his wife Monica went to visit their country house to enjoy the warm summer. Jürgenson brought his tape-recorder to record the singing of wild birds, especially the chaffinch. Listening to the tape he “heard a noise, vibrating like a storm, where you could only remotely hear the chirping of the birds. My first thought was that maybe some of the tubes had been damaged. In spite of this I switched on the machine again and let the tape roll. Again I heard this peculiar noise and the distant chirping. Then I heard a trumpet solo, a kind of a signal for attention. Stunned, I continued to listen when suddenly a man’s voice began to speak in Norwegian. Even though the voice was quite low could dearly hear and understand the words. The man spoke about ‘nightly bird voices’ and I perceived a row of piping, splashing and rattling sounds. Suddenly the choir of birds and the vibrating noise stopped. Continued page 15 Volume 32, Number 4 Page 14 Friedrich Jürgenson Continued from page

14 In the next moment the chirping of a chaffinch was heard and you could hear the tits singing at a distance - the machine worked perfectly!” From this point Jürgenson continued to investigate in these phenomena and at first he thought it was his “friends from outer space” but very soon he began to believe that these voices were “from the other side”, or the ‘Voices of the Dead’. Was he close to solving one of the fundamental mysteries of death? At this moment Jürgenson experienced a remarkable event that would change his life: “I was outside with a tape recorder, recording bird songs. When I listen through the tape, a voice was heard to say “Friedel, can you hear me. It’s mammy ....” It was my dead mother’s voice. ‘Friedel’ was her special nickname for me.” At this point Jürgenson abandoned painting for his audio recordings and in 1964 he published ‘The Voices From Space’ (Rostema Fran Rymden, Saxon & Lindstrom Forlag, Stockholm): “My love for the arts was still alive now as ever, and I heart-searchingly asked myself if it was the right thing for me to abandon the art of painting - a creative occupation that I had submitted my whole life to” and later “instead I was sitting here with an enormous jigsaw puzzle brooding in despair over the problem of whether one could assemble a more complete picture from all these frag- ments. And, likewise ...I had never before been so touched and captured

by any other urgencies than by these mystical connections, literally floating in the ether.” Now located in Molnbo, south of Stockholm, Jürgenson held his first press conference and the Swedish press were stunned by Jürgenson’s scientific approach to these matters and were understandingly critical. International Paranormal Societies, as well as the Max Planck Institute, the Univer- sity of Freiug and the Parapsychological Association in the USA, also took a keen interest and others; W Konstantin Raudive and Claude Thorlin, came to visit and began to work with tape recorders. At first Jürgenson only used a microphone and a tape recorder. He simply set up the microphone, set the recorder to ‘record’ and spoke clearly into the room, leaving space for voices to respond. This was a bit tricky for Jürgenson since he always had to play back the tape, sometimes at a lower speed, to hear the voices. These voices spoke in a combination of various languages such as Swedish, German, Russian, English, Italian - all languages that Jürgenson knew and could speak. He called this new mixture of languages ‘polyglot’, or ‘many tongues’. In spring 1960 one of the voices told him to “use the radio” as a medium and this was the technique he used until his death. He connected a microphone and a radio receiver to the tape recorder and in this way he could have a real-time conversation with his “friends.” Usually he set the radio reception in between the frequencies where there’s generally a variation

of noises. Later he fixed the receiving frequencies to around 1445-1500 kHz (1485.0 kHz is now called the Jürgenson Frequency). In 1965 Jürgenson took up painting again but his main activity remained recording. At this time he also revisited Pompeii and found that the site was being mistreated; sponsored by Swedish National Television he made the documentary film “Pompeii - a cultural relic that must be preserved” in 1966. A vast output followed in the ensuing years from this highly energetic and creative figure. In 1967 a book was published by Verlag Hermann Bauer KG in Freiburg called ‘Sprechfunk Mit Verstorbenen’ about this electronic voice phenomena, or ‘EVP’, as it became known and in 1968 four documentaries were produced… In 1968 his third book was published in Swedish: “Radio and Microphone Contacts with the Dead” (Radio och Mikrofonkontakt med de Dada, Nybloms, Uppsala). Rome was impressed with Jürgenson’s documentary output. The result of his work at Pompeii was another mission for the Vatican and in 1969 his documentary “The Fisherman from Gallilea - On the Grave and Stool of Peter’ was finished and for this Jürgenson received the Order of Commendatore Gregorio Magno from the hand of Pope Paul VI. Short after he also made a film about the life of the Pope and the quality of the film caused Paul VI to contact Jürgenson again. Jürgenson then painted three portraits of his second Pope. Around this time he was also permitted to conduct his own archaeological diggings in Pompei

and he dug out the large domestic house of the former governor in Pompei. In the 1970s Jürgenson continued to record and paint. Moving from Molnbo to Hoar in Skane, southern Sweden, he found a more peaceful place for his work. Age began to take out its toll and Jürgenson spent more time with his recordings at home, making an occasional trip to Italy. There was also serious talk about founding an EVP research institute in Italy. In 1978 he held his third press conference and gave a huge number of lectures. Here he predicted that soon we will be able to receive messages through the TV as well. He now labelled the work ‘Audioscopic Research’. The German book was translated into Dutch, Italian and Portuguese at the beginning of the Eighties. In 1985 he held his last press conference in conjunction with a nationwide television appearance. Friedrich Jürgenson died in October 1987 leaving several hundred tapes of recorded material. On October 21, 1987, following the information his spouse had mediumistically received, Claude Thorlin, a Swedish friend of Friedrich Jürgenson took his Polaroid camera and sat down in front of the television set adjusted to a free channel. Page 15 Continued page 17 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Paranormal Unity and What It Means To Me by Mark Cook [Editor: This was written for a hauntings investigation group, but it exemplifies part of a set of ethics which might be considered for the paranormal community at large.] I’m sure you

have seen it mentioned on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or maybe even during a conversation at an event or conference. So what exactly does paranormal unity mean to us and can we ever achieve it? That’s an excellent question and one I certainly cannot fully answer being one investigator in a sea of many. I can however do my very best to present the team I founded in a respectable way and expect team members to present themselves in the same way. It shouldn’t be that difficult to respect the opinions of other teams and the way they investigate. As a member of the paranormal community, I can remind our team that “our way” is not the only way and we still have a lot to learn even if we have been investigating for however many years. I can also remind our team members that we do not own the paranormal and we should never take credit for the work of others. Be honest, give credit where credit is due and be willing to work with other teams even if that means allowing them to take the lead. We can learn the history of this field, its founders and the work they have done. Remember that they did this when it was not a very popular thing to do and we would not be doing what we do today without their achieve- ments. We can look to those who are doing legitimate fieldwork and research too. We may learn something new.

We should also be willing to share, whether it be ideas, evidence, or locations with the exception being a private residence that would fall under permission from the client. This field is about the quest for knowledge that could lead to proof of something bigger than all of us, so why is there so much competition and petty fighting? At the end of the day, it all comes down to opinions and experiences, so shouldn’t the exchange of ideas be the driving force? It’s up to each of us to bring this field into a legitimate and respectable light based on principle. I have seen many good people in the paranormal community who have had to defend themselves from senseless attacks that are sometimes very personal and vicious. If we have to con- tinue to spend our time attacking each other, or on defense and response because of such attacks, then we are not making positive progress in this field. With all of this said, I am just one investigator from a little paranormal team in Perry County, PA. However, I know which road I want my team to take, and if you ask what paranormal unity means to me while I travel that road the answer is simple: Respect and support both the field and its members! From: The Cove Paranormal Research Society blog: The paranormal as We See It, “Paranormal Unity And What It Means To Me” by Mark Cook, August 11, 2013, blog.coveparanormal.com Mark Cook is Cove

Paranormal Research Society founder, lead inves- tigator, and tech specialist. A Poem on Sarah’s Desk leadership Sarah Estep founded the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenom- ena Spring, 1982. We assumed in 2000 and changed the name in 2010 Association TransCommunication. (Are we the next generation?) EVP was discovered in 1959 and reach the Eng- lish-speaking world in 1971. Imagine Sarah’s bravery to start an International organization supporting what was then and still is today, a most controversial subject. Sarah Estep at her EVP record- ing station. Sarah’s daughter Becky told us this poem had been on her desk for years; for courage to venture on? The Journey Ships are not built for the harbor, surely in life there is more, The journey is what brings fulfillment to a life that is worth living for. From the heart comes the hope of the present, from memories dreams of the past. From the soul comes the spirit of living, from experience lessons that last. Look ahead to see where you are going, look behind to see where you have been. Look inside to discover your purpose, then let your life's voyage begin. Take care as you sail to your future. Share kindness with people you meet. Take heart in the oceans you conquer, till your journey through life is complete. And when your life's voyage is over, when your sun starts to set in the sea, pass on to the next generation The joy that the journey can be. Tom Krause

© 2000 Volume 32, Number 4 Page 16 Viewpoint and told their stories, after which Tom displayed examples of the many forms of visual ITC and talked a little about theories for how the phenomena might be explained. Continued from page 1 Mental mediumship is an important cornerstone of the FFF and time was set aside for demonstrations of medium- ship by Kim Russo, Angelina Diana, Janet Mayer and Laura Lynne Jackson. We were very impressed by the quality of the information presented by the mediums. Their focus was not only on evidence but also on ethics. Mental mediumship is well-established as one of the phenomena providing evidence of both psi functioning and survival. However, anyone with the gift of gab and a little insight into human nature can claim to be a medium. This “wild west” environment makes it difficult for a grieving family to find a trustworthy person to help them contact a discarnate loved one. The FFF efforts to establish a registry of reliable mediums is perhaps one of the most beneficial services they can provide. You can view this list at foreverfamilyfoundation.org/index2.html The very first night of mediumship demonstrations turned out to be extremely evidential for me (Lisa), but let me explain a little. My sister had made her transition on October twenty and the memorial in Arizona was only six days before our trip to San Diego for the conference. This was a difficult memorial because my sister never liked me. She wanted to be

an only child and never really forgave me for showing up. In lieu of flowers, donations to a fund for helping animals had been set up, which was wonderful. But, I asked if we could provide a wreath for the memorial because, with out flowers, the memorial would seem cold. My niece agreed to this and we ordered a big heart of roses to be delivered for the memorial. It turned out to be quite beautiful. The whole thing was beyond awkward and stressful. We were invited to a potluck dinner at my sister’s house the evening before the memorial. My niece welcomed us but introduced us to no one in the room of about thirty people. Again, at the memorial we were not asked to sit with the family and were not introduced to anyone. I can’t blame my niece, as there is no telling what my sister had said about us. We had never been a part of her life, my sister did not even invite us to her daughter’s wedding, saying after the fact that the invitation must have gotten lost. There is no blame here, families are families. If there is reincarnation perhaps I have done something terrible to my sister in a past life. But because of the loss of this relationship, I cried my eyes out at the memorial. I tell you all of this only because of the next remarkable event. That first night of the conference, Kim Russo came to Tom and

gave him some amazing information on a step- brother and his father. After the event was over, Janet Mayer quickly came to me and said, “Lisa I can’t believe that Kim didn’t come to you next. Who is the women; the mother that is here”? I immediately thought of my friend Jannet who’s mother had just made her transition. Then Janet Mayer went on saying that she had been a florist and the women was pointing to a large beautiful floral arrange- ment. Immediately, it hit me that it was my mom. Then Janet said something about angel wings. Angel wings were important to my sister because she had been very reassured by seeing angel wings, years earlier them during a heart angioplasty. They also seemed to assure me that my sister was on her way to a new life. I simply can’t express the impact of this message. I am so immensely thankful for those on the other side being able to get messages to us in so many different ways. This message through Janet was enormously healing and allowed me to know that my mother had been at the memorial and helped my sister across. I feel blessed for this experience and it’s ability to help me let go of hurt feelings that are really nothing in the larger scheme of things. Another very interesting message came from another medium who told us (before our presentation) that she had done a reading for a mother whose child was

on the other side. The son said he was part of a circle (she used the term circle) trying to use technology to contact loved ones on this side. I asked “Big Circle?” and she immediately said “Yes!” Friedrich Jürgenson Continued from page 15 When, after about 20 minutes, the screen became black, Thorlin first thought of a power failure or a defect in the television set, when suddenly, in the left part of the screen, appeared a light point which in about six to seven seconds enlarged to such extent that it covered the entire screen, and then decreased again. The photograph taken at this moment shows clearly Friedrich Jürgenson whose funeral was taking place at exactly that time several hundred kilometers away (report in “Eskilstuna Kuriren” of Feb. 16, 1988, and verbal report by Jacobson). With thanks to Ernst Senkowski for permission to use this extract from his book - “Instrumental TransCommunica- tion” Photograph taken by Claude Thorlin of Jurgenson at the time of his funeral. Additional thanks goes to The Friedrich Jürgenson Foundation and its Director Carl Michael von Hausswolff, the translators, Thomas Wingert and George G. Wynn and Firework Editions for the use of this and all the other material about and by Friedrich Jürgenson. From ITC Journal No 34 April 2009 (itcjournal.org) Page 17 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal News from Members Kathleen Berry’s new book, A Reluctant Spirit: A True Tale of God, Ghosts and a Skeptical Christian was just released. From the book

description: “In this true story Kathy describes how she joined a TV news crew and paranormal investigators as the team’s impartial observer. Their first stop was Central Nevada’s fabled Goldfield Hotel. This overnight odyssey in the long shuttered, four- story hotel pulverizes her belief that the paranormal is evil or figments of the weak-minded. Kathy hears feels and sees spirits in the Goldfield which lead to a spiritual transforma- tion. She shares insights into the mysteries of life after death, why coincidences do not exist and why we should heed our intuition. A Reluctant Spirit chronicles how Kathy reconciles her supernatural experiences with her Christi- anity and comes out stronger for it.” Sandra Champlain, with the help of Robert Lyon, has made a documentary of her book We don’t Die. The DVD documents a skep- tic’s discovery of life after death. Sandra notes that every second, 4 human beings are born and every 1.8 seconds, one dies. As natural as death is, dying is the most common fear that we all share. With every loss comes the most painful emotion called grief, which can cause breakups of relationships, depression and even suicide. Over 100 million suffer from grief daily, although it is a subject not often spoken of, until now. The fear of dying led Sandra on a fifteen-year journey to find evidence of the afterlife. She now shares her personal story about her journey from skeptic to believer, along with proof that our deceased loved ones can still see,

hear and communicate with us. Sandra also shares new information on how our brains function during the grieving process and provides tools that can ease the pain. Sandra’s book and DVD are available at wedontdie.com and on Amazon. Walter Meyer zu Erpen contributed a chapter to Volume 2 of “The Spiritualist Movement: Speaking with the Dead in America and Around the World.” The chapter is about the T.G. Hamilton table levitations and ectoplasm, the Toronto Phillip experiments and Walther’s own Victoria Spiritualist group’s table tilting experiments. Walter told us that one of the chapters in Volume 2 is about Raudive and ITC. The Hardcover three- volume set is available from major online retailers for around $150. Link to Amazon through ATransC.org and the Association receives an affiliate fee. The link is mid way down on the right side. Relative of Konstantin Raudive Have you ever wondered about the relatives of some of the famous researchers in the field of the paranormal? What are they like? Do they know about the paranormal background of their relative? Would they think we were all nuts? Well, we were recently surprised by this email from Lisa C. She wrote, “I'm trying to reach Lisa and Tom Butler. Konstantin Raudive was the husband of my Latvian grand- aunt, Zenta Maurina. I have several of his first edition books. “I started reading about him on the Web and I was astounded to discover his involvements and work with EVP. I listened to his recordings and could

definitely identify the various languages and words, and listened to his recordings with you present and was amazed at how similar his deep voice was to another Latvian relative of his generation, one of his brothers-in-law. I’ve had several pre-cognitive experiences since my mid-20s, and in the midst of several family losses these past two years, have had channeled contact from the departed and I also photographed dozens of orbs in the Queen Mary a year ago. Wondering about all this, and I’m intrigued.” [We have exchanged more emails with Lisa and plan to stay in touch with her.] Extended Community Continued from page 7 The Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies: The ASCSI purpose is to encourage an exchange of ideas between clergy and academics of religion, philosophy and scientists. Basic annual membership is $40. The Academy has recently opened a discussion board which promises to become an important forum for your education. See: ascsi.org The Association TransCommunication (ATransC): The ATransC is dedicated to the study of all forms of transcom- munication, which is communication across the veil with an emphasis on Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), and its subset, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Annual membership in the organization is $30; all funds go toward operations, public outreach and research. The organization has a world-class discussion board that is perfect for asking questions, collaboration and sharing. References 1. Abstracts of Presented Papers at the 56th Annual Conven- tion of the Parapsychological Association, 2013, Page 54. 2. Presi, Paolo, Italian Research in

ITC, 3. atransc.org/articles.htm Leary, mark, Ph.D., A Research Study into the Interpreta- tion of EVP, ATransC.org online Journal 4. Butler, Tom, Critiquing ITC Articles written by Imants Barušs, Viewpoint, EthericStudies.org. Volume 32, Number 4 Page 18 Reports from the Field Angie C. wrote, “My story began almost a year ago. My husband and I had gone camping for the weekend and had to return home when we learned that both of my grand- parents were in the hospital for different reasons. They were admitted one day apart from each other. I had been trying to get a hold of my mom and Aunt Lisa because they had visited them. My mom and aunt had gone back to my grandparent’s house in the early morning of September 8th to get some sleep. (It was closer for them to go there than back to their own home). They were the only two in the house at the time this took place. I was at home taking a shower before going to the hospital. When I got out of the shower, I had a missed call and a new voicemail from my Aunt Lisa’s phone. I listened to the voicemail and was confused at first because it didn’t sound like her and I couldn’t really understand what the message was. By the fourth or fifth time I listened to it, I was a little bit scared, not really knowing what to think. I went to my grandparent’s house (I live two minutes away).

My mom and aunt where sitting on the couch drinking coffee, trying to wake up. They were upset that both parents were in the hospital. I asked my aunt if she had left me a weird voicemail, and with a confused look, said she had not tried to call me that day. When I played it for them, they had a look of shock on their face. Angie felt that she heard “It’s me Anglia…I can kill her,” which would be quite upsetting. The recording does sound like EVP but we thought we heard totally different things and nothing negative. That the call came from her Aunt’s phone is really interesting. A.G. wrote, “I’m almost embarrassed to contact you, as my experience is so small but to me it’s everything. My beloved partner of thirty-seven years made her transition four years ago. There have been the odd contacts in the shape of an aroma or a light kiss on my forehead. But the significant one came two weeks ago in between 5a.m. and 6a.m. I was awake but dozing then I heard her unmistakable voice. It sounded urgent and a bit metallic. She just said “Alan” but with urgency, and I awoke with the certainty that it was my Pat. As I say, it’s a bit of a nothing but it meant the whole universe to me. Becky P. wrote “I stumbled onto your page for the very first time today. After reading the section about phone calls I wanted

to share with you something that happened to me about twenty-five years ago, long before I ever knew about EVP or how to try to capture them. At the time, I was in my early twenties and my sister had died suddenly at the age of twenty-six, eight years earlier. We had a special bond, and she was my best friend. I worked twelve-hour shifts at night, so slept during the day. Everyone I knew, knew not to call because I would be sound asleep. One day, at about 1 p.m., (my deepest sleep time) my phone rang and I answered it, barely awake. I had to say hello three times and was almost ready to hang up when I heard my sisters voice say, “Becky” I answered “Yes, this is Becky.” I heard my sisters voice again “Becky” and I replied “Yes, this is Becky, who is this?” The voice sounded so sad and answered, “Becky, you don't remember?” Then the line went dead, no dial tone; nothing. For months, I begged for my phone to ring again, to hear her voice again, but it never did. Since then, I have learned how to work with EVP and have gotten some that I think are pretty interesting, but none have ever come from Christine. Thank you for allowing me to share my story even though I have no proof to share with you. At least I was able to share it with someone who understands. Melanie S. wrote “I

lost my almost two-year-old daughter last month to SUDC, and I have been trying to work through my grief. I found your web site and I wanted to share my story: About six days after Hazel passed, I was going through my purse, cleaning it out of receipts and stuff, a habit I had while Hazel was around. Inside my house, and for no known reason, a ladybug crawled over my wallet inside my purse. My baby girl loved ‘bugs.’ I had no idea how that ladybug got in my purse, and I don’t care. I gently picked it up and put it outside. Only after the experience did I think, Oh hey, that was my Hazel leaving me a little bug to let me know she’s all right.” but now, after reflec- tion, I feel it’s the only possible explanation. “Thanks for hearing my story. Your website has helped me work through my grief.” [Ladybugs are Cathy’s sign to her mom Martha Copeland. Cathy and Martha are two of the founders of the Big Circle Transcommunication Group.] Pamela Kramer is producing a paranormal Drama called “Absent Witness.” She wrote, “These are the real stories of Karl Petyr’s life. He is a remote viewer and psychic medium who has worked with the government, police and private sector.” While shooting the pilot the editor sent her an EVP from one of the scenes. Right after the actor says to the other actor, “Why are you creeping around here,” there is an

EVP that says “No Creeping.” She wrote, “It is definitely a child’s voice. (We heard it and it’s a child.) It was almost midnight and there were no children around. The actor wasn’t a believer before, but now he is” Page 19 Winter 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Kai Muegge Physical Séance Reservation and Payment Form Association TransCommunication is sponsoring a demon- stration of physical mediumship by Kai Muegge of the Felix Experimental Group, Germany. Kai is an internationally known physical medium and perhaps the only living medium publicly demonstrat- ing ectoplasm and ectoplasmic forms in lighted conditions. This is a rare opportu- nity for people to experience one of the most difficult forms of mediumship and proof that we are more than our physical bodies. There will be two séances conducted in Reno, Nevada: Tuesday July 29 and Sunday August 3. All séances begin at 6:30 p.m. and may continue until after 11:00 p.m. The séance room is just a short drive from downtown Reno. You will be responsible for your transporta- tion, food and lodging. Of Major Importance: the séance dates coincide with the dates for Hot August Nights in Reno. There are hotel rooms available as we go to proof on this journal but these rooms may not be available in 4 weeks. If you want to attend book see if you can book a hotel room at any of the downtown Reno locations, immediately. Attendance is $150 due at the time of registration. Please send a check

made out to ATransC with this form to ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. A schedule of available seating will be maintained by Tom and Lisa Butler. They will coordinate with you after receiving this form. There will be no refunds unless your seat can be filled. Admission may only be transferred with approval of Tom and Lisa Butler. An important concern is the medi- um’s safety and that of other sitters, so you will be asked to read and sign forms regarding physical séances and the required conduct of sitters. A photo ID will be required for admission the evening of the séance. Ectoplasm is known to be potentially harmful to the medium and even to sitters if it is unexpected disrupted. Séances are conducted in total dark- ness with occasional short periods in which a red light is turned on for dem- onstration. Sitters are asked to sit in a small, totally dark room, close to other sitters for possibly two hours. If you think you might be claustrophobic you probably should not sign up Further Information We have sat with Kai five times now. Our report of the first séance was in the Fall 2010 (29-3) ATransC NewsJournal. There was also articles about Kai’s last visit with us in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal. For more information contact us [email protected]. Ectoplams with faces produced by Kai Mügge Indicate in numerical order your session preferences Séance Registration Form Tuesday July 29 Sunday August 3 (Please

provide this form for each member of your party.) Name Address City, State & Zip Code Email Address Phone Number Agreement The ATransC must vouch for you to Kai, so please indicate with your signature below, your agreement to a phone interview and that you understand the need to maintain an open mind and a positive attitude during the séance. Signed Date Please send your check for $150.00 made out to ATransC and a copy of your photo ID with this form to ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. Volume 32, Number 4 Page 20 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA Viewpoint Spring 2014, Volume 33 Number 1 The beginning Sarah Estep founded the American Association of Elec- tronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) in 1982. In 2000, she sent us (Tom and Lisa Butler) an email titled, “Would you” in which she asked us to assume leadership of the Associ- ation. We agreed and our lives have been regulated since with a quarterly cycle of research, writing and publication of the ATransC NewsJournal. This is the 129th issue of the NewsJournal and 57th issue we have prepared for you ourselves. In 2003, we wrote and published There Is No Death and There Are No Dead as a sort of text book for members and people who wished to have an understanding of EVP. All of the proceeds of the book have gone to the Association for operations, outreach and research. To date, it has earned $37,100.

Reluctant advocates In 2005, we were asked to help market the Michael Keaton movie, White Noise. Basically, during a meeting with the Universal market- ing department we were told that if we didn’t do it they would find someone who would. We thought we had a better chance of getting a positive story out about EVP than perhaps a ghost hunting group, so we agreed to help. We were featured in three of the four DVD bonus features and Universal donated $10,000 to the AA-EVP. Since 2000, we have answered thousands of emails to help people learn about EVP and possibly better deal with the grief of a loved one’s transition. We have presented at conferences, spoken on radio programs and written numerous articles in the support of the Association, EVP/ITC and the paranormal community. Wherever we have gone, it has been necessary for us to assure Internet access and the time to respond to member needs. The website has well over 400 pages now, providing the world’s only English-language source (that we are aware of) for ITC research, techniques, role model and and resource articles. The website averages 27,000 visitors a month with a daily total of some 870 people. Our pledge to the public is that we will do all we can to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information we can find. EVP was brought to public awareness in 1959, and when Sarah began the AA-EVP in 1982, it was still mostly an unknown phenomenon. Shortly after

White Noise came out, we asked a website visitor how he found out about us and his reply was, “You are everywhere on the Internet!” It was always about the Association and letting people know about EVP, but it was good to know of the success. Time for a change Today, EVP is as well known as crop circles and UFOs. The EVP community is primarily hauntings investigation groups but there are a few academically trained scientists begin- ning to take notice and a foundation of theory is developing. In many respects, our work is done and it is time to move on. We just returned from a vacation and are now faced with the usual scramble to prepare the next NewsJournal. We would like to plan another vacation, but need to schedule it around the NewsJournal cycle. At the same time, the community dynamics are changing. As we have found, discussion board manag- ers around the Internet are complaining that people find it more satisfying to post in social media rather than in discussion boards. Techniques have become popular for recording EVP that we cannot use for research. This has made it very difficult for us to develop the necessary practitioner base for studies and has begun to make it more difficult to develop good articles for the NewsJournal. Finally, it has been difficult for us to find time to conduct our own research. Understanding these phenomena is important to us, and hands-on research is necessary to further that

understanding. The new ATransC This is the final issue of the ATransC NewsJournal. The ATransC is a publicly supported 501 (c)(3) educational and research organization. Beginning now, the Association is changing from support from member dues plus donations and collateral earnings from book and website, to dona- tions and collateral earnings only. Annual membership dues only paid for the cost of publishing the NewsJournal and some of the office expenses. The website will be maintained with new articles as they become available. The Collective will be expanded Continued page 18 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint......................................................................................................................................1 Viewpoint......................................................................................................................................1 Zachary............................................................................................................................3 Tina Laurent..................................................................................................................................4 Ernst Senkowski Talks with Anabela Cardoso.................................................................5 A Letter from Becky Estep...............................................................................................7 The Mystery of the Phantom Phone Calls.......................................................................8 Examination of a Witnessed Apport...............................................................................9 ITC Images of Beloved Pets...........................................................................................10 Great Dane Water ITC Image........................................................................................11 First Sight......................................................................................................................11 Research........................................................................................................................11 Mindfulness................................................................................................................................12 Self-Guided Connection to the Other Side....................................................................15 An Alternative to Wikipedia..........................................................................................17 German VTF Conference...............................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 Kai Mügge Physical Séance...........................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATran- sC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing

authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions Tom and Lisa Butler While this is the final issue, articles of interest will continue to be posted on the ATransC website. Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Pictures are welcome! Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. It is wholly supported by the public and all contributions are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Proofreader: Tom and Lisa Butler Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler The ATransC attempts to assure the veracity of material presented in this publication; however, understanding of these phenomena continues to change and the reader should practice discernment here as with all information about these phenomena. Volume 33, Number 1 Page 2 Spring 2014 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous SERF Donor Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Sustaining Members Lloyd Bradshaw Lisa Yesse Zachary by Deneane Johanson Our son Zachary passed in April, 2009. He was in the Army and survived Iraq, but after returning, he needed knee surgery. Three days later we were informed that sadly and tragically, he had passed. like he didn’t want to startle me, “Mom!” I was so excited to hear him

it made me not want to sleep. I actually said very quickly, “What?” hoping he would say something else, but there was nothing else. Zachary in full Army gear A few days after his passing, Zachary contacted me in my sleep during the moments prior to waking. He warned me about something wrong with my father by showing me a black-and- white “image” of my father’s face; my father’s eyes were turquoise blue and flashing very fast. I immediately woke, trying to figure out what my son meant by the flashing blue eyes. I thought to my self, flashing is a sign of warning, but why blue eyes? I thought about the image all day. I had the exact same image just before waking the following morning. When I woke up that time, it totally dawned on me that my son knew that if I had seen my dad’s face with red flashing eyes, it would frighten me to death. I felt that he was telling me that there was something wrong with my father’s health and the flashing blue eyes were like a traffic signal which warned of “changes.” After Zachary’s funeral, my mother called me to say that my father had to have a lung biopsy. The diagnosis turned out to be lung/brain cancer and he passed away in 2011. In 2010 I had to have very serious spine surgery. I was very scared, so the night before my surgery, I meditated and prayed asking Zachary to watch

over me, if he could, to be sure everything worked out okay. To be honest, by the time I had surgery I had forgotten all about asking for his help. The evening after surgery, I was sleeping in a private hospital room which was situated at the end of an empty hall, and I was woken up by hearing a woman’s voice say, “Deneane!” It was such a familiar and loving voice, I slowly opened my eyes in the direction of the voice, thinking I was going to see a nurse wanting to take my vitals, but I was stunned! In front of me was a woman, however, I could not see her face because there was a bright illuminating light shining behind her, around her and through her. Then I felt someone at the bottom of my bed; a “shadow” man. Each of his hands were touching each of my feet. I don’t know why he was dark or a shadow, but I felt he was her helper. I smiled, and answered “Yes” to the woman calling my name. I fell asleep again only to be awakened by the sound of my son saying in a loud whisper, My husband and I returned home one day and were shocked when we listened to our voice messages. The message from my son to us was so clear that we thought that perhaps the Army had lied to us, and some- how, he was still living. I sent the voice message

to my oldest son, but did not tell him who or what was on the message. I got a call from him saying he played the message and his legs buckled from underneath him; it took him a little time to get himself together. My son replayed the message while wearing headphones. What we heard totally made our hair follicles stand on end. My deceased son loved playing tricks on people, and in the beginning of the EVP, you hear static then his message. “Hey it’s Zac. Dad, want to hear something freakkky?” Then you hear “Tap Tap Tap Tap” then a squeaking sound followed by “Hello!”; then a loud whisper, “Dad.” My son left behind at the time of his passing, a two-year- old daughter; she’s now six. My son has also had contact with her. There are several little stories involving my granddaughter. Recently my daughter-in-law felt that maybe she hadn’t explained enough to my granddaughter about her daddy being in heaven, because my granddaughter started talking one day about her daddy and why he wasn’t there. So, her mother sat her down in front of her other grandparents and started explaining that Daddy died, then before her next words came out, my granddaughter said, “I know! Daddy’s in heaven!” She then pro- ceeded to say that “Daddy works in the Army in heaven.” My daughter-in-law, thinking she was confused, told her that her daddy was in the Army then had died and gone to heaven. My grand-

daughter said “No, Daddy works in the Army in heaven.” When she was asked if she had any questions about her daddy, she said, “Yeah, I want to know why Daddy doesn’t get to stay long?” Her mother asked her what she meant and my granddaughter said, “Daddy visits and talks to me all the time, but he never is allowed to stay long” Needless to say this shocked everyone in the room. I always knew he visited her. She told me, but I never repeated it because I didn’t want to seem crazy. Page 3 Spring 2014 Zachary Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Tina Laurent by Lisa Butler Tina Laurent’s life was changed the day she met Sarah Estep. Tina wrote, “Well do I remember the first time I listened to discarnate voices emanating from magnetic recording tape. It was 1981 in the Maryland house of Sarah Estep, the writer of a down-to-earth book, Voices of Eternity* and the founder of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA- EVP). For three hours, I sat enthralled, knowing full well that this was a day that was to change the course of my life. “When I returned home, armed with a borrowed recorder, I started trying to communicate with any passing spirits who might hear me. I immediately heard ‘sounds’; unintel- ligible whispers that I was fairly certain should not have been there. In a matter of two weeks, I heard my first intelligible word: ‘Tina.’ Since then, apart from some long

months when I was unable to record, I have contacted my EVP friends on a daily basis, wherever in the world I happened to be and using the simple equipment with which I started out.” Tina became an important EVP researcher. Living in Wales, she made a point of contacting all the investigators doing research in EVP who were in the UK at the time. Tina’s work in the field of EVP research is well known worldwide and she has taken part in television, radio and other types of media, spreading information about communication through elec- tronic devices. In January, Tina’s friend and neighbor Lisa Edwards contacted us to let us know that Tina made her transition on December 16, 2013. Lisa had several interesting things happen during Tina’s short illness and transition. Toward the end of October, Lisa helped with calling the doctor and Tina’s admission to the hospital. In the early morning hours after Tina had been admitted to the hospital, Lisa was awakened by a loud knock on the door. She got dressed and went to the door, only to find that no one was there. Later that day in the hospital, Tina told her that this had happened to her before, and even later, told her that the same knock had taken place in her hospital room but she hadn’t wanted to frighten Lisa. On the first day that Tina was in intensive care, Lisa meditated and asked to know what was going on. She could

see in her mind’s eye Tina holding both of her hands. She told Tina that it was alright to go on if she needed to and to just go on and be free. A little bit later, Lisa went to her iPod to change her forty-three songs by Elvis and was shocked to see the title “Death Notice” on the screen. This was not a song she had on her iPod, nor was it a song by Elvis On the third day that Tina was in the hospital, Lisa felt like she needed to be there. When she arrived, Tina was just coming out of surgery. She asked Lisa to look after everything and also told her that she was going to die. She then told Lisa that it was a dangerous place and she needed to leave. Lisa prayed that it was just the sedation and that Tina would get better. A few days later, Tina was still in the hospital and Lisa asked her if she remembered telling her about the place being dangerous. Tina replied that the surgical ward was a portal, a gateway and she had seen it all around her. Lisa wrote, “She came out of the hospital as she stub- bornly decided she must. I realize now she wanted to die at home. She was home ten days and I had a wonderful time sitting on her bed, holding her hand, making her cups of tea, just being with her. “I was also home

when she called the ambulance, as she was in so much pain… She told me she wanted God to take her and it was nice knowing me; very sad. I knew as I waved to her in the back of the ambulance, that it would be the last time I saw her ‘alive.’ As I knelt to put her fluffy socks on, I could feel her energy reducing. That is the only way I can describe what I felt. That night, she had another operation and never regained consciousness. I felt her leave on the Thursday, but her body lasted until the next Monday. Strangely, I phoned intensive care at the very moment they were phoning her brother to tell him she had passed. I went to see her in the chapel of rest and put her favorite picture of her yogi that had traveled around with her, a rose from her garden and one from the shops, some incense and fluffy socks! I lit a candle, burned incense and my mother and neighbor on the other side paid honor to her physical self. I am glad I did all that for her. It’s so funny because I am forty-three and she was seventy-six, yet she was the greatest company and I miss her terribly.” Lisa’s iPod screen Volume 33, Number 1 Page 4 Ernst Senkowski Talks with Anabela Cardoso by Anabela Cardoso, Director/Editor of the ITC Journal This is Q&A 6 of an article previously published in the December

2010 (#39) ITC Journal a Anabela Cardoso with Ernst Senkowski 6AC Question by Cardoso: One of the strong accusations against Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach (H-F)b is that some of the clear, highly interesting images that allegedly appeared on their TV screen, e.g. Jules Verne’s habitat in the next dimension; the black and white computer graphic received in Luxembourg on 4.12.88 and found by Dr. Delavre on June 1989, in color, in issue nº 3/87 of the magazine Esotera; the group of crystals apparently indi- cated by Zeitstrom (Timestream) Stationc as belonging to their communication devices for the contact with our level of exis- tence, which was apparently iden- tical, although distorted, to the image published on the cover of the book The Quantum Universe; some deceased people’s “transim- ages” identical to their earthly photographs while alive. Even the [the planet] whole story of Marduk and the river [of eternity which is on Marduk], and their similarities to Philip José Farmer’s books,d are all suspect because of the striking resemblance to our own things. My opinion is that this was perhaps an easier way for the communicators to convey their messages to us, using matching, existent terrestrial mental patterns to exemplify their situation in another dimension with some concepts that we could relate to and understand. In the case of the photographs, for instance, it could be that the reproduction of an existing photo on the screen of a TV apparatus (in the case of the H-F disconnected from the net

and even malfunctioning) was easier to achieve than constructing a new photo of the deceased person who, naturally, will no longer have the same face or body to be photographed. The communicators tell us that they “also have a body” albeit made of “a kind of electricity,” as they have told me.1 In effect, it is very difficult to imagine how that “new body” could be photographed and transmitted via a TV screen that uses our earthly technology! I can personally understand all that but the truth is that the procedure apparently used by Timestreamc was extremely undesir- able as it prompted a wave of accusations against the H-F and ITC. I know that you wrote an article about these mysterious similarities, but not in English, and certainly many of our readers do not know about it. Can you please give us a résumé of your opinion and of the ideas you put forward therein? Furthermore, I would like to know if you witnessed any of those transmissions, and if not, if you know anybody who did, besides the H-F. Many thanks. 6ES Answer by Senkowski: I am sure that the Harschs in most instances (as well as their guests including myself and my wife) directly observed the emergence of messages and images. When the first ones appeared during the couple’s (Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach’s) absence, the H-F would not believe in their paranormal origin. To prevent access of intruders they had a special key-system installed. I agree with your

extensive considerations about the duplications. Concerned operators and their co-workers wondered about the apparent similarities of terrestrial material and some phenomena in Luxem- bourg (and elsewhere, f.i. at Bacci).e Extensive material has been published in several editions of the journal Transkommunika- tion headlined “Parallel Realities?” Vol. I, No.1, 1990, starts with a short summary (abbreviated): “In the past years a remarkable number of messages and images (from beyond) have been found to be identical or resembling their counterparts in our realm of existence. Twelve of these cases are examined in detail. Excluding conscious manipulation as too simple an expla- nation, several tentative models are discussed including the ones given by the transentities. At present there exists no satisfactory solution for the inherent inconsistencies. We will see whether a better understanding of the back- ground will be developed in the future.” Vol. I. No. 2, 1991: “An amendment was necessary because our readers supplied additional material. At present we have more than 20 examples, 3 from Klaus Schreiber, 1 from Marcello Bacci and the rest from the Harsch.” Vol. I, No. 3: “More cases ‘accidentally’ found by Dr. Determeyer. Determeyer commented: ‘(In spite of all that) I vouch for the impossibility to impute the least suspicion of manipulation to the Harsch. From the beginning, I followed and accompanied their work and took part in numerous direct TC contacts with the transentities – Technician, Dr. Konstantin Raudive and others. The phe- nomenon of duplication is known to me from the results of

other experimenters. Apparently, it is a general fact that renders some insight into the cosmic information storage or processing.... Questioning some transentities via differ- ent channels yielded quite similar descriptions. For instance, we were told: Page 5 Continued page 6 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Senkowski Interview Continued from page 5 ‘Everything spoken at any time was released from an (terrestrial) (it) information center … deposition/condensation and in spite of that is still substan- tial ...’ found its “There seems to be an all comprising holomorphic are “sent” to us via a [perhaps metaphorical] information center [a station, for instance] but they do not disappear. They are still existent “over there” and can be “sent” at any time and to any place on our side. And I would like to add a short remark: According to India’s tradition, a net of reflecting pearls exists in Indra’s heaven. Regarding one pearl all of them are visible. This is similar to the modern holographic infor- mation space that can also be character- ized as an endless system of patterns in patterns. Only evanescent pieces reach our brain-limited consciousness to form a puzzle. information field. The different dimen- sions and individuals are participating and helping in its configuration ... The multidimensional information field may be related, coupled or identified with the so called Akasha Chronicle and con- tains timeless fundamental structures or ‘truths’ that by transformation into (our) four dimensional speech symbols produce similar patterns. Quantum physicist David Bohm (according to Ein- stein

‘the only one who could surpass quantum-mechanics’) introduced the notion of an implicate order ‘behind’ our explicate order; in other words: enfolded and outfolded. 2 “Synchronicity as introduced by C. G. Jung (and Wolfgang Pauli, nuclear phys- icist and Nobel Prize winner) can be understood as an additional indication. A future, more precise investigation of these highly interesting phenomena is urgently necessary. “The million-fold realization of the concept ‘love’ possibly serves the most unmistakable communication and time- less creation of new life.” Abb. 3b The cover of the book: The Quantum Universe f The cases that you referred to trig- gered, as I see it, indeed unwarranted assaults by people without personal experience in ITC. There were even insiders convinced that only the VOT (EVP) are for real and all other phenom- ena must be faked. The Harsch freely told us that they had read Farmer’s Die Flusswelt der Zeit (literal translation: The World of the River of Time). It is impossible to discern an unconsciously introduced contribu- tion of the Harsch from the genuine transmaterial. I, therefore, think it is useless to continue this discussion. But there are two remarkable facts. The German title seemingly picked up and used as the station’s name, Zeit- strom (Timestream), by the entities can be understood as a hint to their neces- sary adaptation to our linear time-flow. The term “border of the river of eter- nity” used by Raudive can be easily interpreted as a metaphor standing for the “border” between life

and death. (A similar expression manifested at Adolf Homes’: “You have found the boat.”) It recalls the Styx of Greek mythology that must be crossed by the deceased in a boat guided by ferryman Charon. I like to explain my concord with this model of my friend Ralph Determeyer. Even nineteen years later and in the light of an article by Dr. Vladimir Delavre, I could not formulate Ralph’s ideas better. In contrast, V. D. stressed the intimate relation between ITC and other paranormal phenomena, especially the general two-way mind-mind and mind- matter interaction. In his summary he stated: “The separation of object and subject is in itself a subjective proposition. For the present the significant question about the essential counterparts in ITC [the communicating entities] must remain open. Perhaps we only see reflections of reflections and maybe we only hear echoes of echoes generated by an infinite number of permeating information fields.”3 I am convinced that messages and their contents primar- ily stem from the general timeless information field. They Volume 33, Number 1 Page 6 Abb. 3a Transimage received by the Harsch-Fischbachs I addressed Farmer asking whether he could give a source of his trilogy. His negative answer evokes a more general question about the sources of ideas, inventions and literature. It seems unrea- sonable to “explain” all this as a chance product of the brain. Brain researchers do not see the background, and therefore, talk of “emergence” to conceal their ignorance. It is well known that completely

independent inventors forwardedtheirpatentapplicationspracticallysimultaneously. Continued page 7 Senkowski Interview Continued from page 6 But nobody attacked that synchronicity – only in the case of ITC, some stupid critics are agitated enough to attack the experimenters. Your second example refers to the identity of the Harsch’s transimage showing an alleged “communication device” in the beyond which appeared like a distorted copy of a published rare crystal.f Even in my openmindedness I was unwilling to accept the, for me, pseudo explanation of Timestream transpartners. From a humorous point of view we could describe this and similar cases as “toys” from “higher beings” given to playful children in the kindergar- ten called Earth. For example, Dr. Delavre found that the name of an important communicator, Swejen Salter, was an anagram: the letters can be rearranged to form the German word Rajtselwesen, close to Raetselwesen – enigmatic being. Asked about the meaning, Technician responded "Sind wir nicht alle Raetselwesen?" (Are we not all enigmatic beings?). Notes a. Ernst Senkowski is credited with coining the term, Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC). The entire article containing this most interesting interview with one of the pioneers of ITC is posted in the Articles section of ATransC.org. Also see Senkowski’s book: Instrumental Transcommunication, (English - 2002, first edited by Frankfurt: R. G. Fischer, 1989) worlditc.org/c_07_senki_00_content.htm Also: Senkowski, E. Tonbandsprachaufnahmen. Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie 21, 3/4 (1979), S. 201-208 The transcontacts of Adolf Homes – A review. Part 1. Transkommunikation, Vol. IV, No. 1 1999; Part 2 ibid. Vol.

IV. No. 2/3, (2001), Adolf Homes Transinformationen Rivenich 1988 – 1997. ibid. Special Edition (2002). b. Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach were at the center of an important cluster of transcommunication events. Senkowski was in attendance for some of these events. See their book Breakthroughs at: worlditc.org/c_04_s_bridge_content.htm c. Zeitstrom (Timestream) Station is thought to be an organized group of communicators originating the ITC experienced during the H-F cluster. Cardoso has also been in communication with a group calling themselves Timestream by using the Direct Radio Voice (DRV). d. Philip José Farmer wrote about a planet called Marduk in his Riverworld series. e. Marcello Bacci is also producing phenomena, primarily via DRV. See: “The Instrumental Transcommunication Work Of Marcello Bacci” in the Articles section of ATransC.org. f. The image was published in: The Quantum Universe, by Tony Hay and Patrick Walters, University Press Cam- bridge 1987. References 1. Cardoso, A. (2010) Electronic Voices: Contact with Another Dimension? Hants, UK: O Books - John Hunt Publishing, Ltd. 2. Talbot, Michael, The Holographic Universe: The Revo- lutionary Theory of Reality, Harper Perennial; Reprint Edition, 2011, ISBN-10: 0062014102. Also see: “David Bohm and the Holographic Universe” bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_holouniverse 04.htm Reviewed 12/26/2013 3. Delavre, V. (1992): Paranormale Transferphänomene. Transkommunikation, Vol. I , No. 4, p. 21). [The possibility that some trans-phenomena are adapted from existing physical forms has been discussed in other ATransC articles. An alternative view might be that phe- nomena which seem to already exist in the physical might have been formed from physical people’s

memory. This concept will be explored in more detail in future articles on ATransC.org] A Letter from Becky Estep It was nice to see the poem, “The Journey,” in the News- Journal. Sarah loved it and kept it on her desk. I thank you for your statement: “Imagine Sarah’s bravery to start an international organization supporting what was then and still is today, a most controversial subject.” During the early days of Mom’s EVP recording, I went through a brief phase where I was sort of afraid to walk out the door in the morning. I swear I half expected to see Mom’s effigy hanging from a tree in the front yard. Of course, some of this was overreaction and hypersensitivity on my part, but I actually got in the habit of “checking out the trees” in the yard before I went off to school. I don’t even remember how I came up with the concept of “effigy”; one of the neighbors might have half-jokingly said something about it. People would sometimes call Mom on the phone and say nasty things, mostly: “What are you doing and why are you doing it?” and “Don’t you think you’re doing the devil’s work?” One woman even told Mom: “They used to burn people at the stake for this kind of thing.” In retrospect, the thing that saddens me about the early days of Mom’s research is that she must have felt very alone and lonely in her quest…. Fortunately, it wasn’t long

before she learned of others who were also involved in EVP and had been exploring it longer than her, so I’m grateful Mom had others for strength, support and companionship in the EVP wilderness. Page 7 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Mystery of the Phantom Phone Calls by John Macklin/Tony James Features It was after lunch on a Saturday in June, 1960 and Mrs. Fox was alone in her fourth-floor apartment on the outskirts of the Canadian city of Toronto. She had half-expected her mother to call from a nearby suburb—a normal occurrence on weekends—and she was totally unprepared for the astonishing incident she claimed was to follow. Later 35-year-old Mrs. Fox was to explain to researchers what happened next. “I picked up the phone and nearly fainted when I heard the voice. It was my daughter Peggy. I have no doubt about that.” During the following week, Mrs. Fox received another phantom phone call in which the voice said: “Give my love to Moggy.” That was apparently Peggy’s pet name for her maternal grandfather and one that only her mother knew she had used. Mrs. Fox later told researchers: “No one would known that but my daughter. The things she said and her tone of voice were identical to Peggy’s. She even had the funny way of pronouncing the ‘th’ sound that Peggy had. I just refuse to believe that it was someone impersonating my daughter. She said: ‘Hello, Mum. Can you hear me? Don’t be sad ...

I am so happy.” Then the line went dead. I just stood there unable to move with shock. Which was hardly surprising. For she was claiming to have heard the voice of her daughter—and Peggy Fox had died six months earlier. Peggy, a cheery mischievous girl of 12, had been struck down with a mysterious virus in the winter of 1959 and despite the best hospital care Canada could offer, had died two weeks later with her parents at her bedside. Although naturally shattered by the death of her only child, Mrs. Fox, a part-time legal secretary, had tried hard to gather together her shattered life and by the summer of 1960 seemed on the way to succeeding. She and her husband had talked about the possibility of adopt- ing a child and then suddenly all the grief that surrounded Peggy’s death came flooding back. When her husband returned an hour later he found his wife weeping uncon- trollably. When she explained what had happened, Paul Fox said it must be a heartless hoax. He contacted the telephone company to find if there was any record of the call so that it could be traced. There wasn’t. Two days later it happened again. This time Paul was in the room when his wife answered and snatched the phone in time to hear a voice say: “This is Peggy, Mum. Don’t cry...” Then once more the line went dead. Shocked though he was, Paul Fox still had the presence of mind

to contact the phone company and once again he was told that there was no record of any call either on the trunk call system or the automatic dialing mechanism. Later, Paul Fox would declare: “I would swear that it was the voice of my daughter — I would stake my life on that. At the same time, common sense dictates that it couldn’t possibly be her. I was there when her coffin was lowered into the grave.” What would be the point of that? What could anyone possibly get out of it? Not surprisingly the case got national publicity and finally caught the attention of Dr John Craggs, a psychologist at Chicago University and one of America’s leading psychical researchers, who investigated the case and later included it in a book. He came to the conclusion: “I am certain that Mr. and Mrs. Fox are telling the truth about the calls. There is absolutely no reason why they should make up such a story and subject is themselves undoubtedly genuine distress.” to what With the family’s agreement he attached a tape-recording device to the phone, triggered to operate when the phone rang. On August 3, 1960 the phone rang and was answered by Peggy’s mother. The device began to record and the resulting tape was later lodged in the archives of the American Society for Psychical Research. A published transcript of the conversation reads in part: A girl’s voice: “Mum, is that you? I love you. Give my love

to Daddy, too. I am very happy. Please don’t cry like you did last time. Mrs. Fox: “Peggy, darling, is that really you?” Girl’s voice: “You mustn’t be upset. I will try to...” At this point the phone went dead. Dr. Craggs later wrote: “The tape was played to several of Peggy Fox’s friends. They all said they were certain it was her voice. So did her grandparents and her school teacher.” Just what is the answer to the apparent phone calls from the dead? One theory is that outside influences can manipulate electrical impulses on the phone. It sounds a far-fetched solution. But in the strange case of Peggy Fox, no one has yet come up with a better one. From: Times of Oman, March 28, 2013 timesofoman.com/News/Article-11979.aspx Volume 33, Number 1 Page 8 Examination of a Witnessed Apport by William C. Treurniet Several séances were held during October and November, 2013, at the Wallacia Development Centre near Sydney, Australia. The medium was Kai Mügge of the Felix Experi- mental Group in Frankfurt, Germany. Kai's spirit control is the deceased Professor Hans Bender. I attended the séance held on November 13. Anomalous phenomena were produced while the medium was controlled (handled) by two sitters on either side of his chair. There were loud raps on the walls and ceiling, and little balls of light flitted around the room in the dark. Hans also produced a faint sheet of illumination like a white aurora borealis that moved past sitters seated

well away from the medium. I experienced being struck on the hands and knees by unknown objects, and felt a stroking of the hair on the back of my head. A trumpet prop, self-illuminated by fluorescent tape, flew around the room, occasionally striking me and other sitters. hand and knee in the dark while he was in front of the cabinet, and hold the curtain of the cabinet aside while he backed into the enclosure. An apport was produced from the medium’s left hand in this sitting as well. I was posi- tioned slightly behind and below his left elbow and was able to monitor the hand from the rear. The red light appeared less bright from this position, and I saw the object as a shadow as it fell from the medium’s hand to the floor. This time, the formation of the object was not accompa- nied by the sparkle effect. Perhaps it was blocked from view from this vantage point. Hans, the spirit control, explained during the creation of the object in Figure 1 that it encapsulated little pockets of ectoplasm. I initially believed these to be the scattered brown dots visible at one end of the stone. I assumed that the roughness of the stone at this location was due to breakage of pockets of ectoplasm. Some days later, however, Kai received a message from Hans that there was more in the apport than I was aware. He asked me to look at the crystal under different

lighting conditions. Surprisingly, male and female faces appeared when the crystal was backlit. One face may be seen near the top of the stone and another at the lower left in the image of Figure 2. The appearance of these faces is pre- sumably due to the arrangement of ectoplasm embedded inside the stone. Figure 1. Two views of the apport The highlight for me occurred when I was invited to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the medium who was seated in his chair. There was sufficient red light near the medium to see clearly what was happening. He extended his left hand with palm facing down, and instructed me to hold my hands open beneath his hand. The fingers of his stationary hand opened and closed a number of times such that his palm was always visible. Suddenly, an object fell from under his palm into my waiting hands. I had watched his hand intently, and was able to see the object form directly under his palm. It twinkled briefly during the transition from nothing to matter. The apport was the white stone or crystal shown in Figurer 1 Different crystal apports were given to at least four other sitters during several sittings at Wallacia. One of these recipients also reported a sparkling effect as the object formed, and another sensed an upward flow of “some- thing” towards the medium's palm just prior to the object's formation. In a sitting on November 17, I was unexpectedly

given the opportunity to become one of the medium’s controls. My responsibility was to continuously hold the medium’s Figure 2. Images of faces inside the stone The observed phenomena in these sittings, especially the apport, convinced me beyond any doubt that physical anomalies had occurred. I now hold the normal-appearing crystal I was given and marvel at how I had watched it come into existence from nothing. Adding to the mystery is the strong sensation of spirit energy I often feel when in close proximity to the crystal. Page 9 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal ITC Images of Beloved Pets by Sonia Rinaldi I always think that the debt that human beings have toward animals is priceless. Unfortunately, ignorance and insensi- tivity toward animals is such that in many cases we can see how poorly most humans understand creation. It’s a relief, then, to know that our spirit friends see animals differ- ently. It seems on the other side animals do have the respect they deserve. We know this because many times we have heard in our EVP record- ings harsh criticism about humans’ behavior in relation to these defenseless beings. Besides the EVP, we have also recorded transimages, which are a relief to those who’ve lost a loved pet. I remember the transpicture we registered when our friend Marlene visited our lab. In that opportunity I was testing with an infrared camera that only produces black-and-white images. Surprisingly, her little dog, who died in 2009 at age 15, appeared.

(Top picture) Gabi was Marlene´s passion. She got the dog as an engagement present and Gabi became her greatest friend till her death. Marlene cried when she saw the transim- age of Gabi. She immediately wrote, saying: “This was the best gift I could ever receive! It is priceless to know that my loved Gabi is well and that he is always with me!” In another case, I had no idea who the dog was or if it would be possible to locate his or her owner. I decided to include the lists of transpicture friends, and soon, I received an e-mail from journalist Juvan, who sent us the photo of his dog Nitinha, and wrote: in our “Dear Sonia, Nitinha had passed away three months ago after a vehicle ran over her in front of my house. She was, why not say, an unusual puppy. She was very, very, dear to us and was with us for five years. She was a friend, a great companion and an invaluable guard of our house. It was a huge impact for me and my wife. We had very hard times when she departed. All we could do was to thank her in our prayers and that we were very grateful for the time she stayed with us. “For an incredible ‘coinci- dence,’ we had been thinking a lot of her these days, because today, we are going to get another puppy, but with the commitment that Nitinha would never leave our

hearts. “Do you not think that the transimage you registered is our loved Nitinha?” Well, for me it sounds possible too. More recently, our friend Fatima Borges, for whom I have the deepest admiration for her tireless work in favor of hun- dreds of cats and dogs, pro- vided this dismal picture of a female dog. (Third from top) She included information that the shelter where this poor dog lived was running out of food to feed the vast number of dogs. Fatima was looking for donations so that the dogs didn’t starve. The shelter is located in Rio, and is known as “Cantinho da Tia Selma.” Days later, we heard that unfortunately, when the food arrived, the desperation of the “poor starlet of the cam- paign” was such that the poor little dog had died. The following day, there appeared a transimage which seems to us the poor starlet. It is as if she wanted to report that finally she got rid of the torture of not having an owner. Brazilian researcher Sonia Rinaldi is the founder and coordinator of IPATI and is one the of world’s most progressive ITC researchers. The IPATI website is at ipati.org. Volume 33, Number 1 Page 10 Great Dane Water ITC Image by Margaret Downey I’m always talking about the “depth,” “texture” and “layer- ing” of images that is possible when using a translucent pot of water suspended inside a larger, empty dark pot for my ITC sessions. In this particular setup, rather

than using my typical Visionware pot, I sus- pended a small, amber Visions saucepan (CorningWare) inside a dark gray bread loaf baking tin. I used an iPhone 4s with the light on as a video camera. I will definitely use this setup again because it worked quite well. Here’s a photo of this setup, and below is one of the image recorded using this setup. In the middle frame, I see as the primary feature a big, beautiful Great Dane head (with cropped left ear sticking up). I’m awaiting to hear from my friend who recently lost her Great Dane. I’m thinking this is her dog. [Editor: Margaret did hear from her friend who is 100% sure that it is her dog. Here is a comparison] Research We want to stress that research remains an important part of the ATransC mission. “The Energy Profile of Transform EVP” project is still at the top of our list of research projects. It is important to collect more examples from different practitioners, so if you record transform EVP, take a look at atransc.org/research/transform_evp_study.htm and consider participating. Ending publication of this NewsJournal will give us more time to focus on other projects as well. One major one has been to develop an EVP platform as discussed at atransc.org/journal/evp_platform_req.htm. Technology has changed since it was first proposed and a computer app may be more doable now. The idea is to have many First Sight Parapsychologist James Carpenter has developed a theory about how people process

information from the environ- ment. Based on psychical research, he argues that every- thing and every action is preceded by a subtle energy (psi) signal which people sense with psi functioning, just as they use their physical senses to sense the physical world. Both this “first sight” information and information from physical space are unconsciously processed and it is the result of that processing that people become aware of. As such, people sense how their unconscious mind reacts and that is based on worldview; what they have been taught to think is true. The two important messages in First Sight theory for people seeking to gain in spiritual understanding is: First, how important it is to make sure worldview (personal reality) accurately reflects the true nature of reality, rather than local beliefs taught by the community. Spiritualists know this as learning to understand and live in accordance with Natural Law; and, second, it is possible to learn to pay more attention to those small impressions that precede full conscious awareness of external influences. Greater lucidity between conscious and the usually subconscious etheric personality can be learned. One technique for aligning personal reality (worldview) with the actual nature of reality is what might be referred to as “suspended judgment” as discussed in the “Mindful- ness” article on page 12. An alternative way of thinking of this is to accept that your unconscious mind will make a decision for you, but if you are not consciously attached to the decision, then it

is more possible to change your thinking later. In other words, accept that you have an attitude about something, but be interested in understand- ing why and be open to change it–deliberately open. Carpenter, James C. (2012-03-23). First Sight: ESP and Parapsy- chology in Everyday Life. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4422-1392-0 (ebook), Copyright © 2012 people using the same technology by way of the same free program to record for EVP. Results can be more easily compared for research. At the same time, the program can be evolved based on user feedback to improve perfor- mance. ATransC has previously funded “how we hear EVP” studies and it is important that additional work is done in that area. EVP from a standardized program would make that research more meaningful. Research like that costs money. While membership dues help, research has been mostly funded from donations and proceeds from the “No Dead” book. It is important that current members continue to support the Association with participation in research, by telling others to visit ATransC.org and by donating to support research. Page 11 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Mindfulness by Tom Butler Purpose The phenomena of transcommunication appear to have a purpose beyond the reassurance it offers to loved ones. After examining mediumistic messages from the other side and “revelations” brought by past teachers, it is easy to imagine that our etheric communicators are trying to teach us about the reality of our immortality by showing us they exist. This article is

written as an exploration of the idea that the EVP messages in our recorders, or the paranormal images we find in our photographs, are a new way of telling us that we are part of a larger community. Perhaps it is up to us to understand what that means. Mindfulness The terms “mindfulness” and “mindful living” have become catchphrases for right living, but not in a pretentious way or in an attempt to tell you what to do. People speak of mindfulness, almost in a reverent tone, as if the concept relates more to God than to daily living. Always, it is used to offer guidance in how to improve your life; how to be all that you can be. Discussions about the phenomena of transcommunication are usually about tech- nique and quality of examples. Who is talking may be discussed, especially if the information seems to come from a loved one, but the question of continuous life seldom comes up. But in fact, considered from the perspective of your immortality, transcommunication may actually be all about you and your immortality. If this is true, then learning to live mindfully may be the most important ability you can learn. Teachers Mindfulness is based on the idea that what we do now matters here and hereafter–both to us and to others with whom we share reality. Information about this has come to us by way of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), meditation and mediumship. With proper controls, ITC can be a rich source

of infor- mation about the other side. For instance, we have seen that we should expect a life review during our transition. We know they can see us, and we know our communicators sometimes “get together” with friends on the other side. We also know that there are changes in their ability or need to communicate, so that some do not “report in” for years and some seem to “move on”after a while. Channeled material must be considered with reservation because we know cultural influences can color messages. Even so, consistency amongst communicators seems to add credibility to some messages. 1 Perhaps some of the most important teachers have been the fabled Hermes Trismegistus and the biblical Jesus. The only document credited to Hermes that seems reliable is The Emerald Tablet.2 In it, he speaks of “The One Thing,” which is the same as “The Great Work” of hermetic tradition.3 The Great Work is all about the path followed by seekers to gain understanding. The lessons involved in this are virtually the same as brought by other teachers. The message is that a person benefits by learning to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. A review of teachings attributed to Jesus, as found in Aramaic-to-English translations, shows that he taught that our I Am presence exists in the greater reality and that our transition out of this lifetime is toward our I Am presence: “Where that I Am really is, there you already are, and you can

be, consciously.” (From Luke 24:38-49) He also taught the unity of human- kind; that one person’s actions reflects on all people.4 We included a transcript of Hans Bender’s words as conveyed by Kai Mügge in the Fall, 2013 ATransC NewsJournal. To paraphrase, Bender explained that we are not alone and that how we view the other side has a lot to do with how we experienced it during our transi- tion. He said that what we are doing here affects the other side and that we can project negativity into the greater reality which can cause problems for others. Jane Roberts’ Seth material appears to be a reliable source of information about the other side.1 Three important “instructions” from Seth are: People create their own reality; people exist in more than one aspect of reality at once; and, the only wrong act is to violate another person. The common message from all of these sources is that who we really are, our I am presence always exists in the greater reality, that we are able to connect with our etheric aspect through “right thinking,” that how we think now affects us and others now and beyond this lifetime and that it is for us to learn to live in accordance with the true nature of reality. This understanding is not one person or one organization teaching religious doctrine. Think of it as the handbook for “right living” given to us by our friends on the other side; this is mindful

living. What we do now matters If you look behind the curtain of ITC messages, so to speak, a pattern begins to emerge that tells us much about the person. While the messages appear to be paranormal, it has been noted by many Continued page 13 The Hermit from the Paul Case deck of the Tarot symbolizes the seeker who has achieved great under- standing and has turned his attention to the world to show the way for other seekers. He is both the seeker and the teacher. Volume 33, Number 1 Page 12 Mindfulness Continued from page 12 researchers that different practitioners are apt to record rather different kinds of messages from the same situation. To illustrate, Lisa and another person went into a dark room of a reportedly haunted building and recorded for EVP. Lisa is a pragmatic, level-headed witness and recorded EVP containing useful information. The other person delighted in being scared and expected scary EVP, and in fact, she recorded scary EVP. In both cases, the messages were clearly paranormal, but their character tended to agree with the practitioner’s worldview. As it turns out, it appears the person’s expectations are pro- jected onto experiences. This has been noted in what has become known as the sheep- goat effect. In that, people who are more psi sensitive (psychic) tend to have more paranormal experiences. In his book, First Sight, 5 Dr. James Carpenter developed a hypothesis for the evidence currently being presented in parapsychology which holds that

people are always informed about the world via their natural psychic sensing. Further, he argues that people are constantly psychokinet- ically influencing their world. What all of this means is that we also see with our inner senses (first sight) and always have some influence on our world with our intention, which is based on what we think is true. Worldview Engineers design models for systems they are trying to understand. One way to develop a model is to figuratively put the subject in a “black box” with the known input and output clearly defined. The trick is then to think of what would have to happen inside of the box in response to the input to produce the output. Not knowing for sure what is inside the box, engineers usually solve the problem by theorizing a model with functional areas inside the box. The functional areas for a person’s mental activity might be modeled as an input from the world as sensed by the person (bright blue arrow at the top in figure above), an output as the person decides whether or not to act via speech or deed (bright blue arrow at right), an area where memory is stored (worldview), and the processes of visu- alization, perception and expression. Researchers have found that people imagine what they are experiencing, and the information for that imagining comes from the worldview database. If the incoming information agrees with the database, then it will actually be experienced by the person. If

it does not match the database, then it will either be changed to agree with the database and experienced in that changed form or rejected outright. (See the “Basic Functional Areas for Perception” diagram on the next page.) The way we express ourselves involves the same pro- cesses. Something causes us to react, and however that initial stimulus is translated by worldview, an imagined reaction is developed. At that point it is just a fantasy, but if we intend to act, then, what is visualized is expressed in some way. The rest of the story is that, with that intention to act, we begin to psychokineti- cally influence the world. Using this model, it becomes evident that worldview plays an important part in our lives. By all indications, we are born with a more-or-less empty world- view database. It appears rea- sonable to argue that we do begin with a degree of understanding, so that one might say that a child is “an old soul” if born with more than average understanding about the world. It seems reasonable to say that the average person’s worldview is full of what has been taught by teachers, parents, clergy and the media. Much of that is simply local custom or popular wisdom. Personal reality, local reality and the greater reality Of course, there is only one reality, but there are differ- ences in the way people experience that one reality. This is all about the individual person, so it is important to understand

that each of us has a local reality which is that part of the greater reality which we are aware of, and more importantly, which we pay attention to. Your home town is part of your local reality, but there are likely parts of it you are actively aware of and other parts that only provide background for the sense of “town.” Your neighbor will have a slightly different local reality and someone living in another country will hardly be aware of most of what you think of as real. The greater reality just is. It does not have the capacity to be positive or negative. The same can be said of local reality: it just is. How you perceive your local reality is rather different. For instance, where you live just is, but it has characteristics such as good, bad, warm or uninviting, depending on how you think of it. Your personal reality is how you perceive your local reality; what you think of it. Right or wrong, as far as you are concerned, your personal reality is the real reality and that is determined by your worldview–what you have been taught, but biased by whatever understanding you have achieved. In mindful living, we are taught to examine our worldview to see if what we believe is true makes sense. The idea is to align personal reality Continued page 14 Page 13 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Mindfulness Continued from page 13 with local reality; the true nature of

reality and not what we have been taught to think is true. Suspended judgment Rethinking what you believe to be true may seem paradox- ical. If you believe something to be true, how can you tell if you should change your mind or even examine the belief? In practical application, mindful living is a life-long process; a path to be followed one step at a time, so how does one begin in the middle of life? An effective way to begin mindful living is to make a conscious decision to have an open mind. Take conscious control of the process your mind uses to con- sider new information. The “Basic Functional for Perception” Areas represents a diagram model for how a person experiences information from the environment. We visualize what we are experiencing in a very fast, mostly subconscious reaction to information from our environment. This visualization is based on what we have been taught, which is in our worldview. If the incoming information agrees with what we expect, say a friend on the phone or the door opening when we turn the handle, then it will be experienced. If it does not agree with what we visualize, it may not be noticed, as if we are blind to it. An important characteristic of this comparison between what we expect and what we encounter is that a close agreement will likely result in perception of the information as well as feedback that can modify worldview with an ambiguous “maybe.” In

other words, we learn. As what we learn begins to consistently agree with reality, it becomes understanding. While we are told that worldview shapes our first after-death experiences, it appears that it is this understanding that persists beyond this lifetime. The idea then, is to learn to monitor the decision that comes out of that comparison. The idea of suspended judgment is that we seek to just experience and not decide if we accept it or not. People have a tendency to automat- ically reject things they do not understand. With suspended judgment, the decision to accept or reject is not made without allowing time to consider the experience in the context of more information. Self-determination We have to decide … everything. If not what we experience, then we must at least decide how to react. Self-determina- tion also means that we create our world. Again, not necessarily the brick and mortar places and things we live in, but for sure how we react to these things. Two people might have essentially the same experience, but each will remember it in a different way. A person who is in the habit of thinking things always go wrong will likely remember it as a bad experience; however, a person who is generally optimistic about life is likely to have remembered it as a good experience or at least as a learning experience. It is all about attitude and that is a learned thing. for Here too, suspended judgment can help. Whatever

you think the world is like, learn to consciously intercept that “Oh, it’s awful” response with either a “wait and see” or a “it has a good side” response. You may be thinking that this is idealistic but it works. Once it becomes a habit to intercept those internal decisions, there is more alternative room explanations for what you experience. An “awful” reaction tends to stop further consideration of alternative explanations. You are always psychically interacting with your environ- ment. How you think of incoming information also has a lot to do with how that information continues to develop. It is likely that a positive or at least neutral response will encourage a more beneficial effect in your environment. Mindful living This is an abbreviated discussion about mindful living. The main message is that what you do now will follow you for the rest of your existence–here and hereafter. The more your personal reality agrees with the actual nature of reality, the more progress you will make in your evolution toward a spiritually mature personality; understanding begets understanding. The key is to stop and think before you react. This also applies to things you do. To paraphrase Jane Roberts’ Seth, perhaps the only sin is to impose your will on others. Stop and think about how your actions affect others. You are a citizen of your community, the world … and the greater reality. You psychically interact with it so that your feelings about another person in some way affect

that person. The only right you have is to decide what you think of your world and how you will react to what you decide. You are the only judge as to how well you are doing and that is not based on what you have been taught but on the understanding you have gathered during your existence. Continued page 18 Volume 33, Number 1 Page 14 Self-Guided Connection to the Other Side by Tricia Reed NASA, ESA/HHT/STScI/AURA/W.Blair, JHU/R.O'Connell, UV, nasa.gov I’m writing about a website, spiritualunderstanding.org. The website presents a self-guided process to connect with someone in particular on the other side of life. The process of connection itself is called unfoldment, and the training is relevant for becoming receptive to receiving messages and information in general from wherever you say it comes from: intuition, higher self, guides/angels, the source, subtle energy field, departed loved ones. I went through the process personally and had a very successful experi- ence connecting with my mother-in-law, Margaret. This is a research project, so you’ll be asked to journal, and journal entries will be read by Craig Hogan, the project devel- oper. He will respond by e-mail. The journaling is a benefit to you in and of itself. Craig always responded to my journal entries within twenty-four hours. The process is presented in stages. At first you’ll be given guided meditations with music. Eventually you will be weaned off their guidance and go on your own. During the meditations, music is playing with

binaural beats, which are tones enhancing relaxation and a state of mind conducive to receiving. The most famous of these binaural beats pro- grams is the Hemi-Sync method developed by the Monroe Institute. With headphones you can hear the music/sounds first in one ear, then the other; I get a cyclical feeling like it is moving around my head; back and forth. Whatever else it’s doing, I find it soothing. After this overview I will show you a guided meditation using the procedure from the website. I’ve shortened it for this article by skipping the first couple stages and going right into making the connection with a departed loved one since we are the advanced class, but it would be beneficial for you to do this from the website. Now I’ll present some of the information provided from the website in explanation and preparation for the process, starting with a quote from Albert Einstein from the web- site: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” There is a lot of good information on the website. I picked out some that helped me the most, and will add a few comments of my own from my personal experience. “Intention: The director of our minds is our intention. We intend to recall a memory and it miraculously comes to us, in much the same form as it was when it

was formed by experience. We intend to create something new, and novel thoughts come to us. We intend to lift an arm and the body obeys the mind’s command immediately. Using our intention, we navigate through life and learn the lessons we are to learn in the school of Earth.” “Unintentional Images, Thoughts, Feelings, Bodily Sen- sations and Messages: However, much of what comes into the mind comes without our intention. Some comes by default, what I call inner talking. This website proposes that some of what comes is from outside of us. Unin- tended images, thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and messages come in deep-sleep dreams, hypnagogic dreaming (when half awake), inspirations or flashes of insight and notions. They unfold without our intention to have them come. This entry into our minds is termed free unfoldment. We don’t control free unfoldment. Our language has a number of words or phrases to describe their coming to us, because they’re so common. We might describe their coming to us by saying ‘It just came to me’ or ‘I suddenly realized’ or ‘the light bulb went on.’ “We have these freely unfolding images, thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and messages all the time, and so we believe they’re coming from inside our minds somehow. We call them ‘my imagination.’ We have words for this belief that we created these unusual insights: ‘I thought it up,’ ‘I imagined it’ or ‘I dreamed it up.’ But neuroscience has no explanation for how some- thing that wasn’t

in our memory or experience could suddenly come to us. The reason it can’t be explained is that these unusual insights don’t come from us. They come from some source outside of our minds.” That’s direct from the website. My belief/understanding is that at our essence we are fields of awareness, without boundaries. Inside and outside then have less relevance. It could be a matter of semantics. Fortunately you don’t have to buy their explanation 100% for this to work. How your loved ones will communicate with you Your loved ones on the other side will connect with you and communicate in these unfoldments. You may be calling them “my imagination,” but there’s no “my” in them. It’s all “them.” This is very important. Those we love on the other side are in charge of the experiences. They decide what to give us and they develop what comes. If we judge, try to change, dismiss as unreal, or otherwise try to manipulate them, Continued page 16 Page 15 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Light Echoes from V838 Mon, NASA, ESAnasa.gov Self-Guided Connection Continued from 15 we disrupt their effort to create the images, thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and messages in our minds. They then have to start over. This is relevant to receiving messages like we do at meetings. It’s really important that we have the confidence that they’re in charge and what- ever comes to us is going to turn out to be what we need, even if to

us it seems trivial or strange at the time. I can verify this with my own experience. I was in a visit with Margaret and tried to put us some- where else; she brought me back to where she wanted. My first effort to direct the meeting was on a whim, but then I wanted to test this idea and tried again. She brought me back to her kitchen each time. It’s a very normal part of the train- ing in this Self-guided Afterlife Con- nections procedure to go through having to get over the mistaken notion that what’s coming into your mind is “just imagination.” That will happen when you experience having images, thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and messages come to you that you just couldn’t originate. The more you experience that, the more confident you’ll become that the messages are coming from them, and the messages will flow more smoothly. Be patient. Learning mind-to-mind communica- tion is like learning to speak a new language. But you will learn it if you just trust and allow the unfoldment to teach you. You have a simple intention not spoken in words, for example, to get an answer to a problem, or to imagine visiting with a loved one; the Source gives you the experi- ence. Don’t try to make something happen, allow whatever comes without judgment even if it is not what you expected. When some thought, sense, feeling, image, sights, sounds, smells or message comes to you, notice it

and stay with it. For example, you are on a beach and you don’t see anyone, but the waves are lapping at your feet; notice that. Look around, listen to, feel, whatever is there. Craig’s response – New Language “You’re learning how to communicate in a new language. We’re not used to having someone communicate within our minds. We’ve been thinking, remembering, day- dreaming and talking to ourselves since we were children. That’s like a language, and it’s very familiar to us. Now, having someone else come in and start thinking and talking in that space in our minds is really different. It’s like learning a new language. To be able to connect and communicate, we have to learn that new language. That takes time and it takes patience. You can’t learn a new Volume 33, Number 1 language by flying into a country, stepping off a plane, and spending a half hour with native speakers. You’ll just be bewildered by what you hear. In the same way, you mustn’t expect that you’ll learn this new language of mind-to-mind communication in one session. Give it time. You’re about to step off the plane into a new realm, and there, you’ll receive thinking, remembering and talking that is coming from outside of you. That’s going to feel like what you’re accustomed to getting as your think- ing, remembering, and talking, but it’s not coming from you. “To learn mind-to-mind communi- cation, you have to learn how to allow that new communication

to come to you, and you have to learn to accept it. Be patient. You’ll learn how to communicate.” Craig’s further explanation: “After you’ve had a conversation with someone, you have a sense of what they were telling you. Imagine then that you were going to describe to a third person what you had talked about in that conver- sation. Your description would flow freely. You would have a sense of the person’s conversation with you, but you wouldn’t be recalling the words or the person’s image as you were describing what was in your conversation. You would describe a whole impression or a whole message, converting it into words so the third person you were describing the conversation to could understand. “Those impressions or whole messages that you have after your conversation with someone in the non-physical are the content of mind-to-mind communication. You know immediately the whole statement someone is making because you’re getting what you would have after you had finished listening to someone’s statement on the Earth plane. This can come in a flash. The person’s image, the words and all the rest aren’t there—they’re not necessary.” From my experience with Margaret I did have an image of her, saw her, but we did not have a back and forth conversation at the kitchen table, like her face was not talking, I got the information mentally in a whole impres- sion, thought sphere, bubble or thought form/field. Hope- fully I am using Tom’s words appropriately. Not

line by line, but like if you remember a dream. Finally from Craig “Also, the emotions you receive are mind to mind. In your visit with Margaret you had the sense of presence and the feeling of love. Those are real senses, as real as seeing or hearing. They come from the real presence of the person.” Continued page 17 Page 16 Self-Guided Connection Continued from 16 Instructions for meditation (short version) This is the procedure you follow to go into the state of relaxation: 1. Feel yourself breathing for a few minutes. 2. Relax the muscles from your head to your feet. 3. Count down from 10 to 1, becoming more relaxed with each count. 4. Feel the white light of protection flowing over you. 5. Go deeply into the part of your subconscious where love is by counting from 5 to 1, feeling love for your family, humankind, and your loved ones who have passed. (Craig agrees per Margaret to feel receiving love, being loved per Margaret.) 6. Go to the place of great beauty. Recall what it feels like to be there and you will be there. 7. Begin to connect with your loved one. Guided connection (full version) Remember what was just said about intention. Intend with this meditation to make a connection with someone in particular on the other side. Get in your mind with whom you are intending to connect. This is the procedure from the website, modified by time limitation and per Tricia.

Sit comfortably with your legs and arms not crossed. Then close your eyes. Become aware of your breathing, feeling air as it passes in and out of your nose, the turnaround point in/out. Just focus on relaxing. As I breathe out, I breathe out tension. I am slowly going into a state of deep relax- ation. I am going deeper and deeper and deeper, into a state of deep relaxation. Each and every muscle of my body is now loose and restful. Everything is so peaceful and quiet. My jaw and face muscles are relaxing. My shoulder muscles are relaxing. My arm muscles are relaxing. My wrist and hand muscles are relaxing. My chest muscles are relaxing. My stomach muscles are relaxing. My back muscles are relaxing. My thigh muscles are relaxing. My calve and foot muscles are relaxing. My whole body is relaxed as I continue to breathe peacefully. I am now in a state of deep relaxation, going still deeper and deeper and deeper. My whole body, from the top of the head to the toes of my feet, is totally relaxed. Deeper and deeper, feeling better and better, quieter and qui- eter. Now I will count from ten to one, and with each count, I will go deeper into a relaxed state. 10, 9, deeper, 8, 7, deeper, 6, 5 deeper, 4,3,2,1 – I am deeply and totally relaxed. Power flowing over me, from my head to my feet, protecting me from all negative influences and negative

energies. [Envision that.] Only the highest spiritual ener- gies can come to me. Now I’m going to a place of great beauty where love is. This can be a favorite place in nature where you have been in the physical or your imagination, or someone’s home where you have felt love… See yourself there – sights, smells, sounds… Feel receiving love. Breathe it in; fill up with it. Hold your intention and let it unfold. Ask your beloved one to come, and know that they are there. Ask questions if you have any. You may have a sense of their presence or a feeling of love. Accept whatever comes. Let it unfold. Pause It is time to come back. When you’re ready to come out of the experience, just say this to yourself: I will now come out of this relaxed state on the count of five, feeling refreshed and relaxed. One, I am ready to come out of the state. Two, I am becoming aware of the chair. Three, I am noticing sounds and the room. Four, I am awake ready to open my eyes. Five, I am now opening my eyes, fully energized. Tricia started her spiritual development in the 1980s with a Gurdjieff community, studying “remembering yourself,” or as Eckhart Tolle teaches today, being present in the moment. She has practiced medita- tion for thirty years and has participated in Twelve Step programs and ReEvaluation Counseling groups. She is currently on the board of the Spiritualist Society

of Reno for which she gives talks, guided meditations and spirit messages. An Alternative to Wikipedia If you have been following Wikipedia editors’ treatment of parapsychologist Rupert Sheldrake (there are several articles here but see this one for an overview: weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/wikipedia- cyberbullying-a-case-study/) you should know that the attacks have spread to attacks on Dean Radin. It is important that the paranormal community speaks up about how Wikipedia biases paranormal articles. Let people know that it is intellectually lazy to use it as a reference, and donating to the Wikipedia is donating against paranormal research. We have helped start a paranormal section in Citizen- dium, which may be an effective alternative because they allow more balanced articles. Please consider becoming an editor and helping out. I can feel the white light that is the love of the Higher See: en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Paranormal_Subgroup Page 17 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Viewpoint Continued from page 1 with best practices and helpful articles, and as always, help is always needed from people who are knowledgeable in this field. Research remains an important part of the ATransC mission and donations are necessary for that. Tom will also continue his efforts to attract people to help develop a paranormal section in the Citizendium online encyclopedia. Citizendium represents an important opportunity for our community to develop a viable response to the skeptic-controlled Wikipedia. See: en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Paranormal_Subgroup We will continue writing articles, both for the website and for other publications. This is a very rapidly changing field of study and information

about the “state of the art” of transcommunication needs to be frequently updated. As you will see on the last page, the ATransC is once again sponsoring a visit to Reno by physical medium Kai Mügge for two more séances. The Association will continue to support special events, depending on donations. The Idea Exchange is being re-purposed to serve three needs: The integrated document Archive remains a means for us to make past issues of the NewsJournal available; there is now a section in the forums in which donors will be able to ask questions and exchange ideas (access to that section enables donors to download past NewsJournals, as well); and, there will be an invitation-only section for informed researchers to discuss concepts in an effort to develop a consensus of the “state of the art” for ITC. Remaining membership dues will be refunded with a separate posting. Please look for a payment if you paid via PayPal. (Of course, you can cancel that transaction if you want to donate the funds to be used for web fees and research.) A check will be in the mail if you paid via check. What remains Many of you have been with the Association for years. We consider all of you our friends and have tried to support you as we could. Even though we made a few attempts, we have not succeeded in converting the ATransC from a “mom and pop” organization to a committee-run one and this work will likely

end when we are no longer able. Of course, provisions have been made to transfer the assets and research to other organizations when we can no longer do the work, and hopefully the research will continue. This change is not an end, only a phase change, and your continued support is needed. We will very occasionally send a notification to let past members know about new articles, changes in the website and what we consider important information for you to know about things paranormal. We will provide a place to unsubscribe from these emails if they are unwanted. We, and we know our friends in spirit, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support and look forward to continuing our work in your behalf. Tom and Lisa German VTF Conference by Jutta Liebmann Our recent conference in Fulda was attended by more people than we expected and the conference room we used was almost too small. Our EVP experiments with my spirit boxes and Stefan’s modulation device were very successful. For example, I received direct replies from the spirit communicators for the participants to their (many) different questions during two group EVP-recordings. It was very, very convincing. One of the highlights was the participation of Eamonn and Kevin from the U.K. with their complete technical devices. They did a report on their latest developments in ITC with breathtaking results. Their analogue video record- ings showed a lot of spirit figures in the video frames, some unknown and

some prominent deceased persons, i.e. John Lennon and Thomas A. Edison. This was commented on by the entities at the same time on the audio tape of the video recording that John Lennon and Mr. Edison had shown up on. A lot of other unknown spirits were seen on their video tapes in the background and some in front were quite clear. After their excellent presentation they did live-experi- ments in the form of a two-way dialogue with their devices, e.g., Friedrich Jürgenson was clearly heard as well as Konstantin Raudive. Mindfulness Continued from page 14 In an ideal world, people would just naturally be mindful of how they are doing as citizens. Laws to enforce behavior considered common decency today would be unnecessary because people would be mindful of how their actions might affect others. Of course, we do not live in an ideal world, but that is the point. We are also a society of people whose personal reality is very different than the actual nature of reality. The ideal of mindful living is to evolve a society of people who understand they are part of a community. References 1. Cunningham, Paul F. , “The Content-Source Problem in Modern Mediumship Research,” River University, 2012, rivier.edu/faculty/pcunningham/Publications/CunninghamJ P_Fall-2012-Vol-76-(2)-295-319.pdf. 2. Butler, Tom, “The Emerald Tablet,” ethericstudies.org/ writing/emerals_tablet.htm. 3. Waite, Arthur Edward, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911, sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm. 4. Grimes, Roberta A., “How Gospel Analysis Can Be Combined with Afterlife Evidence and Traditional Science to Help Us Better Understand Consciousness,”

The Academy for Spiritual And Consciousness Studies, Inc. 2013 Proceedings 5. Carpenter, James C., First Sight: ESP and Parapsychology in Everyday Life, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, ISBN-13: 978-1442213906, 2012 Volume 33, Number 1 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Alexander Reze, a member from Russia wrote, “I am a twenty-four-years-old EVP researcher from Russia. My first experiment was in 2005 after I watched the movie, White Noise. It was successful! After my recordings via the Pocket PC “recorder” appli- cation, I decided to study this theme and it changed my worldview completely. Later I found a lot of information about voice phenomena on the Internet (AA-EVP was the first website I found). I began to use other methods such as analog cassette recorder, digital recorder, radio, computer, iPhone—every method is successful! A lot of recordings were made, a lot of clear voices were received and some of the communica- tors regularly contact me. The voices are not only Russian, some of them speak English. They answer the questions I ask about reality, about others, about everything. A lot of unique information was received from the other side. I have also proved that life continues after “death.” We’ve got a lot of stereotypes about existence, so we need to find insight. This theme is the right way because every- one can check it. Every method has its pluses and minuses and the main difference between them is quality. The analog/digital recorder method is easy to use, but in general, the quality is not

the best (the voices sound “electric” and sometimes it’s hard to tell the gender in these recordings but there are some with clear audible intonation of someone you know). The radio method isn’t easy because it’s hard to find a good station and sometimes they can’t communicate with us via radio (we can’t hear anything if the background noise is louder than speech). Most of my clear and natural recordings were received via radio. I didn’t edit them (such as noise reduction) as do many people. The original record- ings are natural. So, it is currently my favorite method. Sometimes they ask me to switch off the cell phone, I suppose it’s hard to communicate with us when a lot of frequences in our world are interrupting the communica- tion. Jutta Liebmann wrote to us saying, “Strange but true: from December until now the results of my EVP contacts have become a little bit reduced. This is the same as I have noticed in previous years during the wintertime. Perhaps it depends on the actual geophysical conditions. I have also experienced this in past years when I recorded via other EVP recording methods. “Recently I have bought a new table microphone because my old VTF microphone no longer functioned correctly. In an EVP session, I have asked the communicators “What is new here?” After some seconds, the clear reply (translated) was “Yes, the microphone, it is much better.” I was surprised that they reacted immediately to the new micro- phone.

This shows that they know in most cases they know the environment of the EVP recordings. “Some days ago, I tried for the first time to record the livestream sound from Stefan Bion’s new modulating device from the Internet. I recorded for some minutes via microphone and with my new laptop computer. After the first evaluation, I noticed that Konstantin Raudive has tried to speak; he mentioned his name. When I asked my communicators whether they can speak by this new device, I received the faint reply that it is actually very difficult to communicate. I have evaluated this special recording by means of the Goldwave filtering software and there seems to be a little improvement of the voices.” Sandra E. “I am soooo excited about receiving, what I think, is communication from the other side! I have been reading and researching all the books and literature I can get my hands on about EVP…. “I have been thinking, reading, meditating to my family, especially to my father, who I know if he could, would try and reach me by EVP. I recently called my home phone, as usual, for any messages that might be there, not even dreaming of any EVP. There was a message with the strangest rhythmical sound. It was almost like someone taking a breath or someone with a cold and breathing through their mouth. The first time I listened to the message, I assumed it was a prank or computer ad gone awry. Then I

found the same noise in another message, and this time there was definitely someone trying to say something before being cut off by the machine. “I know this is a message from my dad or family. I just know it. I so want my family or dad to know that I received what I think is communication from them and that I am pursuing it … I am so excited about this revelation ... or perhaps is my excitement more imagination? With each rhythmic hiss or noise it seemed like something or someone was trying to come through. It was at the very end of the last recording that I heard almost yelling ... just like some of the EVP I have heard on this site and others.” Steve Smith is researching the Dyatlov Pass incident from 1959 in the Soviet Union. (See: forteantimes.com) He told us that no one really knows what killed nine skiers, but is wondering if there could be a UFO connection. To quote the Fortean Times article: “After half a century, the mystery remains. What was the nature of the deadly ‘unknown force’? Were the Soviet authorities hiding some- thing? And, if so, exactly what were they were attempting to cover up? In the intervening years, a number of solutions have been put forward, involving everything from hostile tribes and abominable snowmen to aliens and secret military technology.” Page 19 Spring 2014 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Kai Mügge Physical Séance Reservation and Payment Form Association TransCommunication

is sponsoring a demon- stration of physical mediumship by Kai Mügge of the Felix Experimental Group, Germany. Kai is an internationally known physical medium and perhaps the only living medium publicly demon- strating ectoplasm and ectoplasmic forms in lighted conditions. This is a rare opportunity for people to experi- ence one of the most difficult forms of mediumship and proof that we are more than our physical bodies. There will be two séances conducted in Reno, Nevada: Tuesday, July 29 and Sunday, August 3. All séances begin at 6:30 p.m. and may continue until after 11:00 p.m. The séance room is just a short drive from downtown Reno. You will be responsible for your transporta- tion, food and lodging. Of major importance: the séance dates coincide with the dates for Hot August Nights in Reno. There are hotel rooms available as we go to proof on this Journal but these rooms may not be available in 4 weeks. If you want to attend, see if you can book a hotel room at any of the downtown Reno locations, immediately. Attendance is $150, due at the time of registration. Please send a check made out to ATransC with this form to ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. A schedule of available seating will be maintained by Tom and Lisa Butler. They will coordinate with you after receiving this form. There will be no refunds unless your seat can be filled. Admission may only be transferred with approval of Tom and

Lisa Butler. An important concern is the medi- um’s safety and that of other sitters, so you will be asked to read and sign forms regarding physical séances and the required conduct of sitters. A photo ID will be required for admission the evening of the séance. Ectoplasm is known to be potentially harmful to the medium and even to sitters if it is unexpectedly disrupted. Séances are conducted in total dark- ness with occasional short periods in which a red light is turned on for dem- onstrations. Sitters are asked to sit in a small, totally dark room, close to other sitters for possibly two hours. If you think you might be claustrophobic you probably should not sign up Further Information We have sat with Kai five times now. Our report of the first séance was in the Fall 2010 (29-3) ATransC NewsJournal. There were also articles about Kai’s last visit with us in the Fall 2013 issue of The Journal. For more information contact us at [email protected]. Entranced Kai shows interior of the ecto- plasm by opening it. Photo: Shannon Taggart, shannontaggart.com Indicate in numerical order your session preferences Séance Registration Form Tuesday July 29 Sunday August 3 (Please provide this form for each member of your party.) Name Address City, State & Zip Code Email Address Phone Number Agreement The ATransC must vouch for you to Kai, so please indicate with your signature below, your agreement to a phone interview and that you understand the need to

the time the Directors are still able to edit the books. After that, provisions will need to be made with the new owners. This book is part of a set containing the Association TransCommunication website pages. The set has been compiled to preserve contents to help assure that future paranormalists will have access to the material. The website includes study and research reports, examples of ITC, techniques for collecting ITC, Best Practices and personal stories about ITC-related reunions. Most of the articles were first published in the ATransC NewsJournal. The 129 quarterly newsletters published by the Association are in the NewsJournal Online Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/. We are still trying to find a way to preserve them. If these books work out, we may publish them as a different set of books. The combined newsletters produce a 1500, 8.5” x 11” page PDF file of 44,519 KB. That would be at least four books if we converted them to fixed format PDF books of a manageable size of, say, 400 pages. Change of State Lisa and I tried a number of times to attract people who could help us manage the Association and perhaps take it over in the future. Every effort failed. Part of the problem has probably been our personalities. While we want to serve, we are not social by nature. We depended About ATransC Preservation Books 8 on the rewards that come from a well-run organization as motivation for people to help. That was not enough. We are

also sticklers for rational, evidence-based treatment of the phenomena. In that regard, our studies have shown that, what has become the dominant techniques for recording EVP probably does not actually produce EVP. That has put us at odds with the majority of people interested in ITC. In the end, the work involved to produce the newsletter, member support and website maintenance has not been balanced by the occasional “thank you” or “you helped me” comment from members. With increasing grief from members about technique, and in view of our Pledge to truthfully report about the phenomena, we changed from a member supported organization to a publicly supported one in 2014. The NewsJournal was replaced by the ATransC Occasional Update Email. We still support the Idea Exchange and our public outreach continues. This ATransC Website Preservation Project is part of that outreach. As it is today, when we die, the Association will die with us. Our intention is that Sarah Estep’s legacy will continue in the form of easily accessed information that has been previously provided by the Association. Archive Requirements Here are the requirements we set for preserving ATransC material: The material must be easily accessible to everyone. ATransC.org – Journal 9 Ideally, it would be online. However, even if we paid the server company several years in advance, there is a constant stream of maintenance items that need to be taken care of. And then there are the occasional hacks—the next thing you know, there are nude pictures on

the site. The material must be reasonable inexpensive to access. We use the Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License for the material we control. We use what little income the books produce for operations and outreach. An archive book would be priced as low as Amazon allows. The material must be stable. It is important to us that the material on the website is not corrupted with the introduction of newer material. At this time in our community, it is a virtual certainty that we would disagree with any new material added by people who use radio-sweep, think EVP are caused via wormholes or that they are a radiofrequency phenomenon. The name and material must not be resurrected. A trend today is to use a famous person’s name for the name of a group. Predictably, the result is confusion by future historians about what is that famous person’s work and what is contemporary. The archive should not cost the person or organization that agrees to keep the material. People have their own work to do and interests to pursue. While they may agree to keep the material, it seems clear now that it must not cost them to do so. Ideally, there will be a revenue flow, albeit minor, that will benefit the person organization. The guiding objective is public outreach. In our opinion, parapsychologists have failed to communicate what they might know to the public. I answer Quora About ATransC Preservation Books 10 (quora.com/profile/Tom-Butler-79) questions, often about parapsychological issues.

I have yet to encounter a parapsychologist also answering questions. There is an Academic-Layperson Partition which is exaggerated by parapsychologists failure to communicate in a Plane English manner. The ATransC material helps to balance that dearth of information. Solution (we hope) Other than a dedicated website, Amazon is perhaps the most important means of public outreach available to the average citizen. We use Microsoft Word for composing. With a little careful editing, conversion of MS Word to Print-On-Demand (POD) ready text is a relatively easy process. The same can be said for MS Word-to-eBook format. Amazon does not require a catalog fee, as does Lightning Source and IngramSpark. Lulu also does not require a catalog fee and they accept fixed-format books which is best for the NewsJournal. All of ATransC.org pages except those under the FAQ, Links and Resource Tabs have been converted to MS Word text files and will be published in Amazon in the paperback POD and eBook formats at the minimum cost to readers. The website will be maintained, we hope, for years to come. While we think the book format will be convenient for readers, the reason we are publishing now is to protect the material against unseen accidents or heath issues. If useful, articles may be added. For instance, we continue the ET Visual ITC Study at https://et-visual-itc-study.atransc.org/. If we receive a sufficient number of responses from readers, we may be able to produce a useful report. The Preservation Project books will be updated accordingly

as new Editions. Material under ten menu tabs is being preserved. That means content of some categories will be combined in each book to reach our target of around 200 pages per book. ATransC.org – Journal 11 All proceeds from sales of the books are used for maintenance, public outreach, and where possible, research. This is true of the book written by Tom, as well. Our intention is to transfer ownership of all of ATransC and our intellectual property and other ATransC assets to a similar nonprofit as part of our will. Again, The ATransC books have been published to assure the material’s availability after we transition. Not knowing when that will be, it is prudent for us to publish the material now. While buying the books supports the ATransC mission, you need not buy them to access the material until after the website is closed. ATransC Website Preservation Project Category: Home Home Table of Contents About the Association TransCommunication About the Directors About the AA-EVP Pledge Category: Theory Category: Practices About the Association TransCommunication In the Beginning The Association TransCommunication (ATransC) was founded by Sarah Estep in 1982 as the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP). Her objective was to “provide objective evidence that we survive physical death in our individual conscious state.” Sarah’s focus was on EVP and ITC, and her friendly style of reporting endeared her to many people just learning about these phenomena. She provided a community for people who knew of EVP but had

no one to discuss it with or who could teach them how to use EVP to contact a loved one. Remember, Jürgenson discovered EVP in 1959 and the AA-EVP was begun only twenty-three years later. Tom and Lisa Butler (This book) assumed leadership in 2000 and attempted to continue Sarah’s work without changing to Association’s personality. Sarah was not technically oriented. She was good with the recorder, but she had yet to think in terms of an Internet presence for the Association. The first change the Butlers About the Association TransCommunication 16 made was to introduce this website. It was designed from the beginning with a focus on factual, levelheaded disclosure of what is known about these phenomena. The intention was to provide a source for information scientists would feel comfortable using, while at the same time, giving people grieving for the loss of a loved one, a place to learn a reason for hope. An online discussion forum quickly followed as the Idea Exchange. Today, the forum includes a Gallery and an archive containing most of the past NewsJournals. The Butlers also expanded the newsletter from the six 8.5″ X 11″ page newsletter to an average of 20 pages and refocused it to include research reports as a NewsJournal. They also made it available as a PDF file for email delivery. Because of the emailed version is sometimes forwarded, estimated circulation is well over 1,000 readers. EVP was officially “discovered” in 1959, so it was still very new in

1982. Back then, there were few support groups for people wishing to learn about it, so Sarah filled an important need of the time. But in fact, EVP is just one form of communication from the other side. To understand such communication, it is necessary to study all forms of trans-etheric influence. For instance, audio forms of ITC (known as EVP) share important characteristics with visual forms of ITC. Knowing this makes it reasonable to look for similar shared characteristics in other fields. The Association has been recognized around the world as a good place to learn about these phenomena from an objective and well- considered perspective. The Butlers have always attempted to make the organization accessible to scientists and grieving parents alike. The focus continues to be on compassion, objectivity and research, but now there is an added focus on understanding the implications of the evidence on how we live. It is important to understand that there is a “so what” to understand we survive physical death. The aim is to help all of us understand what that is. ATransC.org – Home 17 The Website Think of the website as a place to find information about transcommunication and some of the people working in the field. Everything you need to know to work with these phenomena should be available on the site. Funding (Membership) The ATransC no longer has dues-paying members. It is now supported with: • Earnings from AA-EVP Publishing: ○ Sarah Estep’s books ○ Martha Copeland’s book

○ Tom and Lisa Butler’s books. • The eBay affiliate program and website advertising. • Occasional direct donations to the ATransC via PayPal. All are applied to operations, outreach and research. None of the volunteers, including the directors, receive compensation. Theory There has to be a “so what” for any study. Yes, there are unexpected phenomena, and yes, they appear to provide evidence of survival of personality, a greater reality and transcommunication. Of course, this has important implications for science, but what does it mean to the individual? How should people respond to the likelihood they will find themselves very much alive on the other side of the veil? Etheric Studies As new information becomes available, the ATransC directors have been evolving a version of the Trans-survival Hypothesis (phenomena are caused by survived personalities). It is based on the version of the survival hypothesis referred to in parapsychology as an alternative to the Super-psi Hypothesis (phenomena are echoes of the past) but is influenced by what has been learned via etheric studies. As part of About the Association TransCommunication 18 this effort, essays are also being written which address important concepts such as Mediumship, The Creative process, Etheric Fields and Personality. (All on ethericstudies.org) Resources An extensive White Paper (See info this book) on transcommunication and many examples (Book 4) are maintained on the website for public access. Personal stories offered in the Mediumship section (Book 3) and articles in the Article section (Book 5) are intended to provide role

models for people wanting to learn how others have experienced these phenomena. Occasional Update Email List One form of ATransC membership is to be on the Occasional Update Email List. This is a very occasional newsletter used to help keep you informed about what we think is important to this work. You can register to receive these updates with the form on the right column. Today, the ATransC is amongst the very few organizations in the English-speaking world that provides information about the Trans- survival Hypothesis from the perspective of current understanding about transcommunication. If you think this study is important, then please consider supporting the organization by participating in the Idea Exchange and subscribing to the Occasional Update email. A person can become knowledgeable about these phenomena and learn to work with ITC by taking the time to study the contents of this website, but it is important to work with others who can act as objective advisors. Archived ATransC NewsJournal The 129 issues of the NewsJournal and (57 by the Butlers) represent an important history of ITC beginning with Sarah Estep in 1982 and ending with the Butlers in 2014. Reading the past NewsJournals affords an important education about transcommunication that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. ATransC.org – Home 19 All of the quarterly ATransC NewsJournals published since 2000, and those published by Sarah Estep from 1982 to 1991, are in PDF format which can be accessed at atransc.org/atransc-newsjournals. Online Journal There are no peer-reviewed

journals specifically dedicated to the study of reports about transcommunication. The ATransC Journal (Book 2) is an online feature that provides important background information for people wishing to conduct research in this field. Media Watch Lisa Butler has been writing a column about current news items concerning things paranormal since 2001. The columns are archived on spiritualistsocietyofreno.org. Anyone wishing to research such subjects as energy healing, belief surveys and new discoveries about psi functioning should consider using the Archive as a beginning resource. The ATransC Logo The gold logo is a Möbius strip folded into an infinity sign. A Möbius strip is formed by twisting a strip of material 180 degrees and connecting the two ends so that the backside of one end is connected to the front side of the other. An ant walking along the surface would be on the opposite side each time it passes the front of the symbol. The symbolism of the logo is that “both sides are really one and that one continues forever.” About the Association TransCommunication 20 Objectivity The study of transcommunication is the study of conceptual influences causing objective effects. They remain conceptual as long as the influences are in the mind of the experiencer or observer. While all objective influences appear to require a physical person as a conduit, the ATransC attempts to focus primarily on those phenomena that have a substantial objective component which can be experienced by many and studied using the tools of physical science. About the

Directors AA-EVP Founder, Sarah Estep, made her transition to the other side on January 3, 2008. Read Becky Estep's eulogy of her mother (Book 5) and the memorial article about Sarah's transition. (Book 5) The Directors of the Association TransCommunication are Tom and Lisa Butler. They assumed leadership of the Association in 2000, when Founder, Sarah Estep, decided it was time for her to retire. Since that time, the Butlers have established this website and the Idea Exchange discussion board. They published the quarterly ATransC NewsJournal from Spring 2000 until Spring 2014. The Collective wiki is an example of their effort to involve the public in study and research. Effective January 1, 2010, the AA-EVP became Association TransCommunication or ATransC. The directors had been witnessing the evolution of EVP from a novelty phenomenon into an important tool for research. They recognized that EVP/ITC were not isolated forms of trans-etheric influence, but were related to other forms, both by their etheric origin and how they were able to manifest into the physical. Thus, they determined it was necessary to examine the entire set of transcommunication in order to understand each part. As part of their efforts to assure the future of ATransC, they established the Association as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational About the Directors 22 organization. Incorporation provides certain assurances to prospective contributors and the general public that the ATransC will remain dedicated to the study of transcommunication and to helping people learn how to collect examples of these phenomena

for themselves. The Butlers wrote the book, There is No Death and there are No Dead, (See info this book) which details the history of these phenomena, gives ample examples and explains how to experiment with both EVP and Video ITC. The Association needed an authoritative text to which new members and the general public could be directed to learn about these phenomena. The book was written to fill that need. Since its publication, the book has earned over $37,000 for the ATransC. The butlers have not asked for a royalty or pay for their work in the Association. Under the leadership of the Butlers, ATransC Publishing (Formally AA-EVP Publishing) has also published Martha Copeland's book, I'm Still Here (See info this book) as an important illustration of how contact with a loved one via transcommunication can help with grief. This book represents the formation and purpose of The Big Circle, (Book 3) which began when members gathered around Martha and Karen Mossey to record for EVP on a regular basis so that they could use the group energy to continue their relationship with loved ones now on the other side. The Butlers established the Sarah Estep Research Fund (SERF) to memorialize her transition and important contribution to this field of study. They have funded research via the SERF, and at one time were ATransC.org – Home 23 actively seeking funding in the form of research endowments or direct donations to permit the award of targeted transcommunication research grants. (Not

seeking research funding at this time.) Lisa Butler telling the media at the White Noise DVD release party the "real" story about EVP. Picture courtesy Universal Films ITC Experiences Tom and Lisa Butler's personal ITC research is focused on finding a way to better understand who is communicating, how the phenomenal voices and features are formed and why. They believe that the real value in working with these phenomena is in learning more about the greater reality and conclusively showing that the communicators are evidence of personal survival after so-called death. The Butlers come in contact with many people who grieve about the loss of a loved one, and who have found relief from that grief by hearing the voice of the loved one tell them, via EVP, things that only that person would say. They know that EVP is a powerful tool for About the Directors 24 teaching people that their loved ones are just fine in a new world, just as they will be when their time comes. Lisa began recording first, after reading Sarah Estep's book, Voices of Eternity, (See info this book) by following the instruction to establish a routine of regular recording sessions in a quiet part of the home. That was in 1989. Up to 2002, the Butlers only recorded in controlled conditions, seeking to better understand EVP and improve communications with their etheric contacts. Today, the Butlers continue to prefer controlled condition recording for research, but they enjoy the occasional excursion into the

field. They also know that the media requires such excursions for a more visual expression of EVP recording. ATransC.org – Home 25 In 2000, the Butlers began using the video feedback method of developing optical energy for visual ITC. (Book 5) They have had About the Directors 26 considerable success using this technique and continue to experiment with ways that might improve their results. Examples of their work can be seen and heard under the ITC Tab of this web site. Education Tom Butler has an Electronics Engineering degree and Lisa has a degree in psychology. Both were corporate employees until their resignation and subsequent five-year sabbatical that preceded their return to the working world as ATransC Directors. Both have been deeply interested in metaphysical concepts, human potential and all forms of etheric to physical phenomena since childhood. Together, they have extensively studied many subject areas, including energy healing, mediumship, metaphysics and spirituality. Tom Butler playing examples of EVP that were recorded for the White Noise DVD release party Picture courtesy Universal Films Tom Butler maintains a personal website at ethericstudies.org which includes essays based on his personal opinion and which have relevance to the study of frontier subjects in general. He has written two novels which are available as free PDF downloads. ATransC.org – Home 27 White Noise Movie Lisa and Tom helped Universal Studios market the original White Noise movie starring Michael Keaton. scifislacker.com/films/white_noise_evp.shtml#review has an interesting overview of that work. One of the more important roles for

the Butlers as Directors is finding ways to bring information about the existence of these phenomena to the public. This has consisted of writing articles for publication, making presentations at conferences. They are also active in making media appearances to promote EVP. They have been on Coast to Coast and have appeared on the Montel Williams Show, Maury Povich Show, Entertainment Tonight and numerous other television programs. Late in 2004, Universal Pictures contracted the Butlers to help them promote the movie, White Noise, (Book 5) and they spent a good deal of 2005 participating in many media events. When the movie was released in USA theaters, the web site had 80,000 unique visitors in a 24-hour period. Even a year later, the unique visitor count remains more than four times what it was before White Noise. Universal attended the 2004 conference with cameras, and interviews of attendees were used in both the commercials for the movie and one of the bonus features on the DVD. Each commercial ended with the Association's web site as a source for more information about EVP, and the worldwide release of the DVD included three bonus features about EVP, a "How to" with the Butlers and example hauntings investigations showing the Butlers at work. As a public relations success, White Noise was both a spectacular success for making the term, EVP, widely known in the world, but it was also something of a social disaster in that it left millions of people About the Directors

28 more afraid of spirit communications than ever. The Butlers answered thousands of emails and letters in 2005, many of which required their assurance that work with EVP is not considered dangerous Pledge Our Pledge to You We pledge to do all we can to provide the most accurate and up-to- date information about all things etheric. While we do not know what will be seen as true in the future, we will attempt to identify what on this website is supported by empirical evidence, what is speculation and what is common knowledge. Please contact us if you find anything here that seems misleading or to be claims that cannot be supported by the available evidence. Disclaimer General While Association TransCommunication (ATransC) is committed to honest disclosure of this subject, how the information is used is beyond our control. The Association is not responsible for consequences resulting from the use of information provided on the ATransC websites or in literature. Psi Functioning It is possible that a person may become more “aware” of the nonphysical influence in his or her life because of working with trans- etheric communication. Working with these phenomena is inherently safe and there have been no credible reports of people in this field being harmed by their etheric communicators. However, it is also possible that a person might encounter a disruptive entity or be unduly influenced by the phenomenal voices and images. The Association TransCommunication is not responsible for the actions of those who work with

these phenomena and strongly recommends that people who are inclined to follow the instructions of strangers, or who have a history of mental illness, avoid associating with any form of trans-etheric communication. Products Association TransCommunication does not sell devices for experimentation. It may endorse a technology or application of ATransC Pledge 30 technology as a service to members and the public, but it does not profit from such endorsement and does not certify such technology beyond what is explicitly expressed on the website or in Association literature. Personal Information Association TransCommunication maintains member information for distribution of literature only. It does not sell or provide personal information to the public. Financial Benefit Association TransCommunication is operated by volunteer directors and supporters. No one is paid a salary, and no one directly profits from membership dues, sale of the book, There is no Death and There are No Dead or speaker engagements. All income to the Association is applied to cost of operations and research. ATransC Website Preservation Project Category: Theory Theory Table of Contents After Death Communication Part I Part II: The Research of Bill and Judy Guggenheim An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory Biofield and Healing Intention Formation of EVP From Our Viewpoint–Proof of Survival Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances Hearing with Templates Holographic ITC How it may be possible for an animal to communicate via EVP It is All About Intentionality Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives On the Thoughts

of Dust Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena Seeing Both Sides Undocumented Characteristics of Trans-etheric Phenomena Category: Home Category: Practices Part I After Death Communication Abstract Spontaneous communication across the veil has been characterized as After death Communication (ADC) and Induced ADC for the Botkin method of EMDR. ATransC does not use death as a concept, preferring the use of “trans-” to indicate etheric-physical interaction. We do not die we transition. Introduction After Death Communication or ADC is a concept popularized by Bill and Judy Guggenheim in their book, Hello from Heaven. From their website: [ADC is defined as] “…a spiritual experience, which occurs when you are contacted directly and spontaneously by a deceased family member or friend, without the use of psychics, mediums, rituals or devices of any kind” The important points in this explanation are that ADCs are spontaneous and instruments are not required. They do include phone calls as a type, but they are very definite that EVP is not included in the list. The Guggenheims are also very definite that ADCs are spontaneous, which is why Allan Botkin refers to his EMDR induced ADCs as induced or IADC.TM Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic technique in which the practitioner guides a client to move his or her eyes back and forth while dwelling on an emotional memory. This is an oversimplification, but in practice, the technique helps remove the emotional charge of a memory. Based on his work with war veterans, Botkin developed a

technique in which clients have impressively vivid communication with transitioned loved ones, thus the “Induced” part of ADC. Because of the emphasis the Guggenheims made about spontaneous ADC, we have always distinguished the class of transcommunication that is spontaneous as ”ADC” and the class of ADC that are induced as “induced ADC.” Botkin has protected “IADC” After Death Communication 34 with a trademark for his therapeutic technique, meaning that he owns its use in this field. It was recently pointed out to us that people look for information about contacting loved ones by searching for “After Death Communication” or “ADC.” Searching atransc.org for these, we see that virtually all of our references to ADC are either talking about Botkin’s work, the Guggenheim’s book or what others have used when talking about transcommunication. We simply do not use the term for our work. With There is No Death and There are No Dead (See info this book), the name of the book we wrote for the Association, it should not be surprising that the term, “death,” is not part of our usual nomenclature. The name of the Association is Association TransCommunication. It is based on Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC as coined by Ernst Senkowski in the 1980s to embrace all forms of instrument-based communication across the veil. You have probably noticed that we use the “trans” prefix quite a lot. For instance, the term, “survival” is also used by people preparing for the end of the world, so technically, we should

say “trans-survival.” It all depends on the understanding that we mean “trans” as in across the veil. It is important to understand that the viewpoint of the ATransC is that we transition from one aspect of reality to another when our physical body is no longer able to support us in the physical. We avoid saying that “we die” or that someone is “dead.” We say that “we transition” and that someone has “transitioned.” Part II The Research of Bill and Judy Guggenheim by Lisa Butler Previously published in the Summer 2005 ATransC NewsJournal ATransC.org – Theory 35 Between 1988 and 1995, the Guggenheims asked two thousand people, living in the United States and Canada, if they had been contacted by a loved one who had died.* The people interviewed represented diverse backgrounds and ranged in age from children to the elderly. The Guggenheims collected more than thirty-three hundred firsthand accounts of After-Death Communication (ADC). Their book, Hello from Heaven, was based on this research. Based upon this research, the Guggenheims came up with the twelve most frequently reported types of after death communication. They are: 1. Sensing a Presence: This is the most common form of ADC. It happens when a person has an unmistakable feeling that their loved one is there, even though they cannot be seen or heard. Many people that experience this feel that they are just imagining the event. Sensing a presence is most often reported just days or weeks after a loved one’s death

but has been reported months and even years later. 2. ADC while Asleep: These experiences are much more vivid and real than normal dreams. They are very common, and After Death Communication 36 experiencers usually feel that they are having an actual visit from their loved one. These episodes are not fragmented or filled with symbols like typical dreams. 3. Hearing a Voice: People have reported hearing the physical voice of their loved one as if the person were right in the room; however, most communications are reported as telepathic; experiencers hear the voice in their head. 4. Feeling a Touch: The loved one touches the experiencer with their hand or places their arm around his or her shoulders. Hugs, kisses, pats and caresses have all been reported. 5. Smelling a Fragrance: The smell of a loved one’s personal scent. For instance, their favorite flower, cologne, after-shave lotion, perfume, bath powder, favorite food or tobacco product. 6. Visual Experiences: A person actually sees their loved one. There are partial visual (example: only head and shoulders are seen) and full visual ADCs. Typically, the loved one will express love and appear healed no matter what the cause of death. 7. Visions: People report seeing their loved one in a picture in the air. There are usually radiant colors and the vision may be seen by the eyes or in the mind. 8. Twilight Experiences: These occur in the alpha state when experiencers are meditating, praying, falling asleep or just waking up.

Any or all of the various types of ADCs may be experienced when in the alpha state. 9. Out-Of-Body ADC: These happen during sleep or a meditative state. Experiencers leave their body and visit their loved one on the level at which they exist. These are often described as more real than physical life, very vivid and beautiful with lots of color and light. 10. Telephone Calls: The phone rings and the call is from a loved one. The voice may seem far away and there is often no disconnect sound when the call is ended. ATransC.org – Theory 37 11. Physical Phenomena: A wide range of physical signs are reported such as lights blinking on and off, radios, televisions, stereos and other mechanical objects being tuned on or off. Pictures, photographs and other items may be moved or turned over. 12. Symbolic ADC: These are signs that our loved ones still exist. They are often subtle and may be seen as a coincidence. Common signs include butterflies, rainbows, flowers, birds, animals and inanimate objects such as coins and pictures. One thing that will be very obvious about the above list for AA- EVP members is that EVP is not included. That is because the Guggenheims feel that ADCs are spontaneous occurrences and EVP, along with some other method for after death communication, as you will see in the next article, are induced. EVP not being included in the Guggenheim list does not lessen the importance of the experiences on

their list. Many of us in the Association have lost a loved one and have experienced an ADC. It is important for us to realize that these are real occurrences and not just our imagination. The Guggenheims state that most, “ADCs are positive and uplifting encounters that reduce grief, provide lasting comfort and hope, and accelerate emotional and spiritual healing. “Not all people are contacted by their deceased loved ones … It seems that fear, anger and prolonged heavy grief can inhibit the possibility of an ADC.” The Guggenheims suggest that a person ask for a sign that their loved one continues to exist. “Pray for the person as well as all others affected by the death, including yourself.” They suggest learning how to meditate, especially for those who are currently bereaved or experiencing unresolved grief. “Meditation will enable you to relax and soften any fear or anger you may have. It will reduce your depression, improve your ability to eat and sleep and facilitate your healing process. These deep relaxation exercises will also allow you to unfold your inner, intuitive senses.” * After-Death Communication – Joyous Reunions with Deceased Loved An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory (Published in Society for Psychical Research Paranormal Review, No 55 p 3-7, July 2010) The Experiment In 2008 Gronowicz et al. reported on an experiment demonstrating the positive effects of a form of radiation on human cells. This An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect

in the Laboratory 40 experiment was completely unlike the usual studies performed at the Departments of Surgery and Orthopaedics at the Connecticut Health Center, and the result s challenge scientific assumptions as to how the world works. The two-year-long study consisted of growing separate cultures of bone cells (osteoblasts), tendon cells (tenocytes), and fibroblasts (cells that synthesize the soft tissue matrix under the skin and are essential to wound healing) and plating out each type of cell into three experimental cultures. One culture was to receive radiation, one to act as the untreated control, and the other to receive sham- radiation. The question the experiment was designed to answer was whether those cells exposed to the radiation would be stimulated to proliferate more quickly during the experimental period than those in the control and sham radiated cultures. The plates were brought out of the incubator, ring clamped onto 15-inch-high stands mounted on the laboratory bench top, exposed, or not, to ten minutes of radiation on separate days over two weeks and returned to the incubator. Standard laboratory assays were performed at the end of the first week and second week to assess the rate of cell proliferation. This experimental procedure was repeated many times over many samples. Results The findings were clear cut. When compared, the proliferation rates for cells in cultures exposed to radiation were consistently and significantly greater than those in the control cultures and those exposed to sham radiation. The rates for the latter two groups were

almost indistinguishable. Two exposures per week over two weeks were enough to stimulate a significant degree of proliferation and increasing the frequency of exposure in some groups to four or five per week for two weeks increased cell proliferation to maximum response. ATransC.org – Theory 41 Discussion The findings of this study from a reputable institution with a proven research record in investigating cellular reactions would be accepted without question if the cells had been irradiated by, say, infrared or red light, as absorption of such frequencies is known to increase the rate of cell metabolism and consequent cell proliferation. The study would be taken as providing further confirmation of many earlier laboratory studies and clinical trials on wound healing to that effect. There are, therefore, no valid reasons to dismiss these findings when informed that the “radiation agent” under test was not the application of a known physical agent but the application of directed subjective intention across space by three registered nurses who had been trained in the healing technique known as Therapeutic Touch (TT). In this study, the practitioners first “centered” their minds into a healing mindset, held their hands four inches away from each culture plate on its 15-inch stand and directed positive intention for the good health of the cells in each culture for ten minutes per session. The sham healers, consisting of technicians from other departments, were taught to perform the same movements, but were not informed of the purpose of the experiment and had

no knowledge of TT. They had to count backwards from 1000 during each ten-minute-long session to prevent any directed thought. Follow-up studies are now in progress to determine which of the key cellular reactions involved in cell proliferation seem most responsive to TT. In their discussion, the authors refer to previous studies investigating cellular responses to directed healing intention. One study (Kiang et al., 2005) found increases in intracellular calcium ion concentrations, known to stimulate cell metabolic rates when exposed to ‘bioenergy induction’. A study using Reiki practitioners found increased survival and growth of heat-shocked bacterial cultures compared to controls (Rubik et al., 2006). Yu et al. (2003) found that cultures of PC3, a human prostate cancer cell line, showed a significantly decreased growth rate during 48 hours of sustained healing intention by a Buddhist Zen Master, compared to controls. In a review of studies assessing the effect of the application of “external An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory 42 qi” on cancer cell cultures derived from breast, liver, lung, and bone marrow, Chen (2004) found significant inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Such findings imply that directed healing intention, under various belief systems including “bioenergies” or ‘external qi,” can have a measurable effect on cells and somehow stimulate healthy cells that would be involved in bodily repair and inhibit abnormal cancer cell activity. In sum, this study provides strong confirmation of objective, measurable effects reported from many previous laboratory studies that have employed directed

subjective intention on living systems. For example, those performed on mouse skin wound healing (Grad et al., 1961), salt-stressed seed germination (Grad, 1964), bacterial growth (Nash, 1984), plant growth (Sakani, 1989), salt-stressed seed germination and plant growth (Scofield & Hodges, 1991) and enzyme reaction rates (Smith, 1972), are particularly well known. Taking these seven experiments alone, if the agent being tested had been a recognized growth factor or enzyme reaction accelerator, the findings would have been accepted without question. (For critical reviews of the laboratory and clinical trial research literature, see Jonas and Crawford [2003] and Benor [2001].) Clinical Implications The positive findings from these laboratory studies lend strong support for Dossey’s (2000) argument that as healing intention has been shown to accelerate the rate of tissue healing, doctors should be trained to give healing from intake at accident and emergency wards onwards, in addition to giving orthodox medical care. If the concept of including healing intention in medical care was adopted, healers could become valuable members of NHS staff on economic grounds alone. These studies support the claim that directed healing intention is a therapeutic agent in its own right. This hypothesis could be tested by monitoring physiological changes in unconscious patients receiving healing compared to controls. These findings also imply that well-documented case histories and clinical trials demonstrating marked symptom relief and, in some cases, unexpectedly rapid tissue healing and/or apparent remission of the ATransC.org – Theory 43 disease process itself after receiving healing, cannot be dismissed as

attributable to placebo response only (see Jonas and Crawford [2003], Benor [2001] and Harvey [1983] for extended discussions of this). According to this hypothesis, when a patient attends a healer, any clinical improvement that would not otherwise have been expected may result from a combined, beneficial synergy of the direct effect of healing intention together with a placebo response. Regarding the latter, healers have noted repeatedly that outright skeptics who profess no belief in “faith healing” have responded well to it, much against their expectations (Manning, 1995). The Problem for Science The positive outcome of these laboratory studies places us in an acute dilemma, because in our present scientific understanding of how the world works, we can offer no explanation for such an apparent cause and effect. In the view of orthodox science such findings cannot be due to any hypothesized effect of subjective intention, whether as “channellers” of “healing energy” or as generators of “bioenergy” or “external qi” energy, because the former belief can have no external effect, and evidence offered for the existence of the latter is hotly disputed because it is considered impossible in principle. Seto’s (1992) findings of a low-frequency magnetic field being emitted from the hands of healers during the healing mindset, but which is otherwise absent, needs replication. From the scientific viewpoint the most likely explanation must be that an undetected physical agent has been present in each case. The physical sciences in general, and the neurosciences in particular, reject subjective intention as a

causal agent of external effect for a very good reason. No such agent has ever been detected and no physiological mechanism for producing such an effect has been found. The eyes, for example, contain no mechanism by which they can project rays towards a target. The bioelectrical energies generated by brain activity, which are measured in microwatts at best, are so feeble that the very faint electromagnetic field permeating through the skull requires highly sensitive equipment for An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory 44 its detection. The outside world, as constructed by the visual and other brain processes that generate our visual experience, is an internal mental construct that is good enough to allow us to move about in, and bodily act upon, this perceived world. But that world, itself, has no “awareness” of our visual experiencing of it, and its observable behavior indicates that it remains indifferent to our awareness. Screaming with frustration at some DIY disaster or a valuable smashed vase does not psychically energize these physical components to re-assemble at our will. If we could do this then stone walls would not a prison make and the external world would become a chaotic conflict zone of competing intentions. But, agreeing that this is so does not solve our dilemma. If, through gritted skeptical teeth, the findings of these laboratory studies are accepted as valid, then we have to accept that our present worldview of how things work, including ourselves, is incomplete.

In fact, we know our understanding is incomplete because it cannot account for the existence of individual consciousness. Neurophysiology, based firmly upon the known physical properties of physics and chemistry, is a self-contained explanatory model that provides a remarkably complete account of how the physical brain works right down to the level of quantum chemistry – but it finds no trace of consciousness. The various branches of psychology provide insights into how our conscious and subconscious processes work, from abstract thought to social interactions and raw emotions, but it finds no trace of synaptic activity. Neither model needs to include reference to the other because neither predicates the other. Through recent advances in neuroimaging, the crossover discipline of neuropsychology can say with increasing confidence that a mental activity of “A” depends upon normal functioning of brain area(s) “B,” and if brain area(s) “B” are injured then the mental activity “A” will be impaired. Neuropsychology finds brain function and mental function inseparable, but the bioelectrochemical processes of neurophysiology remain obstinately physical and continue operating when consciousness is absent. Neuropsychology ATransC.org – Theory 45 provides ever more accurate evidence of brain-mind correlation without explanation. Is There a Possible Solution? LeShan (1974; 1976; 2009) argues strongly that if we accept the anecdotal, clinical, and laboratory-based evidence for the existence of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis and healing, in other words the operation of a psi faculty, then we need to model a reality in which such a faculty exists and such events can occur.

He has proposed that there are at least two realities. One is our everyday reality, based upon living in a physical world of space and time, separate bodies, mass, motion, gravity, action and reaction, etc., where cause and effect rules. In the explanatory framework of this reality, including the wider Einsteinian world of spacetime relativity and the speed of light as the limiting factor in the transfer of information, consciousness remains inexplicable and psi phenomena impossible. This reality, therefore, cannot be the only reality. Based upon experiences described by healers, mediums and mystics, LeShan posits another reality which he has termed “Clairvoyant Reality.” This reality is experienced in an altered state of consciousness in which everyday separateness disappears into an experience of “oneness” with what was previously “the other.” It is in this reality that psi phenomena, such as telepathy and healing, occur. Even in everyday life, our consciousness may occasionally slip into this clairvoyant reality of oneness, especially when absorbed in something, whether meditation, music, a view, creating a piece of art, devising a scientific experiment, or during intellectual inquiry when a “eureka” moment of understanding occurs. Clairvoyant reality, however, takes consciousness as a given, which still leaves its existence in an apparently physical universe unexplained. Many have now turned to the counter-intuitive properties of the quantum world for explanation (Penrose, 1996; Nadeau & Kafatos, 2001; Radin, 2006). This world does not include the concept of cause and effect but statistical probabilities that “X” or “Y” might occur. Particles

can be in two places at once and exhibit properties of both An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory 46 particles and waves according to what the detector is designed to detect. Entangled particles remain in immediate contact, even if traveling away from each other at the speed of light towards either end of the universe. If the spin of one is reversed, then so is the spin of the other at the same instant. Distance, time, and the speed of light are not relevant factors in their relationship. Space is not an empty vacuum but full of restless quantum energy. In experiments collapsing the sum of unknowable quantum possibilities contained in what has been termed the probability wave, wavefunction superposition, or state vector, into a recognizable something in our world, the outcome depends upon what the detector is designed to detect, usually with properties of particles or waves. It has been proposed that the quantum world is the source of our conscious being because the hypothesized function of the brain is to act as a form of quantum detector that determines the collapse of the state vector into the qualia of conscious experience. A quantum property the other detectors are not designed to detect so it has remained unsuspected. In this hypothesis, the matter-versus-mind argument is invalid because the mode of detection is the key. Psi in its various manifestations is a latent mental function derived from this source, which, like all abilities, some

people can utilize more easily and effectively than others. If we accept LeShan’s argument, to enter into a mental state of clairvoyant reality may be the precondition that enables directed intentionality to exert a measurable effect on, for example, enzyme reaction rates, seed germination, plant growth, cellular proliferation and improved tissue healing, because it is acting where psi intention and these metabolic processes operate at quantum level. At present this is just speculation, but maybe it is pointing in the right direction for future exploration. Whatever the answer, the psi effect of directed intention as demonstrated by this particular experiment exists. To deny this because we cannot account for it is just as illogical as to deny the existence of our own conscious experiencing because we cannot, as yet, provide a satisfactory account for it. These two major anomalies ATransC.org – Theory 47 in our present understanding of the world are here to stay. One day they will be anomalies no more as a change of understanding takes them into the mainstream. Robert Charman is a retired physical therapy lecturer whose specialities were neuro-rehabilitation and biophysics. The former gave him an enduring interest in the mind/brain problem and the latter an interest in the role of the currents and fields generated by cells and tissues. He was founder/chair of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Energy Medicine (ACPEM), and is Chair of the Confederation of Healing Organisations, both UK organizations. He was editor of Complementary Therapies for Physical Therapists (2000);

has published a review of EEG and fMRI evidence for direct brainmind-to-brainmind communication (J.Soc.Psych.Res download www.spr.ac.uk), and articles reviewing evidence for telepathy, remote viewing, psychokinesis, healing intention on living systems, and the mind/brain relationship. On the latter his position is that correlation should not be confused with explanation. References Benor, D. J. (2001). Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution. USA: Vision Publishing. Chen, K. W. (2004). An analytic review of studies on measuring effects of external Qi in China. Journal of Alternative Therapies, 10, 38-50. Dossey, L. (2000). Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing. San Francisco: Harper. Grad, B. Cadoret, R. J. & Paul, G. (1961). The influence of an unorthodox method of treatment of wound healing in mice. International Journal of Parapsychology, 2, 5-19. An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory 48 Grad, B. (1964). A telekinetic effect on plant growth: Experiments involving treatment of saline in stoppered bottles. International Journal of Parapsychology, 6, 473-498. Grad, B. (1965) A telekinetic effect on yeast activity. Journal of Parapsychology 29: 285-286 Gronowicz, G. A. Jhaveri, A. & Clarke, L. W. Aronow. M. S. Smith, T. H. (2008) Therapeutic touch stimulates the proliferation of human cells in culture. JACM, 14(3), 233-239. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18370579 As of December 2010. Harvey, D. (1983) The power to heal. UK: Aquarian Press. Jonas, W. B. Crawford, C. C. (2003). Healing, Intention and Energy Medicine: Science, Research Methods and Clinical Implications. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. Kiang, J. G., Marotta,

D. Wirkus, M. & Jonas, W. B. (2002). External bioenergy increases intracellular free calcium concentration and reduces cellular response to heat stress. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 50, 38-45. LeShan, L. (1974). The medium, the mystic, and the physicist. NewYork: Viking Press. LeShan, L. (1976). Alternate realities. Sheldon Press, London. LeShan, L. (2009). A New Science of the Paranormal. Quest Books, Wheaten, Illinois. Manning, M. (1995) No Faith Required. Norway: Eikstein Publications. Nadeau, R. Kafatos, M. (2001) The Non-local Universe: The New Physics and Matters of Mind. OUP. Nash, C. B. (1984) Test of psychokinetic control of bacterial growth. Journal of American Society for Psychical Research, 78, 145-152. Penrose, R. (1996). Shadows of the Mind. OUP. Radin, D. (2006). Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality. New York: Paraview Pocket Books. Rubic, B., Brooks, A., & Schwartz, G. (2006). In vitro effects of Reiki treatment on bacterial cultures: Role of experimental context and ATransC.org – Theory 49 practitioner well-being. Journal Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 12, 7-13. Saklani, A. (1989). Psychokinesis effects on plant growth: further studies. In Henkel L. & Palmer J. (Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, pp. 37-41. Meutchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. Seto, A. Kusaka, C. & Nakazato, S. (1992). Detection of extraordinary large bio-magnetic field strength from human hand during external Qi emission. Acupuncture Electrotherapy Research, 17, 75-94. Scofield, A. M. & Hodges, R. D. (1991). Demonstration of a healing effect in the laboratory using a simple plant model. JSPR, 57, 321-343. Smith, M. (1972). Enzymes are activated by

the laying on of hands. Human Dimensions, 1, 46-48. Yu, T. Tsai, H. & Hwang, M. (2003). Suppressing tumour progression of in vitro prostate cancer cells by emitted psychosomatic power through Zen meditation. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 31, 499-507. Biofield and Healing Intention by Tom Butler, 2016 Spiritualist Phenomena in the Media The Reverends Lisa and Tom Butler, NST write a column for The National Spiritualist Summit magazine. The column includes a review of the media for information about phenomena related to Spiritualism, survival of personality and transcommunication. The objective is to show that these phenomena are being substantiated by modern research, and for mediumship, that there is no need to depend on 100-year-old research reported in the history books for “proof.” Each issue has five-to-eight items representing news reports, research, books and special notices which have been gathered to further our understanding of survival phenomena. Consider them a study guide, including names and website links. For instance, the list of 32 items below was compiled from a 2014 search of Media Watch issues using the keywords of healing and intention. Healing Intention This section is new and still to be populated. Our objective is to include information about current research into the nature of the etheric as it is influenced by healing intention. We would like to invite others to contribute to this section. If you have an idea or article, please query via the Contact button below. Compiled 2014. These links have not been reviewed since. References

for Healing Intention Remember that non-mainstream journals are often not accepted as reliable sources by mainstream academics. • From the Journal of Scientific Exploration (JSE) which has a peer-reviewed journal. Biofield and Healing Intention 52 • Effects of Distant Intention on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple-Blind Replication • The GCP Event Experiment: Design, Analytical Methods, Results • Is the Psychokinetic Effect as Found with Binary Random Number Generators Suitable to Account for Mind-Brain Interaction? • Exploratory Study: The Random Number Generator and Group Meditation • The Effect of Paranormal Healing on Tumor Growth Other references • The Effect of ‘‘Healing with Intent’’ on Pepsin Enzyme Activity • Therapeutic touch stimulates the proliferation of human cells in culture • Energy Medicines: Will East Meet West? • The Science of Distant healing • Therapeutic touch affects DNA synthesis and mineralization of human osteoblasts in culture • Compassionate Intention, Prayer and Distant Healing: Assessing the Evidence • Energy medicine modalities, also known as biofield therapies • Journal alt. cmp. med. • Oncology Nursing Society • • Jnl. Behavourial Med. Is spiritual healing a valid and effective therapy? • Touch therapies for pain relief in adults • Bioelectromagnetic Energy Fields Accelerate Wound Healing and Activate Immune Cell Function • Spiritual healing as a therapy for chronic pain: a randomized, clinical trial ATransC.org – Theory 53 • Exploratory Study: The Random Number Generator and Group Meditation • Future Medicine: Ethical Dilemmas, Regulatory Challenges, and Therapeutic Pathways to Health Care and Healing in Human Transformation •

Elsevier Health Sciences, 2004 • • (page 25, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007) (page 243, Springer, 2010) • Energy Healers: Who They Are and What They Do Formation of EVP by Tom Butler, 2009 Further Reading: Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives (This book) Abstract Trans-etheric influences are seen to require physical processes to propagate in the physical. In practical terms, this means that such influences can be classified by the physical processes they require, and how they are seen to manifest. While actual physical principles employed in the formation of EVP have yet to be empirically determined, many elements of hypotheses proposing categorization and expected behaviors have been proposed and tested. From this knowledge base comes a clearer understanding of what is and is not EVP. Introduction Historically, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) have been thought of as unexpected voices found in recording media. The primary technique for recording EVP has been with an audio recorder and the voice is thought to be formed of available audio energy (background noise). Recent developments have made it practical to work with real- time, two-way EVP. With this development, an expanded definition is required. As one has not gained wide acceptance, the following should be considered a draft definition: Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are anomalous, intelligible speech produced in electronic devices. They may be heard as a real-time output but are more generally heard on review of a subsequent recording. No currently understood physical processes account for the existence of EVP. EVP Formation Formation

of EVP 56 EVP can be collected under circumstances which preclude the possibility of such mundane sources as radio frequency contamination, unnoticed background conversations, contamination from previously recorded speech and mundane sounds mistaken as voice. People around the world have demonstrated this fact since before Friedrich Jürgenson made his famous EVP recordings fifty years ago June 12, 1959. The important point is that much is known about ordinary EVP formation which allows practitioners to recognize what is and is not phenomenal. Transform EVP As shown in Figure 1, the phenomenal utterance is formed in the recording device. Current theory is that noise is used for voice formation and the dominant physical process is thought to be the amplification of a weak telekinetic signal by the action of stochastic resonance on the broad-spectrum audio-frequency noise. The “frequencies” available in the sound stream at any moment will determine the richness of the resulting voice and no new audio energy is produced. ATransC.org – Theory 57 There is no evidence that the psi processes involved in trans- etheric communication produce additional physical processes. Once the information is in the physical, it is completely subject to physical principles. Keep in mind that stochastic resonance was not documented as a process prior to 1981. The fact that a physical process needed to explain some aspect of EVP has not yet been defined does not mean that a paranormal solution must be used. It is important to this essay to note that the preponderance of evidence

indicates the requirement of physical processes. There is no need to say that a phenomenal event somehow occurs or is caused by divine intervention. The characteristics associated with traditionally formed (transform) EVP that are part of the theoretical model used by the ATransC include: • EVP are not acoustical phenomena, meaning that they are formed in the recording mechanism, and can be collected with an acoustically isolated recorder. • The voice is formed by transforming audio-frequency energy available in an electronic circuit into an approximation of human speech. • EVP are energy limited, meaning that their formation is in short packets of a few words so that shorter packets tend to have greater volume, longer packets tend to have less volume and very long utterances are seen as several concatenated packets with brief pauses between each one. • Any audio-frequency energy is apt to be transformed into voice as EVP. • EVP formation occurs in analog circuits, and once digitized, tends to be stable. • The utterances are formed by selecting available audio- frequency energy. Audio-frequency energy is not created for this purpose by the etheric communicator and may be in the form of relatively random noise, fragments of voice or synthesized voice. Formation of EVP 58 Because of the many years of study by practitioners around the world, much is known about EVP recorded by traditional means. Small details of the characteristics listed here may be arguable but there is little doubt that this form of EVP occurs in

audio recorders in a predictable way. EVP formed by random selection Stefan Bion has developed a computer program named EVPmaker which has been shown to produce EVP based on random selection of segments of a sound file. The input audio file may be recorded “live voice” but the program is able to use synthesized human voice fragments known as allophones and/or the smaller phonemes. Precedence for psi influence of random processes has been established by the parapsychological community. For instance, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Lab reported a small but significant effect in psi studies. Depending on presets made by the practitioner, the randomly selected segments of input file are typically too short to contain recognizable speech, especially when using synthesized speech. Once selected by the random process, the segments of sound are combined with others to produce the desired ATransC.org – Theory 59 words. As such, EVP formation is thought to be controlled by control of the random process. Audio output for EVPmaker is a staccato sound as if the system has developed a severe stutter. Recorded speech is considered “live voice” and is inherently suspect as a sound source for EVP formation; however, when using synthesized voice fragments, the input file can be controlled to minimize pre-existing recognizable words. As such, words in the output should be clearly random or they are phenomenal. EVP formed by speech synthesis A recent development in the study of EVP is the introduction of speech synthesis technology. Bill Chappell has shown

that it may be possible to produce meaningful utterances by detecting changes in the environment to control a speech synthesis process. The working assumption is that the communicating entity will change the environment to cause synthesis of the intended words. More research is needed, but the implication is that detection of presumably easily influenced chaotic processes such as room Formation of EVP 60 temperature and electrical charge can be used to initiate EVP formation by controlling a speech synthesis process. A second possibility is that the communicating entity is able to directly influence the speech synthesis circuit; however, more research must be conducted to determine this. Chappell’s Paranormal Puck is programmed with words (speech mode), and a library of English-language phonemes (phoneme mode). Phonemes are the smallest segment of human speech, and when appropriately combined in an audio file, will produce meaningful speech. An important point to consider in the analysis of environmentally controlled speech synthesis for EVP formation is that the only physical process necessary to explain observed results is a change in ambient energy detected by the device. The library of words or speech fragments is present in the designed capabilities of the technology. Physical processes in EVP formation Substantial research and field observation have shown that the processes involved in trans-etheric phenomena are probably knowable. Physical processes such as propagation of sound or light are measurable and their understanding can be applied to devices and other processes. In the same way, the processes governing subtle energy and

the behavior of personalities after transition are knowable and able to be applied in technological solutions. A few of the assumptions used in this study of how EVP are formed are: • EVP are formed via the influence of subtle energy (as intention) on physical processes according to knowable principles. With this assumption, the explanation for a phenomenal event that it “somehow” occurred cannot be used for research. The “somehow” should be quickly replaced by an established or modified theory. See: Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influences. • There is consistency in how subtle energy influences are able to affect physical processes. For instance, both visual forms ATransC.org – Theory 61 such as images found in video feedback noise and EVP formed from background noise appear to depend on something like stochastic resonance. See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP (Book 4) • The influence of physical processes by subtle energy is energy limited and the most energy-efficient processes should be considered first. This also means the physical energy required for phenomena can be accounted for. See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP (Book 4) • Available physical processes can be initiated by an etheric influence to cause observable phenomena, but matter and energy are not seen to be created. An important implication of this assumption is that physical energy and objects may be transformed but they are not created to form phenomena. For instance, if sound is not present, it cannot be transformed into the words of EVP. The

required sound will not be created but a physical process may be initiated which in turn causes sound for voice formation. The observed characteristics of EVP suggest how they are (typically) formed, and by extension, how they (usually) are not formed. The average person can use this information to evaluate examples to help determine if they are mundane or paranormal. It also means that a deviation to the typical method of formation should be considered rare and the example should be held in reserve by practitioner and researchers alike until more data is available. [Editor: In the proposed Energy Profile of Transform EVP study, it is speculated that stochastic amplification is the physical process involved in transform phenomena. That process depends on available physical energy–light or sound. Morphic fields are proposed as a possible etheric-physical process for the expression of intended order. The most speculative proposal, but one clearly supported in the above list, is that wave forms or images that already exist in the physical are apported into the transform process. The study Formation of EVP 62 associated with “The Energy Profile of Transform EVP” is intended to help quantify possible changes in energy profile for transform EVP formation. If one exists, it would tend to reinforce the apportation hypothesis.] Sounds mistaken as EVP Understanding common ways that ordinary sounds are mistaken as EVP provides a way of better understanding how the phenomenal voices are formed. As a reminder, the three types of EVP described above are well-established as

trans-communication and there is little doubt of their authenticity as paranormal phenomena. The ways that ordinary events might be mistaken as phenomena are provided here as a way of helping practitioners avoid common “human nature” pitfalls. Hearing what is expected EVP practitioners listen very closely to sound files in an attempt to find meaningful sounds. This is because the audio signal normally thought of as just background noise is considered a likely place to find a paranormal message. However, audio files thought to be needed for voice formation are usually very noisy and meaning is potentially everywhere. It is common for a distant but ordinary conversation to be detected by a recorder and then be reported as phenomenal. When a practitioner is expecting a meaningful sound, the next sound is sometimes given that meaning no matter what intelligence the sound actually carries. Typical sources of sound mistaken as EVP include: • Ordinary variations in background sound mistaken as voice: For instance, a burst of static is sometimes heard as an angry voice. • Stray radio signals mistaken as EVP: Hand-held, battery- powered recorders are excellent antenna for radio reception and the electronics are capable of making stray AM signals understandable. ATransC.org – Theory 63 • “Morphed” foreign-language sound source: Naturally occurring foreign-language words are sometimes reported as having been “morphed” into EVP but then are recognized by a person who speaks the foreign language as not being EVP at all. • Reversing a soundtrack: Some words sound like other words

when heard in the reverse. • Ordinary sound changed with an audio editor to simulate EVP: Changing the tempo of a sound file can change its intended meaning. Since voices of EVP are usually formed out of the background noise, filtering the noise can sometimes change how the words are heard. Excessive amplification can make detected radio audible. Ways EVP might be misreported There is some evidence that a sound file might be altered while it is in an analog form, but sound files are thought to be stable once they have been digitized. As such, many people can hear the same digitized sound file and should hear the same sounds. If there is an anomalous utterance in the sound file, then it will be the same each time. This is an important characteristic of EVP if online listening tests are to be trusted to produce meaningful data. With that said, it is common to see a doubtful EVP example shared on the Internet with a surprising number of people saying they hear it as the practitioner reported. In subsequent tests, it is possible that even the person who reported the example will not be able to understand the utterance. Assuming the practitioner and listeners did hear the example as reported even though the words were not actually present, what would explain the confusion? The most common problems include: • Suggesting what should be heard: Especially when the example is of marginal quality, the listener is easily guided to hear

what is expected by how the example is reported even though the words may not be present. Formation of EVP 64 • Fabricating a “likely story”: The practitioner has asked a question and expects the next sound to contain the answer. Whatever the next sound “sounds like” is taken as part of the answer even though it may not make logical sense. To make it sound correct, the practitioner applies meaning to subsequent sounds to tell a story that provides a plausible answer to the question. • Setting listener expectation in “real-time” dialogue: Two-way conversations via EVP are very difficult, and while shown to be possible, the process can also be misleading. It is reasonable for the practitioner to ask the entity to repeat a word by saying something like, “Did I hear you say ‘Tom?’” However, in doing so, the listener is preconditioned to hear “Tom,” even though the word may not be present. • Selectively relating utterances to questions: The usual recommendation is that the words of an EVP just before or just after the practitioner’s question can appropriately be applied to the question. As such, asking a question and selecting a word out of a string of possible utterances would be considered selective reporting. Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séance Transcript of portions of the séances pertaining to metaphysical concepts. First published in the Fall 2013 ATransC NewsJournal Spoken by Hans Bender via the mediumship of the Felix Experimental Group: [An observation by a sitter: Hans appears

to follow a path from knocks and touches, spirit lights, levitation of objects, production of shapes visible over a luminous plaque, the production of ectoplasm, and finally, faces in ectoplasm. Not all of these milestones are met every time, but it seems clear that there is a progression of complexity and level of difficulty for Hans and the Chemists. (The Chemists are a group of entities that work behind Hans and who make the phenomena happen). Hans talks about erecting a field in which sitters and medium cooperate with the Chemists to enable physical phenomena. He speaks of psychic structures which are tenuous at first, but which become more substantial as the field strengthens. Interspersed with Hans’ comments transcribed below, are many demonstrations of physical phenomena which are in some part visible and/or audible.] FEG Session 3, 25 August 2013 Séance We will erect now something which is hard to explain in the terminology of the three-dimensional land. It is something like a Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances 66 mesh-like force field. It will extend into the room to reach opposite sides of the room and up to the ceiling. From this mesh-like force field, compacted units (we think endoplasmic structures) can act independently into the room. Ladies and Gentlemen, you all have come with a company. None of you have come alone. Those you admire; there are those you do not even think of that came with you and that will be given the opportunity on behalf of

that force field to regain a certain form of physicality; a substituted form of physicality for a certain time so that each of you will experience caresses and touches. This does not happen without a purpose. That means each of you will be touched purposefully by someone out of the planes of spiritual energy that you carry around with you, at least to a certain degree. And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, you will feed that force field with the physiological energy of your biological system. We are coalescing the psychological, the psychical and the spiritual with the material, but because the spiritual, the consciousness and the emotional is involved, your psychology is not efficient. That is why we want you to emanate positive mental energy by singing with the music, and yes, by participating over the course of the evening. Yes, when the force field starts to extend, the objects will be affected the moment the force field reaches the little focus table. The moment the objects are affected in rhythm to the music, then the grade of controllability is reached and we can proceed into the evening. Ladies and gentlemen, during our demonstrations, we are always talking about gifts; that precious gift we all have been given. This gift which transports you; this gift that transports us and that has the ability to transport us farther than you might think. This consciousness is now encased in your body. This consciousness can be projected. To be specific, you all are

projections of consciousness. Consciousness is the core field of everything. There is no reality without consciousness. You are all projections of consciousness on a certain physical plane. ATransC.org – Theory 67 Your consciousness projects onto other planes as well. You are not aware of this at the moment. But let me tell you, your consciousness is not engaged in your body. Even on your plane, your consciousness can reach far out beyond your body’s borderline. Always be aware of this. Later “I” (Hans Bender) come into physical union [with the FEG medium] to explain that the spiritual land is not an afterlife land. It is not a land of the deceased. It is a land of the living. We talked about that before but I want to talk about that again today because I know that we have certain of you here that work or are part of association, churches or societies … When we came towards you in the mist of the eighteenth century, we wanted to give you the knowledge about bodily survival to expand your mind, to enable you to step backwards to see the bigger picture. Consciousness was not given to you to walk alongside your flesh after years of living on the physical plane. No, the gift of consciousness was given to you to play a responsible part in the huge creational plan; the huge creational path on which every step would lead you closer towards what you would call creator. Unfortunately, those of you

who could explore the spiritual realm, this unbelievable realm of all sorts of life, are misled because the institutions, the educators make the spiritual land into a survival camp, so to speak. Spiritualism is survivalism today. In reality mediumistic efforts can actually only be evaluated by communication from the brother, mother, aunt or an uncle talking to those who are left behind. Now let me tell you something. We know how much it can hurt to lose someone. When I was on your plane, I also lost someone. I know how that can feel but the point is that it cannot interfere with the creational plan and that is a part of our existence and our birth. Don’t waste what was given to you by staying with the grief. Don’t waste your time. Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances 68 Do you know what the greatest pain of those who have transferred to the spiritual realms is? The greatest pain is seeing you in an unfinished grieving process; to see you not realizing that you are part of a bigger plan. The pain becomes unbearable when we consider that those who have transferred step onto a plane on which they feel immediately reunited with you. You can’t feel it, but it is actually the case because that which you call the spiritual realm is the location from which your existence is projected into the physical world. When a relative or a friend is gone and arrives on that plane, he

becomes reunited with you, and you become reunited with him. You cannot always feel it in your physical shell. Sometimes you smell something or you see something and you feel that the one you have lost is actually very, very close to you. The plane on which we exist lies above the timeline that organizes your lives in the physical. It tells you when to wake up and when to go to bed. When to eat and when to go to work. We live above that timeline. We live in a state of constant and eternal clarity, but what happens is that those who have transferred to that plane should be projected into new existences of life. But can be bound [by your grief]. Love is a strong bond and can hold back [those who have transferred]. You can hold back your loved ones. You can hold them back from development when you don’t finish processing your grief. Take a step back and see the whole picture. Consciousness was not given to you to die away with your body after seventy or eighty years. Consciousness is the ultimate vehicle that transports you through the dimensions and enables you as a free spirit to enter the depths of the cosmos and to gain the knowledge of universes within seconds, so don’t hold back. Don’t let your love hold back your loved ones. Make your love let your loved ones go on. This is my message. Later We are sometimes asked what

makes a good medium and usually we like to answer two things. First, what is the meaning you are usually expecting? This is what he or she wants. Getting knowledge from a ATransC.org – Theory 69 higher organized plane of existence; maybe the plane you call the afterlife or the spiritual plane? The problem is that we on other organized lands cannot directly communicate with you. We must grade down [our energy] to do that, but we can communicate with you. The problem is that we are talking about the level from which psychic structures emerge. It has to do with the problem that a higher organized reality, and a parallel-organized physical plane can’t be described with the terminology of your plane. That means every idea you make about the prefield [etheric energy field representing the physical?], every image you make for the prefield, even if it is an image of the afterlife; these are earthly images. These are earthly ideas. They follow the laws of psychical structure. You are hindering yourself by projecting such ideas within your mediumistic world. You will only receive what you project, when you project these physical ideas into where you want to get higher organized information this can happen. So, get rid of those ideas and open yourself freely and be ready to receive what valuable information might come from these planes and don’t follow institutionalized dogma as long as you want to evolve personally. If you want to be part of an institutionalized

church, yes then follow their dogma. If you want to evolve, then open your mind. Forget everything that was told to you. Make yourself empty. Make yourself a vessel so that whatever might come from there will be of value. So, get rid of all these earthly ideas. They cannot fit a higher Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances 70 organized plane of existence. They can never be described in earthly terms. The second thing we like to answer is [to say] what the medium is actually learning when he encounters the cornucopia of creation that is in the different lands of existence. He becomes humble, humble towards creation, humble towards every creature of creation. When people ask me what shall I be, a Spiritualist or a Buddhist, we tell him, it makes no matter if you are a Spiritualist or a Buddhist. Just be a good man. Just be a good person. Don’t be involved in politics or these different belief systems. Only gain true compassion between men. Make yourself a free spirit with true compassion because the true compassion gives you the key of happiness on the plane you are living on. True compassion; just be a good man. This is my message. Later Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to remind you that you are in position of the creational tool that can transport you far beyond your mind’s ability. Don’t waste your time seeking for things that were taken from you by a natural occurrence. No, that

makes no sense. Honor what you have been given. Honor your existence because you yourself will become creationists. The consciousness field I was talking about will gather information from all its sources. Consciousness is not one- dimensional. No, it is the spring; it is the source that feeds many, many rivers. It collects information from all these paths it has created, and once the time is right, the information density will be so dense that from the spiritual, things will shift into the physical and then a new world will be born on your behalf. With this, I want to say goodnight. Of course, what I have said raises many questions. I will send you into the night, dear friends. Every one of you will become new creational hosts when the consciousness field has been compacted to a certain degree of density; information compacted so dense that it shifts itself into the physical. A creation will occur then. Every woman and every man is a universe. ATransC.org – Theory 71 Good night Ladies and Gentlemen. Mügge Session 2, 23 August 2013 Séance When we talk about the spiritual land, it is important to know that there is not an afterlife existence. There is the space in which consciousness core fields are projecting onto different physical levels of existences. That means there is not an afterlife in the sense of a comparable existence to yours. There are a myriad of possibilities. You will enter a stage that is totally indescribable in

human terms and by human imagination. There is survival, and the “afterlife” as you are calling it, is not a place. The afterlife is a space you go into, at least for a short time. It is first, above the timeline. Second, it is a space where on a certain plane, and only for a certain time, all of us become one. From then on, the free spirit will be projected into new universes. That is why it is so important to expand your feeling of responsibility towards your natural environment. Not only onto your own realm, because on that projectional path toward your physical existence, the consciousness field has produced uncountable effigies of you. Every thought, every action, every being produces multidimensional effigies of you on that projectional path towards your momentary existence. This has to do with the question of why entities who have left the earth plane come back, and [the fact that] they don’t come back alone. They come back in a union of entities that are positive toward humankind. Positive in the first place because we come with our own interests. The ruthless behavior of humankind is not only affecting your own nature and your own existence down to a point. I don’t need to expand that. You all know how late it is. This ruthless behavior, that exploitative behavior of every resource in nature, exploitative behavior even towards your own kind not only destroys your values and your environment, it affects these parallel levels

and dimensions that are connected with you as well. On some of them, this history of humankind has created real monsters; negative Hans Bender’s Message at Reno Séances 72 potentials, huge potentials with which you are connected; which will affect you. I don’t want to make you frightened. Every one of you is watching the news, and every one of you may ask yourself from time to time how could that happen? Why were we not able to control that? Because, these huge potentials grow and grow, and yes, affect the dimensional planes. That is why I want to say that it is especially important that you consider your responsibility; that you comprehend that you are able to create reality. Your consciousness was not given to you to be encased within your physical body. Your consciousness reaches far out into the physical and onto the multidimensional [planes]. You can create and you can change and it is so important that you do because it is not only you who are affected. It is us as well. That is what is coming toward you as an afterlife. [It is] only an intermediate stage from which a free spirit roams into the depth of the cosmos to swallow the knowledge of galaxies within seconds and carry on, on your creational path toward what we all call the creator. Hearing with Templates An Email from Alexander MacRae Originally published in the Winter 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal ©Alexander MacRae – All Rights Reserved Alexander MacRae

speaking at the 2006 AA-EVP Conference I have currently been writing something I titled, “Hearing with Templates” … For some years now, I have tried to deal only with the best obtainable EVP samples, disposing of the rest. I am aware that funny things can happen and I have attributed these to the very important subject of cueing errors. Working on the Bial Foundation project has forced me to take account of ALL samples recorded, the good, the bad and the downright appalling. I was rather concerned lately to find that some of the samples I had selected seem to have changed completely while I was working on them. Taking a few days to do something else and then coming back to them, I found I was reporting some of them as something other than the original. Was this a matter of a time effect or a processing effect or what? Some weeks ago I had sent out two of my local group to a couple of sites to do some recording and then taught one of them a little bit about analysis using Cool Edit Pro (now known as Adobe Audition). The other, Helen, a very perceptive person, asked almost immediately how it was that you could hear one thing at one time but Hearing with Templates 74 then you could hear something quite different at another time— convinced then that the second version was the correct one. I mentioned cueing and tried to make it all seem quite

normal. Earlier than all that, Edgar Müller had remarked in an email that different noise reduction levels could alter the meaning of what one heard. I did some experiments to investigate this point using normal voice and good EVP, which I will later refer to as “A-type” EVP. My article on hearing with templates makes the point that what we hear is not necessarily the same as what we are listening to. And then the point is made that templates are used in all recognition processes, whether recognizing phonemes (elements of words); or patterns of phonemes which are words; or patterns of words which are phrases. What you actually “hear” is the template. You can also hear all the other noises that are part of what you are listening to, but what you actually “hear” is the template that best fits the sound pattern. If you listen to a sequence of phonemes that you have never heard before, for instance, “Gelarumipalat,” which is not a word in the languages that you understand, which does not have Latin, Greek or Germanic roots, what you will hear is a sequence of phonemes, pure and simple. If you listen to a recognized sequence of phonemes such as “angry,” you hear a word. And if you listen to a sequence of known words in a recognized sequence such as, “I am so angry!” what you “hear” is a meaning. What you listen to and what you hear can be different things. There has to

be a distinction, therefore, between EVP that is so good it is close to normal speech in good listening conditions, we will call that A-type EVP; and EVP that is not that good, we will call that B- type EVP. They are both EVP but they have different behavioral characteristics. With B-type EVP, • different people may hear different things; • what is heard using headphones may be different from what is heard using a speaker; ATransC.org – Theory 75 • what is heard when one is told what it is, may be different from what one heard before being told what it is; and, • what one hears at one time may be different from what one hears at another time. To the general public this PROVES that EVP is NOT real. Therefore, one should not expose the general public to B-type EVP. Remember that normal hearing is also dependent on template- based pattern recognition. The received wisdom over the years was that EVP is deficient in the relative energy level of consonants as compared with vowels, and as consonants are the main carriers of intelligibility, so EVP is less comprehensible. I went along with this explanation unexamined myself and even repeated it. The world experts in this are in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London (UCL). The UCL people have been looking into the speech of people suffering from deafness or some neural/motor deficiency. This speech has consonants that are low or missing, thus

reducing its intelligibility. Just like EVP one would suppose. Let us make up an example. Suppose we have a stroke victim saying, “How are you now?” They might say, “OOOAAOW … AAARGH … EEE-UUU …. NNN N … …AAAAOOOOW….” Almost entirely vowel sounds, and very slowly. Where muscular dexterity is required as in the rapid transition from “n” to “ow” in “now” then there is a delay. However, this is not what EVP sounds like. The problem may not be the consonant/vowel energy ratio. The UCL people have looked into cueing as an important factor in intelligibility, and they developed a method of manual cue enhancement in a recording. They tried this and indeed it improved intelligibility. However, automatic cue enhancement did not work. Cues are taken as the regions of transition; the region where one vowel changes into another or into a consonant or the impulse and blank period on which consonant sounds are based. The reason for this is that the significance of a set of consecutive sounds depends on Hearing with Templates 76 the sequencing, on the timing and so relative position in time. Cue is very important. Here we should also note that the term “phoneme” is not entirely accurate. For example, when each is isolated out, the “a” at the beginning of the word “attack” sounds quite different from the “a” in the middle of the word. To describe this feature, the word “phoneme” is replaced by the word “allophone;” that is, a phoneme taking

into account its phonetic environment. Timing is crucially important, and just as you can have people who have trouble with the spatial sequencing of a written word, who are “dyslexic,” so also there seems to be a tendency for some to be “dyslexic” in terms of time sequences. Remember that in an audible communication system, the listener is also part of that system. For some time, my opinion was that EVP was perhaps cue- deficient. My thinking now is that Type-B EVP has an over-supply of cues, and that due to the relative uncertainty or randomness involved in the EVP process, fortuitous transitions appear which can be taken as false cues, enabling more than one interpretation to be found. Where more than one interpretation is found this does not mean that a correct interpretation does not exist. Although if two interpretations exist then both must be wrong is normal thinking. But that is not necessarily the case. All sequence-significant hearing is template-based but some patterns are so uncertain that more than one template can seem to fit. [Note that this explanation is not providing a reason to think that “B-type” EVP change in any way. Editor] From Our Viewpoint--Proof of Survival by Tom and Lisa Butler Published in the Winter 2003 AA-EVP NewsJournal World events are very unpredictable these days. If we think about it, this is often the case, as we never really know what tomorrow will bring. One thing that is of great comfort to most of the

members of the AA-EVP is the knowledge that we don’t die. Now we are finding that more people are joining the ranks of the AA-EVP who share our belief in survival. Some of these people, you may be surprised to know, are respected scientists. In the last couple of years, we have seen an increase of the public interest in mediums and survival, due in a large part to the success of TV programs like that of John Edward and James Van Praagh. These mediums bring in messages that are very evidential and millions more people today are learning about survival through their television sets then were just two years ago. Dr. Gary Schwartz, at the Human Energy Systems Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona conducted a series of experiments to test the validity of mediumship. Schwartz’s experiments were conducted using carefully designed protocols and provided credible evidence for survival. As you might expect, they created considerable controversy, especially with the skeptical press. The International Association for Near-Death Studies held their Fourth Esalen conference on Survival of Bodily Death, in May of 2002. Researchers from the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, psychology and physics concluded that three areas of research provided strong evidence for survival. Near Death Experiences (NDE) was at the top of the list. Reasons cited were, accurate observations of medical operating procedures made by clinically dead patients, reported encounters with deceased persons even though the experiencer did not know the person was dead and accurate reports by blind experiencers. Reincarnation

was cited as a strong proof for survival based on examples, such as children accurately recounting previous lives and birthmarks corresponding to lethal wounds experienced in a previous lifetime. Mediumship was also noted as strong proof of From Our Viewpoint--Proof of Survival 78 survival because of the veridical messages often delivered by mediums. Dr. Sam Parnia is one of two doctors from Southampton General Hospital in England who has been studying NDEs. The work is very significant in that it shows that a group of people who were clinically dead had well-structured, lucid thought processes with reasoning and memory formation, even though their brains were shown not to be functioning. Parnia was quoted as saying, “The possibility is certainly there to suggest that consciousness, or the soul, keeps thinking and reasoning even if a person‘s heart has stopped, he is not breathing and his brain activity is nil” Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands was published in volume number 358 of The Lancet. The Lancet is one of the world’s most respected medical journals and publication of this article caused quite an uproar in the medical community. The article cites a study by Dr. Pim van Lommel and colleagues of Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem. The results showed that medical factors could not account for the occurrence of NDEs. Although all patients had been clinically dead, most did not have an NDE. The researchers noted that, “If purely physiological factors had caused the NDE,

most of our patients should have had this experience.” The paper states that induced NDE experiences are not identical to spontaneous NDE experiences. It questions, “How can clear consciousness outside one’s body be experienced at the moment that the brain no longer functions during a period of clinical death with flat EEG?” A National Science Foundation (Book 4) report based on interviews with 1,574 people across the country found widespread and increasing belief in what it terms, “pseudoscience.” It also cited several other polls with similar conclusions. Among those was a Gallup survey last year that showed belief in ghosts, haunted houses, witches and the ability to communicate with the dead, all increased by double-digit percentage points in the past decade alone. Belief in ghosts and haunted houses is now around 40 percent and communicating with the dead is nearing 30 percent. Eight of 13 such ATransC.org – Theory 79 phenomena included in the Gallup report showed significant increases and only the belief in devil possession declined. The Science Foundation survey showed that sixty percent of the people surveyed believed that some people possess psychic powers or ESP. Those of us who are doing research in EVP and ITC, not only have the advantage of knowing that consciousness survives but we also get to hear and see our loved ones. For instance, in our last Video ITC experiment, we asked for the first time to have a relative appear. We called on Tom’s father and asked him to appear in

the middle of a frame. Amazing enough, he came through in the center of the frame as requested. Interestingly, his pose is the same as that in a picture Tom keeps at his desk. When we saw the paranormal picture we immediately grabbed the picture off Tom’s desk for the comparison. As you can see in the accompanying picture, the nose is distorted and enlarged. Also, from the nose down the face is mostly lost in the noise that is created with the Video ITC method. However, you should be able to make out the similarity of the eyebrows, high temple, distinctive widow’s peak and nose. Holographic ITC Tom Butler, 2010 This is part of the Implicit Cosmology Series of essays associated with the Trans-survival Hypothesis. It has been incorporated into a book titled Your Immortal Self. Some potentially important changes have likely been made to this essay for the book. As such, please consider this essay an early draft. Is the metaphysical approach for you? Please read Are These Explanations for You? before getting very far into this essay. Abstract A hypothesis is proposed to explain why multiple face- like features are often found in individual frames of recorded video-loop noise. Introduction In the video-loop technique for visual ITC, a video camera is pointed toward a video monitor and the output of the camera is connected to the input of the monitor so that the camera “sees” what it has just recorded. A person might expect the resulting optical

noise to look like the “snow” seen on an unassigned TV channel; however, in at least some configurations of equipment, the resulting noise has the appearance of patches of light of different brightness rushing toward the viewer from the center of the screen. Some of these will have color if a color camera and TV are used. See the examples under the ITC Tab. (Book 4) Holographic ITC 82 The bright area in the center is the face of a woman. In the color version of this, you can make out red lipstick. A man’s face covers the right half of her face. He is looking toward your right. Nearly all of the medium-density areas around the two faces are other, less well-formed faces. (We apologize to those receiving the printed Journal as ITC pictures do not print well.) The working hypothesis is that the patches of brightness in the looped video are areas of relative order that naturally form in chaotic noise because of a process known as stochastic amplification. In that process, a small irregularity in the uniformity of “baseline” energy can be amplified, and in video-loop ITC, those emergent splotches are often shaped like people. Update: We have been working with the concept of intended order. This concept may be applicable to such phenomena as both audible and visible ITC, energy healing, meditation and morphogenetic fields. The standard model we are using is that trans-etheric influences are the expression of a personality’s intention. Physical people are personalities

that exist in the etheric but are able to inhabit the physical aspect of reality because of the physical body. In effect, people are all the same, but some may not have a physical body. In that way, all personalities influence the environment via intention. Personality brings intended order to chaotic environments. Examination of individual video frames sometimes shows an astounding number of face-like shapes and some of them are ATransC.org – Theory 83 sufficiently detailed to be arguably real faces. There are also examples of this in the Butler Galleries. (Book 4) Recording ITC The Techniques (Book 5) section has an article explaining how to record for these phenomena. Some people have had success with digital equipment, but we have not seen the detail exhibited by examples collected using analog equipment. For this reason, we recommend that anyone wishing to replicate this work should use at least an analog camera, and preferably an analog monitor. We use a Canon 8mm ES2000 analog camcorder with a Sony KV20TS32, 20-inch Trinitron color TV. We like using color because the resulting features often seem to have true color such as with skin tones. See the website for technical notes. The key to recording video ITC is in establishing a display with a good balance of bright and dark areas. The loop tends to be a cycle from all black, through medium bright patches of color, to an all white and back again. The video is at about thirty frames a second, and

a cycle from dark back to dark takes several seconds. We record for ten to fifteen seconds and may find thirty to fifty frames from that Holographic ITC 84 recording that need examining. An example of a useful video loop can be seen at player.vimeo.com/video/65012666. Who is in the Video You can see that there is no physical input to the system other than electricity and ambient light. It can be argued that there is no physical reason for faces to be in the noise, other than the occasional fortuitous arrangement of light and dark that might resemble a face. Certainly, there should not be faces with clearly identifiable red lips and eyes with pupils. Phenomenal faces are found in many different techniques, but all seem to depend on the transformation of visual energy. Moving water, light reflected from crystals, even audio spectrograms have produced features. Most visual ITC features are of strangers, but there are a few that have been recognized. For instance, using forensic software, a moving water feature (Book 5) taken by Margaret Downey has been favorably compared to a photograph of her long-transitioned great, great grandfather. There are differences in clarity and detail amongst the different forms of visual ITC, but the common factor appears to be broad- spectrum optical noise and an active analog process such as an amplification circuit. This is the common factor for audio ITC as well. Based on the Trans-survival Hypothesis, it is speculated that the features are formed by the

amplification of a weak psi signal from the practitioner or an interested observer, by the action of stochastic resonance on the optical-frequency noise. We speculate this is a mind-to-mind exchange of information between the etheric personality of the practitioner and the communicating etheric entity. This is believed to occur in the etheric as a nonphysical process. The information is then transformed into the physical aspect of reality by way of the person’s etheric personality-to-physical body entanglement and expressed into the physical as a psi signal that represents the practitioner’s impression of what was experienced in the etheric. ATransC.org – Theory 85 While looking at this picture of the 2004 conference speakers, your attention is on Sarah Estep. For the moment, the others in the photo would make less of an impression in your mind’s eye. The observed effect of one or two well-formed faces in visual ITC may be due to the practitioner’s attention on a specific personality in the etheric. However, there are apparently many other personalities present, of which the practitioner is only partially aware. These background personalities are therefore only poorly formed in the resulting ITC. The group picture above is an attempt to show how we might be aware of everyone in the group, but our attention is momentarily on one person at a time. In this case, Sarah Estep is clearly imaged, and the other people are only vaguely noticed. Of course, all of this is hypothetical, but so many poorly formed faces present in

virtually every suitable region of optical noise, along with a few well-formed faces, argues that the practitioner (or an interested observer) is the channel for the information and the practitioner’s focus of attention determines what is communicated. Update: Two theories are emerging as alternatives to stochastic resonance to explain image formation. Stochastic amplification may still be the physical mechanism, but the “small psi signal” may be more complex than previously thought. Examination of the essay on Etheric Fields will show that intended order may be a factor as the etheric personality (still via a physical person’s entanglement) influences the recording process’ formative field. A second theory is that the faces might be apported from some existing media source. Distortions are evident in EVP Holographic ITC 86 that suggest a partially successful transformation of noise into voice and the same might be seen in visual ITC. Both theories are new and require more vetting, so at this time (6/19/2013) it is best to suspend decisions until more information is available. How it may be possible for an animal to communicate via EVP by Tom Butler The Survival Hypothesis hold that we are an etheric entity in a symbiotic relationship with a physical body. It is through this etheric- physical entanglement that we are able to bring etheric objects of reality into the physical and still satisfy the Principle of Natural Law which holds that “An object of reality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality it inhabits.” An

etheric object, such as a dog bark or an idea, must somehow be embodied into the physical. Thus, for etheric-to-physical influences to be possible, that influence (an object of reality) must be “embodied” into the physical (made energetically in agreement with the physical). There are other sources of information that support the idea that we are responsible for providing the etheric-physical energy necessary for EVP or any other form of etheric to physical phenomena. In mental mediumship and in EVP, we are pretty sure that the etheric communicators must use the vocabulary and image library of the person enabling the communication. That is usually the experimenter and/or a person who has their attention on the experiment. I have a little training in mediumship and this is consistent with my experience. Essentially all EVP are in a language that the experimenter or interested party understands. It is common to hear an experimenter say, “that means …” to explain an obscure utterance in EVP. We think this is because the person understands the imagery and may have even sensed the translation of the image into voice. That is essentially how mediumship works. How it may be possible for an animal to communicate via EVP 88 Experiments have shown that it is possible to deliberately record the thoughts of sleeping people–even to solicit meaningful comments about what the experimenter is doing far in another part of the world. This is reasonable because while sleeping or in some way mentally disengaged from the physical,

we are pretty much the same as the etheric entities we communicate with via EVP. An animal is also an etheric entity embodied into the physical, and so, there is no reason to think that an animal could not also communicate ideas to us via EVP and using our language and image library. Experiments need to be conducted to determine if this makes sense. This is a video ITC image of a man–maybe in uniform–holding a dog as if for a portrait. The technique is to set up a camera so that it “sees” what it has just “seen” on the screen of a TV. The objective is to generate chaotic optical noise with the video loop. Order naturally emerges in the optical noise via stochastic resonance, but those otherwise haphazard patches of order are sometimes transfigured into recognizable features. The features are found later by examining individual video frames. We see quite a few animals in visual forms of these phenomena, often being presented as a favorite pet. We believe that the physical mechanism of stochastic resonance enhancing small telekinetic influences is the same for mental mediumship, and audio and visual forms of ITC. ATransC.org – Theory 89 As a side note, you will see scholarly dissertations about how EVP is just the telepathic manipulation of the electronic device by the experimenter and is therefore not evidence of survival. (Telepathy obviously being the lesser of two evils for these physical scientists when compared to survival.) As you can see

above, we agree that it is telekinetic manipulation by the experimenter but caused by the etheric communicator. The evidence of survival is in the message not in the mechanism. I hope that answers your question. Please remember that all I have said about the theory is hypothetical. Much more research is needed. It is All About Intentionality by Tom Butler First published in the Summer 2011 ATransC NewsJournal Other SORRAT Articles SORRAT History and Background (Book 3) The Fishharp (Book 3) Full I. Grattan-Guinness Article SORRAT Examples (Book 3) Its All About Intentionality (this article) FEG Blog: SORRAT - A Long Term PK Study In times past, the ability to function as a spiritual healer or physical medium was described as an ability to manage the subtle energy. Spiritualists have long known that this subtle energy can be accumulated and tends to remain for a while. Through the ATransC, we came to see that haunting events were more frequent in places that have had long-time human occupancy or in which strong emotions were expressed. Putting two and two together, we decided that the haunting events were more likely because there was more energy available to facilitate trans-etheric influences. We saw the same effect with developing EVP practitioners, and we now recommend that a person set aside a special place for meditation and transcommunication so that the energy can accumulate. Like mediums, some EVP practitioners are just naturally more effective than others. The ability to manage the intention seemed to be

the most obvious reason and recent research with Random Event Generators (REG) seems to confirm this. You are probably familiar with the Global Consciousness Project (see noosphere.princeton.edu). The study detected a decisive change in randomness of the output of an REG array just before the 9-11 attack on New York and the Pentagon. It has become routine for researchers to use REGs to detect the effects of meditation and other psi processes on ambient subtle energy. It is All About Intentionality 92 At the same time, researchers have been developing effective protocols for the study of energy healing. You will hear a lot more about this rapidly evolving field of study in future issues of this NewsJournal. The research often shows decisive changes in the well- being of organisms in response to the practitioner’s intention to heal. For our discussion, the study of energy healing is also the study of the effect of intentionality on subtle energy. Intentionality We now know that there is a field of, not energy but influence, existent throughout known reality which is responsive to the influence of intention. It is being referred to as the psi field in parapsychology because it appears to be the product (or the enabler) of life. When a person senses the thought of others, influences physical objects with thought or mentally tries to send healing to another person, he or she is what parapsychologists refer to as psi functioning. In practice, all of these psi abilities are the expression of

intention which is transmitted as a change in the psi field. Your intention to love or hate someone is immediately delivered to them wherever they are in the world as a change in this field which we all share. The influence of intentionality cannot be shielded against as one might shield from radio signals, and distance does not seem to be a factor in its influence. Clear visualization and focused intention appear to be the deciding factor. Focus of attention is really what Spiritualists teach in healing intention and in mediumship. In metaphysical terms, the process of creation is turning attention to an imagined result with the intention that it will be so. It is useful to think that the psi field provides the substance from which objects of reality are created, so the two things that you can control are the ability to clearly imagine your objective and how to focus your intention to make imagination real. Managing Intention ATransC.org – Theory 93 Most of us have pretty vivid imaginations which are difficult to control. Traditional meditation is all about learning to control that imagination. When someone tells us not to think of a pink elephant, for most of us, the very next thing we do is think of one. Most of what we are taught in the various forms of healing intention is the clear visualization of good health. Mental mediumship is all about learning to set aside our internal visualizing so that we can sense the impressions

coming from our etheric communicators. Intention is much the same, in that we might think we want something but there may be numerous unconscious reasons why we do not. This is a common complaint of healers. Some people will say they want to be healed, but they have also become comfortable with their ailment and the social support it might bring. If there is an underlying concern that the person might not be able to live independently, being healed might pose unexpected risk and the healing is rejected as a subconscious act by the sitter. It is easy to say that you forgive a transgression, but too common to harbor unconscious anger. Psi functioning is a product of all of our intentionality. If we only think we want something, we are not as likely to create it as we are if we want it with all of our personality. The article about the Fishharp (Book 3) provides one way to manage intention. It appears that, through history, people have learned to use devices and tricks to guide thoughts away from distractions. Just as one might train for the use of a memory aid, it is possible to train the mind to respond in a certain way when a particular path is followed, or a specific object is handled. Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives by Tom Butler, 2016 Further Reading: Formation of EVP (This book) Abstract Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) can occur in a number of different ways. Knowing

how the voices are formed, or at least where in the circuit, might help researchers design more effective devices and help avoid false positives. This article is intended to explore the various methodologies used in EVP experimentation. It is not intended to select one technology or methodology over another or to discourage research in what might appear to be a less productive approach. The main intent is to understand voice formation so as to avoid mistaking and reporting mundane signals as phenomenal. Introduction This article is intended to frame the discussion of where EVP are formed in the technology and how to detect and avoid false positive results. It is an attempt to deal with the subject in an analytical format without making unsubstantiated comments. Based on this and similar articles, best practices will be proposed under the Practices Tab of ATransC.org. (This book) Transform EVP The most common technique for EVP experimentation is the use of an audio recorder, and if necessary, a background sound source. Transform EVP are not an acoustical phenomenon, and so are not heard at the input of the electronic device. In some recorders, it is possible to listen to the signal as it is saved to memory; however, Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 96 there are problems with experimenter comprehension that usually makes this “real time” approach impractical. There is a substantial body of evidence based on well-designed research, and years of anecdotal reports, indicating that this form of EVP is the

result of a transformation, within an electronic device, of available audio-frequency energy into a simulation of human speech. (1) This research has produced a list of characteristics for EVP that can be considered a “litmus test” that provides a means of avoiding mundane sound being mistaken as phenomena. (2) (See: Characteristic test for EVP) The current working hypothesis for how the voice is actually formed maintains that a small signal “message” is amplified via the action of stochastic resonance on the audio signal caused by background noise. (3) Sources for a “Message” in Transform EVP ATransC.org – Theory 97 The EVP recording technique of using an audio recorder, and if necessary, supplying audio-frequency noise will be referred to here as the “basic recorder technique.” This technique is intended to produce transform EVP, but there are two other possible results. Figure 1 shows the intended mode, in which the EVP communicator somehow injects an utterance into the electronic device. The utterance exists in the output and the experimenter hears what is said. A second result that can be encountered is illustrated in Figure 2. The experimenter mistakes mundane sounds in the recording as being paranormal utterances. This is the common human response referred to as “pareidolia” (4) by the skeptical community. A third result is the accidental recording of unnoticed voices, for instance, someone speaking in the next room. When the recording is played back, the mundane voices are mistaken as EVP. This is illustrated in Figure 3. A fourth result

is more of a possible characteristic than a different result, but it is listed here because of the apparent origin of a new utterance. This is illustrated in Figure 4. An EVP is recorded in the usual manner and is stored in either digital or analog media. When it is played at a later time, the utterance thought to have been recorded is apparently replaced with another or transfigured to say something else. Reports of this were more common when analog and Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 98 magnetic tape was the storage media. It has also been reported that, once digitized, the EVP remains unchanged whether it is stored in magnetic media or transistor devices. Figure 4 is representative of a block diagram for any recording device, in that there is an analog input stage which has an output that is the input to a storage mechanism. If the recording is to be heard by human ears, recovery from the storage mechanism is via a second or “output” analog stage. EVP is thought to be formed in analog processes, as (I believe) stochastic resonance does not work in digitized signals. Also, the energy well for nonlinear digitized signals is considerably greater than for linear analog and should require considerably more energy to influence. (This is conjecture.) If the recording is transferred to a computer by connecting the earphone jack of the recorder to the line in jack of the computer, even if it was initially stored in

a digital format, it is converted into analog and passes through two analog stages before being digitized for storage in the computer. If the recording is transferred via an all- digital format, say with a USB cable, then it remains digital until it is converted to analog for playback. Thus, using a USB interface eliminates two analog stages, and therefore should offer less opportunity for etheric influence. ATransC.org – Theory 99 Close examination of “changed EVP” has shown that there is a likelihood that the utterance only seems to be changed. Class C and many Class B examples can seem to change when the experimenter leaves the recording for a time and then returns to it with a different perspective. Assuming that EVP does not occur in digital format, each playback will begin with the same sound file once it has been digitized. If the output seems to be different, then it must be different in the same way on each playback. If the recording is stored in magnetic media in an analog format, there is less certainty that the recording cannot be changed in the magnetic media. The problem of changed utterances is one that is not commonly reported, but such reports should be carefully documented as to the technical circumstances. Analysis of such reports may offer insights as to how EVP are formed. Transform EVP Summary Four possible results of using the basic recorder technique are that an EVP will be formed out of available noise (Figure 1),

the experimenter might mistake mundane sound as EVP (Figure 2), unnoticed conversations in the recording environment might be mistaken as EVP (Figure 3) and an existing recording might be changed in storage or on output (Figure 4). All of the transform EVP techniques we are aware of are based on voice formation out of available audio- frequency energy, within an electronic circuit. Variations of this theme only represent novel ways to condition the audio-frequency noise used for voice formation. Opportunistic EVP Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 100 ATransC.org – Theory 101 This category of EVP is relatively new and much less understood as compared to transform EVP. Opportunistic EVP devices usually have additional electronic stages which are different than what is found in the basic recorder technique using just an audio recorder and sound source. It therefore has additional ways in which an EVP might be formed. There are many variations on the theme represented by Radio-sweep technology, popularly known as “ghost boxes” or “spirit boxes” and EVPmaker. As is illustrated in Figure 5, radio-sweep involves rapidly scanning available Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio stations to create a single stream of sound fragments. The sound fragments are then used as an input to a recording device. In some applications, a speaker is also attached to the output of the sweep stage in an attempt to achieve real-time communication. Although it is possible to simply turn the tuner on a radio with a recorder microphone nearby, there are a number

of “boxes” designed by inventors, such as the MiniBox (5) and Frank’s Box. (6) From our observations, these are all variations of essentially the same theme with different mechanizing techniques. The software program, EVPmaker (7) developed by Stefan Bion, is also opportunistic in that a single stream of conversation is chopped Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 102 into small bits and then reassembled into a second stream of sound made by concatenating bits based on a random number process. Bion’s research has shown that message formation is caused by manipulation of the random number process. These techniques are called “Opportunistic EVP” because it appears that the EVP is formed by selecting available sound bits to form a word or sound that closely matches the intended utterance. This is different from changing sound to match the required output. Figure 6 illustrates what is being referred to as Mistaken, Opportunistic EVP. As in transform EVP, mistaken EVP in radio-sweep and EVPmaker result from the assigning of meaning where there is none intended. Because the resulting stream of sound bits does have voice, it is easy for the mind to assign meaning to word-like sounds, even though none was intended, or a second listener might hear something very different. The meaning is not caused by a communicating entity but is from the tendency of the mind to find meaning in otherwise random sounds. Figure 7 illustrates how the analog stage might be used to induce a transform EVP into a radio-sweep

or EVPmaker circuit. Transform EVP in this circuit will tend to be interrupted by the sound bits from the radio-sweep, causing an effect similar to an experimenter talking over an utterance in the basic recorder technique. EVPmaker is not as likely to produce a transform EVP because all of the processing is in the digital format and the output is usually the only analog stage. Opportunistic EVP Summary EVP may be formed in the sound stream resulting from the fragmentation of a mundane source, either pre-recorded conversation in EVPmaker or multiple radio stations in radio-sweep. The resulting sound stream might also be mistaken as EVP when there is none but transform EVP might be formed in the device. In concept, all of the opportunistic EVP devices depend on the sound frequency, amplitude and inflection to be present in the raw source at the time it is required for voice formation. ATransC.org – Theory 103 Selective reporting of EVP In transform EVP, the utterance typically occurs before the next question or comment. In some instances, convincing evidence has been reported suggesting that some utterances precede the question, as if anticipating it. (An alternative explanation to precognition is that the experimenter anticipates the question by mentally composing it before speaking, and that mental processing is detected and responded to.) It would be considered a Best Practice to never associate utterances occurring before the preceding question and after the following question with the question. For instance, as is illustrated in Figure 8, Answer

2 would normally not be associated with Question 1. Opportunistic EVP poses unique problems for question and answer associations, and the question of appropriate associations should be addressed in this article. For instance, asking a question and simply allowing the sweep to continue until a likely answer is heard does not seem to allow for the old question as to whether or not a typing monkey will eventually produce meaningful text. Techniques for Eliminating False Positives A “false positive” is the assignment of “EVP” status to mundane sounds. This would include imagined (Figure 2) and mistaken (Figure 3) results in transform EVP, and mistaken results (Figure 6) in opportunistic EVP. It would also include inappropriate association of questions and answers. The challenge is to find a way to Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 104 experimentally establish that both categories of EVP formation actually produce EVP. Next is the task of finding a way to distinguish true EVP from mistaken and imagined results. Transform EVP In transform EVP, the known sources of false positives are: • Radio-frequency contamination • Unnoticed voices or voice-like sounds in the environment • Recorder artifacts • Imagination of the listener Radio-Frequency Contamination RF contamination is usually pretty obvious because it produces unusually long messages that are often cut-off as incomplete expressions or which are nonsensical when the circumstances of the recording is considered. Digital wireless devices such as cell phones, wireless servers, most wireless land-line phones and baby monitors using security codes will not

produce an intelligible signal in RF contamination. Frequency Modulation (FM) radio will not produce intelligible contamination, as with broadcast television. The only realistic source for such contamination is AM radio. Research has shown that EVP can be recorded even when the recorder is shielded from RF contamination, so it has been empirically shown that transform EVP are not caused in that manner. (8) (9) Nevertheless, RF contamination is a possible cause of mistaken results, and this source of false positives must be accounted for. The most effective way to avoid any of the false positives in EVP is described in the Best Practice: Characteristic Test for EVP. (2) (This book) In that practice, common characteristics of EVP which have been anecdotally identified via long-time experience within the community and empirically via controlled experiments are used as a norm for EVP. If an utterance falls outside of that norm, then it is considered suspect. It is always recommended that practitioners set aside suspect EVP until more evidence is available. ATransC.org – Theory 105 Unnoticed Voices or Voice-Like Sounds in the Environment This is a bigger problem than might be expected. It is common for a practitioner to make a recording in the field and not review the results until after returning home. For most people, memory is not sufficient for knowing whether or not voices in recordings were from physical people speaking elsewhere in the environment. The recommended solution for this is the use of a second recording device as a

“control.” (10) Two important characteristic of EVP are that the exact same utterances is never recorded in more than one recording circuit at the same instant, and that higher quality recorders are less likely to record an EVP. As such, a simple solution is to require that field recording be done in tandem with a second, higher quality recorder such as is found in a video camera. This is a Best Practice titled: Using a Control Recorder for EVP. (This book) Recorder Artifacts and Imagined EVP The less expensive digital voice recorders are thought to be so successful in EVP experimentation because of the noise generated within the recorder, presumably in the analog input stage. It is often unnecessary to supply background noise. At least with the earlier models, they were also subject to bursts of noise that are reminiscent of an angry man yelling a message. Further analysis has shown that the bursts of noise are simply artifacts, but that the communicating entity sometimes uses the sound to form voice. Since the sound naturally has an angry sound, the resulting EVP sounded angry. Other artifacts include induced noise from nearby electrical devices. The induced noise has a frequency of equal to power-line frequency, two times line frequency or a harmonic of line frequency, and it can be modulated to sound like voice by moving the recorder in relationship to the source. Protection from false positives of this kind is the characteristic test (2) and a listening panel. The intention

of a listening panel is that people experienced in hearing EVP should be able to agree with what the utterance is thought to say without prompting. The EVP online listening trials report (Book 2) details the results of double-blind Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 106 listening trials. In the trials, 25.2% of the words were correctly identified by website visitors. The examples are considered Class A that should be correctly heard 100% of the time by an experienced listener. In fact, a not exactly the same experiment was conducted for the same examples using more experienced ATransC members with estimated average correct word recognition of 74%. Mistaken Results in Opportunistic EVP When radio-sweep is configured with a direct connection to a recorder or recorder program, both radio-sweep and EVPmaker are closed to ambient voice, and therefore, unnoticed voices in the environment are not a consideration. However, understanding random sequences of audio bits as EVP is a problem, the extent of which is unknown. I am not aware of any empirical studies that have been conducted to establish a standard for accepting results. In what has been “normal” experimentation by individual researchers, the question of how to avoid false positives has not been an issue except in the case of radio-sweep. This has been true because most researchers have gained a reasonable level of experience and have developed an “ear” for understanding the utterances. Today, we are seeing more and more people begin their experience with EVP by using

the radio-sweep devices or EVPmaker software. The resulting lack of experience is producing false positives that are too often being accepted as genuine EVP. On behalf of the ATransC, we recommend that all people new to trans-etheric communication learn to record for EVP using the basic recorder technique. Then, after learning how to record EVP and how to recognize false positives in that way, we encourage people to try other methods. The field has progressed, but it may be true that the basic recorder technique is not ultimately as productive as other techniques, so it is important that people try approaches such as radio-sweep. Beyond the desire that people should not believe something that is not true, we are concerned with the damage to the entire field of study that can be caused by a large population of people claiming EVP that are seen as false positives. ATransC.org – Theory 107 Testing to Identify False Positives Currently the content of the message is the primary test for determining a false positive, but even that seems to require modification to accommodate the kind of results being reported with opportunistic EVP. For instance, it is common for the practitioner’s name to be spoken in the results while this is much less the case with transform EVP. The messages are potentially endless while an important characteristic of transform EVP is that they are relatively short. It is also difficult to distinguish which possible utterance is associated with which question put by the practitioner

while transform EVP is pretty clearly a question and answer response as in normal communication. While these differences pose a problem for avoiding false positives, they may also tell us something about how EVP are formed. For instance, if the experimenter’s name is being called out more often in opportunistic EVP, why is there a difference? A potentially inflammatory question that needs to be addressed is why there is so much more social tension associated with opportunistic EVP than is associated with transform EVP. For some experimenters who report extraordinarily long messages, the communication has turned to predictions of doom that have not been fulfilled. EVP is as much about the person as it is about the technology, so these questions do need to be asked and answered in a candid, but analytical way. References 1. Gullà, Daniele. “Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification.” Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research. Bologna, Italy, atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis/ (Book 2) 2. Butler, Tom, Characteristic Test for EVP, ATransC, atransc.org/characteristic-test-for-evp/ (This book) Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives 108 3. Butler, Tom. “Formation of EVP,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/evp-formation/ (This book) 4. Pareidolia, Wordspy, wordspy.com/index.php?word=pareidolia 5. Paranormal Systems, (Website missing as of 9-23-2016) 6. Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, “Frank’s Box,” Paranormal Insider, Paranormal Systems, (Website missing as of 9-23-2016) 7. Bion, Stephan, “EVPmaker,” evpmaker.software.informer.com/ 8. Weisensale, Bill, “Eliminating Radio Frequency Contamination for EVP,” ATransC, atransc.org/eliminating-rf-contamination/ (Book 5) 9. MacRae, Alexander. “Report of an Anomalous Speech Products Experiment inside a Double

Screened Room.” Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 2009. Society for Psychical Research. sgha.net/library/MacRaeAnomalousSpeech.pdf 10. Best Practices, “Control recorder for EVP”, ATransC Collective, atransc.org/using-a-control-recorder-for-evp/ (This book) On the Thoughts of Dust by Douglas M. Stokes (Previously published in the Society for Psychical Research April 2009 Paranormal Review) In these pages (Stokes, 2004) and elsewhere, I have argued for the existence of multiple selves (conceived as spheres of pure consciousness) within each human being. Such a modular view of the human mind is frequently adopted by modern neuroscientists to address such phenomena such as behavioral conflict between the hemispheres of split-brain patients and “blindsight,” in which a cortically blind patient evidences knowledge of visual targets that she does not consciously perceive. Descartes’ Error When Descartes famously said, “I think, therefore I am,” I do not believe his error lies in the second clause (the affirmation of the existence of a continuing and unified self), as such writers as Dennett (1991) and Churchland (2002) would have us believe. The experience of oneself as a continuing field of consciousness is for me immediately given. If I cannot even know that I am a field of consciousness that continues from moment to moment, then I cannot know anything. To second Descartes’ conclusion, the knowledge of oneself’s existence, at least from moment to moment, cannot be doubted. For me, Descartes’ error lies not in his conclusion, but rather in his premise. As a continuing field of consciousness, I do not think; rather, my hapless

brain does the bulk of my thinking for me. As has been made abundantly clear by modern research in cognitive neuroscience, my thoughts, my feelings, and the other elements that make up my personality are dependent on brain activity, and if that activity is radically altered or discontinued, they will not persist in any recognizable manner. However, my true self, construed as a field of pure consciousness, might persist, either trapped in a vegetative brain or on to new adventures. On the Thoughts of Dust 110 To me the evidence of a continuing self is not that it thinks, which it cannot do without massive assistance from a brain, but that it has feelings and experiences (termed “quales” by the philosophers). Thus, a rectified version of Descartes’ statement might be: “I’m nauseous, therefore I am.” Mini-Shins I have termed the multiple spheres of consciousness within each person “mini-Shins,” which is an adaptation of the term “Shin,” coined by Thouless and Wiesner (1948) to refer to the conscious self in a way that avoids the theoretical and religious baggage that accompanies the use of the word “soul.” Each such self, if receiving input from widespread areas of the brain, might fall under the delusion that it is the sole center of consciousness in the person. The informational span of even the executive sphere of consciousness may be quite unimpressive. The psychologist George Miller famously proclaimed that the human mind was able to hold only 7 + 2 items in consciousness at

one time (and I question the plus sign for me and my fellow sexagenarians). Whatever else you might say about fields of consciousness, they generally seem to be stunningly stupid all by themselves. For instance, due to attentional blindness, subjects even fail to notice a gorilla walking among a group of players passing a basketball back and forth (Simons & Chabris, 1999). Thus, mini-Shins may not have a very impressive informational-processing capacity (unlike the brain). The Evolution of Consciousness Advocates of the anthropic principle maintain that the laws of physics and the initial conditions of the universe appear to be delicately designed to allow the evolution of conscious observers. The prominent physicist and mathematician John Wheeler (1983) suggested that under quantum theory, the universe could not exist unless it contained a conscious observer to collapse its state vector ATransC.org – Theory 111 and thus grant reality to it. Similarly, Walker (2000) argued for the existence of disembodied “proto-consciousnesses” scattered throughout the universe, whose job it is to surf the vast void, to render reality from the vast fog of uncollapsed possibilities. However, the universe itself appears relatively indifferent to at least human consciousness, which has only existed for a measly half a million years, compared to the 13.7 billion years of the universe’s existence (which itself is an amazingly short time when one stops to consider that the Earth itself is 4.6-billion-year-old). The vast reaches of space appear to be filled primarily with eerily beautiful lifeless voids sprinkled here and

there with dust, clouds, and seemingly uninhabited, lifeless rocks. Given our perhaps carbon- based prejudices, most of the universe appears to be indifferent to, if not outright hostile to, the presence of conscious observers. If, as the advocates of the anthropic principle maintain, the laws of the universe appear to be designed to support conscious observers, it does not seem to be a very “cost-effective” design (the recent discoveries of a large number of extrasolar planets not withstanding). Thus, some (e.g., Hill, 2005) have argued that if the universe is designed to produce any observers at all, it appears that most such observers would be inhabitants of lifeless rocks and clouds of plasma, rather than snuggled warmly in the neocortex of a primate brain. As noted above, Walker (2000) suggested that the universe is suffused with proto-consciousnesses, which though observation cause quantum potentiality to become reality, even in regions remote from carbon-based life-forms. If so, these proto-consciousnesses or mini- Shins can apparently be imprisoned in brains, at least for brief periods of time. However, if they are like most other things in the universe, from antiprotons to Z particles, it is likely that they are capable of being reshuffled and recycled from physical system to physical system, in a process that might be described as a form of memory-less and more or less continual reincarnation. One answer to the proponents of the anthropic principle is that there may be multiple “bubble universes” evidencing different sets of physical laws and initial

conditions. Alternatively, the universe may On the Thoughts of Dust 112 undergo cycles of Big Bangs followed by Big Crunches. In each cycle the universe may emerge phoenix-like from its ashes, perhaps with its laws and initial conditions reinitialized. Penrose (2008) has proposed that, in fact, the universe may have undergone an infinity of such cycles in the past. In either case, the reason why we find ourselves in a universe that supports the existence of conscious thinkers (vs. conscious observers) is that there would be no complex thoughts if the universe were a lifeless void. To paraphrase Descartes once again, “I think, therefore I must somehow be glued to a complex brain.” At least for the moment. The Hierarchy of Consciousness This view leads naturally to panpsychism, the view that consciousness pervades the universe. Many of the most prominent practitioners of human thought, including Leibniz, Spinoza, and Alfred North Whitehead have proposed that consciousness pervades all things and that, at root, the universe consists of a plenitude of spheres of pure consciousness, or “monads” in Leibniz’ terminology. In the early stages of my intellectual career, I scoffed at the notion that a rock might be consciousness. How silly my naive rejection appears in retrospect. It is a shame that the cosmos of Leibniz, Spinoza, and Whitehead has to be “discovered” anew by each generation, due to the fact this point of view is drowned in a seemingly ubiquitous sea of irrationalism on the part of all sides in the

debate over religion. One advantage of this view is that it does not need to explain how consciousness arose from insentient matter, which is perhaps the most vexing, fundamental and seemingly unsolvable problem confronting modern science and philosophy. Consciousness was here from the start. It is angels all the way down. Our bodies are composed of a vast number of cells and bacteria, with only a fraction of them from our own species. In fact, our bodies seem more akin to a ferocious battleground for microorganisms, which are replaced from minute to minute, than to a unified entity. If one is to grant consciousness to animals “all the way down,” could not our white blood cells possess a (possibly dim) conscious capable ATransC.org – Theory 113 of recognizing their foes and engulfing them? Might plants be conscious? While they seem less complex than us, rice plants contain upwards of 50,000 genes, compared to a measly 20,000 to 25,000 for a human being. Thus, appearances may be deceiving. Is it inconceivable that plants possess a glimmer of consciousness, perhaps operating on a much slower time frame than we do? If one watches plants in a speeded-up movie, their behavior seems almost animal-like as they open and close their petals and stretch to capture the maximum sunlight. Do plants experience thirst when deprived of water (to say nothing of the Venus flytrap, which might be expected to experience pleasure as it emits a contented burp)? It is true that plants have no

nervous systems; however, might we not be biased toward neurons because of our present unfortunate location? McGinn (1999) for instance begins his book The Mysterious Flame with a short story in which future silicon-based artificial intelligences stumble across the Earth and are astounded to find lumps of meat that can think (our brains). Our brains are essentially comprised of colonies of single-celled animals (our neurons). What if these animals could move? Might their collective then be considered an even more complex brain? Hölldobler and Wilson (2008) propose that communities of insects comprise “superorganisms” and that evolutionary selection acts on the colony as a unit, rather than on the on the individual insects. Can the whole of humanity be considered as a single super- brain? If so, are there (perhaps somewhat oxymoronic) mega-mini- Shins associated with the global sphere of consciousness? Goldberg (2009) has even suggested that in the future the Internet may develop into an “advanced intrinsic consciousness” (p. 54). And what of the famous thermostat? Can it be said to be aware of the rise of heat? Might rocks as they weather and absorb radiation experience consciousness on an extremely slow time span? As I work in my current job, I sometime catch glimpses of the patterns on my Windows media player that resemble the light show at the end of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. I sometimes think that the consciousness of a rock might be something like that (as well as how On the Thoughts of Dust

114 much more peaceful it would be to be such a rock rather than to return to the Microsoft Word window at which I am toiling). In view of the complexity of the quantum mechanical wave governing the behavior of individual physical particles, it might not be too big of a stretch to hypothesize that a single proton might possess consciousness. Edwards (2006) has argued that single neurons may be centers of consciousness, again based on complexity of input. Each of these centers of consciousness would fall under the illusion that it is the sole center of consciousness in the body. Attributing consciousness to elementary particles would seem to ignore the usual roles attributed to consciousness by cognitive neuroscientists, which include attention and the binding of diverse neural activity into the unified perception of an object (as well as other functions, such as learning novel tasks and decision-making). In his recent review of studies relating to attention, Yantis (2008) notes that process of directing attention remains unexplained by current findings in neuroscience. Munz (2008) notes that the “binding problem” also remains unexplained, and he even attributes such “binding” to an entity outside of the brain, namely human culture. It does seem as though the center of consciousness that is the “master of the brain” is somehow able to direct such behavior as the writing of this article. However, perhaps that center is just “lucky” enough to be in the right place and the right time to direct the writing of

this article. (It might, for instance, be conceived as affixed to Broca’s area in the left hemisphere, as it does seem to choose the words I will use. Other mini-Shins might for instance have the jobs of moving one’s limbs. Sometimes when I think about it, I am amazed that that my arm actually obeys my directions and executes an intricate sequence of movements without any “micro-management” on my part.) The Universe and All That The physicist James Jeans (1937) famously noted that the universe resembles “a great thought” more than it does a “great machine,” given that quantum mechanics has undermined the mechanistic ATransC.org – Theory 115 worldview of classical physics, which is grounded in the now discredited doctrine of local realism. Indeed, some have asked, if the universe is a great thought, why does it go through the trouble of actually existing? As Leibniz asked, why is there something rather than nothing? Also, if the universe is a thought, why does the thought appear to be of the consequences of an elaborate set of mathematical laws? As Jeans noted, God appears to be a pure mathematician. Similarly, the Nobel laureate physicist Eugene Wigner asked, what explains the “unreasonable effectiveness” of mathematics in describing the physical universe? Goldberg (2009) compares the universe to a great equation. He views the universe as self-created, as mathematical truths are fundamental and exist outside of space and time. However, if the universe is a great thought, why is it not more dream-like, with

Alice and Wonderland capriciousness? The vastness and law-like nature of the universe explains why the idealist philosophical viewpoint that the world is mental in nature has lost ground to the view that the material world is the only reality, which ultimately led to the view that mind itself is impotent and has little or no standing in the physical universe. However, even the very dust from which we were born and into which we will die may well still carry still the stuff of mind. References Churchland, P. S. (2002). Brain-wise: Studies in neurophilosophy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Dennett, D. C. (1991). Consciousness explained. Boston: Little, Brown. Edwards, J. C. W. (2006). How many people are in my head? And in hers? Exeter, UK: Imprint Academic. Goldberg, S. (2009). Anatomy of the soul: Mind, God and the afterlife. Miami, FL: Medmaster, Inc. Hill, T. (2005). [Letter to the Editor.] Skeptical Inquirer, 29(1), 61. On the Thoughts of Dust 116 Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E. O. (2008). The superorganism: The beauty, elegance and strangeness of insect societies. New York: Norton. Jeans, J. (1937). The mysterious universe. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. McGinn, C. (1999). The mysterious flame. New York: Basic Books. Munz, P. (2008). Why homo sapiens had to be saved by culture. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 15(12),57-73. Penrose, R. (2008). Causality, quantum theory and cosmology. In Connes, A., Heller, M., Majid, S., Penrose, R., Polkinghorne, J. & Taylor, A., On space and time (pp.141-195). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Simons,

D. J. & Chabris, C. F. (1999). Gorillas in our midst: Sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events. Perception, 28, 1059- 1074. Stokes, D. M. (2004). The survival problem: Up close and personal. Paranormal Review, 3 (April 2004), 3-9 Thouless, R. H., & Wiesner, B. P. (1948). The psi process in normal and “paranormal” psychology. Journal of Parapsychology, 12, 192– 212. Walker, E. H. (2000). The physics of consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. Wheeler, J. A. (1983). Law without law. In J. A. Wheeler & W. H. Zurek (Eds.), Quantum theory and measurement (pp. 182-213). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Yantis, S. (2008). The neural basis of selective attention” Cortical sources and targets of attentional modulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 86-90. Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena 09/ 2016 by Lisa Butler (As published in the Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal.) Many of our members have talked and written to us about a noise that is often heard right before an EVP message. It appears before some of our own EVP. It is a loud, or not so loud, click, pop, boom or crackling sound. Some have described it as similar to the sound of someone keying a microphone. One noted researcher likened the noise to a micro sonic boom. When we are listening back to an EVP recording and hear this sound, we listen more intently to what comes next. If you are one of the many people who have experienced this noise you know what I am talking about.

Not all EVP messages are preceded by this precursor, “popping” sound. For us it is an occasional occurrence. But when we hear it, we are not unlike Pavlov’s dogs, ears perk up waiting for that reward. The click, if there, means a reward of an EVP. It, for us, usually signals a better than average EVP as far as loudness, quality and clarity is concerned. Geoff Viney in his book Surviving Death, Evidence of the Afterlife discusses this mysterious sound in relation to other types of phenomena. [Please note that Viney reported that Peter Thorneycrof did the work in the RAF museum (below). We have subsequently learned that the work was conducted by his nephew, Ivan Spenceley.] • • In 1986 the downstairs rooms, in a farmhouse in England, were infiltrated with the voices of those who appeared to be former residents. The voices were heard over several nights. The voices began and ended with a distinct “click” as if a radio had been turned on and off. Investigators looked for a receiver or a transmitter, but none was found. Natural explanations for the phenomena were ruled out. In 1973 the owner of a converted lighthouse in Maryland repeatedly had his sleep interrupted by the racket of doors banging, furniture moving and footsteps. A “clicking” sound preceded these manifestations. Upon further investigation Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena 118 nothing in the area that the noises came from appeared out of place. The building’s owner decided to try and record what

he was hearing and left a tape recorder running. The tape contained voices and extraneous noises. Some of these voices talked about the treatment of injuries. A local librarian helped research the home and to everyone’s amazement found that the building was used as a field hospital during the Civil War. • The anomalous events centering on a World War II Lincoln bomber at the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum were researched in 1990 by the British investigator Ivan Spenceley. The strange sounds of scratches, squeaks, girl’s voices, bumps and human sighs had been reported in the vicinity of the bomber. The staff had seen phantom air crews and dramatic drops in temperature were reported. Other phenomena included the movement of switches and the rotation of the wheels of the aircraft. Thorneycroft saw moving points of bright light and also heard and recorded many anomalous sounds within the aircraft. These sounds, which were most often mechanical movement type noises, were analyzed and it was found that they always began with a discernable blip on the tape similar to that produced by a sudden burst of static. The clicking noise associated with EVP messages has been the center of considerable conversation for quite some time. Perhaps this sound is caused by a dimensional breakthrough and is an artifact of spirit world energy entering the physical world. The above stories might point to this type of answer. Paolo Presi on page 3 of this newsletter reports on Carlo Trajna’s “Psychotemporal Model” in which

“Psychic Time” flows differently from “Physical Time.” Is this anomalous sound before EVP messages caused from a shift in time as the two aspects of reality link up? Alexander MacRae used an oscilloscope in analyzing a well-known recording from the Palace Hotel. When viewing this recording Alec noticed that the level of background noise (whistles, hums and buzzing which were side effects of the equipment) on the oscilloscope almost went to zero. Three or four seconds after the ATransC.org – Theory 119 background noise disappeared, a woman’s voice was heard to say “Now.” Two seconds later, a male voice was recorded with a personal message for his sister who was in the audience. Another few seconds passed and a female voice said, “Finish,” and then the background noise once again returned to normal on the oscilloscope. Perhaps the precursor noise we hear on our recordings is similar to the word “Now” heard on Alexander’s recording. It may simply be a signal or a cue for us to listen closely to what comes next. Is this noise similar to our telephone ringing letting us know that someone is calling? Alexander’s recording may point to another possible fact, and that is that the entities need and gather all available noise and energy to get their message through to us. Do those on the other side have equipment that they use to try and contact us? Are researchers, indeed, hearing the keying of something like a microphone? And are those on the other

side doing this? Several researchers in the past and present say that they have been in contact with groups on the other side that state that they have developed apparatus for communication with researchers on this side and that this development continues. Seeing Both Sides: The arrow of creation is at the center of the dispute concerning the validity of EVP by Tom Butler, (cc)2001 There is a common thread that runs throughout any discussion of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). It is the general acceptance amongst EVP experimenters that we are communicating with other people. Not dead people, really, just people who are no longer in this world. It permeates our thoughts even though we know there are those who do not agree and even though no one has been able to offer a comprehensive explanation for the presence of these communicating entities. The belief is just there, inescapable and undeniable: we are talking to people whom others call dead. For the people who study EVP, this idea that we survive physical death is not a matter of religious belief. The evidence seems clear and undeniable. Yes, it is true that this belief is shared by most religions of the world. But there is much to be said for the sort of physical evidence provided by EVP, as opposed to revealed knowledge. There is no need to have faith in something that is so well documented with evidence. Others do not agree with the conclusions we draw from EVP. People

who have been trained in the physical sciences generally discount the possibility that we survive physical death. Or, if they do not outright discount survival, they relegate it to that which is religious and make no attempt to mingle these articles of faith with facts of science. How can this be? How can intelligent, earnest people who are clearly observing the same reality, find so little common ground. I believe the foundation of this difference in worldview can be found in the assumption of where creation has taken place. Here, by creation, I intend to say the formation and evolution of self-aware entities. The nature of the other objects in our reality must wait for a later discussion. Seeing Both Sides 122 In the physical sciences, our self-awareness can be reliably traced back to the origins of the first living cells in that fabled primordial soup of creation here on earth. Based on this model, it is assumed that similar primordial soups must have existed in other parts of the universe, leaving room in this model for the existence of other life forms. Perhaps our universe is teaming with life. Now here, I will enlist the study of metaphysics to champion the side of survival, for scholars of this field also seek to embrace the question of survival from a scientific viewpoint. In metaphysics, the origin of physical life is, indeed, thought to have originated in that fabled soup. However, also in metaphysics, physical life and self- awareness have very

different paths of evolution. Self is thought to have originated outside of physical reality. So here, I am introducing the concept that there is a greater reality, of which, our physical universe is but an aspect. Because this greater reality is not physical, I will simply refer to it as nonphysical reality. While the existence of nonphysical reality cannot be declared a given, it can be stipulated that there is such a thing for this discussion. Just for the sake of discussion. There is no use discussing how Self came to be. Perhaps there was a primordial soup of energy that first gained self-awareness. Regretfully, the how of Self’s creation is beyond the scope of this discussion. I will say, though, that this is not about an anthropomorphic god of creation. The point here is that, in metaphysics, there is a dual aspect in the nature of people. We are human beings and we have evolved from simple organisms here on earth. Also, we are Self and, as Self, we have evolved in an environment that is outside of physical reality. So, allow me to describe the question of origin as a question of creation and the path of evolution as the arrow of creation. The question then, is which way does the arrow of creation really point? In physical science, there is no foundation for a nonphysical aspect of reality. The arrow of creation must point from that primordial soup to present day. Anyone properly trained in the ATransC.org

– Theory 123 physical sciences has no choice but to hold that this is true if they are to remain faithful to their education. In metaphysics, as it is amongst most EVP researchers, and yes, in theology, speculation in the existence of a greater reality allows us to embrace all of physical science and to expand that understanding with the concepts defining nonphysical reality. For Self, the arrow of creation can point both ways, but it must first point from some etheric origin toward present day. No other consideration can explain the phenomena we experience. There is a second trajectory of this metaphysical arrow of creation that must be described. Somehow, someway, the physical aspect of reality must also have been created. The arrow of creation points toward the creation of that physical world primordial soup, as well. And so, this is the point of my comments. The observed and demonstrable phenomena cannot be explained unless the arrow of creation for the Self is considered to point from the nonphysical to the physical aspects of reality. Once the existence of a nonphysical aspect of reality is accepted, then the majority of what is generally called “paranormal” phenomena can be explained as the natural processes of nature. Allow me to offer a for instance. It has been clearly demonstrated that it is possible to stimulate the brain in such a way as to cause the person to remember something or to sense mental images. In physical science, the conclusion is that,

since it is possible to find a place in the brain that is involved with that function, then that function must originate in that part of the brain. Therefore, for instance, memory is a function of the brain. By extension, Self is a function of the brain. The arrow points to the evolution of Self as a byproduct of the evolution of the body. However, if the existence of a nonphysical aspect of reality is allowed, then it can as easily be argued that, by so stimulating a region of the brain, the researchers are stimulating the portion of the human body that facilitates the Self’s existence in the physical. In other words, in metaphysics, the Principle of Agreement holds that an object of reality must be energetically in agreement with the Seeing Both Sides 124 aspect of reality it will inhabit. In practical application, we express this as Self residing in a physical body. It is our physical body that enables us to be energetically in agreement with the physical aspect of reality. For a particular ability of Self to be expressed in the physical, the body must be able to support that ability. If for some reason the body is damaged, say it is blind, then that ability cannot be expressed. In this case, the Self would not be able to see in the physical. The body probably has evolved from that single cell, but it is a physical thing that functions as a host for Self. Yes,

it is a form of life with an attendant energetic body, but the body is believed to lack Self-awareness. It is generally thought to be dependent on Self for volition beyond simple requirements of survival such as eating or reproduction. In another example, recent research in parapsychology has established that we are able to telekinetically influence physical objects. This in itself is a substantial breakthrough in support of the possibility of a nonphysical aspect of reality. Since telekinesis has gained some credibility amongst physical scientists, it has come to be something of a catchall to explain other, less acceptable phenomena such as survival of the Self. In EVP, telekinesis is often cited as an explanation for the origin of EVP. “Humans are telekinetically putting the voices on tape.” In fact, telekinesis may be a good explanation for the processes involved in EVP, since by definition, it means to mentally influence objects. The Self is nonphysical. Self residing in a physical body and Self that is free of a body while the body is sleeping or because of physical death, should be qualitatively the same. However, since the communicating entity is generally thought to be free of a physical body, it must have the assistance of a Self still residing in a physical body to satisfy the Principle of Agreement. In more common terms, the EVP experimenter is believed to function as a medium through which the communicating entity is able to impress its messages. Of course, the mediumship aspect of

EVP is not accepted by all EVP researcher, let alone physical scientists. However, this should serve as an example of how simply changing the direction of the ATransC.org – Theory 125 arrow of creation can change the interpretation of an observation. The possible presence of telekinesis in EVP does not mean that the experimenter is the communicating entity. It means that the EVP may be impressed into the recording medium via telekinesis. The source of the telekinetic ability may be the EVP researcher, but the source of the message and all of its characteristics could very well be a nonphysical entity. The observation that telekinesis is involved would be the same in either case. If you consider that our universe is but an aspect of a greater reality, and if you consider the complexity we are aware of in this universe, then simple extrapolation demands that the larger reality be vastly more complex. But the existence of a greater reality and some hypotheses concerning its nature must first be stipulated to before such an extrapolation can be made. Who amongst us is qualified to make such an extrapolation? Few of us who are trained in the physical sciences are also trained in metaphysical thought. While it is the nature of EVP to attract researchers who are technically inclined, few EVP researchers are well versed in both fields. Evidence of this is frequently placed before us by physical scientists who propose super conscious or holographic principles to explain all of the

various characteristics of EVP that is reported by experimenters. At the same time, we see EVP researchers who have substantial background in metaphysics, propose the survival hypotheses as the explanation for all of the reported phenomena. In fact, all of these explanations may correctly explain some of the observed phenomena, but as stated, they are not acceptable to the other school of thought because they do not answer all of the questions. Not being one to sight a problem without proposing a solution, it is clear to me that cooperation amongst physical scientists and metaphysicians is in order. Of the many forms of EVP, some may very well be evidence of the holographic nature of the universe. At the same time, other EVP are probably evidence of the survival of Self after physical death. Both schools are right within the appropriate context. However, we may never come to understand this if qualified Seeing Both Sides 126 EVP researchers do not work with people who are qualified to speak of physical principles. Neither can do this alone. But here is the good news. Some open-minded scientists are beginning to seriously evaluate EVP because they can see that there is something going on that is extraordinary. Physical scientists are trained to follow the evidence. They recognize that phenomena represented by EVP and mediumship cannot be explained with known physical principles. Rather than shrinking away from such controversial subjects, they are seizing the opportunity to study these phenomena. For instance, there are members

of the Association TransCommunication (ATransC) who have the necessary scientific background to address the issues and who are fast becoming serious EVP researchers. Other EVP experimenters are learning to describe their work in terms that are acceptable to the scientific community. We have found that members, as in EVP associations around the world, have a true pioneer spirit when it comes to trying new ideas and techniques. As a community, EVP experimenters represent a collective laboratory ready and able to support scientific investigation. This illustrates an important point. Many of the scientists whom we seek to certify these phenomena are already interested and are participating in EVP related associations around the world. It is for the rest of us to order our thoughts and to clearly describe our experiments. Not all EVP experimenters are EVP researchers, but all EVP experimenters are potential contributors to EVP research. We know so much and we have so much evidence, now we must bring that to the researchers in a form that is rationally presented and well documented. Many of you are probably aware of the work being conducted at the Human Energy Systems Laboratory in the University of Arizona, at Tucson [moved??]. This is research concerning the validity of mediumship. A team of mediums has been reliably graded at between eighty and ninety percent accuracy in the messages they are able to deliver via mediumship. Since EVP and mediumship seem to ATransC.org – Theory 127 be closely related phenomena, this research tends to

validate the concepts involved in EVP as well. This research also offers a formidable method to verify the Survival Hypothesis. Interestingly, the existence of a nonphysical aspect of reality is beginning to be well established through research by scientists who are not even aware of EVP, but who have learned to look in the direction of a possible nonphysical cause for phenomena. For instance, one of the more exciting bits of news to make the rounds in the Association is a report from the Boundary Institute (hrvg.org/newsletter/2001-06/radin.html) that they detected a change in the output of an array of random number generators that seemed to predict the attack on the World Trade Center September 11, 2001. Could this be evidence of consciousness influencing physical processes? In another study, a group of doctors at the University of Southampton have published a groundbreaking report that claims for the first time, that there is scientific evidence of life after death. Dr. Sam Parnia, who led the study, believes the mind might be independent of the brain. He said: “The brain is definitely needed to manifest the mind, a bit like how a television set can take what essentially are waves in the air and translate them into picture and sound.” Such conclusions would not have been seriously voiced a few years ago. I will close with an explanation of why I think it is so important that the scientific community validates the Survival Hypothesis. First, it is not to provide validation for people

who already accept personal survival. While validation would be nice, these people already have proof. We have the philosophy in ATransC that we are teaching the world to experiment with EVP one person at a time. We believe that Humankind is on the verge of a major shift in worldview. This shift is toward the understanding that the physical and the nonphysical aspects of reality are part of a greater whole. In this worldview, will be the understanding that we survive physical death, and therefore, we must have a new value for life and sense of the importance of Seeing Both Sides 128 personal growth. Humankind is composed of people and people respect the opinion of scientists. Should scientists begin to speak of the Survival Hypothesis as a reasonable theory, people will be more inclined to accept this view. Humankind’s change in worldview will more quickly evolve to embrace these concepts. I believe that is the true benefit in scientific approval. That, and the portable EVP phone booth some engineer will build for us once our scientists have provided the necessary supporting theory. So, I say to you in the scientific community that there is a large EVP community that is waiting and able to help you. EVP is a most powerful tool that can provide a window into the nonphysical aspect of reality. It is here now, it is well understood, it is repeatable and anyone can do it. You should also know that it is very inexpensive. Why

not set up a series of survival experiments in which mediumship and EVP are used as cross-correspondence tools for data verification? Why not give it a try to help catatonic patients or for grief management? Why not use it as a possible link into the thoughts of sleeping people for dream research? What if you could record an EVP message that would identify the physical location of something that is lost? Would that interest you? We cannot guarantee that EVP will work in all of these ways, but we can assure you that the communicating entities of EVP are also interested in helping you. EVP is a most powerful tool. Undocumented Characteristics of Trans- etheric Phenomena by Tom Butler, 2016 Scope Many of the articles on this website address the who, what, how and why of trans-etheric influences, including EVP and ITC, but they are mostly concerned with well-documented characteristics. For instance, see Characteristic Test for EVP. (This book) This article includes questions, observations and ideas about how phenomena are formed that are not commonly considered. It will be expanded as new characteristics suggest themselves. It is for the community to help decide if they deserve to be considered “common.” EVP formation as frequency selection or amplitude selection. Most transform EVP are thought to be formed by transforming available audio-frequency energy into voice. However, in some cases, the waveform representing ambient sound may be used to form the voice. If this is true, then the resulting display might be more

like a “talking guitar” than to human voice pattern. In this example recorded within Hoover Damn, the concrete room echoes the tourist’s excited voices. For comparison, Lisa’s voice can be heard at the end of the recording. The formants in her voice are clearly shown in the spectrograph view. The waveform view clearly represents the sound level of the crowd. Between 2 and 4.2 seconds, there is a whining voice that says something like “I’m down here” or “I’m Von Breal.” The “I’m” extends between 2 and 3.1 seconds. All of the utterance is above 1300Hz. In truth, I have no idea what it says, which should cause concern that it may not be phenomenal. It is presented here as a possible exception to the rule of transform EVP being formed by opportunistically using available frequency and amplitude. If this is Undocumented Characteristics of Trans-etheric Phenomena 130 the opportunistic us of sound amplitude, then it may indicate a theory for voice formation other than stochastic amplification. cbutler2006-EVP_using_sound_envelope.mp3 Possible amplitude modulation EVP example Spectral view Possible amplitude modulation EVP example Waveform view Trance Entrainment Robert Monroe designed his entrainment exercises around levels referred to as “Focus” (See The Monroe Way) (Book 5) where Focus ATransC.org – Theory 131 10 is: The first stage in separation of mind-consciousness from physical reality.” he used sound to entrain the listener’s mind and lead it into ever deeper levels of awareness. After sitting with several physical mediums, I have noticed that a similar process appears

Advocacy Panel Rating Survival Related Paranormalist Media Research Practitioner Sharing EVP The Scientific Method and ITC Using a Control Recorder for EVP Witness Panel Category: Home Category: Theory Best Practice Being a Good Witness Sponsor Initiated by Tom Butler. Other editors include: Abstract It has been shown that expectations of the observer can have an influence on what that observer experiences. This observer effect is enhanced when the person insists that one thing is true despite possible evidence to the contrary. The consequence is the loss of an opportunity to experience genuine phenomena. The inevitable public denunciation of the phenomena and/or practitioner also harms the paranormalist community. This practice describes ways in which witnesses might avoid this problem by Being a Good Witness 136 suspending judgment to leave time for additional information to become available. Justification/Introduction A well-established scientific community helps us understand everyday experiences. In academia, a vast international library system helps researchers develop a consensus understanding of nature which leaves little doubt about how we should think of our ordinary experiences. However, when it comes to transcommunication and psi functioning, which are phenomena that are not recognized by the mainstream as either possible or real, there is virtually no academic or scientific community providing guidance to the paranormalist community. This Best Practice offers a consensus opinion of how to relate to paranormal phenomena. Its purpose is to help develop a shared, informed point of view which would normally be developed by mainstream science and academia. Practice It helps

to ask questions. It is important that people in our community feel free to do so. Perhaps our most effective defense against delusion is discernment through critical thinking, and that is accomplished by the free exchange of ideas. This is not to say that one opinion is as good as another. Reality behaves according to principles which are knowable. In fact, an opinion can only be a personal opinion if it is not supported by empirical evidence. In this regard, it is important that people do not believe something is paranormal that is not. This has been a real problem in our community as mundane artifacts were widely seen as evidence but later understood for the mundane artifacts they really are. One form of photographic orbs comes to mind as a good example. A Case Study ATransC.org – Practices 137 A case study to illustrate this point is based on comments about darkroom séances reported in the ATransC NewsJournal. A person who was knowledgeable about EVP commented that “It seems fake to me.” He went on to say that “I believe there is a trap door or something like it. Notice that he is behind the curtain for no real reason other than to shield eyes from whatever he is doing. He may be an escape artist. He may have an associate sneak in from the floor or wall, etc. If he hid a small speaker in the wall outlet it could sound like this. He literally could have someone

in another room speaking into a wireless mic and then it can be projected through the hidden speaker.” This person also expressed a common complaint about pictures of ectoplasm: “The ectoplasm is most likely cotton gauze or some such item that he hides somewhere on his body. In the old days, they would hide it in their mouths then let it dribble out….” The person is quite knowledgeable about some forms of these phenomena but appears to lack understanding of materialization mediumship. He also ignored the Butler’s first-person account of that included how they had thoroughly examined the room and that the circle had just moved into the rented house. The trap door Being a Good Witness 138 explanation may sound reasonable. For people who assume trickery, it may even seem right. Once the trap door explanation is accepted, then all of the remaining proofs are easily ignored as more of the same trickery. Most important, though, is the potential harm such unsubstantiated comments may have on the paranormalist community. This raises the question of, given that questioning experiences is important, how does one do so without seeming to be negative? The answer may be in the initial assumptions people have when they formulate their questions. There appear to be three basic first responses: the proof is faked; the proof is real and suspended judgment. Assumption of Trickery It is easy to assume an instance of phenomena is faked by saying, “There must be (any excuse you can imagine without

bothering to produce supporting evidence).” The “There must have been a trap door” explanation is a good example. The more positive response might be “How could that be?” which leaves open the possibility it might be real. Offered explanations about how something could have been faked are seldom supported by how the explanation could realistically explain the evidence. The assumption of trickery became a form of group-think as people in England claiming to be Spiritualists went into something of a feeding frenzy as they proposed one unsupported trap door-like explanation after another for a well-known physical medium’s work. Assumption of Fact Assuming the validity of phenomena without question is equally damaging. Not knowing why a person believes something is true too easily leads to the appearance of faith-based systems of belief. The mainstream community will not take our frontier field of study seriously so long as vocal members of our community claim obviously mundane events as paranormal. ATransC.org – Practices 139 One of the most important factors keeping this community from maturing into the mainstream is the indiscriminate belief in evidence that is not actually evidential. It has prevented us from developing a common, credible point of view and assures that mainstream society will continue to accept the Skeptic’s view that we are delusional. Suspended Judgment Suspended judgment is the middle way in which experiences can be taken at face value, uncontaminated by assumptions based on belief rather than evidence. Most of the phenomena that are given a trapdoor-type explanation

can be explained by more realistic hypotheses. For instance, one complaint from the English blog was that the order of events in the medium’s séances is always the same, however, in fact, virtually all of the mediums the Butlers have sat with express a similar need for consistent order of events. A reasonable hypothesis is that the familiar order of events in a séance helps to entrain the medium’s mind, leading the medium to ever deeper levels of trance. The sameness is not proof the medium is in a deep trance. It is probably a necessary mechanism that makes the phenomena possible. White Crows Philosopher William James told us: “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you must not seek to show that no crows are; it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white.” It is not necessary to believe all that you experience. Instead, ask yourself if there is a single aspect of an experience that is convincingly paranormal. If so, then, based on your background understanding about things paranormal and how others have responded to the experience, you probably have reason to say that there may be truth in the experience. Say to yourself “I am not necessarily convinced about most aspects of this experience, but that one aspect is very convincing so I will keep the whole experience in my ‘wait and see folder’ as I seek more understanding.” Being a Good Witness 140 The white crow may

take a while to show up. This is why suspended judgment is so appropriate. For instance, some darkroom mediums finish séances with their chairs moved from the cabinet to the open floor at the center of the room. The theory is that the entities use this movement to safely dissipate the accumulated energy, and of course, to provide something of an exclamation point to the demonstration. Moving the chair, and the usual rearranging of his clothes is a common demonstration of phenomenal control in David Thompson’s seances. It is difficult to put into an evidential perspective. However, at the end of the darkroom demonstration Stewart Alexander provided during the 2011 Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference, the Butler’s witnessed the glow tabs on Stewart’s knees passing by at eye level, less than a foot from their face. Others who were further around the circle, saw the tabs tilt dramatically as Stewart’s chair floated around the room. He had been partially awakened for the experience and complained something to the effect, “I really do not like this part.” Later, with the lights on, Stewart’s undershirt was found lying on the floor. ATransC.org – Practices 141 Events like the levitated chair are white crows that tend to give credibility to the rest of the demonstration. Certainly, not being able to explain what happened does not automatically lead to the assumption of trickery. Unintended Consequences Like super athletes, physical mediums are born with latent ability that seldom becomes evident without years of development. it

is the personal cost of many years need for development and the risk of abuse from skeptics that paranormalists need to be mindful of. The attack by that English blogger became personal and was more debunking than an effort to understand. The blogger is responsible for what is on his website, so it must be assumed he supported the many naive comments from like-minded website visitors. It will probably not take very many attacks like that to deny the rest of us the chance to witness at least one white crow. Example Application This is important to give the reader an idea about how the practice applies. The example should show the potential problem of not following the practice. Substantiating Material Provide references supporting the practice if appropriate. Include substantiating evidence not identified by the references. Also, when appropriate, include all statements indicating a recommended procedure should be supported by one or more of the following: • Logical conclusions based on accepted social behavior, ethical standards and successful practices. • Personal experience which is supported by at least three witnesses. (Their contact information should be available but not in the document). • Research that has been published in a regularly published publication or on the Internet and that includes at a minimum, Being a Good Witness 142 an explanation of the experimental protocol, results, involved researchers, date of the research and original purpose for the research. References Best Practice Classifying Phenomena Introduction to Classifying Phenomena A common dilemma in the

study of some forms of transcommunication is classifying phenomena examples of phenomena that are perhaps not as paranormal as others. For instance, video-loop Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) sometimes produces convincing likenesses of human faces for which there is no known physical explanation. At the same time, a face seen in calcium buildup on a subway wall may be paranormal, but it is tempting to ignore it as happenstance because the pattern could occur without intelligent intervention. However, ignoring a face-like pattern may be a mistake because the bounds of the etheric communicator’s capabilities are not known. Our reaction might be different if we knew that a person looking a lot like the calcium pattern had been killed on that very spot. Six Association TransCommunication (ATransC) members responded to an email that went out asking for input in the Idea Exchange. GP noted that “We are not necessarily bound to follow the rigid, objective procedures of the natural and physical sciences … we make an assessment.” Classifying Phenomena 144 PH reminded us of the dangers of finding patterns where there are none; a human condition known as “pareidolia.” As always to be depended on for help, MD, described how she sometimes deals with degrees of paranormality. JK agreed that some phenomena are more difficult to attribute as paranormal. CS explained that, if he can still see the image after looking away, then he thinks it is not paranormal. SS made a number of interesting points, but importantly, agreed that we were being

too restrictive in how we graded phenomena. Based on this input, I am proposing a more robust classification system for phenomena. Tradition The community of people who study ITC has historically used a three- tier system for classifying EVP. The system has been very useful; however, the increasing popularity of live-voice (Book 5) forms of audio forms of ITC, also known as Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP, requires a more robust system. While a similar problem has been encountered with visual forms of ITC, there has been no classification system for that form of the phenomena. The three-class system for rating EVP is: Class A: Can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people Class B: Can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said Class C: Can only be heard with headphones and is difficult to understand [Note that Class B or C voices may have one or two clearly understood words. Loud does not equal Class A.] Type 1 and Type 2 Phenomena The proposed system is based on two types (Type 1 and Type 2), each with three-subclasses. In the old system, the majority of examples (specifically EVP) are rated as Class C while a small percentage of examples are rated Class B and even fewer are rated Class A. ATransC.org – Practices 145 As a general rule, Class C examples are very common, but are also much less evidential in that they are not easily shared (objectivity),

and therefore, it is much more difficult to argue that they are paranormal. Thus, it is shown in Figure 1 that, as the objectivity of examples increase, they are perceived as being more paranormal. In the proposed system, a distinction is made between features which are always present (Type 2) and transient features (Type 1). A face seen in the decomposition pattern of a leaf is more or less always there (Type 2), as opposed to a face found in light reflected from moving water (Type 1). As a general rule, “always there” phenomena appears to be formed by opportunistically adapting naturally occurring processes to express the message (assuming one is intended). If perceived as phenomena, “always there” features would be considered Type 2. Features found in ever-changing noise are thought to be formed by transforming that noise into the voice or face. While the resulting features are fleeting unless caught in media (photographic or audio recording), they tend to be better formed and more easily identified as anomalous. So, for both audible and visible phenomena: Type 1: Transformed physical media; not always present Type 2: Always present; often as a persistent artifact The Classes are as before, but described in more generic terms: Class A: Evident without explanation Classifying Phenomena 146 Class B: May require directions Class C: May be vaguely experienced; mostly obscured by noise Types Are Based on Technique Audio ITC: The input sound used in EVP helps determine the type. There will be exceptions, but as

a general rule: Type 1 Audible: Input is noise, either ambient room noise or supplied, perhaps with a fan or a noise generator. The formation of voice is thought to be via transformation as the communicator imposes intended order on the otherwise chaotic noise. Type 2 Audible: Input sound is live voice. This included someone talking on the radio, in the room or pre-recorded, perhaps in a foreign language. The easily heard voice is supplied, but formation of the message is seen as opportunistic selection of parts of the existing voice. It is important to note that a Type 1 EVP can be formed in any sound, including noise or voice. As such, foreign-language voice can be transformed into new words. With that said, the practitioner can be expected to provide both input and output files for comparison. Since it is known that EVP occur in one process, two recorders recording the same input should not produce the same EVP. Visual ITC: Features found in photographs and video frames of medium-density optical noise are considered transform features. They are transient, in that an observer does not see them at the time of recording, only upon review of the media. By comparison, a pattern on a piece of toast that resembles a face is long lasting and visible without the need to examine a photograph. With these considerations in mind: Type 1 Visual: input is noise, usually medium density which is not very light or very dark. Textured surfaces facilitate image

formation, as do image compression techniques. Often, visibility ATransC.org – Practices 147 of the resulting paranormal feature is limited by the resolution of the media. Type 2 Visual: Naturally occurring surface characteristics which are more or less static can sometimes be arranged to form faces. Whether or not they are intentionally formed is not clear, but the availability of alternative explanations causes these features to be perceived as less paranormal. Mental Experiences There is a need for a system of classification for mentally sensed phenomena. This would include the various forms of mental mediumship, including automatic writing, psychometry and remote sensing. It would also include Near-Death Experiences (NDE) and Out- of-Body Experiences (OBE). The common factor is a person reporting an experience that cannot be directly shared by others. A possible classification is: Type 1 Mental: Spontaneous or induced experience not shared by others and able to be substantiated with objective evidence. Type 2 Mental: Spontaneous or induced experience not shared by others and only substantiated by personal references. Best Practice Characteristic Test for EVP Abstract There are a number of characteristics commonly associated with Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). If a possible EVP does not exhibit at least some of these characteristics, it may be prudent to set it aside until more evidence is available. This is not to say that a previously unknown characteristic may not be found in a “genuine” EVP, but the majority of examples clearly show a number of these characteristics. As such, it is recommended

that experimenters and researchers become familiar with this list, and seriously consider using it as a means of avoiding false positives. Sponsor(s) Tom Butler Justification/Introduction By definition, EVP are unexpected voices that are collected on digital and analog recording media, that are not explained by currently known physical principles. They appear to be ubiquitous, in that Characteristic Test for EVP 150 experimenters around the world are able to collect them with just about anything that will record human voice frequencies and under just about any recording circumstance. Their nature tends to vary, relative to the experimenter, recording environment, and technique. The majority of EVP examples are considered Class C, meaning that they are difficult to hear and understand, and it is likely that not all of the words will be correctly deciphered. Nevertheless, Class C examples can sometimes be shown to be phenomenal utterances and often provide useful information. Even experienced experimenters are liable to mistake some environmental sounds, technological artifacts and editing errors as EVP. For instance, the unconscious intake of breath before speaking might sound like the word “help.” During field recording, an unnoticed person might be speaking in another part of the building and the resulting recorded words might be mistaken as a phenomenal utterance. There is a Best Practice titled Using a Control Recorder for EVP, (This book) which suggests using two audio records during experiments in order to reduce false positives. Some experimenters also protect the primary recorder with a portable radio frequency shield, such

as two or more isolated and nested metal containers; however, such precautions can be clumsy and may be difficult for the average person who is just trying to record a few EVP. Given that it has been experimentally established that EVP can be recorded in conditions isolated from ambient sounds, light or radio frequency contamination, it is reasonable to expect the average person to be able to record EVP in uncontrolled conditions. [1] If a person is familiar with the more common characteristics of the voices, and is willing to discard examples that do not fall within the “norm,” it is reasonable to conclude that the resulting EVP are likely to be genuine. Typical Characteristics of Transform EVP A characteristic test is not absolute proof of EVP, but if stringently applied, it should reduce false positives to a reasonable minimum. Typical Characteristics of Transform EVP ATransC.org – Practices 151 1. EVP are distinctive: EVP have a distinctive character of cadence, pitch, frequency, volume and use of background sound. The voices have a distinctive sound to them that is difficult to describe. For instance, EVP messages often have an unusual speed of enunciation; the words seem to be spoken more quickly than normal human speech. 2. Frequency range: EVP are formed in available background sound. As such, if there is a high-frequency component in the background sound, say caused by whistling wind, it is possible that the EVP will be of similar frequency range. If there are both higher frequency and

lower frequency components in the background sound, it is possible to find EVP formed in both regions of the sound. In some instances, two different voices might overlap. 3. A need for background sound sources: Research has shown that the voice in EVP is formed out of ambient sound energy. [2] Because of these characteristics, it is standard practice to assure the availability of ambient sound for voice formation, even while isolating the recording device or process from uncontrolled ambient sounds, such as crowd noise. 4. Missing frequencies: Spectral analysis of EVP samples has shown that the fundamental frequencies of voice associated with the human voice box are sometimes missing in EVP. He describes the typical EVP as a “thickening” of the background noise to form the voice. [3] 5. Precursor sounds: Sounds are often heard prior to an occurrence of EVP. Although these vary in nature, they tend to be within tenths of a second of a phrase and are a “popping” or “clicking” noise reminiscent of the “squelch” sound caused when the automatic gain control engages as the “push to talk” button is depressed on a Citizen’s Band radio. [4] 6. EVP show evidence of being limited by available energy: Utterances tend to have about the same amount of audio power in their associated sound wave from one EVP sample to Characteristic Test for EVP 152 another. That is, a short EVP will tend to be louder than a long EVP. A very long phrase might be composed

of two or more average length phrases separated by minor pauses. Also, an utterance may trail off at the end, as if the energy is being depleted before the message is delivered. Again, this is as if the communicator is attempting to manage available power as “packets” of energy. The evidence is very strong that EVP are energy-limited phenomena. [5] 7. EVP are complete words or phrases: Messages are typically one to two seconds in duration and are not truncated at the beginning or end. If EVP where radio interference, they would often begin in the middle of a word. EVP messages are usually complete thoughts, as well. [5] 8. The voices in EVP are often recognizable: It is common for an EVP to contain the recognizable voice of the discarnate person thought to be speaking. It is also common for that entity to say something that was typical of what he or she would have said while in the physical. Their personality clearly remains intact even though the person no longer has a physical body. 9. EVP are found wherever the practitioner listens: This suggests that the source of audio noise is not a factor for EVP, so long as the audio energy is suitable for voice formation. In practice, the majority of techniques for recording EVP involve sound conditioning, rather than unique forms of psi detection. For instance, upscaling infrasound so that it can be heard by human ears or downscaling ultrasound, really constitute techniques of sound conditioning,

and the resulting EVP is not evidence that the utterance was formed beyond human hearing, but that it was formed when the audio energy was made available to the recording process. Typical Characteristics of all forms of EVP 10 EVP Are in the language of the practitioner: Alexander MacRae has conducted experiments in a place that has no English language radio or television stations, yet resulting EVP ATransC.org – Practices 153 were in English, which is his primary language.[5] It is typical for the EVP, no matter where they are recorded, to be in a language that the experimenter understands. There have been exceptions to this which were apparently intended as a demonstration, but as a rule, EVP will be spoken in a language understood by the experimenter or an interested observer. This brings up an interesting point of speculation about psi-based communication. Mental mediums often report that they receive communication from nonphysical entities as images which they must interpret. These images are not just mental pictures. They are packets of information that are sufficiently complete for the receiver to fully understand their meaning. Robert Monroe [7] referred to this form of information as “Thought Balls.” 11. EVP are not ambient sound or broadcast programming: EVP are not ambient sound or broadcast programming: Studies have been conducted to determine if EVP are stray radio signals, ambient but unnoticed voices or other sounds. EVP were collected in an electrical, audio and radiofrequency shielded room.[8] In one study, a radio and a

recorder were placed in a padded chamber which was then buried underground. The recorder did not record radio programming but did record EVP, which were transformed from the noise produced by the radio. [1] 12. Party line: Some EVP sound as if they are comments intended for someone other than the experimenter. This is much like momentarily listening in on a party-line telephone call. It is not uncommon in both field and controlled recording situations to record comments that seem as if unseen people are discussing the experimenter’s actions in much the same way that you might discuss the activity of someone that you were watching. 13. EVP are appropriate to the circumstances: There are numerous examples of EVP that are clearly direct responses to questions recorded just prior to the EVP phrase or to the Characteristic Test for EVP 154 circumstances. An example of an EVP being appropriate to a circumstance is an EVP recorded by Lisa Butler. The Butlers were asking a woman about the upstairs lighting and sound room for the Frank Sinatra Theater at the Cal-Neva Casino at Lake Tahoe, CA. They had heard that the heavy door to the room often shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews setting up lights and sound systems for shows. The woman told them that she would never ever go up there. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the woman for her assistance. On the recording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her

voice, is a clearly heard paranormal voice saying, “Please don’t come.” However politely said, it seems obvious someone did not want to be disturbed. (c)tom-lisa_butler2004-please_dont_come.mp3 14. Precognitive responses: Answers to questions may be recorded prior to a question being asked, so that the answer, as a phenomenal message, is on the soundtrack followed by the practitioner asking the question. More research is required before making informed speculation about this observed characteristic, but the indication is that the etheric communicator may be sensing what the practitioner is about to ask as a mind-to-mind exchange.[9] 15. Vocalized questions elicit more EVP: There is evidence that the communicating entities are able to read our thoughts, as illustrated by the occasional EVP which clearly responds to a comment just seconds before the comment is expressed.[5] 16. The “Newness” effect: The experimenter’s excitement in trying a new detection device or recording technique may be the source of improved EVP collection. As the new approach becomes “normal operating procedure,” the improvements generally fade back to a more “normal” Quality and Quantity (QQ) of EVP collection. This suggests that it is important for ATransC.org – Practices 155 the experimenter to maintain peaked interest during experiments. This is also one of the reasons it is speculated that the experimenter is an integral part of the recording circuit. The experimenter is apparently supplying the necessary psi energy to enable a nonphysical to physical transfer of energy. 17. Effective devices unique to the practitioner: Exceptionally effective EVP and ITC collecting

systems have been developed; however, these typically work well for the developer but do not necessarily work as well for other experimenters. This paradox supports the belief that the experimenter is part of the recording circuit. It has also reinforced the concept that the communicating entity may be specific to the experimenter. 18. EVP can be thoughts of living people: Two experiments appear to show that at least some EVP might be initiated by living people who were sleeping or perhaps only distracted at the time. In these prearranged experiments between a practitioner and a sleeping person, questions were clearly answered by a communicating entity, and the answers are appropriate for the sleeping person. This fact of EVP suggests the possibility that EVP can become an important tool for consciousness research. For instance, is it possible that a patient in a coma might initiate an EVP when requested?[10] 19. Understanding EVP may be like learning a new language: As discussed in the EVP Online Listening trials report, people with little or no experience listening to EVP will typically correctly report words in Class A Transform EVP on average of 20% to 25% of the time. In contract, an experienced practitioner should correctly understand close to 100% of Class A utterances.[11] This number drops to 0% to 5% for studies of radio-sweep (Spirit Box, Frank’s Box, Ghost Box); 0% if single- syllable utterances are omitted.[12], [13] References Characteristic Test for EVP 156 1. Weisensale, Bill (1981), “Shielding a Recorder from Radio

Frequency Interference for EVP,” Spirit Voices, Issue 3, 1981. Republished: Association TransCommunication website. “Eliminating Radio Frequency Contamination for EVP,” atransc.org/eliminating-rf-contamination/. (Book 5) 2. Gullà, Daniele (2004), Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis/. (Book 2) 3. Presi, Paolo, Italian ITC researcher with Il Laboratorio, Bologna, Italy, biopsicocibernetica Closed. 4. Butler, Lisa (2002), “Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena,” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/precursor-sounds/. (This book) 5. MacRae, Alexander (2000). The Mystery of the Voices, Self published CD, Portree Skye, Scotland. 6. Blank 7. Monroe Institute, 62 Roberts Mountain Road, Faber, Virginia 22938, monroeinstitute.org. 8. MacRae, Alexander (2003), Report of an Anomalous Speech Products Experiment Inside a Double Screened Room, as printed in the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, spr.ac.uk. 9. Butler, Tom. “Perception.” Etheric Studies. 2015. ethericstudies.org/perception/ 10. Butler, Lisa (2002), “French Sleep Experiment,” Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal, atransc.org/recording-thoughts-of- living/. (Book 2) 11. Butler, Tom (2008), “EVP Online Listening Trials,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/evp-online-listening-trials/. (Book 2) ATransC.org – Practices 157 12. Butler, Tom (2009), “Radio-sweep: a Case Study,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/radiosweep-study1/. (Book 2) 13. Leary, Mark (2013), “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/radiosweep-study2/. (Book 2) Best Practice Peer-Reviewed Online Journals Also see Peer Review or Vetting? (atransc.org/peer-review-or-vetting ) (This book) Abstract This article recommends a methodology intended to provide authors of articles on frontier subjects a means of producing reliable source articles while fostering a culture of cooperation which will lead to continuous improvement. In established subject

areas as found in mainstream science, articles intended to be a reliable source such as a research report, are generally written by people holding an academic degree in the subject of the article. There are “peers” who hold similar or same degrees and who have similar experience in the subject. There is also an established culture of collaboration and community support in established subject areas, which assures the availability of peer reviewers. Peer-Reviewed Online Journals 160 Academic degrees in frontier subjects from accredited colleges and universities often do not exist. If a person studying the frontier subject does have an advanced academic degree, it will likely be in a different field. Thus, the people studying frontier subjects generally lack formal training in the subject. Also, the culture may not have an established expectation of peer support and collaboration. Because of this dynamic, articles on the subject are usually not vetted by peers and cannot be seen as a reliable source. Article Credibility The credibility of an article is directly proportional to the quality of scholarship and thoroughness applied by the author, but perceived credibility begins with the author’s credentials, followed by the reputation of the publication. The publication’s reputation in scientific and scholarly subject areas depends partly on whether they use a process of peer review to screen articles. Credibility of the Author The author’s credentials such as academic training, past publications and positions in the frontier community establish the reader’s expectations as to the credibility of the author. The

author should maintain an up-to-date biography stating his or her credentials. Care should be taken not to use terms that might be seen as an effort to over-inflate the importance of the credentials. For instance, using the term “research” to describe participation in a group hauntings investigation may be misleading. At the same time, an audio engineer for a radio station is not the same as an electronics engineer specializing in signal processing. It should be noted whether or not academic credentials were received from an accredited or unaccredited institution. ATransC.org – Practices 161 Credentials are a very important area of concern for all members of a frontier subject. A person may have little more than a high school education and may not have been widely published, but he or she may be recognized worldwide as an expert in the subject because of a lifetime of diligent study. In effect, this is the experience found with naturalists who have studied subjects in their natural environment. His or her report may be the most accurate and informative available anywhere in the world. If the person lacks writing ability, it is up to the community to lend a hand to help edit the material for public access. People working in frontier subjects have the opportunity to “break the mold” demanded by academia when it comes to credibility and that would begin with a candid disclosure of credentials. If the person holds a doctorate in an unrelated field such as dentistry, using the

title of ”doctor” when writing on a metaphysical subject would be misleading. The public is conditioned to think in mainstream terms and if “Dr.” is used, people will assume the doctorate is in the subject area of the article and also that it is from an accredited institution. If that is not the case, then the article and by association the frontier subject is discredited. At the same time, the reader is apt to ignore a more scholarly report from a veteran in the field because there is not a “Dr.” before the author’s name. One of the first changes our community must do is educate the general public so that people know to look at experience and methodology before the title. Credibility of Non-Peer Reviewed Publications The first duty of publications specializing in frontier subjects is to help establish an informed community, and their second duty is to inform the general public. A publication may include personal stories intended to show readers the possibilities. Such stories are generally only reviewed for reasonableness and their inclusion is based on the editor’s sense of legitimacy of the person telling the story. Technical articles are generally selected based on reasonableness, technically (scientifically) correct assumptions and usefulness to the community. Peer-Reviewed Online Journals 162 Such articles are usually not often peer-reviewed in the normal sense, but they are most often vetted by the publisher based on extensive experience in the field. Peer Review Publications Peer-reviewed journals should require that at least two people

who are trained in the subject of the article provide constructive feedback to the author. The object is to assure that the article meets minimum standards of objectivity, application of the scientific method, correct statistical analysis and reasonableness of conclusions. The reviewers often do not know who the author is (first blind) and the author often does not know who the reviewers are (second blind). “Peer review” is also referred to as “refereed.” Journals seeking to follow the lead of the parapsychological organizations by adhering to the scientific methodologies, tend to segregate the academic from the practitioner. For instance, the Editorial Board for the Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) consists entirely of doctorates. Peer Review in Frontier Subjects Peer review as practiced in mainstream science is meant as a technique for assuring quality articles, but it is seldom applied in a way that fulfills the needs of frontier subjects. One major problem is the assumption that a person with a degree is more credible in the subject area than one without. There is a functional Academic- Layperson Partition separating academics from practitioners. Since knowledge of frontier subjects generally rests with the practitioners and “naturalist-style” researchers, journals often fail to publish articles representative of the state of the art of understanding and practices. At the same time, the discipline of academic practice is essential to the evolution of frontier subjects into mainstream thought. It is essential that academically trained researchers work on frontier subjects, but if it is not accomplished as

a collaborative effort with practitioners who have the practical experience and have trained themselves to “properly” study the subject, then the benefit is too often lost. However, in current academic culture it would seem ATransC.org – Practices 163 intolerable and unthinkable to have a practitioner peer review the work of a doctorate. Defining Peer Review for Frontier Subjects The definition of “peer review” must be expanded for frontier subjects and should indicate that the article has been reviewed by people with real intellectual and practical knowledge of the subject. Such a person may or may not be aware of the best scientific methods and practices. If they are not, it opens a productive path of collaboration, because an academically trained peer could supplement a peer with practical knowledge in the field. Peer review might be divided between practical peers and academic peers. One possible application of this principle is to have two levels of reliability in articles: Vetted: reviewed for adherence to the writer’s guide and good science); and, Peer-reviewed: Reviewed by both academic peers and practical peers. Because it is unlikely that academic organizations will adopt a practical peer or vetted approach to document review, the most realistic solution appears to be the use of a vetting rather than peer review. See Peer Review or Vetting? (This book) Recommended Article Review The credibility of an article, and by association, that of the author and publication, would be enhanced if it is shown that subject-matter experts (“practical peers”) were part

of the review process. Following are suggestions to apply this concept: • Named Reviewers: The objective of “blind” reviews is to assure unbiased consideration of the article, but a result is that qualifications to review the subject are not known to the reader. This fosters suspicion, and in some cases, uninformed reviewers effectively support what is seen by the frontier Peer-Reviewed Online Journals 164 community as a debunking article even though the publishers may have intended it to be a constructive and informative piece. If peer review is claimed, then it is important that the reader knows how the article was evaluated. If the reviewers have been selected because of their qualifications to judge beyond simple adherence to the writer’s guide, then they should be credited in the article. A person who is known to the public will protect his or her reputation by providing a professional review. In effect, visibility of the reviewer will likely produce a more unbiased review even as it informs the reader as to how the article was seen by others. • Reviewer Biography: The reviewer’s biography should be available on the publishing organization’s website and easily accessible by the public based on the person’s real name. The biography should show that the person’s expertise is relevant to the subjects reviewed. • Reviewers Knowledgeable in the Subject: A reviewer’s expertise must be relevant to the subject matter. For example, if the biography of one reviewer for an article on cold fusion holds a doctorate in

psychology, and the second reviewer is seen to have no academic degree but has worked in related physical and chemistry fields for ten years, the reader should look to the second person to authenticate the article. If the reader is an academic, then one must trust that discernment was included in his curriculum. • Availability of Reviews: Most readers will not ask to read reviews; however, they can be as informative as the original article and publishers should consider making them available at least on request if not associated with the reviewer’s biography. A copy of the researcher’s raw data should be available on request as standard practice. So too, should the reviews. • Kinds of Review: If the article is not reviewed by a practical peer, then the article should not be considered peer-reviewed ATransC.org – Practices 165 or refereed. If it is considered peer reviewed, then whether or not the article has been vetted should be indicated. Best Practice Peer Review or Vetting? Also see Failure to Replicate Fallacy (ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-fallacy), Survival-Related Media Review, and Rating (ethericstudies.org/practice-srm-media- review ) and Peer Reviewed Online Journals (atransc.org/peer-reviewed-online- journals ) (This book) Abstract A technical report intended for publication is considered more credible if it has been subjected to peer review. peer review is considered and intended results are compared to actual results. An alternative approach known as vetting is discussed and a recommendation is made for how vetting might be used. Introduction These comments are written from the point of view

that there is an Academic-Layperson Partition in the paranormalist community which impairs cooperation between parapsychologists and experiencers. The effect is that people who are trained in the scientific method tend to distrust the often more pertinent understanding of paranormal phenomena held by experiencers and practitioners. A second assumption is that the lay members of the paranormalist community tend to assume parapsychologists honestly seek to further understanding of Psi Field and survival-related phenomena. But, in fact, some parapsychological literature is designed to show that the phenomena are normal mistaken as paranormal, fraud or delusion. And that such debunking literature is often written in a way that laypeople do not clearly understand. Terms Paranormalist is defined here as people who are more than a little interested in paranormal phenomena, or who are studying or practicing some technique related to the paranormal. Peer Review or Vetting? 168 The paranormalist community consists of people in some way interested in paranormal phenomena. Experiencers are those who have witnessed an apparent objective paranormal event or who have had an apparent paranormal personal experience. Practitioners are those who are able to produce objective and subjective paranormal phenomena. Paranormalist interests include the study of: Phenomena • Psi phenomena (telepathy, remote viewing, telekinesis) • Healing intention (biofield healing, distant healing, healing prayer) • Hauntings investigation, transcommunication (mediumship, ITC, channeling) • Survival (the etheric, personality, cosmology, possibly reincarnation) Experiences • Near-Death • Out-of-Body Experiences (Soul Travel, Astral Projection, Sometimes simple disassociation) • Reincarnation (past life regression, sense of previous lives)

• The grief of losing a loved one • Fear of the unknown (fear of dying, fear of demonic forces, fear of becoming earthbound) From mainstream society, paranormalists are conditioned to trust scientists, almost without question. Within the paranormalist community, parapsychology represents the science subgroup seeking to further understanding of paranormal phenomena and experiences. They are the academically trained people to whom the rest of the community turns for answers. ATransC.org – Practices 169 Problem Areas There is an Academic-Layperson Partition in the Paranormalist Community which probably naturally evolved because of a difference in education. The mostly Ph.D. parapsychologists are accustomed to a professional and university culture which is mostly not part of the layperson’s experience. The effect is that those who are best prepared to cooperate to study these phenomena are not effectively communicating with those who, as experiencers and practitioners, most understand their practical nature. There are a number of important consequences of this partition: Collaboration • Information flow is mostly from academic to layperson by way of publication and conferences. There is very little flow of information in the other direction. • Without an open exchange of information from practitioners and experiencers, researchers have been shown to incorrectly assume understanding. • Lacking authentic information about the target phenomenon, research protocols are often based on wrong assumptions. • The parapsychological community exhibits a sort of Wizard Complex in which there is an assumption of knowledge that is not, in fact, knowledge (Omniscient Science). Communication • Parapsychologists have been

shown to have three primary research objectives: Anomalistic Psychology (Physical Hypothesis) (1); Exceptional Experiences Psychology (Super- Psi Hypothesis) (2); and, Survival (Survival Hypothesis) (3). • A high percentage of material published by the parapsychological groups is intended to prove the Anomalistic Psychology or Exceptional Experiences Psychology point of view. This, without clearly stating as much in the article. Peer Review or Vetting? 170 • The combination of ill-informed protocol design and deceptive research objectives in respected journals has made those journals mostly irrelevant to the larger community. Ethics • The Academic-Layperson Partition has produced a culture within the parapsychological community which has apparently made it permissible for researchers to deceive laypeople. • There are instances of researcher mistreatment of layperson research subjects. The standard of ethical conduct required by universities is effectively ignored by parapsychologists. • There is no outcry from parapsychologists when one of their members is unethical. Instead, the parapsychological community effectively circles the wagons in their support. • The parapsychological community furthers layperson abuse and deceptive communication by creating opportunities for the offending researchers to tout their misleading discoveries. Literature Visibility There are many factors influencing the effect of peer review practices and in truth, probably none are malicious or intended to suppress frontier subjects. However, while all of these may be unintended consequences, they are also virtually all controlled by the mainstream academic culture. • The resulting document becomes part of the body of literature which is accessed by other researchers, thus multiplying positive and negative

aspects of the published document. • Publication editors are able to select comments from the public, and thereby control the apparent acceptability of the article. For frontier subjects which may include emergent science, the concerns also include: ATransC.org – Practices 171 • Mainstream authority is virtually always the only source for both author and peers. Consequently, the public has been taught to respect academically credentialed scientists with little reservation and peer-reviewed articles are seen to represent the truth about the subject. • In practice, literature produced by laypeople studying frontier subjects is simply ignored by academics because of the lack of academic standing of the authors and laypeople’s inability to be published in academically respected journals. • Frontier subjects become represented by the mainstream academic community, which by contrast, biases public perception. • Public funding for research and education in frontier subjects depends on the perception of the subject fostered by mainstream academia and is consequently mostly unavailable to the often better informed laypeople. • It can be said that academic careers flourish or fade depending on how often their writing is cited. The same is true of rankings in Internet search results. Citing is part of the academic culture. Citing is not as common amongst laypeople. Consequently, lay literature tends to fade from lack of notice. Review and Rating A distinction is made in this essay between academic peers and subject-matter specialists. Academic peers are those who, from an academic point of view, are treated as having equal education

and possibly equal ability. Subject-matter specialists are people who have established themselves in their field of study or practice as people who have practical understanding of the subject. Peer Review In the context of technical articles and research reports proposed for publication, peer review is a process by which a document is evaluated by people academically trained in the appropriate field of study and who are seen as being sufficiently qualified to judge the Peer Review or Vetting? 172 quality of the article. The review is intended to be conducted during preparation for publication. The current practice is to deliberately keep the reviewer’s identity and qualifications secret. Reviewer comments to authors are also kept secret. As a practical consequence of secret peer review, the validity of parapsychological research reports is necessarily in question. This problem is exasperated when obviously biased articles, and reports about poorly designed studies, are published in supposed peer-reviewed journals. A common complaint amongst paranormalists is that, without oversight, a good old boy culture appears to have developed in which review of club values (procedure, formatting, author credentials) may be accepted as peer-review, while subject matter content may not be appraised. Some practitioners have noted that they are unaware of parapsychologists who are knowledgeable about the practitioner’s study and who might have been a peer reviewer for a journal. While one practitioner may not be aware of qualified parapsychologists, the complaint is so common that practitioners have little choice but to think related articles are only reviewed

for compliance with editor objectives and construction but not for technical reasonableness. Vetting As it is intended here, vetting is the examination of published material by subject-matter specialists to determine the sensibility of the material. In the paranormalist community, subject-matter specialists tend to be practitioners and laypeople studying the phenomena in their natural circumstances. (In this case, experiencers are not considered subject-matter specialists unless they have also conducted studies and are practitioners or have a direct understanding of their work.) Because of the Academic-layperson Partition, vetting is more likely to occur after publication. Consequently, the results of vetting tend to be in the form of reviews posted on social media or on personal websites. ATransC.org – Practices 173 Vetting is intended to warn future readers about what they should expect from the media. It should always be done with the additional intention of providing feedback to the authors. Thus, vetting should be conducted as a positive process with positive results in mind. Negative reviews put the entire paranormalist community in a poor light and increase distrust. With this in mind, reviews should be couched in terms of what has and what can be learned from the experience. Reviewers should be mindful that all is not known about these phenomena. It is risky to be very dogmatic about what is right. In vetting, it is important that more than one person is part of the process. As recommended in the Survival-Related Media Review and Rating (ethericstudies.org/practice-srm-media-review ) (Draft) Best Practice, (4)

an average rating representing a consensus of the reviewers should accompany reference to the reviewed document. Three example reports of vetting are: Failure to Replicate Fallacy (5) Debunking Survival Under Cover of False Academic Authority (6) Failure to Replicate ITC (7) Consideration for Vetting Media As with peer review, vetting is ideally conducted prior to publication. With that in mind, here are a few of the characteristics a reviewer may wish to consider (also see Survival-Related Media Review and Rating (4)): (This book) 1. Clearly stated reason – Reason for the publication is clearly evident. This is not the research question. It is the reason the research question is being asked. What is the author trying to accomplish? Is it to further understand or to prove something? 2. Relevance – Does the media indicate its scope? For instance, should the media be directed toward a human behavior- related audience such as the field of psychology or sociology? If it is a study of group interaction incidentally conducted in a Peer Review or Vetting? 174 typically paranormal situation such as a hauntings investigation, it probably has nothing to do with the paranormal aspect and should be marked accordingly. The next question would have to be, “if so, why is it being published in a parapsychological journal?” 3. Furthering Understanding – It should be clearly stated if the media is simply replicating old studies. If the authors have incorporated new theories or used a special technique for replication, it would be helpful

if that is mentioned early on. A witness report is not a research report. If a peer-reviewed journal publishes a witness report as science, look for ulterior motives such as debunking. 4. Collaboration – Have the authors included lay-literature in their preparation? Have they made an effort to have practitioners and experiencers review the protocol and considered their suggestions? Such information should be clearly noted in the introduction of the media. Be aware that, in some cases, collaboration is with people who are handy, but only peripherally part of the sub-community. The author may have unwittingly contacted the least qualified, self- proclaimed expert. If so, provide helpful suggestions. 5. Theory – An important way to further understanding is to at least attempt to incorporate research findings into the model that represents the author’s assumptions. Have contending theories been considered? If so, why were they rejected? It is not necessary to address all contending theories. Perhaps the main three: Physical Hypothesis, Super-Psi Hypothesis and Survival Hypothesis. 6. Ethics – Ethical considerations include treatment of human test subjects and fairness in criticism. At a minimum, the standard in The Belmont Report (8) should be followed for human test subjects. If in the media, did the authors fairly comment or did they assume knowledge they might not have? Will the media further the community or will it diminish the community? ATransC.org – Practices 175 7. Clarity of Communication – Is the media composed so that a person who is not trained in the

subject at a Ph.D.-level should be able to understand the message? This would be true of at least the introduction (the abstract) and the conclusions. An overreliance on multi-syllable words which would be unfamiliar to someone in a different field of study should be noted as a negative. If a statistical analysis was conducted, are the results clearly stated rather than requiring an in-depth understanding of statistical notation? Is the intended meaning communicated in a way that will be useful to the average paranormalist? 8. Availability – The media need not be free to the public, however, if it is not, are there any parts of it for which the public might have a need to know? This is especially important for media that draws a presumably learned conclusion about phenomena important to others studying the subject, or that finds fault with others. If the media is behind a paywall, any related media review should list that as a decided negative. (4) Note that laypeople subject matter specialists are not expected to comment on the application of the scientific method. Protocol design is dependent on factors that are unique to the authors understanding and purpose. Reviewers should probably limit comments to how reasonably the protocol treated techniques and current practices. A final editorial comment by the reviewer may be useful if the conclusions seem to stray too far from current understanding without explanation as to why. Editorial comments are risky, however, in that they can easily become the unnecessary promotion

of the viewer’s personal favorite theory. Vetting is Collaboration The objective of any publication is to communicate something the authors believe others should or would like to know. If the author is deceptive about the intent or vague about the media’s content, the Peer Review or Vetting? 176 resulting communication might be better considered propaganda intended to debunk or subtly change experiencer’s opinion. Peer review is part of a closed system embedded in the academic side of the Academic-Layperson Partition. It is not visible to laypeople, and therefore, the actual meaning and value of peer- reviewed literature are not evident to laypeople. In contrast, vetting of media by members of the intended audience is a more visible way of helping experiencers understand the media and authors understand how well they accomplished their objective. References 1. APStaff. “What is Anomalistic Psychology?” Goldsmiths, University of London. 2015. gold.ac.uk/apru/what/. 2. Simmonds-Moore, Christine. “What is Exceptional Psychology?” Journal of Parapsychology (#76 supplement, 54- 57, 2012). 3. Butler, Tom. “Trans-survival Hypothesis.” Etheric Studies. 2015. ethericstudies.org/trans-survival-hypothesis/. 4. Draft Best Practice. “Survival-Related Media Review and Rating.” Etheric Studies. 2018. ethericstudies.org/practice- srm-media-review/ 5. Butler, Tom. “Failure to Replicate Fallacy.” Etheric Studies. 2018. ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-fallacy/ 6. Butler, Tom. “Debunking Survival Under Cover of False Academic Authority.” Etheric Studies. 2014. ethericstudies.org/scientist-attack-medium/ 7. Butler, Tom. “Failure to Replicate ITC.” Etheric Studies. 2010. ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-itc/ 8. “The Belmont Report: Office of the Secretary, Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research.” The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects

of Biomedical and Behavioral ATransC.org – Practices 177 Research.1979. hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html. Best Practice Practitioner Advocacy Panel Also see Open Letter to Paranormalists: Limits of science, trust and responsibility Abstract A panel is proposed to monitor research protocols and final reports for reasonableness of conclusions and research ethics to assure ethical treatment of research subjects and protect the greater good of the community. Elements of the Wizard of Oz story are used to help characterize the Academic-Layperson Partition in the paranormalist community. The wizard represents parapsychologists and other people representing themselves with the authority of an advanced college degree. Of course, munchkins represent layperson community. Dorothy represents the honest broker influence proposed in this essay. Paranormalist Community The paranormalist community consists of several loci of interest which are related by the desire to understand the same phenomena. It is difficult to characterize these loci because many cultural influences are at play which have nothing to do with the phenomena. A rough first cut might be researchers, practitioners and seekers. Research is claimed by parapsychologists because of their academic credentials, but when the loci are characterized in terms of acceptance of survival, parapsychology is demonstrably more Advocacy Panel 180 concerned with human potential rather than survival of personality as a preferred explanation for phenomena. (This is sometimes described in terms of the Super-Psi Hypothesis versus the Survival Hypothesis.) Consequently, survival has become the domain of citizen scientists, most of whom do not have an advanced degree. From the perspective of survival, paranormal phenomena

appear to be interrelated. As such, from the story of blind men describing an elephant, we know that it is necessary to have a collective view if the phenomena are to be properly understood. We are all gathered around the same metaphorical elephant, but in practice, there is little shared understanding. We are demonstrably incapable of correctly describing these phenomena. Wizard of Oz Syndrome As it turns out, the major themes in the Wizard of Oz story lend themselves to many different cultural stories. For instance, the innate goodness in people is portrayed in the story by virtually everyone but some of the witches. The relationship of the wizard with the other citizens of Oz illustrates the main point of this essay. William Bouffard provides a good description of this complex of behaviors in his December 2012 blog, The Wizard of Oz Syndrome. [1] As he describes it in the workplace: My premise is that the typical workplace sociopathic management acts no differently than the Wizard. They can exhibit many personalities that manifest themselves depending on who they are targeting at the time. To the organization as a whole, they are the giant head; to the loyal sycophants they are like a beautiful woman; to those being bullied they’re a horrible monster, and to all others (who get in their way or challenge them) they are a ball of fire–a dictator. This then is The Wizard of Oz Syndrome. People in management that suffer from this syndrome begin to believe

they are behind the metaphorical curtain, pulling all ATransC.org – Practices 181 the strings and that without them the organization just can’t function. Academic-Layperson Partition The Academic-Layperson Partition is the cultural separation of those who identify themselves as academically superior personalities as compared to those who either do not have an advanced degree or who do not assume authority under cloak of their advanced degree. From my perspective as a layperson, the complex of behaviors represented by the academic side of the partition includes a priori assumption of knowledge and academic authority resulting in reluctance to collaborate with layperson practitioners. The most grievous behavior concerns mistreatment of witness and practitioner research subjects. The complex of behaviors represented by the layperson side of the partition includes an expectation that people claiming academic authority will fairly study experienced phenomena and provide meaningful guidance in how to deal with the unknown. The relationship can be characterized as a general contempt for laypeople and baseless respect for parapsychologists. Probably the most disturbing aspect of the Wizard of Oz Syndrome is that parapsychologists, as the wizards in this story, behave as if they believe their wizard status. This can be characterized as a Wizard Complex. Dorothy the Revealer Because of how he presented himself, the munchkins in the Wizard of Oz feared the wizard and attributed super-human powers to him. As it turned out, the wizard was an interloper to the land of Oz just like Dorothy. While he was clever, he was also deceptive

and treated the munchkins to suit his wants. By contrast, Dorothy’s innocence inadvertently revealed the wizard as just an ordinary man. Continuing this comparison between the Oz story and the paranormalist community, there is no Dorothy the Revealer counterpart in our community. Writing about these issues does not Advocacy Panel 182 fulfill the Revealer function. Dorothy is an honest broker in the Oz story because her only agenda was to find her way home. Whatever she did in behalf of the citizens of Oz was due to her innocent nature and not to her desire to take advantage of the situation. Practitioner Advocacy Panel This essay is written to propose a cooperative effort amongst members of our community to provide a resource for researchers and practitioners which will facilitate a positive contribution to the community of researchers. There is likely no set approach to such a panel, so its formation and function should be decided by volunteers. Here are points to consider for its organization: Panel Makeup The Panel would probably be most effective with an odd number of at least seven people representing both sides of the Academic- Layperson Partition. There should be at least one parapsychologist, practitioner in mediumship and/or healing and one Instrumental TransCommunication practitioner. All positions should be filled by way of a vote on social media. Perhaps a Facebook page can be set up on which candidates could provide a brief bio and the number of likes counted as votes. However it is done, the

Panel will be of little use if it is not accepted by the general community. A chairperson should be selected from the panel by other members of the panel. All positions should be for a limited period so that not all come up for reelection at the same time. Say positions 1, 3, 5 for three years, positions 2, 4 and 6 for two years and position 7 for one year. Scope The Panel would be responsible for the development of practices which describe its function and how members of the community are asked to interface with the panel. These would include a practice for ethics, the panel’s charter and mission statement. ATransC.org – Practices 183 The Panel’s charter will include the authority to review research proposals, especially protocols and provide guidance concerning collaboration, ethical treatment of research subjects (practitioners, witnesses) and reporting. The charter will also include the authority to review research reports before they are published and provide guidance for ethical treatment of research subjects. The Panel should be expected to make public comment about concluding remarks in reports as to their agreement with protocols and resulting data. Submission of research proposals and reports to the Panel should be considered a courtesy rather than mandatory, and resulting comments from the Panel should be considered suggestions rather than requirements. As is the nature of best practices, it is reasonable for members of the community to ask whether or not such research has been reviewed by the Panel. Perhaps note

to the effect that the “Research has been conducted in compliance with applicable best practices” at the end of a report would signal an intention to support the community. The panel would be responsible for identifying literature and human resources from which to draw their comments to researchers and practitioners. The objective is that the Panel would represent the best practice of the time. The panels should not, under any circumstances, attempt to dictate science or protocol. At the same time, a poor report from the Panel would be expected if research report conclusions were not representative of data collected within the protocol. The panel should publish an occasional (at least once a year) report of activities. Research Ethics The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research 1979 Belmont Report should be used as the bases of a research ethics standard.2 The current culture amongst researchers of speaking to the community without listening to the community has fostered an atmosphere in which it appears reasonable to defame a practitioner Advocacy Panel 184 with little or no empirical support. At the same time, the academic community is sheltered community response by the Academic- Layperson Partition. The inspiration for a Practitioner Advisory Panel has come from real-world situations in which research subjects have been abused by trusted researchers. Limitations The Panel is not expected to provide expert opinion about the quality of research. The objective is limited to establishing the reasonableness of protocols and subsequent reports,

and the wellbeing of research subjects. This is an important standard. The Panel should not assume the authority to determine good or bad science. The standard should always be whether or not the data emerges from the protocol and the conclusions emerge from the data. The overriding goal of the Panel should be to protect the public image of the community and the wellbeing of research subjects. Example Application The reason for this practice comes from the treatment of a physical medium test subject by parapsychologists. The protocol appears to have been limited to proof-gathering with little reference to theory. The final report came in the form of three articles accusing the medium of fraud which reportedly had occurred outside of the study. The researchers continued to use every opportunity to make negative public comments about the medium. At the same time, only one publication gave the medium a forum to respond, albeit as a layperson responding to a team of doctorates. Reviewing the incident, it has become clear that all three major parapsychological organizations have been involved in the attack. There has been little evidence of corrective response from peer parapsychologists, reinforcing the Academic-Layperson Partition. The resulting damage to the medium’s reputation (defamation) and unethical treatment will certainly have a lasting negative impact on the larger community. The intention of this practice is to provide a means of addressing such treatment, and assuming the researchers ATransC.org – Practices 185 intended well, providing guidelines for future ethical treatment of research

subjects. [3] [4] References 1. Bouffard, William. “The Wizard of Oz Syndrome.” 12/28/2012, puttincologneontherickshaw.com/authors-blog/the-wizard-of- oz-syndrome/ 2. “The Belmont Report, The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research.” 1979, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/belmont.html 3. Butler, Tom. “The Felix Study: Personal Attack Under Cover of Science.” Etheric Studies. 2014. ethericstudies.org/scientist- attack-medium/ 4. Butler, Tom. “The Arrogance of Scientific Authority.” Etheric Studies. 2015. ethericstudies.org/arrogance-of-science/ Best Practice Rating Survival-Related Paranormalist Media Reader Assessment of Paranormalist Community Abstract The objective of this practice is to establish a meaningful measure which can be used by readers to rate paranormalist community media. (1) It will give people a way to tell future experiencers what to expect by assigning a value on a five-star scale. The rating is also intended to provide feedback to authors. The Survival-Related Media Rating (SRM) Rating scale may be used by individuals who publish a review of an article, research report or audio-visual media. (For instance, SRM Rating: 2.8) Ideally, an organization will establish a publicly accessible website on which media reviews may be added with a cumulative rating. Sponsor Tom Butler Co-Sponsors None at this time Scope Rating Survival-Related Paranormalist Media 188 This practice is specifically written for survival-related media. It may be adapted for other subjects, especially those of concern to the paranormalist community. Statement of Intent Just as it is common practice for someone other than the author or publisher to review a book, other forms of media should also

be reviewed. Research reports published in parapsychological journals are the most obvious application of this practice. Most forms of media are simply published for public consumption. In some cases, a Like flag can be set, but there is typically little means by which experiencers can rate content to provide feedback to publishers or alert the next person about what to expect. This practice is intended to provide such a means of review based on a standard rating system. The intention is to improve the quality of paranormalist media. Problem Collaboration between practitioners and those who would study the phenomena produced by practitioners is essentially nonexistent. The majority of those posing as parapsychologists either do not accept the existence of a psi field and psi functioning or accept psi as a purely human ability related to physical space. Very few people posing as parapsychologists study survival-related phenomena with the intention of understanding their nature, rather than disproving their existence. The result of this Academic-Practitioner Partition is a culture of science that tends to stifle the serious study of survival- related phenomena. (2) Most parapsychological research reports are written from the viewpoint that reported survival-related phenomena are an illusion, ordinary mistaken as paranormal, human-caused artifacts, psi functioning or fraud. Authors seldom reveal this bias to the reader in a “This is what we intend to prove” format. Instead, one must be trained in the author’s field of study to be equipped to see the actual ATransC.org – Practices 189 intent in the

otherwise vague wording. Ignoring the need to communicate to laypeople has become part of the parapsychological culture. Intentional Bias Examination of the History and Talk pages of paranormal-related articles in Wikipedia will show that the dominant skeptic editors have biased those articles to make the subject appear unreal or fraudulent. (3) The public is expected to believe the online encyclopedia as truth; however, people who are familiar with this bias advise others to find a different source for the information they seek. It would be ideal for the paranormalist community if such articles were clearly identified as biased. Current Relevance As a survival-related field of study, transcommunication is rapidly evolving as more is understood. It is not uncommon for an article to be out of date after twelve-to-fifteen years. This is not universally true, but it would be useful to future readers if the articles were rated in terms of contemporary relevance to survival. Author Point of View The most important thing to know when reading an article in parapsychological publications is the point of view of the author. For instance, if the author is in the Anomalistic Psychology school of parapsychological thought, (4) the article will likely be written to explain paranormalist phenomena in terms of reductionist physical principles. This is the Physical Hypothesis. If the author is from the Exceptional Experiences Psychology school of thought, (5) it is reasonable to expect that psi-related phenomena have been considered. From the perspective of survival, this is the Super-Psi Hypothesis. Psi

functioning is important to the study of survival, but it is likely the author will have mostly ignored survival-related evidence. Rating Survival-Related Paranormalist Media 190 Jean-Michel Abrassart stated this point very well in the 2013 inaugural issue of the Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology. From the closing remarks of “Paranormal Phenomena: Should Psychology Really Go Beyond the Ontological Debate?”: (6) This leads me to the third point, which is the researcher’s own beliefs about the paranormal. Since it could still today be detrimental for someone’s academic career to clearly state that he or she believes in authentic paranormal processes (or that psi exists), it is much easier to hide behind statements like “we won’t engage in the ontological debate” that “we will purely talk about the phenomenology of the anomalous experience” and that “all that interest us is the psychology of para-normal beliefs.” I think that this state of affairs is unfortunate. It is not conducive to a proper debate about alleged paranormal phenomena. I advocate that psychologists studying alleged paranormal phenomena should at least be able to state what their own beliefs are on the topic they are studying. In the scientific study of religion, there is a long history of religiously committed people who have made significant scientific contributions, …. If we can imagine that a committed Christian can legitimately study personal prayer, why not a medium studying mediumship? I state the question because for example Biscop (2010) is a spiritualist medium doing anthropological work on this

very subject. Similarly, to psychology of religion, it is clear that the researcher’s own beliefs about the paranormal will influence if not the research itself (with the experimenter effect) but in the least his or her conclusions. I think that transparency (stating one’s own beliefs about the subject one is studying) is preferable to staying safely outside the ontological debate. Collaboration As a matter of practical community interaction, there is an Academic- Layperson Partition that tends to suppress the exchange of ATransC.org – Practices 191 information between the Ph.Ds. trained in research and the laypeople who produce the phenomena to be studied. (2) Some people who have worked with paranormalist phenomena for many years have accumulated considerable practical experience, often arcane knowledge about the phenomena and how they are best produced and examined. Paranormalist Ph.Ds. tend to assume knowledge based on literature reviews that typically exclude lay reports. The consequence of research without community collaboration is too often misleading media that serves the skeptics better than the paranormalist community. Trusted Advisors People are conditioned to trust scientists and tend to do so without question. In practice, the reality of the paranormalist community is that ideologies tend to bias expected rational thought. Thus, many people posing as scientists do so under the false cloak of authority as they comment on aspects of paranormalist phenomena about which they have no training or in-depth understanding. In many respects, academics are not as rational and well-informed as lay-practitioners. Ethics Perhaps the most important indicator

of the intention and point of view of the author is whether the subject and practitioners were treated in an ethical manner. The separation between academics and laypeople tends to make it okay for researchers to mistreat laypeople and mislead them about the author’s intentions. Of course, this should cause people to question the author’s work. Practice To provide an easy to administer method, this practice includes the recommendation that a standard review and rating system be adopted by the community. This may also include a short-written review. Rating Survival-Related Paranormalist Media 192 Possible Format The public is conditioned to use a five-star rating system. The recommendation here is a one-to-five-star score derived as the average rating for supporting categories. The categories need to be standardized. If a reviewer wishes to add or delete a category, the recommendation here is for the reviewer to use the standard format and add a note to include the additional rating. In the future, that added feature might be incorporated into the practice. Program Aided Format Review and rating plugins are available for online content management systems but may require modification to make them suitable for multiple reviews on a single page. Such a program might be applied thus: Title: Research Report Author: Author 1; Author 2 Publisher: Paranormalist Journal SRM Rating: 2.8 Comment: (100 Words) Rating Components: Intentional Bias: Current Relevance: 3 4 Survival Point of View: 1 Collaboration: 1 Ethics: 5 Manual Format Most people commenting on media will not have access

to a rating and review system templet. Two recommended manual notation formats are: 1. SRM Rating: 2.8 ATransC.org – Practices 193 2. SRM Rating: 2.8 (Bias – 3; Relevance – 4; Survival – 1; Collaboration – 1; Ethics – 5) (It is a good idea to include a link to the practice. For now, it is https://ethericstudies.org/practices/review/.) Implementation Practices are intended to be developed and maintained by a small group of people who represent the interests of the community. They are intended to be living documents. That is, it is expected that they will be updated as circumstances change and with more understood about the reason they exist. All practices have the same maintenance concerns. A possible solution to the development and maintenance issues is for one person (or organization) to agree to act as a chairperson for a practices committee. His or her duties would include maintaining an online forum, such as a wiki, on which other volunteers might edit practices via a consensus approach like that used in Wikipedia. Of course, a major difference would be that the wiki would be closed to all but the volunteers vetted by the Chair. Until such a capability exists, practices maintained at ethericstudies.org/category/practices/ should be considered drafts and should not be considered widely accepted. In the meantime, the rating system is still useful as a tool for expressing a reviewer’s opinion about items of paranormalist media. You are invited to use it. Example Application See Opinion 4 Failure to Replicate Fallacy

Reference 1. Butler, Tom. “Paranormalist Community.” Etheric Studies. ethericstudies.org/paranormalist-community/. Rating Survival-Related Paranormalist Media 194 2. Butler, Tom. “Open Letter to Paranormalists: Limits of science, trust and responsibility.” Etheric Studies. ethericstudies.org/open-letter-to-paranormalists-science/. 3. Butler, Tom. “Concerns with Wikipedia.” Etheric Studies. ethericstudies.org/concerns-with-wikipedia/. 4. “What is Anomalistic Psychology?” Goldsmiths, University of London. 2015. gold.ac.uk/apru/what/. 5. Simmonds-Moore, Christine. “What is Exceptional Psychology?” Journal of Parapsychology, 76 supplement, Pages 54-57. 2012. 6. Abrassart, Jean-Michel. “Paranormal Phenomena: Should Psychology Really Go Beyond the Ontological Debate?” Journal of Exceptional Experiences and Psychology, 1-1, 2013. academia.edu/3715042/Paranormal_Phenomena_Should_Psy chology_Really_Go_Beyond_the_Ontological_Debate. Best Practice Research Practitioner Abstract To conduct research, it is necessary to have a reliable way to collect transcommunication examples. This practice is concerned with qualifying and grading practitioners in a standardized way that lends itself to statistical studies. Justification/Introduction Etheric Studies includes the study of both spontaneous and induced forms of trans-etheric influences. Both involve a conceptual influence from the etheric which produces a physical effect. While it is believed that everyone has mediumistic ability, as with many human endeavors, some people are naturally better than others. To study these phenomena, it is necessary to have a reliable means with which to test hypotheses. This usually includes the need for a method of producing phenomena such as a mental or physical medium or an ITC practitioner. However, it has been a common practice amongst researchers to use students as “practitioners” for studies without regard to their actual ability.[1] Research Practitioner 196 A brief survey of the Internet will show that hundreds

of people are offering their services as mental mediums, yet people who sit for a medium’s service commonly complain about the quality and veracity of the messages. Some organizations have established a methodology for testing mediums and maintain a list of what they consider qualified and reliable mental mediums. There are currently (1-27-2013) no such means of testing ITC practitioners, and consequently, there is no reliable source of practitioners researchers can enlist. To alleviate this problem, this practice offers a workable means for practitioners to self-test and qualify themselves as a research practitioner. Practice This practice provides a means of avoiding the need to avoid the need to have a central screening. Instead, practitioners are expected to arrange for self-testing. Based on the results, it is recommended that practitioners wishing to serve the public and/or research publish their status as part of their bio. However, an important consideration is that the practitioner should also have self-test results available for review. Mental Mediumship This section will be based on the methodology used by an existing organization. Audible ITC (EVP) There are a number of different techniques for EVP formation. The primary ones are: Transform EVP: voices formed by changing background audio- frequency noise Opportunistic EVP: voices formed by impressing a random process to select bits of sound–usually fragments of voice–to form the intended message. Answering Machine EVP: Usually spontaneous messages left on answering devices or in voice mail. ATransC.org – Practices 197 All three of these may be spontaneous but transform

and opportunistic EVP are most often induced. • The person initiating the communication is referred to as the practitioner. • The person for whom the message was requested, if applicable, is known as the sitter. • The person listening to an example of EVP is referred to as a listener. Practitioner Confidence While EVP practitioners may be able to record EVP, how often and of what quality determines practitioner confidence. Here, “confidence” is used as a reference of how confident the person is that an EVP will be found in anyone recording and of what quality. Quality and Quantity The quality of EVP is described using the Class A, B and C system in which: Class A examples should be correctly heard and understood by the average person without headphones and without prompting Class B examples should be correctly heard and understood, perhaps depending on headphones and possibly with prompting Class C examples will likely require prompting, headphones and considerable experience to be understood. Loud is not Class A. An example may consist of a combination of the three, but to be Class A, the meaning should be clear based on the Class A portions. The quantity of examples is based on the number of examples per minute of recording. (This is a relatively new measure, and it is important to understand the following is a draft proposal for a quantitative measure.) Based on a three-minute recording: Level 1 practitioners can expect to record at least one Class A or

B EVP example every session Research Practitioner 198 Level 2 practitioners can expect to record at least one Class A or B EVP example every five sessions Level 3 practitioners can expect to record at least one Class A or B EVP example every ten sessions Procedure This is a self-test. The practitioner is responsible for organizing and executing the test and maintaining a record available for third-party review on request. Assuming the practitioner is able to achieve a level of confidence that one or more EVP will be recorded in a series of sessions, the practitioner should feel free to post this fact to the public. Self-test 1. Practitioners wishing to establish a rating for research should begin by selecting a recording technique with which they are most confident that they can record EVP. This includes recording device, background sounds, mental preparation and kinds of questions if any. A record of this should be made including kind of recorder or computer program and the nature of supplied sound if any. If an input file is used, it should be clearly documented so that it can be reviewed by others if necessary. If a sound fragment or word library is used, its content should be clearly recorded for future reference. 2. A listening panel should be recruited, consisting of at least five people with at least average hearing. 3. A log should be maintained. 4 A series of recording sessions should be conducted; all of the same length and made

under the same circumstance. It is recommended that at least ten, three-minute sessions be made. 5. If EVP are present in one or more of the sessions, the utterance should be extracted to a new audio file. The content of the file should not be included in the title. ATransC.org – Practices 199 6. The listening panel should be asked to review each example knowing only that an EVP is thought to be contained in the file. Listeners should independently listen to the examples and document what they think is said. 7. The resulting record should be compiled by a member of the listening panel and presented to the practitioner. There are no limits to how many times this test may be conducted. In fact, the self-test may prove to be an effective learning tool as a means of self-grading to mark progress. This is based on the honor system, but it should be clear that researchers may ask for the self-test record and will expect practitioner performance to agree with advertised ability. Example Application This is important to give the reader an idea about how the practice applies. The example should show the potential problem of not following the practice. Substantiating Material Provide references supporting the practice if appropriate. Include substantiating evidence not identified by the references. Also, when appropriate, include all statements indicating a recommended procedure should be supported by one or more of the following: • Logical conclusions based on accepted social behavior, ethical standards and successful

practices. • Personal experience is supported by at least three witnesses. (Their contact information should be available but not in the document). • Research that has been published in a regularly published publication or on the Internet and that includes at a minimum, an explanation of the experimental protocol, results, involved researchers, date of the research and original purpose for the research. Research Practitioner 200 References Be sure to include the <references /> that should be in the template. Also, include any additional categories. 1. Butler, Tom. “Failure to Replicate ITC” Etheric Studies. 2010. ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-itc/ Best Practice Sharing EVP Abstract The phenomenal voices of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are typically classified in terms of how well an untrained listener can be expected to understand the utterance. Research is showing that, on average, a listener will only make out up to 25% of Class A examples without prompting. Yet, practitioners commonly post Class C examples on the Internet in forms that even experienced listeners find difficult. This practice includes recommendations intended to guide practitioners in ways of sharing examples with the public that offer listeners the highest likelihood of understanding what is said. Sponsor(s) Tom Butler Introduction Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are formed by transforming available audio-frequency noise into voice or via some form of selection of available voice fragments. Either way, the resulting audio-file contains voice which is an approximation of the human Sharing EVP 202 voice it is supposed to represent. Allophones which form the voice are often oddly

arranged and the usual auditory cues may be misplaced from what the listener has been culturally trained to expect. A good assumption for everyone concerned with these phenomena is that practitioners hear their examples as they report. The problem is that good examples of EVP for comparison are not commonly available, and there are too few qualified listeners willing to deal with the social-technical issues surrounding critiques. This leaves most practitioners alone in determining what are and are not EVP. And in fact, there is substantial evidence that people who are new to EVP are often mistaken about the quality of their examples. A classification system indicating how well a listener can be expected to hear and understand examples of EVP has been shown to help practitioner grade their examples, the classification system used by ATransC is: Class A: Can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people Class B: Can be heard over a speaker but not everyone will agree as to what is said Class C: Can only be heard with headphones and is difficult to understand. Class B or C voices may have one or two clearly understood words. Loud does not equal Class A. Research has shown that, on average, a Class A or B example will be correctly heard and understood only 20 to 25% of the time. That percentage will increase as the listener becomes accustomed to a particular practitioner’s usual examples. It will also increase if the listener takes time to

use headphones and listen to the example many times. Validity of Examples Probably the two most damaging factors determining how well the concept of EVP is accepted by the general public and whether or not ATransC.org – Practices 203 mainstream scientists are willing to study it is the poor quality of examples on the Internet and unsupported claims made by practitioners. This is not a simple case of, “Well, they are just being silly,” or “They are delusional.” The skeptical community is determined to make the study of anything like EVP seen as a form of pseudoscience. They are already very successful in convincing governments and university that believing in pseudoscience poses a danger to society because it degrades people’s understanding of science and takes undue advantage of unsuspecting citizens. People who seriously study these phenomena and people who display examples to the public are all in the same community and painted with the same brush normally reserved for our least discerning members. The result is little to no support for serious research and rejection of scholarly papers by the mainstream academia. The following factors should be considered when selecting an example for public display: Sound Mistaken as Voice Under the right conditions, a burst of noise or a fragment of voice can be mistaken as a one syllable word. This is especially true if the practitioner is intently listening to every sound in an effort to detect an EVP. Add to that, the likelihood that background noises are present

and marginal recording quality, and the possibility of mistaking mundane sounds as paranormal words becomes a high probability. For this reason, experienced researchers will ignore single syllable words in EVP if they are not accompanied by other words or are not clearly in context. Contextual Utterances EVP is considered communication between two intelligent personalities. As such, EVP are expected to have some relationship with what is happening in the recording environment, both timeliness and message content. Probably because the communication is between etheric personalities–that of the communicator and the practitioner’s etheric personality–an EVP in response to a question Sharing EVP 204 may be recorded before it is spoken but after it is mentally composed. As a general rule, it is expected that an EVP will be recorded within a few seconds (before or after) of the question or incident about which the communicator might comment. Some technologies for EVP make it a little too easy to simply turn on the process and wait for sounds to be recorded that might be EVP. In this approach, practitioners tend to develop a likely story to explain the EVP. This approach to EVP is referred to as “storytelling” and is commonly associated with mundane sounds mistaken as EVP. The practitioner can assure against the tendency to story tell by maintaining a strict policy of discarding possible EVP that do not conform to question-answer or incident-comment criteria. Background Sound The current working hypothesis is that the voice in EVP is formed by transforming available

audio-frequency sound energy. Thus, it is referred to as “transform EVP.” EVP are thought to be formed in the input, analog stage of the recorder, but otherwise, the recorder is just to make a record of the EVP and the practitioner’s voice. Experience is showing that a microphone is only important to introduce additional noise if the noise generated internally by the recorder is not useful for voice formation. A very high-quality recorder produces very little internal noise but a low-quality recorder typically produces too much steady-state noise, which is not useful for EVP. Current understanding is that noise in the voice range–400 to 4,000 Hz–with many perturbations, such as small noise spikes, is useful for voice formation. The noise is needed for voice, but the perturbations are apparently useful to initiate the voice formation process. The Panasonic RR-DR60 produces this kind of noise internally, but it is possible to produce it externally. One technique is to rapidly sweep a radio dial. This is not radio- sweep as used in ghost or spirit boxes. That technique sweeps ATransC.org – Practices 205 the dial in two to four seconds and may produce whole words in the output file. The ATransC does not consider the result of radio-sweep to be EVP. The objective is to sweep the entire dial in under a second so that no whole words or even allophones can be detected. The objective is the resulting noise and not the “whole” sounds. Sounds from a common fan, running water

or passing cars have been shown to be “dirty enough” to produce EVP. Selective Reporting If the practitioner selects seemingly meaningful sounds out of a stream of sounds while ignoring other, less seemingly meaningful ones, then that is referred to as “selective reporting.” This is especially a problem with radio-sweep and EVPmaker techniques. Radio-Sweep A special case of EVP is what is commonly known as radio-sweep. This involves manually or automatically sweeping a radio dial to produce sound fragments which are present when consecutive radio stations are momentarily connected to the output sound stream. Voice fragments, music, silence and miscellaneous noises are typically part of the output stream, and since most radio-sweep devices sweep the dial in seconds, entire words are often in the output. Current research is showing that radio-sweep probably does not produce EVP. [1] [2] Virtually all forms of EVP are either transform (voice formed out of noise) or opportunistic (words formed by selection of existing words or parts of words). Radio-sweep messages claimed to be paranormal are found in voice fragments which are necessarily formed in pre-scheduled programming at the moment the sweep intersects that station. The question or situation, the time the sweep is conducted and the moment the sweep intersects the station must all occur to produce the intended fragment of voice. If the sweep is too slow, then whole words are detected. If it is Sharing EVP 206 even slower, then whole phrases can be detected. These words or phrases must be what

are required for the intended message. If not, then the announcer must be coaxed into saying the required words at the required moment. There is no precedence indicating the etheric communicators are willing to impose their will on people in this manner. Based on listening tests, claimed radio-sweep EVP are either transform EVP resulting from manipulation of noise naturally resulting from the sweep, or normal sounds mistaken as paranormal. Storytelling is a major problem, as is selective reporting. Live Voice Pre-recorded speech is sometimes used as the input sound source for transform EVP. Speech in a different language is most popular, but as is seen in radio-sweep, any speech is liable to be used. As it turns out, many naturally occurring phrases sound like English phrases and it is easy to inappropriately attribute paranormality without careful comparison of input and output files. The Butlers conducted a study of the use of live voice for EVP by comparing input and output files for multiple session. Each session produced what was heard as an EVP transformed from the input; however, on closer examination, every example turned out to be naturally occurring foreign-language speech that sounded like an English phrase.[3] The ATransC recommends that, if live voice is used as the input file or sound source for EVP, suspected EVP should be compared to the section of the input file that is thought to have been transformed. If the two files are essentially the same, the example should be rejected. Also, suspected EVP

should be rejected if the same “transform” is seen to have occurred in more than one session. Practice A precondition for sharing EVP with the public is that the practitioner must have a sense of what is said in the example and that this has been supported by some kind of EVP Listening Panel of uninformed people. It is not enough to find someone who will agree with the ATransC.org – Practices 207 practitioner. It is important that the listener is not influenced by what the practitioner believes is said. When sharing examples of EVP with the public, the objective is to assure the examples are correctly heard and understood. To accomplish this, the practitioner should present examples in a form that allows listeners to adjust volume, repeat segments and distinguish between the target voice and peripheral sounds. Recommendations to accomplish this include: 1. Isolate the EVP and possibly a little of the practitioner’s voice so that it is clear that the listener is hearing the EVP and the obvious voice of the practitioner (alternatively, someone or something the listener has been told to expect). 2. Present one example or phrase per sound file. A very long sound file with many sounds can be very confusing, making it difficult for the listener to know which sound is supposed to be the EVP. 3. The average sound file should be less than thirty seconds. 4. Avoid over processing the sound file. Changing speed, noise reduction, frequency selection and over amplification can

change the intended meaning of EVP or make mundane sounds seem to be EVP. Extreme amplification is likely to make radio-frequency contamination audible. 5. 6. If live voice is used, provide a comparison between the input and output files for the isolated EVP. In all cases, explain how the recording was made and what has been done to the file. Example Application This practice is applicable to any situation in which examples of EVP are shared with the public. When used as part of the practitioner’s routine, it will help assure that the practitioner does not fall into the trap of self-delusion that so often occurs with people new to EVP. It is important to note that this practice is intended for use when sharing examples; however, it is not uncommon for people to record Sharing EVP 208 only for themselves, and to practice a kind of mental mediumship aided by EVP, whether it is clearly understood or not. EVP can be a personal tool for communication with loved ones, and while it is good that a person does not make a habit of mistaking the ordinary as phenomenal, sometimes the healing that occurs with belief that contact has been made trumps best practices. References 1. Leary, Mark. “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EV” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/radiosweep- study2/.(Book 2) ATransC Online Journal, 2013. 2. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Radio-sweep: A Case Study.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/radiosweep- study1/.(Book 2) ATransC Online Journal, 2013. 3. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Using Live

Voice Input Files.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/live-voice/. (Book 2) Best Practice The Scientific Method and ITC by Tom Butler Trans-etheric phenomena are thought to manifest as a subjective action causing an objective reaction. What is considered the scientific method by mainstream society is an ordered process of assessing what is known, developing a theory and conducting experiments to test the theory. Institutionalized science is able to support the additional and very important step of reporting results for collaboration on future research and to allow other, knowledgeable researchers the opportunity to comment on the work. In its simplest form, the scientific method is applicable to paranormal research and should be considered a given for any research project. However, mainstream science has evolved this basic approach by preferring the study of induced events over spontaneous ones. For instance, studying reports of a phenomenon (field research) is not as well accepted as studying the recreation of those events under controlled conditions (clinical research). Since sightings of ghosts are spontaneous events and are not easily (if at all) replicated under controlled conditions, ghosts are rejected a priori. Statistical analysis of experimental results has become an important tool for establishing a measure of significance for results. In fact, statistical analysis may as well be a requirement of mainstream methodology because lacking some statistical number indicating the significance of the results, the research will doubtless be rejected as pseudoscience. The Scientific Method and ITC 210 EVP examples that can be heard over a speaker and understood without

prompting by the average person (Class A EVP). are considered relatively rare; perhaps one in a thousand examples. Consequently, using mainstream science methodology with statistical analysis, virtually all Class A examples would be rejected from experimental results as deviating too radically from the statistical average for EVP. The ATransC promotes the use of the basic elements of the scientific method as described below. However, that method must be evolved to better support the study of trans-etheric phenomena. Here are a few considerations: • Instead of using statistical analysis to look for small deviations from the norm, we recommend that experiments be designed to consider decisive results and reject results that are evident only after analyzing many tests. Using EVP as an example, this practice would reject Class C examples as possibly phenomenal, but unacceptable as data points: experimentally, if all that was recorded was Class C, then nothing was recorded. • The initial survey of prior art should not depend on previous work that is not more than eight-ten years old. In this field of study, what is known has a half-life of about eight years. • Base the hypothesis on material that has been vetted via peer review (subject-matter specialists). This is difficult today but will become practical as more people are producing well- documented reports that are subjected to peer-review. • Be sure to document assumptions and provide the rationale for the assumptions based on established work. • Conclusions should be contingent on replication of the work. A

single study should not be represented as being decisive proof. Instead, it should be considered with other, similar studies as a trend. Problems faced by researchers in this field: ATransC.org – Practices 211 • There are too few similar studies to establish a meaningful sense of prior art. • People most qualified to conduct experimental studies of these phenomena seldom have an academic degree to give them credibility. If they have a degree, likely it is not in an applicable subject. • The community has not developed a culture of collaboration, careful study and peer-review. Important Terms Science: The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena. b. Such activities restricted to a class of natural phenomena. c. Such activities applied to an object of inquiry or study. 2. Methodological activity, discipline, or study. 3. An activity that appears to require study and method. 4. Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.* Scientism: The belief that science, the scientific method and work product is the only way to validate reality. In practical terms, “scientism” holds that, if something is not recognized by mainstream science, then it is not real and is, therefore, impossible. Scientific Method: A systematic approach to gaining understanding about a subject. In its simplest form: • Explain the question • Conduct background research including a survey of the “state of the art” • Develop a hypothesis that puts the question and current understanding into a contextual framework • Define a resulting question or prediction of behavior

to guard against mistaking ambient or normal sounds as being paranormal. This Best Practice recommends that a second audio recorder be used when the person is unable to assure control of ambient sounds while recording for EVP. Sound reproduction varies among types and designs of recorders. There are many elements in the design of IC recorders, the type of recorder commonly used for EVP recording, that can cause sound to be poorly recorded and reproduced. To assure that suspected EVP are not just poorly reproduced normal sound, this Best Practice recommends that a backup recorder be used that is able to record and reproduce sound at a superior fidelity to that of the main EVP recorder. Justification/Introduction Unnoticed background sounds: The human mind is able to focus on a task at hand, often to the exclusion of unrelated stimuli. For instance, Alva Noë refers provided an example of “inattentional blindness”: “In Using a Control Recorder for EVP 214 one study, perceivers are asked to watch a videotape of a basketball game and they are asked to count the number of times one team takes possession of the ball. During the film clip, which lasts a few minutes, a person in a gorilla suit strolls onto the center of the court, turns and faces the audience and does a little jig. The gorilla then slowly walks off the court. The remarkable fact is that perceivers (including this author) do not notice the gorilla. This is an example of what has been

called inattentional blindness.” [1] During the excitement of a haunting investigation, it is reasonable for an experimenter to not notice background sounds, such as people talking in a nearby room, routine sounds caused by the experimenter or even intakes of breath before speaking. Sounds can be easily mistaken as EVP, not so much because they sound paranormal, but because they were not noticed during the recording session. EVP and the brain: Memory has been shown to be a three-stage process starting with sensory memory, which is the initial recording of sensory information. Some of this information will be encoded into short-term memory where, if not actively processed, it has a limited life of a few seconds. We can, however, further encode this information into long-term memory, but even at this stage memories can be altered or forgotten. [2] During an EVP session, our consciousness is focused on the task at hand; conducting the session or doing the investigation. It is not possible to be aware of everything that is going on around us. A backup recorder will provide a hard copy of all the audio that occurs during an EVP session that we are incapable of remembering. Reviewing this audio will assist in helping to verify if a suspected EVP is just a normal voice or sound we do not remember. Pareidolia is when our brain interprets a vague image or sound as something recognizable or specific. In the case of EVP, this would mean finding speech patterns in muted

sounds or even random noise. It is easier to do this than one may think, especially with IC recorder file compression that can alter the tonal quality or timbre of sounds as well as distort normally occurring sounds. A clear, higher sound quality backup recording can be an asset when determining if a ATransC.org – Practices 215 suspected class B or C EVP is authentic or possibly just an artifact or distortion of the digital recording process. Suspected EVP comparison: The fidelity capabilities of recorders should also be taken into account when selecting a backup recorder. The fidelity of a recorder is the quality of the reproduced sound. High fidelity would be reproduced sound that is as close to the original sound as possible. Low fidelity would be sound that is not a true reproduction of the original sound because of distortion, compression or other sound artifacts. Many of the early IC recorders that investigators used have elements in their design that result in low fidelity voice reproduction due to frequency limitations during recording and sound reproduction, quantization noise, and the limitations of file compression. While proponents of the white noise theory suggest the internal noise produced by these recorders may be just the thing that enables the paranormal voices to be formed on these recorders, [3] it also can drastically change the quality and understandability of normally occurring sounds or voice. This especially holds true to any IC recordings done in a LP (Long Play) or SP (Standard Play)

mode. IC recorders can be set to record in a variety of modes that establish recording time and recording quality. Frequency response of the recorders can even be affected by the selection of specific modes. For example, a Panasonic RR-QR160 set to an SP mode has a frequency response of 230 Hz to 3400 Hz, while the response in the HQ (High Quality) mode is 240Hz to 5100 Hz. When recording in SP or LP mode, compression of the audio information gives you more recording time but poorer voice reproduction or fidelity. When researchers record in these lower quality modes it is important to be aware of the sound reproduction capabilities of that particular mode. The use of a backup recorder that reproduces sound at higher fidelity than the main EVP recorder, especially if this main recorder is an IC recorder set to a lower voice quality mode, is highly suggested. Simultaneous EVP: The AA-EVP has no reliable evidence that the identical EVP has been simultaneously recorded on more than one device. [4] Sarah Estep has reported that, in group recordings, she has Using a Control Recorder for EVP 216 never encountered an instance of duplicated EVP. A typical report: Joan Kachurik August 28, 2005 post in the AA-EVP Idea Exchange: “Hi, “I have the very same Panasonic as you just bought, and I also have an Olympus 480PC. I have turned them both on at the same time, spoke into them at the same time, saying the same thing.

It is so odd … sometimes I get a reply on the Olympus and nothing on the Panasonic, and other times the Olympus picks up and not the Panasonic. There were a couple of times when both picked up … but said different things. It is really confusing…but at the same time when editing the recordings, it is such fun to see what each recorder is going to do. “The same thing happens with my tape recorders. I have a GE mini-cassette recorder, and a GE shoebox tape recorder that I record on at the same time, with excellent results on each one, but always different. I have never received the same EVP at the same time on different recorders. “Really interesting, isn’t it?” EVP are not an acoustical event: EVP have been shown to be an electrical event, rather than an acoustical event. The fact that an EVP can be recorded without a microphone, [5] in an acoustically isolated chamber and apparently by only one recorder, makes it reasonable to assume that a sound simultaneously recorded by two devices is not EVP. The sound may be paranormal, as in direct voice, [6] but it is not by definition, EVP. Practice The procedure recommended in this proposed Best Practice is for EVP experimenters to use at least one audio recorder in addition to the one being used for EVP collection as a control recording device. This may be accomplished by having two recorders in operated by one person, two people

working together during recording sessions ATransC.org – Practices 217 using their own personal recorders and/or people recording for EVP and other people video recording the session. The backup recorder should record and reproduce sound at superior quality to that of the intended EVP recorder. Video recorders tend to have higher quality audio tracks than are usually found in recorders used for EVP. Most are stereo, giving less likelihood the video recorder will record EVP, but at the same time, giving the ability to have a sense of direction for ambient sound. It is suggested that the two soundtracks be compared if there is any doubt about the authenticity of an EVP. If the suspected EVP is found on both recordings, then it is the recommendation of this practice to discard that part of the recording unless it contains information that is evidential in some other way. Even then, the possibility that the utterance is direct voice should be considered. It is also suggested that all suspected EVP be checked against the backup recording. Example Application This practice is applicable to any recording situation that has uncontrolled ambient sounds, such as during haunting investigations where sounds from other quarters can sometimes be heard. References 1. Noë, Alva, Perception, action, and nonconceptual content, host.uniroma3.it/progetti/kant/field/hurleysymp_noe.htm, Verified 18 December 2007 2. Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology. New York: Worth Publishing, 2005 3. Butler, Tom and Lisa. There is No Death and There Are No Dead. Nevada: ATransC Publishing, 2004 (See info this book) 4.

Butler, Tom and Lisa, Communication with members and ATransC and other EVP researchers, ATransC Correspondence 5. Butler, Tom and Lisa, Estep Correspondence, private communication with Sarah Estep Using a Control Recorder for EVP 218 6. Crawford, W. J., Direct Voice Phenomena, survivalafterdeath.info/articles/crawford/directvoice.htm, Verified 18 December 2007 Best Practice Witness Panel Sourced from Community Abstract One of the biggest problems in ITC is the difficulty practitioners have in assessing the quality of examples. Even examples that are considered Class A, which should be correctly seen or heard without prompting, are shown to be correctly understood only an average of 25% for EVP and of the time by online listeners.[1] and 61% for video-loop ITC [2] An important aid for practitioners is the use of witness panels; people with at least average hearing, vision and comprehension who will examine examples, and without prompting, tell the practitioner what is seen or heard. The rest of the task is for the practitioner to accept the results. This practice details a methodology for establishing and using a witness panel to assess the quality of examples. Justification/Introduction Witness Panel 220 People asked to examine examples of reportedly paranormal phenomena often complain that they are not convincing. For EVP, the first response from witnesses tends to be that the examples are just noise. If voices are heard, it is difficult for witnesses to mentally orient themselves so as to place the voices in a context that will give them meaning if all that is offered is just

the phenomenal voice. Examples of visual ITC can be even more confusing. For instance, reflected light phenomena is too easily discounted as mundane if the part of the scene that is being reflected is not known. In another example, it is difficult to convince the witness that a face-like feature in any media is paranormal if the witness can associate the offered example with the faces in clouds effect. A little time spent on the Internet examining examples posted on various websites will show that this complaint is often deserved. Each time a website visitor responds to an example with “That is just noise” or “All I see is odd patterns that look more like a Rorschach test than something paranormal,” the credibility of anyone in the paranormalist community become easier to discount. The result is increased credibility of the skeptics and progressively less funding for research. Examples of ITC are frequently composed in novel ways the average witness will have difficulty comprehending. EVP are often very difficult to understand. Even Class A examples are likely formed with a novel arrangement of formants, distorting audio cues and making it difficult for the witness to understand. It is correctly noted that hearing EVP is often like learning a new language. To complicate this, is the fact that each practitioner tends to record in what amounts to a different dialect of this novel language. Visual examples of ITC range from something normal that is out of place to faces formed in noise.

The paranormality of something normal but out of place is difficult to argue as paranormal because it is so normal. The paranormal features formed in noise is difficult to comprehend because the witness must learn to look at patterns rather than hard-edged features. It is common for a witness to say that “Oh, I was looking for a photograph.” ATransC.org – Practices 221 There is no realistic way to police the quality of paranormal phenomena examples being presented to the public. Instead, individual practitioners must learn to self-edit, and take special care to help witnesses understand what they are being shown … preferably while letting the witness independently discover the feature. Unreliable Sensing A single person’s senses are unreliable. Anomalistic psychology [3] is based on the assumption that people too easily fool themselves into believing the mundane is paranormal. A second way of looking at this is that people’s natural mental processes can produce erroneous comprehension from confusing environmental information. One study clearly demonstrated that people tend to hear what they are told to expect, [4] even if it is not present in the example. In visual ITC, people are more likely to see what the practitioner expects them to see after being told what to look for. Experience has shown that one reliable way to assure an example represents what the practitioner thinks is to ask a number of people to examine the example and tell the practitioner what they see or hear. The most common approach to this

review is use of a witness panel. Practice The objective of a witness panel is not to find people who will agree with the practitioner but to establish how the average member of the public will experience an example. If at least a majority of the panel does not report experiencing an example as the practitioner expects, then the example should be set aside and not be shared with the public. The one consideration that the practitioner should always be aware of is that witnesses will become expert for the practitioner’s unique EVP dialect or ITC visual characteristic. This is unavoidable, but the periodic test of asking a new person to grade the example will help maintain the usefulness of the panel. Witness Panel 222 It is up to the practitioner to make this work. 1. It is recommended that an uneven number of people participate in a witness panel to avoid ties and simplify the grading of examples. Five people are recommended as a manageable number and should provide a sufficiently large review. 2. While there are no studies of this, observations indicate that individual ability to hear fallows a natural distribution determined by comprehension, hearing ability (both frequency and volume), vision and span of attention. Even after finding enough volunteers, it may be necessary to screen witnesses with known examples of known quality to find people who can be depended on to represent the average listener. 3. Examples should be saved in a file only marked as “Example

(number).” The practitioner will need to track the true title. Please refer to the subsection below on Sound File Considerations. 4. Members of the panel should be asked to examine or listen to the example and write down what is seen or heard. It is reasonable to include alternative interpretations, but this should be limited to avoid guessing bias. 5. The practitioner should compile the responses and compare them to what is thought to be in the example. 6. At his point, the practitioner must decide whether or not the example is suitable for public demonstration. It is possible that the example should be discarded. Certainly, if it is being considered for a client, then the results of the panel may lead the practitioner not to display the example to the client. Sound File Considerations The Sharing EVP Practice (This book) should be reviewed before any example is sent to the listening panel. ATransC.org – Practices 223 It is always a good idea to include a little natural voice in sound files, such as the practitioner’s voice asking a question. This provides context to help witnesses orient themselves in the recording. Very long examples are often difficult to understand, so it may be necessary to segment the utterance in several files. One or two syllable utterances are very often artifacts. Especially in opportunistic EVP, very brief utterances may appear to be phenomenal, but be in fact, naturally occurring. It is strongly recommended that the practitioner consider the context of the

utterance and be prepared to discard any example that might possibly be a naturally occurring sound. Certainly, one-word EVP are not acceptable for public demonstration unless clearly relevant. For instance, a “Bob” utterance is suspect when asking for why a person might be in the house while “Stuck” might be a meaningful response. Be leery of examples which are supposedly an answer to a question for which any response can be construed as the correct answer. Visual Example Considerations Transform EVP examples ultimately come down to whether or not the utterance is present and states what is reported; however, some forms of visual ITC are plagued with difficulties distinguishing real phenomena from artifacts. Before sharing examples of visual phenomena, it is a good idea for the practitioner to become familiar with the kinds of mundane phenomena that might seem paranormal. It is important to explain to the witness how the example was collected and the environment in which it occurred. This requires good record keeping by the practitioner. In field studies, environmental snapshots are useful for later reconstruction of the scene. Captive Syndrome Captive syndrome, more correctly known as Stockholm Syndrome, is roughly described as a psychological condition in which hostages develop a sympathetic point of view about their captors. As it applies Witness Panel 224 to witness panels, people, especially family members, tend to want to please practitioners. It translates as a willingness to fudge a little in how they describe examples if perceive it will make the practitioner

happy. Consideration of this tendency to err in favor of the practitioner is the reason it is important that the practitioner does not reveal what is thought to be in the example until after the witness independently arrives at a conclusion. Physical Mediumship The phenomena of physical mediumship should lend itself to a form of analysis supported by a witness panel. In this, séance sitters might be studied rather than the medium. The idea would be to record the phenomena and study how the sitters experienced them, how they felt and possible spiritual impressions they experienced. This remains an open question but would be a refreshing alternative to the relentless parapsychological studies attempting to prove the phenomena exist. References 1. Butler, Tom. “EVP Online Listening Trials” Association TransCommunication. 2008. atransc.org/evp-online-listening- trials/ (Book 2) 2. Butler, Tom. “Perception of Visual ITC.” Association TransCommunication. 2010. atransc.org/visual-perception- study/ (Book 2) 3. “What is Anomalistic Psychology?” Goldsmiths, University of London. gold.ac.uk/apru/what/ 4. Leary, Mark. “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP – Three parts.” Association TransCommunication. 2016. atransc.org/radiosweep-study2/ (Book 2) Books Published by AA-EVP Transcommunication White Paper with Emphasis on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) The Transcommunication White Paper is intended to document what is currently known by the ATransC directors about transcommunication. It includes background information about theory, concepts and techniques that are important for the understanding of phenomena related to EVP-ITC, psychic and mediumistic phenomena. Please note that there is a version of this paper, including a free downloadable PDF, at atransc.org.

I refer people to the Transcommunication White Paper five or six times a week. When I do so, I always wish I had the opportunity to explain the importance of personal development. The three most important points I would make about personal development are concerned with how we think, the effect of how we think on what we experience and how to apply that knowledge toward becoming more self-aware. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. This little book includes all of that. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Other Books by AA-EVP Publishing 226 Good to Know About the Paranormal Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time answering questions about things paranormal on Quora.com. The first was the 2017 question: “How accurate is EVP recordings?” I have been answering the questions because most of the other answers are simply wrong, anti-paranormal or misleading. Our community is still developing a culture that supports free discovery and meaningful sharing of ideas. It has been my vision that my answers might somehow aid in developing that culture. As it turns out, I have answered quite a lot of Quora.com questions. I have compiled 240 of my answers into this book. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Your Immortal Self, exploring the mindful way More time became available for me to write after we changed the ATransC away from a member-supported organization. I am a theoretician by nature and speaking as

a mystic, I see a world of Books Published by AA-EVP 227 patterns in the play of concepts, rather than as a “nuts and bolts” world. It has been natural for me to see ITC as a pattern of interacting concepts. Again, as a mystic, it is as if the pattern is a self-organizing model in my mind’s eye that shows me how one phenomenon relates/compares to another. In my mind, the most important aspect of these phenomena is the way we are part of the dance … not as humans, but as immortal personalities. It has been through ITC, especially EVP, that I have come to see our actual nature as a conduit for the formation of the speech and images of ITC in our physical devices. Your Immortal Self represents an effort to explain our relationship with these phenomena, the nature of our actual self and how we might learn to be better ITC practitioners by being more successful seekers. The book begins with a comprehensive effort to define the Survival Hypothesis and establish verifiable proof. For a small fee, the PDF version of this book is available on the Lulu website. I like PDF for this book because it has so many internal links. It is easier to study using a PDF file. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon Exploring the Mindful Way I have been told that Your Immortal Self is a difficult read. While I understand some of the concepts can be obscure,

I wrote this in Your Immortal Self: Other Books by AA-EVP Publishing 228 Not trying to understand this material because it is too complicated is unacceptable. There is an old Zen Buddhist saying: “Before enlightenment chop wood – carry water, after enlightenment chop wood – carry water.” One must do the work to understand. One must do the work to continue learning. Study the material and do not expect to understand all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Ask questions. Argue! I write today to find ways to illustrate the principles described in Your Immortal Self, as they apply to particular situations. In doing so, I hoped to make the principles more approachable and help pave the way to spiritual maturity for my readers. Exploring the Mindful Way is a compilation of 21 such essays. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon There is No Death and There are No Dead One of our first tasks when we assumed leadership of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was to write a book we could direct people to for guidance about ITC. At that time, there was not much available, and we wanted to make sure our members were given reasonably useful, supportable information. We wrote There is No Death and There are No Dead and published it under the AA-EVP Publishing imprint. The book has received considerable praise as an introductory book. 100% of the proceeds have gone to support operations, outreach and research conducted

by the Association. Books Published by AA-EVP 229 On Amazon I’m Still Here AA-EVP member Martha Copeland wrote I’m Still Here. Martha was one of the founding members of the Big Circle. The book provides an important study of the way Martha coped with the untimely loss of her daughter, Cathy. Beyond the grief, I’m Still Here includes hints about how Cathy might have responded to death, the ways she did find to communicate after transition and how other members of the Big Circle helped Martha. It is Martha’s EVP of Cathy scolding her still physical dog Doja that gives us important proof that we survive physical death. Listen to hear “Doja no. (Book 4) On Amazon Sarah Estep’s Roads to Eternity Other Books by AA-EVP Publishing 230 “To read Sarah Wilson Estep’s Roads to Eternity is to travel a remarkable journey into the unseen world. At every adventurous step, at every exciting new discovery; the readers are assured that they are guided by a knowledgeable and experienced paranormal researcher, a pioneer in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Sarah Wilson Estep’s vast files of 25,000 recorded voices of the ‘Invisibles’—whether they represent themselves as spirits of the deceased, extraterrestrial entities, or multi-dimensional beings—will provide thrilling inspiration for the seeker and startling revelation for the skeptic.” Brad Steiger, author of Things that Go Bump in the Night Here is the free PDF download Sarah Estep’s Voices of Eternity “EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena has been around for as long

prior permission to use The original authors of material on ATranC.org retain copyright authority. Including work produced by the Butlers and Sarah Estep, the authors have given permission to the Association for public outreach under the AA-EVP or ATransC banner. Authors retain ownership. In the event an author of material included in the Preservation Project wishes to withdraw permission for its use by the Association, that material can be removed up to the time the Directors are still able to edit the books. After that, provisions will need to be made with the new owners. This book is part of a set containing the Association TransCommunication website pages. The set has been compiled to preserve contents to help assure that future paranormalists will have access to the material. The website includes study and research reports, examples of ITC, techniques for collecting ITC, Best Practices and personal stories about ITC-related reunions. Most of the articles were first published in the ATransC NewsJournal. The 129 quarterly newsletters published by the Association are in the NewsJournal Online Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/. We are still trying to find a way to preserve them. If these books work out, we may publish them as a different set of books. The combined newsletters produce a 1500, 8.5” x 11” page PDF file of 44,519 KB. That would be at least four books if we converted them to fixed format PDF books of a manageable size of, say, 400 pages. Change of State Lisa and I tried a

number of times to attract people who could help us manage the Association and perhaps take it over in the future. Every effort failed. Part of the problem has probably been our personalities. While we want to serve, we are not social by nature. We depended on the rewards that come from a well-run organization as motivation for people to help. That was not enough. We are also sticklers for rational, evidence-based treatment of the phenomena. In that regard, our studies have shown that, what has become the dominant techniques for recording EVP probably does not actually produce EVP. That has put us at odds with the majority of people interested in ITC. In the end, the work involved to produce the newsletter, member support and website maintenance has not been balanced by the occasional “thank you” or “you helped me” comment from members. With increasing grief from members about technique, and in view of our Pledge to truthfully report about the phenomena, we changed from a member supported organization to a publicly supported one in 2014. The NewsJournal was replaced by the ATransC Occasional Update Email. We still support the Idea Exchange and our public outreach continues. This ATransC Website Preservation Project is part of that outreach. As it is today, when we die, the Association will die with us. Our intention is that Sarah Estep’s legacy will continue in the form of easily accessed information that has been previously provided by the Association. Archive Requirements Here are the

requirements we set for preserving ATransC material: The material must be easily accessible to everyone. Ideally, it would be online. However, even if we paid the server company several years in advance, there is a constant stream of maintenance items that need to be taken care of. And then there are the occasional hacks—the next thing you know, there are nude pictures on the site. The material must be reasonable inexpensive to access. We use the Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/3.0/) for the material we control. We use what little income the books produce for operations and outreach. An archive book would be priced as low as Amazon allows. The material must be stable. It is important to us that the material on the website is not corrupted with the introduction of newer material. At this time in our community, it is a virtual certainty that we would disagree with any new material added by people who use radio-sweep, think EVP are caused via wormholes or that they are a radiofrequency phenomenon. The name and material must not be resurrected. A trend today is to use a famous person’s name for the name of a group. Predictably, the result is confusion by future historians about what is that famous person’s work and what is contemporary. The archive should not cost the person or organization that agrees to keep the material. People have their own work to do and interests to pursue. While they may agree to keep

the material, it seems clear now that it must not cost them to do so. Ideally, there will be a revenue flow, albeit minor, that will benefit the person organization. The guiding objective is public outreach. In our opinion, parapsychologists have failed to communicate what they might know to the public. I answer I answer Quora (quora.com/profile/Tom-Butler-79) questions, often about parapsychological issues. I have yet to encounter a parapsychologist also answering questions. There is an Academic-Layperson Partition which is exaggerated by parapsychologists failure to communicate in a Plane English manner. The ATransC material helps to balance that dearth of information. Solution (we hope) Other than a dedicated website, Amazon is perhaps the most important means of public outreach available to the average citizen. We use Microsoft Word for composing. With a little careful editing, conversion of MS Word to Print-On-Demand (POD) ready text is a relatively easy process. The same can be said for MS Word-to-eBook format. Amazon does not require a catalog fee, as does Lightning Source and IngramSpark. Lulu also does not require a catalog fee and they accept fixed-format books which is best for the NewsJournal. All of ATransC.org pages except those under the FAQ, Links and Resource Tabs have been converted to MS Word text files and will be published in Amazon in the paperback POD and eBook formats at the minimum cost to readers. The website will be maintained, we hope, for years to come. While we think the book format will be convenient for

the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP Binaural Synchronization for EVP Preparation Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice EVP and Geomagnetic Fields: Is There a Correlation? EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now? EVP Online Listening Trials EVP Online Phantom Voices Hans Otto König Experiment Information Gathering Using EVPmaker With Allophone: A Yearlong Trial Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via Sound-Psi Interaction Using Live Voice Input Files for EVP Perception of Visual ITC Images Radio-Sweep: A Case Study Recording Thoughts of the Living? The Testimony of Marie-Hélène, Bénédicte’s Mother The Work at Il Laboratorio 4Cell EVP Demonstration by Tom and Lisa Butler (Based on a Summer 2005 AA-EVP NewsJournal article) Updated May 2015 Abstract Can discarnate personality communicate with people in different parts of the world by hearing (sensing) a question from one person, ascertain the correct answer and deliver that answer to someone else in a different part of the world? A series of EVP sessions based on a specific protocol were conducted by four person teams. Coordination was via email and discussion board, and team members were in different parts of the USA. A person functioning as Requester thought of a question and told the question but not the answer to a person functioning as the Sender. The Sender communed in some way with his or her etheric communicators, asking them to tell the Receiver the correct answer via an EVP message. Once notified that a question had been sent, but not the question or answer. The Receiver

conducted an EVP session to ask for the answer. A fourth person acting as the Scribe evaluated the resulting recordings for possible EVP and made first determination of what was said, if anything. The study indicated that it is possible to use EVP to gather information, but that there are limits to the kind of information that may be accessed. Directors of the ATransC (formally the AA-EVP) had been looking for an effective has been in finding a way to make the recording of the phenomenal voices more reliable. There has also been a problem with practitioner ability, which varies considerably amongst people willing to participate in such studies. One initiative to increase our understanding that has proven to be very effective is the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, which was conducted by association members and tracked in the Idea Exchange. The 4Cell project is designed to function as a test bed in which new ideas can be tried and the limits of EVP can be explored. As the 4Cell demonstration matured with more cells and more experiments on record, we anticipated being able to provide solid support for the existence of EVP, and the fact that EVP may be evidence of personal survival. Further, we expect this proof to be in a form that the scientific community will be able to accept, and therefore, feel obliged to repeat the experiments. The 4Cell EVP Demonstration protocol is explained here. As always, we are available to assist researchers in setting up Cells to

meet their research goals. It is possible to apply this protocol to mediumship studies as well. Protocol Each cell consists of four people: 1 A Requester who thinks of a request to be given to cooperating etheric communicators. A request may be a question, such as, "Who was my favorite teacher," or a request for action, such as, "Please tell the Receiver what I am wearing now." The request should be of interest to the Requester. The request can be directed at a research question, such as, "What happens after the moment of physical death?" The Requester tells the Sender the request but not the expected response. 2 A Sender who is given the request and then conveys it to his or her etheric communicators, asking that they send the requested information to the Receiver. This may be accomplished in any way the Sender feels will work. Part of the objective here is to allow the participant to invent a way that "seems" right. Since so much of this is intuitive, personal initiative may be more effective than constraining rules. If there is doubt as to how to proceed, we advise that the Sender meditates or contemplates on the question. The idea is to send the message psychically, but to also send it verbally and maybe even in writing. All are effective techniques for EVP, as all helps focus attention. The Sender then notifies the Receiver that a request has been sent. 3 A Receiver who conducts an EVP session

(or contemplates/meditates for mental mediumship), asking to receive the response to the request. There may be many receiving sessions and they may be designed to suit the Receiver. To maintain focus, the Receiver should be the only one conducting a receiving session for any particular cycle. If the Receiver thinks EVP are in the resulting recording, the sound files are sent to the Scribe. (Mediumistic messages should be prescreened by the Receiver for a sense of meaningfulness.) 4 A Scribe who accepts what was received, if anything, from the Receiver and makes a first determination as to what is said. The Scribe then asks the Requester for the request and privately posts the request and possible responses to the other three members of the Cell. The results of collaboration amongst Cell members is documented in a standardized report. For ATransC sponsored Cells, the report is posted on the Idea Exchange for peer review. 5 Other board participants are then asked to consider the offered response by functioning as a listening panel. The Cell's determination of what is said remains as The Report, but comments from others are retained as a record of possible alternative considerations (peer review). Cell members have been asked to rotate positions, but we have found that it is more important that the cell has some degree of recording success so we are now asking that each Cell has at least one experienced experimenter with some level of confidence that at least some messages will be recorded.

The Cells were also asked to record on a regular, weekly basis but now we see that there are too many normal living interruptions. It is better that the group tries to record when possible, perhaps on a monthly schedule. It is important that some recording schedule is maintained, otherwise, the normally geographically distributed group of people tends to lose focus resulting in eventual abandonment of the study. Once an effective Receiver has been found and the Cell has had some initial success, rotating members into the Receiver position will help develop more overall ability of the group. Considerations In the event that one of the four members is temporarily not able to participate, the functions of Receiver and Scribe can be combined. But separation between the Requester and the Sender is required to address the possibility that the Requester is asking something that is emotionally biased. This also separates the expected response from the send/receive process. The reason the Scribe is asked to independently decide whether or not the request has been correctly responded to is to see if he or she is able to arrive at that conclusion without the influence of group-think unconsciously guided by the Requester. The protocol does not require a specific type of question or technique for obtaining the answer. The reason for this is that the group dynamics are as much part of the research question as are the resulting answer. One of the predictions from this protocol is that a cooperating group

will have better results than one that experiences internal conflict. The concept is that the rapport of mutual cooperation builds the kind of contact field thought to be necessary for trans-etheric influences. The flexibility of the protocol is in the fact that the Receiver can use EVP, automatic writing, mental mediumship, any form of transcommunication. If EVP is not used, then the Listening Panel can be referred to as something like a Witness Panel. Evaluating Results Since Cell members are usually scattered around the country, it is unrealistic to attempt physically supervising the experimental cycles: so many experiments by many different Cells over many months should provide sufficient information to assess the validity of the concept, even though individual results should be judged on a case- by-case basis. Responses are seldom going to be decisively correct and many requests will require a subjective response. For instance, A possible answer to "Please recite Mary Had a Little Lamb" might be a verbatim recital, but more likely would be more arcane such as Lamb chops, Happy Mary, or baby sheep. As such, the determination as to whether or not the answer is correct must be made on a scale of reasonableness and the unlikeliest of the results. This is why the first decision is independently made by one person and that decision is preserved in the record. After the Scribe sends the first determination to the other Cell members, the group collaborates to accept, modify or completely change that first determination. The

results of this process are also reported. Finally, the use of an independent Witness or Listening Panel (Book 1) of less invested people helps to avoid group-think. This final review of what the Receiver reported is most effective if one of the Witness Panel acts as a Judge to sort out potentially divergent opinions. The three versions of the transcommunication: Initial determination by the Scribe; Cell member's group determination; and, the version selected by the Judge are retained in the report record. Confidence in the usefulness of the answer is based on this report. Results At first, the effectiveness of the protocol was unknown; however, early Cell reports made it clear that the communicating entities were happy to participate and that they could do all that we asked. 4Cell 1 – Voices: Andrea Carr, Siobhan McBride, Karen Mossey and Sue Mousseau (James Jones replaced Sue in experiment four and then the group dissolved): • Experiment 1 question: “Does it take more of your energy to manifest a Class A EVP, and if so, please indicate your answer as ‘More energy’ or ‘No difference.’” Class B answer: “No difference.” • Experiment 2 question: “From what level in the Afterlife are you communicating with us?” Class B answer: “Level six.” • Experiment 3 question: “What can we, as receivers on the physical level, do to help facilitate communication from you, the transmitters in the spiritual?” Class B+ answer: “Just open up the portal.” • Experiment 4 question: “What is the purpose of

our communication with the other side? What is it we're supposed to be doing in order to help them?” There was no appropriate response recorded. • Experiment 5 question: “Can anyone (any dead former human being) on the other side be involved in EVP messaging to us?” Class C answer: Four distinct utterances in same file, the second being “Perhaps.” • Experiment 6 question: “Is there a reason that some spirits do not come through for us? Why would that be?” Class B answer: “Stop moving” and “That’s right.” Class B- answer: “Yes … people.” 4Cell 2 –Infinite: Mary Jo Gran, Rheta Conley, Shelly Morrison and Vicki Talbott: • Experiment 1 question: “Can you tell me the name of Jim Robinson’s make-believe sister?” Correct answer: “Sissy Sally.” Class B answer: “Sally’s the name.” (Other appropriate answers were also recorded.) • Experiment 2 question: “Who is the artist and what is the name of the painting hanging at the end of the entrance hallway in Vicki and Pete’s home?” Correct Answer: “Marc Chagall” and “The Lovers.” Class B answer: “Who painted it? … Chagall did.” • Experiment 3 question: “What Did Keith’s Grandpa Hallmark give him, and also, it has been lost. Can they tell us where it is?” Correct Answer: “Cue stick.” Class C answer: “A cue” and “Christy know right where it is. • Experiment 4 question: “What are the names of Jim’s Montessori School teachers?” Correct Answer: “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” Class B answer: “Vivian.” Class C answer in

same file: “Rosmund.” • Experiment 5 question: “What is the most common sign that those in Spirit do to let us know you are near us or that you have been around?” Class C answer: Not clear. • Experiment 6 question: “What was the name of the tavern where I (Vicki) met my husband?” Correct answer: “The Waterfront.” Class B answer: “Has a view of the bay.” 4Cell-2-May-18-05-has-a-view-of-the-bay.mp3 Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/4Cell-2-May-18-05-has-a-view- of-the-bay.wav Cell Name: CellOctetic Demo 3 Question: "What were some of your misconceptions about death and/or life on the other side?" Answer: Vicki told us that, “Braden (her son) wanted us to know that the answer ‘Regrets’ was a very difficult one for him to give." The order of the EVP that was most important to the study was: Class C "It’s just hard to answer this," Followed directly by Class A "Regrets." (c)vicki_talbott2006-regrets_4cell_experiment2.mp3 Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2006vicki_talbott- regrets.mp3 Vicki explained: “I think that he and his friends on the other side did not want to hurt their moms or frighten others—they discussed whether Braden could even say it. He knew I could handle it, but others might not be able to. The EVP came as you see it above. As I said, Braden wants us to know that this is an important part of our passing; our life review.” Comment: Near Death Experience researchers appear to be in agreement that we do experience a life review, and that it is from the perspective of those with whom we have

interacted during the lifetime. This review can be expected to be emotionally painful, but it is probably the foundation on which we build new spiritual understanding. The 4Cell results are amongst the very few we have seen indicating all is not heaven when we make our transition. 4Cell 2 –Infinite: Shell Morrison: "Review our lives" c2005morrison_review_our_lives.mp3 Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/c2005morrison_review_our_lives.mp3 Shell was functioning as the Sender during a 4Cell EVP Demonstration experiment, but when the Receiver did not record an EVP that was appropriate to the question, “What happens when we die?” she asked Sell to record for answers. Shell recorded this response, which is an astoundingly clear Class A. Summary Of the first eighteen experiments, eleven or 61% were seen as successful. The etheric communicators have had a very large number of possible answers from which to choose. For instance, in Cell Infinity’s experiment 4, asking for Jim's Montessori School Teachers, the expected answer was given as “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” How many first names are there in the western culture? There must be thousands. The odds of a person guessing the correct name must be about the same as winning the California Lottery. What are the odds of selecting the right name twice in the same EVP? Guessing eleven appropriate answers out of eighteen attempts must be similar in difficulty to winning the California Lottery eleven out of eighteen tries. The results of the experiments would be astounding just because of how much the answers have exceeded what would

be expected for guessing. Since we know that the communicators are intelligent, aware people, the gratifying part is not beating the odds, but how cooperative they have been. We wish to thank all of the Cell members for their participation in the experiment. We especially thank Shelly Morrison and Vicki Talbott for moderating the Idea Exchange forum and for helping everyone get through the complicated protocol. And yes, a hearty thanks to their etheric partners who have been so willing to help us learn. A Model for EVP Tom Butler, 2017 First published in The Journal for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies. November 2017 (ascsi.org/) Abstract This is an explanation of the model being considered by the Association TransCommunication (ATransC) to help study Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). The model is based on lessons learned from instrumental and personal forms of mediumship, theories related to psi functioning and mainstream emerging understanding of the relationship between unconscious and conscious mind. The model is applicable to the study of many forms of transcommunication and may further understanding of mindfulness. Introduction EVP are voices detected in electronic equipment that, based on currently understood science, should not exist. They may occur in just about any electronic device capable of processing voice. In fact, they were reportedly found in early wire recorders and now are found in answer machines and cell phones. EVP are typically discovered during review of recordings. They are often interactive in that they answer questions or comment on activity around the practitioner or

an interested observer. It is common for people to recognize the speaker, (1) leading to the belief EVP are initiated by discarnate loved ones. For this discussion, it is necessary to at least tentatively agree that there is a nonphysical aspect of reality referred to here as the psi field or etheric. The trans- prefix is used to mean across the etheric- physical interface, as in transcommunication. Characteristics of etheric space that are important to this model: • Etheric space is conceptual, as opposed to the objective nature of the physical. • • Intention is modeled as the motive force for expression in the etheric. Influence is comparable to the physical concept of kinetic energy. • Potential future is comparable to the physical concept of potential energy. Point of View Speaking in general terms, the three major contending points of view related to EVP are: Normalist: This is the Physical Hypothesis point of view which holds that EVP are delusion, fraud or are mundane, mistaken as paranormal. In this view, the necessary science supporting mechanisms for EVP formation are not established, and therefore any reference to paranormal must be pseudoscience. This is being addressed these days as Anomalistic Psychology. (2) Consciousness is a product of brain and ceases to exist when the brain dies. Psi+ Normalist: This point of view is the Super-Psi Hypothesis, which is the Physical Hypothesis modified with the contention that the physical universe is permeated by a psi field. (17) In parapsychology, psi represents influence associated

with psychic functioning. For Psi+ Normalists, if not mundane, delusion or fraud, the information in EVP is produced via psychic access to residual memory or the mind of still living people. This is beginning to be addressed as Exceptional Experiences Psychology. Consciousness is a psi field phenomenon originating from the brain. Dualist: This point of view is represented by the Survival Hypothesis. It is the point of view that we are immortal personalities temporarily entangled with a human for this lifetime, that our conscious self existed before this lifetime and will continue to exist in a sentient, self-aware form after this lifetime. Dualists and Psi+ Normalists generally agree that EVP are formed by way of psychokinetic influence of the practitioner on electronic equipment. Studies indicate that it is also possible that information in the message is psychically accessed from a living person’s mind or from residual memory impressed into the psi field. However, the working assumption for Dualists is that some of the messages are communication from discarnate personalities. Pay close attention to the terminology used in parapsychology. While we expect mainstream academics to reject the Survival Hypothesis, most people actively studying things paranormal seek to prove reported experiences are not paranormal (Normalists). Others seek to show that paranormal phenomena are psychic functioning (Psi+ Normalist). For both, the arrow of creation of consciousness flies from the origin of the human body. For Dualists, the arrow of creation flies from the origin of reality. Normalist and Psi+ Normalists speak of consciousness

as a product of brain. Psi+ Normalists speak of survival as survival of residual memory which is neither sentient nor interactive in the usual sense of communication. The Trans-Survival Hypothesis (18) described in Your Immortal Self provides the foundation argument on which this model has been designed. (4) (25) The trans- prefix is used to distinguish this version to avoid confusion with the usual “Oh and some people think they survive death” version referred to in most parapsychological discussions about psi models. Model of Consciousness Be aware that the model of consciousness presented here is derived by an engineer via a technique known as black box analysis. In that, known input and outputs are presented to a hypothetical black box which must contain a set of functions which respond to known inputs to produce known outputs. The functional areas in the Life Field Complex Diagram represent the sort of processes I would design for a computer so as to emulate the actual processes associated with consciousness. A person trained in consciousness studies would not necessarily recognize the functions or agree that they are reasonable representations. Nevertheless, the diagram has been useful for the study of transcommunication. The resulting model, referred to as the Implicit Cosmology, is explained in detail in Your Immortal Self. An earlier version is available on ethericstudies.org under the Concepts tag. It is implicit because it is the consequence of survival based on the Trans-Survival Hypothesis. Our Natural Habitat If we existed before this lifetime and will

continue to exist after, then the first point to conceptualize is that we are not our body. Think of our body as an avatar. We, as conscious self, share our human’s instincts and the early part of this lifetime is consumed with learning to override them with our more rational awareness. We are taught to think of ourselves as our body, and virtually all environmental cues reinforce this perspective. The task, then, is to learn how to think of ourselves as outside of our body in much the same way we are outside of a virtual reality device. An important assumption of this model is that we are nonphysical in nature. Our mind is nonphysical. It is useful to think of our brain as a transmitter-receiver converting physical senses of our body to psi senses able to be processed by our mind. This seems to be a necessary consequence of our avatar relationship. We are more in agreement with our pre-lifetime awareness during the dream state. As is illustrated in the diagram, our life field anatomy is modeled as: • Conscious self, which is entangled with our avatar and which is the direct experiencer of our life field (the box marked Physical Point of View). • Mostly unconscious mind, which processes sensed environmental information (Attention Complex). • Intelligent core (Personality), which includes our purpose and acts as the nexus for our life field. Think of a field as a zone of influence relating many elements into a single object. The

source influence is the nexus. In the conceptual space of the etheric, fields are the building blocks of reality. Life fields are the top field in the hierarchy of fields. (3) Worldview The most important functional area in the Attention Complex is Worldview, which functions as a library containing memory, understanding and instincts. At birth, it is populated with human instincts inherited from the Body Mind, and spiritual urges, and a degree of understanding about the nature of reality, inherited from our Personality. As we mature, worldview is also populated with cultural beliefs and some degree of new understanding as we learn to manage our human instincts. Spiritual instincts involve the urge to turn toward kinds of experiences most likely to provide opportunities for desired understanding. More a nuisance in our youth, for some people, spiritual instincts begin to dominate their actions as they mature. During transition out of this lifetime, and when we are free of human instincts, it appears we experience a sorting out process as we make sense of the understanding we have gained. It is beyond the scope of this model to explain whether or not we enter into a new venue for learning. Since our purpose appears to be to gain understanding, my speculation is that we will quickly find ourselves in a new venue … physical or not. The Perceptual Agreement Organizing Principle states: Personality must be in perceptual agreement with the aspect of reality with which it will associate. (4) (5) Based on

that, each lifetime would presumably result in greater understanding, and therefore, our access to reality would be increased. If true, this would make other venues available to us. In this model, our actual self is our personality (core intelligence). What we think is our actual self is only our conscious self, which is the experiencing part of our life field. All information into and out of our life field is by way of our Attention Complex (mind). No part of us, core intelligence or experiencer, is immune to the filtering of information or able to avoid the coloring of our intended action caused by worldview. Thus, in this model, the Perceptual Agreement limitation applies to all parts of our life field. As conscious self, the only way you can change worldview is with the expression of specific intention. As I will explain below, even then, you will only be able to make incremental changes. This is why mindfulness is a life-long process. (6) Morphic Fields The idea of what I refer to as our personality acting as our intelligent core is based on a concept proposed by Rupert Sheldrake as the Hypothesis of Formative Causation. (7) [paraphrasing] Sheldrake proposes that an organism can be modeled as a top field enfolding a hierarchy of nested fields. Each field is an organizing agent for the formation of a part of the organism. For instance, each cell in the body is organized by a field with instructions specific to that cell’s function in

a many to one manner. Larger parts of the organism such as skin, bone and muscle, are represented by fields enfolding subordinate fields, and so on in a hierarchical manner. The process of organizing the field according to Nature’s habit is referred to by Sheldrake as morphic resonance. Each type of species has a common memory or habit. Creative solutions to environmental challenges are able to change the habit, and thus effect all of the related species. Nature’s habit is comparable to the worldview functional area in the diagram. Both have considerable momentum, meaning that they resist large changes, but will respond to influences causing small, incremental change. As a person, we are an immortal personality entangled with human body in an avatar relationship. We share the Attention Complex with our human, and therefore our worldview. But note that I have modeled the influence of body image on the human body as a link to the body which bypasses the Attention Complex. The morphic field that organizes our body is based on the memory of its species. Thus, when we seek to influence our body, the model predicts that we must do so by way of the Attention Complex as a well-visualized expression. For instance, worldview is typically programmed to assume a mature body means a worn-out body. Therefore, our task is to change worldview rather than the body image. (In actuality, aging may be a cultural artifact.) First Sight Theory First Sight Theory proposed by James Carpenter holds that

everything produces a psi signal which we are able to sense. (8) He also maintains that our every expression produces a psychokinetic signal which influences our environment according to the intention of the expression. He proposes twelve corollaries to the psi sensing and psychokinetic expression theory that can be used pretty much without modification as the ruleset for operation of the Attention Complex. Keep in mind that First Sight Theory applies to our mostly unconscious mind. I say mostly unconscious, because our ability to consciously sense and influence functions in the Attention Complex (mind) depends on our lucidity. Lucidity is a measure of how well we have learned to quiet our mind and pay attention to those small impressions radiating from our mental processing. Corollary 7, the Bidirectionality Corollary, indicates that we unconsciously turn toward or away from information depending on our interest as it has been expressed to our mostly unconscious mind. This corollary is important as a mechanism for our spiritual instincts to guide our unconscious decision making. It is also the mechanism we seek to influence with our conscious intention to produce changes in worldview. The Nature of Awareness An important consequence of this model is that we do not directly experience reality. Instead, we experience what our worldview thinks about what we experience. This is not the conjecture of an engineer speculating about phenomena. Mainstream psychology is increasingly reporting findings indicating awareness of stimuli only after the mind processes the information. (8) (9) (10) If you

contemplate your thought processes, you will note that you visualize what you are going to say, compose the wording, and then speak, in that order. This very fast process is triggered by your intention to speak, but we only become aware of what we express as it emerges from our unconscious mind. Since your mostly unconscious mind pre-processes information, it is simple for it to ignore some information if your worldview is so conditioned. The Attention Limiter function in the Attention Complex is based on the consequences of Corollary 7 in First Sight Theory. In fact, we ignore much of the environmental information coming to us. Since other minds also send psi information to us, we probably ignore psi information coming from the mind of our loved ones unless our worldview is conditioned to acknowledge it. We are all-natural mental mediums. It is just that some of us have a worldview that is conditioned to accept mind-to-mind information. Mindfulness is the tool by which we can take control of that conditioning task to improve lucidity. Summation of the Model The consequences of surviving beyond this lifetime, the fact that we are only aware of the results of unconscious processing of environmental information and the fact that we share the database for that processing with our body, must be part of our sense of who we are. The alternative would seem to be self-delusion. This model, or one like it, must also be part of the explanation for the phenomena we

experience. If the model is largely correct, the etheric aspect of who we are is the same as our discarnate communicators. The only difference is our entanglement with a human avatar. The relationship of our five physical senses to our mind, what we sense psychically and mediumistic communication with a loved one, are only different in intention and the meaning for them we have been conditioned to assign. The only conscious influence we have on what we sense and express is our intention, and even that is conditional, based on the momentum of our mostly unconscious worldview. The awakening mystics speak of is a person’s emerging realization that there is a difference between personal reality dictated by worldview and actual reality … followed by the determination to align personal reality with actual reality. As is discussed below, a person (spirit entangled with a human) is the conduit through which paranormal phenomena must pass to cause physical effects. This may be facilitated by our avatar relationship, while our discarnate communicators do not have the physical perspective apparently necessary for their worldview to assign physicality. Anomalistic and Exceptional Experiences Psychologists are correct in thinking point of view influences experiences, but they ignore the reasons. If we believe in paranormal phenomena, then we are telling our Attention Complex to process environmental information deemed paranormal, rather than rejecting it because it does not agree with worldview. Based on the Principle of Perceptual Agreement, people who accept what their worldview shows them tend to be

blind to more of reality than those who question their perception. Formation of EVP Using ATransC nomenclature, the most common forms of reported EVP are transform, opportunistic and left message: (11) Transform EVP: Available noise is transformed into voice. Collection of transform EVP examples is accomplished by using a simple audio recorder. If there is not sufficient ambient noise, it might be added with a small fan. A common practice used in the early days of EVP, but discouraged today, was to tune a radio between stations so as to produce radio static for voice formation. Although the voices might be heard when they are formed, they are typically not heard until playback of the recording. Transform EVP is the most common form and the only form ATransC considers useful for research. The models being developed to help understand survival and our etheric-physical nature also support the formation of transform EVP. Opportunistic EVP: This is typically a live voice technique, meaning that a physical person’s speech is recorded and used for background noise. The live voice is thought to be changed between the source and the recorder. Foreign language is usually used. In the radio-sweep technique, the tuner of a radio is swept to opportunistically produce an output stream formed of the required bits of radio broadcast sound. It appears to be necessary for intended order to be in the form of compelling a person to produce the required sound at the needed moment. (Possible violation of self- determination; think

Seth’s “Do not violate.”) A third technique for opportunistic EVP is storage of pre-recorded voice in a digital buffer, and then the random selection of buffer addresses to produce an output sound stream composed of bits of voice from the pre-recorded voice. A random process in the computer program may be used for selecting storage addresses, but an environmental detector, such as a radiofrequency, magnetic or temperature detector might also be used. EVP are thought to be formed via psychokinetic manipulation of the random process. After experimentation and review of hundreds of examples, it has become ATransC policy that the frequency of false positives produced by opportunistic techniques makes it virtually useless for any but the most informed research. (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) None of the models being developed to help understand survival and our etheric-physical nature support the formation of radio-sweep EVP. As a compounding factor for evaluation of these techniques by less experienced practitioners, transform EVP may be found in the resulting noise stream inadvertently produced by all such techniques. Left Message EVP: This category includes messages left on telephone answering machines and phone calls. There is much less known about this form of EVP, as they are typically spontaneous events while transform and opportunistic EVP are typically induced, in that contact is initiated by a practitioner. The mechanisms involved in the formation of left message EVP appears to be the same as for transform EVP. Stochastic Resonance The only physical process we have identified that accounts

for the physical changes in an audio stream is stochastic amplification. (19) In that, a small signal can be amplified when mixed with a broad- spectrum noise signal in a nonlinear analog amplifier circuit. This phenomenon is sometimes used in telecommunication as a way of extending the range of transmission between signal regenerators. In one view of this, a small psychokinetic influence is thought to be amplified via Stochastic amplification as if it were a physical sound stream. The second theory requires an understanding of how the intended order concept is used here. Intended Order The Expression Organizing Principle is important to this discussion. It is defined as: Reality is expressed via personality’s attention on an imagined outcome with the intention to make it so. (4) (5) If it is true that every act is intentional, then reality is the product of intention or intended order. (This is also the definition used for the creative process.) We have noted that a random process is involved in most paranormal phenomena. For instance, at least some of the examples of precipitation art require the availability of raw, randomly organized material to be used in the art. Most visual forms of ITC require chaotic noise as the raw stuff for feature formation. Noise is transformed into voice in transform EVP. The Random Event Generators (REG) used for consciousness research respond to attention by becoming less random. In terms of order, the only difference between an REG signal and audio or visual noise is

scale. As I read the physics, the impression of intention on noise by way of stochastic amplification holds for all of these. Etheric-to-Physical Interface Etheric space is conceptual while physical space is objective, and so, a transforming process is necessary for one to influence the other. In this model, a concept is defined as a fundamental idea; a root thoughtform from which systems of thought can be derived. Objective means those aspects of our world we can experience with physical senses. Sensed information is transformed into psi signals to which we assign physicality, even though they are not otherwise different from other signals we receive. An important concept concerning this interface is energy well. In a single-tone sound stream, each next cycle is the same as the preceding cycle. Such a signal is very stable, and conceptually, great stability represents a very deep energy well which is more difficult to influence than a shallow well. This can be seen in EVP formation, as the psi influence necessary to change a single-tone signal appears to be greater than that needed to change a more random signal. In this model, it is not the size or mass of an object to be concerned with for psychokinetic influence. It is the energy well associated with the idea of its stability. Both views may have the same result, but the difference in focus helps us understand why noise with few variations produce fewer EVP than noise with many perturbations. It appears that noise spikes

help initiate voice formation. Cultural Contamination A common factor in EVP is apparent coloring of the message according to the practitioner or interested observer’s worldview. In the simplest example, two people will record for EVP in the same room. The one who is not afraid of the dark records useful information and the one who is afraid, records scary messages such as “Get out!” and “I hate you!” We also see this sort of cultural contamination in mental mediumship, as mediums color messages based on personal beliefs. In fact, we see no evidence in any of our ITC to support the notion of evil in the biblical sense. Yes, we find people behaving poorly, but not kill your soul evil. We also see no evidence or foundation in the metaphysics for earthbound souls. The Principle of Perceptual Agreement is the only organizing factor we have noted that limits our access to reality via self-determination. The takeaway from the cultural contamination concept is that a discarnate communicator may initiate an EVP but the message is first sensed by the practitioner or interested observer’s mostly unconscious mind as a conceptual thoughtform. There, it is matched up to worldview before being expressed into the physical as intended order. In this way, an intended message of “Please leave me alone” from a discarnate communicator may produce a “Get out” EVP if the practitioner or interested observer expects scary messages. Cultural contamination is easily seen in EVP. The same model used for EVP is used

for mental mediumship or channeling or watching television. A person who has learned to be more lucid by way of mindfulness will probably be subject to less contamination, but in practice, it is a part of the human condition. Concluding Comments Emerging understanding about how we think is making it difficult to ignore the part our nonphysical aspect plays in our daily living. This idea of an inner, spiritual self and an outer, physical self is no longer the domain of mystics and New Age believers. While scientists are more willing to say that mental processing comes before conscious awareness, a decidedly etheric concept, they are reluctant to merge their theories with parapsychological models. Be pragmatic. It is well-established fact that EVP exist as anomalous voices found in electronic equipment. Fraudulent EVP are not EVP; they are fakes. If a person mistakes ambient sounds for EVP, he or she needs training, rather than their error being evidence of delusion. Training is our community’s biggest problem and one only you can fix. Be clear about the consequences of what you accept as true. Beware what your friends think is true and examine beliefs of the author whose literature you depend on for learned guidance. Question the consequences of every thought and claim. EVP are a well-established form of transcommunication. If you have examined it and remain unconvinced, perhaps your source needs more training. Certainly, there are examples that can only be reasonably discounted by ignoring known natural principles. References 1. Gullà,

Daniele. “Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification.’ Association TransCommunication. 2004. atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis/. (This book) 2. APStaff. “What is Anomalistic Psychology?” Goldsmiths, University of London. 2015. gold.ac.uk/apru/what/. 3. Butler, Tom. Etheric Fields. Etheric Studies. 2014. ethericstudies.org/etheric-fields/. 4. Butler, Tom. Your Immortal Self, Exploring the Mindful Way. AA-EVP Publishing, 2016. ISBN 978-0-9727493-8-1. ethericstudies.org/immortal_self/ 5. Butler, Tom. “Organizing Principles.” Etheric Studies. 2015. ethericstudies.org/organizing-principles/. 6. Butler, Tom. “The Mindful Way.” Etheric Studies. 2014. ethericstudies.org/mindfulness/. 7. Sheldrake, Rupert PhD. “Morphic Resonance and Morphic Fields.” Rupert Sheldrake. sheldrake.org/research/morphic- resonance/introduction?. 8. Carpenter, James. “First Sight: A Model and A Theory of Psi.” James Carpenter. 2014. drjimcarpenter.com/about/documents/FirstSightformindfield. pdf. 9. Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. “Decision-making May Be Surprisingly Unconscious Activity.” Science Daily. 2008. sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414145705.htm. 10. Müller, Max. “Katha Upanishads Part II (SBE15).” Sacred Text. 1884. sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe15/sbe15012.htm. 11. Butler, Tom. “Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives.” Association TransCommunication. 2010. atransc.org/locating-false-positives/. (Book 1) 12. Butler, Tom. “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?” Association TransCommunication. 2011. atransc.org/evpmaker-study-where-are-we-now/. (This book) 13. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Using Live Voice Input Files for EVP.” Association TransCommunication. 2012. atransc.org/live- voice/. (Book 5) 14. Heinen, Cindy. “Information Gathering Using EVPmaker With Allophone: A Yearlong Trial.” Association TransCommunication. 2010. atransc.org/information- gathering-using-evpmaker/. (This book) 15. Leary, Mark. “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP - Three parts.” Association TransCommunication. 2013. atransc.org/radiosweep-study2/. (This book) 16. Butler, Tom. “Radio-Sweep: A Case Study.” Association TransCommunication. 2009. atransc.org/radiosweep-study1/. (This book) 17. Sudduth, Michael. “Super-Psi and the Survivalist Interpretation of Mediumship.” Cup of Nirvana. 2009. michaelsudduth.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/01/SurvivalMediumship.pdf.

18. Butler, Tom. “Trans-survival Hypothesis.” Etheric Studies. ethericstudies.org/trans-survival-hypothesis/ 19. Abbott, Mark D. McDonnell and Derek. 2009. “What Is Stochastic Resonance? Definitions, Misconceptions, Debates, and Its Relevance to Biology.” NCBI, PMC, US National Library of Medicine. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2660436/ b A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP Part I by Mark Leary, Ph.D. Published in the Winter 2013 ATransC NewsJournal Read part 1: A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP (This book) Part 2: Do you Hear What I Hear? (This book) and Part 3: Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenome (This book) Introduction Anyone who has listened to even a few EVP recordings knows how difficult they are to interpret. Listeners often disagree, sometimes strongly, regarding what a particular EVP seems to say, which raises questions about the validity of each person’s interpretation. Yet, the usefulness of EVP depends on the degree to which investigators can trust one another’s interpretations of the EVP that they record. Although a great deal has been written about the possible mechanisms that produce EVP and the types of equipment that are most effective in recording them, EVP enthusiasts have devoted far less attention to problems associated with interpreting the sounds that are recorded. After observing repeated disagreements among investigators (and rarely feeling that the interpretations of EVP on paranormal television shows match what I hear), I undertook a study to examine how serious the problem really is. The study that I conducted had two main goals: to document the degree to which investigators

agree or disagree on their interpretations of EVP and to create a means of identifying which interpretation of a particular EVP is most likely to be “correct.” The Study To obtain a set of EVP for analysis, I contacted a number of paranormal investigators who had conducted systematic investigations at the Ferry Plantation House in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I received over 250 EVP, from which I chose 94 that were among the clearest in terms of having obvious vocal characteristics. These recordings came from eleven investigators who recorded them across seven different investigations. In general, investigators seemed to submit what they viewed as particularly good EVP, all of them recorded without a background noise source. I then recruited 24 individuals (10 men, 14 women) with paranormal investigation experience to listen to and interpret the 94 audio clips. The raters ranged in age from 29 to 62, with an average age of 46. All but two of them currently belonged to active paranormal investigation groups. The raters were sent a CD with the audio clips, along with a form for interpreting the EVP and a background information questionnaire. Raters listened to each EVP as many times as needed, wrote down each word that they heard (putting an asterisk for any words they could not understand), indicated any emotion that they detected in the voice, and rated their confidence that their interpretation of the EVP was correct. The background questionnaire asked about raters’ age and sex, their interests and beliefs in the

paranormal, and included a brief measure of basic personality dimensions (such as extraversion, emotional stability and agreeableness). Determining Agreement Although we can never know for sure what an EVP “really” says, my analysis of raters’ interpretations was based on the assumption that a particular interpretation of an EVP that is made independently by several people is more likely to be “correct” than an interpretation that is made by only a few individuals. For example, if seven out of ten people who listen to an EVP hear exactly the same words, two other individuals hear a different set of words and the remaining person hears something else entirely, the interpretation on which the seven people agreed would be more likely to reflect the actual sounds than the other individuals’ idiosyncratic interpretations. Thus, to begin, I determined a “consensus interpretation” for each EVP by counting the number of times that raters reported hearing various words. For example, whatever first word was heard by the most raters became the first word of the consensus interpretation. Whatever second word was heard by most raters was the second word of the consensus interpretation, and so on. In this way, I came up with the most common (or consensus) interpretation for each EVP. With the consensus interpretation in hand, I then calculated the percentage of raters who agreed with the consensus interpretation. This number could range from 0% (no two raters reported hearing the same thing) to 100% (all raters agreed with the consensus interpretation) and

is an index of the degree to which raters independently agreed in their interpretations of each EVP. Of the 94 EVP, the one with the highest agreement (“What’s going on?”) was listed by 83% of the raters. That is, 83% of the raters listed the consensus interpretation for this EVP. However, the overall agreement for the entire set of EVP was much lower. Across all 94 EVP, average agreement with the consensus interpretation was only 21%. In other words, only about 1 out of 5 raters gave an interpretation that agreed with the most common (and, presumably most “accurate”) interpretation. When analyzed at the level of particular words rather than the entire EVP, average agreement was 35%. Raters agreed with the most common interpretation of each specific word on about 1 out of every 3 words on average. Some of the EVP not only had 0% agreement, but the various interpretations sometimes differed wildly. For example, one EVP that had no agreement on any words across raters was interpreted as saying, among other things: “Deep inside there’s a pickup;” “Keep those hidden Mr. Gel;” “He comes out here;” “Go outside and just lean on it;” “Get it tight, got to stretch it;” “Don’t try to persuade them;” “Get us out Mr. Kant;” and “I need the guns out if this is what you’ll do.” These various interpretations do not even contain similar phonemes. Incidentally, the percentage of agreement with the consensual interpretation can be used as a way of assessing

the clarity of an EVP. Historically, investigators have classified EVP as Class A, B, or C depending on how easily listeners can hear a message. But calculating the percentage of people who independently agree with the most common interpretation is a more precise and unambiguous indicator of the quality and clarity of an EVP than classifying it into one of three categories. Every EVP would have a score from 0 (no consensus; this EVP cannot be interpreted) to 100 (complete consensus; this EVP is so clear that everyone hears exactly the same thing). Emotional Content Raters indicated whether they detected any emotion in the voice. The majority of the EVP (63.5%) had no discernible emotional tone. However, raters indicated that some EVP expressed sadness (9.7%), anger or irritability (8.2%), urgency (7.7%), or happiness (6.3%). Setting aside the fact that most of the EVP had no emotional tone, when an emotion was detected, on average only 12.7% of the raters agreed that a particular emotion, such as anger or sadness, was present. Thus, raters showed even less agreement in detecting emotion than in interpreting the content of the EVP. Interestingly, raters’ tendency to hear emotions in the EVP was related to their own personalities. For example, raters who scored higher on the measure of extraversion reported “happiness” in the voices more frequently, raters who scored higher on the measure of agreeableness reported hearing both more “happiness” and more “anger,” and those who scored higher on emotional stability heard more “happiness” expressed.

Raters’ interpretations of emotional tone sometimes reflected their own personalities as much as the actual features of the EVP. Rater Confidence For each EVP, raters indicated how confident they were that their interpretation was correct on a 4-point scale (where 1 = not at all, 2 = a little, 3 = moderately, and 4 = very confident). Across all EVP, raters’ confidence averaged between “a little” and “moderately” confident (average confidence was 2.5 on the 4-point scale). To see if raters who were more confident of their interpretations were more likely to hear what other raters heard (the consensus interpretation), I correlated raters’ confidence judgments with the number of their interpretations that agreed with the group’s consensus interpretation. The correlation was rather weak, indicating that being confident that one’s interpretation is correct does not usually reflect that other people will hear the same thing. Differences Among Raters I calculated an index of personal agreement that tells us how good each rater was at hearing the most common interpretation. Individual raters agreed with the group consensus between 17% and 35% of the time, with an average of 22%. That is, the “best” rater agreed with the group consensus interpretations on 35% of the EVP, and the “worst” rater agreed on 17% of the EVP. When analyzed at the level of the word rather than the entire EVP, the percent of raters who agreed with the group consensus varied from 31% to 51%, with an average of 38% of the words. So,

if we play the average EVP to a large group of people, the average person will agree with the consensus interpretation of the entire EVP 22% of the time but agree with 38% of the words. I analyzed whether any of the characteristics of the raters mattered in their agreement with the consensus interpretation. Although we might expect that experience with EVP might be related to interpretation ability, the degree to which raters agreed with the consensus interpretation was not related to the number of EVP that they had personally recorded, their years of involvement in paranormal investigations, the number or content of paranormal television shows they watched, basic personality dimensions, their age, or the nature of their beliefs in the paranormal. The only variable that was significantly related to agreement with the consensus interpretation was gender. Women’s interpretations agreed with the consensus interpretation 4% more often than men’s interpretations (24% vs. 20%). I’m not sure what to make of this finding. Most raters’ interpretations were meaningful phrases, but some gave phonetic interpretations even if they did not make semantic sense. For example, on one EVP for which there was no consensus, some raters gave meaningful interpretations (such as “Hey we sung in the chorus” or “That is so great, Cory”), whereas other raters wrote down what they heard even though it didn’t make sense (such as “Hack me some green course” and “Hey peace and grin Coreys”). Investigators should consider whether imposing meaning on an EVP may lead them

to “hear” words that help the phrase make sense but that might be incorrect. The raters also differed in their willingness to leave blanks. Raters were told to use an asterisk when they couldn’t interpret a particular word. Some raters used asterisks regularly, but others did not use them at all. Given that we can assume that no rater was perfectly confident of every word, those who interpreted words they didn’t understand probably made more misleading interpretations than those who admitted that they didn’t understand certain words. Conclusions and Recommendations The results of this study suggest that investigators should be less confidence in their interpretations of EVP than they typically are. On average, the most common interpretation of each EVP was shared by only 22% of other people. And, of course, all interpretations other than the most common, consensual one had even less agreement. In fact, most of the raters’ interpretations were not given by any other listener! Furthermore, raters were not particularly good at judging the correctness of their interpretations. Thus, having the sense that “I’m sure this is what it says” does not indicate that other people will agree with one’s interpretation (or that it is actually correct). These results lead me to offer four recommendations for the responsible interpretation of EVP: 1. In light of the fact that any particular investigator’s interpretation of an EVP is not likely to be shared by other people and that people’s interpretations are biased by what they expect to hear, investigators

should never interpret an EVP for other people without playing it for them several times and soliciting their independent interpretations. 2. If the interpretation of a specific EVP is particularly important (such as when it is being interpreted for grieving family members), investigators should use a scaled-down version of the procedure used in this study. Have at least 10 people independently listen to the EVP and determine the consensus interpretation, if any. Then report an interpretation of the EVP to others only if a majority of listeners agrees on that interpretation. In some cases, it may be helpful to report more than one potential interpretation, along with the percentage of people who agreed with each one. Providing listeners with such data is a more honest and responsible way to share EVP than to offer a particular interpretation that might, in fact, be idiosyncratic. 3. Investigators should be willing to refrain from interpreting ambiguous EVP. Providing a questionable interpretation as if it is certain is misleading, if not sometimes dishonest. Just because an EVP cannot be interpreted does not mean it is not a useful piece of evidence, so investigators should not interpret EVP that are unclear. 4. Paranormal investigation groups and EVP practitioners should have formal guidelines for the interpretation of EVP that minimize the likelihood that they will offer interpretations of EVP—whether to other group members, clients, or outsiders—that are expressed with greater confidence than the objective evidence warrants. Investigators should exercise greater care in sharing their interpretations of

EVP, and procedures should be in place to ensure that clients, other investigators and the public are not inadvertently misled regarding interpretations of an EVP. With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motivation, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people’s concerns with their social images, and the relationship between personality and behavior. He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” Editor’s Note For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article EVP Online Listening Trials (This book) in the ATransC online Journal. “Radio-sweep” is a generic name for EVP thought to be formed using sound produced by sweeping a radio dial. In principle, it produces a form of EVP referred to as “opportunistic EVP.” Please review Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives (Book 1) and Radio-Sweep: A Case Study. (This book) Also see the article on page 9: “A Two- Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP.” Do You Hear What I Hear? Part II A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP A Second Study of EVP Interpretation by Mark Leary, Ph.D. Published in the Winter 2013 ATransC NewsJournal Read part 1: A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP (This book) Part 2: Do

you Hear What I Hear? (This book) and Part 3: Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenome (This book) This is a Minibox by Paranormal Systems, Inc. (2007). It is basically a radio equipped with a tuner that automatically sweeps the dial. The sweep is continuous and the rate is variable. See the ATransC endnote. Introduction In the previous issue of the NewsJournal (Winter 2013), I described a research study that examined the problem of EVP interpretation. As all EVP enthusiasts know, people often disagree over how particular EVP should be interpreted, and we were interested in documenting how serious the problem really is. In that study, 24 investigators each interpreted a large set of EVP, and the most common or “consensus” interpretation of each EVP was determined. Then, the individual investigators’ interpretations of the EVP were compared to the consensus interpretations to see how well they agreed. The results showed that, on average, only 21% of the investigators’ interpretations of particular words agreed with the consensus interpretation. To put this finding in perspective, imagine that your family doctor arrived at the same diagnosis as most other doctors on only 1 out of 5 of their diagnoses. Such a low rate of agreement would obviously raise serious issues about medical diagnoses, and similar issues must be addressed about EVP interpretations. In this article, I describe a second study that was conducted to answer additional questions about EVP interpretation. This study, which was partly funded by a grant from the Association

TransCommunication to the Rhine Research Center, examined EVP that were recorded using radio-sweep technology. Radio-sweep technology, often known as “ghost boxes” or “spirit boxes,” involves rapidly changing the tuning of a radio receiver to produce a stream of noise that is composed of bits of sound from the stations that are being scanned. Advocates of this technique believe that communicating entities use the snippets of sound to produce words. Many investigators suggest that EVP that are recorded with radio sweep are more distinct than those recorded without background noise. However, critics note that the noise source itself sometimes contains words or other sounds that might be interpreted as intelligent communication. In any case, we were interested in whether the low rate of agreement found in the earlier study of EVP that were recorded without a sound source is also found with radio- sweep EVP. A second goal of the study was to examine how people’s interpretations of EVP are affected by knowing what other people heard. EVP enthusiasts know that people’s interpretations of EVP can be influenced by what other people say they hear. For that reason, some investigators do not share their personal interpretations until others have listened and come to their own, independent conclusions. But exactly how much are listeners’ interpretations biased when they know what other people think an EVP says? And does this biasing effect depend on whose interpretation is known? Often, listeners tend to give the interpretation offered by the investigator who recorded the EVP

special attention, possibly because listeners assume that the original investigator has listened carefully many times before rendering an interpretation and is aware of the conditions under which it was recorded. If so, listeners may be particularly affected by knowing the interpretation of the person who recorded the EVP. To examine the biasing effects of knowing other people’s interpretations, we had people listen to EVP after learning what others thought they said and had other people interpret EVP without knowing others’ interpretations. The Study To obtain a set of EVP for the study, an announcement was posted on the ATransC website and published in the NewsJournal asking investigators to submit radio-sweep EVP that the investigator believed contained an anomalous or ethereal voice. We also asked the submitting investigators to indicate what they thought the EVP said. Nineteen EVP were submitted, of which we selected 12 audio clips for the study. If an investigator’s statement or question preceded the clip, it was removed so that each clip contained only the EVP with a few seconds of radio-sweep noise before and after when possible. These 12 EVP varied in length from a one-syllable word to eight words (containing 11 syllables). Before we started the study, a pair of experienced paranormal investigators provided their independent interpretations of each EVP. We used these interpretations to see whether people’s interpretations agreed more with the original investigators’ interpretations than the “secondary interpretations” provided by these other investigators The original investigators’ interpretations of the 12 EVP contained a

total of 55 syllables and 46 words. The secondary interpretations by the other investigators contained 63 syllables and 53 words. The original and secondary interpretations not only contained different numbers of syllables and words, but the secondary interpretations agreed with the investigators’ interpretations on only 4 words (8.7%). Ninety adults were recruited to participate in the study. The participants were 23 men and 61 women who ranged in age from 18 to 81 (average age was 46.5). Dr. Christine Simmonds-Moore supervised the data collection, which occurred in a laboratory at either the Rhine Research Center or the University of West Georgia. After each participant completed a background questionnaire, he or she was randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions. These experimental conditions differed in whether participants received an interpretation of each EVP before listening to it. Participants in the no-interpretation condition simply wrote down their interpretations on a form that we provided, one EVP per page. Participants in a second condition saw the investigator’s interpretation of the EVP at the top of each page of the form before interpreting the EVP. Participants in a third condition saw the secondary interpretation (made by the other two investigators) at the top of each page. By having participants listen to the EVP under three different conditions (no interpretation, investigator’s interpretation, or secondary interpretation), we could examine the degree to which knowing others’ interpretations affected what participants reported they heard. Participants listened to each of the 12 EVP clips through headphones in a

quiet research room and wrote down their interpretations. Participants listened to each EVP as many times as needed to decide what the words might be. Agreement with the Investigator’s and Secondary Interpretations In deciding whether particular syllables and words in the participant’s interpretation matched the syllables and words in the investigator’s and secondary interpretation, we leaned in the direction of leniency. For example, singular and plural forms of a word were counted as a match (Richard/Richards), contractions were counted as a match with their constituent words (“don’t” and “do not” were counted as a match), and homonyms were counted as a match (weight/wait, their/there, hire/higher). Also, a particular word did not have to appear in the same position in the participant’s interpretation as in the investigator’s or secondary interpretation. For example, “book” would be counted as a match in “now take the book away” and “he should write the book today” even though book is the fourth syllable of the first phrase and the fifth syllable of the second. The primary question was how many of the words in the investigators’ and secondary interpretations participants heard. Did participants hear the same things as the investigators? The answer depends on whether participants saw an interpretation of an EVP before they interpreted it. When participants did not see any interpretation before listening to the EVP, they agreed with the investigator’s interpretation on only about 6% of the words (and 10% of the syllables) and with the secondary interpretations on about 8% of

the words (10% of the syllables). More discouragingly, among participants who did not learn any interpretations before hearing the EVP, only one participant interpreted an EVP precisely in the same way as the investigator who submitted it. That is, out of 360 interpretations in the no- interpretation condition of the study (30 participants × 12 EVP), only one perfectly matched what the investigator reported. This is obviously a rather low level of agreement. Of course, agreement differed across the 12 EVP. On the EVP with the greatest agreement, only one participant failed to match at least one word in the investigator’s interpretation. But on the EVP with the least agreement, not a single participant agreed with the investigator’s interpretation! Agreement also differed across participants. In the absence of knowing the interpretation, the “worst” participant agreed with only 2% of the investigators’ words, and the “best” participant agreed with 14% of the words. Knowing the investigators’ or secondary interpretations improved agreement markedly. Participants who had seen the investigators’ interpretations reported an average of 23% of the words and 23% of the syllables in those interpretations. After seeing the secondary interpretations, participants’ interpretations matched 27% of the words and 25% of the syllables in those interpretations. Thus, knowing how other people interpreted an EVP strongly influenced what participants said they heard. Implications Although the results of this study say nothing whatsoever about the nature of EVP, they raise questions about the degree to which we can trust interpretations of most EVP. I

imagine that some investigators will find these results exceptionally discouraging. Most EVP enthusiasts are quite aware that people’s interpretations of particular EVP often disagree, sometimes wildly, but the extent of the problem may be more sobering than many imagine. Other investigators may object that the situation is not as dire as the data suggest. For example, some may object that most of the participants in this study were not experienced with recording or interpreting EVP and, thus, the data may say little about the quality of EVP interpretations by experienced investigators. Yet, as noted, the two experienced investigators who provided the secondary interpretations agreed with the investigators’ interpretations on only 11.5% of the words. And the fact that participants who were trying to identify the words in the recordings under controlled circumstances heard only about 6% of the same words as the investigators should give us pause. In many instances, these disagreements have no practical implications. If investigators on a paranormal investigation of a public location don’t agree on their interpretation of a particular EVP, often no harm is done. However, in cases where other people have a stake in the interpretation—as when grieving parents believe that an EVP is the voice of a deceased child—then interpretations matter a great deal. Like the earlier study, this experiment suggests that investigators should be more cautious in interpreting EVP for other people when the interpretations matter. “Methods, the psychophone and the EVPmaker software methods proved to be highly unreliable, not because they

are particularly bad acoustic backgrounds for the production of the voices but because they are undoubtedly a source of uncertainty and ambiguity in the analysis of the results. They can very easily originate pareidolia and/or projection of meaning based upon expectation. Very particularly with the EVPmaker software, it is easy to find “results” in recording- sessions where they do not exist. In addition, an erroneous interpretation of the content of possibly anomalous utterances found in the recording is very likely. Most of the EVP “results,” published in the Internet, fall into one of these categories.” From: A Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP (This book) by Anabela CardosoRepublished from NeuroQuantology | September 2012 | Volume 10 | Issue 3 | Page 492-514 With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motivation, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people’s concerns with their social images, and the relationship between personality and behavior. He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” Editor’s Note For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article EVP Online Listening Trials (This book) in the ATransC online Journal. “Radio-sweep” is a generic name for EVP thought to be formed using sound produced by sweeping a

radio dial. In principle, it produces a form of EVP referred to as “opportunistic EVP.” Please review Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives (Book 1) and Radio-Sweep: A Case Study. (This book) Also see the article on page 9: “A Two- Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP.” Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenomena Part III A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP by Mark Leary, Ph.D. Published in the Winter 2013 ATransC NewsJournal Read part 1: A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP (This book) Part 2: Do you Hear What I Hear? (This book) and Part 3: Improving the Interpretation of Electronic Voice Phenome (This book) Brief In the past two issues of the NewsJournal (Winter and Spring 2013), I described two research studies that examined the problem of EVP interpretation. The first study looked at experienced investigators’ interpretations of nearly 100 EVP, and the second one examined lay people’s interpretations of EVP that were recorded using “radio-sweep” techniques. Although no experienced EVP enthusiast will be surprised that listeners disagreed in their interpretations of the various EVP, many will find the exceptionally low level of agreement troubling. In the first study, only 21% of the listeners agreed on the most common interpretation on average, and many of the EVP showed no agreement across listeners whatsoever. Agreement was even worse in Study 2. When people listened to EVP without knowing what the investigators who recorded them thought the EVP said, they agreed

with only 6% of the words that the investigators heard. And, only 1 out of 360 interpretations perfectly matched the investigator’s interpretation. These findings are particularly troubling when we consider that the investigators presumably submitted these particular EVP because they thought that the sound clips were among the best they had recorded. All EVP investigators know that particular EVP are often interpreted in different ways by different people, yet they often act as if they know what a sound clip actually says. The low rate of agreement in interpretations of EVP is obviously a concern for those who are interested in EVP, so in this article, I will tackle the thorny question of how EVP enthusiasts should deal with this issue. Why Should We Care? In many cases, whether an investigator’s interpretation of a particular EVP is “correct” may not matter very much. Those who record EVP as a personal hobby or do paranormal investigations for mere enjoyment don’t harm anyone when they confidently claim to hear something that most other people would not interpret similarly and that, in fact, might not actually be there. But, in other cases, EVP interpretations have consequences. Most notably, when EVP are presented as the words of a deceased loved one, the messages they supposedly contain can affect people deeply. Simply believing that the words come from a loved one is sometimes reassuring to people, and if the message is positive, it can create great relief. But what about when the words seem to

convey a dark or troubled message? How sure should an investigator be about the source and content of a message before delivering it to a deceased person’s loved ones? Similarly, homeowners who believe that their property is haunted sometimes invite paranormal investigators to examine the house, and such investigations often yield EVP. When should an investigator feel confident enough to relay a purported EVP message to the homeowners? Even when the specific content of an EVP doesn’t matter much, confidently claiming to know what a particular clip says nonetheless seems dishonest and carries the risk of undermining an investigator’s credibility when other people do not hear the same thing. (Paranormal television shows are particularly bad about this, providing interpretations of EVP that are often inconsistent with what viewers themselves hear.) What Should We Do? As much as investigators would like all of their EVP recordings to be crystal clear to everyone, they very rarely are. Rather than sweeping this problem under the rug and pretending that EVP are clearer and less ambiguous than they really are, investigators need to address the issue head-on. Below I offer seven recommendations for improving the quality of EVP interpretations. 1. Don’t Be So Certain. The resounding conclusion from our two studies is that investigators should not be as certain of their interpretations as they often are. Investigators sometimes feel that they have special insight into the EVP they record, but in our two studies, only a very small percentage of listeners agreed with the

interpretations given by the people who recorded them. Furthermore, given the low rate of agreement and the tendency for people to overestimate the likelihood that they are correct, investigators should express their interpretations in a cautious, tentative manner that conveys that their interpretation might not be right. Too often, we hear people assert “This EVP says…” when a far more honest and defensible claim would be “I think I hear…” or “To me, it seems to sound like….” 2. Don’t Share an Interpretation Until Others Listen. All EVP enthusiasts know that people’s interpretations of EVP are sometimes affected by what they think other people hear. In fact, it is often difficult not to hear what someone else said they heard. In our second study (NewsJournal, Spring 2013), we found that agreement with the individual words in an EVP jumped from 6% to 23% when listeners were told what the recording investigator thought the EVP said. The implication is clear: If we want to increase our chances of finding the best interpretation of an EVP, we must allow people to come to their own conclusions before hearing what other people think. 3. Offer Alternative Interpretations. When listeners suggest different interpretations of an EVP, any interpretation that is independently offered by multiple people must be taken seriously. If the interpretation is being shared with a client – such as a grieving family or the owner of a property that has been investigated – all of the most common alternative interpretations should be

presented. It’s okay to admit not knowing for certain what an EVP says and to offer several possibilities. 4. Calculate an Index of Agreement. Every EVP enthusiast has had the experience of confidently arriving at an interpretation of a particular EVP only to find that no one else agreed with him or her. They have also had the experience of having another investigator claim “This is a Class A EVP” (which, by definition, would be interpreted similarly by everyone) when, in fact, no one else hears the same thing. Since we all assume that our own interpretations are reasonably correct (or, at least better than other people’s interpretations), the only way to find out whether our interpretation is plausible is to have several people – 10 at the minimum – independently listen to the EVP and privately record their interpretation. In this way, an investigator can see the percentage of listeners who agree with his or her interpretation (as well as possibly identify a better interpretation that more people agree with). But how much agreement should we require before claiming than an EVP says this or that? Each investigator must decide for him- or herself when to share interpretations with others, but let’s consider an analogy to put the problem in perspective. Imagine that your doctor detects symptoms that might or might not indicate that you have a serious illness. How sure would you like the doctor to be before he or she shares a specific diagnosis with you? And

if the doctor conferred with other doctors, what percentage of other doctors would you want to agree with his diagnosis of your condition before he reported that you have a particular disease? More to the point, would you trust a doctor who said 5. “I think that you have Disease X, but only about 20% of other doctors agree with me?” That’s roughly the average percentage of agreement that we found in our first study. Among behavioral researchers (such as research psychologists), the minimum agreement that is considered acceptable before data can be used is 70%. That is, if two independent researchers count, rate or interpret some aspect of people’s behavior, they must agree at least 70% of the time in their ratings or interpretations for the ratings to be reliable enough to use. That figure strikes me as a reasonable criterion. Investigators should not assert that an EVP conveys a particular message unless at least 70% of listeners independently agree. Interpret EVP Word-by-Word and Encourage Partial Interpretations. As would be expected, the results of our two studies showed that listeners agree on individual words more often than they agree on entire EVP. This suggests that EVP should be interpreted word-by-word (if not syllable-by- syllable), with listeners indicating uninterpretable syllables by an asterisk. In our first, study we had the impression that listeners who interpreted every word sometimes “heard” words that helped a phrase make sense. Listeners should not try to make sense of the entire phrase but rather should

simply write down each word that can be interpreted and ignore those that are unclear. Having a group of people give partial interpretations of only the clearest syllables may collectively provide a good interpretation. Although this idea remains to be tested, I suspect that a group of people who each deciphered only the words (or syllables) that are clearest to them will generate a better interpretation of an EVP than any given person. 6. Challenge Others’ Interpretations (Gently). Many investigators hesitate to question others’ interpretations when they disagree with them. Most of us do not want to provoke disagreement and conflict, particularly when we know that some people can become rather ego-involved in their interpretations. In addition, knowing how unclear most EVP are, many investigators may disagree with another interpretation yet have little confidence in their own interpretation of a particular sound clip. Yet, failing to indicate when one does not hear another person’s interpretation may give an impression of implicit agreement, leading an investigator to be more confident of his or her interpretation than is warranted. When challenging an interpretation, the approach should never be “You’re wrong, and I’m right,” because, on average, one’s own interpretation is no more likely to be correct than anyone else’s. Rather, the message should simply be “I’m not sure that I hear that. To me, it sounds more like ….” When such disagreements arise, as they inevitably will, the automatic and default recourse should be to get more independent interpretations, with no effort

to pressure people into hearing any particular thing. The goal should be to find the best translation – not to prove that you are right. 7. Leave Ambiguous EVP Uninterrupted. It’s okay to say “I have no idea what this EVP says.” Particularly when an analysis of agreement across several people shows little or no agreement (as occurred on many of the EVP we used in our studies), the most honest conclusion is that the EVP is uninterruptable. In some cases of uninterruptable EVP, the vocal characteristics may be so pronounced that an investigator will nonetheless conclude that the sound clip is a bona fide EVP, but that it is simply not possible to decipher it (just as one can hear voices through the wall of a hotel room but not understand what they are saying). However, in many cases, the failure to arrive at an interpretation that others independently agree with should lead an investigator to reconsider whether the sound clip is an EVP Conclusions Low agreement in EVP interpretations is the elephant in the room among those who are interested in EVP. All investigators know that low agreement is a problem, but they hate to confront it because it casts a pall on the entire enterprise of recording and interpreting EVP. Yet, failing to confront the issue simply creates more difficulties. Consistently acknowledging the agreement problem and encouraging investigators to be honest and cautious in how they assert their interpretations is an important first step. And following recommendations

such as those offered here will help to restrain us from claiming more than we actually know. With a Ph. D. in social psychology, Dr. Leary is a research psychologist who studies topics related to self-awareness, motivation, and emotion. He has conducted research on topics such as reactions to social rejection, the effects of excessive self-attention, people’s concerns with their social images, and the relationship between personality and behavior. He is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals in social psychology and recently released a psychology course on DVD entitled “Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior.” Editor’s Note For an additional study of how people hear EVP, please refer to the article EVP Online Listening Trials (This book) in the ATransC online Journal. “Radio-sweep” is a generic name for EVP thought to be formed using sound produced by sweeping a radio dial. In principle, it produces a form of EVP referred to as “opportunistic EVP.” Please review Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives (Book 1) and Radio-Sweep: A Case Study. (This book) Also see the article on page 9: “A Two- Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP.” A Two-Year Investigation of the Allegedly Anomalous Electronic Voices or EVP by Anabela Cardoso Republished from NeuroQuantology | September 2012 | Volume 10 | Issue 3 | Page 492-514 Please see the entire article at citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.988.4953&rep=rep1&type=pdf Abstract A relatively novel acoustic phenomenon has inundated the Internet and specialized literature. Several Associations, some of them with an important

number of members, have formed around it in many countries. In the Anglo- Saxon world the phenomenon is called EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) and is usually assumed as electronically mediated communication from or with the deceased. The first tests aimed at verifying the reality of these claims were carried out in Sweden and in Germany, in 1964 and 1970, under the direction of Professor Hans Bender from Freiburg University (Bender, 1970; 1972; 2011). The present report describes in detail the tests designed to record the allegedly anomalous electronic voices, or EVP, under controlled acoustic conditions. Series of experiments were carried out in Vigo, Spain throughout a period of two years under conditions controlled to the highest degree achievable. Several operators were involved in the many tests conducted in Acoustic Laboratories and professional recording studios equipped with very high levels of acoustic shielding. The protocols and procedures followed in the experiments, as well as the results obtained, are herewith described. Several extra voices were recorded during the many experiments performed for which no normal explanation was found. Conclusions The reality of the apparently anomalous electronic voices was confirmed in acoustically controlled environments with different operators. With the exception of the June 17, 2008 radio voices, none of the voices or whispers described in the present report were heard live during the tests. Extra voices, originating from undetectable sources, were identified in the following situations: Under controlled speech and controlled acoustic environment – AC as sole operator at the Metropolis and at

the University of Vigo; Iñaki at the University of Vigo and at the Metropolis. Under controlled acoustic environment and uncontrolled speech – AC, Portuguese operators and participants (PN and Francisco) at the Metropolis; AC, IH and UH at University of Vigo; the same and Iñaki at the Metropolis. Under uncontrolled speech and uncontrolled acoustic environment – AC and the Portuguese operators outside the Acoustics chamber of the Superior School of Engineering; AC and Iñaki at the same place. The voices seemed to benefit from the presence of noise in the environment (particularly human speech and metallic clicks). The very few voices recorded without any explicit noise had quite lower amplitude than the voices registered with a background of explicit noise. The amplitude of the voices seems to be related to the level of background environmental noise extant in the room when the voices appear recorded. Probably to other variables, too but those remain undefined and need further research. The voices were louder, clearer, more abundant and flowing when uncontrolled direct human speech by two or more people prevailed, independently of an acoustically controlled or uncontrolled environment. Above all, they seemed to benefit from a situation where the operators’ frame of mind was lively and energetic, and perhaps also from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. On the other hand, they seemed to be negatively affected if the operators were focused on the experiment. The voices seemed to benefit from a slightly chaotic situation – AC, Portuguese operators, PN and Francisco at

the Metropolis; AC, IH, UH and Sound Technician ML at the Laboratory of Acoustics. The voices did not seem to be significantly more abundant when an artificial basis of human speech was used (Psychophone* and EVPmaker) as acoustic background source. Methods, the psychophone and the EVPmaker software methods proved to be highly unreliable, not because they are particularly bad acoustic backgrounds for the production of the voices but because they are undoubtedly a source of uncertainty and ambiguity in the analysis of the results. They can very easily originate pareidolia and/or projection of meaning based upon expectation. Very particularly with the EVPmaker software, it is easy to find “results” in recording-sessions where they do not exist. In addition, an erroneous interpretation of the content of possibly anomalous utterances found in the recording is very likely. Most of the EVP “results,” published in the Internet, fall into one of these categories. The equipment and location of the experiments did not seem to weigh on the formation of the voices but the highly sensitive microphone Bruel & Kjaer used at some of the University experiments appeared to capture more voices than the other microphones. The content of all the voices recorded in the tests, with the possible exception of “altus”, were pertinent to the situation and/or to the operator(s) From the results of the present research, this author fully corroborates Professor Alex Schneider, the Swiss physicist from St. Gallen who closely followed, studied and replicated some of Raudive’s work, when he declares

in his Appendix to Breakthrough: “Other investigators choose the moment when a transmitter starts to beam out the carrier wave just before beginning to transmit a program or else they select a slow-speaking lecture program in which the pauses between groups of words are so considerable that call signs can be interspersed. A carrier appears to be necessary, or, at any rate, desirable… a number of voices sound as though they were constituted from the homogeneous noises spectrum by some physically unexplained process of selection” (ibid, pp.340-341). Moreover, in view of the results, a pertinent question is to find out if there are parallels between the allegedly anomalous electronic voice phenomena and so-called paranormal events of a different nature. Apparently, one of the distinctive characteristics of paranormal events is their occurrence in situations when they cannot be easily controlled. Professor Hans Bender is quoted as saying (translation): “If we tentatively admit the still questionable factuality of ‘spooks’, then [the attempt] to keep hold of it by photographing, filming or by recording acoustical phenomena will have to face the difficulty that the phenomena apparently elude a critical grasp. The impression almost suggests that the intelligent forces mock the observer and produce a phenomenon just there where one cannot get hold of it” (Bender, 1979). * Editor: A psychophone compares well as an early form of radio- sweep. Anabela Cardoso has published the ITC Journal (itcjournal.org) since March 2000. She is amongst the few ITC practitioners in the world able to communicate

using Direct Radio Voice (DRV). Since 1998, she has communicated with an etheric communication station which identifies itself as Rio do Tempo (Timestream). Binaural Synchronization for EVP Preparation by Tom Butler (Initially published in the Winter 2009 ATransC NewsJournal) Abstract This study is based on the question of whether or not a practitioner’s ability to record for EVP can be influenced by the use of binaural-beat synchronization of mental processes. According to research conducted by The Monroe Institute (TMI), neuron activity in the two hemispheres of the brain are synchronization with and entrained to the beat-frequency between left and right audio signals supplied to the ears via a stereo headset. A slowly changing beat-frequency can change this synchronization, known by TMI as a “frequency- following response,” so that the listener experiences meditative-like states of awareness. A CD containing a frequency set designed for meditation and a CD containing the same set of frequencies plus a set intended to facilitate access to what TMI refers to as an “inner-self helper” were used. The CDs were only labeled as “A” and “B”. Volunteer practitioners were asked to conduct a series of ten recording sessions using each CD and make a self-evaluation of any changes from their expected success rate. No appreciable change in success rate was reported by the volunteers. Introduction Association TransCommunication has conducted a study to determine whether or not the use of binaural synchronization can improve a person’s ability to record for EVP. Two audio CDs were used by

each participant. One included a set of frequencies developed by The Monroe Institute (TMI) designed to facilitate meditation. The other was the same but included additional frequencies derived from analysis of a functioning trance-channel. (This technology is referred to as “Hemi-Sync®” by TMI.) (See The Monroe Way for background. (18)) Here is a summary of the results: Protocol These are the instructions each participant received. Overview The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the effect binaural synchronization has on the quality and quantity of EVP. Monroe Institute Hemi-Sync® technology will be used.1 See the attached article, The Monroe Way. What is in the kit? You have been assigned a tracking number, and all of your results will be recorded by that number rather than by your name until after the results have been evaluated. Audio Recorder You are all being asked to use the same equipment and technique. If you have not indicated that you already have a Sony ICD-B26 digital voice recorder that you will use, one will be mailed to you in a separate package. Assumptions It is assumed that: • You have an audio patch cable and know how to connect a recorder to your computer and how to record the audio into the computer. • You have an audio management program and know how to use it for audio capture, editing and saving. • You have a audio CD player that you can use for these sessions. • You have a set of headphones that

you can use. If this is not the case, please contact us before beginning the trials. Memory Storage A USB thumb drive has been included in the kit. You are asked to use the memory device as a means of returning your recordings to the AA-EVP. The SanDisk memory stick has a folder named Documents which contains the folders: 2008 Hemi-Sync Trials mp3 and wav formats of the Hemi-Sync CDs A and B 2008 Hemi-Sync Trials Results Twenty folders for storing the results of twenty sessions. The other folders are empty A “U3” icon will appear in the bottom-right tray. Click on that and click on the “Eject” button before removing the memory stick from your computer. A window will tell you when it is okay. Audio CD Two 36-minute audio CDs have been included. One is marked with a large “A” and one with a large “B.” These are the sound files containing the Hemi-Sync tones and what you will be listening to for the EVP recording sessions. Notepad A notepad has been included and you are asked to keep notes related to this experiment. When you listen to the resulting audio files, you will be asked to note what you hear and how well possible EVP agree with what was expected, and provide a brief description of how you feel about the circumstances. Instructions A set of instructions have been included, which explain the protocol. Protocol Please conduct twenty recording sessions during which you will make three one-minute

recordings for EVP. Since Hemi-Sync leads your level of awareness to a deeply relaxed state, and the sessions are nearly forty minutes long, it is recommended that you conduct only one session in a six-hour period. You are asked to complete all twenty session in three months, and to do this, you will need to average slightly more than three sessions every two weeks. Please do not listen to Hemi-Sync while driving or during activity that requires your full attention. Just as with meditation, be sure that you are fully alert after using Hemi- Sync. To begin Copy the 2008 Hemi-Sync Trials Results folder from the memory stick to your computer. You will use the folders to store session recordings. Find a comfortable location where you are not likely to be disturbed. A relaxed sitting position with a pillow to support your head and a throw to keep your body comfortable is recommended. You will want to be able to hold or pick up the recorder and turn it on to the record mode three times while you are very relaxed. You may also want to make written notes. (If you record verbal notes for future transcription, please use a second recorder.) If you prefer, you can use the files in the memory stick to play the sessions through an mp3 player or directly from your computer. The native format is the one on the CD, so it is first choice. The objective is to have the highest quality playback,

but the second objective is to have all session played on the same device. Test the equipment and make sure that your recorder, player and headset are all functioning correctly. The two CDs are identical except one has an added set of Hemi-Sync frequencies intended to help you function as a mental medium. Listen to one of them all the way through so that you will know what to expect. Take advantage of this session to set the levels in your player and in the recorder. The alert tones in the CDs are a little softer than expected so you will want to turn up the volume in the player so that you will not miss them. Each CD is arranged as: 0:00 — 10:00 – Intro surf and up to working level 10:00 – Record now sound 11:00 – Stop recording sound Return to working level 20:00 – Record now sound 21:00 – Stop recording sound Return to working level 30:00 – Record now sound 31:00 – Stop recording sound Brief return to working level 34:00 — 36:13 Return to C1 verbally guided 36:14 — 36:15 Silence Questions Before beginning a session, think of three questions you will ask and/or who you wish to contact. Begin a fresh page in the notebook with: • Date • Time you expect to begin • Current weather conditions • Session Number • Write a brief comment about your sense of wellbeing, energy level and attitude about the session. • Leaving space between

each question for further comment, write what you will ask or say to the etheric communicators. • Write down the number in the recorder that will be associated with the three recordings for this session. It is important to use questions that are meaningful to you so as to draw on your personal energy and focus. If you have a loved one in the etheric, you could ask for a personal message. Think of the kind of questions you have had success receiving results for in the past. The questions should be interesting to your communicator, as well. For instance, experience has shown that asking the same question session after session is met with fewer and fewer responses and maybe even complaints. The entities are pretty good at telling you what they have seen in your home, so you could put something on a table and ask what it is (a teddy bear or plant would be better than a rock). You could also ask them to tell you what you are wearing. During the session Make yourself comfortable so that your head is supported and there are no pinch points that will cut off circulation to an arm or leg. Your body will cool down during the session, so you may want to have a throw nearby. The Hemi-Sync tones will “take” you to a meditative level of consciousness. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the trip. If you have an itch, scratch it. If you

need to reach for the throw, do so. The tones will gently take you back to level. Think about your question. Visualize who it is that you wish to hear from. Desire to record the response you are hoping for. When you hear the “record now sound” turn on the audio recorder and say out loud your question or request so that it will be recorded, and then remain quiet until you hear the “stop recording sound.” When you do hear the tone, turn off the recorder and allow the tones to take you back to level. Be brief so that there is time for the EVP. Begin thinking about your next question or request and repeat this process for two more record periods. After the third period, relax and allow the narrator to count you back to full consciousness. It is a good idea to express your appreciation for your communicators and tell them that you would like their help next time, as well. Number of sessions Please conduct twenty sessions beginning with the CD marked “A” and the next with the one marked “B” and then alternate between the two so that every other session will be with CD “A,” ending with CD “B” for session twenty. Each session has three recording periods for a total of sixty-one- minute recordings. Analysis of the recordings Copy the recordings into your computer and save them as a Windows PCM (*.wav) file (or Apple equivalent). If you are using Audacity, then

“Export as a wav” file. The recorder will hold more than 60 minutes, so please save the files in the recorder, as well. Be sure to lock the recorder when you have finished. Label the files in your computer as EVP Folder > 2008 Hemi-Sync Trials folder and then: Your number-Session 1–CD A period 1 Your number-Session 1–CD A period 2 Your number-Session 1–CD A period 3 Your number-Session 2–CD B period 1 and so on for all 20 sessions and 60 recording periods for a total of 60 files. During analysis, you will be looking for EVP, how many per one- minute session and what you think of their relevance to your question. Please make a record of the results in the provided notebook. This is not a contest for the most EVP or most meaningful responses. The objective is for you to decide if an EVP has been recorded using the same standard as you have used in the past. Assessment of results After finishing the last (20th) session, please answer the following questions in the provided notebooks: 1. Please describe your playback setup and environment. 2. Did you record EVP during the Hemi-Sync sessions? 3. If so, explain your view of the results. 4. Did you notice any difference between the Hemi-Sync sessions and past experience in your usual quantity and quality of EVP? 5. If so, please explain. 6. Please pick one of the following: a. I saw no change in my ability to record EVP

between the Hemi-Sync sessions and my normal sessions. b. I saw a slight change in my ability to record EVP, but the Hemi-Sync did not seem to be the reason. c. There was considerable change in my ability to record EVP when I used Hemi-Sync. 7. True or False: I now prefer using Hemi-Sync for my EVP sessions. 8. True or False: I would recommend Hemi-Sync for anyone wanting to improve their ability to record EVP. 9. How would you change the protocol for this kind of experiment? 10. Please provide a statement of how you feel/felt about this experiment. Do you see value in this sort of effort? Did you benefit by participating? Finish Please save the sixty sound files into the USB memory stick provided in the kit, and return that and the audio recorder, the two CDs and note pad to the AA-EVP. It is important that the recorder is returned so that future experiments may be conducted using the same hardware. Thank you very much for participating in this experiment. We will give you a report about our findings as soon as we can finish the data reduction. Results The short report is that the study did not produce evidence that use of binaural synchronization improves Quality and Quantity (QQ) of EVP. Ten people participated in the study. All used the same type of recorder, but background sound, where they recorded and when was optional. Six kits were returned completed and two returned blank. As of

this writing, two were not returned. An eleventh participant withdrew before beginning because they found the tones irritating. No obvious trend was evident after the resulting QQ of EVP was assessed and the opinions of the participants were considered. It was felt by some that they did better using their own recorder and using their more usual techniques. Most liked Hemi-Sync as an aid for meditation, although some found it too difficult to remain sufficiently alert to record during the allotted times. Conclusion Hemi-Sync is very effective in facilitating meditation. This experiment was inspired by the personal experience that it also facilitates mental mediumship. Not knowing what makes an effective EVP practitioner, it seemed reasonable to test whether or not what worked for mental mediumship would work for EVP, which is thought to involve essentially the same process. The results of this trial must be considered inconclusive. An improvement in QQ was not evident, which is the necessary measure; however, the experiment itself was not conducted in a manner that allows reasonable assessment of the technology. Please see the “Recommendations” Sincere thanks to the volunteer practitioners: Vicki Talbott, Richard Shenk, Keith Clark, Leslie Taylor, Billy Deluca and Teri Daner for their hard work to complete the experiment. We learned much that will guide us on to new efforts. Recommendations The experiment should be conducted in controlled conditions in which participants can be monitored, and the results can be more formally reported. The sound files lacked an induction process that might

help a person have a better sense of the process and more effectively set listening levels. The record begin and end sounds were often missed. Participants should also be familiarized with Hemi-Sync for a time before beginning the series of experiments. It is our belief that binaural synchronization may be an effective tool for improving QQ, but it is clear that more qualified researchers need to be involved. This study involved a complex protocol, many recording sessions conducted by volunteer practitioners and very poorly designed sound files. Meditating with Hemi-Sync is a pleasurable experience, but this assessment is based on the CDs available from The Monroe Institute. By comparison, the ones provided for this study did little to give the practitioner a sense of “induction.” Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice The Question of Anomalies Detected Voice and Speaker Identification by Daniele Gullà, ©Daniele Gullà – All Rights Reserved Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research, Bologna, Italy (Lab is now closed) 1. Listening to the sound material: between psychoacoustic perception and electroacoustic analysis Listening to the material recorded during the Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) or Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) experiments requires that the listeners pay particular attention. To judge and correctly classify what they will hear, they should have at least an overview of the psycho-acoustical dynamics of the human auditory system, and the fundamental principles of phonetics and acoustics. This lecture will address these subjects and provide useful cues for considering the complexities of listening to and decoding the sound material

which is fundamental to conducting serious biopsychocybernetic research (Note here that “biopsychocybernetic” is used as an alternative to the more obsolete “parapsychology” and “paranormal”). 1.1 First Stage: one or more subjects listen to the sound material. In this stage, the personal characteristics of each listener must be taken into account. The human ear and the cerebral centers responsible for sound decoding have peculiar features that are unique for each subject. The path of the sound vibrations goes through the outer ear duct, the tympanic membrane, the hammer, the anvil, the stirrup and the oval window, up to the cochlea, which is filled with a special fluid. A thick cord of nerves connects the cochlea to the brain. The widespread belief that the human acoustic perception range goes from about 20 to 20,000 Hertz (cycles per second) seems to be inadequate. Some recent discoveries have shown that a person is also able to hear the so-called ultrasound when the transmitter directly touches the head bones, so that the sound does not have to travel through the air. However, human perception averages these signals so that only one tone is heard. We hear all frequencies between 20,000 and 70,000 Hertz at exactly the same higher tone that we can hear in the air. A peculiarity of the human being is to have—somewhere inside the ear—a sophisticated spectrum analyzer which is capable of breaking the sounds up on a harmonic basis in much the same way as is seen in Fourier analysis. It

would therefore explain the particular sensitiveness and accuracy of human hearing faculties compared to animals which also have less complex analyzers, with a lower dynamic sound capacity. For example, consider the complexity of the compound sound, which becomes grandiose in a symphony, and how sophisticated the human ear must be to distinguish the smallest nuances of every instrument. 1.2 Second Stage: differentiation of the sounds of language. In addition to the subjective analysis made through our ear, an objective electro-acoustic analysis is useful. In fact, our ear could interpret some sounds, which occur in succession with a peculiar rhythm and intonation, as parts of a melodic chain of a language. This also occurs if the sounds do not actually come from a real human verbal source but from noises produced in a particular sequence, which can lead to a linguistic interpretation of the noise. This is referred to here as “psycholinguistics.” Please refer to Figure 3. The problems encounter in decoding such sequences of sound essentially depends on the listener’s comprehension skills. Every person is different as far as the interpretative skills of sound are concerned. Some people are able to catch either small differences or sound nuances, or to reproduce at will sounds already heard and mentally compare familiar sounds with new sounds. When, for example, people study a foreign language, they are inevitably inclined to “hear” the sounds of that language as sounds of their mother tongue; but, after a little practice, they can begin to compare the

new sounds with familiar ones, finding differences and similarities. Therefore, if they want to correctly pronounce the new language, they must exercise their ear to recognize new sounds. The capacities of learning new sounds could explain the hearing differences between subjects who conduct EVP experiments and subjects who do not: EVP experimenters have selectively trained their ears to listen to those peculiar sounds. Most of the sounds which surround us, including language, are made of various types of waves that are complex tones which do not always show a periodic pattern. A complex tone can be considered as the algebraic sum of more sinusoidal signals, each one with a given frequency and strength. If we know these two parameters for each sinusoid, we can determine the spectrum of the complex signal we are examining. If the signal is periodic, from the breakdown of each sinusoid we will find frequencies which are a multiple of a frequency called the “fundamental frequency.” The fundamental frequency is usually the sinusoid having the lowest frequency and the highest sound intensity; the others are called partial or harmonic components. The spectrum of a periodic complex signal, such as a human voice as shown in Figure 2, is discontinuous: it is a so-called, “line or discrete spectrum.” The spectrum of a pure sound is made of only one line (frequency), whereas the spectrum of noise is usually made of a spectrum called “continuous” (Figure 1) where the lines are very thick and placed one on top

of the other, so that they make a continuous thickening (or, in some bands, like a noise made by some consonants). Therefore, the first classification of the sounds in different auditory types can be based on the discrepancy between the periodic and aperiodic vibrations (harmonic and non-harmonic spectra). This discrepancy is what we usually call “sounds” and “noises.” Figure 2 – Spectrum of a human voice Figure 3 – Rhythmical noises which can be linguistically interpreted (Bersani- Trevisan) Among the language sounds, the sounds called “vocoids” (vocalic) are usually of periodic type (simple tones), while the sounds called “contoids” (consonantal) are noises or have some noise components. In the spoken human language, the single sounds come together in a continuous connection: not only is the vibration curve of each letter affected by the letters between which is included and among which a common aura is produced, but also by the sounds which come before or after it in a given length of time. 1.3 Third stage: comprehension of the elements which characterize a human voice. As we have just described, the complex tone which composes the human voice (but also many musical instruments) is made of a sequence of sinusoids. The sequence which has the lowest frequency is called “fundamental frequency” and the following sequences with a higher frequency are called “harmonics” and they can be odd or even multiples of the fundamental frequency. In the human voice, the sound intensity, the timbre and the audibility are largely due to

the number of harmonics in the acoustic spectrum. The voice of a child with a high tone has very few harmonics; the average voice of a woman has more harmonics, and therefore, it is more comprehensible. The voice of a man with a deep tone is far more comprehensible because it is richer in harmonics (more thickening). The peculiar timbre of a human voice also depends on the position of the so-called “formants.” For example, the human voice can be extensively modified by the path it makes from the larynx to the outside, since more resonances are made in certain frequencies than in others. The range of possibilities is practically endless and a specific peculiar pattern of the harmonic spectrum results from each arrangement of the vocal path. The study of the formants is particularly effective in research concerning the relation between the resonances of the acoustic sources and the timbre. In this field, the human vocal apparatus is the most expressive, and perhaps, the most complex system. Other sound sources cannot change their resounding features. In fact, the variations of timbre in musical instruments can only be caused by affecting the dynamic of the vibrant body but not the instrument resounding features, which apart from structural alterations, cannot be modified. On the contrary, in the human vocal characteristics, the subject can modulate the timbre not only changing, as far as possible, the dynamic of the vocal chords, but also changing the use and the width of the resonant cavities.

In the usual cadence of verbal speech, the total number of movements needed for uttering words from the lungs to the vocal chords, the lower and upper resonant cavities, the tongue and the lips, is about 50/60 actions per second. That is why the qualitative modulations of the human voice are undoubtedly more varied than any other sound source. In actual fact, the vocal tract works like a filter, strengthening some group of harmonics called “formants.” In an adult, the resonances due to the oropharyngeal cavity are produced at about 500, 1500 and 2500 Hertz. They correspond to the values of the frequencies of the first three formants: these values allow us to mathematically calculate the vocal tract length that is about 17.5 cm. It goes without saying that the acoustic resonances change following the kind of sound produced and the subject producing it. The Italian formant values are slightly different from the French or Russian ones, or those of other countries. Also, the same Italian formant values are different if they come from different regions or belong to dialects with or without a different accent. Moreover, as far as the main vowels of the Italian language are concerned, they correspond to different values which can be separately ascribed to each vocoid. The values of the first two formants—the most important—are usually sufficient to hear the differences among each vowel (i, e, a, o, u) as shown in Figure 4. The features which characterize the human voice are countless and

it is important that the EVP/ITC experimenter is able to distinguish them clearly in order to compare them with the anomalous recorded sounds. It is clear that, at this stage, we should take into account the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the analyzed evidences in order to make a correct measurement. A bad recording quality partially jeopardizes the precise reading of the plots we want to interpret. Moreover, we could lose or hide some important spectrographic, morphologic and structural characteristics which would lead to lost information. 1.4 Fourth stage: detecting anomalies Taking into account the main properties of the human voice, we should be able to know the nominal deviation from the predictable values of the analyses. In this field of researches, the phonetician comes into play. This is the person who studies the Articulatory Phonetics and Tonetics. The phonetician can recognize the type of spoken language following the so-called Phonetic Transcription Standards which use symbols to correlate any kind of sound to a language. Figure 4 – Values of the first two formants (F1 and F2) with reference to the Italian, French and English vowels Figure 5 – Examples of some different articulatory postures for three Italian vowels (from left: i, u, a) This is the most complex stage, both for the phonetician who makes the measurements and for the EVP/ITC researcher. They both must devise a standard classification of the acoustic events judged anomalous, in accordance with tables and parameters of comparison, and show the predictable deviation percentages

from the standard. 2. Examples of analysis made on “unusual voices.” Figure 6 and 7 refer to the analysis made on a magnetic tape where the voice of a Gracula Religiosa, a bird known also as Hill Myna, has been recorded. In this example, we have examined the word “Renato” that the Gracula has uttered on request of its trainer. The anomalies that I am going to describe will be clearer if you will look at Figure 8 and 9, where I have tried to faithfully reproduce the same word with my own voice, trying to imitate the bird voice. At the bottom of the diagram, we can notice the strange configuration that the computer gives us about its virtual reconstruction of the acoustic vocal tract. The example certainly cannot be the voice of a human being! In this case, having changed my voice, the “O” sounds more like a “U” but it can be represented in the table with almost normal values for the human voice. At the bottom, the vocal tract is normally structured. Somebody will ask why we hear the word “Renato” uttered by the bird. It is a simple, and at the same time, a complex answer. The solution partly lies in the acoustic perception physiology and in the connections made by our cerebral database, when it is stimulated by a melodic sequence with particular linguistic attributes. In practice, the computer tells us that those sounds do not exactly correspond with the word “Renato,” as it

is in the usual human elocution, but with a sound melodically similar that our brain decodes as such and makes the appropriate changes. Figure 6 – Voice of an imitating bird (Gracula Religiosa–common name Hill Myna) which seems to say the word “Renato.” Figure 7 – Spectrogram and medium spectrum of the vowel “o” in the word “Renato” uttered by the Gracula Religiosa. If you make the difference between the average values of the first two formants of the analysed acoustic evidences, you will notice that—even if they are very different (718/1129 and 380/790 Hz)— their ratio is almost the same (410 against 411). It therefore explains our auditory sensation, since the formant ratio of the “O” does not change. Something similar happened to a dolphin which could imitate the human voices with a higher register (high frequencies). It was significant that, besides the melody and likeness to a human voice for the Gracula, the ratio of the formantic structures (resonances) were similar to the values in the human vowels. How the bird can learn sounds from us that do not belong to its language is another field of study. It is enough to know that some birds called “polyglot” or “imitator” are able to imitate the vocalism of other species. The phenomenon is also called “vocal mimicry.” Figure 8 – My own voice while I am imitating the bird cry uttering the word “Renato.” Figure 9 – Spectrogram and spectrum of the vowel “O” uttered by myself. 3. Some

examples of analyses of sounds of presumed bio-psycho-cybernetic origin. In Figure 10, we can see the spectrogram of a presumed anomalous voice recorded by microphone on magnetic tape by Michele Dinicastro (Research Manager of the Biopsychocybernetic Laboratory) in a silent environment. The voice would seem to pronounce the word “Gesù” (Jesus). The spectrographic analyses show an approximate formantic structure almost without fundamental frequency and periodic vibrations typical of a voice of human origin. As you noticed from the spectrogram, the fundamental frequency and the laryngeal vibrations are not present. We can partly explain this datum because the voice is whispering. In Figure 11, we notice in the top image the oscillogram of the voice, in the centre the trend of the fundamental frequency and at the bottom the virtual reconstruction of the vocal tract. It is interesting to notice that the fundamental frequency F0 is only detected in the last part of the sound “U” (in the dampening phase), as well as the vocal tract, which shows the presence of laryngeal vibrations typical of sustained sounds, like vowels. Figure 10 – Microphonic voice of presumed paranormal origin that seems to pronounce the word “Gesù.” Figure 11 – Presumed paranormal microphonic voice which seems to pronounce the word “Gesù.” The section with more acoustic power (“Ge”), which corresponds to the central part, does not have the fundamental frequency F0 and laryngeal vibrations. Therefore, the shape of the vocal tract is not outlined. In the “U,” which is indicated with the vertical

lines, the vocal tract has normal dimensions but anomalous structure. The involved zones have excessive dimensions in order to get out this sound with a correct posture. In addition, the pharynx, the epiglottis and the larynx are moved forward and are too long. Figure 12 – Table of the formants (F1 and F2) detected in the word “Gesù.” Figure 12 shows the value of the first two formants (F1 and F2) relevant to the “u” vowel in “Gesù.” The black spot indicates the average position of the formants and the type of the used phoneme. In this case, the sound corresponds to a slightly open “u” with average values ranging between the “o” and the “u” vowels. In the Anglo-American phonetic alphabet, the vocoid position corresponds to a sound like “hood.” As it often happens in the Italian language, the length of the final “u” is short and confirms that the explanation given by Michele Dinicastro is correct. Since in the “e” vowel which comes before, the formantic tracks are broken and there are no laryngeal vibrations, the automatic program does not show the formant chart, but if you look at the spectrogram just examined, you will notice some areas with a sound thickening traces at 617 and 2588 Hertz, which correspond to the values for a little closed and aphonous “e” sound. Figure 13 shows a parametric analysis of an EVP recorded by Anabela Cardoso, (.itcjournal.org which evidences the lack of information in the formant structure and in the

sound dynamic. Many graphical sections of the analyses show the presence of three formants with a poor bandwidth and a progressively constant temporal trend. Some noise indications are detected with moderate thickening traces of pseudo harmonic components. The progressive listening made in sequence of these sounds show a verbal elocution which is decoded by the listener as follows: E\RIO\DO\TEMPO. The analysis of the vowel frequency range is quite difficult and the lack of laryngeal vibrations does not allow a reconstruction of the vocal tract and its phonetic representation on the formant chart. It practically can be considered as sounds structured in a segmental way which, if heard with a certain uttering speed, take on informational and linguistic meanings for the listener, something like a kind of a “quantic noise manipulation,” which is typical of the communication channel. Even if there is a signal which is characterized by a great saving of energy, the decoding would seem correct because the compacting bands roughly correspond to those of the relevant vocalic sounds. If we had more spectral information, we could have identified further anomalous elements in the acoustic indexes between the place of articulation and the way of articulation, thanks to a more detailed analysis. Their classification is as follows: Indexes of place, classified in three categories: 1. Locus of transition of F2 2. Locus of transition of F3 3. Frequency of noise Indexes of way, classified in six categories: 1. Form and speed of the transitions 2. Locus of transition of

F1 3. Noise presence 4. Noise length 5. Continuity or discontinuity of the connections, intensities and relative lengths to differentiate hard and voiced consonants Figure 13 – EVP received by Anabela Cardoso saying E\RIO\DO\TEMPO. 4. Summary of the resulting anomalies in the preliminary stage of the study 1. Lack of the fundamental frequency or its partial presence with multiple fragmentations. 2. Lack of the vibration of the vocal chords in timbre sounds with or without the fundamental frequency. 3. Formantic structure sometimes replaced by a noise thickening in the relevant bands and showing a severe modification or a non-sinusoidal trend. 4. Anomalous increase in the signal strength of the second formant and strengthening of the upper harmonics, poor melodic texture and fragmentation of the spectrum. 5. Anomalies in the frequencies, with too high values of the fundamental and formants frequencies. 6. Anomalies in the time of energy distribution in the whole signal structure which would seem to be made of many small side by side energy-packages, where it is difficult to separate the different structural elements of the spectrum. 7. Anomalies in the signal periodicity detected in the autocorrelation analysis. 8. Anomalous changes in the spectrum density. 9. Anomalies in the utterance; it is difficult to obtain an acoustic chart. 10. Anomalies in the time flowing with inexplicable slowing down or speeding up of the speech. 11. Partial or total elision of the consonants. 12. Harmonic distortions. 5. Comparative analyses for speaker recognition. The method for identifying a speaker or

for comparing an unknown voice (usually coming from telephone or from environmental interception) with a well-known speaker (also recorded) started in 1937, during the proceedings against the presumed kidnapper of Lindberg’s son, the first man to fly across the Atlantic. At that time, it was only made by an acoustic trial. Later on, with the help of the so-called phonic proof and further improvements, the method developed by L. Kersta in 1962 was used. Kersta’s method consists of analyzing a graphic track, called spectrogram, with instruments like the Sonagraph, made by Kay Elemetrics, or using similar methods of analyses carried out through a computer with a data acquisition card, as in the examples below. The chances of identifying the speaker are based on the hypothesis that any subject pronouncing a phoneme adapts the oral cavity in an “univocal” way, depending only on the person’s physical characteristics (dimensions of the larynx, of the oral cavity, of the tongue etc.). These anthropometrical characteristics shape the starting spectrum obtained by the vocal chords, intensifying for each vowel, some frequencies and attenuating others, so that they are recognizable. The graphic of the spectrogram permits the display of these frequencies, showing the increases in sound intensities and attenuations called “formants,” which is shown by the intensification and/or attenuation of some lines in the spectrum. These are typical in a certain numerical range called “range of existence,” of each vowel and also typical, but not as certain as above, of each speaker. Remarks similar to those

made on vowels can also be made about voiced consonants, such as \M\, \N\, \R\ since they show a formantic trend. The “melody” of the speech can give us a further parameter of analysis. Such characteristic can be found in every “non-robotic” speech and can be seen in the spectrogram as a slant in the track corresponding to the fundamental frequency (also called “pitch” or F0). In addition, the same characteristic can be found in the graphic of the F0 trend which can be drawn through the Cepstrum even if the “natural” melody is always altered in a counterfeit voice (musicality of the language). However, an average difference in highness (frequency or pitch), derived from a good number of elements, can be independent of counterfeits and intentional changes. Taking into account all these remarks and the qualitative and noise problems due to communication channels, the problems listed above increase considerably when the presumed paranormal voices, which have a peculiar personality, are compared with the voices that the presumed dead people had in their lifetime. The expert very often does not have enough samples to make a sufficiently probative analysis. The presumed paranormal voices have a spectrum of poor quality with a large amount of noise, maybe due to their own characteristics or to the noises of the communication channel. In messages received in different times and through different experimenters and instruments, the same presumed personalities produce fairly different spectrums, characterized by an unusual fluctuation in the range of frequencies and,

above all, in the time domain. These fluctuations can mislead us into either a false identification or a false denial because of the vector segregation systems which works with a multiple fragmentation of the signal. In these cases, besides the statistical and mathematical methods, it is necessary to work manually. That is to say, to analyze their spectrographic tracks. Since it is impossible to take a phonic sample with the same informational content as is done in the legal investigations, the research shows a high standard of errors. In some lucky cases, when we have the same words to compare, the research is more reliable and probative but it is a very rare event. I must stress that the comparison must take into account the number of available linguistic events, besides the quality of the acoustic evidences and the noises of the communication channel (radio, telephone, recorder, computer, etc.). In other words, if the same informational contents are available, it is sufficient to have two words which last for two/three seconds to make a comparison. After the differential comparison with a matrix of at least 154 speakers (error of 4.4%) or 928 speakers (error of 2.8%), the result will be highly probative. It goes without saying that with a speech which lasts at least 10 second and even if it does not have the same informational content, the comparison will be nonetheless acceptable, because some vocoids and contoids (vowels and consonants) for the analysis (10 or more vowels and consonants)

are available and useful to draw up an histographic average of the speaker. Here below I will show you some examples of comparison between EVP voices and human voices in order to identify them (Figure 14, 15 and 16). Figure 14 – Comparison between an EVP and the “living” voice of the same person. Figure 14 shows the matrix formant layout of the EVP received by Anabela Cardoso. In red, are represented the formant distribution values relevant to the paranormal voice of a dead person named Joao. In blue, are represented the formant distribution values relevant to the voice of the same person when he was still alive. This is the person who is supposed to have spoken the EVP message. Unfortunately, due to the scarcity of the available evidences— that is to say only one word—it is impossible to identify the voice with the help of objective parametrical methods which give us a certain reliability. The conclusions that we can advance is that such a voice can be considered compatible, that is to say not dissimilar, since the two vocal samples have the tracks of the formants F4 and F5, which mainly characterize the individual features of the speaker, similar for 74%. A different example concerns a case of identification made on an average of 3 seconds of speech with regard to an EVP recorded in Grosseto, Italy, at Marcello Bacci’s centre. Figure 15 – Measures taken on the voice in life of Chiara Lenzi in two different occasions.

The Euclidean distance of the two vocal marks is 2.58. Figure 15 compares the voice in life of a young girl, Chiara Lenzi, where the verbal elocution was recorded in two different occasions while she is giving out the following words: UN\BACIONE\A\TE\CHIARA. The Euclidean matrix distance is 2.58 for the same speaker. If we measure this distance on an EVP recorded in Grosseto, where the father, Dr. Giuseppe Lenzi, perceptibly recognised his daughter in the following elocution: UN\BACINO\A\TE\CHIARA, we notice a difference in the spectral values with a matrix distance smaller than that previously measured, as shows Figure 16. In this case, unlike the previous one, we can state that the comparative outcomes between the voices considerably prove the identification. If it had been a comparison between two voices in a threatening phone call or in a legal case of speaker identification, the expert’s opinion addressed to the judge would have been: HIGHLY COMPATIBLE VOICES. Figure 16 – Comparison between one of the paranormal voices examined in Grosseto, at Marcello Bacci’s laboratory and the voice in life of Chiara Lenzi. The Euclidean distance is 2.37; smaller than the inter-speaker variance previously measured. 6. Conclusions In some cases, as above, the anomalies are clear and lean toward a high paranormal index of probability. In other cases, the ambiguity of the data does not allow a clear interpretation and differentiation of the event. In such cases, a predisposition towards one of the two different explanations, for instance, towards the normality or the

anomaly, shall be chosen as a trend. It is therefore necessary to be very careful to interpret the analyzed instrumental data, because there are many variables at stake, as in the case of the “voice” of Gracula Religiosa. In my opinion, the organizational capacity of these acoustic signals is of great Importance. The signal can change from a simple noise thickening with poor harmonic content and a low informational standard due to a difficult decoding, to a well-constructed and complex harmonic structure very close to the expression of human language, and with the possibility of decoding them with a high standard of informational capacity. We think that the study of the psi interaction phenomena in Transcommunication, started at our Laboratory in Bologna (closed) in a common research project with French and Brazil, will lay the foundations for improving the knowledge of these unusual phenomena. This works is unfortunately still ignored today by mainstream science and by many academic parapsychologists. Bibliography 1. Oskar Schindler (1974), Manuale di audiofono-logopedia, Omega, Torino. 2. Ferrero-A.Genre-L.J.Boe-M.Contini (1979), Nozioni di fonetica acustica, Omega, Torino. 3. Muljacic (1969), Fonologia generale e fonologia della lingua italiana, Il Mulino, Bologna. 4. De Dominicis (1999), Fonologia comparata delle principali lingue europee moderne, Coop. Libr. Universitaria Edit. Bologna. 5. Gramming-J.Sundberg (1988), Spectrum factors relevant to phonetogram measurement, JASA 83, pagg. 2352-2360. 6. Alton Everest (1997), Manuale di acustica, Hoepli, Milano. 7. L.Klevans-R.D.Rodman (1997), Voice recognition, Artec House Inc.,Boston. 8. B.Randall (1987), Frequency Analysis, Bruel Kjaer 9. Gullà (2000), Voci paranormali e

analisi di laboratorio, L’uomo e il Mistero/8, Edizioni Mediterranee, Roma. 10. Gullà (2000), Proposta di una metodologia di ricerca per l’analisi di presunti eventi acustici paranormali di origine fonetica, Atti del Convegno del Ce.S.A.P. (Dip. di Bioetica) Università degli Studi di Bari 27/10/2000. 11. Presi (1988), Psicofonia e paranormalità elettroniche, in “Esperienze Paranormali”, AA.VV., Edizioni Mediterranee, Roma. 12. Presi (2000), Il paranormale in laboratorio: “voci psicofoniche”,”voci telefoniche” e ”voci dirette” a confronto, L’uomo e il Mistero/8, Edizioni Mediterranee, Roma. 13. Gullà. (2003), Riconoscimento ed identificazione tramite le impronte vocali, Relazione contenuta nel 2 Anno del Corso Multimediale di Biopsicocibernetica del Laboratorio di Bologna. EVP and Geomagnetic Fields: Is There a Correlation? by Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen and Chris Carter Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group ©Dave Schumacher, Cindy Heinen – All Rights Reserved Director’s Brief: Research compilations for ambient magnetic conditions and psi functioning provided by S. James P. Spottiswoode (2) suggest a negative correlation: “Retrospective analyses of putative spontaneous psi, or anomalous cognition (AC), events have shown a tendency for these to be reported on days of relatively low geomagnetic disturbance.” jsasoc.com/library.html Haunting events and EVP are believed to be a psi function, but nevertheless, there has been no research reported that supports the view that EVP is influenced by the magnetic environment. The following research report details an effort to determine if there is a detectable correlation. Introduction Those who believe EVP to be real think that the voices of the dead are being recorded while those who do

not believe in the paranormal nature of these phenomena claim that they are nothing more than stray radio waves or auditory pareidolia or apophenia. It is a proven fact that the human mind can create meaning out of insignificant sound and random noise. Those who support the paranormal nature of this phenomena claim that the voices are interactive and can be identified as someone who has died. The question then, is how do the deceased manifest their voices on the recording equipment? Some EVP researchers, ghost hunters and paranormal investigators believe that entities use physical sound energy and re- modulate it to form words. In addition, there is anecdotal evidence that: 1. More messages are recorded at night or during stormy weather than during the day or when the weather is clear, 2. There is a relationship between EVP and electrical or moisture conditions of the atmosphere, 3. Other types of energy, such as light and magnetism, can influence EVP recordings (1). The ghost hunting community overall believes that times of increased solar activity are ideal for ghost hunting. It is thought that, with enough energy in the air from charged ions and an energized electromagnetic field, manifestations, including EVP, are more plentiful and clear (9, 10). This belief is due to investigator’s personal experiences and the extrapolation and interpretation of the published scientific literature. There are published studies in peer reviewed academic journals and books that describe a correlation between paranormal activity and geomagnetic fields (3, 8). Some studies

have shown there is an increase in poltergeist (Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis or RSPK) events when there is an increase in the geomagnetic field (3, 6), while others found a correlation between an increase in the geomagnetic field and an increase in haunt phenomena, postmortem apparitions, and sensed presences (5, 8). The interpretation of these correlations is open to debate. Some think that the increase in geomagnetic activity either triggers and/or fuels the activity (especially in the RSPK studies) while others feel that the changes in geomagnetic fields and complex electromagnetic fields can induce hallucinations. There is little or no formal analysis that increased geomagnetic activity leads to an increase in the frequency and clarity of EVP. This study is an attempt to determine if there is a correlation between geomagnetic activity and the quantity of EVP. Methods EVP: EVP from 2001 to 2005 were obtained from the Southern Wisconsin Paranormal Research Group case files, the South Jersey Ghost Research Group and the personal files of Cindy Heinen. The number of EVP recorded on each day were tabulated in an Excel spreadsheet. Both days with EVP recorded and days where recording for EVP was attempted but there were no EVP recorded were included. Geomagnetic Activity Magnetic field variation can come from currents caused by solar radiation changes. Solarwinds can interact with the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere and ionosphere can cause magnetic field changes by themselves. Magnetic activity indices provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) are used to describe the variation

in the geomagnetic field (13). The a-index is a 3-hourly “equivalent amplitude” index of the local geomagnetic activity; “a” is related to the 3-hourly K-index. The A-index is the daily index of geomagnetic activity derived as the average of the eight 3-hourly a-indices. The Ap-index is an average planetary A-index based on data from a set of specific stations (11). The estimated planetary A-index from NOAA (12) was used for this study. A-index values (24-hrs) of the following determine the geomagnetic conditions: 0 to 7 – “Quiet” geomagnetic conditions 8 to 15 – “Unsettled” geomagnetic conditions 16 to 24 – “Active” geomagnetic conditions 25 to 35 – “Minor storm” 36+ – “Major storm” Statistical Analysis To determine if there was a correlation between the number of EVP recorded and the estimated Ap-index, the number of EVP vs. the estimated Ap-index was plotted and a nonparametric correlation Spearman r analysis was performed using GraphPad InStat version 3.05 for Windows 95/NT, GraphPad Software, San Diego California USA, www.graphpad.com To determine if there was a difference in the mean estimated Ap- index for when EVP were recorded vs. when no EVP were recorded, a nonparametric Mann-Whitney t-test was performed using GraphPad InStat. Finally, to determine if a certain level of enhanced geomagnetic activity leads to more EVP, the mean number of EVP was compared for the following: Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 8 to 15 “Unsettled” Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 16 to 24 “Active” Ap-index of 0 to

7 “Quiet” vs. 25 to 35 “Minor Storm” Ap-index of 0 to 7 “Quiet” vs. 36+ “Major Storm” The analysis for each was done with a nonparametric Mann- Whitney t-test using GraphPad InStat. Results Two hundred and ten data points were collected and spanned the time period of January 6th, 2001 to August 27th, 2005. There were 101 days with EVP and 109 days without EVP. The number of data points for each estimated Ap-index range/geomagnetic condition were: 0 to 7/”Quiet” = 61; 8 to 15/”Unsettled” = 82; 16 to 24/”Active” = 39; 25 to 35/”Minor Storm” = 18; 36+/”Major Storm” = 10. 0 to 7/”Quiet” = 61 8 to 15/”Unsettled” = 82 16 to 24/”Active” = 39 25 to 35/”Minor Storm” = 18 36+/”Major Storm” = 10. Figure 1 shows the number of EVP plotted against the estimated Ap-index. Spearman r = 0.02882 (95% CI –0.110 to 0.1675; P=0.6779; not significant). r = 0.02882, 95% CI –0.110 to 0.1675; P=0.6779; not significant Comparison P-value Significance Estimated Ap-index when no EVPs were recorded vs. estimated Ap-index when EVPs were recorded Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Unsettled” Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Active” Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Minor Storm” Mean number of EVPs for “Quiet” vs “Major Storm” 0.4477 Not significant 0.5571 Not significant 0.9546 Not significant 0.7120 Not significant 0.4319 Not significant Table 1 shows the results of the statistical analysis for the various comparisons. Discussion There is a general belief among the

haunting investigation community that an increase in the geomagnetic field enables paranormal manifestations to be more plentiful and clear. It has been speculated that this extends to EVP as well (9, 10). These beliefs are based on investigator’s personal experiences and conclusions they draw from reading the published scientific literature. There is little if any formal analysis indicating that increases in geomagnetic activity leads to an increase in the number of EVP. This study explored the possibility that increases in the geomagnetic field (as measured with the estimated Ap-index) would lead to an increase in the quantity of EVP. There was no significant correlation found between the estimated Ap-index and the number of EVP. In addition, there was no significant difference in the mean number of EVP recorded during “Quiet” geomagnetic conditions vs. the mean number of EVP recorded during “Unsettled”, “Active”, “Minor Storm”, or “Major Storm” geomagnetic conditions. This study has several limitations: First, the EVP data was collected from three different sources. Since identifying an EVP is highly subjective, different people may classify different things as EVP. Second, the number of EVP data points became very small when analyzing the different geomagnetic conditions. For example, there were only ten data points in the 36+/”Major Storm” geomagnetic condition. This can limit the statistical power to determine a significant difference. Third, this study does not address the issue of whether or not EVP have more clarity with elevated geomagnetic conditions. EVP classifications are extremely subjective and were not available in

the data sets used in this analysis. This issue needs to be studied in a similar manner. Fourth, this is only one study based on three data sets from three different sources. It should be repeated with more data sets. It would also be interesting to look at other parameters besides the estimated Ap-index. Formal analysis of various atmospheric conditions would also be interesting. Conclusion Despite the limitations, this study has shown that there doesn’t appear to be any correlation between geomagnetic conditions and the number of EVP recorded. However, more studies will need to be done looking at various other factors to see if any other environmental conditions can affect the quantity and quality of EVP. References 1. Butler, T. ATransC White Paper on Transcommunication. atransc.org/itc-white-paper/ (See info about paper) 2. Spottiswoode, S. James P. “Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time.” The Journal of Scientific Exploration. Society for Scientific Exploration. 1997. jsasoc.com/docs/JSE-LST.pdf 3. Rolll, W.G. and Gearhart, L. (1974). Geomagnetic perturbations and RSPK. In W.G. Roll, R.L. Morris and J. Morris (Eds.), Research in parapsychology, 1973 (pp.44-46). Metuchen, NJ : Scarecrow. 4. Gearhart, L. and Persinger, M.A. (1986). Geophysical variables and behavior: XXXIII. Onsets of historical and contemporary poltergeists episodes occurred with sudden increases in geomagnetic activity. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, pp.463- 466. 5. Persinger, M.A. and Koren, S.A. (2001). Predicting the characteristics of haunt phenomena from geomagnetic factors and brain sensitivity: Evidence from field and experimental studies. In

J. Houran and R. Lange (Eds.), Hauntings and poltergeists: Multidisciplinary perspectives, (pp.179-194). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. 6. Roll, W.G. and Persinger, M.A. (2001). Investigations of poltergeists and haunts: A review and interpretation. In J. Houran and R. Lange (Eds.), Hauntings and poltergeists: Multidisciplinary perspectives, (pp.123-163). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. 7. Persinger, M.A. and Richards, P.M. (1995). Vestibular experiences of humans during brief periods of partial sensory deprivation are enhanced when daily geomagnetic activity exceeds 15-20nT. Neuroscience Letters, 194, pp.69-72. 8. Persinger, M.A. (1988). Increased geomagnetic activity and the occurrence of bereavement hallucinations: Evidence for melatonin-mediated microseizuring in the temporal lobe? Neuroscience Letters, 88, pp.271-274. 9. Chaney, S. (2006). I’ll give you the sun and moon… TAPS Paramagazine, Vol. 1, No. 6, pp.13-14. 10. Farrell, M. (2005). The astronomy of ghost hunting. Ghost! Issue 2, pp.70. 11. NOAA Glossary: http://www.sec.noaa.gov/info/glossary.html 12. NOAA: http://ftp2.sec.noaa.gov/alerts/solar_indices.html 13. NOAA Geomagnetic Kp and Ap Indices: noaa.gov/stp/GEOMAG/kp_ap.html EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now? by Tom Butler Previously published in the Fall 2011 ATransC NewsJournal Abstract Based on a number of recent demonstrations by multiple practitioners, ATransC commissioned a study to determine the suitability of that technology for real- time, two-way communication. After three years, a “failure to replicate” style report was published. This article is a discussion of procedural concerns with the study and a discussion of lessons learned which may guide future studies. Introduction Stefan Bion developed a computer program named EVPmaker which uses a random process to select and combine

segments of a sound file to produce a new output file. EVP are thought to be produced by the manipulation of the random process. To make the program more controllable for research, Stefan recently provided a sound file containing seventy-two allophones generated with the SpeakJet™ chipset developed for robotics. Allophones are small segments of speech, which when combined, can produce “spoken” words. The output from EVPmaker is a steady stream of allophones, which when intentionally selected by the communicating entity, produce EVP messages. In 2008, Margaret Downey demonstrated real-time conversations using EVPmaker with allophones. An example here. (ATransC article “Downey Synthesized Speech EVP” – Book 4) Other practitioners reported similarly meaningful communications using the same technology, giving reason to think the time was right to closely examine real-time communication. Thanks to a $10,000 donation to the Sarah Estep Research Fund from a member and a second donation from Becky Estep in memory of her mother and founder of the Association, Sarah Estep, ATransC contracted with Windbridge Research Institute to conduct a study. The assumption was that a report from impartial researchers would be more credible than if ATransC members conducted the study. The research question agreed to by ATransC was: Can the EVPmaker software using the SpeakJet allophones data set produce real-time answers to questions that are posed by an operator under controlled conditions that eliminate conventional explanations for the results? The project began June 2008 and the resulting report was published in the Summer 2011 Journal of Scientific Exploration.

(Article is at windbridge.org/papers/BoccuzziBeischel2011JSE25ITC.pdf) However, the final report to ATransC was delivered October 2009, and from the following comments from the report, it became evident that it was being reported as another “failure to replicate” article: Taking all of these analyses into account, this study did not find evidence that the EVPmaker software using the SpeakJet allophones data set can produce real-time answers to questions posed by an operator under controlled conditions that eliminate conventional explanations for the results. And: The data in this study tend to suggest that the interpretation of EVPmaker conversations is a subjective process, the content of which is meaningful primarily (and perhaps solely) to the operator. Examining the Windbridge Study The study took just over three years from start to published report and cost ATransC about $12,000 including overhead. The ATransC objective was to have independent researchers evaluate the technology and help determine the best protocol for replicating the quality of existing examples. The study consisted of four phases: literature search, data collection, data analysis and final report. A single practitioner was used to produce ten sessions containing EVP with transcripts indicating what was heard. Data analysis consisted of allophone frequency analysis, listening panel, message grading as used for mediumship studies and speech recognition software. Data Collection It was possible for the practitioner to conduct the EVP sessions at home because of a computer that was configured to provide much the same controls as could be applied in a laboratory. One practitioner was used. The

practitioner could do as many sessions as needed and was tasked with selecting and submitting what was heard as the top ten sessions. Besides the recorded sessions and the data file from EVPmaker indicating the sequence of allophones, the practitioner also provided a written script of what was heard as EVP in each session. As agreed to by ATransC, there were no constraints on what the practitioner asked the etheric communicators to evoke an EVP. The study produced examples which the listening panel agreed on, but the one with the most agreement was discarded as a statistical “outlier” with the comment: One of the 10 samples—Session 6 (“I’m here for you”)—fell just under the “hit” threshold with a mean of 2.99 (± 0.12). However, it was determined that this value is a statistical outlier* and its removal from the data set should be considered. If the scores given to Session 6 are removed from the analysis, the resulting updated mean for the remaining nine samples falls from 1.15 (± 0.05) to 0.86 (± 0.05). This shows that the perceptions of the listening panel received an average score less than what was deemed a “slight match” to the operator’s perception. * Convention dictates that values three times the interquartile range above or below the mean be considered outliers. It is important to note that Class A EVP are, by definition, “outliers.” Lessons Learned • Open-ended questions make it very difficult to use the “reasonableness” criterion. • Based on an ATransC advisor’s

comments, it is essential to use more than one practitioner. • The data-collection methodology used by Windbridge is an excellent approach to establishing research controls for unattended EVP sessions. Data Analysis Frequency Analysis The frequency of occurrence of allophones in the control sessions was compared with the practitioner sessions because (from the final report): It was hypothesized that if communication involving English words was present in the Active Sessions, certain allophones might be present more or less often than in the Control Sessions Not knowing what might come of it, we concurred that this was an interesting test. However, we cautioned several times that the words in EVP produced by EVPmaker are often formed in novel ways. As shown below, the researchers also noted this in the Speech Recognition part of the study. If words in the sessions are heard by people even though they may only be phonically similar to the spoken word, it is unlikely that a change in distribution of allophones between control and practitioner sessions would be detectible. A second factor is that there may be only a few intended words and many naturally occurring words in a session. For the very many allophones generated in a session (1,675 for a three-minute session), would a Class A utterance even show up in such an analysis? Lessons Learned Without more study of this technique, it is very difficult to know if the right assumptions have been made by the researchers. From our assessment, it appears to be

unreasonable to say that frequency analysis is a realistic technique for detecting the presence of anomalous influence on the selection of allophones. Listening Panel An online listening panel was selected and presented ten sound clips from control sessions and ten from the practitioner sessions. An important point in this test was that the examples used from the practitioner sessions were ten of those EVP reported as being heard real time. One of the questions asked was whether or not the listener heard words in the samples. An average 73% answered “Yes” for the practitioner sessions and 63% answered “Yes” for the control sessions. Roughly half-heard words in each of the twenty examples they were asked to judge. The grading system the researchers used has potential for future research, especially the way they graded what listeners reported hearing. However, one-word responses were counted, including such words “I,” “yes” and “for.” EVPmaker output includes numerous naturally occurring sounds resembling common one-syllable words. This is apparently the case with the control sessions, resulting in both groups having a similar number of reported words. Lessons learned Witness panels (Book 1) do work, but one protocol does not fit all forms of EVP. Word-like sounds naturally occur in EVPmaker output, making it necessary to use grading rules which will ignore one-syllable words. EVP is considered communication, and a second consideration is the reasonableness of a response. For instance, a stand-alone word like “oracle” should be ignored unless the practitioner has specifically asked questions for which

it is appropriate. One cannot say the word is present if a listening panel does not agree, but since short words are sometimes spontaneously formed by EVPmaker, care must be taken not to include them in the analysis. A methodology would need to be established for determining which is the case. Judging Content of Reported EVP As they do for messages in mediumship, the researchers scored the reported EVP with what the practitioner asked or said and reported that: Of the 124 responses, roughly one-third (31%, 38) received a score of 0 [No fit]. Similarly, another third (34%, 42) received a score of 3 [Obvious fit]. The remaining third of the responses (35%) received median scores of 1 [Fit with minimal interpretation] (20) or 2 [Fit with more than minimal interpretation] (24). The overall mean was 1.56 ± 0.11, a score at the middle of the scoring range, and the higher end of the 95% confidence interval fell below 1.8. Based on the distribution of these scores, it was concluded that responses perceived by the operator did not consistently contain information that logically matched her questions. Of course, there remains the fact that nearly a third of the responses did agree with the practitioner. The conclusions arrived at by the researchers beg the question, “How can a 31% agreement be discarded when one is speaking of something that is not supposed to exist?” Lessons learned: Content judging appears to be a good way to establish a numerical value to the

objectivity of a reported utterance. That is essentially what analysis of results from a listening panel is supposed to provide. The rules of “convincingly objective,” however, should be based on reasonable consensus. Speech Recognition Program The researchers “trained” a speech recognition program to understand phrases spoken with the SpeakJet allophones. They then attempted to use that program to find the reported EVP phrases. From the report: It is evident from this comparison that these 10 phrases that the operator heard during the real-time EVPmaker Active Sessions were not present in the EVPmaker output at those times in the sessions. However, similar vowel sounds were often found in the output. For example, when the operator heard the phrase “you are here,” the allophones being “spoken” by EVPmaker actually “said” something like “ooch k hoe are teer.” Similarly, when the operator heard “I’m here for you,” EVPmaker was “saying” “I oo we’re kk door you.” Here is the example which was discarded as an outlier. Reported phrase: I’m here for you. Allophones from EVPmaker: \OHIY \UW \WW \IYRR \KO \EK \DO \OWRR \IYUW Associated phonetic sounds: (“I oo we’re kk door yoo”) The computer program was trained to find words in allophones “properly” arranged to form those words. It is difficult to “hear” what this sounds like by reading the phonetic sounds above. They were heard by the practitioner and many of the listening panel as “I’m here for you,” This is an example of how allophones might be arranged to approximate

the intended words. Words that would be understood by a human but not found by the program. Speech recognition programs have been tried for EVP many times, but to our knowledge, with no meaningful success. We made this clear to the researchers, but they insisted they could make it work. Trying to keep an open mind, we agreed. In fact, they did not make it work and we believe this part of the analysis should have been discarded as a bad idea. Lessons learned: At this time, speech recognition is not a realistic tool for EVP formed with EVPmaker. It may be useful for transform EVP since forensic voice analysis has been successfully used to compare “living” and discarnate voices. Discussion The Journal of Scientific Exploration* is a peer-reviewed publication which has published two other “failure to replicate EVP” -type articles. Based on this and our attempts to communicate with the society, we do not count it as a friend of EVP/ITC. We have no visibility as to who the “peers” were and our assumption is that they are peers in science but not peers in ITC. In truth, being amongst the very few organizations friendly to the concepts of survival and transcommunication, we expected to have to publish the final report in the ATransC NewsJournal. “The idea that you don’t show anybody, including your colleagues, results until they are peer-reviewed is something new in science. And it’s brought about because of media attention. I don’t think that’s good.” Richard

A. Miller in an interview by Michael D. Lemonick, Global warming “I stick to the Science,” Scientific American, June 2011. (Available on docside.com.) This is the first point we need to make. Peer review is not vetting. It is academics agreeing that the paper is academically sound, while vetting by subject matter specialists would have pointed out that many of the assumptions and procedures were inappropriate for the subject. The basic scientific method is observation leading to hypothesis which predicts outcomes that can be tested to further refine the hypothesis. This is important and appropriate to the study of transcommunication. However, many of the tools of mainstream science are not appropriate for this study. Most glaring is the statistical discard of an example because it was understood to much more often than the others. The listening panel and judging content procedures are essentially the same. As is clear in judging content, they are subjective considerations of objective phenomena. Being subjective, it is necessary to constrain the results to plausible communication. This was done in judging content but counting one and two-syllable words as “Yes” for presence of words only serves to provide fodder for statistical analysis. In fact, the presence of EVP was noted, making the conclusion that EVP were not present unfounded. From the report: Thus, consensus among participants during the listening panel did not rule out pareidolia (finding patterns in sound that are not there) as a possible explanation for the perceived presence of ITC in the Active

Sessions. And Based on the distribution of these scores, it was concluded that responses perceived by the operator did not consistently contain information that logically matched the questions. The researchers had been advised that previous attempts to use speech recognition have failed. Most EVP are formed in novel ways, which is especially true of EVPmaker. In fact, this is the common problem of frequency analysis of allophones and the speech recognition attempt made by the researchers. Both were interesting ideas which after seeing they did not detect phenomena known to be present, should have been abandoned. The report should have looked more like “We tried this but it did not work,” rather than, “We did this and it showed that phenomena were not present.” Lessons Learned Here is the research question used in the published report: Can the presence of ITC be objectively detected in real-time ITC sessions recorded by an experienced EVPmaker operator in which the operator claims successful contact with an external entity has occurred? There was a shift in emphasis from the original question (at beginning of this article) which highlights the breakdown in communication between Windbridge and ATransC. It is ATransC policy to promote open, candid collaboration and to make research results available to the average person. That was one of our requirements. ATransC is a nonprofit organization and funding this study had the potential of attracting more donations to enable future studies. Instead, the researchers refused to allow us to discuss the study until the

final report was published—three years later. The unavoidable conclusion is that research about techniques and human factors, such as protocols for listening panels, should be conducted by subject-matter specialists, and that work should be vetted by subject-matter specialists. Attempting to force-fit methodologies of mainstream science has not added to the understanding of these phenomena, except to show what does not work. There is a class division between academically trained but uninformed scientists and informed but generally poorly trained subject-matter specialist which impairs collaboration. This makes it necessary to conduct this work with the resources of the paranormal community. Conclusion about EVPmaker Despite the conclusions arrived at by Windbridge that EVP thought to be produced by EVPmaker are probably imaginary, there remain important examples of EVP from that technology which are very objective. So, what is reasonable guidance for members? There can be no doubt; EVPmaker should not be recommended to people who are new to EVP. The difficult to follow output too easily leads people to find meaning where none was intended. An example recorded in another study, “Her radio,” illustrates the complexities faced by researchers. Close examination of “radio” shows that it is actually a transform EVP—one formed by morphing noise to produce a clear expression. So in fact, that EVP is not a demonstration of EVPmaker’s capability. It could have been recorded with an ordinary audio recorder using background noise. The ATransC recommendation will be that EVPmaker should be considered a specialty tool to be used by people

already accustomed to recording EVP using a recorder with possible background noise (transform EVP). EVP from EVPmaker should be examined to determine whether or not it is actually transform EVP. You can access the report on Windbridge’s website: windbridge.org/papers/BoccuzziBeischel2011JSE25ITC.pdf EVP Online Listening Trials Author Tom Butler Abstract A common explanation for Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is that the reported utterances are mundane sounds mistaken as voice forming words. This report describes three online listening trials that were conducted to determine whether or not website visitors can correctly identify words that are thought to be EVP by listening to unmarked sound files. A second consideration is that it is a popular wisdom amongst EVP practitioners that one must learn to correctly understand EVP. A variety of approaches were tried to test this theory, including polling experienced listeners, using questions in an attempt to assess interest and predisposition to believe in EVP and asking participants to indicate experience in hearing examples. Analysis of the trials is included, along with an assessment of the reliability of the results. When the total number of words correctly recognized for the three trials is compared to the possible number, the overall percent Recognized words (%Rw) is 25.2%, indicating that at least some EVP do constitute recognizable words. Introduction Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is defined as voices found in recording media, for the presence of which, there is no apparent physical explanation. Lacking a physical cause for the utterances, the working hypothesis most popularly proposed to explain

them is the Survival Hypothesis.1 Specifically, that a person is a nonphysical Self (sometimes referred to as the personality, point of view or consciousness) in a symbiotic relationship with a physical body, and at the moment of death of the physical body, the Self is free to “return” to its more natural nonphysical environment. The hypothesis further holds that there is a nonphysical aspect of reality in which the survived Self exists, and from which it is able to communicate “back into” the physical via the mediumship of a still physical person, either technology augmented or via the human channel. Alternative explanations for EVP which depend on physical principles include naturally occurring sounds mistaken as voice, real but mundane voices in the environment (voice contamination), radio frequency contamination, technology artifacts and sound file processing errors (processing artifacts). Super-PSI explanations that do not depend on the Survival Hypothesis include “echoes of the past” from residual mental energy that is stored in an as yet undefined quantum field and the recording of thoughts of the living. An emerging theory is that the practitioner and/or an interested observer creates an expected reality (experimental result), which is then mistaken as a trans-etheric influence. Analysis of these theories is beyond the scope of this paper but they are briefly addressed in the Association TransCommunication (ATransC) article, ITC White Paper.2 (See info about paper)This paper is written with the assumption that EVP exist but how or why they exist is not addressed, nor is the question

of their paranormality other than in the context of what is known about their nature. Statement of Question 1: That EVP are ordinary sounds mistaken as voice is described as “pareidolia,” which is defined as “the erroneous or fanciful perception of a pattern or meaning in something that is actually ambiguous or random.”3 There can be little doubt that people do sometimes inappropriately assign meaning, but by definition, EVP is not pareidolia; however, for this statement to be true, then words reported in EVP must be distinguishable as words. Further, there should be some measure of agreement amongst listeners as to what is said. Question 1: Can words in EVP be correctly identified by a website visitor without guidance. Answer Format: A consistent measure of correctly identified words (Recognized words = Rw) greater than zero would indicate that at least some parts of the example EVP are real words. Statement of Question 2: EVP are not formed with a biological system but are formed in novel ways that produce sounds that represent words; they are simulated words. The words are often so arranged that they are not recognized as language without prior training. The assumption of these trials is that website visitors are “average” people ranging in experience listening to EVP from novice to expert. If the result of Question one is affirmative, then there should be a measurable difference in %Rw between novice listeners and experienced listeners. Question 2: Is there an increase of %Rw with increased experience hearing

EVP examples? Answer Format: People who are experienced in listening to EVP should produce measurably higher %Rw. Factors Influencing How EVP is Understood The words of EVP should not be thought of as being formed by a biological system. Analysis has shown that they are simulations of words, and because of an often imperfect simulation, they are not understood in the same way as the same words spoken by a physical person. Because of this, some experienced practitioners have speculated that correctly hearing EVP is a learned ability. Unusual Arrangement of Formants It is fairly standard practice to classify EVP examples according to how easily they are correctly understood. A Class A voice can be heard and understood over a speaker by most people. A Class B voice can be heard over a speaker, but not everyone will agree as to what is said. A Class C voice is difficult to understand under any condition. An utterance may have one or two clearly understood words. Loud does not equal Class A. The majority of examples are Class C, and probably only one in several hundred are Class A. The problem with this classification system is the assumption that all listeners have the same ability to understand the words in EVP. However, experience indicates that hearing the utterances is something of a learned ability and understanding them is not unlike learning a new language. That is, the words in EVP are formed in novel ways that often confound an untrained listener.

This observation lacks the support of clinical studies, but there are a number of studies and learned opinions which may provide reference for further study. Novel Voice Formation Analysis of the voices by the Italian research group, Il Laboratorio4, indicates that the fundamental voice frequency is often distorted or missing in the utterances, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 2 includes illustrations created by forensic-quality software used by Daniele Gullà at Il Laboratorio. The software creates illustrations showing probable shape of a mouth when speaking particular sounds. The software will sometimes fail to properly determine the shape of the mouth necessary to form some of the sounds in EVP. An important characteristic of EVP is that they are energy limited; they are typically only a few words and appear as packets of audio energy with about the same average power in the waveform. This is a generalization, but examples are often encountered in which short utterances (one or two words) are relatively loud while longer ones (four or five) tend to be a little quieter or loud with a trailing-off or garbled enunciation at the end. Extraordinarily long utterances tend to be delivered as concatenated packets of words with evident pauses between packets, as if energy is being gathered between efforts. In some cases, different speakers will finish a concatenated utterance, or several speakers might speak in unison, as if sharing energy to “get through.” Figure 3 provides an example of an EVP which is delivered in two packets with

an evident pause between packets. At left is the waveform view of the same example shown at the right as a spectral view. The first packet (region 1 in the spectral view) is most easily understood, while the second (region 2) seems to be better enunciated but is not as easily understood. The second may be a different person attempting to assist the speaker, or alternatively, the single speaker may have achieved more control over the “circuit.” Region 3 (right end) is a physical person speaking. The EVP would be characterized overall as a Class C. but Region 1 would be considered a Class B. If you look at the spectral view of the same sound file, you will see that area 3 shows definite formant formation while area 1 does not and area 2 is partially defined. The formant levels are indicated by the white hash marks on the right side of the frame. Area 1 is thought to say, "I’m fine" while area 2 is thought to say "love you mom." I can make out the "I’m fine" quite well, but not the area 2 and certainly not the woman’s quiet voice, even though you see the voice is well defined. Parenthetically, another point illustrated in Figure 3 is that, when there are clearly defined formants in an EVP, it is possible to put the signal through a low pass filter and take out some of the formants. Doing so usually does not hurt physical speech, but it

can change how an EVP is understood. Also, as is noted above, noise reduction tools (not filters) use a sample of the waveform to build a profile, which is then used to selectively remove those frequencies by amplitude. If the utterance is formed from the noise, then in some cases, the utterance is removed or is altered to be interpreted as having a different meaning. So yes, it is possible to cause processing artifacts with inappropriate processing of the sound file, although such processing does not produce an utterance unless it is someone trying to find voice in a near-zero-level, flat-line waveform. In that case, it is possible to make radio-frequency contamination audible. Hearing with Templates Alexander MacRae has proposed a possible explanation for why some people have difficulty hearing and understanding EVP.8 In part, he explains that: • My article on hearing with templates makes the point that what we hear is not necessarily the same as what we are listening to. And then the point is made that templates are used in all recognition processes, whether recognizing phonemes (elements of words), patterns of phonemes which are words or patterns of words which are phrases. What you actually “hear” is the template. You can also hear all the other noises that are part of what you are listening to, but what you actually “hear” is the template that best fits the sound pattern. • If you listen to a sequence of phonemes that you have never heard before, for

instance, “Gelarumipalat,” which is not a word in the languages that you understand, which does not have Latin, Greek or Germanic roots, what you will hear is a sequence of phonemes, pure and simple. If you listen to a recognized sequence of phonemes such as “angry,” you hear a word. And if you listen to a sequence of known words in a recognized sequence such as, “I am so angry!” what you “hear” is a meaning. • What you listen to and what you hear can be different things. There has to be a distinction, therefore, between EVP that is so good it is close to normal speech in good listening conditions which I call A-type EVP, and EVP that is not that good which I will call that B-type EVP. They are both EVP but they have different behavioral characteristics. • With B-type EVP: ○ Different people may hear different things; ○ What is heard using headphones may be different from what is heard using a speaker; ○ What is heard when one is told what it is, may be different from what one heard before being told what it is; and, ○ What one hears at one time may be different from what one hears at another time.'' • The point is that the EVP researchers are identifying important reasons why EVP are not heard as normal speech. Novel voice formation and missing timing cues that confound the mind are just two of the reasons an average person

might think that an example of EVP is just noise, or at best, gibberish. If known problems of missing context, noise contamination and utterances that are spoken too softly or too fast are considered, then there begins to be a case for treating hearing and understanding EVP as a learned ability, not very different than learning a new language. Listener Expectation As it applies to psi phenomena, the experimenter effect refers to the influence a "believer" has on the outcome of a process. The hypothesis is that, if the experimenter expects a positive result, it is possible that he or she might psychically facilitate that result. The reverse is true of those who are not "believers." If there is a psi aspect of EVP, then this same hypothesis should be considered. The experimenter effect suggests that the person participating in the listening trials might be an unreliable listener because of a predisposition to believe or not believe. • Agnosia: Loss of the ability to interpret sensory stimuli, such as sounds or images. (American Heritage Dictionary). Agnosia was once considered a rare condition, but since the work with inattention blindness, it has become clear that it is much more common than previously thought. An audio form of agnosia is also recognized, and what might be referred to as incredulity blindness should be considered in the analysis of listener ability to hear EVP. That is: • Incredulity blindness: A category of inattentional agnosia or inattentional blindness, in which an audio or visual

example of a phenomenon is not experienced because it is so foreign to a person’s worldview. There are at least two forms of the experimenter effect. One is the difference in experimental results collected by “believers” and “skeptics.” The second is due to the difference in results reported between a “believer” and a “skeptics.” Effective Listening Technique Website visitors volunteer to participate in the listening trials, but do not necessarily agree to follow the recommended procedure for listening to an example. As suggested in the introduction to the examples “…an excellent technique for examining a possible utterance is to select the suspected wave form and listen to it many times. If words are present to be understood, the listener’s mind will sometimes, eventually recognize them.” They are also asked to use headphones, rather than listening via speakers. This technique is used with an audio management program such as Audition, or the open source, Audacity. Most people experienced with EVP use a similar program, and as is shown in Figure 3, variations in the waveform are suggestive of utterances, so it is easy to select one pulse of the waveform and listen to it many times using the “Loop” feature. Once a word “emerges” into my awareness, it is easy to hear it later when listening to the entire file. In effect, the person learns how to understand words as formed by that communicator. Experimental Protocol As of July 2007, the Association TransCommunication (formally AA- EVP) website received an average of

fifteen hundred unique visitors a day, making it an ideal platform for conducting online EVP listening experiments. Also, the site ranks high in search engines, assuring that both people seriously interested in EVP and the idly curious will find the page hosting the experiment. The basic protocol utilizes a web page inviting website visitors to listen to audio files labeled with just the word, “Example” and a number. Visitors were asked to type what they heard in an unlabeled text field. This information was sent to an email address and also to a database on the website server. A conscious effort was made to allow very little tolerance for what was considered a correct interpretation of the examples, and other than as noted below “almost right” words were generally not accepted as correct. The number of words contained in the examples ranged from one to seven words and each word was counted as a possible hit or miss. Allowance was given for the way words are commonly heard or reported. For instance, “Shut up” was counted as one word, because that is the way it is commonly heard, “spirit” and “spirits” were equally accepted, but “I’m” was not accepted when it was supposed to be “We’re.” The resulting database was manually tallied based on the number of words correctly reported for each example by each participant. Data is not available for how likely any one word in the English language is to be guessed in any single attempt. However, it

is predictable that some words are more likely to be guessed than are others, especially if the participant has previously listening to EVP examples on the Internet. For instance, words like “the” and “is” are commonly found in phrases, as are “I,” “I’m” and “we.” Names are often in EVP examples, and some names are more common than others. For these reasons, no effort was made to evaluate the responses based on deviation from chance guessing of words. Instead, a straightforward count was made to establish average percentage of correctly reported words, compared to the total number in the example multiplied by the number of entries. Normalizing Quality of Examples Some examples are simply harder to understand, and so, a means of predicting how hard an example is to understand would be helpful for the analysis of the results. In an attempt to establish this measure, participants were asked questions designed to determine their experience in hearing EVP or inclination to believe in their validity as natural phenomena. The intention was to find a way to say that this participant has, say a skill level of five on a scale of one (beginner) to ten (expert), and the %Rw for the person was n%. Then to compare all entries for that example versus average skill level to establish a quality index for the example. Overall, this was not successful, although the data is provided and comments have been made for each trial. Trial 1 Five examples thought to be Class

A were used. In an effort to avoid recognition by participants, they were selected because they were not widely used. Participants were asked to select from the following options: Please select one or more the following descriptions that best describes you: • • • • • I have studied EVP and believe they are caused by discarnate people. I have studied EVP and believe that there is a physical explanation for them. I consider myself a skeptical person when it comes to the paranormal. I have been academically trained in the sciences. I am academically trained but not in the sciences. There was a problem in determining the number of correctly identified words as compared to the participant’s background because participants were able to select more than one response. While the raw data contains this information, it was generalized as: • • • • • I have studied EVP and believe they are caused by discarnate people. I consider myself a skeptical person when it comes to the paranormal. I consider myself a skeptical person when it comes to the paranormal and I am an academically trained scientist I have been academically trained in the sciences. I am academically trained but not in the sciences. • No background marked. The responses were stored on the internet and also delivered via email to my computer. (The raw data is available for analysis on request.) In the first experiment, a response came as (actual-typical): Example 1: shut up vicki good job vicki

Example 2: we can't go in the Example 3: the voice is mine Example 4: hi, mom Example 5: big speech from the mommy Studied EVP and believes EVP: Studied EVP and believes physical: Skeptical: Skeptical Scientist: Trained Scientist Layperson: Remote Name: nn.nnn.nn.nn Remote User: Date: 08 February 2007 Time: 11:59 AM After one hundred “qualified” responses, the experiment was stopped because of the time required for processing the results and because there was an almost exponential increase in attempts to sabotage the experiment with misleading responses. Judging by the “Remote Name” (IP address), after indicating they were skeptical, some were coming back a second time, saying they had studied EVP and believed it to be phenomenal and then typing random characters in the response field. All duplicated responses were discarded. “Qualified” respondent actually wrote a response for at least one example, and the response was something other than random characters. Blank entries for individual examples were counted as a “miss” as long as there was some form of response for at least one example; however, entries with no attempted word identification for all five examples were discarded. The five examples included nineteen words. Example 1 sounds as if it was “Shutup Viki” repeated twice, rather then the actual “Shutup Vicki, just shutup Vicki.” Many gave the correct first half and the assumption was made that the second half was mistaken as a repeat. (Repeating the example in the same recording is a common practice.) As previously noted, “shut up”

was counted as one word because that is pretty much the way it is heard. Thus, a “shutup Viki” response was counted as four words because we feel the participant assumed a repeat. Other decisions made for judging correct word identification included: “Were” is okay for “Where’s” “Sticky,” “Dickey” or “Becky” was not counted for “Viki” but “kiki” was “Than” is accepted as “thanks” but “Think” was not accepted “Hay” was accepted for “Hi” “Mommy” was not accepted for “money” “Bob” was not accepted for “mom” Trial 1 Results There were ninety-six “qualified” responses resulting in a possible 1,824 words. There were 612 correctly recognized words (Rw) or '''overall %Rw = 33.6%'''. Based on how participants answered the profile questions: • • • • • I have studied EVP and believe they are caused by discarnate people. %Rw = 40.9% (35.4% of participants (34 people)) I consider myself a skeptical person when it comes to the paranormal. %Rw = 28.0% (32.3% of participants (31 people)) I consider myself a skeptical person when it comes to the paranormal and I am an academically trained scientist. %Rw = 20.0% (5.2% of participants (5 people)) I have been academically trained in the sciences. %Rw = 27.4% (5.2% of participants (5 people)) I am academically trained but not in the sciences. %Rw = 28.3% (13.5% of the participants (13 people)) • No background marked. %Rw = 38.2% (8.3% of the participants (8 people)) (c)vicki_talbott2004-shutup_vicki_just_shutup_vicki.mp3 “Shutup Vicki just shutup Vicki” recorded by Viki Talbott (5

words). Possible 480 words (96 x 5) with 247 words correctly identified or %w = 51.5%. File is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cvicki_talbott2004- shutup_vicki_just_shutup_vicki.mp3 (c)tom-lisa_butler2004-we_keep_looking_for_peace.mp3 “We keep looking for peace” recorded by Lisa Butler (5 words). Possible 480 words (96 x 5) with 69 words correctly identified or %Rw = 14.4%. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler- we_keep_looking_for_peace.mp3 (c)martha_copeland2004-wheres_mom.mp3 “Where’s mom” recorded by Martha Copeland (2 words). Possible 192 (96 x 2) words with 85 words correctly identified or %Rw = 44.3%. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmartha_copeland2004-wheres_mom.mp3 (c)teri_daner2006-geoff_hi_mom with lions.mp3 “Hi mom” recorded by Teri Dabber (2 words). Possible 192 words (96 x 2) with 84 words correctly identified or %Rw = 43.8%. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005- terri_danner-hi_mom.mp3 (c)vicki_talbott2005-thanks_thanks_for_the_money.mp3 “Thanks, thanks for the money” recorded by Vicki Talbott (5 words). Possible 480 words (96 x 5) with 127 words correctly identified or %Rw = 26.5%. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cvicki_talbott2005- thanks_thanks_for_the_money.mp3 Trial 2 A second listening trial was conducted in an effort to better establish an average for %Rw and to determine whether or not it was possible to relate ability to hear to background. Five examples thought to be Class A were used, along with one example spoken by a physical person. Once again, they were selected because they were not widely used, in an effort to avoid recognition by participants. Background information: The background information participants were asked to provide was different from Trial 1 in an effort to find a more useful way to profile the participants.

They were asked: Identifying the mundane utterance: Near the end of the trial, participants were told that one example was mundane and participants were ask to use a provided check-boxes to indicate which one they thought was mundane. Testing for response fatigue: The number of correctly recognized words (Rw) for example six was unexpectedly low so examples one and six were reversed during the trial to see if the Rw world changed. Such a change in Rw would seem to indicate that participants were experiencing “fatigue” in trying to listen to so many examples. The EVP, “It's Jamie” had a %Rw of 56.6% when it was Example 1 and a %Rw of 62.3% when it was Example 6. The differential is 5.7% with a gain for being the last example. The EVP, “I survived” had a %Rw of 22.5% when it was Example 1 and a %Rw of 27.4% when it was Example 6. The differential is 4.9% with a gain for being the last example Response format: As in Trial 1, the responses were stored on the internet and also delivered via email to my computer. (The raw data is available for analysis on request.) A response came as: Normal Speech: Yes 4 Example 1: Jeremy Example 2: I’m flying Example 3: we come to get roxanne Example 4: this feels weird Example 5: you're crazy Example 6: I’m in your barn Education: Subject of education: Background in EVP: Have studied a little Opinion about EVP: May provide proof

of survival after physical death Spam control: 2 B1: Submit Remote Name: nn.nn.nnn.nn Remote User: Date: 07 July 2007 Time: 05:52 PM The same rules were applied to grading correctly reported words in Trail 2 as was used in Trial 1. For instance: • Any word that began with a “J” and ended with a “m” and a “ie” ending, such as “y” or “e.” • Not accepted: Words like “Jane” and “Jenny.” • • “I’m” was not accepted for “I” “Survive” was accepted for “survived” Trial 2 Results The mundane example “Will you tell me the grump’s name?” was not counted in the tally. The maximum number of responses for the remaining five was 217, but as few as 184 were counted in one example because some participants made no entry. Overall, there was a possibility of 2,844 recognized words. 855 words were recognized for an average of 30.1% (Overall %Rw = 31.0) (c)karen_mossey2003-itsfrank.mp3 “It’s Jamie” recorded by Ginny Sawyer (2 words). Possible 434 words (217 x 2). 249 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 57.4% File is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cgenny_sawyer2006-its_jamie.mp3 (c)karen_mossey2003-itsfrank.mp3 “It’s Frank” recorded by Karen Mossey (2 words). Possible 426 words (213 x 2). 207 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 48.6% File is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/07/ckaren_mossey2003-itsfrank.mp3 (c)martha_copeland - not evp - tell me the grumps name.mp3 “Will you tell me the grump’s name?” recorded by Martha Copeland (7 words). This is a mundane voice spoken by Martha Copeland. Possible 1365 words (195 x 7).

449 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 32.9% The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmartha_copeland2004- will_you_tell_grumps_name-mundane.mp3 (c)vicki_talbott-were still in spirit.mp3 “We’re still in spirit” recorded by Vicki Talbott (4 words). Possible 832 words (208 x 4). 191 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 22.9% The file us at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cvicki_talbott2006-were_still_in_spirit.mp3 (c)martha_copeland2004-tell_her_its_satan.mp3 “Tell her it’s Satan” recorded by Martha Copeland (4 words). Possible 736 words (184 x 4). 102 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 13.9% The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/ccopeland2003_tell_her_its_satan.mp3 (c)martha_copeland2004-i_survived.mp3 “I survived” recorded by Martha Copeland (2 words). Possible 416 words (208 x 2). 106 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 25.5% The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmartha_copeland2004-i_survived.mp3 Trial 3 Trial 3 was an attempt to determine whether or not it was reasonable to ask participants to estimate their previous experience in listening to EVP examples. Participants were also asked to identify any organization with which they were affiliated. This question was intended to permit identification of a control group, such as a teacher’s students or members of the ATransC. All examples were recorded using an audio recorder as transform EVP (transformation of available noise into words), except for one recorded using the radio-sweep method as an opportunistic EVP (just in time sounds selected to form words). See Locating EVP formation and detecting false positives. (Radio-sweep is accomplished with a modified radio popularly known as "ghost boxes" or “spirit boxes.") Response format: As in the other trials, the responses were stored on the internet and

also delivered via email to my computer. (The raw data is available for analysis on request.) A response came as: Example 1: No ones held me Example 2: Rob is peeking can he help that Example 3: This is sooo difficult Example 4: Heavens the best Example 5: You should mother _ _ _ _ a Example 6: Hello Posit science results: 7.25B Organization: AAEVP Experience: 8 Spam control: 2 B1: Submit Remote Name: Remote User: xx.xxx.x.xxx Date: 02 February, 2008 Time: 08:08 PM IP addresses were examined and multiple entries from the same IP were deleted, except in the instances in which the reported words were identical. In identical, duplicated entries, only one was counted; the assumption being that the duplicate was accidental. The same rules were applied to grading correctly reported words as was used in the other trials, so that: • Death was accepted for dead • • McTaulk not accepted for talking • Shaw, Sha, Shraw, Shah and Saul were accepted for Shawn but not Sean, Sal or Saw • Talk was accepted for Talking • Help was accepted for helping • Death was accepted for dead • Merrill was accepted for Marilyn • Words like Kevin not accepted for Cathy • Help me was not accepted for Helping but was given one word for help • Weak was accepted for Week but not speak Trial 3 Results results of your test below, but this is optional.197 entries were accepted for a possible 4,334 words to

be recognized. 804 words were correctly recognized for an average of 18.6% (Overall %Rw = 18.6%). (c)margaret_downey2006-joeys_helping-1.mp3 1. “Joeys helping” Recorded by Margaret Downey. 2 words, had a possible 394 possible (2 X 197), 121 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 30.7% 42 responses were "Someone help me" or close variation of this. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2006-joeys_helping_1.mp3 (c)margaret_downey2007-not_this_week_we_can_help_her-2.mp3 2. “Not this week. We can help” recorded by Margaret Downey. 7 words (Radio Sweep) had a possible 1,379 possible (6 X 197), 34 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 2.5% "Have to speak" or "Do I have to speak," was a common response. There were 100 "speak" responses, and if "speak" had been accepted for "week," %Rw would be %Rw = 9.7% The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2007- not_this_week_we_can_help_her_2.mp3 (c)margaret_downey2007-this_is_shawn_talking-3.mp3 3. “This is Shawn talking” recorded by Margaret Downey. 4 words, had a possible 788 possible (4 X 197), 343 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 43.5% 7 responses were "This is so difficult" and 6 were "This is from the top." "This is" accounted for most of the hits for this example. The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2007- this_is_shawn_talking_3.mp3 (c)margaret_downy2006-cathy_your_dead_only-4.mp3 4. “Cathy, you're dead” recorded by Margaret Downey. 3 words, had a possible 591 possible (3 X 197), 216 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 36.6% 60 responses begin with "Kevin." The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downy2006-cathy_your_dead_4.mp3 (c)tom-lisa_butler2003-you_should_never_step_out-5.mp3 “You should never step out” recorded by Lisa Butler. 5 words, had a possible 985 possible

(5 X 197), 83 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 8.4% 40 responses began with "This is" and 20 began with "we should," "said" or "shall." The file is at http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ctom- lisa_butler2003-you_should_never_step_out_5.mp3 (c)tom-lisa_butler2004-marilyn-6.mp3 6. “Marilyn” recorded by Lisa Butler. 1 word, had a possible 197 possible (1 X 197), 7 words were correctly identified or %Rw = 3.6% 6 responses were "Hell," 56 were "Hello," 20 were "Help" and 16 "Sarah." The file is at http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ctom- lisa_butler2004-marilyn_6.mp3 Experience Hearing EVP vs. %Rw This plot shows the distribution of (self-reported) experience and %Rw. Each the number in each point represents the number of entries represented. The average experience level is about 3.6 with an average %Rw = 20.3% The two numbers for experience level 10 is without and with (second number) the single result of fifteen correctly recognized words. (The total numbers reported here deviates from the overall average because some people failed to indicate estimated experience.) The graph does not include entries that did not offer an experience level. If understanding EVP is a learned ability, then an improvement in %Rw should be seen with more experience. But as can be seen in the table below, the %Rw is almost flat. one possible explanation for the lack of improvement may be the human nature tendency to overestimate personal ability. It is difficult to know how much experience one has, or how "good" one has become in listening to EVP when interested people are so few and far in-between. For

this question to be properly asked and answered, it appears that a standardized hearing and experience tests would need to be administered before the actual listening trials are conducted. Posit Science Results As a way to evaluate how well participants hear voice in noisy environments, we asked participants to take the Posit Science Speech in noise" hearing test (No longer available) You will be asked for the results of your test below, but this is optional. Nineteen people reported a Posit Science result. -15 is the best possible result. The average was -6.8 with an average %Rw = 19.4%. Overall, participants had a %Rw = 19.4%, indicating that hearing ability alone is not a major factor in the ability to understand EVP. Discussion Question 1 was to test the pareidolia hypothesis, and if %Rw was greater than zero, to establish parameters for how EVP are heard. Whether or not EVP are mundane sounds mistaken as voice should be able to be determined by whether or not sound files thought to be EVP can be heard to say what EVP experiments think they say. With an average percent recognized words or %Rw = 36% for Trial 1, %Rw = 30% for Trial 2 and %Rw = 18.6% for Trial 3. Based on total number of words recognized for all three trials, the overall average of %Rw = 25.2%, it seems clear that at least the examples used in this exercise are composed of sometimes intelligible words, and therefore, are not figments

of an experimenter’s imagination. Stats • 3 trials • 17 examples (One mundane voice and one radio sweep, the rest are transform EVP made with a plain old recorder.) • 510 participants • 9,002 possible words • 2,7271 words correctly recognized. • 25.2% Overall %Rw Question 2 addressed the idea that EVP are formed in novel ways that produce sounds that represent words, and that the words are often so arranged that they are not recognized as language without prior training. 1. 2. 3. In Trial 1, people who indicated that they have studied EVP scored a %Rw of 40.9% (34 people), as compared to 28.4% for the other participants combined (62 people). This is a difference of 12.5% In Trail 2, people who have recorded EVP had a %Rw of 33.0% (14 people) while the people indicating having no experience with EVP scored 21.9% (79 people) for a difference of 11.1%. In Trial 3, %Rw based tallied by self-reported experience levels was nearly flat from no experience to considerable experience. The results of Trial 1 and 2 seem to indicate that learning does improve performance, which seems to support the hypothesis that one reason people new to EVP often report hearing EVP as just noise is that they have not learned to hear the utterances. However, participants were asked in Trial 3 to estimate their experience in hearing EVP, and for the most part, reported experience versus %Rw did not support the self-hypothesis that learning is required. Cooperation of

the Participants During the first trial, the editors of Wikipedia active in the EVP article at the time were told that there was a trial under way. Directly after that, responses began to be received that were first marked as being from a skeptical person and then the same IP came back one or more times marked as being from a "believer." The responses also changed from an apparent honest effort to hear the words to mere random typing or obviously wrong responses. This escalated so that it was necessary to discontinue the trial when the majority of responses were of this nature. Wikipedia is controlled by editors who are ideologically in line with and strong defenders of mainstream science. Single responses cannot be excluded just because it seems that there was no honest effort to hear the words; however, when there is more than one entry for a single IP, all entries associated with that IP were discounted, even when their %Rw was high. A negative of this policy is that some IP addresses are associated with publicly accessed computers, such as in libraries and schools. The one exception to discounting responses with duplicated IPs is when the response itself is both consecutive and identical, in which case it was assumed that a mechanical error occurred and the first response was retained while the second was discounted. A second form of vandalism comes in the form of unreasonable interpretations of an example. In the waveform shown here, changes in

amplitude corresponds with the utterance--first part anomalous and the last part mundane. An interpretation of what is said should have some correspondence with the number of amplitude pulses, especially as seen in the spectral view at the right. In other words, if the listener makes an effort to hear what is said, what is typed in the response field should at least approximate the number of sound pulses, even if the typed words are not correct. There were many responses containing far too many syllables to be seriously related to the example. Yet, it is necessary to count such responses because there is no overriding reason to assume vandalism. This does, however, reduce the usefulness of the overall trial. Wrong Words Reported An intriguing result of these trials is that the wrong word is sometimes more often reported than the right word. This was tracked in the third trial, and for instance, the last example is Marilyn, but it was identified as "hello" in 56 of the 197 responses. in Cathy, your dead, 'Cathy" was understood as "Kevin" 60 times. If "Kevin" had been the correct response, the %Rw would have been better than 45% as opposed to the reported 36%. In some cases, expectations of the listener might make a response more likely. For instance, in the Marilyn, "Sarah" was reported 16 times. Sarah Estep is the founder of the AA-EVP and has recently made her transition. "Help" was reported 20 times and is another often reported EVP. A

phrase beginning with a "Ca" sound and one beginning with a "Ke" sound is close enough that people might hear one as the other. Participants are asked to use a headset and listen to the example several times, but in fact, one listening via computer speakers is probably best that can be expected. Audio performance varies amongst computers, as does environments, and it should be expected that listening errors will have a negative influence on %Rw. Improving the Protocol Normalizing the example: The best practice for grading how easily an EVP example will be understood is the Class A (easily heard), B (poorly heard, but hearable) and C (usually only heard by the practitioner) classification system. This is generally established by the practitioner and is only rarely determined by a listening panel. If the hypothesis that learning is required to understand EVP is correct, then the practitioner is not reliable as a standard for classification, nor is a listening panel. The clarity of EVP examples varies considerably, and the ones used in these three trials are no exception. They were selected because they are considered Class A, but I have nearly twenty years of experience hearing EVP, and if there is a learning curve, I am at it top and clearly am not a reliable standard. On the other hand, I have also played examples for many people, and have a sense of what the average person can understand. Another factor in determining the quality of an example is that,

if listeners are routinely told what the example is thought to say, they will be more likely to hear the example as a Class A. This is true even when the example might actually be a poor Class B. This is related to the listener's expectation. For instance, if the example is recorded in a cemetery, the listener is more apt to assume an utterance is dreadful if the person assumes "dead" people are stuck there. Normalizing listener experience: How well qualified the listener is to correctly hear an utterance is a second issue for hearing trials. As is seen here, self-estimation of ability may not be reliable. Online trials depend on keeping the interest of the participant, and based on the results, the best circumstance might be academic. An instructor can request that students take the necessary screening tests, and then using an affiliation question in the online trials form to identify the control group. Ideally, participants would be given a hearing test using the computer with speakers or headphone that would be used for the trial. In addition, a set of questions could be developed to determine the participant's experience hearing EVP based on a psychology-style aptitude test. An Ideal Protocol • EVP examples would be taken from a pool of previously screened examples. This screening would be accomplished by using this same protocol to establish a control listening panel, and based on the control group's performance with examples, a set of examples that have been given a

grade. Thus, an example would have a factor based on control group score. • Website visitors participating in a trial would include a listening test and a survey designed to provide a factor representing experience. Thus, the participant would have a hearing score and a score for experience. • Participants would then listen to a set of unmarked examples and type what they hear in an unmarked text field. • Listening results would be graded based on hearing ability, experience and the quality factor of examples. Conclusions With the degree of normalization described above, it should be possible to use the online listening trial protocol to explore subjects such as how experience and/or personality traits influence ability to understand EVP. There is evidence of a cultural influence on how trans-etheric influences are experienced, and the online listening protocol may provide an important means of controlling the examination of these ideas. EVP is just an objective form of trans-etheric influence, but it is also easily induced. Any time the conceptual world of the etheric is examined by people and their attendant observer influence, variables become involved that cannot be easily controlled. That is one of the reasons deviations from chance has become the primary approach for psi functioning studies. With the on-demand objective results of EVP research, such variables can potentially be controlled, and meaningful results can be expected. References 1. Butler, Tom, Survival Hypothesis Explained, ATransC, ethericstudies.org/trans-survival-hypothesis/ 2. Butler, Tom, EITC White paper, atransc.org/itc-white-paper/ (See info about paper) 3. Word

Spy: pareidolia. 4. Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research, Bologna, Italy (Il Laboratorio) 5. Gullà, Daniele, Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification, Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research, Bologna, Italy, ATransC web site atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis/ (This book) 6. Butler. Tom, Characteristic Test for EVP, Best Practices Development. 7. “Formants,” Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, Cambridge Street Publishing, 1999. 8. MacRae, Alexander, “Hearing with Templates,” Winter 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal, atransc.org/macrae-hearing-with- templates/ (Book 1) 9. Caroline Watt, Peter Ramakers, Journal of Parapsychology, The, Spring, 2003. 10. Daniel J. Simons, Scholarpedia, 2007. 11, Audition, Adobe Systems, Inc. 12. Audacity, audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows. EVP Online Phantom Voices by Tom Butler Previously published in the Fall 2012 ATransC NewsJournal Abstract A frequent source of consternation for people who are asked to listen to EVP examples is their failure to hear what is reported. It is expected there will be some disagreement between listeners and practitioners. That is the nature of EVP (see Online Listening Study). (This book) However, a problem develops when listeners report hearing only noise, and doing so with example after example from the same practitioner when the practitioner insists there are paranormal voices in the examples. The question necessarily must turn to why the practitioner is hearing what others do not. For this study, sound file containing only noise were presented to ATransC.org online listeners who were told there was only noise and were then asked to report what they heard. The study confirmed the prevalence of people who report

hearing “phantom voices.” the study includes a discussion as to why this may be. Introduction The evidence is clear that there are examples of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) that contain clearly understood messages. EVP are empirically demonstrated phenomena. Yet, a commonly heard complaint is that websites concerned with the paranormal often have examples of EVP that sound like simple noise. what_do_you_hear1-brown-2.mp3 The file is at http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/what_do_you_hear1_brown-2.mp3 Website visitors have used the contact tool to announce that they are receiving astoundingly long and important EVP, which on close examination, have proven to only contain noise. Yet, others have provided excellent, clearly heard examples. So what is the difference? What leads one person to hear messages where there is only noise while others do not? what_do_you_hear2-modulated.mp3 The file is at http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/what_do_you_hear2- modulated.mp3 The prevalence of this “phantom voices” phenomenon is increasingly evident as more people become involved in EVP. The resulting confusion is seen as an obstacle to useful collaboration amongst practitioners and certainly must warn off potential researchers. Listening Test To develop more understanding of the problem of phantom voices, the ATransC conducted an online listening study using two sound files. One contained simple brown noise (emphasis on voice- frequencies) and the other contained broad-spectrum noise modulated with audio pulses that simulate the cadence of speech. It was clearly stated that neither example contained voice. Possible explanations about what might cause a person to hear phantom voices were included above the hearing test and what was in the files was

clearly stated. Results Of the 111 submissions, 15.3% (17) reported hearing voices in the brown noise file and 27.8% (33) reported hearing voices in the modulated file. That means that 39% (43) reported voice in one or both of the files. Participants were also asked if they had a history of hearing voices not heard by others. Thirty-six percent (40) of the respondents said that they did. Most indicated they were likely in a hypnagogic state of awareness. Interestingly, many respondents reported hearing music or musical tones. While hearing music might be an associated characteristic of the phantom voices phenomenon, the question has not been addressed here. Analysis This was an informal study in the sense that there were no controls. Although respondents were asked how the samples were listened to, it is mostly unknown if the samples were heard under optimum conditions. It is also reasonable to ask if respondents would be candid about hearing voices they were told were not present. There is probably a natural selection of respondents which biases the results away from “hearing voices” reports. The website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day and receiving only 111 responses to the study over more than a year suggests that many who might have read the discussion prior to listening to the sound files, and subsequently heard voices, chose not to respond. For the purpose of future study, it is hypothesized that at least 43% might hear voices in sound files which are not present. Theory

The phantom voices phenomenon appears to have a number of possible causes ranging from mental illness to the natural human tendency to make sense of ambiguous stimuli. Mental illness does not appear to be a factor for EVP; however, in the most extreme examples, there does appear to be a complex of common behaviors which may imply a situational fixation on hearing voices. This is addressed below in “Listener Fatigue.” Hypnagogia There are a number of mental characteristics described in the psychological literature that touch on this experience, but hypnagogia seems to be a key concept. It is defined as: Inducing sleep; soporific [sleepiness]; drowsiness preceding sleep; relating to the images or hallucinations sometimes experienced in this state. According to Gurstelle and de Oliveira,1 “…daytime parahypnagogia (DPH) is more likely to occur when one is tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity….” The mind will naturally seek order in chaotic stimuli (see “Perceptual Order” below). The order is apparently based on what is in the person’s memory, so the almost-heard sounds have a familiar feel for the experiencer. A common report received by the ATransC is hearing voices or music for which the source cannot be found or recorded. In most reports, the sounds are described as a distant conversation or the sound of a radio program that can “almost” be made out, but no specific words or songs can be identified. As it happens, the phantom voices are often associated with a person who

is distracted by activities that permit the person’s mind to wander. They may also be experienced at the beginning and end of sleep time. Experiencers often resist mundane explanations, and insist they are experiencing something paranormal. Audio Illusion There are also a number of types of auditory illusions that have been identified. A good article about these is “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain)” by Rich Pell.2 One such illusion is described as “The phantom words illusion,” which is simply the same two words being repeated over and over but time displaced between the left and right channel. This demonstrates how easy it is to hear words and phrases that are not there, and even hear them change, as the brain attempts to make sense of the aural ambiguity. This is a pretty interesting effect! Passive Concentration Perhaps a better term for hypnagogia would be “passive concentration” because the person has focused attention, but not with concentrated awareness. This distraction from the inner chatter of the brain leaves the mind open for unnoticed inputs. In principle, the hypnagogic state of mind is ideal for our etheric communicators to commune with our otherwise too busy mind. Passive concentration is a spontaneous version of mindful meditation which is a deliberately cultivated technique for communing with one’s inner senses and is an important technique for mediumship. The important point is that we must recognize the part these natural tendencies play in our perception of phenomena. Apophenia and Pareidolia Apophenia is

a term used in psychology for the mind’s natural tendency to identify patterns where none exist. Pareidolia is a subset of apophenia which applies to finding meaning in sound or images that does not exist. Skeptics love to use these terms to explain away reports of paranormal experiences. When applied to all reports with no examination of the evidence, these terms are, in effect, psychobabble used to explain why people reporting paranormal experiences are imagining things. The term, “apophenia” does not apply to simple cases of misidentification such as a balloon being identified as a UFO or a fellow investigator’s reflection being mistaken as a ghost in a mirror. It applies to the result of the mind’s need to find order in chaos. When presented with information the mind is unable to identify or make sense of, its natural reaction is to offer up the next best fit. If the person is intent on finding voices in noise, the mind will probably offer a likely word or two. Some reports of the paranormal may be instances of apophenia. The study of things paranormal often involves poorly formed images and hard to understand sound files which must be carefully studied. A person who is unfamiliar with the concept of mediumship, and who does not know it is possible to sense subtle energy, may be inclined to express a natural fear of the dark as a “sense of a nearby evil entity.” Such responses to unfamiliar experiences are not evidence of a

psychological flaw but are natural human attempts to relate to circumstances. The “antidote” is education. Perceptual Order In Gestalt psychology, the whole is seen as being different than the sum of its parts. In this, the observer might find understanding where there is little or no substantiating information. The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization3 also provide possible explanations for the natural human tendency to find order in chaos. They include: The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli or elements that are close together tend to be grouped. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures. The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped so as to minimize change or discontinuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical borders tend to be perceived as coherent figures. The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. Clairaudience Clairvoyance or “clear seeing” has become a catchall term for the ability to sense information in subtle energy. This may be in the form of voices, images, smells or a general “knowing.” It is possible that a person might hear voices in a soundtrack containing only noise, via clairaudience, if none are physically present. However, in the study of EVP, the voices are either physically there or they are not. If they are there, then others should be able to experience them. They are objective, meaning they have physical form. Understanding this point is central to the study of how transcommunication is experienced.

Listener Fatigue EVP practitioners spend a lot of time listening to often noisy audio recordings. The expected EVP are usually mostly hidden by the noise and one must listen very carefully to distinguish them. Once isolated, the paranormal utterances are usually Class C, meaning they are not very easily understood. This makes it necessary for the practitioner to concentrate and listen to the sound segment many times. This situation is a formula for noise to be mistaken as anticipated EVP. Discussion The first documentation of EVP was in 1959 and the phenomenon remains poorly understood today. Fundamentally, the examples are just soundtracks usually containing a lot of noise and a few, often poorly formed words. With proper training, usually gained by trial and error, with feedback from friends or people on the ATransC Idea Exchange, the practitioner learns to recognize the difference between actual voices transformed out of background noise and imagined messages. However, in cases in which this learning has not occurred, practitioners have been known to find meaning which does not exist in the noise. For all of the reasons one might propose to explain this, the most available means of avoiding problems with phantom voices is education. This study should provide a sense of how common it is for individuals to mistake mundane information as something paranormal. The phantom voices effect is not unique to EVP but can be seen in virtually all forms of transcommunication including visual ITC and mediumship. While this report addresses what has

been called here, “phantom voices,” the larger phenomenon might be referred to as a form of hyperlucidity as the experiencer’s mind goes to extremes in an attempt to assign meaning. References • Gurstelle EB, de Oliveira JL., Daytime parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep, William Paterson University, Wayne, nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619, Reviewed 5-3-2012 • Pell, Rich, Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain), com/electronics-blogs/audio-designline-blog/4033473/Audio- illusions-that-will-fool-your-ear-and-brain-, Reviewed 5-3- 2012 • Saw, Jim, “Design Notes: Art 104 Sesign and Composition,” Palomar College, palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html, Reviewed 1-9-2015 Hans Otto König Experiment by Dr. Anabela Cardoso, Professor David Fontana and Professor Ernst Senkowski Originally published in the ITC Journal No. 24, December 2005. Also published in the January 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal. ©Anabela Cardoso – All Rights Reserved Hans Otto König Introduction In the year 1974, Hans Otto König, now 66, a professional electroacoustics technician living in Mönchengladbach, by chance found himself listening to a discussion broadcast by ZdF (the second German TV Channel) in which Friedrich Jürgenson from Sweden, the pioneer of EVP, tried in vain to convince the well-known German parapsychologist Prof. Hans Bender and other critical scientists and journalists of the reality of extraordinary voices captured on his audio-tapes and apparently originating from the deceased. König’s interest was aroused, and he resolved to start his own experiments in an attempt to demonstrate that the anomalous voices came from the unconscious of the experimenter rather than from the deceased. Instead, he received the singing voice of his late

mother who addressed him and his father by name and asked whether or not they could hear her. During the following weeks, König was forced to the conclusion that the voices did indeed come from the so-called dead. He started his EVP experimentation using as background support noise a radio station transmitting in a foreign language, and although he obtained his positive results almost immediately, initially they were of very poor quality, consisting mostly of whispers and sighs rather than vocalizations. Subsequently he changed his background noise from foreign language broadcasts to ultra-sounds, since this is an area of acoustics which he understands, and has used his professional expertise and psychic faculties to improve the quantity and quality of the contacts with the beyond—now known as Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC—by inventing and continuously modifying electronic devices specially developed for the purpose. Initially, he applied combined frequency-modulated mechanical ultrasonics transmitted and received by transducers in his laboratory. He then found that electromagnetic oscillations in the frequency range around 50 kHz produced the same results. Later he added a multifrequency infrared transmitter-receiver system, which demodulates infrared and modulates it again to a UHF vibration-oscillation from 10 m down to a 1 m wavelength, with a frequency of 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Currently he is working with a complex device based on quartz-crystals irradiated with ultraviolet light which he calls HRS (Hyper-Raum- System or Hyperspace System). König tells us that he builds his various IC devices according to his own thoughts and

the information he receives in dreams from the communicators. He further tells us that he goes into deep meditation for thirty minutes every day and while doing so can “see” (as a kind of psychic perception) his communicators as diffuse physical shapes, and that he has also been successful in photographing them using the Klaus Schreiber closed loop method. His explanation for the success of his experimentation is the key word “resonance,” which he says includes electromagnetic resonance. The voices that now come through his loudspeaker are of a different, often excellent, quality, and he is sometimes able to dialogue with them. The contents of communications and the nature of the communicators themselves vary dependent upon the context. Deceased humans may answer the requests of their bereaved relatives and friends for comfort, while at other times, technical advice is given to König, and nameless cosmic entities, apparently outside our space-time, provide philosophical observations. The outcome of an experiment is never predictable and may produce no results at all depending on mental-spiritual and other (unknown) conditions. König feels that audio results seem to improve in the presence of a harmonious audience, and the same is true for his work on transimages, which in one instance have already been obtained accompanied by the voice of the deceased person, whose identity was later discovered “by chance.” The Two Experiments The two experiments that are the subject of this Report were held respectively on September 10th and 11th, 2005, in two afternoon sessions held

in a room at the Hotel Kaiserhof, in the German town of Wesel. Dr. Anabela Cardoso attended, accompanied in the unavoidable absence of Professor David Fontana by Mr. Carlos Fernández, the Technical Editor of the ITC Journal and an electronics technician with long experience of ITC data. Also accompanying Dr. Cardoso was Professor Ernst Senkowski, one of the foremost experts on ITC, who has known König well for many years, and who was responsible for helping to arrange Dr. Cardoso’s visit. The others present included visitors from Finland and some sixty of the regular observers of König’s previous experiments, together with a few individuals who were attending for the first time. König completely eschews publicity and avoids working with journalists and the media because of the negative experiences he has had with such groups in the past. All the communications were in German, which is the native language of König and of Professor Senkowski and in which Dr. Cardoso has some facility. First Experiment, September 10th 2005. König opened proceedings with an introductory talk that included recordings of voices received during earlier experiments. After a short meditation he then activated one of the older systems developed by him many years ago, which has misleadingly been called a “generator” but which in fact should be considered as a device open to the influx of information from hidden ranges of consciousness. This infrared/ultrasound device operates in a frequency range from 30 kHz to 70 kHz. The device, which looks like a rectangular

metallic box, was built by König himself and the frequencies are mixed in its interior while an aerial placed on top of the generator transmits the signal to a receiver in the same band. An amplifier is connected to a mixing table and to the loudspeakers. König’s microphone and recording apparatus are also connected to the mixing table. When the voices started, silence was suddenly transformed into a beat, and the voices seemed to speak much above the beat. The communications that resulted lasted some two minutes and consisted of a nearly continuous dialogue between König and several voices. The communications began with the habitual opening words. “Contact field closed” (i.e. closed to intruding entities), and finished with, “Contact end.” In all, there were fifteen exchanges. In Exchange Number 2, the “answer” did not directly refer to the question asked by König. In Number 5, the voice asked for a technical modification of the equipment being used. In Numbers 9 and 14 respectively, two names of earlier acquaintances of König, “Hubert” and “Helmut,” were given, the latter communicator spontaneously referring to König’s sick wife, Margaret. Most of the voices were clear and could be heard above the permanent noise level from the equipment. In consequence the comprehensibility level was around eighty-five to ninety per cent for all those present during live listening, and one hundred per cent on replay. The voices were of excellent quality, but somehow did not possess the same degree of what Dr. Cardoso describes as the

“inner clarity of an angelical prototype” that in her view was overpowering in the voices that came through during the experiment of the following day. Professor Senkowski expressed himself unable to always decide whether a voice sounded more male or more female. An interesting observation concerns the varying speed of the utterances. For example, Exchange Number 12 was spoken very quickly, and here and in other cases, one had the impression that when the contact is nearing its end because of shortness of “energy,” the speech is accelerated. Another observation concerns the time lapse between the questions of the experimenter and the responses from the communicators. These lapses were generally in the range of a few seconds, but in Number 12, the voice broke in before König had completed his question, so that the two voices momentarily overlapped. To some extent, the speech of the communicators possessed its own character and style, both of which are difficult to describe. Often the speech sounded not “normal” or not “human-like.” Grammar was not always correct. The contents sometimes were metaphorical and not easily interpreted, especially when the speaker seemed to be a “remote,” non-human being. An example is Number 2, when subsequent to König asking who and where the “speaker” is, the answer, “Ultraschall ist das Bild” is given, (translated as, “Ultrasonics is the image”). This answer could be understood as meaning that the voice, as mediated by the electromagnetic oscillations in the range of 30 to 70 kHz, is an “image”

of the speaker, who remains unnamed. Alternatively the speaker may be identifying his (mental) “position,” as in or near the equipment being used. But these alternatives must remain more or less speculative. Second Experiment, September 11th 2005 This experiment was carried out with the HRS system that consists of a large quartz-crystal and ten smaller ones, all of them irradiated by ultraviolet light of different wavelengths. As in the first experiment, we started with a short meditation, after which the device was switched on. After some fifteen minutes, the first voice came through, and a dialogue developed with nineteen exchanges taking place lasting seven minutes and fifty-three seconds. The background noise, according to König, actually produced from the “other side,” was quite different from that heard from the so- called generator in Experiment One. It consisted of a nearly periodic bird-like high-pitched twittering or chirping, mixed with slow roaring like a storm and waves on a seashore. Most voices were absolutely clear and immediately understood, provided they were not too fast. König spoke his questions in a meditative state, speaking slowly, and the voices answered in their chosen manner. Most responses were given immediately, although a few were delayed up to twelve seconds. Most of the voices seemed to come from one single entity, who sounded to be female, and they possessed a special modulation, similar to singing. Most of them sounded rather “neutral” or “detached” with the possible exception of Exchange Number 10, where the voice seemed to express

some underlying contempt for the stupidity of Christian beliefs, describing them as “unreasonable superstition.” In Number 8 were the words, “I stem from the realm of stars,” delivered in an elevated poetic style. The German words used by the entity, “lch stamme,” can be translated simply as, “I come,” or more tellingly as, “I am descended.” The dialogue seemed to be presided over by a highly intelligent source that treated adult humans like children, with some compassion or even regret. For example, Number 15, when we were told that, “But it is probably too difficult for you to comprehend this.” (“This” being their magnificent, super-terrestrial world). However, one should take into consideration the difficulties pertaining to the adaptation process of the different structures of human and the entities’ consciousness in contact through these communications. In the rather long pause between Number 18 and the end of the contact, dull beats similar to drumming appeared as additional signals, although their meaning remained unclear. The live comprehensibility level was around one hundred per cent for all those present. 1. 10 UV LEDs UV-C – 100-280 Nanometer 2. 10 Small Quartz Crystals 3. 10 Phototransistors 4. Stochastic Generator 5. FM Output From Stochastic Generator 5A Oscillogram – Line 5 5B Frequency – Spectrum 48 – 68 KHz Line 5 6. FM Demodulator 7. Preamplifier 8. 4 UV LEDs Special Frequencies 9. Big Quartz Crystal 10. Demodulator 11. Low Frequency Amplifier 12. Audio Signal to Mixer Diagram of the devices used by Hans Otto

König on September 11 Previously published in the ITC Journal No. 24, December 2005 Related Matters The transcripts of the communications received during the above- mentioned experiments and the respective translations provide by Dr. Ernst Senkowski are available below During the two days spent in Wesel, Dr. Cardoso had the opportunity to exchange views with Hans-Otto König on a number of issues—namely on the content of the communications she receives from the group of communicators calling themselves Rio do Tempo (Timestream) and recorded by Dr. Cardoso, and of the communications received by Hans-Otto König. Among the many interesting similarities there is, for instance, the fact that König’s communicators very rarely speak in the singular and almost always in the plural, referring to themselves as “We,” just as do the communicators from Rio do Tempo. They also speak of “meditating (in their world),” as do the voices from Rio do Tempo. Furthermore, König’s and Rio do Tempo communicators tell us that, in the third level of the next world, deceased animals and deceased humans are together again, and that at this level, communication with animals and plants is also possible. Another aspect of the similarities regards the interchange of energies between the communicators and the experimenters. Hans Otto König said on September 10, 2005, prior to the experiment of that day, that the entities who speak with him “can as well charge, or even overcharge, him before a contact, and at other times he feels devoid of energy after a contact.”

From her side on September 2, 2005, Dr. Cardoso wrote in her contacts log the following: “… when I am in the studio, I seem to lose track of time. I wouldn’t know if I have been in for fifteen minutes or for over one hour. Also, those days when I feel particularly energetic, and upon request of the communicators, stay inside for a period of time, I feel emptied out and tired when I go out of the studio. On the other hand, the days when I feel very tired and go into the studio, upon going out I feel recovered and the tiredness has disappeared. It is as if there is an interchange of energies with the communicators.” As with the communicators from Rio do Tempo, who refer to themselves as speaking from a “station,” König’s communicators say the group who organizes their contacts is known as “ZentraIe.” Conclusion Our conclusion is that we witnessed two fascinating experiments that are the outcome of thirty years of engaged and devoted work by Hans-Otto König, who works without support and who has often been fiercely attacked by what Professor Senkowski calls envious or even ill-intentioned people. Hopefully, at some point in the future, Hans Otto König will be considered one of the most prominent pioneers of ITC, and his wish to prove the reality of life after death will perhaps be fulfilled by a less materialistic science. Meanwhile, we remain thankful for the opportunity to observe the work of this

man and wish him the continuation of success in the laborious developmental path that he has chosen to follow. Editorial Note As emphasized in earlier issues of the Journal this research work has been made possible by the generosity of Mr. Oliver Knowles, a great supporter and benefactor of psychical investigation… Information Gathering Using EVPmaker With Allophone: A Yearlong Trial 01/ 2010 by Cindy Heinen Abstract This twelve-month trial was designed to determine whether or not information not known to a participant could be requested and received via Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) using EVPmaker with allophones. A target object was left undisturbed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Participants were asked to use only EVPmaker with allophones to produce a sound file containing the information identifying the target. To qualify submissions the project manager screened them for reasonableness. Those possibly containing usable information were submitted to a listening panel of people who were familiar with EVP but who did not know the identity of the target. If a majority of the listening panel heard information as reported by the participant, the submission was considered a valid submission. Submissions were rejected if a majority did not hear what the participant heard. Valid submissions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. This trial did not produce positive responses based on the study’s protocol. However, the abundance of non-protocol EVP captured in the study might suggest EVPmaker is

not suited for the type of communication this study was designed to capture. Also, participant knowledge of the target might have to be reexamined as several targets were identified either before the target was placed or after when the participant knew what the target was. Future studies may wish to look at these non-protocol results when designing a follow- up study. Introduction Background sound is often used as sound energy during the recording of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). This sound may be ambient noise in the environment or sound purposely added to the recording environment such as the hiss of a radio tuned off station, flowing water or the sound of a fan. These imported sounds are said to supply the sound energy entities need to form voices. While these sound sources can result in EVP, some practitioners proposed that the sounds or frequencies of the human voice would be optimal for the communicating entities to use to generate a voice. Different methods of experimentation using human vocalizations have been tried including foreign language recordings, some of which were edited and clipped to produce random bits of vocalizations with no discernible words or syllables. Radio-sweep using modified radios popularly known as “ghost boxes” or “spirit boxes,” has also been tried. This involves rapidly changing the tuning dial of a radio to produce pieces of speech. In the late 1980s, Stefan Bion developed a computer program that he likened to a sound grinder. The software program, called EVPmaker,1 uses a random

process to select segments of a buffer in which a raw, audio input file has been loaded. The resulting output file is a stream of randomly arranged short sound segments from the input file. EVP are thought to be formed via manipulation of the random selection process. In 2008 Stefan Bion offered a file containing seventy-two allophones generated by SpeakJet™ 2 that could be used as the input audio file for EVPmaker. The output of these randomized allophones from EVPmaker, while robotic sounding, were used successfully by some researchers to obtain what they felt were meaningful and relevant communications. Because of the standardization provided by using EVPmaker with the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, the program was a good choice to use in a controlled study of EVP. All participants, individuals who attempted to record EVP communication for the study, would be using the SpeakJet™ Allophones2 as the sound source to input into EVPmaker. Protocol The study was designed to ask each communicating entity to perform a task that would indicate understanding and cooperation. This task was to view a specific object that was set out at a specific location. The communicating entity was then instructed to tell the participant what that object was through the participant’s copy of EVPmaker with allophones. Study question: Can the identity of a target object be recorded in the EVPmaker output file which is of sufficient quality that a listening panel is able to agree on its content? The Protocol: 1. A target

object unknown to participants was placed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Sufficient information about the location to uniquely identify it in the world was announced. 2. Participants, who responded to the public announcement, conducted EVPmaker sessions using the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, but otherwise using any EVPmaker setting. They asked that the target be identified in the output file. There was no limit on the number of attempts. 3. Knowing only that the target was an object, participants listened to the output files and determined if a response had been recorded. Whether or not it was a likely response concerning the target object was up to the judgment of the participant. 4. Audio files the participant determined could include names of the target were sent to the project manager. 5. The project manager compared what the participant heard to the target. If the project manager agreed that the target was indicated in the file, it was sent to a listening panel. 6. Not knowing the target object, the listening panel individually reviewed the file and noted what if anything was said in the file. That information was sent to the project manager. 7. If a majority of the listening panel heard information as reported by the participant, the submission was considered a valid submission; if not, it was rejected. Valid submissions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. Trial Personnel The people

who made up the study team were the project manager, the target keeper, three listening-panel members, two alternate listening-panel members and the participants. • The project manager developed the trial protocol, oversaw the project, communicated with the target keeper, listening- panel members and the participants, analyzed the data and wrote the monthly and final reports. • The target keeper was in charge of putting a new target into place every month. • The listening-panel members would review any audio files sent to them by the project manager. • The alternate listening-panel members would be enlisted to review audio files if one of the original three listening-panel members could not participate. • Participants were anyone who wanted to take part in this trial and could follow the study’s protocol. Targets The target for each month was taken from a list that had been prepared prior to the start of the yearlong study. The target objects for the year were only known to the project manager and target keeper. The target keeper would find objects that she felt fit the predetermined list of targets. She would then submit a picture and a brief explanation of the object to the project manager. On the first of the month, she would place only this object on a specific shelf on a shelving unit in her home. The object would remain there undisturbed for the entire month. This target object would be taken away and replaced with the next month’s target on the first of

the following month. The following list shows what was requested and what the target keeper put into place for each month. A synopsis of her comments concerning the targets has also been included. EVPmaker_study_targets May: An abalone dragonfly pin designed by her husband. June: One of the target keeper’s recorders. July: Pink roses in an engraved black vase with “4546 B INDIA” on the underside of the vase. August: A blue teacup with painted flowers on it. “JAPAN” was stamped on the bottom of the teacup. September: Zephyr scissors with “CLAUSS NO 78 USA” on one blade. They had blue handles with white paint and black gunk on them. The target keeper noted that she has had them for twenty- five years and thinks of them as “our work scissors.” October: I Am That, by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. It is not a “holy book” in the traditional sense, but the teachings within are certainly considered to be sacred by many. November: Candle made for the target keeper by her son while in elementary school. It has layers of blue, yellow, red and orange wax poured into a baby food jar. December: The target keeper’s favorite radio-sweep radio, a Duracell KP028 crank flashlight/radio, also referred to as a “3-in- 1.” January: A child’s pair of BluBlocker sunglasses that belonged to the target keeper’s son when he was little. The word “Taiwan” is printed in white on the inner right arm. February: A peacock feather given as a cat toy by the

pet store. March: A red, flexible bracelet with the words, “Stronger Now.” The bracelet was bought from two girls who started ARCHFoundation.com. April: A hammer with very faded print on both sides. One side reads “Diamond Island” and the other reads “Burro Cigars.” The pictures of the targets (right) and what the project manager was told about them suggested that other target words could be applied to a target. Responses that were considered acceptable for this study had to be words or phrases that contained a word that could be used to identify the object. For example, in March the target object was a bracelet. The bracelet itself was a red, flexible bracelet of the type often used as a charity fundraiser. The best word for the target would be bracelet, but band or wristband would also be acceptable. Words that would be considered adjectives for the bracelet like red or flexible would be noted but not considered a positive response. Participants Participants for this trial were required to use only EVPmaker with the SpeakJet™ allophone file provided on Stefan Bion’s EVPmaker website. They were allowed to record their sessions using recording equipment of their choice. Files thought to contain information about the target were to be emailed to the project manager, along with text of what the participant believed was said. Inclusion of the practitioner’s voice was considered a valuable plus. Altering the audio file through filtering or noise reduction was not allowed. Participants did not know what target

objects were other than that they could fit on a standard-size wall unit shelf. They also knew the general location of the shelf that held the object. This was at the target keeper’s home in California on the middle shelf on the right- hand side of the wall unit. After a recording session, each participant was to analyze and interpret their recordings while listening for a reply to the question: “What is the target object on the target keeper’s shelf?” If they heard something, they felt might be the target, they would submit an email stating what they heard along with the audio attachment to the project manager. EVP from EVPmaker is considered an opportunistic form,3 meaning the message is formed from available sound segments in the buffer. But output may also be used as noise for transform EVP 3 which are voices formed from background noise. Participants could submit either type of EVP for this study. If the participant’s interpretation of their submission identified that month’s target object, the project manager would send the files to the listening panel. Listening Panel A listening panel was organized to review any files that might contain words that indicated the target for that month. It consisted of three primary and two standby individuals who had been enlisted before the study. The listening-panel members did not know what the target objects were and did not talk to anyone about their analyses. After reviewing the audio files, listening-panel members sent their interpretation of the

files to the project manager. The project manager then compared the listening panel’s interpretations with that of the participants who sent the files. If two out of three of the listening-panel members heard something phonetically similar to what the participants heard, the submission would be considered a positive response. Results In the twelve months of the trial, 648 audio files were submitted. In August, two submissions matched the target object, and in December, three submissions were a match. These submissions were sent to the listening panels but none met the protocol which stated that the target the participant heard must also be heard by at least two out of three of the listening-panel members to be considered a positive response. Non-Protocol Observations Although not what this trial was designed to find, some interesting things did surface during the year of the trial: • There were seven possibly positive responses that were recorded in September but that appeared to refer to the October target object which was a holy book. The target keeper chose I AM THAT by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj for October. This book has a black and orange cover and the back of the book is orange. In September, the project manager received seven submissions from three participants that indicated a book. They were: “red book,” “green book,” “bible,” “Book is the key,” “scripture,” “a certified orange book(let)” and “popular book.” The listening panel reviewed all the files and out of the seven, three were identified. They were: Book

is the key. Certified orange book Popular book While these could not be counted as positive responses for the trial, the project manager felt the results should be noted for a number of reasons. First, up to this point in the study, this was the first time that a specific word, “book,” was repeated frequently and was submitted by several participants. Second, some of the references to the target, while not validated by the listening panel, did seem to point towards a holy or spiritual book. Finally, the project managers and the target keeper both knew what the target was. But in addition to this, both had a connection to the target being prepared for October. The target keeper placed a book she felt connected to because of the book’s wisdom. The project manager, when developing the target list, felt that a holy book would be the one target that would receive the most positive results. She was anticipating the October placement of the book throughout September. While one cannot rule out coincidence for these results, could the knowledge of what the target was and the intentions of the project manager and the target keeper have played a part in the results? • Group intentions and how they affect the outcome of an event is being studied by scientists. The Institute of Noetic Sciences’, “The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple Blind Replication”4 results suggested that ice crystals formed from water exposed to distant intentions were

more aesthetically pleasing than ice crystals formed from water from a control group. And the majority of Lynne McTaggart’s intention experiments5 have suggested that intention can affect plants and human project outcomes. EVP and participants’ intentions might also lend themselves to some interesting studies. • As documented in the chart, three submissions were accepted by the project manager for the December target, which was a radio favored by the target keeper for radio-sweep. These submissions were “Her radio,” “The answer … radio,” and “Transistor.” The project manager accepted “transistor” because small, handheld radios were often in the past referred to as “transistors.” Knowing what to listen for, the project manager could identify these responses but the listening panel, who did not know what to listen for, did not hear what the participants reported hearing. The question arises that, if the listening panel knew what the participants heard, could they have picked it out of the audio file? • How much does confirmation bias affect the analysis of skilled listeners? There were instances after the month’s target was revealed that participants reviewed audio they recorded during the month of that target and subsequently reported to the project manager that they found audio that matched the target. The effect of knowledge about the target during the recording process needs to be explored and possibly reconsidered. • Another common result was the recordings of what participants felt were communicating-entity comments. Most of these comments were normal EVPmaker random selection EVP. Most were quite

clear and many commented on the communicating entity’s ability or lack of ability to be able to help with the trial. Also, on a monthly basis, there were submissions that were comments directed, by name, to the participant or to the project manager. Some submissions were negative in nature and a few did not make any sense. While several participants submitted these “comment EVP,” the majority were submitted by one participant. Listening Panel Challenges Throughout the trial, the listening panel was sent audio files to listen to and analyze. None of the listening-panel members knew what the targets were. Often, what the listening panel reported hearing was not phonetically close to what the participant heard. They also seldom agreed with one another as to what the same audio file was saying, if they heard anything at all. This may indicate the challenges one faces when trying to understand and analyze very short audio clips from EVPmaker using allophones. The clipped, robotic sound of the short audio files, along with having no word cues, may make it difficult for listeners to find any recognizable words. It might prove useful to submit longer audio files to the listening panel so they could hear the participant’s voice asking the question, then have the communicating entity’s reply. However, this has its own sets of challenges as the communicating entity did not always come in after the question was asked. The entity responses and comments could come in anytime during the recording sessions. Words created

through EVPmaker, while having proper vowel sounds, may have dropped consonants, for example, the word “hammer” might be heard as “ammer.”6 Since EVPmaker voices seem to create modified words it might be useful to train the listening panel to be able to identify these “new words.” Number of Participant Challenges Several things need to be noted that may have had an effect on the results. While 648 submissions were sent to this study, the number of participants was low. There were never more than four participants per month and often there were only two or three. Also, from August 2010 until the end of the study, the bulk of the submissions were from only one individual. So while the sample size was respectable, the number of different participants was very small. The study was designed as a group project. Having a greater number of participants could likely have changed the results. The reason few people participated may have been because trying to find an unknown target in a sea of vocalization fragments is a difficult task. Another point to note is the rigidity of the trial’s protocol itself. It is often apparent in the recording of EVP that what works for one person does not necessarily work for others. Also, successful techniques have been known to sometimes show a decline in productivity for no apparent reason.7 All these points should be addressed in the development of follow-up experiments. Conclusion Based on the files submitted by a small number of participants,

the results indicate that gathering specific information (a target) that was unknown to the participants was not accomplished using EVPmaker with allophones and following the protocol for this study. Although not a part of this study, it does appear that “comment EVP” that identified the target was frequently recorded. These results suggest that following this trial’s protocol, EVP could be recorded using EVPmaker with allophones but specific informational EVP was infrequent. The reason for this remains unknown. The “holy book” results in September might offer a nudge towards what else might be needed to obtain information-gathering communication. An experiment could be designed to compare the number of targets identified between participants who know what the target is and those who do not. A similar study could be done to compare the results of participants who spend time having focused intentions towards a target and those who don’t. A participant’s knowledge of the target might also play into this idea about intention. The development of such intention experiments would need to take more into account than the technical aspects of EVP communication. It also would have to explore if consciousness; intent and attitude play a part in EVP communications. Finally, knowing what to listen for and how to interpret the speech coming through EVPmaker might need to be addressed. A tutorial for participants and listening-panel members on the communicating entity’s unique formation of speech in EVPmaker might change the outcome of any future EVPmaker experiments. Acknowledgment The author wishes to express

her appreciation and thanks to Tom Butler for his guidance during the course of this trial and assistance in the preparation of this paper. Also, the author wishes to express her gratitude to the individuals who assisted in this trial including the persons who took on the positions of target keeper, listening-panel members and all those who were participants in the study. References 1. Bion, Stephan. EVPmaker. 2. SpeakJet,™ speakjet.com, Magnevation LLC. 3. Butler, Tom. “Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives,” atransc.org/locating-false-positives/ (Book 1) 2010. 4. Radin, Dean, Nancy Lund, Masaru Emoto, and Takashige Kizu. “The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple Blind Replication” Petaluma, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Journal of Scientific Exploration, 22, No. 4, pp. 481– 493, 2008. deanradin.com/papers/emotoIIproof.pdf 5. McTaggart, Lynne. The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World, Free Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0743276957, ISBN-13: 978-0743276955. theintentionexperiment.com 6. Butler, Tom. “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?” atransc.org/evpmaker-study-where-are-we-now/, (This Book) 2011 7. Butler, Tom and Lisa Butler. There is No Death and There Are No Dead. Reno: AA-EVP Publishing, 2004, (See book info) Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via Sound-Psi Interaction “SFINGE” PROJECT” by Presi, D. Gullà, G. Gagliardi, G. Lenzi; 2006 Previously published in the Winter 2014 ATransC NewsJournal (Digested by ATransC. See: Interdisciplinary Laboratory For Biopsychocybernetics Research [Defunct]) Abstract The research team of Il Laboratorio from Bologna, Italy conducted a two-year long study of well-known Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) operator, Mrs. Lida Russo of Livorno,

Italy. The microphone recording method with a commercial recorder with built-in microphone was used by the operator and professional digital devices were used to monitor the sessions. However, only a few anomalous voices of poor acoustic quality were found upon review of Mrs. Russo’s audio tape. Contrary to the expected, the most interesting voices in terms of quantity and quality were recorded on the digital devices operated by Daniele Gullà. State-of-the art software commonly used for forensic analysis was used for analyses of the resulting voices. This new approach to EVP research was introduced to the world by the researchers of Il Laboratorio and has revealed many structural electroacoustical features that prove the authenticity of these acoustic events, which now can legitimately be classified as linguistic events. Introduction The so-called “paranormal voices or Electronic Voice Phenomena” have been studied for more than forty years and consist of recorded sounds and/or sounds directly audible through the experimentation equipment. These events can manifest spontaneously or as coherent answers to the questions of the researcher. Research Aim This Il Laboratorio study of the anomalous voices is called “Progetto Sfinge” (English: “Sphinx Project”). In order to understand the reason for this name it is necessary to recall the symbolic meaning attributed to the Sphinx as an unresolved mystery. The application of innovative methods of research, and availability of the latest information technologies, has made it possible to investigate the phenomenon through many different perspectives inconceivable until recent years. Progetto Sfinge’s principal aim is to

document differences in the phonic structure of the anomalous voices as compared with human voices. Where possible, the degree of similarity between a voice attributed to a dead person and the voice when the person was alive was compared. The project’s accomplishment has been possible thanks to a generous contribution of the Swedish Foundation Helene Reeder Memorial Fund. Research Setting There are many opinions about the nature of the phenomenon. For some, the voices lack objectivity and are the consequences of psychoacoustic illusions (psycholinguistics). Others, mostly those who had direct experience of the phenomenon, say they are strong evidence of survival. The perception of acoustic signals as human language, and their subsequent interpretation, is the most critical moment in the understanding of speech. The first consequence of this psychic process is the possible interpretation of the signals in many different ways or, as those who study psycholinguistics define them, events of “interpretative plurality.” Many are the factors that contribute to this critical situation such as the ambiguity and fragmentation of the acoustic events or when the listener has a poor understanding of the language. Even in normal listening conditions, the danger of psycholinguistic illusion is ever-present in the interpretation of voice. This problem is further stressed by listening to ambiguous sounds when there is the wish to “receive” messages from the other side; perhaps when the listener is under emotional stress due to the loss of a loved one (wishful thinking). Thanks to developing professional competence and the availability of

advanced information technologies, after decades of discussions in favor and against this phenomenon, we decided to undertake interdisciplinary research. This research had the purpose of documenting the existence of the anomalous voices and identifying the characteristics that make them different from human speech. For the first time, the new technology has made it possible to examine the acoustic structure of the anomalous voices to clearly define their characteristics and semantic content. This phenomenon can no longer be considered an independent occurrence. It must be placed into a Phenomenal System1 grouping “all realities, concrete or abstract, which constitute the background of that event; in other words, the elements or the parts (the variables) of physic, biological or psychological nature that are integral part of the event itself.”1 For this reason, our research also investigated the role and personality of the person who recorded the voices. The operator is, in fact, an important part of the experiment, and in the final analysis, of the phenomenon. The psychological and psychophysiological analysis of the operator was conducted by specialists in order to identify possible correlations with the resulting anomalous voices. The experimentation was to have been accomplished through the technique of microphone recording, usually as adopted by the operator. The voices obtained with her recorder were to have constituted the collected data and the object of instrumental analysis. At the same time, a high-quality digital recorder operated by Daniele Gullà was intended to provide a reference recording for comparison. Two experimental cycles were conducted,

the first in 2005 and the second in 2006. Mrs Lida Ceccherini from Livorno, widow of Mr Russo, was chosen as the operator. Most operators in this field prefer to experiment on their own and maintain a kind of reserve while displaying distrust towards the scientific researches who impose boring protocols and careful checks to guarantee the absence of possible cheats. However, with exceptional helpfulness and enthusiasm, Mrs. Russo accepted the invitation to be the operator. To Mrs. Russo goes the gratitude of the Il Laboratorio research team for her great helpfulness, patience and above all, for her exquisite kindness. Research Team Paolo Presi (Project Manager, Supervisor) Daniele Gullà (Forensic Audio-Video Consultant) Giorgio Gagliardi (Surgeon, Psychophysiologist and Psychotherapist) Giuseppe Lenzi (Researcher, session reports) Experimentation During the experiments, Mrs. Russo was very anxious to know if Mr. Gullà recorded the voices on his own equipment rather than worrying if the voices had recorded on her recorder. In fact, the advanced equipment we used recorded clearer and more definite voices in comparison with the same result obtained through Mrs. Russo’s commercial tape recorder with built-in microphone. The higher sensitivity of our equipment allowed also the recording of low volume voices without any confirmation of them in Russo’s tape. This fact highlighted an interesting aspect of the phenomenon which gives great importance to the equipment and to the role of the operator in the context of recording the voices. One of the causes of this occurrence was surely the low quality of the

recorder used by Mrs Russo; however, the main factor affecting the results may have been Mrs. Russo’s attitude during the experiments. She had great expectation for the success of the experiments possibly because the positive results would have given a greater significance and credibility to her experiments. For this reason, I believe her focus on our equipment instead of her own can be considered a very relevant element, which demonstrates the existence of possible psychical projections toward our equipment instead of her own tape recorder. Examination of Mrs. Russo by the psychophysiologist appeared to negatively influenced her psyche, the people constituting the research group and Mrs. Russo’s assistant. In other words, it influenced the whole psychic complex involved in the experimental sessions. Listening Survey Results and Their Interpretation An unequivocal interpretation of the results was the main requirement guiding the choice of the samples for analysis. People skilled in listening to EVP provided a first auditory test. After establishing an interpretation of what was said in the examples, an instrumental check was conducted. The electroacoustic analyses of nine samples displayed the presence of considerable structural anomalies even in those samples that came very close to human voice. These anomalies revealed some spectral components and articulations with noticeable deviations from human standards. In many cases, we found relevant disagreement between the graphic representations generated by the software and the uttered sounds. This can be understood as a possible weak influence of over-glottal resonators or as a partial or total lack of

the internal speech-organs (e.g. larynx, velum palatinum, etc). In other cases, the software wasn’t able to virtually reconstruct the vocal tract at all. There are several remarkable anomalies noticed in the fundamental frequency F0 in the examples, such as frequent absence, fragmentation and anomalous values. Very relevant are the cases of absent fundamental frequency and the presence of inexplicable formants. The formants are frequency bands containing groups of harmonics of the fundamental frequency. They are produced in the vocal tract from the fundamental frequency. The presence of formants is inexplicable if there is no fundamental frequency. Psychoacoustics teaches us that the brain has limited ability to reconstruct the fundamental frequency from the upper harmonics. Spectrograms make it possible to examine the important function of noise in anomalous voice formation. Although noise is always thought to negatively influence voice formation, analysis of over nine examples showed it has a function. In the absence of the fundamental frequency and in the presence of formants, we noticed how their structures can be shaped as a localized noise thickening with an impulsive and not harmonic trend. (In human voice, the formants are sinusoidal like the fundamental frequency which generates them) Of great interest is, as shown in the spectrograms, such anomalously shaped formants are located in the same frequency ranges of vowels. Their frequency bands can often be shifted toward a higher frequency range while maintaining their ratio. Many researchers in this phenomenon (Carlo Trajna, Ernst Senkowski, Paolo Presi) agree with the hypothesis that

the voices could be generated by a process exploiting the background sounds. This hypothesis finds some objective evidence in how the acoustic signal has been shown to sometimes degrade before the formation of the voice and then return during its utterance. As proposed by Carlo Trajna,2 the voices are formed, not with additional or absorbed energy, but simply by exploiting the energy coming from background noise (impulsive or not) at the time of recording. This hypothesis would also be confirmed by the changes of Shimmer3 value, which increases in proximity of background noise degradation while Jitter4 value remains constant. This finding means noise modulation is mainly in amplitude and limited in frequency. This feature has been noticed by the physician Alfredo Ferraro, famous scholar of borderline phenomena and practiced radio amateur.5 The Jitter values were altered over all the nine samples analyzed. In the case of human voice, an anomalous value for jitter generally indicates pathology in the speech-organs. In this case, this could indicate acoustic events originated by anomalous speech-organs. The fact that a low-frequency sound from 1 to 30 Hz was recorded, combined with the voice and frequent saturation of the microphone and detector-amplifier with extremely low frequencies (ELF), suggests further research concerning possible correlation with electric activity of the brain. Related to this is a strong, ELF field detected by Gullà during deep meditative process by a group of volunteers. If confirmed by further experimentations, this could open new researching into the interaction between psi and instruments.

A psychological and psychophysiological assessment is provided by Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi and colleagues [in the full report]. However, it appears that no significant finding was traceable to the voices production process. Mrs. Russo is an emotional person with a high social communication attitude. Her manners are open and sincere and she has always shown a strong desire to share her experiences of contacts with the other dimension. She showed a strong worry and sometimes some anxiety about success in receiving the voices. This worry was stronger in our regards rather than her own recordings. She has a strong faith in the survival of human personality after death and is not conditioned by any religious faith. Surely this strong belief helps the formation of this phenomenon. The different ways through which the voices can manifest appears to depend on the sensitivity6 of the operator, and where applicable, on the psychic support of the experimentation group. The existence of psychic support of others is confirmed in the psychotemporal model proposed since 1992 by Carlo Trajna.7 Particularly, the presence of deeply interiorized conceptual models combined with expectations that seem reasonable to the operator to activate some unknown psychic channel. Everyone appears to have this ability to some extent. It could be improved in time by individuals, particularly when a motivated operator regularly practices this kind of experimentation. This quality seems to be supported by a strong inner belief on the possibility to communicate with other levels of consciousness. Since 1985, I called this

particular psychological attitude “Inner Attentive Disposition.” The experimental data obtained from “Progetto Sfinge” provides a biopsychocybernetic interpretation of the phenomenon. In other words, the final effects involve a complex interaction in a mind system. This indicates one or more minds can communicate within the limits of the psychic model of the process held in the operator’s belief system. Such a psychic model would be able to produce physic effects through special action, defined as psychokinetic effect or PK Effect8 in the parapsychological literature. The fact that different operators obtain voices with different acoustic features, even if they use the same equipment and the same method, appears to be a direct consequence of the different psychic models held by each operator. These different psychic situations would produce different physical effects depending on the model and how it is conceived. Conclusions From the electroacoustic analyses performed on the audio samples recorded under controlled conditions, we extracted the acoustic parameters distinguishing a vocal signal. These elements allowed us to identify the phonemes constituting the words we decoded linguistically. By examining their structures and their anomalies, we were able to assert with documented evidence, that these events exhibit phonetic features associated with the voices. These voices have evident and absolutely original features and are structured and characterized by parameters which deviate from the typical human standards. The presence of formantic bands, with localized noise strengthening, confers to the voice an acoustic structure close, but not identical, to the human one. The anomalies found where

the voices were recorded allow us to affirm the existence of an atypical process of formation which is still today scientifically unknown despite their objective nature. References 1. Definition introduced by Dr. Enrico Marabini in La Biopsicocibernetica – una branca delle scienze dell’uomo – La Mandragora, Imola, 2007. 2. Carlo M. Traina – Ignoto chiama uomo, Salani, Firenze, 1980. 3. Shimmer: value defining the amplitude fluctuation of a vocal signal based on an average of measurements over 5 periods of F0. 4. Jitter: value defining the frequency fluctuation of a vocal signal based on average of measurements over 5 periods of F0 5. Alfredo Ferraro – Parapsicologia e…Spiritismo, Età dell’Acquario, Torino, 2004, p. 185. 6. Sensitivity: term used to indicate the faculties of an individual which allow extrasensorial perceptions (ESP) and psychokinesis phenomena (PK) called by Biopsychocybernetics “Psi Interaction Phenomena.” 7. Carlo M. Trajna – Il modello psicotemporale, Istituto Gnosis, Napoli, 1992. 8. John Beloff hypothesized that psychokinesis could not be a force, energy or physical process, but rather a strange result of a direct connection between our mind, the universe and everything in it. He proposed that this action does not need to be a kind of super energy localized in our mind or body but may be a thing happening in certain circumstances still to be identified; an idea or mental intention which is able to automatically force a physical system to express that idea or intention. To summarize, it would be a final event without the need

of further process to make the results intelligible (Presidential Report presented in 1975 to the Society for Physical Research of London). Editor: The formation of transform EVP (voice formed from noise in a recording device) is a fundamental characteristic of ITC. Understanding how EVP are believed to be formed provides guidance in how to use EVP for communication. This study clearly indicates the importance of practitioner (operator) attention and intention and the availability of suitable audio-frequency energy (noise). Other studies have indicated that choice of recording device is not as important as the kind of noise available for voice formation, but as a general rule, higher quality recorders (little internal noise) are more dependent on external noise. As demonstrated with forensic-quality tools, the unusual formation of the voice in EVP, which are clearly understood by experienced listeners, causes difficulty for people who are not experienced with EVP. This fact has been demonstrated in the article: EVP Online Listening Trials. (This book) Using Live Voice Input Files for EVP 04/ 2012 by Tom and Lisa Butler Previously published in the Spring 2012 ATransC NewsJournal Several members in the Idea Exchange have been using recordings of foreign language as background sound for EVP sessions. What we refer to as “live voice” is not understandable to our English-trained ears so there seemed to be little danger of mistaking the input speech for EVP. Well, … that is the theory. We used the same foreign-language input file for the Big Circle recording sessions over

six months. This gave us ample opportunity to test the technique. What we found has been a real eye-opener. Both of us recorded and nearly every utterance one of us identified as an EVP could be found on the other person’s recording and the original sound file. Each session, we played the foreign-language sound with a Sony ICD-B26 and recorded with a pair of Panasonic RR-DR60s placed about two feet away from the Sony. The only other sound in the meditation room we used is the normal, ambient sounds one would expect from a closed room with no forced air movement. Lisa typically turns off the Sony while we ask a question and then turns it back on while we seek a reply. DR60s are always in VOX mode. The input file includes both male and female voice, making it easy for us to locate segments to compare. Because we did identify a few utterances in the input file that sounded a lot like English, we began comparing the two output sound files to see if any suspected EVP were in both. As it turned out, the majority were. The current best practice for field recording is to use two recorders and discard anything found in both recording processes. (See: Using a Control Recorder for EVP) This is a good practice because it is well established that EVP occurs in one analog segment so that two recorders will not “normally” record the same EVP. EVP does occur as a transformation

of the foreign language into English words, but based on our study, naturally occurring sounds in the foreign language are too often mistaken as English. This is enough of a problem to warrant recommending that, when using live voice, two recorders should be used and both output files examined to assure suspected EVP are only in one of the files. This recommendation applies to all forms of live voice including recording with EVPmaker, radio-sweep, and of course, foreign language speech. The opportunistic presence of English sounding words does not automatically mean transcommunication. This is especially true of short utterances, for instance, “yes” and “help.” The best practice for using a control recorder will be updated in the Collective forum and a new one for live voice will be started. These practices are considered “living documents,” and will evolve as we learn. You are invited to help us develop these and similar articles. Your viewpoint is important and may help many others as a practice. Perception of Visual ITC Images By Tom Butler, 2010 Published in the Fall 2010 ATransC NewsJournal Also see Butler ITC Gallery 2, Butler ITC Gallery 2, Butler ITC Gallery 3, and Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique Abstract In visual Instrumental TransCommunication (Visual ITC), recognizable features are found in what should be only random optical noise. No known physical principles account for the phenomenal features and they may be found in virtually any sufficiently noisy media. The Examples and Techniques sections of this website include several such

techniques for capturing the features. This report includes results of an online viewing study in which website visitors were asked to describe what they saw in unmarked visual ITC images. Of the seven examples, an average of 61% of respondents correctly identified the feature. Each example was presented with original, grayscale and increased contrast versions. The increased contrast version was most often correctly identified. Question: Will website visitors report seeing same or similar features in visual ITC examples? This is a study to determine whether or not images recorded in optical-frequency noise can be consistently described. The video- feedback technique was used for all of these examples. As is shown in the diagram, a video camera is pointed at a television screen and the output of the camera is connected to the input of the television so that the camera "sees" what it has just recorded. The camera is usually focused slightly beyond the screen to produce a soft focus image. The zoom, focus and camera presets are adjusted until a "rolling" effect is achieved on the display not unlike the special effect of "warp drive" in the movies. The recorded video is examined one frame at a time. Those with "interesting" optical texture are "grabbed" and examined with a photo editing program to find the features. An example "interesting" video frame is provided here. Preliminary Results Example Extra detail No or Unrelated Detail Basic Shape Detail 35 8 53 26 47 23 53 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 19 or 15% 25 or 19% 28 or 22% 92 or 72% 41 or 32% 32 or 25% 26 or 20% 56 or 44% 24 or 19% 34 or 27% 24 or 19% 82 or 64% 18 or 14% 24 or 19% 68 28 43 46 47 23 51 128 Entries 26% 39% Did not see feature or saw it incorrectly Procedure Recognized Shape 103 or 81% 36 or 28% 96 or 75% 72 or 56% 94 or 73% 46 or 36% 104 or 81% 61% Recognized Correct Detail Please examine each example and state what you see in the associated text box. Each example has been clipped out of a video frame and is shown in its unaltered form, as an enhanced contrast image and in gray scale. The three versions are intended to help you visualize the feature. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 1: (All three are the same image) 81% correct recognition What you should see: This is the head of a dog facing toward you and to your left. You can see his eyes and snout. A little of the neck is visible and just a hint of ears. The animal appears to be very alert and appears to have short hair. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 2: (All three are the same image) 28% correct recognition What you should see: This is the head of a person facing to your

left and looking down a little. His/her left eye is in the middle of the picture and seems to be slanted like an Asian and the nose-brow line seems very strong. He/she appears to be wearing some kind of cloak or ceremonial garb. The person seems to have dark hair put up in some kind of formal arrangement or he/she may be wearing a hat of some kind. The overall impression is of an oriental warrior or nobility. Depending on how you look at this one, there are several pretty dominant faces. They show up mostly in the black and white version. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 3: (All three are the same image) 75% correct recognition What you should see: This is the head of a person facing to your left and visible from the chest up. It is not clear if this is a male or female, but my guess is male. The blue area is his coat and it seems he might be wearing a white coat and shirt with a bow tie. He may have something like an animal in his left (your right) hand. He appears to have a dark beard and dark hair. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 4: (All three are the same image) 56% correct recognition What you should see: This is the head of a man facing to your right and tilted slightly down. You see him

from the chest up, but his pointed chin almost touches the bottom of the frame. He has prominent cheeks and is smiling so that he seems to have a large but evil laugh. His chin, nose, cheeks and temples are bright areas. It would seem he has no teeth to fill out his face. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 5: (All three are the same image) 73% correct recognition What you should see: This is the head of a man facing to your right and tilted slightly down and to the right. The nose is prominent as a long bright line right of middle. The bright section at top appears to be top-illuminated hair. Like the nose, the right (your left) cheek is brighter as is the side of what looks like a full beard as if the same light source is shining on those areas. The man has a long face and seems to be more like a biblical character than like a businessman. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 6: (All three are the same image) 36% correct recognition What you should see: This is a person visible from the chest up. It may be a woman or a man. Since he seems to have a dark shadow of a beard, I will say he is a man. He is facing to your left. The green areas seem to mark the lapel of a reddish

coat. He has long black hair that appears to be combed around some kind of hat. The hat seems like a too small derby, which is why he may be a clown. Unaltered clip from video frame Increased contrast Increased contrast and grayscale Example 7: (All three are the same image) 81% correct recognition What you should see: This is a head facing to your left. It is a profile from the neck up. The person may be a boy or boyish girl with short hair and appears to be wearing a dark shirt with a white collar like a sweater over a “T” shirt. The hair and face seem to be illuminated from your left and top. Thank you for participating in this study! Radio-Sweep: A Case Study by Tom Butler, 2016 Also see listening panel trials on radio-sweep examples A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP (This book) Abstract Radio-sweep technology, popularly known as "ghost boxes" or "spirit boxes," is examined as a technology used for recording Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). The results of a session reported in the ATransC Idea Exchange were used for a blind, online listening test similar to previous tests reported in the online ATransC Journal as EVP online listening trials. The generally negative results are reviewed and reasons why the technology may not be suited for trans-etheric communication are discussed. Introduction “Radio-sweep” is a technology that involves rapidly changing the tuning of a radio receiver to produce a soundtrack composed of bits

of sound from whatever radio programming is on the air and from whatever radio station is detected by the radio at the time. In theory, the communicating entity somehow arranges for the radio programming of local stations to be producing the required sounds at the moment they are required and that the sweep will detect those sounds at the right moment to produce the desired message. Radio-sweep technology, popularly known as "ghost boxes" or "spirit boxes," has become a popular technology represented by its advocates as a way to record EVP. It can be accomplished by manually tuning a radio, but a number of modified radio receiver devices are now being sold as EVP recording devices ranging from a few hundred dollars to over $1,200. A survey of the literature produced by manufacturers indicates that there have been no controlled studies of this technique to establish that it actually produces EVP. As part of the Association TransCommunication mission to provide guidance to members about trans-etheric phenomena, this technology was examined to evaluate its capability of producing EVP, how it might do this and whether or not it can improve understanding of trans-etheric communication. There have also been frequent complaints that examples of radio-sweep results did not seem to actually contain intelligent information. At the same time, many members have reported great success with the technology, and this dichotomy required that such an evaluation included an examination of our current assumptions about EVP formation. A companion article, EVP Formation, (Book 1)

describes how EVP are thought to be formed and addresses current understanding of how EVP is heard and reported. Online Listening Test A study of radio-sweep was conducted using an example considered typical of the technology. This example was posted in the AA-EVP Idea Exchange with the comment: “I used a Mini-Box and heard": Reported EVP: “Big Circle.” "I asked: 'Is the Big Circle there?’" Reported EVP: “Circle, Big.” Reported EVP: “Is it ----?” Reported EVP: “Is it?” Reported EVP: “Might be!” “Let me know what you hear. I only cut out bits of silence and my first comment to make it fit.” This example was obtained using one of the Mini-Box radio-sweep devices sold by the apparently defunct Paranormal Systems for $300 (as of early 2009). The manufacturer describes it as “…a useful tool and a new way to establish spirit communications.” The example for analysis was selected because eight of eight members commenting in the thread stated that they heard the example as it was reported. With the exception of “is it,” which is a clearly enunciated phrase, I was unable to hear the examples as reported. To assure that it was not just my inability to make out the reported message, I broke the example into the same segments reported by the practitioner and posted them on ATransC.org as a new listening test. They were labeled as “Example 1” (through 5) and an unlabeled text field was provided for the website visitor to indicate what was heard.

This same procedure has been used for previous listening tests resulting in average correct word recognition of 25.2%. See: EVP Online Listening Trials (This book) The test was stopped after forty-one entries were received because a decisive outcome had been obtained. The results were: Example 1: “Big Circle” Zero recognized words (%Rw = 0.0%). Common response were “This is Butler," "puffin" and "buckle." c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_1.mp3 Example 2: “Circle, Big” Zero recognized words (%Rw = 0.0%). c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_2.mp3 Example 3: “Is it ----?” Ten of a possible 123 words were reported for %Rw = 8.13%. “It” was reported, but in many different contexts other than what was expected. c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_3.mp3 Example 4: “Is it?” Forty-one of a possible eight-two words were reported for %Rw = 50.0%. c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_4.mp3 Example 5: “Might be!” Zero recognized words, %Rw = 0.0%. Commonly reported words were "Hi," "I’m" and "Spring." c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_5.mp3 Here is the original soundtrack. c2008aaevp-radio_sweep_case_study_all.mp3 Observations 1. Examples 1-3 and 5 are mostly sound fragments that would most likely be reported as artifact noise if found in a digital recorder. 2. Example 4, “Is it,” is composed of two clearly spoken words, and its high %Rw indicates that the listening test works. If such a clearly spoken example did not have a high %Rw, then it would be necessary to question the validity of the test. 3. The “Is it” segment is a case of a randomly, but naturally occurring sound segment. Story telling is then used to make it seem part of a meaningful response. 4.

The use of short examples has been questioned; however, in the other trials a one-word example scored the lowest while two-word examples did overall as well or better than the three or more-word examples. The previous trials indicate that, if there are recognizable words present, then there should be at least a few correctly reported words for each example. See: EVP Online Listening Trials (This book) Radio-Sweep Audio Output Potential voice and voice-like sounds in radio-sweep includes: 1. Chaotic sounds that are inappropriately given meaning (sometimes known as Pareidolia). 2. Clearly spoken words that a practitioner incorporates into a story about the message that is meaningful. 3. Sounds that invoke meaningful impressions in the practitioner, which are then explained as messages. 4. Transform EVP formed from the noise produced by the sweep. Altered Perception and Story Telling In EVP Formation, (Book 1) a companion article intended to explore how EVP are formed, it is noted that there are a number of ways mundane sounds are mistaken as EVP. The most common way follows the process: 1. The practitioner asks for information during the recording. 2. Sounds are heard, either live or on the resulting recording. 3. The practitioner “hears” what is expected in the sounds. 4. The practitioner reports what was “heard” and listeners hear what is suggested. This is not malicious intent, but a natural response to trying very hard to find a particular kind of information in a chaotic signal. This appears to be especially common in if

the chaotic sound has a staccato pace, as we have seen the effect in both radio-sweep and EVPmaker output. An interesting explanation as to how practitioners and listeners might find EVP where there are none is found in the Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization, which include: The Law of Proximity: Stimulus elements that are close together tend to be perceived as a group. The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli tend to be grouped; this tendency can even dominate grouping due to proximity. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures. The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped as to minimize change or discontinuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical borders tend to be perceived as coherent figures. The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. A reasonable conclusion is that the practitioner heard what was expected. “Big Circle” is an important part of ATransC culture and hearing this term after asking for someone in the Big Circle to comment is natural, especially considering the low quality of the sound file. The next step would be to imagine a story that would allow what was thought by the practitioner to have been said to make sense. Next, the listeners simply conform by hearing what they are told is present in the recording. Intuitive Tool Either the actual sound file had the reported utterances (except for Example 4, it did not), or if not, the practitioner

may have intuitively sensed the response. By this, I mean that the radio-sweep output could be used as a technology for divination much as other intuitive aids such as Tarot cards or tea leaves. When Tarot cards are laid out for a reading, the practitioner has an array of visual/intellectual cues that can be used to develop a story; but the meaningfulness of the story is largely the result of the practitioner’s intuitive ability. In the same way, a radio-sweep sound file contains audible cues from which a story may be developed, but the meaningfulness of the story would be largely the result of the practitioner’s intuitive ability. In effect, the practitioner becomes an oracle intuitively reading the radio-sweep output. It should be noted that this observation is not intended to detract from the practitioner's ability. Other research has clearly shown that various forms of mediumship and/or intuitive sensing are valid techniques for trans-etheric information access. It is not my intention to say that information reported by radio-sweep practitioners is not meaningful or accurate. Methods of evaluating the information content, other than those used in this study, must be used for such a determination. Radio-Sweep as a Source of Noise for Transform EVP As discussed in the article, EVP formation, the traditional method for EVP is the recording of the phenomenal utterances by transforming available audio-frequency noise into voice. In fact, it has been shown that virtually any noise is apt to be transformed into voice. The primary output from

radio-sweep is noise, and as can be expected, it is common to find examples of transform EVP in the output sound file. The presence of transform EVP in radio-sweep output is a confounding problem for the evaluation of the technology. Radio- sweep can produce EVP which results in meaningful information; however, the evidence indicates that, when transform EVP is produced using radio-sweep, that technology is being used as a novel way to produce noise for ordinary EVP formation. The radio-sweep output does not appear to be phenomenal in itself. Transform EVP Formation and Physical Mediumship To compound the problem of evaluating the veracity of radio-sweep for EVP, it has been noted that some practitioners do produce EVP using the swept dial of a radio as a sound source. The rarity of such practitioners suggests that other processes are involved. Recent observations indicate that the ideal audio-frequency energy for transform EVP formation is both chaotic favoring human voice frequencies (200 to 4000 Hz) and with many short transients. For instance, a recorder with a lot of noise but without a lot of amplitude changes is not as effective as a recorder with noise that has many perturbations in the noise heard as clicks, pops and very short (stuttering-like interruptions in the noise. As it turns out a very rapidly scanned radio spectrum often produces such noise. For example, the radio-sweep results we have heard reported by some practitioners as EVP, and that do appear to be EVP, have been produced using

a manual sweep on a radio with a round tuning dial. Rapidly turning a small tuning dial from stop to stop (probably half a second) results in a sufficiently short "dwell time" on individual stations that only bits of voice are heard, much as if a phoneme file was being used instead of radio-sweep. EVP produced by radio-sweep should be formed of many voices and music components, yet in the meaningful examples produced by some practitioners, the voice is typically all one person speaking for the entire sweep. This is what would be expected for transform EVP using the radio-sweep noise as a sound source. Direct Radio Voice (DRV) such as that produced by Marcello Bacci and Anabela Cardoso, meaningful messages are produced from radio broadcasts that are thought to have an etheric origin. This is thought to be a form of physical mediumship produced by Bacci and Cardoso using a radio as a sort of high-tech séance trumpet. This is a very rare form of phenomenon that may also be produced by some EVP practitioners. In other words, some practitioners appear to produce meaningful and reliable EVP using radio-sweep technology. However, once again, the radio-sweep output does not appear to be phenomenal in itself. Violation of Self-determination While the idea that we have self-determination or free will is faith- based, it does raise an important question. I am not aware of any instances in which we have been forced to do something by our etheric communicators. In fact, there

are many examples in which they seek to protect us. For radio-sweep to be a viable technique for EVP, it seems necessary that programming is exactly as required for the intended message. That implies that radio announcers are forced to speak words that are required for the message. If this is the case, then it is a clear violation of our self-determination. In effect, the radio announcer is forced to say "Hello Tom" at the exact moment a practitioner sweeps the dial past that station if the intended utterance is "Hello Tom." Discussion Why did eight of eight listeners on the discussion board report hearing what the examples were reported to have said while online listeners did not? Perhaps the suggestion of what will be heard in not so clear sound is all that is needed to entrain the mind of the listener to hear exactly that. This tendency to hear what is suggested is most evident with examples that are of very poor quality. EVPmaker using live voice and radio-sweep examples have such a confusing, staccato pace that they tend to confound the mind, making it difficult to “lock onto” the actual sound stream. The result is that the listener may be forced to depend on instructions for what is to be heard. The three techniques that have been decisively shown to produce EVP are audio recorder using noise (transform EVP), EVPmaker using allophones and speech synthesis. All three depend on available physical energy and processes for voice formation.

This is discussed in the article, EVP Formation. Radio-sweep depends on the availability of the right sound being present at the exact moment the sweep selects that station. In fact, the entities appear to use most efficient methods for communication and do not routinely make people do things for the sake of communication. We are aware of no precedent indicating that EVP have been formed by first creating physical energy and/or causing physical processes. The only trans-etheric influence we have seen evidence for appears to manifest as the subtle energy usually described as “psi energy.” The processes most commonly influenced by psi energy are random, and in EVP, this is seen as the influence of random noise. There is no empirically demonstrated evidence we are aware indicating the entities are able to cause someone to do something in order to communicate via EVP. It is important to note that when evaluating radio-sweep, it has been demonstrated that the noise produced by the sweep process is sometimes used for transform EVP. As such, it is possible to find a few words formed from the noise, but in this mode, radio-sweep is just an expensive way of producing noise for voice formation. We have been examining radio-sweep since an ATransC member began working with it years ago. While we have not been able to find a reason to think the technology produces EVP, we have found substantial reason to think it does not. Certainly, one cannot permanently close the door on any

technology, but until properly designed research produces empirical evidence that radio-sweep produces EVP, our policy must be that radio-sweep does not produce EVP as advertised. Recording Thoughts of the Living? By Lisa Butler Originally printed in the Spring 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal There is some evidence that at least a few of the messages we record in EVP, may actually be put there by people who are still in the physical. Here are a few examples from members: • In the Spring 1982 newsletter, Sarah quoted Tina Laurent of Wales: "I've had on two occasions, voices that sound exactly like two people I know, they gave their names too, but they are STILL living. I don't know what to make of that. Do you? One of them I played for my brother and his wife and they recognized them straight away and they have always thought that I played a joke on them." • Ernst Senkowski contributed this: "I several times observed at least the name and possibly the voice of a living person some 300 miles away. . . (A) case seems to have happened in Italy wherein an EVP experimenter succeeded in taping the contents of the mind of a far absent living person. So, we have to be very careful in stating ‘our’ voices come from the ‘dead.’" • Jacque Blanc-Garin of France recently wrote to say that, “About the problem of voices from living persons. I tried some experiments regarding this fact. I called some persons (my

wife and some other friends with their agreement - important point for ethics) who were sleeping. I received many messages where some were a proof. For example, I asked my wife where she was? Answer: I am in the air, Monique. Another question: Do you meet your family on the other side? Answer: I meet all but I will come to you because I love you Poupoune. (The name Poupoune is the nickname given to Monique by her parents). That means we have the possibility to tape the voice of a person who is sleeping, because we go out of body while some part of us is asleep.” (See below) • Edna Drake, B.C. Canada, comments that she has reason to believe an EVP message she received was from a brain damaged friend of hers. She wrote that, “I just had a strong feeling that the “voice” trying to form words stammering and stuttering, like a handicapped person, was in fact the brain injured young man I worked with for over 2 years--to talk and communicate.” • Brian Jones, WA, has discussed the possibility that he might actually be recording his thoughts. He sent us a soundtrack in which a person was speaking to him via his computer phone at the same time he was recording. He indicated that he thought the voice he recorded might have been generated by thoughts from that person. You may want to test this idea for yourself by following the technique used by Jacque

Blanc-Garin. It is an interesting idea, the possibility that we sometimes record the living as well as the departed. We are Self living in a physical body during this lifetime. When free of the encumbrance of our body, perhaps during sleep, we are very much the same as the discarnate entities we seek to communicate with. If this is true, then it is not much of a leap in logic to think we can impress messages on tape as well. French Sleep Experiments This article was originally printed in the Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal Jacques Blanc-Garin of the French EVP/ITC group, Infinitude, provided us with a description of experiments to contact sleeping people via EVP. See more about Infinitude at www.infinitude.asso.fr. ©Jacques Blanc-Garin - All Rights Reserved From 1994 to July 1995, Jacques conducted a series of experiments in which he tried to reach people while they were sleeping. A friend of his, Robert Doré, had suggested that it might be possible for a person to communicate through Tci (French term for ITC) with a sleeping person. (The following is a translation from French.) Jacques wrote, “My idea with these experiences is that we would be able to help people who are considered insane. It would be possible to contact them when they are sleeping and maybe record the entity who is disturbing them. However, I have not tried this because it is not easy to bring such an idea to hospital personnel.” The following experiments were conducted with a

Marrantz CP430 equipped with a micro Monacor ECM 600 ST or a Philips 6350 recorder. For ambient noises, Jacques used the sound of rubbing paper, German language conversation, and sometimes an air-band receiver. Jacques writes that the results were conclusive almost every time. He also pointed out that, as a matter of ethics, each experiment was prearranged with the person who would be addressed while they slept. Following, are samples of what was received during some of these experiments. Excerpts from recording of Monique Simonet during sleep, April 7, 1995. Jacques: “It is useless for me to explain to you how to make Tci. I believe that you are more expert than me in this domain and you will know how to use all vibrations that I can send you.” Answer: “I would like to make it on the Earth” (very audible whisper). Jacques: “I hope that I do not disturb your sleep.” Answer: “It was foreseen, I will remember” (whisper). Jacques: “If you answer me, you are maybe in the environment where I record. If that is it you can then tell me what I currently hold in my left hand?” Answer: “It is a crystal” (whisper). Jacques said that, “I indeed, had a crystal in my hand. Monique saw me!” Excerpt from recording of Monique Laage during sleep, Nov. 8, 1994. Jacques: “I call this double astral body that should be theoretically able to answer me. Are you there, Monique if it pleases you?” Answer: “I am in

airs, Poupoune” (audible whisper). (Editors: “Poupoune” is pet name given to Monique by her father.) Excerpt November 10, 1995 recording Monique Laage. Jacques: “When you go to the astral, do you meet other people? Answer: “I see them all again, but I will come back, I like you, Monique who likes you” (uninterrupted, whisper). Excerpt December 10, 1994 recording Monique Laage. Jacques: “It is extraordinary that, in a little time, you are going to wake up and you are going to return to your body.” Answer: “One is well, it is happiness here” (whisper). (Editor's note: We are spirit living in a physical body. It is logical that we should be able to leave messages via EVP just as those who do not have a physical body do. This should also make us think a little more about our adventures while asleep.) Experiment – Recording the Living This article was originally printed in the Summer 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal In April Sarah Estep participated with us in an experiment in which we tried to see if we could record messages from each other while asleep. This worked out well as Tom and I taped around 10 pm PST when Sarah was asleep. Sarah taped early in the morning while we were still sleeping. The experiment ran three separate evenings. On one experiment Sarah said on the tape that Tom and Lisa were asleep right now. A loud voice says, “That’s right,” and then 16 counts later another class A message by

the same male voice says, “I am.” During another experiment Sarah asks Tom Butler, “Are you here,” and got, “He’s here, we will try to get him back.” When Sarah asked for Lisa she got, “I’m here,” and then later, “Stop, the Lisa back.” This is interesting, as I woke up and remember looking at the clock. This was verified with Sarah as the time that she was recording. During our experiments in trying to reach Sarah we recorded, “You have main contact,” and also, “Rain.” Interestingly, we later learned it had been raining at Sarah’s house. We asked, “Where are you Sarah?” The message came back “I am here.” An interesting side note in all of this. Sarah also had a surprise visitor. During our running of these experiments Sonia Rinaldi, EVP researcher in Brazil, sent Sarah an Email. In it she told Sarah about a very vivid dream and wrote, “I could see you so clearly that I am sure that we really met. I was in your kitchen. … The fact is that I never remember any of my dreams.” Sonia was not aware of our experiments and yet she had this lucid dream on one of the nights that we were trying to reach Sarah via tape recorder. The Testimony of Marie-Hélène, Bénédicte’s Mother ©Anabela Cardoso - All Rights Reserved Introduction What I am going to tell you happened in Brittany on the 9th of July 2004, when we were on holiday. It was after dinner

and I had just put a piece of aluminum foil on a plate of cheese to cover it. I know … It’s very prosaic and my mind was far from any experiment but this is what happened. As I was sitting at the table chatting with my mother and my husband—I still can’t believe it—I looked at the recently covered cheese plate and my daughter’s face was printed on that foil just in front of us. I then started to take photos of this very amazing event which seemed truly incredible to me. While I was taking the photographs with my Minolta Dimage XT, my mother became nervous and thought it was silly that I photographed a plate and asked me why I was doing it. I got up and went near her to show her my small camera screen without telling her anything. She immediately recognized the face of her granddaughter and asked me where I had got it. I told her it was on the aluminium paper; she then got up and came to where I was, sat on my chair and without me telling her the place she immediately spotted this little face. Then the same thing happened with my husband. And my husband—who is not a good observer—exclaimed: "It’s incredible; I can see Bénédicte’s face!" and he burst into tears. I took the photos because I was afraid to see the image disappear. But the truth is that the little face remained on the same spot

of the aluminium foil until the 14th of July and in the meantime I took photos with another camera, a Nikon F-401. The Nikon was less convenient to photograph the little face because it does not zoom and I wanted to show the photos to other people.... On the 14th of July we had to return because our holidays were over and I had to hand back the plate which was not mine, it belonged to the house we were renting and so I unwrapped the aluminum foil. To this day I regret not having brought that plate with me for I think I could still have my daughter’s face imprinted on the aluminum foil! It was really silly of me not having brought the plate home. Many people, friends who saw the photos later on, had the same opinion: they could see Bénédicte’s face on them. Marie-Hélène Bienaimé, France Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.* by Daniele Gullà" Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research * I.P.V.S. : Acronym devised by IL Laboratorio which stands for “Interazione Psi- Visiva di tipo Strumentale” (Psi-Visual Interaction of Instrumental type, more commonly known as ITC image). The Case Under Investigation The investigation consists of attempts to explore the authenticity of an alleged ITC image unexpectedly obtained when a plate covered with aluminum foil was photographed. In the photograph, the creases in the foil were apparently seen to have spontaneously taken on the visual configuration of the face of

a deceased girl. The girl’s identity was immediately claimed to be recognized by her mother (who took the photograph) and by other relatives present at the time. Figure 1. Image with the "extra" appeared through the deformation of the aluminum foil. The purported face to be recognized has been encircled by a yellow mark. Description of the Case The anomalous photograph that is at the center of the case initially came to the attention of Dr. Anabela Cardoso, who then arranged for it to be sent to me for analysis. It was shown to Dr. Cardoso by the lady responsible for taking it and whom Dr. Cardoso and I met while attending the International Conference of Infinitude held in Paris in 2007. Having inspected the photograph, Dr. Cardoso considered it of sufficient interest to be sent to me, together with photographs taken during the lifetime of the deceased daughter whose image it appeared to be. These photographs would enable me to carry out a possible verification of any similarities in physiognomic characteristics between the alleged ITC image on the tinfoil and the images of the girl shown in the photographs taken during her lifetime. Technical Steps in Making the Anthropometric Comparison The ITC image and one of the lifetime pictures of Bénédicte were normalized in terms of pixels and contrast, and subsequently, metric and morphologic measurements were taken of the two images. The two images were then superimposed one on the other so that the appropriate mark points (‘repère’ points)

coincided. Morphologic Test of Pattern Recognition with Neural Networks: The test of morphologic compatibility was performed with the Neural Networks program utilized by the American intelligence services (FBI) known as the Universal Image Recognition program. This morphologic test takes into consideration the whole of the cranial structure of the human head, elaborating the contours of the “structural cage” and does not focus on the distances of single repère points. Instead it analyzes in a more general way the shape of the various parts of the cranium. The test was performed using the ONE_TO_MANY mode that compares the ITC image with 3,000 other images contained in the database of the Universal Image Recognition program. This database is composed of masculine and feminine somatic types of faces, all of European origin and aged between 10 and 70 years. The final data is the result of a miscellaneous comparison of 3,000 x 3,000 or more precisely 9,000,000 comparative tests. In the final result visible on the screen in Figure 7, seven similar images were found but only one reaches the maximum score which surpasses the threshold of FAR (False Acceptance) and FRR (False Recognition Rate), which the program sets respectively at percentage values 0, 1% and 0, 03%. This image was one of Bénédicte’s lifetime photographs. That image reached the highest score and it was therefore identified as the face most similar to the ITC image with a rate of 98.97%. Figure 2. Detail of the supposed ITC face enlarged and rotated through

approximately 30 degrees Figure 3. Four images of Bénédicte, the deceased French girl visually recognized by her mother as the subject of the ITC image in the aluminum foil, taken during her lifetime Figure 4. This image shows the result of the superimposition of the lifetime image of Bénédicte’s face with the presumed ITC face. The similarity of the somatic traits is clearly noticeable It is possible to read on the central report of the computer screen printout in Figure 7 that besides the choice of the anomalous ITC image proper (which was also added to the database of the program), which is identical to the image for which a comparison was required because it is the same image, and therefore attained the highest score of 192000000 (file denominated “Photo David et Bénédicte1r.jpg”), the second most similar image with a score of 59136000 is Bénédicte’s lifetime photograph (file denominated Figure 5. The same operation was then carried out using another image of Bénédicte superimposed on the ITC picture with alignment of the repère points with morphing technique. The similarity of the faces and the apparent coincidence of the points are again noticeable. Figure 6. In this analysis the distance relationships between the repère points of the two images were measured. Although the relationships are noticeably constant, with values in the region of number 1, there are percentage value changes that indicate t Figure 7. Morphologic comparison between the ITC image and 3,000 faces performed with neural networks. Bénédicte’s lifetime image

was recognized as the most similar to the anomalous image with a percentage of 98.97%. “Photo David et Bénédicte-2.jpg”) shown on the right side of the computer print-out. This image, which gave a percentage similarity rating of 98.7% was therefore identified as the face most similar to the ITC image (The Italian Courts of Justice accept a reading of 95% when establishing cases of human identity). Conclusions The technological applications used in the comparative analysis have revealed several points of similarity. The morphologic comparison done with Neural Networks on a sampling of 3,000 faces shows that a high percentage of compatibility between the ITC image and the photograph taken during the young girl’s life exists. However, it should be borne in mind that the alleged ITC image taken by the mother under the circumstances and with the exposure value (i.e. the time the shutter remained open during the shutter click) concerned, produced a particular effect of light/shadow on the reflective surface (i.e. the aluminum foil) that does not allow us to highlight identification marks capable of allowing an evaluation sufficiently sensitive to yield total compatibility with an image taken during the subject's lifetime. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that my analysis is limited to measurements made on optical information whose authenticity and origin cannot be accurately determined. Unfortunately, it was not possible to achieve an accurate comparison of the metric relationship between the points because, although a very marked similarity was found, the image containing the "extra" presents spatial deformations

which are obviously due to the particular conditions of the creased aluminum foil on which the image was imprinted. Consequently, it was not possible to obtain precise anthropometric data from the image. Proper measurements could only be taken from Bénédicte’s lifetime pictures. The missing instrumental confirmation of the metric methodology does not, however, diminish the probability of a definite identification, even though we have to deal with comparisons between two images that differ from each other as to the material on which they are imposed. It would have been different if we had analyzed two homogeneous photographs and had found instrumental discrepancies with one of the two methods used. Nevertheless, the morphologic analysis (which is more representative by virtue of its analysis of the images through the simulation of human vision) and the probabilistic comparison between the ITC image and the population of 3,000 faces in the database render the hypothesis of compatibility of the two faces valid. Translated from the Italian original by Dr. Anabela Cardoso and originally published in No. 31 of the ITC Journal which is published 3 times a year. For subscription information, see itcjournal.org 1. Bertillon A., Identification anthropometrique: instruction signaletiques, Melun, Imprimerie Administrative, 1893. Bibliography 2. Goldstein A., Harmon L.D., Lesk A.B., Identification of Human faces, Proceeding of the IEEE, Vol, 59, No.5, May 1971. 3. Duda R., Hart P., Stork G., Pattern classification, Wiley, New York, 2000. 4. Watanabe S., Pattern recognition:human and mechanical, Wiley, New York, 1985. 5. Falco G., Identità: metodo

scientifico di segnalamento e identificazione, II Edizione, Roma, 1923. 6. Martin R., Saller K., Lehrbuch der Anthropologie in systematicher Darstellung, Dd. I-II. Fischer, Stuttgard, 1956- 59. 7. Reverte-Coma G.M., Antropologia forense, Ministero de Justitia, Madrid, 1991. 8. Schiwidwtzky I., Knussmann R., Morphognose und Typognose, in Martin R. Antropologie, Fischer, Stuttgard, 1988. 9. Iscan M.Y., Loth S.R., Photo image identification, in Siegel J.A., Soukko J.P., Knupfer G.C., (Eds), Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, Academic Press, pagg 795-805, New York, 2000. 10. Olivieri L., Antropologia e Antropometria, C.E.V. Idelson, Napoli, 1963. 11. Farkas L. G., Anthropometry of the head and face, Second Edition, Raven Press, 2000. 12. Parisi, R., Nozioni di antropometria, EDAS, Messina, 1979. 13. Balossino N., Siracusa S., Parametri discriminatori nel riconoscimento di volti, Polizia Moderna, n.1, 1998. 14. Chellapa R., Wilson C.L., Sirohey S., Human and machine recognition of faces: a survey, Proceedings of the IEEE, 83(5):705-735, May 1995. 15. Brunelli R., Poggio T., Face recognition:features versus Templates, IEEE Transaction on Pattern analysis and machine intelligence,vol. 15, no. 10, October 1993. 16. Wu C., Huang J., Human face profile recognition by computer, Pattern recognition, Vol 23 No.3/4 pp.255-259, 1990. 17. Wong K.H., Hudson H.M., Law and Tsang P.W.M., A system for recognising human faces, Dept. of Computer Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dept. of Elect. Eng. City Poly. of U. K., Technical Report, 1991. 18. I. Craw, P. Cameron. Face recognition by computer. Page 498- 508. D.Hogg and R. Boyle editors, Proceedings British Machine Vision Conference, Springer

Verlag, 1992. 19. M.S. Kamel, H.C. Shen, A.K.C. Wong, T.M. Hong, R.I. Campenu, Face recognition using perspective invariant features, Pattern Recognition Letters, 877-884, 1994. 20. P. Rajesh, N. Rao, H. Ballard, Natural basis functions and topographic memory for face recognition, Proceedings of the International Conference of Artificial Intelligence, 10-17, 1995. 21. `D. Gullà, "Two Cases of an Anthropometric Identification in Two Supposed Anomalous Photographs”, Proceedings of Congress the Association "Casa dell' Albero", October 2001, Carpi (MO) 22. D. Gullà, "Forensic Analyses in Parapsichology", Proceedings of XVI National Congress of "Il Movimento della Speranza", January 2002, Roma. 23. D. Gullà, “Images and Voice Anomalous; Case of Pattern Recognition,” session of University of Imola (BO), Gen. 2004 The Work at Il Laboratorio As presented by Paolo Presi at the 2006 AA-EVP conference Introducing Il Laboratorio It is a great pleasure and honor for me to attend this very important International Conference and I wish to thank Lisa and Tom Butler for their kind invitation to participate. I will begin by explaining the targets, methods and research activities carried out at Il Laboratorio – Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetic Research, the purpose of which is to study phenomena that, for a long time, we all wrongly judged as “paranormal.” [Il laboratorio is no longer operational.] To begin, I would like to draw your attention to the name of our organization so that you understand the leading criteria of our scientific activities. The first word, “Il Laboratorio” (The Laboratory), is self-explanatory and refers to a

place provided with equipment for scientific research. The word, “Interdisciplinary,” indicates that our research is performed using methods belonging to different sciences and/or disciplines linked together in a methodological and conceptual way. To follow an interdisciplinary approach in the investigations has today become a necessity of contemporary scientific thought, particularly when the research is designed to understand certain phenomena emerging from the human mind. The Il Laboratorio team intends also to investigate unusual occurrences; usually referred to as events that go beyond psi- cognitive and psychokinetic phenomena, in areas that traditional parapsychology did not intend to investigate. Our area of interest also includes study of so-called “borderline phenomena,” such as Out-of- Body-Experiences (OBE) and Near Death Experiences (NDE), as well as phenomena that depend upon altered or modified states of consciousness like sensitiveness and mediumship. Our research is also concerned with investigation of the subjects involved in psychic phenomena from the neuro-psycho-physiological point of view, in order to bring to light possible interconnections between the subject and the final link in the phenomenological chain, like physical psychic effects. This includes the so-called bioresonance phenomena that are concerned with the interactive interface that man has with his immediate and more remote physical surroundings, as well as with his social psychological background. The word Research refers to the studies designed and systematically implemented in order to increase our understanding and knowledge of unusual occurrences through the use of scientific methodology wherever applicable and feasible. The final word in the name of our

organization, Bio-psycho- cybernetic, indicates that our investigations are not limited to explaining psi phenomena by criteria and laws based only on physical paradigms, but by considering each occurrence belonging to a complex system whose properties can be understood by studying the whole system from different perspectives. I wish to stress that the philosophy guiding the researchers of Il Laboratorio deals with events as they occur, whether as they appear in the physical world, or as evidence of inner or psychic experience. This neologism was suggested by the founders of Il Laboratorio and adopted with the goal of supporting a gradual revision of the terminology of parapsychological research in order to distance our discipline from the ghetto of the pseudo-sciences. Our activities are therefore both practical (in the field) and theoretical. They deal with the reliability of documented reports, the verification of reported occurrences, and the scientific and technological circumstances (including controls) within which findings are gathered. Within the context of present scientific knowledge, utilizing where possible and feasible the most updated technologies, our researchers conduct their research. Before introducing to you the Department directly involved in Instrumental Transcommunication, I would like to give you some information about the other Departments that work together collaboratively. The Research and Theoretics Departments report directly to the General Director while the Voice, Image and Psychophysiological Departments report to the Research Department. Dr. Enrico Marabini heads Il Laboratorio as General Director. He also manages ad interim the Theoretics Department. This branch of Il Laboratorio handles

the epistemological issues that arise from our research activities. This is a very important Department since its task is to confirm the correctness of methodology, and the procedures and interpretations attributed to results arising from the experimental activities of the research teams. The Research Department, managed by Dr. Michele Dinicastro, coordinates all the research activities performed by the Departments. Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi manages the Psychophysiological Department. He is entrusted with the investigations into the personality and physiology of the subjects involved in paranormal phenomena. This is a very complex topic and, at the same time, one that is of great importance in the context of both psychological and physiological interactions between the human personality and the phenomena under investigation. The topic of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) is dealt with by the Voice Department, managed by myself, and the Image Department managed by engineer Daniele Gullà. The Voice and Image Departments conduct their research activities thanks to the competence and collaboration of colleague Daniele Gullà, a skilled electronics engineer, who is an expert in electro-acoustical analysis of voices, as well as image recognition and processing. His extensive experience in these fields has allowed him to accomplish qualified legal advices for Italian Courts of Justice. I am pleased to provide detailed information about our research including some practical and significant examples. There are many ways to study the paranormal or unusual events relating to the survival of consciousness after death. Many operators who try to "receive" messages from the beyond are motivated mainly

by emotional issues, such as the loss of a loved one, where the contents are surely more important than anything else. Other researchers, like myself, are conscious of the great importance of the topic and are studying the process by investigating the many different expressions of the phenomena. By doing so, those researchers attempt to characterize all the elements that contribute to increasing the meaning and validity of the results of experimentation. That is why I consider it mandatory that the phenomena witnessed be thoroughly investigated and that the investigations be carried out using methods and technical tools that are recognized as being suitable for scientific research. It should be the task of the serious researcher to uncover all events that can be considered anomalous because they do not fit the established laws of physics. Only in this way will we awaken the scientific establishment to the importance of this kind of research, and only at that time will a revision of the paradigms, now considered unchangeable by science, take place. In line with Thomas Kuhn's thought1, we recognize that this may be a very slow process, but the only one capable of leading human society to the conscious maturity that will result from scientific understanding of new discoveries. To that purpose, together with my collaborators at Il Laboratorio, we dedicate our efforts in this way. We use the most up-to-date professional software and hardware to document all the peculiarities and anomalies that are found in the electroacoustical structure of

authentic paranormal voices obtained under controlled conditions. In this presentation I am pleased to share with you some examples of the preliminary findings in this matter. Investigating Paranormal Voices Using Computer-Based Analysis On 17 September 1952, Italian Fathers Agostino Gemelli and Pellegrino Ernetti reported a case of alleged anomalous communication received through a magnetic wire-recorder. The reported phenomenon attracted little attention until 1959 when Friedrich Jürgenson, a Sweden artist and documentary filmmaker, obtained the same kind of phenomenon. Intrigued by these claims, Latvian psychologist Konstantin Raudive commenced his own experimentation that confirmed Jürgenson's results (1971). Much research has been conducted in several different countries in order to help us understand the mechanisms governing the phenomenon. In Italy, we have an ongoing research program, named Sfinge Project, which is supported by a grant generously donated by the Swedish Helene Reeder Memorial Fund. Before dealing with the preliminary results obtained in the Sfinge Project, it is useful to provide some information about the signal acquisition and processing quality required to perform reliable analyses. See: Instrumental Analysis of EVP Collected via a Sound-Psi Interaction (This book) To obtain voices of sufficient quality to permit analysis, the original recording signal must provide for a reasonably good Signal/Noise ratio (S/N). If the voice signal is at the same level as the background noise or lower, the chance of successful analysis will be extremely low. To obtain a good sound quality the original recording signal needs a relatively high signal/noise ratio, like that obtained through a

digital recording rather than an analog recording through an audio cassette recorder. Digital recording is obtained by recording directly onto a computer or digital audio recorder (solid state or digital tape recorder). The key difference between digital and analog systems consists in their acoustic dynamic ranges: those from digital recording systems are greater than 90 dB while those from audio cassette recorder (analog) are usually not more than 60 dB. That is why it is important to record Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) with a recording system that ensures that the acoustic loss of information is reduced to a minimum. Unfortunately, we often have to work with very weak or noisy signals due to imperfect recordings. Too often poor-quality microphones or audio cassette tape recorders are used and this results in a high distortion effect and makes analysis and decoding unreliable. It is worth repeating that the accuracy of analyses of the signal depends on the acoustic quality of the recording acquired. In the Sfinge project, we used a personal computer, acting as a recorder of input signals coming from a high quality, condenser-type microphone and processed by a professional microphone preamplifier, with digital output, and a multiband signal processor. This project provides practical experimentation, under controlled conditions, involving four of the most skilled ITC operators in Italy, each working in independent experimental sessions. We started the project with the first operator by experimenting with the typical microphone recording method, using a cassette tape recorder with built-in microphone. The first experiment

was conducted with a female operator, Mrs. Lida Russo from Livorno, Italy. She used her audiocassette recorder, which was really quite modest. Unfortunately, in the experimental sessions performed, she recorded only some voices of poor acoustic quality. Exactly the opposite happened to our research team using a professional recording system, operated by Daniele Gullà, which served a cross-referential function. The introduction of professional recording tools to record the whole experiment brought us some unexpected and astonishing results. See: Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice (This book) Another important check was carried out using a professional phonometer in order to survey the existing background noise during the experiment. Generally speaking, the main objection currently raised by the critics concerns the ambiguous sonority that mainly characterizes EVP material. In their opinion an ambiguous acoustic event, properly fragmented and cadenced, might be decoded as a linguistic message. They argue that when a high-fidelity recording system is used, the alleged paranormal voices reveal themselves to be a simple noise, not voices. Our experimentation demonstrated exactly the opposite. The digital recording revealed the presence of voices not audible on the audio cassette recorded by the operator. In my opinion, the primary cause can be found somewhere between the recording devices used, the existing psychological and/or psychical condition of the ITC operator, and the whole "Minds System"2 constituted by the people attending the experiment. In fact, the operator under observation was expecting good voices to be recorded by the experimenters from Il Laboratorio. Consequently, Mrs. Russo’s

main expectation was the successful recording of voices on the sophisticated recording devices. These were arranged in the room by the researchers. Several times, Mrs. Russo asked Daniele Gullà if voices had been recorded on his devices; she was not worried at all whether voices could be recorded on her own tape recorder. The great influence exerted on the device by Mrs. Russo (the ITC operator) was experienced again when our psychologist, Dr. Giorgio Gagliardi, and his assistant were ready to perform a psychophysiological examination of her. This examination requires the use of a polygraph connected to a personal computer, which records the neurovegetative and electrodermic changes occurring during the psychological test. Before leaving his home Dr. Gagliardi checked that both devices were functioning correctly. No problems were found, everything was working properly. Once the electrodes were positioned on Mrs. Russo's head and everything was ready for the test, the personal computer gave an error message. Several times the computer was checked and restarted but the error didn't disappear. The most significant occurrence happened when Dr. Gagliardi returned to his home: inexplicably both the devices were found to be operating correctly, without any error! Lastly, all of the approximately fifty photos taken with a digital camera, many of which show Mrs. Russo ready for the experiment with the electrodes positioned on her head, were inexplicably and definitively lost. It is my opinion that the stressful psychological condition of Mrs. Russo's mind, probably due to her anxiety about the results of

test, set off such occurrences. In the following, the results of the analyses done on two very short tonal sentences are reported. The tonal sentences are saying: "ami Enzo?" ("do you love Enzo?") and "oh mamma" ("oh mom"). It must be said that Enzo, the unknown speaker, is the name of the deceased son of Mrs. Russo. The whole sentence \AMI\ENZO\ is uttered with a light temporal dilatation, with an evident pause between the two words. The voice is a loud, clearly audible voice, well cadenced, which was not heard by either the experimenters or the operator during the experiment. In the first sentence (duration 2.278 sec.) only the first part \AMI\E was analyzed because the word \ENZO\ was partially overlapped by the voices of people attending the experiment. The analyses revealed several anomalies as follows: • Modulations of signals changing mainly in amplitude instead of in frequency. • Formants visibility limited to F1 and F2 only. • Vibrations of vocal cords detectable in short intervals only. • Abnormal fluctuations of voice frequency ranges. • Poor melodic and harmonic contents. • Vowels expanded in time. • Abnormal excitation of cochlear liquid (simulated via software). • The voice reverberation differs from the one existing in the room. • Aleatory values of vowels in I.P.A. table. • High content of noise and significant aperiodicity of signals. • Impossibility for the software to structure a model of Vocal Tract due to the low influence of overglottal organs (resonators) • Jitter values indicate the

presence of possible dysphonias. Example of vocal tracts anomalous The electroacoustic measures reveal the presence of significant structural anomalies deviating from normal human speech parameters even if the sentence is uttered with a loud, clearly audible voice, apparently quite similar to the human voice. The second sentence \OH\MAMMA\ (duration 1.897 sec.) is uttered twice; the first utterance is made with a loud, clearly audible voice, while the second utterance is an acoustically very low, whispered voice, saying the same words. A sound, similar to the one produced by pushing a call-bell (such as used on a reception desk of a hotel to call the personnel), precedes the first utterance. Nobody heard such a ring during the experiment. In the first and in the last vowel \A\ the software functions (L.P.C. and Autocorrelation) clearly reveal the activation of overglottal resonators but the vibrations of vocal cords are not distinctly noticeable. The analyses performed on the second sentence exhibit the same anomalies as in the first sentence and in addition: • Abnormal trend of the fundamental frequency F0. • Impossibility for the software to represent the sound using the cochlear model (software simulation). • The voice seems to be partially structured both by voiced sounds and whispered sounds with only some structural components pertaining to human speech. • Formants are fragmented and apparently generated by a thickening of existing background noise. The electroacoustic measures carried out on the second sentence confirm the presence of important anomalies in the voice structure. The presence

of the fundamental frequency without the consequent vibration of vocal cords is inexplicable. It must be said that, in normal human speech, only the vibration of vocal cords generates the fundamental frequency. The energy and the high a-periodicity of signals pertinent to vowels are absolutely unusual and detectable only in the zones affected by consonants. This unusual occurrence found in the paranormal voices is very important since it supports my personal hypothesis about the paranormal process of the generation of formants: it seems to come from an inexplicable process of local thickening of the existing background noise. In particular, it was noted that such formants, mainly modulated in amplitude, are structured in the typical frequency bands pertaining to the vowel sounds. As a consequence – and this is a very important point – such formants, so structured, maintain unaltered the semantic content of the words in the listening phase. In addition, it was found that if some slight deviation or partial lack of signal occurs, causing the software to register an incorrect vowel sound classification, the information already existing in the listener’s brain (at the conscious or subconscious level) is able, during the listening phase, to make a suitable integration of missing parts in the input signals. In order to exclude eventual deviations interpreted as anomalies due to the software used (Speech Filing System v. 4.6)®, a second professional software (Praat v. 4.3.37)® was used in accordance with a specific requirement in our Operating Procedure. The analyses performed using the

second software confirmed the anomalies detected by the first software. Another very interesting case of paranormal telephone voice that we have analyzed is the case involving Edna. In this regard, Il Laboratorio was asked to analyze a telephone voice sample, sent via email by Sonia Rinaldi, a well-known Brazilian operator who is also a presenter in this Conference. The sample is from an experiment carried out by recording a normal phone call, initiated by Cleusa, on Rinaldi's personal computer. Cleusa was the adoptive mother of Edna, a young girl who died at the age of sixteen when run over by a car. The phone call lasted fifteen minutes during which Edna spoke seventy-eight times. The experiment was made in a very original manner. During the conversation between the two ladies, three CDs, containing the utterances of phonemes pertaining to foreign languages (other than Portuguese), were simultaneously played. Using such a tone mixture as background sound-source meant that it was impossible to structure meaningful sentences in the Portuguese language that would be coherent with the topic of dialogue. The sentence submitted for analysis was found to be half modulated over the sound-source and the other half perfectly clear of such sounds. The latter was recorded when the CD player was switched off. From the voice data provided, the second half of the sentence was analyzed, where the voice resulted without any background sound-source. I must point out that the sample analyzed was sent to Il Laboratorio via e-mail and therefore subject

to all the limitations of that means of communication. The analyses performed on Edna’s voice revealed the presence of the following structural anomalies: • Severe fragmentation of fundamental frequency F0 and its too much low fluctuation in frequency (found to be less than 15 Hz, while in normal human speech it ranges from 30 to 60 Hz). • Severe fragmentation of vocal cord vibrations, detectable in the positions of existing fragments of fundamental frequency. • Unusual increase in sound intensity in the high frequency bands ranging between 2000 and 3000 Hz. In normal speech, when the frequency range increases, the intensity of sound usually decreases. In our case exactly the opposite was found. It seemed to be a voice uttered affecting the soft palate area (glottal voice), or produced by a vocal apparatus of reduced dimensions. • Abnormal formant trends with a partial fusion of second formant F2 and third formant F3. • Abnormal formant bandwidths. • Abnormal increase of sound intensities in the third formant F3 and in the fourth formant F4. • The high values of Jitter and Shimmer indicate the presence of dysphonias due to possible phonatory pathologies. In particular the impulsive changes in voice frequency (Jitter) represent an indirect evidence of instability of the vocal system. • Abnormal speech fluency characterized by lack of voice breaks. In normal speech, the voice breaks are caused by the occlusions produced by certain consonants, or due to the aspiration/expiration of air to/from the lungs. In human speech, several voice

breaks can occur depending on the length of the words. • Abnormal fluctuations of voice frequency ranges. • Poor melodic and harmonic contents. Following the detection of such anomalies and in order to investigate further, Edna's alleged paranormal voice was compared to her lifetime voice. The comparative analyses were carried out using a software named "FBI Image Searching"®, currently employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. This software has real-time image recognition capability. It can be used for any kind of images and produces extremely accurate results. This software is able to process millions of images. The computer processing involves artificial intelligence to learn directly the content of an image, or several images, and to retrieve all similar images based upon their content. The "FBI Image Searching" software provides a tool for image matching through "One-to-One" and "One-to-Many" functions. In the investigation of the Edna communication, both functions were used for comparing the acoustic maps (images) of her voice. The "One-to- One" function provides the identification by matching a single image against another single image. The "One-to-Many" function provides the identification by matching of a single image against a database of images with no declared identity required. The single image under investigation is generally the newly obtained sample and the database contains all previously filed images. Scores are generated for each comparison, and an algorithm is used to determine the matching record. Generally, the highest score exceeding the threshold results in identification. In our case the

images processed were the acoustic maps relevant to Edna's voice while alive and her alleged paranormal voice. By introducing an accuracy acceptance limit greater than 95%, the "One-to-One" comparative analysis recognized the acoustic map of Edna's voice while alive in the acoustic map of her alleged paranormal voice. In order to add weight to our research, the voice of the living Edna was added to the 908 voices existing in the database, where 229 voices belong to Portuguese and Brazilian speakers (Edna was Brazilian). With the same acceptance limit, the "One-to-Many" function provided a comparison between Edna's alleged paranormal voice (its acoustic map) and the 909 acoustic maps of other voices contained in the database. The matching process took 7 hours to do 48,600 calculations, with the processor (CPU) working at 100% of capacity (Processor type AMD K7 operating at 3 GHz with RAM of 1 GHz). When the computer processing was completed, the "One-to- Many" function had identified the acoustic map of Edna's alleged paranormal voice in the acoustic map of Edna's voice while she was alive. This was the only acoustic map that exceeded 99% similarity through the computer matching process against 909 acoustic maps. Investigating Paranormal Images by Using Biometric Techniques Biometrics is a scientific technique for measuring, in a direct or indirect way, the morphologic and anthropometric features of a person for identification purposes. Identification is understood to be the procedure whereby it is possible to recognize a person based on a sufficient number of references,

such as the shape and sizes of the face features as they compare to the underlying cranial structure. In legal matters, biometrical tests are often used to recognize an individual who has committed a crime or an absconder who is trying to conceal his or her identity. Biometrical testing is also used in other cases where a need exists to identify an individual. Consequently, the most frequent users of such methods are police departments, forensic medicine departments, and particularly intelligence services. It is important to note that identification systems are not yet perfected. Depending upon the quality of the images used as a reference, the existing error rate can still be very high. For this reason, many of the technologies used today for forensic tests are not always able to offer fully reliable results concerning the identification of an individual; basically, they only establish compatibility indexes through similarity of statistical ratings. In the past decade, major progress has occurred in face recognition systems. Many software packages have been designed with the ability to achieve recognition rates of more than ninety percent. The introduction of more sophisticated and accurate information technologies and the increased capability of computers have allowed the design of new recognition systems that utilize sophisticated and innovative algorithms in their processing systems, like Neural Networks, Wavelets and Computer Graphics. One of the well-known methods used at Il Laboratorio is the so- called "Anthropometric Face Recognition." The features taken into account relate basically to the distances between certain points

of reference, or landmarks, also known as “Repère points”, situated in the cranio-facial structure. They relate also to the morphological somatic features of the shape of the face or parts of it. When manual or semiautomatic procedures are used, at least a dozen points are measured. Certain techniques require up to eighty points with calculations in three-dimensions (3D). The accuracy of the measurements of dimensions on the image considered as reference and the corresponding dimensions on the image under analysis is extremely important. The smaller the variances the more evidential and convincing the resulting analysis will be. Comparisons made at different times on the same face are unlikely to yield the same result with one hundred percent accuracy. This results from the inevitability of error in measurement, even if extremely slight. Though the measurements will always be similar, it is impossible to obtain an absolute measurement. This error relates mainly to the quality of the images that are compared. In the investigation of paranormal images, due to their poor quality, it is essential that the software used should reduce the possibility of errors during the measurements. Today many improvements have been made in the field of face recognition so that the margin of error is significantly reduced. For the case reported in the following example, the most recent generation of face recognition software was used. “FaceIt” is a software package used by forensic detectives in many countries as well as in many airports for the purpose of anti-terrorism prevention. It

employs a complex method involving mathematic calculations on multidimensional matrixes, as well as making use of algorithms, such as Neural Networks, that operate in a similar manner to the natural neural network in the human brain. A conventional software program may supply a completely wrong response even if only a single "bit" in the input information is wrong. On the other hand, an application based on neural networks attempts to correct the error by using previously stored information. This is very helpful with paranormal face recognition, since there always is a variable amount of background noise that makes the image unidentifiable. If the noise doesn’t completely cover the features of the image, a neural network is usually capable of producing a response by using the part of the information that is not polluted or distorted. This allows recognition of noisy or partially concealed face images. The reduction of the error rate to 0.03% increases significantly the reliability of the identification performed. It is interesting to note that this software, while exploring a human face, picks up and learns a lot of information necessary for its identification. That computerized process is performed in the same manner that a human being scans a face for recognition. Without going into detail, the system works in the following way: 1. The extraction algorithm for the biometric data generates an image representing a bas-relief reconstruction of the face’s main features. 2. The Eigenfaces algorithm, certified by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), processes the input data

and the existing data in the database by generating an image constituted by a dispersion of points that allows a quick search for similar faces. The resulting images are displayed; they appear as though superimposed from various images contained in the database. 3. The comparative analysis between a new sample image and the images contained in the database is carried out by generating an image of contours and automatically performing measurements between approximately 80 contour nodal points. These measurements are then compared to the corresponding measurements taken on the images contained in the database (a total current number of 7,230 faces). 4. The software is also provided with an option called Reconstruct Face, which makes it possible to reconstruct original images in 3D starting from the processed data, by means of the Eigenfaces algorithm. 5. The cross-correlation function aims at identifying the images contained in the database that are closest to the sample image. The faces displaying the highest degree of similarity, ranging from 1 to 80, are graphically presented. The system has both a great strength and a great weakness. The strength is that recognition accuracy reaches 98%, with an ability to even recognize people in disguise (wearing a false beard, moustache, dark glasses, hats or hoods). The weakness is that, since the system is based on probabilities, it always identifies a match, by displaying the three most likely faces contained in the database. However, based on research performed in the United States on a database containing five thousand

faces, the false recognition error proved to be lower than 5%, and was therefore considered as acceptable. The Castagnini Case In 1992, Massimo Castagnini died in a car accident. One year later, on the anniversary of his death, his friends, who used to play with him in a band, decided to honor his memory by organizing a concert party. On that occasion Massimo’s friends dedicated to him a song titled "Beyond the limit" and one of them took about seventy pictures, but several times the camera jammed inexplicably. When the rolls were processed, among all the pictures there was one that contained inexplicable gaudy colors and luminous streaks that drew his mother's attention. In the picture she and a few friends were greatly surprised to find, in the middle, a blurred and semitransparent image bearing human features in which was immediately recognized Massimo's likeness holding in his hand something that seemed to be a microphone. Photograph in which the face center-top is an "extra." In 1999 Daniele Gullà carried out spectro-chromatographic and densitometric measurements on the picture, which ruled out any accidental or intentional counterfeiting of any nature. Then an anthropometric investigation was also performed by analyzing the face displayed in that picture and comparing it to Massimo’s image while alive. The measurements taken, based on the distance rates for the two faces compared on twelve anthropometric points, together with circumstantial evidence suggested that the paranormal face might belong to Massimo. Two years later Daniele Gullà had acquired much more

advanced technology, which is also used by the police in the United States and obtained confirmation that the two images belong to the same person. For the Castagnini case, Daniele Gullà employed the Face Recognition and FaceIt software packages. The alleged paranormal image was compared with an image dataset made up by 2,048 faces, including the one of Massimo Castagnini, which had been added to the database. Comparison between the "extra" in the preceding. photograph and the person it is thought to be. The choice made by the Eigenfaces function identified the file named “casta01A”, which is a picture of the living Massimo’s face, as the most similar to the paranormal image, with a degree of similarity of about 97.5 %. The result is remarkable in that the alleged anomalous image is lower in quality than an ordinary image; therefore, the number of required biometrical features is lower than the number one would hope for. In summer 2004, after the acquisition of new software, it was possible for Daniele Gullà to repeat the identification test on Massimo's paranormal face using the FBI Image Searching® software. That software, already used in Edna’s case, has a capability of reaching an accuracy rate above 99% based upon a database of 40,000 images. The recognition of Massimo Castagnini’s face was successfully accomplished with an identification rate of 99% after more than 1,900,000 cross-tests performed using the One-to-Many function. Today, thanks to new software, we are able to reconstruct faces starting from the elements contained

in the paranormal images and/or make comparisons by laying a reconstructed face on its alleged paranormal image. How to conclude and explain the results? The results of the analyses performed to date must be considered as an explorative sample of almost recurrent anomalies detectable in the electroacoustical structure of paranormal voices and of the possibilities of investigating paranormal images. Since the anomalies discovered seem to be of a similar type, it could be stated in a provisional way, that the paranormal voices are characterized by some substantial differences when compared to human voices. From my point of view such differences mainly refer to the process by which they are structured. The subjective auditory and instrumental tests prove that the acoustic quality of the paranormal voices is the main variable in this phenomenon. In more than three decades covered by my personal survey, the variability was mainly found in the microphone voices where the range of audibility goes from whispered voices to extremely comprehensible voiced sounds. In the telephone voices, like Edna's voice, the quality changes as well. In many cases, those voices seem to have originated in the same manner as microphone voices, that is, by modulating the background noise or other sound material available at the moment. In other cases, such as those reported by D. Scott Rogo, the quality of the telephone voices seems to be almost the same as a normal telephone voice. This variability in the microphone and telephone voices was found in the Direct Radio

Voices as well. For example, the Direct Radio Voices obtained by Friedrich Jürgenson and many other operators differ substantially, from the acoustical point of view, from those received by Marcello Bacci. Why? In addition, sometimes the EVP operator's own voice was recorded on the tape. Both Carlo Trajna, an engineer and well-known Italian researcher, and myself experienced this occurrence. In other instances, direct voices (not radio voices) were heard over the external speaker of the tape recorder while listening to a tape that contained pre-recorded normal acoustic material. A subsequent check revealed that such voices were not recorded on the tape. In my opinion, the process by which paranormal voices are received may depend upon the degree of sensitiveness or mediumship existing in the operator. Basically, the presence in the operator of a deeply internalized conceptual model, together with expectations consistent with such a model, may be able to activate or create a hidden psychic channel for receiving voices in such a way. This occurrence happens, for example, when an EVP operator believes that the voices may be received through a radio in the same way as normal radio transmissions. But how can the above mentioned psychic sensitivity or mediumship be rationally conceptualized? To begin, I believe that it is an attribute that everybody possesses to greater or lesser extent; also, it seems that the attribute of mediumship can be developed when a motivated operator devotes himself to experimenting on a regular basis. Secondly, this attribute seems to be supported

by the deep inner conviction about the possibility of real communication with other planes of consciousness. As early as 1985, I defined this particular psychological condition as "Inner Attentive Disposition." Consciousness contemplates no more profound or perplexing question than this: what is the role of consciousness in the establishment of reality? In the paradigm of our western culture, the human mind is limited to being a passive processor of sensorial experiences. Conversely, based upon the mystical traditions of oriental cultures, all experience in the physical world is presumed to be created by consciousness such that all tangible reality stems from illusion. The empirical evidence of paranormal voices and images teaches us that the physical and psychological relationships between consciousness and the physical world entail subtle effects and processes that often appear to violate the most fundamental and consolidated scientific paradigms of space, time and causality. To this purpose I mention the conclusion of the great Danish physicist Niels Bohr about the enigma of modern quantum physics that I consider from many perspectives to be quite relevant to our research: "We are both onlookers and actors in the great drama of existence3 The recent experimental data acquired using state-of-the-art recording and data processing equipment, together with appropriate research protocols and updated interpretation techniques, led us toward a bio-psycho-cybernetical interpretation of the phenomenon. In other words, the final effects entail complex interactions within what I like to define as a Minds System, the definition of which provides for the possible existence of

and the effective participation between one or more interfaced minds (incarnate and discarnate) that are able to communicate with each other thanks to the effective and functional psychic model acting in the operators’ minds. These psychic models are able to produce effects on the physical plane through a kind of action, defined in the parapsychological literature as Psychokinetic effect or PK effect. In this regard I agree completely with the great English parapsychologist John Beloff4 when he said that psychokinesis couldn’t be a force, or energy, or a physical process. He believed that PK was an unexpected action resulting from a direct interconnection between our mind and the Universe with all that it contains. John Beloff argued that the unexpected action could not result from a super-energy located in the human mind or body, but that it could be something that happens under certain circumstances. In other words, it could be an idea or a mental intention that is able to automatically force a physical system to express that idea or that intention. The occurrence should in itself be a conclusive event and self-explanatory without the need for any other process acting as the bridge to make the final results understandable. It is evident that different operators obtain paranormal voices that have different acoustic characteristics even if they are experimenting using the same method and device. From my point of view, this could be the result of a different psychic model operating in the mind of each operator, at the

conscious or unconscious level. It is probable that different psychic situations produce different physical effects depending upon the psychic model and how it is conceived and internalized by the operator. I would like to conclude this presentation with a purely speculative reflection based upon from my personal experiences in searching for the dynamics that govern the psychic processes and what I imagine might exist behind what we observe and measure in our investigations. I believe that in the immediate post-mortem state the surviving nucleus of consciousness does not suddenly become, as many people incorrectly assume, omniscient (i.e., knowing everything about the past, present and future). I believe that after death, human consciousness continues to act, for a certain period of time, based upon the individual’s knowledge of the psychic models acquired while living. The new state of existence could imply a more effective level of consciousness, like a more enlarged perception of reality. This situation may differ from individual to individual, depending upon the individual’s adaptation to his or her new state of consciousness. The dynamics for creating new psychic models involves both the consciousness of the living and discarnate. In ITC, there is often mention of technical means or problems and other references typical of humans living on Earth. This situation suggests the persistence, in the surviving consciousness, of psychic models that were acquired while living in the physical world. This is, I believe, the reason that the vast majority of authentic transcommunication come from personalities who have passed

over fairly recently. In such cases of surviving consciousness located “nearby” in the more immediate post-mortem plane, the discarnate being is still influenced by experiences on the physical plane and has therefore the same, or a quite similar, psychic model. To structure a new psychic model, it is necessary to have a strong willingness to supersede all previous existing schemes with new ones, even if at first sight, they appear impossible. In other words, to reach the desired goal, it is necessary to have an attitude of faith strong enough to set aside any rational interference. Jesus Christ preached the same concept when He spoke of "the faith that moves mountains". Thank you very much for your kind attention. Atlanta, Georgia, United States, June 9th 2006 References 1. Thomas S. Kuhn - The Structure of Scientific Revolution - The University of Chicago, 1970. 2. For "Minds System" should be intended a group of interacting psychic beings. 3. Niels Bohr – Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature – The University Press, Cambridge, 1961 4. John Beloff - Presidential presentation at Society for Psychical Research, London, 1975. Books Published by AA-EVP Transcommunication White Paper with Emphasis on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) The Transcommunication White Paper is intended to document what is currently known by the ATransC directors about transcommunication. It includes background information about theory, concepts and techniques that are important for the understanding of phenomena related to EVP-ITC, psychic and mediumistic phenomena. Please note that there is a version of

this paper, including a free downloadable PDF, at atransc.org. I refer people to the Transcommunication White Paper five or six times a week. When I do so, I always wish I had the opportunity to explain the importance of personal development. The three most important points I would make about personal development are concerned with how we think, the effect of how we think on what we experience and how to apply that knowledge toward becoming more self-aware. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. This little book includes all of that. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Good to Know About the Paranormal Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time answering questions about things paranormal on Quora.com. The first was the 2017 question: “How accurate is EVP recordings?” I have been answering the questions because most of the other answers are simply wrong, anti-paranormal or misleading. Our community is still developing a culture that supports free discovery and meaningful sharing of ideas. It has been my vision that my answers might somehow aid in developing that culture. As it turns out, I have answered quite a lot of Quora.com questions. I have compiled 240 of my answers into this book. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Your Immortal Self, exploring the mindful way More time became available for me to write after we changed the ATransC away from a member-supported organization. I am a theoretician by nature

and speaking as a mystic, I see a world of patterns in the play of concepts, rather than as a “nuts and bolts” world. It has been natural for me to see ITC as a pattern of interacting concepts. Again, as a mystic, it is as if the pattern is a self-organizing model in my mind’s eye that shows me how one phenomenon relates/compares to another. In my mind, the most important aspect of these phenomena is the way we are part of the dance … not as humans, but as immortal personalities. It has been through ITC, especially EVP, that I have come to see our actual nature as a conduit for the formation of the speech and images of ITC in our physical devices. Your Immortal Self represents an effort to explain our relationship with these phenomena, the nature of our actual self and how we might learn to be better ITC practitioners by being more successful seekers. The book begins with a comprehensive effort to define the Survival Hypothesis and establish verifiable proof. For a small fee, the PDF version of this book is available on the Lulu website. I like PDF for this book because it has so many internal links. It is easier to study using a PDF file. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon Exploring the Mindful Way I have been told that Your Immortal Self is a difficult read. While I understand some of the concepts can be obscure, I wrote

this in Your Immortal Self: Not trying to understand this material because it is too complicated is unacceptable. There is an old Zen Buddhist saying: “Before enlightenment chop wood – carry water, after enlightenment chop wood – carry water.” One must do the work to understand. One must do the work to continue learning. Study the material and do not expect to understand all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Ask questions. Argue! I write today to find ways to illustrate the principles described in Your Immortal Self, as they apply to particular situations. In doing so, I hoped to make the principles more approachable and help pave the way to spiritual maturity for my readers. Exploring the Mindful Way is a compilation of 21 such essays. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon There is No Death and There are No Dead One of our first tasks when we assumed leadership of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was to write a book we could direct people to for guidance about ITC. At that time, there was not much available, and we wanted to make sure our members were given reasonably useful, supportable information. We wrote There is No Death and There are No Dead and published it under the AA-EVP Publishing imprint. The book has received considerable praise as an introductory book. 100% of the proceeds have gone to support operations, outreach and research conducted by the Association. On Amazon I’m Still Here

AA-EVP member Martha Copeland wrote I’m Still Here. Martha was one of the founding members of the Big Circle. The book provides an important study of the way Martha coped with the untimely loss of her daughter, Cathy. Beyond the grief, I’m Still Here includes hints about how Cathy might have responded to death, the ways she did find to communicate after transition and how other members of the Big Circle helped Martha. It is Martha’s EVP of Cathy scolding her still physical dog Doja that gives us important proof that we survive physical death. Listen to hear “Doja no. (Book 4) On Amazon Sarah Estep’s Roads to Eternity “To read Sarah Wilson Estep’s Roads to Eternity is to travel a remarkable journey into the unseen world. At every adventurous step, at every exciting new discovery; the readers are assured that they are guided by a knowledgeable and experienced paranormal researcher, a pioneer in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Sarah Wilson Estep’s vast files of 25,000 recorded voices of the ‘Invisibles’—whether they represent themselves as spirits of the deceased, extraterrestrial entities, or multi-dimensional beings—will provide thrilling inspiration for the seeker and startling revelation for the skeptic.” Brad Steiger, author of Things that Go Bump in the Night Here is the free PDF download Sarah Estep’s Voices of Eternity “EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena has been around for as long as recording equipment has existed, but Sara Wilson Estep, a teacher from Maryland, was one of the most prolific

authors have given permission to the Association for public outreach under the AA-EVP or ATransC banner. Authors retain ownership. In the event an author of material included in the Preservation Project wishes to withdraw permission for its use by the Association, that material can be removed up to the time the Directors are still able to edit the books. After that, provisions will need to be made with the new owners. This book is part of a set containing the Association TransCommunication website pages. The set has been compiled to preserve contents to help assure that future paranormalists will have access to the material. The website includes study and research reports, examples of ITC, techniques for collecting ITC, Best Practices and personal stories about ITC-related reunions. Most of the articles were first published in the ATransC NewsJournal. The 129 quarterly newsletters published by the Association are in the NewsJournal Online Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/. We are still trying to find a way to preserve them. If these books work out, we may publish them as a different set of books. The combined newsletters produce a 1500, 8.5” x 11” page PDF file of 44,519 KB. That would be at least four books if we converted them to fixed format PDF books of a manageable size of, say, 400 pages. Change of State Lisa and I tried a number of times to attract people who could help us manage the Association and perhaps take it over in the future. Every effort failed.

Part of the problem has probably been our personalities. While we want to serve, we are not social by nature. We depended on the rewards that come from a well-run organization as motivation for people to help. That was not enough. We are also sticklers for rational, evidence-based treatment of the phenomena. In that regard, our studies have shown that, what has become the dominant techniques for recording EVP probably does not actually produce EVP. That has put us at odds with the majority of people interested in ITC. In the end, the work involved to produce the newsletter, member support and website maintenance has not been balanced by the occasional “thank you” or “you helped me” comment from members. With increasing grief from members about technique, and in view of our Pledge to truthfully report about the phenomena, we changed from a member supported organization to a publicly supported one in 2014. The NewsJournal was replaced by the ATransC Occasional Update Email. We still support the Idea Exchange and our public outreach continues. This ATransC Website Preservation Project is part of that outreach. As it is today, when we die, the Association will die with us. Our intention is that Sarah Estep’s legacy will continue in the form of easily accessed information that has been previously provided by the Association. Archive Requirements Here are the requirements we set for preserving ATransC material: The material must be easily accessible to everyone. Ideally, it would be online. However, even if we

paid the server company several years in advance, there is a constant stream of maintenance items that need to be taken care of. And then there are the occasional hacks—the next thing you know, there are nude pictures on the site. The material must be reasonable inexpensive to access. We use the Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/3.0/) for the material we control. We use what little income the books produce for operations and outreach. An archive book would be priced as low as Amazon allows. The material must be stable. It is important to us that the material on the website is not corrupted with the introduction of newer material. At this time in our community, it is a virtual certainty that we would disagree with any new material added by people who use radio-sweep, think EVP are caused via wormholes or that they are a radiofrequency phenomenon. The name and material must not be resurrected. A trend today is to use a famous person’s name for the name of a group. Predictably, the result is confusion by future historians about what is that famous person’s work and what is contemporary. The archive should not cost the person or organization that agrees to keep the material. People have their own work to do and interests to pursue. While they may agree to keep the material, it seems clear now that it must not cost them to do so. Ideally, there will be a revenue flow, albeit minor,

that will benefit the person organization. The guiding objective is public outreach. In our opinion, parapsychologists have failed to communicate what they might know to the public. I answer Quora (quora.com/profile/Tom-Butler-79) questions, often about parapsychological issues. I have yet to encounter a parapsychologist also answering questions. There is an Academic-Layperson Partition which is exaggerated by parapsychologists failure to communicate in a Plane English manner. The ATransC material helps to balance that dearth of information. Solution (we hope) Other than a dedicated website, Amazon is perhaps the most important means of public outreach available to the average citizen. We use Microsoft Word for composing. With a little careful editing, conversion of MS Word to Print-On-Demand (POD) ready text is a relatively easy process. The same can be said for MS Word-to-eBook format. Amazon does not require a catalog fee, as does Lightning Source and IngramSpark. Lulu also does not require a catalog fee and they accept fixed-format books which is best for the NewsJournal. All of ATransC.org pages except those under the FAQ, Links and Resource Tabs have been converted to MS Word text files and will be published in Amazon in the paperback POD and eBook formats at the minimum cost to readers. The website will be maintained, we hope, for years to come. While we think the book format will be convenient for readers, the reason we are publishing now is to protect the material against unseen accidents or heath issues. If useful, articles may be added. For instance,

Sessions By Tom and Lisa Butler Updated 10-25-2015 The Big Circle consists of our loved ones in the etheric along with their loved ones in the physical. The realization that this group existed in the etheric and was trying to connect to their loved ones here in the physical world, prompted members of the Association to form a special group called “Big Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife,” which is now referred to simply as the “Big Circle.” This group is composed of bereaved parents, spouses, siblings and friends, whose mission is to build a channel between the physical and etheric aspects of reality–a Bridge to the Afterlife. We do this by joining our intention together on the first and third Thursday of each month at 8:00 PM your local time. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. The Big Circle forum is at coop.ethericstudies.org/ In effect, this is a worldwide group recording session. It is our belief that the combine intention to contact loved ones on this day produces more energy for communication than what can be managed individually. Even if we are not all recording at the same moment, we are all turning our attention to the same objective during the same day. This attention helps gather the energy necessary for communication, and that helps all

of us. Remember, our time and distance are irrelevant to our etheric loved ones in the etheric. Sidebar While the Big Circle community began with members of the ATransC, it is not just an ATransC group. In fact, most of the original ATransC members who were active in the Big Circle have moved on. The Big Circle EVP below makes it clear that our friends on the other side who help with this work want to help all of us. You do not need to join anything. Just record or simply meditate at the regular time to contact your loved one. If there is sufficient interest, we can open a Big Circle forum in the ATransC Idea Exchange so that you can share contacts and help one another understand that loved ones continue to be with us, even after their transition out of this lifetime. We are often told to call on our friends in the Big Circle for help in this lifetime. An example of this can be heard in a recording Big Circle co-founder, Martha Copeland made while praying for help. In it, you can hear her daughter, Cathy, saying “Big Circle,” as if to tell her that the Big Circle will help. Listen at: http://atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/c2006martha_copeland- cathy_saying_big_circle.mp3 From Martha “The group energy will be there, and if you miss a recording session, try to do one when you can.” If you receive EVP, please share them with the Big Circle group on the Idea Exchange. You (c)2007martha_copeland-big_circle-cathy.mp3

may pick up a voice that belongs to another member’s loved one. Spirit may use someone else in the group as a channel to get their message across to their loved one in the physical world. “ Begin your recording session with a prayer of protection and then ask for assistance from the Big Circle Spirit Team to bring through your loved one, or the loved one of another member. You may want to have a picture of your loved one close by. Any type of recorder can be used and it does not have to be expensive. Speaking so that your voice will be recorded, ask questions and then making sure to be quiet long enough for your loved one to answer back. We recommend ten or fifteen seconds. Think of your loved one and perhaps looking at a photograph if you have one. Record no longer than five minutes and end the session with a prayer of thanks and send healing energy throughout the universe. Then listen to your recording using headphones. There are instructions In Recording EVP. (Book 5) EVP messages recorded during these sessions are shared on the ATransC Idea Exchange discussion board under the Big Circle topic. (coop.ethericstudies.org/) A note about attaching EVP samples: save them as mp3 files, mono, Sample Rate = 11025. Try to reduce the sample to some of your voice and the EVP or just the EVP. This will make it easier for others to listen to them. There are instructions

in the “Techniques” (Book 5) section of the web site. More about the beginning of the Big Circle in Martha’s I’m Still Here. (Info about book) The name, “The Big Circle,” was first suggested by Martha Copeland’s daughter during a recording session. Martha’s daughter, Cathy, transitioned in December of 2001 and soon became an active communicator form the other side. You can hear some of her messages at ATransC.org/copeland-evp/. (Book 4) Martha and other members noticed that there seemed to be other voices accompanying their transitioned loved one’s voices on their recordings. It was during one such recording session that Martha was able to question Cathy about being with other people on the other side. Cathy responded to her question saying, “Yes, …The Big Circle” Since that time, other people residing in different parts of the world have also received, the message, “The Big Circle” during their recording sessions. The Big Circle is much more than a grief support group, it involves a group of friends and loved ones on the other side that are connecting loved ones together in the physical world. Many support groups help individuals find other methods to deal with the intense grief accompanying the loss of a loved one. The Big Circle works to offer hope and to bring joy back into the lives of those who are adjusting to the loss of a loved one by teaching that who we really are, our personality, continues beyond physical death. The Big Circle teaches that it

is possible to continue our relationship with loved ones across the veil with remembrance and communication through meditation, mediumship and transcommunication. EVP Stories from the ATransC Big Circle See Video at https://vimeo.com/66428643 Stories told by people who have recorded the voice of their loved one using Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). The Big Circle is a name given by Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, for people in the physical and in the etheric who help one another in life. This is an Association TransCommunication (ATransC) project. Parts of these videos were provided by worlditc.org. Produced by Lisa Winther- Huston evpsessions.com, Music by Rhonda Legate: “Whispers in the Wind” Children Together on the Other Side Originally published in the Spring 2003 AA-EVP NewsJournal by Lisa Butler Cathy Rob Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey know that not only are their children together on the other side but that their children are also responsible for the friendship that has formed between them. Karen told us that Martha had just lost Cathy, “I cried reading her Emails on the AA-EVP Egroup. I wanted to reach out to her and there was a driving force that I had to know about Cathy. It was stronger than just emailing each other; we began to talk, finding we shared so much in common. We found that our children were in fact very much alike.” Karen asked her son Rob to send her a dream. He did send a dream, but not to Karen. Instead, another of Karen’s friends, Judy,

who did not know either Cathy or Rob, had a dream about Rob, as did Martha. Martha’s daughter, Cathy, came to her in a dream and told her that she had a new friend named Rob and that he liked to fish all of the time. In her dreams, Martha had normally seen Cathy in a meadow near the ocean. However, with the news of Cathy’s new friend, Martha began seeing her in a log cabin. She just could not understand this, as Cathy was very much connected to the ocean in real life. As Judy related her dream to Karen, “Karen, your son came to me in a dream last night. I have never met him, but I know it was him.” Judy said that, in her dream, Karen and Judy were managing a small store with another friend. Karen and the friend had to leave the store and the minute that they did, Judy saw a bright flash of light and then Karen’s son, Rob, appeared with a young woman. Judy said that the girl was Rob’s girlfriend and she had blonde hair. (Cathy has blonde hair.) Rob told Judy, “Tell my mother I am happy and that I have found a new love.” Karen wrote, “This was such a confirmation for Martha and I that Rob and Cathy would come through together to a stranger, my friend Judy, who did not know either one of them. Judy believes that I am still too fragile to receive Rob

in person and that is why I needed to be taken out of the store and why the message had to come through her.” Karen continued, “I immediately called Martha because she had just told me about her dream in which Rob and Cathy were in the fishing lodge and Rob was cooking fish. He was always cooking fish! Rob’s passion was fishing.” We learned that Rob’s head stone even has a picture of him fishing, with Karen and the rest of the family having a picnic. “Gone fishin” is etched in the Black Marble. As even further proof, one night, Karen called Martha and told her that she had remembered something. She had been given a little log cabin bird house when Rob died. She sent a picture of it to Martha and Martha immediately recognized it as the log cabin in her dreams. Karen next began to have a repeated vision of Rob and Cathy dancing, which she felt that she needed to paint. Martha and Cathy loved dancing. Rob, on the other hand, was not very fond of dancing. A week later, Martha called Karen and said that she had another dream. Rob and Cathy were in the log cabin again. Rob was sitting with two of his friends. (Karen wrote that, “Ironically Rob had two very good friends, Brandon and John, who passed on before Rob—as with Cathy and Rob, because of auto accidents.”) In Martha’s dream, the boys were watching TV. Also, in the dream,

Cathy told Martha that Rob had sent the vision of them dancing to Karen to let her know that he is happy. Rob also told Cathy in the dream that, “My Mom is an awesome artist.” These are the exact words he used to tell Karen this, before his transition. Martha told us, “I had another strange thing happen regarding Cathy with Karen. Karen had wanted to paint a picture of Cathy and Rob dancing. Cathy had a very nice wooden artist studio box that had been missing for some time and I wanted to give it to Karen.” Martha had repeatedly looked in Cathy’s room, but the box was nowhere to be found. She wrote, “I kept hearing Cathy’s voice in my head telling me to look in her room. She seemed to be saying, ‘Mom look in my room one more time.’ When I did, I found the artist set placed in the middle of her bed. I guess Cathy wanted the box sent to Karen, too! As most of our members know, Martha has been receiving many communications from Cathy via EVP. In Cathy’s picture, on the left, you will see a couple of Cathy’s pets on her shoulder. Martha wrote that her sister, Ginny, took the rat named Elanely after Cathy’s death. Martha, an animal lover, just was not that keen on rats, but Ginny has become very fond of Elanely. She feeds her snacks and gives her a kiss before going to work. Recently, Ginny

was using her daughter Rachel’s computer. Rachel was in the room studying for an exam. Ginny did a recording on the computer and then played it back using the Cool Edit software. Both could hear Cathy singing on the recording saying, “Elanely, I miss my rat, Elanely!” Karen is also getting EVP messages about Rob but is not yet sure if the EVP are coming directly from him. Karen said, “One message lately was, ‘Robbie, you’re needed here,’ so somebody was talking to him.” The two feel that their meeting has been a miracle that was set into motion and very much meant to be through their membership in the Association, and Cathy and Rob working together from the other side, to make it happen. Continuing a Relation with the Deceased A contemporary choice for coping with grief by Thomas Wingert © Tragedy, such as the death of a loved one or dear friend, may often strike unsuspected and at the most inopportune timing. It can strike one personally or it can strike someone one cares about. Traditionally grieving persons were supposed to forget the deceased at all cost, but would find themselves pondering the unthinkable loss repeatedly, accompanied by constant crying spells that would leave them feeling wretched at best. Surprisingly, many bereaved actually are able to cope with their grief by using this method, some with the help of family or friends, and some do this alone. Only recently an alternative for coping with grief has been recognized,

which is continuing a relation with the deceased that is observabl e in many forms (Lindstrom, 2002). There are very interesting contemporary ways, in which the bereaved cope with the reality of their lives, some so amazing and out of the ordinary, yet worth sincere open-minded consideration. An American Heritage Dictionary may describe “grief” as “deep mental anguish”, such as mourning a loss and experiencing the distressful pain of bereavement. However, it seems reasonable to assume that such terms do not reflect the true scope of losing a loved one or dear friend, but merely resembles the tip of an iceberg with much weight beneath. It appears obvious that a bereaved person would find himself or herself at first in some state of confusion, and according to Parkes (1998), it is a time of numbness and anxiety. After the initial shock, contradicting emotions and feelings may surface, for example, guilt for not being able to do anything about it or anger towards the deceased vs. guilt for even feeling the anger, which all could lead to severe depression (Arnason, 2001). C. Lindstrom (2002) states “…depression and other negative emotional reactions are indeed regarded as so normative that their absence is regarded as offensive.” Unfortunately, this view is not only shared by the general public, but by many trained professionals as well, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and other members of the medical field (Lindstrom, 2002). This disappointing fact about depression is compounded, because generally most people will avoid contact with

the grieving person because it seems human nature to seek out company that expresses positive emotions, while negative expressions in relationship to grief, i.e., distress, though understandable, tend to make people uncomfortable. M. Parkes (1998) suggests that there are three main components of grieving. The initial numbness that can last days is considered the first phase. Intense anxiety is part of the second phase, including the feeling of yearning for the deceased. The grieving person may be engaged in normal functions, but they may experience loss of appetite and consequently weight. The third phase is disorganization and despair; for example, many bereaved report hallucinations and report seeing the deceased loved one (Parkes, 1998). Published reports confirm that it is very common for the bereaved to speak of feeling the presence of the deceased person, and as if they are watching. Professional counseling is one of the first contemporary options in dealing with a loss. This profession has its roots in World War II, when soldiers were debriefed on the beaches of Normandy, but did not gain any recognition until only a few decades ago (Time, 1999). Since then, the “Association for Death Education and Counseling” trains and certifies grief counselors, who generally aim to downplay their own role as professionals, in order to emphasize the focus on the client, by listening in an open-minded and nonjudgmental manner to their client reconstructing the stories of their lives with the deceased. In addition to helping bereaved people cope with a loss, the

counselors also help with accomplishing daily tasks, such as paying the bills, or discussing problems with their jobs or family matters (Anarson, 2001). On the other hand, some scientists argue that counseling is producing the problem for which people are seeking counseling in the first place. According to an article in Time magazine (1999), George Bonanno, assistant professor of psychology at the Catholic University of America, who studied bereaved individuals for 25 months concluded that “Those who focused on their pain, either by talking about it or displaying it in their facial expressions, tended to have more trouble sleeping and maintaining everyday functions.” Bertha G., a mother of four children, had tragically lost her son Ryan, only seventeen years old, in a car accident three years ago, and had kindly agreed to an interview to explain some habitual changes she had made that helped her cope with her loss. After her initial shock subsided, the relation with her son continued by openly displaying certain items in his memory, such as lighting a candle on Halloween and placing his favorite candy, Reese’s peanut butter cups, next to it. In addition, she always hangs a stocking at Christmas and places his pictures about for other family members to see. Bertha speaks often about Ryan by talking to other family members about the things he did. She especially talks to his younger brother who was 8 years old at the time of the fatal accident, which strengthens his memory about his older brother.

At times she speaks to Ryan at his grave or simply communicates by a silent prayer. Prayer is apparently a very common method in continuing a relation with a deceased loved one. Yet praying to a lost individual, limits the bereaved to contacting the deceased without any obvious reply. This may be satisfying for some, but not for others. Some people who so desperately wish contact with their loved one may look for other means of communication, and their attention could focus on the long controversial “paranormal.” Some bereaved seek assistance by visiting so-called “Psychics”, who conduct séances with the person/s seeking contact with a deceased love one. Apparently, a spirit communicates through the psychic person who is acting as the mediator, by speaking out loud and addressing the questions or comments of the people present. This method of continuing a relation may be gratifying, but could be very costly and questionable, since it does not offer any proof of authenticity. Unfortunately, it is generally known that desperate people may become victims of a skilled con artists’ deception. A book published by Friedrich Jürgenson in 1964, titled Voice Transmissions with the Deceased, was the first to reveal the possibility to communicate with the deceased by the use of electronic devices (Jürgenson, 1964). The phenomenon described by Jürgenson is known in English speaking countries as the “Electronic Voice Phenomenon” and has apparently become a preferred contemporary method for many bereaved persons to continue a relation with their deceased loved one or

friend. The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) is generally defined as the manifestation of sensible remarks of seeming paranormal origin on sound recording media, such as reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes, video tapes and recently computers. The recorded voices, also known as “tape voices”, are often reasonable messages replying to corresponding questions, and in many cases, the contents of the messages and the characteristics of the speaker suggest that the recordings are transmissions by the deceased. The origins of these mysterious voices, their purpose and how it is possible are a hypothesis and have been unexplained since their discovery four decades ago (http://www.vtf.de/, World Wide Web). “Recordings are conducted mostly by the use of a cassette recorder with a build-in microphone or preferably a separate microphone that is placed away from the recorder so it doesn’t record the vibrations of the motor, which is annoying when listening during maximum-volume replay. Many experimenters agree that a brand-new cassette tape should be used to eliminate possible contamination of a previous recording, which is placed in the recorder. Users are instructed to press “record” and start by stating their name, date and time, allowing each recording session to be identified later, followed by a greeting to the spirits, which is considered common courtesy. It is common practice to speak uninhibitedly with five to ten second pauses between statements or questions to allow for answers or comments. The pause is beneficial to the listener because it is difficult to hear the faint voices when they overlap

one’s own voice. The duration of a recording session should be five to ten minutes, because the listening requires much time. A recording is ended by respectfully thanking the guests for attending and/or commenting. Finally, one should stop the recording, rewind and then listen (AA-EVP, World Wide Web).” As simple and amazing the Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) may seem, this particular approach of continuing a relation with a loved one may not be for everyone, which should be seriously considered before mentioning the EVP phenomenon to anyone who is in mourning. Many have the first instinct to say or do something to comfort the bereaved person, but unfortunately there are no etched- in-stone guidelines for such a delicate task, and the natural desire to help may be hindered by awkwardness, uncertainty, a loss of words, and how to approach the friend or family member without intruding on their terrible grief. In addition, one should be aware that bereaved people are considered “vulnerable” due to the strong complex emotions accompanying loss, and that any “cold contact” may be considered an invasion of privacy (R. Steeves, et. all 2001). However, expressing sympathy in a compassionate manner may even do the bereaved some good, which is most likely greatly appreciated. A continued relation with the deceased may not be of interest to anyone either. “Each individual grief is “unique”, that each bereaved person will have different needs and different experiences and will do different things (Anarson, 2001)”. Some bereaved simply prefer the traditional

method of mourning and coping with a loss and chose to cut the ties with the deceased so they may move on in life, such as entering into another marriage. Other people may have firm religious beliefs that do not allow the EVP phenomenon to interfere with their lives, which is very interesting, since most world religions claim the existence of a life after death. According to the VTF, the Catholic Church is aware of EVP and supports the sincere research of the phenomenon (http://www.vtf.de/, World Wide Web). It seems appropriate to wait with presenting EVP as an alternative solution for coping with grief, until evidence suggests that the mention of such amazing fact will not bring about any negative reactions or consequences, since it is difficult to judge the emotional state of mind a bereaved person is in. The duration of grief may go on for more than one year, with the second year perhaps being the most challenging since many people in our society apparently feel that grief should be ended within 6-12 months (Davis, 2001). With this perception, the bereaved may choose to keep their pain concealed and prefer silence instead of speaking about it, which could compound the already negative effects of grief, and influence the mental and even physical health of the affected person. This is evident by an increase of heart decease deaths and suicide, and approximately 25% of grieving persons will experience clinical depression and anxiety within the first twelve months (Parkes, 1998).

Yet, after some time has passed, and the bereaved person shows obvious strong signs of the desire to continue a relation with their lost loved one, then perhaps it may be justified to mention the existence of the Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which has helped many c ope with their grief. Jürgenson’s book provides a detailed account of his discovery and experience and has had a global impact that has encouraged people worldwide to conduct their own recordings, and to pass their experience on to others, which resulted in several EVP associations, and a wealth of information available to the public. The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon, AA-EVP, founded by Sarah Estep in 1982, is one of many American associations offering detailed information, including an e-mail list for members who share experience or discuss topics associated with this phenomenon. She published her book, Voices of Eternity, in 1988. Though many scientists are involved with the EVP phenomenon, it is not scientifically accepted, because it cannot be replicated at will by a controlled experiment such as an experiment in chemistry, biology and so on. Yet it has gained enough attention for some scientists to receive funding for the exploration of this phenomenon according to scientific standards. Professor Imants Barušs from the Department of Psychology, Kings College, University of Western Ontario, published an article with the Journal of Scientific Exploration, in which he details an experiment that resulted in the “failure” to replicate the electronic voice phenomenon (Barušs, 2001). One of his

staff actually described hearing her name “Gail” called, and a female voice saying, “Tell Peter”. She said that it sounded like a woman she knew that had recently died and whose husbands name is Peter; yet it was disregarded since Professor Barušs felt that it wasn’t strong enough (p363). Professor Barušs may not have recognized any success in replicating the “voices” by scientific expectations, but the existence of recorded paranormal voices on cassette tapes is undeniable and cannot be disputed by any logical argument. It seems that his results demonstrate that the deceased do not act upon any universal laws of physics and are truly in control of any contact with the living. With some patience and perseverance that is strongly emphasized by all involved with EVP, successful recording sessions seem only a matter of time that for many has resulted in easing a grieving heart by bridging the abyss of a devastating loss. References 1. Arnason, A (2001). Experts of the Ordinary: Bereavement Counseling in Britain. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute: Volume 7:2, p299. 2. American Association Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Homepage. atransc.org 3. Barušs, Imants. (2001). “Failure to Replicate EVP.” Journal of Scientific Exploration: Volume 15:3, Pp 355-367. citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.112.4058 &rep=rep1&type=pdf Also see: “An Experimental Test of Instrumental Transcommunication.” citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.112.4058 &rep=rep1&type=pdf and “Failure to Replicate ITC” ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-itc/ 4. Davis, G.F. (2001). Loss and the Duration of Grief. JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association: Volume 285:9, p1152. 5. Estep, S.W. (1988). Voices of Eternity. New York: Faucett Gold

Medal. 6. G., Bertha. Personal interview. 3 rd November 2002. 7. Juergenson, F. (2001). Voice Transmissions with The Deceased. (T. Wingert & G. Wynne, Trans.) Friedrich Juergenson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964) 8. Lindstrom, T.C. (2002). “It ain’t necessarily so”…challenging mainstream thinking about bereavement. Family and Community Health: Volume 25:1, p11(11). 9. Margolis, O.S., Raether, H.C., Kutscher, A.H., Powers, J.B., Seeland, I.B., DeBellis, R., Cherico, D.J. (1981). Acute Grief: Counseling the Bereaved. New York: Columbia University Press. 10. Parkes, C.M. (1998). Bereavement in Adult Life. British Medical Journal: Volume 316, n7134, p856(4). 11. Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with The Dead. (N. Fowler, Trans.). Gerrards Cross, UK: Colin Smythe. (Original work published 1968) 12. Steeves, R.; Kahn, D.; Ropka, M.E.; Wise, C. (2001). “Ethical Considerations in Research with Bereaved Families.” Family and Community Health: Volume 23:4, p75(9). 13. Verein fuer Tonbandstimmen Forschung. Homepage. Retrieved October 2002 from World Wide Web: vtf.de (Click on “English” to view translation) Fox by Darren Williams Previously printed in the Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Recently, our little dog, Fox, passed away from cancer. We were absolutely devastated since we had an unusually strong bond with him. To us, he was a beloved family member of ten years whom we rescued from the SPCA. We’d heard about EVP many times before, although frankly, I was always somewhat skeptical about it. Let me say we’re both very level-headed people, with a strong interest in science and technology, but open-minded enough to

accept that the paranormal is worth rational investigation. But we’re also very aware of the possibility of self-deception, particularly in highly emotive issues such as the passing of a loved one. It was in this frame of mind that we decided to put EVP to the test. Having read about some research that seems to show pets using human-language phrases telepathically and this showing up on an EVP, we decided to try to speak to him directly. Frankly, I felt a bit uncomfortable doing it, and I guess we both worried that our grief was affecting our judgment. But to not try would have been hypocritical since we’d had many experiences with Fox while he was alive that seemed to show a telepathic link, as well as the fact that he could understand an amazing array of phrases. I have to say we were not prepared for the response we’ve gotten. While some EVP are faint, others came through quite clearly, but most tellingly, they were direct responses to direct questions. In some cases, there seem to be responses from what I guess you’d call “guardians” of Fox, and others—and at this point, I know it’s difficult to believe—directly from Fox himself. I realize that, to many, it’s absurd that Fox could “speak” to us. Of course, we don’t believe it’s literal speech, but some kind of psionic interaction. But then, many human beings are very arrogant about their place and role in the animal kingdom. To be a bit

more specific about the results: • In one case on a recording, Alex talks about Fox being neutered—a requirement of the SPCA before releasing him to us. In it, she says, “… and I hope that wasn’t too bad for you.” When we replayed the recording, instead of the word “bad” you hear “Terrible.” It sounds like her voice being manipulated because it becomes that of a young male voice, it goes up an octave. We believe that when he was neutered he was roughly treated; he had cuts and nicks all over him. This voice is startlingly clear and it sounds “superimposed”…. • Where we think it’s Fox, phrases or words we used to say to him, and to which he would react and even act upon (to the amazement of friends), like “That’s terrible, Fox” (said playfully), “Not your fault”, appear on the EVP. It seems to be a young male voice, perhaps like a child, as you would expect it to be. • We’ve also picked up his very specific bark! … In one case, it sounds very much like Alex’s mobile phone ring tone, a recording we made of his bark. This EVP took place while Alex was at work. I called her on her mobile to tell her about it and since her work is quite a few kilometers away, I don’t think the mike picked it up! Perhaps this ringtone was “used” somehow? • In quite a few cases, a voice seems to talk

over ours – we’ve often heard the word “Foxy” (we often called him that) on the recording as we’re speaking. I’m fully aware that skeptics can easily dismiss this all as a fake or self-delusion. For some people, sadly, the attitude seems to be, “I wouldn’t believe this even if it were true.” Recently Alex was doing an EVP where she mentioned the fact that I buried Fox in his favorite place in our garden. On playback, you hear a clear whisper that says “Candles.” Since Fox passed on, we’ve been putting candles around his grave at night, including floating candles in the birdbath, so it’s kind of a “fairy light” effect. We think that’s a reference to our nightly tribute. What it also is, for us, is the first direct evidence that Fox can see us as well as hear us. In another experiment, Alex apologized for the way that Fox had been treated with his previous family ending with “I don’t know who they were…” Straight after her comments, a young voice says very clearly “The Millers” [Editor: name changed]. Disbelieving, we looked up the surname … and found that there was a Miller family living just up the road and a block away from the animal sanctuary where Fox was taken … with more research, we learned that the family left just prior to the time that Fox was found wandering on the street near the animal sanctuary. This has been a life-changing experience. It’s not only

enabled us to add further profound meaning to Fox’s life and death, but our fear of our own mortality has vastly receded … Imagine the amount of comfort it would bring the bereaved of the larger world population if only people could open their minds and put aside preconceptions. For Alex and me, it’s even influenced our language, to speak of departed loved ones in the past tense no longer really makes sense; they haven’t vanished into oblivion. Alex’s sister lives in Scotland. She’s far away and we don’t get to speak as often as we’d like, but nobody thinks she’s ceased to exist. This is how we now also think of Fox, Tara (Alex’s previous dog) and Marion (Alex’s mom) – loved ones who are merely parted from us, and one day, when our work here is done, the parting will end. As the poet says, “Death, thou too shalt die….” For Fox, not even his physical death could break his bond with us. And that thought is very moving and elevating – and it’s made us different – hopefully better – people than before. Communicating with Animals Previously printed in the Spring 2008 AA-EVP NewsJournal by Lisa Butler Darren Williams continues to hear from his dog, Fox. Darren’s partner, Alex, had a lucid dream in which Fox came running out of the darkness and there was a joyous reunion between the two. Subsequent EVP confirmed that it was really Fox and not just a construct of Alex’s subconscious.

Because of this, Darren purchased the book by the famous lucid dream researcher, Stephen LaBerge. During a recording session, Darren talked to Fox in a conversational way, and when he was talking about dreaming, he recorded a young voice which he has come to know as Fox saying, “I’m reading your book with you.” Darren wrote, “The message I could give to the people who lost their pet is that it’s a parting, not an end when someone we love dies. And it seems that something amazing happened to Fox when his physical body died—his consciousness, no longer bound by limitations of a canine brain, seems to have expanded to the point where human speech is possible for him. I think the departed communicate in a way that’s comfortable for us. From what Fox has told me, it was Tara, Alex’s dog who passed away several years ago, who taught Fox how to ‘speak’ to us. “If we expect only to hear ‘woof woof!’ or ‘meow!’ from our departed animal friends, then I think that’s all we’ll hear. But Alex and I were always nutty enough to think that Fox could understand more than most people are prepared to believe. And for us at least, this has turned out to be true from a certain perspective. But I’ve had to accept that for most people, this is too much to ask for them to believe: ‘Your dead dog speaks to you? Get real—get therapy!’ “From EVP communication, we deduced that

this lifetime is indeed very important. But it appears to only be a prologue for what follows in the life beyond—a life where all our loved ones await. For our own part, our EVP communication has become an integral part of our lives. To us it’s as natural now as speaking to friends on the phone. We’ve heard so much, so many comforting and astonishing things that, for us at least, challenge many preconceptions about the afterlife. Once I asked Marion, Alex’s departed mother, if there was any great revelation when she left this world for the next. The response was, ‘Just loving.’” Sonia Rinaldi shared her response to a person grieving over the loss of a pet. Sonia wrote that when she first read about Dr. Anabela Cardoso’s contact with her beloved dogs, she couldn’t believe it and feels that few people would accept such an idea. Sonia ran her own experiments and says that she was “Fully surprised to hear clear contacts of beloved dogs speaking to their owners from the other side.” Sonia goes on to say that a good friend lost his parrot. The parrot had lived with the man for twenty-two years and the friend was so upset that Sonia risked trying to make contact with the parrot. She was astonished to receive forty replies. Sonia wrote, “I think that, in the future, experiments may change the view of humans about animals. Yes, apparently they are able to think and to express.” "Hi Mom," My

Son by Lisa Butler Published in the Spring 2006 AA-EVP NewsJournal Shortly after his return home from a modeling job in Europe, Teri Daner introduced her son, Geoff, to Kay Rosaire, a famous animal trainer who provided homes for unwanted lions and tigers. Teri thought it would be a good photo opportunity. Geoff met three of the young tigers during that meeting and fell in love with them. That was a turning point in Geoff’s life and Kay became Geoff’s second Mom while she taught him how to train big cats. Geoff began performing with the Shriners Circus and had two performances on April 14th. The tigers in his act performed exceptionally well that day. Teri wrote, “He was extremely close to the cats. They were like his kids.” On April 15th, 2005 at 2:10 AM, Geoff was killed in a tragic automobile accident. That morning at 2:10 AM the tiger, G.G., that Geoff carried on his shoulders during his act, began to cry as if she knew that something had happened to Geoff. Soon all the other cats were crying and they cried all night. They knew that Geoff had passed. On April 21st, after the memorial service, Geoff’s Dad, Dave, and Teri were walking through the Tiger and Lion Barn. Teri writes, “Dave was carrying Geoff’s ashes in an urn. I had a small J300 recorder. We were giving the cats closure. I recorded as I stopped at each set of cat cages. I recorded the cats puffering

and talking to me. Tigers are very personable if you have been around them since they were young, and if they know you as a caregiver. After recording the cats on more than one occasion that day, I put the recorder away with some jewelry that my son was wearing the night of the accident. I did not listen to this recording until I returned home to New Jersey. “Geoff was our only child, and we are having a very difficult time. After returning home I was having a bad day and I got out the little recorder and listened to all the cats puffering and roaring. To my amazement, I heard, “Hi, Mom.” It was Geoff my son. I was so excited. Happy would not express how I felt. I called everyone that knew Geoff to have them listen to the recording. I guess it was too much for me to take in as I ended up in the emergency room that day. My husband and my best friend came to the house after hearing me on the phone; they knew something was not right. I had a mental break and did not remember my trip to Florida or the memorial. Listen at atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005-terri_danner- hi_mom.mp3 “I know now that if I had not received the gift of “Hi, Mom” I would have had an even more difficult time coping. As it is now, I am having an extremely difficult time coping. I love my son so much. He was

the stars and the moon. I know now that he is in a good place and that one day, I will join him there, God willing. I hope this helps those who have lost a loved one. (c)2005-teri_daner-hi_mom_only.mp3 “Geoff’s tigers are at The Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary in Sarasota, Florida. They are there with many other tigers and lions that Geoff knew and loved. His dream was to help the wild tigers and to make The Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary a success and a home for unwanted tigers. The tigers in Geoff’s act were unwanted and given homes at the Habitat by Kay Rosaire.” Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds by Lisa Butler Published in the Winter 2008 AA-EVP NewsJournal Darleen Addis thought that she had heard the voices of her daughter, Jenny, and son-in-law, Brandon, for the last time on September 26, 2006 as they left home on their motorcycle. They died a few hours later when a pickup crossed into their lane and hit them head-on. Brandon had worked with Darleen at the Brass Pro Shop. Darleen said that he had a lot of talents and seemed to have the same interests as her daughter, so she introduced them and soon they were seeing each other every day. Jenny, eighteen, was a dancer and sketch artist. Brandon, twenty-one, played the guitar and often wrote songs. “He sang, and she couldn’t,” Darleen recalls. “She danced, and he couldn’t. What one was thinking the

other knew the answer to.” Just before Jenny’s graduation, Brandon proposed to her on a family vacation. Brandon’s mother recalls him rehearsing before he left and told us that, “He really loved her, and she really loved him. I wish everybody could have a love like they had.” They were married on July 30, 2006. They exchanged rings and promised to spend their lives together as their favorite song, “Everything” by the band Lifehouse, played. After a honeymoon in Bermuda they moved in with Darleen, her husband Wayne and son Joshua. Jenny enrolled at the Community College and was studying criminal justice while Brandon kept working and was considering going back to college. Darleen says that they wanted children and that she looked forward to being a grandmother. The two had been married a little less than two months when a habitual traffic offender with no license, a history of drug use and three convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) in the past year, ran them down. He was still on probation for his first DUI and was addicted to prescription and other drugs that were not prescribed to him. He passed out after hitting Jenny and Brandon. Darleen keeps their room just the way they left it the day of the crash. The wedding dress hangs in the closet and the wedding bouquet is above the dresser mirror. The couple’s car still sits in the driveway, the “Just Married” sign in the rearview mirror. Darleen says that her

husband was a skeptic but soon after the funeral, things started happening that totally made him a believer. The first thing that Darleen remembers happening was the dogs barking at the door and then jumping up like they were jumping on Jenny and Brandon. One alarm clock would go off when it wasn’t wound up and the other, an electric model, went off at 2 a.m. with just white noise when it was not set to go off. Jenny’s picture fell down when Darleen was in deep thought of her and it fell the opposite of the way that it should have fallen. There were many other signs. Darleen had gotten Jenny a little bell when she had her wisdom teeth taken out and on more than one occasion the family heard that little bell ringing. Joshua had a box of mints on his dresser and it flew off to the floor when he entered his room. Jenny’s embroidery was in her end table and Darleen moved it to show a photographer but when she went to show it to the man, it was gone. Darleen later found it back in her end table. Brandon’s watch appeared out of nowhere and it was the watch that Darleen had seen on him the day they rode off on the motorcycle. Six or seven weeks after the couple’s tragic death, Darleen recorded an EVP that says, “What’s up?” She knew it was Brandon. When Brandon would answer his phone, he would always

do so by saying “What’s up?” Soon after joining ATransC this past September, Darleen was on the member message board and was listening to some of the examples that members had posted. She came across one from Debbie Caruso xxxx which said “Ma, Ma – You should know … I miss you.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cdebbie_caruso2007- darleeen_addis_daughter_mama_you_shouldKnow_i_miss_you.mp3 (c)debbie_caruso2007-_mama_you_should Know_i_miss_you.mp3 Darleen recognized Jenny’s voice immediately and wrote to the group: “This morning I am still sitting here in shock. I do believe that is my little girl on that EVP! The voice and the way ‘miss’ is said sound exactly like her! I have played it for anyone and everyone who knew my daughter and knew her voice. They all know it was her. That was captured before I joined the group but I have wanted to for many months. This Wednesday we are facing the one-year mark of the crash. It has been a nightmare. I am so thankful and grateful to all, and Debbie, thank you so much for allowing me to hear my daughter. I know that Jenny and Brandon have met up with those trying to communicate with us because they believed as much as I believe.” In October, Darleen shared the story of Jenny and Brandon’s communication from across the veil on the Maury Show. The show astonished Darleen by having Debbie as a surprise guest. They had not met in person. On the show, Debbie shared another wonderful EVP from Brandon saying, “I feel the Big

Circle. I feel welcome.” While at the show, Darleen was to receive a reading from Jeffrey Wands. She turned her recorder on to document the reading and discovered an EVP before the reading began that says, “I’m Brandon.” During the reading, Jeffery said that Jenny was drawing a “Big Circle” around everyone. We often forget that these tragedies are even more horrendous for those that are left here on earth. Darleen’s family, along with Brandon’s family, has also suffered through the trial of the man who took the physical lives of this young couple. Darleen admits that she wakes up in pain and goes to bed in pain. The stress has been almost unbearable at times, but she says that EVP has given her hope, “It is a way of communicating with Jenny and Brandon and a way of knowing that we are still ‘together.’” Excerpts in this article came from The Knoxville News-Sentinel article, “All That Remains, Families of young couple killed in senseless tragedy left with grief and questions” by Matt Lakin, October 15, 2006 Jerome by Lisa Butler Published in the Spring 2009 ATransC NewsJournal Denise Snyder-Papier wrote: “My son, Jerome, was killed by a hit- and-run driver on September 17, 2003. It has been my goal to remain in communication with Jerome and learn as much as possible about the world he lives in. Throughout the past five years, Jerome has clearly made himself known in many ways and I always feel so blessed to receive

his contacts. “Jerome’s birthday is May 20, 1977. The past three years I have been diligently searching for a 1977 penny. I asked my husband to keep his eye out for one as well. “On August 16, 2008 I held a seminar on grief, launching my book, The Answer Lies Within — A Journey Through Loss. The day before the seminar, I asked my son, Denny, to keep his eye out for a 1977 penny. He looked in his change bucket and the first penny he picked up was a 1977! I asked him to bring it to the seminar as I felt it was a sign from Jerome. While on the drive to the seminar, he told his girlfriend he forgot to bring the penny. She had some change in her car and the first penny she picked up was a 1977!” The seminar that Denise was participating in with other speakers had been put together to help others discover how they could effectively confront personal challenges and transcend any situation with hope and courage. AA-EVP member, Margaret Downey, happened to be an attendee at the seminar and heard Denise speak. During her presentation, Margaret heard a voice in her ear telling her to record. She had completely forgotten that she had brought her Sony B26 recorder with her, but now she quickly pulled it out, clicked record and whispered into the recorder that those wishing to speak would have three minutes. Denise was still speaking during this time.

At the end of the time, Margaret turned the recorder off and put it back in her pocket. A little later, Denise mentioned during her presentation that she visits her son’s grave and that the visits help her. She said she found it interesting that, when she was at the grave site, she usually thought of Jerome as a child, her baby. Margaret immediately thought of an ITC picture from one of her water experiments, that she had been carrying a copy of on her phone. She had always felt that she would one day run into the mother of the child whose picture she carried. The same voice that told her to record told her to show the picture to Denise. Margaret nervously approached Denise during the lunch break. ITC is difficult to explain quickly and usually way over the top of most people’s “boggle” point. Somehow, she did it, and when Denise saw the picture, she immediately said it was Jerome. She was positive and she told Margaret that she would send her a picture of Jerome as a child when she returned home. When Margaret arrived home that evening, she noticed that her husband had emptied his pocket change on the dining table. She looked at it and there was a 1977 penny. Margaret picked it up so she could mail it to Denise. Next, she listened to her recording. There were several EVP and it seemed that Jerome was commenting to his mother when she was

silent during her talk. Two of the messages received were, “I hope you can hear me talking,” and “Mom, I’m here.” If one were to believe in coincidences, this had certainly been a series of pretty big ones, but even Margaret was startled when Denise sent the baby picture of Jerome. Margaret shared the two pictures with a person doing a documentary on ITC and he sent it to the lab in Italy, Il Laboratorio, for comparison. Paolo Presi later responded with the English translation of Daniele Gullà’s analysis of Jerome’s photo and ITC picture. He wrote, “In spite of the poor quality and some facial morphological features hidden in the unknown face, the ITC results are compatible with the known face. In particular, some facial generic morphological resemblances (height of forehead, distance between eyes) are found. The resemblance of the right ear of ITC face with the one of known face is remarkable. The morphological ear feature is normally considered, for identification of a person, of equivalent value as that of fingerprints…” Life is but a Dream By Lisa Butler Published in the Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Debbie Sheppard recalls that about three years ago, every now and then she would look at a clock, cable box, microwave, stove, cell phone … anything digital and see 11:11. Then the 1111 grew more frequent and daily. As the frequency progressed it changed from just digital equipment to out-of-the-home experiences. Because of all of the 1111 prompts, Debbie went for a

reading with a medium at Cassadaga (cassadaga.org ), a Spiritualist camp a short distance from where she lives. She was told that there was nothing to fear, that a man would come into her life and it would be a match from heaven. The number 1111 would be highly significant in their lives. Debbie wrote, “I thought, ‘Yeah, yeah. OK, that’s very generic.’ “As of the summer of 2005, I had been divorced for twenty-two years. I had a lot of dates, boyfriends and two long-term relationships but never any relationship that I wanted to commit to. In addition, I had a great corporate health care career, and the boys were my focus. Two played football, my oldest with a National Honors Graduate scholarship with a full ride to the University of Alabama. I was busy. Men were fun but no one really captured my heart and I lived very, very much ‘in the world.’ I was successful and if it didn’t say Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Porsche or Corvette I couldn’t be bothered. If I was going to be taken out to dinner to Olive Garden, I wasn’t interested … take me to Europe and I’ll go. Yes, I was very much a spoiled Italian princess. “In the summer of 2005…. an Italian friend of mine from Toronto told me about an Italian singles web site and that I should check it out. I really wasn’t interested, but the allure of only Italians captured me, so I went on to

take a peek. Well, you actually had to have a profile posted to look. I placed a very tough personal ad on that web site. I think a lot of men were afraid to contact me … I justified my tough profile by knowing who I am, what I want and what type of men I blend best with and also, I needed only the very strong to send me emails, as I have issues with my oldest son … who is ill…. Most men would not be interested in a relationship with a woman that has a twenty-seven year-old hanging around all the time. So, I knew that this Italian web site would just be for fun. “A week or so after I joined, I received an email from ‘Tinman’ and he committed the first sin: NO PICTURE!!! ‘Tinman’ wrote that he was from Connecticut and moved to Florida a year ago and that he has been single for over thirty years and he was very clear on what his desires were for a woman in his life…. He wrote how much he related to what I had written about strong Italian ties, holiday traditions, family, etc. I wrote back and told him that I would not communicate with him in any way without a picture. He wrote back that he was new to computers, had just purchased a digital camera but didn’t know how to use it, and would I consider talking to him anyway. Well now I

thought he was a complete moron and told him so in my reply email. He wrote back again and I HAD MY FINGER ON THE DELETE BUTTON. My hands started to sweat and I walked away from the computer. I replied to his email a day later and gave him my phone number. He called right away.” Debbie told us that the two talked on the phone and then agreed to meet for lunch. Lunch lasted six hours and she was shocked that she even invited this total stranger, Joe Stella, to her house for coffee. She introduced him to Trooper, the boxer that she had rescued six months before. He told her that he had always wanted a dog and in particular a boxer but could not have one where he lived. Joey took ownership of Trooper and for the first time in her life, Debbie was happy. As she told us: “Joey was everything opposite of every man that entered into my life for my entire adult life. Joey had none of what they had but Joey had EVERYTHING, everything that was important and everything that I loved. Joey didn’t have children and he took on my three grown sons as his own. The guys immediately formed relationships. Joey loved my parents and our friends all blended in well. “One night as I was sleeping, I felt someone looking at me. I woke up and there was Joey, leaning up on his arm looking at me. He said,

‘I love you, I love Trooper, I love this, you are my love, I think we should get married. You sleep on it and give me your answer in the morning.’ He rolled over and started snoring. I sat up in bed in shock. ‘Sleep on it’? I was up most of the night. I couldn’t sleep. “We became engaged on 11-24-2006…. After Joey crossed over, as I was going through his desk, I found an email that he sent to the online dating site that was dated 11-14-2005. It said, ‘Please cancel my subscription effective 11-14-05, as I have found the love of my life.’” Joey’s favorite song was Life is but a Dream and this was the theme of their wedding, which was to be a huge destination wedding for their family and friends. They wanted the wedding on a Saturday in mid-October to mid-November. The only Saturday available was November 11 (11-11). In May, Joey went to help his mother move into a different senior complex in Connecticut. He decided to drive so that he would have a car to help with the move. Before going, he insisted on buying the wedding rings even though Debbie kept telling him there was no hurry, as the wedding was six months away. They chose matching bands, and the evening before he left, they took them out of the dresser and tried them on. Joey and his friend left for Connecticut on Tuesday. Debbie told us: “We spoke through his

ride and I could not sleep until I knew he was at his destination in Connecticut, which was twenty hours later. The guys did what they had to do on Wednesday after just having a few hours sleep. On Thursday, Joey’s friend went to see his family while Joey spent the day completing what had to be done for his mom and then went out to dinner with friends. “I spoke to him Thursday evening and he was very tired. The guys planned to leave Connecticut the next day, but Joey never woke up from his night’s sleep. He was found dead! “A knock came on the door to our home and it was the police. My Joey was not coming home to me. I screamed and screamed! I ran out into the middle of the street screaming. All of our neighbors ran to me and called my sons … how my boys cried. They jumped into their cars and came to me. My mother was screaming, ‘Why God? Take me; bring him back to her. I have cancer. Please let me die so Joe can live. Don’t do this to my daughter.’ “Guilt! I was overcome with guilt. Why didn’t I go with him? Why didn’t I insist that I go? He didn’t have to die. If I was in bed with him, I would have heard him in distress. I hated God. In my book I state, ‘you heartless God, why bring this precious gift to me and

then take it away?’ I wrote, ‘I HATE sympathy cards, please do not send me any more mass cards. I hate God; do not tell me that God has a path for us and go to God to ask him to heal your heart. Go to God!!! Why he ripped my heart out.’ I was inconsolable. My parents are very old-fashioned Italians and my mother had saints and candles and rosary beads and I HATED everyone. “I stayed in my house all summer long. I had chest pains and I cried every day…. I spent nights on the computer searching every web site I could find about religion, death and dying. On a web site from a church in Argentina, I learned of Father Francois Brune and his recordings of the dead. There was a link to a web site called listentothisforme.com (closed) …. I listened to this mother, who spoke like I did but stronger, talk to her son Joey. I listened and listened to all the kids, I saw the picture of Lenny Ingrassia…. I sat at the computer and cried. I thought, ‘you selfish woman. Here is a mother who lost her son. You don’t know what pain is.’ “I put listentothisforme into my favorites. The next day, my cousin from Staten Island, NY, my hometown, called me to check on me. I told her about the web site and the horrible story of four teenage boys from the same high school who had all died. I

said, ‘Doreen, they have to be New York kids because I can tell by the way the mother Debbie talks to her son.’ My cousin Doreen said, ‘Debbie that’s Joey Caruso and Lenny Ingrassia; it has to be. These boys are known all over Staten Island. They all died the same year’…. She started to cry at the coincidence of it because her daughter Jenna has a prayer group in her Catholic high school for all of the boys that died that year. We thought that it was amazing that through a web site in Argentina, I found a web site of a woman from Staten Island where I grew up and that my cousin knew the stories and heartache for all these boys. “That evening, I was back on listentothisforme and found the link to the AA-EVP. And that night, I became a member of the AA- EVP. The next day I went to Wal-Mart and bought a cassette recorder. I followed the instructions about the prayer of protection. I lit my candle and had my picture of Joey with me. I recorded and recorded and heard nothing. I joined in on the Big Circle and recorded on Thursday nights. I received nothing. I studied the AA-EVP web site to learn techniques and I listened to everyone’s posts. I was starting to understand the words in between the scratchy sounds. But I recorded nothing. “Feeling sad and left out, I sent an email to the administrators to ask for

help…. I received an email back from the AA-EVP telling me about a woman in New York named Debbie that might be able to help. I immediately jumped at it and within a short time received an email and a phone call from Debra Ann. We connected immediately as we are both New Yorkers, both Italian and both of us had lost Joeys…. When I found out more about Debbie and her son through our phone conversation, I was screaming about listentothisforme and I told her that I had been listening to her and her son and others for over a month. When I told Debbie about my cousin and that her daughter Jenna holds a prayer group for the boys, Debbie was in shock. “How is this all possible? Really, think about it. I stumble onto listentothisforme from a priest’s web site in Argentina and through listentothisforme I find the AA-EVP, and because I am not hearing, anything a woman, a total stranger who doesn’t know me and certainly doesn’t know that I am Italian from New York because my last name is an American name from my ex-husband … so why did this stranger lady connect me to Debra Ann, who is Debbie Caruso? “Debbie and I … started recording for Joe Stella right away. We recorded over the phone and Debbie emailed the EVP to me. Debbie did not know the name of our dog. When I asked Joey to tell her, we received “Troopa.” The dog’s

name is Trooper. Debbie and I recorded a lot as the time got closer to 11-11, my wedding date. “Debbie is selfless and I can never repay her for what she did for me the day before and on my wedding day. Her daughter Alexa was in a dance competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey those two days and Debbie took the time from her busy schedule to record with me. That’s when Debbie asked, ‘who’s getting married Saturday?’ and we received, ‘Joe Stella.’ Debbie asked Joey, ‘What’s the name of your wedding song,’ and we received, ‘Our life would have been a dream.’ Ninety-nine percent of all the EVP from my Joey is validation EVP. It’s amazing! Debbie Caruso has made her transition. “I am no longer angry at God. Through the books written by the members of the AA-EVP, I now understand that our souls are on the physical plane for a predetermined period of time. I now understand that there is no death, there are no dead and that crossing over is just a transfer of spirit. I now understand that there is a heaven and that our loved ones are happy and peaceful. I now know that they are with us and want to communicate with us. I now know that, although we can’t see them (yet) or feel them (yet), we still have a connection to them. “The AA-EVP has allowed me to find God again, to believe in heaven, to believe in life after

death and to know—really, really know in my heart—that there is nothing to be afraid of when we take our last breath on this earth. Rather, expect the wonderful journey to a forever of happiness, family, friends and beauty. Whether or not I record audible EVP, I will continue to work with EVP, to learn and to open a grieving heart to it. “I know that, with all the brilliant minds combined with the passion of the AA-EVP members, we will be able to better communicate with our loved ones and help many, many broken hearts that will come into our paths in this life. To my AA-EVP family, thank you.” Debbie Martha's Message from George Wynne By Lisa Butler Previously published in the Fall 2010 ATransC NewsJournal Martha with George in his office I am sure that many members communicated with or met George Wynne who was very active within the Association. George used EVP to try to reach his wife Maya who made her transition in 2001. Maya was the love of George’s life and remained so even though they were separated by her transition. In 2007 George emailed some of us that he had learned he had pancreatic cancer. He made his transition just a week later. As a very close friend with Martha Copeland, his last email to her read, “I just want you to let me be there to help you when thing get too difficult for you to handle. Remember our key word.” Martha

wrote, “George sent me several EVP after his death saying, ‘Martha, this is George, George Wynne’ but none were clear enough to post. I knew it was George’s voice coming through and I understood what he was saying. Just before he was diagnosed with a terminal, rapid spreading cancer we had agreed upon using a ‘pass code’ or ‘key word’ if one of us should ever make our transition. George did come through with that key word, during several of my recording sessions, and I could hear him. Maybe by being privy in knowing the ‘pass code’ word beforehand helped me to hear it.” The password was not class “A” and so was never released. In July, Martha was preparing to do an EVP session. She asked her daughter Cathy and the Big Circle spirit team to help her with her recording session. She says, “I did not even have George on my mind because I had given up on him.” The EVP that Martha recorded is very clear and it is in George’s distinctive voice, there is no doubt that it is George, saying “George Wynne … I can be of help.” Martha was not only shocked. She was more than a little frustrated with getting this Class A EVP from George two years nine months after his transition. EVP from George: George Wynne, I can be of help Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmartha_copeland2010- george_wynne.mp3 Why are EVP like this so few and far between? Why does one person come with

messages right away and another communicate with a shockingly clear EVP, a one in a million EVP, two and a half years later. Are they doing other things over there or are the differences in time something that we just don’t understand? For those of you who are still trying to reach your loved one, don’t give up. George has helped us by showing us once again how little we understand about how things work. (c)martha_copeland2010-george_wynne.mp3 Mommy ©Joanne O’neill – All Rights Reserved Published in the Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal Over the three-and-one-half years since our son Nicky passed, we have had sittings with many wonderful and talented mediums. Just like finding a doctor, you need to feel comfortable with the person who is facilitating communication with your loved one. You need to have faith and to be open to any and all messages. Our experiences have been both fruitful and very comforting. One such sitting was with Maureen Hancock. Maureen is from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. My sister Julie got her name from a friend. From the very first meeting, Maureen seemed to really connect with Nick. But it was my fourth session with her that resulted in a connection that no one expected. On my way to the session, I stopped at CVS and bought a tape to record the session. I also brought my own tape recorder this time, because at the previous session, Maureen had a microcassette recorder and I wanted regular- sized tapes. The session opened with

the usual strong messages from Nick, commenting about things that were happening and giving his input and opinions, and also letting me know what he’d been doing. Then, Maureen asked me if I had heard Nick’s voice. I responded that I thought I had. Then she said, “Well, he’s telling me that you will hear him soon and it will be unmistakable.” When the session ended, I left uplifted with a knowing that my son is indeed still involved with his family and friends. When I got home, our son Chris wanted to listen to the tape. He took it into Nick’s room and closed the door. A while later, he came running out of the room very excited and asked us to listen to the tape. On the recording, right after Maureen says that I will hear Nick, was a clear and unmistakable voice saying, “Mommy.” We were stunned, elated, and wonderfully comforted all at the same time. In addition, we realized that this was another example of irrefutable proof that our loved ones not only live on, but continue to speak to us and love us. Editor’s Note about Mommy Originally published in Signs of Life by Forever Family Foundation as Hello Mom, A Dazzle Shot, by Joanne O’Neill Nicholas O’Neill made his transition in The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. At eighteen, he was the youngest victim. Nick, a songwriter, singer, musician, comedian and all-around entertainer, had been invited to hang out with the

Great White band the day of the show that ended in one hundred deaths. In the ensuing months and years since his crossing, his parents have been amazed by the many messages that have come from him. Many of these events center on the number forty-one, a number of great significance in Nicky’s life. Dave Kane, Nicky’s father, who is a well- known radio personality and talk-show host, has written an inspiring book about the family’s continued relationship with Nicky titled, 41 Signs of Hope, New River Press (newriverpress.com) When we formatted this story, Lisa felt compelled to send it to Margaret Downey. Margaret read the story and emailed back an EVP that she had recorded on January 3, 2006 that says “Jo’s Nick’s mommy.” When Margaret experimented that night, she called on Nick and got another EVP saying, “Mom, it’s Nicky.” We immediately put Margaret in touch with Dave and Joanne and Nick has given Margaret even more messages to share with his parents. Some of them are “Nick O’Neill is talking.” “Mom and Dad, this is Nicky” and “Nick O’Neill … hey Margaret.” My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance by Patti Chick First published in the Summer 2012 ATransC NewsJournal My life was about to change with new understanding. I was to sit in a materialization séance with David Thompson. David first explained what to expect in the séance and the precautions that would be in place. He and partner, circle leader, Christine Morgan also explained

the reasons we were to be searched before the séance. As they explained, ectoplasm is used for the spirits to materialize and this can be dangerous for David if someone tries to touch a materialized being or if a light, like a flashlight, is turned on during a spirit materializing. David told us where to sit; I was told that this is to balance the energy of the circle. We waited while the sitters were searched by two people that I knew did not know David. David put on his sweater, it was buttoned up and then zip tied closed. After he sat in his chair in the cabinet he was bound, secured with zip ties and gagged. The lights were turned off and the door was locked. A music CD was played and we were instructed to sing to the music until Christine instructed us to stop. When William made his presence known to Christine, we were told to hold hands and not let go until told to do so. You could hear William walking around the room as he welcomed us and encouraged us to ask questions. You could hear his boots on the floor! His accent was old British (Victorian) but easy to understand. Many people asked questions, and after answering each sitter, William placed his hand or hands on their head and asked them what they felt like. I have muscular dystrophy and asked about optic neuritis and if it would interfere with my seeing with

my mind’s eye. William told me that this would not interfere with my psychic sight but also said that he would send Dr. Theobald Slavinski to look at me. William then came over to me and placed his hand on my head. It was very large and warm. I could feel his boot next to my toe and could tell it was a boot with a very stiff leather sole. After William retreated into the cabinet, Dr. Slavinski materialized and asked where Patti was. I spoke and he approached and asked if I had glasses on and which eye. I told him I had taken them off and it was my right eye. He took my head into his hands and tilted my head back. His hands were smaller than William’s. He then asked if I would open my eye for him. I could feel him looking inside my eye and felt him tilt my head to see. He then told me that what he was going to do might hurt. He rubbed the area next to my eye, between my eye and my hairline and then made a pulling motion with his fingers like he was dislodging something. Then he bent my head forward to exam my neck and I could feel him touching my neck. He tilted my head up to his face to look. He rubbed the top of my head on the side and made the same fast pulling motion, again like he was dislodging something.

He told me that I would have a headache but not to be concerned and that he was sorry if he hurt me. I thanked him very much. I could also feel his boots against my feet; hard leather soled. Timmy then came in, playing with his toys. He first used the trumpet. We were told that he formed a rod out of ectoplasm and used it to maneuver the trumpet. It zoomed around the room and touched many people on their heads or parts of their bodies. He then had quite a bit of fun rapping on things with drumsticks. He rapped people with them and even stuck them in both of one person’s ears; in the total darkness and without hurting them. Next, he held his hand over a luminous plate in front of each sitter so that they could see his very small hand. Most people felt his touch, with these very small fingers. He explained he is 9 3/4 years old and passed in 1904. The next person to come through was the father of one of the sitters. He went to her and she asked if he was her natural father or stepfather. He told her he was her natural father who passed when she was four. He asked if she had her mom’s jewelry box. The sitter said that her mother had several. He wanted her to have the jewelry box that he had given her mother. He also wanted her to have the

medals that he received after WW2 and was quite insistent that she get them. He then dematerialized with a slurping sound as the ectoplasm returned to the booth. (After the séance, the sitter mentioned how she would not have wanted to hear from her stepfather as he had been abusive.) We next heard a male voice coming out of the cabinet who asked for Patti. I knew immediately that it was my father. I told him to follow my voice. He took my head in his hands and kissed my cheek and put his cheek next to mine. I could feel his whiskers! My father had a very heavy beard, and if he went out at night, he would shave again. He thanked me for caring for him and told me how much he loved me. He also told me how proud he was of me and said that he is always near me and will try to help in a circle that I sit in. Again, he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him and what a great father he was. I then heard him back up and then heard the slurp of returning ectoplasm. I was crying with happy tears. His appearance took me back to when I was a small child sitting and rocking on his lap before bedtime. I again felt that unconditional love that only a parent can give. I didn’t want it to ever end. Louie Armstrong and Quentin Crisp

also made appearances. To be honest: I don’t remember too much after my dad appeared. At the end, William reappeared and explained that our time was up. We all thanked him for coming and being with us. We were then told to sing while David returned to consciousness, and after a few minutes, I heard a very soft noise coming from the opposite side of the room. The door was then opened slightly, and in the light from the hallway, we could see David sitting in his chair, bound and gagged at the opposite side of room from the cabinet. His sweater was on backwards, still zip tied. I slept so well that night. I knew my dad was there and I was safe. His birthday was the next day, February 21. Saying Goodbye to Daddy by Lisa Butler Published in the Summer 2006 AA-EVP NewsJournal In May, 2005, Melissa Bailey’s father, David “Skip” Walton, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was forty-nine years old. The picture of Skip at the left was taken the day he found out about the cancer. Skip is holding his finger up showing that he is number one. Melissa wrote, “My father took it as something that was supposed to happen. He was willing to fight this sickness and be a testament to God’s healing power. You see my father grew up in the church and my grandfather was a preacher, but after some years my father had turned away from his spirituality. I

had always been taught by my father that prayer was the key to all even if you’re going through the toughest things in life. Obviously, the turning point for prayer in my life was finding out that my father had stomach cancer.” Skip was told that he had only six months to live and once Melissa learned about the cancer, she along with her husband, decided to move back home to help her mother and be with her father during his last days on this plane. The move back was a blessing for Melissa, as she was not only able to help with her father’s care but was able to talk to him in a way that she felt that she couldn’t do before he became sick. A few weeks before her father’s death the family had a falling out and Melissa and her husband needed to get away. Melissa spoke with her father and asked him to do one thing if she was unable to see him again. She asked her father to visit her in her dreams and let her know that he was all right after he crossed over. The day before Skip passed (February 23, 2006), Melissa received a phone call from her mother asking her to come home. Skip had told Coco, Melissa’s mother, that he had a dream about God and that he had been told: “Be prepared because tomorrow you are coming home.” Melissa said that, no one in the family believed this.

Melissa wrote, “I told my mother that I would not be coming home as of yet, that I would not want to be there seeing my father take his last breaths. I felt that something was holding me where I was and if it was my father’s time, then I would not want to be hit with the images of seeing my father dying. The day passed with my thinking of my father, whom I love so much. I received a call from the house at around 8:00 PM and was told that my father had been asking to speak with me. He told me he loves me and I told him that it’s okay for him to go. I knew my father was in pain and that he wanted my approval to move forward. My father had been told that he had only months to live and yet he held on until he knew things were all right with our family.” Melissa spoke to her mother next, and was told that everyone was there; her brothers, sisters, aunt and her mother’s brother. The family was waiting for her father’s brother and the pastor to come. Melissa told everyone that she loved them and then hung up the phone. It was now 9:30 PM and she was in turmoil whether she should go home or not. “My husband asked me if I wanted to leave right then but I told him that I didn’t want to leave New York yet.”

At 10:00 PM she told her husband that she was ready to go home. The two decided to lay down for a few hours before driving to Virginia to be with her father. She wrote, “I truly had a hard time going to sleep. I finally quieted my thoughts and prayed to God to just keep my father in his safe hands.” While dreaming, Melissa found herself in a room and felt that she was floating. People were holding hands in a half circle and one person was kneeling. “All of a sudden I knew that I was actually standing, looking at this. … I saw a light opening up like a flower in bloom, in the corner of the room. The colors from this light were so white and bright it was beautiful to look at. I noticed that I was standing behind two people at the foot of the bed. Without looking at their faces, I know they were my father’s parents. All of a sudden, I heard my grandmother say, ‘David it’s time to go,’ and then I saw the most amazing thing; I will never forget it. I saw my father rise in spirit out of his old body. He looked like his old self; healthy. He looked at himself in amazement as if astonished that he was no longer sick. He was glowing bright gold and began walking with my grandparents toward the light. He turned and said goodbye to the people praying around him.

He then looked at me and said, ‘I am sorry that I will not be here with you.’ He then said, ‘Good-bye,’ smiled and continued walking toward the light. The light closed shut and I saw smoke and woke up. The pastor called within minutes, saying, ‘Your father has gone home with the Father.’ I was overwhelmed, I saw him enter the light. My father had passed and I was really there with him.” Melissa feels that God answered her prayer and allowed her to see Skip’s transition to the light. She became interested in EVP days after his crossing. She recorded with her mother, sister and niece, Kalaya. They started calling his name as David Walton, Skip and Poppy. Melissa shared the recording with us and you can hear her niece say, “Hi Poppy.” Immediately you hear Skip say, “Hi Kalaya.” Melissa wrote that she “can’t believe he is talking to us so soon. I feel that he is the one pulling me to try and communicate with him.” Listen at: http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2006- melissa_bailey-hi-kaylay.mp3 (c)melissa_bailey2006-hi_kaylaya.mp3 Voice in Death Same as that in Life by Lisa Butler Previously published in the Winter 2005 ATransC NewsJournal Cleusa’s daughter, Edna We have published several articles on the work of Brazilian ITC researcher, Sonia Rinaldi. Sonia has been helping people by making phone calls to those on the Other Side since March 2001. Most of these calls are for parents who have lost their children. Because she has been unable to find funding for

her research, Sonia must work full-time and is only able to occasionally conduct calls for people. Sonia’s friend, Cleusa, lost her daughter, Edna, during Carnival in 2000 when she was just sixteen years old. Edna was playing in the street and was hit and killed by a car. Sonia had facilitated phone calls between her friend and Edna several times and each time Cleusa had recognized Edna’s voice. On Edna’s birthday in 2004, as a gift, Sonia invited Cleusa to make another phone call to her dear daughter now on the other side. The phone conversation between the two generated seventy-eight replies and nearly all of them were in Edna’s voice. During these conversations, the families call Sonia on the telephone. Sonia is on one telephone set and leaves another extension off the hook for those on the others side to use. She records the conversation directly into her computer. As a sound source, she plays three compact disks (CD) with phoneme sounds, which are small segments of human voice that have no meaning by themselves, but from which words are formed. Sonia wrote, “Those phoneme sounds were placed so that no word in Portuguese may be formed. Playing only ‘sounds,’ it is absolutely impossible to form a full and coherent sentence that is meaningful and clear.” Sonia had Cleusa on the telephone line speaking to Edna. They had been on the line fifteen minutes or more and were about to finish the call. Sonia wrote, “All the time the

sound source was playing. So, to close the recording I thanked the Spirit Friends and said: “E estamos encerrando esta gravação…” (Translation: “And we are finishing this recording…”). Sonia then turned off the three CDs. Sonia continues, “While doing this a fantastic phenomenon happened: the entrance of a paranormal sentence, half modulated on the sound-source and half OVER NO SOUND AT ALL! Edna’s voice says: “Só não entendeu irmã, conta com o novo de reclamar!” (Translation: “Only you, sister, didn’t perceive; count with a new (phase) due to complaining”). The ‘Só não entendeu irmã’ sentence was modulated over the sound-source while I was turning the CDs off. And the sequence, ‘Conta com o novo de reclamar,’ was recorded when all sounds were completely off. So, we had Edna’s voice speaking clearly over silence. “This paranormal sentence is fully coherent because during this recording both Cleusa and I had mentioned the financial difficulties we are facing to carry on the research, so in fact, I have been complaining to my Spirit Friends. In truth I had stopped with ITC research since February and started working with design; illustration of books. I just recorded this phone call for Cleusa because it was her birthday that day and I knew it was the best gift she could receive.” Cleusa had a recording of Edna’s voice when she was alive on an answering machine. Sonia copied it and sent it along with the sentence that she had received from Edna during the recording to

to be the term that is most used and understood. Harold Sherman, in an article written for Psychic Observer & Chimes, recounted a friend’s distressing experience in trying to reach his wife and running into what he called “low grade discarnates.” When the man lost his temper and told them to go away, it only seemed to increase their interference. Sherman listened to some of the recordings and called it pure drivel. Sherman came to the conclusion that the mental attitude of the experimenter played an important part in what was recorded. He wrote, “It is as though low-grade intelligences come in on the emotionally disturbed ‘wavelength’ of the operator. Unless the mind is prepared through prayer or a spiritually motivated meditative period, one is apt to invite the wrong kind of communicants.” Some researchers, who have occasion to address the public about these phenomena, will include a strong warning that there are potential dangers and that the prospective EVP and ITC experimenter should use caution. Others seem to wonder what all of the fuss is about because they have never had a problem. In the Summer 1988 AA-EVP NewsJournal, Sarah Estep ran a brief review of the CETL newsletter written by Jules and Maggie Harsch- Fischbach in Luxembourg. The couple believed that experimenters could attract positive as well as negative contacts. They quoted a comment made by pioneer researcher Dr. Konstantin Raudive. Raudive said, “Transcommunication is not a hobby for people who can’t cope with the realities of life.”

We believe that working with EVP and ITC is fundamentally safe. It is difficult to find a single example in which an individual has been harmed because of their communication across the veil. Yes, people have occasionally been “bothered.” It is known that the time we spend carefully listening too hard to hear EVP examples seems to enhance our clairvoyant and clairaudient senses. To many people, this is exciting and something they want. To others, it can be disturbing. This enhanced sensing has been reported to fade if one takes a break from EVP or other development work. In the heyday of Spiritualism, people sat in groups trying to communicate with the other side. One of the important benefits of these groups was that they provided a safe place for mediums to develop. When people were working on, say for instance trance development, they could feel open and safe, in that they had an experienced medium to assist them if they should run into some sort of trouble. By the way, many Spiritualist churches still have development groups and classes, and we would recommend these or any other good development groups or classes to EVP/ITC experimenters. Many EVP experimenters work alone and do not have the benefit of a group of more experienced EVP researchers. We wish that everyone who experimented with EVP had a strong metaphysical or spiritual background, because it is important to have some basic knowledge about the other side and its workings. Since the experimenter is

part of the bridge between those on the other side and the EVP or ITC equipment, it is important for the experimenter to have a strong sense of self, accompanied by a positive attitude and spiritual outlook on life. In the Fall 1989 newsletter, Sarah Estep wrote, “Obviously, no one starts taping, automatic writing or playing with the Ouija board, thinking they will become possessed or obsessed. But it can happen. As I wrote on page 196 of Voices of Eternity, the difficulty is in ascertaining who is susceptible… I am not trying to frighten people who are thinking about beginning to tape… Working in the field can bring some of the most rewarding, enriching experiences of your life. It would be amiss of me, however, not to caution you about the darker side of psi. Experienced tapers will tell you not to believe everything that comes through. You have your liars on the other side, as you have here. The more they realize they are getting you upset, the more they will continue. Human nature being what it is, we may imagine certain messages are there, when in fact there is nothing. The important thing though is, if a person believes a message is on tape, that person will respond to it for better or worse. “If you, at any time think you are in contact with low level entities, leave your tape recorder. Remain in control at all times. Anyone can sit down to tape. It takes much

more inner strength to pull the plug and walk away.” Negative thoughts, such as fear or hate, are powerful forms of energy, and this energy can accumulate and do harm. It is as if this negative energy is an anti-particle that neutralizes positive energy and dissipates it from our use. We also believe that negative energy is not as sustainable as is positive energy because it is not consistent with the fundamentally positive nature of reality. Thus, as entities gain in spiritual maturity, they become less able to sustain fear or hate. We advise people who are fearful of the unknown or who might have trouble keeping the voices in perspective, to pass on EVP. Our concern is that a person’s fear might tend to be amplified by a close encounter with an entity. The entity could be perfectly friendly, but because of fear and because the encounter is so fleeting, a fearful person might see the encounter as a reason to be more fearful. Experimenters are responsible for creating a positive contact field for the other side. This includes expectations. You are responsible for your own life, and who and what you let into your environment and consciousness. Protect your personal environment and maintain a field of positive energy around your home and all that you do. We want to make sure that people do not feel that something is wrong with them if they do encounter one of these less spiritually educated entities. Many researchers have had this

happen. If you are one of them, you are not alone. Discarnate entities are attracted to people in the flesh who seem to be supportive of them in some way; someone who might be sympathetic about their plight. So, if you have attracted an angry entity, you are not necessarily an angry person. For example, if the angry entity is afraid to go on because of some dastardly deed committed in a past lifetime, and you are knowledgeable about why the entity should not be afraid, then it may very well be attracted to you as a potential source of guidance. It has been made clear, via just about all of the forms of spirit communication, that Spirit entities are always with us. They may be in our home at any time, whether we sense them or not. A group we have communicated with, the Imperator Group, has told us that they do not watch us, and that they only come to us when we call on them or when we need help. We are certain that this group is not earthbound. It may be that earthbound entities do watch us. With that said, we believe that EVP researchers can request privacy and can tell earthbound entities to go away if they are being bothersome. An entity certainly does not have to be in your home to initiate EVP. It is common for an EVP experimenter to ask for help from the other side to improve communications. To our friends

on the other side, this is probably equivalent to asking them into our house for a visit. If you are seeking phenomena—and you are if you work with EVP—then we would think that you would greet these visitations as a new form of communication. What a wonderful proof! These entities are people. In time, they could be you. How would you like to be treated? They deserve to be treated with respect. If you are not living in a haunted house and if you find that you have entities in your home, odds are this is because you have called them in some way, or they have a need to communicate with you. After all, many of us have come to EVP out of a need to communicate with one of them. Can you imagine how frustrating it might be if entities in your house believe you can help them communicate with a loved one (perhaps with you) and all you do is request that they leave? You have the right to tell them to go, but you have the opportunity to greet them and find a way to communicate. A Visit to the Felix Experimental Group by Tom and Lisa Butler First published in the Fall 2010 ATransC NewsJournal In August, we had the wonderful opportunity to fly to Frankfurt, Germany to sit with the Felix Experimental Group (felixcircle.blogspot.com). The physical medium of the group lives in a lovely old farmhouse in the picturesque suburb of Hanau. The séances

are conducted in a World War II bomb shelter, which is the basement of the medium’s house. We were greeted by the medium’s mother, Elke, who guided us up several flights of stairs to her living area which had a commanding view of a lush back yard. One and two at a time, the circle members gathered at the dining room table in preparation for the séance. They all spoke good English and each took time to make us feel welcome. Elke and circle leader Dr. Jochen Soederling, a cardiologist, and member Alex, gave us information on the background of the group showing us many of the exciting apports that the group has received. The medium briefly came in and greeted us but then went back to the intense meditation that he does before each séance. At the appointed time, Jochen led us to the basement where we were able to examine the small space where the séance was to be held. The space is about ten by fifteen feet with wood paneling and a large piece of plywood on the floor. A small wind chime is hung from the wood-paneled ceiling just above a bongo drum sitting on the floor. The chairs are arranged in a U-shape which is open toward where the medium sits. The medium’s chair is in a cabinet made of a curtain hung from the ceiling in the fashion of a free-standing shower stall. Closed during the séance, it is shown here with the opening

pulled back as it is when the ectoplasm is revealed in the other pictures. At the right, in the above picture, there is a lamp with a shade that covers the red light. This light is covered with a black cloth during the séance to shield the red light from the camera. There is also a camera on a tripod at the end of the room opposite from the cabinet and behind the sitters. The eight circle members and three additional guest sitters were directed to their chairs. We sat next to each other two seats from the cabinet, on the side with the red light. Circle leader Jochen sat next to me, translating the German communication from the group’s main spirit contact, Hans Bender. After the medium was seated and the cabinet closed, the lights were turned off and an opening prayer was said. There followed many minutes of the medium’s deep breathing as background music played. We already knew that the medium had learned Holotropic Breathing, which helps him enter into a deep trance, otherwise we might have been concerned about his welfare, as his breathing was loud, rapid and gasping. As the breathing quieted, Jochen excitedly whispered to me, “Hans is coming.” Soon a voice came from the cabinet introducing itself as Hans Bender, who is a well-known German parapsychologist often referred to as “Spook Bender” because of his dedication to the study of survival. Hans made some opening remarks and welcomed us and the other guest

sitters personally. What a thrill it was to hear one of the most important figures in the history of paranormal research say your name! Unfortunately, the recording of the séance failed and it is difficult to remember all that was said. Oh, just to have had a recording of him saying “Tom and Leeeza”! Hans has said in the past that there are five afterlife chemists who are responsible for the ectoplasmic structures that are used in various experiments throughout the séance. Hans has called this an “ideoplastic materialization séance.” [Ideoplastic is a term coined by Max Vorworm but used here in the sense intended by the German parapsychology icon Dr. Freiherr von Schrenck-Notzing as Everything that can be remembered, also things the medium has read or observed or is interested in, all these memories can find a materializing reflection in the force field. (Among others, Phenomena of Materialization, Munich 1925)] Soon there was the sound of the wind chime from the ceiling quickly followed by raps on the ceiling. They sounded for all the world like a herd of gerbils scampering across the ceiling. The sound seemed to come from the direction of the cabinet toward the wind chime. Suddenly, the raps were being made on the wood panel directly behind our heads. Many excited shouts and exclamations followed as people were being touched. Tom said that he had been touched on his stomach and his head, and later described it as being touched by a soft cloth. Jochen

pointed out to me that several people were being touched at one time on opposite sides of the circle. This would have been impossible for any one person to accomplish. There was no sound on the wood floor panel, and at the same time, Hans was speaking (through the medium) from within the cabinet. I let out an involuntary squeal as something that felt like a feather actually tickled my sandaled foot, between my little toe and next toe, before dashing up my chin. I was amazed at the precision of this feat which happened very quickly. As it became quiet again, we were reminded to keep our feet under our chairs so as not to interfere with the structures. Hans requested that Jochen remove a six-inch square luminous plate and place it on the bongo drum which was on the wood floor directly in front of Tom and me. Soon we could see the shape of a hand move over the plate from the side closest to us. The plate was occluded by the hand, first by just a few poorly formed fingers, but at one point, a thumb was also visible. The hand moved back and forth on and off the plate. Then we saw the hand structure coming over the plate from the other direction. The hand-shaped structure actually turned the plate about forty-five degrees before once again appearing on the side of the plate nearest us. After showing us a few fingers belonging to a large

hand, a child-sized hand shaped in an “OK” sign briefly moved to the center of the plate. Little did I realize that Tom had been making an “OK” sign with his right hand on his leg and mentally asking that the structure do this! It did! Our next treat was the handkerchief experiment. We had been shown the handkerchief with the luminous tabs before the lights were turned off. For the experiment, Jochen stood up close to his chair and held the handkerchief out. All of a sudden it was flying around the circle! I was asked to stand up, staying very close to my chair, and hold the handkerchief out. I was told to let it go the minute I felt something. I stood holding the handkerchief out and was twice asked by Hans from the cabinet if I felt anything. I was starting to panic that my energy was not correct for the experiment when I felt a tug and off the little cloth flew. It came right back rushing up to within inches of my chest! Hans spoke to us in English about the structures we had been seeing. We also collaborated with the medium and Jochen after returning home to make sure we correctly report the concept. The medium explained that, from our point of view, the “rigid energy field” fills the experimental area as a three-dimensional field. This field enables the compaction of energy/matter. This happens by interlacing the nonphysical with the physical aspects of

reality, which are normally considered two independent realms. The medium explained that most of the physical interactions during the séance are made possible by this. A “thought form” is a collection of related ideas, images and memories and can be thought of as a gestalt “thought ball.” Everyone has a worldview, which is really a collection of thought forms characterizing our beliefs and understanding of our world. Bender said the thought forms from the sitters, as well as from many entities in the etheric, begin to develop in this field in more and more complex and perfect, denser stages. The forms may be based on what we want to see appear because we have read about them or because we are persuaded they might appear. They all originate from our virtual world of visualized thoughts as mental projections. They may also originate as projections of thoughts of those in the etheric. “Those who are the closest to us in the non-physical,” Hans Bender said in the séance, “will use this opportunity to express themselves. So, if sitters are longing to hear from a deceased loved one and then feel a touch, they can be sure the touch is actually coming from that beloved person.” The medium explained that how complete and well-formed the structure depends on how well the thought forms are developed in our mind. While they may clearly reflect the intention of the sitters, more often, they seem to be interwoven with the sitter’s subconscious hopes and expectations.

If these are conflicted, the resulting structure might be poorly or oddly formed in a similar way. Jochen was asked to prepare the trumpet and a sitter handed him one that had been on the floor behind the circle. The cabinet was closed and Jochen was able to use a bright flashlight to “charge” the luminescent tape as he had earlier “charged” the luminescent plate. He put the trumpet on the floor, large end down, in the middle of the room. Moments later, we were able to see the trumpet fall over and away from the cabinet. Bender asked Jochen to move it closer to the cabinet where the energy field was stronger, and this time, the trumpet fell, small end toward the cabinet. It moved about on the floor in a jerky, uncertain fashion evidently as they worked to gain control of it. Moments later, the trumpet shot into the air and demonstrated a bewildering flight of control that would be impossible of a physical person in that dark room. The sitters laughed and loudly chanted to add power to its flight. After the trumpet had been returned to the back of the room, some of the sitters pointed out a light in front of the bottom of the cabinet. This light moved on the floor by our feet. Shortly after this, a bright, penny-sized, bioluminescent, blue-green light could be seen flying around the circle. It came within inches of my face and I was amazed at its brightness.

The circle leader whispered to us that Hans was saying we needed to raise the energy to keep the light going. Everyone in the circle began shouting what sounded to us like “Fly, fly,” and we started chanting this. The light reappeared and the sitters laughed with excitement as it came close to them. Later Tom told me that he had opened his palm and mentally asked the light to land on his hand and it did! He said that he did not feel the light itself but did feel a firm structure holding the light as it briefly touched his hand between his thumb and index finger. When we later asked about the light, Jochen told us that he had concluded that the light was part of a materialized structure. He said it looked like it was embedded into a funnel-like structure. However, over the past few sittings, the appearance had changed, he no longer saw the surrounding structure and could only see the pure light. Tom reported that when it touched him, it felt firm and smooth, neither hot nor cold and about two centimeters square. Hans was asked if we would be able to take pictures with the red light. He answered that he would let us know in a few minutes. We were very excited when he came back with a yes! We were told that Hans would tap the floor three times with the medium’s foot when he was ready for the pictures to be

taken. At that time, the group would count to ten. At “ten,” the red light was turned on while the curtains were opened by the sitters on either side of the cabinet and Jochen took pictures for a count of five. The red light was between the cabinet and me, and when the curtains were opened, I could only see the bottom half of the cabinet. What I thought I saw was the light on shimmering cabinet curtains. In other words, I thought the curtains were not even opened on that first shot. Later and after looking at the picture Jochen took, I realized that I was seeing a wall of shimmering ectoplasm rather than the curtains. Tom saw that it was coming out of the medium’s mouth and said that it looked wet, very shiny and very white even in the red light. The next time the curtains were opened after a ten-count, I could see a mass of ectoplasm on the floor next to the medium’s sneaker. The last view was a real shock because there in the middle of the pile of ectoplasm was a funny looking simulation of a hand. Tom even saw it move, as if pulsing to grow larger! The séance ended after the pictures were taken and we all returned to the top-floor dining room table to excitedly discuss what we had experienced. Most of that is a blur because both of us were in something of a daze from what we had

just witnessed. Thoughts Tom said that both with the “OK” sign and the moving light, he mentally asked Hans Bender and the etheric chemists to respond to a specific request and they did. His experiment was unknown to anyone else in the room and with the dark conditions no one would have been able to even see the OK sign on his leg. The structures behaved as if they were under intelligent control by grabbing handkerchiefs out of people’s hands and performing other feats. But this intelligent control was not human; its fast and precise movements, often within inches of a sitter’s face, were beyond any human’s capability. All of this in total darkness. On many occasions, phenomena were occurring in various parts of the room at a very rapid pace while all of us held hands and Hans spoke from the cabinet. For any of what we experienced to be theatrically produced as if in a dark-room magic show, a third party would necessarily have been secreted into the room without sound and as quickly extracted from the room afterward. There was no way that this could have happened. There was not one doubt in my mind that the events we witnessed were of paranormal origin. The Felix Experimental Group is producing important trans- etheric phenomena that can be seen. The séance takes place in the dark but the various phenomena are illuminated. This is very important as most criticism about materialization séances is that they are held in

total darkness. We are told that the phenomena happen through the use of ectoplasm but I believe a large majority of people do not even believe in this substance called ectoplasm. The Felix Group is repeatedly photographing ectoplasm and they have been able to do this in front of scientists. They are producing objective evidence from which we can learn. Tom and I would like to thank the Felix Experimental Group for their warm hospitality and also their sincere desire to understand what is taking place and share this knowledge with others. What they are able to demonstrate expanded my mind with the knowledge that the impossible is possible, and I’m sure Hans Bender has much more in store for us to learn through this exceptional group. The medium told us early on in our email communication with him that Hans Bender has told them that, worldwide, the vibrational state of spiritual awareness has increased. He said that this vibrational state encloses the earth and all entities and that the way to spiritual enlightenment has become a little bit shorter. Hans says that more physical wonders will occur in the upcoming years and especially the readiness of high-leveled scientists to apply the spiritual to science. David Thompson and The Circle of the Silver Cord Séance by Lisa Butler A Report on the September 25, 2009 Séance Winter 2010 ATransC NewsJournal Over the years, we have heard about a materialization medium named David Thompson. He was conducting demonstration séances in the

UK and seemed to be the real deal. Montague Keen, member of the Council of the Society for Psychical Research for fifty-five years and secretary of its Survival Research Committee, investigated a David Thompson séance prior to his own passing in 2004. Keen’s professional report was positive, indicating that he felt the phenomena experienced during the séance were genuine. You may remember that Montague Keen also investigated the Scole Group (thescoleexperiment.com) with positive results. Experiencing a séance like this was on the top of our wish list but always seemed out of reach. Often, by the time we looked up from our work and learned that Thompson would be giving demonstrations, the seats were already booked. This is what happened for several events in the UK in 2007, and the same thing happened when we learned that David had moved to Australia and was demonstrating in Queensland. In the summer of 2009, a dear friend put us in contact with David’s circle leader, and through emails, we were told that there might be an event in Perth that October which we could attend. We readily agreed that we would go anywhere in order to experience a materialization séance. A few weeks later, another email came, inviting us to attend a David Thompson guest séance in Sydney. Chris, the circle leader and his wife, Rosheen, David’s manager, were very kind and wrote that they try to accommodate people who are willing to travel. To say that we were thrilled is an

understatement. Of course it was quite a shock when we found that our travel time would include fourteen hours in the air from San Francisco to Sydney! Our first two days in Sydney were spent getting over jet lag and seeing a few of the sights. One of the sights we got to experience was what we thought at first was a beautiful red sunrise in fog at Circular Quay. That was until we read the note slipped under our door, warning us not to open any windows or doors because we were experiencing an unheard of dust storm! Chris and Rosheen asked us to have dinner with some of the members of the Circle of the Silver Cord Thursday evening. That was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Chris, Rosheen, David Thompson and his partner, Christine Morgan, who is one of Australia’s top mental mediums. We learned that they are all educated, hardworking people—an important point since they did not attempt to make money for the guest séance. Friday night was the big night. Everyone gathered at six that evening, and Chris began with a short talk on materialization séances using ectoplasm and the risks to the medium. If ectoplasm is exposed to light, or in some way interfered with by a sitter, it will rapidly retract back into the medium, causing internal and external injuries that could cause death or greatly shorten the life of the medium. David has scars to prove this very real hazard. We

needed no further explanation as to why the séance would be conducted in a totally dark room. We had been told to leave jewelry at home. Nothing was to be allowed into the séance room. Shoes were removed, then everyone was searched by David and Rosheen and a metal detector was used to assure there were no forgotten or hidden articles amongst the sitters. The séance room contained a small cabinet made with black cloth over a wood frame. The seventeen sitters were seated in a horseshoe with the cabinet where David sat at the open end of the horseshoe. A piece of plywood was placed in the middle of the floor so that we might be able to hear the sound of feet. This was raised so that everyone was certain that there was nothing hidden under it. Two people were picked to inspect everything in the room and to observe David being bound to his chair. Tom was one of the people picked to do this. Chris, Rosheen, Christine, Silvana, Sarah and David Thomson (all Circle of the Silver Cord members) were independently searched and scanned with the metal detector. The room was thoroughly searched and then the medium’s arms and legs were bound to the chair with nylon straps, which were in turn, secured with the kind of cable wraps sometimes used by the police as temporary handcuffs. David was gagged and the gag was secured with a cable wrap. David’s cardigan sweater was secured with cable

wraps in each buttonhole. The only way to release the wraps was to cut them off—a noisy process. The lights were turned off and a red light was turned on. The door was secured and chairs added with sitters in front of the door. The red light was turned off and we were asked to sing with the music— loud and with enthusiasm. Singing is a way of building the energy, and more enthusiasm means more energy. We had only finished three songs when we heard the sound of the Velcro holding the curtains in the front of the cabinet being ripped away. Chris switched the music off and asked for everyone to hold hands. David’s friend and guide, William, had come into the room. He asked who was there and was introduced all around. He had previously met most of the attendees who are Australians and exchanged little pleasantries with many of them. William then turned his attention to me and asked my name. “Lisa,” I answered, and he asked if he could touch me. He touched my toe first and said, “There you can feel my feet” and then touched my face and asked me what I felt. I responded that I felt his hand. “Is it not real as real can be?” he asked. I told him that it was very warm and very real, to which he responded, “As you can see there is no death.” (At the time I wondered if he knew it was

the title of our book.) Next, he asked to touch Tom, and after he had done this he said to Tom, “As you can see, there was no fumbling to find your face, was there?” Tom agreed. William then asked him if he felt he was brought this distance merely to observe and Tom replied that he hoped not. William then said that there was someone from the Spirit realm who wanted to speak to Tom and his “dear lady.” William asked if there were any questions and a sitter asked if the people on his side kept up with our technology. William responded, “My dear friend, I do not,” and everyone laughed. The person then asked if their technology was above ours and William explained that technology was not a necessity within their dimension. “Why do you need electricity with perpetual light? Why would you need conveyances to get from one place to another when you can do that with your mind and your thoughts?” Next, he was asked how many spirit people had come to witness the séance. William replied that, in his understanding, it would be in the range of one thousand individuals. “Séances such as this between the two dimensions attract a lot of attention within our world, as you can imagine.” William then took his leave, telling us that he needed to go so that others could come through. It is difficult to explain but there is a noise that is heard when the ectoplasm

is used for materialization, the circle leader knows this, and when the sound is heard asks for everyone to hold hands and welcomes whoever is trying to come through. We could tell the next individual was having difficulty talking but Tom said he knew immediately that it was Konstantin Raudive. We were both in shock and we understood why people who receive phone calls from their deceased loved ones say that the enormity of the moment does not sink in until after it is over. Please see the article “Konstantin Raudive Speaks” in this issue for a transcript of this historic conversation. Raudive spoke to us for seven minutes! It is a comfort to know that our pioneers are still interested in we who are learning to communicate via technology. After Raudive left, a doctor came through and experienced members of the circle welcomed him as an old friend. He crossed the room and proceeded to put his hands on a woman to administer spiritual healing. The woman had been fighting a serious illness. We were again told that we could stop holding hands and the music, It’s a Wonderful World, was played. To me it sounded like there was another, very distinctive voice singing with us. When the music stopped, Chris asked us to hold hands and we heard the distinctive voice of Louie Armstrong. He is a frequent visitor to the Circle of the Silver Cord séances. He asked Chris to get a harmonica they keep in a

container and he played a song for us and we could hear him dancing with the music. After Louie Armstrong withdrew, a child-like voice announced Timmy’s presence. This boisterous personality is a frequent visitor to the circle and manipulates the ectoplasm that enables many of the strong physical effects. He asked for a trumpet and there followed a rousing Irish jig while we were treated to seeing the trumpet fly around the room, often coming within inches of our faces. The trumpet was a light-weight cone of heavy paper about a foot long with a luminous band on the wide end so that its motion was easily visible. Sitters were shouting with excitement through the entire experience and the energy level was very high. There would have been many collisions had a physical person attempt such a demonstration. Timmy is very funny and spent time joking with the sitters, making everyone laugh. He asked Chris for his luminous plaque, and with his fingers on it, he circled the room showing his small fingers silhouetted in the light from the plaque. The next visitor told us his name was Russel Flexer and Tom Newman, the American who came from Florida, spoke with him. It turned out that Dr. Flexer is the founder of the church Tom now leads. After the group sang along with Abba’s The Dancing Queen, Quentin Crisp joined the circle with much banter and jokes. He asked one sitter if he could touch her. She agreed and told

everyone that he had very soft hands. Quentin quipped that he was not exactly a workman, which brought a huge laugh. He said that he was not exactly the type of person to get his hands dirty. Quentin stopped in front of me and asked who I was and where I came from. When I told him the United States, he said that he lived in New York before he passed. (Side note: We were not aware of who Quentin Crisp was until after the séance. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant, which brought attention to his defiant exhibitionism and longstanding refusal to remain in the closet. Every icon has something totally distinctive about their look that no other icon has. Marlon Brando had his leather jacket, and with Quentin, it was his fedoras and many scarves. The Quentin Crisp archives at quentincrisp.com, is dedicated to promoting his philosophy of individuality, self-acceptance, and tolerance.) Quentin asked if he could touch me and his hand felt warm, soft, normal; just like a person who is alive not dead! When you are touched, it is immediate, directly on your cheek or where they intend to touch you. No fumbling or misses. Try that in a pitch-black room. Quentin asked, “And who do we have over here?” Chris the circle leader said, “Her husband may be jealous, Tom is over here.” Quentin asked to touch Tom. There was much laughter when Quentin

said “Ohhhhh, he has one of those beards.” He went on to greet and touch just about everyone in the circle. His wonderful sense of humor really increased the energy. He remembered people in the circle from other séances and even asked one of them to convey greetings to acquaintances that he hadn’t seen for a while. He then said that he could not stay all night and that he needed to go. Everyone was saying their goodbyes when he asked, “Well Mr. Butler, or should I say Tom. How is your brain, trying to assimilate what is taking place?” Tom replied that he had suspended thinking and was just listening. Quentin then said, “How about you Lisa, or should I say Alisa.” His use of my legal name surprised me. He went on to say that it is such a pretty name, “and yet you call yourself Lisa.” I tried to explain that I use “Lisa” because “Alisa” is so often mispronounced, and he quipped back that he could pronounce it. I had to agree that he did so, perfectly. He asked about how my brain was doing with the séance and if it had been worth the five-year wait. I said it was and that I hoped it would not be another five-years, to which he assured me that it would not. This exchange was very evidential because I did not feel anyone there knew my legal name, and if they had somehow learned my name, they would

likely have mispronounced it. The remark about the five year wait to see David was also evidential, as I had told all members of the circle that I had been trying for three years. When I later researched the timing, I realized that at the time of the séance it had actually been a little over five years. Additionally, Quentin’s prediction we would not have to wait another five years came true. The group did another sitting in Florida in early November and we were able to sit in. Timmy came in again and asked that the red light be turned on so that those who secured David could check the cabinet to see that he was there and bound as they had left him. Tom also checked to see that David was still secured. The light was turned off again and Tim asked whether he should partially materialize or fully materialize. He was encouraged to do what he needed with the energy. Timmy said that he needed a bit more ectoplasm and urged us to hold on. There was a gurgling sound and the suddenly loud sound of childish laughter, along with a loud thud that startled us all. Tim asked Tom Newman to step forward in the dark. He did this and told us that David had been levitated out of the cabinet and that he was still bound to the chair. Tim asked Newman to feel the gag while Tim talked. Tom verified that David was gagged

and not talking while Tim was talking. Tom Newman returned to his seat while music was played to help David come out of trance. When Chris communicated with David that it was okay, the red light was turned on and we saw that David was ten feet in front of the cabinet, still gagged and bound. His sweater was reversed and the wraps were still in place! All cable wraps needed to be cut before he could be removed from the chair. The whole experience was beyond words. Members of the Association know that EVP and ITC are beyond many people’s boggle point. This is way beyond that! Tom and I did not go to the séance with skeptical minds but we do believe that we are a couple of very critical thinkers. We stayed awake until two a.m. that morning talking and trying to wrap our brains around what we had experienced. We finally had to say it was what those who spoke to us during the séance said it was; so called “dead people” talking, walking, interacting with us and touching us. We went to Australia believing in life after death but this séance was life-changing. What an incredible gift to be lucky enough to have the experience. We, like hundreds of others, thank the Circle of the Silver Cord and David Thompson for this important work. Sitting with Hoyt Robinette by Tom and Lisa Butler Published in the Fall 2010 AA-EVP NewsJournal Precipitation medium Hoyt Robinette was

invited by the Spiritualist church in Reno to speak and demonstrate his mediumship. We attended the Sunday service and what he refers to as “card” and “silk” sittings. A precipitation medium is one who is able to work with etheric helpers to produce physical objects. Often, the result is pictures as shown in this article. Psychometry is the sensing of information from the subtle energy associated with objects. Hoyt uses psychometry to sense what is written on folded pieces of paper, which is referred to as blindfold billet reading. As we entered the church, we were each handed a piece of paper and told to write down the first and last name of anyone, now on the other side, that we wanted to hear from and to also ask one question. After a brief introduction about his work, Hoyt put tape over his eyes and then put on a blindfold. He then picked up the stack of papers containing the names and questions, and for each person, spoke the names on the paper. After a brief pause, he also spoke the answer to the question as provided by his guides. Members of the congregation were generally pleased with the resulting answers and impressed at Hoyt’s ability to recite the names. He blindfolds himself, however, and it was difficult for us to be sure that he could not see through the small space between his nose and the blindfold. A brief search of the Internet will show that it is this

concern that is most often expressed by others who have sat with him. I had written Konstantin Raudive’s name on my paper and Tom had written his father’s name and the names of transitioned ATransC members Erland Babcock and Debbie Caruso. These names were read back to us when Hoyt held our pieces of paper. Because he was giving us the names as they were written and the answers to our questions were pretty general, we felt unsure about his being able to see and did not feel the demonstration of psychometry was evidential. However, there was a little thing that happened regarding the name Babcock. Hoyt had given the name of Tom’s father as written on the paper, and then he said he was confused after saying Erland Babcock. He said something about being confused with fathers. Tom’s stepfather was Max Babcock but he had not written his name on the paper. It appeared Hoyt sensed Max in association with Tom and was apparently uncertain how Erland Babcock and Max Babcock related to Tom. That did seem evidential. Lisa’s card (top) Back of card (bottom) Tom’s card (top) Back of card (bottom) Card Sitting The next evening, we attended the card sitting. Let me first say that Tom and I helped prepared the room for the sitting and that Hoyt had not seen the room prior to that evening. The room was the basement of the Buddhist church. Before the sitting, Hoyt handed a new, still sealed pack of

plain white, three-by-five-inch cards to someone in the front row of seats. The seal was broken, and we were all shown that the cards were blank before they were handed back to Hoyt. Hoyt had brought a roughly ten-inch diameter and eight-inch-high straw basket with a tight-fitting straw lid. It was full of all sorts of colored pens, many quite nice as used for artwork, crayons and ordinary pencils. He dumped the contents on the table and showed everyone the empty basket. Next, he proceeded to fill the basket with alternate layers of cards and various pens before putting on the lid. The lights were on and we were able to see all of his movements. We had written names and a question on paper at the beginning of the event, and once again, Hoyt proceeded with blindfold billet reading. The basket was on the table by him but he did not touch it for about an hour and until finishing the billets. He then removed the lid and began pulling out cards with unique pictures on one side and names written on the other. The writing and artwork on each card were formed from the pen, pencils and crayons that were in the basket. My card had the name Konstantin Raudive (misspelled with “iva”) and other names that I did not recognize. Tom’s card had the names of his father, Debbie Caruso and Erland Babcock, all of which were on his Sunday billet. Konstantin’s name had also been on

my Sunday billet. Our cards are shown here. We do not recognize the little girl on my card or the man on Tom’s, although there is a family resemblance with Tom’s card. Hoyt reads billets for each of the events and we suspect that doing so may help him “entrain” himself to facilitate the influence of his etheric helpers. In effect, he may be entrancing himself by the process of billet reading. Both the cards and the silks “develop” while he is reading. The rest of it is just a mystery. Hoyt wore a short-sleeved shirt and there was no place to hide already developed cards. The light was good and we had full visibility of the basket at all times. The basket was examined, is small, flexible, and did not have a fake bottom or sides. Silk Sitting The “silk” sitting was the next night and we made a point of sitting next to Hoyt and as close to the table holding his paraphernalia as possible. Clearly visible was a stack of “silks” which appeared to be six-inch squares of white cotton cloth previously hemmed by Hoyt himself. He forgot his inks and had to return to the nearby hotel to get them. While he was away, we were all free to inspect everything. Tom has worked with photography in past jobs, and after smelling, examining in good light and looking for textural differences in the cloth, decided that he knew of no way that Hoyt could have previously

exposed the cloth to pictures. Hoyt had also given us pieces of colored paper. These were just normal paper of various colors. Hoyt returned with a dozen or so small bottles of colored ink as one might use for ink pads. He removed the lids and left them on the table near the stack of silks. These, he announced, were the source of ink that would be used for the images on the silks just as the pens and crayons in the basket were used as the source of color for the cards. We sat in a circle of about twenty-four sitters with the table as part of the circle, and once again, Hoyt read blindfold billets for about an hour. He then asked all of us to hold a piece of colored paper on our knees with our fingertips. The lights were turned off and Hoyt approached the table with the silks, using a red flashlight. We were within inches of the silks and watched as he picked them up. The silks that we had examined were the ones that he handed out. There was no possibility that he could have switched them with another set. He went to each person and gave them a silk to be placed on top of the colored paper, after which he sat down in the dark and gave brief mediumistic messages to some of the sitters. After about fifteen minutes, Hoyt came to each of us with a red light so that

we could see what was on our silk. We noted the faces on our silks were already fully developed as he approached with his flashlight, and did not require the light to form. We also noted that he was probably more excited than we were to see what was there. We were asked to roll up the silk in the colored paper and keep it rolled up for at least twelve hours while it continued to develop. Each silk had several faces that looked very much as if they had been printed using a copy stand to project colored pictures from magazines and newspapers. There were several people we felt that we recognized but I will highlight the main ones here. On Tom’s piece of cloth is a picture that we feel is Klaus Schreiber! What a shock, especially since his name had not been given to Hoyt. A much younger Rev. Barbara Thurman was also on his silk. She was/is one of our mentors. In fact, she proofread our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead, and asked for changes that made the book better. We are forever grateful for her work. Again her name had not been mentioned at any time. We were surprised to see the face of Dennis Hopper on my silk. He transitioned May 29. Hoyt was traveling to Reno at the time and the silk sitting took place June 1. Neither of us has a special connection with Hopper that we

know of. Another face appears on both silks and we were surprised to find a possible match when looking for a picture of Klaus. It was received by the Harsch-Fischbach couple; we think in 1988. It is captioned “Ill. 4: ‘Marie at the equipment’” and is said to show the scientist Mme. Marie Curie (rejuvenated) in her laboratory in the “Beyond.” We have included some faces that we did not recognize and wondered if they might be recognized by members. Understanding Our Experience As I noted above, a search of the Internet will show many negative comments about Hoyt Robinette’s work. In fact, we were advised not to invite him by friends who should know. At the same time, other friends reported enjoying his sessions. As it turns out, he provided an entertaining fundraiser for the church, and everyone had something to take home that was interesting and caused us to think. Tom and I have been involved with the study of various forms of phenomena most of our lives and we have recently begun an in- depth study of physical mediumship. Hoyt is one of the most open, likable people we have encountered in this study. He was truly excited to see what appeared on the cards and silks, and showed absolutely none of the sort of protectiveness of the things he used for his phenomena one would expect from someone who had something to hide. We took every opportunity to examine his work, and while these were by

no means controlled experiments, there was little opportunity for him to use trickery. Yes, he may have seen the billets under the cover over his eyes, but the billets had very little to do with the precipitation phenomena. Another criticism that we have heard is that he keeps the billets, and has on file, the names that sitters write down. Again, even if this is the case, we do not see how it is relevant to the precipitation phenomena on the silks as none of the names of people that we recognize on our silks were given to him. We do not know how the pictures were formed. After quite a lot of subsequent research, we are unable to find a physical mechanism. While the silk pictures look very photographic, they are also pictures that would be difficult to find. Even if he knew who was going to be in his sessions, there was simply no way for him to find appropriate pictures, somehow imprint them with some unknown slow- developing chemicals on the cloth and have them in the correct order for distribution to the right person in the circle. We should note that we sat in a random way in the circle and Tom pretty much shuffled the stack of silks while Hoyt was fetching the ink. Hoyt had no time to do anything but make sure he could find them in the dark. Instrumental TransCommunication In transcommunication, the common factors for both visual and audio ITC are

a source of physical energy which is subjected to a chaotic process that can be influenced by the etheric communicator to produce an intended form. We have learned that more or less random regions of order naturally emerge in chaotic processes. In ITC, that emergent order becomes the voice of EVP or the image of visual ITC. One of the characteristics of that intended order is the presence of secondary features. The cards had at least one primary feature but some exhibited the characteristic secondary features of ITC. Formation of the features on Hoyt’s cards and silks appeared to be consistent with ITC in that he provided the physical energy (ink and crayons) and the resulting canvas on which to express the intended order. What remains for us is to study his phenomena to possibly understand the nature of what we would predict to be a chaotic process that lends itself to psi influence. Is Hoyt producing a subtle energy field in the room while he is engrossed with billet reading? Could we use instruments to detect this? Most of the doubt about the billets would go away if Hoyt would let someone inspect the blindfold; at least put the mask on and maybe even if he used a better mask. It would also be a good idea to have someone randomly picked from the sitters during his session to inspect the basket, silks and such. We continue to look for photographic processes that could be used for the silks,

but rather than rejecting Hoyt’s phenomena as impossible, it may be important to study his work more carefully. The Reverend Hoyt Z. Robinette is an ordained Spiritualist minister. His abilities include trumpet mediumship, clairvoyance, blindfold billets, spirit cards, spirit pictures on silk and direct voice. His dedication to demonstrating these phenomena has introduced many people to the realization that life continues after “so-called death.” Sitting with the Felix Experimental Group on the island of Ibiza, Spain © by Ken Sahari, 2011 On May 29, 2011, I was extremely fortunate to have been invited to attend a demonstration of deep trance and physical materialization mediumship by the Felix Experimental Group (felixcircle.blogspot.com/) from Hanau, Germany. This event took place at the breathtakingly beautiful hacienda of Mr. Hans Schaer, on the island of Ibiza. Ibiza is a small island off the east coast of Spain and is also known as “The pearl of the Mediterranean.” This hacienda, also known as Hacienda de Bouganvillas, is known as such as it is surrounded by an array of multicolored, strikingly beautiful bougainvillea plants, as well as Bird of Paradise plants, five-foot Aloe Vera plants, orange groves and lemon trees. The compound is also inhabited by a large population of small lizards, also known as geckos. According to Hans, the hacienda is a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse. In my opinion, it is more like a contemporary Spanish country club, complete with swimming pool, tennis courts and five guest cottages, all adorned in white stucco with black wrought iron gates

and fencing. This most bucolic venue proved to be an idyllic respite for rest and relaxation. On this date, twenty-one people came together from Germany, Switzerland, England and the United State to witness something that very few people in the history of the human race have been fortunate enough to experience – direct physical and verbal communication with the spirit world, or with what the average person would call the “deceased.” The demonstration took place in a beautifully appointed dining room, which is approximately forty feet long and sixteen feet wide. Most of the furniture was removed and half the room was used for the demonstration. A forty-foot wooden beam hung below the ceiling from which a metal hook was connected in order to hang a light fixture. The light fixture was taken down and replaced by a chain which held another hook from which the cabinet was suspended. The chairs were placed in a semi-circle around the cabinet, which afforded everyone present a clear view of this two-and-a-half-hour demonstration. The traditional cabinet that is customarily used in physical mediumship consisted of a standard hula hoop with a large piece of black fabric hanging over it with a hook on top that was hung from the hook hanging from the support beam. This created a ‘cabinet’, just big enough for a chair for the medium to sit in. A cabinet is frequently used during these demonstrations to “contain” and “concentrate” the energy, in order for the phenomena to occur. This

technique has been tried and tested over the past hundred and sixty years and has consistently been found to be most effective. Prior to the demonstration, a full body and cavity search was performed by a licensed physician and was found to be free of any extraneous objects. This was performed for the record and to satisfy anyone with an overly skeptical nature. The demonstration commenced at 6pm, beginning with an opening benediction by Jackon, the circle leader. Following this, the medium began a lengthy breathing technique, which he uses to relax and facilitate the process of being put into a deep trance state. After approximately 6-8 minutes, a voice could be heard speaking in German from within the cabinet. This was the voice of Hans Bender, the main control and spirit communicator of the Felix Circle. Approximately ninety percent of the time he spoke in German, and the rest of the time in English. For me, this did not diminish the experience for me one iota, because what transpired throughout the sitting far exceeded my “boggle” threshold. In an attempt to keep this treatise short, I will try to touch only upon the phenomena which I can recall with clarity and which left an indelible impression upon me. Shortly after Hans Bender stopped speaking, we were all treated to a wonderful and lengthy display of spirit lights. This rather bright ball of light emerged from the cabinet through the curtain and moved about the room gracefully and with an

obvious intelligence controlling it’s every movement. Having sat with other physical mediums on several occasions over the past few years, this is something that I have not experienced before. After the sitting, I asked the circle leader about the lights and he indicated that on several occasions, the light landed on him and touched him, and that it was tangible. Apparently, this must have been some sort of object that was brightly illuminated. It is my opinion that the speed and complexity of the movements could not have been performed through human agency. Felix circle members Next, the circle leader placed an illuminated plaque approximately one square foot on the floor. Shortly after that, the plaque rose up off the floor and a hand could be seen emerging across the front of the illuminated portion of the plaque. In all, four different hands showed themselves over this plaque, all different sizes – small, medium, large and extra-large. The plaque hovered approximately 4-5 feet away from me so I could clearly see the anatomical differences in the four hands. I must add that this plaque phenomenon occurred approximately 10-12 feet (3-4 meters) from the cabinet where the medium was sitting. Following this, we were all treated to a traditional display of “flying trumpets.” Two twenty-inch trumpets flew about the room from floor level to heights of approximately fifteen feet (five meters). These trumpets are really megaphones that were used in olden days to amplify the voices of the people who spoke

from beyond. They are still used today for direct voice communication in most physical circles. Over the past hundred and fifty years, many objects have been tested and used and experimented with in order to try to facilitate the communication, and this is one of the antiquated methods that still works. Again, there was obvious intelligence behind the movement of the trumpets and the speed and precision of the movements precluded the possibility of control through human agency. The next experiment utilized a standard white handkerchief with sixteen pieces of luminous tape fastened to it – eight on each side. I was then asked if I would like to participate in the experiment by extending my arm all the way out in front of me while holding the handkerchief out, allowing it to dangle by squeezing it with my thumb and index finger. I enthusiastically agreed. I was then instructed by the circle leader to squeeze firmly and try not to allow the spirit person to take the hanky out of my hand. A few seconds later, a tug of war ensued and the spirit person emerged victoriously. Hans Bender then asked me if I would like to do it again and without hesitation, I happily agreed. This time I was instructed to grasp the hanky a little tighter. Once again, a spirit hand emerged from the darkness and began to tug on the hanky with more force. I made it a lot harder for spirit to take possession of

it this time however in the end, spirit won once again. I must add that four times I was touched by this spirit person, twice on my knees and twice on my hands. This hand was indeed tangible. After this spirit person successfully pulled the hanky from my hand, it was held up at approximately eye level in front of Ann, the person to my right. The hanky was so well illuminated by the sixteen pieces of luminous tape that I could clearly see the hand of the spirit person holding the hanky approximately sixteen to eighteen inches from my face. It was obviously a right hand and I could clearly see the thumb and the next three fingers, minus the pinky. Again, this is something that I have never witnessed before and was thrilled to be able to engage in this experiment with this spirit communicator, as well as seeing the hand and being touched by it four times. Again, this experiment took place approximately 10-12 feet from where the medium was sitting. It is important to mention that during the course of the aforementioned experiments, involving the luminous plaque, the illuminated flying trumpets, the spirit lights and the highly illuminated handkerchief, the mediums arms and legs were restrained on each side by two of the sitters. These phenomena also took place a significant distance from the restrained medium – at times, as much as fifteen feet (five meters) away. The medium also remained seated and entranced throughout the

entire two and a half demonstrations. Finally, after approximately two hours of nonstop physical phenomena and voice communication, the circle leader turned on a bright red light and instructed the girls sitting adjacent to the cabinet to open the curtain. Everyone present could see the medium sitting in a chair, and in what appeared to be a deep trance state. A short time later, we could all very clearly see copious amounts of that mysterious bodily substance known as ectoplasm emanating profusely from the mouth of the medium down to the floor. Hans Bender, who had control of the mediums body and vocal chords, feverishly pulled very large quantities of ectoplasm out of the mediums mouth until there was a pile of it on the floor at least a foot high (one third of a meter). When this process of manually removing all of the ectoplasm from the mouth was completed, the curtains were closed for a few seconds. They were then instructed to open the curtains once again and now the medium was completely encased in a “cocoon” of ectoplasm. His head, torso and all four extremities could not be seen at all. It was as if the medium was mummified. I must say that I have seen numerous photos of this type of phenomenon in books, museums and on the internet, but seeing it live directly in front of me was tantamount to seeing the Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls or the Maginot Line for the first

time. It literally took my breathe away. The girls were then instructed to close the curtains again and a few seconds later, they reopened them to reveal the medium still sitting in his chair in an apparent deep trance state, with the rather large pile of ectoplasm still sitting on the floor in front of him. All of a sudden, what appeared to be an ectoplasmic rod rose up from the pile approximately three to four feet (one meter) in the air in front of the medium. At the top of this long rod was a human hand, moving about gracefully, demonstrating to everyone that it was real and alive. This most dramatic and visibly clear demonstration of materialization of a body part from ectoplasm in good red light was a fitting prelude to what was yet to come. A short time later, Hans Bender enthusiastically declared to all in attendance that “The Felix Circle will soon achieve full materialization in red light.” Ken Sahari (left) and Hans Schaer This proclamation nearly brought me to tears as it has been over thirty-five years since any physical medium or circle was able to achieve full materialization in red light. With today’s communication technology and the internet, this would have very profound positive effects on the world as we know it. After the demonstration was finished, a two-inch quartz crystal was left (apported) by Hans Bender. This crystal was given to me and I was told by the medium that it was

a gift to me from Hans Bender. This crystal was left for the further development of my circle, the Circle for Humanity, a developing physical mediumship circle in the U.S. Needless to say, I was rendered completely speechless once again. I feel that it is imperative to add that at no time did I ever even remotely suspect any type of deception or subterfuge. Moreover, I know the medium and his circle leader personally and can vouch for their character and integrity. Additionally, there was no fee required to attend this demonstration so the deception for profit motive can be completely eliminated. If anyone reading this deposition has any doubts as to the authenticity of what transpires during a demonstration of physical mediumship, then it is apparent that you have not done your homework and have not familiarized yourself with at least the basics of physical mediumship, and therefore are not really in a position to accurately judge or criticize the true reality of this phenomenon. If anyone is truly interested, they could access a whole array of literature and research on this subject on the internet, or in book stores. Truth is available to all, however, you have to find it on your own. It will not fall into your lap. You must investigate evidence before rendering an opinion. The powers that be have engaged in a massive brainwashing campaign for a very long time to promote conformity and to maintain control over the masses in order to maintain

the status quo for the benefit of the few, at the expense of many. The time has come, for the masses to wake up and remove the blanket of darkness and illusion and bask in sunlight of truth and reality. The massive abundance of irrefutable, scientific evidence for survival after what we call “death,” is by far the greatest discovery in human history. The entire world needs to know and is entitled to know this greatest of all truths. Dr. Ken Sahari New York, USA SORRAT Examples by Tom and Lisa Butler Other SORRAT Articles SORRAT History and Background (This book) The Fishharp (This book) Full I. Grattan-Guinness Article (citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.5976&rep=rep1&type=pdf) SORRAT Examples (this book) Its All About Intentionality (Book 1) FEG Blog: SORRAT - A Long Term PK Study (felixcircle.blogspot.com/2008/09/sorrat.html) The Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT) is an experimental organization based on the concept of rapport as set forth by John G. Neihardt. The group is now under the stewardship of Tom Richards Ph.D., MO. Dr. Richards has written seven books including The Arizona SORRATS. You can receive a list of his books by writing to him at: Dr. J.T. Richards, 309 West Ninth Street, Rolla, Missouri 65401. The physical phenomenon experienced in this group has been well documented in many books and articles. One very good article describing an ongoing letter-writing experiment was published in the Society for Scientific Exploration in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Volume 13.2, Real Communication? Report on a SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment

by I. Grattan-Guinness. Here is the PDF (citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.5976&rep= rep1&type=pdf ). Especially see Figure 3 on page 21, the film canister passing through glass. Apportation Experiment Doctor Berthold Schwarz submitted an empty, sealed, plastic jar, a small glass envelope similar to a light bulb without base or filament, and a spoon to the SORRAT lab with the request that the entities place the spoon and glass envelope in the jar and return it to him. As is customary with the entities, and with the intention to further the development of rapport, the jar was mailed to our address. It was for us to return it to Doctor Schwarz. As can be seen in the photograph at the left, the spoon was bent and placed in the jar along with the glass envelope. Also as is the custom of the entities, a small “toy” coin was enclosed along with a piece of paper with a note wishing all a happy Valentine’s Day. We received the jar the day before Valentine’s Day. The objects were placed in a locked box and that the entities were to move the objects into the jar and move the now full jar into a supplied mailing carton and apport the mailing carton to a post office for delivery. Doctor Schwarz had placed the necessary postage on the carton. Comment: The entities consist of a group of now deceased people, one of which is said to be able to move physical objects. We have seen pictures of a

pen in the process of writing on supplied paper, but without visible support. We have also seen pictures of levitated objects in the locked lab. The results of the SORRAT experiments do seem to be more dramatic than what is usually experienced in such phenomena. However, before you decide to discount them as fraud, please note that there is no financial gain by the SORRAT members in this work. Yes, the claims have been investigated many times with mixed results, but the same can be said of EVP. Rapport: A form of nonphysical energy that is thought to be made available through the interaction of members of a group. In effect, there are lines of influence between you and people and things in your environment. You can think of this network as a pool of energy. As you think of a friend, you strengthen that line of influence between you and your friend. You make it even more energetic when you take time to contact that friend. John Neihardt held that this energy represented by the rapport amongst friends is a necessary ingredient needed by nonphysical entities to communicate with our side of the veil. If you are to have physical phenomena, you must have ample energy and that energy is made available by rapport within the group. Imperator Group: A group entity providing etheric support for the SORRAT experiments. This group is thought to have been the control for Rev. W. Stainton Moses and Lenora Piper. Within the group

are a number of personalities who signed SORRAT letters at one time or another. See Imperator and Rector (survivalafterdeath.info/spiritcontrols/imperator-rector.htm ) for more information. SORRAT History and Background by I. Grattan-Guinness First published in the Summer 2011 ATransC NewsJournal Other SORRAT Articles SORRAT History and Background (This book) The Fishharp (This book) Full I. Grattan-Guinness Article (citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.5976&rep=rep1&type=pdf) SORRAT Examples (this book) Its All About Intentionality (Book 1) FEG Blog: SORRAT - A Long Term PK Study (felixcircle.blogspot.com/2008/09/sorrat.html) Picture of the levitation of a box camera in the locked Minilab The days of large-scale physical phenomena, which so enthralled our Victorian and Edwardian predecessors, seem now a long way away, to the extent that reported cases are treated with suspicion even by those who are generally sympathetic to psychical research. An interesting and long-term case is the group called Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis SORRAT, which was founded by John G. Neihardt (1882–1973, who made his career as a poet and literary critic after initial training in physics (Richards, 1973). Aware of such phenomena from his own youth, he worked quietly throughout his life until he felt ready to form this group in 1961 at his home at Skyrim Farm near Columbia, Missouri. “SORRAT” is his acronym for “Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis,” in that order; for central to his philosophy was that rapport is the key to telekinetic processes, an essential cause for the effects that take place. This has remained a key feature for the group.

When sittings were held, very large-scale phenomena soon occurred: apparently heavy furniture rose and fell, entire rooms shook, and tables went walkabout into the farmyard. In his career, Neihardt had taught at the University of Missouri at Columbia; so the news spread there soon, and derision and persecution came back rapidly. From an early date, therefore, SORRAT has kept much to itself, while welcoming serious newcomers. The most substantial account to date is the book on the group by John Thomas Richards (born 1937), a teacher of English with an engineering background (Richards, 1982); since Neihardt’s death he has coordinated much of the work of the group, maintaining the (informal) membership list and corresponding with members and others, and holding sittings in his own home in Rolla, about 100 miles from Columbia. These usually take place in the “Isolation Room” located in the basement. External appraisal has been rare. Hansen and Broughton (1991) found evidence of tampering with a pack of playing cards, while Wiseman and others (1992) decided, on statistical grounds, against a test involving the reading of a sealed pack. In a book on religious belief, the American sociologist James cClenon included SORRAT in a chapter on small sitter groups, but was rather agnostic about the probity of the events experienced, mainly because of his principal concern with belief structures rather than the events (McClenon 1994, Ch. 14). Berthold E. Schwarz (1994) drew more positive conclusions from his experiments on linking rings. Schwarz’s experiments were carried out in

collaboration with Edward Cox, an associate of J. B. Rhine. Neihardt launched SORRAT experiments about 1966, in part with the encouragement of Rhine, who also suggested a new means of staging experiments: a glass container set on a wooden or metal base with a securely lockable lid, in which artifacts were placed and any phenomena observed without interference. Cox built the first such frame, which was known as a “Cox box”; since then the more informative name “Minilab” has been attached to it, and it has been used elsewhere in psychical research. After moving to Rolla in 1978, Cox carried out over many years a wide range of experiments, such as rings linking and unlinking, balloons inflating, metal bending, and methods of alerting a film camera to the start of a phenomenon. Many of these experiments were carried out in the Isolation Room, using a lab built with another SORRAT member and local resident, Steve Calvin… From: “Real Communication? Report on a SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment.” See: Sorrat: A History of the Neihardt Psychokinesis Experiments, 1961-1981 by John Thomas Richards, available on Amazon. References 1. Hansen, G. P. & Broughton, R. S. (1991). Card-sorting with SORRAT. Artifex, 9, 19. 2. McClenon, J. (1994). Wondrous Events: Foundations of Religious Belief. Philadelphia: University of Penn. Press. 3. Richards, J. T. (1973). Luminous Sanity: Literary Criticism written by John G. Neihardt. Cape Girardeau (MO): Concord. 4. Richards, J. T. (1982). SORRAT. A History of the Neihardt Psychokenesis Experiments. Metuchen (NJ) and London: The Scarecrow

Press. 5. Schwarz, B. E. (1994). Presumed paranormal linkage of rings. International Journal of Psychosomatics, 42, 95 6. Wiseman, R., Beloff, J. and Morris, R. L. (1992). Testing the ESP claims of SORRAT. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, 58, 363. 7. Grattan-Guinness, I. “Real Communication? Report on a SORRAT Letter-Writing Experiment.” Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 231–256, 1999. citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.5976 &rep=rep1&type=pdf Stewart Alexander by Tom and Lisa Butler First published in the Winter 2011 ATransC NewsJournal Also see The Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference at Cober Hill Stewart’s website is: stewartalexandermedium.com/ In October, we traveled to the Cober Hill conference center (coberhill.co.uk) to attend a Stewart Alexander and Friends conference and were fortunate to be invited to stay for a small private sitting. Stewart began developing in a home circle in 1967 and his physical mediumship began showing itself in 1982. He is now retired and seldom conducts public sittings. Thirteen of us gathered downstairs at circle leader Ray Lister’s home in Hull, England. The sitting began with Ray strapping Stewart’s arms to a chair with thick cable wraps that assured he could not be released without a cutting tool. He sat in a cabinet made of a frame with cloth sides. Luminous tabs were placed on his knees and on the curtain rod, permitting us to see where his knees were at all times as well as whether or not the curtain was open. Stewart sat with the curtain open for the majority of

the séance. The sitters sat close together in a circle so that the sitter on each side of Stewart could hold his hand. The room was small and most of us had our backs to the wall. There was a round table sitting in front of Stewart. It was about eighteen inches in diameter and about two feet tall. Two trumpets sat on it with additional cable wraps and a pair of drumsticks. Ray said a prayer and a lovely piece of music was played while Stewart went into trance. It was only a few minutes before we heard the first voice come through Stewart. It was White Feather, Stewart’s North American Indian guide. He is the first and last to speak in every séance. He greeted everyone and said, “…for a while we shall endeavor to remove the barrier between our two worlds so that once again, within this place of infinite love, we may converse together. We may once again be together as one united whole.” He told us that he spoke few words because there was so much to be done, and then he was gone. Christopher was the next to come through. He is very likable and fun. He is responsible for relaxing the atmosphere and soon had everyone laughing. He told us he was there to entertain us as everything was being made ready. Walter Stinson was the next to come through. Walter is a Canadian by birth and was the brother of the famous

Boston physical medium from the 1920s and 30s known to the world as Margery. Stewart told us before the séance that Walter is largely responsible for creating the physical phenomena and is in control of experimentation and further development within the home circle. He is also quite a ladies’ man with a good sense of humor. He uses laughter to raise the energy in the room. Walter began by saying that he was merely a human being and that there was nothing angelic about him. He told us he discovered that after death, he lived on in a very real world. A world that in many ways was very physical. He said, “Your world to you is a world of reality but I tell you that your world is temporary. Our world is the world of ultimate reality.” He said that his world was very similar to ours, that it was a very substantial world; a world of fellowship and infinite beauty. He spoke to Ann Harrison to say that he had been with her husband Tom who passed just the week before. He told her that it had been an honor to simply sit and talk with him. Walter asked if there was a lady present who had not sat at his side before and I replied that I had not. He asked my name and invited me to sit beside him. Since the room was completely dark except for the glowing tabs, a red light was turned on

so that I could see to change seats with Ray’s wife June, to sit beside Stewart. He explained that for them to work in a physical manner in our world, it was important to hear our voices and that it was the sound that was important. He then spoke to me directly, asking me how long I had been involved in seeking answers about survival. I told him forty years, and he replied that was quite a long time and that in just another sixty years, I would have been involved as long as he had. Everyone laughed. Walter told me they were extracting living energy, ectoplasm, from Stewart, and then instructed me to “Reach out very gently with your left hand and take Stewart’s hand.” He said he wanted me to know the reality of what was about to take place and added, “I do it because I want you to be able to share your experience with others. There are so few in your world who understand this reality of survival, of communication, particularly of that on a physical level.” He asked me to gently place my right hand on top of my left, tightly hold Stewart’s hand and not to let go under any circumstance. Walter then asked me to slowly move my right hand up Stewart’s arm until I felt the strap binding him to the chair. When I confirmed that I felt the strap, he said that they were going to try to take Stewart’s

arm through the strap, and all of a sudden, Stewart raised his arm with my hand still in his hand. At the same time, there was a noise that sounded as if the strap broke. I was asked to feel the arm of the chair. The strap was still on the chair and not broken! Walter requested that the red light be turned on so that all could see, as I pulled on the strap to show everyone that it was still on the chair. Walter said that, in ignorance, many would believe that such a demonstration was simply a miracle but that it was nothing of the sort. It was a demonstration of what could be achieved when people gather together in love. Tom began to ask if Walter moved Stewart’s arm but Walter interrupted by saying “You want to know if it was the strap or the arm that was dematerialized.” Tom agreed and Walter told us that on some occasions it was the strap, and on others, the arm. To Tom, he added, “You want to know what determines what we choose to do.” Again, Tom agreed and was told by Walter that his question would be answered: “in a moment.” Walter asked me to again place my right hand on my left and tell everyone that I had not let go of Stewart’s hand. I assured everyone that I had Stewart’s hand in mine the whole time. Walter asked me to once again gently move my

hand up Stewart’s arm. I did and discovered that the strap was back on his arm! Walter said, “Stop, press on the strap. Do you want it?” I eagerly said, “Yes!” and was startled as Stewart’s arm again lifted away from the chair, but this time, with the strap still on his arm. Again, the strap made a snapping sound and I was told to take the strap, and when I did, Stewart’s arm fell back to the armrest with my left hand still on it and my right hand holding the cable wrap! Stewart’s hand was on the chair unsecured, but we heard a tapping, rattling sound on the table and Ray told us that it was from one of the cable wraps that we had seen laying there. Then we heard the sound of the strap being tightened on Stewart’s arm and I was asked to verify that he was once again secured to the chair. He was! Walter then said to me, “Know that there is a gentleman here for you. Later, Freda would like to speak to you again.” The light was turned on so that I could return to my seat and the demonstration was repeated for another guest. Walter asked us to sing, and in a short time, one of the trumpets began flying about the room and eventually began touching sitters. Tom was to my left and was touched on his chest and then the trumpet touched his left shoulder and gently moved

over his head to his other shoulder, continuing to touch him as it did. It moved to my left shoulder and ever so gently across my cheek, the top of my head, my right cheek and shoulder in a slow motion that felt like a caress. It moved on to touch others and there were many sounds of delighted sitters as it performed impossible maneuvers in the darkness. As evidence of how much the circle has developed, Stewart had been “awakened” during this and had been commenting on the trumpet’s movement. A strange “woof, woof” sound came from the trumpet. Ann Harrison was sitting to my right and said that it was Sunrise, Minnie’s gatekeeper and protector. (Ann’s husband, Tom Harrison is the author of Life After Death – Living Proof which is about his mother Minnie Harrison who was a famous physical medium.) The trumpet stopped in front of Ann and moved in a circle, first one way and then the other. This was Sunrise’s signal to the Harrison’s home circle that he was present. Ann asked out loud if it was Sunrise and the trumpet moved up and down like someone nodding their head “Yes”! ATransC member, Dr. Annette Childs sat with us in the circle. She said something about being speechless about the movement of the trumpet, to which the trumpet also nodded “Yes,” and then to everyone’s delight, actually moved as if it were laughing. The trumpet tapped on the table and danced on the floor.

Another trumpet joined in, and while one tapped on the table, the other moved about on the floor. We heard a new sound and Ray explained that a voice box was forming between Stewart and Carol. We were told that Dr. Barnett usually uses a voice box, which is formed from ectoplasm and used to produce his audible voice. (Dr. Franklin Barnett is a 19th-century Scottish physician who worked with American trumpet medium George Valentine) Barnett’s voice finally became audible and he told us that he was speaking through a device that they have created. He told us that it takes a great deal of energy to accomplish this and that often, when he is finally able to vibrate our atmosphere with his thoughts, there is little energy left for the communication. He said that he is responsible for this method of communication and that slowly it was progressing, and that in the future, they hoped to have other souls use the voice box to communicate. Before he left, he told us that it was his intention to materialize into solid form to be with us later in the séance. Freda Johnson was next to visit the circle. She normally introduces loved ones who wish to communicate with sitters and communicates messages from them if they are having difficulty in getting their messages across via Stewart who is in deep trance. Speaking through Stewart, she asked me to sit beside her. The red light was switched on and I once

again traded places with June. Once I was seated, Freda announced, “I have a gentleman here who so wants to speak to you. In a moment, I am going to step aside so he can come and speak for himself.” Freda said that it was extremely difficult for them to do this and that the man would need to hear my voice. She asked to take my hand and I could hear someone struggling to speak through Stewart. The hand I was holding was shaking as I heard “Is that you?” I responded that it was me and the voice said “Dad” I said that I had wanted to communicate with him for a long time, that he was the engineer and I just knew he would figure it out. My interest in communication started with my father’s transition. I began recording for EVP because he was an engineer and I thought EVP would be right up his alley, but I have never received an EVP from him. Of course, I did not think to ask about this when he was coming through Stewart. It was overwhelming and a wonder that I will never forget. I told him how much I loved him. He told me how much he loved me. It was very emotional for us both. As evidence of who he was, he told me twice that he could walk just fine now. My dad had congestive heart failure which made his feet so big that he could

not walk. He also said, “Mother is with me.” He always called her “Mother” and not “Mom.” This message was very healing for my sister when I told her about the séance. She had been concerned that our mother might be stuck because she had terrible dementia when she crossed. Other loved ones came through for people. For instance, Stewart’s sister Gaynor came through while Annette Childs was sitting beside him. Since Annette had been instrumental in helping Stewart cope with Gaynor’s transition, it was a very special reunion. Freda told Ann Harrison that even though he had only crossed over the week before, Tom was already making himself at home. Freda told Ann that one day she would tell her about the wonderful welcome Tom received. Ann and Tom were members of Stewart’s circle. Walter returned and asked that everyone return to their seats and away from the table. The table had a translucent top with a red light underneath it, so that we could see what was happening on its surface without harm to Stewart. Walter then invited Brian K. to sit at the table across from him. Soon a blob of ectoplasm could be seen on the illuminated tabletop. It slowly formed into a large hand which Walter said was his. It knocked on the table and Brian said that it was a big hand. Next, Walter asked Brian to place his right hand on the table with his palm downwards. We could see that the hand

moved toward Brian’s hand and he announced that it was holding his hand and that it felt like a human hand. Many of us were called to the table after that. I sat on Stewart’s right and Annette sat on his left. We were all asked to put our hands on the table and stretch out our fingers so that they touched the adjacent hand. Walter told us that they were removing Stewart from his bindings so that we could tell others that Stewart’s hands were controlled. Once again, we heard the sound of Steward being removed from his ties. Annette and I were told to hold Stewart’s fingers on the table and Walter asked Ray, who he affectionately calls Raymondo, to switch on the light so that all could see everyone’s hands, especially Stewart’s. The dark shape of a large hand suddenly came from the direction of Stewart and knocked sharply on the table! We were then asked to remove our hands from the table and hold hands. The table began to move, even levitating on its own. It touched my knee, and judging by the comments of the others sitting around the table, it was touching them as well. As this was happening, we noticed that someone new was trying to speak through Stewart. It is the practice of the regular circle members to speak encouraging words and to provide the added energy of their voices. Over our encouraging words, we heard a hesitant “Con…” and “Constan… and

then we heard “Konstantin.” He repeated his name and then was gone. Walter came back and said that this contact (Konstantin) was unexpected and that, “The gentleman says he has fulfilled his promise. There are great advancements that will be made in the near future.” Walter asked if we understood that and we said that we did. Walter continued to say, “He will continue to do his finest. That is all that he can do.” To say that we were blown away by this would be an understatement! [Editor: See the Konstantin Synchronicity sidebar] Sidebar: Konstantin Synchronicity As you know, Dr. Konstantin Raudive spoke to us during a David Thompson Circle of the Silver Cord séance in Sarasota, Florida. He told us to record for EVP on October 27 at 10 pm and gave us a code phrase. We thought it interesting that one of the words in the phrase was the name of a beloved cat, now on the other side! I am not sure which of us asked a question at that séance, and the séance recording was so distorted it could not be made out, but the answer that Konstantin gave was, “You and Childs do it.” ATransC member Keith Clark was sitting between us, and everyone assumed that Raudive meant to say “Clark” and not Childs. However, we thought this very interesting as we were already scheduled to attend a conference in October and friend, Dr. Annette Childs was to be a speaker at the conference.

We even told Annette about this strange comment when we returned from Florida. But since she was traveling the evening before us and we would be on the plane on the 27th, it would be impossible for us to record together. In October we spent all of the 27th on a plane going from San Francisco to London Heathrow, and then to Manchester. At the Manchester airport, we carried our luggage to the train station to continue on to York for the night. The first stop for the train was Manchester Piccadilly. As people boarded the train, Tom leaned toward me and whispered, “Is that Annette?” There, sitting down directly across from us was Annette and her husband Brian. They had flown in and spent the night at a hotel in downtown Manchester. There are trains every thirty minutes going to York and there were six cars on the train with at least ten rows of seats in each car. It is simply unimaginable that Annette and her husband would end up sitting down directly across from us. Put this together with Konstantin’s original message and then his coming through in the séance with Annette and me seated on either side of Stewart and well … what can one say about such a synchronicity? After we returned to our seats, we were told that Dr. Barnett would try to come through and that we should sing to build the energy. One of the women near Stewart announced that she felt

hands touch her head and Carol on the other side of Stewart also said that she was being touched on her head. Dr. Barnett spoke, saying that he and another person had partially materialized in the room. For a short time, there were two materialized people at once in the room! Then Sascha, who sat close to the cabinet, announced that he felt hands touching his head. We heard Dr. Barnett tell him to continue his work. Next, we touched Tom’s head, and then taking Tom’s left hand with his two hands said, “God bless you, I am so pleased to make your acquaintance. Continue with your work. You are known in my world.” Dr. Barnett moved next to Ann Harrison and then to Annette Childs before returning to the cabinet. Dr. Branett talked for a while about the spirit team’s work with Stewart and told us about things that they want to accomplish in the New Year, after which he spoke a blessing for us and was gone. Walter returned to say a few words before ending the séance; “We that know the truth about survival … we have a shared duty and that is to convey to all mankind this wondrous truth and this is something that we can do together, my world and your world. We can reach out together so that we may help the bereaved so that we may quell the anguish of separation. We can work together as a united whole. Understand that whenever

you do what White Feather calls ‘The work of the spirit,’ you will not find us absent. Whenever you send out a call, we shall be there with you. You may not see us, sense us or hear us but be assured that we will be there to help, to inspire, to guide you in whatever way that we can. We are aware of you all as individuals. We are aware of your work so know this: that we are always with you. Together we can accomplish so very much.” Walter closed by telling us it was a privilege to be able to communicate with us from his world to ours. He told us that he hoped we took, “Inspiration to continue on. You are not alone. Good night to you all.” This was a very touching and special experience. We can only say that we felt immensely blessed to have had this experience. We did feel that the two worlds had been joined for those two hours, and yes, we did return home inspired! We sincerely thank Stewart and his circle for their many, many years of dedication and we also thank the Spirit Team that has given of their time to make this experience possible. Stewart has just released his autobiographical book: An Extraordinary Journey: The Memoirs of a Physical Medium The book is an exceptionally well-written account of what it is like to be a physical medium and what it means to act as a channel between

this world and the next. The book is available at Amzon.com. Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference at Cober Hill First published in the Winter 2011 ATransC NewsJournal by Tom and Lisa Butler Stewart’s website is: stewartalexandermedium.com/ Cober Hill (coberhill.co.uk) is a conference center developed around an old estate near Scarborough, on the north-east coast of England. In October, we attended the Stewart Alexander and Friends conference there. Having developed for more than forty years, Stewart is one of the world’s foremost physical mediums. Our objective was to sit with him in one of his rare public séances, but we soon discovered that the conference was no less important. The fact that the conference was organized and managed by volunteers who have come to know and love Stewart is testimony to the respect he has earned. More than once we heard someone describe the group as a close family. There were ninety people in attendance and we heard not one cross word or criticism … only friendly faces and very good conversation. Amongst the attendees were academics, practicing mediums and generally well-informed people. The first thing we noticed about Cober Hill is that it is a long way from home. We landed in Manchester and took a train to York to spend the night. The next morning, we continued on the train to Scarborough and then took a taxi to the conference center. The train system is excellent and permitted us to avoid renting a car … they drive on the

wrong side of the road, you know. As we passed the Blacksmiths Arms pub on our way to Cober Hill, the taxi driver told us that the Queen had recently eaten there. It turns out that it is part of the Duchy of Lancaster’s estate, which is the Queen’s property. The weekend conference included talks, workshops and an evening séance. We don’t eat beef, lamb or pork and figured we would have to survive on fish and chips. As it turned out, the food was excellent and varied and they always offered vegetarian choices. Being October, we also assumed it would be cold and rainy, but the weather was very pleasant and the trees were all in their most beautiful autumn colors. Dr. Annette Childs counseled Stewart concerning his grief over his sister’s unexpected transition and they have become good friends. She has devoted her career to understanding the end-of-life experience and has important understanding of this which she shared at the conference. If you think about this for a moment, you may understand how rare it is for someone to talk about the actual transition experience. Spiritualists speak of survival and communication across the veil; people interested in human potential speak of becoming all one can be; but, few of us want to speak about the act of dying. Annette Childs Annette is the author of Halfway Across the River, which details much of what she has learned. She spoke twice at the conference. The first talk was focused

on deathbed accounts and how important it is to talk about the coming experience based on knowledge and not fear or myth. Her second talk focused more on sudden transition in which the person has not prepared. The message we took away from that talk is that there really is no pain at the moment of transition. Annette has learned that we apparently disassociate from our body at the moment of trauma. She told us that sudden, violent events are only traumatic when we survive because the pain eventually must come back. Bradley Harris gave a talk about his father, well-known materialization medium, Alec Harris, who made his transition in 1974. As Saturday Night Press, (snppbooks.com) Ann and Tom Harrison published a book about him titled, Alec Harris- The full story of his remarkable physical mediumship by Louie Harris. Conference attendees were shaken by news of the transition of highly respected parapsychologist, David Fontana and Tom Harrison’s transition three days later, on October 23rd (see paranormalreview.com). Tom is the son of Minnie Harrison who was an important materialization medium. Tom and Ann were scheduled to give a talk about the Saturday Night Club which is the name given to the circle that supported Minnie. Instead of canceling the talk, Ann gave it herself and later hosted a party which she said Tom would have wanted to celebrate his life. Violet Eccles gave a talk about her path of development in mediumship and later taught a workshop about maintaining the mediumistic

link. We attended the workshop and came away with a few new techniques which we will share with our circle. Of course, the highlight of the conference was the Saturday evening séance with Stewart. The sequence of events during the séance was much like the one we describe on the next page. The short description is “amazing!” The conference was one of the most interesting and enjoyable that we have attended. Being with a community of like-minded people for a weekend is something we all should experience every once in a while; as we all know, we are a rather different bunch! Tribute We pay tribute to two people who were friends and who were very important to the field of survival research. They passed within a week of each other in October. David Fontana, author of Is There an Afterlife?, made his transition October 20 and Tom Harrison, author of Life After Death – Living Proof, made his transition October 23. We know that they will continue their work from the other side but they are greatly missed by friends, loved ones and the people who learned from them. The Fishharp First published in the Summer 2011 ATransC NewsJournal Other SORRAT Articles SORRAT History and Background (This book) The Fishharp (This book) Full I. Grattan-Guinness Article (citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.5976&rep=rep1&type=pdf) SORRAT Examples (this book) Its All About Intentionality (Book 1) FEG Blog: SORRAT - A Long Term PK Study (felixcircle.blogspot.com/2008/09/sorrat.html) The article about the Society for Research in Rapport and Telekinesis (SORRAT),

SORRAT Letter Experiment, provides a good introduction to this very interesting group. There is more information in the Examples section. As SORRAT members, we found information about the Fishharp Clan and their castle to be very interesting. In the letter-writing study, the Imperator Group in the etheric is able to use a pen to write and draw on paper with what is known as direct writing. This is done by their scribe John King. A camera triggered by a motion sensor was used for the photograph below. The white arrow points to the independently moving pen inside a locked Minilab box. After questions are answered, the entities place the letters in stamped, self-addressed envelopes, after which they are apported out of the lab into the US postal service. The drawing of the castle and the Fishharp were produced in this way and sent to us. Lisa was told that she had a past life with the Fishharp Clan. It is very interesting that the castle of this clan was configured with various intention-directing aids. Irish castle drawn by the Imperator Group. In the 1400s, this was home to the Fishharp Clan. The Imperator Group refers to maze walkers who used a maze (bottom chamber of the castle) to help focus their intention, reportedly as an aid for teleportation. The middle chamber contained a second maze of sorts and an organ-like device designed to send “voice thoughts.” The antenna for the organ was the Fishharp above the castle. See the It

is All About Intention article. Direct writing in the SORRAT lab: arrow points to pen The Fishharp Clan was known as a healing clan and the Fishharp was one of their healing devices, n principle, it needs to be “charged” to be effective and works as a form of intentionality amplifier. The Imperator entities drew us a picture of how to make one and SORRAT member, Dr. Terrald Brooks, made one for us as shown below. It is a brass frame shaped like a fish with copper spokes and an obsidian “eye” which can be moved between the spokes. See the close-up photograph for construction detail. As we understand its use, the practitioner must clearly visualize a desired outcome with the focused intention to make it happen while adjusting the position of the “eye.” We have found with the Fishharp and other such devices that we have a sense of the correct configuration almost as if muscle memory has assumed control of our movement. If you are familiar with radionic devices, there is a similar effect when using the stick plate (see: copenlabs.com). Fishharp as drawn by the Imperator Group The thought organ appears to be a form of radionic device in that it appears the communicator first walks the star pattern on the floor adjacent to the organ, and then adjusts the organ. We think the sequence is to first entrain intention to clearly imagine a desired effect, and then, like the stick plate of a radionics device, adjust

the organ until there is a muscle memory-like sense of right. What remains is the impression of the message or expression of intention being sent via the Fishharp antenna. Close up of Fishharp obsidian eye and spokes Fishharp with an obsidian eye made by SORRAT, Dr. Terrald Brooks The Silver Fox Circle by Lisa Butler Published in the Winter 2012 ATransC NewsJournal While we were in England, we had the wonderful opportunity of visiting the Silver Fox Circle in Newcastle on Halloween night. We were fortunate to be introduced to the group, as this home circle is not yet demonstrating publicly. Good friends, and fellow Socrates Circle members, Jannet Caywood and Steve Atkins were with us. The circle began in November 2007 as friends sitting together in harmony. Spontaneous physical phenomena had already been apparent around Fay Wright, the medium, for a number of years, and so they started as a cabinet circle. From the very beginning, small knocks were audible in the room during the séances. We were in for a great time and some amazing phenomena along with the most amazing feeling of harmony and love from both members of the circle and their spirit team. Fay Wright graciously picked us up from the train station and brought us to her home. Our first surprise was that the group was all female. If you read books about circles, you will find that it is traditional to “balance the energy” by having an equal number of male and female

sitters. That has been difficult for our circle and so we were delighted to see a group of women developing and getting physical phenomena! We sat and talked with Fay and her husband as we waited for the rest of the circle members to arrive. After everyone had arrived, as part of the preparation, they nearly covered the dinner table with toys that would be used during the séance. Each toy had glow-in-the- dark tabs strategically placed so that sitters would be able to see the toy’s movement in the completely dark room. Circle members held them up to the light to “charge” the glow tabs. They were then placed in a plastic roll-around file cabinet, which was placed in the small séance room where Jenny, the circle leader, could reach it. Some of the larger items were placed behind a black curtain which was situated behind Jenny. We were invited into the room and were seated between regular members of the circle. I was seated next to Jenny and Fay was seated in a closet with a black curtain drawn across the front. Jenny said an opening prayer and then there was silence for about a minute. No music was played and you could hear Fay breathing in the cabinet. Just that quickly, a male voice came from the cabinet saying, “Good evening friends and welcome to our visitors.” This was the voice of Silver Fox, the group’s main guide and gatekeeper. (A gatekeeper protects the medium and decides

who is allowed to come into the circle via her mediumship.) Everyone greeted Silver Fox and then the music was turned on for us to sing a few songs. One member said that the trumpet was making noise and then we all saw it moving. About the same time, a child’s voice was heard coming from the cabinet. It was Michael, a child in spirit who played a major part in the séance that evening. He greeted each of us who were visiting. I was asked to hold my two hands flat, palms up so that they were next to Jenny’s hands. The two trumpets, one inside the other, were laid across our four hands. The trumpets felt quite heavy and I asked if one wouldn’t fall out of the other. I was told they might but that the children would do with them as they wished. During all of the preparation, Michael could be heard humming nonchalantly in the cabinet. The trumpets lifted off my hand and Jenny told us that they are balancing only on her finger, and then they made a crashing noise on the floor. Michael announced from the cabinet that he would like “a go at lifting them up.” I said again that they are heavy together like that. Again, the trumpets were placed on my hands, but this time, with the wide end resting on my arm. Jenny asked us to sing again, and as we did, I actually felt the trumpets lift off

my arm and hands. It was up in the air with only two of my fingers in contact! That little contact could not possibly have been holding the trumpets steady! It is a very interesting sensation to feel levitation like that. The trumpets actually lifted on and off of my fingers, as if tapping my fingers, and then amid a bunch of “Wows” from the other sitters, they lifted from my hands to Jenny’s. I should point out that, with everything that happened during the séance, the sitters encouraged and praised Michael with great enthusiasm. We understood that this was to keep the energy up so as to enable more communication. The singing was another means of bringing energy to the circle. Next, Michael asked for an airplane and he wanted to play with Tom. In the dark, we heard the circle leader digging in the file cabinet to find the airplane. She gave it to Tom and told him to hold it flat in his hands while asking Michael to move the plane left or right or to produce “turbulence” which was to be answered with Michael shaking the plane. Tom asked for turbulence. He later explained that he felt the plane shake with a slight vibration. About then, a strong, clear male voice could be heard from the cabinet instructing us to say “left” and “right” as a way to “warm them up.” It was the voice of spirit team member, Dr. Brown. Tom announced to the sitters

that he could feel the plane tilting left and then right, and then completely lift off his hand. Michael next asked to play with Steve, and Jenny asked him to stand and hold one hand out in front of him. The circle member next to him was also asked to stand with one of her hands held out near Steve’s. The plane was placed on both of their hands and then Steve asked Michael to make the plane make a big turn left. Steve told the sitters that he felt it go totally off his left hand and then he felt it go the other way. A new voice came from the cabinet; that of a little girl named Melly who asked that the hoops be given to Jannet and Margaret. Jannet and Margaret were asked to stand and hold their hands flat with the hoops resting on their upturned palms. They were told to encourage the girls to move the hoops one and then the other. Each hoop had many very bright glow tabs. Margaret’s hoop was immediately seen moving as if it were a swing, and then we saw it move in a figure eight pattern. Jannet was then asked to ask Susie to move her hoop; Susie, another child communicator, is said to be a bit shyer than Melly. Jannet’s hoop finally began moving and she excitedly exclaimed, “Look at that!” The hoops began moving in unison, and we could tell that the girls were having kind

of little battle with the hoops, trying to hit each other amid our shouts of encouragement. Michael’s voice interrupted to say that he thought it should be his turn now in a true children’s sort of way. He asked for the pole to be brought out, which resulted in one of the sitters searching around behind her in the “toy box.” After a minute or so, we heard Michael giggling from the cabinet and we were told by the regular sitters that he loved to have people searching around for something when it was not there. Michael then asked Anna to hold “the flower.” The flower was one of those yellow yard toys that spins in the wind. It was about a foot across and had glow tabs on each petal which were numbered like a clock. We could see the glow tabs being covered, one by one, as requested by the circle members. “Cover nine,” they shouted, and then “Now! Cover eleven!” They also enjoyed covering the tabs in a clockwise or in the reverse order. We watched in amazement. The flower was so large there was no way that someone could hold it and also cover the tabs. Tom was sitting next to Anna, who was holding the flower, and when I asked him about this possibility he said, “Absolutely no way.” All of the phenomena were evidential but this to us seemed one of the most evidential. While we were singing “Rockin’ Rollin’ Ridin’” with the flower

demonstration, we could hear a female child’s voice singing. We all became quiet as Susie treated us to a solo performance with her sweet child voice. Next, Michael asked for a football and Jenny found it in the toy box. I was asked to hold my hands flat next to Jenny’s and a little lower. On the recording of the séance, you can hear me gasp as the football not only comes into my hands but rolls up to my elbows. I later learned this is called a “hug.” I moved the football back onto my hands and held my hands next to Joan who was on my left. I felt the football levitate off of my hands and then heard Joan say they are hugging her with the ball. The ball, like the other toys, had glow tabs and I could see them literally hugging Joan with the ball. In this way, the ball moved around the circle to Jannet who told Michael how excited she was to be about to have the football placed in her hands. She, too, was greeted with the ball rolling up her arms for a hug. Jannet told Michael how much fun that was and that “She never gets to do this at home!” We all are really having a great time! Dr. Brown spoke next. (The voices are so very different from each other.) He said that he believed they wanted to “fish fight.” Jannet handed the ball back to Jenny and

then Michael’s voice was heard saying, “Can you put the car on there as well?” Jenny found the two fish toys and the car toys and put them on the drumhead she held as a stage for the “fight.” We could clearly make them out by their luminous tabs. With a little encouragement from the sitters, one fish began to move, seeming to take aim at the other fish. There was a “battle” and one fish knocked the other off before going after the car. The crazy movements were just amazing. It looked like the car was hanging off the edge of the drum when the fish finally gave it a real shot, knocking it noisily to the floor. This was very evidential and there was no way that these movements could have been made by a human. Michael next asked for a hula-hoop and the football and said that he wanted to play with Tom again. Tom was asked to stand in the center of the circle and hold the hula-hoop. After a moment, the ball was levitated off Jenny’s hands through the hoop and onto the floor. Then Michael asked to do it again, only with me holding the ball. It took him a little longer, but after a moment or two, I was actually able to feel the ball levitate off my hands and then see it fly through the hoop. Jenny was asked to put the trumpet on the drum. Still standing, Tom was asked to

step back a little. Michael’s favorite music, Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best,” was playing and was turned up. We watched the trumpet fly off of the drumhead and through the hoop. Tommy, another little boy in spirit, asked for the football to be put on the drum. It was as if they wanted to make sure that we knew they were moving the ball and that there was no human involvement. The ball flew off of the drumhead and through the hoop. We were told that they liked to finish with a flourish and that Tommy was going to swing the hula-hoops that Tom was holding while Michael and Tommy used the trumpet to knock the football through the hoop, and then they would throw the trumpets through the hoop. They did this to everyone’s amazement and as we all cheered. Michael then said he was finished and we all expressed our great gratitude for a true night of great fun and play. Each one in spirit who had been involved in the evening came to say goodbye, ending with Silver Fox. What a wonderful evening. We had not expected a lot because we had been told it was a new circle. We came away with our hearts touched by those wonderful people and their spirit team and amazed at the level of phenomena that the group is producing. They were able to show us that what we think is real is very limited, and that there is so much

more to our world than 99% of the population knows. We thank them for trusting us enough to allow us into their circle and hope that we will sit with them again. Viewpoint: David Thompson by Lisa and Tom Butler First published in the Summer 2012 ATransC NewsJournal The Moon Imagine the wonder the moon must have held for our ancestors. For many, even an understanding of the clockwork mechanism of orbital dynamics cannot diminish the wonder evoked by moonrise of a full moon. In the Hermetic Traditions of the Tarot, “The Moon” (Key 18) represents conscious living. As the moon reflects light of the sun, so do seekers after truth express the source, depending on their progression. Seeing the Tarot as an illustration of the cycle of life: the seeker’s urge to learn (Key 4 – “The Emperor”) acts on a growing perception of the principles governing the operation of reality (Key 11 – “Justice”) to begin the conscious path toward self-determination (Key 18). The concept is that we are governed by the primitive body consciousness until we have attained sufficient understanding to consciously direct our spiritual evolution. White crow In the page 10 essay, “On Being a Good Witness,” Tom talks about “white crows”: those encounters with the paranormal that cannot be dismissed as imagination or mistaken identity. White crows are necessarily personal experiences. They may be a shared encounter but whether or not they are or should be convincing depends on how well-informed witnesses are and how

well they can set aside unconscious social conditioning. An important white crow for us occurred during a recent David Thompson séance. The entity responsible for managing energy required for phenomena during the séance, Timothy, had just finished demonstrating how small his hands were by showing each sitter a small, six-inch-square luminous plaque partially covered by one of his tiny hands. We had seen this before but the impact of what should be an important demonstration of phenomena had been lost because the poorly lit plaque is so difficult to focus on. This séance was different. Timothy sat aside the plaque and went around the circle to touch each sitter’s hands. We were all holding hands as a way of assuring that none of us were moving about the room. Timothy came to each of us, and without hesitation or fumbling, grasped our fingers with his tiny hands. As Tom described it, “His hand was very small. I felt his short fingers wrap around one of my fingers on each hand. The distance between his knuckles could not have been more than three-eighths of an inch. His hands were warm and soft, like a child’s. There is no way anyone in that room could have faked such small hands or moved about in the completely dark room with such confidence.” For us, that demonstration put everything else in perspective. All of Timothy’s actions; swinging a trumpet, playing with drumsticks and touching us, were from the physical perspective of a small child

with tiny hands. Considering the need for the demonstration to be in complete darkness, that one white crow put the remaining forms of evidence into perspective, allowing us to accept the reality of that small boy’s materialization. This poses an interesting question for sitters. Pretty much everything in David’s séance’s is designed to remove doubt while convincing the sitter that we survive beyond transition. Even so, like the illuminated plaque for us, the meaning is often obscured by the confusion of darkness and unfamiliar activity. Again, it is an individual decision, but at some point, the sitter must decide that one or two white crows provide sufficient reason to accept that the demonstration is as it is presented: proof that we survive transition. Books Published by AA-EVP Transcommunication White Paper with Emphasis on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) The Transcommunication White Paper is intended to document what is currently known by the ATransC directors about transcommunication. It includes background information about theory, concepts and techniques that are important for the understanding of phenomena related to EVP-ITC, psychic and mediumistic phenomena. Please note that there is a version of this paper, including a free downloadable PDF, at atransc.org. I refer people to the Transcommunication White Paper five or six times a week. When I do so, I always wish I had the opportunity to explain the importance of personal development. The three most important points I would make about personal development are concerned with how we think, the effect of how we

think on what we experience and how to apply that knowledge toward becoming more self-aware. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. This little book includes all of that. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Good to Know About the Paranormal Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time answering questions about things paranormal on Quora.com. The first was the 2017 question: “How accurate is EVP recordings?” I have been answering the questions because most of the other answers are simply wrong, anti-paranormal or misleading. Our community is still developing a culture that supports free discovery and meaningful sharing of ideas. It has been my vision that my answers might somehow aid in developing that culture. As it turns out, I have answered quite a lot of Quora.com questions. I have compiled 240 of my answers into this book. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Your Immortal Self, exploring the mindful way More time became available for me to write after we changed the ATransC away from a member-supported organization. I am a theoretician by nature and speaking as a mystic, I see a world of patterns in the play of concepts, rather than as a “nuts and bolts” world. It has been natural for me to see ITC as a pattern of interacting concepts. Again, as a mystic, it is as if the pattern is a self-organizing model in my mind’s eye that shows me how one phenomenon

relates/compares to another. In my mind, the most important aspect of these phenomena is the way we are part of the dance … not as humans, but as immortal personalities. It has been through ITC, especially EVP, that I have come to see our actual nature as a conduit for the formation of the speech and images of ITC in our physical devices. Your Immortal Self represents an effort to explain our relationship with these phenomena, the nature of our actual self and how we might learn to be better ITC practitioners by being more successful seekers. The book begins with a comprehensive effort to define the Survival Hypothesis and establish verifiable proof. For a small fee, the PDF version of this book is available on the Lulu website. I like PDF for this book because it has so many internal links. It is easier to study using a PDF file. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon Exploring the Mindful Way I have been told that Your Immortal Self is a difficult read. While I understand some of the concepts can be obscure, I wrote this in Your Immortal Self: Not trying to understand this material because it is too complicated is unacceptable. There is an old Zen Buddhist saying: “Before enlightenment chop wood – carry water, after enlightenment chop wood – carry water.” One must do the work to understand. One must do the work to continue learning. Study the material and do not expect to understand

all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Ask questions. Argue! I write today to find ways to illustrate the principles described in Your Immortal Self, as they apply to particular situations. In doing so, I hoped to make the principles more approachable and help pave the way to spiritual maturity for my readers. Exploring the Mindful Way is a compilation of 21 such essays. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon There is No Death and There are No Dead One of our first tasks when we assumed leadership of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was to write a book we could direct people to for guidance about ITC. At that time, there was not much available, and we wanted to make sure our members were given reasonably useful, supportable information. We wrote There is No Death and There are No Dead and published it under the AA-EVP Publishing imprint. The book has received considerable praise as an introductory book. 100% of the proceeds have gone to support operations, outreach and research conducted by the Association. On Amazon I’m Still Here AA-EVP member Martha Copeland wrote I’m Still Here. Martha was one of the founding members of the Big Circle. The book provides an important study of the way Martha coped with the untimely loss of her daughter, Cathy. Beyond the grief, I’m Still Here includes hints about how Cathy might have responded to death, the ways she did find to communicate after transition

and how other members of the Big Circle helped Martha. It is Martha’s EVP of Cathy scolding her still physical dog Doja that gives us important proof that we survive physical death. Listen to hear “Doja no. (Book 4) On Amazon Sarah Estep’s Roads to Eternity “To read Sarah Wilson Estep’s Roads to Eternity is to travel a remarkable journey into the unseen world. At every adventurous step, at every exciting new discovery; the readers are assured that they are guided by a knowledgeable and experienced paranormal researcher, a pioneer in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Sarah Wilson Estep’s vast files of 25,000 recorded voices of the ‘Invisibles’—whether they represent themselves as spirits of the deceased, extraterrestrial entities, or multi-dimensional beings—will provide thrilling inspiration for the seeker and startling revelation for the skeptic.” Brad Steiger, author of Things that Go Bump in the Night Here is the free PDF download Sarah Estep’s Voices of Eternity “EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena has been around for as long as recording equipment has existed, but Sara Wilson Estep, a teacher from Maryland, was one of the most prolific recorders and researchers ever. Picking up spirit voices on tape was something that occasionally occurred, but Estep made a daily study and habit of recording so that the sheer volume of voices is extraordinary. She collected literally thousands of voices, and in this book, she shares the messages from the tapes. Estep also chronicles the different innovations that she made during her years

need to be made with the new owners. This book is part of a set containing the Association TransCommunication website pages. The set has been compiled to preserve contents to help assure that future paranormalists will have access to the material. The website includes study and research reports, examples of ITC, techniques for collecting ITC, Best Practices and personal stories about ITC-related reunions. Most of the articles were first published in the ATransC NewsJournal. The 129 quarterly newsletters published by the Association are in the NewsJournal Online Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/. We are still trying to find a way to preserve them. If these books work out, we may publish them as a different set of books. The combined newsletters produce a 1500, 8.5” x 11” page PDF file of 44,519 KB. That would be at least four books if we converted them to fixed format PDF books of a manageable size of, say, 400 pages. Change of State Lisa and I tried a number of times to attract people who could help us manage the Association and perhaps take it over in the future. Every effort failed. Part of the problem has probably been our personalities. While we want to serve, we are not social by nature. We depended on the rewards that come from a well-run organization as motivation for people to help. That was not enough. We are also sticklers for rational, evidence-based treatment of the phenomena. In that regard, our studies have shown that, what has become

control. We use what little income the books produce for operations and outreach. An archive book would be priced as low as Amazon allows. The material must be stable. It is important to us that the material on the website is not corrupted with the introduction of newer material. At this time in our community, it is a virtual certainty that we would disagree with any new material added by people who use radio-sweep, think EVP are caused via wormholes or that they are a radiofrequency phenomenon. The name and material must not be resurrected. A trend today is to use a famous person’s name for the name of a group. Predictably, the result is confusion by future historians about what is that famous person’s work and what is contemporary. The archive should not cost the person or organization that agrees to keep the material. People have their own work to do and interests to pursue. While they may agree to keep the material, it seems clear now that it must not cost them to do so. Ideally, there will be a revenue flow, albeit minor, that will benefit the person organization. The guiding objective is public outreach. In our opinion, parapsychologists have failed to communicate what they might know to the public. I answer Quora (quora.com/profile/Tom-Butler-79) questions, often about parapsychological issues. I have yet to encounter a parapsychologist also answering questions. There is an Academic-Layperson Partition which is exaggerated by parapsychologists failure to communicate in a Plane English manner.

The ATransC material helps to balance that dearth of information. Solution (we hope) Other than a dedicated website, Amazon is perhaps the most important means of public outreach available to the average citizen. We use Microsoft Word for composing. With a little careful editing, conversion of MS Word to Print-On-Demand (POD) ready text is a relatively easy process. The same can be said for MS Word-to-eBook format. Amazon does not require a catalog fee, as does Lightning Source and IngramSpark. Lulu also does not require a catalog fee and they accept fixed-format books which is best for the NewsJournal. All of ATransC.org pages except those under the FAQ, Links and Resource Tabs have been converted to MS Word text files and will be published in Amazon in the paperback POD and eBook formats at the minimum cost to readers. The website will be maintained, we hope, for years to come. While we think the book format will be convenient for readers, the reason we are publishing now is to protect the material against unseen accidents or heath issues. If useful, articles may be added. For instance, we continue the ET Visual ITC Study at et-visual-itc-study.atransc.org/. If we receive a sufficient number of responses from readers, we may be able to produce a useful report. The Preservation Project books will be updated accordingly as new Editions. Material under ten menu tabs is being preserved. That means content of some categories will be combined in each book to reach our target of

2004 ATransC NewsJournal (Vol. 23, 4) Earland’s brown jug used for moving water ITC Last quarter, we described how Arthur Soesman of the Netherlands was able to capture faces with a video camera and a bottle that is partially filled with water. He examines each frame of the video, seeking phenomenal features. In effect, he is substituting reflection from agitated water for the feedback noise used in Video ITC. The phenomenal features are often more distorted, probably because of the bottle, but they are impressive. Erland Babcock has taken up Soesman’s challenge, only he has substituted a digital camera for the video camera. You can see the brown jug Erland found in the accompanying picture. The results have been impressive and continue to improve with each experiment. He told us he is submitting some of his work to an art contest. We have included a good example to the left. You can see an arch of reflected light that is not part of the phenomenal images. The arc is rising from the bottom of the picture and more to your left of center. A round- faced man’s chin is just touching the top of the arc. The dark area above that is the man’s mouth and above that are two dark areas, which are his eyes, look at your right ear. Just to the right of center is a man looking to your left. There is a bright line in the shape of an arc opening to the top of

the page above his nose. This is not part of the feature. Just above that arc are his brow line and a well-defined left eye. You should be able to make out the man’s mouth, left cheekbone and hairline/temple. Below is a recent experiment, in which we see what looks like an old, tall man in the background with long hair blowing in the wind to your right. His right ear sticks out from his hair more like a mule’s ear. He is looking toward you but down at the girl. Directly under his chin is a translucent dome hat, in which you can see the head and hair of a little girl facing your right. Hair on the left side of her head is blowing past her left cheek. It looks like her bare shoulders are pulled up, as if hunching down against the wind that is at her back. Just in front of her is possibly a boy wearing the same type of hat. His chin is sloped into his neck and you can see his open mouth just under his nose that is facing up. He may have a dog in front of him looking at the boy. Bill Weber ITC by ©Bill Weber - All Rights Reserved Member Bill Weber has provided us with some very good EVP voice samples. In the first one, you can hear an entity say “I live in Spirit.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cweber2000_i_live_in_spirit.mp3 The second is “Egypt Air.” This file has been

slightly filtered to reduce background noise. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cweber2000_egypt_air.mp3 Butler ITC Gallery 1 Tom and Lisa Butler, 2002 Pictures from the Summer 2002 AA-EVP Newsletter Also see Butler ITC Gallery 1 (This book), Butler Gallery 2 (this book), Butler ITC Gallery 3 (This book), Perception of Visual ITC Images (atransc.org/visual-perception-study ) (Book 2) and Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique (atransc.org/video-loop-visual-itc-recording-technique) (Book 5) About the Butler Video ITC technique We have captured the following images using the Klaus Schreiber method for video Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC). We use a Canon 8mm ES2000 analog camcorder that is (most often) set about six inches from a Sony KV20TS32, 20-inch Trinitron color TV. The camera was usually focused well past the screen surface and the composite video out of the camera was connected to the video input of the TV so that the camera was “seeing” its output on the television screen in a video loop. The camera was (usually) zoomed so that about five inches of the screen was revealed to the camera. The television was not connected to cable or antenna and was switched to VIDEO IN. A taping session was typically 30 seconds. The resulting video clip was loaded into a personal computer and Pinnacle Systems Studio DC10 Plus was used for capture and review. The video was examined frame by frame and interesting frames were “grabbed” as individual pictures. Because the camera was focused on an area of the screen that had considerable optical texture, the resulting frames tended to be

dark. The video was also strobing from light too dark. While this seems to have provided ITC, it has also frustrated attempts to display the images with the usual methods of printing newsletters using black and white, laser type 600 dpi printers. Unless otherwise noted, the frames were further processed using an early version of Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition. Even as pictures on the computer screen, these images are often difficult to make out as anything more than optical noise, so we ask that you look very closely at any pattern you might first notice in the image. The offered text will help explain what you are looking for. Except for a possible few exceptions, we do not know who or what these people shown here are. It is clear that people of many time periods, and possible worlds, are represented. We know how we collected these images, but we do not know how they are formed in the video or why. Perhaps the most we can gather from these images is that there is a phenomenon, the phenomenon is indicative of an intelligent manipulation of video noise and the represented entities exist outside of our known reality. We take from this a certain sense of friendliness and assurance that there is more to reality than meets the eye. From this, we think we have reason to believe that there will come a time in which we will also be finding a way to imprint our likeness on a video

system. We think that when we do, it will be to tell the person in the flesh that we survive and that we are part of a larger reality. We have developed something of a specialized vocabulary to describe these images: • Frame = One frame of a video clip. There are some 15 frames per second in the video clips we generate with our camera. • Image = A portion of a frame. • Feature = A recognizable cluster of noise such as a face that is found in a frame and that is displayed in a frame or an image. • Major Feature = A feature that dominates a frame. These are often suggestive of human or other forms but are not usually well defined. • Inserted Feature (Insert) = A feature that is better defined than other features in the frame. These often look like human or other recognizable forms. • Holographic Feature (fractal) = A feature that is suggestive of human or other forms but that is not as well defined as an insert and that is accompanied by numerous other face fractals. This is an example of a frame that has a major feature with an inserted feature and numerous fractal images. The insert-like feature of Image 4 (below) has been outlined in Image 3 has. Using editing software that came with Erland Babcock’s Toshiba PDR- M70 digital camera, the insert feature outlined in Image 3 was clipped and enhanced. You can see that the

color has changed considerably; however, as things often are with EVP and ITC, the resulting color shift appears to provide a likely rendition for the man. You should be able to see a man from the chest up, wearing a black hat and a full beard. There are two points that we would like you to note in this and other examples shown on this page: hats are a common feature; the detail of the hat’s curves; and, that the inserted image does, indeed look like an inserted image with much greater detail than the surrounding video noise. This feature appears to be a standing man wearing light-colored pants and a black blazer. He has a handlebar mustache and apparently short-cut or slicked-back hair. You can see that he is holding something in his right hand. It is hard to see in this version of the image (different photo editing software tends to highlight different features of these images), but the man has his left hand near his throat as if he has something slung over his shoulder. The picture at the right is of the famous medium Douglas Home. We believe this ITC example may be Douglas Home; however, there is of course, no way of being certain and we do not make the claim here. If you look just under the white beard of the man in Image 4 above, you will see a pink to orange field of color. You cannot see it in Image 1, but

if you turn Image 1 90 degrees to the left and focus on that pink/orange field of color, you will see that the man in Image 2 is just under the white beard of Image 4. You are welcome to download Image 1 and see for yourself. This is another example of how video ITC can show up by rotating an original frame. This may compare with the fact that some EVP are found by listening to a sound track in the reverse. The frame to the far left is the original of this series. The second frame is the first but enhanced to better show the detail. If you look closely, you will see a major feature that looks a little like the left side of a man’s face. The nose would be just to the right of the red dot, which is the reflection of the “Record” light of the video camera. However, we do not claim that this is a very convincing image. What we want to show you is what you see when the frame is rotated 180 degrees. This is shown in the third image of this series. The lower lob of the “chin” in the above frames is cropped and enhanced to the left. You will see a bald head, two large eyes and an apparently determined look on a face--human or otherwise. This brings us to another rather interesting aspect of the ITC images we are collecting. As is shown below in Image

7 (below), we are collecting a large number of faces that seem to belong to extraterrestrials. You must be the judge of this. Look closely. This looks like an extraterrestrial who is standing in front of a round window. Again, this image has been enhanced to make it clear. The original frame was nearly all black. Of course, we do not know who or what this image represents. However, if you are familiar with the Irish legion of Little people and the popular New Age concepts of nature spirits, you will see that this man is very reminiscent of an elf. We see a little man mostly cloaked by green foliage. he seems to have something of a beard and mustache and is definitely wearing a domed hat with a dark brown band. We collected several such images in this ITC session conducted just before Saint Patrick’s Day. The image below was also in this session. This is another Elfish feature. We will not further address the question of the Little People here, but we would like to point out a most fascinating aspect of the features we are collecting. The feature at the left appears to be that of a man who is looking to your right. He is wearing a tall hat and has a rather elongated chin. You can see his right eye rather well and most of his left. Focus your eyes until you can see this. Now refocus your eyes so that you can see

a man looking straight at you. Most of his face is illuminated by the spot of light at the center of the image. He is wearing the same hat. The left eye of this second man is the same as the right eye of the first. Now take a good look at the man’s (men’s) hat. Do you see the face feature there? This is typical of the way face features are appearing in our ITC sessions. This is an example of an inserted feature being composed of numerous holographic or fractal features. As is shown below, we are finding face features in just about every possible arrangement of optical noise. This feature was found by rotating a frame to the left 90 degrees and represents only three or four percent of the original frame. It appears to us to be a person, possibly a woman, wearing a breastplate and some kind of headdress. Obviously, we cannot know for certain, but we tend to think of this person as a shaman or one of the “Little People.” If you look closely at the light area that defines the left side of the headdress, and elsewhere in the image, you can see the suggestion of holographic features. Here are two examples of holographic feature. You should be able to see at least four faces in the first image. The features are not well developed but they are obviously features that look like faces. The frame has been rotated 90 degrees to

the left. It is common for us to find bands of light and dark video noise which is a product of the video feedback loop. It is also common for us to find rows of faces in these bands of lighter noise. The second image shows two faces that look as if they can be twins. Sometimes, we will find a row of faces that all look alike and sometimes they will be different from one another. The problem with the second image is that it could, indeed, be twins and not a holographic feature at all. As we said earlier, we are collecting quite a number of people wearing hats. As with this feature, most are not particularly clear. This is offered here as a typical example. You should see a person (probably a man) looking just to your left. He has a black hat. This is a sample collection of some of the faces we are collecting. The face in the second image has several holographic features, as well. It is interesting to note that the fifth face (across) seems very familiar to us. Please contact us if you think you recognize anyone in these examples. Butler ITC Gallery 2 Tom and Lisa Butler, 2002 Pictures from the Summer 2002 AA-EVP Newsletter Also see Butler ITC Gallery 1 (This book), Butler Gallery 2 (this book), Butler ITC Gallery 3, (This book) Perception of Visual ITC Images (atransc.org/visual-perception-study ) (Book 2) and Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique (atransc.org/video-loop-visual-itc-recording-technique) (Book

5) We have continued to receive interesting results from both our ITC and EVP experiments in the past three months. We were preparing to do a presentation at the International Spiritualist Federation Congress in Toronto, Canada and asked to receive some EVP messages that would be of interest to this group and that would be clear and loud enough to play for the members. Immediately after we said this, a loud Class A voice said, “Spirit is helping.” We asked what our friends thought about mediums and they replied loudly, “Hear us through them.” We asked them what they thought about the Spiritualist belief in life after death. Again, they came through loud and clear with the message “In the end has tendency to help you.” We laughed at this message, but they certainly made their point. Our friends on the other side never fail to be there to help us, and when we ask for EVP messages for presentations, they have always come through. Other EVP messages have been very interesting. On one experiment we asked if a channel to them was open. A voice came back saying, “Test, open the channel.” Another loud message that did not make sense came immediately after. We reversed it and it said, “This is now coded.” Other messages have told us that we, “Now have the computers.” We have of course asked who is sending and helping us with the ITC pictures. Various names and transmitting stations have been noted. We would

like to get more verification before mentioning these. However, one message said they were transmitting through the “Anderson Switch,” a station that we have not heard referred to by other researchers. Some of the interesting things that we have found in regard to the ITC pictures are that there are EVP on the audio track of the video. We had read not to bother with listening to these audio tracks, as there was never any EVP on them. This is not the case, but so far these have not come in as clearly as through an EVP experiment with our usual equipment. Two such messages, on the audio track of the video, mentioned dates. These dates had passed by the time we decided to see if there was EVP on the video. We have set the video camera at various distances from the TV screen. We have defocused the camera past and in front of the TV screen. We have set up inches from the screen and several feet away. In every experiment ITC features have come through. Our transpartners were providing help to meet criticisms before we even knew that they would come. We are finding the features at all four rotations of the video frames. In other words, we rotate a frame 90, 180 or 270 degrees and find faces. We have faced the criticism that we are doing nothing more than picking up TV transmissions even though the TV is not hooked up to an antenna or

cable. We do not believe that TV transmissions are sent sideways or upside down. It seems like they do things in series. One experiment resulted in many images of people and their pets. For instance, a woman sitting with her dog and another of a man who is proudly holding his dog in his arms. Other experiments seem to have a series of frames with certain nationalities of peoples. One feature that we were very excited about was of a lady sitting at a table. A perfect long-stemmed rose is on the table. The bridge is getting stronger. We know this from the results that we are getting and we feel blessed with the results we have gotten in a mere seven months. The pictures in order: man’s head, woman’s face, Einstein (?), young woman’s face, clown, man in armor and man holding dog. Butler ITC Gallery 3 Tom and Lisa Butler, 2003 Pictures from the Summer 2003 AA-EVP Newsletter Also see Butler ITC Gallery 1 (This book), Butler Gallery 2 (this book), Butler ITC Gallery 3, (This book) Perception of Visual ITC Images (atransc.org/visual-perception-study ) (Book 2) and Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique (atransc.org/video-loop-visual-itc-recording-technique) (Book 5) Collecting photographic quality Video ITC features is turning out to be an elusive goal. We do not know if the techniques we are using will ever provide such quality, but we are certain that we can improve on the quality of what has been collected. It is also clear that our transpartners are

also seeking to improve the images. In the following set of features, you will see that there is evidence of movement in consecutive frames and the possibility of larger scenes and groups of people. These examples have been collected with the camera standing about three feet from the television screen. In some instances, the camera is also placed at about a forty-degree angle from the centerline of the screen. The resulting features tend to be larger but they also tend to be less sharp in focus and contrast. The result is more a suggestion of something recognizable than a clear-cut image. If you take time to carefully examine the examples, you will see that these represent an important evolution in our work. A face in the upper-right corner, looking down A man with mustache and possibly muttonchops. He is facing to your left. Woman from just below her knees, up. She is facing, possibly walking, to the right. We believe you can see her arms holding a basket or gourd. She is wearing some kind of a hat. It also appears that there are trees and blue sky behind her. Calf. As with the dog, the area of bright white is the forehead and the nose is below the white area. You can make out a little of the animal’s back in the lower-right area. Apparently, a man (profile) whose head is in the middle-left portion of the frame. He appears to be looking to your right. It seems that

he has something in his left hand. The area of dark extending to the right, just under the head, may be the person’s right shoulders and arm. Dog. Look at the spot of bright white. That is the dog’s forehead. Follow the area of gray to the right and down to find the dog’s nose. This dog showed up on consecutive video frames. In this one, the dog is facing you. It has upright ears. Some of the body may be showing. Now the dog is closer to you. All you can see is from the nose up. This appears to be a group of people. Only the man in the center (facing to your left) is evidently a person. The others are little more than a hint that something might be there. But collectively, the frame suggests that this is a group of people. For instance, there is a rather well-formed man at the bottom and to the left of center. Carol Barron-Karajohn-EVP ©Carol Barron-Karajohn – All Rights Reserved Carol Barron-Karajohn, wrote “This is my favorite Class ‘A’ EVP Message, largely because I knew the fellow who had just crossed over and it sounds just like him! I have an audio cassette of his voice while living and it’s the same voice.” The enthusiastic voice states “I’m Alive!” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cKarajohn2000_im_alive.mp3 This one of Carol’s can be heard to say, “Hello Mother.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ckarajohn2000_hello_mother.mp3 Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-1 by Diana and Alan Bennett Also, see Diana and

Alan Bennett- ITC1 (This book), Diana and Alan Bennett – ITC 2 (This book) and Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-Crystal Imaging (This book) Extracted from Winter 2002 The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved Diana and Alan speaking at the 2006 ATransC Conference. (atransc.org/2006-aaevp-conference) (Book 5) Most of our members know about the Scole Experiments. The four members of the Scole Experimental Group (Sandra and Robin Foy and Diana and Alan Bennett) sat over a period of four years. The Spirit Team at Scole was prolific, using a new spirit-world technology that did not require the use of ectoplasm for the production of physical phenomena. Phenomena included solid spirit beings and fifty small objects received as apports. People, such as psychic researchers from the SPR, witnessed physical phenomena including pictures, handwriting, symbols and messages that appeared on factory-sealed unopened photographic film. The phenomenal success of the group and their Spirit Team resulted in the book, The Scole Experiment, by Grant and Jane Solomon and 32 issues of The Spiritual Scientist Bulletin, a quarterly magazine, which was temporarily retired with the Winter 2002 issue. With the sadness of seeing the last publication of the Bulletin also came excitement. The Scole mediums Diana and Alan Bennett have been exploring their own particular interests in psychic phenomena and healing. They felt that they owed so much to those in the higher realms and knew in their hearts that they would continue to experiment in one way or another.

Alan wrote, “I have always seen in my mind’s eye, a phoenix rising from the ashes with renewed vigor to live through another cycle. Diana has always had that wonderful gift of ‘far sight’ and receiving guidance in her dreams, so it was no surprise when she told me that she had ‘seen’ the two of us working together again. She was told how we should take the first step in the form of a shared experience. We followed her vision of a simple experiment using a crystal, where the two of us linked together mentally and shared a journey of exploration. “This experience was incredible, as we were both shown such wonders and places. We were guided by a sentient being through a wonderful ‘magical mystery tour’ where we met another being whom we conversed with. Through several other forms of communication, we were shown how to set up an experiment that would, they explained, enable us to glimpse into other worlds (dimensions). We found that it was necessary to continue to follow our intuition, and to be ‘guided’ by them, if we were to achieve satisfactory results. It has required total dedication and perseverance as well as an open but still discerning mind. “Before I continue, I would like to mention one very important factor, and that is that old chestnut ‘total darkness.’ We were ‘guided’ to do this new work in full light. After so much criticism in the past regarding physical phenomena obtained in total darkness,

we decided that we would only continue to work as mediums in full light. This has proven not to be prohibitive in anyway whatsoever, as we have achieved very encouraging results. “These experiments are primarily attempts to see into, and capture, visions of other dimensions of existence. To be more precise, these visions are more like frozen images or pictures, of different moments in time as we look into these dimensions.” Since that first experiment, the Bennetts have conducted many more experiments, progressing and building on what they have learned. Alan told us, “It seems that the possibilities are endless, as we modify and introduce other equipment into the experiments. The experiments are based on the idea that there are dimensions not only beyond our own but within them also. By using a combination of electronic and photographic equipment coupled to image enhancement computer software (for magnification purposes only), we have been fortunate enough to obtain fleeting glimpses into these ‘other’ dimensions during our experimental sessions. The experiments also require focused visualization by the two of us to create a central focal point for the experiment.” Diana writes, “The images pictured here were obtained with the use of an ordinary camera and a good lens (not digital). The process requires us to strategically place crystals, according to instructions given by spirit. (This varies with each experiment.) Light is focused over the crystal area, some through mirrors, colored filters and/or reflective surfaces. We intuitively know when it is the optimum time

to take the picture. When the pictures are developed, they are digitized, enlarged and then examined using Photoshop. As you can see, the images and colors are fascinating. Sometimes, the images take up most of the frame sometimes only a small part.” What excites Alan is that “this new approach is only now possible with the advancement in electronics and the related computer technologies. Therefore, where will we be and what will we discover in the years ahead?” We are very excited to be able to report on Diana and Alan’s work and thank them for sharing some of the results that they have achieved. The face of a woman. She is a helper and the Bennetts have been given her name An old man facing right White Owl Man facing left Child-like face A face Diana and Alan Bennett ITC – 2 Also, see Diana and Alan Bennett- ITC1 (This book), Diana and Alan Bennett – ITC 2 (This book) and Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-Crystal Imaging (This book) Diana and Alan speaking at the 2006 ATransC Conference. (atransc.org/2006-aaevp-conference) (Book 5). ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved We are pleased to be able to share with you some of our more recent work in the field of ITC imaging. Since our Scole Group days, Diana and I have been continuing our work in trans-dimensional imaging. As some of you may know, this new work has taken us on quite a different path from those interesting experiments back

in ‘96 – ‘97. In those days we relied entirely on ‘spirit’ communication for direction, now it is a combination of communication and (more recently) allowing our ‘higher minds’ to guide us. We have felt for some time that the chances of getting good results are greatly improved if we offer as many variables as possible within the experimental framework. By this we mean, thinking of the experiments themselves as multi-dimensional and not just a singular attempt to get a singular result. We firmly believe that by supplying a randomized source of material for the ‘other side’ to use, we (and they) stand a far greater chance of success. Having found a working ‘formula’, we then attempt to get repeatable results until inspired to change direction. Faces seem to be the most common results up to this time. From the many images we have, around 90% are faces, or parts of faces. Sometimes the images are very small, so we cannot overemphasize the importance of studying in detail when checking the results. Our current experiments mainly take the form of a joint meditative session, where we raise our consciousness and focus together on our objective for that experiment. The equipment is pre-configured and ready to run, allowing us to focus on providing the best energy conditions. We usually have several ‘takes’ during a typical session, again leaving it to what feels right. Refraction and Reflection Man with beard created using a mirror—left side is reflection of right We have used

mirrors in a variety of ways. For example, to reflect a light source back into the point of focus (where we capture the images), to give the subject depth. Have you ever looked through a simple microscope and seen how adjusting the mirror (light source) gives the object greater depth and makes it stand out against its background? This is similar to what the camera sees during our experiments. Within our light experiments, we generate a vast spectrum of color and light intensities. Some of the light frequencies generated are of course beyond our own visible spectrum, so the resulting light contains much more information than we realize. We may include a mirror between the source and the subject or even beyond the focal point, allowing the light to flood back onto the subject. Apart from ordinary mirrors, we have used convex and concave types to very good effect. We have also experimented with polished metallic disks such as brass (yellow) and copper (red), which have created some of the more striking images. Clarity Man looking down, apparently with his hand near his face. We are now experimenting with other cameras and video, trying to increase the clarity of the images. Without getting too technical, it is the resolution of the captured image that governs the quality. If you haven’t captured a particularly clear image to start with, enlarging it (often necessary) only makes it worse not better. We have found that most video cameras ‘off the shelf’ offer a

far too low resolution for what we need. Having said that, they certainly have their place and do allow us to capture a ‘stream’ of frames all in one go. As a point of interest, we have captured at 25 frames per second but get better results at 10 fps. The reasoning behind this, again, is image (frame) quality. We also capture as a stream of individual bitmaps and not frames (more on this perhaps another time). Another factor that governs resolution and image quality is transferring your images into your computer. This requires imaging software and a ‘Capture card’ to be installed. We have found that some of these capture devices can be insufficient in their capture capabilities, so it’s money well spent when buying the best you can. Some of our best images have been obtained using ordinary photographic film. The results, whether transparencies or not, can be magnified many times without losing quality, allowing for a very fine image definition. This is due to fact we’re working with the ‘grain’ of a film and not ‘pixels’ as in digital photography. In an ideal world we need the best of both systems, and it is to this end that we are now working toward with new equipment. Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-Crystal Imaging Interdimensional Experiments of Diana and Alan Bennett Also, see “Diana and Alan Bennett- ITC 1” (This book), “Diana and Alan Bennett – ITC 2” (This book) and “Diana and Alan Bennett ITC-Crystal Imaging” (This book)

We have carried the ITC work of Diana and Alan Bennett in the NewsJournal a number of times. Through their presentation at the 2006 AA-EVP conference and through the Updated Edition of The Scole Experiment: Scientific Evidence for Life After Death, we are able to share more of their fantastic results as well as information on their experimental methods. An image of a man. The top of his face is very clear, even showing his hair. He appears to have a beard. The facets of the crystal can be seen although blurred (out of focus). This blurring is sometimes the result of the magnification, as we have to enlarge some of these images quite a lot. ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved The Bennetts are experimenting with refraction and reflection of light as a means of conditioning optical energy for image formation. As they explained in the updated version of the postscript of The Scole Experiment, “With our light experiments, we generate a vast spectrum of color and intensities bypassing the light source through a crystal. This source itself is variable, which, in turn, causes many different light patterns and colors to be formed. Some of the light frequencies generated are of course beyond our own visible spectrum, so the resulting light contains much more information than we realize. An image of a person facing you. ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved “We may include a mirror between the source and the crystal (focus) or beyond

the focal point, allowing the light to flood back onto the subject. Apart from ordinary mirrors, we have used convex and concave mirrors to very good effect. We have also experimented with polished metallic disks such as brass (yellow) and copper (red), which have created some of the more striking images.” As you can tell from some of the pictures taken by the Bennetts, they may use water along with a mirror. The camera that they presently use is a Fuji FinePix set on Fine (4048 x 3040 pixels), which produces a computer file of about 12Mb. They focus a concentrated light source onto the side of a crystal and then capture images. The resulting images must be studied in the minutest detail and may have to be magnified as some of the faces can be very small. A film camera mounted on a tripod and pointing down at an illuminated crystal. ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved The examples shown here display the flaws, facets and textures of the natural quartz crystal used in the experiment. Keep in mind that these characteristics of the crystal may help to make the phenomenal features possible, so a perfect crystal may not be desirable. The apparent scale of the imperfections should give you some sense of how much the photograph has been enlarged to display the phenomenal feature. Also, the great enlargement is supported by very high-resolution cameras. While the Bennetts are recording files of 12Mb per picture, a video

camera will only produce a file of 0.9Mb which will not support such drastic enlargement. During the conference, the Bennetts strongly suggested that people who plan to work with this technique should also consider the spiritual aspect of the experiment. As world-class mediums, they have learned that contact is often a function of the experimenter’s spiritual attunement. ©Diana and Alan Bennett – All Rights Reserved At this time, the updated version of the Scole Experiments is not available in the USA and must be purchased via Amazon.co.uk. Grant and Jane Solomon are writing a book called the Norfolk Experiment and for updates on their work visit www.thescoleexperiment.com. Debbie Caruso EVP Examples are ©Debra Ann Caruso - All Rights Reserved Also See: Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds (atransc.org/jenny-brandon-newlyweds) (Book 3) Please note that Debbie has made her transition to the other side Debbie Caruso was a prolific EVP experimenter who has attempted to contact longtime ITC researcher, Erland Babcock, who has recently made his transition to the other side. Erland has communicated with several Association members via EVP, and we think he is learning to continue his support of EVP research from the other side. In this example, you will hear Debbie say, “Hi Erland, It’s Debbie.” You will then hear the EVP, “Hi! Thank you Debbie. Debbie ... I can only talk to certain people.” We have a little difficulty hearing all of the last phrase, but the first portion is very clear. It is also interesting in the

way that the voice seems to phase in and out as the man speaks. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005debra_caruso-babcock.mp3 In this example, you will hear Debbie say, “If anyone’s here, and you are from the Big Circle, tell me your name.” You will then hear the EVP, “Rob .... Peter ... Joseph,” with each name spoken by a different person. The Big Circle is a group of ATransC members and loved ones on the other side who record together every other Thursday as a virtual recording group. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005debra_caruso-big_circle_names.mp3 EVP are energy limited in that they are usually short phrases. of just a few words, the shorter utterances tend to be louder and the longer ones tend to be less loud. Many will clearly trail off at the end as energy runs out. In the case of very long messages, the EVP will be delivered as short packets of words, with brief pauses between, apparently to allow for the accumulation of more energy. In this example, you will hear, “We’re living ... were all together ... Ma, ... among the living.” You may need to refer to the display below to help you find the words. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2006debra_caruso- were_among_the_living.mp3 Research Debbie has been helping the development work of Gary Nixon by testing the effectiveness of various hardware designs for EVP recording. Gary noted that, “Debbie and I have collaborated over the years, especially the last, where I would send her EVP detection gizmos and she would test them with the

‘regulars’ that always seemed to be around her. I was her Geek, and she, my Geekette, so named because of the arsenal of EVP gear she had collected.” The last item of technology she tested for him produced this EVP: you will hear Debbie say, “Merry Christmas” and what sounds like a small boy respond with “Merry Christmas.” Listen At: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cgary_nixon-debra_caruso2009- 25_dec_09.mp3 Downey Synthesized Speech EVP recorded by Margaret Downey ©Margaret Downey – All Rights Reserved Speech Synthesis can be tricky to work with, so please be sure to use a witness panel. (atransc.org/witness-panel/) As the technology of EVP recording evolves, new techniques have brought new forms of the phenomenon. The most common and best understood is the technique using a recorder, microphone and supplied noise for voice formation. It is theorized that actual voice formation is accomplished by amplifying a small telekinetic signal in the active region of transistors via stochastic resonance acting on ambient noise energy. This is a hypothesis, but it answers most of the evidence. We refer to this form of EVP as “Transform EVP,” and most of the examples on this website are of this kind. A currently popular technique for EVP collection is referred to as “radio-sweep.” This may be automated or manual and depends on the live voice of broadcast radio as a sound source. Small fragments of sound are formed into a new sound stream by rapidly sweeping the radio dial. This form of EVP may be referred to as “opportunistic EVP”

because it depends on the availability of sounds necessary to form the message just when they are needed at the moment each station is selected. A second approach to opportunistic EVP is EVPmaker. This computer program loads an input sound file into a buffer, and then using a random process to determine which part of the buffer to use as the next fragment of the output sound stream, forms a new sound stream. Several “random” sources are available and the fragment length is determined by the operator. Assuming prerecorded voice is used, the output is a staccato sound that contains randomly arranged voice fragments. Meaningful messages are sometimes found in the output, and it is thought that the communicating entity is influencing the random process to access the buffer to select the needed sounds. A great deal is known about transform EVP and false positive results are usually easily detected. Radio-sweep and EVPmaker pose the problem that normally occurring words and phrases in the live voice are easily mistaken as phenomenal message and use of live voice makes these technology unlikely candidates for research. See Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives (atransc.org/locating-false-positives) (Book 1) for a discussion of this problem. A new technique for voice formation involves speech synthesis, rather than live voice. For instance, Stefan Bion introduced a set of SpeekJet allophones on his website. These are fragments of sound used for the synthesis of speech for robotics. A few words may naturally occur when the allophones are

used with EVPmaker, but in general, if a word is formed and it seems to be meaningful, then it is unlikely to be a natural product of the technology. Real-Time Conversation Using EVPmaker and Allophones Margaret Downey has recorded convincing examples of EVP using just about every technique she has tried. In the example provided here, she used the allophones with EVPmaker in an attempt to conduct a real-time conversation. The output of EVPmaker is a steady staccato string of pieces of voice. Margaret spoke over this, so that you can hear her voice and the EVPmaker output in the background. She then lowered her voice in the recording and removed the non-relevant EVPmaker output for clarity. Here is the script: Margaret: Can you say A.B.C.? EVP: A.B.C.D.E. (this is buried in the main sound) Margaret: How about Tom Butler? EVP: Tom Butler. Margaret: Do you know the name of either of Tom Butler’s cats? EVP: (Sh)asta’s their cat. (the “Sh” sound is weak or missing) “Shasta” is the name of one of the Butler’s cats. Margaret: Do you have any pets? EVP: I have a pet. Margaret: I heard you say I have a…? EVP: Pet. Margaret: You have a what? EVP: Pet. Margaret: What kind of pet do you have? EVP: An animal. (Ask a silly question, get a silly answer!) Margaret: I understand you have a pet animal, but what is the species? EVP: A purple deer. Margaret: OK, I could have sworn you said you have

a purple deer. EVP: I told you, purple deer. Margaret: OK, I’m gonna close for the evening. Can you tell me goodbye? EVP: I love you. Margaret: I heard you say I love you. Love you too. EVP: Thank you. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2008-convo_with_arthur.mp3 Conversation With Arthur It is important to note that it is common in in transform EVP to recognize the voice of the person thought to be speaking, sex and approximate age of the speaker. This added information helps people recognize loved ones, and a message from a loved one is often very therapeutic. The output sound stream of EVPmaker can be transformed into voice as in transform EVP, but it is more common for EVP made with current applications of speech synthesis to be a more robotic voice with little personality. Another point that needs to be made is that, even though the voice is an emulation of live speech made by transforming noise into voice, transform EVP often includes the nuances of speech, such as plural and accents. Opportunistic EVP is more often an approximation based on available sounds that are close to what is needed. Thus, “I love you” might actually sound like “eh ove u.” In speech synthesis, the word can be more closely matched, but we do see novel spelling when the words are translated to text. Real-Time Communication Using the Paranormal Puck and Allophones A recent innovation in technology for EVP is the introduction of the Paranormal Puck by Digital Dowsing (digitaldowsing.com):

Owner and developer is Bill Chappell. This device connects to a Windows computer via a USB port. It includes temperature and electromagnetic sensors and a SpeekJet microchip. In one mode, the output is an environmentally stimulated string of allophones. Margaret Downey conducted sessions with the Puck by asking a question, and then turning on the puck for thirty seconds. She then turned off the puck and asked another question for repeated sessions. The result is the appearance of conversation but be aware that this is a very new technology and it is difficult to know what is actually occurring. The impression is that questions are ask and correctly answered. In this example, Margaret had the device turned on but had not decided whether or not she was going to conduct an experiment so she had said nothing. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2008- talk_to_him.mp3 Puck: Talk to him. Margaret: In this I asked, “Please say my grandson or granddaughter’s name.” (Dylan Scott or Hazel Ann – both on the other side) Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2008-scott.mp3 Puck: Scott Margaret: This wasn’t the answer I expected, but I like it, “Who are the babies with?” At 16 seconds, I heard, “Margaret” followed by “Dylan” at 23.5 seconds phoneme: ovrat (for Margaret) oops, forgot to note what it was for Dylan. Timing altered. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmargaret_downey2008- margaret_dylan.mp3 Puck: Margaret, Dylan Margaret: The previous three questions were answered the first time I asked. This was the third time in a row I had asked this question (and would

have been my last attempt before moving onto the next question.) It is important to remember that the technology being used in these examples should not normally produce recognizable speech. Yes, there is the probability of an occasional string of sound bits producing a recognizable word. A good comparison is that a thousand typing monkeys will eventually produce something meaningful; however, what is the likelihood of the monkeys producing something meaningful that is also a correct answer to a question just asked? EVP of Tom and Lisa Butler By Tom and Lisa Butler Tom and Lisa Butler in front of the Marilyn Monroe Cabin at the Cal- Neva Lodge at North Lake Tahoe. Picture taken by Janice Oberding John Belushi We were invited to help Universal Pictures to help them market the movie, White Noise. For the DVD release party that was held in the famous and haunted Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, we were asked to record for EVP in the hotel and play the resulting examples on camera. During that process, Lisa recorded, “John Belushi” in the Lombard-Gable Penthouse. We later learned that Belushi lived in the hotel when he first moved to LA, and that he learned to love the old hotel. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005butler_john_belushi_alone.mp3 Prepare to die We are often asked about the dangers involved in opening communication with the other side. All and all, recording for EVP is safe. Some message can be a little unnerving, but we are fairly sure those are a reflection of our

own fears. It is in the eyes or ears of the perceiver. In this case, we recorded the EVP, “Prepare to die,” when we asked, “Do you not want people here?” The words are spoken by what sounds like a southern gentleman about to engage his opponent in a duel, and we feel that the utterance being so dramatic, is more a humorous response than something that should be taken as threatening. This was recorded in the Levi House in Reno, Nevada. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005butler_prepare_to_die_only.mp3 We keep looking for peace In an investigation of the Cal-Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe for the Dead Famous television series, we were able to record in the theater built by Frank Sinatra while he owned the casino. Several mediums had reported a threatening personality lurking at the back of the stage area. In that same area, we recorded, “We keep looking for peace.” Our sense is that it was spoken by one of the bodyguards who protected some of the famous personalities who visited there. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler- we_keep_looking_for_peace.mp3 Hidden morphine On the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe is the Thunderbird Lodge built by George Whittell. We have participated in a couple of media events there that included opportunities to record for EVP. In this example, you will hear the voice of a woman say, “Hidden morphine.” We later learned that Whittell was addicted to morphine and his lady friend was a nurse who gave him morphine shots. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler_hidden_morphine-1.mp3 Betty’s in there

One of the bonus features on the White Noise DVD includes us recording in the haunted, Hollymont Castle in Beechwood Canyon, near Los Angeles, California. Lisa recorded “Betty’s in there” as we approached a bedroom. The Bedroom is at the top of the same stairs near which an orb was seen in the DVD bonus feature at about three minutes. As you can see in the picture below the white arrow is pointing at the black, fussy puff. It is shown a little clearer in the inset. The orb was rapidly moving and was only in a few frames. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005butler-bettys_in_there.mp3 Think Positively … instantly away When we visited Alcatraz, we recorded for EVP at a place from which San Francisco can be seen through a barred window. The city is beautiful and seemed very close. We knew it must have been terrible torture for the inmates to see freedom so close, yet so far away. Lisa said as much while recording, and captured this voice saying, “Think Positively … instantly away.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2005butler- think_positively_instantly_away.mp3 Paolo Presi … Alexander MacRae We had expected to encounter angry and confused personalities, but instead, recorded many positive remarks. We even recorded several voices saying”Paolo Presi,” an Italian ITC researcher we sometimes work with. This is followed by other voices saying, “Alexander MacRae.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler- paolo_presi_alexander_macrae.mp3 Please don’t come An example of an EVP being appropriate to a circumstance is an EVP recorded by Lisa Butler. The Butlers were asking a

woman about the upstairs lighting and sound room for the Frank Sinatra Theater at the Cal- Neva Casino at Lake Tahoe, CA. They had heard that the heavy door to the room often shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews setting up lights and sound systems for shows. The woman told them that she would never ever go up there. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the woman for her assistance. On the recording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her voice, is a clearly heard paranormal voice saying, “Please don’t come.” However politely said, it seems obvious someone did not want to be disturbed. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2004_please_dont_come-1.mp3 The Death Knell Lisa and I were asked by Universal Studios to help them market the Mickael Keaton movie, White Noise. They took us to a few reportedly haunted places where we did a walkabout while recording for EVP. One such place was the -Excalibur night club in Chicago. It was used as a temporary morgue for bodies from the ship, Eastland. Western Electric was having a company party on it, and before the ship left the dock, it rolled over and many people died. Lisa recorded the EVP “Death knell.” You can hear her ask, “Why do I feel so much sadness here?” Then a pause, followed by what sounds like a water drum “Da-dum!” and then the voice “The death knell.” Alternatively, it may say “The death toll.” See The Eastland Disaster Killed More

Passengers Than the Titanic and the Lusitania. Why Has It Been Forgotten? (smithsonianmag.com/history/eastland-disaster-killed- more-passengers-titanic-and-lusitania-why-has-it-been-forgotten- 180953146/) The first version below is as it was recorded. The words are Class C so I amplified it for the second exampled. We speculate that the drum sound is a lot like what rescue workers heard through the metal hull as trapped passengers tried to get out. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2005- excalibur_eastland_the_death_knell.mp3 Original The Death Knell Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2005- excalibur_eastland_the_death_knell-amplified-at-end.mp3 Amplified The Death Knell Faces in Light Reflected from Crystals by Tom and Lisa Butler We have been so inspired by the amazing results of Diane and Alan Bennett, and their results from reflecting light off of crystals, that we had been wanting to also try experimenting in this way. Diana and Alan had been kind enough to provide a couple of diagrams of their experimental setups, and we now had a higher resolution camera, so set up an area in the ITC room to run a couple of crystal experiments. After arranging the camera, lights and crystal in a configuration we felt would work, we did our normal meditation and then took a few pictures. We actually recorded some interesting results on our first attempts. The fourth experiment brought several more faces along with this interesting three-dimensional face. We were very pleased with the open mouth, as the mouth is often obscured in many of our pictures. Our next success with the crystal experiments was quite a surprise. We met with a small group every

Sunday morning for an hour of meditation. After our meditation, one of the members, Mary Beth, handed Lisa a picture of her parents and ask us to keep a lookout for them in our experiments. Lisa asked her to write the names of her parents on the back of the picture and then put it on her desk when we returned home. That afternoon we did another meditation on our own and conducted a few EVP experiments to test various settings on the two recorders we would be using at a video session for a shoot with the Sci Fi channel. We also worked with reflecting light off a couple of different crystals. When we looked at the results, the image of a man was clearly seen on the very first picture. The resemblance between the ITC picture and Mary Beth’s dad was noted with surprise. It was like he had heard her and stopped by during our experiment to make sure she got an ITC picture of him. Mary Beth felt that it was her father. We were so surprised with his answering her request so quickly that we wondered if he had been a powerful medium or something, but she explained that she had never known her father. He had left her mother before she was born. He had crossed over many years ago and they had never met. Mary Beth also told us that she had received a message from a medium at a Spiritualist church who

had asked her who Franklin was (this was her father’s middle name). The medium told her that Franklin was saying that he was sorry that he had not been part of her life. We were honored that the picture was so meaningful to Mary Beth and we also felt that the positive result was also due to the wonderful positive energy of our meditation group. Face on the Wall by Tom and Lisa Butler Note, this would be an example of Type II ITC as described in the Classification Best Practice (Book 1) (atransc.org/classifying-phenomena) Wall in the Spiritualist Desert Church in Las Vegas, NV The Reverend Catherine Stewart of the Spiritualist Desert Church in Las Vegas, NV brought this interesting and phenomenal image to our attention. If you look closely at the wall just behind the organ in the church, you can see the outline of a face in the variations of the paint. As you can see below, it is a light blue wall and the image is also shades of light blue, so we have enhanced a photograph of the face and provided it below for clarity. Look just to the left of the large round speaker, which is at the upper- right of the first picture. The face is in the middle (left to right) of the picture and about even with the center of the big speaker. If you look closely at the woman, you can see evidence of a lapel and a slender neck. See

also, the bottom picture. This is a close-up of the face on the wall without photo editing enhancement. The center section of the church wall. Look closely. You should see the slightest hint of a face. The above photo, but with contrast and intensity changes via a photo editor. There is evidence that the communicating entity is able to use any chaotic, well illuminated optical environment to produce their images. One person even found a decent face in well illuminated piece of sandpaper. (See the example here) This would be predicted by our working hypothesis. The Rev. Catherine Stewart wrote, “We do see other faces… The one face is always there, but sometimes her face is full, sometimes thin, sometimes she appears to be wearing a garden hat. One Sunday as we were singing our closing hymn several of us heard from that corner, a beautiful choir singing along with us. Years ago, I was given a message that we would have physical phenomena in the church that would draw many people to witness. That’s why I’ve been working with the trumpet; I thought that would be it—-maybe not. I do know that Spiritualism will reign.” We understand that such images are believed by physical scientists to be the chance arrangement of random events, but you should know that this argument does not accept the existence of a nonphysical reality or personal survival. If you take those two most important aspects of our reality into account, then it is more

likely that communicating entities seize the opportunity offered by physical noise to impress their likeness. New Chapter for the “Face on the Wall.” A recent ITC experiment conducted by Tom and Lisa Butler with their development group resulted in two images that look a lot like the woman whose face is shown above. The picture on the left most resembles the face on the wall, but the one on the right also has the narrow chin. If you look closely, you can see that they both have a hairline similar to the face on the wall. Again, both of these images were collected during the same ITC experiment. We cannot make the claim that they are the same, but other than the obvious similarities in facial characteristics, when the image was collected is evidential. The church congregation conducted a meditation at the church just before it was closed for the summer. At that time, they asked the lady on the wall to appear to other people. That was on a Sunday and the ITC images were collected by a Spiritualist development group in Reno, NV the following Monday evening. Faces on Turned Off Television Screens by Tom and Lisa Butler Of the many forms of paranormal photography, faces sometimes found in photographs of turned off television screens seems to be the most unusual. In spirit photography, the presence of an “extra” or apparition in the photographic frame is consistent with the concept that we who are still in the flesh

are providing sufficient energy (perhaps ectoplasm) with which the entity can become visible to the sensitive film or digital circuitry. In Photographic ITC, faces and other features that can sometimes be found in the optical noise of photographs is consistent with principles thought to be involved in Video ITC and EVP. But the presence of a face on a television screen, as if it were a photograph cut out and glued to the screen to be photographed, does not agree with any of the hypotheses presented thus far. By the way, we have seen enough examples of this form of phenomena to accept the validity of these examples. Thus, we are beginning a collection of such pictures with the hope that a pattern will emerge that will either fit this form of nonphysical phenomena into existing hypotheses or suggest a new one. So please, if you have an example of the phenomena as shown here, send it to us along with permission to use it in our study and details of how the picture was taken. This picture was taken in Las Vegas, Nevada and originally published in the October 1995 National Spiritualist Summit magazine. You can see a little boy taking his first steps. The picture was taken by the boy’s mother who is also the sister of the lady whose upper portion of her face is visible on the turned off television screen. ©ATransC – All Rights Reserved A confirming point to this is that it is reasonable

for the deceased sister to “show up” for the boy’s first step. The face was not visible when the picture was taken. Please Note: We have recently had a complaint that this picture must be a fake because the camera is aimed more at the TV than at the boy–odd for such an important event in the Boy’s life. We, as a matter of fact, are more interested in the face on the wall than the boy and have cropped the original picture, which was indeed, centered on the boy. Also, it is an interesting characteristic of phenomenal faces in all forms, that the bottom of the face is frequently obscured in some way. It is important that you do not let your natural suspicions keep you from the opportunity to learn about these phenomena. We know that this picture has been used in a preview for the movie, White Noise. Universal received permission to do so. Face on turned off TV 2: Photographer’s transitioned mother on turned off TV screen, as if peering in to see him and his grandson. Insert is enlargement of TV screen. © ITC Contacts with Animals? By Anabela Cardoso Previously published in the August 2008 ITC Journal: www.itcjournal.org Anabela Cardoso Since 1998, I have received several Direct Radio Voice (DRV) communications from a little voice that identifies itself as Nisha’s, one of my beloved deceased Doberman dogs. In 2001, I published in issue 5 of the ITC Journal “La historia de Tuly” (pp. 77-

80) by Maryvonne and Yvon Dray about an ITC contact with their daughter Karine’s deceased dog, Tuly. Like Nisha, Tuly is reported to have spoken with a human voice and to have said in French “Moi, j’comprends tout” (Me, I understand everything). The Drays, who are originally French, have also recorded sounds of horses, birds and cats. I myself, while recording a long DRV communication from Rio do Tempo Station, in March 1999, captured a beautiful bird singing and immediately asked the communicators if they had a little bird with them. Their immediate reply was, also, “Sim” (Yes). The moving story of Darren and Alex Williams’ communications with their beloved dog Fox was recently published in issues 29 and 30 of the ITC Journal and this was followed by Sonia Rinaldi’s paper “Contatos de Animais – Irrealidade ou uma Possibilidade?” published in issue 31 of the Journal (pp. 38 – 46). This story is about ITC contacts with Claudio Brasil’s deceased parrot, Lorinho, realized through the mediation of Sonia Rinaldi. Before publication of the article, I heard some of the audio files containing the communications that are the basis for it, and I can testify that I could easily understand most of the speech transcriptions that Sonia had sent me, together with the audio clips, pronounced in what sounded like a parrot’s voice speaking in Portuguese. Communications with animals seem to date from the very beginning of ITC contacts, and perhaps Klaus Schreiber was the first to report on them.

In his case, the striking EVP recording of a voice that identified itself as belonging to his deceased crow Jakob (Holbe, 1989 p. 126). In my editorial “Love Stories”, in issue 29 of the ITC Journal, I have described some facts of my life associated with the love for my beautiful dog Surya - to whom I owe, above and beyond many other things, the opening of the door to transcendence - and how I feel about these wonderful contacts. Nevertheless, the fact that we are publishing in this current issue of the Journal the translation into English of Sonia’s paper and Claudio Brasil’s analysis, made me return to a subject that I consider of great importance. The publication in English of those two texts is a result of the intense interest of some readers of the Journal, who could not follow the original story in Portuguese, and are very keen not to miss any information about ITC contacts with animals. I hereby thank Dr Fernanda Alcântara and Dr. Marília Alcântara Duarte for their translations of the original texts, which made it possible for all the English-language readers to discover Lorinho’s lovely story. In this scope, the most pertinent remark that comes to my mind is the following – why do we marvel at these apparent contacts with the animals we loved or, as a matter of fact, with any animals? The reply to this question is not an easy one. Is it because they are realized through electronic means,

and animals in our world cannot manipulate electronic devices? Or is it simply because those we call animals can communicate at all? The third and most absurd consideration would be based upon the disbelief that animals survive physical death. I will try to think aloud, so to speak, with my readers about these propositions, all of which are, in my view, absurd. We cannot imagine that the communication between this world and the next dimension of life is based upon the manipulation of electronic devices (which, in our opinion, animals would not comprehend), such as ours. That would be a very naïve and bizarre idea. I am not affirming that there are no devices in the next world that mediate in ITC contacts, because the communicators have stated on several occasions that they do use some form of devices (Alvisi 1976, Jürgenson 1967, Locher and Harsch 1995, Schäfer 1989, among others). Those devices, which at any rate must be very different from our technological means, on their own could not certainly accomplish a contact between dimensions, as our devices, on their own, cannot achieve any contacts from our side, either. This point has also been stressed by the communicators. “The technique does not replace the power of thought”, as the high entity ABX Juno is reported to have said at Peter and Gisela Härting’s home (Schäfer,1994, p. 145), and as we can easily confirm through our knowledge of the history of the subject. In reality in this world electronic devices

are indispensable for ITC contacts, but they are not their basis. Unfortunately, and although our understanding of the complexities involved in this marvellous means of communication is still very meagre, it would be equally untrue and very naïve to attribute the success of the communications to the psychic capacities of the experimenter. Undoubtedly, the process seems to be one of synergy between communicators, experimenter and devices, also involving factors unknown to us. But above all it seems to be exclusively directed by the communicators, although perhaps not dependent on them only. References to “permission to speak” are a constant in almost every experimenter’s practice, especially in DRV communications. Maybe love, an intense desire to communicate and a lot of work are from their side, as much as they are from ours, factors that facilitate the contact together with the necessary permission to speak. Moreover, it seems apparent that the more advanced contacts of DRV, computer texts, etc. need not only the supervision but also the help of high entities in order to render them possible. As to whom those high entities might be is a pure speculative exercise that should be avoided, because obviously we are not in a position to find out anything else other than what those higher beings themselves have told us (Locher and Harsch ibid, Schäfer 1989 ibid, Senkowski 1995, among others). The remark about the possibility as to whether animals can communicate is not very relevant because anybody with a superficial contact with animals will

easily acknowledge the fact that animals can and do communicate, but most of the times it is their human friends or companions who cannot understand them. In the May 2008 issue of Mensa magazine, there was a very interesting article that speculated about the possibilities that more advanced, subtle technologies may offer effective communication between humans and other animals in the not so distant future. Mensa also said that it remains to be seen if the accomplishment of such a possibility will increase animal exploitation by humans, or if it will make humans realize the existence of similar feelings and emotions of their fellow animals, and therefore make them more compassionate toward them. Indeed, that remains to be seen, but let us pray that the latter becomes true one day, no matter how difficult it may seem in view of the present terrible abuse we perform on animals. The third objection regarding animals’ survival of physical death. It is still commonplace to see references in the parapsychological literature, and elsewhere, to the “survival of human spirit or human mind”, or to the “spiritual nature of man”, etc. We should, I think, start by acknowledging that the ‘spiritual nature of man’ has practically destroyed the planet and made it uninhabitable for his own and all other species! If we do so, we cannot, of course, take such statements seriously. Religions, very especially monotheist religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam - are greatly responsible for this anthropomorphic, narrow view of the world

that has molded human thought and human mental patterns so prejudicially, throughout the centuries. Distinct ITC communicators in different parts of the world have mentioned the expansion of consciousness achieved in the next world. As I have mentioned elsewhere, Friedrich Jürgenson considered that the extraordinary capacities that the communicators seem to possess are also the result of the particular, most advanced conditions of their world (Jürgenson ibid). Interestingly, Rio do Tempo communicators confirmed this point years ago, when I once asked if their extraordinary capabilities – of being able to be in two places at the same time, to communicate telepathically with the animals and the plants, to travel with thought, etc. - were the result of the death process or if they pertained to their world and, therefore, were available to everybody. They said that the latter proposition was true. It seems that little Tuly’s sentence “Moi, j’comprends tout” avails this hypothesis, and reflects, furthermore, a tremendous expansion of consciousness. I believe that full consciousness – be it of little Tuly or of a highly developed human – is always there inside each one of us but our world, our senses, and our mental patterns confine it. Going back to our issue i.e., why would we marvel at animal ITC communications and not at human ones, I would say that in addition to the above mentioned ideas, human arrogance, an attitude that is chiefly based upon the human mental constructs of superior and inferior, also plays a part in

it. If we consider animals as ‘inferior’ we will be surprised that they even survive death and certainly that they could communicate from another dimension. However, if we ponder on the concepts of superior and inferior, we have to realize that they are also erroneous. In Nature, and Nature is all there is, there is no inferior or superior. In Nature everything is different and complementary but never superior or inferior. If not, how could it be that the beings we humans consider to be inferior, e. g. plants, bacteria, micro- organisms, minerals, are the foundation proper of life? How can they be inferior if, without them, life is not possible for any ‘superior’ being? Completeness, achieved through the active contribution of different but complementary parts, is one of the basic laws of Nature, and one which, in itself, invalidates the concepts of inferior and superior. At the very beginning of systematic ITC communications, Dr Konstantin Raudive recorded a voice that said “Kant does not have any importance here” (Breakthrough, 1971, page 30) while Rio do Tempo has said: “Aqui no Rio do Tempo somos todos iguais” (Here in Rio do Tempo we are all equal). On one particular occasion, after one of Nisha’s communications, when the communicators had also told me “We are in contact with Nisha and she wants to speak with you” (translation), I asked them if animals in their world had the autonomy to want to speak with me, and they replied with: “It is more

or less so”. When on another occasion I consulted the communicators on how animals progressed in their world, they answered with “They also try to know more”. Expansion of consciousness seems indeed to be a purpose of life in any form and in any stage. My dear deceased friend Pierre Théry, somebody with whom I had only occasional contacts but who I came to appreciate very much, reported on a recognizably authentic telephone conversation from Konstantin Raudive in the next world to a French lady, Mme. Aline Piget, during which he said: “I would like you to know, dear Aline, that the object of an earthly life is not just the goodness. The object is to be conscious…”. (Théry, 2000). Hence, it seems that the expansion of consciousness will attain a notable development in next world but it should definitely start in our world. Let us work for it. References 1. Alvisi, G. (1976). As Vozes dos Vivos de Ontem. Mem Martins, Portugal: Publicações Europa-América. 2. Holbe, R. (1989). Immagini dal Regno dei Morti. Roma: Edizioni Mediterranee. (German original 1987). 3. Jürgenson, F. (1967). Sprechfunk mit Verstorbenen (Freiburg im Br. : Herman Bauer. Republished 1981 by Goldmann Verlag (München). 4. Locher, T. and Harsch, M. (1989). Les Contacts vers l’Au-delà à l’aide de moyens techniques existent! Association Suisse de Parapsychologie et Cercle d’Etudes sur la Transcommunication du Luxembourg. (1995, édition française, Agnières: Parasciences) 5. Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead. Gerrards Cross: Colin

Smythe. 6. Schäfer, H. (1989). Original ed. Brücke Zwischen Diesseits und Jenseits. Freiburg: Verlag Hermann Bauer KG. 7. Schäfer, H. (1994). Ponte entre o Aqui e o Além, Teoria e Prática da Transcomunicação. São Paulo: Ed. Pensamento Ltda. 8. Senkowski, E. (1995). Instrumentelle Transkommunikation (first ed. 1989) Frankfurt: R. G. Fischer. 9. Théry, P. (2000). The first telephone contact in France by Konstantin Raudive. ITC Journal, 2, 42-43. Karen Mossey EVP ©Karen Mossey – All Rights Reserved Karen Mossey When Karen recorded this EVP she immediately recognized the voice to be that of her father. Other friends and relatives also recognized his voice. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cmossey2003_-i_love_you.mp3 “I love you” Karen’s father was a legislator in life and worked on passing laws. You will see that this is exactly the same voice as the “I love you” EVP. “I’m gonna pass a law … to pay you.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cmossey2004_pass_a_law_get_paid.mp3 Konstantin Raudive Contact via a Secret Phrase by Lisa Butler Konstantin Raudive Promised to Make Contact with a Secret Phrase During our last sitting with the Circle of the Silver Cord, David Thompson once again brought through Konstantin Raudive. He told us that he continues to try to communicate in every way possible. “I will never give up,” he said about his efforts to prove survival via transcommunication. He asked us to tell everyone that he is going to try to pass on a “code phrase” and wants everyone who can, to record on October 27, 2010 at 10 pm.

He was not specific as to time zone, so we think it would work best if you recorded at 10 pm your time. Look for him in other forms of phenomena as well. We were 32,000 feet above Ely, Nevada at 10 p.m., on our way to England. Since we were crossing time zones, we picked Florida time because that was where we were for the séance. Unfortunately, we were close to the engines and all our recorder picked up was their noise. ATransC received no reports via the website contact tool. However, many members reported that they recorded Konstantin’s name. Jutta Lebmann of the German VTF (vtf.de) reported “...just in the beginning of the recording a high female singing voice announces ‘Kommt Raudive’ and then a male voice similar to Raudive’s lifetime voice says ‘Raudive ... kommt Raudive....’, the messages are in German language.” “Kommt” translates to English as “come.” The promised code phrase was “Light 22” and we are happy to report that an ATransC member succeeded using EVPmaker and crowd babble. The “light” is clearly discernible, but the “22” is a little more difficult to hear. Because this is not a Class A example, we will not post it here. Linda Williamson EVP by Lisa Butler ©Linda Williamson – All Rights Reserved Linda has sent us a number of interesting soundtracks. Included here are three that you may find interesting. Linda began recording when she encountered a “negative entity” where she once worked. She purchased a Dictaphone

to keep oral notes about this continuing encounter at her workplace. As you might guess, she discovered unexpected sounds and voices mixed amongst her recorded thoughts. Thus, began her search to understand EVP. We should note that Linda is Scottish. Thus, you will note that her EVP have a detectable Scottish accent. The first track is a man saying, “I need a match.” The voice is thought to be that of the grandfather of a person who was present for the recording session. He was always running out of matches. Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cwilliamson2000_i_need_a_matches.mp3 A man saying, “I need a match.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cwilliamson2000_i_see_her.mp3 A woman saying, “I see her.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cwilliamson2000_good_luck.mp3 A man saying, “Good luck.” Lisa and Tom Butler Nor-Cal EVP by Tom and Lisa Butler Tom and Lisa Butler at the Cal-Neva Lodge, North Shore, Lake Tahoe. The white line through the fire screen separates California (left) from Nevada. Picture taken by Janice Oberding In this first example, we were recording in one of the cell blocks at Alcatraz. You can hear Lisa say, “You can speak on this device.” Immediately after that, one or two men can be heard saying, “That’s right, we know you.” The example appeared in Tom’s recorder but not in Lisa’s. It has been slightly filtered above 1300 Khz. Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2004_thats_right_we_know_you.mp3 “You can speak on this device,” “That’s right, we know.” Lisa was in the Saint Mary’s Art Center (hauntednevada.com) in Virginia City, Nevada, conducting part of a workshop

for the Truckee Meadows Community College. The south-west corner of the multi-story building is often associated with apparitions, cold spots and general sensations of energy. Lisa had entered into the field of energy in the basement, and while recording for EVP, she commented on the sensation of energy she was feeling. Right after that was a gravelly voiced lady said, “Get back dear,” as if Lisa was standing too close to her. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2003butler_get_back_dear.mp3 “Get back dear” During a hauntings investigation at the Cal-Neva Resort at Lake Tahoe, CA/NV we recorded this EVP in the cabin that was used by Marilyn Monroe. The Cal-Neva was owned by Frank Sinatra at one time and Marilyn had her own cabin there. They had been calling on Marilyn to speak to them and got this voice that sounds like her. But as you may know, they cannot say for sure that this is Marilyn. Anyone on the other side could have mimicked a voice to give what they were asking for. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler_wana_see_a_movie.mp3 “Wana see a movie?” This EVP is actually spoken at the same time that Lisa is speaking and is a good example to practice hearing EVP. Again, at the Cal-Neva, they were given a tour of Sinatra’s dressing room which is now an office for the banquet staff. The employee that invited them in, said that she felt the place to be very haunted. We were asking her about the upstairs lighting and sound room, as we had

heard that the heavy door often shut for no apparent reason, scaring the crews setting up lights and sound systems for shows. She told us that she would never ever go up there. Lisa’s recorder was on while she thanked the lady for her assistance. On the recording, Lisa can be heard saying, “Thank you very much.” Underneath her voice, is a clearly heard paranormal voice saying, “Please don’t come.” However politely said, it seems obvious someone did not want them in the sound and lighting room! Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2004_please_dont_come.mp3 “Thank you very much.” “Please don’t come.” Here is a typical EVP so that you will know what to look for on your recordings. Listen very closely. Headphones would help. You can hear the faint reply, “Jason.” This is the raw soundtrack recorded with a digital recorder. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2002_-jason.mp3 “Can you tell us your name”? ... “Jason.” Here, the phenomenal utterance, “Jason” has been enhanced by selectively adjusting the soundtrack envelope, noise reduction and amplification. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/cbutler2002_-jason_amplified.mp3 “Can you tell us your name”? ... “Jason.” Amplified Martha Copeland EVP by Lisa Butler ©Martha Copeland - All Rights Reserved Martha Copeland with George Wynne Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, transitioned as a young woman. Martha had accidentally left Cathy’s dog, Dojo, in the house when she left to go shopping. She had also left her voice activated IC recorder on. No one was in the house except for the animals. Dojo tore up a potted plant and made a great

mess. You can hear an EVP from Cathy as she scolds the dog saying, “Doja No.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ccopeland2004_doja_no.mp3 “Doja No.” Martha was repeatedly recording the voice of a grumpy old man. She decided that it might be her grandfather. When she asked, “Can you tell me the grump’s name,” you hear the sarcastic response, “Tell her it’s Satan!” The “Tell her it’s Satan” portion has been amplified. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ccopeland2003_tell_her_its_satan.mp3 “Can you tell me the grump’s name”? ... “Tell her it’s Satan!” Our Introduction to Faces in Light Reflected from Water by Tom and Lisa Butler Visual ITC can be encountered in many different ways. The common denominator is the availability of chaotic light somewhere in the field of view of a camera. For instance, the video feedback loop is used as a chaotic light generator. As you will see below, light reflected from many different surfaces is also chaotic, and when closely examined in photographs, may support phenomenal images. This example was collected by Arthur Soesman using what is sometimes referred to as the Arthur Soesman method. It is illustrated in the accompanying picture (right). In this technique, the bottle is partially filled with liquid and then agitated while a picture is taken of the surface of the water. In the picture, you can see the face of a man inside of the red square. ©Arthur Soesman - All Rights Reserved Phyllis Delduque Visual ITC ©Phyllis Delduque – All Rights Reserved Phyllis Delduque is a Brazilian researcher who

has been working with ITC since 1998. She works with both voices and images. She told us that ITC not only changes one’s ideas about the continuation of life but also transforms the consciousness of the individual. Her contacts from the other side share teachings as well as messages from friends and relatives who have already gone to the other side of life. Phyllis feels that the majority of what she receives through ITC is related to spiritual mediumship with the other factors being the equipment and methodology. Phyllis has a blog with examples at transcomunicaoinstrumental.blogspot.com Please note that Phyllis worked with Paulo Cabral between 1998 and 2007 when Paulo made his transition. The Video loopback pictures below were recorded by them. Sarah Estep EVP by Tom and Lisa Butler The following examples have been recorded by Sara Estep, the founder of AA-EVP (now the ATransC). She usually used an audio tape recorder and external sound source; however, she also has had great success recording in the field with little more than a simple hand-held cassette recorder. • Sarah asked, “Were you aware that I was on the porch last evening when I went out there?” Answer, “I found you there.” This is a singing voice. Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_I_found_you_there.mp3 • As Sarah begins recording, someone said, “That is your girl.” This is taken from the reverse side of the tape–you can hear Sarah’s voice in reverse followed by a singing voice. Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_that_is_your_girl.mp3 An entity said, “Death

no more a casket.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_death_no_more_a_casket.mp3 • Sarah had been setting in her office reading the night before this recording was made. She noticed a black and silver object spinning about a foot off the floor, several feet from her. It was in view for about two seconds. The following morning, she asked what the object was. On the reverse side of the tape, a voice replied, “We’re down beside ya.” You can hear Sarah’s voice in reverse followed by a male voice. Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_were_down_beside_you.mp3 • Sarah has taped in many places that would be considered to have ghosts. This voice was recorded at Point Lookout, a haunted lighthouse in Maryland. It was used during the Civil War as a prison camp. “I was seeing the war.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_i_was_seeing_the_war.mp3 Please read before emailing us about this EVP: It is interesting that we have had several messages from visitors to this site that have wanted us to know that they hear the EVP we call, “I was seeing the war,” in other ways. For instance, “I was seeing the water” or “I will see you no more.” We can understand how these alternative interpretations are possible. Sarah was in a lighthouse that was used as a Civil War hospital, and it is natural for her to have been looking for a Civil War related interpretation. Someone listening to the EVP in a different setting could very easily hear the utterance in a different way. Sarah

has given her permission for Universal to use this example with the interpretation that better supports the story in White Noise. We do not know who the person is to which Universal attributes the voice. The Butler’s were on-site for a television program and standing in front of the video camera for an interview. On cue, the “I was seeing the war” example was played over a pair of very large studio speakers that were on the floor directly behind them. There was no doubt that there was a “ter” sound at the end of the utterance. This might be a good example of how EVP are not made like normal voice, and how they are listened to has a lot to do with how they are understood. See the online listening trials report for a discussion about this. • Sarah asked entities how they can locate her when she is sitting at her tape recorder. Answer “I found the link.” Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/cestep1985_I_found_the_link.mp3 • Sarah was apparently in contact with the great composer, Beethoven for many of her experiments. Here is one saying “Ludwig.” You first hear Sarah introducing the example. This is a Class C example and would not normally be exhibited except for its historical value. Listen at: http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/beethoven-c1982- 2000estep-ludwig.mp3 • In this example, you hear Sarah introduce the EVP and then the EVP: “You have the famous Beethoven.” It is repeated after about a half second of silence. Some of the noise has been removed

in the repeat. This is a Class C example and would not normally be exhibited except for its historical value. Listen at: http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/beethoven-c1982- 2000estep-you_have_the_famous_beethoven_repeat.mp3 • Sarah recorded an EVP stating that Beethoven would play music for her that evening. Even though there was a thunderstorm underway, she recorded and you will hear the resulting music. You also hear Sarah speaking over the music at one point, and also the sound of thunder. Remember that she could not hear the EVP as she recorded it. Listen at: http://atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/beethoven-c1982- 2000estep-complete_music.mp3 The complete Beethoven EVP Transcommunication Via Telephone Calls by Tom Butler Copyrighted Material Previously published in the Spring 2012 ATransC NewsJournal (Updated 12-12-2013) Transcommunication via telephones has been around for years. In their groundbreaking 1995 book, Hello From Heaven, Bill and Judy Guggenheim ( after-death.com ) identified twelve of the more common types of After Death Communication (ADC). One was telephone calls, about which they wrote: “These ADCs may occur during sleep or when you are wide awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and if you answer it, your loved one will give you a short message. Two-way conversations are possible. His or her voice will usually be clear but may seem far away. If you are awake, you will probably not hear a disconnect sound or a dial tone when the call is completed.” Please note that the ATransC has not received official permission to use it here and is doing so with the hope that the owner will contacts

the Association to provide background information. Possible Cellphone Message from a Person Still in the Physical Shortly after an appearance on the Montel Williams Show, the Butlers were contacted by one of the show’s staff, asking for an opinion about a cell phone message a viewer had submitted. They were told the woman was sleeping in one room and her husband, John, was sleeping in another. They were also told that he was snoring rather loudly. The first part of the recording is a confusing sound similar to the sound of quickly turning a radio dial between a strong station and noise. During that sequence, a woman’s voice can be heard to saying “speak,” something about “Johnny,” “John” and several unintelligible words, all intersticed with bursts of noise and short intervals of relative quiet. The last of these sounds are shown in part (1) of the waveform to the right. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/MontelWilliams- CellPoneEVP-raw.mp3 “Johnny” raw file Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/MontelWilliams- CellPhoneEVP-LastPart.mp3 “Johnny” part discussed below enhanced As if the intelligence controlling the signal finally found the right frequency, there is a strong burst of noise (2) which tapers off to relative silence and a woman’s voice says “Johny” (3). This is followed by the same voice singing “Johny, I’ve got Johnny in my ear, in my ear, in my ear.” (4-8) After this, you hear the telephone company announcement that the message is complete. Even though we provided a detailed analysis of the recording, the Montel Williams staff did not

respond to our questions and we do not know who made the recording. It is a very interesting example and we would like to know more about it. We are interested in receiving other examples. Other examples have many of the same characteristics as the Montel Williams example, leading to the speculation that the study of these messages might shed light on a form of transcommunication that is not normally experienced with transform or opportunistic EVP. Characteristics As the Guggenheims described telephone call ADCs, the voice typically sounds “far away.” Other characteristics include: • The circuit often sounds hollow as if there is a little echo, but echo that is unstable as if blown by the wind. • There is often a “tuning in” or “breaking in” of the signal. As in wave shape (2) in the figure, this “tuning in” is heard as a gradual suppression of noise and momentary emergence of a coherent signal. • Both in the Montel Williams example and in the one sent by the website visitor, speakers often seem to be speaking near the limit of their vocal range as if trying to project their voice to be heard. • The message is not always personal or even meaningful to the receiver. As with the Montel Williams example, the message is more like the subconscious musing of a sleeping wife. • In the calls referred to in the article on Bobby (page 3) received by the Michael Hauser family, the calls came first on

an answering machine and then showed up as coming from various family members’ cell phones without any physical record of them coming from those phones. • In other examples that we have received, there are no telltale telephone circuit sounds. The calling number may be shown but the calling telephone is turned off or broken, again leaving no evidence the call was made by that device. These characteristics lead to the speculation about some form of discontinuity in time, much as Ken Webster described in his book, The Vertical Plane. In that book, he reported a spontaneous series of messages in 1984 from a person living in the past, and later, a person living in the future–all via his low-tech computer. * Are some of the telephone calls evidence of a slip in time, rather than messages from people on the other side? If some of the messages are via slips in time or even slips in space, are trans-etheric messages (EVP and the telephone calls from loved ones) made possible by the same technology? Some EVP are clearly communications from transitioned loved ones, but some are also from people still in the physical. This is one of the reasons we speculate in the Implicit Cosmology (ethericstudies.org/implicit-cosmology) essay that our personality is always in the etheric–whether we are still in the physical or transitioned to the other side. If this is true, then all phenomena involving subtle energy are probably a trans-etheric influence. Considering this, then do all of the

messages Alison is recording–slips in time and normal EVP– involve the same technology? It is interesting to speculate about these phenomena, but there is considerable work that needs to be done before we can speculate with any authority. More telephone call examples need to be studied and it would be nice to receive more examples of messages that seem to be from the past or from time slips. On her part, Alison has agreed to work with scientists to better understand the nature of her communication but that would need funding and qualified scientists to carry out the work. And as always, what our members are interested in studying does not even come close to what mainstream science is interested in studying. The issue of money continues to be our biggest problem with research. Let us know if you have other examples or ideas that might further our understanding of these phenomena. The website article will also ask for input and you can use that as a reference. * Senkowski, Ernst, (1995) Instrumental TransCommunication, (worlditc.org/c_07_senki_f_content.htm#F-38) Chapter F-38, WorldITC.org Tina Laurent EVP ©Tina Laurent – All Rights Reserved AA-EVP member, Tina Laurent, lives in Wales. As a long-time EVP experimenter, she offers lectures on ghost and paranormal communication. Tina is a considerable authority in the subject. On the EVP example of Tina’s that is offered here, you can hear Tina ask if the communicating entities “Pray to God.” She was using a French speaking radio program for background noise, and you

had devised a list of six standard questions which were asked one at a time, with thirty- second intervals between asking one question and the next. This was done in a standard formal way, with good, quite loud voice projection. One of the questions was, “What is your name?” So, I’d ask: Question (loudly spoken): What-is-your-name? The reply surprised me. It sounded like the streetwise NYC cat in the cartoon series, Top Cat. Response: “Who wansta know?” Another time when I asked the same question, I got the same type of response. Question (loudly spoken): What-is-your-name? Response: “Stop shoving me around” What on earth was going on? Eventually I realized that the questions must have sounded like an interrogation, like a questioning authority. “My golly,” I thought, “these are sentient entities. They are sensitive to what I say, or at least, to the way that I say it.” So, the question was modified to, “Would you mind telling me your name?” and the intentionality was toned down, so it just sounded kind and interested and casual. And the results were good. There were four sessions in March 2005 and a good percentage of the responses were in context and in the right thirty-second timeframe. Already the point was proven! But in April we began to lose some of the response categories. There were no in-context responses to some of the questions. Were they losing interest in those questions? Even stranger, however, was the fact that there were one or two

in- context responses that occurred BEFORE the questions were asked. In May, there were some more anticipatory responses. In fact, you could see the trend growing from late March until early May. More and more answers came before the question was asked. So, were the entities not just sentient but precognitive? Or had they just learned what was going to happen? Later, it looked as though it was just an experimenter effect. Two more things were happening. The number of responses was growing rapidly, month on month, but the number of in-context responses was decreasing. The responses were becoming more meaningless. But then, as the months went by, it was noticed that, though the responses had ceased to relate to the questions asked, they were actually relating to each other. Here is a made-up example: 1st voice: I’ll never see John again. 2nd voice: You never liked him anyway. 3rd voice: You can talk, loser. 4th voice: Stop your noise. Give me peace. Trying to make sense of this required a great deal of analysis, and I will try to compress this, in what follows. The present understanding is that a part of the brain called the phonological loop is involved. Centuries ago, without the knowledge that we have nowadays about neural networks, the Swedish scientist Emmanuel Swedenborg, wrote that the speech of spirits was characterized by being rapid and rhythmic. (Spiritual Diary by Emanuel Swedenborg), and early EVP research, too, typified EVP as being speeded up and rhythmic. My

own first research showed that, based on many examples from other people, the length of an EVP utterance was typically less than two seconds. This observation was corroborated in Europe by Ernst Senkowski and Carlo Trajna. Coincidentally, it so happens that the size of the working memory in the part of the brain called the phonological loop is around two seconds. The above diagram is based on the Introduction to Experimental Psychology course at McMaster University, Canada. Notice the use of the terms “inner ear” and “inner voice.” The recognition of sound patterns goes way back on the evolutionary tree and is crucial to survival. You’d better recognize a lion’s roar, and quickly, if you don’t want to end up as its lunch. Recognition had to be exact and it had to be fast. And this is still true of the sound-pattern recognition system that we call speech. The recognition process occurs through rapid recycling of the speech pattern through the phonological loop. As the memory storage to do this is only two seconds long, the empty spaces between words are “a waste of space,” and so these intervals are compressed to a standard shortness; “formatted,” to borrow a computer word. This means that the “inner speech” has a regular beat which is staccato or rhythmic. And it is shortened in time; “speeded up” is the usual term used. In other words, there is a 100% correspondence between “inner speech” and EVP. The implication is that for EVP, you still

need an actual person around. The way that Swedenborg put it, hundreds of years ago: Human speech passes in through the ear, by an external way, by means of the air; but the speech of spirits does not enter through the ear, nor by means of the air; but by an internal way, into the same organs of the head or brain. Consequently, the hearing is the same. (Arcana Coelestia (Paragraph 1635) by Emanuel Swedenborg) …it is spiritual ideas which constitute their speech. When these inflows into man’s memory they excite words corresponding to the ideas and the like, which man has in his memory. (Spiritual Diary (Para 2138) by Emanuel Swedenborg) So, you could say that EVP, like mediumship, needs a participating person to work. You could it call it Electronic Mediumship (EM). How inner speech gets from the brain to the EVP equipment is a remaining puzzle, but one that we are looking into. Once again, thanks to all who participated in the Bial Project, it has led to a big advance in our understanding of EVP. Research Project: Energy Profile of Transform EVP This study is suspended due to lack of participation proposed by Tom Butler Previously published in the Summer, 2013 ATransC NewsJournal The study began with: Seeking EVP Examples for Study, (atransc.org/compare-transform) (This book) Abstract The propose of the article, with is to issue a call for transform Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) examples in the form of an audio output file containing the EVP and

a file containing the environmental sound and/or sound used as input for voice formation. Both files must be so configured as to allow side-by-side comparison from a marker sound. The examples will be analyzed in an effort to find a relationship between EVP formation and the energy profile of the sound file which contains the example. An overview of the various forms of EVP and current theories for transform EVP formation are provided. A hypothesis is proposed that transform EVP are formed via stochastic resonance and that the source energy in the form of the message (that which is amplified) is made available by strategically apporting sounds already present in the physical. The study is expected to show a net increase in energy associated with EVP. Introduction One of the first questions we faced in 2000 as new directors of the AA-EVP concerned how the paranormal voices of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are formed. Since any serious study of any phenomenon requires a theory describing the means of its formation, one of our first acts was to draft a theory for EVP formation. Early efforts to model EVP were confused by the different technologies being used to produce the phenomenal voices. Stefan Bion (1) developed EVPmaker which depends on the psi influence on a random process to select prerecorded voice fragments to produce EVP. Frank Sumption (2) introduced radio-sweep, which depends on bits of fortuitously occurring radio broadcast sounds to produce EVP. More recently, Bill Chappell (3) developed devices for

EVP that depend on environmental energy changes to select words or voice fragments to produce EVP. Ordinary audio recorders have been used since the discovery of EVP in 1959, and EVP examples produced by them are an often-studied form of EVP. Listening panels consistently rate audio recorder EVP higher than those collected with other technologies. (4)(5)(6) Since the examples collected with a recorder have been shown to be formed out of available background noise, they are referred to by ATransC as “transform EVP.” At the turn of the century, Alexander MacRae, (7) Paolo Presi (8) and Daniele Gullà (9) were amongst the few people conducting studies of EVP using scientific methodology. Based on that early work, it was possible to compile a list of common characteristics exhibited by EVP which is still used today. (10) Functional Areas of a Recorder It may be useful to first have a picture of the functional areas of an audio recorder. In Figure 1, the left triangle represents the input amplifier for a typical digital voice recorder. Because the sound received from the environment is necessarily analog, the input stage is also analog. The diagram equally applies to a computer being used as a recorder with microphone and speakers. Figure 2 shows the basic parts of all analog stages. Note the feedback loop used as a gain control. This circuit is designed to promote stability and signal quality. It often involves threshold limits that, like the squelch control for CB radio, is capable of

introducing instability in the signal flow if not correctly designed. The Analog-to-Digital conversion process (A/D) is shown in Figure 3. Note in Figure 1 that the input amplifier is connected directly to the A/D stage, and that the output of the A/D is digital in the form of binary words which represent the amplitude of the signal and when in time that amplitude was measured. Design of these components is usually based on the principle that information about a sine wave can be digitally stored and the wave can be later reproduced with only two samples. Voice is in the 5 Hz to 4 kHz range which can be reproduced with a sample rate of 8 kHz. This design approach also means that recorders can only record what can be sampled. A digital voice recorder such as a Panasonic RR-DR60 with a sample rate of 8 Khz will only record up to 4 Khz sound. Music- quality recorders should have a sample rate of at least 44.4 Khz and record up to 22 Khz. In practical terms, the average digital recorder is incapable of recording audio that is outside of normal hearing. Note also in Figure 3 that the digital words representing each sample are pulses rather than an analog wave. Each word has start and stop pulses which allows the internal computer program to know where the word belongs in the sound stream. Any other digital word, say from a cell phone, cannot be confused with words in the

recording device. What this means is that stray radio waves cannot be detected in the digital stage. It is possible for AM radio to be detected by the input amplifier and included in the conversion to digital; however. Active, Nonlinear Regions A typical electronic circuit consists of resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors. Of these, only transistors are used to amplify a signal; they are nonlinear devices, meaning that there may be a gain between the input and the output. The important point is that the region between the input and output where gain occurs is an energetically active region, meaning there is a dynamic change in energy and not just the storage or loss of energy. This region may be where the telekinetic psi influence is able to produce changes in ambient noise to produce the voices of EVP. The presence of active regions is important because all of the theories for how EVP are formed depend on a nonlinear, active region. It is also important because the physical processes in these active regions are near quantum scale, which is the level of granularity that is possibly required for detection of psi influences. Single Point of EVP Injection Evidence indicates that transform EVP are formed in a single channel of a recorder. For instance, when using a stereo recorder, the EVP will be found on only one side. When using many recorders at the same time, say in a group setting, the EVP will be found on only one

of the recorders. This suggests that the information is injected into the circuit at a specific place … possibly in one of the potentially dozens of transistors in the typical input stage of a recorder. Transform EVP Characteristics Common characteristics of transform EVP provide insight about the nature of their formation: EVP Forms in Analog Circuits As a general rule, once an EVP sound file is placed in digital memory, it is faithfully reproduced each time it is played. This indicates that EVP formation probably occurs somewhere between the input and the A/D conversion as shown in Figure 1. Ambient Noise Evidence indicates that the voice in EVP is formed from available audio- frequency sound. For instance, it is possible to produce layered EVP composed of elf-like voices formed from the high frequency sound of trickling water and more human sounding voices from the lower-frequency sound of a common household fan. Microphone Not Required A microphone is not required if the recorder has sufficient internal noise; however, one is useful for introducing additional noise and making a record of the practitioners actions. Most Useful Sound for EVP Formation Broad-spectrum audio-frequency sound with many transients (spikes or short pulses) appears to be more effective for voice formation than a steady- state signal with little change in amplitude, phase or frequency. See Figure 4. Cultural Influence of Content There appears to be a cultural influence on EVP that is related to the practitioners beliefs or those of an interested observer. In view

of this, there appears to be a similarity between coloring of mediumistic messages and EVP; both may share a common process. EVP are Objective Blind listening panel tests average 20% to 25% correct understanding of multiple-syllables examples. Questions of illusion, delusion, deception and the ordinary being mistaken as paranormal have been addressed and discarded under controlled conditions. EVP are Interactive A question can be asked with the expectation of recording an answer which is appropriate for the circumstance. An important practical application of EVP is the potential to establish meaningful, continuing communication with a transitioned loved one. In such admittedly rare instances, gender, age and the nature of unexpected information in the EVP can be agreed to by uninformed witnesses. EVP Are Intended Communication Both the etheric communicator and the practitioners attention is on the recorder during a session, and more specifically, on the microphone or input of the recorder. This understanding is reinforced by the fact that EVP are formed in one channel and possibly in one component. Transform EVP Hypothesis This hypothesis is based on the Trans-survival Hypothesis, which is further explained in the Cosmology Series of essays. These articles are available for review in the theory section of ATransC.org. Please contact us if you are unable to access the material online. (It is important to keep in mind that this is a proposed model designed to explain how EVP are formed. It requires vetting that can only come from you. Please let us know your thoughts and

suggestions.) EVP are conceptual influences which produce objective effects. Any theory explaining their formation must necessarily address both the conceptual (etheric space) of the communication and the objective (physical space). With this in mind, the hypothesis is presented here in three parts: Morphic Field The term “morphic field” is suggested by the concept of morphogenesis; morphic is a suffix meaning having a specified shape or form. Fields in this context are conceptualized as subtle energy regions of reality which organize the formation of objects of reality including life forms, physical objects and ideas; thought forms. A morphic field (11) is a subtle energy field that defines and causes the organization of component parts of an object into a unit. In biology, it is theorized that this is the guiding principle determining how cells form, each according to its unique purpose. For this to be possible, morphic fields must contain the rules determining which of many possible outcomes will be expressed by biochemical processes for a specific life form but which are common to all living organisms. This selection of possible outcomes may be comparable to the selection of audio characteristics for voice formation. Morphic fields are etheric rather than physical, and as such, represent the necessary interface between the etheric communicators and the physical recorder for EVP formation. Since they bring order to processes, they are the expression of the persons intention for the process to unfold. The fields also represent habitual behavior or collective memory of what they represent.

In the context of EVP, this memory would tend to assure that the most common expression of something is the easiest. While the momentum of habit is the dominating influence, research indicates (12) the expression of intention can and does change the field. In that way, the field learns, and once learned, if the result is successful, the influence of the new habit is universally expressed in every instance of the field. In the same way, as EVP becomes easier in one location, it should become easier everywhere. Stochastic Amplification As objects of etheric space, morphic fields require a physical process to have a physical effect. Stochastic resonance11 is a physical process by which a weak signal is amplified in a nonlinear system when a large noise background signal is applied. Since a common factor in many forms of trans-etheric influence is the presence of noise, it is speculated that a weak telekinetic influence (the signal) is made stronger via stochastic amplification. In electronic circuits, the active regions of tubes and transistors provide the necessary nonlinear condition for amplification. In this theory, a morphic field is thought to represent the weak psi signal, but rather than the signal containing explicit information such as “Hello,” it would contain influences on the stochastic process favoring the selection of audio-frequency energy required to say, “Hello.” Adaptive Materialization Some amount of order naturally occurs in noise, which results in a “bunchiness” in reality where one would expect an even distribution. This appears to be

true at all scales and is likely due to small variations being amplified via stochastic resonance. EVP formation appears to be affected by this uneven distribution; the optimum background noise for EVP has been shown to be broad-spectrum audio-frequency sound punctuated by short spikes or sharp perturbations in the noise. The words are formed out of the sound but the spikes appear to be useful to initiate the process. See Figure 4. Especially considering the nature of EVP, it is evident that trans-etheric influences are energy-limited phenomena. This naturally leads to the question of where the energy comes from in the first place. Apports are an important class of objective phenomena. They are physical objects found in one part of the physical and transported to another location, usually as a sign or gift. A communicating entity is credited with control of the process, which in essence, is the dematerialization of a physical object, movement of the resulting conceptual information in etheric space and the materialization of the object in a new location. Apportation is spontaneous and seemingly impossible to study clinically, so little is known about possible ways it may manifest. However, there is evidence that the basic process is common to Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC). Some examples of paranormally produced photographs of the other side resemble physical locations enough to bring accusations of fraud. Some examples of visual ITC look very much as if they are based on available photographs. In EVP, there are examples that appear to have been

taken directly from existing sound files. A fundamental concept in the Trans-survival Hypothesis is that a physical person is necessary to provide the conduit through which an etheric influence is made physical. That would argue that the actual words in EVP, as physical objects, must either already be in the physical or be formed via the practitioner–probably as a psi influence. From the perspective of energy efficiency, it may be more reasonable to hypothesize a form of adaptive materialization as the mechanism bringing the words to the EVP formation process. In that view, it might be simplest to find the required word somewhere in the physical and apport it to the transform process. This would seem to be the only way to produce an EVP containing information the practitioner or an interested observer does not already know. This possibility provides a compelling reason for people to suspend judgment when faced with obvious fraud in things paranormal. A Study to Determine the Energy Profile of EVP Because EVP is probably the most available for study of these phenomena, the ATransC has embarked on a research project to determine the energy profile of output file waveforms containing EVP. The objective is to compare the input signals to determine if there is a difference in energy profile, and if so, what may have caused it and where it was caused. This is the first of a series of studies intended to test the Transform EVP Hypothesis described in this article. To begin, if

a change in energy profile can be noted in many examples using sound scientific methodology, then it should be possible to use that foundation of understanding to develop further experiments. The expected result of this study is to establish the paranormality of EVP based on sound evidence, or to provide the necessary understanding to explain in normal terms how the voices are formed. Who Can Participate Anyone able to follow the protocol is welcomed to participate. The Idea Exchange is available for questions and answers, and as always, we are available for questions via email. This first phase will also include a search for confident research practitioners. (13) Protocol All submissions should be sent to the ATransC. • Two sound files should be submitted for each EVP example. One containing the EVP, and if possible, the practitioners voice. The second should be made with a second recorder and contain the ambient noise from which the EVP was formed. A sharp noise or the practitioners voice should mark the beginning of both files. Both files should be less than a minute in duration and should be able to be compared by synchronizing them on left and right channels of a display. (It would help if this comparison file was also submitted.) • Before submission, examples should be screened by a blind listening panel to help assure they are objective. (14) • Once sufficient examples have been received, a research facility will be asked to conduct the energy profile study. • Examples

will be screened by the research facility for usefulness in the study. Practitioners might consider using their initial submissions as an interview for participation in further study. Please review the Best Practice for Research Practitioner. (15) Conclusion The most important common factor in transcommunication is the expression of intended order in otherwise chaotic systems. This order is hypothesized to be accomplished by way of the ordering influence of morphic fields on physical processes. A second important common factor is efficiency, as transcommunication is clearly no trivial matter. It is governed by the influence of intention, whether in support as belief, acceptance and willingness to learn, or in opposition as fear, doubt, denial or ideology. Understanding these influences is central to the understanding of EVP. All indications are that EVP are messages from our discarnate loved ones, but it is not necessary to depend on indications. With predictions based on a well-considered hypothesis and tested with carefully designed experiments, it should be possible to establish not only whether or not EVP are paranormal, but also how they are formed. Since examples of EVP can be collected more or less on demand by confident practitioners, they provide perhaps the most important tool in the etheric studies arsenal for understanding the true nature of our etheric personality, our survival beyond physical death and our continued life in the greater reality. References 1. Bion, Stephan – EVPmaker, de/evpmaker/index_e.htm 2. Sumption, Frank. “The Box.” Spirits say the darnedest things. 2012. pine-tree-lady.proboards.com/thread/9 3. Chappell, Bill. Digital

Dowsing. digitaldowsing.com 4. Butler, Tom. “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?” ATransC Journal. atransc.org/evpmaker-study-where-are- we-now/ (Book 2) 5. Heinen, Cindy. “Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophone.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/information-gathering-using-evpmaker/ (Book 2) 6. Leary, Mark. “A Research Study into the Interpretation of EVP.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/radiosweep-study2/ (Book 2) 7. MacRae, Alexande. “A Report about Experimental Results.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/macrae- experimental-results/ (This book) 8. Presi, Paolo. “Italian Research in ITC.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/presi-il-laboratorio/ (Book 2) 9. Daniele Gullà. “Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/gulla-voice- analysis/ (Book 2) 10. Butler, Tom. “Characteristic Test for EVP.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/characteristic-test-for-evp/ (Book 1) 11. Sheldrake, Rupert. “Morphic Resonance and Morphic Fields: An Introduction.” Rupert Sheldrake. sheldrake.org/research/morphic-resonance/introduction 12. Sheldrake, Rupert. “An experimental test of the hypothesis of formative causation.” Rupert Sheldrake. sheldrake.org/research/morphic-resonance/an-experimental-test-of- the-hypothesis-of-formative-causation 13. McDonnell, Mark and Abbott, Derek. “What is Stochastic Resonance?” Plos Computational Biology, 2009, nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2660436/ “Best Practice: Witness” Panel, Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/witness-panel/ (Book 1) “Best Practices: Research Practitioner.” Association TransCommunication. atransc.org/research-practitioner/ (Book 1) 14. 15. Seeking EVP Examples for Study This study is suspended due to lack of participation by Tom Butler See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP (atransc.org/transform-evp-study/) (This book) ATransC is seeking examples of Transform EVP that can be compared to supplied background sound so that the difference in waveform can be clearly demonstrated. Objective It is well-known that EVP are formed by transforming available audio- frequency energy to produce the intended voice. Current theory holds that the transform process is the result of stochastic amplification (ethericstudies.org/glossary-of-terms/#Stochastic_Resonance)

occurring in an active component of the recording device–probably a transistor junction. If the voice in EVP is formed from background noise, then there should be a detectable difference between input and output of the stage of the recorder in which the transform is thought to occur. For a digital voice recorder, that would be between the microphone and before the memory circuit. A way to test this theory is to use recorded sound as a known background source and comparing the resulting EVP sound file with the same part of the supplied background sound file. This study is in two parts. In the first phase, the examples provided by website visitors should provide a collection of convincing transform EVP examples. Second, for Phase 2 of the study, if a sufficient number of convincing examples are collected, a research facility will be asked to analyze the examples in an attempt to identify possible anomalous differences in energy profiles between input and output files. Phase 2 of this study will be expensive and sufficient funding has not been arranged at this time, so Phase 2 will be pending good examples and sufficient funding. Also, it is likely that examples will be needed that have been recorded under more controlled conditions. Assuming this is the case, Phase 1 of this study should be considered an interview process to select practitioners who are more likely to be able to produce additional examples. Requirements You are asked to either use a pre-recorded background sound

source or use two recorders. Once an EVP is recorded that is able to be correctly understood by at least two people without prompting, the sound file containing the EVP with a few seconds of sound file before and after the utterance should be saved with sufficient labeling to distinguish it from others, as: (c)your_name_year-title. For instance: (c)butler2012- compare_transform.mp3 A second file should be saved containing the portion of the background sound file associated with the EVP example. It is important that a third file be composed, as in the example above, so that both input and output files can be compared as synchronized sounds. Practitioners wishing to participate in this study should use the contact form at the bottom of each web page to inform us that you wish to send in an example. You will receive the email address to use with our response. You will retain ownership of the example sound files but will be asked for permission for use of the sound files for the study, and potentially, in articles on this website. ATransC will require your real name, but you may remain anonymous beyond that. ATransC does not share personal information without specific permission from the person. Participants need not be a ATransC member, but as always, you are encouraged to support the organization via your membership and donations if you think this kind of work is of value to the study of these phenomena. Hint: It is useful to add some form of marker

in the supplied sound file as a beacon so that the input and output files can more easily be synchronized. This is especially important if a steady-state input file is used, such as white noise. Sidereal Time EVP Study call for participation 04/ 2017 by Tom Butler This study is suspended due to lack of participation Introduction We are asking you to participate in a study to see if the ease with which you collect Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) changes with sidereal time. Psi functioning studies (ESP, Psychic, Remote Viewing) widely vary in results. This more than expected variability in study results has undermined the repeatability aspect of psi studies and has given support to the illusion and experimenter fraud of skeptics. Parapsychologists have attempted to model this variability with speculation that psi functioning is need-based, that the researcher might have an unexpected psi influence (experimenter effect) or that the practitioners ability during a study might be diminished because of boredom (practitioner fatigue). None of these have sufficiently accounted for the variability of results. James Spottiswoode conducted metanalysis on 1,468 psi functioning free response trials while adjusting the time of day the studies were conducted to Local Sidereal Time (LST, Local Star Time), rather than solar time. (1) A pattern emerged from the analysis showing that psi performance was actually more consistent when LST is considered. As the graph below shows, psi functioning performance peaked around 13.5 LST with a four- fold increase over mean performance. The Implicit Cosmology predicts

psi function and the collection of EVP involve the same processes. (2) However, the linkage between psi functioning and collection of EVP is not empirically well established. Determining if there is one might further our understanding of how EVP works and how sidereal time is involved in psi function. Background Sidereal time, also known as star time, is based on the motion of the earth relative to the distant stars rather than with respect to the sun, which is known as solar time. A normal timepiece displays solar time. A sidereal day is about four minutes shorter than a solar day, and a sidereal year is 365.24 solar years. In 1997, James Spottiswoode published “Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time” in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol, 11, No. 2, jsasoc.com/docs/JSE-LST.pdf. (1)The ATransC published an article about the sidereal time findings in the Fall 2002 ATransC NewsJournal. (atransc.org/sidereal-time-psychic-phenomena/) (Book 5) (3) As of this writing, there has been no definitive explanation as to why or how LST might have an influence on psi functioning. (4)Some studies have shown that the local magnetic field has an effect on psi performance so that decreased intensity of local magnetic field results in increased psi performance. Determining if this magnetic field-psi correlation also applies to EVP will test the Implicit Cosmology. Sidereal Time EVP Study The objective of this study is to look for possible relationships between quality and quantity of EVP per session based

on sidereal time of day. Magnetic field data are also to be collected if available. Since a large sample is needed, the study is expected to continue for at least a year. The study is based on the assumption that many people will experience essentially the same effect. As such, and assuming there will be a sufficient number of participants, individuals need not record every day, or even every month. Study participants are asked to establish a routine of maintaining a record of local solar and sidereal time and local magnetic field at the time of routine EVP sessions. Only Class A and Class B examples are able to be used in this study, and practitioners are asked to use a witness panel. (8) It is up to the participant to characterize witness panel agreement, if any, and use the report form to register the results of each session. Sessions that do not produce an EVP are just as important to the study, so please report empty sessions as zero Class A and zero Class B. Please submit the Registration Form below if you wish to participate in this study. Once we have received the registration form via email: • You will be assigned a four-digit identification number. That number will be used to track your submissions. • We will register you in the Idea Exchange to enable you to ask questions, offer comments and suggestions. The forum is at atransc.org/forum/forum-50.html. For the duration of this study, you are asked

to: • In a log, routinely record local time, sidereal time, geomagnetism and approximate location during your EVP recording sessions. • Submit a study report for each session. Our objective is to identify trends based on routine, so report the results of any you consider routine, including field investigations and recording for others. • Use the Study Report Form to send us a record of each session. Report number of Class A, Class B or a Zero for sessions that did not produce Class A or Class B results. Please use a witness panel. (8) • Use one form submission for each session and maintain a record of what you submit. Examples We are not looking for good examples. The objective is to record the environmental conditions related to good examples. That is the information we will digest into a report indicating if quality and quantity of EVP is influenced by LST and geomagnetism. Participants are welcomed to post exceptional examples on the Idea Exchange for others to listen to. If you do, please indicate if you are open to critique. Accepted Form of EVP Please pay close attention to the kind of example that can be used in this study: • EVP submitted for this study must be of the transform type.(5) (Book 1) That is, EVP formed by recording ambient sound and/or supplied background sound such as that produced by a fan or running water. (6) Download Paper on Recording EVP (See information about paper) • Radio-sweep technology

such as that used in Franks Box, Hacks and Ghost Boxes cannot be used for this study. • Random access technology such as that used in EVPmaker and devices like the Ovilus (ghostshop.com) cannot be used for this study. • EVP formed with any live voice technology such as prerecorded foreign-language, reverse voice track and prerecorded speech randomly selected from a database cannot be used. This includes allophones and phonemes. This includes foreign language recordings as well. • Unless there are extenuating circumstances, examples must contain more than one syllable. An exception might be a response to “What is my brother’s name?” of “John,” when “John” is the expected response. However, a “John” response to “Who is here?” is not acceptable. • It is okay if the example is in more than one voice. • Examples should be Type I Class A or Class B. (7) • Examples should be heard and understood by a majority of a witness panel. (8) Since we are not asking for the actual recording, it is necessary that we depend on your self-reporting. However, please do retain all examples you report on, as we may be asked to supply all raw data for further study. Resources Of course, we are available to answer your questions. Unless you have a personal issue, please use the Idea Exchange. • It looks like the Magnetic Field Calculator at ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag-web/#igrfgrid is useful. If you wish to use a smartphone app, there is also a Citizen Scientist project being

conducted by NOAA testing cellphones for geomagnetic measurements here: ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/crowdmag.shtml. They provide both an Android and iphone app. References 1. Spottiswoode, S. James P. “Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time.” The Journal of Scientific Exploration. Society for Scientific Exploration. 1997. jsasoc.com/docs/JSE-LST.pdf 2. Butler, Tom. ”Implicit Cosmology.” Etheric Studies. 2016. ethericstudies.org/implicit-cosmology/ 3. Butler, Tom and Lisa. “Sidereal Time and Psychic Phenomena.” Association TransCommunication. 2002. atransc.org/sidereal-time- psychic-phenomena/. (Book 5) 4. Ryan, Adrian. “Physical Correlates of Psi.” Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century. Editors, Etzel Cardeña, John Palmer and David Marcusson-Clavertz, McFarland. 2015. ISBN 978-0- 7864-7916-0. eBook ISBN 978-1-4766-2105-0. Amazon.com 5. Butler, Tom. “The Formation of EVP.” Association TransCommunication. 2009. atransc.org/evp-formation/. (Book 1) 6. Butler, Tom. “ATransC White Paper on Transcommunication.” Association TransCommunication. 2014. atransc.org/itc-white- paper/. (See info on book) 7. Butler, Tom. “Classifying Phenomena.” Etheric Studies. 2016. ethericstudies.org/classifying-phenomena/. 8. Butler, Tom (et al). “EVP Witness Panel.” Etheric Studies. 2013. ethericstudies.org/witness-panel/. Why Has There Not Been More Study of the Paranormal? by Tom Butler A 2005 Gallup survey shows that just about three in four Americans believe in the paranormal. So the question that needs to be asked is, “With such a large percentage of our population interested in the paranormal, why has there not been more study of the paranormal?” The scientific community is largely funded with public money. For instance, the US Department of Energy Office of Science, NASA and National Science Foundation each received $62.5 million, much of which is

earmarked for education. 1 Tuition fees do not cover the cost of universities and public funding is required. This means that science degrees are subsidized by the public. The National Science Foundation (NSF) (nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm) is a department of the Federal Government chartered to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare by way of funding research and development. It is funded by the public at the annual rate of around $7 billion. Yet according to the NSF in the 2006 annual Science and Technology report, A recent study of 20 years of survey data collected by NSF concluded that many Americans accept pseudoscientific beliefs, such as astrology, lucky numbers, the existence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), extrasensory perception (ESP), and magnetic therapy (Losh et al. 2003). Such beliefs indicate a lack of understanding of how science works and how evidence is investigated and subsequently determined to be either valid or not.2 “Losh et al” is a reference to an article in the Skeptical Inquirer. (redorbit.com/news/science/17907/what_does_education_really_do/) A further comment about “pseudoscientific beliefs” is based on a reference from the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOPS) now known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) (csicop.org), which states: According to one group studying such phenomena, pseudoscientific topics include yogi flying, therapeutic touch, astrology, fire walking, voodoo magical thinking, alternative medicine, channeling, psychic hotlines and detectives, near-death experiences, unidentified flying objects and alien abductions, the Bermuda Triangle, homeopathy, faith healing, and reincarnation. The celebrity skeptic, James Randi, is one

of the founders and is the publisher of the Skeptical Inquirer. According to the NSF, “the federal government provided 59% ($32.6 billion) of the $54.9 billion of academic spending on S&E R&D in FY 2009.” and “In FY 2009, the federal share of support for all academic research equipment funding was 55%.” and “Throughout the 1973–2008 period, fewer than half of full-time S&E faculty received federal support, whereas the share of postdocs who received federal support was more than 70%.” 3 So, the answer to the question is that the organizations we are paying to help us understand and live with nature are the same ones that think we are uneducated about these subjects and misguided. Well, it is actually worse than that. The publicly funded organizations such as universities and the NSF are also very much aligned with the skeptical community which is determined to protect the intellectually naive masses (that is three in four Americans) from belief in anything that is not specifically supported by mainstream science. Their assumption is that “if it is not accounted for in mainstream science, it is impossible and therefore cannot be.” The skeptical community has little or no research supporting their view of frontier subjects such as EVP and mediumship, so the net result is that they win their point by being the dominant group and discrediting research that does support the subject. In a very real sense, social pressure brought by the skeptics to potential research donors and scientists has and

continues to prevent research that might prove or disprove our hypotheses. That is simply stopping progress to preserve the status quo. One technique used to discredit a subject such as psi functioning is to put it in the same group as belief in a flat earth and the moon landing conspiracy theories. If one must be seen as unlikely, then all must be equally unlikely. But there is another factor involved in the success of the skeptical community. Many of the concepts involved in psychic ability (psi functioning) and survival are shared by religions. This leads to people thinking of such concepts as ghosts in religious terms such as demons and possession, rather than in terms of what is empirically supported. In his short essay, The Fallacy of Paranormal Democratic Science, David Wood* explores the idea that some people assume knowledge of a subject by ignoring those who are possibly more experienced. The real answer to the question might be that we are not very clear about what we believe. (*Essay has been removed from David’s website.) Psi studies are fairly well represented by parapsychology. It is true that parapsychologists are shunned by mainstream science, but they at least have a culture of collaboration and peer-reviewed journals. There are even doctoral programs in some universities. Parapsychology claims to study survival, but other than reincarnation, near-death and out-of-body experiences, that community shuns etheric studies as much as mainstream science shuns them. The skeptical community will only change its mind about survival

of personality if mainstream science begins to openly study the evidence and conclude that the evidence indicates a real effect, rather than our delusion. Mainstream science will not study our subject if we do not present it in a rational manner. Making research funds available for projects conducted with good science is one way that we can attract mainstream science, but the most important thing we can do is to develop a community in which evidence-based reports are held in high regard, and collaboration amongst researchers is seen as a natural part of learning. It is important that we learn how to talk about our subject so that we can accurately report our experiences and research results. Peer review will only be possible when we learn to respect knowledge. If we do not develop the culture of a scientific community, there is little hope that we will gain the respect of mainstream science. You are a member of this community and in a very real sense, you control if or when our field will attract serious research. Learn all you can; avoid assuming knowledge. 1. American Institute of Physics, “Success: President Signs Bill Providing Additional Science Funding.” aip.org/fyi/2008/072.html 2. National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicator 2006: Chapter 7: Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Understanding, nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/c7/c7s2.htm Reviewed 30 December 2012 3. National Science Foundation, “Science and Engineering Indicator 2012: Chapter 5: Academic Research and Development: Financial Resources for Academic R&D,” nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/c5/c5h.htm Reviewed 30 December 2012 Books Published by AA-EVP

Transcommunication White Paper with Emphasis on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) The Transcommunication White Paper is intended to document what is currently known by the ATransC directors about transcommunication. It includes background information about theory, concepts and techniques that are important for the understanding of phenomena related to EVP-ITC, psychic and mediumistic phenomena. Please note that there is a version of this paper, including a free downloadable PDF, at atransc.org. I refer people to the Transcommunication White Paper five or six times a week. When I do so, I always wish I had the opportunity to explain the importance of personal development. The three most important points I would make about personal development are concerned with how we think, the effect of how we think on what we experience and how to apply that knowledge toward becoming more self-aware. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. This little book includes all of that. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Good to Know About the Paranormal Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time answering questions about things paranormal on Quora.com. The first was the 2017 question: “How accurate is EVP recordings?” I have been answering the questions because most of the other answers are simply wrong, anti-paranormal or misleading. Our community is still developing a culture that supports free discovery and meaningful sharing of ideas. It has been my vision that my answers might somehow aid in developing that culture. As it turns out, I have answered

quite a lot of Quora.com questions. I have compiled 240 of my answers into this book. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Your Immortal Self, exploring the mindful way More time became available for me to write after we changed the ATransC away from a member-supported organization. I am a theoretician by nature and speaking as a mystic, I see a world of patterns in the play of concepts, rather than as a “nuts and bolts” world. It has been natural for me to see ITC as a pattern of interacting concepts. Again, as a mystic, it is as if the pattern is a self-organizing model in my mind’s eye that shows me how one phenomenon relates/compares to another. In my mind, the most important aspect of these phenomena is the way we are part of the dance … not as humans, but as immortal personalities. It has been through ITC, especially EVP, that I have come to see our actual nature as a conduit for the formation of the speech and images of ITC in our physical devices. Your Immortal Self represents an effort to explain our relationship with these phenomena, the nature of our actual self and how we might learn to be better ITC practitioners by being more successful seekers. The book begins with a comprehensive effort to define the Survival Hypothesis and establish verifiable proof. For a small fee, the PDF version of this book is available on the

Lulu website. I like PDF for this book because it has so many internal links. It is easier to study using a PDF file. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon Exploring the Mindful Way I have been told that Your Immortal Self is a difficult read. While I understand some of the concepts can be obscure, I wrote this in Your Immortal Self: Not trying to understand this material because it is too complicated is unacceptable. There is an old Zen Buddhist saying: “Before enlightenment chop wood – carry water, after enlightenment chop wood – carry water.” One must do the work to understand. One must do the work to continue learning. Study the material and do not expect to understand all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Ask questions. Argue! I write today to find ways to illustrate the principles described in Your Immortal Self, as they apply to particular situations. In doing so, I hoped to make the principles more approachable and help pave the way to spiritual maturity for my readers. Exploring the Mindful Way is a compilation of 21 such essays. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon There is No Death and There are No Dead One of our first tasks when we assumed leadership of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was to write a book we could direct people to for guidance about ITC. At that time, there was not much available, and we wanted to

make sure our members were given reasonably useful, supportable information. We wrote There is No Death and There are No Dead and published it under the AA-EVP Publishing imprint. The book has received considerable praise as an introductory book. 100% of the proceeds have gone to support operations, outreach and research conducted by the Association. On Amazon I’m Still Here AA-EVP member Martha Copeland wrote I’m Still Here. Martha was one of the founding members of the Big Circle. The book provides an important study of the way Martha coped with the untimely loss of her daughter, Cathy. Beyond the grief, I’m Still Here includes hints about how Cathy might have responded to death, the ways she did find to communicate after transition and how other members of the Big Circle helped Martha. It is Martha’s EVP of Cathy scolding her still physical dog Doja that gives us important proof that we survive physical death. Listen to hear “Doja no. (Book 4) On Amazon Sarah Estep’s Roads to Eternity “To read Sarah Wilson Estep’s Roads to Eternity is to travel a remarkable journey into the unseen world. At every adventurous step, at every exciting new discovery; the readers are assured that they are guided by a knowledgeable and experienced paranormal researcher, a pioneer in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Sarah Wilson Estep’s vast files of 25,000 recorded voices of the ‘Invisibles’—whether they represent themselves as spirits of the deceased, extraterrestrial entities, or multi- dimensional beings—will provide thrilling inspiration

or format. Adapt: Remix, transform and build upon the material with proper attribution. Under no conditions, may the entire book, sections or chapters be reproduced without written permission. About ATransC Preservation Books Ownership of the material and prior permission to use The original authors of material on ATranC.org retain copyright authority. Including work produced by the Butlers and Sarah Estep, the authors have given permission to the Association for public outreach under the AA-EVP or ATransC banner. Authors retain ownership. In the event an author of material included in the Preservation Project wishes to withdraw permission for its use by the Association, that material can be removed up to the time the Directors are still able to edit the books. After that, provisions will need to be made with the new owners. This book is part of a set containing the Association TransCommunication website pages. The set has been compiled to preserve contents to help assure that future paranormalists will have access to the material. The website includes study and research reports, examples of ITC, techniques for collecting ITC, Best Practices and personal stories about ITC-related reunions. Most of the articles were first published in the ATransC NewsJournal. The 129 quarterly newsletters published by the Association are in the NewsJournal Online Archive at atransc.org/category/archive/. We are still trying to find a way to preserve them. If these books work out, we may publish them as a different set of books. The combined newsletters produce a 1500, 8.5” x 11” page

PDF file of 44,519 KB. That would be at least four books if we converted them to fixed format PDF books of a manageable size of, say, 400 pages. Change of State Lisa and I tried a number of times to attract people who could help us manage the Association and perhaps take it over in the future. Every effort failed. Part of the problem has probably been our personalities. While we want to serve, we are not social by nature. We depended on the rewards that come from a well-run organization as motivation for people to help. That was not enough. We are also sticklers for rational, evidence-based treatment of the phenomena. In that regard, our studies have shown that, what has become the dominant techniques for recording EVP probably does not actually produce EVP. That has put us at odds with the majority of people interested in ITC. In the end, the work involved to produce the newsletter, member support and website maintenance has not been balanced by the occasional “thank you” or “you helped me” comment from members. With increasing grief from members about technique, and in view of our Pledge to truthfully report about the phenomena, we changed from a member supported organization to a publicly supported one in 2014. The NewsJournal was replaced by the ATransC Occasional Update Email. We still support the Idea Exchange and our public outreach continues. This ATransC Website Preservation Project is part of that outreach. As it is today, when

we die, the Association will die with us. Our intention is that Sarah Estep’s legacy will continue in the form of easily accessed information that has been previously provided by the Association. Archive Requirements Here are the requirements we set for preserving ATransC material: The material must be easily accessible to everyone. Ideally, it would be online. However, even if we paid the server company several years in advance, there is a constant stream of maintenance items that need to be taken care of. And then there are the occasional hacks—the next thing you know, there are nude pictures on the site. The material must be reasonable inexpensive to access. We use the Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc- sa/3.0/) for the material we control. We use what little income the books produce for operations and outreach. An archive book would be priced as low as Amazon allows. The material must be stable. It is important to us that the material on the website is not corrupted with the introduction of newer material. At this time in our community, it is a virtual certainty that we would disagree with any new material added by people who use radio-sweep, think EVP are caused via wormholes or that they are a radiofrequency phenomenon. The name and material must not be resurrected. A trend today is to use a famous person’s name for the name of a group. Predictably, the result is confusion by future historians about what is that famous person’s

work and what is contemporary. The archive should not cost the person or organization that agrees to keep the material. People have their own work to do and interests to pursue. While they may agree to keep the material, it seems clear now that it must not cost them to do so. Ideally, there will be a revenue flow, albeit minor, that will benefit the person organization. The guiding objective is public outreach. In our opinion, parapsychologists have failed to communicate what they might know to the public. I answer Quora (quora.com/profile/Tom-Butler-79) questions, often about parapsychological issues. I have yet to encounter a parapsychologist also answering questions. There is an Academic-Layperson Partition which is exaggerated by parapsychologists failure to communicate in a Plane English manner. The ATransC material helps to balance that dearth of information. Solution (we hope) Other than a dedicated website, Amazon is perhaps the most important means of public outreach available to the average citizen. We use Microsoft Word for composing. With a little careful editing, conversion of MS Word to Print-On-Demand (POD) ready text is a relatively easy process. The same can be said for MS Word-to-eBook format. Amazon does not require a catalog fee, as does Lightning Source and IngramSpark. Lulu also does not require a catalog fee and they accept fixed-format books which is best for the NewsJournal. All of ATransC.org pages except those under the FAQ, Links and Resource Tabs have been converted to MS Word text files and will be published in

About the AA-EVP An Interview with Paolo Presi Becky Estep’s Eulogy for her Mother Sarah Estep Bill (Dutch) Weisensale Returns Home Comparing Paranormalist Organizations Excerpt from Martha Copeland’s I’m Still Here Forever Family Foundation 2013 Conference In Memory of Sarah Estep, an ITC Pioneer ITC and its Role in Survival Research ITC at the Parapsychological Association’s 2006 Convention in Stockholm Konstantin Raudive Larry Dean and Patricia Begley: ITC Sarah Estep and the Government The Electronic Voice Phenomena The Instrumental Transcommunication Work of Marcello Bacci The Mystery of the Roses White Noise, the Movie Techniques Report on the 2006 AA-EVP Conference Tom and Lisa Butler 2003 Erland Babcock ITC “Ocean Bay” (The name of the association has since been changed from AA-EVP to Association TransCommunication) The conference was a complete success by all accounts. All of the speakers we present and prepared, the attendees were attentive, and the media was out in force. By one account, the conference was the “International ITC event of the year.” The Presentations AA-EVP Directors, Tom and Lisa Butler addressing conference attendees The Thursday Evening session was led by Tom and Lisa Butler. “EVP 101” is the title of the workshop Tom and Lisa teach. Portions of that were presented by them Thursday night. Should they decide to teach an Instructor Certification Course, EVP 101 would be in the core suite of lessons. The presentation included a discussion about the characteristics of EVP presented by Lisa Butler, followed by a discussion about the basic “how to”

for recording EVP. Experience has shown that individuals develop a personal, often unique way to record for EVP, but that it is best for people new to the field to first learn a way that is most likely to produce EVP. The instructions on the website provide the essence of those procedures. See Basic EVP Recording Techniques Friday morning opening comments for the conference were especially important to Tom, because he managed to surprise Lisa with a new HP Palm Pilot, which would replace her often folded yellow paper “Personal Data Assistant.” Tom pointed out in the presentation that the conference would not have taken place were it not for Lisa’s initiative and hard work. Debbie Caruso was a fellow conspirator in helping Tom surprise Lisa. Sarah with her daughter, Becky Estep. Becky made it possible for Sarah to attend the 2006 conference. [Photograph for Becky Estep] Al Rouber (left) Sarah and Garrett Husveth. [Photograph for Becky Estep] Carol Peterson, Jim Stonier with Sarah. [Photograph for Becky Estep] Sarah Estep presented a brief introduction about her experience with EVP and then some of her best EVP examples were played, ending with a one-minute EVP containing music thought to have been originated by Ludwig Beethoven. Listen at: atransc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/c1988estep- beethoven.mp3 At the conclusion of the presentation, Sarah was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. Sonia Rinaldi described her work with EVP/ITC, in which she uses a computer and a video camera operating in a mirrored mode. We were all fascinated by the faces

she is finding in the optical noise, as they are unlike any we are seeing from other researchers. This new site ipati.org (c)sarah_estep1988-beethoven.mp3 Sonia Rinaldi explaining how she is now receiving images along with here telephone-based EVP Laurie Monroe brought the attendees up to date about how The Monroe Institute is learning to apply Hemi-Sync technology to improve human potential. One slide, in particular, seems to tell The Monroe Institute story: “The Monroe Institute proposes to introduce, at all levels of human endeavor, an ability of mental and spiritual functioning that will constructively change humankind’s direction and destiny.” monroeinstitute.com Laurie Monroe Paolo Presi presented the work of Il Laboratorio. To our knowledge, this is the only organization in the world that is organized and dedicated to the study of trans-etheric phenomena with the use of clinical/forensic quality tools. His detailed presentation illustrated how the voices of EVP might sound like the voice of the person while still in the physical, but that the formation of the voice is sometimes impossible to produce with a human voice apparatus. On a similar note, he also described how face recognition software is able to help certify that the face found in transcommunication is the same as the face of the person while in the physical. See The Work at Il Laboratorio (atransc.org/presi-il-laboratorio) (Book 2) for the transcript of Presi’s Il Laboratorio presentation. Paolo Presi Paolo Presi later translated the documentary video of Marcello Bacci, the man who continues to conduct two-way, real-time communication

with people on the other side with a shortwave radio. Bacci even brings family members into his home to speak with their discarnate loved ones. See The Instrumental Transcommunication Work Of Marcello Bacci (atransc.org/pressi-bacci) (This book) for the transcript of Presi’s Bacci presentation Mark Macy gave an overview of some of the astounding communications that occurred in Europe during the late part of last decade. This included reports of telephone conversations he has had with Konstantin Raudive after Raudive’s transition. Mark uses a device known as a “Luminator” to take ITC pictures. The device is believed to modify the subtle energy environment near it and was initially used as an aid for medical diagnoses. Mark has found that he will sometimes find “extras” in Polaroid picture taken of peoples standing in the field. worlditc.org Mark Macy Dr. Allan Botkin’s Induced After Death Communication (IADC) presentation produced a number of points that have to be further investigated. For instance, he told the attendees that he saw evidence that too much grief could block an IADC. He also said that it seemed very much like an assistant had shared an IADC with the patient. His IADC success rate had been less for patients who knew about the process beforehand, and that he sometimes needed to “sneak up on them” to make the induction. His success rate also seemed to be much greater if he doodled while with the patient. Gary Schwartz told us that many mediums doodled, which suggests an entirely new

direction for research. induced-adc.com Dr. Allan Botkin Lisa Butler presented a number of success stories that are considered to be important role models for others to follow. Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Directors Tom Butler followed with the observation that it is time to standardize the way phenomena are described and suggested “Unique Event” for experiences with none other to compare, “Indeterminate Event” for “true” phenomena that cannot be distinguished from the mundane and “Established Event” for phenomena such as EVP. He also gave an overview of the forms of visual phenomena being reported to the AA-EVP. He finished with a description of the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, explaining how effective a protocol is for EVP research. Long-time EVP researcher Alexander MacRae gave the audience an overview of how he became an EVP researcher and how he has evolved his research tools. It was easy to see why his work is so often quoted by us. Alexander MacRae speaking at the 2006 AA-EVP Conference Alexander MacRae, Tom Butler (middle) and Lisa Butler Diana and Alan Bennett were instrumental in the successes of the Scole Project and have now turned their attention to visual forms of spirit communication with very impressive results, which they shared with attendees. We will try to include an article featuring the Bennett’s work in the next NewsJournal. Their technique is easily replicable in a mechanical sense, but Diana and Alan reminded the attendees how important it is for the person to make contact with the entities via

meditation and respect. Sonia Rinaldi (left), Alan Bennett, Lisa Butler and Diana Bennett. [Photograph for Becky Estep] Alan and Diana Bennett Martha Copeland presented for the Big Circle and played many EVP examples. She invited Vicki Talbott and Debra Caruso to join her at the podium to describe their success with EVP. The fact that three mothers were able to tell the attendees about continuing their relationships with children now on the other side provides an important role model for all of us. About their talk, William Deluca wrote, “It gave me reassurance that what we are doing is for real and comforts us when we really need it.” Martha Copeland Big Circle Web Master, Lisa Yesse (left) with Martha Copeland Debra Caruso (left) and Vicki Talbott The final presentation was made by Dr. Gary Schwartz who described his early work with survival researcher, Susy Smith, and the events that led to the development of his current research protocols. Gary’s study of mediumship is producing an important, evidence-based map of what might be thought of as “organic” spirit communication, as opposed to the technology-augmented spirit communication practiced in EVP and ITC. His work has produced some of the most substantial evidence of postmortem survival of the personality available today. Dr. Gary Schwartz Dr. Gary Schwartz (left) and Tom Butler [Photograph for Becky Estep] Those of you who have followed Gary’s work will recognize that the 4Cell EVP Demonstration protocol has been inspired by the protocols he has developed in an

effort to answer the critic’s questions. We should note that the media was well represented at the conference by four documentary crews Lisa Huston Figure 1Tom Butler (left) Paolo Presi, Dr. Alan Botkin and Dr. Gary Schwartz. [Photograph for Becky Estep] Unless otherwise noted, photographs were taken by Jim Stonier About the AA-EVP by Tom and Lisa Butler, 2001 This article was initially published in The Spiritual Scientist, A magazine of the Spiritual Science Foundation (more commonly known as the Scole Group). The Scole Group has established a substantial presence in the world as a confederation of small development groups who follow the Scole method for mediumship and group development. If you are interested in starting a home circle for séances and mediumship development for spirit communications, please take a look at the Scole Group website (thescoleexperiment.com) The Butlers had just assumed leadership of the AA-EVP when they wrote this article. Much has been learned since. Introduction Many of you have heard of the American Association – Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP). It is an Association founded by Sarah Estep in 1982 in the USA as her way of helping people learn about and experiment with EVP. Sarah asked us to assume leadership of the AA-EVP in May of 2000, almost exactly eighteen years after the Association was founded. The AA-EVP publishes a quarterly newsletter designed to keep members up to date on what other members are learning about and receiving through EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) and ITC (Instrumental TransCommunication). The

newsletter provides news about EVP/ITC activities from around the world. The Association now has a web site at aaevp.com to help the public learn about EVP/ITC and an email distribution service, in which members can exchange emails as a group. The web site has sample EVP voices that can be listened to as well as transimages and Spirit Photographs that researchers have gotten. The Association reports on people who hear from and capture images of those on the other side through all kinds of electronic devices. Long gone are the days that messages and pictures were received only on simple tape records or cameras. Today reports are received from people who get EVP by recording directly onto their computers. Messages are received on answering machines, digital note takers and all manner of recording devices. People also still report the phenomena of receiving a phone call from someone who has died. Many people are still capturing spirit photographs with their cameras, but now more and more people are using their video cameras to receive what is called “transimages.” The digital camera was bound to not be far behind and we have now seen transimages captured in this way. Erland Babcock of the USA has made the change from experimenting with video ITC to working with a digital camera. The interesting thing about his digital camera work is that, unlike the use of a feedback circuit in video ITC, Erland depends on background colors, textures and intensities to provide the needed optical

energy. One thing that is for certain is that those in other dimensions want to communicate with us and are using all manner of technology to do this. As we make technological advances, they are quick to use them to communicate with us. Many people use EVP/ITC to reach and communicate with loved ones that have passed into the next plane of existence and there are many interesting and wonderful stories that are shared. One member received an EVP message from her dead husband, but she did not believe it. He told her to take her camera, turn on the TV and take a picture. She did and could make out that it was indeed her husband. Another member consistently hears from two sisters who have gone to the other side. They tell of how wonderful it is to be free of their physical bodies that were old and filled with disease. They speak of being in a beautiful place. Still others have reported receiving messages from those whom they did not know on earth but who tell them that they were related in a past life. Researchers have even described both messages and transimages that come from those who claim to be what we would call extraterrestrial. One of the interesting speculations AA-EVP members have discussed recently is that some EVP messages may actually be coming from the thoughts of living people. Members have reported recording messages that seem to come from a person that is still on earth.

We recently ran a sleep experiment in which we tried to reach Sarah Estep while she was sleeping, and she did the same with us. Messages were recorded that indicated that we were both receiving messages from the other experimenter while they slept. Several experimenters receive loud EVP messages without using any background noise. However, most EVP experimenters provide background noise while recording. Simple noise generators, such as a fan in the room or a radio turned off station, are commonly used. Special noise generators are also used, such as the germanium device that is often referred to as the Scole Device. It is thought that the entities modulate this energy into intelligible phrases. Adding noise seems to increase the volume at which the EVP are received. Sometimes, even the words spoken by the experimenter are changed to form EVP messages. Central to EVP research findings is energy—both physical and etheric. For instance, in a séance, the energy brought to the room by the participant’s sense of community and great expectations can be compared to the energy of the sound noise just discussed. The entities seem to use all kinds of energy to communicate. This may be communication through a medium as a spirit greeting or through devices as are used in EVP experiments. This idea also suggests that direct voice in a séance may be facilitated with the addition of sound energy in the room. It would be interesting to see if this is true. There is some evidence

that the experimenter is part of the recording circuit. That is to say that the experimenter’s mediumship or psychic ability may have an influence on the quantity and quality of EVP messages and transimages. There is disagreement about this as some successful experimenters do not believe that they have mediumistic abilities. Also, members with a science background would like this concept to be better researched before such statements are made. Experimenters have reported that they have better contact for a while when they try a new recording technique. It appears that the experimenter’s enthusiasm is shared by the entities. However, once the newness of the approach wears off, the quality of contact often returns to “average.” From this, researchers are beginning to conclude that it is important for them to experiment when they are “fresh” and interested, rather than when they feel they have to record to maintain a schedule. AA-EVP members have varied interests. There are many that are active in recording EVP and ITC. Others belong to the Association because they are interested in keeping up with EVP/ITC and want to support the effort to improve the understanding of this phenomenon. There are also members who are actively involved in EVP/ITC research. Alexander MacRae of Scotland has focused on the acoustical properties of EVP with a device that has given him good results. Alec is well aware of the need for good science in EVP and continues to devote much of his time to research, education and documentation.

Mark Macy of the USA is a long-time contributor to EVP and ITC. His authoritative work is published around the world. Mark is currently experimenting with a Luminator (Bioluminator developed by Patrick Richards). As Mark has told us, “For ITC, I like the fact that the Luminator seems to melt away some of the subtle barriers between our physical world and the spiritual worlds that are superimposed over our reality.” Photographs taken of people setting in the Luminator field seems to show the presence of nonphysical entities. Tina Laurent is an active researcher in the UK. She has been involved in this research for 20 years and personally knew many of the people who originally made the phenomena of EVP known to the public. She regularly lectures on the subject and many of you have probably read her article on EVP that was published in The Spiritual Scientist. Anabela Cardoso is receiving excellent communication from those on the other side who say that they are part of the group, Timestream. She publishes the excellent ITC Journal (itcjournal.org) that documents her contacts and includes articles from renowned researchers and specialist in ITC. Jacques and Monique Blanc-Garin provide an excellent French journal called Le Messager (infinitude.asso.fr). They were recently given an award for the work, conferences that they do in the ITC field. Finally, Dale Palmer of the USA, along with his family, has formed the Noetics Institute. [Editor: The Noetics Institute is no longer in existence] Through the Noetics Institute, and

working with Brazilian ITC researchers, Dale has funded the establishment of a web site designed to permit the public to log on and conduct EVP/ITC experiments. This is no small undertaking. It has been necessary to purchase considerable computer capacity and to develop new software. The site is currently in the early stages of testing, but it should be online soon. Keep an eye on the AA-EVP web site for the announcement and the new web address. The list of active EVP/ITC researchers is long. As the veterans retire from research, new people are becoming interested enough to step forward and continue the work. The AA-EVP has been working with groups around the world in an effort to find ways to further research in EVP/ITC. We see our leadership with the AA-EVP as an extraordinary opportunity to bring together these discoveries and make them accessible to whomsoever may be interested. In this way, we hope to promote further research. We consider the work done at Scole very important to this effort. As we see it, all forms of transreality communication hold the potential to improve Humankind’s understanding of the nature of our reality and the knowledge that death is simply a continuation of our present life. An Interview with Paolo Presi ©Anabela Cardoso – All Rights Reserved Originally published in the April 2007 ITC Journal Anabela: Paolo, you are a well-known international ITC researcher who has been in the field for many years. When did your interest in ITC start?

What prompted you to dedicate so many years of your life to the study of these phenomena? Was there a specific factor or event that triggered your interest? If so, can you tell us what it was please? Paolo: I have been involved in ITC since 1973 when I first heard of the possibility of communicating with other dimensions through the use of technical media. At that time, I believed that such phenomenon did not need human mediumship [intermediation] since it appeared to be transmitted by means of a technical device such as a tape recorder. Since the young age of fourteen, I have been deeply fascinated by so-called parapsychological phenomena. At that time, I believed that all psychic phenomena had its origins in the human mind. When I learned of the possibility of communicating through ITC with another world where all humans are supposed to go after their death, such information literally prompted me into a deep investigation of the subject. At the same time, the possibility of experimenting by myself gave me the opportunity to verify what Friedrich Jürgenson claimed. Anabela: Did you experiment with EVP yourself? If so, please give us a brief account of your most significant results. How did you feel about what happened, what were your emotions and thoughts about those anomalous events, if they occurred during your own experiments? Paolo: Yes, I experimented by myself for the next four years. I received the first voice in 1975 after a lot of unsuccessful experiments.

This happened after a visit to Marcello Bacci in Grosseto. It was astonishing when I verified that the voices were able to reply coherently to my questions. After this first verification of the real existence of EVP, I mainly devoted myself to investigating the phenomenon produced by other experimenters in order to understand the process involved. One of my initial goals was to identify the constants and variables that characterize the phenomenon. This preliminary research allowed me to conclude that the real key to the phenomenon was not the technical devices used in the experimental sessions but the experimenter him or herself. Today, I think that the information, coded in words, comes to us only through the person, although not from the person only. Anabela: I know that you have met some of the most remarkable ITC researchers of the past including the great pioneer Friedrich Jürgenson. Can you describe for us how your encounter with Jürgenson happened and what impression he made on you? Paolo: I met Friedrich Jürgenson at a Recanati Conference in 1977. Going back to the memories of that time, I remember that I was very much touched by his rich and powerful personality. Everything about him conveyed an impression of spirituality. His presentation at the Conference was very impressive for me because I understood from it that his life was totally dedicated to the spreading of his comforting message of survival to parents who had lost their children. Anabela: What other outstanding researchers did you

meet in those far-off years of the 1970s? Please share with us your feelings and the impact each one of them had on you. Paolo: In the same Recanati Conference, I met Eng. Theodor Rudolph from Ulm (Germany). He was an Electronics Engineer specializing in high frequencies and laser techniques at the Telefunken Laboratories. He was also a close collaborator of Dr. Konstantin Raudive and manufactured for him the so-called Goniometer. He was the first to investigate EVP from a physical/technical point of view, and interpreted the unshielded energy involved in EVP as energy similar to gravitational energy. On the same occasion I also met Dr. Franz Seidi from Wien, a pioneer researcher in Europe who designed, manufactured and experimented with the so-called Psychophone. In 1979 at the Fermo Conference, I met a very special scientist: Burkhard Heim from Northeim (German). At that time, he was the director of the Institute of Field Physics and was devoting a large portion of his life to the pursuit of his unified field theory well known as “Heim’s Theory.” During a wonderful conversation on EVP he said to me: “Remember, in any research you intend to do, you always have to take particular care of the spiritual aspect; do not forget that!” In his book, Postmortal States, on the theory of a six- dimensional reality, he demonstrated and mathematically supported the existence of the Beyond. Anabela: What is your opinion of the developments that have taken place in the field of ITC research

since those days? (1970s) Paolo: This is a very interesting question. Frequently I ask myself what is the cause of the new developments that have taken place in Instrumental Transcommunication in the past three decades. In other words, why did such developments occur? Firstly, it must be said that where the experiments have been carried out in accordance with certain physical models (as for example in the experiments with the Spiricom by George Meek and William O’Neil), sooner or later results have occurred consistent with these models. Secondly, it is well known that although many voices may be obtained by a dedicated researcher through a particular technical device, the same device fails to produce results for another experimenter. My conclusion is that the phenomenon is able to adapt itself to the psychic model preferred by the experimenter. This does not mean that the voices come from our unconscious, but that our minds are able to formulate a mental intention to communicate that conforms to the particular psychic model that we happen to hold. I think that this mental intention forms the “bridge” that the communicators have mentioned on several occasions. This bridge allows us to contact other planes of consciousness. Anabela: We were recently together giving invited presentations at the 15th Anniversary Conference of Infinitude in Paris, and we both met a number of people who told us of their own results, some of which were very impressive; for example, apparently clear anomalous images and voices. I am sure many

more, who did not manage to speak with us, also had interesting experiences to report. How do you explain what seems to be happening worldwide in this field? For instance, the spreading of communications apparently coming from another level of reality, and how do you expect this trend to develop in the future? Paolo: Conferences such as the one organized by Infinitude are very useful for the researcher since they allow us to assess the evolution of the phenomenon. It is most important to speak with the people present at the conference since they are a precious source of information about their own experiences. On such occasions we have the opportunity to learn much more than in books and to survey the latest developments of the phenomena. I think that, if the new human psychic models contain strong expectations about the improvement of the contacts, such developments will occur sooner or later. Anabela: Do you attribute these novel developments to some potential for such developments in the human mind, to the communicators themselves, or to the interaction between the two, for instance the interaction between the human psychic potential to receive them, and the desire and work of the communicators to make them happen? In other words, do you believe that the communicators really exist as a separate entity or do you think they are a creation of the human mind? Paolo: It is necessary to clarify: what I mean by “psychic model.” Put simply, you have to liken the

“psychic model” to the tuning dial (the quadrant in a radio set where the broadcasting stations are listed) of a radio. To tune a radio correctly to a certain broadcasting station (i.e. to the name of the station, to the wave band, to the frequency, etc) it is necessary to scan the tuning dial and stop the frequency pointer at the desired station. The same happens with our psyche: only if we mentally pre-establish as firmly and deeply as possible the way and the method in which we believe communications will take place, will these communications become feasible. In the case of tuning a radio, what comes through the loudspeaker does not depend on we who do the tuning, as the origin of the broadcast sounds comes from the transmitting station. Similarly, in the case of ITC, our desire to establish the contact and the belief that the contact is possible (our psychic model) is analogous to the act of tuning. Thus, although this psychic model is a necessary part of the process, it does not in itself create the communications. Anabela: If we continue to analyze the massive spread of ITC communications, we can rightly assume that there are at present many thousands of people who, in the quiet of their homes, experiment and perhaps obtain significant results. This was predicted by the communicators themselves many years ago, and it seems to me to be perhaps one of the best ways to establish the reality of the phenomena, in

opposition to the attitude of the scientific community at large (there are naturally a very few honorable exceptions among scientists) that continues to ignore them. I would appreciate your comments on these two approaches: from one side the great interest of common people, and from the other the disdain of science toward the so far sole phenomenon in the field of survival research that is objective and repeatable and can be scientifically analyzed within the framework of the scientific method. Paolo: As I said before, all the experiments carried out in the quiet of the experimenters’ homes are very useful since they can yield significant results and precious material for research. On the other hand, an intensive investigation by means of scientific methodologies and techniques is, today, absolutely indispensable. I can understand the behavior of today’s scientist on this issue because every paranormal event contradicts one or more of the well-established paradigms of science. In line with Thomas Kuhn’s thought, only by using scientific language and by demonstrating events that are presently considered anomalies will we alert the scientific community to the importance of this kind of research, and only then will a revision of the paradigms, currently considered immutable by science, take place. Anabela: To conclude our pleasant conversation I would like to ask you to share with the readers of the ITC Journal your expectations for the future of this discipline, and how you anticipate it will develop. Paolo: My main expectation is acceptance by science of the

importance of all objective evidence such as ITC phenomena that support the possible existence of the other planes of consciousness where one day all of us will dwell. Anabela: Very many thanks Paolo! The readers of the ITC Journal and myself greatly appreciate your sharing your experiences with us and taking part with me in this interesting exchange of views on the exciting field of Instrumental Transcommunication research. Bibliography: Thomas S Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution: University of Chicago, 1970 Becky Estep’s Eulogy for her Mother Sarah Estep ©Becky Estep Read at Sarah’s funeral Sarah Estep Picture taken by Ludwig Schonheid in Tarrytown, NY in the 1980s I want to thank each of you for being here today. At this moment, there are people scattered throughout the world, in this country and abroad, who wanted to be here and would have been, if circumstances had permitted it. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to those individuals as well, because I know their love and prayers are also being sent to my mother. In particular, I want to acknowledge a very special woman, Clara Laughlin. My mother and I are eternally thankful for her steadfast friendship and devotion, down through the years. Clara was an honor and a timeless gift to my mother. My mom, as some of you know, was a researcher in the field of life after death. In particular, she was focused on the area of Electronic Voice Phenomena otherwise known as EVP. She was a pioneer in

this field, and spent years educating the public about it. My mother traveled extensively: to New York, Florida, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana and Georgia; she journeyed to the pyramids, temples, and deserts of Egypt; to caves in England; to the coliseums of Rome; to Switzerland, Luxembourg, and to the mountains of Brazil. Everywhere she traveled, my mother shared her conviction with those she met: the conviction that we do, indeed, survive death and that we ascend into a magnificent eternity. Mom had a way of leaving a part of herself wherever she went and in doing so, she forever became more of who she truly is. My mother was, first and foremost, a seeker and a pilgrim. In her sojourn through life, she brought comfort and hope to countless people. But this seeker and pilgrim was also “my mom,” and I’d like to share a little of who that person was. In earlier years, my mother had been a social worker for a children’s aid society, a first-grade teacher, a camp director and a writer. When I was a child, Mom showed me my first rainbow. She got me through scarlet fever, chicken pox, the mumps, strep throat and a broken foot. Even long after I had grown into adulthood, she still fussed at me when I wouldn’t wear a hat in cold weather or forgot to put on my seatbelt. Mom shared her jellybeans with me when we went to the movies and I shared my popcorn (no extra salt).

She walked with me through the forests of Camp Woodlands where we crossed Friendship Bridge together. She taught me how to play the slot machines at Dover Downs in Delaware, and we sometimes watched the Leonids meteor shower in November and looked for eclipses of the moon. Mom always kept an eye out for my brother’s favorite candy bars and made sure he got the Ocean City, New Jersey newspaper that she was a long-time subscriber of. She gave rose petals, lilacs, fresh yellow tomatoes and wind chimes to my sister. When her grandchildren were younger, she took them clothes shopping at the beginning of the school year, and she relished each and every visit from them. She always made sure my father got the comics from the Sunday paper. My mom always treated us to lunch on Mother’s Day—it was one of her ways of saying “thank you for being in this world”. Mom loved scary movies and James Bond movies. She could both love and hate the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, all within the space of a single inning. She volunteered at the local church garage sale, collected donations for the National Kidney Foundation, the American Cancer Society and charities that help blind people. She helped support the Christian Appalachian Project and various American Indian reservations. Mom would help a neighbor if she could. Mom loved the ocean, licorice, books, all the dogs she’s ever owned, robins in spring, video games, wind chimes, lime popsicles, spareribs, spaghetti, a

good bowl of chili, (with beans), pecan pie, kites and balloons. She could laugh until she had tears in her eyes, over the silliest and smallest of things. She helped point the way to the Temple of Abydos in Egypt; my arrival there turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Mom comprehended joy and anguish; she understood guilt and regret; she knew the healing power of solitude; she had her disappointments and triumphs. My mother possessed all the noble majesties and dark frailties of the human spirit, which are inherent in us all. And finally, my mother always had one foot in this world and one foot in the next and sought to build a bridge between the two. This is my mother … all of this and so much more … the kind of person who weeps when dragons die. One of Mother’s acquaintances, Anabela Cardoso, was once told by her friend and colleague in spirit, Carlos de Almeida, that: “Horizons far from you do not finish in the world but enter a sacred Universe.” I know my mother believed this and it was one of the lights that she lived by. In closing, I’d like to say to my mom that it’s one of my eternal hopes and prayers that you are always and forever sanctified by the best that love has to offer. May you be everlastingly blessed with abundant laughter, redeemed by Truth, and consecrated by a joyful sense

of wonder. At the threshold of the door of forever, there’s a welcome home sign for all souls. I know you’ll leave a candle burning for us in the window of Heaven. Bill (Dutch) Weisensale Returns Home Lisa Butler From Spring 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal Although we knew that Dutch Weisensale had been fighting cancer for quite some time it was still a very sad evening when we learned that he would no longer be communicating with us in the physical. Our prayers go out to his wife Mary who was instrumental in much of Dutch’s work. Sarah Estep wrote: Dutch (Bill) Weisensale and I became close friends almost 25 years ago. He’d heard about me, somehow, and how I started taping in October 1976, so wrote to me about his work in the field. We immediately began exchanging letters (in those days neither of us had computers) and answered each other promptly. George Meek, the developer of Spiricom contacted Dutch and asked if he knew any taper who might be able to reinforce William O’Neil’s work with Spiricom. Dutch suggested George contact me. About that time, Dutch began an international group he called “Spirit Voices.” He published a quarterly Journal, largely technical, about his own brilliant work in the field of EVP, and outstanding ideas he had for development. When Dutch discontinued his group, I felt others in the field needed to know what their colleagues were doing, so I began the AA-EVP in May 1982. Dutch was very happy

I’d done this and supported my every effort. He remained a member of my AA-EVP until I turned it over to the Butlers in May 2000. Dutch joined their group and remained very active in working on R&D ideas, along with other members, to enable the invisibles to come through to us more easily and in louder and clearer voices. Even though he was diagnosed with terminal cancer several years ago, he continued putting all of his efforts into the development of the field of ITC. Dutch had many treatments for his disease, which would cause him to remain in the hospital for several days at a time. Just as soon as he was able, he’d return home and continue working in the field that he loved, ITC. I am sad that Dutch is no longer with us–in a physical sense, although I know he will continue to be aware of all that we do in bringing communication from the spirit world, to our world, here. No doubt he has already returned to good health and is busy working with other outstanding scientists from his ‘home’ back there, to help those of us involved with EVP/ITC. I am sure Dutch was greeted by the Heavenly Choir, upon his return, and the red carpet was laid before him…. Jeff King wrote: I first made contact with Dutch in the late 1980s, after Sarah had mentioned his work (and address) in her newsletter. The first interesting parallel between us was that he

and I shared a common career and status as what he humorously called a “recycled technician.” He was ex-Air Force, I was ex-civil aviation. In gaining copies of all of Dutch’s printed work, I quickly realized that he and I had been on a parallel research path without knowing it. For my part, Dutch’s insights validated my own, and gave me confidence to go further with formative theories. At that time, we corresponded via snail-mail, but the major part of my involvement with Dutch was much later via personal emails, where through our collaboration, we both had some satisfying insights to long unanswered technical questions. I quickly came to greatly admire Dutch’s insights (and direct approach) into the technical realms of EVP research, and felt very privileged to be able to work with him in this pioneering field. “I know that the technical work will indeed continue for him in a heavenly setting, and that somehow we will be aware of this work and its evolution. I’ll miss you Dutch…but I’m sure we’ll be hearing from you!! In one of his last letters to us Dutch wrote: “When I was 14 years old, I learned to ride my Dad’s Harley- Davison in the cornfield behind our house. Off and on during my life I’ve ridden bikes and still have our almost half-century old (1952) Harley in our little shop. Free spirit on the open road, and all that good stuff. Just a keepsake now. I’m hardly in condition to kick

start an engine with the displacement of a Volkswagen. Anyway I’ve told Mary that she doesn’t have to worry about me passing on, because when my time comes, if I can’t figure out how to take our Harley along, I’m just simply not going to go, period. — So far, I haven’t been able to figure it out. Love, cheers and best wishes to all of you, Dutch and Mary.” We are sure that Dutch found an exact replica of the Harley waiting for him on the other side. Comparing Paranormalist Organizations By Tom Butler Point of View of Organizations People have a point of view, but organizations are composed of a community of people. While personality-typing (temperaments) is a way to model the points of view of people, a similar model might be used for organizations based on typical goals, objectives and assumptions. From the perspective of Etheric Studies, one might have: Human psychology: Usually parapsychology; specifically, an academic approach with emphasis on a physical-world perspective; emphasis on research; collaboration but guided by community norm. Emergent science: Emphasis on academic approach; deliberate openness to new ideas; open to concepts of nonphysical and survived personality if they can be explained with mainstream science. Human potential: Usually academic; open to nonphysical explanations; focus on personal growth and the human condition; supports research; education by opinion setters. Social paranormal: Desire for scientific approach; for many, often first experience in paranormal; strong community; emphasis on nonphysical and survived personality; no formal collaboration; education

by emergent cultural norm. Metaphysical: Study/research of phenomena related to trans- etheric influence; desire for scientific approach; community emphasizing educational and application of principles; specifically, open to nonphysical and survived personality. It is important to emphasize that this list of organizational points of view is conceived from the ATransC perspective. We find no fault in these points of view or their representative organization (as we see them), but it is important that people understand there are important differences. Litmus Test Compare this categorization of points of view for organizations involved in the study of things usually referred to as paranormal phenomena with the research showing that transcommunication involves communication with survived personalities. Then consider your self-evaluation of your point of view. Do you think there is only physical reality and that your mind is a product of your brain? When you die, will there be anything of your self-awareness left to experience? If this is your viewpoint, then the only organizational point of view you should consider is human psychology. That is, reports of paranormal phenomena are due to mental aberrations. If you are open to new ideas such as survived personality but insist they must be explained in terms of mainstream science, emergent science organizations are for you. If you believe in the existence of subtle energy connecting all living things and that people can deliberately interact with this energy, you will probably be more comfortable with the human potential groups. This is especially true if you feel personality

has evolved from the physical and that there really is no reality outside of the physical. If you just think paranormal phenomena is interesting and have no well-developed ideas beyond that, then the social paranormal groups can provide an important place to begin your discovery about things paranormal. Finally, if you feel that some part of your loved ones has survived bodily death and that they may be able to communicate with we who remain in the physical, then the metaphysical groups are almost your only resource. Of course, a person can be in all of the groups. The important point here is that you should take some time to examine your point of view and what you expect of organizations you support. Learn to recognize the perspectives authors have in their writing. For instance, a parapsychologist will likely talk about mental mediumship (communion with discarnate people) from the perspective that the medium is unconsciously getting information from the sitter, or at most, somehow accessing information via some subtle energy. In the same way, an academically trained person will be reluctant to give much credence to the opinion of people who are not academically trained. ATransC’s Point of View We used “metaphysical” to name the personality type we think ATransC best relates to because it is one of the few that describes a study of the greater reality. To study metaphysics, one must think in terms of whether or not personality is separate from body, if it has evolved independently,

and if so, what is its native environment? One must take care not to assume the personality is separate from the body. Evidence, good reason and well considered hypotheses must guide the study. However, in order to realistically consider all of the hypothesized possibilities, the possible nature of a greater or nonphysical reality must be included in the models. In many ways, etheric studies and metaphysics are synonymous, but while metaphysics is the academic study of concepts, etheric studies is the study of known forms of phenomena with the intention of understanding how they occur and how to apply them to good use. The ATransC is amongst the very few organizations in the English-speaking world that includes the possibility of survived personality in the study of these. If you think this study is important, then please consider supporting the organization with your membership and donations. Excerpt from Martha Copeland’s I’m Still Here © Martha Copeland Article initially printed in the Spring 2005 AA-EVP NewsJournal Continuation of Signs from Cathy Yesterday at my Buford Presbyterian Church, in Buford, Georgia, I met a couple whose son had been killed two weeks earlier in an automobile accident. They told me that he was already sending them “signs” from beyond to comfort them. It is so important to pay attention to “signs” that our loved ones send to us from spirit. Just today, while searching through photo albums for pictures to insert in this book, I found a “sign” from Cathy. It was an

album she had made for my fiftieth birthday party entitled, “The Way it was.” It contained all the important facts and events from the 1950s, along with photos of me when I was a baby up to my present life. One thing that really struck me in this album was her dedication page. It read: “My dedication goes to my mom, Martha Pierce Copeland.” Hope is the destination that we seek, Love is the road that leads to hope Courage is the motor that drives us We travel out of darkness into faith -The Book of Counted Sorrow How very strange to be reading these words now. Although going through the old photo albums made me sad, perhaps this is Cathy’s “sign” for me to continue on and have faith in what the future holds. “Tears in Heaven” Today I was riding in the car, listening to the CD of music we had played at Cathy’s funeral. Each song was chosen for a specific story in her life, and each one usually brought tears to my eyes. When Eric Clapton came on singing, “Tears in Heaven,” I remembered the first time I heard it. Cathy was about ten years old, and we were living in Okinawa Japan, on the military base. Two of the children she often played with were twins, a girl and a boy, Shane and Shannon. One day while Cathy was playing with them, Shane was hanging upside down by his knees from a tree limb, hitting

at the girls as they rode by on their bicycles. Something caused him to lose his grip, and he fell to the ground. His head hit the curb. Cathy came running home and said, “Mom, I think Shane is dead.” He was taken to the hospital where he died shortly from his injuries. The day of Shane’s memorial service, Cathy had picked up her room, making it spotlessly clean. This was unusual for our girl, whose bedroom floor was rarely seen. We went to the service and joined the grieving family and friends of this young boy. The song, “Tears in Heaven,” was too poignant and left everyone weeping as we said goodbye to Shane. We had been home from the service a few hours when cars started pulling up in front of our house, and parents let out their children. At least thirty children had shown up, and Cathy was at the door greeting her friends. Even Shane’s twin sister Shannon was there. When I asked what was going on, she informed me, “Mom, I told them that you were going to have a séance and bring Shane back to talk to us.” I was stunned and told her that I was absolutely not going to do that. Cathy glared at me, grabbed her Ouija board and stormed off to her room, closing the door behind her after the many kids piled inside. While my “little psychic” was in there, I glimpsed Shane in our living room. He was

wearing a blue and white striped shirt with cut- off jeans. Cathy: “My little psychic.” Cathy later reported that she and her friends had asked some questions of her board, and had gotten some “yes” answers, which helped them believe that they had contacted Shane. This must have helped the grieving process for these youngsters, who needed a chance to say goodbye to their little friend. I asked Cathy what Shane had been wearing at the time of his accident. She described his outfit just as I had seen in my living room. “Would you know my name … if I saw you in heaven?” As I listen to these plaintive phrases sung by a man who was a grieving parent, I know the answer to the question he poses. I know without a doubt that we will recognize our loved ones when we get to the Other Side. Still, this thought does not stop the tears I have here and now. Comments Martha Copeland Cathy’s 2018 Memorial – for the 17th time for 17 years we have been honoring Cathy by sharing personal life events and insights about her on my Facebook page on Cathy’s transition date, Dec. 23rd. It has been challenging to share different experiences year after year when we lack new memories to draw from. Unlike the rest of us, Catherine will always be 20 and never age. My two sisters’, Donna and Ginny, have had they own “After Death Experiences” from Cathy, which provided me

validations that there is an existence beyond our current physical life. This message may make those who have not suffered a loss, or those with religious limitations, or just those who are just unbelievers, uncomfortable. If you are in any of these mindsets, I would recommend that you find other sources or material to read. For those that have had similar experiences or are willing to explore and have an “open mind,” I would invite you to continue reading my message and messages from others about the afterlife. By sharing my family’s experiences, I hope to foster a clearer understanding that may bring you peace, hope, and faith during this holiday season (especially for those who a grieving a loss of a loved one). Happy Holiday’s, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Assalam Alaikum, Merry Christmas - or just Season’s Greetings. Above all else, try to keep the warm loving feeling that this holiday brings …year round. Martha Copeland I’m sharing my sister, Ginny’s story as well as a short video Cathy and her friend Jessica made for a school project while in middle school. Cathy wrote the script and had Jessica star in the project. The pets featured were all our family pets, now deceased. Cathy had a keen interest in drama and making movies – but she said that she wanted to be behind the scenes. Below are my sister, Ginny’s story and the short “Sumo Dogs” video. Enjoy and laugh. Aunt Ginny Sawyers Dec 23rd Memorial to Catherine Amiss

Cathy “Cat” Amiss was killed in a tragic auto accident on a Sunday, Dec. 23rd, 17 years ago. She was 20 years old. She was my sister Martha’s only daughter. Two days following her death, the family gathered at Martha & Don’s house for the purpose of placing flowers at the crash site. I opted to remain behind and keep Cat’s (Cathy’s nickname) dogs company. It was barely 5 minutes after their departure to the site, that I heard the front door open and felt the vibration when it slammed shut. I couldn’t believe the family had already returned. I also couldn’t believe that no one was there. Did I imagine it? Cat’s dogs stood at attention, wagged their tails, and tracked with their eyes so I rule out imagination. I believe that bond between our loved ones is not easily severed in death. They are always with us in spirit. Cat manifested her presence so many times after her death. Cat loved all animals. Please don’t forget to donate to your local animal shelter or rescue group in her name. Forever Family Foundation 2013 Conference Tom and Lisa Butler Previously published in the Winter 2014 AA-EVP NewsJournal Bob and Phran Ginsberg Bob and Phran Ginsberg’s daughter, Bailey, made her untimely transition in 2002. Phran told us, “The knowledge that she was still with us gave us the hope we so desperately needed just to survive each day,” and with that understanding, they started the Forever Family Foundation (FFF) in

2004. Since then, they have expanded the nonprofit, volunteer organization to provide a host of services including conferences, discussion groups, a radio program and newsletter. Membership is free; however, the organization lives on donations and the hard work of a few volunteers, so your support would help this important organization continue into the future. Forever Family is dedicated to supporting people who have lost loved ones. The organization maintains an excellent certification program for mental mediums, making it possible for people to be sure that they are working with a reputable medium. We were invited to speak at their 7th Annual Afterlife Conference in San Diego in November. It was a fantastic mixture of amazingly gifted mental mediums and the latest scientific evidence proving survival. Well-known researcher of the paranormal and foundation president, Loyd Auerbach, opened the conference, and later gave a very interesting talk on apparitions. His broad background in paranormal research, and especially in hauntings investigation, gives him an important perspective on the nature of this phenomenon. Dr. Stephen Braude has been conducting intensive research into the physical mediumship of the Felix Experimental Group (FEG) under controlled conditions. You have seen reports in this NewsJournal about the FEG medium and we will be hosting him again in July 2014. (atransc.org/felix_circle) (Book 3) If anyone ever felt that there was trickery in Kai’s séances, Braude can provide excellent assurance that the phenomena are real. Please read Arrogance of Scientific Authority. (ethericstudies.org/arrogance-of-science) Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell has conducted extensive research

into psi functioning and brain activity. She spoke about her research into people with autism and how they experience reality. The information was riveting and we realized how they are much more high- functioning than most think. We believe that she is working toward a book that will be both extremely interesting and very needed. During a holotropic breathing workshop, medium Janet Mayer began speaking in a foreign language. After years of searching, she learned that the language was that of an indigenous people living in a tropical rain forest in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. Janet found a man working at the Smithsonian Institute who was able to translate her words. She learned that she was speaking prayers, chants, prophecies and prognostications of the Yanomami people who believe their fate is tied to the fate of the environment. Dr. Jeffrey Tarrant gave a talk about his research mapping Janet’s brain while she is channeling the Yanomami language and other languages (spoken by more than one person). Jeffrey put a helmet equipped with electrodes on Janet’s head and gave us a real-time demonstration of the changes in her brain activity during her normal speech and then when she was speaking the foreign language. He pointed out how the region of the brain associated with compassion, empathy and loss of ego became very active when Janet began channeling. Of course, we talked about transcommunication. Lisa played a number of Class A EVP and told their stories, after which Tom displayed examples

of the many forms of visual ITC and talked a little about theories for how the phenomena might be explained. Mental mediumship is an important cornerstone of the FFF and time was set aside for demonstrations of mediumship by Kim Russo, Angelina Diana, Janet Mayer and Laura Lynne Jackson. We were very impressed by the quality of the information presented by the mediums. Their focus was not only on evidence but also on ethics. Mental mediumship is well-established as one of the phenomena providing evidence of both psi functioning and survival. However, anyone with the gift of gab and a little insight into human nature can claim to be a medium. This “wild west” environment makes it difficult for a grieving family to find a trustworthy person to help them contact a discarnate loved one. The FFF efforts to establish a registry of reliable mediums is perhaps one of the most beneficial services they can provide. You can view this list at www.foreverfamilyfoundation.org The very first night of mediumship demonstrations turned out to be extremely evidential for me (Lisa), but let me explain a little. My sister had made her transition on October twenty and the memorial in Arizona was only six days before our trip to San Diego for the conference. This was a difficult memorial because my sister never liked me. She wanted to be an only child and never really forgave me for showing up. In lieu of flowers, donations to a fund for helping animals had

been set up, which was wonderful. But I asked if we could provide a wreath for the memorial because, without flowers, the memorial would seem cold. My niece agreed to this and we ordered a big heart of roses to be delivered for the memorial. It turned out to be quite beautiful. The whole thing was beyond awkward and stressful. We were invited to a potluck dinner at my sister’s house the evening before the memorial. My niece welcomed us but introduced us to no one in the room of about thirty people. Again, at the memorial we were not asked to sit with the family and were not introduced to anyone. I can’t blame my niece, as there is no telling what my sister had said about us. We had never been a part of her life, my sister did not even invite us to her daughter’s wedding, saying after the fact that the invitation must have gotten lost. There is no blame here, families are families. If there is reincarnation perhaps I have done something terrible to my sister in a past life. But because of the loss of this relationship, I cried my eyes out at the memorial. I tell you all of this only because of the next remarkable event. That first night of the conference, Kim Russo came to Tom and gave him some amazing information on a step- brother and his father. After the event was over, Janet Mayer quickly came to me and

said, “Lisa I can’t believe that Kim didn’t come to you next. Who is the women; the mother that is here”? I immediately thought of my friend Jannet whose mother had just made her transition. Then Janet Mayer went on saying that she had been a florist and the women was pointing to a large beautiful floral arrangement. Immediately, it hit me that it was my mom. Then Janet said something about angel wings. Angel wings were important to my sister because she had been very reassured by seeing angel wings, years earlier them during a heart angioplasty. They also seemed to assure me that my sister was on her way to a new life. I simply can’t express the impact of this message. I am so immensely thankful for those on the other side being able to get messages to us in so many different ways. This message through Janet was enormously healing and allowed me to know that my mother had been at the memorial and helped my sister across. I feel blessed for this experience and its ability to help me let go of hurt feelings that are really nothing in the larger scheme of things. Another very interesting message came from another medium who told us (before our presentation) that she had done a reading for a mother whose child was on the other side. The son said he was part of a circle (she used the term circle) trying to use technology to contact loved

ones on this side. I asked, “Big Circle?” and she immediately said “Yes!” In Memory of Sarah Estep, an ITC Pioneer ©Becky Estep Also see Becky Estep’s Eulogy for Sarah Sarah Estep sitting in her experiment room American paranormal researcher Sarah Wilson Estep made her transition to the other side due to kidney failure on January 3, 2008. She was the premier pioneer researcher in Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) in the United States and was considered one of the world’s leading experts in the field. Sarah became a believer that death was the end of life at the tender age of seven. After the death of her grandmother, her grandfather married a woman who was the director of a funeral home. A couple times a year, Sarah’s family visited her grandparents in the funeral home where they lived. She was deeply distressed by the grieving families that came to view their loved ones, and when no one was around, she frequently sneaked into the viewing areas to look at the bodies. This traumatic experience was to shape Sarah’s life and create a thirst for knowledge that death was not the end of life. She dove into every nonfiction book that she could get her hands on, especially those dealing with paranormal topics. She found hope in the Seth books by Jane Roberts, as their words conveyed the premise that we were more than our physical bodies and that our lives continue after the death of the physical body. During a

visit to the library in 1976, Sarah came across The Handbook of Psi Discoveries by Sheila Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder. The book included two chapters on EVP and talked about the work of pioneer researchers Konstantin Raudive and Friedrich Jürgenson. It also mentioned the Americans Harold Sherman and Walter and Mary Jo Uphoff, who would later become Sarah’s good friends. The Handbook of Psi Discoveries changed Sarah’s life and also the lives of the thousands of people she would later touch with her work. She felt that EVP could be the most tangible evidence of survival yet and decided to conduct experiments to see if this was true. She used her husband Charlie’s old reel-to-reel tape recorder and committed to trying to record for at least a week. At every session, she asked the same question, “Is anybody there?” but after five days, she had not recorded an answer. Out of boredom, on the sixth day she tried a different question, “What is your world like?” she asked. On playback of the tape, she heard a clear voice answer her question with the word, “Beauty.” Contact had been made. Sarah founded the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena in 1982 and began publishing a quarterly newsletter. Membership in the Association grew from twenty to several hundred people in twenty-seven states and twelve countries. There was no Internet and Sarah was the glue that allowed researchers to gain knowledge about the work that others were doing. She held three national conferences

and helped countless people learn about the voices and how to record them. For eighteen years, Sarah led the AA- EVP and then in the year 2000, she decided to retire and asked us (Tom and Lisa Butler) to take the Association over. In 1981, Harold Sherman asked Sarah to write about EVP for his book The Dead Are Alive and her work became Chapter 4. When Harold had to discontinue his ESP Research Associates Foundation due to health concerns, he showed his faith in Sarah by giving Foundation members a membership in the AA-EVP. Sarah has written two books on her own. Voices of Eternity was published in 1988 and is now out of print but is a free PDF download at the AA-EVP website at aaevp.com (Books tab). Her most recent book, Roads to Eternity, (Book info here) is available through Galde Press via the same web page. In 1996, the Dr. A. Hedri Foundation for Exopsychology (the study of the behavior of alien beings) and Epipsychology (study of post- death mental states) awarded Sarah the first prize for epipsychology in recognition of her accomplishments. She shared the prize that year with another famous researcher, George Meek of Spiricom fame. To provide a tool with which people could specify the quality of their EVP samples, Sarah popularized a classification system originated by Konstantin Raudive using “Class A” as the highest quality example, “Class B” as a good quality example and “Class C” as the poorest and most typical

recorded samples. Although more has been learned about how we hear EVP and why it can be difficult for the untrained ear to hear them, this grading system is in use to this day. Mary Babcock (left), Sarah with Becky sitting, Erland Babcock (right) at the 2004 AA-EVP conference All of us working with EVP owe Sarah so much for her bravery in being amongst the first in our field. She recorded thousands of voices, published seventy-two newsletters and authored one of the foremost books on the voice phenomenon. In 2006, the Association that she founded presented her with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the Atlanta, Georgia AA-EVP conference. George Wynne (left) Martha Copeland, Sarah Estep, Tom and Lisa Butler People have been writing to the Association with their condolences and memories of this great woman. Here are just a few of the comments: “Her enthusiasm and passion for voice phenomena inspired me to continue seeking ways to communicate with those departed. She was clearly one of my main motivators as she has been for many.” J.S. “I did not know Sarah personally, but I feel like I did through her work and through the legacy that she left behind. She definitely made the EVP field what it is today and I am so grateful for her loving efforts.” W.R. “She never failed to acknowledge a letter or bit of info I would send her. At a time when EVP was still relatively unheard of, it was comfort to receive

Sarah’s handwritten notes and have her publish my and others’ communications with the other side in her newsletter.” L.M “My abiding memory of Sarah was the broad smile on her face when she opened her door to me on my first visit to her home in Maryland. It was 1983 and I had just read about her experiments in capturing the voices of dead people on recording tape…. For four hours, I sat entranced. Sarah not only gave me a purpose in life but changed it forever. I don’t ever remember seeing Sarah unless she was happy and smiling.” T.L. “It is not the USA that owes to Sarah, but the world. Presently what we do, our research is not correctly evaluated, but in the future, it will be. When Survival has been scientifically proven and humanity jumps a new step forward in development, ITC pioneers will be remembered as heroes. And there will be our “Sweet Sarah,” as I used to call her. I am sure that she will go on working for the AA-EVP from wherever she is … not only for the benefit of this important association but for something bigger: Mankind.” S.R. “I love this lady for the way she let us have our family back even for just a short time here on Earth until we meet them again on the other side.” L.N. “Sarah’s book was my first foray into the world of communication with spirit, an event which would change my life. In

a big way, Sarah is largely responsible for my current awareness of spirit.” K.M. “I credit Sarah Estep with opening the door to this new world for me. I’ve thought of her every day since hearing of her illness and especially tonight since learning of her passing. I believe she will continue her work from the other side and guide those of us here who share her commitment to the study of EVP.” R.H. [We thank all who have written to us about Sarah. Your comments have been forwarded to the family.] Sarah’s daughter, Becky Estep, made a contribution to the AA-EVP in Sarah’s name, and asked that others donate to the AA-EVP instead of sending flowers. These donations have enabled us to establish the Sarah Estep Research Fund, which will be used to promote and support research toward an empirical understanding of these phenomena. Researchers need not be AA-EVP members, but they will be required to follow agreed-upon protocols and produce a final report for peer review. Details of this initiative are available via aaevp.com. You can honor Sarah and continue her legacy by donating to the research fund. After Sarah Estep’s funeral: Tom Butler (left), Becky, Cindy and Robert Estep, Lisa Butler. Robert is holding Sarah’s dog, Lovy.about Sarah. Your comments have been forwarded to the family.] Our field is still very young, and there are people in many parts of the world who have braved the contempt of mainstream science to seek the truth about ITC. We

honor their contributions, and especially Sarah for her bravery in giving people who had unexpected encounters with ITC a forum to be heard and where they could compare experiences free of the ridicule waiting for them in more public forums. ITC and its Role in Survival Research Professor David Fontana Previously published in the April 2007 ITC Journal (itcjournal.org), ©David Fontana - All Rights Reserved Interest in Survival I can never remember a time in my life when I was not interested in the question whether or not we survive physical death. It seemed to me, even as a very young boy, that this question was relevant not only to what happened when we die, but to the way in which we live our lives while on this Earth. If death was the end of everything, then life here and now was meaningless, a cosmic accident that led to nothing. On the other hand, if we survived, it meant we were part of a greater scheme of things, with this life only a stage on our journey, a stage in which our behavior determines what happens to us when we move on to the next stage. It surprised me that most people seemed not to share this interest. At the church I attended everyone seemed to believe in an afterlife, yet to have little idea of what it was like. We were supposed to take everything on trust, and to look forward to a kind of vague afterlife in which

(presumably if our voices were good enough) we joined a heavenly choir. David Fontana with Anabela Cardoso at the 2006 ITC Journal conference in Vigo, Spain. Although this seemed to satisfy most churchgoers I doubted if God really wanted us to stand (or sit) around simply praising him. Surely, he would have far better things to do with his time than listen to us, and surely, he would expect us to contribute more to the next world than just hymn singing. God would not have created us just to tell him how wonderful he is, since surely, he must know this already. So, although one could take the existence of an afterlife on trust it seemed to me as a boy that there could be no harm in wanting to know more about it and to find out what evidence had accumulated for it over the years. When I grew older and discovered psychical research, I found that indeed a very great deal of evidence had accumulated, and once I became involved in this research, I was fortunate to be able to come across similar evidence for myself. Much of this evidence, both from the literature and from my personal experience, is summarized in my most recent book, Is There an Afterlife? Which brings me onto a further question, why isn’t this evidence more widely known and accepted? Let us take ITC as our example. The evidence for ITC has been growing steadily since Jürgenson’s (worlditc.org/c_06_juerg_intro.htm) pioneering work over half

a century ago. As evidence, it has three unprecedented advantages which we can look at in turn. The First Advantage of ITC ITC evidence is evidence that anyone can try to obtain for oneself, directly and in the privacy of one’s own home. The equipment involved is easy to obtain and relatively cheap – a tape recorder, a microphone and a source of white noise – for convenience usually a radio tuned between two stations. A computer is also necessary if one prefers to record onto the hard disc instead of onto tape. One can work at one’s own speed and in one’s own time, devoting as little as a few minutes once or twice a week to the work. There is no need for a medium or for any previous experience. The only personal qualities that are needed are patience, commitment (it may be weeks or months or even longer before the first results are obtained) and an open mind. Working with one or two like-minded friends or family members helps to maintain interest and may produce quicker results, but this is by no means essential. Many people get on very well on their own. The Second Advantage of ITC The second advantage of ITC is that, as the communications come through electronic media rather than through the mind of a medium, they are unlikely to be influenced in any way by human thought. It is true that some critics suggest that psychokinesis (PK) from the living – the

supposed ability of the mind to affect matter directly – may be responsible for impressing the communications on tape or onto the radio waves, but we have no evidence that PK can produce anything approaching the extensive messages that have been received by ITC researchers. In addition, some of these messages contain material that was unknown to the researcher at the time, rendering it doubly unlikely that the latter was in any way responsible for the phenomena. Thus, the belief that the human mind is not responsible for ITC communications seems well founded. In addition, since it is clear that electronic media can hardly obtain material telepathically from the researcher or clairvoyantly from the environment in the way that the medium can, it is fair to say that ITC effectively disposes of the SuperESP (or SuperPSI) hypothesis, the idea that all survival- related messages come psychically (albeit unconsciously) from the living rather than from the deceased. The Third Advantage of ITC The third unprecedented advantage of ITC is that when results are obtained a permanent record of them is created. Psychical researchers have long sought for what are called PPOs (‘Permanent Paranormal Objects’), objects that are obtained paranormally and that remain in existence as good evidence for anyone to see and examine. ITC presents us with just such objects in the form of recorded communications apparently from the deceased. Of course, it has to be provable that these recordings are paranormal if they are to qualify as PPOs. Anyone who

is sufficiently dishonest or foolish can fake voices on tape or through the radio and claim they were obtained paranormally. It has to be demonstrated beyond doubt that the recorded voices cannot be explained by normal means. There are two methods for doing this, the first of which applies only to the Direct Radio Voice (DRV) and the second of which applies both to DRV and to EVP. In the first method the voices are either received under conditions that rule out any possibility of fraud (the experimenter receiving the voices knows fraud is not involved, but it is not easy to convince a skeptical scientist of this!) and in the second method the voices themselves are acoustically analyzed to see if they show characteristics that differ significantly from the human voice and that cannot be imitated correctly by faking. Neither of these methods is particularly easy to implement. To achieve the first, one needs to have independent witnesses who ideally provide their own equipment (tape recorder, tapes, radio, microphone etc.) and have full control of it throughout. Furthermore, the possibility that transmitting devices are hidden nearby for the purposes of faking voices needs be ruled out by holding the experiments in a neutral venue – which raises a problem in that successful ITC results appear to depend upon a special relationship between the communicators the experimenter, the equipment and the location, and moving to a neutral venue may thus disrupt this special relationship and prevent good results. Consequently, a

better procedure is to use one of the highly sophisticated devices currently available that tests for the presence of spurious radio signals while the ITC experiment is taking place (although even here it is important that such tests are carried out and recorded by the independent witnesses). If financial concerns rule out the possibility of obtaining such devices, an alternative way of guarding against spurious radio transmissions is to provide two radios, both tuned to the same frequency, on the grounds that if communications are received through one radio and not through the other then this supports the claim that no such transmissions are being received. As a further precaution both radios can be tuned to frequencies forbidden by law to amateur radio operators (see September 2005 ITC Journal, pages 38 to 56, and April 2006 ITC Journal, pages 68 to 69 for details of these frequencies). Again, independent witnesses would need to be present to confirm everything is done correctly. Failure to provide all these elaborate and expensive precautions allows hardened skeptics to claim triumphantly that they have discovered how the ‘trick’ is done. The absurdity of such a claim is all too obvious, but hardened skeptics are far more interested in discrediting ITC than in absurdity. The difficulty involved in providing these precautions means it is virtually impossible for most people to set up skeptic-proof experiments. In consequence – and rightly – they are far more interested in convincing themselves than in convincing skeptics. Nevertheless, such experiments are

vital and will be set up in due course; the expertise exists, it is only the funding that is lacking. In the meanwhile, all those working on ITC can use the simple experiment that I have tried in two of Anabela Cardoso’s (itcjournal.org) DRV recording sessions, i.e., to ask the communicators to repeat phrases after me. Anabela had no idea on the first occasions that I had even thought up such an experiment, so our successful results ruled out any possibility of subterfuge. Obviously, an independent witness should ideally again be involved, and an experiment of this kind can even be tried with the tape recorder (EVP) method. When using this method, the request for repetition should come from the independent witness and at an unspecified time, and the tape should then remain under his or her control until it is rewound and played back. Hopefully, an ITC voice will be heard repeating the words concerned. The second of the two methods for demonstrating beyond doubt that recorded ITC voices cannot be explained by normal means, the acoustic analysis of the ITC voices, looks much simpler at first sight, and has the added advantage that it can be used both with DRV recordings and EVP recordings. A further, and particularly important advantage, is that the analysis can be carried out and confirmed any number of times by skeptics themselves (assuming they have the expertise and the appropriate software). Again, however there are problems, the most important of which is that

the equipment required to carry out the analysis is expensive and highly specialized and can only be operated by an expert and appropriately qualified acoustic engineer. Anabela and I are currently conducting research of this kind as part of the Oliver Knowles Research Project with the help of acoustics expert Daniele Gullà (facebook.com/danielegulla ) (see Gullà’s paper in the Proceedings of the First International Conference on Survival/ ITC for details of the acoustic analyses used), and hope to be able to publish results soon, but the need for professional software and for the involvement of a suitably qualified acoustic expert means that it is not the kind of work accessible to most people. Editor: See Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification (atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis)(Book 2) for a related article by Gullà Why the Struggle for Acceptance? In view of these three major advantages, which potentially put ITC in a particularly favorable position when compared not only to other forms of research into survival but all other forms of psychical research, why is it still struggling to gain acceptance outside the circle (admittedly a large and growing one) of those who have experienced results at first hand? The answer is that it shares the opposition that exists towards all forms of survival research. This opposition comes primarily from four groups which we can look at in turn. Established Science Typically, scientists claim they don’t find the evidence for ITC or for survival in general convincing,

but the truth is they have never studied this evidence and show little sign of wanting to study it. Lack of knowledge of a subject is acceptable – most scientists find it difficult to enough to keep abreast of advances in their own field and can hardly be expected to wade through the extensive data on survival of death (I have over 600 books on the subject), but what is not acceptable is lack of knowledge that dishonestly claims to be knowledge. Thus, we still hear top scientists maintaining in the media that no properly conducted studies have ever found claims for the existence for survival or for psychic abilities to be anything other than nonsense. Such behavior is not only misleading but very poor science. A cardinal rule in science is that you don’t pretend to knowledge that you do not have, particularly when you know that your views carry weight with both colleagues and laypeople. The complexities of modern science and the aura of infallibility that surrounds it mean that many people take the pronouncements of eminent scientists on trust, wrongly believing that such is their distinction in their own fields that they must know what they are talking about when they pronounce on any subject. The main reason for this uninformed hostility on the part of many scientists towards psychical research is the belief that if psychic abilities exist and if the mind survives death (and is therefore non- physical) many of the most fundamental laws of

science would have to be re-written. This claim is of course absurd. The known laws of science have their own range of convenience within which they work perfectly well, and far from challenging them the existence of psychic abilities and of a non-material mind simply adds a new dimension to our understanding, just as quantum mechanics adds a new dimension to Newtonian physics. This fact leads me to suspect that behind this hostility towards psychical research and survival lies the fear that if such things are true, they challenge the supremacy of material science. Instead of being the final authority on life and death and everything else, material science simply becomes the science of material things. Many scientists appear to resent the idea of the physics/chemistry/biology triumvirate being dethroned in this way, forgetting that science is really about the search for truth and not about the protection of authority and status. Parapsychology The second group against which research in survival has to struggle is parapsychology – the very subject that should be most identified with survival research. As Edgar Muller put it in the last issue of the ITC Journal (September 2006) “… survival [research] has a low status within parapsychology. It seems that most parapsychologists endeavor to avoid being connected with the topic.” The reason is of course that parapsychologists believe psychical research will never be accepted by established science if it involves itself in hauntings, séances, mediumship, poltergeist phenomena and anything that goes on outside the laboratory –

most particularly research into survival. This attitude dates back to Professor J. B. Rhine, who was one of the principal founders of parapsychology, and although more than 25 years have passed since his death parapsychologists still insist on clinging to it – in spite of the fact that the subject is still not accepted among scientists regardless of the extensive range of positive results obtained by it (see e.g., Radin 1997 for an excellent survey). Even demonstrating an interest in the subject risks blighting the career of even the most promising young academic. Sadly, it has to be said that the consequence of the efforts by parapsychologists to appeal to established science has therefore not been scientific acceptance. Instead, it has been the diversion of attention away from the very subject, survival research, that helped inspire parapsychology in the first place. Professor William MacDougall, who established what became the parapsychology unit at Duke University with Professor J. B. Rhine in charge, believed like the founders of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) (spr.ac.uk/?section=1) that mind is non-physical. MacDougall, who served as SPR President in 1920 and whose book Body and Mind remains a classic study of the mind-body relationship, put it that although the SPR takes no formal position on such issues its principal aim “is to obtain, if possible, empirical evidence that human personality may and does survive in some sense and degree the death of the body,” and adds that “A considerable mass of evidence pointing in this

direction has been accumulated” (MacDougall 1928 page 347). MacDougall also insisted that his own theory of the mind-body relationship, which he called Animism, “is the only psycho-physical hypothesis which is compatible with a belief in any continuance of human personality after death” and points out its relevance “[now that] for the first time, serious attempts are being made to discover empirical evidence of such survival; and the fact that these attempts seem already to justify hope of their success ….” (ibid page 202). Most parapsychologists seem to have forgotten – if they have ever read – MacDougall’s wise words. And even those parapsychologists who do show some interest in survival research seem to incline towards the view that communications from the deceased can best be explained by the SuperESP theory mentioned earlier. However, not only do results show the inadequacy of this explanation in the context of ITC, it is unconvincing even when applied to mediumship. The notion that mediums may, unconsciously and while deceiving themselves that the deceased are responsible, be capable of hunting through living minds and through the environment for information associated with the deceased even though they have no clue where to look and no emotional connection with the people or the information concerned stretches credulity beyond the bounds of possibility (I have set out these arguments and others more fully in Fontana 2004 and 2005). Established Religion The third group that has traditionally opposed survival research, established religion, should in theory also be among its

strongest supporters. Established religion has across the centuries typically equated communications from the beyond with the powers of evil arguing, attributing them to impersonations by demons. The justification for this point of view is sometimes said to come from Exodus Chapter 22 Verse 18 of the Bible when Moses informs the people that one of God’s ‘social ordinances’ is that ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’. However, the word ‘witch’ seems to have been chosen by the translators to satisfy their own prejudices, as the Latin word is veneficus which is more correctly translated as ‘poisoner’. Even King Saul (Samuel I Chapter 28) who banished all those with ‘familiar spirits’ (spirit guides) from the land pays a visit to one of them himself when he wants to consult the spirit of Samuel to tell him the outcome of his impending battle with the Philistines Samuel duly appears and tells Saul in no uncertain terms that he has lost favour with God and not only will he be defeated he will perish along with his sons in the battle – all of which turns out to be correct. Saul’s loss of favor with God – together with the Bible’s account of his generally shabby behaviour during much of his reign – hardly suggests he is a suitable role model on how to treat those with ‘familiar spirits’ (i.e. spirit guides). Given therefore that there seems no Biblical objection to ‘familiar spirits’, we are driven to the conclusion that the

attitude of the Christian churches (Catholic and Protestant alike) towards converse with the departed stems more from a threat to the authority of the priesthood than from anything else. I am not arguing against religious belief, which is an essential part of human nature, but it seems clear that the teaching which claims that the priesthood are the intermediaries between man and God and the only key holders of the Kingdom of Heaven has been an important obstacle to interest and research into survival. Far from being Biblical, the beginnings of this teaching stretch back to the decision by the Emperor Constantine to make Christianity the state religion of Rome, and thus were always more political than religious. The result of them is that we in the West lag far behind the cultures of the East, whose psycho-physical systems such as Hinduism and Buddhism have extensive and detailed teachings both on survival and on the nature of the afterlife. The General Public The fourth group, the general public – particularly the general public in Britain and in the USA – do not so much oppose survival research as show little interest in it. We are in fact the only generation in which the subject of death has been so widely ignored. Right through to the mid-20th Century and World War Two people lived with the reality of death. In the earlier part of the Century large numbers of children died young, and even for adults, death was a constant companion.

In the 16th Century scholars kept skulls on their desks as momento mori, and in Britain the Victorians and Edwardians in the 19th and early 20th Century frequently wore lockets containing tresses of hair from deceased loved ones. Catholic countries had their Day of the Dead-on November 2nd, and this is one of the few remembrances that are still observed. Apart from this, the reality of death is largely ignored. In earlier times people fell sick, declined and for the most part died at home, and the tragedy of death was forever present. Advances in medical care and public health mean that we are the first generation in recorded history insulated from many of the reminders of our own mortality. Together with the growth of consumerism and the prevalence of materialistic philosophies, this has led to a general resistance to any talk of leaving this life and of what might happen next. There is also a failure to recognize that belief in an afterlife does not distract us from trying to improve this life. Instead, it gives this life meaning and purpose and increases our awareness of its sacred nature and of the need to cherish the physical world and the opportunities it gives to us. Conclusion We have reached a point in human history where many people now realize that science cannot provide us with answers to life’s fundamental questions, that we have pushed consumerism past its sustainable limits, and that materialism does not provide the route either to

individual happiness or to a future for our planet. Together with the advances currently being made in survival research – and particularly in ITC – we may find that opposition from the four groups we have identified begins to weaken, meaning that at the very least the results of research into survival will begin to be taken more seriously. The problem may then be that parapsychologists, recognizing the importance of the PPOs produced by ITC, may attempt to claim the subject as their own and to take much of the credit for its development. We can but wait and see. References 1. Fontana, D. (2004). Survival research: opposition and future developments. Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 68.4 (877), 193-209. 2, Fontana, D. (2005). Is There an Afterlife? Alresford: John Hunt. 3. MacDougall, W. (1928). Body and Mind. London: Methuen (7th edn.). 4. Radin, D. (1997). The Conscious Universe (deanradin.com/Chapter1.html). San Francisco: Harper Edge. ITC at the Parapsychological Association’s 2006 Convention in Stockholm Reported by Edgar Müller Originally published in the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena Fall 2006 NewsJournal Editor’s Note: A doctorate is required for full membership in the Parapsychological Association, a requirement which effectively isolates those who should be studying ITC from those who do study ITC. We are greatly encouraged by this report and the small changes toward more openness we have seen by the PA. Approximately seventy highly qualified researchers were participating in the convention and nine of the fifty-one papers presented or items

on the agenda were about the Survival Hypothesis. This is quite a substantial proportion of the total material, considering the fact that many parapsychologists, at least officially, refuse to accept the possibility of dualism; that is to say that there may be a brain and a mind, integrated in the daily functioning but nevertheless separate components of cognition and that the mind, which is not an identifiable physiological organ, may survive the death of the brain. Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), including voice, was dealt with on three occasions during the Convention, once in a negative way and twice quite positively. As far as I know, this is the first time in the long history of parapsychology that ITC was officially discussed at the Convention in this way and that the Survival Hypothesis received so much attention. As we know, parapsychologists have tremendous problems to make their field of research acceptable within psychology and other disciplines in mainstream science. At the same time the issue of survival has a low status within parapsychology. It seems that most parapsychologists endeavor to avoid being connected with the topic, so that their already questionable reputation in mainstream science should not become even worse. At least until recently, most parapsychologists who are engaged in some kind of survival research have dismissed EVP as not being serious and suitable for scientific research. One of the speakers, an impressive professor from a European country, presented a well-prepared paper on the aspects of the survival hypothesis and commented briefly

on all the known indications that survival may be possible, such as NDE, OBE, birthmarks on children claiming reincarnation, apparitions, mediums and at the end of the list there were the magical words ITC. However, he did not comment on ITC, and instead hesitated, shook his head and finally said, “Others may talk about it,” as if he did not want to be contaminated by this field. Some of the papers on the Survival Hypothesis were very balanced. That is to say that the speakers presented all pros and cons in an open-minded way, keeping the door open that there may be a survival. Admittedly it was underlined that we probably never can get scientifically acceptable evidence that there is an existence after the death of the body. One delegate said that he definitely was not a survivalist and it would be difficult to convince him that some functions of cognition and personality could exist after the death of the brain; however, he said he had participated in an experiment about which he said, “Could you believe it, there were voices coming out from a radio….” So, he gave a brief but correct description of the Bacci experiment that occurred in December 2004. It was obvious that he had been shaken by this experience and was now more open to the survival hypothesis. One important paper presented by a professor from the United States included a kind of summary of the topic and he opened his speech by telling a

personal experience regarding EVP. He was in Mexico visiting some colleagues when a young girl was murdered. Apparently, a friend of one of his colleagues was doing EVP research and succeeded in getting several utterances from the murdered girl. This professor listened to the tape and was quite impressed; he took a copy of the tape back to the United States and decided to present it at the Convention. Thus, a session was played back for the whole convention via all the loudspeakers. The quality was very good. I am glad to notice the change in my colleagues’ attitudes in the Board of the Swedish Association of Parapsychological Research. There are some who still think that all talk about ITC is rubbish, but others have now stopped joking about me and ITC and take the topic more seriously. Thus, my old mentor in this field, Dr. Nils-Olof Jacobson and myself can now work in a friendlier and more understanding atmosphere for EVP in Sweden. One of the papers and comments from several participants were very critical to psychic mediums. My personal experiences are unfortunately not encouraging either. I have several times tried to get some advice from mediums concerning how to proceed with ITC research to get better results but without any reasonable answer. Finally, an observation from the convention. As you know it is customary to give each speaker a polite applause when the paper is finished. Normally these applauses have duration of three to four seconds. After the

first and admittedly the best paper on the Survival Hypothesis, there was applause like in a theatre; long and intensive. Of course, it came spontaneously, maybe from the subconsciousness of the delegates Edgar Müller is one of the administrators for the Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life After Death, (HRF) which has awarded two ITC research grants (as of Fall 2006). Konstantin Raudive Compiled by Lisa Butler Excerpts from There is No Death and There are No Dead (See info in this book) Dr. Konstantin Raudive, a psychologist, philosopher and Latvian then living in Sweden, read one of the Friedrich Jürgenson books. Raudive was intrigued with the voice phenomena, but skeptical, and asked if he could join Jürgenson for a recording session. After working with Jürgenson, he became convinced that the voices were real. Jürgenson taught Raudive how to record and from 1965 on, he devoted his time to the voice recordings. Both Raudive and Jürgenson were multilingual and the voices they recorded were a mixture of languages. These voices were unlike any normal voice broadcast. The speech was almost double the usual speed and the sound was pulsed in rhythms like poetry or chanting. (2-226) Many engineers, scientists and experts worked with Raudive over the years conducting voice experiments. Physicist, Professor Alexander Schneider, was one of them. In 1969, Raudive and Professor Schneider were jointly given the first prize awarded by the Swiss Association for Parapsychology for their work on direct voice messages on tape recordings. Although

not the first person to record EVP, Raudive is given a good deal of credit for being the first to bring Electronic Voice Phenomena to the attention of a larger audience. His book, The Inaudible Made Audible, was translated into English in 1971 and published by Colin Smythe, Ltd. under the title Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead. (1) In the preface to Breakthrough, Smythe wrote that, before publishing the book, he wanted to be sure that the voice phenomenon was real. He did some test recordings and thought that he heard a voice, but he could not understand it. He asked Peter Bander, the editor of Breakthrough, to listen to the tape. After listening, Bander heard a woman’s voice say in German, “Why don’t you open the door?” Bander recognized it as his mother’s voice. Bander and his mother had done all of their correspondence by tape and her voice was unmistakable. The message also made sense, because during the previous week, Bander had insisted on keeping the door of his office closed and his colleagues had teased him for his seclusion. Bander knew that Smythe could not understand German and so asked others to write down phonetically what they heard. They all heard the same thing. The voices became known as “Raudive Voices” after Breakthrough was published. However, Colin Smythe and Peter Bander became more aware of Friedrich Jürgenson’s role and continued activity in voice phenomena research. It was obvious to them that a

less personal and more accurate name needed to be coined for the phenomena. Peter Bander used the term, “Electronic Voice Phenomena,” in the introduction to his book, Carry on Talking. Smythe said that their policy to use the term, “Electronic Voice Phenomenon,” in an official sense was first carried out in a determined fashion in an article written by Malcolm Hughes in The Spiritualist Gazette, in April of 1973. In 1971, controlled EVP experiments were conducted with Raudive by the chief engineers of Pye Records, Ltd. (3) (59-63) Precautions were taken to prevent freak pick-ups of any kind. Controls within the experiment also excluded random high or low frequencies being received. Raudive was not allowed to touch the equipment and was al-lowed only to speak into a microphone. No one present heard anything but Raudive speaking while the recording was being made. However, when the recording was played back, over two hundred voices were found on the eighteen minutes of tape. Many of these messages were personal and very evidential to those who were there. In his book, Carry on Talking, published in 1972, Peter Bander said that there was so much excitement from those who were there that the experiments continued into the early hours of the morning. Carry on Talking was published in the United States as Voices from the Tapes: Recordings from the Other World. (3) In 1972, Belling and Lee, Ltd., at Enfield, England, conducted experiments with Raudive and the recording of the paranormal voices in

their Radio Frequency Screened Laboratory. (3) (65-67) Peter Hale supervised the experiments. Peter, a physicist and electronics engineer, was considered the leading expert on electronic- suppression in Great Britain. The Belling and Lee lab was used to test the most sophisticated electronic equipment for British defense and was expressly designed to screen out electromagnetic transmissions. Before the experiment, Hale had expressed his opinion that Raudive’s voices originated from normal radio signals. The lab’s own recording equipment was used for the test and paranormal voices, that should not have been there, were recorded on factory fresh tape. Peter Hale said after the experiment, “I cannot explain what happened in normal physical terms.” From the section on Maggy Harsch-Fischbach and Jules Harsch: The Director of Timestream was a scientist named Swejen Salter. (4) (10- 14) She told the couple that she was a scientist who had lived in a parallel world and had never lived a life on earth. Salter made frequent telephone contacts to the Harsch-Fischbachs. As time passed many eminent ITC researchers from earth joined the group after their death, including Konstantin Raudive, Friedrich Jürgenson and Klaus Schreiber. From Important Instances of Cross-Correspondence: On April 28, 1992, a French television crew visited Dr. Ernst Senkowski. (5) (V11N3) The crew conducted an interview and then tried to record EVP voices without convincing results. Right before they were to leave, the phone rang and it was the deceased pioneer EVP re- searcher, Friedrich Jürgenson, on the line. Permission was granted to record

the conversation in which Jürgenson first spoke in French and thanked the television crew. The conversation then continued in German and said that information would also come via the colleagues Homes and Harsch-Fischbach. Ernst wrote, “No outsider knew that the French television crew was here or planned to be here as the date had been changed shortly before.” The next day Ernst Senkowski spoke with Maggy Harsch-Fischbach on the telephone and she told him that she had had a seven-minute telephone call from Jürgenson before he had placed the call to Senkowski. Jürgenson told Maggy that they planned to send a picture through to the television set of the German researcher, Adolf Homes. Over a month later, Homes’ daughter received a phone call from Raudive, which she recorded. (6) (2/92) Raudive said that a picture of Jürgenson would come through Homes’ television the following day. Homes set up his video camera in front of the television the next day, with the television tuned to a blank channel. He turned the camera on and saw a face flash on the screen. At almost the same time a message from Jürgenson was placed on the computer of Maggy and Jules Harsch-Fischbach. (5) (V11N3) The picture received on the Harsch couple’s computer showed Swejen Salter, one of the main communicators for the group on the other side called Timestream, as she transmitted the picture of Jürgenson to the television set of Adolf Homes. The picture received on Homes’ television was only of the

face of Jürgenson and it was the exact same picture that can be seen on the transmitting monitor in the middle of the picture sent to the Harsch-Fischbachs. References 1. Raudive, Konstantin—Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead, New York: Taplinger, 1971. First published by Colin Smythe, Ltd. and still available at colin-smythe.com. 2. Ostrander, Sheila and Lynn Schroeder— Handbook of Psychic Discoveries, Berkeley Publishing Corp., New York, NY, 1975. 3. Bander, Peter—Voices From the Tapes: Recordings from the Other World, Drake Publishers Inc., New York, 1973. Initial German Language title: Carry on Talking. 4. Macy, Mark and Dr. Pat Kubis—Conversations Beyond the Light, Griffin Publishing, Irvine, CA, in conjunction with Continuing Life Research, Boulder, CO, 1995. 5. ATransC NewsJournal—Association TransCommunication, 1982-2003. Please note that the name of the AA-EVP newsletter was changed to the ATransC NewsJournal in 2003, atransc.org. (atransc.org/felix_circle)(Book 3) 6. Info News—English edition of Cercle D’etudes sur la Transcommunicaton, Luxembourg, (Luxembourg Study Circle in Transcommunication,) Translation: Hans Heckman, US Publishing: Continuing Life Research, PO Box 11036, Boulder, CO, 80301. (No longer published.) Konstantin Raudive Reported Part of “Spirit Team” Working on Transcommunication From In Pursuit of Physical Mediumship by Robin Foy, page 84* Although we were still getting the independent voices following this Flint sitting, they did tend for a limited period to be short and concise—just the odd word or name. We obviously needed the further breakthrough and incentive of achieving sustained independent voice contact of the type we had witnessed at Leslie’s

home in Bayswater. Early in December 1977, through John’s trance, Dr Dunn had more to say on the subject of the Brotherhood: You may recall that I mentioned the Brotherhood. Well, at the same time, when I did so, I had the distinct impression that you were thinking of some esoteric figures, dressed in raiment rather like the Ku Klux Klan of America, or some phantom figures in flowing white robes. I can assure you that this Brotherhood is nothing like that. In fact, the Brotherhood of which I speak is composed of people—scientists mostly—who were involved in this Spiritualism before their passing over to the spirit world, and they are currently working on a revival of “real” Spiritualism if you like. Sir William Crookes is a member, Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, too. There’s W T Stead, there’s Miles and Gurney. Lots of people like that, and this is the Brotherhood. They are trying to bring back physical phenomena again, and they are also in contact with Konstantin Raudive. In fact, these are the two things which they are currently working on. They are interested in Raudive— we call it “Raudive,” in regard of this being an accepted term for it on this side, and they are very concerned that you recognize how important it is for this group to progress, now that you have drawn these people to you. This brotherhood is not, as I have said, some esoteric clan, but these are very determined and

were told by their main guide, Choi, that their spirit team was working with them to establish Video ITC contacts. Larry and Patricia worked together on sitting for physical phenomena for many years. They were excited and encouraged by the ITC results of the Harsch-Fischbach and were even able to sit in on some of the Scole Experimental Group sessions. They continued to sit with a group and did experience limited physical phenomena but did not achieve successful television or Video ITC contacts. Larry talks about the years that they sat around looking at dots on television screens and featureless video experiments. Larry made contact with the two of us over a year ago regarding the ITC book he is working on. We spoke with Larry numerous times on the phone and found a common bond and interest in his enthusiasm for ITC. Since we had also begun work on a book on EVP and ITC in late 2002, we were able to send Larry the two chapters on Video ITC that describe how to conduct an experiment and some of the theories that attempt to explain Video ITC. We wanted to get his opinion about the usefulness of the chapters and to see if he could replicate what we were finding in our experiments. Within weeks we received an excited phone call from Larry. Larry and Patricia had followed the instructions and had received images on their very first experiment. One of those pictures was that of a close

friend who is now on the other side. Larry has the wonderful benefit of being able to use his trance work to receive advice and direction on future experiments. He was told to ask for particular people to appear in their experiments. Larry and Patricia have only been working with video ITC for a few short months, but following that advice, they have received many images of people whom they have asked to appear in their video frames. For instance, they have collected images of Patricia’s father and mother and also the image of Patricia’s Aunt Ethel, which is shown here. (The first frame is a black and white photograph of Ethel. The second frame is the ITC feature as it came to us. The third frame is a black and white enhancement of the ITC, which was necessary to permit it to be printed in the ATransC NewsJournal.) Sarah Estep and the Government Rebecca Anne Estep Summary Report Regarding Brief Events at the National Security Agency During the Mid-1980s Timeframe Pertaining to Remote Viewing and UFO Phenomena (Peripherally Involving Mrs. Sarah Virginia Estep – Former President of The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena) by Rebecca Anne Estep 30 May 2018 Per the mandate of the NSA/CSS Public Release Review Team/Information Security and Classification Division, the following statement is required: “This memoir is a collection of personal recollections of a topic of personal interest. The information and conversations contained herein are solely mine [Rebecca Anne Estep] and does not

represent any official position, opinion or official record of NSA. According to the Public Release Review Team (PRRT), this material is approved for public release in a private capacity [that is, Ms. Estep is not representing the NSA in any official capacity via this document] with no restriction on venue or medium per NSA/CSS Policy 1-30, dated 12 May 2017, paragraphs 2.a-e. Nothing in this public release review approval should be interpreted as verification of the information included in the submission. NSA is not responsible for fact-checking the document, nor does the PRRT “approve” (confirm) the data contained therein. The PRRT solely verifies that the material is completely UNCLASSIFIED and contains no protected information.” Any peculiarities regarding the names in this document (i.e., the use of the first letter of the first or last name) was solely at the direction of the PRRT. Any exceptions to this rule which occur throughout the document has been approved by the PRRT. CaseE Number PP-18-0085 I’ve been employed at the National Security Agency (NSA) in Ft. Meade, MD since May 1980 and currently work as an information management specialist. This document describes several events that occurred at NSA during the mid-1980s which indicates the agency’s past interest – to the limited extent I was made aware of it – in the field of remote viewing and UFO phenomena. It is common knowledge that during the 1970s-1990s, various DoD agencies were interested in exploring the field of parapsychology, particularly remote viewing, for the purpose

of gathering intel against various targets. I assume this is an idea whose time has come and gone and that the NSA no longer maintains an interest in remote viewing (or UFOs for that matter). Because of the years that have passed, I do not remember a fair amount of details. Therefore, and regrettably, this document will be vague in some places; more specific in other areas. NSA’s Interest in Remote Viewing Sometime during the mid-1980s, Ms. D (an NSA employee who worked in my building – Ops 3 aka Frank B. Rowlett building) told me about a venture known as Project Center Lane. I don’t remember much about what I was told except that the study was being conducted by the Army in Ft. Meade. The Army wanted to investigate remove viewing for intelligence gathering purposes. Several NSA employees were involved in it, but Ms. D was the only one I knew personally. NSA sent Ms. D to the Monroe Institute in Virginia to learn how to do remote viewing. Ms. D came back and told me that it could be physically and mentally damaging to some people who practiced the techniques. She did not explain what she meant by that, except to say that it was “draining”. She withdrew from Project Center Lane either because the project ended on its own or because of its negative psychological effects; I do not remember now what her reason was. I also cannot recollect the reason why Ms. D chose to

divulge Project Center Lane to me. I don’t know if it would have been considered a security breach that she informed me of it; she never said it was classified. Ms. D knew that my mother was involved in the field of parapsychology and perhaps that explains her reason for telling me about the remote viewing project. Other Government Interest in Remote Viewing Somewhere in the mid-1980s, I was approached by an employee at NSA; his name was Mr. A. I had seen him around in the hallways and had spoken to him occasionally. He told me about a group of people at NSA who were doing a project with someone at the National Standards Bureau (NSB) in Washington, D.C. It was not an NSA- affiliated program. The study dealt with remote viewing, and Mr. A wanted to know if I’d like to participate. He explained that the man at NSB (who was never identified) was conducting the study as his own personal/private experiment. I don’t know how Mr. A had heard of the remote viewing project and who approached him about it. I think Ms. D was also a participant in this experiment. I told Mr. A that I was willing to take part in it. The experiment didn’t involve going to another office or building on site; rather, it simply entailed sitting at home in the evening and trying to guess at some numbers that were sealed inside an envelope which was in the possession of the NSB

man. I did the experiment and handed the results to Mr. A several weeks later. He took my answers to the unidentified man at the NSB. Mr. A later told me that I had a 50% hit rate; that the NSB man said it was statistically significant for a first try, and that he wanted me to continue with the project. I told Mr. A that I didn’t feel I qualified to continue with the experiment with a 50% hit rate and informed him I no longer wished to participate. It seemed somewhat irrelevant for me to do so. Mr. A was disappointed but understood and accepted my withdrawal from the remote viewing experiment. He said he hadn’t done well in the NSB project and subsequently ended his participation in it. NSA’s Possible Interest in UFO Phenomena In 1985, I worked as a secretary for the International Relations Office in what was then known as the DDI organization. At the time this event occurred, I did not ask if it was considered classified in nature, and I was never informed as to whether or not it was. Somewhere between November-December 1985, I received a call at work from an individual within the agency. I don’t remember his name but he referred to himself as Chief Scientist of NSA [CH/SCI]. At that point in time and to the best of my knowledge, Mr. K was the CH/SCI. He held that position from 1983-1990. In 1990, he took the post of Chief

of Research and Technology at NSA and held that position until he retired in 1994. He passed away in March 2001. Although the name of Mr. K does not ring any particular bell with me, I will use his name for convenience’s sake throughout the rest of this document. However, due to my lack of recall, I cannot vouch that it was, indeed, Mr. K that I talked to. It is only an educated guess on my part. During our initial telephone conversation, Mr. K said he wanted to talk to me about my mother’s (Sarah Virginia Estep) organization – the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena [AA EVP]. Background on EVP EVP is a field which combines both parapsychology and technology. In EVP, the experimenter attempts to communicate with those who have died and passed on to “the other side” via electronic means. EVP does not employ the usual methods of spirit communication, such as mediums, séances, self-induced trance states, automatic writing, Ouija boards, etc. Back in the 1980s, EVP was conducted primarily with reel-to-reel tape recorders and cassette recorders. The field now utilizes digital tape recorders, computers, and other electronic “gadgets” – the mechanics of which I do not have the technical smarts to understand. EVP is based primarily on the premise that an individual survives death and can, in a resultant metamorphosed conscious energy state, communicate its thoughts onto physical recording devices. My mother founded the AA EVP in 1982 and ran the organization until May 2000,

at which time she turned it over to Tom and Lisa Butler in Reno, Nevada (now designated the ATransC organization). It was, and still remains a small, international organization. I don’t know what the current membership is but in May 2000, the AA EVP consisted of approximately 300 members from 30 states and 13 foreign countries. The voices my mother and others recorded on tape ran from the very faint and barely discernible to clear, “Class A” types. It’s my personal opinion that the vast majority of the voices are very poor in quality. Usually, these messages are brief and run no more than six to seven words in length. They generally are not audible during the actual recording process; they usually can only be heard in the playback mode. These voices, at times, are able to answer direct questions and also occasionally make comments which indicate they are aware of what is happening in the life of the experimenter. They have also been known to exhibit precognitive abilities. Sometimes, the voices do not come through and there is nothing but silence on playback. In other instances, voices appear on the digital recorders/computers which cannot be readily explained. At times, the voices speak in unusual rhythm, sometimes speaking more quickly than a human voice, and at times will run their words together. Now and then, they appear to have a metallic or mechanical quality. There were certain members of the AA EVP who felt that, in addition to hearing from

those who have died and passed on, they were also receiving messages from “other life forms” (OLFs). These particular voices are the ones which tend to sound metallic or mechanical in quality. The spirit voices never exhibit this type of tonal characteristic. Furthermore, the content of the OLF messages tends to be somewhat different than messages of those claiming to have once lived and are now deceased. Occasionally, the OLFs use words which don’t seem to belong to any known language. It has been theorized that these OLFs may come from other dimensions of existence (alternate realities/parallel worlds – a quantum model of the Universe allows for both). The possibility has also been considered that some of these OLFs exist on physical worlds within the Universe; i.e. “alien entities”. Both the spirit voice of those physically deceased and those of the OLF type, were sometimes recorded on the reverse or “wrong side/dull side” of a reel to reel tape, which technically should not be possible. In September 1981, after five years of research, my mother recorded what she believed to be her first OLF message. Approximately 5% of the voices received on tape were considered to be from other life forms. Initial Contact with Mr. K During my initial phone call with Mr. K, I asked how he had heard about my mother’s organization. He seemed vague and evasive in his response. I don’t recall him ever answering the question. However, it’s possible he might have learned about my mother’s

work through a local talk show or newspaper article. Information regarding my mother’s work had been in the media more than once over the years. One remark I do recall which Mr. K made, was: “The Director of NSA (at the time, General O.) has given me a long leash to explore whatever topics arouse my curiosity.” I could have asked Mr. K to explain the purpose of his inquiry, but I felt I didn’t have the right because his position at the agency was so much higher than mine. I don’t know how Mr. K heard of me, and how he knew that I worked at NSA. I don’t know how he knew I was the daughter of the president of the AA EVP. At one point during our initial phone conversation – prior to our face to face meeting – I asked the CH/SCI how he had located me, but I don’t recall him answering the question. I told the Chief Scientist on the phone that he was free to contact my mother; he didn’t need to go through me for information about EVP. My mother would have been more than happy to discuss the subject with him. If Mr. K didn’t want my mother to know he was from the NSA, he simply could have told her he worked as a clerk at the local grocery store. My mother would have been none the wiser. All that notwithstanding, the CH/SCI seemed unwilling to go to my mother

directly. He wanted to meet with me instead and requested I not tell my mother he had sought information about her work. He did not explain his desire for secrecy and once again, I refrained from asking because I believe I didn’t have the right to question him. I agreed to Mr. K’s request for silence, and told my mother nothing about his inquiry. Mr. K also requested that I not tell anyone at work about his investigation (he did not explain his rationale for this, either) and I promised him I wouldn’t. I met with the CH/SCI in my office the following week. For some reason, he didn’t want to see me at his office. The meeting lasted about an hour. I was instructed not to tell my boss or anyone else in the office ahead of time that Mr. K would be visiting. If, after the meeting was held, I was asked why the CH/SCI had visited me, I was advised to say that I wasn’t at liberty to divulge that information. Afterwards, people did ask (including my boss) why he showed up in our office, and I responded that I was asked to keep it in confidence. This raised some eyebrows but no one questioned me further. During my conversation with Mr. K, which occurred behind closed doors in a small conference room, the CH/SCI asked some basic questions about EVP: its history, development, methods of research and results. In due course, it became apparent that Mr.

K was not primarily interested in contact with “the dead”. His main focus of interest was whether or not my mother felt she was in contact with UFOs and extraterrestrials via her EVP recordings. In 1985, the primary emphasis in EVP was the exploration of the afterlife through electronic communication with “the dead”. It still remains the primary focus of research. However, in1985, as I sat in the conference room with Mr. K, the possibility that alien entities were coming through the tape recorder was just beginning to be acknowledged by various members of the AA EVP. It wasn’t common knowledge that people working within the field of EVP were studying this relatively new and unexpected development. Barely a handful of people knew about it. I didn’t understand why the Chief Scientist was interested in what my mother was receiving in the way of possible alien contacts. Nor do I comprehend how he had even come to suspect that UFOs were part of the electronic voice phenomena. I rarely spoke to anyone at work about my mother’s research in the field of EVP. On the few occasions when I did mention it, it was always in reference to its “spirit” aspects, never in the context of “other life forms”. I tried to emphasize the parapsychological nature of EVP, wanting to steer clear of its “alien” implications. Frankly, I felt awkward discussing the fact that various EVP experimenters believed they were in contact with alien beings/UFOs/OLFs. I was extremely skeptical that

this was occurring. Since I gave the idea limited credibility, I assumed that the Chief Scientist would give it even less. I felt the need to defend my mother’s character against what I thought would be the conventional, straight-and-narrow-path logic of the National Security Agency’s highest ranking scientist. I was afraid that Mr. K would think my mom was a nut. Yet, he assured me repeatedly that he didn’t think my mom was crazy and continued to press for information concerning electronically received UFO contacts. He was very persistent and the meeting seemed to take on the air of an interrogation. I had the uncomfortable sensation of being drilled. Mr. K was primarily interested in whether or not these “space” entities had identified themselves, where they claimed to have come from, and what they said. He asked if they had ever said anything of a threatening nature. I told him I didn’t think so. He asked if they had ever described their “propulsion system”. I asked him what that meant. He said “it’s like what makes a car run.” I said I didn’t know. I wasn’t able to answer most of Mr. K’s questions regarding “alien contact”, since I knew very little about it. My mother didn’t discuss it very often and when she did, I did not take it seriously. All things considered, I don’t believe I was very helpful to the CH/SCI. Near the end of our conversation, I told Mr. K that my mother would be giving

a lecture about her work in the near future. I also informed him that I planned to attend this lecture. I suggested he attend the lecture in order to hear first-hand what EVP was all about. The CH/SCI seemed interested in the opportunity to hear my mom talk about EVP. Yet, he also appeared to have some reluctance in attending the lecture. I don’t understand what his hesitation stemmed from but after several moments, he said that he himself would not attend the presentation but two of his “advisors” would. He made it clear that he didn’t want me to know who these two individuals were or what they looked like, so that I would not be able to spot who they were when they arrived at the lecture. The CH/SCI then requested that I not tell my mother that two people from NSA would be attending her lecture and repeated his request for my mother not to be informed of our meeting that day. I was reluctant to keep my mother in the dark but promised I would say nothing. At one point, I asked Mr. K if he was going to tell the Director about our meeting. His response was: “I might.” I don’t know if he ever did or not. At the time our conversation took place, I didn’t know the specific date for when my mother’s lecture would be given. I told the CH/SCI that I would obtain this information and forward it to him. He

said that when I called his office with the date and place of the lecture, I should ask for him directly and not to leave the message with his secretary. I passed the information to him directly, by phone, several days later. That was my last contact with the CH/SCI. The lecture was given in January 1985 at the Towson United Methodist Church. It was sponsored by the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship, a metaphysical organization. During the lecture, my mother focused entirely on spirit communication. She did not mention that she felt she was also, upon occasion, having contact with alien entities/OLFs. To reiterate, it was a relatively new phenomenon at the time. It was (and still is) a rare occurrence and I think my mom was somewhat reluctant to openly talk about it in public. I remember seeing two men at the lecture who appeared a little out of place, but only because they wore business suits. Everyone else was dressed casually. I have no way of knowing if these two individuals were the “advisors” the CH/SCI referred to in our meeting. I vaguely recall that these two individuals left the lecture early, before it ended. Footnote 1: Other Government Interest in EVP (Not Related to NSA) In September 1981, my mother was contacted by a man named Mr. P. My mother didn’t remember how Mr. P heard about her work; the AA EVP had not been established yet. Mr. P claimed he was from Air Force Intelligence and stationed

in San Antonio, TX. He said his interest in EVP was personal, not professional. He made this statement more than once, as if he felt compelled to drive home the point. Mr. P visited my mother several times and on one occasion, made a recording with her. He asked, “the other side” to describe “target number 1 through 5.” This is not a typical question an EVP researcher would ask when attempting to contact someone who has died and passed on. Mr. P never explained the meaning or purpose behind his question and I don’t think my mother asked. It’s possible it had something to do with a remote viewing experiment which he was not at liberty to discuss, but that is just a guess on my part. The responses to Mr. P’s question were: “53”, “I look in”, and “what’s this?” • Years ago, when I was going through some notes my mother had made regarding Mr. P’s visit, I came across a piece of paper which indicated that at some point, he had been transferred to Japan. • There is also a note saying that he had visited Gilbert Bonner, who lived in England at the time, to observe him doing EVP research. The visit occurred during the same year Mr. P visited by mom. Bonner was a well-known researcher in the field and has since passed on. I don’t know how Mr. P explained his interest in EVP to Mr. Bonner and if he identified himself as

being from Air Force Intelligence. In May 1982, my mother was contacted by a man named Mr. N. Mr. N stated he worked for the government but did not elaborate beyond that. My mother said he was very closed mouth about his job. She had the impression that he travelled a lot. My mother did not recall how Mr. N heard about her work. Initially, he was skeptical that my mother’s taped voices were of paranormal origin. He was apparently open-minded enough to borrow one of my mother’s tapes. He returned for several more meetings and during one particular visit, told my mother that he had the tape “tested” and was convinced that the voices were not coming from radio broadcasts and signals. He also provided several pieces of equipment (something called a tone generator and a magnetic microphone) for my mother and said he thought they would help her in taping. My mother used them for a short time, but since they didn’t appear to improve her results, she discontinued their use. On the last visit, Mr. N said he had to go away, didn’t know if he’d ever cross her path again, and wished her success in her work. She did not hear from him again. Footnote 1: (UFO/NSA Related) Sometime during the mid-1980s, I had a brief conversation with an NSA employee (Mr. G). He worked in the printing organization, known as the Y Group. He related the following to me: A partially filled, open bag was

discovered behind one of the duplicating machines in the print shop. Since it was uncertain as to whether or not the bag was left by mistake or was left behind simply in order to be disposed of, Mr. G briefly examined the contents of the bag in order to determine who it belonged to. He came upon a cover sheet titled Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. I don’t remember if Mr. G said whether or not a report was attached to the cover sheet; I don’t think there was. In any event, Mr. G decided the bag had been left in the print shop by accident and was meant for destruction. A disposal unit for the bag was nearby; Mr. G secured the bag and had it destroyed. To the best of my knowledge, he did not discuss the cover sheet with anyone else. This Concludes the Summary of Events Report The Electronic Voice Phenomena ©Thomas Wingert College Research paper by Thomas Wingert The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) is generally defined as the manifestation of sensible remarks of seeming paranormal origin on sound recording media, such as reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes, video tapes and recently computers. The voices, also known as “tape voices,” are often reasonable messages replying to corresponding questions, and in many cases, the contents of the messages and the characteristics of the speaker suggest that the recordings are transmissions by the deceased. The origins of these mysterious voices, their purpose and how it is possible are a hypothesis and have

been unexplained since their discovery four decades ago. Since extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, scientists only give credence to a theory if it can be proven by replication during a controlled experiment. If replication is not possible, then the subject remains a hypothesis. However, the existence of recorded paranormal voices on cassette tapes is undeniable and cannot be disputed by any logical argument. In the spring of 1959, in Moelnbo, Sweden, the opera singer and painter Friedrich Jürgenson made what could be considered the most important discovery in the history of humankind. His book, Voice Transmissions with The Deceased, details his accidental discovery during the recording of birdsongs. During replay he realized that voices were addressing him by name. After thinking his tape recorder was defective, he soon realized that an invisible intelligence was trying to establish contact with him, and the originators later identified themselves as the deceased (Jürgenson, 1964). Jürgenson pursued this phenomenon over many years and collected thousands of these voices until he was sure of its authenticity. He presented his conclusions to the public in 1963, which unleashed a diverse reaction. Scientists and audio experts examined the voices and performed their own recordings with their sealed tapes. Some of them were also addressed by name and received brief messages in regard to some personal matters, which only they understood. The absence of fraud was acknowledged by all involved. The Swedish media followed with many reports about the voices because his discovery seemed to offer proof for

the existence of an afterlife. This revelation attracted many respected scientists such as Dr. Konstantin Raudive from Latvia, for his experiments yielded similar results. He published his book Breakthrough in 1971. Jürgenson’s publication also captured the attention of Professor Hans Bender from the Institute of Parapsychology in Freiburg, Germany, who traveled to Sweden confirming the authenticity of this phenomenon. Many people were encouraged by Jürgenson’s book to conduct their own experiments, and to pass their experience on to others, which resulted in several EVP associations, and a wealth of information available to the public. A German EVP association, the VTF (vtf.de ), was founded in 1976, in Wiesbaden, Germany, implementing the idea of “gathering experimenters under one roof” (VTF World Wide Web). The association provides quarterly newsletters, conducts scheduled weekend seminars at several locations in Germany and a major annual conference in the city of Fulda. The knowledge of this phenomenon has reached the United States and other English-speaking countries in the 1980’s, since then, many people are pursuing EVP enthusiastically. For example, the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon, AAEVP, founded by Sarah Estep in 1982, is one of many American associations offering a wealth of information, including an e-mail list for members who share experience or discuss topics associated with this phenomenon. She published her book, Voices of Eternity, in 1988. Recordings are conducted mostly by the use of a cassette recorder with a build-in microphone or preferably a separate microphone that is placed away from the recorder

so it doesn’t record the vibrations of the motor, which is annoying when listening during maximum-volume replay. Evidence suggests that providing an energy source, i.e., “background noise,” aids the spirits in their attempt to communicate. A radio has been used as a background noise since EVP’s discovery; preferably it should be tuned to foreign news broadcast, which helps the experimenter hear messages received in English. However, objectivity is required, since English is a global language and may actually be part of the broadcast. In addition, the possibility of receiving a radio frequency from a radio station, passing airplane, police squad car, or taxi must be considered. Many experimenters agree that a brand-new cassette tape should be used to eliminate possible contamination of a previous recording, which is placed in the recorder, and the counter is set to “000”. Users are instructed to press “record” and start by stating their name, date and time, allowing each recording session to be identified later, followed by a greeting to the spirits, which is considered common courtesy. It is common practice to speak uninhibitedly with five to ten second pauses between statements or questions to allow for answers or comments. The pause is beneficial to the listener because it is difficult to hear the faint voices when they overlap one’s own voice. The duration of a recording session should be five to ten minutes, because the listening requires much time. A recording is ended by respectfully thanking the guests for attending and/or commenting. Finally,

one should stop the recording, rewind and then listen. It is generally emphasized that patience and perseverance are prerequisites for listening to the tape voices. This challenge can be most frustrating to an inexperienced person, who may be expecting results only a long-distance telephone company can provide. Such demands are unreasonable, considering the subject; it seems a miracle to have any contact at all. Headphones that seal around the ear help to isolate distracting outside noises during listening, which requires practice and total concentration, since most voices are quiet and as if from a great distance. The focus necessary for listening can be compared to a football player who can tune out a stadium of 80,000 screaming spectators in order to hear the coach’s call out a play. Some voices or messages are spoken rapidly or slow, whispered, sung, and very noticeably grammatically incorrect. The general hypothesis is that it is their way of proving the authenticity of the transmission, which could average approximately two seconds in duration. Since manifestations vary in quality, many have acknowledged a basic A, B, C classification. The definition of a class “A” voice is universally accepted and undisputed, because it must be understood by anyone with normal hearing and without being told or prompted what it says. They are rare, but a thrill when received. Class “B” voices are more common and usually audible to experienced persons who have learned the skill of listening or others after being told what to listen for. A

class “C” voice is simply unintelligible, but may have paranormal characteristics, such as the rapid muffled double thump preceding a transmission, as if breaking through some barrier, or a mechanical sound that may be compared to an on/off switching. However, any sincere experimenter would apply objectivity and disregard it since guessing is unaccepted. It is common for experimenters to mark their tapes and keep journals for reference. Confirming an EVP manifestation is possible by using two identical tape recorders, one for recording and the other for playing the background source, such as a tape from a foreign audio book. For example, if a paranormal recording seems audible on the recorded tape, then one should listen to the background tape at the same spot on the tape counter and see if there is a difference. It is this method that so far provides the best proof that a manifestation has occurred and confirms the existence of EVP. Yet the phenomenon is not officially recognized by most of the scientific community, because it seems that the laws of physics don’t quite apply to EVP, which may be impossible for a scientist to accept. Scientists are certainly able to control chemical reactions or experiments in physics, biology, and so on, but can they control human beings who have made the transition into the afterlife? It appears that the deceased are truly in control of any contact and only they decide if they want to talk or not. Fortunately, this does not discourage some

scientists in researching this phenomenon, for only scientific proof can be publicly accepted. Professor Imants Barušs from the Department of Psychology, Kings College, University of Western Ontario, published an article with the Journal of Scientific exploration (scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_15_3_baruss.pdf), in which he details an experiment that resulted in the failure to replicate the electronic voice phenomenon. According to his article, he only found limited information on its history in parapsychology periodicals, various trade publications and newsletters in addition to an obvious absence of documentation about EVP in any mainstream English scientific journals (p355). Though his account of the experiment reflected a sincere attempt to replicate this EVP phenomenon; the experiment was flawed since it was based on very limited information that resulted in the implementation of basic mistakes in his procedures. [Editor: See Failure to Replicate ITC (ethericstudies.org/failure-to-replicate-itc) for a discussion of Barušs report.] For example, he did not conduct the experiment. Instead, two hired persons performed it that had no prior knowledge about the EVP phenomenon, consequently lacking basic awareness and listening skills so emphasized by many experimenters. Considering the experience of many involved with EVP, the duration of his recording sessions were excessive, leaving less valuable time for listening and unfortunately a waste of hard earned funding. One of his staff actually described hearing her name “Gail” called, and a female voice saying, “Tell Peter”. She said that it sounded like a woman she knew that had recently died and whose husbands name is Peter; yet it was disregarded since

Professor Barušs felt that it wasn’t strong enough (p363). Surprisingly, he mentions that no attempt was made to search the Internet [my emphasis] or to research foreign publications. His report consequently placed EVP in an unfavorable position. Perhaps if Professor Barušs read Jürgenson’s book, it would have provided him with much more insight to the matter and better fundamental information that could have influenced the outcome of his scientific experiment in favor of the phenomenon. It is generally understood that even good research and preparation are not a guarantee for a successful recording. It may take several attempts, sometimes months, before a transmission has been recorded. This is puzzling, because evidence suggests that the deceased have amazing capabilities, including the ability to see us, answer a question before it is asked, manifest a recording in reverse or at different speeds, and they are multilingual. So why are many attempts unsuccessful? Why don’t they simply tell us how to improve the connection, such as constructing some ingenious electronic apparatus? No one knows. Perhaps their knowledge is limited and they don’t know, or they do, but prefer silence for a justifiable reason. One hypothesis may be answered by asking a question, “What would the global impact be if there were scientific proof of an existing afterlife?” It seems reasonable to assume that the effects would be extremely diverse and not necessarily positive. However, it is the class “A” voices that offer the best argument of the phenomenon’s authenticity, leaving no other logical

choice but to recognize EVP as an unexplainable fact, and not a belief. The awareness seems to be steadily increasing on a global scale, for searching the World Wide Web with the keyword “electronic voice phenomenon” on AOL in June of 2002 resulted in 72900 hits. Apparently, there is only one way to convince oneself of its existence, which is to do a recording by oneself, alone and with all possible interferences removed. If we as human beings understand this phenomenon or not, or accept its existence or not, it doesn’t matter, because all things considered, it seems EVP is here to stay. Bibliography 1. Association TransCommunication (Formally AA-EVP). ATransC.org 2. Baruss, I. (2001). “Failure to Replicate EVP Phenomenon.” Journal of Scientific Exploration: Volume 15:3, Pp 355-367. 3. Bender, H. (1966) Parapsychologie: Entwicklung, Ergebnisse, Probleme. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. 4. Bender, H. (1972). The Phenomena of Friedrich Juergenson: Journal of Paraphysics. 6,65-75. UK: Chatbum, vtf.de 5. Bender, H. (1973). . Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter Verlag. 6. Estep, Sarah Wilson (1988). Voices of Eternity. (See info in this book) New York: Faucett Gold Medal. (Out of Print use eBook) 7. Jüergenson, F. (2001). Voice Transmissions with The Deceased. (atransc.org/Voice%20Transmissions%20With%20The%20Dec eased.pdf) (T. Wingert & G. Wynne, Trans.) Friedrich Jüergenson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964) 8. Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with The Dead. (N. Fowler, Trans.). Gerrards Cross, UK: Colin Smythe. (Original work published 1968) 9. Schaefer, H. (1978). Stimmen aus einer anderen Welt: Chronik und

Technik der Freiburg i. Br.: Bauer Verlag. 10. VTF (Verein fuer Tonbandstimmen Forschung). Homepage, vtf.de The Instrumental Transcommunication Work of Marcello Bacci by Paolo Presi As presented by Paolo Presi at the 2006 AA-EVP conference. ©Paolo Presi - All Rights Reserved After more than thirty-five years of dedicated study of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), Marcello Bacci can be considered a leading expert in the field due to this exceptionally long record of experimentation with the voices. The remarkable phenomena that have occurred in the past decades in Grosseto, Italy, indicate that this persevering experimenter is always prepared to locate new openings to communicate with the beyond. Paolo Presi Bacci’s character is such that he is never satisfied with the results achieved and always wishes to continue the exploration from other possible perspectives. His interest in the paranormal goes back to 1949 when he participated in a mediumistic sitting in London. From that time, his life was indelibly marked and today, at seventy-nine years of age, he continues to make regular experiments, once a month. Bacci is a man with wide-ranging creativity. His personality reveals itself to be unconditioned and free, intolerant of any restriction coming from dogmatic and cultural pressures that seek to reject realities that personal experience has indicated to him are possible. In his long years of experimental work, Bacci has tested various methods and many technical devices. In the beginning he made microphone recordings, in the same manner as Jürgenson and Raudive. Over the years he has made

many other attempts with newly developed devices. In the past two decades he has been obtaining his transcontacts through an old Nordmende valve radio. Today, Bacci performs his monthly experiments in the presence of many people, mainly parents who are hoping to establish contact with their deceased children. It is important to observe that Bacci, who has applied himself to ITC with great commitment for more than thirty-five years, never asks for money or other kinds of financial incentive. In his experiments, Bacci tunes his radio to the short-wave band, in a frequency ranging between 7 and 9 MHz, in a zone clear from normal radio transmissions. After waiting for ten to twenty minutes the existing background noise disappears and a typical acoustic signal comes out of the loudspeaker, similar to an approaching wind vortex, repeated three or four times at short intervals. Silence then follows, at the end of which an invisible speaker starts to communicate by establishing with Bacci, or with the people attending the experiment, something like a dialogue. It is interesting to observe that usually the entities address Bacci in the third person and only rarely in the first person. The paranormal vocal utterances are not continuous but interspersed with pauses. They last for varying lengths of time from a minimum of approximately ten seconds to a maximum of three to four minutes. Sometime the contact ends with a solemn choir. Once the contact is concluded, the normal background noise returns. Each experimental session lasts about

forty to sixty minutes. It is important to highlight some peculiarities that characterize the role of the radio receiver in the experiments. The first is the perfect continuity of the communicating voice [even] if the receiving frequency is continuously changed by rotating the tuning control knob during the reception of paranormal voices. The second peculiarity is found in the experiment that took place on December 5, 2004 in Bacci’s laboratory. Approximately one hour after the commencement of the voices and while they were still continuing, the radio receiver’s five valves were all removed. Despite the absence of the valves, the voices continued to speak with undiminished volume and clarity. Lastly, the phenomenon persisted intermittently for two minutes and twenty seconds after Bacci switched off the radio. Marcello Bacci standing in front of a few of his radios. The Nordmende is the large radio with a wood cabinet. From my point of view, the above peculiarities provide evidence that, once the phenomenon commences, the radio ceases to function as a normal radio receiver. The radio appears to become a device, psychically supported, through which the paranormal voices can be heard. Other evidence that the voices received by Bacci are a mediumistic phenomenon is confirmed by the fact that the paranormal contacts happen only when he is present. Upon occasion, when Bacci has been away from the place of the experiments, some of his friends have tried to establish contacts by operating the same radio, but without any result. All these details

are highly significant since they demonstrate that ITC needs to be supported by mediumistic or psychic abilities. It is my personal opinion that the phenomenon should be considered as an interactive process among a “Mind System.” The invisible communicators affirm that they are Spiritual Beings. Sometimes they have asserted, “The Spirit is speaking to you,” without giving any indication of their identity. With unequivocal precision all the communications reveal the presence of autonomous intelligent beings, differing from each other by the voice characteristics and by the emotional and conceptual content that characterize each communicating personality. The voices deal with the most varied topics, freely chosen by the communicators themselves, since Bacci has no wish to interfere and only occasionally asks questions. The invisible communicators have always demonstrated a profound and sensitive response to the human pain caused through the death of a loved one, expressing words of great comfort and strength. Particular care is given to the messages that provide parents with direct evidence of the continuity of life after death of their deceased children. The entity called “Gregorio” often addresses parents with warm words of deep understanding, giving reassurance to those who are still doubtful, as in the following example: Dear mothers, we have already told you that your loved ones suffer only if you are suffering. A day will come where the mysteries will be disclosed to you, the haze will be dissipated and all of you will be embraced by a clear light. One day you’ll leave

your body where you found it, to reach another order of being. The end of each experiment is devoted to personal contacts between deceased children and their parents who attend the experiment. The children’s communications are an attempt to reassure their parents of their survival in another dimension, in their new state of existence. These contacts, besides producing an immediate emotional impact that is profoundly moving for the recipients, represent the most convincing evidence of the authenticity of the phenomena. Most often, another voice informs the parents of the presence of the deceased loved one, but at other times the child directly manifests himself or herself by repeatedly pronouncing his or her name or by giving in a few words as an emotionally pregnant message. It is astonishing how the children’s voices are sometimes modulated with timbre, lilt and inflexion recognized by the parents. They can be male or female, childish, juvenile or adult depending upon the circumstance. Sometimes the sentences are pronounced slowly as though the speaker has met some difficulty in finding the appropriate words, while at other times, sentences are fast and expressed without any hesitation. To overcome the distrust and incredulity of participants who are attending an experiment for the first time, the voices adopt an effective, direct method: they address such people by their own, personal name. The impact is immediate; those who listen to their name coming from the radio are astonished, literally captivated. From an unknown communicator who introduced himself as “a citizen

of heaven” came a significant message on the subject of death: Fear to die? I don’t believe that death deserves so much! Here is Life after death. Death has been beat and this hope is not an illusion, your life must be transformed. There is another dimension, another Life. Remember, the Spirit will transform your mortal body into a spiritual body. Have you understood? This is inconceivable for the human being! Human beings are not eternal but much more then eternal! Your body will become Spirit, not similar but the same being; about this we cannot say anything more. Frequently the invisible speakers have stated that the communications occur by means of “waves that are not physical,” and they exhorted us to take a qualitative step forward when they said: Be aware: it is supernatural what they are listening to and seeing. The basic concept, that has been repeatedly asserted, concerns the finality of these communications. They must be considered not only as consolatory, but as having the ultimate goal of helping people in their correct understanding of the afterlife. The Spirit is manifesting as mediator of the Truth, He comes to speak in this special way assuming a human feature to give his message. His presence allows you to approach the absolute Truth which cannot be entirely defined due to the limitations of human speech. From the many communications received to this date, the following are some of the recurrent themes found within the information conveyed by the voices:

1. Astonishment about their new surroundings. 2. Time blocked. 3. Unbelievable speed. 4. Perception of endless space. The description of the beyond is characterized by astonishment due to the perception of a timeless environment that is depicted as “time blocked.” In our physical continuum, the sensory perception is linear, and the learning process is actuated through progressive steps that result in time flowing from the past to the future. After death the perception changes: progressive learning is no longer effective as in the temporal dimension but seems rather to operate as a simultaneous perception that is felt as “unbelievable speed.” It is difficult to imagine how the communications, coming from a timeless dimension, are able to arrive in our space-time continuum. When we utter a word, we are generating a temporal sequence of vowel and consonant sounds, and this is a normal process in our space-time continuum. The communication channel from and to the beyond has to pass through two different continua, the first one is the timeless and spaceless continuum and the second one is our space-time continuum. To make possible the transmission of words the communicator and the receiver must be placed within the same continuum: from what I can imagine this would only be possible through a common means of communication that shares the same capabilities, such as the psyche of discarnate and incarnate beings. In this discussion, our understanding of the “psyche” should not be limited to human beings living in this physical, earth plane. It

must also possess the capabilities to move, under certain conditions, into a timeless and spaceless continuum. In this regard, the human psychic capabilities of precognition, clairvoyance, extra-sensory perception, etc. are well known. Evidence of that adaptation process may be found within the speech streaming features of the voices. In the early 1970s, at the beginning of his experimentation, the voices received by Bacci were of the same acoustic level as those recorded by Jürgenson and Raudive. In particular, they were characterized by a special rhythm and a slight singing cadence, factors that may depend upon the time stream. By the late 1970s both these characteristics had practically disappeared and the voices had assumed a typical “impulsive” speech articulation. Such impulsive articulation in the word utterances has become more evident in the past decades. This can be heard as a continuous change of utterance speed of each phoneme constituting the word, as the communicating personalities try continuously to adapt their temporal situation to ours. I proposed this hypothesis some years ago, but today my conceptual model about the paranormal voice structuring process has benefited from the broader understanding obtained thanks to the wide range of experiments conducted by Bacci and other ITC experimenters. It is important to note that the communication experiments often conclude with an emotionally evocative and solemn choir. All choirs heard to date present a melodic stream that is absolutely regular and without the time alterations found in the articulation speed of the words in other transcommunication. Why?

The answer can be found in the following: If the same psychic model is operating in both the sender and the receiver, the result will be in accordance with their expectations, that is, with their interiorized psychic models. In other words, it is strange to structure a psychic model of a choir singing without harmony, that is, without a regular flow of pleasant sounds. Here is an example: Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/c2004bacci_singing.mp3 (c)2004bacci_singing.mp3 Many times, the communicators invite the people attending the experiment to overcome their doubts by making a full immersion in the mystery. To this regard I believe that the following communication, coming from an Entity, recognized by his nickname “The Wise,” is addressed to researchers like myself who are trying to rationalize the voice phenomenon or, in a broader sense, the spiritual experience. His message was: The problem is not to define the mystery but let the mystery penetrate us through the eyes of Faith. It’s quite important the availability of the mind and heart and in particular it’s essential to ask the Spirit for the hospitality of heart. The sentence reveals an interconnection that goes beyond the physical plane and introduces us to an indissoluble network of relationships that go beyond time. Delving deeper into the meaning of the message, it is possible to derive the real meaning: only by opening the mind and the heart is it possible to allow the mystery to penetrate us. By “availability of the mind,” we might understand “silencing of

the mind” or a faithful attitude, rather than strict rationality. By “availability of the heart” we might understand “silencing of any egoism.” Since 1985 I have defined this special mind attitude as “Inner Attentive Disposition,” which is, I am sure, an absolute prerequisite for establishing contacts with other planes of consciousness. From my point of view, this is the determining factor in opening the hidden channel that connects our physical plane to the higher planes of consciousness where one day we will, I believe, again meet all of our loved ones. The Mystery of the Roses by Lisa Butler Originally published in the Winter 2004 ATransC NewsJournal The Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary (amazon.com/Encyclopedic- Psychic-Dictionary-June-Bletzer/dp/0962720917/) defines coincidence as, “1. (esoteric) (Carl Jung) two events occurring simultaneously, having no known cause-and-effect connection and unrelated in nature but showing a meaningful response, indicating some kind of intelligence link.” If you have read our book, There is No Death and There are No Dead (Info in this book), you know that we attended a transfiguration séance at the Golden Gate Spiritualist Church in San Francisco last May. The church is an amazing place full of historical items. Some of these items are spirit paintings painted by a spirit artist during sittings given by the Reverend Florence Becker. During these one to two-hour sessions, a blank canvas was set out for the spirit artist to work with. The people attending the séance sat in total darkness, continuously singing until a loud clap was heard. The clap

signaled that the painting was complete. When the lights were turned on, the canvas was seen to hold a portrait or scene with still wet paint. The spirit painting was then covered with a black cloth and placed away from light for over a year. It was known that, without this period of darkness, the precipitated painting would fade away. Most of the spirit paintings were presented to Reverend Becker’s students or church members and were returned to the church upon the recipient’s eventual transition to spirit. The total number of such paintings is unknown but twenty-five have been returned. The earliest known spirit painting was completed in 1911. In October 2003 we gave a workshop at the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (nsac.org) annual Conference in San Francisco, California. While there, a woman approached us with two photographs. One was of a spirit painting that was precipitated at a Reverend Becker séance. It was a painting of a vase of roses. While at the Golden Gate Church, we remember seeing several of the wonderful spirit paintings, but not the painting of roses. The other photograph was of another painting of roses that the woman had found in a restaurant in the California Gold Country. The two were somewhat alike, as you can see by the photographs, and she thought we might be interested in the “coincidence.” In early November of 2003 we conducted an investigation in the Thunderbird Lodge at Lake Tahoe, Nevada with Janice Oberding (hauntednevada.com). It was

a large place and it required hours of work to analyze the audio and video we collected during the investigation. (Hear the “Hidden Morphine” example below) Janice writes books about haunted places and was talking to us about a haunted antique store she had discovered, even as we were working on the Thunderbird material. As she was speaking about this new location, I could only think about all the work that we had stacked up and that I was not going to let her get us interested in another investigation. We simply had more to do than we could handle! So I listened, but assured myself that we were not going to get involved! Listen at: atransc.org/wp- content/uploads/2016/09/c2004butler_hidden_morphine-1.mp3 A few days later an email came from Janice informing us of the address for the haunted antique store on her website and asking us to let her know what we though t. The first thing that I saw on the recommended page was a painting of roses with a title, “Haunted Painting.” To say my mouth dropped open is an understatement. We immediately tore through the house to find the photographs that had been given to us at the convention in San Francisco. Holding the picture of the spirit painting beside the picture of the “haunted painting,” we could see that the similarities were unmistakable. The form and location of each rose and leaf is the same. There is an additional bunch of roses on the table in the antiques store

version. This is exactly the location of the spirit artist signature in the original. There is also a difference in the color of the roses. The spirit painting roses are toward the red shade. The roses in the painting in the antique store are pink. Janice later explained that the rose painting had been the property of the owner’s mother. She loved the painting and even painted a room of the house to match the pink of the roses. When her mother transitioned, the daughter turned the home into an antique store. The rose painting was among the antiques for sale. As the story was told to us, she had agreed to sell it to a man who helped in the store and was a boarder in an upstairs room. That very night the painting fell off the wall damaging an electrical outlet and nearly starting a fire. A few weeks later the man mentioned that they had not set a price for the painting and its sale was once again discussed. The painting again fell off the wall that evening, even (c)tom-lisa_butler2004-hidden_morphine.mp3 though it was hung with an eight-penny nail. After this the proprietor told the man that she felt the painting did not want to be sold. The next day we were all in the car, making the drive to the antique store. The first thing that we asked after meeting the owner was if she knew anything about Spiritualism. She answered, “Have you ever heard of the

Reverend Florence Becker?” We learned from the ensuing conversation that her mother had lived near San Francisco and attended Reverend Becker’s sittings in the late 1950s. The daughter felt that the painting was from the late 1800s but the painting is not signed or dated. The Becker painting is dated 1916 and signed by the spirit artist, Rapierre. While we were there, we recorded for EVP around the painting. We feel that we possibly heard from the woman’s mother, who via EVP, reassured the daughter that she was pleased with what she had done to the home through renovations. We then asked if the painting would like to be in a Spiritualist household and received a “Yes” and another EVP saying, “We are not happy here.” We asked if the painting would like to be returned to the Golden Gate Church and also got an affirmative answer. The owner will not sell the painting and is actually afraid that some terrible thing will befall her or the store if the painting were to be removed even for a few minutes. We did not share the EVP that we received regarding the painting. This would not be ethical considering her feelings about the painting. We have no idea who was speaking to us through EVP, and as we all know, this could have easily been a trickster. So, we really do not know the meaning of this series of events. The relationship and similarity of the painting is obvious. We feel

that the haunted painting is most likely a copy of the original, which was a gift from the spirit artist to Reverend Becker for her work and dedication. The rose painting hung over the fireplace at Reverend Becker’s house during the late 1950s. A photograph could have been taken of it and a copy made. Still, this was a most interesting experience and we wonder if the story is not yet over. White Noise, the Movie “If what you know about EVP is based on movies like White Noise or from television, then everything you know about EVP is very wrong. Please read a few of the techniques articles on this website and leave your TV turned off.” Tom Butler Here is a Synopsis of the Movie: People have always searched for a way to communicate with the other side-fascinated, motivated, driven to find a way to connect with loved ones who have passed on. Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is the process through which the dead communicate with the living through household recording devices. These extraordinary recordings-captured by people all over the world, in their homes, with a simple tape or video recorder-seem to confirm what many of us have dared to believe: it is possible for the dead to communicate with us. And all we have to do is listen. Now, from Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Films comes the suspense thriller that explores this very-real, other-worldly communication-White Noise. Tapping into our deepest fears and most profound longings, White

Noise forces us to reexamine the world in which we live and, in the process, question our most basic notions about life and death. Michael Keaton plays successful architect Jonathan Rivers, whose peaceful existence is shattered by the unexplained disappearance and death of his wife, Linda (Chandra West). Jonathan is eventually contacted by a man (Ian McNeice), who claims to be receiving messages from Linda through EVP. At first skeptical, Jonathan then becomes convinced of the messages’ validity, and is soon obsessed with trying to contact her on his own. His further explorations into EVP and the accompanying supernatural messages unwittingly open a door to another world, allowing something uninvited into his life. White Noise is directed by veteran television helmer Geoffrey Sax, written by Niall Johnson (The Big Swap), and produced by Paul Brooks (executive producer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Shawn Williamson (House of the Dead). Companion Video Included in the DVD: Universal has decided to include companion material in the DVD release based on material gathered from the ATransC June 2005 conference and recording sessions conducted by us at two locations. We have seen preliminary versions of this material, and we can honestly say that EVP is represented in a favorable light. If you are interested in learning a little about the people who work with EVP, what motivates them and some of their successes, then make a point of renting the DVD and watching the companion material. What We Would Like You to Know

About White Noise There is no doubt that the movie is a thriller. EVP is more or less accurately described when the Michael Keaton character uses an audio recorder in an effort to contact his deceased wife. However, the efforts to make contact quickly evolve into what we would describe as a form of video Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC. The Keaton Character spends a great deal of time recording audio/video white noise with a video tape recorder and then watching it intently while looking for evidence of contact with his wife. As a thriller, the movie portrays EVP and Video ITC as if working with these phenomena is dangerous. Probably, the movie would be boring without the thrill of danger, but we must point out that it is not dangerous to use or work with these phenomena. The only danger we are aware of, and there are thousands of people working in this field, is the harm people might do to themselves if they fail to use good judgment. It is our job, as Directors of the ATransC, to teach people about EVP and how it can be used to communicate with the Other Side. So, you can understand how grateful we were when Universal came to us and asked if we would be interested in telling the public the truth about EVP in exchange for helping them make “EVP” a household word. We had not expected a large movie studio to acknowledge the impact their movie might have on

our field, nor be so willing to help set the record straight. In the end, ATransC members and this movie will reach more people with news about EVP in 2005 than we could have dreamed of in the next twenty years at the rate we were going. We are receiving letters and emails accusing us of being responsible for the very existence of the movie, White Noise. Please note that the Association was invited to help Universal teach people about EVP. The Association was not involved in the production of the movie! Universal hoped to sell more tickets by making people aware of EVP. Since the Association is supposed to teach people about EVP, and since the movie was going to be released whether or not we helped, … well, it would be foolish of us not to participate. In turn, Universal has been extremely helpful in making sure the Association will not be forced out of service because of the increased interest in EVP. A Special Note from Tom and Lisa Butler The ATransC is not the only source of information about EVP in the USA or the rest of the world. We value the wisdom, knowledge and experience others have in this field and believe that it is important for the public to realize that EVP is a phenomenon studied and used around the world. Take this time of increased public awareness of EVP to teach and help others learn to use EVP. We are a community, and

are simulations of voice made from whatever sound is supplied and are often missing voice box frequencies and have oddly arranged formants. Types of Recording In controlled conditions recording, it is possible to control ambient noise and supply special forms of background noise. Biofield energy is thought to accumulate in a “special” recording area, which is thought to help make contact. In field recording, it is difficult to control environmental conditions or supply background sound, but in known “haunted” locations, the energy helpful for contact may already be present. EVP formed in an audio recorder by transforming available background sound is referred to as “transform EVP.” In this, it is sometimes possible to recognize the voice of the speaker. EVP formed by sweeping a radio dial, or with a computer program such as EVPmaker, are referred to as “opportunistic EVP” because sounds for voice formation must be made available on an “as needed” basis. Radio-sweep also known as “ghost boxes” or “spirit boxes,”), and in some applications, EVPmaker, depend on the use of “live” voice. ATransC will not use live voice examples for research because of the problem of undetected false positives. EVPmaker using synthesized voice is preferred for opportunistic EVP. Environmentally stimulated speech synthesis is a relatively new and promising technique, but it should be noted that all speech synthesis approaches currently being tried do not support speaker recognition. Recording Procedure Recording Equipment Digital voice recorders are recommended for transform EVP. Less expensive models produce more internal noise which

is useful for voice formation. High-quality units will probably require added background noise. A computer can also be used but will probably require added noise. Scheduling Entities will speak at any time of day or night. In the beginning, however, it is advisable to record at a regular time and place. By doing this, the entities learn when there will be an opportunity for contact and expectation of the upcoming session helps focus attention on the process. Try to find a place that will be quiet and free of interruptions. Background sounds are okay, but it is important to be aware of these so that they can be distinguished from the EVP. Background Sound Source Research has shown that for transform EVP, the entities use sounds in the environment to help form the words. Most recording situations have some background sounds, but it may be necessary to add noise with something like a fan or running water. Some people use foreign language radio, crowd babble or audio tapes; however, as more has been learned about EVP, the recommended practice has been to avoid the use of radio static or live voice of any form. Preparation Begin with meditation and a short prayer to ask for only those intending the highest good and an invitation to friends on the other side to participate. It is best to record when personal energy is the highest. Recording Vocalize your comments during an EVP session. The entities will often come through as soon as

the recorder is turned on. These beginning messages may be the loudest, so it is a good idea to turn on the recorder and wait a few seconds before speaking. Questions should be recorded, and a period of time between each comment should be left for the entities to respond–about ten seconds. At the end, ask if the entity has something to say. It may help to make an “appointment” with the intended entity the day before, during prayer or meditation. Some also provide feedback before the session so that the entities will know what worked in the last experiment. It is not necessary to record in the dark. People often try different devices and energy sources to help the entities communicate. Leaving written questions in the EVP experiment area the day before has worked for some. Keep recording short. Recordings should be closely examined, at least until it is understood where to find the voices. A best practice for field recording is to use two recorders. As a rule, EVP will only occur on one recorder or soundtrack, making it possible to avoid mistaking local sounds for EVP (false positives). Playback In transform EVP, the voice is usually not heard until playback. Experimenters report that the voices tend to become stronger and clearer as the entities gain in experience, but at first, the voices may speak in whispers. Voices may not be recorded in every session and it may take several sessions to discover the first voice. Hearing the

voices is a learned ability. It might take thirty minutes to examine a three or four-minute recording. Classes of Voices The following system of classification is based on a proposed Best Practice at atransc.org/classifying-phenomena/ (Book 1). You are invited to participate in developing the practice. A distinction is made between phenomena which are always present and phenomena which are transient features. A face seen in the decomposition pattern of a leaf is more or less always there, as opposed to a face found in moving water or video-loop noise. As a general rule, “always there” phenomena appear to be formed by opportunistically adapting naturally occurring processes to express the message, assuming one is intended. If perceived as phenomena, “always there” features would be considered Type 2. Features found in ever-changing noise are thought to be formed by transforming that noise into the voice or face. While the resulting features are fleeting unless caught in media (photograph or audio recording), they tend to be better formed and more easily identified as anomalous. So, for both audible and visible phenomena: Type 1: Transformed physical media; not always present Type 2: Always present; often as a persistent artifact Both Type 1 and Type 2 examples are divided into three classes: Class A: Evident without explanation Class B: May require directions Class C: Maybe vaguely experienced; mostly obscured by noise Keeping a Log Maintaining a record of recording results is very helpful. Include the date, time, seconds into the recording, the message itself and

the question asked. Be sure to label and save the audio file so that they can be found at a later time. Experimenters report that they feel weather may affect results, but this has not been well studied. Digital Voice Recorders Digital voice recorders are recommended for EVP experiments. Today, all sound-tracks—digital or analog—should be listened to in a computer and with a headset. Unlike tape recorders, the built-in microphone is usually satisfactory for EVP. Consider the selection guide for audio recorders (atransc.org/selecting-audio-recorder) (This book) here. Audacity (sourceforge.net/projects/audacity) is an effective audio management program that can be downloaded at no cost. Computer Recording A computer instead of a digital recorder can be used for recording EVP. It should have an audio input jack, speakers, headphone jack and sound player application such as Audacity. Most experimenters use the computer to analyze and store examples. If the recorder does not have a USB interface, it is possible to play the recording into the computer while recording with a recorder program. The Earphone jack of the recorder can be connected to the Microphone or Line 1 jack via a cable. The sound source should be set to the correct jack via the pull-down menu in Audacity. Recording with a sample rate of 11025, mono and 16-bit resolution is sufficient for EVP. Files should be edited as *.wav format but shared as *.mp3. Analyzing the Recording for EVP Always use headphones when listening to the recording on a computer. The earmuff style that completely

picking up stray radio or television signals. In fact, a number of well-designed experiments have been conducted over the years by very qualified people, to prove that such stray radio frequency signals are not the cause. Reports of two such experiments are provided below. There is also an experiment shown below that was suggested by one such scientist as a prerequisite to his accepting that EVP are not stray electromagnetic (EM) signals. We believe that nested metal containers, such as the variety found in hobby stores, separated one from another by foam rubber or Styrofoam, would satisfy the requirement while helping to rule out stray sounds. From the AA-EVP Archive Here is longtime researcher Bill Weisensale’s response to concerns expressed by Dr Karlis Osis, with the American Society for Psychical Research, about eliminating mundane causes for EVP. From Bill Weisensale’s article in the May 1981 Spirit Voices: In early 1975 … the controversy was still raging as to whether EVP voices arrived via acoustical or electromagnetic means. (It is generally accepted now that neither is the case.) At the time this was most perplexing. It seemed reasonable to believe that if EVP arrived by electromagnetic signal, a radio receiver would be required in all cases, and yet some methods did not involve any form of radio receiver. Conversely, if they were of an acoustic nature, then all methods would, of necessity, require the use of a microphone, and yet there were some methods that do not involve a microphone. I

reasoned either the voices had to be both acoustic and electromagnetic, depending upon the method of recording, which seemed very unlikely, or they had to arrive by some other kind of energy, which was of neither electromagnetic nor acoustic in nature. (We have come to call this PK energy, for lack of a better explanation.) In order to find out which was the case, I used a (steel) 50-gallon drum with a removable lid … I brought the drum into the house, laid it on its side on a wooden pallet, and blocked the sides to prevent it from rolling. Next, very small holes were drilled in the drum and lid. A piece of heavy wire, with a solder terminal, was then bolted to the drum and run out through a window where another solder terminal and bolt were used to attach the wire to a steel stake driven into the ground. A second wire and solder terminal were attached to the lid and soldered to the first wire. All connections, drum to wire, lid to wire, wire to wire, and stake to wire, were checked with an ohmmeter to ensure there was no resistance and everything was properly grounded. Before doing the experiments, water was poured around the steel stake to ensure proper grounding. In the initial experiment, which was to check the efficiency of the shield, a battery-powered radio receiver was tuned to a strong station, the volume set rather high, and placed inside the drum. A battery-powered

tape recorder was then connected via patch cord to the radio, also placed inside the drum and the lid bolted into place for several minutes. Upon removing the recorder and reviewing the tape, it was found that the station was quite clear with the lid off, but when the lid was bolted into place, the station totally disappeared, and its presence could no longer be discerned even with the closest listening. We then adjusted the radio to between station static, listening carefully to be sure there were no distant stations present, placed the radio in the drum with the recorder and made several recordings with the lid bolted in place each time. We found the voices appeared inside of the shield just as they did with no shielding. Also, since the radio and recorder were connected via patch cord and there was, therefore, no microphone involved, this experiment eliminated (to at least my own satisfaction) both the acoustic and the electromagnetic hypotheses. [Editor: The May 1981 Spirit Voices and other newsletters are being added to the AA-EVP online document archive as time allows. We are currently up to Spring 1987 with the AA-EVP newsletters. Remember that access to the Archive is a benefit of membership. We highly recommend that you take advantage of this growing library of historical EVP and ITC documents.] A Suggested Experiment Initially published in the Fall 2004 AA-EVP NewsJournal Parapsychologist, Professor Charles Tart, was interviewed by The Psychic Times (apparently defunct), a new British publication that

is already proving itself antagonistic to EVP. In the article, Tart was quoted to argue that EVP is stray radio, and that we who study in this field have not demonstrated the necessary research discipline to produce the kind of credible evidence that he can take to other scientists. The diagram is of a shielded recording compartment, EVP from which would answer Tart’s objections. It provides more shielding than a metal can or microwave, but it is not as readily available. We would like to talk to someone who might be able to make one, or who might have one. If possible, we would like to send one to a number of different experimenters in serial fashion, so that many examples can be collected in the compartment. Please let us know if you can help. MacRae has a Second Article in the JSPR Initially published in the Winter 2006 AA-EVP NewsJournal ©Alexander MacRae - All Rights Reserved The October 2005 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research included a second article by Alexander MacRae. In this one, Alec details the EVP experiments he conducted in the Institute of Noetic Sciences screen room. Remember that the JSPR is a refereed, peer-review journal and that the article necessarily meets the SPR’s high standard for thoroughness and documentation. Here is the abstract: Report of an Electronic Voice Phenomenon Experiment inside a Double-Screened Room by Alexander MacRae Abstract An Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) experiment is described which took place in a

laboratory screened against electromagnetic radiation and also acoustically isolated. The subsequent treatment of the results through sound-processing is outlined, and the final analysis of the results through the use of a unique multiple-choice system is described. Comparative spectrograms of one EVP utterance and the same thing spoken in normal speech are provided to assess the physical basis of the results. The conclusion is drawn that voices of no natural origin were received in the screened laboratory. EVP Using VoIP and Telephones by Tom and Lisa Butler Originally published in the Fall 2012 ATransC NewsJournal Also see: Recording EVP Using a Telephone (atransc.org/caruso-telephone) (This book) Recording for EVP using the telephone system has always offered tantalizing possibilities. In recent years, cell phones and answering machines have produced good but usually spontaneous EVP. Now, we see more people using the Internet for planned EVP sessions. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that makes it possible for a person to use a computer to call another computer via the Internet or even call a landline telephone via the Internet. The most commonly used service has been Skype.com, but others are coming along, including Google Voice (google.com/voice). This article describes some of the more successful techniques being reported to us by members and associates. Sonia Rinaldi EVP recording arrangement used by Sonia Rinaldi Brazilian researcher, Sonia Rinaldi, is a veteran transcommunication researcher. With members of the organization she coordinates, IPATI (translation from Portuguese: Institute for Advanced Research in Instrumental Transcommunication), she has

been diligently seeking ways to improve both visual and audible communication across the veil. We have included a number of articles on her work over the years which may be accessed in the Idea Exchange archive. IPATI has been a leader in developing new techniques for EVP using the telephone system and Skype. A major part of Sonia’s work involves reunions and she has produced some very convincing results using these techniques. We asked Sonia to elaborate on her current setup. Here is her answer with the help of Sonia’s translator, Cristina: Description of Technique This is the configuration of equipment used by Sonia Rinaldi for her recent work with reunions. In the laboratory: a speakerphone is placed beside a laptop configured to record via a microphone. The client, who is anywhere in the world, calls that phone via a computer using Skype (voice only). The telephone is answered by the practitioner (Sonia in her reports) who initiates the recording session in the computer, sets the telephone to speakerphone mode and leaves the room. The practitioner then goes to a second room in the same building and picks up an extension phone located near a television. As a sound source, the television is tuned to an English or German-language news channel (any language other than the practitioner’s native language). Via the telephone, the client speaks to his or her loved one on the other side while the practitioner listens to make sure that the client asks questions while leaving a

thirty-second pause for the etheric communicator’s response. In this technique, the voice from the television, as the background sound, appears to be transformed to produce answers from the loved one. While the background sound is in one language, the resulting utterance is in Portuguese. Preparation The client is instructed to prepare questions before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil via Skype. From client Christina, “Before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil, I prepared questions to maximize the communication with my son Stefano. I also decided at the last minute to call from my bedroom, the quietest place in the house.” After the call is connected: “All of a sudden Stefano validates his presence by saying that I was in my room, something I had not mentioned because it was a last-minute decision. I could clearly hear my parents and husband as well, which gives me the hope that I will rejoin my loved ones sometime in the future. “Another communication that amazed me was his suggestion that I contact a friend and girlfriend of his: Lina. “I contacted Lina the next day and she told me that it was an amazing ‘coincidence’ that I called. She had been thinking of Stefano and had decided to call me the same day to take me out for lunch. We had lunch together and she surprised me with a gift: a heart- shaped silver locket and chain bearing the words on both side: ‘Stefano, ever loved, never forgotten.’” Debbie Caruso EVP recording arrangement used by

Debbie Caruso As reported in the Spring 2007 ATransC NewsJournal, “Recording EVP Using a Telephone,” before her transition, Debbie Caruso had been using a landline telephone and computer for recording EVP. The elements of her setup are shown in the following diagram. A recording program such as Audacity or Audition was used in the computer. (Use Phone and Modem in the Control Panel to control the modem in Windows 7.) A telephone was connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she sometimes used a headset that connects to the computer. An example of what Debbie was recording is in the article, “Jenny and Brandon – The Newlyweds“ (atransc.org/jenny-brandon- newlyweds)(Book 3). Margaret Downey EVP recording arrangement used by Margaret Downey Margaret Downey uses an Apple computer and iPhone to conduct VoIP sessions. With two Skype accounts, she calls one with the phone and the other with her computer. Both are in the same room but about eight feet apart. A sound source plays into the room near the cell phone. During the call, Margaret’s voice from the cell phone plays out of the computer speakers. A feedback loop is formed because the phone picks up Margaret’s voice, the background sounds and the output of the speaker. So, if the phone is too close to the computer speakers, there will be a loud “feedback” noise. Part of the task is to find the best location for everything so that there is a little feedback, but not enough to cause the loud

noise. When the call is answered with her computer, Margaret starts an app named Call Record (ecamm.com). (A similar Windows app is PrettyMay Call Recorder: prettymay.net.) An interesting observation about Margaret’s setup is that the call recorder displays both sides of the conversation so that the caller’s voice is strong on the receive side but also slightly delayed. The send side also has the caller’s voice but much weaker. More Techniques? How do you configure your equipment? Let us know either via the Idea Exchange or via email. Your method does not need to use the telephone or VoIP systems. Experimental Recording Techniques Using a Phototransistor Previously published in the Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal ©David Mierzwinski – All Rights Reserved Also see: A Simple Optical Microphone (atransc.org/optical-microphone)(This book) This article presents an experimental approach for making EVP recordings. Its purpose is instructional and to help promote an understanding of vibrational energy and how we may better perceive it. I’m going to share with you a few simple techniques for recording lightwave vibrational energy. This is energy which is beyond what we may see and hear every day. A good example is a common household light bulb. You see the light and can feel the heat produced by it; however, you cannot hear that the bulb is being modulated by the 60 Hz line current. You may be surprised at the amount of “sound” that is silent to us, some man made and some perhaps not. The technique involves use of

a single, widely available electronic component called a phototransistor. This is not the same as a diode which was used by early EVP researchers. The phototransistor I recommend is available at any Radio Shack store or available from them online. The part number is 276-145. My tests have shown that the device is responsive to infrared, visible and ultraviolet light. All of these frequencies of light mentioned are well above radio broadcast, cell and microwave transmission frequencies. You can make a simple plug-in phototransistor adapter for your digital recorder. All popular digital recorders I am aware of use internal electret microphones. With these recorders you can use the external microphone jack. The recorder will provide the small voltage the phototransistor requires to operate at the external microphone jack. The 1/8” phone plug common to most recorders is Radio Shack part number 274-286. Solder the phototransistor to the phone plug as follows: The phototransistor has a flat edge on its case, this is the collector mark. The remaining lead is called the emitter; Connect (solder) the collector to the short pin of the phone plug; and, the emitter connects to the long pin of the phone plug. The photo shows the completed assembly ready for use. Plug the completed adapter assembly into the external microphone jack of your portable digital recorder and start exploring. Try recording various light or even heat sources; you can unplug the adapter at any time and make a verbal notation of the source. Plug it back

in and continue. You will hear different sounds when you record various sources like candles, light bulbs, computer monitor screens, TV sets, remote controls or a fireplace. For example, a quartz-tube space heater at full power (glowing) will produce a very pure thermal white noise. Place the recorder in your car and drive around. You may be surprised at what you can hear in the filtered sunshine as the levels of light change as you drive. If you have a crystal or mineral collection you may try recording reflections or direct light shined through a crystal (sunshine, LED flashlight or a laser pointer works well). Would you like to hear your own voice through the vibration of light? Here is a simple device you can make for a number of interesting experiments. It is based on A.G. Bell’s Photophone invented around 1880. For my model, I used some reflective, shiny, very thin, gift wrapping plastic (like a Mylar or Saran plastic). I taped this film very tightly (like a drum) over the front of an old eight-inch diameter audio loudspeaker. Hold the completed Photophone so sunlight reflected from the surface of the shiny, flexible mirror shines on the phototransistor. Now speak closely and loudly to the surface of the Photophone. On playback you should hear your own voice. The quality will depend on how well your voice vibrates the surface of the Photophone. For more controlled experiments, you can connect the loudspeaker to a stereo or amplifier and play different

sounds through it to vibrate the film. Just place the speaker so that sunlight reflects from the surface to the phototransistor. Try using music, Spiricom tones, babble or even white noise, as an example. Another technique is to provide external vibration to a light source and record the result. Pictured is a small tea candle placed in the well of an ultrasonic cleaner. The candle is in a small amount of water, lit and the cleaner turned on in a darkened room. The recorder is held clear of the cleaner and pointed at the candle which flickers at a very high rate in this atmosphere. You may wish to build a phototransistor cable that can be used with your home computer sound card for recording. The Radio Shack part number of the cable to use is 42-2434. The six-foot cable has a molded 1/8” plug on one end and tinned leads on the other end, ready to connect the phototransistor. The connections are as follows: inner conductor of cable connects to phototransistor collector (flat edge), outer (shield) connects to emitter. An interesting experiment that has yielded good results has been the optical microphone. The optical microphone is a commonly available oil lamp. The only oil lamp style that has worked so far has been a lamp with a three-fourths inch wide wick. The wick that comes with these lamps is cotton and works well. I have begun tests with other wick materials as of this writing. I attach the phototransistor

and cable assembly to the lamp with a thick rubber band. A reflector is required to be placed behind the phototransistor. A white 3 x 5-file card is excellent for this purpose. This simple reflector greatly increases the gain of the microphone. If your sound card allows audio monitoring, you can experiment with the flame level for best reproduction of your voice. A high flame level can overload the phototransistor. Start with a low flame and ratchet it up slowly. Speak into the chimney of the lamp or across its top if you are sensitive to the exhaust fumes. Use an ultra-pure liquid paraffin lamp fuel for lowest odor. Have fun exploring the under-researched areas of light energy vibrations with these unique recording techniques. Experimentation with Inverted Channel Nullification by Zoë J. Robinson Originally posted in the Summer 2007 issue of the ATransC NewsJournal When I agreed to write this report back in January, I was hopeful of being able to include a success story or two regarding EVP. As it turns out, I seem to have followed in the footsteps of so many investigators who have sought to find evidence of EVP but have gone away empty- handed. Nevertheless, I believe the ideas behind Inverted Channel Nullification (or ICN for short) are still worthy of experimentation and it is on this basis that I have written this report. What is Inverted Channel Nullification? Put simply, ICN is a method of recording the same sound twice and using one recording

to filter noise from the other. A mono microphone is used to input a signal to a stereo sound card in a computer and the two channels on the sound card each produce a copy of the recording. In theory, these copies will be identical, although with the majority of sound cards there will be a minor variance due to slight differences in the components used to build the sound card itself. These variants are minor, and in the experiments I made, they only show up if you amplify the signal so much you’ve distorted the original recording enough to make it unusable. In essence, the recordings are identical for the purposes of all but the most stringent of investigators. Why is this useful? When two recordings are made of exactly the same sounds they should, in theory, contain the exact same data. It should, therefore, be possible to invert one of these recordings, making it the exact opposite sound wave to what it was originally, and then superimpose this first recording over the second recording. If the two sound waves are identical, and they should be, the result will be a perfectly flat sound wave because all data in the recording will disappear. In EVP investigation, it is sometimes the case that two or more people can record at the same time in the same room and receive different results. Of course, these recordings won’t be made under the exact same circumstances as not only will the positions of

the recording devices be different but the input and recording mechanisms used will be different, even if the same model of device is used; as all devices are different. With ICN the possible variables are reduced significantly: for both recordings, the input device and its location are identical and the recording process is identical also. The only variable is in the components inside the sound card but, as described earlier, these may be as close to identical as possible. In effect, you’re using the same device to make two separate recordings. This means you should have two copies of the same thing but, as we’ve already mentioned, in EVP recording the same thing twice doesn’t always give you the same results. An EVP can appear on one recording and not the other and with ICN this is no different—the two channels of the sound card are acting as two separate recorders, after all. So, there’s an advantage to the ICN process already: you’re doubling your recording sessions with minimal effort. This isn’t the only potential advantage, however. With two copies of the same recording, you can use one to filter the background noise from the other. EVP investigation is notorious for noisy recordings and with this method you can rid yourself of that, leaving only sounds that appear on one recording but not the other. Of course, you’re still left with the task of listening to the original recordings in case there’s something important that appears on both, since if

that’s the case, ICN will remove it! How to perform Inverted Channel Nullification To perform ICN yourself, all you will need is a computer with a stereo sound card and a microphone input jack, a standard mono microphone and audio manipulation software to perform the inversion and channel mixing. Illustration 1: A simple recording showing two identical copies of the same input. Once you have your equipment set up, make a sample recording in stereo, when your computer is “listening” to the microphone, and you’ll get a recording that shows two copies of the same recording, one on each channel. If your recording is short enough or you’ve zoomed in far enough, it should be relatively easy to spot any areas where one channel’s recording differs from the other, but if they seem to be exactly the same, that’s fine too—any differences will be clear after the next part is done. Illustration 2: A sample sound wave following ICN processing. The original sound is shown in the top channel while the result of ICN is in the bottom channel. Select one of your channels and use your software to “invert” the waveform. How to do this will depend on the software you’re using but the effect should be achievable in most, if not all, editing software. [Invert is in the Effects Menu of Audacity.] It is worth noting that the waveform will not look or sound any different after the inversion but the next part won’t work unless the sample

is inverted. Once you have one channel inverted you can proceed in one of two ways. Either the two channels can be averaged together or the contents of the inverted channel can be copied on top of the contents of the other channel. The first process will produce one mono file while the second process will produce a stereo file where one channel is a copy of the original and the other is the resultant ICN sound wave. Which you choose to use is personal preference. Advantages for EVP study The ICN process has the potential to allow for quick and simple removal of all background noise from recordings. The benefit for EVP study is a clear: recording where an EVP is present on one channel but not another; the EVP is quickly cleaned up and therefore made easier to understand. Since a recording of all the original sound wave, besides the EVP, is being used as a filter, the effect of processing on the EVP itself is negligible. In the example created for Illustration 3, I was unable to discern any audible difference in the “EVP” created for the example and the original recording used to create it. By inverting one channel of the recording used to create the “EVP” and copying the result of the ICN filter on top of it, the result was a flat sound wave with no apparent difference in quality. In summary, I believe the technique as presented here is a simple and effective

tool for the study of EVP. Given the demonstrable advantages of filtering over other methods and the relative ease of including this technique into any computer-based EVP study, I believe the technique would benefit many people in their work. Illustration 3a: A second voice recording has been added to one channel of our sample recording, to create an example of EVP. This illustration shows the original “EVP” recording. Illustration 3b: Shows how the recording has been cleaned using ICN, to leave only the “EVP” on the top channel. The only downside to the ICN technique is that, if an EVP is present on both channels, the ICN technique will filter it out but this flaw is countered by continuing to listen to sound files in the manner to which we have all become accustomed, then filter as necessary in a more conventional way. ICN is, therefore, an addition to the other tools at our disposal, not a replacement for them. Editor’s Note: We think this technique has great possibilities, but there is one concern. The words of EVP are formed of the very noise being removed. It does appear that the power of the signal and time relationships are rearranged to form the words. Also, there may be a small “seed” signal that is not part of the ambient sound, so we think this technique may diminish the volume of an EVP, but the words should survive. We have published this article because we feel that “field tests” of this

technique would help us learn if it is a viable technique. Assuming the technique does help, we are also looking for setup instructions for using it in Audacity and Audition, so please let us know your results if you try ICN. By the way, you can also record into a stereo audio recorder and then transfer the file into a computer for ICN analysis. ITC experiments using Light Reflected from Water ©Margaret Downey – All Rights Reserved As Margaret Downey explains her experimental set-up, “I have a Canon PowerShot A75 Digital camera. It allows me to do thirty seconds of video at a time. I leave it on the highest resolution (640 x 480 pixels). For effects, I use the function button to set the camera to shoot in sepia (a brownish tone), tungsten (which makes it blue), and black and white. I also do a session using just normal settings. “The experiments are done on my stove and the setup is very basic. The light in the stove hood is used as the light source. Then depending on my whim, I will use a black pot filled about halfway with water or a translucent, amber colored Vision CorningWare pot half filled with water which I set either directly on the stove top or I suspend in the empty black pot. (editor: Margaret has joked that her Vision CorningWare pot really should be called Visionware!) “I hold the video camera in my right hand and wiggle my left fingers in

the water while I record the ripples. I get better results if I use my fingers rather than using a spoon or other object to stir the water. I first look through the viewfinder screen, to make sure I’m holding the camera at an angle where it catches the light reflection in the water. This position is not quite directly over it, but from above and at a slight angle. At the same time, I respectfully request for any people or animals in spirit who would like to show themselves, to please do so. “Once in a while, I’ll place a crystal or a crystal ball in the water. And sometimes I ask my hubby to shine red and blue lights in the water. “After filming, I remove the compact memory card from the camera and place it into my computer. The file is transferred into a software program on my Mac called iMovie, which allows me to look at the video one frame at a time. When I see something in a frame, I’m able to save that single frame as a jpg file. And from that jpg, I crop out the image(s) I wish to keep. I keep both the unedited full frame along with my edited/cropped version. Once in a while, I keep the entire video, but most of the time I dump it in order to help save hard drive space.” In one experiment, Margaret asked for her grandparents and received this ITC picture of a

bearded man she feels is her Great Great Grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Main Sr. He was a physician and Baptist minister who crossed in 1913. Today, he and his grandson, Lewis (Margaret’s grandfather who crossed in 1993), help her in making connections to other people. Steve is a friend of Margaret’s friend, Linda, who likes to “pop in” to Margaret’s EVP sessions to call Linda’s name. Linda had asked her to call on him and this is the image that showed up. Linda said that there is enough of a resemblance that she feels he was doing what he could to show himself to her. Margaret also has captured a picture of a face that she feels is her Indian guide, Walking Sun, who she had asked to come through during an experiment. Margaret had a reading from a Shaman who told her, “Margaret’s heart hears the drum beat of Mother Earth and her spirit finds the stairway to Father Sky.” She told Margaret that if she asked for her guide, Walking Sun, he would come. Margaret says, “One of the Shaman’s comments in my reading was that people with “dove medicine” can see between the worlds and the veil between earth and the spirit world is thin for them. She talked about being clairaudient and hearing spirit/sensing vibrations. It was so fun to be able to tell her after the reading about EVP/ITC!” Margaret feels that she has gotten some excellent readings from people on the Internet and through eBay.

ITC Face Closely Matches Original Update from the Spring 2007 NewsJournal In the last NewsJournal, we reported about how Margaret Downey conducts visual ITC experiments using moving water for optical energy. The article can be read in the Techniques section of ATransC.org (atransc.org/downey-water-itc) (This book) Daniele Gullà, with the Italian ITC lab, Il Laboratorio (defunct), read the article and decided to see if his forensic-quality face recognition software would help compare Margaret’s ITC image with a photograph of her great great grandfather while he was in the physical. Gullà wrote: “I have processed the human face as a 3D model and rotated it to superimpose over the ITC face. I have compared the repere [reference] points (only 5: eyes, lips, nasal and subnasal) in the human face and ITC face. The final result is that the difference in the two images is inferior to [less than] 5%. They are very similar!” Recording EVP Using a Telephone Debra Ann’s Telephone Recording EVP Using a Telephone by Tom and Lisa Butler Previously published in the Spring 2007 ATransC NewsJournal Also see: Using a Phone Line EVP Collection (atransc.org/phoneline-evp ) (This book) and EVP Using VoIP and Telephones (atransc.org/voip) (This book) Please note that Debbie has made her transition to the other side Debbie Caruso has been learning to use a telephone and computer for recording EVP. The results have been very promising. She has always been one of our braver members who is willing to try new ideas and record for others.

Recording for others is a challenge because it takes quite a lot of time and most people need to learn how to hear examples that are not always Class A. The elements of Debbie’s setup are shown in this diagram. Of course, a computer is used, and a recording program such as Audacity or Audition. She is using HyperTerminal to control the modem for phone connections. It comes with Microsoft Windows: EVP recording arrangement used by Debbie Caruso Legacy: Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications In Windows 10: Type “Hyper-V” in the “Ask Me Anything” window and check mark “Hyper-V” in the “Turn Windows Features on or off” widow. She uses a telephone set connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she could use a headset equipped with individual jacks that connect to the Headphone Out and Microphone In jacks of the computer. If modem and control software are not available, Radio Shack sells a “Recorder Control” for $27 that Debbie has used with success. See model number is 43-228. This unit connects to the telephone jack and plugs into the computer’s Line In or Microphone In jack. Debbie arranges with a person or persons with whom she will record to call her, and with the computer connected to the line, she is able to speak with the callers and record the conversation. Once the connection is established, the recording session is conducted as if she is in the same room with the other person and using a

standard audio recorder. It is also possible to have a second telephone receiver off hook and near a fan or some other sound source. A telephone line is designed to provide enough feedback from the microphone to the speaker to give the sense of a “live” circuit. This is a byproduct of the conversion from two-wire between the home and the central office and four-wire between central offices. It is known that a little feedback in the EVP circuit sometimes helps for EVP. Sonia Rinaldi uses a similar setup for recording and has been very successful in making contact with loved ones for families. However, there is little public information about her methods, so Debbie is taking the old “trial and error” approach. It seems to be working, though. Martha Copeland wrote, “Debbie has been experimenting on her own, and I happen to be one of her guinea pigs! On our first experiment we picked up my daughter, Cathy’s voice saying, “Keep trying.” Participants in group sessions call into (now out of service) ConFreeCall.com, an online conference service. The group first discusses what they want to ask, and then Debbie begins the recording process. Four or five questions are asked during a one- minute, forty-second recording session. Some of the participants record at the same time. While everyone is still on the line, Debbie plays back her recording so that all can hear what may have been recorded. Others who have recorded also review their recordings during the call so

that the results can be shared before the session is ended. As Debbie explained, “The conference calls are a great way for a lot of people to record together. When recording for the Big Circle (BC), we all call in at 8 PM, ask “Who’s here from the BC?” and then wait approximately one-minute, forty-seconds in silence. We play it back, see if anyone answered and that helps us decide our next question. “Other than the BC, there are no set schedules. People will want to record and we’ll just meet in the Conference Room at a time convenient for all. It’s just an easy way to record with a lot of people. What I would like to concentrate on now is people meeting to record for one specific person. I would love for many family members to be in the room to contact one special person.” Because of the possibility of overwhelming Debbie with requests, please contact her via a personal message in the Idea Exchange. She wants to help as many people as she can but please understand that she may not have time to meet all requests. We encourage others to try the computer/telephone technique. Also, the conference room approach to group recording offers some interesting possibilities. Let us know if any of you have successes to report. Examples of Debbie’s work may be listened to in Debbie Caruso EVP (atransc.org/debra-ann-evp) (Book 4) Selecting an Audio Recorder by Tom and Lisa Butler Audio recorders models on the

market frequently change, and for this reason, we do not recommend particular recorder models. Instead, we will try to provide a list of recommended characteristics and note specific model problems as we learn about them. In general, an audio recorder that is effective for EVP will have the following characteristics: Sidebar: Background Sound The current working hypothesis is that the voice in EVP is formed by transforming available audio-frequency sound energy. Thus it is referred to as “transform EVP.” EVP are thought to be formed in the input, analog stage of the recorder, but otherwise, the recorder is just to make a record of the EVP and the practitioner’s voice. Experience is showing that a microphone is only important to introduce additional noise if the noise generated internally by the recorder is not useful for voice formation. A very high-quality recorder produces very little internal noise but a low-quality recorder typically produces too much steady- state noise, which is not useful for EVP. Current understanding is that noise in the voice range–400 to 4,000 Hz–with many perturbations, such as small noise spikes, is useful for voice formation. The noise is needed for voice, but the perturbations are apparently useful to initiate the voice formation process. The Panasonic RR-DR60 produces this kind of noise internally, but it is possible to produce it externally. One technique is to rapidly sweep a radio dial. This is not radio-sweep as used in ghost or spirit boxes. That technique sweeps the dial in two to

four seconds and may produce whole words in the output file. The ATransC does not consider the result of radio-sweep to be EVP. The objective is to sweep the entire dial in under a second so that no whole words or even allophones can be detected. The objective is the resulting noise and not the “whole” sounds. Voice Operated Recording Mode: This is essential if you plan on making many recordings, say at a haunted site, and do not have a lot of time to review sound files. Voice Operated Recording (VOR) can save considerable time for review. The added noise caused by the VOR switching on and off may also help in voice formation. Interestingly, the communicating entity is apparently able to trigger VOR when it is ready to speak. A good recorder should give you the option of using VOR or not. Be sure to check the voice-activated recording mode for possible clipping of the first part of words. Low and High Recording Quality Settings: Experience has shown that digital voice recorders work best for EVP, as compared to cassette and disk recorders. Digital voice recorders, operating at relatively low sample rates, produce more EVP than at higher sample rates. The point of this is that low quality or long recording options usually have lower sample rates, therefore more internal noise and therefore more EVP. Human voice is between 200 and 4,000 Hz. A sample rate of 8,000 Hz is sufficient to reproduce that range. Adjustable Microphone Sensitivity:

Field recording often involves recording in places with many people talking or a lot of traffic noise. It can be very difficult to avoid these external noises and they may be too much for EVP recording. Decreasing the sensitivity of the microphone may help. At the same time, there are occasions in which the recorder is not producing sufficient sound for voice formation, and the room is too quiet. Increasing the sensitivity of the microphone may help. It is possible to create a “sea in a shell” effect by putting the recorder or microphone in a container, such as a coffee cup. Others sometimes rub the microphone against cloth. Be creative but avoid unconsciously making sounds that seem like voice.) A “Hold” or “Lock” Feature: Using this feature will save you many accidental recordings that can use up your batteries. Interface to a Computer: Newer audio recorders provide a USB port for transferring audio files to a computer; however, if the recorder does not provide a way to save the audio files, then use a cable between the earphone jack and the Mic In of the computer, and an audio management program to record audio files into the computer. Quality Enhancement Features: Some recorders have settings that allow you to “enhance” the recordings to optimize voice quality. The features use special algorithms that enhance some frequencies and suppress others. It may be wise to make sure that, if your recorder has such a feature, it also has a way to

turn it off. The idea is to avoid unknown influences. There is much known about standard recording processes, but little is known about some of the enhancement techniques. For instance, do they substitute pre-recorded phrases to save storage space? These are the main considerations when purchasing an audio recorder for EVP. The Association no longer recommends the use of a cassette recorder, although experimenters have used them for years before computers became available. If you just want to see if you can record an EVP, and only have a cassette recorder available, then us it. It will work. When using a digital recorder, remember that you will need to use your digital recorder with a computer for file storage and analysis. Anything that can record voice will work. You can use a cell phone, the soundtrack for your video recorder or your mp3 player/recorder. Just remember that the rule of thumb is: The higher the quality of audio recorder, the more you will need to supply background sound. Panasonic RR-DR60 Reset Instructions Provided by James Jones I received a DD DR60 in the mail today and when putting batteries in the unit it would not record because it showed that the recorder was “full” even though there wasn’t one file being saved. I found out that the unit just needed to be reset because if it is without batteries for a long time it can get confused the next time you put batteries in. Apparently there is some kind of

flash memory in there that doesn’t depend on battery power and once you put some new ones in if things don’t match up properly, it gets confused. I was able to reset the unit by taking out one battery, then holding the “mode” button and the push button “Play” wheel down while inserting the battery. This reset the unit and now it works. I found this procedure on the paperwork included with the unit. Sidereal Time and Psychic Phenomena by Tom and Lisa Butler 2002 From the article: Apparent Association Between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments And Local Sidereal Time. by S. James P. Spottiswoode. Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, Palo Alto. Published in The Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol, 11, No. 2, 1997 (jsasoc.com/docs/JSE-LST.pdf) Abstract Nothing is known about the physical mechanism of anomalous cognition (AC), or ESP. A first step towards generating focused hypotheses would be the discovery of a physical parameter which clearly modulated AC performance. In this paper, an association between the local sidereal time (LST) at which a trial occurs and the resulting effect size is described. In an existing database of 1,468 free response trials, the effect size increased 340% for trials within 1 hour of 13.5 h LST (p = 0.001). A independent database of 1,015 similar trials was subsequently obtained in which trials within 1 hour of 13.5 h LST showed an effect size increase of 450% (p = 0.05) providing confirmation of the effect. Possible artifacts due to the non-uniform

distribution of trials in clock time and variations of effect size with experiment are discussed and rejected as explanations. Assuming that some unknown systematic bias is not present in the data, it appears that AC performance is strongly dependent upon the LST at which the trial occurs. This is evidence of a causal connection between performance and the orientation of the receiver (i.e., a term for subject or participant), the earth and the fixed stars. This article described what may be an important discovery about nonphysical phenomena, especially as it relates to transcommunication. In the study, Spottiswoode examined the rather large collection of psychic ability experiments he had conducted over the years to see if they pointed to a relationship between sidereal time and the psychic proficiency of his subjects. There was a direct relationship! He then asked colleagues to conduct a new set of experiments to confirm his conclusions. The results, and therefore the phenomena, were verified. Sidereal time is star time and a sidereal day is approximately 3 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than a solar day. Thus, Local Sidereal Time (LST) moves backward in solar time about four minutes a day, two hours a month and one day a year. Anywhere you are on the planet, at the same LST you will see the same stars overhead as anyone anywhere else will at that time. The essence of the article we are referring to is that scientists have found a direct correlation between the sidereal time of day

and success in psychic ability experiments. The graph shown on this page is from Spottiswoode’s article and depicts “Effect Size” on the vertical axis and “Local Sidereal Time” on the horizontal axis. “Effect Size” is the amount of deviation more or less than the expected normal for chance. The horizontal line between 0.1 and 0.2 represents the average of the graph curve. The line at 0.0 represents what would be expected with guessing. We have added a vertical, dotted line at 13.5 hours and near 19.0 hours. To quote the report, “Evidence has been given to support a relationship between the local sidereal time at which an anomalous cognition experiment occurs and the resulting effect size. The primary association is an approximately four-fold enhancement in AC effect size at 13.5 h LST. [Anomalous Cognition (AC)” seems to be a new term for Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)—Editor] This association was found in one large data set and confirmed in another, each set comprising AC experiments with a range of free response protocols, from different laboratories and investigators. It is likely that the increase of effect size for AC trials occurring at 13.5 h LST is real, replicable across different laboratories and occurs in the diverse protocols of the ganzfeld and remote viewing experiments.” Psi functioning seems to be a real human ability, but while it is often reported anecdotally, there has been considerable difficulty proving under controlled conditions. It may be that this difficulty has been due to the fact that

researchers have been conducting experiments at different sidereal times of day. Almost a six-fold difference in performance of a psychic between 13.5 h and 18.9 h LST is substantial. And remember, 13.5 hours LST changes in solar time each day. The evidence suggests that there is something near or beyond the edge of the Solar System that is influencing our psychic ability. Of course, experiments will need to be conducted to see if this influence affects EVP collection in the same way as psychic ability. But we have good reason to believe that there is a mediumistic relationship in EVP between the experimenter and the communicating entity. And of course, mediumship is psychic ability turned toward spirit communications. Besides explaining why psychic phenomena is so hard to prove, the reason the discovery of this relationship may be important to the study of transcommunication is that it points to an external influence on psychic ability. It should be just a matter of time before someone figures out what that influence is and what in the human brain it is influencing. Once that has been accomplished, it should be possible to enhance psychic ability with technology. Source: “Apparent Association between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time,” by S. James P. Spottiswoode, published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. II, No. 2, 1997. You can find it at jsasoc.com. Simple Optical Microphone by David Mierzwinski (c) All Rights Reserved Previously published in the Winter 2006 AA-EVP

NewsJournal Also see: Experimental Recording Techniques Using a Phototransistor (atransc.org/experimental-recording-techniques-using-phototransistor) (This book) For nearly a year, I have been conducting various experiments in an attempt to enhance the chances of clear EVP captures. These experiments have led me down many different paths including the use of electromagnetic fields, Tesla coils, audio resonance in musical instruments, 13 tones, etc. In my most recent experiments, I have begun exploring the properties of light. This has been exciting and has produced some encouraging results. I would like to share a simple project some of you may wish to replicate and experiment with. Even if you do not succeed in getting EVP captures with this device it is still a very interesting “science project” and will provide yourself and others with entertainment and wonder. About This Project This project explores the unusual properties of light given off by a basic oil lamp. I discovered in my experiments, testing various light sources, that the flame of an oil lamp, when detected by a photodiode and amplified to a high degree, is capable of acting as a carrier to transmit sound. This “sound” is rather noisy by nature, and from what I have observed, can be used, along with our voices, by Spirits. In fact, to optimize this system, it is best to use your own voice to set up the link for maximum clarity and strength. This seems to be the optimum settings for Spirit voices as well. Required Parts The Burr-Brown division of Texas

Instruments (www.burr- brown.com) makes the best combination of photodiode and amplifier I have found. This part is the “eye” or receiving end of the optical signal from the oil lamp. This part is all self-contained requiring only a few external connections and a nine-volt battery which will power the device chip for a year or more. I was able to find this part on eBay, or you can check with a distributor in your area (not Radio Shack). I bought my oil lamp from K-Mart. It is the large size lamp with a wide flat wick (important). The cost was around $7. The other parts and cables can be obtained from your local Radio Shack store. Parts List • Oil lamp with wide flat wick and clear glass chimney • High quality digital recorder or use computer to record (Olympus VPN-240 PC used in my experiments) • Burr-Brown OPT101 single photodiode transimpedance amplifier chip • Nine-volt battery to power chip/amp • Cables or project board and socket to mount OPT101 • Radio Shack Mini Amplifier 277-1008C (used for set-up only) • Clear Voice Denoiser Software (for post processing filtering) [Editor: Audacity (sourceforge.net/projects/audacity) should provide the necessary noise reduction as well.] Oil lamp light source, optical detector/amp mounted on “breadboard” material. Audio recorder connected at “microphone in” with cable equipped with two “alligator clips.” The small white box is the Radio Shack mini amp. The component pin diagram for Burr-Brown OPT101 optical detector/amp. The end of the chip with a notch

has pins 1 and 8. Construction Now, this is the part that requires patience; how you decide to construct will depend on your ability. I preferred to use a simple perforated project board and soldered with point-to-point technique. How you make the connections to the chip is really up to you. Keep lead lengths as short as you can so you do not pick up stray signals. I think Radio Shack sells wire-wrap and a hand tool for those who do not wish to solder. A socket for the chip is a good idea. Use the component pin above as a guide to make your connections. This diagram shows the chip pin numbers looking from the top (window side), keep this in mind when connecting from the bottom or a socket. Make the following connections: 1. Tie together or jumper pins 8 and 3, we will then call this (common). 2. Connect your nine volt battery (Radio Shack sells a pre-made battery connector) Plus or red connects to pin 1; black or minus goes to common. 3. The only other connection goes to your recorder. I used a pre- made cable from Radio Shack that came with 1/8 mono phone plug on one end and a red and a black alligator clamp on the other end. 4. Connect as follows, microphone positive or “high” to pin 5, microphone minus or “low” to common. Whew, that’s the hard part, are you still reading this? Setup and Test This chip receiver you

just constructed is very, very sensitive to light and modulations of light. You can experiment with it in many different ways. Keep in mind it will pick up your ordinary room lights and you will hear the loud 60 Hz component of the light. It will pick up light from your computer screen and also light from an infrared remote or computer link. For the oil lamp microphone to work properly you must be mindful of these stray sources of light and work in an area where the only source of light will be the oil lamp itself. Also make sure windows are closed and there are no drafts in the room to cause undue vibration to the flame in the lamp. Setup is easier with the use of the Radio Shack mini amplifier. The amplifier is not too sensitive to low frequencies so it has properties of a good filter built right in. Place your receiver (optical chip) at about the same level as the oil lamp flame so the light from the lamp falls on the chip window. Keep the lamp about two feet away from the chip. Connect your output cable to the jack marked “Input” on the mini amp. Turn up the gain about halfway on the amp. You will notice if you turn up the flame on the lamp too high you will hear noise and flutter in the mini amp. Speak with a loud voice near the lamp. Adjust the lamp flame for the

loudest clearest sound of your voice or an assistant’s voice. You may need to hold the amp near your ear to hear this signal. Find the “sweet spot” by adjusting the distance of the chip to flame and the flame size for best clarity. Recording and Processing Once you have optimized your setup for best clarity you can try some recordings. Simply plug into your recorder mic input and record. You can try silence or speaking in a loud voice or even playing music. You may notice you will have some of the same challenges as our Spirit friends in having the proper energy to be clearly heard. Speaking in a slow halting cadence seems to work well. Do not be surprised if your words are changed when using this device to record your voice. I suggest a script or another recorder used for control. Due to the noisy nature of this process, I recommend post processing of the recording. I found Clear Voice Denoiser (speechpro.com) used with custom settings to be sufficient. Basically, the low frequency component introduced by the flame needs to be suppressed so the voices can be more clearly heard. If you get to the point of recording, I will be happy to furnish you with the required custom settings that have worked the best for me. Have Fun! I hope this very simple technique works as well for you as I have observed. Do not be disturbed if your voice winds up sounding like a

levels, and thereby, more quickly return to their associated states of mind. We have attended three, one-week classes and have even met Robert. His daughter, Laurie Monroe, spoke at the 2006 AA-EVP conference. Our experience with the Monroe training programs is that they are a powerful tool for self-development and are potentially important for people wishing to develop their mediumship abilities. The Monroe experiment mentioned in the Viewpoint will test this belief with a series of EVP recording sessions with and without a special set of frequencies. The Technology Robert Monroe discovered that the two hemispheres of the brain will synchronize with the beat-frequency between two audio signals. Using representative numbers, a 1000 Hz tone in one side of a stereo headset and a 1010 Hz tone in the other will result in a response to the 10 Hz difference between the two tones. This is “Hemi-Sync.®” Further, if the difference between the tones is reduced, say to 5 Hz, then the brain will follow. This is the “Frequency-following Response.” The levels of awareness in electroencephalograph biofeedback training for meditation are described as: Beta (13-40 Hz): Awake and alert Alpha (7-12 Hz): Deeply relaxed; meditative Theta (4 -7 Hz): Between deep meditation and sleep. Delta (0-4 Hz): Sleep Biofeedback is used to teach a person to recognize a deep meditative state, and in the future, to quickly “go there” without feedback aids. In the Monroe system, binaural-beats (Hemi-Sync®) are used to teach the person the same response. In fact, you

just relax and listen to the program as the hardly heard frequencies slowly move you into deeper and deeper levels of awareness. Even if you are disturbed, say by a passing car, the frequencies will quickly “pull” you back. Robert referred to the first level, FocusTM10, as the state of awareness in which the body is asleep and the mind is awake. Focus 10 is the beginning place for most of the programs. We believe it is correct to say that, in terms of biofeedback, this would be roughly equivalent to the “Alpha Level.” The Institute has scanned the brains of people reported by others to be very successful trance-channels and did find a discernable difference from people who did not trance. A set of frequencies were developed from these EEG maps and were used to develop binaural- beats for audio programs designed to help the listener sense the presence of other intelligences. These are referred to as “Inner Self- Helper” or ISH frequencies and brain mapping of “ordinary” people, while they were under the influence of the frequencies, showed that they were measurably effective in inducing trance-like conditions. The Cosmology There are many cosmologies describing how reality is arranged, and if you need a reference point, then it may work to say that Focus 1 is our waking state—body and mind awake, so that would be the physical. As the focus of attention is changed further and further away from the physical, there is a transition point at Focus

21. So Focus 1 through 21 is Locale 1. Focus 22 through 27 is Local 2, and beyond that would be Locale 3. In the more commonly held cosmology, Locale 2 would probably be thought of as the Astral Plane (level of existence), but one should not be too determined to relate the Monroe way with others. The Monroe way is based on direct experience that can be generally replicated in controlled conditions, so it is best to look for perceptual similarities amongst the cosmologies. Here then, are the more important focus levels as described in the Monroe literature: Focus 10: The first stage in separation of mind-consciousness from physical reality. “Mind awake/body asleep” is a deeply relaxed state in which awareness of physical sensory input is reduced, yet the mind is alert and attentive to experience. This gives birth to awareness that you exist with or without the physical body. Focus 12: A state of expanded awareness in which you can become more conscious of inner resources and guidance; a powerful and empowering state which readily lends itself to many diverse applications. Focus 15: A state of “no time” in which you explore beyond the constraints of time and place. Opportunities are abundant for establishing communication with larger aspects of self. Focus 18: Self-love, self-trust, and non-judgmental acceptance Focus 21: Like deep (delta) sleep, but with a significant difference. You are fully “awake” and conscious, directing the action, as you explore more deeply your personal self and the far

reaches of other realities. Focus 22: Where humans still in the physical can have partial consciousness, remembered as dreams, deliriums, and patterns induced through chemicals Focus 23: Inhabited by humans who have recently exited physical existence and have not adapted to such change Focus 24, 25 and 26: The Belief System territories where those who have exited the physical are residing in a particular belief system Focus 27: The Reception Center, Way Station, or Park, designed to ease the trauma and shock of the transition out of physical reality. Some levels are more “interesting” to one or another of us. Tom really likes working at Focus 15. Also, how the levels are visualized is very personal. He gets a lot of insights from people in spirit coming to talk to him in Focus 15 (no time) but others have described it as nothingness. Some people say that in Focus 15, they have learned to imagine themselves moving from a center, along spokes of a wheel to the circumference where they are able to go forward or back in time. Lisa likes to use Focus 15 to visualize what she would like to manifest and feels that Focus 27, The Reception Center, is the easiest focus level to use to meet with loved ones now on the other side. Using a Phone Line for EVP Collection Also see: Recording EVP Using a Telephone (atransc.org/caruso-telephone) (This book) and EVP Using VoIP and Telephones (atransc.org/voip) (This book) by Tom Butler The above device

permits the connection of a household phone (and phone line) to a tape recorder or computer soundcard for EVP voice recording purposes. The device input taps directly onto the (undisturbed) phone connection wiring, with the output having a microphone (or sound card) audio plug via shielded cable. When used in this way, the telephones are used as a modified form of tape recorder microphone for receiving EVP voices as per the standard microphone method. The procedure that has been mentioned previously in the AA-EVP newsletter may be useful – that is, letting the phone go “dead” after picking up the handset – then recording. A faint background sound source may be useful with this microphone method – perhaps a local radio tuned to static / low level voice babble. If there are two phones on the same line, both may be used simultaneously (see later comments). When used, the phone network supplies power to energize the telephones when the handset is lifted, and the device then channels the audio to the recorder or sound card. Older models of telephone may work better with this method, one reason being due to them having the older carbon microphone, rather than the more modern electric version. Circuit Details The two 100N caps connected to the line are to isolate the phone line DC from the transformer, preventing any call set-up requests to the phone exchange when the device is connected (phone exchange will not sense this device). Device connects to red and green

wires (in USA) of phone termination. Do not remove any existing wires at termination. The transformer provides balanced input to unbalanced output, so the microphone plug can be grounded via the recorder without upsetting phone line balance. The 100K / 4K7 resistors drop the line audio level so to be compatible with normal microphone input sensitivities. The two cross connected diodes ensure that any ringing voltages do not damage the tape recorder (if the phone rings while this device is connected the tape recorder will not be damaged). Construction A metal enclosure would be preferable to avoid hum pick-up. Shielded cable should be used between microphone plug and the box and its components. The metal case (if used) should be connected to the cable shield ground. Simulated Local Telephone Network (not connected to phone company) A couple of stand-alone telephones can be energized locally to form a simulated network (see above diagram) for experimentation. The output shown, connects to the phone interface. A 30V (approximately) supply is used to energize the phone, and this voltage is fed to the phone via two sets of relay coils and resistors. The coils ensure that derived audio is not attenuated by the power supply, and the resistors set the standing current flowing through the phones. This current should be set to 30mA per phone. If preferable, the power supply voltage can be altered instead, to achieve the 30mA. The use of two telephones may provide advantage over a single unit for the purposes

of EVP reception, as there is a circulating interaction of simultaneous audio currents between the two units, which may aid reception. The two 2uF capacitors may not be needed if the above device only connects to the interface unit – as the interface already has DC input blocking. Video-Loop, Visual ITC Recording Technique by Tom Butler, 2010 Also see Butler ITC Gallery 2 (atransc.org/visual-itc-butler2) (Book 4), Butler ITC Gallery 2 (atransc.org/visual-itc-butler2) (Book 4), Butler ITC Gallery 3 (atransc.org/visual-itc-butler3) (Book 4), and Perception of Visual ITC Images (atransc.org/visual-perception-study) (Book 2) A Brief Discussion of the Pictures Video showing useful video loop. The ITC images described by Lisa in Butler ITC Gallery 1 (atransc.org/visual-itc-butler1) (Book 4) provides an interesting study in ITC photography. The initial video was taken with a Cannon 8mm ES2000 analog camcorder set about three feet from a Sony KV20TS32, 20-inch Trinitron color TV. The camera was focused just beyond the screen surface and the composite video out of the camera was connected to the video input of the TV so that the camera was “seeing” its output in a video loop. The camera was zoomed so that about five inches of the screen was revealed to the camera. An example of the video loop is shown above. It is a highly compressed file and the phenomenal features normally seen in the higher resolution NTSC format are not as clear. Even so, move the track market to 01, 06 and 08 seconds and look for phenomenal features. An analog

camera and monitor has been most effective for us. We adjust the camera for a balance between very sharp-pixilated display and a too-soft display. Experiment to find that balance. Look for the features in the medium bright areas. The resulting video clip was loaded into a computer and Pinnacle Systems Studio DC10 Plus was used for review. The video was examined frame by frame and interesting frames were captured as individual pictures. Figure 1 is an example of these “grabbed” video frames. Because we were focused on an area of the screen that had a lot of optical texture, the resulting frames tended to be dark. The screen was also flashing from light to dark. While this seems to have given us ITC, it has also frustrated our attempts to display the images with our method of printing this newsletter. We sent two of the more interesting frames to member, Erland Babcock, who edited them to produce Figure 2. Erland uses editing software that came with his Toshiba PDR-M70 digital camera and it is more effective than any of the editors we use. Lisa had seen other possibilities in Figure 1, but I was focused on what looks like a full- bust image of a man in the middle of the frame. If you look at the upper left quadrant of Figure 1, you can see that I have highlighted what looks like a hat. Figure 2 is that region enlarged and enhanced. With this image, and other renditions not

shown, you can see a man wearing a hat. It looks like he has a full beard. There is evidence of blue sky above him and shrubbery at his right. His shoulders may also be visible. It is important to note that the resolution of the original frame should not support the fine shading of the shape of the hat. In other words, I believe that the ITC image has higher resolution than the original frame. Also, if this were an illusion, we would expect to more often see other familiar objects. Erland has pointed out to us that he has captured pastoral scenes and what looks like aerial views of land and water. But we are mostly collecting faces, which raises the question again, why faces, why whole faces and who are they? We have included an image showing a full head of a person in Figure 3. The original frame was almost completely black, so what is shown here is an enhancement. It is hard to tell, but the person looks a lot like an extraterrestrial standing in front of a round window. Figure 1 A full video frame Figure 2 This picture was cropped from the frame in Figure 1 from the area marked with a white box. The intensity and contrast has been changed in a photo editor to make the feature more visible. No color has been added. Figure 3 - A feature that has been cropped from a different video frame that was almost

black before the intensity was changed in a photo editor. Figure 4 - Typical texture in video frame when the camera is three to five inches from the television screen. Notice that you can see the texture of the pixels. All of the examples in Butler Gallery 1 and 2 in the Examples pages were collected with the camera very close to the screen. You will notice that the pixels tend to dominate the features. (Please note that the framer has been rotated 90 degrees. Figure 5 - Typical texture in video frame when the camera about three feet from the television screen. Notice that you do not see the texture of the pixels. All of the examples in Butler Gallery 3 in the Examples pages were collected with the camera three feet from the screen. You will notice that the features tend to be softer in texture. Steps in Recording Video-Loop ITC We use what is known as the Schreiber method for Video ITC. The technique of connecting the output of a video camera to the input of a television set, and then taping the video noise that can be seen on the television screen, was apparently first developed for Schreiber by Martin Wenzel. 1. Preparing the Video Loop: Position the camera about three feet in front of the television screen. Connect the Video-Out of the Camera to Video-In of the television and select Video-In on the television set. Aim the camera at the television set and slowly adjust

the focus and zoom until the dark to light flashing is visible on the television screen, with cloudy or foggy texture in various colors during the bright flashes. The focus should be six to twelve inches past the surface of the screen when the equipment is ready to record. The most important objective is to see swirling clouds. 2. Preparing Yourself: Follow the same preparatory process you use for EVP sessions. Remember that there are nonphysical entities who are present and able to “witness” your activity. Consider using the same music each time as a “signature” or “signpost,” indicating that preparation for a session is underway. Also consider conducting a short meditation or prayer. After meditation, we change from music to the background sound that we use for EVP. The background sound of white noise is used because we always listen to the video soundtrack. Also, an IC recorder is usually recording during the sessions. This, of course, is optional. Speaking out loud, we talk to our team about the last session and discuss the various successes or failures of that experiment. Asking for their assistance in bringing the images through, we announce that we are going to begin the experiment. This is all done just as if they were standing in the room with us. Each session brings different discussions and questions. Ask for information on how to improve the experiments, and for specific people to show themselves in the video. The experimenter is part of the circuit and

we feel that meditation and/or prayer helps bring the experimenter into a more balanced state. This helps to focus the experimenter’s intention and better helps those on the other side create a link to the experimenter. Conducting the Experiment: Speaking out loud, tell the entities that you are about to begin recording. State what you wish to see in your video frames, and perhaps, offer feedback about the previous experiment. Turn on the equipment and wait a few seconds for the feedback loop to stabilize. Record for about thirty seconds. You may record longer but remember that the camera will record around twenty-nine frames a second, and that thirty seconds represents a large number of frames. Turn off the video camera and verbally thank the entities for their help. Analysis of Video: Transfer the video onto a computer. You can alternatively include the computer in the recording circuit during the experiment and record the video with the computer rather than with the camera. Once in the computer, examine each frame of the video and “grab” frames that have optical texture, such as blotches of color. Examine each grabbed frame in a photo editor as if it were a photograph. Use magnification, intensity changes and rotations while looking for features. We highly recommend that you read the section about Video ITC in the book, There is no Death and There are No Dead. (Info in this book) Books Published by AA-EVP Transcommunication White Paper with Emphasis on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP)

The Transcommunication White Paper is intended to document what is currently known by the ATransC directors about transcommunication. It includes background information about theory, concepts and techniques that are important for the understanding of phenomena related to EVP-ITC, psychic and mediumistic phenomena. Please note that there is a version of this paper, including a free downloadable PDF, at atransc.org. I refer people to the Transcommunication White Paper five or six times a week. When I do so, I always wish I had the opportunity to explain the importance of personal development. The three most important points I would make about personal development are concerned with how we think, the effect of how we think on what we experience and how to apply that knowledge toward becoming more self-aware. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. This little book includes all of that. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Good to Know About the Paranormal Many of you know that I have spent a lot of time answering questions about things paranormal on Quora.com. The first was the 2017 question: “How accurate is EVP recordings?” I have been answering the questions because most of the other answers are simply wrong, anti-paranormal or misleading. Our community is still developing a culture that supports free discovery and meaningful sharing of ideas. It has been my vision that my answers might somehow aid in developing that culture. As it turns out, I have answered quite a lot of Quora.com questions. I have compiled 240

of my answers into this book. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. The book is exclusively available on Amazon Your Immortal Self, exploring the mindful way More time became available for me to write after we changed the ATransC away from a member-supported organization. I am a theoretician by nature and speaking as a mystic, I see a world of patterns in the play of concepts, rather than as a “nuts and bolts” world. It has been natural for me to see ITC as a pattern of interacting concepts. Again, as a mystic, it is as if the pattern is a self-organizing model in my mind’s eye that shows me how one phenomenon relates/compares to another. In my mind, the most important aspect of these phenomena is the way we are part of the dance … not as humans, but as immortal personalities. It has been through ITC, especially EVP, that I have come to see our actual nature as a conduit for the formation of the speech and images of ITC in our physical devices. Your Immortal Self represents an effort to explain our relationship with these phenomena, the nature of our actual self and how we might learn to be better ITC practitioners by being more successful seekers. The book begins with a comprehensive effort to define the Survival Hypothesis and establish verifiable proof. For a small fee, the PDF version of this book is available on the Lulu website. I like PDF for this book because it

has so many internal links. It is easier to study using a PDF file. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon Exploring the Mindful Way I have been told that Your Immortal Self is a difficult read. While I understand some of the concepts can be obscure, I wrote this in Your Immortal Self: Not trying to understand this material because it is too complicated is unacceptable. There is an old Zen Buddhist saying: “Before enlightenment chop wood – carry water, after enlightenment chop wood – carry water.” One must do the work to understand. One must do the work to continue learning. Study the material and do not expect to understand all of it with one reading. Contemplate your worldview. Ask questions. Argue! I write today to find ways to illustrate the principles described in Your Immortal Self, as they apply to particular situations. In doing so, I hoped to make the principles more approachable and help pave the way to spiritual maturity for my readers. Exploring the Mindful Way is a compilation of 21 such essays. See the web page on ethericstudies.org. On Amazon There is No Death and There are No Dead One of our first tasks when we assumed leadership of the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomena (AA-EVP) was to write a book we could direct people to for guidance about ITC. At that time, there was not much available, and we wanted to make sure our members were given reasonably useful, supportable information.

We wrote There is No Death and There are No Dead and published it under the AA-EVP Publishing imprint. The book has received considerable praise as an introductory book. 100% of the proceeds have gone to support operations, outreach and research conducted by the Association. On Amazon I’m Still Here AA-EVP member Martha Copeland wrote I’m Still Here. Martha was one of the founding members of the Big Circle. The book provides an important study of the way Martha coped with the untimely loss of her daughter, Cathy. Beyond the grief, I’m Still Here includes hints about how Cathy might have responded to death, the ways she did find to communicate after transition and how other members of the Big Circle helped Martha. It is Martha’s EVP of Cathy scolding her still physical dog Doja that gives us important proof that we survive physical death. Listen to hear “Doja no. (Book 4) On Amazon Sarah Estep’s Roads to Eternity “To read Sarah Wilson Estep’s Roads to Eternity is to travel a remarkable journey into the unseen world. At every adventurous step, at every exciting new discovery; the readers are assured that they are guided by a knowledgeable and experienced paranormal researcher, a pioneer in the field of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). Sarah Wilson Estep’s vast files of 25,000 recorded voices of the ‘Invisibles’—whether they represent themselves as spirits of the deceased, extraterrestrial entities, or multi-dimensional beings—will provide thrilling inspiration for the seeker and startling revelation for the skeptic.” Brad Steiger,

author of Things that Go Bump in the Night Here is the free PDF download Sarah Estep’s Voices of Eternity “EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena has been around for as long as recording equipment has existed, but Sara Wilson Estep, a teacher from Maryland, was one of the most prolific recorders and researchers ever. Picking up spirit voices on tape was something that occasionally occurred, but Estep made a daily study and habit of recording so that the sheer volume of voices is extraordinary. She collected literally thousands of voices, and in this book, she shares the messages from the tapes. Estep also chronicles the different innovations that she made during her years of perfecting her technique. While perhaps this isn’t a literary masterpiece, it is an extremely important document in the world of scientific research on life after death. Here is the free PDF download (Provisions will be made for future availability) End ===== NEW DOCUMENT ===== Viewpoint Spring 2012, Volume 31 Number 1 wrap around our fingers gave us reason to believe other things that happened in the dark. There was no way an adult person could simulate that tiny hand. A reason to believe It seems that at least once a week, we run across a new study indicating that our body-mind connection has more influence on what we experience and how we react than any of us have suspected. While our etheric personality may be a wise old soul, our physical pres- ence is a creature

of culture if it is not balanced by con- siderable discernment. An increasingly important focus for the ATransC is how the phenomena people experi- ence are influenced by cultural conditioning. While the trans-etheric influence may be demonstrably real, the experiencer is thought to be the conduit by which it becomes physical and that means it is translated by the experiencer’s worldview. All of this is leading us to understand that people have difficulty comprehending new experiences. Witnessing a paranormal event does not automatically lead to belief in the phenomena. Tom is a good example. Lisa was alone in believing in EVP in the Butler home until Tom heard the very clear EVP, “Release and remember” recorded by Lisa. That gave Tom reason to believe in the reality of EVP, contrary to every- thing he had been taught as an engineer. Based on that experience, he became more open to the study of all forms of transcommunication. We have sat in many darkroom séances in which we witnessed indications of materialization, but it was not until we saw the glow tabs on Stewart Alexander’s knees float by at eye level that we were without doubt that his chair was levitated out of the cabinet. David Thompson recently demonstrated his mediumship for our local Spiritualist church. Young Timothy, the child in David’s etheric circle responsible for physical manifesta- tion, circled the room in the total darkness, and without fumbling, wrapped his little materialized fingers around the fingers of sitters. Feeling his very

little, warm fingers It is our practice to main- tain an attitude of sus- pended judgment while witnessing phenomena–nei- ther believing without good reason nor rejecting without facts. This all of frequently approach has rewarded us. As leaders of the ATransC, it is important to bring you a rational view of these phenomena. the Mendocino Cypress The Lemoreaux Brothers We have recently been contacted by Joan Lemoreaux. Her husband Michael and his brother Joe were early research- ers in the field of EVP. (We will be running some of the information from the research by the Lemoreaux brothers in the next issue.) Joan wrote us asking about someone to help her transcribe notes, reformat recordings and pre- serve the research done by the brothers. This same problem has been repeated over and over as we know of no organization that has the money or resources to pre- serve the past research of our EVP pioneers. If you have any suggestions on this problem please contact us. eBook NewsJournal Beginning with issue 30-3, the ATransC NewsJournal is now available as an eBook in both ePub and Kindle formats. A free sample is available on Atransc.org. They are $7.95 each and will be discounted after a year. The price may seem high, but considering the rarity of information on this subject and the cost of other research material, we think the price is about right. These are free to members but we do not yet have a way to automatically distribute eBooks,

so we will be happy to send you a copy on request. Tom and Lisa Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint..........................................................................................................................................................................................1 Bobby.................................................................................................................................................................................................3 Morse Code Messages in EVP Recordings.........................................................................................................................................4 The Morse Team................................................................................................................................................................................6 Dying Words: Steve Jobs Wasn’t the Only One................................................................................................................................8 Ectoplasm Photographed in White Light..........................................................................................................................................9 The Transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra ...................................................................................................................11 Transcommunication Via Telephone..............................................................................................................................................12 Big Circle Recording Dates...............................................................................................................................................................13 Rosemary Smith...............................................................................................................................................................................13 From a Website Visitor....................................................................................................................................................................13 Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones.............................................................................................................14 Speaking With One Voice................................................................................................................................................................18 The Engineering Imperative............................................................................................................................................................19 Precognition.....................................................................................................................................................................................19 News from Members.......................................................................................................................................................................20 Skype Call to Debbie Caruso............................................................................................................................................................20 ITC Using Digital Camera and TV Screen.........................................................................................................................................20 Researchers’ Reports.......................................................................................................................................................................21 Spring 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Richard Adams Tom and Lisa Butler Lloyd Bradshaw Hans Heinmenberg Supporters Domenic Capaldi Diane D. Moseley David Schmincke David Sircom Stephen Smith Kathy Stiles This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire

are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annu- al membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Tom and Lisa Butler Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31 Number 1 Page

2 Bobby by Michael Hauser My older brother was in bad health with severe diabetes. As his condition worsened, he lost half his foot, lost his vision, then lost the use of his kidneys. He knew of my interest in the paranormal and of my many trips to Gettys- burg, PA, ghost hunting. We often talked of what my wife and I experienced and he would also talk about strange things that had happened to him while living alone in the house my father built. Both our father and mother are deceased. Trying to liven his spirits, I would joke with him about if he died, I would try to get an EVP from him. I did this weeks before he died, not knowing of course, that he would die soon. He knew I was just trying to make him laugh and that I wasn’t really serious. stopped and then I started receiving voice messages on my cell phone … as many as seven at a time! It was the same voice as the messages on the answering machine. The messages would often include events that had happened to the family that day; things that only we could know. I replied back to the number that sent me the messages, and it turned out to be my son’s phone. He totally denied anything to do with it and I know for a fact that he could not alter his voice to sound like that. Also, he knew nothing about some

of the details in the messages. I went further, I went online and checked his cell phone activity; the calls that he had placed and times they were placed. There were no calls to my phone at the time the voice mails were sent! Bobby Hauser On Friday, November 23, 2009, he stopped breathing for an unknown length of time, but was resuscitated by EMTs. He spent a week in the hospital, with numerous brain scans done, checking for activity. There was none. The doctor said usually within three days, if there was no brain function, it would be very doubtful if there ever would be. It was decided to wait a week to see if there was any change, and if not, he would be taken off the life support machines. On Friday, a week later, there was no change in his condition and so the machines were removed. At approximately 3:15 p.m. the doctor announced he was gone. When my family and I got back home that evening there were several messages on our answering machine. One was from my aunt, who had to leave the hospital early. The other was a total shock; one that sent cold chills down my back. It simply said, “Mike, Freddie. Help me!” My name is Mike, my younger brother is Fred (we called him Fred- die). There were an additional ten messages over a one month period. The messages contained personal information that only the immediate family knew. The answering machine

had caller ID and it listed these calls as an unknown caller with no number. I notified the phone company and asked them about someone making these calls. They told us that the caller ID would at least register a telephone number, if not a caller’s name. I asked for the records of the calls but learned that they were only available with a court order. Fifty-one of the voice mails were sent from early January through about mid-March. Over the next few months, others were sent that were not as easily understood. The last voice messages are somewhat gar- bled. The last four or so, that started in about June, came from my wife’s cell phone. Again, she swore that she had nothing to do with it and showed me that she had not sent any messages to me at the time of the voice mails. This was upsetting and she changed phones and got a new number. I then started receiving messages from her new phone and number! More messages came in August 2011. As with most messages, they dealt with current events and past events. He worked at a quarry for thirty-eight years and a lot of his remarks were about this. He also had a love for ultralight aviation and often spoke of this. But some messages had strange references that made little sense. He often referred to things that happened in the past but would change events. For instance, he said something about the houses

being there when both were demolished after the property was sold. He asked where his wardrobe and TV were (they were in the house when it was destroyed). This made me wonder if there are alternative realities in the afterlife. One thing that was very disturbing which he mentioned in more than one voice mail, was that he did not get his pills while in the nursing home. He was on multiple medi- cations for his health issues. This was in his most recent voice mail as well. My wife and kids witnessed these messages. They were In early January 2010, the answering machine messages around when the messages Continued page 7 Page 3 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Morse Code Messages in EVP Recordings by Lisa Butler In the last NewsJournal we mentioned recordings being done by Alison Kirkbride with the help of Domenic Capaldi; they had recorded and asked for responses in Morse code. They thought that they had received something but were unsure as they do not understand Morse code. Enter ATransC member, Eric Cole, who has a love of both EVP and Morse code. Eric wrote, “Fortunately the Morse is VERY easy for me to read. The code is as follows (these are some of the first coded messages):” File: DE AA8 “This is the call sign: AA8. The word DE means ‘this is’ in Morse, so: ‘This is AA8’.” File: KA “KA is used to alert the receiver to the start of a transmis- sion.

Sometimes a series of V’s is used. This is basically used to wake the receiving station up to be ready to take the message.” File: I would hesitate “I hear the [EVP] voice ‘I would hesitate,’ then ... sounds like a badly sent CQ. CQ in Morse means ‘Seek you.’ Radio hams send like this: CQ, CQ, CQ, DE G4VZZ when putting out a general call to talk to anyone who is on listening. This means: (CQ) ‘seek you,’ (DE) ‘this is,’ (call sign) ‘G4VZZ’.” File: Mr. Edison “I hear: UNRC GB VNRC GB VN. This could be a station in beacon mode or the end of a transmission between two stations on the High Frequency (HF) band (0-30 Mhz). GB usually means ‘goodbye’ in Morse. These are possibly United Nations Resident Coordinator and Vietnam Red Cross call signs. Of course, other organizations may use these call signs. I believe it’s RF breakthrough or an HF transmission.” These Morse files captured by Alison were sent to Eric were after a request made by a member of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research. Eric wrote back, “All I can say is, ‘Oh my God!’ If this is genuine, we have a class AAA+ EVP Morse recording. This is VERY clear it says. “A Hello World” This is very slow Morse and easy to read. The reason it is Class AAA+ is that unlike voice EVP there is no question of what is being said. It is what it is.” Regarding the

next file sent to him, Eric wrote, “No way ... I’m in shock. It says, ‘Eric.’ Class A, clear as a bell. Just so you know that it really does say ‘Eric,’ it’s an easy one to decode. Each tone in that recording is preceded by two clicks and then the Morse letter tones. Here is the transla- tion; you should be able to follow it yourself: “A short tone is a dot: ‘(cid:143).’ A single dot is the letter ‘E.’ “A long tone is a dash: ‘—.’ A single dash is an ‘R.’ “Two dots, ‘(cid:143) (cid:143),’ is the letter ‘I.’ “Two dashes, ‘— —,’ is a ‘C’.” “To say I’m excited right now is an understatement. When you ask, ‘Is this possible?’ it sounds to me like the voice EVP says ‘Yes it is.’ We have a new mode of transmission, [let’s call it] MEVP for Morse EVP! I wonder if it is a radio ham on the other side. If so he/she would have had a call sign. Maybe Alison could ask if they have a call sign.” Alison did as requested and Eric responded, “I listened is This D4CFX. to the first file and got the call a sign technician/radio ham with the Morse call sign D4CFX. Now here’s the interesting part. I listened to the first file ONLY and got the call sign D4CFX which is in a legitimate format and is German. I then searched for D4CFX in Google and found a technical document

dated 15th Sept 1934 by R. Wigand D4CFX. Now bearing in mind that, at this point, this is all I know. I only have ‘R’ as the first initial from the document. I then listened to your file number two where you ask for his name. The Morse reply was ‘Wigand Rolf.’ My friend Peter Willoughby (G4VQQ), who is also a licensed radio ham and Morse operator, has listened to all the files and agrees exactly with my Morse transcription. He is an outsider to EVP so the poor guy is in shock.” Rolf Wigand Eric researched Rolf Wigand, D4CFX and found that he was a prominent radio amateur in Germany. He traveled to the US in pre-war time and wrote many articles and comprehensive papers. What happened to him is unknown as he disappeared in 1944. Some pointed their fingers to the Gestapo but Eric was unable to find out what hap- pened to Wigand during his final days. Alison sent along some more files for Eric to look at. In the recording session, Alison asked, “Can you tell me if there is anyone there capable of communicating in Morse, could you name them and perhaps give me their call sign?” Eric translated the Morse as, “Nora Baker, Nurse.” Eric wrote, “So I think to myself, ‘Great, Rolf has got a nurse with him.’ So I put ‘Nora Baker, Nurse’ in Google and my jaw drops. It’s a code name and a call sign. [See: bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/inayat_khan_noor.shtml ] Continued page

5 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 4 Morse Code Continued from page 4 Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan/Nora Baker, usually known as Noor Inayat Khan was of Indian Sufi origin. She was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, and the first female radio operator to be sent into occupied France to aid the French Resis- tance. Code name - Nora Baker - Call sign - Nurse. Amazing stuff!” There is a great documentary on YouTube about her: youtube.com/watch?v=yvUXrvOhxPM. Eric decoded the file in which Alison asked Rolf Wigand “Is there anything that you want the world to know about you?” The response in Morse was “Not a spy.” Eric wrote, “This is class A plus. These are the most exciting for me because I am an ex-spy and ex-Royal Air Force. Basically I did the same job but thankfully in peacetime. Noor is a British hero and I feel privileged to have made contact.” Alison asked, “Can you tell me Noor Inayat Khan From BBC History, bbc.co.uk what is the relationship between yourself (Rolf) and Nora?” Morse response “Friend” “How and where did Nora Baker die?” The response was, “Dachau Raped Shot.” And, “How and when did you (Rolf) die?” The response was, “Gestapo Heydrich.” Eric commented that all answers were very clear and easy to read, as usual. He wrote, “The answers are amazing, and of course sad. I have attached the spectrum samples so you can see the Morse.” [See below] In

later sessions, Alison asked, “Was Nora Baker your friend when you were alive on earth, or did you actually meet in the afterlife?” The Morse answer was “In heauen” Eric wrote “He has mis-tapped the ‘V’ as a ‘U.’ This is very easy to do as you can miss a dot. ‘U’ and ‘V’ are very similar. Like this... V = (cid:143) (cid:143) (cid:143) — U = (cid:143) (cid:143) — “It’s obvious he means the word ‘heaven.’” Alison asked Nora if she had any messages for family or for them. A voice came back saying, “God Ali, they shot him.” And then a Morse saying, “There is no death.” Ali is a nickname for Alison although she prefers Al or Alison. Alison also asked her if there was anything else that she would like them to know about her. The Morse message came back, “I have blue blood.” With research they found, “Noor Inayat Khan, the daughter of an Indian-born father and an American mother, was born in Moscow, the capital city of Imperial Russia, on New Year’s Day, 1914. It was fitting that Noor should have been born within steps of the Kremlin, a building that had been built for the royal tsars of Russia. Her great-great-great-grandfather was the Royal Tipu Sultan, called the Tiger of Mysore, a Muslim ruler who had fought bravely for his lands and people.” The question was asked, “Technicians, can I again speak to Noor Khan? Noor can you please tell me, have you

learned anything since your human death?” The Morse answer came back, “Liberté is mine.” When doing research, the group found “In the early hours of the morning, 13 September 1944, four women were executed by a shot to the head. Their bodies were immediately burned in the crematorium. An anonymous Dutch prisoner emerging in 1958 contended that Noor Inayat Khan was cruelly beaten by a high-ranking SS officer named Wilhelm Ruppert before being shot down from behind. Her last word was “Liberté.” When Alison asked “Is there anyone else, either living in human form or now passed into spirit, that you are aware of that may have worked at the same RAF base, the same as Eric, the RAF base that you mentioned yesterday?” (The base mentioned was Finningley.) The Morse answer was “Leslie Morris PBX OPS. Here not blind.” By going to the Finningley website they came across this note: “Sad to inform you of the death last year of Les Morris. Les was a PBX operator at Finningley until his retirement in 1979. He was 89 years old and although blind since his 30s he had over 30 years of service with the RAF both at RAF Doncaster and Finningley.” In another session, Alison asked, “Is it possible that you could pass on a message for either Peter (Eric’s friend who has also verified the Morse messages) or Eric from any of their loved ones in spirit?” The Morse response was, “Peter Dads Watch” and “Eric, Jas thanks

you.” Continued page 7 Spectrum: Dachau Raped Shot Spectrum: Gestapo Heydrich Page 5 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal The Morse Team by Alison Kirkbride I have had an interest in the paranormal for many years, though to be honest I was always a little skeptical. I had a few strange things happen to me. For example, my father passed away twenty-five years ago and I decided to ask him to give me three signs that he was aware of me and was able to make contact. Amazingly, he gave me the proof I asked for. I do not believe that this was a coincidence, as this all happened on the same day. This peaked my interest and led me to try EVP. I purchased a digital recorder (an Olympus) and started to make recordings. Unfortunately I have no technical knowledge what- soever and had to resort to just listening to my recordings through headphones. I could hear on some of them that I had captured some- thing, but I did not know that sound packages were available to down- load them. Looking for assistance, I joined the U.K. EVP forum and I contacted Domenic Capaldi for help with my files. He recommended Adobe Audition but I found the program too difficult to understand. I then found Wavepad, which I downloaded, and to my surprise, I found it very easy to use. I have stayed with this ever since. Around this time, Domenic sent me a Sony B300 recorder to try

(he is one of the nicest, most generous people I have ever met, both with his time, encouragement and sending me new equipment to try). I started to use the Sony and have never looked back. I would never use anything else now. I have only been recording for two years while Domenic has over thirty plus years of experience. We now work together as a team and our results have been amazing. I work with animals for a living and part of my job involves caring for customers’ pets whilst they are away. I have been very fortunate in that some of them live in homes that were built in the 1700s. I have taken advantage of that and have done recordings in their properties (with their permission). It was during one of these sessions that I received my first communication from a communicator technician who called himself Mr. Gondalatai. Over the last two years, he has given us advice that has been invaluable. We were made aware by a group of technicians, led by Mr. Gondalatai, that the “energies” do have equipment over there which facilitates contact; for example, what they call a “Telefo” machine that allows them to see and hear us. I cannot begin to understand how this works or what it entails, as I have to trust what they tell me. There are some subjects they will not elaborate on but one of the questions I did ask, which I am sure many researchers also

ask, is how to improve the quality of communication between us. This is when we were advised to use a background sound, preferably a language to enable them to manipulate it to form a voice. I then decided to experiment with different languages to see which one would work the best. I wanted to choose something which sounded nothing like English, therefore making it harder for skeptics to say that my work was just me mistaking words that sounded like English. To further mix it up, I then reversed the voice files, so when listening to them, there was nothing that could be mistaken for English. After much experimentation I settled upon Russian or Croatian. These seem to work the best. To find Russian or Croatian speeches, I just look on the Internet and Google for Russian speech You- Tube. I find anything that is entirely one of these foreign languages. I play the video while recording. I then download the recording onto Wavepad, reverse it and finally title it as a background file. I never record for longer than a minute each time, as it is too tiring and time consuming to go through files that last for several minutes. I ask my question first then turn on the foreign-language file for them to manipulate their responses. Around this time, our technicians advised us that they would give us the use of a portal which is run by technicians and scientists. Again, I was very skeptical but the results

speak for themselves, I trust implicitly what they tell me and advise me to do. We have had contact from who we believe to be Raudive, Tesla, John Logie Baird, Florence Nightingale and even Steve Jobs—this was the day after he passed. The Steve Jobs file was posted by Alexander MacRae via Skye-Lab: youtube.com/user/PARATECHNOLOGY. I have sent Alec several of my files; he is another well-respected researcher and I value his opinion and it is nice to get feedback from others. We have been told many things about the process and one of the main ones is what they call energy compatibility. They have indicated that Domenic and I have energies that work very well together. Continued page 7 Alison and Kitler Volume 31 Number 1 Page 6 The Morse Team Continued from page 6 I do not understand how it works, but when I do my recordings, Domenic’s energy is somehow utilised to strengthen the link, even though I am in England and he is in Scotland. We have noticed that he feels very tired after each recording session. Domenic Capaldi During our experiments, we have asked for Morse code. We started out getting just small snippets which never made any sense, as neither Domenic nor I have any understanding of Morse. Recently we were contacted by Eric Cole who showed an interest in our files. It was then that we started to receive longer Morse messages, often accompanied by voice EVP that answers or comments on my questions.

Eric has been invaluable in translating our responses. Being a radio ham with many years, he is now a valuable part of our “Morse Team.” Eric Cole I honestly believe that people come into our lives for a reason, Domenic for his encouragement and energy and Eric for his understanding of Morse and willingness to help. When I look back at what we have achieved over the last two years, I am amazed. I can hardly believe some of the results myself. All I do know is that we feel extremely grateful to our communicators and scientists and hope that our work continues to progress into the future. Morse Code Continued from page 5 There was also an EVP, “What EZZ said was to love for Lou.” Eric commented, “This is good evidence as Peter had bought his dad a watch that he wore till the day he died even having links removed as he grew thinner from illness. JAS is the name of my cat that I nursed for six months until she died of cancer. EZZ is my nickname. Lou is a young family member.” Alison ask Rolf what it was like where he was and the EVP message in Morse came back, “Peace and beauty.” Eric has sent these files to other friends, who are also ex-British Intelligence and know Morse code. He simply numbered the files 1 to 10. The friend decoded them 100%. So there are three people who decoded the messages exactly the same.

[Editor: This communication is ongoing and there are many messages that are not included here. For more information you can email the team at: Alison at [email protected] Eric at [email protected] Dominic at [email protected]. Bobby Continued from page 3 were received, and played back. We often sat together and listened to the voice mails on the day they were received. The voice on the answering machine, and the voice mails were the same; however, the voice was not exactly the same as his during his life. His style was the same and my wife picked out certain ways he would say things in the messages that were exactly as he would have said them in life. I must say I was disappointed when the date he died came and went without any additional voice mails. I had really expected one. The same thing happen on his birth- day, December 20th, there were no messages from him. But then in late February, I received three new voice mails in the late night/early morning. These are the first messages since last August. It is the same voice with the same basic comments. He seems to be reminding me that he did not get his pills while at the nursing home. He also relates to some events he mentioned or that occurred before his death. Once again, I'm puzzled as to why. Also, I am curious as to the strange noises that occur during the conversation on every voice mail. They consist of pops

and clicks and sometimes a buzzing sound is heard. This is more often towards the end of the conversation. To the best of my knowledge, I have checked every possibility to see if there was a source or someone that would do this maliciously but nothing has been discovered. For all rights and reasons, I have total faith that this was my brother communicating with me, from beyond. There is no other explanation! Page 7 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dying Words: Steve Jobs Wasn’t the Only One by Michael Tymn From Above by Larry C.Crawford flickr.com/photos/the_patriot/ At the October 16 memorial service for Apple founder Steve Jobs, Mona Simpson, his sister, delivered a eulogy in which she told of her brother’s final words: “Oh Wow! Oh Wow! Oh Wow!” The initial reports did not include the exclamation points, but one might infer them. While “believers” see Jobs’ dying words as some indica- tion that Jobs was seeing through the veil separating the earth realm from a spiritual realm, the skeptics shrug it off as a reaction to pain or the ramblings of a dying man. However, such dying words are not unprecedented. Thomas Edison is said to have uttered, “It’s very beautiful over there” just before taking his last breath. “Joy!” were the very last words of English author and philanthropist Hannah More, who died in 1833. “Victory! Eternal Victory!” were the dying words of Eunice Cobb. “O glory! O glory! O glory!” were the parting words of Susan

C. Kirland of Burr Oak, Michigan before she passed on April 3, 1864. “It is beautiful,” were the dying words of the famous English poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In his 1926 book, Deathbed Visions, Sir William Barrett, a professor of physics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin, reported on a case told to him by his wife, an obstetric surgeon. A dying woman who had just given birth commented that the room was getting darker and darker. “Suddenly, she looked eagerly toward one part of the room, a radiant smile illuminating her whole countenance,” Lady (Dr.) Barrett recalled. “Oh, lovely, lovely,” the dying woman said. Lady Barrett asked her to what she was referring. “What I see,” the dying woman replied. “Lovely brightness; wonderful things.” “Earth recedes – Heaven opens before me,” Dwight L. Moody told his sons minutes before he died. “I’m in the midst of glory!” When one son asked Moody if he had been dreaming, Moody replied, “No, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful! It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here! God is calling me and I must go.” May Wilcox of Marengo, Illinois died at the age of 21. Just before she gave up the ghost, she threw up her arms and exclaimed, “Oh! Do you hear the music?” As 10-year-old Lillian Lee lay dying, she told her father that there were crowds of children waiting for her and were calling her

by a new name, although she could not remember what it was. As she breathed her last, she whispered, “Yes, yes, I come, I come!” In her book, They Walked Among Us, Louie Harris recalled the passing of her father. He whispered to his wife that it was time for him to leave and apologized for not being able to bid farewell to their son who was serving in the British Army in France. “Father was quiet for some time,” Harris wrote. “His eyes were closed. Then, quite unexpectedly, he sat up unaided, his eyes open, his face radiant. He stretched out his arms and joyfully exclaimed: ‘George! Austin!’ These were the names of his ‘dead’ brothers. A beautiful smile trans- formed his thin face. With a deep sigh of satisfaction he lay back on his pillow and passed peacefully to the spirit world.” Just before Eleanor Herrick died of cancer in 1964, Arline Sexauer, her daughter, entered her hospi- tal room. The patient in the bed next to Eleanor told Arline that her mother had been talking to someone named Margaret all morning. Arline explained that Margaret was her mother’s sister who had died many years before. Just before Eleanor passed, she took her daughter’s hand and said, “Oh, Arline, it’s so strange here. I’m in a ‘never-never’ land. I’m halfway between two worlds. Ma and Pa are here and I can see them, but I can’t see you any more.” Dr. W. T. O’Hara reported the case of

a dying 10-year-old girl on a ship of which he was the medical officer. As he sat next to the girl, O’Hara sensed a presence in the room but was unable to see it. As he checked the girl’s pulse and determined that her heart was still beating, the room grew brighter and seemed to gather in waves of blue and white and gold over the child’s body. The girl looked up and murmured, “Oh, look! How beautiful!” at which time O’Hara saw a misty, luminous globe over her head. The girl then cried out, “Oh Mamma … I see … the way … and it is all bright and shining.” Then the light rose rapidly and disappeared at the ceiling, at which time the girl died. When the captain entered the cabin, he told O’Hara that he and four other officers, who came with him, had seen a ball of blue fire right over their heads in the smoking room. They observed it float to the door and turn toward the cabin occupied by O’Hara and the young girl. An associated Press story by Tim Stonesifer told of a Hanover, Pennsylvania couple, Nancy and Richard Trim- mer, who had died within twelve hours of each other after sixty-one years of marriage. Richard was in the hospital when Nancy died in her sleep at home, at 12:25 a.m. Later that morning, family members Continued page 22 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 8 Ectoplasm Photographed in White Light by Kai Muegge

Kai Muegge I am a 43-year-old medium who has been working for eight years within the “Felix Experimental Group” in Germany. I have only recently revealed myself as the physical medium of the group. Since my childhood, I have been deeply interested in altered states of consciousness, and at the age of eleven, I became involved in physical interaction with realms in the beyond. It was then that I experienced my first ongoing poltergeist disturbance which was happening to a school friend’s family. For some reason, I felt a strange connection to this occurrence. When I was fifteen, I sat for the first time in a physical circle that was made up of mostly school comrades. They sometimes could, but mostly could not, cope with what was going on! During my studies at Frankfurt’s University of Applied Sciences I found interested allies who were able to intel- lectually and emotionally carry the burden of witnessing things that were unexplained. During that time I started to consult victims of unwanted intrusions, victims of polter- geist disturbances and certain possessive states of mind. During my life, I have put together several different sitter groups. Today, I find myself working in the tradition of German “Spiritists” from the heyday of Spiritualism and especially in the tradition of the Schneider Brothers; mainly Rudi Schneider, who is part of the spirit team I work with. Rudi is mainly responsible for the experimental approach during my somnambulistic sessions and the séances given for friends and truly

interested people. I originally applied shamanistic trance techniques, as Rudi did. For three years I’ve used a certain rhythmical breathing technique that was originally used for inducing different altered states of consciousness. It is called the “holotropic breathing technique” by the very much-honored pioneer of altered consciousness exploration, Stanislav Grof. I feel that holotropic breathing strengthens the main aspects of the inner dissociation process I go through when going into trance. To reach full unconsciousness during the trance I combine it with visualizing, deep meditation techniques and deeply installed post-hypnotic orders. This work has brought me close to a group of “spirit scientists” who call their group pretty simply: the “Chemists.” During the séance, I am fully dissociated from my regular mental state of mind and so I refer to that person as the medium. We sit during séances in the so-called four-limb- control (two people hold both the left and right arms and legs of the medium). The moderator of the “Chemists,” “Professor Hans Bender,” speaks through the medium while footsteps are heard at a distance from the medium and objects are also taken and moved at a distance from him. Strange hand formations appear on an “illuminated plaque,” which is a well-known item at physical séances. Small animals that are alive materialize and they are recognized. These are usually pets of someone who is present. Tremendous raps and strange wiping sounds start to occur in the ceiling and walls of the room while spon- taneous, localized winds occur

and little lights whiz around the room. People have been given messages from deceased friends and relatives on handwritten messages that are sent, sealed in paranormally “apported” wax balls with amazing synchronistic occurrences. Objects suddenly appear in the room or at the medium’s body; apported or materialized from ectoplasm. Also during séances the spirit scientists allow a large volume of ectoplasm to appear that can be witnessed by the sitters in red light. It seems to be autonomous in movement and consists of strange spider web-like sticky fibers that hold the whole structure together, giving it the look of cotton candy, or sometimes, veil-like fabric or foggy residues. The Chemists claim the substance is a creational binding material. They claim ectoplasm to be the substance that holds the “vital” secret; the evolutionary code. The histories of its mind-boggling features prove it: Develop- ment of objects and people out of it, because it includes the code of it all. And the spirit scientists are able to trigger it, and then everything is literally able to happen! We have many photographs of the substance and have been allowed to show its complete arrival through the medium’s body approximately every second or third séance. Its disappear- ance was once captured in a photograph but it s disappear- ance is not shown during séances. “Inter-dimensionally triggered and based events cannot be easily understood by species originating in a one-dimen- sional world.” This is the simple logic behind, and the reason for, darkness causing so

much suspicion. Our mental system is built in a way that fills in the blanks with things it cannot understand and that are not wanted. But this is not mine to argue, mine is to sit for all who want to commune with these higher organized principles. I regularly do meditate for the Chemists. And since December 2011, they have revealed more of the “fabric” of ectoplasm. Its existence and peculiarities of movement have been shown to people who come to séances. Ectoplasm in daylight During a meditation on January 24, I fell asleep with an unusually strong visual dreaming Page 9 Continued page 10 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Ectoplasm in White Light Continued from 9 sequence of a séance in which ectoplasm was produced from the medium’s mouth. What happened when I awoke, I wrote about over one or two days to interested parties worldwide, among them many leading parapsychological experts, pioneers of the scene, artists and other allies. The following is the first report that was originally intended to be a very personal and honest description of what had happened. After a beautiful weekend with my fiancée, I managed, like no time before, to unleash telekinetic power onto a Ouija board planchette and secondly onto a pencil. Then something extremely weird happened in my flat, Tuesday, the 24th of January 2012. For several weeks during my preparative meditations, I received interesting information from the spirit world, primarily from the team around “Professor Hans Bender,” my main trance

control. The message came that there was a new phase of ectoplasmic display about to begin. The team wanted to generate especially visible, large volumes of ectoplasmic substance and demonstrate its qualities of movement. This new phase would enable sitters to better observe the substance and definitely validate that it is neither a manufactured veil-material, nor cotton, silk or whatever! My receiving of information during meditation is a bit like dreaming of things, dependant on different deeply induced self-hypnotic states. These sessions occur several times a week. The room that I have created for meditation is especially designed to receive information from the spirit controls responsible for the way the séances are con- Pictures 1 and 2: These were taken in the dimly lit room within five seconds of each other (16:53:59 and 16:54:04). I was raising my right arm to shoulder level and the ectoplas- mic substance opened like a bird’s wing between my chest and arm. ducted. These session often describe, for example, new settings that later will be transferred into realization. On the 24th of January 2012, such a meditative attempt had led me into a heavy, nearly lucid dream-like state. In it, I dreamt a certain séance episode: I was shown people approaching the cabinet with the purpose of observing the presented ectoplasmic substance. The ability to see was helped with the bright light coming from a torch held by my fiancée. These things always happened weeks later. When I woke up for the first time

from the meditation I was quite disoriented. As it has happened several times after séances, I was not immediately able to return to full consciousness. I am not able to avoid a dream-like state overtaking my cognition when this happens, and I am caught somewhere between being awake and asleep. Regarding this state after séances, we have learned the easiest way is to just let me sleep. Within fifteen minutes, every- thing is okay! I awoke in a very som- nambular state. Even though I saw the ecto- plasm covering my right arm and parts of my chest, and even though I reached for the iPhone lying beside me to make the photographs, I felt somehow uninvolved; still caught somewhere between the different planes of consciousness. Feeling emotionally detached I took three photographs without thinking about what I was looking at under such special conditions. I was obviously not fully awake! Picture 4: First opening of mouth in front of mirror At that time the substance was extremely voluminous and cloudy and I remember I was holding my right arm away from my body to spread the substance: I photo- graphed two times (Pictures 1 and 2), when I observed a rough human form coming more and more forward within the substance. I remember I observed some kind of swirl- ing-like activity involved while the human form became clearer. About ten minutes later, I awoke for a second time. This time I was immediately aware of what was going on.

The iPhone had fallen onto the floor from where I quickly grabbed it for a second time. I rose from the sofa in the half-darkened room and entered the adjacent floor, where I turned the white light on: Two large mirrors revealed immediately the cloudy-like appearance had nearly com- pletely gone and that the mass was hanging in fact from my mouth downwards. Close to the mirror I opened my mouth and with the reflection from the ceiling light I took two more photo- graphs. I stuck my tongue out to enable a good view into my mouth. In Picture 3, I stretched my tongue out and it became clearly visible that Continued page 11 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 10 Ectoplasm in White Light Continued from 10 the silk-like substance was actually developing directly from my mouth’s mucosa. During the fifty-nine seconds that the photographs were taken, the substance melted away like bathing-foam, so that in the last picture only the central “veins” were visible. Picture 5: Second view of opening of mouth Picture 7: The cloudy parts of substance had vanished away, when the mouth’s mucosa connection was detached as well The ectoplasm was covered by a dew-like humidity; even the last “cloud-like” areas. The humidity was visibly reflected on its surface. Some areas seemed to be more “wet” than others, when I shot the last photograph. Picture 6: First of the tongue photographs The connection to my mouth’s mucosa was suddenly palpably detached and the last residue

quickly vanished away. All was gone. No traces were left or visible on my T-shirt. Like many times before, I again tasted the evidence of albumin. As it has happened after séances several times before, I suddenly felt a kind of sadness and fragility. I wasn’t sobbing but I had extremely weak knees and felt a huge exhaustion. When I telephoned the circle leader, it felt as if I was in a state of shock after an accident or something. But I recovered relatively quickly. Following the “Chemists” we can await comparable display-attempts in the future during séances. I am totally aware that the publishing of this all will stir quite a range of different reactions. But whatever happens, I want to thank you for your ongoing interest in my development and your support! (Read the FEG blog) The Transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra Yvonne’s obituary In Loving Memory of Yvonne Cynthia Cohen Davis Whybra, "Yucca," Nov. 20, 1954 - Feb. 27, 2012 RA resident of Castro Valley, she passed away at age 57 surrounded by family and friends at Eden Medical Center. Yvonne was a native of New York. She is best known for her infectious personality, New York accent, sense of humor, big heart and her way of making you feel like family. She enjoyed spending time with her loved ones and animals, shopping at Walmart, watching movies and being a mother. Her smile, laughter and spirit for life will be forever missed by those that love

her. Yvonne leaves behind her husband Scott Whybra, first husband and lifelong friend Malone Davis, son Jermaine Davis, step-daughter Jennifer Whybra, god daughter Sara Sue, and Darla Jean who was like a daughter to her and many close friends …. Published in Inside Bay Area on March 2, 2012 [Editor: Yvonne was an active ATransC member and practitioner. She was close to many in the organization and her enthusiasm and participation will be missed on this side. We wish her well on her new journey and are happy that she will be free of the physical body that was giving her so many problems. We hope to hear from her and wish her well with whatever she decides to do.] Page 11 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Transcommunication Via Telephone by Tom Butler Transcommunication via telephones has been around for years. In their ground- breaking 1995 book, Hello From Heaven, Bill and Judy Guggenheim (after- death.com) identified twelve of the more common types of After Death Communication (ADC). One was tele- phone calls, about which they wrote: “These ADCs may occur during sleep or when you are wide awake. You will hear a phone ringing, and if you answer it, your loved one will give you a short mes- sage. Two-way conversations are possible. His or her voice will usually be clear but may seem far away. If you are awake, you will probably not hear a disconnect sound or a dial tone when the call is completed.” Shortly after

an appearance on the Montel Williams Show, we were contacted by one of the show’s staff asking for an opinion about a cell phone message a viewer had submitted. As we were told, the woman was sleeping in one room and her husband, John, was sleeping in another. We were also told that he was snoring rather loudly. “John” The first part of the recording is a confusing sound similar to the sound of quickly turning a radio dial between a strong station and noise. During that sequence, a woman’s voice can be heard to say “speak,” something about and “Johnny,” several unintelligible words, all intersticed with bursts of noise and short intervals of relative quiet. The last of these sounds are shown in part (1) of the waveform to the right. As if the intelligence con- trolling the signal finally found the right frequency, there is a strong burst of noise (2) which tapers off to relative silence and a woman’s voice says “Johnny” (3). This is followed by the same voice singing “Johnny, I’ve got Johnny in my ear, in my ear, in my ear.” (4-8) After this you hear the telephone company announcement that the message is complete. Even though we provided a detailed analysis of the recording, the Montel Williams staff did not respond to our questions and we do not know who made the recording. It is a very interesting example and we would like to know more about it. The complete recording can be

heard at atransc.org/examples/telephone_calls.htm. We are inter- ested in receiving other examples. We are going over the many examples received by Michael Hauser from his brother Bobby (please see the article on page 3) and that of another website visitor. Several of these seem to have many of the same charac- teristics as the Montel Williams example. We have seen the characteristics in others’ examples as well, leading us to speculate that the study of these messages might shed light on a form of paranormal communication that may not be transcommunication in the usual sense of “dead people talking.” Characteristics As the Guggenheims described telephone call ADCs, the voice typically sounds “far away.” Other characteristics include: Ÿ The circuit often sounds hollow as if there is a little echo, but echo that is unstable as if blown by the wind. Ÿ There is often a “tuning in” or “breaking in” of the signal. As in wave shape (2) in the figure, this “tuning in” is heard as a gradual suppression of noise and momentary emergence of a coherent signal. Ÿ Both in the Montel Williams example and in the one sent by the website visitor, speakers often seem to be speaking near the limit of their vocal range as if trying to project their voice to be heard. Ÿ The message is not always personal or even meaningful to the receiver. As with the Montel Williams example, the message is more like the subconscious musing of a sleeping wife. Ÿ In

the calls referred to in the article on Bobby (page 3) received by the Michael Hauser family, the calls came first on an answering machine and then showed up as coming from various family members’ cell phones without any physical record of them coming from those phones. Ÿ In other examples that we have received, there are no telltale telephone circuit sounds. The calling number may be shown but the calling telephone is turned off or broken, again leaving no evidence the call was made by that device. Alison Kirkbride (page 6) reported recording a mayday call from the Estonia that was more like recording echoes of the past rather than what we think of as traditional EVP. Alison speculates that she has accessed some form of discontinuity in time, Continued page 13 Part of the soundtrack showing the last of the initial tries (1), apparent “tuning in” (2), and then clearly spoken “John” (3), “Johnny” (4), “I’ve got Johnny” (5), “In my ear” (6), “In my ear” (7), “In my ear” (8), followed by the recorded announcement for the end of the recording (9). Volume 31 Number 1 Page 12 Contact Via Telephone Continued from page 12 much as Ken Webster described in his book, The Vertical Plane. In that book, he reported a spontaneous series of messages in 1984 from a person living in the past, and later, a person living in the future–all via his low-tech computer. Are some of the telephone calls evidence of a slip

in time, rather than messages from people on the other side? If some of the messages are via slips in time or even slips in space, are trans-etheric messages (EVP and the telephone calls from loved ones) made possible by the same technol- ogy? Some EVP are clearly communications from transi- tioned loved ones, but some are also from people still in the physical. This is one of the reasons we speculate in the Unfinished Hypothesis (atransc.org/theory.htm) that our personality is always in the etheric–whether we are still in the physical or transitioned to the other side. If this is true, then all phenomena involving subtle energy are probably a trans- etheric influence. Considering this, then do all of the messages Alison is recording–slips in time and normal EVP– involve the same technology? It is interesting to speculate about these phenomena, but there is considerable work that needs to be done before we can speculate with any authority. More tele- phone call examples need to be studied and it would be nice to receive more examples of messages that seem to be from the past or from time slips. On her part, Alison has agreed to work with scientists to better understand the nature of her communication but that would need funding and qualified scientists to carry out the work. And as always, what our members are interested in studying does not even come close to what mainstream science is inter- ested in studying. The issue of money continues to

be our biggest problem with research. Let us know if you have other examples or ideas that might further our understanding of these phenomena. The website article will also ask for input and you can use that as a reference. Big Circle Recording Dates We have been told many times by our communicators on the other side to ask for help from the Big Circle as part of your daily meditation. Here are the recording dates: April 12 and 26, May 10 and 24 June 7 and 21 and July 5 and 19 The Big Circle team is there to help at any time. Often members get messages that help other members, so be sure to share what you get with other members in the Idea Exchange at http://atransc.org/forum/ Rosemary Smith by Michael Chiodo My mom passed away on Oct 29, 2011 at 8:55a.m. I was left a voice mail from the nurse at the nursing home at 9:16 a.m. asking me to call her back. At the very end of the message, my mom’s voice can be heard saying “Michael” before the phone was hung up. It was an amazing experience that I still can’t believe hap- pened. The amazing part is that the voice is hers and is very clear. I had my brothers listen to the voice mail this past Saturday (11/12/11) before her funeral and they confirmed that it was her voice and it really shook them up when they heard it. I talked to the

nurse at the nursing center who was with my mother when she passed away and asked her where she was when she made the call to me. She said she called from the nurses’ station which was about four rooms from where my mother had passed away. My mother’s soul must have followed her and knew the nurse was calling me to inform me of her passing. My mother had been in the nursing center for about two years after my step dad had passed away. She was suffering from dementia and had returned from a Tulsa hospital just the day before after suffering from acute pneumonia. My mother was 78. She had been very involved with her church had lived a good life. I was her first born and always made sure she was doing all right at the nursing center in Tulsa. I live in Texas, and couldn’t be there when she passed. I think she was con- fused in those first twenty minutes after her death and was calling out to me. She could have wanted to let me know that life continues after the death of the physical body, and she will be there when my time in this world ends. I’m very proud of this experience. I was upset that I couldn’t be there at her last breath and help her leave this world the way that she was there for me when I came into this world. I now have inner peace with myself

after hearing her voice one last time. From a Website Visitor Hello ATransC team :) I just wanted to say thank you for hosting this amazing website where fellow paranormal members can come and read your research. You are doing a lot of great things to further both paranormal and scientific communities. I really admire your true scientific approach. Page 13 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Information Gathering Using EVPmaker with Allophones A Yearlong Trial by Cindy Heinen Abstract This twelve-month trial was designed to determine whether or not information not known to a participant could be requested and received via Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) using EVPmaker with allophones. A target object was left undisturbed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Participants were asked to use only EVPmaker with allophones to produce a sound file containing the information identifying the target. To qualify submissions, the project manager screened them for reasonableness. Those possibly containing usable information were submitted to a listening panel of people who were familiar with EVP but who did not know the identity of the target. If a majority of the listening panel heard information as reported by the participant, the submission was considered a valid submission. Submissions were rejected if a majority did not hear what the participant heard. Valid submissions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. This trial did not produce positive responses based on the study’s protocol. However,

the abundance of non-protocol EVP captured in the study might suggest EVPmaker is not suited for the type of communication this study was designed to capture. Also, participant knowledge of the target might have to be reexamined as several targets were identified either before the target was placed or after when the participant knew what the target was. Future studies may wish to look at these non-protocol results when designing a follow-up study. Introduction Background sound is often used as sound energy during the recording of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). This sound may be ambient noise in the environment or sound purposely added to the recording environment such as the hiss of a radio tuned off station, flowing water or the sound of a fan. These imported sounds are said to supply the sound energy entities need to form voices. While these sound sources can result in EVP, some practitioners proposed that the sounds or frequencies of the human voice would be optimal for the communicating entities to use to generate a voice. Different methods of experimentation using human vocalizations have been tried including foreign language recordings, some of which were edited and clipped to produce random bits of vocal- izations with no discernible words or syllables. Radio- sweep has also been tried. This involves rapidly changing the tuning dial of a radio to produce pieces of speech. In the late 1980s, Stefan Bion developed a computer program that he likened to a sound grinder. The software program, called EVPmaker,1

uses a random process to select segments of a buffer in which a raw, audio input file has been loaded. The resulting output file is a stream of randomly arranged short sound segments from the input file. EVP are thought to be formed via manipulation of the random selection process. In 2008 Stefan Bion offered a file containing seventy-two allophones generated by SpeakJet™ 2 that could be used as the input audio file for EVPmaker. The output of these randomized allophones from EVPmaker, while robotic sounding, were used successfully by some researchers to obtain what they felt were meaningful and relevant com- munications. Because of the standardization provided by using EVP- maker with the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, the program was a good choice to use in a controlled study of EVP. All participants, individuals who attempted to record EVP communication for the study, would be using Speak- Jet™ Allophones2 as the sound source for EVPmaker. Protocol The study was designed to ask each communicating entity to perform a task that would indicate understanding and cooperation. This task was to view a specific object that was set out at a specific location. The communicating entity was then instructed to tell the participant what that object was through the participant’s copy of EVPmaker with allophones. Study question: Can the identity of a target object be recorded in the EVPmaker output file which is of sufficient quality that a listening panel is able to agree on its content? The Protocol:

1. A target object unknown to participants was placed in the same location at the beginning of each month for twelve months. Sufficient information about the location to uniquely identify it in the world was an- nounced. 2. Participants, who responded to the public an- nouncement, conducted EVPmaker sessions using the allophone file provided by Stefan Bion, but oth- erwise using any EVPmaker setting. They asked that the target be identified in the output file. There was no limit on the number of attempts. 3. Knowing only that the target was an object, partici- pants listened to the output files and determined if a response had been recorded. Continued page 15 Volume 31 Number 1 Page 14 Gathering Information Continued from page 14 Whether or not it was a likely response concerning the target object was up to the judgment of the participant. 4. Audio files the participant determined could include names of the target were sent to the project manager. 5. The project manager compared what the participant heard to the target. If the project manager agreed that the target was indicated in the file, it was sent to a listening panel. 6. Not knowing the target object, the listening panel individually reviewed the file and noted what if any- thing was said in the file. That information was sent to the project manager. If a majority of the panel heard information as reported by the participant, the submission was considered a valid submission; if not, it was rejected.

Valid submis- sions were screened for a positive response by the project manager for inclusion in the study. 7. Trial personnel The people who made up the study team were the project manager, the target keeper, three listening-panel member, two alternate listening-panel members and the partici- pants. Ÿ The project manager developed the trial protocol, oversaw the project, communicated with the target keeper, listening-panel members and the partici- pants, analyzed the data and wrote the monthly and final reports. Ÿ The target keeper was in charge of putting a new target into place every month. Ÿ The listening-panel members would review any au- dio files sent to them by the project manager. Ÿ The alternate listening-panel members would be enlisted to review audio files if one of the original three listening-panel members could not participate. Ÿ Participants were anyone who wanted to take part in this trial and could follow the study’s protocol. Targets The target for each month was taken from a list that had been prepared prior to the start of the yearlong study. The target objects for the year were only known to the project manager and target keeper. The target keeper would find objects that she felt fit the predetermined list of targets. She would then submit a picture and a brief explanation of the object to the project manager. On the first of the month she would place only this object on a specific shelf on a shelving unit in her home. The object would

remain there undisturbed for the entire month. This target object would be taken away and replaced with the next month’s target on the first of the following month. The following list shows what was requested and what the target keeper put into place for each month. A synopsis of her comments concerning the targets has also been included. May: An abalone dragonfly pin designed by her husband. June: One of the target keeper’s recorders. July: Pink roses in an engraved black vase with “4546 B INDIA” on the underside of the vase. August: A blue teacup with painted flowers on it. “JAPAN” was stamped on the bottom of the teacup. September: Zephyr scissors with “CLAUSS NO 78 USA” on one blade. They had blue handles with white paint and black gunk on them. The target keeper noted that she has had them for twenty-five years and thinks of them as “our work scissors.” October: I Am That, by Sri Nisarga- datta Maharaj. It is not a “holy book” in the traditional sense, but the teach- ings within are certainly considered to be sacred by many. November: Candle made for the target keeper by her son while in elementary school. It has layers of blue, yellow, red and orange wax poured into a baby food jar. December: The target keeper’s favor- ite radio-sweep radio, a Duracell KP028 crank flashlight/radio, also referred to as a “3-in-1.” January: A child’s pair of BluBlocker sunglasses that belonged to the target keeper’s son when he

was little. The word “Taiwan” is printed in white on the inner right arm. February: A peacock feather given as a cat toy by the pet store. March: A red, flexible bracelet with the words, “Stronger Now.” The bracelet was bought from two girls who started ARCHFoundation.com. April: A hammer with very faded print on both sides. One side reads “Dia- mond Island” and the other reads “Burro Cigars.” The pictures of the targets (right) and what the project manager was told about them suggested that other target words could be applied to a target. Continued page 16 Page 15 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Gathering Information Continued from page 15 Responses that were considered acceptable for this study had to be words or phrases that contained a word that could be used to identify the object. For example, in March the target object was a bracelet. The bracelet itself was a red, flexible bracelet of the type often used as a charity fundraiser. The best word for the target would be bracelet, but band or wristband would also be acceptable. Words that would be considered adjectives for the bracelet like red or flexible would be noted but not considered a positive response. Participants Participants for this trial were required to use only EVP- maker with the SpeakJet™ allophone file provided on Stefan Bion’s EVPmaker website. They were allowed to record their sessions using recording equipment of their choice. Files thought to contain information about the target were to be

emailed to the project manager, along with text of what the participant believed was said. Inclu- sion of the practitioner’s voice was considered a valuable plus. Altering the audio file through filtering or noise reduction was not allowed. listening-panel members did not know what the target objects were and did not talk to anyone about their analyses. After reviewing the audio files, listening-panel members sent their interpretation of the files to the project manager. The project manager then compared the listening panel’s interpretations with that of the participants who sent the files. If two out of three of the listening-panel members heard something phonetically similar to what the participants heard, the submission would be considered a positive response. Results In the twelve months of the trial, 648 audio files were submitted. In August, two submissions matched the target object, and in December, three submissions were a match. These submissions were sent to the listening panel but none met the protocol which stated that the target the participant heard must also be heard by at least two out of three of the listening-panel members to be considered a positive response. Month/Year Target Object Participants Submissions Valid Submissions Passed Listening Panel 0 0 0 2 0 0 In Oct 7 In Sept. (3 From Sept. passed listening panel) 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 4 2 3 3 2 3 4 2 2 1 2.58 4

3 15 15 116 72 86 63 59 33 19 24 64 Participants did not know what target objects were other than that they could fit on a stan- dard-size wall unit shelf. They also knew the general location of the shelf that held the object. This was at the target keeper’s home in California on the middle shelf on the right-hand side of the wall unit. After a recording session, each participant was to analyze and interpret their recordings while listening for a reply to the question: “What is the target object on the target keep- er’s shelf?” If they heard something they felt might be the target, they would submit an email stating what they heard along with the audio attachment to the project manager. May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 Aug 2010 Sept 2010 Abalone dragon fly Audio recorder Flowers in a vase Tea cup Scissors Oct 2010 A holy book Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Candle Radio-sweep radio Sunglasses EVP from EVPmaker is considered an oppor- tunistic form,3 meaning the message is formed from available sound segments in the buffer. But output may also be used as noise for transform EVP 3 which are voices formed from background noise. Participants could submit either type of EVP for this study. If the partici- pant’s interpretation of their submission identified that month’s target object, the project manager would send the files to the listening panel. Feb 2011 Peacock feather March 2011 Bracelet Hammer April 2011 Listening Panel

A listening panel was organized to review any files that might contain words that indicated the target for that month. It consisted of three primary and two standby individuals who had been enlisted before the study. The Volume 31 Number 1 Page 16 Non-protocol observations Although not what this trial was designed to find, some interesting things did surface during the year of the trial: Ÿ There were seven possibly positive responses that were recorded in September but that appeared to refer to the October target object which was a holy book. Continued page 17 Gathering Information Continued from page 16 This book has a black and orange cover and the back of the book is orange. In September, the project manager received seven submissions from three par- ticipants that indicated a book. They were: “red book,” “green book,” “bible,” “Book is the key,” “scripture,” “a certified orange book(let)” and “popular book.” The listening panel reviewed all the files and out of the seven, three were identified. They were: Book is the key. Certified orange book Popular book While these could not be counted as positive responses for the trial, the project manager felt the results should be noted for a number of reasons. First, up to this point in the study, this was the first time that a specific word, “book,” was repeated frequently and was submitted by several participants. Second, some of the references to the target, while not validated by the listening panel, did seem to point

towards a holy or spiritual book. Finally, the project managers and the target keeper both knew what the target was. But in addition to this, both had a connection to the target being prepared for October. The target keeper placed a book she felt connected to because of the book’s wisdom. The project manager, when developing the target list, felt that a holy book would be the one target that would receive the most positive results. She was anticipating the October placement of the book throughout Sep- tember. While one cannot rule out coincidence for these results, could the knowledge of what the target was and the intentions of the project manager and the target keeper have played a part in the results? Ÿ Group intentions and how they affect the outcome of an event is being studied by scientists. The Institute of Noetic Sciences’, “The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Formation: A Triple Blind Replication”4 results suggested that ice crystals formed from water exposed to distant intentions were more aesthetically pleasing than ice crystals formed from water from a control group. And the majority of Lynne McTaggart’s intention experiments5 have suggested that intention can affect plants and human project outcomes. EVP and participants’ intentions might also lend them- selves to some interesting studies. Ÿ As documented in the chart, three submissions were accepted by the project manager for the December target, which was a radio favored by the target keeper for radio-sweep. These submissions were “Her radio,”

“The answer … radio,” and “Transistor.” The project manager accepted “transistor” because small, hand- held radios were often in the past referred to as “tran- sistors.” Knowing what to listen for, the project manager could identify these responses but the listen- ing panel, who did not know what to listen for, did not hear what the participants reported hearing. The question arises that, if the listening panel knew what the participants heard, could they have picked it out of the audio file? How much does confirmation bias affect the analy- sis of skilled listeners? There were instances after the month's target was revealed that participants re- viewed audio they recorded during the month of that target and subsequently reported to the the project manager that they found audio that matched the tar- get. The effect of knowledge about the target during the recording process needs to be explored and possi- bly reconsidered. Ÿ Another common result was the recording of what participants felt were communicating-entity com- ments. Most of these comments were normal EVP- maker random selection EVP. Most were quite clear and many commented on the communicating entity’s ability or lack of ability to be able to help with the trial. Also on a monthly basis, there were submissions that were comments directed, by name, to the participant or to the project manager. Some submissions were negative in nature and a few did not make any sense. While several participants submitted these “comment EVP” the majority were submitted by

one participant. Listening panel challenges Throughout the trial, the listening panel was sent audio files to listen to and analyze. None of the listening-panel members knew what the targets were. Often, what the listening panel reported hearing was not phonetically close to what the participant heard. They also seldom agreed with one another as to what the same audio file was saying, if they heard anything at all. This may indicate the chal- lenges one faces when trying to understand and analyze very short audio clips from EVPmaker using allophones. The clipped, robotic sound of the short audio files, along with having no word cues, may make it difficult for listeners to find any recognizable words. It might prove useful to submit longer audio files to the listening panel so they could hear the participant’s voice asking the question, then have the communicating entity’s reply. However, this has its own sets of challenges as the communicating entity did not always come in after the question was asked. The entity responses and comments could come in anytime during the recording sessions. Words created through EVPmaker, while having proper vowel sounds, may have dropped consonants, for example, the word “hammer” might be heard as “ammer.”6 Since EVPmaker voices seem to create modified words it might be useful to train the listening panel to be able to identify these “new words.” Continued page 18 Page 17 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Acknowledgment The author wishes to express her appreciation and thanks to Tom

Butler for his guidance during the course of this trial and assistance in the preparation of this paper. Also the author wishes to express her gratitude to the individ- uals who assisted in this trial including the persons who took on the positions of target keeper, listening-panel members and all those who were participants in the study. Gathering Information Continued from page 17 Number of participant challenges Several things need to be noted that may have had an effect on the results. While 648 submissions were sent to this study, the number of participants was low. There were never more than four participants per month and often there were only two or three. Also, from August 2010 until the end of the study, the bulk of the submissions were from only one individual. So while the sample size was respect- able, the number of participants was small. Having a greater number of participants could likely have changed the results. The reason few people participated may have been because trying to find an unknown target in a sea of vocalization fragments is a difficult task. Another point to note is the rigidity of the trial’s protocol itself. It is often apparent in the recording of EVP that what works for one person does not necessarily work for others. Also, successful techniques have been known to sometimes show a decline in productivity for no apparent reason.7 All these points should be addressed in the development of follow-up experiments. Conclusion Based on the

files submitted by a small number of partici- pants, the results indicate that gathering specific informa- tion (a target) that was unknown to the participants was not accomplished using EVPmaker with allophones and following the protocol for this study. Although not a part of this study, it does appear that “comment EVP” that identified the target was frequently recorded. These results suggest that following this trial’s protocol, EVP could be recorded using EVPmaker with allophones but specific informational EVP was infrequent. The reason for this remains unknown. The “holy book” results in September might offer a nudge towards what else might be needed to obtain information- gathering communication. An experiment could be designed to compare the number of targets identified between participants who know what the target is and those who do not. A similar study could be done to compare the results of participants who spend time having focused intentions towards a target and those who don’t. The development of such intention experiments would need to take more into account than the technical aspects of EVP communication. It also would have to explore if consciousness; intent and attitude play a part in EVP communications. Finally, knowing what to listen for and how to interpret the speech coming through EVPmaker might need to be addressed. A tutorial for participants and listening-panel members on the communicating entity’s unique formation of speech in EVPmaker might change the outcome of any future EVPmaker experiments. Volume 31 Number 1 Page 18 References 1.Bion, Stephan.

EVPmaker. tonbandstimmen.de 2.SpeakJet,™ speakjet.com, Magnevation LLC. 3.Butler, Tom. “Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives,” atransc.org/journal.htm, 2010. 4.Radin, Dean, Nancy Lund, Masaru Emoto, and Takashige Kizu. "The Effects of Distant Intentions on Water Crystal Forma- tion: A Triple Blind Replication" Petaluma, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 481–493, 2008. deanradin.com/papers/emotoIIproof.pdf 5.McTaggart, Lynne. The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World, Free Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 0743276957, ISBN-13: 978-0743276955. theintentionexperiment.com 6.Butler, Tom. “EVPmaker with Allophones: Where are We Now?”atransc.org/journal.htm, 2011 7.Butler, Tom and Lisa Butler. There is No Death and There Are No Dead. Reno: AA-EVP Publishing, 2004, atransc.org/resources/books.htm Speaking with One Voice You have demonstrated your commitment to the study of transcommunication through your ATransC membership. In turn, we commit more than eighty hours a week to supporting the Association. The NewsJournal is now printed in color. This costs four times as much, but knowing that issues are often shared amongst friends, we feel it is worth the additional cost to get the word out to more people. In recent months, we have made an effort to make the Association website more accessible to the public to attract more people who might share your commitment. That is also why we are taking the additional step of making the NewsJournal available in eBook format. Every so often, a website visitor discovers your examples, articles and personal stories and joins the Association to learn even more. It is important that more

of us speak with one voice. As ATransC members, you are emissaries spreading news about continued life and communication across the veil to your friends. But there is more you can do. Increase the power of your voice by asking your friends to join the ATransC and making a special contribution to support outreach and research. If you believe greater understanding of these phenomena is important, help make that possible with your financial support. Tom and Lisa Butler The Engineering Imperative At least in fields of study concerned with the physical sciences, there is a hierarchy of skill in which scientists expand knowledge, engineers apply knowledge and tech- nicians implement plans. This is a generalization, but one which is of practical importance to this discussion. In a particular subject or skill set, neither a scientist nor an engineer can be expected to have the practical expertise held by a journeyman technician. In frontier subjects, technician-level skills might be equivalent to practitioners. In frontier subjects, practitioners are often the most knowledgeable about the subject, even though they may not be prepared to assess the paranormality of examples. For the most part, an engineer holding a Bachelor of Science degree has been trained in the same subjects as has a person holding a doctorate. Doctorate programs are generally more detailed and include training in many task-related skills such as research design and critical thinking. Engineering curriculums are designed to intro- duce the physical concepts necessary to understand involved principles with emphasis on

application. From personal experience, this means that an electronics engi- neer should be able to identify known physical principles that might be involved in the example. Point of view helps determine education Of course there are many life circumstances that help to determine how far a person progresses in college, how- ever; experience has shown that there is a substantial difference in point of view between people who choose to be an engineer and those who go on to earn a doctorate. Doctorates are trained to depend on precedence and guidance of existent theory while engineers are obliged to account for observed circumstances without regard to their theoretical nature. Put in terms important to the study of frontier subjects, mainstream scientists are taught that everything must be defined or at least predicted by existing theory. If an observed incident is not covered by known principles, it must either be an illusion or fraud. This point of view is demonstrated over and over again in the struggle for “truth” between Skeptics and experiencers in frontier subjects with Skeptics saying, “It is impossible and there- fore cannot be.” This is difficult to characterize without over generalizing. The point is that people with an engineer’s point of view do not have the luxury of discounting phenomenal events just because they do not comply with known science. In this sense, there is something of an “engineering impera- tive” to account for the objective influences as well as the human factors constituting the environment of

a design. If people experience it, then it must become a factor. In response to this imperative, the engineer’s approach to the study of frontier subjects can be expected to begin with the development of a hypothesis based on the assumption that the phenomena exist. In a practical sense, doctorates are not allowed to make that assumption. It is critical that people working on either side of the discussion remember that this difference in point of view is a huge hindrance to meaningful communication. In the spirit of Thomas Harris, who told us in his book, I’m OK-You’re OK that real communication between two people could only occur if both are in an “OK” place in life, communication can only occur if both sides agree that phenomena have occurred. TB From the essay, “Point of View” by Tom Butler, Ethericstudies.org Precognition In early 2011, a paper was published in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The study by Daryl Bem of Cornell University was titled, “Feeling the Future: experimental evidence for anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect.” (In ordinary language, the title means experimental evidence for precognition). Participants saw two curtains side-by-side on the com- puter screen. They were told that a picture would be behind one of the screens. They were told to click on the screen that had the picture. After they made their selection the selected curtain opened and revealed a picture or a blank screen. The probability that a participant would correctly select

the location of a picture by chance was 50% but the actual positive score was 53.1% What participants did not know was the computer did not select the picture to be shown or determine its left/right position until after they had already made their decision. So this procedure actually tested a participant’s ability to anticipate a future event, a test of precognition. John Poynton points out that “Bem’s results claim that effect can come before cause…. A reversal of cause and response indicates that consciousness, information gath- ering, can operate without the mediation of the physical sense or the passage of clock time. This transgresses the ruling dogma of materialism, that causality can only be credited to physical matter in clock time, and that con- sciousness—if it exists at all—is a product solely of this physical reality. Bem’s results are a direct challenge to materialistic authority, and if followed through, they suggest that consciousness is primary. In fact, it is simply the most direct feature of experience; all else is inference, including the material world.” The article reminded us of how we very often get the answer to our EVP question right before we ask it and may answer our question of how this takes place. From: “Precognition and The Daryl Bem Furore” by John Poynton, The Paranormal Review, July 2011, Issue 59, pg 29 Page 19 Spring 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal News from Members Ÿ Margaret Downey was on the Beyond the Realm radio show (para-x.com) with Steve Tackett

February 28th. Ÿ Elaine Kuzmeskus has a new book coming out in June titled, The Art of Mediumship. About the book: “The evidence for life after death is over- whelming, and scientists have vali- dated after-life communication. In The Art of Mediumship, discover what really goes on in a séance. Find out how mediums receive their in- formation from the Other Side. Learn how to develop clairsentience, clairaudience and clairvoyance through dreams, meditation and a Spiritu- alist circle. Read about today’s ghost hunters who rely on Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) and psychic pho- tography as means of communication to solve myster- ies. Learn how they capture spirit photos and voices.” Elaine is the author of several other books. The book is available on Amazon.com Ÿ Michael Tymn’s new book, Tran- scending the Titanic: Beyond Death's Door, came out in March. As the title suggests, the book is an attempt to explore the more transcendental as- pects of the Titanic story-- those sug- gesting a non-mechanistic universe. The subjects include premonitions, apparitions, out-of-body experienc- es, telepathic communication among the living, and after-death communication; many related to the Titanic passengers. Tymn is the author of several other books. The book is available on Amazon.com Ÿ Al Rauber was the guest of Dan Sturges and Larry the Psi Show on February 27th. Hewitt of thepsishow.com/radio-show/ Skype Call to Debbie Caruso Margaret Downey tried an experiment in which she used her phone to call her computer, wanting to reach Debbie Caruso. She has two

different Skype accounts. She used software called Softwave (about $30) to record the Skype call on her computer. During the call she rubbed a metal, graco paint sprayer filter for a sound source. Margaret: Debbie? Debbie: “Hello ... can you hear me?” Margaret: You can hear me? (Mar- garet heard her real-time) Debbie: “I can hear you.” Margaret: I can hear you too. (again, real-time) Debbie: “Can you hear me? Hello.” Margaret: Debbie? Debbie: “Yeah.” Margaret: Joey? Debbie: “It’s me and Joe.” Joey(?): “Margaret Downey” (Margaret is pretty sure it was Joey speaking.) Margaret Downey Margaret: I’m gonna listen. Debbie Caruso Debbie (Joey?): “OK, I'll stop. Bye.” (spoken VERY fast) Margaret wrote, “I can record both audio and video on Skype. It records each end of the Skype audio on two different channels. I open the file it creates in Audacity to work with it. I did also try video feedback loop one time; holding my iPhone toward the laptop computer to create the loop) and it does have some possibilities but I need to try it again. Got some very vague and dark images that made me think it’s worth trying at least a few more times.” Margaret says the software add-on works flawlessly. See shop.skype.com/apps/Call-recording-audio-video/ ITC Using Digital Camera and TV Screen Jutta Liebmann shared four photos with us that had “extras.” She wrote, “My idea was to use a relaxation DVD titled Elements for producing “visual white noise” for the entities and I asked the entities (in

thought) to manifest during this experi- ment. I have taken the photos at random from the screen of my flat-screen-TV while I played the DVD. It shows only views of nature such as landscapes, flowing water of rivers, ponds, waterfalls and kaleidoscopic patterns. I took pictures with my digital camera at random from the TV-screen. There are no persons and no animals shown on the DVD. The first picture seems to show a figure looking directly into the camera and the second is a front view of another human-shape photographed from the kaleidoscopic-like patterns of the DVD. The third photo seems to show a little boy above the white stripe of light and the fourth picture seems to show a figure in the center dressed like a person of former centuries. However, the fourth photo has not much contrast. [Editor: ITC pictures are always difficult to print and we were only able to get enough contrast on the first example - we thought others might like to try this simple method and see what kind of results they get.] Volume 31 Number 1 Page 20 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Martin Burns wrote, “You might be interested in know- ing I decided to buy a digital recorder, headphones and download Audacity to try EVP. Not knowing the first thing about it, other than what I read on your site, I tried a few sessions, and believe I got what I believe to be EVP. One was very good and the other was

emotional because I asked who was in my house and I received an answer from who I believe may have been a loved one who passed about ten years earlier. Anyway, I did revise my EVP page somewhat (openmindedskeptic.net). If anything makes me a believer it will be EVP and I do plan on doing a bit of research myself. It’s really fascinating stuff … Ÿ James Goodman says that he has been trying something different. He displays pictures on his computer monitor and gets EVP responses to questions asked about the pictures. One of the pictures he displayed was of winter and he asked, “What season is it in this picture?” He recorded “Winter scene.” Ÿ Allison Kirkbride shared three EVP files recorded using Croatian language as background noise. She wrote, “I hear ‘Alison’ mentioned in all three.” They were “Alison, hope you built this,” “Alison, know where you’re work- ing” and “Alison, only the source can name us.” Ÿ Cheri Kussavage, wrote “I was awakened the other night to someone calling my name. Then the voice said, ‘... it’s Uncle Manny.’ I don’t have an Uncle Manny, so I thought it was just the tail end of a dream. But in the morning, I realized who it was. I had a Facebook friend, ‘Manny,’ who passed away in June. His profile page is still up, so I occasionally send him posts. I still send him notes like, ‘Hope you are having fun on the other-side’ and ‘In the

blink-of-an-eye, we’ll see each other soon!’ I guess he read my posts, because I have a strong intui- tive feeling that he was trying to communicate with me. I also think he used ‘uncle,’ as a term of endearment. Maybe he’ll stop by again for a chat. I hope so!” Ÿ David Mierzwinski wrote, “I have been experimenting with my (now old) Cool Edit software. I have never seen the need to update since 2004. I found that by listening to almost any noise file in Electro Voice setting I can hear a few voices live. Some are loud at times. I asked for names for testing and actually got a few. ‘Richard Vicky’was one of the clearer complete names. It’s right at the start. Towards the end of the clip I hear the word ‘Facebook.’ I Google the name and sure enough the first hit is a Facebook page with the same name. Ÿ Mark Pierce wrote, “I had turned on the PX (Digital Dowsing product) to do a battery check. I then went in the living room with my wife. We were listening to channel 928 on our TV…. The PX started going off and after five minutes or so, I turned off the recorder and listened to the file to see what was said. I picked up several interesting EVP. They were not from the PX, but were voices talking over the music and and it seems following our conversation. We were talking about knit- ting socks

(which my wife had just finished) and the usual stuff old retired people talk about. For the record my wife’s name is Julie and she is a redhead. “The first one appears to be a conversation between two people. The others seem to be listening in to my wife and me talking. The interesting thing is that we weren’t trying to pick up EVP or talk to anyone, I was simply recording the PX to see what it was saying. The EVP messages were ‘I made a mistake.’ ‘Born a redhead.’ ‘Julie’ and ‘Feet are warm.’ Mark said he tries the PX occasionally but has not had much luck with it. [Editor: The PX is made by DigitalDowsing.com; an essentially an environmental energy stimulated-speech synthesizer.] Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “My cellphone occasionally ‘speaks’ to me, usually from my pocket or handbag; it prompts me to say the name of the person I am trying to reach. I learned there is a way to trigger this by simultaneously pressing two buttons on the phone’s sides. It could be, the prompt is inadvertently triggered in my handbag. (Of course, I prefer to think the calls are etherically generated!) “In November, I received such a prompt. I told the phone to call ‘Allison’ which is on my list of contacts to ring my mother. When her machine answered, I said, ‘Hello, Mom,’ waited for a few seconds, heard nothing and hung up. Immediately, the phone prompted me again. I was in a hurry

so I terminated the call without answering. Now I wish I’d answered. Last week in my mother’s house, I analyzed the message. There is a response after my ‘Hello, Mom’ which is pretty unintel- ligible. Listening to it over and over, I began to hear the quality of a tape played in reverse. So I reversed it in Audacity, and clearly hear a male voice asking, ‘Mrs. Sniffin, do you want me to call her back?” Ÿ Yvonne Whybra wrote, “I was asking for my mom using my Ghost Box and got my mom talking about her aprons. She always wore an apron while cooking. She had her two favorites. I kept them in a small plastic bag for memories. I believe I am hearing my mom saying something about me loving the aprons, which I do. Blew me away! I was so happy that she was able to make contact like that.” Yvonne also recorded “Debbie” and everyone feels it is our dear friend of the Big Circle Debbie Caruso. [Editor: Please see “The transition of ATransC Member, Yvonne Whybra” on page 11. We are sure that Debbie Caruso was there to welcome her home.] Page 21 Spring 2012 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dying Words Continued from page 8 went to the hospital to inform Richard of her passing. They noticed that the clock in his hospital room was stuck at 12:25. As one family member tried to give him ice with a spoon, Richard looked toward the ceiling

and whispered, “Pull me up.” He repeated, “Please pull me up.” After which, there was a pause and he said, “Hold me tighter now,” a moment or so before he expired. The skeptic would say that they were all hallucinating. That may be so, but a hallucination is simply something not detected by the five senses. It doesn’t mean it is not real. In his 2010 book, Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms, David Kessler collected several dozen recent deathbed visions and utterances from various health-care workers, including physicians, nurses, and hospice volunteers. One social worker in hospice services reported that a patient named Maria who hadn’t said a word during the previous week suddenly became alert and began speaking in Czech, her native language. Maria’s daughters were present but didn’t understand what she was saying and beckoned their aunt, Maria’s sister. When Aunt Anna arrived, she explained that Maria was talking to people in their family who had died and was saying that she could also see them. A doctor told of listening to his dying brother carry on a conversation with their deceased grandparents. “As a doctor, it’s very easy to dismiss this sort of thing until you see it firsthand,” he is quoted. “Could my brother’s vision have been a dream state? Was it a result of oxygen deprivation? A side effect of the medications? All were possible, but for my mother and me, none of those options felt right. It felt profound. Real. Neither one of us

wanted to interfere, so we just observed.” Author Kessler, himself a hospice volunteer, concludes the book with an interesting observa- tion. “…I do know that the dying don’t say. ‘Here comes nothing. I now see nothing.’ And health-care professionals don’t report that the dying speak of entering a ‘nothingness.’ I’m going to believe the words of the dying over the beliefs and doubts of the living who haven’t lost a loved one or worked in a hospital or hospice setting.” Michael Tymn’s books, The Afterlife Revealed: What Happens After We Die and Transcending the Titanic: Beyond Death’s Door, are published by White Crow Books and are available from Amazon and all good online book stores. See Michael’s blog at whitecrowbooks.com/michaeltymn/ Members International Members Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online membership form $30.00 per year All benefits for one year m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of

the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the Member Registry or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Signed ______________________________________________________________________ Date _____________________ Volume 31 Number 1 Page 22 Mail to: ATransC, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA ===== NEW DOCUMENT ===== Viewpoint Summer 2012, Volume 31 Number 2 The Moon Imagine the wonder the moon must have held for our ancestors. For many, even an understanding of the clockwork mechanism of orbital dynamics cannot diminish the wonder evoked by moonrise of a full moon. In

the Hermetic Traditions of the Tarot, “The Moon” (Key 18) represents conscious living. As the moon reflects light of the sun, so do seekers after truth express the source, depending on their progression. Seeing the Tarot as an illustra- tion of the cycle of life: the seeker’s urge to learn (Key 4 - “The Emperor”) acts on a growing perception of the principles governing the oper- ation of reality (Key 11 - “Justice”) to begin the conscious path toward self-determination (Key 18). The concept is that we are governed by the primitive body consciousness until we have sufficient understanding to consciously direct our spiritual evolution. attained White crow In the page 10 essay, “On Being a Good Witness,” Tom talks about “white crows”: those encounters with the paranormal that cannot be dismissed as imagination or identity. White mistaken crows are necessarily per- sonal experiences. They may be a shared encounter but whether or not they are or should be convincing depends on how well informed wit- nesses are and how well they can set aside unconscious social conditioning. An important white crow for us occurred during a recent David Thompson séance. The entity responsible for man- aging energy required for phenomena during the séance, Timothy, had just finished demonstrating how small his hands were by showing each sitter a small, six-inch-square luminous plaque partially covered by one of his tiny hands. We had seen this before but the impact of what should be an important demonstration of phe- nomena had

been lost because the poorly lit plaque is so difficult to focus on. This séance was different. Timothy sat aside the plaque and went around the circle to touch each sitter’s hands. We were all holding hands as a way of assuring that none of us were moving about the room. Timothy came to each of us, and without hesitation or fumbling, grasped our fingers with his tiny hands. As Tom described it, “His hand was very small. I felt his short fingers wrap around one of my fingers on each hand. The distance between his knuckles could not have been more than three-eighths of an inch. His hands were warm and soft, like a child’s. There is no way anyone in that room could have faked such small hands or moved about in the completely dark room with such confidence.” For us, that demonstration put everything else in per- spective. All of Timothy’s actions; swinging a trumpet, playing with drumsticks and touching us, were from the physical perspective of a small child with tiny hands. Consid- ering the need for the demon- stration to be in complete darkness, that one white crow put the remaining forms of evidence into perspective, allowing us to accept the reality of that small boy’s materialization. This poses an interesting question for sitters. Pretty much everything in David's séance's is designed to remove doubt while convincing the sitter that we survive beyond transition. Continued page 20 May 5, 2012 moonrise; closest to the earth

for the year Summer 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Richard Hatem Ellen Pugh Sustaining Members Betty and Don Nauratil Supporters Martha Copeland Donna Cunha Jean Estrade Dennis Fassler Michael Hauser Phillip Martin Dale Sizemore Eugene Streicher Harold Watson Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents From Our Viewpoint.....................................................................................................................1 Early EVP Work: The Lamoreaux Brothers...................................................................................3 My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance...............................................................6 Announcement for Grant 2012....................................................................................................7 After Death Communication Research........................................................................................7 Dreams: Direct Connections to Those in Spirit............................................................................8 Keith Johnson...............................................................................................................................9 On Being a Good Witness...........................................................................................................10 When Mainstream Media Investigates the Phenomena That We Study..................................12 My Two-Week EVP Experiment.................................................................................................15 Sharing Experiences...................................................................................................................18 Big Circle Recording Dates.........................................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports..................................................................................................................19 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field of ITC. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2012ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. This material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: work specifically attributed to an author. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent Association TransCommunication policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 450 to 480 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the

point as they would be for a newspaper. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or presented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on the Association website. Announcements of member activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCommunication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507, USA. Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published quarterly, the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to the Association forty-five days preceding the publishing month. A year from the publishing date, the NewsJournal may be added to the Document Archive. Tom and Lisa Butler Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational corporation. All contributions in excess of membership dues are tax deductible in the USA. ATransC Directors are Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31, Number 2 Page 2 Early EVP Work: The Lamoreaux Brothers by Joan Lamoreaux Brothers Joe and Michael Lamoreaux are both obsessive types, who

tend to eventually tire of a subject and move on to something else. They were involved in the study of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) for maybe five or six years in the 1970s, and espe- cially concentrated on it for the first year. Michael was doing graduate work at the time, and with the help of some of his professors, managed to get credit for his efforts. He was therefore able to devote nearly all of his time to this. Although Joe was working, he spent nearly all of his free time doing the work. After several years, they were finally satisfied that they had asked all of the questions they had, and received enough information to draw satisfactory conclusions. They then moved on to other areas of esoteric and paranormal study. The brothers’ interest in EVP originally began after Michael read Raudive’s book, Breakthrough. (Raudive, Konstantine—Breakthrough, New York: Taplinger, 1971) He tried a few experiments with inconclusive results. He came home from college, and Joe mentioned needing a project. Michael asked if he was interested in contacting the spirit world, which Joe was decidedly not interested in, until he learned it was by technological means. That got his attention. A few days after returning to school, Michael received a call from Joe, very excited about a tape he played for him, in which several voices were heard speaking rapidly and excitedly, saying things like “Hello Joe!” “Can you hear me?” “One man hears you.” “Listen.” “Can you really hear

me at all?” “We’re here to talk.” This was one of the loudest and clearest recordings they ever produced. Trained “ears” Because Joe had been a decoder in the Air Force, he found he could apply the same techniques to distinguishing the voices. He taught the technique to Michael, who after much practice was able to distinguish them well himself. This began an interesting journey wherein both brothers experimented from different areas of the state, and were able to compare results. Sometimes they would record together, or in the presence of other interested individuals. Their process was to begin with an introduction, then ask a question. They would then take a great deal of time listening to and transcribing the replies before moving on to the next question. Invariably, many voices responded. They would often say contradictory things, talk among themselves or make simple bids for attention. It became evident, and was even explained to the brothers by the voices, that this was a group process. Occasionally, certain voices would come in than louder and clearer others. The brothers initially made an effort to transcribe everything they heard but eventually concentrated more on the voices who answered their questions, as many of the replies were not relevant and seemed directed more toward having the attention turned to them. The brothers concluded, with affirmation from the voices, that the beings were receiving a type of energy from the concen- tration it took to hear them. At the same time, it was

quite draining to the brothers. Listening was a tedious process. Who were the communicators? They did not initially accept that what they heard were necessarily voices from the dead and opined many theo- ries. They were also not entirely convinced that the persons represented were who they said they were, and suspected that they were presented as representations to appease them. They did find that if they were insistent enough, they could contact anyone they desired to speak to, though not necessarily immediately. There was often a process or search that had to be performed. Naturally, they did experiments to ascertain the accuracy of the individual identities . Because others were interested in the process, but could not clearly hear the messages themselves, this was often done by asking questions of a personal nature which the brothers did not know the details of. Often this would be in the form of nicknames used in life by the person contacted. The results were satisfactory enough to convince the questioners, as well as the brothers themselves. Michael’s most notable confir- mation came when a perfect stranger showed up at his door, having heard of his work. He believed he was having contact with his deceased wife, but sought confirmation. Armed only with her name, Michael established contact, then asked for the proof the man requested. She replied, “Tell him ‘a blue sweater.’” The man burst into tears. She had been knitting him a blue sweater when she died. Page 3 Continued page

4 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 3 On another occasion, Michael was asked for assistance by the police, who were desperately trying to locate a missing woman, who would later be associated with the Ted Bundy murders. Although the results were sparing, the voices did say that she had been taken north across the river. As several rivers were possible, he pushed for details. A loud, creepy voice hissed out the word “Yakima!” pronounced “yah-kee-ma.” This was clearly audible to the officers, who about jumped out of their skins. Later the woman’s body was found northwest, across the Yakima River. It became evident that they were indeed speaking to the deceased, although questions remained as to what degree individuality is retained. They were told some interesting things. Once they were told “There are not as many people as you think.” Also “We have many bodies; they float around us like a dream.” When questioning Edgar Cayce about reincarnation, he said that it was true, but not as we understand it. He described it as “a simultaneous directing of personality conditions.” Levels of existence They received descriptions of a multi-planed existence, with varying frequencies or vibrations. Our own plane is joined with these. One question Michael has never fully resolved relates to this description being similar to the Mormon concept of afterlife. Since they were raised in a Mormon home, they wonder if this influenced their per- ceptions. There were indications from the voices that one’s

religious upbringing could influence the communications. Things were explained in terms they could best understand. Although they presented names to these levels or areas, they also said, sometimes with annoyance, that they did not use words or names, but were translating into concepts the brothers could understand. Therefore, other descrip- tions or words may not exactly match these findings. One of Michael’s English professors, now a noted author in his field, researched word roots as they applied to these names, and found them to be applicable to areas described. There seems to be something of an evolutionary process in moving through these levels, which is pursued at the individual’s own pace and comfort level. There is a kind of lock-up area of limited “movement,” called Nilow, which is directed at reformation rather than punishment. This has the least freedom, and is not generally an entry point following death. The voices, while displaying varying degrees of knowl- edge and comprehension, might complain about their current conditions, and/or the residents of adjacent areas. Some were perfectly content. Others were content but aspired to greater “movement” associated with higher tiers. In other words, you had all permutations of human nature represented. Cheery, grouchy, wise, opinionated, argumentative, authoritative ... you name it. The communication process is transmitted from specific areas. The Moozla, who described their area as Deenah, were the original group contacted. After a while, the Moolit, from Ree, gained the technology also, and would sometimes compete with the Moozla. Everybody wanted the

attention. Moozla would often complain about or praise the Moolits, usually a mixed bag all in one reply. There are always many voices chattering in reply, or talking among themselves. Some have a lot to say of relevance, others are just talking. Rules The one conclusion both brothers feel strongly about is that this communication process is an activity that is tolerated but not widespread. They felt that they were a little group of weirdos talking to another little group of weirdos. There were many references to rules they must follow. Sometimes they would gain permission for frowned-upon activities, usually from Montayloo, which seemed to be a more evolved level beyond Deenah. Materialization is one of those activities. Ghosts and poltergeists are somewhat naughty unless invited by the person here on earth. Michael had a female stalker, quite a determined individual who was obsessed with him. She frightened him a few times with surprise materializations which he did not find comfortable or welcome. She was something of a rebel, who could easily make her presence known. She was warned many times by the voices to knock it off. At one point they said she was “risking Nilow” with her behavior. I believe Michael said she even ended up in Nilow at some point. Nilow is not hell, but it is confined and restrictive, compared to the preferred “movement” so often described. It is called a “hospital” by those who are not there and a “prison” by those who are. Freedom

of movement So there is a concept of relative freedom. Ree was the level above Nilow, which was often described as a hospital or healing area that is more physical. Ree and Deenah actually seemed almost parallel, but were often competing or critical of one another. The voices described how one may avoid Ree and go straight to Deenah as a starting point after death, implying a greater degree of evolution. Often, Moozla would go to Ree for a time for healing or restorative purposes. They praised the healing abilities of the Moolit (even if they did complain about them from time to time). As to the nature of their maladies, one can only surmise it is in the nature of confusion. The communicators Certain individuals were readily accessible, and provided reliable and detailed answers. They were not necessarily louder than other voices. Continued page 5 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 4 Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 4 There was always a lot of variance in volume and clarity. However, those folks known to them became recognizable in their vocal qualities and inflections, so the brothers would target their remarks in the listening process. Some of these folks were people known to them in life. Others were requested by recommendations of people they knew. Others were unknown to anyone in life, but would identify themselves by name. Although this is only my observation from reviewing the transcripts, it appears that those known to them in life often described themselves as

Moozla or Moolit. Other summoned individuals often described themselves as Montaylooins, who resided in the area of Montayloo, beyond Deehah. Montaylooins had a certain amount of control over the rules to be followed. They also seemed to have a greater degree of wisdom. Many of the people sought for having had wisdom or knowledge on earth resided in Montayloo. This area was described as having levels within itself that are progressed through at an individual pace. They had to travel somehow to Deenah in order to communicate. There would often be a certain delay in retrieving them for the process of communicating. Many came with reluctance, or could only stay for a short time. Communication technology In sharing with an EVP group in the UK, I found that one commonality encountered is the reference to lenses being used by the other side to produce audible results. There were also descriptions of telescreens, which the Moozla stated were used to facilitate their own visualization of us. They also described a device called a Domnit, which they used for various things, primarily materialization or a kind of crossing over, going “through the curtain.” They eventually gave the brothers a detailed description of a Domnit for construction. This device, intended as a visual aid, produced some interesting results. It was diffi- cult to interpret the instructions and to construct properly, and they had some unlikely assistance along the way. But they finally achieved the approval of their instructors in the construction of the

device. However, this was built toward the end of their initial research, so they did not do lengthy experiments with it. The lenses were frequently referred to. Sometimes a reference would be made to the darker lens being more effective. Once, someone turned a lens around to induce volume, followed by some exceptionally loud remarks. Among them was “Turn it down!” A great deal of objection was raised towards this. The lens got turned back around, and the volume went down again. Michael felt that they had the means to moderate the volume, but were some- what restrained to keep the volume low, forcing the listener to really concentrate on the response. Just one of the rules they seemed constrained to follow. The moon was also referred to as being facilitative of this communication process somehow. There were no real specifics about lunar position that seemed relevant to this side. There were several references to this being a process involving light; though not in a framework we could under- stand. The brothers theorize that ambient noise and/or light waves are being manipulated at their end to produce sound at ours. Originally they thought that their results were related to the magnetic tapes they used, but now feel that any other avenue of sound can be utilized. They did numerous experiments with different diodes, micro- phones, radio and TV. Michael never felt that the changes made much difference, except for in the first message received after the change. It would often

be improved, then revert back to the same volume. Joe was a proponent of certain diodes. As to the methodology used today, from recent examples they do not feel that there has been much improvement in the reception. There seem to be advantages in modern filtering methods. However, with certain notable excep- tions in volume and vocal clarity, which were always popping up in their work also, the recordings remain challenging to discern. I think it’s still a rule: don’t make this too easy. There were many references to warning them about something. However, there were also admonitions among them that we are not to be warned of anything. There is something of a non-interference policy. When pressed for specifics about the warnings, they would simply say that they wanted them to be prepared for when they got to Ree or Denah. The afterlife would not be what we expect, and there is a period of adjustment. Predictive EVP On occasion, certain specific warnings were given. Some made no sense at the time, but seen in retrospect years later, were quite significant. Other immediate ones were acted upon, so the alternative could not be known. One day they were insistent that Michael not ride his motorcy- cle, so he didn’t. Most memorable was the response when Michael asked when the end of the world would come. The voices all chimed in in agreement upon the year 2001. It’s very unusual for them to agree. Michael later asked for confir- mation

of the end date of 2001. He was told “It won’t be as bad as we thought.” This is interesting now in light of 9/11. It also gives credence to their ability to view future possibilities, which may be amendable. Changed percep- tions of outcomes may be due either to their ability to view them, or to ongoing events. Continued page 13 Page 5 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance by Patti Chick life was about to My change with new under- standing. I was to sit in a materialization séance with David Thompson. David first explained what to expect in the séance and the precautions that would be in place. He and partner, leader, circle Christine Morgan also explained the reasons we to be searched were before the séance. As they explained, ectoplasm is used for the spirits to materialize and this can be dangerous for David if someone tries to touch a materialized being or if a light, like a flashlight, is turned on during a spirit materializing. Patti’s father Seborn Caldwell David told us where to sit; I was told that this is to balance the energy of the circle. We waited while the sitters were searched by two people that I knew did not know David. David put on his sweater, it was buttoned up and then zip tied closed. After he sat in his chair in the cabinet he was bound, secured with zip ties and gagged. The

lights were turned off and the door was locked. A music CD was played and we were instructed to sing to the music until Christine instructed us to stop. When William made his presence known to Christine, we were told to hold hands and not let go until told to do so. You could hear William walking around the room as he welcomed us and encouraged us to ask questions. You could hear his boots on the floor! His accent was old British (Victorian) but easy to understand. Many people asked questions, and after answering each sitter, William placed his hand or hands on their head and asked them what they felt like. I have muscular dystrophy and asked about optic neuritis and if it would interfere with my seeing with my mind’s eye. William told me that this would not interfere with my psychic sight but also said that he would send Dr. Theobald Slavinski to look at me. William then came over to me and placed his hand on my head. It was very large and warm. I could feel his boot next to my toe and could tell it was a boot with a very stiff leather sole. After William retreated into the cabinet, Dr. Slavinski materialized and asked where Patti was. I spoke and he approached and asked if I had glasses on and which eye. I told him I had taken them off and it was my right eye. He took my head into his

hands and tilted my head back. His hands were smaller than William’s. He then asked if I would open my eye for him. I could feel him looking inside my eye and felt him tilt my head to see. He then told me that what he was going to do might hurt. He rubbed the area next to my eye, between my eye and my hairline and then made a pulling motion with his fingers like he was dislodging something. Then he bent my head forward to exam my neck and I could feel him touching my neck. He tilted my head up to his face to look. He rubbed the top of my head on the side and made the same fast pulling motion, again like he was dislodging something. He told me that I would have a headache but not to be concerned and that he was sorry if he hurt me. I thanked him very much. I could also feel his boots against my feet; hard leather soled. Timmy then came in, playing with his toys. He first used the trumpet. We were told that he formed a rod out of ectoplasm and used it to maneuver the trumpet. It zoomed around the room and touched many people on their heads or parts of their bodies. He then had quite a bit of fun rapping on things with drumsticks. He rapped people with them and even stuck them in both of one person’s ears; in the total

darkness and without hurting them. Next, he held his hand over a lumi- nous plate in front of each sitter so that they could see his very small hand. Most people felt his touch, with these very small fingers. He explained he is 9 3/4 years old and passed in 1904. Patti’s father as a young man The next person to come through was the father of one of the sit- ters. He went to her and she asked if he was her natural father or stepfa- ther. He told her he was her natural father who passed when she was four. He asked if she had her mom’s jewelry box. The sitter said that her mother had several. He wanted her to have the jewelry box that he had given her mother. He also wanted her to have the medals that he received after WW2 and was quite insistent that she get them. He then dematerialized with a slurping sound as the ectoplasm returned to the booth. (After the séance, the sitter men- tioned how she would not have wanted to hear from her stepfather as he had been abusive.) We next heard a male voice coming out of the cabinet who asked for Patti. I knew immediately that it was my father. I told him to follow my voice. He took my head in his hands and kissed Continued page 7 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 6 Continued from page 6 Amazing Experience my cheek and put his

cheek next to mine. I could feel his whiskers! My father had a very heavy beard, and if he went out at night, he would shave again. He thanked me for caring for him and told me how much he loved me. He also told me how proud he was of me and said that he is always near me and will try to help in a circle that I sit in. Again, he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him and what a great father he was. I then heard him back up and then heard the slurp of returning ectoplasm. I was crying with happy tears. His appearance took me back to when I was a small child sitting and rocking on his lap before bedtime. I again felt that unconditional love that only a parent can give. I didn't want it to ever end. David Thompson and Christine Morgan Louie Armstrong and Quentin Crisp also made appear- ances. To be honest: I don't remember too much after my dad appeared. At the end, William reappeared and explained that our time was up. We all thanked him for coming and being with us. We were then told to sing while David returned to consciousness, and after a few minutes, I heard a very soft noise coming from the opposite side of the room. The door was then opened slightly, and in the light from the hallway, we could see David sitting in his chair,

bound and gagged at the opposite side of room from the cabinet. His sweater was on backwards, still zip tied. I slept so well that night. I knew my dad was there and I was safe. His birthday was the next day, February 21. After Death Communication Research The After Death Communication Research Foundation has extensive information and resources regarding after death communication (ADC), bereavement, grief, and life after death. The website is part of a triad of websites that is designed to collect information on all aspects of consciousness. The main website is nderf.org where the focus is on studies of near-death experiences (NDE). The other website oberf.org studies all other aspects of consciousness that are not an NDE or ADC. The founders of the founda- tion are Jody Long and Dr. Jeff Long who is the author of the bestseller Evidence of the Afterlife. When asked about having dreams of a “dead” loved The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death Announcement for Grant 2012 Stockholm, April 2012: The Helene Reeder Fund (HRF) is pleased to announce the availability of grants for small and medium-sized scientific research projects concerning the issue of life after death. Grants will be awarded in the range of EUR 500 – 5000 maximum ($730 – $7,300). The topic, Research into Life after Death, should be the main objective of the project. Applications in English are to be submitted by email to the HRF c/o [email protected] and should include a detailed

description of the project, including: Objectives of the project Methodology Cost budget Timetable Plans to publish the results in some scientific journals CV (Curriculum Vitae) of the applicant How the applicant plans to report back to the HRF about progress and result Any other financing other than from HRF Applications should be received by the 15th of October, 2012. It is the intention of the HRF to evaluate the applica- tions and to make decisions regarding the grants before the end of December. Applicants will be notified by email after the decision and the grants will be payable during December. For further information, please apply to the above email address. The Helene Reeder Memorial Fund for Research into Life after Death, HRF. Edgar E. Müller one and if they were evidential, Jody Long answered, “I, personally, think that being in an altered state of consciousness (the dream) makes it easier for loved ones who have passed to communicate with us on earth. Far from being non-evidential, I would argue to the contrary. The way that we process our reality is that before our subconscious will alert our conscious mind, the input must pass a threshold test. If it is important then the sub- conscious will allow the input to move into our rational or conscious level of mind. In the dream state, this threshold may well be less since we do not have the waking overload of input from the five senses. Therefore, communication that may normally be able to

occur in a dream or drowsy state, would reach us easier than in the waking state of consciousness.” Page 7 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Dreams: Direct Connections to Those in Spirit by Rita Dwyer Dreaming by h.koppdelaney flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/2319262604/ When I left you, darling, you thought I was gone from you forever, or at least until you also passed over. But I was never so near to you as after I had, what you called, died. W. T. Stead Researchers, for years now, have been exploring body- mind-spirit connections and while most of us are aware of these studies, we seldom seri- ously consider them as acting outside of ourselves in unison with others here, no longer on this planet, and the All. We go to the gym and watch our diets, use various medications, cos- metics and appliances to improve our health and appear- ance; we seek to improve our minds by attending schools and universities to enlarge our knowledge and hone profes- sional skills; but do we pay adequate attention to that part of us which is spirit? Charles Tart’s book, Body Mind Spirit: Exploring the Parapsychology of Spirituality, does a superb job of explaining why we sometimes neglect what is perhaps the most important aspect of our being. He writes of “scientism” which discounts that which cannot be measured according to our current scientific paradigms, and thus, tosses out those surprising extraordinary experi- ences which have been recounted across time and cultures; experiences which many of us

have had, yet cannot adequately explain to others. Dr. Tart’s latest book, The End of Materialism: How Evidence of the Paranormal is Bringing Science and Spirit Together, pits his outstanding reputation in consciousness research against scientism and those who discount or diminish the importance of the spiritual. What does this have to do with dreams and the studies which Forever Family Foundation (FFF) supports through their research, publications and conferences? FFF mediums do a spectac- ular job of making contact with those in spirit, in which they act as intermediaries bringing back messages by soul-to- soul contact with the departed, and then relating that information to the third party who is soothed by the contact, showing there are no boundaries to love shared and presence felt, even beyond physical death. Dr. Tart explains how dreams are a direct contact between souls in the earthly dimension and the place some call the afterlife. Suzane Northrop, at last year’s FFF annual conference in Connecticut, affirmed her belief that dreams are the truest form of communication with those in spirit in the afterlife, a life in spirit that is vital and active without the encum- brance of a physical body. Through the several decades in which I have facilitated an ongoing dream support group and been actively involved as a Founding Life Member in the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) I have heard or read countless dreams which incorporated persons no longer on this physical plane. They are usually spontaneous

dreams, and may be triggered by a birthday, anniversary, holiday, chance meeting or experience which evokes a memory. Just a thought may be the catalyst needed to link soul-to-soul, or spirit-to-spirit. Terminology is less important to me than results. And thought does have form, albeit unseen until manifested. Yet a major question remains: Are these dreams OF or WITH the person in spirit? OF dreams reflect psychological issues, such as sorrow, blame and shame, unfinished business, loneliness, etc., and come in service of wholeness and healing, once the dream message is understood and acted upon, or a satisfactory resolution is achieved. WITH dreams are quite different and appear to be real contacts with the person in spirit, and these bring profound belief in the continued existence of this dear one who wishes to be with us. How to achieve WITH dreams? These can be spontane- ous, as easy as receiving a phone call in your own home, wherever that may be, from the one living in the afterlife, wherever that is. They can also be sought through a process called dream incubation. In this case, there is a deliberate attempt to make a connection in much the same way as we plan anything. Beginner’s method Ÿ Begin to recall and record your dreams as frequently as you can. Science has proven that everyone dreams every night, so when a person says, “I never dream,” this is not true. We all dream; we just don’t remember unless we make an effort.

Doing this brings valuable information on all levels of being. Ÿ Say before bedtime, “I know I will dream tonight and I wish to remember and record my dreams.” Keep a pen or pad or dream diary at hand to record your dreams. Record the date and any day activities or concerns before going to sleep. Continued page 17 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 8 Keith Johnson by Kim Johnson Keith and Bella his pet bronze turkey In 1991, my husband, Keith had a Near-Death Experience (NDE). He was told to “return through terrible pain and go back and save your people.” We did not know what that meant, but we spent our lives trying to find out. About eight months later in Atlantic City, I was playing a quarter slot machine when I noticed a female security guard staring at me with intensity. I moved and she quietly moved along with me. I was so uncomfortable that I began to cash out. She approached me and asked if she could talk. Keith who had been a couple of aisles away joined me. She told us about her own NDE during a coma event two years prior in which she was shown my face and given my first name and told to go back and “find Kim.” Both Keith and I were shocked speechless by this event. Hearing about someone else’s near-death experience refortified Keith’s resolve in carrying out his purpose. In the summer of 2003 I heard a male

voice say to me, while awake, “Move from here now, a big wave is coming. Everyone will drown.” With much hesitation, I told Keith. I flat out expected he’d put me in a rubber room some- where. But, he shrugged and said, “OK. We’ll sell the house and move.” And, so we did. We moved to Lucedale, Mississippi, Onto “higher ground.” In 2005, our former house in Biloxi, Mississippi was broken into two chunks by an approximately forty-foot whitewater-speed tidal wave/surge in that section of Biloxi’s old “Point Cadet” peninsula. This was during Katrina. Half of the house impaled itself into the 100-year- old Methodist Church across the street. In that part of the city, corpses were left where they washed up ... for weeks; humans as well as animals. Survivors were few. There were not even any songbirds left. Utter silence. While the nation remained riveted on the horrors taking place in New Orleans, tiny Biloxi had been wiped off the map. Last year, June of 2011, my beloved husband was acci- dentally killed by a doctor while I sat in the chair next to the table. Currently, I remain a “broken teacup” in spite of the fact that Keith has reached out to me several times from “across the veil.” These bizarre and wonderful com- munications have given me joy, but the joy remains short-lived. I wish otherwise. On August, 27, 2011, Keith appeared to me in a lucid dream. He looked strong, vital and YOUNGER. And, I

said to him, “Keith, you are DEAD!” And, with a burst of his old personality which appeared to be completely intact, he replied to me, “Kim, I am NOT dead.” He was getting a little snippy and irritated with me because I wasn’t listening to him. I repeated, “No, Keith you are DEAD.” And he, once again, looked directly into my eyes and said, “I am NOT dead.” He walked away from me, and in the wake of his foot- steps, I observed on the ground small pools of urine. This puzzled me and I researched it. My very best theory is this: the urine is territorial and intended to provide “protection” for me. On December 1, 2011, I was awak- ened at 3:35 a.m. with the words “I’ll be ready!” being repeated to me over and over again, along with a melody that seemed familiar, but I couldn’t readily place it. By this time, I had just begun to experience the very oddest vibrations while sleeping at night. Not scary, but comforting. I bolted out of bed, and got the coffee pot perking, wondering about the words and the melody. It hit me in a “eureka” moment and, I said to myself, “really? This song; Keith, Really?” The song was the theme from the television program Bay Watch. But when I looked it up I was amazed by the words: Some people stand in the darkness Afraid to step into the light Some people need to help somebody When

the edge of surrender’s in sight. Don’t you worry! It’s gonna be alright ‘cause I’m always ready, I won’t let you out of my sight. I’ll be ready (I’ll be ready) Never you fear (no don’t you fear) I’ll be ready Forever and always I’m always here. In us we all have the power But sometimes it’s so hard to see. My last contact was on January 1, 2012. I had an “aware- ness” with it. I was in a strange environment ... a motel room; I was putting on makeup using a mirror as I was going to a wedding. I wore a peach-colored cocktail dress. A black cat walked by me, wearing a colorful ruff, and stopped and stared into my eyes, followed by a Jamaican maid, with towels. Continued page 14 Page 9 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal On Being a Good Witness by Tom Butler A very well-established scientific community helps us understand everyday experiences. In academia, a vast international library system helps researchers develop a consensus understanding of nature which leaves little doubt about how we should think of our ordinary experi- ences. However, when it comes to transcommunication and psi functioning–phenomena not recognized by the mainstream as either possible or real–there is virtually no academic or scientific community to guide us. There are also few people in our community able to help us under- stand these phenomena. What we allow into our belief systems is pretty much up to the individual. Organizations like Association

TransCommunication help by reporting what others are saying. As ATransC directors, interfacing with so many people in this frontier field has helped us develop something of a consensus opinion of how to relate to many of these phenomena. This viewpoint has become our guide for the NewsJournal and the web- site. In this way, ATransC and similar organizations help develop a shared, informed point of view which would normally be developed for us by mainstream science. It is important that people in our community feel free to ask questions. Perhaps our most effective defense against delusion is discernment through critical thinking, and that is accomplished by the free exchange of ideas. This is not to say that one opinion is as good as another. Reality behaves according to principles which are knowable. In fact, an opinion must remain a personal opinion if it is not supported by empirical evidence. In this regard, it is important that people do not believe something is paranormal that is not. This has been a real problem in our community, as artifacts of technology have been widely seen as “evidence” but later understood for the mundane artifacts they really are. One form of photo- graphic orbs comes to mind as a good example. A case study If we were to write a case study to illustrate this point, it could be based on recent comments about darkroom séances. With our first report of a darkroom séance, we noted that a person who was knowledgeable about

EVP sent us an email announcing that “It seems fake to me.” He went on to say, “I believe there is a trap door or something like it. Notice that he’s behind the curtain for no real reason other than to shield eyes from whatever he’s doing. He may be an escape artist. He may have an associate sneak in from the floor or wall, etc. If he hid a small speaker in the wall outlet it could sound like this. He literally could have someone in another room speaking into a wireless mic and then it can be projected through the hidden speaker.” This person also expressed a common complaint about pictures of ectoplasm: “The ectoplasm is most likely cotton gauze or some such item that he hides somewhere on his body. In the old days, they would hide it in their mouths then let it dribble out....” We recently received a similar email from a person who experienced a darkroom séance, and there is a most disturbing blog of a similar nature posted by a person in England. In both cases, the person is quite knowledgeable about some forms of these phenomena but appears to lack understanding of materialization mediumship. Most impor- tant, though, is the potential damage their comments may have on the community. We have given this considerable thought. Given that questioning experiences is important, how does one do so without seeming to be negative? The answer may be in the initial assumptions people have when

they formulate their questions. We see three basic viewpoints: the “proof” is faked, the “proof” is real and what we refer to as “sus- pended judgment.” Assumption of trickery It is easy to assume an instance of phenomena is faked by saying, “There must be…” [assumption it’s faked] rather than “How could that be?” [open-minded]. Offered expla- nations about how something could have been faked are seldom supported by how the explanation could realisti- cally explain the evidence. The “There must have been a trap door” explanation is a good example. It ignored our report that we had thoroughly examined the room and that the circle had just moved into the rented house. The trap door explanation may sound reasonable. For people who assume trickery, it may even seem right. Once the trap door explanation is accepted, then all of the remaining “proofs” are easily ignored as more of the same trickery. We saw this assumption of trickery in that English blog take on a life of its own as people claiming to be Spiritual- ists went into something of a feeding frenzy as they found all sorts of “trap door” explanations for a well-known physical medium's work. Assumption of fact Assuming the validity of phenomena without question is equally damaging. Not knowing why a person believes something is true too easily leads to the appearance of faith-based systems of belief. The mainstream community will not take our frontier field of study seriously so long as vocal members of our

community claim obviously mundane events as paranormal. One of the most important factors keeping this commu- nity from maturing into the mainstream is the indiscrimi- nate belief in “evidence” that Continued page 11 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 10 On Being a Good Witness Continued from 10 is not actually evidential. It has prevented us from devel- oping a common, credible point of view and assures that mainstream society will continue to accept the pseu- doskeptic’s view that we are delusional. Suspended judgment As an engineer, I have been trained to examine the dynam- ics of a system to determine the forces influencing its operation. If I miss one of the forces, I fail to understand the system. I am also trained to understand that there are few definite answers. While I must go forth with the assumption that I understand a system, it would be irre- sponsible of me not to include safeguards in the design intended to prevent unintended consequences of the design. There are no absolutes, only current viewpoints. The attitude I attempt to maintain when I witness phenomena is one of suspended judgment. This to me is the middle way in which experiences can be taken at face value, uncontaminated by assumptions based on belief rather than evidence. My first experience with darkroom séances was a sitting with David Thompson. Lisa and I tried very hard to write the Winter 2010 NewsJournal report of that experience in terms of what happened without too much examination because

we had so little background knowledge. Since that sitting, we have sat with David several more times and with other circles. We have also conducted a great deal of study and have spoken with many experts in the field. Today, we understand that most of the phenomena that are given a “trap door” type explanation can be explained by more realistic hypotheses. For instance, one complaint from the English blog was that the order of events in the medium's séances is always the same. Of course, we have noted this, but we have also noted that virtually all of the mediums we have sat with have a similar order. I asked Stewart Alexander about this and he indicated that he did not know about his actions while in trance, but that he needed everything to be exactly the same leading up to his entering into trance. A new hypothesis we are developing is that the familiar order of events in a séance helps to entrain the medium’s mind, leading the medium to ever deeper levels of trance. In a different form, as reported in the Fall 2010 NewsJour- nal, Hoyt Robinette appears to use a long billet reading session (saying what is sensed in closed envelopes) to help him produce the astounding precipitation phenomena for which he is known. The sameness is not a proof the medium is in too much control. It is probably a necessary mechanism that makes the phenomena possible. It took us many experiences and much

study to see that. White crows Philosopher William James told us: “If you wish to upset the law that all crows are black, you must not seek to show that no crows are; it is enough if you prove one single crow to be white.” that It is not necessary to believe all that you experience. Instead, ask yourself if there is a single aspect of an experience is convincingly paranor- mal. If so, then, based on your background understanding about things paranormal and how others have responded the experience, you prob- ably have reason to say that there may be truth in the experience. Say to yourself “I am not necessarily convinced about most aspects of this experience, but that one aspect is very convincing so I will keep the whole experience in my ‘wait and see folder’ as I seek better understanding.” A “white crow”: The white area between Kai Muegge’s shoes is ecto- plasm which has been formed into the likeness of a hand in the bright area, center-top. We witnessed the “hand” move independently of its surroundings. to The “white crow” may take a while to show up. This is why suspended judgment is so appropriate. For instance, some darkroom mediums finish séances with their chairs moved from the cabinet to the open floor of the room. The theory is that the entities use this to safely dissipate the accumulated energy, and of course, to provide something of an exclamation point to the demonstration. Moving the

chair and the rearranging of the medium’s clothes has been difficult for me to put into evidential perspective. However, at the end of the demonstration Stewart Alexander provided during the 2011 Stewart Alexander and Friends Conference, several of us witnessed the glow tabs on Stewart’s knees pass by at eye level, less than a foot from our faces. He had been partially awakened for the experience and complained something to the effect, “I really do not like this part.” Later, with the lights on, we discovered Stewart’s undershirt lying on the floor. That was a “white crow” for me. While I have no theory as to how the chair is levitated and clothing is removed or reversed, I have pretty much exhausted my knowledge of possible mundane explanations. Sure, it is strange behavior and yes, I cannot do it, but strange or beyond my capability does not automatically lead to the assumption of trickery. The etiquette of doubt Suspended judgment does not mean not asking questions, but here are a few considerations: Ÿ Some skeptics will only accept an admission of fraud as the “right answer” to their questions. Be careful to keep an open mind about answers to your questions. Page 11 Continued page 17 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal When Mainstream Media Investigates the Phenomena That We Study From the Forever Family Foundation Editor’s Desk by Robert Ginsberg Eight Flying Doves by to H. Kopp-Delaney flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/6068181763/ I recently watched an ABC prime time television show which focused on

the near-death experience. I am always interested when the mainstream media “investigates” any of the phenomena that we study. I was especially intrigued by this epi- sode, as the host of the show, Bob Woodruff, had a near-death experi- ence of his own after being injured from a near-fatal explosion that occurred while he was on assign- ment in Iraq. As usually is the case, the show producers and writers once again missed the mark. They approached the topic by incorrectly assuming that the afterlife is exclusively a religious concept. The interviewees included experiencers who were either pastors or individuals with deep religious convictions, thereby making it “acceptable” for main- stream network TV. In a feeble attempt at balanced reporting, they also interviewed an “atheist minister.” Even the contention that near-death experiences were simply dreams or hallucinations had to be presented from someone who “didn’t believe in God.” Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg was interviewed, but only from the perspective of patients who were religious vs. non-reli- gious. The only voice of reason came at the end of the episode from Dr. Sam Parnia who pointed out that one can’t dream if they have no brain activity. Why is it that so many can think of an afterlife only in religious terms? I understand that images of pearly gates, harps, angels and an all-knowing deity with a long beard have been ingrained into our psyches since ancient times. I also grasp the fact that religions most likely began as an attempt

to stem the fears of death that paralyzed the flocks. However, after thousands of years, has religion succeeded in alleviating our fears of death’s finality, or has it fostered personal exploration? Does the prospect of a judge meeting you after death and condemning you to an eternal hell or an eternity in a nebulous purgatory soothe your fears in any way? Similarly, does the sought after existence of sitting forever on clouds in white robes offer everlasting hope? The evidence shows that near-death experiencers, as they translate the ineffable to language, interpret their experiences based upon their cultural, societal and reli- gious beliefs and influences. As such, the reports of seeing various gods and religious figures are perfectly understand- able. But what about all of the other experiences that are commonly reported by those who are non-religious? Leaving one’s body and having veridical experiences have little to do with religion, as do seeing loved ones already deceased, life reviews, a sense of peace, receiving messages telepath- ically and extremely sensory experi- ences at a time when the body is clinically dead. It is clear that the majority of near death experiencers return with a new clarity and purpose in their lives, accompanied by the elimina- tion of the fear of dying. In this respect, whether the interpretation is deemed to be mystical, spiritual or religious is not the issue. The real significance is the new knowledge and evidence that we do, in fact, survive our physical deaths. Other dimensions are

part of the life con- tinuum, and they don’t require a religious pass to transition from one to the other. Perhaps this is why many have noticed that some of today’s physicists are starting to sound “spiritual.” Their theories of unseen energy fields, quantum entanglements and parallel universes seem to fit neatly alongside basic spiri- tual concepts. The point is, the suggestion that we are all inter-connected is indeed the ultimate spiritual concept but it should not necessarily be interpreted as part of any specific religious grouping. Many feel more comfortable by putting things into neat and explainable categories. It’s the same reason that we tend to label anything that cannot be explained by reductionist reasoning as “paranormal.” I am not arguing that having religious convictions is something to be avoided. All religions were originally based in the same philosophies of love, light and compassion. It wasn’t until the segmentation of people with different rules, dogma and gods took hold that we ran into trouble. How we continue to destroy each other because “my god is better than your god” never ceases to both amaze and anger me. Many people do not see any difference between religion and spirituality. When I examine both, it seems to me that spirituality is far more individual and fosters personal exploration without rules. I believe that the near-death experience is truly a spiri- tual rather than a religious experience. In my opinion, the fact that experiencers individually report seeing Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Krishna

and a host of other deities, prophets and angels points to the fact that they are all interpretations of the same indescribable light and universal source. Continued page 17 Volume 31, Number 2 Page 12 Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 5 The question was asked and answered both times way back in the 1970s. One of the predictive warnings received involved a tragic event that later occurred to Michael’s son, wherein he was going to “join” them, but they would try to intercede. He did later come close to losing his life under very odd circumstances, but managed to survive and recover by rather miraculous means. The warning preceded the event by several years, and made no sense at the time. More cosmology Other areas were also described, although the nature of them became increasingly vague. Beyond Montayloo lay Piloncentric, home of the Sentra. Music was frequently spoken of as coming from Piloncentric, and presumably other arts as well. Ultrareena was a level higher than Ree and beyond all these there was Metanah. Little information was gleaned about these areas. They seemed far from the sources of the communications, and difficult if not impos- sible to describe. Advancement seemed to involve effort, and an increasing capacity for “movement.” The voices made frequent references to work they were engaged in. The nature of the work seemed to involve healing and facilitation of communications between the parts of the whole. It could not be described in terms we would comprehend. Many of

the voices were singsong or mechanical in nature. Some had very distinct and individual characteris- tics of human speech. This is still evident in modern recordings. There seemed to be neither rhyme nor reason to the varying patterns and volumes of speech. Some may be loudmouths with little to say, others may be soft spoken educators. Conclusions The brothers feel that there are few researchers who have delved into this as deeply as they did, carefully analyzing all responses, instead of focusing only on the easiest to hear. As you know, the listening is a tedious, time consum- ing and draining process. This is why they are largely satisfied that they have pursued it as far as they care to. They were satisfied with the proof of the phenomenon early on, and set out to glean as much information as possible. The desire to obtain proof alone still seems to be a focal point for many involved in the process today. Certain individuals do have the ability to hear the voices better than others. Michael gave a demonstration to a group of honors students once, and a friend of one tagged along. He was a young basketball player who had a remark- able ability to clearly distinguish the voices, even hearing them without benefit of headphones. Michael tried repeat- edly to engage him in the listening process, but he made it clear that he had no interest. One problem with paranormal research is that one tends to become so involved

in one’s area of study that they risk disrupting the ability to communicate in the here and now. Several of the voices, including Albert Einstein, expressed doubt that this activity was beneficial to those living life here on earth. It is important to be here now, and maintain your filters. However, it seemed to be the consensus that there is some benefit to knowing about these phenomena, as long as it is not taken to the point of distraction. They did want the word to be spread. Early EVP researchers, Ael, Joe, Mary Jo and Walter Uphoff They also stated that they communicate with us directly and through dreams, although we often overlook the validity of these communications. They have the proven ability to view our lives in present time when invited, but may not be paying attention if we are not thinking of them in some manner. One interesting comparison with UK researchers I’ve found, in attempting to transpose transcripts of the 1990s ET contacts, was a reference to seven scientists. They describe being united in seven dimensions, which they have awareness of. This information came from the pur- ported ExtraTerrestrials (ETs); however the UK researchers found this reference in their typical communications related to the voices assumed to be of the deceased. The ETs supposedly communicated with the assistance of the Moozla. I think it is something well worth considering, due to the distinct similarity. Further considerations by Joan Lamoreaux I have only given a brief summary of

the opening tran- scripts. There are many more to be gone through. It’s a shame that we don’t have the resources to invest in compiling, transcribing and analyzing notes already in existence from diverse sources. This is the mundane aspect of science that must be funded somehow to accomplish. Creative minds conduct EVP research. They are not inclined to plow through the difficulty of transcription to a new format after the original process. Page 13 Continued page 14 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Joan and Michael Lamoreaux Lamoreaux Brothers Continued from page 13 I’ve been in contact with a few serious researchers here and in the UK, and have made some important compari- sons, valuable especially by the variation in time and distance between captures by complete strangers. This is where the most important information lies. But EVP researchers are also some- what guarded about their work. It rep- resents a lot of time and effort on their parts, and considerable expense for many today who seek to upgrade their equipment. One problem I see in this field, as with every other paranormal field, is that the advocate runs the risk of developing a tunnel vision about the nature of the phenomenon, when in fact this may not turn out to represent exactly what they expect. This is a dimensional phenome- non that has broad-reaching implica- tions and applications. There are many solid indications of the survival of consciousness. But what the nature of that consciousness is remains remote now.

I do know that many times the Moozla wanted to warn Michael, the term they used, about what to expect when he arrived at their level. One researcher friend likens the voices to hecklers, tricksters and truth tellers. I think it is wise to caution listeners that while we are obviously dealing with intelli- gent communication, which appears to be human con- sciousness at some level, we may not be dealing exclusively with our own intelligence. (By the same token, we may only be dealing with our own consciousness; always something to be considered.) There are indications that this process may be used for communications with other intelligences beyond our own. No matter what the source, not every- thing spoken is necessarily gospel or wise, and one should always trust one’s own judgment on matters of living life here on earth. Another caution is in names and labels, which we are told are not used there, and may be translated according to the individual. It is interesting to note that EVP communica- tions come in languages and even accents appropriate to the listener. A translation process has been alluded to. But preconceived notions about structure and processes may be utilized to describe an environment that we have no reference for. Therefore the names that I have given you may or may not find other references. I am interested in all similarities, such as the descriptions found in UK research of lenses and screens being employed to facilitate the process, and

the interesting reference to The Seven Scientists. In comparing other notes with people, we have agreed the voices are psychic, able to read minds, have predictive abilities, and can, on occasion and with practice, be able to be heard audibly during the session. This can go even further by making themselves audible when uninvited as well. One should always approach this field in full control of one’s filters, and stay grounded. They have also been known to materialize in different manners of light and shadow. The voices of people still living have been captured on occasion also, including a researcher with a distinctive voice. This again opens a door to a much larger picture of possibilities. I would also caution people not to get too drawn into that area to the exclu- sion of fully appreciating this experience in the flesh. This is unique in itself and should be savored. The rest will come. Perhaps the biggest lesson the broth- ers learned was that they could not know with certainty exactly what causes these phenomena. As Michael says, it could be plants talking for all we know. Whatever the implications, they are vast no matter how you approach them, and demonstrate some sort of connectedness that should be reassuring to us when we fear that we are all alone. [You can contact Joan at [email protected]] Keith Johnson Continued from page 9 She smiled and said, “You are nice people.” I wondered what she meant by “people.” I was the only

one there. Someone began to knock on the door. I walked over and in came my husband, Keith. He said, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” and “I’ve been SO worried about you.” He seemed a little tired ... as if he had, indeed, been traveling and looking for me everywhere. Keith said, “Why is the TV playing so loudly?” and, “Tell Dr. Chapman (his doctor’s name was close to this) that there was something wrong with my back.” He spun around for me and pointed to an area just below his left shoulder blade. He also said, “I couldn’t breathe, but now I can!” He embraced me, and the feeling of joy and euphoria cannot be properly explained except this way: it was much like the movie “Cocoon” in which the alien woman tele- pathically sent love and affection to the human young man. He soon became embraced in this energy that caused his knees to buckle. It was just like that! The love was so intense I thought I was going to absolutely explode from it. I felt as if my belly would explode from the pure joy and love. And then I awakened. My very odd vibrations continue, and, I patiently await more messages; any more contacts. One thing I am certain of: the personality remains the same in the Hereafter. And, the bonds of love are never severed. Thank you for listening to me. Kim Volume 31, Number 2 Page 14 My Two-Week EVP Experiment by

Patrick Keller Patrick Keller analyzing a sound file Inspired by Sarah Estep’s Voices from Eternity, on March 13, 2012 I began con- ducting a two-week experi- ment of daily EVP sessions in my home. I was able to chron- icle the whole experiment at my blog, BigSeance.com. I wasn’t a stranger to EVP and the paranormal before this journey. Outside of being a paranormal investigator, I had conducted EVP sessions in my home, but never so formally and consistently. I also never had much success. Because my home is only 3.5 years old, and I have been the only owner, I knew my house was not haunted. That wasn’t the point, anyway. I was hopeful that like Sarah and other serious EVP researchers, I would eventually record voices, whether they be earthbound spirits, spirits from the other side, or even entities from other universes. In the last several years I had become more and more fascinated by the topic of spirit communication and EVP; I was ready to communicate. What did my EVP sessions look like? Most of the time, I recorded in the afternoon between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. I wanted to be as consistent as possible. There were a few days, especially toward the end, where I had to adjust my schedule out of necessity. On those occasions I ended up recording later in the evening. Most sessions were around 12 to 22 minutes long. I conducted almost every one of my sessions in my second floor office.

(Visit my blog for a list of the equipment, programs and audio used in most sessions.) Audio recorders For every session, I used a Tascam DR-07 Digital Audio Recorder with Tascam TM-ST1 Stereo Microphone. Begin- ning with the second session, I used a Sony ICD PX-820 Digital Audio Recorder. Before each session Before each session I always ground and center myself at the very least. Most of the time I meditated beforehand, and on a few occasions, I recorded those meditations. The session itself Each session was different, but followed the same basic format. I began each recording session in silence (no background noise sources, other than a nearby ceiling fan used on a few occasions as an experiment). There were a few additional sessions that I recorded to take advantage of different activity in my sur- roundings, such as a thunder- storm, running shower and construction. 1. After starting a recording, I allowed several seconds of si- lence. 2. I asked for assistance from my guides and anyone pres- ent. 3. During most sessions I spe- cifically requested the pres- ence of Sarah Estep. For some of the sessions I also requested the presence of Cathy (Martha Cope- land’s daughter), or anyone else from the Big Circle. 4. Then I asked questions such as, “Is there anyone present with me?” and “Can you tell me your name?” 5. After several minutes I played small portions of mu- sical selections while continuing my questions. I then played noise in the

background (pink, white and/or brown) and continued with my questions. I eventually started EVPmaker while continuing with questions. 6. 7. 8. Later, usually in silence, I asked for general sugges- tions or advice in making the experiment more suc- cessful. 9. At this point, for some sessions, I asked if there was any way they could make a noise or move an object 10. For some sessions, I asked entities to say words, 11. such as “beautiful” or “EVP.” I asked for any last messages before the session ended. 12. Before ending each session, I thanked those present for their energy, presence and assistance, and en- couraged them to return and invite others in the coming days. Reviewing audio For audio review and editing, I used Audacity. Every attempt was made to initially listen to each session from each device without enhancing the file. Audio from the Tascam tends to play back at a much softer volume; therefore I amplified most of those files before reviewing. The journey The experiment began with lots of enthusiasm and I was very hopeful, but when day after day of recording no voices got me down, my blog readers were there to encourage me. I also turned to Continued page 16 Page 15 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Two-Week Experiment Continued from page 15 Sarah Estep and her book for encouragement. Finally, on Day Six, March 18th, I recorded three possible one-syllable, very soft vocal responses. Incidentally, Sarah captured her first EVP, “beautiful,” on

her sixth day of recording. I had this fact in my mind the whole day. Two of my responses were captured in both recorders. They are not at all impressive. I cannot in confidence say that these are truly EVP, and if they are, they are most likely lower than Class C. It was also on March 18th that I decided to record with the shower running. It was several minutes after my official recording for that day. My partner had just gotten in the shower. I recorded for about a minute and a half and spoke quietly into the recorder because I did not want him to know that I was recording. When I mentioned it later in the evening he said he never heard me and didn’t know. After asking, “Is there anyone present with me? Can you speak?” I got what could be a true EVP saying what sounds like “you speaking?” My partner (who is a 100% skeptic) did not remember speaking to me or saying anything from the shower and claims it is not his voice. I know it was not my own voice because I was wearing headsets and heard it while it was happening. On Day Eight, March 20th, I recorded one of only two EVP that I have captured while pink noise was playing in the background. It seems to be an entire phrase or two. Enhancing it only makes it sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. On Day Nine, March 21st, I

asked “Does more volume help?” (I again had pink noise playing in the background). Seconds later came the response of “yes.” On Day Ten, March 22nd, I was using EVPmaker while asking the question, “How many of you are present with me today?” I do not claim to have any expertise with EVPmaker; however, I seem to have recorded a very pronounced “two” that I also heard in my headsets while recording. With it being only one-syllable, I’m not confident using it as evidence, other than the fact it is an interesting sounding “response.” I’ve noticed that when listening to the EVPmaker, it is easy to hear many of the one-syllable numbers, even without asking a question. It wasn’t until Day Thirteen, March 25th, that I recorded anything of interest again, and it was probably the most interesting session out of the entire two-week experiment. Like the Fox sisters I’d read so much about, I ended up having an entire conversation through a series of pro- nounced knocks and taps. It was incredibly exciting and I posted almost the whole twenty-two minutes of transcript on my blog (“My Visit From a Rapper!”) with several audio clips. In addition to all the knocking, I captured a voice saying “no” after I asked “Is there something I can help you with?” This was with pink noise in the background. (I’ve had several visits from this rapper since.) After all of the conversation the day before, I had high hopes for my last

official recording session of the experi- ment. Unfortunately, it was uneventful. What I learned I must be honest and say I struggled with putting this section of my report into words. Once again, my blog readers, several of them who research EVP themselves, including author, Randall Keller (no relation), came to my rescue. It is clear that what I learned has been a lesson on persistence and patience. During the experiment and immediately after, I was honestly disappointed with the results, but I’ve continued to record at least two or three times a week, including an occasional overnight sleep recording. I’ve apparently earned someone’s trust, because I’m excited to report that I haven’t been disappointed with my last several sessions. The voices have also gotten clearer. How do I know that it was the same rapper who had noisily returned on several occasions? I recently asked, and I got the answer “Yes it is.” I also captured an interest- ing communicator who may have asked the question, “Is this really death?” I gained some new skills with some finely tuned senses that will truly help me out in my paranormal investigations. I also gained a new time-con- suming addiction. Therefore, I have to learn how to use time wisely, since I can’t very well quit my day job just to research. My journey has only just begun, and I just know there are zillions of voices (not a proven statistic) just waiting to be heard, and perhaps persistently and patiently

learning how to communicate with us from their end as well. The experience of this journey and sharing it with the world has allowed me to learn from some great mentors and some new friends. Many of you have experience and expertise and I welcome your suggestions and advice as well. Along with being an educator, Patrick Keller is the founder of the Missouri Spirit Seekers (MOSS), a group of paranormal investigators based in both O’Fallon and Lexington, MO since 2010. You can learn more about MOSS at mospiritseekers.com. Also see Keller’s blog, The Big Séance, at BigSeance.com. You can download Sarah Estep’s book at no cost at atransc.org/resources/books.htm Volume 31, Number 2 Page 16 On Being a Good Witness Continued from 11 Ÿ Make sure you understand the claim and are knowl- edgeable about the phenomenon. For instance, the claim may be presented as EVP, but if it is historically correct and uncharacteristic for EVP, it may involve a space-time slip or some other unexpected form of com- munication. In that case, it should be evaluated as something other than EVP. Ÿ Do you know enough about the demonstration, the phenomenon and the person to be an informed judge? It is likely you are not well enough informed to arrive at a definitive conclusion. Ÿ Resist making demands of the person. In this field, the person is likely demonstrating as a service to humanity and a good faith, best effort should be assumed. Ÿ Unless you are an infallible

expert in the subject, if you doubt a demonstration of phenomena and find it diffi- cult to maintain an attitude of suspended judgment, then it is best to walk away in silence. Unintended consequences Like super athletes, people able to demonstrate extraordi- nary physical phenomena are probably born with the ability. Even so, it takes education and practice in order to be ready to demonstrate to the public. Just imagine the mental and physical fortitude required by the likes of David Thompson, Kai Muegge and Stewart Alexander who dem- onstrate phenomena that has been deemed impossible by the academic community. All of the mediums we know seem to have a spiritual imperative to demonstrate the survival of personality beyond so called death. Not many people are willing to give up their personal lives in this way while usually not being compensated for expenses. The attack by that English blogger became personal and was more debunking than an effort to understand. The blogger is responsible for what is on his website, so I must assume he supported the many naively negative comments from like-minded website visitors. If I were the medium, my response would have been to stop demonstrating. Personal attacks of this nature discourage people from being open to the chance to witness at least one white crow. That is one of the best reasons I can offer you for being an activist. Being a good witness also means encour- aging your fellow witnesses to keep an open mind. There

is way too much that is not known about these phenom- ena. Don’t allow people to ruin it for the rest of us simply because they assume they have more knowledge on the subject than they actually have. Assume good faith as the larger community seeks to better understand the phenom- ena. Dreams Continued from page 8 A voice-activated recorder may also be used, but it is wise to transcribe these dreams, since rereading your dreams over time helps you to establish your personal patterns and triggers. Record anything you remember, even if only a dream fragment or emotion. Ÿ Write a prayer or affirmation to the person you are wishing to come to visit you, and read or say this before sleep. Put a note or picture under your pillow. Feel love surrounding you in a warm embrace. Ÿ Ask that your dreams include only the best and highest contacts or information, and if you believe in angels, ask yours to watch over you as you sleep and dream, and to act as guides for those you seek. Ÿ It is also helpful to truly establish your own body-mind- spirit connections through meditation or other spiritual practices. I like to begin my sleep requests with the words, “Spirit, Soul, Psyche Align,” putting myself in an altered state in which my body is at rest, and my mind reaching a state of consciousness that harmonizes my soul and spirit. This is especially good medicine in troubled times. Rita Dwyer is

an officer of Dreamworker, IASD Past President (1992-93), Executive Officer (1994-1999), Certified Pastoral Coun- selor. See: dreamtalk.hypermart.net/member/files/rita_dwyer.html Media Investigates Continued from page 12 Atheists, as participants in this universe, move to other dimensions along with everyone else. Perhaps the way in which we live our physical lives and the way we treat others is far more important than who or what we believe in. That is the message we can all take from those who have returned from clinical death—judgment is self-inflicted and we will most likely have an easier adjustment to the afterlife if we live by our hearts instead of our egos. Robert Ginsberg along with his wife Phran are the found- ers of the Forever Family Foundation which originally published this article in Signs of Life, Fall 2011 Vol 8 Issue 3. Signs of Life is their free quarterly journal. See foreverfamilyfoundation.org Page 17 Summer 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sharing Experiences Messages from members and website visitors Ÿ My son-in-law was dying in hospital with acute myeloid leukemia. He was thirty-six years old. He and my daugh- ter had two girls aged nine and ten at that time. I was in the next room in the hospital with my granddaughters who were asleep in recliner chairs in the day room of the ward because it was in the middle of the night. I was just sitting down beside one of the girls when I suddenly heard my son-in-law’s voice; clear and with his Yorkshire accent saying, “Di,

look after them.” At the same moment, my granddaughter sat bolt upright, gave me a peck on the cheek, then laid back down, sleeping. I realized it was my son-in-law who kissed me through her and said to myself, “He’s gone.” I got up from the chair about to go into the room he was in when my daughter and my husband, who had been with him, came into the room we were in, crying. I asked my granddaughter if she remembered kissing me a few minutes earlier and she did not. I knew it was him, but had to ask. This message from him was so clear and I recognized his voice. I will always be grateful he gave me this message. D. G. Ÿ I've been doing EVP work for five years now. My father passed away on February 28th and I decided to try to reach him about a week after he passed. I managed to get some very good EVP from him, naming me and my mother and letting us know he was very keen for us to pick up his ashes from the mortuary. Prior to Dad’s passing, we noticed a distinct uptick in the appearance of shadows and light anomalies in our home. The night before Dad passed, we counted twenty- Big Circle Recording Dates Loved ones on both sides of the veil who cooperate to communicate and help one another are known as the “Big Circle.” The name came about when members of

the ATransC realized their loved ones were trying to communicate with them via EVP. In some instances, loved ones in the etheric even guided people to the Association. This “bridge to the afterlife” is maintained when people join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. local time to communicate via EVP. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. Here are the recording dates: July 5 and 19, August 2, 16 and 30, September 13 and 27 and October 11 and 25 plus shadows and transparent movements while sitting in the family den. Within a few days after he passed, we began to notice a distinctly male shadow appearing in the living room, kitchen and around the den. The day after he passed, I awoke to hearing his voice. My mother said that she dreamed of Dad hugging her and kissing her. She woke up to that experience and it continued while she was awake. She was immensely comforted by this experience. The story continues. We are actively documenting the occurrences and will keep up with recording to see what EVP we get from Dad and other family members. J. A. Ÿ Mom passed away on November 19, 2011. I just received the second phone call in the span of a few weeks. Hoax? Perhaps. The first call

seemed to have a man’s voice. The second call at 10:00 this evening appeared to be a woman’s voice. I couldn’t understand what was being said either time and told the caller to dial 911 if they were in trouble. This time though, after uttering a variety of unintelligible phrases, I thought the caller mentioned my name. That’s when I decided to go online and research the topic, “phone calls from the dead.” D. Y. Ÿ My Uncle Larry died in May; since then he has communi- cated by leaving messages we can’t understand on my aunt’s cell phone. Right after he died, there were love songs left on her machine. It usually happens when we go away, such as to the beach. He has also called my cell. The caller ID would say Larry B. when his name is not even in my contact list. P. F. Members have learned that the Big Circle team is there to help at any time. As an example, in a recording made by Martha Copeland while she was praying for help for her father who was in surgery, her daughter, Cathy, can be heard saying “Big Circle.” We know this was a reminder that Mar- tha–all of us, really–should call on the Big Circle in times of need. The recording is at atransc.org/circle/about_the_big_circle.htm We encourage you to share your results in the Big Circle forum of the Idea Exchange. Be especially sure to post any names you record. Members sometimes record messages

that are specifically intended for another member. Rhonda Burton has volunteered to monitor the Big Circle and is maintaining a blog that contains members’ names and their loved ones on the other side. There is a good chance that someone will record an EVP from one of those loved ones. That is how the Big Circle works. Volume 31, Number 2 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Rhonda Burton wrote,”My daughter, Heather, was home from NYC this past weekend and she said we should record during the full moon, she actually came and got me saying we need to record right now. So we did a forty-minute session, which I never do, using an Olympus 4100, DS30 and my HP PC with an external mic. First half of the session was no background noise, second half was using an FM scanner. We heard real time, Heather’s name being spoken by a male during the FM scan. She recorded, “What’s up, Heather?” It was very special recording with my daughter (which I never get to do) because we have such wonderful energy together. I’m hoping my other daughter, Jen, who passed away in 2007, stopped in to say hello. I will keep you posted and keeping my fingers crossed! Ÿ During a Big Circle recording session Lisa Butler asked, “Tell us who is with us?” and recorded, “Not us, we’re dead.” (We got a good laugh.) Ÿ Margaret Downey posted an ITC example saying, “I am so inspired by the beauty of

this connection.... I did one light-reflected-from-moving-water sessions of my because I felt like an unknown someone in spirit was asking me to. Well, “asking” in a rather demanding yet playful sort of way. Upon review of the video, I saw images of both animals and people. When I saw this dog, I felt sure he was meant for someone but didn’t know who. The moment after I had that feeling, I heard a man’s voice in my head say, “Send it to Karen.” Karen Anderson is a wonderful animal communicator with whom I’d had a remarkable session two years ago. I hadn’t talked with her since then but I went with the flow and sent the image of the dog with an explanation of what had happened (figured being a psychic-medium herself, she’d understand). I got a reply back from Karen the next morning, putting all the pieces together. It turns out that this image is of a dog named Maximus and his human mama, JoAnn, was supposed to have a session with Karen on the 1st, but Karen had to postpone it until the 2nd ... and the 2nd was the one year anniversary of Maximus making his transition. I guess he wanted to make double-sure that he got through to let JoAnn know he is okay. I didn’t know JoAnn at the time but Karen forwarded the ITC image to her and JoAnn then contacted me to share these images of her boy with me. WOW! Spirit works

in such amazing ways! It never ceases to astound me!” Ÿ Alison Kirkbride recorded on a Big Circle group recording date and got several responses. One of them was “I’m here, missing ya” and another was “Drew was there, do you know me.” Kathy Stiles’ son on the other side is Drew. She wrote, “Thank you so much, Alison. I’ve only had a quick listen, the first one of the “Drew” batch is a different sounding voice than what we usually hear—no accent. It gave me the same feeling I used to get from Drew when he gave me this one particular smile; as if every thing was right with my world (others have described it as “a hug from your best friend”). He had this way of making everyone feel like they were the most important person in the world and there was no place he’d rather be than there with you, I can’t tell you how many people I have heard that from since he crossed, I didn’t know most of them but as a mother it was nice to hear.” David Mierzwinski shared a long message that he captured saying, “Tape something … I’d like you to capture the dead people.” Ÿ Karen Mossey shared an EVP and video that she captured from an investigation. An EVP saying “Hello” appeared only on her QR80 recorder. They were also video record- ing at the same time. The EVP is so clear that you want to question whether it

is an EVP or not, but it was validated as there was no EVP on the video. Ÿ David Schmincke noted that, “I have missed posting and reviewing everyone’s successes and pray everyone is well. Here was a surprise I received when using our mini-box at a recent investigation. As usual we allow the box to run idle for a period of time prior to beginning the questions. I was surprised to hear my name, as I had not as of yet officially introduced myself at the site. This was recorded in a local funeral home. The recording says “David Schmincke.” Ÿ Allison Sniffin wrote, “Keith’s ITC Bridge Stream (itcbridge.com) has metamorphosed recently, but just before the current version of the audio stream a day ago I captured commentary in what sounds like my mother’s voice. She recorded “They heard you, somebody helped you.” On another occasion using the audio stream Allison recorded “Hello, Debbie.” Debbie Caruso is a dedicated member now on the other side. Ÿ Pamela Teters asked her brother Al Bart if he would give her a message for his daughter Brenda and his wife Donna. She recorded, “Hi.” Page 19 Summer 2012 Books Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Viewpoint Continued from page 1 Even so, like the illuminated plaque for us, the meaning is often obscured by the confusion of darkness and unfamiliar activity. Again, it is an individual decision, but at some point the sitter must decide that one or two white crows provide sufficient reason to

accept that the demonstration is as it is presented: proof that we survive transition. Big Circle In the twelve years we have led the Association, hosting the formation of the Big Circle ranks amongst our most important accomplishments. Way back when we had only an email sharing group, a few mothers of transitioned children began to notice that their EVP seemed to be indicating that their children knew one another on the other side and were cooperating in an effort to tell their parents they were okay. Big Circle co-founder, Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy, on the other side, named the group of both physical and etheric loved ones. There is more about the Big Circle in the article, “Big Circle Recording Dates” on page 18. The Big Circle has proven to be an effective aid for grieving “survivors” and remains an important part of the organization which centers around the Idea Exchange. Rhonda Burton is the monitor for the Big Circle in the Idea Exchange. She posts reminders of the next group recording session and will update the list of loved ones looking for contact in the Big Circle blog. A recent development is the expanded use of what we refer to as “live voice” for background sound. People are using pre-recorded foreign-language sound files. As with other forms of noise, the entities will sometimes transform the natural cadence and voice frequency of the sound files into their message. The results being reported to the Idea Exchange are pretty exciting!

Anyone can be in the Big Circle. All you need do is record every other Thursday to seek contact with a loved one on the other side. We are taught by Cathy and others to call on the Big Circle for help and to know they are always near. It is important to post the results to the rest of the group in the Idea Exchange. Sometimes, a message recorded by one member will be intended for another, so while a message may not make sense to you, it could to another member. This is a powerful tool we can all benefit from, but only if we work together. Consider joining us by bringing your intention to communicate with those in the Big Circle every other Thursday, and be sure to visit the Big Circle are of the Idea Exchange to see what members are recording. Tom and Lisa . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100

per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Volume 31, Number 2 Page 20 ===== NEW DOCUMENT =====

Viewpoint Fall 2012, Volume 31 Number 3 One of three Orca pods exhibiting greeting behavior during a sort of pow wow between pods near the San Juan Islands. Interspecies Transcommunication We just had to share a couple of pictures from our interac- tion with whales this year. There is little doubt that whales are intelligent. Just as we seek contact with whales, we find that some have seemed to seek contact with us. In the top picture there are 11 Orca fins but another less clear picture showed 19 fins lined up! It was amazing! The second picture shows a gray whale baby that let us scratch him repeatedly like he/she was our pet. Mother gray whale brings baby to tourists; to be pet? We are pretty sure that many of you are like us and believe that it is not only possible to communicate with those on the other side but also with other species here and from the other side. What it is Like on the Other Side? A member recently asked about literature describing what it is like on the other side. The question made us realize that, while articles on the website and in the NewsJournal address various aspects of the other side, none specifically state what the best guess is as to what a person can expect to find upon arrival. In general, most EVP messages about the other side are short and simple and are usually not long and descriptive about the other side

and its workings. They often state that the person who has made their transition is happy and that where they are now is very beautiful. There have been a few cases where more information has come through EVP/ITC such as with the work of the Lamoreaux brothers (see the article in last month’s Journal) or information that came through to the Harsch-Fischbachs of Luxembourg in the 1980s and 90s. There are literally hundreds of channeled reports about the nature of the other side. Some of these are the foundation of religions. Virtually all of them were subject to “coloring” by the channel (medium or spiritual teacher), which to some unknown degree may have modified the original message from the etheric communicator. ITC might be described as “technology augmented medi- umship. And if this is the case, then this suggests that even EVP messages may be colored to some extent by the EVP practitioner. However, the difference between mental mediumship and ITC is in how the information is reported. While the product of mental mediumship is the spoken word, there is a tangible record in ITC which may be examined by others. Association TransCommunication Website The Association website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day. The frequent emails from visitors thanking the Association for the vast amount of quality information and articles on the site indicates that the website is appreci- ated. We want to remind members that it is your support, research, sharing of personal experiences and membership dues that

make this information available to all these people. Without you, and those who have gone before you, it would not have been possible. You may not realize the good that your small membership fee and donations do for others who want to learn more about their loved ones. Thanks to your support, more people are able to know their loved ones now on the other side survive and that there is a possibility that they may even be able to bridge the veil and communicate with them. You help the Association spread the word that death is only a change to another state of reality and not the end for our loved ones or ourselves. Continued page 6 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Contents Viewpoint.........................................................................................................................................1 Linda.................................................................................................................................................3 More Evidential and Intriguing Results from the Morse Team.......................................................4 Background: George Meek and Bill O’Neil......................................................................................4 EVP Using VoIP and Telephones .....................................................................................................5 The Wilderness of Grief...................................................................................................................7 Brilliant Physical Mediumship of Kai Muegge: Sitting With the Felix Circle...................................8 Phantom Voices...............................................................................................................................9 Sonia Rinaldi’s Trans Images..........................................................................................................10 Morse Code Update.......................................................................................................................10 Big Circle Recording Dates.............................................................................................................10 Arthur Conan Doyle........................................................................................................................11 Emails from the Other Side............................................................................................................11 Telephone Calls from the Dead.....................................................................................................12 Q & A on the Idea Exchange..........................................................................................................15 Are Ghosts Discarnate People?......................................................................................................15 The ASPSI is Now the ASCSI...........................................................................................................15 We Don’t Die..................................................................................................................................16 Physical Phenomena: Two Methods of Production......................................................................17 Using Random Number Generators...............................................................................................18 Researchers’ Reports.....................................................................................................................19 “For True Scientists, the Ultimate Authority is Experience, not Theory”.....................................19 Big Circle Results............................................................................................................................20 This NewsJournal is published by the Association TransCommunication to inform the membership about news and events in the field

of transcommunication. Protected by USA copyright law: ©2010ATransC This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Material may be reproduced, and if needed, changed as long as the ATransC is credited and this license remains with the material. It may not be used for financial gain. Exception: the Creative Commons license might not apply to work by guest authors. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Tom and Lisa Butler. Opinions expressed by contributing authors do not necessarily represent ATransC policy. Article Contributions: Articles that explain techniques, the concepts of transcommunication and/or provide a role model to which others can aspire are considered. The average column is 400 words—fewer with pictures. Articles should be short and to the point. Feature articles may be up to four columns, serialized or pre- sented as a brief which refers to the full article which can be placed on atransc.org. Announcements of mem- ber activities and reports of successes working with these phenomena with brief comments about your observations, are welcome. Email submission to [email protected] or mail to Association TransCom- munication, PO Box 13111, Reno, NV 89507. Tom and Lisa Butler Fall 2012 Patron Becky Estep Anonymous EVP Research Patron Donors Tom and Lisa Butler Mark Leary Sustaining Members Cindy Heinen Tom Lorton Joy Skyberg Mark Tominac Supporters Martha Copeland Paola & Merlin Hoffpauir Ellen Pugh Submission Deadline and Publishing Dates: The NewsJournal is published the first of January, April, July and October. Article submission must be delivered to

the Association two months preceding the publishing date. Subscription: The NewsJournal is a member benefit. Membership information may be found on atransc.org or by writing to the above address. There is also a membership form at the back of this NewsJournal. Address label shows membership renewal quarter. Annual membership is $30.00. International members not receiving the NewsJournal via email should add $10.00 USD for postage. The Association Transcommunication: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. Contributions are tax deductible in the USA. The ATransC is a volunteer organization: no one receives financial compensation including the ATransC Directors,Tom and Lisa Butler. Volunteers: Editors: Tom and Lisa Butler Proofreader: Loretta Woodward Big Circle: Rhonda Burton Webmaster: Tom Butler Volume 31, Number 3 Page 2 Linda by Normand Picard © My wife, my twin flame, Linda passed away in October 2010. I just haven’t had it in me yet to try to record a communication from her although I have had very signifi- cant messages and signs directly from her. Life does continue on the spirit side. I can affirm that. There is something special that has happened two years in a row. This past Valentine’s Day had another similar occurrence. The morning of February 14 was very busy and hectic. I was waiting for someone from the carpet store to come over and measure some rooms for new carpeting. Then I received a few phone calls; one after another. That doesn’t usually happen. Also, my son came by with a problem that needed

to be quickly solved. Soon, my head was spinning and I needed a break so I had some lunch with the TV on for background noise. I felt like I wasn’t accom- plishing anything. That was fine, but still, it was Valentine’s Day; a day Linda and I treasured more than other days, save perhaps our anni- versaries and birthdays. Because of those Val- Heart-shaped trinket entine’s Day memories, I wanted to keep my mind busy so I went to the cellar to go through one of my boxes of excess stuff. After about a minute of looking, I picked up another heart; a little treasure that is so special to me. I have no explanation as how the heart got into that Normand and Linda: wedding day storage box, but there it was. I had to stop and ponder over some very special memories. Whether Linda placed these hearts so that I could find them, I can’t say. I will say that these experiences are wonderful and I hope they never stop. Page 3 Fall 2012 Normand and Linda Linda passed to the other side in a rather short time. Yes, she was ill for some years, yet we lived life one day at a time. I could see her condition deteriorate but when she suddenly became critical, I hadn’t seen it coming. We were really in love, and as much as we could, we really enjoyed life together. Both of us are spiritually minded in belief and in

practice. So naturally, we promised each other that whichever one of us passed first would contact the surviving one if it was possible and show that there is a spiritual life after physical death. This is what happened on Valentine’s Day in 2011. Since I am retired it has become a part of my routine to spend some time at the local senior center. As you may recall, we had an inordinate amount of snow during the winter of 2011. On this Valentine’s Day, I went to the senior center for lunch as usual. It was a bright, sunny day, the snow was melting well and there were small puddles of water throughout the parking lot. As I stepped from the parking lot to the curb at the entrance of the building, something caught my attention in the water below my feet. I backed up a step, bent down and retrieved a rock in the shape of a heart. Heart-shaped rock Linda had a real love of stones, all kinds of stones. Wherever we went, Linda would seem to focus on the ground and find something that attracted her attention. She always brought something home. It’s still one of my great memories; her little personal adventures that we shared. Association TransCommunication NewsJournal More Evidential and Intriguing Results from the Morse Team In the Spring 2012 NewsJournal, we ran an article about a group of researchers receiving Morse code EVP. Alison Kirkbride does the recording with the help of Domenic Capaldi

while Eric Cole deciphers the code. Kathy is the newest member of the team. On June 28, the group recorded a Morse EVP that translated to “N3AZQ Hello Alison Portal Group.” After a little research it was learned that William O’Neil was a radio ham operator and this was his call sign. On August 2nd, another message was received that said “George here, do we have contact?” On August 3, Alison made a recording and asked who the George was who had sent the Morse the day before. She recorded ‘G.W. Meek, signal weak, a rhyme, Kathleen 69.’” Alison wrote, “This had relevance in that Kathy had previously asked me to try to get a number that was significant for her son which only she and he would know. I did try several voice recordings but did not get the number, though there were other personal things that indicated it was her son. The fact that the number turned up at the end of the Morse recording was very interesting.” In a later recording, Alison wrote that she “asked if there was anyone who wished to communicate in Morse. The response came, ‘Beware of Dave the deal is sour. I am with Spaz. So happy. Love yu Mom.’ On hearing the translation of the Morse, Kathy said someone named Dave wanted to hunt on her land (Yuk! My personal opinion). She said that she had gotten a bad feeling about him. “The ‘I am with Spaz’ relates to her son’s

dog. They were constant companions in life. Its real name was Taz; but teenage boys being what they are, her son tended to call him Spaz—with affection I am sure! lol The rest of the team were unaware of these facts until Kathy explained it to us. “In addition, there was a voice EVP directly after I spoke, which seemed to say ‘I’m Mike’s mother, do you watch us?’ This made sense to Kathy, as her favorite aunt who passed is indeed her cousin Mike’s mother.” Background George Meek and Bill O’Neil George Meek opened a laboratory to conduct research into the phenomena of EVP in 1971. Meek, a retired engineer, had been interested in survival after bodily death for many years. The idea for building a device to speak to the so-called dead was given to him by a discarnate scientist during a séance. The scientist told Meek that he would provide instructions for building the device . Meek wanted to achieve two-way communication with the other side and became convinced that sophisticated equipment needed to be developed if communication was to improve. In 1977, Meek was introduced to Bill O’Neil, a gifted medium and electronics engineer. O’Neil’s spirit commu- nicator called himself “Doc Nick” and said he was a former radio ham radio operator. Doc Nick told O’Neil that the development team should try using certain audio frequen- cies instead of the white noise that was being used by most researchers and provided technical information for building the

communication device. He told the researchers that it would provide thousands of sensitive frequencies that the other side would be able to use for communication. A series of devices were made. Soon, a Dr. George Jeffries Müller made contact with O’Neil. He materi- alized in O’Neil’s living room and said that he had come to join the team in their work on the device. In October of 1977, Dr. Müller’s first words were recorded on the device now called “Spiricom.” Müller gave the team considerable personal information about himself. He told them that he died in 1967, had been a college professor, gave them his social secu- rity number and advised them where to find his death certificate. All of the information was verified as correct. George Meek Meek held a press conference April 6, 1982, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He told those who attended, “An elementary start has been made toward the eventual per- fection of an electromagnetic-etheric communications system which will someday permit those living on earth to have telephone-like conversations with persons very much alive in higher levels of consciousness.” Bill O’Neil Tapes of the conversations between O’Neil and Müller were made available to the public at the press conference. They ranged from mundane discussions on food to techni- cal advice on how to build experimental video equipment. Müller’s voice is fascinating, as it sounds much like a robot in a science fiction movie. The “robotic” sound was an artifact of the suite

of audio frequencies that were used. Meek had hoped to present the device to the media at the press conference, and by doing so, reach a large public audience. However, a large section of the media refused to attend. In the end, the conference made little impact and Spiricom went largely unreported. In addition, Müller eventually told Bill O’Neil that he needed to move on and the two-way conversations via Spiricom ceased. One of the limitations of Spiricom was that it seemed to depend on O’Neil. Meek had others try the device, one being AA-EVP founder, Sarah Estep. The fantastic results achieved by O’Neil were never repeated. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 4 EVP Using VoIP and Telephones by Tom Butler Recording for EVP using the telephone system has always offered tantalizing possibilities. In recent years, cell phones and answering machines have produced very good but usually spontaneous EVP. Now, we see more people using the Internet for planned EVP sessions. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the technology that makes it possible for a person to use a computer to call another computer via the Internet or even call a landline telephone via the Internet. The most commonly used service has been Skype.com, but others are coming along, including Google Voice (google.com/voice). This article describes some of the more successful tech- niques being reported to us by members and associates. Sonia Rinaldi Brazilian researcher, Sonia Rinaldi, is a veteran transcom- munication researcher. With members of the organization she coordinates,

IPATI (translation from Portuguese: Insti- tute for Advanced Research in Instrumental Transcommu- nication), she has been diligently seeking ways to improve both visual and audible communication across the veil. We have included a number of articles on her work over the years which may be accessed in the Idea Exchange archive. EVP recording arrangement used by Sonia Rinaldi IPATI has been a leader in developing new techniques for EVP using the telephone system and Skype. A major part of Sonia’s work involves reunions and she has pro- duced some very convincing results using these techniques. We asked Sonia to elaborate on her current setup. Here is her answer with the help of Sonia’s translator, Cristina, Description of technique This is the configuration of equipment used by Sonia Rinaldi for her recent work with reunions. In the laboratory: a speakerphone is placed beside a laptop configured to record via a microphone. The client, who is anywhere in the world, calls that phone via a computer using Skype (voice only). The telephone is answered by the practitioner (Sonia in her reports) who initiates the recording session in the computer, sets the telephone to speakerphone mode and leaves the room. The practitioner then goes to a second room in the same building and picks up an extension phone located near a television. As a sound source, the television is tuned to an English or German-language news channel (any language other than the practitioner’s native language). Via the telephone, the client speaks to his

or her loved one on the other side while the practitioner listens to make sure that the client asks questions while leaving a thirty- second pause for the etheric communicator’s response. In this technique, the voice from the television, as the background sound, appears to be transformed to produce answers from the loved one. While the background sound is in one language, the resulting utterance is in Portuguese. Preparation The client is instructed to prepare questions before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil via Skype. From client Christina, “Before calling Sonia’s lab in Brazil, I prepared questions to maximize the communication with my son Stefano. I also decided at the last minute to call from my bedroom, the quietest place in the house.” After the call is connected: “All of a sudden Stefano validates his presence by saying that I was in my room, something I had not mentioned because it was a last minute decision. I could clearly hear my parents and husband as well, which gives me the hope that I will rejoin my loved ones sometime in the future. “Another communication that amazed me was his sug- gestion that I contact a friend and girlfriend of his: Lina. “I contacted Lina the next day and she told me that it was an amazing ‘coincidence’ that I called. She had been thinking of Stefano and had decided to call me the same day to take me out for lunch. We had lunch together and she surprised me with a

gift: a heart-shaped silver locket and chain bearing the words on both side: ‘Stefano, ever loved, never forgotten.’” Debbie Caruso As reported in the Spring 2007 ATransC NewsJournal, “Recording EVP Using a Telephone,” before her transition, Debbie Caruso had been using a landline telephone and computer for recording EVP. The elements of her setup are shown in the following diagram. A recording program such as Audacity or Audition was used in the computer. (Use Phone and Modem in the Control Panel to control the modem in Windows 7.) A telephone was connected to a second telephone wall jack, but she sometimes used a headset that connects to the computer. Continued page 6 Page 5 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal EVP Using VoIP Continued from page 5 An example of what Debbie was recording is in the article, “Jenny and Brandon - The Newlyweds” at atransc.org/circle/survival_jenny-brandon.htm EVP recording arrangement used by Debbie Caruso Margaret Downey Margaret Downey uses an Apple computer and iPhone to conduct VoIP sessions. With two Skype accounts, she calls one with the phone and the other with her computer. Both are in the same room but about eight feet apart. A sound source plays into the room near the cell phone. During the call, Margaret’s voice from the cell phone plays out of the computer speakers. A feedback loop is formed because the phone picks up Margaret’s voice, the background sounds and the output of the speaker. So, if the phone is too close to the computer

speakers, there will be a loud “feedback” noise. Part of the task is to find the best location for everything so that there is a little feed- back, but not enough to cause the loud noise. EVP recording arrangement used by Margaret Downey When the call is answered with her computer, Margaret starts an app named Call Record (ecamm.com). (A similar Windows app is PrettyMay Call Recorder: prettymay.net.) An interesting observation about Margaret’s setup is that the call recorder displays both sides of the conversation so that the caller’s voice is strong on the receive side but also slightly delayed. The send side also has the caller’s voice but much weaker. More Techniques? How do you configure your equipment? Let us know either via the Idea Exchange or via email. Your method does not need to use the telephone or VoIP systems. Viewpoint Continued from page 1 How You Can Continue to Help You can continue to keep the Association going and help spread the word by going to the front page of the Associ- ation’s website (http://atransc.org/) when you buy some- thing from Amazon or Ebay. The links are now low on the right-hand column of the front page. Christmas is coming, and when you make a purchase through the Association website, a small percentage comes back to the ATransC. So don’t forget us when you do your shopping. And as always, we sincerely thank you for any extra donations that you can give to this cause, your dollars

are tax deductible. ATransC Archive We are excited to announce that members can now access all past NewsJournals on the Idea Exchange Archive. Members can download issues 1-1 through 10-1 by Sarah Estep and issues 19–2 to current by us as PDF files. Sarah’s issues 10-2 through 19-1 have not been converted. Also available are the first three of fourteen issues of Spirit Voices published by Bill Weisensale before his transition. Combined Journals in Searchable PDF Files Members can download individual Journals for free but we now have combined versions of all past NewsJournals in searchable PDF files. This will allow members to be able to search all issues for certain references or key words. That means, with this issue, you can search all 50 issues we have produced in one file! We are charging a small fee for this service and all of the proceeds will be used for research and outreach. As long as you are a member, you will be able to update the combined version as new issues are added for no additional charge. Research The Rhine Research Institute radio-sweep perception study that ATransC funded is near completion and we expect to have a report in the next issue. Member and lead scientist on the project, Dr. Mark Leary, will provide a three-part article which will detail his prior study of how people hear EVP, the results of the the new study and a discussion of human perception pertaining to transcommunication. New research questions are being

developed. One con- cerns studying the energy profile of EVP waveforms in an effort to determine were the energy comes from. Another is to test if communicating entities see into the physical via the practitioner’s mind. Most of the easy research has been conducted. Further research requires highly qualified researchers and much more funding. Your membership dues fund daily operation but your donations pay for research furthering understand- ing of these phenomena. Please consider becoming more Tom and Lisa active in the ATransC. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 6 The Wilderness of Grief by Annette Childs, Ph.D. © Sometimes it’s hard not to wince as I take messages off my office voice mail. It’s not terribly uncommon for these messages to be punctuated with sobs as the caller tries to succinctly let me know why they have dialed my number. Last week, after a bereft mother haltingly tried to tell me that she was calling because her son had died, she ended her message with this phrase: “Someone told me you might be able to help me find him.” There is never a time when these kinds of words from the grieving do not make my world grow completely and utterly silent as I am trans- ported along with my caller into the wilderness of grief. Envisioning grief as a wild terrain for which you are not prepared is quite appropriate. Trapped in the rugged wilder- ness without supplies, several coping strategies would be immediately configured. First, how do you

begin to move OUT of the wilderness? There would be no smooth and pre- dictable pathway out, so if you were used to driving, biking or to your casually walking chosen destination, those means of forward movement would no longer serve you. When you became hungry or thirsty you could not raid the pantry or order from a local café to satiate yourself. In order to move through the wilderness, you would likely need to learn some new techniques, perhaps how to rappel down the face of a rock or how to safely navigate a deep and swiftly moving river. You might have to scale a tree, collect rainwater and perhaps even eat a small creature in order to survive. As the saying goes, desperate times require desperate measures. So let’s revisit the phrase, “Someone told me you might be able to help me find him.” In my world, this is not such an extraordinary request. It is not all that different than someone asking a wilderness survivalist, “Can you give me some pointers on how to survive in the wild?” And of course, the answer is, “YES!” I grant you, there is no giant neon hand pointing to a sign that says, “YOUR LOVED ONE IS HERE,” but there IS a vast amount of forward movement one can make in moving through the wilderness of grief. A large part of my work with the grieving does entail helping them to locate their now deceased loved one in their world.

I use the concept of Continuing Bonds to help my clients do this. This process can run the gamut from helping them identify a simple psychological or symbolic sense of their loved one, all the way to exploring the after-life sciences and learning what science and experi- ence indicate regarding the possibility of the continuation of life after death. Without fail my clientele are always absolutely amazed at the vast amount of credible informa- tion and scientific explorations that support the grieving who seek to understand what may occur beyond death’s door. Continuing Bonds (CB’s) occur on a continuum and it is my job to help the grieving find the place on that contin- uum where they are comfortable. Sometimes I use the analogy of a swimming pool to help people find their comfort zone. The shallow end of the Continuing Bonds pool is where we will find grievers who find solace in symbolic or their implied bonds deceased loved one. A typical example of this type of bond would be someone who has planted a tree in memory of their loved one. The tree becomes a sort of living place- holder for the deceased loved one’s presence. Another example of this type of CB would be a scholarship that is set up in a loved one’s name, to support a student that embodies some of the deceased’s ideals. to This is a dynamic ‘living’ representation of their loved one that holds a spot in time. These types of CB’s

have great healing power, and as time moves forward, they tend to bring a lovely sense of season and forward movement to the healing process. For example, I worked with one family that had planted a rose bush in memoriam to their deceased father. The first year it bloomed, the roses had great significance to the children and they were fiercely protective of each bloom. They saw the blooms as direct expressions of their father. As the years passed they grew better able to enjoy the roses in a more relaxed way, often cutting the blooms and sharing them with friends. When the oldest daughter got married many years later, the aisle she walked down to meet her waiting groom was scattered with the dried rose petals from her father’s rose bush, a beautiful and powerful symbol of her father walking her down the aisle. Some grievers want to move beyond a symbolic or implied relationship with their deceased loved ones. Because of their need to locate their loved one’s presence beyond the physical life, this desire often brings them into the realm of the after-life sciences. Continued page 13 Page 7 Fall 2012 The Easiest Way To Understand The Universe Is Through Wilderness! by Amritash Choube, flickr.com/photos/amritash_99 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Brilliant Physical Mediumship of Kai Muegge: Sitting With the Felix Circle by Victor Zammit © One of the highlights of our recent trip to Europe was the opportunity to sit as a guest in the home circle of the

Felix Experimental Group in Hanau, near Frankfurt Germany. We were most impressed by the dedication of the sitters who have been sitting weekly now since 2005. For the last three years, the gifted physical medium, Kai Muegge, has been following the method of mediumship used by physical medium Rudi Schneider to induce trance by using very fast holotropic breathing. in life a After the medium was in trance and the lights turned off, we heard the voice of Hans famous Bender, German parapsychologist who was in charge of the proceed- ings from the spirit dimension. His voice was accompanied by loud knocks around the room. We started to witness bright blue spirit lights the size of golf balls moving around in the séance room and around the twelve sitters. They seemed to be responsive to the energy of the sitters. One came very close me and stayed at a distance of about 10 cms for quite a while. Next we saw a spirit hand illumi- nated by a luminous it moved, plaque; turned and made sure it was seen as a perfect solid human hand. Hans Bender Throughout the sitting, the medium Kai Muegge was tightly controlled by two sitters who had their hands on his arms and knees. During the sessions the sitters held hands and a red light was frequently turned on to show everyone that Kai was still in the cabinet. Kai Muegge with his wife, Julia A most impressive sight was the abundance of ectoplasm (a

whitish, smoky substance which was emitted from Kai’s mouth) which accumulated directly in front of him and which was shown in red light. After a short time, the ectoplasm was shown again in red light, this time draped over Kai’s head and body. It would be sheer nonsense to describe the ectoplasm as a piece of cloth. It was clearly a living moving substance with a unique structure. During the séance, a former colleague of mine who died in 1995; the legendary, radical, some even called him “revolutionary,” Rev. Ted Noffs of the famous Wayside Chapel, came through giving us great validation that he is who he claimed to be. In my younger student days the Rev. Ted Noffs and I organized a number of highly successful public protests, mainly against the French nuclear testing in the Pacific where much beauty and life were permanently destroyed. The Rev. Ted Noffs’ radical social innovations such as anti-drug campaigning, the social justice programs and “doing good for humanity” programs were recognized by Prince Charles of the Royal Family, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and New South Wales Premier Neville Wran Q.C. His work was also recognized by some leading Christians from the United States. The Reverend Ted Noffs One of the things that influenced me the most was Ted’s insistence that we should not allow religions to stand as a barrier between people. He taught: “I am a Catholic. I am a Protestant. I am a Jew. I am a Hindu, I

am Muslim, a Sikh, a Buddhist ... I am part of the religions past, present and future, because I am a human being and nothing is alien to me....”. He was tried for “heresy” by the Christian establishment in Sydney but found not guilty. His work is continued in Sydney by his children and grandchildren in the Ted Noffs Foundation. Hans Bender from the afterlife acted as the medium for Ted Noffs and told us that he had come to say how much he supported the work we were doing through the Friday Afterlife Report and the website victorzammit.com. (This was not a surprise to me because Ted Noffs had previously contacted me, something that was not known to the Felix Circle). Hans Bender also said that the small apport (pictured left- actual size) representing different religions that materialized through the medium’s ectoplasm was a gift from Rev. Ted Noffs. Apport represent- ing different reli- gions was a gift for Zammit from Rev Ted Noffs. Then Hans Bender told us that a young man who had committed suicide in 2009 had also come to make himself known and asked whether I could feel him standing in front of me touching my leg. Continued page 12 Volume 31, Number 3 Page 8 Phantom Voices By Tom Butler The evidence is very clear that there are examples of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) that contain clearly understood messages. EVP are empirically demonstrated phenomena. Yet, a commonly heard complaint is that websites concerned with

the paranormal often have exam- ples of EVP that sound like simple noise. Website visitors have used the contact tool to announce that they are receiving astoundingly long and important EVP, which on close examination, have proven to only contain noise. Yet, others have provided excellent, clearly heard examples. So what is the difference? What leads one person to hear messages where there is only noise while others do not? The prevalence of this “phantom voices” phenomenon is increasingly evident as more people become involved in EVP. The resulting confusion is seen as an obstacle to useful collaboration amongst practitioners and certainly must warn off potential researchers. Listening Test To develop more understanding of the problem of phantom voices, the ATransC conducted an online listening study using two sound files. One contained simple brown noise (emphasis on voice-frequencies) and the other contained broad-spectrum noise modulated with audio pulses that simulate the cadence of speech. It was clearly stated that neither example contained voice. Possible explanations about what might cause a person to hear phantom voices were included above the hearing test and what was in the files was clearly stated. Results Of the 111 submissions, 15.3% (17) reported hearing voices in the brown noise file and 27.8% (33) reported hearing voices in the modulated file. That means that 39% (43) reported voice in one or both of the files. File 1: Brown noise Participants were also asked if they had a history of hearing voices not heard by others. Thirty-six

percent (40) of the respondents said that they did. Most indicated they were likely in a hypnogogic state of awareness. Interestingly, many respondents reported hearing music or musical tones. While hearing music might be an associ- ated characteristic of the phantom voices phenomenon, the question has not been addressed here. Analysis This was an informal study in the sense that there were no controls. Although respondents were asked how the samples were listened to, it is mostly unknown if the samples were heard under optimum conditions. It is also reasonable to ask if respondents would be candid about hearing voices they were told were not present. There is probably a natural selection of respondents which biases the results away from “hearing voices” reports. The website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day and receiving only 111 responses to the study over more than a year suggests that many who might have read the discussion prior to listening to the sound files, and subse- quently heard voices, chose not to respond. For the purpose of future study, it is hypothesized that at least 43% might hear voices in sound files which are not present. Theory The phantom voices phenomenon appears to have a number of possible causes ranging from mental illness to the natural human tendency to make sense of ambiguous stimuli. Mental illness does not appear to be a factor for EVP; however, in the most extreme examples, there does appear to be a complex of common behaviors which may

imply a situational fixation on hearing voices. This is addressed below in “Listener Fatigue.” Hypnagogia File 2: Noise with occasional pulse of noise There are a number of mental characteristics described in the psychological literature that touch on this experience, but hypnagogia seems to be a key concept. It is defined as: Inducing sleep; soporific [sleepiness]; drowsiness preceding sleep; relating to the images or hallucinations sometimes experienced in this state. According to Gurstelle and de Oliveira,1 “...daytime parahypnagogia (DPH) is more likely to occur when one is tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity....” The mind will naturally seek order in chaotic stimuli (see “Perceptual Order” below). The order is apparently based on what is in the person’s memory, so the almost-heard sounds have a familiar feel for the experiencer. A common report received by the ATransC is hearing voices or music for which the source cannot be found Page 9 Continued page 14 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Sonia Rinaldi’s Trans Images Sonia Rinaldi continues her work helping people commu- nicate with the other side. Her are some of her ITC images using a Fresnel lens. Marlene pictured with the Fresnel lens Marlene’s father An image as seen on the lens. It is thought that his might be Marlene’s father Marli pictured with an ITC image that appeared on the Fresnel lens Morse Code Update A researcher from the Scottish Society for Psychical Research, Innes Smith, visited Alison Kirkbride last June. He sat with

her while she conducted a number of EVP sessions. Domenic Capaldi was also present to video record the sessions. (sspr.co.uk) We have only a preliminary report, but as expected, Smith was unsure about the paranormality of the EVP examples, saying “… the spoken word messages - to me - will always present a problem in interpretation.” Many EVP were recorded by both Alison and Domenic and Alison produce an impressing dog bark EVP on request. Untrained listeners commonly have difficulty hearing EVP. This is the fear we all have about “being investigated.” Alison understands this and it is to her credit that she was willing to share the session results as part of the “research.” Alison succeeded in recording Morse code during the observed sessions and that produced a very different response from Smith. He told us that, “What is inexplicable (by current physics) is intelligible Morse code messages appearing on a background noise where there were none before.” He seemed genuinely excited about the Morse code. Innes Smith has asked to attend more EVP sessions later this year. He has devised experiments targeted at clarifying the apparent paranormality of the Morse EVP. Alison and the Morse Team expect to cooperate with his research. We will keep you informed as to the progress. Big Circle Recording Dates Loved ones on both sides of the veil who cooperate to communicate and help one another are known as the “Big Circle.” In some instances, loved ones in the etheric have even guided

people to the Association. This “bridge to the afterlife” is maintained when people join their energies on alternate Thursdays at 8:00 PM local time to communicate via EVP. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes. Here are the recording dates: October 11 and 25, November 8 and 22, December 6 and 20 and January 3, 17 and 31 See: atransc.org/circle/about_the_big_circle.htm We encourage you to share your results in the Big Circle forum of the Idea Exchange. Be especially sure to post any names you record. Members sometimes record messages that are specifically intended for another member. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 10 Arthur Conan Doyle by Lisa Butler In February of this year, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle material- ized in a David Thompson séance and spoke to Tom and me. He also sent greetings from Konstantin Raudive. I asked him about an ITC picture that we had gotten after a Socrates Circle sitting that we thought might be him. He immediately advised us that the ITC picture was indeed him. During a June 7 Big Circle recording, I asked about Sir Arthur and we received an EVP saying “Promise to contact.” During the next Big Circle session, two weeks later, Tom again asked for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and we recorded, “Sir Arthur already helping” On the left

is an ITC image collected by the Socrates Group. It is thought to be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unknown to us at the time of these recordings, Margaret Downey had a sitting with mediums Mike and Marti Perry on June 4. The first person that Mike said was coming through was Arthur Conan Doyle and Margaret told them she felt it was for Tom and Lisa! The Scole Experiments In 1993, four psychic research- ers and observers embarked on a series of experiments in the Norfolk village of Scole, Eng- land. For five years, more than five hundred experiments were carried out. During some of the experi- ments, objects materialized, lights danced and solid beings appeared. Luminous spheres also flew around the room in an apparently intelligent manner. Images were received on thirty- five millimeter film that was still in lightproof containers. One of these pictures was of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Scole Group photograph of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These experiments were repeated in the United States, Ireland and Spain. In the United States, scientists from NASA, the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the University of Stanford also took part. You can learn more about The Scole Experiment at thescoleexperiment.com Interesting Fact: James Webster, a professional magician, with forty years of experience investigating paranormal phenomena, came to the following conclusion about the Scole experiments: “I was unable to discover any sign of fraud, and it seems to me that fraud couldn’t have been possible, both because of the type

of phenomena observed and by the conditions in which they came about.” More on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle became interested in the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) (spr.ac.uk), which was established in 1882 to scientifically investigate paranormal phenom- ena. However, he found himself at odds with the SPR’s objectivity. He felt he didn’t need laboratory experiments to prove what he knew to be true. Arthur Conan Doyle became a spiritualist after holding séances with his wife Jean to get in touch with members of their family killed in the First World War. He told the world that he was communicating with the spirits of the dead, after which, he began writing books on spiritualism and addressing vast audiences around the world on the subject of communication with the so called dead. He also clashed with Harry Houdini, the illusionist, who argued that all spiritualists’ “tricks” could be replicated by a competent magician. A few days before his death in 1930, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, “The reader will judge that I have had many adven- tures. The greatest and most glorious of all awaits me now.” Emails from the Other Side Karen Mossey shared a link to a story done by BBC’s Matt Danzico. Jack Froese died In June 2011, and in November, several of his friends received emails from his account. His family says that no one knew his password to even get into the account. The emails were about small personal things that only the receiver

would have known. In one email Jack tells his friend to clean his attic. One of their last times together had been in that very attic discussing what it could be made into if cleaned up. See the video at: bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17348635 Karen wrote that she found the video amazing and believ- able. She thinks that, with the advancement of smart phones and with most of our younger population using them, we will be seeing an increase of communication from the other side from those who use them! Page 11 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Telephone Calls from the Dead A book review based on the one in Silent Voices (silentvoices.org.uk/#/book-reviews-2012/4560170991)© is Seeing a ghost in a well-known haunted fairly location common experience, and I’m sure many of us could relate to this phenomenon, or have spoken to someone who claims to have seen a ghost or had a psychic experience. But hearing of someone having a telephone call from the dead?! This is cer- tainly a rare paranormal occur- rence. Cal Cooper has conducted an entirely new study into these bizarre experiences and presents the findings in this fan- tastic new book. Cooper states that he thinks of this book as a revised edition of the original 1979 book, Phone Calls from the Dead by D. Scott Rogo and Raymond Bayless. This book appeals to all audiences and makes no assumption that the reader is familiar with the science of parapsychology. This is because the introduction gives a compact explanation

of the field and its history and how Cooper became involved in paranormal research. A chapter is devoted to the lives and work of Rogo and Bayless and how they came to be good friends and col- leagues in psychical research. They meet through their EVP research which Bayless started with the psychic medium Attila von Szalay in the 1950s. In the book, Cooper addresses issues involved in research and the methods which should be considered and applied for the investigation of spontaneous cases of paranormal experiences. Several categories of paranormal telephone calls are highlighted and many case examples are given. Cooper then discusses the statistics involved and the frequency of call types. Possible explanations are then offered in chapters on the psychology of the phone calls and also paranormal theories for the calls. The cases discussed in this book are certainly captivating. There are accounts of telephone calls from people known to be dead and calls from people thought to be still in the physical, but who were found to be dead at the time of the call. Some paranormal calls are from the living; calls they insist they never made! There are calls where messages of warnings or future events are discussed before the events take place. These events are truly amazing, and appear to have changed many people’s lives in the process. It also seems that paranormal communication has advanced into text messages and emails supposedly from the dead. Such possibilities are considered. The final chapter offers

a peer review of telephone phenomena and the research that Cooper has carried out, with contributors from the field of parapsychology such as John L. Randall (posthumously), Dr. John Palmer (reviving his role from the original book) and Dr. Jim Beichler. Cooper has been thorough in his studies of the phone-call phenomenon and presents a detailed look at these rare paranormal experiences. This diligence was also appreci- ated by Dr. Elizabeth McAdams, president of the Interna- tional Foundation for Survival Research, who provides a wonderful forward for the book. The thoughts of others and myself are that Cooper has truly done the late researchers, Rogo and Bayless, justice in furthering their research efforts and picking up from where they left off. Cal Cooper is pursuing doctoral research in psychology and parapsychology at the University of Northampton. He is a member of the Society for Psychical Research and of the Parapsychological Association. The Felix Circle Continued from page 8 I could. He told us that the young man said his name was Erik and he had come to thank me for the assistance the reports gave to his mother after his death and to many other bereaved parents. At first I had no idea who he was but then Wendy remembered “Channeling Erik,” channelingerik.com, the blog of Dr Elisa Medhurst whose son has been communicating with her through medium Jamie Butler. We got in touch with Elisa who asked Erik for confirma- tion. According to the medium Jamie Butler: “Erik said

it was him. He was telling me they were all in a room and he showed himself to the medium man and wanted to touch his hair. Said he had messy hair like him. Erik said that these were the things he has been up to. He wants to spread the word that his world is real. There really should not be any more grief here on Earth. Please Mom, tell him to pub- lish.” It is truly wonderful to see that genuine physical medi- umship is alive and thriving in Germany today in a circle that truly demonstrates deep interest in the past traditions of European mediumship and understanding of the importance of group energy. We will hear more from this circle in the future. Erik Volume 31, Number 3 Page 12 Wilderness of Grief Continued from page 7 (Some will scoff at this notion, but those who scoff have certainly never arrived at that moment in their lives where they simply do not think they can go on for another moment without some sense that their deceased loved one continues on in some form.) It is for this group of grievers that I have created my Reaching the Other Side: Grief and Healing Seminar. This is a unique program that combines Continuing Bonds grief-therapy with education on the after-life sciences. The intended outcome of these seminars is to help the bereaved to create a continuing bond, assist them to recognize the many forms that an after-death communica- tion

can take, and to support a direct experience of their continuing bond with their loved one. These three things combined offer the most potent medicine I know of to combat the wilderness of grief. As the harsh edges of grief are softened with education, a space is made for a continuing bond with their loved one. Sometimes during these seminars, families receive a direct experience of an after-death communication through me. Although I do not make these communications the focus of my work, sometimes, when working with the grieving, I will begin to get words and images from their deceased loved ones. There is nothing even remotely dramatic about this at all when it occurs, in fact you would be surprised at how “ordinary” it is when it happens. These types of After-Death Communication (ADC) are nothing more than mental “calling cards” from their loved ones that I have the sensitivity to discern. I will use an example here that actually occurred today, on the day I am writing this article. Earlier this morning, I worked with a grieving family seeking an indicator that their loved one still continued on after death. When I asked their loved one for a message, the image of something I called a “coat of arms” flashed into my mind. I drew the image to the best of my meager artistic ability. As I handed the image over, there was immediate recognition and you could feel the heaviness of loss lighten into a sense of

wonder, connection and gratitude. I had depicted a family heirloom given to the bereaved by the deceased; an object that was very significant and meaning- ful. When the family returned home from our appoint- ment, they e-mailed me a photo of the object and gave me permission to share it here, along with the original drawing I gave them. Their willingness to share is precisely why I call my company “One Candle.” Now their story becomes yet one more candle on a dark pathway … and one light at a time, my goal is to dispel the fear of death and bring light to the journey through grief. Although the small example of an ADC I have given in this article defies logic, proves nothing and creates more questions than it answers, it gets us moving out of the wilderness of grief by focusing on a farther horizon. An after-death communication is not a destination; it is more like a road sign on a long journey. ADC’s themselves are not where the grieving want their focus to stay. As healing as that moment of connection is, our work is to build the healing out from that point. Researchers estimate that up to sixty percent of the bereaved experience some type of ADC. Yet an ADC in itself does not always lead to a healing outcome. Those who have a strong ADC, but cannot construct a sense of meaning around the experience, may actually find the experience more disruptive than healing.

Exploring the deeper meaning of continuing bonds and ADC’s can help the bereaved to locate their loved one after loss, but finding a way to construct meaning around the experience is the foundation for healing. These things combined are what carry the griever out of the wilderness of grief … not necessarily the after-death communication itself. If you have experienced a loss and you are in the wilder- ness of grief, remember that support and education are two of the things that you can use to begin to prepare your world for an ADC. As the saying goes, “build it and they will come”; read, stretch, grow, seek. Build a container for the possibility—and the universe will respond by filling the darkness with light. Annette Childs holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a Nevada State Licensed Therapist. She is a diplomat of the American Psycho- therapy Association, and a Fellow in Thanatology, Grief and Bereavement. She is the author of three award-winning books and speaks throughout the United States and internationally on topics related to personal growth and transi- tion. You can find her books at onecandle.net/books.html Page 13 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Phantom Voices Continued from page 9 or recorded. In most reports, the sounds are described as a distant conversation or the sound of a radio program that can “almost” be made out, but no specific words or songs can be identified. As it happens, the phantom voices are often associated with a person who is

distracted by activi- ties that permit the person’s mind to wander. They may also be experienced at the beginning and end of sleep time. Experiencers often resist mundane explanations, and insist they are experiencing something paranormal. Audio Illusion There are also a number of types of auditory illusions that have been identified. A good article about these is “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain)” by Rich Pell.2 One such illusion is described as “The phantom words illusion,” which is simply the same two words being repeated over and over but time displaced between the left and right channel. This demonstrates how easy it is to hear words and phrases that are not there, and even hear them change, as the brain attempts to make sense of the aural ambiguity. This is a pretty interesting effect! Passive Concentration Perhaps a better term for hypnagogia would be “passive concentration” because the person has focused attention, but not with concentrated awareness. This distraction from the inner chatter of the brain leaves the mind open for unnoticed inputs. In principle, the hypnagogic state of mind is ideal for our etheric communicators to commune with our otherwise too busy mind. Passive concentration is a spontaneous version of mindful meditation which is a deliberately cultivated technique for communing with one’s inner senses and is an important technique for mediumship. The important point is that we must recognize the part these natural tendencies play in our perception of phenomena. Apophenia and Pareidolia Apophenia is

a term used in psychology for the mind’s natural tendency to identify patterns where none exist. Pareidolia is a subset of apophenia which applies to finding meaning in sound or images that does not exist. Skeptics love to use these terms to explain away reports of paranor- mal experiences. When applied to all reports with no examination of the evidence, these terms are, in effect, psychobabble used to explain why people reporting para- normal experiences are imagining things. The term, “apo- phenia” does not apply to simple cases of misidentification such as a balloon being identified as a UFO or a fellow investigator’s reflection being mistaken as a ghost in a mirror. It applies to the result of the mind’s need to find order in chaos. When presented with information the mind is unable to identify or make sense of, its natural reaction is to offer up the next best fit. If the person is intent on finding voices in noise, the mind will probably offer a likely word or two. Some reports of the paranormal may be instances of apophenia. The study of things paranormal often involves poorly formed images and hard to understand sound files which must be carefully studied. A person who is unfamiliar with the concept of mediumship, and who does not know it is possible to sense subtle energy, may be inclined to express a natural fear of the dark as a “sense of a nearby evil entity.” Such responses to unfamiliar experiences are not

evidence of a psychological flaw, but are natural human attempts to relate to circumstances. The “antidote” is education. Perceptual Order In Gestalt psychology, the whole is seen as being different than the sum of its parts. In this, the observer might find understanding where there is little or no substantiating information. The Gestalt laws of perceptual organization3 also provide possible explanations for the natural human tendency to find order in chaos. They include: The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli or elements that are close together tend to be grouped. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures. The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped so as to minimize change or discontinuity. The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical borders tend to be perceived as coherent figures. The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest. Clairaudience Clairvoyance or “clear seeing” has become a catchall term for the ability to sense information in subtle energy. This may be in the form of voices, images, smells or a general “knowing.” It is possible that a person might hear voices in a sound track containing only noise, via clairaudience, if none are physically present. However, in the study of EVP, the voices are either physically there or they are not. If they are there, then others should be able to experience them. They are objective, meaning they have physical form. Understanding this point is central to the study of

how transcommunication is experienced. Listener Fatigue EVP practitioners spend a lot of time listening to often noisy audio recordings. The expected EVP are usually mostly hidden by the noise and one must listen very carefully to distinguish them. Once isolated, the paranormal utterances are usually Class C, meaning they are not very easily understood. This makes it necessary for the practitioner to concentrate and listen to the sound segment many times. This situation is a formula for noise to be mistaken as anticipated EVP. Continued page 15 Volume 31, Number 3 Page 14 Phantom Voices Continued from page 14 Discussion The first documentation of EVP was in 1959 and the phenomenon remains poorly understood today. Funda- mentally, the examples are just sound tracks usually containing a lot of noise and a few, often poorly formed words. With proper training, usually gained by trial and error with feedback from friends or from other ATransC members on the Idea Exchange, the practitioner learns to recognize the difference between actual voices trans- formed out of background noise and imagined messages. However, in cases in which this learning has not occurred, practitioners have been known to find meaning which does not exist in the noise. For all of the reasons one might propose to explain this, the most available means of avoiding problems with phantom voices is education. This study should provide a sense of how common it is for individuals to mistake mundane information as some- thing paranormal. The phantom voices effect is

not unique to EVP, but can be seen in virtually all forms of transcom- munication including visual ITC and mediumship. While this report addresses what has been called here, “phantom voices,” the larger phenomenon might be referred to as a form of hyper lucidity as the experiencer’s mind goes to extremes in an attempt to assign meaning. References 1. Gurstelle EB, de Oliveira JL., Daytime parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep, William Pa- terson University, Wayne, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619, Reviewed 5-3-2012 2. Pell, Rich, Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain), eetimes.com/electronics-blogs/audio-designline- blog/4033473/Audio-illusions-that-will-fool-your-ear-and-brain-, Reviewed 5-3-2012 3. “Gestalt principles,” Scholarpedia, scholarpedia.org/article/Gestalt_principles, Reviewed 5-3-2012 4. “ATransC Survival Hypothesis,” Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/theory/survival_hypothesis.htm, Reviewed 5-3-2012 Q & A on the Idea Exchange The ATransC Idea Exchange is intended to provide a safe place for members to ask questions, express opinions, share experiences and learn how to work with all forms of transcommunication. It is important to know that the board is closed to the public to protect your privacy. Tom and Lisa Butler monitor the board virtually every day and make it their business to try and find answers to your questions. If you are seeking better understanding of these phenomena, then please drop by and let us know what is on your mind. Are Ghosts Discarnate People? According to a 2009 CBS news poll, 48% of Americans say they believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations. Seventy-eight percent believe in

life after death. This large number of “believers” should be encouraging to those of us who study things paranormal, but unfortu- nately, there is more. A report on the Gallup website indicates that 32% of people surveyed say they believe “ghosts or spirits of dead people can come back in certain places and situations,” (ghosts or spontaneous after-death communication), while only 21% believe that “That people can hear from or communicate mentally with someone who has died” (mediumship). Most polls we have reviewed show that, while people believe in ghosts, many do not make the connection between ghosts and survived personalities. This is even more evident when people’s fear of hauntings situations is considered. In an apparent hauntings situation, a person who is experienced with transcommunication might stop to sense whether or not it is a loved one while the average ghost hunter will reach for the smudging stick to clear the house. (To most ATransC members, that is a lot like slamming the door on a loved one.) Gallup polls are also showing a distressing trend: while 32% believed in ghosts in 2005, 38% were believers in 2001 (a 6% decrease). Similarly, 28% of people believed in mediumship in 2001 compared to 21% in 2005 (a 7% decrease). There is a general trend of growing disbelief in the phenomena associated with transcommunication which seems to indicate the skeptical community’s cam- paign to discredit all things paranormal is beginning to work. As a footnote, 55% of respondents believed in “psychic

or spiritual healing or the power of the human mind to heal the body” in 2005, 1% more than in 2001. From: CBS News, “Poll: Majority Believe In Ghosts” by Sean Alfano, February 11, 2009, cbsnews.com, and Gallup, “Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal” by David W. Moore, June 16, 2005, gallup.com The ASPSI is now the ASCSI The Academy of Spirituality and Paranor- mal Studies has changed their name to the Academy for Spiritual and Consciousness Studies, Inc. (ASCSI). The Academy was founded in 1972 as the academic affiliate of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship. They publish two scholarly quarterlies, The Journal for Spiritual and Con- sciousness Studies and a newsletter, The Searchlight. Both deal with religion, psychical research and related topics. Please visit the Academy’s website at ascsi.org. Page 15 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal We Don’t Die by Sandra Champlain © “We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance.” Dwight L. Moody, evangelist and publisher, b. 1837 Saturday, October 22, 2005 - Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY Heavy raindrops fall on the roof of my cabin, tucked amongst the trees behind the retreat center. The air is cold and damp, my hair and clothes are wet from the walk in the rain and the only warmth is coming from a small heater in the corner of my room. I put on my pajamas and crawl under the covers. The roommate that the retreat center has assigned to me is still out to dinner

with her friends. I question if I am completely crazy. I clearly feel that I have been led on a path to figure out if life after death is real. The cab driver who brought me here could not believe that there was such a class as I was now taking. I told him I was taking a course called Electronic Voice Phenomena. The course promised that it was possible to hear messages from our deceased friends and family by using recording devices. Although the cab driver thought I was a little weird, he gave me his email address and made me promise to tell him what happened. I want it to be real on one hand, but on another hand, I think the idea is insane. Is it possible that our deceased loved ones are still nearby and that they talk to us by putting their voices on a recorder? The course instructors, Tom and Lisa Butler, have been doing these recordings for seventeen years. Why would people waste their time if this wasn’t possible? I put all of those thoughts out of my mind and pull out my Sony digital recorder, which had been recommended by people effective at getting EVP. I am always a good student who does her homework and I want to get this recording done before my roommate comes back. When we met yesterday, I lied to her and told her that I was in a writers’ workshop, as I didn’t want her to

know that I was really trying to communicate with the dead. I didn’t even tell my family what I was doing this weekend. Only the cab driver knows the real reason I am at the retreat center. Cuddled under the covers, holding my recorder, I close my eyes and try to imagine myself sitting in the center of a high-energy field, as our energy is supposedly used by the other side to put these voices on the recorder. I imagine my grandmother, grandfather, aunt and uncle standing around the foot of my bed and press the record button. I begin to talk. “All right my dear friends, I’m going to do one more recording. Try to speak as loud as you can. If I am supposed to help people to believe in life after death, I have to hear you, so please try to talk loud. I will be quiet for about a minute and then I’ll say goodnight and I won’t bug you anymore.” (Earlier in the day I had been talking to the same four imaginary people, unsuccessful at hearing any voices.) I stop talking to allow the recording of the raindrops on the roof of the cabin. The dead must manipulate white noise so I figured the sound of the rain might be okay. I wait and after about a minute I say, “Goodnight” to my imaginary or invisible friends and press the stop button. I put on my earphones, press the rewind button and begin to

listen. Not expecting this time to be any different from the other attempts that I have made to listen to the deceased, I press the play button on my digital voice recorder. Convinced that I will hear nothing, I wait and listen. Then, I hear something. A sharp chill runs through my body and my skin is covered with goose bumps. I press rewind to hear it again and again and again. My mind is in a state of shock because I should not be hearing the words that I am hearing; I should only be hearing raindrops. Loud and clear I hear a man saying, “Goodnight, Sandra,” in what sounds like a computer-generated voice. Then, two faint women’s voices say, “Goodnight, goodnight,” fol- lowed by another male voice saying, “Goodnight.” I am suddenly stunned and afraid. I don’t know what to think, and feel sick to my stomach. What I am experiencing is unreal, like nothing I could have ever imagined. Are these people really here with me? Are people always with me? I become upset with myself for even coming to this retreat center. I find myself wanting to talk to someone human, but it is too late at night and there is no one around. I replay the recording over and over and over. Finally, I am mentally exhausted, and just before I fall asleep, I have visions of my grandparents and aunt and uncle hovering over me. “Are you really here” I think to myself and

go to bed very certain that my life will never be the same again. I want to apologize … for not sharing this information … sooner. You might have thought that I should have shouted from the rooftops that, “I, Sandra Champlain, have proved there is life after death.” You may have told me back in 2005 that I had enough credible evidence, between the EVP and the other studies I had done, to make a profound difference in the lives of people that had lost someone close to them. However, my own fear of being called crazy, weird, being laughed at or people not wanting to be involved with me, stopped me from sharing this informa- tion … until now. Continued page 18 Volume 31, Number 3 Page 16 Physical Phenomena: Two Methods of Production by Robin Foy © Not everybody is aware that physical mediumship now takes place in two totally different ways. The traditional view within the Spiritualist Movement is that physical phenomena can only be presented by spirit helpers using the controversial substance known as “ectoplasm.” This method has been used by physical mediums and their guides and helpers since 1848. Generally, it involves a physical medium who is usually in deep trance throughout the proceedings. The medium usually sits in a “cabinet” to concentrate energy (this is typically an enclosure just large enough to hold a sitting person). Most physical mediums operate in total darkness or in dim red light. The ectoplasm is exuded from

the physical medium’s body (from any or all of the body’s natural orifices) and can be molded by the spirit guides and helpers to form a solid materialization of a spirit person, which can often be positively identified by friends and relatives of the spirit person. For the manipulation and levitation of objects such as a trumpet (a megaphone like object used for amplifica- tion of direct-voice communication from spirit) in the séance room, an ectoplasmic rod with a pseudopod for gripping is used by the spirit people. In every case, the ectoplasm remains connected by an umbilical cord-like structure to the medium whilst phenomena take place. It is this ectoplasmic connection which makes it physically dangerous for the medium. If a sitter does something silly, like switching on an electric light in the middle of a séance, the ectoplasm shoots back into the body of the medium at an alarmingly fast rate; causing, at the best, burns to the medium’s body, and at the worst, internal damage that has on occasion, led directly to the death or serious injury of the medium. Such was the case with Helen Duncan and Alec Harris, both famous materialization mediums. Conse- quently, in all sittings where physical mediumship is con- ducted through an ectoplasmic-based system, careful precautions have to be observed for the safety of the medium. The ectoplasmic-based physical medium often takes many years to develop their mediumship fully. The second and more modern method of producing physical phenomena is by way

of an energy-based proce- dure. This form of physical phenomena was largely pio- neered by the spirit team working with the Scole Experimental Group in the 1990s. There may be one or more mediums in a group where this method is being used. They may not necessarily be in deep trance; sometimes, the members of the group are not aware of who the medium or mediums might be! The spiritual energies of all the group members are blended and involved in the energy-based process. Whilst groups of this sort should start out in total darkness, the spirit team working with a particular group often brings its own spirit-lighting fairly soon in the development of the phenomena to provide adequate illumination. The energy that is used by the spirit team is a blend of three different types of energy which, when mixed together, provides one creative energy, which can then be used by the spirit team or individual spirit persons in a physical way to demonstrate the phenomena which are produced. These three forms of energy are: 1. Spiritual energy taken from all the sitters in the group. 2. Spirit energy brought by the spirit team from the spirit world, especially for the purposes of their producing the “creative energy” needed at a particular sitting. 3. Columns or “pillars” of natural earth energy which exist in certain geographical locations around the world. Groups sitting for physical phenomena can attract one of these columns of energy to them for the work, or

even create a new column in the place where they sit. There are a number of advantages to working in this new way with energy, although I should point out that neither method of working is better than, or superior to, the other. These advantages include: a) Phenomena can develop quicker in the energy way, sometimes in months rather than in years. b) There is absolutely no danger whatsoever to mediums or sitters if somebody does something stupid during an energy-based sitting. The phenomena will simply stop, c) The energy-based method is more versatile in that more types of phenomena can be developed in this way. At Scole, we counted around 180 different types of phe- nomena that were developed during the five-year history of the Scole Experimental Group. These are the basic facts of the two methods for producing physical phenomena…. From: Physical Mediumship International robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com Robin Foy was the founder of the Noah’s Ark Society in 1990. In 1992, he was co-founder of the Scole Experimental Group and, later, of the New Spiritual Science Foundation. The group demonstrated physical phenomena to the public and to scientific investigators who were senior members of the Society for Psychical Research. Robin has authored two books: In Pursuit of Physical Medium- ship (Janus Publishing Co Ltd) and Witnessing the Impossible. (Torcal Publications 2008) which is the only complete record of every sitting of the Scole Experimental Group. Both books are currently available via scoleexperiment.com. Also see the pamphlet How to Develop Energy-Based

Physical Phenomena at robinsphysicalphenomena.webs.com Page 17 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal We Don’t Die Continued from page 16 In my book, We don’t Die: A Skeptic’s Discovery of Life After Death, I talk about the deaths of my grandmother, then my father, then my dear cat, Ozzie, who we had to euthanize just weeks after my dad died. My grief during that time was the most painful thing I have ever experi- enced. It opened my eyes to a suffering that I could not have previously imagined…. There are some very specific things I hope that you get by the time you are done reading, We Don’t Die: A Skeptic’s Discovery of Life After Death. Of course, I will give you every bit of supporting facts, figures and information, so that this information is real to you: · You survive physical death. Your body disappears but you will still exist. · Your friends and relatives that have died are still around and you can connect with them. · You will feel that you are not alone, ever. You have love around you even if you cannot see it. · You will understand grief, what it is, why we must feel it and how to lessen your pain. · You will experience remote viewing, an extrasensory perception technique that may leave you speechless. This experience will leave you believing that you are much more than the physical body you know yourself to be. · You will no longer fear death and

know that death is a natural progression to something better. · You will no longer fear life and realize that you can accomplish incredible results for yourself. · You will have a new relationship with fear, have better relationships and be able to achieve your dreams realizing that you can never fail. · There is more to life than meets the eye, and there is more to you than you know. A hypnotherapist, medium, remote viewer, speaker, dowser and recorder of EVP, Sandra is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others to make a difference. Sandra is unstoppable, and aims to teach people to live courageous lives, go after their dreams, have loving relationships and know that they can never really die. For a copy of Sandra’s book see: wedontdie.sharepoint.com/Pages/YourEndorsementNeed ed.aspx Using Random Number Generators In the article “Random Event Generators Predict the Future,” Daniel Lew says that for years, “Random number generators have been running all over the world, electron- ically flipping 200 coins each second, with the intention of measuring a global consciousness. Scientists of the Global Consciousness Project (GCP) … are using [Random Event Generators (REG)] to test whether a human consciousness extends a field around the earth which can change the results of random events. They claim that when an impor- tant event occurs, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack or the Indian Ocean tsunami, the random event generators start to display patterns that should not exist in truly random sequences. (noosphere.princeton.edu) “Not only

does the GCP detect spikes of less-than-ran- dom activity around some important events, but according to the project it actually predicts them, too. In the afore- mentioned 9/11 attack, there was a bizarre spike of non-random activity four hours before the attacks. As for the Indian Ocean tsunami, analysts say that the REGs detected it 24 hours in advance. ‘We may be able to predict that a major world event is going to happen,’ says Roger Nelson, the project leader. ‘But we won’t know exactly what will happen or where it’s going to happen.’” From: Damn Interesting, damninteresting.com/random-event- generators-predict-the-future/ Members using REGs Cindy Heinen reported that she has been using an REG while working with the Society for Anomalous Studies. She took many samples during a recent investigation at an old mansion but the REG showed nothing of significance. However, when something funny happened and everyone started laughing, the REG went way above the threshold lines. She also noted that, when two people started talking about sad events, there was a small movement toward recording outside of the threshold. Cindy also reported that they had been utilizing some energy work sessions in conjunction with EVP sessions, but so far there has been no improvement in EVP. They have gotten some interesting visual and real-time audio phe- nomena. One was a light source that came from a person’s forehead and shot to the ceiling. The Butlers operate a Psyleron REG-1 with an Acer One laptop. While a session was running, they

showed the device to David Thompson, the physical medium. While his attention was focused on the display, it registered far above the normal range envelope. It dropped back down when he was distracted talking to them. This occurred two times in a row. If you are working with an REG, or are just interested, a forum on REGs has been set up in the Idea Exchange. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 18 Researchers’ Reports Ÿ Margaret Downey wrote, “This last week was the 32nd anniversary of a suicide that deeply affected me and has a profound impact on my life. I decided to do a recording for myself (manual AM radio sweep as background, recording into Audacity on my computer) and ask if my friend and mentor “Bones” was there. He came through right away saying, “Hello” and “I’m Bones.” This is very similar to his voice as I remember it. I also got what I consider to be a sign. I’ve not seen a post from the TV show Bones in my Facebook feed for eons. But when I logged into FB after having spent the morning crying and talking to my therapist about this event that haunts me, there this image was near the top of my news feed. That alone was pretty impressive to me. BUT there’s more ... looking at the numbers, they are all significant. Now, I’ll admit, I might be reading more into this than was intentionally there; however, I can’t help but think

of these also being confirmation of a sign. 11 million FB fans: Bones had worked at our mutual employer for 11 years. 13,127 likes: The first number is backward but his birthday is 31-Dec (and I’m 7, July). 311 comments: March 11 is the birthday of both my grandfather and my treasured friend who was there with me the day Bones killed himself. In the recording I thanked Bones for the sign and heard his reply as “You’re not broken.” This is extremely significant, as I was so upset the night before I couldn’t sleep. At 4:30 in the morning, I typed a poem into my phone using the notes application. One of the lines in the poem reads, “I am broken, shattered.” And indeed, that is exactly how I am feeling. It is aston- ishing that after decades, the grief can still knock me to my knees (and then some!). Ÿ David Mierzwinski says that some of the backgrounds make it harder for him to hear because he has loud ringing in both ears all the time. He was using Cool Edit Pro software with no microphone and was experiment- ing with a Japanese-language file that he had made using multiple voices uttering nouns. He switched to the Japanese file unannounced and wrote, “They quickly picked up on the new pattern.” He recorded, “Dave is unpredictable.” Ÿ Jutta Liebmann reports that she is using a bath radio with an extended FM frequency band. For background noise, she presses the

tuning button manually in short intervals. During a recent experiment, she received direct replies for her spirit team. She was able to reply during the EVP session. She documented her EVP on a CD and played it to some of her colleagues during the VTF conference in Fulda. Germany. She wrote, “They heard the replies very clearly. For instance, I heard a name and asked the entity whether he knows Dr. Raudive in the spirit world and I have received the answer “Yes, we know him.” Jutta added, “In Fulda, I have done some EVP experi- ments in a small group in the evening with this radio and the participants received EVP replies. One lady got a clear reply from her deceased father! However, this method of EVP recording cannot be recommended for beginners! It is intended for experienced practitioners only.” Alison Sniffin used Skype in trying to reach her mother and recorded “Alison.” She also said “Mom, can you use my voice?” and recorded “I’m trying.” She also wrote, “We have a new Teflon frying pan and I am forbidden to use a metal spatula in it. The pan is so slippery I can’t seem to cleanly flip an egg unless I use a metal spatula. This morning I used two plastic spatulae to flip the egg. I was silently “flipped off” about it when I heard the sound of a little bell and looked up to see our metal spatula, which was hanging on the wall between two

other utensils, swinging back and forth. The other utensils were not moving. Ÿ Tim Woolworth wrote that he has recorded his name, both first and last, every time his ghost box is on and that he has reached specific people on the other side that he has been asked to find by loved ones. He feels that there is much more to radio-sweep than anyone can fathom and that it is his goal to conduct ghost box research with like-minded, educated, levelheaded people. “For True Scientists, the Ultimate Authority is Experience, not Theory” This wonderful quote comes from near-death researcher Bruce Greyson who goes on to say, “Some may think that Near-Death Experiencers (NDErs) must be religious to start with, and their experiences could be their imagination. However, there are NDErs who weren’t religious before their NDEs, and Greyson has found that one of the aftereffects of NDEs is a lowered religiosity. Inter- estingly, NDErs also generally have an increased spirituality after their NDEs. Another thing that Greyson has found in his research is that, contrary to what most would expect, NDErs are more inclined to use logical thought after their NDEs than before their NDEs. Dr. Bruce Greyson Bruce Greyson, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry at the Univer- sity of Virginia. He is co-author of Irreducible Mind (2007) and co-editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences (2009). From: The Epoch Times, Near-Death Experiences: 30 Years of-Research–Part-2, theepochtimes.com Page 19 Fall 2012 Association TransCommunication NewsJournal Big Circle Results Boo We

encourage people to try to record on Big Circle Recording night, which is every other Thursday. (See page 10) Even recording close to that date, asking for the Big Circle members on the other side, and then sharing the results on the message board, can be a real help to people on both sides of the veil. Here are just a few things that have come through during the past few months: Margaret Downey recorded “Bring us in, Let us talk, Debbie,” “What’s up Mom?” and “It’s Cathy.” The first voice sounds like transitioned member Debbie Caruso and Margaret feels the second voice is Debbie’s son Joey who is also on the other side. The third EVP is from Martha Copeland’s daughter Cathy who helped found the Big Circle recording team and is still helping people with their recording. Margaret also recorded “Yvonne and Debra.” We think this is referring to Debbie and member Yvonne Wybra, who crossed over earlier this year. Margaret also recorded “This is Henry, this call’s amazing” and “John” but she is not sure who was speaking or who the message is for. Ÿ Alison Kirkbride recorded “Talk to Donna” and “Let me hear Sue Carrol” during a Big Circle recording session. Alison did not recognize these names. Ÿ When Lisa and Tom Butler asked about their friend Mary who had recently transitioned, they recorded “I know she went on over to the spirit land.” When asking about the Big Circle they recorded “We keep up

the cause” and “We are a team.” When just asking for any messages for loved ones here, they recorded, “I miss (word can’t understand) I’m her son.” . m t h . s k o o b / s e c r u o s e r / g r o . c s n a r t a t a C s n a r T A y b d e d n e m m o c e r s k o o b s s e c c A Association TransCommunication Membership Form You can also use the online form at http://atransc.org/online_membership_form.htm Members International Members $30.00 per year All benefits for one year not receiving the NewsJournal via email: Sustaining Members $40.00 per year $100 per year Same as above + Member name listed in NewsJournal In addition to my annual dues, I am enclosing a DONATION of $_____ to support the work and programs of the ATransC. You may specify that your donation be used for research or for the public outreach and education of the Association:__________ Membership includes quarterly NewsJournal, optional Member Registry, discussion board and archive access. You must be 21 years old or older to be a member. Name:__________________________________________________ Email Address:__________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________ Phone Number (Optional):___________________ Member Registry?______ Include Physical Address?______ Include Email Address?______ Do you wish to receive the newsletter via postal service?___________________ or via email?___________________ Do you record EVP?___ Plan to record?___ Did you join because of the loss of a loved

one?____ I understand the Member Registry is a private list and I agree that I will not give member information to people not on the list or use the list for commercial purposes or to further a personal cause. I also understand my membership will be terminated if I violate this agreement. I certify that I am at least twenty-one years of age. I understand that the ATransC is not liable for the results of EVP/ITC experiments that I might conduct, and that the Association is not liable for damages due to the use of information it publishes on the Internet or in literature such as the NewsJournal. The ATransC reserves the right to refuse membership to anyone. Volume 31, Number 3 Page 20 ---

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